It’s good-natured small gigs like these that make one remember how alike Punks and Thrashers (and to a point, all Metalheads) are when you get them together. Think on it: Both wear black a lot, both are societal outcasts with atypical haircuts, they both wear patches and ripped clothing, etc. To say nothing of the music itself. Thrash Metal is essentially IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST fans mainlining punk rhythms and throwing the resulting brew into a pressure cooker to ferment and sweeten. And now onto the show review before I turn this into an essay on how Thrash and Hardcore fans should hang out more.
Opening this festival of the damned was METH VALLEY, a gang of talented local thrashers fronted by some crazy guy I’ve seen at mad shows, MDF included. Thrash is a hard genre to innovate in without turning it into something else by accident, so these longhairs played it safe and by the book, albeit without inducing yawns. If you like RAZORMAZE, check ‘em.
Next up were Boston Hardcore guys DRAIZE, alternating between the slow and punishing and the fast and punishing extremes with equal skill. Everyone’s favourite bespectacled baldie decided to go at this gig barefoot, which is a ballsy as fuck move considering how much punks usually love to wear boots or something. Nary a toe was injured, luckily, as the walls churned with heat, leather, and fist while the dance floor surged with pent-up anger and good times.
DRAIZE. Boston. Hardcore. Emphasis on the core.
Oh how I missed my poetic verve.
It’s not very often one gets to see DRAIZE, much less hear them, since a certain amount of mystery prevents them from posting tracks online, despite the many available avenues with which a band may do so today. If you don’t know the songs, you don’t know them, and you never will unless you buy their stuff, so there’s that. It’s all good and dark, and makes you want to kill, so it hardly matters in the end, as long as you don’t act a fool. Highlights of the set: A huge fat guy herkie-ing like nobody’s business, and getting full-body lifted and placed back down by a guy half my height while I was in the middle of a graceless two-step.
IRON REAGAN. Not your momma’s Punk/Metal super group!
IRON REAGAN, featuring TONY FORESTA from MUNICIPAL WASTE and some other guys because fuck it, it’s Tony Foresta and that basically makes it MUNICIPAL WASTE by proxy, followed to bring some groovin’ Thrash served in a radioactive barrel. Or something. This being their first tour as a band, it’s amazing how quickly they’ve all settled into the whole live dealie. Granted, they are seasoned musicians, and probably all hang out, but my word, you’d think they’ve been doing this as IRON REAGAN for years already. Tony’s charismatic control of the crowd’s friendly violent fun, the vicious axe attack of fellow ‘Waster LANDPHIL, bass duties gregariously filled by a certain guy named Paul, and drum noise made by DARKEST HOUR’s own RYAN PARRISH (editor’s note, Ryan quit DH last year). You’ve got yourself a crew that’s ready to rock, and has a CRO-MAGS cover to lay on you troglodytic fucks. It’s pretty rad. The circle pit isn’t a frequent sight at the D.C., so get educated and run around.
RAMMING SPEED, Thrash with a purpose. Unintentional jokey name. Or is it?
Imagine you took the Party Hard attitude of ANDREW W.K. but turned party rock into party thrash, with a good helping of pizza and perhaps carrots, and proclamations of ’SHANE EMBURY being the Brad Pitt of grindcore’. It’s true, go listen. While RAMMING SPEED do everything they do in good fun, there’s some serious talent bubbling under the comedic skin. Major shreddage, vocals that vary from Thrash shouts to Death Growls and even some well-done highs, drumming that can go from standard speed-metal to extreme blasting, and not to mention the fact that they can keep up with themselves and not fuck up. It’s a recipe that’s best drunk in large quantities and with friends around.
RAMMING SPEED’s new album “Doomed To Destroy, Destined To Die” drops on Prosthetic Records later this spring!
