With the release of IX, Corrosion of Conformity have delivered another hard hitting album filled with crushing riffs and distinct vocals that are enough to please any old or new school fan. While this kind of metal isn’t my particular favorite, this album kept me interested and wanting more the whole time I was listening to it. The songs vary from super slow, heavy riffs that almost sound doomy to fast finger taps and harsher vocals with a hint of thrash and punk traces throughout.
My particular favorite songs on this album are the faster songs, specifically, Denmark Vesey and The Nectar, since they were the most memorable and the easiest for me to bang my head to. However, I was quite surprised at how much I liked the slower stuff as well.
The only problem I had with this album was with the first song, Brand New Sleep. It was my least favorite only because I felt like it dragged on too long. With it being the first song, I had doubts about how interesting IX was going to be. I gave it a chance, though, and ended up loving the rest of the album. I feel like it’s one of those albums that will eventually grow on me the more that I listen to it.
Overall, I found this to be a great listen. The production and musicianship were both solid on this album and I hope Corrosion of Conformity continue to put out heavier music.
And the rumors are TRUE! The legendary King Diamond has announced a full North American tour for the fall! After hearing rumors for weeks about a possible tour and the leak of a date in New York City, the band has confirmed a 19 date tour across the U.S and Canada. The band will have it’s original lineup, and King Diamond will be doing their full European festival stage show for each date! A special guest act will be supporting which will be announced later on.
A limited edition King Diamond jacket will be available through the fan club pre-sale (http://www.showstubs.com/) that begins tomorrow, June 24th. Tickets will be on sale online for the rest of the public nationwide on Friday, June 27th. Here is a list of dates taken from the official King Diamond Facebook page:
After touring together this past May, the trio is back with a full U.S tour for the fall. Slayer will be taking a break from recording to take off on this tour starting in November. Gary Holt will be once again playing for both Exodus and Slayer, and this will be the debut of former front man Steve Souza.
Slayer’s Tom Araya states his excitement for this upcoming tour,”We are way fucking excited about hitting the road again with Suicidal and Exodus. Fucking intense. See you in the fall.”
Tickets go on sale this Friday at 10 AM local time. Here are the confirmed dates:
11/12 Fox Theatre, Oakland, CA
11/14 The Forum, Los Angeles, CA
11/15 Comercia Theatre, Phoenix, AZ
11/17 Bricktown Events Center, Oklahoma City, OK
11/18 ACL Live, Austin, TX
11/19 Verizon Theatre, Dallas, TX
11/21 Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL
11/22 The Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA
11/23 The Fillmore, Charlotte, NC
11/25 The Armory, Albany, NY
11/26 Sands Events Center, Bethlehem, PA
11/28 The Palladium, Worcester, MA
11/29 Wellmont Theatre, Montclair, NJ
11/30 Tower Theatre, Philadelphia, PA
12/2 Agora Theatre, Cleveland, OH
12/4 Egyptian Room, Indianapolis, IN
12/5 The Fillmore, Detroit, MI
Tuomas Holopainen The Life and Times of Scrooge Released: 11thApril, 2014 Folk/Symphonic Rock Released via Nuclear Blast
Being his first solo record, Tuomas Holopainen did an outstanding job of creating a masterpiece that is very different from anything he has ever done in his primary band, Nightwish. This is a concept album that is based off of the Disney novel, The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, and if this book did have a movie, I’m confident that this album would be the soundtrack. There are, of course, keyboards and a symphony which doesn’t branch too far from Nightwish, but there are also elements of folk heard at different times which gave this the light-hearted, childish feel you might get from a Disney movie.
Many musicians helped to create the album, and most of them were not from metal bands. However, Tony Kakko of Sonata Arctica played the part of the “storyteller” and one of Nightwish’s newest members, Troy Donockley, played the pipes and whistles. I like that even with the help of metal musicians, it still did not derive away from the over feel of the album. There are some times when songs definitely were a bit more aggressive and heavier, and that subtle influence was enough to remind me that this album was made by a metal musician.
One track in particular, Cold Heart of the Klondike, had an intro that reminded me a lot of something that Nightwish would have written. This is probably because it starts out with primarily the keyboards and then gradually goes into violins paired with dramatic choir vocals, and that’s something I would expect to hear on any kind of symphonic metal album. While I greatly enjoyed these small bits of fast and epic music, it’s primarily what I looked forward while listening to this album. I felt that the tracks were much too long and kind of dragged out after a while. The only tracked I really enjoyed listening to was their single release, A Lifetime of Adventure. To me, it was the most memorable because it had the most vocals and didn’t drag out for too long. While the other songs were done beautifully, they were just entirely too long and repetitive for my liking.
