Posts Tagged ‘Sean Reinert’
Friday, June 22nd, 2012
SickDrummer.com, Perseverance Holdings and our friends at Relapse Records are among the sponsors of the DEATH TO ALL TOUR which kicks off tonight in that most metal of cities San Francisco, CA. The tour celebrates the life and music of CHUCK SCHULDINER of DEATH. With DEATH and later CONTROL DENIED Chuck blazed an innovative trail in music and has been followed by nearly every death metal that followed in his shadow. This is not an exaggeration, but widely acknowledged and not just by his peers and loved ones, but by many bands both from yesterday and the present. Performing music from a career spanning set list with be an all-star group of Chuck’s former band mates and giants of death metal like GENE HOGLAN (Individual Thought Patterns/Symbolic), SEAN REINERT (Human), STEVE DIGIORGIO (Human/Individual Thought Patterns), Scott Clendenin (The Sound of Perseverance), PAUL MASVIDAL (Human), Shannon Hamm (The Sound of Perseverance), and Bobby Koelble (Symbolic). Handling vocal duties will be by Steffen Kummerer of OBSCURA and Charles Elliott of ABYSMAL DAWN/BEREFT who are both greatly influenced by Chuck. Some of the guest artists who will join certain shows are RICHARD CHRISTY of CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED (ex-DEATH), Alex Skolnick and Chuck Billy of TESTAMENT, Paul Ryan of ORIGIN, Craig Locicero of FORBIDDEN, Travis Ryan of CATTLE DECAPITATION,Trevor Strnad and Ryan Knight of THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER and Emil Werstler of DAATH/CHIMAIRA. GORGUTS will open most of the shows.
Not only will this be a celebration of Chuck’s life, but will help make a lasting impression for the future at every show. Each night is a benefit show to raise awareness for the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund which provides support to career musicians in need of support while facing illness, disability or age related issues. This cause hits especially close to home for Chuck’s family and friends and one he’d gladly support. Please come out to this rare opportunity to pay tribute to a legend, see an amazing collection of talent and hear some songs that haven’t been performed anywhere since DEATH was active as a band. Please come out to support this tour and support live music, especially underground bands.
DEATH TO ALL 2012 TOUR DATES:
6/22/2012 – The Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA
6/23/2012 – House of Blues – Los Angeles, CA
6/26/2012 – House of Blues – Chicago, IL
6/28/2012 – Irving Plaza – NYC, NY
6/30/2012 – The Beacham – Orlando, FL
*Postponed until 2013* 7/01/2012 – The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
*Postponed until 2013* 7/03/2012 – House of Blues – Dallas, TX
Tags: abysmal dawn, alex skolnick, Bereft, cattle decapitation, Charles Elliott, Charred Walls Of The Damned, chimaira, chuck billy, chuck schuldiner, control denied, daath, death, emil werstler, forbidden, Gene Hoglan, Gorguts, individual thought patterns, Obscura, Origin, Paul Masvidal, Paul Ryan, Richard Christy, Sean Reinert, Steffen Kummerer, Steve DiGiorgio, symbolic, testament, the black dahlia murder, The Sound of Perseverance, Travis Ryan, Trevor Strnad
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Friday, June 22nd, 2012
A while back we caught up with metal drumming legend Richard Christy to discus his band CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED, his lengthy career in metal and of course to reminisce about his time with CHUCK SCHULDINER and DEATH. Richard was really down to earth, gracious and humble. He deflected most credit or praise about himself and instead talked up his peers and band mates. Since CWOTD is playing The ORION Music And More Festival this weekend and the Death To All Tour also kicks off today, we thought it was a good time to share this lengthy chat.
MAA: At what point of making the first record did you know you would do a follow up?
RC: As soon as we were mixing the first album I started writing music for the next one. I always knew we were gonna do several albums. This was something I came into this as a long term project. I didn’t wanna do just 1 album and that be it. It’s something I believe in and I love jamming with Tim, Steve & Jason. Its really something I looked at as a long term thing and also Metal Blade was really excited about us doing several albums with them so as soon as we finished mixing the first one, cause I was so inspired by the process of the first album with how well it turned out, so I jumped right into it. I knew by writing that early into the process while mixing the first album, I knew I’d have plenty of time to write something better and more epic then the first album.
