Tag Archives: melodic death metal

Album Review – The Passion Of Our Souls / Soulmates EP (2015)

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Enjoy this first-class fusion of pop and heavy music by a promising dynamic duo from Finland.

Rating4

THE PASSION OF OUR SOULS - Soulmates cover artOne day you’re walking down the street or hanging out at the mall, and you see that guy or girl that makes your heartbeat “match the beat of the universe”, as perfectly quoted by American author Joseph Campbell. That’s the moment when you finally find your soulmate, the person you want to spend the rest of your life together, and that’s exactly what Finnish Melodic Death/Pop Metal dynamic duo The Passion Of Our Souls want to express with their excellent debut EP entitled Soulmates.

Hailing from Hämeenlinna, Finland, and formed in 2014 when lead singer Julia Mattila and multi-instrumentalist Samuli Tuomas Mäkelä met each other and began to carry out together their passion for music (which by the way was the inspiration for the name of the band), The Passion of Our Souls offer us all what can be considered a concept EP, with all four tracks talking about passion and love. Moreover, the music itself is very well-crafted and effectively illustrates the message the band is sending to the listener. Add to that the beautiful combination of the band’s logo, designed by Argentinian graphic designer Victoria Pelejero, and the album art, created by Mexican graphic artist Angat Calavera, and you have a full-bodied final result which will please all fans of heavy and melodic music.

Give Me Your Soul already explains what the band wants to say with “Melodic Death/Pop Metal” due to the dark sounding of its Doom Metal riffs blended with the voice of Julia Mattila, who travels between demonic growls and mainstream clean vocals, creating a unique pop/metal atmosphere. Besides, its lyrics could easily belong to a pop music hit so passionate they are (“Your smile and eyes are like drug to me and / This is something that the whole world will see”). Then we have the thrilling Everything, which begins somehow like the new songs by Arch Enemy, reminding me of their latest single “War Eternal”: it’s a headbanging tune with a strong melodic vein, and you will love the guttural and clean vocals together in its catchy chorus. It’s so professional it doesn’t sound the band has only two members, although I wonder how Julia will be able to do both voices at the same time live. Well, that’s just a minor detail, at least for now.

THE PASSION OF OUR SOULS band photoThe even deeper guttural vocals in What Tomorrow Brings showcase a more contemporary Melodic Death Metal side of the band, where heavy riffs and somber but smooth passages go really well together; while the blast beats in Till Death Do Us Part keep the song a million light-years away from being commercial. This track has simple but intelligent lyrics about the whole concept of marriage, plus an exciting rhythm thanks to the amazing job done by Samuli. Not only that, its chorus couldn’t be more melodic and emotional (“Please marry me / And I’ll be yours forever / I’ll love you till the end / Till death do us part”), in line with the whole concept of the EP.

When Soulmates is over you will be craving for more of The Passion Of Our Souls, so let’s hope they do not take too long to release a full-length album with more of their amazing music. In the meantime, there are several places where you can know more about the band and enjoy their work, such as BandCamp, YouTube, SoundCloud, ReverbNation and BandPage. If I had to summarize the EP in just a few words, I would say it’s a topnotch fusion of pop and heavy music highly recommended for you to enjoy with your soulmate.

Best moments of the album: Everything is in my opinion the most appealing of the four tracks.

Worst moments of the album: Let’s wait until they have a full-length album to select a bad moment, right?

Released in 2015 Independent

Track listing
1. Give Me Your Soul 3:25
2. Everything 4:57
3. What Tomorrow Brings 3:53
4. Till Death Do Us Part 5:15

Band members
Julia Mattila – growls, clean vocals (Seele, Julia)
Samuli Tuomas Mäkelä – all instrumentation (Kara Darahu, Snovonne)

Album Review – Way Of Changes / Honesty EP (2014)

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A truly honest and professional release by a brand new Metalcore band from Switzerland.

Rating5

digipak4Panel-DW.aiAs the last review for 2014, the Headbanging Moose offers you a really nice EP entitled Honesty, by Swiss Metalcore band Way Of Changes. The band started to take shape in June 2013, when drummer Quentin Gobalet, who was searching for musicians to play Metalcore, found guitarists Théo Dikötter and Eliot Colomb. Then in the beginning of 2014, already with bassist Maxime Dessauges, they finally found a singer for the band, Simon Phildius, releasing their first song “In & Out” in September 2014 before finally releasing the Honesty EP in November 2014.

