Posts Tagged ‘Century Media’
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013
Target Earth (Century Media)
 Yet another brilliant cover designed by VOVOID drummer AWAY. The fact that VOIVOD have finally released their sixteenth album, is a triumph for not only their fans, but all of metal in general. As one of the progenitors of Progressive Metal as a sub-genre, you can make a case that many of today’s bands are influenced by the style VOIVOD pioneered in 1980s. Although this is their first album since 2009′s Infini, and their first for Century Media; the band has been crushing it with projects galore for several years now. Rather than rest on their laurels like so many others, the band has turned in another stellar album, full of all of the twists and turns that made them respected to begin with back in the day.
Starting off with the title track, the aggressive, and technically impressive first song has everything in it you love about the band. From its winding guitars and urgent beats, to SNAKE‘s sneering lead vocals, the song is gem. All of the trademark melodic interplay between the guitar and bass is there too, owing a lot to the return of bassist BLACKY, in his first recorded Vv action in over twenty years. The driving pace of the song is not without a few left turns into the weird zone. Like much of the album it has all of the Thrash, Prog and bizarro Jazzy stuff you can handle, and some you likely can’t!
“Kluskap O’Kom” is about as straight up thrashing a song as this band has ever conjured. The verses have a clever melodic bent, but keeps the same tempo as the rest of the song, blistering. The chorus parts are pure shout-a-long fun. Dan (Chewy) Mongrain has stepped out of the shadows of PIGGY (RIP) and really taken up the mantle with his brilliant writing and playing. “Empathy for the Enemy” is a moody jam with Snake again chirping in with his awesome vocal performance. This may be one of my favorite overall performances from him in years. “Mechanical Mind” was the single, but in true fashion for this band, it is far from a typical musical piece. AWAY‘s tremendous drumming carries this track, but really all of the members contribute memorable parts. Angular riffs and jazzy cymbal hits transport the listener to a different head space. This is easily my favorite track of the album, and one I would love to hear played live. “Warchaic” is another song that is just full of sick changes. Mellow and introspective one minute, space rock-opera the next, and razor wire riffage of the highest order. The last 3/4ths of the song is just insanely good. “Resistance” again has that punky MOTORHEAD proto-metal feeling track the band does so well. Then it shifts gears into a creepy crawl of chords and strange beats and hits. “Kaleidos” it a track that the band started playing live over a year ago. Hearing it now recorded properly, it definitely proves to be another of the strongest tracks here. I think in the live setting, some of the slick guitar effects were lost a bit. No matter. “Corps Étranger” is a track that calls to mind the earlier work of the band and is simply majestic. I highly doubt even the most accomplished modern guitar players will be able to pull off some of these parts. Oh and Snake raps in French (Canadian) and it totally rules! “Artefact” has a touch of doom to it and some killer tribal sounding drums. Away remains one of the finest drummers of this or any eras, and does so without resorting to the trickery of others. Finishing off things like a death blow, “Defiance” is a minute and a half of weird, rage and mind bending technique. It fades out raging, a fitting close to another brilliant chapter in their legacy.
 Another year, another twisted masterpiece for VOIVOD.
GRADE: A
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: Avant Garde, AWAY, BLACKY, Century Media, Dan "Chewy" Mongrain, Jazz, PIGGY, Prog Metal, Rock-opera, SNAKE, space rock, Target Earth, the progenitors of Progressive Metal, thrash, voivod
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews | No Comments »
Thursday, January 10th, 2013
 Omar Cordy’s Top Metal Album of 2012
1. BIOHAZARD – Reborn in Defiance (Self-Released)
2. ISHAHN – Eremita (Candlelight)
3. THE DEVIL – The Devil (Candlelight)
4. BRENDON SMALL – Galaktikon (Self-Released)
5. CRYPTOPSY – Cryptopsy (Self-Released)
6. LULLACRY – Where Angels Fear (End of The Light)
7. CATTLE DECAPITATION – Monolith of Inhumanity (Metal Blade)
8. DERKETA - In Death We Meet (Self-Released)
9. DOWN – IV The Purple EP (Down Records)
10. SARAH JEZEBEL DEVA – Malediction EP (Listenable)
11. EPHEL DUATH – On Death and Cosmos EP (Agonia Records)
12. AS I LAY DYING – Awakened (Metal Blade)
13. SHADOWS FALL – Fire from the Sky (Razor and Tie)
14. CANNIBAL CORPSE – Torture (Metal Blade)
15. MESHUGGAH – Kollos (Nuclear Blast)
16. CORROSION OF CONFORMITY – Corrosion of Conformity (Candlelight)
17. OVERKILL – The Electric Age (eOne Metal)
18. FLYING COLORS – Flying Colors (Mascot)
19. ABIGAIL WILLIAMS – Becoming (Candlelight)
20. DEHUMANIZED – Controlled Elite (Comatose Music)
21. MALIGNANCY – Eugenics (Willowtip)
22. TERRORIZER – Hordes of Zombies (Season of Mist)
23. ABORTED – Global Flatline (Century Media)
24. NAPALM DEATH – Utilitarian (Century Media)
25. LAMB OF GOD – Resolution (Reprise)
26. JEFF LOOMIS – Plains of Oblivion (Century Media)
