tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11914914182089948092023-11-16T03:04:48.238-08:00N.E. MetalA spot for all things heavy metal happening in and coming from New England.Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-65622685530219449552013-01-22T09:45:00.000-08:002013-01-22T09:46:57.056-08:00Sick Livver<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Livver’s “Fuck You Pay Me" doesn’t waste time. Sixteen
minutes. Ten songs. One big “Holy shit.”</div>
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These Boston
dudes crash together grind, hardcore and a bit of prog for songs that blow up
like epics before screeching to a halt in under two minutes. The longest song
is a cover of Hammerhead’s “Tuffskins,” a bit of shit-luck reality.</div>
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Not that fantasy provides much relief here. “Black Winds’
and “Her Ghost” have a dreary, Gothic feel that oozes gloom. Elsewhere, there
are songs about burning, drowning, and freezing; basically everybody dies a
horrible death on this record.</div>
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But singer Bruce Bettis, guitarist Robin Goodhue, drummer
Morgan Berns, and bass player Aarne Victorine sound like they are having a
blast bringing down this mayhem. Bettis latches onto a pretty steady howl while
his band mates shake up shit from militant hardcore marches to trippy sonic juxtapositions.
It’s all pure metal but laced with some mindbending ingredients.</div>
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"Fuck You Pay Me" is available online at <span style="background-color: red;"><a href="http://livver.bandcamp.com/">http://livver.bandcamp.com/</a></span>. Livver is
playing Wednesday, Jan. 23, with Hivesmasher and Lunglust at Dusk, 301 Harris Ave.,
Providence, R.I.
Show time is 9 p.m.</div>
Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-13910501265758260822012-12-28T20:59:00.000-08:002012-12-28T21:09:14.851-08:00The Year in Loud<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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So looking back on 2012, the New
England metal scene did not disappoint. Festivals, club shows,
series, and CDs gave head bangers plenty of ways to spend their hard-earned
plastic. It was good to see metal slide deeper into brutality while upping the
technical game too. Some bands sharpened the traditional sounds, and a few
stood out with sick, twisted humor. Much to love, but when the mushroom cloud
settled, these are the 11 slabs of N.E. metal that stood out.</div>
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“Contaminating the Hive Mind” by Abnormality- Death with
brains. </div>
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“Gutter Choir” by Hivesmasher<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- Grind your mind.</div>
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“Death is the Only Mortal” by The Acacia Strain-
Scorched-earth metal.</div>
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“Fire From the Sky” by Shadows Fall – Why aren’t these guys
headlining stadiums?</div>
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“Oh Shit” by Dick Move – No bullshit metal-flavored hard
core.</div>
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http://dickmoveboston.bandcamp.com/album/oh-shit </div>
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“Solipsist Dream” by Pathogenic – Prog-death with a soul.</div>
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“Sloppy Seconds” by Sexcrement – Groove-death with totally
evil soul.</div>
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“Born of the Bomb” by Lich King – Goddam motherfuckin’
thrash, baby.</div>
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“Temple”
by Thy Will be Done – And this is the sound of a band hitting its stride.</div>
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“Second Grave” by Second Grave- Smells like stoner metal.</div>
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brutality sandwich</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7kOmxCZOJRix_ytg_nVGBhapSE4mspDZoMDy9ZpSjh2z7-LBgptyTBQpy7cnhbdjkx6qlStWcM7giJxiPgaYeT2t6SLMgH0mH1T5AbY9DioU5suDjvwhgpIRE5g80y3kLmUAaZR7ty6E/s1600/neva.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7kOmxCZOJRix_ytg_nVGBhapSE4mspDZoMDy9ZpSjh2z7-LBgptyTBQpy7cnhbdjkx6qlStWcM7giJxiPgaYeT2t6SLMgH0mH1T5AbY9DioU5suDjvwhgpIRE5g80y3kLmUAaZR7ty6E/s320/neva.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/lE5U64dpTRc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-72785903210964914032012-12-17T12:28:00.000-08:002012-12-17T12:42:17.562-08:00Acaro arrives<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoKWujQKb9Oz95OChyphenhyphen-p4timxbNAbvhnFo-XRg_9LiXze1tSUT_dYsqxj34_P8JZMBU7sN0yXpa4Y0Hsnim2Kt1jIw0COw7My4Fedistc0e57kwkapqIunOg78IGoFULj3l0ocoH9D4f8/s1600/acaro+live.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoKWujQKb9Oz95OChyphenhyphen-p4timxbNAbvhnFo-XRg_9LiXze1tSUT_dYsqxj34_P8JZMBU7sN0yXpa4Y0Hsnim2Kt1jIw0COw7My4Fedistc0e57kwkapqIunOg78IGoFULj3l0ocoH9D4f8/s320/acaro+live.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Acaro playing earlier this month in Dallas (James Villa photo)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The coast-to-coast trek by Killswitch Engage and Shadows
Fall has to be one of the all-time great Masshole campaigns. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shads and KsE helped kick start a metal revival both home
and abroad in the late 1990s. Both bands fired up the underground and likewise
made their marks on the mainstream with Grammy nominations and invites to play
Ozzfest and the like. Both band are still going strong, as Shadows Fall this
year released<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Fire From the Sky”
(review here http://newenglandmetal.blogspot.com/2012/05/dark-shadows.html), while
Killswitch returned to its roots by reinstalling Jesse Leach as its singer.
This tour features Killswitch performing “Alive or Just Breathing”_ its
breakthrough album made in 2002 with Leach, though he departed the band not
long after its release_ even while new material has already surfaced since
Leach rejoined<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>KsE in April at the New
England Metal and Hardcore festival.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Shads/KsE show brings the bands back to their original
stomping grounds with a show Wednesday, Dec. 19, at Pearl Street night club in Northampton, MA,
which, like other stops on the tour, is the kind of venue where the fans get up
close.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For Acaro_ the third member of this Made-in-Massachusetts metal
package_ these are some of the biggest shows it has played to date and marks
the first time it has been part of a national tour. Guitarist Felipe Roa says
things couldn’t be going any better.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“There hasn’t been a bad show for any of the three bands. We
play small clubs usually, so while these are small shows for them, these are
big for us, and we’ve been getting huge feedback from the audiences. And it’s
great seeing how the crowds get right up there to Shadows Fall and Killswitch.
Those guys can get right in and crowd surf if they what to,” Roa says.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Acaro is ready for this kind of attention. The band’s
independently made full-length “The Disease of Fear” was picked up by Goomba
Records for international release in October. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Acaro formed in 2008 with has some pretty familiar
faces. Roa played in Chilean metal band Angor.
Singer Chris Harrell was in Burn in Silence. Guitarist Chris Robinson played in
Infinite Descent. Bassist Kevin Smith was in Bigfoot. And drummer Jay
Fitzgerald was a member of Overcast alongside Shadows Fall singer Brian Fair
and Killswitch Engage bassist Mike D’Antonio.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Chris (Harrell) is friends with Jesse, and Jay has the
Overcast connection, but those guys really believed in our music. That’s why
they wanted us on this tour,” Roa says.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And Acaro is making music that qualifies as the next missive
from Mass that’s going to blow open the national metal scene. The guitar work
is crisp and anthemic, the rhythms relentless in a hard-core way, and the
vocals come wrapped in a diverse mix of dread murmuring and death growls. The
tunes on “The Disease of Fear” are tight-knit compositions, all dark and
foreboding but peppered with memorable riffs and melodic hooks.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHMsQg6nk_wCnWWccE7Itf8k26L7d6TrRJoG0_3VQgmpVAUr4yfgDQbTi-ONDh-yzPNR2H9bgIpSnRaz8LGjKN_vMl2dSFuyY40aOa_otPjT1CNth3-1a59KZzPLK7U4eeqRxUoS8w2ds/s1600/acaro+cd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHMsQg6nk_wCnWWccE7Itf8k26L7d6TrRJoG0_3VQgmpVAUr4yfgDQbTi-ONDh-yzPNR2H9bgIpSnRaz8LGjKN_vMl2dSFuyY40aOa_otPjT1CNth3-1a59KZzPLK7U4eeqRxUoS8w2ds/s320/acaro+cd.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Even though Acaro put out the record locally in 2011, Roa
says the band isn’t tiring of presenting the material, acknowledging that
especially on a national tour these songs are “new” to every audience. This is
a band clearly willing to put in its time, with Roa<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>saying when not on tour Acaro rehearses three
times per week, playing “The Disease of Fear” from top to bottom _ twice.
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Before the tour we sat down and put together a set that we
thought would have the best impact. So far it’s going over pretty well,” Roa
says. “The key point to our live show is that we just throw it down.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Roa says Acaro has felt the love in such unexpected metal
outposts as Gallup, N.M.,
and Salt Lake City, UT. Even the California Metal Fest_ which
was stacked with screamo bands_ gave Acaro a good response</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It was a lot of young kids and bands like Asking
Alexandria. But a lot of people still checked us out even though we were old
and stinky,” Roa says.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The only weirdness Roa had to speak of actually occurred on
the day we caught up with him. The band was in Columbus, OH,
scheduled to play in the venue where Dimebag Darrell was shot in 2004.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s heavy shit,” Roa says. “We love him so much. It feels
awkward. I’m just trying to stay away from the venue until the show.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No such shit should be in the air Wednesday, Dec. 19, when this Masshole Extravaganza hits Pearl Street nightclub, 10 Pearl Street, Northampton
Once Beloved is also on the bill and gets the concert going at 7:30 p.m. The
tour then heads up to Maine
on Thursday Dec. 20, for a show at the State Theater, 609 Congress St., Portland,
ME.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZWPneU1ULaE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Acaro will be back in Boston
on Feb. 2 playing at Church with The Empire Shall Fall (Jesse Leach’s other project),
the River Neva and bunch of other decent heavy bands.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’re going to write and release more material soon. We
just need to decide how we want to put it out. We’re glad we did a CD last time
even though people said nobody buys CDs any more,” Roa says. “We’ve sold more
than 300 on this tour, so I think some people still do want CDs.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Especially ones as good as “The Disease of Fear.”</div>
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<![endif]--><br />Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-88425691695870617152012-12-12T06:22:00.000-08:002012-12-12T06:22:36.653-08:00Pretty hot December<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis0l222dSCY992x5PquVXWsAwxwoZ11KnXxc-N7tCSwxAW9x0DEaPWehHRVyn0mdQcgVNPs5MnzldbKQ8bWXbl471UYoSoyOmuFYzbNYAgCKHRKeEl0FqT4U_ZP8hR0HsonpR_qrpEcKg/s1600/IMG_5289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis0l222dSCY992x5PquVXWsAwxwoZ11KnXxc-N7tCSwxAW9x0DEaPWehHRVyn0mdQcgVNPs5MnzldbKQ8bWXbl471UYoSoyOmuFYzbNYAgCKHRKeEl0FqT4U_ZP8hR0HsonpR_qrpEcKg/s320/IMG_5289.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonny Davy of Job for a Cowboy at Palladioum earlier this year (Sam McLennan photo)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Man, there really is no rest for the wicked. Usually this
time of year there are piddling shows and, at best, opportunities for
up-and-comers to make an impression.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But this year it’s almost worth cancelling the holidays to
make room for more bands to work, since nobody seems all the interested in
kicking back. The big catch this week is Job for a Cowboy’s return to the
Palladium in Worcester, MA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>JFAC, who came through the city with the Summer Slaughter tour, this
time headlines the upstairs room on Saturday, Dec. 15, and brings along
Cephalic Carnage. The show starts at 4:30 p.m. and includes Legion, Conforza,
Sexcrement, The Summoned, Carnivora, and Your Pain is Enduring.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://2.gvt0.com/vi/ep5qYg_L8No/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ep5qYg_L8No&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ep5qYg_L8No&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Marc Rizzo, guitarist from Soulfly and Cavalera Conspiracy,
brings his solo band to Club X, 681 Valley St.,
Providence R.I.,
on Friday, Dec. 14. The show also features Fear Reprisal, Black Mass (who, as video above demonstrates, just
kicked ass as a last-minute addition to a recent Metal Thursday bill at Ralph’s
in Worcester),
The Curse of Humanity, Necris, and Needlework.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Show time is 7:30 p.m.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Speaking of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Metal
Thursday, not only will there be a regularly scheduled event this week but also
a show on Saturday, Dec. 15 marking booker Chris’s birthday. The Dec. 13 show
has Xenosis, Ramius, Scalpel, and Plague for the Cure. The birthday bash brings
in Shroud of Bereavement, Sonic Pulse, Replacire, and Seren. Both shows get
going around 9 ish and happen at Ralph’s Diner, 148 Grove St., Worcester,
MA.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Within Ruins and Fit for an Autopsy team at 6 p.m. Friday,
Dec. 15,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>at the Webster Theater,
