Posts Tagged ‘concept albums’SOILWORK: THE METAL ARMY INTERVIEWTuesday, March 5th, 2013Metal Army caught up with BJORN “SPEED” STRID, front man of the band SOILWORK to discuss their brand new album, The Living Infinite, out on 3/5/13 in America (Nuclear Blast). Bjorn discussed at length the concept for the album, the choice of making a double album, existentialism, the renewed writing chemistry in the band, recording, touring and much more. guaranteed payday loans
by Keith (@Keefy) Chachkes  ALBUM REVIEW: THE SWORDSunday, January 6th, 2013Apocryphon (Razor & Tie)
THE SWORD’s newest release, Apocryphon is one of the highest profile recent ones for Razor & Tie, who has re-established itself as a rising metal label, with indie ethics and major label distro. This is THE SWORD’s fourth album and a follow-up to a fairly successful album, Warp Riders. After contributing to the soundtrack of the box office smash The Avengers and playing METALLICA’s Orion Festival, they are a band to watch. Apocryphon starts off strong. On “Veil of Isis” vocalist J.D. CRONISE channels a bit of OZZY OSBOURNE’s style. A nice visual of Armageddon is definitely a good way to open a metal album. The band seems to be warning the listener of their arrival with lines like “the dead will rise and the living must depart”. Another track, “Dying Earth” sounds similar to MASTODON’s “The Creature Lives”. The opening of “Dying Earth” has that same trippy feel to it. It is fitting since Cronise sings of magic and sorcerers. The concept of a post apocalyptic world is maintained.
“Seven Sisters” is the most standout song on the album. It is catchier than the rest and also causes the listener to consider their life. The sisters in the song spend their time trying to find solace in religion/superstition and wasting their lives away. Other characters wonder how much there is to know. The lesson to be gained is that one should not waste their life waiting for something that is never going to happen and should instead focus on learning from experience throughout their life. THE SWORD chose to be particularly ambitious with this release. When writing the album many subjects were explored, which is reflected in the final result. Although this has enriched the material it has also presented the listener with much to think about, maybe even too much. This means that the album requires multiple plays in order to grasp it all. It turns out to be both a curse and a blessing for the group. The album as a whole accomplishes the band’s task of transporting the reader to another place. This is done by presenting the image of a world after the “end” as well as having the listener consider the big picture. It is a big undertaking, but THE SWORD does just fine with it.
 THE SWORD crafted an ambitious gem, to blow your mind. GRADE: B+ By: Melissa Campbell
A LIFE ONCE LOST: THE METAL ARMY INTERVIEWSunday, December 2nd, 2012Our intrepid metal scribe Sean “That Black Metal Dude” Genovese caught up with Bob Meadows of A LIFE ONCE LOST recently. Sean caught the band live a few weeks back in Allston, MA at Great Scott, where the band was on tour with REVOCATION and KEN MODE. ALOL is out on the road supporting their new album Ecstatic Trance, (Season of Mist) which you should all go get asap!
MA: When you guys first started out in 1999, where did you guys expect to be about ten years from that point? BM: I guess I just expected to be more on a different train of life, y’know? You don’t really expect ever to start a band with a bunch of kids and then eventually it kind of unravels and unfolds into something 13 years later. It’s just kind of a surreal experience in a way. But man, it’s pretty awesome, I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. Actually, a lot of other friends of mine are moving along, moving past, and kind of starting these new lives and here I am, still chasing down this thing, this dream that I call music. It’s pretty wild, man, I never really expected it all.
MA: Right. So what are some of you guys’ main influences, and what are some artists or bands might be surprised shaped your sound? BM: You can hear the BLACK SABBATH and the MESHUGGAH influence for sure, but in (the) Ecstatic Trance record there’s definitely other influences we’re pulling from, anywhere from FELA KUTI, and TI PEYI A, and ORCHESTRA DE POLYRHYTHMO from North Africa, to the German Krautrock scene, bands like CAN, KRAFTWERK, AMAN DUUL, things like KING CRIMSON. Anything within that little hiatus that we took where we ended up exploring a lot of different things in music. It’s always been an interest of mine with music; the more obscure, the more different and weird it was, the better it was for me, that’s kinda what I got off on. Being able to pull from those influences, and finally being able to let it hang on my sleeve, it’s a pretty cool thing, it’s definitely very unique, and I definitely think we’ve developed a unique sound with the Ecstatic Trance record.
