I used to be a Killswitch Engage nut, so naturally I am excited by the idea of guitarist/producer/songwriter/drummer Adam Dutkiewicz and vocalist Jesse Leach working together again on their new project Times of Grace.
Killswitch’s Alive or Just Breathing is still one of my all time favorites, thanks in no small part to Jesse’s roaring, dynamic vocals. So I can’t help but be pretty pumped for the Times of Grace album, titled Hymn of a Broken Man to drop this Tuesday, January 18th. It will interesting to see how their musical relationship has evolved, this being their first record together in nearly a decade.
After not having visited the blog for a few days due to some medical hiccups I stumbled upon Jimmy’s post detailing some of the complaints for the blog. One of them being variety of bands discussed at HBIH. I have to agree that what attracted me to this website was a similar interest in the musical genres of heavy music. While most of the music in my collection is under all the similar tags discussed here, some of it is not. Jimmy mentioned finding new writers with different interests to “broaden the spectrum,” but maybe I could encourage some of our current writers to write about bands they may feel would otherwise be considered “guilty pleasures.”
We all have them! With that being said, I’d like to introduce you to The Cover Up.
The Cover Up are a unique band from Arizona, and sadly are no longer in existence. I fell in love with them during their final line-up change, with their last album Monster Eats The Pilot. In their final line-up, I would describe The Cover Up as Pop, Punk, and Post-Hardcore. An odd group of genres indeed, but that’s what attracted me to them at the time. I was quite frankly burnt out on everything else “new” I was interested in at the time; both Suicide Silence’sNo Time To Bleed and Killswitch Engage’s self-titled had left me disappointed with much hype for both (the reasons why are worth a whole other column.)
So apparently Chris Baretto quit Haunted Shores, making the project an instrumental duo featuring Mark Holcomb and Misha Mansoor with a revolving door of guest vocalists to appear on the upcoming album. The list so far includes quite a few people that are to be obviously expected. Here’s the list so far:
There are a couple of more to be announced. Some vocalists are expected to do a couple of songs, with some songs featuring multiple vocalists.
This weekend,Haunted Shores gave a preview of the new material complete with vocals in the way of “Passenger,” featuring Spencer Sotelo. The song is simply awesome and shows Spencer’s growth as a vocalist since Periphery‘s debut dropped. The difference is noticeable! This will be a great release for sure.
Friend of the site Drewsif Stalin, who released an awesome tech death EP earlier this year, covered “This Fire Burns” by Killswitch Engage. Of course, he did all the instruments and vocals himself (with the exception of the talking during the breakdown) and it sounds pretty damn good. Listen and download it above.
I used to be a huge All That Remains fan. The Fall Of Ideals was one of the very few albums I paid for before ever hearing the entire thing. The last album, Overcome, was just a tad bit underwhelming, but it was still better than the latest Killswitch Engage album, but that’s neither here nor there.
But you know what is here and there? The title track for All That Remains’ upcoming album For We Are Many, which is due out October 12th on Prosthetic Records. All you have to do is sign up for the mailing list via the widget below. The song is pretty solid and worth checking out if you’re into metalcore and ATR. It doesn’t have much clean singing either, which is pretty different from what they’ve been doing lately. So check it out!
01. Prologue
02. The Birth
03. Come To My Senses
04. The Real You
05. Your Old Ways
06. Talk Of The Town
07. Nothing To Offer
08. Breathless
09. Crumble And Break
10. Grounded
British melodic deathcore giants The Eyes of A Traitor have long been a respected group within their hardcore circles. It’s no surprise their new album was awaited by many listeners with baited breath. The Eyes sophomore release attempts to lure in new fans with a more metalcore sound reminiscent of For the Fallen Dreams and Killswitch Engage, but seems to have some internal conflict with the melodic roots of its past.
