Rarely do I get multiple opportunities to see the same tour; I’m lucky enough to have one! As you all know (because I never shut up about it), my options are limited to whatever comes within 4 hours of my hometown. With Whitechapel’s upcoming Recorruptour, however (which features Miss May I,After The Burial, The Plot In You, and Structures and Within the Ruins on select dates), I have four possible locations to catch this thing if I cared enough. Personally, I don’t, but it’s nice to know that I could!
So hats off to Whitechapel and the bands on this tour for making sure there is ample opportunity for fans to make it out. Strangely enough, the tour starts in March and ends in May, but there’s an entire month of April that is missing. Strange, but not as strange as Miss May I being billed higher than After The Burial.
I’ve got a bone to pick about Structures‘ debut album Divided By, which was just released this week on Sumerian Records.
First off, I’d like to say that this isn’t to be considered our official review; we’re saving that for later. Typically when we review things, we try to focus on the good and bad parts about an album and try to give things their fair shake — I do take some sort of pride in being able to find nice things to say about Limp Bizkit and Design the Skyline. No, today I’m focusing entirely on a glaring and unignorable flaw to what could have been an otherwise good album that was worth your time:
Divided By sounds absolutely terrible, and could very well be the worst produced album from a widely-distributing label this year.
It seems that for every two or three respectable bands that Sumerian Records signs, they sign one terrible one. Now, I’m all for diversity and I enjoy seeing the massive fits of fanboy butthurt that sparked over the signing of Borgore and Bizzy Bone. However, it just strikes me as odd that a label as rooted in prog and tech metal as Sumerian is also home to a rapper, a brostep artist, and scene-friendly bands like Asking Alexandria,I See Stars, and now latest signings Make Me Famous, who were no doubt signed in spite of Metalsucks’ glowingrecommendations.
As much as I hate to admit it, I can see the logic in it. Anyone in the same position as Sumerian would do the same. Mainstream success = money. Of course, the mass of Sumerian followers weren’t as keen to the idea and have given an apparently noticeable amount of negative feedback, causing Sumerian Records to make a statement on Facebook.
Two things to all you trolls, goblins and tunnel-visioned orcs: Bands like AA and ISS enable us to spend more money on bands like The Faceless and The HAARP Machine. It’s all part of the record label eco-system. We genuinely love AA and ISS just like we do Veil of Maya and Betraying the Martyrs. The younger, open-minded fans that bands like MMF and AA have end up discovering the more prog/technical metal bands Sumerian has been known for as they get older and everyone wins. Ask Born of Osiris and Veil of Maya yourself when they have toured with bands in that scene before. And before you pass judgement on MMF, wait until October 4th when you hear their first song be released that is officially on Sumerian. When AA and ISS were on Jimmy Kimmel, that was good for the entire family. We understand not everyone will like everything on a record label as big as Sumerian because we do not only sign one type of music. What we can promise though is the bands we sign outside of our “future of metal” roster will go on to be massive. Hate on AA but the band is bigger than every act on Rise Records and is direct support to Avenged Sevenfold, the biggest modern day rock/heavy metal band who came out in the past 10 years. You guys act like we sign 10 scene bands for every one BOO or ATB. It’s the other way around fellas!! Now quit bitching and go support Enfold Darkness! See them on tour with Obscura this fall! -Love, The Sphinx.
I couldn’t have said it better myself. As far as shitty acts go, I couldn’t see Sumerian pulling a Victory and signing anything as bad as Design the Skyline out the gate. The dudes at Sumerian aren’t dumb—it’s not like they’ve ever had The Faceless and I See Stars on the same touring bill. Their in-house booking agency tends to keep bands on their relevant tours and markets them the the appropriate people, so as long as I don’t have to hear or see Make Me Famous, I’m good. Also, I appreciate that Sumerian admits they do it for the money. It’s a no-brainer, really. There’s no shame in putting food on the table, am I right?
Disagree? Still want to complain about how bad Make Me Famous is? Mouth off in the comments. I’m sure they have an album due out soon enough, but I didn’t look into it enough to find out when.
