Posts Tagged ‘death’
Friday, December 21st, 2012
Here is Keefy’s final Top Ten from his overall Top 40 Metal Albums of 2012 list! Enjoy!
#10. CRYPTOPSY- Cryptopsy (Self Released)
To paraphrase comedian Chris Rock, I’m tired of apologizing for CRYPTOPSY. I was in the minority among people when I loved The Unspoken King. I’m sure as people are reading this; they are scratching their heads again. No matter, CRYPTOPSY has silenced all their critics with an album that matches the best work of their career. A brutal slab of technical death metal on every level the album is great for all the reasons that made the band stellar in the first place. Obviously, people talk about the inhuman level of Drummer FLO MOUNIER. However, the real strength of the band is returning guitarist and writer JON LEVASSEUR and mainstay guitarist/uber producer CHRISITAN DONALDSON. The songs they wrote are superb. I was nervous about Oliver Pinard being able to replace ERIC LANGLOIS on bass, but even he was great too! Lastly, MATT MCGATCHY‘s performance provides the shut the fuck up moment of the year to all the haters. Well done sirs!
#9. PRONG- Carved Into Stone (Long Branch Records/SPV)
I thought my birthday came early this year when PRONG’s new album came out. PRONG has always been one of my favorite bands and all of their recorded output has been always been strong. Carved Into Stone is actually the bands best album since 1996′s Rude Awakening. Not only is the album full of sick tunes, but over the top, guitar playing in general is terrific. TOMMY VICTOR (DANZIG, MINISTRY) has been known for two things in his career: great songs and being a riff master general. The album displays an unexpected depth for any record in 2012. Packed with just the right touch of technical mastery and catchy songwriting to please and the hardcore soul, which hearkens back to Tommy’s NYC metal roots. The performances from TONY CAMPOS (SOULFLY/ MINISTRY/STATIC-X/ASESINO/POSSESSED/OTEP) and ALEXI RODRIGUEZ (ex-3 INCHES OF BLOOD) are matched perfectly too, making this one of the baddest power trio’s around.
#8. GOJIRA – L’Enfant Sauvage (Roadrunner)
GOJIRA albums, when they come out, are an event. The metal world waits with baited breath and the results are always stellar. Armed with a new deal from Roadrunner, the band put out L’Enfant Sauvage over the summer to roars of approval. Perhaps, even I was too cynical to believe that GOJIRA would continue to get increasingly popular as they stayed true to who they were? L’Enfant Sauvage is a great blend of the Progressive Rock/Metal, Tech Death, old-school Death Metal and Thrash influences they are known for. Then there is their subject matter: they are one of the most thoughtful and socially conscious bands around, lyrically. The album hits the right mood on every level, every time and has the musical confidence of a band much more senior in years. Songs like “Explosia”, “The Axe” and “Liquid Fire” are going to be talked about in metal head circles for years to come.
#7. CANNIBAL CORPSE- Torture (Metal Blade)
Like a beautifully marbled steak or a legendary work of art, CANNIBAL CORPSE truly does get better with age. It seems likely that much like SLAYER, the death metal godfathers will keep right on trucking on to oblivion, making skull splitting, gore filled albums for as long as they can. Torture is perfect in every way and all of the things you love about the band are in the mix. Perhaps due to being the most collaborative written album in the bands history, the sound from song to song is quite eclectic. Not like Dubstep, power-ballad eclectic, mind you, but the band has figured out how to blend different song styles seamlessly. Inventive new chord structures and riffs, hard to fathom bass lines and stupendous drumming are all topped off by GEORGE “CORPSEGRINDER” FISHER‘s impeccable voice from hell. Plus, don’t forget the grooves. Oh those crushing grooves! Nobody writes a grooving-ass, brutal riff better than ALEX WEBSTER. The band continues to be the yard stick by which all death metal music and consequently, all death metal bands are measured.
#6. C.O.C. – C.O.C. (Candlelight)
That C.O.C. was able to make a comeback as a trio at this point in their career is not a surprise. The fact that they reunited to make an amazing album is not even a question. What I am surprised by, is that it seems like the rest of the world has caught up to the sound of the band and the love from fans and the press is over flowing. When last we saw C.O.C. as a trio it was the 80s and they were mostly an underground phenomenon. Lots of bands like to say they were influenced by the Sludgy, Crossover Doom masters, but in this age of the Internet; flattery goes a long way to help a new bands rep.To hear WOODY WEATHERMAN tell it, the reunion circuit was totally un-interesting to the band, unless they were gonna make new music. C.O.C., the album has more quality and vitality than many of the upstarts of the genre they helped put on the map. MIKE DEAN‘s bass is full of fuzz and style; Woody‘s soloing is on fire and REED MULLEN, back for the first time in over decade, drums and sings like a man possessed. Let us not forget the poignant political lyrics, much welcomed in these troublesome times of a divided America. You might say the metal world needed C.O.C. to come back, as much as they needed to make a comeback themselves.
#5. MESHUGGAH- Koloss (Nuclear Blast)
What can you say about MESHUGGAH that hasn’t been said already? It’s not hard to run out of superlatives when talking about the most influential metal band of the last fifteen years. Whether Koloss was going to be great or not was likely not debatable. What was up for grabs, was what direction these geniuses would take the iconic music we have all come to expect. The results were stunning. Can you change things up, and still be the same band? By definition no, but that is MESHUGGAH for you. Koloss is a collection of songs much like the rest of the bands’ storied catalog: brutal, and complex. Most of the songs feature a pulsing groove that has come to the fore in the bands work of late. Every beat and riff is a maelstrom of twisting delight, overlapping time signatures and finger-defying licks galore. Most of all, the album sets another technical high water-mark for guitarist FREDRICK THORDENDAL and drummer TOMAS HAAKE.
#4. TESTAMENT- Dark Roots Of Earth (Nuclear Blast)
The return of TESTAMENT to their former level of greatness is nothing short of a triumph for all of metal. 2008′s Formation of Damnation was an excellent comeback album, after almost a decade of no new music. In the interim years since getting back together, they have toured tirelessly around the world, reignited their chemistry and fulfilled the promise of their early career. Dark Roots of Earth takes the concept of the old-school Thrash style, added a modern sensibility and took it all one step further. Only EXODUS and ANTHRAX have been able to pull of the feat of making new music for modern ears, staying true to their past and begin able to add a level of panache. ERIC PETERSON finally got his dream come true by getting GENE HOGLAN to write and record drums for a TESTAMENT album. The unrelenting bottom end of the songs gives the band a new power they have never had. Every song is a gem. “Native Blood” is one of the catchiest, yet grooviest songs I’ve heard in ages. The chorus is also the best of 2012. CHUCK BILLY‘s ageless voice carries the day and ALEX SKOLNICK displays the chops that verify his legions of fans. Even GREG CHRISTIAN is heard from, with some excellent bass lines. Dark Roots of Earth is all killer and positively no filler.
