Record Review: LIGEIA "Welcome to Palm City" (self-released)

Ligeia return after a two-year hiatus and they choose the most direct way to reach their fans: by offering them their new record for free download. No record labels or other merchants in between, just the band and the listener. I personally support this DIY attitude! This is also why I got into this review. According to Keith Holuk (singer), this decision was a present to all the kids that supported them throughout the years. The download file contains also a booklet with cover, lyrics, photos and info. Thumbs up!

Ligeia was formed in Massachusetts, USA back in 2003. The group has 2 records with Ferret Music under its belt, 2006’s Your Ghost is a Gift and Bad News released in 2008. We are talking about a very experienced band that has managed to play over 600 shows in a 2-year period between 2006 and 2009! That is to say they have the attitude of spreading their music by playing all over the place wherever they can, which is respectable.

The EP kicks in quite fast and hard without wasting any moment. During the first half a minute of ‘Simulated Drowning’ there is a newschool melodic hardcore passage ala Ruiner/Modern Life Is War.  Soon after different aspects of their music are coming into surface like the standard modern metalcore vocal ranges (from pop punk to distorted screams). I need to mention the nice rocking riff at 01:20 leading to a breakdown. The song closes with a dramatic hardcore melody and some poppy vocals on top. The second number ‘Two Weeks Notice’ is more typical metalcore style but has a drunken rocking touch that reminds a bit of Every Time I Die.

Welcome to Palm City contains some memorable songs like the ‘Vodka Demon’ (with guest vocals from Drew York of Stray from the Path) or moments like the driving riff at the beginning of ‘Lie To Me’. The production is neat and clean by Jay DeLuca at The Bear’s Den studio and delivers what Ligeia wants, albeit it does not manage to move much from the standard. Especially the rhythm section has the modern cliché plastic sound, although the musicianship is quite accomplished. However, there is more stand out work on the guitars, they have an exceptionally versatile sound that is less distorted and more rocking in comparison.

Overall, this EP kept me hooked throughout the listen, although I am not too much in this type of hardcore music. It marks some progress for the band since their last effort Bad News: they sound more ‘mature’, with improved guitar work and more serious lyrics. What makes a difference with the rest of this overpopulated scene is the honesty of the band and their more melodic hardcore approach. At least, I prefer this EP than the new super-selling overproduced metalcore stars The Devil Wears Prada or Asking Alexandria not to mention Design The Skyline, who are all drenched in synths that remind impoverished black metallers like Dimmu Borgir.   

I am thankful to Ligeia for sharing these 20 minutes of music with us! You can have it yourself here:

http://www.thebearsdenstudio.com/download.php

Rigas

www.myspace.com/ligeia

www.facebook.com/ligeiaband

Record Reviews: THE SOUTHERN ORACLE - "Hellwakening" (Let It Burn Records)

The Southern Oracle is a band which juggles brutal metalcore and deathcore with such precision and technicality, that will surely delight the needs of most modern metal (and some hardcore) fans.

Hellwakening is indeed a hell of an album. It's filled with heavy metallic riffs and stompy beatdowns that succeed one in other in a very relentless and warlike manner. There is enough speed, heaviness and ferocity spat out, which will have you going for the "repeat" many times over as a result. Maybe at first, this album is a bit of a handful and sounds a bit long for the inexperienced listener, because of all the complex riffs and constant changes in the songs (and the slight lack of catchiness). However, there is no letting up by these Hungarians; just merciless metalcore pounding! What this actually means is that you have to work on the record by giving it your time and attention. In other words, it's a solid, mature, real metal record.

A thing you shouldn't be looking for in this record is clean vocals. These Hungarian dudes keep it heavy all the way through and resist going out like the majority of metalcore bands, which can't resist the pop element (i.e. The Devil Wears Prada, We Came As Romans etc). Therefore albeit having their melodic riffs, this album often departs from metalcore territory and kind of dwelves more into technical deathcore stuff. In a way, it transcends both these genres. Some of the riffs are melodic and technical, while others are more proper death metal oriented. There is something for everyone (except the emo kid).

This album also has a nice production that takes it away from the usual beatdown and metalcore stuff, and roots it firmly in a more metallic tradition. Therfore, fans of The Haunted and Heaven Shall Burn will definitely enjoy this more than fans of whatever modern metalcore is the flavor of the day out there. Nevertheless, there is enough beatdown to keep all the beatdown junkies satisfied, for sure. Add some nice layers of horror atmosphere, guest vocals by Darkest Hour and Bridge To Solace members, great looking artwork by Dyer Baizley (or someone else?), and you get a very enticing package indeed.

http://hu-hu.facebook.com/thesouthernoraclehu

UPs: Awesome production, very high technical skills, good exchange of dual vocals (high and low pitched), decent amount of brutality.