I like new music just as much as any other person, but there are times in life where you need to fall back on something that is comfortable and known for you, and there are some albums that you can always depend on, they’ll always be there for you and always make you feel good. Today, I want to share these albums with you.
8. Dark Tranquility – Haven
Dark Tranquility are consistently good with their albums, but their songwriting could definitely be separated into two periods. Their old melodeath phase, and their new Gothenburg metal phase. Haven is the perfect bridge in between, and it’s also at a time when all members were at their best. Mikael’s voice is amazing, heart-wrenching yet heavy, and every song is just perfect. Every song is so incredibly emotional and well-crafted, and all of them are masterpieces. Even though there’s nothing over the top in their playing, the album is still insane simply because how intense it is, emotionally.
7. Dream Theater – Train of Thought
This album is less than popular among traditional Dream Theater bands, but that doesn’t make it less of an excellent album for me. It’s really interesting how heavy a “vanilla” band like Dream Theater can be when they want to, and putting that together with their formal musical approach and off-the-charts technical ability, this album is a really weird masterpiece. The songs are all meaningful, and each passage, each riff is a joy to listen to. I’m not the biggest DT fan, but this one is really special for me.
While I’m playing catch up, I came across some more dates for Crush Em All II, featuring co-headliners After the Burial and Veil of Maya as well as Misery Signals, Within the Ruins, and an array of guest openers on select dates. They’re still rolling out waves of dates, but here’s the tour itenerary thus far:
09/21 Grand Rapids, MI – The Intersection
09/22 London, ON – London Music Hall
09/23 Windsor, ON – Blind Dog
09/24 Toronto, ON – Mod Club
09/25 Montreal, QC – La Tulipe
09/28 Pittsburgh, PA – The Altar Bar
10/03 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
10/06 Houston, TX – Warehouse Live
10/07 Dallas, TX – Trees
10/08 San Antonio, TX – White Rabbit
10/09 Corpus Christi, TX – House of Rock
10/10 Lubbock, TX – Jakes
10/11 Albuquerque, NM – Launch Pad
10/17 Sacramento, CA – Ace of Spades
10/18 Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theater
10/19 Seattle, WA – Studio Seven
10/22 Edmonton, AB – Avenue
10/23 Calgary, AB – Republik
10/24 Billings, MT – Manny’s
10/26 Omaha, NE – Sokol Underground
10/27 Iowa City, IA – Blue Moose
10/28 Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge
More dates to follow, and we’ll let you know when they come in!
I’ve been a little lazy the last couple of days, as I’ve been recording a Let’s Play series for YouTube viewing. In that time, there’s apparently been a handful of music videos to hit the net. Here’s a rapid-fire breakdown of these new sexy videos. LETS HIT IT.
After The Burial – Pendulum
You know, “Pendulum” is probably one of my favorite tracks from After The Burial’s latest album In Dreams, if not only for it’s super catchiness. The video was delayed for quite a while due to some legal issues with the Catholic school the video was filmed at due to its perceived raunchiness. It’s not all that out there (there’s a split second of girl-on-girl tongue), but it’s not all that crazy. I see more raunchy action on Comedy Central, but whatever.
After The Burial – Your Troubles Will Cease And Fortune Will Smile Upon You
Oh hey, another After The Burial video. I was always a fan of fretboard closeup shots for some reason, so there’s plenty of that. The performance shots are similar in vein to Animals as Leaders‘ video for “CAFO,” but there’s a story interspersed throughout. Video’s certainly easy to watch, and the music’s not that bad at all. After The Burial’s In Dreams is out now on Sumerian Records. It’s pretty spiffy.
The initial dates for the After The Burial and Veil Of Maya headlining tour with Misery Signals and Within The Ruins (including special guests Volumes, Structures, I The Breather, and Your Memorial on select dates) have been announced. Here’s how the tour stacks up so far:
09/21 Grand Rapids, MI – The Intersection
09/28 Pittsburgh, PA – The Altar Bar
10/03 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
10/06 Houston, TX – Warehouse Live
10/07 Dallas, TX – Trees
10/08 San Antonio, TX – White Rabbit
10/09 Corpus Christi, TX – House of Rock
10/10 Lubbock, TX – Jakes
10/11 Albuquerque, NM – Launch Pad
10/17 Sacramento, CA – Ace of Spades
10/18 Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theater
10/19 Seattle, WA – Studio Seven
10/22 Edmonton, AB – Avenue
10/23 Calgary, AB – Republik
10/24 Billings, MT – Manny’s
More dates are expected to be announced in the coming weeks, so if they don’t come nearby, hold your breath!
