Welcome to The Heaviest Matter of the Universe

Posted on March 1, 2011 | 1 Comment

This blog is all about metal and other things heavy. From CD reviews to articles, this blog will cover both unknown and internationally recognized acts and knows no bounds of past, present, or future.

This is the heaviest matter of the universe.

Use the navigation at the top to find things of your interest, or use the list on the right to browse by genre or type of post. Make sure you yell at and insult me on any post that you think I’ve screwed up, or be respectful and provide your thoughtful feedback about our differing opinions – both are very welcome (and I often respond to comments as well).

The posts here may be inconsistent at best, but that’s because I write for three other publications currently: The OurStage Magazine, Under The Gun Review, and Tastemakers Magazine as a staff writer.

(and yes, before you ask, my blog’s name is a tribute to and/or rip-off of the Gojira song of the same name)

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Suffer The Destroyer – The Silent Majority [Review]

Posted on May 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

Suffer the Destroyer is a relatively new hardcore/metalcore/deathcore/mosh band from Boston. I wish I could tell you that I know exactly what style or genre of mosh-heavy music Suffer The Destroyer would be most closely associated with, but I can’t. In any case, they’ve played a handful of local gigs, recorded a six song EP called The Silent Majority, and are now scheming to take over the world (or so I assume).

The Silent Majority really fills more of a demo role than an actual EP, as the recording quality is pretty rough. While there are plenty of criticisms about the recording quality, they’re not really important in the grand scheme of this demo, especially considering it’s plenty good enough to hear all the instruments and what’s going on, as well as being decently mixed. What the recording quality does give you, though, is a good indicator at how well the band performs (there really isn’t any “studio magic” to be found). It also helps to capture the band’s energy without the assistance of bass drops (and thank goodness for that).

Musically, The Silent Majority is a rather odd mix of metalcore styles that range from mega-heavy beatdowns to melodic bridges. There’s some pretty original-sounding riffs and vocal lines, but also a few “tried-and-true” riffs scattered throughout the demo. Even more, there were a couple of musically surprising elements, such as the thick bass groove driving a section of gang vocals smack in the middle of “Iconoclast” right before it gets back to the circle-pitting verse. You’ll find groovy riffs, gang vocals, circle pit chugs, spacey guitar licks, brutal beatdowns and everything in between on this twenty minute demo.

As a demo, The Silent Majority is about everything you could ask for. It shows the versatility and musical interests of the band, isn’t too long, and actually has a couple of solid songs. If you’re looking for much more than that, you’re not really going to find that here. I have no doubts, however, that the next release from Suffer The Destroyer will bring the heat on another level.

In any case, you might as well download it and give it a spin. It is free, after all. Check it out below:

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Posted in CD reviews, Metalcore

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Obzerter – Absence of Colour [Review]

Posted on April 26, 2011 | 14 Comments

Obzerter - Absence of Colour

Remember a time when Static-X was actually a good metal band? Well, it’s a bit of a stretch, but at least they were halfway decent and interesting on their first couple albums with whatever style of music you’d pigeon-hole them into. Now imagine if they actually WERE a pretty good metal band, now wouldn’t that be something?

Enter UK-based band Obzerter. About a decade since Static-X’s last decent album (Machine, for those not keeping track), Obzerter has decided to build their throne on top of the foundation they built, and a mighty (albeit short) throne it is. It comes in the form of a five-song EP called the Absence of Color EP. It’s a rather lengthy EP, clocking in at just a pinch over thirty minutes (which is longer than the full album I had as my number one selection in 2008, for comparison’s sake).

While vaguely reminiscent of Static-X on the vocal front, continuing this weak comparison does Obzerter no justice at all. I would also imagine it’s just a huge coincidence that the vocal stylings on this EP are very similar to Wayne Static’s at times. It also does the band no justice because I’m sure there aren’t many people that feel as fondly as I do about Static-X’s first two albums.

Absence of Color is a fairly fresh amalgamation of a lot of very distinct styles of American metal. There’s a distinct feel of the “New Wave Of American Heavy Metal” in there with the amount of groove found in each song (even though they’re from London). Tempo changes, different styles of licks and riffs, this album has a lot of stuff on it. Even with the breadth of material this album has, it only loosely fits under the “progressive metal” umbrella.

The production is about what you can expect from an unsigned band recording an EP. It’s not terrible by any means, and the rawness really brings out the ferocity in a lot of the riff and vocal pairings.

Though it’s not the bet EP I’ve ever heard, it at the very least peaks my interests in what’s next for the band. It shows a ton of promise, so long as they can keep the pace. They’ve got plans to re-record Damage and prepare for a second EP. Check out “Absence of Colour” below and share your thoughts below!

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Posted in CD reviews, Prog Metal

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The Sun Through A Telescope

Posted on March 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

Atmospheric doom metal: admittedly, not something I’m the most familiar with. In this instance, I’m experiencing The Sun Through A Telescope for the first time, and I can say this: it’s quite heavy on the ambience. Since I’ve not the experience or breadth of knowledge for a real and legitimate album review, this is more of a “first impression” sort of post. I do have pretty extensive experience with different types of atmospheric musics such as serial composition, minimalist composers, post-rock bands, etc. as well as both doom and black metal (even atmospheric black metal bands like Wolves In The Throne Room) so I’m quite interested in hearing this project.

