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Tag Archive: Mastodon


Sleepers Awake – Transcension

sleepers awakeSleepers Awake

Transcension

01. The Auger
02. Burdened
03. Apparitions
04. Slave Within
05. Heathen Verses
06. Saint Condemned
07. Circles Without Division
08. Throat Of Winter
09. Wintertide
10. Equa Mortuorum
11. Under Hoof And Gavel
12. The Fulcrum

[06/17/13]
[Self-Released]

 

You’ll find a lot of people extolling the virtues of ‘hearing an album in full’ in the metal scene, suggesting you don’t get the full experience unless you take it the way it was meant to be heard and there is no genre this is more true for than progressive metal. Case in point: Sleepers Awake latest effort Transcension, which contains 70+ minutes of meandering and complex prog that weaves the tale of The Auger and his ‘struggle with higher forces’. From beginning to end, the entire trek feels connected and fluid and to simply sample parts of it would be to do it a disservice.

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KEN Mode – Entrench

KEN-Mode-Entrench-2013-570x564KEN Mode

Entrench

01. Counter Culture Complex
02. No; I’m in Control
03. Your Heartwarming Story Makes Me Sick
04. The Terror Pulse
05. The Promises of God
06. Romeo Must Never Know
07. Secret Vasectomy
08. Figure Your Life Out
09. Daeodon
10. Why Don’t You Just Quit?
11. Monomyth

 [03/19/13]
[Season of Mist]

It took four albums and more than a decade’s worth of waiting but Winnipeg, Canada’s KEN Mode have finally broken out. They hit it big with their fourth LP Venerable, which won the Juno Award for Heavy Metal album of the year in Canada; since then, they have toured with the likes of Revocation, Kylesa, and The Atlas Moth. Although they’re leagues away from selling out arenas, what success they have achieved lately is by all means well deserved, as the band deliver a unique and explosive performance both on record and even more so live. This is most certainly evident on their newest effort, Entrench, which is not only an exemplary showcase of the trio’s talents, but a perfectly timed icing on the cake and the full stop to an impressive chapter of their career.

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Mastodon

Using the average two-year album cycle, it was kind of a no brainer that Georgia progressive metal titans Mastodon were working on a follow-up to 2011′s The Hunter. Even still, it’s good to get confirmation! Mastodon have updated their Facebook with the following status update:

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Anciients – Heart Of Oak

AnciientsAnciients

Heart Of Oak

01. Raise The Sun
02. Overthrone
03. Falling In Line
04. The Longest River
05. One Foot In The Light
06. Giants
07. Faith And Oath
08. Flood And Fire
09. For Lisa

[04/16/13]
[Season of Mist]

To simply discuss Anciients as only the sum of their parts would be to do them a complete injustice. Here on Heart Of Oak this Canadian quartet take on a sludgy sound that is equal parts technical and progressive, with bands like IntronautBaroness and even Opeth all being submerged and absorbed into their murky swamp waters. Still, in execution, Heart Of Oak is so much more than that, it’s a meticulously crafted and instantly satisfying piece that may be the biggest surprise of the year so far.

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Tesseract - Altered State

Tesseract‘s hotly anticipated sophomore album Altered State is just around the corner, and with a single and two teaser samples available, excitement is at an all time high. The British progressive metal group have been letting out bits of news every couple of weeks since Altered State‘s announcement, with the tracklist recently coming to light. The flow of information doesn’t stop there, though!

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Ghost - Infestissumam

We’ve got the new Ghost album spinning at Heavy Blog HQ, and we’re so on the ball that we have a review of it coming up later today. Here’s a spoiler alert though: We like it. A lot. The album’s closing track ‘Monstrance Clock’ is a groovy track in particular — but that’s more of the 70′s type of groovy, if you know what we mean.

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Rockstar Mayhem Fest 2013

The Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival is something I have loved since it started. Each year it brings something for everyone, and I was lucky enough to be there in 2011 for Disturbed‘s last show before their hiatus, Trivium‘s first tour playing stuff from In Waves, Megadeth for obvious reasons, and to even be front row for Machine Head, singing ‘Halo’ in the pouring rain. This year, though, the lineup is sick. Mastodon, Behemoth, Amon Amarth, Machine Head, Job For A Cowboy, Born Of Osiris…it’s so good! Of course there are some bands I have no care for (ahem, Five Finger Death Punch, Motionless In White) but that’s why there’s multiple stages, right? And speaking of, this year there will be not three, but FOUR STAGES. I am revving up my excitebike as we speak. I’m definitely going to find my way to the Tampa date, and hopefully be able to score some sweet interviews while I’m there! You can read the full lineup and dates after the jump.

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Revocation

I for one am a massive fan of bands who bring exotic instruments into their sound. It’s always exciting when the weight of metal is backed by mandolin, sitar, banjo, or whatever else can be used outside of their ordinary context. Mastodon (‘Divinations‘) and Between the Buried and Me (‘Astral Body’ and ‘Lay My Ghosts To Rest’) have used banjo on their records in the past to back guitar leads, which can create some interesting tones. The banjo has a neat timbre for sure, and works surprisingly well when thrown into the mix with a wall of aggressive guitars. Revocation must have discovered as much, because they’ll be using a banjo for a part on their new record.

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Katalepsy-Autopsychosis1Katelepsy – Autopsychosis

[01/18/13]
[Unique Leader Records]

Katalepsy are the type of band that you will have heard before, even without listening to them. You can probably tell that from the name and artwork, but, in addition, brutal slamming death metal out of Moscow, Russia can only bring with it so many surprises and Autopsychosis is not exactly filled with them. Opener ‘Lurking In The Depth‘ bursts through the speakers in a flurry of blasts, riffs and sludgy bass in a way that easily channels and matches the ferocity of their contemporaries like Krisiun and Vital Remains, before ‘Cold Flesh Citadel‘ shows up and gives away just exactly how competent this band really are, as they effortlessly meander through a combination of mid-paced slams and fret-board abusing riffs that would give even the mighty Pathology a run for their money. From there on, the album progresses much in the same way, injecting a deep foundation of groove into brutal death metal that relentless assaults, only ever really drawing  breath for the subdued interlude of ‘Needles Of Hypocrisy‘. However, as standard and as unexciting as that description may appear to be, Autopsychosis is far from boring. The band has an undeniable knack for crafting infectious and brutal riffs and ideas, that could easily appeal to even the most jaded death metal fan and much of the weight behind Autopsychosis is carried by that fact alone. So while they’re not pushing any boundaries, Katalepsy have created an extremely solid death metal record and that much alone can be respected. - DL

3.5/5

 

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Byzantine - Byzantine

Byzantine has been one of my most anticipated records of this year. Treading ground between Lamb of God and Mastodon yet carving a path all their own, West Virginian metallers Byzantine have forged a name for themselves in underground circles, earning quite a bit of respect and acclaim over the years before breaking up in 2008. Now our good friends at No Clean Singing are streaming the group’s first post-reformation record, aptly self-titled as a testament to the band’s new sound and DIY function.

If you’re wanting a taste of the album before clicking through, you can watch the video for the single ‘Soul Eraser‘ below:

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