…sus’ James Benson) and place it next to a very progressive and intricate 11-minute number like “Enormity,” which has some spine-tingling melodies and gorgeous atmosphere, with no sense of it being out of place. The continued use of acoustic guitars and occasional cello give an additional sense of emotional heft without coming across as cheap, such as in “Burden of Growth.” In the end, Oak Pantheon, despite some moments of controlled intensity (“Da…
…ey are always a welcome addition. Also welcome is the addition of more post-hardcore driven atmosphere, with “I Watched the Snow Fall and Bury Your Bones,” which adds to the more standard chugging riffs. There’s also some heavy moments, as in “A Murder of Crows,” which gives some added dynamic and never resorts to cheap breakdowns. While there are some breakdowns, they build them appropriately and deliver a sense of urgency to them. Lionheart take…
…there at the same time, or Fox and Nico. For vocals, all you need is a top-end microphone and for guitars a great amp and good micro-phoning techniques. We don’t need a fancy room for that. Having said all this, we will try new approaches in the future. Maybe (even) record totally live like we did on the first album. Dead Rhetoric: Tell us the thought process behind the cover of the record – it’s striking yet quite natural, embodying a lot of the…
…stralia’s Disentomb was next to hit the stage. Hitting it hard from the get-go, the band’s all too short set brought literal stomping into the pit. Full of massive slams and tightly-knit bursts of speed, there was plenty of energy to be had as vocalist Jordan “Jord” James moved across the stage, highlighting the stomp-worthy slam riffs and ushering some menacing gutturals. The Chance was starting to fill nicely as Fallujah made their way to the st…
…s voice is sounding tired. He looks after his voice and he knows about warm-ups and warm-downs. He did bring new ideas and new energy into this band, which has been going for a long time. To have a fresh mind to come in with an overview, seemed to really work. Dead Rhetoric: You’ve reached 40 years as a band. Was naming the album self-titled symbolic? Tatler: I hadn’t considered it with the 40th anniversary. I wanted to come up with a name and I h…
…s, how the band has developed, as well as some nuggets about Pugh’s very DR-approved acts in A Loathing Requiem and Inferi, not to mention his label, The Artisan Era. Dead Rhetoric: Being the newest member, how’d you get taken into Entheos? Malcolm Pugh: It was weird. I was at a show with Derek [Engemann] of Cattle Decapitation – he played through our town and Evan [Brewer] and I are from the same town. We were both at the show and just started ta…
…articularly the cleans) to the production and even that syncopated, machine-gun guitar/drum riffing pattern. It’s all there, other than the super-fast blastbeats. It may sound like a critique, but it’s not really. Few could replicate that sound in such a manner without coming off as cheap or gimmicky. Not many bands veer into this direction, and it was actually refreshing to hear a band moving back towards this sound. And some tracks go a bit fart…
…them a more individualized feel, without having to resort to dare we say, cheap shots such as melodic vocals, to make the songs standout. Some catchy and memorable melodic death metal is to be had with Samsara. While it does tread some familiar ground, the attention to details within each track make up for this. Sure to appeal to fans of the genre looking for something on the heavier end of the spectrum. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2bkIatzn3…
…some occasional bits of almost uptempo melodies that never come across as cheap or feel off-kilter with the harder edge of the band. One of the strongest songs of the album, “Forgotten Path,” mixes some killer, old school Gothenburg-y riffs with more ominous and glacial progressive riffs at the onset to solid results. “The Pest” takes a darkly rockish vibe and injects some cold melodies with a (mostly) galloping pace and sells it all nicely. “Shi…
…Wisely veering away from cheap clean/harsh vocal patterns and commercially-driven riff-fodder, Pronostic has more in common with heavier acts such as Arsis and Aborted. A European flair for melodies combines with the North American penchant for heaviness gives An Atomic Decision a fresh take, even for those who may be worn out on melodeath. So intrigued were we at DR that we contacted Pronostic drummer Nicholas “Le Fou” Wells to give us some more…
