Our intrepid metal scribe Sean “That Black Metal Dude” Genovese caught up with Bob Meadows of A LIFE ONCE LOST recently. Sean caught the band live a few weeks back in Allston, MA at Great Scott, where the band was on tour with REVOCATION and KEN MODE. ALOL is out on the road supporting their new album Ecstatic Trance, (Season of Mist)which you should all go get asap!
MA: When you guys first started out in 1999, where did you guys expect to be about ten years from that point?
BM: I guess I just expected to be more on a different train of life, y’know? You don’t really expect ever to start a band with a bunch of kids and then eventually it kind of unravels and unfolds into something 13 years later. It’s just kind of a surreal experience in a way. But man, it’s pretty awesome, I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. Actually, a lot of other friends of mine are moving along, moving past, and kind of starting these new lives and here I am, still chasing down this thing, this dream that I call music. It’s pretty wild, man, I never really expected it all.
MA: Right. So what are some of you guys’ main influences, and what are some artists or bands might be surprised shaped your sound?
BM: You can hear the BLACK SABBATH and the MESHUGGAH influence for sure, but in (the) Ecstatic Trance record there’s definitely other influences we’re pulling from, anywhere from FELA KUTI, and TI PEYI A, and ORCHESTRA DE POLYRHYTHMO from North Africa, to the German Krautrock scene, bands like CAN, KRAFTWERK, AMAN DUUL, things like KING CRIMSON. Anything within that little hiatus that we took where we ended up exploring a lot of different things in music. It’s always been an interest of mine with music; the more obscure, the more different and weird it was, the better it was for me, that’s kinda what I got off on. Being able to pull from those influences, and finally being able to let it hang on my sleeve, it’s a pretty cool thing, it’s definitely very unique, and I definitely think we’ve developed a unique sound with the Ecstatic Trance record.
Bob Meadows of A LIFE ONCE LOST.
MA: Let me ask you something that I’m sure most people probably ask you; What are your attitudes on the “djent” craze, as many cite you guys as innovators of poly-rhythms in Metalcore and related genres. Have you any love for bands like PERIPHERY and AFTER THE BURIAL that are expanding on that formula?
BM: I don’t have any feelings towards it. I’m not really interested in that music. When I listen to music, I kinda wanna be floored. When I was younger, when I was 19, that kind of music would be more appealing to me. But since I’m older now, I find more satisfaction in something that’s more soothing, and it’s not really soothing. I hear it all the time, people referring to us as a band in that scene, and I agree to a certain extent, but there were bands before us that were doing it, and there are bands that are still doing it, and those bands deserve more of the credit. When we started doing it, we didn’t do it to fit into a “scene”, like these other bands, these younger kids are doing, but the youth of America is a very impressionable group of individuals, and they feel the need to be able to fit in somewhere. Maybe this new “djent” thing is the new Deathcore, the new Pop Punk or the new whatever. It is what it is, it’s popular, those dudes can play. Misha’s a cool dude; I don’t like his band, but I think he’s a cool dude. I can be friends with someone and not enjoy their band, and that’s the case here. THE AFTER THE BURIAL, BORN OF OSIRIS guys, I really don’t know them. Michael Keene, EVAN BREWER, those guys in THE FACELESS, awesome dudes, but I just can’t get down with the tunes, y’know? Doesn’t make me less of a man, but more of an individual, I guess.
MA: Yeah. I noticed you guys were selling a shirt that says “Drop Acid, Not Bombs”. Is this a hint at some of the creative process behind Ecstatic Trance, since there are a lot more psychedelic influences, as you may have mentioned before?
BM: You can look at it as that. One of the main things was to explore that world of music, like psychedelic rock, I definitely think we’ve succeeded with this, and it’s definitely a great introduction to unravel into something that’s gonna be bigger in the future with our sound. With hallucinogenics, there are only two of us that sorta dabble in that, haha. I think it was more like a goof shirt. We had this ROLLING STONES rip-off tee goin’, with some dude with fucked up teeth, and we were like “We should totally put an acid tab on his fuckin’ tongue, just throw in ‘Drop Acid, Not Bombs’, it could be funny”. So we ended up doing it, and I think the design turned out pretty good. And it’s funny, the people that actually come up and buy this shirt, they’re so weird, haha. We had t-shirts of a “World Bong”, something like that, and we were on tour with NORMA JEAN. We printed the shirts on yellow, red and green, kinda like a Rastafarian, Jamaican color scheme going on. Then you had these impressionable youth, the Christian kids buying the shirts because of the colors, not necessarily knowing what was going on with it. But if it’s funny, it’s funny, it’s fun to be in a band and do shit like that. But yeah it’s more of a goof, haha.
