Starting Off The End Of The World Right!

2011 was a pretty damn impressive year for music. As you can see from my top albums list, which covered a majority of the best albums, but is far from containing all the albums you should have already listened too. Anyhow, I think it goes without saying that 2012 has some pretty big shoes to fill.

Psycroptic Post 'Carriers Of The Plague'!

I'll say it again, I've been rather obsessed with Technical Death Metal lately (and Tech Deathcore for that matter. *cough*Halo Of Gunfire*cough*) It's a genre I hadn't explored enough, and it's chock full of awesome stuff. Psycroptic are a band I need to check out still, but their new song is a clear sign of the fact that their new album The Inherited Repression, which is due out February 7th, will be a great one. Hit the jump to hear the song!

Everyone Loves Youtube And Music!

My Dad's starting his own blog, focused around music videos and other videos you can find on youtube! Check, check, check it out! http://seekingchris.blogspot.com/

Follow him and all that too!

A Bunch Of Good Arbiter News!

I've had a pretty busy weekend, but over the past two days, one of my favorite deathcore bands Arbiter released two bits of great news!

Firstly we've got album covers for both Ironclad and Machinations! Here they are: 

Pretty schweet right? They look cool side by side but for some reason blogger is a huge douche about pictures and won't let me do that. (Google, you need to fix the picture formatting system.)

And that other bit of news is... 

They made a Christmas EP! Awesomely titled, A Very Arbiter Christmas.

The EP has three tracks and I believe is due out 12/21. Unless that's just when the first single comes out. Either way it's awesome.

Here's the three tracks also: 

1. Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Thundergroove Lane)
2. Awkwardly Silent Night
3. Egg Nog'd (Bonus Track)

I'm pretty stoked. I cannot wait for Ironclad/Machinations.

Oh and as a bonus third bit, Connor posted a rather hilarious cover video: 

Keep an eye out for more news!

I Had The Privilege To See The Chariot Live!

My camera on my phone sucks, but I got this decent, if not evil looking picture of Josh Scogin just before The Chariot began their set.

But before I get into The Chariot, you might want to know how the opening bands did.

'The Devils Knot' Gains Reese Witherspoon

The West Memphis Three were finally freed recently. You can read more on their entire story here or just Google West Memphis Three and you'll find a plethora or information. In light on the events, hollywood, never missing a beat on doing a controversial/popular in the news biopic, has thrown into production 'The Devils Knot', a film about the West Memphis Three, which will now star Reese Witherspoon as the mother of one of the murder victims. Should be interesting.

The Best Albums Of 2011!

Well it's about that time of year. 99% of the releases this year have come out so I figured I'd tally up what worked best for me this year. Maybe you'll agree, maybe not. But check it out, and leave a comment if you want. Here are my top 15 releases.

(On an aside, blogger has an atrocious way of handling multiple images, and it would not let me put the images to the left and right of each block of text without having some stupid problem here or there that ruined everything. So it's all centered. Sorry if it bugs you.)

Dischordia - Creator, Destroyer

Let me start this by saying - Wow.

The Marilyn Effect - Vanitas

Post-Hardcore band The Marilyn Effect recently released their debut EP Vanitas, and sent me a copy to listen to. I have to start this by saying I'm not all that adept on Post-Hardcore bands, it's not my favorite genre, but I'm pretty open minded about anything heavy, so I gave it a shot.

Plundering The Depths Bandcamp! The Kennedy Veil - The Sentance Of Their Conqueror

Firstly, since I can't seem to be able to keep this as a weekly article, I'm not going to keep lying to you all and change the name to Plundering The Depths Of Bandcamp! I'll still try to keep it an recurring segment, but I'm just not making it time based.

Moving on, this time I found a band called The Kennedy Veil. They are a pretty fantastic sounding Technical Death Metal band (A genre that I have to admit I've been pretty obsessed with lately.) The album is called The Sentance Of Their Conqueror.

Oh, And Becoming The Archetype Released O Holy Night!

