Sometimes a band can be new to the public but, be blessed with a familiar sound or style. One such band is DAITRIBE, hailing from Chicago, IL. The band is led by guitarist Tristan “1690” Grigsby who besides being an accomplished shredder is best known from his appearances as part of the great PANTERA Home Videos (or DVD’s now) from the 1990s. In addition to appearing on several tributes to his fallen friend DIMEBAG DARRELL, Grigsby has put together a cool band and written a batch of tunes that call to mind the great power groove and thrash influenced metal of the decade before last. Another PANTERA association is the album was mixed by the bands’ famed producer/engineer and guitar tech Sterling Winfield.
The album opens up with “Betray”, a manic down tuned thrasher. The beats and riffs are really heavy and compliment the demented screaming of vocalist Rich Collins. When the breakdown comes up, a brief but tasty solo section comes in for Grigsby to work his magic. The last third of the song slows down the pace to an AIC like groove that I really liked. “Control” ups the ante considerably and is an aggro workout with chunky riffs and more harrowed vocal wailing. Collins sounds to me a lot like old-school Pete Dolving of THE HAUNTED, just straddling the line between metal and hardcore vocals. The chorus is pretty decent and will have people singing a long live. Grigsby let’s another lead fly and has a really neo-classical flare at times. There is a definite nod to DIMEBAG in his style, especially his use of double tracking leads. “Loss By Distance” starts off with some ethereal sound effects, but then delves in to mid-90s FEAR FACTORY style machine gun riffs and tight drumming. Grigsby’s brother Michael handles the job behind the kit and does a fine job. The drumming on this track is among the best on the album. The band does a very good job of balancing older influences, but keeping up with modern metal sensibilities like LAMB OF GOD or UNEARTH would do. “My Eyes” has kind of a modern, heavy rock/arena metal sound to it and could be a surprise hit for the band. Neat grooves and some singing by Collins make for a catchy, solid tune. Bassist Ricky Riccardo lays down some cool mellow lines that help the track along. “Sanctuary” starts off like a gentle ballad, but then has an anthem like feeling not unlike JUDAS PRIEST or IRON MAIDEN. The single “I Hate Me” is another ripping jam. The band does a good job with pedal to the metal, straight-ahead licks with a bit of flare to them, but doesn’t throw in too many unexpected twists and turns. The chorus has yet another scream-along part that would be fun in a live setting. “Crime Legacy” is an interesting cut which rages most of the way until a chill breakdown switches things up. Other top tracks include “False Hopes” and “Liar Messiahs”. You can get the record directly from the band here.
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!
Metal Army America caught up with front man Niilo Sevänen of Finland’s melodic death metal powerhouse INSOMNIUM on the release of their new album One for Sorrow. Niilo gave a candid interview where he discussed the writing process for the new record, influences, the importance of lyrics and metal culture around the world among other topics.
MAA: One for Sorrow is definitely the bands best record. Tell us how you developed this record.
NS: Last autumn when we finished our tour with DARK TRANQUILITY, we decided that we were going to do no more touring. We did most of the work between recorded between January and March. We worked pretty fast. At one point we were worried because of the short time period, but it all worked out very well. All in all for us it was really short, sometimes one or even two years to write and record, but this time we took a very short amount of time.
INSOMNIUM in 2011: Ready for a breakout year!
MAA: Across the Dark was also excellent. What did you do on the new record to separate it from the last one and move forward?
NS: The music came very naturally. We only tried to add more clean vocals than Across the Dark without changing our style. We now have a better idea of how to use them and incorporate them. That was one thing. Apart from that I don’t know that we have moved away too much from our style. We were faster writing the songs, but it the outcome was still very good. That was the only major change.
MAA: Who would you say are the bands biggest musical influences?
NS: Those bands from the mid to the end of the nineties are the ones when we started this band were making great melodic death metal albums at that time. Definitely IN FLAMES, DARK TRANQUILITY, AT THE GATES, OPETH, AMORPHIS, SENTENCED from Finland and DISSECTION. Those are the main reasons why INSOMNIUM sounds they way we do now. But of course there our hundreds of other bands that influences us and we enjoy as well like KATATONIA and SWALLOW THE SUN who we have been touring with. They have brought some sound to our music I would say. The two latest albums we have been going in that direction also.
