This is only one out of five reviews to come, so prepare for a veritable shitstorm of loquaciousness, jumbled memories, and chicanery that only your favourite poseur can bring consisting of equal amounts hilarity and pit dickery. I’m fucked, as is the world, and everybody in it.
Hailing from God-Save-The-Queenland, SYLOSIS are one of those bands that can only be rightly called “Modern” Metal. Being a combination of MeloDeath (as opposed to Melodic Death Metal, take note), Thrash, and Metalcore, they define genre tags, so your average Metal mag will love them (viz. Metal Hammer). They certainly are a talented band, and deserve the success they have received, though I’ve yet to get a full-on boner for them. They’ve got the skill and the shred that you’d ask for in a Thrash/Death Metal band, but end up being neutered by the cleanliness of their sound and the sheer lack of aggression that is called for in this thing we call Metal. However, they do know how to get a nice circle-pit going, and circle-pits are awesome in my book. SYLOSIS has only been on this side of the pond twice, but didn’t appear too excited to be playing in front of a decently sized crowd, so it almost gave the impression that they wanted their set to be over, and fast.
SYLOSIS was an early delight.
After SYLOSIS came everyone’s least favourite Hick-Metal project, going under HELLYEAH, a name that may only have been conceived after a night of Jack Daniels and rawhide. With members coming from MUDVAYNE, PANTERA, and NOTHINGFACE, they had potential to at least make some okay music. How on Satan’s green Earth do you make VINNIE PAUL’s spectacular drumming sound lackluster? It’s almost criminal how painfully popular the insipid excuses for “songs” HELLYEAH produces became. The fact that their front man could stand up on that stage and grandstand to a crowd of drunken fools and get applause for namedropping the U.S. armed forces, as well as make the audacious claim that “we’re all Metalheads” without the slightest degree of irony is appalling and offensive. I’ve seen a better live presence and consideration for the audience’s feelings from BLESSTHEFALL, and they’re godawful, pun fucken intended because they’re Christcore. HELLYEAH is so bad that an actual stench, an unmitigated olfactory assault, was making itself apparent while they went about abusing guitars and making them honk like abused geese rather than sing gracefully. HELLYEAH is a bad band, and VINNIE PAUL lending his drum talents is no excuse for this shameful waste of equipment, cotton, and time.
HELLY EAH has VINNIE PAUL, and little else going for it.
After that torture, pain was renewed, however more earnest in spirit, by IN FLAMES, Sweden’s biggest export aside from perhaps meatballs.
ANDERS FRIDÉN of IN FLAMES.
IN FLAMES may have crossed the line into pure fucking un-metal with Soundtrack To Your Escape, but I just have too big of a heart to deny them access into my ears and soul. Though yes, Sounds of a Playground Fading is beyond (and I say this acknowledging my own presence in the LGBTQ community) gay, IN FLAMES’ overall output has been to my satisfaction.
Set List:
Sounds of a Playground Fading
Where the Dead Ships Dwell
Reroute to Remain
Embody the Invisible
Cloud Connected
Fear Is the Weakness
The Mirror’s Truth
System
Deliver Us
Take This Life
My Sweet Shadow
And now for the fun part: LAMB OF GOD, in the flesh, and proselytising their message of fear, pain, hatred, and power. To deny you grew up with LAMB OF GOD, either as a young-un just discovering Metal, or an OG watching Metalcore hatch from an egg comprised of obsidian and cheap beer piss, would be a bloody lie at worst, and a fib and best. To say that you weren’t mindlessly headbanging to “Laid To Rest” or “Ruin” during their set that night would be to deny that you have a soul or a passion aimed towards something real. Sure, LAMB OF GOD are what you can call “entry-level”, but damn they’ve got soul.
RANDY BLYTHE: The stuff of legend on this night.
Due to RANDY BLYTHE’s recent incarceration in Czech prison for “killing” someone, it wasn’t surprising to see a few “Free Randy Blythe” shirts in the crowd, even though the man was alive, well, and hairy on that stage, appearing space-ship like as they performed their vitriolic version of a “Walk With Me In Hell” with a fervor that just about blew away every other band playing that night. Randy poured bottle after bottle of water upon his head, as though making up for a missed shower, CHRIS ADLER beat his kit like it owed him rent money, and the dual guitar attack of Mark and Willie had more crunch than on record. John Campbell played bass and looked like a wizard. Cool. Randy commanded the crowd to “get ignorant”, but in all reality, it got ignorant when a fight broke out during SYLOSIS. To say nothing of the praise HELLYEAH, for being god awful.
