The ever eclectic and forward thinking Myriad Records have announced their signing of Belleville, Illinois based metalcore band HeavyArms. Bringing to mind bands such as Underoath, Misery Signals, Within The Ruins and Architects, Heavyarms are set to release their debut album Burning Crowds via Myriad on April 29th. You can stream the band’s new track ‘Boundless‘ below:
Hometown shows are the best. Living in South Florida, I never really got to see any hometown shows save for local bands, but I always heard how different they were. It’s especially fulfilling for the bands playing in their hometown, because you’re on your home turf, with your friends and family, and you can have so much fun. Underoath, hailing from Tampa/St. Petersburg, played hometown shows every year since the late 90s when they were just starting out. At the end of last year, they announced their breakup, and released the dates or one final tour, featuring Letlive, As Cities Burn, and mewithoutYou. St. Petersburg was the last date on the tour. A show in a town that helped define them, and supported them from their inception to present. A show attended by their wives, parents, siblings, and music celebrities (Jeremy and Kevin of A Day To Remember among them). One final performance in a city that had been so good to them. Their last notes as a band would be played there, so I made sure to get a ticket.
In Trenches – Sol Obscura (EP)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!
Ever since its humble beginnings, metal has demonstrated a blatant line between music and religion. Whether a band was singing about the devil, using an inverted cross of bones as a microphone stand, “sacrificing” women on stage, or even burning down the faithful’s houses of worship in the forests of Norway, there’s fair reason metal is looked down upon. At least that’s how it used to be. Fast-forward to present day and you’ll see the view on metal has gone from being the Devil’s spawn to viewed simply as noise. Why? Because bands have become popular that share religious values. From the old school Extol to upcoming crop of Betraying the Martyrs, 7 Horns 7 Eyes, and Impending Doom, the list is filled with many bands that make metal for a living but sing about their religion and that openly identify with their beliefs. More and more pop up every day, and you’ll even see entire tours filled with religious-affiliated bands; even Christian music festivals like Icthus and Cornerstone dedicate much of their lineup to heavier groups with a positive spiritual message. More often than not though, these bands will sometimes share stages with ones that are either openly non-religious or that don’t think religion is positive in any way. So why do we like bands such as these that have values that metal was really designed to go against?
For one, religious metal music is really for a specific, automatic, built-in audience. For someone raised in a conservative, religious household, metal music may not be what the parents find the “ideal” music for their child to listen to. However, if you say “Oh, they’re singing about God and Jesus, and here are their lyrics to prove it”, parents would let their children listen to it and the kids could still feel they get to experience metal like we do because it is religious. Ever read the lyrics to a 7 Horns 7 Eyes song? They go something along the lines of this: “To what end will our foolish ways lead? Shall we be consumed by your Holy wrath and reap our deserved fate? O my God, come down in power engulf this man in cleansing winds of Your unceasing mercy. Let adoration rise within me; liberate Your creation.” Those lyrics were taken from their song ‘Divine Amnesty’ from their debut album Throes Of Absolution, and it’s pretty black and white that these lyrics are about God. It doesn’t sound like on the surface, though, which is why kids love it; their parents let them listen, but it’s still heavy metal.
I have many sadz. As you all know by now, Underoath are calling it quits next year and are bowing out with a final tour, which has just been announced. Underoath will hit up select dates across North America this January with mewithoutYou, As Cities Burn, and Letlive in tow. The dates are fairly paltry, but on the plus side, I will be at their last show. Dates after the jump. If you have the opportunity, go see this farewell tour. It will be a once in a lifetime experience.
1/16/13 – Union Transfer Philadelphia, PA
1/17/13 – Irving Plaza New York, NY
1/18/13 – Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto, ON
1/19/13 – Saint Andrews Hall Detroit, MI
1/20/13 – Metro Chicago, IL
1/22/13 – House of Blues Dallas, TX
1/23/13 – House of Blues Houston, TX
1/25/13 – Masquerade Atlanta, GA
1/26/13 – Ritz Ybor Tampa, FL
-SS
I can’t imagine the gut-wrenching feeling that must occur when one’s favorite band decides to throw in the towel. If Between the Buried and Me or Devin Townsend just decided to call it quits, I don’t even know what I’d do with myself — probably take some time off to think over this blogging nonsense. With that in mind, Heavy Blog reader Brandon Watson sent us his reaction over Underoath‘s recent decision to split up next year. Check out Brandon’s thoughts on the breakup below. – JR
I struggle to find words. Through my life my taste in music has evolved and matured, as have my sensibilities and feelings toward the act of listening. Continuously, I thrust myself into foreign experiences in search of another act to add to my library. Just as often though, I return to my base. Every listener has a foundation, and that foundation is comprised of the bands that instantly come to mind when people ask what you listen to, or is made of songs you know every twist and turn they have to offer. If there is one album that has influenced what I listen to more so than any other collection of songs, it would Underoath’s Define the Great Line. This is the base of my base, the cornerstone of my taste in music, and the best gateway drug you could ask for.
