Except the geographical location, an exclamation mark less, the approach and sound makes the difference between the Welsh (UK) located Attack! Attack! and the Westerville, Ohio (USA) located, metalcore/electronicore band Attack Attack!. Hate to say this over and over, but a little more inventiveness and inspiration would be just great when people are about to choose their band name. It’s kind of starting with the wrong foot your career guys if there’s another band with the same or almost similar name in the business.
Formed in 2005 (while the band from Welsh seems to formed one year later…), some of their songs seems to contain Christian-based lyrics, but not all members of Attack Attack! are Christian, and do not consider themselves a Christian band. Musically, Attack Attack! merged the groove and aggression of Pantera with post-emo feeling and electronic sounds, features a djent sound to its guitar riffs played primarily in drop-G, and delivering a quite intense and disturbing mixture of melody and brutality. This third studio album by the band seems to be a concept album. Read more Attack Attack! – This Means War (2012)
music
Mindless Faith – Just Defy (2012)
Although, as I just find out, this is their fifth album, “Just Defy” is the first album by Mindless Faith I ever listening to. I crashed into Mindless Faith at Indaba Music through the Jane’s Addiction remix competition , competition won by them which actually makes me hate them – although my remix is even darker – 😀 – but, I’m not gonna deny my subjectivity on this issue! 😆
Anyway, it seems they have a solid and substantial fan-base and experience in remixing “business”, delivering several tracks, including remixes for Nine Inch Nails and Front Line Assembly, and they delivering solid, balanced remixes incorporating their dark, deep and pulsing marks on these works. They remixed two Nine Inch Nails songs: “Only” and “The Hand That Feeds” and won a number of radio remix contests, met Trent Reznor as part of one of the prize, who said their remix was “better than some I’ve paid for”.
Mindless Faith find their path of merging industrial rock and EBM, their dark and contorted music honor predecessors such as Ministry, Pigface, KMFDM, Front242, Funker Vogt, Skinny Puppy, Combichrist, Nitzer Ebb, Schnitt Acht – just to name few.
“Just Defy” it’s another trip into the dark side and Mindless Faith is an exelent combo delivering soundtracks for this strange times of global turmoil. Read more Mindless Faith – Just Defy (2012)
Biohazard – Reborn In Defiance (2012)
I was expected a murderous follow-up of their 92’s “Urban Discipline”. You know, ’92 – ’12, it was a seven years gap between their eight and ninth studio album, we’re living kind of strange, sometimes twisted and dangerous times, I guess I actually missed pretty badly the bold power of some grinding tracks as “Punishment” was. “Vengeance Is Mine” have something from that spirit, but something still missing. And few tracks further kind of disappointment taking over the hopes and although “Reborn In Defiance” sounds cutting and strong, Biohazard seems to became too slow, too predictable, eventually to conservatives.
And the dilemma remains the same: Metal or Hardcore? Read more Biohazard – Reborn In Defiance (2012)
Blue Stahli – Blue Stahli (2011)
Although I have a whole lot of new releases waiting there to be listen and eventually to get a review at the bottom line, still, there are many treasures left undiscovered from the previous year. Blue Stahli are definitively one of them and released on March 2, 2011, this self-titled album it’s the first not only instrumental album by the artist, but the second under the Blue Stahli moniker.
We’ve got 10 tracks, 43 minutes of ravishing fury and sensual emotions. Blue Stahli managed to merged anthematic rock hooks with smoothly cinematic sensitivity and epic electronic sound. Aggressive riffing, melodic hooks, bloody screams and contorted electronic layers are working in perfect harmony here to create the most efficient construction of gothic punk with industrial metal outfit. Probably most of the people will think of Nine Inch Nails and well, there are some obvious similarities, but still, this is something quite different. And highly addictive. Read more Blue Stahli – Blue Stahli (2011)
Enter Shikari – A Flash Flood Of Colour (2012)
The merging of metalcore and dubstep was kind of predictable and unavoidable evolution of the scene. Low frequency oscillations, the wobble bass and some crushing riffs and screaming vocals make a quite destructive pair and definitively fits the taste of the new generation. But there’s at least one question left. Those kids who are willing to set the city on fire only to steal a pair of sneakers and eventually a flat screen TV, are gonna pay for all that music the industry kindly delivering, or they gonna download – steal – it? And honestly, most of this music deserves nothing than to be downloaded.
