Spirit Adrift dropped another track yesterday, and it's holding up quite nicely with their most recent offerings. "Battle High" debuted on the Century Media Records YouTube channel in support of Spirit Adrift's new album Enlightened Eternity which was released October 16th, 2020. Definitely not new to us here at Mainly Tuning Out, we highly suggest you check this band out. "Battle High" starts off with a heavy blues riff before jumping into some classic heavy metal tones. Dynamically this song works well, and feels both traditional and also fresh. The vocal performances and solos are excellent as well! If you dig this track you can stream it here!
Canadian band Unleash The Archers has dropped another track from their new album Abyss which was released through Napalm Records on August 21st, 2020. Unleash The Archers walk a fine line between Progressive Metal, Power Metal, moments of Black Metal and Death Metal, and standard Heavy Metal fare, and they do it skillfully. Forming in 2007, this band hails from Victoria, British Columbia. The new track is titled "Legacy" and they debuted it with a lyric video through Napalm Record's YouTube channel.
"Legacy" opens with this delightful and subdued clean Prog opening with some clean vocal melodies before kicking in the door with a crushing Black Metal-like moment at ~0:29. Shortly after there is some wickedly enjoyable solo full of sweep picking, or an arpeggio synth part. Either way, it's quite excellent. We enter the meat of the song at ~1:14 as the verse/vocals rejoin the music. The mix is excellent, and the dynamic range of the moments leading up to here is impressive. The pre-chorus/chorus moments remind me of moments of mid-career/Retinal Circus Devin Townsend, while still feeling very original to this band.
The interlude at ~3:52 takes us back to the opening and provides a nice break from the pummeling pace of this song. Just as quickly, the Black Metal moment returns with a searing solo over it. What's surprising is their ability to switch through these styles without feeling gimmicky, or cut-and-paste in their approach. We return to the standard verse and chorus moments and they bring the song to a close.
I do find that I'm pulled out of the musical narrative with the line "No more hiding away in your apex again. Not when your spending your days as a slave is near an end." It feels weird to hear as a combination of words, and doesn't make much sense as an apex is, according to Merriam-Webster, "the uppermost point, or the highest culminating point." Why would the end of your days as a slave require you to step away from the uppermost point of your life, or your residence, or whatever the term "apex" is supposed to mean here. This, however, is me just being nitpicky.
That aside, I think this is a great track. The vocal performance is excellent, the instrumentation is masterful, the mix is honestly great. I think they knocked it out of the park and I look forward to listening to more of their music. If you're stoked about what you hear, you should pick up their album here! If you want to find more of their music, you should hit up your favorite streaming service or check out the Napalm Records YouTube channel found here!
Thank you for stopping by, and have a great rest of your Monday folks!
Having just finished the Django Reinhardt write up, I took to the internet to see what's new out there in the world. It didn't take long to find something that grabbed my attention! Scanning through the Prosthetic Records digital catalog I saw a trio called Four Stroke Baron with a new music video out. I had to check out what this band sounded like considering the bizarre name. I wasn't disappointed, and I look forward to their offerings coming down the line.
"Cyborg Pt. II: The City" is a groove machine that pairs some prog based tight, crunchy riffs, with 80's pop vocals. I know, this sounds weird, but it's like Tears For Fears was singing over some groovy tech riffs. And I love it! It gives it this weird juxtaposition of intensity and sensitivity that pops, even if it shouldn't on paper. The music video is footage from a bad/low budget sci-fi movie, which makes the experience that much better. The drums are locked in, and the guitars are dialed into some excellent tone. There's even a passage that uses a Vocoder/Talk-box to spice up the experience.
The moral of the story is that you should check this track out. Will it be my new favorite band? Probably not, but it's catchy and novel, and the riffs are punchy and fun. Even if you're only into the cheese factor of the music video, I doubt you'll leave disappointed. If you liked the tunes you can pick up the 2018 album Planet Silver Screenhere, and you can also pick up their new offering Monoqueen Split EPhere. Additionally, there's a great bio of the band on the Prosthetic Records page located here. Lastly, if you want to check out more music, there's a live performance that opens with "Cyborg Pt. II: The City" located below.
Dark Tranquility dropped a new track titled "Phantom Days" through Century Media Records on Friday, September 11th, 2020. This new track comes from a new album that's set to drop on November 20th, 2020, titled Moment. This will be their first release since 2016's Atoma. If you're into heavy metal than this name shouldn't be unfamiliar as they've been writing since 1989, and are an integral part of the Gothenburg metal scene. If you're new to this band and/or this genre than you're in for a treat! Melodic Death Metal is a subgenre built on a foundation of melodic riffs while still working with the general structure of standard Death Metal. It's fast, it's got amazing melodies, and some of the best-growled vocals in the Metal genre.
