Acousseract: Perspective EP teaser!
Holy fuck, this is amazing. Remember the acoustic TesseracT EP i wrote an article on a few weeks back? No? Well here it is.
Now, a teaser has posted and it sounds fucking awesome! Now it took me a while to come to terms with Daniel Tompkins departure, as he is one of my new favourite vocalists and i thought that TesseracT was perfect the way it was. But hey, they’ve gone in a new direction with the addition of Elliot Coleman, and i respected that.
After watching this, it grew from respect to holy shit i’m impressed.
It sounds really organic and…wavy. Far out, man.
Will be released in the UK and Europe on May 21st, and in the US on May 22nd.
-FME
Devin Heaven.
Attention. Attention.
Devin Townsend has graced us with information regarding his new record Epicloud. And thus he spoke, carrying down a message of divine importance; the tracklist.
Taurus
Animals
Liberation
Back Where We Belong
Save Our Now
Kingdom
Divine
Grace
More!
Heatwave
Hold On
Angels
Oooo, it looks like he’s rerecorded Kingdom (from Physicist), like how he redone hyperdrive for Addicted! Sweet!
Stay tuned for more info, i’ll keep you guys posted.
-FME
Synthetic Breed: Interviewing Daniel Luttick!
Holy crap, I got myself an interview with Daniel Luttick, Drummer of Australian cybergods Synthetic Breed! I remember hearing this band a few years ago at a friends house, and i really enjoyed their style. However, i forgot to note down the band name, and was considerably hammered at the point of listening to them…so they escaped my head.
UNTIL NOW, when i was reminded of their awesome brand of machine metal. Which is totally a genre, Fear Factory invented it, screw you, i’m telling the truth. After a quick conversation with their new vocalist M. Refalaeda, i sent them off an interview and i was rewarded with…well an interview. Exactly what was advertised.
Belligerence have a secret…
Before reading, watch this.
Nothing says hard fucking rock like a waistcoat. I enjoyed what i have heard from this band, and GUESS THE FUCK WHAT. THEY GOTS THEMSELVES A RELEASE, SON.
It’s also very soon. April 1st, as the video stated. This your kind of thing? Buy it. Simples.
I was contacted via email by bassist Craig Copland and he gave me a statement from the band, meaning i don’t have to be creative and describe it myself. Hurray for laziness!
“The last 12 months of my life I’ve learnt more about myself than any period previously” muses vocalist Tim Brock “this EP comes at the end of that timeline. I’ve met and been rejected by people most people take for granted and in the process found an identity for myself, my music and this band. We pushed ourselves hard in the writing and studio process. With the help of Justin, in my opinion, we’ve produced the best set of songs we have ever written. It’s a great basis for what will follow, we’ve found our voice!”
Formed in 2008 Belligerence combine a myriad of influences and sit between any number of rock and metal sub genres. With “Now Here’s Your Secret” they’ve evolved their sound and have moved away from the stifling “stoner rock” tag. “We’ve never really considered ourselves stoner, blues rock or anything for that matter. We’re the sum of our influences, the riff is the basis of any song we start writing and it develops from there” David Harvey offers an insight on how the song writing.
“We’re very proud of this EP, there’s no point in writing or recording anything if you don’t mean it. It’s a cathartic process, we all identify with the music and lyrics to some extent” states Craig Copland.
This EP is a statement of intent, lead single One Things Clear says it all, you’re either with Belligerence or you’re not. No grey area, musically it’s black and white in a world that isn’t.
Belligerence will be touring the UK extensively throughout 2012, Including festival appearances and a visit to the US for South by Southwest 2013 (Belligerence were booked to perform at this years festival in Texas on The End Records stage but will be unable to appear due to their failure to declare some incident’s from their youth – Bad boys) .
tl;dr?
This EP will be good. Also, Uk tour 2012 and US festival “South by Southwest” 2013.
Here are the official release dates and record labels pushing the release.
Now here’s your secret – Release April 1st 2012 – Europe/Asia – Saltwater Home Records
Now here’s your secret – Release June 2012 – American continent – The End Records
Well isn’t that lovely. I recommend this release for all a’ y’all. Don’t believe me? Check out what these reputable sources say about it.