#3. BARONESS- Yellow And Green (Relapse)
One of the most anticipated albums of 2012 did not disappoint when BARONESS dropped the latest in their color-themed recent discography. The band made no pretense that this album would be not be metal and frankly, that was OK by me. If you have been following the band, they have been less concerned with the trappings of fitting in, in their career up to this point. They instead stayed true to their artistic authenticity. What BARONESS delivered is a double-album of incredible songs, displaying great chops and the best dynamics overall of any album on this list. Some of the songs are quite heavy, but more often than not, that heaviness never came the expense of melodies or tones. “Take My Bones Away” was my out and out favorite song of the entire year. “March To The Sea” was another stone cold rocker, the likes that haven’t been heard since the heyday of QUEEN or THIN LIZZY. Some of the best moments are the most unexpected ones; like the freak-out synth work in “Cocanium”. All of the keyboard work is stellar as is the bass playing, which band leader John Baizley played all of too. “Back Where I Belong”, “Eula” and “Board Up The House” will also rank at the top of the bands’ song book for years to come. The “Green” side of the double set is equally tuneful and more mellow, but no less mint song-craft wise. Finally, tying it all together is the brilliant cover artwork, the years’ best; also by Baizley once again.
#2. DYING FETUS- Reign Supreme (Relapse)
DYING FETUS is such a great band in its current incarnation that one almost forgets there were entire years in their history marked by upheavals and departures. The present day lineup has been intact since 2007 and the comfort level they have together creating the most brutal Death Metal possibly known to man is sky high. Through it all, JOHN GALLAGHER has been the one constant: constantly growing as a guitarist and writer and constantly writing pissed the fuck off, baffling and sick lyrics. Reign Supreme might be remembered years from now as one of the top three releases of the bands’ career with its non-stop violence inspired songs. GALLAGHER and his p-i-c SEAN BEASLEY crush it out of the park on the guttural vocals. Beasley, who was always an underrated bassist for the genre, plays some of the best passages ever recorded for the instrument in the context of technical death metal. TREY WILLIAMS also one-ups his performance from Descend Into Depravity, being a might less technical, but still precise as fuck and bludgeoning as all hell. His blasts are far and away my favorite of any drummer on album this entire year. The album is a masterpiece of death metal brilliance, and that is really saying something considering how deep the sub-genre is these days.
#1. IHSAHN- Eremita (Candlelight)
In what was a high quality year at the top of the heap of metal music, IHSAHN‘s fourth solo outing is my choice for the album of the year. It’s not the sexy choice compared with typical years past, but it is the best choice, by far. Eremita is a sprawling, ambitious album full of musical twists and turns, yet perfectly coalescing into a sensible piece of art. In an interview I conducted with him for Metal Army he talked about the creative process as a continual evolution, a death followed by a rebirth. That would just begin to cover the emotional and lyrical depth in the music. In many ways, this is the album that IHSAHN, famously known as the legendary front man of EMPEROR, has been building up to for his entire career. His mastery as a composer, guitarist, vocalist and lyricist is without equal at this point in his career. Musically the songs cover the gamut of emotions and styles and reveal a complexity that mirrors the artist himself. Songs like “Arrival”, “The Paranoid”, “Something Out There”, “The Eagle And The Snake” and “Departure” are among the best of the year. Topping off the package are the guest performances by the likes of DEVIN TOWNSEND, JEFF LOOMIS, EINAR SOLBERG (LEPROUS), JEFF MUNKENBY on sax and IHSAHN’s wife HEIDI S. TVEITEN‘s enchanting vocal turns, which sends the quality of the album into the stratosphere.
 Genius level achieved. KEEFY PREVIOUS TOP METAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
2011: TOMBS- Path of Totality
2010: EXODUS: Exhibit B
2009: MASTODON: Crack The Skye
2008: OPETH: Watershed
2007: MACHINE HEAD: The Blackening
2006: MASTODON: Blood Mountain
2005: MESHUGGAH: Catch Thirty-Three
2004: MACHINE HEAD: Through The Ashes Of Empires
Tags: 3 Inches of Blood, alex skolnick, Alex Webster, Alexi Rodriguez, Anthrax, Asesino, Avant Garde, Baroness, C.O.C., Candlelight, Cannibal Corpse, Carved Into Stone, chuck billy, cryptopsy, Danzig, Dark Roots Of Earth, death, Death Metal, descend into depravity, Devin Townsend, djent, doom, Drummer FLO MOUNIER, drummer/vocalist REED MULLEN, dying fetus, EINAR SOLBERG, emperor, EREMITA, eric peterson, EXODUS, FREDRICK THORDENDAL, Gene Hoglan, George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, Gojira, GREG CHRISTIAN, guitarist JON LEVASSEUR, guitarist/uber producer CHRISITAN DONALDSON, HEIDI S. TVEITEN, Ihsahn, Jeff Loomis, JEFF MUNKENBY, John Gallagher, Koloss, leprous, Long Branch Records, L’Enfant Sauvage, MATT MCGATCHY, Meshuggah, METAL BLADE, mike dean, Ministry, Nuclear Blast, Otep, Possessed, power groove, prog, Prog Metal, Proggressive Death Metal, Prong, Queen, reign supreme, reviews by Keefy, roadrunner, rock, SEAN BEASLEY, slayer, sludge, Soulfly, spv, Static-X, tech death, testament, Thin Lizzy, Thrash Metal, Tomas Haake, Tommy Victor, Tony Campos, Top Albums, Top Ten Metal Albums of 2012, Torture, Trey Williams, woody weatherman, Year End Best Metal Album Lists, Yellow and Green, “Native Blood”
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews, Top 10 Lists | No Comments »
Friday, June 22nd, 2012
SickDrummer.com, Perseverance Holdings and our friends at Relapse Records are among the sponsors of the DEATH TO ALL TOUR which kicks off tonight in that most metal of cities San Francisco, CA. The tour celebrates the life and music of CHUCK SCHULDINER of DEATH. With DEATH and later CONTROL DENIED Chuck blazed an innovative trail in music and has been followed by nearly every death metal that followed in his shadow. This is not an exaggeration, but widely acknowledged and not just by his peers and loved ones, but by many bands both from yesterday and the present. Performing music from a career spanning set list with be an all-star group of Chuck’s former band mates and giants of death metal like GENE HOGLAN (Individual Thought Patterns/Symbolic), SEAN REINERT (Human), STEVE DIGIORGIO (Human/Individual Thought Patterns), Scott Clendenin (The Sound of Perseverance), PAUL MASVIDAL (Human), Shannon Hamm (The Sound of Perseverance), and Bobby Koelble (Symbolic). Handling vocal duties will be by Steffen Kummerer of OBSCURA and Charles Elliott of ABYSMAL DAWN/BEREFT who are both greatly influenced by Chuck. Some of the guest artists who will join certain shows are RICHARD CHRISTY of CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED (ex-DEATH), Alex Skolnick and Chuck Billy of TESTAMENT, Paul Ryan of ORIGIN, Craig Locicero of FORBIDDEN, Travis Ryan of CATTLE DECAPITATION,Trevor Strnad and Ryan Knight of THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER and Emil Werstler of DAATH/CHIMAIRA. GORGUTS will open most of the shows.