First, a little about the double EP Orange and Green/Black that I’m writing about. It’s a project done by a man named Leigh who hails from Ottawa, Ontario under the name The Sun Through A Telescope that was recorded and released on two separate cassettes (though you can download the .mp3 versions).

I’m 100% unsure of which EP to start with, so I selected Orange in a rather arbitrary manner. From the start you get a very good taste of what’s to come, hearing what I can only imagine are sounds from some sort of ocean area. Birds squawking, gentle movement of water, and there are some light synth noises and some feedback… then out of nowhere a black metal section blasts you in the face. The first few songs go a lot like that, with metal carefully woven into some very cool atmospheric textures. When things truly start to get interesting are when the vocals come in on “Glowing Halowe’en Eyes” — they’re pretty haunting, having been processed through some sort of filters, they’re quite reminiscent of the vocals at the begging of “Akeldama” by the Faceless, and at some other points they’re totally unleashed being delivered with pure and unadulterated emotion (often in the form of a powerful shriek).

The rest of Orange continues on in the same manner, tastefully swapping out noise, doom, black metal, and atmospheric sections while introducing more unique nuances to keep the listener’s attention. Green/Black? Not so much, it starts off with a thirteen-minute monster of an atmospheric track, using some of the most haunting tones and harmonies I’ve heard, then moves into the visceral three and a half minutes of “The Priest With One Black Hand”–a raw and heavily hardcore punk influenced track. Right after the album takes another slow but extreme turn where you get the first clean and unprocessed singing on the set of EPs.

Overall I really enjoyed listening to the double EP. It is very well recorded and mixed, and is full of really interesting content. Whether it’s music, bird noises, running water, screaming bloody murder, or whatever else is on this album, it was all very pleasant to listen to. I can’t say I’d recommend this as a listen for anyone with a short attention span, but I will say that it’s certainly worth checking out if you feel like taking sixty-three minutes of sonic exploration.

Here, check out the song “Glowing Hallowe’en Eyes” for a taste of what you can expect from the album:

If you’re interested in checking out more, each EP is a measly $2.50 at The Sun Through A Telescope’s Bandcamp, so head over and check that out.

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The Summoned – If Only Minds Could Paint Pictures [Review]

Posted on March 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

If Only Minds Could Paint Pictures is the debut full-length from Massachusetts-based extreme metallers The Summoned, and is currently unreleased (perhaps more news to come on that in the future).

The Summoned belong to the group of bands that play a style of music that borders itself along death metal and grindcore (but isn’t really deathcore). Clocking in at only 33 minutes, it’s a bit of a short album, but very dense in musical content. There are lots of really nice guitar licks, pace changes, etc. combined with Steve’s excessively brutal vocals. Deciding to not go the route of bands like Suffocation and Skinless, the vocals are not usually at the lowest of lows. Instead, the vocals mostly sound more like mid-range screams than growls–and they pack a ton of fury.

Easily the best part about If Only Minds Could Paint Pictures is the consistently high level of guitar work. While they aren’t constantly noodling, the riffs, licks and solos are always interesting. The somewhat atonal licks in “Anatomy Of A Bar Fight” show just how strong of a grasp this band has on quality guitar parts that stray from the path just a bit. You even get to hear that they have a good ear for melody and tasteful guitar playing on the track “The Flood” with some solid guitar solos dropped right in the middle of that track.

Most of the album is straight to sixth gear, outside of the very somber guitar interlude track “Space Was…” which only lasts for a minute and is followed by what could be the gnarliest track on the album “Space Is…” which is filled with mid-tempo blasts, pinch harmonics, and harmonized guitar licks.

From start to finish you get the feeling that If Only Minds Could Paint Pictures is totally unrelenting. At every point where it feels like there’s a down moment it lulls you into a false sense of security until you get fully-harmonized riffs forced with fury down your throat. Backed up by an extremely tight rhythm section, the very few breakdowns on this album are neither boring or stereotypical, adding another dimension to an already outside of the box style.

As a debut record, there’s not a whole lot you can ask from a band who went the DIY route, except maybe for more of it. Certainly a very interesting listen, if there’s one thing you won’t be while listening to If Only Minds Could Paint Pictures it’s bored. It’s hard to say where exactly the band might go from this release, but more of the same would absolutely be welcomed.

Song choices: “The Flood” and “Anatomy of a Bar Fight”

Overall score: 8/10 devil horns

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Posted in CD reviews, Death Metal, Deathcore, Grindcore

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The Ciem Show – Lifelike Scenes [Review]

Posted on March 13, 2011 | 3 Comments

When thinking of what the term “progressive” means in the metal world in 2011, it doesn’t really mean that the music it is attached to is really progressive, but rather that it fits into a certain sound or style loaded with technical proficiency. Bands like Dream Theater and Symphony X could be considered part of the reason for this. Some bands, however, are looking to atone for this watered-down meaning of the “progressive” label in metal.

