Mad With Power VI-Day 1 (2023) - Madison, WI

 Post #398

On August 18th, a Friday afternoon, I headed north to Wisconsin's Capitol to finally catch a festival of Power Metal I'd been looking forward to for years: Mad With Power VI. This time, 2 bands I've been following were both scheduled to perform. I had seen them both for the 1st time back in 2011, at Dame-Nation III: Shield of Wings and A Sound of Thunder. Unfortunately, just days before the show, A Sound of Thunder had to cancel due to injury. Still, I was hyped for this music fest, and wasn't going to miss it!

With travel time being a major constraint on a weekday (the drive to the venue would take me over 3 hours), I utilized the promoter's Livestream on Twitch to enjoy the first couple bands of the evening. While I was only able to listen, my daughter got to enjoy the video feed as well. The opening act was my longtime favorite: Shield of Wings.

Shield of Wings are Chicago's answer for symphonic metal, and I feel with each passing show they prove they truly hold their own. I feel like their opening performance set a very high bar for all the acts to follow. The crowd was pumped, and into their captivating performance from the first note to the last measure of their set. Shield of Wings delivered a stunning performance of many of the best tracks from their new album 'Unfinished'. They even included a cover from The Elden Ring video game soundtrack! While I heard it, and caught glimpses when I stopped at red lights on my journey, it all just made me wish I could be there in the venue with them. In time, another opportunity will present itself. But for now, I leave you with their setlist...

-Cedar

-Native Colossus

-Breathing

-The Final Battle (Elden Ring ST-cover)

-Mind of Myth

-Wetland

-Sunfire Shower

Next up was Greyhawk, a Seattle-based power metal band. They came out and immediately struck with soaring riffs, cascading lead guitar solos, and powerful vocals delivered with deep baritone and a force of will. Their tempos were fast and furious. their themes were medieval and fantastic. Again, I had to hear the majority of their set through the livestream, but we did manage to arrive just in time to hear their closing number. Their debut released in 2020, and they have a new single from 2022. Look for this band to release a 2nd album in the near future! Their setlist for Mad With Power VI...

-Gates of Time

-Frozen Star

-Call of the Hawk

-Halls of Insanity

-Don't Wait for the Wizard

-Steelbound

We took a few minutes to browse the merch, meet the members of Shield of Wings face-to-face. They were gracious enough to pose for photos with fans. Then we made our way back to the floor to prepare for the evening's literal surprise: what band would fill the vacant slot in the lineup?

The answer was Seeker Pearl. Seeker Pearl are a Chicago-based heavy metal band blending elements of hardcore, ambient-metal, and come electronic elements. Vocally their singer delivered a lot of smooth melodies in the verses and often let it rip with screamed choruses. Their lead guitarist gave us some great guitar leads and solos here and there too. When they went heavy, they really hit hard! 

They seem to be the newest band of the entire lineup. Their earliest release on Spotify is from 2022. They seem to take a more modern approach to the art of recording, by releasing singles as they record them. Their artist page features several singles, but not full-length 'album' as of yet. Regardless, I will keep following them for new releases- singles, EPs, or full-length albums: whatever they choose to give us! Songs available to stream from their setlist are:

-Tempest

-Ouroboros

-Shadow Machine

-Deja Vu

-New Tide

-Oversoul

Next up was Wilderun- a Boston-area Progressive power metal band. They have been around since 2012, with their latest release being in 2022. Their compositions are epic in length, and span multiple genres as they incorporate symphonic elements, folk metal, power and death metal. If I would compare them to any band it may be Opeth. If their setlist seems brief, keep in mind that most of the songs they played are in the 8-10 minute rage!

-Passenger

-Far from Where Dreams Unfurl

-O Resolution!

