Posts Tagged ‘thrash’
Friday, May 3rd, 2013
I can’t believe I just wrote the words Jeff Hanneman, legendary guitarist of Slayer, passed away; but I did. I really didn’t want to believe it was true and me being ever the skeptic, I was sure SLAYER’S Facebook page was hacked and this was a sick joke. But it wasn’t. Jeff Hanneman really passed away yesterday at the young at of 49 from liver failure, with a lot of life in him and many riffs we won’t get to hear.
Jeffrey John Hanneman was born in Oakland, California in 1964, but grew up in the Southern California town of Long Beach. Growing up in a family full of military veterans, including his father, sparked a lifelong fascination with war, warfare and the repercussions of it on society. His curiosity would later lead some to charge SLAYER with prejudice and Nazi-ism, but that has all been squashed over time. Even as a young man Jeff felt the pull of metal and of classic metal bands like IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST, which he later bonded with KERRY KING over. A young Jeff was drawn to the anger and discontent of early Hardcore Punk bands such as D.R.I., MINOR THREAT, DISCHARGE, GBH, BAD BRAINS, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and his local favorites, T.S.O.L. This left an indelible mark on Jeff’s writing in SLAYER, and of course led to the making of the covers album Undisputed Attitude in 1995. In addition to punk covers and one SLAYER original, the album featured four Jeff-penned songs from his aborted punk rock side project/super group PAP SMEAR. PAP SMEAR would have featured DAVE LOMBARDO and ROCKY GEORGE in its ranks, with Jeff singing.
Jeff will of course forever be remembered by SLAYER fans and fans of thrash metal in general for his lyrics, riffs and solos that punctuate most of the classic bands’ most prominent hits. “Angel of Death” arguably the best and most recognized song of the classic thrash era. Of course, he also wrote the music and/or lyrics to some of the all-time great metal songs such as “Raining Blood”, “War Ensemble”, “Seasons In The Abyss”, “South of Heaven”, “Dead Skin Mask”, “Disciple” and many more. What really impresses me thinking about him now, is how Jeff wrote many of the most underrated songs in the bands’ catalog too: songs like “Spirit In Black”, “Hardening of the Arteries”, “213”, “Behind The Crooked Cross”, and my personal favorite: “Die By The Sword”. He also wrote most of the excellent songs on his last album, World Painted Blood. As a lead guitarist, along with King, he forged a style that broke out of the typical box of typical Pentatonic scale repping blues players, to play solos that mirrored the chaos of the songs and the subject matter. Doing that style at the height of early 80s shred, was brave stuff for the times, indeed. The sound of his leads will always be unmistakable.
This musical legacy he has left behind is essential to the history of the genre and can never be undone. Jeff was glad to stalk his side of the stage, feel the roar of the wall of amps behind him, and see the crowd out in front of him going apeshit. He was glad to share the spotlight rather, than muscle into it and take it over. His style was undeniable. His scowling face of hatred and and evil joy as he soloed his fingers into oblivion is something I will remember, always.
 Jeff Hanneman, with SLAYER, in better days…
By Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: Jeff Hanneman, RIP, slayer, thrash
Posted in The Bunker | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 27th, 2013
Abandon All Life (Southern Lord Records)
Wow. Just wow. Words cannot describe the sheer brutality and audio-terror inflicted by California hate-crew NAILS on their third full-length opus. This album brings all of the hatred bubbling under every human’s seemingly still skin, and causes it to erupt with the force of Eyjafjallajökull. NAILS has flawlessly perfected their blend of the blasting Metalcore fury of TRAP THEM with the powerviolent swagger of CAPITALIST CASUALTIES and MAGRUDERGRIND, galloping D-beat in the vein of ANTI-CIMEX and RIISTETYT, a savage dose of thrashcore leaning that hearkens to fellow warriors EARLY GRAVES and TRASH TALK, topped with a classic Swedish Death Metal guitar tone like that of ENTOMBED and UNLEASHED. Taking influence from diverse, yet brutal sources, NAILS was born ready to destroy, and they have been quite successful.
2009′s Obscene Humanity and 2010′s Unsilent Death held you by the throat and didn’t let up until they were over, but now, they beat you with shovelfuls of hot coal. Last year’s split with SKIN LIKE IRON and revamped Obscene Humanity joints showed that they were doing anything, but lying and occasionally diverting energy to the upcoming LP. NAILS has a work-ethic that makes their brand of Hardcore so vital and punishing for the listeners, just how they like it. With Abandon All Life now unleashed on the world, no one is safe in the pit.
