in 2003 came The Assistant’s second lengthy affair [album]. it’s significantly more metal than the previous album. a bit like After School Knife Fight. there were parts on the previous posted album that sounded like this album, but as a whole this one is far heavier. there are fast grindcore parts and devastating hardcore breakdowns, all of which totally destroy, but there are also some intricate melodic content in here. it’s just hidden far more than the in the songs featured on the previous post. most of this is extremely heavy technical screamo/metal. the song lengths have also changed noticeably. the previous post had twelve songs, and those songs were in total around four minutes shorter than the eight songs on this album are in total. the longest song is as much as 8:35 long. and you’ll find no ambient parts in the middle, or lengthy intros or outros. just devastation and madness. this album destroys all. get it!
archive for the ‘metal/metalcore’ category
The Assistant – We’ll Make the Roads By Walking
Monday, January 10th, 2011categories: crust/grindcore/violence, emo, math/tech, metal/metalcore, screamo
As We Draw – Lines Breaking Circles
Thursday, November 25th, 2010people are absolutely in love with “post rock” and “post metal” these days. the first term means “rock instrumentation used for non-rock”, and gets thrown at absolutely every band ever that has crescendos or layers and prefers twinkles over riffs. (ironically enough these are all *rock* bands…) whilst the latter gets thrown at every band that sounds even remotely like Isis or Cult of Luna. As We Draw sound probably more than “even remotely like” those two bands, so I guess they are a “post metal” band. what that actually means, I’m uncertain of. what I do know is that As we Draw are a French band that make great music. their sound is above genre limitations, but they are perhaps best placed in the sludge category, with some accompanying screamo influence. sort of like Kollwitz, but brighter and more positive-sounding. that’s one of the differences that set As We Draw apart from other bands. their sound ultimately yields a positive energy. if this was not their intention, then I’m sorry, lads. but this album makes me happy. the uplifting and levitating flow of the album is really well executed. there are some dark moments in there – some Cult of Luna – where the guitar tone changes, the tempo slows down and the sound gets thicker. but the main portion of this is fairly bright and mid-tempo, a bit comparable to newer Envy. at times I’m even compelled to make At the Drive-In comparisons, given the good amount of dexterous and inventive things As We Draw manage to pull off. anyway, this is mostly mid-tempo and bright. but it’s not immediate for that reason. this is still patient and progressive metal. even the shorter two-minute songs are quite demanding. Lines Breaking Circles will need your full attention, in order for you to harvest a full appreciation of what goes on in here. so when you have a forty minute time period, spend it on As We Draw’s epic first album. the link also has links to purchase the album on LP and CD. that way you can enjoy it on your turntable instead, if that is desirable. no matter what format you decide to get – just get it!
categories: emo, metal/metalcore, progressive/epic, screamo, sludge
Charcoal Suicide – EP
Wednesday, November 24th, 2010yet another name and member change – Auguries of Innocence is now Charcoal Suicide. and if you enjoy tight as fuck riffs, groovy rhythms and awesome vocals, then this is for you. it is deathcore so it has its fair share of palm muting and double bass pedals. while I have always been an open advocate of open chords and regular bass pedals, it’s easy to forgive Charcoal Suicide. I can even appreciate it. the energy and tightness is incredible refreshing. the only thing I can understand anyone would view as some sort of downside to this EP would be that some of the riffs are no doubt predictable. but hell, I even like *that*. I love sensing that the next riff is going to be so fucking killer that I’m going to want to put the track on repeat forever. so the only thing I personally view as a drawback to this EP is that it’s just not enough material! it’s just short of twelve minutes, which makes me a sad panda. but I’ll forgive Charcoal Suicide of that too. because these just short of twelve minutes are nothing short of awesome. this is *tight*. and the vocals are just extraordinary. the highs are perfect. download this at once.