MAA: Did you set out to write a more musically challenging second record??
RC: Well I definitely knew I wanted it to be longer, cause that was one of the only complaints I heard about it the first album. They loved it but it was very short, they were bummed out there wasn’t more music. Which is a good thing! It kind of left them wanting more. But this time I wanted people to have plenty of music where they couldn’t say ‘oh, it finished before I was ready for it to’ so I wanted to make sure it was a much longer album, but at the same time make sure the songs were really good. We weren’t putting in music just for the sake of it being a longer album. I wanted to make sure that we did it right and luckily, because of me writing the music while mixing the first album as I did, we had plenty of time and everything flowed really well.
MAA: What is the difference between Jason Suecof the producer versus Jason Suecof the band mate?
RC: He was the first person I called to be in this band. I’ve know him since ’99 and we’ve been jamming together ever since we met. Actually we’ve been writing music together right around that time he was building his studio as well. I know how amazing of a musician he is in addition to being an amazing producer and I was excited that now here’s a band that he can play guitar AND produce! People get to hear what a shredder he is and he has got such an amazing ear for music I really excited he’s a well known producer now. I always knew there was something special about him his a really talented guy. He’s a massive part of the sound of this band.
MAA: Are their any modern metal drummers you appreciate and follow?
RC: Absolutely!The drummer for JOB FOR A COWBOY (Jon Rice) is incredible! The drummer for THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER (Shannon Lucas) is amazing! There’s so many great drummers these days and it’s amazing that drummers are still pushing the boundaries of what drumming can do. George Kollias from NILE is one of my all-time favorite drummers and when you watch him, it doesn’t even seem humanly possible some of the stuff he’s playing. I remember meeting him when he was a young kid when DEATH played Greece and now he’s an incredible drummer. It’s inspiring to see how far he has come and there’s also a lot of drummers I admired growing up that are still incredible like Dave Lombardo & Charlie Benante. I saw The Big 4 show at Yankee Stadium and they were just amazing! There are so many great drummers still doing it. Mikkey Dee is still amazing in MOTORHEAD and a lot of the drummers at the Drummers’ Collective where I rehearse. I’ll walk by a room and hear a drummer shredding and I almost wanna go in and ask them who they are and what they do, but I don’t wanna interrupt them. (laughs) It’s really cool to see younger drummers being influenced by people like Pete Sandoval (MORBID ANGEL) and people who also influenced me.
MAA: I was at The Big Four too. I think Charlie Benante just keeps getting better!
RC: Dave Lombardo too! He did the “Angel of Death” drum solo and added this really cool snare thing that blew me away! It’s 10 or 15 seconds longer than on the album. He did this thing with the kick and the snare (imitates the sound of a complicated drum fill) that blew me away. It’s cool and inspiring that no matter how long you’ve been at it, you can still improve and get better. So watching guys like him and Charlie Benante, that inspires me.
MAA: You did limited touring on the first album. Any chance we will see the band hit the road more to support the new album?
RC: Yeah, were in talks to do some shows this year and hopefully we can make everyone’s schedule work! It is tough and I totally understand that. That was one of the things I took into account when I formed this band. I didn’t want one or two members of the band waiting around for everyone else to do something. I choose guys that have jobs and are as busy as I am. So we totally understand that if someone has some kind of scheduling thing where they do a show or tour. Hopefully we’ll have some announcements very soon. Were talking about doing some festivals in the US and Europe and hopefully some in South America and Japan (Editor’s note: this interview took place before ORION Music Fest was announced). I’d be totally psyched if we could do a ton of shows!
MAA: What do you think of the DEATH reissues?
RC: I love them! The Human one is incredible! There’s a lot of stuff that Sean (Reinert) does on the remix that you couldn’t hear in the original mix. A lot of tom stuff that comes out, like in the chorus of “Flattening of Emotions”. I love that they’re (Relapse) re-issuing these albums, it just sounds amazing, especially the bass! I was glad they turned the bass up on Human! The bass is incredible on that album, but you can hardly hear it on the original mix. It’s cool that Jim Morris has went back and remixed those albums. They sounded incredible back then but now you can hear so much more of it, there’s way more textures in it.
 Richard played on TSOP album and two live albums with DEATH.
MAA: Who is a better boss Chuck or HOWARD STERN?
