California deathcore band Suicide Silence throw down another raging album with Remember … You Must Die.
Suicide Silence was formed twenty years ago by musicians who were working at the time in other bands. One of the early deathcore acts, Suicide Silence had a big impact on the heavy music scene, releasing several critical albums. After some controversy over the direction of their self-titled album in 2017, the band hit back with Become The Hunter three years later, and now the new record rings with solid echoes of their earlier work. The band is Chris Garza (guitar), Mark Heylmun (guitar), Hernan “Eddie” Hermida (vocals), Ernie Iniguez (drums), and Dan Kenny (bass).
There is an intro piece, “Remember…,” and eleven songs after that on the new album. “You Must Die” starts things off with a savage kick to the knees. Hurricane percussion and shrieking, screeching, croaking vocals exist in a syncopated blizzard of rhythm and riff. That is your wakeup call. “Capable of Violence (N.F.W.)” cranks up the brutality and weakens your lifeline. The first lead guitar work bleeds in and wails out. “Fucked For Life” is a chugging street anthem that gets you stomping along then throws you in the wood chipper. The moderated riff returns but now you know not to trust it – some crazy crooked change could happen at any second. Defying precedent, a melodic and lyrical episode ensues, then swells, then explodes.
Other stand-out tracks for me are “God Be Damned,” a song which functions at an apparent pace that exceeds its actual speed. “Endless Dark” is mined in that same vein. The closer, “Full Void,” is a journey that begins with a mystical energy then devolves into a dark spell gone wrong and finishes with an extremely creepy outro. Beautiful. This album is caustic. It roughs you up, grates against you, and takes what it likes. Recommended.
Remember … You Must Die hits the streets on Friday, March 10th through Century Media Records. It is available everywhere, and good descriptions of the extant physical variants can be found at the label’s store (link below).
The dark circus comes back to town – Avatar has a new album out: Dance Devil Dance.
I first noticed Avatar just a few years ago on the festival circuit in the US. They have been producing fascinating metal albums since 2006’s Thoughts of No Tomorrow, and the band formed five years before that. Clearly, I was seriously out of the loop. I have been doing some catching up in the past couple of years, and every time I see them perform live, I am even more intrigued. Avatar is Johannes Eckerström (vocals), John Alfredsson (drums), Jonas Jarlsby (guitar), Henrik Sandelin (bass), and Tim Öhrström (guitar).
Appropriately, “Dance Devil Dance” kicks off the set. I immediately see the band on stage in my mind when the first tones drop. Avatar is known for their stage show, and they have said that they write their music for performance. I think that comes through in audio-only experience as well (although, of course, I can’t unsee them now, can I). The song has a great clip to it, and the expected satiric creepiness. I can imagine this on the radio, and I can see fans singing along at a festival, too. The music has broad appeal in the heavy music community, and that is one of its strengths.
“Chimp Mosh Pit” follows and is more directly active, almost chatty in a way. There is a great hook in there, and Eckerström’s talkative approach to the vocals on this one is engaging. It has a crisp snap. “Valley Of Disease” is more serious in tone, and heavier. It is a face-in-the-dirt kind of metal song with melodic choruses. “On The Beach” takes an aerobic approach, and when you add up these opening tracks you notice that Avatar is going to put you through the paces on this record. There is always a riff or melody or trap in every song that grabs you, no matter what the surrounding compositional structure might signal. It is a distinctive feature of their music.
If you like your metal a half-bubble or so off, this record is for you. Fans of Avatar are going to get what they are looking for. I especially like “Gotta Wanna Riot” for its joyous destructive energy. And then there is “The Dirt I’m Buried In,” which is almost a club song, and “Train,” a gloomy western gothic folk tale that erupts halfway through before returning to its essence. This is a wild album. Highly recommended.
Dance Devil Dance is out now through Black Waltz. Hit up the band’s store at the link below to see what’s what.
Thy Art Is Murder brought their Decade Of Hate tour toColumbus, Ohio, with Kublai Khan TX, Undeath, I Am, and Justice for the Damned.
