The circus it’s back to the town! Run and hide while you still can, the freaks are out of leash! Or just turn up the volume, dig out from the corner of your soul your rusty air-guitar and bang the hell out of your head!
Formed in 1995 in a small town called Seini from MaramureĹź, Romania, by four young and enthusiast musicians, Dirty Shirt released their third (and deadly) album these days. The vivid mixture of Western, Industrial fueled Hardcore Metal and Eastern folklore never sounded better and more cohesive. It’s a rarely happy marriage between different sounds and aromas, a smartly conducted collision of cultures and concepts. Although, Dirty Shirt reminds me of Tankard, Leningrad Cowboys and Faith No More, and they have solid roots back to the late 80’s, mid 90’s metal, this still sounds powerful and alive. Alternative metal, smartly layered and tastefully flavoured with nu-metal, metalcore and genuine (home made 🙂 ), secret ingredients. Read more Dirty Shirt – Freak Show (2013)
alternative metal
Bullet For My Valentine – Temper Temper (2013)
After a three years gap, “Temper Temper”, the fourth album by one of the finest Welsh’s new generation heavy metal band was finally released on February 8, 2013 in Australia, and February 11, 2013 worldwide under RCA Records. Produced by the same Don Gilmore, who worked on the group’s previous album, the 2010’s “Fever”, and mixed by noted engineer Chris Lord-Alge, “Temper Temper” consist of 11 powerful, but melodious, heavy, but simultaneously sticky, modern metal anthems. Songs like “Breaking Point”, “Truth Hurts”, “Temper Temper”, “Leech”, “Saints n Sinners” or “Riot” are bloody hard to erase from our memory once we heard them. And this mixture of Iron Maiden taste like classy heavy metal with the modern sounding, emo rooted metalcore, really make sense in the forge of Bullet For My Valentine – although, all this generation and their not so flying metalcore seems more and more hollow. But, by aggressive marketing and bought-up media, still popular. Read more Bullet For My Valentine – Temper Temper (2013)
Amerakin Overdose – Amerakin Overdose (2012)
Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Amerakin Overdose it’s a more metal then industrial, heavy sextette. Strong riffs, subtle electronic layers, furious vocals filled with consistent message and all the shock rock weaponry turn this project into a deadly machinery. Reminded me of Bile (and their killer “I Reject”), but also their style and sound can be associated with the music of Rob Zombie, Slipknot, Static X, Killswitch Engage, Schnitt Acht, Filter, Cop Shoot Cop, 16 Volt, Marilyn Manson, etc, a powerful, groovy mixture of groove metal strength, modern beats and industrial rock intensity.
Amerakin Overdose has been forged from six very unique individuals. Cody Perez (lead singer), “The Brick” (drums) Freeman Manfree (Guitar),“The Human” (Keyboards /Sequencing ), Enygma ( hype and shenanigans) each member embodies and personifies an element of modern Amerakin culture , power, corporate greed, pride, death, war, sex, money etc…. While the whole planet has overdosed on Amerakin culture and been consumed by double speak and cross talk , western society has lost all hope and embraced the living dead mentality. Amerakin Overdose urges you to “free your mind and see what’s inside” scare yourself to death and be reborn a free soul. Read more Amerakin Overdose – Amerakin Overdose (2012)
Hatebreed – The Divinity Of Purpose (2013)
Jamey Jasta and his killing machine are back with their sixth studio album. “Put It To the Torch” explodes literally and the merciless butchery begun. With solid roots back to Pantera, Sepultura and Machine Head, this is a dangerously groovy and modern metal mixed with brutal and intense hardcore. “Honor Never Dies” could easily fit in on any Cro-Mags, Biohazard, Madball or Sick of It All album. And everything after it’s a furious, unstoppable mixture of hardcore intensity and brutal, bone cutter metal riffs and the nervous, spitting vocals of Jamey Jasta.
“The Language” starts as one of the most incisive Slayer songs. And each and every song it’s memorable, groovy, no fill, no useless shit, but killer riffs and 101% intensity thought! “Indivisible” it’s a true hardcore punk anthem; “Dead Man Breathing” it’s the perfect Slayer/Pantera mixture!! Read more Hatebreed – The Divinity Of Purpose (2013)
Gliding Soul – Travelling With Mr. Who, EP (2012)
Gliding Soul deliver a quite contorted and dynamic mixture of modern metal heaving roots back to death metal, but revealing nu and groove metal resonances and metalcore infusions as well. While singer Benoit Derat mainly sings as Maynard Keenan of Tool, sometimes he shift into Serj Tankian, but he’s also capable of some deadly or furious death metal howls. The band’s music it’s same colourful and intense. Technical, progressive death metal, brutal metalcore and twisted out nu metal with experimental edge are efficiently merged here. Brutal riffs and acoustic breakdowns, complex rhythms and aggressive grindings are smartly incorporated and build together. Think of a mixture of Tool, System of A Down with a twist of Korn and death metal.
Very intense, very efficient and creative. Although they definitively have some solid influences, the final output it’s expressive and efficient. Technically flawless, Gliding Soul it’s a name to keep in mind if you love experimental, but brutal, modern metal! Read more Gliding Soul – Travelling With Mr. Who, EP (2012)
The Raygun Girls – The Raygun Girls (2013)
“The Time is Now” sounds like a furious Kiss track on steroids, and the New York based The Raygun Girls with their 5th studio are definitively willing to conquer the universe, or at least grinding their audience into the ground. Their music it’s a vivid mixture of hard rock, heavy metal, industrial, goth and punk rock, mainly reminding me of Danzig, while they compare their sound to bands such as Lacuna Coil, Rob Zombie, Killing Joke and Evanescence.