MA: Since you guys recently replaced half the band and have been experimenting with some new sounds on your last two sounds, some fans have expressed that they’re not entirely happy with the direction you’ve taken. Do you have anything to say to them?
BM: Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. There are kids that don’t like my band now that probably really love PERIPHERY and AFTER THE BURIAL. That’s the beauty of being a person, you’re entitled to your own opinion, likes and dislikes, and shit, man, if you don’t like my band, you don’t like my band! That’s fine, just don’t base that on my character as a human being. I’m sure my conversations are ones of humour and also interest. If A Great Artist is the record you wanna hear, you can pop that on while you’re driving and punch the steering wheel. But if you’re coming to our shows, that’s what to expect: We’re gonna play what we just put out, what we believe in. An Ecstatic Trance is that record we believe in at the moment. When we go into the studio to do more things, that’s what you can expect. You’re either with us or not with us, it’s no sweat off my ass, y’know?
MA: Yeah. Going on with that previous question, do you believe you’ll ever make another album like A Great Artist or Hunter, or has the musical environment in the ALOL camp and the general Metal/Hardcore scene has changed to the point where you have to leave those concepts behind?
BM: We were never a band to repeat anything or fall into sequence, or an order when it comes to writing music and songs. We had a very large gap of aggression between A Great Artist and The Iron Gag. It’s a small gap, but there’s progression nonetheless. Once you step back and rewrite something like that it’s regressing in a way. For us to constantly evolve and grow as people, I think the only thing we can do is continue to move forward and develop on sounds that we created in records past. You may see me doing another band in the vein of the older stuff, but never in replication. I would say the likelihood is very slim at this time, haha. But you can never really rule out the elements of pure brutality and heaviness mixed in with the music.
MA: Alright, this is probably the most important question you’ll be asked within the next six months: Was math your favourite subject in high school, and if so, what type?
BM: I actually like math a lot. I like Algebra. I wasn’t a Geometry guy, but number solving, shit like that was always a big interest of mine, haha.
MA: Alright, well thank you very much for taking the time to do this interview, Mr. Meadows, and I hope you guys have much luck in your future endeavours: tours, albums, stuff like that, and I hope to see your band again, hopefully with a crowd that’s more energetic?
BM: Ah, see, that shit never really matters to me. I think that it slowly morphed from people going crazy like it was with A Great Artist and with Hunter. With Iron Gag you saw people just more there to experience the show, experience what we’re doing, and that’s actually kinda cool. It takes the Metal that we’re writing and evolves it so that you can sit back and enjoy it whether you’re a fuckin’ stoner, you’re drunk, you’re a cokehead, you’re fuckin’ trippin’ on acid, or you’re straight-edge. You can step back and watch the show, enjoy the show for what it is, and that’s the place where Doug and I are trying to take the group now, make it a live experience, not just an experience for the record.
MA: Hmm, that’s actually a pretty good way to look at it. Well, once again, thank you very much, and I wish you luck.
CAR BOMB is a Long Island Progressive Metal band whose sound is almost beyond normal description. Formed in the year 2000 by a group of guys with interesting/strange jobs and a DIY attitude beyond compare, they released their debut album Centralia in 2007, which affected audiences in the same manner as PIG DESTROYER‘s instantly memorable intro “Jennifer” from their album Prowler In The Yard. They were confused, or concerned, or shocked, or aroused, or all of the above. Its borderline insane THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN worship mixed with a good amount of what sounded like MIKE PATTON’s take on Free-form Jazzgrind, MESHUGGAH headfuckery, NEUROSIS inflected Sludge misery, and damn near impossible shifting from one tempo to the next. After relative silence following many failed tours and little-to-no recognition despite their work-ethic, CAR BOMB announced a new album in October with an unpronounceable title worthy of the brain haemorrhaging music they so flawlessly perfected. Having now heard it from start to finish several times, I cannot review it normally, it’s just impossible. Almost as impossible as the rehearsals and actually getting this album right must have been. So I present to you a Pitchfork-style review that takes the form of a short story, minus the pretentiousness, which should be an adequate enough accompaniment to the noises being made.