-Vaunting Veins

The penultimate band of the evening was Powerglove. These guys changed things up and really gave the audience several laughs as their gimmick became evident as they took the stage: the played power-metal versions of video game theme songs! (and a couple cartoon soundtracks thrown in for good measure!) Some of their selections go WAAAY back! I'm talking Street Fighter, and the original Tetris! For each song, they also had a video element, displaying scenes from the video games or cartoons while that jammed out with ferocious intensity! The guitar solos were top-notch, and they even had perfectly timed sound effects! Their setlist:

-Kraid's Lair

-Tetris

-Under the Sea

-Kirby

-Guile's Theme

-Age of Aggression

-Gotta Catch 'Em All

-Mario Minor

Finally, it was time for the final band. Seven Spires. Another band from Boston, Seven Spires were the perfect headliner, Symphonic power metal with some death-metal and black-metal screams woven into different songs... They could swoon the audience with operatic vocal in one minute and devastate us with demonic screams the next. Musically their talent was superb: complex song structures, intense tempos, and soaring guitar solos to rival the likes of DragonForce. They were like Nightwish and Jinjer rolled into one.

They are a relatively new band themselves, with their first album, Solveig, from 2017, and their latest- Gods of Debauchery, dropping in 2021. As a fan, I am so glad to see that they've made it to this side of the pandemic, and eagerly look forward to their next new album, whenever they can manage to release it. For now, I'll leave you with their setlist:

-Gods of Debauchery

-Distant Lights

-Lightbringer

-Ghost of Yesterday

-Succumb

-Drowner of Worlds

-Bury You

-Gods Amongst Men

-Oceans of Time

-Echoes of Eternity

-Serenity

-Fall with Me

-Dreamchaser

-With Love from the Other Side

-The Trouble with Eternal Life

-This God is Dead

-Through Lifetimes

If your are a spotify user, check out this playlist, featuring all the setlists described here, in order:

https://spotify.link/Hpzi69SgVDb

If you use a different music streaming service, try visiting www.tunemymusic.com to convert it to you music app of choice!

And lastly, if it is still available, you can watch the archived livestream of the whole show on the Twich.tv channel by Lords of the Trident here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1902334654

Mad With Power VI was a 2-day music festival, and this was only the 1st day. I unfortunately could not attend the 2nd day, but again, the livestream should be available at the same Twitch channel. 

Happy Headbanging!

Diamoth-Exhibition of Reality (2019)

Post #383

Diamoth are a Christian Black Metal band form Arica, Chile. This may seem an oxymoron of sorts, as the term 'Black Metal' originated to describe bands with anti-Christian views. Therefor a more accurate description for Diamoth (or other bands in this situation) would be 'Unblack Metal'. By virtue of the genre's definitive vocal style consisting of screams and shrieks, to the casual listener the majority of lyrics seem unintelligible. For listeners who go for the overall feel of their music, and put less concern on the specifics of lyrics, they may appreciate black metal and 'unblack' metal equally.

Nonetheless, Diamoth identify as 'Christian Black Metal', and deliver their heavy and demonic-sounding metal with the best of them. What I particularly like about their sound is that they hang onto many stylistic elements from the early days of death metal: riffs that build, progress and move the music. Tempos that show variation- they have several slower-tempo grinders in addition to the faster-paced thrashers. Many of their songs remind me of early-80's Sepultura.

Exhibition of Reality, their newest release, is a 'Black Metal' style album with its claws dug into the thrash-influenced origins of the genre. My aforementioned similarity to Sepultura is highly present throughout Exhibition of Reality. A true benefit to getting the physical CD copy would be the fact that they include scriptural inspiration for each song in the liner notes.

Recommended tracks:
-Awakening (This song is the first on the album and kicks you in the teeth with speed-driven riffs!)
-Pride and Powerless (This one is one of the slower grinding songs. It has a lot of riff changes that give it an almost progressive vibe)
-Preacher of Lower Passions (This one starts with a slow intro, but soon kicks into high gear and is a great, riff-fest of a thrasher!)
-Baal (The album's closer- this is a mid-tempo grinder with chugging riffs. They do have a lyric video for it on youtube. See the link below!)




(review copy of Exhibition of Reality provided by Peter Smith of Frozen Tundra Records.)

