Hate Unbound hail from Detroit, Michigan are due to release album Plague on 17 February.
They comprise of singer Art Giammarra, guitarist Daryl Mitchell, guitarist William Cundiff, bassist Sean Demura, and drummer Franklin “Foot” Hannah.
Their influences range from Death to Lamb of God and it's telling, in the groove and heaviness on show in this thrashy deathy metal band.
Plague
Baptised In Lies opens up the album full of violent intent. A thrash standard with ripping solos, pounding double bass, heavy groove seeped riffs and satanic scales. Just what I was hoping to hear.
There are moments of greatness on this album. Cut's opening riff is simply brilliant, as is the twin style lead section. Puncture is full of drive, anger and groove, a headbangers delight. Grey Skies has and underlieing melody in parts which I love and really adds a great dimension to the music and my favourite solo on the album to see it out.
The track Suffering is unfortunately not for me, however the brutality isn't far away with tracks like Burn your Idols, Plague, Fallen and Soiled, all of which chug along satisfactorily. The outro with a slowed down riff in Burn Your Idols has some brilliant drum and guitar work as something to look out for as well as a batshit mental guitar passage in Soiled which keeps things interesting.
I, Martyr almost made me think I was going to see the softer side of Hate Unbound with a rather subtle intro. If their soft side is a sledgehammer in the gonads, then I suppose I may have been right, but it takes all of 25 seconds to allay any fears of a ballad. This is a strong track with plenty of chops and changes.
Conclusionn
In my eyes this is one for seasoned Thrash fans rather than those looking for anyone breaking the mould. But there's is nothing wrong with that, it's a fucking excellent album. This should go down very well with an old school audience who are fans of aggressive thrash with not overdone wanky solos, but nice short stabs of axe mastery which are well placed and played along with a earth shatteringly growls vocal and some strong drum work. (There's no wonder they call him 'Foot').
Not sure about all this boundless hate, they sound like teddy bears to me. Teddy bears with bloody cleavers and under demonic possession that is us, oh and they look like an awesome live act too!
Belial are a UK based Godless scourge, so you might like them. This technical death metal band are releasing double EP Nihil Est on 27th January via Siege Records, Their title means "There is nothing", which I'm assuming has something to do with their proclaimed Godlessness. Either way, it's a great title so a good start. Does the album live up to the title?
Belial - Nihil Est
Opening with an industrial haunting feel that always grabs my attention, In Extremis introduces the album in a very scatty, disjointed way. It'll no doubt have many Tech Metal fans reaching for their favourite wank rag, although I personally like some order amongst the insanity, which doesn't appear until about 2 minutes into this track. Once it does, I get a pretty euphoric feeling from the song.
Eon from the outset is more like it and is an intriguing track with the marrying of the soft piano and synth parts and the brutal heaviness creating an effective hypnotic, creepy ambience. This blends seamlessly into Naught. The initial whack of double bass and blast beats catches you a bit off guard, but it settles into a good, seriously heavy track with parts to grove too and parts to just take in all the madness.
Odium begins and you think 'this is it, this is the track that's going to blow me away'. And whilst it loses a bit of its impact after the intro it then builds back into a fucking insane solo and breakdown which is simply brilliant. This track is full of bits to enjoy and admire. And the same goes for In Origin. It starts off strong and has some real epic moments and is driven and direct throughout. It's a good way to end this strong new release from a band who clearly have a fantastic future ahead of them.
Self Titled
As I was fortunate enough to have the first EP included, I'll review it as well. Why the fuck not hey! Heroin Holidays opens the proceedings and I'm feeling more at home. This is more organised chaos than the majority of the new EP. The vocal is more gutteral and it's good, soooo good. Whilst it still has the fiddly, Tech traits of the new EP, you can get deeply into it and immerse yourself in the track. This is a thoroughly enjoyable offering.
The quality continues in the form of Wraiths, which has some downright kickass grooves and an uplifting feel, it's seriously a fucking brilliant piece of work.
Host is in parts epic, the melodies and feels created at certain points are almost unparalleled In any of their work, however the track is a bit too disjointed for me to turn these parts into a bone crushingly brilliant track. Luckily the interlude Wen saves the day with a riff that makes you hold onto your balls before introducing you to album closer Parasite.
And it's a great way to close out the EP, summising all that is done well throughout both releases. Great riffs, huge drive from the rhythm work, good synth sounds and a vocal consistent in its deep growl and on point throughout both records.
Conclusion
These are incredibly clear well produced EP's full of second to none musicianship and an ear for eerie melody. The use of samples, synths etc is well thought out and creative. When they nail it, in tracks like Heroin Holiday, Wraiths, Parasite and Odium, it is seriously nailed tight and going nowhere.
I am not saying the other tracks are bad, they aren't, quite the opposite in fact. They are, in parts, a little chaotic for my personal taste however I think fans of this specific genre would be calling me out on that conclusion, as it's kinda the point, but there are moments of pure brilliance in literally every song.
Just to add an extra dimension as well, when being able to appreciate them as instrumental tracks that are at the end of the EP (I'm not sure if these will be part of every release), you get a different kind of enjoyment out of them and can further appreciate the top rate musicianship on display.
Two very strong offerings. How these guys are not on the Techfest 2017 bill already is beyond me, but I'm assuming they will be after this album gets some circulation. I strongly urge Tech Death fans to be getting a copy of this pre-ordered and buy the first EP here.
Boris the Blade release Warpath on 27th January. Named after Snatch's arms dealing gangster, you probably get that your not going to be hearing romantic odes to Florence Fanny or whoever. No these guys are a Deathcore band full of anger as violent intent.