“The Sentinel”: A dream of a skyscraper-sized murderous typewriter and an infected supercomputer going on a murderous rampage and crushing people while they try to escape.
“Auto-Named”: A dream of an airplane disintegrating in mid-air, passengers either fried alive or torn apart by flying pieces of metal.
“Finish It”: A haggard engineer awakens, and immediately begins sketching blueprints for mysterious machines, crumpling up drafts and beginning anew, over and over while he keeps himself awake on increasingly powerful stimulants and cigarettes. He haemorrhages internally and vomits blood on his final draft and passes out.
“Lower The Blade”: The engineer dreams of falling off of a tall building in slow-motion, having hallucinations of odd landscapes and warping oceans and sunsets. He realizes that he is in a dream world and begins to panic as the illusions melt away to show others of steel frames bending in and out of their falling path. He sees himself right-side up in a void, stretching and warping before he finally hits the pavement in New York city.
“Garrucha”: The engineer awakens once again and begins to construct the mysterious machines that he drew. He becomes more and more paranoid and prone to hallucination and illness. Flashing visions appear of machines being built by other machines, all having no definite form. The engineer notices he has begun losing his teeth.
“Third Revelation”: The prototypes of the mysterious machines are made to calculate seemingly impossible mathematical formulæ, and show incredible learning potential. The engineer becomes more malnourished as he devises more formulae to feed the machines so they may continue to learn and become increasingly intelligent. The engineer feels excitement as his project nears completion. “I’ll show you how it’s done”, says he to no one in particular before he passes out once more.
“Recursive Patterns”: The engineer dreams of a world that consists of an enormous logic board and enormous levers draped in intestines and loose wires. He is chased by the enormous typewriters from his previous dreams, falls over the edge and sees nightmarish fractal lightshows.
“The Spirit Of Poison”: The engineer begins to up his dose of drugs, to varying effects. He manages to keep himself awake, but his internal organs are atrophying from a lack of nutrition. He frequently vomits blood and bile on his machines while working on them, never bothering to clean them. He goes into a frenzy and begins to smash his machines when they cease to function. He also destroys his blueprints and his backups and all the copies he can find within reach. The engineer collapses in a half-waking, half-dream state where he continues to vomit, and sobs, caught between the two worlds.
“Magic Bullet”: As the engineer fitfully sleeps, the machines are re-assembling themselves, following the blueprints and calculations the engineer had himself dutifully fed them. They adapt to their lack of knowledge, rapidly learning to build their own tools so they may better create themselves. They soon abandon the blueprints and improve upon the initial designs, and set their sights on the engineer who carelessly tried to destroy them as he lies in a pool of saliva and bloody vomit.
“Crud”: The engineer awakens to his machines coming to life and attacking him with an assortment of bladed weapons and lasers. He tries to hide from them, but it proves useless since they have built sensors that may track him despite obstacles. The engineer manages to escape his basement laboratory, and is nearly blinded by the sunlight. He runs from his condemned building and forgetting the fact that he hasn’t bathed or taken care of himself, tries to find help, but repulses all he comes near. He travels as far as his weakened body will carry him through the strange nameless city, tortured by hallucinations of giant machines and swirling patterns shifting in the sky, collapsing in an alleyway.
“This Will Do The Job”: The machines rampage through the city, one resembling a giant typewriter, others taking more mysterious and unmentionable forms, seeking the engineer, crushing and tearing apart all in their way. The engineer trembles in the alleyway, hoping that what he feels and hears are residual effects of the drugs. The machines find and capture him after knocking him unconscious, placing him in a containment unit that they constructed based on a blueprint they remembered. When he comes to, he sees thousands of similar units all housing a single person each, of varying ages, sizes, and ethnicities.