Thy Art Is Murder
If you live anywhere near The King of Clubs in Columbus, Ohio, you must go see a show there. It is an excellent venue with a generous open floor in front of the stage and a mezzanine-level horseshoe balcony that has a dedicated bar. It is the only place I go to regularly that has an announcer who, between sets, gives you a run-down of the drink specials. Every time I have been there the crowds have been great and the staff are always fantastic. While they host all manner of shows, they have a special affection for heavy metal, and the list of acts that hit their stage is very impressive.
Australian deathcore upstarts Justice For The Damned opened the Thursday night show. They told the crowd many times how they have been wanting to come to the US for years, and how they were fired up to get on the tour with fellow countrymen Thy Art Is Murder. They played like they meant it, stomping the stage and chewing the rafters. The show in Columbus was my first time seeing Justice For The Damned and they made a great first impression on me.
Justice For The Damned
Apart from the headliner, I Am is the band I most wanted to see. I had caught there act last year in Fort Wayne at Piere’s. Ever since then, I have been on the look-out for another opportunity to hear them live. They put out a new album recently, Eternal Steel, which we reviewed favorably here at FFMB (link to that review below). This Dallas, Texas death metal band is one of my absolute favorites working today, with their huge , resounding riffs and just the right amount of groove. They played music from the new album as well as crowd pleasers from their previous two records. In the second slot of five, I Am ratcheted up the expectations for the rest of the night.
I Am
Undeath is a straight-ahead death metal band from Rochester, New York – they’ll tell you that themselves from the stage, “We play death metal. That’s all we do.” Supporting their 2022 album It’s Time…to Rise from the Grave (Prosthetic Records), they were on the mark and deadly in their attack. Raucous and ready, the did the deed and got the pit roiling.
Undeath
Kublai Khan TX is on tour for the first time in a while and, judging by the reaction of the crowd, they have been sorely missed. I was very surprised by how many fans knew the words to their opening number, “The Hammer,” and sang along on the punchlines. Hard- and metalcore pounding is what was served up and their was nothing left over when they left the stage. The band’s latest record is the EP Lowest Form Of Animal, and it’ll give you some idea of what you missed if you weren’t at the show. But really, seeing Kublai Khan TX live is the best way to go.
Kublai Khan TX
Kublai Khan TX
Australian metal masters Thy Art Is Murder are stalking North America once again. I haven’t seen them for a few years, the last time being at Higher Ground in Burlington. The new tour, the Decade Of Hate Tour, is shaping up to be one that will be talked about for years to come.
Thy Art Is Murder
Starting off as usual, in the dark with blasts of strobing light, front man CJ McMahon came on stage and sang around a pedestal of the damned, laying is head back and crooning at the night. The intensity of his performance shines through is rolled-white eyes on brutal killers like “Reign Of Darkness” and “The Purest Strain Of Hate.” The show at The King Of Clubs was the second stop on the tour, but already all the bands were firing on all cylinders, and Thy Art Is Murder was ready and waiting to pounce. This was my first metal show of the year and I could not have asked for more.
Thy Art Is Murder
Thy Art Is Murder
The tour runs through to the ides of March, crisscrossing the country – see the tour poster below for dates cities near you. It is a must-see for heavy music fans. Grab your tickets before they sell out.
Hatebreed brought their 20 Years Of Perseverance Tour to Hartford, Connecticut, over the weekend and packed the Webster Theater to capacity.
Hatebreed
Connecticut metal band Hatebreed has a lot to celebrate. Not only is it the twenty-year anniversary of their seminal album Perseverance, their most recent album, Weight Of The False Self, sent shockwaves through the metalcore ultraverse. It is therefore fitting that the current tour has a monster lineup with Gatecreeper, Dying Wish, and Bodysnatcher on the ticket.
The Webster Theater is a landmark for heavy music fans in Connecticut. I have seen more bands than I can count at this venue, starting way back when with Morbid Angel. Its large, open club space accommodates wallflowers and circle pit demons alike, creating one of the most welcoming metal scenes in the northeast. On the Friday night of the Hatebreed show, the Webster was as full as I have ever seen it, testifying not only to the draw of the bands performing but also to the appeal and status of the venue.