Honestly, after all is said and done, it's a pretty great track. It starts with a faded in ambiance before kicking in with a harmonized lick that transitions into the chorus riff which is quite catchy. Mikael Stanne's infamous vocals kick in with the line "It doesn't make it any less real once you feel it, rage with the fire of insight, these are the days that favor the emotional, an amplified belief." It segues to a pre-chorus moment that feels quite like power metal before kicking into the chorus riff again. The solo is pretty great too. I greatly enjoy how the verse/chorus lines blend in and out of each other, though I have to counter that statement with my dislike for how little variety there is in the lyrics. Over 50% of the lyrics are the ones written above, and the song comes in just under four minutes in length.
I have my issues with the lyrics, but I've just concluded my sixth and seventh time through the track while writing this piece and will be going in for an 8th once I'm done writing, and honestly, the music sounds so good that the lyrics don't much matter. My gut tells me the lyrics in this song will have more importance in the context of the larger album, but time will have to tell on that one. If you are interested in pre-ordering the album, you can do so here!
It's a good time to be a fan of The Ocean, not only is there a new album coming out, the track releases leading up to it have been beyond delightful. On Friday, September 11th, 2020, The Ocean dropped a new track titled "Pleistocene" from their forthcoming album Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic which is due to release on September 25th. We've featured two of their previous track releases from this album here at Mainly Tuning Out, and if you like what you're hearing today you should check out "Oligocene" and "Jurassic | Cretaceous".
"Pleistocene" begins with a different vibe from the previous tracks. It's a little jarring at first but it doesn't take long to wrap you up in the moment. It begins with a single pulsing synth note that feels like an alarm going off. A few second later bass, synths, and what sounds like a piano join in and reinforce that note while the drums play in the space between. Shortly vocals join, backboned by strings; the pair adding a slight middle eastern vibe to the mix. The singer is singing with clean vocals, and the recipe works as he sings the opening line: "we all can only take so much, some more than others. And our individual tolerance for stress, for loneliness, is so subjected. But there's no tolerance at all for hopelessness." As this passage progresses the strings start joining the drums and interplay among the vocals, creating a truly gripping moment.
After the first lyric the music begins to swell into a more traditional sound for The Ocean, with growling vocals, and that crushing guitar tone. It's a great moment. At ~2:07 the music returns to the verse, but it's a more intense version. There are weird guttural, whispered, and menacing vocals just under the singer's vocals, and it feels like the volume on the instruments are dialed up a few notches. Then it's back to the chorus at ~3:02. The strings are louder and like the second chorus, this moment just feels more intense than the previous one.
The music transitions to a new moment at ~3:34 to a slower chord change before transitioning again to a stripped-down version of the music featuring just guitars, bass, drums, and growling vocals singing, "And no one could tell the moment when you disassembled, when your restless heart froze, and you sank below the ice eyes wide open." Crushing vocals backed by a crushing moment. This moment continues on before it switches to one of my favorite moments in the current set of releases at ~4:56 where it speeds up to a killer Black Metal moment complete with that wailing gasping black metal vocal style. It truly creates a climactic moment, and this moment is sucked away into a breakdown-like moment at ~5:50 that the band rides on until the song ends. The riffing is so heavy here, and you'll catch yourself headbanging right along with each beat.
"Pleistocene" is a heavy-hitting track that transitions in and out of each section effortlessly, creating a sonic landscape that you can experience several times and still discover something new. It holds its own with the other releases and only gets me more excited to take in this album once it drops. If you haven't heard this track yet, you should get on that, you're missing out.
If this is your jam can pre-order Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic here.
If you're into Folk Metal, Finntroll should not be a foreign group to you. If you haven't dabbled into Folk Metal, it's a wildly good time. The origin of the band/name come from, to quote their Facebook:
"It is a troubled tale that has been told many times before… Anno 1997: during a night of alcoholic carnage in Finland Teemu "Somnium" Raimoranta (guitar) and Jan "Katla" Jämsen (vocals) conceived of a band that fused the darkness and grandeur of black metal with the traditional Finnish hoedown-music. The resultant sound was FINNTROLL. The namesake came from an old Finnish legend where Swedish priests coming to Finland had an encounter with a wild-looking man who killed most of their party. The survivors came back bearing the tale of the FINNTROLL. Anno 1998: A year later Skrymer, Tundra, Trollhorn and the mighty Beast Dominator joined the band that soon became the biggest name in the rising Folk/Pagan Metal scene – even if they never aimed for sitting at the head of that table."
They also frequently are made up to look like trolls, which is pretty awesome too.