WILLIE ADLER jams!
LAMB OF GOD is one of those bands that I can check off my list of “gotta see live before I die”, and damn was it a blast. “Now You’ve Got Something To Die For” made HELLYEAH’s own shout-out to the U.S. Army pathetic in comparison (and this is coming from someone who isn’t all “hoo-rah” about what our men & women in uniform are made to do, by the way), “Ruin” was insurmountably heavy, “Set To Fail” had even slicker blasts and grooves, “11th Hour” had vitality unmatched, the final breakdown of “Black Label” was impossibly brutal, etc. etc. In short, seeing LAMB OF GOD live just about re-affirmed in my mind that they’re not to be fucked with. They may be placed alongside bands like CHIMAIRA, TRIVIUM, SHADOWS FALL, etc., but they’re just a tad bit more pissed than your average “Heavy Metal” band, and that’s the bottom line.
CHRIS ADLER kills it all night!
Set List:
Desolation
Ghost Walking
Walk With Me in Hell
Set to Fail
Ruin
Now You’ve Got Something to Die For
11th Hour
The Undertow
Omerta
Contractor
Encore:
The Passing
In Your Words
Laid to Rest
Redneck
Black Label
Review by Sean Genovese. Concert photos by Echoes In the Well
All the way from France, with their fourth release, H.N.P. or “Heic Noenum Pax” courtesy of TREPALIUM, which is also a pretty nasty torture device. The cover art by HICHAM HADDAJI kicks ass, but sadly this album is not as bad ass as the cover. If the goal was to cover as many bases as possible, mission accomplished! Everyone involved in this album are good players, I have no problem with that it’s just what they’re playing, I get the feeling I’ve heard it all before. They’re a Heavy-Groove band with a little Prog thrown in to make it more interesting. Then there are parts when they sound like a weird MESHUGGAH, STONE SOUR, PANTERA mash-up.
The vocals of Keke remind me of DEZ FAFARA of DEVILDRIVER and GARY MESKIL of PRO-PAIN. The guitar players, Nicolas Amosse and Hurun Demiraslan are good, but when it’s solo time they show they went to FREDRICK THORDENDAL (MESHUGGAH) school of guitar soloing. The rhythm section is doing their job well and there is good use of keyboards too. The only problem I found is the lack of cohesiveness in the songs. Everything sounds all over the place. It’s like an old mix tape in the styles these guys cover.
Everything’s pretty standard and mid-tempo grooving hard rock tunes. It’s a good clear production. Maybe too clean. The first, and title song is not a bad opener. It has some good Prog elements in there. Then out of nowhere comes “Let the Clown Rise”, blast beats and all the death metal nuggets you’d expect, but it just sounds out of place. There is a nice full on instrumentation with “Raining Past” and it’s not too long either. They end the album with a pretty solid cover of “I’m Broken” by the mighty PANTERA. It’s always nice to hear something besides “Walk” covered. Overall, it just sounds like too many other things and not one solid voice. I get what they were trying to do and hopefully next time they’ll hit it on the nose.
One of the reasons metal is one of the most vital forms of music is that the permutations of sub-genres is never ending. The seed of a new style often begins as a kernel of an idea in one kid’s mind, sitting in his room wood-shedding. From there bands form around incorporating new approaches to existing ideas and influences to craft new music. Such is the case with WESTERN MASSACRE and their delivery which is described as “death groove”. The brutality of CANNIBAL CORPSE and JUNGLE ROT mixed with the mood and attitude of PANTERA, LAMB OF GOD or SEPULTURA is what we found on their full length Freedom Through Violence.