…a ten-year layoff, returned in 2013 with Boogie from Hell. The Swedish rock-on-metal crew have always been a bit of a working-class, no frills entity, something routinely displayed across a discography that goes all the way back to 1995 with Stallion Showcase. Hard to believe that was 20 (!) years ago. But to that point, Transport League have always done the dirty, sung about it, and played like it, which makes Napalm Bats and Suicide Dogs yet ano…
…nder-rated Russian/Ukrainian post-metal band Kauan. Just edging past the DR-approved Enforcer and their new live album, Sorni Nai takes the listener on a breathtaking journey that is equal parts epic and tragic. Based on a true, doomed expedition of hikers into the Djatlov Pass, there’s a large emotional weight to the album, even without a constant onslaught of heavy riffs. The sweeping atmosphere includes strings, chanting, and more in a soundtra…
…ound tracks like “Electroheart,” “Call Out My Name,” and “Razorblade,” sing-a-long friendly ballads like “Over and Done,” “True,” and staple “Amaranthine,” and some mid-tempo numbers like “Mechanical Illusion” and “Massive Addictive” to balance things out. The way they mesh everything together is outstanding. The band uses the tri-vocal nature of the material to their advantage and there’s never a dull moment on stage – there’s not a band that int…
Far before the inferno-like interest in ‘female-fronted’ metal took ahold of the scene over the recent half-decade (air quotes surrounding the tag, as to this journalist what does gender have to do with quality?), there were select artists who championed the cause and could stand hand in hand with their male contemporaries. Chastain would be one of those favorites from the 1980’s, the exciting Euro-metal oriented power riffs from guitarist David…
…erks alongside special merchandise offers and such. So take a look around! -Everything we make on this campaign will go strictly to keep this band up and running, so that you’ll get the chance to see more Hatesphere in 2016, 2017…..and so on. If we don’t reach our goal, don’t worry, we’ll still make very good use of that money. And understand, NOTHING will end up in our own pockets. Should we exceed our goal, we’ll make an even better video or two…
…rom previous outings). It does separate the band from what much of the folk-influenced bands are doing, and keeps it classy. It’s a full-fledged force, and often takes over much of the melodic weight from the guitars and can enhance the range of emotions from haunting to ethereal to downright brutal. Check out the instrumental “Santeria” if you are looking for a good place to start. But the way the violin is incorporated into the blend of tempos i…
…hat doesn’t resort to cheap melodies in each track. The combination of high-octane riffing and bellowing screams does still have plenty of charm after all these years (and all those bands). Bands like The Duskfall and Arise made this their bread and butter for quite some time, and Montreal’s [Evertrapped] (not sure what’s going on with the brackets – perhaps it signifies being trapped?) give it their all on album number two to walk those same grou…
…rospect, was overly clean and surgical. It was technique oriented and super-clean. This time we wanted something big and huge and pyramid-sized. A lot of big, heavy guitar on the new record. Dead Rhetoric: There’s also a notable push in the brutality front. How do you balance the delicate line of brutality versus technicality? Sanders: That’s a great question. I think it’s the eternal question for a band playing our genre. How do you balance playi…
…of Tenerife with producer Charlie Bauerfeind (GOTTHARD, HAMMERFALL). My God-Given Right track listing: 1. Heroes 2. Battle’s Won 3. My God-Given Right 4. Stay Crazy 5. Lost In America 6. Russian Roulé 7. The Swing Of A Fallen World 8. Like Everybody Else 9. Creatures In Heaven 10. If God Loves Rock ‘N’ Roll 11. Living On The Edge 12. Claws 13. You, Still Of War The limited digipak (with special 3D cover) and the vinyl version will feature two bonu…
…of Tenerife with producer Charlie Bauerfeind (GOTTHARD, HAMMERFALL). My God-Given Right track listing: 1. Heroes 2. Battle’s Won 3. My God-Given Right 4. Stay Crazy 5. Lost In America 6. Russian Roulé 7. The Swing Of A Fallen World 8. Like Everybody Else 9. Creatures In Heaven 10. If God Loves Rock ‘N’ Roll 11. Living On The Edge 12. Claws 13. You, Still Of War The limited digipak (with special 3D cover) and the vinyl version will feature two bonu…
