Blast Beats & Silver Screens

August Burns Red 'Provision'!

2013-06-18T16:22:00.001-04:00

To say I'm excited for Rescue & Restore would probably be a bit of an understatement. August Burns Red have always been a favorite of mine and I cannot wait for the release of this album. The band has released a new song via their band app, entitled 'Provision'.
someone also uploaded the track to Youtube. Not sure how long it'll stay on there, but it's there for now.

Rescue & Restore is due out in exactly one week on the 25th!

New Revocation Single!

2013-06-18T15:52:00.001-04:00

Revocation has released the first single from their upcoming self titled album! The song is called 'The Hive' and as you might expect it's pretty damn killer. I won't delay you any more, you need to hear this song.

Pretty awesome stuff right?

Revocation is due out this August (6th here in the states and a few earlier dates for everyone else for some reason)! I imagine we'll get one more single before the album's release, but if anything this should tide us over until the release!

Revocation is also on The Summer Slaughter Tour which starts this July!

Band Of The Week: The Schoenberg Automaton

2013-06-18T15:36:00.000-04:00

So Dweller got an extra week as BOTW thanks to my vacation, but this week I'm bringing you this immensely talented yet still 'under-the-radar' group The Schoenberg Automaton. I did do a review of this bands album a few months back, which you can read here, but it seems these guys still aren't getting the attention they deserve.

Schoenberg's style could be argued as them playing on what's 'in' right now, but I feel that's doing them an injustice. Yes it's djenty and that's a huge thing right now, but the focus on atmosphere and the sheer talent these guys have easily elevates their music to another level in my book. There's a ton of great writing on here, and some haunting moments built through well thought and executed atmosphere.

Check out 'Ghosts Of Mirach':

It's a really great blend of Progressive Deathcore with Mathcore influences. It's hard to believe this album is the bands debut LP.

The band only has just over 7500 likes on facebook, but it'd be awesome if you could give them a hand with at least a like if not buying their album or merch.

Also check out the music video for 'A Stone Face Of Piety':

Norma Jean Announced New Album Info!

2013-06-18T11:59:00.000-04:00

Sorry the album cover isn't in the greatest quality, there doesn't seem to be a good upload of it anywhere at the moment, but regardless, there's good news! Norma Jean, who have been in the studio for a while officialyl announced details about their new upcoming album, entitled Wrongdoers.
Check out the trailer and peep 50 seconds of new music:

I'm pretty excited for this release. I've been a big fan of Norma Jean for a while now. Meridional wasn't their best album to date in my opinion, but it was a solid effort. I'm hoping the sound of this album touches base somewhere between O'God The Aftermath and Redeemer.

Here's the tracklisting:

01. “Hive Minds“
02. “If You Got It At Five, You Got It At Fifty“
03. “Wrongdoers“
04. “The Potter Has No Hands“
05. “Sword In Mouth, Fire Eyes“
06. “Afterhour Animals“
07. “The Lash Whistled Like A Singing Wind“
08. “Neck In The Hemp“
09. “Triffids“
10. “Funeral Singer“
11. “Sun Dies, Blood Moon “

The album is set to release on August 6th. Hopefully we get a full track premiere sometime soon.

New Make Them Suffer Video!

2013-06-17T11:30:00.001-04:00

Make Them Suffer's Neverbloom was one of my favorite albums from last year. It's pretty fantastic through and through and is a hell of a great start to a career for these guys. Today they released a music video for the song 'Elegies', which had a lyric video before,b ut now has the official video treatment.
Check it out now:

Between Harm's Way, Karnivool, and now Make Them Suffer, it's been a good week for new music videos. As an aspiring filmmaker I do enjoy when metal bands take a cinematic edge to their videos and make them interesting to watch.

If you haven't picked up Neverbloom, you're missing out on some great music.

There's A New Karnivool Song As Well!

