"If I could survive to live one more time
I wouldn't be changing a thing at all
Done more in my life than some do in ten
I'd go back and do it all over again..."
If you want to get more information about any of the bands featured at The Metal Moose Show, simply Google the band and/or the song name to find their official website and Facebook page and, more important than that, attend their live concerts and buy their music. Here at The Headbanging Moose you can also find detailed reviews of many other excellent underground bands. Support your local bands… AND FOLLOW THE MOOSE!
On The Metal Moose Show this week:
1. Black Absinthe – Tyranized
2. Cyranoi – Challenger Deed
3. Dawn Valley – That Sloppy Girl You Once Knew
4. Archaeologist – Lucid Dreams
5. White Knuckle Blackout – Boneyard
6. Nyn – Spirit Of The Forrest
7. Dark Moor – Imperial Earth
8. A Damn Shame – Shark Week
9. Bigfoot – Tie Me Down
10. Veilside – Along The Way
11. Urn – Casting Amber
12. Smackhand – Controversy
13. Poynte – Erase Me
14. Dying In Degrees – Suffocate
15. Motorize – Revolations
16. Artifas – Blame
17. Mentally Blind – Decadence
18. My Last Solace – New Dawn
19. Black 13 – Limbo
20. Fragile Existence – Upon Serpents They Prey
21. A Feeding Beast – Discorruption
22. Decieverion – In The Name Of Everything That Is Heathen
23. Mine Enemies Fall – Smashing Demons
24. Trigant – Reflection
Click HERE to listen to this week’s episode on Spreaker.
These undead Portuguese metallers are back from the grave to tear our flesh apart and provide us some high-quality old school Death Metal.
Just like any gory and macabre zombie flick, there are times in our lives when people or things that we thought were dead and gone for good make an impactful return to feast on our flesh and haunt our souls. If you’re addicted to sordid old school Death Metal the likes of Dismember, Entombed and Grave, you won’t mind being devoured by the undead Portuguese Death Metal band Festering who, as per the name of their brand new album, are back From The Grave to tear all of us apart.
After releasing a split album back in 1992 and remaining dormant for almost two decades, this talented band from Santo António dos Cavaleiros, Portugal was reformed in 2011, releasing a demo tape entitled From The Grave and an EP named Exhumed, both in 2012. Now in 2015, following the same gruesome path of those releases, their debut full-length album From The Grave, which features cover illustration and artworks by renowned artist César Valladares (Asphyx, Nominon, Graveyard, among many others), will provide the listener a full-bodied portrait of what these cold-blooded Portuguese metallers are capable of.
The quick and sinister intro Festering initiates the sonic cannibalism that becomes extremely barbaric in Exhumed, an old school Death Metal song with absolutely no shenanigans, just straightforward devastation where riffs and growls take the spotlight (as expected), also showcasing drums highly influenced by the blast beats of Black Metal but slightly groovier. Following that promising start, we have the perverse Infected and its hints of Doom Metal, with the bestial vocals by Pedro Gonçalves inspired by old Sepultura and Morbid Angel. It’s a great song for headbanging led by its wicked riffs, where the band accelerates the rhythm, slows it down and goes on with that alternation a few more times, reaching an outstanding result in the end.
The Myth Of Creation can be considered a circle-pit generator chant, with drummer Norberto Arrais kicking ass behind his kit while the guitar lines by João Galego seem as if they’re going to decapitate us so sharp they are, not to mention the aggressiveness of the low-tuned bass lines by Koja Mutilator. And if you think Festering will give you a break you’re damn wrong, because they keep kicking you in the head with their nonstop viciousness in Consuming From Within, a very traditional tune with lots of groove, feeling sometimes like a tribute to Cannibal Corpse and other classic gory bands due to its lyrics (“Open sores all over my body and exuding a foul scent / With an intense suffering, the anguish spend my days / With the excruciating pain that runs through my body / And wanton my flesh like a cold steel blade”); followed by the “infected” musicality and dirty melody found in Submerged In Emptiness, with highlights to the rhythmic beats by Norberto. This tune lives up to the sanguinary tradition of Death Metal, or in other words, it’s fast, heavy and wicked, and we love all that.
The next track, Bloodline, has a deranged ambience boosted by the demented deep growls by Pedro, with its hardcore riffs and extreme violence being the icing on the cake of this sensational feast of blood and death that should work marvelously if played live. Moreover, kudos to João for his spot-on guitar solo, adding more electricity to the overall result. In the Blackened Doom Metal tune Proliferation Of Infected Leucocytes their demonic side arises, and if you pay good attention to the music you’ll find hints of Rock N’ Roll and Southern Metal in it, increasing its complexity and harmony but obviously always keeping it carnivorous. Lastly, closing the album we have the slashing Ascent Of The Blessed, where the combination of its direct shredding and high-speed drums turns it into an excellent option for mosh pits, with Pedro once again delivering his amazing sick roars to give life (or death) to the song’s lyrics (“The angels all ascended, / The demons left behind / A new generation was born / From their hatred and cruelty – We”), and the shortest of all tracks, Psychic Convulsions Of Neurasthenia, a beautiful name for a violent composition with highlights to the evil bass lines by Koja.
There are several places where you can find more details about the music by Festering, such as their YouTube channel and especially at their ReverbNation page, and grab your copy of From The Grave at the band’s BandCamp, at the Caverna Abismal Records BandCamp, or at the Caverna Abismal Records webstore. As aforementioned, these talented (and undead) metallers are back from the grave not only to tear our flesh apart but, more important than that, to also provide us all high-quality old school Death Metal. But that’s if you’re not afraid of living dead musicians, of course.