Not only will this be a celebration of Chuck’s life, but will help make a lasting impression for the future at every show. Each night is a benefit show to raise awareness for the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund which provides support to career musicians in need of support while facing illness, disability or age related issues. This cause hits especially close to home for Chuck’s family and friends and one he’d gladly support. Please come out to this rare opportunity to pay tribute to a legend, see an amazing collection of talent and hear some songs that haven’t been performed anywhere since DEATH was active as a band. Please come out to support this tour and support live music, especially underground bands.
DEATH TO ALL 2012 TOUR DATES:
6/22/2012 – The Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA
6/23/2012 – House of Blues – Los Angeles, CA
6/26/2012 – House of Blues – Chicago, IL
6/28/2012 – Irving Plaza – NYC, NY
6/30/2012 – The Beacham – Orlando, FL
*Postponed until 2013* 7/01/2012 – The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
*Postponed until 2013* 7/03/2012 – House of Blues – Dallas, TX
Tags: abysmal dawn, alex skolnick, Bereft, cattle decapitation, Charles Elliott, Charred Walls Of The Damned, chimaira, chuck billy, chuck schuldiner, control denied, daath, death, emil werstler, forbidden, Gene Hoglan, Gorguts, individual thought patterns, Obscura, Origin, Paul Masvidal, Paul Ryan, Richard Christy, Sean Reinert, Steffen Kummerer, Steve DiGiorgio, symbolic, testament, the black dahlia murder, The Sound of Perseverance, Travis Ryan, Trevor Strnad
Posted in The Bunker | No Comments »
Friday, June 22nd, 2012
A while back we caught up with metal drumming legend Richard Christy to discus his band CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED, his lengthy career in metal and of course to reminisce about his time with CHUCK SCHULDINER and DEATH. Richard was really down to earth, gracious and humble. He deflected most credit or praise about himself and instead talked up his peers and band mates. Since CWOTD is playing The ORION Music And More Festival this weekend and the Death To All Tour also kicks off today, we thought it was a good time to share this lengthy chat.
MAA: At what point of making the first record did you know you would do a follow up?
RC: As soon as we were mixing the first album I started writing music for the next one. I always knew we were gonna do several albums. This was something I came into this as a long term project. I didn’t wanna do just 1 album and that be it. It’s something I believe in and I love jamming with Tim, Steve & Jason. Its really something I looked at as a long term thing and also Metal Blade was really excited about us doing several albums with them so as soon as we finished mixing the first one, cause I was so inspired by the process of the first album with how well it turned out, so I jumped right into it. I knew by writing that early into the process while mixing the first album, I knew I’d have plenty of time to write something better and more epic then the first album.
MAA: Did you set out to write a more musically challenging second record??
RC: Well I definitely knew I wanted it to be longer, cause that was one of the only complaints I heard about it the first album. They loved it but it was very short, they were bummed out there wasn’t more music. Which is a good thing! It kind of left them wanting more. But this time I wanted people to have plenty of music where they couldn’t say ‘oh, it finished before I was ready for it to’ so I wanted to make sure it was a much longer album, but at the same time make sure the songs were really good. We weren’t putting in music just for the sake of it being a longer album. I wanted to make sure that we did it right and luckily, because of me writing the music while mixing the first album as I did, we had plenty of time and everything flowed really well.
MAA: What is the difference between Jason Suecof the producer versus Jason Suecof the band mate?
RC: He was the first person I called to be in this band. I’ve know him since ’99 and we’ve been jamming together ever since we met. Actually we’ve been writing music together right around that time he was building his studio as well. I know how amazing of a musician he is in addition to being an amazing producer and I was excited that now here’s a band that he can play guitar AND produce! People get to hear what a shredder he is and he has got such an amazing ear for music I really excited he’s a well known producer now. I always knew there was something special about him his a really talented guy. He’s a massive part of the sound of this band.
MAA: Are their any modern metal drummers you appreciate and follow?
RC: Absolutely!The drummer for JOB FOR A COWBOY (Jon Rice) is incredible! The drummer for THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER (Shannon Lucas) is amazing! There’s so many great drummers these days and it’s amazing that drummers are still pushing the boundaries of what drumming can do. George Kollias from NILE is one of my all-time favorite drummers and when you watch him, it doesn’t even seem humanly possible some of the stuff he’s playing. I remember meeting him when he was a young kid when DEATH played Greece and now he’s an incredible drummer. It’s inspiring to see how far he has come and there’s also a lot of drummers I admired growing up that are still incredible like Dave Lombardo & Charlie Benante. I saw The Big 4 show at Yankee Stadium and they were just amazing! There are so many great drummers still doing it. Mikkey Dee is still amazing in MOTORHEAD and a lot of the drummers at the Drummers’ Collective where I rehearse. I’ll walk by a room and hear a drummer shredding and I almost wanna go in and ask them who they are and what they do, but I don’t wanna interrupt them. (laughs) It’s really cool to see younger drummers being influenced by people like Pete Sandoval (MORBID ANGEL) and people who also influenced me.
MAA: I was at The Big Four too. I think Charlie Benante just keeps getting better!
RC: Dave Lombardo too! He did the “Angel of Death” drum solo and added this really cool snare thing that blew me away! It’s 10 or 15 seconds longer than on the album. He did this thing with the kick and the snare (imitates the sound of a complicated drum fill) that blew me away. It’s cool and inspiring that no matter how long you’ve been at it, you can still improve and get better. So watching guys like him and Charlie Benante, that inspires me.
MAA: You did limited touring on the first album. Any chance we will see the band hit the road more to support the new album?
RC: Yeah, were in talks to do some shows this year and hopefully we can make everyone’s schedule work! It is tough and I totally understand that. That was one of the things I took into account when I formed this band. I didn’t want one or two members of the band waiting around for everyone else to do something. I choose guys that have jobs and are as busy as I am. So we totally understand that if someone has some kind of scheduling thing where they do a show or tour. Hopefully we’ll have some announcements very soon. Were talking about doing some festivals in the US and Europe and hopefully some in South America and Japan (Editor’s note: this interview took place before ORION Music Fest was announced). I’d be totally psyched if we could do a ton of shows!
MAA: What do you think of the DEATH reissues?
