Release date: April 15th 2012
Record Label: Roadrunner Records (USA)
Reviewer: Tristan French
After the departure of singer ZP Theart, DragonForce entered a bit of a reclusive grey area. Nobody, aside from the band themselves knew what was really going on, until they announced open auditions for a new vocalist. Months later, this new master of the pipes was revealed to be the relatively unknown, Marc Hudson. Having revealed that he’d never really sung professionally before, we were shocked as anyone to see his demoing tapes...suffice it to say, I was blown away by the notes that this guy was hitting, and was eager to hear more from the newly armoured DragonForce, and almost a year later, we’ve arrived at Marc’s first album with the band. Having toured with them prior to the release (including an opening show for Iron Maiden), its clear that live shows only increase his ability to pull down the rafters. That’s not to say that the rest of the band haven’t undergone a transformation as well. There’s a clear difference/alteration in songwriting. It seems that DragonForce have done away with the 7/8 minute tracks of old, and adopted a much more shortened approach. Believing that they have absolutely nothing to prove, this record comes across as DragonForce making a record for fun and of course the love of heavy metal, and it’s worked!
Opening track “Holding On” pull no punches in establishing this record’s direction. Opening with great falsetto’s from Hudson (those who saw the demo tapes will recognise these), DF show us that they’re going to be playing faster, heavier and harder than ever before. I’m going to be honest, if this song were any more positively reinforcing, it’d be about as cute as a panda bear. This song brings the tough, but with a clearly positive message, especially highlighted by the chorus of “woah’s” upon the outro and of course the chorus lyric “Promises of Yesterday, we’ll keep holding on!”, this is clearly a song to listen when you need to be cheered up. Of course, axemasters Herman Li and Sam Totman bring the intensity with their lightning fast soloing, whilst including some great prominent melodies that can really stick. Bottom line, this opening is catchy as hell and it only gets better!
Following is “Fallen World” , the first track released from the album. Quoted by the band as the “fastest, most intense DragonForce song ever” , it does just that. After a great and resonating melody the song bursts into a maelstrom of guitar parts, in what can only be described as a flurry of fingers. Apparently, DF decided that they wanted to take a song and compress it, and it’s so adrenaline inducing I wouldn’t be surprised if it became a future pit starter. Of course more high notes from Hudson as well as some furious drumming! This is not a song that gives you time to think, it just pushes on ahead, and does so very well!
Another prominent track is so far my favourite from the album and the current video single for the album, “Cry Thunder”. Opening with a melody that’s strangely reminiscent of the Skyrim theme song. This, unlike the other two tracks goes into a steady gallop, keeping with the true ethos of the song, to serve as a warmarch. Clearly synonymous with the feel of the song, the newly crowned frontman brings out his commanding aura, “Night after night, for the glory we fight, in a kingdom of madness and the tales of the old” (at least I think that’s what the lyrics are). This song is clearly going to have fists pumping and “Heys” resounding throughout venues. The incredible pitch hit on the emphatic “CRY THUNDER!”, has an almost battle cry like quality, and really lifts you up in preparation for any sort of assault.
Two other tracks worth mentioning are “Seasons” and “Heart of the Storm”. “Seasons” has an almost classic feel to it, slowing down to a rocky mid tempo, that is almost reminiscent of older glam rock songs. The track also displays Hudson’s ability to reach lower ranges, next to his higher pitched vocals. Li and Totman provide great stocatto melodies at the intervals between verses, and the solos are smoother than ZZ Top’s suits! “Heart of the Storm” completely contrasts this. In short its a bit like “Through the Fire and Flames” on speed. This is easily one of DF’s fastest songs yet, and honestly lead me to question just how much energy that drummer Dave Mackintosh has. Either that or he’s secretly an octopus, its just insane. As the only song on the album that’s over four minutes, this is probably the only track where you’ll find the long solo break and build ups of old. Of course the distinction between Li’s technicality and Totman’s awesome melodies synthesise greatly! It truly is one of the catchiest songs on the album.
Overall, I think this record is probably one of DragonForce’s best to date. I do understand that DF aren’t everyone’s cup’o’tea, but they do what they do well, and they’re a great pick-me-up during dark times. I’ll admit a few songs on this record are repetitive, but with the addition of a new singer to their arsenal, and a cutting down of song lengths (some of the shortest that the band have ever written) I certainly think it’s a step in the right direction. I’m giving The Power Within a 7.5/10 and I seriously look forward to their upcoming live shows!
Order "The Power Within" via Amazon: CD | Mp3
Genre: Groove Metal
Label: Roadrunner Records
Released: March 13th, 2012
Reviewer: Tristan French
Soulfly have always been a band known to bring the heavy, regardless of their popularity or the amount of recognition that they get. This being said, 2010’s “Omen” felt kind of dry. A good record in and of itself, elements of the record seemed repetitive as if the band were moving in a circle. I can safely say that this is not the case with Soulfly’s latest metal offering, “Enslaved.” When first described as “Arise on crack” and being the Cavalera fanboy that I am, I just had to give it a listen, and I can honestly tell you its one of the heaviest releases this year. I believe that this is partially due to the newer additions to Soulfly’s artillery, introducing former Static-X bassist Tony Campos and Norwegian death metal drum master “David Kinkade”, Soulfly are poised to shatter our heads once more!
