Unknown's avatar

About Gustavo Scuderi

"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..."

Album Review – Henriette B / Red Dawn Of Humanity EP (2014)

Fresh and aggressive music by a Metalcore band as precise as a Swiss watch.

Rating5

FolderFrom the municipality of Tavannes, Switzerland, also home of the world renowned Tavannes watches, comes a five-piece group as precise with their instruments as a Swiss watch: I’m talking about Metalcore/Hardcore band Henriette B (the name comes from the gorgeous Norwegian actress Henriette Bruusgaard, who appeared in the horror movie Manhunt) and their brand new 20-minute violent and polished EP, entitled Red Dawn Of Humanity.

Born in 2009 inspired by excellent bands such as Gojira, Heaven Shall Burn and August Burns Red, and after releasing a three-track demo named First Steps in 2010 and the single Cold Weapon in 2013, which led them to perform not only in Switzerland, but also in France and Belgium, together with names like Anthrax, Ichor and Dirty Fingers, this promising Swiss group has gained a lot of experience and confidence on their path to Red Daw Of Humanity. Besides, as most European bands, those guys know how to add tons of melody amidst all the savagery in their music.

Do not get tricked by the smooth intro in the opening track, Below Us All. When the music starts, it sounds like there will be a female singer coming out of nowhere with some kind of operatic or pop voice, but instead we are assaulted by truly deep guttural vocals and a very solid instrumental, with riffs and drums inspired by Melodic Death Metal enhanced by a more modern approach. And the massacre goes on with Enslave Our Future, heavier, more futuristic and more apocalyptic than its predecessor, including even some elements from Black Metal blended with some characteristic Metalcore rhythmic breaks led by drummer Greg and more brutal vocals by lead singer Ian. The music video, which can be seen below, was directed and produced by Thibaut Schaller and only proves how professional this band is.

promo-2-hd-4096x2731My favorite song of all, the frantic Self Murderer, flirts with old school Death Metal, with its headbanging guitar riffs and some harsh screams by Ian adding lots of brutality and despair to the song; followed by the also strong The Final Procession, with highlights to the great riffs by Jérôme and Vinche. Not only that, the breaks and progressiveness during the last part of the song are really interesting and will surely please all fans of the genre. The last track, Bringer Of Suffering, focuses on more melodic riffs mixed with rawer drums, and it’s even more progressive and modern than the previous track. And you don’t need to understand exactly what the lyrics say to know they’re not happy or optimistic at all.

Visit their official Facebook page to keep updated with everything this nice band has been doing lately, their official YouTube channel to listen to ALL tracks from Red Dawn Of Humanity, and their BandCamp page to purchase their refined music. Henriette B are professional, reliable and precise as the watches from their homeland, and an outstanding addition to your heavy music collection.

Best moments of the album: Enslave Our Future and Self Murderer.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2014 Independent

Track listing
1. Below Us All 4:23
2. Enslave Our Future 3:55
3. Self Murderer 3:46
4. The Final Procession 4:41
5. Bringer Of Suffering 3:39

Band members
Ian – vocals
Vinche – guitar
Jérôme – guitar
Fabien – bass
Greg – drums

Album Review – Carcass / Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel EP (2014)

Is this really a “surplus” of Surgical Steel, or maybe just a pile of uninspired “leftovers”?

Rating9

CoverI love Carcass, it doesn’t matter if it’s their gruesomeness from their beginnings, as the undisputed pioneers of Grindcore, or their more polished musicality adopted during the 90’s when they became a Melodic Death Metal band. For instance, Heartwork is in my opinion one of the most incredible extreme metal albums of all time, an album that was even capable of making it to MTV without sounding commercial, and Surgical Steel was a more than awesome comeback by those British metalheads. However, their new EP entitled Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel sounds a lot more like “leftovers” than actually a “surplus”.

And what’s the problem with the EP if it’s the same band that launched one year ago one of the best metal albums of 2013? To begin with, there’s a huge lack of inspiration and motivation, as if they just released it for (more) money, which I refuse to believe coming from a band so cool as they are. Let’s face it, there isn’t a single song in Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel that gets close to the awesome destruction found in Surgical Steel, or is anyone going to say anything in this EP is better than the excellent “Thrasher’s Abattoir”, “Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System”, “The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills” or “Captive Bolt Pistol”?

