Category: Extreme Metal

Gear Gods post Drum playthrough video of Chris Burrows playing Mind Cemeteries

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Some of you are familiar with  one of the most thought provoking albums of the year Mindless Cemeteries by Coma Cluster Void.  all you need to know about Coma Cluster Void is this,  Its dark dissonant metal, with a few composers and  international talent making up their lineup.  Former Cryptopsy vocalist Mike Disalvo  is one of the two main vocalists, but  squares off on a track with  the original Cryptopsy vocalist.  If that is not getting you interested enough, well then  let me drop this on you. Poly-rhythms, lots and lots of poly-rhythms being played by almost every instrument. and holding it all together at the throne is Mr. Chris Burrows.

Well Gear Gods posted up a video of Chris playing through the title track of this incredible album. Check it out below

 

 

 

So there you have it,  if you like what Chris is playing check out Coma Cluster Void on FACEBOOK

Chris also has a page of his own that can be found here.

Chris  also has some other musical projects that we will be featuring later on so stick around for some new music that will be coming out soon.

 

-Badger \m/

Visit our FACEBOOK page \m/_(><)_\m/
http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

Virvum-Illuminance album review 9/10 \m/

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Virvum

Illuminance

Bryan Berger – Vocals
Nic Gruhn – Guitars
Groftoby Koelman -Guitars
Diego Morenzoni – Drums

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ILLUMINANCE Out 09/16/2016!!

www.virvum.com

 

 

 

 

  1. The Cypher Supreme

This for me is the first time hearing Virvum, and this is one hell of a way to make a first impression on someone.  There is a very brief electronic sound and then the drums and guitars come in with rapid blast beats and the guitars are matching the precision of the drums speed, and then just as you think you are impressed by that. They hit us with an early guitar solo right around the :17 second mark.  A very enjoyable solo I’d like to mention, as it lasts just past forty five seconds, and then we get a bass solo.  That bass sounds fucking great, listen to how quickly the bass is played. Listen to the finesse by Arran, he really adds something to this album. Following that is a really cool driving guitar riff with a matched rhythm from the drums. Only to come back out with a cool solo again. I’d say this is an instrumental track and a killer introduction to the album with the talent really shining, but alas you get some dialogue with only seconds left in the song.

  1. Earthwork

They don’t waste any time getting down to business on this track but they hit you with this rapid blast and guitar filled section. This feels like that pack every possible void with sound and only for ten seconds before they drop out and the electronic almost cosmic sounds begin to take over the speakers.  For roughly thirteen seconds before getting back to where they left off with blasts, and this time when the vocals join in they are a much lower range set of vocals.  Just listening to theses drums you have to admire the fast attack, and the quality sound behind them.  Diego must be having a blast when he is playing a song like this one. It sounds awesome, and sounds like it would be a fun one to play.

  1. Illuminance

This song begins with a very melodic guitar melody being played for just over thirty seconds and then the drums and guitar distortion sets in.  I love the way this progressed from the first second to the last. This is a solid song. Right around the 1:30 mark they kick things into beast mode.  With the rapid blasting and then listening to the infectious guitar riff.  Those guitars have you hooked instantly. Really digging the guitar solo at the 2:13 mark also. The solo section last about a minute, but doesn’t seem to take up to much time. It doesn’t feel like it’s a long period of timing. I also want to point out the 3:29 mark when they wind things down for a bit. Only to be bringing them back up progressively with a talented drummer and then listening to the guitar tapping. It’s a mesmerizing pattern.  Only to have an impressive guitar riff hit us at the 4:12 mark just after I was impressed by the finger tapping.  At eight minutes and fifty nine seconds, this song has plenty to offer, and really knows how to keep the listener engaged.

  1. Ad Rigorem

Yes.Yes.so much yes from this beginning. I could loop the first sixty seconds of this song over and over. If this doesn’t get you amped up I don’t know what will. The emotions and feelings created from the volumes of energy this song pumps into me via my headphones is truly impressive.  Everything about the beginning, from the guitars, to the bass, and then of course my favorite the drums. Listen to those drums. On point, surgically precise, but listen to the power behind them, listen to the blasts at the :16 mark. There is no pussy footing around this one, hits hard, and fast, and what more do you want from a song like this. Fast, heavy, drums that are going to decimate you, steamroll right over you, with a flurry of blast beats leave you in awe. Yup that’s what you get on this album, and this song is a great example of that.

  1. Tentacles Of The Sun

This song kicks down the doors without warning.  The blistering blast beats with those guitars, and then as the vocals come in at the :07 second mark. They come in with a low blow and the vocals themselves give the song a groove you can follow. It’s not just about the guitars or the drums. The lyrics hit you blow by blow, from :07 to :14 they land effortlessly in a way that you get pulled in right away.  Now listen to that riff at the :14 second mark, these guys just don’t let up. This song will get anyone amped up by listening to the first thirty seconds of it, and you won’t be able to stop listening. I’m actually smiling listening to this track right now. The song grabs you, and there is no stopping the ride you are going on.  There is no way you stop this song to do anything, just listen and enjoy.

  1. Elemental Shift

I love the way the song begins, you get an early taste of the bass, and the main rhythm they start out with sounds almost empty, but they build off of that. The very next change is something that sounds fuller, like there is much more going on.  They eventually get back to that same rhythm right around the 1:20 mark.  This song much like its title goes through elemental shifts.  The song has periods of raw,  empty sounding sections, that get complimented by the periods of the song that have more sound, a more fulfilling sequence of guitar tone and drums  filling in all other voids. its slightly shorter in length than other tracks, but it holds its own when it comes to complexity and  groove.

  1. I: A New Journey Awaits

This song is really an instrumental track, but really fits the role it has been given.  It sounds like something out of a Hollywood movie where the score was written by Hans Zimmer and his best friend who is a metal head.It sets up the eighth and final track of the album.  It’s that classic, “lets cool things down for a short period of time and then blow the shit out of everything right after”  it’s the calm before the storm, the warning shot, and when you make it through the one minute and forty two second long song.  You will be wise to have prepared yourself for the last song of the album

  1. II: A final Warming Shine Ascension And Trespassing

At just shy of ten minutes and thirty seconds long, this is my favorite song on the album. It fucking explodes right out of the gate and has soooo much going on musically. I just can’t give you the full review of this track, as you are just going to have to take a listen yourself and make the determination. But I will say this song rises above all the previous tracks. And since all the other songs on this album are great, this last track really makes a statement and sets the bar.

 

This album is a brilliant creation, offering up so much for the listener.  This album displays the range for all the members. It’s not just the vocal range which I must say I am impressed by. But the range the guitars demonstrate, and the drums also.   Some of the songs progress beautifully while they still don’t hold back when it comes to hitting us with rapid fire blast beats and killer guitar riffs to pummel the listener.  No they do not hold back one bit, but show us the other side.  The mellow and mysterious side of things.  I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a few songs on repeat.  A final warming, and ad rigorem have been looped easily over one hundred times each.  This album is full of great songs, but those two really did stick out for me.  And definitely got played the most when it comes to how many times I played each song while listening to an album.  But ultimately this album kicks a whole lot of ass.  This album is awesome and captivating from start to finish, and is nothing short of a 9/10 \m/.

