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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

David Maxim Micic - Bilo 2.0 (2012)


David Maxim Micic
Album:  Bilo 2.0
Genre:  Progressive/Experimental Metal/Ambient/Instrumental

Track Listing:
1. Electric Fields
2. Rise And Shine (feat Jakub Zytecki)
3. Along For A Ride (feat Carl Carton)
4. Strange Night (feat Vladimir Lalic)
5. Mbinguni Amina (feat Vladimir Lalic)

Support:  Bandcamp

I haven’t posted too many instrumentals lately, other than Wanzwa.  This project, though, is at the other end of the instrumental spectrum…whereas Wanzwa is extremely trippy, this is about as cohesive as a technical instrumental project gets, and it’s definitely one of the more beautiful instrumentals out there.  If you love music that’ll straight-up carry you away, Bilo 2.0 is for you.  Just check out that bassline at the start of “Along for a Ride”!

David Maxim Micic - Bilo 2.0 (2012)


David Maxim Micic
Album:  Bilo 2.0
Genre:  Progressive/Experimental Metal/Ambient/Instrumental

Track Listing:
1. Electric Fields
2. Rise And Shine (feat Jakub Zytecki)
3. Along For A Ride (feat Carl Carton)
4. Strange Night (feat Vladimir Lalic)
5. Mbinguni Amina (feat Vladimir Lalic)

Support:  Bandcamp

I haven’t posted too many instrumentals lately, other than Wanzwa.  This project, though, is at the other end of the instrumental spectrum…whereas Wanzwa is extremely trippy, this is about as cohesive as a technical instrumental project gets, and it’s definitely one of the more beautiful instrumentals out there.  If you love music that’ll straight-up carry you away, Bilo 2.0 is for you.  Just check out that bassline at the start of “Along for a Ride”!

David Maxim Micic - Bilo 2.0 (2012)


David Maxim Micic
Album:  Bilo 2.0
Genre:  Progressive/Experimental Metal/Ambient/Instrumental

Track Listing:
1. Electric Fields
2. Rise And Shine (feat Jakub Zytecki)
3. Along For A Ride (feat Carl Carton)
4. Strange Night (feat Vladimir Lalic)
5. Mbinguni Amina (feat Vladimir Lalic)

Support:  Bandcamp

I haven’t posted too many instrumentals lately, other than Wanzwa.  This project, though, is at the other end of the instrumental spectrum…whereas Wanzwa is extremely trippy, this is about as cohesive as a technical instrumental project gets, and it’s definitely one of the more beautiful instrumentals out there.  If you love music that’ll straight-up carry you away, Bilo 2.0 is for you.  Just check out that bassline at the start of “Along for a Ride”!

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Executioner - Confinement (2012)


Executioner
Album:  Confinement
Genre:  Deathcore

Track Listing:
1. Agony
2. Untouchable
3. Devastation
5. Fabrication
6. Arsonist
7. Isolation
8. Caverns
9. Ignorance
10. Ashamed
13. Reflections
14. Agression
15. Endgame

Preview:  "Isolation"

Band/meowmix request

Executioner - Confinement (2012)


Executioner
Album:  Confinement
Genre:  Deathcore

Track Listing:
1. Agony
2. Untouchable
3. Devastation
5. Fabrication
6. Arsonist
7. Isolation
8. Caverns
9. Ignorance
10. Ashamed
13. Reflections
14. Agression
15. Endgame

Preview:  "Isolation"

Band/meowmix request

Executioner - Confinement (2012)


Executioner
Album:  Confinement
Genre:  Deathcore

Track Listing:
1. Agony
2. Untouchable
3. Devastation
5. Fabrication
6. Arsonist
7. Isolation
8. Caverns
9. Ignorance
10. Ashamed
13. Reflections
14. Agression
15. Endgame

Preview:  "Isolation"

Band/meowmix request

Her Majesty - Odium (2010)

 Her Majesty
Album: Odium
Genre: Deathcore
Location: Australia
Facebook

Track Listing:
1. Extinction Through Eradication
2. The Embodiment Of Weakness
3. Harvesting The Dead
4. Repudiate

Deathcore in it's prime, one of my favorites.

Her Majesty - Odium (2010)

 Her Majesty
Album: Odium
Genre: Deathcore
Location: Australia
Facebook

Track Listing:
1. Extinction Through Eradication
2. The Embodiment Of Weakness
3. Harvesting The Dead
4. Repudiate

Deathcore in it's prime, one of my favorites.

Her Majesty - Odium (2010)

 Her Majesty
Album: Odium
Genre: Deathcore
Location: Australia
Facebook

Track Listing:
1. Extinction Through Eradication
2. The Embodiment Of Weakness
3. Harvesting The Dead
4. Repudiate

Deathcore in it's prime, one of my favorites.

Make Them Suffer - Neverbloom (2012) [Review]


Make Them Suffer
Album:  Neverbloom
Genre:  Symphonic/Progressive Deathcore

                I’ve never done a true review of an album before, but I feel like Neverbloom warranted it – enough people seem to be missing what I perceive as the point of the album that I’d like to help you guys hear what I hear, and hopefully you end up picking up something you may not have heard or noticed before in the process (or at least gaining a little more respect for what Make Them Suffer has accomplished with this release).  Since this is my first extended review, try to go easy on me ;)

                Let me just start by saying this…as I’m sure a lot of our visitors know, bands that use generous servings of chugs generally bore the ever-loving fuck out of me, almost as a rule.  I really don’t like them at all…I don’t see the point, and they usually wind up being a creative cop-out rather than an effective artistic device.  I can see some of the appeal of breakdown-heavy tunes – at live shows they get the crowd going, there’s an enormous amount of energy and pent-up anger release associated with them, and they’re really easy to bang your head to…but bands who’ve mastered the breakdown/chug such as Whitechapel, Carnifex, Chelsea Grin, Oceano, and even Vildhjarta/Meshuggah to a certain extent just don’t do it for me.

