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 British Blackened Death Metal band Goatchrist (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 (not necessarily in this order):
1. The Obliesk – Subterfuge
2. Sleepwalking Home – Skin Army
3. Stabbingback – Grief
4. Seven Circle Sunrise – Undone
5. Goatchrist – Inferno
6. From Ashes To New – Stay This Way
7. Greylights – Tapeias Decent
8. Donna Drive – Alone With The Devil
9. Church – Dammned From Birth
10. Billion Dollar Man – Legion
11. 100 Proof Hatred – Battle Scars
12. Artifas – Blame
13. Message To Venus – Hollow
14. Twelve Years Drivin – Scars
15. Poynte – Hold On
16. Kill For Mother – Death Of Texas
17. Every Hour Kills – Deliver Us
18. Saturate – Damage The Memory
19. Stalking Madness – Ava (One)
20. Final Drive – Run For Your Life
21. Enslaved By Fear – Over Night
Click HERE to listen to this week’s episode on Spreaker or HERE to listen to it on Mixcloud.
It’s time for some old school Doom Metal with this nefarious Ukrainian band.
In case you have no idea what an “apostate” is, it means an individual who renounces, abandons or betrays a religious or political belief or principle, as for example a Catholic person who chooses to violate the Ten Commandments without any remorse. That’s an excellent definition for the massive and dark music found in Time Of Terror, the new album by old school Ukrainian Doom Metal band Apostate. If you are a fan of the eccentric heavy music by bands such as Anathema and My Dying Bride, you’ll love the eerie fusion of Doom, Death and Black Metal delivered by those guys.
Formed in the year of 1993, Ukraine’s oldest protagonists of old school Doom Metal, who started as Black Moon Frankness but quickly changed their name to Apostate, are back with more of their damned musicality after a long pause since the release of their debut full-length album Trapped in a Sleep, from 2010. Not only that, although Time Of Terror looks like an EP at first glance mainly due to the fact it comprises only five tracks, each one of its songs easily surpasses the nine-minute barrier, resulting in over 50 impressive minutes of epic and doomed metal.
Starting with a “classic horror movie” intro, Solar Misconception opens the album offering us primeval Doom Metal riffs and slow-paced beats dictating all obscurity developed in over 10 minutes of music. Furthermore, Lead singer Bohdan Kozub makes sure his vocals are truly inhuman, which together with some interesting background voices and sounds make the whole thing even more macabre than usual. When the following track Pale Reflection begins, full of melancholy and sorrow, you know nothing joyful will come out it: this is the type of song that blackens your mind, with highlights to the relentless guitar lines by Vlad Filimon and Yuriy Savchuk maintaining the song at the darkest level possible, the cavernous vocals by Bohdan, and the Death Metal breakneck speed at the end of it.
Pain Served Slow doesn’t make things any lighter or less horrid. Let’s say the name of the song pretty much summarizes what Doom Metal is in its true essence, with an amazing mesmerizing riff complemented by the traditional drumming by Nikita Holovin. In addition, the second half of the song sounds totally apocalyptical, coming to a crescendo of despair that gives an awesome finishing touch to this excellent track. In Memory Eclipse, darker notes, wicked guitar solos and deeper growls take the listener to a sad world where the entire band also seems to be; followed by the last track of the album, World Undying, which starts with an ominous religious narration before the bass guitar by Alexander Kostko initiates another feast of darkness, with highlights to another killer performance by Bohdan with his somber growls. Also, the faster excerpts and some extra religious narrations amidst the low-tuned riffs are very effective, with the message in its lyrics lacking any sign of hope. That feeling of pure disheartenment was probably what the band wanted to transmit in its 13 minutes, and when this song and consequently the entire album are over you won’t feel quite well.
Highly recommended for metalheads with a true passion for Doom Metal, Time Of Terror can be purchased at Apostate’s BandCamp page and at the Ferrum Records’ webstore, and you can also visit their official Facebook page for more information on the band, check out their tour dates, listen to their music, among other cool stuff. Get ready to have your hellish heart darkened to a new level, because it’s time for some old school Doom Metal with one of the oldest and most nefarious bands from Ukraine.
Best moments of the album:Pain Served Slow.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2015 Ferrum Records
Track listing 1. Solar Misconception 10:03
2. Pale Reflection 10:54
3. Pain Served Slow 9:05
4. Memory Eclipse 9:35
5. World Undying 13:32
Band members Bohdan Kozub – vocals
Vlad Filimon – guitar
Yuriy Savchuk – guitar
Alexander Kostko – bass
Nikita Holovin – drums
Justice ravaged by pain… I surrended my innocence in vain.
Our Heavy Metal diva this month is a tribute to Gothic Rock & Metal, a “love it or hate it” type of music that always divides the opinion of the more traditional metalheads. Fans of Iron Maiden, Slayer, Judas Priest and Metallica, for example, usually tend to despise almost everything from bands such as Rammstein, The Prodigy or Disturbed, mainly because “those bands are not true Heavy Metal”. However, they all have a lot of very interesting, creative and especially heavy material, which is also the case for the dark alternative music by our blue-haired gothic goddess Lahannya.