Becoming The Archetype posted their cover of O Holy Night recently. It's a cool and almost scary take on the song, but it works really well in my opinion. It's also the first preview we get of the 'new' band with new vocalist Chris McCane and new drummer Michael McClellan. There isn't a huge amount of Chris' vocals on the track, it's actually a little disappointing in that manner, but he seems to do a pretty good job replacing Jason Wisdom's low growls, but Jason has fairly unique mids and highs so we'll have to see how he does whenever they release a new full length.

Here's a youtube video of the single:

You can also buy the single on iTunes and through other places.

Demon Hunter Made A Video For 'Lifewar'!

This one is rather interesting. Lifewar, from 2010's The World Is A Thorn is sort of a really long outro for Decending Upon Us, which is the frirt track on the album. Lifewar is also only 1:52 long. So when I pulled this up I wasn't really sure what to expect. What you get is rather interesting though. It's one continuous shot of Ryan Clark, with a rather epic beard, singing the lyrics with flashes of imagery projected on him with mud and dirt being put on him and washed away. The video is full of christian imagery, as are the lyrics of the song, which is obviously no surprise to anyone who knows the band. Ryan also gets decked pretty hard in the face towards the end, and takes it like a man.

Anyhow, it's an interesting little piece, and it's short, so check it out.

Chevelle - Hats Off To The Bull

I've been a fan of Chevelle for a while. Not a die hard fan, but they've never made a bad album in my opinion. Chevelle are sort of in an odd place for a lot of people. Their Tool influence is pretty obvious, both musically speaking and in terms of Pete Loeffler's vocal style. Many have passed them up as a band sucking up to Tool, which is most unfortunate, because if you dig deeper you'll find that on the surface they might be taking a number from Tool's sound, but overall they are their own band. Chevelle has crafted their own sound and in my book they are one of the best Alternative Metal/Rock outfits today.

Presenting 'A Little Privacy'

For one of my classes we were put into groups to make a 5 minute short film. It was a lot of fun to do, although I had enormous amounts of trouble exporting because my computer was struggling to handle all the video. But none the less here is what we came up with! http://vimeo.com/33257286

It's called A Little Privacy, and it's about a guy named Ken who is about to go to rehab, but wants to get one last fix in before that. Although he runs into all sorts of trouble in doing so.

Hope you enjoy, thanks for watching!

To Speak Of Wolves Hit The Studio Today!

Man it's been a great new week! I have to say I've been waiting for this bit of news for a long time, and I was a bit scared it might never come because these guys aren't the biggest band in the world unfortunately. However, I'm happy to say that To Speak Of Wolves entered the studio today to start the recording process for their follow up to 2010's Myself > Letting Go.

Becoming The Archetype Loses Two Members

See that great beard there? Well unfortunately you won't be for a while. It seems that Jason Wisdom, the frontman for progressive metalcore band, Becoming the Archetype has left the band, along with 'Duck' their drummer. Jason's wife is having a kid soon, so it's understandable why he's leaving, but It's sad to see him go.

Secrets Of A Psychopath - Concept Of Failure

I was sent a link to download this EP from German Progressive Deathcore outfit Secrets Of A Psychopath for free this morning thanks to the vocalist dropping me a line on my Last.fm account. I'm not sure if he personally sought me out, or if he was spamming peoples wall, which I wouldn't blame him for, but regardless, I saw free music and decided it couldn't hurt to give it a listen. It also helps that it wasn't just a single, it was a solid 5 track EP, which in my opinion an EP needs to be at least 5 tracks. So my pre-requisites were met. Oh and the album art looked professional, which is always a good way to attract potential listeners.

So after all that, how did the album hold up?

Hour Of Penance Finalizing A New Album!

As with my Oceano post, I'm a few days late on this one too, but good news is still good news no matter when you hear it. that being said, if you happened to be stumbling through bands facebooks and happened across Hour Of Penance's page you may have noticed this post:

August Burns Red Have Another Christmas Song!

As seems to be tradition now, August Burns Red have fantastically made a Christmas song their own. This time around they've done a cover of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, and like the previous two covers, it's an awesome instrumental piece that makes holiday music listenable. Check it out!

(In other news, I believe Becoming The Archetype have a christmas song coming too. Keep and eye out for that one.)

