Review of Bleeding's self titled

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1. Tempest of Colours

2. Voices

3. Bleeding

4. Souldancer

"Bleeding was founded in 2011 in Hamburg on a gig of prog’s finest Psychotic Waltz. The members already knew each other from former bands in the area of Stade, near Hamburg. Bleeding’s music features different influences from prog to thrash metal, leading to both catchy and intricate songs, bringing out all the qualities of modern heavy rock."

To start this short album off we have “Tempest of Colours.” The beginning felt a little off sync, but I really like the opening solo. Bleeding’s vocals are really reminiscent of the old school style and remind myself of Chrism, a band I found a long time ago. The thrash bits are really heavy and the keyboard and guitar that play out this track is really mellow but then turns into a more eerie part. “Voices” has a keyboard bit with guitar chugging over top, which felt a little industrial like but really catchy. The solo half way through is really nicely done. I felt this song is more heavy feeling than the track prior.

The self title track, “Bleeding,” is really mellow for the most part. Even the distorted guitar parts aren’t very heavy, every old school style band needs its ballad. The vocals really come out on this track, their tone and style is very unique. The last track, “Souldancer,” is my favourite on this album. I really like the guitar in this. I kind of felt a bit of slam in this which is interesting for the genre, but it may have just been that one bit sounded like slam. The guitar and keyboard section was cool and the lead in this song is very impressive and cleanly done. The thrashy part is awesome especially the way the vocals flow.

Bleeding really take the old school style and blend it with the modern day feel to perfection. The vocalist Haye Graf has a unique sound that I enjoy listening to and Marc Nickel and “Jörg von der Fecht” do a fascinating job on guitars. This album is certainly worth checking out!

Review of "Facticity" by Over Your Threshold

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1. Cortical Blindness

2. Contextual Fluctuating

3. Obscure Mind Stasis

4. Self Exhibition

5. Desolation Row

6. Antic

7. Abdicated

8. Body Part Illusion

9. Facticity

“Arising from Munich (Germany) OVER YOUR THRESHOLD was established by Lukas Spielberger and Leonhard P. in 2006. In 2007, drummer Julian Matejka joined the two guitarists and in 2009, the musicians added talented bassist Christian Siegmund to the line up. OVER YOUR THRESHOLD began playing live in 2007. After numerous gigs with renowned death metal bands like Obscura, Deadborn and Hokum, the band made a name for itself in the local metal-scene. OVER YOUR THRESHOLD is known for tight playing and an expressive performance at live-shows. The first record, PROGRESS IN DISBELIEF (EP), was self-released in 2008. Over the years the band's concept of death metal gained ground and its actual sound is enriched with a great diversity of musical elements. Influenced by different death metal bands (reaching from the 80's up to now) OVER YOUR THRESHOLD's music combines progressive death metal with a bit of thrash and some fusion components. In 2011, OVER YOUR THRESHOLD entered the Woodshed Studio (Landshut, Germany) to record their first full-length album, entitled FACTICITY. The sound of FACTICITY is not only more blasting but also more technical, interspersed with energetic death metal riffing as well as melodic acoustic guitars. It's enriched by brute-force blast beats, thrash metal, jazzy harmonics and the distinct tones of smooth, fretless bass. Furthermore, the band recruited guest musicians Steffen Kummerer (Obscura, Thulcandra) and Jonas 'JoeC' Fischer (Hokum, Ex-Obscura) to jazz up their debut album. FACTICITY was mixed and mastered by V. Santura (Triptykon, Dark Fortress). In the beginning of 2012, the long time member Leonhard P. left the band. He was replaced by Kilian Lau as new guitarist and Ludwig Walter as the new vocalist. In the same year, after completing the new line-up, OVER YOUR THRESHOLD signed to Metal Blade Records to release FACTICITY.”

The drumming is on point on “Cortical Blindness” with blast beats galore. The guitars are very heavy and technical and the sweep pickings were well done. “Contextual Fluctuating” has a technically sound riff at the beginning, leading into brutality, There is a technical bit at the end leading into a solo which blended well, after that there was a bit that felt a little black metal-esque which was interesting. I really like the open riff and sweep along with the drums in “Obscure Mind Stasis.” The acoustic bit with lead over the top that turns into a progressive style thing like Opeth, was really awesome to hear. It goes straight back into a blast beat and then into a heavy metal bit but goes back and forth between death and progressive. This song is definitely one of my favourites.

