VOICE OF THE SOUL: “INTO OBLIVION”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Aug 192011
 

I’ve been looking forward to Voice of the Soul’s new EP (the band’s third release) since hearing one of the songs from it that was included on a compilation released in July (discussed here). The new EP is now available. It’s called Into Oblivion, and VOTS is offering it for download at a “name your price” option on the handy Bandcamp platform at this location.

I was impressed with the band’s last EP, 2010’s Eyes of Deceit, and I said so. But honestly, Into Oblivion represents a large leap forward, or more like a stretching of wings. What was once a fledgling predator is now a rapidly maturing raptor, with big claws that can do some damage, and an even more impressive ability to take flight on the wings of some very memorable melodies. That’s what solid melodic death metal should do, and it’s what VOTS achieves on Into Oblivion — a combining of sharp-edged aggression and streams of melody that swirl in your head.

The first two songs on the EP, “Immolation” (with its beautiful piano-and-strings intro) and “Guardians of Genocide”, establish the fundamental elements of the band’s sound. Up-tempo, thumping rhythms and rolling, distorted riffs provide the foundation, but what makes the songs memorable are the reverberating guitar solos.

I was explaining in one of yesterday’s posts that after years of listening to metal, even whiz-bang bursts of shred, standing alone, aren’t enough to carry the day for me any more. For a guitar solo to impress, it needs to be an organic part of the song as a whole and it needs a lot of soul behind it; that’s more important than rampant speed and even technical brilliance. The soloing in these songs (as on all the rest) meets those tests. The solos aren’t usually pyrotechnical, but they’re beautifully done, with a warm, clean tone and a strong emotional core. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

THE POWER OF THE RIFF

 Concert Reviews  4 Responses »
Aug 192011
 

I’ve decided that the best time to write a concert review is as soon after the show as possible, when the experience is fresh, when the emotions are immediate, when the music is still ringing in my head. The only downsides I can see are (a) I’m half-baked as I write this, and (b) I’m really fuckin’ tired. On the other hand, I’ve convinced myself that these may be pluses.

I saw THE POWER OF THE RIFF tour at a club called Neumos in Seattle tonight with some friends. The driving force behind this tour, which I think only has four West Coast stops (and somewhat different line-ups at each stop), is LA-based Southern Lord Records. It was a long night, and I didn’t see every band. Among other things, because tomorrow is a work-day, I couldn’t stay to see the headlining band, Winter, because they weren’t scheduled to start until well after midnight. But of the bands I saw, these made the strongest impression, in this order: All Pigs Must Die, Noothgrush, and Pelican.

ALL PIGS MUST DIE

Superior armageddon grindcore. Overheated and smoking, but even at their fastest, absolutely pulverizing with a compulsive groove. And it ain’t all speed. They downshift into lower gear in almost every song, and your throat seizes up, gasping for air, as they detonate sludge-bombs and then light things up again with grind rocketry. The band is as tight as a vacuum seal in outer space, and their vocalist is a magnetic presence, wielding the mic stand like a baton. I thought for sure he would cave in someone’s head before they finished their set. As one of my friends said, “it isn’t metal until someone gets hurt.”  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

HULL TAKES US BEYOND THE LIGHTLESS SKY

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Aug 182011
 

“Sludgy, southern-post-rock-minded Brooklyn quartet Hull offer this sprawling, psychedelic title track as an early taste of their forthcoming sophomore collection, Beyond the Lightless Sky, due October 11 on the End.” That’s the introduction that Pitchfork gave earlier today when they premiered the band’s newest song, the title track from that forthcoming second album.

I fucken love Hull. I fucken loved their 2009 debut album, Sole Lord. Judging from this new song, their second album is going to be a must-listen. The song is both crushingly heavy and flesh-rending in its dark extremity. The uber-low, fuzzed out bass line and down-tuned guitar parts are voraciously soul-sucking. The combo-vocals (part harrowing shrieking, part bestial roaring) cast up images of clawing and then eating. And yes, there are elements of psychedelia in the song, too, along with elements of psychosis.

I wouldn’t call this post-rock, though. More like post-apocalypse. If you want to get your sludge on, go visit Pitchfork, or listen after the jump. Continue reading »

TEXTURES PREMIERES A NEW SONG: IS IT ROCK? IS IT METAL? IS IT BOTH?

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Aug 182011
 

On August 3, Dutch metal band Textures released the first song from their new album (“Singularity”), which we declared to be fucking good pancake. Now the band have premiered yet another new song called “Reaching Home”. Like the first one, it comes from the forthcoming Dualism album.

I have mixed feelings about this song. On the one hand, the instrumental part of the song is cool, anchored by the complex Meshuggah-connected rhythms that are a large part of Textures’ signature sound. And you won’t be surprised to hear that the song has an infectious melody, too, because that’s also a big part of this band’s style.

