Fans of In Flames can give a try on this fifth studio album by Orlando, Florida’s Trivium. Formed in 1999, the band came out under the influence of Metallica to make it to the nowadays so-called metalcore which incorporated clean and screamo vocals, progressive and melodious heavy themes and death-like grindings. Boil in the proper proportion Metallica, In Flames, Machine Head and Iron Maiden in a music blender and the result should come pretty close to what’s on “In Waves”.
This merging of classic heavy constructions, thrash rawness, few death brutalities and powerful, clean vocals against screams and howls is still quite dynamic and Trivium managed to deliver a few extremely good themes and moments, still, this patters and schemes becomes so predictable that nothing can save it from itself. Read more Trivium – In Waves (2011)
post metal
Dead Letter Circus – This Is The Warning, Deluxe Edition (2011)
Althrough “This Is the Warning”, the debut full-length album by Dead Letter Circus was released in May 2010 and distributed by Warner Music Australia, debuted at #2 on the Australian album charts and at #1 on the iTunes chart. Only in May 2011, one year later, they signed a deal with Sumerian Records to release it also in North America and the band supported Animals As Leaders in a 24-city national tour from July to August.
Formed in 2005 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, their self-titled debut EP released in 2007 made some waves and building an ever-growing army of DLC disciples. Completely independently, the band shifted well over 13,000 units of the debut EP and subsequent double A side single ‘Next in Line / Reaction’. Triple J radio placed everything that the band released on high rotation and live, the band becomes festival favorite. Read more Dead Letter Circus – This Is The Warning, Deluxe Edition (2011)
Krakatau – Krakatau (2011)
If you’re familiar – and in love – with tumultuous, turbulent musical project such as Fantômas, Tomahawk, Moonchild Trio and Mr. Bungle, generally speaking, if you like the mainly twisted and contorted avant-garde experiments of Mr. Mike Patton, Krakatau might just fit your taste and extremely important: this self-titled full-length debut album is available for FREE DOWNLOAD at the band’s official web site.
This is metal only if you’re not committed to Iron Maiden or Metallica, don’t think that “progressive metal” means exclusively Dream Theater. Say (vocals/guitar), Muz! (bass/vocals), Max (lead guitar) and Mark (drums) expands the horizons and sometimes construct music by demolition. Sometimes hypnotic, other times quite schizophrenic, Krakatau is actually an explosive music volcano, this might not be a safe trip, but eventually an exciting one.
Read more Krakatau – Krakatau (2011)
No Made Sense – New Season/New Blues (2011)
Before saying anything else: you can download this album for free and at top quality from the band’s Bandcamp page, “name your price” actually means that you can “give” even zero. It’s not fair, not even elegant, but… I still believe work and mainly creative ones should and must be rewarded substantially, but well, I’m a fucking weirdo.
Off-topics (and not so): I don’t know why nowadays people get together to make some noise, start a band. Lately, and more and more it seems everybody play, nobody listen and for worst, most of the bands are obsessed by the same (stupid) patterns, labels, boxes, genres, whatever. It’s fucking haunting me: “Punk’s not dead / It just deserves to die / When it becomes another stale cartoon / A close-minded, self-centered social club / Ideas don’t matter, it’s who you know / If the music’s gotten boring / It’s because of the people / Who want everyone to sound the same / Who drive bright people out / Of our so-called scene / ‘Til all that’s left Is just a meaningless fad / Hardcore formulas are dogshit / Change and caring are what’s real / Is this a state of mind / Or just another label / The joy and hope of an alternative / Have become its own cliche” (Dead Kennedys – Chickenshit Conformist). And if Jello Biafra saw this back in ’86, what can we say now? Looking back, the 80s smells like blooming creativity while today… shit. Really. If I have to listen just one more metalcore act, I kill myself!
Fortunately there’s always the exception that proves the rule. Read more No Made Sense – New Season/New Blues (2011)
Crushing Axes – Ascension Of Ules (2011)
Crushing Axes actually it’s the one-man-band of Alexandre Rodrigues from São José dos Campos, Brazil.
He make annual virtual releases and the albums are always available for download. The lyrics explore themes like Norse mythology and the dark side of the human mind and soul while the music is a mixture of heavy, black, doom and death metal elements with many different other artifacts from folk to traditional and classic music. It’s an interesting and exciting blending of musics and elements, quite unique in a particular sense, Alexandre managed to create his own style and atmosphere.