From start to end, NAILS has shown that yes, they can up the ante as far as violence goes. Pure American aggression was plentiful in previous releases, and rest assured, it’s the same blood-bolstered beast of old, but they’ve only grown more violent, and more willing to see death and destruction unfold before them. Their newly added guitarist Saba may have a lot to do with this increase in their merciless musical gnashing, as guitars were once solely on the shoulders of vocalist TODD JONES (ex-TERROR, ex-BETRAYED). Armed with another soldier to cover more killing ground, it’s game-set-match for your face.
I could sit here and describe all of the tracks, but it’d just become hyperbole relating to how the band will metaphorically kill you. Just know that you’re in for a ride, start to end, as the album wastes no time in opening with “In Exodus”, a punishing breakdown busting in the doors of your ears, and leads immediately into a furious grind section with Todd’s howls doubly vitriolic, and the drums crashing like thousands of buildings collapsing at once. It’s nuts how much speed and aggression NAILS can pack into a single track, and yet still do sludgier hits like the closer “Suum Cuique” justice in the same fashion. Even more amazing is how even though this is their third full-length outing of misanthropic grinding hatecore, we’re still eagerly anticipating the next ravaging. In short, this is some good shit, homie. They are currently on tour with XIBALBA and EARLY GRAVES, so I look forward to hearing how well you fare just being in the venue when
 NAILS may just have turned in the album of the year. Photo by Vanessa Harder. The Verdict: Fuck.
GRADE: A+
by Sean Genovese
Tags: Abandon All Life, Anti-Cimex, CAPITALIST CASUALTIES, Crust punk, D-Beat, Death Beat, early graves, Entombed, Hatecore, magrudergrind, modern Hardcore, nails, Obscene Humanity, powerviolence, RIISTETYT, Sean "That Black Metal Dude" Genovese, Skin LIke Iron, sludge, Southern Lord Records, thrash, TODD JONES, Trap Them, trash talk, UNLEASHED, Unsilent Death, xibalba
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Monday, March 25th, 2013
Fast Loud Death (Nuclear Blast Records)
When the listener puts on LOST SOCIETY’s debut album, Fast Loud Death, they hear a band that sounds like they`ve spent a few years on the scene. Maybe it’s a couple of 20-something guys who decided it was their turn to be the thrash scene’s most promising band. In reality, the band members’ ages range from 17 to 19. The band was signed by Nuclear Blast Records at the end of last year following a successful playing at a Global Battle of the Bands. It was at that moment that LOST SOCIETY’s music began to creep out of Finland and into other parts of the world.
The album as a whole is fast paced and full of non-stop action. It has just about everything a listener hopes to find in a modern thrash metal album. The cover itself is classic thrash art. Even though they may not be of age in some parts of the world, they can party just as heard as thrash revival titans MUNICIPAL WASTE. No songs even hit the five-minute mark; their longest track is just over four minutes while their shortest is barely a full minute.
“N.W.L.” is a powerful start to the album. “I’m coming at you” growls front man SAMY ELBANNA. The band is letting the listener know they’ve arrived and they’re here to stay. Hints of METALLICA can be heard on the track when it comes to their guitar sound, but they make it all their own.
“Diary of a Thrashman” is an obvious homage to OZZY OSBOURNE’s defining Diary of a Madman, a kind of status that the band may obtain in their future. There aren’t a whole lot of vocals or lyrics on the track; it’s mostly just pure thrashing. It might be the track where they most closely resemble MUNICIPAL WASTE. The main lyric is “I’m gonna get a drink now.” It’s the kind of song you’d expect to hear on The Art of Partying.
“Fatal Anoxia” starts off by Elbanna letting out a short TOM ARAYA sounding yell a la “Angel of Death”. That’s about the extent of the SLAYER resemblance though. The rest is the band members screaming the title at a furious pace that has not let up since the album started. They then culminate with the sound of heavy guitar work and crushing percussion noises fading out. It leaves the listener prepared for what may come with their next album. This is the kind of album that can be played on repeat until that time. After this promising start, LOST SOCIETY is sure to develop a more distinct sound and leave the forefathers of thrash behind.
