February 3rd, 2012
The Inherited Repression (Nuclear Blast)
Where to begin with this album? Psycroptic have blown away the competition for the first month of music with the new album The Inherited Repression. The amount of different playing styles exhibited in the very first song “Carriers Of The Plague” really sets your hopes up to a very high par. With the opening riff being enough to send goosebumps on your arm, you know you’re in for a rough (in the best way possible) ride.
Technical death metal hasn’t sounded this good in a real long time. Chock full of original riffs and plenty of shredding, “Carriers Of The Plague” also showcases the very impressive drumwork of INSERT NAME HERE that is reminiscent of INSERT NAME HERE drumming with the band Behemoth on the album Demigod, but with a more structured approach and more progressive elements as well. When they go into unrelenting blast beat drumming, to backing up the guitars while they play the awesome progressive/death metal hybrid style, this song has everything. Literally, if they continued on this song for the full forty one minutes, it would please even the most hardcore metal listeners. Lucky for you, they mix it up and deliver something amazing.
The technicality is fully unleashed with the song “Forward To Submission.” The drums, after giving a slow but heavy intro, goes into Chuck Liddell-pummeling mode with intense, fast tempo drumming that would make Hellhammer blush. The guitars, at first, is backing up the drums and only doing a moderate effort of technical riffs, but then they kick into gear, only to trade back and forth between technical riffs and metal that is a lot like Matt Heafy’s (Trivium) playing style.
Continuing with the trade-off between technical death metal and more traditional metal playing, “The Throne Of Kings” will appeal to those who aren’t moved by flashy guitar and drums. While it still has the awesome riffs and intense drums, it’s just toned down to a more easily digestible level. It also has a slight groove to it that the other reviewed tracks were slightly lacking in. Think of it as a more technical version of Fear Factory.
The first great metal release of the year is here metalheads. This will either make or break them, and if they break then this album will be remembered as one of the most underrated albums of all time. Metal history was made today. Reading through the review, you can learn that there are a lot of different bases they touch upon, yet still retaining the technical/death/progressive metal that they tend to be labeled as.
Grade: A+
By: Ridge “Deadite” Briel
Tags: " Death Metal, Deadite, progressive, psycroptic, reviews by Ridge, Techinical Metal, The Inherited Repression
Album Reviews, Reviews |
February 2nd, 2012
To be honest, there’s not too much to say about this new Sargeist EP. Both tracks would’ve fit seamlessly on the Let The Devil In LP, and are therefore, in my opinion, at the very apex of the current Black Metal heap. Sargeist’s slightly-updated take on ‘TRVE’ BM, with its raw-yet-listenable production and Shatraug’s impeccable melodic sense has rocketed the band not only to the top of my current BM list, but close to the top of everything in my ‘active bands’ listening pile (still falling a hair short of Between Earth & Sky). And it is this fact the begs the question that I put to you, the loyal, pensive Metal Army legions: what is it about Black Metal (or perhaps extreme metal in general) that allows many listeners to look past the occasionally VERY questionable politics of some quite popular musicians?
Now this isn’t a particularly novel topic, as various despicable -isms and -phobias aren’t exactly new to the metal underground, but I’m curious – why are we more likely to let racist, nationalist, homophobic, etc views slide when it comes to listening to the more extreme/obscure subgenres?
For instance, in the hardcore/punk world, if it came to light that a relatively well-known musician had a side-project that not only dabbled in, but blatantly expressed nationalist, pro-white tendencies, there would no doubt be a considerable backlash.
However, if we consider Sargeist’s uber-prolific guitarist and main songwriter Shatraug, whose projects Blutschrei and Finnentum (with records such as The Voice of Forbidden Pride, and songs like “White Agony”) boast such heady lyrics as “Together we are strong / Allegiance of our Race / Together we are strong / Show the world our place / Rooted in the hearts of People / Sleep the White Man’s soul / A slumber that should be disturbed / Not allowed to turn out foul”, or even look at a far more visible example in the hugely popular Burzum (whose merchandise is readily available at nearly every rock-shop), it becomes apparent that quite a few metalheads, and many who are easily as intellectually charged as their hardcore/punk brethren, are more likely to let these disgusting worldviews slide.
And I’m not positioning myself on any kind of pedestal here. As I said above, I celebrate not only Sargeist, but much of Shatraug’s massive catalog of projects and releases, and I continue to purchase and spin each new Burzum release as well.
The question is why? How can I, and so many others, just turn a blind eye to hateful rhetoric for the sake of an enjoyable listen? Why do we continue to support these artists?
Does the ‘extremity’ of the music simply allow for fittingly extreme content? Do the musicians’ almost-cartoonish facades and histories allow us to safely distance ourselves from their being real individuals? Is it that, as filmmaker Sam Dunn suggested in Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, many North Americans are simply unable to identify with the motivation behind some ‘traditional’ Europeans’ loathing of ‘outside’ religions and cultures?
Granted, in many cases, it is likely an ironic detachment from said content that fuels much of these artists’ fanbase, but I know that there are many fans out there (and again, myself included) who pride themselves on their left-of-center, all-inclusive, modern, progressive lifestyles, yet still manage to indulge in these near-guiltless pleasures.
