Not a goddamn day without (at least) one (thousand) new metalcore release. Today’s review winner is Eyes Set to Kill from Tempe, Arizona.
Formed in 2003 by the Rodriguez sisters – Alexia (clean vocals, lead guitar, piano) and Anissa (bass, backing vocals), Eyes Set To Kill became one of MySpace.com’s top unsigned screamo bands in 2006. The group signed with BreakSilence/Suburban Noize Records the following year and release three critically acclaimed studio efforts – 2008’s “Reach”, 2009’s “The World Outside” and 2010’s “Broken Frames”. Frustrated with the label politics, and pressure to withhold their identity, Eyes Set To Kill decided to break away and release independently “White Lotus”, their fifth studio album through a joint venture between their own imprint Forsee Records and Maphia Entertainment. Read more Eyes Set To Kill – White Lotus (2011)
2011
NeWBReeD – NeWBReeD (2011)
NeWBReeD was founded in 1999 and they’re coming from Bielsko-Biala, Poland. “NeWBReeD” is their fifth studio release and they play a mixture of complex, technical, modern metal with progressive and avant-garde elements.
This is a quite intense and unique blending of styles and elements, NeWBReeD delivered a kind of psychotic, contorted, but colourful metal, technical, but still soulful, complex, but well structured and not airless, suffocating.
10 songs, “NeWBReeD” is a quite exciting trip to take. Slow, sometimes smooth, sometimes mysterious passages and intense, twisted moments are perfectly build into a modern, breathing and heavy – metal experiment.
Read more NeWBReeD – NeWBReeD (2011)
Malakwa – Street Preacher (2011)
As a new member of the Alfa-Matrix family, Malakwa strikes with their angry, psychotic EBM/industrial, cyber punk from Marseille, South of France. After the tempestuous “Feed the Machine” released in 2008, their second installment, “Street Preacher” erupt more intensely and electrifying.
This version comes as a carton box limited edition of “Street Preacher” and holds a bonus disc with 2 exclusive songs – “Too Young to Die” and “Gimme Danger” – and 9 remixes of “Monster” by label mates: Kant Kino, Implant, Amgod, Psy’Aviah, Ambassador 21, Essence Of Mind, Leg Lifters, Temple Of Nemesys and ESB.
Read more Malakwa – Street Preacher (2011)
Fuseboxx – Animated (2011)
Quality progressive metal/rock from this Manila, Philippines band. Formed in 2001 by Abby Clutario – vocals/Chapman Stick/Keyboards, Mico Ong – 6 and 7 String guitars, Eric Tubon – synthesizers/keyboards/Keytar and Lester Banzuelo – drums/V drums, Fuseboxx delivered a quite exciting blending of traditional and modern progressive metal/rock, but sometimes building in smooth pop or jazz constructions and textures or explode in intense metal hurricanes.
Read more Fuseboxx – Animated (2011)
Combat Astronomy – Flak Planet (2011)
I stumbled into Combat Astronomy last year on their Bandcam page. It worth to check out their page, there you can get all their previous releases, some of them are still for free (and donation based) as their latest EP “Barricades” released in July 2011.
Mastermind, composer – and project manager 😀 – James Huggett explore the interference area of post-rock, doom and industrial with the outbursts of free jazz and avant-garde music. Space rock elements and dirty stoner rock riffs are melting down in the contorted noises and explosive outbreaks of horns. Freaky and heavy, cutting and exciting, in a fair world Combat Astronomy should be far better known as they are. But this isn’t a fair world, Britney Spears and Take That are famous and popular and I can’t blame them, not even the industry, the subordinated media, but I blame ourselves, the undefined, comfortable, predictable, lazy, fat and careless consumer. Nobody would be able to sell us shit if we wouldn’t bought it. Read more Combat Astronomy – Flak Planet (2011)
Fen – Epoch (2011)
The second first full length album by British Fen, “Epoch” was launched at the Bull & Gate venue in London with support from the old Corpse Road on the 11th of February 2011 and already gaining positive reviews in most of the magazines. “Epoch” was released in a standard jewel CD case and as a strictly limited – 999 copies – artbook edition with 40, and two exclusive & unreleased bonus tracks, “The Wind Whispers of Loss” and “…From the Mists”.