RC: Oh, they’re both awesome bosses. Its an honor it be involved with two of my idols and you know, I can never really compare them. I mean Howard I’ve been a fan of since 1993 and Chuck I’ve been a fan of since 1990 when I first heard Spiritual Healing. I’m very fortunate to be involved in both and it’s two totally different spectrums. One is music and one is entertainment and so I’m very lucky that I’ve had both as bosses. I’d never be able to choose, I love them both. They’ve given me so many great opportunities and I’m very thankful.
MAA: Do you ever think about your legacy in the history of metal?
RC: I’m very honored to be have played in the bands I’ve played in and to have toured the world with like DEATH, ICED EARTH, DEMONS & WIZARDS and INCANTATION. I’m very lucky when I was in my 20′s I got to travel the world and see a lot of stuff and have fun and play a lot of big shows. It’s amazing when I think back, but at the same time I wanna keep looking forward and not settle on things I’ve done. I look at people like PAUL MCCARTNEY, who puts out new albums. He’s a guy who’s pretty much the most influential person in music ever, him and JOHN LENNON and he’s still writing music and putting out albums. He still loves it and he has the passion for it and he doesn’t settle on what he’s done. That’s kinda of how I look at it. I’m thankful for what I’ve done, but now I wanna keep doing more. With CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED, I’m lucky enough to be able to write the music and the lyrics and before I definitely had a say in what I was doing in the bands I was in before. For this band I’m able to even write the riffs and things like that. It’s a totally new thing for me and I’m really excited by it. I’m honored by all the bands I’ve ever played with. Everyone always asks me what my favorite drumming performance of mine is and its definitely The Sound of Perseverance by DEATH. I was practicing five hours a day when we recorded that album and I was at the top of my game. I don’t know that I’ll ever be that good again. So I look at the album, when somebody asks me what is my proudest moment in drumming and it is definitely that album.
 Chuck was Richard’s best friend, a legend and a great cook!
MAA: Do you have any good Chuck stories to pass along?
RC: He was such an incredible person, he was my best friend. He had such a great sense of humor and people always want to hear a funny Chuck story. There’s so many stories I have of Chuck its hard to choose a favorite. I just love the stories of us just writing music and practicing at our rehearsal space in Orlando. There was this guy named Dave who owned the place, he was a big furry, harry guy. He would walk around in a robe with nothing under it and Chuck & I would just laugh every time we would see this guy. He lived at the rehearsal space where we rented. We’d go down and pay our rent and he’d be in this hot tub. (laughs) We’d go to Chuck’s after practice and Chuck was an amazing cook, and he also made homemade beer. He made some of the best beer that I’ve ever tasted. I have so many good memories of us doing that and watching Saturday Night Live, then listening to some vinyl albums. He had such a huge collection. We’d listen to amazing stuff like RIOT, IRON MAIDEN and WATCHTOWER. He was just a fun guy, he had an awesome sense of humor. He loved his family very much. I still stay in touch with his family. There’s just too many memories to whittle it down to one. He really was just the most talented musician I’ve ever met, he was my best friend and I miss him every day.
MAA: Thanks for sharing that!
RC: You’re welcome. He was really humble too. He was a metal fan as much as anything else. I remember us getting to meet KING DIAMOND in St. Petersberg, Florida years ago. We were such huge KING DIAMOND fans. Chuck had never met or seen KING DIAMOND before. I hadn’t met him either, although I saw MERCIFUL FATE live before. And Chuck knew Andy LaRocque, so he was gonna introduce us right before the show. I have an awesome picture of Me, Chuck, Andy and KING DIAMOND. I remember that night, it was so cool. Chuck was just as nervous as me to meet him. It was like two legends meeting for the first time and for me to be a part of it, it was amazing. There was another time we were going to play Italy for the first time. When Chuck walked off the bus there were like 200 kids waiting for DEATH to arrive. It was like THE BEATLES had showed up. Chuck thought it was really neat! Then we walked a couple of blocks to eat, these kids followed us and chanted Chucks name the whole way in the street. Then all these kids pressed their faces against the window of the restaurant. Chuck got a real kick out of that! He was a metal fan as much as he was a metal legend.
MAA: Thanks for being cool and thanks for your time!
RC: I’m just like every body else, I’m just a metal fan. I’m no different then anybody else, everybody is equal as far as I’m concerned.