 

 

If you like what you are hearing check them out on FACEBOOK Here \m/

 

 

Go on and pre-order the album,  get in on those pre order bundles and all you need to do is click here to go to their BANDCAMP page \m/

 

 

 

-Badger \m/

 

Visit our FACEBOOK page \m/_(><)_\m/

http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

 

Metal News update _ Stormtide, Dorre, Anacryptic and more

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Anacryptic release video for Tedious Falsehood from their latest E.P. titled The Futility of Decency released August 12th, 2016

This fall Melbourne’s symphonic folk metal warriors STORMTIDE will hit the road across Australia in support of their epic debut album “Wrath of an Empire” released on Metal Hell Records Aug. 1st, 2016. The first dates are announced:

 storm.jpg

27th Aug – Melbourne, W/ Anna Murphy, Evelyn Hotel

2nd Sep – Geelong, The Barwon Club

10th Sep – Sydney, The Valve Bar

17th Sep – Canberra, The Basement W/ Lagerstein

22nd Oct – Melbourne, Headlining Metal To my ears, The Bendigo

26th Nov – Brisbane, TBA

 

 

What reviewers are saying about STORMTIDE Wrath of an Empire:

9/10 FolkMetal.nl

8.5/10 MetalObserver.com

9/10 WeLoveMetal.com

Mist Of Misery set to release Absence on August 31st 2016

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Their new album is a huge step forward in terms of production, song writing, lyrical depth and overall atmosphere. Mist of Misery has entered a new phase, one that aims to evoke depressive, melancholic and ambient atmospheres in the minds of listeners at a whole new level. On this album, it was done mainly through the introduction to even more melodic and symphonic influences. The music is intended to set the listener in a different and almost meditative state of mind in order to absorb its true depth. The sophomore album which is a unique amalgamation of two different kind sub-genres, delivers nothing but Nine tracks of Cold, Obscure and Depressive form of Arts. A musical adventure that will eventually bless the listener with a melancholic, yet beautiful experience.

Artwork – Alex Tartsus (Russia)

The artwork was drawn by the exceptionally talented Russian artist Alex Tartsus.

Track – List:

1. MelancholicThoughts
2. Euthanasia
3. Absence
4. Final Departure
5. EpitaphofPenitence
6. WistfulTwilight
7. Paragon of Perdition
8. Mist ofMisery
9. Serenity in Nothingness

Members:

MortuzDenatus – Vocals, Drums, Programming, Mixing and Mastering

Phlegathon – Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Bass Guitar

Simon Hägglund – Live Drums

 

Order the Album:

https://mistofmiseryblacklion.bandcamp.com/album/absence

Black Metal Brother Duo HELLEBORUS Announce ‘The Carnal Sabbath Tour’ Presented by PureGrainAudio.com

Out Now! Debut Album ‘The Carnal Sabbath’ (Satanath/ Black Plague)



Colorado Springs, CO black metal blood brother duo Jerred & Wyatt Houseman’s HELLEBORUS will be hitting the road with the band’s live line up for dates across the US and Canada for their first North American tour presented by PureGrainAudio.com. Joining them on the tour for select dates, will be Destroyer of Light and UADA (details listed below). The tour is in support of their debut album ‘The Carnal Sabbath’ released this past June via Satanath Records (Russia) and Black Plague Records (USA). A full stream of the album can be heard at the following link http://helleborusblack.bandcamp.com/album/the-carnal-sabbath.

Carnalsabbath1.jpg Sept 4 – Colorado Springs, CO – The Black Sheep – info
Sept 7 – Haittesburg, MS – The Tavern * – info
Sept 8 – Jackson, MS – Big Sleepys * – info
Sept 9 – Birmingham, AL – The Nick *
Sept 10 – Macon, GA – Back Porch Lounge *
Sept 12 – Raleigh, NC – Slims Downtown Distillery *
Sept 16 – White Hall, MD – Shadow Woods Metal Fest – info (Hall Stage – Set Time 11:10pm)
Sept 19 – Cincinnati, OH – Funkers
* = dates with Destroyer of Light
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Oct 15 – Colorado Springs, CO – The Flux Capacitor
Oct 19 – Billings, MT – The Railyard
Oct 20 – Kalispell, MT – Order of The Eagles #
Oct 21 – Calgary, AB – Distortion #
Oct 22 – Edmonton, AB – Rendez Vous (Black Mourning Light Metal Fest) #
Oct 24 – Vancouver, BC – Red Room # w/Erimha, Panzerfaust, Idolatry
Oct 26 – Seattle, WA – The Highline #
Oct 27 – Portland, OR – Ash Street Saloon #
Oct 29 – Sacramento, CA – Starlite Lounge ^
Oct 30 – Oakland, CA – The Golden Bull ^
Oct 31 – Long Beach, CA – Blacklight District Lounge ^
Nov 1 – Phoenix, AZ – Yucca Tap Room
Nov 2 – Santa Fe, NM – The Skylight
# = dates with UADA
^ = dates with Lotus Thief

Album Band Line Up features: Wyatt (vocals, lyrics) & Jerred Houseman (producer, all instruments)

Live Band Line Up features: Brent Boutte’ – Drums, Jerred Houseman – Guitar & leads, Wyatt Houseman – Voice, Ian Horenman – guitar & rhythms, Michael Hylands – Bass

For more info, please visit the following links:

https://www.facebook.com/HelleborusBlack

https://twitter.com/helleborusblack

Dorre are playing Desertfest October 14-16th 2016

 Dorre.jpg

 The Athens, Georgia-based melodic metal band THEOCRACY will release their new album “Ghost Ship” on October 28th in Europe and North America through Ulterium Records.

 theocracy

With Ghost Ship, Theocracy perfects the lively and fully-realized sound of As the World Bleeds, delivering 10 muscular and streamlined tracks that never lose focus and combine for one memorable journey. You like midtempo singalong anthems? Try the “Ghost Ship” title track. Thrashy rhythms and intensity?  “The Wonder of It All” should be to your liking. Emotional ballads with huge melodic hooks? Go “Around the World and Back.”  Or if you prefer epic, progressive tracks that do all these things and more, 10-minute album closer “Easter” is sure to be a favorite. Each song on Ghost Ship stands alone and has a unique signature, but every moment sounds unmistakably like Theocracy.

“So many kids were coming up to us after shows and telling us their stories,” says Theocracy vocalist Matt Smith. “A lot of them were searching for purpose and a place to fit in, and having grown up as an awkward and unpopular kid myself, their words really stuck with me. I started thinking about what a band of misfits Jesus’ disciples were:  fishermen, tax collectors, and people of little consequence in the eyes of the world. Sometimes the ones most people don’t see, or choose to look straight through—the ghosts of society, as it were, dead to the world—end up having the biggest impact. That’s where the title and idea for Ghost Ship came from: all the misfits, the uncool, the outcasts, there is a place where you do fit in. Although Ghost Ship is not a concept album, this is a recurring theme, particularly in the title track and ‘Castaway.’

“Ghost Ship” track listing
01. Paper Tiger

02. Ghost Ship

03. The Wonder Of It All

04. Wishing Well

05. Around the World and Back

06. Stir the Embers

07. A Call To Arms

08. Currency In A Bankrupt World

09. Castaway

10. Easter

The Athens, Georgia-based melodic metal band THEOCRACY will release their new album “Ghost Ship” on October 28th in Europe and North America through Ulterium Records. Information on different So many kids were coming up to us after shows and telling us their stories,” says Theocracy vocalist Matt Smith. “A lot of them were searching for purpose and a place to fit in, and having grown up as an awkward and unpopular kid myself, their words really stuck with me. I started thinking about what a band of misfits Jesus’ disciples were:  fishermen, tax collectors, and people of little consequence in the eyes of the world. Sometimes the ones most people don’t see, or choose to look straight through—the ghosts of society, as it were, dead to the world—end up having the biggest impact. That’s where the title and idea for Ghost Ship came from: all the misfits, the uncool, the outcasts, there is a place where you

-Badger \m/

Visit our FACEBOOK page \m/_(><)_\m/
http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

 

Coma Cluster Void – Mind Cemeteries Review -9/10 \m/

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Coma Cluster Void

Mind Cemeteries

Mike Disalvo

Austin Taylor

Sylvia Hinz

John Strieder

Chris Burrows

 

 

CCV

 

 

 

  1. Prologue: I am                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 This gives you a good taste of what the album will bring you. For starters this album is going to be dark, plenty of dissonance, there will be sounds you are not familiar with, and it’s going to make you think. Yes think, because this bunch wasn’t making a bland generic sounding album. They wanted to push the limits, dig deep within your minds and unearth the raw emotion and raw sound. And that my friends is what Coma Cluster Void has set out to do.

