Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Rifftera/Pitch Black/Inverse Records/2015 Full Length Review


  Rifftera  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  melodic  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Pitch  black"  which  was  released  by  Inverse  Records.

  Sound effects  start  off  the  album  before  adding  in  a  more  heavy  thrash  orientated  sound  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  the  music  also  brings  in  modern  metal  elements  at  times  as  well  as  adding  clean  singing  vocals  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  when  keyboards  are  utilized  they  give  the  music  more  of  a  progressive  and  industrial  feeling.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  more  of  an  old  school  melodic  metal  fashion  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  adding  in  elements  of  groove  metal  and  metalcore  at  times  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  blast  beats  being  utilized  on  some  of  the  tracks  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  samples  and  a  couple  of  the  songs  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  one  of  them  bringing  in  acoustic  guitars  towards  the  end.

   Rifftera  takes  a  modern  style  of  melodic  death  metal  and  mixes  it  with  thrash  and  soem  of  the  more  mainstream  side  of  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Rifftera  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  thrash  and  melodic  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Back  To  Life"  "Ashes  Fall"  and  "Pitch  Black".  8  out  of  10.   

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Sad Eyes/Ad Dicti On/Necromance Records/2015 CD Review


  Sad  Eyes  are  a  solo project  from  Spain  that plays  death  metal  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2015  album  "Ad  Dicti  ON"  which  was  released  by  Necromance  Records.

  A  very  heavy  and  melodic sound  starts  off the  album  along  with  some  technical  elements  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  are  utilized  and  the  vocals  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  and  the  songs  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast parts.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  bring  in  more  of  a  melodic  style  of  extreme  metal  and  you  can  also hear  elements  of  thrash  and  old  school  death  metal  in  the  songs  and  the  whole  album  sticks  to  a  very  heavy  and  old  school  sound  throughout  the  recording  while  some  modern  elements  are  used  quite  a  bit  and  there  are  also  a  decent  amount  of  quests  on  the  tracks.

  Sad  Eyes  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  old  school  and  technical  along  with  some  black  metal  style  vocals  which  really  makes  the  music  stand  out  a  bit  more,  the  production  sounds  very  professional while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Spanish  and  cover  a  concept  based  on  based  on  the  chronicles  of  the  troubled  struggles  of  a  self  inflicted  by  fear  mind.

  In  my  opinion  Sad  Eyes  are  a  very  great  sounding  technical  death  metal  project  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Lunium"  "Tangere"  "Vulnus"  and  "Enodo".  8  out  of  10. 

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Norylsk/Catholic Dictatorship/Selfmadegod Records/2015 Full Length Review


  Norylsk  are  a  band  from  Poland  that  plays  a  very  fast  and  old  school  form of  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Catholic  Dictatorship"  which  was  released  by  Selfmadegod  Records.

  A  very  fast,  brutal  and  old  school  grindcore  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  vocals  that  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  both  growls  and  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  melodies  in  the  song  structures  at  times  along  with  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  most  of  the  tracks  being  very  short  in  length  and  the  growls  can  also  be  very  guttural  at  times  and  also  adds  a  more  modern  touch  to  an  old  school  style  of  grindcore  and  on  of  the  tracks  also brings  in a  brief  use  of  melodic  female  vocals  and  spoken  word  parts  before  making  a  return  back  to  a  fast  and  brutal  musical  direction  and  all  of  the  tracks avoid  using  any guitar  solos  or  leads.

  Norylsk  takes  a  very  heavy,  brutal  and  old  school  form  of  grindcore  and  also  add  a  modern  touch  to  this  genre  to  create a  very  heavy,  fast  and  brutal  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Anti  Religion  and  Political  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Norylsk  are  a  very  great  sounding  grindcore  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Produc  Of  Lobotomy"  "Sexual  Apartheid"  "Children  of  the  Political  System"  and  "The  Face  OfDeath".  8  out  of  10.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Human Desolation/Mind Grind Paradigim/2015 CD Review


  Human  Desolation  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  very  progressive  form  of  melodic  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015  album  "Mind  Grind  Paradigm".

  Sci  Fi  style  sound  effects  start  off  the  album  along with  some  symphonic  elements  and  classical  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  the  into  the  music  starts  to  get  a  lot  more  heavier  before  speeding  up  and  going  into  a  melodic  death  metal  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and a  good  mixture  of  both  growls  and  screams.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  modern metal  style  at  times  as  well  as  alternating  between  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  which  also  gives  the music  more  of  a  progressive  feeling  and  some  of  the  screams  also  bring  elements  of  black  metal  onto  the  recording. 