From the first notes of “Steel Casket” one thing is clear, these guys can bring the heaviness. Harsh guttural vocals fill your ears with dread while down-tuned riffs pummel your brain. Not only does this song have great sense of rhythm, but has a melo-death influence that many of the bands coming out of the Massachusetts scene tend to have. The band is as unrelenting musically as they are catchy, as proven by the hints PANTERA-esque southern licks that pop up here and there. Guitarists Kyle Leary and Chad Hoag shred all day long and will give the guitar geeks much to talk about. The second track “Brazilian Carnival” brings more of the same wrought iron chords and savage beats. Drummer Jeff Greene does a nice job behind the kit of blending his syncopated, off-time hits and fills with his impressive double bass work. For a band to make this match of styles work and be tight, the drummer has to hold it down and Greene does so at all times. Vocalist Matt Lentner seems like he’s gonna tear his own throat out on occasion, channeling Satan with is crazy high screams. The end of the song has a mosh part/outro solo/last riff motif is one that many bands would envy writing. “Facelift” starts off with more of the tough-guy mosh parts, but then adds this unique textural guitar theme that blew me away. From there you get a straight ahead face melter worthy of most modern metal bands. Once again you have two guys on guitar praying to the alter of DIMEBAG DARRELL at times with inventive playing, and slick ear candy. “Roadhouse” sounds like the bastard child of LoG and a beastly deathcore band, complete with sick blast-beats and scream along chorus. To change things up a bit “Blood and Stone” opens with a solid thrash riff, before transforming all HULK-like into a brutal deathcore song. Even bassist Nate Larsen gets to step out of his supporting role and throw down some tasty riffs. Next comes their eponymous song, full of galloping riffs and blind raging fury. Other top tracks on the album include “Defector” and the final song which is the epic title track. By cleverly writing original songs with this much brutality and flavor, this is a band we will be hearing from for a long time. You can buy their album from their website here.
My review of Sonisphere will be done in three parts, the first two dealing with the music, and then a third part dealing with the experience as a whole. The Sonisphere in Spain is held in Getafe, which is on the outskirts of Madrid. This year’s edition was held at the Auditorio John Lennon, which is essentially right next to a military base. Due to my commitments as a father, I left home for Madrid later than expected, but got down there right as Lauren Harris’ new band SIX HOUR SUNDOWN hit the stage (made it down in four hours). Now by reading this, you might think I actually got to see her band. I listened to them while in traffic. See I got there and the abundance of parking that was promised was non-existent, as a result I had to park 2 kilometers (almost a mile and a half) away and walk with thousands of others that had been thrust into the same situation by the promoters. All of us were struggling to find the parking lot, when we got there, we found it was full. So if you didn’t get into that lot you had to drive in circles till you found parking on the street, 2 kilometers away! Anyway, more on this in part three, there is plenty to discuss. Now to the music.
By the time I got into the actual festival SIX HOUR SUNDOWN, SKINDRED, KOBRA AND THE LOTUS, RISE TO REMAIN, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, and SONATA ARTICA had already played. By the time I did get in, LIMP BIZKIT was on stage playing “Break Stuff”, and proceeded to play just hits, “My Generation”, “Take A Look Around”, etc. Due to the fact that I got in mid-set there were tens of thousands of people in front of me, so I decided to go to the second stage and wait for KYUSS LIVES! The organizers (Last Tour International) had the brilliant idea that for the first time in the festival’s existence they would have bands overlap one another. So even before LIMP BIZKIT was done KYUSS LIVES! hit the stage. John Garcia, lead singer of the band remarked the fact that it was odd they were playing at the same exact time; he wasn’t the only one to do so during the course of the two days. The band tore through stoner classics that included “Gardenia”, “Supa Scoopa And Mighty Scoop”, and of course “Green Machine”.
Next up was SOUNDGARDEN, I got to see them on Lollapalooza 96 with METALLICA, they were one of many other bands that stopped existing shortly after the tour, RAMONES, and SCREAMING TREES, being the others. I can’t consider myself a die-hard fan of the band, although I enjoy a lot of their material. I either really enjoy their music, or it bores me. That said, I know a lot of SOUNDGARDEN die-hards that were a step away from doing the O face during the band’s performance. Stand out tracks for me included “Jesus Christ Pose”, “The Day I Tried To Live”, “Outshined”, “Rusty Cage” and “Slaves & Bulldozers”. Their set was good, but for me, it was as if some of their tracks broke up the flow of the festival. It was like hitting the breaks all of a sudden, and dragging (the operative word) to a halt. Still a good set, just not someone I’d set out to specifically see.