Warpath
The albums title track Warpath, is also it's opener. Psychotic glitches and relentless heaviness drive the track. An eerie melody underpins the all out battering of a great title track packed with machine gun double bass, groove elements and anger.
Second track,Backstabber, starts with a more atmospheric slow feel, but when the vocal smacks you in the face you know you're listening to Boris the Blade, soon your head is spinning with tech metal runs and black metal melodies. It is a bit stop start in places, which put me off my stride a little, but then contains a glorious breakdown and second passage with a vocal performance Corey Taylor would be proud of and lyrics that Jonathan Davies would give you a blowy and a cheeseburger for.
Misery is in a similar vein to Warpath, another relentless barrage of aggression, with interesting changes in dynamics that flow into each other well. But directly after is Nihilist, which has a high impact opening full of atmosphere and punch. I like the way this track, in it's own way, gives you a break from the battering ram of heaviness. It's a creepy, dark number which stand alone is my favourite so far.
Omens is dark, extreme and abrasive and has the addition of a rapped/spoken word bit that reminded me of I Am Hated by Slipknot. It was a highlight of a track that unfortunately I didn't quite get up to that point.
As soon as Paralysed opened up I started to think, 'this is more like it'. A track full of drive and direction, brutally bludgeoning in a satisfying sadomasochistic way. Great drum work, guitar parts that are varied, skills up and melodic and heavy like a sledgehammer. A song that had my attention from beginning to end.
Thorns, in a similar vein to Nihilist, breaks things up a bit. Whilst it can't be accused of not being heavy, it includes more mellow, ambient parts which sound like they could become an epic 20 minute tour de force. But that's not what these fella's do. No wanky flouncing, just moments of serene melody cut short by grievous intent! And you wouldn't want it to be any different.
Devastated opens up with electro noises and machine gun bass drum. Again bringing an eerie ambience in droves, underpinned by the increasingly impressive drum work. Whereas Elixir follows the same paths as previously trodden on the album in terms of the heavy underlined by melody formula before the battering ram intro to Solace begins the end of the album.
Conclusion
By this point I am feeling battered and bruised! Mostly in a way like you might after lasting 12 rounds with Tyson! It left me with a great feeling, like I've had an outlet for my aggression and anger, but also wishing there was a knockout earlier in the fight. Whilst it lacks a track which stopped me dead and made me replay again and again the album as a whole is a great listen. It is full of good songs, excellent musicianship, and a vocal performance that is sublime in its anger and directness.
It should be a popular pick for Deathcore and Extreme Metal fans, fans of Technical Metal (some of the musicianship is simply incredible). I could also see it as a great feeder album into the more extreme side of the metal genre for those dabbling on the fringes. I could easily see a Slipknot maggot picking this up and having a eureka moment. It carries the right balance between melody, brutal belligerence and sinister intent to speak to a wide audience. And an album that can help broaden the horizons of music fans is worth its weight in munitions!
You can pre-order it here or via trusty old Bandcamp, and while your waiting for it, if these guys are new to you, go and check them out on Facebook.
Wizard Union are a Sludgy Stoner band from Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti MI with an interesting sound and ethic. The band started in 2012, when whilst playing with seperate projects Drummer Larry and Guitarist Samir decided to jam together. They later invited Samir's workmate Aaron to play Bass in this project, and have been producing colon crushing Stoner riffs ever since.
I was fortunate to get to hear their new release Phantom Fury and speak to Collective member Samir about how they go about their thing. And no this is not a tale of tragedy, Vampire children and immortality, like the title would have you believe. It's far more interesting than that.
So why is their project any different from anything else? What makes them unique?
Wizard Union are part of a collective, the Wizard Union Collective, which is all about promoting and distributing their various projects. What does this mean? I hear you ask.
Samir: ''Overall it's about having musical freedom to do and play whatever we want without calling it Wizard Union. It's just a part of a larger body of work''. So potentially this approach could incorporate different projects from the same musicians, an opportunity to explore different sounds and genres as a group".
So why does this approach work for Wizard Union?
Samir; (There's) ''No deadlines. (We) release as much as we want from different members. Play shows with whoever is available within the collective. Right now we're still pretty young as a collective, but the three of us have been playing with each other for almost 5 years now, and we're open to jamming with others, and if we jam with someone else and it doesn't sound like Wizard Union, then we'll call it something else and release it''.
So, this is a metally musical melting pot, allowing freedom of expression for the musicians that are involved. An idea that I find fascinating and intriguing, so my main thought is how does it transpose itself to actual performance? Is it garbled, without direction or identity, or is it creative and purposeful?
Listening to Phantom Fury I am pleased to hear a great many influences sounds and also unintentional influences. There seems to be a hardcore punk ethic and I hear hints of EyeHateGod, Thrash even Surfer Rock! Whilst all this is evident it is not confused but instead pleasingly interesting and most importantly as heavy as a left hook from Chuck Norris. I asked Samir where influence were drawn from.
"I'd like to think Wizard Union is what happens when the three of us get together. I know the one band that binds us altogether is The Melvins, but we're all into different shit. I listen to a lot of punk and metal. It's funny you mention surf rock, because I'm definitely a fan, I just never consciously wrote anything like that. I was in a stoner/doom/thrash metal band called Lord Centipede, so maybe that's where the thrash comes from. I like the Eyehategod's Dopesick album.'' (C'mon you like EVERY EyeHateGod Album, just admit it to your self Samir - Editor)
Phantom Fury is full of heavy fuzz, grinding guitars and is held together well by the quality of Larry's drumming. Harsh Tokes Of The Wizards Pipe has grinding guitars, a hint of an eerie edge with a punky style vocal. Whereas Cosmic Gatekeeper is fast paced, almost a punk track in its own right, until it hits the sludgy breakdowns, slowing the situation down with a pleasing groovy step down sequence.
