Improvement is always good. Impending Doom's third record, There Will Be Violence, is a huge step in a better direction. Both the bands first two out puts were pretty straight forward, bland death metal. It was very reminiscent to early Mortification, which I'm not a huge fan of.
There Will Be Violence has elements that shape this record differently from their previous efforts. The intro, Hell Breaks Lose, has a really melodic guitar lead that offsets that heavy onslaught just enough. Brook Reeves' vocally is another major improvement for the band. Gone are the really low guttural growls. Vocally there's more range in the screams and growls, and with the real guttural vocals being gone, Reeves is more understandable.
Musically the album is heavy and fast. Much faster then anything Impending Doom's done before. Although There Will Be Violence is Impending Doom's best record to date, its still on;y the third best death metal record Facedown/Strike First has put this year, as both As Hell Retreats and Wrench in the Works had better albums.
There Will Be Violence has a handful of really great moments. Love Has Risen is an excellent instrumental piece that showcases some great guitar work. The album's closer, Sweating Blood, is an incredible song. It's the band's best work to date by far.
The jump between Gifts From Enola's debut record, Loyal Eyes Betrayed, to their second album, From Fathoms, was huge. From Fathoms even made my Top 20 records of 2010. But their self-titled 3rd record shows a band still growing, still changing, and still getting better. Where From Fathoms was more post rock oriented, their self-titled album shows Gifts from Enola moving in a more math rock direction, ala Don Cab.
Lionized kicks in with a really dissonant bass guitar, heavy drums, and a smooth guitar riffs, almost a Russian Circles feel until 2 minutes in when everything comes together and explodes. 2 minutes later the explosions dies down and where left feeling out the aftermath Dime and Suture is an upbeat moving track that changes and shifts. And while there are vocals on this track their so laied in the background of the song that they become this extra layer to what has become a mewithoutYou post hardcore song. Alagoas is a cheerful guitar riff over a bass line doing its own thing in the background. It's as if they guitar and bass parts were written separately to create a weird space between the two. The bass guitar fades away and the guitar slowly morphs into something soft and lush for a vocal part to swing in as the band transitions into a nice post rock song. Grime and Glass starts as a hybrid punk song the flirts with being beautiful but staying undefined and chaotic, which halfway through settles into a nice groove. Rearview is the most standard sounding post rock song on the record.
There are only 5 tracks on the album but the song lengths average out to 7 minutes a piece and each song has at least 2 movements, giving you a lot of music to digest and listen through. Gifts From Enola have given us their most unique and accomplished work to date.
There are a handful of albums that I didn't review when they came out and I'm trying to give them some love.
For someone who love Mastodon's Crack the Skye as much as I did, it's easy for me to get into Bison BC's lastest offering, Dark Ages. Well less proggy then Crack the Sky Dark Ages does flow in a similar fashion. It's methodical prog metal. The album's opening track, Stressed Elephant is a driving head banging track. Slow and driving, then loud and fast. The guitar work is technical and fast in sections, then sludgey and dirty the next. While Bison BC doesn't live up to the talent and execution that Mastodon has, they have created a great metal record. While I'm mostly reminded of Mastodon there are moments where I feel like I'm listening to Ace of Spades era Motor Head. It's sludgey at times but Dark Ages is mostly just fast and heavy. Which is good.
While I don't enjoy Dark Ages as much as I did 2008's Quiet Earth, Dark Ages is a better produced record. The songs are heavy and smart. There was never a moment listening to Dark Ages where I felt bored. It's a quality metal record.
When Norma Jean said their new record was going to be a throwback to their roots, I got a little worried. Unlike most Norma Jean fans out there, their 2008 record, The Anti-Mother, was my favorite Norma Jean record. So the idea of the band trying to recreate Bless the Martyr or even O' God the Aftermath worried me. Luckilu Norma Jean hasn't thrown out all of what I thought made them such a great band.
Meridional kicks off with the feed back intro of Leaderless and Self Enlisted. Well it doesn't conjure up memories of the first 2 NJ records, it does sound like a heavier version of something from Redeemer. Anthem of the Angry Brides, Bastardizer, and Blood Burner are all really heavy songs. Bastardizer gives us a little throwback chudd chugg wee guitar as Cory Brandon yells "We've Found a Better Way."
But Norma Jean has become a band that is more then just about being heavy. Norma Jean writes really great songs and gives us a lot of really catchy melodies, nice hooks, a killer guitar riffs. A Media Friendly Turn for the Worse, High Noise Low Output, and The People That Surround You On A Regular Basis are outstanding kick ass songs. Cory Brandon is my second favorite vocalist currently in the hardcore/metal scene. His throat tearing screaming and singing is fantastic.
Falling From The Sky: Day Seven, might be my new favorite Norma Jean song. It's the slowest and saddest song the band has ever done. It's also the most touching and moving song the band has ever put out. Brandon sings "Where are we supposed to go? I want you to remember this. Just because I understand, doesn't really mean I care."
The album ends with Innocent Bystanders United, which plays similarly to Falling From the Sky. It's slow moving, long intro seems to go nowhere but then the song kicks in and Cory Brandon rips into some of the most honest lyrics he's ever written.
"'cause I feel like... like Jesus don't... don't come around much more these days."
"Lies and mistakes all know me by my name, and... and now they refuse to leave me alone, haunting me with their mutiny."