Overall, this album was a great listen. I highly recommend picking it up once it is released next month if you are a fan of symphonic, folk, or power metal. A Lifetime of Adventure has a music video out if you want to preview what the album actually sounds like as well. I was impressed by the musicianship and overall quality of this album, and I hope Tuomas Holopainen continues to make more solo records.
Lecherous Nocturne Behold Almighty Doctrine Released 19th March, 2013 Technical Death Metal Released via Unique Leaders Records
Being, in my opinion, one of the most underrated bands in metal, South Carolina’s Lecherous Nocturne have returned with the release of Behold Almighty Doctrine. It has been five years since the release of their last album, The Age of Miracles Has Passed, and it is clearly evident that the band has progressed in that span of time. The biggest change to me is in the vocals since former vocalist, Jason Hohenstein, was replaced by former member, Chris Lollis. Both vocalists have different styles with Hohenstein have a more raw, old school sound compared to Lollis’ stronger and profound screams. Nonetheless, I found that Lollis’ vocals perfectly complimented the shredding guitar work of Krieshloff Lofgren and Ethan Lane which ultimately puts this album in my top ten releases of this year.
Starting after the intro with Ourboros Chains, my first impression was that I was listening to a different band entirely. I didn’t think Lecherous Nocturne could possibly sound any heavier than they already do, but they proved me wrong by adding extra helpings of heaviness to every song on this album. The band has such a unique playing and writing style, however, which I feel makes them stand out from the rest of the more modern death metal bands today. They basically did a phenomenal job at using other bands as influences rather than trying to carbon copy them, and this is probably the reason why they are so underrated.
One song on this album that stood out to me was Those Having Been Hidden Away only because of the intro. It was one of those intros that really just get you into the song just from starting out so strong, and that feeling continued through the rest of the song until the end when they finish wish a breakdown. An actual breakdown, mind you, and not the typical deathcore breakdowns which are completely unnecessary for the song. I also love the instrument that follow, Prelude #2, which is then followed by Judgments and Curses. I feel the that three instrumental tracks on this album compliment the rest of the tracks, which are all under 4 minutes in length, and keeps the album short, sweet, and to the point.
Again, this is definitely in my top ten metal albums of 2013. Lecherous Nocturne has never disappointed me with their music despite various lineup changes and progression seen throughout the band. Everyone should listen to this album at least once or maybe a thousand times. This band definitely deserves more recognition for their amazing talent and I hope nothing but good things for them in the future.
Necrotherion Live Misanthropy Released August 2013 Black Metal Self Released
Being a band that is focused on creating raw black metal, Ohio’s Necrotherionclearly portrays this with the release of their live album, Live Misanthropy. The seven songs range from fast paced, Emperor/Darkthrone sounding songs to more drone based songs that sound like it was made by older Mayhem. Melodic and beautiful black riffspaired with vocals filled with agony and raw emotion make this band sound like they would’ve fit in the early black metal scene in Norway. While it seems like black metal has become less about the music and more about the trends, Necrotherion looks beyond those trends. You can tell that their only purpose is create music that is hard hitting and shocking while sticking to traditional black metal roots. Also, live albums can be boring to listen to because you’re not there to actually experience what the band sounds like, but with this album, I felt like I was there headbanging along to every song.
The first couple of songs on the album, Whispering Trees and Nihilistic Faith, didn’t draw me in right away. While I loved the build up intro for Whispering Trees, the rest of the song felt a bit jumbled with what seemed like this huge wall of noise coming at me at a millions miles a minute. I feel like they could have opened with a different song, specifically Novus Ordo Seclum. That song was my absolute favorite out of any song on this album just because of how melodic the intro riff was and how the entire song reminded me of another black metal band, Cirith Gorgor. While black metal isn’t my favorite metal sub-genre, sometimes black metal bands come up with these beautifully heavy riffs that just makes me love it so much.
Along with changing the opening song, the only other criticism I could even think of is the quality of the sounds on the album. I could sit here and nit pick about how Live Misanthropy didn’t have a great quality to it because it’s a live album, but that’s usually how live albums sound anyway. Of course there could have been screw up while playing the songs, but there was really nothing I heard that made me want to immediately stop listening to the album.