Let’s discuss!
crusades.ca
twitter.com/davemonomania
The Bunker |
February 1st, 2012
In honor of today’s day being 2/1/12 or “2112 Day” or “International RUSH Day” or “Progressive Rock Day” as some are calling it, Metal Army chatted with notable metal historian Jeff Wagner. Wagner is the author of 2010′s Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal (Bazillion Points). In addition to being an authority on all things prog, death metal and thrash Jeff was one of the leading editors of Metal Maniacs magazine from 1997 until 2001. In a wide ranging interview we recapped the origins of Jeff’s book, the roots of the genre, it’s historical importance as well as it’s future. What follows is an excerpt of a longer chat we had.
MAA: What led you to write Mean Deviation?
JW: Well from a practical standpoint it was a book that had not yet been written. We are seeing a lot of metal books now because metal has a long enough history to provide for a bunch of books, and provide a bunch of different views covering all the genres. A book on prog metal had not been written and I was a long time fan of metal. I was also a fan that tended to gravitate toward the weirder, more experimental, more progressive stuff. More avant garde stuff. I look at my record collection and one thing I can say about it is there is not a whole lot of stuff that sounds like other stuff. I have always gravitated toward progressive sounds. I like my bands to be similarly unique in and of themselves. I like EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER, but I don’t like bands that sounded like them. There were a lot of obscure prog bands that sound just like them and I didn’t find them interesting. It’s an originator thing. I why I like DREAM THEATER, but not bands that sound just like them. Actually I can’t think of one that I like who sounds just like them. (laughs)
MAA: Your book identifies a “big three” of the genre. How did the their arrival on the scene change the game?
JW: Both QUEENSRŸCHE and FATES WARNING showed up at the same time and wore their influences on their sleeves. And those influences were obviously IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST. They took that template and took it to some different and more nuanced areas. They messed around with more long-form song writing. FATES WARNING on their second album is writing ten minute songs. They further intellectualized their music to the point where you go from Rage for Order or Operation Mindcrime and on the FATES WARNING side Awaken The Guardian and No Exit. QUEENSRŸCHE had a more theatrical image. Then DREAM THEATER came a long in their wake and they made a different kind of amalgam of it. Not only have the same bands in common that FATES WARNING and QUEENSRŸCHE did, they took it in two other areas. First I hear an even more melodic KANSAS- type rock sounds and even a more AOR radio rock from the 70s. I even hear some JOURNEY in early DREAM THEATER. And they even made it heavier with palm muting and double-bass drumming and took it some places other bands didn’t go to so they ramped it up even more. That’s why these three bands made their mark. They style was familiar and easy to get into, but also they were it challenging.
 A prog metal classic!
MAA: A lot of people think of Spiritual Healing by DEATH as the album when death metal crossed over with prog and became more malleable. But it was really before then, right?
JW: I think for one thing if you think about death metal, it is not easy to play. To the novices’ ear a lot of death metal sounds like garbage or noise. There is a built in tendency to already be a good musician to pull off really good death metal. If you are really conveying something truly brutal it’s a skill and an art. Not only do you have DEATH, but you have MORBID ANGEL. I don’t know how progressive you wanna say they are, but Tre Azagthoth. He was really virtuosic about his playing. I think POSSESSED toward the end of their output was really musical. There is something really intrinsically musical about death metal that it doesn’t get enough credit. And then with DEATH, even the album before Paul (Masvidal) and Sean (Reinert) came in they were going in that direction. Chuck was even singing in a way where you understood all of the vocals and didn’t need a lyric sheet. That was innovative too. (laughs) And then the Human album just blows the doors off of what could be done with the death metal form. There could be with Jazz influences and Fusion. They gave it a fluid, lyrical and melodic tendency, but it was also a really brutal album. It showed how much depth the music can have. I think the Human album has four of the best musicians that have ever on one album.
 The "father of death metal" was also integral to bringing in a progressive influence to the genre.
MAA: I think it’s interesting where the original prog rock bands were influenced by Jazz and the modern bands found Jazz thought the back door of prog metal. What do you say to that?
JW: The way I look at prog metal is there is not really one sound and one style. There are bands that have nothing in common. Other than the fact that they are trying to move the form forward, they might have little in common. Some of them have their own unique vision and style that no other musician will quite have.
MAA: Who are some of the underground bands of the genre that the average fan might not know, but are essential.
JW: I think if you go into with the right mindset WATCHTOWER is a band that was important. They were there way early on. They were throwing in RUSH and Jazz influences in `84, 85. Not even FATES WARNING and QUEENSRŸCHE were not even doing yet. And then if you get up to their 1989 album Control and Resistance they were tightly honed, but a bizarre group of different things. I know for a lot of people, they aren’t anything to listen to. Ron Jarzombeck is getting a lot of attention now for BLOTTED SCIENCE, but he is a WATCHTOWER alumnus. And of course I’m gonna talk about VOIVOD. I know people are gonna roll their eyes at this if they know me at all and say “oh there goes Wagner talking about VOIVOD again”. They remain really underrated. Their first six or seven albums: Killing Technology through The Outer Limits they were constantly changing, growing by leaps and bounds, using new technology and exploring new production techniques. They are the textbook example of what a progressive metal band really is. I think for one album CELTIC FROST need to get mentioned. Just for the Into The Pandemonium album. It’s so eclectic and brave. They opened up with a new wave cover song. Later on it has beat box song. There was a soul song. You have gloomy opera-type doom songs, new wave, jazz weirdness, a doom song. Just a weird album.
MAA: A lot of people hated them for it. My friends all hated them after that.