 Bob Meadows of A LIFE ONCE LOST. MA: Let me ask you something that I’m sure most people probably ask you; What are your attitudes on the “djent” craze, as many cite you guys as innovators of poly-rhythms in Metalcore and related genres. Have you any love for bands like PERIPHERY and AFTER THE BURIAL that are expanding on that formula? BM: I don’t have any feelings towards it. I’m not really interested in that music. When I listen to music, I kinda wanna be floored. When I was younger, when I was 19, that kind of music would be more appealing to me. But since I’m older now, I find more satisfaction in something that’s more soothing, and it’s not really soothing. I hear it all the time, people referring to us as a band in that scene, and I agree to a certain extent, but there were bands before us that were doing it, and there are bands that are still doing it, and those bands deserve more of the credit. When we started doing it, we didn’t do it to fit into a “scene”, like these other bands, these younger kids are doing, but the youth of America is a very impressionable group of individuals, and they feel the need to be able to fit in somewhere. Maybe this new “djent” thing is the new Deathcore, the new Pop Punk or the new whatever. It is what it is, it’s popular, those dudes can play. Misha’s a cool dude; I don’t like his band, but I think he’s a cool dude. I can be friends with someone and not enjoy their band, and that’s the case here. THE AFTER THE BURIAL, BORN OF OSIRIS guys, I really don’t know them. Michael Keene, EVAN BREWER, those guys in THE FACELESS, awesome dudes, but I just can’t get down with the tunes, y’know? Doesn’t make me less of a man, but more of an individual, I guess.
MA: Yeah. I noticed you guys were selling a shirt that says “Drop Acid, Not Bombs”. Is this a hint at some of the creative process behind Ecstatic Trance, since there are a lot more psychedelic influences, as you may have mentioned before? BM: You can look at it as that. One of the main things was to explore that world of music, like psychedelic rock, I definitely think we’ve succeeded with this, and it’s definitely a great introduction to unravel into something that’s gonna be bigger in the future with our sound. With hallucinogenics, there are only two of us that sorta dabble in that, haha. I think it was more like a goof shirt. We had this ROLLING STONES rip-off tee goin’, with some dude with fucked up teeth, and we were like “We should totally put an acid tab on his fuckin’ tongue, just throw in ‘Drop Acid, Not Bombs’, it could be funny”. So we ended up doing it, and I think the design turned out pretty good. And it’s funny, the people that actually come up and buy this shirt, they’re so weird, haha. We had t-shirts of a “World Bong”, something like that, and we were on tour with NORMA JEAN. We printed the shirts on yellow, red and green, kinda like a Rastafarian, Jamaican color scheme going on. Then you had these impressionable youth, the Christian kids buying the shirts because of the colors, not necessarily knowing what was going on with it. But if it’s funny, it’s funny, it’s fun to be in a band and do shit like that. But yeah it’s more of a goof, haha.
MA: Since you guys recently replaced half the band and have been experimenting with some new sounds on your last two sounds, some fans have expressed that they’re not entirely happy with the direction you’ve taken. Do you have anything to say to them? BM: Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. There are kids that don’t like my band now that probably really love PERIPHERY and AFTER THE BURIAL. That’s the beauty of being a person, you’re entitled to your own opinion, likes and dislikes, and shit, man, if you don’t like my band, you don’t like my band! That’s fine, just don’t base that on my character as a human being. I’m sure my conversations are ones of humour and also interest. If A Great Artist is the record you wanna hear, you can pop that on while you’re driving and punch the steering wheel. But if you’re coming to our shows, that’s what to expect: We’re gonna play what we just put out, what we believe in. An Ecstatic Trance is that record we believe in at the moment. When we go into the studio to do more things, that’s what you can expect. You’re either with us or not with us, it’s no sweat off my ass, y’know?
MA: Yeah. Going on with that previous question, do you believe you’ll ever make another album like A Great Artist or Hunter, or has the musical environment in the ALOL camp and the general Metal/Hardcore scene has changed to the point where you have to leave those concepts behind? BM: We were never a band to repeat anything or fall into sequence, or an order when it comes to writing music and songs. We had a very large gap of aggression between A Great Artist and The Iron Gag. It’s a small gap, but there’s progression nonetheless. Once you step back and rewrite something like that it’s regressing in a way. For us to constantly evolve and grow as people, I think the only thing we can do is continue to move forward and develop on sounds that we created in records past. You may see me doing another band in the vein of the older stuff, but never in replication. I would say the likelihood is very slim at this time, haha. But you can never really rule out the elements of pure brutality and heaviness mixed in with the music.
MA: Alright, this is probably the most important question you’ll be asked within the next six months: Was math your favourite subject in high school, and if so, what type? BM: I actually like math a lot. I like Algebra. I wasn’t a Geometry guy, but number solving, shit like that was always a big interest of mine, haha.