Although I have my (musical) roots back in hardcore, but I also appreciate the quality dubstep too, so, I think this musical collision could bring to the surface quite exciting results, I still did not heard some outstanding results. America had his best shot by Korn, but not even the almighty Skrillex and a whole army of appreciated nowadays producers could save the lack of inspiration from “The Path Of Totality” and hide it under the massive sound. So, let’s see what the Brits managed to delivered on their third album… Read more Enter Shikari – A Flash Flood Of Colour (2012)
Kayo Dot – Gamma Knife (2012)
Kayo Dot, the brainchild of Toby Driver is a quite different musical project then most of the nowadays trendy runners. It’s an everchanging mixture of rock, jazz, metal and avant-garde elements, it’s definitively not a common, usual, easy to label and listen kind of music. But it’s much more alive.
A partial live recording with overdubs added in the studio, they delivered 25 minutes of their usually unusual music, this time kind of saxophone fueled noise metal, a quite contorted trip, eventually with the exception of the title track which it’s an almost classical track with chamber and (possible) Gregorian aromas and offers a chill exit for the listener. Read more Kayo Dot – Gamma Knife (2012)
Field Frequency
Yesterday, Friday 13, was a quite odd day. But after all I managed to get over it. Just to face another task today. 😀
The Weekly Brief is an on-going program to source specific, high-quality music for Indaba‘s non-exclusive licensing catalog.
In this inaugural edition of their weekly commissions, they’re reaching out to the artists of Indaba to compose an adrenaline-fueled score for this snowboarding footage. I delivered a quick, noisy one for this one, kind of clash between Black Sabbath and Ministry… Check it out, hope you enjoy it. 😉 Read more Field Frequency
Elizabeth – Demo, Free Download
Free stuffs are best stuffs for most of us, I know. Candies for suckers. 😀 And Matthias Jungbluth of Throatruiner Records all the time serve us some goodies. So, I’m gonna spread and share his message, still, just remember, artists and some independent labels as Throatruiner Records deserves all our support and don’t forget: art needs not only inspiration, but financing, support too.
Swiss ELIZABETH (hardcore/crust in the vein of Rise And Fall, Converge, The Hope Conspiracy,with ex-NOSTROMO vocalist) has entered the studio to record their debut EP “When Vultures Land”. A 12″ vinyl release is planned for march via Throatruiner Records and I For Us, and their first home-recorded EP is still available for free download here : http://ezbth.bandcamp.com. Read more Elizabeth – Demo, Free Download
Grand Central – 01, EP (2011)
New name on the scene, no background infos, no nothing about them, so, what could I did, google them, obviously. Google “Grand Central – 01” and you will got THIS. A not so succeeded snap-shot of the Grand Central Terminal in NYC. Tried a different approach and find out that there’s a Brit cover band running under the same name and “providing the best live music from 60s to present day for your wedding, party, corporate events”… S*it! And there are also “The Grand Central Band” from New Zealand, formed in 1997… I hate “my job” (sometimes), I hate Google – but I would be disposable to merry his daughter eventually 😀 -, I hate the internet, I hate you and everybody else. Still, I love punk’n’roll, something performed and perfected to master by Lemmy Kilmister and his Motörmotherfuckinghead. And this 4 track EP delivered by the French Grand Central consist of that kind of Read more Grand Central – 01, EP (2011)
Hexis – XI (2012)
Two words: death and destruction. I think back in ’86-’87 when I first listen to Kreator’s “Endless Pain” and “Pleasure to Kill” I had that murderous feeling. Back then it was something terrible and shocking, nowadays nothing’s shocking anymore, still, Hexis delivers some brutally good mixture of extreme metal. Slow, doom and black metal grinding moments are ripped away by killer massacres of grindcore and hardcore intensity.
I wasn’t able to dig out too many infos about this Copenhagen (Denmark) based band formed in the beginning of 2010, but it seems they already has released a bunch of different records and toured Europe a few times in countries like Sweden, Germany, Holland, France, Switzerland, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia and Czech Republic together with bands like Celeste, The Secret and This Gift Is A Curse. Read more Hexis – XI (2012)