The first part of “Self Exhibition” is awesome with the technicality. The drumming break before the guitars come in again was pretty cool. I really dug how much the bass stood out on this track. The solo in this was very old school heavy metal feeling, along with another more death metal style solo after. “Desolation Row” starts off on a riff that had a little bit of a black metal feel. The riff after is very technical without becoming hard to follow, which is good. There was technical bit with solo after meshed well and the solo is very amazing and includes sweeps which is always a good showcase of talent. The opening riff along with the drums on “Antic” was nice. Blast beats with a bit of technicality follows and sounds brutal. The next bit is very blackened death sounding and I also enjoyed the sweep half way through along with the technicality.

“Abdicated” is mostly just your normal death metal at the beginning. The bass riff before the technicality was nice and then moves right into progressive style acoustic and lead diddles, which then leads right back into brutality. The duelling solos are very awesome on this track. The next track, “Body Part Illusion,” is mostly straight up death metal throughout. It does have its technical moments and the solo is epic as well. The last track “Facticity,” is all about the technicality. The bass stands out a lot and its sounds amazing. There was solo half way through and it sounds very mellow with the groove rhythm behind it. An acoustic and lead progressive bit after that plays out the album.

Over Your Threshold have really surprised me with this album. I was just expecting your average death metal. I was wrong as it is far from average. They brought much to the table with its brutality, technicality and also brings progressive style playing in to throw you off balance. If you like death metal and progressive metal, I suggest picking this up.

Review of "Revelry & Resilience" by Gypsyhawk

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1. Overloaded

2. The Fields

3. Hedgeking

4. Frostwyrm

5. Galaxy Rise

6. 1345

7. Night Songs from the Desert

8. The Red Wedding

9. Silver Queen

10 State Lines

11. Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo

“"Gypsyhawk is four metal dudes playing rock and roll and bringing the party every time they get on stage," states guitarist Andrew Packer, and there is perhaps no better way of surmising the spirit and sound of the Pasadena quartet. Revisiting the electrifying sounds of bullshit-free 70s rock, the band are a breath of fresh air compared to the endless onslaught of breakdown obsessed bands cluttering up heavy music. Marinating their wares in whiskey and weed, they hurl out blistering riffs and irresistible hooks and grooves, doing their damnedest to ensure that everyone at their shows is having as much fun as they are. With Revelry & Resilience, their second full-length and Metal Blade debut, this vibe bleeds from the speakers from start to finish, determinedly putting a smile on your face and compelling you to throw your hair around, no matter how much or how little you might have. "It's music for girls to shake their asses to and dudes to bang their heads," states vocalist/bassist Eric Harris. "It's good-time rock and roll, and we don't take ourselves too seriously, but at the same time we're not one-dimensional 'yeah-dude-let's-party-all-the-fucking-time!' guys, and I like to think there's something for everyone in our music." With the members having cut their teeth in bands such as thrash behemoths Skeletonwitch, progressive stoners Suns Beneath, and the mighty White Wizzard among others, they individually earned their metal stripes long ago. However, over time the various members found themselves growing increasingly disillusioned with what that genre had to offer. "I was getting so sick of extreme metal and it seemed like that was the only thing anybody wanted to do," Harris sighs. "I had always wanted to start a killer rock and roll band but it had never been the right time, and in 2008 I ended up in LA and it was the perfect opportunity to make it happen." Hooking up with Packer, the band started gigging and building up a reputation for themselves, and with their initial line up recorded and released 2010's Patience And Perseverance, though it was not until guitarist Erik Kluiber and drummer Ian Brown were brought into the fold that the band truly found their sound. "Andrew's always been my right hand man in this band, I won't make a move without his consent and vice versa," Harris says. "Ian is just one of the most solid drummers I've ever played with, and he comes from a different musical background from the rest of us, so it's nice to have this extra perspective in the band, while Erik's a really cool guy from Detroit who really knows his instrument. I've always been a fan of music from that city – The MC5, Bob Seger, The Stooges, Alice Cooper – and he has some of that Detroit dirt on him, and brings something special to the band." Wearing their influences on their collective sleeve, the band's sound is certainly one that harks back to the time when the likes of Thin Lizzy and Deep Purple reigned supreme, yet they are no nostalgia act merely emulating their idols. "We love all those bands, but I think what we do is to kind of look at the music from that era through modern lenses," explains Packer. "Our songs are a mash up of a lot of bands that have influenced us, and what we do isn't strictly rock and roll. We have some thrashy parts to what we do, and Erik can shred. He has some really impressive stuff that will make a lot of metalheads want to do their homework! We kind of take the approach that anything goes as long as there's no cookie monster growls or blastbeats, and we've really found our own sound." Backing up Packer's words, the band's distinct personality is splashed all over Revelry & Resilience. Whether it's the edgy and upbeat barroom swagger of "The Fields", the balls out stomp wielded by the serpentine grooves and blistering leads of "The Hedgeking", the head-bobbing bounce and triumphant air of "Frostwyrm" or their crunchy yet soulful take on Johnny Winter's "Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo" the record crackles with energy while being wholly devoid of pretension, and on every level it is leagues ahead of its predecessor. "A lot of the song structures on Patience And Perseverance are quite proggy, with only a few kinda straightforward rock songs, and I think that stemmed from not really knowing quite what we wanted to do, and maybe not having the right dudes in the band," Harris states. "On this record the line up just clicked, we knew what we want and we knew how to get it. We've really gone for more rock or pop song structures, and I think a lot of the record's energy comes from that." Lyrically speaking, Harris draws inspiration from perhaps unexpected sources, mixing songs about partying with those influenced by George R. R. Martin's series of novels A Song Of Fire And Ice (on which the hit HBO series Game Of Thrones is also based) and even on the vocalist's interest in quantum physics. "We fucking love smoking weed and drinking beer and having a good time, but at the same time we like to read books and play Magic: The Gathering, total nerd shit, and we like that to be a part of what we do with our music," Harris smiles. The definition of a DIY band, the quartet have determinedly done things off their own backs since their inception, including self-producing Revelry & Resilience, which has allowed them to retain complete control over everything they do. "Having worked with producers in other bands I've been involved with, I know I would much rather have Gypsyhawk do it without anyone else's interference," Harris states. "I don't want to get caught up in that situation where you say these are the songs and this is what our band is, and the producer says no, no, no, all wrong! That's not our band and it's not going to come across sounding like our band if someone meddles with it like that, and we're proud of what we do and want to represent that as best we can." Committed to touring as hard as they can, the band constantly hit up new cities, bringing their sound to an ever-larger audience, yet they are humbly surprised to frequently learn that their name precedes them. "I've been in cities with another band I play with – where Gypsyhawk never played – and I've had people come up to me and go fuck dude, when are Gypsyhawk gonna come here? And I'm like when the fuck did you hear my band!?" Harris laughs. Packer is also heartened to see the diversity of the people coming to check them out. "There's the older guys who tell us they love us because we've got that old school thing going on, and some pretty serious metal dudes we were sure would think we were a bunch of pussies but who love what we do!" he laughs. "But then we're getting in some younger crowds, some punks and glam looking kids too, and I think that despite us taking our cues from the seventies what we do sounds fresh right now, because everything else is getting so played out." If one thing is for sure it's that the four guys in Gypsyhawk are not looking for overnight stardom and want to put the work into building something that lasts, and deservedly so. "I really want to take this band as big as it can possibly go but because it's good music that people want to hear, and I want the chance to try different things on the records we make in the future, to really see what we're capable of," says Packer. "We're just going to write the best music that we can and we're gonna write the truest music that we can," Harris adds. "We want to play this music everywhere that will have us, but we're pretty realistic about everything, and we're just having a good fucking time while we can."