JW: Oh yeah I know. Talk about splitting your fan-base! But it was so weird and out there I really loved it. I was so intrigued I had to love it. They really blew apart their fan-base and their career. WATCHTOWER, VOIVOD, CELTIC FROST and others. That is the thing about my book. I didn’t want to just talk about the popular bands and the avatars. I wanted to discuss who the underrated bands were.
 The best prog metal band ever in my opinion. (Keefy) MAA: What is your take on more recent bands like MASTODON and OPETH who have abandoned their heavier ways for prog? Also, what do you think of the backlash against them?
JW: I say more power to em! They proved that they can do this modern epic metal. They can be modern, be different. And they started off as a very different band. They followed their heart. I don’t care if you’re KISS or MASTODON, I don’t think any band owes anything to your fans in terms of where they go with their music. That is not to say they don’t love their fans. When those guys are writing new music, I mean who wants to hear the same old shit? (laughs) You can tell I feel strongly about this. OPETH could’ve come out with another Deliverance, another Ghost Reveries and another Watershed and it would have been very good. OPETH are so influenced by all these bands that really epitomized all of these prog rock bands. It was about time they made their prog album. I love it. Why would fans expect Mikael Akerfeldt to be boring and stay bored and do the same thing again. Compositionally it is one of his best records. I fully support those bands and what they do. It’s about wanting to be surprised and wonder what is around the next corner. It depends what kind of fan you are. If you like a band like OPETH, if you love MASTODON or OPETH you want what those bands do and are all about you want them to follow their hearts. And I was especially surprised at the OPETH fans because I thought they were more open minded. Allow these bands to do what artists do, let them change rather than be beholden to expectations.
MAA: How important is a band like RUSH and an album like 2112 to the music still being made today?
JW: I think hugely. For me when I sit in a dark room and listen to 2112 that is part of that experience for a guy like me or any fan that treasures the band. But the other thing about your question is: it’s huge because of the influence from a band like RUSH has had. They have influenced not just prog rock bands or prog metal fans. RUSH has influenced metal bands, death metal bands, grindcore bands and even indie rock bands and all other kinds of musicians. If you took a survey of bands from a wide outgrowth of all music, RUSH is a very important band. I think that ten or fifteen years ago they were a little more like a guilty pleasure for some people. Now it is okay to say you like RUSH now. Their influence is incredibly vast.
MAA: Looking back at the longevity of some of the bands that were around at the time when you joined Metal Maniacs, do you feel proud of the role the magazine helped play promoting metal bands to a wider audience?
JW: I was just a part of the Maniacs legacy and certainly all the magazine did was reflect the legacy of the music itself. I am amazed and sure I’m proud. When I started at Maniacs it was 1997. I felt like I was down in the trenches. It was one of the first times in metal’s history a lot of people thought it was dead and it didn’t have a lot of juice anymore. We all knew different at the time. It is pretty incredible. Especially when you are seeing demos and re-issues of albums that are selling really well, being sold and repackaged. Metal now in 2012, it just has a longevity that shows it will never die. Even if no new music came out, there is so much from what has come before this music will never die. It’s history is kind of staggering. For guys like me that have been with the music for a long time, we do feel proud that we have come through the other side. It’s legitimate and here to stay. Not to sound really cliche’. It is part of popular culture.
Thanks to Jeff Wagner and Bazillion Points Publishing. You can buy the book here.
By Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: 2/1/12, 2112 Day, aol, Celtic Frost, chuck schuldiner, death, Dream Theater, ELP, EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER, interviews with Keefy, IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST, Jazz, Jeff Wagner, JOURNEY, Kansas, Keefy, Mastodon, Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal (Bazillion Points), Metal Army, metal journalism, Metal Maniacs Magazine, Mikeal Akerfeldt, Morbid Angel, Opeth, Paul Masvidal, Possessed, Prog Metal, progressive rock, QUEENSRŸCHE and FATES WARNING, Ron Zarzombek, Sean Reinert, Spiritual Healing, Tre Azagthoth, watchtower
Feature Interviews, Interviews |
January 31st, 2012
SOPA and PIPA may have been shut down (for now at least), but the fight is not over. ACTA (the Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement) is currently in the process of being signed by countries who are willing to follow along with its laws and values.
In a nutshell, this is a proposed plurilateral agreement that will establish international standards and regulations for the purpose of intellectual rights enforcement. Perhaps the most alarming fact of this agreement is that it will establish its own legal framework outside of any single countries’ jurisdiction and laws, which places this on par with other organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and even the United Nations (UN).
The main scope of this agreement is counterfeit goods, generic medicines, and copyright infringement on the internet. So just think of SOPA and PIPA combined, with all of the lovely ramifications they would have brought to the world, and mold that with the fact that you will no longer be able to save money buying generic medicine from your local Rite Aid because it will be considered “illegal.”
Since ACTA is an international treaty, it is an example of policy laundering used to establish and implement legal changes. Policy laundering allows legal provisions to be pushed through via closed negotiations among private members of the executive bodies of the signatories. This method avoids use of public legislation and its judiciary oversight. Once ratified, companies belonging to non-members may be forced to follow the ACTA requirements since they will otherwise fall out of the safe harbor protections. Also, the use of trade incentives and the like to persuade other nations to adopt treaties is a standard approach in international relationships. Additional signatories would have to accept ACTA’s terms without much scope for negotiation.
Thing is, NO ONE knows jack shit about this because, both the Bush administration and the Obama administration had rejected requests to make the text of ACTA public, with the White House saying that disclosure would cause “damage to the national security.”
