I'm still kind of letting BTBAM's newest cd sink in, as it's really something very inaccessible and complex(regardless, you should buy it when it comes out, it's really really good.), but while I'm waiting for that to come to me here are a few releases you should have got on this year, mostly focusing on metalcore releases this time around, but I'll definitely be doing more
DARKEST HOUR - THE ETERNAL RETURN
Melodic death metal
I've heard a few people dismiss this cd as "more of the same" from Darkest Hour, and I'm tempted to agree, but it poses the question of how the fuck that could ever be a bad thing? Another full length of Darkest Hour yet again pushing the boundaries of what a melody can be, of them setting the standard for what melodic death metal and metalcore should be in the year 2009, the perfect symbiosis of catchiness and technicality. One of the few CDs I've been anticipating in 2009 that didn't let me down at all. YOU SHOULD/STILL SHOULD GET THIS.
COALESCE - OX
Metalcore
One of the forefathers of the genre returned to the game this year, with the absolutely crushing OX. More complex, more heavy, more pretty much everything Coalesce used to be, and a few new welcome dashes of originality, most notably a subtle blues influence, even including a 4 bar blues intro to a song. Almost 10 years after their last effort "0:12 Revolution In Just Listening", they prove themselves to be still completely competent and relevant, if not more so than they already were. Hell, this was at 28 on the Billboards Heatseekers, a fucking Coalesce record!
NOVA PROSPECT - USURPER
Melodic death metal
While lesser known then the other bands I've covered in this feature thus far, Ohio's "The Nova Prospect" is surely just as deserving of such praise. Nova Prospect don't reinvent the wheel on this LP, but they really do have a good go at it, heavily Black Dahlia influenced melodeath, at many times has me thinking that they do Black Dahlia better than the actual band does nowadays. Highly competent guitar work(although nothing mindblowing), tremolo picked leads heavy on the mid and treble, tuned down to C, ya know. The difference being that these guys can truly write a sturdy song worthy of your listen. I don't mean to push the BDM comparison, but the best description I can give of this is if they recorded an album between Unhallowed and Miasma.
The Crimson Armada - Guardians
(Heavily melodic and technical) Deathcore
The Crimson Armada are a band I discovered completely on a whim this year, one hot summer day sitting with nothing to do while I waited for the new Darkest Hour to download, I decide to get this CD. Great fucking choice on my behalf, as Guardians is in my opinion, one of the most resolute efforts within this genre I've heard in a very long time. Incredibly good songwriting, and nigh virtuosic guitar playing, combined with just the kind of vocals I like(hard to describe, but they're pretty high and throaty), make for a CD I've played far too many times than I care to admit for a band like this. Must have for fans of the genre.
Architects - Hollow Crown
Metalcore
A release that's been pretty fucking hyped this year, and really for great reason. Although Britain's Architects have stripped down their approach a little bit technically on Hollow Crown, it serves only to make their music all the more powerful, and their occasional forays into technicality all the more appreciated. Albeit a bit repetitive, the band is going into a good direction with this cd, they just need to refine it a bit. Very, very heavy(think A Life Once Lost, or possibly Acacia Strain on a less pissed day), but with breaks for clean vocals, which really fit the atmosphere quite well. Overall, great CD, get it.
CAVE IN - PLANETS OF OLD
Metalcore
I'm seriously really glad I decided to go through my old CD's from the year for this post, because I had regrettably forgotten about this absolute gem of an EP from a classic band. Once again, a new effort from one of the originators of this genre, is maybe for those with a bit more of an open mind. Cave In have melded their experimental approach of later CD's with more of the hardcore grit of Until Your Heart Stops than seen before on these more spacey efforts. Contained herein is gritty metalcore, ala Jane Doe, with a new catchy punk aesthetic on some tracks, and the massive ethereal atmospherics that have come to be associated with Cave In. Only 4 tracks, but more than worth your money and 20ish mins. GET THIS
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Today I noticed that deathwishinc.com has a review of Axe To Fall that's incredibly similar to mine, except saying that it's a great step forward from No Heroes, haha. Kinda fucking weird. Anyway I'm sick as fuck of talking about Converge, so here's some releases I thought fit to cover today~
EDIT: i was going to post like 3 more records in this post, BUT as I finished this I found that Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect has leaked, and suddenly no other cd matters. I'll have a review up for it and others soon.