The first track, “Overloaded,” sets the mood with its old school heavy metal opening riff. This song feels right out of the 80s, with a little southern vibe. The solos or lead bits on this track are great. The bass riff and main riff in, “The Fields,” sound especially heavy. The solo and harmonization in it are also executed perfectly. “Hedgeking” has some harmonized riffs in that are amazing. The solos on this track are great as well and I liked the drumming in this song when it strays from the simple hi-hat snare.

The fact that the lead guitar plays along with the way the vocals flow makes “Frostwyrm” very amusing, I am quite sure that’s the highlight of the song. I like when it starts to get heavy half way in, as well as the solo over top of it. This is definitely one of my favourites off this album. “Galaxy Rise” opens up with a really cool intro the way it’s laid out. This is another track with great harmonizing riffs and there is an impressive solo at the end. The beginning of “1345” felt really doom metal inspired, but quickly gets back into the old school heavy metal riffs. The duelling solos half way through are well done and lead riff after is awesome.

“Night Songs from the Desert” begins on a very mellow riff with a soft lead over top. The main riff is very groove-y and this song seems a little slower than the rest of the album for the most part. The only thing on the next track, “The Red Wedding,” was the harmonized bits and duelling solos but I did like how the song flowed and the lyrics. Another track more on the mellow side is “Silver Queen,” the main riff is really awesome. I’m not sure if that solo had a nice guitar effect giving off the impression of two solos or just two guitars on different octaves.