Oceano Hits The Studio! (Update 3: Not Breaking Up Now!)

(Update 3: They aren't calling it quits after all! http://tinyurl.com/896oo7s)

(Update 2: In addition to playing the New England Metal and Harcore festival, which was supposedly their last show ever, they agreed to play the Jamboree Festival. Here's an interview confirming the break up: http://www.thejamboreeohio.com/jamblog/oceano-interview/)

(Update: They Broke Up.)

I'm a few days late on this news, but if you happened to stumble across Oceano's facebook recently you might have seen this post:

Bandcamp Plunder Of The Week! Make Them Suffer - Lord Of Woe

This weeks entry is from Australian Symphonic Deathcore band Make Them Suffer, and it's entitled Lord Of Woe. It's a 5 track EP, which changes things up for the plunder of the week, seeing as I've only done full lengths so far. However, due to a seemingly endless amount of short ep's and singles posted on Bandcamp (if you're a band posting a wall of singles of BC, I want you to know, I hate when bands do that, and I'm less likely to click your album because it's annoying to have to change the page after every song to hear every song.), I caved in on these guys for having an ep longer than 3 tracks, a well made album cover, and for the fact that they are awesome.

Are Lyrics Less Important?

I had a thought today, considering that the average person doesn't read as much, the average attention span is lessening more and more, people are consuming larger amounts of music, and that people are buying cd's digitally more often now and therefore not getting the cd booklet, how often do people read or pay full attention to the lyrics? I'm talking about full song's to full albums, not the lyrics plainly heard as catchy hooks in the song. For plenty of bands the vocalist does nothing but write lyrics (sometimes they don't even do that) and scream. Not to say screaming isn't difficult; it can take a huge toll on your throat, and it takes a good amount of talent to get a great sounding scream, growl, or what have you. Oh, and clean vocals are a vital part of some bands.

In The Midst Of Lions - Shadows - Formal Review

I've been waiting for this album for a while. I found Christian Deathcore outfit In The Midst Of Lions around the middle of last year, and have been thoroughly enjoying The Heart Of Man and Out Of Darkness since then. They now present us with their third full length album entitled Shadows. The long and short of it? It's great.

As I Lay Dying Made A Video For Electric Eye!

As the title would suggest, there is now a video for As I Lay Dying's Judas Priest cover! Unfortunately the video isn't able to be embeded for some reason. So you have to go here to watch it. http://www.ultimate-guitar.tv/misc/as_i_lay_dying_-_electric_eye.html

Oh Hey, Norma Jean Are Writing New Material.

Norma Jean are in the process of writing new material according to their Facebook. It will be sometime still before they start recording, but the fact that they have begun in earnest the next album is fairly exciting. I would hope/imagine it'll be out by the end of next year, if not early 2013. Although I feel like 2013 is too far. ME WANT NORMA JEAN!

Netflix Will Host New Arrested Development Episodes!

The Good News: It would appear that Netflix has sealed the deal on being able to host the upcoming mini season of Arrested Development episode which are being created as a lead into an eventual movie. Also we have a date of sorts.

Which leads too...

Sumerian Pulls Everything From Spotify.

Spotify had a fantastic start in the US, and has slowly been declining. For Metal fans at least. First we lost Century Media, then we lost Metal Blade, and Now Sumerian has dropped out. Losing the likes Of Periphery, The Faceless (Although one of their albums was mistakenly put in as a Periphery album for some reason.) Structures, Veil Of Maya, and Born Of Osiris. (Some bands have been on multiple labels, so part of their work is still up.)

Bandcamp Plunder Of The Week! Bahamut - The Process

(Before I start, I again must apologize. It's nearing the end of the semester, and almost everyday for the past few weeks I've been telling myself I need to do another one of these posts. I'm apparently really bad at getting a steady flow or something. Anyhow, I'll just leave it at I'm sorry and move on.)

