Extreme and brutal, dark and raw sounding, this Stockholm based post-hardcore band will rip your head off with tones of ferocious riffs and their chaotic, contorted, furious music. Both rooted to punk and metal, this pounding, post-hardcore genre became quite popular lately and many exciting new bands proved true creativity widening the borders of the extreme, avant-garde music. They call their music “hopeless and heartbreaking doomsday hardcore punk”, which actually covers quite consistently the noisy butchery and beautiful poetry they create.
No Omega manage to define their own sound and find their own path of express their fury and desperation, although, they are recommended for fans of Touché Amoré, Dead Swans, Killing the Dream, Meleeh, Oceana and Rise and Fall.
They are also promote and support vegans and vegetarians, as well as they incorporates political ideas and civilization criticism into their lyrics. They spreading these ideas in a very open and relaxed way, but you can still enjoy their music without agreeing with their views and opinions. Best thing come last, “Metropolis” can be downloaded even for free (“name your price”) from their Bandcamp page, or can order from there the hard copy, CD for 6 Euro, respectively the 12″ vynil for 10 Euro. As I always say, artist need and deserves our support and encouragement! No Omega it’s definitively a name to keep in mind! Read more No Omega – Metropolis (2012)
Metal
Funeral For a Friend – Conduit (2013)
The sixth studio album by Welsh post-hardcore band Funeral for a Friend was released through Distiller Records on 28 January 2013 for Europe, and will be released on 5 February 2013 through The End Records In the United States.
Funeral For a Friend are considered one of the prominent influence on the British post-hardcore scene and their debut album, “Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation” it’s considered by most of the critics and fans as a release which set a high standard for the band to rival in future releases.
With diverse roots back and gathered influences from heavy metal to melodic and post-hardcore, adding emo and screamo weaponry, Funeral For a Friend have shown a progression and maturity with each record, although, some fans disliked the changes while on the way they lost some brutality and became more melodic and the howling, screaming vocals were almost completeyly replaced by clean vocals. Read more Funeral For a Friend – Conduit (2013)
Obselion – The Calm Fire, EP (2012)
The opening title track, “The Calm Fire” might be misleading. Wobbling basses and the smooth, but sober electronic layers only announce the storm to come. I think a smart exploration of those fancy elements and a proper use of them along the brutal riffing, the death fueled vocals and the metalcore flavoured build-ups would add a great support to the musical experiment of Mohammed Sawan, the brain and musician behind this Abu Dhabi project.
“The Oppressed” it’s an intense and exciting journey on the wings of progressive death metal with several metalcore taste like breaks and neo-classic, Yngwie Malmsteen flavoured, powerful guitar passages. If Malmsteen would ever try to play death metal, that definitively would sound like “FAIL! Try Again”. Even the clean vocals reminded me of the Swedish guitar hero. The breakdown it’s very classy, heavy metal fueled, but some of the riffs are also extremely power/speed metal fueled. Extremely technical, but still soulful and expressive mixture of styles and sounds. Read more Obselion – The Calm Fire, EP (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)
Converge – All We Love We Leave Behind (2012)
Sick as f*ck, fast and loud, Converge, one of the most creative and explosive metal bands emerged from the underground in the last decade it’s back with their eighth and deadliest album. Playing an extremely innovative blend of hardcore punk and modern, death and groove fueled extreme metal, Converge not only opened the path for a new generation of furious metallers, but also inspired and influenced a brand new generation of bands and consistently contributed to define many of the elements of the metalcore genre.
Their previous album, the 2009’s “Axe to Fall” peaked at number 74 in the Billboard 200 and the expectations were pretty high regarding their new release.
“All We Love We Leave Behind” it’s a new milestone in the history of the metal. This is metal f*ckers! True, raw, unpolished, stainless metal. Not that kind of s*it that the media call it metal(core) nowadays and the industry sell it labeled as “the real thing” to the naive teenagers. Surprise!! No electronic layers, no bass drops, no borrowed, Skrillex type of contortions. Fortunately! Read more Converge – All We Love We Leave Behind (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 Thériault), 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, Fantômas, 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, Fantômas, 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)
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)
Cortez – Phoebus (2013)
The Swiss trio are back and it’s time for the new set of dark and furious butchery! Although guitarist Antoine Tinguely (ex-Berserk For Tea Time) replaced former guitarist Samuel Vaney, Vaney is now supporting the band as composer/mixer.
While the drums were recorded in the REC Studio of Serge Morattel in Geneva, they recorded the guitars and vocals in their own rehearsal room, the new album is the result of hard work, giving the band big freedom in creation and the possibility to fully assume the production process. The sound it’s pretty raw, unpolished and have a pithy live vibe, if you pump up the volume high enough, almost feels like you are there in the rehearsal room. So, “Phoebus” it’s not about surgically clean sound and high-end production, but about the unleashed strength of metal, about the flesh ripper riffs and pounding like hell drums, about not making compromises, but expressing feelings through music. Read more Cortez – Phoebus (2013)