Richard is rumored to be appearing at the New York date of the “Death To All” Tour on 6/28.
(Thanks to Richard Christy and Metal Blade Records.)
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: Charred Walls Of The Damned, chuck schuldiner, death, DEMONS AND WIZARDS, Howard Stern, interviews with Keefy, Jason Suecof, Richard Christy, Sean Reinert, Spiritual Healing
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Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
In honor of today’s day being 2/1/12 or “2112 Day” or “International RUSH Day” or “Progressive Rock Day” as some are calling it, Metal Army chatted with notable metal historian Jeff Wagner. Wagner is the author of 2010′s Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal (Bazillion Points). In addition to being an authority on all things prog, death metal and thrash Jeff was one of the leading editors of Metal Maniacs magazine from 1997 until 2001. In a wide ranging interview we recapped the origins of Jeff’s book, the roots of the genre, it’s historical importance as well as it’s future. What follows is an excerpt of a longer chat we had.
MAA: What led you to write Mean Deviation?
JW: Well from a practical standpoint it was a book that had not yet been written. We are seeing a lot of metal books now because metal has a long enough history to provide for a bunch of books, and provide a bunch of different views covering all the genres. A book on prog metal had not been written and I was a long time fan of metal. I was also a fan that tended to gravitate toward the weirder, more experimental, more progressive stuff. More avant garde stuff. I look at my record collection and one thing I can say about it is there is not a whole lot of stuff that sounds like other stuff. I have always gravitated toward progressive sounds. I like my bands to be similarly unique in and of themselves. I like EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER, but I don’t like bands that sounded like them. There were a lot of obscure prog bands that sound just like them and I didn’t find them interesting. It’s an originator thing. I why I like DREAM THEATER, but not bands that sound just like them. Actually I can’t think of one that I like who sounds just like them. (laughs)
MAA: Your book identifies a “big three” of the genre. How did the their arrival on the scene change the game?
JW: Both QUEENSRŸCHE and FATES WARNING showed up at the same time and wore their influences on their sleeves. And those influences were obviously IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST. They took that template and took it to some different and more nuanced areas. They messed around with more long-form song writing. FATES WARNING on their second album is writing ten minute songs. They further intellectualized their music to the point where you go from Rage for Order or Operation Mindcrime and on the FATES WARNING side Awaken The Guardian and No Exit. QUEENSRŸCHE had a more theatrical image. Then DREAM THEATER came a long in their wake and they made a different kind of amalgam of it. Not only have the same bands in common that FATES WARNING and QUEENSRŸCHE did, they took it in two other areas. First I hear an even more melodic KANSAS- type rock sounds and even a more AOR radio rock from the 70s. I even hear some JOURNEY in early DREAM THEATER. And they even made it heavier with palm muting and double-bass drumming and took it some places other bands didn’t go to so they ramped it up even more. That’s why these three bands made their mark. They style was familiar and easy to get into, but also they were it challenging.
 A prog metal classic!
MAA: A lot of people think of Spiritual Healing by DEATH as the album when death metal crossed over with prog and became more malleable. But it was really before then, right?
JW: I think for one thing if you think about death metal, it is not easy to play. To the novices’ ear a lot of death metal sounds like garbage or noise. There is a built in tendency to already be a good musician to pull off really good death metal. If you are really conveying something truly brutal it’s a skill and an art. Not only do you have DEATH, but you have MORBID ANGEL. I don’t know how progressive you wanna say they are, but Tre Azagthoth. He was really virtuosic about his playing. I think POSSESSED toward the end of their output was really musical. There is something really intrinsically musical about death metal that it doesn’t get enough credit. And then with DEATH, even the album before Paul (Masvidal) and Sean (Reinert) came in they were going in that direction. Chuck was even singing in a way where you understood all of the vocals and didn’t need a lyric sheet. That was innovative too. (laughs) And then the Human album just blows the doors off of what could be done with the death metal form. There could be with Jazz influences and Fusion. They gave it a fluid, lyrical and melodic tendency, but it was also a really brutal album. It showed how much depth the music can have. I think the Human album has four of the best musicians that have ever on one album.
 The "father of death metal" was also integral to bringing in a progressive influence to the genre.
MAA: I think it’s interesting where the original prog rock bands were influenced by Jazz and the modern bands found Jazz thought the back door of prog metal. What do you say to that?