I highly recommend this album to anyone who is a huge fan of black metal, more so raw sounding black metal verses the over produced, hipster black metal bands that seem to be popping out of nowhere lately. Live Misanthropy was one of the best live metal albums I’ve personally ever listened to just because it did what a lot of other live albums didn’t do, and that was creating a show where I felt like a part of the crowd even though I was sitting at a computer. You could feel the stage prescience and passion from when vocalist Stellarvore spoke in between songs saying powerful but yet brutal messages such as “you have one life to live, don’t f***ing waste it!” Necrotherion are truly underrated and I honestly hope they put out a full length album in the future.
Cattle Decapitation Monolith of Inhumanity Released 8th May, 2012 Progressive Death Metal/Grindcore Released via Metal Blade Records
Cattle Decapitation is known for their catchy riffs, intense and gore-filled lyrics, and of course their absolutely insane but diabolical vocals. It was no surprise that Monolith of Inhumanity incorporated each of these well-known elements and more. With this album, it really shows how much this band has progressed in their music, going from a more grindcore based song style to adding more structure and memorable riffs into their songs. This was my favorite album of 2012 hands down just for the sheer brutality and for making the music sound heavy without and technicality.
A couple songs that stuck out for me were The Carbon Stampede and Forced Gender Reassignment. Many people are aware that the video for Forced Gender Reassignment was arguably one of the goreiest and most disgusting music videos ever made. However, every time I hear that song I can’t help but windmill at the beginning riff and become excited as the song builds up to the end where it breaks down into a super slammy riff that just finishes it off perfectly. The Carbon Stampede also a phenomenal job of creating build up as the beginning song of the album with a quiet intro that gradually goes into spiraling chaos and heaviness that is consistently heard through the rest of this album.
While I really don’t see any kind of big criticism or gripe about Monolith of Inhumanity, the only thing that seemed kind of off to me was the beginning of the song The Monolith. The slow, drawn out song isn’t something that is commonly used by Cattle Decapitation and found it weird as a song on its own. However, having it be paired with Kingdom of Tyrants in a mini film, it made the song much more of a purpose rather than it just being thrown into the mix of all these fast and brutal songs.
Even after a year, I still find myself enjoying this album and still highly regard it was one of Cattle Decapitation’s best albums. In the span of their career, they’ve definitely grew in their playing and even vocal style, and they will probably continue to grow and to create even faster, more brutal music while, of course, still create music videos and artwork that will make many people squirm. Monolith of Inhumanity is an absolutely incredible album and it’s something every metal fan should listen to!
Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, the boys of Battlecross have hit major success with the release of their albums Push Pull Destory, Pursuit of Honor, and their newest release War of Will. Playing with major metal acts and being a part of massive tours such as the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival and Orion Music Fest, it’s no wonder that they’re well known and loved by many. They’ve taken influences of upbeat thrash, death and southern metal to create a sound that’s punishing but is also is refreshing for fans of metal. I got the chance to catch up with Battlecross guitarist; Hiran Deraniyagala for a word or two about the new album; War Of Will as well as his musical inspirations and movies.
Lauren: How did you come up with the name Battlecross?
Hiran: Tony came up with it. I remember coming out of one of my classes in college and getting a text from Tony saying “What about Battlecross, as a band name?” I remember it just hit me really well. I loved it but like with all band names we always check the internet to see if anyone already had the name we came up with. No one had the name from what we could find so we both agreed it was an awesome name. It took some convincing to get the other band members to agree with it but eventually they just went with it. “Battlecross” to me represents something powerful, epic and aggressive which I think represents the music. I like the fact that our name can give people different expectations about how we sound versus a typical band name. People have assumed we’re a “Power Metal” band and obviously got something different from what they expected.
Lauren: Who are your biggest musical inspirations?
Hiran: In general I would say that we draw a common influence from Pantera, Metallica and Slayer but we each have our own musical influences that we draw influence from. Personally, I draw influence from various metal bands like Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus, Circle Of Dead Children, Pig Destroyer, Woe Of Tyrants, Goatwhore, Emperor, Meshuggah, Morbid Angel, Mastodon, Black Sabbath, Down, and local metal bands from Michigan like, Enkephalin, Summer Dying and GutRot. I’ve always been intrigued by the technicality and aggressiveness of extreme metal bands but also the groove of doom metal.
Lauren: How would you say your newest album, War of Will, differs from your previous releases?