Act of Destruction-Beyond Eternity (2019)

Post #376

Act Of Destruction have returned with their 2nd independent release, Beyond Eternity. Roughly 4 years have passed since their debut Extinction, which I reviewed previously. In that time the band has seen some changes. One change was the addition of David Kraus on guitars and backing vocals. Kraus is also guitarist and lead vocalist from Scars of Armageddon (another former winner of my Independent Band of the Year poll), so if you're familiar with their sound, then the backing vocals should sound familiar!

Beyond Eternity starts off with Eternal Combustion. This song is sure to be a crowd pleaser to their established following. It has their classic formula of rapid-fire drumming, melodic-death/hardcore vocals by John Bravo III, intricate guitar riffs and unarguable talent with guitar soling. The production seems even crisper than their debut, which was already great! It's like a perfect hybrid between metalcore and melodic death metal.

Ascending Into Glory has an initial guitar riff that fades in. They slow the tempo down slightly, but otherwise is another great song, complete with a great guitar solo. This one seems to have some power metal influences outside of the vocals.

Spiritual Infinity is where Act of Destruction up the ante, and give us all a new twist to their formula. When the chorus comes around, Kraus' soaring melodic vocals blend in with John Bravo's harsher, death-metal growls. The resulting sound surprised me at first with its contrast in style, but it works! It will simultaneously quench your rage and pierce your eardrums. There is again fantastic riff work, and substantial guitar soloing- a true winner of a song!

The Source is a different combination again. With another display of slower-tempo riffs, Act of Destruction showcase their whole package here. The vocals are primarily John Bravo's hardcore growls, but the backing vocal formula includes both Kraus' melodic screams and Nigel Bravo's deeper, guttural death metal vocals are present as well. Then, we also get some spoken word passages by Nigel. The lyrics throughout this EP have been orbiting themes of philosophy, conservation and more esoteric concepts like religion and science fiction. This song is again like that, and has one of my favorite lyrics: "Your tears are the rain upon the blinding dust of the Earth."

Starkblast is a crowning jewel on this recording effort. Clocking in at over 7 minutes, it is the band's longest recording yet. It brings progressive metal elements into the fold more than they've done before. Again the vocal style is a 3-fold revolving door with the Bravo brothers providing the hardcore and death-metal growls, and Kraus the melodic elements. They also have guest vocals by Pindy of Armored Assault! Closing it off are more esoteric spoken word passages by Nigel Bravo, backed my Kraus' fading melodic screams.

Visit Act of Destruction's Bandcamp page for downloads, or find them in iTunes or on Spotify!

Foredoomed-Ordeal (2017)

Post #360

Foredoomed are a melodic death metal band from Joensuu, Finland. They have a very diverse style of death metal that incorporates elements of power metal, progressive rock, ambient rock, and symphonic metal to name just a couple. The best known band I can think to compare them to may be Amon Amarth, but they offer so much more.

Ordeal is their debut album, and after listening to it all the way through, I am blown away by the quality of production and mixing that is evident on these tracks. Their intro track 'Origin' is a beautiful, symphonic metal track with melodic female vocals provided by a guest musician, Mia Rouvinen. Then they hit you with 'Ghost Recurrence', a more aggressive thrasher, and it changes the game as vocalist/guitarist Atte Kymalainen proceeds to show you what he can do. Death metal growls dominate for much of this song, but elegant melodic vocals come into play for the last minute or so of the song. By now the listener knows what the band is capable of, and the rest of the album explores each element further.

 I first tried to listen to Foredoomed as a death metal band that has incorporated melodic elements and styles of power metal and symphonic metal into their sound. The more I thought about it, however, that seemed like a lot of things to incorporate into a death metal pallet of sounds. Then I stepped back, reconsidered, and found that a better description is perhaps a progressive power metal band with a heavy infusion of death metal style vocals. I found this to be a more comfortable context to appreciate their musical diversity, so that is how I shall refer to them.

