EVER FORTHRIGHT

 Album Reviews  16 Responses »
Jan 232012
 

(TheMadIsraeli has been trying to sort out his feelings about the self-titled debut album from New York’s Ever Forthright, who we first wrote about back in June 2010 when they were a purely instrumental band. Finally, his feelings are all sorted.)

This fucking band.

This album has been like a torrid love affair with the hottest junkie street whore with a Ph.D. in philosophy.  I’ve been so back and forth on this fucking thing it’s why I never got around to reviewing it.  But after many listens and a shit-ton of soul searching, I’ve finally decided this thing’s a fucking winner, if nothing else for its ambition, scope, and commitment to craft alone.

Ever Forthright is probably going to launch themselves to the top of the tech-djent heap here within this next year by bringing forth EVERYTHING about this style that is great and makes it worthy of fascination, while being COMPLETELY devoid of any Meshuggah copping.  The fact that I went back and forth on my take on this album 20 times in seriously considering it tells you how much of a trip this was for me.

Ever Forthright’s debut is an ambitious one, clocking in at fucking 77 minutes in 12 songs and boasting a very diverse song catalogue. You have the low-end, punchy, open/closed note riffing, the technical widdly widdly’s and meedly meedly’s, and plenty of the Berklee jazz education breaking through to the surface, combined with Chris Baretto’s exceptional saxophone playing and a bit of deathcore brawn.

“All Eyes On The Earth” is a superb stage-setter for an opener, recalling the stylings of Periphery and Sikth, delivering superb melody-to-dissonance counterpoint and providing one of the most brutal breakdowns I’ve ever heard — a full minute and a half of being pummeled over the head with a goat’s jawbone until your skull splinters into your brain and you die from massive hemorrhaging.  The riffs are punctual yet all over the place, grooving yet aflutter; it’s absolutely fucking nuts.  The song is brimming with enough energy to power an entire nation and is a sufficient piece of ass-whoopage to get you attuned to the experience that is Ever Forthright. Continue reading »

A BRUTAL ASS MORNING (Part 2)

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Nov 062011
 


(I had a few hiccups with yesterday’s posts because I was hurrying to get them formatted and scheduled for appearance while at the same time trying to bolt from my abode for the vacation I am now enjoying. One of my hiccups was to post only half of a piece that TheMadIsraeli had sent me called “A Brutal Ass Morning”. So, pretending that I did that on purpose, today we’re running “Part 2” of that two-part post.)

I featured Rooks in a little EP download package I posted a long-ass time ago (here) which included their debut EP Infinite. I completely forgot they were coming out with a second EP Infinite II, and it completely passed me by. It’s more of the same brutally-pissed-off-as-all-consuming-fuck djeathcore that attracted me to them in the first place. How anyone can deny the power behind this music is beyond me. I also enjoy the fact that the lyrics of the tune I’m including — “Bounce” — are basically a vehement mission statement against black metal bands. You can check out Rooks on Facebook here. And there are more bands and music to come after this clip:

(moar after the jump . . .)
Continue reading »

THERE’S A NEW KING IN TOWN

 Album Reviews, Metal News  3 Responses »
Jun 202010
 

Ever Forthright is good. Really, really fucking good. A few months back I did a review of their self-titled album, which quickly propelled Ever Forthright into my ten favorite bands. This time around, I listened to the new songs that they’ve recently put on their MySpace page. All the new songs, as you can now hear them, are missing a vocalist, but guess what? They’re even better than their fantastic debut album, vocalist or not.

The thing about Ever Forthright that separates them from the endless sea of other technical metal bands is that each and every one of their songs sounds completely different from the last. It’s apparent that Ever Forthright knows what the fuck they’re doing. They’ve become masters of transition between technical guitar riffs, jazzy piano playing, melodic rhythm sections, and crushing breakdowns. Their music has become an eclectic mix of a wide range of styles that, with the right vocalist, could come together to form a masterpiece. (More after the jump, including a song and a download link . . .) Continue reading »

PAINTED IN EXILE

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
May 042010
 

Let’s conduct a little survey. Which of the following styles of music do you like?

a) Math metal
b) Metalcore
c) Technical death metal
d) Progressive metal
e) Cool jazz
f)  Rap
g) All of the above

If you picked (g), then have we got a band for you! Long Island’s Painted in Exile self-released a three-song EP last year called Revitalized that includes all those genres — not from song to song, but within each song. Okay, we’re exaggerating a little. Only one of the EP’s songs includes rap, and it’s a brief bit at the start.

We can guess what you’re thinking — that if these dudes are any good, they must be showing off; that this high degree of schizophrenia can’t possibly maintain coherence; that you’d like to see world peace in your lifetime but aren’t hopeful about it.

To which we say: These dudes really are good; they may be showing off a little, but if you got it, flaunt it; the songs do hang together amazingly well; and we’re not putting any money on world peace either (those have got to be the longest odds in Vegas, hands down).

We’d like to have been flies on the wall while Painted in Exile were writing the three songs on this EP. But however they worked out when and how to shift from one style of playing (and singing) to another, Revitalized is a creative fireball of attention-grabbing music.   (more after the jump . . .)

Continue reading »

CORROOSION

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
May 032010
 

My NCS collaborator IntoTheDarkness listens to all sorts of metal, but he’s got a particular weakness for deathcore — and he’s not embarrassed to admit it. There might be a deathcore band somewhere in the world he hasn’t heard yet, but I wouldn’t bet money on it. So when he told me that Italy’s Corroosion (pictured above) was really worth checking out, I couldn’t ignore that.

At the same time, he pushed me to check out a band from Long Island called Painted in Exile, which had been recommended to him by one of the dudes in Long Island’s Ever Forthright (a kick-ass band in their own right).

In both cases, IntoTheDarkness proved to be as reliable as ever. Both bands are worth some attention. Today we’re giving it to Corroosion, and tomorrow, Painted in Exile. (And by the way, these bands sound nothing alike.)

CORROOSION

Yes, we wondered about that name too, and no, it’s not a typo. This band is from Turin, and after releasing EP’s in 2007 and 2008, they put out their first album (on Rising Records) in 2009. Called Punish the Mind, it’s indeed a punisher — but in a good way. Now, if you’re dead set against deathcore, this album isn’t going to convert you. But if you’re a fan of the genre when it’s done right, or you’re still trying to make up your mind, this is a damned fine example of deathcore’s visceral appeal.   (more after the jump, including songs . . .) Continue reading »

Ever Forthright-Always Brutal

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Dec 012009
 

Long Island's new Expirimental tech death band Ever ForthrightSometimes, many of today’s metal bands can begin to sound the same. Many of the bands in each genre of metal sound so similar to each other that it becomes hard to find standouts. But every once in a while, a band comes along that shakes me to the core and reminds me why i still listen to the genre of music that i do. Continue reading »