Best moments of the album:Infected, Submerged In Emptiness and Bloodline.
Worst moments of the album:Proliferation Of Infected Leucocytes.
Released in 2015 Caverna Abismal Records/War Productions/Sinais Produções
Track listing 1. Festering (Intro) 0:23
2. Exhumed 3:15
3. Infected 4:36
4. The Myth Of Creation 4:15
5. Consuming From Within 4:21
6. Submerged In Emptiness 4:36
7. Bloodline 4:13
8. Proliferation Of Infected Leucocytes 3:36
9. Ascent Of The Blessed 5:21
10. Psychic Convulsions Of Neurasthenia 2:53
Band members Pedro Gonçalves – vocals
João Galego – guitars
Koja Mutilator – bass
Norberto Arrais – drums
Take a shot at this fun interview with Hateful Warfare to have a very good depiction of the everyday life, experiences and dreams of a true underground Death Metal band from Brazil.
The Headbanging Moose: As you’re a brand new Death Metal act, I guess we need to start by presenting you to our readers. In other words, who are Hateful Warfare? Can you please share with us some details on how the band got together, why and how you chose the name “Hateful Warfare”, where each band member comes from, and what your main goals are for the future?
Hateful Warfare: The band is comprised of Andrei (bass/vocals), Norba (guitar) and Denis (drums), a traditional Death Metal power trio. The band is a reformation of another project we had in the past, which didn’t end up working well and so the three of us decided to remain together and focus our common ideas on our songwriting and composing. The name of the band came in a moment of anger (laughs), as we were searching for a name that was impactful and that at the same time matched with our personalities on stage. Our goals for the future are recording our first full-length album, shooting a video clip, and then going on a tour of the album across Brazil.
THM: The band might be new, but there has already been a significant change to your music when one of the guitarists left and Hateful Warfare became a power trio. How has that influenced your music and the dynamism among the three band members left? What are the positive outcomes of this important change?
HW: His time with the band was short mainly due to his geographic location/distance to the rest of the band, which was a huge hassle for our rehearsals. It was decided that we would go on as a power trio, and our dynamism only tends to grow because when you’re a power trio you have more freedom in terms of composition, improvisation, harmony, acquaintanceship, among other positive points. In addition to that, Andrei and Norba are father and son, which already helps a lot. We are all comfortable in what we’ve been doing so far and this is very significant for a band to move on.
THM: I had the pleasure of reviewing your short but extremely heavy debut EP, entitled Scenarios Of Execution. If I had to describe the album in just a few words, I would say it’s old school Death Metal exactly the way it’s supposed to be. How was the songwriting and composition period of the album? How long did it take to finalize everything, and what were the highlights of the entire process to you?
HW: Thank you for your kind words, this is very gratifying for us. The creative process was very demanding, rehearsing two or three times a week, always composing riffs and with focus on creating something new everyday. We all thought about something during the week, wrote something, created the riffs, recorded at home and then presented that during the rehearsal in order to always capitalize on something. The recording was done at the Audio Goblin studio with the local producer and musician Fábio Gorresen (Flesh Grinder/Zombie Cookbook). It took one month to finalize the recording, mixing and mastering, and after that we released a few physical copies of the EP. We believe that the impact of the EP has been very positive, making us even more excited to record our full-length album as soon as possible.
THM: I would like to know more details about my favorite songs of the EP, starting with the excellent Welcome to my Nightmare. As mentioned in our review for the EP, the vocals sound inspired by the early days of the iconic Max Cavalera. Is he one of your main influences in music? How do you prepare your voice for the thunderous Death Metal by Hateful Warfare? In addition, although the riffs are extremely dirty, the overall result of the song is very melodic. How did you manage to reach that amazing level of balance between brutality and harmony?
HW: There is no secret, it’s just a matter of keeping the throat always moist and sing with hatred (laughs). Regarding you mentioning the song being dirty and melodic, I believe that actually comes from our influences, as this song was inspired by classic Death Metal the likes of Scream Bloody Gore (Death) to the Thrash Metal from the album Extreme Aggression (Kreator). There’s always aggressiveness followed by something harmonious that matches perfectly with the style.
THM: My other favorite tune, Bloody Night, brings lots of awesome elements from different subgenres of extreme music, such as Black and Doom Metal. Was that something you planned on doing, or did it come up naturally during the writing process? How does the audience react to songs that are not purely Death Metal like this one?
HW: It was something natural, we don’t write our music trying to remain 100% loyal to Death Metal. We have an infinitude of influences inside each of our heads and that was what best suited the music, lyrics thrown to the imaginary with an aggressive theme and several variations in the instrumental, stressing the heaviness and the speed at different times.
THM: Brazil might not be considered the most metal country in the world, but there’s still a good share of incredible bands spread across the country, not to mention how crazy most Brazilian headbangers are. In your opinion, how is the current Heavy Metal scene in Brazil? Do you feel that there are enough bands, venues and concerts down there to keep the fire of metal burning bright for many years to come? What are the main issues for a heavy band in Brazil?
HW: There are excellent new bands rising month after month, incredible places spread throughout Brazil, high-skilled musicians and the utmost quality. The only disturbing things are the high costs to maintain a band, equipment with extremely high taxes, and if you do not have a studio yourself you have to pay a lot of money to rehearse every single week. What drives metal in Brazil is the underground, we have to be headbangers faithful to the art, because making a living from metal in Brazil is still a dream for all of us, some can do it but that’s just a minority.
THM: What are top 5 albums that influenced the band members the most, and how much do those albums still inspire you to craft your music? What about non-metal bands and artists, are there any you enjoy that also impact the way you write your music?