27. SPINESHANK -Anger Denial Acceptance (Century Media)
28. FEAR FACTORY – The Industrialist (Candlelight)
29. EXUMER – Fire & Damnation (Metal Blade)
30. GOD FORBID- Equilibrium (Victory)
by Omar Cordy
Tags: abigail williams, aborted, Agonia Records, Anger Denial Acceptance, as i lay dying, Awakened, Becoming, biohazard, brendon small, Candlelight, Cannibal Corpse, Century Media, Comatose Music, Controlled Elite, corrosion of conformity, cryptopsy, DEHUMANIZED, DERKETA, Down, DOWN IV The Purple EP, down records, eOne Metal, EPHEL DUATH, Equilibrium Victory, EREMITA, Eugenics, EXUMER, FEAR FACTORY, Fire & Damnation Metal Blade, Fire From The Sky, FLYING COLORS, Galaktikon, Global Flatline, God Forbid, Hordes of Zombies, In Death We Meet, ISHAHN, Jeff Loomis, Kollos, Lamb of God, Listenable, LULLACRY, Malediction EP, MALIGNANCY, Mascot, Meshuggah, METAL BLADE, Monolith Of Inhumanity, napalm death, Nuclear Blast, On Death and Cosmos EP, Overkill, Plains of Oblivion, Razor and Tie, Reborn in Defiance, Reprise, Resolution, SARAH JEZEBEL DEVA, season of mist, Shadows Fall, Spineshank, terrorizer, the devil, The Electric Age, The Industrialist, Torture, Utilitarian, Where Angels Fear End of The Light CATTLE DECAPITATION, Willowtip
Posted in Top 10 Lists | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 27th, 2012
Endless Procession Of Souls (Century Media)
Let me tell you how good of a band GRAVE is; They’re the kind of catchy, nasty, no-frilly laces Swedish Death Metal that almost made me want to go to the MORBID ANGEL/DARK FUNERAL show just to witness live. I very well could have, but I must be conservative with money, you see. GRAVE’s running not only on ten full-length albums, but associations with other legendary Swedeath bands like THERION (old, of course), ENTOMBED, and THE PROJECT HATE, MCMXCIX, so yes, they have what may be called a career. Look ‘em up on LinkedIn. The question that arises is, how does Endless Procession Of Souls measure up to everything else in the Death Metal scene after existing for over a quarter of a century? It pains me to say it’s quite underwhelming.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a decent album, packed to the bursting point with groovy headbangers, pooka-pooka-pooka circle pit bits, and classic slowdowns that will get a good zombie mosh going. Though these elements are used well by guys who clearly know their craft, they almost seem to be resting on their laurels and not trying their best anymore. For the first song or three, you’re finger-drumming along and whatnot, clearly diggin’ where it’s going, but by them time you’ve reached “Flesh Epistle”, you’re already wishing they’d either try something different or just begin eating each other. One hearkens back to the Into The Grave, where they simply blazed through the album in an idiotic brutal frenzy, armed with can-of-bees production and guitars that sounded like gore-soaked chainsaws, or Fiendish Regression, which saw them move in a slightly different direction from the standard Swedeath sound, while still maintaining what made GRAVE entertaining. Now, it just feels like something’s missing. Something that could ideally turn just another Swedish Death Metal album into a masterpiece that would re-claim their spot on the throne as the kings of all that is ugly in Sweden.
One glaring weakness is the vocals. Where the fuck did the intensity run off to? I’m guessing it was stolen by Travis Ryan of CATTLE DECAPITATION fame. While I’m not one to trash bands, AUTOPSY’s vocals, as far as I have been exposed to them, grate on my senses, and I feel like even I could have done a better job at the mic. GRAVE, while they’ve never had a bad vocal performance as far as I’m concerned, have done much better in the past, and it begs the question as to why Ola decided to neuter himself with the standard everyman style of Swedish Death Metal vocals that you’d probably hear on an UNLEASHED record. Speaking of UNLEASHED, they get dangerously close to sounding like them on this record. UNLEASHED does what they do best, which is writing and playing songs about Vikings, war, Norse mythology, and evil stuff, who knows, really. GRAVE is just supposed to be all about death and rotting stuff. While the music is not entirely unsuitable for a zombie invasion (though I’d personally pick a better album that Endless Procession), the lyrics could easily be swapped out with nothing but tank bombardments and trench warfare. Not only is the music and atmosphere created uninspired, but they insist on using the same songwriting techniques over and over and over. How many times can you have every instrument cut out aside from the guitars to segue into a Thrashy part, or have a slowdown section with a random solo over it, or recycle the same punky Swedeath section that we all know by heart with a slightly different SLAYER police siren solo over it? Not enough times, if you ask GRAVE. The highlights are few and far between, but the straight up Thrash section in “Perimortem”, as well as the consistently Doom-tinged crawl of the closing track “Epos” are welcome change-ups from the endless procession of tired riffing and cut’n’paste drum patterns from the Swedish Death Metal handbook. While it’s still a well-produced bit of face-ripping from a band that was crucial in inventing the formula, the mediocre outweighs the good.