This week I bring you Bahamut's The Process. I didn't read anything about this album/band before listening, I didn't even try to figure out what genre they were, I just looked at the album cover, thought hey that's cool looking and hit play. Wow was I surprised. It was not at all what I was expecting, but it was better than what I was thinking it would be. Bahamut are on the line between really hardcore punk, and progressive metalcore/deathcore. Mostly a blend of the two, but I guess one could make an argument for both. They could be a lot of things really, but whatever you think they are, they're good. Oh and the vocalist reminds me of Oh, Sleeper and The Chariot. Which is definitely a great thing.

In The Midst Of Lions Post Another New Song! (11/10)

It's always a good day when a great band posts new material. The Call is from In The Midst Of Lions' forthcoming album 'Shadows', due out in about two weeks (11/22). It starts with a very eerie atmospheric intro, created with a combo of lower and higher screeches, that are backed by a heavy drum beat that is fairly consistent throughout the tracks entirety. There are pinch harmonics and breakdowns thrown in, and pretty much everything a deathcore fan could ask for. The vocals are killer too. There's a pretty good solo about halfway through the track too.

One thing that stood out to me, is that the production value of this album seems to have jumped hugely in comparison to their previous efforts. I had some problems with their first album, but it was still good. The Heart Of Man is a fantastically done album, but so far this new album seems to be taking things to a whole new level for the band. Very exciting stuff. In The Midst Of Lions are definitely stepping their game up.

Go like them on Facebook to hear the new track and make sure you check out The Cry Of The Oppressed, which is the first new track they posted a few weeks back. It's great too.

As I Lay Dying - Decas

It doesn't feel like it's been 10 years since AILD's first release Beneath The Encasing Of Ashes. Unfortunately I can't say I've been a fan for ten years being that I didn't discover them until Frail Words Collapse two years later, but that's really besides the point.

Misguided Aggression - Flooding The Common Ground - Formal Review

Misguided Aggression, a groove metal band from Woodstock, Ontario, aren't the biggest name in Metal, but they should be more well known. They gained some fame with their 2009 album Hatchala and have now graced us with a follow up album entitled Flooding The Common Ground.

The album starts with an eerie intro, setting the tone for the entirety of the disc. A slightly distorted voice tells a story about how he was brainwashed by the media to believe that everyone in the Middle East deserved to die after 9/11. It’s a disturbing image, but an image you want to hear more about. Your interest is piqued.

'Winter's Soldier' hits you with a bang.  A snare rattles off like a machine gun, pinch harmonics scatter throughout, and throaty screamed vocals make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. It almost makes you uncomfortable, but you can’t stop listening. Then a bit of a surprise comes: “What makes the green grass grow? BLOOD!” We get what is possibly one of the best breakdowns in a long time. 'Winter’s Soldier' is definitely one of the best songs on the album.

The album is full of great songs like 'Winter's Soldier'. At a glance, things might seem simplistic, but upon further review you find some technical prowess and really well worked out songs. It’s got quite a number of breakdowns, though none of the breakdowns feel out of place, and the pinch harmonics scattered throughout really help pull the album together. The vocals are tense, raspy and dirty. For the most part they are mid ranged, but they aren’t afraid to go deep and shake your ears. The song Autonomy has a really long guttural that is a standout point of this album. The guitar work throughout the album is pretty fantastic, the Meshuggah influence is prevalent, but it’s got enough of its own style to keep you interested and coming back for more.

I can definitely praise Misguided Aggression’s ability to change tempos often and quickly while not jarring the listener too much. It gives you a sense of well thought out madness, it helps tie songs together, and keeps your ears on their metaphorical toes.

The title track, 'Flooding The Common Ground', is the closer for the album; and a great one at that. It starts with an unsettling two note beat that repeats for a few seconds before those throaty vocals tear into the song. The beat is still there, but much more expanded upon. We get to a breakdown about two minutes in and things start changing a bit until we are met with another even longer guttural that levels you, you can almost feel a weight on your chest. It, like the one in Autonomy, is another highlight of the album. The vocal work throughout is very good.

Overall, Flooding The Common Ground is a great release.  It doesn’t necessarily re-invent the wheel on groove metal, but it doesn’t really need to. It takes the ideas and executes them very well. If you want to listen to something heavy and grungy, look no further than Misguided Aggression.

You can buy the album on their bandcamp page. OR at least give them the streams!

