A friend of mine from London bring to my attention this band from Sheffield, England, in 2009 and their debut album entitled “Hysterics” released one year earlier blow off my mind. Define as “progressive hardcore”, labeled as jazzcore, mathcore or simply progressive rock, Rolo Tomassi delivering a fresh and powerful mixture of hardcore, punk, post metal and avant-garde jazz which is quite innovative and brilliant.
The band was formed in 2005 and immediately began to perform at local venues and pubs to small crowds and released some of their first material, a “3 Track Demo” CD, respectively “4 Track Cassette” which they could sell at the shows they were performing at.
After a split EP with Mirror! Mirror! (limited to 333 copies and released through Speedowax) the band signed to Holy Roar Records and released a self-titled EP featuring re-recorded songs from previous demos and EPs along with new songs. Read more Rolo Tomassi – Eternal Youth (2011)
post metal
Mindset – Midnight Sky (2011)
It’s at least extremely uninspired to chose for name of your band something common and without make at least a search on Google if the particular name by any chance is still available. Mindset is one of the very bad choices possible. I found 4 bands with the same name, one from Chesapeake, Virginia, one from Baltimore, Maryland, a pop band probably from India and finally I get to what I’ve been looking for, these guys from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Fuckin’ shit! Worst, the guys from Baltimore are playing kind of similar style of hardcore and have a record deal with React! Records. So, get a grip!
“Midnight Sky” came out through Pee Records, I think at least the record label should check out the legal status of the name of their new protegee. Things like that are bad for the business when these days business is bad anyway… Read more Mindset – Midnight Sky (2011)
Deftones – Covers (2011)
To commemorate “Record Store Day“, Deftones released a special edition “Covers” album. This LP is a collection of classic Deftones’ cover tracks, pressed together on limited edition vinyl for the first time ever and only 3K of these will be available. Deftones play songs by artists like The Cure, Japan, Drive Like Jehu, The Cars, The Smiths, Lynryd Skynrd, Duran Duran. I like covers, actually I collect them and sometimes I find real pearls, interesting reinterpretations or new, unexpected dimension of some more or less classic tracks. To play one on one somebody else’s song, make no sense. It’s actually not the first time when Deftones delight us with covers,their “B Sides & Rarities” – Released in 2005 – compilation included cover songs from their favorite artists, ranging from metal, hard rock (Lynyrd Skynyrd) and post-hardcore (Helmet and Jawbox), to gothic rock, art rock and new wave (Duran Duran, Cocteau Twins and The Cure), so, they always have a “colored” taste, and this vinyl is colored and contrasting as well. Read more Deftones – Covers (2011)
Somnolent – Renaissance Unraveling (2011)
Somnolent formed in 2006, positioning itself as a funeral doom metal band. Having time for four years to perform at many festivals in the cities of Ukraine and Russia, and issuing a few releases in this vein, including full-length album “Monochromes Philosophy” in 2008 on the label Solitude Production. The band changed their style in the direction of post metal, progressive, sludge, while continuing to experiment. In 2011 they released their second full-length album, this “Renaissance Unraveling” through Slow Burn Records.
This is a dark and gloomy material, preserving the mood and trademarks of the debut album, but including some interesting colors from sludge and heavy explosions of modern metal riffings, some technical death metal elements and interesting breaks and shiftings from different tempos and moods. Read more Somnolent – Renaissance Unraveling (2011)
New Discolour – Short Of Ink (2011)
Remains me most of Pantera, New Discolour bring a heavy blend of old-school metal, hardcore with a sort of modern and extremely intense approach, actually their put together a very powerful and exciting material.
Formerly known as She Is Malignant, started in september 2008 with only one EP released entitled “Silent Scream”, they changed their name to New Discolour and “Short Of Ink” is their debut album.
Coming from Kolding/Aarhus/Esbjerg, Vælg din region, Danmark, Artem Kushnirenko – vocals, Jesper Rasmussen and Søren Thomsen – guitars, Mayu Tharumann – bass and Lasse Mikkelsen – drums, put together a very promising material, cutting edge riffs, pumping bass and crushing drums with intense vocals make this album heavy, classy, but fresh and alive. Read more New Discolour – Short Of Ink (2011)
Last Chance To Reason – Level 2 (2011)
If you like bands as The Dillinger Escape Plan and Between the Buried and Me, it worth to give a try also to this Last Chance To Reason, you will have a very nice surprise. They are from Augusta, Maine, and their debut album, “Level 1”, was released through Tribunal Records in 2007. Their debut album heavily references video games, especially to “Super Metroid” and in the title of their album ‘Lvl. 1’, and song titles such as ‘Escape From Brinstar’, ‘Kraid Ain’t Got Shit On Me’ and ‘Destroy Mother Brain’ they refer to the game.