31 Webster St., Hartford, CT.
Diecast, Dead by Wednesday, Rosalia, Flood of Arcadia, and Tides of Time are at
The Elevens, 140 Pleasant St., Northampton, MA,
for a 7 p.m. outing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And sure it has bounced around a couple of venues, but Merry
Rockfest is set to go Friday, Dec. 14, at the Franco-American Club, 592
South St., Athol. The
music starts at 4:30 p.m. and the all-ages event features a shitload of bands
including Run for Your Guns, Scare Don’t Fear, Shot Heard Around the World,
Lydia Ayer, and others. Remember, don’t truck to Gardener for this one.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All this to get you to the end of the world, and there’s
plenty after it as well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-46837724146277589402012-12-10T06:14:00.001-08:002012-12-10T06:15:48.426-08:00Sonata Arctica's power play<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpxtJJ680QXgLhS0eZKRDAIx9lXsYaU75Fqz9apYV9mU8iLMkvliPLVbHE67fWaZdHSO8svWxW_uyqWFoFC4sz9Uu7HK1cb8Kaos5YeBRojcrJYmH0xUX6Uiz980dIVwLMw1hR6GE_3PE/s1600/SONATA+ARCTICA+-+Stones+Grow+Her+Name+5x5+@+300+dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpxtJJ680QXgLhS0eZKRDAIx9lXsYaU75Fqz9apYV9mU8iLMkvliPLVbHE67fWaZdHSO8svWxW_uyqWFoFC4sz9Uu7HK1cb8Kaos5YeBRojcrJYmH0xUX6Uiz980dIVwLMw1hR6GE_3PE/s320/SONATA+ARCTICA+-+Stones+Grow+Her+Name+5x5+@+300+dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even as metal mutates, it never totally lets go of the past,
which means there will always be room for Sonata Arctica and bands like it
playing a melodic, dramatic strain of power metal rooted in the glory days of
the 1970s.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not that Sonata Arctica sounded dated when it brought its
current tour in support of “Stones Grow Her Name” to the Palladium in Worcester, MA,
on Friday, Dec. 7. Quite the opposite, actually, as the show proved that with
decent material and musicianship on the level that Sonata Arctica works at,
this strain of metal didn’t die when the Scorpions went limp.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Melodic death troupe Arsis is part of the Sonata tour and
brutal thrash band Black Trip from Boston
opened the show which played out to a few hundred head bangers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sonata Arctica leaned heavily on new material, turning “Shitload
of Money” “Losing My Insanity” and “I Have a Right” into highlights of the
show. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The opening “Only the Broken Hearts” likewise came from
“Stones Grow Her Name” and made for a thunderous start. Singer Tony Kakko moved
with equal ease through the harder (“The Gun”) and moodier (“Last Amazing
Grays”) elements of the band’s songbook.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvIL30XUiz01fcZRB30Jp6h5CoweBi_Usz3TBY6tyWUjgWHyZn8aEUim5JVAiWuri6JdGIIqRAugyQkNB2EqP9hDZQ6vZga4ELYYloHGEfl8o1pZUzQPKw88l3x8myxtmnn_vryWOghQ/s1600/SONATA+ARCTICA+by+Terhi+Ylimainen+-+Vertical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvIL30XUiz01fcZRB30Jp6h5CoweBi_Usz3TBY6tyWUjgWHyZn8aEUim5JVAiWuri6JdGIIqRAugyQkNB2EqP9hDZQ6vZga4ELYYloHGEfl8o1pZUzQPKw88l3x8myxtmnn_vryWOghQ/s320/SONATA+ARCTICA+by+Terhi+Ylimainen+-+Vertical.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Guitarist Elias Viljanen and keyboard player Henrik
Klingenberg supplied the necessary grandeur and sweep_ both in solos and through
the ensemble playing_<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to sell the epic.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sonata Arctica covered a lot of ground during its 90-minute
show, with the Finns revealing humor and heart in their work.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Arsis, on the other hand, went straight in for a bashing.
The band plays with a punk-like abandon, but “The Face of My Innocence" showed
how Arsis could stretch out with a precise, focused delivery too. Definitely
root out “Leper’s Caress,” the band’s new free EP from which singer James
Malone rasped “Carve My Cross” during Arsis’ too-brief set.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Black Trip played a relentless show, chugging through 20
minutes of material before taking a break to introduce its namesake song.
Singer and guitarist Gennaro Ammendola provided dark, brooding counter point to
guitarist Ben Levin’s frenetic playing. Drummer Jeff Hale triggered the
seamless transitions amid crazed, shattered rhythm patterns he created with
bassist Trevor McCabe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Black Trip’s
tunes split the difference of what the touring bands offered, as the local
outfit’s sound was harsh and confrontational like Arsis’ tunes but lyrically
looked outward like Sonata Arctica’s material.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-32380209965348892972012-12-06T12:26:00.000-08:002012-12-06T12:26:10.799-08:00Tripping along The River Neva<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6pLtdrT6ETsyT2bACzMNcigwvdoEgSUphvBedNRIq7OtZ_hlvp_O2K8Rx6jNjBDNX9KLtUZpssK6U6G6mD5l6qsn3OIBU-gI59gytWKnIIU1TUGaMfcgFtcH1JTZZVwvcG_M6KIx0bHs/s1600/neva+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6pLtdrT6ETsyT2bACzMNcigwvdoEgSUphvBedNRIq7OtZ_hlvp_O2K8Rx6jNjBDNX9KLtUZpssK6U6G6mD5l6qsn3OIBU-gI59gytWKnIIU1TUGaMfcgFtcH1JTZZVwvcG_M6KIx0bHs/s320/neva+cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Forget verse-chorus-verse. Toss out the “here’s where we play
a breakdown” formula. Don’t go looking for a big guitar solo. Just let The
River Neva wash over you; actually the listen won’t be quite so gentle.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The River Neva has its own take on the prog-death dynamic
that is rejuvenating the metal scene at the moment. In the case of this Worcester,
MA, quintet, the music has melody, which gives you something to hang onto as a
song barrels forward, but nothing on the band’s EP “Chemistry of Holocaust”
sounds predictable or otherwise provides familiar safe haven.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Catching up with singer Trey Holton and bass player Jake
O’Connor_ vets of the Central Mass metal scene_ both say they have never really
been part of a project like The River Neva.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“This band is pushing me vocally and I know it’s pushing the
other guys as well,” Holton says. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>O’Connor
concurs, saying some of the complex bass lines he comes up with now would have had him tossed out of a few of the bands he used to play with.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/5g490Da1Wl4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The boundary-busting begins with guitarist Grizz Gagnon who
is the band’s main songwriter. Credited by his band mates with having a taste
for music by Periphery and Veil of Maya, Gagnon cooked up songs that are both
brutal and adventurous.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“There’s a smartness factor,” says O’Connor. “This is not
the band if you just want to hear chug-chug-chug.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Instead you get “Corpse in Blistered Feet,” a song with a perfect
death metal title and vibe yet mixes in some clean vocals and a lurching tempo
that creates coiled tension. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The River Neva teamed with producer Rob Gil (whose credits
include albums by Hatebreed and Unearth) to make “Chemistry of Holocaust” and
that’s when the band honed its sound.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He fooled around with our sound in the studio and then we
started writing and rewriting in the studio,” Holton says. "Every time I went
into the studio before, everything was all set down in advance.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But there’s no denying the success of the approach used
here. Holton points to “Burn the Note to Jesus,” the most sinister track on the
EP, and says how Gil totally reworked the vocal lines because he heard an
anthem waiting to get sprung.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuaVJl1A-KlBG8B7WhIyHgHjwetNZ9Ly387Y5HeqZ0zp2Z1Km7dV9jthBTDHk5sZkFvD2bQ7UM5mhRrCdNGHuaA3jndT66NNhUuGfJ5TCNoy1qWmbkfMF5NJdK_NOKKZD_b9fKMS4PL3c/s1600/neva+studio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuaVJl1A-KlBG8B7WhIyHgHjwetNZ9Ly387Y5HeqZ0zp2Z1Km7dV9jthBTDHk5sZkFvD2bQ7UM5mhRrCdNGHuaA3jndT66NNhUuGfJ5TCNoy1qWmbkfMF5NJdK_NOKKZD_b9fKMS4PL3c/s320/neva+studio.jpg" width="227" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The River Neva</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Guitarist Chris Abbott and drummer Eric Zarazinski round out The River Neva lineup. The band headlines a Toys for Tots benefit happening
Sunday Dec. 9 at Tammany Club, 43 Pleasant St., Worcester, MA. The all-ages
show starts at 2 p.m. and also features Fuel of War, Tester, Mucklers Circle,
Burns From Within, the Circadian Rhythm, Blackheart Epidemic, Faces of the
Fallen, and John Monstro. Admission is $10 or $5 with a toy to donate. The
River Neva goes on around 8:15.