2013-06-17T11:09:00.000-04:00

Karnivool are releasing a new album this year, and all the prog fans should be rejoicing. Karnivool's blend of prog rock/metal with a heavy emphasis on atmosphere and creating a tremendous sound has worked wonder for them on their first two albums, the second of which, Sound Awake, is one of the best albums I've ever heard. The band did release a track recently, entitled 'The Refusal' but there was a bit of confusion surrounding it as some claimed it was a B-side track, and the production on the track wasn't up to par with their other work. According to Metalsucks that track is a part of the new album though. Hopefully what we heard was just an unmastered version of the track.
Anyhow, today we have a new track entitled 'We Are'. This track is definitely the one Karnivool fans were expecting to hear. It's an awesome song and the video accompanying it is great as well. Check it out:

Asymmetry is due out sometime this summer, hopefully we get a solid date for it soon.

New Harms Way Song!

2013-06-17T10:53:00.001-04:00

Sorry I dissappeared for a bit there, I went on a really nice vacation. But anyhow, I'm back and I've got some news to catch up on here!

Firstly one of my new favorite hardcore bands, Harm's Way, released a new track and announced a new EP entitled Blinded.
Check out the music video for the track 'Mind Control':

The tracklist for the album is as follows:

1. Frontal Lobe
2. Mind Control
3. Blinded
4. Blind Stare
5. Live to Loathe

The EP is set t release on July 23rd, and if it's anything like their last album Isolation, it should be pretty killer! Definitely looking forward to this one.

Inhale Exhale Are Disbanding

2013-06-05T12:19:00.000-04:00

I'll be honest, Inhale Exhale are a band I haven't really kept up with in recent years, and I haven't yet gotten around to listening to their last album Movement, but I did have a good time listening to their first few albums, particularly I Swear. So it's unfortunate to hear that the band is breaking up after a seven year run.
Here's the statement from their facebook:

As of right now, after touring 10+ countries, releasing 4 studio albums internationally, and shooting videos and singles and all that goes along with being in this band, Inhale Exhale is coming to an end. We will be playing Alliance Festival that we have up on our tour page, but have not said yes to any other show offers or festivals this year. We have only briefly discussed if we want to have a final show. We have become to busy with other endeavors or our hearts and minds are elsewhere.

Thankful, always for all of your support and care for Inhale Exhale. When we were on the road all the time, and when we've been off, and only communicating through our albums and online pages.

All of you that have shared your homes with us, hung out with us, sang lyrics with us, crowd surfed, had meaningful conversations (or ridiculous ones), shared your passion, joy or pain. And even your music and creative endeavors of your own. For that we thank you.

Times can be tough in a band, but it comes with the territory. It's one of the most cut throat, stuck up, brown nosed industries. There are battles where you never thought there would be, and people against you, that you never thought would be. It changes you. But we're thankful for the journey, and that we could share our passion and art with you. And we value and feel extremely blessed with the lasting relationships we've made on and off the road through IE.

I wrote in a past post that the best thing a musician that has had some success can do is be thankful and say thank you. And I stand by that. It was always shocking to us at times when we went on the road and met touring musicians that thought they were doing fans a favor by showing up or hanging out or even playing their town. It's those people and fans that came to shows supporting their local scene, participating in the show, and fellowshipping that were doing a favor for the bands, and us.

We love all of you, and truly are thankful for our time spent in this endeavor. Take some time and throw in your favorite IE album once in a while with your playlist for us.
-John L. and the rest of Inhale Exhale.

It's no secret that the industry is a tough one to be in, and that you really don't make money from anything but at show merch sales unless you're a huge band that can really have some pull with record labels. Trouble with greedy record labels is why many bands are trying to self fund or go try the kickstarter/indigogo route to pre-pay for the production of an album.

It's sad to see Inhale Exhale go, but hopefully this won't be the last we hear from the members of the band.

Here's one of my favorite songs from the band:

Their influence from Underoath and other big metalcore bands was undeniable, but these guys were genuine and had some great music.

Band Of The Week: Dweller

2013-06-05T11:49:00.002-04:00

Dweller is one of my favorite new up and coming deathcore bands. They've got an excellent blend of atmosphere and brutality and with their debut album The Reality Vector they showed that they can contend with some of the best and brightest in the genre.