Similarly, it provides for criminalization of copyright infringement, granting law enforcement the powers to perform criminal investigation, arrests and pursue criminal citations or prosecution of suspects who may have infringed on copyright. Perhaps the main word that worries me is “flexibility,” which is used in the sentence issued by the European Commission “the European Commission explains that a free-standing agreement provides the most flexibility “to pursue this project among interested countries.”
The USTR (United States Trade Representative) has invited a number of industry groups composed of traditional large intellectual property based corporations to give input and suggestions during the drafting of ACTA. These groups include the International Intellectual Property Alliance (which includes the Business Software Alliance (BSA), Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA or MPA), and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) supports the agreement, and has given input and suggestions to the creation of ACTA.
Let’s get stupid here. The draft agreement would empower security officials at airports and other international borders to conduct random ex officio searches of laptops, MP3 players, and cellular phones for illegally downloaded or “ripped” music and movies. Travellers with infringing content would be subject to a fine and may have their devices confiscated or destroyed.
But perhaps the most confusing part of all this is their view on software that is INTENTIONALLY made to be free. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has published “Speak out against ACTA”, stating that the ACTA threatens free software by creating a culture “in which the freedom that is required to produce free software is seen as dangerous and threatening rather than creative, innovative, and exciting.” The FSF also argues that ACTA will make it harder for users of free operating systems to play non-free media because DRM protected media would not be legally playable with free software.
Aaron Shaw, Research Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, argues that “ACTA would create unduly harsh legal standards that do not reflect contemporary principles of democratic government, free market exchange, or civil liberties. Even though the precise terms of ACTA remain undecided, the negotiants’ preliminary documents reveal many troubling aspects of the proposed agreement” such as removing “legal safeguards that protect Internet Service Providers from liability for the actions of their subscribers” in effect giving ISPs no option but to comply with privacy invasions. Shaw further says that “[ACTA] would also facilitate privacy violations by trademark and copyright holders against private citizens suspected of infringement activities without any sort of legal due process”
The USA could give a rat’s ass if SOPA and PIPA were turned down, this bill covers that and so much more.
Only in Uhmerica (this may be an international treaty, but this piece of shit was drafted here in the good ol’ U. S. of Derp.)
By: Ridge “Deadite” Briel
Tags: ACTA
The Bunker |
January 30th, 2012
Bluostar (Temple Of Tortuous)
Underground, raw and venom filled Norwegian black metal is making a huge return among the –core filled music scene as of late. The one man band that is Fyrnask stays to the tried and true formula of raw analog production with impressive drumwork and riffs that will bring in even those who haven’t heard black metal yet. For the record, this is an exceptional black metal release that doesn’t rely on using more analog and/or warping the soundwaves to make themselves sound more “menacing,” which instead results in a audio mess.
To describe it in one sentence, Bluostar mixes the old school traditional black metal with the more modern atmospheric black metal type of production and structure. On the track “Evige Stier,” It starts out with rapid drumming that uses the snare extensively and atmospheric, demonic screams and lots of tremolo picking. It then descends into an eerie groove that is mostly drum driven at a slower tempo with guitar elements that are more subtle yet cover the soundscape of the song, which is common among other black metal bands.
Starting off with a dark and melancholic sound that wouldn’t sound too out of place in a horror movie, “Bergar” is one of the slower songs on the record. It crawls out of a sonic abyss that uses some synth sounds, some slowly churned out guitars and minimalist drumming as a precursor to a thundering wave of sound that hits you without any warning. Before you can get a firm grip on what’s going on, it then leaves. When it returns, the drums become more clear and it all but ditches the atmosphere to give the listener a full on black metal assault on the ears. It goes back and forth using this formula throughout the song.
This is how black metal should be done. Slightly distorted guitars, the onslaught of drums, the progression between the atmospheric elements and more clear metal playing, it’s all done nicely. Definitely a project that will quickly make a name for the black metal music community. This album will prove to be timeless and, ten years from now, will be looked back upon as an important release.
Grade: A-
By: Ridge “Deadite” Briel
Tags: atmospheric black metal, Bluostar, Deadite, FYRNASK, reviews by Ridge
Album Reviews, Reviews |
January 24th, 2012
Global Flatline (Century Media)
The first death metal masterpiece of 2012 has arrived and just for laughs it tells tales of the end of life as we know it. Would you expect anything less from ABORTED and their twisted mastermind Sven DeCaluwé? With few exceptions, I have been anticipating this album above all others for the first quarter of new metal releases. If you are like me and you have waited patiently for ABORTED to drop a new record, your faith will be rewarded in blood and body parts. They are back to satiate your hunger for all things gore and eardrum damage inducing aural punishment!