“Resistance” introduces us loosely to the themes and direction of the album, including a mix of extremely fast distorted guitarwork leading into the resonating blows of timpanis, offering the atmosphere of slaves being lead to their quarters, truly haunting indeed. Lead single “World Scum” follows, and to cut a long story short, this track summarises the word “brutal.” Featuring Cattle Decapitation’s frontman Travis Ryan, the vocals on this track encapsulate anger, frustration and pure rebellious feeling against those who would oppress others. Another prominent feature is that both new members receive the spotlight right off the bat, with Campos’ bass introduction setting the track’s rhythm from the start, and Kinkade’s double bass assault following suit. Of course, Max Cavalera and Marc Rizzo cannot be overlooked, through stellar riff work and brilliant time changes throughout!
Track number three, “Intervention” is where the “Arise on crack” statement begins to become true, with a very old-thrashy Sepultura vibe. Opening with a mid-paced thrash onslaught before settling into a slightly slower tempo, this track features some of the records best guitarwork, allowing Rizzo to show off his brilliant lead abilities. A return to the faster speed and of course gang vocals display even more prominently that Soulfly have almost done away with the flourishes of old and have returned to their pure thrash roots. Second single “Gladiator” follows featuring a haunting psychadellic-esque introduction before erupting into another pace racer, continuing the vibe heard on “Intervention.” Featuring some of Cavalera’s inescapable sitar work (which only adds to the ferocity) and some of the lowest growls from his vocal repertoire, this track is sure to be a live favourite.
“Legions” and “American Steel” both continue the band’s battle march featuring some of the most oriental sounding riffs that I’ve heard in a while. “Legions” draws main focus to Kinkade’s ability to pull off time changes at an alarming pace, adding extra elements to the beat as the song progresses, while “American Steel” features one of the most pertinent breakdowns of the album, sure to heads banging, as well as some elements of some very unexpected bass effects.
Track seven introduces the album’s second featured vocalist, none other than DevilDriver’s energetic vocalist Dez Farfara. This track “Redemption of Man by God” literally defines the term “annihilation” as the question/answer approach adopted by both frontmen on the song’s chorus acts as a great display of their abilities, whilst providing a great contrast between Farfara’s higher screams and Cavalera’s more guttural vocals. A break mid song is needed to calm things down, as surely the excitement has reached unbelievable heights by now, leading into a clean outro, a fitting ending to such an awesome track!
One of my favourite tracks on the record is “Plata O Plomo”, sung in Portugese by Cavalera and Spanish by Campos. The result is an even more heartfelt song, recited in their native language making it sound insanely pure, almost like “Ratamahatta” from 1996’s Roots. This of course is only amplified by the sludgey atmosphere of the song, providing a great head bobbing rhythm whilst remaining ever so controlled, providing a great contrast the album’s thrashiest tracks. The inclusion of some classical guitar during both the pre-chorus and the outro once again offers a really earthy feel to this song, and contrasts greatly with the heaviness heard earlier.
The final song on this album is again one of the ones I’ve been favouring lately. Revengeance features Richie and Igor Cavalera Jr. as guest vocalists/guitarists and Zyon Cavalera on the drums, this track lyrically encapsulates the feelings felt by the Cavalera family at the murder of their brother/son. If anything, this song shows that brutality runs in the family, with both Igor and Richie offering a good mix of black metal-eqsue growls, and lower pitched gutterals. Zyon’s drumming is also extremely prevalent, going through time changes seemingly effortlessly. Max Cavalera has actually stated that most of the riffs were written by his sons, wanting to give them a chance to voice their anger. Slowing things right down to a great breakdown ends this record as ominously as it started. All I can say is it took a while for the goosebumps to go down.
Enslaved is definitely worth checking out, whether you’re an older Sepultura fan or preffered the earlier Soulfly stuff, there’s something on here from everyone. Although there’s no instrumental “Soulfly” track at the end of the standard edition of the album, I personally think it ends just as well, and brilliantly showcases each band members talents. I’m giving Enslaved an 8/10. Soulfly have clearly gone “back to the primitive”, and it’s worked!
