This is the one-man project from Knife the Glitter/Burden/Normal Love/Inzinzac/Gun Muffs/(and a few more), drummer Eli Litwin, but featuring some brilliant guest stars: Between The Buried And Me’s Tommy Rogers, Chris Alfano of East Of The Wall/Postman Syndrome, Robert Meadows of A Life Once Lost, Jesse Korman of The Number Twelve Looks Like You, Jerry Jones of Trophy Scars, Travis Weinand of Burden/Tetsuo, Evan Moore of Gypsy Wig/Birth Screams and Ruston Grosse.
Eli Litwin was born in 1983 in Morristown, NJ. He began playing drums at the age of 9 and started his first rock band at age 11. Through high school he continued to play in a variety of rock bands as well as the high school jazz band. Eli chose to attend the Esther Boyer College of Music at Temple University where he studied drum set with Erik Johnson. Since graduating with his Bachelors of Music in Jazz Performance, Eli has remained in Philadelphia to pursue music on both the performing and teaching ends. Though his area of expertise began largely in metal, Eli has gained significant experience playing in jazz, rock & avant-garde idioms as well. Read more Intensus – Intensus (2011)
metalcore
Voice Of Ruin – Self Titled (2011)
Honestly, what would be your first thoughts if I say France? Obviously Paris. Champs-Elyses, The Arc de Triomphe, perhaps Montparnasse, champagne, sophisticated food – well, I’m not so sure what to think of onion soup, but I’m nothing but a peasant 😀 -, chansons – Edith Piaf, glamour and only now we’re getting to the point: women and sex. This was brutal? What about a blowjob for a call girl? “But let’s be frank, NOBODY GIVES A FUCK. The public only cares about sex and money. And it’s for this reason that VOICE OF RUIN is brutal and sexual, and that we band members enjoy drinking beer. That’s knowing how to sell yourself and when you sell, you make dough and with that dough you get more beer, bitches and drugs” – says the guys from Voice Of Ruin and well, what the hell, probably they’re right. Read more Voice Of Ruin – Self Titled (2011)
Crossfaith – The Dream, The Space (2011)
Before I had listen to “The Dream, The Space” the second full-length album by Crossfaith, I saw on YouTube their video of “Omen” and it just blow my head off. I’m quite a devoted Prodigy fan and “Omen” is one of my favorite songs, but these guys released a killer cover.
On the other hand I have to admit, I’m sick, tired and bored of this “metalcore”, “alternative metal” trend, trillion of bands from all over the world playing the same patters, it becomes absolutely cliche this mixture of raw and clean vocals dialogue, this post-emo approach of classic metal with post-hardcore elements. Well, as always, there are a few exceptions, and these Japanese guys are one of them. Read more Crossfaith – The Dream, The Space (2011)
Far From The Tree – You’ve Crashed Your Only Vessel (2011)
I’m almost frightened when I had to listen another band labeled “metalcore”. A few years back bands started to deny any reference to “emo”, it will take no long till bands will start denying any connection to metalcore. Till than, day after day dozen of bands, albums came through, most of them delivering the same trendy cliches. Fortunately, there are few exceptions from time to time, and Far From The Tree are one of them. “You’re Crashed Your Only Vessel” is a powerful mixture of old-school heavy metal riffings – well, some of them are returning quite to the NWOBHM and particularly to Iron Maiden – and some groove metal riffs while the space between is filled up with techno textures and layers. Cody screams, howls and sings as any singer with self esteem should nowadays and the band delivering from intense grindings to nice acoustic breaks everything to make the whole machinery sounds dynamic and catchy. And well, they do a pretty good job. Read more Far From The Tree – You’ve Crashed Your Only Vessel (2011)
Given The Day – In Search Of Eden (2011)
Powerful, cutting, groovy – Pantera-like – riffs, grinding tempos and exciting breaks, melodious passages are merged together in the work of these two guys from San Diego, California, and currently they are looking for new band mates playing drums, guitar, bass and keyboards. Garett Chambers – vocals and Mike Burrows comes in the footsteps of bands such as We Came As Romans, Sleeping With Sirens, Emarosa, Attack Attack! All That Remains, August Burns Red, Of Machines, Saosin, Lower Definition, etc and “In Search Of Eden” is a colorful, flowing metalcore album up to date, Garett brings raw vocals, but shift to clean singing while Mike delivering very good riffs and some nice guitar solos. These 11 songs are absolutely ok and promising, my only problem with this “genre” is that everything is quite predictable, too many bands/artist are playing the same kind of patterns, it might be trendy, but it’s full of cliches. Still, I think Given The Day have a good start, I really enjoyed Mike’s riffing and generally his guitar work, Garett have a strong, powerful voice and if they will manage to find their own path, detach them self from the trends, Given The Day have quite potential. Read more Given The Day – In Search Of Eden (2011)
Earth Crisis – Neutralize the Threat (2011)
Karl Buechner keeps the wheels of Earth Crisis running since 1989 – with a gap between 2001-2007 while he focused on his project called Nemesis and later renamed Freya -, using music as weapon to promoting a straight edge and vegan lifestyle, debating further social and political issues and supporting animal rights. Taking off from hardcore punk, Earth Crisis evolved into a metal machinery, getting to their sixth studio album, their mixture of metalcore and hardcore is heavier then ever, established a bridge between metal, hardcore and punk communities.