While the vocal are indeed mostly death metal growls and screams, with deep guttural tones and ear splitting shrieks, they do incorporate a significant amount of melodic, and operatic vocals too. The musical formula that drives the band's sound it truly melodic in focus. Don't get me wrong, they are still brutally heavy and have moments of pure death metal ferocity, but there are lead guitars overlaying melodic phrases every time you turn around. There is also a near-constant presence of keyboards and/or synthesizers that serve to fill the sound, even in moments when they may be so overpowered by the grinding riffs you hardly notice them.

Foredoomed are a truly talented melodic death metal band. They incorporate such a balanced and abundant amount of melodic, progressive, and ambient elements that I do argue they are more a power metal band that incorporates death metal elements than vice-versa. Ordeal as an album, is a masterpiece of this infusion of metal formulas. I can't get enough of it! If you are a fan of Amon Amarth or even more traditional European power metal bands like Sonata Arctica then you will find much to like with Foredoomed!

Recommended tracks from Ordeal:
-Ghost Recurrence
-Search for Tomorrow (My personal favorite! Love the lead guitar melody and theme that recurs throughout this song.)
-Dualism
-Shade of the Darker Sun

Follow Foredoomed on:
FACEBOOK
BANDCAMP
Official Website
Check out their lyric video for Dualism!

WARG-In The Dusk Of Men (2016)

Post # 332
Warg are a metal band from Zaragoza, Spain. I might initially label them as a thrash metal band, but they incorporate many different subgenres into their sound including classic metal, death metal, progressive metal, symphonic metal, and folk metal. They have true diversity to their sound.

Their newest release, In The Dusk Of Men, is an excellent example of their metal capabilities.
They amaze me by their ability to sound eerily like In Flames in one song, Amon Amarth in another, and Epica in yet another!

One last interesting fact I'll mention pertains to their name. For those of you curious, it is indeed inspired from George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire books, which in turn are the basis of HBO's hit fantasy series Game Of Thrones. They even have a couple songs that are inspired directly from the series.

This album seems to have something in store for almost any heavy metal fan. The vast array of styles they incorporate into their songs are woven seamlessly together. There are great guitar solos, complex song structures, melodic segments as well as hardcore. The vocal styles are varied even within songs. They even have a guest vocalist who helps round out the melodic side of vocals. This impressive fusion of several diverse heavy metal elements is something that truly mush be heard to be believed.

Stream and/or download at Warg's Bandcamp Page!

Recommended Tracks:

-I Am Death (The opening track is a fusion of thrash, folk, death, prog and melodic elements.)

-Ancient Times (an amazing blend of operatic and death metal!)

-Light Under the Shadows (Parts of this song may be categorized as a ballad, but at the same time it is much more than that!)

-In The Dusk of Men

-Wargs on the Horizon (a true thrahser! plus they have a music video for it!)

-Fate of Kings (this is one song with lyrics inspired by Game of Thrones!)

Beyond De-th: Up and Coming Death Metal band in Chicago...

Post #330

Beyond De-th are a death metal band that formed in Chicago back in 2012. Since then they have been steadily working on creating new music. By 2014 they had recorded 2 demos, a total of 5 songs. They have plans of a full length recording currently in the works. For now I'll summarize their previous demo recordings.

What Lies was the band's 2013 EP. Beyond De-th establish their formula quickly: Fast, heavy and technical guitar work, rapid-fire drumming, and guttural death-metal vocals. This early EP features three songs that satisfy a thirst for aggressive, high-tempo death metal for fans of the most extreme metal.

Burn His Eyes, the opening track is an all-out feast of furious metal. They keep the tempo at full-throttle for much of this song.

Beyond Death, the  second track, and their name-sake song, gives you an intro with a somewhat subdued mood, however they kick it back into high gear within a few seconds. Lyrical themes of world domination and dominance are prevalent.

Gods of the Sea is a true masterpiece of viking-themed death metal. In this regard they seem to take a page out of Amon Amarth's playbook. It actually works quite well for them. In fact I am tempted to compare them to Amon Amarth in many ways. They have a similar style and sound for sure. The singer's vocal tone is actually quite comparable. The guitar solos remind me of early Slayer, so the thrash element is alive here too.

