When We Were Wolves – The More Things Change, The More We Stay The Same EP Review (Planetmosh Review)

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Feb
2

The South Wales metal machine is at it again. Not content with producing several already world-famous metal bands, now metalcore/grindcore band When We Were Wolves have reared their heads with brand new EP, imaginatively titled The More Things Change, The More We Stay the Same.  

It’s easy to say this from the outset with this record. It makes a lot of other records look rushed.The More Things Change… is so tightly performed, it makes precision engineering look like it’s done with a jackhammer. It opens with the atmospheric and soft-sounding All Good People Must Come to An End (they really have a way with names, don’t they?) which is a bit of a gamble, as a soft opener on a short EP means that a lot of showcasing time is taken up with it.

Happily, it works well, and the EP drops into the onslaught that is Under the Water, which very much sets the tone for the rest of the record. It’s quick, talented metal that could almost be classed as djent if it was slightly more chaotic – it’s certainly tight enough to come under that umbrella, but isn’t quite there. It puts one in mind of Parkway Drive (in fact the screaming sounds extremely Parkway-esque), Architects or While She Sleeps, a great line up to be compared to.     

Issues – very few and far between for this one. The More Things Change… is going to projectWhen We Were Wolves very far indeed. It might sound a little like ‘more of the same’ to someone who listens to a lot of this type of music, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Instead it just means that a listener like that has one more ban d to add to their tastes.

So, The More Things Change, the More We Stay the Same is an extremely tight, well written and well performed EP, that’s definitely going to blast When We Were Wolves into the big-leagues. They’re going to be appearing on the radar very, very soon, expect big things. As for this EP, a great 9/10.

Read the original article here: http://planetmosh.com/when-we-were-wolves-the-more-things-change-the-more-we-stay-the-same/

Parkway Drive – Atlas Album Review (Bring the Noise Review)

Posted by Sam in Bring the Noise, Portfolio      No comments

Nov
8

It’s pretty safe to say that, recently, Australian metalcore giants Parkway Drive have been on a mission. After releasing Deep Blue in 2010, the band have been relentlessly touring and collaborating, until finally heading into the studio to record a fourth album. Now they’re back, and they mean serious business, with this, their latest full length offering, entitled Atlas.

In a nutshell? This is big. This is huge. And, to boot, it’s really bloody excellent. Parkway Drive have pulled out all the stops with this album, and it’s abundantly clear that they’re intent on world domination. And with music like this, the world is going to have no choice but to lie down and let them achieve it. Atlas begins with a subtle, soft opening and drops into the speedily-chugged chaos of Old Ghosts/New Regrets, leaving a listener with their jaw dropped at what’s coming out of their speakers. This feeling continues throughout the rest of the album, as it’s full of ups, downs, slow bits, fast bits, emotive lyrics (all screamed to perfection) and ridiculously fast-picked and catchy breakdowns. To top it all off, it’s all very well constructed, well recorded and doesn’t like a hideous fuzzy mess.

Content wise, clearly Parkway Drive have a social and political agenda within this album, and it would be a neglectful review to ignore that fact. It’s not preachy, though, it just sounds really quite angry (this might be the genre coming into effect, though.) This shows a great level of maturity within the band, and the fact that the music itself, to the untrained and possibly unappreciative listener, is terrifying, that message ought to get across with at least a certain degree of gusto. Excellent! Why do it any other way?

So, the highlights of this album? Well – Wild Eyes is most certainly one of the best moments on the entire record, and looks set to become a metal anthem of 2012 – definitely alongside already-released-and-ridiculously-catchy Dark Days and amazing-opener Old Ghosts/New Regrets. The chanting section (alongside an amazing breakdown) in Swing is also set to catch on with crowds around the globe.

In fact, there’s very little to fault with Atlas, it has the capacity to make the genre of metalcore be taken a little bit more seriously by some listeners. This isn’t music for kids, make no mistake. This album has actually got a bit of everything to keep any metal-head happy, including the ability to easily put Parkway Drive in contention for the best album of the year.

10/10

Standout Track: Wild Eyes

For Fans Of: Bring Me the Horizon, Architects, August Burns Red

Orestea – This is an Overture Album Review (New Junk Review)

Posted by Sam in New Junk      No comments

Oct
6

The finest metal band to come out of Surrey in a long time are back on the scene. Female-fronted masters of melodic metal Orestea follow up their 2010 full length album Love Lines and Blood Ties with this, four track teaser of an EP entitled This is an Overture. An overture to what, we can only guess.