Ancient Evil Bong chugs along joyously, hitting you aurally with guitar stabs and vocal aggression before taking an inspired turn with a breakdown and buzzing solo then it slowly works itself back into the faster paced chug of Doom.
Burn Bitches, Not Witches would be the crowd pleaser of the tracks, with a chorus that was made for shouting back at the mans and a great lead riff. Not just a pretty name! Samir; ''The chorus Burn Fucking Bitches Not Fucking Witches, came from something I read on the Internet somewhere. I thought, that's funny, I should make that a song title or use it for something. I have lists for song titles, album names, and band names for projects in the collective, for when I find shit like that. Once I had the title for the song I was like so what's this gonna be about? And it's about the Salem witch trial. I guess people can sing along to the chorus if they want to, but that's not what I had in mind when I wrote it.''
Burial Ground opens with a wet psychedelic sounding bass before leading into the most outright stoner riff on the album. My fist reaction was to head bang and there was no cause to stop throughout the entire track. Full of monumental riffage and drum attack, this is an absolutely storming track.
Phantom Fury takes off where Burial Ground finishes, continuing the stoner theme with great riffs but covers more ground musically than any other track, taking many turns and directions.
This is definitely a release that improves with each track in terms of sound and songwriting in my opinion. Speaking to Samir about this progression and future plans he told me;
''Our next Wizard Union band project which we'll start recording next spring is going to be the start of a living LP. We're going to have an album on Bandcamp that keeps getting updated with new songs over time, rather than just releasing a bunch of EPs. When we think the LP is full, we'll release the physical copy and then start the next LP the same way. So the evolution of the songs that you mentioned on Phantom Fury, might be even more apparent on the LPs. We have 3 songs ready to record, and maybe 3-4 written that I think are good enough to start practising, so who knows how different those songs will be compared to our previous works. They're fucking heavy though.''
As far as I'm concerned this a Collective to keep an eye on. They have plenty to offer in terms of the Stoner Sludge sound but also touch on different styles which could open them up to a larger fan base. But to just regard the Wizard Union element would be wrong, there's other things to look forward to from these musicians.
Samir; ''As far as projects we have lined up, Larry and I have a Sludge Punk Noise Rock thing called Bladder that we're planning to record in the spring. That project pretty much came out of he and I playing together as Wizard Union as a duo, because our Bass Player Aaron had to drop out at the last minute, and we didn't wanna cancel'' Samir took over Bass duties for this show as they felt it might add to the Doom effect, but they were not happy with the outcome. ''We didn't necessarily like Wizard Union songs played with just a bass and drums, but Larry was like, hey how about we keep this going as a godheadsilo type thing, and that's pretty much how the collective idea was born. Keep it all under one umbrella.''
Check these guys out on Bandcamp and give them a follow on Facebook and Twitter. If they're you're thing the EP is only $3, which is cheaper than a pint of Fosters Kangaroo Piss. Have a taste below! (of the band not Kangaroo Piss).
If all you want for Christmas is not to listen to Mariah's mind numbing rectal discharges but hear some ass ripping industrial metal and electronic music, with some of the most satisfyingly crisp production you're likely to hear for a while, then Circle Of Dust going to be for you.
Producer/artist Klayton, who some may know from his work with multi-genre project Celldweller, is back creating under the pseudonym Circle Of Dust, who he has released 4 other albums as, the last one being twenty years ago!
I have to say I'm not familiar with his previous work as Circle of Dust, but after hearing this album I intend to be and am at the same time disappointed in myself.
Machines Of Our Disgrace
From the start of the first track, Re-Engage, onwards I was drawn in by a stunning quality of sound which is carried through the entire album. I took the opportunity on a long drive down to London, to preview a couple of tracks to my pal, who is an electronic music producer himself, to gauge just how good it is. He was wax a lyrical about the what he heard. My belief that this is brilliant work was confirmed.
In songs like title track Machines of Our Disgrace and Contagion, Klayton displays a flair for amalgamating catchy riffs, elements of classic metal sound, quality use of samples and electronics and song composition that holds the listener. This mix of skills creates intrigue and genuine moments of "holy shit this is brilliant"!
Then with racks such as Embracing Entropy (featuring Celldweller), alt_Human and Hive Mind Klayton introduces a more outright industrial style.
Embracing Entropy and Hive Mind, amongst others on the album, have a splattering of poppy hooks and a glorious tinge of 80's electronics, whilst never losing an alternative edge. alt_Human is peppered with industrial soundscapes and is full of edgy ambiance. As a fan of electronic music, outside of my metal fandom, these tracks tick a lot of boxes for me.
One of the biggest highlights for me is the track Humanarchy, which is an aggressive gem. Mixing growling vocals and the machine gun double bass with industrial noise, juxtaposed by a melodic, catchy vocal chorus it's a great all round performance. Neurachem balances bravely on the edge of metal and electronica which would normally irritate the tits off of me but this doesn't which is helped in no small part by a groove aspect that is impossible not to enjoy.
Conclusion
This album covers so much ground, including industrial metal, electronica, classic metal, pop and incorporates some fantastic voice samples, which along with the incredible production, culminates in a seriously good release. Klayton shows off an undeniable multitude of talents in terms of song writing, multi-instrumental-ism and production. It will please industrial metal fans as well as fans of multiple genres.