 

  1. Iron Empress

Right out of the gates this song hits you with so many things going on at the same time, your mind quickly tries to navigate through the notes being played to isolate each sound and what they bring to the table.  First you hear the guitars and drums. Then you hear vocals, Mike DiSalvo’s vocals are the first to invade your speakers, and I can’t think of a better sounding vocalist than Mike to bring the lower range, growling vocals. He brings a sound to the table that you just know, that’s Mike and this will be good. Now check out the drums for a second if you will. Chris Burrows is on the throne and you have to respect the guy for playing to this. It takes a different set of skills to be playing along to music as dark and dissonant as CCV.

 

  1. Drowning In Sorrow

This song begins with guitars and drums and DiSalvo letting us have it with a sinister growl. For the next twenty five seconds they play a dark repetitive pattern until they come out of that with a pretty damn cool groove.  I think some people will have a better time with this song than the previous as it has a little bit more of a solid structure to it.  I find that some listeners like to have some solid concrete structure to follow along to. This is CCV’s best attempt at that, but does not take away from the sheer complexity of the song.  In fact I really dig this track myself. I mean the groove at the :25 second mark sounds great. And they revisit that same groove later in the song. But then there is the 1:13 mark where the guitars are hitting some highs and Burrows is blasting away while DiSalvo is hammering us with his vocals.  This is far too early in the album to call this my favorite, but I will say this may be a fan favorite of the album. And I can certainly see why, it has many elements that make a song good, but also interesting.

 

  1. Path of lies

For the first twenty seconds of the song, is just simply bad ass.  As I am typing this I have hit the back button 4 times.  Just wrap your head around this brief section for a moment and try your best not to enjoy the sounds you are hearing.  Now for the rest of the song that’s following, they lay down a beat that you will find yourself moving to.  Be it head banging, tapping your foot, you will lock into it, and then before the song changes you will hear the words “ the cycle must now be undone” you will also notice another voice spitting some lyrics, and that my friends would be Mr. Burrows. Yes he not only offers his percussion skills to this, but his voice also. And while listening to him and DiSalvo at the same time, they are not that far off from each other. So the two actually complement each other’s sound.

 

  1. Mind cemeteries

Ahhh the title track, typically speaking the title track has something to offer.  They chose not to hold back on this one. Chris is attacking every inch of his set while those dark guitar tones counter attack the bass lines.  For every bass note you hear, it has a counter attack from the guitars, and the drums are hitting on both at the same time.  The song takes a turn at the 1:38 mark where it slows down to a haunting stroll through the path of insanity. Yes I said it insanity, because that’s what I picture while listening to this song, a dark asylum hallway trapped by your own devices of one’s mind.  The last few notes you hear lead you right into the next track.

 

  1. Interlude: I see through your pain

The interlude has the sounds of Xelmya playing which is Sylvia Hinz, Alexa Renger, and also  John Strieder. Now take  Sylvia and John in a different format with their experience, put them together and you will have something interesting. However as someone who took all the band classes in elementary middle and high school, I can honestly say that I had never even known of a double bass recorder even existing. Sylvia brings that to the table, an instrument I had no idea was a real thing.   That is what I am talking about here, you just took a few people with very creative minds, and superb talent and put them in a room together.  And what you have are those eerie sounds you hear building up until a guest vocal spot by Genevieve DiSalvo wraps this interlude up and transitions the listener into The Hollow Gaze.

 

  1. The Hollow Gaze

Now this song is actually what I find myself listening to the most. Ultimately there is a no groove, there is nothing for the listeners to latch on to for comfort. This song is raw, its dark, it is jarring, and to me it’s the equivalent of hitting a nerve ending during a root canal.  While that doesn’t sound pleasant I have to disagree, I actually like that aspect of this song.  It’s almost as if they wanted to completely erase all the templates that the music industry has given musicians.  For example, if you don’t fit this template, then you won’t be successful.  They threw that right in the trash with this track.  For the first thirty five seconds you have a level of uncertainty that explodes when DiSalvo gets on the microphone. The rest of the band kicks things up a few notches and continues to play out until they hit a high point around the 2:30 mark. I credit this to John for his musical experience and composition skills.  I actually find myself listening to this song and losing myself in thought. I haven’t had music do that to me in a while. And why I say that this is an album that will get the listener to think. While it’s not a heavy and fast track , this is probably my favorite track on the album.  I can’t put my finger on it 100% but there is something about this song, it’s like there is a hidden element just locked away deep, but the only way to unlock it is to listen, and let that brain start processing the composition.

 

  1. Everything Is Meant To Kill Us

This song is a right out of the gate hitting you with sounds from every angle, and goddamn those bells Chris, I don’t know how many he has, but I find that they really fill in the gaps between the guitars.  Mike’s vocals and Chris’ vocals are like vocal poly-rhythms themselves just adding to that multi-dimensional feel.   Thus adding another example of the brilliance of this album.  CCV are using poly-rhythms in all aspects of the music and aren’t cutting any corners. The song is a perfect example of sticking to the game plan, go big or go home.  Right at the two minute mark the song goes through a change and the guitar tones especially right at the 2:10 mark. That low raw sound fuels this song. You hear it again nineteen seconds later.  The sounds coming from my speakers is downright dirty and evil sounding.  And the song ends with Mike’s voice telling us “we never want to know”, which a damn fine way to end the song.

 

  1. Petrified Tears

This song has all the same elements that we have covered so far, jarring, and dissonant sounds, poly-rhythms used with strategic execution, and dark vocals and lyric content. Want to note that Austin wrote the lyrics for this track, and comparing them to the songs that Mike wrote the lyrics for. I’d say everyone is on the same page when it comes to song writing and lyric content. Right around the halfway point of this song, they go through I change that involves a more abrasive vocal style from Austin. While this song is following the same elements as the rest, I just feel like this song didn’t give the 100% that the previous tracks have. However I have no doubt in my mind that this song is a little more of a “bring the listener down for a moment” track and will follow up by hitting us hard with all bitter endings.

 

  1. All Bitter Endings

Boom, they hit us hard, right out of the gate, a dizzying blow of discordant poly-rhythmic sounds escaping from your speakers.  The beauty of this song is all the highs and lows it has. Almost like a sine wave there are equal parts of highs and lows that the listener will go through for the duration of this song.   As before Mike’s vocals just fit this like the usual suspect in a line up.  There really is no better person to handle the lower harsh vocal duties than Mike.  The guy’s voice matches the guitar tones, and the ambiance of the music.  The last minute or so we get a few last forceful pushes of catastrophic unharmonious and unrelenting sounds.

 

  1. Epilogue: As I Walk Amongst The Sick

Basically a hauntingly evil (yet human) sounding track to end the album with.  When I say human, I mean there is the evil we imagine around us, and then the evil we know and see in our daily lives. you can listen to this song and hear the elements that make this a solid, and poignant track. This is a a satisfying end to the album, It’s relatively short and to the point.  They get the job done and finished this album the best way possible in my opinion. Leaving the listener wondering what they just experienced,yet wanting more.

 

I like this album, it’s so much different than what I have been listening to in recent months that it gives me a different perspective on the music. Again I will say I never knew a double bass recorder existed so for that I must thank Sylvia for expanding my musical library.  I going to say this and while it may be a bold statement I stand by it. This album displays a strong understanding of musical composition and is borderline genius.  Its one thing for a drummer to play poly-rhythms Terry Bozio had been doing that before I was even born. No big deal, but it’s a whole different situation when literally every instrument and member play poly-rhythms, including the vocalists, both mike and Austin as well as the guest vocal spots by Mr. Burrows and the other guest vocal contributors.   John and Sylvia have a good relationship and both are composers with a great deal of musical education and understanding.  So you have two power player’s right there, now add in Mike and Austin, both have a solid set of vocal chords, and are covering different ranges.  Ideally I must admit I prefer Mikes vocals, but hey my first impression of Mike came from the first time I heard Cryptopsy. That leaves a lasting impression.  Now wrap it all up with Chris burrows, that guy can fucking play. I have more respect for Chris after listening to this album than I ever did before. I just didn’t give him the credit due until listening to him under these circumstances.  But wait there is more, because this isn’t just a CCV album, because for a few of the tracks the band performing is Xelmya (John, Sylvia, and Alexa).  John and Sylvia are doing double duty on this record, and my god this music they play has a dark mysterious feel that could work well for movies.  Honestly I could see them playing some music for a David lynch movie. Yep I just went there.  People that know me well enough, know I am someone who likes fast and heavy, this is outside my normal comfort zone. And even though I have had this release for a short while. I promised myself I would not write up this review until I had been able to listen to this album in full several times to open up and hear all the different elements.  This album is awesome, it will leave some speechless, and it will leave some wondering what they just listened to.  But I think anyone would agree with me, that Coma Cluster Void push the limits with this album.  I feel like my horizons have been broadened by listening to this, and I won’t think twice about labeling this a 9/10.  Not everything has to have a catchy chorus, or blast beats, or finger tapping to be great. Sometimes it’s the music that gets you to actually think, that has more value than an album with programmed drums, programmed this, programmed that. Just so that there are no flaws, and it appeals to the masses.