Here is a little tidbit about the festival culture here in Spain, the headliner isn’t the last band to go on, this is something Burton C. Bell of FEAR FACTORY mentioned at the close of day 2. SOUNDGARDEN were the headliners of day 1. MACHINE HEAD hit the stage next, and if I mentioned that the SOUNDGARDEN die-hards were elated to see their band, the MACHINE HEAD faithful were down right pissed. You know all of this nonsense that Bruce Dickenson says about American crowds, and how in Europe they’re just happy to see you and celebrate? How they don’t care if you only play a greatest hits set? I think you had several thousand people really angry at MACHINE HEAD that would beg to differ. Why you ask? They played 7 tracks, and 5 came from their latest album Unto The Locust. “Imperium” and the closer “Halo” were the only two to not come off of the album. So now you’re thinking wait, they closed with “Halo”? And “Imperium” was the only other song that wasn’t. Where’s “Davidian”? The DJ that came on two hours later emphatically launched into his set and proclaimed “here’s the one MACHINE HEAD forgot” as you can hear Kris Kontos legendary intro. So, I understand both sides of the coin here, if I’m MACHINE HEAD, I’m proud of my latest album, and I want to play songs off of it, but I can also understand the fans, you’re playing seven tracks, and five come off of the new album? I didn’t hear one positive thing about the set afterwards. Spain has always been a strong hold for the band, even when the The Burning Red came out. A generation of Spanish metal heads have grown up in this country with MACHINE HEAD, SEPULTURA and PANTERA being their biggest inspirations. It was also surprising to many that with such a reduced set that Rob Flynn would take several minutes to intro “Darkness Within”. Personally I thought the set was alright, not as good as other times I’ve seen them, not as long either, and the sound was not that loud (more likely the organizer’s fault and not the bands.) I personally enjoyed the opener “I AM Hell (Sonata in C#)”, and the two classics I mentioned “Imperium” and “Halo”.
Once MACHINE HEAD wrapped up, it was off to see doom metallers ORANGE GOBLIN. They were the surprise of the day for me. Although I’ve know the name for a while, I can’t say that I know enough of their catalogue, and will definitely check them out more in the coming days. With this said I did enjoy “The Fog” which came off of their latest release A Eulogy For The Damned.
Letting the music of day one sit with me roughly 48 hours, I’d have to say the day was full of good bands, nothing great and nothing that was over the top memorable. THE OFFSPRING and ORANGE GOBLIN were by far the best acts of the first day.
February 10th this year marked the twentieth anniversary of PANTERA’s landmark album Vulgar Display of Power. In celebration Rhino has released an expanded version of VDOP with a slew of bonus materials in an CD/DVD package. The music on this album helped the band cement their standing in the world of metal as an undeniable force to be reckoned with and gods. In many ways this album changed them as a band and set the course for the remainder of their storied career.
Vulgar was the bands sixth album, but only their second to gain a wide release since the bands’ signing to a major label affiliate (ATCO) and the change in style from the glam/power metal influenced years of their youth. Cowboys From Hell was original, thrashy and killer with great songs and totally set them apart from what was going on in metal at the time. If you recall “Grunge” (which I loathe to even use the term) was becoming popular, glam metal was killed off for the most part, alternative became mainstream and hip-hop was becoming a lot of pop rap. Metal was still very strong in the early 1990s even if there were less bands flying the flag that high. Thrash metal had become more mainstream, or perhaps the bands went mainstream first with METALLICA leading the way. Vulgar came along and was the antidote to everything else that was happening for a generation of metal heads. On the back of the success of this release the band spear-headed a changing of the guard that would happen a few years later, at least in America.
Musically the album is perfect from top to bottom. The band stripped down the excess of their older work and streamlined their style. Attempts at VAN HALEN boogie rock were traded in for hardcore/ crossover influenced tempos and riffs. Taking one element of thrash metal and making an entire style around it (power-groove), the band raised the bar for writing and personality among all their peers of the day. Phillip Anselmo swapped his ROB HALFORD scream for a defiant roar, while still keeping it tuneful. Many people still think of “Walk” synonymously with the name of the band, every song is a masterpiece. “This Love” and “Mouth For War” got richly deserved attention for their awesomeness and videos, but it is in other songs that the backbone of the album was built. Tracks like “A New Level”, “Fucking Hostile”, “Rise” and “By Demons Be Driven” are nearly equal in writing and performance to anything the band ever did. DIMEBAG DARRELL’s riffs and leads were rarely more muscular or musical in his career. Even the production, the tightness of the drum sounds, fullness of the guitars and the heavy, but clear tone of bass was expertly rendered by the band and producer Terry Date.
The new release has the original album, the previously unreleased song “Piss“, some unreleased concert footage and music videos. With the 2004 murder of DIME, it’s possible that this album burns a little bit brighter for some who remember the bands humble beginnings. Either way, this is an essential record that still holds up today.
Late last year I had the opportunity to speak to VINNY APPICE about a new band he was working on called KILL DEVIL HILL. He’s played on so many things; I figured well it’s just another project he’s working on. I’m fairly confident that I’m not the only one to think this as well, a legendary drummer that has played with BLACK SABBATH, DIO, WORLD WAR III, JOHN LENNON, RICK DERRINGER, etc. this is just another project right? Vinny was quick to put me in my place and point out that KILL DEVIL HILL was a band, his band. At that time, I hadn’t heard a single note by the band, but Vinny spoke with a lot of conviction about what I would hear months later. He discussed how the band accidentally came about, and naturally progressed from him and guitarist Mark Zavon jamming. So I was immediately intrigued, wanted to hear what the band was about.