Earth Crisis’s message of human, animal and environmental liberation has resonated beyond the music industry, they have received national media coverage on CNN (Earth Matters), TBS, FOX (America’s Most Wanted), CBS (48 Hours), MTV (Music News) and ABC (World News Tonight) and Karl Buechner has spoken in front of members of Congress about teens and substance abuse. Read more Earth Crisis – Neutralize the Threat (2011)
August Burns Red – Leveler (2011)
Being quite skeptical ’bout everything labeled lately “metalcore”, songs such as “Internal Cannon”, “Cutting the Ties”, “Carpe Diem” and “Salt & Light” from the fourth studio album by American band August Burns Red, convinced me to give them another chance. State that they have been inspired and influenced by bands such as Between the Buried and Me, Misery Signals and Hopesfall, their powerful, technical, filled with heavy breakdowns and groovy riffs and not at least some nice, acoustic or slow passages which offering release and an exotic flavor, is quite the essence of what actually metalcore means now days. Merging some almost traditional heavy metal riffings with intense modern metal with roots back to death metal and adding raw, extreme vocals, August Burns Red comes crushing and this combination of melodious themes with blowing brutality, I had to admit, it’s quite efficient and have some charm. Still, when a million plus one bands are begun doing the same kind of thing, using the same schemes and cliches, don’t really matter how intense they doing it, all the excitement is gone and the thing becomes pretty boring. Some Pantera lyrics came back haunting: “be yourself, by yourself…” Read more August Burns Red – Leveler (2011)
Of Mice and Men – The Flood (2011)
For a year or two I’m at least suspicious if not directly sick only when I hear of “indie” or “alternative” labels, this year I got myself a new syndrome, I get sick when I hear of “metalcore”. Too many faceless bands does the same kind of shit and it becomes pretty boring. Fortunately there are always few exception, and talking bout metalcore, Of Mice and Men are still manage to put on the table exciting materials.
The band was formed by Austin Carlile – original vocalist of Attack Attack! – and bassist Jaxin Hall during mid-2009 after Carlile’s departure from his former band. After reaching 1,000,000 plays from their Myspace profile in just two months since its launch, the band uploaded a cover of Lady Gaga’s song, “Poker Face” and a copy of the demo was sent directly to Rise Records.
The band released their self-titled debut album in March 2010. On “The Emptiness Tour” in 2010 Carlile fell in to a conflict with the other members and the band and Carlile decided to part ways. The group thereafter invited Jerry Roush – vocalist for Sky Eats Airplane and American Me – to front Of Mice & Men. But after nine months the group confirmed in January 2011 that they reached a decision to have Jerry Roush leave Of Mice & Men in favor for former vocalist and founding member, Austin Carlile to return to the group. Read more Of Mice and Men – The Flood (2011)
Black Veil Brides – Set the World on Fire (2011)
Their video for the song “Knives and Pens” has gained over 26,000,000 views over YouTube, so, the group’s debut album “We Stitch These Wounds” released in 2010 and sold nearly 10,000 copies in its first week, ranking at #36 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, and #1 on the Billboard Independent chart. Having the look of the 80s Motley Crue and the sound of some emo/post-hardcore band, Black Veil Brides merging dark and heavy themes, balancing smoothly between the traditional heavy sound and the modern, grungy approach. Andy Biersack have powerful voice, he singing strong and catchy choruses, while the band delivering pretty intense metal support. The new set consist of 11 songs, shows a stronger and more determined, perhaps more mature band, somehow it’s quite a fracture between their look and their music. Read more Black Veil Brides – Set the World on Fire (2011)
Lynch. – I Believe in Me (2011)
Lynch. was formed in 2004 by Hazuki (formerly in Deathgaze) – vocals, Reo – guitar, and Asanao – drums, in Nagoya, Japan. With Yukino as a support bassist, they released their first album, “Greedy Dead Souls” (2005) on the label Marginal Works and toured nationally. In 2006, Yusuke joined as a second guitarist and 2007 bring to surface two more albums “The Avoided Sun” and “The Buried”. Their fourth full-length album, “Shadows”, was released in 2009.
In July 2010, the band announced they would be joining a major label and the band started their last tour on their independent label titled “The Judgement Days” in September 2010. Lynch. has announced that Hazuki will not be participating in the “The Judgement Days” due to being diagnosed with “acute pharyngitis and laryngitis, accompanied by swelling of the vocal chords”, but he will continuing studio recordings. Read more Lynch. – I Believe in Me (2011)