The opening track “Omega Mortis” is a portend of what’s to come with panicked news reports talking of the war, zombies, plagues and famine decimating the earth. The eerie music sets the tone for the mountainous riffs that are about to fall on your head. The title track lurches to life like a real monster ripping his restrains off and murdering the entire lab. As soon Ken Bedene’s (ex-ABIGAIL WILLIAMS) insanely fast double kick beats lift off and the main riff kicks in, it becomes a musical clusterfuck, in a good way. Svencho decries the state of mankind and its swift descent into oblivion over the course of a little over three minutes of crazy blast-beats and grooves. As usual Sven’s vocals are harsh, yet he is one of the most understandable vocalists in all of metal. This to me is a plus since he is a gifted wordsmith. Track three is the single, “The Origin of Disease”. The song is a non-stop blast and gore fest with Julien Trunchan of BENIGHTED joining in for some sick duel lead vocals. In addition to some cool distorted bass lines from JB Van Der Wal, the track features some stunning work from guitarist Eran Segal who shines throughout the album. Segal is joined by Bedene’s old band mate Mike Wilson who also jams out, contributed some songs. “Coronary Reconstruction” gets a savage face-lift and is now more brutal than the EP version. The shift between Sven’s shrill scream and low howls is terrific and the solos by Segal are some of the many highlights for me here. He has really stepped up and asserted himself in the band as a writer and as a player. “Fecal Forgery” and “Of Scabs and Boils” both have a certain grindcore flavor with the later occasional revealing crust/grind beats and almost punk rock chords. Don’t worry though, the bands penchant for breakdowns, quintuple-time endings and the occasional bass drop are all still intact. My favorite track on the album is “Vermicular, Obscene, Obese” and features Trevor Strnad of THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER. The two master level front men working against each other is just madness. The track is so rough that when it breaks in to a brutal, near hard rock type groove, it just works. “Expurgation Euphoria” is slow and demented sounding like a bad trip. The piano part at the end is really haunting and lonely. Coming right back with “From A Tepid Whiff”, we have the other top track from the EP, ratcheted up with 100% evil density. “The Kallinger Theory” is another grind and groove workout. Other top tracks include “Our Father Who Art Feces” featuring Keijo Niimimaa from ROTTEN SOUND, “Grime” featuring Jason Netherton of MISERY INDEX and the nihilistic guitar-epic closer “Endstille”. Everything you love about this band is present on this recording from the songs, Jacob Hansen’s production and the gross artwork. Even the bonus tracks rule! What a treat for old and new fans a like.
GRADE: A
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: abigail williams, aborted, bassist JB Van Der Wal, benighted, blast beats, Century Media Records, death riffs, deathmetal, drummer Ken Bedene, Global Flatline, gore, Grindcore, guitarist Eran Segal, guitarist Mike Wilson, Jason Netherton, Julien Trunchan, Keefy, Keijo Niimimaa, metal reviews by Keefy, misery index, rotten sound, shredding solos, Sven DeCaluwé, the black dahlia murder, Trevor Strnad
Album Reviews, Reviews |
January 17th, 2012
Metal Army recently asked Lacuna Coil’s own Cristiano Migliore (guitar) about the band’s new album, Dark Adrenaline, problematic cover songs, and Spinal Tap moments. Read on for the exclusive interview!
METAL ARMY: Lacuna Coil’s new album, Dark Adrenaline, comes out on January 24th in the US. Lyrically, what is the album about? What is “dark adrenaline”?
CRISTIANO MIGLIORE: Well, I can’t really tell you exactly what the lyrics are about because they were written by Andrea and Cristina. What I can say though, is that we wanted to have lyrics that would reflect the darker atmosphere of the new songs we were writing. Also, usually lyrics are based on personal experience or stuff that happens around us. But it could also be a book we read or a movie we watched. It could be anything, really… Dark Adrenaline was a title that we thought was greatly fitting the new material that we had.
MA: Most recently, you guys (and gal!) released a music video for the single “Trip The Darkness”. What is the meaning behind this video?
CM: The video wants to show the duality that lies within each one of us. There’s a bit of good and a bit of evil in everything, and the idea was to have two versions of the band facing and battling one another…
MA: On the track “My Spirit”, theres an interlude where Andrea speaks in Italian. What do these lyrics translate to in English?
CM: They’re basically the Italian translation of the chorus. We thought it would be cool to have something said in our own language to remember a lost friend…
MA: On Dark Adrenaline, there’s a cover of the R.E.M. classic “Losing My Religion”. Why did you choose to cover this song?
CM: We had in mind to try and record a version of that song for a while, and we finally thought this would be a good time. Marco (our bass player) came up with some really good ideas for it, and it was obvious since the beginning that it would’ve worked great. When Andrea and Cristina put vocals on it, it was finally decided that it would be included in the new album because we thought it sounded great!
MA: Previously, Lacuna Coil also covered Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy The Silence”, Dubstar’s “Stars”, and Cristina appeared on a re-arrangement of the Megadeth track “A Tout le Monde (Set Me Free)”. What’s another song that you would like to cover in the future?
CM: It’s hard to say, really. Sometimes stuff just comes natural, but some other times it’s really hard to cover other bands’ songs. It also has to be something that would work in our style… When we were trying to find a song to cover for Karmacode, we also tried to rearrange Depeche Mode’s “A Question of Time”, but it just didn’t work. We also tried to come up with our version of Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun”, but that also didn’t sound right…As you can see, it’s a complicated thing and it doesn’t always work right.
MA: If you could collaborate with an artist on a song, who would it be?
CM: Wow, I don’t know really…There are a lot of people out there that we respect and love! It’d be interesting to work with somebody that has nothing to do with metal, maybe? I don’t know, we’re also very busy and it’s hard to find the time for anything that’s not Lacuna Coil…
MA: Now for a few non-Dark Adrenaline related questions. What’s an album that you hate by a band that you love?
CM: Wow, let’s see…Tough question, for sure! When you really love a band, it’s hard not to love something they do. Even their worst album still has something cool that you’ll love. When everybody bashed Paradise Lost for their Host album, which was completely different than anything they’d done before, I still thought it was a great album. Different, but great…
MA: What’s something that you’ve never told an interviewer before?