During this conversation I admitted to Vinny that my all-time favorite BLACK SABBATH album is easily the often overlooked Dehumanizer. Why? That’s easy, I’m a drummer, and the crushing drum sound that drives that album is unbelievable. I’ve often wondered why other bands, and SABBATH themselves, have not mixed and recorded another album in a similar fashion. Much to my chagrin, TONY IOMMI mentions in his book how, unless you’re a drummer, you don’t really like the sound of that album. Guess he got me on that one! He mentions that the drums are too bright for his taste. Quite a shame, because that precise sound would have put HEAVEN & HELL’s The Devil You Know over the top.
By the time I was able to speak to REX BROWN, I had already had the album for a few days. During my conversation with him, I was caught off guard by something he said. He mentioned that the album was recorded with Pro-Tools. Now this really doesn’t seem like a big deal, because let’s face it, the majority of the albums that have been released during the last say 15 years have been recorded on Pro-Tools. What’s odd is that the album does not have your typical Pro-Tools recorded linear feel. The album has a lot of range and dynamic, something very atypical with a lot of the carbon copied hard rock and metal that is released nowadays. The album feels like it could have been recorded in the 70s, 80s, or 90s, before Pro-Tools really took off, when things were recorded on tape. The album has aspects of influences from all of those decades as well, but it doesn’t feel dated, it has a real modern feel to it as well. It gives you the best of both worlds. Rex mentioned that they mixed the album three times before it sounded right to the band. Although it doesn’t have that same Dehumanizer sound, it is very similar in the way that the drums and bass are presented on the album. Vinny’s parts especially sound as if he’s in the room with you, every hit of the toms sound crisp and clear, and not buried in the mix like they usually are. Which makes me think, why aren’t more albums mixed like this?
The way the band performs on the album reminds me a lot of LED ZEPPELIN and THE WHO. Now don’t get all bent out of shape, and let me explain. Both of those legendary bands had extraordinary rhythm sections, that drove their music. They also had a guitarist who instead of going out of his way to stand out every second he could, he atypically became the glue that held everything together. This is something that Mark Zavon does to perfection on this album by weaving between the solid foundation Vinny and Rex are laying down, and picking his spots to stand out and make the entire composition better. The melody on the album is incredible as well, Dewey Bragg does a great job of not only putting some solid lyrics together, but he uses his voice in a fashion that does not sound like any of today’s homogenized singers. Sure you can hear influences in his voice, but it doesn’t sound like every other singer out there. The album kicks off with four very solid tracks, “War Machine” starts things off driving forward. This takes us to “Hangman” which is classic Vinny, that slow punishing groove he is known for and more or less helped pioneer. “Voodoo Doll” is one of my favorite tracks to come out this year, the opening tremolo effect, into the mini solo before Dewey jumps into the first verse, and subsequent infectious chorus is to me the strongest track on the album. The fourth track “Gates Of Hell” is another slow dirge, which rivals classic SABBATH tracks like “Children of The Sea” and “Sign Of The Southern Cross”. Other stand out tracks include the “Time + Time Again” which was premiered late last year, “Up In Flames” which is about Dewey losing everything he owned in a fire, and the album closer “Revenge”, which has a real ZEPPELIN feel throughout.
Vinny’s DNA is all over this album, he is perhaps one of the most underrated drummers of all time. If this album sounds anything like SABBATH or DIO, it’s because of his playing. Although Rex was the last member to join the band, you can hear his signature playing as well. He is often overlooked in when his former band PANTERA is discussed. This album makes you appreciate what he actually did their landmark albums. Listen to what he does on this album, and go back to those old PANTERA albums, and realize how he actually influenced a generation of players. Dewey and Mark are just as important on the album, and not overshadowed by either of these two legends. Dewey delivers a very solid vocal performance, with a lot of great memorable melodies, and Mark is the perfect linchpin that ties everything together, and makes it all work.
The entire album is very solid throughout, and in my opinion, easily among the best hard rock albums to come out this year.
