New Opeth Song

A new Opeth song has surfaced from their forthcoming album entiled Watershed which is being released on June 3 through Roadrunner Records. This is a live recording from the show they played this past weekend on the 21st anniversary Schizoid Boat in honor of Mellotronen's birthday. The song played is entitled "Heir Apparent" which is the second track on their new album. Sound quality is not that great but the song sounds pretty good.

Opeth, Opeth and a little splash of Opeth

It seems that Mikael Åkerfeldt and the lads aren't interested in a few festival dates this year. This summer sees them hitting not 2, not 3, not even 6 festivals. In total, so far, they are hitting 15 festivals around Europe. Starting in Germany and ending in the good old UK. I will keep you posted if they get bored and add more dates ;)

Jun. 06 - Rock Am Ring - Germany
Jun. 07 - Rock Im Park - Germany
Jun. 21 - Field of Rock - Biddinghuiser - Holland
Jun. 22 - Hellfest - Clisson - France
Jun. 26 - Peace and Love - Borlange - Sweden
Jun. 27 - Metal Town - Gothenburg - Sweden
Jun. 29 - Graspop - Desselt - Belgium
Jul. 05 - Ruis Rock - Turku - Finland
Jul. 06 - Metalcamp - Julisch Alps - Slovakia
Jul. 09 - Rock Wave - Athens - Greece
Jul. 12 - Milan Evolution Festival - Italy
Aug. 01 - Wacken Open Air - Wacken - Germany
Aug. 03 - Ankkarock - Helsinki - Finland
Aug. 16 - Metal Heart Festival - Lillehammer - Norway
Aug. 17 - Bloodstock Open Air - Catton Hall Derby - UK

These dates will no doubt tie in with the release of Watershed, which is due out via Roadrunner Records on June 3rd (UK) and June 2nd (Internationally). Recorded in the band's native Sweden it has been produced by Åkerfeldt and Jens Bogren.

Watershed track listing:
01. Coil
02. Heir Apparent
03. The Lotus Eater
04. Burden
05. Porcelain Heart
06. Hessian Peel
07. Hex Omega

Cavalera Conspiracy - Inflikted

Cavalera Conspiracy - Inflikted

(Due for release March 2008 )

If someone put this on and told me I wasn't listening to the Cavalera brothers (Max & Igor) I would have said it was a great imitation. After their split and withdrawl of brotherly love, I doubt anyone would have expected this to ever happen.

So what does it sound like?


If you need to ask that then I will assume you haven't heard Max or Igor play anything in the past 12 years.

If you take the good bits of Soulfly (yes there where a few, so don't start) and add a little bit more of a democratic vote on how it should be played, then throw in some good old Chaos AD style drumming, then you might get close. It can be hard to pick out just where the Soulfly flys off and the Conspiracy begins in places. Not that this is a bad thing. The bad thing is the fact that there are clearly twice as many tracks on this than should have been.

As a plus point this album is not a case of Max saying to his younger brother, "see I can do it without you". This is more of a "this is what Soulfly would have sounded like if you came on board" (again only in places). Making it sound less like a group of musicians trying too hard (i.e. Soulfly). Honestly though, It is weak in places, mostly the latter half of the album. Don't get me wrong, It is a solid album, for what it is and I do think that it would (maybe) stand up on its own if both Soulfly and Sepultura never exsisted, but it's hard to look at it that way. I know the Cavalera brothers could do better......

"Inflikted" - 4:31
Its starts off with some off whiney little guitar effect, which doesnt immediately sit well with the ears. Then a chugging riff kicks in and Igor starts to pound away. Soon this song has become catchy, if not a little repetitive. Major downside is the use, in places, of the whiney effect from the intro. Lyrics are Max through and through. At the 3 minute mark, in the middle of a solo, you get a lovely little "Nobody move, nobody gets hurt" chant, followed by more solo another chant and then a slight break down into a freefall fret massage.

"Sanctuary" - 3:23
Starts off with a guitar slide in the key of Motley Crue and then smashes that idea away with a biotech is godzilla type ensemble of drums and guitars. A complete hark back to Max's old school vocals circa CHAOS AD. The musicianship isnt anything to be overly excited about. There is a widdle here and there, but when it hits the 2:30 mark, the song takes the shape of a different song. With a blast of some drums and then a head first dive into the pit, this song will have you moving either to the bar or into the mash of sweaty bodies that is set to ensue when this is unleashed live.

"Terrorize" - 3:37
A song with another weird effect played as an intro. More spat out lyrics backed with some classic Seps style guitar from Rizzo. Not the best song onthe album by far. Rather non descript until you are nearing the end when it launches into a thrash inspired riff with a rather friendly f**k death, lets kill(?) chant. It then goes back downhill from here.

"Dark Ark" - 4:54
Starts off with some tribal drums and a robotic sounding Max talking. Soons kicks into a generic bit of Soulfly-esque nonsense of a mini guitar solo. Although, tbh, this sounds quite like the last song on some places. It does showcase a bit more of Rizzo's fretwork, but nothing spectacular. Its mostly chugging guitars and Max screaming.

