WHITECHAPEL: “OUR ENDLESS WAR”

 Album Reviews  7 Responses »
May 272014
 

(DGR wrote this review of the new album by Whitechapel.)

I appear to have written a lot of words about a Whitechapel album. I consider it an enlightening experience. I apologize to those of you who feel this review is way too long, but I wound up analyzing far more of the disc than I had planned. I also found myself discussing the group’s legacy and dynamic so far; I figured it would help explain (somewhat) why this review took so goddamned long to get out there, but it has given me the opportunity to know this album note for note, word for word, since its release.

Ever since Whitechapel catapulted into metal’s consciousness at large a few years back, it seems that every single review that has come out usually begins with something akin to “a tale of two Whitechapels” and how there is one side that the reviewers really like and another side of the band that they don’t enjoy at all — usually to help represent the fact that the group have somewhat moved beyond their days of bludgeoning deathcore-by-definition songs and into something more akin to a Vader-inspired death metal.

It’s an experience I’m sure a lot of us have shared. I personally began with This Is Exile, as many others did (and would later check out their prior works as well, on the recommendations of other fans and to sate a general curiosity). They became one of the four or five surface-level deathcore bands that I enjoyed. Never felt the need to go any deeper into the genre, but they were always good for a quick hit and then I would be out.

This was helped by the fact that I found the rapid-fire vocal delivery in the titular song to be really cool. And, as much as I would’ve hated to admit it, they were really, really good at the beefy and crushing breakdown, so the appeal was definitely recognizable. However, the band have grown, and over the span of two more albums really have won me over — so much so that I was genuinely excited to hear what Our Endless War would sound like. Continue reading »

MARYLAND DEATHFEST: A TRAVELOGUE (Part 2)

 Metal News  11 Responses »
May 262014
 

I’m already experiencing post-coital tristesse (yeah, look it up) after 4+ days of M D Effing.  I’m now sitting in the lobby of my hotel with my two Seattle friends killing time before we drive from Baltimore to D.C. for our flight back home. I thought I might as well take advantage of the lull and bang out some more thoughts about my Maryland Deathfest XII experience.

Although this was my first MDF, I gather from talking to people who had attended many of the previous festivals that the logistics of this one were the best yet. I know I was really impressed with everything. The biggest venue (and the one making its first MDF appearance this year) was the Edison Lot — just a gigantic parking lot in the shadow of an overhead freeway that MDF took over for the last 3 days.

It was more or less a huge rectangular space with two big stages set up at opposite ends. A smaller rectangular space was carved out by a chain link fence that ran the length of the lot, and that area was lined on both sides with small, open-air, tented booths, every one of them offering merch of different kinds — tons of shirts, vinyl records, tapes, CDs, patches, pins, posters, and more. At one end of that space was an even larger tent (which was almost fully enclosed) filled with many more merch tables: Continue reading »

MARTY FRIEDMAN: “INFERNO”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
May 262014
 

(Austin Weber reviews the new solo album by Marty Friedman.)

Unfortunately, to some Marty Friedman is just “that guy” who played guitar and contributed to several of Megadeth’s best records, which is absurdly high praise in itself. But often his mind-blowing neoclassical efforts in Cacophony go undermentioned or unknown by modern fans, as does his continually solid solo career — a career that has shifted toward more Japanese releases and Japanese cultural efforts since his relocation there some time ago. The man has an unreal discography behind him, and yet Inferno is not a showcase of solo showboating or an example of resting on past achievements and styles.

Inferno is more than a scorching storm of guitar pyrotechnics or a cliche title. Ultimately, its intensity serves as a reminder that Marty Friedman isn’t done blowing minds yet, and the beautifully emotive feeling in his playing is alive and well here. Some modern updates such as Meshuggah groove influences find their way into a few tracks, but the leads and soloing over the top of those grooves put most all to shame. Continue reading »

MARYLAND DEATHFEST: A TRAVELOGUE (Part 1)

 Metal News  18 Responses »
May 252014
 

“Having a great time.  Wish you were here.”

As I warned you I might do, I’ve decided to put together a small diary of my excursion to Maryland Deathfest this year. I intended to write something day by day, but somehow the waking hours have flown by, so I’m a few days late. I thought about writing nothing at all because of the possibility that it could be seen as obnoxious, kind of like the first sentence in this post, except with more words. Obviously, that risk hasn’t stopped me.

As I write this, it’s mid-day on Sunday, with one full day of the festival still to come. So far, it has been an incredible experience in every way. The music has been fantastic. The venues have been great. The organization and logistics for an undertaking of this size and complexity have been very impressive. We’ve had beautiful weather, and all the people I’ve met, without exception, have been beautiful, too.

And that last point is really the first one on which I ought to elaborate. Continue reading »

A METAL DUDE IN THE CONCERT HALL — THE STORY OF FLORIAN MAGNUS MAIER

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
May 242014
 


(photo by Natalia Kempin/Natalia Die Hexe, used with permission)

(Andy Synn provides the following introduction to a new documentary now streaming over the web.)

Dark Fortress are, without a doubt, one of my favourite bands, and their last albums, Ylem, is similarly one of my favourite albums.

Why am I telling you this? Well it just so happens that Dutch public-service broadcasting network NTR has just released a 50-minute documentary on the band’s frontman Florian Magnus Maier (aka Morean) and his composition of a double-guitar concerto entitled “Schattenspiel” (“Shadowplay”) for the Zaterdagmatinee, whose premiere performance took place at the Royal Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.