Enter The Ciem Show and their 2010 release Lifelike Scenes. Sonically, the album might be able to find its home right alongside Dream Theater and Symphony X, but I’d be lying if I said that was the whole story. This album floats around through all sorts of metal styles; from the djent intro of “Scene II: Evolution Sickness: i. Existing Without Being / ii. Being Without Existing” to the melodically difficult “Scene V: Effects of Somnambulism” The Ciem Show aren’t afraid of mixing in whatever inspires them to their music.

Doom metal, power metal, heavy metal, djent: it’s all here in Lifelike Scenes. You even get a really good taste of the virtuosic playing that many prog-heads have come to love from their genre. The solo towards the end of “Scene VI: Theme for Lost Children” is fantastic, floating between jazz melodies and the heart-wrenching melodies found in some of the more somber heavy metal ballads.

There are really only two faults of Lifelike Scenes. First, the mixing makes it a bit difficult to hear and appreciate the intricacy of each of the instrumental layers on many of the songs. There are multiple instances on the album where the bass just becomes lost in the mix. The second is that the album just feels a bit short for a prog album, clocking in at only 36 minutes (seven songs).

Even considering the albums couple shortcomings, it’s still a great listen and worth checking out if you’re looking for some solid prog metal. You can pick the album up for free from The Ciem Show’s Bandcamp page. Let’s be serious, since you can get it for free, there’s no reason not to listen to it.

For fans of: Ayreon, Dream Theater, Symphony X

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Posted in CD reviews, Prog Metal

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The Weekend Rant, Vol. 2: Being “trve” and “kvlt”

Posted on March 5, 2011 | 3 Comments

One seemingly ongoing and inexhaustible topic of arguments in the metal world is how the only “trve” black metal is the original black metal. I often notice that this argument is often used to castigate Dimmu Borgir and Abigail Williams fans (among others). I think old school and “kvlt” black metal is totally different from newer bands making it. Totally different circumstances and mindsets. I think both, musically, have equal merit but you cannot match the cultural implications of the earlier black metal bands in the early 90s in Norway, there’s simply no way. It is an inescapable truth that bands such as Darkthrone, Mayhem, Burzum, etc. are the bands that are often considered the pinnacle of black metal music, thus being considered the most “kvlt” or “trve” of all the black metal bands.

I don’t buy that whole “new bands can’t be trve” malarkey. It’s not like they chose to be starting their musical careers two decades after the movement they associate best with occurred. As long as they truly believe in what they’re doing, that’s as true as it gets. Sure, they might not come from a place and feel religiously oppressed by the people that wiped away their cultural heritage, but it doesn’t make their circumstance any less legitimate or meaningful.

There is, however, a scale of how traditional a band’s music is to the originators of black metal. Dimmu Borgir is the perfect band to illustrate this. In their early years, they were about as true to form to symphonic black metal as you could possibly be, their sound very much in line with some of Emperor‘s best albums. In recent years, since Death Cult Armageddon they have strayed from the traditional path to venture into more grand and symphonic arrangements and songs, forgoing some of the low-fidelity and ripping nature of their black metal predecessors. At that point, the black metal purists cried wolf. Apparently musical progression and deviance is taboo in the black metal world. I could draw a parallel to this mindset and that of the Christian mindsets that black metal once fought, but anyone who knows anything about black metal already can see that at this point.

What I find especially mind-boggling is that these stances are often taken by people who have absolutely nothing to do with the culture in which black metal originated, so their feelings of outsiders being unwelcome is absolutely unfounded. By stating that newer bands who aren’t from that specific era in can’t be considered “trve,” what does that mean for all of the black metal fans who are also not from that circumstance? Are they also not “trve?” It all seems just a small amount ridiculous to me. As far I can tell, the “trve” tag has come to just be a pedestal to promote elitism in metal, something I feel there needs to be a lot less of these days. It’s the only thing keeping metal from being a wildly successful genre of music.

Just think for a second, how these mindsets are stifling the metal world that is currently burgeoning with creativity. It truly breaks my heart. I hope we can all at least agree that Emperor is a great band. How about we just enjoy the video for “Empty” by Emperor?

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Posted in Black Metal, Editorial

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Derelict Looking To Perpetuate Band Success

Posted on March 1, 2011 | Leave a comment

If you’ve been a longtime reader here at The Heaviest Matter of the Universe, you may recall a review I did for the band Derelict‘s Unspoken Words back in early 2009. Otherwise, let this serve as your first introduction to the band. It’s the first single they’ve released since Unspoken Words came out, and it’s called “Perpetuation.” Here, have a listen:

This song is typical Derelict riff-your-face-off fashion, and in this case, typical is a great thing. The song is going to be featured on a three song “demo” (really more of an EP) soon as the band is putting the finishing touches on their next full-length album. If you like what you heard above, go pickup a copy of Unspoken Words online through Year of the Sun Records or Relapse Records, or snag it from iTunes. Make sure you keep on the lookout for the upcoming EP!

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