Wading through old school metal revivalists nowadays is like trying to dig through the haystack to find the needle. There’s just so much of it out there, it’s hard to find much that really resonates. Infern is a new act from France that is just tossing their name into the ring with their first album with Turn of the Tides. While they might not be the most revolutionary band out there amongst the old school death metal camp, for a debut that has taken its fair share of influence from Bolt Thrower (and to a lesser extent, Obituary), they are off to a solid start.
Certainly you can’t go through Turn of the Tides without noticing some nods to the two aforementioned bands in the intro. The massive grooves that build up their sound proudly wear their influences on their sleeves, and that’s totally fine. Because ultimately with this genre, it’s about two main things. The first, is the songwriting solid and capable of making you move past the ‘sounds like’ syndrome? In this case, absolutely. The melodies are catchy, and the grooves are massive. “Gaining Ground” has that classic midtempo stomp, soaring with energy but still catchy underneath it all, just as one example. Faster cuts like “March of the Grotesque” unloads an ear-catching solo as well as it batters the drums as the tempo increases.
The second piece, which is just as important from a personal standpoint, is if it catches that ‘fun factor.’ Melodies and riffs are great, but material like this should also elicit a bit of fun. The music should grab the listener, not just with nostalgia factor but bring about those warped, death metal induced smiles. Infern does just that with the sense of snap in the riffing. “Phineas Case” has a visceral edge to it, with driving riffs that flex strong grooves and power that draw in the listener. Likewise, “Burning Fields” utilizes its tempo dynamics to bring in some crushing grooves and urgent riffing when needed to capture the listener’s interest.
For fans of old school death metal, you can’t go wrong with anything Infern has to offer on Turn of the Tides. It’s got plenty of hook-filled, energetic riffs and powerful vocals in the genre’s traditional forms and structure, but still finds a way to keep things interesting and fun. A great debut with even more potential for the future.
Just recently dropping their first part of two albums in 2024 in the spring, Amiensus have since released the second half of their impressive Reclamation album. Those seeking anything in the melodic extreme metal avenues would be wise to not miss Amiensus at their strongest form with Reclamation Part I and II. As we spoke with the band for Part I, it seemed like a prime time for the follow up after taking in the entire two-part release as a whole and seeing what the band managed to achieve with such lofty intentions. James Benson and Todd Farnham are back to discuss the album as a whole, more of the concepts behind splitting the release and the Spotify/streaming singles aspect, and we even get into a little bit of anime talk before the end of this conversation.
Dead Rhetoric: Is there a sense of accomplishment to having the entire release finally available?
Todd Farnham: I would say there is definitely a sense of accomplishment. It’s nice, obviously it’s a bummer to have to wait for an album to come out, but then to have to wait another three months for the rest of the album to come out. But sometimes that space is nice, to be able to better appreciate what we have made. So that has been nice, to visit these songs as people are hearing them for the first time and listening to those and appreciating that stuff. When you are in the process, you get sick of the songs because you hear them so many times, so it’s been nice and I’m excited for everyone who hasn’t heard Part II to hear it and hear the whole thing together.
James Benson: It’s definitely like Todd said, like rediscovering the songs again, in a sense. We finished mixing it last September, so about a year ago we finished it. That’s when we listened to it a ton, because we were getting mixes back and was about four months of sending back mix notes. At this point, it’s done and I’m at the point where people are going to listen to Part II and I’m seeing the reviews come out and I’m like, “listen to the whole thing. Start with “Blink of the Moment” and finish with “Orb of Vanishing Light.” That’s a huge task, but now people are going to listen to just Part II and I’m cool with that too. That’s okay. It was intended to be 15 songs in a row, and I hope people do experience it that way at some point, but if they don’t, that’s fine too. It’s like getting an extra piece of pizza at a work party when you should be getting a raise, but you get an extra piece of pizza by releasing a second album this year.
Farnham: I’d say the good mark of a double album is that both sides can hold up on their own. I think that counts for something too.
Dead Rhetoric: What’s it like seeing both fan and press feedback for something that you recorded all at once with half of it still to drop. Is there ever a part of you that’s like, “oh man, if only we could somehow tweak something before Part II drops?” Like, I guess these people won’t like this element of Part II either…
Benson: Absolutely. There was far more positive comments when I was like, “just you fucking wait, Part II is going to have some crazy shit in it!” But at the same point, especially like people that we know through releasing music that I sent early copies of just a digital copy of…some of them I respect and wanted to hear some of their feedback because they have been real critics of us.
Farnham: In a good way, like pushing us in a good way.
Benson: Todd probably knows who I am speaking too, but it’s more than that person. There was some feedback in that, which I was like, “hmmm.” It was definitely eye-opening on their interpretation in terms of what elements or styles they heard/saw in Part I versus Part II, even though they listened to the full thing. I don’t think I can really recall any specific comments where I thought they wouldn’t like something, but I knew going into this, once we knew we were breaking the album up, that there are two categories of Amiensus. There’s the Restoration/Ascension people and there are people who like All Paths Lead to Death and Abreaction. Those people are used to the darker sound, and they probably wouldn’t like Part I, but the older fans would. The newer fans were going to like Part II more.
Farnham: That’s kind of the hard part about having to split it in two. As a whole, it’s an encapsulation of all the musical journeys on every release and all the influences. So it’s weird to be like there’s this one part, and then there’s a second part.
Benson: We tried to mix it up. The tracklist, we did try to give each side a bit of adversarial play of lighter and darker passages. I feel personally that Part II is just heavier and somewhat of a darker mood. At the same point, it isn’t specifically darker, but there’s more straight-forward, heavy tracks to Part II. There’s less acoustics and less singing, even though there is one song that is basically all clean singing. That’s my perception though…
Dead Rhetoric: That makes me think, when you split the album, was there a conscious decision to divide up the tracklisting to make it coherent both separately and if you listen to all of it together?
Benson: There was a conscious choice to split it where it was split, based on knowing the track order for 1-15 and looking at the best point to say, from this point on, these songs will stick together and hold up well. I think we had maybe two or three track arrangements total, and this was the first one. We ended up going back to it. The same when we split it. It made sense to split it with “Transcendence Through Grief.”
Dead Rhetoric: What’s your process for when you write longer songs? How do you recognize a song needs to be longer versus knowing you need to make a cut or trim? From my perspective, it seems like you guys do a really good job of understanding that element compared to other bands.
Benson: In the past, there has definitely been a lot of headbutting when it comes to a song being done and then someone coming in with another 2.5 minutes to add. I’m speaking specifically back to 2015 with Ascension when we did “Towards Horizon.” We had the original ending, which is the ending riff in the song, but someone ended adding another minute and a half before that, then we tacked the outro back on. So I know we have had some struggles. We have learned a bit, and there’s definitely a ‘less is more’ approach. We start with a shit ton of tracks to a song, then we start peeling back to flesh out dynamics. So it doesn’t get super saturated.