Spain’s ANGELUS APATRIDA return with The Call, it is their third album for Century Media. Although this thrash quartet has had their issues taking a stranglehold of their native Albacete, they have been slaying Spain, and audience member that stands in their way for years. This has lead them to open up for such groups as SLAYER, and MEGADETH, and their current jaunt with 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, GOATWHORE and HAVOK. They are the only band from Spain (in any genre) that can currently tour Europe, and I don’t mean a few dates in spread out here and there, check out the itinerary for the aforementioned tour that they’re currently a part of, and you’ll see that they’ll be all over the old continent during the next few months. There is a reason why the legendary David Ellefeson pulled the band aside, and encouraged them to take their talents stateside, as US audiences would without a doubt eat up what the band has to offer.
The Call is a natural progression for the band, it shows the band maturing, and evolving far beyond what they have done with their two previous outings Clockwork and Evil Unleashed. This by no means diminishes how good those albums are, it’s just that the band has taken great leap forward with The Call. The band has once again teamed back up with Clockwork producer Daniel. I had a chance to speak to lead singer Guillermo Izquierdo recently, and he mentioned that Daniel made it his mission to make The Call more than just another album. He took it upon himself to push the band, and make this not only the best album possible, but something very personal for him as well, something that is looked back as a defining moment for him as a producer.
The album starts off with the first single “You Are Next”, which coincides with a video game themed video that was released a few weeks ago. If you’ve followed the band at all, you’ll realize that Guillermo vocal style is completely different on this track, and throughout the album. On the band’s previous outings there is an undeniable resemblance to Dave Mustaine. With “You Are Next” he reminds me of Zetro, the former lead singer of EXODUS. You can still hear the Mustaine influence at times, but you can also hear a little Blitz from Overkill, a twinge of Phil Anselmo and shades of Rob Halford in a few spots. While speaking to me he admitted to Mustaine influence, and said “I didn’t want to keep doing Mustaine part 2, while writing the music, it was really calling me to go in a different direction with my vocals. So I naturally followed what seemed natural.” Couple that with Cardoso pushing, and constantly challenging the singer and you have the vocal performance that is displayed throughout the album.
But by listening to the album, you can see that Cardoso challenged the entire band to up their game. The other noticeable improvement is the precision of the rhythm section. Again, this isn’t knocking the band’s previous albums, but Victor Valera like a sharpshooter with his precision on the album. His playing is tighter than it has been on the previous albums; it is at a completely different level than it has been in the past. Bassist Jose J. Izquierdo locks everything down with and is up to the challenge to equal Valera’s playing. Again, the band’s influence can really be seen here with the two locking into place like the legendary combination of Menza and Ellefson. Realize that I’m saying like, not equal to or better than, I need to clarify that before anyone gets all upset over that previous statement.
I keep mentioning Guillermo’s singing, but his and Davish G. Alvarez guitar work has always set the band apart (in my mind) from other contemporary thrash bands. Their playing on this album not only contains their best work as a guitar tandem, but takes what they’ve done in the past and infuses it with other aspects of metal that you may not be accustomed to hearing from the band. This only enhances what they bring to the table with The Call.
Aside from the standard lead single, you’ll find “At The Gates of Hell”, which is like a locomotive building up steam before running you over. “Violent Dawn” which to me blends the cross-over greatness of D.R.I. with some riffing in the vein of SLAYER’s King and Hanneman. “It’s Rising” which offers which offers shades of Painkiller-esque JUDAS PRIEST and a solo outro reminiscent of the heyday of PANTERA. “Blood On The Snow” could have easily of been slotted in on Countdown To Extinction, while “Killer Instinct” is more in more influenced by Peace Sells. “The Hope Is Gone” has an aspect that previous albums did not contain, and that’s melody in band’s chorus. Ok, yes, they’ve had melody in the past, but not this well formed. The chorus of this track permeates your mind, and bounces around in it, in an infectious fashion. “Fresh Pleasure” is an ode to the connection between the crowd, the band, and a nice cold beer. “Still Corrupt” discusses topics that have been present since the origins of thrash, crooked politicians. “Reborn” is a track that really smacked me in the head when I first listened to it. This track to me is a real defining moment for the band, and when I heard it, I had to go back and give it a few more listens to almost believe the track was this good! This track closes the standard edition of the album up. It seems to be a statement by the band, as if to say, ok you’ve heard the album, now realize this is who we are, this is part of our evolution. This track is a full on metal song, with a catchy, infectious chorus that is perfect to hear a crowd at Download, Wacken, Uproar, etc. singing in unison with the band. The riffing is very matriculate, it isn’t full speed thrash, but it really grinds and pummels you from start to finish. As does the entire album, I mention these influences, but I do have to stress that it is all done in the bands own fashion, it isn’t a carbon copy of the band’s I’ve referenced, it is ANGELUS APATRIDA.