Click here to order "Enslaved" via Amazon Mp3 | CD
Genre: Hardcore
Label: Self-released
Released: March 16th, 2012
Reviewer: Kareem ChehayebWho Will Guard the Guardians are a Jordanian hardcore metal band, formed in late 2011. The band comprises of Adnan on vocals, Moe on guitar, Firas on bass, and Ala'a on drums. Having recently opened up for German death metallers, Fleshcrawl (what a way to make your live debut!). The band released a demo of three tracks which is also released in a split album with Dubai-based death metallers, Billy Bob's Blood Drenched Brew called "The Split".The first track is "Stand Up" and it just starts with no short intro or build up. Im really fascinated by the drum work, which combines elements of punk, death metal, and thrash. Adnan's vocals came as a pleasant surprise to me! He reminds me of Troy Sanders from Mastodon from their older albums with a bit of Chad Gray (Mudvayne, Hellyeah).The next track Seven is really awesome. The unique drum beats and dissonant guitars combined with Adnan's growls are a match made in (hardcore) heaven, or should I say hell? In any case, it's really awesome. I enjoy the gang vocals too. WWGTG does them right…I find them so overdone and used at such cliche moments with other bands these days.This great demo ends with Obstacles, that sounds more thrash than anything, which is a product of hardcore punk anyway! I love Moe's solo too. This demo has been filled with heavy riffs, dissonant riffs and the like…but it was nice to have a melodic interlude with a nice solo in this track.Great start for Who Will Guard the Guardians after only starting a few months ago! I can only imagine better things to come for this hardcore band! Worth listening!!!
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Self-released
Released: February 17, 2012
Reviewer: Kareem Chehayeb
I always thought that Perversion where in the shadow of some other bands in the Middle East. Since 2006, this death metal band has been tearing venues apart. The band is made up of Mahmud Gecekusu on guitars/vocals and Rhama on bass/vocals. The duo are the two remaining founding members of the band. Their current live drummer is England-based Alex Micklewright, but have worked with familiar drummers in the regional scene, including Ratish Chadha (ex-A Shot of Adrenaline, Alpha.Kenny.Buddy) and Bachir Ramadan (Weeping Willow). Pillars of the Enlightened has been in the works for a very long time, so it has been an album we have been anticipating for a while!
Through the Void is a short intro track that starts with a continuous dissonant piano melody that builds up with a powerful string section and orchestra. I don't have much to say about it. It sounds good, and reminds me of the sort of thing that Vital Remains have done in their past couple of albums.
The first track opens up, and it's filled with nothing more than pure death metal goodness. Aging the Unbirthed sounds like the lovechild of Vader and Obituary. Rhama, who is the lead vocalist of the band, has growls that can shake the earth. His bass playing is tight and is well placed in the mix, making a great combination with the technical Mahmud G. on the guitar.
The Great Deception smoothly follows up from the previous track, and it's really the same story. Low growls, heavy and tight riffs. We first see Mahmud's lead work in this track, and I definitely like what he's done. Beautiful melodies that change the wavelength in the song, which is generally consistent.
The next track Pillars of the Enlightened is my favorite of the album. It reminds me a lot of Suffocation. A nice mix of blast beasts and heavy death metal breakdowns that can stir up crowds in seconds. I also have to give credit to Mahmud's solo at the end. The song is heavy, fast, and all over the place - just the way I like it - but that solo is so beautifully phrased and melodic. I think their ability to combine blastbeats, breakdowns, fast and technical riffs, AND beautiful phrased solos makes this album more unique than the hundreds of efforts death metal bands have been trying to pull off today.
Overall, Pillars of the Enlightened is a great album that everyone should get their hands on. While many metal fans today have lost interest in death metal, I think it's important they still remember the musicians in that sector of metal that influences many modern bands today. I admire Perversion for sticking to their guns and adding a twist to the work by not using excessively technical solos. I think a common critique of the album might be how the songs just all flow together as if they're one huge track. However, while the production can be slightly better in terms of dynamics, it took a couple of listens to value the individual tracks of this album more than at first listen. If you are fortunate to be in Dubai or somewhere where they happen to be playing soon, I recommend watching them live too.
Perversion are preparing for a show in Germany at Queens of Metal Festival, where they are opening up for Suffocation, Vader, Exodus and a number of other bands! They're also writing some new songs and working on a new release! I feel like these Middle Eastern metal veterans finally have gotten what they've deserved.
If you like Suffocation, Morbid Angel, Vader, Obituary, Vital Remains, and the like, then this is the album for you!
[Ed note: Visit PERVERSION on Facebook to stream Pillars of The Enlightened in it's entirety (available for a limited time!)]
Genre: Black/Avant-garde Metal
Label: Candlelight Records
Release date: March 12th, 2012
Reviewer: Karim Tarek
If you’re not familiar with the name Sigh, then you’re totally missing out on some out-of-the-ordinary Black Metal. The Japanese quintet delivers a highly peculiar and exotic blend of Black, Power, and Avant-Garde Metal. They have been around since 1990, and have managed to build up a strong discography since then. Courtesy from Candlelight Records, we recently got a grip on their upcoming album, entitled In Somniphobia, which is expected to be released on March, 12th.