Inspired by bands such as August Burns Red, Parkway Drive and Bury Tomorrow, this five-piece Metalcore group from Switzerland has as their main goal crafting catchy and powerful heavy music, and based on what can be seen in this EP they succeeded in their first attempt. In addition, perhaps the most unique detail amidst all the traditional and polished Metalcore riffs and beats found in the music by Way Of Changes are the vocals by Simon, deeper and more devilish than usual, getting even closer to traditional Death or Black Metal, and that adds a lot of potency to their music.

The EP “takes off” with an atmospheric intro named (guess what?) Take Off, followed by the heavy Mistakes and its 100% Metalcore instrumental, very melodic and modern as expected, with riffs and drums synced to provide harmony to the music and, as aforementioned, the eerie voice by Simon adding to it a fresh and dark taste. Counting Seconds sounds inspired by Swedish Melodic Death Metal blended with the sonority of American Metalcore, turning it into an interesting headbanging song with highlights to the excellent job done by Théo Dikötter and Eliot Colomb on the guitars.

way of changesAnd Way Of Changes keep delivering good and dense music in Dream Awake: by the time you reach this song, you’ll realize those guys prefer focusing on heavier tunes rather than faster songs, no doubt about that. Then we have the band’s “first-born child”, In & Out, a little faster than the other tracks with an interesting riff in the background while drummer Quentin keeps guiding the song, with the vocal lines by Simon being once again as deep as possible.

Closing the EP we have Cuckoo, which right after a smooth intro turns into into pure heaviness with harsh and clean vocals working pretty well together. Its heavy riffs after two and a half minutes are tailored for some brutal headbanging, and if you’re a longtime fan of Metalcore this part of the song will definitely catch your attention.

While this promising band is working on new material, you can visit their Facebook page to like their music, check where in Switzerland they’re playing live, and of course purchase their music at their official webstore or at CD Baby. As the name of the EP says, Way Of Changes are a very honest and professional band, and they have what it takes to be successful in the years to come in the world of Metalcore.

Best moments of the album: Counting Seconds and In & Out.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2014 Independent

Track listing
1. Take Off 1:23
2. Mistakes 4:19
3. Counting Seconds 4:11
4. Dream Awake 4:41
5. In & Out 3:39
6. Cuckoo 4:53

Band members
Simon Phildius – vocals
Théo Dikötter – guitar, vocals
Eliot Colomb – guitar, vocals
Maxime Dessauges – bass
Quentin Gobalet – drums

Album Review – Autere / Amal’l (2014)

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Melodic and professional metal music directly from Finland to inspire you for some good headbanging and mosh pits.

Rating5

Autere_-_Amall_coverAfter 12 years of existence, including a few demos, one EP, some significant lineup changes and about 100 live performances, Finnish Melodic Death/Groove Metal band Autere is finally releasing their first full-length album, entitled Amal’l, a very modern metal album that was definitely worth the entire wait, especially if you are a fan of the heavy riffs and huge doses of melody and energy found in Melodic Death Metal.

As you will notice while listening to this album, this five-piece metal band from Turku, Finland already has some considerable experience in the world of heavy music, with each member being part of other bands such as Trespassenger, Damnesty, Black Sleep and Jacks Over Kings. Add to this strong music background a very professional production and you’ll see why Amal’l sounds so solid compared to the debut albums from many other metal bands.

With vocals à la Pantera (“BUUURRRN!”), the headbanging tune Burn opens the album as the band’s “business card”, being so heavy even its melodic but not too mellow clean vocals keep up with the song’s ferocity, while in the more rhythmic and intense Circle Of Kinetic Damage, with its technical riffs and strong chorus, the influence by Arch Enemy and other Swedish Melodic Death Metal bands is noticeable. Besides, songs like this one show us why the band has been playing live concerts together for so long, as it has a great level of energy to entertain most types of metalheads.

autere_promo1The more modern Redeemers gets closer to American Metalcore, with its harsh and clean vocals making an interesting combination full of harmony, while Lines visibly focuses on its riffs as the base of the entire song, with its harsh vocals and nice guitar solo at the end intensifying the overall result. In the following track, Horizon, Autere get back to a Pantera-ish sonority, with highlights to its breaks and melody and to drummer Tatu Turunen for being so precise with his drum set.

