Check out the video for ” Malaise” gets its premiere over at decibelmagazine.com WRVTH blew the world away with their self titled album that came out about a month ago. I have to say I picked up my copy because this album is great, it has all the elements of brutal metal, deathcore, and progressive metal as well as jazz.. I love this album, I am adamant that this is one of the best releases of 2015 CHECK THIS VIDEO OUT
Some of you may have had a chance to read my interview with Olivier Pinard, the bass player for the legendary Canadian metal band Cryptopsy. Well he just blew me away with the news of a side project he has been working on.
Check this out take Mike Disalvo ( former vocalist for Cryptopsy from the Whisper Supremecy, And then You’ll Beg albums) then you have Tommy Mckinnon ( former drummer for Neuraxis) Rob Milley ( guitarist for Neuraxis) and of course the bass extrordianaire Olivier Pinard ( bassist for Cryptopsy)put them together and you have Akurion!
This news gets me excited, because the first time I had ever heard Cryptopsy was with Disalvo on vocals. Then pair in the fact that the first time I heard Neuraxis they had McKinnon on the drums. This is a super group of members from killer Canadian metal bands. I cannot wait until they put out an album, i will jump on that the moment it is released. This level of excitement you could find me sitting in my car parked. Blasting the music through my speakers. You can speculate that I may end up breathing heavy and fogging up the windows, that is just how killer this news is. Mike Disalvo had this to say ” “We have been hard at work writing the album and we are excited to release the first wave of Akurion video spots. We all feel that this project has something strong to say””
Don’t take my word for it check out what The Guys had to say on their facebook page;
I was able to reach out and ask the guys a few questions. I limited the questions to only five for a few reasons, they are busy with their own schedules trying to keep the Cryptopsy machine rolling, they also have other projects they work on, they have families and a home life, and if I ask five questions to all the guys it keeps it simple and straight to the point.
So here is my interview with the man on the mic- Matt McGachy
Badger- since going independent, how difficult has it been for you guys? You’re basically collectively as a band taking on all the responsibilities? With this decision do you find it more rewarding when you guys play out live, or release new music?
Matt- Since we decided to go independent we have been more in control of our band and actively pursuing the goals we want to achieve. It has not been easy. Our self-title was successful thanks to all of us stepping up and stating what we are interested in taking over behind the scenes. Then we had to follow through on what we said which was more difficult. I take care of most of the online presence (Facebook, website, Bandcamp etc) and admit that I fall behind sometimes when we get swamped. But it has been extremely rewarding (creatively and relationship wise within the band) whenever we reach one of our milestones.
Badger- How was your most recent (back to the U.S) tour? Any particular moments or shows that gave you memories or that boost of energy?
Matt- The Back to the US tour was a success. We had an amazing time reconnecting with the fans and meeting new ones. It had been far too long since we played the US and we were very excited to be back. The first show in Worcester was sold-out and set the pace for the entire run, it was a great way to start things off. Also all the bands on the bill were great people as well as musically; I would tour with them again any day.
Badger- How did it feel for you to play not only the older Lord worm songs, but then also the Mike Disalvo, your own songs as well as the new material?
Matt- I really enjoy the mix, it allows me to take my voice into a few different areas throughout a gig. I love the mix of the disgusting Worm songs mixed in with the rapid fire vocals of Disalvo; it is an honour to scream their parts every night. I love crowd reactions so whenever we play the classics and the crowd goes wild those are my favourite songs to play.
Badger- What do you guys have planned for the rest of 2015, more touring, big shows open air festivals, any videos etc?
Matt- This summer we will be in Europe and we have the chance to play Gothoom Fest, Wacken, Brutal Assault and Ieperfest. We are really excited to be back in Europe with some new material! Also we will be officially releasing The Book of Suffering within the next few months and I’m really excited to share this EP with the world. There will be at least one video to come out which we are in the process of organizing now.
Badger- And my last question If you could describe the new Book Of Suffering E.P. in only five words, what would those 5 words be?
Matt-Brutally Dark Diverse Technical Music
So that wraps it up, Matt and the rest of the guys have all said The “Book Of Suffering E.P. will be Brutal, dark, and fresh. Thinking about these words, and have listened to one of the new tracks at their show. It gets me pumped to not only hear the E.P. when I get it, but also knowing this will be only Tome 1. with others to follow, and that brings the excitement level up a few notches.
For as little as $1.00, you can help get this E.P. the funded, with several other perks from a $5.00 digital download of the E.P. to getting drum, or guitar lessons, or having your own band get mixed by Chris Donaldson. No matter what, it will be worthwhile being a part of something cool. Think of it like this, if you are a Cryptopsy fan, and you help by contributing even if it is $1.00, $5.00, $20.00 or $500.00 you will be a part of that E.P. You will have helped out, every perk gets something, and for every perk you can feel good about doing what you can to help out.
