Freya – Lift The Curse (c) 2007 Victory Records Forged from the fire of Earth Crisis and blessed by the Norse Goddess of TGIF, I submit to you, Freya. Lift The Curse is the newest effort from the Syracuse band that is equal parts metal and hardcore. The structure is certainly hardcore. Some of the guitar fills and breakdowns and the vocals are definitely METAL though. I have never been a fan of really harsh vocal growlings. Freya is on the edge there. The music helps reel it back in a bit, but overall Lift the Curse is a bit too vocal crunchy for me. Freya does go and keep it short attention span friendly though, with tracks lingering around the two and a half minute mark, with the exception of the prerequisite cover of War Pigs. All in all a good release, but again I’d like to hear less growl. –Jerry Actually
Category: Metal
Ill Nino [Under Cover Sessions]
Ill Nino The Under Cover Sessions (c) 2006 Cement Shoes RecordsPrior to the release of their next LP, Ill Nino (or their label) attempts to cash in with a brief 5 song e.p. It contains 2 original studio tracks that suck and 3 covers. The Peter Gabriel cover and the Nirvana cover are good everything else is pretty lame. They have a Sepulturaesque tribal drum thing going and that is cool. Here is the deal though, growling vocals suck a goat. Get over your self and learn to sing. It you can’t do that, at least learn to annunciate. Get it? Got it? Good! They sent me a sticker though and I appreciate that. Yet still Two thumbs up, 8 thumbs down.With all our love,Team !upstarter
Godhead
Godhead – The Shadow Line (c) 2006 Cement Shoes RecordsMusic today is becoming so bad that I expect the return of butt rock hair bands in droves any day. Godhead has much of the charm of an Alice in Chains or a Candlebox. The songs are mostly three and a half minute radio rock marvels. Apparently the band is looking to "get to that next level" whatever that is. If you ask me this is built to sell. Because of the excellent financial backing, however, Godhead's new CD The Shadow Line does include a bonus DVD. They also sent me a cool looking sticker and I must give them props for that. I do love the schwag!-Jerry Actually
On The Last Day
On The Last Day – Meaning in the Static (c) 2006 Victory RecordsNot my cup of tea, yet again. On The Last Day is a screamo band from Seattle. Whomever is responsible for their one sheet is sadly mistaken when they refer to them as hardcore. They are about as hardcore as Tool. Every song sounds remarkably like the one preceeding it. Musically, On The Last Day, holds some promise. Their musicianship appears to be high quality, however, there is a serious lack in the creativity department. Beyond that I think perhaps if I hear one more band with the forced snarl/growling vocal sound (you know exactly what I'm talking about), I may have to lose my lunch.
Mastodon
Mastodon – Blood Mountain (c) 2006 Warner Bros. RecordsMastodon, “Blood Mountain;” Scaling the peak. Approximately one minute into Mastodon’s third full length release, “Blood Mountain,” one gets the feeling they aren’t exactly listening to just any old record. From every riff, every transition or seeming lack thereof to every�beat, bass swirl and drum�fill to the�ever changing vocal styles of both Troy Sanders and Brent Hinds, (not to mention guests Scott Kelly of Neurosis and Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age) all the way down to the immpeccable guitar tones and drum sounds, this is a release to be taken seriously. And that is no accident. Mastodon have themselves claimed this as their greatest work to date, and while they have cultivated a loyal following thus far, they clearly had intentions of raising their proverbial bar, dare I say at the risk of alienating some entry-level fans. At times quite heady, filled with complex timing, intricate guitar work, blazing drums, highly unique lyrics dealing with myriad fantastical creatures and adventures sung in interesting ways,�and even a few “what the hell what was THAT!?” noises, Blood Mountain is certainly a couple of things. First, a finely crafted work of art by highly skilled individuals. Second, one intense son-of-a-bitchin’ ride. Never a dull moment, never a predictable one. As a side-note, upon waiting for the hidden track to kick in, a discussion about how Rob Halford is the most badass gay guy on Earth fired up. Just as I made my final�note about how even the most jock-esque dudes fail to stack up to his merits, Mastodon appeared once more, simply to laugh at my point. -Nick McGarvey�
Slayer – Christ Illusion
Slayer – Christ Illusion (c)2006 Warner Bros. RecordsThere are 2 types of people in the world, the people that think Slayer rules, and the people that suck. With over 2 decades of butality under their collective belts, Slayer, unlike so many other bands, has not lost its diabolical touch. Slayer will still frighten the crap out of the feint of heart with all their music and If anything, Christ Illusion is their strongest material in a decade. It is umistakably signature sounding and that is just how it should be. I’m impressed by the bands ability to keep things fresh while at the same time keeping consistent. The one thing I do notice about how Slayer has progressed over time is that they are so much tighter as a unit now. Go out tomorrow and get Christ Illusion and play it loud. Personal favorites include Jihad and the scathingly satirical Supremist.
