Rock In Review

Epicurean - A Consequence of Design
Metal Blade Records

* * * *
4 Stars

With this re-release of 2006’s A Consequence of Design, Epicurean is hitting the Metal scene hard with this Melodic Death metal masterpiece! Although the regular screamed vocals by John Laramy are not all exactly my favorite, the clean vocals sound incredible and his sound definitely fits in with the rest of the band’s sound. As for the rest of the band, everybody sounds great on the album and there are obvious influences from bands like Opeth and some more Symphonic sounding bands like Epica. Overall, I really like what Epicurean has put together as far as sound and overall quality. As far as favorite songs go, I can’t really choose any for the mere fact that they all have something I really like about them. One thing i really like id the fact that there is another newer band out there writing songs over 5 and 6 minutes long. That always helps for a good change of pace when stuck in the monotony of 3 to 4 minute songs. If I had to mention a couple of songs to definitely check out, I’d have to say “Of Malice and Majesty”, “Anathema: The Gate Keeper”, and “To Cast the Mourning Shadow”. These three songs come later in the album, but they all show different styles and influences the band put into the music. As an overall album, I definitely love this album and recommend it to any Melodic Death metal fan!

Soilent Green - Inevitable Collapse in the Presence of Conviction
Metal Blade Records

* * * * 1/2
4 1/2 Stars

Soilent Green is back from a 3 year writing period with a new album, and this album is a force to reckoned with! Compared to their 2005 release Confrontation, Inevitable Collapse in the Presence of Conviction has more Death metal influence with more quick and choppy sections that are heavily laden with blast beats provided by drummer Tommy Buckley (also the drummer for Crowbar). On top of the blast beats and other insane drum bits, the vocals laid down by Ben Falgoust (also the vocalist for Goatwhore) fit perfectly with all the music laid down and certainly resemble the stylings of his Goatwhore material. To take this chaotic piece of art to the next level, guitarist Brian Patton (also the guitarist for EyeHateGod) and bassist Scott Crochet (also the bassist for Hostile Apostle) both tear the roof down with their ever changing riffs of different Metal styles and even some Jazz and Blues influence thrown in. Ultimately, this album sows a great mix of the other bands these four guys play in, creating (as mentioned before) a beautiful work of artistic chaos. With all of these influences and sounds brought together, I’d have to give it up to “Mental Acupuncture”, “Antioxidant”, and “All This Good Intention Wasted in the Wake of Apathy”. Honestly, these three songs just stick out to me for their overall quality. The entire album is incredible and flows together perfectly, but those three just stick out a bit over the rest for me. Overall, if you’re looking to get into the New Orleans “Sludge metal” game, check out Inevitable Collapse in the Presence of Conviction on Metal Blade Records!

Friday night was filled with Metal as the In Thrash We Trust Tour tore it’s way through Raleigh, NC…

On May 9, 2008, the In Thrash We Trust Tour rolled its way through the Volume 11 tavern in Raleigh, NC as Light This City, Soilent Green, Death Angel, and God Forbid put on an amazing show! This was one of the longest shows I’ve been to in a while, but I had a great time as the Metal kept rollin’ on into Saturday morning.

The first band to play was actually a local opener called Age of Despair. These guys played before the show was supposed to start, but they actually weren’t half bad! They had a very old school sound that combined sounds from bands like Pantera and Fireball Ministry, but overall, I enjoyed their set.

To get the regular show goin’, Light This City came onstage and tore the venue up! (Not literally) This was the second time I’ve seen these guys and they continue to amaze me. Their style is still not one I would normally jam to, but they put on a great show and vocalist Laura Nichol can wail! She was just as brutal as the first time I saw them, and I really wouldn’t mind going for round 3!