There is a nice bass line at the beginning of “State Lines.” When the song picks up, the pace everything gets a lot heavier. I really like the bass pound bit that sounds like a punch to the body rather than a strum, especially when the cymbal gets in on it the second time. The solo half way through is great and the harmonization near the end is epic. The last song, “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo,” was a great way to end the album. It keeps a great groove throughout and the guitars are so old school and a little jazzy. The “smoke weed” before the duelling solos was highly entertaining. This song was a throw back to southern rock and heavy metal, in my opinion, and it was well done.

I definitely recommend picking this up if you are a fan of heavy metal, especially from the 80s.

Review of "Results" by Murder Construct

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1. Red All Over

2. Under the Weight of the Wood

3. No Questions, No Comment

4. Gold Digger

5. Compelled by Mediocrity

6. The Next Life

7. Dead Hope

8. Feign Ignorance

9. Mercy, Mercy

10. Malicious Guilt

11. Resultados

In all honesty, not knowing what to expect from the opening track, “Red All Over,” the intro gave me that not another hardcore band. Its ringing feedback guitar and slow drumming is something I don’t like. Then out of nowhere brutality hits you, as well as a very familiar vocalist, Travis Ryan, this sounds like Cattle Decapitation if they stuck to full on grindcore. Flowing right off the first track is “Under the Weight of the Wood.”  The songs switch with no warning, fade, or cut which made me check my iTunes just to see why the song sounded so different all of a sudden. The guitar on this one is very nice and some parts feel a little black metal like.

This album has proven there is no time to catch breath as one song melds right into the next and it continues with “No Questions, No Comment.” The drumming stands out more in this song and I think there was a guitar solo but you can’t  hear it over the rest of the brutality but you can the second time around though. The technical riffs and spastic drumming is a little hard to follow in the next track “Gold Digger.” Travis Ryan’s vocals on this track are very well done and almost showcase his vocal range better than Cattle Decapitation did on the “Monolith of Inhumanity” album.

“Compelled by Mediocrity” opens up with a fantastic companionship between the drums and guitar. I also liked the riff half way through the song, it has a nice groove to it. There is a nice slam style riff in the next song “The Next Life.” Some parts in this song are hard to follow because its simply all over the place but it keeps you on your toes, or wheels in my case. The blackened death riff half way through this song was really nice, it felt like Behemoth. Brutal all the way through next is “Dead Hope,” but that’s not different from the rest of the album, its just so short I can’t really say much about it.

The beginning guitar riff in “Feign Ignorance” was nice with the whammy on the end of it. Travis Ryan’s vocals on this track are some of the best on the album. There is a small pause in this song that totally breaks the brutal the whole way through compliment, but a tiny break is no big deal. The next two songs are short so a big thought on them is hard to really come up with. Both “Mercy, Mercy” and “Malicious Guilt” had great guitar and drumming in them. Ending the album, at a monstrous six minutes in length, we have “Resultados.” I was getting so used to the short songs I was wondering if it was over at one and a half minutes. This track is nicely paced and actually has slower parts. I liked the melodic bit, its not an actual melodic riff but it still has the feel. The guitar and piano that plays this album out is especially eerie.

This album is a must buy for those who like Cattle Decapitation and also for those who enjoy grindcore and death metal. After hearing this along as “Monolith of Inhumanity,” I think I can say Travis Ryan is one my favourite vocalist. I definitely recommend this album.

Review of "Born In Abyss" by Dead 3 Days

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1. Born In Abyss

2. Puppet For The Machine Of Greed And Dominance

3. Fear

4. Realm Of Death

5. Save Your Own Damn Grace

6. Falling Of Skies

“Dead 3 Days started in June 2011 with Austin Chappell and Jason Ware communicating through kijiji. Over the summer Born In Abyss and Realm of Death were written. By August vocalist Dakota Harfman and drummer Danny Arnott had joined the band. Like most bands they had difficulty finding a bass player, so as a favor Casey Elliott (guitar player of Vesperia) offered to play for a while but ended up having fun and joining. Once they had a full line up Puppets for the Machine of Greed and Dominance, Save Your Own Damn Grace, and Falling of Skies were written and they started playing shows. The band does all recordings at Austin’s home studio, and he produces all the music himself as well as record/produce for other local bands for his company InZen Music. The bands demo can be found at both facebook.com/Dead3Days and dead3days.com. Future plans for the band include a full length album, more merch and free giveaways at shows, and a music video.”

Being from Ontario, I feel really bad that I have not listened to these guys until now. These guys are a solid new band and they have a good thing going. The first song “Born In Abyss” was interesting in a good way. The mix of, what I felt was, heavy/thrash metal guitar alongside the dirty death metal style vocals made for an awesome combination. As well as the great mixture, the main riff is really catchy and the solo was awesome. The riff played at the beginning and end of “Puppet For The Machine Of Greed And Dominance” is really great. There is another catchy main riff on this track and the guitar effect and riff two thirds of the way in was pretty cool.

