…riting taking a lot longer. We tried to make it work for a really long time- and we are still good friends with them- we had to work on what we were going to do next. They lost a bit of their passionate for it, and sometimes your interests change. Mark and I agreed that we wanted to continue, so that we got two new members who were really excited about what we were doing. We don’t write traditionally very fast anyway, we like to take the best of w…
…maintains some stunning progressive moments). There’s some softer, acoustic-led moments like the intro to “Cycle of Failure” as well, all leading back to the idea that Antlion never goes the predictable, generic route. The songwriting skills here speak of a much more veteran act. It’s all tied together by a fantastic sound and production, which was mastered by Zack Ohren. Tech-death fans should rejoice over The Prescient. It takes all the progress…
…e: Solitary Martyr is perhaps more focused, heavier, and has better thought-out songs. That sounds like a generic answer, though. But, more work was put into the new EP than the Ethereal EP, which is probably why it came out a little better. However, that’s not to discount the Ethereal EP – it certainly has its strong points and is above all else, a proper snapshot of where the band was at the time. Solitary Martyr, though, is just about the right…
…g the reins’ musically and keeping the progressive elements worked into a 5-6 minute song as opposed to stretching things to 10 minutes and beyond? Sengupta: Absolutely, look at Moving Pictures by Rush, it’s a rich progressive album but with shorter songs. Another one is Dark Side of the Moon is where Pink Floyd really confirmed their songwriting credentials without losing their progressive mindset. See to us progressive music is a state of mind r…
…death metal, with “Odious” giving the album a thrilling sendoff. While mid-tempo bruising is their strong-point, the uptick in speed on cuts like “…For the Desperately Lost” and “Eternal Repulsion” deliver a frantic charge of energy that is not soon forgotten. The future looks rather bright for Abhorrent Decimation. A devastating and memorable venture through modern death metal, Miasmic Mutation carries a definite “wow” factor. The prowess displa…
…e 2015 standard. For a brutal death metal album such as this, you’d be hard-pressed to label the riffs as generic. They keep a bit more technicality in grasp, and the dynamics on a track like “Born on a Chopping Block” will show they are more than proficient at their instruments, moving from slow chugging to flat out blasting fury. The vocals do stick to the low guttural range without much variation, but they get the job done for the 41 minutes Br…
…no less. If the band could get more of this atmosphere into the otherwise generic slams, it could elevate the band’s status past that of the plain. Again, the slam-obsessed will find absolutely nothing wrong with Chronicles of Perversion. The slams come hard and fast, with the necessary heaviness behind them. While it’s a fun escape for a few listens, it shows its hand too early and too often – necessitating the listener to go and seek out anothe…
…tter, would be the vocals of “Dixie” Dave Collins, who over top of the bore-a-thon riffing, manages to spit out an angry vocal spell, full froth, and stale beer (most likely). Outside of that, Goliathan may not be much of an album to even pass the time with. Even the tempo fluctuations on “Bully,” where the band picks up the pace, is lost in a mess of D-grade riffs and clunky rhythms. Weedeater probably do a lot right in the eyes of the stoner/doo…
…cle. Dark Sermon’s debut, In Tongues, seemed a bit too generic and straight-forward. A mix of deathcore and death metal (via The Black Dahlia Murder), it provided a few listens when it was released but nothing beyond that. Many have championed the band’s live performances (which this writer has sadly not yet witnessed), so checking out The Oracle seemed to be worth a shot. Listening to a track from In Tongues next to The Oracle shows how far the b…
…sound into something more sinister and dark. But it doesn’t take long for generic chugging to take over, complete with the typical barked vocals, and things take a turn for the mediocre. A similar event occurs in the second track, “In the Wake ov the Wolf,” which moves away from the chugfest and implements some darker guitar melodies that are far more interesting. Similar patterns continue to emerge as the disc progresses (“The Masquerade” also s…
…p it fucking heavy. What we did this time around, we adopted a kind of anti-technique approach. My thoughts were, as I was writing the songs, that there was a criteria for which riffs, and what to go with – the riff doesn’t have to be technical. It doesn’t matter if it is impossible-hard and technical or if it was simple and catchy. What matters is does it have feeling, and is it heavy? That was the criteria. Dead Rhetoric: So did it make it less…
…the right time and keep them very high energy. The days of the slam, super-slow half-time breakdown from the Myspace deathcore era has gone the way of the Dodo. We try to make it so that it is something that we like as well. It’s like ‘ah yes, breakdown – it’s heavy, it works. Let’s move on and keep writing.’ Whereas a lot of bands just run out of riffs and then they use breakdowns. We try to deliberately employ them when we feel they should be i…
…ater without entering totally generic fields. This album may just sit for a little while without anything to hang on to, which is why at times, it feels somewhat underwhelming. That’s sort of the composite notion of having to grapple with so many like-minded stoner/doom albums over the years. But Silk Spiders Underwater is right in line with the sub-genre ethos that was blazed by Neurosis, and even before them, Swans. Toss them all up, add in some…
…at “attacked and ridiculed Islam” in the same way. Malone also launched an online petition on Change.org asking for Canterbury Museum to “remove the hateful t-shirt” and “stop dividing the community”. In an email newsletter, Family First national director Bob McCoskrie said some material in the museum’s exhibition would be “highly offensive” to many families. Canterbury Museum director Anthony Wright said the shirt was a small part of a large exhi…
…hey, this part, do you remember that, let’s change this.” There’s this day-in, day-out vibe that I think really contributed to making the album what it was. The songs came out as one art piece. It wasn’t like everyone doing their own little thing and putting it altogether at the end. Everyone knew everyone else’s part backwards, so we could anticipate and adjust our own playing based on that. Dead Rhetoric: You’ve done a bit of improving too, as…
…rs ATTN: Jennifer Bushnell 21490 Koop Drive Mandeville, LA 70471 For more information or to purchase tickets please call (985)898-5243 or email arts@stpgov.org….