 LOST SOCIETY: A bold debut release! GRADE: A-
By: Melissa Campbell
Tags: Fast Loud Death, LOST SOCIETY, Metallica, municipal waste, neo-thrash, nuclear blast records, NWOATM, ozzy osbourne, SAMY ELBANNA, shred, slayer, thrash, Tom Araya
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Monday, March 4th, 2013
Georgia Theater, Athens GA
To start off, I absolutely love BATTLECROSS; they are exciting, hungry, and their debut album, Pursuit of Honor just leaps out of the speakers with its confidence, solid songwriting, and impressive musicianship. I was thrilled to finally catch them live when they came through Athens, GA as part of the ‘Another Year, Another Tour’ package with ALL SHALL PERISH, DEMON HUNTER, and the great IN FLAMES.
With Atlanta being the ‘big city’ in Georgia, college town Athens seems like Atlanta’s homely little sister with probably not much to offer in the way of a rock venue. However, The Georgia Theater was well-worth the hour drive. It is a gorgeous venue, with good sound, a great stage, and the main floor that sloped so even shorties like me can get a good view of the action onstage. The sound is great, and there are no stage barriers. You are able to get right up to the stage and really interact with the performers. The bands and the fans were loving the intimacy and freedom, and both took full advantage of it.
 BATTLECROSS: Blowing up, but also backing it up. The crowd was thin for BATTLECROSS, at first, but unfortunately that tends to be the fate of any band that has to take the stage at 7:30 on a weeknight. But the fans there were very enthusiastic, and the band took the stage like a hurricane and blasted through a short, but ridiculously tight set. Appreciative of the opportunity to be on this tour, they impressed those in the audience that had not heard of them before with their energy and musicianship. Vocalist KYLE GUNTHER is a great front man, casual but commanding with his strong pipes and sincere stage banter. Guitarists HIRAN DERANIYAGALA and TONY ASTA make a solid guitar duo, churning out the riffs with fiery precision. As good as those three guys are, the rhythm section of MIKE KREGER and DON SLATER is nothing short of fantastic. KREGER is a hard-hitting clock with great hands and killer feet, and SLATER cranked out bass solos and runs that would make any bassist in the audience (including this writer) want to immediately go home and practice. The band was only able to play six songs, and it seemed almost unfair. The crowd, which had grown in size by now, was completely won over and cheering for them. They closed with my favorite song on the record, “Push Pull Destroy” and left gaining some new fans. Definitely catch these guys live and pick up the record – this is a band worth supporting, and I truly believe that they have what it takes and will be headlining a tour themselves in the near future.
Set list:
Breaking You
Man of Stone
Misery
Kaleb
Pursuit of Honor
Push Pull Destroy
 Tireless road warriors ALL SHALL PERISH are still out supporting this awesome album! Next up was Oakland’s ALL SHALL PERISH. While I am not a huge fan of their style of Deathcore, they came out and put on a solid performance, and the fans that came to see them seemed happy with the song selection which included “Gagged, Bound, Shelved and Forgotten” and “Wage Slaves”. By now, the crowd was warming up to the idea that as long as no one was getting too banged up, a pit was allowed, and from then on, it was, well…on.
Set List:
There Is No Business to Be Done on a Dead Planet
There Is Nothing Left
The Past Will Haunt Us Both
My Retaliation
The Day of Justice
Gagged, Bound, Shelved and Forgotten
Wage Slaves
 Holy terrors DEMON HUNTER, have a ravenous fan base that know how to represent at a show.
The last opener was DEMON HUNTER. Taking the stage with a stoic, yet fierce confidence, they definitely had their fans who were bouncing and singing along to songs such as “Someone to Hate”, “Collapsing” and their closer, “Storm the Gates of Hell”. I wish they had played “Tie This Around Your Neck”, my favorite song by them, but I enjoyed their set nonetheless.