When it comes to song lengths, and maybe I said this in the last interview, but specifically, when I write guitar riffs, I know what kind of song structure or vibe I am going for. So my strengths in this band are the folky, Agalloch-style guitar riffs, and I’m generally good at the intro-verse-chorus-verse 2-chorus-outro sandwich songs, as we call them. The other guys, like if Kelsey [Roe] is here recording with me, we will vibe it out. Do we start electric or acoustic, and I’ll start putting riffs together while he is recording. Alec Rozsa and Joe [Waller] are machines that just write insane stuff out of their ass all the time. They probably have hundreds of unreleased songs each. So usually it’s like, “Here’s 5 songs, which ones do you like?”
I definitely jam a bit more with Kelsey and Aaron [McKinney] and Todd. Alec when he was in town as well, he used to come over quite a bit. But that was more on the vocal end. He was usually here for that. Aaron, Todd, Alec and I all write together pretty frequently for the guitar stuff. It’s like, ‘we are going for an acoustic-based song’ or ‘a proggy, longer song’ like “Sun and Moon” on Part I. The longest song on Part II is “Acquiescence” and it’s one that Kelsey originally wrote most of. Alec probably wrote some riffs too. That one, was where the original demo was like 7-minutes, and then it ended up near 10-minutes. That was another one where we had riffs hanging around and we threw them in different places and made it more of an epic prog, Opeth or Agalloch-styled song.
Dead Rhetoric: Given what you did with breaking the album up and making it more digestible for people, how do you feel about the Spotify singles approach, when it comes to metal? I get that there are a lot of people in the genre that will still listen to albums, but there’s a growing faction that focuses on singles as soon as they become available.
Farnham: I feel like that’s a tricky one. I feel like people go through different phases, at least from my personal experience. I went through different phases with that. When I was a kid and listened to music with my parents, we did full albums and that got me into different bands like Linkin Park and stuff like that. I think when iTunes came around, I kind of felt like it was the immediate access but I felt drawn to singles. Like one song was perfect, so I would listen to that to get to the one song instead of listening to the whole album. But now I have come back around too. For metal, I listen to full albums. Some of the pop stuff I listen to, I listen to singles, but for metal I mostly listen to things in their entirety.
Benson: Totally agree there. We did try, in splitting the album, we did try having 5 singles in both, total. We spaced them out 6-8 weeks so that there was some constant release with the streaming services. It would constantly hit our audience, and people who listen to a new single, then they would hear a new song as they got sick of the last one. We tried to release a variety, and it’s hard not to for us, because every song sounds different, at least to me. But we did choose a wide array of styles for the singles.
“Reverie” to me is Restoration. That intro-verse-chorus sandwich style. Then we did “Vermillion Fog of War” which was this melodic blackened death metal song. Then “Senses Amplified,” which isn’t super proggy by any means, but more atmospheric metal. Then in Part II we had “The Distance” with Lars from Borknagar and that one was more epic and proggy. The last one was more of a metalcore/deathcore blackened style. It jumped around pretty drastically. The only songs, to me, that were similar would be “The Distance” and “Senses Amplified.” So we did try to hit the singles. I’m down with that, but we always have to release albums.
Dead Rhetoric: Would you ever do a show or small tour where you would just play it all from start to finish?
Benson: I don’t think I could physically do it [laughs]. I don’t think my voice could handle it, and Todd, I think your hands would blister. Maybe not, you have played a lot of bass.
Farnham: I go through phases where I don’t play and then I have to rebuild the blisters. Unless it was a taped studio thing, I am guessing we wouldn’t do something like that, just in terms of it being complicated with us living far apart from each other. Practices aren’t easy to get everyone together. We might get one good practice and then the morning of tour get another good one, and that’s kind of it. I think if we had more time, but we have never played more than 35-40 minutes.
Benson: Part of that would also be the amount of instruments that we would have to bring for playing everything. We would need acoustics and stuff. We brought some acoustics from Good Will just to set up in the bus and just jam on these 15 dollar acoustics that we fixed just enough to be kind of not terrible, but we have talked about for next year with our 15th anniversary doing a bit of a short run and trying to get all 7 of us on this album together in a room to play, or at least 6 of us. Joe and Aaron…Joe is on Part I and Aaron is on both, they have only played one show ever. It was with Fail to Decay, and it was when I lost my voice, and I played bass in the other band, so I didn’t need to sing, but I was going to do a double set. I lost my voice a week before the show, and Aaron and Joe were local at the time so I helped them so that they did all the vocal parts instead of me. So the only show I have never performed, so it was a pretty special show.
Farnham: I feel like it’s a bummer because I feel like we have the worst luck when it comes to special shows. That night was a show where we were told we could run the sound for the night and that’s all we got. So it wasn’t the best sounding show ever. It would be nice to have more people who have had helped us co write in more.
Dead Rhetoric: With next year being 15 years, when you look at the band in that perspective, what do you feel you have gained in being a part of Amiensus?
Benson: A lot of good friends. Todd I met in 2012, I think technically. He joined in 2013.
Farnham: Yeah, definitely meeting new friends, and being able to endure with all of the line-up things. Just being really proud that we have this collective that we are all contributing to. I think we have grown as musicians. It’s been nice to see and I think we probably work more cohesively. I think there was more butting of heads with Ascension than now.
Benson: I totally agree. I think also, in terms of what I have gained, I listen to our music sometimes. Every few months I want to take a trip down memory lane. There are so many good memories attached to the music itself and the creation of the music and the releases, and times we got together. I look pretty fondly on Reclamation and how many times I had Todd and Kelsey and Alec and Aaron or just a few of them over here in this room, with all of my four dogs trying to sit on their laps while we play instruments.
Farnham: I think a lot of us, being in your wedding, that was cool!
Benson: The party afterwards too, that was the best part!
Dead Rhetoric: What are some anime influences that you have had, and is there anything you have put into Amiensus or would consider doing?
Farnham: James, have you written any secret anime lyrics?
Benson: I don’t know that I have written any secret anime lyrics, but it’s a good question because I do throw some lyrics from the end of the anime YuYu Hakusho, a great ‘90s anime by Yoshihiro Togashi at the very end credits it says, “Forever, for never” and no one knows what it means. I did throw that in a Chrome Waves song on our third album. But I haven’t done that for Amiensus.
Farnham: I feel like “Forever, for never” is more of his description of Hunter x Hunter came out. He was like, “I’m gonna finish this” and then take a 5 year break, but it’s not actually done. Maybe that’s where it came from.