DOWNs: Not enough innovation going on here, not very catchy or memorable enough songs.

LOWDOWN: Technical but mature metalcore/deathcore for the metal fan.

Video: The Hundredth "Desolate"

The Hundredth is an up & coming progressive/post hardcore metal band, with the above description not exactly explaining how heavy and awesome these guys really are. They are on Mediaskare Records and currently tour with some Reaper Records bands, like Backtrack and Take Offense. This shows that even though The Hundredth may flirt with the mainstream HC/metal scene (professional videos, some clean choruses thrown in etc) they are still down with the ol' core. Enjoy this cool video!

AS HEAVENS COLLIDE- 'What They Fear the Most" Review (Full-Length,2011)

When I listen to stuff like AS HEAVENS COLLIDE, it makes me angry for the amount of whack musicians and bands out there with no technical proficiency and inability to put together good songs. AHC is the exact opposite of that. I had their new release sitting on my "To Review" list for quite a while, and now I am furiously asking myself WHY I didn't listen to this earlier so I could groove to it and mosh like a mad dog!

This may very well be the best brutal metal/hardcore I heard in 2011 so far. AHC go all out and manically destroy everything that stands in their way, moshing all the way through - breaking, ravaging and tearing apart. They only stop every now and then to throw you into some mysterious avant garde halts that give you the creeps and throw you in a meditative state of altered consciousness... of death!

It is so hard to pin down this band; they may base their shit on metallic downbeat hardcore, but have so much technical skill that they can go from tech-deathcore to epic symphonic metal to old school hardcore breaks like it ain't no thing. There are so many influences and mixed genres in What They Fear the Most that I cannot even begin to explain, I would just bore you. What YOU need to do is go and find this album and get ready for some really heavy stuff.

If you like listening to cool music with tons of layers and are not afraid of mixing melodic death metal with rabid, huge hardcore parts and a new age feel, then please do yourself a favor and listen to this band. It's totally TYS approved!

www.asheavenscollide.com

www.asheavenscollide.com

www.asheavenscollide.com

www.asheavenscollide.com

WITNESS THE FALL - "001" EP Review (2011)

Well it's about time to make some metal signs up in here! Witness the Fall is an awesome modern metal band from Scotland -  a country which seems to produce many new bands full of totally talented, technical musicians.

These Scots play a style of metal that is fresh and modern, but still filled with the basics: lightning-speed riffs, driving melodies, technical parts and an overall sound that is totally heavy and chunky. I'd say it is a combination of NWOAM (that's New Wave of American Metalcore, fool!) with some distinct metalcore breakdowns and patterns in the vein of As I Lay Dying and Unearth. I just have to mention that the double bass drumming is totally fucking relentless, as it races alongside the head crunching, flaming metal riffs. All this is topped with some pretty incendiary political lyrics about the fall of man and modern society! Yeah baby! This is Real Metal 101 for the new millennium!

I fucking love underground metal; Like underground hardcore, punk etc, it's just music made by kids who love what they do and put in lots of commitment and dedication into what they do. It does takes a high level of dedication to be an underground band and sound like a well-paid recording artist, and this is exactly what Witness the Fall manage to do. I love playing this CD; it has awesome grooves, a killer production sound, it rocks the fuck out, and just makes me want to say 'fuck' a lot and find something to destroy! That's exactly what I need right now!

Witness the Fall on Facebook

Witness the Fall on Myspace

FOR TODAY - "Breaker" Review (2010, Facedown Records)

I hope you like a fair bit of metal, cause this is as metal as it gets! Forget beat-down hardcore, forget metalcore; this is pure METAL, but you could call it progressive death metal, post death-core, or new age metal-hardcore! What For Today do (and they do it well) is form an identity which overlaps most boundaries of modern heavy music and borrows elements from a variety of genres: from discordant, mathematically-calculated breakdowns to pure heavy metal melodies and crazy hardcore blasts. In fact, one could say that this crazy record is comprised of 70% devastating metal, 20% paranoia and 10% spoken word/poetry. That's correct!

Us Europeans may feel a little left behind in front of American bands like For Today, which formulate new sounds while still managing to stay brutal and heavy and true to their roots. Speaking of roots, For Today is an outspoken Christian band that has stayed true to spreading the gospel since their 1st album (Breaker is their 3rd release). I guess this is the element that keeps them close to the hardcore scene (I bet they have more HC fans than metal fans), cause only in hardcore are bands so outspoken and in your face. The lyrics are straight out Christian, and I honestly don't think these guys can be moved from that. They have chosen to tread this dangerous path which might throw off many close-minded fans, and may attract criticism for being overtly vocal of their beliefs; but I for one like the fact that they do what they want regardless. It's the bands with a clear identity and a clear vision that stand out.