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  elements  of  electronic  music  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  while  some  of  the  tracks  are  all  instrumental  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band uses  remain  true  to  a  melodic  death  metal  style  and  the  last  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Human  Desolation  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  melodic  and  mixes  in  elements  of  progressive  and  modern  music  to  create  a  very  heavy  and  diverse  recording,  the  production  sound s very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Human  Desolation  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  and  melodic  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Afterlife"  "Fear  And  Loathing"  "I  Am  Evil"  and  "Judgement  Pathos".  8  out  of  10.  

 

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Enthring Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new ep?

We've already started working on a new release, at this point it is planned to be the next full length album. Otherwise than that it has been mostly promoting the EP. Those combined take a fair amount of time.

2.In June you had released a new ep,how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

The new material is more sinister, gloomy and aggressive. Also the style is more refined, on "The Grim Tales of the Elder" there was a bit of this and that. Now it can be easily described (in my opinion) as melodic/symphonic death metal. "The Grim Tales of the Elder" also had a fair amount of folk metal type of influences which are quite non-excistent on "The Art of Chaos".

3.This is the first release to be come out in 4 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?

We've had a lot of line-up changes in these 4 years, even at the moment I am the only permanent member. The others work as session musicians which I call when needed. As usual, the personal life outside the band can be hectic, which is exactly what happened in this case. We have been doing gigs in Finland with a steady pace meanwhile. We've also refined these songs and some unreleased too. As a hindsight it was good in a way that the release was delayed as the songs evolved all the way until the release.

4.Your lyrics cover some fantasy and mythology themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these subjects?

The lyrical themes bounce between reality and fantasy, they are really neither compeletly. Even though lyrics with a specific story can be amazing I personally prefer lyrics that allow you to understand them however you want to, kind of reflect them to your own life and experiences. Yet again we see enough real life as we live it, that's why I give them the fantasy/mythological tone. I usually do not discuss the lyrics or what they mean to me in specific because I do not want to tell people how to comprehend them. It would take a big deal of the magic away.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Enthring'?

The name actually means nothing even though it has a strong fantasy literature vibe in it.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

The best show I've had was while opening for Korpiklaani on our tour in Brazil. The show was at Clash Club and it was amazing to play such a big and great audience.  Our stage performance is evolving all the time, until the time it is perfect which will be never. We attempt to give all we got, in the future we might be adding some theatrical elements to it.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

At the moment we have not made any specific plans as we are still working the with the promotion of "The Art of Chaos" and the new album is in the making. We will still keep your eyes and ears open for possible opportunities.

8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

We've had some tentative interest since the release of "The Grim Tales of the Elder" but we've been quite adamant that we will not accept a deal just for the sake of getting one. We are interested in joining a label if we find one which can offer a deal that benefits both parties.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of symphonic and melodic death metal?

The feedback has been excellent overall, better than what I could have ever hoped for. There are tons of people who have not even heard of us so good and bad feedback will keep on coming. Such is the business.

11.When can we expect another full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

The most recent plan is on having the music composed by the end of the year at latest. At the moment the style is going to be quite similar as it is with the new EP. Everything will just be better, we still have a lot more to give.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

The bands that have highly influenced me are such as Wintersun, Kalmah, Children of Bodom, Ensiferum, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Nightwish and Dimmu Borgir. There are plenty of more and the influences may or may not be heard in the material.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

Gaming and TV-series such as The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones. I also have a beautiful little daughter which takes a fair slice of my time.

14.Before We wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thank you for the interview. Go and give our Facebook page a like, there will be much interesting things to see in the future.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Anachronaeon Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

Yeah, right now we’re having the annual summer break. We’ll get together again this fall to focus on work in the studio with some new material. So far we have about five new songs, and I’ll be working on the writing for a complete album soon. We also aim to do a couple of gigs this fall/winter if things fall our way.

2.In February you had released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

I would say it’s more of everything, compared to the previous one. The melodies are more melodic, the speed is speedier, but what differs is that we’re sneaked in some progressive elements that may or may not have been so evident in the previous releases. Then speaking about raw production values, this one does sound better overall, and sound more the way we want Anachronaeon to sound like. We have always recorded everything ourselves and you pick up things along the way and learn more about sound engineering and stuff. I can promise you that the next album will sound even better production wise, since Balk (bass) is a sound engineer. Andreas and I were, and are just glad amateurs that learned more with each album made.

3.The band usually releases an album an average of every 2 to 3 years, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap in between releases?

