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)

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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

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

Everyone an Army – The Thundering Triumph of Knowing What’s Right EP Review (Hevy Petal Review)

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Jul
7

Heavy progressive metallers Everyone An Army release their imaginatively titled EP  The Thundering Triumph of Knowing What’s Right. A fuzzy, distorted and extremely ‘heavy’ (by definition of the word!) EP, it looks set to blast its way onto the metal scene upon release.

Again, heavy is the keyword for the day here. There are only three songs on this EP, but a listener wouldn’t know it. Slow and grungy, somehow mellow, yet terrifying at the same time, the hefty distorted fuzz effect put onto the guitars really creates the feeling of ‘pressing on the ear drums’, especially if listened to through headphones.  

Kill the Conversation – Farewell for the Last Time EP Review (Hevy Petal Review)

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Jul
2

Metallers Kill the Conversation emerge from their position in the underground as stage-sharers with the likes of Sepultura and Rise to Remain with this, their own debut EP, entitled Farewell for the Last Time. Due to be released on September 4^th, the EP is a brave step into a big new world for the Dorchester-based band, whose chuggy, punchy sound has really crafted an engaging sound of their own. 

Vocally, Kill the Conversation actually strike a bit of a resemblance of metallers Opeth, with the deep, low end screams punching through the chugging guitar riffs, especially on the opener Fold and Shattered Shell. The additions of the pig-squeal seals the deal, this is more towards death / black metal than metalcore. The band have been compared to the likes of August Burns Red, Parkway Drive and Bring Me The Horizon, but there isn’t really enough energy in the music for the complete metalcore comparison. Kill the Conversation are slower, and much, much heavier in some ways than this kind of metalcore. Bands such as Akercocke might make for a better comparison. The best thing is, it’s not comparable to pretty much anything else, making this sound a completely-their-own sound. Excellent.

So, is Farewell for the Last Time any good? In a nutshell, yes. Again, it’s original sounding, and therefore it’s hard to put into a genre of metal, which is a good thing. It’s heavy, but if one were to call it heavy metal, then that speaks of bands like Iron Maiden, which it definitely is not. To describe the sound, the best words would be low, angry, chuggy and, importantly, ‘paced’. Paced, because even when the sound picks up speed, it still feels a little slower than a lot of other metal, almost like it’s taking it’s time. Musically, the guitars are excellent, slow, with just the right amount of distortion on them to give off the sound that the band seem to be going for, and it’s obvious that they play them with a lot of talent.

Points to improve – there aren’t very many at all. The vocals could use a little variety, although for the style the band are aiming for, they’re spot on. The whole sound itself could use a little variation, it’s slow, heavy and chuggy for the entire release, which might get a little tiresome. What Kill the Conversation have is very good, but for a full length album it might be an idea to put in something to break this up a little bit and give the listener a little reprieve. Blakes Demise and City in Ruins do this very briefly on Farewell for the Last Time, but it’s a bit too little, too late, and it leaves a listener wanting a little more of it before it disappointingly goes back into the same hefty chugs.

Overall, a really good piece of metal. Engaging, punchy, catchy and original sounding, this release has a little of everything, despite being a little the same all the way through. It’s sure to get the band noticed when it’s released in September, and, to make a very bad pun, Kill the Conversation definitely won’t be killing any conversations.

Read the original article here: http://www.hevypetal.com/release-reviews/898/kill-the-conversation–farewell-for-the-last-time-ep

Silent Descent – Mind Games Album Review (Hevy Petal Review)

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Jun
3

Trance-metal has had a bad press.  “It’s not really metal” is one of the main phrases used when it’s being criticised, but there doesn’t seem like two genres of music that go hand-in-hand better than the two, a fact that band Silent Descent seem to subscribe to. Their latest release, full length album Mind Games is packed full of punchy metal riffs, deep, throaty screams and uplifting choruses, packed together with the presence of electronic synth sounds and artificial drums. In fact, one might go so far as to call it Trance-Metalcore, due to the speed and nature of the guitars and screaming. Even better.

The best word to describe it is creative. From the opener, Overture, the album sounds very experimental. Silent Descent seem to have taken elements from all aspects of music that influence them and put them together – consequently, it can remind one of anything from Guns ‘n’ Roses to Bring Me The Horizon to Children of Bodom – a broad spectrum of rock and metal. This is good, it shows that the band all have shedloads of musical talent, bags of creativity and the guts to put everything into their music without worry of the consequences. The result is, actually, something rather special. Every song is very catchy, induces appreciative head-bopping and a slight smile in a listener and has elements to please all kinds of people. There’s something for everyone here.

One of the most special moments is the breakdown in the title track Mind Games, which has the ability to make a jaw drop at both its speed and actual sound. This album has moments all across it that sound so simple, every musician out there listening to it will wonder why they didn’t come up with them first. In short, it’s packed full of moments of complete genius.

Bad points of the album – they are few and far between. Lyrically, there could be a little improvement in some of the chorus lines, but it does feel like the lyrics weren’t really a focus when writing this album, instead the music was. There also doesn’t seem to be any more ‘freshness’ since their last release, either, but instead more-of-the-same. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though. It gets new fans, gives the band more exposure, and pleases the fans that they already had. Plus, the band get to carry on making music that they are clearly passionate about. So, everyone is a winner.

So, trance-metal gets another breath of fresh air from metallers Silent Descent. It’s business as usual for them, meaning they haven’t really moved on from their previous releases, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Not many bands have managed to get that mixture of genre right, but in this case, Silent Descent have nailed it. More of the same? Yes please.

Read the original article here: http://www.hevypetal.com/release-reviews/798/silent-descent–mind-games-album