I’ve always been opposed to hearing bands cover well known songs. You have to A) have the sack to try and take on certain tracks B) do them well enough so that they aren’t laughable. ANGELUS APATRIDA has never shied away from covers, previously doing PANTERA’s “Domination” and IRON MAIDEN’s “Be Quick Or Be Dead”, and doing them well. This album is no different; they cover possibly my favorite JUDAS PRIEST song “Hell Patrol”, and man is it good! They do all of these covers in their own fashion, but in a way that still keeps the song connected faithfully to its original composition. This is truly a testament to the band’s musicianship, and their ability to pull the tracks off. The expanded edition wraps up with an updated take on a track that appeared on their 2007 album Give ‘Em War called “Free Your Soul”.
This album is recommended to anyone that remotely enjoys any of the bands I have mentioned in this review. On The Call ANGELUS APATRIDA brings old school thrash, and metal into the present, while applying their own ingredients, and making it all truly their own. See them on their current tour, or hopefully they’ll jump stateside shortly. The album is a digital only release in the states and comes out on May 8th.
Sometimes a band can be new to the public but, be blessed with a familiar sound or style. One such band is DAITRIBE, hailing from Chicago, IL. The band is led by guitarist Tristan “1690” Grigsby who besides being an accomplished shredder is best known from his appearances as part of the great PANTERA Home Videos (or DVD’s now) from the 1990s. In addition to appearing on several tributes to his fallen friend DIMEBAG DARRELL, Grigsby has put together a cool band and written a batch of tunes that call to mind the great power groove and thrash influenced metal of the decade before last. Another PANTERA association is the album was mixed by the bands’ famed producer/engineer and guitar tech Sterling Winfield.
The album opens up with “Betray”, a manic down tuned thrasher. The beats and riffs are really heavy and compliment the demented screaming of vocalist Rich Collins. When the breakdown comes up, a brief but tasty solo section comes in for Grigsby to work his magic. The last third of the song slows down the pace to an AIC like groove that I really liked. “Control” ups the ante considerably and is an aggro workout with chunky riffs and more harrowed vocal wailing. Collins sounds to me a lot like old-school Pete Dolving of THE HAUNTED, just straddling the line between metal and hardcore vocals. The chorus is pretty decent and will have people singing a long live. Grigsby let’s another lead fly and has a really neo-classical flare at times. There is a definite nod to DIMEBAG in his style, especially his use of double tracking leads. “Loss By Distance” starts off with some ethereal sound effects, but then delves in to mid-90s FEAR FACTORY style machine gun riffs and tight drumming. Grigsby’s brother Michael handles the job behind the kit and does a fine job. The drumming on this track is among the best on the album. The band does a very good job of balancing older influences, but keeping up with modern metal sensibilities like LAMB OF GOD or UNEARTH would do. “My Eyes” has kind of a modern, heavy rock/arena metal sound to it and could be a surprise hit for the band. Neat grooves and some singing by Collins make for a catchy, solid tune. Bassist Ricky Riccardo lays down some cool mellow lines that help the track along. “Sanctuary” starts off like a gentle ballad, but then has an anthem like feeling not unlike JUDAS PRIEST or IRON MAIDEN. The single “I Hate Me” is another ripping jam. The band does a good job with pedal to the metal, straight-ahead licks with a bit of flare to them, but doesn’t throw in too many unexpected twists and turns. The chorus has yet another scream-along part that would be fun in a live setting. “Crime Legacy” is an interesting cut which rages most of the way until a chill breakdown switches things up. Other top tracks include “False Hopes” and “Liar Messiahs”. You can get the record directly from the band here.
Martyr’s Circle of 8 is a fine example of why some obscure bands are probably best left that way, to lounge in the shadows of collector’s lists and cut-out bins.
While the heritage of this Dutch act extends all the way back to the early 80s with a duo of full lengths back-to-back in ’84/’85, Martyr never really made much headway here in the States, with most American metal fans probably associating the moniker of ‘Martyr’ more with the Canadian tech-death outfit than anything remotely power or traditionally minded.
Regardless of this fact, however, this Martyr has returned with their Circle of 8 comeback album, ready to make the day of every early 80s obsessive and/or the encyclopedic amongst us, for sure. Although the end results here are by no means piss-poor or ear-grating-check the aggressive and catchy thrash disaster ‘Art of Deception’-the bulk of Circle of 8 tends to be extraneous to need, rehashing many power/speed cliches without any real identity or the spark required to stand out from the ever-growing heritage pack. The love ‘em or hate ‘em tone of frontman Robert Van Haren is also a sticking point, as the singer tends to flip flop in and out of tune half the time.