The third track, “Fear,” is a weird short instrumental. The guitar effect was well used and eerie along with the keyboard. The vocals on the next song “Realm Of Death” are very brutal. The ambience of the keyboard makes this song feel dark. The acoustic bit was a nice touch and the solo after it was even better. The guitars in “Save Your Own Damn Grace” are really heavy and a little technical and are probably some of the best on the album. When the keyboard comes in this song it sounds so especially grim and adding epic to the grim is the horn-type keyboard effect, which is extremely badass. The last song, “Falling Of Skies,” had a great keyboard and guitar intro and the fact it into chugs was extremely awesome. All of the guitars in this song are really good and although it sounds a little on the hardcore side, which was different from the rest of the album, but its still a good song. The melodic part was really good on this track as well. I feel the crash cymbal was a little over used in this song, but it doesn’t take away from the song too much. Also the vocals are the gnarliest on this track.

I definitely recommend buying this album as Dead 3 Day’s approach to sales is one I respect them for doing. You can buy this album for whatever you think its worth, you don’t see that much in the music industry so kudos to them. These guys are definitely worth the listen!

Interview with Dan Briggs of Between the Buried and Me/Trioscapes

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For those who are not familiar with Trioscapes, who are you and what type of music do you play?

-My name is Dan Briggs and I play bass.  Loosely, it's fusion music I guess, but to me everything is a fusion of something or other.

What does the name of the band mean?

-Trioscapes is an experiment in how much music and sound three people can make together, and that's represented in the name.

Could you explain the writing process of your songs?

-It's different for each one. "Blast Off" was a nearly finished product that I brought to both Matt and Walter, and Matt and I finished the ending of the song together. "Curse of the Ninth" was a song I brought in completely written. "Separate Realites" started with just two licks that Walter wrote and I wrote a bunch of variations on, and then filled in the gaps. "wazzlejazzlebof" and "Gemini's Descent" were put together in the

rehearsal room, and "Celestial Terrestrial Commuters" we dismantled and put back together in the rehearsal room together.

What influences or aspect does your music take from metal and other genres?

-We all have different influences and you can hear that in the music. Obviously Matt and I have more of a background in metal, but I think the only thing we take  away from that is energy and aggression. A song like

"Separate Realities" is just non stop, I'm generally out of breath after we're done playing it.

How does it feel to make a saxophone sound metal? Do you even consider yourself metal?

-Nope! I didn't realize we had done that either. We're just playing the music that feels natural to us to play.

Being in Between the Buried and Me, is Trioscapes a nice break from the heavier style of playing you are used to?

-It is, yeah. It's nice to be able to lay back and just groove for a few minutes, or take over and rip some solos. It's also all music that I write on bass. For BTBAM I write everything on guitar or piano and write bass parts after the fact. I wrote a few melodies on piano for Trioscapes, but aside from that it was all bass which was rad.

What made you want to start a jazz style metal band?

-I never had any intention of doing that! I just had the summer off in 2011 and had the opportunity to get together with Walter and Matt and it was just the perfect time to do something. We never set out for a

particular sound.

What does “wazzlejazzlebof” mean?

-It's just kind of a silly Zappa-ism, just a nod to the master. It's a fucked up weird tune and seemed appropriate.

How do fans receive this experimental sound?

-Seems like it's gone over well so far! It's not for everyone, that's for sure. Some people can't relate to music that doesn't have lyrics, some people have never hear saxophone in music before. It's true, we've read some weird reviews for our record here and there haha. We're just having fun.

Have you ever accidentally passed through a higher dimension while playing?

-Yes, not frequently but a good handful of times. When BTBAM shot our dvd in 2008 I felt like I was floating the whole time, before, during and after. It's an incredible feeling. Not every show is going to be like

that, but when it is it's the best.

Are you going on tour in the near future?

-We'll be on tour in September with Scale the Summit on the east coast.

What does the future of Trioscapes look like?

-Shows, sonic experimentations, Walter wearing wild oversized 90s shirts, Matt maybe growing his moustache out again. Things could get wild in the future!

What are your thoughts on the scene in it’s present form?

-I'm not sure what scene you're refering to? I haven't felt a part of a scene since I was about 15 and wore a bandana and camo shorts at hardcore shows and wore x's on my hands to school. I just love surrounding myself with creative people that are excited about pushing themselves and making the people around them better. That's how I've always grown as a musician.

In light of the Randy Blythe situation, what are your thoughts on it?