MAA: Your lyrics always have quite a poetic nature to them. Why are lyrics so important to you?
NS: Thank you. I don’t want to complain about other bands, but many bands neglect the lyrics or they write stupid lyrics. It helps that we always put a lot effort in to the lyrics. It is my feeling that lyrics should always work as poems without the music. Personally I read a lot of poetry, especially when I am trying to find inspiration for new lyrics. Poetry and literature in general has been really influential to me or things from movies or basically anything else interesting in life. I also try to read a lot of English poetry to try to improve little things and read the great poetry in English, even though it is difficult.
MAA: Do you feel there is one song on the new album that really defines where the band is right now musically?
NS: It is really hard to pick one song that cover all of the styles which the album has to offer. There are instrumental tracks and then the really heavy ones so I don’t know about just one. Personally it was a good idea to put the “Unsung” song out first. It pretty well describes what INSOMNIUM is all about. It has a fast and hard part and also a little bit of the clean vocals. I think that was a good idea to put that song out first. It was a great first choice.
MAA: The band has had some commercial success in you homeland. Why is metal so strong and popular in Finland compared with the rest of the world?
NS: That’s a tough question. One which we have to answer in almost every interview. There is no easy answer. Our country is not the same as every European country. Germany and Sweden are maybe close, but not to the same extent as Finland. I don’t know if its because the first Finnish bands made it in Europe and those bands played metal music. And because of that we now have a lot of metal bands. Of course that means a larger audience. Those fans from the 1990s are now in their thirties and forties. Young people are also learning about metal all of the time. The community is growing all of the time. Maybe when you are from the States it is not appropriate any more to go to shows and headbang and have fun once you turn say 30. For example Bloodstock Open Air festival you will see entire families there having a good time together.
MAA: What is on tap for touring and when will we see you in the United States again?
NS: We have a European tour coming up and it is mostly in Finland and bit in Germany since we have a German label. And that makes our position even stronger in Europe. Next year I think we will tour some more, maybe another short Europe tour, maybe only nine shows. That way we can hit some of the countries we haven’t been able to hit this year. Then the USA and Canada. We have been actually making plans for almost a year now, since our last tour was canceled and we lost the opportunity to come there. We want top come there, we just need to find the right package and right tour. In the USA we are not yet big enough for a headline tour at this point in our career. So we may need to find the right tour and headliner to come over with. We definitely want to come there since touring the USA and Canada was one of the most amazing experiences ever. It is more expensive and more difficult than touring Europe, but it is something we need to do.
MAA: Thanks Niilo, we’ll see you on the road soon!
NS: Thanks for the interview!
(Special thanks to niilo, INSOMNIUM and Century Media Records)
Time and time again Finland shows itself to be one of the most metal countries in the entire world. Not only does metal still have a place in the consciousness of the country but the bands that come from there have a certain character to them that is unmistakable and true. This is the case of INSOMNIUM who for the better part of a decade has been churning out quality melodic death metal masterpieces with ever growing acclaim. With their new album One For Sorrow they are poised to make a bigger dent on American shores than ever before. I for one am happy to see these industrious craftsmen of great metal songs make greater gains in popularity here. They certainly have worked hard enough and deserve credit for staying the same and never bowing to trends.