“Level 2” is a new take on both the concept album and the video game. The current line-up consist of Michael Lessard – vocals, A J Harvey – guitar, vocals, Thomas Waterhouse – guitar, Chris Corey – bass, vocals, Brian Palmer – keyboards , synth and drummer Evan Sammons. Read more Last Chance To Reason – Level 2 (2011)
Signo Rojo – Promo Album (2011)
Jonas Nilsson – bass and vocals, Hampus Henningsson and Elias Mellberg – guitars and drummer Pontus Svensson from Sweden deliver us a heavy material with roots anchored both in the deep sludge of southern USA and the other planted in the deep crevices of doom-metal. Signo Rojo’s promo album can be listen and download at their Bandcamp page and “name your price” means you actually can download their album even for free, but I believe any artistic effort deserves to be rewarded. (Giving one dollar for example it makes no sense, PayPal and Bandcamp having 40 revenue from any transaction and by transferring from PayPal to the current bank account the money the artist loose a few more percents, so, in the end to the band will not attain more than half of the original amount.) Read more Signo Rojo – Promo Album (2011)
Believer – Transhuman (2011)
What the hell is “transhuman”? Transhuman is “the study of the ramifications, promises, and potential dangers of technologies that will enable us to overcome fundamental human limitations, and the related study of the ethical matters involved in developing and using such technologies.” Shit, this are heavy stuffs. Believer is an American band formed in the late 80s and early 90s and from their thrash metal roots they grow into a post metal, progressive metal area and this “Transhuman” is their fifth full-length album which is set to be released on April 11, 2011 on Metal Blade Records. They put together 12 complex and intense songs, solid and strong thrash like guitar riffs and constructions are placed into a much wider progressive/post metal area, the technical elements are built in into a gloomy and atmospheric universe. Dream Theater back in 2003 on their album “Train of Thoughts” were kind of close to this sound and approach. Read more Believer – Transhuman (2011)
Henceforth – The Gray Album (2011)
Henceforth are another exciting band from Brazil, another nice surprise after MindFlow and The Tape Disaster. Formed in 1993, they released their first album (Full album on-line streaming) in Brazil in December 2005 via Voice Music, label owned by Silvio Golfetti, guitarist of the Brazilian thrash metal band Korzus. The current line-up is made up by singer Frank Harris, guitarist Hugo Mariutti, bass player Luis Mariutti, drummer Fabio Elsas and keyboard player Cristiano Altieri. Luis and Hugo were former members of the band called Shaaman, and Luis is a former member of power metal band Angra – as of 2007 they are no longer in Shaaman having left the band with singer Andre Matos in order to pursue new projects. Fabio has played in the past with bands Skyscraper and Firebox. Their experience is clearly mark positively the sound and compositions of Henceforth. Read more Henceforth – The Gray Album (2011)
The Black Dots Of Death – Ever Since We Were Children (2011)
Michael Shawn “Clown” Crahan, also known by his number #6 in Slipknot, is an American musician, music producer, and artist, he also is interested in photography and painting. He is best known as one of the two custom percussionists of Slipknot, but also the drummer of To My Surprise and Dirty Little Rabbits. The Black Dots Of Death is the project he’s involved most recently and this “Ever Since We Were Children” is their sick, but convincing debut album. Hard to label very explicitly this material, The Black Dots Of Death twisting around the borders of rock from its roots to the post rock, horror rock and industrial area, but they include also post grunge tunes and trip hop elements and surprisingly they are heavy without being noisy at all, they are absolutely sick, but still kind of… beautiful. Well, maybe I’m sick and pervert as well, but I really like this shit. “I’m sorry that I failed you, I’m sorry I wasn’t there, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I really don’t fucking care!” Say that again! 😆 Read more The Black Dots Of Death – Ever Since We Were Children (2011)