The first track in Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel, A Wraith in the Apparatus, is relatively decent, groovy and with less gory and more political/religious lyrics, a little different than what Carcass usually offer us (“Harmless or nefrarious / A gilded new church / A false god to worship / Blind acceptance with no repentence / A jaded new church / A false deity to service”). However, it’s nothing really special or outstanding, just a good song that if it had been included in Surgical Steel it would probably be one of its worst moments.

CarcassAlthough I enjoyed the guitar riff in Intensive Battery Brooding, that’s another song that doesn’t provide us anything memorable. It pretty much sounds like a lazy version of Megadeth or a failed attempt to sound more Sludge or Southern Metal, with its drums being as boring as possible. The last part of the song, a lot faster and more Carcass-ish, is kind of interesting, but again, that’s it. Zochrot showcases another good guitar work, but it sounds like one more “leftover” from the full-length album than something fresh and unique as a B-side is supposed to be.

Finally, we have Livestock Marketplace, which despite it’s extremely fun lyrics (“Fiscal sexuality for we are all whores & prostitutes / Life’s a celebration at the cattle market / The frigid and recycling death disco / Bestial passion at the cattle market”) doesn’t have the energy we love in the music by Carcass, it’s just like if they were jamming without any commitment to the final result. And I’m not sure why there’s a “reprise” to the intro of their latest album as an outro, named 1985 (Reprise): it doesn’t really make any sense, unless their goal with this was to inspire the fans to go listen to Surgical Steel, an album worth our money, unlike this EP.

It truly breaks my heart to acknowledge Carcass have tremendously failed in Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel, but at least it’s just an EP with mediocre tracks that didn’t make it to Surgical Steel. Anyway, I’m sure whenever they launch a new full-length album it will be brutally amazing, with all those sick riffs and diabolical lyrics we all love from those metal icons from the UK. Until then, please go listen to Surgical Steel, Heartwork, Swansong, Reek of Putrefaction, the superb compilation Wake Up and Smell the… Carcass, or anything else but this disappointing jumble of leftovers.

Best moments of the album: A Wraith in the Apparatus is acceptable, especially compared to the other songs in Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel.

Worst moments of the album: Unfortunately, almost everything found in the EP sounds really lazy and uninspired.

Released in 2014 Nuclear Blast

Track listing
1. A Wraith in the Apparatus 3:31
2. Intensive Battery Brooding 4:44
3. Zochrot 3:22
4. Livestock Marketplace 4:15
5. 1985 (Reprise) 1:48

Band members
Jeff Walker – bass, vocals
Bill Steer – guitars
Ben Ash – guitars
Daniel Wilding – drums

Album Review – Bombnation / Night Invasion (2014)

A nonstop heavy music party that will fulfill your inner desire for old school Thrash Metal.

Rating4

12 Jacket (3mm Spine) [GDOB-30H3-007}Who doesn’t love the unparalleled heavy music from the 80’s and beginning of the 90’s? Those were definitely good times, when heavy music in general was the most fun thing in the entire world, thanks largely to all new bands born during that period who were able to blend the technique from traditional Heavy Metal with the undisputed attitude from Punk Rock, bringing forth what we know today as Thrash Metal.  Despite the nuisance that the music industry has become since then, and consequently the negative impact it has had on old school Thrash Metal, there are still some awesome bands proudly carrying the flag of true and honest heavy music, such as Canadian Crossover/Hardcore band Bombnation.

Founded in 2007 in “La Belle Province de Québec”, Bombnation do not hide their influences nor their goals with their music. Inspired by classics like Slayer, Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, D.R.I. and many others, and adding to their musicality some elements from D-Beat and Grindcore, those Québécois thrash metallers simply want to have fun and make life more enjoyable, and they indeed do it with their brand new album called Night Invasion. There’s nothing controversial, profound or melancholic in their lyrics: it’s a motherfuckin’ heavy music party, just the way old school Thrash Metal is supposed to be.