                Enter the Australian symphonic/progressive deathcore sextet Make Them Suffer.  Their latest release, the impeccably-produced musical sojourn they’ve titled Neverbloom, shows the band maturing on a number of levels from their 2010 EP Lord of Woe – more technical, diverse, and balanced in every conceivable way.  Neverbloom explores one man’s heartwrenching sorrow and grieving process by taking us along on dream walk through a darkened forest.  Is this a literal dream-walk, or is he simply in a reality so terrible it feels like it could only be a dream?  I leave that for you to decide.

In the orchestral opening “Prologue”, the listener is introduced to the dream-state which permeates the rest of the album.  I imagine the start of the track as an “awakening” – scintillating, barely-there brushes on the keys wherein our dreamer opens his eyes and finds himself dropped in the middle of a gloomy forest.  The strings are plucked as his anxiety ratches up…he’s beginning to realize just where he is, and he pushes himself to his feet.  His heartbeat quickens as, in terror, he grasps that he is alone in this world.  When the violin section starts around 50 seconds in, he remembers what brought him to these woods in the first place – his sorrow and anguish builds and builds towards a crescendo as we reach the end of the track, and….BOOM.  The howl at the outset of the title track signals an explosive emotional release and the start of his grieving process.  We’re introduced to his mourning when we’re told that this forest (and now its singular inhabitant) has only ever known sorrow, as the final drop of joy left in this world falls from a tree as a single tear which disintegrates as it touches the ground.  With this last gasp at joy, all that’s left to keep him company is the moaning of the trees, and our dreamer starts the first stage of grief – denial.  He’s lingered in his garden of woe for so long in hope that the tear would ignite the growth of another flower of happiness…but that bloom never comes as a result of the curse of an entity named Morrow.  I could continue examining the lyrical content of each track, but if you look at the album through this lens you’ll realize that the other tracks on Neverbloom are taking you through the other stages of grief as a progression between denial, depression, anger, and acceptance.  By the end of the record, he has come full circle and realizes that his sole purpose is now to take the suffering inflicted on him by Morrow and visit it upon the world a thousand-fold.

Clearly, Make Them Suffer is adept at writing beautiful and poetic lyrics (sit down and give the album another couple listens while following the lyrics booklet if you don’t believe me).  What you might be thinking, though, is that woe is an theme better left explored through black metal or funeral/doom metal, or maybe you even think it’s an emo thing for teenage girls whose parents “just don’t understand them”.  THIS is where MTS separates themselves from essentially everyother deathcore band…they realize that atmospheric/orchestral touches can be used not only to transport and relax the listener, provide a contrasting “calm before the storm” or eye-of-the-storm effect, or even to alter the feel of the music by making it sound more massive/theatrical, but also to completely change the MEANING – passages which before were simply pissed at the world become a touching lashing-out, parts that may have been seen as whiny post-hardcore bitching are transformed to a baleful sorrow.

Were it not for the ever-present haunting keys, violin notes, or synth samples, MTS would probably be just another outrageously talented Australian band squandering the gifts they’ve very obviously been given…but the various elements and influences combine to ensure that this doesn’t happen.  The background orchestration adds an atmosphere of constant turmoil which, while not always entirely audible, is always there tugging relentlessly on the listener’s heartstrings.  The impossibly heavy chugs, djent tempo-shifts, breakdowns, and blast beats employed by MTS would be bland, generic, overdone, and monotonous in any other band, but when coupled with the ever-shifting emotion conveyed by their symphony and pummeling vocals, become an entirely unique vehicle for traversing a landscape of anguish.  Each chug and double-kick punctuates what I can only imagine as a wracking breath which has come harder than the last.  Each breakdown is the dreamer falling to his knees, pounding the ground and screaming in unrelenting agony.  Each growl and wail is a siren’s song for the soul of his lost loved one and for his own tortured sanity.  The brutal, droning, sludgy style forges an extraordinarily effective instrument for forcefully dragging the audience through these mires of oppressive sorrow and simultaneously illustrates an unbridled rage at the entity Morrow for causing such pain.  The interludes provide both a respite from the raw passion in the previous tracks and a transition into the next stage of grief.