Benson: Musically, I do listen to a fair amount of city pop. A lot of early 90s and 2000s OSTs and stuff. Who wrote the song off of Full Metal Alchemist? The song “Rewrite?” Asian Kung-Fu Generation? I love them quite a bit as well, and they are more like rock stuff. OST-wise, on Part I in “Blink of the Moment,” I downloaded this free keyboard program and I swear to god its the same keyboard as the Toonami edition of Dragonball Z that Bruce Falcouner used for all of his stuff. He wrote all of it on keyboard, and it wasn’t just him. He had other people working on it too. But I swear I used the intro of the DBZ theme songs wind sound for the intro of “Blink of the Moment” and then there were a few bells that sound exactly like Cell Saga era bells.
Farnham: Was it the wind or was it the nimbus cloud?
Benson: It’s like the nimbus cloud sound that Goku rides on.
Farnham: I would say, personally, just what music I liked to the point that it stuck around in my head, maybe not directly into the project, but I definitely remember going through the newer Berserk movies, which might not be people’s thing since it wasn’t the hand-drawn stuff like the first Berserk, but I think by the third movie they got it dialed in with the use of CGI in it. But “Blood and Guts” from that soundtrack was a piece that stuck in my head forever. It’s fantastic. And not quite in the anime realm, but the first Dark Souls game, the final boss fight – that instrumental just blew me away.
Benson: One direct link to me with video games is “Disconsolate” from Part II. I wrote that specifically to sound like the New Tristram theme from Diablo III. The working title of that song was literally “Diablo IV” before it came out, because I wrote it like four years ago. It was before Diablo IV came out last year.
Dead Rhetoric: Amiensus is a group that tends to have a strong, devout following but deserve more reach. What’s a band that you feel the same way about?
Benson: Oak Pantheon, honestly. It’s the first band that comes to mind for me. We have known them for 11 or 12 years now and our first split with them was the first time Todd had played with us. Those guys write some really fucking good songs. Kelsey brings it up all the time, like, “I want to write a riff like Oak Pantheon.” They have maybe three full lengths now. They have released a little less music than we have over the years, but they are so deliberate in their songwriting process in what they haven’t released that I have heard, and they just threw away. I have always been like, “you fuckers, that would have been my favorite song!” They don’t get enough attention. They have a fair amount of Spotify plays because they hit an algorithm with their acoustic album a few years ago.
But they don’t have a massive following really. Now that they are playing shows, they are starting to get more of a regional following. I’m glad. They are around our age, in their thirties. They have a really loyal fanbase and our splits really grew both bands at the same time. They just didn’t put out as much music or start touring. They are playing shows in the midwest here and there more recently, so I think they have the chance to grow more. Everything they do is so well thought out and dynamic. They have cool riffs and they put a lot of time and effort into their shit. I really respect them.
Farnham: I would like Ashenspire from Scotland to get bigger. They are playing avant garde black metal. I would love to be able to see them without going to Scotland. I love their Hostile Architecture album. I think another band that I always feel flies under the radar is the band Exist. I think they are super cool musicians, and it feels like they get pockets on tours but I keep hoping that they will pick up some more so I can see them live too. Most of their tours have gone around Minnesota. They have been around for at least 10 years. It would be cool to see them get bigger.
Dead Rhetoric: So now with both albums out, what’s next for Amiensus?
Benson: We are back to writing mode. Next year we will explore if we want to do some live shows again. I don’t think there’s really any intent to tour, like for 2-3 weeks but before we get too old, I want to do an in-studio live session. That would be super awesome. It’s been a dream since I was a kid. I grew up watching a lot of live music concert videos. We will broach that. It’s probably years out.
Back to writing, there was more of an effort to just do the live band again. We have all of these writers, why not put music out faster? We have a rough outline, like 10% out there. We have a good group of demos out there already. Some of them are more complete than others. Then probably another bunch of song ideas and riffs as well.
Farnham: I think we are loosely talking about what demos we might push to be on a potential next record, but I think that is the extent of where we are right now. It would be good to play a show here or there again. I’m excited to get that going next year. I think it is mostly a week or two here concentrating on listening to the reviews of Part II and people listening back to Part I. Then we will focus on more writing and solidifying things.
One of Japan’s most frenetic metal groups, Lovebites, returns following last year’s Judgement Day with their latest EP, appropriately titled Lovebites EP II as they continue to move down the alphabet with release names. At this point, those seeking frantic shredding are no doubt familiar with the all-female act and their ability to deliver some absolutely ear-boggling riffs and melodies at warp speed. Don’t expect much different from the act, which is a reasonable request, but do know that Lovebites EP II provides some shining examples of what the band does right in a very digestible size.
With 5 songs and about 25 minutes, Lovebites cut right to the chase. “Unchained” is a playful yet frantic track as the lead-off, working well to hit some classic metal vibes and really digging into a powerful, hooky chorus. “Soul Defender” hits some similar notes in it’s thrash first, aggressive riffing style and lead-in to a soaring power metal chorus, complete with that same level of ‘fun’ within the music. Those two tracks have more or less been the band’s bread and butter, but it’s hard to fault how well done they are. That said, “Where’s Identity” is a real treat as they truly shift into thrash metal territory, with some solid gang vocals and utter ferocity that makes it a real highlight of the EP.
“The Bell in the Jail” switches gears back into more ’80s-esque territory, but more in the rock element than that of fury. Asami hits some incredible highs and the build-up to the chorus is quite fantastic. It’s a great example of a song that Lovebites can perform when they hold off on going 300km/hr all the time. That said, the closer “Someone’s Dream” shares that same footnote, with a power metal meets AOR vibe which also allows Asami to take the reins a bit in front of the Midori/Miyako shred-fest and really belt it out, along with a great bit of basswork from Fami.
Short but sweet, Lovebites EP II highlights all of the facets of Lovebites that work so well. The variety of ferocious shred, soaring power metal choruses, and technical prowess all blend together to make one of the most consistent Lovebites releases to date. Given the band’s success here in the states this fall, hopefully they can continue to gain more traction after putting in years worth of shred and dedication.
Already impressive out of the gate with a debut album The Mirror Star in 2020, Chilean heavy/power metal outfit Sinner’s Blood got the chance to support said release with a domestic tour, including some dates with Symphony X to expand their following. Dark Horizons as the follow-up continues to showcase the band content to explore all facets of power, progressive, and traditional/melodic metal, especially drawing from a host of past/present European / American influences. Versatility between these musicians allows this songwriting to push upper facets of heaviness, hooks, and melody / harmony extensions which should ensure maximum retention from first to successive playbacks.