Now I actually already knew that Florian/Morean was a gifted composer (go me), with some impressive credentials to his name, but actually watching him piece the whole thing together, keeping all the changes and instruments in his head at the same time, really gives you a whole different insight into the process and the man behind it. Continue reading »

ARCH ENEMY: “WAR ETERNAL”

 Album Reviews  40 Responses »
May 232014
 

(Below, Andy Synn reviews the new album by the revamped — and revitalized — Arch Enemy.)

Ok, I’m sure a fair few of you have already skipped past this review, simply because of the words “Arch Enemy” there at the top. After all, AE are a pretty big band, and an easy target, so it’s not at all “cool” to like them. That’s fine.

But for those of you still reading, I’m sure you’re more than a little interested in just what this new incarnation of the band is all about. After all, the band’s line-up has undergone some pretty big changes recently. Chris Amott has taken what appears to be his final retirement from the group, to be replaced by the superfluously talented Nick Cordle, who comes to the band from the decidedly Arch Enemy-influenced Arsis… it’s not quite Ripper Owens joining Judas Priest, but it’s not entirely dissimilar, is it?

Overshadowing this of course is the departure of Angela Gossow and her replacement by ex-The Agonist frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz, inspiring a firestorm of internet nerd-rage of apoplectic proportions, so-called “fans” of the band clamouring desperately for attention as part of “Team Angela” or “Team Alissa” like angsty pre-pubescent girls.

But let’s make one thing clear right now, before we go any further – having listened to the album in full I can confidently say that Ms White-Gluz is a more than worthy successor to Angela Gossow’s vacated throne. Close enough in terms of power and delivery to maintain a sense of continuity within the band’s discography, but with a style and substance of her own, she brings a welcome breath of fresh air and a renewed, combative edge to the vocals that helps her stand out as more than a simple carbon-copy of her predecessor. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: COPROCEPHALIC — “DESOLATION OF CONJOINED EMBODIMENT”

 Premieres  1 Response »
May 232014
 

Coprocephalic are a multinational band, with two members in Taiwan and one in Southern California. Their debut album Gluttonous Chunks descended in 2013, and they have now signed with Lacerated Enemy Records for the impending release of their new album The Oath of Relinquishment, as well as a limited edition EP that will precede the album — Desolation of Conjoined Embodiment.

The new releases feature the eye-catching artwork of one of our favorites, Ken Sarafin (Sarafin Concepts), and both the EP and the album include guest vocal appearances by a trio of brutal heavyweights — Matti Way (Pathology), Angel Ochoa (Disgorge), and Jeremiah Blue Jensen (Guttural Secrete).

Today we bring you the debut of the EP’s title track, “Desolation of Conjoined Embodiment”, which features guest vocals by Angel Ochoa. Measured strictly by the commonly accepted defining standards of brutal slamming death metal, it is a highly accomplished piece of merciless thuggery. But more is going on in the song than a decimating beatdown. Continue reading »

NEW MUSIC FROM BLUT AUS NORD AND P.H.O.B.O.S.

 Premieres  1 Response »
May 222014
 

Last month we reported the announcement by Debemur Morti Records that on June 20 (June 24 in North America) the label would be releasing a split by Blut Aus Nord and P.H.O.B.O.S. entitled Triunity, featuring artwork by Polish artist Katarzyna Urbanek (you can see one of the two paintings above). Today, we bring you one song by each of these French bands from the forthcoming split.

The offering we have for you by Blut Aus Nord is “De Librio Arbitrio”. As we have come to expect from this band, the music has an otherworldly quality, a dissonant, dimension-piercing ambience that surrounds some truly gargantuan riffs and bone-jarring percussion. The song is heavy as hell and rhythmically compulsive, while at the same time ringing with the reverberations of cosmic melody and clawing with the strangling sound of barbed-wire vocals. Fantastic. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: DEATHKINGS — “MARTYRS (VOL I)”

 Premieres  1 Response »
May 222014
 

Deathkings are from Los Angeles but you wouldn’t know it to hear their music. Surf, sunshine, and palm trees don’t enter into it. The local landmark that probably best suits the music’s atmosphere are the tar pits at La Brea.

Deathkings recorded their debut album Destroyer in 2011. It originally consisted of three long tracks, each song in the 10-15 minute range. The album has now been re-mastered for a vinyl release by LA-based Midnite Collective, with those three tracks converted into four. Today we’re premiering “Martyrs (Vol. I)”, which was originally part of one of the original long tracks that has now been divided.

The riffs in the song are thick, fuzz-bombed, tarry beasts that generate the kind of resonance you feel in your guts. They pound, hammer, and writhe in a mid-paced rhythm, and together with the crushing drum beats, they’ll make your head move. Vocalist Nicholas Rocha sounds like he’s in the throes of genuine agony, driving home the bleak, blasted atmosphere of this strangely seductive music. Continue reading »

A NEW MIDNIGHT ALBUM IS COMING: “NO MERCY FOR MAYHEM”

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
May 212014
 

Were you paying attention yesterday? Did you see the post I wrote about the new, free Hells Headbangers compilation? Did you see that it includes a new track by the band Midnight? Well, if you did, you might have guessed what I’m about to confirm: Today, Hells Headbangers announced that Midnight’s new album No Mercy for Mayhem will be released August 19.

I’ve been waiting for this info because the band’s 2011 debut Satanic Royalty was one of my favorite albums of 2011. It sort of came out of nowhere (except for select people in the underground who already knew what was up with Midnight), and made quite a splash. I have little doubt the new album will get 10 times the exposure. There will probably be a full-album stream on NPR. Album teasers will probably be played in movie theaters before shows. Discount coupons in the newspapers.

Okay, probably some of those things won’t happen once the new Midnight promo shot gets into circulation. This is it: Continue reading »

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