MA: Alright, well thank you very much for taking the time to do this interview, Mr. Meadows, and I hope you guys have much luck in your future endeavours: tours, albums, stuff like that, and I hope to see your band again, hopefully with a crowd that’s more energetic? BM: Ah, see, that shit never really matters to me. I think that it slowly morphed from people going crazy like it was with A Great Artist and with Hunter. With Iron Gag you saw people just more there to experience the show, experience what we’re doing, and that’s actually kinda cool. It takes the Metal that we’re writing and evolves it so that you can sit back and enjoy it whether you’re a fuckin’ stoner, you’re drunk, you’re a cokehead, you’re fuckin’ trippin’ on acid, or you’re straight-edge. You can step back and watch the show, enjoy the show for what it is, and that’s the place where Doug and I are trying to take the group now, make it a live experience, not just an experience for the record. MA: Hmm, that’s actually a pretty good way to look at it. Well, once again, thank you very much, and I wish you luck. BM: Thank you very much, bro. by Sean Genovese
MOONSPELL: THE METAL ARMY INTERVIEWWednesday, May 30th, 2012Long running Goth metal masters MOONSPELL have an ambitious new release which is the double album Alpha Noir/Omega White out on Napalm Records. Drummer Miguel (Mike) Gaspar caught Metal Army up to speed on why it took so long to make the new record, how the band approaches recording, their love of Peter Steele (RIP) and TYPE O NEGATIVE, other influences- metal or not and the state of the metal scene in the bands’ native home of Portugal.
MAA: Please tell us about the writing and recording of Alpha Noir/Omega White? MG: Many thanks for the interview let’s do it brother ! This album was very different from all albums in the past due to the time, four years apart from the Night Eternal. We never took so long to put out an album. The success of the previous album also kept us on the road quite a bit. So we did not want to rush things and just let things flow naturally. In the begging process we had no idea we would release a double album. In reality this was more of a concept that would enrich our composing skills dividing them in half. We would write heavy songs on some days an others would go more into the Gothic style more melodic elements. Benny Ritcher came from Germany three times during the four years to help us out with all arrangements. Never had worked with him and found a new understanding. He really felt like a member of the band with a lot of enthusiasm to work until late hours just to get the songs right. It was strange to work with someone younger than us never happened before. He was like a little brother full of talent and skills that impressed us and contributed a lot to this magnum album.
MAA: What is the concept behind each part of Alpha Noir/Omega White? MG: Alpha is more like a battle until the end in an arena full of blood, passion and determination. In the arena there is no time to play around our you’ll be killed. You fight for your honor and family paying respect to all those that have fallen before you. This was inspirational for a heavy dark album we wanted no compromises, just the best metal that we could accomplish. With Omega it’s a different story it is the time for the warrior to recover his mind and body. To bathe cleaning the wounds and the soul. To eat and drink celebrating the victories. A time to think and remember one’s family and loved ones, to salute all good things and pleasures so that one day we shall fight again.
MAA: Was the wealth of material the reason of the four year break between albums? MG: Many reasons took us to have this decision. For one the Night Eternal tours were crazy we travelled all over the word making new fans everywhere and also welcoming back the old. We just had to do all the shows it is for us the main reason bands should exist! You have to do the best shows possible, it is the ultimate experience like no other. There was also the question of which label we would end up on but that became something that we did not want to worry about and just did the albums freely until the end before signing to anyone. We were confident and just wanted to release our best work to date. The acoustic project we did in Portugal called SOMBRA also took a bit of our time. We were 13 people on stage with Cellos, female vocalists and percussionists. It ended up even giving us a push for the Omega White album. One other reason that come to mind is just the fact that we make twenty years of MOONSPELL this year and it would be our ninth full length album. There was no reason to rush things the music could not be compromised so we said the hell with it just take our time.
MAA: It’s been said that the Omega White album was in part inspired by TYPE O NEGATIVE. What about them is particularly inspiring for the band? MG: Everything we were huge fans from the begging of our career. They were the few bands that incorporated different styles in their music. Going from Hardcore, to Gothic sounds. The deep vocals would make your knees tremble and the lyrics were so intense and dark. They were everything from the street attitude with violence to romantic and sensual atmospheres to emotions that would comfort you on those terrible days that you, yourself wanted to slash your wrists. The identification with this band was brutal in the early years and to our luck did one of their biggest tours in Europe in `96. We became good friends and especially Pete was always on our side, helping us out in everything we needed. He left a deep mark in us. The tribute to him and TYPE O will always feel weak compared to the reality of what a divine band they where and the many that followed them. They will never be forgotten in hearts and in our music. Salute Pete, he was a true gentleman, we miss him a lot and having a song dedicated to him and the past just helps us cope with this tragedy. Hope he´s smiling somewhere and we will jam one day!