…ide can be prevented. If you need help, or know someone who does, reach out to any organization of the following: – suicidepreventionlifeline.org (US) – suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html (International) Many thanks to Patric Ullaeus for your belief, your dedication and always awesome videos!”…
…spirit of the album. Not to discount the rest of the band as whether in nü-prog-like (and hyper-melodic) initial single “Language I: Intuition” or older-era Cynic-ish “Thrive”, the songs are fluid, textured, and brimming with flashes of beauty. The new vocalist is, compared to vocalists past, both stronger and the mix and a stronger melodic force overall. Though still serving more as an additional melodic layer rather than a point of attention, t…
…ich is essentially just a trickle-down of EMO, post-metal, and djent. There’s a combo for you. Monuments might have ample might in the musicality department, but for those on the outside looking in on this little, but soon-to-be-short-lived movement, an album like The Amanuensis carries little, if any weight. So back to the start: Monuments are pretty a bunch of lightweights; featherweights if we’re being generous. Monuments on Facebook…
…th finger tap action, “This Eternal War” starts things off in a slightly up-tempo manner, an anthem that would appease those who love the late 80’s/ early 90’s power metal scene. It’s easy to see within the first minute that vocalist Justin St. Pierre is not your average vocalist- possessing a killer falsetto and depth of range across the board that mesmerizes. Imagine Sebastian Bach running headlong into Geoff Tate and possibly Tony Moore and tha…
…investment in mediocre arrangements such as “Building a Monster” or the six-minute Grave Digger-like “Vultures Are Waiting.” It all boils down to proper riffs, engaging hooks, strong choruses, and a sense of energy to keep potential fans from moving on to another band in their collection, and Gun Barrel struggle on all fronts to excel. When you cut and paste riffs from an alternative act like Hole and pass it off as your own for “Rise Up to the St…
…hrough all 30 years of her incredibly successful career, delivering a three-hour, high-voltage set with all things rock and roll she has to offer. Fans can look forward to all hits, hymns and many surprises. At both shows, Doro will welcome several fantastic guests, including Biff Byford (SAXON), Chris Caffery (TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, SAVATAGE), Udo Dirkschneider (U.D.O., ex-ACCEPT) and Hansi Kürsch (BLIND GUARDIAN). Commented Doro: “You all kno…
…de Flesh”) and one song each from their previous two albums. When the front-of-house soundman told the band they had time for an additional song, the band pulled out a heavier rendition of Judas Priest “Freewheel Burning.” The band entertain relentless (drummer Mario Moreno in particular adept at a lot of visual stick tricks, and guitarists Conan and David Rivera trading a few licks off of each other’s guitars in synchronicity) and should have no…
…ks of classical music which have inspired him over the course of his Grammy-nominated, multi platinum-selling career. When Dave Mustaine performs the virtuosic “Summer” and “Winter” movements from Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons”, and Bach’s classic “Air” on the G string, you will see a truly different side of “metal.” The San Diego Symphony will then wow you in the second half of the program with Antonín Dvořák’s famous “New World Symphony”. Followin…
…f Satan” and “Conviction.” It bothers the band as a whole for the media to discount this prolific work as an E.P. or just discount it all altogether. CELEBRATION is a GREAT showing of the growth of the band. Lopez: The writing process was the same; we get along very well and are able to create quickly with no strife in what we do. We have a great time and fun at what we are doing, writing is a natural process for us. It either feels right or it do…
…ly can, this is a damn good way to start… For more information on Joe Nurre and Shaded Enmity, head over to their Facebook page. The band’s most-excellent Forsaken and Forgotten album was released in 2013….
…(DISTURBED, DEVICE), the follow-up to 2011’s In Waves is available for pre-order at Trivium.org. The first single, “Strife,” is available as an instant download with all pre-orders. Vengeance Falls track listing: 1. Brave This Storm 2. Vengeance Falls 3. Strife 4. No Way To Heal 5. To Believe 6. At The End Of This War 7. Through Blood And Dirt And Bone 8. Villainy Thrives 9. Incineration: The Broken World 10. Wake (The End Is Nigh) TRIVIUM’s “Str…
…hink of anything more horrible than you having to watch acts like THE BLACK-EYED PEAS and BRUNO MARS perform. So the temptation to ignore this is great! But then you start thinking about all of the people that who have never experienced GWAR before, and will be forced to do so if we do get the gig, well, at that point my colossal mega-ego kicks in and I am all over it.” After a long and wet fart, Oderus continued…”I really don’t think we should be…
…al vocals from the young up-and-coming U.K. singer Abbie Johnson. Vancouver-based non-profit record label Revolution Harmony was launched in 2011 by Holroyd. After founding the non-profit Grade 9 Records in 2008 and growing the label over three successful years, Holroyd decided to expand upon what he had originally established as a means for his students to sell their music and donate the profits to charity, and Revolution Harmony was born. Revolu…