-It's pretty terrible. BTBAM toured with Lamb of God in 2010 and our guitarist Paul filled in for their guitarist Mark in South America later that year, so he knows him pretty well. It's a terrible situation, and it really could have happened to anyone in his situation. We've thrown kids off the stage before, our techs have, it gets rowdy sometimes with people falling all over the place. Everyone is hoping he gets through it without anymore harm.

Any last comments?

-Come see us on tour! It's a different experience live, I think the energy is pretty high and we play the tunes a bit different than on records. Enjoy!

Review of "The Resistance" by The Dawn Chose Orion

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1. Ghost Of The Past (An Introduction…)

2. A Black Rose On Fire

3. Rise Above

4. This Is The Sound

5. Hadassah’s Torment (Interlude)

6. Hadassah’s Rest

7. Untouchable

8. This Is The Sound (No Prisoners, No Mercy Remix)

9. World of Lines (The Dawn Chose Orion Re-Animation) – Coheed & Cambria

“The Dawn Chose Orion are a progressive melodic trance metal band from Aurora, Colorado USA. The sci-fi concept band was originally formed in 2008 and consist the members Seth Early (Vocals) and Brett Erfman (Synth) Patrick Hall (Lead Guitarist), Rob Penna (Lead Guitarist), Joe Ayala (Bass), and Dan Cintron (Drums). In 2009 they released their first concept album The Resistance EP. In 2010 they re-released it with 2 additional remixed tracks. They are currently working on releasing their "part 2" of their story called The Byroad To Ascension Point EP in 2012.’

The first track on this album “Ghost Of The Past (An Introduction…)” was the guinea pig for whether I would like this album or not, since unsure of what was to come. The Dawn Chose Orion made me impressed as soon as I heard the heavy drums and power metal style sweeps. The keyboard were a nice touch as well. Continuing with the sweeps is the second track “A Black Rose On Fire.” This track really pulled everything you would want from a band, heavy and mellow riffs, clean and heavy vocals, break downs, sweeps, you name it. There is nothing else to really say about this song other than solo was really good and the keyboard was nice.

The keyboard at the beginning of “Rise Above” is catchy. I really liked the chuggy riffs and breakdowns weren’t bad either. This track is a lot heavier than the track prior, was definitely more brutal than power-y this time around. It ends on a nice guitar effected riff and chug chugs. When reading song titles, you would think “Rise Above” would be an anthem style song since it is called exactly what anthems do. This is not the case and it is actually the next track, “This Is The Sound,” that is like an anthem. There is a cool little drum solo to start things off and it goes into another catchy keyboard/guitar riff. I enjoyed the riff half way through the song, the pauses in it made it entertaining. The sweeping riff after the breakdown was awesome.

There’s not much to say about “Hadassah’s Torment (Interlude)” as it is just a woman talking over a mellow mix of guitar and keyboard, but it is a nice intro to the next track “Hadassah’s Rest.” This a more mellow track than the rest of the album, which isn’t a bad thing. The break from the chaotic brutality was nice and even then the ending of this song keeps the heavy style going though so they didn’t entirely go mellow. The beginning of “Untouchable” leading into the heavier part sounded great. I wasn’t a fan of the voice effect on one of the vocal parts, but since it was the first one on the album I shrugged it off. The guitar solo in this song was really nice as well.

Now, for my least favourite couple of tracks. As I have I have said before, remixes aren’t very appealing to me unless done well. The remix of “This Is The Sound” called “No Prisoners, No Mercy Remix” was alright but I thought the original track was a lot better. The last track is a mash up between The Dawn Chose Orion and Coheed and Cambria of the song “World of Lines” by Coheed and Cambria. This was actually a really good track in my opinion. They took the vocals and bass lines from the original Coheed & Cambria song and remixed them, also adding their own guitars, drums, and keyboards. They took a good song and made it better and heavier in my opinion.

I definitely recommend picking this up if you’re a fan of everything because that is what this band is. It has your breakdowns, heavy riffs, sweeps, keyboard, brutal vocals, clean vocals. It is a really good mix of everything and you should check them out!

Press Quote

"I have not seen a band that can create such a unique sound which includes so much different styles. The Dawn Chose Orion brings together various genres of metal and melds them to perfection. It is not often, or possibly at all, you can go from a hardcore breakdown into a trance influenced break, or from power metal style sweep picking to some progressive keyboard noodling. This band deserves more than they receive and have perfected their craft beyond belief."