MAA: The band worked once again with Tue Madson producing and mixing. What does he bring to the process that appeals to the band more than another producer or producing yourselves? MG: The pure calmness of his persona is so important to band that is from south Europe and can get a bit edgy and confusing at time. We have no real tradition of metal in Portugal so we had to learn for our selves and many times the hard way. Tue understands us very well and always gives 200% to make sure we are comfortable and satisfied with the results. He has no big ego and really just wants to get the bands idea and sound to the fans. He himself is a huge Heavy Metal fan and played guitar in his own projects. Also, a little bit older making him more like a big brother. Family is the key word when we feel that kind of environment I think we do our best stuff at least at this time in life. We have enough chaos and excitement all year round on the road. Can´t wait to see what we do next together. He just is a wizard with the sound and mixes all our elements without it getting confusing, he can make everything just sound spot on!
MAA: Who are some of the heavier bands inspiring you these days? MG: For me personally I’m just a huge fan of the 80s. As a kid VAN HALEN and MOTLEY CRUE were bands I loved but as a teenager I got into bands like MORBID ANGEL, BATHORY, KING DIAMOND, SLAYER, METALLICA, DARKTHRONE, EMPEROR, ROOT, CANDLEMASS, but also Gothic stuff like SISTERS OF MERCY, FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM and of course, TYPE O NEGATIVE. So really from Hard Rock to Death and black metal to avant-garde, the name before Goth. I just absorbed so many dark styles of music it just showed with our era in the 1990s were bands like us mixed the styles. TIAMAT, SAMAEL, MOONSPELL, AMORPHIS, PARADISE LOST, LACUNA COIL, THE GATHERING we were all fans and at the same time influencing each other. The use of keyboards and female vocals or just poetic song writing was all a bit new for us and that what excited us the most. It was new and part of our generation. DEAD CAN DANCE was also a band that had so much world music involved it just touched us in a special way, incorporating something so distant in a new form of metal. So I still listen to all this these days, it´s our core inspiration and I think always will be! I have a hard time listening to new stuff, I think this is normal. I will always give a listen to new material from friends or even fans, but it never really sticks like the bands you heard when you were young!
MAA: At twenty years-old, is their a moment in time that stands out to you as the biggest highlight for the band so far? MG: I would have to say the release of Irreligious in 96. It was our first taste of mainstream success . That album opened many doors in our career and to think that only three years before we released our first demo called Anno Satanae! It was all to quick to even understand and still takes us a bit to recall the reason for so much attention from a band that played very underground black metal from the south of europe. The odds of us being on tour with major bands our album in the German charts, winning new comer of the year in Finland the massive record sails, promotion fans going crazy at shows for us was just unbelievable! It really feels like your living a dream. It all took a lot of work, sweat, pain tears and blood to get there but when we were on the Dynamo main stage back in 97 , before there were Wacken’s, Hellfest etc. playing for 80.000 people, we new that we came a long way and it was all worth it! We even did shows with KISS during there reunion tour with the make up in the 90′s. Their production was insane and we got along really well, they gave us all the conditions to do a good show! But KISS fans are tough so are SLAYER’s’ to that matter, but for some reason we always win them over! MG: Many thanks, hope to see you soon on the road! Keep it Metal!
(Thanks to Mike Gaspar, MOONSPELL and Napalm Records) by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
MNEMIC: THE METAL ARMY INTERVIEWWednesday, May 30th, 2012Just in time for the release of MNEMIC’s new album Mnemesis (Nuclear Blast), Metal Army America caught up with vocalist Guillaume “Frenchy” Bideau. Guillame was nice enough to answer some tough questions about the long layoff between albums, changes in the lineup of the band, concept albums and influences.