Making the latest edition to a roster that includes The Faceless, Born Of Osiris and After The Burial is Israeli dubstep producer Borgore. While Sumerian Records have made some questionable decisions in the past, some of them worse than others (*AHEM* Asking Alexandria*AHEM*), I’m not really sure what to make of this recent signing. Don’t get me wrong; when I’m in the mood for dubstep I go straight for the Borgore Ruined Dubstep collection, but it just seems like that sound has become an extended version of ‘flavour of the week’.
Then again, dubstep is essentially the deathcore of electronic music — loved by the masses and hated by the rest. I really enjoy it, but I’ll leave you to make up your own mind because this stuff is filthy; not just in the overused YouTube-comment sense of the word. This stuff is pretty disgusting. Check it out:
Have you ever noticed how some bands have a few songs that are different from the rest of the band’s catalog? Songs that are really awesome, but are unnoticed because non-fans of the band aren’t interested enough to dig for them? Well, thankfully you have me, and I can point such songs out to you. Here we go!
Trivium – Shogun
Most people know Trivium as Metallica wannabes or an above average metal band. Those people probably didn’t listen to their 2008 album Shogun closely enough. This album is a love letter to progressive metal, thrash, and classic heavy metal. The most interesting track in the album is without doubt the title track, which is a 10+ minute progressive epic, with an Opeth-like interlude with acoustic guitars, a great buildup and a fitting release to that buildup. Listen to this song, and it might change your opinion of the band.
Winds of Plague – Approach the Podium
Much like Trivium, Winds of Plague is also a band that is hated by a lot of people. They have the whole bro-core thing going on, and their songs have terrible breakdowns. Or at least that’s what you would think. Their 2009 release, The Great Stone War is barely even deathcore at times, it’s quite progressive, it’s epic and intricate. “Approach the Podium” is probably a track that most skip, because it begins with what most would consider a bad breakdown. The song becomes quite interesting after that though. It’s very symphonic and progressive. The buildup near the end is very baroque and epic, and the ending breakdown is perfectly set up. It’s not for everyone, but if you can get past its shortcomings the song feels like the audio equivalent of watching The Lord of The Rings.
For some time, After the Burial have been sitting on their new video for “Pendulum” from last year’s In Dreams, which I cited as one of my fifteen favorite albums from the year. Apparently, the video’s premise saw the band performing at an all-girl catholic school in Minnesota. The girls were encouraged to get a little rowdy, as to coincide with the lyrics “we lose control.” Apparently the plan worked, as the ultra-conservative Catholic chaperons at the shoot were so appalled by what was going on, the school slapped a cease-and-desist on the production company, putting the video’s release on hold.
The band posted a few pics from the shoot on facebook, but nothing seems too incredibly out of the ordinary. In fact, the few stills from the shoot that were made available look much tamer than any pop video you might see nowadays; all of the girls seem to be fully clothed in uniform, something you probably wouldn’t see in any given Lady Gaga video. Unless there was a large satanic lesbian gangbang and abortion party going on behind the scenes, there’s absolutely no reason why a Catholic school should be allowed to halt the release of a video that was already bought and paid for solely on the basis of religious and personal moral beliefs. I could see the excuse of stopping the video because it may make the school look bad, but they should have thought of that before they allowed a metal band to film a video on campus in the first place. They’ve also apparently never heard of the Streisand Effect before either, where by attempting to cover things up and keeping them out of the public eye, controversy is stirred up and even more attention is drawn to the subject. The irony is delicious.
Sexually repressed Christians ruin the fun for everyone, and this particular school has a major stick up its ass. I’m not exactly sure what school this is, but I’m fairly sure it’s in St. Paul, MN. Maybe we can track down the school and tell them how we feel about their decision, eh? After the jump, listen to “Pendulum”!