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The River Neva also has shows on Feb. 2 at Church, 69
Kilmarnock St., Boston,
MA, and Feb. 8 at Silk City,
99 Main St., Florence, MA.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Holton says the band is tossing a couple of new songs into its
upcoming live shows but for the most part is sitting on the rest of the new
material getting prepped with Gil for a full-length release due out next year
After all, things tend to change as the process moves along.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Other holiday happenings for metal fans include the
Christmas Chaos Show happening Dec. 15 at Elks Lodge, 81 Roxbury St., Keene, NH. The show starts at 4 p.m. and features
My Missing Half, Eyes Set West, Help Me Kill My Ex, No More Lies, Side Effects
may Include, and Monarch.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then on Dec. 27, it’s Black Christmas at the Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester,
MA, with Conforza, Pathogenic, Murdoc,
and a World Without. Show time is 6 p.m. and the show is in the upstairs room.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And buy all means if you're out tonight, Dec. 6, stop into Ralph's Diner in Worcester, MA, for Metal Thursday. Abnormality tops the bill.</div>
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<![endif]-->Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-7804065603768006162012-11-28T10:54:00.000-08:002012-11-28T11:00:20.750-08:00Hotblack will take you back<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTHohwWFLAVztjcfrRzqnkAB4UE3ndfkG0puMvMYAnyHNOPRMh3B4EEJLVqZ-gQCDSYyeIXKQE4KPIY7kgO62t2y5FT3t8Bvk2e1w6trHzmLhJ-SkTDDwFA4V8koNpkBmUVV9kFPgzC_Y/s1600/hotblack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTHohwWFLAVztjcfrRzqnkAB4UE3ndfkG0puMvMYAnyHNOPRMh3B4EEJLVqZ-gQCDSYyeIXKQE4KPIY7kgO62t2y5FT3t8Bvk2e1w6trHzmLhJ-SkTDDwFA4V8koNpkBmUVV9kFPgzC_Y/s320/hotblack.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hotblack </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you think the past 20 years of rock_ fuck it, music in
general_ have been a big suck, then Hotblack is the band for you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Formed in 2004, the quartet sticks to a restricted diet of
old-school punk and hardcore, melodic metal, and groove that never slows to
stoner speeds. Guitarist Todd Cuff says the whole idea of hotel-room smashing,
whiskey guzzling, cash bathing hedonism is the inspiration behind Hotblack, but
you’d be hard pressed to find anything quite so indulgent in the music itself.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Instead, Cuff, singer and guitarist Airworlf, bassist Dan
Egan, and drummer Josh Puza knock out two-minute tunes full of snot and piss,
and they don’t care what you think about their Camaro-stealing ways.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even though these guys are coming from different
backgrounds_ Egan, for instance, was in Western Mass death-metal stalwarts
Exhumed_ they find common ground that’s both familiar and their own. You start
to think the band is heading off into a Motorhead direction and it suddenly
swerves into something more punk. When things get Ramones-y, count on metal to
come barreling in. None of it is jarring (at least in a bad way). Actually, it swings.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I could toss up a black metal tune and Airwolf would make
it swing. That’s just the way he is,” Cuff says.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9toy3gTZ79exYAgC3qztn-KPRV59yreY_Vy00ZwnHbN-AgTc8_1XssEGRV1bf_gzp7rWS70r-sQf_QQIu3365yIO3ekChoxr8DfXGecwu-8PP2BPbC7AXesO0dqaAF-zd0aZ1-cC6wsM/s1600/egan+and+airwolf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9toy3gTZ79exYAgC3qztn-KPRV59yreY_Vy00ZwnHbN-AgTc8_1XssEGRV1bf_gzp7rWS70r-sQf_QQIu3365yIO3ekChoxr8DfXGecwu-8PP2BPbC7AXesO0dqaAF-zd0aZ1-cC6wsM/s320/egan+and+airwolf.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan Egan on bass and Airwolf on guitar (Return to the Pit photo)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hotblack, whose flat-out slash 'n' burn set at this year's Rock and Shock fest in Worcester reportedly put a kink in Jerry Only's devil lock, has a pair of shows coming up. The first is
Saturday, Dec. 1, at the Elevens, 140 Pleasant St.,
Northampton. That bill also has
Palace in Thunderland (featuring ex-Black Pyramid members), and Planetoid. Then
on Dec. 15, Hotblack teams with Humanoid at No Problemo, 813 Purchase St., New Bedford.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/lVdbwvBDsvU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And maybe in time for Christmas the band will haul out
remaining copies of “Rock n Roll Will Destroy Your Life,” the CD released in
2008, disappeared for a few years, and returned in limited quantities in the
fall.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Maybe we’ll just release it every October like a seasonal
beer,” says Cuff. Any new stuff is likely going to simply go up online since in
the guitarist’s estimation there is no music business to speak of.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And he doesn’t know which is worse: no more gold-plated tour
jets or a world where bands flog their gigs on Facebook.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I hate to whore on Facebook. It’s the least rock ’n’ roll
thing imaginable,” Cuff says “Can you imagine Jimmy Page using Facebook to
announce a gig? Ozzy would have never used Facebook. He’d just announce a gig
five minutes before it happened and that’s fine.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-60690795158232802202012-11-21T17:13:00.000-08:002012-11-21T17:14:56.975-08:00This'll do, Fog Wizard<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghHYLS10UwNsPGX08g3czC_w0Zks35LvCo1j916fBdHq6wvLDwiC-Ddr9BhX4h1TuUBjT2xK129uqe6xMFd_7ZWN1-e7lDgC5uuSX97cgRfHBC_a-Xkm9nRMBpoKzMIeF97yQkMyDpidM/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghHYLS10UwNsPGX08g3czC_w0Zks35LvCo1j916fBdHq6wvLDwiC-Ddr9BhX4h1TuUBjT2xK129uqe6xMFd_7ZWN1-e7lDgC5uuSX97cgRfHBC_a-Xkm9nRMBpoKzMIeF97yQkMyDpidM/s320/cover.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Fog Wizard’s new “Anything Metal Will Do” may be just
five-songs long, but that’s enough time for this band to run a course from
murder to monsters to some more murder and a few points in between. It all raw
and rough, but pretty unchained as singer Captain Motherfucker navigates punk,
doom, and death elements crammed into E.P.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
“Lobo” gets things going on an impressively gruesome note as
the band rips through a tale of abuse met with ax-wielding vengeance. Evil McDeathington pops the cork with a bit of bass bashing before drummer Gott
der Kettensagen keeps a steady death-march beat over which Darth Drewcifer666
deploys a variety of guitar squeals and screeches. Capt. Motherfucker narrates
the story of our psycho Lobo (last spotted in New Hampshire), and sets up a lunatic
pace that the rest of the band works around for the remainder of the project.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Metal Warriors” is more or less ode to Motorhead, with the
thrash ’n’ punk approach carried over to “Fear the Kraken,” a bit of monster
metal that would sound at home in a Dethklok set.</div>
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But before anyone thinks Fog Wizard is just shitting around,
the band cranks out the brutal punked-up “Meat is Murder,” a song that says
"screw" to preaching and just gets down to the nitty gritty of the shit and blood
of slaughterhouse livin’.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkAMviLJLgO5EtubpEPJeN-ag406U3nO-MuTg8c6TFDk98bbPy4T-0xV_4zJj5xShG06nKlNBS-EkT_i2Vge_RJfRRikA9MA1-UTmXNv0WZLhunTc1G5fz0Vj_59FUDjDTVLDvaYtQcCU/s1600/band+photo+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkAMviLJLgO5EtubpEPJeN-ag406U3nO-MuTg8c6TFDk98bbPy4T-0xV_4zJj5xShG06nKlNBS-EkT_i2Vge_RJfRRikA9MA1-UTmXNv0WZLhunTc1G5fz0Vj_59FUDjDTVLDvaYtQcCU/s320/band+photo+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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“Gone” closes out the disc with a blast of doom, though in this
case der Kettensagen gets all schizophrenic on the kit while the bass and
guitar lock down the groove.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fog Wizard’s CD-release show for “Anything Metal Will Do”
happens Monday, Nov. 26, at the Middle East in Cambridge.<span class="fsl"> Sunken Ships,
Earthstomper, Descend Upon The Sane, and Black Trip are also on the bill. The
show is 18+ and doors open at 7 p.m.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="fsl">This marks the inaugural show of Metal
Monday, a monthly showcase of local and regional metal bands that LT Live is
booking into the Middle East. Seren and
Boarcorpse will be on the Dec. 10 Metal Monday bill. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-35556069404579032052012-11-17T12:53:00.001-08:002012-11-17T13:28:24.333-08:00Get in the "Gutter" with Hivesmasher <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl6kfzABIeL8LA5c7VVKS1Y2OdbacBmf9X0_4Wx4oMoQlItk_PKxRShaoN4tYYQ_E-qmxVmVS9FRoRwlGeQcyuwdXX4TFzJwEWplSHNUM9ryrwt_Y0H3jpUeW5UeX0zSVh4bnfurYxl9g/s1600/hive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl6kfzABIeL8LA5c7VVKS1Y2OdbacBmf9X0_4Wx4oMoQlItk_PKxRShaoN4tYYQ_E-qmxVmVS9FRoRwlGeQcyuwdXX4TFzJwEWplSHNUM9ryrwt_Y0H3jpUeW5UeX0zSVh4bnfurYxl9g/s320/hive.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hivesmasher</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hivesmasher’s “Gutter Choir” is the sound of crazy pushed to
the point where songs could fall apart with the slightest nudge from an extra
drum beat, scream, or guitar note.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s a line we live on,” says Hivesmasher drummer Tim
Brault. “Some songs teeter on the edge of losing it. Early Slayer is like that.
It’s like they were trying to cram so much into a song so fast that it sounds
like it’s about to break.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Gutter Choir” is the latest from the Mass grindcore troupe
comprised of singer Aaron Heinold, guitarists Tyler Kingsland and Julius
Hayden, keyboard player Dan Bolton, bass player Ali Ghorashi, and Brault. Black
Market Activities released the tunes on vinyl LP and downloads, which are
available on Bandcamp and usual outlets. Indiemerch.com is also carrying the
vinyl.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a few lineup changes, Hivesmasher drops the hammer in
a big way with this album that veers from minute-and-a-half blow outs to longer
beat downs, like the five-minute “Damage (P)inc.” The songs titles alone are
entertaining _ “Vomitouch,” “Can of Awesometism,” “The Shit Waltz.”</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpDIWt0Gy1yNTAFMXauQl-YJ5AajDsGw9ZxvlgLK9cMXr0v3K78BNxmoz7ejl7Ca09m0pz3HSu_5KECfjhdjpatG2nDrDywZ58FmxRWi5CGaQ7hB-q6WSSXHpQMUjKPTcdZtH-fiIUdA4/s1600/hive+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpDIWt0Gy1yNTAFMXauQl-YJ5AajDsGw9ZxvlgLK9cMXr0v3K78BNxmoz7ejl7Ca09m0pz3HSu_5KECfjhdjpatG2nDrDywZ58FmxRWi5CGaQ7hB-q6WSSXHpQMUjKPTcdZtH-fiIUdA4/s320/hive+cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But this ain’t novelty metal. Heinold brings the hell down
on every song, with a mix of punk economy and disciplined spazzed-out thrash
guitar riffs backing his vocal assaults. There's not much concern for orthodoxy, as you find singer Jake Burns from death-prog outfit Pathogenic joining in on the particularly scabby “Used
Food.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pathogenic and Hivesmasher aren’t exactly tapping the same
veins, but this collaboration works, basically because both bands put
musicality ahead of genre.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We won’t like a band just because it’s a grindcore band or
dislike a band just because it is not a grindcore band,” says Brault.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And besides, the dudes in Hivesmasher and Pathogenic are
buds going way back. Other guests on the record include Guy Kozowyk from The
Red Chord, Nate Johnson from Fit for an Autopsy, and Eric Taranto from
Dysentery.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/iguNm1tJ77U?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even though Hivesmasher crams a shitload of ideas into “Gutter
Choir” (spacey keyboards- check. bile-spewing cover of Foo Fighters’
“Everlong”- check), this record is oozing its goods rather than serving them up
all hermetically sealed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I have pretty strong opinions about producing a metal
album,” says Brault who co-produced this disc. “A lot of metal records_ and
heavy music in general_ is missing the energy that people are supposed to like
about it.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hivesmasher went for a “record it live” approach, and got in
shape by playing a lot of shows before heading into the studio. It paid off,
and now comes time to get back out on stage.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hivesmasher is performing Wednesday, Nov. 21, at The Palladium
in Worcester, MA,
with headliners Gaza
plus Code Orange Kids, Full of Hell, Great American Ghost, The Navidson Record, and
Monoliths. The show starts at 6:30 p.m.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Hivesmasher then has its eye on a Dec. 20 show at Great Scott in Allston, MA, followed by
a January tour into Canada.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What better time to head to Canada than middle of winter,
right?,” Brault posits.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Ah, but your music already gave you away as anything but
conventional. Looking forward to a Black Wednesday before Thanksgiving</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<br /></div>
Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-63820117996867292592012-11-12T12:17:00.000-08:002012-11-12T12:17:09.932-08:00Megadeth relaunches "Countdown"<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10_yXXBSuVolLh1VO0aByB7byE6O_jrPkysH2-FH3lVJ5YY_vk09OQVrTk-RKg0l-iXhyphenhyphenIXNg0O_mIBBEKlvaq1SIaARRhJYfMReJOq91hqCgDS-ekmb5mrzhgw85cYksFq9tLJxhMlQ/s1600/countdown_to_extinction+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10_yXXBSuVolLh1VO0aByB7byE6O_jrPkysH2-FH3lVJ5YY_vk09OQVrTk-RKg0l-iXhyphenhyphenIXNg0O_mIBBEKlvaq1SIaARRhJYfMReJOq91hqCgDS-ekmb5mrzhgw85cYksFq9tLJxhMlQ/s320/countdown_to_extinction+cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Even though Megadeth has been touring steadily since the
release of “Thirteen” last November, it was easy to see why band founder and
leader Dave Mustaine didn’t want to pass up a chance to make the rounds one
more time with a full airing of “Countdown to Extinction” to commemorate that
album’s 20<sup>th</sup> anniversary. Not only is “Countdown” Megadeth’s most
commercially successful album to date, but also_ and more importantly_ it is as
resonant today as when it came out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mustaine caught shit during the election season for comments
made about the validity of Rick Santorum and the historical accuracy of 9/11
accounts. Sunday, Nov. 11, during Megadeth’s show at The Palladium in Worcester, Mustaine wasn’t going to be muzzled, blasting
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for not yet testifying before Congress about
the attacks on the U.S.
