Opeth and 3 put on a great show during a side date from the Progressive Nation Tour…

On May 29, 2008, Opeth and 3 played an off date from their current tour, the Progressive Nation Tour with Dream Theater and Between the Buried and Me, at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, SC. With the combined efforts of Opeth, 3, and local Myrtle Beach band Circles in Autumn, this show was an incredible way to spend a Thursday night!

The first band to play was Progressive Death metal band Circles in Autumn. Honestly, I was really impressed with their overall performance. I think they only played three or four songs because of the lengths of the songs, but their musicianship and talent were definitely up to par! Really, I think they were the perfect band to play this show because of their sound that is similar to that of Opeth. Again, overall, these guys were really good and I’d love to see them again!

The second band to play was the “band with a number for a name”, 3. Having seen these guys play not too long ago, I somewhat knew what to expect. I really couldn’t have asked for a better performance out of these guys, and I was really glad to see them perform most of their most recent album The End is Begun. On top of playing most of the material from that album, I was once again impressed by the acoustic guitar skills of guitarist and lead vocalist Joey Eppard when 3 played “Bramfatura” from their album Wake Pig. On top of Joey’s incredible skills, drummer Chris Gartmann and Joe Stote did their awesome drum battle again! Seriously, I can’t stress enough how much skill and talent is packed into those few minutes of showmanship between both Chris and Joe doing their thing, and when Joey plays “Bramfatura”. To see it live is better than any recording or even any video recording of it. It all just adds to an incredible experience that is a 3 set. Overall, I was really glad to get to see 3 play again, and they continue to impress me every time. On a bit of a more personal note, I want to thank these guys again for letting me hang with them for a while and I was really glad they recognized me from the last show. These five guys are truly talented and I can’t wait to see them again!

As if the night couldn’t get any better, Opeth finally hit the stage! Having waited for two years or so to see these guys play live, I was anticipating this very moment and I was NOT disappointed! Honestly, they sound almost exactly like they do on an album, but with an extreme amount of bass in their sound. They were absolutely amazing! Mikael Åkerfeldt’s voice live is just as awesome as on the album, and he really made the set even more enjoyable with his great sense of humor. On top of great vocals and a great sense of humor from Mikael, everyone in the band was on their game, whether it was playing the songs in their set or playing the beginning of requests taken from the crowd before stopping and taking more just to mess with the crowd. the overall set and set experience was one I won’t forget and I would definitely like to experience again.

All in all, this show was a great show with lots of talent packed into three bands and I would go see this exact line-up play again any day of the week!

Cradle to Grave – Texas Medicine
Year of the Sun Records

(4/5)

Baton down the hatches and bunker down low, Cradle to Grave has put out an album that is a force to be reckoned with! With a mix of thrashing guitars, animalistic screams, and a pure adrenaline boosted motive, Texas Medicine is a great example of all the different styles of new Metal all packed into one incredible album! One thing in particular I like about this album is the fact that just about every track is different. Whether you’re getting thrown around by Thrash metal or being pounded in the face by pure aggressive Metal, CtG has risen above a lot of newer bands with their ability to provide fans with great variety. Although some parts of the album kind of start to fall into a bit of a “cookie cutter” Metal style, I think that that’s what helps bring in more fans. Overall, I like, pretty much, everything this album has to offer. As far as good tracks to check out, I suggest “From Nowhere to Nowhere” (Track 5), “I Am Nothing” (Track 6), “F**k It Up” (Track 8), and “Beheaded in Paris” (Track 11). Really, these tracks show a great mix of how this band sounds (at least on THIS album). To get the full spectrum, listen to the whole album (obviously), but I believe that the four listed above will give the gist of CtG’s sound. All in all, if you’re looking for a great, energy-blasted, Metal album, check out the second full release from Cradle to Grave, Texas Medicine!

Epicurean – A Consequence of Design
Metal Blade Records

(4/5)

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 is 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

(4.5/5)

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!