RC: I love them! The Human one is incredible! There’s a lot of stuff that Sean (Reinert) does on the remix that you couldn’t hear in the original mix. A lot of tom stuff that comes out, like in the chorus of “Flattening of Emotions”. I love that they’re (Relapse) re-issuing these albums, it just sounds amazing, especially the bass! I was glad they turned the bass up on Human! The bass is incredible on that album, but you can hardly hear it on the original mix. It’s cool that Jim Morris has went back and remixed those albums. They sounded incredible back then but now you can hear so much more of it, there’s way more textures in it.
 Richard played on TSOP album and two live albums with DEATH.
MAA: Who is a better boss Chuck or HOWARD STERN?
RC: Oh, they’re both awesome bosses. Its an honor it be involved with two of my idols and you know, I can never really compare them. I mean Howard I’ve been a fan of since 1993 and Chuck I’ve been a fan of since 1990 when I first heard Spiritual Healing. I’m very fortunate to be involved in both and it’s two totally different spectrums. One is music and one is entertainment and so I’m very lucky that I’ve had both as bosses. I’d never be able to choose, I love them both. They’ve given me so many great opportunities and I’m very thankful.
MAA: Do you ever think about your legacy in the history of metal?
RC: I’m very honored to be have played in the bands I’ve played in and to have toured the world with like DEATH, ICED EARTH, DEMONS & WIZARDS and INCANTATION. I’m very lucky when I was in my 20′s I got to travel the world and see a lot of stuff and have fun and play a lot of big shows. It’s amazing when I think back, but at the same time I wanna keep looking forward and not settle on things I’ve done. I look at people like PAUL MCCARTNEY, who puts out new albums. He’s a guy who’s pretty much the most influential person in music ever, him and JOHN LENNON and he’s still writing music and putting out albums. He still loves it and he has the passion for it and he doesn’t settle on what he’s done. That’s kinda of how I look at it. I’m thankful for what I’ve done, but now I wanna keep doing more. With CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED, I’m lucky enough to be able to write the music and the lyrics and before I definitely had a say in what I was doing in the bands I was in before. For this band I’m able to even write the riffs and things like that. It’s a totally new thing for me and I’m really excited by it. I’m honored by all the bands I’ve ever played with. Everyone always asks me what my favorite drumming performance of mine is and its definitely The Sound of Perseverance by DEATH. I was practicing five hours a day when we recorded that album and I was at the top of my game. I don’t know that I’ll ever be that good again. So I look at the album, when somebody asks me what is my proudest moment in drumming and it is definitely that album.
 Chuck was Richard’s best friend, a legend and a great cook!
MAA: Do you have any good Chuck stories to pass along?
RC: He was such an incredible person, he was my best friend. He had such a great sense of humor and people always want to hear a funny Chuck story. There’s so many stories I have of Chuck its hard to choose a favorite. I just love the stories of us just writing music and practicing at our rehearsal space in Orlando. There was this guy named Dave who owned the place, he was a big furry, harry guy. He would walk around in a robe with nothing under it and Chuck & I would just laugh every time we would see this guy. He lived at the rehearsal space where we rented. We’d go down and pay our rent and he’d be in this hot tub. (laughs) We’d go to Chuck’s after practice and Chuck was an amazing cook, and he also made homemade beer. He made some of the best beer that I’ve ever tasted. I have so many good memories of us doing that and watching Saturday Night Live, then listening to some vinyl albums. He had such a huge collection. We’d listen to amazing stuff like RIOT, IRON MAIDEN and WATCHTOWER. He was just a fun guy, he had an awesome sense of humor. He loved his family very much. I still stay in touch with his family. There’s just too many memories to whittle it down to one. He really was just the most talented musician I’ve ever met, he was my best friend and I miss him every day.
MAA: Thanks for sharing that!
RC: You’re welcome. He was really humble too. He was a metal fan as much as anything else. I remember us getting to meet KING DIAMOND in St. Petersberg, Florida years ago. We were such huge KING DIAMOND fans. Chuck had never met or seen KING DIAMOND before. I hadn’t met him either, although I saw MERCIFUL FATE live before. And Chuck knew Andy LaRocque, so he was gonna introduce us right before the show. I have an awesome picture of Me, Chuck, Andy and KING DIAMOND. I remember that night, it was so cool. Chuck was just as nervous as me to meet him. It was like two legends meeting for the first time and for me to be a part of it, it was amazing. There was another time we were going to play Italy for the first time. When Chuck walked off the bus there were like 200 kids waiting for DEATH to arrive. It was like THE BEATLES had showed up. Chuck thought it was really neat! Then we walked a couple of blocks to eat, these kids followed us and chanted Chucks name the whole way in the street. Then all these kids pressed their faces against the window of the restaurant. Chuck got a real kick out of that! He was a metal fan as much as he was a metal legend.
MAA: Thanks for being cool and thanks for your time!
RC: I’m just like every body else, I’m just a metal fan. I’m no different then anybody else, everybody is equal as far as I’m concerned.
Richard is rumored to be appearing at the New York date of the “Death To All” Tour on 6/28.
(Thanks to Richard Christy and Metal Blade Records.)
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: Charred Walls Of The Damned, chuck schuldiner, death, DEMONS AND WIZARDS, Howard Stern, interviews with Keefy, Jason Suecof, Richard Christy, Sean Reinert, Spiritual Healing
Posted in Feature Interviews, Interviews | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 20th, 2012
Welcome to the newest feature here at Metal Army America, one we’re really excited about! Two of our esteemed writers will tackle a controversial subject in metal and debate each side of an argument. Each topic will be examined like an experiment, analyzed philosophically and pontificated on like …..like a pontiff! (Editor’s note: bad pun intended, sorry.) Well, maybe if that pontiff was Papa Emeritus of GHOST! A thoughtful debate between Metal Army America writers on topics concern metal music, its culture and the fans is what we are aiming for. These debates won’t always be as simple as pro versus con since issues like these are rarely cut and dry. Our hope is you will read these blogs and join in the conversation (respectfully, always) with us here in the comments below or on our Facebook page.
And…. here….. we….. go!
RELIGION AND METAL:
Keith (Keefy) Chachkes: I have always been fascinated with the role religion plays in music, specifically metal. BLACK SABBATH was really the first band I learned of as a child who exploited people’s fears of religion in their music. This was pretty potent to the listener when their use of the tri-tone (“The Devil’s note”) was heard in their first recorded notes ever, gave birth to metal. They had songs about Witchcraft and Satanism, while constantly warning against the false righteousness of the other side. Original black metal bands like VENOM and CELTIC FROST were outwardly evil sounding and promoted The Devil as the enemy of normal society, and the prowess of the occult over anything else. This has influenced everything that has happened in heavy music in the last thirty years.