The Defilers
The Defilers – Metal Mountains (c) 2005 Dry Run RecordsStraight outta motherfucking Louisville! The Defilers pack the power of the Cult, Kiss, Clutch, Black Sabbath and Zeke into one sweet rock and roll cavalcade. "Metal Mountains" presents 9 tracks of progressive metallic indie-like rock without the pretension. Basically what we got here is heavy rock and roll. It seems that if all things must run the viscous circle, a resurrection of early 70's power rock is way low on the list of evils. The one downfall to "Metal Mountains" (at least for me), some of the track are just way too damn long. But you should determine your own attention span. None the less, If you like to rock and you like to crank it really freakin' loud, then by all means head to the Metal Mountains!
thelastplaceyoulook
thelastplaceyoulook – The Lies We Tell Ourselves (c) 2005 thelastplaceyoulook"The Lies We Tell Ourselves" is the newest EP from Houston's own thelastplaceyoulook. the 5 tracks bristle w/ emotion and rock sweet rock. Most folks would probably consider them to be "Screamo" (for the laymen, screamo is heavy emotional music w/ often gutteral and growling death metal like vocals. I mean they really let you feel the pain man.) despite the moniker, thelastplaceyoulook is much more articulate vocally. Don't get me wrong, there is some angst going on there, but we're not looking at Napalm Death or anything. I'm personally not a major fan of the genre, but the songs here are well executed and produced and the press kit that I was sent was phenomenal. just for the record though, you fellas may want to save a few bucks on the press kit and go w/ a simple black and white 1-sheet. I suspect most people gloss over the material and then send it to file 13. Incidentally, when I saw this picture, I went out and got some Shiner Bock. Tasty Stuff. But enough of the rambling, thelastblaceyoulook kicks down a metallic emo assault to the senses. If that is your cup o' tea, head over to www.interpunk.com to pick up a copy of "The Lies We Tell Ourselves".
Scars of Tomorrow
Scars of Tomorrow – The Beginning of (c) 2006 Thorp RecordsSubmitted for your approval, the brutal hardcore metal sounds of Scars of Tomorrow. “The Beginning of” is an all out aggressive assault of the early years of Scars of Tomorrow. The new release re-surfaces out-of-print material from the band’s pre Victory era. Much of the CD has a tendency to be too melodic and too metal for my tastes. Not to say it is a bad release, cause it ain’t. It’s that I hung up the strictly metal hat many moons ago. Combing Crunching guitars, pounding drums, growling vox, thundering bass and layer on the harmonics and melodic guitar lines and you’ve got yourself the beginning of Scars of Tomorrow.
Stereotactic
Stereotactic – The Dawning © 2005 Avebury Records Stereotactic, hailing from the dusty desert plains of Bakersfield, CA –home to the likes of Buck Owens, Korn and Philo Beddoe–is a 4 piece emo/metal band with a remarkable facsimile like quality. The Dawning is the bands first full length after their regionally successful self-released EP. Sadly it boils down to the pop-emo-metal that I just can't stand. I forced myself to listen to about half of the CD before I wanted to rip it out of the player and smash the crap out of it. Though the band has reasonable musicianship, the talent falls upon deaf ears. The basic principle being, "Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should." The songs are all fully geared for the sterile sanitized realm of commercial rock radio and are comprised of pretty much all the things you've heard before–The crap I don't want to hear again.