JW: The way I look at prog metal is there is not really one sound and one style. There are bands that have nothing in common. Other than the fact that they are trying to move the form forward, they might have little in common. Some of them have their own unique vision and style that no other musician will quite have.
MAA: Who are some of the underground bands of the genre that the average fan might not know, but are essential.
JW: I think if you go into with the right mindset WATCHTOWER is a band that was important. They were there way early on. They were throwing in RUSH and Jazz influences in `84, 85. Not even FATES WARNING and QUEENSRŸCHE were not even doing yet. And then if you get up to their 1989 album Control and Resistance they were tightly honed, but a bizarre group of different things. I know for a lot of people, they aren’t anything to listen to. Ron Jarzombeck is getting a lot of attention now for BLOTTED SCIENCE, but he is a WATCHTOWER alumnus. And of course I’m gonna talk about VOIVOD. I know people are gonna roll their eyes at this if they know me at all and say “oh there goes Wagner talking about VOIVOD again”. They remain really underrated. Their first six or seven albums: Killing Technology through The Outer Limits they were constantly changing, growing by leaps and bounds, using new technology and exploring new production techniques. They are the textbook example of what a progressive metal band really is. I think for one album CELTIC FROST need to get mentioned. Just for the Into The Pandemonium album. It’s so eclectic and brave. They opened up with a new wave cover song. Later on it has beat box song. There was a soul song. You have gloomy opera-type doom songs, new wave, jazz weirdness, a doom song. Just a weird album.
MAA: A lot of people hated them for it. My friends all hated them after that.
JW: Oh yeah I know. Talk about splitting your fan-base! But it was so weird and out there I really loved it. I was so intrigued I had to love it. They really blew apart their fan-base and their career. WATCHTOWER, VOIVOD, CELTIC FROST and others. That is the thing about my book. I didn’t want to just talk about the popular bands and the avatars. I wanted to discuss who the underrated bands were.
 The best prog metal band ever in my opinion. (Keefy) MAA: What is your take on more recent bands like MASTODON and OPETH who have abandoned their heavier ways for prog? Also, what do you think of the backlash against them?
JW: I say more power to em! They proved that they can do this modern epic metal. They can be modern, be different. And they started off as a very different band. They followed their heart. I don’t care if you’re KISS or MASTODON, I don’t think any band owes anything to your fans in terms of where they go with their music. That is not to say they don’t love their fans. When those guys are writing new music, I mean who wants to hear the same old shit? (laughs) You can tell I feel strongly about this. OPETH could’ve come out with another Deliverance, another Ghost Reveries and another Watershed and it would have been very good. OPETH are so influenced by all these bands that really epitomized all of these prog rock bands. It was about time they made their prog album. I love it. Why would fans expect Mikael Akerfeldt to be boring and stay bored and do the same thing again. Compositionally it is one of his best records. I fully support those bands and what they do. It’s about wanting to be surprised and wonder what is around the next corner. It depends what kind of fan you are. If you like a band like OPETH, if you love MASTODON or OPETH you want what those bands do and are all about you want them to follow their hearts. And I was especially surprised at the OPETH fans because I thought they were more open minded. Allow these bands to do what artists do, let them change rather than be beholden to expectations.
MAA: How important is a band like RUSH and an album like 2112 to the music still being made today?
JW: I think hugely. For me when I sit in a dark room and listen to 2112 that is part of that experience for a guy like me or any fan that treasures the band. But the other thing about your question is: it’s huge because of the influence from a band like RUSH has had. They have influenced not just prog rock bands or prog metal fans. RUSH has influenced metal bands, death metal bands, grindcore bands and even indie rock bands and all other kinds of musicians. If you took a survey of bands from a wide outgrowth of all music, RUSH is a very important band. I think that ten or fifteen years ago they were a little more like a guilty pleasure for some people. Now it is okay to say you like RUSH now. Their influence is incredibly vast.
MAA: Looking back at the longevity of some of the bands that were around at the time when you joined Metal Maniacs, do you feel proud of the role the magazine helped play promoting metal bands to a wider audience?