Modern crunchy, staccato / groove-oriented components sit next to some musically impressive / intricate sequences, where guitarist / keyboardist Nasson can flex all of abilities on both instruments – creating instantaneous aural earworms for the one-two firepower punch “Bound” and “Enemy”. Even if certain segments can be speedy or intense in nature, the sophistication ensures a circular motion riff to riff so that the transitions are razor sharp – where drummer Guillermo Pereira captivates in his avid tempo changes plus controlled sense of when to showcase more thunderous fills or just lay back in the pocket to serve best the atmosphere / arrangement on hand. The calmer to heavier dynamics at play create some punchy offerings that will sweep the listener into Evergrey meets Masterplan pastures – the vocals of James Robledo husky as much as shimmering in multi-octave metal splendor, like his heroes Ronnie James Dio or Russell Allen. Keyboard spots / orchestration set up vivid pictures next to some heavier, Primal Fear-styled riffs – allowing for energetic contrasts during a more mid-tempo arrangement like “Poison” where a simplified chorus easily embeds itself deep into your body. These records wouldn’t be complete without an emotional ballad – and that’s what you’ll get in the acoustic driven “The Voice Within” that showcases higher register note inflections that could cause teardrops.
Sinner’s Blood aren’t exactly breaking new ground through their influence tree on Dark Horizons – and that’s okay. Many will appreciate the songwriting first approach to their blend of melodic power meets modern progressive metal ethics, and there’s plenty of ideal moments to treasure that could help the band ascend the ranks for a following, popularity, and better touring/ festival billing.
‘All life is temporary, what lasts is consciousness’. So goes a line from Blood Incantation’s epic song “The Stargate” from their mind-boggling new LP Absolute Elsewhere. Here, the band has totally left the confines of Earth in order to explore the beyond, and this new record is their documentation of their discoveries.
Melding atramentous death metal with cosmic progressive rock seems to be the most unlikely of bedfellows at first look, but this is exactly what Blood Incantation has achieved through their unorthodox crossbreeding of genres. It’s no secret that the band has been influenced by Death as much as Tangerine Dream, and this time around, they proudly wore their influences onto their sleeves. First half “The Stargate” explodes out of the black hole with their own brand of cosmic death metal, but just when things are about to get more sonically punishing, the band threw a curveball into krautrock territory, complete with a masterful synthesizer solo from Tangerine Dream’s very own Thorsten Quaeschning; transporting the listener to the 70s, replete with cannabis smoke and cosmic musings about the origin of life. The Stargate even has a 20-minute short film that’s nothing short of magnificent, the music perfectly soundtracks the journey of the band from medieval times to interstellar travel with the discovery of an ancient bloodstone. The song deftly morphs into Blood Incantation’s neck breaking death metal oeuvre, taking flight as the rest of the tune shoots straight for dark matter.
“The Message” starts out in disorienting fashion but quickly morphs into Blood Incantation’s expert genre-fusion. Soaring solos, pneumatic drumming, echoing vocals from some forgotten, ancient gateway speaking cosmic truths. BI manages to confuse at first with how adept they are at changing styles in the course of a single song, and Absolute Elsewhere feels like the culmination of everything that Blood Incantation has been driving towards. They left microgenre behind for the freedom to explore any style they want. “Tablet II” of The Message is some serious mindfuck of a masterpiece, and at one point I had to make sure if somehow David Gilmour’s vocals suddenly made a guest appearance. It’s that good. And when the echoing vocals urge you to wake up, BI rapidly explodes into full-on cosmic death metal before a final, grandiose closer of memorable synth lines and serene guitars.
Without a doubt, this is Blood Incantation’s finest moment. It absolutely pays to not be confined to the trappings of a specific musical style and to experiment with the melding of seemingly disparate genres because, if anything, Absolute Elsewhere proves that nothing is exactly new but the only thing you can do to push the envelope is to fearlessly explore the possibilities when artists come up with something that has never been done before. Enjoy the ride towards the Hellish cosmos and come back in one piece, if possible. Blood Incantation will guide the way through the Stargate.
Death metal’s appeal seems never ending. Especially when you look at the newer generation of bands bursting through the scene that appear to be gathering healthy followings in a relatively shorter period of time. Undeath from Rochester, NY is another principal act to savor, already up to their third studio album in five years for More Insane – living up to the adage that real death metal musicians spit out quality death metal to passionate connoisseurs of the movement. We reached out to vocalist Alexander Jones who was happy to handle my questions with enthusiasm and thoughtfulness. Learn more about the latest record, working with seasoned producer Mark Lewis, special prized possessions in his vinyl collection, the growing pains to becoming a better live band, the importance of Cannibal Corpse and Fugazi that applies to the band’s philosophy and outlook, environmental concerns, and the global touring plans for 2024-25.
Dead Rhetoric: What can you tell me about some of your earliest memories surrounding music growing up in childhood? At what point do you remember moving towards heavier forms of music, and eventually want to be a musician and start performing in bands?
Alexander Jones: Earliest memories. Both my parents are heavy into music; they’re not musicians themselves, but they have a deep love and passion for music. That was definitely something I picked up on very early on growing up. There were always records around the house. My parents combined their record collections when they got married, they had a huge collection. My mom had tons of great 60s and 70s singer-songwriters like James Taylor and Elton John. My dad had a lot of old punk records like The Clash, The Sex Pistols, all the greats. That definitely gave me a deep love for music from very early on.
I gravitated towards heavier stuff not until later. I was definitely exposed to more out there music from an early age because of my dad’s interest in punk music. It wasn’t until late middle school or early high school when I first heard black metal like Mayhem and stuff like that that I was interested in heavier, extreme music. I have wanted to be in a band since I was a kid – since I heard Green Day and all those early pop-punk bands. Watching The School of Rock the movie, it made me think of how cool it would be to be in a band myself. I was very passionate about this very early on.
Dead Rhetoric: More Insane is the third studio album for Undeath. Considering the acceptance of your previous records in establishing the group on a national / international level, did you feel any sort of pressure to set even stronger standards through this set of material in terms of quality, songwriting, and performances?
Jones: Yeah. We always place pressure upon ourselves. I’m sure there is external pressure that we are aware of, but we are always trying to make material that we are proud of. We want to one-up ourselves as best as we can, we just try not to think about it too much and live in the moment. Continue to write music that we would be fans of just as we are fans of death metal.
Dead Rhetoric: Were there any specific songs on this record that took a little while to gel compared to others? Or were there certain tracks that just flowed easier?
Jones: Things usually come easy to us for the most part. We always when we enter the studio have the record pretty much done. It’s just a matter of getting the songs recorded. There are always one or two (songs) that stick out as needing a little extra tweak here or there, having the arrangements change a little bit. This time around, there’s a song called “Disattachment of a Prophylactic in the Brain”, that’s the first song Jared (Welch) our guitarist wrote for us. It was 80-90% done by the time we got to the studio, it’s way denser lyrically than anything we’ve really done before. It truly just has a lot of words. So, we needed to spend a little extra time getting that one perfect. Besides that, everything else came together pretty quickly.
Dead Rhetoric: Where do you try to pull from when it comes to your lyrical content? You want to create visions that go along with the brutality and heaviness of the music, are there different inspirations this time around?
Jones: It’s mostly the same well of inspiration for us. We try not to deviate too far from it. It’s a lot of horror movies, old video games that (guitarist) Kyle (Beam) and I in particular love playing. It’s mostly from that same sphere of influence. That well hasn’t really run dry for us yet, so we always come back to it.