Beyond De-th, from 2014 is their 2-track self-titled EP. On this recording they continue the trend of blistering, thrash-infused death metal. These 2 newer songs seem a bit more polished. Granted this may be my listener's bias, but the lyrics and song structures seem a notch above their previous EP.

Death That Never Comes is a very thrash-driven song with a milder tempo... still fast by any standards, but slow enough to allow some layers of song structure to emerge. The vocals are still death metal guttural growls and screams, so that remains quite consistent from the What Lies EP.

Blood Beneath the Snow. This track is perhaps my favorite of them all. It opens with a clean-guitar melodic intro. Set in a minor key, the mood is still portrayed as dark. However it doesn't last long, and Beyond De-th quickly slip into their 'Amon Amarth-esque' style of riff-heavy death-metal.

Overall I find Beyond De-th to be Chicago's answer for Amon Amarth. Fans of that band will not be misguided here should they take my suggestion and listen to their music. You can follow Beyond De-th on their Facebook page, stream or download their music on Bandcamp, and catch them playing shows around Chicago's local scene. So go, download it, stream it, crank it, and bang your head!

Her Name is Mercy-Oceans (2015)

Post #310

Her Name Is Mercy are the current Independent Band of the Year for this blog, and although I've been trying my best to keep up with announcing their shows throughout the year, I am long overdue to review their recent album 'Oceans'.

Her Name Is Mercy are a hardcore metal band from Lafayette, IN. Their  eight-track debut album, 'Oceans', gives you a little bit from each facet of their musical formula. The most prominent features of their music are of course hardcore screamed vocals, heavy crunching guitar riffs, and intense tempos with powerful double-bass drum rhythms. This is essentially their hallmark, but their talent and creativity doesn't stop there. A close listen to this album in its entirety reveals more layers to their sound...

The first track is simply entitled 'Intro', and sets the mood for the album. Fade-in with the sound of ocean waves washing upon the shore, and gulls squawking in the background. Then a minor key melody begins playing on piano. Cellos join in on the melody, then synthetic percussion followed by true bass-drumming. Lastly come the electric guitars with their powerful heavy riffs. All this is simply to prepare you for the over-the-top intensity that is to follow.

'Faceless' is non-stop riffage and hardcore screams. Vocalist Kory Rogers' voice dwells in the guttural death-metal range for much of the song. This song's formula may be the norm for the album,but there are a few small departures...

'Aftermath' is without a doubt the biggest departure for Her Name Is Mercy on this collection of songs. A clean-tone melodic guitar at the start lets you know this song has something different to offer. While this soft riff continues at a mild tempo, a lead guitar joins the mix. These solos are reminiscent of Metallic's 'Fade to Black'. In fact, 'Aftermath' does for Oceans what 'Fade to Black' did for Ride the Lightning; it gives the album some true variety and depth, making it more memorable in the process.

'Oceans', the title track, is probably the album's crowning achievement. It may not provide anything new, but the intensity, hardcore heaviness, and downright insanity of the vocal delivery are done with some intangible precision that elevates this track a notch above the rest. They even have a music video for this one. Check it out:
For any of you who appreciate hardcore and death metal, take a minute to download Oceans from Her Name Is Mercy. It's currently available for free/name-your-price through their bandcamp page: http://hernameismercyofficial.bandcamp.com/releases

Recommended Tracks:
-Faceless
-Hurricane
-Aftermath
-Oceans

Her Name Is Mercy: FREE SHOW This Saturday, April 18th! (Frankfurt, IN)

Post # 308

Her Name is Mercy are about to perform another free concert. 21 and over/no cover, this Saturday, April 18 at the Animal House in Frankfurt, IN. Show starts at 6pm. Guaranteed to be a night of blistering hardcore and death-metal!! Also performing: Damn Us All, Speed God, Only Human, Born Under Burden and more!