Lahannya was born in the United Kingdom, and although I’m not 100% sure, I believe her birthday is on January 20. Don’t ask me her full name or the year and city she was born (which by the way might be London), though, as it seems she’s one of those girls that doesn’t enjoy sharing her age nor many other details about her personal life with the rest of the world. Well, that doesn’t affect the quality of her work by any means, as what really matters here are her music, vocal performance and, of course, her stunning dark alternative looks.
Let’s say that Lahannya is not a regular singer, songwriter and performer: she’s a lot more than that, we should say a one-of-a-kind frontwoman, and her talent and skills can be enjoyed not only in the music from her own band, Lahannya, but also in the compositions from many other different bands and artists. Although she’s never made it to the mainstream, it’s in the underground world of heavy music where she has established her pillars and it’s also where she keeps influencing the newest generations of gothic and heavy musicians with her unique approach.
To begin with, it was back in 2004 when she met bassist Lutz Demmler, from German Gothic Metal band Umbra et Imago, at the M’Era Luna Festival where things really started to happen for Lahannya. After several projects since the beginning of her career in 1998, including the song Drowning for the compilation album Amduscias (1998) and her first EP entitled Drowning (2000), she finally formed the band Lahannya together with her then (and still) good friend Lutz in 2005, which is nowadays complemented live by German guitarist Christopher Milden and Italian drummer Luca Mazzucconi.
Lahannya’s Gothic Metal music is a complex and rich blend of the sonority from bands and artists such as The Prodigy, Disturbed, Loreena McKennitt, among many others. Actually, it’s kind of hard to truly define their music or compare it to other artists, although their lyrical themes are similar to what some of those artists also sing about, like darkness, pain, agony and relationships. The band has already released a good amount of material besides the EP Drowning: three full-length albums entitled Shotgun Reality (2007), Defiance (2009) and Dystopia ( 2011); another EP named Welcome to the Underground (2008); the live album Scavenger (2010); and the live DVD Sojourn (2013). You can take a listen at her mesmerizing voice in songs like Cocoon and Save Me, both from the album Dystopia.
The band has been touring a lot since its inception, especially in the UK and Germany, as for example in the Wave Gotik Treffen music festival, in Leipzig, in 2009, as well as many other dates in countries such as Austria, Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland, among others, with highlights to their exceptional performance during the Metal Female Voices Fest VII that happened in Wieze, Belgium, in 2009. There are some high quality videos on YouTube with Lahannya’s concert at that festival, like the ones for the songs Open Your Eyes and Burn, where it’s quite impossible to take your eyes out of her moves while her voice “invades” our ears with greatness. Another excellent live moments are the heavy and modern Inside the Machine, filmed at the X-Tra Club in Switzerland in 2008, and the metallic Never Enough, during the band’s performance at the the M’Era Luna Festival 2012. There’s also a really nice interview with her during that same festival, which can be seen HERE, where she talks about her career and other stuff. It’s totally worth the time spent, especially because she’s a fun and humble woman, and her British accent is beyond beautiful.
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Among her infinite number of partnerships, projects and special guest appearances, the most important or famous ones are certainly her collaborations with English Electronic band Greenhaus, German Power Noise/Techno act Soman, Norwegian Aggrotech band Combichrist, German Industrial project Xotox, German Goth Rock band ASP, and German Gothic Electro band Dracul. None of these are close to Heavy or even Gothic Metal, but that doesn’t make the final results less enjoyable.
With Greenhaus, she was part of the songwriting and the vocalist for almost all tracks of their album Another life, from 2003, while with Soman she was the co-songwriter and vocalist for the following tracks: Tears, from the album Revenge (2004); Antique, from a compilation album with various artists entitled Machineries of Joy (2004); Mask and Eye to Eye, from the album Mask (2007); and Skin Deep, from the album Soman Noistyle (2010).
Our goth diva’s collaboration with Combichrist happened in the form of a spoken sample for the Soman remix of the title-track from their second EP Sex, Drogen Und Industrial (2004), while with Xotox she recorded a spoken intro for the video of the track [psi], from the album [psi] (2005), and was the vocalist on the song Habitat, from the album In Den Zehn Morgen (2008). Finally, she was featured in the remix of the song Nie Mehr, from the album Nie Mehr (2007) by ASP, and was the co-songwriter and vocalist for the tracks Vampiras Dream and Deathwish, from the album Like an Animal (2006) by Dracul.