HW: The top 5 albums that are the most present in the playlists of each one of us are Piece of Mind (Iron Maiden), Leprosy (Death), Severed Survival (Autopsy), Hell Awaits (Slayer) and Arise (Sepultura). Our writing process involves the whole context of what’s going on through our heads. At the moment I don’t have any specific albums to mention, but I would like to stress out that the lyrics for the song Addiction to Kill were written based on the story of the TV series Dexter.
THM: What would be the “dream tour” for Hateful Warfare? I mean, which bands would you feel honored to play with, and what are the cities, venues or festivals you would love to visit together with those bands?
Album Review – Hateful Warfare / Scenarios Of Execution EP (2015)
HW: There is an infinity of bands who we dream of playing together, such as Destruction, Gruesome, Cancer, Kreator, Obscura, Obituary, Sodom, Vader and so on (laughs). With every passing year high-quality festivals are born in several countries, but like any headbanger it would be a dream come true to step on the stage at Wacken Open Air, Hellfest, Monsters of Rock, Obscene Extreme, among others.
THM: In regards to your current tour dates, how are the concerts to promote Scenarios Of Execution going? Do you have any funny stories to share with us, or talk about something that went horribly wrong with the band? And do you have any plans for an international tour here in North America, in Europe or anywhere else?
HW: The shows have been taking place only in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, and they have been very positive so far for us. We have several good stories happening every night, the funniest being our first show. We were tuning the instruments to hit the stage and the intro was already going to start playing, when we lost sight of our drummer. We sought him all over the venue and no sign of him. We spent about 10 minutes looking for him and when we finally found him he was outside talking to some friends, while we were getting absolutely mad after him for a while (laughs).
THM: Muito obrigado pela entrevista! Please feel free to send a final message to all readers of The Headbanging Moose and to all fans of old school Death Metal all over the word.
HW: First of all, thanks for the compliments on our work, and also to the space provided for the interview. To all fans of old school Death Metal, always seek for novelties in the genre, there is a lot of good stuff emerging but that’s not getting recognized as it should. This genre has a lot to be unraveled yet, and that this Death Metal vein never runs out of blood!
…and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the ungodly Blackened Death Metal cast by a demonic duo from Spain.
Tsar Bomb, or “Царь-бомба” in Russian, might be commonly known as the nickname for the AN602 hydrogen bomb developed by the Soviet Union, the most powerful man-made nuclear weapon ever detonated, but for the past few years it has also become a synonym to the cataclysmic music by Spanish Blackened Death Metal band Tsar Bomb. The force of impact of their compositions is immeasurable, crushing your soul inhumanely, but at the same time leaving you avid for more destruction and chaos after their extreme music raid ceases.
After the release of their debut album Neowarfare in 2012, this Málaga-based hellish duo is ready to scathe our society again with their brand new record, entitled Exterminans IX:XI, an album fundamentally inspired by the Book of Revelation, with even the writing of its lyrics being attributed to some sort of “help” by St. John the Apostle. Moreover, Tsar Bomb managed to merge in a very technical and aggressive way the esoteric side of the biblical scriptures with their belligerent and occultist vision of the world, offering the listener a wide spectrum of blasphemy, havoc and desperation.
Exterminans IX:XI begins with a nightmare-ish Intro where the smooth piano notes by guest musician Carmen Robles Jimenez bring some peace to our hearts amidst the song’s sheer ravage, before Ad Maiorem Legio Gloriam (“the greater glory of law”) comes bursting a brutal onslaught of Black, Death and Blackened Death Metal for our total delight. In addition, the band’s intricate instrumental artillery provides lead singer Ocram the perfect environment for his demonic growls, and although all drums are programmed, the music sounds very organic and alive at all times, which will make you simply forget about that minor detail.
The title-track, Exterminans IX:XI, is more than “just” a song about Abaddon, also known as the Destroyer or the Angel of the Abyss as portrayed in the Holy Bible (Revelation 9:11), it’s an even more vicious and intense tune, where six-string master Ivan does a superb job with his piercing guitar riffs enhancing its dark atmosphere and apocalyptic vibe; followed by Septem Tonitrua (“seven thunders”), an expression that also appears in the Holy Bible (Revelation 10:4), and obviously in the song’s lyrics (“Seven thunders burst, the angel has spoken / Under the oath, resounding horns / The Book of Initiation devoured by Leviathan / Inexorable storm, storm of ashes and fire.”). Their barbaric demolition goes on with another feast of blast beats, complex guitar lines and harsh growls boosted by some special voice effects similar to what Dimmu Borgir and other extreme bands usually do. Put differently, this killing tune will auspiciously dilacerate your mind before reaching its climatic and desolate ending.
In Armada (Mari Bestiam), which refers to the Spanish Armada of 1588, Tsar Bomb translated the monstrous power of the armada into a dark and robust tune, with highlights to the hints of progressiveness and modernity added to this technical Extreme Metal composition by Ocram and Ivan; while Caustic Blessing is a high-speed violent chant where yet again drums do not feel like they’re programmed at all. Can a human drummer replicate this sonority live? Anyway, this is a very good example of how amazing the band sounds no matter if they add symphonic or progressive elements to their music or if they’re as raw and direct as possible like in this case.