On release this will be going up on my genius production shelf alongside Ils - Bohemia and Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium.
Hailing from Quebec Ion Dissonance are Extreme Mathcore Metal supremo's who as you'd expect incorporate dissonant tuning, syncopated drumming along with varied, unexpected time signatures but with their own distinct brand of energy and agression to create a anarchic symphony of destruction.
On 18 November they're unleashing Cast The First Stone into the world and we at Behind The Beat Music Blog care enough about your personal aural preservation to prepare you for this monumental event.
Cast The First Stone
Ion Dissonance cast the first stone (I'm here all week) with Burdens which smacks you straight in the flaps with its psycho-chaotic abbrasiveness. Any sign of melody has the vocal cutting through it unsympathetically, like the bad guy you secretly want to win. It's really well performed extreme and technical metal and leaves you under no illusions as to what your going to get with this album, a fucking good bludgeoning!
The track To Expiate sounds like someone pissed on Sikth's chips and they decided to write a song about it. Even the melodic parts are dissonant, and this works so well, again the intensity has continued. With the pace of the album so far I'm starting to wonder if these guys have a defibrillator offstage to give them a quick jump start between tracks. And it's exciting, angry and interesting to listen to.
To Lift The Dead Hand Of The Past blows my mind. It has everything for me that I'd want. The vocals are gutteral and relentless, it has some incredible, almost jazz like in parts, guitar work which is something to behold from the chugs to the melodic lead lines. I realise at this point, this is more than just a good Mathcore release, but something that could stand up there shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Sikth (you may never hear me say that again) and Meshuggah.
Suffering...The Art Of Letting Go provides an element if groove and more normal structure which is a nice break from the joyous chaos in the album. Its also an absolutely storming track that I found myself involuntarily head banging to all the way through.
D.A.B.D.A A State Of Decomposure in parts has the deep satisfying heavyness of Meshuggah but with Ion Dissonance's personalised machine gun delivery. This track is, simply, epic and note for note, it's my favourite on the album and I can see this being a fan favourite as it hits every mark, including a slow jazzy breakdown, providing the perfect opportunity for their lead singer to get his defibrillator action stage left.
The album is seen out the same way it came in with Perpetually Doomed: The Sisyphean Task. Whilst it maintains intensity it has an almost orchestral feel with some of the guitar work which makes the track seem to fly by as you really get into it. A great end to a great album.
Conclusion
This is an album that not only improves as each track goes by but improves also with every listen. You can only sit back and admire the pure skill in musicianship and composition, and as far as Extreme Metal and Mathcore metal goes, personally for my taste, I've not heard many better albums.
Ion Dissonance Are:
Kevin - Vocals
Antoine - Guitar
Sebastian - Guitar
Jean-Francois - Drums
Dominic -Bass
Track List:
1. Burdens
2. The Truth Will Set You Free
3. To Expiate
4. To Lift The Dead Hand of The Past
5. Untitled II
6. Suffering: The Art Of Letting Go
7. Ill Will
8. D.A.B.D.A State of Discomposure
9. Treading on Thin Ice
10. Virtue
11. Perpetually Doomed: The Sisyphean Task
Headless Kross formed in Scotland in 2011.
They are a Psychedelic Doom band who use an unearthly vocal style along with a
satisfyingly fuzzy bass and heavy as a wrecking ball in your crotch guitar
sound. We’ve been sent their new Album, Projections I, the first part of a
pretty exciting trilogy of releases, all due out within the next 12 months, to
review. You’ll be able to get your filthy hands on this instalment on 18th November.
Now let’s not fuck around here, these guys have shared the
stage with the likes of Conan, Orange Goblin, Jucifer and Slomatics, and you don’t
get to do that if you’ve got nothing going on! They’ve already shattered a few
eardrums and expectations with their second full length album Volumes in 2015,
so many will be interested to see how Projections 1 fares.
Projections I
From the opening notes of Does Not Equal Time I’m enthralled.
Straight away it is heavy and sublimely Doom, with a neck cranking groove.
The distant scream vocal adds to the atmosphere as musically it chugs along,
satisfyingly low tempo and fuzzily. Then halfway through the speed is increased in a
hypnotising repetition of riff, where the drum beat is the only thing that
changes, adding an underlying intensity, then slowness, then intensity again.
The Drum work single handedly changes the mood of the track whilst everything
else stays the same and I find it so effective in terms of song writing. This
is a composition that draws you in and allows you to lose yourself, something only great Doom metal bands achieve.
Practical Mental Effects introduces itself with layers of
feedback and a gut-wrenching scream, an indication as to what you’re going to
hear vocally for the remainder of the song. It is so slow, it makes a sloth
look like Usain Bolt, but this adds to the intensity of the heaviness, a few
surprises are thrown in in terms of notes, which work well to peak your
attention. Again, Headless Kross show a propensity to create interesting sound,
when later in the track a spacey solo comes in creating a glorious few moments
that alone are worth the 8 minutes this track weighs in at.
In comes the frankly haunting introduction of Church Of The
Fifth Season. When the guitar riff comes in some of my uneasiness (like
watching a good horror) is lifted, it’s not deep and heavy like we’ve heard so
far, but more proggy, psychadelic and epic. Whilst the track does regain the
plodding heaviness this track shows more diversity in sound than the previous
two tracks. Nothing like keeping things interesting, it’s well placed on the album.
The Map Is Not The Territory has a bluesy, sludgy groove.