On September 4th, 2020, they dropped a new track titled "Mask" from their forthcoming album Vredesvävd, which is due to be released September 18th, 2020 via Century Media Records. It is some classic Finntroll! It begins with an epic opening backed by synths before descending into a ripping riff over their singer's growls. The music video is quite enjoyable as it is a shaky-cam tromp through the woods following the band as they appear to track down a druid resurrecting the dead. The chorus is equally delightful as the string synths rejoin the mix to give the speedy guitars a traditional folk flair. The track may only be a tad over three minutes, but it's definitely worth checking it out. It's speedy, epic, and everything there is to love about folk metal.
The Ocean has dropped another track from their forthcoming album Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic which is set to release September 25th, 2020. Mainly Tuning Out dug into the previous track earlier this year, and what a track it was! The album is still available for pre-order through Metal Blade records here.
"Oligocene" is an instrumental track with a run time of four minutes, likely acting as an interlude or transitional track on the larger album. This is potentially confirmed by a comment left in the YouTube comments"The instrumental track was written by drummer Paul Seidel, but recorded with synth player Peter Voigtmann on drums. It serves as a transitional track from the busy and heavy first half of the record (Mesozoic) into the more relaxed, spacious and cold ambient vibes prevailing on the second half of the record (Cenozoic)." Oligocene is a geological epoch, and the Berkeley University of California describes it as, "right smack in the middle of the Tertiary Period (and end of the Paleogene), lasted from about 33.9 to 23 million years ago ... These changes include the appearance of the first elephants with trunks, early horses, and the appearance of many grasses — plants that would produce extensive grasslands in the following epoch, the Miocene."
Musically this track is elegant, to say the least. It begins with some somber instrumentals over some percussion which honestly feels like an 80's track reworked into a modern sound. It works well and is captivating. The volume slowly crescendos over the whole piece as more and more layers filter into the mix. My favorite part is the synths that are layered throughout this track and provide an ethereal flavor to the music that thoroughly grips my attention.
Do yourself a favor and check this track out ASAP. Running counter to the crushing flavors of the previous release "Jurassic | Cretaceous" it further demonstrates the wide musical skill this collective brings to the table. If it jives with your musical palate check out the pre-order!
Phoenix, AZ. based Heavy Metal band Spirit Adrift dropped a new track on Friday, August 14th, 2020, and what a banger it is! It's titled "Harmony Of The Spheres" and it sounds like what I wished Ghost could sound like. With the new track comes the news of a new album dropping via 20 Buck Spin label on October 16th, 2020 titled Enlightened In Eternity. Spirit Adrift isn't new to Mainly Tuning out, we featured them in June when they dropped their EP Angel And Abyss Redux.
"Harmony Of The Spheres" kicks in the door with some great harmonized riffs over a chugging rhythm. The drums hold the rhythm down really well which keeps the guitars on the track. Were I to be picky, I'd like a little more from the bass but overall it sounds incredible. The vocal delivery over the verse is excellent, clean with just a little bit of grit over the last lines. Upon reflection the vocals are where I get the biggest Ghost vibe, but don't confuse, this isn't a Ghost copy, this stuff rips! The chorus offers up even more licks and a nice rhythmic change of pace. It's a pretty short chorus which I greatly enjoy as the main riff is gripping. Periodically group vocals back various lyrics, and it works well.
After the second chorus, there's a great dual guitar solo over some great guitar chords and a rhythm section that essentially has hunkered down in the pocket and will likely never come out. At ~2:41 we return to the main riff, but the mini licks between each chord are mixed even better and interplay with the lyrics in a way that I wish I could show more musicians as it's excellent songwriting. The track follows this through the end to one final chorus before it closes out at just over four minutes.
If the rest of the album sounds like this then Spirit Adrift might have a killer album on their hands and I look forward to seeing what's coming down the pipeline as we get closer to this release. Currently Spirit Adrift is Nathan Garrett on guitars and vocals with Marcus Bryant on drums. You can already pre-order this album here at 20 Buck Spin. Check out their other work here as well. I doubt you'll be disappointed.
At the tail end of July, we were graced with another track from Red Fang, a favorite of mine and one that has been featured here on Mainly Tuning out before. "Stereo Nucleosis" comes to us from Relapse Records via the singles series on Adult Swim, a popular place for numerous bands to release new music. It's exciting to see considering we haven't seen much from the Red Fang camp since their single "Antidote" in 2019.
If you're a fan of Red Fang this track will not disappoint you though it's definitely not the crème de la crème of their offerings. It starts with some Mastodon worthy chords and riffing before some washed-out vocals join in over this excellent intro. The chorus has a delightful hook though, "Bloodless, but breathing, no hope," which is sung over an equally catchy musical riff. It's 3 minutes of some excellent Heavy Metal.
The things about this album that take away from it are few, but I believe they are big enough to mention. Most of this track feels like a Mastodon b-side, which isn't a bad thing because most of Mastodon's catalog is full of amazing material, but it does make this track seem a bit like a cover track. Honestly, the reverb/delay that's on the vocals is my least favorite part of this offering, and it's too bad it was mixed the way that it was because I think a tighter vocal track would punch this bad boy into a higher weight class.