Rise and Fall - Our Circle is Vicious
hardcore(i guess)
Rise and Fall has been a band I've never been particularly impressed with, not that I didn't enjoy them, just I didn't actively like them, as I never really saw too much that set them aside from any other metallic hardcore bands. Although I've only gotten this album about 3 hours ago, and heard it once, I can say this is one of the finest releases I've heard this year. On Our Circle Is Vicious, Rise and Fall seriously fucking kill it, they of course are still a hardcore band at their roots, but they've picked up SUCH a broad range of influences that meld together so well here, they meld the sludgey/southern-esque atmosphere that is so popular for hardcore bands to pick up now adays, with the almost droning Isis-esque "pretty", shimmering sections, with the utmost earnest and untempered hardcore aggression, to amazing results. Technically, they seem incredibly on point, most notably their drummer, who not only keeps the pace incredibly well, but adds so much flavor to the music through creative little fills and interludes that accompany the ridiculously varied(both in structure and tone) guitar parts, and even though their really isn't much shredding or virtuosity to be found herein, it works. I also really enjoy their vocalist, and that's something that can really make or break a band for me(coughdoomriders) While some fans may be disappointed that they don't quite "bring tha m0sh" quite as well anymore, anyone who enjoys widely diverse and creative aggressive music will be sure to enjoy this piece.
EDIT: i was going to post like 3 more records in this post, BUT as I finished this I found that Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect has leaked, and suddenly no other cd matters. I'll have a review up for it and others soon.
Rise and Fall - Our Circle is Vicious
hardcore(i guess)
Rise and Fall has been a band I've never been particularly impressed with, not that I didn't enjoy them, just I didn't actively like them, as I never really saw too much that set them aside from any other metallic hardcore bands. Although I've only gotten this album about 3 hours ago, and heard it once, I can say this is one of the finest releases I've heard this year. On Our Circle Is Vicious, Rise and Fall seriously fucking kill it, they of course are still a hardcore band at their roots, but they've picked up SUCH a broad range of influences that meld together so well here, they meld the sludgey/southern-esque atmosphere that is so popular for hardcore bands to pick up now adays, with the almost droning Isis-esque "pretty", shimmering sections, with the utmost earnest and untempered hardcore aggression, to amazing results. Technically, they seem incredibly on point, most notably their drummer, who not only keeps the pace incredibly well, but adds so much flavor to the music through creative little fills and interludes that accompany the ridiculously varied(both in structure and tone) guitar parts, and even though their really isn't much shredding or virtuosity to be found herein, it works. I also really enjoy their vocalist, and that's something that can really make or break a band for me(coughdoomriders) While some fans may be disappointed that they don't quite "bring tha m0sh" quite as well anymore, anyone who enjoys widely diverse and creative aggressive music will be sure to enjoy this piece.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
well with logging on this thing and seeing this wonderfully naive entry, which only evokes the phrase "hindsight is 20/20" in my mind - "converge posted a new song. pretty much made 2009 for me, so far. so so so good. they're going in a more metal, thrashy direction, but very much more melodic rather than the dirt and grit of No Heroes(which I loved), and I can already tell this will usurp everything as their best album." ah, to be young. hahah. but, upon reading that I felt obligated to post my thoughts on Converge's 2009 release "Axe To Fall".
Converge - Axe To Fall
metalcore
An album I've been anticipating for 2 years, since after the 100th time I had listened to No Heroes, and had all the riffs, drum patterns and vocals memorized, I needed this CD, I watched the Axe To Fall(the song) teaser on myspace, and I really can't tell you how giddy I was to see them ripping through a brand new song with Jake huddled in the corner with his hood up, looking nigh fucking enigmatic. I played the song "Dark Horse" 24824724 times on repeat on my Ipod, counting down the days for Axe To Fall's release. I scoured the internet for months and months before the time the CD would feasibly leak, and NOW that Axe To Fall is finally here, one word can sum it up; lackluster.