In summation, Make Them Suffer might sound generic and chuggy at first, but trust me…when taking the music and its message as a whole and really giving yourself the opportunity to understand everything this album has to offer, you might be surprised…or even blown away.  Neverbloomis one of the best deathcore albums of the past couple years, and I’ll probably wind up looking back on this album as doing for deathcore this year what Erra’s Impulse did for metalcore last year.  I’d give this album a very-nearly--perfect rating of 4.99 out of 5.  Why did it miss out on the final 0.01?  Only because I’m a little disappointed that they didn’t have their brilliant symphony a little higher in the mix since I enjoyed those parts as much if not more than anything else.  Make Them Suffer has a gigantic future ahead of them.  PLEASE buy this album and keep them around <3

Make Them Suffer - Neverbloom (2012) [Review]


Make Them Suffer
Album:  Neverbloom
Genre:  Symphonic/Progressive Deathcore

                I’ve never done a true review of an album before, but I feel like Neverbloom warranted it – enough people seem to be missing what I perceive as the point of the album that I’d like to help you guys hear what I hear, and hopefully you end up picking up something you may not have heard or noticed before in the process (or at least gaining a little more respect for what Make Them Suffer has accomplished with this release).  Since this is my first extended review, try to go easy on me ;)

                Let me just start by saying this…as I’m sure a lot of our visitors know, bands that use generous servings of chugs generally bore the ever-loving fuck out of me, almost as a rule.  I really don’t like them at all…I don’t see the point, and they usually wind up being a creative cop-out rather than an effective artistic device.  I can see some of the appeal of breakdown-heavy tunes – at live shows they get the crowd going, there’s an enormous amount of energy and pent-up anger release associated with them, and they’re really easy to bang your head to…but bands who’ve mastered the breakdown/chug such as Whitechapel, Carnifex, Chelsea Grin, Oceano, and even Vildhjarta/Meshuggah to a certain extent just don’t do it for me.

                Enter the Australian symphonic/progressive deathcore sextet Make Them Suffer.  Their latest release, the impeccably-produced musical sojourn they’ve titled Neverbloom, shows the band maturing on a number of levels from their 2010 EP Lord of Woe – more technical, diverse, and balanced in every conceivable way.  Neverbloom explores one man’s heartwrenching sorrow and grieving process by taking us along on dream walk through a darkened forest.  Is this a literal dream-walk, or is he simply in a reality so terrible it feels like it could only be a dream?  I leave that for you to decide.

In the orchestral opening “Prologue”, the listener is introduced to the dream-state which permeates the rest of the album.  I imagine the start of the track as an “awakening” – scintillating, barely-there brushes on the keys wherein our dreamer opens his eyes and finds himself dropped in the middle of a gloomy forest.  The strings are plucked as his anxiety ratches up…he’s beginning to realize just where he is, and he pushes himself to his feet.  His heartbeat quickens as, in terror, he grasps that he is alone in this world.  When the violin section starts around 50 seconds in, he remembers what brought him to these woods in the first place – his sorrow and anguish builds and builds towards a crescendo as we reach the end of the track, and….BOOM.  The howl at the outset of the title track signals an explosive emotional release and the start of his grieving process.  We’re introduced to his mourning when we’re told that this forest (and now its singular inhabitant) has only ever known sorrow, as the final drop of joy left in this world falls from a tree as a single tear which disintegrates as it touches the ground.  With this last gasp at joy, all that’s left to keep him company is the moaning of the trees, and our dreamer starts the first stage of grief – denial.  He’s lingered in his garden of woe for so long in hope that the tear would ignite the growth of another flower of happiness…but that bloom never comes as a result of the curse of an entity named Morrow.  I could continue examining the lyrical content of each track, but if you look at the album through this lens you’ll realize that the other tracks on Neverbloom are taking you through the other stages of grief as a progression between denial, depression, anger, and acceptance.  By the end of the record, he has come full circle and realizes that his sole purpose is now to take the suffering inflicted on him by Morrow and visit it upon the world a thousand-fold.

Clearly, Make Them Suffer is adept at writing beautiful and poetic lyrics (sit down and give the album another couple listens while following the lyrics booklet if you don’t believe me).  What you might be thinking, though, is that woe is an theme better left explored through black metal or funeral/doom metal, or maybe you even think it’s an emo thing for teenage girls whose parents “just don’t understand them”.  THIS is where MTS separates themselves from essentially everyother deathcore band…they realize that atmospheric/orchestral touches can be used not only to transport and relax the listener, provide a contrasting “calm before the storm” or eye-of-the-storm effect, or even to alter the feel of the music by making it sound more massive/theatrical, but also to completely change the MEANING – passages which before were simply pissed at the world become a touching lashing-out, parts that may have been seen as whiny post-hardcore bitching are transformed to a baleful sorrow.

Were it not for the ever-present haunting keys, violin notes, or synth samples, MTS would probably be just another outrageously talented Australian band squandering the gifts they’ve very obviously been given…but the various elements and influences combine to ensure that this doesn’t happen.  The background orchestration adds an atmosphere of constant turmoil which, while not always entirely audible, is always there tugging relentlessly on the listener’s heartstrings.  The impossibly heavy chugs, djent tempo-shifts, breakdowns, and blast beats employed by MTS would be bland, generic, overdone, and monotonous in any other band, but when coupled with the ever-shifting emotion conveyed by their symphony and pummeling vocals, become an entirely unique vehicle for traversing a landscape of anguish.  Each chug and double-kick punctuates what I can only imagine as a wracking breath which has come harder than the last.  Each breakdown is the dreamer falling to his knees, pounding the ground and screaming in unrelenting agony.  Each growl and wail is a siren’s song for the soul of his lost loved one and for his own tortured sanity.  The brutal, droning, sludgy style forges an extraordinarily effective instrument for forcefully dragging the audience through these mires of oppressive sorrow and simultaneously illustrates an unbridled rage at the entity Morrow for causing such pain.  The interludes provide both a respite from the raw passion in the previous tracks and a transition into the next stage of grief.