Dweller is essentially what you might get if members of The Acacia Strain and Whitechapel got together to form a band. There is a heavy emphasis on atmosphere and just being an overall heavy band. It's a great combo that makes for some refreshing and talented music.

Check out the music video for 'Foreseen Servitude':

This is one of the best tracks on the album without a doubt. I won't go to heavily into reviewing the album here as I actually did review the album in full a few months back, so feel free to read that now.

Dweller only has 10,000 likes on Facebook, and for a band that can play at the same caliber as the bigger bands in the genre, it's unfortunate they aren't getting more exposure. So do them a favor and give them a like on Facebook and if you enjoy the music buy something from these guys. They deserve your support.

The Acacia Strain Announce New Guitarists!

2013-06-05T11:29:00.000-04:00

The Acacia Strain parted ways with long time guitarist Daniel 'DL' Laskiewicz recently, and yesterday announced the addition of two new guitarists, Devin Shidaker (Who just left Oceano for this position) and Richard Gomez.

It is with excitement and zero negativity that Massachusetts' based, The Acacia Strain announce the addition of two new full time members, Devin Shidaker and Richard Gomez, both on guitar. After many years of service, Daniel "DL" Laskiewicz will no longer be writing music for The Acacia Strain and we wish him the best in all of his future endeavors.

As a band who tours, it is very unfair to have people who have stuck by us and tell them that they have no say or can't be an active participant. (Thank you for life Tony Diaz).

As a band, our perspective is for all of us to be involved and be a team, not only on the road but for every aspect of the band and all be a part of it. Richie and Devin bring experience and passion to the table and offer a forward thinking perspective to this band which has been wanted and needed for some time. We plan on getting started right away with the writing process to give you some new songs soon, and of course a new album. We are excited to start this new chapter of The Acacia Strain and look forward to seeing you all on tour!

As you just read the band plans to write a new album to showcase the new members talents. It'll be interesting to see how this turns out for the band as 'DL' has had a lot of influence on the bands writing style. I personally have loved the last two albums and the bits of Meshuggah influence the band has taken on both albums, so hopefully they push that influence more. We'll likely see the release of an album early next year, unless they rush it for this year, which I hope they don't do.

New Halo Of Gunfire Song!

2013-05-31T14:48:00.000-04:00

Halo Of Gunfire have been working on a new album for quite some time now. This song was posted about two weeks ago, but I somehow missed it. Regardless, you can now hear the first new work fromthe band in almost three years!
Check out 'My Demise':

The follow up to Conjuring The Damned has not received a name yet and beyond this song there aren't any new details, but a new song is still something! I would imagine we'll see the release of the new album before the years end. Let's hope so at least.

Another New August Burns Red Song!

2013-05-31T14:40:00.000-04:00

August Burns Red's upcoming release Rescue & Restore is one of my most anticipated albums coming out this year. From what we've heard so far it looks like they are continuing with the more progressive metalcore sound they have begun to develop with Leveler. This new song 'Spirit Breaker' has a nice symphonic opening which is followed by a great wall of sound.
Check it out now:

The slower part just after the three minute mark is interesting. These guys are definitely pushing their song writing capabilities more and more with each album. It's cool to see how they have kept a consistent sound their entire career while being able to push their writing more and more forward.

Rescue & Restore is due out June 25th!

Extol Post New Album Teaser!

2013-05-29T16:24:00.000-04:00

Christian death metal band Extol reunited this year after an almost five year hiatus and almost eight years since their last album. The band is releasing a self title album this year, and right now you can hear a five minute preview from said album.
Check it out here:

Extol is set to release june 25 here in the US, and a few days earlier in other parts of the world.

Band Of The Week: Sidious

2013-05-29T14:56:00.001-04:00

So I'm a day late on this, my bad I was out of town the last two days. Regardless though, this weeks band of the week is a band called Sidious. The band is brand new, having formed only a few months ago back in November. This month though they released their first work with an EP titled Ascension To The Throne Ov Self. The band plays a brand of blackened death metal that is heavily inspired by the likes of Behemoth, Vader, and Septic Flesh.