CM: Honestly, I think that with all the interviews I’ve done in my career, there aren’t many things I haven’t told… People come up with the weirdest questions and now only those things that REALLY can’t be said are left, so… 
MA: Can you share some Spinal Tap moments that have happened to you throughout your career?
CM: Ha! There are so many! I think the most Spinal Tap one though was when we played a show in Milwaukee, and to get to the stage from the dressing room, we had to go through a series of basements and corridors and it just took forever! We didn’t get lost though…
MA: Thank you for answering our questions! We look forward to seeing Lacuna Coil on Gigantour in early 2012. What can your fans expect to see at this show? Will Cristina perform “A Tout Le Monde (Set Me Free)” along with Megadeth?
CM: Well, unfortunately we won’t have much time, but we’ll try to play some of our classics and, of course, at least 3 new songs. The good thing is that the album will be out by the time we start the tour so our fans will have had the chance to listen to it. Also, it’ll be exciting for us to be part of such a great bill. I don’t know if Cristina will sing on “A Tour Le Monde”, she did it before but I think it’d be a great honor if she was asked to do it again.
Thank you and see you on the road!!!
Lacuna Coil’s Dark Adrenaline is available in North America on January 24th, 2012 via Century Media Records. In support of this release, the band will be heading out on Gigantour with Megadeth, Motorhead, and Volbeat. For a full list of tour dates, click here.
–the metal maiden
Tags: Dark Adrenaline, Gigantour, lacuna coil
The Bunker |
January 17th, 2012
Metal Army caught up with Sven de Caluwé, the charismatic front man of death metal and gore gods ABORTED. On the eve of the release of their excellent new album Global Flatline (Century Media). Sven shared his thoughts on the new record, songwriting, choosing producers, making videos and playing in several different bands at once.
 Justin Osbourn did the artwork for Global Flatline.
MAA: Congradulations on Global Flatline! How have the changes in the line up of the band affected the new record?
SVEN: Well, I think it influenced things quite a bit. It felt like there was a fresh spirit in the band. People who are really motivated to work and everyone is happy to be there. Only Mike (Wilson) joined right before the album. Everybody else in the band was involved for two years or a bit more. It went great! Everybody put in a great effort which was good.
MAA: The trademark sound of the band is still there, but I hear some experimentation musically as well. Was that intentional?
SVEN: Not really. Actually the main intention of this record was to go back to something more visceral and more extreme than the last two records we did, which I think we succeeded in. At the same time we also wanted to do things on a different level to add a more melodic aspect, I guess. Yes there are melodies, but we did it in a way where it is more dark sounding rather than sound Swedish or riffy or whatever if you want to call it that. We wanted to stay away from that type of stuff which is boring. There are also some new things like guitar textures and some doomy riffs we have never tried before.
MAA: Some of the guitar work has an almost classic metal feel. Is that Eran Segal really asserting himself now as a writer?
SVEN: Yeah! The biggest part of the record was written by me, Eran, and J.B. (Van Der Wal) the bass player. I would go to Eran’s place and for a long time we did that, worked on ideas. Then Eran and J.B. Flew out here for a few weeks to work on more songs. The three of us worked together for a long time. Ken Bedene wrote one song and Mike Wilson wrote another song so it really came together. It’s a group effort, but definitely Eran’s work was great being that he has been in the band longer now and he really found a space to contribute a lot of songs as you said.
MAA: You worked again with Jacob Hansen who has made some of the best ABORTED albums. Why bring him back in this time around?
SVEN: First of all, we brought him back in because we are familiar with him since we have stayed in touch for years.. Plus he recorded my other band SYSTEM DIVIDE two years ago. Since he did the Goremageddon album and shit he’s improved vastly as a producer since he has done stuff outside of metal too, and a lot of those bands that have gotten very big. Knowing the band and knowing what we were going for was huge. His work for SYSTEM DIVIDE really sealed the deal for me to go with him for this record because I knew exactly what to expect. It was a great experience. It was kind of nostalgic in some ways to go back there and work with him again, watch him in the recording and mixing process. He’s such a good guy and an amazing producer so we really had a blast.
 Songs from the Coronary Reconstruction EP wound up on the new album.
MAA: Is Global Flatline a concept album? A lot of song lyrics, titles and samples seem to be quite anti-religion.
SVEN: It’s not really a concept record. The only song that is actually anti-religion is “Our Father, Who Art of Feces”. The album is really about the end of mankind through mankind. As you can see on the cover artwork we were trying to suggest some of the ways that man will end the world. Religion is one of the big ones since it is very prominent in the foreground of the art.
MAA: “The Origin of Disease” video is totally sick. Tell us about the making of the video.
SVEN: It was quite a trip. It was shot in the UK. We played the Party-San festival in Germany. We drove to Holland to catch a plane. Flew into the UK and shot the video. I think we performed the song 40 times in eight hours! Then we drove to Amsterdam and played the Summer Breeze festival that afternoon, the same day. It was crazy!
MAA: I bet after that the song was perfect live that night!
SVEN: Oh we didn’t play it that day at the show. I think if we did we would have killed ourselves.
MAA: Well it worked out. The end of the video is so disturbing I couldn’t look away!
SVEN: (laughs) Great! Thanks!