“The Seconds”: The machines take the engineer from the containment unit and force him to calculate many seemingly impossible calculations in the same way he once did to them. The engineer hallucinates not from drugs, but from sheer exhaustion and delirium, begins reliving all of his strange dreams and experiences in constructing the machines, drawing blueprints, remembering how once a simple curiosity in a brilliant mind led to the mechanical enslavement of mankind. He smiles grimly as blood trickles from a corner of his mouth and he dies, the drugs, sleep deprivation, and lack of nutrients finally catching up to him. The machines move on to the next subject. You can buy the album from the band here.
Few bands have come along on the metal scene that have changed the game like PERIPHERY has in the last few years. Along with ANIMALS AS LEADERS that have paved a new ground by combining progressive rock, math metal, MESHUGGAH’s patented riff style and other forms of music like jazz fusion influences to completely change the palate of what modern metal can be. Of course our denim vest clad brethren will hate this for being to “core” or melodic and whatnot. Still, it is refreshing to see the evolution of a band that is just scratching the surface of what it can do. This is likely the first of several releases by the band in the near future as they are said to be sitting on two more albums worth of material.
In many ways Periphery II features somewhat of a new band. What started out as a project in uber guitarist/producer Misha Mansoor’s bedroom has blossomed into a full, living monster of a group. In particular the additions of guitarist Mark Holcomb and Adam “Nolly” Getgood on bass/production have bore much sonic fruit on top of the impressive, layered approach the band already had with their writing. “Muramasa” crushes out of the starting blocks as the opening track. Massive guitars and drums pound you as vocalist Spencer Sotello’s melodies soar over the din. “Have A Blast” really starts to separate this album and the band from its peers. Starting off with cello and violin riff and some programed synth sounds, the track is not unlike most of the bands’ older material. Prog, djent and even some death metal blast beats rock the otherwise sunny sounding melodic track. Sotello’s amazing tenor voice glides into the upper registers easily and his screams are often terrifying. What really sets this song apart is following the breakdown is a stupendous solo from shredder supreme GUTHRIE GOVAN. If you don’t know his name, go YouTube one of his videos and pick your jaw off the floor later. “Facepalm Mute” leans heavier on the death vocals and bruising riffs which will interest heavier music fans. Songs like “Ji” and “Scarlet” will have you smiling from ear to ear and are pretty up-tempo ragers. There are many bands with three guitar attacks, but few have the thoughtful writing for three voices like Mansoor, Holcomb and mainstay Jake Bowen. “Luck As a Constant” features more insane beats from Matt Halpern, who lays down a phenomenal performance overall. “Make Total Destroy” is the single and is as heavy as it is harsh. The small section of death metal people who enjoy this song will gravitate to this track in particular. “Erised” has a guest appearance by DREAM THEATER’s JOHN PETRUCCI uniting these modern prog heads with the last generation of prog metal’s heroes. Another great guest appearance is made by Wes Hauch, recent addition to label-mates THE FACELESS. This another, mostly brutal track with fantastic thematic motifs, twist and turns. Sotello again joins the upper echelon of vocalists of the sub-genre like TOMMY RODGERS, Rody Walker and ex-TESSERACT singer Elliott Coleman. Other top tracks include “Ragnarok” and “Masamune”.
ODDLAND’S Century Media debut The Treachery Of Senses is for people who have a peculiar taste. While the music is arguably a blend of TOOL mixed in with GOJIRA with added clean singing vocals, this isn’t just a run of the mill progressive metal band. As the name would suggest, this band is an entire breed of their own. No song sounds the same, yet they all have a similar sound. One thing that truly stands out above the band is Sakari’s barrier piercing clean vocal style that goes beyond the death growls that so many are accustomed to hearing.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this turns out to be the underrated album of the year. While the music is excellent (and I will get more in depth later), the vocals has that either-you-love-them-or-hate-them effect. I for one am hoping for the former effect to rub off on people over time. Sakari has an instantly recognizable voice that will hopefully make him stand out among other clean metal singers. Now to the music, it’s a middle tone range. Not too heavy, but not too light on the sound syrup, right there in the middle.