Now, to be fair, after I just detailed exactly how excited I was for this, it is very safe to assume that I HIGHLY overhyped this album, and it was bound to be a letdown if they had Jesus H. himself on strings, and it's all true, but still I say, even from a neutral perspective - lackluster. Converge has been my favorite band for probably about five years from now, and one of the biggest reasons is that over the past 19 years, Converge has broken down so many musical barriers, and carved their niche into the face of aggressive music with a fucking iridium edged dagger. On 2001's Jane Doe, the razor edged dual guitar assault, combined with the insane poly rhythmic percussion, and the vocals of J Bannon so pained, so scorned that the atmosphere he created was almost seraphic, if they as a band had ONLY released this album, they would still be revered as legends, as innovators.
But, yet they released 2004's You Fail Me, and even with dropping one guitar player, they created an atmosphere so haunting, so ethereal, and so dismal, but yet so aggressive and melodic. They had created another record just as influential and original, but yet COMPLETELY different from anything they had ever released.
Then, 17 years into their career as an aggressive band, far beyond the time any band should still be considered relevant who isn't Led Zeppelin, they release "No Heroes", and lo and behold it is an absolute hardcore punk classic. They integrate many newer sounds, having more metal, grind and sludge leanings, but yet still craft songs memorable and completely their own. In a year that I listened to more albums than probably any other, many hundreds, I named this CD my absolute favorite out of the herd, and I would probably still say that today. Not only were they relevant, they were doing something that absolutely spearheaded the entire genre, there were many imitators, but no acceptable substitute.
AND, in 2009, they released Axe To Fall. With all I've typed up to contrast with this album, am I trying to say this album is horrid? No, really it's far from it, it's just not Converge. It IS incredibly forgettable in this day and age, aside from a few fantastic songs, they sound like the bands trying to imitate them more than themselves. They've lost a good amount of the melodicism found on No Heroes, and traded it for fuzzier, chunkier distortion, more thrashing and "rockish" riffs. The dissonant guitar squealing technique(I'm not sure if it's some weird sounding harmonic or what) that sounded so ominous and foreboding on tracks like YFM's "Black Cloud", now almost sound sad to me on tracks like "Losing Battle"(an oddly befitting title), as if the band just absolutely has no more ideas, which is exemplified perfectly by the excessive chromatic riffing -WHICH is a Converge trademark, yes; but here it just sounds stale and overused in the almost "rock" atmosphere they create with this album. The highlights for me on this CD are "Dark Horse", I still absolutely fucking love this track, and it really sucks that they couldn't follow up with the furor and tenacity that this opening song evokes. Also "Cruel Bloom" which is a pretty much direct Tom Waits ripoff, but that's the reason I like it, so.
Do I hate Converge now? No, they'll still always be one of my favorite bands, and will continue to be one of my biggest influences, I just think they've just taken their music as far as they can take it - and really, that's A o fucking K, as their isn't one band in the aggressive music world, not just hardcore, who has done as much for the music as Converge has; period, and they will go down in history as legends.
(by the way for any asshole wanting to nitpick that I didn't include Petitioning the Empty Sky, When Forever Comes Crashing, etc etc, this blog is already sickeningly long, and while those cd's are classic in their own right, I don't feel as if they came into their own fully until Jane Doe, not that those cd's don't each deserve write-ups 3x the size of this, I just want to keep this succinct as possible.)
Converge - Axe To Fall
metalcore
An album I've been anticipating for 2 years, since after the 100th time I had listened to No Heroes, and had all the riffs, drum patterns and vocals memorized, I needed this CD, I watched the Axe To Fall(the song) teaser on myspace, and I really can't tell you how giddy I was to see them ripping through a brand new song with Jake huddled in the corner with his hood up, looking nigh fucking enigmatic. I played the song "Dark Horse" 24824724 times on repeat on my Ipod, counting down the days for Axe To Fall's release. I scoured the internet for months and months before the time the CD would feasibly leak, and NOW that Axe To Fall is finally here, one word can sum it up; lackluster.