Set List:
Someone to Hate
Undying
The World Is A Thorn
Lifewar
God Forsaken
My Destiny
We Don’t Care
Just Breathe
Collapsing
Storm the Gates of Hell
The venue is so intimate it seemed almost weird that a band of IN FLAMES’ stature would play it. But there they were, opening with “Sounds of a Playground Fading” and going into “Where the Dead Ships Dwell”. I have seen IN FLAMES many times, and lately their releases and live shows have not got my blood pumping like they used to. What was great about this night is that the band was smiling and super-relaxed, enjoying being onstage together and digging the closeness of the fans and the lack of barricades. The energy that was building up to their set really started to crackle, and the band played their heaviest, loosest, most enjoyable set I’ve seen them play in the last couple of years; it felt like they had invited some friends over for a rehearsal than the usual formality of being the headliner and it was great. Vocalist ANDERS FRIDÉN encouraged fans to get up there and stage-dive – which several did. I had forgotten just how funny FRIDÉN can be, and he was relentless with the jokes, cracking on various fans and making fun of American beer. There was one fan in particular that he was messing with who kept yelling for the band to play “Trigger”. He kept blowing him off, but after another song or two, the band actually played it, and it was awesome. Fans were stage-diving, singing into the mic, and the pit got to the point where security had to step in once or twice to remove a fan or two and once having to mop up some blood. They played for at least 90 minutes, but even with all the songs they played it didn’t seem that long at all. I honestly was not expecting this much enthusiasm and fire from an IN FLAMES show, and I believe this may have been my favorite performance by them.
 ANDERS FRIDÉN, seen here on another recent tour date, is one of the best front men in metal.
A great night of Metal from beginning to end with an interesting combination of bands in a very cool venue.
Set list:
Sounds of a Playground Fading
Where the Dead Ships Dwell
Pinball Map
Trigger
Reroute to Remain
Embody the Invisible
Cloud Connected
The Hive
Ropes
Alias
Fear is the Weakness
Darker Times
All for me
Mirror’s Truth
System
Deliver Us
Take This Life
My Sweet Shadow
by Lynn Jordan
Tags: all shall perish, Athens GA, Athens theater, bassist DON SLATER, battlecross, best rhythm sections in metal, Concert Reviews, Deathcore, Demon Hunter, drummer MIKE KREGER, Guitarist HIRAN DERANIYAGALA, guitarist TONY ASTA, In Flames, melo death, metalcore, new wave of modern metal, power groove, reviews by Lynn Jordan, The Metal Army Blog, thrash, Vocalist ANDERS FRIDEN, Vocalist KYLE GUNTHER
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Friday, February 22nd, 2013
The Palladium, Worchester, MA
Fans eagerly waited for the TURISAS show to begin on Feb. 7th but Father Time had other plans. The band ended up getting stuck in New York earlier that morning due to a bus trailer breakdown. This resulted in delays for the show but both the opening bands and the fans still managed to have a great time.
Boston natives and symphonic folk metal players WILDERUN started it all off. They set the tone for the whole show with their drinking and partying songs. It was clear they were having a lot of fun with it and the audience was reflecting it back to them. They were also kind enough to let the other bands use their drum set.
 STOLEN BABIES don’t care if you think them odd. Their talent speaks for themselves. Avant-garde band STOLEN BABIES took the stage soon afterwards. They did not exactly match the kind of music that was being played by the other bands, but they were definitely the most interesting. Besides TURISAS, they had the most unique looking group with singer DOMINIQUE PERSI wearing clown inspired makeup. Even if they music isn’t your cup of tea, you can’t help but be entertained by their act. They were able to play a great set despite some sound troubles.
 This album was underrated in 2012. Go get it! Soon after STOLEN BABIES, it was announce that TURISAS and FIREWIND had made it to the venue. However, fans were subjected to a long wait since it was decided that the meet and greet would happen before the show continued. This led to a number of disgruntled fans. When FIREWIND finally took to the stage about an hour later, all the energy came back. Anyone who wasn’t a fan before quickly became one. It was cool to see what guitarist GUS G does when he’s not playing with OZZY OSBOURNE. The audience was also wowed by BOB KATSIONIS’s ability to play both the guitar and the keyboard, often in the same song.
Set List:
Wall of Sound
Head Up High
Destination Forever
Few Against Many
World on Fire
The Fire and the Fury
Mercenary Man
Falling To Pieces
 Late to the gig, but ready for blood! Finally, the band everyone quite literally waited all night for, TURISAS took to the stage. After waiting for so long, the audience erupted into shouts and applause. All the members stood in their spaces while an intro played, then erupted into “The March of the Varagian Guard”. Fan favorites such as “To Holmgard and Beyond”, “One More”, “Stand Up and Fight”, and “Battle Metal” were played. Everyone was having the time of their life shouting and jumping along to it. They almost didn’t mind the fact that TURISAS had to play a shorter set. MATHIAS NYGARD apologized for the inconvenience and promised that they would return one day to play a proper set.
The show got out about midnight and audience members rushed to their cars to get home before the big snowstorm hit. No one could stop talking about how great a show it was despite the number of delays. All are now awaiting TURISAS’s return to take over Worcester once more.