Read more Crushing Axes – Ascension Of Ules (2011)
Dir En Grey – Dum Spiro Spero (2011)
It has been passed 2 years and 9 months since “Uroboros”, Dir En Grey previous studio album and fans are quite on fire waiting their eight album. They can surpass themselves? Delivering 14 tracks and over one hour of music, “Dum Spiro Spero”, I think worth the waiting. Dir En Grey remains the same gloomy, impossible to label, but intense and contorted, genreless, but colourful music band, one minute they can sound like a psychotic death metal band and in the very next moment they just simply switch into a pop theme. Songs like “Yokusou Ni Dreambox” will bring you through all of this and even more. God blessed hell of a journey. Read more Dir En Grey – Dum Spiro Spero (2011)
Bury Your Dead – Mosh N Roll (2011)
Stripped to the core, this is hardfuckingcore with heavy riffs, high-level fury and explosive, unleashed energy. Pantera/Machine Head like groove metal collide with Biohazard/Sick Of It All hardcore and the result is quite convincing. This is nothing, but “mosh’n’roll”, pure, pumping metalcore without any useless ornament, senseless sophism, just kick ass themes, cutting riffs and raw vocals.
Formed in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, in 2001, as a side project of the band Hamartia featuring Brendan “Slim†MacDonald – guitar and Mark Castillo – drums and recorded and released their debut album titled “You Had Me At Hello” in March 2002. After several tours, the band break up for a few month, but bass player Rich Casey re-unite Slim, Mark and they bring to the microphone Mat Bruso.
Since, the band been through several line-up changes, Bruso left the band in 2007, he was replaced by Michael Crafter for a short period, then by Myke Terry till January 2011 when Bruso came back and Terry was fired. Read more Bury Your Dead – Mosh N Roll (2011)
By My Hands – Growing Older Getting Colder (2011)
They said “Too Hardcore for the Metal kids .. and Too Metal for the Hardcore Kids” and this band from Glasgow, Scotland, UK sounds just like – in the most positive sense – any other furious gang from Brooklyn, especially they reminds me of Biohazard. Actually I was afraid of some cheap Metallica copy, you know – “Die by my hand, I creep across the land, Killing first-born man”, but it’s not the case, their 90’s crossover it’s just fucking great, they have groovy riffs, deep growling basses, pounding drums and raw vocals, it’s just bloody nice that they don’t have clean – pussy – vocals and don’t shoot the same boring screamo/metalcore cliches, By My Hands it’s nothing about, but rage and pure unleashed energy. Read more By My Hands – Growing Older Getting Colder (2011)
Dead To A Dying World – Self Titled (2011)
Mike Yeager – vocals, Leigh Ann Jensen – upright bass, Sam Pruitt – cello and vocals, Sean Mehl – guitar, James Magruder – bass guitar and Stefan Gonzalez – drums, from Dallas, Texas, open the gates of (inner) Hell. Sit back and die – slowly. DTADY will takes you down into a gloomy world build upon black metal foundation and colored with post-rock and neo-classic/experimental elements. Doom and crust metal grindings, dark-depressive themes, abstract and contorted moments, scattered cellos and cutting guitars are merged into one dark, but breathing new universe.
This self-titled, debut double-LP from Dead To A Dying World is for those who truly appreciate the aesthetic value of deluxe packaging and heavyweight color vinyl. The album is pressed on 200-gram, translucent green wax and features heavyweight jackets, metallic-silver printed innersleeves and gatefold graphic, and is neatly enclosed in a heavy-duty slipcase. Mastered at 45rpm for superior sound quality, this is an album that was truly meant for vinyl. Read more Dead To A Dying World – Self Titled (2011)
Jumping Jack – Cow & whisky, EP (2009, re-issued)
Jack… Jack… Jack. 😀 AC/DC anybody? Who’s got the jack? 😀
Well, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, recording on “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” began during the “Beggars Banquet” sessions of 1968, but it was not released on that album, although it was released as a single same year. “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” has been featured in many films, including Martin Scorsese’s “Mean Streets” (1973), in Ron Howard’s “Night Shift” and at the end of Terry Gilliam’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”, and on several Rolling Stones compilation albums.
On the other hand, looking at the CD cover it’s no way not to think of “Old No.7” – sure you know what I’m talking about…
These guys are not from Tennessee, but from Nantes, France. Read more Jumping Jack – Cow & whisky, EP (2009, re-issued)