Review of "Near Death Experience" by Darkness By Oath

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1. Into the Gloom

2. In an Obscure Eternity

3. Viole(n)t Intentions

4. N.D.E

5. A Cry of Terror (Voices from Nowhere)

6. Holloworld

7. Steams of Blood

8. Unequivocal Evil Excitement

9. Fallen Angel of Death

10. Last Emotion

11. Terror in a Thousand Faces

“DARKNESS BY OATH, was formed back in 2002, influenced by the so-called Gothenburg sound. The band started composing new songs, and after some months did their very first recording. They recorded a cover of "The Swarm" from the Swedish melodic death/thrash masters AT THE GATES. The track was included on the "Slaughterous Souls - A Tribute to AT THE GATES" compilation, released on September 2004 by DROWNED SCREAM Records and GOI Music. During 2005 DARKNESS BY OATH recorded a demo on its own rehearsal place and played live the first time, entering Shot! Studios on March, in order to record the debut album, "Confidential World Of Lies", that was released in 2006 by DROWNED SCREAM Records and INDAR PRODUCTIONS. After releasing the album, the band did about 30 shows supporting "Confidential World of lies" around the whole Basque and Spanish geography and stopped playing gigs in January 2007. Right after, the band started composing new material for what it would be their second album. This second effort was recorded at Sound Source studios and mixed and mastered in Sweden, by no other than Dan Swanö (Edge of Sanity, Nightingale, Bloodbath…) during November-December 2007. During the mixing and mastering process and due to some personal circumstances and lack of time, Ruben Alonso decided to part ways with the band, in amicable terms. A replacement was found in Gorka Otero (Bioterror) who joined the band quite fast and started rehearsing with the whole band by that very same time. Once the album was completed, the band started sending out promo CDs to lots of labels worldwide, and some of them showed interest and asked for the whole album. After that, real proposals were done and after several e-mails and whatnot, the deal with CYCLONE EMPIRE was nearly done by August 2008, with only some aspects yet to concrete and the contract to sign. Finally, the official announcement of the record deal was done by late November, and "Fear Yourself" was released in March 2009. Over the years the band has taken part in different concerts and festivals like ZABBADUSCHDER OPEN AIR (Germany), BARBARIAN FEST (Belgium), REVOLTALLO FESTIVAL (Spain), promoting their albums sharing the stage with bands like, DARK TRANQUILITY, GOD DETHRONED, WARBRINGER, NEAERA, ONE MAN ARMY AND UNDEAD QUARTET, HAEMORRAGE, KATAPLEXIA and many others. The band finished their third album Near Death Experience in November 2011 which was recorded and mixed by Tristan Iñiguez in Auryn Studios. It contains 11 tracks and including guest appearances by Anders Björler (At the Gates, The Haunted) and Mario Illiopoulos (Nightrage). The album will be released on March 23rd 2012 by CYCLONE EMPIRE Records in Europe and on August 14th, 2012 by Metal Blade Records in North America.”

This album starts off with an instrumental, “Into the Gloom.” It starts off and with a slower, mellow guitar riff and then band comes in and continues same riff but a lot heavier. It didn’t mesh right into the next track but it was decent. “In an Obscure Eternity” is a good track to base opinions off of this band. The solo was good, the main riff was catchy, and vocals are nice and heavy with both highs and lows. You couldn’t ask for much more from these guys.

There is a weird intro clip to start off “Viole(n)t Intentions,” but after that it goes right into blast beats and in your face riffs. There are a few melodic parts but weren’t overly done which was nice because they maintained their heaviness. The ending is a little acoustic diddle which leads nicely into the next track “N.D.E.” The first riff keeps the format of the diddle which makes it mold nicely. I’m really digging the guitar on this track, it felt a little less repetitive then the two tracks before it. The high and low vocals meshed together sounded dirty and this is one of my favourites on this album.

“A Cry of Terror (Voices from Nowhere)” is a catchy tune, with its melodic but in your face riffs that never give up which makes you want to punch babies. To mellow you out after that brutality, the more so laid back and mellow compared too the rest of the album, “Holloworld” helps you recuperate. The harmonic bits and the leads are amazing, making this a great instrumental. Back to brutality, “Steams of Blood,” is one of those mosh everything in sight songs with the speed and fast pounding drumming. This track makes me feel like breaking my apartment.

The next song, “Unequivocal Evil Excitement,” continues to show that Darkness By Oath knows how to make songs catchy with heavy melodic bits. The solo was nice, the short chuggy/slam bits were good too. The long high and low scream at the beginning of “Fallen Angel of Death” was brutal. This song is all about the melodic riffs more so than heavy, but it doesn’t take away from the song. The low vocals were especially gnarly on this and to end it there is another acoustic diddle.