There are a few other projects she’s involved which unfortunately I cannot list here, otherwise I would never be able finish this document. However, there’s one more interesting detail about Lahannya in regards to her career that you should know: if you’re in London and you are that type of person that likes to party, you might have a chance to see our blue-haired beauty in person doing something very different from singing with her band, which is being a DJ at the London alternative club Slimelight once in a while. Do you want to know where Lahannya finds all that energy to do everything she does? “I think it’s my purpose for living. I don’t really want to find a family or whatever. For me it’s my passion, it’s the legacy I want to leave behind, it’s how I express myself. If I didn’t do it, I would feel like I’m not actually living or breathing.”, she said. That explains a lot.
In regards to her idols in music, the pretty Lahannya mentioned she enjoys listening to and is constantly inspired by many distinct and excellent artists such as Kidneythieves, Dimmu Borgir, The Prodigy, Tori Amos, Celldweller, Bush, Disturbed, Mankind Is Obsolete, Loreena McKennitt, The Cranes etc. However, her inspiration in terms of lyrics comes from what is happening around her life and from her own emotions. Moreover, Lahannya mentioned a couple of times her “dream tour” would be with Industrial Metal icons Rammstein or English Electronic group The Prodigy, which in my opinion are outsdaning options for a full professional and exciting tour, don’t you agree?
Lastly, this nonstop frontwoman said she hasn’t had any free time for hobbies, but when she did she used to go scuba diving and climbing, which in my opinion are “not-so-common” activities for people who live in the gothic world, but each person does what they feel like doing, right? And in order to chill out, Lahannya’s choices often include a good DVD and a glass of wine, especially after a long day of hard work. That’s something even people like us, mere mortals who are not famous masterminds behind a successful band, can relate to, and maybe one of us is lucky enough to enjoy those rare free moments Lahannya has together with her. In the meantime, let’s keep on appreciating her dark and beautiful music.
“The best piece of advice I can give is, don’t waste your time waiting for a manager, booking agent or record label to make things happen for you. If you are prepared to work hard, not just on the music but also on the business side, and you don’t give up, you can achieve an awful lot. No one will work as hard for you as you do yourself and no one will invest more money into your band than you are prepared to do yourself. If you don’t put the work in, why should anyone else?” – Lahannya
A cohesive and aggressive mix of Thrash and Death Metal by a band with only one objective in mind: erasing all life from this toxic world we live in.
The story of Finnish Death/Thrash Metal band Gian is not uncommon in the world of heavy music: lots of dreams and a gigantic amount of effort put together by the band in their beginnings in Finland in 2005, many live performances which I’m pretty sure didn’t result in any decent money for them, the inevitable conflicts of interest that ended up splitting up the band a couple of times, and so on, including a “hibernation” period between the end of 2013 and mid-2014. However, after all those years of blood, sweat and tears, struggling to survive and to make their Heavy Metal dream come true, Gian are now releasing their debut full-length album, All Life Erased, and based on the music those guys brought into being in this album their golden years seem to have finally arrived.
The band members themselves like to call All Life Erased a “mutated and demented nuclear freak”, and let’s say they’re not exaggerating when describing the album with such lovely words. What you’ll witness during the entire album is a cohesive and aggressive mix of Thrash and Death Metal that will pierce your ears and strike your mind without a single drop of mercy. The album art also tells you so, with the gas mask being one of the best contemporary symbols of our violent and noxious society, providing the whole album an extra touch of brutality.
The gas mask also appears in the opening track, Trauma, represented by a heavy breathing sound right before lead singer Jampe Honkonen begins growling directly in your face amidst a melodic sonority that reminds me of the music by many famous Swedish Melodic Death Metal bands, followed by a true metal storm entitled Bloodstorm. There are many elements from different metal genres in this song, from its Black Metal blast beats by drummer Konsta Vehkala to its Metalcore clean vocals, turning it into a first-class choice for both headbanging and slammin’ into the circle pit. The title-track All Life Erased is another fast and furious assault by Gian, where its Slayer-ish guitar lines by Lassi Pollari and Tuomo Laulainen guide the listener through all the band’s sonic madness.
And there are more fuckin’ razing riffs to make you want to crush everything around you in ZombieChrist, where it’s interesting to notice how guitars and bass guitar follow almost the same notes, while Self-ImmolationParty shows us Gian are also good at selecting the names for their songs. This time, instead of nonstop riffs and drums, the band focuses on more consistent beats and especially on the anarchic vocal lines by Jampe, with a great chorus tailored for pepping the fans up during their live performances. Burn presents a band on fire once again, and despite being a violent track there’s a lot of harmony in it, just as expected from any European band.
Sounding like a hybrid of Cavalera Conspiracy and Slayer, the band offers more of their rousing modern metal in the following track, A Perfect Shot, with highlights to Konsta for his performance on drums and to the guitar duos by Lassi and Tuomo, and in the amazing Pain and Pleasure: it’s indeed a pleasure to listen to this track, but be warned it leaves a huge pain in your neck so hardcore it is, similar to the old school Punk Rock played by Black Flag.
