Artist : Within My Hands
Album : iHate (EP)
Genre : deathcore
Year : 2010
Country : Australia
Website : facebook , myspace
Tracks :
1. iHate
2. MYFG
3. Get Low
4. SCBF
5. Nebuchadnezzar
6. Period
Size : 29mb
15/20
Showing posts with label EP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EP. Show all posts
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Within My Hands - iHate
Artist : Within My Hands
Album : iHate (EP)
Genre : deathcore
Year : 2010
Country : Australia
Website : facebook , myspace
Tracks :
1. iHate
2. MYFG
3. Get Low
4. SCBF
5. Nebuchadnezzar
6. Period
Size : 29mb
Above the Broken - Sins
Monday, November 28, 2011
Optics - Optics (EP)
Optics - Optics (EP)
Optics is a young band that comes from Hamilton Ontario Canada, their styles are a fusion of progressive death with hardcore influences. Progressive death metal is one of those genres in metal where the term has lost its meaning or gets thrown around the place so often that not many people actually know what “true” progressive death metal is. When someone says, “hey, this band is progressive death metal” what do you initially think of? Opeth? The Contortionist? Obscura? The name has literally been thrown around to things that have certain style of atmosphere. Although I’m still trying to get my head around what exactly makes the progressive sound in death metal, I can tell you that the “progressiveness” is very evident in Optics music.
To be quite honest with you, lately I’ve been sick of the whole “progressive” thing, it gets old quickly and I don’t think it has the same impact like it used to have when I first started listening to it. I mean, yeah, there are a few bands that have withstood the test of time such as the Yellow Sign (well… that’s one) but everything else just seems stale to me. I think what Optics have done is they’ve combined a relatively stale genre of genre into something more interesting and less redundant by throwing in some hardcore elements into their music. This just adds a little bit of adventure to their music which is something that seems to be missing in action in other progressive death metal bands.
Optics isn’t just your average progressive death metal and apart from the difference of sound due to the hardcore elements in their music, it is far more complex. The song structure is quite jagged for a progressive band because usually they are nice, smooth flowing and atmospheric (although this is with the exception of most of the technical progressive death metal bands). There seems to be a lot of starting and stopping throughout the whole release, which also track back to their hardcore roots. But that’s not the interesting bit, the interesting bit is the way they have combined the song pattern of your typical hardcore band with a heavy progressive death metal feel to them. This is really evident in the way the guitars are set up, there are parts where the lead guitars lead the music with the progressive stuff and everything else in the background seems to be pretty much 100% hardcore.
Now I’ve mentioned that hardcore is a big player in Optic’s sound, so you’re probably thinking “so what if there are hardcore elements in a band’s music, I can name you over 9000 bands who mix progressive death metal with hardcore” well, I bet you can’t name bands who combine the two like Optics have done. The main reason why Optics have better sound I that they don’t go for a direct hybrid between the two genres, rather they keep the two elements separated. This means that there is no cluttering or confusion between the two genres, which in my books is a good thing. There are two distinct layers that keep Optics’s sound going, the top layer is obviously the progressive death elements which keep the sound running and helps carry it along. The bottom layer is the hardcore, now this is where I feel that the action happens. For some reason, there is a lot of hardcore “oomph” throughout this ep. The attitude of a hardcore band is definitely an influence in Optics sound. First of all, the first thing that hardcore fans come to like about hardcore (especially beatdown hardcore) is the attitude of the music, it just makes fans want to burst into song and dance (hardcore singing and hardcore dancing), and secondly, the breakdowns that are present in hardcore. Optics have pretty much covered all there is to cover when it comes to the “hardcore experience” in this release. But I think it’s their breakdowns which standout the most. They are pretty awesome if I may say so, they’re as solid of a breakdown as you will ever hear. They hit you like a fully loaded train.