Now, to be fair, after I just detailed exactly how excited I was for this, it is very safe to assume that I HIGHLY overhyped this album, and it was bound to be a letdown if they had Jesus H. himself on strings, and it's all true, but still I say, even from a neutral perspective - lackluster. Converge has been my favorite band for probably about five years from now, and one of the biggest reasons is that over the past 19 years, Converge has broken down so many musical barriers, and carved their niche into the face of aggressive music with a fucking iridium edged dagger. On 2001's Jane Doe, the razor edged dual guitar assault, combined with the insane poly rhythmic percussion, and the vocals of J Bannon so pained, so scorned that the atmosphere he created was almost seraphic, if they as a band had ONLY released this album, they would still be revered as legends, as innovators.
But, yet they released 2004's You Fail Me, and even with dropping one guitar player, they created an atmosphere so haunting, so ethereal, and so dismal, but yet so aggressive and melodic. They had created another record just as influential and original, but yet COMPLETELY different from anything they had ever released.
Then, 17 years into their career as an aggressive band, far beyond the time any band should still be considered relevant who isn't Led Zeppelin, they release "No Heroes", and lo and behold it is an absolute hardcore punk classic. They integrate many newer sounds, having more metal, grind and sludge leanings, but yet still craft songs memorable and completely their own. In a year that I listened to more albums than probably any other, many hundreds, I named this CD my absolute favorite out of the herd, and I would probably still say that today. Not only were they relevant, they were doing something that absolutely spearheaded the entire genre, there were many imitators, but no acceptable substitute.
AND, in 2009, they released Axe To Fall. With all I've typed up to contrast with this album, am I trying to say this album is horrid? No, really it's far from it, it's just not Converge. It IS incredibly forgettable in this day and age, aside from a few fantastic songs, they sound like the bands trying to imitate them more than themselves. They've lost a good amount of the melodicism found on No Heroes, and traded it for fuzzier, chunkier distortion, more thrashing and "rockish" riffs. The dissonant guitar squealing technique(I'm not sure if it's some weird sounding harmonic or what) that sounded so ominous and foreboding on tracks like YFM's "Black Cloud", now almost sound sad to me on tracks like "Losing Battle"(an oddly befitting title), as if the band just absolutely has no more ideas, which is exemplified perfectly by the excessive chromatic riffing -WHICH is a Converge trademark, yes; but here it just sounds stale and overused in the almost "rock" atmosphere they create with this album. The highlights for me on this CD are "Dark Horse", I still absolutely fucking love this track, and it really sucks that they couldn't follow up with the furor and tenacity that this opening song evokes. Also "Cruel Bloom" which is a pretty much direct Tom Waits ripoff, but that's the reason I like it, so.
Do I hate Converge now? No, they'll still always be one of my favorite bands, and will continue to be one of my biggest influences, I just think they've just taken their music as far as they can take it - and really, that's A o fucking K, as their isn't one band in the aggressive music world, not just hardcore, who has done as much for the music as Converge has; period, and they will go down in history as legends.
(by the way for any asshole wanting to nitpick that I didn't include Petitioning the Empty Sky, When Forever Comes Crashing, etc etc, this blog is already sickeningly long, and while those cd's are classic in their own right, I don't feel as if they came into their own fully until Jane Doe, not that those cd's don't each deserve write-ups 3x the size of this, I just want to keep this succinct as possible.)
Monday, August 24, 2009
Slayer posted a new single recently, which is here if you're into that stuff(personally anything after Seasons in the Abyss i won't touch).