(Special thanks to Frenchy Bideau, MNEMIC and Nuclear Blast) Keith (Keefy) Chachkes ALBUM REVIEW: HIGH ON FIRETuesday, April 3rd, 2012De Vermis Mysteriis (eOne)
It seems like yesterday I was extolling the virtues of Snakes For the Divine (eOne), the last album from Oakland’s HIGH ON FIRE. That album was a masterpiece of raw musical fury and wild guitar abandon. I wasn’t sure the band could top that effort, nor did I think they would try to. At this point the band, led by Matt Pike (SLEEP) has little to prove, has built a strong following and rocks stages the world over. Their new album takes the approach of not trying fixing what isn’t broken, but still attempting to grow sonically and especially lyrically. Although you can make a case that every HoF album has a theme behind it, De Vermis Mysteriis is truly a full fledged concept album in the purest sense. The album title translates to “Mysteries of the Worm” and comes from mind of author’s like Robert Block (Psycho) H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulu Mythos. The rest of the story has to do with Jesus Christ, the Immaculate Conception and the would be son of God’s ghost of his dead in-utero twin, who becomes a time traveler. Still with me? No, I am not quite high enough to fully get this concept yet, but it sounds pretty cool to me. Prepare to be bowled over from the first notes of this album. “Serums of Liao” thunders alive with a crazy drum fill before launching an all-out assault on your senses. Just a wave of jagged riffs and ferocious drumming the band has come to be known for. Right away Pike sounds like his usually raging, unhinged self. Right from the first chorus, there is a hint of more melody underneath the weight of his gravely voice. Rather than play a typical guitar solo when you might expect it, the band engages in a unified tribal breakdown for the ages. Later on, when Pike does shred he favors texture and style over flash. This song is so ripping it’s ridiculous. Des Kensel murders his drum kit and Jeff Matz sneaks in a some fluid walking bass lines as well. Together they are one of the best rhythm sections in metal. My ears were kind of exhausted from listening to the opening track on repeat a few times. But when I did finally play “Bloody Knuckles”, I was amped! Definitely in the stoner groove vein of the bands’ earlier material. Nasty and hostile, the song just jams. The single “Fertile Green” is next and you just know there are gonna be some titles with smoke references on a HIGH ON FIRE album. Super thrashy sounding, the song has a main lick that careens back and forth between your speakers and ear drums. Pike again has the grit going in his voice, but manages to bring new possibilities with his vocals lines calling to mind a TOM WAITS or LEMMY. Both drums and bass again have slick little solo breaks as each musical part of the band carries their own weight. Hats off to producer Kurt Ballou (CONVERGE, CAVE IN, ISIS, TRAP THEM, KEN MODE) for bringing this band to new heights and capturing all of the blissful chaos. “Madness of An Architect” is really a throwback to SLEEP and all the great doom of yesteryear. Just a dirge made of tube shattering chords and grinding riffery. Definitely a track to burn one to, it almost has a MELVINS-like quality which I have observed before in their writing. “Samsara” is an epic, moody instrumental track that could be straight out of 1973. There is some great soulful lead playing on this track too. The song “Spiritual Rights” is at the heart of the meaning of the album. Great lyrics and crushing riffs. With its superior drumming it could easily share a musical ancestor with MOTORHEAD’s “Overkill”. “King Of Days” is another sludge metal masterpiece. It is so slow and harsh, yet has a great tunefulness to it. Matz channels his inner GEEZER BUTLER and JOHN PAUL JONES here as well. The title track is another killer tune. All of HoF’s albums are deep and full of well written songs, but this is kind of ridiculous. “Romulus and Remus” is another SABBATH-ian epic with a chopping riff that will blow your top off and have lots of kids working on their picking technique. The opus closes out with “Warhorn” which is as mighty in sound as it is in name. Sort of an aural bastard child blending SAINT VITUS and C.O.C. It’s hard to believe that this might be the bands’ finest hour, but it is. Raise your glass, bong and devil horns high with full respect!  HIGH ON FIRE get all H. P. Lovecraft on your ass! GRADE: A+ by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
ALBUM REVIEW: JUNIUSThursday, October 27th, 2011Reports from the Threshold of Death (Prosthetic)
Very few bands can claim to have innovated their own style of metal. Others will borrow from existing styles in a unique and fresh way to craft their own well developed path. JUNIUS fall into the latter category. A foil for for their many influences be it space rock, sludge, post-metal and goth rock the band has channeled this energy into some terrific releases. Reports from the Threshold of Death is a companion of sorts to their last full length The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist and a concept album. Following their own path undaunted by changes in the scenes around them, the band has put out another masterwork that will no doubt vie for a spot on many best of year end lists. As this album proves again the form of “progressive metal” can take many shapes and forms. The unique and trippy art work was created by Ira Bronson for Black Day Creative. From the first notes of “Betray the Grave” JUNIUS takes us on a trip to the center of our collective unconscious. Singer/guitarist Joesph E. Martinez and his haunting tenor rings like a church steeple bell, loud and true. The technicolor blur of the droning guitars and keyboards (also