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.
Intronaut are set to release their newest album, the highly anticipated Habitual Levitations (Instilling Words With Tones) very soon. They recently did a few shows while trekking to Florida for their upcoming stint with Meshuggah and Animals As Leaders, and when they stopped by Tallahassee, I sat down with Sacha Dunable (vocals/guitar) and Dave Timnick (guitar) to discuss music, inspirations, and their upcoming new album Habitual Levitations.
Hey everybody, it’s Shjon Thomas and Ryan Mattheu from The Deadstation! We’re a dystopian progressive metal band based out of Boston, MA. The awesome guys at Heavy Blog have given us the opportunity to write another article on whatever we wanted… so we put on our thinking caps and tried our hardest to narrow down the infinite possibilities to ONE idea.
We decided to list five bands that are, in our humble opinion, the FIVE MOST IMPORTANT bands in metal right now. These bands are the ones who are shaping metal music of the future, by kicking major ass in the present.
We have to reiterate though that this is just our opinion, and that we are not stating it as fact in any way! Everybody will have their own opinion on this subject, and they are all just as valid as ours.
In fact, why don’t you post YOUR list in the comment section below! We love to hear about what bands people are digging these days.
If you’re interested in checking out The Deadstation, you can download our free EP “Episode 01” here. It was mastered by the one and only Jens Bogren (Devin Townsend, Opeth, Katatonia)!
Good news, everyone! While Tool are giving us not a damned thing at all, progressive and technical death metal legends Gorguts have just made a major step towards releasing their new forthcoming album by inking a deal with Season of Mist Records. Accompanying the news is a statement from founding member and frontman/guitarist Luc Lemay, which can be read below:
Dear fans,
It’s with so much joy and happiness that I write these lines to you. The past 2 years haven’t always been smooth sailing regarding this last record. A lot of legal, important factors, far from music composition have held this project in standby, but finally that’s all behind us now. The least I can say is that I cannot wait to share these last compositions with each of you. Everything from writing these new songs, traveling to NYC for rehearsals developing a new friendship with John, Kevin and Colin, three of the most talented people I ever jammed with……everything from this project was beyond stimulating artistically.
From this experience was born a new GORGUTS record, a concept record which is going to last over an hour. An hour of epic, ambient, dark music which doesn’t compromise its Death Metal roots. As a composer, by exploring different kind of music, it was always my goal to integrate the same writing tools in Death Metal as if I would be writing a piece of chamber music for instance.
The uncertainty of an impending Tool album has been nothing less than a tug-of-war. Every time we’re given a bit of news concerning the band writing new material or even hitting the studio, we’re given an equally devastating blow that amounts to “don’t hold your breath.”
Frontman Maynard James Keenan gave us all just as much when he was recently interviewed by Chilean radio station Futuro. When asked of the potential new Tool record, Keenan wasted no time stamping out the dreams of fanboys and replied, “no new disc. Not this year,” later adding, “I have not written any songs. So no, there is nothing.” Not exactly inspiring very much confidence, is he? So yeah, you’re gonna have to cling to the back catalog and hold out for yet another year. Hopefully we can get something in 2014.
We should start a betting pool; who will release new music first, Necrophagist or Tool?
We thoroughly enjoy Intronaut. If it wasn’t already evident from my Primer post, I cannot wait for their new album. The fact that I’m interviewing them in two weeks is also making me excited, because hopefully I can get the full scoop on their new album, and hear some of their new songs played live. Until then though, Intronaut have blessed us with the first single from their new record — the art of which was released a little while ago — called ‘Milk Leg’, which can be streamed now over at Invisible Oranges.
In summary, it’s exactly the direction Intronaut should take. It definitely feels more progressive than much of their previous stuff, which seemed primarily sludge based. ‘Milk Leg’ goes heavy on the psychedelic tribal influence that started to shine through in Valley of Smoke. This is post-rock for stoners, as if the trippy album art above didn’t already convey enough. Hearing the drum and bass grooves carrying the song through the bridge with alternating panned guitar chugs makes it clear why they were chosen to open for Tool. If this is any indication, the band may just be on the verge of one-upping Valley of Smoke.