Carbon showcases a faster and more violent side of the band, sounding even more “Americanized” but without losing that harmonious European punch, with its chorus being really catchy and entertaining, while in Bloodlands the band’s headbanging machine keeps working at full power, with guitarists Joona Alamäki and Petri Huhtala kicking ass with their riffs. And there are still two more songs to go: Veils Of Faith keeps the momentum going with its nice flow accompanied by the vocal lines by Anssi Rissa, ending in a very strong way; and Allies, slower than all other songs and with a heavy focus on its main riff, gets a little tiring after two minutes, albeit not being a boring song at all.

In summary, Amal’l, which can be purchased at the online Inverse Store, is a straightforward album directly from the land of ice and snow that will satisfy your craving for melodic metal music, and will surely inspire you for some good headbanging and mosh pits.

Best moments of the album: Circle Of Kinetic Damage, Horizon and Carbon.

Worst moments of the album: Lines and Allies.

Released in 2014 Inverse Records

Track listing
1. Burn 3:26
2. Circle Of Kinetic Damage 4:15
3. Redeemers 3:41
4. Lines 3:44
5. Horizon 4:20
6. Carbon 3:43
7. Bloodlands 3:24
8. Veils Of Faith 3:03
9. Allies 4:18

Band members
Anssi Rissa – vocals
Joona Alamäki – guitars
Petri Huhtala – guitars
Markus Virtanen – bass
Tatu Turunen – drums

Album Review – Starkill / Virus Of The Mind (2014)

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These promising American death metallers return with an interesting mix of symphony, harmony and darkness.

Rating4

starkill_coverAs promised HERE, it’s time to review Virus Of The Mind, the brand new album by one of the most promising Melodic Death Metal groups in the market today (and they’re not from Sweden this time), American band Starkill. Sounding like a hybrid of Behemoth and Arch Enemy, with lots of symphonic elements and the band’s own unique dark touch, this is an excellent choice for fans of a more contemporary Symphonic and Melodic Black/Death Metal, which is at the same time brutal but very harmonious.

Born in 2008 in Bloomington, Indiana under the name of Ballistika and then Massakren, before changing it once and for all to Starkill and moving to Chicago, Illinois, the band was kind of “catapulted” to significant stardom at the end of 2012 when they signed to Century Media Records, releasing their debut album Fires Of Life in 2013. Now with Virus Of The Mind they sound even more prepared for reaching new heights, especially due to their capacity of mixing so many different genres and subgenres of heavy music such as Melodic Death Metal, Power Metal, Thrash Metal and Symphonic Black Metal in the most professional and polished way possible.

And their symphonic vein can be noticed from the very beginning of the opening track, Be Dead or Die, where the awesome keyboard lines blend perfectly with its Power Metal-ish drums at the speed of light by Spencer Weidner, all guided by one of the band’s trademarks, the harsh growls by Parker Jameson. Winter Desolation follows a more Melodic Death Metal line, especially its riffs and solos à la Arch Enemy, and the first “batch” of clean vocals is a welcome addition in order to expand their music range, while Breaking the Madness elevates the adrenaline of the listener, being perfect for live performances. Moreover, despite the vocals being so harsh, it’s easy to understand the dark and interesting lyrics Parker is singing (“Madness permeates / Into my body and my mind, it starts to break / Bit there is fucking nothing left to take / Nothing to feel / Trapped in the labyrinth, losing sight of what is real / So hard to tell which way to go”).

The title-track Virus of the Mind is a very symphonic tune where the smooth keyboard notes make an interesting paradox with the harsh vocals, while the also atmospheric and dark Skyward focus on the synergy between its guitar effects and keyboard notes. Before Hope Fades, one of the singles of the album, is a good reason why they should stick to fast and heavy music: it sounds a lot like the bland material from the last couple of albums by Nightwish (except for the vocals, of course), being so pop and generic it doesn’t represent at all the true heavy music the band is capable of doing. At least they get back on track with some Symphonic Black Metal the likes of Dimmu Borgir in Into Destiny, albeit the clean vocals do not sound as if they belonged to this song.

starkillThe last part of Virus Of The Mind has its awesome and pretty bad moments at the same time, starting with the amazing apocalyptic musicality in God of This World, focusing heavily on its keyboards and the more obscure and violent lyrics (“I shall smite the earth with a curse / Enemies to ashes on the soles of my feet / Shedding blood as long as it takes / To cease this engine of grief”), followed by My Catharsis, where all elements of Melodic Death Metal can be found: very technical guitar solos, fast drums, heavy riffs and huge doses of guttural vocals. And finally, Convergence, which was supposed to sound more epic, but in fact it doesn’t live up to the expectations and ends up being just filler and, consequently, the worst song of the whole album by far.