"There's a hell of a past, so pull up a chair and I'll give you a good story."
Meridional isn't going to please Norma Jean fans hoping to hear Bless the Martyr or O' God part 2 because this album isn't that. It's a return to a heavier sound from The Anti-Mother but they don't abandon the melodies and song writing that has made them such a great band. Meridional plays like a louder version of Redeemer. Lyrically Meridional seems really vague in parts but there are moments where Cory Brandon gives a little depth and personality to his lyrics and we get a picture of what he's saying. You might say Meridional is the band's best work to date and you could argue they've done better. But from start to finish Meridional is another great Norma Jean record. A best of the year contender for sure.
I've been a huge MxPx fan for many years. Teenage Politics was the record that introduced me to punk rock. So it was really shocking yesterday to read that after 18 years Yuri Ruley was retiring from MxPx.
After 18 years and nearly 2.5 million records, having helped pave the way for pop-punk music, Ruley will be departing the band in order to focus more on his family life. “With MxPx being a touring band and constantly on the road 9 months out of the year, I knew at some point it would have to come to an end, but the reality of it is a lot harder than I thought it would be. MxPx has been my second family for nearly two decades, but I need to step away to focus on raising my family.”
With Ruley’s departure, MxPx will be scaling back a bit to focus on the completion of their new live DVD/photo book and new EP. Vocalist and bassist Mike Herrera will lean his focus to Tumbledown’s sophomore release and guitarist Tom Wisniewski will continue with MxPx in conjunction with his new full-time job.
“The current economy crisis has affected everyone in some way. For us as a mid-tier band that relies on consistent touring as a steady source of income, we’ve been affected drastically. Touring costs have sky-rocketed and companies have limited their marketing dollars, resulting in most bands being barely able to cover current road costs,” says Wisniewski. “I had no choice but to limit my availability on the road to get a full time job to support my family, but will continue to perform select MxPx dates and continue making music.”
Not to be confused as the band’s final show, the bittersweet performance and farewell to Ruley will be the band’s first appearance into Sin City since September 2008 and will celebrate the near 14-year anniversary of their most notable album release to date, Life In General, with a live full album performance at the Hard Rock Hotel for their faithful fans.
”This will be a night to celebrate both the band and our fans who have supported us and will continue to support us now and in the future,” says Herrera.
The music of MxPx has been known for its ability to unite formerly distinguished fan bases such as the skate/surf community and the punk underground, MxPx used this wide variety of fans as a catalyst for the release of Life In General in 1996, which is notably the bands first mainstream success to date with tracks “Chick Magnet” and “Move To Bremerton,” having launched them to the top of the alternative charts in 1996.
MxPx will continue to perform in festivals and one-off dates with Chris Wilson (The Summer Obsession) sitting in on drums. MxPx All-Stars will embark on a new International tour to Australia in early 2011, which will feature the same line-up from their first tour to Japan and Malaysia – Mike Herrera, Kris Roe of The Ataris and Chris Wilson. Also, stay tuned as long awaited full-length album of MxPx‘s side-project, Arthur, featuring all three members and their former tech assistant Neil Hundt will be released later this year.
No band in recent memory has made bigger strides from their debut to album number 2 than My Epic. I Am Undone was a fine rock record, a good debut. But the fury and beauty that encompass each song on yet make it one of the best indie rock records I'v heard in years. It is by far the best record Dreamt Music has put out to date and another gem on the Facedown Family roster.
Right from the get go Yet gives off a different vide then I Am Undone. Author kicks in with feedback and a strong drum backbeat. Lower Still and Lashes are soaring, driving rock song. Sound and Fury, Pour, and Ashes are all aggressive songs, with loud bombastic guitars that drop down to clean picking verses. Perfector swells and dies, swells and dies into a crescendo at the end of the album.
Yet feels like a cross between As Cities Burn and Cool Hand Luke with a twinge of Edison Glass thrown in there. Aaron's vocals are much stronger and crisper then they were on I Am Undone. Yet is a great rock record and should be seen on many end of the year lists.
A Plea For Purging is a band I've never been able to get into. A Critique of the Mind had some bite and Depravity had a handful of catchy metal tunes, but through two albums I've never been able to really grasp hold of why people like A Plea for Purging.
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell shows a band ever improving and moving forward and even possibly a band hitting their stride. This is A Plea For Purging's hardest and heaviest record. It combines the speed of Critique with the heavier aspects of Depravity. But by the time Shiver ends, the albums third track, I start thinking that TMOHAH is just another deathcore record. The breakdowns start to becomes tiresome and while A Plea For Purging pulls influence more from Zao then it does Killswitch Engage or more modern metalcore bands, there isn't anything happening that excites me.
The Golden Barriers moves slowly away from breakdown deathcore and gives us an attempt at a guitar solo. The Fall gives us clean vocals, which haven't appeared on any Plea record yet. And yes, the clean vocals are a nice change of pace from the breakdown assault that's been the record so far. The Jealous Wings is a ballad, which seems to be trend these day. Make a heavy record but throw a random ballad in at the end. But I like the song.
In the end production hinders me from really attaching to The Marriage of Haven and Hell. The kick drum is clicking and there's too much double bass on the record to have the kick drum sound so bad. A Plea For Purging have suffered from poor production their entire career. The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is no different.