embassy in Libya.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Being an agitator is nothing new for Mustaine, “Countdown to
Extinction” being a prime case in point. He’s an equal-opportunity ranter, who points
out dire desperate deeds and other bullshit wherever he finds them. You still
hear that loudly on “Countdown,” especially on the title track, “Symphony of
Destruction” and “Foreclosure of a Dream."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Beyond its relevance, “Countdown to Extinction” is simply a
solid album from start to finish. The well-known songs come early, but that
closing shot of “Captive Honour” and “Ashes in Your Mouth” is as powerful as anything you'll find in the Megadeth catalog.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoH1XDtkZKIic19ToXMpkDevyhXEqQ0d0wrJuTbdZu4XnszXxsjbufqCGB_-TnY_wtb3QyB37LAfQGITwAuboGKTy58JLtrldEQ8BbhyphenhyphenWSOjAxp4fgLrnareRdmEQmJg8Pwu9OeekicmE/s1600/mega.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoH1XDtkZKIic19ToXMpkDevyhXEqQ0d0wrJuTbdZu4XnszXxsjbufqCGB_-TnY_wtb3QyB37LAfQGITwAuboGKTy58JLtrldEQ8BbhyphenhyphenWSOjAxp4fgLrnareRdmEQmJg8Pwu9OeekicmE/s1600/mega.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Broderick, Drover, Mustaine, Ellefson...Megadeth 2012</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The current lineup of Megadeth with guitarist Chris
Broderick, drummer Shawn Drover, and founding members Mustaine and bassist Dave
Ellefson did the “Countdown” songs proud. Broderick_ who has been in the band
for four years_ teams well with Mustaine in trading licks and building towering
thrash harmonies. A lot goes on in the “Countdown” songs, from political and
social commentary to odes about skydiving and cyborgs. The music is as rangy as the themes. Megadeth 2012 nailed it
in proper celebratory style, meaning they played the songs like they still
enjoyed them, not like they were fulfilling a tour-poster promise.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before Megadeth got to “Countdown,” it offered up a mix of
old and new material, starting with “Trust.” The intricacy of the production
blew away the band’s Gigantour show from January. Mind searing vids and lights
accompanied most numbers, which helped those occasional rough patches when
Mumblin’ Mustaine’s vocals just sunk into the sound mix. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Longtime favorite “Hangar 18” showed up early, followed by
“She-Wolf,’ a song that Megadeth keeps firm in the set list and actually holds
its own as a fierce live number. The smoky “A Tout le Monde” gave way to two
solid new songs, “Public Enemy #1” (whose monkey video offers the best chimp
action-film footage since Lance Link) and “Whose Life (is it Anyway?)” before
“Countdown” kicked off.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The non-“Countdown” sequence aptly set the stage, as the
band sounded tight but not overly prepped or too stiff to let the solos and
jams feel a little spontaneous.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After “Countdown,” Megadeth sealed the concert as a great one
with explosive versions of “Peace Sells,” which brought out mascot Vic Rattlehead to stalk the stage for a bit, and
“Holy Wars…Punishment Due,” final reminders that the old fights are still
dominating today’s news. Keep talking, Mustaine.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kyng opened with a grungy bit of three-piece hard rock. The
band offered a decent stew of stoner, thrash and doom.</div>
Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-71933838181883983172012-11-11T11:51:00.000-08:002012-11-11T11:54:08.960-08:00Kali Ma's voiceless howl<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyu8VfiZr2s1zcv2ZEj8zTyrMld-OZB8uwa4g090yMlC3aFV3M5ZJgWz0ozb5djmjJ1c32nYJf8RdxKifScb71uiCfZjgpHRYDPxIin38gJUi2CmIO7OoYYximhXAqNQKhrQ9dlN3jWOo/s1600/kali+ma+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyu8VfiZr2s1zcv2ZEj8zTyrMld-OZB8uwa4g090yMlC3aFV3M5ZJgWz0ozb5djmjJ1c32nYJf8RdxKifScb71uiCfZjgpHRYDPxIin38gJUi2CmIO7OoYYximhXAqNQKhrQ9dlN3jWOo/s320/kali+ma+cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Why should jazz guys and jam bands get all the instrumental
glory? Kali Ma is fixing that. The Connecticut
quartet is pure metal, and recently captured its prog-meets-thrash ferocity on
a self-titled CD/DVD package.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Whether your framework for instrumental metal is Meshuggah’s
too-brief “Obsidian” or Metallica’s classic “Call of Ktulu,” Kali Ma pushes at
those boundaries with songs that are brutal and vivid. </div>
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Without needing to make room for a singer, guitarists Roy
Moore and Todd Whitlock are untamed, turning their progressive leads and riff
structures a little grimy and dirty. One of the best things about Kali Ma’s instro
approach is that the band doesn’t treat its metal as precious.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Bassist Jay Madore and drummer Shawn Cavanaugh keep things
dynamic as the guitarists bear down. The rhythm section navigates a course that
keeps the music is a state of tension between heavily down-tuned chug and
purely melodic thrash.</div>
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Aside from “Death March,” the tunes performed live for the
CD and DVD are simply numbered compositions_ not jams, but precisely arranged
tunes that coalesce around sonic themes. “XIV” is mournful; “XVIIII” veers into
a spacey interlude; and “XVIII” is pure ode to thrash.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/0zZGhROoo6s?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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“Death March” is featured all over the new package, becoming
something of the band’s signature anthem. It opens the series of live tracks
recorded at the Daniel Street Club. It is also part of the studio recordings making
up the second part of the CD. And the band worked with Edwin Escobar to create
a long-form video for the song that unspools on the DVD like a vintage slasher flick –
again no words, just music and visuals.</div>
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The concert footage on the DVD is likewise well shot and
brings the viewer right on stage to get a glimpse of these guys at work, not
to mention their effect on a metal audience. Definitely not the norm for a
metal show, but why be normal?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAkBJFW60AF292YPzVBRXoND9_gaLe7dKIYzs_Fz6BbPLJIhQpi4W_wj_DtEFnV4xEOtEcBbhtRtq2VlY8qqTwGz4u0Y5pBdX1ANdpvuNmgJXQIZ4Kpct8f2RAAHqiWG_EaOpGapQVRs0/s1600/kali+ma+live.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAkBJFW60AF292YPzVBRXoND9_gaLe7dKIYzs_Fz6BbPLJIhQpi4W_wj_DtEFnV4xEOtEcBbhtRtq2VlY8qqTwGz4u0Y5pBdX1ANdpvuNmgJXQIZ4Kpct8f2RAAHqiWG_EaOpGapQVRs0/s320/kali+ma+live.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Kali Ma CD/DVD package is available online through the
band’s Facebook page and you can catch Kali Ma live on these upcoming dates:</div>
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<span class="usercontent">Nov. 16 at Bleachers in Bristol, CT; Nov. 21 at
Dewey's Pub in Seymour, CT
(This is a benefit show to help raise money for Hurricane Sandy victims)</span>;<span class="usercontent"> Nov. 24 at Cherry Street Station in Wallingford, CT; Dec. 1
at The Cave RVP Studios in West Haven, CT; and Dec.14 with Diecast at Dewey's
Pub in Seymour, CT.</span></div>
Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-29528311493544322602012-11-05T19:39:00.000-08:002012-11-05T19:46:27.170-08:00And a cartoon will kick your ass<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYblX7bqhwPlVAtJrhjX8EcWyeUeG7OnaQyXN-Oj5apS4aDSrvD1XpXcaKoH2NsK1nfpUmAZLoaGih4m5ZPOb_Vpva2OT39-UR6oFEo3Ysip7I9DOi-OQ1UQoQ_CP95Wp26S35KzGCIiA/s1600/dethklok.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYblX7bqhwPlVAtJrhjX8EcWyeUeG7OnaQyXN-Oj5apS4aDSrvD1XpXcaKoH2NsK1nfpUmAZLoaGih4m5ZPOb_Vpva2OT39-UR6oFEo3Ysip7I9DOi-OQ1UQoQ_CP95Wp26S35KzGCIiA/s1600/dethklok.jpg" /></a></div>
What is more metal than a zombified King Tut monster that melts humans with a flame that shoots from his cock? Only maybe the zombie chick who melts Tut with the double-barrel flames she shoots from her boobs.<br />
<br />
And that's how the "Metalocalypse: Dethklok" show started Sunday, Nov. 4 at the Palladium in Worcester, MA.<br />
<br />
Dethklok is headbanging humor at its best because creator (and Berklee grad) Brendon Small is part of the tribe. He can brutally satirize metal fans and metal music the same way you can brutalize your brother; anybody outside the family making the joke is an asshole.<br />
<br />
Guitar ace (and Zappa band alum) Mike Keneally, bassist Bryan Beller, and drummer Gene Hoglan join guitarist and singer Small to give the animated Dethklok its live sound, but even with those guys on stage there's no looking away from the accompanying animated vids, each a mini-epic (yes, there is such a thing) that devolves into people (or sea cretures) getting dismembered and/or torched.<br />
<br />
It was all good fun through Dethklok's greatest hits ("Dethsupport," "Murmaider," "Thunderhorse" etc.) capped off by Small going "Sybil" and addressing the crowd in the voices of Dethklok's Nathan Explosion, Pickles, and Skwigsgaar Skwigelf, discussing how Dethklok was going to kick our women and fuck our dogs.<br />
<br />
They got close enough.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2yfRJZj4kV9bz7dEasF85Tnwq_lJJPz0B8x6UpqzNLNd4MAQW2JcD5KRFdWMHfLsH3WF96i_wH1voWXtX9hANiPxwI6CwM547gnd5w0vQ7-ODqGdTU92ozQ4PNtJHYyMmhnOkqwqfF7s/s1600/poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2yfRJZj4kV9bz7dEasF85Tnwq_lJJPz0B8x6UpqzNLNd4MAQW2JcD5KRFdWMHfLsH3WF96i_wH1voWXtX9hANiPxwI6CwM547gnd5w0vQ7-ODqGdTU92ozQ4PNtJHYyMmhnOkqwqfF7s/s320/poster.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Machine Head, All That Remains, and Black Dahlia Murder are the flesh and blood support on this tour.<br />
<br />
Machine Head is at the top of its game and its extended workout on a version of "Halo" dedicated to Suicide Silence singer Mitch Lucker, who died Nov. 1 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash, was the peak musical moment of the whole night.<br />
<br />
Machine Head also relayed the news that Disney has once again banned the group from performing at its properties, earning Mickey a dedication of "Aesthetics of Hate."<br />
<br />
All That Remains aired a couple of new songs from "A War You Cannot Win," which is out Tuesday, Nov. 6, though singer Phil Labonte had a hit-or-miss vocal delivery throughout the set.<br />
<br />
Black Dahlia Murder is still the death band with a smirk.Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-5652840304002065582012-10-31T11:11:00.000-07:002012-10-31T11:20:00.380-07:00All That Remains brings all out "War"<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUrznh8LqnvOGF0K7-ISRYABx-LNTiKUga8E2g5neemg4XdYRBPQS7AhGYREjCE_A65TFp444fY4KVoDGjweHLWFLvl_GKj0OWp22-7JR4W7RHh6ujVhY6IFNEpbLm63ChNKMEPCPGS-w/s1600/A+War+You+Cannot+Win.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUrznh8LqnvOGF0K7-ISRYABx-LNTiKUga8E2g5neemg4XdYRBPQS7AhGYREjCE_A65TFp444fY4KVoDGjweHLWFLvl_GKj0OWp22-7JR4W7RHh6ujVhY6IFNEpbLm63ChNKMEPCPGS-w/s320/A+War+You+Cannot+Win.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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All That Remains will deploy “A War You Cannot Win” on Tuesday,
Nov. 6, a likely non-coincidental Election Day missive.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Throughout “A War You Cannot Win,” singer Phil Labonte
sounds pissed off about both encroachments on his freedom and the general public's apathy
toward those infringements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Take back
your freedom,” he rasps on “Sing for Liberty”;
“I won’t follow commands. I won’t meet your demands,” he declares on the title
track.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But “A War You Cannot Win” is not just a political album. In
a quickly paced 40-minute record, All That Remains touches on personal
relationships, philosophical musings, and broadly stated rants and chants. And
there are plenty of stylistic leaps to meet the variety of topics.</div>
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If anything, Springfield-bred All That Remains has developed
into metal’s mutt that can kick the ass of purebreds. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Labonte handles the death growls and crooned
clean vocals, typically bringing them together in tunes. Lead guitar player
Oli Herbert provides the glue holding together a batch of songs that runs from the commercially
slick hard rock of “What If I Was Nothing” (which sounds like it fell off of a
Staind record) to the bile-splattered thrash of “You Can’t Fill My Shadow.” </div>
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Herbert and Labonte are the quintet’s remaining original
members. Neither the guitarist nor the singer performs like he
is satisfied taking All That Remains down one particular road, so they manage to lead All That Remaions all over the place and still hold together the group's identity. The band’s original
metalcore blueprint was way too sparse for Herbert’s guitar style, which takes in
the grandeur of power metal and explosiveness of modern metal. Likewise, Labonte
is too charismatic to just hunker down in a metal bunker mentality and be on
