Be'lakor signs a record deal!

Official press release:

We are very proud to announce that Be'lakor has joined the Descent Productions roster.

A dark melodic metal band from Melbourne, Be'lakor has quickly come to be regarded as one of Australia's leading metal acts. In the year that has followed the independent release of their debut, The Frail Tide, the band's international reputation has grown rapidly. Reviewers in the metal press have universally praised the album, commenting on Be'lakor's masterful song writing and a remarkable feel for distinctive melodies and mood. Drawing influences from ancient mythology and the perpetual struggle between destruction and life, Be'lakor creates songs that take the listener on a compelling journey.

From the band: "We are thrilled to be signing with Descent Productions. The bands already on the roster are excellent, and we feel that as a label, Descent offers us great support and the freedom to continue making the music that we're so passionate about. This partnership will certainly bear fruit for our listeners into the future, so stay tuned."

In September 2008, The Frail Tide will be re-pressed and released in a special edition digipack format through Descent Productions. Be'lakor's as-yet untitled follow-up to this album will be released through Descent Productions in early 2009.

http://www.myspace.com/belakor
http://www.descent-productions.com
http://www.myspace.com/descentprod

Opeth Watershed Tour Australia

Opeth have announced a run of shows on Australian shores for September. With a bunch of sold out shows for their April '06 tour, I'll be expecting no less of this one. Line up early on May 16th to secure your ticket.
Although this time around Peter will be in absence, Fredrik Åkesson will be in his shoes this time around. It should make for a different Opeth experience to last time.
The dates are as follows. Be at one!

SEPTEMBER 2008

Tuesday 2nd - PERTH, METRO CITY.
Tickets available at : www.heatseeker.com.au & mills, star surf, planet & beat

Thursday 4th - ADELAIDE, THEBARTON THEATRE (LIC/AA)
Tickets at : www.venuetix.com.au or ph 8225 8888

Friday 5th - MELBOURNE, PALACE THEATRE
Tickets available at : www.ticketek.com.au or ph 132 849

Saturday 6th - SYDNEY, THE BIG TOP (LIC/AA)
Tickets available a t: www.ticketek.com.au & ph 132 849Big Top Box Office www.bigtopsydney.com.au & ph 1300 BIG TOP or www.custommade.com.au & ph 1300 762 545 http://www.bigtopsydney.com/Opeth_2008.html

Sunday 7th - BRISBANE, THE ARENA (LIC/AA)
Tickets available at : www.ticketek.com.au or 132 849 & www.oztix.com.au

Counter Review: In Flames - A Sense Of Purpose

I saw things a little bit different than Mental Infestation so I thought I'd write my own review on the new In Flames album.

A Sense Of Purpose is the follow up to 2006's highly successful (yet dissapointing to this writer's ears) Come Clarity. At the first couple of listens, the album seemed a bit underwhelming and more of the same. But after repeated listens it revealed itself as much more focused and not as forced as Come Clarity did. The production and sound is much better than the last few albums. The guitar melodies and solos are also much better, similar to 2000's Clayman. Vocalist Anders Frieden has improved a lot as well. He's developed a sort of half scream, half sing style, so there is rarely any of the 'whiney' type vocals that fans like to complain about.
The album kicks off with the first single 'The Mirror's Truth'. With a big, catchy chorus and a great guitar solo, it gives you a pretty good indication on what's to come on the album.

One thing that myself and I'm sure many other fans have missed from In Flames are their acoustic guitar work that they're so good at. Well there's a few songs on here with nice acoustic guitar melodies. The third track 'Sleepless Again' starts out with a pretty acoustic melody, then quickly becomes a great song that blends In Flames' old and new style quite well. Another highlight is the fourth track, 'Alias' which is probably the catchiest song the band has done since the song 'Only For The Weak' from Clayman. It has a great chorus that I'm sure will get crowds singing along in concert, and in the middle of the song it features another amazing acoustic guitar melody that sounds like it could have come from 1994's Lunar Strain! Amazing tune.

The band is actually experimenting a little as well. 'The Chosen Pessimist' is an 8 minute song which is already very unusual for In Flames. It sounds like something you might hear from Post Rockers Mogwai or Cult Of Luna. The song starts off slow with just a simple guitar line, then builds up with drums, keyboards, violins and samples to a heavy climax. This is the only slower song on the album.

On the downside, it seems like the band really is struggling to please both their old and new fans at once. There are many songs on the album (I'm The Highway, Drenched In Fear) that start off awesome with good riffage and great guitar leads, but then gets to the big, sing-along chorus and loses the intensity it's built up.