The album opens up with “The Birth”, which I found to be an appropriately disappointing segue into the rest of the album. “The Birth” marks the first appearance of clean vocals in a The Eyes recording; the combination of clean vocals coupled with underwhelming instrumentals creates an almost screamo sound. The album doesn’t start to pick up until you reach the fourth track “Talk of the Town” which has a sound redolent of The Eye’s first album By Sunset. I caught myself smiling with the anticipation of being reunited with an old friend. Deep screams and some melodies allowed my head to bob with the rhythm. I was hoping for a repeat, and fortunately, “Nothing to Offer” ends up offering a follow-up triumph to “Talk of the Town” and includes some technical playing fans can find solace in with the tremolo picked bridge in a style that The Eyes have been known to love and use in past releases. I hoped that the beginning of this album was a fluke and the past two songs were a transition leading up to the real fruit this album bears. Unfortunately, I was wrong. From the title track onward you’re assaulted by tired and unoriginal riffs that make you feel like a jaded listener. That’s one of the worst things an album or group could do — at that point one starts to question the line between jadedness and plagiarism (See: Emmure). By the outro I was begging for it to stop. I knew it was too late for The Eyes to redeem themselves, but if they wanted to entertain me, I wouldn’t complain. With the complaints I’ve already registered, I’m sure it’s quite obvious how my opinion of the outro stands.
ARRRGH, it be rough waters in the metalcore scene mateys! Ya got hundreds upon hundreds of blokes chasing the same booty and so it’s no place for a scallywag in such a turbulent living!
Obnoxious pirate-speak aside, I was recently given the opportunity to talk to Luke Kilpatrick of Parkway Drive and was able to ask him questions. Being in one of the most successful bands in a scene plagued by mediocrity and genericism, I was interested to hear what he had to say.
To get things started, please introduce yourself.
Hi, I’m Luke, or Pig as my friends like to call me.
What was the last thing you ate? Was it any good? I had some Cocoa Puffs a few minutes ago. They were alright.
Cocoa Puffs are shit. It’s all about Cocoa Pops, and they only seem to be good in Australia, they taste weird everywhere else. Last thing I ate was a chicken burrito at Chipotle. It was unbelievable!
As we know the new record, Deep Blue is set to be released June 25th in Australia, June 28th in Europe, and June 29th in the US. From listening to Deep Blue as well as Horizons, you all (as a band) have succeeded very well in creating a very engaging, almost ambient vibe. How was the writing process similar or different to “Horizons” or other past albums and is creating these vibes a conscious effort or something that comes naturally?
A bit of both I think. We wrote the songs fundamentally the same as in the past but we definitely brought in some new ideas and writing techniques. Winston actually tried to write the CD lyrically as a concept album. Whether kids get it, or care will be another story. It was good for us to do it like this, created a bit of a challenge and a new way of thinking. Winston [McCall - vocals] would have certain ‘feels’ he would like from a song and we would get to write the song to try and suit. Usually it’s the opposite… Write the music, add the lyrics. Maybe this created some ambiance?
I’m also aware of some studio updates from the recording of Deep Blue, would you care to speak about how the recording process was for Deep Blue in comparison to your older albums?
Almost the exact opposite. The focus was on playing as a band, getting the feel for the song and tracking it as we played it. Rather than concentrating on getting every hit on the drums, every note on the guitars and every word unrealistically perfect Joe preferred to have us play the songs as we do. It really worked for us and was a fun and challenging time really. It was something different in the studio and we loved our time in there.
Now, there has been a lot of talk going on about your new music video for the song “Sleepwalker”, I know I speak for many when I say it’s quite interesting as well as out of the ordinary. Is there a message being expressed? How does it correlate with the song and/or album? Any sort of clarification is helpful, this video has me stumped!
Yeah it seems a little confusing. It ties in with the theme of the album. The guy basically realizes the world is fucked and the city exploding represents that. Our friend is this crazy graphics dude so I guess that’s why it looks cool. I like the fact that it’s different. It’s not a band in a shed or on a rooftop with complementing semi-hot girl walking or running through the street. Those are so fucking boring and done to death.