If you like what you hear, then go on and pre-order the album

also follow them on FACEBOOK for more up to date information on Coma Cluster Void

you can also click HERE to go directly to their website.

-Badger \m/

Visit our FACEBOOK page \m/_(><)_\m/

http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

 

Skin Drone – Evocation Album Review 7/10 + Interview

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Skin Drone – Evocation

Otto Kinzel & Erik Martin

Bluntface Records

 

 

  1. Scarlet Road

The song starts out with a subtle drum roll out and then they waste no time blasting the doors down and getting right into the gritty extreme/grinding industrial spirit of things. Right from the get go, you will be head banging right along with the beat. I like the guitar tone also, it has an old school buzz to it that gives the song some character. Right around the 1:27 mark the song drops out to the sound of some atmospheric sounds and then whisper clean vocals “ another night passes , another victim left to find their way to hell” is heard and then it’s not long before they go back into full force. The song slows down once more about halfway through and   they come out around the 3:56 mark back into a similar riff used in the beginning of the song.

 

  1. God Complex

The song starts out with what sounds like an orchestral arrangement and then before you can acclimate to that they explode with blast beats and chugging guitars. This song actually reminds me of Winter solstice many of you probably have no idea who that is, but they put out a killer album about ten years ago and fell off the face of the earth. Its songs like this that bring floods of memories of other great sounds and bands I have heard over the years. I won’t lie this song is going to be a rollercoaster for many. It hits hard and fast, and then they slow it down quite a bit for a section, but go right back into the hard and fast approach. This is where the Experimental tag comes from I am assuming. Normally I don’t care for “Experimental” because half the time it does not sound good. However, I am really digging this track.

 

3. Death Sentence

Some spoken dialogue with vocal effects kick the song off, and the song gets hard and fast quickly. I just can’t get passed the guitars and drums, the vocals are good don’t get me wrong. But these guys are really trying to give us whiplash with the changes they make and how it will go from a heavy section to a funky sequence around the: 54 mark and then back into something much heavier at the 1:09 mark. But you can’t help but really get locked into the schizophrenic styling’s of this song and enjoy yourself trapped in your own mental asylum while listening to the song and getting the imagery it creates for the listener.

 

4.Shepard Of The Damned

The sound of a record player with the needle dropped and record spinning can be heard as that sounds gets louder, vocals join in not quite muffled but layered under the record player sound. It is done so subtly, that the end product is very easy to follow along with and enjoyable. This song is not as fast paced in the beginning as the previous two tracks but that doesn’t last too long before they go right into steamrolling over you with grinding blast beats and guitars. Right at the 4:48 mark the double bass roll, is perfect, rapid crushing bass for that section before the song starts to mellow out again.

 

5. Ghost Reflection

Sounds of nature can be heard, a woodpecker and other birds for the first 15 seconds or so, and then acoustic guitar and stringed instruments play out a nice serene melody. This is much like an instrumental interlude and at 3:29 minutes long it really doesn’t feel like it. It’s a nice little track to listen to in between songs.

 

6. City Lights

This song starts out with an industrial feel, and I am digging the drums for that opening section just as the vocals join in. The vocals are low and more guttural than previous tracks giving you a sense of the vocal range happening on this album. What I like about this song, is that it’s not trying to be the heaviest, but has a solid stance on what the ratio of melodic to heavy should be in this song. Of course as a drummer I will be focusing more on the drums and I really like how the drums are for the entire song, and how they get more industrial right before the end.

 

7. Witching hour

There is a groove about this song just after the opening sequence that you can really get into. The vocals are in the mid to high range, I am not taking anything away from them, I will say I could easily enjoy this as an instrumental also. Because while I am listening to the vocals, I am paying more attention to the drums and guitars and   going along with every change they transition in and out of. I’m thinking this could be a fan favorite just by listening to it. There is a lot going on, but not too much to the point you just can’t follow it. It’s like controlled chaos, and I can get behind that real easily. All the way to the jazzy section right around the 3:00 minute mark, I am really digging this.

 

8. Darkness Within

A piano starts this song out, with some whispered vocals for the first few minutes before the drums and guitars come in. and I gotta say, as basic as the guitars are right here, there is something about it that I am really enjoying. It’s like a little bit of echo but there is something about that with the tone of the guitar that really makes the song sound like what you would expect by the title. What I like is that they throw in a few brief sections of double bass rolling heavy guitars and harsh vocals.

 

9. Salvation

Ahhh the final track begins with a guitar melody playing and whispered vocals. With the drums playing a beat that really follows the guitars and vocals well. Its part hard rock, part tribal, and part modern metal. I am really enjoying the turn the song takes at the 1:41 mark. This has me tapping my foot and thinking about throwing some haymakers. The 5:00 minute mark is a highlight of the track where the song abruptly goes into heavy dizzying circle pit detonator. This is the longest song on the album. And it covers everything from dark melodic, to industrial, death metal, and pretty much everything in between, except polka.

 

 

 

All in all I will say that this does not sound like a two man band. What I mean is that the mixing and mastering was done so well that if you did not know Skin Drone’s line up you really would not be able to tell its only two guys. The album does not display only one form of heavy music, but blends several different styles together creating this rather unique dare I say experimental metal band. I tend to stay away from using the term experimental metal because I have come across “experimental metal” bands that sound awful. Whether it is so far out of having a sound that you can follow, or the production sounds like it was done in the back alley next to a McDonald’s dumpster. This is not the case for Skin Drone, the production was clean and professional, the style is easily enjoyable. The way they can go from playing something heavy to something jazzy back to something heavier than before, then mellowing out, taking the listener on a musical rollercoaster ride.– 7/10 \m/

The two that make up the band, One being the man behind Bluntface Records himself Otto Kinzel, and Erik Martin.  Luckily I was able to catch up with Otto about the Skin Drone release as well as what Bluntface Records has planned for 2016.

 

 

1)      So Otto, how did the idea of Skin drone come about? Is this something you have had been working on and then brought Erik on board, or vice versa?

Otto: Erik and I met when his other band, Critical Dismemberment, was involved with a compilation Album my label (Bluntface Records) was releasing. I really liked their music and I reached out to them, to see if they would be interested in working with the label on more releases. I got to know both Erik and his bandmate Chase Fincher pretty well. It just naturally flowed in terms of what we had in common and our musical and non-musical interests. It was a natural step to start collaborating on music. I had been working on a version of Skin Drone for awhile and had been trying to get it off the ground, but with no luck. So when I finally reached out to Erik to see if he would be willing to give it a shot at doing vocals, I figured I had nothing to lose. Luckily, he hit a home run with his performance! That song ended up being Witching Hour and it kicked everything off in our collaboration.

2)      Listening to this album, I have to say, if there ever was a band to really bend sub-genres to form a unique sound. I’d say Skin Drone is like the matrix of metal sub genres. What were the influences for the album?