There are 3 other songs they wrote for this album, that didn't make the cut, and appear on the CD single of 'The Mirror's Truth'. I can't figure out why the songs Eraser and Tilt from the single were not put on the album. They are better than any other song on the album, which leads me to belive that they really are trying to make the albums full of 'hits'.

All in all, this is a solid In Flames effort that blends the old with the new quite well. This seems to be the album that they wanted Come Clarity to be, and it sounds like it could have been the album to come after Reroute To Remain. It's got the style of Come Clarity, mixed with the samples and keyboard stuff from Soundtrack To Your Escape, mixed with the guitar melodies of Clayman. Fans who have enjoyed the last 3 In Flames albums will be happy, as well as people who miss the guitar solos and harmonies that the band was known for in their old days.
8/10.

Standout Songs: Sleepless Again, Alias, Delight And Angers

Scar Symmetry Album News

Taken from their Myspace blog:

"Ladies and gentlemen!

We're happy to announce that our 3rd CD, "HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE", has now been mixed, mastered and delivered to the people at Nuclear Blast Records! We pushed the "record"-button for the first time early December and the time since has been hectic and intense to say the least. We've worked our asses off 24/7 and the result is 12 new songs, featuring all the creamy goodness of "SYMMETRIC IN DESIGN" and the spicy flavours of "PITCH BLACK PROGRESS", this time with a lot of added cheese and pork-fat... Does it make sense to you? No, not to us either... Anyway, here's the tracklist:

1. Morphogenesis (3:54)
2. Timewave Zero (5:13)
3. Quantumleaper (4:09)
4. Artificial Sun Projection (4:00)
5. The Missing Coordinates (4:37)

6. Ghost Prototype I (Measurement of Thought) (4:35)
7. Fear Catalyst (5:03)
8. Trapezoid (4:17)
9. Prism and Gate (3:46)
10. Holographic Universe (9:05)
11. The Three-Dimensional Shadow (3:57)
12. Ghost Prototype II (Deus Ex Machina) (6:03)

Estimated time of arrival: June 2008"

I don't know if I can really wait that long for this album! Pitch Black Progress was one of my favourite purchases of last year, so I'm desperate to hear what they've done with this album!

Children Of Bodom - Blooddrunk Review

Children Of Bodom have come a long way since their 1997 debut Something Wild. The Finnish Melodic Death band have become one of the biggest metal bands in the world. A lot of fans were disappointed with their 2005 release, Are You Dead Yet?. The album was less thrashy and more modern sounding than their previous albums. In April they are set to release their sixth studio album entitled Blooddrunk. So how does it compare to their past efforts?

Well, fans will be pleased to hear that the band found the edge and heaviness that they seemed to lose on AYDY?. This sounds like the album that could have come after 2003's Hatecrew Deathroll. The album starts with a nice thrasher called Hellhounds On My Trail, which is reminiscent to past Bodom classics like Needled 24/7 or Hate Me. Perfect song to open the album and will probably open their future concerts in support of this album. Good thrashy riffs, catchy keyboard melodies, just what you'd expect from the boys.

The next song is the title track which is the first single and video for the album. Not a bad song, but you can see that they are drawing a lot of influences from American bands these days. The song starts with a heavy down-tuned riff and a spoken word part that your likely to hear on a Lamb Of God or Unearth song.

One of the highlights on the album comes from track 5, Smile Pretty for the Devil. The last minute or so of the song features an excellent guitar and keyboard solo that makes you remember why you fell in love with the band in the first place. The albums token ballad is Banned From Heaven, a nice and heavy melodic number which is miles better than AYDY?'s Punch Me I Bleed. The rest of the album is more of the same. Fast, angry down-tuned riffage, with a typical keyboard melody and guitar solo thrown in to remind you that they're actually Finnish. Good but nothing you haven't heard before.

Blooddrunk is a good album, faster and heavier than AYDY?, but still doesn't have the same impact as the bands' past efforts. I'll give it a 7/10.

Album Highlights: Hellbounds On My Trail, Smile Pretty for the Devil, Banned From Heaven

Watch the video to the first single Blooddrunk:

Blinded Colony for Sweden Rock Festival? It's in YOUR hands!

Blinded Colony are one of the latest bands I've become a big fan of. I was recommended them by a friend last year, and instantly went out and bought their latest album Bedtime Prayers, which is more often than not on my playlist!

Coming from the heartland of melodic death metal, they could easily be dismissed as yet another Swedish metal band. But these young guys have something that just grabbed my ear, and I'm yet to put my finger on what it is!