 

Follow Her Name is Mercy on Facebook

 

Download their album 'Oceans' from Bandcamp.com

Wicked Deception-Incite the Riot (2012)

Post #290

Wicked Deception are an underground thrash metal band from Joliet, IL. Their goal when they started out as a band was to create an aggressive blend of death and thrash metal. After one listen to their first full-length album Incite the Riot, I must say mission accomplished!

Their throwback, raw and unrefined thrash tones remind me of the early works of Sepultura; from 1987's Schizophrenia to 1991's Arise. Incite the Riot writhes with that primordial intensity, aggression, and raw sounding tonality that is harder and harder to find in modern metal. Many of the earliest albums of thrash metal had this kind of sound to them. Wicked Deception take this potent foundation of riffs and add a death-metal inspired hardcore scream as their main vocal element, which is where I'm drawn to make the Sepultura comparison.

Brothers Lance and Brian Huguelet share the vocals, each adding their own unique elements. Lance does the mid-range screamed vocals and deeper guttural growls while Brian provides the straight forward hardcore screams. They switch off several times within songs, often with one brother singing the verses, the other the choruses.

The opening track, 'Retribution', dives straight into their signature sound. The raw, fast-tempo riffs assault your ears, while a deep-grooved and brutal rhythm is established by the drums and bass guitar. Raspy, mid-range screams from Brian Huguelet deliver the message aggressively with a Max Cavalera-esque style.

'Slavedog' slows things down a little in terms of tempo, but they keep the song's riffs heavy and aggressive all the same. They throw in a few spoken-word lyrics, which remind me a bit of Faith No More's Mike Patton. The song carries a theme of struggling for independence, and rebelling against authority.

'Unconscious Terror', again following the slower-but-heavy song structure, has one of the most memorable riffs on this album. They take a few seconds to include a technical and classic-thrash sounding guitar solo before this song ends.

The final track, '(No Life in Your) Darkness', features melodic guest vocals by Jennifer Skorniak. She sings melodically for most of the song, adding a diverse new element to Wicked Deception's pallet. Fear not though metal-heads, for she also can scream hardcore with the best of them, and adds this element at the choruses.

In conclusion I may be tempted to call Incite the Riot a 'melodic-death-metal' album, but that seems a bit short of accurate to me. What this style of metal really reminds me of is a time from metal's evolution when death-metal had not yet fully differentiated itself from thrash or speed-metal. All the comparisons I've made to early Sepultura were for a reason: this is the era of this band's primary inspiration. For anyone who ever loved the purest, most evil roots of what thrash metal was like in the old days, check out Wicked Deception. They are out to prove that some beasts never die...

Recommended Tracks:
-Retribution
-Slavedog
-Unconscious Terror
-Awakening Hatred
-(No Light in Your) Darkness

Follow Wicked Deception on:
Facebook
Myspace
Reverbnation

BATTLECROSS-War of Will (2013)

Post #257
After being introduced to these guys at Metallica's Orion Fest, I knew I had to check out their new album War Of Will. Lucky for me, they were selling it on-site in advance of its release, and signing copies as well. I made sure to get one and had the band sign it before the fest was over. Their live performance that day was so full of power and kinetic energy that I couldn't wait to pop the CD into my car stereo and hear what the rest of their music sounded like.

If you're a fan of high-speed thrash metal, hardcore/death metal style vocals, and power-metal style melodic grooves, then I have found the right band for you! Battlecross are a relatively new metal band from Detroit, Michigan who describe their sound as 'Blue-Collar Thrash'. Though they have been touring nationally for just under 2 years, they have indeed worked very hard to get there. The vibe of their music reflects this same attitude: full-force, all-out, never let up, never quit. Each song is packed with relentless power and technical prowess that demands to be recognized as a new force to be reckoned with in heavy metal.