Dead Rhetoric: You worked with Mark Lewis this time around behind the boards. What did you enjoy about his process, methods, and abilities to get the best work out of Undeath this go around? Were there any specific memories or highlights you’d like to share in this regard?
Jones: Mark was great. He was somebody that we were really excited to work with. He’s a name that we were familiar with for a while between Cannibal Corpse and The Black Dahlia Murder, all manner of great bands. We were very excited going into the process. We just got right down to work. There wasn’t a lot of dancing around or goofing off. We were there for an entire month, and we were working pretty much the entire time. We would wake up around 7 or 8 in the morning every day and get in there and start tracking. We would be done by 5 or 6 pm and take the night to drink a couple of beers and watch some bad television, go to sleep, wake up and do it again. It was like bootcamp almost.
Mark, he works you, he’s not the kind of engineer that let’s you get away with doing your second or third best take. He’s going to get the best take out of you, and he’s going to coach you to get there. He makes it enjoyable and makes sure it’s a comfortable environment the entire time that you are there. For me specifically, there were things that I wanted to do differently definitely with my range. I wanted to expand it a little bit, go higher in some parts, really stretch out a little more on this record, and he was able to get me there. A lot of encouragement, he was very supportive in helping me deliver the best performances that I could.
Dead Rhetoric: Drummer Matt Browning once again designed the artwork for this record. How did the concept develop, and what elements do you enjoy most out of his abilities as an artist beyond what he’s able to provide on his instrument for the group?
Jones: The concept developed very similarly to how it has developed in the past. We decided that we wanted to continue the trend that we’ve been doing with the last two records, where it’s one scene zoomed out from the last cover. Once we knew we wanted to keep going with that, it was a matter of what we wanted it to be. In this case, we decided that it would be cool if we took the cover from our last record, and that the picture exists from this cracked, floating, disembodied head thing. We’ve had a couple of conversations about that, Matt took it and ran with it, and the rest is history. I love his abilities as an artist, he is talented and absurdly good at what he does. There’s a lot of trust there, he’s always going to deliver something killer. Once we give him the base and notes of what we want to have for the cover, we just wait until he’s done because it’s going to be good every time.
Beyond that, I love the fact that it’s on a white background. It helps things pop, and that will help when it’s in the record store flipping through the bins, there are a lot of black, dark green, and purple covers – and all of a sudden, this white cover pops out at you. That’s really cool to me, and I can’t wait to see it in person finally.
Dead Rhetoric: Do you also enjoy the different proliferation of versions of the physical media, for collectors and the new found resurgence of vinyl that wasn’t there for decades before?
Jones: Yeah, totally. I’ve been a physical media guy forever. I love collecting records, I collected CD’s first and now I collect records. It’s something very important to me, to get the whole package of an album and take in the cover art, open it with the vinyl, if it’s colored too that’s just an added bonus. Watching it spin on the turntable – all the actual experience of owning a record is very important to me, and it’s important to the other guys too. It’s something that we take into heavy consideration when it comes to releasing any music.
As far as variants go, and the different colors for the records. On Lesions the first album we kind of went crazy with it, a dozen different color variations. From then on with the albums, we’ve walked ourselves back a little bit, maybe we can get away with doing three different colors this time around. I think it’s cooler that way too, people like me who collect all these versions don’t have to put stress on themselves, having only 10 out of the 12 different versions.
Dead Rhetoric: What are some of your prized possessions in your collection, either vinyl or CD-wise?
Jones: I don’t have anything too crazy these days. I sold a lot of my collection when I moved a couple of years ago. I’ve got a first pressing of the first Gism record Detestation, a Japanese hardcore band. I picked that up in Philly about seven or eight years ago on a wall at a record store, and I just had to have it. There’s that, I’ve got a first pressing of the first Electric Wizard album, I kept that. I’ve got some early Agalloch records, the black metal band that I’m stoked about. I’ve got Metallica – …And Justice for All, a first pressing of that. Those are the big ones. A lot of other stuff I used to have I’ve parted with to create some extra room in my very small house.
Dead Rhetoric: Now that the band has had a few years under its belts, growing from a local/regional touring basis into the international landscape, where do you think you’ve seen the biggest changes from your live performances that seems to capture new followers, no matter what bands you may find yourself on tour with?
Jones: I feel like we are a lot tighter and a lot more confident now. It’s just something that comes with playing a lot of shows. It’s as simple as that. When we first started, the first real tour we ever did was opening for The Black Dahlia Murder back in 2021. We had played maybe a dozen or so shows at that point. All of a sudden, we are opening for all these bands and playing in front of 1,000 people a night. That was a real trial by fire experience for us. The way we were on stage back then compared to how we are now, it’s night and day. We were so green back then; we had no business playing in front of that many people. We had to learn as we went. These days we are more comfortable on stage; we are physically better at what we do and that comes with experience. We are more at ease playing these songs and getting through the set. Knowing how to work a crowd and stuff like that. We’ve matured and evolved so much in the last four or five years.
Dead Rhetoric: How do you feel being on Prosthetic Records? They have quite a varied roster, is this the best label for what Undeath does to promote you properly?
Jones: Yeah, totally. When we signed with them before the Lesions album, we had some great conversations with Steve, one of their A+R guys. He was super transparent back then about what the label could do for us. Made it clear that anything that was going to happen would be the result of hard work on our part, and not some kind of record label magic on theirs. And that’s been true. We’ve worked extremely hard through the years that we’ve been on Prosthetic; in turn they’ve worked hard for us. I’ve always felt like they have been a label that’s backed us, supported us, has been very open and transparent about the business side of things. There’s no shady gross business dealings that I’ve been privy to. I’ve been very happy to be on the label.
Dead Rhetoric: Do you see major differences between the originators of the death metal scene versus the current crop of younger, newer bands that are making an impact these days? Would you say the diversity of influences plays a part in the revitalization and enduring appeal of the movement?
Jones: Yeah, that’s a good question. Back in the day, the originators and the first death metal bands, there was a lot more thrash metal influence. You see a lot of those bands keying in on a lot of the early thrash bands as key influences. Slowly We Rot – the first Obituary record – there’s tons of thrash influence on there. These days with death metal, it’s gotten away from thrash and gotten a little more hardcore and punk influenced into death metal. It makes sense, the kids that are starting death metal bands now, grew up on punk and hardcore more than thrash. Cannibal Corpse grew up on thrash metal back in the day. It makes sense to me that the kids are going to be inspired by the music that got them into heavier music, incorporating that into the death metal bands of their own.