JW: I was just a part of the Maniacs legacy and certainly all the magazine did was reflect the legacy of the music itself. I am amazed and sure I’m proud. When I started at Maniacs it was 1997. I felt like I was down in the trenches. It was one of the first times in metal’s history a lot of people thought it was dead and it didn’t have a lot of juice anymore. We all knew different at the time. It is pretty incredible. Especially when you are seeing demos and re-issues of albums that are selling really well, being sold and repackaged. Metal now in 2012, it just has a longevity that shows it will never die. Even if no new music came out, there is so much from what has come before this music will never die. It’s history is kind of staggering. For guys like me that have been with the music for a long time, we do feel proud that we have come through the other side. It’s legitimate and here to stay. Not to sound really cliche’. It is part of popular culture.
Thanks to Jeff Wagner and Bazillion Points Publishing. You can buy the book here.
By Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: 2/1/12, 2112 Day, aol, Celtic Frost, chuck schuldiner, death, Dream Theater, ELP, EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER, interviews with Keefy, IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST, Jazz, Jeff Wagner, JOURNEY, Kansas, Keefy, Mastodon, Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal (Bazillion Points), Metal Army, metal journalism, Metal Maniacs Magazine, Mikeal Akerfeldt, Morbid Angel, Opeth, Paul Masvidal, Possessed, Prog Metal, progressive rock, QUEENSRŸCHE and FATES WARNING, Ron Zarzombek, Sean Reinert, Spiritual Healing, Tre Azagthoth, watchtower
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Wednesday, August 24th, 2011
Metal Army caught up with Steffan Kummerer backstage in New York City during OBSCURA’s recent tour stop there opening for CHILDREN OF BODOM and the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT. Here is an excerpt of our candid chat.
 Another contender for top album of the 2011. MAA: Why do you think the response to Omnivium has been so postive?
SK: Omnivium is the first record where all the song writers really worked together. The songs in Cosmogenesis where mostly written before the other members joined. Hannes Grossmann wrote a couple of songs, Christian wrote, I guess one song and I did the rest. But on this album everything merged way better together. For example this song “Septuagint”, the opener, it’s like equal work of everyone and you cannot tell who wrote which riff. So that just shows that everybody knows exactly how the sound of OBSCURA should be. From my perspective it sounds more metal. That is at least my intention, my feelings. The feedback so far is very good, better than expected because I feel the new album is a little bit more complex and not as easy to get as a couple of songs on Cosmogenesis have been. All in all we are quite happy about it.
 Steffan Kummerer leads Obscura in concert in 2010. MAA: Why did Jeroen leave the band?
SK: He had to leave. We fired him.
MAA: How did you rebound by finding Linus and have you had to adapt the set at all from what was planned?
SK: Absolutely not. Linus is one of the subs we’re working with since Jeroen played his last show in October 2010. Since then we’ve worked with several subs like, Jacob Schmidt of DEFEATED SANITY. Linus Klausenitzer of NONEUCLID and on the Japanese tour we had Steve DiGiorgio stepping in. Great person! He’s a story teller and it was really cool tour together. To come back to your question we haven’t had to change any of our sets, songs or whatever because Linus can play everything. I mean, he played in NONEUCLID. If you can play in NONEUCLID, OBSCURA is like a walk in the park!
MAA: I would never say OBSCURA’s music is like a walk in the park!
SK: I’m (being) honest.
 Steffan solos on his custom made RAN guitars. MAA: Who are you main infleunces as a guitarist and a songwriter?
SK: My personal influences, I would say Jon Nodtveidt of DISSECTION, Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert, CYNIC, is I guess an obvious influence of our band, EMPEROR, like Ihsahn, and since Christian Muenzner joined the band, a lot of prog rock influences came to the table. Of course I also like bands like SYMPHONY X. I just got into a couple of years ago, it’s an old band, but it’s quite impressive. I guess you can hear it, here and there a couple of influences from that band as well.
MAA: I imagine it takes a lot of dexterityt to play these songs live. What kinds of warmup exercises or scales to you play before you go on stage?
SK: I just play a couple of songs, from ourselves, and play them a little bit slower so the left hand can warm up a little bit better. Especially if you have some short progressions and take them slowly. I feel it works better than just shredding around.
MAA: Do you have any favorite modern bands?