"Ultra-Violent" - 3:47
With a name like this you would expect a pounding skin tearing song to get the pit going. Unfortunately you'd be quite wrong. Another chugger of a song. Some poor lyrics and some boring musicianship makes for a s**t song. You have to wait until you get half way through and you are given some more Rizzo fretwork and then a sped up version of what came before it.

"Hex" - 2:37
Starts off really promising. "Old skool" thrash Seps style. Pounding drums and shredding that makes my wrists hurt just listening to it. Unfortunately again this song gets a bid repetitive.

"The Doom Of All Fires" - 2:12
It reminds me of another song I know. Sadly it's "Hex", the previous track. Again this seems to go nowhere until we get near the end. Wailing solo and some speed added to make the song follow suit with a good few of the tracks on here. Chugging riffs, solo, speed up, fade. Snooze!

"Bloodbrawl" - 5:41
Hmm. What can I say. More of the same. We get a solo in the middle again, but this time there is a twist. We get a little acoustic interlude to ease us gently out of the monotony of the last 3 tracks (which IMO, sounded like one). I am also sure there is a digeridoo at the end of this....my ears may have been taking the piss though.

"Nevertrust" - 2:22
As you may imagine, this song contains the lyric, NEVER TRUST. Infact, every line has those two words at the start. There are some good points though. Rizzo is on form again for a little while, until Max feels the need to list more things we should not trust. Ends with Rizzo doing what he does best.

"Hearts Of Darkness" - 4:29
Starts all chuggy and quite like it may offer something else. Unfortunately for the listen, his hopes are shattered by this point and you will realise that this should have been a 5 song EP...at a push.

"Must Kill" - 4:50
Maybe a good closer. Not too similar to the past few tracks, but it has the similar feeling that it is going nowhere. A good track, but it is being spoiled by the weight of having just listened to the rest of the album.

At most this album is a Seps/Soulfly fanboy must have. At worst, this is an example of what a 12 year gap in recording could have done to Sepultura. It is a shame, as I was so excited about this album as it opened so well....well better than it finished at any rate.




Members:
Max Cavalera - rhythm guitar & vocals
Marc Rizzo - lead guitar
Joe Duplantier - bass
Igor Cavalera - drums

official website: http://www.cavaleraconspiracy.com/
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/cavaleraconspiracy
RRUK artist page: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.co.uk/artist/Cavalera+Conspiracy
(where you can hear one of the better tracks off of the album)

Release/Recording/Tour News

Opeth are due to release a totally re-vamped mix if their classic album Still Life. Re-mixed by Jens Borgen at Fascination Street Studios in Sweden, who has previously worked with Katatonia on a few occasions aswell as Opeth, Bloodbath, Amon Amarth, Paradise Lost, Soilwork and several other well-known bands. The release is set to be a 2 disc special edition including a DVD with a 5.1 mix of the album. Although Release information is a little unclear, some sites say 31st of March while others say April 1st, It's certain to be released sometime around then.

As Mikael Åkerfeldt says on the official Opeth forum regarding the album, "It's actually a completely new mix in 5.1. It was very wierd listening to it. There were leads in there I've never heard before that are on the mastertapes but I can't hear them on the album, until now."

And for those of you living under a rock, Opeth are also set to release their latest studio effort, named Watershed. Also under construction at Fascination Street Studios, it's due out on Roadrunner in late May for some countries and early June for others. With a new member, Fredrik Åkesson on board to replace the duties of the departed Peter Lindgren.
The albums contins 7 original works, one b-side was recorded along with 3 covers.


Bloodbath are soon to release a DVD of their 2005 Wacken Open Air concert. Set for release on April 21st! The lineup for the gig including Anders and Jonas of Katatonia, as always, Dan Swanö, Mikael Åkerfeldt and Martin 'Axe' Axenrot.

Unleashed

Unleashed are currently working on their 9th studio album, named Hammer Battalion! Info on release dates and song titles are yet to be released.


Night Eternal will be the title of the new Moonspell album. Recorded in January 2008, due for release in May, no exact dates have been set yet. Tue Madsen, who has previously worked with the band on the Under Satanae project, will be producing Night Eternal.

From Moonspell's official site "Night Eternal will be a quite intense album itself, darkly atmospheric yet really heavy and catchy. In Night eternal expect nothing but great guitar riffs, breathtaking songs and epic atmospheres."


Swedish Doom metal band Candlemass have confirmed a bunch of American tour dates for May and june '08. Check out http://www.candlemass.se for more details.


My personal thoughts on the releases, well, more or less I am bloody excited!!! I was sceptical at first about the Still Life re-master, but it sounds like it could be very interesting from Mikael's comments on it, and I have also been anticipating a new Opeth album since just after the release of Ghost Reveries. Same goes for Unleashed and Moonspell basically. They're all bands that just keep getting better in my eyes.