constant attack mode.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVySl7MJFOosAgiSZcgixU6PPKoKSoHxXbjZGEJcf1KJQqmtybruJK9LBFI2kyLkvhol_yPps-ONsABhnDvr1mcVMomC6-dD2liO2o_JjjaGUcqGfiQWjo4ZnJYK0RvFXS4Qh2U21lfI/s1600/ATR_PR+Brown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVySl7MJFOosAgiSZcgixU6PPKoKSoHxXbjZGEJcf1KJQqmtybruJK9LBFI2kyLkvhol_yPps-ONsABhnDvr1mcVMomC6-dD2liO2o_JjjaGUcqGfiQWjo4ZnJYK0RvFXS4Qh2U21lfI/s320/ATR_PR+Brown.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drummer Jason Costa, singer Phil Labonte, guitarist Oli Herbert, bassist Jeanne Sagan, and guitarist Mike Martin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It’s good hearing a band take risks, and here it’s clear
that All That Remains can alienate the metal fans with songs that are too clean
and smooth as well as shove away the more mainstream rock fans with songs that evolve
into spastic displays of jarring vocals and punishing rhythm work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some may argue that “A War You Cannot Win”
bows to commercial tastes, but if that were the case it would not nearly be as
diverse as it is. Rather, this is a band ignoring expectations, and doesn’t
topple for it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s little chance that every song will appeal to every
listener_ I can do without the “don’t worry baby, it’ll be all right” shit_ but
All That Remains doesn’t linger on any one point for very long, and at the very
least you can appreciate the raw talent at work in the band.</div>
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All That Remains will be playing Sunday, Nov. 4 at the Palladium
in Worcester, MA. Metalocalypse’s Dethklok headlines and
Machine Head is also on the bill. Show time is 7 P.M.</div>
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Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-8820996432937638632012-10-26T07:59:00.001-07:002012-10-26T08:02:58.274-07:00Blue Oyster Cult prime at 40<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJcRpS8hS7MiUFD62vPM4uN6NbkTPjg6xtGUPAz1rvYB0k7oqm9cXOOr8bpcBrxSOidTu_n1vusKQ8ioEpzArfxciAB-6ve-zekMm0rj4YdtGesYRISbSXemb2fZel3TLt2u3VzzDJqHU/s1600/photo(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJcRpS8hS7MiUFD62vPM4uN6NbkTPjg6xtGUPAz1rvYB0k7oqm9cXOOr8bpcBrxSOidTu_n1vusKQ8ioEpzArfxciAB-6ve-zekMm0rj4YdtGesYRISbSXemb2fZel3TLt2u3VzzDJqHU/s320/photo(3).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Oyster Cult performing acoustic version of "In Thee"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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Blue Oyster Cult kicked off a run of 40th anniversary dates
Thursday, Oct. 25, at Showcase Live in Foxboro with a two-hour show that
underscored the band's ongoing vitality with welcome song revivals and a couple of freshly worked up acoustic numbers.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The night began on a questionable note when the band shut
down pre-approved photogs just before show time, raising questions about the
group’s condition (and hence leading to us using the same sort of iPhone pics
everyone else was taking versus quality shots).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Blue Oyster Cult opened with its standard starter “The Red
and the Black” but showed no signs of rust or hesitancy. New bassist Kasim
Sulton fit right in, and Richie Castellano gave the keys a rest to play guitar
alongside Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma. The triple-guitar attack carried into
“The Golden Age of Leather”</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eric Bloom and Jules Radino</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dharma fleshed out the tunes with long, lyrical solos and
took his best vocal turn of the night on “Burnin’ for You.” Bloom took back the
microphone for “Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll,” though Dharma stepped into
the spotlight on that song with a feedback-fuzzed solo.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bloom moved to the keyboards and Castellano to guitar for a
segment where the audience got to choose between “Shooting Shark” and “Harvest
Moon,” with the former getting the nod. Then Bloom waved the band off of the set
list to see what would happen during a run through “The Vigil”; pleased with
the results, Bloom said, “See what happens when you practice.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At that point the band was not only well-rehearsed but also
red hot and tore though the WWII tale “M.E. 262.” B.O.C. swerved into longer,
spacier grooves with “Then Came the Last Days of May,” a showpiece for Dharma,
though Castellano earned a standing ovation after delivering the first of the
song’s epic guitar solos (and, yeah, Buck got the people on their feet too).</div>
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<br /></div>
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Bloom made the bad decision to talk up the New York Giants
while standing in Patriots Place,
then joked that he’d lighten the mood by turning the discussion over to a
debate on Romney versus Obama. All was forgiven when he simply took up the mic
and delivered the twisted horror rock of “Lips in the Hills."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The band then moved into the standard closing sequence of
“Godzilla” and “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper.” “Godzilla” still has a bass feature
medley which has been adapted for Sulton, highlighting his resume with musical
snippets of Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ‘n’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Roll,” Todd Rundgren’s “Bang the Drum All Day,” “and Meat Loaf’s
“Paradise by the Dashboard Lights.” After crafting a solo of his own, Sulton
passed the baton to drummer Jules Radino whose solo nicely set up the closing
“Godzilla” jam. Then things quieted to a Dharma interlude that built into the
familiar strains of “Reaper,” which the band dedicated to Bill Graham, who died
in a helicopter crash on Oct. 25, 1991.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For its encore, B.O.C. gave the crowd a sample of an
upcoming acoustic show it has planned ahead of two NYC dates. First it was a
revival of “In Thee,” Allen Lanier’s lonesome ballad, stripped here to its
essentials. The band then added full drums and keys to “Astronomy” though Bloom and
Dharma stayed on acoustic guitars and drafted a moody, slow-burn version of the
song.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While “Astronomy” was the night’s boldest performance, BOC
seemed to want to go out on a louder kick, so the band turned over the
microphone to Castellano and let him lead the charge through a raucous “Hot Rails
to Hell.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At 40, Blue Oyster Cult is still quite capable of moving
through its myriad musical mutations without sounding like it is simply going
through the motions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-90263636053370062552012-10-24T12:32:00.000-07:002012-10-24T12:32:24.200-07:00From Atlantis cracks the "core" problem<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMDRTeF5MyismP7RgYbTnJFv46ancLeDPhtUte0gy5nzf3hRcR3FvpyoqG2VFaISyFCCsHYPB3EBAJihrKYgciJB1wYsGf7oNXoFZ_Efq9qd-xZk5lBj83IxHnvrOvSM4Nrg_75AehWc/s1600/from+atlantis+Sam+Shapiro+@Sam+Shapiro+Photography+smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMDRTeF5MyismP7RgYbTnJFv46ancLeDPhtUte0gy5nzf3hRcR3FvpyoqG2VFaISyFCCsHYPB3EBAJihrKYgciJB1wYsGf7oNXoFZ_Efq9qd-xZk5lBj83IxHnvrOvSM4Nrg_75AehWc/s320/from+atlantis+Sam+Shapiro+@Sam+Shapiro+Photography+smaller.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Atlantis (Sam Shapiro photo)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
When a band is on a roll, best to let it do its thing. From
Atlantis (which is from Providence,
actually) released its debut full-length “Pedestals” in August but is already
lining up a new record for the beginning of next year.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not that there’s anything wrong with “Pedestals”; in fact,
it’s a solid tear through the hardcore ‘n’ hooks sound, upending( here at least)
the idea that the “-core” sound was played out. From Atlantis airs enough
dynamic shifts and punches strong keyboard parts into the knotted sound to make “Pedestals” a raucous
30-minute, 10-song ride.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’re always listening to what we did or didn’t do with a
song, and we’re eager to try things that we didn’t do and see what we’re
capable of,” says From Atlantis singer Alex Mola about the push to keep pumping
out tunes. “We all like different kinds of music and we work on how to
incorporate it all.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Pedestals” for instance has traces of everything from death
growls to melodic punk riffs. But it’s arranged more into a jackpot than junk
heap, so even a purist of any one style may get tempted to check out the band’s
mixed bag approach.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From Atlantis is part of the diverse Scream Fest concert happening
Friday, Oct. 26, at the Eagles Club, 71 City Hall Ave., Gardner,
MA, The show starts at 5 p.m.
and also features WrenchNeck, Atlas, Elementalist, A Fury Divine, The Lost and
Never Found, Marching On, and Life on Standby.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A simmering aggression holds together “Pedestal” as it courses through its stylistic turns. It’s all about mindset
over material.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not a size that I’m going to get into fights, so I let
it out with words,” Mola says. “In fact we’re all small dudes filled with rage.
That’s why we come up with angry stuff.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From Atlantis has been touring pretty steadily since the release of “Pedestals,” and that road work is feeding the demos now
under way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’ve seen how some things work better live and some work
better on the record,” he says. “We want to find that balance of how to put both
together.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That should keep the band busy through a planned January or
February release for new tunes. Then we’ll see where that leads.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Out and about, Halloween inspires some great shows this week, chief
among them a two-night heavy metal “costume” event at Ralph’s Diner, 148 Grove
St., Worcester, MA. The concept is simple: bands common to Ralph’s Metal
Thursday schedule will be dressing as various heavy metal heroes, musically at least. On Friday, Oct. 26, Ancient Power will perform Spinal Tap songs; Rare Breed does Black
Sabbath tunes; members of Seax and Gas Attack cover Black Flag; a crew from Ralph’s
will take on Andrew W.K; and Rozamov conjures Electric Wizard. The following
night, Oct. 27, Abnormality has a surprise to spring first; Panzerbastard,
Nachzehrer, and Truman Highway knock out Corrosion of Conformity and Down tunes;
Boarcorpse, Composted, and Useful Idiot cover Life of Agony; members of Soul Remnants,
Sexcrement, Composted , Darkwor and Sacromancy deliver Six Feet Under; members
of Deathamphetamine, Nachzehrer, and Vaettir play Gwar; and a team comprised of
members of Faces of Bayon, Black Pyramid, Blood of the Gods, Engorged, and
Blood Stone Sacrifice perform the music of Samhain. Both shows begin at 7:30 p.m.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-16-, Tombs, Morne, Livver, and The Process are at the Middle East, 472
Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA starting at 8
p.m. on Thursday, Oct 25</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Devil’s Feedback, Hope Before the Fall, Solanum, The Curse of
Humanity, The River Neva, and Mechanical Process are at The Ruins at
The Colosseum, 180 Pine St.,
Providence, R.I.
on Friday, Oct. 26. Show time is 7:30 p.m. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Deadites deliver their 16th annual Halloween show Saturday, Oct. 27, at The Lucky Dog Music Hall, 89
Green St,. Worcester, MA.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-64368744746610623712012-10-23T10:21:00.001-07:002012-10-23T10:21:15.795-07:00Reaping 40 years of Blue Oyster Cult<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuneBlnix_JtRiUquR9RCkzlENyFXnIPjwGdzcPU9TpVCzvw6dVDMMazLz3jpaAlte1L_O198_BB4Zcg_9ETsXZMR-dP2NGGFm_fG4T5hWanqcU8VT-MU5RemJlNiqQBf5JE4NGH2HWJA/s1600/boc+hook.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuneBlnix_JtRiUquR9RCkzlENyFXnIPjwGdzcPU9TpVCzvw6dVDMMazLz3jpaAlte1L_O198_BB4Zcg_9ETsXZMR-dP2NGGFm_fG4T5hWanqcU8VT-MU5RemJlNiqQBf5JE4NGH2HWJA/s320/boc+hook.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first Blue Oyster Cult record came out 40 years ago.
Holy shit. New York
weirdos of the highest order, B.O.C. connected with metal fans by being dark
and twisted more than by being outright heavy on every tune. B.O.C.s “Black and Blue” tour with
the first Dio-era Black Sabbath lineup remains a high-water mark of 20<sup>th</sup>
century civilization.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
B.O.C. is still at it today with original members Eric Bloom
and Buck Dharma on guitars and vocals, plus longtime members Jules Radino on drums and Richie Castellano
on keys, and recent addition Kasim Sulton (of Utopia and Meat Loaf fame) on bass. B.O.C.
plays Thursday, Oct. 25, at Showcase Live in Foxboro, MA,
a few days ahead of a big 40<sup>th</sup> anniversary concerts in NYC on Oct. 28 and 30. On Nov.
