CD Review: Order Of Ennead

Order Of Ennead is the resurrection of Council of the fallen, consisting of Kevin Quirion (ex-Council Of The Fallen) on Guitar and vocals, Scott Patrick (ex-Resurrection) on bass, John Li taking care of lead guitars and Steve Asheim (Deicide) on drums. Some will expect this to be as brutal as Deicide, as I did, but you will pleasently surprised.

If you can step aside from the Deicide link here you will find an album that can stand on its two feet. Okay most folk will pick it up due to the drum stool being filled by the legendary Steve Asheim. His brutal skills feature to some degree here, but he shows thats not all he can do.

Playing a perfectly crafted and modern take on Extreme metal (comprising elements of death metal, black metal and a splash of Thrash shredding), Order Of Ennead stand out from the crowd of new bands on the scene. For a start the guitar work would make most young thrash pretenders and old school fretmeisters sit up and pay attention. They also use lyrics that not many death metal bands would use. As they say on their myspace their lyrical content "explores existence, abolishment of negativity and that which makes up the self."; Not standard death metal lyrics. Lyrics which are delivered in a coherent, if a little Dani filth-esqu way.

Standout tracks for me are "Introspection And The Loss Of Denial"; Vocally lead with superb fret work by John Li. At the age of 19, he is showing fretwork here that could have easily been played by some of the guitar greats 20 years his senior. "As If A Rose I Wither" is a perfectly crafted guitar driven track which also showcases Asheims brutal drumming at its best (on this album).

If you are looking at Order Of Ennead as quick fix in between Deicide albums then you will be sadly dissapointed. The vocals are cleaner, the guitars are a lot more melodic and its not ALL brutal blast beats from start to finish.

For a debut this is great.(8/10)

The track Culling can be heard here. Another fine example of that these guys have on offer.

Due for release on Earache In Europe on October 13th and In the US on the 28th.

Order Of Ennead: http://www.myspace.com/orderofennead
Earache: http://www.earache.com/

CD Review: Sword Toward Self - Dissolution Mantras

Sword Toward Self hail from the innards of one of Australia's best cities, Sydney. The band features Dan Nahum (Ironwood, Bleakwood) on drums, Phil Brown (Ironwood) on guitars & vocal duties and Henry Lauer (Ironwood, Intorment Black) on bass. The band takes influences from such artists as Meshuggah, Emperor, Pestilence, Axis of Advance and Suffocation to produce an epic EP titled Dissolution Mantras.

The EP comes in at just under 17 minutes, and is pure metal glory! Full of solid riffs, epic solos and precise drumming, this is a great start for Sword Toward Self. The first track, which is named Sword Toward Self, is a great example of the awesomeness this band is capable of. The first half is a covenant of awesome riffs and melodies, which then takes an unexpected, although not necessarily bad, turn and continues into a nice acoustic section with clean singing vocals and a bass solo, which all fit together quite nicely.
The bass is great to hear, since it's doing more than just play root notes. The inclusions of the mini solo in the self titles track was a great showcase of the talent that Henry possesses. Even on the faster, tremolo picked parts you can hear the bass play every note along with the guitar.

The other two songs, Regress/Regret and Iridescent Wings of the Ungods, continue with the heaviness at more epic levels with more kickarse riffs and awe inspiring fills. This is definitely an great CD to headbang to, and an excellent start for Sword Toward Self. the musicianship on this EP really grabs you to the point where you can tell that these guys have been playing for a long time, and take their music seriously.

Do yourself a favour and give these guys a listen, buy the CD from them, it's definitely worth it. Check them out at these following sites:
http://www.myspace.com/swordtowardself
http://www.swordtowardself.com.au

Live Review: Opeth - Sydney 6-9-08

Well, they did it again. Opeth sold out an entire tour across Australia, and, yet again, held their largest headlining show in Sydney, again, with a rumored number of around 3400 tickets sold for this event. A pretty awesome feat for a metal band in a country rarely recognized for it's huge dedication to music.
The day was cold and wet, but that didn't stop people from lining up outside the venue starting at around midday (with doors to open at 7pm). I arrived with my party at around 2:30 and met a few people and had a good ol' chat while waiting for the doors to open at 7pm.

