Label: Nuclear Blast
Yes, it’s a perfectly ample and well sounding live recording. I’ve heard better live ones, but it’s not terrible. Just kind of pointless like all live albums. But it exists. More importantly, have you ever had a live album that was actually good? As in better than just getting the actual albums?
Eyelicker
To be honest I didn’t really like them too much at first, but they’ve kind of begun to grow on me now. It’s a cool, almost dirty, rock like vibe they got going.
But anyhow, Jesse Leech of “Alive or Just Breathing” fame’s The Empire shall fall release their debut “Awaken” today. Check it out if the metalcore vibes featured above tickle your fancy.
Eyelicker
Label: Earache
Wow, this has been a great last month for CDs that completely reshape how I view things. Indica redeeming female Symphonic Metal, Equilibrium redeeming Folk Metal, and now Annihilator have just done the same for Thrash, that largely obsolete dad of a genre. This album, quite frankly, is some pinnicle thrash, and takes me back to being 14 and discovering the big four, and metal as a whole, for the first time. It’s all there, sweet, sweet guitar harmonies, some great snarled out vocals, pounding drums, with that lovely organic sound largely lost to triggers and anal production nowadays, and of course the riffs. Ohhhh the riffs.
While pretty much every thrash CD that’s come out recently from old or new bands seems to have consisted of mid tempo arbitrary riffs that sound like a boring Testament B side, this has some really tasty riffage, that (I hate myself for saying this) harks back to the glory days of the 80′s. It sounds very dated, and it still is “mid tempo”, but still, the riffs are just good. I can’t quite put into words what makes one thrash riff good and one bad, but whatever it is, this CD is packed with that “X-factor”.
…And then the solos. Damn, they shred like it’s 1989! I almost stopped writing this to air guitar along to the solo on “Death In Your Eyes”. And they’re all of that quality, with plenty of melodic little flourishes, harmonies, and hammerspeed tapping moments that made 80′s lead guitar so juicy.
This CD is dated, but in such a good way that that becomes an accolade. That said, there are even some blast beats too, which I guess keeps everyone happy. If you still follow thrash, this is really what you deserve after putting up with so many mediocre releases for so long. Annihilator are proof that good songwriting will always stand the test of time. Consider this the antithesis of Exodus’s Exibit B: The Human Condition.
9/10
Eyelicker
Without blasts you’ve just got rock…….and who likes rock?
Also glad to see him already being bullied like Chris was 
Be seeing them twice later this year, so I guess I’ll see if he can “bring the beef”!
Ok, so that video isn’t really “metal”, but check out their myspace! I promise you won’t be disapointed. I guess arab-metal would be the best estimation of what they are, mixing some sweet riffage with percussion and influences from god-knows-what.
They’ve been apparently going down a storm recently so check them out and see what’s up!
Label: Nuclear Blast
In keeping up to date with the metal scene, and wading through many, many mediocre releases, I am used to treating all female or “female fronted” bands with deep suspicion, as this is usually a huge gimmick on the part of some silly symphonic band from Scandinavia that Nuclear Blast will churn out the new version of monthly, featuring long songs, tedium and self insisting operatic vocals leaking from every whored out gaping orifice.
However they recently gave me Indica, who are different enough to provide a rather pleasant pass. They’re from (where else) Finland, and at times do morph into pseudo classical wankery, but most of the time have a far more credible sound, that is much more classic metal, with synth parts augmenting the rest, instead of taking over and raping everything into oblivion.
This CD was really quite a pleasant surprise. At the onset of opener Islands of Light I was pretty certain I’d have to endure another symphonic wank fest, and while Indica have some very symphonic elements, it’s usually kept in check, and used to support Jonsu’s really quite intriguing voice. It’s kina sharp and almost scolding, and miles away from the fannying around in some octave in the clouds style, ala every other female singer in metal. Ultimately, it’s what gives Indica their unique edge, and makes them so special.
There are some really great vocal hooks on offer here, and if you want a break from the standard operatic fare, then this is the right place. “Scissor, Paper, Rock” and “Straight and Arrow” are particularly poignant examples of this great songwriting, combined with a lovely unique voice.
8/10
Eyelicker
Label: Nuclear Blast
I love Equilibrium. Not only because they make awesome, awesome music, that fills you with a strange epic vibe that makes you want to run up the nearest mountain. And not because they have one of the cutest bassists in the biz, whos husky German voice has stayed with me since I interviewed them last Bloodstock. The real reason, is that they are my all powerful “fuck you”, to anyone who suggests that I’m in any way biast against Folk or Symphonic metal. Because I really can’t get enough of them right now.
Their last album, Sagas, was also a terrific offering, with much the same vibe as Rekreatur, and although they said they would when I asked, the band haven’t really changed all that much from how they were back then. This is far from a bad thing though. Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Rekreatur, like Equilibrium as a whole, isn’t exactly the most original thing going, with its plentiful uber-melodic riffs and pan pipe interludes (it even has a 13 minute last song for christ’s sake), but Equilibrium just write such amazing songs that it really dosn’t matter. It’s cheesy, its melodic, it’s very “Folk Metal”, but in the best possible way.
If you call yourself a fan of Pagan/Folk/LOTR or whatever you geeks call it now metal, then you better goddamn buy this! I myself will be pounding it for my next Warhammer game!
8.5/10
Eyelicker
Label: Nuclear Blast
It can sometimes be tricky to effectively review symphonic metal without incuring some kind of introspective moment where you just wonder if you’re just being harsh on the genre as a whole. But then you remember that Sirenia album, The 13th floor, which showed that it dosn’t have to completely dissapear up it’s own arse in sickening prog/classical pretenses. Then all the other decent bands that just kind of get swept aside in a general sea of trite.