Their second album, War Of Will, is released today on Metal Blade Records, and it is sure to satisfy the craving of any extreme thrash metal fan for aggressive and technical metal. 'Force Fed Lies' is the first track of this all-out thrash-fest, and it starts the album off at a break-neck pace. Guitarists Tony Asta and Hiran Deraniyagala assault your ears with furious fretwork, driven by classic thrash-metal tonality. Vocals are screamed straight into you eardrums by Kyle "Gumby" Gunther. Tight grooves are maintained throughout by Don Slater on bass guitar and Shannon Lucas on drums. The tempo subsides slightly at the choruses to allow a catchy melody to guide the ferocity, then it's back to business for the next verse.

The next song 'Flesh and Bone', while still aggressive as hell, has a very impressive dual guitar solo at the midpoint of the song, showcasing the priceless talents of Deraniyagala and Asta. They complement each other like seasoned veterans, and why not? They've been jamming together since they were in their teens. Throughout the album they repeat this masterful teamwork while still taking the time to awe listeners with several top-notch guitar solos by each guitarist. In many ways Battlecross are the band that thrash purists have been waiting for for years.

Lyrically Battlecross are a band that focus on themes of empowerment, individuality, justice and self-betterment. Another favorite track of mine is 'Beast', where Gumby takes a few minutes to tell us of the virtues of working hard to better one's self instead of settling for the easy path or flat-out giving up. These themes can be found in many songs throughout the album, but they save the biggest epiphany for last with 'Never-Ending Night'. This song is about self-sacrifice for the benefit of the next generation. To learn form one's mistakes and pass on strength and knowledge to the younger generation is the take-home message. If you truly must fight a War Of Will, then this album will show you the path to victory, with plenty of headbanging along the way!

My favorite tracks from War Of Will:
-Force Fed Lies
-Flesh & Bone
-Never Coming Back
-Ghost Alive
-Wage a War
-Beast (Guest solo by Jason Suecof)
-Never-Ending Night

[Battlecross are supporting Rob Zombie and Five Finger Death Punch on Rock Star Energy Drink Mayhem Fest this summer. Check them out at a city near you!]

Eliminator-The One They Were Waiting For (2010)

Post #195
Eliminator were one of the independent bands I featured recently in a reader's poll. Although they did not win the 'Independent Band of the Year' title, I did discover a lot of their music during that competition. I was so impressed, and often times caught off guard, by their uncanny ability to meld the most diverse of rock and metal elements in their music that I must revisit their sounds for another review...

The One They Were Waiting For was truly the one I was waiting for...
The first track, 'Atish', does closely resemble their work from Breaking The Wheel, but the similarities quickly dwindle from there as the album plays on...

A spoken word interlude breaks the spell of the 18 minute black/thrash fest that is 'Atish' before the next song; a cover of Robert Johnson's 'Me and The Devil Blues'. Here is where Warchild and company depart from their evident path of finely fused black metal and thrash to deliver a remarkably honest rendition of this blues classic from the late '30's. The original song-structure is preserved for the most part, although the guitars and drums are still heavy and fully electric, while the vocal delivery maintains the demonic black-metal edge the band has established previously. There is an extended melodic breakdown where Eliminator add their own spin to this song, but after a couple minutes, they return to the classic blues progression to close the song. A truely memorable cover that will not easily be forgotten!

Another highlight of originality on this album is 'Honey Sacrifice' (which combined with 'Atish' accounts for over two-thirds of the album's total running time, as it clocks in at over 19 and a half minutes!). A heavy, rhythmic riff, with a throw-back rock n' roll feel, sets the early tone for this epic track. Throughout the song the music builds to the intensity of speed-black metal once again, then shifts gears with an extended clean and melodic segment near the end. A song absolutely similar to nothing I've head before.

Emilinator make it clear that when inspiration strikes, they roll with it, and let the music do the talking. There is more behind their direction than any genre, or trend, or fad, or scene, or anything you can think of... or perhaps it's just everything you can think of? Is it everything they can think of? Just wait and see. I doubt anybody can predict what this band will do next. Just wait for my review of thier 3rd release, And the Brokenhearted Balladeers...