Hiran: Yes definitely. War of Will is a much more focused and mature album for us. We grew as a band, from touring and also mentally, from being in a different position as a full time touring band on a label. There are expectations that not only come from ourselves but from fans and the industry. We were under pressure to complete the album and had roughly a month or two to finish writing followed by a tour and then right into the studio. We didn’t let the pressure stop or deter us from what we had to do. We knew we had to kick it up a notch to top what we did on the first album but at the same time not lose who we are as a band. I think each song on this record has more of a dynamic. We didn’t want every song to sound the same or just play fast all the time. There’s more melody but still brutality on this record. With tracks like “Flesh and Bone” and “Wage a War” which have a lot of melody to them, then you have “Beast” and “The Will To Overcome” which reflect the brutality of the band and then songs like “Ghost Alive” and “Force Fed Lies” that are thrash style songs.
Lauren: How has touring been this last year?
Hiran: Touring has been great! We’ve had so many great opportunities that we had the pleasure of being a part of. From Trespass America with Five Finger Death Punch and Killswitch Engage, opening for In Flames, then Orion fest with Metallica and of course, Mayhem Festival with Rob Zombie, Mastodon, Amon Amarth, Children of Bodom, Machine Head and Huntress. All these tours have given us a chance to play in front of large crowds and have really helped us gain a quickly growing fan base. There a lot of bands that never get a chance to do these types of tours so we’re really thankful we’ve had the chance to be a part of these. Touring is hard work and a lot of dedication but when you bust ass and do tours like these it really makes the work all worthwhile. We’ve always been a hard working band and we know that this just the beginning to more opportunities. We don’t let these opportunities get to our head and we know that we’re still a young band that has more to prove but we’re ready.
Lauren: Have there been any memorable shows for you this last year?
Hiran: I would say most memorable show for us was Orion Music and More with Metallica. Playing a show with Metallica is a dream come true and we got to play with them in our hometown of Detroit! Not only did we play on the same bill with them but we got to be part of a press conference with the band! Out of all the great bands on the bill we were selected to do this! It was unreal and as a matter of fact I barely said a word at the press conference because I was so nervous! Never thought I would be sitting next to Metallica! To top it all off, James Hetfield and Robert Trujillo, came out on stage before we went on and introduced us! They pumped up the crowd and us! We went up there on fire and just burnt the place down with our energy and excitement. Truly a memorable and career highlight for us!
Lauren: If you could replace the soundtrack to any movie with your own music, which one would it be and why?
Hiran: I’m honestly more of a fan of scores when it comes to movies versus putting songs in a movie soundtrack. I really wouldn’t want to change the soundtrack of any particular movie I like because I feel like the music is already fitting for it but if I could I make my own movie with our music I would make an action movie. It’d be like the Expendables battling against the cast of all those dumb reality TV shows.
Lauren: Where would you like to see Battlecross in 5 years?
Hiran: My hope that our career is still thriving and that we will be touring all over the world. That’s all I really want from this band is a solid career and be playing anywhere and everywhere we can.
Lauren: Are there any plans for any upcoming tours or a new album?
Hiran: Definitely upcoming tours, we have a tour with Hatebreed, Shadows Fall and Acacia Strain this fall followed by a tour with Death Angel, 3 Inches Of Blood, Revocation and Diamond Plate! After that not sure what else is in store other than more touring and hopefully heading overseas! Can’t wait to play in Europe, South America, Japan and every where else on the globe! As far as a new album we’re not really focused on that yet other than working on some ideas on our own here and there.
The Antiquity A Colossal Infliction of Hate Released: Summer 2013 Hardcore/Death/Groove Metal Self Released
Hailing from Scarborough, The Antiquity just recently released their EP, A Colossal Infliction of Hate, marking the first of what they have to offer to metal. This EP has 5 tracks, each of decent length and quality, and totals to a little over 15 minutes long. Upon listening to this EP, I am reminded of a lot of the hardcore/deathcore that is released here in the United States. It’s super monotonous with prepubescent vocals while each song replicates itself in style, guitar riffs, and vocally. With the exception of the monologue in the beginning track, Quarantine, and for a motorcycle revving up followed by a scream in the track BLASTthehorse, the entire EP sounds like one drawn out song.
There were a couple parts to A Colossal Infliction of Hate that I actually did enjoy, however. During certain songs, there would be parts that felt extremely groovy and it reminded me of bands such as Thy Will Be Done, Acaro, and Hatebreed. If more of these kinds of melodic riffs were added to this EP, it would’ve been much more enjoyable to listen to. While I’m not a fan of hardcore music, I felt that The Antiquity did a fantastic job of incorporating elements of hardcore along with the more death metal and groovy parts.