Set List:
The March of the Varangian Guard
A Portage to the Unknown
To Holmgard and Beyond
One More
The Great Escape
Miklagard Overture
Stand Up and Fight
Sahti-Waari
Battle Metal
By Melissa Campbell
Tags: Avant Garde, Battle Metal, BOB KATSIONIS, costumes, DOMINIQUE PERSI, firewind, Folk metal, gus g, make-up, MATHIAS NYGARD, Ozzy, power metal, Prog Metal, reviews by Melissa Campbell, STOLEN BABIES, The Metal Army Blog, The Palladium, theatrics, thrash, turisas, WILDERUN, Worchester MA
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Tuesday, February 5th, 2013
Beneath the Surface (Century Media)
ALPHA TIGER is one of Century Media Records’ newest bands and have released a quality album for their first release as a signed band to a major metal label. Their origins are in Germany where other great metal bands have come from including HELLOWEEN and RAMMSTEIN. They may soon find themselves accompanying those two bands in the ranks of outstanding German metal.
As soon as “The Alliance” comes on, one can tell STEPHAN DIETRICH is going to become known as one of the stand out voices in newer metal. It’s a strange mix of RUSH’s GEDDY LEE and early IRON MAIDEN vocalist PAUL DI’ANNO.
The band has a mix of thrash and hair metal to their sound. Their instruments are played in thrash style while the vocals and lyrics account for the hair metal half. The band even manages to include some ballad parts into the album. Because of these factors, they tend to sound slightly dated but this is not necessarily bad; it’s a fun throwback to the ‘80s. In fact, one can visualize the cheesy music videos that would accompany such tunes. This is especially the case with “Along the Rising Sun”. However, they must be careful to not have all of their songs become too similar.
Although some songs are lengthy, they don’t tend to feel that way. “From Outer Space” is the track off the album that can be deemed most fun. It shows that the band does not mind being silly sometimes. It is also the first single and will be the first music video. “Eden Lies in Ruins” offers an interesting story that almost DIO like. “We Came from the Gutter” is one of the strongest tracks on the album. It may have worked better as an opener rather than a closer.
The style in which the album cover for Beneath the Surface is done matches the content well. There is something real and sinister about it although it is cartoony enough that there is some lightness to it. The portrayal of laughing business people and burning money reflects a lot about modern day concerns. Having their reflections as skeletons is reminiscent of the classic heavy metal art seen in the 80s.
Beneath the Surface is a promising start for ALPHA TIGER’s career. However, they still have some work to do in terms of separating themselves from the rest of the pack. It is an album worth picking up for fans of classic heavy metal looking for a throwback sound.
 ALPHA TIGER: Not afraid to show their silly side when they rock out! GRADE: B
by Melissa Campbell
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Tags: 80s inspired album artwork, ALPHA TIGER, Beneath the Surface, Century Media Records, Dio, Geddy Lee, German metal bands, hair metal, Helloween, Iron Maiden, light-hearted lyrics, neo-thrash, NWOBHM, PAUL DI’ANNO, rammstein, Rush, silliness, thrash, throwback sounding bands, vocalist STEPHAN DIETRICH
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Tuesday, January 29th, 2013
Called to Rise ( Self-Released )
Hailing for the California Bay Area, OBLIVION come out the showing their teeth and ready for blood. The most noticeable member of the group is bassist and mastermind BEN ORUM (ex-ALL SHALL PERISH) he has clearly upped the game for himself and this band. This album is full of grindy, techy, beatdown goodness. Produced by Nick Vasallo and former DECREPIT BIRTH drummer ZACK OHREN. This massive sonic opus was recorded, mixed and mastered by Ohren, at Castle Ultimate Studios in Oakland.
The first song “Black Veils of Justice” just gives you a taste of what’s to come. Nick Vasallo’s vocals come across as FRANK MULLEN (SUFFOCATION) meets TRAVIS RYAN (CATTLE DECAPITATION) There are a few well placed bass drops. It’s always nice to hear them not get over used. Guitar wizards Ted O’Neill and Victor Dods lay down some of the most tech infused solos I’ve heard in awhile. “Multiverse” is so good I almost want to say it is ‘Epic”but I refuse to. It’s a very surreal track with so many layers it warrants repeat plays. I get a strong ABIGAIL WILLIAMS /THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER vibe and its not a bad thing at all. Drummer Luis Martinez is a beast. This kid is definitely one to watch, songs like “Binary Souls” and “Reign of Fire” show off some mature chops for a guy not yet twenty. Depending on what version of the album you get, it comes with a few sweet bonus tracks. An instrumental version of “Black Veils of Justice”, as well as a string version of “Multiverse”, which is just awesome and closes out the album.
