I loved their first album Hate Crew Deathroll for its mix of speed and symphonic metal elements. It was an album whipped through riffs and solos like a fat kid pounding halloween candy. The albums that followed just didn't seem to have that relentless energy. They impressed me a few years ago opening for Lamb of God. The lead singer had dislocated his shoulder a day before and was up there playing and singing.
I decided I would get their next album and it finally arrived; Relentless, Reckless, Forever. Glad I did. The energy is back. COB are firing on all cylinders throughout the album. One of best aspects is the approach to the song writing. Each song has its own pace and approach to shredding. The vocals are not a clean as previous releases and as a result much of what sticks in my head ends up being the great melodic riffs that are scattered through the album.
COB is a band that likes to solo which to many listeners can seem boring, and if it is soloing for the sake of solo I agree. But COB does a great job of setting up the solos and they are all about melody within the intensity and speed of the solo. Thus the solos are not a segment in the song but an integral part of the song. When listening also note many mini solos are played in between vocal parts.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Hatebreed King of the Pit
Having pounded more than a few people in the pits over the years there a two bands whose pits I look forward to the most, Hatebreed and Lamb of God. Their styles are different but the energy they evoke and excitement of pummeling people for an hour straight is equal.
Hatebreed specialize in pounding riffs played by their two guitarists. Solos and harmonies are rare. Usually they are locking in and playing in sync to increase the volume or weight of their sound. The lead singer, Jamey Jasta, writes lyrics that are about finding power within and being a part of something bigger than yourself. Everything is yelled or spoken and it lends itself to non-stop crowd participation. That is one of things that gets the pit going. Everyone knows the lyrics and responds accordingly to changes in each song's intensity.
Best pit moment was when Jamey told the crowd that he wanted a circle pit to go around the sound tent which was 100 yards away from the stage. Awesome! In a parking lot on a second stage summer festival that means that no one could be a bystander! Move back or get run-over! Garbage cans got trampled, crushed, and thrown in the air in front of me. The first minute of that pit was pure chaos. People on edges whipped their phones out to film the heard charging by. FYI: I have crappy video on my phone of a smaller pit.
Some of the tracks they play live are: Become the Fuse, Everybody Bleeds Now, This Is Now, Destroy Everything, As Diehard As They Come, To The Threshold, and I Will Be Heard. If you workout this is your soundtrack to sick results.
Hatebreed specialize in pounding riffs played by their two guitarists. Solos and harmonies are rare. Usually they are locking in and playing in sync to increase the volume or weight of their sound. The lead singer, Jamey Jasta, writes lyrics that are about finding power within and being a part of something bigger than yourself. Everything is yelled or spoken and it lends itself to non-stop crowd participation. That is one of things that gets the pit going. Everyone knows the lyrics and responds accordingly to changes in each song's intensity.
Best pit moment was when Jamey told the crowd that he wanted a circle pit to go around the sound tent which was 100 yards away from the stage. Awesome! In a parking lot on a second stage summer festival that means that no one could be a bystander! Move back or get run-over! Garbage cans got trampled, crushed, and thrown in the air in front of me. The first minute of that pit was pure chaos. People on edges whipped their phones out to film the heard charging by. FYI: I have crappy video on my phone of a smaller pit.
Some of the tracks they play live are: Become the Fuse, Everybody Bleeds Now, This Is Now, Destroy Everything, As Diehard As They Come, To The Threshold, and I Will Be Heard. If you workout this is your soundtrack to sick results.
Malpractice by Faith No More
This post is inspired by listening to XM radio for 20 minutes. After listening to Between the Buried and Me play a great cover of Pantera's Cementary Gates, Faith No More's "Malpractice" began to play. I almost shit my pants but instead turned the dial up louder.
The track is off of my all time favorite album, Angel Dust. It is great that the DJs at XM radio have the freedom to play truly great metal and it is obvious from their selection that they know their stuff too.
Malpractice starts of with an odd drum syth sequence before a crunching guitar riff pounds a few times. Then it dives right into the first verse where Mike Patton covers a wide range of sinister vocal styles without death growling or screaming. That is later. After the first verse and a brief bridge featuring keyboard playing that foreshadows doom the pre-chorus hits which is Patton screeching. The main bridge or interlude between early verses and later verses dives into breakdowns, then a child's melody with soft singing seep into the mix before the riffage from the beginning returns to pummel the listener and Patton begins barking that the end is in store.
This song contains so many masterful metal elements it is interesting to note that is was a B-side for their main release "Midlife Crisis". When I first heard this song I was blown away by it. It totally overwhelmed me. I could blast it loud and not get in trouble with the parents because it had no profanity. But at the same time just so brutal and aggressive. I would never have imagined, no wait I did imagine it, but I would never have thought that I would hear "Malpractice" on the radio one day. After all it was a B-side.