6, Columbia Records drops a 16-disc box set of B.O.C.’s albums for the label
plus a couple of discs of live tracks from the vaults.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6zGqGQQWo58UOVQ9iTh31_ANW10xeJeC5zkdr_PPSlJOrJH1jitDEZW48k5sLtFz1Ta8n666kqdN5vIhTvd0bfPa8F05gW_b99DRp6Nc69EiHmjI7NWtmDYDuAGU0HEQsFiOX2ubgUT0/s1600/boc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6zGqGQQWo58UOVQ9iTh31_ANW10xeJeC5zkdr_PPSlJOrJH1jitDEZW48k5sLtFz1Ta8n666kqdN5vIhTvd0bfPa8F05gW_b99DRp6Nc69EiHmjI7NWtmDYDuAGU0HEQsFiOX2ubgUT0/s320/boc.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In honor of B.O.C.’s 40<sup>th</sup> anniversary here’s a
list in no particular order (but for “Astronomy” being the greatest of all
B.O.C. songs) of the 40 best Blue Oyster Cult songs that are not “(Don’t
Fear) The Reaper” or “Godzilla”:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1) “Astronomy” - Like acid and oil on a madman’s face</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2) “The Red and the Black”- Hornswoop me bungo pony on
dogsled on ice</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3) “Transmaniacon M.C.”- Pure nectar of antipathy</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4) “See You in Black” - I’d make you feel like your
husband’s dead</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
5) “Career of Evil” - I’ll be your surgeon, I’d like to pick
your brain</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
6) “E.T.I.” - Three men in black said, “Don’t report this” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
7) “Black Blade” - I just want to be a lover, not a red-eyed
screaming ghoul</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
8) “Then Came the Last Days of May”- They say the West is
nice this time of year</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
9) “R.U. Ready to Rock” - I only live to be born again</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
10) “The Vigil”- I have got a camera and an airtight alibi</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
11) “Old Gods Return”- Now is the time that water begins to
burn</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
12) “Subhuman”- So ladies, fish, and gentlemen, here’s my
angled dream</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
13) “Hot Rails to Hell”- The heat from below can burn your
eyes out</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
14) “Flaming Telepaths”- Yes, I know the secrets of the iron
and mind</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
15) “Lips in the Hills”- I’ve been stiffed by serpent’s
soundless cries</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
16) “Buck’s Boogie”- It’s Buck. It boogies</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
17) “Burnin’ for You”- Time to play B-sides</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
18) “Golden Age of Leather”- Four and ninety studded
horsemen closed the knot of honor</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
19) “Before the Kiss, a Redcap”- Their tongues extend, then
retract</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
20) “Workshop of the Telescope”- Yes, I know a thing or two</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
21) “The Marshall Plan”- I ain’t playing no surf music, I’m
gonna play some heavy music</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
22) “Death Valley Nights”- Snow is cold, but so is rain</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
23) “In Thee”- Aeroplanes make strangers of us all</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
24) “Harvest Moon”- I sense the darkness clearer</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
25) “Joan Crawford”- Their eyes have turned the color of
frozen meat</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
26) “The Revenge of Vera Gemini”- You’re boned like a saint
with the consciousness of a snake</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
27) “7 Screaming Diz-Busters”- Bury me behind the rose so
they’ll not rile my grave</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
28) “Dominance and Submission”- In Times
Square now people do the polka</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
29) “Perfect Water”- To drop my eyes like a bride and ride</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
30) “The Great Sun Jester”- I’m the joker of the universe,
I’m what it’s all about</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
31) “Goin’ through the Motions”- For there’s no one to
blame, just to pay</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
32) “Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll”- My ears will melt
and then my eyes</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
33) “O.D.’d on Life Itself”- Life loves force, but force
loves life</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
34) “This Ain’t the Summer of Love”- Things ain’t what
they’re supposed to be</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
35) “Veteran of the Psychic Wars”- Wounds are all I’m made
of</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
36) “I Am the One You Warned Me Of”- Just call me Desdinova</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
37) “M.E. 262”- They hung there dependent from the sky like
some heavy metal fruit</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
38) “Take Me Away”- Release myself from earthly care</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
39) “Harvester of Eyes”- I’m the eyeman of TV with my ocular
TB</div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">40) “She’s as Beautiful as a Foot”- </span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-69000108079430905482012-10-17T13:20:00.000-07:002012-10-17T16:09:55.853-07:00A Fury Divine finds its place<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqmUpg3W_MSHFJzNG9qsnzgfK4Jz9ruUMwAJISOfl2s5Tt9tv3RY7EPSUPRWriIxdAwjlA3qggN6nYoJESC53QmyP5TuTX7VahvZ6bxnuR0UD0og8vM7ZwhhkG_mcbd7GI_FsUC7b9oag/s1600/fury+d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqmUpg3W_MSHFJzNG9qsnzgfK4Jz9ruUMwAJISOfl2s5Tt9tv3RY7EPSUPRWriIxdAwjlA3qggN6nYoJESC53QmyP5TuTX7VahvZ6bxnuR0UD0og8vM7ZwhhkG_mcbd7GI_FsUC7b9oag/s320/fury+d.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A Fury Divine is a good example of a band that figures out
how to take a lot of different musical styles and pull in one direction. The
band is heavy and melodic. Shaded by hardcore and hard rock. Brutal but not
dark.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’re usually either the heaviest band on the bill or the
lightest,” says A Fury Divine singer Jesse Hunter.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On Oct. 26, you can decide where A Fury Divine fits in as it
shares the stage with From Atlantis, Paris, Elementalist, WrenchNeck, Atlas,
The Lost and Never Found, and Marching On at the Eagles Club, 71 City Hall Ave., Gardner, MA.
The show starts at 5 p.m.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Formed in Connecticut little over two years ago, A Fury
Divine went through a few configurations before landing on its current line up
of Tom Benedict and Mike Stella on guitars,Tyler Young on drums,
Venessa DuPuis on synths, and Hunter.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/kALHFCQu1UY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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While the band works up a debut recording, three songs are
already up on A Fury Divine’s Facebook page, and they’re all pretty good
bait. “Keep Calm” underscores the friction the band generates to good effect
(hearing someone scream “I keep calm” like a lunatic definitely knocks
you off balance). “Forget the Past” conjures Coheed & Cambria-like
cinematic sweep. “We Never” is a roiling brew of chants, doom riffs, and hardcore
breaks.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hunter, who is A Fury Divine’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>most recent recruit, says everyone in the band
brings his and her own influences into the mix which is why there is such a
broad sound.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not one of us is cut from the same mold as the other
musicians,” the singer says. “I<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>think
there’s definitely some mutual ground we all draw inspiration from as well as each
of us having our own ground.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The addition of keys gives A Fury Divine a distinct accent
without forcing the band wholly into a prog-metal direction. The other noticeable
trait is how A Fury Divine gets heavy but not too dark.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s just not us,” Hunter says. “We like the heavy stuff,
but we’re fun-loving guys.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a pretty solid take-off two years ago, the band hit
some turbulence as places to play around Connecticut dried up. The band started gigging more in Mass, and even though it
lost a battle of the bands to WrenchNeck, the two groups became friendly and
started helping each other find and promote gigs.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’re happy to grab shows in Mass,” drummer Young says. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The scene is strong there.”</div>
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<br /></div>
Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-44825806968410885622012-10-10T15:36:00.000-07:002012-10-10T15:39:09.090-07:00Horror and doom in the air<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZutcWtVFkWg4qwZG1O52J2KT1dn_Lqjwkxa5BCll-_WZi1TdcG7cboZESrMzd5VWllxQKoTHHsJvwq0aFi4JJMP3z5D9tDQnpwDLM8du49nyk4iDAd7TR0hhsJHvPXGm-puFHzf6gehg/s1600/pustspace3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZutcWtVFkWg4qwZG1O52J2KT1dn_Lqjwkxa5BCll-_WZi1TdcG7cboZESrMzd5VWllxQKoTHHsJvwq0aFi4JJMP3z5D9tDQnpwDLM8du49nyk4iDAd7TR0hhsJHvPXGm-puFHzf6gehg/s320/pustspace3.jpg" width="252" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pustulus Maximus</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Behold Pustulus Maximus, the new guitar player in Gwar.
Pustulus takes the spot of Flattus Maximus, now a part of the greater cosmic
puff. Gwar headlines Saturday night’s Rock and Shock concert at The Palladium,
261 Main St., Worcester, MA. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The heavier Rock and Shock shows are Friday, Oct. 12, and
Saturday the 13<sup>th</sup>. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the DCU Center
in Worcester,
MA, there will be horror films and special guests (Kiss drummer and recent memoir
writer Peter Criss among them) celebrating all that is freaky and ghoulish.
Details are here, <a href="http://www.rockandshock.com/">www.rockandshock.com/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Friday at the Palladium, R&S features the Misfits,
Shadows Fall, God Forbid, Vision of Disorder, Hot Black, Mongrel, Freya, This
is Hell, Kissing Candice, Dead by Wednesday, The Atlas Collapse, Vultures, and Absence
of the Sun.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWqJK4R6PoP9z5zwnftAhLa7763-Wqd_qM8hOPbU7-oYn2QFBvLA3JFG_Dptc-eow0XWgwg3ZpRnLRSt5uFbXbNc7WZUuUqSZa2vp0AcQsDhKYwF-0-pATyBmMWeLjzgPrHZPAMD-AYV0/s1600/twbdcw150+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWqJK4R6PoP9z5zwnftAhLa7763-Wqd_qM8hOPbU7-oYn2QFBvLA3JFG_Dptc-eow0XWgwg3ZpRnLRSt5uFbXbNc7WZUuUqSZa2vp0AcQsDhKYwF-0-pATyBmMWeLjzgPrHZPAMD-AYV0/s320/twbdcw150+(3).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thy Will Be Done</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On Saturday, joining Gwar are DevilDriver, Legacy of
Disorder, Thy Will Be Done, Cancer Bats, Unfortunate, Goddamn Zombie, Shatter
the Sky, Conforza, and Pathogenic. Both nights kick off at 5:30 p.m. Awesome local
presence this year, with a special nod to Providence, R.I.’s Thy Will Be Done,
whose Zeuss-produced “Temple” E.P. is freakin’ phenomenal.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Besides R&S, there a few more shows of note. On Oct. 11,
Metal Thursday presents Prime Evil, Midnite Hellion, Iron Will, and Oath of
Insanity at Ralph’s Diner, 148
Grove St., Worcester, MA.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ralph’s Diner also has a dose of doom on Saturday, Oct. 13
with Blacksoul Seraphim, Faces of Bayon, Sorrowseed, and Dead Languages.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The “Hello Motherfucker” lineup of Milligram reunites Saturday
at Great Scott, 1222 Commonwealth
Ave., Allston, MA. Blacktail, Lunglust, and Whitey are
also playing. Jonah Jenkins leads the “This is Class War” lineup of Milligram
back to Great Scott on Oct. 20</div>
Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-56974421487478274822012-10-09T09:03:00.000-07:002012-10-09T09:03:17.836-07:00New name, same game<br />
So to avoid confusion with the existing Mass Metal magazine, I changed this blog to N.E. Metal and in doing so hope to broaden the reach of stories and reviews. To help with the flow of info, I also started this Facebook community page<br />
<br />
https://www.facebook.com/pages/NE-Metal/495957050423025?ref=hl<br />
<br />
Suggestions for reviews and previews are always welcome.<br />
<br />
\m/<br />
Scott <br />
<br />
<br />Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-36149563948961010002012-10-09T08:28:00.000-07:002012-10-09T08:37:23.531-07:00Pathogenic's freaky "Dream"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghudMbbskGC2e_inLfr8PGqpRUY4hFL9kL3eULGfT7SS6Y8SpI3i-Dq4nJ6mExcCpRzc8Pf_smCQcELlAPBVceKuh1LDvKBAy2Ur1Dy-uVDljo-1hGYSt-_7sxlPhkJ8M3igjdnkBCA4s/s1600/Pathogenic+-+The+Solipsist+Dream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghudMbbskGC2e_inLfr8PGqpRUY4hFL9kL3eULGfT7SS6Y8SpI3i-Dq4nJ6mExcCpRzc8Pf_smCQcELlAPBVceKuh1LDvKBAy2Ur1Dy-uVDljo-1hGYSt-_7sxlPhkJ8M3igjdnkBCA4s/s320/Pathogenic+-+The+Solipsist+Dream.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
So if you’re interested in what madness sounds like, just
check out Pathogenic’s new E.P., “The Solipsist Dream.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Lowell,
MA, quintet combines
death-metal brutality, especially via Jake Burns’s vocals, and prog-metal experimentation
for a sound that is as captivating as it is jarring. The band keeps a dark,
heavy base intact across the five songs on “The Solipsist Dream,” and then builds
contrasts against it. In “Tempest,” the dynamic shifts pop up like unexpected
visitors _ a keyboard riff here, a guitar stutter there. In “A Piece of Hell,”
the whole arrangement of the song expands and contracts, going from steady
grooves to spastic jams to conjure a sense of shifting ground.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While the sonic terrain keeps changing, the thematic dread
is consistent. These five songs are a mental breakdown on tape. It’s all a
to-and-fro of lashing out and getting beaten back. There’s an anger in the
opening “Albatross’ that transforms across the songs into a melancholy
acknowledgement (the message here seems to be we’re all kinda screwed) in the
epic title track that closes the E.P. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The Solipsist Dream” is thick with ideas, and to its credit
Pathogenic gives them all room to breathe without losing the tension of this
coiled sound.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The Solipsist Dream” will be available Oct. 12 online via
Pathogenic’s Facebook page and at pathogenic.bandcamp.com</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pathogenic has a CD-release show Friday, Oct. 12, at the
Dirty Douglas in Lowell, MA. It’s an 8 p.m. show with The Summoned,
Conforza, Panic Candy, and Everything.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The band is also playing Saturday, Oct. 13, as part of the
Rock and Shock festival bill at The Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester,
MA. Gwar is the headliner that
night.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pathogenic is also part of Live Free of Get Hurt fest
happening Oct. 20 at The Junkyard, 522 Amherst St.,
Nashua, N.H.