In summation, Make Them Suffer might sound generic and chuggy at first, but trust me…when taking the music and its message as a whole and really giving yourself the opportunity to understand everything this album has to offer, you might be surprised…or even blown away.  Neverbloomis one of the best deathcore albums of the past couple years, and I’ll probably wind up looking back on this album as doing for deathcore this year what Erra’s Impulse did for metalcore last year.  I’d give this album a very-nearly--perfect rating of 4.99 out of 5.  Why did it miss out on the final 0.01?  Only because I’m a little disappointed that they didn’t have their brilliant symphony a little higher in the mix since I enjoyed those parts as much if not more than anything else.  Make Them Suffer has a gigantic future ahead of them.  PLEASE buy this album and keep them around <3

Make Them Suffer - Neverbloom (2012) [Review]


Make Them Suffer
Album:  Neverbloom
Genre:  Symphonic/Progressive Deathcore

                I’ve never done a true review of an album before, but I feel like Neverbloom warranted it – enough people seem to be missing what I perceive as the point of the album that I’d like to help you guys hear what I hear, and hopefully you end up picking up something you may not have heard or noticed before in the process (or at least gaining a little more respect for what Make Them Suffer has accomplished with this release).  Since this is my first extended review, try to go easy on me ;)

                Let me just start by saying this…as I’m sure a lot of our visitors know, bands that use generous servings of chugs generally bore the ever-loving fuck out of me, almost as a rule.  I really don’t like them at all…I don’t see the point, and they usually wind up being a creative cop-out rather than an effective artistic device.  I can see some of the appeal of breakdown-heavy tunes – at live shows they get the crowd going, there’s an enormous amount of energy and pent-up anger release associated with them, and they’re really easy to bang your head to…but bands who’ve mastered the breakdown/chug such as Whitechapel, Carnifex, Chelsea Grin, Oceano, and even Vildhjarta/Meshuggah to a certain extent just don’t do it for me.

                Enter the Australian symphonic/progressive deathcore sextet Make Them Suffer.  Their latest release, the impeccably-produced musical sojourn they’ve titled Neverbloom, shows the band maturing on a number of levels from their 2010 EP Lord of Woe – more technical, diverse, and balanced in every conceivable way.  Neverbloom explores one man’s heartwrenching sorrow and grieving process by taking us along on dream walk through a darkened forest.  Is this a literal dream-walk, or is he simply in a reality so terrible it feels like it could only be a dream?  I leave that for you to decide.

In the orchestral opening “Prologue”, the listener is introduced to the dream-state which permeates the rest of the album.  I imagine the start of the track as an “awakening” – scintillating, barely-there brushes on the keys wherein our dreamer opens his eyes and finds himself dropped in the middle of a gloomy forest.  The strings are plucked as his anxiety ratches up…he’s beginning to realize just where he is, and he pushes himself to his feet.  His heartbeat quickens as, in terror, he grasps that he is alone in this world.  When the violin section starts around 50 seconds in, he remembers what brought him to these woods in the first place – his sorrow and anguish builds and builds towards a crescendo as we reach the end of the track, and….BOOM.  The howl at the outset of the title track signals an explosive emotional release and the start of his grieving process.  We’re introduced to his mourning when we’re told that this forest (and now its singular inhabitant) has only ever known sorrow, as the final drop of joy left in this world falls from a tree as a single tear which disintegrates as it touches the ground.  With this last gasp at joy, all that’s left to keep him company is the moaning of the trees, and our dreamer starts the first stage of grief – denial.  He’s lingered in his garden of woe for so long in hope that the tear would ignite the growth of another flower of happiness…but that bloom never comes as a result of the curse of an entity named Morrow.  I could continue examining the lyrical content of each track, but if you look at the album through this lens you’ll realize that the other tracks on Neverbloom are taking you through the other stages of grief as a progression between denial, depression, anger, and acceptance.  By the end of the record, he has come full circle and realizes that his sole purpose is now to take the suffering inflicted on him by Morrow and visit it upon the world a thousand-fold.

Clearly, Make Them Suffer is adept at writing beautiful and poetic lyrics (sit down and give the album another couple listens while following the lyrics booklet if you don’t believe me).  What you might be thinking, though, is that woe is an theme better left explored through black metal or funeral/doom metal, or maybe you even think it’s an emo thing for teenage girls whose parents “just don’t understand them”.  THIS is where MTS separates themselves from essentially everyother deathcore band…they realize that atmospheric/orchestral touches can be used not only to transport and relax the listener, provide a contrasting “calm before the storm” or eye-of-the-storm effect, or even to alter the feel of the music by making it sound more massive/theatrical, but also to completely change the MEANING – passages which before were simply pissed at the world become a touching lashing-out, parts that may have been seen as whiny post-hardcore bitching are transformed to a baleful sorrow.

Were it not for the ever-present haunting keys, violin notes, or synth samples, MTS would probably be just another outrageously talented Australian band squandering the gifts they’ve very obviously been given…but the various elements and influences combine to ensure that this doesn’t happen.  The background orchestration adds an atmosphere of constant turmoil which, while not always entirely audible, is always there tugging relentlessly on the listener’s heartstrings.  The impossibly heavy chugs, djent tempo-shifts, breakdowns, and blast beats employed by MTS would be bland, generic, overdone, and monotonous in any other band, but when coupled with the ever-shifting emotion conveyed by their symphony and pummeling vocals, become an entirely unique vehicle for traversing a landscape of anguish.  Each chug and double-kick punctuates what I can only imagine as a wracking breath which has come harder than the last.  Each breakdown is the dreamer falling to his knees, pounding the ground and screaming in unrelenting agony.  Each growl and wail is a siren’s song for the soul of his lost loved one and for his own tortured sanity.  The brutal, droning, sludgy style forges an extraordinarily effective instrument for forcefully dragging the audience through these mires of oppressive sorrow and simultaneously illustrates an unbridled rage at the entity Morrow for causing such pain.  The interludes provide both a respite from the raw passion in the previous tracks and a transition into the next stage of grief.