The support act was self acclaimed goth/metal act Virgin Black from Adelaide, who didn't really seem to go down too well with most of the crowd. Like Opeth, they were diverse in style with a heavy/not-so-heavy moments, but they lacked something in between. Their intro needs a bit of working on. The crowd pretty much laughed at the track they had playing as the band entered the stage. They were interesting but couldn't keep my interest for long. Perhaps if I knew their stuff better. For Opeth's one and only support, I think they could have found a better local band.

Opeth were next, of coarse, and it couldn't have come (and gone) any quicker. They were tight as ever, I didn't even notice the lack of Peter! Fredrik did a great job, as did Axe. The whole evening was just an abundance of awesome. They opened with a Watershed track, Heir Apparent, and later they played The Lotus Eater which was flawless, as expected, and it sounded great live.
I'm still unsure if this year's set list was better than the one played in 2006. Both have their strong points. Combined, they'd make the best Opeth show ever, almost. This night's set also included Serenity Painted Death, The Night And The Silent Water, Master's Apprentices, Deliverance, and the one song that got me into Opeth in the first place, The Drapery Falls, amongst many other of coarse. The addition of Demon of The Fall was a highlight for me since we missed out on that song last tour.
During Bleak Mikael's amp decided it had enough, so while the tech crew were sorting that out, the audience got treated to a drum solo (which Axe decided to do to cover Mike's a*s), a bass solo, guitar solo and keyboard solo! A nice little treat despite the abrupt end to the song, which was continued anyway. See below for a video!

The venue, Big Top in Luna Park, was okay, same one as their sold out '06 tour. The sound from where I was (front row to the left of stage) wasn't so good, but I expected that since there was no balance and I was right in front of the bass speakers, but everything was still understandable and it came with a great view all through the show. It's an interesting setting for a metal gig though, right in the heart of an amusement park, but it is a popular choice for a lot of bands that come out these days.

All in all, it was a great night, Opeth were every bit as amazing as I would have expected, and I'm sure most of the crowd would agree with me there.

Here is the set list from my memory. Possibly not entirely correct in order, but close.

Heir Apparent
Master's Apprentices
The Baying Of The Hounds
Serenity Painted Death
To Rid The Disease
The Lotus Eater
Bleak (5 min intermission with solos all around)
The Night And The Silent Water
Deliverance
Demon Of The Fall
-----------------
The Drapery Falls

Bloodbath - The Fathomless Mastery

NEW STUDIO ALBUM – OUT OCTOBER 6TH 2008 – NOW AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER
MINI-SITE NOW ONLINE FEATURING SAMPLES AND FREE MP3

‘Bloodbath have been responsible for some of the finest Swedish death metal of the last decade.’ Metal Hammer

Bloodbath are an extreme metal supergroup from Stockholm, Sweden. Formed in 1998 with a mutual fascination for the glory days of death metal, the band’s line up has changed and evolved throughout the years, featuring the elite of Swedish metal.

The next chapter of this brutal saga arrives on October 6th 2008 with the release of the new studio album, The Fathomless Mastery

The Fathomless Mastery mini-site is now online at www.peaceville.com/bloodbath/thefathomlessmastery . The site features audio samples of two of the tracks (these tracks may change so make sure to keep checking back), info on the album, downloads and more. In addition it also offers a free mp3 of the track ‘Mock The Cross’ to anyone who signs up to the mailing list and also gives you the chance to pre-order the album.

Hints of what The Fathomless Mastery may possess were provided by Unblessing The Purity, the mini-album released earlier this year on Peaceville Records. Described by Metal Hammer as ‘a near-flawless celebration of Swedish brutality’ and by Zero Tolerance as ‘a slab of storming, top-quality death metal’, the mini-album has set the bar high.

‘Unblessing The Purity’ also featured the return of Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt on vocal duties and arrival of Per 'Sodomizer' Eriksson (ex-21 Lucifers, ex-Genocrush Ferox) on guitar, joining Katatonia’s Anders Nyström and Jonas Renkse and Martin “Axe” Axenrot, also from Opeth.