Check the track out and let me know what you think! Are you a fan of Red Fang and did this song live up to your internal image of them, or is it meh? If you want to purchase or stream this track elsewhere, you can do so here. Thank you for sticking around while I took a week off as a summer break, and I look forward to curating some more goodness for you in the coming weeks!
This has been big in the media circles and I wanted to help share the love for this group. Helmed by Dorthia Cottrell of Windhand, Gina Gleason of Baroness fame, and long time Gleason collaborator Leanne Martz, Darling has released a track titled "Baptists". Any proceeds made from this track will be going to a charitable group through a name-your-price format on Bandcamp.
The song starts with Cottrell's haunting vocals singing "I blame the Baptists, our fathers and the law for what's become of you." With the utterance of "our fathers," a pulsing note starts playing on either a highly treated guitar or a synth. Eerie guitar licks start playing over this pulsing series of notes creating a psychedelic experience that is solemn and concerned. At ~1:15 the tone shifts to a lighter and brighter, yet still very psych, tone with the lyrics "But oh, the sun was shining." It's a refreshing change from the darkness of the previous minute and adds some excellent dynamic shading to the song.
At ~1:47 we shift again with a raw guitar sound, like someone's ax fell over while it was still plugged into a powered-up amp. The pulsing notes return and the listener is once again washed out to sea in this dark trip, "And now they're scared of me, but who could blame them anyway. It's only natural to distinguish between predator and prey." The narrative this song dances around is cold and gripping, yet full of desire and awareness. Musically the song shifts back to that bright section again at ~3:03, this section seems to be functioning as a chorus. Again, it's a welcome break from the bleakness of the verses. We return to that darkness at 3:38, only it's even more sinister now because the synth-like pulsing has been paired with palm-muted guitar chords that add this heaviness to it. This moment rides out for about a minute to the song's end.
I hope this track is tied to a larger release because it's a wonderful piece. The evil sounds shaded in with the moments of light and airy brightness creates this intangible feeling of cryptic awareness and despair while never giving you the reason why. Some moments seem to be talking about a tragic passing of someone, but the narrator seems to be/feel responsible, but also is pinning that responsibility to the community at large. I'm hooked and you should check it out today!
Black Crown Initiate has landed at a crossroads of Opeth, Gojira, Mastodon, and Between The Buried And Me, which is a pretty intense cocktail of sound. It's kept me at a distance from them periodically in the past. However, this new track is great. Clocking in at nearly 8 minutes it takes the listener on a journey of riffs, transitions, dynamics, and excellent musicianship.
For those who aren't in the know about this band, they are a Progressive Death Metal band hailing from Reading, Pennsylvania. They are currently signed to Century Media Records and have been creating music since 2012. The band self describe themselves as "the sound of a sentient being at war with itself and everything else; an entity holding on for dear life as its inner and outer world dies."
There are moments where I'm shocked to not see Tommy Giles Rodgers listed on this track as a guest vocalist as James Dorton and Andy Thomas, BCI's vocalists, capture these amazing clear highs and also achieves some truly excellent growls. Honestly, I'm floored at the performance offered on this track from Dorton and Thomas, it's something they should truly be proud of. There are even more moments where Andy Thomas and Ethan McKenna weave around each other on their guitars that captures my imagination, the riffs are insane. Nick Shaw holds down the bass like a pro and allows the rest of the band the freedom to work their magic. It's a professional sound from a professional band. Sadly I couldn't confirm who was drumming on this performance, but if it was a live performance they should be applauded as well, it's so good.
The track opens with this clean guitar lick that is very reminiscent of late-career Gojira and early/mid-career Opeth. Drums join in to liven up the sound at ~0:28, creating a very hypnotic moment, almost meditative. It starts building the tension and the band unleashes into the next moment at ~0:56. Blast beats backbone these soaring clean vocals and these crushing guitar riffs. The song transitions to a quick moment with some excellent rhythm guitar at ~1:24 before switching to a spacey riff with some delightful bass work at ~1:29. Growling vocals come echoing in from the void and develop this part of the track into an interesting and ethereal moment.
At ~2:17 the guitars ramp up again and bring the listener to a proper Death Metal atmosphere complete with the Gojira pick squeals adding a nice rhythmic moment. We return to what seems like the chorus that was introduced back at ~0:56 and then the song transitions into this Prog chug fest with an excellent vocal performance at ~3:27. The song lives in this pock for a while before switching to another musical moment at ~4:14 where we return to that Death Metal section. It still crushes and honestly, could go a little longer in my humble opinion.