This doesn’t sound like a debut album, rather a band that has been at this for years. I look forward to what they do next. Hell, I want to hop a flight to the Bay Area and catch them live! You can get the album from their Bandcamp page.
 OBLIVION: One of the best releases this year, so far. GRADE: A
by Omar “OJayy” Cordy
Tags: abigail williams, all shall perish, Ben Orum, California Bay Area, Castle Ultimate Studios, cattle decapitation, Death Metal, Decrepit Birth, Frank Mullen, Luis Martinez, Multiverse, Oakland CA metal, Suffocation, tech death, the black dahlia murder, thrash, Travis Ryan, Zack Ohren
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Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013
Target Earth (Century Media)
 Yet another brilliant cover designed by VOVOID drummer AWAY. The fact that VOIVOD have finally released their sixteenth album, is a triumph for not only their fans, but all of metal in general. As one of the progenitors of Progressive Metal as a sub-genre, you can make a case that many of today’s bands are influenced by the style VOIVOD pioneered in 1980s. Although this is their first album since 2009′s Infini, and their first for Century Media; the band has been crushing it with projects galore for several years now. Rather than rest on their laurels like so many others, the band has turned in another stellar album, full of all of the twists and turns that made them respected to begin with back in the day.
Starting off with the title track, the aggressive, and technically impressive first song has everything in it you love about the band. From its winding guitars and urgent beats, to SNAKE‘s sneering lead vocals, the song is gem. All of the trademark melodic interplay between the guitar and bass is there too, owing a lot to the return of bassist BLACKY, in his first recorded Vv action in over twenty years. The driving pace of the song is not without a few left turns into the weird zone. Like much of the album it has all of the Thrash, Prog and bizarro Jazzy stuff you can handle, and some you likely can’t!
“Kluskap O’Kom” is about as straight up thrashing a song as this band has ever conjured. The verses have a clever melodic bent, but keeps the same tempo as the rest of the song, blistering. The chorus parts are pure shout-a-long fun. Dan (Chewy) Mongrain has stepped out of the shadows of PIGGY (RIP) and really taken up the mantle with his brilliant writing and playing. “Empathy for the Enemy” is a moody jam with Snake again chirping in with his awesome vocal performance. This may be one of my favorite overall performances from him in years. “Mechanical Mind” was the single, but in true fashion for this band, it is far from a typical musical piece. AWAY‘s tremendous drumming carries this track, but really all of the members contribute memorable parts. Angular riffs and jazzy cymbal hits transport the listener to a different head space. This is easily my favorite track of the album, and one I would love to hear played live. “Warchaic” is another song that is just full of sick changes. Mellow and introspective one minute, space rock-opera the next, and razor wire riffage of the highest order. The last 3/4ths of the song is just insanely good. “Resistance” again has that punky MOTORHEAD proto-metal feeling track the band does so well. Then it shifts gears into a creepy crawl of chords and strange beats and hits. “Kaleidos” it a track that the band started playing live over a year ago. Hearing it now recorded properly, it definitely proves to be another of the strongest tracks here. I think in the live setting, some of the slick guitar effects were lost a bit. No matter. “Corps Étranger” is a track that calls to mind the earlier work of the band and is simply majestic. I highly doubt even the most accomplished modern guitar players will be able to pull off some of these parts. Oh and Snake raps in French (Canadian) and it totally rules! “Artefact” has a touch of doom to it and some killer tribal sounding drums. Away remains one of the finest drummers of this or any eras, and does so without resorting to the trickery of others. Finishing off things like a death blow, “Defiance” is a minute and a half of weird, rage and mind bending technique. It fades out raging, a fitting close to another brilliant chapter in their legacy.
 Another year, another twisted masterpiece for VOIVOD.