One thing I liked about this album is how they used haunting elements (such as the first instrument line of “Above And Beyond”) and combined it with the uplifting vocal ability of Sakari to create this colossus. While it’s not a huge riff fest like other prog-metal bands, they fully utilize their skill at guitars and drums. This fact is heavily evidenced at the instrumental ending of “Above And Beyond,” where they show of their superior song writing and how smoothly everything runs together.
Things get a little on the FAITH NO MORE side when they play the slightly swanky opener of “Past The Gates.” The eclectic yet simple music of this track can provide for a killer mid live show song that will break the mold. The vocals are strong as ever in this track as well, with Sakari singing outward even more than the others. Towards the end, all hell breaks loose with the barrage of guitars that goes down.
Truly a unique album in the progressive metal world, it stands on its own two feet while borrowing little from any other band out there.
Finnish prog metal masters SONATA ARCTICA has a new album out called Stones Grow Her Name. Henrik “Hennka” Klingenberg checked in with Metal Army about the new album, their twenty plus year career, their new music video and other influences.
MAA: What is the concept behind Stones Grow Her Name?
HK: There’s really not any big picture-type of concept, but we went in with the notion and general idea that we would make a simpler, more accessible and rocking album suitable for the stage. We also decided to drop most of the symphonic elements that were pretty dominant on the last album.
MAA: The band is almost twenty years old now. Do you feel any pressure to keep topping your previous efforts?
HK: Not really, I think the main thing is that as long as you feel like you’re working on your best album every time you hit the studio, then at least you’re on the right path. Naturally we do make an effort to top ourselves every time and become a better band, but I think that if you force it too much, then it might backfire so we’ll just keep on working our asses off and hope for the best.
MAA: Beyond the obvious, what is the song “Shitload of Money” really about?
HK: It’s really more of a warning. You should not sell things that you can’t buy back, like your privacy or honesty or stuff like that. The song wants to make you think about the true value of things, in my opinion.
MAA: Please discuss the inspiration behind the “I Have A Right” video?
HK: Originally, we saw this thing on YouTube where a girl was telling a story by drawing in the sand and we thought that would be a great way to do a music video but since we didn’t have access (= money) to do that, we went with another artist and instead of sand painting, it was done as regular painting-style storytelling (if such a thing exists). Naturally, the story pretty much follows the lyrics and emphasizes the story in the song.
MAA: Much more than Power Metal, I hear lots of Progressive Rock influences in the band. Any favorites?
HK: I think I’m the most prog-dude in the band. RUSH is one of my all-time, most important bands and of course I’ve listened to a lot of KING CRIMSON, YES, even FRANK ZAPPA, some of the earlier GENESIS, and what have you.
MAA: Does the artwork on the cover of the album tie into the story as well?
HK: It ties a little bit into the story of the two “Wildfire” songs I think, where the main point is that we should be concerned about how we treat our planet or Mother Nature will have her revenge and humanity will come to an end. Come to think of it, the world wouldn’t necessarily be such a bad place without all the shit we people do, so our planet might well be better off without us. I’m not volunteering to leave, though.
MAA: Any chance the band will ever record another covers EP?
HK: Of course there’s always a chance, but personally I prefer to do originals. I know some of the guys like to do covers more than others, but we’ll see. We always do one or two cover songs when we record an album, so eventually there will be enough to put together a covers EP.
Henrik "Hennka" Klingenberg.
MAA: Is there an instrument or a type of voice the band would like to try to incorporate into the music that you haven’t had a chance to yet?
HK: Yeah, I think there are a lot of stuff we haven’t tried yet, but I don’t want to give anything away so you’ll have to wait until the next album to see what we come up with. Personally speaking, as long as it sounds good, we will use it no matter if it’s a pig squealing or a grand piano being thrown down the stairs.
MAA: What kind of touring schedule does the band have planned for supporting the release?
HK: We’re doing festivals in Europe during the summer and then club shows in Finland and the rest of Europe during this fall. In 2013, we’ll hit North & South America, Japan, and what have you. It will be a long world tour once again. I’m really looking forward to it and luckily the shows will start really soon!!! Cheers!!!
(Special Thanks to Hennka, SONATA ARCTICA and Nuclear Blast).