by Martinez) transports the listener to another reality. Despite the dour pop inflection of all of the songs the subject matter is weighty to say the least. Focusing on death it’s context to our lives the album recounts the millstones that hang around all our necks for the time we are here. “All Shall Float” is like hearing a cathartic dream-scape in your head and then waking up after being startled. Martinez uses his lower vocal register to impart a seriousness that implores us to take heed. His ability to convey the context of his obtuse lyrics so you feel what he is feeling is rarely equaled in music. The sing a long “la-la-la” part in the middle that is so peaceful and transcendent is followed by stabbing riffs. In this way the song is beautiful and crushing all at once which is the essence of the JUNIUS sound. Drummer Dana Filloon is a master at laying back when he needs to and then switching it up and smashing for full effect. “Dance on Blood” is another heartfelt song full of melodic wonder and brooding heaviness. Although Martinez’s moody croon has been compared to many singers, I’m going to toss out a comparison not mentioned yet: Simon LeBon of DURAN DURAN. Since LeBon is one of the best melodic pop singers ever, this is quite a praise worthy sonic likeness if you ask me. The chorus of this track alone is just about the top moment of the entire album. “A Universe Without Stars” is reminiscent of late era PINK FLOYD with sequencer like precision synths and a heaping amount of vocal melody. The rave up middle section gives a nice change of pace to the rest of the album and proves the band can rage when they want to. “Haunts For Love” sounds almost pastoral with singing that sound like it beamed down to a transporter room. There is a subtle urgency flowing through this track and its shows up in the tasteful bass lines of Joel Munguia and Filloon’s syncopated rhythms. Although considerable praise is heaped upon the front man of JUNIUS, a guy like guitarist Michael Repasch-Nieves is indispensable for what he adds to parts of every song. “The Meeting of Pasts” is another stellar cut, full of power and passion. I hear a lot of similarities in this track to the White Pony-era by THE DEFTONES and I wonder if there isn’t some influence there as well. It could be that both bands share a love of 1980′s Gothic pop songs that were sweet and dour together. Other possible nods could also come from MY BLOODY VALENTINE, A PERFECT CIRCLE and TOOL. After the FLOYD-ian interlude of “(Spirit Guidance)” “A Reflection of Fire” shimmers and hums with another magical revere-drenched part. “Transcend the Ghost” advances the story to is climax where we gain acceptance and understanding over our eventual demise. As you would imagine the song provides a much needed release from the weight of the rest of the album. “Eidolon and Perispirit” brings this heady piece to a close with an airy resolve. The track is a wash in crushing, slow beats and more slick keyboard work. Very wise to leave the hardest track on the album for last as well as a musical device. Simply stunning!
GRADE: A by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
ALBUM REVIEW: CRADLE OF FILTHWednesday, October 26th, 2011Evermore Darkly EP (Nuclear Blast/Peaceville)
CRADLE OF FILTH is back with an EP to hold us over until the release of their next album. In the little over the year since Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa was released the band has toured a bunch and have been working on a long anticipated orchestral album. This album contains a few new tracks, some alternate takes and other goodies for fans. I like CoF, but have always found them to be a hit or miss proposition for my tastes. Not really true black metal, but a commercial approximation of what people think black metal sounds like. Still, I have enjoyed some of their work, especially their concept albums and would never deny them their singular ambition or rebellious spirit of being for making heavy music more popular. Opening up with the intro track of “Transmission From Hell” comes the new song “Thank Your Lucky Scars”. It sounds like classic CRADLE OF FILTH in case you were wondering. Scary keyboards, blackened guitar riffs, blast beats and a Tom Araya-worthy scream to kick the track off. It verse has almost a punk rock sense of urgency to it that I rather like. Dani Filth sounds excellent here switching up his vocal style three or four times in a matter of minutes. The chorus has a great groove laid down by Paul Allender and James McIIroy on guitars and drummer Martin Marthus Škaroupka. Škaroupka’s drumming in particular is really heavy and cool. As usual there is a thin film of black metal touches on the song such as female operatic vocals and atmospheric keyboards. “Forgive me Father (For I have Sinned)”, “Lilith Immaculate (Extended Length)” and “The Persecution Song” are alternate versions from the last album with “Lilith…” being the best sounding. “Forgive Me Father (I’m In a Trance)” is as you would expect, a trance version of the earlier song. Ugh. Another take on “The Spawn of Love and War” comes next, but I can’t really discern much difference from the original. The real gem of the EP is the sample version of “Summer Dying Fast” from Midnight In The Labyrinth. This orchestral version of the classic song is a taste of their new album and frankly I’m impressed. Getting the full treatment with horns, percussion and strings really brings out the spooky, evilness of the song. I was really feeling it and listened to just that track several times alone. I’m really excited to hear the rest of the album now. For fans the really draw of this collection is the DVD with a live concert from last June’s Graspop Metal Meeting, a “rockumentary” and the promo video for “Lilith Immaculate”.