The most part of the gaps are depending on the release speed of the label and cover art creation. We also have taken our time to let this line-up set. We all have our given parts of the functioning of Anachronaeon, which is great. I focus on writing material, Balk and Andreas handle the recording, and Kenneth makes sure that we don’t sit in the sofas too long (the new drill sergeant) and he’s also really fast at learning my wicked guitar-licks.
We are also not as rushed as before with new material now. When you are a two-man-band all you can really do is record, since none of our songs are written with just one guitar in mind to do them justice. It is also more important than ever to do a great album rather than just doing an album. There’s a flood of music out there, and the world doesn’t need another mediocre album.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new album?

Mostly Anachronaeon-lyrics are about dark views on humanity and this world as a whole. Through different creative perspectives. Or… dark views. You can just call them realistic. ;) In this particular album it’s about creative obsession. It’s about an artist who has forsaken his social/family-life for the benefit of his art.

5.Originally the band was called 'Eternally Devoured' then 'Human Failure and now 'Anachronaeon?

Yeah. Although only the first demo was released as “Human Failure”. By the second demo we changed name and released it under the Anachronaeon-banner, even though “Human Failure” was printed on the cover.

6.Originally the band was a duo but know has a full line up, what was the decision behind adding in more members?

We always wanted to be able to resurrect our songs in a live form, otherwise it is just like “all right, one more song recorded, put it in the archives and forget it”. But since good band-members don’t grow on trees around here, we did our thing until we moved out of Andreas computer-room to a real rehearsal space. From there things went kind of quickly. Balk has always been around in the shadows of the band, I never knew that he wanted to be a part of this before. When we announced that we needed a bassist he volunteered, which was both surprising and not. We found Kenneth on the internet. Internet dating is surely a success hahaha!

7.Has the band done any live shows yet with the new lineup?

Yes! We supported Godhate last fall, which was our first show together: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7qfoLmnGZs

It was also our first gig in ten years.

8.Currently the band is signed to 'Stygian Crypt Productions', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Stygian Crypt is a small label/distro which put out small quantities CD:s. We’ve been with them since we got our first contract. Considering the dying age of physical format they seem to be doing all right. We have nothing to complain about except for the slow pace between sent in master to release day.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic death metal?

I think we have a couple of fans out there. Facebook-numbers mean nothing but we have over 2000 likes (without ever paying for an ad), and we get good reviews. Also when we did our live show we had more fans  before the stage than Godhate did, which is saying something considering they are far more experienced than we are. Though we are still a very small band in an ocean of bands.

10.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?

Well Andreas is having a project with his brother, and I on the other hand have done session vocals on Hyling’s new album called “Decimate the human race”. Other than that, if you are referring to Eyecult (our BM-project) it is put on ice. Anachronaeon is what I focus on 100%.

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

It is hard to say, but it will depend which mood I’m in when I’m in writing mode. I have always been a sucker for melody and energy in music, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I have a foot in both fantasy/folk-music as well as in extreme hyper blasting metal and progressive metal. With that span, I can do pretty much everything creatively. Right now I listen a lot to “The Legion” (Swedish BM), the new Arcturus album (which may be the album of the year), everything by Psychotic Waltz, Summoning, and Lost Soul.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

I’m a craft beer-geek, and I love scanning the bar for new beers that I haven’t tasted before. If you are an untapped-user you can hook me up. I’m FoamyDeathMetalBeard over there. I am also a mobile tech geek, Android is the shit of course. Rooting, flashing, customizing, it’s all awesome!

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Play our stuff to your friends!
Tattoo our logo on your chest and send us the pic!
Join us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/anachronaeon We will never be in your face thirty times per day unlike some other annoying bands.
Or just enjoy our music.

Thanks for the interview!

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Falling From Grace Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

- FFG is combination of various metal genres like groove, melodeath, thrash metal and many more, and someones calls it hybrid metal.
  If you listen one of these genres, you should check this band out!


2.So far you have released a demo and an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on those recordings?

- It is also a mixture of modern metal, old school metal and little bit of our own sound. Sound is more like Entombed's sound than "gothenburg" metal.



3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

- umm, some are religious, darker side of life. Also lyrics holds a lot of anger, despair and so on.



4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Falling From Grace'?

- It came from our lead guitarist's (Timi) knowledge and interest of biblical characters, greek mythology and so on.
  The name Falling from Grace refers to the angels whom fell from grace or from heaven itself.



5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

- One of the best shows that the band has played, was a few days ago at PRKL Club, Helsinki, Finland.
  FFG's stage performance is very aggressive, energetic, loud and professional. 



6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

- We don't have any touring plans at the moment. We have planned individual shows with other finnish metal bands.