American bands like EXODUS, SLAYER and POSSESED were the next generation bands to reference it heavily, often pitting Christianity against metal as a whole. Most of the old-school death metal bands, when they weren’t fixated on gore, were quite blasphemous (hats off to you DEATH & GLEN BENTON!). Being anti-religion of any kind is enough to get you censored and threatened with jail in most societies, just ask NERGAL of Behemoth or the guys from WATAIN. From church burning Norwegian bands in the 1990′s to modern Neo-folk/Pagan Metal, your favorite Norse/Viking metal bands, modern black and death metal bands and even the recent “occult rock” bands all use religion to attract fans, draw endless topics for songs and define themselves.
 “Jesus, you say? I don’t believe we’ve met.” With all the energy spent on hating Jude-Christian values, there is a flip side rarely talked about by fans. If religions didn’t exist, what would they be angry at? I’m sure there would still be plenty of shitty things in the world to sing about if there were no religion. Personally, I can enjoy the music of bands like THE CHARIOT, FOR TODAY, and MY CHILDREN MY BRIDE who use their music as a platform to promote their beliefs, even if I find the on stage preaching distasteful. They certainly have a right to do it, as does NILE to talk about ancient Sumerian beliefs, as does CHTHONIC does to discuss their historic religious culture in a modern political context. It’s all good to me and makes a more interesting world of heavy music to listen to and write about.
Dave Williams: Since being handed this assignment, I’ve been struggling somewhat with my potential approach. For those who know me only superficially, my position should seem obvious. My feelings on religion (Christianity in general) are quite public, and I play in a band that exists solely to question/attack the theistic masses.
 Was this a good thing or a bad thing?
That said, there is the part of me that very strongly believes that music’s true purpose (particularly in the case of metal, hardcore, punk, and any other ‘rebel’ music) is the unbridled expression of our passions, regardless of what those might be. As members of these subcultures, we have always been beacons for free speech, and to draw lines as to who should be allowed to say what seems rather hypocritical…
However, then there is my true stance on this matter: Metal (and again, hardcore/punk/etc) was born as a reactionary position against the purveying herd mentality of the Western hemisphere (and has obviously expanded its scope quite significantly since), and part of that mentality, undeniably, is the pox upon our species that is Christianity. For eons, the befuddled masses have commandeered and swept countless cultures and histories under the proverbial rug, and the co-opting of rebel music as a form of ‘praise’ is simply another example of the slow, steady trampling of the world’s beauty beneath the lumbering feet of a billion filthy, bleating sheep.
(I should mention that my feelings on the presence of other ‘religions’ within the genre are not quite as strong. Granted, this is inevitably somewhat personal as Christianity simply hits closer to home, but as I attribute nearly all of the modern world’s ills to the spread of the Christian disease, any counterpoint is at least slightly welcome)
To melodramatically drive my point home, I leave you with this: To me, metal is the Cerberus-guarded gates that separate true humanity from celestial, dead-eyed lunatics. Metal is the fucking nails that bind their fictional savior to the planks that adorn a billion fools’ walls the world over. Simply put, metal is a pure expression of freedom (in an entirely non-patriotic, non-nationalist sense), and spiritual surrender is its fundamental opposition. Follow Metal Army contributor Dave Williams at: his website and on Twitter.
What’s your opinion? We’d like to know!
Tags: black metal, Black Sabbath, Celtic Frost, christianity, death, Death Metal, deicide, doom, EXODUS, for today, Glen Benton, metal army america, MY CHILDREN MY BRIDE, neo folk, nergal, Norwegian black metal, Pagan Metal, Possessed, satanism, slayer, The Chariot, the devil, thrash, USBM, Venom, watain
Posted in The Bunker | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
In honor of today’s day being 2/1/12 or “2112 Day” or “International RUSH Day” or “Progressive Rock Day” as some are calling it, Metal Army chatted with notable metal historian Jeff Wagner. Wagner is the author of 2010′s Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal (Bazillion Points). In addition to being an authority on all things prog, death metal and thrash Jeff was one of the leading editors of Metal Maniacs magazine from 1997 until 2001. In a wide ranging interview we recapped the origins of Jeff’s book, the roots of the genre, it’s historical importance as well as it’s future. What follows is an excerpt of a longer chat we had.
MAA: What led you to write Mean Deviation?
JW: Well from a practical standpoint it was a book that had not yet been written. We are seeing a lot of metal books now because metal has a long enough history to provide for a bunch of books, and provide a bunch of different views covering all the genres. A book on prog metal had not been written and I was a long time fan of metal. I was also a fan that tended to gravitate toward the weirder, more experimental, more progressive stuff. More avant garde stuff. I look at my record collection and one thing I can say about it is there is not a whole lot of stuff that sounds like other stuff. I have always gravitated toward progressive sounds. I like my bands to be similarly unique in and of themselves. I like EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER, but I don’t like bands that sounded like them. There were a lot of obscure prog bands that sound just like them and I didn’t find them interesting. It’s an originator thing. I why I like DREAM THEATER, but not bands that sound just like them. Actually I can’t think of one that I like who sounds just like them. (laughs)
MAA: Your book identifies a “big three” of the genre. How did the their arrival on the scene change the game?
JW: Both QUEENSRŸCHE and FATES WARNING showed up at the same time and wore their influences on their sleeves. And those influences were obviously IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST. They took that template and took it to some different and more nuanced areas. They messed around with more long-form song writing. FATES WARNING on their second album is writing ten minute songs. They further intellectualized their music to the point where you go from Rage for Order or Operation Mindcrime and on the FATES WARNING side Awaken The Guardian and No Exit. QUEENSRŸCHE had a more theatrical image. Then DREAM THEATER came a long in their wake and they made a different kind of amalgam of it. Not only have the same bands in common that FATES WARNING and QUEENSRŸCHE did, they took it in two other areas. First I hear an even more melodic KANSAS- type rock sounds and even a more AOR radio rock from the 70s. I even hear some JOURNEY in early DREAM THEATER. And they even made it heavier with palm muting and double-bass drumming and took it some places other bands didn’t go to so they ramped it up even more. That’s why these three bands made their mark. They style was familiar and easy to get into, but also they were it challenging.
 A prog metal classic!
MAA: A lot of people think of Spiritual Healing by DEATH as the album when death metal crossed over with prog and became more malleable. But it was really before then, right?
JW: I think for one thing if you think about death metal, it is not easy to play. To the novices’ ear a lot of death metal sounds like garbage or noise. There is a built in tendency to already be a good musician to pull off really good death metal. If you are really conveying something truly brutal it’s a skill and an art. Not only do you have DEATH, but you have MORBID ANGEL. I don’t know how progressive you wanna say they are, but Tre Azagthoth. He was really virtuosic about his playing. I think POSSESSED toward the end of their output was really musical. There is something really intrinsically musical about death metal that it doesn’t get enough credit. And then with DEATH, even the album before Paul (Masvidal) and Sean (Reinert) came in they were going in that direction. Chuck was even singing in a way where you understood all of the vocals and didn’t need a lyric sheet. That was innovative too. (laughs) And then the Human album just blows the doors off of what could be done with the death metal form. There could be with Jazz influences and Fusion. They gave it a fluid, lyrical and melodic tendency, but it was also a really brutal album. It showed how much depth the music can have. I think the Human album has four of the best musicians that have ever on one album.