The brand new self-titled album it’s both an ode to the Apocalypse, and a call to Revolution, while the aliens are coming to take over our world.
With contribution from Peter Watkinson of death metal band Abomnium doing lead guitar on two songs, and some original photography work from Oliver Wasow, as well as lyrics from Paul F. Ferguson and Jacinda Espinosa, “The Raygun Girls” it’s the result of 10 years of songwriting, lyric writing, and road experience, and the 11 songs delivering the very essence of this band: powerful, raw, without compromises, loud rock & roll!! Read more The Raygun Girls – The Raygun Girls (2013)
Voivod – Target Earth (2013)
While both fans and critics were skeptical regarding the future of Voivod considering that guitarist Piggy (Denis D’Amour) was Voivod, three years after releasing the supposed final album “Infini” and touring pretty heavily with new guitarist Chewy (Daniel Mongrain), Voivod is back and seems and sound healthier and stronger then ever. Blacky (Jean-Yves ThĂ©riault), their former bassist who left the band in 1991 after releasing “Angel Rat” returned as well in 2008, so, “Target Earth” actually have excellent chances to be another murderous Voivod release. And it is. With serious resonances back to “Killing Technology” (1987) and their definitive mile stone “Nothingface” (1989), regarding their lucky thirteen studio album, there’s nothing to complaining about. Actually, if I would not know that Piggy passed away back in 2005, I could swear he delivered secretly all those bone cutter, maniac riffs. Damn! Some of those riffs are quite familiar. This is one of the best Voivod albums since “The Outer Limits” (1993) and a glorious return to their Pink Floyd affected, complex and schizophrenic, thrash metal polluted experimental/progressive/avant-garde (insane) metal. Read more Voivod – Target Earth (2013)
Tomahawk – Oddfellows (2013)
While the long awaited new Faith No More album still seems to be a dream away, Mike Patton and Duane Denison resurrected Tomahawk out of the blue and “Oddfellows”, the project’s fourth studio album will be released worldwide in January 2013 on Patton’s record label Ipecac Recordings.
Beside Mike Patton (Mr. Bungle, Faith No More, FantĂ´mas, Lovage, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Peeping Tom, etc), ex-The Jesus Lizard guitar player Duane Denison, and ex-Helmet drummer John Stanier (currently playing with Battles), Trevor Dunn (ex-Mr. Bungle, FantĂ´mas, etc) player taking the place of Melvins/Cows bass player Kevin Rutmanis.
The 13 brand new songs of “Oddfellows” shows a mature, but still adventurous, willing to explore rock band twisting in and out the borderline between avant-garde and post rock. This is a fever-burned, tensioned, sometimes contorted, sometimes surprisingly chilled and settle down mixture of music. There’s a subtle, but smartly balanced struggle between abstract trips and vivid rock rides with just the right amount of odd and genuine rock energy. “Oddfellows” it’s less furious, less noisier and industrial fueled then their self titled debut in 2001, and the follow up “Mit Gas” in 2003 (the 2007’s “Anonymous” was a different story!!), but still powerful and tensioned throughout. This is 100% Tomahawk with some solid hooks back to Faith No More and a gloomy twist of Peeping Tom flavor. Read more Tomahawk – Oddfellows (2013)
Otep – Hydra (2013)
I love Otep and it was unpleasant to hear that their upcoming sixth studio album will be their final one as well. Listening “Hydra” it’s a strange feeling because it’s not only their supposed final album, but their weirdest one too. And it’s absolutely nothing wrong with being weird, but this is like a twisted little nightmare on a loop. And then again, there’s nothing wrong with twisted little nightmares. Just as Shamaya pointed out: this “music is universal and does not belong nor can it be contained in a nice, neat, little box.” Which is definitively good.
“Hydra” it’s an unusual mixture of mostly whispered spoken words and cinematic, gloomy and minimal, avant-garde music with here and there surfacing riffs and metal rooted passages and carousel like, dark, hip-hop flavored grooves. Quite different from their previous release, the intense “Atavist” which was released in 2011, and was one of the best releases of the year on my personal list. Read more Otep – Hydra (2013)
Coat Of Arms – Sun & Satellites (2013)
Coat Of Arms it’s a metal/groove band based in Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and they just released their brand new collection of furious riffs, angry vocals and unstoppable grooves.
I’ve got a soft spot for these Middle and Far East, Oriental sounding bands, Acyl was a really great and pleasant surprise last time, and not so long time ago, but I must mention also a few other exciting bands I wrote about such as Nervecell , Orphaned Land, Melechesh, Absolace and Arkan. Well, unfortunately Coat Of Arms delivering a very Western (American) type of groove metal without adding any Oriental flavor to it. Fortunately they do it very well, they have a great sense of melodies and deliver some grinding you into the ground kind of solid and powerful riffs. Their sound it’s fueled by the Pantera branded rhythmic and riffs merged with some nu metal after-taste (Slipknot) and metalcore infusion (Alexisonfire). They find an excellent balance between melodies and brutality. Singer Rayan Bailouni manage to sing like a rock star and scream/howl like a dying devil and switch smoothly to one into another creating additional groove to their music and adding expressiveness. Read more Coat Of Arms – Sun & Satellites (2013)