Anyway, a new release from a band I've loved for a really long time,
Anaal Nathrakh - In the Constellation of the Black Widow
black metal
This twopiece has been around since '98, originally having a more black metal sound, they burst into popularity with 2001's The Codex Necro, with their hyperspeed blasting, wonderfully intricate riffing, and vocals that can only described as done by a man being tortured, AN has really created quite a niche for itself. In 2009 it only refutes these things, as In the Constellation of the Black Widow is a return to form from the overproduction of their last few efforts. Amazing riffs to be had here, and AN being much more free and experimental, even using clean fucking vocals, to great effect! get this
Augury - Fragmentary Evidence
progressive death metal
Augury is a pretty impressive entity, only releasing one album prior to this, but it was on nearly every critic who'd heard it's top albums of the year in 04, this is sure to do the same. Augury has set out to make something new, something fresh; and in the current death metal world that usually means some band shredding soullessly away with interspersed chugs, Augury's album is based around celestial bodies, and the atmosphere is conveyed very well; with rising soundscapes, beautifully picked acoustic passages, and tightly woven aggressive riffing, this is sure to be one of the best of the year metal-wise. not for the inexperienced ear.
Anyway, a new release from a band I've loved for a really long time,
Anaal Nathrakh - In the Constellation of the Black Widow
black metal
This twopiece has been around since '98, originally having a more black metal sound, they burst into popularity with 2001's The Codex Necro, with their hyperspeed blasting, wonderfully intricate riffing, and vocals that can only described as done by a man being tortured, AN has really created quite a niche for itself. In 2009 it only refutes these things, as In the Constellation of the Black Widow is a return to form from the overproduction of their last few efforts. Amazing riffs to be had here, and AN being much more free and experimental, even using clean fucking vocals, to great effect! get this
Augury - Fragmentary Evidence
progressive death metal
Augury is a pretty impressive entity, only releasing one album prior to this, but it was on nearly every critic who'd heard it's top albums of the year in 04, this is sure to do the same. Augury has set out to make something new, something fresh; and in the current death metal world that usually means some band shredding soullessly away with interspersed chugs, Augury's album is based around celestial bodies, and the atmosphere is conveyed very well; with rising soundscapes, beautifully picked acoustic passages, and tightly woven aggressive riffing, this is sure to be one of the best of the year metal-wise. not for the inexperienced ear.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
converge posted a new song. pretty much made 2009 for me, so far. so so so good. they're going in a more metal, thrashy direction, but very much more melodic rather than the dirt and grit of No Heroes(which I loved), and I can already tell this will usurp everything as their best album. Between the Buried and Me also released a new studio update, and if the licks they're playing are involved at all, it's gonna be insanely good, I can only hope it can stack up to the magnum opus that was "Colors". More on that CD later
Monday, August 17, 2009
more music...
all these posts are metal, but I'm going to try and mix it up sometime.
After the Burial - Rareform
Technical metalcore/deathcore
The newest release from the band I wrote about yesterday, this was recently rereleased, actually I don't even think it's out yet but I got the leak a few days ago - has their new vocalists tracks laid down, and honestly I much prefer the old vocalist, but either way this album is fucking fantastic. These guys truly take this whole niche of metal and refine it with such a tenacity I really was overwhelmed the first time I heard this. For fans of ANY aggressive music, get this please.
The Game - R.E.D mixtape
Hiphop
I'm surprisingly impressed by The Game's newest offering, as a fairly longtime fan of his I was pretty disappointed by the bland, sameness that his 2008 release "L.A.X" offered, but on this tape The Game seems like he has grown leaps and bounds lyrically, with nearly every song having lines that just make me say god damn. He also works with a star cast with this, Raekwon the fuckin' chef is on this, as well as Snoop, as well as Wayne(of course), Rick Ross(who's verses kinda caught me off guard as being pretty goddamn good), Ludacris, Chris Brown, etc etc. Definitely worth a spin or two
After the Burial - Rareform
Technical metalcore/deathcore
The newest release from the band I wrote about yesterday, this was recently rereleased, actually I don't even think it's out yet but I got the leak a few days ago - has their new vocalists tracks laid down, and honestly I much prefer the old vocalist, but either way this album is fucking fantastic. These guys truly take this whole niche of metal and refine it with such a tenacity I really was overwhelmed the first time I heard this. For fans of ANY aggressive music, get this please.