*sigh* this is where the hard part of critiquing this ep is at because although they’re a small time band and they probably don’t have the money get high quality recording done, the production of this ep is absolutely horrid. First of all, although hardcore might sound better when it has that raw sound to it, “progressiveness” doesn’t. Everyone knows that progressive death is best recorded in high quality to get the full impact of the atmosphere. Now I’m not saying that the atmosphere is completely absent from Optics’s sound because it is still there, it’s just that I think their full potential is bound by the chains of poor recording quality. Another thing that has come out of not having high quality recording is that they music sounds extremely loose. There are plenty of times throughout this ep where it feels like nothing is in time, this is especially evident during the interludes but not so much in the during the melodic sections. Let me just put it this way, the music too technical (kind of) to be considered simple progressive death metal but it’s not technical enough to have those timing flaws overlooked.
Overall, I really think that Optics does have some potential from what we’ve seen in this ep. They have truly shown their song writing skills in this album there are a lot of things that listeners can enjoy from Optics such as their; gut busting breakdowns, super slick guitar solos and beautiful melodies throughout the ep. Unfortunately, the technical aspect still seems to be hidden under the covers of horrible recording which is a shame because I believe that high quality recoding will fix that. I’ve witnessed many bands put out a terrible quality demo CD and me thinking “wow, I’m never trying those guys again” and being amazed when they pull out something awesome in their next release. Bands can and do rise from the ashes when their get some professional recording done, the real question now is… will they take their music to the next step, or keep their music to the down low? I give Optics’s self titled ep a 13/20.
To be quite honest with you, lately I’ve been sick of the whole “progressive” thing, it gets old quickly and I don’t think it has the same impact like it used to have when I first started listening to it. I mean, yeah, there are a few bands that have withstood the test of time such as the Yellow Sign (well… that’s one) but everything else just seems stale to me. I think what Optics have done is they’ve combined a relatively stale genre of genre into something more interesting and less redundant by throwing in some hardcore elements into their music. This just adds a little bit of adventure to their music which is something that seems to be missing in action in other progressive death metal bands.
Optics isn’t just your average progressive death metal and apart from the difference of sound due to the hardcore elements in their music, it is far more complex. The song structure is quite jagged for a progressive band because usually they are nice, smooth flowing and atmospheric (although this is with the exception of most of the technical progressive death metal bands). There seems to be a lot of starting and stopping throughout the whole release, which also track back to their hardcore roots. But that’s not the interesting bit, the interesting bit is the way they have combined the song pattern of your typical hardcore band with a heavy progressive death metal feel to them. This is really evident in the way the guitars are set up, there are parts where the lead guitars lead the music with the progressive stuff and everything else in the background seems to be pretty much 100% hardcore.
Now I’ve mentioned that hardcore is a big player in Optic’s sound, so you’re probably thinking “so what if there are hardcore elements in a band’s music, I can name you over 9000 bands who mix progressive death metal with hardcore” well, I bet you can’t name bands who combine the two like Optics have done. The main reason why Optics have better sound I that they don’t go for a direct hybrid between the two genres, rather they keep the two elements separated. This means that there is no cluttering or confusion between the two genres, which in my books is a good thing. There are two distinct layers that keep Optics’s sound going, the top layer is obviously the progressive death elements which keep the sound running and helps carry it along. The bottom layer is the hardcore, now this is where I feel that the action happens. For some reason, there is a lot of hardcore “oomph” throughout this ep. The attitude of a hardcore band is definitely an influence in Optics sound. First of all, the first thing that hardcore fans come to like about hardcore (especially beatdown hardcore) is the attitude of the music, it just makes fans want to burst into song and dance (hardcore singing and hardcore dancing), and secondly, the breakdowns that are present in hardcore. Optics have pretty much covered all there is to cover when it comes to the “hardcore experience” in this release. But I think it’s their breakdowns which standout the most. They are pretty awesome if I may say so, they’re as solid of a breakdown as you will ever hear. They hit you like a fully loaded train.
*sigh* this is where the hard part of critiquing this ep is at because although they’re a small time band and they probably don’t have the money get high quality recording done, the production of this ep is absolutely horrid. First of all, although hardcore might sound better when it has that raw sound to it, “progressiveness” doesn’t. Everyone knows that progressive death is best recorded in high quality to get the full impact of the atmosphere. Now I’m not saying that the atmosphere is completely absent from Optics’s sound because it is still there, it’s just that I think their full potential is bound by the chains of poor recording quality. Another thing that has come out of not having high quality recording is that they music sounds extremely loose. There are plenty of times throughout this ep where it feels like nothing is in time, this is especially evident during the interludes but not so much in the during the melodic sections. Let me just put it this way, the music too technical (kind of) to be considered simple progressive death metal but it’s not technical enough to have those timing flaws overlooked.