Fire Of The Night kicks off the album relying heavily on its harsh vocals, uprising lyrics, insane riffs and drums perfect for slamming into the pit. What really amazes me from the very first song of the album is the overall quality of the production, because although we’re talking about brutal music, it’s also very clean and pleasant to listen to. The following two tracks are the epitome of hardcore: Slayed By Slayer is a short but sick tribute to the most awesome Thrash Metal band of all time, and it’s impossible not to love its lyrics, especially when vocalist Mike Waters screams “Do you want to die!”, probably inspired by Slayer’s classic “Postmortem”; while War Beer Warrior (where do they find those song names?) was born to be a classic, sounding even more ferocious and more Slayer-ish than the previous song.

In the next track, Hops, Bombnation get closer to old school Exodus, especially its riffs, drums, and of course the guitar solo, followed by more sonic violence in Obituary, with its gory lyrics and anarchist vibe. Another brilliant tribute happens in Kreator’s Destruction Of Sodom, this time as you can see to the mighty Teutonic Thrash Metal. It is “extreme aggression” as the band says, with even its vocals being “adapted” to that type of music. Blackout Without Stout is another great choice for having a beer while getting into a sick mosh pit, and the title-track, Night Invasion, sounds more imposing, mainly due to its slow heavy riffs and great backing vocals, giving it an extra touch of wickedness.

I would definitely try the next song’s name, Kentucky Fried Seagulls, screaming its chorus with my mouth full of this “delicacy” from the hardcore cuisine, while Le D-Beat De La 50 doesn’t let the party slow down, reminding me of the Punk Rock played by Black Flag in their early days. Forget It is very similar to the previous track, but with some deeper vocals à la Chuck Billy, followed by one minute of pure devastation  with another great name, Pissed Off To Listen To Pop, as fast as violent as it can be.

The band doesn’t let the ball drop with the direct and raw musicality of Reggie’s Calling, and the pure old school Thrash Metal of Order666, where the band invites us to “Feel the power of Metal!”, followed by the violent Iron Whale and the even faster and more violent (if that’s humanly possible) Black Cable. Are you tired already? Because Bombnation still have to offer us some intense riffs and nonstop drumming in Astro Turf, a great mix of Thrash Metal and Hardcore by the way, and finally the last song of the album, In The Night, another tribute to that raw heavy music from 80’s, with highlights to its nice guitar solo,  strong bass lines, and an amazing high-pitched scream similar to what Tom Araya used to do in the first Slayer albums.

Take a listen at Bombnation’s new album at their official BandCamp page and you’ll see I’m not exaggerating when I say those guys are one of the most loyal bands to old school Thrash Metal in the world. And if you enjoy beer, mosh pits, and especially your life, simply go for it and you will not regret. I just have to find my old jacket full of Heavy Metal patches before I join the “Bombnation”, being proud of loving Thrash Metal so much.

Best moments of the album: Slayed by Slayer, War Beer Warrior, Kentucky Fried Seagulls and Order666.

Worst moments of the album: Obituary and Reggie’s Calling.

Released in 2014 Independent

Track listing
1. Fire Of The Night 2:33
2. Slayed By Slayer 1:36
3. War Beer Warrior 1:37
4. Hops 1:53
5. Obituary 1:53
6. Kreator’s Destruction Of Sodom 1:29
7. Blackout Without Stout 1:46
8. Night Invasion 2:22
9. Kentucky Fried Seagulls 1:50
10 .Le D-Beat De La 50 1:44
11. Forget It 1:42
12. Pissed Off To Listen To Pop 0:59
13. Reggie’s Calling 2:49
14. Order666 1:58
15. Iron Whale 1:15
16. Black Cable 1:42
17. Astro Turf 1:55
18. In The Night 2:26

Band members
Mike Waters – vocals
Whale – guitar
Jack – guitar
Dan – bass
Crocko – drums

The Metal Moose Show – Episode 2014-11-18

MMR_logoIf 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 (not necessarily in this order):

1. Shotgun Rebellion – Modern Day Prometheus
2. Gathering After Ashes – Subconscious
3. Prezzence – Shooting Star
4. Renowned Eternity – City Of The Damned
5. Alfornia – Select
6. Winter Deluge – Fall To The Wyrm Of Time
7. Snake Eyes – Shadow Warrior
8. The Dead Sexy – Untitled
9. Dawn Of Eternity – Goodbye
10 .The Endless Endeavor – Revealer
11. From Earth – The Fallen Ones
12. Beauty In The Suffering – Crazies
13. Beauty In The Suffering – Juliette
14. Dead End Amelia – Better Off This Way
15. Deadtide – Stargazer Syndrome
16. Blackline – Holding Onto Breath
17. Alien Ken – Cleanse My Claws
18. Hellscream – Phoenix
19. Sectas – Dreams Are Vanished

Click HERE to listen to this week’s episode on Spreaker.