In summary, the second installment by those American death metallers is not only a nice and professional combination of harmony and darkness, but above all it also helps consolidate Starkill in the heavy music scene today as one of the most promising names in Melodic Death Metal. Well, I guess we can already stop calling them “promising”, as they’re indeed a reality, right? And if they keep providing us such enjoyable music, maybe one day they can go even further and reach the status of classic.

Best moments of the album: Be Dead or Die, Breaking the Madness and God of This World.

Worst moments of the album: Before Hope Fades and Convergence.

Released in 2014 Century Media Records

Track listing
1. Be Dead or Die 4:36
2. Winter Desolation 5:16
3. Breaking the Madness 3:55
4. Virus of the Mind 4:47
5. Skyward 4:05
6. Before Hope Fades 4:52
7. Into Destiny 4:02
8. God of This World 5:39
9. My Catharsis 3:54
10. Convergence 4:18

Band members
Parker Jameson – lead guitar, vocals, keyboards
Tony Keathley – guitar, backing vocals
Shaun Andruchuk – bass guitar
Spencer Weidner – drums

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

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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)

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

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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)

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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

Concert Review – Arch Enemy & Kreator (The Opera House, Toronto, ON, 10/29/2014)

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Mosh pits, mosh pits! We’ve got mosh pits! Come grab your mosh pits!

OPENING ACTS: Starkill and Huntress

arch enemy_kreator_natour2014Unfortunately, due to the absolutely insane traffic to get from Oakville to The Opera House in Toronto at 6pm on a Wednesday (plus the fact there were TWO accidents on the highway, making things even worse), I missed BOTH opening acts, American Melodic Death Metal band STARKILL and American Heavy Metal band HUNTRESS. Well, I got the very last song from Huntress and it was truly kick-ass for the less than 5 minutes I had to see them, but I cannot say I actually saw those two bands in action. I’m really sorry, guys! It’s the price to pay when you live in the suburbs and have to work for the entire day before going to concerts, but I’ll try to review Starkill’s 2014 new album Virus of the Mind as soon as possible and a new Huntress album whenever it’s released in the future for sure. And Jill Janus is so beautiful, she will be a Metal Chick of the Month one day here at The Headbanging Moose.

KREATOR

IMG_3046Fuckin’ brutal, fuckin’ sick, fuckin’ awesome, and all other “fuckings” you can think of. German Thrash Metal behemoths KREATOR delivered a motherfuckin’ amazing nonstop violent concert, tearing the house down with their classic, fast and furious heavy music. Mille Petroza drove the fans crazy each time he screamed “TORONTO!”, demanding every single person at The Opera House to slam into the mosh pits and scream as loud as possible. And what can be said about drummer Jürgen “Ventor” Reil? One day we’ll see the guy arrested for excessive violence against his drum kit.

The band’s setlist was also a lesson in violence, with classics such as Violent Revolution, Extreme Aggression, Phobia, Voices of the Dead and Impossible Brutality putting a smile on everyone’s faces, as well as some bruises along our bodies, of course. However, there were three songs that reached perfection and made their whole performance even more memorable: the sensational Enemy of God (my favorite Kreator song of all time), the new and boisterous Phantom Antichrist, and the last song of the setlist, Pleasure to Kill, which left a beautiful trail of devastation at the venue. The only problem with their performance and with the whole festival for me was: who was (were) the motherfucker(s) farting every 5 seconds during the concerts? C’mon, what had you eaten before getting to the venue? Rotten food? Five pounds of pulled pork? Rat meat? That smell was destroying my respiratory system, you sick bastard(s).