The Verdict: It would be better with fresh ideas, more gore, and a production that made it sound like it was recorded in a tin shack dripping with fungus.
GRADE: C
by Sean “That Black Metal Dude” Genovese
Tags: Autopsy, Century Media, Doom-tinged, Endless Procession Of Souls, Entombed, gore, Grave, killing, MCMXCIX, metal reviews by Sean “That Black Metal Dude” Genovese, MORBID ANGEL/DARK FUNERAL, Norse mythology, old school death metal, old-school THERION, slayer, Swedeath, Swedish Death Metal, terrible vocals by good bands, The Metal Army Blog, the project hate, Travis Ryan of CATTLE DECAPITATION, UNLEASHED, Vikings, zombies
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews | No Comments »
Saturday, June 9th, 2012
Prisoners (Century Media)
Canadian metal band THE AGONIST released their long awaited third full length album Prisoners here in America this past Tuesday. The group formed in 2004 as The Tempest but changed their name to THE AGONIST when they were signed to Century Media three years later. Front-woman ALISSA WHITE-GLUZ is well known for her ability to do both clean vocals and growls. There is no shortage of either on this album.
The band does not sound like one specific band on the album, but rather sounds like other female fronted bands. Overall the vocals and the instruments are of good quality. However, after getting a few songs into the album they all started to sound the same. Whether the band intended it or not it was hard to tell one track from the other. Some of the songs seemed to go on for too long such as the track “Idemotor” (It clocks in at over eight minutes). Instead, the track would have fared better as two separate songs. The last two minutes are a cool instrumental and might have made a good opener for the album. That being said, “Idemotor” was probably one of my favorites. It is also the first single of the album. Another track that stood out to me was “Predator and Prayer”. What caught my attention about it were the children’s voices at the start of it. Hearing them repeatedly chant “We hear you. We don’t care” set a strange and creepy tone for the track. My final top choice from the album is “Anxious Darwinians”. White-Gluz does a great job showcasing her ability to do clean vocals and growls on a single track. Although it is a little over five minutes, it doesn’t feel like it’s never-ending.
If you’re trying to decide whether or not to purchase the album, my consensus is that it may not be the best album to get if you are new to THE AGONIST. However, if you are a huge fan of the band then it is not a bad purchase. In an interview with one of our writers a few days ago, White-Gluz stated that when making the album “rather than having a really coherent idea of what we all wanted to do, it was more of a struggle.” Perhaps next time they go into the studio they will have a more organized idea of what it is they want to say and will have a more articulate album.
GRADE: B-
By Melissa Campbell
Tags: alissa white-gluz, Arch Enemy, Century Media, crowdsourcing album funding, the agonist, whutmetal
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews | No Comments »
Thursday, June 7th, 2012
We caught up with singer Alissa White-Gluz of Montreal metallers THE AGONIST. Alissa is not your typical artist in any way and is starkly candid compared to many in the business. In our interview she revealed her unique perspectives on topics like her bands’ new album, the evolution of the group, the value of a trusted producer and much more.
Prisoners came out this week on Century Media.
MAA: The new album is coming out soon, so what can you tell us about it?
AWG: The album is called Prisoners. It comes out June 5th in North America and June 4th in Europe. It was a pretty lengthy process to record this album so we hare really happy to have it finally done.
MAA: How would you characterize the evolution of the band from the Lullabies for the Dormant Mind album to now?
AWG: It’s hard to say because the album is so new. I still think Lullabies is the best. On Once Only Imagined, Danny was the sole instrumental song writer. On Lullabies.. Simon wrote a little bit because he also plays guitar. On this album we also had Paco writing. So it was Danny, Simon and Paco; though mostly Danny. I have always written all the lyrics and vocals. I think the difference for this album from the last is that our musical influences have diverged. Rather than having a really coherent idea of what we all wanted to do, it was more of a struggle. That is why it took so long. The result is Prisoners.
 THE AGONIST in 2012: Forward into battle!
MAA: What does Christian Donaldson (CRYPTOPSY) as a co-producer bring to the band that you continue going back to him?
AWG: Oh he’s amazing! It’s convenient since he’s in Montreal and he’s a friend of ours, really understands us and he’s very efficient. For me personally, I love recording vocals with him. I would go with someone else, and I have recorded with other people for guest vocals, this and that. He’s a really patient person. He picks up on things quickly. He’s also a really musical person so its great to have that person who understands what you are trying to do and be able to guide you in the right direction. We did want to go with someone else just to get a different feel, but Christian does such a good job it was enough of a reason to go back with him.
MAA: THE AGONIST is out on the road supporting KITTIE. How is the tour going?
AWG: We are actually on the road right now, rolling on our way to Houston. The tour has been really good.
MAA: What made you want to be a writer and a singer in the first place?