The track is off of my all time favorite album, Angel Dust. It is great that the DJs at XM radio have the freedom to play truly great metal and it is obvious from their selection that they know their stuff too.
Malpractice starts of with an odd drum syth sequence before a crunching guitar riff pounds a few times. Then it dives right into the first verse where Mike Patton covers a wide range of sinister vocal styles without death growling or screaming. That is later. After the first verse and a brief bridge featuring keyboard playing that foreshadows doom the pre-chorus hits which is Patton screeching. The main bridge or interlude between early verses and later verses dives into breakdowns, then a child's melody with soft singing seep into the mix before the riffage from the beginning returns to pummel the listener and Patton begins barking that the end is in store.
This song contains so many masterful metal elements it is interesting to note that is was a B-side for their main release "Midlife Crisis". When I first heard this song I was blown away by it. It totally overwhelmed me. I could blast it loud and not get in trouble with the parents because it had no profanity. But at the same time just so brutal and aggressive. I would never have imagined, no wait I did imagine it, but I would never have thought that I would hear "Malpractice" on the radio one day. After all it was a B-side.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
2011 Has Finally Started Rocking
About time this year got to business rocking! I spent the first half of the year listening to albums from the previous year and now I am buried in great stuff. Bullet for my Valentine, Parkway Drive (although I need to look closer, it may be a late arrival), In Flames, Devil Wears Prada, Children of Bodom, Between the Buried and Me, Opeth, and Mastodon drop a new one on back to back weeks.
Turns out 2 of the albums I've listed were 2010 releases. Good thing Borders went out business I was able to pick up some good albums at a low cost!
Turns out 2 of the albums I've listed were 2010 releases. Good thing Borders went out business I was able to pick up some good albums at a low cost!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
2010 Top Ten Releases
Well here they are.
1. Bring Me the Horizon: There is a Hell Believe Me I've Seen It, There is a Heaven Lets Keep it a Secret.
This album is ferocious from the beginning track Crucify Me to the closer The Fox and the Wolf. What I enjoy most is the vocal delivery that spills forth with such honest enthusiasm. On top of that the vocals adapt to the mood of the music and the lyrical content. Another attribute that makes this album great is BTHM's adoption of some of the programming tricks they learned from friends who did remixes of their previous album. For all the screaming and growling this album is quite accessible to new metal heads largely due to the chant along crowd choruses. The opening track is one of the most epic openers I've heard in years. It features every sonic component that this album has to offer.
2. Rob Zombie: Hellbilly Deluxe 2
The album that inspired me to actually start this blog and get thoughts out of my mind and onto the screen. See the February review. Zombie delivered the goods this summer on the Mayhem Tour.
3. Deftones: Diamond Eyes
I have loved everything this band has put out, however that doesn't mean the public agrees with me. The Deftones have always been an intriguing metal band because their music doesn't lend well to pummeling a stranger in a mosh pit. However they are definitely a metal band and when you hear Chino scream you know it. What the Deftones do that sets them apart is incorporate subtle elements of chill-techno, and nu-metal into their songs. They are not competing against anyone in sub-genre battles. No one sounds like the Deftones and no one has come close to matching their ability to go heavy-soft-heavy without making it oh so obvious.
4. Mushroomhead: Bedtime Stories for Ugly Children
Mushroomhead made their main stage entrance with Slipknot and they've been associated with the nine since then for reasons unrelated to their music. Both bands wear masks and have 6 plus members. Mushroomhead is far more nuanced than Slipknot. A major reason would be the fact that they have two vocalists. The obvious difference between the vocalists is that one typically sings and the other yells but on this album vocal harmonies and give take sessions abound. It was a difficult decision to place this album in the top five because the weakest half of the album is the first 5 tracks, but once you hit "Holes in the Void" Mushroomhead hits their stride.
From this point on the remaining albums all are interchangeable so I am judging them by their opening tracks and at the moment I can't make up my mind. If I go with titles is has to Soilwork with "Late for the Kill, Early for the Slaughter", if it is on instrumental riffage then The Sword and High on Fire lead the way. If I pick mood then Zoroaster takes the next spot. Finally consideration are vocalist centric bands and Distrubed and All That Remains are throwing knock-out punches.
I'll go with songs names.
5. Soilwork: The Panic Broadcast
A veteran Swedish metal band who has forever been in the shadow of In Flames and similar American bands like Killswitch Engage; Soilwork know how to write ass kicking melodic metal songs. Its a shame they can't get the recognition they deserve in the States. Their lead singer "Speed" is unbelievable. He definitely has All That Remains singer beat in the ability to scream/growl/sing/speak categories. And that song name that put them in the lead: "Late for the Kill, Early for the Slaughter."