Overall, I really think that Optics does have some potential from what we’ve seen in this ep. They have truly shown their song writing skills in this album there are a lot of things that listeners can enjoy from Optics such as their; gut busting breakdowns, super slick guitar solos and beautiful melodies throughout the ep. Unfortunately, the technical aspect still seems to be hidden under the covers of horrible recording which is a shame because I believe that high quality recoding will fix that. I’ve witnessed many bands put out a terrible quality demo CD and me thinking “wow, I’m never trying those guys again” and being amazed when they pull out something awesome in their next release. Bands can and do rise from the ashes when their get some professional recording done, the real question now is… will they take their music to the next step, or keep their music to the down low? I give Optics’s self titled ep a 13/20.
*Sorry, there are no sample tracks from Optics yet, comming soon*
Monday, October 3, 2011
Optics - Self Titled (EP)
Friday, September 23, 2011
Smaragos - EP (2011)
Smaragos - EP (2011)
Smaragos is a technical death metal band from the USA who have released their 3 track debut ep/demo in the March of 2011. For anyone who is relatively up to date with the affairs of technical death metal you are bound to know that there are two types of technical death metal bands. You have the bands who are well organised, the music is well constructed and still makes sense. Examples would be; Fleshgod Apocalypse and Obscura. Then there are those newish bands that when you listen to them, you just stand back and say “what the…” the music is extremely unorganised and makes no sense at all. When done properly, this can be awesome but otherwise it just turns out into a pile of rubbish. Some examples would be; Brain Drill, Viraemia and Monumental Torment (they are all relatively new bands). So where would Smaragos sit? They are definitely sitting in the unorganised side of things.
Smaragos is one of those bands that seems to be obsessed with having an unorthodox approach to their music. It seems like their mind set is to make some of the weirdest things possible. When I mean weird, I don’t exactly mean Portal weird, none of this raw stuff in their music. This is more like a mutated version of Brain Drill. Smaragos are extremely technical but they seems just a tad more outrageous than Brain Drill. They throw in so many different sounds in their music that usually aren’t associated with technical death metal at all and computer generated sounds. There is even a part when the acoustic passage reminds me of playing the first game Mafia (for anyone who has played this, you’ll know what I’m talking about). I have a strong feeling that adding these extra elements into their music was an attempt to gain some more scope in their music. Although it might have worked, it’s a little hard to visualise how the music would without these extra elements due to the sheer complexity and unorthodox style.
Although there is a lot that is weird about this band, there is also a lot that is normal about them as well. Unlike Viraemia and bands alike, there are times where Smaragos’s music actually makes sense (yes ladies and gentlemen). They do have a progressive edge to their sound which essentially ties all their music into a nice little package to sooth your ears. The guitar tone that’s present in this album strongly reminds me of the tone that Fleshgod Apocalypse has, it just feels so powerful and heavy, and that’s just what we need here. I think that the music would have fallen apart greatly without this style of tone that they have wonderfully utilized here. But, at the same time, there are those wtf moments which are littered all over this 3 track ep which makes their music even better.
There is just one thing that I must point out, and its about the vocal style they have used. The majority of the time, it’s nice, smooth flowing growls which are awesome and perfect for their musical style. They do use one other type and it’s a little hard to explain it because it right up there on the wtf scale. It almost sounds like a chimp screaming for its life ( which isn’t a pleasant sound). Its extremely high pitched are very sharp. So beware to those who are sensitive to those kinds of sounds because it may cause seizures. The thing that I like most when these sections come along in the music is that it sounds awfully cheesy and I don’t know if tr00 death metal fans would count that as a plus or a minus, but count that as a plus. There is no death metal law that says death metal cannot be cheesy so Smaragos can do whatever they want.