The opening track builds from a sparse few notes to a sweeping epic prelude of things to come. The next track “Through the Shadows”. The cut is a grand piece of melodic death metal in the tradition of DARK TRANQUILITY and earlier SOILWORK. A great driving beat and slicing riffs punctuate the track led by front man/bassist Niilo Sevänen. The emotive sweeping chorus is rock solid and there is also some great guitar playing here too. Next up is “Song of the Blackest Bird”. Sevänen’s growling vocals are excellent and are complimented by the copious heaping of melodies in the guitar lines. The band manages the perfect mix of brutality and sweetness in the music in a way that sounds fresh and urgent too. Guitarists Ville Friman (ARRIVAL) and Ville Vänni are great at crafting compelling motifs that don’t sacrifice the heaviness the band is known for. All of the songs also have a stirring sense of the dramatic. “Only one Who Waits” is a true thrashing crusher of a cut. All at once calling to mind THE HAUNTED and IN FLAMES it is one of the best songs on the album. Sevänen unleashes a Jonah Hegg-like howl of anguish and you really feel his soul burn during the chorus. After an IRON MAIDEN influenced middle section where things mellow out slightly the track roars again with an excellent solo. “Unsung” is another song that swings back and forth between uptempo dramatics and lighter sounds. The wall of sound created by the riffs and blasting drums from Marcus Hirvonen are also impressive. The song has some additional keyboard parts too that elevate the quality of the track some more. Another top track is “Every Hour Wounds”. This song has a weight to it emotionally that you just don’t hear often in these bland times. Again the band can be harsh and still catch your ear and the ability to do this consistently song after song needs to be recognized. “Decoherence” is an instrumental track that starts off with gentle picked guitars a bit of drumming comes in toward the end to finish it off. “Lay The Ghost To Rest” almost has the feeling of classic power metal with its grandiose themes and style. The epic track goes through several changes, each more explosive than the last. “Regain the Fire” also has a big scope and feel to it. The verse has some of the most heavy riffs and screaming on the album and soulful singing/screaming vocals in the refrain. The song would be killer to hear live. Closing with the title track, the band synthesizes all of the previous ideas and unifies them in the form of this excellent song. Taking on the form of near movie-soundtrack quality power and delivery, the song is slow and meaningful with more fine vocals added for maximum punch. Take note of this album melo-death fans, it is some of the best writing or playing you will hear on any album this year.
INSOMNIUM: for connoisseurs of brilliant melodic death metal.
Murder and rock n roll was the case that they gave NEMHAIN.
NEMHAIN, named for the Irish mythology name Nemain that means “faire spirits of war” is back with a brand new EP. The band is led by notable drummer Adrian Erlandsson (AT THE GATES/PARADISE LOST/THE HAUNTED/CRADLE OF FILTH\BRUJERIA) and his wife Amber on vocals who was a one time stage performer with CoF and MOTORHEAD. Playing a mix of boogie rock swagger, punk rock freedom, goth imagery and swampy stoner metal the band has popped up as a cool side-project from time to time. They released the quality From The Ashes (Tiefdruck) album in 2010. Their new EP is a teaser for their next full length album next year. This project is interesting mainly for Erlandsson since he has such legendary albums/bands to his credit and any project he touches often turns to musical gold. Luckily for the fans his abilities and interests are so varied that he is always contributing to something out of the ordinary.
The EP is composed of three new songs and a cover. “Natural Born Sinners” is a fuzzed out rock jam to the nth degree. Amber has a voice that is both tough and passionate enough to match the driving rock feel of the song. When she sings “Fuck The World! Crash And Burn!” it is not a contrivance in any way. Her delivery is pure lava and she has a grittiness in her rasp that is perfect for this sound. “Seriously Ill” could’ve been a track off of the first DANZIG album back in 1988. Slow, sultry and evil the track has a beautiful groove to it. Some cool riffs that swing and sway are provided by Lais Kryiacou (AREA 54/LOVE & BULLETS) and Sam Astley (EWWS/SANGEETA). Erlandsson pounds out a neat tribal beat in the middle section as the song boils over towards the ending. Plus what is more metal than a song about good old liquid courage? “Love 4 Death” is an short uptempo jam that will have you headbanging! As he does in all his projects Erlandsson does just what is needed for the song, adding cool little fills all the time, but never overplaying. There are some great harmony vocals chipped in by bassist Lisa (The Witch) Dickinson as well. The final track is a choice cover of CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL’s classic rock staple “Bad Moon Rising”. As the band has done previously with songs by THE MISFITS, NIRVANA and THE GITS they put their own spin on “Bad Moon…” and totally make it their own piece with an almost ALICE IN CHAINS type vibe. It’s almost like the song should have always sounded like this. I have to say this little EP is a lot more enjoyable than the waves of phoney bands in a similar style that seem to be foisted on the world of late. These guys get it right and I’m looking forward to the next full length release in 2012.