You know, this marks a rare occurrence; I’ve reviewed a show the day after it happened. Golly, I’m making my comeback. This is the year of the gutter rat, and I’m doing well everywhere except mothafuckin’ school. Kill pigs, have fun.
Metal Army America interviewed EPHEL DUATH mastermind Davide Tiso via email. The on the eve of the release of a sprawling new EP, On Death And The Cosmos, Tiso shared a great many insights. The new EP sports an all-star lineup of some of the greatest names in all of metal which enabled Tiso to bring his grand vision to life. In the interview below he not only explained the concept of the record, but broke down each song to its lyrical bones, detailed how the new lineup came together, what the future holds for the group and much more!
MAA: Please discuss the concept behind the new EP On Death And The Cosmos?
DT: The main concept of On Death and Cosmos rotates around the idea of feeling rootless. The creative process this time started from a personal loss: that event marked me so deep not just because I’ve lost a person I felt very close to, but because together with his disappearance I feel I broke the bond with the place I’m coming from. At this point in my life I think I could live pretty much everywhere without feeling home sick. I have a “cosmos” of opportunity opening up in front of my eyes, and while this can be considered a positive things for a human being, the lyrics in the EP dig in the painful process of detachment from what for 30 and more years I felt were my roots. On Death and Cosmos holds together some of the lyrics I’m most attached to. These words erupted from me, and all three songs are lyrically tied together by the theme of Death and mourning, and the escape represented by the Cosmos.
After that loss I mentioned before, I felt in a terrible depression and returning to compose for EPHEL DUATH was the way out from that paralyzing state. Some days I was feeling so bad that I felt my mind getting take over by the spirit of my dead beloved, who was not accepting his death and wanted to keep living through me:
The opening song “Black Prism” pictures the hopeless search of oneself in the splitting process of spirit attachment.
“I lie between layers of perception
I’m neither here or there Twice but still nothing My image multiplies While my sight plays dead and regress”
The song “Raqia”, the ancient Hebrew word for the English “firmament”, marks the pain caused by abandonment and the excruciating consequences of letting go.
“You may be as lonely as I feel
But the emptiness around you is cosmic Immense While mine Mine tastes just like flesh”
Composing the lyrics of On Death and Cosmos I spent a great deal of time out at night, listening music, smoking cigarettes and looking at the sky. Considering the turmoil my life was in at that moment, writing new lyrics I was literally pushing my sight and my mind as distant as possible from that mess I was in. I wrote this way every time I got the chance and I started to feel a pretty strong comforting sensation while immersing my head and thoughts into the sky/firmament/Raqia entity. I read that warming feeling like the confirmation that my healing process was supposed to pass through that stage to get to the core of my pain and I kept going.
The closing track “Stardust Rain” is an ode to self-purification through inner death of senses.
“I am the black coat
Where stars hide in I protect each of them One by one They keep shining to live I let them burning to live To my slow death I aim to”
This is probably the song I feel closer to. Everything in life has a positive and a negative power, I think that bad situations are the one that teach us the most: loss gives us the chance to readjust or even reshape ourselves during and after the mourning process. This positive chance offered by such traumatic experience is blurred out by the big dose of pain involved but I’m confident that each of us while suffering, on the long run, have the chance to know how much they are changing and self transforming day after day.
I changed for better while mourning: I was an unfocused and worse person before my grandfather died. His death brought some good to me, I had the chance to find myself again, and as I wrote inside the booklet of On Death and Cosmos: “It took one’s death to give life back to another”.
DAVIDE TISO leads EPHEL DUATH.
MAA: How did you go about recruiting such stellar talent to join the band?
DT: Respecting my music so much I try to set the bar pretty high for what concern the other musicians I involve with EPHEL DUATH. In On Death and Cosmos I’m lucky enough to be joined by my first choices in terms of drumming, bass playing, singing, producing and mastering. Thanks to the big support offered by Agonia Records and with a big dose of stubborness, this time around I was able to make the album I wanted with the team I wanted. Planning things right and way ahead of time we made the collaboration with MARCO MINNEMANN and STEVE DI GIORGIO possible. Both these musicians have a pretty tight schedule, but their enthusiasm, professionalism and commitment to the project made the difference. They found the time and the energy to learn my songs, compose and record their part, and they both did a wonderful job.
