We are the almighty drunkards, Bro Jovi, from the US. Bro Jovi is a rabid alcohol fueled beast, and is comprised of ex- and current members of ABIGAIL WILLIAMS (Candlelight Records), ABORTED (Century Media Records), and SYSTEM DIVIDE (Metal Blade Records).
Our debut album, Songs to Crush Beers to Vol. I : Slippery When Blacked, was recorded in late Fall of 2009 and is hot and ready for mass international consumption! The album was tracked and mixed at Conquistador Studios (Cleveland, OH) by producer/engineer Cole Martinez (System Divide, Aborted, Abigail Williams) while all artwork/layout duties were handled by Avernus Studios, otherwise known as the infamous, Sven De Caluwe (Aborted, System Divide).
We have posted three songs to whet your foul appetites and we hope it invokes a reaction of wretching, vomiting, twitching uncontrollably, or worse! Prepare yourselves for armageddon!
On the band’s MySpace site the boasts the following:
“Founded in late 2004 LIFELESS has been performing ultimate true to the bone traditional ever since. Without any fucking compromise!!!”
Perhaps they should have gone with more exclamation points to get their point across? Before doing any of reviews I receive a list that contains all of the albums we can write up for Metal Army America. What I usually do is take a listen to the bands on MySpace before deciding whether I’m going to remotely dig something before requesting to do the write up. I would much rather write something positive (which I think is more difficult than putting a negative piece together) about a band I remotely dig. But every now and then the quick listen online doesn’t always prepare you for the hot steaming turd you’re about to behold.
When I first listened to LIFELESS online I heard similarities between them and early SEPULTURA, so I thought cool, let me give it a listen, this should be right up my alley. Man was I wrong! The band has correctly named themselves, LIFELESS is how the album and band sounds. Aside from a few hints of SEPULTURA, the rest of the album really has nothing worth noting. Which is why I find the statement I referenced above to be that much more amusing. Without any compromise to what exactly? Statements like this are why metal in general is such an easy target for shows like BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD, and METALOCALYPSE. Because band’s constantly have to remind you how ultimate true to the bone they are, how they’re heavier, more true, more this, more that. But they forget to be more original, or at least semi-decent song writers. I’m sure there is a audience for this album, and people will disagree with me.
I’ve reviewed other albums that I thought where horrible, but was at least able to find some bright spots to mention. Beyond The Threshold Of Death honestly has nothing worth mentioning. I’m honestly baffled as to why IBEX MOON would re-released this album, I actually have a hard time understanding how the band has garnered enough of a following to merit a re-release.
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! GIVE US YOUR BATTLE STORIES!
We want to hear all your crazy metal stories and see the evidence! We’re going to start hosting stories from all of our supporters. If you have awesome stories to tell, send them our way! We want your stories, pictures, videos, anything! Hit us with your best metal shot. Let’s get this shit going!
AVENGED SEVENFOLD PERFORM LIVE FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE REV’S PASSING.
With help from DREAM THEATER’s Mike Portnoy, AVENGED SEVENFOLD performed live for the first time since Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan passed away last December.
In an interview with The Pulse Of Radio, M. Shadows stated, “Collectively we were all very, very nervous to get back up there onstage, but there were so many signs that referenced The Rev, you know, just kids with signs that said ‘Rest in peace, Rev’ and had things written on them,” he said. “You know, it was really awesome to see all the kids just so supportive. I mean, kids were just genuinely excited that we were getting back onstage and I think it was a really huge triumph for the band and for them to get us back out there and to feel like we’re moving on at this point.”
AVENGED SEVENFOLD will co-headline this summer’s inaugural Uproar Festival tour with DISTURBED and STONE SOUR. Portnoy will be playing all of the group’s 2010 tour dates.
STYGGELSE Heir Today God Tomorrow (Unexploded Records)
Raw, streetwise black metal from the mean streets of Sweden, the blasphemous Gothenburg quartet unknown as STYGGELSE (“Abomination” in their native tongue) are off to a running start here on their first full length for Unexploded Records, the furious Heir Today God Tomorrow.
It’s admittedly rare these days to hear a Scandinavian black metal act doing anything particularly new with the genre, but-while STYGGELSE doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel with their brand of holocaust hate-sometimes it’s just enough to hear a band doing their thing with enough sandpaper hate to get the proverbial job done. Specifically, STYGGELSE’s claim to fame is the rampant crust and thrash influence present within the songwriting, as evidenced within such track as ‘Defiance’ or ‘Innocent Until Caught’; it’s these somewhat-out-of-the-norm influences (along with the prerequisite CELTIC FROST and HELLHAMMER aesthetics on ‘Ready to Burn’, of course) which really lend Heir Today-God Tomorrow a leg up on its competition.