For a debut EP Ascension is quite stellar. The production on the EP is top notch on level with Behemoth's Evangelion. There's pretty much nothing not to hate on this album apart from the fact that you might wish it were longer than 4 tracks. Hoepfully the band is able to produce more music beyond this album.

Check out this awesome song:

I'm assuming the band members are Star Wars fans of some sort as Darth Sidious is a pretty prominant figure is all of the movies. I think the name is purely for effect though the same way Vader is, in that the band doesn't write songs about Star Wars. Still makes for an awesome name though.

The band could use your help in terms of likes on facebook, as of writing this they've only got 633, so drop by and give them a like. Also feel free to listen to their album off their bandcamp!

Revocation Self Titled Album Details!

2013-05-23T16:29:00.001-04:00

Revocation have announced details about their upcoming self titled album! Above is the artwork for said album and below will be the track-listing for the album as well.

Revocation track list:

1. The Hive
2. Scattering the Flock
3. Arch Fiend
4. Numbing Agents
5. Fracked
6. The Gift You Gave
7. Invidious
8. Spastic
9. Entombed By Wealth
10. A Visitation

If last years Teratogenesis is any sign of how good this album is going to be along side with their already impressive career, this album could easily be one of the best albums this year. Here's to hoping it lives up to that.

The self titled is set to release August 6th!

Here's my favorite track from Teratogenesis:

August Burns Red Studio Update!

2013-05-22T12:55:00.000-04:00

August Burns Red posted two studio updates from their Rescue & Restore recording sessions, featuring Matt Greiner on drums and Jake Luhrs on vocals, with a tiny part about the set up of the guitar amps. I for some reason had no idea Dustin Davidson was handling the really high vocals. It makes a little more sense to me now that I know that though.
Anyways, check out the videos now:

Rescue & Restore is due out June 25th!

Beyond Creation - The Aura

2013-05-21T17:35:00.003-04:00

In a genre chock full of more than capable musicians it is easy for a technical death metal band to blast your ears into oblivion with their immense technical proficiencies, but what makes a tech death band great is their ability to combine this raw talent with a greater sense of song writing aptitude. This is why bands like Fleshgod Apocalypse, Gorod, and Obscura are at the forefront of the genre. They blend this technicality with more progressive elements and make the songs more than just raw talent.

Beyond Creation have been technically speaking active for about 8 years now but they have yet to release an album until this year. I cannot say what took them that long to make an album, but I must say that I am very pleased with the results of their effort. The Aura is an album teeming with immense skill, blistering solo’s and top notch instrumentation all around. The production all around is top tier and this album although being a debut album is on par with the bands I previously mentioned in terms of both quality and ability.

One thing that really shines on this album is the bass guitar. The bass guitarist is easily the most underrated member of most metal bands, but Beyond Creation have placed a large amount of trust in their bassist’s skill and it pays off. Dominic 'Forest' Lapointe, who previously played in the band Augury, employs a six string fretless bass on this album and uses it incredibly well, often taking his guitar to the forefront of the music with awesome bass solos. His bass can be heard throughout the entire album and it is easily one of the best uses of a best guitar in recent memory.

The rest of the band is not undeserving of praise either. Particularly Guyot Begin-Benoit who absolutely kills it on drums, switching tempos and time signatures at the flick of a wrist and wildly hammering away at blast beats and awesome fills. His drumming pushes the album forwards while simultaneously holding it together. The vocals on this album are in no way inventive for the genre, they tend to sound a bit like any other tech death band out there, but they are well executed and fit the band’s sound perfectly, and it a bit more impressive to know that vocalist Simon Girard is playing an 8 string guitar while doing a vocals. Girard and Kevin Chartré cover the guitar part of the album rather well, tossing in more than enough blistering guitar solos and plenty of well written driving riffs.