categories: math/tech, metal/metalcore
Nightmares – 2010
Monday, November 22nd, 2010this is Nightmares first “real” release. previously they have put out a CD-R demo, and a digital two song demo. this proper CD release has both re-recordings of the songs from the digital two song demo as well as of two songs from the CD-R. there is also one previously never heard Nightmares song. in other words: you have much to be giddy about. if you don’t know Nightmares from before, then you have discovered them at the perfect time. Nightmares are an explosive as fuck metalcore band with great amounts of both grindcore and plain hardcore. thrash as fuck. the lyrics have a wonderful complete lack of pretentiousness. they are 100% direct. there are no “poetic” metaphors. they lay down the law, and waste no time with any obstructions in between. with Nightmares you get hard as fuck music and honest as fuck lyrics. Nightmares are awesomely refreshing, and completely necessary. download this. and you can buy this CD from http://nightmaresnz.bigcartel.com/product/2010-ep for $5 plus shipping. do that too!
categories: crust/grindcore/violence, hardcore, metal/metalcore
When I Came Back From Death – Churchburner
Monday, August 9th, 2010if there were at any point any doubt as to which genre When I Came Back From Death takes the majority of their influence from, this album title should eradicate it firmly. When I Came Back From Death are periodically the blackest of black metal. what makes them even more interesting, however, is that they are also periodically the extremest of grindcore and the hardest of hardcore. on the previous album posted here (Dead Language), they were similar, but with no real grindcore influence – at least in comparison to this album. they were merely a very blackened style of metalcore. here, however, they have torn the boundaries asunder, and do a full on black metal/grindcore/hardcore mix. a heavy as fuck black metal/grind/hardcore mix that no one can say no to. download this!
categories: crust/grindcore/violence, hardcore, metal/metalcore
Seeing Means More – Discography
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010if you recall, I mentioned that Fight Fair features some members of Seeing Means More. this is Seeing Means More. they started out in 2002 as a traditional screamo band influenced by Indian Summer and Funeral Diner. they broke up shortly thereafter, and then reformed in 2003 with a new sound, far more aggressive. due to a growing interest in other forms of hardcore music, Seeing Means More ended up incorporating a heavier sound, screamo fused with hardcore and metalcore – a sound that later became to some extent synonymous with popular ’00s screamo. along with Takaru, Seeing Means More represented something more immediate than City of Caterpillar’s exploring crescendos, and something heavier and more metallic than Orchid. but at the same time the epic build ups of “Bernadetti Protti”, that eventually come crashing down into a devastating metalcore finisher suggests that evidences of both City of Caterpillar’s and Orchid’s influence can be found throughout this discography. their love for intricate melodic hooks and spoken vocals can be attributed to the Indian Summer influence. the end result is somewhere between the spastic, melodic and wonderfully artistic sound of bands such as The Spirit of Versailles and In Loving Memory – and the more direct and intense sound of bands like Loma Prieta and Comadre. all with sprinkles of Indian Summer, pioneers of the perhaps definite emo sound. check out this solid thirty minute discography. you won’t regret it! particularly not after listening to the depressing sagas that are the two last tracks, ending this discography as not only proof of what Seeing Means More were, but also hints for what Seeing Means More could have been.
categories: emo, metal/metalcore, screamo
Fight Fair – xFashionx
Sunday, June 27th, 2010Fight Fair are a band featuring ex-members of Seeing Means More, and no block of text could possibly describe the treat you are in for if you choose to download this album. xFashionx is frequently described as awesome by some, whilst other are not so modest, deeming it the epitome of pop skram. this is no unfair description. Fight Fair takes on a sound much like that of My Chemical Romance’s first album, Aiden’s first album and every other good upbeat downheart alternative rock album of the early 2000s. they are however significantly less slick, and display a more obvious screamo/hardcore influence, in addition to their love for catchy pop hooks in between the melodic distorted ’90s punk rock guitars and interchanging Yellowcard-esque vocal harmonies, screams and gang vocals. filled to the brims with breakdowns and poppy metalcore explosions. this band has something for everyone. exploring previously unknown territory with a sound that’s less slick than My Chemical Romance début, but more polished than Oh, Apollo!’s début, Fight Fair tries to take the best of all worlds, and put it all on their own little pop skram planet. balancing the brutally honest and the ridiculously dishonest, Fight Fair makes washes out the line between the previously antonyms honesty and dishonesty, and creates their very own approach to music – FUN. this is one of the maybe most important bands in skram history, along with Emo Summer. certainly one of the most fun ones, no doubt. get this!!!