Metal Moose Radio YouTube | Spreaker

Album Review – Prayed and Betrayed / The Abundance of a Sickened Mind EP (2014)

Armed with their instruments and totally adrenalized, these Finnish guys are here to provide us some awesome Melodic Death Metal with their brand new EP.

Rating5

PAB_coverFans of Melodic Death Metal bands such as Amon Amarth, Children Of Bodom and Wintersun, among many others, will surely enjoy this fresh new EP named The Abundance of a Sickened Mind, by Finnish Modern / Melodic Death Metal band Prayed and Betrayed. It’s a pretty short EP, with only 12 minutes of music spread in three unique tracks, but it’s a very good sample of what those guys from Finland can generate when armed with their instruments.

Formed in the cold city of Jyväskylä, Finland in 2012, and influenced by the aforementioned bands, Prayed and Betrayed already released an EP called Manifesting Reality in 2012 and a single called Wanderers in 2013. However, now in 2014 with a new bassist and a new lead singer,  the band has changed their style a little, moving away from traditional Death Metal to a more modern and technical approach, which reinforces their refined talent as musicians and also extends their music boundaries to a whole new level.

The first track, Deafblind,  offers the listener all the shredding and fast drumming that can be found in traditional Death Metal, but in this case with a more polished and melodic sonority. Even the guttural vocals are very tuneful, and the addition of elements from modern American metal (especially the bass lines) turns it into an excellent choice for mosh pits and stage diving.

World Surreal speeds up things a little thanks to drummer Juho Suomi, and don’t forget to pay close attention to the great guitar riffs and solos by Antti Lukkari and Panu Korhonen: they’re truly outstanding, leading the whole song. Not only that, the overall complexity of this track showcases how talented each band member is and how far they can go with their music.

PromoFinally, we have the title-track The Abundance of a Sickened Mind, which is even more melodic than the other songs, sounding a lot like some of the more contemporary songs by Arch Enemy (I can even visualize this song in one of their most recent albums). It’s heavier atmosphere contributes to making it the darkest of all three songs, and I guess I don’t need to say how “lovely” the lyrics are.

The album art of The Abundance of a Sickened Mind is not only very professional, but it also represents the band’s musicality perfectly: the wolf can be seen as their ferocity, while the stunning girl portrays their more harmonious side. You can listen to all those tracks on the band’s ReverbNation page, check their Facebook page and Twitter, and of course, support this promising Finnish band by purchasing their music (available at their BandCamp page and on iTunes) and attending their concerts. It’s great music full of adrenaline, that will undoubtedly help us all in warming up this coming winter.

Best moments of the album: Deafblind.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2014 Independent

Track listing
1.Deafblind 3:43
2.World Surreal 3:08
3.The Abundance of a Sickened Mind 4:52

Band members
Samuli Paananen – vocals
Antti Lukkari – guitar
Panu Korhonen – guitar
Otto Puusaari – bass, backing vocals
Juho Suomi – drums

Guest musicians
Tatu Hanhikoski – vocals

Album Review – No Sin Evades His Gaze / Age Of Sedation (2014)

These young British guys and their sharp instruments keep the fire of heavy music alive with huge doses of professionalism, brutality and progressiveness.

Rating4

Album Art - 1500 x 1500Like French chemist Antoine Lavoisier said once with his law of conservation of mass, “Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed.” That can be said about the music by Metalcore/Groove Metal band No Sin Evades His Gaze who, influenced by bands such as Pantera, Lamb Of God and Machine Head, blended elements from Metalcore, Death Metal and Groove Metal in a very professional way, sounding very contemporary and, above all, very technical, melodic and progressive.

It’s amazing how such young guys, all in their early or mid-twenties (and some not even in their twenties yet), were capable of crafting 100% cohesive and honest heavy music like if they have been together on the road for years in a row. This new five-piece metal band, founded in 2013 by vocalist James Denton and with members hailing from London, Blackpool and Scotland in the UK, has just released their debut album, Age Of Sedation, and let me tell you it’s an awesome mix of brutality and melody perfect for fans of modern metal music.