“In Somniphobia” sounded so powerful, complex, unique, and melodic. Most of the openings of the tracks sounded Power Metal-ish, especially the first track, “Purgatotium.” Riffs too came very energetic and lively, which helped add a whole theme of vigorousness to the album. You could sense a great job done by the guitarist, Shinichi Ishikawa, from the very first moments on the album; riffing on “In Somniphobia” came all pretty diverse, swinging between speed, melodiousness, down-tempo breaks, and power shredding.
“In Somniphobia” greatly showed the experimental side of Sigh. I mean, Sigh are known for their eccentric and experimental tunes, however, it felt like “In Somniphobia” came to lay an emphasis on that aspect of the band. A song like “Somniphobia” is precisely what I would use as an example of proving my point; it starts off with an electronic drone line, moves on with a vast mixture of tunes, with xylophone, keyboards, soundbites, and saxophone all around, and ends up in a typical way of how a pure experimental song does. It really grew on me anyway and gave me a small picture of the whole record.
What Sigh really deserve kudos for is their musical cohesiveness; they managed to perfectly stay in accord and maintain the harmony throughout the whole one hour and four minutes of the album, which is not a very easy job taking in consideration the amount of instruments used and the very complexity of the music. I can safely say that their performance was flawless, which is natural for a veteran band, I guess. Guitars, drumming, bass, saxophone, vocals, electronics, and everything else was just tight.
All in all, “In Somniphobia” is a journey through the unknown; it’s dark, weird, exotic, unpredictable, and most importantly musically rich, and as expected from an experimental album, it never started to grow on me until a few listens later… Or in other words, I never felt I could grasp it before at least three listens and a lot of pauses and repeats. I believe that we all need such an album for a change; it’s a good refreshment for avid Metalheads. It’s something uncommon that lies in its own league in the Black Metal scene. I would recommend it for anyone who’s bored from typical music and who’s seeking something experimental and limitless to enjoy.
Recommended tracks: The Transfiguration Fear, Somniphobia
Genre: Melodic Hardcore
Label: Self-released
Released: February 10th, 2012
Reviewer: Tristan French
Midway are Dubai’s premiere melodic hardcore crew, and its safe to say that these guys have been enjoying quite a run of dominance over the past few years, and this EP marks the start of a giant push by the band. No mistake, these guys are out for blood and “Burdens Lost” is honestly one of the best releases that I’ve heard to come out of the Middle East recently.
The EP opens with the first track released from it, the ambient yet hard hitting “Lights.” Honestly, this song sounds like somebody took TesseracT and The Ghost Inside and merged them into the perfect melodic hardcore sound. Resounding chords provide the almost calming air at first, whilst the drums remain as quiet as possible. However, this is just calm before the storm, as the track then launches into an awesomely heavy breakdown, as all instruments are turned up to full throttle. This track is full of surprises as tempo changes seem to come at listeners in surprise, giving drummer Mychal Martinez a chance to demonstrate his clear precision as well as his clear mastery of his craft, driving the song forward, one beat at a time. This song also showcases frontman Bruno Solonen’s epicly raw vocals, encapsulating his clear frustration and anger, symbolised mainly through the lyric “These anchors won’t keep me.” This song is sure to have heads banging from start-t0-finish, and it’s only the first track!
After the fadeout of “Lights” we are immediately thrown into the maelstrom as the EP’s title track “Burdens Lost” takes the spotlight. Martinez immediately speeds things up with Solonen following suit, contributing towards the barrage of sound. In short, this is the EP’s “stand up and fight” song. This track is the chance of guitarists George Hughes and Joel Reardon to display their riffing prowess, prominently display their abilities to keep precision during such regular time changes! Solonen’s lower growls are also featured here, and let me tell you they were shockingly awesome (I’d tell you where they are, but trust me, you’ll know them when you hear them). This track is a future mosh inducer for sure, open the floors up!
Following the title track is the mid tempoed monster “Burning Bridges.” If any song symbolises the melodic hardcore genre, then this is it! The assault provided by guitars and drums alike is nothing but a display of sheer brutality, and an excitement causer for sure! Probably one of the most interesting moments of the track are Hughes’ vocals. Although not as deep as Solonen’s they are equally as brutal with clear resentment and pent up frustration finally being let loose. A clear rapport between the two has clearly been built, and as you’ll hear, it works extremely well. The tempo once again shifts into an awesome breakdown, receiving a build-up to end all build-ups, this breakdown is clearly the angriest on the EP. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a few fists thrown during its duration.
We come to the conclusion of a short yet epic EP, as the band stated “It’ll only be 4 tracks, but 4 tracks of awesome!” , and you can clearly tell that they weren’t wrong. Opening with Solonen growling with all his might “RELEASE THE KRAKEN!” followed by one of the sludgiest breakdowns I’ve ever heard. This track is the one for surprises, and tempo changes and strange tempos begin to appear, clearly demonstrating the band’s time keeping skills. Remember those low growls I was talking about? Well they get even lower here! Seriously, they make George Fisher’s look high. After releasing the Kraken, the band erupt into a unusual yet apt Meshuggah-esque time change, which’ll be good news to you djent fans out there. Ending how it started, the band enter one last breakdown before speeding up to the mid, leading into the EP’s ambient outro, ending how they began.