Aggression Unleashed is another good song with interesting tempo changes, huge doses of cruelty in the vocals, and dense riffs inspired by 80’s Thrash Metal, whereas when the music starts to grow slowly but steadily in No Absolution you know hell is about to break loose, sounding even more modern than its predecessors with elements from Industrial Metal and some melancholic passages halfway through it. And as the band’s final blast of animosity we have Capital Punishment, a very metallic and thrilling song where Jampe lays much more emphasis on his harsher screams than his usual guttural vocals.
If you want to know more about this diehard Finnish band and purchase a copy of All Life Erased, visit their Facebook page, YouTube channel, SoundCloud, BandCamp or the Inverse Records Store. Those guys want to erase all forms of life from this toxic and wicked world we live in with their metal music, and with our support they will surely succeed in their crazy and audacious mission.
Best moments of the album:Bloodstorm, All Life Erased and Pain and Pleasure.
Worst moments of the album:Aggression Unleashed and No Absolution.
Released in 2015 Inverse Records
Track listing 1. Trauma 4:58
2. Bloodstorm 4:41
3. All Life Erased 2:14
4. ZombieChrist 3:07
5. Self-Immolation Party 3:10
6. Burn 3:03
7. A Perfect Shot 2:53
8. Pain and Pleasure 2:12
9. Aggression Unleashed 4:12
10. No Absolution 4:41
11. Capital Punishment 3:47
Band members Jampe Honkonen – vocals
Lassi Pollari – guitar, vocals
Tuomo Laulainen – guitar
Henri Rahm – bass, vocals
Konsta Vehkala – drums
If you live in Toronto or anywhere nearby you know how bitterly cold the past couple of months have been. For instance, I personally don’t remember when we had temperatures above the freezing mark (or even above -5°C) for the last time, and it looks like February 2015 is about to become the coldest month in the history of Toronto. Well, nothing better than a hotter-than-hell extreme music night to warm up the hearts of lots of headbangers in the city, right? The venue chosen for this awesome gathering was the always welcoming Phoenix Concert Theatre, where friends wearing the T-shirts of their favorite extreme bands and even a group of girls with their well-crafted corpsepaint were able to enjoy some beers together, headbang like motherfuckers and especially slam into the circle pits.
The bands chosen to liven this mini-festival up were the excellent Swedish Death Metal bands TRIBULATION and AEON, both raising the flag of Scandinavian metal really high with their ferocious performances. If you truly love extreme music but have never heard of either Tribulation or Aeon, I kindly ask you to please go check these two bands: you’ll be surprised with how good they are. The first band was Tribulation, playing a very technical and progressive Death Metal permeated with elements from Black and Doom Metal and singing about darkness, horror, vampires, death and all other of those “beautiful” themes. In case you want to know more about this great Swedish band, my suggestions are the songs Beyond the Horror, Rånda and When the Sky Is Black With Devils, masterfully executed by this four-piece act in front of an avid Torontonian crowd.
Aeon @ Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON, 02/24/2015
After a short break it was time for Aeon to deliver their infernal music, blasting everyone’s ears and necks with each and every song played. Lead singer Tommy Dahlström is a beast on vocals (and you can easily notice he’s a huge fan of Cannibal Corpse by his stage performance), perfectly vociferating the violent lyrics of all songs of their brutal setlist, with highlights to the opening song Satanic Victory and also to the amazing Kill Them All and Blessed by the Priest. In addition, how can I describe the performance of drummer Emil Wiksten? That guy is like an unbelievable human stone crusher behind his drums so fast and precise he is, which added a lot of power and fury to the band’s performance. As I said, go after the music by Tribulation and Aeon as quick as the blast beats by Emil!
Behemoth @ Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON, 02/24/2015
It was around 8:45pm when the iconic Nergal and his horde of darkness hit the stage with an incredible concert, both in terms of their ominous music and their unique theatrical performance, and it’s amazing how they were capable of delivering so much content in such a limited space. Still promoting their most recent album, the impeccable The Satanist, which even after one year of its release it continues to astonish me, Polish Black/Death Metal masters BEHEMOTH proved why they’re one of the most influential and portentous groups in the world of extreme music.
Although they didn’t play the best song of The Satanist in my opinion, “Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel”, the songs selected from the album were just as superb live, with highlights to Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer and Ben Sahar. Older classics also helped keep the audience mesmerized by their obscurity, such as Chant for Eschaton 2000 and Slaves Shall Serve. However, I believe almost everybody will agree with me when I say they simply kicked all possible asses with the already classic O Father O Satan O Sun!, a song that live sounds even more grandiose than its studio version, augmented by the band’s special satanic attire worn during its execution. This might sound stupid for a lot of people, but Behemoth performing this song at the Oscars would have been beyond spectacular. Unfortunately, the world and all mere mortals that live in it don’t seem ready for Behemoth yet.
