TITANS EVE is an up and coming thrash metal band from Canada. We have been following the band’s exploits lately, like when we streamed their new song last week. They dropped their new album Life Apocalpyse, and are busy playing some big warm up shows and gearing up for their summer tour with thrash/rock godfathers ANVIL and another with KILL DEVIL HILL. Vocalist/guitarist Brian Gamblin has shared some of his thoughts in this exclusive diary for Metal Army America about opening up for KORN in their hometown of Vancouver, B. C.
TITANS EVE played a big hometown show opening for KORN. Photo by Rock 97.7fm Grande Prairie, AB
Getting to the Encana centre arena in Dawson Creek B.C and seeing 3 large tour busses parked outside of the big bay load in doors was quite the site as we pulled up to our first Arena Gig. There was a wave of excitement that hit us all as we pulled into our loading bay because in just a few hours we would be sharing the stage with the band KORN!Once we had parked the Van a group of staff members began helping us load our gear to sound check (holy shit this must be heaven) where we could hear KORN going through some of their new tracks!!! After getting shown to our room where beer and water was supplied (killer) we warmed up for the gig. Then before you knew it the lights went out the crowd roared and we played our new tunes from our up coming album Life Apocalypse to a very supportive crowd. After KORN’s amazing set the band wished us well and we headed back to B.C to prepare for the ANVIL tour!
Brian Gamblin of TITANS EVE. Photo by Rock 97.7fm Grande Prairie, AB
TITANS EVE opens for KORN. Photo by Rock 97.7fm Grande Prairie, AB
THREAT SIGNAL pulls no punches lyrically or visually with their messages.
For album number three Hamilton, ON veterans THREAT SIGNAL decided to up the ante considerably. Ratcheting up their writing and chops by several leagues the band has evolved their take on modern melodic metal to new heights. It’s heartening to see bands still care about their growth as artists in this cookie cutter day and age. It is not enough of to just keep getting heavier (although they have), but to expand on your original ideas as a band without jumping on trends and losing who you are. Produced by Chris “Zeuss” Harris, the results are definitely made to shine.
Kicking off with “Uncensored” the band displays it’s trademark slick rhythmic riffing and thrashy beats. Their sound has always been a mix of melodic modern sounds of bands like ALL THAT REMAINS, DARK TRANQUILITY and SOILWORK with precision drumming of say a FEAR FACTORY. Combining all these elements the band has always had a cool style, but has now refined all of those elements greatly. As always vocalist Jon Howard’s angry screams and melodic singing are a highlight. Guitarists Travis Montgomery and Chris Feener lay down a torrent of chords and licks. Just from this first track you can see how the band intended to rise over their previous efforts. Second cut “Comatose” is an uptempo piece with slick double-kick heavy drums and slicing riffs. Howard again kills the vocal track and you really feel his anger and dismay in the lyrics. Bassist Pat Kavanaugh often chips in some additional backing screams. The chorus of the song is one of the best moments of the entire album and calls to mind the sweeping grandeur of KORN. “New World Order” is another angry political diatribe and the thrash/melo-death type riffs definitely have a Swedish flavor to them. “Trust In None” is a little too focused on melodic enterprise. It certainly is catchy enough to be a break out cut amongst the bruisers. Back on the right path with the single “Face The Day” the song is energetic and crushing. In addition to some nifty keyboard parts there are some otherworldly death growls found here. Alex Rüdinger really crushed on the drums on this song and the entire album really. “Fallen Disciples” is a brief instrumental with the riffs right out of the Peter Wichers playbook. “Disposition” follows next and is blazing fast, killer track that is terrific. From the remaining tracks “Buried Alive” is the most compelling with some outstanding shredding by Feener. The band has turned in their finest effort to date and I look forward to catching them on the road this fall.
THREAT SIGNAL ought to be smiling after completing their new album.
KORN is a great band. Sure, they’re not always great and they’re not for everyone — but they are extremely talented and I do enjoy a number of their songs. What I’m really interested in is the upcoming brand new dubstep album, ‘The Path of Totality’, which is due out from Roadrunner on December 6th. The band has teamed with some of the best dubstep artists in the country to put together a truly unique experience and it will certainly be interesting to hear what the album sounds like. For now, you can get a preview with the below music video for SKRILLEX’s remix of KORN’s “Get Up!”
Dez Fafara has come along way since COAL CHAMBER. Now he leads one of the biggest and best bands in the metal scene, DEVILDRIVER and has became a truly captivating metal personality. Now, he is getting back to his roots and has announced that he is reuniting with his bandmates of old and relaunching COAL CHAMBER. Well, sort of…
COAL CHAMBER will be heading to Australia for a series of reunion shows at Soundwave. As far as nu metal goes, COAL CHAMBER was certainly one of the best bands in the scene and were helped very much by the fact that SHARON OSBOURNE took the reigns and guided the band to a lot of success with Roadrunner Records. It will surely be interesting to see them back and what they bring aside from these dates in Australia.
Maybe we can get a FAMILY VALUES tour together with them, KORN and some of the other big bands from that era? Anyone… Bueler….
