Testament was formed in 1983, in Berkeley, California and they are often credited as one of the most popular bands of the 1980s Thrash Metal scene. Singer Chuck Billy replaced former singer Steve Souza – also of another Thrash legend, Exodus – in 1986, prior to the recording of their first studio album, “The Legacy”, and while guitarist Eric Peterson has been credited as the only constant member since foundation and the band had numerous lineup changes, the current line-up includes two other original members, guitarist Alex Skolnick and bassist Greg Christian, while behind the drums we’ve got Gene Hoglan (associated with artists such as Devin Townsend, Dark Angel, Death, Dethklok, Strapping Young Lad, Pitch Black Forecast, and most recently Fear Factory) who initially joined the band back in ’96 and replaced Paul Bostaph during the recording session.
To date, Testament has released nine studio albums, four live albums, six compilation albums, and six singles, and they were one of the first Thrash Metal bands to sign to a major label, to Atlantic Records, in 1986. They achieved their biggest success with their 1992 released, fifth album, “The Ritual”, which debuted at #55 on the Billboard 200 charts, the band’s highest ever chart position in the United States. The band also has two Top 40 albums and one Top 50 album to its credit in the UK. Their previous, ninth studio album, “The Formation of Damnation” (2008) entered the Top 20 in Germany at #15.
Released on July 27, 2012 in Europe, the 50 minutes of their tenth studio album, “The Dark Roots of Earth” it’s the perfect refreshment for all the true metallers and headbangers fueled by the nostalgia of the 80’s raw Thrash slaughters. Read more Testament – The Dark Roots of Earth (2012)
2012
Jet Plane – All The Static Stars (2012)
“Disappearance At Sea” starting with the sound of breaking waves at the sea-side and the smoothly glowing instruments creates a mood which slowly suck you in, imprisoning you.
Max – guitar, Serge – guitar, Dima – drums, and Kostya -bass are from Bryansk, Russia and they formed Jet Plane back in 2009, while “All The Static Stars” it’s their third installment so far, selling on the sonar seas of bands such as Mogwai, Sigur Rós, Rain Tongue, dEUS, Sonic Youth, Malkovic, Jeniferever, Explosions In The Sky, etc. Minimalist, stripped-down to the bone sound, but filled with emotions instead of convenience, colored with soul-flare instead predictability and burning creativity instead fancy cliches, Jet Plane delivering quality (Post) Rock with gentle, but edge cutting experimental taste, focusing on expression of feelings and reveling of emotions by sound, rather then delivering 3 minute long Pop emptiness. Read more Jet Plane – All The Static Stars (2012)
Emilie Autumn – Fight Like A Girl (2012)
World-class violinist. Fashion icon. Famously bipolar. Vegetarian turned vegan. Identifies herself as asexual, freak for some, idol for others, Emilie Autumn is one artist you may love or you may hate, but definitively hard to stay indifferent. And even further, listing – and living – through “F.L.A.G.” – her third installment – you may love one song and hate the next one while this is another tumultuous journey from glossy cabaret to Industrial chaos, from burlesque to Glam Rock and back to psychotic Steampunk, while she often labels her music and style as “Victoriandustrial”.
Her vocal work has been compared to Tori Amos and Kate Bush, while her music encompasses a wide range of styles, it was labeled “new age chamber music, trip-hop baroque, and experimental space pop”, as well as “cabaret, electronic, symphonic, new age, and rock & roll”. Things did not changed with “F.L.A.G.”, Emilie cry one moment and laugh the next one and the music follows her ever changing flow of mood. Not an easy walk through a sunny park Sunday at the noon, but a dark, fractured, fever burned trip on the wild side. For real and for delusion. Read more Emilie Autumn – Fight Like A Girl (2012)
Feuerzeug – Dead Wahines and Tsunamis (2012)
A band called “Lighter”? C’mon!! But digging into it, they sounds much interesting then most of the nowadays delivered, fancy-labeled, “post” whatever, obligatory Metalcore bands. Feuerzeug reminds me mostly of the Ricky Warwick leaded Scottish The Almighty, band formed in the late 1980’s and rose to fame mostly in the mid 1990’s with albums such “Powertrippin'” and “Crank”. True, probably Rick was most famous because he was formerly married to MTV’s Headbangers Ball presenter Vanessa Warwick.
So, Feuerzeug sounds pretty much like The Almighty, eventually more contemporarily, but still classy and with roots back to the American Stoner Rock tradition and adding some tasty post-Grunge. But this isn’t an American band, but another stainless delivery from Switzerland. Imagine Godsmack crashing into the tour bus of Kyuss, merging Grunge energy with Stoner Rock hardness and we’ve get pretty close to what Feuerzeug sounds like. And actually this is a pretty groovy and addictive material, classy and quality Rock. Read more Feuerzeug – Dead Wahines and Tsunamis (2012)
Soul Sacrifice – Carpe Mortem (2012)
I’m not a regular Death Metal consumer, but I spotted out Soul Sacrifice because they are a Turkish band and on one hand I enjoyed my time spent in Turkey, just as I love several extremely creative Turkish bands such as maNga and Duman. So, I expected that Soul Sacrifice will introduce more Oriental/Turkish inflections, aromas, at least on the level of Nervecell, or even more. Unfortunately, it’s not the case, “Cape Mortem” is a honest, heavy, but almost classical Metal album with solid Death Metal roots and a groovy mixture of complex and melodious, brutal and technical elements.