AWG: I can’t actually, really cite anyone. I was just talking to my drummer about this a few minutes ago. I never really sat around as a teenager and admired bands and said I want to be like that or do that. I had friends with bands who needed a singer and I just sort of fell into it. I had done some plays and theater so I was like ‘Okay, whatever. I’ll give it a shot.’ After I joined my first band is when I started listening to metal. I thought “This kind of sounds like what we are doing, so I will try to do this or that.’ Writing wise I just never really studied anyone. Honestly, I just kind of do it. I’ve never planned anything out. If the result is good, that’s really lucky. I definitely didn’t train for it the way that maybe some other people have.
MAA: You are well known for your interests outside of the band like activism, fashion, painting etc. Is it all under one umbrella as “art” to you, or do you need to compartmentalize things to achieve your goals?
AWG: No it really is, that’s a good way to put it, compartmentalize. It’s more than just art, I consider it expression. Whether I’m performing a show, or giving a speech on animal rights, or talking to somebody that needs advice I’m just expressing what I think is good for someone to hear, see and know. It’s not really individual goals, it’s who I am and what I do. I am not cut out for public figure status. I’m not into everyone knowing my name or recognizing me. I like to pass on messages. That’s why I write lyrics the way I do. That’s why I’m active in the causes that I care about.
MAA: Why is Montreal such a fertile place for bands and artists to come from?
AWG: It’s hard to say because I am was born and raised in Montreal and I have never lived anywhere else. Maybe we’re complacent because we have so many good bands. There is always political issues going on. The two languages (English and French) probably add to that. There are so many different races of people. Montreal is so eclectic. You’ll have people that tour in metal bands and then they go home and do Rap, or they do Jazz or they play lounge music. There is really a good amount of talented people. It’s probably the same in other places. From touring I do know that for example, there are definitely certain cultures tied to certain cities. Like, for example Dallas, which is tied to cowboy culture. Portland has a hippie culture and perhaps Montreal maybe doesn’t have one specific culture, we have many. And that is probably what helps make really strong bands.
MAA: Why is it such a priority to reach your fans on social media like Twitter and YouTube as much as you do?
AWG: I just started doing it because there were so many fake profiles of me online, like fake band and Alissa pages that were giving out false information on us. We were hearing from fans ‘why did you cancel your show in Argentina?’ And we never had a show in Argentina. There were these fake sources giving false info and I had to do something. I just started taking control of it so there would be one specific thought that people could go and find the real information and make people pay attention to the official sources. And also to divert attention away from the fake sites. It’s a double-edged sword and you have to be careful. People tend to think that they know you. People need to realize that I talk to thousands of people each week. As much as I want to respond to every question, and I say this on my bio on Facebook, there are lines of respect that have to be there. Most people are still strangers to me. If people treat me like a human being with respect, then I have no problem meeting them and getting to know them. In most cases people are losing all sense of common courtesy when it comes to meeting performers after or before a show.
MAA: Well I’m not totally shocked by that! Thanks for sharing that and good luck on the tour.
AWG: Thanks and goodbye!
By Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: activism, bassist Chris Kells, bassist Jason Ward, bassist Tim Williams, Century Media, charity element, crowdsourcing album funding, Death Metal, drummer Eric Moore, exclusive content and items, guitarist Danny Marino, guitarist Ed Carlson, inspirations, lullabies for the dormant mind, melodic death metal, metalcore, MIKE MUIR, modern success of classic thrash bands, ORION MUSIC AND MORE FESTIVAL, Peta, poetry, prog, reward tiers for pledging support, self-producing, social media, Tech Nightmares, the agonist, thrash, touring
Posted in Feature Interviews, Interviews | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, May 29th, 2012
Perspective EP (Century Media)
After bursting on the scene a few years back, TESSERACT is a band that continues to impress me. You can call them “djent” or call them prog metal, but I just call them a really promising band. Although fans were initially split over vocalist Dan Tompkins’ departure, Elliott Coleman has more than stepped in and stepped up based on those who have caught the band on the road or late. To further cement the new-lineup, the band released a new version of their popular track “Eden” from the One album named “Eden 2.0” last fall on YouTube. Now following that up with a mostly acoustic EP Perspective, the group is proving to be as fearless as the are talented.
The EP kicks off with “Perfection” which is awash in lonesome piano and other synth ear-candy. Coleman’s delicate, amazing tenor carries the melody of the track. Slowly the song builds in rhythm and melody later surging with emotions. The bands choices musically are intricate and cool while Coleman’s legato vocal acrobatics soar over the din. There is a brief guitar solo setting up the climax of the song that has ethereal quality to it. The second cut is a somewhat unplugged re-imagining of “April” from One. In addition to Coleman’s delivery and the keyboards, Amos Williams’ pulsing bass lines almost steal the show on this song, and the entire EP. In this environment musically, his funky walking lines can’t be overshadowed by thick, over-driven guitar chords. Drummer Jay Postones again vaults his name into the conversation of best drummers in the scene with his thoughtful, tricky stick work. The next track “Origin” is a somewhat chill take on it’s predecessor as part of the “Concealing Fate” suite that launched the band to notoriety. The bass and drums are no less crushing as the original version, but the guitars have new life breathed into them by the shifting dynamics. Acle Kahney and James Montieth really bring out the subtleties in the track with their guitar playing. This also shows that the 7 and 8 string slingers have more to offer than just metallic riffs and down picked, finger staining chords. You have to give them props, since most bands known for their guitar sound would never do a project like this in the first place. The most surprising track on the EP is the JEFF BUCKLEY cover “Dream Brother”. The track is from Buckley’s last album Grace and oddly enough is out just in time for the fifteen anniversary of his tragic death on May 29th. This version is stirring and although Buckley is not an obvious choice for this type of band, it does show a lot of maturity and soul to actually do it. The fully electric “Eden 2.0” rounds out the album and is full of their patented 7-string guitar orchestrations. Killer! I personally think of Coleman as a slightly different flavor than his predecessor, and he certainly has the goods to be a superstar front man/singer. This release ought to tide the bands’ many fans and guitar geeks over until the next full length album comes out.