As the old cliche goes, change is good for you. Sometimes this is true and other times the consequences are disastrous. Irregardless of the outcome change often brings unintended results both positive and otherwise. HATESPHERE has epitomized the idea of positive change bringing forth the best out of a tough situation time and time again. This Danish thrash and death outfit has continued to grow strong despite some rocky steps along the way, always mindful to not stray far from their strengths. They have had many personnel changes over the past decade with only mastermind guitarist Peter “Pepe” Hansen being the constant factor. The current incarnation may yet be the best in their history, which speaks volumes as to why The Great Bludgeoning could be the finest album of their career.
Charging right out of the gate with the aggressive thrasher “The Killer”, the effect of the new lineup is immediately felt. Full of straightforward riffing and great energy, the track is really hot. New lead vocalist Esben “Esse” Hansen (AS WE FIGHT) brings a lot of fire to the role and some stellar voicings. His typical gruff vocals are not far off from hardcore, but when he switches things up it really turns up the juice. His guttural lows are terrific and his high screams are also quite strong. The song stays fairly even keel feeling until a mid-song break down comes in with some cool licks. There are also several cool double tracked gang vocals. “Venom” begins with some strummed Spanish influenced guitar and some sleepy melodies. This turns into a slow, grinding jam with some more cool melodies. The thrash meets melo-death of the rest of the song reminds me a lot of THE HAUNTED which is a big influence on the band. Drummer Mike Park (MERCENARY) kills the beats with his furious pounding hits. I like that a lot of his drumming is on point and he doesn’t overplay, ever. He doesn’t over do double-bass drumming, giving him a stand alone performance out of the box from many current drummers in metal. Peter Hansen just seems to churn our riff after riff and along with Jakob Nyholm, they make a great team. Meanwhile Esben turns in another strong performance vocally. The power groove tempos of the middle of the track are a nice change of pace and still maintain the high catchy riff factor. “Smell of Death” is a rip-snorting jam full of chaos and down-picked jammage. Again, it is just an orgy of guitar playing and true headbanging glory. There is also a soulful, bluesy solo full of double stops and pull-offs galore. “Decayer” begins with a the sound of a needle stuck on a old phonograph (your parents had one, look it up punk). However, quickly the track lifts off with more frenetic chords and beats. This song also has my favorite lyrics on the album and another good guitar solo. The moody interlude “The Wail of My Threnode” builds up with a mini- guitar army leading into the next track. A fierce whammy bar dive-bomb acting as a cue, “Resurrect With a Vengeance” takes flight with slow, jarring chromatic chords. This might be my favorite track of them all for all its deliberate brutality and more fine vocal acumen. The band does the slow burn type song really well and it makes for a nice contrast with their faster material. Other top tracks include the title cut, the thrashing “Need to Kill” and the melo-death inspired closer “Devil in Your Own Hell”. HATESPHERE prefer to murder the listener with the tried and true rather than get too fancy and out of the box. Similar in quality to VADER, this band stays the course. As the other over done cliche states: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Despite changes HATESPHERE makes a bold statement, stays true.
Brian Fair is one of the most recognizable people in all of metal. With his six-foot plus dreadlocks and his manic performing style he has made a lot of noise at the front man of popular band SHADOWS FALL. While the band is enjoying some downtime between albums and tours he has started side project more geared towards thrash and the old hardcore punk of his youth. DEATH RAY VISION is made up of members of some other prominent Massachusetts metal bands and local personalities and best of all they are doing it all D.I.Y. and throwback in every possible way. We caught up with Brian right after the band’s set, only their fifth show as a band.
Brian and DEATH RAY VISION at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival this April.
MAA: How did DEATH RAY VISION come together?
