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!