Dying Wish
Dying Wish went up first. This Portland, Oregon metal band pushed the crowd to its aerobic limit with high-energy antics that turned heads all the way around. The unavoidable comparison of lead singer Emma Boster to Harley Quinn from the movies hits you right between the eyes when the band stepped out on the stage, but when she starts singing it is her voice you most notice. It is the hardcore energy and punk sensibilities of the band that make for a sure-fire winning combination.
Bodysnatcher
Florida’s Bodysnatcher prowled the deck next. This deathcore band is touring for their latest album, Bleed-Abide, which is one of my top picks for 2022. I am a fan of all the bands on the card, but it was Bodysnatcher I wanted to see most because they are the one I hadn’t seen live before. Their performance was a mesmerizing combination of muscular metal and laid-back confidence, and it resonated with the growing crowd in Hartford. They could have played for an hour and a half and still we would have wanted more.
Gatecreeper
Gatecreeper
Gatecreeper
Gatecreeper is a death metal band from Arizona that is creating some of the most interesting music in heavy metal today. Their 2021 album An Unexpected Reality is a monumental achievement with a very unlikely structure – seven songs that run about one minute each and an eleven-minute epic as the anchor. The hooks and crushing riffs were in all their full-throttle glory, and they devastated and primed the crowd for what was to come next. This is third time I have seen Gatecreeper this year and every time is better than the last.
Hatebreed
Hatebreed
In the past few years I have seen Hatebreed many times, but always at large outdoor festivals. In that environment they positively crush it. With plenty of room to run around on those gigantic stages, they get up to all sorts. I wondered how that kind of show would translate to the more intimate confines of a smaller indoor place. It turns out, the show is just as exciting in a theater as it is in the wide outdoors.
Over the course of two dozen songs (twenty five, in fact, if I counted correctly), Hatebreed hit all the spots fans were looking for. The setlist did include songs from Perseverance, naturally, but also from early albums The Rise of Brutality and Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire, and more. I will never get tired of watching this band live because they leave it all on the stage and they always play like their lives depend on it.
Hatebreed
Hatebreed
Hatebreed
The 20 Years Of Perseverance Tour continues trough most of November. Bleeding Through joins for the last few dates and Gatecreeper steps off then – see the tour poster for the facts and get your tickets while they are still available.
Omens is the ninth album from Lamb Of God and one of their strongest to date.
Starting out in Richmond, Virginia under the name Burn The Priest, Lamb Of God has a history nearly thirty years long. From New American Gospel in 2000 to the newest record, Omens, they have laid down the grooves and the metalcore like no other. Each new album is a massive occasion for fans, and the latest one is destined to be a stand-out set in their impressive history. The band is Randy Blythe (vocals), Mark Morton (guitar), Willie Adler (guitar), John Campbell (bass), and Art Cruz (drums).
It all starts out on a jarring note with “Nevermore” – a wailing, battering beginning that fills you with trepidation. A little dissonance is in there too to permanently unbalance you. Blythe’s voice grinds you up as you listen, then reassuring, melodic singing offers a soothing repast, but you know what is coming next. Great opener. “Vanishing” is next and it is rougher, if anything – a straight-up pummeling. The adrenaline continues to flow and spew, and the guitars line you up and shake you down. “To The Grave” wraps up the first triplet and the ligatures are tight by the end of that one.
“Ditch” is one of my favorite tracks on the record. It is a bloody raking of your senses, an aural calamity. This leads to the title track and the end of side one. “Omens” is a linear assault that shows you straight up what the deal is and leaves it with you. It is a heavy weight for you to decide what it means.