The Game - R.E.D mixtape
Hiphop
I'm surprisingly impressed by The Game's newest offering, as a fairly longtime fan of his I was pretty disappointed by the bland, sameness that his 2008 release "L.A.X" offered, but on this tape The Game seems like he has grown leaps and bounds lyrically, with nearly every song having lines that just make me say god damn. He also works with a star cast with this, Raekwon the fuckin' chef is on this, as well as Snoop, as well as Wayne(of course), Rick Ross(who's verses kinda caught me off guard as being pretty goddamn good), Ludacris, Chris Brown, etc etc. Definitely worth a spin or two
Sunday, August 16, 2009
haven't had a computer, nor internet in so god damn long, but have still by way of my ipod and other people's computers managed to stay up on releases of this year.
first off, a few of my favorites for this year, most of these albums have brought something completely new to the table, something that makes the quest to find bands doing something new all worth the while.
After the Burial - Forging a Future Self
Technical Metalcore
This is the first CD I'd heard from this incredible band this year, initially dismissing them as Meshuggah wannabes, as they use 7 string guitars and the album starts off with "chugs", but upon a full listen I discovered a incredibly fresh sound, with equal parts skull crushingly heavy breakdown, and fresh, catchy leads. The guitars have a very distinct sound, which I can only describe as very well textured, and the vocals I personally love - are predominantly high with interspersed lows when appropriate. Basically these guys have a sound all their own, and if you're a fan of any kind of metal, I'd say it's a great idea to check them out.
The Crimson Armada- Guardians
Deathcore/Metalcore
Yet another band I discovered on a whim, a christian deathcore band that I initially turned my nose to, which I usually to do bands with a description as ridiculous as that; but yet again, upon a real listen I heard a band which hadn't reinvented the wheel, but nigh perfected it. With virtuosic technique tightly woven with smart, catchy songwriting. Yes, the lyrics are about god, but they're unintelligible most of the time, so I guess deal with it. Caught me completely off guard and impressed me a great deal, so you should prob check it out
Gorod - Process of a New Decline
Technical Death metal
Hahah... all I can say to this, really. It's so good I can't really articulate it properly. I've been following this band for about 5 years, and this cd is surely the culmination of their sheer technical dominance of every aspect of the fretboard. Almost as much jazz as it is death metal, this cd lives, breaths, ebbs and flows; not to fall victim to the mindless wankery that often beclouds the songwriting of their fellow tech death bands. One of the best to come out this year, possibly ever for it's genre. Get it now
first off, a few of my favorites for this year, most of these albums have brought something completely new to the table, something that makes the quest to find bands doing something new all worth the while.
After the Burial - Forging a Future Self
Technical Metalcore
This is the first CD I'd heard from this incredible band this year, initially dismissing them as Meshuggah wannabes, as they use 7 string guitars and the album starts off with "chugs", but upon a full listen I discovered a incredibly fresh sound, with equal parts skull crushingly heavy breakdown, and fresh, catchy leads. The guitars have a very distinct sound, which I can only describe as very well textured, and the vocals I personally love - are predominantly high with interspersed lows when appropriate. Basically these guys have a sound all their own, and if you're a fan of any kind of metal, I'd say it's a great idea to check them out.
The Crimson Armada- Guardians
Deathcore/Metalcore
Yet another band I discovered on a whim, a christian deathcore band that I initially turned my nose to, which I usually to do bands with a description as ridiculous as that; but yet again, upon a real listen I heard a band which hadn't reinvented the wheel, but nigh perfected it. With virtuosic technique tightly woven with smart, catchy songwriting. Yes, the lyrics are about god, but they're unintelligible most of the time, so I guess deal with it. Caught me completely off guard and impressed me a great deal, so you should prob check it out
Gorod - Process of a New Decline
Technical Death metal
Hahah... all I can say to this, really. It's so good I can't really articulate it properly. I've been following this band for about 5 years, and this cd is surely the culmination of their sheer technical dominance of every aspect of the fretboard. Almost as much jazz as it is death metal, this cd lives, breaths, ebbs and flows; not to fall victim to the mindless wankery that often beclouds the songwriting of their fellow tech death bands. One of the best to come out this year, possibly ever for it's genre. Get it now
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