Otto: We each have so many influences that it’s almost impossible to list them all. We knew we wanted to challenge ourselves in both the performances and the songwriting. There’s a lot of elements from technical-death metal in there but also a lot of industrial and avant-garde influences as well. We wanted to take a lot of big risks, as far as extreme metal goes. That included trying to use a lot of darker, more ambient and dissonant type sounds. We want the listener to think of the songs in a different way; for it to feel more like scenes from a movie.

3)       The sound is amazing, I know you  (Otto) have some experience under your belt.  This album sounds amazing, I always look at sound quality as a big part of my review process, and this album sounds great. The quality is great, where did you guys do the recording and mastering.  How long did it take from start to finish?

Otto: Erik and I each have our own recording studios in our homes, so all the tracking was done between those two. After all the basic tracking was done, I did the majority of the editing and production related stuff. After that, we hired Chase Fincher to do the mixing and mastering. He did a fantastic job and we could not be happier with his work. The three of us had a lot of discussions beforehand about the theme of the album, the type of sound we were going after, the goals we had for the finished product. And Chase took those notes and really made them into his own goals. I can’t praise his efforts enough, Chase really is the guy who tied the whole thing together and helped craft the finished sound you’re hearing.

4)      I have read a few of the reviews for the album so far, and the general consensus is the unpredictability of the music.  Were you guys really going for that sound of musical schizophrenia? Or when they ideas came together did you feel that they had to blend the way to achieve what you wanted from the album?

Otto: That’s hard to say because on some level I think we subconsciously wanted to make the album really challenging for the listener. We wanted to create something that forced the listener to pay attention to what was going on & have to go back and listen several times in order to “get it”. But having said that, all of the songs and all of the various layers we have within them came about very naturally. Once Erik and I got into the creative zone, it just flowed. That’s not to say that this process was easy, because it wasn’t. Writing these songs and recording the album was very difficult. It took a long time and involved a lot of self-editing and revision. We worked our asses off on it. But it was always fun and always incredibly rewarding creatively.

5)      Lastly, and I ask this of many bands, but I feel it’s a very pertinent question in regards to the music. Is there anything you want to tell the listeners about the album?  For example, when listening to the album, would you recommend listening to the album while glancing at an unopened bottle of vermouth, or that a specific sound on the album is actually a fire extinguisher. Maybe a disclaimer, people who suffer from epilepsy should be warned, etc. Anything that you want the listeners to imagine while listening to the album or specific song. Or simply that this is just the beginning, and that Skin Drone is here to bend the rules, and create new sub genres within metal.

Otto: Haha, my only suggestion would to listen to Evocation with headphones. Chase did an amazing job with the stereo panning of within the mixes and there is so much subtle layering that a lot of the smaller “detail” type sounds we have interwoven within the mix can get lost if it’s being played at really loud volumes on huge speakers. This is a “headphone” album all the way. We want you to turn it on, turn off the lights so you’re sitting in the dark, put on the headphones and lose yourself in the music. Let us take you on a dark journey and come out the other side with you.

 

 

 

Follow them on Twitter @skindrone

Check out the Skin Drone Bandcamp Page

Find them on Facebook Here \m/

Bluntface Records Website

Skin Drone on YouTube

 

-Badger \m/

Visit our FACEBOOK page \m/_(><)_\m/
http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

The Disciplined Drummers of metal for March 2016 is the heavy hitting Adam Jarvis

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This months Disciplined Drummers of metal we spoke to  Adam Jarvis one of the hardest working drummers in metal today. He is known for playing behind the kit  for bands like Misery Index, and Pig Destroyer to name a few. So to help you guys get through the hump day, here is an interview I did with the man himself.

 

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Badger- So last time we talked was back in October you were on tour, it was a great time I know I had a blast. Some good beer was consumed that day haha.  Then a few months after I see an announcement for a new project, and just recently saw a video of you tracking drums. So the big news is God Enslavement, tell me a bit about this new band you’re in.

 Adam- Yea so the album just got mastered I believe over the weekend so I’m supposed to be getting the finalized tracks and it should be released by late spring early summer, I may need to get back to you on that one. But yea its guys from all over Europe, and Germany

 

Badger- Yea it’s a pretty diverse lineup I mean you have Bjorn, then you, Vince, you have Julien from Shattered, you know you have Kevin, I mean everyone in this lineup is pretty notable. This is like (in my opinion) a super group.

 Adam-Yeah you know, the one guy Bjorn hit me up, and said “you know we got this material and you know we have all talked about it, and we think you would be an awesome fit, and we think its right up your alley.” I have been approached by multiple bands and usually I need to at least enjoy the material to put my name on it. I don’t want to record something just for the sake of recording something and having my name on it. It’s essentially going to be a part of my legacy you know.

 

Badger- Yea you definitely want to take pride in your work, you want to do it for the music, and what you want for sound, not just anything that comes your way. You sound like you are doing it because of your love of music and metal, so that’s cool.

Adam- Yea exactly so, yea when I heard the first couple of songs I thought “damn those are some killer riffs.” I believe it’s like 8-9 songs. And you know I used to be in Criminal Element with Vince Mathews and he was in Dying Fetus. They were actually going to have a different vocalist, so I was asking them because I had only heard the music so I wanted to know what type of vocals would be going over the top. Because dude, vocals can make or break a band, they are very important. I mean they have always been very important to me even more so now sometimes I think “ hey this band is pretty good, and then I hear the vocals and think Damn it WTF”

 

Badger-Yea they can definitely make or break, but Vince Mathews, that’s pretty cool because the last I had heard he wasn’t doing too well, but obviously now he is ready and able to do vocals on this project. I liked when he was in Dying Fetus as well as Criminal Element so I’m stoked to hear his vocals laid down on this.

 Adam- Yea and he helped me out a lot when I came out to Maryland , in 2004 first place I lived I was with Vince, hahaha those were some crazy times so it came time. The guys were like “so the vocalist backed out, do you know anyone that might be able to fit or may be interested.” And the whole time when I was listening to the music I kept think “Damn dude Vince’s vocals would be a perfect fit over this.   So I hit him up, and he was really excited that I asked him to even do it.   I called him and said “yo dude I would like you to be a part of this” and he was really taken back by it and was like “holy shit I can’t believe you asked me to do this” For me I’m thinking “dude your motherfucking Vince Mathews what are you talking about”

 

Badger- Sometimes there’s someone you know is perfect for the position and then you hear them and it justifies things and locks everything in.

Adam- yea so I’m stoked for people to hear it and its just straight up old school death, thrash, there’s some grind influence. It definitely has some more of that old school feel and approach.

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Badger- That’s awesome! I can’t wait to hear that.

So 2016 this makes band number 5. You have Misery Index, Pig Destroyer, Asthma Castle, Fulgora, and now God Enslavement, what are we going to see in 2016 from the other bands? You put Stratagem out last year so I’d say it’s safe to say you’re not doing a new album with them right now but any tours?

 Adam-With Fulgora we have a few songs written, we have a song that we recorded at Phil’s studio, and that’s supposed to be released on Housecore TBD so yea it will probably be a while before we get a Full Length out I’d say, it might be possible by the end but maybe 2017. Asthma castle recorded about a year since I did the drums, but unfortunately our vocalist quit, so that was a bit of a setback but there was like one guy that I thought of that when he quit we recorded this , I mean we aren’t signed, this is like a side project for me. I love it, it’s a different change of pace, and we all get along so we have a guy and we are going to start jamming with him. Actually second jam will be this week. So hopefully vocals will be done by this summer and released this year. And PD is about 4 songs in for the new record, so we have actually jammed 1 of those songs a few weeks back, so that’s exciting to be working on some new Pig Destroyer  material. And you know my cousin John is in the band now too so. It’s the first record with him on it so that’s exciting.

 

Badger-Oh hell yea John, he is no stranger to the business so that’s definitely cool

 Adam- yea I mean he’s in Agoraphobic Nosebleed and in Fulgora so were in another band back in the day called all will fall, so yeah me an him have been jamming since I was probably 8-9 so it goes back a long way. As far as new stuff coming out that’s probably it. Killing gods is about 1.5 year old?

 

Badger- yea it came out around my birthday so around may 2014

 Adam- Yea you’re right yea.