“Exploding with chugging riffs and gut-wrenching meaty hooks”
8/10 – Rock Sound
“ Portsmouth’s Belligerence look to the likes of Crowbar, Sabbath, Clutch and Down, building monolithic grooves that sound like they could easily erode stone”
5/5 – Big Cheese Magazine
“If belligerence can pull out an album as consistantly strong as this EP, the’ll be on to great things”
7/10 – Powerplay Magazine
“This is the shit, bro”
5/5 – Optimus Prime
I may have made up the last one, but that’s what i believe he would say. Praise be to Prime.
-FME
Kick Tyres. It’s Good For You: Interviewing Rise With Honour.
I’ve mentioned the Aberdonian progressive metal 5 piece before, and reviewed their latest release, but now i have one better. An interview with the band themselves, explaining their outlook on the metal scene today and various other shenanigans. Because, you know me, i just don’t give a fuck.
FME: So. Kicking Tyres. Whassat mean then?
Graeme McDonald: Basically, it means putting things right, from what i gather. As in having someone come in and turning things around for the better. Kinda a tale behind it, as i joined in June as they were looking for a new vocalist so i came in and combined my influences with theirs and i couldn’t be happier with what is going on.
Andrew Beattie:Well i guess Graeme thought since it was our first release and Kicking The Tyres kinda means get stuff started he just implied that but what do i know I’m just the drummer [:P]
FME: I really enjoyed the EP, are there plans for future releases?
GM: we are hoping to do a mini album in autumn this year. Currently working on some new songs and its sounding quite good but these things can’t be rushed. Saying that though we do have a nice surprise in store to be revealed soon. Watch this space!
AB: Well we are gigging regularly and loving it so it would be stupid not do more!
Scott Forrest: Something Secret and producing stoked mini album summer time
FME: What is the gigging schedule for 2012?
GM: Gigging schedule is going to be a big thing for us hopefully. We are still quite new to the Aberdeen scene so that is where the majority of our gigs this year will be. We are in talks about a potential summer tour but nothing is set in stone yet so if it happens then great but if not, hopefully other opportunities will arise for us in due course.
AB: Play shows regularly but main priority is to start playing outside of Aberdeen.
SF: Would like to get shows out of Aberdeen and around the UK, hopefully have a tour sorted round late summer
FME: If there is a message behind your guy’s music, what would you say it is?
GM: I don’t really think there is a band message/meaning behind us. We all love doing what we do and playing to people who appreciate our music. We can’t thank anyone enough for the support they have shown in the little amount of time we have been around. All i would like to do is to create music which people will enjoy and relate to from a lyrical point of view. Not everyone will like us and i understand that but if i can please people via live performances etc then im happy and im sure the rest of the guys are too.
AB: Um if there is one I’d say it’s just to get people to really get into music and bang your head of course!
FME: Explain the writing process for the EP.
GM: Ohhhh tough one, 2 of the songs were already done by the time i arrived in the band. Scott, one of the guitarists, generally just would send quick demos with ideas and we would take it from there pretty much. Tweaks and twangs here and there and as soon as the music was properly done, id then write the lyrics properly.
AB: Well main props go to Scott here, he spends a lot of time working with Val sorting out riffs and records demo tracks for the rest of us to listen to and we chisel it from there.
SF: me and val gather ideas at home and send them to each other on the Internets then is sent to Andrew where he comes up with his own improved version of the drums rather than the ones which are programmed , we both put in inputs of our own , learn from band practice and work our way from there where Graeme writes lyrics and stuff like that.
FME: What do you think of the Scottish metal scene?
GM: Overall I feel it’s very good and ive never had any qualms about it. I always remember local bands back in the day such as Your Fears and My Minds Weapon playing shows to massive crowds and thinking to myself “i want to do exactly this” and bands such as Sectioned, The Colour Pink Is Gay and many more i feel are doing pretty damn good for themselves. Yeah don’t get me wrong there is the odd band that i don’t like due to the fact that they may lack technicality but it takes practice and i respect anyone who goes on stage cause it takes a lot of balls to do it.
AB: I think it is growing stronger everyday, but it seems like there are little opportunities compared to the amount of great bands in Scotland.
SF: There is too much unrecognized talent in the young people of Scotland music scene. . . Not a strong metal scene in Aberdeen, Aberdeen is strong for pop punk/ post hardcore / hardcore bands, i only know a few metal band names around Scotland.
FME: Misha Mansoor turns out to be an alien and tries to take over the world. It ends with a showdown between you guys and Misha (the rest of periphery are his robot slaves). What do you do?