IMG_3055Anyway, I guess one of the top moments in everyone’s memories will be the infamous “Wall of Death”, especially for the ones who were at the opposite side of a giant fat bastard. Even at such a small venue, we did it, and it was so cool I saw people eager for more walls of death at every song played. Moreover, it’s always a pleasure to see metalheads picking other metalheads up whenever there was a fall, showing how respectful and united we are. Also, it amazes me to see more and more girls, Asians, Latin Americans and people from any other nationalities, religion, sexual orientation etc. at Heavy Metal concerts. I’m not going to be arrogant and say we are the evolution of mankind, but at least we’re trying harder and getting better results than any other “organized” society in the world, and that makes me really proud to be a metal fan.

Setlist
1. The Patriarch
2. Violent Revolution
3. Civilization Collapse
4. Extreme Aggression
5. Phobia
6. Enemy of God
7. Voices of the Dead
8. Endless Pain
9. Victory Will Come
10. Mars Mantra
11. Phantom Antichrist
12. Impossible Brutality
13. Hordes of Chaos (A Necrologue for the Elite)
14. Pleasure to Kill

Band members
Miland “Mille” Petrozza – vocals, guitar
Sami Yli-Sirniö – guitar
Christian “Speesy” Giesler – bass
Jürgen “Ventor” Reil – drums, vocals

ARCH ENEMY

IMG_3072When ARCH ENEMY open their concert with the superb Enemy Within, one of the best Melodic Death Metal songs in the history of music, you know it’s going to be a wild night. From the very first to the very last minute of their incredible performance, Michael, Alissa & Co. perfectly commanded the crowd with a flawless setlist, full of insane classics blended with newer songs. Maybe the only change I would have done to their setlist was replacing  the boring You Will Know My Name, which wasn’t that good live, with something more brutal like “Diva Satanica” or “I Am Legend/Out For Blood”, but that’s just my opinion. In regards to the other new songs from War Eternal, both War Eternal and As the Pages Burn sounded A LOT better live, with the latter being responsible for a humongous circle pit.

And how not to get thrilled with masterpieces like Ravenous, Revolution Begins, My Apocalypse, Dead Bury Their Dead, Blood on Your Hands and Nemesis? So many good moments I don’t even know what to say. Even less bestial songs like Under Black Flags We March, with Alissa White-Gluz waving the Arch Enemy flag for the delight of all fans, and No Gods, No Masters, where she led an intense jumping up and down during the entire song, were brilliant. By the way, although all songs played are classics or powerful enough to even wake up the dead, it was the band members’ individual performances that made the night truly memorable. Nick, Sharlee and Daniel were amazing, Alissa was a beast, and Mr. Michael Amott makes playing the guitar look so fuckin’ easy I want to buy one right know and start shredding, even if I have no idea on how to do it. Seriously, how can he be that awesome? It’s unbelievable how smooth, technical and soulful his guitar lines are. Snow Bound, oh, Snow Bound!

IMG_3087Talking about Alissa, our Canadian goddess was absolutely stunning, electrified, and more than happy and excited to be playing in Canada for the first time since joining Arch Enemy earlier this year. The smile on her face while holding the Canadian flag up high was priceless (and she looks gorgeous either smiling or playing the badass angry woman, no matter what). Now I truly know why Angela Gossow herself chose Alissa to replace her as the frontwoman of one of the most influential Melodic Death Metal bands of all time.

The Opera House will never be the same after all those hours of endless mosh pits, fists and horns in the air, and PURE FUCKIN’ METAL. They should change the name of the venue from now on to “The Mosh Pit House” or something like that. It was totally awesome, and I’m sure everyone that attended the festival will agree with me. At the end of the day, getting back to Oakville, waking up at 6am the next morning to work and go to the gym in the evening was extremely hard due to all the glorious pain flowing through my body, but nothing that some more Arch Enemy in my car and in my MP3 player couldn’t take care of. Mosh pits anybody?

Setlist
1. Tempore Nihil Sanat (Prelude in F minor)
2. Enemy Within
3. War Eternal
4. Ravenous
5. Revolution Begins
6. My Apocalypse
7. You Will Know My Name
8. Bloodstained Cross
9. Under Black Flags We March
10. As the Pages Burn
11. Dead Eyes See No Future
12. No Gods, No Masters
13. Dead Bury Their Dead
14. We Will Rise

Encore:
15. Khaos Overture
16. Yesterday Is Dead and Gone
17. Blood on Your Hands

Encore 2:
18. Snow Bound
19. Nemesis
20. Fields of Desolation (outro)
21. Enter the Machine

Band members
Alissa White-Gluz – vocals
Michael Amott – lead guitars
Nick Cordle – lead guitars
Sharlee D’Angelo – bass
Daniel Erlandsson – drums

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Album Review – Mandatory / Catharsis (2014)

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A good option for fans of Melodic Death Metal who enjoy European harmony blended with North American violence.