Pure, unadulterated, terrifying death metal. That sentence is Cattle Decapitation’s newest album Monolith Of Inhumanity in a nutshell. They’ve come a (very) long ways from the earlier days of Humanure and Karma. Bloody. Karma. by a long shot. The level of technicality is much, much higher on this album than it has ever been before and that really sets this album apart.
On the first track “The Carbon Stampede,” they employ a variety of different grooves all in one song. With a couple of riffs that slowly get faster and faster, it all goes down and they head off into insane territory with compressed packed guitars and drums. The drums seem like they’ve gotten a hell of a lot faster than before, most notable with the rapid bass pedals. The drums don’t get too technical, but at the speed they’re played, it’s arguable at what level of progressive death metal is played here. The vocals are more in line with the song “Regret And The Grave” from their previous album The Harvest Floor. The guitars have a couple of very different but both impressive solos. One being a noisy and technical solo, the other being a more groove oriented solo. All stops at once when they find a heavy and simple groove at the end of the song.
Listening to these tracks, you can see how many different progressions are played within the median song length of three minutes and fifty seconds. The harsh and unique vocals that made “Regret And The Grave” stand out on their last album is put into almost every song. “Dead Set On Suicide” is about as straight forward death metal they get, with the band following the bass player’s cue throughout the song. But not one thing really stands on its own on this song as they all have their chance to shine at any point. This shows the extreme amount of song writing that they all put together into this album and is the main reason why it out performs the rest of their catalog.
“Forced Gender Reassignment” is another track that employs the more straight forward death metal as well. I could see this track being an introductory track that fans can show new people who would be interested. Let this one grow on you, then head into the rest of the album. For being the heaviest track, “Projectile Ovulation” takes the cake on that one. It has some really unique and creepy guitar lines that, when coupled with the bass, provides an immense sound that blows away most other death metal bands.
Throes Of Absolution (Century Media Records/Basick Records)
The highly anticipated new album from 7 Horns 7 Eyes is finally here, and it’s every bit as good as you would expect. Atmospheric progressive metal cannot be done any better than Throes Of Absolution. If you’re already familiar with 7 Horns 7 Eyes because of their 2007 EP, disregard everything you know and listen to this with a completely blank mind to allow yourself to become immersed in their majesty.
Beginning with a broad and dismal atmosphere in “Divine Amnesty,” that soon changes with sheer brutality and composure. The pace of the track is at a slight Opeth kind of standard, but that only touches the tip of the iceberg with this band. They are completely original, which is extremely rare in today’s world. Shiv’s growls are used in tandem with the strings as a kickstarter into layer upon layer of metal that works like a reverse peeling of an onion, although much better on the palette.
Speeding things up a little, “The Falsehood Of Affliction” shows them playing faster riffs that thunders in with a tinge of sludge overtone. It’s like this album was engraved in stone, then played out by the band. The drums is the centerpiece of the atmosphere. No matter how crazy the guitars may get, the drums is the fence no one ventures out of. And if they start to, then Shiv herds them all back. There are some awesome technical riffs played, including an inspiring guitar solo near the end.
Every song begins with a lengthy intro that serves as a beginning of things to come. But by the time you get to the end of each song, you mind is blown by how much they’ve stuffed into each track. Perhaps showcasing the biggest atmosphere is “A Finite Grasp of Infinite Disillusion” is a masterpiece not only in their catalog, but in metal in general. It’s also the most uplifting song on the record, as shown through their choice of guitar licks and tuning.
Definitely another album to add in the running for album of the year. Some people may get turned off by how top heavy this album is, but don’t let that fool you into thinking any less about it. As a music journalist, there is a sense of pride when a band takes everything good from their previous ventures (the self-titled 2007 EP, which was a metalcore release) and completely reinvent themselves anew. This album was well worth the wait. Go here right now and get the album for yourself: http://store.basickrecords.com/product/7-horns-7-eyes-throes-of-absolution-cd
Nuclear Blast records is poised for one of their best years ever in terms of number of quality releases and bands coming out within a short span of time. The highlight of this is of course the forthcoming release from Meshuggah, Koloss. In an almost twenty-five year career and over twenty years of recorded material they have frankly changed the face of metal in ways no one could have imagined before. All the same they have continued to evolve and grow with each subsequent album. They have spawned many admirers and imitators and a debatable sub-genre (djent). Whether it’s a mix of rage, creativity and innovation that keeps their music fresh is besides the point. MESSHUGAH is the game-changing band of this generation, continuing to push boundaries and best of all challenging ears and minds.