GRADE: B By Keith (Keefy) Chachkes Eldritch keep it classy, San DiegoTuesday, September 20th, 2011Eldritch-Gaia’s Legacy (Scarlet) Italy’s resident metal stalwarts in Eldritch have been kicking it for twenty years now, quietly releasing solid, reliable power/prog with a traditional metal edge. While never quite gaining widespread notoriety or commercial acclaim, Eldritch have honed their metal craft to the point where this sort of thing must be next to effortless, so convincing is Gaia’s Legacy, the quintet’s eighth album to date, and a strong contender indeed. Conceptually based around Al Gore’s award winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth, this enjoyable Eldritch effort makes an impassioned plea for Mother Earth, all set behind a convincing Dream Theater-meets-Nevermore style attack which is both emotional and aggressive in spades. Peppered with actual quotes from the movie, Gaia’s Legacy benefits from the soaring vocals of Terrence Holler, while the dueling guitars of Rudj Ginanneschi and Eugene Simone feel just as comfortable in AOR rock territory as they do blazing metal technicality, a feeling which only works in the band’s favor. It isn’t too often that a power metal band with such heritage can remain musically unique and significant these days, but Eldritch manage to buck the trend whilst creating a definitive album which just might serve as the band’s best to date. Shockingly good, really. Rating: A Written by MetalGeorge JACK FROST OF SEVEN WITCHES: THE METAL ARMY INTERVIEWThursday, September 15th, 2011SEVEN WITCHES released their excellent new album Call Upon The Wicked in late June. We caught up with axe-slinger supreme Jack Frost to discuss the new album, music video concepts, his musical influences and what the band has planned for road in 2011. What follows in an excerpt of our chat:
MAA: Let’s talk us about the concept behind Call Upon The Wicked. JF: Yea, I’m probably gonna get shot for this! I’ll never get laid again once I say this, but the bottom line is this whole record is kind of like, how men think with their little head sometimes and not their big head. Bottom line is it’s about how women have pretty much from beginning of time to now have destroyed so many things with men. I mean Helen of Troy: a whole empire is gone because a guy stole the kings wife. Adam & Eve: here, Adam eat the apple. The record is pretty dark. It’s all about Medusa, Lilith, it’s all about woman and like, oh god, you ready for this, how they are like a succubus! (Laughing) I show it to people and their like “dude you are never gonna get laid again”. I’m like well it’s freedom of… I’m just saying how powerful the female is. It’s crazy, but that’s pretty much the loose concept of the record man. (Laughing)
 SEVEN WITCHES IN 2011, led by Jack Frost (center).
MAA: Musically I hear a lot of old school influences on this one. What were some of the songwriting goals this time out and do you think you’ve met them? JF: Well what’s funny is the title track, the guys at first where like “oh I dunno man, that’s a little too RAINBOW-ish, DEEP PURPLE-ish”. I’m like “Nah man it’s gonna be cool, I think it’s gonna to work”. I think what happened was the last few records we got a lot of slack like ‘Ah, Jack, Jack should be in DISTURBED now or he should be in KORN’. I’m like ‘KORN?’ I don’t play like that’ but, I just… the sound on the last few records are a little bit more… modern. I never did that on purpose. It was just how you write you know. You write. I don’t sit down and go, ‘OK, today I’m going to write a song to sound like NICKELBACK’ and I just think with this record, not to say we’re back, but I say ‘where did that come from?’ When I was 13 years old what kicked my ass? Number Of The Beast, Stained Class- those kind of records were timeless. Rainbow Rising! I just thought I’d listen to like, just all 70′s metal and that’s how my head was. I just want to make a record that takes you back in time, when we were kids with our denim vests’ on just driving down the street in our beat up cars, just yelling “METAL”! And that’s pretty much what this record is all about. I really think, not too toot my own horn, but I really think I captured the instance of old metal. The new wave of British Heavy Metal, DIAMOND HEAD, that was my idea. and I can go to bed at night now going, I made a record that I can go back, that could have come out in 1981. MAA: James Rivera really kills it the entire album on vocals. Talk about what he brings to the table compared to previous singers you have worked with? JF: what, he brings, he brings back girls that I banged when I was in high school that we broke up and you just go, that was my real first. He just brings…. it’s like riding a bicycle me and him together. We fight, we love each other, we fight, we don’t get along sometimes, we piss each other off sometimes and I think that’s what he brings. He brings that David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, that Joe Perry, that Steven Tyler. We love each other sometimes and he just brings out the best of us. James is such a great singer, and I know just how to work with James, I piss him off and I know sometimes I get under his skin, because I just know he’s so good at what he does. He brings being a true metal guy and he’s lived it his whole life and that’s what he brings to the table. He brings reality to the record. He’s never been the guy to go do a dance record or cut his hair or change the sound. He’s always been true to what he believes in and that’s what James Rivera brings to the table. True honor of what he believes in, that’s what I feel.