SK: My favorite band is not metal actually. It’s PORTISHEAD. It’s just fantastic, this band. All three albums. I bought the last album doubled, just try to support. Just bought two copies of them. Anyway, metal wise actually, they’re still the same favorite bands I had ten years ago: EMPEROR, DISSECTION, CYNIC, DEATH, ATHEIST all those bands. CYNIC is fantastic, I’m looking forward to their new album. I hear they will enter the studio by this year. Looking forward to the new line-up, but I don’t have a clue who will join them though.
 Guitarist Christian Muezner and Drummer Hannes Grossman were integral parts of the writing process on Omnivium.
(Special thanks to Steffan Kummerer, Relapse Records and Return To The Pit for the live photos.)
By Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: atheist, bassist Linus Klausenitzer, Cosmogenesis, Cynic, death, DEFEATED SANITY, DISSECTION, drummer Hannes Grossman, emperor, guitarist Christian Muenzner, Ihsahn, Jacob Schmidt, Jazz, Jeroen Paul Thessiling, Jon Nodtveidt, Keefy, mellow, NONEUCLID, Obscura, Omnivium, Paul Masvidal, PORTISHEAD, Prog-Rock, progressive, Relapse, Sean Reinert, Steffan Kummerer, Steve DiGiorgio, Symphony X, technical deathmetal, thrash, trip-hop
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Wednesday, August 18th, 2010
Harper’s Ferry, Boston MA
I have said repeatedly that this is one of the best times in the history of metal. Not only are there a plethora of great new bands charting new musical territories, but many of the older legacy type acts are not only still alive, but also remain creative forces. One such act like this is CYNIC who made their name in the early days of the 1990′s Death Metal scene in Florida. Now they are based in Los Angeles and are striking while the iron is hot with their 2008 comeback album Traced in Air and their recent EP Re-Traced (Season of Mist). Always possessing ninja level chops and favoring a lot of authentic progressive rock flavors, they have been an indispensable influence on many of today’s prog-metal flag-wavers. Even after their break-up and reformation a few years back CYNIC remains one of the most talented, original and professional bands in all of music.
I have seen DYSRTHYMIA several times over the years and they always shine. They play a combination of instrumental metal with a lot of jazz and prog-rock touches. Considering the crowd tonight was largely populated by a lot of Berklee College of Music types, this saw a band playing directly to their key demographic. Unlike your typical instrumentalists DYSRTHYMIA always show off their impressive chops with as little pretense as possible, which I think endears them to fans. If you dig this type of stuff I highly recommend you pickup their latest release Psychic Maps (Relapse Records) which I bought after their set.
INTRONAUT was up next. I liked their last record, Prehistoricisms (Century Media, 2009), but really fell in love with them when I caught their live performance opening up for MASTODON last year. There were definitely many fans in the house on this night who were there to see them as much as the headliner. The band wasted no time after taking the stage kicked things off with “Elegy” a new song from their next album coming out this fall. The track encapsulated everything this band does great: hypnotic beats, crushing guitars, cool vocals and outstanding bass chops. The song also sees the band charting some new ground as they balance their sludgey modern metal with the newer adventurous material they have been mining of late. Reminiscent of an early HELMET song, “Elegy” goes through several interesting shifts thematically. Next was “The Literal Black Cloud” which was equally heavy, trance- like and amazing. As always the middle section of the track features the beautiful chordal bass work by standout player Joe Lester. Next they played two more new songs which vocalist/guitarist Sacha Dunable told me after the show were called “Above” and “Sunderance”. These tracks are just as sprawling and heavy as the rest of the bands’ work. Closing with the epic “Any Port”, they topped off a fine set with the ending drum-jam between ferocious drummer Danny Walker and guitarist/singer/percussionist Dave Timnick. Sacha was gracious with his time chatting with me after the set which I appreciated and I am really looking forward to that new album.
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Tags: 1990's Floridian Death Metal, Aeon Spoke, Berklee College of Music, Boston, Century Media, Cynic, Danny Walker, Dave Timnick, death, Death Metal, Dysrthymia, Exivious, Focus, Gordian Knot, Harper's Ferry, Helmet, Intronaut, jazz-fusion, Joe Lester, LEVI/WERSTLER, Master, Mastodon, ninja level chops, Paul Masvidal, Prehistoricisms, progressive rock, Psychic Maps, Re-Traced, Relapse Records, remastered Portal EP, Robin Zeilhorst, Rush, Sacha Dunable, Sean Reinert, season of mist, tool, Traced In Air, Tymon Kruidenier
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