There's a startling transition at ~4:56 when a solo strummed acoustic guitar enters the picture. It's a beautiful moment that is very reminiscent of Opeth's more Prog based performances but in a really good way. The chord choices are excellent and it adds some nice contrast to the song. More of the band joins in at ~5:37 and the band jams on this moment for a while. Again, this section could go on a little longer and I would dearly enjoy it. The lead guitar continues as we switch back to a heavier sound at ~6:06.
This transition is seamless, and just as seamlessly a solo begins at ~6:20, and what a solo it is. This player's chops are astounding. The solo switches over to a guitar harmony lead line and the song continues on revamping on this moment until the song begins to fade out at ~7:17. Fading out was an interesting choice and a welcomed one.
I don't have a single critique of this song, and I highly encourage you to check it out. In the meantime, I'll be digging back into their catalog and revisiting some of the material I've passed over. If you like this track, you can pre-order their upcoming album on Century Media Records which is due to be released on August 7th, 2020.
Doom Folk purveyor The Devil's Trade debuted a new track on YouTube yesterday adding another welcomed track to their offerings from The Call Of The Iron Peak. Like "Dead Sister", "Három Árva" doesn't disappoint with it's haunting wailing winds of music. The lyrics to this song are sung in Hungarian, Dávid Makó's native language (from what I can find from my research), and it gives this song a delightfully bleak sound.
Három Árva translates to "Three Orphans", and the lyrics appear to tell a dark story about three newly orphaned children struggling to find their new path. The lyrics indicate they're newly orphaned through the line (after translation) "The three orphans are leaving, all three in earthly mourning." Early mourning is a fun play on words for leaving in the morning and leaving early in the mourning period.
From the afterlife their mother tries to speak to them to be wary of those who may take them in, "I can not wake up my children, the haze has covered my eyes. You three have got a stepmother who dresses you in white, when she dresses you in white, your backs bloom with blood," and "Oh lord, protect the orphan, save them from exile and fleeing from door to door." The Hungarian language brings a level of dread and despair to the words and feelings that are unparalleled.
The music truly transports the listener to a stormy dark peak, with the wind whipping past speaking the ancient words of a lonely mountain. The clean guitar uses reverb twang to create this dynamic tension that quite literally gave me chills. Makó's vocals pull every ounce of humanity and emotion out of thin air and paints them on sonic canvas using his words and his dramatic wails. Pairing the two creates a landscape of gloom, darkness, desolation, and melancholy.
To put it simply, this track is excellent. You should listen to it, right now. The Call Of The Iron Peak drops August 28th, 2020 through Season of Mist and can be pre-ordered here.
In other news, Ipecac Records dropped a new song from artist Alain Johannes titled "Hallowed Bones". Johannes has enjoyed quite a career and is releasing his third solo album July 31st, 2020 titled Hum. This track exists in stark contrast to The Devil's Trade. Johannes describes the track as "Hallowed Bones came to me first as a visual of dancing around a fire in the woods at night. Almost like a pagan dance, a ritual in a trance celebrating love in the present and it’s continued pull after our loved ones are gone."
The feeling of this track is light, joyful, very similar to the glow of an early summer morning. It's serene yet full of possibility. The lyrics reflect this feeling in a welcoming way with whimsical yet cryptic phrases like "In the hardness of a new day, searching in my magic hat so the child won't fade away," or "when the tide of the moon bespoke, did I hear deeper still I understood once I woke."
The music features hand drums and some excellent finger-picked guitar. His voice is rosy and calming. It features this delightful descending riff between the verses that is only a small step from having a sitar feeling to it, which is captivating. This makes for a calming and imaginative 215 seconds of enjoyment. Alain Johannes's upcoming album Hum is available for pre-order right now.
If "Három Árva" has brought you down, "Hallowed Bones" is sure to pick you right back up and I urge you to enjoy both today!
The Ocean has returned to the scene with a gripping track from their forthcoming album Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic due to be released via Metal Blade Records September 25th, 2020. I don't think it's too far to say that The Ocean is the Snarky Puppy of the Heavy Metal scene as they've identified as a collective of ever-changing members and collaborators helmed by Robin Stap (much like Snarky Puppy's Michael League) until 2008 when the name transitioned from The Ocean Collective to simply The Ocean.
Even with the name change, there have been people added and removed from the mixture with the newest members dating back to 2018. In total, if you include active members of the collective, inactive members of the collective, touring members, and session members, there have been over 70 individuals involved in one way or another. If you'd like an in-depth bio Metal Blade features one here that's excellent.
I got on the train with The Ocean on a previous album titled Pelagial which dropped in 2013. I was pretty blown away with the sound, and look forward to doing a deep dive into their catalog. However, it's hard to escape the influence and renown of this group's skills, music, and live shows. If you haven't yet checked them out, you should do yourself the favor. Today's track is the newly released "Jurassic | Cretaceous", which dropped July 1st, 2020. It features guest vocalist Jonas Renkse from Katatonia.