Basically, you should definitely download this and give it a listen if you haven’t done so already. It’s a whirpool of originality, brutality and serves as proof that these guys are ready for the big time. I’m rating this EP an 8/10, almost purely based around the fact that with just 4 songs, Midway have made their stamp. For these guys, the only way now is up!
Genre: Industrial/Middle Eastern Folk Metal
Label: Domestic Genocide Records
Release date: January 29th (Digital release available now via Amazon)
Reviewer: Karim Tarek
After personally not being so active on Metality recently, I received the press kit of Hate Field’s debut album, “Scary Fairy Tale”, and I was pretty excited about writing a new album review after a period of idleness.
Hailing from Alexandria, Egypt, Hate Field is Alfi Hayati’s solo project, where he delivers all his inspirations through Industrial Metal tunes. If you are relatively into the Egyptian Metal scene, then I reckon you might have heard of Alfi’s name here or there as he has been the bassist of one of Egypt’s oldest and most high-profile bands, and one of my personal influences as a teenager, Odious, since 1999, which, I believe, plays a role as a crucial musical influence on Alfi despite the actual musical dissimilarity, with Odious playing Melodic Black Metal with oriental influences.
Hate Field certainly is not one of those side projects that would come out of the blue and go back to limbo fast; I could sense consistency and seriousness throughout the whole album, and I expect Alfi to come up with a new release every now and then while still having Odious as his main band, much in the same way as a lot of musicians do. The fact that Alfi wrote, played, and recorded a whole full-length album on his own in a not-too-long period of time, in a country where it takes most of the bands out there ages to come up with releases, is a point on which Alfi deserves kudos.
“Scary Fairy Tale” came well-put and musically mature; riffing, time signatures, transitions, and the fair touch of electronics came all well-organized and coherent, which sustained and consolidated the album’s musical structure. Riffs on “Scary Fairy Tale” are mostly groovy and mid-tempo, whereas there are some moments on the album that came melodic and others that displayed mastery that is not too common between musicians who play bass guitar as their main instrument.
Electronics too are an add-up to “Scary Fairy Tale” as they were used precisely to create a typical Industrial atmosphere around the groovy music; they are well-played and well-distributed over the album and are one of the elements that particularly helped shape Hate Field’s music.
Alfi’s vocal efforts did not actually add up much to the album as they were rather mediocre; however, they were still far from the kind of vocals that would bore you off, as Alfi smartly managed to diversify his vocal styles and present them disparately. Production too was not very impressive to me, but still that is not a very significant point considering the band’s resources. Moreover, I believe production quality is going to be enhanced on further releases from Hate Field.
Overall, “Scary Fairy Tale” is a record worth listening, coming out from a devoted musician who had put a lot of effort into it to come that way. He also mentions that the whole album was mainly influenced by, and is a vent for, his feelings and emotions that are derived from his personal life experience which adds up to the value of the album and makes it not just an album to listen to, but also to feel.
Highlights: Sweet Nightmare, Hope Overdose, Deadly Supafly.
[Ed note: Click here to order "Scary Fairy Tale" via Domestic Genocide Records (and receive the album's booklet along with your purchase).]
Genre: Heavy Metal/Thrash
Label: Self-Released
Released: January 13th, 2012
Reviewer: Kareem Chehayeb
It took Blaakyum, Lebanon’s oldest active metal band, 15 years to release their debut full-length…makes “Time” (Wintersun) sound like a rushed album. Blaakyum is a band incredibly well known around Lebanon and has a very solid and unique lineup. The band began in 1995, split up in 2001, and returned in 2007. They represented Lebanon in the 2007 Global Battle of the Bands and were placed in the top 10 in the finals, which took place in London. The band consists of Jad on drums, Rany on bass, Elias on lead guitar (also plays lead for Weeping Willow), and founder, Bassem, on vocals and guitar (also vocalist for Syrian band, The Hourglass). Lord of the Night was recorded and mixed in Lebanon and mastered in Cutting Room Studios in Sweden (Meshuggah, Hypocrisy, Behemoth, In Flames). This album is for those who love Testament, Megadeth, orchestral, and Lebanese music (to a certain degree).
The album opens up with Dark Moon, a three-minute intro of orchestral goodness, courtesy of Wissam Tabet. Choirs, pizzicato violins, and cellos that eventually morph into an Epica-like symphonic metal passage that ends with a gong. Lord of the Night, which is the first full track of the album, follows in relatively smoothly. Sounds a bit like something that would come off of Megadeth’s Rust in Peace with a Lebanese-edge to it. Bassem’s vocals really impressed me. He is incredibly versatile. The chorus has such a catchy tune and a great melodic atmosphere that differs from the relative groove of the rest of the song. Bassem’s vocal chords take abuse with the intensity of singing, whether he’s hitting some falsettos, growls, or even what sounds like tenor operatic singing. Elias’ solo is phrased well, a combination of catchy melodies with some technical playing, and the orchestras punching behind the rhythm parts sound surprisingly well. Overall, it was an enjoyable song.