BF: Mike D (of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE fame) had some songs that were kind of, more in the old hardcore punk rock kind of style. Nothing he can work into KILLSWITCH. He just hit me up and said ‘hey man I’m tinkering around with these tunes, would you want to jam out on them?’ He and I have a lot of history between us from the OVERCAST days. And I heard the tunes and I was totally into it. We were like ‘who are we gonna get to play guitar?’ And we went right back to the OVERCAST days and grabbed Pete (Cortese of OVERCAST/KsE/SEEMLESS). Colin Conway came in on drums and he is a local guy we’ve known forever. Zack (Wells, of Born of Fire Records/events) was kinda the last one to fall in. Every band sounds better with two guitarists! Zack is the local promoter/metal dude. He worked out perfect! And here we are! It happened real fast. It went from an idea to a record in a few months so it was pretty crazy how quick everything came together.
MAA: You guys played a brand new song tonight that is not on Get Lost or Get Dead. Does that mean you have a full length in the works?
BF: We’re not sure if we are going to record a second EP and then release them together or wait until we have enough material for a full length. We are just taking it as it comes trying to take it super slow with DEATH RAY. Everyone’s schedules are so hectic: me with SHADOWS, Mike with KILLSWITCH, Pete has two kids and everyone is running around doing a million things. So we’re trying not to really put too much pressure on ourselves. We’re working on a bunch of things and trying to do things in small chunks. We have a bunch of tunes and if we have enough, we’ll do a full length. And in this day and age people’s attention spans are so short maybe the best thing to do is little EP’s anyway. (laughs) Who knows if you even need a CD anymore. I’d love to have a CD or the vinyl in my hands though, but even if we just release it ourselves on the internet. We’ve being doing everything super D.I.Y. No labels, no managers , no lawyers, no bullshit. It’s kind of awesome. We have to do a lot more work, but at least we know we are getting it done for ourselves. And we’re trying to keep it that way until it gets to be too big someday. Which would only be a good thing!
Dreadlocks of doom!
MAA: How do you guys work from across the country?
BF: I’m in St. Louis these days. Honestly I’ve been splitting my time between St. Louis and here (Boston). I’ve been coming back every other month. Pete will record a demo and send it to me. I have a home studio where I can lay down ideas and send it back. Getting together is the tough part. For this show I haven’t played with them since the last show (laughs). So lucky for me they rehearse once or twice a week and I get to play the lazy singer who doesn’t carry any equipment and jumps around and yells a bunch. We are taking the band seriously enough that we want to balance it to make it work.
MAA: I understand SHADOWS FALL is writing a new record as we speak. What is the progress on that and when can we expect a release date?
BF: We’ve got ten instrumental songs right now and I have vocals for six or seven done. We’re gonna write one or two more. It looks like August for the studio. It was gonna be July, but Matt (Bachand) just joined TIMES OF GRACE on bass and is headed to Europe and that kind of pushed things back one month. And we hate to rush a recording and we’d rather go in when we are really prepared. So we’re looking for August, get out on the road in sometime in the fall and put the record out early in 2012. In a perfect world, that’s the plan.
MAA: One of my favorite memories of you is from the SHADOWS FALL tour opening for THE HAUNTED and DAMAGEPLAN. I saw that show in New York City about a week before DIMEBAG DARRELL was murdered. Other than the obvious stuff about the tragic night of his death, can you share any memories of the tour and memories of DIME?
BF: Oh there are so many. He was the best dude ever. And that tour without a doubt will always be our favorite tour. Coz I mean we grew up as huge PANTERA fans. Anybody who played in a metal band did. It blew my mind. The lasting thing about my time with Dime is this: This is a guy been to the top of the mountain, he was in the biggest band in the world at one point or at least the biggest band in metal. Platinum records, millions and millions of dollars, but the most down to earth dude I’ve ever seen. He was only in DAMAGEPLAN because he loved to be on stage. He loved to play rock n roll and metal. He was pushing his own gear, he didn’t have a guitar tech by the end. And at lot times you know when you are in a band people try to buy you beers and stuff because your in their favorite band. And he would say “Man, you worked hard all day. I got plastic for miles. The bar tab is on me!” And he’d buy everyone drinks and sign everything and just hang out with everyone. He really showed me that you can’t take anything for granted. and it’s all about the fans. Enjoy the life and don’t complain. All these people always complain. People are like “I didn’t get the right beer or I didn’t get something on my rider” and he was like “Fuck that! Man, we are the luckiest dudes in the world.”