As of October 2, 2012, Underoath have decided to call it quits. Next year a farewell tour will take place, accompanied by a “Best of” CD, and then that’s it. Fourteen years and seven albums, as well as two Grammy nominations, are things worth bragging about, and are certainly accomplishments anyone would be proud of, but that isn’t what matters to me when I think of this band. Without fail, I can sit and listen to an album by this band and instantly be satisfied. No matter what genre I want at the moment, these guys satisfy my wants, regardless of the fact that they are concretely rooted in post-hardcore (the proggiest of post-hardcore, but post-hardcore nonetheless). There are no genre-jumping moments or anything of that nature here, but I am still deeply enthralled no matter what, and that, in my mind, speaks volumes about what they have accomplished.
Completely out of left field yet not really all that shocking, but Christian metalcore group Underoath have called it quits. Forming in 1999 and now sporting no original members, they’ve decided to call it quits.
Here’s the statement:
“It’s sad to say that we feel like it’s time to close this chapter, but we have never seen things more clearly,” says vocalist Spencer Chamberlain. “These have been the best years of my entire life, and I owe that to every single person who ever supported this band along the way. This wasn’t a quick decision by any means. It’s just time for us to move on.”
“Over the past decade or so of our lives, we have been able to live a dream traveling the world, playing music that excites us, and meeting more amazing people than we could have ever fathomed,” says keyboardist Chris Dudley. “This couldn’t be a more bittersweet moment for us. We have accomplished more, met more friends, seen more places and have just done more than we could have ever imagined, and we really wanted to just go out on the highest note possible.
That’s why we have put together a group of great friends and musicians for what will be our final tour ever. We are taking every moment of this tour as an opportunity to say goodbye to you all, as well as celebrate what has taken place over all these years. The love we have and the debt of gratitude that we owe to all of you is not able to be measured in any way.”
“We don’t take this very lightly and it’s heartbreaking for all of us,” Chamberlain says of the band’s announcement, “but all good things must come to an end. We love all of you and hope to see you again soon.””
The band’s farewell tour will happen in 2013 (to be announced), but the “best-of” compilation release, titled Anthology 1999-2013 is released November 06th on Solid State Records. The tracklist is available after the jump.
01 – “Sunburnt” (new song)
02 – “Unsound” (new song)
03 – “In Division“
04 – “Catch Myself Catching Myself“
05 – “Paper Lung“
06 – “Desperate Times, Desperate Measures“
07 – “Too Bright To See, Too Loud To Hear“
08 – “In Regards To Myself“
09 – “You’re Ever So Inviting“
10 – “Writing On The Walls“
11 – “A Boy Brushed Red Living In Black And White“
12 – “Reinventing Your Exit“
13 – “It’s Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door“
14 – “I’ve Got Ten Friends And A Crowbar That Says You Ain’t Gonna Do Jack“
15 – “When The Sun Sleeps“
16 – “Cries Of The Past“
17 – “Heart Of Stone“
- JR
This news is pretty old, but I felt that it was still early enough to warn you folks that Animals as Leaders might be coming to a town near you as support for the upcoming Underoath and Thursday tour with A Skylit Drive. Even if you dislike the other bands, let me tell you that it is absolutely worth it to catch Animals as Leaders.
Dates are are after the jump. The tour is actually pretty extensive!
Underoath1. In Division
2. Catch Myself Catching Myself
3. Paper Lung
4. Illuminator
5. Driftwood
6. A Divine Eradication
7. Who Will Guard the Guardians?
8. Reversal
9. Vacant Mouth
10. My Deteriorating Incline
11. In Completion
For the most part, nobody likes to be considered elitist, but in metal it does seem to be almost ubiquitous. Try as I might, I went in to this record with certain expectations and few of them favourable. Despite some of the band members looking like they couldn’t possibly be any more than 12 years old, Ø marks the 7th full length LP for, evidently prolific, metalcore outfit Underoath. I had, prior to Ø, listened to a smattering of their earlier material and was led to believe this was middle of the road metalcore with radio-friendly post-hardcore leanings.
I am happy to say that appearances can be deceiving. Ø is really only metalcore if you allow the weight to be placed heavily on the latter half of the term. Absent are the palm-mute laden riffs, bland atonal breakdowns and unrelenting bass drum. In its place you find soundscaping, consistent progression through songs and riffing often similar in style to the strand of the genre epitomized by Every Time I Die. The one thing that this album seems to demonstrate above all else is maturity; they are using their wide experience within the genre to great effect.
I actually enjoy UnderOath oddly enough. I am Christian as I have openly professed before so I personally find their ways of sharing a Christian message really interesting. But that is an extra jewel of listening to a Christian band. But UnderOath has many rather proggy tendencies that you can especially find in their last record, Lost in the Sound of Separation, and now they have released a new song called “Illuminator” which is sounding like it will follow the same path as Separation.
“Illuminator” comes from their new album coming out November 9th that is either called Ø (Disambiguation) or just Disambiguation. Their website has the first option there but it doesn’t directly say either one is right. Metalsucks is announcing it as the first but I know they aren’t UnderOath fans and as an UnderOath fan, I know that the band likes to throw that “O with a line through it” symbol around a lot for no reason so I’m going to stay open to either title until it is officially released.
Oh, I’m excited for this to come out. Listen to “Illuminator” here.
-TH