The song starts with a crunchy off and on syncopation rhythm that's quite fun to listen to. Synths and other instruments are slowly added into the mix as it continues. A second guitar is added in and layers some melody over the rhythm, which creates a very cool moment. Just as it starts to hook you the music drops out to this washed-out guitar riff with drumstick percussion. Vocals join in to create this tense and hypnotic moment. This moment is interspersed with some great chugging riffs. The vocals are excellent, they're not quite clean, but they're not quite growls either. Fear not, there are the occasional growls later in the track. They fit the sound of this performance perfectly.
Perhaps it's the animation but this track takes my imagination to a pit of primordial ooze, or to an early galaxy with masses of matter crashing together to create protoplanets. Roughly four minutes in, the music brings us to this quiet moment with a clean guitar riff with a nice layer of delay. Drums join in, and then vocals creating this excellent moment before returning to what seems to be the chorus.
What is working really well in this track is that these moments are woven in and out of each other while still feeling fresh, and new. The transitions are seamless. About halfway through there is a melodic break from the vocals that feature the intro riff again, but in a new context. The song switches to a dark moment with a somber piano sound with some synths in the background. It's very slightly reminiscent of the Stranger Things intro, but only just so. This section features a great bass solo/riff and the synths match the vibe of this track perfectly. At ~7:29 vocals come back into the song with this great harmony moment that's quite magical.
The music jumps to a new section around the 7:53 mark that is possibly my favorite part of the track. Musically it feels really strong, and the vocals are excellent. This transitions to another spacey interlude with clean vocals before swinging into this wall-of-sound moment at ~8:59 that's captivating. Around the 9:25 mark, the song starts building to its climax with this ripping riff. The mix is excellent and it's like being caught in a hurricane.
It transitions to a new section that is very close to a breakdown. Again, this song weaves in and out of its pieces and movements with ease. The songwriting is excellent. The chorus comes back, still feeling fresh before it segues to a melodic movement, which builds into this amazing Black Metal-esque movement that carries the album to it's crushing end. It's magnificent stuff.
This song is 13 and a half minutes of some excellent music developed and written by some extremely skilled musicians. I couldn't encourage you enough to check it out. We have a long wait to get to September, but it should definitely be worth it. In the meantime, you can catch up on all of their previous releases here on their Bandcamp.
This current iteration of The Ocean features Robin Staps on guitar, programming, and backing vocals, Loïc Rossetti on lead vocals, Paul Seidel on drums, Mattias Hägerstrand on bass, David Ramis Åhfeldt on guitar, and Peter Voigtmann on synths. You can pre-order their new album here via Metal Blade Records. Enjoy!
I'm stepping a little out of my comfort zone for today's edition of Fresh Tracks with some Power Metal coming out of Tucson, Arizona via Prosthetic Records. Judicator dropped a lyric video on Prosthetic's YouTube channel on June 25th, 2020 for the title track of their fifth album "Let There Be Nothing". While I don't normally dabble in Power Metal all that often, I find that Judicator's story is humble and, in the words of the band themselves, serendipitous; the founding members of this band met at a Blind Guardian concert, became friends and started a band. They certainly hold to their interests and their beginnings with this new track.
Like many Power Metal tracks, the track has an overall epic feeling to it. The guitars, vocals, and bass all sound great, however, the drums I found were lacking in the beginning. I wanted some more punch from the snare, more presence in the mix. There's also a period where it feels like the bass drum is a hair of beat at ~0:54 and it slowly lags more and more offbeat, additionally it doesn't feel mixed well with the other percussion.
The intro starts strong with some chugging guitars backed by some clean guitar chords ringing out periodically. The tension grows and grows until the main riff is introduced. It's pretty excellent. As the quiet portions of the verse weave in and out you gain an appreciation for the band's control of their dynamic range. The chorus is excellent with the final line "Let there be light! Let there be nothing!" Fun fact, there are a few funny typos in the lyric video about halfway through.
The solo is excellent with dual guitar lead intro before switching to a fun Iron Maiden flavored section at ~5:11 that is quite enjoyable. At ~5:41 the solo kicks into gear with a classic Power Metal shred fest for about 20 seconds. We return to the verse, but it carries with it the frenetic energy from the solo, which is a welcome change to the song. The bass drum mix seems to have improved post solo as well. The song ends with a catchy call and response section I foresee working really well at live concerts if those ever happen again.