Keepin’ this show kickin’ was the third band of the overall night, Soilent Green. Having proudly played under the name of a 1970s horror flick (Soylent Green) and hailing from the land of Sludge metal (New Orleans, LA), SG absolutely annihilated the place with the killer line-up of Ben Falgoust (Goatwhore) on vocals, Brian Patton (EyeHateGod) playing guitar, Scott Crochet (Hostile Apostle) on bass, and Tommy Buckley (Crowbar) playing drums! As just mentioned, this band has quite an all-star line-up with every member being involved with some other band. Personally, I am also a fan of both Goatwhore and Crowbar, so I already love what Ben and Tommy do, but together with tis line-up, SG is a KILLER band! Their set consisted of some older songs together with some new songs off their newest album Inevitable Collapse in the Presence of Conviction, such as “Mental Acupuncture”, “Blessed in the Arms of Servitude”, and “For Lack of Perfect Words”. As a whole, the set was insane and these guys put on a great show. After their set and Death Angel’s set, I was able to get an interview with Brian. Some of the things we discussed were why they chose the name Soilent Green, some of the line-up changes they’ve had and influences on him and the band. Overall, with a great viewing experience and an interview (with some other discussions) under my belt for the evening, I had a really great experience with Soilent Green and I’d love to hang out with these guys again sometime.

After a great set from Soilent Green, it was time to get a lesson in Thrash with the masters, Death Angel. With this show being the first time in 18 years DA has played in North Carolina, an excellent show was to be expected and they delivered! Everybody in the band was absolutely incredible and vocalist Mark Osegueda put on a great show while showing off his, obvious, vocal skills. As a bit of a gift to this NC crowd, they actually played a couple of songs for the first time on this tour to go with some other older songs and some songs off their new album Killing Season including “Lord of Hate”, “Sonic Beatdown”, and “Buried Alive”. Overall, the entire set was awesome, and I was glad to finally get to see them live! After the whole show was over, I was able to get an interview with guitarist Ted Aguilar and bassist Dennis Pepa. Honestly, this was the longest interview I’ve had with the least amount of questions asked and it was a bit more personal than most I’ve done. These guys were really cool to hang out with and talk to while they were hitting me with some pretty interesting stuff like influences on them and bands they like to listen to and things like that. Also, these two had some really good advice for people starting bands. Overall, another great experience with these guys and would definitely jump at the chance to do this again. (And as a personal favor for them, make sure to hit their Myspace page at www.myspace.com/deathangel or their website at www.deathangel.com)

The last band to hit the stage for the night was God Forbid. What a way to end this show! before seeing them live, I had never heard a lot of their material, but I was absolutely impressed with these guys and their performance was insane!

As a whole, this show was absolutely awesome show to go to and I had an incredible time talking to the guys from the bands and I’d love to see any of these bands play again!

Brian Patton (Soilent Green) Interview
Ted Aguilar and Dennis Pepa (Death Angel) Interview

***WARNING: Comments made by band members in interviews may contain language normally censored in our reviews. Since the recording is live, we are not able to censor that material, so please be advised of that.***

Trent Reznor is at it again with giving away more music as a free download!

This time he has released the latest NIN album in pretty much any digital download format you might desire and all are high quality downloads including an audiophile version (better than CD quality if you have the correct equipment to listen on).

As I’m writing this I am listening to the final tracks on the album and while as a whole it has it’s ups and downs it’s certainly worth the download.

Complete with a PDF of the cover / cd sleeve artwork you can even burn it and have a regular CD quality copy of Trent’s latest.

Download it here.

No mosh pits were to be found as Metal hit Charlotte, NC on a Friday night…

Friday, March 2, 2008 was a fairly calm night as far as crowds go during the Symphony X, Epica, and Into Eternity show at the Tremont Music Hall in Charlotte, NC. There was plenty of energy being emitted, don’t get me wrong, but I believe this was the first Metal show I’ve EVER been to with absolutely NO moshing! There was even moshing when I saw Black Label Society (which is weird all in its own), but it’s understandable that there was none because of the styles of Metal being portrayed. Either way, this show was awesome!