Although Smaragos has so many different sounds and elements in their music which might make some people wet themselves, I don’t really think that they will start a revolution. They just don’t bring anything to the table that will make other bands want to follow them and quite frankly, the execution of the music isn’t even the best and its not a technical masterpiece. It still needs some polishing because it can be up with the ranks of the top dogs in the business.
Overall, this is a decent crack at some very modern, unorthodox technical death metal. I’m not sure if there will be many bands that will look to Smaragos for inspiration in the future endeavours but I’m sure that these guys are on the right track. These the sound that Smaragos has produced in this release, I’d say it would be smack bang on the fence line in between weird/wtf technical death and the more melodic and organised side, they contain traces of both. I recommend this for someone who is looking for something a little different that just your average, run in the mill technical death metal because it is definitely something different even though this ep is only 3 tracks long. I also recommend the track Furnace because I think it will provide the best listening experience and will show you the true colours of Smaragos. I give Smaragos’s self titled ep a 14/20.
Smaragos is one of those bands that seems to be obsessed with having an unorthodox approach to their music. It seems like their mind set is to make some of the weirdest things possible. When I mean weird, I don’t exactly mean Portal weird, none of this raw stuff in their music. This is more like a mutated version of Brain Drill. Smaragos are extremely technical but they seems just a tad more outrageous than Brain Drill. They throw in so many different sounds in their music that usually aren’t associated with technical death metal at all and computer generated sounds. There is even a part when the acoustic passage reminds me of playing the first game Mafia (for anyone who has played this, you’ll know what I’m talking about). I have a strong feeling that adding these extra elements into their music was an attempt to gain some more scope in their music. Although it might have worked, it’s a little hard to visualise how the music would without these extra elements due to the sheer complexity and unorthodox style.
Although there is a lot that is weird about this band, there is also a lot that is normal about them as well. Unlike Viraemia and bands alike, there are times where Smaragos’s music actually makes sense (yes ladies and gentlemen). They do have a progressive edge to their sound which essentially ties all their music into a nice little package to sooth your ears. The guitar tone that’s present in this album strongly reminds me of the tone that Fleshgod Apocalypse has, it just feels so powerful and heavy, and that’s just what we need here. I think that the music would have fallen apart greatly without this style of tone that they have wonderfully utilized here. But, at the same time, there are those wtf moments which are littered all over this 3 track ep which makes their music even better.
There is just one thing that I must point out, and its about the vocal style they have used. The majority of the time, it’s nice, smooth flowing growls which are awesome and perfect for their musical style. They do use one other type and it’s a little hard to explain it because it right up there on the wtf scale. It almost sounds like a chimp screaming for its life ( which isn’t a pleasant sound). Its extremely high pitched are very sharp. So beware to those who are sensitive to those kinds of sounds because it may cause seizures. The thing that I like most when these sections come along in the music is that it sounds awfully cheesy and I don’t know if tr00 death metal fans would count that as a plus or a minus, but count that as a plus. There is no death metal law that says death metal cannot be cheesy so Smaragos can do whatever they want.
Although Smaragos has so many different sounds and elements in their music which might make some people wet themselves, I don’t really think that they will start a revolution. They just don’t bring anything to the table that will make other bands want to follow them and quite frankly, the execution of the music isn’t even the best and its not a technical masterpiece. It still needs some polishing because it can be up with the ranks of the top dogs in the business.
