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Cerebral Effusion
Impulsive Psychopathic Acts
01. Humiliation Through Methodical Submission
02. Homophobic Indiscriminate Violation
03. Into Morbid Obesity
04. Epidemic Of The Era
05. Psychotic Compositor
06. Last Torture Preferment
07. Absolute Excrement
[Comatose Music | 03/06/10]
Sweet Jesus god damn my face has been ripped off, raped, strangled, set on fire, stabbed, buried alive, dug out, and raped again. Cerebral Effusion put out their 3rd album Impulsive Psychopathic Acts back in March, and at the time I wasn’t sure what to think of it. But now that I’ve gathered my thoughts and I’m off of that long break, I almost know where to begin.
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Mose Giganticus
Gift Horse
01. Last Resort
02. The Left Path
03. Demon Tusk
04. Days Of Yore
05. The Great Deceiver
06. White Horse
07. The Seventh Seal
[Relapse | 07/22/10]
It’s not very often a band grabs a hold of my ears and gives them something worth while to listen to, so when I came across Mose Giganticus, a band that combines punk and heavy metal while also incorporating the use of both a synthesizer and vocoder, I was instantly intrigued. Upon further investigation, I was surprised to find out this band is led by just one man, a Han Solo of sorts with an array of talents hidden under his sleeve. Matt Garfield of Bensalem, Pennsylvania, who has played drums for an array of hardcore punk rock bands, decided to begin his own project consisting of solo electronic music. Besides being a drummer, he is also a songwriter, vocalist, keyboardist and a programmer, and his focus for the band became more intense as years passed.
Earlier albums, such as The Invisible Hand (2006) and Commander! (2008) featured Matt’s style of electronic music, but the overall sound has been rooted in hardcore punk. In support of the albums, Garfield performed live shows as a solo act where he would layer vocals and keyboards over pre-recorded backing tracks. He is now joined by an array of musicians, including Zac Hobbs (touring guitarist), Brooks Wilson (live and studio guitarist/bassist), and Joe Smiley (live and studio guitarist) when performing live shows, but the core of Mose Giganticus is still Matt Garfield.
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Canvas Solaris
Irradiance
01. Adaptive Optics
02. Conveyance Of Flux
03. The Horizons Feast On Stars
04. Glacier
05. Accelerated Testing Phase
06. Threads Of Dead Space
07. Soliton (Emergence From Dispersion)
08. Vapor Chasm
09. Null Proximity
[Sensory Records | 7/13/10]
It’s a shame that Statesboro, Georgia’s Canvas Solaris aren’t more well known. They’ve been together since 1999, and with 6 great releases now under their belts they deserve to get noticed a lot more than they do. I’ve been a fan of the band for some time and all the material they’ve put out in the past has been good, but with Irradiance, the band has easily surpassed all of my expectations with an album that is truly remarkable. View Full Article »
Kvelertak
Kvelertak
01. Ulvetid
02. Mjød
03. Fossegrim
04. Blodtørst
05. Offernatt
06. Sjøhyenar (Havets Herrer)
07. Sultans Of Satan
08. Nekroskop
09. Liktorn
10. Ordsmedar Av Rang
11. Utrydd dei Svake
[Indie Recordings | 06/21/10]
Being sung in their native language, I can’t understand a damn word that Norway’s Kvelertak are screaming on this, their self-titled debut record – but I don’t give a rat’s netherquarters. Tone for the review: this album is GOOD.
They were described recently by a friend as “Baroness if they were raised on black metal” (interestingly, note the stylistic similarities in album artwork between the two), and shit in the snow, he’s not far off – Vocalist Erlend Hjelvik has that kind of caustic screech usually synonymous with the darkest of metal genres. It sounds GOOD!
Personally, I’d liken them more to Every Time I Die. This may seem like a strange jump, but the music itself is actually more balls-out rock & roll than anything – there are riffs galore, and they are GOOD!
Wow, this is going well isn’t it?
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His Name Was Iron
Chariots For Hire
01. I Calls ‘Em Like I Sees Em
02. Down With the Thickness
03. The Fallen
04. Five’s a Party
05. The Fool
06. Go With God and a Bag Full of Gun
07. How About a Little Fire Scarecrow
08. Small Islands Keep Secrets
09. Sticks and Stone
10. 1 2 3 Ralph Macchio
[Masquerade Records | 08/10/10]
People are starting to take this website seriously, and it hit me the other day when I received my very first physical promo package in the mail addressed to “Heavy Blog Is Heavy.” Fuck yeah, things are being addressed to the online entity I built with my opinions. Life is good.
While I was hoping I was finally getting my Iron Thrones promo, I instead received a package featuring two southern rock/metal bands. I was hesitant to try them out, as anything with a southern label affixed to it could be hit or miss. One of the bands in the package, His Name Was Iron, was advertised as “Southern Party Metal.”