To their credit, Martyr has ably arrived with the times, melding their old school influences with a bevy of lower-tuned, heavier attacks-think old Pantera or even mid-era Nevermore at times-and Circle of 8 does pick up speed ’round the half way mark, preventing a total and utter loss from these old schoolers. However, the real selling point for this album still eludes the listener, with Circle of 8 not really doing much to kick up things from idling in first gear. This one’s only for die hards.
Lonn Friend has forgotten more about rock and metal than you or I can ever know. His gift is knowing that he’d rather be a conduit for sharing that knowledge and experiences rather than reveling in it himself for personal gain. This is but one of the many themes of his second book Sweet Demotion: How an Almost Famous Rock Journalist Lost Everything and Found Himself (Almost). The book weaves tales of Lonn’s life as the self proclaimed “Fly On the Wall” with a view inside the life of musicians matched with a passion and a sense of history few others can boast. As the Editor and Chief of the highly influential RIP Magazine in the 1980s and 1990s he gave fans an intimate view into the lives of rock royalty as well as unveiled cutting edge bands to the masses. Peeling back the curtain he opened panels and saw how the machinery of the business worked and knows who is real and who is fake, but always had the class to respect the difference. He navigated the rough waters of music journalism in a sea of sharks with a mellow cool that made artists trust him and open up their arms and hearts. Few people can take credit (partial) for resurrecting AEROSMITH from the dead, making GUNS N’ ROSES a household name and (for better or worse) helping break METALLICA out of the underground to name just a few instances of his fingerprints all over the sacred DNA of modern rock music. He has dined with kings of the world like JIMMY PAGE, recalled fallen heroes and hung out in the back alleys and furthest recesses of the minds of these artists. Many remember the venerable reporter from his “Friend At Large” segments on the original Headbangers Ball MTV show among his many rock doc appearances. In addition to his books and radio work (KNAC in LA), Lonn has also been the go-to scribe of band biographies, tomes by rock gods and box set liner notes many times over.
His first book, Life On Planet Rock, was more of the chronological history through his life’s work. Lonn experienced an emotional and professional nadir in the course of jumping into to the trench warfare of the music business. It almost killed his spirit and certainly hurt his soul. In Sweet Demotion Lonn has come through the valley on the other side and not only catches us up with the more recent times in his life, but flashes forward, backwards and sideways through time and space to tell his story and the story of rock. These stories are the signposts in the saga of his life, both musical and non-musical that dot the road map of his journey. His quest to for personal enlightenment is colored by all of his many experiences and through it all his ability to derive the context at every turn (or in hindsight) will surprise you. It is not always strictly about the music, but like another character it always comes back as some reference or a form of synchrony. He has been to the top of the mountaintop, but he is human enough to know he now that he couldn’t see forever. He has had lows as well, such as hocking most of his prized memorabilia collection just to survive at times. Lonn weaves all of these memories into the narrative like meeting ELTON JOHN in Las Vegas or sharing some private thoughts with PETER GABRIEL and other encounters. Lonn shows us that nothing is truly by chance and everything has a reason and a purpose for the most part. You can work in this business and have some incredible times, but you also need to maintain your humanity. Meditations on the JFK assassination, THE BEATLES, the counter-culture he grew up in, the Sunset Strip hair-metal times in LA in the 80s, the changing of the metal guard and 90s grunge, the struggles of modern times all blend with other topics near and dear to him like metaphysics, numerology and the chemtrails conspiracy. Although the book is not strictly based on metal, Lonn’s access to bands like METALLICA, MEGADETH, PANTERA, ANTHRAX, SLAYER, MÖTLEY CRÜE, OZZY as well as a host of other names in our sphere make this a compelling must read for those anecdotes alone. He waxes on the life and death of both DIMEBAG DARRELL and RONNIE JAMES DIO with the appropriate amount of contextual resonance. Yes, it is terrible that Ronnie and Dime were taken from us, but so crucial that they lived in the first place. Lonn actually gets “it” where many others just miss the point. Rock and metal is our living history and Lonn is the curator of the exhibition in the grand hall. Many luminaries sing his praises, but he is still not as famous as he should be or as well known as he’d like to be. Still, few carry the weight of music history and pay respect like he does. To be a fan and a lover of music is to be filled with eternal questions, sometimes questions that have no answer. I believe it is Mr. Friend’s hope that the reader seeking the answers will learn something about their own journey toward meaning by reading about his. You can buy the book directly from him at his website here.