In summation, Make Them Suffer might sound generic and chuggy at first, but trust me…when taking the music and its message as a whole and really giving yourself the opportunity to understand everything this album has to offer, you might be surprised…or even blown away.  Neverbloomis one of the best deathcore albums of the past couple years, and I’ll probably wind up looking back on this album as doing for deathcore this year what Erra’s Impulse did for metalcore last year.  I’d give this album a very-nearly--perfect rating of 4.99 out of 5.  Why did it miss out on the final 0.01?  Only because I’m a little disappointed that they didn’t have their brilliant symphony a little higher in the mix since I enjoyed those parts as much if not more than anything else.  Make Them Suffer has a gigantic future ahead of them.  PLEASE buy this album and keep them around <3

I, Omega - The Ravenous (2012)


I, Omega
Album:  The Ravenous
Genre:  Progressive Metal/Metalcore

Track Listing:
1. Butchers
2. Cannibals
3. Heretics
4. Martyrs
5. The Ravenous
Preview:  “Cannibals”

Another “I, Blank” band…I’m getting a little tired of these band names, but whatever.  These guys sound COMPLETELY different than what you’re expecting – I’d describe them as a fusion of elements from  Between the Buried and Me, The Human Abstract, Protest The Hero, Every Time I Die, and even some I Am Abomination.  Quite an eclectic mix, right?  Just wait until “Cannibals” invades your earholes, you’ll get the idea.  I was pretty impressed with these guys when I first heard them a couple weeks ago, and I continue to be impressed by this EP.  If you’re looking for something very different-sounding, pick this up :)

I, Omega - The Ravenous (2012)


I, Omega
Album:  The Ravenous
Genre:  Progressive Metal/Metalcore

Track Listing:
1. Butchers
2. Cannibals
3. Heretics
4. Martyrs
5. The Ravenous
Preview:  “Cannibals”

Another “I, Blank” band…I’m getting a little tired of these band names, but whatever.  These guys sound COMPLETELY different than what you’re expecting – I’d describe them as a fusion of elements from  Between the Buried and Me, The Human Abstract, Protest The Hero, Every Time I Die, and even some I Am Abomination.  Quite an eclectic mix, right?  Just wait until “Cannibals” invades your earholes, you’ll get the idea.  I was pretty impressed with these guys when I first heard them a couple weeks ago, and I continue to be impressed by this EP.  If you’re looking for something very different-sounding, pick this up :)

I, Omega - The Ravenous (2012)


I, Omega
Album:  The Ravenous
Genre:  Progressive Metal/Metalcore

Track Listing:
1. Butchers
2. Cannibals
3. Heretics
4. Martyrs
5. The Ravenous
Preview:  “Cannibals”

Another “I, Blank” band…I’m getting a little tired of these band names, but whatever.  These guys sound COMPLETELY different than what you’re expecting – I’d describe them as a fusion of elements from  Between the Buried and Me, The Human Abstract, Protest The Hero, Every Time I Die, and even some I Am Abomination.  Quite an eclectic mix, right?  Just wait until “Cannibals” invades your earholes, you’ll get the idea.  I was pretty impressed with these guys when I first heard them a couple weeks ago, and I continue to be impressed by this EP.  If you’re looking for something very different-sounding, pick this up :)

I, Valiance - Prometheus (2012)


 I, Valiance
Album:  Prometheus
Genre:  Progressive Deathcore

Track Listing:
1. Dimensional; Separation
2. Evolutionist Structured
3. Sacrificial Birth
4. Rebirth; Void
5. Evolutionist
6. Prometheus


In the same vein as Reflections’ new album, but I personally like this better because it concentrates less on monotonous chuggy grooves and actually has some fairly interesting leads thrown in there...you decide.  Good ole-fashioned pummeling progressive deathcore with a penchant for djenty chugs/riffs.  Enjoy for a couple listens and give them a like on Facebook!

I, Valiance - Prometheus (2012)


 I, Valiance
Album:  Prometheus
Genre:  Progressive Deathcore

Track Listing:
1. Dimensional; Separation
2. Evolutionist Structured
3. Sacrificial Birth
4. Rebirth; Void
5. Evolutionist
6. Prometheus


In the same vein as Reflections’ new album, but I personally like this better because it concentrates less on monotonous chuggy grooves and actually has some fairly interesting leads thrown in there...you decide.  Good ole-fashioned pummeling progressive deathcore with a penchant for djenty chugs/riffs.  Enjoy for a couple listens and give them a like on Facebook!

I, Valiance - Prometheus (2012)


 I, Valiance
Album:  Prometheus
Genre:  Progressive Deathcore

Track Listing:
1. Dimensional; Separation
2. Evolutionist Structured
3. Sacrificial Birth
4. Rebirth; Void
5. Evolutionist
6. Prometheus


In the same vein as Reflections’ new album, but I personally like this better because it concentrates less on monotonous chuggy grooves and actually has some fairly interesting leads thrown in there...you decide.  Good ole-fashioned pummeling progressive deathcore with a penchant for djenty chugs/riffs.  Enjoy for a couple listens and give them a like on Facebook!