In the excellent …And Spill thy Fire Upon the Earth, prepare your neck for a lot of pain from headbanging because Tsar Bomb sound like a wild beast attacking you directly in the jugular, offering a multi-layered infernal Black Metal exhibit where vocals by Ocram get even more diabolical and in sync with its scalding lyrics (“The reign of chaos spits its fire / With hall and blood scorching the life / With flaming soil the waters died / And Spill Thy Fire Upon The Earth!!”). And finally, Mikaheylel reminds me a lot of the sonority found in The Satanist, by Behemoth, especially the blasphemous aura surrounding the music. You can feel hatred and despair emanating from its riffs, which ends up being frightful but mesmerizing at the same time, reinforcing this extremely well-crafted chant that perfectly represents what Blackened Death Metal is all about. There’s still time for a disturbing Outro to close this marvelous album, with the piano by Carmen returning in a very melancholic pattern, turning it into the soundtrack to a desolated war field after the detonation of a deadly nuclear weapon.
In case the sonic detonation ignited by Tsar Bomb helped release your inner demons, you can find more about their work on their official Facebook page and SoundCloud, and also find Exterminans IX:XI for sale at their BandCamp page or at the Cimmerian Shade Recordings’ BandCamp page. There’s an interesting excerpt from the Bible, Revelation 9:2, which states that “And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.” Replace the smoke of the pit with the disturbing Blackened Death Metal by Tsar Bomb, and there you have a suitable depiction of how vile this Spanish duo can be.
Best moments of the album:Ad Maiorem Legio Gloriam, Exterminans IX:XI, Armada (Mari Bestiam) and Mikaheylel.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2015 Cimmerian Shade Recordings
Track listing 1. Intro 3:01
2. Ad Maiorem Legio Gloriam 5:13
3. Exterminans IX:XI 4:58
4. Septem Tonitrua 6:19
5. Armada (Mari Bestiam) 5:01
6. Caustic Blessing 3:07
7. …And Spill thy Fire Upon the Earth 4:14
8. Mikaheylel 5:43
9. Outro 2:58
Band members Ocram – vocals, drum programming
Ivan – guitars, bass, drum programming
Guest musician Carmen Robles Jimenez – synth, piano
If you want to get more information about any of the bands featured at The Metal Moose Show, simply Google the band and/or the song name to find their official website and Facebook page and, more important than that, attend their live concerts and buy their music. Here at The Headbanging Moose you can find a detailed review of Hungarian Extreme Groove Metal band Omega Diatribe (just click on the link below to read the review). Support your local bands… AND FOLLOW THE MOOSE!
On The Metal Moose Show this week:
1. Black Swamp Water – Drink Em Way Down
2. Bury The Memory – Viewpoint
3. Carnivorous Voracity – Epiphanies Of Perverse Egotism
4. Crisaldia – Kaweqar
5. Odium – The Cell
6. Ruin – The Final Bloodbath
7. Onelegman – Obey
8. Specules – Smudge
9. Romantic Rebel – Believe
10. Mindwork – Traum
11. Edge Of Paradise – Break Away
12. Omega Diatribe – Abstract Ritual
13. Concrete Age – Dumb Show
14. Convictors – Epitome Of Decay
15. New Day Dawn – Life Impossible
16. Twelve Years Driven – Fed Up
17. A Night In The Abyss – Deicide
18. Fisthammer – Automation Of Flesh
19. Olathia – Feel The Earth
20. Raftree – Over And Over
21. Church – Lack Of God
22. Whorion – When The Moon Bled
Click HERE to listen to this week’s episode on Spreaker.
And here comes God doing his awesome magic once again.
British Rock N’ Roll veterans Motörhead can be compared to an unstoppable monster truck. While drummer Mikkey Dee provides all the necessary horsepower, guitarist Philip “Phil” Campbell makes sure there’s a smooth and effective transition between gears, and the unparalleled commander Ian Fraser “Lemmy” Kilmister, of course, keeps breathing smoke and fire through his vocals and bass guitar, smashing every living creature that dares to stand in their way. And it looks like Motörhead’s sonic machine doesn’t really care about its total mileage so far, as it keeps rolling perfecetly in the excellent Bad Magic, the 22nd studio album (impressive, isn’t it?) in their extensive career.
As “they’re Motörhead and they play Rock N’ Roll”, this time I decided to review the album on the road and not sitting in front of a computer, because this is how true and honest Rock N’ Roll is supposed to be enjoyed. Well, that was indeed the best decision I could have possibly made, because not only it kept me awake and watchful while driving due to its high intensity, but it also helped me absorb the music in a more organic way. Anyway, Bad Magic might not be a masterpiece, and do not expect to find anything different from their latest releases (for instance, it’s very similar to their previous album, the also good Aftershock), but it surely lives up to the band’s reputation and will definitely add a few extra razing tunes to your rock collection.
Enough said, it’s time to let the Rock N’ Roll party begin with Victory or Die, featuring those classic riffs by Phil while Mikkey keeps pounding his drums like there’s no tomorrow, and it’s amazing how even after 40 years on the road they’re still capable of crafting such kick-ass music. The same can be said about the thunderous newborn classic anthem Thunder & Lightning, where there isn’t a single second that’s boring or out of place, and besides, its official video is a beautiful tribute to all “motörheads” in the world and complements the music flawlessly. Every single fan that appeared on the video is 100% sure Lemmy is God, period. And you know what? They’re damn right about that.