 The "father of death metal" was also integral to bringing in a progressive influence to the genre.
MAA: I think it’s interesting where the original prog rock bands were influenced by Jazz and the modern bands found Jazz thought the back door of prog metal. What do you say to that?
JW: The way I look at prog metal is there is not really one sound and one style. There are bands that have nothing in common. Other than the fact that they are trying to move the form forward, they might have little in common. Some of them have their own unique vision and style that no other musician will quite have.
MAA: Who are some of the underground bands of the genre that the average fan might not know, but are essential.
JW: I think if you go into with the right mindset WATCHTOWER is a band that was important. They were there way early on. They were throwing in RUSH and Jazz influences in `84, 85. Not even FATES WARNING and QUEENSRŸCHE were not even doing yet. And then if you get up to their 1989 album Control and Resistance they were tightly honed, but a bizarre group of different things. I know for a lot of people, they aren’t anything to listen to. Ron Jarzombeck is getting a lot of attention now for BLOTTED SCIENCE, but he is a WATCHTOWER alumnus. And of course I’m gonna talk about VOIVOD. I know people are gonna roll their eyes at this if they know me at all and say “oh there goes Wagner talking about VOIVOD again”. They remain really underrated. Their first six or seven albums: Killing Technology through The Outer Limits they were constantly changing, growing by leaps and bounds, using new technology and exploring new production techniques. They are the textbook example of what a progressive metal band really is. I think for one album CELTIC FROST need to get mentioned. Just for the Into The Pandemonium album. It’s so eclectic and brave. They opened up with a new wave cover song. Later on it has beat box song. There was a soul song. You have gloomy opera-type doom songs, new wave, jazz weirdness, a doom song. Just a weird album.
MAA: A lot of people hated them for it. My friends all hated them after that.
JW: Oh yeah I know. Talk about splitting your fan-base! But it was so weird and out there I really loved it. I was so intrigued I had to love it. They really blew apart their fan-base and their career. WATCHTOWER, VOIVOD, CELTIC FROST and others. That is the thing about my book. I didn’t want to just talk about the popular bands and the avatars. I wanted to discuss who the underrated bands were.
 The best prog metal band ever in my opinion. (Keefy) MAA: What is your take on more recent bands like MASTODON and OPETH who have abandoned their heavier ways for prog? Also, what do you think of the backlash against them?
JW: I say more power to em! They proved that they can do this modern epic metal. They can be modern, be different. And they started off as a very different band. They followed their heart. I don’t care if you’re KISS or MASTODON, I don’t think any band owes anything to your fans in terms of where they go with their music. That is not to say they don’t love their fans. When those guys are writing new music, I mean who wants to hear the same old shit? (laughs) You can tell I feel strongly about this. OPETH could’ve come out with another Deliverance, another Ghost Reveries and another Watershed and it would have been very good. OPETH are so influenced by all these bands that really epitomized all of these prog rock bands. It was about time they made their prog album. I love it. Why would fans expect Mikael Akerfeldt to be boring and stay bored and do the same thing again. Compositionally it is one of his best records. I fully support those bands and what they do. It’s about wanting to be surprised and wonder what is around the next corner. It depends what kind of fan you are. If you like a band like OPETH, if you love MASTODON or OPETH you want what those bands do and are all about you want them to follow their hearts. And I was especially surprised at the OPETH fans because I thought they were more open minded. Allow these bands to do what artists do, let them change rather than be beholden to expectations.
MAA: How important is a band like RUSH and an album like 2112 to the music still being made today?
JW: I think hugely. For me when I sit in a dark room and listen to 2112 that is part of that experience for a guy like me or any fan that treasures the band. But the other thing about your question is: it’s huge because of the influence from a band like RUSH has had. They have influenced not just prog rock bands or prog metal fans. RUSH has influenced metal bands, death metal bands, grindcore bands and even indie rock bands and all other kinds of musicians. If you took a survey of bands from a wide outgrowth of all music, RUSH is a very important band. I think that ten or fifteen years ago they were a little more like a guilty pleasure for some people. Now it is okay to say you like RUSH now. Their influence is incredibly vast.
MAA: Looking back at the longevity of some of the bands that were around at the time when you joined Metal Maniacs, do you feel proud of the role the magazine helped play promoting metal bands to a wider audience?
JW: I was just a part of the Maniacs legacy and certainly all the magazine did was reflect the legacy of the music itself. I am amazed and sure I’m proud. When I started at Maniacs it was 1997. I felt like I was down in the trenches. It was one of the first times in metal’s history a lot of people thought it was dead and it didn’t have a lot of juice anymore. We all knew different at the time. It is pretty incredible. Especially when you are seeing demos and re-issues of albums that are selling really well, being sold and repackaged. Metal now in 2012, it just has a longevity that shows it will never die. Even if no new music came out, there is so much from what has come before this music will never die. It’s history is kind of staggering. For guys like me that have been with the music for a long time, we do feel proud that we have come through the other side. It’s legitimate and here to stay. Not to sound really cliche’. It is part of popular culture.
Thanks to Jeff Wagner and Bazillion Points Publishing. You can buy the book here.
By Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: 2/1/12, 2112 Day, aol, Celtic Frost, chuck schuldiner, death, Dream Theater, ELP, EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER, interviews with Keefy, IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST, Jazz, Jeff Wagner, JOURNEY, Kansas, Keefy, Mastodon, Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal (Bazillion Points), Metal Army, metal journalism, Metal Maniacs Magazine, Mikeal Akerfeldt, Morbid Angel, Opeth, Paul Masvidal, Possessed, Prog Metal, progressive rock, QUEENSRŸCHE and FATES WARNING, Ron Zarzombek, Sean Reinert, Spiritual Healing, Tre Azagthoth, watchtower
Posted in Feature Interviews, Interviews | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 13th, 2011
May 13, 1967 – December 13, 2001
Ten years ago today saw the passing of a metal legend. Chuck Schuldiner – guitarist, singer, and composer for the bands DEATH and CONTROL DENIED. Known to many as the “Father of Death Metal”, Schuldiner’s lightning-fast guitar playing, influential vocal style, and definitive brutal-melodic songwriting served as a blueprint for death metal, and inspired many artists both in and outside the genre. Without Chuck, where would extreme metal be today?
DEATH has something for everyone. From the raw, original noise of Scream Bloody Gore, to the massively popular melodic tunes of Symbolic – Chuck’s legacy remains relevant and inspiring through the ages. The Florida native was unique among stars of the genre, in that he was a self-proclaimed “lover of life”, with an all-around positive attitude until the day of his death(which was, unfortunately, due to pneumonia while in a weakened state after radiation therapy for a brain tumor).