Beyond Creation have been around for a little while but this year is essentially the real start to their career, and frankly they could not have started their career with a better album. This album is solid from start to finish and is easily one of the best tech death albums this year. It focused, well written, and filled to the brim with excellent musicianship. The Aura is not an album to be missed.

If you have Spotify feel free to listen to the album in full now:

Beyond Creation - The Aura

Band Of The Week: Moth

2013-05-21T16:34:00.002-04:00

Denver Colorado based technical death metal band Moth are one of the best up and coming acts out there. The band released their debut LP Endlessly In Motion earlier this year (an album I had to pleasure of reviewing) but unfortunately it hasn't received the level of exposure it deserves.
Endlessly In Motion is a masterfully crafted album that takes lots of inspiration from the stylings of Gojira and Meshuggah in that it's powerful, ambient and musically proficient.

Take a listen to this track:

If tat track didn't convince you to check out more I can only assume you're not a fan of this style of death metal. It's heavy yet beautiful. There's something hypnotic to their sound and it's definitely enraptured me.

Moth are currently working on a music video for the song 'Dissolved' but unfortunately haven't had the chance to tour much outside of Colorado since the release of Endlessly In Motion. Hopefully that changes in the near future.

They currently sit with just over 4K likes on facebook, so help them out and give them a like at the very least, and if you like what you hear buy the album!

DL Is Out Of The Acacia Strain

2013-05-20T16:08:00.000-04:00

Lambgoat reported this story today that guitarist Daniel 'DL' Laskiewicz is out of the Acacia Strain. Myself and Vince over at Metalsucks didn't even realize that DL had not been touring with the band for a long time, just writing and most recently producing.

Here's the statement from DL himself:

"Well, if you haven't noticed, I haven't played a show with The Acacia Strain in years and I've just been writing the music for them. I've been informed today that they will continue on without me, meaning shows and writing albums. This is totally understandable and I wish the band the best. I'll be around, as I'm still recording and producing and also have another project in the works. So once again, I WILL NOT be writing for The Acacia Strain anymore. It's been fun tas, later!"

DL was a rather large part of the bands writing process so it'll be interesting to see how this affects them on their next album (likely a year and half or so from now, unless they bump it up to try and show us they can handle it on their own.)

Lambgoat also seems to think that Devin Shidaker, who just left Oceano a few weeks ago might be the replacement since Oceano has been quiet about those details and The Acacia Strain have yet to make an announcement on a new guitarist. Shidaker should fit in pretty nicely with TAS. Here's to hoping this move doesn't end up being a bad thing.

New Black Dahlia Murder Song!

2013-05-16T11:59:00.000-04:00

The Black Dahlia Murder have released a new song from their upcoming album Everblack, via Revolver Magazine. The song, entitled 'Raped In Hatred By Vines Of Thorn' has a different feel to the bands normal material, although it is most definitely still a Black Dahlia song. The lyrics are inspired heavily by one of Trevor Strnad's favorite films Evil Dead, and regardless of their comical tone this song is awesome.
Here's a YouTube link of it as well:

Everblack is due out June 11th!

Doc Coyle Of God Forbid Talks About Tim Lambesis

2013-05-15T16:37:00.002-04:00

Doc Coyle of God Forbid posted an article about his feelings on Tim Lambesis's situation. Doc's post is realyl well written and as someone who really looked up to Tim as a person I completely relate to his post. I can't post the entire post here, but follow either of these links to read it. If you're interested in Tim's situation at all you definitely should read this. Links: via Metalsucks via Doc's Blog Rebel Noise

Here's a snippet I felt wrapped the post up nicely though:

In a world where one’s credibility and reputation is everything, all it takes in just one single accusation to destroy someone’s credibility forever.

It's a really unfortunate situation and like Doc I hope Tim is innocent, but this case will follow him his whole life even if he is not found guilty.

Anyhow, yeah this sucks. I know it shouldn't matter as much but I wonder how this will effect Austrian Death Machines sales, and it's sad we might never see that full length Pyrithion album.

First Oceano Studio Update!