This line-up has once again reunited for The Fathomless Mastery which they have described as representing ‘nothing but hateful brutality.’ Promising their ‘most crushing production yet’ few would dare to argue with the band’s claim that...‘Bloodbath is here to slay, Bloodbath is here to stay!’

The Wacken Carnage, a CD + DVD set featuring the bands rare live performance at the 2005 Wacken Festival is also now available on Peaceville Records.

www.peaceville.com/bloodbath/thefathomlessmastery

Article taken from the Peaceville e-mail newsletter.

Are The Boys Back? (Death Magnetic Review)

5 years ago Metallica released the aural abortion that was St.Anger. The album was harsh and uncompromising. You had to respect it for what it was, a statement of the troubles the band had gone through over the preceding 20 or so years. But did you have to like it? No, and that’s a big no. Many people thought that was the end of the band after a less than stellar series of releases in the nineties. So now with their new release, the awfully titled "Death Magnetic", many of Metallica's hardcore fans and the band themselves have said that this album marks a return to old school Metallica, a veritable U-turn away from St.Anger and straight back to the long and epic songs structures that defined them in the eighties. Well this is partly true. The songs are indeed long. The shortest clocking in at 5 minutes and the longest at just under 10. The problem is though the songs are missing something. There is no epicness in them as such. There are no songs that grab you and take you some place like "Master of Puppets" or "And Justice for All".

The songs are full of riff after relentless riff but they seem almost disjointed. It's as if the band decided to throw in every riff they could think of. On the other hand this makes it a very interesting listening experience. On first hearing the opening track, "That Was Just Your Life" I thought to myself, "The boys are back!", and on the first few listens this is the overall feeling one gets from the album. Songs like "Broken, Beat and Scarred", "All Nightmare Long", "The Judas Kiss" and the band's new single "The Day That Never Comes" all have that classic metal formula but they fall painfully short of the epic proportions that they are trying to reach for. The song that fails the most in this respect is "The Unforgiven 3". Even with the strings and piano accompaniments in the track the song goes nowhere fast. The instrumental track "Suicide and Redemption" is a worthy try at past glories but it pales in comparison to the likes of "Orion" and "To Live Is To Die".

To these ears there were 2 particular major shortcomings on the album. First among them are Kirk Hammett's solo's. There is no style or form to the majority of his solos. He just lets rip. Sometimes it works. Sometimes not and this time, it doesn't. The man sounds like Kerry King on a bad day. Secondly Mr. Ulrich's snare is ridiculously loud in the mix which makes you wonder was Rick Rubin anywhere to be seen during the mixing of the album. If so I hope he receives a substantial cut in his pay cheque.

All in all this is a solid release from Metallica. It shows that they still have the energy to put out a more than decent metal album and that James Hetfield still has some of that infamous growl of the early nineties left in his now middle aged voice. The boys are indeed back but they still have a distance to go.

5.5/10

SCAR SYMMETRY parts ways with vocalist

The following information is taken from the Scar Symmetry's Myspace page:

"Dear friends.

A few months ago we decided to part ways with Christian. The reasons are mainly the clichéd "business and creative differences" and lack of interpersonal chemistry. We came to a point where the band's existence was in jeopardy because of these differences, and the only way for us to continue with an inspired state of mind was to go through with this change in the line-up.

This should come as a total surprise to most of you, though you might have wondered why no gigs/tours have been announced since the release of "Holographic Universe". The truth is, we have been offered several tours and one-off shows that everyone in the band wanted to do except for Christian. In a situation like that you get a lot of frustration and it was in everyone's best interest to go separate ways.

We started Scar Symmetry just for the fun of it, never with the idea of becoming hugely successful or whatever. Now, three albums into our career, we've toured both Europe and North America, our latest CD made it to Billboard's Top Heatseekers' chart and we've enjoyed success way beyond our expectations. Needless to say, the situation for us as a band has changed since we started playing together in 2004 and the band is bigger than ever. We had the choice to either take a step back with Christian in the band or a step forward without him... We choose to go forward.