KORN is releasing a dubstep album on November 15th title ‘The Path To Totality’. So, it should come as no surprise that the band is actually touring with dubstep acts this fall. While no confirmation has been given, dates have begun to trickle out that have KORN headlining with guests such as DATSIK and DOWNLINK, prominent dubstep artists, on select dates. I think this could actually be pretty cool seeing that KORN have less in common with metal these days and have transitioned into a scene that could most certainly enjoy this.
I’m stoked to hear ‘The Path To Totality’ and I’m even more excited to see them on this tour when it comes to New York’s Roseland Ballroom on November 4th!
Nov. 3 Boston Nov. 4 New York City Nov. 5 Philadelphia, PA Nov. 6 Huntington, NY Nov. 9 Miami FL Nov.10 Orland, FL Nov. 11 Tampa, FL Nov. 12 Atlanta, GA
Nov. 16 Tulsa, OK Nov. 18 San Antonio, TX Nov. 19 Houston, TX Nov. 20 Dallas, TX
As has occasionally been detailed here on Metal Army it is impossible to talk about the history of rock and metal without giving bands from Japan their due. Even before KISS went over in the 1970s and brought American cock rock with them, Japan has been a hotbed of creativity and talent in music. Going back through my life there have been countless cool bands some underground and some very popular worth your time and and ear- respect. Bands like glam kings LOUDNESS, the legendary epic metal of X-JAPAN, BUCK-TICK and more recently groups such as BORIS and SIGH have gotten me excited. Another band making waves is DIR EIN GREY which incorporates some of the best of elements of their forerunners blended with their own unique perspective and feel. I really loved their last record Uroborus and this new one is a complete step up from that work. The album sounds very triumphant and considering that the band recently went through a lot following the recent earthquake/nuclear power plant incident this past March. They openly discussed their feelings on the matter which you can read here. Life is often much bigger than a metal album and whether it is good or not and I think this is especially apparent in the artistry of the band.
After the introduction of “ Kyoukotsu No Nari” which sounds like the eerie exposition of a horror movie. The music paints the picture in your mind as if the monster is about to hatch and kill you in the next second. The first full song “The Blossoming Beelzebub” starts with tribal drums and enchanting Gothic female singing and chants. The song builds slowly as each instrument stirs awake as if a terrible and great epic is unraveling. When the main riff kicks in it is a wash of squealed death vocals, harmonized guitars and thick bass lines. The song is very sinister sounding with vocalist Kyo unfolding his magnificent five-octave singing range. “Different Sense” begins like the most brutal tech death assault you can imagine couched with a modern sensibility as if CRYPTOPSY, DYING FETUS and SLIPKNOT got together for punch and pie and a jam session broke out. When the chorus shakes things up significantly with a goth rock sound that wouldn’t be out of place on a HIM album. A thrashy a prog metal middle section, complete with shredding guitar solos sends the track into the stratosphere. Kyo can do nearly anything with his malleable vocal chords from guttural growls, pig squeals and power metal singing. The rhythm section of Toshiya on bass and Shinya on drums sounds amazingly tight and grooving at all times. “Amon” is another evil sounding dirge. Starting off with a bit of sea-sick rhythms boiling over in to some good old fashioned progressive death metal. Again Toshiya’s bass is just popping and about as good as he has ever sounding. Arabic influenced scales mark the guitar work of Kaoru and Die and they just kill it dead with their chops. Some of the melodic harmonies in the second half of the song will call to mind ICX Vortex’s symphonic qualities in his work in DIMMU BORGIR. “Dreambox” follows next and is more like a active rock and metal power ballad. Collectively they have a terrific pop sense about them as heard on the beautiful “Vanats”. I can’t speak Japanese, but you can’t help but feel the emotional pull of the lyrics and vocal performances in every song. The title of the album, Dum Spiro Spero is Latin for “While I breathe, I hope” which again considering everything is a pretty remarkable concept.Some more of the female vocals again chirp in as they do through out the album to add color. Later in the song we get a cross between KORN (the bands first American benefactor) and steely grindcore. Each distinct part is well written and precise, always sounding organic and not like forced genre mash. “Jukoyu” or translated as “Animal Lust” is another one of Kyo’s darkly sexual tales of depravity. The song itself is a prog/funk/thrash and metalcore workout and once again you have a band that has no ceiling on what they won’t try. Other top songs include “Lotus”, “Diabolus” and “Decayed Crow”.
STILLWELL is the new project from KORN’s bassist Fieldy along with POD’s Wuv. It’s certainly more tolerable than either of those bands but it still sucks a dead dog’s dick. Now, I know that POD faded away about as quickly as the came on the scene so I understand that Wuv (I cringe every time I write that) might need a new venture to make some money. However, is KORN really not paying Fieldy enough and he needs another gig too? Jesus dude, leave it alone already!
As if we should have expected any less from the band who backed ex-Emperor mainman Ihsahn on his last epic solo journey, After, this third LP from the Norwegian progressive metal maniacs in Leprous has struck…and boy does it ever leave a mark.