The music (and the cat sweater) lives on. In honor of “Evil Chuck”, take a moment of silence… then put on your favorite DEATH(or CONTROL DENIED!) record, practice guitar for 3 hours, and thank the gods of metal for granting us the all-too brief life and brilliance of Mr. Charles Schuldiner.
Official Death/Chuck site: www.emptywords.org
-Scarlett
Tags: chuck schuldiner, control denied, death, Death Metal, RIP
Posted in General Press Releases, The Bunker | No Comments »
Monday, November 28th, 2011
Metal Army caught up with CYNIC front man Paul Masvidal who is out on the road promoting the bands’ new EP Carbon Based Anatomy (Season of Mist). Die-hard fans fondly recall their debut Focus or the work Paul and band mate Sean Reinert did on DEATH’s Human album. However, Paul is all about moving the CYNIC legacy forward and not being too nostalgic. He discussed touring, the creative process, the current scene of prog metallers and the next CYNIC album with us including some surprise answers as well.
 Carbon Based Anatomy is out now on Season of Mist records.
MAA: How is the tour going so far?
CYNIC: Going great. Fun shows, cool cities, interesting people. Fantastic collective energy with our crew and touring party.
MAA: Carbon Based Anatomy is out now. Is this music a foreshadowing of the next Cynic album’s direction?
CYNIC: Not necessarily. CBA, much like every album we make is a snapshot of where we are at a particular time in our lives. This album represents the past year and was written/recorded in six weeks over the summer of 2011.
 One of the top concerts of 2010 was when CYNIC performed all of the Focus album among other tracks.
MAA: Do you think the tour last year performing Focus had any influence of the current direction?
CYNIC: I don’t think so. Performing live for me is a completely different animal and not much related to an album writing process.
MAA: These days what is the writing process like for you?
CYNIC: I write on acoustic guitar or piano and record bare bones vocal demos of what feels like a realized tune with solid harmonic/melodic ideas and core lyrics. I then give those demos to Sean. He get’s them in his ears and we take these tunes into our rehearsal room and jam/improvise around the song until we get something we like. It’s a very free, spontaneous environment where anything can happen and we just let our instincts run the show. Once we have an arrangement we like, we begin a more flushed out Pre-production process before recording the actual album.
 Paul (R) and Sean Reinert (L) are the two mainstays of the band. MAA: Are Brandon Giffin and Max Phelps going to do the next full length album with the band?
CYNIC: Too soon to say, but anything’s possible at this point.
MAA: How do you feel about the current progressive metal scene? Are their any bands that stand out to you?
CYNIC: I like where Opeth are going with the new material in that they’re trying something new. I think Tosin’s has some great moments with AAL (ANIMALS AS LEADERS). There are a handful of bands I’m appreciating out there, but not too sure of their names. Haha. Sorry.
MAA: In almost every interview I have done this year someone has mentioned CYNIC as important. Why do you think the band has had such a profound influence on other bands?
CYNIC: Who knows? Maybe it’s cause we’ve always followed our hearts, and created something new as a result. The ultimate job of an artist is to inspire other artists and if we’ve provided even a touch of inspiration to others, then that’s beautiful.
(Special Thanks to Paul Masvidal, CYNIC and Freeman Promotions)
By Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: bassist Brandon Giffin, Carbon Based Anatomy EP, Chapman Stick, Cynic, death, drummer Sean Reinert, guitarist Max Phelps, guitarist/singer Paul Masvidal, Jazz, Keefy, most anticipated albums of 2012, Prog Metal, Sean Malone, season of mist
Posted in Feature Interviews, Interviews | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011
Metal Army caught up with FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE drummer/guitarist/vocalist Fancesco Paoli (also HOUR OF PENANCE) a while a back at the Summer Slaughter tour and just saw them again recently on tour with DECAPITATED. Francesco talked about writing and recording the bands hit album Agony, gear and touring the USA. He is really funny and we laughed the entire time.
 Agony was released this past August on Nuclear blast.
MAA: Congratulations on Agony. Please tell us about the writing and recording process?
FP: This is our favorite album. We put a lot of love into this, to write these newest songs. It wasn’t easy since this is the first time we wrote the entire time with an orchestra. The whole process was different. The first time songs didn’t begin with guitar riffs, but from drums and orchestra. Even if we have some riffs here and there we are pushing the guitars inside the arrangements and orchestra like cellos and violins to get more integrated harmonies. We recorded at 16th Cellar Studio with Stefano Morabito ( also guitarist for EYECONOCLAST). He is the same guy who recorded Oracles and Mafia. He’s a great guy. He helped us a lot to make this symphonic death metal album very powerful and crushing. We are very happy with this. It’s very different from the past work. It seems people enjoy it, but it seems like people are very happy with it. It was very risky to put all of theses keys into it, but we are keeping the blasts (blast-beats) up so that is good! There is no compromise at all.
 In addition to drums for FgA Francesco also sings and plays guitar in HOUR OF PENANCE.
MAA: How important is the mixing and mastering process with a record this dense sounding?
FP: It was very hard. We would like to have much more time. Everybody thinks maybe their new album must be the best so you want more time to fix this or that, always. You are feeling never satisfied. Stefano had good ideas and he was very focused on the album. So we wanted to push the orchestra at the maximum, but he didn’t want to lose the oppressing blasting and oppressing guitar presence for the whole album. We love it!
 The visual aspect of the band is meant to compliment the music.
MAA: Where does the theatrical influence come from in your live show?
FP: We are fans of bands like RAMMSTEIN. We want to give people the chance to get into the songs and into the show. The whole show is not just us playing the songs. We have fun as a band and with the show. We like to dress up like romantic zombies (laughs). We use this as one more step toward putting people inside the show. It started from the music. We tried to give out a lot and we tried to develop every aspect of the show, like wearing tuxedos and other stuff. It is very useful to put the people inside of the show. They are very satisfied at what they see and hear. I think I look like a waiter! (laughs)
MAA: I think its more like a classical piano player with the tails!
FP: (laughs) We have nice and huge ideas for our next few tours. A lot of big stuff is on the way for us.
MAA: Francesco Ferrini (Keyboards, orchestrations) is now a full time member of the band. How much more involved was he in the writing on Agony than Oracles?
FP: We always worked with him. He recorded Oracles, The Mafia EP and this time Agony. He was inside the writing process from the beginning. We were writing all together with the structures of the drums and the riffing. At first it was a challenge to mix everything and fix problems with the songs. But even after a few days, he was fitting very well. He was integrated into the band. Plus he is also a very old friend of ours. We’ve known him a long time and we just needed a chance to put him in. This time was the right time. At the same time people are really excited that he joined the band. We are very excited at what is happening and we are working hard with him. He has contributed a lot to what is happening with us nowadays.
 The band has been tearing up the USA for their first extensive touring since the summer.