GRADE: A
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: Avant Garde, AWAY, BLACKY, Century Media, Dan "Chewy" Mongrain, Jazz, PIGGY, Prog Metal, Rock-opera, SNAKE, space rock, Target Earth, the progenitors of Progressive Metal, thrash, voivod
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Thursday, January 17th, 2013
Ride the Void (Prosthetic Records)
HOLY GRAIL may be a fairly new band but they have not wasted any time in making quality music and getting recognized for it. The band was originally formed by three previous WHITE WIZZARD members of whom only two remain, singer JAMES PAUL LUNA and drummer TYLER MEAHL. Other members include ALEX LEE, formerly of BONDED BY BLOOD, and BLAKE MOUNT. The band is set to perform on The Metal Alliance Tour alongside ANTHRAX, EXODUS, and MUNICIPAL WASTE this spring.
One of the first things the listener notices about the first album is how it sounds like it was made by a young IRON MAIDEN. The band combines different subgenres of metal such as power metal and thrash metal. This gives them a classic sound and makes them accessible to a wider audience. JAMES PAUL LUNA’s voice is a great match for the music. He treads the line between classic and modern metal perfectly.
The instrumental “Archeus” serves as a great opener for the album. It establishes an energy that never wavers. However, the middle of album is where it is best. Songs such as “Too Decayed to Wait” and “Crosswinds” are ones that can be played on repeat without the listener ever tiring of them. “Dark Passenger” is the track that was chosen as the first single. It was a great choice to introduce new listeners to the band and its sound. Almost all the tunes are sure to get the audience going at shows. The album flows in such a seamless way that the listener can get enjoyably lost in the songs.
The only “flaw” is that the second to last track, “Wake Me When It’s Over” is a bit out of place. It sounds like the background music one hears when dining at an Italian restaurant. Other than that, the album ends on as high of a note as it started.
Ride the Void’s cover artwork captures the classic influenced sound the band produces in visual form. The lettering for the band’s name has a slightly retro yet polished look to it. The scene does not attack you with little details but instead gives a picture of what the album sounds like: getting sucked into awesome metal.
HOLY GRAIL created a great album that is sure to satisfy fans and gain them more. Seeing them on the Metal Alliance Tour will be a treat for any sort of metal fan. Ride the Void leaves the listener looking forward to the band’s next release.
 HOLY GRAIL: Starts 2013 by releasing a statement album. GRADE: A
by Melissa Campbell
Tags: ALEX LEE, Anthrax, BLAKE MOUNT, bonded by blood, drummer TYLER MEAHL, EXODUS MUNICIPALWASTE, holy grail, Iron Maiden, neo-Thrash bands, NWOBHM influenced modern bands, Prosthetic Records, reviews by Melissa Campbell, Ride the Void, singer JAMES PAUL LUNA, The Metal Alliance Tour, The Metal Army Blog, thrash, White Wizzard
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Wednesday, December 19th, 2012
The House of Blues, Boston, MA
This is only one out of five reviews to come, so prepare for a veritable shitstorm of loquaciousness, jumbled memories, and chicanery that only your favourite poseur can bring consisting of equal amounts hilarity and pit dickery. I’m fucked, as is the world, and everybody in it.
Hailing from God-Save-The-Queenland, SYLOSIS are one of those bands that can only be rightly called “Modern” Metal. Being a combination of MeloDeath (as opposed to Melodic Death Metal, take note), Thrash, and Metalcore, they define genre tags, so your average Metal mag will love them (viz. Metal Hammer). They certainly are a talented band, and deserve the success they have received, though I’ve yet to get a full-on boner for them. They’ve got the skill and the shred that you’d ask for in a Thrash/Death Metal band, but end up being neutered by the cleanliness of their sound and the sheer lack of aggression that is called for in this thing we call Metal. However, they do know how to get a nice circle-pit going, and circle-pits are awesome in my book. SYLOSIS has only been on this side of the pond twice, but didn’t appear too excited to be playing in front of a decently sized crowd, so it almost gave the impression that they wanted their set to be over, and fast.
 SYLOSIS was an early delight.
After SYLOSIS came everyone’s least favourite Hick-Metal project, going under HELLYEAH, a name that may only have been conceived after a night of Jack Daniels and rawhide. With members coming from MUDVAYNE, PANTERA, and NOTHINGFACE, they had potential to at least make some okay music. How on Satan’s green Earth do you make VINNIE PAUL’s spectacular drumming sound lackluster? It’s almost criminal how painfully popular the insipid excuses for “songs” HELLYEAH produces became. The fact that their front man could stand up on that stage and grandstand to a crowd of drunken fools and get applause for namedropping the U.S. armed forces, as well as make the audacious claim that “we’re all Metalheads” without the slightest degree of irony is appalling and offensive. I’ve seen a better live presence and consideration for the audience’s feelings from BLESSTHEFALL, and they’re godawful, pun fucken intended because they’re Christcore. HELLYEAH is so bad that an actual stench, an unmitigated olfactory assault, was making itself apparent while they went about abusing guitars and making them honk like abused geese rather than sing gracefully. HELLYEAH is a bad band, and VINNIE PAUL lending his drum talents is no excuse for this shameful waste of equipment, cotton, and time.