 TESSERACT: Growing every day. GRADE: A
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: 7 string guitars, bassist Amos Williams, Century Media, Concealing Fate, cover songs, Dan Tompkins, djent, Drummer Jay Postones, Elliott Coleman, EP, Grace, guitarist Acle Kahney, guitarist James Montieth, jazz rock, JEFF BUCKLEY, One, Perspective EP, Prog Metal, shred, Tesseract, unplugged
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Wednesday, May 16th, 2012
ANGELUS APATRIDA
The Call (Century Media)
Spain’s ANGELUS APATRIDA return with The Call, it is their third album for Century Media. Although this thrash quartet has had their issues taking a stranglehold of their native Albacete, they have been slaying Spain, and audience member that stands in their way for years. This has lead them to open up for such groups as SLAYER, and MEGADETH, and their current jaunt with 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, GOATWHORE and HAVOK. They are the only band from Spain (in any genre) that can currently tour Europe, and I don’t mean a few dates in spread out here and there, check out the itinerary for the aforementioned tour that they’re currently a part of, and you’ll see that they’ll be all over the old continent during the next few months. There is a reason why the legendary David Ellefeson pulled the band aside, and encouraged them to take their talents stateside, as US audiences would without a doubt eat up what the band has to offer.
The Call is a natural progression for the band, it shows the band maturing, and evolving far beyond what they have done with their two previous outings Clockwork and Evil Unleashed. This by no means diminishes how good those albums are, it’s just that the band has taken great leap forward with The Call. The band has once again teamed back up with Clockwork producer Daniel. I had a chance to speak to lead singer Guillermo Izquierdo recently, and he mentioned that Daniel made it his mission to make The Call more than just another album. He took it upon himself to push the band, and make this not only the best album possible, but something very personal for him as well, something that is looked back as a defining moment for him as a producer.
The album starts off with the first single “You Are Next”, which coincides with a video game themed video that was released a few weeks ago. If you’ve followed the band at all, you’ll realize that Guillermo vocal style is completely different on this track, and throughout the album. On the band’s previous outings there is an undeniable resemblance to Dave Mustaine. With “You Are Next” he reminds me of Zetro, the former lead singer of EXODUS. You can still hear the Mustaine influence at times, but you can also hear a little Blitz from Overkill, a twinge of Phil Anselmo and shades of Rob Halford in a few spots. While speaking to me he admitted to Mustaine influence, and said “I didn’t want to keep doing Mustaine part 2, while writing the music, it was really calling me to go in a different direction with my vocals. So I naturally followed what seemed natural.” Couple that with Cardoso pushing, and constantly challenging the singer and you have the vocal performance that is displayed throughout the album.
But by listening to the album, you can see that Cardoso challenged the entire band to up their game. The other noticeable improvement is the precision of the rhythm section. Again, this isn’t knocking the band’s previous albums, but Victor Valera like a sharpshooter with his precision on the album. His playing is tighter than it has been on the previous albums; it is at a completely different level than it has been in the past. Bassist Jose J. Izquierdo locks everything down with and is up to the challenge to equal Valera’s playing. Again, the band’s influence can really be seen here with the two locking into place like the legendary combination of Menza and Ellefson. Realize that I’m saying like, not equal to or better than, I need to clarify that before anyone gets all upset over that previous statement.
I keep mentioning Guillermo’s singing, but his and Davish G. Alvarez guitar work has always set the band apart (in my mind) from other contemporary thrash bands. Their playing on this album not only contains their best work as a guitar tandem, but takes what they’ve done in the past and infuses it with other aspects of metal that you may not be accustomed to hearing from the band. This only enhances what they bring to the table with The Call.