Following the acclaimed debut, “The Malediction Fields” from 2009, “Epoch” merging black metal, post-rock and shoegaze to express loss, sorrow, exaltation and a sense of ancient pride through music.
The band is named after a region of Eastern England called The Fens. The Fens have very flat and mysterious landscapes, with many marshes and wetlands. The band members grew up in this area, and find much of the inspiration for their music and themes from the atmosphere of this area. Read more Fen – Epoch (2011)
Sun Caged – The Lotus Effect (2011)
Queensryche/Dream Theater fans will definitively enjoy this third installment of this progressive metal band from Netherlands. Paul Adrian Villarreal – vocals & acoustic guitar, Marcel Coenen – lead & rhythm guitar, Rene Kroon – keyboards, Daniel Kohn – bass and Roel Van Helden – drums delivering a nice mixture of classic, traditional progressive rock/metal with heavy, powerful, strong modern metal infusions. Influences from Yes, Styx, Saga, Marillion and Kansas are present just like sounds of Fates Warning, VandenPlas, Dream Theater and Queensryche.
Formed by ex-Lemur Voice guitarist Marcel Coenen and drummer Dennis Leeflang in the spring of 1999, the style stated by the band on their 2000 demo was rather experimental, with the use of female vocals, death growls, with some melodic vocals and a touch of groove metal rawness. After the release of their 2003’s debut album the line up of Sun Caged changed considerably, Coenen being the only band member left from the original line up and the music grow into the more larger progressive area of metal. Read more Sun Caged – The Lotus Effect (2011)
Starscream – Future, Towards the Edge of Forever (2011)
8-bit fans and lovers will really enjoy this one. Damon Hardjowirogo and George Stroud – the two core members of this project founded back in 2007 – are delivering an exciting mixture of 8-bit electronic textures and live drums. After several EPs and featuring on compilations, “Future, Towards the Edge of Forever” is their debut full-length album of 8 steps walk into the future space of inner search. New York never sounds so out of space before.
Starscream is about vibes, grooves and feelings flowing through machines. The murderous 8-bit sound and the powerful live drums merging into one is quite innovating and gives kind of forth dimension to this music. Read more Starscream – Future, Towards the Edge of Forever (2011)
Trivium – In Waves (2011)
Fans of In Flames can give a try on this fifth studio album by Orlando, Florida’s Trivium. Formed in 1999, the band came out under the influence of Metallica to make it to the nowadays so-called metalcore which incorporated clean and screamo vocals, progressive and melodious heavy themes and death-like grindings. Boil in the proper proportion Metallica, In Flames, Machine Head and Iron Maiden in a music blender and the result should come pretty close to what’s on “In Waves”.
This merging of classic heavy constructions, thrash rawness, few death brutalities and powerful, clean vocals against screams and howls is still quite dynamic and Trivium managed to deliver a few extremely good themes and moments, still, this patters and schemes becomes so predictable that nothing can save it from itself. Read more Trivium – In Waves (2011)
SPIN Presents Newermind A Tribute Album (Free Release!)
Back in 1991 “Nevermind” was an unpredicted revolution. Sold over 30 million copies worldwide, “Nevermind” was responsible for bringing alternative rock to a large mainstream audience, and critics subsequently regarded it as one of the best rock albums of all time. Kurt Cobain on April 5, 1994 decided to join “27 Club” (Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and more recently Amy Winehouse) and this was the premature end of Nirvana.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: following the release of “Nevermind” “nothing was ever quite the same, for better and for worse” – and this is in few words exactly the essence of Nirvana.
SPIN Magazine pays tribute to the 20th anniversary of Nirvana’s “Nevermind”, and as part of their package, tapped some of their favorite contemporary artists to cover the influential album’s 13 songs, in their original order and the tribute album is a gift – free download – at their web page.
From Meat Puppets to Titus Andronicus and from Amanda Palmer to The Vaselines this is an exciting and colourful trip to take. Read more SPIN Presents Newermind A Tribute Album (Free Release!)