The second half of the album has all the grain of the first, and to me it seems even darker in tone. “Gomorrah” flat out tells you how bad things are, and on songs like “Grayscale” you feel as if the clock is ticking and the final bits of sand are about to filter through the narrow neck of the hourglass. The set ends with “September Song,” the longest track and perhaps the most somber. Mysterious desert vibes reach out and surround you at the front, entrancing and then hypnotizing. One minute in the terror starts and it never really lets up, even with the spacey interlude and the off ramp. This album is a monster. Highly recommended.
Omens is out now in a variety of forms through Epic Records. Check out the options at the links below.
Texas death metal band I Am bring the heat on their new album, Eternal Steel.
I Am is a deathcore / death metal band from Texas that came to be around 2011. After the Momento Mori EP in 2015, I Am released two killer full-length albums, Life Through Torment (2017) and Hard 2 Kill (2018). Their music is notable not just for its power but also for speed. They have combined thrash and death metal elements with enough of a hook and a groove shining through to make the sound unique. The band is Andrew Hileman (vocals), Tom Reyes (guitar), Chris Burgess (guitar), Erik Rodriguez (bass), and Ian Scott (drums).
I Am gets their point across on the new album through eleven electrifying tracks. “The Primal Wave” poses the first question and introduces the heavy sound punctuated by rapid ripples and brought forth fully by Andrew Hileman’s menacing singing. “Surrender to the Blade” continues the campaign with a steady, driving riff that morphs into a dervish at exactly the right moment. The lead break is eerie and enticing and two thirds of the way through there is another shift. It is impressive how the initiated theme remains in place as it is put through its paces in such variety. “The Iron Gate” follows, a sorrowful, dooming affair, setting up the title track. “Eternal Steel” races through the open field, bewildering all who give it a glance. This song gives you a savage battering you won’t soon forget.
Other stand-out tracks include “Infernal Panther,” again along a doom lane with homage to early heavy metal icons you will recognize right away, and “Heaven On Earth,” a song that pushes on with unswerving confidence – it also has a fantastic lead guitar break. “Manic Cure” is the final statement, and here we go out on a bang when the speed, power, and groove all come together in a signature piece of work. This new album is exceptional, even better than Hard 2 Kill, I think. Go get yours. Recommended.
Eternal Steel is out through MNRK Heavy on Friday, September 9th in digital and an array of physicals.
Photos by Wayne Edwards, taken at Piere’s Entertainment Center, 2022.
Atlanta noise rock band The Callous Daoboys launch their third album into the zeitgeist, Celebrity Therapist.
The Callous Daoboys create music that is rather hard to define, despite the labels of metalcore and mathcore often applied to their output. It is unpredictable one song to the next, and also one bar to the next in any given song. There are sometimes long melodic passages – entire songs, even – and along the way there is prominent disruption. They have released two previous full-length albums so far, Animal Tetris (2017) and Die on Mars (2019), plus an EP right before the inaugural debut. The musicians are Carson Pace (vocals), Maddie Caffrey (guitar), Dan Hodsdon (guitar), Jack Buckalew (bass), Amber Christman (violin), and Sam Williamson (drums).
“Violent Astrology” wakes you up and directs your attention to what is about to happen. Noise, chaos, screaming, music. It might not seem like it at first, but there is a lot here that owes a debt to Zappa, and that is where the biggest appeal lies for me. There is a great deal of unexpectedness throughout, not the least of which is the melodic passage that coalesces from the midst of the violent careening. You have some thinking to do if you want to gather your thoughts on this song, or any of the others in the set.
Reviewing this music is a rather fruitless endeavor, in the end. What shall I do? Try to describe the weirdness? My mission here is merely to make you aware of the album’s existence. Across the eight tracks on the album, there are a multitude of samples and grabs, arranged in an aggressively artful way among the vocals and instrumentations. The work is frenzied and appears on the surface to be disordered, but it isn’t. I am not sure it makes much sense to look for patterns, exactly, but there certainly is an extraordinary amount of expression going on. If you like this sort of sound in the first place, and/or you are up for a challenge, then go ahead and press play.
Celebrity Therapist is out on September 2nd through MNRK Heavy, in cooperation with Modern Static Records.
Flying Fiddlesticks Music Blog 