If you like the modern Swedish Death Metal sound trademarked by bands such as In Flames and Soilwork, Soul Sacrifice it’s definitively speaking your language.
Soul Sacrifice is a four-piece Turkish Metal band from Istanbul and it was formed back in 1997. In 2003 they solidify their current line up and two years later they record and release their full length debut album, “Stranded Hate”. Read more Soul Sacrifice – Carpe Mortem (2012)
Hellyeah – Band Of Brothers (2012)
Hellyeah it’s not a copy and probably not even a replacement, but still, it’s the best and most genuine substitute for Pantera we can ever get, a true and hard-ass band of brothers! We have here the former Pantera and Damageplan drummer Vinnie Paul, the Damageplan bassist Bob Zilla, the Nothingface guitarist Tom Maxwell, and from Mudvayne we’ve got lead vocalist Chad Gray and guitarist Greg Tribbett. If this isn’t a Heavy Metal supergroup, don’t know what might be. This is their third installment and probably their most ass-kicker, headbanger delivery so far. Read more Hellyeah – Band Of Brothers (2012)
Laibach – Monumental Retro-Avant-Garde, Live at Tate Modern (2012)
On the 14th April 2012, Laibach presented a unique show at the prestigious Tate Modern Turbine Hall, with an overview of their history, from 1980 to the future, with music from their latest release, the “Iron Sky” soundtrack. This historical event has been recorded and is now available to order as a double CD Limited Edition or download released by Mute and Abbey Road Live Here Now.
Laibach is history. The Slovenian avant-garde music group was formed on June 1, 1980 in Trbovlje, Slovenia, at the time SFR Yugoslavia. They represents the music wing of the Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK) art collective, of which they was founding members in 1984. The name “Laibach” is the German name for Slovenia’s capital city, Ljubljana.
The band’s first work was a multimedia project called “Rdeči revirji” (“Red District”), but the performance was banned even before its opening due to its “improper and irresponsible” usage of Malevich’s black crosses as symbols on the posters. The first live appearance and an exhibition entitled “Žrtve letalske nesreće” (“Victims of an Air Accindent”) the group had in January 1982 at the Ljubljana club FV, followed by some now legendary performances in Belgrade and Zagreb. At that point, the group’s musical style was characterized by the critics as “Industrial Rock”, and Read more Laibach – Monumental Retro-Avant-Garde, Live at Tate Modern (2012)
Karnak Seti – In Harmonic Entropy (2012)
Metaaaal!! Straight, powerful, merging the modern sound with classic, traditional approach, emerging from the exotic Madeira Island in Portugal, Karnak Seti present themselves as a solid, modern and persevering metal act.
With 10 years existence several releases, including the thriving full length “Scars of your decay” of 2009 distributed worldwide by the British Casket Music, “In Harmonic Entropy” is the band sophomore and looking further album including 9 killer Metal tracks.
For this album the band worked with renowned producer Daniel Cardoso at the UltrasoundStudios Braga. The process of composition of “In Harmonic Entropy” started in mid-2010, and the band splitting time between the promotion of the album “Scars of Your Decay” and writing the new material. The recording session took place during two weeks in April 2011. The cover of the album is the artwork of Ana Gomes. Read more Karnak Seti – In Harmonic Entropy (2012)
Echancrure – Discours sur le colonialisme, EP (2012)
Aimé Fernand David Césaire (26 June 1913 – 17 April 2008) was a French poet, author and politician from Martinique, being “one of the founders of the négritude movement in Francophone literature”. In 1945, with the support of the French Communist Party, Césaire was elected mayor of Fort-de-France and deputy to the French National Assembly for Martinique. He was one of the principal drafters of the 1946 law on departmentalizing former colonies, a role for which independentist politicians have often criticized him.
Like many left intellectuals in France, Césaire looked in the 1930s and 1940s toward the Soviet Union as a source of human progress, virtue, and human rights, but Césaire later grew disillusioned with Communism. In 1956, after the Soviet Union’s suppression of the Hungarian revolution, Aimé Césaire announced his resignation from the PCF in a text entitled “Lettre à Maurice Thorez”. In 1958 he founded the Parti Progressiste Martiniquais.
His writings during this period reflect his passion for civic and social engagement. He wrote “Discours sur le colonialisme” (Discourse on Colonialism) in 1950, a denunciation of European colonial racism, decadence, and hypocrisy that was republished in the French review Présence Africaine in 1955.
This work inspired Antoine from Echancrure to build up this 20 minutes long musical incursion into modern capitalist decadence. Read more Echancrure – Discours sur le colonialisme, EP (2012)
Mombu – Zombi (2012)
I had listen this project last year and it nailed me down, Mombu’s debut effort made it to my list of favorite albums of 2011. They are back now and although “Zombi” seems to be the re-edition of the debut album, the only major difference is that “Intro 253” has been dropped and it was introduced the title track “Zombie” as a gift for the Black President Fela Kuti: mixed from Husky Hoskulds (Mike Patton, Tom Waits, Fantomas).
Mombu is a duo made of Luca T. Mai (of ZU) playing baritone saxophone and Antonio Zitarelli (of NEO) playing the drum and merging the explosive and subversive spirit of improvisation and Free jazz with the grinding and furious raging of (Post) Hardcore, but including tasty aromas of Afro beats and hypnotizing Voodoo vibes. This is something absolutely fresh, genuine and…. murderous. Read more Mombu – Zombi (2012)
