Summer Slaughter Recap

Whoa.. still recovering from the epic day that was Summer Slaughter this past Saturday, arguably one of the best concert experiences I've had yet. We [myself, my brother Adrian and friend Justin] got there right before doors so we were able to catch all the bands [on the main stage], the first of which being deathcore/grind outfit Dismantle the Cyborg from New Hampshire. They weren't too shabby, nothing mind blowing but they weren't painful to sit through, and they're demo I got isn't half bad. Got to grab a spot on the barrier nice and early too. Next were Canadian battle-metallers Blackguard, who put on a show that'd give Children of Bodom a run for their money. The crowd loved them and the pit got into it, a very fun set. If you haven't heard Blackguard before, think if Turisas had a little metal baby with Children of Bodom and that should give you a pretty good idea. Considering they were one of the first bands up, these guys (and girl, drummer Justine) put on a good performance and almost stole the show early on. Decrepit Birth put on a pretty good performance as well, having never heard them before, their brand of death metal was pretty brutal and everyone seemed to enjoy, also vocalist Bill looking like a total madman the entire time added metal points to their performance. Beneath the Massacre were nothing short of brutal, and despite being a pretty passive BtM fan, I really dug the live show, heavy as fuck and people were diggin it. Plus Elliot Desgagnes looks like King Leonidas from "300" fame, so that only added to their epic factor. These guys really tore it up. Origin, who I hadn't seen or heard of before were pretty solid. Each of their members seemed pretty adept at their respective instrument, especially their bass player who was just killing it the whole time. After the Burial were definitely one of the highlights of the night for me, having never seen them before. Last time they were in town they were playing the upstairs stage when Winds of Plague were playing downstairs so I missed them, so I was overdue for a face-melting AtB experience, and boy did I get just that. Say what you will about new vocalist Anthony Notarmaso, but I think the guy is a pretty solid vocalist, both live and on the rerecorded Rareform. He proved himself with a knockout vocal performance and in your face stage presence. The band were tight and everyone got into their set. "Cursing Akhenaten" and "Aspirations" were both particularly badass to enjoy live. Born of Osiris were up next and my friend Jaime came to join us down front. BOO were equally awesome in comparison to AtB. Seeing new songs like "Exist" and "Now Arise" live for the first time was pretty sick, although the fact that they skipped the pseudo-hip-hop bit a the end of "Now Arise" was a bit of a bummer, I was totally looking forward to it, its pretty sweet. As always "Open Arms" and "Bow Down" were most epic. Everyone yelling "Fuckin bow down!" at once is always cool. Haha. Winds of Plague were so awesome my third time around seeing them I don't even know what to say. They've definitely upped their live game, the last two times I saw them their live sound was a little muddy but this time it was crisp and just short of perfect. Their fan base has clearly expanded from the first time I saw them last year, everyone was going nuts for them this time around and I think it served to fuel the band's fire. Seeing "Soldiers of Doomsday" live for the first time was cool, and ended with "Reloaded" was just great. Pit and crowd surfing action was awesome, I surfed right up for the last scream of Reloaded, twas most epic. After WoP were done we left the pit to get some air/not die. Darkest Hour were Darkest Hour, these guys are alright for a quick listen on CD but live they're just like a weak version of Unearth. Metalcore, I get it, and I say that as a pretty big metalcore fan. Ensiferum were nothing short of epic, and they announced they'll be back in the fall for a headlining tour, which seems a must-see. Necrophagist were as brutal as one would expect, it was a real treat getting to see them live. Song after song was executed with such precision, and they were totally brutal, the perfect descriptor for this band. All in all, a damn good show. The lack of Dying Fetus and Suffocation was a bit of a downer, but what are you gonna do. Summer Slaughter 2009, definitely not a tour to be missed.


Jaime, Adrian, Justin and I with Winds of Plague!

Wake Up!

Lets take a moment to reflect on how epic the new Suicide Silence video for "Wake Up" is..



Reminds me of the trippy old video Black Sabbath did for "Paranoid," cool imagery, awesome video from these guys.

New Junk from Every Time I Die

ETID have set September 15 as the release date for New Junk Aesthetic, their upcoming album with producer Steve Evetts. According to Blabbermouth the track listing for New Junk is as follows. "The Marvelous Slut" is currently streaming on MySpace and the band have also just released a series of tour dates for their fall headline trek.

01. Roman Holiday
02. The Marvelous Slut (feat. Greg Puciato)
03. Who Invited The Russian Soldier?
04. Wanderlust
05. For The Record
06. White Smoke
07. Turtles All The Way Down
08. Organ Grinder
09. Host Disorder
10. After One Quarter Of A Revolution
11. The Sweet Life (feat. Matt Caughthran)

I <3 my BOO!

Chicago's metal maestros Born Of Osiris, or BOO as they're affectionately known by their fans have returned in 2009 with their sophomore effort on Sumerian Records, A Higher Place, a tech-deathcore masterpiece that sees the band taking a step up from 2007's The New Reign.