Despite only being young in their career, Orestea have gone from strength to strength. Already with an EP, full length album and various festival shows already under their belts, This Is An Overture displays a well earned streak of confidence in the southern English five piece.

Despite their success, Orestea’s inoffensive brand of melodic rock/metal comes as a complete (yet pleasant) surprise to any new listener. It is, apart from anything else, really rather good. There’s something for everyone in here; uplifting sing-along choruses with an epic enough sound to make The Lord of the Rings jealous, heavy breakdowns with chuggy, palm muted guitars and vocals with the widest range seen in a long time.

One of the best things about it is, Orestea are a female fronted (in the form of turqoised-haired wonder that is Lisa Avon) metal band that for once don’t sound like Evanescence or Paramore. Phew. That’s a relief.

The music itself is really catchy, with more hooks than a butcher’s shop at Christmas. It’s varied too, it’s not just a complete onslaught of metal, but slows down, speeds up, goes between heavier and lighter moments to keep the listener on their toes. Avon’s lyrics fit over the top perfectly, without being too intrusive but keeping control of the music and staying at the forefront. There are also some well hidden but very talented drums that give a proper insight into the band’s metal roots.

The only issue with this release is that it’s too short. This amount of talent deserves a full length album. It cannot come soon enough. Orestea have a huge amount of songwriting talent, and it needs to be put to proper use, and another full length album is really the best way to get this across. This is an Overture, whilst it has a title that obviously pre-empts a bigger release, it is over before it really gets going, and a listener finds themselves thinking “already?!” when the last note ends.

Isn’t that the point of an EP, though? To leave a listener wanting more?

So overall, This is an Overture is a complete success of an EP, it’s just a little bit short. Listeners (including me) want more! And Orestea need to keep going, and make more! But for now, in terms of This is an Overture, fabulous.

Read the original article here: http://www.newjunk.co.uk/post/32810718267/review-orestea-this-is-an-overture-ep

Gallows – Gallows Album Review (Bring the Noise Review)

Posted by Sam in Bring the Noise, Portfolio      No comments

Sep
26

It’s not been easy for Watford-based band Gallows over the last year or so. With vocalist Frank Carter leaving in July 2011, the band have undergone some major shifts in both in terms of the physical line up, and the creative sound they produce. Now, a year later, they’re back with a full studio album, a self titled record, and judging from the sound of it, the bumpy year hasn’t impacted their musical talent negatively very much.

Throaty vocals and a no-holds-barred approach to this album make it a complete success when it comes to Gallows’ reborn career. The turbulent last year or so has been fraught with break ups and line up changes, but now they seem to be back with a complete vengeance, armed with new vocalist Wade MacNeil, formerly of Alexisonfire, and they mean business.

The band themselves have made it clear through their titled that they mean to carry on. After the departure of Carter, the band released a four track EP entitled Death is Birthwith MacNeil as vocalist, a title that has obvious messages to the fans, that Gallowsweren’t going anywhere. This new album is self titled, which again seems to send a message about the band’s intentions. Perhaps the fact that the album is self titled signifies a complete new beginning for Gallows, as if it’s their first album, and as if all the titled previously released under the guise of Gallows no longer exist. A new beginning, a new sound.

Either way, this album starts off in the most sinister way possible – it’s actually quite a creepy, spine tingling, chant-based sound – before exploding into an onslaught of overdriven energy. It’s non-stop, unrestrained assault on the ears, right from beginning to end. Gallows are determined not to be set back, and they mean to show it as plainly as possible. It’s got a lot going for it, too. The vocals are very throaty and hoarse, and the guitars have a satisfying sort of ‘metallic’ sound to them, making them jangle nicely in the ears. Austere is a great example of everything that makes this album special, a ridiculous amount of energy, which fires itself into the listeners ears, as well as that husky vocal line and meaningful lyrics.

The album might be a bit much for some. Especially those new to Gallows. The band have focused so much on making damn sure that they’re not set back by the, obviously, setbacks that the band have faced, that they seem to have forgotten the fact that this might be lost on some listeners because they haven’t followed Gallows until now. Happily, though, that’s not too much of an issue, because this album is most definitely a great album all in itself.

So, overall, a terrific comeback for the Hertfordshire based rockers. They set out on a mission to prove that nothing will stop them, and they have definitely done that in style. Gallows are back, and they’re here to stay. Don’t believe it? Listen to this album and hear for yourself.