The slower but flammable Fire Storm Hotel is another amazing composition by Lemmy and his crew that reminds why we all love them so much. In addition, the story told in its lyrics is really cool and adds a lot of value to this already excellent tune (“So wait and I will tell you what happened here / The hotel burned, no lessons learned, only ghosts got clear / They say the rooms are empty but I know they’re not / The way things are in the hotel bar, the devil buys the shots”). In Shoot Out All of Your Lights, Mikkey gives an outstanding lesson in groove and rhythm, supported by Phil’s raspy guitar lines and by the inebriate voice by Lemmy, keeping the ball rolling at an amazing level of quality; whereas The Devil, which sounds like an ode to Lemmy’s arch nemesis (or maybe his best friend, who knows?), is a well-paced and melodic tune guided by Lemmy’s vocals, with highlights to its badass chorus (“The Devil knows you now / The Devil will break your neck / Nobody will hear your call / Go, stare into the face of death”).
Electricity is (guess what?) an electric display of Rock N’ Roll played at full speed, showing that Lemmy still got it despite all his health issues and that his electric soul will never stop firing awesome rock songs like this one, followed by another traditional tune entitled Evil Eye, which will please most fans of the band mainly due to the great job done by Phil with his dirty and soulful riffs, and the superb rock hymn Teach Them How to Bleed, which I would love to see them playing live. When Motörhead speed things up they always deliver the best Rock N’ Roll you can think of, in special with Mikkey playing on his “ beast mode”. Till the End is a melancholic ballad that albeit good it sounds a little out of place amidst so many fast tunes. It’s still very enjoyable and might be a good break for fans who cannot bang their heads for a long period of time, but it’s below average in Bad Magic. Fortunately, Tell Me Who to Kill puts the album back on track with its traditional punch, lots of feeling and Lemmy excelling once again with both his rough vocals and his vicious bass lines. This was born to be a classic, obviously enhanced by its fun lyrics (“Stand up right keep your fingers still / Pretty sure I think I know you now / I just got to know, so whisper sweet and low / Speak the name, tell me who to kill”).
I’m not sure what happened to Lemmy’s voice in Choking on Your Screams, maybe he was trying to sound as if he was actually being choked, but anyway it didn’t work as expected. However, although it’s by far the weakest of all songs, it doesn’t make any harm to the overall result of the album (you just need to skip it if you agree with my opinion). When the Sky Comes Looking for You offers a magnificent blend of Blues Rock, Hard Rock and Rock N’ Roll all backed up by Motörhead’s trademark. While listening to it in my car I realized this is one of the best songs to hit the road I can think of, with kudos to Phil for his amazing guitar solos and to Lemmy just for being who he is. But that’s not the end of Bad Magic, as the band still delivers an interesting tribute to a band that’s probably the only active one in the world older than Motörhead, The Rolling Stones’ all-time classic Sympathy for the Devil. And what’s even more interesting is the fact that Phil was the one responsible for the piano parts, which in my opinion is beyond awesome.
In short, another solid album by Motörhead (you can listen to it in its entirety on their YouTube channel), and another beautiful proof of how much Lemmy, Phil and Mikkey love Rock N’ Roll and will never give up, not even when it seems they’re getting “too old for this shit” and people start saying they need to retire. Always keep in mind that Lemmy is God, so we shouldn’t be too worried about the fact his health hasn’t been the best lately. Actually, he’s probably just “sick” of people who, instead of sharing some cold beers with their friends and listening to rock music, are destroying the world he created. Let’s just hope he’s strong enough to keep crafting his Rock N’ Roll magic for many years to come, otherwise, the world we live in becomes meaningless.
Best moments of the album:Thunder & Lightning, Fire Storm Hotel, Teach Them How to Bleed and Tell Me Who to Kill.
Worst moments of the album:Till the End and Choking on Your Screams.
Released in 2015 UDR
Track listing 1. Victory or Die 3:09
2. Thunder & Lightning 3:06
3. Fire Storm Hotel 3:35
4. Shoot Out All of Your Lights 3:15
5. The Devil 2:54
6. Electricity 2:17
7. Evil Eye 2:20
8. Teach Them How to Bleed 3:13
9. Till the End 4:05
10. Tell Me Who to Kill 2:57
11. Choking on Your Screams 3:33
12. When the Sky Comes Looking for You 2:58
13. Sympathy for the Devil (The Rolling Stones cover) 5:35
Band members Lemmy Kilmister – vocals, bass
Philip Campbell – guitar, piano on “Sympathy for the Devil”
Mikkey Dee – drums
Can you imagine what would happen if Motörhead decided one day to stop playing their badass Rock N’ Roll to start focusing exclusively on electronic music, or if Cannibal Corpse suddenly started playing only acoustic songs, singing about butterflies and unicorns, without a single drop of blood in their lyrics? That’s something almost impossible to visualize, right? And the reason for that is because if those bands actually decided to do that, to completely change their music direction, they would simply lose their core essence, the main element that defines who they are. Once in a while we see our beloved bands following that horrible path, like Megadeth with their awful “Risk” and obviously Metallica with the worst “metal” album of all time, the annoying “St. Anger”. Now it’s time for American Heavy Metal band Trivium to leave an unfortunate scar in their solid career with the tiresome Silence In The Snow, their seventh studio album and by far their worst work to date.
And I’m not complaining exclusively about the fact that there aren’t any unclean/harsh vocals at all from neither Matt Heafy nor Corey Beaulieu for the first time ever in a Trivium album, which is already a huge bummer, but also about the fact that the music itself is too generic, tasteless and pedestrian, despite being still technical and harmonious. In other words, it lacks so much energy to the point no one is saying anything about this being their first album with Mat Madiro on drums, and we all know how much fans of the band like to chat about which Trivium drummer is or was the best. Besides, where are the rumbling and complex bass lines by Paolo Gregoletto? Some people will try to defend the band saying they already changed their musicality in their latest albums In Waves (too weird?) and Vengeance Falls (too Disturbed-ish?), that they are evolving, but we cannot compare those electrifying releases with this ode to monotony. I listen to In Waves almost as much as to Shogun, without skipping a single song, because after all is said and done it’s a fuckin’ awesome Heavy Metal album. But Silence In The Snow, oh boy, I’m pretty sure I’ll never listen to it again of my own free will. It’s not Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal or even Metalcore.