Right after the short but strong intro A Crack In The Looking Glass, where it’s noticeable the band is composed by young members (only young people can write, say or sing words such as “They’re gonna call you weird… They’re gonna call you eccentric…”), we already have one of the top moments of the album, the title-track Age Of Sedation.  It’s polished and professional extreme metal, with its guitar lines conducting the song enhanced by its heavy drumming and all background effects, and of course the excellent guttural vocals by James. The following song, Motionless In Obedience, is a very good choice for fans of extreme music with an apocalyptic touch, getting very progressive halfway through it due to its technical instrumental, and providing the listener the first dosage of clean vocals by drummer Theo Harvey.

Filth is a much heavier tune than its predecessors, perfect for headbanging, with highlights to the great job done by both guitarists Kevin Pearson and Dan Thornton and to the Industrial Metal elements added to the song, similar to what Fear Factory usually do in their music, followed by the nice Metalcore vibe in Roll Up The Royalty, where its very cohesive instrumental gives it a truly badass atmosphere. Another one of my favorite moments in Age Of Sedation is the violent and apocalyptic Debris, with Theo smashing his drums while Matthew “Moat” Lowe shows no mercy for his bass (and you can actually listen to each note from it), while The Cycle Resets focuses on a more contemporary American Metalcore blended with Industrial Metal, with highlights to the awesome vocal performance by James and its totally melodic and catchy riffs.

No Sin Evades His Gaze Promo photo 2014The last part of the album begins with Biometric Alchemy, which could be portrayed as a darker version of what Slipknot do sometimes, mainly due to its deep guttural vocals, followed by The Guillotine Blade: as sharp as a real guillotine blade, the band offers us more atmospheric chaos full of solid riffs, rhythmic breaks and a melancholic ending. And to close the album the band chose their longest and most progressive song, Affinity, with elements from Metalcore, Melodic Death Metal and even Nu Metal, sounding pretty much like three or four songs in one for the delight of fans of complex heavy music.

As aforementioned, the excellent Age Of Sedation, which is available at the No Sin Evades His Gaze’s official BandCamp page, Amazon, iTunes and many other locations, might not be 100% original (what is today, anyway?), but it’s as fresh and creative as possible, thanks to an awesome job done by all band members with their refined techniques. Let’s say that they’re just adapting what Lavoisier discovered in a distant past, but instead of “mass” they’re supporting the conservation of good heavy music.

Best moments of the album: Age Of Sedation, Filth and Debris.

Worst moments of the album: Biometric Alchemy.

Released in 2014 Independent

Track listing
1. A Crack In The Looking Glass 0:51
2. Age Of Sedation 2:49
3. Motionless In Obedience 3:39
4. Filth 4:06
5. Roll Up The Royalty 3:50
6. Debris 2:54
7. The Cycle Resets 3:52
8. Biometric Alchemy 4:38
9. The Guillotine Blade 3:40
10. Affinity 6:00

Band members
James Denton – vocals
Kevin Pearson – guitars
Dan Thornton – guitars
Matthew “Moat” Lowe – bass
Theo Harvey – drums, clean vocals

The Metal Moose Show – Episode 2014-11-11

MMR_logoIf 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 (not necessarily in this order):

1. As The Sky Darkens – Free Will At Heart
2. Cosmic Trigger – Catharsis
3. August Red Moon – Bring Down The House
4. Count Your Dead – 1,000 Miles Of Pain
5. Frantic Ginger – Hittin Gravel
6. Hellsteps – Daimonesias
7. Madworks – Traum
8. Site Unknown – Stand
9. Monumentoumb – Ritual Exhumation
10. Bent To Break – Fade
11. Bent To Break – Fractucide
12. Cocaine Cowboys – Come N Get It
13. Realign – Last Goodbye
14. Bag O Bones – Blood Devil
15. An Ocean Between Us – Live Together Die Alone
16. Against The Raging Tide – Curse This Place
17. Mammoth Salmon – In Constant Shadows
18. The Obelisk – Antipathy
19. Stalking Madness – Purpose Drivin Life
20. Revel 9 – The Good Fight

Click HERE to listen to this week’s episode on Spreaker.