Having KARYN CRISIS at vocals is like a dream come true. I’m a huge CRISIS fan and I’ve been a fan of her since the very first time I read one of her lyrics. I’m extremely proud of having Karyn spitting out my words on a microphone and I can’t wait to have her record some new material.
To make this shine even more I choose to have the supersonic ears of ERIK RUTAN behind the mix board, and I have to say that I have never felt that connected with a producer before. Erik worked non-stop on this EP for weeks, and I found his work ethic to be frankly stunning. I consider Erik Rutan one of the key elements for On Death and Cosmos successful result and collaborating with him has been one of the best musical experience I had since I started this band.
DAVIDE TISO has truly found his muse in KARYN CRISIS.
MAA: Karen especially seems to fit the music perfectly. Did you write with her in mind originally?
DT: I composed the EP knowing that Karyn was going to sing it. There are some kind of voices that are like a slap in the face and some others that hit you directly in the stomach being that emotionally charged: Karyn’s voice has both these qualities. I think her voice fit the ED music extremely well. Karyn’s raw and cutting way of singing is able to bring the songs to higher emotional picks and I’m blown away by how effortlessly our two different musical backgrounds collapsed together in this EP.
MAA: Is the lineup going to be able to stay together to at least create the next full length album and tour?
DT: This lineup will record also the new album, Marco Minnemann is actually already recording the drums, he did 5 songs and everything sounds stellar so far. ED will return to play live once the full length will be recorded, but just if we will be offered the necessary conditions to do some good shows. To compose music is a very intimate process for me, vital I would say: I don’t do it for passion, I do it because I have to. To bring EPHEL DUATH live usually means to loose a lot of the artistic side of things, and having to deal with just the practical, and worse, side of music: promoters that don’t pay the fees, shows with lack of promotions, bad planned tours, a lot and a lot of expenses. I’m not interested in repeating that kind of experience once again. Returning to deal full time on EPHEL DUATH, I promised myself to not accept anymore compromises and to take decisions solely based on the band’s benefit. To play live in horrible conditions will not be an option for this band anymore. It would be fantastic to have this line up on a stage and I’ll work my ass off to make this happen.
KARYN CRISIS did this custom limited edition print for the new album
MAA: Do you think it is difficult for visionary artists to exist in the framework of “the music industry”?
DT: I would say that for long time it was pretty much impossible for a musician to deal with the music industry without feeling powerless. The whole music industry was in the hands of few greedy ones, now that whole mechanism is collapsing everyone seems to escape from it, trying to save the few money left and finally, the real stars of the game are returning back. Underground labels: small realities run by really passionate people, respectful of the bands and their music, that with labor of love and not the revenues in mind are putting together products with such quality and tremendous attention to details.
What it’s important now is to save the public. Probably what I am about to say could sound like a silly utopia, but I still think it’s important to underline how much the main public need to return to consider music as a form of art that have to be respected. Music is not supposed to be taken for granted, ready to be consumed and disposed with a click. Bands are not supposed to accept to spend their time begging for attention, bands should instead spend their time playing good music. I think that on the long run, quality music will keep being noticed, and it’s up to the bands to believe in themselves, creating unique music and stick to their vision. To compose honest music probably represents the only way to be musically dissident nowadays. I have faith that EPHEL DUATH’s public will keep supporting all the hard work and labor of love we put in this underground reality since day one.
MAA: What bands or artists do you listen to when you are looking for inspiration?