The biggest turn off for me was definitely the vocals. While I enjoyed the range of guttural to high pitched screaming, there were hardcore-styled vocals thrown into there, which are essentially similar to Jamey Jasta’s. I understand that this is the way hardcore vocals are done, it just did not mix with the music at all. Had the vocalist just stuck to the guttural vocals with the occasional high pitched screaming, I feel the songs would have flowed more and wouldn’t have sounded so sporadic.
I personally would not be interested in regularly listening to this band since I’m not big into hardcore or deathcore, but I would highly recommend it to fans of either genre. I hope to hear more groovy riffs and a better vocal range from The Antiquity in the future, and this is just the beginning for these guys. Hopefully they develop more as musicians and put out a killer CD!
Deformation of Man Self-Titled Released 11 February, 2013 Groove Metal Self Released
Hailing from Sheffield, Deformation of Man have come together to make hard-hitting metal that is loud and aggressive in every possible way. With the release of their self-titled debut album, they’ve compiled 10 tracks that are diverse in sound and will keep you headbanging whether you listen to it in the car, sitting at your computer, or even are your grandmother’s funeral.
What really impressed me most about this album were definitely the guitars. Melodic and groovy riffs are heard throughout every song which, to me, is important since all the songs didn’t sound like they ran together. Not only were they super catchy, they also were not overly technical. Technical metal has been on the rise lately so it’s nice to hear a band who keeps it simple but more importantly keeps it brutal.
A couple of my favorite tracks for me were Down in the Filth and Perfect Lie. These two songs had the most memorable riffs on the entire album. Both songshad awesome choruses and gave me the feeling of wanting to listen to more to the album. To be honest, I was not fully into this album when I first started listening to it, but as I listened to it more, it grew on me and I actually enjoyed it.
One flaw in this album though is definitely the vocals. To me, they seemed monotonous and would really sometimes drown out the rest of the music. If there were more high vocals added to this album, it would’ve made it that much better. The vocals are probably the reason why it took me longer to get into the album, and it’s not like the vocals were completely unbearable either. For some reason, bands with one-level vocals like Hatebreed make it harder for me to enjoy the songs.
However, I would say that is album is an overall hit. If you’re a fan of bands like Heaven Shall Burn, Hatebreed, or Thy Will Be Done, you will definitely enjoy this band and this album. The fact that the guitars sounded absolutely incredible on this album was enough to win me over, and I hope to hear more!
Gutfucked’s newest full length album Fucked to Death is so far in my top 10 favorite albums of 2013. The brutality and heaviness that is strewn throughout this entire album is just mind blowing, and for a newer band, I commend them for coming off with a strong first albums. I enjoyed everything from the heavy guitars, punishing blast beats, and vocals so low that they practically blended into the music itself. Not to mention, I got a good chuckle out of some of the song titles that were used such as Sister Fister, Too Sick to Suck It, and A Night with Uncle Daddy.
Fucked to Death starts off surprisingly with a beautiful intro of a choir singing and it sounded like an apocalypse was about to begin. Once the choir music ends, Gutfucked wastes no time and just dives right into a fast and brutal riff fest while practically raping my ears with their music. The album only then progressively gets better and heavier while sometimes having brief moments in songs where there is dialogue that talks about gore-related topics.
The vocals on this album really aren’t my preferred choice of vocals, however, just because it’s hard for me to listen to really low vocals for such a long time. The contrast with the higher vocals in some songs made this easier, and it was easier to move past the low vocal range after focusing more on the guitar and drums.This is the kind of album that makes me happy and proud to be a fan of death metal. Gutfucked incorporated so much brutality into this one album that I still can’t even really comprehend it. Again, this is in my top albums for 2013 and I highly recommend giving Gutfucked a listen!
Being a spanking new band hailing from my home state of Connecticut, Bonded Through Hate has really outdone themselves with the release of Doomsday: The Rise of Valhalla. Being their first EP I was blown away by how heavy this album was. The riffs were memorable and somewhat melodic while some other guitar parts were just extremely fast to the point where I had to choice but to head bang. Bonded Through Hate has the brutalness of death metal paired with slamming hardcore to create something that is fast and melodic at the same time.
My favorite track off of this EP was Killing Is My Name¸ the first of the five songs off this album. The intro starts off very quietly and then out of nowhere, the music picks up followed by a long, high scream that gave me chills from its sheer awesomeness. Throughout the song, they repeat the name of it multiple times which reminded me of something that Exhumed does with their songs as well. This paired with a breakdown towards the end of the song just made it enjoyable to listen to and it definitely stuck out to me over everything else.