Another old track that is popular amongst the fans of the band has also been included on this, the awkwardly titled “Am I Black”, a song Snoop Dogg won’t be too fond of. Title aside, it’s a very cool song. The orchestra in the beginning is beautiful, and the tune is reminiscent of contemporary (but not too contemporary) Middle Eastern music. Bassem’s operatic singing is fantastic, and the growls in the interlude sound demonic. It’s a very catchy song and it was definitely well done and improved from the demo released in 98 with that title.
The Land is a unique track on the album as well. It’s the track that Middle Eastern and folk metal enthusiasts will want to check out. The intro with the acoustic in a style reminiscent of the “oud” is something different on this album, and the tunes remind me a lot of some older singers in Lebanon, which is something I personally enjoyed, because it was incorporated nicely with their western metal influences. Bassem once again just does outstandingly well with his singing. The chorus also has some Arabic – “Lebanon, land of love and peace”, and so does the outro. The outro goes into a completely different time signature, a lot like a traditional Lebanese song, and you can hear some “tablas” and tamborines towards the end. It’s definitely a catchy song, and is a more genuine “Middle Eastern influenced” attempt by a regional band.
Songs like Last Stand, Battle Roar, Rip It Off all are enjoyable as well. They sound like reformed thrash songs from their glory days. What I think allows this band to prevail over the tens of bands from the Middle East that play thrash or heavy metal is influence that comes directly from Lebanon. I think when bands claim they’re influenced by Middle Eastern music, they don’t look past the harmonic-minor scale, and that is a BIG mistake. Another factor is Bassem’s vocals. The diversity, from his dynamic range to his falsettos and growls, gives a unique edge to the metal. The tunes he uses combine stuff you may here from Metallica and Megadeth to stuff that can come out of Arabic music in the Levante region of the Middle East.
Overall, it’s a solid album. The 15-year wait was definitely worth it. While many think that too many bands in the region who play thrash/heavy metal are not innovative and not very genuine, Blaakyum are a different case. The veteran band released a solid and enjoyable album. Bassem took his time and went through many lineup changes before finally having Lord of the Night sorted out and arranged carefully.
It is really astounding that some of these tracks are over 10 years old and still made it in without major changes and still sound fresh. That being said, some of the tracks definitely stand out while others fit in well but don’t blow me away as much. Rany and Jad make a very solid rhythmic unit, but give way to their own creativity more than occasionally throughout the album. Elias’s solos are not as technical as on his work with The Weeping Willow, which in my opinion is a good thing. The well phrased melodies and “feel” in his solos on this album show a different side to him, and I personally enjoyed that as well. His solo on Awakened Dreams is my favorite at the moment. Bassem’s vocals really stole the show for me on this album, and play a huge role in why I enjoy this album. Last but not least, Wissam’s orchestral work was fantastic and did not drown out any of the songs, but made them a little bit more interesting.
Recommended tracks:
Lord of the Night
My Land
Awakened Dreams
Am I Black
I give this album a 7.5/10
Genre: Groove/Thrash Metal
Label: Epic, Roadrunner Records
Released: January 24th, 2012
Reviewer: Tristan French
Lamb of God have always been a band for surprises. At the conclusion of their major tours, they’d lie low for a while and then come back and blow our ears off. Well this time round, they’ve done just that, except they’ve decided to take our faces, heads, bodies....pretty much our entire being away as well. 3 years after their previous album “Wrath” hit shelves and showed a return to the rawer side of Lamb of God, 2012’s follow up “Resolution” offers the Lamb of God ethos that we know and love whilst entering some previously unsailed waters in their now almost 2 decade spanning career. Its easy to say that these guys have come a hell of a way since their beginnings in 1994, and this record only goes to prove that LOG plan to continue their reign of dominance across the world again.
The album opens with the sludgy doom slow roller “Straight for the Sun.” Whilst easily being the slowest song ever written by the band, no sacrifices have been made in terms of heaviness or brutality, in fact, these factors are amplified! Opening the song with a trademark shrill scream from vocalist Randy Blythe, the tone is instantly shifted, as the band enters low territory. This track has a similar air to Pantera’s “Drag the Waters”. Each resounding low chord and note feeling like a strike to the chin, this seems to be LOG’s way of saying “We’ve come back for you all!”, a spine chilling opening and a good predecessor of what is to come in the rest of the record.