Aside from the standard lead single, you’ll find “At The Gates of Hell”, which is like a locomotive building up steam before running you over. “Violent Dawn” which to me blends the cross-over greatness of D.R.I. with some riffing in the vein of SLAYER’s King and Hanneman. “It’s Rising” which offers which offers shades of Painkiller-esque JUDAS PRIEST and a solo outro reminiscent of the heyday of PANTERA. “Blood On The Snow” could have easily of been slotted in on Countdown To Extinction, while “Killer Instinct” is more in more influenced by Peace Sells. “The Hope Is Gone” has an aspect that previous albums did not contain, and that’s melody in band’s chorus. Ok, yes, they’ve had melody in the past, but not this well formed. The chorus of this track permeates your mind, and bounces around in it, in an infectious fashion. “Fresh Pleasure” is an ode to the connection between the crowd, the band, and a nice cold beer. “Still Corrupt” discusses topics that have been present since the origins of thrash, crooked politicians. “Reborn” is a track that really smacked me in the head when I first listened to it. This track to me is a real defining moment for the band, and when I heard it, I had to go back and give it a few more listens to almost believe the track was this good! This track closes the standard edition of the album up. It seems to be a statement by the band, as if to say, ok you’ve heard the album, now realize this is who we are, this is part of our evolution. This track is a full on metal song, with a catchy, infectious chorus that is perfect to hear a crowd at Download, Wacken, Uproar, etc. singing in unison with the band. The riffing is very matriculate, it isn’t full speed thrash, but it really grinds and pummels you from start to finish. As does the entire album, I mention these influences, but I do have to stress that it is all done in the bands own fashion, it isn’t a carbon copy of the band’s I’ve referenced, it is ANGELUS APATRIDA.
I’ve always been opposed to hearing bands cover well known songs. You have to A) have the sack to try and take on certain tracks B) do them well enough so that they aren’t laughable. ANGELUS APATRIDA has never shied away from covers, previously doing PANTERA’s “Domination” and IRON MAIDEN’s “Be Quick Or Be Dead”, and doing them well. This album is no different; they cover possibly my favorite JUDAS PRIEST song “Hell Patrol”, and man is it good! They do all of these covers in their own fashion, but in a way that still keeps the song connected faithfully to its original composition. This is truly a testament to the band’s musicianship, and their ability to pull the tracks off. The expanded edition wraps up with an updated take on a track that appeared on their 2007 album Give ‘Em War called “Free Your Soul”.
This album is recommended to anyone that remotely enjoys any of the bands I have mentioned in this review. On The Call ANGELUS APATRIDA brings old school thrash, and metal into the present, while applying their own ingredients, and making it all truly their own. See them on their current tour, or hopefully they’ll jump stateside shortly. The album is a digital only release in the states and comes out on May 8th.
GRADE: A
Victor M. Ruiz
Tags: 3 Inches of Blood, Angelus Apatrida, Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth, Century Media, Clockwork, Countdown to Extinction, D.R.I., Daniel Cardosoa, Dave Mustaine, david ellefson, Davish G. Alvarez, Evil Unleashed, EXODUS, goatwhore, Guillermo Izquierdo, havok, Iron Maiden, Jeff Hanneman, Jose J. Izquierdo, Judas Priest, Kerry King, Megadeth, Overkill, Pantera, Peace Sells, Phil Anselmo, rob halford, slayer, The Call, Victor Valera
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews | No Comments »
Monday, April 30th, 2012
Tragic Idol (Century Media)
For album number thirteen in their illustrious career, the members of long running Gothic doomsters PARADISE LOST went back to basics. The band known for their genre defining albums early in their career, have continued to evolve slowly over twenty years. As time marches on in an artists career, there is usually no accounting for how copycats shape a sub-genre. Most critics tend to judge the originating group(s) on whether they stay the course or not, which is often a mistake. In the meantime while everyone has their thumb up their collective asses (or arses), PARADISE LOST has turned in a stunner of an album. One worthy of note as one of the best in their storied career. As is the case in these days, we’ll shall see if the thunder of the sound is matched by the praise and fanfare they so richly deserve.
Epic in scope from the very first notes, Tragic Idol feels like a landmark album right away. “Solitary One” opens with the melancholy angst you’ve come to expect from these dark masters. Nick Holmes’ downtrodden voice has never sounded stronger or more exasperated at life’s folly. The deft sense of melody Holmes is known for injecting into his lines has not softened over time. Perhaps energized by his side project VALLENFYRE, Greg Mackintosh, has written some of his heaviest and most unforgettable riffs on this album. Second track “Crucify” has an opening lick full of the fire and flash that the band has missed of late. The main riff of the song is an instant classic and Holmes singing is terrific. Right away the pulse pounding beats from Adrian Erlandsson (VALLENFYRE/AT THE GATES/CRADLE OF FILTH/THE HAUNTED/NEMHAIN) are really classic in composition and exciting to hear. When the song slows down to half-time towards the end of of the track, you feel the full weight of the emotions of the music. These first two tracks are very evenly matched and make for a good blueprint for the rest of the album. “Fear of Impending Hell” has the grim, but catchy sound of the band you love. You almost want to flick open a lighter and wave your arms to and fro for this one. Steve Edmondson chips in some fine bass guitar work on this one too. “Honesty In Death” is another slow head-nodder. The riffs are crisp, yet there is a great guitar interplay going on between Mackintosh and Aaron Aedy. Holmes poignant lyrics are driven home with amazing melodic sentiments. “Theories From Another World” is just a ferocious cut with a great main lick and more great guitar work. The dynamic shifts and rhythms build great drama as the track progresses. “In This We Dwell” is an equally vigorous metallic workout. Such fine songwriting has to be fully appreciated in this time of throw-away music. “To the Darkness” is also an upbeat number that continues to mine angst and rage for the venerable band. The doomy breakdown in the middle might be the highlight of the entire album. It is certainly one of this years’ heaviest musical moments. The title track follows next and does more of the same, bridging heavy sounds with heartfelt feelings. “Worth Fighting For” has some fine percussive moments that call to mind some of today’s leading Pagan metal bands, some of whom owe a debt to this band in some slight way. The final track “The Glorious End” sounds just like it’s title, huge. This is sure to be a release that delights longtime fans and makes news ones wonder what they ever listened to before.