Like you said, it contributes to the staying power of death metal because it makes it fresh and interesting for other people that are familiar with the genre, and excited to hear a new take on it. Or people that are totally unfamiliar with it may get it but are familiar with punk and hardcore and go that way. I think it’s cool. I’m 30, there are kids who are starting death metal bands now in their early 20s, they come and talk to me at shows – I don’t understand a lot of the bands that kids younger than me are super into, hold as guiding influences that I never clicked with. You can either be bitter, jaded, and mad about that or accept that times are changing and things you hold as sacred aren’t always going to be as sacred to other people. That’s what we need to push the genre forward.
Dead Rhetoric: Do you see a different appeal for Undeath across North America versus other countries and parts of the world?
Jones: Not that I’ve experienced. We haven’t toured Europe that much; we’ve toured the UK a couple of times and mainland Europe once. I feel like metal fans are the same everywhere. There are cultural differences of course that are going to come into play in subtle ways, but that’s just mostly how people behave at shows. In terms of enjoyment of the music and support of the bands, it’s the same everywhere. People who are into Undeath that are from Ohio or Texas are pretty indistinguishable from people who like us in Germany or Poland. It’s a universal language.
Dead Rhetoric: What do you think have been some of the keys to the ascension of Undeath in terms of your following? Are there specific work habits or goals that you individually and collectively keep in mind to achieve where you want to be?
Jones: We always just try to stay true to ourselves. It’s probably a cliché, but we just won’t put on airs about ourselves, keep our noses to the proverbial grindstone and continue to try to make music we are proud of and that people who like our band would also be stoked about. I like to believe that we are pretty level-headed, approachable guys. We don’t really have a lot of ego with regards to what we do. We don’t really see ourselves as different or that different at all from the people that come to our shows. We are people that are excited about music, people that love death metal, and been blessed with the opportunity to play and tour in our own death metal band. A lot of that comes from hard work, putting in the hours with recording, writing, and touring the music. It all comes down to a passion for this, and it’s the same passion that the people who come to the shows have. I think it’s just staying grounded, not being an asshole that are really the key factors.
Dead Rhetoric: How would you describe the western New York metal scene, or heavy music scene in general? Are there styles that are more popular than others?
Jones: I wouldn’t say there’s any particular style that’s more popular just because it’s such a small and tight-knit community. Being from Rochester, everyone kind of knows each other. In that way, you can’t really develop airs about yourself, or talk a lot of shit, or you will get ostracized pretty fast. In that sense, it develops a very close community. Rochester is very close to Buffalo, it’s very close to Syracuse, it’s close to Ithaca – and all of those scenes co-mingle. There is an us against them mentality. Yeah, we are from New York – but we are six hours from New York City, we are closer to Toronto. Everybody is aware of the fact that we are on an island, we have to lift each other up and make sure people are supported or put in a position where they can feel like they can contribute, feel like they are part of a community.
Dead Rhetoric: When you think of successful bands in the metal landscape, who would you say are two or three acts that you look up to and wish to model either on a musical or business landscape? And how do you handle the relationships that you’ve built with your fan base over the years?
Jones: Cannibal Corpse is the big one. Not just the big western New York metal success story, but they’ve had staying power. They’ve been an active, successful metal band for almost forty years. They have done it without compromise, they play death metal music. That’s their m.o., that’s what they’ve always done and I’m pretty sure that’s what they’ll continue to do. They are a band we all look up to, a key influence in how we want to carry ourselves. They’ve evolved over the years and changed their sound sonically in gradual ways, but never deviated from the core of what they are trying to do. We try to do that, push our sound in key ways while maintaining the death metal sound.
Beyond that, I can’t speak for the other guys in the band, but I look to Fugazi as a huge influence. They were massively important to me when I was growing up. Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, I love their business ethics and the way they carried themselves, the way they treated their relationships with people. That band and those guys were huge in defining how I would like to see myself and how to treat musicians and the people that come to our shows.
One of the key elements of being in a band is not being a dick to people, not being rude. To be gracious and appreciative of the people that have gone out of their way to come and support you. Who go to the shows, want to talk to you, buy records and buy merch. It’s something that people in other bands take for granted, I try not to do that. I don’t think I could do that, because Undeath is in an amazing position, and we are doing stuff I only dreamed of. I don’t take any of it for granted.
Dead Rhetoric: What worries or concerns do you have about the world that we are living through currently? Where do you think the leaders of the world need to put more focus, resources, and attention on to make the general public feel better about their lives?
Jones: Wow! I have a lot of concerns about the world we are living in. It’s a terrifying place right now. I’m primarily concerned about the environment these days, it’s A-1. I think that the leaders of the world need to address the ongoing climate crisis as soon as humanly possible. I fear we have long since past the last exit, the metaphorical highway to destruction. There are still massive changes that could be implemented with those with their hands on the button that could improve the quality of life for everybody. Not just us, but all the other things that live on this planet. The huge amounts of pollution that are being dumped in our oceans, rivers, and lakes every day, that could be stopped overnight. Fossil fuel industries actively destroying the planet, that could be curbed with some careful changes that people would need to get on board with. I would love to see a real change begin to occur with that stuff in my lifetime.
I’m not particularly optimistic that it will because people who have power, once they get it, their main objective is just to hold onto it, and not help other people or the planet. I’d like to believe at some point there will be some kind of populist uprising that will help make those things a reality.
Dead Rhetoric: What’s on the horizon for anything related to Undeath over the next twelve months? Are there any other side projects or additional musical guest spots/endeavors that may appear as well?
Jones: On the immediate horizon for us, we’ve got a lot of touring coming up. We are playing in Southeast Asia, playing in Japan, China, Vietnam, and Singapore. Go straight from that into Australia, playing five shows there. We go back to America, a North American tour in September and ends in Rochester, NY in late October. We have all that to close out the year for us. We have a fest to play in Albany in December. We have a lot of plans for next year up in the air right now.
Continuing to hit as much of a global audience as quickly as possible, Hanabie. returns for their third US tour in a year’s time. While the last two runs were headliner shows, this time the group was enlisted by Jinjer to be the direct support – a clear sign that the band has been making some waves over the last year. Jinjer themselves have showcased no signs of decrease either, with this fall tour continuing a larger movement by the act with the band opening for big name acts Disturbed and Breaking Benjamin last fall.
Starland Ballroom – September 20
Somehow never hitting the Starland Ballroom before, I made the trip through the often disgusting NJ Friday night traffic and successfully arrived just at 7pm to the site of a massive line outside the venue with fans waiting to get in still. Shockingly, walking in a few minutes later, Born of Osiris was just starting up their set. An act that never personally got too much attention despite their long tenure in the scene, they made a quick impression as a good fit for this tour, with their brand of metalcore being more of the catchy, progressive style of metalcore with the right amounts of groove and electronics.
It was a fun mix that was both heavy in its djent grooves and offering some entertaining bits with the electronics and clean vocal hooks. They hit the ground full of energy too, with all members performing their due diligence and vocalist Ronnie Canizaro pumping up the crowd as he moved about the stage. The group mostly stuck to some newer material, with a few cuts from 2017’s The New Reign, among others, sprinkled in among three new cuts “A Mind Short Circuiting,” the groovy electronic-laden highlight “Elevate,” and the recent single “In Desolation.” All in all, a nice opening set that showed the act really winning over the crowd in the pit and priming the audience for the evening to come.