 

Badger- so I have seen a few big shows you guys are booked to play here in 2016, so I’m guessing your touring schedule is starting to pile up

 Adam- yea unfortunately we can’t tour as much as we used to I work full time on top of being in five bands, and Mark has a kid now, and he’s going to school. And he actually just started working at Extreme management group.

 

Badger- hell yea that’s a big outfit

 Adam- yea they rep bands like suffocation, they have a lot of people under their belt. So he just started working for them so that’s real cool. Jason back and forth from states and Finland, so he’s actually working on his PhD right now and yea we just got to be more selective.

Back in 2006 we would do 200 shows a year so anything that came up we would say yep let’s do it, but now a days we have to plan, we have a lot more responsibility now so we can’t be selfish, marks got a wife I have a girlfriend it’s not easy on people. But we do have the one European run this summer. We are hitting some pretty awesome festivals. We’re playing one in Vancouver that’s going to be badass it just got announced a few weeks ago and it’s got Suffocation and Dillinger Escape Plan, and Job For A Cowboy their first show in a few years, Cattle Decapitation, Dave Lombardo’s new band Dead cross will be on it. So yea a lot of awesome bands. And when we got the offer we didn’t really know , we thought we were going to be the headliner and then this thing gets booked and I looked and called mark and was like “ holy shit dude this is a big festival” it’s not like doing down to the dew drop in.

 

Badger- one question because I am in ton of FB groups so I have seen a few people here and there ask about drum shoes. So your go to brand, have you tried others or do you just you the tried and true style.

 Adam- I’ve been rocking DB drum shoes for years, they’re my go to, and they’re really lightweight really durable they last. I have had pairs last me years even with all the touring. A guy named jerry at DB he is an awesome cat. I always prefer to play esp. on tour to play in different shoes than what I wear every day, because you feel disgusted after if you were to stay in the same shoes after a show. It’s a necessity, their almost like an equivalent to a water shoe, very flexible lightweight. I have had people call them ballerina shoes. but I like the dexterity, and they are tight. They are my go to, and I have been wearing them for… going on ten years now at least ten years. They’ve been around for a while, you don’t seem them too much but when you do you see many drummers wearing them. I know the dude from arch enemy wears them, Danny walker he uses them, I don’t want to say anyone who doesn’t you know but if you look at the roster it’s pretty stacked with great drummers. Yea Mike Hamilton, he’s another one, he was in deeds of flesh, but he’s in exhumed now. They’re definitely amazing shoes I’m not saying it because I’m endorsed, these shoes are the real deal.

 

Badger- so I was going to ask this yesterday, but I will put a spin on it. So who were you routing for to win the super bowl?

 Adam-I was actually, I wasn’t in favor of any team. But I wanted to see Peyton go out with a win, Cam was a J.A. He was a baby about it

Badger- I listen to sports radio a lot, and they were saying that he was one of the biggest guys on the field and he recoiled away from the fumble. How does that happen when you are the largest guy?

Adam- oh I know, he regretted that one. His passing was off, they just didn’t look like a SB team.

Badger- some moments were painful to watch, If Peyton does retire it’s on a high note, and he didn’t want to say for sure.

Adam- yea but he did say what type of beer he was going to have after. Hahaha I actually just got myself a six pack of Hopslam from Bells Beer. That stuff’s good you can only get one sixer at a time so, and at like 20 something a six pack, I mean you got me that Heady Topper so you know your beers if you’ve never had that? Do you get bells there?

 

Badger- sometimes I have to go to mass to get some beers. Like the iron maiden beer I can’t get it in NH but I can head down to the mass border and get some.  I have had some brown note from KY, (this is when I explain the brown note from the league) so the front of the can is hilarious it’s a brown ale but it is absolutely great. I’ll send you the picture. Another good one was a brewery in RI, if you guys come up my way I will have to get you a growler of this stuff. It has a summer ale taste like blue moon or Sam summer but it tastes like it would be around 2% but it’s actually close to 12 % so when you drink a glass it hits you, and you don’t expect it to hit you as hard as it does because it tastes so damn light. The stuff is awesome!

Badger- so what are you listening to currently, CD iTunes vinyl?

 Adam- well actually I was just listening to acid bath. Well new stuff or?

 

Badger- anything whatever you are listening to

 Adam- I discovered porcupine tree a few years ago, and it was from reading Opeth’s Hall Of Fame entry in Decibel for Blackwater Park, they mentioned Steven Wilson, and I was like I remember that guy, then I remember he did that project Storm Corrosion thing with Mikael Akerfeldt, and Steven Wilson, and it’s just like very eerily serene at times and I guess you could say like kind of post rock meets Shoegaze which is one of the weirder genres. But yea a lot of porcupine tree and S. Wilson, and something I have been listening to that just terrifies me but it’s so damn good is a band called Dødheimsgard  from Norway.

 

Badger- yea you were talking about them after the Worcester show,

 Adam- oh yea I was they are still just so good their newest album is called like umbra omega. It’s just nasty, it is real nasty. I also have been going back on the classics that I used to listen to all the time like older Monstrosity, actually this morning I was listening to Demolition Hammer, a bit more thrash, but it has Alex Marquez, he played with Malevolent Creation on retribution but let’s see what else, newest faith no more album is good, new baroness.

 

Badger- that is good, I have to get it on vinyl, because I was being a bit picky about vinyl so I wanted to wait to hear it first but it is definitely vinyl worthy

 Adam- yea it is I bought it on vinyl they played in Baltimore I saw them and when they toured they were sold out every show, I saw them in Baltimore and it was amazing absolutely amazing. So yea that’s what I have been listening to lately.

 

Badger- Awesome well it sounds like 2016 will be a great year for you, and the bands you are a part of, for me it’s a great year because that just means there’s some great metal happening, and I am really pumped to hear God Enslavement.

Thank you for your time, and stay brutal my friend.

Adam, – Alright dude, thanks again. Cheers.

Continue reading “The Disciplined Drummers of metal for March 2016 is the heavy hitting Adam Jarvis”

New Video up for ” Scorn” by Oracles featuring members of Aborted and System Divide

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Oracles  just put up a video for “Scorn” for their upcoming release of Miserycorde due out this July.

Oracles is

Sven de caluwe: vocals
Sanna Salou: vocals
Mendel bij de Leij: guitars
Steve Miller: guitars
Andrei Aframov: bass
Ken bedene: drums

Check them out on FACEBOOK for  up to date news and other information

-Badger \m/

Visit our FACEBOOK page \m/_(><)_\m/
http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

Hothfest 2016 lineup and interview with Jamie

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Hothfest- 2016

Maximum Capacity Chicopee, MA 01013

01/09/2016-01/10/2016

 

Metal Festivals happen every year all over the world, these festivals are one of the greatest shows metal heads end up going to. Getting a chance to see metal bands from all over at the same venue, be it an open air stadium, or other concert halls. Many metal heads like myself have great memories from going to big festivals, hearing and seeing bands we are stoked to see, to discovering bands that we had never heard before. In the Northeast U.S. there is really only one big festival that has been happening annually since 1999. But that is just not enough to satisfy the appetite of metal heads across the region. This is when a drummer and tattoo artist from the Massachusetts area decided he had waited long enough, and was going to take matters into his own hands. Jamie Cross came up with Hothfest last year and is doing it again this year around. Hothfest -2016 we will be witnessing 30 bands over the course of two days. To make things even better its on a weekend, Saturday and Sunday, that means for most you wont have to miss work to go to an awesome metal show.

I had the chance to talk to Jamie and ask him a few questions about Hothfest 2016 to get an idea,  what started it all, and what to expect.

 

 

Badger- So this is the second annual Hothfest, have you already noticed more exposure of this festival than when you did it last year?

 Jamie- A little bit, I mean I’m trying a bit harder, I went to other shows and have been passing out postcards to everybody. Of course there’s Facebook and doing the old school thing driving around and putting up flyers but I’m just hoping for the best. It should be good

 Badger- Yea I think so, and what prompted you to organize a metal festival in the first place?