I would try and review Revamp, but it’s kind of hard because after listening to the whole thing I am completely unable to recall anything. I checked to see if it had actually completed, and not just crashed, but no, it had somehow completely passed me by with zero impact. This is a musical prawn cracker. I am genuinely quite intrigued by it’s apparent time shifting ability, as I remember playing it, then silence, but nothing inbetween. They should use this CD to help people forget traumatic experiences.
Yup, it looks like we’ve hit a new level of unspectacular spectacularity. Props to anyone who can keep their concentration throughout!
1/10
Eyelicker
Whitechapel: The Darkest Day Of Man
Job For a Cowboy: Embedded
Surely I’m not the only person who noticed that this video is pretty much a direct rip from JFAC’s Embedded. Song’s pretty cool though, just wish it was named something less vague than “The Darkest Day of Man”, with a video depicting equally vague supposedly ominous images. Preferred it when they were just singing about straight up torture.
All deathcore bands do this now…first album full of breakdowns and pigsqueals, before they become ultra vague theme-wise and move in a more standard death metal direction. Not that any of Job For A Cowboy or Whitechapel’s recent output hasn’t been awesome, but patterns in music are always usually a bad thing.
Mr Bogle
theironeagle
Eyelicker
Ollie
pterryptez
Alex
I kina just want the chick from Otep to shush :/
June 25, 2010Via her blog:
My friends,
I find myself deep in the rolling green of the beautiful Southern territory of flavorful Fayetteville, Arkansas. The hills are rich with a monochrome flora and the arching landscape is crested by a silky blue sky brimming with billowing clouds moving slowly overhead like an enormous ghost armada returning victorious from war.
The heat is thick and sweltering. It is a strange and wondrous sensory experience.
I see all this and am amazed how anyone could live surrounded by such beauty but care so very little about maintaining it.
I wonder if future generations will ever believe days like this actually existed or will they assume that these are just the words of a demented mind twisted with fantasy or folklore? Perhaps they will lament on the rugged Eden that their ancestors took for granted and squandered in the heavy stink of apathy and inaction?
I remember my home, beautiful Los Angeles, and how sad it is that we do not have skies like those over Arkansas. Our sun rides high above a nicotine-stain of a haze hacked up from the millions of cars belching their lower-regulated exhaust into our atmosphere.
I remember the live webcam of the BP oil spill currently vomiting millions of gallons of crude into our ocean, killing wildlife, poisoning our water, and ultimately us.
If we do nothing, we are consenting to the murder of our planet and condemning future generations to endure a reality far worse than the one we were left by those who failed us generations before.
How many more brave American soldiers must be sent far from home, to kill, to fight, to be injured, to die (or see their friends die) in senseless wars for oil? (Much love & respect to the US Armed Forces.)
How many more innocent animals must perish, confused, suffocating and choking in stinky goo, due to our selfish inaction and apathy?
How many more American dollars will WE allow be sent to fund Iranian nuclear capabilities or the Saudis and ultimately al-queda?
What else needs to happen for us to demand a LEGITIMATE clean energy policy to purge this parasite of petroleum from our national skin?
I realize this will not be an immediate fix. There will be no mass exodus from fossil fuels. Our infrastructure is too dependent on it. Like any junkie, we must be weaned slowly from our petroleum addiction.
It might be a little painful, sure, but Americans are made from hard stock. We braved the rocks and jagged edges of pioneering the wilderness of a new country and we can do it again.
But it only works if we do it together and (this time) do it RIGHT. Clean Energy and Alternative Energy sources will create AMERICAN jobs. Solar, Wind, Hemp, Algae, Ethanol, Natural Gas, et cetera, et cetera will empower and fortify our workforce. Not just financially, but intellectually, and it helps secure the health and beauty of our only home – planet Earth.
Let us reclaim our pioneering spirit:
“If not us, who. If not now, when?”
In art,
Otep Shamaya
Tl:Dr:
“Oil spills are bad mmmkay…
…and I really fucking love metaphores”
I can only imagine how annoying her stage banter must be. She probably says that we have to work together to save the planet blah blah, followed by obvious go-with-the positive-vibe cheer. Remember when you couldn’t see an American band without some smarmy fucker saying something along the lines of “sorry for our president”. Insta-crowd-rappor, like covering Wonderwall at an indie gig. No ones gonna disagree, and it’ll probably get everyone by your side, but it’s such an obnoxious obvious thing to do its kina a dick move. Can’t wait for everyone to start saying what a wonderful human being she is and what a noble supporter of green energy. She’ll probably be further tarnished with the “outspoken political views” brush, which used to mean “a band that makes fun of George Bush”, but now he’s gone I guess these obnoxious “outspoken” political types are having to make do with every blindingly obvious metaphore-and-sugar coated event they can. Oil spills bad, renewable energy good, war bad, noble soldiers good. All this reharsh hardly stikes me as particularly revalatory or noteworthy in any sense. At least she isn’t getting at Barrack Obama for not personally swimming to the bottom of the ocean and plugging the oil with an American flag, like most of America seems to be.
But yeah, shut up Otep. And fuck Rage Against The Machine and their juvenile grasp of politics while I’m at it.
Eyelicker
Just to be clear, I agree with what she’s saying, just like any rational person would, and I’m all for political vigilance. I just hate people obnoxiously broadcasting such status quo views for brownie points.
Posted in Comment | Tagged Otep, Rage Against The Machine | 6 Comments »