Really, guys? They couldn’t do anything better than this? A performance video in a warehouse would be better than this pile of hard to watch claymation.
Oh well. If you still get enjoyment out of Killswitch Engage these days, you might like it. “Save Me” is off of last year’s self titled album, out now on Roadrunner Records. It was okay, I guess.
Chris Catharsis brings you the week in review of metal bullshit every Sunday. All the news you might have missed and whatever else is on the chopping block!
Well here I am – writing my first post for HBIH. It’s a humbling moment, not unlike my first trike ride or back alley BJ. I’m no stranger to the metal blogosphere, having been the owner and primary writer for Spine Language for practically a full year now. Good times were had by all over there. I interviewed some great bands, had some original concepts, and even started an Internet war with Otep (check that one off the god damn bucket list). My posting there has been infrequent as of late because it takes a lot of time and effort to make quality content that satisfies my perfectionism, but my partner Dasher is doing a great job of making it seem like I know what I’m doing.
But now it’s time to start a new chapter with HBIH, and it begins with this weekly metal wrap-up column. I don’t intend to cover absolutely everything, just what I take notice of. Think of it like the CNN ticker, except with choice comments from the dirty asshole I call a mouth. The point is to stimulate discussion and catch you up on things you might have missed; we’ll see if either of those objectives are actually fulfilled in the end (my prediction: highly doubtful).
Time (or rather word count) is of the essence – so let’s begin.
Whoever told Munky to put on face paint should be punched in the dick.
In a move that makes the most sense out of any of the news I’ve read today, Blabbermouth reported that Jonathan Davis confirmed rumors that Korn have signed to Roadrunner Records, home to big name metal bands Slipknot, Stone Sour, Soulfly, Killswitch Engage, DevilDriver, Trivium, and more.
Speaking on the move, Jonathan said in an interview with KQXR radio in Boise, Idaho:
“We’re going to be going with Roadrunner, but that’s all so fun. I’m really excited to be doing this because they’re one of the last real record labels left that lets bands do what they want to do. And all the great bands they’ve had on that label… it seems like a good home for us right now.”
Their upcoming album, Korn III – Remember Who You Are is due out this summer. I’ll admit I’m actually kind of excited about this album, as it’s supposed to be a return to the sound of their first couple of albums. And before you judge me and call me out, don’t forget that we were all blasting Korn in the 90′s. Korn was my first stepping stone into the world of metal, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who would be stuck listening to some other garbage if Korn hadn’t come along. I just happen to be more comfortable admitting it, I guess.
So there’s that. Bitch and moan now if you want, but remember, it’s Roadrunner Records. They signed Nickelback.
The Eyes Of A Traitor
Comments From Hell (04/11-04/17)
Chris Catharsis brings you the week in review of metal bullshit every Sunday. All the news you might have missed and whatever else is on the chopping block!
Well here I am – writing my first post for HBIH. It’s a humbling moment, not unlike my first trike ride or back alley BJ. I’m no stranger to the metal blogosphere, having been the owner and primary writer for Spine Language for practically a full year now. Good times were had by all over there. I interviewed some great bands, had some original concepts, and even started an Internet war with Otep (check that one off the god damn bucket list). My posting there has been infrequent as of late because it takes a lot of time and effort to make quality content that satisfies my perfectionism, but my partner Dasher is doing a great job of making it seem like I know what I’m doing.
But now it’s time to start a new chapter with HBIH, and it begins with this weekly metal wrap-up column. I don’t intend to cover absolutely everything, just what I take notice of. Think of it like the CNN ticker, except with choice comments from the dirty asshole I call a mouth. The point is to stimulate discussion and catch you up on things you might have missed; we’ll see if either of those objectives are actually fulfilled in the end (my prediction: highly doubtful).
Time (or rather word count) is of the essence – so let’s begin.
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