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Beheading Of A King - Quasar: Preserving Legacy (2011)



Beheading Of A King
Album: Quasar: Preserving Legacy
Genre: Progressive Metalcore
Facebook

Track Listing:
1. State
2. Quasar
3. Bible Crumbles
4. Off With Their Heads
5. Reclaim This Gold
6. Leader Of The Suburbs
7. Pandemonium

Download
Preview: YouTube
These guys have major potential, one of my favorite releases of 2011.

Beheading Of A King - Quasar: Preserving Legacy (2011)



Beheading Of A King
Album: Quasar: Preserving Legacy
Genre: Progressive Metalcore
Facebook

Track Listing:
1. State
2. Quasar
3. Bible Crumbles
4. Off With Their Heads
5. Reclaim This Gold
6. Leader Of The Suburbs
7. Pandemonium

Download
Preview: YouTube
These guys have major potential, one of my favorite releases of 2011.

Beheading Of A King - Quasar: Preserving Legacy (2011)



Beheading Of A King
Album: Quasar: Preserving Legacy
Genre: Progressive Metalcore
Facebook

Track Listing:
1. State
2. Quasar
3. Bible Crumbles
4. Off With Their Heads
5. Reclaim This Gold
6. Leader Of The Suburbs
7. Pandemonium

Download
Preview: YouTube
These guys have major potential, one of my favorite releases of 2011.

Trace Of Existence - Ancient Astronauts (Ep) (2012)

Trace Of Existence
Album: Ancient Astronauts EP
Genre: Deathcore
Location: Switzerland
Facebook

Track Listing:
1. Ancient Astronauts
2. Memories
3. Within The Triangle

Download (192)
Preview: Soundcloud

Trace Of Existence - Ancient Astronauts (Ep) (2012)

Trace Of Existence
Album: Ancient Astronauts EP
Genre: Deathcore
Location: Switzerland
Facebook

Track Listing:
1. Ancient Astronauts
2. Memories
3. Within The Triangle

Download (192)
Preview: Soundcloud

Trace Of Existence - Ancient Astronauts (Ep) (2012)

Trace Of Existence
Album: Ancient Astronauts EP
Genre: Deathcore
Location: Switzerland
Facebook

Track Listing:
1. Ancient Astronauts
2. Memories
3. Within The Triangle

Download (192)
Preview: Soundcloud

Saturday, May 26, 2012

AngelMaker - New Songs (2012)

AngelMaker
Album: Decay
Genre: Deathcore
Location: (Optional)

Track Listing:
1. Hell
2. What I've Become (ft. Darian Mazloomi of Argent Strand)
 
Download (320)
Preview: Youtube

AngelMaker - New Songs (2012)

AngelMaker
Album: Decay
Genre: Deathcore
Location: (Optional)

Track Listing:
1. Hell
2. What I've Become (ft. Darian Mazloomi of Argent Strand)
 
Download (320)
Preview: Youtube

AngelMaker - New Songs (2012)

AngelMaker
Album: Decay
Genre: Deathcore
Location: (Optional)

Track Listing:
1. Hell
2. What I've Become (ft. Darian Mazloomi of Argent Strand)
 
Download (320)
Preview: Youtube

Friday, May 25, 2012

Under A Serpent Sun - Demo (2012)

Under A Serpent Sun
Album: Demo
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Location: East Hartford
Facebook

Track Listing:
1. Equilibrium
2. Prometheus
3. Straight Jacket of Corruption

Download (320)
Preview & Support: Bandcamp (Name Your Price)

Spread the word, the demo's here.

Under A Serpent Sun - Demo (2012)

Under A Serpent Sun
Album: Demo
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Location: East Hartford
Facebook

Track Listing:
1. Equilibrium
2. Prometheus
3. Straight Jacket of Corruption

Download (320)
Preview & Support: Bandcamp (Name Your Price)

Spread the word, the demo's here.

Under A Serpent Sun - Demo (2012)

Under A Serpent Sun
Album: Demo
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Location: East Hartford
Facebook

Track Listing:
1. Equilibrium
2. Prometheus
3. Straight Jacket of Corruption

Download (320)
Preview & Support: Bandcamp (Name Your Price)

Spread the word, the demo's here.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Art by Numbers - Reticence: The Musical [REVIEW]



Art by Numbers
Album: Reticence: The Musical
Genre: Progressive Metal/Post-Hardcore
Location:
Facebook

