If you’re one of the many that thought Meshuggah‘s upcoming anniversary tour was much too short, then, well… there’s not much I can do for you there. However, support act Between the Buried and Me are filling out their tour dates during the season to include headlining dates with Trioscapes. Get dates below.
Sometimes it’s important to just go to Bandcamp and have a look around. In case you weren’t familiar, the site’s handy Discover feature allows users to browse trending music in various genres, from new releases to what’s selling the best at the moment. This week, I noticed a name on the Top Selling charts that I’ve never heard of before in Aronious after being drawn in by the album art for their debut EP, Truth in Perception.
Trioscapes, the jazz fusion project featuring Between the Buried and Me‘s Dan Briggs, has just announced a May tour in support of their yet to be titled upcoming sophomore album. The trek takes the group through the Southeast and Midwest, and it wouldn’t be a shock if we got to hear some new jams. Get the dates below.
To coincide with their festival appearances and celebrate their 25th anniversary together as a band, some tour dates have been quietly popping up that suggest Meshuggah will be embarking on a tour with Between the Buried and Me. As it turns out, a fully-fledged tour has been in the works and dates have just been announced.
January started the year out with a lot of promise, with new releases from Indian, Alcest, and Periphery gaining quite a bit of attention around these parts. However, what floored us the most in the first four weeks of 2014 was the first-ever proper release from Chicago newcomers Warforged. Essence of the Land is an odyssey exploring death metal, black metal, and progressive metal influences that stunned a large number of the staff group. Opeth comes to mind with the band’s dynamic use of keyboards and acoustic guitars as cinematic gateways between stretches of technical riffing and powerfully melodic brutality, or perhaps Between the Buried and Me’s penchant for epic-length songwriting and weaving a larger picture over multiple tracks.
Essence Of The Land tells the twisted tale of a dread-inducing and brooding swamp and the unknown horrors that lie beneath its surface, making it one of those surprising death metal albums where the lyrics actually add a lot of atmosphere and weight to music. So much so, in fact, that the video accompaniment that provides visuals for ¾ of the EP contains the lyrics throughout, alongside footage of the band tearing through earth-shattering riffs.
At the heart of it, Warforged’s sound presents an assortment of progressive death metal influences that still manages to sound fresh and exciting, despite dredging the very bottom of the swampy sludge they strive to recreate. And honestly, what better way to start a new year than with a new band that are reinvigorating even one of the most well-trodden of sounds?
We spoke with the entirety of Warforged to not only get a look into the creation of one of 2014′s best releases, but to get a glimpse at what’s in store for the band’s future.
On New Year’s Day, Between the Buried and Me frontman Tommy Rogers issued a not-so-subtle hint that there would be more music out of his Thomas Giles solo project in store for 2014. Three months later, Rogers confirmed the new album plans, and even went as far as to comment on the album’s title and some of the personnel involved.
A Sense of Gravity01. Wraith
02. Stormborn
03. Breakthrough
04. Answers Lost
05. Trichotillomania
06. Harbinger
07. Above the Horizon
08. Ration Reality
09. Weaving Memories
10. Spectre
Sometimes, you need to chase down your own name. Innovators become bogged down in their own sound, eventually becoming iterations of themselves. Sometimes, a fresh new voice is needed to break the patterns that former radicals have grown comfortable with. This is what A Sense of Gravity bring to the table. Their clean-slate name allows them to bring progressive metal something it has craved for years: organic, dynamic sound that simply flows from place to place. Travail sounds like a living thing: birthed in one sitting and obedient to its own internal laws and patterns.
Record Store Day is an important holiday around these parts. As my collection grows, I’ve been more willing to participate in the celebration of brick-and-mortar record stores and have traveled for hours to get to a participating store to get exclusive vinyl releases.
Exclaim.ca has posted a list of exclusives for this year’s event, and while the full list should really be marveled, we’ve combed it for stuff we feel like you’ll want to see first, including releases from Between the Buried and Me, Gojira, Mastodon, Opeth, and more. Check out our picks after the jump.
Existem01. Epitaph
02. Phoenix
03. Memento Mori
04. Above or Below
The sight of a phoenix’s birth, death, and rebirth is magnificent. It rises from the ashes of its predecessor as a fledgling, erupts in glorious flame, and takes flight. Eventually, it comes back to its roost, and bursts into fire, not only signaling the end of its life, but for the cycle to start anew. The new Existem EP, aptly titled Phoenix, delivers on embracing the mythology behind its name. Mostly.
The ever-revolving door of musicians that have been involved in The Faceless makes another rotation as they announce that they have parted ways with guitarist Wes Hauch. The news comes nearly a month after it was announced that Hauch has joined North Carolina de-facto supergroup, Glass Casket (Between the Buried and Me, Wretched).