For Today: Christian hardcore kids

Back to the music side, we mentioned earlier that For Today have a strong avant-garde/new age flavor to their sound. This is not something we meet every day in metal or hardcore. They combine a technicality that sounds like they came straight out of Berkley, while they just keep throwing the screamo and the beatdowns and the melodic parts at you non-stop (they even end the record with a traditional gospel sing along!). They manage to fit it all into the overall brutality and make it all sound more interesting. There are some very good avant-garde drum intros and guitar interludes, as well as some spoken parts that create an intense spiritual atmosphere from start to finish. These spoken word parts sound like a hardcore poet declaring an age of spiritual independence and profound devotion. It really separates For Today from the countless other bands that do the post death metal/hardcore thing.

In the tired metal/hardcore world, it's bands like For Today that make the difference. They have a distinct message and some strong music to back it up. What else does a band need? This gets at least 8/10.

'Repent or Perish': a different style of devotion

Every Time I Die antics

Every Time I Die, the US chaotic hardcore band now has a reason to be stupid and crazy: they are being sponsored by Vans for it. The clothing company has teamed up with ETID to make a weekly series of episodes documenting the band's life on the road. The 12 episodes uploaded so far are just a display of general mayhem and absurdity, as ETID go around fucking stuff up. This is all far removed from the typical hardcore DVD stuff we know, where bands usually just play and speak about the music. This is more MTV-oriented stuff, with a bunch of heavily tattooed dudes going around wrecking stuff as well themselves.

As frontman Keith Buckley put it in a recent Metal Hammer interview: "Filming the shows and those serious interviews is boring... if I want to see the show I'll go to the show." Is all this entertaining or simply lame? It's up for you to choose. However, the band's latest, 2009 album New Junk Aesthetic (out on Epitaph Records) is a brilliant sample of modern discordant hardcore, with no trash involved whatsoever.

http://www.vans.com/microsites/etid/

http://www.vans.com/microsites/etid/

http://www.vans.com/microsites/etid/

http://www.vans.com/microsites/etid/

Every Time I Die: Gifted but absurd

AS I LAY DYING - 'The Powerless Rise' CD Review

I don't listen to a huge amount of straight metal these days (let alone New Wave of American Metalcore), unless I'm pretty sure it will be something that is worth my time.  BUT--I've heard a lot about As I Lay Dying from both metal and hardcore fans, and seen the influence they've come to be in the current scene, so I thought 'why not?' Another turn on was Tim Lambesis' production skills and knowledge, I mean wherever you see this guy's name you know you're going to get something decent. The fact that he's worked with Sworn Enemy (producer on their last record) says it all for me. Sometimes it's good to see the personal work of the people who have helped create something you totally dig, and try to draw the parallels. 

So... I'm not going to BS you: I like this record. I even carry it around with me on my ipod this week. It has a perfect production sound, I mean crystal clear and meaty at the same time, and it is filled with all the right little elements that comprise a good metal record that doesn't bore you at all. It's fucking heavy, the riffs are all good, the solos are insane, the drumming is perfect, and Tim Lambesis' vocals are totally on the spot. in general, this record covers a pretty wide range of different metal and hardcore styles, all crammed into one amalgam to keep you interested all the way through. So thumbs up for AILD!!!

It goes as you might think if you happen to keep an eye on the current state of music affairs: the severe metal attack is exchanged with super-melodic parts and these are in turn exchanged with huuuge mosh parts that even Hatebreed would be jealous of (OK that's an overstatement). In that way, As I Lay Dying thrash out and give you a lot on your musical plate, so you can enjoy and give the record repeated spins. This is very good in these wafer-thin times, when so many records don't deserve more than a couple of tries and get boring so easily. 

Another thing that came to me as a surprise is the good lyrics. I haven't sat down with the lyric sheet, but I can tell that they're a poetic (dare I say) take on philosophical and even spiritual issues in life. From what I hear they have their Christian connections and they keep to them pretty tight. Hmm... This is so much better than what so many others sing about in this genre (depression, hurt, teenage angst, loneliness, betrayal--anything what will get those kids buying, right?). At least As I Lay Dying show that you can manage to sell records, without having to go totally by the book. 

All in all, I'd say that As I Lay Dying are one of those bands that lead the bandwagon, keeping their finger on the pulse, so I can't say anything against them even though they belong to the mainstream. They are leaders and not followers. It's like a tight-knit business, a well-greased war metal machine, a whatever you want to call them but they do it professionally. Now watch them succeed!

www.asilaydying.com

Tim Lambesis: the mastermind behind it all