DT: Sometimes I listen to music to get some musical inputs, and I usually finish listening to death metal. This genre makes my brain feels very alert, there are so many nuances to capture here and there and I would say this is the kind of music I’m more fund at the moment. I like so many bands, the more dissonant the better, probably SUFFOCATION, HATE ETERNAL, AUTOPSY, DECREPIT BIRTH and CATTLE DECAPITATION are on top of my list.
Sometimes I listen to it to relax, and to get some unconscious inspiration, I like BARONESS, UFOMAMMUT, ZU, ANIMALS AS LEADERS, ELECTRIC WIZARD.
Sometimes I need music it to write lyrics: I try to enter in the “writing lyrics” mood at least once every week or two and when I do that, the day is gone: I usually finishing drunk and crying by myself in a park bench while joggers swing by. To write lyrics I usually put a song in loop, or I listen a part of a song in loop. I need heavy sorrowful music, but I never compose lyrics listening to EPHEL DUATH. Lately I have been writing listening to MONUMENTUM, AGALLOCH, CULT OF LUNA, NEUROSIS.
MAA: If you could book a festival for EPHEL DUATH to play with any bands of your choosing, whom would you choose?
DT: I would love to have EPHEL DUATH opening the festival so that I would be able to enjoy the other shows. Three stages, a Death Metal one with DECREPIT BIRTH, CATTLE DECAPITATION, SUFFOCATION and HATE ETERNAL as headliners. A Doom stage with DISPIRIT, UFOMAMMUT, AGALLOCH, YOB and PENTAGRAM as headliners. A main experimental rock metal stage with DYSRHYTHMIA, RUSSIAN CIRCLES, ANIMALS AS LEADERS, IHSHAN, BARONESS and REFUSED as headliners. $60 the ticket, not a bad festival!
(Special thanks to Davide Tiso, Agonia Records and Nathan T. Birk)
With drums & guitars done in Cleveland OH, bass guitars in Vancouver, BC and vocals laid down in Tel Aviv, Israel; this is truly an internationally made album and band. Dirk Verbeuren (SOILWORK) is doing double duty with the guitar, it shows he’s more than just a drummer. He wrote the damned album! DEVIN TOWNSEND laid down some solid bass lines & Sven De Caluwe (ABORTED,SYSTEM DIVIDE) well, does what Sven does! The band has since added SHANE EMBURY from NAPALM DEATH as the new bassist for the next album, which they are already working on. Originally self- released last fall, it will be re-issued this summer by Tankcrimes in a special package. It’s grindcore at its best. Clocking in at 17 minutes long, it gets to the point on every song. Let’s check out Noistalgia right now.
If you get the physical CD, the booklet has one sentence introductions to each song, just so you’re not misled by anything. From songs about blast beats like “Blast Beat Barrage” and technological advances in“Digital Disaster”, you are also treated to all the social commentary you’d expect since this is just one big ole love letter to the genre. It basically says that in the name of the title track, “An homage to grindcore and noise”. As fun as short songs are, I do wish the song “In One Word” was longer. I would’ve loved to hear what other band names they could have tossed in there. Based on just the bass line alone, “Sustained Idiocy” just makes me want to punch something. Dirk’s SOILWORK band mate Sylvain Coudret, comes in and throws a cool guitar solo in your face on “Dead Meat”. “Fool for Life” is the longest track (4:06) and gives the album some added weight. It ends with a lovely rendition of “Bullshit Propaganda” in honor of the mighty EXTREME NOISE TERROR.
They managed to cram this album full of greatness in a short amount of time. I’m not sure if throwback is the right description for this, but this does make you remember the early days of grindcore (only with better production- thank you Devy!). With Noistalgia, BENT SEA came, saw and kicked ass. Not only did I like it, I bought it!
Metal Army America caught up with heavy metal legend KAI HANSEN to talk about his new project, UNISONIC. The group reunites Hansen with his former HELLOWEEN band mate/singer MICHAEL KISKE for the first time in twenty-five years as a writing partner. Their debut, self-titled album is out in America after being released this spring in Europe and Japan and is a must have for fans of old-school heavy metal, power metal and rock. KAI was very gracious with his time and covered a lot of ground with us, so it was a really fun interview.