From start to finish Higher Place is chuck full of infectious guitar licks and hooky riffs. BOO have clearly brought their A-game here, exemplifying their technical wizardry while still keeping their songs interesting and brutal. They exhibit the right amount of musicianship without coming across as overindulgent, which can certainly get old fast *cough*Dragonforce*cough*.

The biggest difference between The New Reign and A Higher Place is an obvious lack of breakdowns in the new material. When they do come up they appear to be used in a much more calculated manner, rather than for the sake of just another heavy bit to bang your head to.

Perhaps this is a BOO trying to avoid being swept into the category of bands like Emmure and Whitechapel, carving out their own niche in the modern metal community. Comparisons to bands like The Faceless abound, but BOO defy these when they do things like add a hip-hop-esque bit to the end of songs (see the "Now Arise" video below, its crazy, but pretty fucking cool).

Born Of Osiris aren't a band thats technical for the sake of being technical either, they incorporate a lot of math-metal influence into their own brand of tech-death while still maintaining your attention. They're music is still fun to listen to, it's not just some masturbatory shred-fest, and I give them credit for not falling into that trap.

Overall A Higher Place is a pretty devastating release, although none of the tracks strike me as being as anthemic as songs like "Bow Down" and "Open Arms To Damnation" were on The New Reign. Perhaps a few more spins will prove me wrong. Either way, the new material is awesome and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing these guys again on Summer Slaughter!

Suicide Silence have No Time To Bleed

Suicide Silence attract an eclectic fan base, a portion of which features side-swept-bang sporting mall-rats, and while they're young flock of fans catches the band plenty of flack, their latest release No Time To Bleed is certainly not something for the faint of heart.

An ambitious, albeit fairly unoriginal deathcore release, No Time To Bleed is a big step up from 2007's The Cleansing which rapidly brought these Californians plenty of attention, hitting #84 on the Billboard Top 200 upon its release. With help from producer Machine [Lamb of God, Every Time I Die] the band have honed their sound to deadly precision on their sophomore effort.

Lyrically, vocalist Mitch Lucker goes for the jugular of religion with gems including, "I don't respect your superstition," and "As long as I can remember you've always been this miserable and it's all because you're still believing in something fucking invisible." Subtlety, not his strong suit. Musically the album is crisp and clean without any sacrifice of sheer brutality. The breakdowns are super heavy and songs feature some nice tech-death licks here and there as well. If you liked The Cleansing you'll love No Time To Bleed.

SUICIDE SILENCE - Genocide Album Teaser

Killswitch Engage shine on their upcoming self-titled release.

Massachusetts metalcore masters Killswitch Engage will see the release of their new self-titled album on June 30. Their first effort in collaboration with famed producer Brendan O'Brien sees the band at their collective peak, branching out into uncharted waters without abandoning their signature sound.

Vocalist Howard Jones has upped the anti with his vocal work, which sounds his most passionate and intense to date. Jones, arguably one of the most reserved gentlemen in modern metal doesn't go into much detail about his lyrical inspiration, but its clear that these songs are impassioned tales of heartbreak , frustration, anger, and on a more positive note transcendence.

Killswitch Engage is the Diet Coke with Lime of the band's career thus far, in that, you know what you're getting when you pick up a Killswitch Engage record, except this one's got a few little twists to keep things interesting. Blastbeats in "The Reckoning" and the 80's thrash vibe of "The Forgotten" to name a few.

Known for their heavy verses and sing-songy choruses, which are still featured prominently on this record, the band additionally maintain a sense of balance with brutal numbers like "Never Again" and softer tunes like "I Would Do Anything."

Killswitch Engage sees these metalcore pioneers continuing to push the boundaries of a genre they have helped define, as well they should, keeping the sound of a genre that often falls under fire for being trite fresh and new.

Upcoming releases to look forward to

2009 has seen some solid records thus far (from the likes of Cattle Decapitation, Wolves in the Throne Room, God Forbid, Mastodon, Heaven and Hell, Tyr, Lamb of God and others) with plenty more to come. Check out this little summer roster of stuff I'm looking forward to.

June 30 - Killswitch Engage "Killswitch Engage"

June 30 - Suicide Silence "No Time To Bleed"

July 7 - Born of Osiris "A Higher Place"

July 7 - Clutch "Strange Cousins From the West"

July 7 - Job For A Cowboy "Ruination"

August 11 - Winds of Plague "The Great Stone War"

August 18 - Chthonic "Mirror of Retribution"

August 25 - Municipal Waste "Massive Aggressive"

September 8 - 3 Inches of Blood "Here Waits Thy Doom"

September 9 - Ensiferum "TBA"

Sometime this year? - Atreyu

Sometime this year? - Bullet For My Valentine

To hold you over here's some new Suicide Silence..