 Jamie- When I did it last year I kind of did it just for fun and it turned out pretty good, and then I had bands from across the states offering to play so, I mean I probably had one hundred bands offer to play this year so I had to pick and choose but yea it’s awesome.

 Badger- That’s cool, that very promising now I am looking forward to 2017 already hearing that.

Jamie- I know right me too, I can’t wait

 Badger- So what has the general reaction been from the bands last year? Were you like reaching out to bands last year, and this year they are coming to you to do it?

 Jamie- Yea I reached out to a couple that played last year and they did well, and a lot were friends of bands so I had people say “ you gotta check out this band,” so I got a lot of that and bands started hitting me up offering to play, offering to get on it.

 Badger- Now here is a metal festival with  a lot of bands playing,  do you have any sponsors for this? Or is it all you?

 Jamie- No I do it all myself man,

Badger- That’s pretty cool, good for you man that’s awesome.

Jamie- Yea I just put like the music stores and logo on our artwork because they were letting me hang stuff up there to help out.

 Badger- Now do you have any times for what time the doors open and what time it’s going to run till on Saturday, and then the same for Sunday?

Jamie- Yea I am not positive on that last year doors opened at noon, and bands started at 1. So I’m assuming the same, I haven’t figured out the times yet, I have a few other shows going on right now also that I am working on.

 Badger- What other shows do you have going on?

Jamie- Well this Saturday I have what’s called jingle jam, it’s a toys for tots thing with 9 bands on that, it’s a metal show all ages two bucks bring a toy. It’s called jingle jam and there is a Facebook page for that too. I got a couple of tribute bands on that and some locals playing.

Badger- Any shows besides that one?

Jamie-Then after that, the next one is actually after Hothfest and its January 23rd and called musical masterpiece theater the art of the guitar edition. It’s going to be a metal show for the sickest guitar players. I have Mark Rizzo from Soulfly headlining, and then I have Dave Sharp and the Solar Power, a few other ones are going to be on that, and I am still waiting to hear back from them.

 Badger-So I know, I can’t remember where the venue was originally going to be, but was it a case of so many bands and people showing interest that caused the venue change?

Jamie- No actually something had happened and they switched owners so I am actually having shows there now. I had already moved it so we are going to keep it where it is (Maximum Capacity) I know the guy that owns it now so and they own both venues so I will be throwing shows at both venues. Yea I have a big summer show I throw that has about 30 bands called rocking on the river and it’s my birthday bash, and we have that at the waterfront. So I already booked that again this year.

Jamie-That one’s kind of like Hothfest but the summer instead. I do about four or five big shows a year, when bands play every weekend people sometimes don’t want to show up. So (with a big show they are more likely to show up)

Badger- yea I know my old band we would play the same club almost every weekend because we were tight with the owner. But we knew that some people didnt want to come and see us every Friday or Saturday, it is what it is, and you always have the group that wouldn’t miss a show for the world.

 Jamie- We have our first show in NH playing at the Shaskeen pub in Manchester. It’s January 2nd and I am pretty psyched because we haven’t played anywhere else except from around here so it should be fun.

 Jamie- We sound like COC and Pantera that who we get compared to all the time, two of my favorite bands so I will take that. We are half rock half metal so.

 Badger-Are there any updates you want the readers and local to know about this show? Your band? What you are putting into this, other stuff about you? I know you do tattoos so…?

 Jamie-Yea I own a tattoo studio, I do some work for bands cd artwork, t-shirt all that stuff. At the shows the background for Hothfest that’s one of my paintings I did I actually just got the posters in for Hothfest, so I will be driving around and hanging wherever places will let me.

 Bader- I know you had just done a painting event,

Jamie-Yea called who wants to paint with me. We had a blast, it was a lot of fun.

Badger-Is that something you think you will be doing more of?

Jamie-Yea every couple of months I am going to do it, this time around I am going g to limit it to around 25 people so I know and have them pay up front. We had a blast, listened to metal and local bands all night.

 Jamie-If I could add one more thing the band Defeated Sanity will be here all the way from Germany they haven’t been in the states for about 5 years. So that’s going to be a pretty cool deal that they are playing at Hothfest and they are bringing a band called Iniquitous Savagery from Scotland with them so we have this whole European/ UK tour coming this way and also a band from California, and then metal bands from NH, MA, Vermont pretty much everywhere around here.

Jamie- Dehumanized will headline Saturday, and carnivore will headline Sunday

Jamie-Sunday is more of a local thing, and closer, and the travelling bands are playing on Saturday.

 Badger-That’s pretty good planning, especially for like Defeated Sanity who are on tour. Thank you for setting up a sick metal festival, thanks for trying to keep the metal scene going around here, and thank you for the phone call.

Jamie- Cool thanks man.

So there you have it, I for one am looking forward to Hothfest 2016.

The set lists are TBA, however the lineups for both days are already determined;

 

Saturday January 9th

Dehumanized

Immortal Suffering

Defeated Sanity

Abnormality

Dysentery

Iniquitous Deeds

Iniquitous Savagery

Torturous Inception

Hypoxia

Incontinence

Assault on the Living

Open the Nile

Dream of Scipio

Forest of Remorse

To Kill Again

 

 

Sunday January 10th

Carnivora

Thunderforge

City Of Homes

Western Massacre

Sevenday Curse -first show with new members

Goblet

The Aberration

She Walks Without Legs

Godeater

Oxblood Forge

Disguise The Curse

My Pet Carcass

One Ton Tommy Gun

Roadhorse

Grzelakurse

 

If you want to check out the bands before the show, here are a list of their FB pages

Dehumanized (OFFICIAL)
Dysentery
Torturous Inception
Abnormality
Hypoxia
Incontinence
Open The Nile
Thunderforge
Goblet
Godeater
Western Massacre
Oxblood Forge
City of Homes
Sevenday Curse
One Ton Tommy Gun
To Kill Again
Grzelakurse
ROADHORSE
My Pet Carcass
The Aberration
Disguise the Curse
Forest of Remorse
Immortal Suffering
Assault on the Living
Dream of Scipio
Defeated Sanity official
Iniquitous Deeds
Iniquitous Savagery
She Walks Without Legs
Carnivora

Also check out the event page for Hothfest 2016

 

-Badger \m/
http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

My interview with Jim Gregory of Solium Fatalis

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I recently had the chance to review Solium Fatalis’s sophomore album, and was pleasantly surprised with not only the lineup, but the songs were great. I wanted to reach out and talk to Jim Gregory guitarist and song writer for Solium Fatalis, and Neuronic Saw. I managed to get him on the phone and talk to him about Solium and find out where they are right now.

 

 

 

So I am on the phone with Jim Gregory from Solium Fatalis, What was your inspiration for the last album “The Undying season”?

Jim-Well mostly my military career, some of it touches on politics and stuff like that but a lot of it had to do with the things I saw while I was deployed in the desert and various places. Real life shit.

So that album got released about 9 months ago, are there still any physical copies left.

Jim-Yea actually there are about fifty out of the five hundred that we pressed. I still have more of the first album.

So you have both of them up on Bandcamp, has that been a great resource for you to be selling the albums in digital format?

Jim-So we have a full outlets, we don’t actually sell a lot on bandcamp, I don’t really even know why. I know other bands sell on bandcamp and it works out very well, but we haven’t had a lot of success. It’s being sold on our website, Amazon, iTunes, Google play, CD baby and the record label site. I mean you can go on your Xbox and get it.

So who does the writing for the albums?

Jim-I do all of it, the thing is I write all the songs by myself, and I have already written a few songs for this new album. I wrote 20 songs for the last album. And don’t get me wrong, I can go to Oli or Flo and get their input but for the most part I do all the writing.

So for the most part it sounds like the melody and rhythm are there, and you can go to Flo or Oli and get their opinion.

Jim- Yeah, I mean we know where Flo comes from but Oli was also in Neuraxis, and they were a killer band. Underrated in my opinion but a great metal band.

How did you end up getting involved with Jeff on vocals?