GM: Hahahaha nice one! Erm i think everyone who knows what Misha and the Periphery guys are like will agree when i say we would just drop our instruments and just bow! Maybe have a 30 second clash just to say we tried…..that’s if it lasted 30 seconds haha.
AB: Well me personally I think I would offer the rest of the band to become Misha’s slave and together me and him would conquer the world!
SF: get the Ukrainian beast on him eh (aka Valentyn)
Obscure Parade: Starring Worldcrusher, Vaalbara, Glactic Pegasus, Ascending Oblivion and The Scarlet Letter
As promised, here is our first periodical on bands that only have a single song (or a couple, but not a full EP or album) available for release. They deserve a shot too, right?
Right.
It is a little known fact that Obama is a big fan of Necrophagist.
WORLDCRUSHER
Songs: Corpse Carver, Neurotic Tendancies
These guys have two tracks, and they fall into the death metal/deathcore variety. It is heavy, that is undeniable. There are some pretty diverse and interesting ideas in the two songs i heard and the vocals and are reminiscent of Vincent Bennett of The Acacia Strain. I’m very impressed with the drumming, that guy has some grooves bro! His double bass rhythms are very tight. The riffing is very deathcore, i can hear a lot of tremolo riffs and chunky fuckers that rape fuck out your head. The kind of shit we want from death metal and deathcore, right?
If i have any problem with this, it is the production. It’s very fuzzy. The gain is often too high and it peaks way too often, distorting the entire sound. It is sometimes quite difficult to tell what is going on because the distortion blends the vocals, guitar and drums all together. It may be good stuff, but i cant hear it for the fuzz. Also, very little focus on the bass – i reckon that would really add some depth to their songs! Just a suggestion though!
Vaalbara
Songs: This is what Willis was talking about!
This is a pretty intense track. The piano sections create a very melodic feel, which i dig a lot, and i enjoyed the riffage as well. The use of electronic drums is interesting too, although its been used quite a lot in recent years, providing an innovative crossover in styles (as metal is often loathe to turn to electronics like drum machines etc…).It’s very progressive and sounds to me like the beginning of something for the progressive deathcore band. It’s not quite there yet, but i can tell there is potential for greatness here!
Things to work on: Lead guitar, sounds a little strained. Some vibrato might help. Again, just a suggestion, don’t take me seriously, im a borderline mental case, but fuck it. The vocals also sound slightly strained in the clean sections, but with practice, the voice would certainly fit right in with the style of band that they are. I hear potential in this guys voice! Overall, i liked the track! When you guys have more stuff, hit up the blog for a review of the EP or Album!
Galactic Pegasus
Songs: Tom Foolery, Candidus, Pollios
I like it. It’s straight up djent. I like the riffs. There’s a lot of brilliant ideas in these songs and they are played well – i love the tightness of the rhythmic sections. Everything is handled by Andrew Baena, who gives everything the attention it deserves, leaving nothing out. This is a great aspect to his music, as a lot of single member bands tend to focus on their main instrument then half-heartedly do the rest. This is not the case with this guy. I can say i am now an official fan and i hope to hear more from him in the future!
Very well recorded, but drums need to be turned up occassionally.
Ascending Oblivion
Songs: Grave Passage, Allusions
Another progressive death metal band, but this has more focus on death metal than progression. Which isn’t a bad thing. There are aspects of tech-death in there, which is always a plus in my books. Kinda remind me of the early Faceless stuff. The musicianship in these songs makes me happy. It’s very well written, happily embracing every genre from melodeath, to thrash, to prog, to straight up fucking death metal. It’s very technical and the technique is incredibly refined. I am an instant fan.
Make more music. Hit me up when you do.
The Scarlet Letter
Songs: Slapshot Regatta, We’re Just Getting Started, I Wear These Pants Because I Like Them
I like the melodic piano. It’s very well done. Oh fuck, these guys are pretty good. I’m listening to this one real time, which you may be able to tell. They seem kind of core-y but its well done core. The vocals sound pretty well refined, they go well with the breakdowny riffage they have going on. I’m not a fan of the little synth bit they have going in Slapshot Regatta, but otherwise its a pretty good track. The breakdowns are heavy as fuck. These guys aren’t signed? What?
I take it back, the synth is pretty good. Really adds a melodeath feeling to their style, making them a bit like Sonic Syndicate, when they were good. And on IWTPBILT (i am not typing that shit out again) it almost sounds like Cradle of Filth, if they wore tight trousers and had fringes. I like this band, they should hit me up if they have another release.