 PARADISE LOST: Better as time goes by.
GRADE: A
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: bassist Steve Edmondson, Century Media, doom, Draconian Times, drummer Adrian Erlandsson, epic lyrics, Goth Metal, goth rock, gothic, guitar interplay, guitarist Aaron Aedy, guitarist/producer Greg Mackintosh, Host, melancholy themes, metal reviews by Keefy, One Second, paradise lost, singer Nick Holmes, songwriting, Tragic Idol, UK metal, “Honesty In Death”
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Tuesday, April 10th, 2012
Plains of Oblivion (Century Media)
It’s been said the age of the guitar hero was dead twenty years ago. The 1980′s gave rock and especially metal many great shredders. That era spawned a legion of guitar-centric albums which showcased mind and string warping techniques, but was often lacking in the songwriting category. The 1990s changed some of that. Metal had its later heroes like DIMEBAG “DARRELL” ABBOTT (RIP), MARTY FRIEDMAN and JEFF LOOMIS among many others to carry the torch. As a member of NEVERMORE, LOOMIS wrote his own name in the book of guitar awesomeness, next to all the greats. His first solo album, Zero Order Phase was excellent and featured many top tier guitar talents as guests. Since leaving his old band almost a year ago, he has been preparing his second solo foray. Intended to be the next chapter in his legacy, he surely delivers on that promise and then some.
The ethereal soundscape that begins “Mercurial” gives way to a supreme thrash metal workout. Jeff is known for crushing riffs and there are plenty here. Of course the lead playing is tight as usual. Loomis is joined by old friend Marty Friedman who hasn’t lost any of his silky touch, in spite of his time away from metal. The song goes from thrash, to some interesting pastoral parts and back to epic rocking out again. There is even some cool church bells ringing between solos for effect. “The Ultimatum” is another grim sounding jam with preposterous amounts of noodle-y soloing. Joining Jeff is TONY MACALPINE, who once more trades fierce lead lines and matching him lick for lick. It’s not enough anymore to just write a musical track that is a vehicle to solo over, modern fans demand more. These songs are in a word, terrific. The production deserves some worthy praise too. Helmed by Aaron Smith (7 HORNS 7 EYES) and mastered by Jens Bogren (OPETH, AMON AMARTH), the crisp sound of the album allows everyone to shine, not just the star. “Escape Velocity” is another sick number. Break-neck speed metal mixed with sinewy, soulful leads give way to crazy blast-beats. This is instrumental modern music at its best. Providing the drums is DIRK VERBEUREN (SOILWORK/SCARVE/ABORTED/BENT SEA) who seems to be on everyone’s album in 2012. Keeping pace with Dirk and everybody else is bass prodigy Shane Lentz who adds his own flair to the low end. “Tragedy and Harmony” provides no let up in aggression. It does add some sweet counter-point melodies in the verses and the first appearance of Christine Rhodes on lead vocals. Her powerful alto voice punches through the roar of the din nicely. Her double-tracked harmonies also sound great. The next track “Requiem For the Living” is gonna have kids losing their minds and injuring their fingers trying to play the opening :30 seconds of this cut with its out of control scales. Joining him on the track is his former band mate, Attila Vörös. The two of them soloing together are just ridiculous. Upping the cool ante considerably is the appearance of CHRIS POLAND (MEGADETH/OHM) on “Continuum Drift”. This track is the first “guitar album” type of song full of warm sounding tones and dramatic peaks and valleys. The treat of the entire album comes in the form of “Surrender.” Joined by black metal legend IHSAHN (EMPEROR), the track sounds immense. IHSAHN, who is a much emulated guitarist in his own right, handles the lead vocals only here. He unleashes the full range of his styles and emotions with a performance few others in the world could give. The track is brutal and well written with many, many intricate changes. The only way to follow that up is with some moody mellowness and “Chosen Time” fits just right. Between bluesy inflections by Loomis and Rhodes’ gentle flow, it is a sweet listen. The acoustic shred of “Rapture” gives us a further respite from heaviness. Short and tasteful, the track is very emotional and shows versatility. Finally, “Sibylline Origin” gives us another bruiser with a deft power groove beat and some urgent playing. The deluxe version of the album has some bonus tracks featuring Rhoades on vocals again. There have been some great guitar albums in the last few years, but this one tops them all.