Sexton’s intense screamed vocal cuts through the proceedings like an eerie, devilish
augmentation. When the track starts chugging we get to enjoy some understated
blues lines, again making me appreciate the composers’ ability to add so much intrigue
with little touches, before the song fades out into a fuzz or bass and guitar,
which seems like a fitting end to this album.
Conclusion
This album is grim, abrasive, fascinating, joyous,
slooooooow, monolithically heavy and epic all at once. I’m already salivating
like a fat man waiting for pizza at the thought of what Projections 2 and 3 are
going to bring. But concentrating on this release, the tracks draw you in to
the point you’re fully involved in the music, captured in the sublime heaviness
and almost hypnotic vocal that you feel may possess your soul. I was genuinely shocked
when I sat down and looked at the timings of the songs, that not one of the
tracks is less than 8 minutes, such is the level you get involved when
listening.
Score 4/5
Headless Kross is:
Derek Sexton – Bass /Vocals
Tommy Duffin – Guitar
Jonny Montgomery -
Drums
The album will be available via their Bandcamp page, so you may as well visit now and Download their back catalogue.
When Metal and Hardcore finally hooked up after all the playground "I'll act like I hate you because I fancy you" shit, there was a night of despicable passion that resulted in the conception of Metalcore, the great divider.
I'm basically of the school, if it's good it's good. I'm disinterested in the whole "this is what Emo scene kids listened too" b.s as I never paid attention to all that anyway. My personal belief about the genre is though is that it's moved on a long way from those days. And Throne To The Wolves are a decent example of this belief.
They are a metalcore band based in Toronto, Canada and their EP Unholiest of Kings was released in August.
Unholiest of Kings
Opening with the energetic Fear the Faceless, they get right into the nitty gritty with this high energy track full of pace and aggression with a group shout style chorus perfect for fan participation. It's heavy and relentless but it saves its heaviest section for the end with the obligatory Metalcore breakdown to get every one moving, and when you hear this, you wanna move.
Hellraiser has a hint of groove to it which goes down well with me. I realise at this point also that I realise how much the vocals of Billy Hulcup please me, this fellow can howl with the best of them and is capable of some pits of hell style screams. A great choice for the first single.
Bite The Bullet is next up and is a bit more what I would consider to be traditional Metalcore, with a dual clean and heavy vocal. Its a decent track however what comes next really made me pop my head up and take notice...
Every Lit Match (Another Bridge Burned) is a window into the brilliance Throne Of Wolves are capable of. From the start of its eerie intro to the outro it's a balls to the wall thunderbastard, and that in my language is good. High energy, heavy as hell, it's an absolute stomper made to get in the pit for.
Calm Before the Storm brings is back to what I'd consider a standard Metalcore sound, but with some nice little touches, such as a little programmed drum n bass part, not overdone but a nice enhancement which shows the attention to detail in composition. It ends with a great suspense building breakdown before giving you a parting kick in the gut with that brilliant vocal and a heavy riff.
Conclusion
This is a really enjoyable listen. To me it has enough to satisfy the metal heads and Metalcore fans alike. It's got some great little understated touches throughout in terms of programmed sounds but also carries strong musicianship and an excellent vocal.
Score 4/5
Highlights: Hellraiser, Every Lit Match (Another Bridge Burned)
Skin Drone are an extreme metal duo who incorporate elements of tech metal, industrial and avant garde. Sound scary yet? Well it is, like Freddy Krueger is scary, it's exhilarating, fascinating and scary. (Yes that's how I feel about Krueger, best monster ever, deal with it).
This noise is created by Erik Martin (vocals and multi-instrumentalist) and Otto Kinzel (multi-instrumentalist and production). What is particularly impressive is that they create this whilst living very far apart, one in Boston MA and one in Hot Springs Arizona. They don't sit in a room together jamming this out, it's done cross country.
Evocation
Tracks such as Scarlet Road and God Complex don't hang about in telling us what this album is all about, with relentless double bass and technical heavy and in parts melodic guitar work.
Scarlet Road itself breaks down into a dark spoken interlude then it smacks you in the teeth again very quickly. Whilst extremely heavy the vocal is understandable, a great skill. A second breakdown of ambience offset by the demonic vocal leads into my favourite heavy part of the track, which displays interchanging off riffs that are fat and heavy.
God Complex also has an atmospheric haunting section that leads into the best guitar riff of the track. Lyrically, to me, this track is interesting. My interpretation is that it is commenting on the tyranny and control of organised religion but it can just as easily be seen as addressing faceless corporations who control us through advertising and building a religion of consumerism. Deep I know, but I appreciate the way it gets you thinking, it's intelligently written.
Death Sentence whilst insanely heavy, is slightly more reserved and has elements that remind me of less underground acts such as Slipknot. Whilst Skin Drone would have the masked fellas running scared as a general rule, the riff work has its comparisons.
Shepard Of The Damned starts musically dark, moody and quiet with spoken vocal parts. It feels like mad ramblings and sounds in a murders mind. When I read the lyrics, it seems to portray a revenge killing, and this goes to show how well these guys paint a picture through music and vocal delivery. So far this is the most laid back track and it has a beautifully played guitar outro.
Ghost Reflection is a very nicely written airy light interlude, still slightly menacing but juxtaposed by the sounds of nature creating a relaxing feel, which is well timed on the so far intense offering.
But don't get too comfortable, City Lights opens up with a thrashy riff. This soon becomes and amalgamation of thrash and tech metal style guitar with the million mile and hour drum beats. Guitar wise some of the riff work is impressive on this track. A story of a man mutilating himself under the instruction of God reinforces the macabre subject matter throughout this album.
