Balor's Eye "Lorcan"

Lorcan, crafted by "Balor's Eye" is really something. From Baltimore, Maryland, this progressive metal band is redefining the term "Progressive metal band". Still a new, upcoming band having only formed March 2010, they are quickly making a name for themselves with the help of their label "Dark Harvest Records". One band I want to see go far.

I fell in love with the first track "Pissing Rainbows". Not only is that a side effect of eating too many Skittles, but what a cool track name! The song itself is really good. I wasn't expecting it to be instrumental though. I thought "It's the first track, some bands don't add vocals to the first track" but to my surprise, not a single word was spoken during this album. This is the point I am trying to make though. THIS ALBUM DOESN'T NEED VOCALS! (subtle, I know).

"Door Fuhrer" was an alright track. It was shorter than the rest and as good as it was, It didn't sound like the first one as much as I has hoped. It is still a good listen, but I think the following track is a hell lot better. This song does however, keep a good pace but progressively changes sound 3 to 4 times throughout.

The third track, "Lobotomy Please" is my favourite on this album. For starters, it's a nice long track and if you enjoy the whole thing and not get bored or distracted by butterflies whilst it's playing, then you know you're onto something brilliant. I also found myself thinking back to my point. it's instrumental, yet vocals couldn't keep up and would therefore ruin this fine piece of craftsmanship.

I think this is the point where you go out and buy "Balor's Eye".

The next three tracks which completes the 6 track album, are good. I enjoyed them a lot. I listened to them a few times and defiantly decided they are good. I recommend listening buying the album purely for "Pissing Rainbows" and "Lobotomy Please".

Bloodtribe “Repulse”

I had never heard of Bloodtribe before I was asked to review them and I have one question. “Why the hell was I not told about them before now?” I was actually a little annoyed by the lack of sharing throughout the metal scene. So, here I am telling you about Bloodtribe, and I assure you, you’re going to want to listen to them.

I was sent the album “Repulse” in the post and was quite excited when I opened my package. I immediately played it and the second it finished, I was already uploading it onto my iPod and throwing it in a playlist with “Bloodbath” and “Cannibal Corpse”. This 5 track E.P. is quite simply astonishing. It has deep growling vocals which, if turned up loud enough, could shake the very foundations in which you stand upon.

With Drew on vocals, Tom and Danny on guitar, Clay drumming and Matt on bass, they have formed a band which could rip the head off your staggering body. Bloodtribe proves that they have practiced and conquered their sound because I can’t help but listen from start to finish whenever I hear them.

The first song on “Repulse” is “Reflections”. My favourite by far and slowly becoming one of the highest played songs I have in my collection. This song is phenomenal. I enjoy the dark intro which introduces the drumming brilliantly. There is no beating around the bush with Drew’s vocal work. He’s straight into the savage vocals and some great, memorable vocals. “Reflection of your imperfections double in numbers as your body decays”. I love this track. Listen to it now or else.

“Manipulated Sexuality” is interesting. The intro contained a lot of symbol work which I wasn’t expecting and didn’t really think much of it. I was then getting into the mind-frame that “Repulse” would only have one decent song. Luckily, I was wrong. This song has some duel vocals with the heavy shouting vocals which we all love, but it also had screaming and strained vocals which was an awesome mix. “Manipulated Sexuality” also contains a great breakdown which I recommend that you indulge yourself in.

The third song is only 2 minutes 20 seconds which I thought was rather short considering how awesome the song is. There is a great opening verse in “A Scar for Every Sin” which is quickly paced and savage. You’ll be aware of the terrific drumming almost immediately. This song is just immense.

“Force Fed Suffering” is pure chaos. 30 seconds in and you can already feel a sense of an evil doom creeping down, past your ear drums to eradicate any happiness which remains in your soul (In a good way). Seriously, this song is the reason why metalheads exist. Pure suffering and brutality awaits those who listen to this. This song is awesome!

The final song on “Repulse” is smart. I like how it includes good imagery and some personification “From the dawn that dies”. This makes it easier to picture and as a result, makes this song memorable. It also contains some contrasting vocals and music to go with it. At one point you’ll have a heavy yet slow style of metal but in a seconds notice, we will be listening to a double bass pedal, quick riffs and a screamo vocal style. Love it!

If you hadn’t noticed, I really enjoyed “Repulse” and all of its content. Pure heavy metal here which I cannot fault. You’ll catch the “Bloodtribe Bug” the second you get into Drew’s vocals. Oh, and there is no cure, so good luck.