Behemoth @ Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON, 02/24/2015
Also, it’s undeniable that Nergal is a true Extreme Metal leader and he’s passionate about what he does, and consequently he had almost all eyes staring at him during the whole concert, but the other band members are also wonderful and skillful musicians who help Nergal achieve the level of excellence he has in his mind for the band. Who didn’t enjoy the performance by bassist Orion, who looked like an even more devilish version of Gene Simmons’ stage persona The Demon? And what about the dark riffs by Seth or the rhythmic drumming by Inferno? What an awesome band, and if you missed them this time, may Lucifer have mercy on your soul. Or not.
Setlist 1. Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer
2. Conquer All
3. Ben Sahar
4. Decade of Therion
5. Messe Noire
6. Ov Fire and the Void
7. At the Left Hand ov God
8. Slaves Shall Serve
9. Chant for Eschaton 2000
10. O Father O Satan O Sun!
Band members Adam “Nergal” Darski – lead vocals, guitars
Tomasz “Orion” Wróblewski – bass guitar
Patryk Dominik “Seth” Sztyber – guitars
Zbigniew Robert “Inferno” Promiński – drums and percussion
Cannibal Corpse @ Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON, 02/24/2015
In order to properly close the night and pulverize anyone or anything that was still alive after Behemoth, Death Metal titans CANNIBAL CORPSE arose from the crypts of hell to transform the entire venue into their own “skeletal domain”, obviously promoting their most recent album, the visceral A Skeletal Domain. If there’s one thing that I love about Cannibal Corpse is the fact that they’re a band that always moves forward, despite having a solid past which they could live on forever like many classic bands do. All their latest albums are brutally superb, and technically speaking they’re getting better and better year after year.
Their setlist was an awesome mix of old classics and newer songs, including almost one track from each one of their albums, from Eaten Back to Life (1990) to last year’s A Skeletal Domain. Mosh pits and pure headbanging erupted with classics such as A Skull Full of Maggots, Demented Aggression, Make Them Suffer and The Wretched Spawn, while the selected songs from their new album for this tour, in special the great Sadistic Embodiment and the steamroller Kill or Become, intensified even more the hurricane that was happening on the “dance” floor.
Cannibal Corpse @ Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON, 02/24/2015
Moreover, anything I say about the band members will just be pure repetition of common sense: they are all really talented musicians that love Death Metal above all things (well, Corpsegrinder said he loves pussy above all things), and that translates into pure electricity when they’re performing on the stage. You can barely see Alex Webster’s face, but he’s there delivering the most intricate bass lines you can find in extreme music, while Pat O’Brien and Rob Barrett keep firing their evil riffs and Paul Mazurkiewicz his nonstop beats. And as I always say, Mr. George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher is the face of Cannibal Corpse and the one to give life (or death) to the band’s gory lyrics while headbanging like a fuckin’ chopper in a way only he is capable of. Besides, seeing him scratching himself with one of Paul’s drumsticks due to an incontrollable itch in the middle of his back, and you know he’s not a small guy, was priceless.
When Cannibal Corpse played their last two songs, the unparalleled classics Hammer Smashed Face and Devoured by Vermin (my top Cannibal Corpse song of all time), they turned the whole venue into a fuckin’ monstrous mosh pit with absolutely no place to hide, showcasing how awesome those songs are. But do you think anyone in the audience complained about it? There were so many smiles and so much sweat everywhere when the show was over I’m pretty sure the fans of the Corpse cannot wait for them to storm Toronto once again and heat up our chilly winter with their perfect Death Metal. Fire up the chainsaw!
Setlist 1. Scourge of Iron
2. Demented Aggression
3. Evisceration Plague
4. Stripped, Raped and Strangled
5. Kill or Become
6. Sadistic Embodiment
7. Icepick Lobotomy
8. The Wretched Spawn
9. Pounded into Dust
10. I Cum Blood
11. Make Them Suffer
12. A Skull Full of Maggots
13. Hammer Smashed Face
14. Devoured by Vermin
Band members George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher – vocals
Pat O’Brien – guitar
Rob Barrett – guitar
Alex Webster – bass
Paul Mazurkiewicz – drums
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 (not necessarily in this order):
1. Dreamgrave – Last Drop Falls
2. Dead In Seconds – Dead In Seconds
3. Shades Of Glory – Lobotomy
4. Sectas – Destiny
5. Kill For Mother – Unrecognized
6. Kill For Mother – Death Of Texas
7. Throne Of Eden – House Of Fate
8. Knights Of Remnant – Warriors
9. Edge Of Paradise – Breakaway
10. Convictor – Angel Of Impurity
11. Lick – Sweet Regret
12. Hell Came Home – Dead To Me
13. New Tattoo – Certified
14. Prison Of Shadows – Dream Crusher
15. 5 Billion And Counting – 1%
16. The Violet Hour – Insatiable
17. Forshadow – The Meaning Of Life
18. Area Of Effect – Depths Of Eternity
19. Romantic Rebel – Believe
20. Of Burning Empires – Dead Skin
Click HERE to listen to this week’s episode on Spreaker or HERE to listen to it on Mixcloud.