So this album was released back in March it’s been busy so I haven’t had a chance to review this album yet. Listening to this album brings a sound of pure chaos. Starting off you have a band with one of my top drummers in metal Adam Jarvis, as well as bassist John Jarvis, and B.L. Lamew on vocals. Listening to this album if you have never heard them before will be 0-100 in 1 second.
The album starts out with a track basically just a sound sample from the 1981 movie “Scanners“.
Then on to the next track
Splinter starts with a nice groove with guitars and drums putting you into a state of comfort and then the vocals come in and the chaos begins. Vocals have a sound that is similar to Pig destroyer meets early The Dillinger Escape Plan. Just unfiltered red in the face forcefully telling you how it is vocals. I dig the sound the guitars have; we aren’t talking about chugging riffs, just attacking you with a constant motion of sound. Drums display a great use of the whole drums set, not a lot of blast beats, just keeping the rhythm going with the occasional need for blast beats. Really digging this track so far and it rounds out to a nice groove, and vocally abrupt attack to end the song.
Track 3 “Risen“ starts with guitars and drums again, also a nice groove. It has a riff then drum fill for a few bars going right into a easily to follow guitar riff and vocals. This song has a great groove to it, it builds up the momentum early, I really dig the riffs these guy have for this song. It has a political riot feel to it. It’s organized and chaotic at the same time. The strings really keep the listeners ability to follow along there without resorting to typical chugging riffs. They keep the same easy to follow riffs going back to the groove they started out with ending out with a breakdown and a solid one two punch with the vocals. This would be a great song to hear live with the amount of energy these guys radiate through their music. It’s a bit early to call this my favorite track on the album, but it’s a solid tune indefinitely.
Track 4 “Artifice“ starts with guitars, a high pitch feedback then low steady riff with a heavy drum presence. The vocals kick in to complete the circuit. You have a head bobbing groove right here early in to the song In fact the more I hear this, the more I am reminded of The Dillinger Escape plans calculating infinity. Right around 1:20 into the song you have a great riff and drum sequence for a few bars with vocals complimenting the sound. They keep the same tempo which is great considering how many drum fills and riff changes throughout the song.
Track 5 “Design“ which seems to be a quote from Christopher Hitchens. ( google him )
Track 6 “Crutch“ starts out with guitar ( for lack of a better term) noise, and a bass line. Boom! The guitars come in full distortion. A drum line that gives you a false sense of comfort/ security for something that will Inevitably change. Vocals come in with a ferocious attack of a wake… up.. accept this fleeting life! Powerful lyrics accompany the assault from the guitars and drums. Eventually it slows down to a sludgy sound for a few lines. Picking back up to the chaotic grinding noise that filled most of the 3:43 minute long song. This is probably my least favorite track however not a bad song by any means. I would have loved to hear them go back to that same sound they started out the song with, back to the same drum beat and taper off, but hey everyone has an opinion right?
Track 7 “Meridian“starts out much the way you would expect the final song to start out. It opens up to guitars that seem to sound victorious in their riffs like they achieved global domination by way of an anarchist movement. Then boom right into a riff with blast beats coming from Adams drum set. This song continues to assault you with very unpredictable drums and guitars that progress into what one could describe as the feeling of a root canal without numbing the pain. Just a sharp attack on the nerve. The song gets to its last leg of sludgy punchy slow grimy sound “this is the end“ style riffs and drums. The vocals giving you an idea of a martyr’s last breath. With abrupt silence we have reached the end.
All in all this was a great album to listen to, it’s very chaotic in nature but that’s what the band is trying to pull off. Fulgora comes from Roman mythology for the goddess of personification of lightning. That being said Fulgora to me is what you could imagine bottling lightning up and then having yourself a listen when you uncap that bottle. For what it’s worth I am a big Adam Jarvis fan to begin with; I haven’t actually heard anything that I flat out didn’t like ? If you compare his other three bands to Fulgora you will hear a different sound for each. I really like the way the guitars sound as well. Fulgora can satisfy the fans of grind and noise, as well as the metal fans who don’t listen to grind. For every bit of chaos these guys portray, they have an organized way to their sound. They aren’t trying to appeal to everyone, and not everyone will find this album satisfactory, maybe they are into your typical mainstream hard rock, or the ever so popular djent style bands. Fulgora gives you a micro burst of directed energy throughout every track they play on. I really like how they opened up from a line from the movie scanners. A few tracks later another sound clip taken right from Christopher Hitchens “You want your god to take responsibility for the huge number of collapsing stars and imploding galaxies and destroyed universes and failed solar systems that have left us in this tiny corner on the one planet in this petty solar system that can support life some of the time on some of its surface. And you want a creator who’s filled this earth with species since life began, 99% of which are now extinct already. This is some design isn’t it” Thus adding to this album‘s powerful imagery of a chaotic movement in music. Take a listen and see what you think, whether you like them or not, take a listen to Pig Destroyer, and Misery Index both bands feature Adam Jarvis on the drums. You can find Fulgora on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/fulgoramusic
The Metal Breakdown 