Witching Hour takes us back to the incredibly heavy side of life following the effective previous formula of including a breakdown, taking it a different direction within a breath.
Darkness Within throws in a nice surprise. It's a more straight industrial metal track in parts which holds back on the relentless drum speeds for the most part.
Salvation ends the album on an epic note weighing in at over 8 minutes. It is also by my favourite track. There is lots of elements on display, from magical programmed sounds, to straight heavy metal, to extreme metal. It also has my favourite drum work, with the bass drum having less speed and more form than in any other of the heavier tracks. This is a great way to see out the album.
Conclusion
This is one of the hardest albums I've had to give a score to, but I like a challenge.
At times the relentless heaviness of the bass drums was too much for me, especially when I heard the finesse of programming ability in tracks like Salvation. Having said that, for fans of extreme metal and/or industrial metal I don't believe it'd be a negative, and that is ultimately the target audience.
The album is well thought out in terms of track order, the softer tracks appear at the right time, to relieve some of the intensity. Whilst the tracks at times have a similar formula in terms of the mood driven spoken word break down but in terms of composition and delivery it has some incredible moments, I particularly enjoyed the sound scapes they create in some of the breakdowns which scope from sublime to sinister.
Finally the way the music supports the lyrical content in creating mental imagery is second to none.
This music is immensely heavy, busy, dark, tense, rage driven and almost psychotic. And this is exactly what fans of extreme metal want. So this is not a negative, in fact it delivers in droves.
This is their first album and they promise to get more complex and heavier! Now THAT I gotta see......
Highlights: God Complex, Salvation; Shepard Of The Damned
Olde, a band from the greater Toronto area, have a mission statement to fill your soundscape with crushing Doom metal. They sent me a copy of their recently released EP, Shallow Graves for me to see precisely how crushing they are!
Shallow Graves
Absurd Conditions opens the EP and smacks you between the eyes with wrecking ball heavyness. You're introduced to Doug McLarty's vocal which is a controlled growl that's delivered so well. An enjoyable track, and just at the point when I thought, this either needs to end or go somehere else, we get a nice lead guitar line to see out the song. A good straight Doom track.
When I first heard the next track, Endless, I was just pulling away with my daughter from a kids party in my car. When the riff started I shouted "that's fucking brilliant" much to the bemusement of my daughter and the parents leaving the party with their kids. I don't use swears in front of my girls, but like the brown note that makes you shit yourself; this was a natural reaction caused by the deep heavy southern tinged brilliance of this track. If she repeats it in front of my wife I'm sending her Olde's way. Simply brilliant track.
Limb from Limb is a heavy bluesy, rock n rolling cover of Motorhead. Lemmy may have been quite impressed by the vocal delivery on this, with McLarty's bluesy growl, different in style but carrying a similar attitude and grit the world loved Lemmy for. A fine cover that captures the Rock 'n' Roll of Motorhead, but keeps a clear Olde identity.
Olde then use final track, The Turning, to show their diversity, and it's good. Again immensely heavy, but with that it is also thoughtfully composed with some great riff work and a standout strong drum performance. Along with the usual formative Doom style they add pace in parts and musical ambience in others.
Conclusion
In terms of their promise of delivering crushing Doom, Olde succeed on all counts. It's as heavy as a dead elephant carrying Bill Gates' wallet. But there is still an emphasis on delivering great, listenable music. The riffs stay in your head long after you stop listening and the rythm section is on point throughout.
This is a very enjoyable EP and for less than £3 on Bandcamp it's a great addition to any Doom collection and worth a spin for all metal fans. I'll be treating myself to the CD version of this one for sure.
Score 4.5/5
Olde are:
Ryan Aubin - Drums
Doug McLarty - Vocals
Chris Hughes - Guitar
Greg Dawson - Guitar
Cory McCallum - Bass
It's been two years since Sludge metal outfit The Black Swamp released Foulness, an absolute belter of an Ep, and shortly after the sonic assault of single Cold Dead Hands. In my previous article about these guys, I was purring over what developments might be on the next release and I finally get to find out.
Founded in 2012, this band are all about playing live and the recorded work up 'til now has been making me want to sell my home to pay for flights to witness it! These guys present such a party vibe, they've even had a beer named after them!
They will be unleashing the album I Am into your aural galaxy on 29 September. It can be pre ordered on bandcamp and will be available on all your normal download and streaming services.
I AM
Opening with the acoustically led Kin, a moody track with a spoken peice that reminded me of Weedeater's Dave Collins, is not what I expected, but I liked it, I also knew it i was about to get smacked in the ears.
And the aural smacks come in the form of Exhale and the first track to be released, Purge. Exhale is A heavy, no nonsense groove ridden track. Purge is an immensely heavy sludge stomper. Early signs show, as I'd hoped, that the vocal performance still has the range and nuances in delivery that make vocalist Stewart Wren a frontman with few peers.
Common Crows, with it's sublime southern sludge, touched by the hand of Skynyrd style is a triumph and an ode to the song writing capabilities of The Black Swamp as a group.
Crawl opens with a dark lo-fi opening offset by Wren's growl. Musically, it soon catches up with the vocal. It is an interesting, mood driven track, and is probably the hardest track to access for the listener. It is a grower though and it's impossible not to be drawn in by the guitar work.
Barricade and Ours are are short bursts of energy. Barricade stepped in hardcore delivery is high on impact, whereas Ours is a stomping sludgefest. Two hard hitting, to the point tracks.
