Tag Archive: The Contortionist


MOAR TOARS 2012: All Shall Perish, Carnifex, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Conducting From The Grave, The Contortionist

Filed Under: Tours and Rumors of Tours
Jan.25, 2012

Here’s another tour for you folks to throw all of your money at: All Shall Perish has a headlining tour coming up in April featuring support from Carnifex, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Conducting from the Grave, and The Contortionist. Most of this lineup is absolutely stellar, and I’m sure I don’t have to tell you which band will serve as my so-called “beer break,” (and I don’t even drink). Here’s a hint: I’ve seen them twice already.

Okay, it’s Carnifex. Sorry. They get a good audience reaction and they’re really cool guys in person, but they’re not my cup of tea. I’ve never seen Fleshgod Apocalypse or The Contortionist live though, and I am quite excited at the prospect of seeing them finally perform. Fleshgod Apocalypse had one of the best death metal records last year with Agony, and The Contortionist are arguably the future of prog and are easily the best deathcore band out there. Having them both on the same bill makes the show and the trip out worth it. I’ve heard that both bands are excellent live, so I look forward to seeing them.

Here are your dates:

03/29 Oakland, CA – Oakland Metro Operahouse
03/30 Simi Valley, CA – 118 West
03/31 Las Vegas, NV – Extreme Thing Sports & Music Festival
04/01 Tempe, AZ – The Clubhouse
04/02 Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad
04/03 Odessa, TX – Dos Amigos
04/04 Dallas, TX – Trees
04/05 Houston, TX – Warehouse Live
04/06 San Antonio, TX – White Rabbit
04/07 Tulsa, OK – Eclipse
04/08 St. Louis, MO – Fubar
04/09 Joliet, MO – Mojoes
04/10 Indianapolis, IN – Emerson Theatre
04/11 Detroit, MI – Harpo’s
04/12 Louisville, KY – Expo Five
04/13 Nashville, TX – The Muse
04/14 Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
04/15 Greensboro, NC – Greene Street
04/17 West Springfield, VA – Empire
04/18 Stanhope, NJ – Stanhope House
04/19 New York City, NY – Gramercy Theatre
04/20 Worcester, MA – Palladium (“New England Metal And Hardcore Festival“)
04/21 Syracuse, NY – Lost Horizon
04/22 Cleveland, OH – Peabody’s
04/24 Lawrence, KS – The Granada Theater
04/25 Denver, CO – The Marquis Theatre
04/26 Salt Lake City, UT – In the Venue
04/27 Sparks, NV – The Alley
04/28 Sacramento, CA – Ace of Spades

- JR

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Outrun the Sunlight – The Return of Inertia

Filed Under: Reviews
Jan.23, 2012

Outrun the Sunlight

The Return of Inertia

01. Being : Begin
02. The Peter Pan Complex
03. Ambivalence
04. Psychic Cycles
05. Apeirophobia
06. Archetype
07. Quark
08. Telencephalon
09. Diencephalon
10. Phyllotaxis Complete
11. Toska

[12/20/11]
[Self Released]

Admittedly, djent — like every other genre out there at one point — is starting to get derivative and generic. So many bands out there jumping into a sound they love isn’t necessarily a bad thing in itself; people love making the music they want to hear. It makes sense that at this point in a genre notorious for being easily DIY, people following the first break-out of djent have gotten around to releasing their own records. It took metalcore a little longer to reach this point, but that’s technology for you.

Despite the genre’s steady stagnation, there are bands that stand apart as being worthwhile and I’m not about to dismiss a genre just because of a flooded market. There are the signed bands that pave the way like Periphery, Tesseract, Uneven Structure, and Vildhjarta, but lurking around just below the surface are some bands that practice the sound and do it justice, adding a signature flair and developing their own sound that does more than rely on palm-muted chugs and glorified breakdowns. Outrun the Sunlight, a guitar duo based out of Chicago, are a smaller band that manages to do it right.

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PREMIERE: Listen to Issachar’s ‘Storm’

Filed Under: Audio, Downloads, New music, Upcoming releases
Jan.13, 2012

You may remember a writer we had that went by the name “Uncle Muscles.” That was Paul Meisner, guitarist of the Asheville, NC based progressive metalcore band Issachar. Inspired by bands like Between the Buried and Me, The Contortionist, and If These Trees Could Talk, Issachar’s upcoming EP The Tide (which will be available February 7th) is a journey that combines metalcore and post-rock passages with a faith-based concept.

Below, you can stream a song from The Tide titled ‘Storm.’

 

Be sure to keep up with Issachar on Facebook. The Tide will be available for free download February 7th!

- JR

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New The Contortionist Album Coming In 2012

Filed Under: General News, Upcoming releases
Dec.12, 2011

Photo by Jeremy Saffer

For the most part, it’s a safe bet that an active band will release an album about every two years. Obviously, you have outliers like Necrophagist and Wintersun, but most professional musicians that are extensively touring end up putting out something every two years or so. Among these bands is The Contortionist, who released their acclaimed debut album Exoplanet back in 2010, now having their eyes set on a new album for 2012.

In an interview with Guitar World, guitarist Robby Baca spoke of the new record. Here’s a quick breakdown of information we know so far:

  • Recording starts in February with Jason Suecof and Eyal Levi at Audio Hammer Studios in Orlando, Florida
  • New album will see the use of 7 string guitars
  • It will be a concept album
  • Less emphasis on breakdown-driven deathcore

Sounds good to me! If they can somehow get even close to how amazing Exoplanet was, we’ve got a hit on the horizon. We’ll have more info when it’s available!