 HELLY EAH has VINNIE PAUL, and little else going for it.
After that torture, pain was renewed, however more earnest in spirit, by IN FLAMES, Sweden’s biggest export aside from perhaps meatballs.
 ANDERS FRIDÉN of IN FLAMES. IN FLAMES may have crossed the line into pure fucking un-metal with Soundtrack To Your Escape, but I just have too big of a heart to deny them access into my ears and soul. Though yes, Sounds of a Playground Fading is beyond (and I say this acknowledging my own presence in the LGBTQ community) gay, IN FLAMES’ overall output has been to my satisfaction.
Set List:
Sounds of a Playground Fading
Where the Dead Ships Dwell
Reroute to Remain
Embody the Invisible
Cloud Connected
Fear Is the Weakness
The Mirror’s Truth
System
Deliver Us
Take This Life
My Sweet Shadow
And now for the fun part: LAMB OF GOD, in the flesh, and proselytising their message of fear, pain, hatred, and power. To deny you grew up with LAMB OF GOD, either as a young-un just discovering Metal, or an OG watching Metalcore hatch from an egg comprised of obsidian and cheap beer piss, would be a bloody lie at worst, and a fib and best. To say that you weren’t mindlessly headbanging to “Laid To Rest” or “Ruin” during their set that night would be to deny that you have a soul or a passion aimed towards something real. Sure, LAMB OF GOD are what you can call “entry-level”, but damn they’ve got soul.
 RANDY BLYTHE: The stuff of legend on this night. Due to RANDY BLYTHE’s recent incarceration in Czech prison for “killing” someone, it wasn’t surprising to see a few “Free Randy Blythe” shirts in the crowd, even though the man was alive, well, and hairy on that stage, appearing space-ship like as they performed their vitriolic version of a “Walk With Me In Hell” with a fervor that just about blew away every other band playing that night. Randy poured bottle after bottle of water upon his head, as though making up for a missed shower, CHRIS ADLER beat his kit like it owed him rent money, and the dual guitar attack of Mark and Willie had more crunch than on record. John Campbell played bass and looked like a wizard. Cool. Randy commanded the crowd to “get ignorant”, but in all reality, it got ignorant when a fight broke out during SYLOSIS. To say nothing of the praise HELLYEAH, for being god awful.
 WILLIE ADLER jams! LAMB OF GOD is one of those bands that I can check off my list of “gotta see live before I die”, and damn was it a blast. “Now You’ve Got Something To Die For” made HELLYEAH’s own shout-out to the U.S. Army pathetic in comparison (and this is coming from someone who isn’t all “hoo-rah” about what our men & women in uniform are made to do, by the way), “Ruin” was insurmountably heavy, “Set To Fail” had even slicker blasts and grooves, “11th Hour” had vitality unmatched, the final breakdown of “Black Label” was impossibly brutal, etc. etc. In short, seeing LAMB OF GOD live just about re-affirmed in my mind that they’re not to be fucked with. They may be placed alongside bands like CHIMAIRA, TRIVIUM, SHADOWS FALL, etc., but they’re just a tad bit more pissed than your average “Heavy Metal” band, and that’s the bottom line.
 CHRIS ADLER kills it all night!
Set List:
Desolation
Ghost Walking
Walk With Me in Hell
Set to Fail
Ruin
Now You’ve Got Something to Die For
11th Hour
The Undertow
Omerta
Contractor
Encore:
The Passing
In Your Words
Laid to Rest
Redneck
Black Label
Review by Sean Genovese. Concert photos by Echoes In the Well
Tags: chimaira, chris adler, Death Metal, Hellyeah, Hick Metal, house of blues, In Flames, Jack Daniels and rawhide, John Campbell, Lamb of God, Mark Morton, melo death, metalcore, New American Gospel, Nothingface, NWOMAM, Pantera, Randy Blythe, Shadows Fall, Swedeath, Sylosis, thrash, trivium, VINNIE PAUL MUDVAYNE, wall of death, Willie Adler
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