It's then that The Black Swamp take us to epicville with Mountain (I Am). And it's a track that has everything. Again Wren shows his vocal range with switching from scream to clean. Musically is heavy and melodic with a great solo and there's even a lovely warm backing vocal display from Caity Solca and a flute section by Melanie Woodley. It is not hard to see why their upcoming tour was named after this rangy, stylish, masterful track.
Hollowed returns us to firm heavy sludge territory. With riffs it's impossible not to move too it's a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
The album ends with the journey that is Bleed Mother. A performance full of emotion vocally and musically, it is 9 and a half minutes of imagination capturing brilliance and a simply stunning way to close an album.
You sometimes hear albums where the first 4 tracks are amazing and the rest are good but not great, and you call it a good album. This is NOT that album. It ends on higher note than it left with and is overflowing with great tracks.
I said in my first review that they display a variance of styles and perform them all well. They still have this element, however the delivery is more focused and it is a clear step up for the band from the already excellent Foulness EP. Musically, it is incredibly well performed and written throughout and has one of the best heavy vocal performances I've heard in some time.
Conclusion
If you're already a fan of The Black Swamp, they're about to become your favourite band. If you haven't really heard them yet there's no better introduction than I Am.
Even havin heard it, it is impossible not to get excited about the release of I Am.
Score 5 out of 5
Stand Out Tracks: Common Crows, Mountain (I Am), Mother Bleed
The Black Swamp are: Stewart Wren - Vocals Jesse Kenny -Guitar Grant Scott - Guitar Rohan Downs - Bass Brendan Woodley - Drums.
Article by Jonathan Radley
Photo Credits: K.C Ward
Tour: Australia Only (wipe those tears from the floor bitch)
Horehound are signed to Blackseed Recordings, they are a Doom/Stoner band who on 20 April this year released their debut self titled album. When I listened to this album and started talking to band member Brendan, I got more and more excited about this album and the prospects of this band, and I think you'll see why.
Named after a plant which is an important ingredient in Witchcraft folklore, and not a dog selling it's body to pay the bills, I expected a heavy but haunting experience. I was not to be disappointed. First, a bit about the people...
Lineup
Since recording the album I have been listening too, they have seen some changes.
The lineup on the album is as follows:
Mike Altopiedi – Guitar, Vocals
JD Dauer – Drums
Shy Kennedy – Vocals
Brendan Parrish – Guitar
David “Wes” Westfall - Bass
Unfortunately Mike had to move away so David "Wes" Westfall has moved to axe duties and Nick Kopco has been recruited on bass.
The Album
What Horehound give you on this record are heavy, catchy, head banging riffs, coupled with a spectral, delay and reverb laden vocal, which is a triumph of a performance from Shy in my eyes. The guitars occasionally bring a welcome melodic element with some of the guitar work which adds a great dynamic to some of the songs.
Speaking to Brendan about this he told me "Settling on one genre is always difficult, but... we (do) fall in the Doom/Stoner Metal spectrum. The guitar melodies were something I’ve always wanted to do, and something that Wes brought to the table. ... We write based on what we want to hear, and if that reminds someone of a certain style of music, all the better."
The classic Doom style tracks on offer include World to Come, a fantastically eerie slow heavy riff, almost Slayer-esque in its intro, with a stoner vibe for the breakdown which works very well.
The Dead Don't Lie is a simple but effective track. A strong, satisfyingly heavy fuzzy, seeped in Sabbath, riff, with a spacey feedback effect in parts which offsets the vocal style particularly well, creating a dark ambience.
Tracks such a Sangreal and Crowns and Thrones and Myope up the pace, but somehow manage to still feel like immensely heavy Doom fare. Sangreal I particularly enjoyed. It's heavy with pace and a storming riff, but it's true greatness can be heard in a sublime breakdown where vocal melody twins with guitar brilliantly.
Waters of Lethe see's Horehound showing off their range, with a progressive number, which has soft and heavy elements and a really nice bluesy solo seeing it out before the album closes on Waking Time, which gives us the first glimpse of a heavy vocal, and it works well and adds a great new dimension to finish the album making you want to hear more.
The general vibe of the album is a very authentic sounding live feel and it comes across very well, Brendan tells me " The method of recording was very intentional. We wanted to really emulate how we sound live on this recording, and I think Matt Schor (our recording engineer) definitely captured that. The guitar, bass, and drums you hear on the album are pretty much as they were recorded. Matt did a wonderful job of adjusting the levels to get the sound where we all wanted it to be."
The Future
Although it is clear from speaking to Brendan that Mike's contribution will be sorely missed, there is a sense amongst the band that there is so much more to come, and I for one will be looking forward to hearing it.
"Mike has since moved... With the absence of Mike, who contributed greatly to our sound, we have an exciting new lineup and are actively working on new material. We’re coming together even stronger sonically with a diverse blend of musical influences that will definitely please the masses once they get a taste. We have locked in on our sound, and have some exciting things coming for 2017."
If the band continue on an upward trajectory then the album "Horehound" may be considered in their history as a "classic line up" release or even as a precursor album to a sonic progression. Either way it's worth getting on board and giving this album a spin. Visit Bandcamp to buy it here.
Album Score
4 out of 5 - Great Doom album with sublime vocal performance, well worth a listen with some brilliant highlights.
I feel like a lucky man today. A new pre-release to review, and it's IDLEWAR, a band I've been following for some time now, and it's really, really good.
As you will know if you read my previous article, I was a fan of the E.P Dig In and thus a fan of the band. Dig In is a great release, with strong songs but it also sign posted what Idlewar could achieve moving forward.