Metal Moose Radio YouTube | Spreaker

Album Review – Laugh At The Fakes / Dethrone The Crown (2014)

This promising Canadian band is here to provide us all some good old Rock N’ Roll and Heavy Metal, crafted in the Great White North.

Rating4

Album Cover - Laught At The Fakes - Dethrone The Crown - 2014“O Canada! Our home and native land!”

And also a land with so many awesome indie metal bands I could spend hours and hours talking about each one of them. However, if there’s one new Canadian group that truly deserves a lot of our attention, it’s Hard Rock/Heavy Metal band Laugh At The Fakes. Formed in 2010 in Toronto, Ontario, and after releasing their debut six-song EP One Night Only in 2011, this quartet is about to release their first full-length album, entitled Dethrone The Crown, a very honest and exciting celebration of the only music we love, our good old Rock N’ Roll.

Do not expect to listen to modern North American metal, electronic sound effects, infinite doses of virtuosity or anything like that in any of the songs from Dethrone The Crown. Laugh At The Fakes focus heavily on raw traditional rock music, influenced by the musicality of bands such as Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Alice In Chains, among many other classics, and dealing with contemporary topics like murder, corruption and war.

From the very first riff of the opening track, Not Like Me, you can enjoy their traditional Hard Rock with a huge Heavy Metal influence, something like a mix of Led Zeppelin and Alice In Chains, which is reinforced by the 70’s/80’s Rock N’ Roll vocals by singer/guitarist Everett Mason. It’s a nice song for headbanging, with the final part of it being totally awesome, especially the guitar solo and the accelerated drums. The second track, Death Awaits, is a more metallic tune (probably inspired by the NWOBHM) that gets a lot heavier and progressive halfway through the song, with highlights to its lyrics that couldn’t be more real than that (“The uniform buys you time, a luxury you’d never give / Pulling the trigger, it makes you feel bigger, for taking a life away, from our own”), followed by the superb Cut To The Chase, a soulful Hard Rock tune perfect for hitting the road, with its excellent guitar solo making it even more enjoyable.

Killing Time, the first single of the album (a perfect choice, by the way), is a very professional and pleasant music journey guided by its amazing riffs, with lots of elements from the beginnings of Heavy Metal and 70’s Rock N’ Roll, while Fighting Dirty focuses on more traditional Heavy Metal the likes of old school Deep Purple, with highlights to its nice chorus and all the progressive parts that flow until the end of it. Then we have Got No Regrets, which sounds like the stuff Maiden recorded in Piece Of Mind, especially its rhythmic drums, vocals and lyrics (“I don’t belong here, I got no reason left to stay / I’m getting lost dear, my mind is far far away”), and Harmonica Playing Man, a song that flirts with Pop Rock and maybe due to that it’s a little below the rest of the album in terms of quality.

Laugh At The Fakes - Photo Credit - Naryan Wong 3Finally, closing the album on a high note we have And I, another good Hard Rock song with a huge influence from Rock N’ Roll from the 70’s, with its smooth vocals blended really well with the melodic bass lines, and the title-track, Dethrone The Crown, a more ferocious song with hints of Thrash/Death Metal, which despite being very technical, it doesn’t sound cheesy at all.

If you hadn’t had a chance to see those guys playing live, like I did when they opened for Blaze Bayley at the Metal Showcase on October 17 during Indie Week Canada, you can check their music at their official website or at their Facebook page, and stay tuned for the release of Dethrone The Crown pretty soon on their iTunes profile page, as well as in other online and physical stores. And do not miss their CD release party this November 14 (Friday) at Bovine Sex Club, in Toronto. Just like the Centennial Flame in Ottawa will never die, Laugh At The Fakes are making sure Canadian Rock N’ Roll won’t die either with their honest music crafted in the Great White North.

Best moments of the album: Cut To The Chase, Killing Time and Fighting Dirty.

Worst moments of the album: Harmonica Playing Man.