The tempo is immediately increased through by this track’s conclusion and this leads into the pumping main riff of the second track “Desolation.” Drummer, Chris Adler’s precision is on great display here, landing each beat with complete accuracy whilst still keeping things brutal, reminding us all of why he’s one of the best in the business (and shall be filling in for part of Testament’s upcoming record). This coupled with a trademark breakdown make this track one heck of a pace racer, with guitarists Willie Adler and Mark Morton’s awesome bends shining through. This coupled with the clear frustration and anger behind Blythe’s voice make for one hell of what I can only describe as a two part opening (haha).
The following track is the album’s lead single (for which an animated music video is available), I speak of course of “Ghost Walking.” In short, welcome to groove city. This song will surely have heads bobbing and feet tapping as it rolls along like a steam roller obliterating everything in it’s path (including Lil Wayne). Once again drum fills are on prominent display on top of an almost bluesy riff, courtesy of guitarist Mark Morton. Another main feature to this song is it features the first solo of the record (the first of many). As strange as that is for a LOG record, it offers Morton the chance to demonstrate his uncanny ability to take blues riffs and make a metal song out of them. Truly awesome guitar work coupled with provocative lyrics, with Blythe stating “21 to 1, I’m liking the odds” and ending with a truly resounding “THERE’S NO ONE LEFT TO SAVE.” I don’t know about you, but at this point in the record, I was most definitely liking these odds.
The album follows suit in a truly brutal manner with the thrashtastic “Guilty”. Sure to have crowds banging heads until they spin clean off, this is THE LOG track to simply go balls out crazy to. The subsequent track “The Undertow” is one of my personal favorites from the album. With a steady foot tapping mid paced riff, this is Randy’s chance to vent, featuring some of the rawest vocals he’s ever done. An awesome chorus of “I AM THE ONE WHO’S LEFT TO TAKE THE FALL! I FIGHT THE CONSTANT UNDERTOW!” truly reflects the frustration and struggle felt by the frontman. Trademark runs and awesome double bass drum beats make this a song for the books, with this song’s breakdown/solo receiving an awesome build up, Morton and Adler are able to display their riffing and technical prowess in the most suitable environment.
Things slow right down as track number 6 (ironically titled) “The Number Six” rears its head. The second longest track on the record (at 5 and half minutes!), this is a brilliant songwriting showcase. The amount of tempo variations within this track alone is insane! Nonetheless coupled with a refrain sure to be repeated by audiences worldwide of “YOU DUG YOUR OWN GRAVE.” One of the main highlights of “The Number Six” is Blythe’s vocal variation, ranging from raspy harsh cleans to his guttural, deep spoken lines, this is some truly poetic stuff. This highlight is also supported by the awesomely soulful clean sections, proving that heaviness isn’t this band’s only forte.
After such a bruiser of a track, “Resolution” then decides to calm us all down with the short yet awesome clean guitar instrumental “Barbarosa.” While squeals from an electric guitar refrain in the background, this truly is a haunting track, designed to creep up on you slowly and lead subtly into the surprise that is “Invictus.” Bringing back the groove to the record “Invictus” is bassist John Campbell’s chance to shine; where his groovey/smooth basslines are THE most prominent that they ever have been, upping the tempo during the song’s midsection. Combining this with an epically brutal breakdown makes for one storm of a track.
Following this is the clear punk influence of “Cheated.” At this point, this is easily the fastest track on the record. Within the same vein as songs like “Black Label” and “What I’ve Become”, its clear intent that this song is meant to be played to the waves of an insane circle pit (in awesome LOG fashion of course). Featuring some amazing drum fills during an epicly climactic bridge, this song will be a live favorite for sure.
Tenth track “Insurrection” is a plethora of unpredictability, with drum beats appearing when you least expect them, its Blythe’s vocals that provide the rhythm to this track. Featuring the appearance of some brilliant guitar harmonies on top of some clearly haunting/resounding chords. “Terminally Unique” provides a great minor key contrast, featuring yet another riff that rolls along crushing all in its path, whilst “To The End” provides another transformation of a blues rock riff into a metal one, once again proving Morton and Adler’s guitar prowess. “Visitation” provides a slight thrashy return, with awesome slowed sections on the pre-choruses. Coupling this with sections of clear teeth gritting vocal techniques from Blythe make this one heck of a venting track, sure to have fists throwing like no tomorrow.
The final track of this album is hands down my favorite on the record, being, in my opinion, one of THE best and most unique songs ever written by the band. I speak of course of “King Me.”
Starting with an almost middle eastern sounding clean intro coupled with female vocals (yes female vocals on a LOG record!) whilst Blythe’s raspy spoken words flow flawlessly. The song then enters into an orchestral string section (again, first time on an LOG record!) building up and diminishing into Blythe’s poetics once again. Out of nowhere “King Me” explodes into a supernova of track, featuring a brilliant opening growl from Blythe, the rest of the band follow suit, playing more aggressively than they ever have whilst still displaying control. An orchestral chorus and some backing female vocals are truly the icing on the cake to such an awesomely progressive song, this track is the symbol of Lamb of God entering previously unexplored territories...and in short it’s awesome!