With the demise in 2012 of Thrice, Alexisonfire and Underoath, it would be understandable to conclude that the post-hardcore movement has finally run its course, these being, along with Thursday, the best and most ambitious latter day exponents of a genre that had otherwise deteriorated during the 2000s into a rut of rampant commercialism, and something wholly unrecognisable from its raw and dissonant origins. However, by stripping away its excesses, Melbourne outfit In Trenches, which comprises, amongst others, guitarist Kevin Cameron of I Killed The Prom Queen fame and vocalist Ben Coyte from the now defunct Day of Contempt, have, with their second EP Sol Obscura, offered a challenging and insightful reinterpretation of the way this style of music can be played. Released in March 2012, and roughly translated as meaning ‘hidden sun’, Sol Obscura is as dark as its name suggests, and contains five tracks of virulent and uncompromising post-hardcore that is aesthetically gritty, oppressively discordant and utterly devoid of vocal melody. Beginning with the slow and sludgy ‘Beneath‘ before unleashing the fury of ‘Hollow Heart‘ and ‘An Impending Collapse‘, the EP is also peppered with post rock/metal build-ups and rhythmically complex riffs, the best of which can be heard on the eight minute closer, ‘Silhouettes‘. Furthermore, the production is imprecise and grimy, which enhances the EP’s overall rawness, as does the decision to hold Coyte’s harsh vocals back in the mix. Musically dense and pessimistic in outlook, Sol Obscura is, despite its relatively brief length, a fatiguing listening experience, but one that is well worth the effort. Hopefully it is also a sign of longer things to come!
New Zealand post-rockers Jakob posted on their Facebook page that they will be postponing their first ever European tour in 2013. This is due to an accident that left drummer Jason Johnston’s right hand injured. As Jason will not be able to perform at the moment, the band has postponed all their current tour dates. You can read their Facebook post below: View Full Article »
Swedish post-metallers Cult Of Luna have released information via their website that their new album will be titled Vertikal and will be released sometime early 2013. The album is said to be thematically influenced by the film “Metropolis”. Blabbermouth.net seems to be the first one to have reported this and you can read an excerpt off their article below.
Swedish “art rockers” CULT OF LUNA will release their first studio album in five years, “Vertikal”, in early 2013. The CD is said to be thematically influenced by the film “Metropolis”, a hypnotic backdrop of machinery and repetition.
Commented the band: “Before we started writing, we were keen to find a theme that in a very direct way could be shown through the music, and we hope to have achieved this. We developed clear structures — very linear, refusing to over complicate the writing process.
“We realize fans have been waiting for what seems like an age for us to return to the live arena properly, but we were not keen on playing shows before we had the new material ready. There have been changes, and we wanted to come back on our own terms with something completely new. It is very important for us to transpose the idea of a new album into the live setting, to not tread water, and to include the fans in what we’ve been working on; you will be hearing this very soon.”
This is amazing news for anyone who’s interested in any type of post-metal or art-rock. I’ve been waiting for this album for years now and finally we’ve got an approximate date. Well, an “approximate” is good enough for me. CoL have never disappointed. Every album has been phenomenal and I’m sure this won’t be any different. Back in 2008, I heard their album Eternal Kingdom and instantly fell in love with the thick atmosphere and the gripping narrative of the album.
Its not surprising that Vertikal is a concept album. Even Eternal Kingdom was based on a story written in a madman’s diary they found at the abandoned mental-institution they used to jam in (crazy story, I know). But with Vertikal being based on “Metropolis”, this is going to be very interesting. I’ve never seen the movie but I’m definitely going to watch it now. I’ve heard good things about it. It also helps that I’m a huge Bioshock fan, so I know what I’m getting into.
We’ll keep you up to date on this. Till then, watch this amazing live performance of ‘Ghost Trail’, one of their best songs, from the greatest live DVD ever made.
New Zealand post-rockers Jakob released a video teaser yesterday for their (currently untitled) new album. These kiwis have finally broken a very long period of silence and have hinted at the release of their album to be soon. Goosebumps! The track is typically what you expect any other Jakob track to sound like. Dripping with reverb and delay pedals, it sounds completely expansive and beautiful! Though, this track sounds more colossal than their earlier stuff, I’m going to blame that on my fanboy-ism for the moment.
Back in June 2011, Jakob released an album teaser but later went strangely quiet. We didn’t hear anything from the band after that except for a short video clip showing off the studio they were recording in. According to the news feed on the band’s website, initially they planned to “have things finished up by April and to then release it in July.” but I’m guessing they meant 2013 instead of 2012, as the website doesn’t mention any exact dates. If it was intended to be 2012, they really are way behind schedule. Speculation is that the album will be out before Christmas 2012. For now, we can only keep our fingers crossed. It almost seems like forever since Solace came out back in 2006 and I just can’t wait for some new Jakob! This year has been rather sparse in good post-rock and hopefully Jakob are going to straighten that out.
If for some reason you may have missed the amazing album teaser in the past year, you can listen to it below.
Sleepers Awake
In Trenches – Sol Obscura (EP)