There comes a time to let go and move on, and that time is now. Scar Symmetry wishes Christian the best of luck with his future endeavors and salutes the good times we had with him in the band. We will announce the identity of Christian's replacement shortly.

Comments former singer Christian Älvestam:

"Hi all!

After discussions between us in the band, I'm sad to say we've decided to part ways! Mainly for reasons of different outlooks on musical production and touring. Of course it's sad to see that Scar Symmetry will not continue in its present form, but unfortunately these things happen.

I hope Scar Symmetry will go on being successful, while I myself will for sure keep on singing, playing, writing and performing my own music, in various shapes and forms, for a very long time. My musical journey has just begun!

Unfortunate as it is, I'd nevertheless like to thank all the bands I've come to meet and play with during my years in the band; all the organizers we've worked with since the start, Nuclear Blast and all its street-teams for believing and supporting (band-wise and personally); all the magazines, TV- and radio-stations giving us the attention, helping us spreading the name; all the crews that have helped us out during the tours.

Last, but not least, I'd like to thank all the fantastic fans I've come to meet and know while being on the road with the band. All you friends out there who have bought our albums and merchandice, supported us live, partied with us back stage, off stage, on stage, under stage, anywhere and everywhere! All you who have stood by our side through thick and thin! You guys make all the difference! Thank you for a wonderful time!

This is Christian Älvestam signing off!""

Review: "Cycles" by Rotten Sound

Artist: Rotten Sound
Title: Cycles
Release Date: 8/26/2008

Ahhh, grindcore. Is there any sweeter sound? Nothing gets the heart racing and the adrenaline pumping like an aural pummeling in the form of short bursts of organized chaos. Bands like Napalm Death, Pig Destroyer, and Agoraphobic Nosebleed have come to define the genre, while new blood like Antigama and Gadget are turning it on its ear and making it their own. However, of all of the new-school grind bands out there today, one would be hard pressed (or ignorant) not to immediately name Rotten Sound as one of the foremost acts in modern grindcore.

After a three-year hiatus (if you don't count EP's) "Cycles" is the band's follow up to 2005's superb "Exit." Anyone familiar with the band's previous work might purchase "Cycles" expecting more of the same. And to some extent they would be correct. All of the quintessential grindcore elements are present; short, to the point songs, vitriolic tirades against greed, religion, and the government delivered with dry-lung roars, thundering drums, and insane guitar riffs. However, said listener will be surprised and or shocked that the band has re-written their own rule book, and the results are quite refreshing.

While the band's other albums seem to be centered on a need to create the fastest, most violent music ever recorded, "Cycles" sees the band pulling back the throttle just a tad, and producing some more groove-oriented songs which recall Grave as much as Extreme Noise Terror. Slower, low-end buzzing on songs like "Alternews" entice us to nod our heads slowly, but the euphoria is soon disrupted by the breakneck speed of songs like "Deceit" and "Simplicity."

Overall, this is a excellent, ferocious release that stands up well to repeated listenings and shows us the kind of positive results that often come about by challenging convention and expectations.

Country: Finland
Label: Fontana Universal
URL: www.myspace.com/rottensound

What does your music say about you?

A university in the UK are doing research into how your musical tastes reflect your personality. Heriot Watt University have been surveying a large number of people to see whether the music you listen to gives an indication on what you are like.

For example, people who listen to classical music are creative, confident but may be introverted, and that people who listen to metal are very similar.

I found the concept very interesting, and took part in their survey, and thought I would post up the link so you can take part. Lets see what us metallers are REALLY like!

www.peopleintomusic.com

Note: You can take part no matter where you are in the world, but you must be over 16 to take part in the survey.

Review: Resurrection of Reason by Try Redemption

Artist: Try Redemption
Title: Resurrection of Reason
Release Date: 3/15/2008

One of the more prevalent criticisms levied against death metal in the music press at large seems to be that there's nothing really new under the sun. It's all been done before and if a band isn't pushing the limits of extremity by cramming in as many blast beats and arpeggios as they possibly can, they are given short shrift for not "bringing anything new to the table."