Arbiter Working On A Card Game

No not the breakdown builder card game. This is something new.

Look At The Blog On Your Phone!

There's a good chance that if your viewing this blog, you have one of them fancy schmancy smartphones. Well I'm glad to tell you that the website is optimized for mobile internet, and I gotta say it looks pretty slick. Check it out, and get your dose of info on the go!

Metallica Working On A Real Album Now

Despite the bad attention, Lulu is about to come out, but I imagine with all the negative reviews it's garnered, it'll be quickly forgotten (Well not really forgotten, but brutality beaten and left for dead in the past by fans and critics?) However, Metallica is wasting no time getting started on a legitimate new album of fresh music, no collaborations involved. Rob Trujillo announced that they had started the writing process and would be working with Rick Rubin again.

I'm sure the new album will have some good songs on it, but I think at this point to many fans, Metallica is a shell of their former selves. I personally loved Death Magnetic, so I'm rather excited for the new album. Let's hope it's at least as good as Death Magnetic. Keep your eyes peeled, it's expected to drop sometime next year.

Molotov Solution - Insurrection

Enter Molotov Solution. A Deathcore outfit from Las Vegas, who are presenting us with the fourth and latest full length outing. (Third signed full length, fourth overall.) I'll be honest, I've really only listened to these guys a handful of times, and when I heard that these guys and Carnifex had albums coming out, I was fully suspecting these guys to be the 'meh' album of the two.

Carnifex - Until I Feel Nothing

Sand Diego's Carnifex are presenting us with their fourth full length release this week. Entitled Until I Feel Nothing. This album got me pretty excited I have to say. Carnifex is a good deathcore band, but they've never really been on my top list. However when I heard that Tim Lambesis was producing this one I let my hopes get up.

Bandcamp Plunder Of The Week! Derelict - Unspoken Words

This weeks entry, Derelict, should be more popular. They play proggy technical death metal, and unfortunately they are relative unknowns at the moment, but they are gaining popularity. They are currently signed to Relapse Records and have Toured with the likes of Whitechapel, Job For A Cowboy, The Last Felony, Ion Dissonance, and many others.

Halo Of Gunfire Post 'Soulless And Scorned'!

Technical Deathcore band Halo Of Gunfire did today what many a band have been doing lately, asking for facebook likes and using new material as an incentive to get those likes. In reality it's a good way to get free marketing. Fans of bands who do this will spread the news like wildfire to hear the new material, and chances are those fans will tell their friends and so on and so forth. Whitechapel did this recently to get 550k likes. Halo Of Gunfire's is a bit more reasonable though.

Arbiter Post 'Destroyer'!

Tis' a good day for new music so far. Deathcore outfit Arbiter have posted 'Destroyer' on their facebook, which I presume is from the Machinations side of the new album due out later this year, judging from the overall sound at least. (It sounds a bit mechanical, in a good way.)

In The Midst Of Lions Post 'Cry Of The Oppressed'

Alrighty! Christian Deathcore  In The Midst Of Lions, who I've mentioned a few times recently have posted a new song from the forthcoming album entitled Shadows, due out November 22! The new song, Cry Of The Oppressed, sounds great.

Underoath Re-releases First 3 Albums In A Combo Pack!

Tampa Florida's Underoath, like The Chariot and Norma Jean before them, are re-releasing their first three albums in a 3 CD combo pack for $10 today. It's entitled Play Your Old Stuff. This is a fantastic deal for people who haven't already bought their old stuff, or just found them thanks to their new album or something. Anyhow, check it out.

On a side note I was slightly disappointed because when I read the title for this collection I thought it might be a live album of the 'new' band playing older songs. But alas I was wrong.

http://www.toothandnail.com/releases/839/Play_Your_Old_Stuff/

Bandcamp Plunder Of The Week! All Tomorrows - Opilion

First off, sorry I didn't post one of these last week, totally forgot. Which is probably a bad thing, but I'll try to not forget in the future. 

This week I found an awesome band from Chile called All Tomorrows. Their album 'Opilion' is pretty sick.