"Shark Bites and Lightning Strikes" by Loss of Reaso

Loss of Reason is a five-member band who are raising the standards of metal everywhere. Ian Tobey/Vocals, Chris Love/Guitar, Clarence Freeman/Guitar, Ryan Ware/Bass, Andrew Hess/ Drums have made an EP, “Shark Bites and Lightning Strikes”, that is astonishing and just plain savage. Their influences vary from “Rage Against The Machine” and “God Forbid” to bands such as “Muse” and “Eric Johnson”.

The opening track, “I’m an F.18, bro”, is a great intro that grabs the attention of the listener and encourages them to continue on. It has an enticing melodic sound that, in partnership with its heavy guitar riffs, gives promise of an epic sounding EP. One track in and I was already suggesting Loss of Reason to friends.

“Party, Jannetty, til the Break of Dawn, Michales” introduces Ian Tobey’s contribution to the band as a brilliant vocalist. With his ability to use clean vocals as well as screamo, he has proven to be an essential part of the band. The song itself drew a picture for me. I can easily imagine myself at the front of a crowd, climbing the barrier with the rest of Loss of Reason’s fans. I can just picture myself moshing with the rest of them and enjoying a great performance.

The following two tracks show off this band’s drumming and guitar techniques as well as the level of skill in which they are played. Loss of Reason is competent when synchronising their instruments with vocals. It really gives this band the credentials to be up there with the best.

This EP has already been put onto my iPod but “Helpful Phil” is the most played song out of the six songs which form “Shark Bites and Lightning Strikes”. I just love this song. Its intro is genius without effort but also introduces breakdowns which cause the listener to unknowingly tap their foot and headbang along.

It is always great to finish on a high, which is exactly what Loss of Reason have accomplished. Kurtrusslecrowe is an epic finish to an epic EP. This track alone shows the potential of this band. They show promise and this is one band which I would love to see live on stage.

This EP, in my opinion, is just overall awesome. I have it mixed into my regularly used playlists. They have joined my “Savage” playlist alongside bands such as All That Remains, Dead By April and Bring Me The Horizon. Loss of Reason is one band I will recommend when asked “Name an awesome metal band with dual vocals.”          

"Decades" by Saving October

This is Saving October’s first album that has been released. It is a serviceable first album which I enjoyed listening to. They’re a heavy metal band who deal in a mixture of screaming and heavy vocals backed up by the expected chugging riff-age. They have a memorable guitar riff which is suitably heavy and the foundation of most of their songs. They deploy this style of guitar riff often which at first gives the album a dynamic and cohesive feel, but I thought that perhaps they're over reliance on it smacked of playing it safe. This being their first album it is understandable that they may not want to take risks but this does lead to this effort sound over familiar to anyone who is a fan of the genre.

Saving October consists of 5 members Danny Scythes/Lead Vocals, Seth Cordrey/Guitar, Ross Elliot/Guitar Zane Maxwell/Bass and Patrick Liberatore/Drums. There have been a few switches with band members since they begun in 2009, but all of the members have live show and recording experience. The band has written two EP’s, “Cut your Losses” and “Hail the Captain”. Decades is their first full album that screamo band has produced.

“Striking an Artery” has to be my favourite song on their album. It’s intro is melodic which stood out from the rest of their album. It has Saving October’s preferred riff present and correct within the song but I found that the contrast between it and the melodic side really made this song brilliant.

Another stand out track is “Roger Rabbit What’s Your Habit?” With its double bass and duel vocals this song really kicks the album off and sets out Saving October's stall early. Lyrics like “I need you like I needed sleep” really stood out in this song. They gave out some emotion which worked well with the gloomy guitar, which lasts throughout the song.

Most of Saving October’s song are similar. They all sound the quite similar with one or two standing out tracks, as mentioned. If you enjoy their style of music (Which I do), then there is not an issue, but others may criticise this and be put off. “Infamous” is one that, even though it sounds similar to the others, is a song that can be recognised. Apart from the vocal style, I felt like I could be listening to Pantera. I enjoyed this track because the guitarist and drummer sync. It sounds epic. I highly recommend this song.

Another thing I found with “Decades” is they have a intro and an outro. If you listen to the album from start to finish then you’ll get to enjoy it more. I like the way the radio broadcast bookends the album pulls it together. I am not sure of the broadcast itself, but the fact that the style is there at the beginning and end means that I earns a few bonus points.

“Decades” is an enjoyable album, not a masterpiece, but defiantly a starting point for a band which I would like to see a lot more from. I hope that “Dark Harvest Records” have plans for Saving October.

You can listen to “Decades” by Saving October at http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/decades/id494464869

Sonisphere Knebworth 8th – 10th July 2011

“This review may seem different from others I have posted. This is because I am talking about my own experience. It was special to me and this is completely my opinion on the weekend”.