Overall, this is a decent crack at some very modern, unorthodox technical death metal. I’m not sure if there will be many bands that will look to Smaragos for inspiration in the future endeavours but I’m sure that these guys are on the right track. These the sound that Smaragos has produced in this release, I’d say it would be smack bang on the fence line in between weird/wtf technical death and the more melodic and organised side, they contain traces of both. I recommend this for someone who is looking for something a little different that just your average, run in the mill technical death metal because it is definitely something different even though this ep is only 3 tracks long. I also recommend the track Furnace because I think it will provide the best listening experience and will show you the true colours of Smaragos. I give Smaragos’s self titled ep a 14/20.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Of Whispers - Conquest (EP)
Artist : Of Whispers
Album : Conquest (EP)
Genre : Melodic Hardcore/Metalcore
Year : 2011
Country : Australia
Website : facebook , myspace , official
Tracks:
1. Genesis
2. Bridge to the Sun
3. For Gold and Glory
4. Door to the Floor
5. Butcher King Wilshire
6. Shaking Hands with Shadows
7. Conquest
Size : 41mb
17/20
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Isolation In Infamy - Self Titled EP
Isolation In Infamy - EP (2011)
Isolation of Infamy released their self titled EP in April of 2011, this technical blackened death metal band hails from Los Angeles California and is unsigned. There are not many blackened technical death metal bands out there. The best thing about this band is that they take the very best elements from both subgenres and combine them. This is great because not many bands can do it as well as these guys can. These guys are far from just your average technical death metal band, they don’t seem to be over the top technical, they really have a unique sound to them. Not only all this, but they also have a fairly unique feeling behind their music as well.
These guys have created some of the best technical blackened death metal around. It combines best ingredients from each of the genres and create some “gourmet” technical black death. It is very easy to tell that these guys are influenced in black metal in some way and it’s obvious that these guys have a technical element to them. It’s a little awkward listening to these guys because they have taken so much from each genre it seems is little different, and this difference is a good thing. They have the black metal vocals and the style of drumming at times is usually associated with true black metal bands. Also, the distortions of the guitars have a black metal ring to them. At times the guitars can have a very pagan feel to them which just adds some more awesomeness to this bands music. And just like many pagan bands they are played out to sound like they are telling a story or have some kind of order to them. These guys can switch instantaneously from sounding like a brutal black metal band to a technical death metal band. The transitions are not subtle but they do seem to flow fairly well. The guitars are played at a very high speed and they are also very highly pitched. Which is one of the main characteristics technical death metal, and who can forget the drumming. Yes they drum fast too.
The best thing about this band is that they are not always over the top brutality, which is a mistake done by numerous bands now days and it’s about time as well. They are far more melodic than many of the progressive technical death metal bands out there such as Fleshgod Apocalypse and Obscura. Also the black metal twist which is evident in their music gives them more of a feel as well because it’s rare to have a black metal band that is all out brutality especially which the distortion of the guitars. The shredding of the guitars sounds very similar to As Black Runs Black which is another thing that really impresses me about this band. Even the drumming sounds similar, you could almost infer that these guys must have recorded their music in exactly the same studio. I think the balance between the bands melodic parts is perfect. They have some very melodic parts to them and they are just as good as any other melodic death metal band. They have some awesome solos and at times you could swear that you are listening to a melodic death metal band. Even though the drumming is extremely fast at times, the music still feels orderly and like a melodic death metal band, which I think is the way that is intended and it’s supposed to be. It’s just another thing that these guys do that would impresses the listener.
Not only do these guys have elements from other metal genres that everyone loves and some kind of method to their madness, at times they have some strong atmosphere to their music which is another perk that is brought about by mainly their black metal side. But also they do have the feeling of a melodic death metal or melodic deathcore band. The main style of atmosphere you get when listening to this band is a very heavy dark atmosphere. It’s not dark as in emotional but dark as in fast paced grimness. It’s something that is usually associated with many brutal black metal bands such as Marduk and Infernal War. This is really good because it contrasts really well with the other styles of atmospheres of moods within their music. These guys also have a paganish feel to their music as well. This is probably brought about by the guitar distortion and the style but I think that the style of drumming is equally responsible for this. This contrast between the pagan and true black metal elements really highlights the band music and keeps the music from getting boring. But, as mentioned before these guys have two key elements. The technical death metal side isn’t as atmospheric as the black metal side but the moods are completely different. Rather than having the grim emotions of your average technical death metal band, these guys have taken the moods from melodic death metal and power metal bands and have applied them to their technical style. This is excellent because not many band actually do this and when a band finds something like this the product is usually great metal.