          I was quick to doubt Art by Numbers. Initially, I was skeptical in giving their debut full-length Reticence: The Musical a college try, because as far as I was concerned, they followed the same formula every other post-hardcore-turned-progressive band had trekked before them. High-pitched, fast-paced guitar? Yup. Crooning, soft vocals? Uh-huh. Dynamic melodies? You gotcha. However, after a superficial listen through, Reticence surprised me by separating itself from its faux-progressive peers and lodging itself firmly in my head.
          Yes, there are softly crooned vocals, and yes they are poured over quick, high-pitched and technical riffs laced together to make intricate melodies. However, unlike the stereotypically sooth-sang vocals which get old after a track or two, Art by Numbers’ vocalist manages (in a manner I don’t fully understand) to avoid monotony and keep the listener engaged. His belted, calamitous choruses combine catalytically with catchy, near-whispered bridges and verses to create vocal lines which get wedged deep in your head. These sickly-sweet vocal melodies are poured like honey over noodling, loopy and absurdly technical riffs to create dynamics which refuse to get old, even after repeated listens. Whether it’s the vocal-heavy big-band influenced “Best Laid Plans,” or the guitar-laden tracks “Panacea” or “Reyes,” Reticence uses it’s ability to combine vocals and guitar in consistently refreshing manners to keep the listener listening.
           Another interesting facet of the dynamo that is Reticence is the use of the heavy-soft toggle which isn’t done the same way most bands in the same vein do it. Art by Numbers don’t consistently or predictably throw in harsh vocals and stuttering breakdowns, but rather, they sneak them in at their own whim. “Regression to the Meme” exemplifies this perfectly, as it throws in a metalcore-esque breakdown with grinding harsh vocals right in your face without any warning. These vocals then take a back-seat and remain unheard until they return in a sudden ambush later in the album. Part of the extreme efficacy of this vocal styling is the juxtaposition of the heavier, more “-core” elements of the band alongside instrumental interlude tracks which disrupt the flow of the album in a manner which isn’t detrimental, but rather prevents the onset of monotony.
           So maybe a surface description of this band makes Art by Numbers just sound like a poor man’s The Human Abstract or a souped-up Emarosa-neauveau. This, however, couldn’t be farther from the truth. Reticence: The Musical is an original, intriguing venture into the blending of progressive metal and post-hardcore whose dynamic influences and structure will please the ears of fans of all genres. 

By: Connor Welsh/Eccentricism

Art by Numbers - Reticence: The Musical [REVIEW]



Art by Numbers
Album: Reticence: The Musical
Genre: Progressive Metal/Post-Hardcore
Location:
Facebook

          I was quick to doubt Art by Numbers. Initially, I was skeptical in giving their debut full-length Reticence: The Musical a college try, because as far as I was concerned, they followed the same formula every other post-hardcore-turned-progressive band had trekked before them. High-pitched, fast-paced guitar? Yup. Crooning, soft vocals? Uh-huh. Dynamic melodies? You gotcha. However, after a superficial listen through, Reticence surprised me by separating itself from its faux-progressive peers and lodging itself firmly in my head.
          Yes, there are softly crooned vocals, and yes they are poured over quick, high-pitched and technical riffs laced together to make intricate melodies. However, unlike the stereotypically sooth-sang vocals which get old after a track or two, Art by Numbers’ vocalist manages (in a manner I don’t fully understand) to avoid monotony and keep the listener engaged. His belted, calamitous choruses combine catalytically with catchy, near-whispered bridges and verses to create vocal lines which get wedged deep in your head. These sickly-sweet vocal melodies are poured like honey over noodling, loopy and absurdly technical riffs to create dynamics which refuse to get old, even after repeated listens. Whether it’s the vocal-heavy big-band influenced “Best Laid Plans,” or the guitar-laden tracks “Panacea” or “Reyes,” Reticence uses it’s ability to combine vocals and guitar in consistently refreshing manners to keep the listener listening.
           Another interesting facet of the dynamo that is Reticence is the use of the heavy-soft toggle which isn’t done the same way most bands in the same vein do it. Art by Numbers don’t consistently or predictably throw in harsh vocals and stuttering breakdowns, but rather, they sneak them in at their own whim. “Regression to the Meme” exemplifies this perfectly, as it throws in a metalcore-esque breakdown with grinding harsh vocals right in your face without any warning. These vocals then take a back-seat and remain unheard until they return in a sudden ambush later in the album. Part of the extreme efficacy of this vocal styling is the juxtaposition of the heavier, more “-core” elements of the band alongside instrumental interlude tracks which disrupt the flow of the album in a manner which isn’t detrimental, but rather prevents the onset of monotony.
           So maybe a surface description of this band makes Art by Numbers just sound like a poor man’s The Human Abstract or a souped-up Emarosa-neauveau. This, however, couldn’t be farther from the truth. Reticence: The Musical is an original, intriguing venture into the blending of progressive metal and post-hardcore whose dynamic influences and structure will please the ears of fans of all genres. 

By: Connor Welsh/Eccentricism

Art by Numbers - Reticence: The Musical [REVIEW]



Art by Numbers
Album: Reticence: The Musical
Genre: Progressive Metal/Post-Hardcore
Location:
Facebook