(Special thanks to KAI HANSEN, Earsplit PR and Eagle Rock Entertainment)
There is a familiar cliche that says imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. What then I ask is it when inspiration takes a hold of you so deeply that you create a tribute to your influences? This is the strange case of the quasi-super group (yep, another one in 2012) of SOEN. Masterminded by former OPETH drummer Martin Lopez, the group arrives with the much hyped Cognitive (Spinefarm). Having played on what is regarded as the best of the early and middle-era OPETH albums as well as the very first AMON AMARTH album, fans have long waited for the re-emergence of Lopez. Hopes have been high that perhaps he would pursue a heavier tract than his most recent work in his former band, as SOEN geared to launch last fall.
Right from the jump the trippy backwards-looped track of “Fractal”, a Gregorian Chant-style vocal creates a haunting warm-up of what is to come. “Fraccions” kicks in with its infectious, angular guitars and off-kilter drumming and you are caught in the swoon of the melody. It becomes apparent that the by far the primary influence on SOEN is TOOL. Anyone who has followed my scribblings on this site knows what huge fan of that band I happen to be. Most bands err too close to the actual sound of the artist they admire, and hinting at that comparison tends to bore me right out of the gate. However, with SOEN there is an originality to the writing and performance even if the band that inspired this music is definitely apparent in every song. Vocalist Joel Ekelöf (WILLOWTREE) definitely has a MAYNARD JAMES KEENAN vibe to his delivery, but reveals other influences too. There are certain moments in this first song and really the entire album where you hear traces of artists as disparate at the Gothic undertones of IAN CURTIS, the disappointment of DAVE GAHAN (DEPECHE MODE) and the anguish of TRENT REZNOR. The songs are definitely more a long the lines of prog metal than modern rock. The track definitely builds to a rhythmic climax towards its end, giving way to an A Capella chant vocal by Ekelöf which sounds great in comparison to the rage. “Delenda” has more of an OPETH/PORCUPINE TREE musical bent with some added weight in the guitars by Kim Platbarzdis. Also, the winding, ostinato bass lines of Steve DiGiorgio (DEATH/SADUS/TESTAMENT) are astounding and he is the perfect match for some of the more obtuse sounds on the albums. It’s a fair bet to say most people haven’t heard Steve play like this before and will be even more impressed with him here than ever. The band plays fast and loose with dynamic shifts as well, which of course only adds to the aura and mystery in these songs. “Last Light” is about as mellow as it gets on this album and could be considered a “single” if they were going to have one. Laconic waves of plucked guitar and doleful vocals will fill your ears up. The best track on the album might be “Oscillation” which starts off with a brutal main riff before breaking into tribal beats and contrasting single note guitar lines. Lopez shows his entire arsenal of ability playing a standard kit and other percussion instruments to a flawless degree. Platbarzdis and DiGiorgio bring back the machine gun tight precision later on, building up to a huge ending, before the jazzy coda winds it down. Another heavy track is “Canvas”. Meditative yet, raw it is one of the standouts of the album. Lopez and DiGiorgio often go from supporting rhythm section to lead instruments and back again in the same song. “Ideate” is more of an interlude than a realized track by itself. It serves up a good palate warmer leading into “Purpose” which is another rager. Ekelöf pours all of his passion and dismay in his vocal lines. “Slithering” is another excellent tune, with its whisper to a scream temperament. The last two minutes of the track are as deep musically as any nearly band has put out in 2012. “Savia” is a glorious and transcendent final epic, complete with that old familiar nautical feeling that gives off a peaceful vibe. I believe that over time SOEN will prove to be more than the sum of their famous partners or influences. For now they will settle for a great album of music, even if it is not the most original stuff you’ve ever heard.