MAA: Any changes to your drum gear since you finished the album?
FP: I have new cymbals and a snare for the tour. I use Tama for the album and Roland for the triggers. I use UFIP cymbals, an Italian brand. Really heavy, the Bionic series. I am also an endorser for a company that makes one-piece snares also called Fonega. They are Italian too. We use Evans drum heads and we used acoustic sounds for the first time and we enjoyed it. The stuff is very fast so we need the triggers to cut through with the attack of every stroke. It helps with the mix a lot too, to make everything clearer. But at the same time we used more acoustic sounds in the drums. We want the extreme low frequencies to crush your fucking faces. (laughs) And ours too! (laughs) When I hear the snare in my face I like it! It was almost like dying. (laughs)
MAA: How do like touring America?
FP: Europe has the big festivals, but Americans are crazy! (laughs). We like to tour here. We will be back in the fall with DECAPITATED, DECREPEIT BIRTH, RINGS OF SATURN and THE HAARP MACHINE. The Summer Slaughter is a great chance to show our music to the people in all of these great cities. Even though we go on early all the shows are crowded and the fans are great. So far this is best tour we have ever done. We are really happy here. We love the United States and we love Americans! Thanks for the support!
(Special thanks to Francesco Paoli, FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE and Nuclear Blast)
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: 16th Cellar Studios, Agony, bassist/singer Paolo Rossi, BEETHOVEN's “Moonlight Sonata”, black metal, blind guardian, brutal vocalist Tomasso Riccardi, concept records, death, DECAPITATED fall 2011 US tour, Dimmu Borgir, drummer Francesco Paoli, Fleshgod Apocalypse, great songwriting, guitarist Cristiano Trionfera, hour of penance, Italian metal, Keefy, King Diamond, MAYAN, metal interviews, Nuclear Blast, orchestral movements, pianist/orchestrator Francesco Ferinni, producer Stefano Morbito, shredding guitar solos, Symphonic Metal, The Summer Slaughter Tour, triggered drum sounds
Posted in Feature Interviews, Interviews | No Comments »
Thursday, October 27th, 2011
Sleepers in the Rift (Pulverised)
Well, it’s old school death metal from Sweden, but not really old school Swedish death metal. Well, there is a little old school Swedish death metal involved on Sleepers in the Rift, the debut album from Morbus Chron, mainly a bit of the smoke-billowing locomotive tempos and the odd slam-chug. Otherwise, this one is about the kind of gnarly, mucked up death metal that was around just past the genre’s late 80s infancy stage and maybe a wee bit of the era just past the ’90 mark, like when the Swedish baby bands were riding the Autopsy train for all it was worth.
In other words, much of Sleepers in the Rift crosses a whole lot of Autopsy murder muck with Scream Bloody Gore era Death and some Death Strike slam-bams. You’ll be damned at how convincing it all sounds. Vomited death grunts and semi-shout derangement flies over top some seriously chewy riffs, plenty of neck-wrecking tempo shifts, and most simply some super cool “parts,” as represented by “Ways of Torture” and “Dead Body Pile Necrophile,” both of which feature innards-ripping solos. The latter also happens to be the most memorable track on an album that suffers just a pinch from track-distinction issues. It is a minor complaint at best and one of questionable significance at that, considering all the beautiful ugliness and numerous moments of horns-throwing, head-banging, warm-beer puking moments. There is far too much death of orgasmic appeal going on here to bother with such quibbling anyway.
We’re talking Death Strike/Master bashing on “Red Hook Horror,” superb doom-to-death alternating on “Lidless Coffin” (not to mention that wicked swirling lick), and all kinds of discordance and two-beat Hell galloping on “Deformation of the Dark Matter.”And who better to produce all this racket than former Entombed deathster Nicke Andersson. It does make sense, doesn’t it? All in all, some pretty damn solid material.
Rating: B
Scott Alisoglu
Tags: Autopsy, death, Master, old school death metal, Swedish Death Metal, USDM
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews | No Comments »
Thursday, October 20th, 2011
Carbon Based Anatomy EP (Season of Mist)
 Got to love this alien themed artwork!
I couldn’t help but feel a little like it was my birthday all over again when I saw the new CYNIC EP in my inbox for review. One of my favorite bands ever and one of the leading lights historically of progressive influenced metal, the band has always been ahead of their time. Led by front man Paul Masvidal and his former band mate in DEATH, drummer Sean Reinert the band is continuing it’s return from the abyss of retirement that began three years ago. Traced In Air and Re-Traced were both brilliant in their own ways. Even though neither crushes quite like their Focus did, they are still held up, examined and copied by many. In advance of their new full length album due in 2012, the EP is meant to excite and enthrall us while we wait.
“Amidst the Goals” immediately has the atmospherics and depth of the Traced In Air tracks. Gentle soundscape style tones start the track while an Asian female singer begins what is the prelude of what comes next. The title track begins things in earnest with jazzy drum patterns and bristling bass lines. Meanwhile guitars slowly creep in and build, carefully constructing the tune. The syncopated beats create a nice backdrop for Masvidal’s gentle tenor vocals. For as much props as he deserves for his legendary axe-manship, he has an great ability to weave a story with his beautiful singing. As always his uplifting lyrics lean on sci-fi, philosophy and enlightenment themes. Of course the guitar playing is classic Masvidal: restrained and slick with choice of styles changes always adding to the quality of the a song. His solo flight on the track is transcendent to say the least. The last two minutes of the song are as epic and powerful sounding as anything the band has done. “Bija” is another transitional cut with tribal sounding influences and mantra reciting vocals. “Box Up My Bones” is next and sound like it will be mellow to begin with following another intro using a swell effect. However, this track is fully realized from out of the gate with its spectral sound and riffage. Former bassist Sean Malone (GORDIAN KNOT/ROADRUNNER UNITED) actually plays bass on the EP and he turns in superb work as always playing bass and Chapman Stick. Reinert shows again and again why he is one of the preeminent stick-men ever, pushing and pulling tempos all the time. “Elves Beam Out” is a proggy masterpiece that could be a RUSH track as much as it has metal moments in it. Masvidal just dominates with his guitars and voice. The middle section has a really emotional main theme and the solo sings to your soul. “Hieroglyph” closes out the affair much like it started with with a feeling of delicate resolve. This is a great preview of their next record and the band will be hitting the road this fall. They will be joined by Brandon Giffin (THE FACELESS) on bass and Max Phelps on second guitar.
 Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert carry the torch for prog metal in CYNIC.
GRADE: A
By Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: bassist Brandon Giffin, Carbon Based Anatomy EP, Chapman Stick, Cynic, death, drummer Sean Reinert, guitarist Max Phelps, guitarist/singer Paul Masvidal, Jazz, Keefy, most anticipated albums of 2012, Prog Metal, Sean Malone, season of mist
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews | No Comments »
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