Just like Trent Reznor and his Nine Inch Nails somehow made industrial music structurally memorable and commercially viable, so too does Leprous manage to take their complex and progressive leanings and blend them into a near-seamless, avant/metal masterwork. There’s nothing dumbed down or conceptually stunted here on Bilateral. Instead, Leprous revels in challenging rhythm structure, up-tempo riff exercises and a theatrical, semi-operatic vocal style which doesn’t sound all that dissimilar to Ihsahn himself, although keyboardist/vocalist Einar Solberg occasionally drifts into an almost Jonathan Davis-level whine at times. Strangely enough, however…it works, fitting in just fine alongside the band’s difficult-yet-approachable arrangements.
Of course, the Leprous/Ihsahn collarboration was bound to rub off on the band, and-although I can’t claim to have heard Leprous on their prior two releases-Bilateral is proof positive that their take on the prog metal genre is both unique and unequivocally theirs to share. Not quite Tool-repetitive, nor Porcupine Tree-level spacey, the Leprous noise is heavy, dynamic, melodic memorable and oh-so intriguing; one which demands copious spins and unfocused intention. Marvelous all around-definitely check this one out.
With everyone and their mother scrambling to get a piece of California’s Suicide Silence these days, it really comes as no surprise to uncover that the band was able to score guest appearances from Suffocation’s Frank Mullen and Korn’s Jonathan Davis for this, the band’s third record since their 2002 formation.
What might disappoint most of the band’s detractors even more is how much The Black Crown seems intent on stripping things down to a more palatable level of extremity; something which makes Suicide Silence even more marketable in the malls and mass-produced fests criss-crossing the good ol’ U.S. of A.
While still inundated with jagged, hyper-brutal riffing and blasting drums, The Black Crown also tends to dwell more in the mid-pace grind than ever before, simplifying the Suicide Silence formula to a polished sheen. Yet, the overall attack of the band remains supremely one-dimensional; a pony whose one deathcore trick has already passed its sell-by date, and is slowly becoming a quaint thing of the past.
While a track like “Human Violence” is a plenty-powerful example of modern extreme metal, the overall mediocrity of bands like Suicide Silence and their ilk has become abundantly clear at this point, and no album like The Black Crown is going to be doing much to change this fact anytime soon. Deathcore is a dead scene, yet-ironically enough-it’s probably only a matter of time before an even larger label comes calling, swoops up the band and brings the genre kicking and screaming into the Midwest to die. Adios.
I have been very curious to hear the new SUICIDE SILENCE record for quite a while now. As with anything with a lot of hype behind it, you always wonder if it will live up to its potential. Admittedly I have never been the biggest fan of the band before. They are very intense and entertaining live and as much as I enjoy a bunch of different death core bands, I have never found them overly compelling for whatever reason. However, once I heard the first few songs off of The Black Crown, I felt I might be about to change my tune.
Right out of the gate “Slaves to Substance” surprised me. Tons heavier than their previous work, their brand of deathcore is now bolstered by tech-death influences and even grindcore at times. Vocalist Mitch Lucker’s throat stripping screams are high in range and in the mix as usual, and frankly not my favorite style. On the plus side his low range sounds great and complements the band well. Another plus it that it seems that band is backing away from the bass drop laden breakdowns that were getting played out to the max. Good work. “O.C.D.” is about Lucker’s second favorite topic, his issues with his illness. The song has a dirge like quality to its slow pummeling beats and riffs. Again, the band fills the song with lots of sonic and emotional gravitas which is their calling card. Drummer Alex Lopez proves he is the zenith talent in the band, just battering his kit to the fullest on every song. Guitarists Chris Garza and Mark Heylmun have added to their arsenal of chugging, low tuned riffs complementing them with lots of tricky licks and obtuse parts. On the ripping “Human Violence” there are even, gasp, great guitar solos and some parts that will call to mind the glory days of PANTERA. Yup, they went there. The single “You Only Live Once” song is unforgiving, harsh and is another lyrical call to arms. The band seems to have settled on the mid-tempo groove for much of the album and it works to their advantage. “Fuck Everything” is yet, another riff heavy, hostile anthem for modern times and modern kids. “March To the Black Crown” is a cool scary, musical soundscape and would be great entrance music for the band. In the first of two interesting guest spots on the album, “Witness the Addiction” features Jonathan Davis of KORN. The combination of Davis and Lucker is excellent, both playing different parts of their ranges against the other. In a weird turn, the song is not as commercial as you’d expect, except for the epic chorus. “Cross-Eyed Catastrophe” is another spiraling out of control riff fest that has a few hints of black metal. Next up is “Smashed” featuring Frank Mullen of SUFFOCATION fame. The track is over the top crushing and again I think even long time fans of death metal might be surprised how righteous the track is. For another surprise “The Only Thing That Sets Us Apart” has ethereal, creepy parts more likely to be heard on an ANIMALS AS LEADERS or a BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME album. The closing song “Cancerous Skies” is another hurricane of riffs, blast beats and Lucker screaming his guts out. Overall this album is a big step forward for the band and one that sees them answering their critics (like me) and pleasing their fans at equal measures.