After a really long and disquieting wait, and obviously after one of the most impactful changes in their entire career, Canadian Melodic Death Metal/Metalcore icons The Agonist finally return with a brand new album, the highly anticipated Eye of Providence, their fourth full-length studio album and, more important than that, the first with the stunning Vicky Psarakis on vocals. But were they able to deliver something as remarkable as their previous releases? Well, not only they nailed it, but Vicky also proves why she was the perfect choice to be the new frontwoman of one of the most influential bands in the recent history of Canadian metal.
With songs revolving around technology and how it affects modern society, as well as some other intimate topics, the whole album has a pleasant and smooth flow that allows the listener to thoroughly sense an interesting interconnection between all songs and, even more important than that, focusing less on melodic metal music and more on raw contemporary Heavy Metal and Rock N’ Roll than their previous albums. In addition, maybe due to the release of the album being delayed for a few months (it was originally scheduled to be released mid-2014), the band added a few extra songs to it, resulting in expressive 13 songs and over 58 minutes of music, around ten seconds longer than Prisoners, from 2012.
If you’re a longtime fan of this Montreal-based band and keep updated with everything they do you already know the opening track, Gates of Horn and Ivory, and you also know how awesome Vicky sounds. Besides, this song has extremely catchy lyrics that will stick deep in your mind for a long time (“With fire at my back / I will tame the waters / I will learn to swim / Fear is not my master”). Would that be a message from Vicky to the world, telling how she’s dauntlessly braving the rough waters of The Agonist? In My Witness, Your Victim, which by the way has a really entertaining and kind of disturbing official video, Vicky’s clean vocals are very solid and match perfectly with the music while her growls give it a fair dose of violence, with the final result sounding robust and gripping.
How did they manage to blend Swedish Melodic Death Metal with North American Metalcore so beautifully like in the awesome Danse Macabre? Danny Marino and Pascal “Paco” Jobin deliver some thrilling guitar lines while Simon McKay keeps his beats totally in sync with them, and of course, Vicky’s vocals full of passion and feeling are outstanding in this song. I Endeavor reminds me a little of their classic song “Business Suits and Combat Boots”, especially its drumming and vocal lines, with highlights to the soulful guitar solo at the end of it; while Faceless Messenger is maybe one of their most “European” songs in terms of melody, and I would love to see them playing this song live. Vicky does such an amazing job during this track, ranging from light and smooth vocals to the harsh screams of an evil entity, it doesn’t even sound it’s the same person singing.
Although Perpetual Notion has a promising start, where an acoustic intro suddenly turns into melancholic and violent metal, the rest of it is nothing special, lacking more creativity and depth; while A Necessary Evil is an incredible display of “old school” The Agonist (well, not that old) with a very intense and solid sounding. The whole band is on fire during the entire song, with Simon and Vicky being the sergeants leading the squad. Then we have Architects Hallucinate, which sounds like filler compared to the others despite not being a bad song, and the mighty Disconnect Me, one of the fastest and heaviest of all tracks. It’s Metalcore at its finest, boosted by its futuristic lyrics (“Initiate the procedure to transform my body / Into a greater form to serve your gain / Access the brain to eliminate / The source that constrains us to be humane”) and some great riffs provided by Danny and Paco, while Vicky delivers the goods once again with a brilliant vocal performance.
But The Agonist are not finished yet, as there’s a lot more to come in Eye of Providence: in The Perfect Embodiment we can see how wide Vicky’s vocal range is, convincing me (and probably all listeners) she can sing pretty much anything she wants to. In addition, it’s interesting to notice how the guitar lines seem to mimic Vicky’s vocals and vice-versa so connected they are. If A Gentle Disease gives us all a chance to see the band in an acoustic version, with Vicky using all the finesse in her clean vocals to help it become a true love ballad, the fiery Follow the Crossed Line, a song full of melody, rhythmic breaks and effective guitar solos, showcases some Black Metal-ish growls by Vicky, adding even more obscurity to it. And lastly, we can savour almost eight minutes of pure professionalism and emotion in As Above, So Below, with highlights to the passionate performance by Vicky who relies almost 100% on her clean vocals to give more life to the song.
I believe you’ll agree with me when I say the album art expresses everything the music in Eye of Providence is: futuristic, aggressive, organic and distressing, which is exactly what we all want to hear from a band so captivating as The Agonist. In regards to the length of the album, I’m more than happy with the fact there’s a lot of The Agonist in all shapes and sizes for us to absorb and enjoy in the following months and years in Eye of Providence until they release a new album again. And at long last, Danny might still be the one to lead the band’s musicality with his passionate guitar lines, but as already mentioned we must admit Vicky is the breath of fresh air the band needed so much. If I was asked to summarize her overall performance in just a couple of words, I would adapt the famous phrase used by Roman general Julius Caesar to inform the Senate of his victory in his war against Pharnaces II of Pontus at the Battle of Zela around 46 BC: “Veni, Vidi, Vicky”.