The Star Wars-ish intro Snøfall is relatively good, but the problem is that after listening to the entire album it made me think a lot about Episode I – The Phantom Menace, which we all know is strongly abhorred by everyone that truly loves Darth Vader & Co. At least the title-track, Silence in the Snow, has its good moments, and albeit not brilliant it has an epic vibe mainly due to Matt’s potent clean vocals. In addition, as I mentioned on the review to their concert here in Toronto last week, it gains a lot of vitality when played live. The same can be said about Blind Leading the Blind, which is Trivium without harsh growls (maybe some screams would have turned it into a classic), providing the listener their catchy and metallic riffs thanks to a great performance by all members, especially Matt and Corey. From this point on it’s just downhill, starting with Dead and Gone, which is almost enjoyable if it wasn’t for one minor detail: this totally feels like a SCREAMING tune, something we should be busting our throats off together with the band, where instead of a clean “Dead and goooooone!” it should have been “DEAAAAD ANNHH GAAAAAAHHHNNN!”, you know what I’m saying? There’s no punch!
The first few seconds of The Ghost That’s Haunting You are promising, before it becomes a feast of generic noises including boring drums, even more boring riffs and a huge amount of “nothing” in its lyrics. This song desperately needed some screams to become decent, with its guitar solos saving it from a total disaster. Pull Me from the Void is yet another song with a favorable start, as fast as it should be, with its instrumental parts living up to Trivium’s legacy. However, I can’t explain why but it never really takes off, maybe it’s because of its horrible chorus, but the overall result is no better than just average. Then we have the ballad Until the World Goes Cold, which I learned to enjoy, but the problem in this case is that if it was something like “Of All These Yesterdays” from In Waves it would have been a lot more efficient. I mean, if it was a COMPLEMENT to a powerful Trivium album I’m sure even the most diehard fan of the band wouldn’t complain about it, but when an average ballad is one of the highlights of the album you know there’s something wrong.
I don’t know where to start so bad Rise Above the Tides is. This mediocre tune sounds pretty much like the biggest hit from a generic band that plays at a pop/rock radio station for a few weeks or months and then disappears forever. I hope Matt & Co. never EVER play this garbage live, because that would mean they wouldn’t be playing something a billion times better instead, therefore wasting some precious time of the concert. And for a band that has crafted such bestial tunes like “Insurrection”, “Through Blood and Dirt and Bone” and “Becoming the Dragon”, the following track entitled The Thing That’s Killing Me is 100% unacceptable. It’s one more tricky song that begins in an exciting way but quickly turns into nothing remarkable again. Well, they can have this song played on any pop/rock radio station in the world, but is that what they really want for their career?
Anyway, Beneath the Sun feels like a double-edged sword: add screams and we would have a more than awesome tune; keep it the way it is and you might listen to it once or twice, but will surely never want to make that same mistake again. Not even the instrumental pieces remind me of the real Trivium, it’s just a lazy version of some generic Alternative Metal band added to the album for a reason beyond my comprehension. Fortunately, in the excellent Breathe in the Flames it seems the “generic” virus hasn’t killed all their essence yet, sounding (almost) like pure Trivium, just with the screams (unfortunately) missing, of course, and together with “Blind Leading the Blind” it’s the only song worth listening in the future when the album is no longer a new release and the initial excitement of it is gone. In fact, it’s the only one that sounds truly metal and that I want to see them playing live in their future concerts.
And that’s the end of Silence In The Snow. Well, the special edition contains two other non-exciting tunes that don’t add anything worth mentioning to the album (albeit Cease All Your Fire has its decent moments), so let’s not worry about those. When the album is over, there’s a strong feeling of void, you don’t feel energized or anything positive, and all you want to do is any other activity, no matter what, as long as that doesn’t include listening to it again. This is definitely NOT a good Trivium album, far from that, which makes me wonder if it wasn’t a better idea for Matt to have released it as a solo project instead. Leastwise, if Matt had let Corey scream in most of the songs, we might not have been complaining so much about it, but that’s just a distant dream now that the album is already released. I understand Matt’s goal to evolve as a singer, not screaming anymore, and I respect that, but that doesn’t mean we are forced to enjoy this below-average pop/rock album just because it is Trivium. In the end, I will always love their music, their previous albums and their ass-kicking live performances. But Silence In The Snow? Thanks, but no thanks.
Best moments of the album:Blind Leading the Blind and Breathe in the Flames.
Worst moments of the album:The Ghost That’s Haunting You, Rise Above the Tides, The Thing That’s Killing Me and Beneath the Sun.
Released in 2015 Roadrunner Records
Track listing 1. Snøfall 1:28
2. Silence in the Snow 3:40
3. Blind Leading the Blind 4:25
4. Dead and Gone 3:41
5. The Ghost That’s Haunting You 4:03
6. Pull Me from the Void 3:50
7. Until the World Goes Cold 5:21
8. Rise Above the Tides 3:50
9. The Thing That’s Killing Me 3:25
10. Beneath the Sun 3:52
11. Breathe in the Flames 4:59
Special edition bonus tracks
12. Cease All Your Fire 5:00
13. The Darkness of My Mind 4:44
Band members Matt Heafy – guitar, lead vocals
Corey Beaulieu – guitar, vocals
Paolo Gregoletto – bass, vocals
Mat Madiro – drums
It is a well-known fact that all Finnish women are pretty and charming, absolutely no doubt about that. But it’s when a girl from the land of ice and snow releases her inner beast that things get even more exciting, which is exactly the case with our Metal Chick of the Month, the ravishing Noora Louhimo, lead singer of Finnish Heavy Metal band Battle Beast. And if you don’t like the voice and the looks of this blonde “warrior princess”, honestly, I don’t know what to say.