The first band to play was the one I was most excited about, Into Eternity! Hailing from Canada, these guys are an incredibly talented group of guys who know how to put on a great show. Everyone in the band was pretty on point during their set, but the best was their vocalist Stu Block. Honestly, he is my favorite vocalist ever and this performance put him WAY over the bar! Hearing him go from one of the craziest growls I’ve heard to some of the highest sung notes I’ve ever heard and back again was an experience I’ll never forget. The three songs I recognized out of the six song set they played were “Timeless Winter”, “Surrounded by Night”, and “Severe Emotional Distress”, which are three of my favorite songs off of their album The Scattering of Ashes. Honestly, the only other thing I could have asked for was for them to play “Pain Through Breathing” so I could hear Stu’s incredible air raid siren technique. Overall, these guys truly amazed me and I can’t wait to have the opportunity to see them live again!

The second band to play was Epica from the Netherlands (and Belgium). I had never really heard to much of this band’s material before the show, but definitely put on a great show despite the absence of their lead vocalist Simone Simons. The stand-in vocalist Amanda Somerville (vocals for the North American tour), however, did a great job along with support from guitarist Mark Jansen with his “death growls”. With influences from bands such as Opeth and Kamelot, Epica definitely showed their talents in songs lasting anywhere from 5 minutes or so to 10 minutes and possibly more! Overall, Epica’s set was great and Mark was a really cool guy to talk to and interview after their set. They definitely got a new fan in me and I can’t wait to see these guys again either.

The moment arrived at last for Symphony X to play! I think I missed the very beginning of their set while I was interviewing Mark Jansen from Epica on their tour bus, but I was able to catch the most of their set which blew me away! I had listened to a bit of Symphony X’s material on their Myspace page previous to the concert date, but to see them live blows that out of the water. The only way I can really explain their sound and some of their look is to say that they were like Fireball Ministry meets Pantera, throw in a keyboardist, amp up the double bass by the drummer, add a bit more speed to some of the songs, put in massive amounts of sweep picking by the guitarist, their bassist looks like Geezer Butler from Black Sabbath/Heaven and Hell from back in the 1970s, and their vocalist had some Rob Halford style vocals goin’ on. I was seriously diggin’ this band during their set! I honestly can’t tell you a single song title of the stuff they played, but I don’t care because I was so overtaken by their abilities and sound that takes old school Metal and mashes it together with new school Metal. Overall, awesome band!

All in all, this was an amazing show to attend and i was super impressed with everybody who played! Skill wise, this show was totally on point and I would love to see it over and over again if possible! Great way to spend a Friday night if I may say so myself!

Shadows Fall tears the house down in Raleigh…

On April 21, 2008, Atlantic Records band Shadows Fall headlined an incredible show at the Lincoln Theater in Raleigh, NC. The supporting bands on the bill were Droid, Arsis, The Showdown, and Kataklysm. With a combined effort from all five acts, Monday night was turned from a monotonous drag to a headbanging good time!

The first band to kick off the night was Long Beach, CA band Droid. Although their set was short because of the number bands playing, Droid definitely brought their A game to start this show with aggression. This was my first Droid experience and I was definitely impressed.

The next band to hit the stage was Arsis. This was my first time hearing Arsis as well and I was definitely impressed with them. They had a great Death/Black metal sound that really helped get you going for the rest of the show. Overall, great live performance.

The third band to play was The Showdown from Elizabethton, TN. These guy really changed the pace again from Death metal to straight Heavy metal. Honestly, I’d say that they were the only band on the bill that sounded anything close to Shadows Fall. Either way, these guys could wail! Their breakdowns were awesome and I liked the Pantera-like feel some of their grooves had. Overall, they put on a great show.

The next to last band to play was legendary Death metal band Kataklysm! Normally I’m not huge into Death metal, but there is definitely an exception for these guys. Everything about their set was awesome and these guys definitely know how to get a crowd goin’! Everybody played everything on point and Maurizio Iacono’s vocals were spot on. Kataklysm proved to be my second favorite band of the night and they are certainly worth going to see again!