 Jeff Loomis lords over all other modern shredders. GRADE: A
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: acoustic guitars, ATTILA VÖRÖS, bassist Shane Lentz, black metal, blues, Century Media, Chris Poland, Death Metal, DIMEBAG “DARRELL” ABBOTT (RIP), drummer DIRK VERBEUREN, fusion, guitar albums, Ihsahn, Jeff Loomis, Marty Friedman, mastered by Jens Bogren, metal reviews by Keefy, Nevermore, Plains of Oblivion, producer Aaron Smith, shred, singer Christine Rhoades, thrash, TONY MACALPINE, trading solos, Zero Order Phase
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Thursday, April 5th, 2012
Venerable kings of UK metal, PARADISE LOST have been doing some press regarding their upcoming 13th album, Tragic Idol (Century Media) due out on April 24th. The early buzz on the forthcoming opus is impressive and the single “Honesty In Death” is killer. Here is a link to the official video. We should be getting our grubby hands and lusty ears on some more music for a review soon. In the mean time here is a partial transcript from a recent press event. Vocalist Nick Holmes discussed his feelings about the new album, the legacy of the band and whether the term “goth” still applies to them. What follows is an excerpt from that Q & A.
Q: There have been numerous references by the press linking Tragic Idol to the dark, doom oriented Draconian Times/Icon era of PARADISE LOST. In fact, people have been calling it a back to-the-roots album. How do you feel about that considering it has been over a decade since the experimental Host and One Second albums, and you’ve been releasing Gothic/doom-flavoured metal albums since then?
Nick Holmes: “We haven’t said even once that we’re trying to consciously go back to a sound we’ve had in the past. As far as I’m concerned our sound is constantly moving forward. At least people are comparing us to our own music rather than another band. We’ve never stopped so we’ve never really had any retrospect. I think maybe there’s an influence on Tragic Idol from the same kind of stuff on our early albums that we perhaps put away in a drawer for a few years, like the doom elements. We haven’t used those in quite a while, guitar-wise anyway. There’s definitely more of that, so maybe that’s what people are reacting to.”
 The band has a full slate of headline and festival dates lined up already. Q: The initial buzz surrounding Tragic Idol suggests that PARADISE LOST fans have been waiting a very long time for an album of this caliber from you. It’s almost as if they’re throwing up their hands and saying “Finally! It’s about time!”
Nick Holmes: “We couldn’t have done this right after Draconian Times. The whole One Second and Host era was kind of about learning the craft of songwriting, and it was just a case of bringing that into metal. Every album you make, you learn from and carry on. If we’d split up, reformed, and made an album, maybe we would have looked at our back catalogue and tried to repeat what we’d done before, but we really don’t work that way.”
Q: Tragic Idol is PARADISE LOST’s 13th album; was it easy or hard to write and assemble the material? With so much history, the natural assumption is that it would get harder and harder to reinvent yourselves and keep things interesting the longer you carry on.
Nick Holmes: “With every album we do, I just don’t think there’s another one in us. You can come up with ideas, but coming up with good ideas is difficult. The number of ideas we had for this album was insane – we had so many – and the majority of them were crap, but eventually you find one that works. From my experience, I think I came up with one song idea that I ended up sticking with all the way through, but you really have to live with things for a couple of days to figure out if they’re any good or not. I usually do a three day test; if I write a song I won’t listen to it for three days, then I’ll play it back as if I’m listening to a new band or a new song for the first time. I’ll know instantly if it’s good or not. That’s pretty much how we work, really.”
Nick Holmes: “I wrote all the lyrics for Tragic Idol after I’d written all the melody lines. Usually I’ll patch them together as I go along, then go back and fix what needs fixing, so it was a lot harder working like that. I tended to analyze things more than I normally would have. As far as lyrical subjects, I wrote about the same stuff I’ve been writing about for 20 years. I just write them from a different age perspective, because when I was 21 I looked at things much differently than I do now at 41. It’s not drastically different, but a little bit here and there.”
 Editor's Note: I need better taste in music mags. Or I need to move to the UK, stat! Q: PARADISE LOST is credited for coining the term “Gothic metal” and people still refer to you as a Gothic metal band, but you sound nothing like what passes for the genre in the 21st century. What’s your opinion of more or less being forced by the press to wear that label at this stage of your career?
Nick Holmes: “We had that Gothic metal banner so long ago that the new generation of fans of what they think is Gothic rock or Gothic metal is a completely different thing. It’s very much like VENOM coining the term black metal versus what’s considered black metal nowadays; the new generation has no concept of that. I got over the whole tag thing about 18 years ago, actually (laughs). If we go to America or somewhere we’re not well known, the Gothic label gets mentioned more than anywhere else. I don’t have a strong opinion about it either way. From my point of view you either like the music or you don’t. If someone did ask me to describe PARADISE LOST I’d call us Gothic metal, though,because we came up with the term anyway (laughs).”
Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: Century Media, doom, Draconian Times, epic lyrics, Goth Metal, goth rock, gothic, Host, melancholy, Nick Holmes, One Second, paradise lost, songwriting, Tragic Idol, UK metal, “Honesty In Death”
Posted in Interviews, Q&A | No Comments »
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