So, I returned from what I can only describe as the best weekend I’ve had in a few years. I came back without broken bones or a criminal record which is even better (I mention criminal record because of an incident that happened between a man who was determined to impregnate a tent). I did also drink a lot of beer, but as you can probably guess, that’s what you do at festivals. So, when in Rome right?  

Thursday

Anyway, I arrived Thursday as I purchased an ‘early bird’ ticket and I spent that afternoon queuing for 2 hours, drinking beer and pitching a tent. There isn’t much to tell you about that as it was a heavy night of drinking.

Friday

I woke up Friday morning, absolutely ecstatic about the ‘Big Four’, which consists of (In the order they appeared on stage) ‘Anthrax’, ‘Megadeth’, ‘Slayer’ and ‘Metallica’. It is something which I will always remember. Diamond Head opened for them which was good. They were good, nothing special in my opinion but enjoyable none the less. Anthrax got the crowd going which was good as I’ve only really listened to two of the four bands which make up the ‘Big Four’. Anthrax had a 45 minute set which was ok, I was really getting into them just as they finished. Megadeth had an hour set. I was actually not impressed at all, rather disappointed to be honest. I was hoping for something more from them, but another metalhead did mention to me that they are usually a lot better (I took his word for it as he was wearing a Megadeth T-shirt). Next was Slayer. It took me a whole 15 minutes to get to the front ready for Kerry King’s arrival. I have 4 favourite songs by Slayer. ‘Raining Blood’, ‘Dead Skin Mask’, ‘Seasons In The Abyss’ and ‘South Of Heaven’. Slayer played them all. It was remarkable. I was in the pits for most of Slayer’s hour performance. I got kicked, punched and pretty much destroyed (Not literally destroyed, just in my head, it was brutal). Metallica hit the stage at 8:30pm and were there until 11pm. It was legendary. It’s truly outstanding how good they are live. ‘All Nightmare Long’ had to be my favourite song of that night. It was savage as I thought they were taking a break when really they were just switching guitars. It caught me off guard. I got emotional. In the last 15 minutes of Metallica’s show, they had the whole ‘Big Four’ on stage and they played ‘The Big Four Song’. That looked like they were having so much fun. You couldn’t help but admire what can only be described as a gathering of metal gods. I then continued drinking. 

Saturday

Saturday morning and it was raining. I was not impressed. I got up and went to the noodle bar and grabbed some breakfast. I started my day with a smaller and fairly new band called ‘While She Sleeps’. They are pretty heavy and the lead singer screamed his lungs out, but I loved it. It was amazing. He started a huge mosh pit in a rather small tent. I recommend this band a lot if you enjoy bands like ‘All That Remains’ or ‘Bring Me The Horizon’. Jackass star Steve-O was performing stand up comedy in one of the smaller, indoor tent my friends and I decided to indulge ourselves in fits of laughter. It was hilarious but most likely because I had seen Jackass on TV and at the cinema so I knew what it was about. I knew character names so when he told us stories, truly disturbing stories, I saw the whole picture and found it more amusing than a man who didn’t know Jackass. ‘Weezer’, who I adored as a young teenager were at the main stage at 4:30pm so I went and watched. It was fun. They were the first band I’d seen so far who actually interacted with the audience. They were comical. “People to our left, I see you. People to our right, I see you. People taking a shit, I see you too”. I also wanted to see ‘Gojira’, but there was no way to even get into the indoor tent. I could hear them but I wasn’t enjoying myself out in the wind so I kicked that idea in. I walked up to see ‘Biffy Clyro’ and get a good position, and I did. If you’re ‘Biffy’ fan, please look away now. I thought they were terrible! I actually liked their latest album with songs like ‘Bubbles’ and ‘God and Satan’ but I was expecting the world and they did not deliver. They jumped around the stage with their guitars round there neck strumming like its going out of fashion. NO! I left after 5 songs. I did not think they were headline material. I apologise if I’ve offended you, but I saw them, I was there and I was not impressed. I instead drank lots of beer and enjoyed the fair ground rides.