Awesome. RobEnsemble has some more to add, which will make for the second multiple band article. Stay tuned as fuck!
-FME
Scordatura Require a Vocalist!
Glasgow death metal titans, Scordatura, have recently parted ways with their vocalist. This is a sad moment,as Daryl had been with the band for quite a while. However, this could mean the beginning of a new era of Scordatura, and a huge opportunity for the replacement vocalist. So, if there are any decent death metal vocalists in the Glasgow area, or able to travel to Glasgow once a week for practice, then get your arse over the facebook page and let them know you are interested! They will be holding auditions every sunday in Glasgow. If you wanna know how good these guys are, check my previous articles on them; here and fucking here.
I would totally go for this position if i was better at death vocals!
If you get the part and you were informed of the vacancy by this article, let me know. So i can pretend to be important.
-FME
March Of The Sky: Reviewing Descension!
Another Scottish band for yo’ ears! This is Descension!
This groove metal/progressive 5-piece have a few releases under their belt, so I’m going to put focus on Unmarked Terrains, their full length. This record contains a lot of powerful grooves, a hefty amount of crushing breakdowns and epic choruses. Chori? Choruses. Fuck it.
These guys take their influences from bands such as Periphery, Pantera and As Blood Runs Black, and you can tell. It is a mixture that has been utilized many a time, however these guys know how to put a nice new spin on the whole thing. The vocals of Kieran McLaughlin, backed up by Dominic Dale (who also handles guitars), range from brutal death growls to raw cleans. The album is very dynamic, each song has its own feel and it certainly doesn’t give that over-refined, repetitive feel that many djenty bands use nowadays. The Guitar style of Dominic and Ross McMillan is awesome. They spawn driving rhythms that really capture the essence of the music style they make, paired with leads that range from simple yet effective drones to beautiful melodies. An example of this is Sky, my favorite track on the album. When listening to the interlude, you find yourself entranced by the electronic sounding ambiance and the lovely piano work – and this progresses very nicely into the intro riff of Sky. And here it is.
March of the Mammoths (which is a song name I wish I had stolen. If I had a band. If I was good at bass and had a band. Fuck it, I’ll be a triangle player. Anyone looking for a triangle player?) breaks through with a mix of metalcore, deathcore, djent and groovy awesomeness. The vocals are done particularly well on this track, and it also highlights the impeccable playing of Stefan Connor and James Blaney (bass and drums respectively).
also the “Shut Up, Cunt” in the middle is pretty funny. Didn’t see it coming.
If i had any problem with this album, it would be that the vocals sound a little rushed in the recording. I hear Kieran hitting notes in some places, but almost struggling in other areas. I have no doubt that he can reach those cleans, but on the recording it sounds like he may have settled for something that was not his 100% best. With more experience and more releases, i bet his voice will be ten times more powerful! Just a little constructive criticism!
Overall, this release is pretty damn good. It’s great to hear smaller Scottish bands with actual releases now. It would be perfect if we could circulate this a bit more and get them more recognition, as they certainly deserve it. They’re on bandcamp, and i recommend you check them out. They have a couple of other releases that you should investigate too;
Slaves to the Suits (EP): as a .zip or as a torrent
Their shit is free, guys, so there’s no excuse for not checking them out! If you like what you hear, then give them a like on facebook. They would appreciate the attention.
Commence daffodils.
INVISIBLE ORANGES. ALSO DAFFODILS.
-FME
The Glorious Mind of Devin A.K.A The Best Musician, Ever.
You guys know that if i could, i would keep you updated on everything Devin Townsend does, ever. Even his shits. Because, chances are, they’re a lot better than your shits.
Now, I’m slightly late on this, as Devin gave these announcements via noisecreep on February 16th, but many people haven’t picked up on it yet. So I’m doing my duty as a journalist (HAHAHAH no, I’m not a journalist, I’m a monkey with a keyboard) and passing on the info to the billions of fans that read this blog. Yes, i said billions.
You may remember that i posted an article about a week ago on Devin‘s “By a Thread” release that is due out very soon. Well, Devin was talking about this release on Noisecreep, and he describes it as ridiculous.
And we love ridiculous.
“But why is it ridiculous?”, you may be asking yourself. Allow me to enlighten you.
The By A Thread show will be released on 10 discs.
What?
10 discs
What?
10 discs
What?
10 fucking discs.