“Oh boy,” I thought to myself. This oughtta be good. Turns out, it was! My expectations of a sloppy and drunker Black Label Society came unfounded, as I was instead greeted with southern metalcore akin to Every Time I Day with added hints of Norma Jean, complete with catchier choruses.
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I don’t get to go to metal shows very often, so I have to pick and choose wisely. It seemed to me that Summer Slaughter’s stop fell on a Friday within a 4 hour distance and had arguably the best lineup, so that’s what I set my sights on. I was ready to have a good time, and all in all, I did.
However, things started off in the shitter. I was planning on and looking forward to interviewing The Red Chord’s Guy Kozowyk, but upon arriving at the box office I was turned away. Apparently, the guy at the ticket booth was not given any names under The Red Chord’s list, leaving me a bit confused, annoyed, and somewhat embarrassed. Seeing my genuine look of confusion, he offered to go and talk to the band and see what was up while I waited. After a few minutes had passed, he came back to tell me that there was too much going on backstage to get a hold of anyone and that it would be a good 20 minutes before he could reach anyone. I then noticed that people were being let in, so I said “I guess I’ll just buy a ticket and come back later,” and joined my friend (who had never heard of most of the bands on the bill) in line. Sadly, the shit didn’t stop there. Apparently it had hit the fan and sprayed all over the stage.
Blind Guardian
At The Edge of Time
01. Sacred Worlds
02. Tanelorn
03. Road Of No Release
04. Ride Into Obsession
05. Curse My Name
06. Valkyries
07. Control The Divine
08. War Of The Thrones
09. A Voice In The Dark
10. Wheel Of Time
[Nuclear Blast | 08/24/10]
After fours years since A Twist In The Myth was released, Blind Guardian have returned with their highly anticipated 9th full-length album At The Edge of Time. These guys certainly know how to build up hype with each new release, as they provide samples, single(s) and up to date news while they finish recording and adding finishing touches to their album, which just gives the fans more to salivate over. Originally a speed metal band on their earlier albums, they eventually gravitated towards writing more epic, progressive (at times) orchestral styled metal, but never straying away from the sound fans are familiar with.
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Kataklysm
Heaven’s Venom
01. A Soulless God
02. Determined (Vows of Vengeance)
03. Faith Made of Shrapnel
04. Push the Venom
05. Hail the Renegade
06. As The Wall Collapses
07. Numb and Intoxicated
08. At the Edge of the World
09. Suicide River
10. Blind Saviour
[Nuclear Blast | 08/24/10]
1991 marked the year of death metal giants Kataklysm. It’s hard to believe they’re still around, but I’m glad they are. And thus here we are with Heaven’s Venom, Kataklysm’s eleventh studio album. Yes, eleventh. Crazy, huh? Nevertheless, Heaven’s Venom shows that you can still be good after 19 years.
The album begins in typical Kataklysm fashion: movie quote then some fast death metal. It may be the least interesting song here, but it shows that Kataklysm have no plans of slowing down. It’s got your typical death metal riffs with the Kataklysm flair and some insane double bass work. Again, it’s nothing special, but don’t let this deter you. The next song, “Determined (Vows of Vengeance)” kicks off with a very groovy, mid-tempo riff with the monstrous vocals of Maurizio, implementing his distinguishable dual vocal growl/shriek throughout various sections. If the crunchiness and the strength of the riff in this song doesn’t get your head bobbing then I’m not sure what will. In fact, that’s part of what makes Heaven’s Venom a good album: the riffs are much stronger. On Prevail, the riffs didn’t have a lot of room to shine because of the production. That and, well, the riffs were fairly boring. If you were a fan of In the Arms of Devastation, you’ll be pleased to know Heaven’s Venom feels like it went down that path more. The despair melodies are prevalent in tracks like “Suicide River” (my personal favorite) and the moody undertones shine in the chorus of songs like “At the Edge of the World”. Overall, Heaven’s Venom features the same ol’ Kataklysm we’ve come to know and love, with a bigger emphasis on riffs and melodies. It feels like the band matured here (despite the lame lyrics) and as a result, the soundscape feels much more developed.
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Fall Of Enosis
Empty Throne
01. A Face Like A City
02. 15 Minutes
03. O, Discordia
04. …by the Light of our Burning House
05. The Last King
06. The New Breed
[Independent | 02/09/10]
It’s no secret that I love it when bands manage to be proggy and technical and still manage to be interesting, and Fall Of Enosis‘ second EP Empty Thrones is certainly a trip. For the unfamiliar, Fall of Enosis sounds like a cross between Arsonists Get All The Girls and The Crinn with more experimentation in slower melodic jazz-inspired sections. If that sounds like your type of game, keep on reading.
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