“Last Emotion” has a good mix of heavy and melodic sounding parts. The more heavy and brutal riff about half way through was great with the chugs. That riff reminded me of stuff my friend plays and that kind of riff always sounds good. The last song, “Terror in a Thousand Faces,” was a great way to end it with a lot of catchy riffs. The solo a third into the song was unexpected and meshed nicely off of the riff prior to it. The mellow bit about two thirds of the way in was really chilled and unexpected as well. For it being the last song, Darkness By Oath definitely pulled out a lot of stuff I wasn’t expecting at all which was really nice.

I really recommend picking this up if you like death metal. Be it melodic death metal or just the straight up in your face style, you will like this album. The melodic parts on this album aren’t over done and keep the heavy style going. Definitely give this band a listen and pick up this album!

Finals ($75 and $100 prizes): Placentophagia vs Vesperia

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Loser gets $75, winner gets $100
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Review of "The Clearing/The Final Epoch" by Locrian

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1. Chalk Point

2. Augury In An Evaporating Tower

3. Coprolite

4. The Clearing

5. The Final Epoch

6. On A Calcified Shore

7. Omega Vapors

8. Falling Towers

9. After The Torchlight

“For the better part of a decade Chicago’s Locrian have been creating sprawling, blackened drone masterpieces.  With ‘The Clearing’ (previously release in late 2011 on vinyl only) Locrian’s signature sound of ominous crescendos mixed with powerful atmospherics and pulverizing tension reached its highest point to date, earning the record glowing reviews across the board from Decibel Magazine to Pitchfork.  Locrian achieve what many bands set out for, but few accomplish:  making truly terrifying music without sounding campy, contrived or corny.  Now renamed ‘The Clearing/The Final Epoch’ the record is finally available in CD form complete with a full second CD consisting of almost an hour of rare and unreleased material.  Limited edition first pressing comes housed in a gorgeous mini “tip-on” gatefold LP package.

Plenty of bands play music that sounds dark, but few can make every note bleed black and breathe smoke. Count Locrian as part of that select circle. Something about the Chicago trio's sound is inherently ominous-- it's hard to imagine them playing "Chopsticks" without turning it into an earth-threatening thunderstorm. That effect is obvious in their noisier, more chaotic moments, where metallic noise and intense howls coalesce into scary crescendos. But it's just as strong in their quieter, more ambient stretches, when they build tension not from heightened climax but from sustained nuance.”

--Marc Masters, Pitchfork

Before I jump into my review, I just wanted to say this one was a little hard to review song by song since all songs were eight minutes or longer and mostly ambience. Now that I’ve said that, lets move into the album. “Chalk Point” starts the album off with three minutes of a very mellow yet eerie bass line. What comes after is even weirder with the very screechy guitars, slow drums, and odd vocal chants. At first I thought this was just an intro track but was I ever wrong.

The beginning of “Augury In An Evaporating Tower” keeps the style going. I like the guitar in this song, something about the ambience with the guitar licks over top just sounds great. “Coprolite,” the third track, reminds me of the background music you here in the Diablo game franchise. The acoustic and ambient mix makes me want to go kill demons. The next track is an extremely long track and being seventeen minute track, it was hard to pick it apart. The part I did like about “The Clearing” was the bit where the bass drum, guitar feedback and screaming was going as it gave me goosebumps.

The guitar effect on “The Final Epoch” is really chilled out and the echo layers it nicely, but when the screaming comes in you finally realize how gloomy the guitars are. I think I may have looked too deeply into the next song but I feel proud of my analogy. “On A Calcified Shore” is pretty interesting, although I’d like to say goodbye headphone listeners for the first few minutes. The loud ringing in this song is a little annoying but the guitar in this song makes up for that. Now for my analogy, the guitars remind me of the sounds whales make while conversing through sonar. The end sounds like satellite messages, so maybe its whales in space, or maybe aliens, alien whales, either way this track is nice and mellow.

“Omega Vapors” starts off with a nice keyboard melody. The guitar effect that goes over top of it is chilled out. The guitar on “Falling Towers” sound great, more so alive than the rest of this album and the screams with effects on them are extremely eerie sounding. The album concludes with an organ like keyboard on “After The Torchlight” that is very spine chilling. The last few minutes is just guitar feedback and a creepy keyboard melody.

This album was a hard one to sit through for reviewing purposes. An hour and a half of guitar effects and gloomy ambience is difficult to talk about, but I guess I did just that. Nonetheless, this a very interesting album and I’m sure I’ll listen to a song or two here and there. Locrian are definitely talented in what they do and it kind of reminds me of Varg Vikernes’ prison-recorded Burzum albums but more on the drone side, also with access to more instruments.