In 2011 super groups seem to be a dime a dozen. Most of these groups are usually weaker than the sum of their parts with a few exceptions. One group that is living up to the challenge is VALLENFYRE. The assembled collection of talent from impressive bands is on one hand admirable. It’s not every day you get to mention PARADISE LOST, MY DYING BRIDE, DOOM and AT THE GATES in the same sentence. However, more startling than the all-star team of talent is the sound of the album and the quality of the songs. This excellent amalgam of death metal, doom and crust punk is the perfect synthesis of the talent of the lineup and could be a force to be reckoned with for years to come in the scene.
Opening up with the scathing “All Will Suffer” the band serves notice that they are not kidding around. From the razor wire guitar riffs to the blackened wail of front man Gregor Mackintosh (PARADISE LOST) the grim sonic rage is upon you. The thunderous drums and doom metal riffs paint a bleak musical picture for which Mackintosh operates on. Said drums are provided by Adrian Erlandsson (AT THE GATES, PARADISE LOST, CRADLE OF FILTH, THE HAUNTED, NEMHIAN) who is turns in one of the drumming performances of the year. “Desecration” follows next with more of the same frenetic riffs followed by the dirge of pain chords in the chorus. The entire album is a concept record dedicated to the loss of Mackintosh’s father from cancer last year. There is no rule book to loss and grieving, yet perhaps via music there may be some relief. All the of the lyrics and vocals delivery punctuate this loss clearly and gives the album a ghastly gravity beyond the typical quality of an album like this. Each song also features a wall of guitar sound. Not only are parts contributed by Hamish Glencross (MY DYING BRIDE) and Mackintosh’s friend Mully, but several solos are contributed by Mackintosh himself. “Ravenous Whore” could be addressing cancer itself. The track has an almost grindcore feel at times with Erlandsson’s signature fills and double-kick work. Of course the crust/doom of the breakdown is also killer, complete with some black metal licks tossed in for good measure. “Cathedrals of the Dead” might be one of the best songs here. You really hear the culmination of the all of the influences on this track and sense Mackintosh’s vision fully realized. Another top notch track is “As the World Collapses”. The marching beat and chugging chords call to mind middle era SLAYER until the death-thrash part kicks in. “A Thousand Martyrs” is a tuneful funerary blast that provides a grim catharsis. I would be remiss not to single out the solid bass work from Scoot of DOOM fame whose slightly distorted low rumblings give the songs the nasty edge they require. “Seeds” is slow, brooding and harsh track with more serious depressive lyrics. “Humanity Wept” amps back up the thrash and death with a fabulous break-neck riff. “My Black Siberia” has an interesting amount of melody for a crust-punk influenced song, revealing how skilled the writing from this group can be. “The Divine Have Fled” also crushes with unholy heaviness and speed. The final track “The Grim Irony” begins with a doleful wail of a riff. Like much of this album it needs to be listened to at high volumes in a lightness room for maximum effect!
Unless you have been living under a rock or been in a coma like Captain America was for the last 70 years, one of the stories of 2011 has been the fallout from Mike Portnoy’s messy departure from DREAM THEATER. Still being played out in the media after splitting nearly a year ago, there has been no shortage of drama. We watched the very public dismay of Portnoy unfold as DREAM THEATER has opted to continue on without him, eventually settling on Mike Mangini as his replacement. As his former band prepares to release their next record soon, Mike has licked his wounds and released the first material from his new band ADRENALINE MOB in the form of a self released EP (Dear Tunecore, you totally suck ass!). The band is a super-group of name players who will have to live up to their legendary reputations even more in light of these circumstances. The potential for greatness is definitely there, but the band has a ways to go to get there.