Jim-So I will do my best to give you the short version of the story, haha I’m not great with brevity. I could talk metal with you all night

Hahaha and we have,

Jim-Yea I could totally bullshit with you and talk metal for hours, you’re a cool dude and I love the website and your format for reviews. So I had four vocalists for the first album, and I had them all from one point to another and they would not get back to me, or stop talking. But Jeff would come in to the studio, because he and Ehren have been friends since I think they were kids so I said I think my vocalist is going to quit and I think I might need to ask you to do it. And he said ok I’ll do it. So when we did the second album, I knew exactly how he was going to sound, and what I had to work with, and I knew Flo and Oli can really do whatever they want. These guys could do this stuff in their sleep ha-ha so that’s why Seasons comes off far more focused.

So it was the right place and the right time

Jim-Yea he is a wicked cool guy all the guys are great, they don’t have any egos, they are really cool and great

 

So you are working on new material, are we going to see the same line up as on The Undying Season?

Jim-Yea totally they are all doing it, ha-ha I just talked to Oli the other day and he asked if he was slated to be doing the 3rd album and I was like uh yea dude. You know I am a fan of this music, and I hate seeing lineup change. So yea we are going to stick with the original line up, well the lineup for the second album. The first was based on necessity, and then the second basically came together. Especially when I was at the grid and Christian Donaldson said” hey would you like to use Flo?” and I was like uhhh yea!” and I asked about bass players, and Chris said “well you can use Forest from Beyond Creation, or you can use Oli” and I felt Forest is a great player, but I just dint think he would fit perfectly, and Oli was a fan of extreme metal so I felt  he was the one.

So you are working on new material,

Jim-We have three songs written so far, I wrote a new song every one to two days

So the rumor is that this is going to be a concept album, is this is true that you are doing a tribute album to the proclaimers?

Jim-Hahahahaha WTF, hahahahahahahaha no, I mean yea  it is a concept album, I have eleven tracks slated, and I do have a working title, but it is about mankind. It’s not going to be like the first and second album, I mean you will hear it and know its Solium Fatalis. So when I came up with the concept of the third album, I wanted to tell a story. I think empires die, you know I think somebody could hit the big red button and blow the whole world population up, wiped out. The world will continue, but it won’t be the world that you and I know. A lot of this is based on the world that I have seen, and being in a combat zone, and what people are really like as humans.

So is there anything you want the people to know about the undying season, or the new material

Jim-Well when it comes to The Undying Season, there is more to it than you realize, but the new music is going to be conceptual, complex esoteric, poetic, artistic and heavy!

So there you have it, Solium Fatalis is working on new material, and the line up will be the same. For those of you who don’t know much about this band let me give you the run down.

Jim Gregory is an experienced guitar player, who has served in the U.S armed forces, and loves metal.
Ehren Hill is the other guitarist for Solium Fatalis. He comes from Excrecor where he plays guitars and keyboards, and he runs things over at Iron Hill studios in New Hampshire.

Jeff Demarco does the vocals for Solium as well as for Excrecor.

Flo Mounier is a (legendary) name you should be familiar with, he is an original member of a pioneering  extreme/technical metal band Cryptopsy, he has been blowing peoples minds with his percussion skills for the past twenty years, and has been in various other projects including Digital Doomzday.

Olivier Pinard is the bassist for a few metal bands  including Cryptopsy, he has played with Neuraxis, and Akurion.

 

SO when you look at that line up its a no brainer that Solium Fatalis is a band you should familiarize yourself with.

 

To give you  a taste of what each member brings to the table  here are videos  of each member in action.

 

Jeff- Vocals

 

Ehren- Guitars

 

Oli- BAss

Flo-Drums

 

Jim- Guitars

 

 

Check them out on FACEBOOK

Follow them on TWITTER

get both  albums on Bandcamp

and don’t forget to go over to http://galyrecords.bigcartel.com/ and get some merch \m/

 

 

-Badger \m/
http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Kataklysm album Of Ghosts and Gods @kataklysmband

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Today we see Kataklysm’s latest release ” Of Ghosts and Gods” their twelfth album. Just one of the great examples of what Canada has to offer for killer metal.

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To get the most out of this album they released 10 videos, one video for each song, lets start off in the track order.

1) Breaching The Asylum

Digging this tune, the vocals actually remind me of At The Gates from Slaughter of the Soul. Not as deep and previous Kataklysm tracks like Shadows and dust.

2) The Black Sheep

starts out with a solid mid tempo feel, picks up with that classic Maurizio Iacono style, definitely a solid song for the album.

3) Marching Through Graveyards

Blast beats right out of the gate, now this song has promise, more of that Kataklysm feel I am sensing. The first two tracks were good, but I am really enjoying this track more. When I think of Kataklysm it’s songs like this one I think of.

4) Thy Serpents Tongue

This song starts off with a slow riff but when the drums kick in in has that looming death metal feel. The beginning is great really dig that section. When the vocals kick in its a slower feel to it but the pre chorus  picks back up with Oli  playing a fast beat on his drums. The chorus is solid, all in all a great tune.

5) Vindication

Really like this intro, I could probably listen to that on repeat, a solid marching tempo beat quarter notes on the crash feel, then fast riffing Oli delivering the blast beats with ease. This song starts out ready to rip you apart, when the vocals kick in it has a slower feel,  with a pre chorus that keeps the same pace but transitions into blast beats. This song is a killer track a little short for my liking, but it is one of those tracks you will listen through and hit the back button again.

6) Soul Destroyer

Nice little PSA about the extinction rate of the worlds animal population in the beginning, the sound of animals in the jungle and then right into a nice guitar riff and drums. Takes a half time feel, but with a groove that you can move to. This is a song that when played live I envision pits just opening up and masses of bodies moving and colliding into each other.  Not rapid blast beats like the previous tracks, just a solid death metal feel to this song. Nice double bass rolling for the chorus, nothing over the top they are basically keeping it pretty simple for this one.

7) Carrying Crosses

This song has that mid tempo feel again, its almost like they are trying to broaden their musical range on this album. Again there are fewer blast beats. There are only a few short sections  mainly the pre chorus’s have the blast beats going. Pretty steady chugging riffs throughout the whole song.

8) Shattered

This song starts out with guitars holding a note,  then Oli comes in with a drum beat on the rack toms and floor tom for a few bars. Then a drum fill into a nice solid heavy drum beat for about two bars,  into a rolling tom pattern with  crash on the quarter notes.  Slow it down as vocals join in, the verse is simple yet sounds great, pre chorus guitar riff is nothing over the top but fits the song rather well. Not a bad tune, maybe not my favorite on the album though.

9) Hate Spirit

Blast beats right away, this song sounds like it is made to pump you up and get you moving. As soon as the beginning transitions into double bass rolling death metal beat it keeps that feel for a few bars until the vocals enter the mix.  Slower punchy feel.  The chorus keeps that slower feel.  This song so far is not bad, not every song on every album a band puts out will be great. The song does have its message, and the video is well done.

10) The World Is   A Dying Insect

The song starts out with what sounds like stringed instruments just playing random chords and then the guitars come in with a slight acoustic sound for a bar or two then distortion, tribal drum beat. this is a heavy track, at times the tempo changes from fast to slow, but it is a solid heavy track and definitely a great song to end the album with. This track is on my list for the top songs of the album, I really do like this song. In my opinion I like a fast Kataklysm song. When I heard Katakylsm for the first time it was a fast paced brutally heavy song, and so for me it set the bar high. The world is a dying insect is the best song they could have picked to end the album with hands down.

All in all not a bad album, if you are a fan of Kataklysm then its worth the buy, if you are looking to try Kataklysm’s sound out to see if you like it, I actually hold other older albums above this one. but they did release a video for every song leading up to today so I do applaud them for doing something different that other bands have not done yet. Kataklysm may have just started a trend with this and we may be seeing more videos for metal bands before the albums come out. This is a trend that I would love to see because metal bands deserve to have music videos just as much as all the pop and hip hop artists out there.

order here Nuclearblast webstore and retailers

-Badger \m/
http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com