Unlike Born of Osiris, Hanabie. has been hitting the US for only the last year and doing headline tours, so unfortunately that means that unless people were actively seeking them out (which many have been), they may not have been on say, Jinjer fans radar for long. You could see some of that ‘puzzled’ look come across some audience faces as the band walked out onto the stage with some of their most elegant and colorful stage outfits so far. That said, as soon as the band opened into their aggressive recent single “Metamorphose!” the crowd realized the band meant business. The pit began moving around and by the second song, “We Love Sweets” you could see things in full swing with the usual crowdsurfing antics beginning to start. With a shorter set time than the recent headline runs, they only had time for one more cut from Girls Reform Manifest in “Reiwa Dating Apps Generation,” before switching over to a number of cuts from Reborn Superstar! and their more recent 2024 singles.
Their live game continues to up the ante each tour session, this time with a heavier dose of electronics in their interludes/build up, and even more audience engagement. Vocalist Yukina got the crowd riled up for “NEET GAME” by teaching the “yeah, yeah, yeah” parts to the crowd before ripping into it, and Hettsu provided her usual chugging intermission during the band’s set. Despite the shorter run time, their ability to interact with the crowd seemed stronger, and they seem to be more comfortable in delivering more English between songs. That said, they didn’t have to do much of an announcement before live staple “Tousou,” in which Yukina simply urged with her hands to part the pit in half for the wall of death and impressively the night’s largest pit formed and provided a visceral thrill for those witnessing it for the first time. It’s worth mentioning just how much of the crowd Hanabie. won over, in looking at the group’s first song and their closing number in “Pardon Me, I Have to Go Now.” The crowd soared in their reactions, elevating the crowdsurfing and the pit, as well as the sheer number of fans moving along to the frenetic Yukina, Hettsu, and Matsuri antics as they weaved across the stage. In terms of winning fans over with this support run, you really couldn’t ask for a stronger performance than what was seen here.
And the show was far from over, with Jinjer hitting the stage to close out the night. Not having seen the band live since late 2019, it had been some time for myself. With the primed audience, they hit the stage hard, with some killer cuts from King of Everything with “Just Another” and the frantic “Sit Stay Roll Over,” arguably one of the group’s best cuts over the years. Vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk continues to elevate her performances, frequently engaging with the crowd while really hitting those vocal marks that have earned the band quite a few fans over the years. The band sounds incredibly tight live, there’s no mistaking it. Tonight’s performance was a heavy one too. The opening two cuts set the tone for their set, with other crushing, groove-heavy songs like “Call Me a Symbol,” “I Speak Astronomy,” and “Ape” impressed with their punchy riffs and the band’s very smooth dynamic changes between punishing and melodic.
Not only did they provide a strong musical performance, they made some great use of visuals behind them. Flashes of color were the norm, almost trippy at times (reminding me much of Spiritbox’s live approach occasionally). It gave fans something extra, and did so in a way that didn’t interfere with fans ability to watch the band for those that dig that – given Jinjer’s musical pedigree shining in the live setting. The band also played some new cuts too, including “Someone’s Daughter,” “Fast Draw,” and the just released “Rogue.” All of which sounded fantastic in the live scene, prompting the thought of when a new full-length might come about and really showcasing that heavier, intricate edge while maintaining a high degree of melody. Also impressive was their ability to keep things moving through the 15-song set with few pauses, and even the break before encore “Vortex” was pretty limited. They certainly held onto the crowd, who was grooving, headbanging, and singing along with the act from note one through the final one, abuzz with the music’s energy.
Metal Injection Festival Day 1 – Brooklyn Monarch – September 21 After a short night’s sleep, it was back on the road again into NJ before jumping onto the train and eventually the subway to reach Brooklyn Monarch for Day 1 of the Metal Injection Festival. With three stages and 17 bands, there was a lot to digest and choices to make. Though thankfully not too many choices as the stage times were incredibly effective at getting people to move from one point to another and you could essentially go all day with barely a break in things if you so chose. An impressive and commendable feat for a festival.
Getting into the venue just as Carbomb was finishing, I managed to catch the last two songs of the mathcore act before going outside to the Backyard Stage to go catch Hath, a group I’ve been trying to catch for a few years now. While it was only a 30-minute set, the band brought their progressive death metal hard. Despite the early day time slot, they urged everyone forward to pull in that intimate crowd energy and they had successfully launched quite a pit before the end of their all-too-short set. Moving back to the main stage, I caught most of Born of Osiris‘s set, which was quite well-received as it was the night prior, before exiting for a Hanabie. interview outside. On my return, I was able to catch the last song from Revocation, who continued to bring all of the high-energy death/thrash vibes in all their glory.
Then it was right back to Hanabie. time! Knowing the band’s performance the night before, there was a curiosity to see how well they’d perform in front of a very death metal/extreme metal crowd, and it turns out I wasn’t the only one to have that thought. The audience filled in quite quickly beforehand, and a look back at the growing crowd, tightly packed into the space, seemed to be full of that same sort of anticipation and eagerness to see the band. As the band confidently walked on-stage, the energy was palpable and it was nothing short of an eruption when they broke into “Metamorphose!” this time. Out of the four times I’ve seen Hanabie. live, this one easily claims the spot as ‘best performance so far.”
The setlist hit the same songs as the night before, with the exception of cutting “Girls’ Talk” due to the short set-time and stage prep seeming to take a few extra minutes, but the energy was massive. All four of Hanabie.’s members seemed to be at 150%. Yukina’s usual jumping, running, and screaming seemed to be even more furious than the night before. Hettsu was all beaming smiles when she wasn’t encouraging the crowd directly and encouraging participation, and her interactions with Yukina were even more playful and fun than I’ve seen in previous settings. The same could be said for Matsuri, who was having a blast with interactions with the two members as they all moved across the stage. Chika, behind the kit, was also at her most furious in pounding the drums while smiling away.
Hanabie.’s infectious energy swept over the crowd and held them captive for the entire set. There was a near constant amount of pit movement and headbanging away during the songs, with the obligatory “Tousou” wall of death erupting with a fury that lasted almost the entire song. “NEET GAME” had a very audible sing-a-long from the audience, and “Be the Gal,” elicited an enthusiastic jump after the track’s quiet break that got the audience into full-on dance mode (along with the pit antics). If there was one shining example of how much they won over the Brooklyn crowd, it had to be the look on one particular security guard’s face. At the start of their set, you could see a very puzzled look as they came out, but when they started playing, his look completely changed over to a big smile and was moving along with the crowd (when not helping out a few crowdsurfers). As a final testament to their presence, Yukina was literally down on the ground by the end of “Pardon Me, I Have to Go Now,” seemingly having spent her last bit of energy on the finale.