The first song is a driving, blues based active rock/power-groove type of song named “Psychosane”. When I heard the main riff for the first time I immediately thought of PUYA, but the band is going for a BLACK LABEL SOCIETY/PANTERA/EXHORDER type of vibe. Lead singer Russell Allen of SYMPHONY X (who also produced) even channels Phil Anselmo and Kyle Thomas to an extent throughout most of the album and the results are mixed. Allen is a naturally great singer, but his attempts to butch it up here left me a little flat. The track itself is solid with a great guitar solo from the gifted Mike Orlando (SONIC STOMP). As you’d expect from any Portnoy recording the drums are powerful and have his patented slick fills and rolls. The second song “Believe Me” is a little tighter. Another boogie rock stomper, Allen uses his more trademark dynamic vocalizing and power to great effect this time. Orlando just shreds his face off on another couple of harmonized solos in the vein of DIMEBAG DARRELL. Orlando is one of the premier axe-men in the game today and this band could be a launching pad to even bigger things for him. He has preposterous dexterity, sick lead skills and a lyrical style in the tradition of all the gods of guitar. In addition to some terrific Portnoy double-kick work, bassist Paul DiLeo drops in some fine walking bass lines and fills. There is no questioning the talent of this group which also includes guitarist Rich Ward (STUCK MOJO/FOZZY). Lyrically and melodically it is the strongest track here also. “Hit The Wall” is the most realized song and has rock and thrash overtones. The fast driving beat is prime territory for the legendary drummer to get his metal ya-yas out. Allen kills the vocals here with an excellent performance displaying the full extent of his talents. After raging on overdrive for ¾ of the track, the song breaks down into a DOWN style sludge jam and it sounds pretty impressive. “Down To The Floor” continues the kitchen sink riff approach. There are some interesting spacey sound effects going on during the verse that will hook your ear. The major-key change in the chorus is a classic rock staple that screams early 1980′s to be sure. Another short Orlando lead calls to mind EDDIE VAN HALEN at his youngest and best. As the band has done live, the album closes with a cover of “The Mob Rules” as a tribute to RONNIE JAMES DIO. Allen certainly does a heartwarming DIO impression and the cover is note for note perfect. I suspect most of the originals are even more killer sounding in a live setting. I hope more time spent with the whole band writing together will make the full length album in 2012 worth the wait.
Halley’s Comet comes around to say hello to the Earth every seventy-six years in speeding ball of fire and cosmic ice. Similarly LOCK UP, the classic grindcore/death metal side project/super group from the UK comes around every few years as a blazing fast, cosmic delight for the metal masses. Unleashing their newest opus, Necropolis Transparent they have even hit the road more than ever before which promised to be a real treat for many who have never seen the group. Seemingly put together like a fantasy lineup by some dudes at a bar, this band has upper echelon talent in their ranks. Made up of legendary names like Tomas Lindburg (AT THE GATES/THE CROWN), Shane Embury (NAPALM DEATH/ BRUJERIA/ VENOMOUS CONCEPT), Nick Barker (CRADLE OF FILTH/SADISTIC INTENT/ATROCITY etc) and Anton Reisenegger (INNER SANCTUM/FALLOUT/CRIMINAL) they could rest on their lofty reputations and slack. However, it’s clear from the jump that this record was created for a sole purpose and that purpose is massive aural and cranial destruction.