9/10

Standout track: Austere

For Fans of: Disturbed, Cancer Bats, Every Time I Die

Read the original article here: http://www.bringthenoiseuk.com/201208/music/reviews/album-review-gallows-gallows

Thousand Autumns – Chasing Boats EP Review (Planetmosh Review)

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Aug
26

Hertfordshire is getting a bit of a habit of producing excellent bands. First Enter Shikari appear out of St. Albans, then The Subways out of Welwyn Garden City. Now, it looks like the musical county is at it again, with Welwyn Garden City based metallers Thousand Autumns cooking up a big storm. Their latest EP, entitled Chasing Boatsis out now for the public to get hold of, and it looks set to be a huge release for the band. 

Chasing Boats kicks off as it apparently means to go on. And to use exactly the right word, it kicks off hard. It’s a hefty-yet-melodic sounding EP, chock full of almost metal-core type sounds with throaty screams and overdriven guitars everywhere. There’s some really great sounding instruments, heavy, thumping basslines, uplifting, sing-along choruses and riffs that actually have the ability to really strongly remind a listener of now broken-up metallers Disturbed on the one hand, but with faster, more full-sounding choruses and more meaningful song construction. In other words, by the time the listener gets to the end, with the endless chants of ‘I’m chasing boats!’ they feel as if they’ve come a long way from the opener, despite the EP only being short. And that takes real production talent.

There aren’t really that many problems with this record, either. The vocals could use a small amount of work, because the clean singing voice sometimes comes across as a little bit thin, and it has a slight tendency to sit in the background of the music, underneath the guitars as if they’re not meant to be in the foreground. Apart from anything else, though, that’s a slight production hitch that has absolutely nothing to do with the music itself, and therefore it shouldn’t be assumed that this is a musical issue. It isn’t.

So overall, Chasing Boats is a successful, heavy and yet melodic EP that’s sure to be popular. Hertfordshire seems to have pulled it off again, producing a metal band of the highest quality and with the highest prospects. Keep a close eye on these guys, there could be another Enter Shikari in the pipeline.

Rating: 8/10

Read the original article here: http://planetmosh.com/thousand-autumns-chasing-boats/

The 69 Eyes – X Album Review (Planetmosh Review)

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Aug
26

The latest gothic rock band to emerge from the depths of Scandinavia, Finland to be precise, are The 69 Eyes, a band that adds another name to a long legacy of rock and metal bands from the snowy country. Their latest release, a full length studio album imaginatively entitled X is out this coming September, and is being ruthlessly promoted by a vicious and immersive PR campaign. 

X is on the whole, good, solid gothic rock. It’s rock which has a definite classic, anthemic groove to it, and that sounds a little bit like a less extreme version of Lordi, especially less extreme due to the lack of the comedy aspects that Lordi possess. Vocally, the sound is a little unorthodox but works well with the hefty distortion of the guitars in the background. Musically, X has a nice amount of variety, the distorted, overdriven guitars aren’t too much and don’t weigh a listener down, and there is a nice amount of changes between heavier sounds and lighter, cleaner parts that break the songs up nicely.

Highlights of this album – Black is a great tune, with a real classic 80’s rock vibe to it and a great sounding mix where all the instruments are as effective as the others. The album reaches one of its most epic points on Redwhich is a real epic, stadium-feeling song.

As an entire album, it’s imaginative and epic sounding, with plenty of uplifting rock choruses and sing-along vocal tracks, especially on If You Love Me the Morning After, which keeps the retro feel going and could almost be lifted straight off of a Bon Jovi album.

Problems? Well, only a few, but there definitely are some there. The vocals sometimes sound a little absurd, in an almost ironic but still rather daft way – especially at the beginnings of Tonight and Black. The singing here is ridiculously deep, almost as if the singer is mocking other metal singers by imitating them. This is the only main issue, though, and the music itself is extremely well performed and, despite being metal and heavy, rather relaxing to listen to. It sounds like something one might listen to on a late night, long distance drive.

So overall, X is a great all round album that can make for some really enjoyable listening. It’s got a little bit of nostalgic, classic rock feel to it, yet somehow it sounds modern and new. Once a listener can get over some of the most absurd vocal lines and appreciate them for what they are, this album could be one of the highlights of a metal-head’s listening year. Definitely one to watch out for when it’s release.

