Tag Archive: In Flames

From The Archive: Carcass – Heartwork

Filed Under: Albums You Should Hear, Bands That Made Me Heavy, From the Archive

Jan.25, 2012

From The Archive

The discovery of a new band is always exciting. Will it be something you’ve heard countless times? An experience that leaves a bad taste in your mouth? Or is it a treat from which you cannot stop consuming? I wanted to take a trip back in time to reminisce about bands/albums that not only introduced me to heavy music, but kept me coming back for more…

From The Archive: Carcass – Heartwork

Carcass - Heartwork

Carcass. The name itself instantly embeds an image of something dead and left to rot, but if you happen to listen to metal music, then perhaps you might find yourself thinking of the goregrind/melodic death metal band who hailed from Liverpool, England. Once going by the name of Disattack, and playing hardcore/punk, they eventually changed their name and gravitated towards goregrind with the release of their first full-length album, Reek of Putrefaction. Overtime though, the band moved on to a more death metal sound, and it wasn’t until Heartwork came out that we saw the band evolve into melodic death metal. Along with albums such as Slaughter of the Soul and The Jester Race, Carcass’s Heartwork is one of the first melodic death metal albums to be released, and one of the most popular and influential in the entire genre.

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Tags: Arch Enemy, At The Gates, Carcass, dark tranquility, Edge of Sanity, Heartwork, Hypocrisy, In Flames, napalm death, Reek of Putrefaction, Slaughter of the Soul, Swansong, The Jester Race

Marc Okubo and Brandon Butler of Veil of Maya: The Heavy Blog Is Heavy Interview

Filed Under: Interviews

Jan.20, 2012

Progressive/technical deathcore pioneers Veil of Maya are preparing to release a new album called Eclipse soon, and I caught up with them at a show to ask them a few questions. I was able to talk to singer Brandon and guitarist Marc, and we chatted a bit about stuff, including their new album and the band’s writing process.

Hi, this is Noyan from Heavy Blog Is Heavy. So, you guys have a new album coming up…

Brandon Butler: Yeah, it’s called Eclipse, it comes out February 28th.

What can you tell us about the new album? [Marc walks in] Is it like a continuation of your sound, or something different, or maybe going back?

Marc Okubo: I would say it definitely sounds like us, but we’ve gotten better. Our playing’s improved, I like the production on it a lot. We added more elements like more synths and… it’s like more over the top sounding.

BB: Yeah.

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Tags: Ash Avildsen, brandon butler, Eclipse, In Flames, marc okubo, Michael Keene, Misha Mansoor, Periphery, Sumerian Records, The Faceless, Trivium, Veil of Maya

And Now Here’s A Picture Of Ghost And Trivium Playing Foosball

Filed Under: lolwut, Tours and Rumors of Tours

Jan.05, 2012

Photo by Tim Tronckoe

This has got to be the most awesome and bewildering photoshoot I’ve ever seen. Photographer Tim Tronckoe deserves a pat on the back from the universe for coming up with something so surreal and absolutely random. See more of the photoshoot on Trivium’s Facebook.

The bands played together at the beginning of December last year along with In Flames in a short seven date run around the UK.

- JR

Tags: Ghost, In Flames, Trivium

From The Archive: In Flames – Colony

Filed Under: Albums You Should Hear, Bands That Made Me Heavy, From the Archive

Nov.30, 2011

From The Archive

From The Archive: In Flames – Colony

In Flames - Colony

After covering Dark Tranquillity last week, it only seemed fitting to move on to a band that shared more than a similar sound, but at one time, an actual band member. For those unfamiliar, when Dark Tranquillity first formed, Mikael Stanne wasn’t the original vocalist, that honor goes to Anders Fridén of In Flames fame. Even more interesting, Mikael Stanne was In Flames original vocalist. Funny how things work out, as both bands began to gain more momentum once each vocalist switched to the other band, and quite honestly, it was for the better. Now despite the inevitable change of course In Flames took with their sound, their earlier work is actually some of the best melodic death metal out there. It was hard for me to choose a specific album of theirs, but when push comes to shove, I would have to go with Colony as my go to In Flames album.