6. High on Fire: Snakes of the Divine
This trio pound out massive stoner-metal riffs. Their goal on each album seems to be to create the biggest cohesive wall of sound that they can. Stand-outs include the title track and Bastard Samuri.
7. The Sword: Warp Riders
This is one of those albums that I am eternally grateful that I stumbled across. Inspired by classic metal bands written in the modern style. Not a throwback but a gesture of respect. A seamless concept album.
8. Distrubed: Aslym
The nu-metal surivors have put together a great album that focus' on their strengths. It plays like a greatest hits album.
9. Zoroaster: Matador
Great album. Read full review from an earlier post.
10. All That Remains
A solid metalcore album from beginning to end. While the lead singer isn't as good as Soilwork's he is still delivers an outstanding performance. Plenty of headbanging tracks litter this album. Check out "Some of the People, All of the Time."
1. Bring Me the Horizon: There is a Hell Believe Me I've Seen It, There is a Heaven Lets Keep it a Secret.
This album is ferocious from the beginning track Crucify Me to the closer The Fox and the Wolf. What I enjoy most is the vocal delivery that spills forth with such honest enthusiasm. On top of that the vocals adapt to the mood of the music and the lyrical content. Another attribute that makes this album great is BTHM's adoption of some of the programming tricks they learned from friends who did remixes of their previous album. For all the screaming and growling this album is quite accessible to new metal heads largely due to the chant along crowd choruses. The opening track is one of the most epic openers I've heard in years. It features every sonic component that this album has to offer.
2. Rob Zombie: Hellbilly Deluxe 2
The album that inspired me to actually start this blog and get thoughts out of my mind and onto the screen. See the February review. Zombie delivered the goods this summer on the Mayhem Tour.
3. Deftones: Diamond Eyes
I have loved everything this band has put out, however that doesn't mean the public agrees with me. The Deftones have always been an intriguing metal band because their music doesn't lend well to pummeling a stranger in a mosh pit. However they are definitely a metal band and when you hear Chino scream you know it. What the Deftones do that sets them apart is incorporate subtle elements of chill-techno, and nu-metal into their songs. They are not competing against anyone in sub-genre battles. No one sounds like the Deftones and no one has come close to matching their ability to go heavy-soft-heavy without making it oh so obvious.
4. Mushroomhead: Bedtime Stories for Ugly Children
Mushroomhead made their main stage entrance with Slipknot and they've been associated with the nine since then for reasons unrelated to their music. Both bands wear masks and have 6 plus members. Mushroomhead is far more nuanced than Slipknot. A major reason would be the fact that they have two vocalists. The obvious difference between the vocalists is that one typically sings and the other yells but on this album vocal harmonies and give take sessions abound. It was a difficult decision to place this album in the top five because the weakest half of the album is the first 5 tracks, but once you hit "Holes in the Void" Mushroomhead hits their stride.
From this point on the remaining albums all are interchangeable so I am judging them by their opening tracks and at the moment I can't make up my mind. If I go with titles is has to Soilwork with "Late for the Kill, Early for the Slaughter", if it is on instrumental riffage then The Sword and High on Fire lead the way. If I pick mood then Zoroaster takes the next spot. Finally consideration are vocalist centric bands and Distrubed and All That Remains are throwing knock-out punches.
I'll go with songs names.
5. Soilwork: The Panic Broadcast
A veteran Swedish metal band who has forever been in the shadow of In Flames and similar American bands like Killswitch Engage; Soilwork know how to write ass kicking melodic metal songs. Its a shame they can't get the recognition they deserve in the States. Their lead singer "Speed" is unbelievable. He definitely has All That Remains singer beat in the ability to scream/growl/sing/speak categories. And that song name that put them in the lead: "Late for the Kill, Early for the Slaughter."
6. High on Fire: Snakes of the Divine
This trio pound out massive stoner-metal riffs. Their goal on each album seems to be to create the biggest cohesive wall of sound that they can. Stand-outs include the title track and Bastard Samuri.
7. The Sword: Warp Riders
This is one of those albums that I am eternally grateful that I stumbled across. Inspired by classic metal bands written in the modern style. Not a throwback but a gesture of respect. A seamless concept album.
8. Distrubed: Aslym
The nu-metal surivors have put together a great album that focus' on their strengths. It plays like a greatest hits album.
9. Zoroaster: Matador
Great album. Read full review from an earlier post.
10. All That Remains
A solid metalcore album from beginning to end. While the lead singer isn't as good as Soilwork's he is still delivers an outstanding performance. Plenty of headbanging tracks litter this album. Check out "Some of the People, All of the Time."
Friday, January 7, 2011
COMING SOON
In the near future look for two new articles: Best of 2010, and Sophomore Albums that Succeed.
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