Hey! Listen To Reptilian Civilian!

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Do you enjoy no nonsense, riff filled death metal? Do you like sub bass drops and beat downs? Do you also believe that the ruling class of the world is made up of scaly, lizard people? Well, even if you only answered yes to the first two questions, you will almost definitely enjoy the devilishly wholesome offerings of Brisbane’s Reptilian Civilian. Five guys hanging out and playing sick death metal with plenty of tech and slam, these chaps deliver on the promise of every tag you’ll find their music under on Bandcamp. Slamming brutal technical deathcore with a global conspiracy theme? Yes, this will be fine.

Hey! Listen to Others By No One!

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In 2015 Native Construct’s fantastic debut Quiet World took the community by storm. We at HeavyBlog loved it so much that we placed it at #3 in our Top 50 albums of 2015. It truly was a great album, flush with brilliantly executed genre-transitions, vibrant compositions, a grandiose concept, technically accomplished playing and a flair for originality. If you loved that sound as much as we did and you’re aching for something similar, then look no further than Others By No One’s debut EP Book 1: Dr. Breacher. Check it out below!

In The Presence Of Wolves – Of Two Minds, Stages 1-2: The Ape And The Cage

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Until this review, the name In the Presence of Wolves was unfamiliar. Now, during the course of this review, it is hard to imagine a band this good not being known by a wider audience for the fantastic music they produce. The Philadelphia, PA based group plays progressive metal that sound like a cross between a livelier, more energetic version of the modern-prog Between the Buried and Me, Coheed and Cambria and progressive metal/rock up and comers (as well as blog favorites) Thank You Scientist. If any of these bands tickle your fancy, you owe it to yourself to check out In the presence of Wolves. If that’s not enough to convince you, perhaps a breakdown of this concept EP’s tracks will lead you be a tad more curious.

EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE: Icaria Are “Transcendent”

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Icaria remembers to have fun and, thus, we are fortunate to have an exclusive stream of their upcoming debut album, Transcendent, here on Heavy Blog Is Heavy. This five-piece progressive metal outfit from Atlanta packs a serious punch with their flashy compositions, tight production, and relentless intensity. The band sounds like a cross between Periphery on their most recent poppier albums, Coheed and Cambria, and just a hint of shreddy power metal. It’s an absolute blast. There’s nothing mind-bending here and nothing that will change the face of progressive metal but that is not a bad thing. Icaria is making thoroughly enjoyable metal that has a lot of pop appeal but still maintains its musical integrity and complexity.

The Anatomy Of: In The Presence of Wolves

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As incredible as the tour was, the pairing of Coheed and Cambria and Between the Buried and Me in 2013 had caused a bit of head scratching. Certainly, the Vinn Diagram of audiences on that trek had quite a bit of overlap given both acts’ prog leanings and love of conceptual universes, but you could really feel the divide in the room between fans of either band.

Chances are, if you’re on this website in the first place, you’d likely find yourself in the center of that Vinn Diagram because you know that catchy post-hardcore and technically-minded prog metal compliment each other well. And if that is indeed the case, then you’re going to love Philadelphia’s In The Presence of Wolves.

What Heavy Blog Is Really Listening To – 6/9/17

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For those who missed our last installment, We post biweekly updates covering what the staff at Heavy Blog have been spinning. Given the amount of time we spend on the site telling you about music that does not fall neatly into the confines of conventional “metal,” it should come as no surprise that many of us on staff have pretty eclectic tastes that range far outside of metal and heavy things. We can’t post about all of them at length here, but we can at least let you know what we’re actually listening to. For those that would like to participate as well (and please do) can drop a 3X3 in the comments, which can be made with tapmusic.net through your last.fm account, or create it manually with topsters.net. Also, consider these posts open threads to talk about pretty much anything music-related. We love hearing all of your thoughts on this stuff and love being able to nerd out along with all of you.

What Heavy Blog Is Really Listening To – 5/26/17

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For those who missed our last installment, We post biweekly updates covering what the staff at Heavy Blog have been spinning. Given the amount of time we spend on the site telling you about music that does not fall neatly into the confines of conventional “metal,” it should come as no surprise that many of us on staff have pretty eclectic tastes that range far outside of metal and heavy things. We can’t post about all of them at length here, but we can at least let you know what we’re actually listening to. For those that would like to participate as well (and please do) can drop a 3X3 in the comments, which can be made with tapmusic.net through your last.fm account, or create it manually with topsters.net. Also, consider these posts open threads to talk about pretty much anything music-related. We love hearing all of your thoughts on this stuff and love being able to nerd out along with all of you.

Dan Briggs of Between the Buried and Me — The Heavy Blog Is Heavy Interview [Part Two]

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Back in March, I spent the better part of an hour speaking with Between the Buried and Me bassist Dan Briggs to discuss his myriad of projects and his development as a musician and evolution as a bass player. The first half of our talk was published last week, wherein we discussed collecting vinyl, the prog aesthetic, and the records that inspired him to first pick up a guitar — and eventually, bass and keyboards. In this second half of our interview, we discuss his new project Nova Collective and its place in the genre of jazz fusion. We also discuss the process of revisiting their modern classic Colors, and where the band goes from here.

Dan Briggs of Between the Buried and Me – The Heavy Blog Is Heavy Interview [Part One]

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Over the years, we’ve watched North Carolina’s Between the Buried and Me climb the ranks from metalcore weirdos struggling to find a place in the metal scene to prog metal masters with a legion of rabid fans and achieving worldwide headliner status. Through a series of critically-acclaimed opuses, a scene had formed itself around Between the Buried and Me as trailblazers of a new branch of modern progressive music, and one might argue that the biggest splash from the group came from their 2007 opus Colors, which turns 10 this year(!!!).