It's fast, heavy, grabs your attention and it never lets you go. Sound wise it reminds me of a cross between Mnemic's overall sound, with the ferocity and relentlessness of Divinity. Only somehow even more ferocious. The guitars are thick and chunky and make you want to get up and fight something or drive recklessly.

Anyhow you can stream their album or buy it for $7 ($1 per song pretty much.) Definitely check 'em out.

http://alltomorrows.bandcamp.com/album/opilion

In The Midst Of Lions New Album Comes Out Next Month

Christian Deathcore outfit In The Midst Of Lions are going to be releasing 'Shadows' next month! Their last entry 'Heart Of Man' was pretty awesome. I'd definitely recommend a listen. Judging from the studio updates they posted on their youtube page, the new album is shaping up to be pretty fantastic. Let's just say I'm pretty excited.

Keep an eye out for it, I'll probably do a review when it comes out too.

I Declare War - Self Titled

I Declare War's Malevolence was one of the first deathcore albums I listened to. I enjoyed it a lot at first, but then bands like Whitechapel and All Shall Perish stole my attention. Since Malevolence I've listened to quite a few deathcore bands and would like to believe I have a pretty good idea of what makes a good/great deathcore album. I Declare War isn't the front of the pack in theis genre, but they aren't falling behind either. For me, they are somewhere between Whitechapel and Oceano, both in sound and quality. Malevolence was a good album as a whole, but for me personally it lacked standout tracks. (Although, totally unrelated to their music, I really liked the cover for Malevolence over the new album cover.)

Oh Hey, I Declare War have A New Album Coming Out.

I keep tabs on quite a few bands, but the last few weeks have been catching me off guard release wise. Although on this one I feel a bit more surprised than usual because I feel like I checked up on these guys recently.

Regardless, Seattle based Deathcore outfit I Declare War have their self-titled album coming out next week (Oct. 11th)! Their previous release, Malevolence, was a pretty good album, showcasing their heavy sound and brutal vocals. By no means did it re-invent the wheel for Deathcore, but it was a pretty solid release.

Anyhow, I'm planning on doing a review for this album. Keep an eye out for it!

Searching For Sonny Trailer Is Out!

I've been watching this film grow for a while now. I think since the Canon 5DmkII was released, or somewhere around there. (I remember getting teasers of sorts, that were more or less test shots for the film,a nd they were gorgeous.) Now after a long time waiting, we're blessed with a trailer for the film!

The Browning - Burn This World

I've never listened to The Browning until now. As far as I know they have an EP or two? Someone correct me if I'm wrong please. Honestly, their name is far from my favorite band name, and I'm not entirely sure of it's meaning. However a bands name does not speak louder than it's music. The Browning have a 'new' take on the genre of Deathcore. They are apparently huge techno/dance music fans, and have created an amalgamation of the two genres to create Electronic Deathcore. Electrocore? When I was younger techno was just about the only thing I listened to, so let's say I was at least intrigued to hear what this album had to offer.

Go Pre-Order Recorrupted!

Whitechapel has now officially announced their new EP. There are only two new songs on it, one you can already hear, and a new Pantera cover. The rest of the EP is three remixes, one of which is done by Ben Weinman of Dillinger Escape Plan fame. Section 8 is a pretty fantastic song in my opinion, and hopefully we'll get word of a new album in the coming months. Anyhow, Recorrupted comes out November 8th and is only $4.99, so go pre-order it!

http://www.metalblade.com/whitechapel/

Also they released a studio video for Section 8. Jump past the break to see it.

Whitechapel Post New Song!

YES.

Go over to Whitechapel's facebook to hear 'Section 8'. It's heavy, dark, and angry. Everything Whitechapel is known for. It's got pretty sick guitars and drums too, and it adds some new elements that Whitechapel hasn't explored yet. Hopefully they are working on a new album because If this is a sign of whats to come of a new album will most definitely be fan-freaking-tastic. Whitechapel are kings pretty much.

Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster - IV

Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster have gained quite a fan base over the last few years, with ex-Underoath front man taking on a southern style that just seemed to work for them. Like Oh, Sleepers new album, I didn't even realize this was coming out, but I was pretty excited when I saw it. Their first three albums have been great. So How does IV hold up?