Best moments of the album:Gates of Horn and Ivory, Danse Macabre, A Necessary Evil and Disconnect Me.
Worst moments of the album:Perpetual Notion and Architects Hallucinate.
Released in 2015 Century Media Records
Track listing 1. Gates of Horn and Ivory 3:25
2. My Witness, Your Victim 4:47
3. Danse Macabre 4:01
4. I Endeavor 4:08
5. Faceless Messenger 5:00
6. Perpetual Notion 4:34
7. A Necessary Evil 3:44
8. Architects Hallucinate 4:30
9. Disconnect Me 3:32
10. The Perfect Embodiment 5:13
11. A Gentle Disease 3:45
12. Follow the Crossed Line 4:11
13. As Above, So Below 7:57
Band members Vicky Psarakis – vocals
Danny Marino – guitar
Pascal “Paco” Jobin – guitar
Chris Kells – bass
Simon McKay – drums
A perishing and decaying world in the form of extreme music by an outstanding Death Metal band from Austria.
Do you love happy and cheerful music? Do you feel deep affection for bands and artists who sing about butterflies, unicorns and other cute animals? If so, stay away from Deadnology, the brand new studio album by Austrian Death/Thrash Metal band Void Creation. Deadnology is a heinous feast of extreme music which will crush your body and soul, leaving you totally beaten and bruised rolling around in your own blood, but also with an awesome feeling of “mission accomplished” when the war spearheaded by Void Creation is over.
Founded in Vienna, Austria in 2006 by ex-members of Diabolica and Saviour, and having already participated in events like Wacken Open Air 2010 and supported bands like Nile, Gorguts and Possessed, Void Creation are back with their second full-length album to tell us the confusions of a perishing and decaying world along 10 tracks of utter savagery, and they do it in such an impressive way that not only your neck will break, but also your jaw will drop after listening to this excellent release.
It doesn’t take more than two seconds for Void Creation to start fuckin’ slaying everything around them with their technical and totally brutal Death Metal in the opening track 1984, a song full of variations and breaks where the deep bloodcurdling guttural by lead singer Alex will infect your ears while drummer Börni delivers some fast and complex drumming perfect for this type of music. Following that carnage we have Devoided, with guitarists Gilli and Piz making sure we do not stop banging our heads to the sound of their sick heavy riffs inspired by bands such as Deicide and Cannibal Corpse, and Sepsis, with its even more diabolic vocal lines and its violent but melodic guitars and drums maintaining a good flow of the music.
We Give You Hell Tonight is an awesome exhibit of old school Death Metal from the 90’s, very Deicide-ish, and with a name like that we couldn’t expect less than that level of devastation, right? In addition, Börni once again is an unstoppable beast on drums, and you’ll feel impelled to scream “HELL! HELL! HELL!” together with Alex for sure. Then we have an impetuous track named Ruthless, where the band gets even faster and heavier with the intricate bass lines by Berna giving it even more substance; Symbols From The Soul, the shortest song of all which demonstrates absolutely no mercy for our necks thanks to more of Void Creation’s relentless and technical riffs and beats; and the magnificent Dystopia, which focuses on slower and heavier headbanging riffs strengthened by its dark and hopeless lyrics perfectly vociferated by Alex.
The last part of the album keeps annihilating everything, starting with The Plagues and its harsher screams nicely mixed with deeper guttural vocals. Moreover, it’s simply amazing how skillful this band is, capable of crafting such aggressive music with so much harmony in it. The next song, Thelema, is another good old school Death Metal track with hints of the music by Sepultura in its guitars, with its end being a raid of sheer brutality, before Earthlings 2.0 closes the album in a unique way: this song is completely different from the rest of the album, with more introspective and melodic passages, as if the band wanted it to represent a horribly melancholic end of the world with their music.
Lastly, isn’t the fetus/unborn baby in the album art cute? Of course not, but unfortunately that’s the world we’re living in and we have to deal with that, and nothing better than some extreme music to help us face this brutal reality. Thus, go visit Metal Music Austria’s official BandCamp page or their official online shop to get ahold of your copy of Deadnology. And may God or any other deity of your choice have mercy on your cursed neck.
Best moments of the album:1984, We Give You Hell Tonight and Dystopia.
Worst moments of the album:Sepsis and Earthlings 2.0.
Released in 2015 Metal Music Austria
Track listing 1. 1984 3:09
2. Devoided 2:49
3. Sepsis 2:57
4. We Give You Hell Tonight 2:49
5. Ruthless 3:44
6. Symbols From The Soul 1:57
7. Dystopia 4:08
8. The Plagues 3:49
9. Thelema 3:02
10. Earthlings 2.0 4:16
Band members Alex – vocals
Gilli – guitar
Piz – guitar
Berna – bass
Börni – drums
This Slovenian band proves an opera singer is not always needed to make great Symphonic Metal songs.