MAA: You seem to be very busy between ABORTED, SYSTEM DIVIDE and other projects like BENT SEA. How do you keep your vocal chops in shape?
SVEN: That’s a good question. When I’m not on tour we don’t practice since no one lives close to each other. So I actually don’t do shit! (laughs) We were writing a lot so we took our time with that. ABORTED will start touring from February onward so right now we are very busy. We also just finished a tour in Europe. We are busy, but we work in concentrated periods since everybody lives abroad.
MAA: Even though Dirk Verbeuren (SOILWORK) had to step away from ABORTED, will you still work together in BENT SEA?
SVEN: Oh, of course! Right after we tracked the new ABORTED album, we recorded the new BENT SEA album. So yeah!
MAA: The band has some amazing tours booked, including OVERKILL and THE NEW ENGLAND METAL AND HARDCORE FESTIVAL. You haven’t been to the states in while, right?
SVEN: It’s been since 2008 since we have been to the states. We are really excited to get back out there!
(Thanks to Sven de Caluwé and Century Media.)
by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes
Tags: aborted, BENT SEA, Century Media Records, Coronary Reconstruction EP, Drik Verbeuren, Eran Segal, Global Flatline, Goremageddon, Hansen Studios, Jacob Hansen, JB Van Der Wal, Keefy, Ken Bedene, Metal Interviews with Keith (Keefy) Chachkes, Mike Wilson, Sven de Caluwé, system divide
Feature Interviews, Interviews |
January 10th, 2012
Anniversary (Metal Blade)
Oh how we will all miss Cathedral. Being on the forefront of the doom metal scene for over two decades, they have brought listeners some of the best and heaviest metal to our ears. With the release of their first live double album Anniversary, which was recorded on December 10th at London’s Islington Academy, they started the night at playing their entire debut album, Forest Of Equilibrium (considered one of the greatest doom metal albums of all time, if not one of the greatest metal albums), with the original lineup, and then playing a selection of latter day material with the current lineup.
With the stellar performance of the first track “Comiserating The Celebration (Of Life),” they give fans a rarely seen look into their early days, with the ultra heavy guitars that feel like an unstoppable train going at 25 MPH. At 11:13, it’s also the longest song on the album. They perform with such fluidity that it feels like they never broke up (in reference to the original lineup).
When the hit the first chords for “A Funeral Request,” you can just feel the still energy from the crowd waiting to erupt. Feeling the utter gloom and despair, as is with the whole album, one can only wish to be there to witness it for themselves. The vocals capture the band at its finest moment on this track, combined with the fast paced section near the end to break up the doom just a little bit. They keep perfect timing throughout this entire album, which really captures them at their prime.
O the first track of the second disc “Funeral Of Dreams,” they turn things up to a new level by bringing out the current lineup and throwing in some of their progressive song structure and retro 70’s rock elements (such as the retro keyboards), all while retaining the extreme (and faster) metal of the modern Cathedral we have come to know.
For some real old school sounding stuff (complete with fuzz covered heavy metal), “Upon Azrael’s Wings” is the way to go. Regardless that it’s only 6 years old, it still has a awesome old school 80’s metal sound that few bands can replicate successfully like they can. Bringing it home with the hard hitting ending sets up for the more mellow track “Cosmic Funeral.” One of their slower tracks in the catalog, it also has a small dose of the retro keyboards. Musically alone, it could be an awesome movie intro. It has a down to earth vibe compared to most other songs, keeping it progressive yet simple.
The first disc really showcases the band when they were more extreme and heavier than they are now. A lot slower and doom-y then the more progressive (and 70’s rock laced) Cathedral that we know today. The perfect live album that encompasses Cathedral’s entire career, this is a must have for any metal heads collection.
Grade: B+
By: Ridge “Deadite” Briel
Tags: 70s rock, Anniversary Live Album, Cathedral, Deadite, Doom Metal, metal blade records, Progressive Metal, reviews by Ridge
Album Reviews, Reviews |
January 6th, 2012
No doubt the first thing you’re asking yourself is “Who the hell is Dave Monomania, and why do I give a dang what records he liked from last year?”
Fair. I’m just some dude without long hair who sings/plays guitar in a band that isn’t even metal. However, my opinions on the subject are pretty much gospel, so just trust me ALRIGHT?
That said, here are my Top 10 Records of 2011, some not even metal per se, but still totally worth your time.
1. Between Earth and Sky – Of Roots and Wings 12″ (Refuse)
Without a doubt my most anticipated release of the past many years, BE&S are the new band featuring vocalist Greg Bennick from Trial, drummer Alexei Rodriguez (Trial, 3 Inches of Blood, Catharsis, Prong, etc) and a cast of other hardcore/metal veterans. And not surprisingly, this is the best hardcore record I’ve laid my ears upon since who-knows-when. Of Roots and Wings is by no means a complete departure from Trial’s Are These Our Lives? sound, but with an added sense of dark melody and dynamics (coupled with Bennick’s always thought-provoking and heart-wrenching lyrics). An incredible, cerebral, sincere, near-perfect record. The debut LP is due later this year, and I’m already chomping at the bit.
2. Burzum – Fallen LP (Back On Black)
Sure, some people will probably give me shit for rating someone whose politics are as ‘questionable’ as Varg’s this high up on my list (particularly right under a record like BE&S’) but for some inexplicable reason (that I won’t even try to make excuses for) I can’t help but love Burzum (at least the BM records). And I think Fallen just might be Varg’s masterpiece. Certainly not ‘necro’ as far as production goes (although it’s hardly radio-ready), and featuring more melody and clean singing than ever, but man, this record is brilliant.