Rating:7/10

Read the original article here: http://planetmosh.com/the-69-eyes-x/the69eyes_x/

House Vs Hurricane – Crooked Teeth Album Review (Hevy Petal Review)

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Aug
13

Australian Post-Hardcore metallers House Vs Hurricane return explosively with their latest full length studio album, entitled Crooked Teeth. This is their first album since 2009, and the first since their chaotic with split from keyboardist Joey Fagione and vocalist Chris Dicker. It’s got a lot to live up to, and a lot to prove.

First impressions? It’s excellent! It really sounds like House Vs Hurricane have matured in their sound, but haven’t lost one iota of their musical talent. It sounds like a release from Southern metallers Architects, only more tuneful, faster and with more of a rock-punch-to-the-stomach. The conjunction between hefty, throaty screaming and soulful, melodic singing on the chorus creates a great atmosphere of call-and-response, and the music itself is varied enough to not give off the impression of all the songs sounding the same.

It’s full of angry energy, an obvious finger-motion in the direction of all of the listeners out there who thought that we’d never see anything from House Vs Hurricane again after their mess-of-a-split with previous members and the length it’s taken to get this album out since their last one. We can also see that attitude clearly from the aptly-named track Haters Gonna Hate. But, they’ve really lived up to the hype spectacularly, and used that energy so effectively it’s impossible to describe it and do it justice. Suffice it to say that this band still have a heck of a lot left in the tank, and that should make us all happy.

Musically, the guitars are extremely talented, chuggy and heavy, without compromising on a beautifully warm tone. The use of effects is extremely (pardon the pun) effective as well, used sparingly and actually to enhance sounds, rather than create entire new ones. The verse riffs are pure genius, keeping listeners on their toes and striking out in interesting, almost djent-like directions that are completely unexpected. Couple this with uplifting choruses made from basic, strummed chords to make an actual chorus sound and upliftingly soulful singing, and there’s something here for everyone to enjoy. It really is a fantastic album.

So overall, to sum up – it’s brilliant. There’s ups, downs, excellent music work, phenomenal vocal work, softer parts, heavier faster parts, effective use of instruments and it’s very well recorded.

There really isn’t a bad word to say about this one.  House Vs Hurricane are back, and it couldn’t come soon enough. More please!

A thoroughly deserved 10/10.

Read the original article here: http://www.hevypetal.com/release-reviews/1095/house-vs-hurricane–crooked-teeth-album

Distance to Fall – Rise Above EP Review (Hevy Petal Review)

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Jul
22

Metallers Distance to Fall, hailing from the Essex town of Harlow, release their second EP,Rise Above. Recorded in a local, hometown studio, the band appear to pride themselves on making music that they genuinely enjoy playing and have a ‘sticking to their guns’ mentality about writing. Hopefully, it’ll pay off in this release.

First impressions of it are good. It’s a purely metal, ‘angry guitar and angrier vocals’ kind of release. It’s got plenty of hefty breakdowns and crunched up, hard-hitting guitar sounds. From the recording, it also sounds like it’s been recorded live, too, which makes a nice change from overproduced, synthetic studio sounds. ‘Good old-fashioned’ seems to be the phrase on the cards for today.  

Rise Above is, above all, a showcase for metal music. Talented, varied, interesting metal, definitely, but pure metal nonetheless. It’s choppy, full of quick tempo and feel changes, and an almost unashamed display of how much talent the band have. What’s good about it is that the band haven’t worried too much about ‘being different’, or in other words, they haven’t been scared to do something that’s been done before. There’s nothing particularly groundbreaking about the music on the EP, it’s a style that has been written many, many times before. Ordinarily, this would be an issue, but for some reason with Rise Above, it doesn’t matter, because it’s been done very well and it’s good to listen to.

Areas to improve – the clean vocals are excellent, and it’s very good that they’re actually present on this inherently metal album, but to be honest they could use a little work on being more varied. That’s nitpicking though, they’re still very good. Other than that, there aren’t many areas looking at improvement. Rise Above ‘does exactly what it says on the tin’, to use exactly the right phrase.

So, in other words, it’s been done before, but in this case it’s been done better than before. That’s good, it shows that the Distance to Fall both have talent and know exactly what they’re doing, and they’ve made a decent EP to boot. Great stuff.