They're a band gaining momentum, without big label backing, but have yet to set foot on British soil. Hopefully, this summer, they will manage to head off on a tour of European festivals, but they really need help in getting there!

They've managed to make it into the last 5 Swedish acts of The Nordic Challenge! This challenge consists of 20 acts from 4 countries who are trying to gain a place in this years Sweden Rock Festival line up. So if you're heading to the festival this year, and you want to see Blinded Colony on the bill, you will have to vote for them:

http://creative.myspace.com/se/swedenrock/b/b.html

They are also trying to gain votes to play at this year's Bloodstock! Personally, this would make me an extremely happy bunny! As I say, they've not played here in the UK before, so this would be a fantastic opertunity for them (and a great chance for the fans to see them playing).

To vote for them to play this years Bloodstock, you will need to vote for them:

http://www.bloodstock.uk.com/videos/dl.php?key=Blinded_Colony_21st_Century_Holocaust_Live

A band to keep your eyes and ears open for! For more information on the band, visit their Myspace page:

www.myspace.com/blindedcolonymusic

Bloodstock Open Air (BOA) 2008

Bloodstock Open Air Festival (BOA) is now into its 3rd year out in the open, and 7th year as one of the best metal festivals in the UK. The first 4 years were indoor events, but as the festival has gained momentum, it has moved from the darkness into the light of day! The festival takes place on the 15th, 16th and 17th of August at Catton Hall, Derbyshire.

This is the metal festival to go to if you want to hear the more brutal and underground artists playing in the UK (if you want mainstream, get yourself to Download).

The line up has yet to be completed, but from the artists already announced, it looks like it will be one hell of an event! So far, the bands confirmed for BOA 2008 are:

COMMUNIC

EVILE
OPETH
SAINT DEAMON
ELUVEITIE
HELLOWEEN
PRIMAL FEAR
TYR
PRO-JEKT
AT THE GATES
DIMMU BORGIR
MOONSORROW
SWALLOW THE SUN
CLOUDSCAPE
MOB RULES
SOILWORK
KATAKLYSM
OVERKILL

I would kill to get along to this event (and trying my hardest to make sure I can)! I'm most excited about Opeth, Soilwork and Swallow The Sun, and can't wait to see what the full line up looks like!

Personally, I would love to see Bloodbath, Blinded Colony, Paradise Lost, Novembre and Sonic Syndicate playing this year. The last three I'd love on the bill are playing the German festival Summer Breeze in the same week, so I'm keeping my fingers, toes and eyes crossed that they all confirm for BOA too!

For more information, check out their website:

http://www.bloodstock.uk.com

Or their Myspace profile:

http://www.myspace.com/bloodstock

In Flames: Stop Beating A Dead Horse!

Something’s really started to bother me about one of the most popular metal bands today, and one of my personal favorite bands of all time, In Flames.

As you know, In Flames are set to release their new album ‘A Sense of Purpose’ in April. Just like every In Flames release since 2000’s ‘Clayman’ it’s met with constant whining, bitching and complaining from fans. This has really started to get to me. Every mention of them on any message board turns into an ‘old vs new’ argument. The band had to take down their own official message board when ‘Reroute To Remain’ came out for this very reason. Yes ‘The Jester Race’ is better than the new stuff. We get it. I even agree with you. Can we move on already?

The worst part is I’m sure 99% of these people weren’t even listening to the band in their so called ‘glory days’. Most of these people first heard of In Flames with ‘Come Clarity’, ‘Soundtrack to your Escape’ or ‘Reroute To Remain’ like I did, and then worked their way backwards. I’m sure the old fans that we’re actually around listening to them in their older days just stopped listening to them if they didn’t like the change of direction. It’s been 8 years since their last ‘true’ Melodic Death album ‘Colony’ came out. I think it’s safe to say that they’re not going to be making another one of them. So get over it! Move on! If you don’t like the newer style, don’t listen to it and stop ruining it for me and the many other fans that do. There’s thousands of other bands copying that style for you to listen to. What’s funny, is if they never changed their style, people would complain that they write the same album every year.

I’ll be anxiously awaiting their new album, and seeing them live for the 6^th time this spring with Megadeth. If you didn’t know, you can check out their new song ‘The Mirror’s Truth’ on their myspace page. I’d like to hear people’s opinions of the song, good or bad, for what it is instead of comparing it to ‘The Jester Race’.

In Flames - A Sense Of Purpose Album Cover Poll

This is the cover for the new In Flames album A Sense Of Purpose. After it was first post up, there were mixed reactions to the artwork, some positive, some negative. So, we now have a poll (on the right hand side of the page) where you can vote on how good, bad or ugly you think this new cover is!