BF: Another thing that he did too many times that I loved was we always had these clocks on our tour bus. And Dime would be hanging out with us and his tour manager would come on the bus and say “Dime it’s time to go” and Dime would grab the clock and just punch it, breaking it into pieces. Dime was like (imitating his voice) “Fuck you! Now you don’t know what fucking time it is! Don’t tell me what time it is!” And we had to go through four or five clocks for our bus on that tour (laughs). He would smash them and then always buy us a new one the next day. By the end of the tour everyone was such good friends. At the end of a tour usually pranks happen the last night, but on this tour they happened the last two weeks!
(Special thanks to Brian Fair, DEATH RAY VISION and Aaron Pepelis of Return to the Pit for the photos.)
Few bands incite debate among fans like IN FLAMES. There is no questioning their importance in the history of metal. They helped to redefine the genre with “the Gottenburg sound” and five nearly untouchable classic albums from 1994-2000. The last half of their career up to now has seen a departure from melodic death metal for more relaxed and less angsty pastures. True artists sometimes start to feel handcuffed to their reputation and have to deal with the backlash of terminally disappointed fans. Just ask pre-Black Album only METTALICA fans, early lovers of THE HAUNTED or even consider the recent outcry over the new MORBID ANGEL album. Recently signed to Century Media Records, they are looking to move forward for the fist time without founding member Jesper Strombland (DIMENSION ZERO/HAMMERFALL) who quit the band earlier this year.
IN FLAMES........Reloaded.
The album leads off with the title number which is a slight throwback to the bands’ work earlier last decade. Not quite a complete reboot to the glory days, but the track has many elements the band has made their name on like heavy verses, catchy and rocking chorus and amazing duel harmonized guitar solos. If there was any doubt that Bjorn Gelotte couldn’t ably handle all of the guitar work himself, you may put that to rest. Niclas Engelin who has filled in for Jesper in the past will be his replacement going forward, but did not play on the album. As usual Anders Friden’s sense of melody and mix of anguished pain in his heavier singing is a star attraction. He is definitely screaming a lot less here than he used to the the way is uses his voice is still plenty harsh. As he has matured over the years he has refined his delivery and remains one of the most identifiable singers in metal. The second track is the single and is fairly straight forward. “Deliver Us” churns out more Gottenburg riffery and hooky keyboard parts. The third cut “All For Me” is a little rougher and tougher with a cool mid-tempo metal groove. The breakdown has some cool, unique syncopated riffs in it. Friden’s soulful lyrical phrasing calls to mind a little bit of Ville Valo (or is it the other way around) at times too. In addition to the musical changes the band began incorporating a decade ago, lyrically the band covers a lot more personal themes these day. Next is “The Puzzle” which is one of the fastest, heaviest and best tracks the band has had in many years. Angry and hyper, the song just kills and has a great middle section with an amazing solo from Gelotte and some beautiful bass guitar work from mainstay Peter Iwers. The song ends with some breathy keys and and more tasteful guitar ear candy. More crunch and attack can be found in “Fear is the Weakness” and “Where Dead Ships Dwell” which are more in line with their recent albums’ electronic sound. Daniel Svensson turns in a fine performance on this and all the other tracks. The ethereal balladry of “The Attic” is very introspective and mellow. Right back to the heavier fare with “Darker Times”, “Ropes” and “Enter Tragedy”. These songs are all uptempo, thrashy and would be fun to hear played live. The real left turn of the album is on “Jester’s Door” which finds Friden doing a spoken word confessional that seems to be about the toll of fame on the band in relation to their history. Musically the track evokes an industrial feel. “New Dawn” is another ferocious late album track while “Liberation” feels like a bit of a throwaway song that doesn’t quite fit in with the rest. This still isn’t the record die-hard old school fans desire and I doubt the band will ever fully dial the clocks back to their earliest roots. Regardless this is a very strong showing and they made a record full of excellent written songs, most of them on the heavy side.