          I was quick to doubt Art by Numbers. Initially, I was skeptical in giving their debut full-length Reticence: The Musical a college try, because as far as I was concerned, they followed the same formula every other post-hardcore-turned-progressive band had trekked before them. High-pitched, fast-paced guitar? Yup. Crooning, soft vocals? Uh-huh. Dynamic melodies? You gotcha. However, after a superficial listen through, Reticence surprised me by separating itself from its faux-progressive peers and lodging itself firmly in my head.
          Yes, there are softly crooned vocals, and yes they are poured over quick, high-pitched and technical riffs laced together to make intricate melodies. However, unlike the stereotypically sooth-sang vocals which get old after a track or two, Art by Numbers’ vocalist manages (in a manner I don’t fully understand) to avoid monotony and keep the listener engaged. His belted, calamitous choruses combine catalytically with catchy, near-whispered bridges and verses to create vocal lines which get wedged deep in your head. These sickly-sweet vocal melodies are poured like honey over noodling, loopy and absurdly technical riffs to create dynamics which refuse to get old, even after repeated listens. Whether it’s the vocal-heavy big-band influenced “Best Laid Plans,” or the guitar-laden tracks “Panacea” or “Reyes,” Reticence uses it’s ability to combine vocals and guitar in consistently refreshing manners to keep the listener listening.
           Another interesting facet of the dynamo that is Reticence is the use of the heavy-soft toggle which isn’t done the same way most bands in the same vein do it. Art by Numbers don’t consistently or predictably throw in harsh vocals and stuttering breakdowns, but rather, they sneak them in at their own whim. “Regression to the Meme” exemplifies this perfectly, as it throws in a metalcore-esque breakdown with grinding harsh vocals right in your face without any warning. These vocals then take a back-seat and remain unheard until they return in a sudden ambush later in the album. Part of the extreme efficacy of this vocal styling is the juxtaposition of the heavier, more “-core” elements of the band alongside instrumental interlude tracks which disrupt the flow of the album in a manner which isn’t detrimental, but rather prevents the onset of monotony.
           So maybe a surface description of this band makes Art by Numbers just sound like a poor man’s The Human Abstract or a souped-up Emarosa-neauveau. This, however, couldn’t be farther from the truth. Reticence: The Musical is an original, intriguing venture into the blending of progressive metal and post-hardcore whose dynamic influences and structure will please the ears of fans of all genres. 

By: Connor Welsh/Eccentricism

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Kreon - Descension (New Song) (2012)

Kreon
Album: Descension
Genre: Deathcore, Death Metal
Location: Sweden

Track Listing:
1. Descension

Download (320)
Preview: Youtube

Kreon - Descension (New Song) (2012)

Kreon
Album: Descension
Genre: Deathcore, Death Metal
Location: Sweden

Track Listing:
1. Descension

Download (320)
Preview: Youtube

Kreon - Descension (New Song) (2012)

Kreon
Album: Descension
Genre: Deathcore, Death Metal
Location: Sweden

Track Listing:
1. Descension

Download (320)
Preview: Youtube

The Oedipus Complex - Songs (2012)


The Oedipus Complex
Album: Songs
Genre: Progressive/Technical Death Metal/Deathcore
Location: Clarksville, IN
Facebook

Track Listing:
1. Refurbished Song
2. Assimilate
3. Kingdoms

Download (320)
Preview: "Kingdoms"

Sorry for the absence everybody, been busy and Diablo 3 has taken over my life!
Anyways, this shits sick, super sick.

The Oedipus Complex - Songs (2012)


The Oedipus Complex
Album: Songs
Genre: Progressive/Technical Death Metal/Deathcore
Location: Clarksville, IN
Facebook

Track Listing:
1. Refurbished Song
2. Assimilate
3. Kingdoms

Download (320)
Preview: "Kingdoms"

Sorry for the absence everybody, been busy and Diablo 3 has taken over my life!
Anyways, this shits sick, super sick.

The Oedipus Complex - Songs (2012)


The Oedipus Complex
Album: Songs
Genre: Progressive/Technical Death Metal/Deathcore
Location: Clarksville, IN
Facebook

Track Listing:
1. Refurbished Song
2. Assimilate
3. Kingdoms

Download (320)
Preview: "Kingdoms"

Sorry for the absence everybody, been busy and Diablo 3 has taken over my life!
Anyways, this shits sick, super sick.

Wanzwa - Discography (2011-2012)


Wanzwa
Album:  Wanzwa / Boogieman / Wanzwa II
Genre:  Progressive/Experimental/Djent/Jazz/WHAT



Track Listing (“Wanzwa II”):
1. Onwards Through The Fog
2. Changing The Channel
3. Television Babysitter
4. The Things Your Parents Don't Want You To Know
5. Markie Muckraker


Wanzwa was one of my first posts on the new blog back in February with their self-titled album, found *HERE*, and is probably one of my most uniformly well-liked posts to date. If you’ve never listened to Wanzwa, I can really only describe them by saying they’re one of the trippiest out there that I’ve heard.  They’re a psychedelic instrumental project for fans of Ever Forthright, The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, Arsonists Get All The Girls, and general jazz wankery – a playful bluesy guitar tone with feverish tempo changes that seemingly drop out of the sky highlights their discography.  II is quite a bit less heavy than the last full length, but much stronger on progression and experimentation.  Anyways, give it a listen.  If you liked their last album, II is right up your alley :)

Wanzwa - Discography (2011-2012)


Wanzwa
Album:  Wanzwa / Boogieman / Wanzwa II
Genre:  Progressive/Experimental/Djent/Jazz/WHAT



Track Listing (“Wanzwa II”):
1. Onwards Through The Fog
2. Changing The Channel
3. Television Babysitter
4. The Things Your Parents Don't Want You To Know
5. Markie Muckraker


Wanzwa was one of my first posts on the new blog back in February with their self-titled album, found *HERE*, and is probably one of my most uniformly well-liked posts to date. If you’ve never listened to Wanzwa, I can really only describe them by saying they’re one of the trippiest out there that I’ve heard.  They’re a psychedelic instrumental project for fans of Ever Forthright, The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, Arsonists Get All The Girls, and general jazz wankery – a playful bluesy guitar tone with feverish tempo changes that seemingly drop out of the sky highlights their discography.  II is quite a bit less heavy than the last full length, but much stronger on progression and experimentation.  Anyways, give it a listen.  If you liked their last album, II is right up your alley :)