The rest of the album was also great as well. The last track, BTK, also had an intro to it rather than just delving right into the song like the other 3 tracks did. The buildup of this intro really left an impression on this song and was a great way to end the album. Overall, I have no major complaints about this EP except the songs were kind of predictable in presentation and there was really nothing that completely stood out to me about the music. Maybe it’s because they haven’t really developed a unique sound yet, but I anticipate to hear a full length album from these guys in the near future!
Arkona Decade of Glory Released 22nd February, 2013 Folk/Pagan Metal
Released via Napalm Record
Naturally, live albums sound much different than studio albums and give more of a sense of a band’s raw and natural talent. With the release of Decade of Glory live album, Russian folk/pagan metal band Arkona clearly shows a great deal of talent and musicianship. Each song off of this 3 disc live album is energetic and powerful in delivery. Arkona knows exactly how to captivate a crowd and keep them engaged with the show from start to finish.
Each performance was unique, and each song sounded very close to the studio album versions. Vocalist Masha does a phenomenal job with her beautiful clean vocals and killer growls as well keeping the audience bouncing and energetic. The use of flutes and bagpipes also kept the energy of the entire performance up as well. I felt that time flew by while I listened to this album due to how immersed I felt while I was listening to it. Having seen Arkona live before myself, I felt like I was standing there amongst the other people in the crowd banging my head to the music.
Generally, I’m not a fan of live albums only because I personally would rather be watching it live myself rather than listening to people who are there and actually enjoying the show. With Decade of Glory, however, it felt very realistic. The opening song Az’ gave me the chills you would typically feel while waiting for the main act of a concert to come out on stage. I give Arkona a ton of credit for being not only a great studio band but also a phenomenal live show, and if you ever get the chance, I highly recommend going and seeing this band play a show!
Finsterforst Rastlos Released 23rd November, 2012 Folk Metal Released via Napalm Records
Finsterforst are a band that goes beyond average folk metal and has such strong emotion integrated into each of their songs, whether it may be fast, slow, short, or long. With the release of their third full length album Rastlos, all elements of folk and metal are beautifully composed into a short but memorable album. It did not take long for me to completely immerse myself within this album and I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.
There are a few tracks that are comprised of quieter and softer sounds that add a much needed break between the lengthy and fast tracks. The sixth track off of this seven track album, Rast, was only composed of birds chirping and essentially the sounds of nature. It’s not very uncommon for folk metal to add nature sounds into their songs, but I found it interesting that this almost 2 minutes track was just solely dedicated to just playing nature in its untouched state. I thought this as a great tactic, however, because the last track, Flammenrausch, is just over 22 minutes long and that quiet intermission helps you prepare for the brutality of this long track.
As far as the other songs go, I was pleased with how excellently they were put together. The contrast of gravely vocals and a heavy but slow guitar sound paired with the undertones of accordion and keyboards as well as clean vocals made this album brutally beautiful. Each of the faster songs were all over 10 minutes long which made the Rastlos seem like a 10 – 12 track album when in actuality, it was much shorter. Finsterforst have done an incredible job in producing this album and I look forward to their next!
Hailing from Pennsylvania, black metal band Neldöreth have been going for almost 10 years and are coming back with a new line up as well as a new album. The band has been busy setting up tour dates and finishing their newest album The Saints of Blasphemy – I: Baptized in Blasphemy. I got a chance to do an e-mail interview with vocalist Oz Bloodcurse where he describes what exactly Neldöreth is all about and his take on the underground metal scene today.
Lauren: How would you describe Neldöreth?
Oz Bloodcurse: Neldöreth is a fire which cannot be extinguished. We are a vessel or communication between two worlds. A pack of ravenous wolves, who will devour anything in our way.
L: How did Neldöreth form?
OB: I had made a pact with Satan to bring his blasphemous will to man many years ago. For a very long time, I had a hard time finding members who followed this same path, but recently I found those members in Heathen and Abyss. Also, I was tired of trendy “metal” bands polluting the scene in PA and wanted to bring something much different to the scene.
L: Why did you choose the name Neldöreth?
OB: When I first formed the band, the films based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, were very big. So I figured if I used a name from the series, it may draw some attention to ourselves, and we could then spread our message until them. The band’s lyrical content, however, has nothing to do with the books or films.
L: Who are your musical inspirations?
OB: We draw inspiration from any band who follows the same spiritual path as ourselves.