However, unbridled, obnoxious brutality does not a decent death metal album make. Sometimes the best death metal isn't the most technical or littered with the most pig squeals or sweep picks. Sometimes, the best death metal simply has to be one thing: Memorable.

And if there's one thing that Try Redemption does well, it's write a memorable death metal song. Nay, MANY memorable death metal songs and then record and distribute them for us to enjoy. Hailing from Colorado Springs, CO USA, a city considered by many to be the last bastion of American Christian Conservativism (i.e: the last f'ing place you'd expect to find a death metal band this sick), this five-piece cadre of childhood friends not only knows how to write a memorable hook, but manages to pummel the listener into utter submission while doing so.

"Resurrection of Reason," the group's third self-released LP, was recorded and produced at Flatline Audio by Dave Otero (Cephalic Carnage, Cobalt) and whatever they paid him was well worth it. The production perfectly complements the two-guitar barrage of Jon Daigle and John Peterson, James Peterson's thundering drums, Chris "Tucker" Walter's intricate basslines, and vocalist Chris "Hammer" Walker's tortured, guttural screams. The man does good work.

The strongest aspect of this album is that each song has a life of its own; there's no "filler tracks." From the aural assault of the opening tracks "Soaked in Blood" (which has what is undoubtedly the sickest mid-tempo breakdown EVER) and "Blind Faith," (where a militaristic, chopping march gives way to a killer jazz groove) to the Enslaved meets Amon Amarth "Resurrection" (affectionately referred to by the band as "the viking song") and the enticingly (and unexpectedly) melodic "Black Skies," there's plenty of substance here to keep perked the ears of even the most discerning death metal aficionado.

Try Redemption have by no means reinvented the death metal wheel, but they have made the wheel a hell of a lot catchier than 90% of the acts out there today.

Country: United States
Label: None
URL: www.myspace.com/tryredemption

Review: A Fragile Hope by Devil Sold His Soul

Artist: Devil Sold His Soul
Title: A Fragile Hope
Release Date: August 5, 2008

One of the more unique aspects of the metal genre is all of the subgenres therein. It never stops with just "metal." There's Black Metal, Death Metal, Power Metal, and of the myriad "-core's." It's also interesting to see the lines that sometimes get drawn in the sand between fans of the different genres, and it's not often you see many arms reaching across the aisles.

But sometimes, a band comes along and creates a sound that infuses all of the right elements at all of the right times while breaking boundaries and blurring lines and turns out something so unique and powerful that it will send chills up the spine of the most rabid of Anathema and Opeth's fans as it will devotees of Converge and Mouth of the Architect.

Devil Sold His Soul have done just that.

"A Fragile Hope" is a thick, heady, epic exercise in thoughtful ferocity that incites rage inasmuch as it tugs at our softer nature. At times, the sound can be harsh enough to start one's head banging in a frenzy, while at others it maintains its expressiveness without venturing too far into "emo" territory.

The dry-lung screams wrap themselves around a barrage of crashing guitars and thudding basslines while higher-end (but not too high....Iced Earth fans, I'm talking to you) clean vocal and softer guitar interludes move in and out amongst the organized chaos. The interplay of the two styles is so in-tune with the music and the emotions expressed that it's almost "too good."

"The Starting" is the album's most popular track (they have a video available for it, anyway) and perfectly encapsulates DSHS's overall sound, while "At The End of the Tunnel" probably has the sharpest teeth.

But the high point of the album is "Dawn of the First Day," a groovy, emotionally-charged, crushing song that basically eludes every adjective in my vocabulary. Let us just say that the song is best enjoyed at a volume just below "bleeding ears."

"A Fragile Hope" is an amazing album, and even as I listen to it now, I find myself wondering how I even managed to put into words my adulation of this achievement when I could have summed it all up in one word:

Incredible.

Country: United Kingdom

Label: Eyes of Sound Records

URL: www.myspace.com/devilsoldhissoul