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Tags: Colony, Dark Tranquillity, In Flames

Cormorant – Dwellings

Filed Under: Reviews

Nov.28, 2011

Cormorant

Dwellings

01. The First Man
02. Funambulist
03. Confusion of Tongues
04. Junta
05. The Purest Land
06. A Howling Dust
07. Unearthly Dreamings

[12/06/11]
[Self-released]

With winter approaching and the end of the year in sight, new releases are beginning to slow to crawl with only a few significant releases yet to see the light of day before the calender turns. This could be due to a number of reasons from holiday downtime to fewer available resources, but the infamously DIY Bay Area blackened progressive metal band Cormorant‘s late entry for the year will no doubt benefit them, as their sophomore album Dwellings will no doubt go down as the last great album of 2011.

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Tags: Agalloch, Alice In Chains, Cormorant, Enslaved, In Flames, Intronaut, Mastodon

In Flames, Trivium, Veil Of Maya, and Kyng to Tour North America Early Next Year

Filed Under: Tours and Rumors of Tours

Nov.15, 2011

I used to be a huge fan of In Flames in my formative metal years. They were my first live metal show as well, and they certainly did not disappoint. Unfortunately, some circumstances occurred since then (less than stellar records and a growing music taste) that put them on the outskirts of my immediate radar. It’s a shame, but life goes on.

The band has announced an upcoming headlining tour in North America that actually looks like it’d be pretty good. I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing it, but it’s definitely a show I would have loved to see a couple of years ago, featuring Trivium, Veil of Maya, and Kyng.

Here are the dates:

01/12 Milwaukee, WI – The Rave
01/13 Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre
01/14 Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live
01/15 Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero
01/17 Ybor City, FL – The Ritz Ybor
01/18 Atlanta, GA – Center Stage
01/20 Houston, TX – Warehouse Live Ballroom
01/21 Austin, TX – Emo’s East
01/22 Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
01/24 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
01/25 Winnipeg, MB – Burton Cummings
01/27 Edmonton, AB – Edmonton Events Centre
01/28 Calgary, AB – MacEwan Hall Ballroom
01/31 Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
02/01 Portland, OR – Roseland Theatre
02/02 Boise, ID – Knitting Factory Concert House
02/03 Seattle, WA – Showbox SODO
02/04 Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory Concert House
02/06 San Francisco, CA -The Regency Ballroom
02/07 Los Angeles, CA – Wiltern Theatre
02/08 Tempe, AZ – The Marquee
02/09 Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater
02/10 Denver, CO – The Summit Music Hall
02/11 Kansas City, MO – The Beaumont Club
02/13 Cleveland, OH – House Of Blues
02/14 Toronto, ON – Sound Academy
02/15 Montreal, QC – Metropolis
02/17 Worcester, MA – The Palladium
02/18 New York, NY – Best Buy Theater
02/19 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
02/21 Chicago, IL – House Of Blues

- JR

Tags: In Flames, Kyng, Trivium, Veil of Maya

Ghost Are Really Serious About That Taking Over The World Thing

Filed Under: Tours and Rumors of Tours

Jul.22, 2011

That was my first thought when I found out that Ghost are set to appear alongside Trivium, In Flames and Rise To Remain in the UK this coming winter as part of the Defenders Of The Faith package. Now I like Ghost and while I can think of bands more deserving of the hype, I’m glad they’re making their way up the ranks by not just preaching to the converted.

However, I’m a little disappointed at the prospect of never being able to see them without having to sit through some performances by bands who just hold no interest for me (Trivium) or bands who are just plain awful (Rise To Remain). I can only hope that they reach a level of popularity where a headlining UK tour is viable…with support from Church Of Misery…because they’re awesome.

Tour dates after the jump and let me know what you think in the comments. Satanic genii or greedy flavour-of-the-month?

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Tags: Church Of Misery, Ghost, In Flames, Opus Eponymous, Rise To Remain, Trivium

MetalSucks Just Made My Day: BTBAM, Animals as Leaders, and Tesseract Rumored To Tour North America Later This Year?