…of Tenerife with producer Charlie Bauerfeind (GOTTHARD, HAMMERFALL). My God-Given Right track listing: 1. Heroes 2. Battle’s Won 3. My God-Given Right 4. Stay Crazy 5. Lost In America 6. Russian Roulé 7. The Swing Of A Fallen World 8. Like Everybody Else 9. Creatures In Heaven 10. If God Loves Rock ‘N’ Roll 11. Living On The Edge 12. Claws 13. You, Still Of War The limited digipak (with special 3D cover) and the vinyl version will feature two bonu…
…7 years old and he was doing that shred stuff. At first when I heard Yngwie- I still love him too- I thought he was a copy of Uli. You know the white Stratocaster Yngwie plays? Uli had that in 1975, cream color, maple body, wearing the white boots – the same thing. Uli’s composition was amazing. About 5 years ago Uli was doing a show at UCLA Theater and invited me on stage to do “Virgin Killer” along with Francis (Buchholz) the old Scorpions bass…
…of Tenerife with producer Charlie Bauerfeind (GOTTHARD, HAMMERFALL). My God-Given Right track listing: 1. Heroes 2. Battle’s Won 3. My God-Given Right 4. Stay Crazy 5. Lost In America 6. Russian Roulé 7. The Swing Of A Fallen World 8. Like Everybody Else 9. Creatures In Heaven 10. If God Loves Rock ‘N’ Roll 11. Living On The Edge 12. Claws 13. You, Still Of War The limited digipak (with special 3D cover) and the vinyl version will feature two bonu…
…ild-inspired “Hell’s Legacy,” which probably could pass for a Rock ‘n’ Rolf-approved tune if lyrics about Calico Jack were used. (Running Wild also appears to be a direct influence on Lonewolf. There are worse bands to be influenced by, wardrobe choices notwithstanding.) When a band is so attuned to its influences to the point of unabashed plagiarism/worship, it’s no wonder why they’re in such a mid-level state. Such a predicament may not matter f…
…lding down the fort. With previous main dude Andy Marshall off doing the DR-approved Saor, there was a chance Falloch would have hit the ‘ole sophomore slump with This Island, Our Funeral. Alas, the band has managed to reinvent themselves, and, improve in the process. Being that 3/4’s of the band is new and had no role on Where Spirits…, the distinction between the two albums is noticeable. Whereas Where Spirits…was essentially post-black minus th…
…minutes to impress the ¾ filled downstairs stage, they did a 10 song cross-section of their three albums (including 3 songs off the forthcoming, Dead Rhetoric approved Massive Addictive). Soldiering through a couple of wireless microphone issues for vocalist Jake E, songs such as “Hunger”, “Invincible”, and “Afterlife” gained a healthy buzz from the crowd. During some of the between song banter, all of the members tried their best to pronounce th…
…fill (would-be) arenas – are magnificent in spots, like on the Phil Lynott-approved “Out of the City,” and “Volcano Girl,” where his crisp, clean tone carries marvelous pitch and attitude. Indeed a much more hook-based, melody-driven, and big-stage ready alternative to whatever the alternative is in retro rock at the moment, Pure Heavy should be Audrey Horne’s touchstone body of work for the time being. Lest we forget the guys are Norwegian, whic…
…oridian death metal sound. Also interesting is the undoubtedly Alex Webster-approved use of audible bass. Bass lines are often given more than the simple “follow the guitar” workout and adds more flavor to the proceedings. There is nothing half-baked about Cannabis Corpse at this point. From their witty song titles (most notably from Gorguts and Death this time around) to their seemingly dead serious approach to musicianship, From Wisdom to Baked…
…some, in voice), Jansen is the opposite – tall, domineering, and with a pre-approved reputation that came from her years slugging it out in After Forever. This begs the question: What if Jansen was the immediate successor to Tarja Turunen? Would there have been such a strong backlish? It’s almost like how Robert Trujillo has had a much easier time replacing Jason Newsted than Newsted had replacing Cliff Burton. The third guy (or gal) through alway…
…put in some surprises since no one really knows what we consider our ‘best-of’ songs at the moment. It might differ from ‘Memories Of A Time To Come’ though. Right now I’m working on a possible set list and I’ll cross my fingers that this will be approved when the others have a look at it. “By announcing this live appearance, we also secretly announced the intended termination of our album production for the end of May. We obviously have progress…