The show starts at 3 p.m. and also features Internal Bleeding, Fit For an
Autopsy, Conforza, Teeth, Swarm of Eyes, and others.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<![endif]--><br />Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-8035466189576297712012-10-04T06:53:00.000-07:002012-10-04T06:53:22.815-07:00The Acacia Strain rises in "Death"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The Acacia Strain has sharpened and honed its sound to a point where the group is as
much a mindset as it is band. The Acacia Strain's live shows are cathartic, and its new album
“Death is the Only Mortal” flows like a never-ending nightmare. The songs are
dark, bloody, and grim, yet once you plug in, there’s no turning back simply because they are so well crafted. Singer
Vincent Bennett warns on “Brain Death” about letting him get into your head,
and he’s not shitting around.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bennett, guitarist Daniel “DL” Laskeiwitz, drummer Kevin
Boutot, and bassist Jack Strong methodically move through the 10 tracks, making
incremental tweaks to the crushing riffs and stark bleakness of their sonic
surroundings. The record opens with a murder confession that almost seems
comforting as the end note is a mournful realization that “life is the slowest
way to die.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In between is bloody mayhem and a quickly mounting body count, with
Bennett lording over the misery with a crackling nihilism and misanthropy. But
lurking behind the menace is a pain that shows itself in flashes, especially as
the record moves along from straight-ahead brutality to more nuanced tunes such
as “Victims of the Cave” and “Chamber of Nautilis.”</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdDSt6c5ZcihzcDzsVZhHHbgvpNVWq1tzzC508bO-PuUk7PB791fRv0ogaTgMNDDK7IOoQgPBUMuxx8dfrRF04Ew9t1S3_yH5zEivB1y1ALnJ8zBQRseSU3lW-aF7bAZzQuphDdxXPBfc/s1600/strain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdDSt6c5ZcihzcDzsVZhHHbgvpNVWq1tzzC508bO-PuUk7PB791fRv0ogaTgMNDDK7IOoQgPBUMuxx8dfrRF04Ew9t1S3_yH5zEivB1y1ALnJ8zBQRseSU3lW-aF7bAZzQuphDdxXPBfc/s320/strain.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Acacia Strain</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Each song on “Death is the Only Mortal” fits into a larger
picture, and that is testament to the excellent job DL did on his first outing
producing a whole project for the band. Some songs_ “Doomblade,” “Go to Sleep”_
underscore Acacia Strain’s unrelenting death-core heaviness. Others_ “Time and
Death and God,” “The Mouth of the River,” “House of Abandon”_ reveal just how
limber this band can be without compromising the basics of its sound.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While lots of bands are using a prog attack to find fresh
ideas in death metal, The Acacia Strain is getting the job done by simply
cutting closer to the core.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Acacia Strain celebrates the release of “Death is the
Only Mortal” with a show Saturday, Oct. 6, at The Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester.
Cruel Hand, I Declare War, Fit For An Autopsy, No Bragging Rights, Rude
Awakening, and Dysentery are also on the bill and show time is 6 p.m.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Death is the Only Mortal” will be in stores Tuesday, Oct. 9</div>
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<![endif]--><br />Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-54915241267512785942012-09-29T20:44:00.001-07:002012-09-30T10:30:33.249-07:00Coheed and Cambria blasts off<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD9FvwWd77RsHHZxd-9csUbPXU7qn7wC2P-n4QwlJHFZfcNAl0eSw_n9RspQJwAH3JBu1JkxrYWe_PqfAC_5bQw-febKVM9ferh_20Lwp9iZxwo9yjl3YB9V_vpA1I46bR3rJOGhdhGDA/s1600/144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD9FvwWd77RsHHZxd-9csUbPXU7qn7wC2P-n4QwlJHFZfcNAl0eSw_n9RspQJwAH3JBu1JkxrYWe_PqfAC_5bQw-febKVM9ferh_20Lwp9iZxwo9yjl3YB9V_vpA1I46bR3rJOGhdhGDA/s320/144.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guitarist Claudio Sanchez faces off with Josh Eppard (Sam McLennan photo)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C&C's Claudio Sanchez (Sam McLennan photo)</td></tr>
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The Amory Wars may be over for Coheed and Cambria
but the band hasn’t lost its fight. Headlining The Palladium in Worcester on Sept. 28, Coheed and Cambria
touched on songs from across the four main Amory records and its prequel, plus showcased
three songs from the forthcoming “Afterman” project.</div>
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Few bands fare so much better on their own versus in an
opening or festival slot than Coheed and Cambria
does. Because the band’s songs are fictional narratives with cleverly
interwoven broader themes, it’s best to let them unfurl slowly. Not gingerly,
but slowly to fully appreciate their cinematic sweep. The band coursed through
15 songs over an hour and a half, starting with “No World for Tomorrow.”</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tavis Stever (Sam McLennan photo)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zach Cooper (Sam McLennan photo)</td></tr>
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An engaging pace was set from the opening with guitarists
Claudio Sanchez and Tavis Stever firing off knotty, frenetic bursts one moment,
commanding chant-alongs and clap-alongs the next, and occasionally turning the
mic toward the audience, which inevitably could sing any line it was asked to
deliver _ not just the catchy choruses (which aren’t a staple of too may
C&C songs anyway). </div>
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Drummer Josh Eppard is back in the fold and teamed perfectly
with new bassist Zach Cooper as the rhythm duo navigated C&C’s brash
dynamics shifts.</div>
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Singer and chief writer Sanchez pulled apart the Amory
narrative without wrecking any of its clout, instead finding the power within
each tune, be it the icy effect of “Everything Evil” or battle cry fervor of
“In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth:3.”</div>
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C&C aired “The Afterman,” “Sentry the Defiant,” and “Key
Entity Extraction I: Domino the Destitute.” In each case, the band found a
fresh avenue for its progressive art-rock. “Key Entity,” played as the first
encore, had the most epic feel of the three, and Sanchez has muscled up
“Sentry” from its original acoustic version he posted online in February.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sanchez (Sam McLennan photo)</td></tr>
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One of the main set’s more interesting passages came during
side-by-side readings of “The Suffering” and “Mother Superior,” with the bounce
of the former and introspective mood of the latter becoming more resonant when
paired.</div>
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The show’s measured control went out the window during the encore
run, reminding that as heady as C&C can get it is still a rock band. Sanchez
just went nutty during “The Final Cut,” using the arms and torso of a mannequin
to stroke his white double-neck Gibson for a squall of tones that sounded as
perverse as he looked making them.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQkb7o6BrXTir30sbopbx9TkFi6ImAaunedZIxSQGqx8kHi3KcMbvsmjJ-jGkXlA5xMQPyqD97klyfCDlRKAxmX8A7_EaZBzJejVRz-K1jZvCqMWyILo9rt1f6bIcj8cBHm7gYymereQ/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQkb7o6BrXTir30sbopbx9TkFi6ImAaunedZIxSQGqx8kHi3KcMbvsmjJ-jGkXlA5xMQPyqD97klyfCDlRKAxmX8A7_EaZBzJejVRz-K1jZvCqMWyILo9rt1f6bIcj8cBHm7gYymereQ/s320/012.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joey Eppard of 3 (Sam McLennan photo)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Billy Riker of 3 (Sam McLennan photo)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The Dear Hunter and 3 opened. In a bit of backwards
programming, the more progressive 3 kicked off the night. Fronted by Joey
Eppard_ Josh’ brother_ 3 tipped toward its heavier material; even the acoustic “Bramfatura”
turned into a string-busting tour de force.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF2Ry8FW-XOR-FQKj3VPO_glTMRJBGSOhmYIi2RuxGFO71mvwj09_RuZGXVIaAE3t7Nw9GbjUTanyho1zd9GIDpa70oEIHJzS7qLXxgQqmL2KemQmC8RMv5d5nsiqF0m5SQVc21sMBIHA/s1600/053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF2Ry8FW-XOR-FQKj3VPO_glTMRJBGSOhmYIi2RuxGFO71mvwj09_RuZGXVIaAE3t7Nw9GbjUTanyho1zd9GIDpa70oEIHJzS7qLXxgQqmL2KemQmC8RMv5d5nsiqF0m5SQVc21sMBIHA/s320/053.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Casey Crescenzo leads The Dear Hunter (Sam McLennan photo)</td></tr>
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The Dear Hunter’s nuanced pop certainly reflected an element
of C&C’s sound, but energy wise was a dip in between 3 and Coheed. Still,
with its three-guitar lineup, The Dear Hunter built captivating arrangements,
such as the hypnotic finale spun from “The Collapse of the Great Tide Cliffs.”</div>
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Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-25154893136003736982012-09-25T12:49:00.002-07:002012-09-25T12:49:26.099-07:00Lich King ready to drop its "Bomb"<div class="im">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGfpVyeMhRzn0KIn9Gb-UBkHXDHK0pOM57vKcZo9DKM1ub8oVMWG-Y4OP-Tu8yUiKnqnZElicEkyWMuMIbANwEHH86WK6uT5Wj2teMTcM0VUFg8pXjVLUNj6Iew9DIv5rlj1_-LRVBTrQ/s1600/lich+king+bomb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGfpVyeMhRzn0KIn9Gb-UBkHXDHK0pOM57vKcZo9DKM1ub8oVMWG-Y4OP-Tu8yUiKnqnZElicEkyWMuMIbANwEHH86WK6uT5Wj2teMTcM0VUFg8pXjVLUNj6Iew9DIv5rlj1_-LRVBTrQ/s320/lich+king+bomb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Western Mass thrash titans Lich King release "Born of the Bomb" this week. It's the band's fourth album since forming in 2007 to carry that torch lit by Slayer, Exodus, and the like. While Lich King awaited arrival of its CDs for Friday's release show at Silk City Music in Florence, singer Tom Martin took a few questions from Mass Metal </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<i>So what's the story behind the new record? Were
there a bunch of songs waiting to be recorded or was it something
thought out in advance?</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<div>
Nahh, we just
wrote songs until we had enough to put on an album. We don't have any
old stuff on this one, except for the beginning of Lich King 4 (Born of
the Bomb). I wrote that opening about six or seven years ago. Holy
crap, that's a long time. Nothing about our stuff gets planned out all
that much. I think of it as I go.<div class="im">
<i><br />Was old-school thrash always something you guys liked or were you
into other kinds of metal before heading off in this direction?</i>
<br /></div>
Always.
For a long time I just thought I was "metal" and tried lots of metal
bands and (found) them distasteful. Eventually I realized that old
thrash is just my thing, and once I acknowledged that, it bloomed before
me. I like a few other kinds of metal in varying degrees. The other guys
in the band are much less picky than I am. I'm into thrash, crossover,
power and traditional pretty exclusively. Rob (Pellegri, guitars), Joe (Nickerson, guitars) and Brian (Westbrook, drums) are into
proggy tech-death stuff as well as everything else, and Dave (Hughes, bass) is into
grind and death weirdness. Dave's got the most experience and taste in
thrash so I look to him to back me up when arguments come up about the
direction a song is heading in. A frequent complaint I have that the
tech-death dudes laugh at is, "We can't use that; it sounds too modern."