7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme metal?

- we are actually very surprised that it has been very positive for now. Reviews have been good for our point of view.
  New fans have found us around the world.



8.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

- No, we just focus on this band.


9.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

- We are not sure, maybe end of the next year or later in 2017, even though we are writing new songs constantly.
  We are trying to get better and better in every record, but maintain our own musical style.


10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

- Our musical influence comes from bands like: Pantera, Lamb of God, Devildriver etc. Influences that comes from musical styles are: groove metal,
  thrash metal, melodeath, death metal, metalcore.

  It depends on which member you ask, but mostly we share the same musical taste, but our bassist (Lauri) listens more to metalcore and deathcore, and other members listen mostly the same genres.



11.What are some of your non musical interests?

- Outside the band we do many different things, and we are not hanging together all the time. Few of us like to play games, hanging with friends.
  Some of non musical interests are tattoos, piercings, games, movies and drinking beer.



12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

- Yes! Definetly all metal fans should listen our music and go to our facebook or twitter and tell us their honest opinion, and also follow us on
  twitter and/or like us on facebook.

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Intravenous Contamination/Drowned In Human Fluids/Rising Nemesis Records/2015 CD Review


  Intravenous  Contamination  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  brutal  form  of  death  metal  with  a  touch  of  slam  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Drowned  In  Human  Fluids"  which  was  released  by  Rising  Nemesis  Records.

  Dark  sound  effects  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  brutal  death  metal  direction  along  with  some  growling  vocals  that  can  also  be  very  guttural  at  times  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  to  speed  up  a  bit  and  bring  in  blast  beats  while  the  mid  paced  sections  have  more  of  a  slam  style.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  music  also  brings  back  the  90's  style  of  brutal  death  metal  at  times  as  well  as  mixing  in  a  lot  of  east  coast  and  New  York  death  metal  influences  and  all  of  the  musical instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them and  all  of  the  songs  avoid  using  any  guitar  solos  and  leads  to  focus  more  on  a  brutal  musical  style. 

  Intravenous  Contamination  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  old  school 90's  brutal  death  metal  style  and  mixes  it  in  with  the  more  modern  slam  style  to  create  some  very  heavy  and  aggressive  sounding  music,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violence  and  gore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Intravenous  Contamination are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal,  slam  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Confessions  Of  An  Execrable  Existence"  "Excruciating  Scattered Revenge"  "Drowned  In  Human  Fluids"  and  "After  (Human)  Life".  8  out  of  10.

Enthring/The Art Of Chaos/2015EP Review


  Enthring  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays a  melodic  and  symphonic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015  ep  "The  Art  Of  Chaos".

  A  very  fast  and  melodic  death  metal sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  symphonic  elements  and  some  of  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  touch of  thrash  and  after  awhile  growls  and  screams  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  songs  also bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slwo, mid  paced  and  fast  parts.    

  When  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  remain  true  to  a  melodic  style  of  metal  and  the  music  also  brings  in  violins  at  times  giving  the  music  more  of  a  classic  and  orchestra  feeling  while  the  music  remains  true  to  a  heavy  and  melodic style  of  death  metal and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  one  of  the  tracks  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts.

  Enthring  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  mostly  in  a  melodic  death  metal  direction  and  mixes  it  with  symphonic  music  to  create  their own  style, the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  Mythology,  Grim  Tales  and  Fantasy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Enthring  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  symphonic  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "And  We  Dream  Of  Our  Own  Demise".  8  out  of  10.    

 

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Anarchronaeon/The Oracle And The Keyholder/Stygain Crypt Productions/2015 CD Review


  Anachronaeon  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "The  Oracle  And  The  Keyholder"  which  was  released  by  Stygain  Crypt  Productions.

  A  very  heavy  sound  and  drum  beats  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  a  few  seconds  later  which  leads  up  to  more  of  a  melodic  Swedish  death metal  style  that  incorporates  solos  and  leads  that  also  bring  elements  of  traditional  and  power  metal  to  the  bands  musical  style.

  Blast  beats  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  on  some  of  the  tracks  a  small  amount  of  classical  guitars  can  be  heard  briefly  and  some  of  the  riffs  and  screams  also  add  a  touch  of  black  metal  to  the  recording  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  few  seconds  of  keyboards  while  most  of  the  songs  are  guitar  driven  and  they  also  add  in  elements  of  thrash  at  times  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  clean  singing.    

  Anachronaeon  plays  a  style  of  melodic  death  metal  that  is  more  closer  to  the  mid  90's  style  and  also  has  more  of  a  darker  sound  than  most  of  the  modern  bands  of  the  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  on  a  relationship  that  ends  with  a  suicide.