For me, the most enjoyable part of this band is that the lyrical content has substance. A quote from their Facebook page describes it as being "steeped in historical references and tales of the past. However, the blood pumping through the veins of the music is -as ever- rich with human emotion and rooted in universal experience, regardless of what era your fortune has dictated you dwell within." This album's narrative is centered around a Byzantine general named Belisarius and his quest to "reconquer former Roman territories". Their other albums are also historically inclined (per Wikipedia) as their debut album, "King Of Rome" follows the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte, and their second album follows Prussian history and Frederick the Great.
Judicator is John Yellend on vocals, Tony Codisco on rhythm/lead guitar, Jordan Elcess on bass guitar, Balmore Lemus on lead guitars, and Ulises Hernandez on drums. If you're into Power Metal or are a budding history buff with Heavy Metal tendencies, check this track out. You might be like me and find yourself pleasantly surprised at how much you enjoy the last 9 minutes of music. Judicator's new album "Let There Be Nothing" drops July 24th, 2020, and you can order it here. In the meantime, you can listen to the track here on YouTube. If you discover your love what Judicator has to offer, check out their Bandcamp here.
Another fun discovery from a random walk down Internet Way comes a new single from Earache Records titled "House Of Noise" by UK Band Massive Wagons. Hailing from Lancaster, England, this Rock band got their start in 2009. This is a little lighter fare than the usual offerings from Mainly Tuning Out, but it makes for some fun listening. It's refreshing to hear some straight-up Rock in this world of sub and microgenres. "House Of Noise" is the title track from their upcoming album.
I get a blend of Mike McColgan, David Lee Roth, and Bon Scott when I hear this vocalist sing, less in tone and more in attitude which is enjoyable and scratches that nostalgia itch. However, I wouldn't say this music feels nostalgic. It feels like what a Rock band would sound like in the 2020s. A slight Ska Punk feel minus the skank and the brass, the punchy tone of Hard Rock without the edgy moody vibe, the crisp rock sounds of ACDC without the weight of tradition. I'm surprised they haven't hit radio airplay in my area because I think they'd do well.
The song starts with a crisp overdriven guitar riff that climbs up and up, and on the repeat, the vocals and drums join in. It keeps adding layers before it punches through to a bouncy and fun chorus: "I'm just smashing my face into another tomorrow, closing today go over yesterday's audio, killing some time till I'm flushed out or told to go. I'm only killing some time inside my house of noise, killed by the climb, killed by the lows and the highs, killing some time till I go deaf in my house of noise." It also features a pretty classic-sounding solo that, I feel, doesn't disappoint. It flows really well, and feels very well crafted in its sound.
It shouldn't be a surprise to discover that several publications list their influences as being bands like Rainbow, Slade, and UFO. They've got four albums and an EP under their belt with their fifth album "House Of Noise" dropping July 17th, 2020 via Earache Records. If you're looking for something fun to listen to and you're a fan of "wild, ballsy and LOUD old school rock n’ roll" than this should the trick your looking and then some. And if you dig this track you should definitely check out "Bangin In Your Stereo". Should you enjoy what you hear then check out the link below to pre-order this album.
We're skipping Jazz day for this week as two tracks caught my attention that I wanted to share. First up is a new-to-me band that has an album up for pre-order on 20 Buck Spin called Skeleton. After digging around the internet I found a bio of Skeleton placing them in the Austin Texas scene forming in 2014 and contains Victor Ziolkowsky on drums and vocals, David Ziolkowsky on guitar, and Alex Recide on bass. The song is called "The Sword" and it's this funky blend of punk, a hint of hardcore, and a healthy dose of Black 'n' Roll, which is a blend of Black Metal and Rock 'n' Roll made popular by bands like Kvelertak and Midnight.
"The Sword" starts with a high distortion tone with a slow and ominous intro lasting ~28 seconds. From here on in it's this Thrash/Black Metal/Rock experience with a vocalist who sounds like Tim Armstrong of Rancid if he joined Darkthrone, which oddly isn't a bad thing. It spends the rest of two minutes bouncing back and forth from the pummeling Rock verses and the evil Black Metal choruses. Lasting two minutes and 27 seconds in total it's hard not to want to play this track a few more times and just rock out. Check it out the track here on YouTube. If you like what you're hearing you can pre-order the LP here at 20 Buck Spin. It will be shipping out on July 10th, 2020.
Next up is a track off the new self-titled Lamb Of God (LOG) album that was released June 19th, 2020 titled "Gears". LOG has been putting out music since 1994, and this album marks their tenth studio album (if you include the two releases under the name Burn The Priest). It seems to be getting solid reviews, and I look forward to taking in the whole album this weekend.
While I don't know LOG's discography as a whole, this track was excellent! The riffs are gripping, the tone is tight, and Randy Blythe's vocals still sound great. It really gets the headbanging going, and that chorus riff might be one of my favorites they've ever offered. Lyrically you're getting some pretty typical offerings including critiques of consumerism and man-made annihilation, but it fits in the music perfectly and is well written compared to many other metal tracks (here's looking at you LoBodomy! Sorry Children Of Bodom, they can't all be winners).