On the other hand, there are no harsh vocals in the song at all, and there’s not much of a metal edge to it either. As drummer Stef Broks candidly told REVOLVER magazine, it “sounds like a direct assault to the rock charts,” and may remind people of Tool, Depeche Mode, and U2. Perhaps that’s why the song is premiering on the REVOLVER web site (cuz, seriously, REVOLVER hasn’t been metal in a long time).

On the third hand, as Brok also said, it may also remind people of Devin Townsend, and I get that connection, too. There’s a dreamy ambience to the song that is appealing, and the appeal may grow if I listen to it more. If you’d like to listen, GO HERE (I can’t yet embed the song).

Dualism will come out on September 23 in Europe, South America, Australia and Asia, and on September 27 in North America.

BASS SHRED

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Aug 182011
 

It’s a well-established fact that metalheads love guitar gods. It seems like no matter how good or bad a song may be, if you stick a flaming guitar solo in it somewhere, metalheads will start slobbering and playing air guitar with their grimy fingers. I certainly like me some guitar shred, though I’ve reached the point where even a technically flashy solo doesn’t do much for me if it’s not an organic part of the song and if it doesn’t have authentic soul behind it.

BUT, I do love the sound of a well-played bass almost as much as an expertly played guitar. The lowly bass leads a lonely, often overlooked life in metaldom. It’s an absolutely essential ingredient in most metal, but its contribution is often hard to isolate and notice when you’re listening. More often than not, it gets buried in the mix or overwhelmed by the other instruments. Sometimes that’s necessary, given the kind of sound a band is trying to achieve. Sometimes it’s a blessing, when the bass player isn’t doing anything especially interesting. Sometimes, it’s just a shame.

If you’re like me, you sit up and take notice when a song includes an audible bass line that shows some flash and creativity, and when you hear an actual bass solo, well that’s just a very sweet gift. I get a charge out of heavy-assed bass licks that are solidly competent, rather than flashy, but when a really good bass player lets it all hang out, I get the same slobber-response as most people do when they hear a burst of guitar shred.

When you hear that kind of talent creating rhythms on a fretless bass, it REALLY stands out. It’s a unique sound, which some of us were trying to describe in the comments to a post two days ago about a free four-song comp that’s being offered to build interest in the CD release party for a Toronto band called Nephelium. One of the songs on that comp (“Omnipresent Perception”) is by a Montreal band that we really love around here — Beyond Creation. And Beyond Creation features an accomplished fretless bass-player named Dominic “Forest” Lapointe. Thanks to a comment from an NCS reader who goes by the name egordon, we’ve now discovered a new video of Lapointe doing a play-through of the bass parts in the song, with the recorded song in the background. And holy shit. Is it fun to watch!  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: CHANCE GARNETTE OF SKELETONWITCH

 Interviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Aug 182011
 

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Last Sunday, our favorite NCS writer from the UK (okay, yes, he’s the only NCS writer from the UK) killed three birds with one stone. Actually, he didn’t kill anything (at least so far as he can remember), so let me change that: Andy Synn did a lot of multi-tasking last Sunday night, to whit:

He and his band Bloodguard opened a show in Nottingham headlined by the almighty Skeletonwitch; he interviewed Chance Garnette, the frontman for Skeletonwitch — on video no less; and he filmed Skeletonwitch playing a new song (“Reduced To the Failure of Prayer”) when they took the stage. And he probably did some other things that night, which are better left private. Not too fucking shabby for one night, huh? So, here we have both the interview video, a transcript of the interview (which Andy did, too), that live video, and one more Skeletonwitch video just for good measure. UPDATE: We’ve now also got the song that will appear on a flexi-disc in the next issue of DECIBEL mag.]

Sunday evening I had the chance to interview Skeletonwitch singer Chance Garnette just prior to their show at Nottingham Rock City. It was also the first time I’ve attempted to video an interview… and I think it turned out ok!

I edited the original footage down from 25+ minutes, simply to remove some of the more conversational and rambling stuff that Chance and I got into, so don’t worry, there’s been no editing trickery to alter the content of the interview as presented – just some to make me look better as an interviewer!

After the jump there’s a transcript for those of you who, like me, don’t always want to watch/listen to an interview and prefer to read it at their own pace! Continue reading »

EYES SET TO KILL: “WHITE LOTUS”

 Album Reviews  15 Responses »
Aug 172011
 

(NCS writer BadWolf reviews the new album from Eyes Set To Kill.)

We don’t do negative criticism here very often – it’s no fun to write and doesn’t help anyone. The artists don’t read it, and you readers have probably made up your mind already. The only time negative criticism is justified, to me, is when a bad (or even just average) record is symptomatic of a greater issue.

Case in point: Eyes Set to Kill’s 2011 outing, White Lotus. Or, as I like to call it, textbook example #1 of half-assing it.

Eyes Set to Kill’s 2010 album Broken Frames (which made it to my top 10 most listenable records of the year list) was a proof to me that genre and style mean absolutely nothing next to songwriting. Yes, EStK play wussy/poseur/insert-adjective mallcore, but they do so with the songwriting skill young Bon Jovi displayed.