“10 fucking discs?! How is such a thing even possible?!”, i hear you proclaim! Again, allow me to explain some of the details surrounding this release, which appears to be doubling in awesome every few minutes. The release will include 4 seperate DVD’s covering each concert, which progresses through Devin‘s 4 latest albums – portraying his musical genius in all of its audio and video glory. In conjunction with these 4 discs, a further 4 CD’s giving the audio portion of these concerts will be released in the box set, which makes it easier for us as we do not need to carry around a portable dvd player all day to get our 5 a day of Devin. Yaaaaay!
But that leaves 2 discs? What wonders shall be present within these shiny circles of power? Well, firstly, one disc contains bonus features! This is always a good thing, as interviews with Devin never fail to educate and entertain. Behind the scenes of the albums will also be interesting. I’m hoping to see some interaction with the guest musicians on Deconstruction!
And this brings us to the last disc; labelled Encores. A whole disc for encores? Why?
Because it plays a variety of songs from Ghost 2, Devin’s back catalog and Punky Bruster. Wait what. Allow me to rewind for a second to the section that says GHOST 2. Theres a Ghost 2?!? Speaking as a major fan of that album, this is exciting as shit, bro. Maybe there will be some more interesting SYL versions, like the ominous acoustic version of Love? that circulated a little while ago. For those who missed it, here it is. It’s very strange, but still brilliant.
So, Devin has submitted the audio mixes and the artwork for this glorious box set, pushing it further along the road to completion. This man is a machine. 4 albums in the past couple of years, and now he plans to release a fair few new ones too! Speaking of which…
He will start work on the drum recordings for the acclaimed Epicloud album after he returns from his short tour of Australia, and he describes this new album as involving a lot of new age and jazzy influences, with help from a strings section, a horn section and even a gospel choir. Here is a statement from the Canadian madman himself;
“‘Epicloud’ is the first record that I felt confident enough to include all those things on one record so it goes between melodic hard rock to schizophrenic heavy metal to country to really ambient stuff and it’s all in one place.”
There is news of more UK shows at the hands of this musical deity, however, his eagerly awaited “The Retinal Circus: The Devil Townsend Project” that is due to play the London Roundhouse on October 27th is already sold out. Which is a shame, as it apparently includes a full orchestra as well as circus performers. Oh Devvy, you so crazy.
BUT FEAR NOT.
He has already stated that he will be doing a Ziltoid musical in London too! As well as hopes for a Ziltoid movie. Devin. In the directors seat.
After the Epicloud album, Devin plans to make a second Ziltoid album as well. The space-puppet has returned apparently.
Another piece of Devin news that i am incredibly happy about is his announcement to play Download festival, which yours truly is attending. If i get an interview with this man for the blog, i will die happy.
That’s all for now folks!
Make it perfect!
-FME
The Lack Long After: Reviewing Pianos Become Teeth! (Guest Article by Myles!)
If you want to hear blast beats, meaningless lyrics, and maybe, just maybe some shitty auto-tuned clean vocals, you came to the wrong fucking band. To me, this album feels like if it didn’t have a vocalist, it would fit right in with “This Will Destroy You” and “Russian Circles” and other full-time instrumental bands. But with the addition of Kyle Durfey shredding his vocal chords it transforms into Pianos Become The Teeth.
There are few ways to describe this album (The Lack Long After), or even this band for that matter. Normally I’d joke around, but I find it very hard to even think of anything witty or sarcastic when it comes to these guys. In its entirety, its raw, it’s real, and fucking intelligent. From start to finish this album beats the shit out of your “Earmotions” (I guess lied about the witty-ness).
Throughout this album I’ve gotten goosebumps from practically every song. The emotion and energy put into every song is beautifully tragic. You know that when you hear Kyle Durfey screaming, he isn’t faking it. It’s quite obvious they’ve had their hardships in life, but they’ve turned their experiences into something amazing.
But with that being said, I want to leave this as short and sweet as possible for various reasons;
1: I’ve been trying to find the time and right words to finish this review for weeks
2: This is a band that shouldn’t be forced upon anyone. If you like the music, listen to it, if it’s not for you then don’t.
This band means more to me than most and has recently helped me through my own hard times. I hope others can relate to them and will do them the justice of checking them out.
Also, if anyone is interested, here is a bit of back story to the album art and more.
-Myles (Fathom This)
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
SHINING (NOR) - ONE ONE ONE
The Great Northern Blogkill 