Although Portugal’s Switchtense start things off slow here with their self-titled sophomore release, it’s the album’s second track, “Face Off,” where things begin to shine for the quintet.
Still, Switchtense is still very much a death/thrash effort in the vein of its Swedish, Danish ‘n Deutsch countrymen, sounding very much molded in the patterns of The Haunted, Hatesphere and Dew-Scented, perhaps with a bit of Americanized groove-thrash-a la Machine Head-added to the mix for good measure.
Indeed, “Living a Lie” and the aforementioned “Face Off” are rock solid examples of the genre at its most memorable, both songs making sure to keep the arrangements tight and in control, while also maintaining a close eye on structure and repetition. While Hugo’s vocals lead Switchtense slightly into metalcore territory with their gruff growl, the vibe here is still very much high octane and no frills, leaning luckily on the ‘pedal’ and ‘metal’ more than anything.
Despite this, the band still need to break out a bit and develop a personal stamp on their style. While shades of Illdisposed lurk behind every riff corner and lead break, this isn’t quite enough to push Switchtense above the legions of assorted practitioners, plying their collective wares at this oft-overdone style.
Still, Switchtense is more than mighty in its attempts, and it’s likely that we’ll be hearing more from the chaps in the near future.
Despite kicking black metal stalwart SATANIC WARMASTER to the curb, the event has brought forth a pretty impressive lineup of bands this year. The thing that baffles me though, is that the lineup is so cool until you get to the main stages and see the pure embarrassment that ends each night. I’ll break it down like this…
Awesome Bands: Architects (UK), The Cult, Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Morbid Angel, Meshuggah, Coroner, The Haunted, Opeth, Anathema, Orphaned Land, Turisas, Atheist, Mayhem, Gorguts, Unleashed, Dodheimsgard, Bolt Thrower, Triptykon, 1349, Septic Flesh, Lock Up, Exhumed, Morgoth, Tsjuder, Corrosion of Conformity, Eyehategod, Converge, Terror, Comeback Kid, Deez Nuts, Kyuss, Goatsnake, Electric Wizard, Kylesa, BuzzOv-en, Knut, Red Fang, The Gates of Slumber, Ancestors, Morne
Leave it at that and you’ve got an awesome festival!
Watchable Bands: Iggy and the Stooges, Rob Zombie, Valient Thorr, Cavalera Conspiracy, Doro, Firewind, Angel Witch, Suicide Silence, Kreator, Sodom, Destruction, Municipal Waste, Therion, Pain of Salvation, Audrey Horne, Belphegor, Vader, Krisiun, Malevolent Creation, Skyforger, Skeletonwitch, Grave, Hail of Bullets, Monster Magnent, The Melvins, Clutch, In Solitude, Bad Brains, DRI, Times of Grace, Shai Huluud, Hawkwind, Grand Magus, Black Dahlia Murder
I don’t care about these, but I’ll watch who I can without feeling disappointed if I miss one.
Who Cares: Scorpions, Apocalyptica, Black Label Society, Hammerfall, The Exploited, Dagoba, The Dwarves, Svart Crown, Total Fuckin Destruction, Korpiklaani, Cradle of Filth, Your Demise, Nasty
I get why they’re on the bill, I just don’t care that they’re on the bill.
What the fuck?: Disturbed, Alter Bridge, Trust, UFO, Blackrain, Crucified Barbara, Mr. Big, SUP, Maximum The Horomone, Klone, Mekong Delta, Lyzanxia, Arkona, Impureza, The Young Gods, Karma to Burn, Masters of Reality, Church of Misery, Kruger, My Sleeping Karma, Hangman’s Chair, US Bombs, Raw Power, Arma Gathas
I don’t get why they’re on the bill and I don’t give a fuck that they’re there either. Seriously??? Disturbed, Alter Bridge and Mr. Big??? WHAT THE FUCK???