 Jack tears it up live!
MAA: I thought the “Feel the Fire” video was excellent. There is a lot of cool military context in the images intercut with the band playing. Who’s idea was that? JF: When we started to do a video, I was pushing for “Call Upon The Wicked” and James says “I don’t know man, Feel the Fire!” James actually said to me, he goes ‘ what with all the wars that are going on, all this stuff over the years, wouldn’t it be cool to have a video that just shows you that’. I know some Jewish people got a little pissed at us like, oh Hitler! We’re not trying to say Hitler was right, we’re trying show how war started in the beginning to the end of time. It’s all the different sides. Cowboys and Indians, that’s war. There’s Civil War and , and freakingVikings! That was James’ concept for the video. James has this great idea he started to pull all these things. I guess he had to get permission from CNN and all this stuff, to use some of this war footage. I have to say that was a cool idea by James because I was just gonna do a live video. He say ‘Nah, lets do some imagery’, and it really worked out. We work good together. Both of us had ideas that were doable, like let’s have it done live and let people see what we’re like, but let’s also go with what the song is talking about. MAA: You are well known as a big time riffer. Who are some of your heroes on guitar? JF: (Laughing) Dude, I’m far from the best guitar player. I’m just a fan of guitar players, I do the best that I can do. I mean there’s so many great players out there like Gus G and Michael Romeo. I wouldn’t touch those guys. Those guys are a different style of players, I’m just a riff guy and I think I’m pretty good at that, but thank you very much. (Laughing) Well I would definitely say back in the day Kerry Livgren from KANSAS kind of blew my mind with his playing. He’s a different type of player. God! Of course Tony Iommi, I mean how could you not say him? The guy was king of the riff. Ritchie Blackmore, I have to say John Sykes, I love John Sykes! I always will love John Sykes. But to me I have to say this and I’m probably gonna get shot, but to this day my favorite guitar player of all time will always be Neil Schon. He makes that guitar sing. I always tell people, oh, you wanna make fun of Neil Schon, turn on the “We’re Stars” video and watch Yngwie and watch Dave Murray and watch Brad Gillis and just watch when Neil Schon plays. How the guy just, he just tears it up! He’s not from this earth as a guitar player, that’s how I feel.
MAA: What is it like to work with Mike LePond and Joey Vera as producers? JF: Well, I’ll always say this, Joey Vera is the fifth member of SEVEN WITCHES and always will be. He’s been with this band since Xiled to Infinity and One, he’s one of my best friends. I don’t do a record without Joey. I learned so much from him over the years and we are just the best of friends. JF: Mike LePond, we’ve played in a cover band together. We’ve been friends for fifteen years. Bottom line is, what Mike brings to the table is something no one knows, he’s an amazing lyricist, he’s a great song writer and he’s a really good rhythm guitar player too. So, Mike’s brought so much to this table, his words were so kick ass on this record. The guy should write a fucking book. He’s so intelligent when it comes to things, and how to make words that I’ve never even heard of in my life, sound metal. I love working with the guy and he’s great. Me, him and Taz; we’ve been playing together for so long now it’s just like a natural thing. I’m so glad he’s a part of the WITCHES camp finally.
MAA: Do you have any touring plans lined up for the rest of the year? JF: Well, right now, SYMPHONY X and HELSTAR both are in their kinda touring cycle which is really good for us because the record just came out and we kind of want to let the record sit for a few months and let people really absorb it a little bit and say, “Wow, WITCHES is back, in a big way”. That was kind of what we wanted to do. Let SYMPHONY X do their tour, let HELSTAR do their tour, and then we just want to come out with a tour, like September, October and really get out there and play. We’re looking into stuff right now, we’re looking into festivals in Europe, we’re looking to tour the states, but we want people to really listen to the record a little bit and absorb it, that’s what we’re doing. And poor James, we don’t want to have James play your area two weeks before, were it gets overbearing where people are like, “I just saw this guy”. We wanna come out with, with a really killer set. When we do tour, we’re only going to do the records we did with James, which I think is really respectful. I mean, I feel bad because a lot of the fans like some of the older stuff. But for this first run, we’re just going to do everything Rivera was involved in, for sure.
(Special thanks Jack Frost, EarsplitPR and Return To the Pit.)
By Keith (Keefy) Chachkes |
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