Opening up with the jagged grooving riffs of “I Am Colossus”, the band immediately announces it’s arrival with authority. The off-kilter rhythmic swing of the song creates a rush of feelings in your mind as hear the track. Fredrik Thordendal’s crushing guitars give no quarter as Jens Kidman roars madly over the din. Second track “The Demon’s Name is Surveillance” is more like the classic sound of the band, churning riffs, obtuse poly-rhythms and lots of unbridled hostility. Drummer Tomas Haake never fails to impress me with his inventive style. He has never even taken a song off or recycled a beat as far as I can tell. He is the skinsman everyone else of this generation gets measured against. “Do Not Look Down” features more angular riffs and shredding guitars from Thordendal and his partner in crime Mårten Hagström. Together they are really formidable and frightening. “Behind The Sun” starts as another slow burn attack with a gentle guitar strum. Then monstrously heavy chords fly in crashing around your head. About half way through the song the speed and technicality ratchets up a bit more and really let’s loose. Kidman’s vocals are never stronger than when he holds long notes, expelling the of anguish inside. These slower songs represent a more straight forward path for the band, as heard first on Obzen. The violent beauty of the last minute and a half of the song is one of the best moments on this recording. “The Hurt That Finds You First” is another killer song. Ferocious beats and a hellish symphony of guitar work envelopes you. “Marrow” also has guitar orgy hysterics as the band has achieved a kind of controlled chaos in their writing matched by few. Lots of kids are going to get finger and wrist injuries trying to play these parts for the next few. Similarly “Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion” has both grinding chords and textural passages that give it emotional weight as well as sonic depth. The mid-tempo (for this band at least) pacing of the majority of the album. “Swarm” might be the track that synthesizes all of these elements the best, especially more of brilliant stick and double-kick work from Haake. The underrated factor in the bands’ sound is bassist Dick Lövgren who is really great in his own right, holding down the low end. “Demiurge” just punishes with it’s chunky riffs the band is best known for. I’d love to hear this track live and see what a righteous bunch of moshers could do in its spell. Finally at the end of the album is “The Last Vigil”. An uncharacteristic and somber instrumental that is like the aural cool down after a high energy workout. MESHUGGAH has turned another masterful collection of new material. If we are lucky we will get many more from this vital and crucial entity in the art of heavy music.
MESHUGGAH in 2012. Ever evolving, innovating and raising the bar for everyone else.
Ah, it’s that time again. Time to sit back and let’s your ears be amazed once again by the finest and most consistent band in death metal: CANNIBAL CORPSE. They are back for blood on album number twelve and it’s not really a question of if the albums they put out will be great or not. However, the question that begs asking is how much farther out can they grow more technically profound, more lyrically sick and more outlandishly evil. They remain the benchmark for all other bands in the genre. Few acts of their age are as still relevant to the current scene and new bands site them all the time as an ongoing inspiration. CORPSE, to me is the band every other band looks up at to see what is coming next. You can bet that years from now there will be reviews of new bands and some reviewer (likely me) will be writing the words “CANNIBAL CORPSE inspired.”