3. Blood Ceremony - Living with the Ancients LP (Metal Blade)
The occult-rock thing seems to be having one hell of a resurgence recently (pedestrian wordplay intended), and to my ears, no band is knocking it out of the park like my fellow Canadians (and even Ontarians!) Blood Ceremony. Their self-titled LP was great and showed a lot of promise, but dang, Living with the Ancients is on a whole other level. With the Tull quotient upped significantly and a darker, dare I say more EVIL mood, these cats have written the record to beat in their particular subgenre (and that includes the brand new Devil’s Blood LP!).
4. Austra – Feel It Break LP (Domino)
Yep, this is a gloomy pop record that takes plenty of cues from Kate Bush, but goddamn it, it’s dark and brooding as hell and is absolutely recommended. Vocalist Katie Stelmanis is a trained opera singer and manages to incorporate that style into these songs without coming across as cartoonish or over the top whatsoever (as operatic vocals have been known to do when used outside of their intended world). These songs are bleak yet upbeat, moody yet danceable, and, in a word, bewitching. Plus, I’ve rarely seen a more impressive live vocal performance. This woman is mesmerizing.
5. In Solitude – The World, The Flesh, The Devil LP (Metal Blade)
I don’t imagine I need to say too much about this band or this record, as it seems to have found its way to a shit-ton of Top Tens this year, but if you dig Mercyful Fate/King Diamond mixed with a hearty dose of NWOBHM (all without sounding like too much of a retro-copycat thing) than I can’t recommend this any more highly. Possibly the best straight-up metal record of the year.
6. Today is the Day – Pain is a Warning LP (Black Market Activities)
I will say that when I heard the opening track from this record, I thought that just maybe TITD had created their magnum opus. Hell, even track 2 (all with the help of Kurt Ballou’s punishing production) is among Austin & co.’s most vicious aural assaults. However, the rest of Pain is a Warning tends to meander occasionally into some less-than-spectacular, middle-of-the-road hardcore/metal (even hard rock) territory - but overall the record is still a total slayer. It’s just no Temple of the Morning Star or In the Eyes of God… but what is, really?
7. Ringworm – Scars LP (Victory)
One of the angriest bands in the history of hardcore/metal (and definitely one of my all-time faves) dropped a fucking scorcher on us last year in the form of their fifth full-length LP, Scars. And, while it’s undeniably a Ringworm record, with each successive release Cleveland’s favorite purveyors of devilry and whoredom inject even more metal into their venomous design, and have now put out their most ambitous record in their catalog (we’re even talking a 7-minute song here!). Essentially, if you dig what the band’s done to date, you won’t be let down. On the other hand, if you typically dig a little more metal in your heavy than these maniacs have spit out in the past, Scars just might be your ideal Ringworm point of entry.
8. Integrity – Detonate World Plagues 12″ (Holy Terror)
Fitting that this would come right after the Ringworm LP (historically Integrity’s musical sibling). This record is a collection of everything that Integrity frontman Dwid has recorded with his current axe-wielding partner in crime Robert Orr (not to be confused with the NHL’s finest defenceman of all time!). These tracks pretty much continue what began with The Blackest Curse LP, and you’ll get no complaints from me about that. Anyone not familiar with Integrity’s trendsetting brand of metal/hardcore/crust (since 1988!) is encouraged to check out pretty well any of their evil, dense, pummelling output (I’d personally start with Seasons in the Size of Days). Absolutely one of the most important, influential hardcore bands ever.
9. Cold Cave – Cherish the Light Years LP (Matador)
I KNOW. Another dance-y record. I can’t help it if two terrific gloomy-yet-ass-shaking pop records came out in the same year. And y’know what? I’m not going to apologize for it either. I fucking dig A LOT of poppy music, and Wes Eisold (American Nightmare/Some Girls) happens to be one hell of a pop songsmith. If you enjoy the darker side of the New Order/Joy Division/Cure/Depeche Mode/etc catalogs, then there’s very good chance you’ll be feeling this slab of wax as well. Just check it out.
10. 40 Watt Sun – The Inside Room LP (Cyclone Empire)
It’s been a long time since I’ve been this into an entirely slow, sludgy record. After the flood of Neur/Isis copycats earlier in the new millenium, I was pretty much soured on any band that namedropped those bands in their influences list, or were tagged under the ‘sludge’ umbrella. But when reviews started rolling in about the 40 Watt Sun LP, I couldn’t ignore the hype. The enthusiasm was almost universal, and after one listen, I was no exception. All the shoegaze/indie pop comparisons have already been made, but I will say this: metal has never sounded as sincerely pained, downtrodden, and heartbroken as it does on The Inside Room. This record is devastating.
All in all, 2011 was an incredible year for heavy music, and with the slew of highly-anticipated upcoming releases for 2012 (Ghost, Converge, Burzum, Municipal Waste, Neurosis, High on Fire, ahem Crusades mhm…), this year should be no different.
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twitter.com/davemonomania
crusades.ca
Tags: 40 watt sun, austra, back on black, between earth and sky, Blood Ceremony, Burzum, Cold Cave, Crusades, Dave Monomania, In Solitude, integrity, METAL BLADE, RINGWORM, Today is the Day, top ten 2011
Album Reviews, Reviews, Top 10 Lists |
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