- JR

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Outrun The Sunlight Star In Their Own Mini-Documentary

Filed Under: Upcoming releases, Video
Dec.02, 2011

Outrun the Sunlight, a two-man project featuring Austin Peters and Cody McCarty, did something pretty unique and cool by being the subjects of a short documentary on the subject of the band and putting out music in a time where record labels are becoming obsolete. It’s fairly enlightening, and quite nicely shot. Give that a look above.

Outrun the Sunlight are actually on the verge of dropping their new album The Return of Inertia, which was inspired by (and subsequently, for fans of) The Contortionist and Animals as Leaders. That’ll be out December 20th. Be on the look out!

- JR

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Hey! Listen to Øscillatör

Filed Under: Audio, Listen To This!, New music, Upcoming releases
Nov.01, 2011

Øscillatör

I will keep this short and sweet seeing as how there is very little known about this band, but rest assured I see that changing very fast. Hailing from Tampa, FL and playing a mesh of technical death/deathcore and progressive metal, Øscillatör, while relatively unknown, are fast on their way to gaining more notice when they release their debut EP, Experiment XIII. Drawing similarities to bands like The Contortionist and The Faceless, while adding their own unique quirks, it’s safe to say people will be welcoming this band with open arms. As for the band itself, it’s a two-man team consisting of Brett Ruch (song composition, guitars, bass) and John Galloway (vocals, programming and audio engineering). No word yet on a release date, but it’s been confirmed by the band that their EP will be absolutely free! In the meantime, focus your eyes and ears to the video below and listen to their single, “Planetary Devastation”.

Øscillatör – “Planetary Devastation”

-DA

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ASK TEXTURES ANYTHING! Week 4: The End!

Filed Under: Features, Interviews, Tours and Rumors of Tours
Oct.07, 2011

WEEK ONE!
WEEK TWO!
WEEK THREE!

Our tour-long interview with the great prog progenitors Textures has come to an end. Periphery‘s Frak The Gods tour featuring The Human Abstract, Textures, and The Contortionist ends this weekend, October 8th, in Richmond, VA. Check out our fourth and final interview with Textures below:

 

Tour’s just about over! How did this tour treat you compared to your expectations?

Zzzz, we’re still sleeping…zzz..eeh expectations. Wake up guys! It’s HeavyBlog.

Hey, here we are! Well, what we didn’t expect was that we would lose weight and would get so little sleep. Personally I’ve never experienced so many days with 4 hours of sleep, no breakfast and a crappy dinner. Actually we thought we would gain weight because of all the fastfood stores over here. Instead of USA our girlfriends probably think we did a hiking trail for weeks haha.
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Substructure – Monolith

Filed Under: Reviews
Oct.06, 2011

Substructure

Monolith

01. Cassiopeia
02. Canis Minor
03. Canis Major
04. Telescopium
05. Monoceros
06. Cepheus

[09/02/11]
[Self-Released]

Substructure are a space-themed progressive deathcore band from St. Louis. Yes, that’s a really small niche that is pretty much filled by The Contortionist, and if one is to be frank, the bands do resemble each other quite a bit – but don’t let this lower your opinion of Substructure. They have their own sound that differentiates them from The Contortionist, and since The Contortionist only have one album, more STPD (space-themed progressive deathcore) isn’t really a bad thing. Substructure have keyboards that are quite a bit more prominent, and their production is more refined, unlike The Contortionist’s raw sound. On that end, Substructure can be described as The Contortionist done in the style of Born of Osiris‘s new album crossed with Elitist‘s EP Caves. Yes, that is a lot of comparison, and while this EP sounds derivative at times, it’s also very good at what it does, which should excuse its shortcomings.

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The Odious – That Night A Forest Grew

Filed Under: Reviews
Oct.03, 2011

The Odious

That Night A Forest Grew

01. Entmoot
02. Threads
03. Contemplating Utopia
04. Last Night A Forest Grew (Part One)
05. Last Night A Forest Grew (Part Two)

[04/02/11]
[Self-Released]

Sometimes you come across some music that is so weird and intriguing that you can’t listen to something else for days. It slowly lays its roots down in you, and one day you wake up to see it has become a forest inside you. Yes, this is a bad allusion to the EP’s name, but it’s also very true. The Odious are an unsigned progressive death metal band from Portland. I’ve heard them described as “The Faceless with waaay more acid”, which is quite true. But there’s also elements of Between The Buried And Me and The Contortionist in there. Are you salivating already? Well, let me explain better, for those who can’t picture it. There are slow and mellow jazzy clean passages, technical spazz-outs, off-time beats aplenty, ragtime beats, stoner/sludge sections and other experimental bits. And it’s all done very elegantly. Of course, it’s a concept album, but you should have been able to tell that from the fact that I’m reviewing it.

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ASK TEXTURES ANYTHING! Week Two: Fine Dining!

Filed Under: Features, Interviews, Tours and Rumors of Tours
Sep.23, 2011

VIEW WEEK ONE’S Q&A HERE.

Each week while out on the Frak The Gods Tour in support of their fantastic new album Dualism, Textures are taking fan questions and answering them here on Heavy Blog! You only have ONE MORE WEEK to submit questions to them, so keep your questions coming! Here’s this week’s Q&A:

 

While on tour, good food can be hard to come by. What’s the best meal you’ve had on tour so far?

We are eating very healthy this tour actually! We heard a lot of stories that you can only find fast food stuff, but if you look a bit further you can find a lot of great restaurants; Italian, Sushi, Mexican food, and in a lot of stores you can find enough fresh ingredients to make your own salad meal. But next to making our own meals we eat at a restaurant sometimes, yesterday we found one next to the 101 near Gilroy, had some great pasta with fish and lasagna! BART, JOCHEM

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