categories: alternative, metal/metalcore
Nightmares – Hipster Trash+Maps
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010anyone remember these guys? I sure do. I put up their four song demo some time ago, and it ripped holes into brick walls. and now, here’s a new demo. this is supposedly a little testing of the waters before releasing a full length album… so I’m assuming that means a full length is on the way? if so – YESSSSS. to get back to this demo, it’s two songs. “Hipster Trash” and “Maps”. the first one is about hardcore fashionistas who make the scene look like a fucking joke. the second one is (I think) about rejecting social conventions and religion. both causes are valid, and it’s great that a band like Nightmares speak up. what’s even better is that they *shout* them. on top of a brutal as fuck hardcore sound with grindcore tendencies. despite being less than three minutes long, I hope this demo is an indication as to what the full length will sound like, because it sounds like the full length will be a crushing affair like none other. this band slays all. download.
categories: crust/grindcore/violence, hardcore, metal/metalcore
Dire Wolf – Gloom
Monday, April 26th, 2010… you know what? Dire Wolf actually released another record in December 2009! so if you liked the first one, be sure to get this one as well. you can expect more of the same, but with some modifications. the vocals are rawer and the guitars are more melodic – to name the two biggest changes for my ears. but the music is actually even heavier this time around. they’ve found a glorious style of metalcore that sounds like it shares quite a bit with the original metalcore (S.o.D., C.o.C., D.R.I. and other three-letter-acronym-bands). for all I know, the members of Dire Wolf don’t like or listen to either of these bands, but the impression I’m getting is that their influence has somehow made its way into Dire Wolf’s sound. Dire Wolf are however far more versatile, and incorporate – like mentioned in the last post – a lot of different sounds. on Gloom, they melt these sounds together even more than on s/t, where there were more obvious whenever they changed the style around. it’s more subtle on Gloom, consequently perhaps resulting in a more consistently thick and heavy record. in any event, it’s really good and well worth checking out. especially if you are into the latest hardcore trends of incorporating a lot of influence from the crossover genres (metalcore, crust, and so forth).
categories: hardcore, metal/metalcore
Dire Wolf – Dire Wolf
Monday, April 26th, 2010it’s time to get acquainted with yet another new band here on that’s punk. this time, hailing from Ann Arbour, Michigan – is Dire Wolf. and they present themselves with much grace. the first few crushing tones sort of reminding me of Kollwitz, actually! they quickly enough pick up pace, and place themselves comfortably within the modern hardcore formula, with a little dab of metal. but all along, I can’t shake this Kollwitz comparison. it’s clear to me that they do not actually sound like Kollwitz – but they do share some of the same qualities. there’s something adhesive and glutinous about it, like with drone or doom music. it’s very dark and brooding. and when they pick up the pace, they almost cross into power violence territory. this is a hardcore band that blends what I can only possibly think are widely different influences, into a unique and original sound of their own, that sometimes sounds like doom, sometimes like power violence, and sometimes even like black metal (the last minute and a half might be the highlight of the entire record). but at its core, this is just really good and experimental hardcore punk. in addition to this unique sound, they write lyrics that deal with both highly personal issues as well as political issues, or rather society’s and civilisation’s potential downfall as a whole. this record was released in February 2009, and I’m proud to present it here on that’s punk – albeit a bit late. this record is fascinating and well worth playing through. give it a go! also check this band’s MySpace on http://www.myspace.com/direwolfmi for tour dates, if you’re from the US. they’re ploughing through a chunk of it, starting the first of May. so check that out, and check this download out.
categories: hardcore, metal/metalcore