In conclusion, I think we have a strong contender for 2012’s album of the year, and the year’s barely begun. For a band that have progressed so much over the course of their career to culminate in a brilliant metal opus that is “Resolution” should truly be viewed as a great achievement. Honestly, I can give this record no less than a 9/10. If you haven’t picked this record up yet, then you’re missing out, a lot!
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Listenable Records
Release-date: September 26th, 2011
Reviewer: Kareem Chehayeb
From Paris, France, Livarkahil deliver one of the heaviest sounds I have heard in a very long time. Their newly released album, Signs of Decay, is one of the heaviest albums I've listened to in a very long time. I don't really know how else to describe it. Think of old Mastodon and Gojira infused with Behemoth and Vader. The band consists of Herr Krauss (HK) on vocals, Traume and Kaiin on guitars, Neil on bass, and Skvm on drums.
After the sinister build up of the short intro track, "In Nomine Patris", "When Hell Is Near" opens up with pounding drums and heavy riffs accompanied by gang chants and HK's ground-shaking growls. The song is is absolutely chaotic and Livarkahil mean business from start to finish. The amount of energy fueled into the song is unbelievable (and the same goes for the other songs). I also have to give credit to Traume and Kaiin on their great guitar work. The riffs are solid and the guitar solo in this song is very reminiscent to Nergal's work from Behemoth.
The next track, Quiet Hersey, has a faster build up, and Skvm really shows his technical ability as a drummer. The double bass work is incredible, and his blastbeats are out of this world. Kudos to the guitarists once again for the beautiful lead work with a simple and melodic solo adding some "color" to the song.
Art of Bleeding is the longest track, at 6:02 minutes. HK shows his vocal range and versatility; all I can say is that I'm VERY impressed. This has to apply to the rest of the musicians too. This song is very dynamic, and has so many different things going on! I really enjoyed this track.
We Hail the Victory is an instrumental track, but it's still great. The melodies are beautiful, and behind them a tight rhythmic unit. There are various parts in the song with some French dialogue in the background. All in all, it sounds like an incredibly sinister song. It's one of my favorites, even though we (unfortunately) don't get to hear HK's ground-shaking growls.
Heaven Shall Fall is another one worth listening to. It's one of the heaviest tracks on there, and as all the other tracks, it has pounding drums, heavy riffs, insane vocals, and technicality all around!
The Flesh of All Damned is a unique track, as it tones down the brutality (just a little bit) and gives way to some darker and melodic movements within the song!
I really enjoyed this album. It really is refreshing to hear a band that does not overdo with progressive elements, because it is definitely becoming a trend these days. On the other hand, I think the band can diversify with their sound just a little bit, perhaps with the keys they're playing in. Livarkahil are on their way though, and being signed to Listenable Records and releasing this tight album, expect to hear more from them soon. I highly recommend listening to this album!
Favorite tracks:
Art of Bleeding
We Hail the Victory
Signs of Decay
I give this album a 7.5/10
Genre: Deathcore
Label: Victory Records
Release-date: October 25th, 2011
Reviewer: IRoar
I literally just got my promo invite to listen to the new Carnifex album "Until I Feel Nothing" (out October 25th via Victory Records).
My first impression would be; the band continues their inhuman assault of death metal shredding, concrete crushing blend of slamming deathcore.
Deathcore is now a genre that has quickly over-saturated with countless numbers of bands, simply rehashing one another. So is the case with any genre that earns wide popularity.
There's a few deathcore bands that many extreme metal purists would still agree on; such as All Shall Perish, Job For A Cowboy, The Black Dhalia Murder and you guessed it, Carnifex. Mainly, because they still manage to keep it fresh and interesting. Carnifex enjoy throwing in a bludgeoning breakdown in every other song, which doesn't take away from the sheer brutality of the overall sound for the most part. But the only issue would be that no matter what you do, the formula will eventually grow stale after say the 4th or 5th track into the album.
On "Until I Feel Nothing," the band refines their sound; continuing what they set out to do with 2010's "Hell Choose Me" and that's to inflict the most brutally crushing death metal slams.
Carnifex are all about being as brutal as a deathcore band can be. There's no doubt they deliver the goods. Much like in the same vein as Job For A Cowboy, infusing breakdowns with machine gun death metal riffs, blast beats and the signature 3s of extreme metal vocals (highs, lows and pig squeals).
One of the highest points on "Until I Feel Nothing" is definitely album closer "Curse My Name." Starting off with an atmospheric opener, only to give way to demonically charged highs from vocalist Scott Lewis. "Curse My Name," brings on a variety of extreme metal technicality and melody. While also managing to blend-in a big breakdown to accompany the song's sludge-filled vibe.
All around, I definitely enjoyed "Until I Feel Nothing." And would surely recommend it to any extreme metal enthusiast, alright with some deathcore (read: breakdowns) in their metal.
Recommended tracks: Curse My Name, Wretched Entropy, We Spoke of Lies.
Release date: April 15th 2012