All of this is even more impressive given the fact that this is a debut. With only a 2006 EP and a couple demos to their name, STYGGELSE possesses a forceful maturity and an energetic spirit, all of which lend Heir Today-God Tomorrow a respectability; a sense that this band knows exactly what its doing, and is only just scratching the surface of what their capable. While this capability hasn’t as of yet shown its full colourful (or rather, grim black and white) bloom yet, it should be only a matter of time before STYGGELSE’s hunger pushes their already solid songwriting up over the cliff, and into DARKTHRONE territory of greatness, given that both bands possesses a similar raw metal atmosphere.
If that happens, then its fully conceivable that Sweden’s STYGGELSE will be knocking down doors and knocking up daughters in the foreseeable future. Watch and wait.
According to IncGamers, Metalocalypse: Dethgame, the spin-off game from Adult Swim’s gore-splattered animation about the adventures of DETHKLOK, the world’s “most popular” death metal band, will no longer be happening.
The title was reportedly being developed for release on Xbox LIVE Arcade / PlayStation Network, but Adult Swim has confirmed to GamePro that “Cartoon Network Enterprise has indeed ended production on the previously-announced Metalocalypse: The Dethgame.
“The decision was made that the creative direction of the game would not live up to the high standards we had set for the project and we did not want to release a less-than-outstanding game.”
Created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha, “Metalocalypse” premiered on August 4, 2006 on Adult Swim. The television program centers around the melodic death metal band DETHKLOK and often portrays dark and macabre content, such as subjects dealing with violence, death, and the drawbacks of fame, but in an often ironic and humorous fashion. The show can be seen as both a celebration and parody of heavy metal culture. The music is written by guitarist/creator Brendon Small, is credited to the band, and is featured in most episodes including actual guitar-fingerings and other band-movements of the characters.
Much like Trent Reznor is to NINE INCH NAILS, or Al Jorgensen is to MINISTRY, REVOLTING COCKS, etc. Peter Tagtgren is the mastermind behind PAIN. He is also the lead singer of the Swedish band HYPOCRISY. The reason I bring up Mr. Reznor and Mr. Jorgensen is that PAIN’s music is much in the same ilk as the projects both have been involved in. And due to the electronic/industrial influence on the album, the inevitable comparisons are going to come up. I should say they are similar in style, but not exactly the same. As a result don’t expect to find a lot of odd samples, or sweeps, arpeggios, etc. that you’ll find on a lot of the newer releases. Instead, think of Ministry mixed with Rob Zombie, with a twist of 80s flavored lyrics(fast woman, booze, fast cars, etc.). With all of this said, Tagtgren’s singing approach is actually very reminiscent of Tim Skold’s singing technique/style.
The album is laced with fist in the air, adrenaline pumping anthems, I don’t believe it was written and put together to be anything more than dare I say a fun album to listen to. Highlights include the churning riffs on “Have A Drink On Me”, the anthemic “Don’t Care”, the swing of “Reach Out (And Regret), the synthesizer and guitar tradeoffs of “No One Knows”, the guitar driven “Not Your Kind”, and the next to last track “Feed Us” which touches on some social issues including hunger and excess. This track includes female vocals for the chorus, and several piano parts that intertwine with the synths and guitar parts. The rest of the album is fairly solid, although the tracks don’t jump out at me as much as the ones that I have mentioned.
Cynic Paradise entertains from start to finish, as alluded to above, don’t expect to find anything revolutionary, or earth shattering. It is just a fun album from start to finish, the kind of album you’d crank in your car, with grooves you might find at a strip club, or anthems you’d sing along to while out drinking with your friends.
UNEARTHLY TRANCE summons forth V; an electric, urban funeral drone and their most epic full-length to date. With V the trio has come full circle; combining the expansive leanings of Electrocution and The Trident with the sparing, brooding doom of their earliest works. UNEARTHLY TRANCE’s unwavering dedication to their principle’s and craft has yielded some of America’s best metal with V.
UNEARTHLY TRANCE has announced a fall tour in support of their forthcoming album, V. The group will team up with Sweden’s SUMA for the East Coast run. Dates include:
9/30 Worcester, MA @ Ralph’s Diner
10/1 Providence, RI @ AS2220
10/2 Northampton, MA @ Elevens
10/3 Allston, MA @ O’Brians Pub
10/4 Wilkes Barre, PA @ Metropolis Café
10/5 Syracuse, NY @ Half Penny Pub
10/7 Columbus, OH @ Café Bourbon Street
10/8 Chicago, IL @ Ronny’s
10/9 Lansing, MI @ Mac’s Bar
10/10 Indianapolis, IN @ Melody Inn
10/11 Cleveland, OH @ Now That’s Class
10/12 Baltimore, MD @ The Hexagon
10/13 Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
TOM x JERRY + FINNTROLL = A PERFECT FRIDAY MORNING.
It’s Friday morning, i’m exhausted, this video is helping me from hiding under my desk and taking a nap… Hopefully it will give all of you a good laugh. Happy Friday!