2013-05-15T10:51:00.000-04:00

I'm a few days late here, but I just stumbled on this late yesterday. Oceano have posted the first studio update for their upcoming third album Incisions. The first half of the video is dedicated to the fact that they had a guitarist quit and join another band, they don't state the band name and I can't seem to find info on it online, but regardless Devin Shidaker was replaced by Michael Kasper. Maybe Kasper will bring something fresh to the band. After the guitar jokes and such we get to actual material related to the album. A few snippets of new guitar workt hat sounds pretty impressive and some interview questions with the band. I'm not sure who shot and edited the video, but It might have been shot and edited on a potato. Still it's nice to see the guys working and definitely nice to hear some new jams.
Check out the vidjya for yourself:

Incisions doesn't yet have a release date but it is expected sometime this year.

If you missed it, the band released one track previously, entitled 'Slow Murder'. It's a little different from the bands standard fare, but it's a pretty solid track overall:

NEW AUGUST BURNS RED.

2013-05-14T14:35:00.000-04:00

Day = Made. August Burns red have released a new song from their upcoming album Rescue & Restore. The song is titled 'Fault Line' and while it's a bit on the standard fare side of things for August Burns Red, it's a really solid song overall. These guys are easily one of the most consistent bands out there. This album is probably the one I'm most looking forward to this year.
Check out the song now!

The first half of the track is more standard fare, but I really like the 'Just don't call me your hero' part of this track.

Rescue & Restore is set to release June 25th!

Band Of The Week: Humanity's Last Breath

2013-05-14T14:21:00.000-04:00

Saying Humanity's Last Breath are underrated is far beyond an understatement. These guys are a talented technical deathcore group that truly know how to work in a great atmosphere into their music. They have only had one full length album so far, Structures Collapse, but they are in progress with a yet to be titled follow up and from the song and teasers they've released it sounds really promising.

Here's the song 'Animal' that will be coming on their new record:

Now you might be thinking, wow that sounds a lot like Vildhjarta, and while you'd be right in saying this band has taken a lot of inspiration from Vildhjarta in terms of guitar tone, their style of playing hasn't changed from their first album which released a few months before Vildhjarta released Masstaden. They've just taken inspiration from the awesome tones Vildhjarta established. Also both bands are from Sweden, so it'd be awesome to see them tour together.

Here's one of the best tracks off of their debut LP:

Humanity's Last Breath didn't get the same level of exposure that Vildhjarta did with their debut but they deserve your attention regardless. Structures Collapse is well worth your time and their new material is bound to be equally as good if not better.

Give them a like on facebook, they are one of the band who have been having issues with the fake likes recently and a real human being liking their page will definitely be helpful. Their new album doesn't ahve a title or date yet, but it's expected to be released around August or September.

Arsonists Get All The Girls Release Details On New Album!

2013-05-13T16:29:00.000-04:00

Arsonists Get All The Girls are planning to release a new album entitled Listen To The Color. There's not a whole lot of information about the album yet though. It'll be 15 tracks and clocking in at about 30 minutes, and features guest vocals from Cameron Reed (former vocals/keyboardist AGATG), Rob Smith (Heavy Heavy Low Low/Downstaaiirs), Kevin McCaughey (Ion Dissonance), Robby Bancroft (Five Characters In Search of an Exit). No word yet on a release date either.
Here is the tracklisting though:

Listen to the Color

1. Setting Course For Disaster
2. When I Was Your Age Pluto Was Still A Planet
3. Bottle City
4. MK-ULTRA: Psychotropic Puppets
5. MK-DELTA: Glorified Killers (feat. Cameron Reed former AGATG vocalist)
6. Disease Test The Best
7. Balloon Battle
8. Listen To The color (feat. Robby Bancroft of Five Characters In Search of an Exit)
9. Beast Fist
10. Bardonis Chonies
11. Play The Sheep
12. My Newest Vision (feat. Rob Smith of Heavy Heavy Low Low/Downstariis)
13. Ride The Wave (feat. Garin Rosen of AGATG)
14. Watchers (feat. Kevin McCaughey of Ion Dissonance)
15. Sunny places for shady people