Rating5

MANDATORY_Catharsis_Cover_HQAustrian Melodic Death Metal band Mandatory is one of those cases where harmony and brutality walk hand in hand with each other, creating an electrifying sound perfect for live performances, which by the way helped this Linz-based quintet win the International Live Award in 2011 in Austria. Now with Catharsis, the band’s second full-length album, those guys deliver a more melodic and technical Death Metal than their previous releases without sounding too commercial or generic.

Although Catharsis is quite different from the band’s 2009 debut album Carbon Black, it’s still very technical and heavy, recommended for both fans of Melodic Death Metal and the more modern heavy music from North America. Moreover, do not expect to listen to old school Death or Thrash Metal, as the sounding in the whole album is very polished and even progressive depending on the song, similar to what bands such as Arch Enemy are doing today. You can indeed expect lots of shredding, guttural and clean vocals mixed, and fast and technical blast beats.

The opening track, End of Watch, can be summarized as pure European Melodic Death Metal with hints of American Metalcore, with its double bass boosting the very melodic guttural vocals. Then we have Act I: Tragedy, the first of three “acts” (or whatever the band wanted those to be) where its excellent instrumental, clean vocals and motivational lyrics (“Embrace the Light within / Shatter the Sky / Your pain and misery / Will purify your mind”) give a good balance to the song; and the slower but heavier To the Streets, a modern Thrash Metal tune the likes of contemporary Metallica and A7X, with some intense riffs and an interesting guitar solo perfect for some headbanging.

Mandatory_2012_1500_webEmperor has the most Metalcore rhythm of all songs, especially its guitar duos, with highlights to its very polished production (enhancing the sounding of all instruments) and the political message in its lyrics (“You aren’t machines / You are not chained / To these ambassadors / Of hatred fear and despise”); while the very enjoyable Act II: Catharsis begins with an intense low riff before turning into fast Melodic Death Metal. It even flirts with progressive metal due to all its breaks, variations and the excellent work done by both guitarists Chris Hörmann and Manuel “Mani” Rohrauer.

Shadowmaker is another good melodic and very progressive tune, albeit not as heavy as the rest of the album, with its guitar solos reminding me of some old stuff done by Dream Theater; followed by For the World to See, which gets back to Melodic Death Metal with its clean vocals being once again a nice touch to the overall musicality. Finally, we have Act III: Purification, the last of the three “acts”, another progressive/melodic heavy track with uprising lyrics (“Rise Up! / Liberate your wisdom / Rise Up! / Let the storm break loose”), and closing the album we have Blueprint, the most Thrash/Death Metal track of all with highlights to its technical and professional instrumental and the nice sound effects on the background. In addition, it might only be a coincidence, but the three “acts” (add also “End of Watch” to this list) are the best songs of the album by far in my opinion.

You can purchase Catharsis at Mandatory’s official BandCamp page, where the album comes as a special edition with lots of extra stuff, or also at Amazon, iTunes and other online stores. Go for it if you’re a fan of the most modern type of Melodic Death Metal available in the market, uniting melody, violence and fun in heavy music.

Best moments of the album: End of Watch, Act I: Tragedy, Act II: Catharsis and Act III: Purification.

Worst moments of the album: To the Streets and For the World to See.

Released in 2014 Independent

Track listing
1. End of Watch 3:53
2. Act I: Tragedy 4:15
3. To the Streets 6:53
4. Emperor 5:08
5. Act II: Catharsis 6:53
6. Shadowmaker 4:36
7. For the World to See 5:45
8. Act III: Purification 5:18
9. Blueprint 3:51

Band members
Markus Hundsberger – vocals
Chris Hörmann – guitars, backing vocals
Manuel “Mani” Rohrauer – guitars, backing vocals
Leo Wolfmayr – bass
Mike Pfaffenhuemer – drums, clean vocals