Released in 2014 Independent

Track listing
1. Not Like Me 6:28
2. Death Awaits 4:52
3. Cut To The Chase 3:37
4. Killing Time 6:14
5. Fighting Dirty 5:38
6. Got No Regrets 4:03
7. Harmonica Playing Man 6:15
8. And I 6:56
9. Dethrone The Crown 5:14

Band members
Everett Mason – guitar, vocals
Kevin Daliri – guitar
Galen Weir – bass
Chris Avalos – drums

Album Review – Inconcessus Lux Lucis / Crux Lupus Corona EP (2014)

This very talented band from the UK is offering us what they call “Saturnian Black Magic”. Are you going to accept the darkness inside you, eager for this type of music?

Rating5

IVR037_INCONCESSUS_LUX_LUCIS_Crux_Lupus_Corona_front_cover_1500pxSome people will call it Occult Black Metal, others will prefer referring to it as Blackened Heavy Metal, but according to British band Inconcessus Lux Lucis themselves, the music they play is a mix of Black Metal with the aggressiveness of 80’s Heavy Metal and the grooves of 70’s Hard Rock, resulting in what the band beautifully named as “Saturnian Black Magic”. Thus, if you’re curious to actually know what Saturnian Black Magic sounds like, you must take a shot at the new EP by this Manchester-based band, entitled Crux Lupus Corona.

After releasing their debut album Disintegration: Psalms Of Veneration For The Nefarious Elite earlier this year, Inconcessus Lux Lucis (which I’m almost sure means something like “forbidden light”) is releasing this new EP inspired by the constellations Crux, Lupus and Corona (the Cross, the Wolf and the Crown, as per the 88 Modern Constellations) and all their occult significances. If that’s not weird or complex enough for you, well, just listen to their music and you will fulfill your inner desire for all things mystical.

Crux Lupus Corona kicks off with a 2-minute intro called Via Dolorosa, which already inspires the listener for more of the band’s modern music with a 70’s vibe, followed then by the first “constellation”, Crux, with its mesmerizing riffs, harsh vocals and very rhythmic drumming highly influenced by old school Heavy and Thrash Metal. It’s an amazing track, enhanced by its excellent eerie lyrics (“Now slowly undress / Sweet seed of life which you possess / And softly caress / The fruit from which I ate / A sword spins counter-deosil / Its hilt marked 358”).

Inconcessus Lux Lucis band picThe second “constellation”, Lupus, sounds like the dark side of Hard Rock clashing with demonic Black Metal, alternating slower and somber passages with faster 70’s Rock N’ Roll. Not only that, the excellent guitar solo at the end actually makes the whole song even more solid. And last but not least, we have Corona: the third “constellation” is a more melancholic tune with some outstanding instrumental, with its lyrics (“O hollow temptress, I call to thee – Fuck me! / Come, join the slow dance, with maggots, shit and entropy!”) making it easy to understand what the band wants to say with “Black Magic”, just like if they were a distant cousin of Black Sabbath with an even more bizarre attitude.

The freakish album art, created by English artist Bethany White, follows the same distinctive pattern established by the band’s music, complementing the EP in a very cohesive and interesting way. You can listen to the entire Crux Lupus Corona HERE, purchase the unique music by this very talented band from the UK, and accept the darkness inside you, eager for more devilish music.

Best moments of the album: Crux is my favorite song of the EP, although all others are pretty interesting and consistent as well.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2014 I, Voidhanger Records

Track listing
1. Via Dolorosa 2:09
2. Crux 5:05
3. Lupus 5:06
4. Corona 4:55

Band members
Malphas – guitars, drums, vocals
Baal – bass

The Metal Moose Show – Episode 2014-11-04

MMR_logoIf 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 (not necessarily in this order):

1. Winters Thrall – Dust
2. Warmachine – Moving On
3. Virage – Get A Grip
4. Perfect View – Where The Wind Blows
5. Cortez – Frantic Realm
6. Nothing Sacred – No Tomorrow
7. Within Reason – Here Comes The Light
8. Plague Of Stars – Legacy
9. Hindsight – Momentum
10. Stabbing Back – Among
11. Stabbing Back – Falling Into Hell
12. Eternal Oath – Entangled In Time
13. Kille For Eden – Living On Mars
14. Southern Heretics – 242
15. Red Tiger – Alive And Still Believing
16. Kurgen – Give Her The Ax
17. My Funeral – Thrash Destruction
18. Witchcross – The Eyes Of Lucifer

Click HERE to listen to this week’s episode on Spreaker.

Metal Moose Radio YouTube | Spreaker