Noora was born on November 6, 1988 in Tampere, Finland, around 180km north of the capital Helsinki, and she has been singing since she was only 4 years old. She had many hobbies before she started focusing on singing, such as dancing, acting, drawing, painting and anything else she could do to express herself. When she was around 13 years old, she had her first band at school, singing Finnish pop songs as well as love ballads from artists like Whitney Houston and Celine Dion.
Despite being a huge fan of Heavy Metal from the 80’s when she was a teenager, when she was 16 years old she had some classical singing lessons, before starting to study music in a more Pop/Jazz-line and doing some jam sessions at bars at the age of 19. That was also when she found her first band, called Admiral Octopus, at a place called BluesBar. The band used to play Rock N’ Roll and Blues from the 60’s, 70’s, and also songs from Janis Joplin, which according to Noora herself is the reason why she got the rasp in her voice. After Admiral Octopus, Noora took part in a singing competition called “Wanna Be A Rock N’ Roll Star” at a place called Henry’s Pub, also in Tampere, and guess what? She won the competition singing Janis Joplin’s classic Piece of My Heart. That’s how her single Relax was born, and that’s pretty much her history before joining Battle Beast.
It was during autumn in 2012, right after Battle Beast finished touring some summer rock festivals in Finland, that singer Nitte Valo, who was with the band since its inception in 2008, announced to be leaving the band due to family issues. In September 2012, guitarist Anton Kabanen found Noora by accident on YouTube when he was searching for a new vocalist for Battle Beast, and after a couple of calls Noora accepted the challenge to be the new frontwoman of the band. In 2013 our blonde diva recorded her first full-length release with the band, the powerful self-titled album Battle Beast, and more recently the also amazing Unholy Saviour, in January 2015.
The Finnish lioness mentioned in one of her interviews that she does many different exercises with her voice, rest it when needed and then a lot more, and also that working out is a very important part of keeping her vocals in a good shape. Whatever she’s actually doing with her voice, it’s working more than perfectly, as we can notice in her excellent performance on a Finnish television program in 2014 singing the song Into the Heart of Danger, her contributions to the good song Satans of Swing by Finnish band Somehow Jo! and to the inspiring Eye to Eye by Swiss Melodic Power Metal band Crystal Ball, and also singing one of her favorite songs from Battle Beast, the electrifying tune Let It Roar. One interesting fact about her singing style is that, as much as she wants to sound like a female singer with “balls”, she wants to sound feminine and sexy at the same time.
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In regards to her main influences in life, our warrior princess doesn’t only sing Heavy Metal, but a huge variety of music genres such as Soul, Rock, Blues, among others, and those different styles are what keep her in balance and inspired as a singer. As aforementioned, she started listening to metal music when she was 16 years old, and that “fire” started actually with Guns N’ Roses. When she heard Welcome to the Jungle for the first time, she knew there was no coming back. Then there came Dio, Judas Priest, W.A.S.P. and of course Iron Maiden. Although her list of influences is endless, including names such as Robert Plant, Freddie Mercury, Ronnie James Dio, Whitney Houston, Blackie Lawless, Rob Halford, Bruce Dickinson, Michael Jackson, Axl Rose and many more, her biggest idols in music are first Janis Joplin and second Ann Wilson.
And last but not least, when asked if she’s addicted to any bad habit or guilty pleasure, her answer couldn’t be more feminine than that: chocolate. Well, our “blonde ninja” is an extremely talented and beautiful woman, and Finnish chocolate is by far one of the best in the world. I guess there couldn’t be a better combination than that to celebrate two years of The Headbanging Moose, right?
If you want to get more information about any of the bands featured at The Metal Moose Show, simply Google the band and/or the song name to find their official website and Facebook page and, more important than that, attend their live concerts and buy their music. Here at The Headbanging Moose you can also find detailed reviews of many other excellent underground bands. Support your local bands… AND FOLLOW THE MOOSE!
On The Metal Moose Show this week:
1. Black Eve – Iron And Blood
2. Ephyra – Flaming Tears
3. As Autumn Calls – Darkness Everlasting
4. Atten Ash – See You… Never
5. Sunlight – Back To Life
6. Weesp – Solar Empire
7. Colisions – We Know The Enemy
8. Cosmic Trigger – Voltaire
9. Foes Of The Fallen – Addiction
10. Grace Solero – Riptide
11. Hammer Persuasion – The Hidden Constant
12. Martyr – Different Kind Of Rain
13. Monumentomb – Ritual Exhumation
14. Fall Saves Grace – Her Psycho Circus
15. Blind Fire Rebels – Drowned In Flames
16. Mine Enemies Fall – Bow To The Pressure
17. Stormbringer – Unto Me
18. Vantablack Warship – From Silent Hauntings To Possessions
19. Blackthorne Elite – Reach For The Sky
Click HERE to listen to this week’s episode on Spreaker.
Do you love elaborate music, but at the same time do you feel an urge to bang your head nonstop? This skillful German act might have exactly what you’re looking for.