So its very satisfying when you hear Impulse, and it shows a clear development in song writing whilst keeping the raw qualities that drew me to them in the first place.
What they retain is the strong vocal performances, emphasis on rockin' riffs and groove. What they add is even more accomplished songwriting, a slightly heavier feel in parts, (that's always gonna go down well with me), and the overall delivery has more thump, due to the strength and impact of the tracks, a great production and some mastering by Brian Lucey, who has worked with the likes of the Arctic Monkeys and Ghost.
Impulse
In this LP, Idlewar give you bluesy, groove laden heavy rock from start to finish. The opener, Stone In My Heel typifies this. A stomping opening riff, accentuated by a rolling drum beat heavy on crash cymbals really gets the party started in style. The track is a straight out rocker from start to finish, driven by heavy groove.
And there's so many stone cold rockers on the album to talk about. Innocent is quick and straight to the point with one of the best solos on the album. Burn is full of rock intent and has a great melody in the vocal. Criminal, the first single, can be listened to below. It is brilliant and it speaks for itself.
Whilst it's a heavy rock tour de force, there are tracks with other soundscapes on display.
Soul a heavy and mechanical track uses Zeppelin-esque chords in the verse which introduces and interesting element. The bridge is a moment of pure brilliance leading into a strong solo. All That I Got made me reminisce about Live, circa The Distance Here, as it's strong on vocal performance and musically atmospheric. Damage is pacey, with a swingy, not swinger, sound, it's one to get up and move to.
Glory is glorious (see what I did there, sometimes I astound myself). It has my favourite vocal on the album, it has a fantastically heavy feel and almost a Rage Against The Machine vibe, minus the political rantings of course.
Apathy, a rather ironic name given the drive in the track, carries on where Glory leaves off, propelled by a driving riff and rythm section. The bridge and solo throws in a nice surprise in terms of guitar tone which adds a great layer of interest in the track.
On Our Knees closes out the album in great style. It keeps your head nodding from start to finish and takes you back to the balls out Rock 'n' Roll style Idlewar do so well.
Overall
A couple of reviews I read of Dig In said Idlewar aren't reinventing the wheel. This critique of bands is a tired old cliche and example of lazy journalism. Fart down a microphone and call it FlatuCore and they might be happy.
Idlewar have never tried to claim they're here to re-invent hard rock and why should they? They produce well written, rocking tunes that are infectious and enjoyable. Impulse does however, provide some delightful twists and turns and unexpected moments adding to the enjoy-ability of the album.
Impulse is a great platform from which Idlewar can launch themselves to the next level. They've already gained the support of Planet Rock radio and are finishing off their UK tour by playing Plant Rock's sold out festival. They have been described as "immense" by classic rock magazine. It's time to believe the hype. Impulse will be here 30th September and it's going to blow your balls off!
Idlewar are James Blake on vocals and bass, Rick Graham on guitar and Pete Pagonis on drums.
I don't know what a Goatbox is or why a Goatbox may be rebellious. I can imagine a goat in a box might be quite the rebel having been kept in a box rather than in a field or on a hill. However, ultimately this is unimportant as I am writing about a band, not a goat's quality of life. So here are a new band I've been lucky enough get some music from...
When listening to the EP "Let Us Bleed Integrity" I thought the best way I can describe this sound is dirty, bluesy hard rock with a punk like delivery at times. The general sound is heavy enough but also tuneful and catchy enough to be accessible to fans of multiple genres.
They are made up of Ivan Westley on Vocals and Guitars, Nate Anton on Drums and Colin James Gibson on Bass. Whilst originally from Montreal they are based in Toronto, which is good for me as I can now have a positive association with the place rather than the memory of visiting the CN tower as a child and my Dad forcing me to walk across the glass floor whilst I was shitting myself and blubbering.
Let Us Bleed Integrity
Let Us Bleed Integrity is book ended with two tracks that are brilliant for different reasons. The opener Black Tooth Grin, is a balls out party track. Pantera fans may find themselves harking back to the Vulgar Videos with the songs subject, as I did. It's fast paced with a catchy riff, some fantastic, almost psychotic, drum fills and the bass parts have plenty to add to the rhythm of the track.
The last track, Icarus, offers more stylistically than anything else on the E.P. Seamlessly and fluidly it travels from a proggy intro into the catchy dirty rock riffs they seem to do so well, capturing some metal influenced breakdowns along the way, with a great and not overdone solo to boot.
So whats the filling in this sandwich of fuzzy rock brilliance?
No Love Lost is an all out assault, fast paced and aggressive. It carries more of a punk/hardcore vibe than the rest of the tracks but manages to stay firmly in the heavy blues rock scope. Punchy and to the point with a chorus made for group participation, it's a track that should go down well with a live audience.
Opium Dozer, like No Love Lost, is another brilliant kick in the teeth of raw rock and attack. It has a sublime Doomy outro which is a direction I'd like to hear these guys expand on as they clearly have an ear for it, but I'm bound to say that, being a Doom head.
What I like about the E.P other than the music is the mix and production. It manages to keep a raw live, but at the same time you can clearly hear every instruments input. It's so good to here the nuances of the bass playing for instance, which is played brilliantly throughout. Whilst being raw and dirty in delivery, all the musical input sounds great from all three performers.
Overall this is a great release with 4 very strong offerings, two of which slightly edge it for me into the realm of excellence.
You can it here through Bandcamp, who as my readers know, I feel is a great place to purchase music and support artists. If you like what you've read/heard give it a spin and also follow them on Facebook or Twitter. Cor more info about them and their live shows check out their website.