Finally, Shadows Fall hit the stage. Enter “massive dreads of doom”! When SF hit the stage, everybody in the venue went nuts and the party got taken to the next level. They played a good 8-10 song set that included songs such as “The Light That Blinds”, “The Power of I and I”, “Redemption”, “Failure of the Devout”, “What Drives the Weak”, and more! Just like Kataklysm, these guys were all on point and Brian Fair’s vocals were incredible. Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for much of a better set to see live.

All in all, I’m glad I finally got to see Shadows Fall play live and gain a few new bands into my arsenal of Metal! If you have the chance to see any of these band play live, go check ‘em out.

Yes that’s right Nine Inch Nails is offering a free MP3 download of their latest single Discipline.

Go ahead make a comment and post your own review.

Download it here.

Emmure - The Respect Issue
Victory Records

* * * * *
5 Stars

Strap on your seatbelts and hold on tight for one of the best breakthrough artists from 2007 continuing through 2008, Emmure! Rolling off their incredible debut album Goodbye to the Gallows, Emmure is releasing their second full length album entitled The Respect Issue. Honestly, I can’t put this album down! Tracks 1-4 are basically one HUGE breakdown before you are shown to another side of Emmure through parts of tracks 5 and 6. Tracks 7, 8, and 10 are all heavy in their own aspects, but the real shocker of the album is track 9 (”Dry Ice”). “Dry Ice” is simply an instrumental track that is slow, soft, and really doesn’t have much to do with the album. Overall, every track on the album has a significant purpose to making this one of the most exciting albums I have heard from Victory Records, but there were a few that stuck out. The one that had the MOST impact on me was “False Love in Real Life” (track 4). As soon as this track ended the first time I heard it, I had to start it over! The breakdowns in the track are UNBELIEVABLE! These breakdowns mark a new era for breakdowns with the slow and heavy effect they have. They are absolutely out of this world! On top of that, vocalist Frank Palmeri does an incredible job absolutely murdering this track. Every thing about it is insane! Really, every track on this album had some sort of incredible effect on me, but “False Love in Real Life” really hit me hard. To get a good glimpse of Emmure’s, more, Progressive sounding side, “Chicago’s Finest” (track 5) and “Tales From the Burg” (track 6). These two songs really combine different feelings and styles to get your heart pumpin’ and your fists movin’! And once again, the breakdown in “Tales From the Burg” is RIDICULOUS! Overall, I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better album out of these guys! All five members did an incredible job keeping up the intensity of their debut album sound. So, if you’re looking for an album to get you pumped and ready to punch someone in the head, check out The Respect Issue by Emmure ASAP!

Death Angel - Killing Season
Nuclear Blast Records

* * * *
4 Stars

Grab your books and hit the classroom, Thrash is back in session! Death Angel is back and still kickin’ it old school with their newest Thrashterpiece, Killing Season! From start to finish, this 11-track album proves that Death Angel has not lost their touch and continues to bring you that classic, old school Thrash metal style. Guitarists Rob Cavestany and Ted Aguilar absolutely tear it up as drummer Andy Galeon and bassist Dennis Pepa pull up the back with their awesome skills. Heading up the attack is vocalist Mark Osegueda, who is on top of his game throughout the album while receiving back-up from Rob and Dennis! Altogether, these guys are so amazing, they leave me practically speechless! As hard as it is to choose favorites amongst the tracks, but three really caught my attention. The first two are the two opening tracks, “Lord of Hate” (track 1) and “Sonic Beatdown” (track 2). “Lord of Hate” is a great opener because it starts off nice and mellow before hitting you full force with Thrash. “Sonic Beatdown” is great because it helps provide classic example after classic example that old school Thrash will NEVER die. As for the third song, the title is “Resurrection Machine” (track 11) and it is worth every second it plays! Really, it never gets to a high velocity of Thrash, but it shows another side of the album with a slower, heavier feel that includes a more mellow sound combined with pure heaviness. Overall, Killing Season is a great album for anyone who enjoys Thrash metal, or if you’re just starting to get into it. Just remember, in 2008, Thrash is back and “Killing Season” has just begun!