Caliban have released seven studio albums to-date, and two split albums with the band Heaven Shall Burn. The band was formed in Hattingen, Germany in 1997 under the name Never Again and after half a year of rehearsals and a two song demo, Lifeforce Records was the first to offer the band a record deal. Since, they toured and share the scene with bands including Morning Again, Earth Crisis, Cro-Mags, Slayer, Poison the Well, Hatebreed, Pantera, Machine Head, Biohazard, Morbid Angel, Bloodjinn, All Shall Perish, Bleeding Through, I Killed The Prom Queen, Kreator, Suicide Silence, Maroon, Emmure and After the Burial. Blending metal and deathcore, Calibian are a powerful, full of energy modern metal combo. Read more Caliban – Coverfield – EP (2011)
Metal
Amorphis – The Beginning Of Times (2011)
Since 1990 Amorphis turned from death metal to folk metal and being through gothic, doom and progressive metal, explored and experimented constantly. “The Beginning Of Times” is another concept album – like the previous three “Skyforger” (2009), “Silent Waters” (2007) and “Eclipse” (2006) – , this time the central character of the songs is Väinämöinen, described by the band as “the iconic hero of Finnish mythology”. Musically, “The Beginning Of Times” is basically heavy metal colored and forged with sometimes quite symphonic taste like progressive, death and folk metal elements, but some moments digging back further to classic taste like progressive hard rock, so, Amorphis bringing together everything what they fans may demand and satisfying all the expectations. I admit, I never was their fan and probably I’ll never be, while up to date my favorite album by them is probably “Am Universum” from 2001. Read more Amorphis – The Beginning Of Times (2011)
Buckethead – It’s Alive (2011)
Buckethead now days feels like riffing, so “It’s Alive”, the thirty-first studio album by this workaholic and madman guitarist it’s mainly heavy fuckin’ metal. “Lebrontron” kick off pumping like an Iron Maiden anthem while it’s dedicated to LeBron James, the American professional basketball player for Miami Heat. “Tonka” brings some modern tones into the music while “”Barnyard Banties” introducing funk and industrial colors in the heavy glows. “Crack the Sky” shift back to the more traditional approach and have a nice, quiet, acoustic break. “The Hatch” pumping on a funky theme with twisted turns and noisy cut downs. “Brooding Peeps” slow down to some medium tempo, it’s a quite classic construction, heavy and hard themes are crossing each other and Buckethead offers a nice solo. “Picking the Feathers” it’s a Buckethead trademark experiment with a crushing riff, a Spanish-like guitar and lots of noises, a nice and convenient closing of the material. Read more Buckethead – It’s Alive (2011)
Romeo Must Die – Hardships In Season (2011)
Merging classic thrash and hardcore rawness, Romeo Must Die, formed from the ashes of Stampin’ Ground – a band labelled as “a veteran force’ and the UK’s most credible and successful underground band of the last decade” – delivered a long awaited right step debut. “Hardships In Season” with some reminiscences of the too early disappeared Pantera, it’s a pulsing, pumping, crushing album fulfilled with brutal and cutting riffs, raw vocals and incisive rhythmic section. But being simply brutal it’s not quite enough, Romeo Must Die managed to write a couple of good themes and songs, they put together a groovy, powerful and colored material. Adam Frakes-Sime – vocals, Paul Fletcher and Aaron Darling – guitars, Ben Frost – bass and Will Romain – drums, despite their underground status and unwilling to make compromises, seems to find the perfect receipt of the powerful and unleashed modern metal and they looking further to overtake the throne. Read more Romeo Must Die – Hardships In Season (2011)
Catalepsy – Bleed (2011)
From Orlando, Florida strikes deadly for the second time Catalepsy. Formed back in 2004 and released their debut “Iniquity” in 2008, “Bleed” is the collection of their brand new 10 plus 1 death grinds. With passages that reminds me of Sepultura’s “Roots” (1996), this is a bloody, surprisingly brilliant album. Inspired and cutting riffs, pumping rhythmic constructions and shifts, raw vocals and killer grooves are melted into a modern, extreme and exciting metal witch blending perfectly hardcore and death metal into one. Rick Norman – vocals, Rob Walden (the only left founding member) and Matt Sutton – guitars, Sean Murphy – bass and Benjamin Sutton – drums, not only make another deathcore material, they found enough inspiration and technical resources to put together a brutally brilliant album. Read more Catalepsy – Bleed (2011)