L: What are Neldöreth’s current plans for an album and shows?
OB: The new album, The Saints of Blasphemy – I: Baptized in Blasphemy, will be released on April 2nd. In May, we will do a short US run with Heathen and Abyss’ other band, Torment. Then in the Fall, we head out for a full US tour with our brothers in Hubris. In between tours we will begin working on the next album, which will be the second part of the Saints of Blasphemy trilogy.
L: What was the best and worst show ever played?
OB: One of my favorite rituals, was last year on the US tour when we headlined the Northern Hammerfest in Wisconsin. We hit the stage during the witching hour. It was a very inspiring experience for myself. The energy I felt around me was very strong. That is why when the promoter asked us to come back this year, of course I said yes! As far as worst, if after we play, if one person leaves and has gotten Satan’s message, then we have succeeded in our mission. Of course there are many shows with bad sound issues, or terrible opening bands, but this is common with every band, so I don’t let any of this sway me from the mission at hand.
L: How do you feel about the underground metal scene today?
OB: I really do not pay attention to any new bands coming out today, as I am stuck in the past when it comes to music. I truly believe the best and most influential bands, came out of the 60s – 90s. I am sick of the same bands, playing trendy music that all sounds the same, or thrash bands mimicking the bands of the 80s like a bunch of parrots I feel nothing from any of these and to me, they are nothing special and will eventually phase themselves out for the next trend. However, I do enjoy the rising black metal and war metal scene out of Finland, Asia, and North/South America.
L: Anything you’d like to say to your fans?
OB: Keep an eye out for us this year when we tour the US and keep an eye out for our new album.
Aeurtum The Fall Released 27th July, 2012 Progressive Melodic Death Metal Self-Released
For being a one man band, Aeurtum did an outstanding job of combining melodic, progressive, and death metal all into one album. While the style of the songs varied over this 9 track album, it was still a consistent sound of beautiful riffs paired with heavier vocals. Jon Collins, the man behind the music, showed his talents with this album and how he can vary is playing style to come through with something so beautifully done.
The album starts off with a more progressive/melodic instrumental named …And So It Begins, and so it began indeed. The next song, Parity, has a slow introduction as well but increasingly gets heavier, and by the third song, Deliverance, the riffs have gotten even heavier and the vocals more gravely and intense like a death metal song. This continual build up over a period of not just one song but three songs is something that is not common in albums. Maybe Jon Collins didn’t intentionally try and create this sort of build up, and even if he didn’t I found this enjoyable to listen to.
Usually I’m not very fond of when bands combine too many sub genres of metal because to me, it sounds like the music is all over the place and that the bands are very unsure of what they want to sound like.. However, when done right, like Aeurtum has done, it can create a sound that’s not only unique but it also shows how talented the musicians (or in this case, musician) is at taking such extremely different genres and making them work together. While the vocals on this album sometimes sounded a bit off with the songs, I did not see any real flaws with The Fall. It was beautifully written and well done and I hope the next album sounds just as good, if not better, than this one.
After releasing their self titled album in September of 2012, NettleCarrier have grown a small following in Europe and are the epitome of traditional black metal. I got the chance to interview the band via e-mail in which they discuss their influences on their music, how the band was formed, and how they enjoy hiking in the Norwegian mountains.
How did you come up with the name NettleCarrier?
Our first drummer came up with the name so I guess you would have to ask him. The meaning being a spreader of death suits us and fits the music
How did NettleCarrier form? Me and Mannevond formed the band in 2004 when I moved to Oslo. We had been talking about playing together for a long time and me moving just kick started the process. At that time I also played in Ljå, but after I left LJå and started Djevel I had more time to focus on Nettlecarrier as well. We had a desire to do something different from our other bands, but obviously it ended up pitch black in the end anyway.
If you were to describe NettleCarrier in one word, what word would it be and why? Sinister. Because we are.
What bands influence your music the most? Hmm, In NettleCarrier it is mostly band from the 80`s like Bathory and Hellhammer, but also stuff like Aura Noir etc.
Do you have any other hobbies when you aren’t making music?
Hiking in the Norwegian mountains.
What are your thoughts on the current metal scene? I am a very big music fan, and I like almost all genres, but I can`t keep track of all that is happening anymore. I have noticed that the underground has started to move again so that’s good. On the other hand I really hate the term “Extreme metal”. That’s s just like a big garbage can filled with lame bands.
What are some upcoming shows/touring that you plan on doing?
We played at Bunker 2012 in Oslo in august and we will play Bunker again this year. We are not a live-band, so one concert every year is far too much already.