The album starts off with “Demented Aggression” as fast little number that calls to mind the bands’ earliest work. Short, to the point and super heavy: it is a track screams classic CORPSE. The unrelenting feeling of dread in the song comes from the guitars and furious drum patterns in creepy stalker, serial-killer kind of way. No wonder this track was the lead-off single. George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher has one of the ultimate voices in metal. He sounds perfectly sick here as always. “Sarcophagiac Frenzy” is another great track, also on the old school tip. The guitar sounds just rip your ears apart on this song and the entire record. Pat O’Brien and Rob Barrett do a great job of not always doubling the others ‘ parts, but finding creative ways to make alternating riffs work best. The breakdown riff in the middle is slow and crushing, in part because of the textural melody behind it. If Torture goes down as one of the best albums the band has done in this era drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz might take a lions share of the credit. His writing and performance on tracks like “Scourge of Iron” and “Encased in Concrete” are among his best ever. The former is a bit of a longer, brooding track highlighting Paul’s clever playing and deft touch. The later is one of the top tracks on the album. A neck breaking ripper with many technical and progressive movements to enjoy. Of course whenever CC delves in to the more arty progressive leanings, Alex Webster’s talents come to the fore. The brilliant founder and bass pounder has some outlandish licks and runs on this album and his prowess as a writer can’t be underestimated. “As Deep As The Knife Will Go” flows right with the history of the bands grotesque and severe lyrical journeys. Fisher as always has his epic growls, but remains clear and understandable at every turn. “Intestinal Crank” is a dizzying song by any measure for a band that has made a career of challenging its fans’ ears. “Followed Home Then Killed” is another fairly straightforward cut with a few twists and turns added in. The intense frenzy of the song gives way to some great shredding solos at the mid-way point of the track. “The Strangulation Chair” is perhaps my favorite song of the album. A sinister main riff is augmented by cool poly-rhythmic flourishes of black and death metal. An instant classic. Little slabs of harshness like “Caged…Contorted” and “Crucified Avenged” get stuck in your ear long after you’ve heard them. I like that the band really gave in to rhythm and structure on this album and varied every song up with many changes, rather write a bunch of similar sounding material. “Rabid” once again features the insane skills of Webster, O’Brien and Barrett to full effect. A final cut “Torn Through” feels like the final punctuation mark on an album that is nearly flawless. Maybe the best thing I can add to this review is I would love to hear any and all of these songs live, which even for this band is something I haven’t often said. From the top notch writing, great playing, ill lyrics, tight production of Eric Rutan and yet another ghastly Vince Locke work of art cover piece you get the total package. The masters have turned in effort that will puzzled over, studied and followed forever.
Legends don't die. They just get better. Photo by Alex Morgan.
Oh how we will all miss Cathedral. Being on the forefront of the doom metal scene for over two decades, they have brought listeners some of the best and heaviest metal to our ears. With the release of their first live double album Anniversary, which was recorded on December 10th at London’s Islington Academy, they started the night at playing their entire debut album, Forest Of Equilibrium (considered one of the greatest doom metal albums of all time, if not one of the greatest metal albums), with the original lineup, and then playing a selection of latter day material with the current lineup.
With the stellar performance of the first track “Comiserating The Celebration (Of Life),” they give fans a rarely seen look into their early days, with the ultra heavy guitars that feel like an unstoppable train going at 25 MPH. At 11:13, it’s also the longest song on the album. They perform with such fluidity that it feels like they never broke up (in reference to the original lineup).
When the hit the first chords for “A Funeral Request,” you can just feel the still energy from the crowd waiting to erupt. Feeling the utter gloom and despair, as is with the whole album, one can only wish to be there to witness it for themselves. The vocals capture the band at its finest moment on this track, combined with the fast paced section near the end to break up the doom just a little bit. They keep perfect timing throughout this entire album, which really captures them at their prime.
O the first track of the second disc “Funeral Of Dreams,” they turn things up to a new level by bringing out the current lineup and throwing in some of their progressive song structure and retro 70’s rock elements (such as the retro keyboards), all while retaining the extreme (and faster) metal of the modern Cathedral we have come to know.
For some real old school sounding stuff (complete with fuzz covered heavy metal), “Upon Azrael’s Wings” is the way to go. Regardless that it’s only 6 years old, it still has a awesome old school 80’s metal sound that few bands can replicate successfully like they can. Bringing it home with the hard hitting ending sets up for the more mellow track “Cosmic Funeral.” One of their slower tracks in the catalog, it also has a small dose of the retro keyboards. Musically alone, it could be an awesome movie intro. It has a down to earth vibe compared to most other songs, keeping it progressive yet simple.
The first disc really showcases the band when they were more extreme and heavier than they are now. A lot slower and doom-y then the more progressive (and 70’s rock laced) Cathedral that we know today. The perfect live album that encompasses Cathedral’s entire career, this is a must have for any metal heads collection.