Archspire – All Shall Align (2011)
Oli Peters (vocals), Tobi Morelli (seven string guitar), Dean Lamb (eight string guitar), Jaron Evil (six string fertless bass and backing vocals) and Spencer Prewett (drums) delivering some extremely rapid and precise, brutal, hyper-blasting, grinding and technical death metal. The young Canadian upstarts Archspire make a proper, promising debut. Pushing boundaries of speed, technique, and limits set only by the human nature, Archspire focusing on the fast, powerful, energetic and explosive, but still musically accurately structured and perfectly performed modern, progressive death metal. Still, these boys from Vancouver managed to stealth melodies, harmonies into this unmerciful massacre. Read more Archspire – All Shall Align (2011)
Arch Enemy – Khaos Legions (2011)
Angela Gossow is one of the very few successful female metal singers to use hell of the growling. Being part of bands such as Asmodina and Mistress, she joined Arch Enemy in November 2000, after former lead singer Johan Liiva was removed from the band. “Khaos Legions” is the eighth studio album by the band, it will be released on May 30, 2011 by Century Media and it will be the first material consist of new songs since “Rise of the Tyrant” from 2007. The album was produced by Arch Enemy and Rickard Bengtsson, who already worked with the band in their 2005 album “Doomsday Machine”. Arch Enemy was founded by Carcass guitarist Michael Amott in 1996, originally a supergroup, its members were in bands such as Carcass, Armageddon, Carnage, Mercyful Fate, Spiritual Beggars, and Eucharist and delivering traditional Swedish quality melodic death metal. Read more Arch Enemy – Khaos Legions (2011)
HammerFall – Infected (2011)
Although Hector is missing from the cover of the eight studio album by HammerFall and the originally planed album cover was replaced after negative reception and some disputes, the fans can breath released, HammerFall delivered the same heavy/power metal album as usual. And it’s quite enough to listen their second track, “Bang Your Head” and you will know exactly what kind of metal came out from the kitchen of this Gothenburg, Sweden based band. HammerFall right from the beginning in 1993 get on this old-school, traditional heavy/power metal path marked by the work of predecessors as Helloween and mainly other German bands and they are still committed and devoted to the traditional approach delivering a same trip-back to the glorious 80s. Read more HammerFall – Infected (2011)
Blindside – With Shivering Hearts We Wait (2011)
I’m not quite a fan of the so-called christian rock or white metal. Jesus and rock are not such a nice couple and actually I’m not a fan of JC, further I don’t accept the idea that somebody else did or should pay for my sins and I didn’t met him yesterday at the corner as many lost souls claimed they does. Well, perhaps I’m gonna rot in hell, but let me worry about this by myself, don’t fucking try to convince me and if I can’t save myself, nobody else dose. My favorite line comes from Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), it’s quite Nietzsche inspired, but it says all: “Your God is dead and no one cares, if there is a hell I’ll see you there.” (Heresy) Practice what you preach, but don’t preach what you practice. Faith should be private as sex. But well, once again, I’m just a fucked-up guy.
But leaving aside all my prejudices, Blindside rocks. Read more Blindside – With Shivering Hearts We Wait (2011)
I Spy Strangers – The Kind Of Dirty You Cant Wash Off (2011)
The term stranger is the traditional way of referring to someone physically present in the Palace of Westminster who is neither a member of parliament nor a parliamentary official. Nowadays, strangers – visitors – can watch debates, and can sit in the Stranger’s Gallery. Historically, visitors were not allowed in at all. Parliament still has the right to debate in private, and any visitor causing a disturbance can be ejected, or even taken into custody by the Serjeant at Arms.Attempts to exclude visitors are usually employed simply to disrupt or delay the House’s proceedings, a kind of filibustering. An MP wishing to interrupt used to shout “I spy strangers”.
This kind of so-called post-hardcore few years back would be labeled without a blinking of an eye emo. Read more I Spy Strangers – The Kind Of Dirty You Cant Wash Off (2011)