It's great to see such an established band continue to put out some quality music. There aren't many metal bands that can continue for 26 years and still sound fresh. Where I to guess, I'd say it definitely helped that they went on two hiatuses as breaks are important. You can listen to "Gears" here on YouTube, and you can pick up the album here at their store.
Heavy Metal/Doom Metal outfit Spirit Adrift dropped an EP titled "Angel & Abyss Redux EP" on June 18, 2020 to support one of Bandcamp's donation campaigns. The release is supporting the June 19th, 2020, NAACP Legal Defense Fund campaign, and further, they've decided that "100% of proceeds from this EP will be donated to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, in perpetuity." It's been refreshing to see so many bands setting things up to contribute to so many causes these days.
The first track is the title track "Angel and Abyss Redux". Seeing redux in the title I realized this had some older material it was referencing. According to guitar and vocalist Nate Garrett, it is performed with an "unplugged" vibe to it, featuring clean tone guitars and a hint of reverb/delay to give it that unplugged experience. The original was released in 2019 on Spirit Adrift's album "Divided By Darkness". I scrubbed through the original and honestly, I like this version a lot better. It feels like a much more cohesive product with some excellent musical moments. The dual guitar riffs really shine in this version. My favorite though is this punchy riff that takes over at ~4:30. It feels like this weirdly great blend of Doom and Prog, like a Jethro Tull with attitude. This was the strongest track on the EP.
Track two is "I Think Of Demons" and it's a cover of Roky Erickson & The Aliens. It's a fun acoustic psych-pop track that holds true to the original pretty closely. The leads sound great, and the overall track is pretty fun to listen to. However, this is a strange turn for an EP from a Heavy Metal group. Were someone to send me this track and only this track, I'd never guess they were a Metal band. Still, it's worth a listen.
Track three is a cover of the Jimi Hendrix Experience's track "The Wind Cried Mary". This is arguably my favorite Hendrix track, and this cover had a high bar to clear. Garrett claimed "The Wind Cries Mary" was "one of the first songs I ever learned to play, and Hendrix is the reason I picked up a guitar in the first place. Another obvious choice." Unfortunately, this was, for me, the weakest track on this EP. It was an interesting choice, but the guitars are so washed out in the mix that those nuances in the riffs are almost lost, and the solo really suffers due to the reverb wash as well. It does provide a sense of being otherworldly, which might be the only saving grace of the mixing choice. The vocal performance is great, and on the final "The Wind Cries Mary" there is a great vocal harmony that spiced things up. I wish they had explored the vocal harmonies more, as it may have added something back into the mix that was lost with the guitars.
With a run time of 12 minutes and 11 seconds, this EP is a quick and dirty listen that is worth checking out. Buying it supports a good cause, and it's a pretty fresh take the tracks featured. Favorite track was the title track, but that Erickson track is absolutely worth checking out as well. This EP was released on the 20 Buck Spin label and features Nate Garrett on guitars, vocals, and handclaps, Marcus Bryant on bongos and shakers, Leon Del Muerte on synths, and Mystical handclaps by Hosianna Mantra.
I came across this odd release while poking around some news sites and the newsletters I get from various labels. A Post Rock release from Los Angeles, California based band This Will Destroy You offers the listener 58 minutes of some calming ambient music that is reminiscent of Explosions In The Sky and some moments of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Based on my initial research it appeared this was released June 9th, 2020.
However, this is not the case. The background behind this album is not your typical story. Vespertine was crafted to function as the score to the identically titled restaurant opened in Culver City, California in 2017, but the release was offered for public consumption this year. The band walks you through what each piece is attempting to accomplish for the restaurant experience on their bandcamp, found here.
On face value, it does seem ridiculous, but I started reflecting on the fact that movies are scored, television is scored, etc. Why is it so crazy that a high-end restaurant experience would be scored? Most restaurants have music playing in the background, and I don't think it's too big a step to have custom made music specific to your venue if you can afford it.
Musically this is definitely an instrumental Post-Rock album. It has the typical swells and echoing dynamics that create these ambient moments that hang in the air. These moments are quite calming but don't grip my attention. I suppose this is the point of an ambient piece of music, but were I not watching the screen, I couldn't tell you where one track stopped and another started.
While researching this record I found quite a few highly positive reviews, even one was a 10/10. This is not a 10/10 album for me, but I also don't normally gravitate to this genre, so I don't feel comfortable panning it as a release. From my perspective, it's perfectly okay, and I believe it serves its purpose for the restaurant Vespertine. If you love Explosions In The Sky or previous releases of This Will Destroy You, I highly encourage you to check this out, because I truly believe it would be right in your wheelhouse.