Leading off with “Brethren of the Pentagram” we are immediately treated to a heart wrenching scream from Lindburg, who for my money has the pinnacle voice in all of death metal. “Brethren…” is good old, thrashy sounding grindcore with killer riffs and Barker’s signature insane double kick work. Like the majority of the the album if you blink, you will miss the song since it goes by so fast. “Accelerated Mutilation” is next and is disgusting, evil and sick sounding. With Barker blasting away to his hearts content and Reisenegger lobbing riffs and changes at you at lightening speed it’s hard to keep up. The track also has an old school thrash theme in the middle, but quickly returns to the goregrind the band is mining here. “The Embodiment of Paradox and Chaos” is another blistering cut with some black metal and almost prog territory changes at times. In addition to more philosophy motifs and histrionic wails from Lindberg, we get to hear Embury snarling away in a backing voice that matches his bass tone. The title track is next and it is equally unrelenting, offering no peace or shelter from the torrent of notes raining chaos down on you. “Parasite Drama” is a fiendish masterpiece from the bowels of hell. Not even a third of the way through and this album smokes any previous effort under this banner (granted the membership has changed a lot over the years, RIP Jesse Pintado).The entire effort is as consistent as you’d expect from this level of talent, but considering this isn’t a main gig for anyone, it sounds down right glorious. Other standout tracks include “Stygian Reverberations”, “Roar of A Thousand Throats”, “Vomiting Evil” and “Tartarus”. Pick up this record and if you are lucky enough, go see them on tour for every grind heads dream team lineup.
Hailing from Massachusetts, DEATH RAY VISION is a quasi super-group made up of members of both popular and underground bands. Super-groups often don’t live up to the hype surrounding them, but in this case they just might have pulled it off. On their just released EP Get Lost or Get Dead, the band eschews some of the glossier elements of their day-job groups for a straight up hardcore and metal (but not metalcore) sound. The album musically evokes the style of the late eighties and nineties metal when thrash tempos and riffs were meeting hardcore attitudes and grooves in widespread fashion for the first time. The music on the EP is a throwback effort by five friends with a common history, goal and sound in mind.
The five cuts herein are just under fifteen minutes long so naturally every track is short and to the point with no filler. No overlong intros or solos, just riffs, beats and screaming mashing your earpiece. The first song “Shattered Frames” has a cool noodly riff and the requisite heaviosity you want. It covers nearly every cool point a metal song should have and clearly encompasses their entire style in under two minutes. The title track is next and just screams circle-pit anthem when you turn it up loud. It also has a fun sing along part that will make this a staple of the bands live shows. Singer Brian Fair (SHADOWS FALL/ OVERCAST) turns in a spirited performance here as usual. Brian was born to sing this kind of music and is even a little more melodic than even some of his recent other work. Guitarists Pete Cortese (SEEMLESS/OVERCAST) and Zack Wells (who runs Born of Fire Records) do a fine job of being thrashy when they need to be, but making the riffs interesting enough to be original and different. There is even a few short solos that are pretty cool. Drummer Colin Conway (CANNAE) really pushes the songs with his powerful and straight ahead patterns. “Not For Glory” has a little bit of an early EXODUS feel to the intro before it settles into a hardcore swing-step. Just seconds later it brings the neck snapping right back with a pummeling rhythm surge. One of the real treats of the EP is you get to hear Mike D’Antonio’s (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE/OVERCAST) bass sound nice and fat in the mix for change. Credit for this goes to producer Benny Grotto (MOTHERBOAR) who did a great job. Mike has several cool bass runs on the album and it’s refreshing to hear him step out front a little more.“Chainsaw of Bees” and “Drown The Light” are also excellent tracks with the latter having yet another epic sing-a-long part over the fade out.
The bands’ bio briefly name checks some obvious influences like THE CRO-MAGS, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, SLAYER AND ENTOMBED. Two other bands they respect, INTEGRITY AND LEEWAY were forerunners of this style and I will add two more bands DRV seems to reference sonically, the early punk influenced SEPULTURA and Boston’s own brilliant ONLY LIVING WITNESS.
It’s good-natured small gigs like these that make one remember how alike Punks and Thrashers (and to a point, all Metalheads) are when you get them together. Think on it: Both wear black a lot, both are societal outcasts with atypical haircuts, they both wear patches and ripped clothing, etc. To say nothing of the music itself. Thrash Metal is essentially IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST fans mainlining punk rhythms and throwing the resulting brew into a pressure cooker to ferment and sweeten. And now onto the show review before I turn this into an essay on how Thrash and Hardcore fans should hang out more.