If you’re one of those demanding metalheads who’s always looking for fresh and complex music, which at the same time still offers a raw vibe or an evil aura that keeps the music as underground as possible the likes of Moonsorrow, Enslaved, Opeth and Amorphis, you’ll have a great time banging your head to Nocturnal Escape, the self-titled debut album by German Progressive Death/Black Metal band Nocturnal Escape. It might not be an easy listen for people who are used to more straightforward rock and metal at first, but the quality of the music found in this album is so good you’ll end up succumbing to the band’s intricate darkness after a short while.
As a matter of fact, this Augsburg-based group is more like a project created by multi-instrumentalist Leo Bergmann in January 2014, a few months after his previous band, Bleak, disbanded in 2013. Leo was joined by his brother, bassist Klaus Bergmann (who also plays for the excellent German Death Metal band Disgusting Perversion), in late 2014, and also by vocalist Thomas Zimmermann, who added clean vocals to the album in 2015. I don’t know if they can be called a “power trio”, but they surely know how to make a lot of noise and how to fill every empty space with their notes, riffs and beats.
A demonic voice introduces us to the music by Nocturnal Escape in War Of Beliefs, a blend of Death and Black Metal so technical and obscure it’s not recommended for the faint-hearted. However, amidst all turbulence there’s room for tons of progressiveness and melody, with kudos to Leo for crafting such solid and entertaining musicality. What starts as an epic battle hymn evolves to boisterous Black Metal in Age Of Atrocity, with highlights to the nonstop riffs by Leo, the good balance between harsh and clean vocals thanks to a great job done by Thomas, and its meaningful lyrics (“Don’t follow leaders for whom you are lifestock / Pull out now to prevent the shellshock / Cluelessness is bliss of the mindless herd / Set yourself aside and feast on your hate”). Besides, although it’s less progressive than the opening track, it still presents intricate passages and lots of tempo changes.
A Lucid Mind, which leans towards cleaner Progressive Metal despite the growling vocals by Leo, offers us calm and relaxing passages focusing on Thomas’ clean voice and an embracing atmosphere to soothe our souls, while the other pieces of the song are an ode to madness and freedom; followed by Disillusion Strikes, where the band gets back to a more direct sounding, a modern Death Metal tune with hints of the craziness generated by bands such as Devin Townsend, turning it into one of the top moments of the album. The title-track, Nocturnal Escape, starts in some kind of “cosmic” way due to its synths, before switching to Progressive Metal enhanced by Leo’s devilish growls while Thomas declaims his vocal lines, developing then an interesting storyline to be followed attentively throughout the entire song as you can see in its lyrics (“The pain feels good the pain feels right / This cleansing torture drives me through the night / I follow this path and come to me / With this aquired taste in human tragedy”). A similar situation is found in Screaming Heart, with yet another melancholic intro that grows in sorrow and darkness until it becomes a Progressive Dark/Doom Metal exhibit. Not only it feels like two or three songs in one, but the strong focus on riffs and solos were clearly done on purpose by Leo to enhance the song’s punch.
What initially seems to flirt with Alternative Rock and modern Hard Rock turns into a Black Metal feast with a desperate ambience that will invade your mind in Gaia’s Demise, with its funereal riff and the well-balanced duo of harsh and clean vocals leading this progressive tune through its acoustic passages and mesmerizing rhythm. And what if Deep Purple, Devin Townsend and Arch Enemy got together for a jam session? The result would probably resemble the thrilling tune entitled Call To Humanity, which keeps rolling at full speed fueled by its awe-inspiring guitar riffs and solos. It’s indeed an amazing mix of Speed and Death Metal with huge dosages of progressiveness and feeling to close the album on a high note, and in my humble opinion it’s the best tune of the album by far. In addition, pay close attention to the song’s special guests Paul Perlberg, Joscha Radaj (Zerfetzer, Musikalischer Gesundheitsdienst), Tobias Ruf (Disgusting Perversion), Julian Gruber (Running Death) and Simon Bihlmayer (Running Death), as they add some crazy amount of wickedness to the final result.
You can get more details on Nocturnal Escape at their official Facebook page, as well as purchase their debut album through BandCamp. This is a great opportunity for fans of progressive and aggressive music to witness the inception and rise of a talented metal act from Germany who are not afraid of experimenting and adding different layers of complexity to their compositions, creating a unique sounding that, as aforementioned, will beautifully reach to your heart and definitely make you bang your metal head.
Best moments of the album:Age Of Atrocity, Disillusion Strikes and Call To Humanity.
Worst moments of the album:Nocturnal Escape.
Released in 2015 Independent
Track listing 1. War Of Beliefs 7:37
2. Age Of Atrocity 5:23
3. A Lucid Mind 6:52
4. Disillusion Strikes 4:34
5. Nocturnal Escape 7:01
6. Screaming Heart 4:19
7. Gaia’s Demise 6:36
8. Call To Humanity 6:31
Band members Leo Bergmann – harsh vocals, guitars, keyboards, drum programming
Thomas Zimmermann – clean vocals
Klaus Bergmann – bass
Guest musicians
Paul Perlberg – vocals on “Call To Humanity”
Joscha Radaj – keyboards on “Call To Humanity”
Tobias Ruf – second guitar solo on “Call To Humanity”
Julian Gruber – fourth guitar solo on “Call To Humanity”
Simon Bihlmayer – sixth guitar solo on “Call To Humanity”
If you want to get more information about any of the bands featured at The Metal Moose Show, simply Google the band and/or the song name to find their official website and Facebook page and, more important than that, attend their live concerts and buy their music. Here at The Headbanging Moose you can also find detailed reviews of many other excellent underground bands. Support your local bands… AND FOLLOW THE MOOSE!
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