Who would you like to tour with? Since we would never go on a tour I would have to say no one.
Anything you would like to say to your fans? Keep supporting the underground and stay away from all false; ANTI “king ov hell”
Babylon Fire Dark Horizons Released: 12thNovember, 2012 Heavy Metal Released via Rocksector Records
Babylon Fire is a band who says they are influenced by older metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath and also by the newer bands like Stone Sour,Machine Head, and Five Finger Death Punch. This blend of older heaviness with a new, clean vocal style has created a unique sound that goes beyond standard metal to create something with a bit more groove and rhythm to it. Although they’ve been a band for five years now, their first full length album Dark Horizons depicts their influences very well.
Every song on this album had a medium to fast tempo that kept it diverse and exciting to listen to. The first song on this 12 track album, The Clarion Call, wasted no time in drawing you in with fast paced riffs and that made you instantly hooked into the song. However, I found it hard to enjoy the music itself because of the vocals. While I am not opposed to mixing clean vocals with fast and melodic riffs, I felt that the vocals were too overpowering in every song. Also, the mix of clean vocals with growling vocals made it confusing at first, in my opinion, as to what kind of band they were trying to be.
In modern metal and heavy music, there seems to be this pattern now where bands want to incorporate so many different influences into their music. I feel that Babylon Fire shows each of their influences throughout this album but with the newer influences definitely being the more dominant sound. I would recommend this album to anyone who is a fan of Five Finger Death Punch,Stone Sour, or any other band that sounds like them. While I could hear subtle influences of older heavy metal throughout Dark Horizons, I feel that they are definitely a newer sounding band.
After the release of their newest album Serpent Sermon this last year, black metal band Marduk has announced that they will be coming back to North American for their Voices of the Dark tour with Moonspell as a co-headliner. With them will be Inquisition, The Foreshadowing, and Death Wolf as supporting bands. Below are a list of dates:
2/20 – Springfield, VA @ Empire 2/21 – Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance 2/22 – Worcester, MA @ The Palladium 2/23 – New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre 2/24 – Montreal, QC @ Club Soda 2/25 – Toronto, ON @ Wreck Room 2/26 – Millvale, PA @ Mr. Small’s Theatre 2/27 – Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s 2/28 – Saint Paul, MN @ Station 4 3/01 – Winnipeg, MB @ Osborne Village Inn 3/02 – Regina, SK @ The Exchange 3/03 – Edmonton, AB @ Pawn Shop 3/04 – Calgary, AB @ Dickens 3/05 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre 3/06 – Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven 3/07 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre 3/08 – Oakland, CA @ Oakland Opera House 3/09 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Vex 3/10 – Tempe, AZ @ 910 Live 3/11 – Albuquerque, NM @ TBC 3/12 – Dallas, TX @ Tomcats West 3/13 – San Antonio, TX @ Korova 3/15 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room 3/16 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
Before this tour, Marduk will be playing a few shows in Australia and New Zealand. They will also be headlining Deathkult Open Air in Germany and will also be playing Hellfest, With Full Force Open Air Festival, Brutal Assault Festival, and Summer Breeze Open Air Festival in the summer of 2013.
Atragon Volume 1 Released: 14thDecember, 2012 Doom Metal Released via Witch Hunter Records
Although doom metal really isn’t my preferred choice of metal, I was thoroughly impressed by how well executed Atragon’s EP Volume 1 was. With only two tracks that add up to a total of almost 25 minutes, I was drawn to the slow, melodic riffs paired with vocals that had the perfect amount of drone and brutality. In their faster riffs, you can hear a definite influence of Candlemass who are just epitome of doom metal, and it’s those riffs paired with the slower parts that made this EP worth listening to.
Both songs, The Sound in the Halls and Jesus Wept, are both similar in delivery and in depth, although Jesus Wept is the longer of the two. That song was dragged out more with a doomy part placed in the middle of it that really added, in my opinion, to the entire song itself. The slower and doomier parts in both songs actually gave me chills by how beautiful they were, and it’s very hard to give me chills especially with this kind of metal that I’m not entire familiarized by. I’ll admit that I was not really into the music at first, but as I kept listening to it, I felt myself loving it more and more. This band has great musicianship that can be clearly heard in this EP.
I highly recommend checking this EP out. There’s only 150 copies but you can also pay for both songs on iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon. I feel that this band will flourish in their music and eventually progress into a successful doom metal band in the way they’re making their music now.
Valkyrian Music 