That songwriting skill is present on White Lotus as well–at least for part of it. The first half of the record is a stellar continuation of Broken Frames–two amazing singles, a brief interlude and two more amazing singles, each superior to the last. In fact, track 5, “Where I Want To Be,” might be the best thing they’ve ever written. My sole complaint is that the harsh vocals, now handled by new guitarist Cisko Miranda, are weak. If you’re reading this, EStK, give Derek Rydquist of The Faceless a call–he won’t steer you wrong and he’s free now.

After that things get sketchy. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

SOCIAL MEDIA

 Uncategorized  58 Responses »
Aug 172011
 

This seemed as good a time as any to set out some thoughts that have been rattling around my head, but I’m doing it in the hope of getting some feedback from NCS readers — both those of you who are fans of metal and those of you who are musicians, too, to get both kinds of perspectives. Writers of other metal blogs, PR people, and even label reps sometimes stop by here, too, and those perspectives would also be useful.

So, by social media I mainly have in mind Facebook and MySpace. They serve many functions for their users, but today I’m only interested in what they have to offer metal fans and bands. As I see it, for fans, they serve three primary functions: First, they allow fans to track what the bands they like are up to (ie, news), and to interact with the bands at the same time. Second, they provide a vehicle for listening to new music. Third, they allow fans to interact with each other — and here, I’m thinking mainly about fans exchanging music recommendations and other info about bands and the scene.

For bands, social media serve goals that are connected to the functions they provide for fans: First, they give bands a way to stay connected to their fans by providing a place where they can post news items and comments and get feedback.  Second, they provide a vehicle for attracting new fans — a place where they can stream their music, provide music downloads and videos, and post basic info, such as how the band started and its history to date, who’s in the band, descriptions of the music, links to other sites related to the band, etc. Third, they provide a forum where musicians can exchange ideas among themselves and make connections with each other.

When we started this blog more than a year and a half ago, MySpace was the dominant social media presence for music. For me as a budding metal blogger, it was the one place where I knew I could go and listen to virtually any band’s music. I could read their MySpace blogs for news, and I could use MySpace messaging to communicate with them. It was like one-stop “shopping”. Back then, I didn’t pay much attention to Facebook, because it just didn’t really offer much in the way of music resources. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

ARISTEIA

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Aug 172011
 

(Here’s a quick music recommendation from TheMadIsraeli. Djeathcore anyone?)

Ever since The Contortionist came on the scene and introduced the concept of melodic deathcore infused with djent (or as I’ve deemed it, djeathcore) fewer bands have tried to adopt this style than you’d expect. I’ve only heard two other bands doing this, and they’re doing it well: an up and coming band (whose EP will be reviewed here soon) called Substructures, and these guys, Aristeia. I just stumbled upon what I’m under the impression is this band’s second EP, The Era Of The Omnipotent — and it’s killer stuff.

This is an assault of furious blasting, brutal grooving, and beautiful ambience all in a tight, consistent, 6-song package. Syncopated grooves, blast beasts, brutal 7-string chuggathons, all with nice, emotional melodies and some awesome mood setting-ambience. I’m not reviewing this, I’m just telling you to stop fucking around, pick this up, and support these guys. Songs from the album are after the jump . . . Continue reading »

NOW THIS IS HOW TO DO A CD RELEASE SHOW

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  17 Responses »
Aug 162011
 

I’ve mentioned that I have an impulse-control problem. Case in point: I took a short break from the job I’m actually being paid to do so I could check my NCS e-mail, and I saw the name Beyond Creation in a press release I got, and the short break turned into a long break. You may remember Beyond Creation — a Montreal band whose Marco Hasmann album cover for their 2011 debut, The Aura, lured us into checking out the music in one of our EYE-CATCHERS posts (here). To quote myself (because if I don’t, who else will?):

“We’re too lazy to keep Best of the Year lists, but if we did, I’m pretty sure The Aura would be in my personal Top 20, maybe my Top 10. . . Beyond Creation is a head-spinning trip like few bands you’ll hear this year.”

What I learned in the press release from Ricburn Media were three things: First, there’s a Toronto death-metal band called Nephelium who will be releasing their new album, Coils of Entropy, on August 20. Second, to celebrate the event, Nephelium is headlining a CD release show in Toronto on the same day, with support from (you guessed it) Beyond Creation, as well as two other Toronto bands, Nexortus and Fragile Existence. Third, to celebrate the event, the four bands on the bill teamed up to make available a free digital split via Bandcamp, consisting of one song from each band.

I just like everything about the way this is being done, but most especially, I like the idea of offering a free digital comp to promote a metal show — one song from each band. IMHO, the same idea would work just as well for tours, too. In addition to helping spotlight the show, it also uses the show to help introduce fans to the bands’ music. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

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