Sunday  

Sunday. The day that I was truly there for. The day that I missed a Sunday roast and new episodes of ‘Family Guy’ for. Was it worth it? Hell yeah! I woke up quite late and enjoyed ‘Howard Marks’ describe his life story. He is a mentalist. Truly outstanding how he convinced a court of law that he was a British Spy trying to uncover a drug lord when actually, he was the drug lord (He has a movie out by the way). Never got into ‘Arch Enemy’ but they were really good, amazing voice and some great riffs I thought. Worth a watch in my opinion. Straight after that I went to see ‘House Of Pain’ who were great. Not metal, but good none the less. It was then nearly time for “Paul Grey’s Two Minute Silence”. I didn’t witness it as I only thought it was just everyone shutting up for 2 minutes. Apparently they brought his old jumpsuit and mask onto the stage and played ‘Vermillion’ once the two minutes were up. Would have been good to watch. Motorhead were on the main stage and that’s always worth a watch. They played songs from their latest album “The World Is Yours” and obviously ‘Ace Of Spades’ and ‘Overkill’. Limp Bizkit was next up and they were awesome. ‘Break Stuff’, ‘Faith’, ‘My Way’, ‘Take A Look Around’, ‘Rollin’ (Air Raid Vehicle)’ were all in their hour slot. They let the audience pick the songs they wanted and Fred Durst would make a guess of what 50,000 people screaming. The also played songs from “Gold Cobra” which was good as I haven’t given it a good listen to. Now it’s in my most current playlist on my iPhone. They were hilarious, aggressive and brutal. I was right at the front for their entire show and that is why I missed ‘Bill Bailey’. No way in hell was I giving up my position when ‘Slipknot’ were on in an hour. I stood there, happy as Larry in the pouring rain waiting for my idols to swagger onto the stage (They never actually swaggered on. More of a walk). At 9pm ‘Slipknot’ were upon us. Opening with ‘(Sic)’, ‘Eyeless’ and ‘Wait and Bleed’. ‘Left Behind’, ‘Psychosocial’, ‘Duality’ and ‘Before I Forget’ followed shortly. The encore was ‘People = Shit’ and that was outstanding. If you weren’t there, build a time machine, purchase a ticket and go. I went and I’m still trying to find a method of time travel.  

Sonisphere was one of the best weekends of my life. I hope you get to share the experience one day at a festival. Tickets for Sonisphere 2012 has already gone on sale, but I’d wait until they announce a line up.

P.S. Sorry it’s taken me 2 months to post. I was slacking and I apologise.      

"There Is A Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is A Heaven, Let's Keep It A Secret" by Bring Me The Horizon

I'm not sure where to start when I think about this album. It's inspirational, unique but above all, their own. Bring Me The Horizon has out done themselves once again by showing all of their fans and other metal bands that they are here, and they mean business.

They open with a song called "Crucify Me" which I have to say, is my favourite. When I first listened to it, I was amazed by the chorus which had a female singing "There is a Hell, believe me I've seen it..." It's brilliant, touching even. This piece of genius was going to be stuck in my head forever. I was convinced however, that this song was so incredible, that the remaining tracks would snowball.

"Anthem" has a enjoyable opening. It immediately got me interested with "This is an anthem, so fucking sing" and other lyrical genius like "I hate to say I told you say, but fuck yeah I told you so". It gave me an idea of something comical, but at the same time, something memorable.

The forth track simply called "Fuck", was hilarious. "How do you say goodbye, when your body says hello". This line summarises a few of my ex-girlfriends in one swift movement. I could go into more detail on the song and it's theme but I would say, if you hadn't guessed it already, then listen to it. If you need help after that, please get advice from your local doctor.

"Home Sweet Hole" is a song that stands out on this album in my opinion. It starts out very unlike BMTH, but they we hear Ollie Sykes very strained voice during the guitarists brake. It's a good track with a very catchy riff with some great screaming near middle of the song with some great words from Ollie shortly after "The whole world is crashing down, the whole world is caving in...."

Other songs such as "Alligator Blood", "Blessed with a Curse" and "The Fox and the Wolf" are all a really good mix but keeping a unique consistency that is BMTH. This album is highly recommended by myself and other "Bring Me" fans. If you ever enjoyed their other music, for example "Diamonds Aren't Forever" or "Pray For Plagues" then I suggest you buy this album, their latest instantly.

Just A Recommendation... 'All That Remains'

I am rather rapidly, becoming a huge fan of 'All That Remains'. I only own their third album "The Fall Of Ideals", but I will most certainly buy their first, second and more recent albums.

"The Fall Of Ideals" open with an awesome track called 'This Calling'. This instantly introduces you to what 'All That Remains' are about. It reminded me of 'Bring Me The Horizons' older albums (which I also love). My favourite song on this brilliantly constructed album has to be 'The Weak Willed' as it starts of brutal and keeps that brutality throughout the entire song. Some great vocals and brillaint, and also very memorable guitar playing.

'All That Remains' have released 5 albums in total:

1. Behind Silence and Solitude. (Released 2002)

2. This Darkend Heart. (Released 2004)

3. The Fall Of Ideals (Released 2006)

4. Overcome (Released 2008)

5. For We Are Many (Released 2010)

They have also released a live DVD in 2007 called "All That Remains - Live"

I seriously recommend that you have a listen to their work. Here is their website where you can listen to them free of charge. http://forwearemany.allthatremainsonline.com/category/albums/

Happy Listening!