There was a certain energy that I hadn’t felt since seeing them at the Gramercy almost a year earlier, but it was there again without question. As I went to head outside to catch some of Wretched‘s set, a similar vibe of listening to people’s conversations about Hanabie. was overheard, with some remarking about the impressive set and winning them over as a fan. As for Wretched, it was nice to finally catch them as well, considering their emergence back into the scene as well as a new album on the horizon for next year. The band played a punchy set that included cuts from four of their last previous albums delivered through their melodic death metal-esque filter with plenty of high-energy and technicality. Their particular brand has been missed, and it sounds like the band hasn’t lost a step in the last decade, which has the makings for a strong release next year.
Another big highlight of the day was that of God Forbid. Playing the underrated metalcore classic Gone Forever in its entirety to celebrate it’s 20th anniversary, it was great just to see the act up on stage and playing together again after calling it quits a decade ago. While they tended to get tossed into the whole ‘metalcore’ debate back in the early 2000s, there was always something more unique (and more metallic) about the act. Gone Forever being one of their strongest albums in the discography, hearing tracks live again such as “Force-Fed,” “Antihero,” and the title track elicit some strong nostalgia but also showcase how fantastic those songs truly were. Plus getting to hear a less-played groovy song like “Soul Engraved” and hear all these songs really aided in reminding what a fantastic act God Forbid is.
The band was on point as well, firing on all cylinders. Frontman Byron Davis made some jokes about having to get back into playing on the stage, but you’d be hard pressed to notice that the band has only just started to do these reunion shows. They all looked to be having an absolute blast, and that carried over to the crowd as well, who matched the band’s energy and all seemed to be just as joyous about the act’s return. One can only hope they keep up some momentum, given their initial spark back to life back in 2022.
A return back outside to finish up the evening, Pallid Veil played some of their technical, avant garde metal, which was a bonafide supergroup consisting of Revocation’s David Davidson, Gorguts’ Luc Lemay, and members of Dillinger Escape Plan and Carbomb. Angular, jagged death metal to close out the evening (since I couldn’t stay for Jinjer due to subway and train-hopping) proved a head-exploding way to go in the best way, and it was an intriguing finish and a very rare treat for those in attendance. All in all, the festival day was quite an enjoyable one, with near constant music and little down time. The high caliber of bands present was a great treat even if it made for two nights of exhaustion.
The Jinjer/Hanabie. package continues to roll on at the moment, and given the two acts different live showcases, with Jinjer’s technical prowess and showmanship and Hanabie.’s infectiously fun and outside the box approach, it’s one that fans of either act shouldn’t miss. Hanabie. in particular continues to grow and shine, worthy of the increasing spotlight shown on them – catch them now and join in the fun. As for Jinjer, they’ve continued to show how they have also managed to catch the world’s attention and become one of metal’s biggest acts of today.
A band that has continued to grow and leaps and bounds, both in popularity and in sound, Unto Others sits in a unique spot. Their ’80s metal meets goth meets new wave meets etc etc continues to find new ways to morph into intriguing soundscapes. From their Idle Hands days in striking gold to a niche sound and cultivating it through their 2021 full-length Strength, Unto Others has stayed hungry and creative. Something that Never, Neverland, their third full-length, takes full advantage of as they test new boundaries and approaches with a fervor that should thrill many within the scene.
Given their initial genre splashing 6 years ago, many bands would be content to stay in their lane and provide more of the same. Not Unto Others, who push the envelope in both directions of melody and aggression this time around. With the melodic side, you have some gorgeous cuts like “Angel of the Night,” with it’s gloomy gothic tones and puts it through a ballad filter, whereas “Sunshine” might just be the most upbeat and happy sounding song the band has crafted. On the other end, “Flatline” is a vicious, thrash-infused track that all but buzzes with riffs, and “Momma Likes the Door Closed” brushes shoulders with punk influences.
That said, there’s plenty of ‘classic’ Unto Others in some way, shape and form, which still feel fresh and inventive. “Butterfly” blends gothic atmosphere with an almost ’80s stadium rock feel at times, managing to bring a feeling of glum while rousing you with the chorus. “Suicide Today” relishes in it’s pop-sensibilities and massive hooks with one of the album’s strongest choruses. While “Time Goes On” cranks up some of the retro rock vibes and punchy riffs that deliver massive amounts of energy when you crank up the volume. Lastly, “Cold World” weaves around ’80s new wave and The Cure vibes in more melodic fashion.
Continuing to progress and expand their sound, it’s impressive that Unto Others have been able to stretch it in so many directions. Yet their signature sound remains intact, proving it’s winning formula. Never, Neverland showcases Unto Others’ strongest set of songs to date, grabbing the listener with downtrodden hooks and refusing to let go. A band more than worthy of the buzz they have been receiving.
Born out of another pandemic itch to scratch, Distant Dominion contains a wealth of experience amongst the lineup – with members being a part of extreme acts like Mortal Decay, Hypoxia, Krieg, and In the Fire to name just a few. The quintet spent a couple of years getting this material together, and we finally hear the fruits of this labor in a debut album Ripping Through Time. The eight-song effort contains a death/thrash base upon which elements of old school metal, technical flair, and even pure classic rock elements factor into the final workings to make this quite an aural thrill ride.
The sci-fi-oriented blitzkrieg, universal shake ups, and subsequent evolution of the aftermath take on the crux of the lyrical themes – the musical support up to the diverse atmosphere present to challenge the listeners through its diverse, dynamic arrangements. The foundational riffs and pounding tempos traverse the death, thrash, and semi-progressive landscape while never forgetting to inject the proper amount of groove accents that cause incessant hair windmill or devil horn approval motions. The relentless speed of the title track should make everyone quiver, Ryan Moll and Joe Gordon attacking their fretboards manically in classic Slayer, Sepultura or Kreator fashion next to some Steven Dever bass spots that rival the best of Atheist and Death. At other times the rockin’ atmosphere appears in bouncy fashion, “The Witches Ritual” plus “Solar Flare Tsunami” combining that aspect into some tremolo runs, blast beats, and dual blackened screams / haunting clean melodies while the leads galvanize in outer space splendor. You don’t have to worry about vocalist Shawn Riley living up to the bill through his savage screams, deep growls, and occasional alternative / clean delivery duties – he comes out all guns blazing for opener “Alchemystic” and tears his larynx out on the morose, epic closer “No Way Out” where the slower synth segments bring things to a bone chilling conclusion.
Those who wish to seek out something a little more left field outside of the predictable death/thrash scene would be wise to discover Distant Dominion. Ripping Through Time takes a lot of late 80s to mid-90s influences and creates an exciting journey that will leave listeners desiring more – which should gain a healthy underground buzz that can only get stronger when the band entertains the people live.