Founded in 2006 in Ljubljana, capital of the mysterious Slovenia, ShadowIcon possess the perfect features to make a Symphonic Metal band: heavy riffs, killer drums, powerful keyboards and orchestrations and a very talented and charismatic female vocalist. What makes them different from other Symphonic Power Metal bands we know is that the beautiful Ana Prijatelj Pelhan is not a lyric soprano like other European divas such as Tarja Turunen, Simone Simons or Floor Jansen. Instead, her vocals are a lot more Pop Rock than Metal, something closer to Gwen Stephani’s voice, which makes the whole difference in their sound.
After four years of the release of their debut album, Empire In Ruins, the band is releasing this year the EP Smoke & Mirrors, containing six tracks and with many special guests such as Sascha Gerstner, guitarist of Helloween; Stefan Schmidt, member of the a cappella metal band Van Canto; Olaf Senkbeil, guest studio musician of Blind Guardian; Betty Lenard contributing with backing vocals, among others.
The EP starts – and also ends – with the powerful and exciting (Now I See) Through a Mirror Darkly, full of imposing orchestrations and keyboards. The opening track also has a wonderful vocal duet between Ana and Sascha Gerstner, with its chorus being really catchy (which I consider one of the things that make a great metal song), and after days I have heard this song for the first time I was still singing “I’ll step into your dreams, I’ll find out where you’ve been, I’ll make you wish you were already dead”. The following track, If I Was the One, the first single of the EP (check its official video below), is a really nice track with several different layers, starting in a smooth way and ending a lot heavier. In addition, its backing vocals and keyboards are great, especially when combined with the guitar solos. By the way, the keyboards seem to be a crucial piece of their music, supporting all the heaviness and the drama throughout the EP.
The Edge is a good song, but not as heavy as the previous ones, just like The Beauty of a Rose, a very nice ballad which shows all the beauty of Ana’s voice – her vocals are definitely the highlights in both tracks – with an awesome work done in terms of backing vocals too. My Plea starts in a cool and calm way, with Ana singing accompanied only by a piano before all that symphonic thunder comes back, showcasing more heaviness and focusing a lot more on the guitar lines and orchestral moments than all previous songs. And finally, a version of (Now I See) Through a Mirror Darkly without Sascha closes this good EP. It is still a cool and intense song, but I hope during their live concerts one of the guys from the band can reproduce the amazing vocal duet with Ana because it really makes all the difference in the track.
Smokes & Mirrors is available on several online channels, such as iTunes, Amazon and others, being a solid preview of what can come next on their future full-length albums. Also, don’t forget to check their Facebook page for more news and updates: it’s indeed worthwhile to follow their growth and evolution, as ShadowIcon are a band that definitely proves Symphonic Metal is not a thing only for Northern European bands.
Best moments of the album:(Now I See)Through a Mirror Darkly and If I Was the One.
Worst moments of the album:The Edge.
Released in 2015 Independent
Track listing
1. (Now I See) Through a Mirror Darkly (feat. Sascha Gerstner) 5:35
2. If I Was the One 3:42
3. The Edge 3:42
4. The Beauty of a Rose 4:54
5. My Plea 3:26
6. (Now I See) Through a Mirror Darkly (reprise) 5:35
Band members
Ana Prijatelj Pelhan – vocals
Tomaž Lovšin – guitars
Bojan Kostanjšek – guitars
Matej Ravšelj – bass
Peter Smrdel – keyboards
Žiga Ravšelj – drums
Guest musicians
Sascha Gerstner – additional vocals in “(Now I See) Through a Mirror Darkly”
Stefan Schmidt – vocal choirs
Olaf Senkbeil – backing vocals
Betty Lenard – backing vocals
Jeffery Hayat – additional orchestrations and programming
Matthias Ulmer – additional orchestrations and programming
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 (not necessarily in this order):
1. Via – Affliction Tweak
2. Embracing Soul – Solterias End
3. Donella Drive – Alone With The Devil
4. Scar After Scar – All We Have
5. Crimson Veil – Slowly Bleed
6. Crimson Veil – The Offering
7. Creations Tears – I Fail
8. A Course Of Action – Who We Are
9. First Dawn – Final Epoch
10. Tango Down – Charming Devil
11. Awake At Last – King Of The World
12. Kosmic Scream – Survival
13. Kingshifter – Pitch Black Blues
14. The Obelisk – Subterfuge
15. Church – Damned At Birth
16. Discordance – Creator Destroyer
17. Pink Carnage – Oozing Lungs
18. Modern Weapons – Whisper In The Ghost
19. Dryver – Shadow Spade
20. Problems With Dragons – Wizard Mode
21. Frosthelm – Storm Of Teeth
Click HERE to listen to this week’s episode on Spreaker or HERE to listen to it on Mixcloud.
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 British Blackened Death Metal band Goatchrist (just click on the link below to read the review). Support your local bands… AND FOLLOW THE MOOSE!
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