Read the original article here: http://www.hevypetal.com/release-reviews/1015/distance-to-fall–rise-above-ep

This Deafening Whisper – A Matter of Knife and Depth Album Review (Hevy Petal Review)

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Jul
16

This Deafening Whisper, Parisian based metalcore band who come under the same umbrella of music as Suicide Silence, release their imaginatively titled EP, A Matter of Knife and Depththis month. It’s a guitar-and-bass heavy release with plenty of breakdowns and much to keep the speed-metal fan very happy.

In a nutshell, this EP is pretty much exactly right for the die-hard metalcore fan. It’s fast, heavy, full of low-end screams, punctuated and broken up by the addition of clean vocals to give a much-needed break from the onslaught, and to boot its extremely well written.

For such a short EP, A Matter of Knife and Depth has a surprisingly long introduction, with an entire two-minute song taken up of what sounds a lot like pure strings, which carry on into a lengthy introduction to the second track, Emma Sin, which opens with electronic synth sounds, misleading the listener into thinking this is going to be a synth-metal album. It’s not, though, and the wait is definitely worth it, as it builds up a great amount of atmosphere, and when the music actually does kick in, the listener is blown off their feet.

Musically, the record reminded this reviewer of Architects and Suicide Silence, as well as maybe All Shall Perish. The guitars and bass hit the listener hard, especially if listening through headphones, and the hefty, double-kicked bass drum packs a heck-of-a-punch. This Deafening Whisper have definite talent when it comes to giving the listener exactly what they want, there isn’t a bad track on the album, and the fact that all the tracks are easily distinguishable from each other because they change pace and sound enough is another tick in the this-is-a-decent-metal-album box.

Vocally, again, standard metalcore but, excellently done and happily with a bit of a different twist that makes it slightly unique. The chop-and-change between low end, blow-your-face-off-with-fright screams and higher, cleaner actually sung vocals definitely keeps a listener on their toes and also gives a nice breather in between the metal-assault and heaviness, and is also something one doesn’t often see in pure metalcore like Bring Me the Horizon and Architects.

So, overall, This Deafening Whisper are an extremely talented evolution of the metalcore genre, who know exactly how to please their fans, make good music and show off their talent as songwriters. It’s excellently produced, presented and packaged into a neat little EP that should get them very, very far. If that doesn’t happen, this reviewer will be very surprised.

Read the original article here: http://www.hevypetal.com/release-reviews/976/this-deafening-whisper–a-matter-of-knife-and-depth-ep

Simbiose – Economical Terrorism EP Review (Hevy Petal Review)

Posted by Sam in HevyPetal, Portfolio      1 comment

Jul
16

Scary metallers Simbiose, hailing from the exotic land of Portgual, grind their way back on to the scene three years after their last release, Fake Dimension, with this, new studio album entitled Economical Terrorism. Describing themselves as “crust”, a word for a genre that conjures up all sorts of interesting images, Simbiose claim that they are a “no-holds-barred attack current social, political and economical events”. Expect loud and furious, then.

This reviewer has to be honest, the opener, Payback Time, made him jump out of his skin. In fact, this will probably happen for most listeners, especially if they have headphones on with the volume turned right up. Just a slight word of warning take this as advice against doing that. It does however set the tone for the whole album afterwards very effectively. Beyond the terrifying opening, the music itself is chaotic, fast, heavy, low and generally angry. 

It’s good, too, as music of this type is generally quite hard to follow along with (there are always complaints that it’s hard to tell when one song ends and another begins) but with Simbiose, this is not the case. Despite the choice of genre and style of playing, it’s still very plain to see that the band are very talented. The guitars, though distorted heavily can be plainly heard, and everything just feels very well balanced. The speed is also very, very impressive, as the band manage to maintain the quickness without every song sounding the same (Dragonforce), which is another tick in the box as well.

Improvements – the vocals could use a little more variety, although they do fit with the music style perfectly. They do however get a little tedious after a while, so a little break up in the might be useful for a listener making their way through the whole album. Other than that, it’s a well mixed, surprisingly clear (as in all the instruments are clearly audible) mixture of sounds, which is a pleasant surprise for metal of this speed and level of distortion.

Overall, a rather scary, dark and yet extraordinarily talented album. Not to everyone’s tastes, but sure to set the band on the road to musical success. It’s been too long since metal of this kind caught anyone’s attention, a comeback is needed, and it looks like it’s going to be in the form of Simbiose. Excellent.

Read the original article here: http://www.hevypetal.com/release-reviews/974/simbiose–economical-terrorism-ep