These guys must be very highly skilled to play something like this and yes they have infact made this requirement. Each band member seems to be pulling their weight equally throughout the whole of the album, there are no passengers here. This is excellent because it really does feel like they are working as a band. The music is very tight and extremely technical and most importantly it’s in time. The vocals are extremely good because they vocalist uses numerous styles which other vocalists cannot do with equal skill. He does black metal vocals very well, it is not overly distorted but it still sounds raspy. They sound very similar to Marduk’s vocal style, the only difference is that he actually does more than just that one style. He also does very decent growls as well, he can actually go very deep compared to the Black Metal vocalists and growls are almost essential to the death metal genres. It’s easy to tell that his growls are the same as his yells because there are numerous times where he goes from a yell and slides down to a growl. No matter how he does it, it sounds awesome.
The guitarist has a very high level of skill as well. There aren’t many guitarists out there that can match the quality of the guitar work done here. It’s extremely tight with the band and very technical. Both rhythm and lead guitarists are responsible for this because they both seem to do one hell of a job. Also, they can play a variety of different chords to suite the intended pace or mood of the section or the song. For example, one minute they are shredding the hell out of the guitars and next minute they are play thrash metal chords or have slowed down to a crawl.
Now finally, the drumming, the drumming is easily the highlight of any technical death metal band and these guys are no exception. The drummer is absolutely top notch and at times, you could swear that he is a drumming machine. He is perfectly in time with the other members and he doesn’t over do it as well. He governs the pace of the band and he is doing an excellent job at doing that. He is super fast at everything he does, and that does include his doubles. His doubles are gut busting to the max. Although the double kick itself is a little bland, the sheer speed of them makes up for that. He really pulls out all the of the stops when it’s time for the breakdowns, he just goes all out with his doubles and the time he does this in the track Unison Of Beasts is the best moment in the whole EP.
There are some really great tracks of the EP, all five tracks are excellent and are recorded in high quality. Although some of the track titles might seem a little weird and imply that they are dark and emotion, they are not. All of them are action packed and should satisfy any extreme metal fan. The opening track Theory Of Flight really sets the stage for the rest of the album. It displays what this band is about and what they have come to achieve. It has the classic black metal vocals combined with some awesome guitar shredding and fast paced drumming. Despite of all this, it sounds more like melodic death metal than any other track on the album. It just has that certain vibe that say “yes I am melodic death metal”. The next track Psychological Bombardment, and as the name suggests, it is definitely the most technical track on the album. This is that track that sounds more like technical black death, and this is the track that could be mistaken for Marduk’s material. The blast beats are amazing in this track and it really shows off the drummer’s skill. Now the third track Unison Of Beasts is definitely the most outstanding track out of the whole EP. It packs more punch in this track alone than some other bands can get in an entire album. They frequently change from fast pace to slower paces and there are many different moods within the track itself. Not only this, but the real highlight of the track is the epic breakdown that is hidden in the first half. It is extremely heavy and is the best part of the album. All the members are in time and the doubles are extremely fast. That breakdown is just sheer excellence. Fast forward three tracks and then you hit Inanimate Existence, it is the most folky sounding track out of the EP. Its fast and it has that kind of adventurous feeling behind it which is usually associated with folk metal. It’s not slow either, it much faster than your regular folk metal track but it does maintain its mood and ultimately… its purpose.
Overall, Isolation In Infamy have created an epic debut EP and first impression. This EP could be one of the best releases of the year. It has everything you could possibly want from a technical death metal band and more. It’s extremely fast; everything from the drumming to the guitars, they include moods and emotion into their music which is never a bad thing when done right and finally they have kept the music itself alive by including elements from different genres of metal such as melodic death metal, pagan/folk metal and thrash. I think that this EP is an all-rounder and I would recommend this to anyone who is into extreme metal and it is sure to satisfy. I recommend the track Theory of Flight for anyone who likes their death metal fast and melodic. For Folk Metal lovers I recommend the track Inanimate Existence, it’s not full on proper folk metal but is does have certain folk metal elements in the track. The track Unison Of Beasts is easily the most outstanding track in the whole EP. It is fast, melodic, consists of everything great about this band and it has an epic breakdown. I recommend Unison Of Beasts for anyone who like death metal, deathcore and black metal which is a lot of people. Overall, this is one hell of an EP and one hell of a first impression. I give Isolation In Infamy’s self titled EP a well deserved 19/20.
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