Filed Under: Tours and Rumors of Tours, WILD SPECULATION!

Jul.18, 2011

A few months back, I thought The Ocean opening for Between the Buried and Me was the best show I’d see this year. Metal Injection has just decided to provide evidence to the contrary, with BTBAM planning a headlining tour later this year that one-ups the last; BTBAM, Animals as Leaders, and Tesseract are rumored to roam North America this fall.

I’m expecting this to be true, because MetalSucks are pretty consistent with this rumored stuff and have some pretty good insider information, I’d expect. It’s also believable because whoever is booking BTBAM’s tours for them knows what’s up; in the last few years, they’ve toured with Cynic, Devin Townsend, In Flames, The Faceless, The Ocean, Animals as Leaders, Baroness, Mastodon, and many more big name bands. They always seem to be put on the best of tours, save for Cool Tour, but I feel that they’ve made up for that one tenfold. I digress, but the point is that their tours have been pretty consistent with lineup quality, and this is no different.

This nerd-friendly tour isn’t officially confirmed, but you can bet that we’re all over this. More info if and when it arrives.

- JR

Tags: Animals As Leaders, Baroness, Between The Buried and Me, Cynic, Devin Townsend Project, In Flames, Mastodon, TesseracT, The Faceless, The Ocean

We Ask You: What Are Your Favorite Metal Guitar Solos?!

Filed Under: We Ask You

Jul.01, 2011

Since news is as slow as it ever was, allow me to pose a question for you fine music enthusiasts. What is your favorite guitar solo of all time?

A loaded question, I know. Feel free to post several in the comments section. What do I personally refer to as my own personal guitar solo? Check it:

In Flames – December Flower (1:26 – 2:11)

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what I call my favorite solo ever. It has soul, it has neo-classical melody, and it’s fairly technical. Nothing beats classic In Flames when it comes to melodic death metal, and this song is one of the reasons why. The solo itself is actually performed by former Dark Tranquility guitarist Fredrik Johansson, and it is the classiest damn guitar solo I think I’ve ever heard.

Check out some other select cuts that jumped to my mind after the jump, and be sure to leave a comment with your favorites!

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Tags: Between The Buried and Me, In Flames, The Faceless

In Flames – Sounds Of A Playground Fading

Filed Under: Reviews

Jun.10, 2011

In Flames

Sounds of a Playground Fading

01. Sounds of a Playground Fading
02. Deliver Us
03. All For Me
04. The Puzzle
05. Fear Is The Weakness
06. Where The Dead Ships Dwell
07. The Attic
08. Darker Times
09. Ropes
10. Enter Tragedy
11. Jester’s Door
12. A New Dawn
13. Liberation

[06/21/11]
[Century Media]

In Flames are one of those bands that will always be very near and dear to my heart no matter what. Being one of the bands that helped me gain an ear for the hard stuff, because of their accessible approach at death metal in their older material and the tuneful choruses of their newer material, they quickly became one of my favorite bands some years ago. I’ve since outgrown that predictable “modern metal” sound and began to notice a pattern in their work which indicated a push towards… something. At the time, I considered Come Clarity brilliant step in the right direction, and it took A Sense Of Purpose some time to grow on me once I overlooked some of the angst-ridden lyrics. But hey, I was going through some relationship troubles at the time and that line, “I feel like shit, but at least I feel something,” really spoke to me, y’know?

But I’ve gotten a little bit older and I’d like to think that my tastes have become a touch more refined since then (some would argue to the contrary, but that’s neither here nor there). It was pretty much a given that In Flames would continue on in in their “evolution,” which would no doubt be exponential after losing founding guitarist Jesper Stromblad. The band I fell and love with and traveled for hours to see on multiple occasions was changing before my eyes and I was a bit apprehensive, but optimistic. Then I realized that I felt the same way about Korn III, and we all know how that turned out. Even still, if any band is worth my effort and attention, it’s In Flames.

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Tags: In Flames, Korn