  In  my  opinion  Anachroaeon  are  a  very great  sounding  melodic  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Trading  Youth  Of  The  Soul  For  A  Crown  Of  Thorns"  "Her  Words  Pierce  My  Heart"  and  "Flatline".  8  out  of  10. 

 

   

Friday, July 3, 2015

Carnivora Interview

Interview with Cody Michaud [guitar]

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new ep?

Since recording it all, we've been pushing hard to strengthen our networks and tour as much as possible to build our name up. We've joined with some really cool companies for endorsements, including Orange amps and Legator guitars. Our management, Manshark Entertainment, has played a key role in moving everything forward for us.

2.You have a new ep coming out in June, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the album you had released in 2013?

The new EP is more focused. We've taken elements that we felt were strong about our debut and upped the ante on this new stuff. All around, there's just a lot more going on within each song while also maintaining cohesive song structures.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?

Scotty [vocals] wrote all the lyrics this time. He wrote mostly about his personal struggles he was going through at the time. This was a pretty big change from our last record, which mostly focused on anti-religious themes. There's definitely a more personal, relatable approach to the lyrics this time.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Carnivora'?

It kind of started as, like, "oh that's a cool word. Let's go with that." And then it stuck because we all like to eat steak and bacon, haha. But really, at this point, it just feels like the name of our band and there's no real meaning behind it.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Some of my personal favorites are the big festivals. It was a personal goal of mine to play at Mayhem Fest and we did that last summer. New England Metal Fest was also a total blast. Our stage performance involves a ton of movement, and that works best on the bigger stages before. We put tons of effort into making our stage show as active as it can be.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

We're currently on our first US tour, with our good friends in Mobile Deathcamp. We're actually playing in Chicago tonight, and we'll be on this run until August 9th. A few weeks after that, we're doing a New England mini-tour in direct support of Shadows Fall. Then we're touring out to Full Terror Assault festival in Illinois early September, and hopefully a full east coast tour in October!

7.The ep is going to be released on Manshark Entertainment, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

This is actually our management, run by Matt Bachand of Shadows Fall. But he also acts as our booking agent and label for the time being. However, we are shopping the EP to labels.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic and extreme metal?

All the feedback on the EP has been extremely positive, and we couldn't be prouder of some of these awesome reviews we've been getting. Hopefully we'll get the attention of a wider, international audience with the hype.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

There's really no way for me to say for sure. But what I can say with confidence is that Carnivora will never put the same record out twice. We believe that musical evolution and expansion of style is crucial. We'll always play what we want to hear, and push ourselves to the limits doing so.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Personally, the bands that have had the biggest influence on my writing are Arch Enemy, Children Of Bodom, Dethklok (or anything Brendon Small does), Mastodon, and Trivium. As for the rest of the band, we all agree on Gojira, Black Dahlia Murder, Cannibal Corpse, Lamb Of God... To name a few. We all recently took a liking to Byzantine after doing a weekend of shows with those guys, as well!

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

We're into a variety of stuff. Outdoor activities! Hiking, swimming... stuff like that. 3 of us just graduated college too, so that was a big part of life. Above all, we're interested in seeing the world!

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

We'd just like to thank you and all who have taken the time to talk about the EP with us. You rule!!

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Falling From Grace/Shadows Of The Past/Inverse Records/2015 EP Review


  Falling  From  Grace  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  groove,  thrash  and  melodic  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  ep  "Shadows  Of  The  Past"  which  was  released  by  Inverse  Records.

  A  very  hard  and  heavy  thrash  metal sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  melodic  riffs  and  blast  beats  and  the  music  also  bring s in  elements  of  groove  metal  along  with  some  aggressive  vocals  and  growls  that  add  a  touch  of  death  metal  to  the  music  and  you  can  also  hear  high  pitched  screams  being  utilized  at  times.

  Most  of  the  music  sticks  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  also  takes  a  lot  of  influences  from  the  90's  and  updates  them  for  the  modern  times  and   when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  in  a  melodic  musical  direction and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  death'n'roll  and  there  are  no  soft  parts ever  utilized  on  the  recording.

  Falling  From  Grace  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  thrash  and  groove  metal  but  also  brings  in  the  heaviness  of  death'n'roll  and  melodic  death  metal  to  create  their own  style,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  real  life  themes.

   In  my  opinion  Falling From  Grace  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  thrash,  groove  and  melodic  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE "Pathetic  Perfection"  and  "Lost  Pariah".  8  out  of  10.