For now check out these tracks from The One They Were Waiting For. Even if at first you might be left scratching your head, you may also be surprised how much some of these song can grow on you...
-Atish
-Me and the Devil Blues
-The Man in the Picture... to Become What One Is
-Honey Sacrifice

And don't forget to check out their websites, many of which have songs available to stream online:
http://eliminator.bandcamp.com/
http://www.myspace.com/eliminatorus
http://www.facebook.com/eliminatorus

Hemoptysis-Misanthropic Slaughter

Post #129
From the desolate plains of the Arizona desert come Hemoptysis, an independent death/thrash metal band with their full-length debut, 'Misanthropic Slaughter'. In early reviews they've been described as a fusion of death, thrash, and black metal, but if you ask them they simply call their style of metal 'Desertcore'. After hearing thier debut album, front to back, I might add 'melodic-death metal' or even 'Classic British metal' to the list of elements contained in their music. Either way, this band is poised to break down some walls between sub-genres of metal music.

The band's line-up for their debut: Masaki Murashita (rhythm and lead guitars & vocals), Ryan Miller (lead guitars, electric sitar), Travis Thune (drums), and Sunao Arai (bass guitar). Oh, and of course Vitis, the Demon of Corruption, or 'Temptor of the Holy', who graces the album cover as mascot.

Though I've honestly been hesitant to get into the 'death'-sub-genres of heavy metal, I must admit that Hemoptysis offer enough of a new take on it that I keep playing their CD in spite of my initial reservations. The vocal style is where Hemoptysis have people calling them 'death' (although their name & cover art probably help!), however it is the guitar-work that keeps me coming back for more; a furious hybrid of thrash-riffs and melodic, shredding guitar solos are present in almost every song. On top of the technical brilliance they display on guitar, drums & bass are black-metal style vocals that are more shrieked than growled. Maybe like Children of Bodom if you're looking for a comparisson, at least vocal-wise. Keep in mind, I'm not a regular listener of this sub-genre...

Misanthropic Slaughter is an album I would primarily categorize as thrash metal. The drumming is fast and technical, the guitar riffs are very heavy and construct strong melodies. The tempo varies from song-to-song, but is quite fast on the majority of the tracks. The guitar leads can shred pretty fast, but also display melodic passages up and down the fretboard, much like early metal pioneers like Iron Maiden. There are even a couple instances of clean guitars that set a meloncholic tone when implemented.

Overall, as I said before, it is the technically acomplished and diverse thrash guitar-work that I find raises this album's quality above the status-quo for a death-thrash crossover effort. It's also where I find satisfaction in the listening experience. But for those of you out there who genuinely appreciate death-metal, and appreciate when it incorporates melody & classic heavy metal, then you need to hear this band!

My personal recommendations from Misanthropic Slaughter:
-Misanthropic Slaughter (The title track kicks off this album with apt ferocity. Lyrics depicting graphic, and morbid varieties of murder & mayhem)
-Hopeless (Bass intro, great riffs, a clean guitar break-down segment that leads into a volley of guitar soloing between guitarists Ryan Miller & Masaki Murashita, capitulating with a barrage of blast-beat drumming, this song has a bit of everything!)
-M.O.D. (Lead guitar intro is classic shred! Reminds me a little of Iron Maiden's 'Wasted Years'. Then it turns into a total thrasher!)
-Impending Doom (Another classic-sounding riff that conjures recollections of Megadeth.)
-Shadow of Death (Another death/thrasher, with a bit of political themed lyrics. This song originally appeared on their EP, 'Who Needs a Shepherd', but is remixed here. They also have a video for it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKenWvu4sm8)
-Hadephobia (Clean intro gives this tune an ominous tone... before describing the nightmarish threat of being sent to Hades...)
-End of Sorrow (My absolute favorite song on this album! Again, features a clean-guitar intro, but more intricate than most of the other songs. Some keyboards can be heard in the background, and of course, killer guitar solos that exhibit masterful melodic themes.)

Misanthropic Slaughter is set to be released on March 8th, 2011.
You can pre-order the CD on the band's official website. Check it out for more info, merchandise, upcoming shows, etc...
http://www.hemoptysismetal.com/