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:

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!

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.

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

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

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?

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!

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)

Known as one of the original, best, and most brutal death metal bands in the history of the genre, Deicide have never ceased to assault and please ears with each new release. In their history the band has seen little transformation or deviance from their relentless sound, though the lineup changes post-2004 when the Hoffman brothers ceased their guitar-playing duties with the band. To many cries of “not as good as before!” Deicide have still managed to put out another album that’s stands true to the genre they helped pioneer.

There is but one unescapable truth regarding To The Hell With God: while it falls directly in line with the post-2004 releases it lacks a certain leaded fury that was delivered when Deicide enlisted the Hoffman brothers. Unlike many accounts I’ve encountered, however, I think this is both a good and bad thing. Let’s start with why this sucks. Deicide were most certainly one of the heaviest and most brutal bands that seemed to get as close as possible to the “over the top” mark into the “silly” territory, and seemed to be masters of doing so, but they’re no longer quite as close to that mark, almost as if they’ve let off the throttle a bit.

Outweighing the negatives of being heavy to the brink of silliness is that the production is leaps and bounds better than the band had once featured on their albums. Glen Benton’s vocals are perhaps the best they’ve ever been and you can actually hear them in the mix–as you can each of the instruments in the band. There is nothing lost amidst the overwhelming heaviness of the album that Deicide occasionally fell prey to. With this more modern sound for the band also comes a more modern style of death metal than perhaps diehard Deicide fans are used to, but it’s closer to the classic Deicide than Till Death Do Us Part and The Stench Of Redemption.

Quite literally, the only “fault” of the album is that it’s not exactly like the Deicide of old, but I’m not complaining. To Hell With God is a great album, and it is fantastic to hear a classic band staying relevant by bringing their creativity and influence to the table in order to help reshape the genre in which they were of the first contributors to. Song after song, album after album, Deicide continue to show us why they’re a deserving candidate for the throne of death metal king.

Song picks: “Empowered By Blasphemy” and “How Can You Call Yourself A God”

Score: 9/10 Devil Horns

In the history of metal, there are only a few bands who can really be attributed with being pioneers and landmarks in their respective styles and Crowbar are just that. In the early ’90s Kirk Windtstein and company cemented themselves as the premier sludge metal band of the time. Even at their worst, they’re still as good as any band to ever make sludge metal (after all, the did help make the mold).

Sever The Wicked Hand is exactly in line with everything that you’ve come to know and love about Crowbar, except possibly a bit darker this time. Kirk’s concentrated and powerful vocal delivery over constant fuzzed-out guitar riffs. The flavor of this album is very slightly different than 2005′s Lifeblood of the Downtrodden; a slightly different sound is to be expected after six years and, aside from Kirk, a totally new lineup.

There’s not a lot of speed in this record, it’s as slow as ever. Many songs employ Kirk’s more sorrowful and semi-clean vocals with more slick (but still fuzzed-out) guitar licks. Don’t worry, for all of you that like the thick and thrashy chugged out riffs, they’re still there. In general, however, Sever The Wicked Hand is still an incredibly heavy album, just not in a modern headbanger sort of way. It’s a slow, marching, and deliberate heavy at most times that feels more like a classic Black Sabbath sort of heavy.

The most interesting part about this album, though, has nothing to do with the music or performance itself, but rather the production and mixing. It sounds totally unlike a vast majority of metal records nowadays, outside of maybe some of the more obscure black metal bands. It’s an incredibly heavy sound without having a ton of sound packed into the lower register, most of the meat of these tracks are on the mids and so you really get to hear the full effect of the fuzz. It almost sounds rough around the edges, but deliberately so. There aren’t any fancy bass drops to add extra emphasis on chord changes, it’s all natural kick.

As a whole, as I mentioned before, Sever The Wicked Hand is everything we’ve come to know and love about Crowbar, perhaps this time with a little extra sorrow embedded in its sound and lyrics.

Track picks: “Liquid Sky And Cold Black Breath” and “The Cemetery Angels”

Overall score: 9/10 Devil Horns