Then I run to Dave and say, "Dave, they're picking on me, tell them I'm
right or I'll throw another hissyfit."<div class="im">
<br />
<i>Would you pick the same bands to be the Big Four? If not, who would you pick?</i><br /></div>
Well, [if] it's based on success and you can't argue with the success of those
bands. If it were based on what I think deserves the slot I would boot
out Megadeth and bring in Exodus. On second thought, I think I'd nudge
Anthrax back to Exodus status. On frequent relistens Slayer and
Metallica hold up but I'm finding Anthrax to be extremely overrated.
Some great riffs and hooks holding up a frail latticework of meh. <div class="im">
<br />
<i>How healthy is the thrash scene at home?</i></div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Not
at all. We have like no local following. No one's interested in thrash
metal out here. In Western Massachusetts it's all about deathcore,
hardcore, metalcore. Dudes with ear gauges, baseball caps and camouflage
cargo shorts. Pantera stomp-riffs and interchangeable song titles about
how very tough one is. That's fine I guess, but it makes me cringe when
a pit breaks out and you see that punchy kicky karate crap. I
complained about it once to a co-worker who said he was into metal. He
said, "Oh, you don't like moshing?" So many comebacks flooded my mouth at
that point that I choked on my own words. We have a great venue out
here that draws great people, but I don't know how many of them are
genuinely interested in thrash or if they just like coming out for shows
and being awesome people. </div>
<div class="im">
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>In general, I'm hearing more new records getting
back to an old-school guitar-driven sound with less "-core" influence.
What do you think helps set apart the new Lich King record?</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
We're keeping things traditionally thrash,
again, still. But we're evolving somewhat. The songwriting's getting
really mature. I don't mean in subject matter, but we are really
figuring out the science of how to build a song. In the process, we're
figuring out what else we can do and it's working out really well. We've
got a full number of fast-assed mosh standards, but we've also got two
songs over seven minutes and a lot of departure sounds in here where we
sound like us, but we're taking unexpected paths. <div class="im">
<br />
<i>What's coming up for fall/winter shows for you guys? Where can the metal faithful get the record besides shows?</i></div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
We
actually don't have anything scheduled right now aside from the album
release show on the 28th. Rob's having a baby soon and we're kinda
keeping the schedule clear in honor of that. We'll probably book a few
things for December and onward, but for right now, there's nothing on
the books. <div>
</div>
<div>
Besides shows we're selling our stuff here: <a href="http://lichking.bigcartel.com/" target="_blank">http://lichking.<wbr></wbr>bigcartel.com/</a> and here: <a href="http://lichkingmetal.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">http://lichkingmetal.<wbr></wbr>bandcamp.com/</a>
We're doing this all ourselves so we don't have any distribution at
present. People aren't going to walk into any stores and find our stuff
anytime soon, but I hope word of mouth gets so good that people search
us out anyway. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Lich King's CD-release show also features Condition Critical, Smash Potater, Sonic Pulse, and Zombie Fighter. The show starts at 9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 28, at Silk City Music, 99 Main St., Florence.<br />
<br />
Out and about this week, Forced Asphyxiation, Engorged, Mortifica, and Scalpel take over Metal Thursday at Ralph's Diner, 148 Grove St., Worcester, on Sept. 27.<br />
<br />
Coheed and Cambria headlines Friday, Sept. 28, at The Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester. Deerhunter and Three are also on the bill, and show time is 7:30 p.m<br />
<br />
The Metalympics finals are at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29, at The Shea Theater, 71 Avenue A, Turners Falls. Asystole, Heal the Destroyer, Spoken Like a True Hero, and Zombie Fighter will be competing for cash and prizes. Audience voting matters, so if you have a horse in this race, get to the Shea. Western Massacre, last year's winners, will also play a night-ending set.<br />
<br />
A couple of other Palladium concerts of note are Nonpoint and Taproot in the upstairs room at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday the 29th, and Morbid Angel with Dark Funeral, Grave, VadimVon, and Vital Remains on Sunday in the big room.<br />
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Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-34246829612014562652012-09-18T14:22:00.000-07:002012-09-18T14:22:53.454-07:00New stuff from WrenchNeck and Caricature<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvjmijLvPTjhwrxCe8pIQP4EkUnQclxMJL9Ji69KB1ZqzSuMA0Gui-UOxyR5gNZp3ywg5z7LwvYO0iKGUHKwZH1uESobj8wptSvGaJhInk56XybEHp-wNcmRnLn4HsiLrgr1yk87Aac84/s1600/wrench-neck-album-cover-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvjmijLvPTjhwrxCe8pIQP4EkUnQclxMJL9Ji69KB1ZqzSuMA0Gui-UOxyR5gNZp3ywg5z7LwvYO0iKGUHKwZH1uESobj8wptSvGaJhInk56XybEHp-wNcmRnLn4HsiLrgr1yk87Aac84/s320/wrench-neck-album-cover-.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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“WrenchNeck”</div>
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WrenchNeck</div>
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For a band that taps so many influences, WrenchNeck put
together an amazingly cohesive and engaging full-length debut album. The
self-titled CD drops this week, drawing some deserved notice for this Greenfield sextet that can
swerve through old-school power grooves and rugged, down-tuned turf with equal
ease, often in the same song. </div>
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Each of the 10 tracks on “WrecnhNeck” sounds like a
mini-opera with duel vocal parts divided between gravelly howls and cleaner
tones, tiered guitar arrangements, and drumming that swings from hard rock to
blast beats. The tunes hold together so well because it sounds like the band is
acting in service to a particular song, and not just trying to show off. The
apocalypse-summoning “2012,” for instance, begins on a modern, metalcore note
but works its way through the dark, churning themes toward an appropriately
Sabbath-y midsection before blasting off again.</div>
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Even when the band seems to be heading down a predictable
path, it can make an attention-grabbing sharp turn. “Quitter," for example,
begins as a pretty straightforward rant backed by metalcore muscle, but then
the guitars just drive the song in a whole other crazy direction that sparks
the tune anew.</div>
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WrenchNeck also writes with imagination. The band taps into
grim pain on “Demolition” and “FML (Found My Life).” Then there are dark
overlord songs such as “2012” and “Coalesence.” And of course a few fuck-you
tunes, with “Quitter” and “The Game” fitting into that category.</div>
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WrenchNeck has a CD-release show happening Saturday, Sept. 22,
at the Greenfield
Teen Center,
Sanderson Road, Greenfield. The concert starts at 5 p.m.
and features Stairwell
Sea, The River Neva, and A
Fury Divine, in addition to WrechNeck.</div>
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The CD will also be available at Sonic Creations in Greenfield, and online
via iTunes and Amazon.com</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8DRXBlAA-niJsi6ByRQIK1VB7uyWHyrBvWo96kfneO6D1y_BbwnGBVoLcxb9kRbJF_OWfB6sQkIB2JNQR4pFIz140fNJUdpIoCmXka60vHcdyRKRJUvYzIWDXPVgf0wmFWh2ANaB0z6A/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8DRXBlAA-niJsi6ByRQIK1VB7uyWHyrBvWo96kfneO6D1y_BbwnGBVoLcxb9kRbJF_OWfB6sQkIB2JNQR4pFIz140fNJUdpIoCmXka60vHcdyRKRJUvYzIWDXPVgf0wmFWh2ANaB0z6A/s320/cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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“The Birth By Sleep EP”</div>
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Caricature</div>
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“Divine Unrest” is the final track on Caricature’s 5-song EP
and hopefully the road map for this band’s forthcoming full-length. The wending
8-minute “Divine” patiently unfolds, fusing its sonics into one enveloping
package of mind-tweaking and bone-rattling dynamics.</div>
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Elsewhere, the band formed by Binary Code guitarist Joseph
Spiller is solid but more prone to letting the seams show on this multifaceted
prog-metal outing. Caricature stretches from clean, pop melodies to jagged
hardcore screams, linking the disparate poles with washes of spacey keyboards
and jabbing rhythm guitar riffs. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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There is no lack of ideas here. “Monuments,” for instance,
has a brutal vocal atop a jazzy keyboard that part for a flashy guitar solo.
This stuff is busy and will benefit from the sort of center felt in “Divine
Unrest.”</div>
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The push-and-pull within the songs keeps things interesting,
even as the band seeks a more solid footing for its hydra-head sound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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“The Birth by Sleep EP” is available for download at<span style="color: yellow;"> <span style="background-color: lime;"><span style="color: lime;"><a href="http://www.caricature.bandcamp.com/">www.caricature.bandcamp.com/</a></span></span></span></div>
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<![endif]-->Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191491418208994809.post-49112281202491635752012-09-16T09:28:00.000-07:002012-09-16T09:28:23.941-07:00A decade of "Perseverance" <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jamey Jasta in the crowd (Sam McLennan photo)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jasta (Sam McLennan photo)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jasta (Sam McLennan photo)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jasta and Chris Beattie (Sam McLennan photo)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wayne Lozinak and Franck Novinec (Sam McLennan photo)</td></tr>
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Hatebreed’s “Perseverance” is a landmark album, not just for
the band, but for heavy music in general. It’s no exaggeration to say it
belongs on the shelf next to “Reign in Blood,” “Master of Puppets,” “Rust in
Peace,” “New American Gospel,” and the like. In the case of “Perseverance,”
Hatebreed brought together metal and hardcore not for the first time in heavy-music history, but in perhaps their finest balance. The band seems to be
operating on intuition, maximizing punk’s economy with metal’s brutal sense of
melody in a package that is angry, defiant and triumphant all it once. “Perseverance”
gives Hatebreed a “Get Out of Jail Card” forever. The band could find God,
collaborate with Bieber, film and ad for Romney and still navigate its way back
to Ozzfest using “Perseverance” as its compass (or more likely to the New England
Metal and Hardcore festival, which Hatbreed pretty much declared from the stage
that it was headlining in 2013).</div>
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So, yeah, “Perseverance” is a big fucking deal. On Friday,
Sept. 14, Hatebreed played “Perseverance” from start to finish at The Palladium
in Worcester as
part of its “Ten Years of Perseverance Tour.” Whitechapel, All Shall Perish,
and homegrown band Shatter the Sky were also on the bill.</div>
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The best part about Hatebreed’s romp through “Perseverance”
wasn’t that the performance was note perfect (though it pretty much was, right
down to the closing outro that sets up subsequent “Rise of Brutality” album)
but that it was an emotionally perfect performance. Singer Jamey Jasta seemed
no less passionate belting out “I Will Be Heard” or at all removed from the
dread “Below The Bottom” or<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>too
age-softened for “Smash Your Enemies.” </div>
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The live read-through proved how well
“Perseverance” stands the test of time. Guitarists Wayne Lozinak, who was
originally in the band but departed before “Perseverance” only to return in
2009, and Frank Novinec, who also came on board post-“Perseverance,” ably
plugged into this set, especially Lozinak who burned up the lead Kerry King
originally laid down on “Final Prayer.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bassist Chris Beattie, who has been in Hatebreed all along with
Jasta,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and drummer Matt Byrne, who came
in before “Perseverance’ are architects of the militant/tribal chugs and blasts
that stirred endless circle pits and ongoing dance floor convulsions. Jasta
tossing up devil horns as he rallied circle pits was as fitting an image for
the metal-punk fusion as anything else that transpired during the set.</div>
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After completing “Perseverance,” Hatebreed did not let up on
the urgency of what it had going on. “Everyone Bleeds Now” from Hatebreed’s most
recent record showed that the band is writing songs that are still vibrant and
menacing; no formula here. It was also good to hear the band reach back to its
first album for “Before Dishonor,” when Hatebreed sounded like it was onto
something but still raw.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whitechapel's Phil Bozeman prepared for takeoff (Sam McLennan photo)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whitechapel's Alex Wade (Sam McLennan photo)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZvTQobuwls_qWymDXWki2rJZBvaK-wetF1wOLlwyFIX7UMNLU0nItcls0jHWgBAvQxsMRJO2MZ0cwk2lW5Ro7APIEP13uXbmhQrEUYh4mm2wFhgQrFADxaDqQ3mvDKCv_yBNZOfjh3Q/s1600/IMG_6002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZvTQobuwls_qWymDXWki2rJZBvaK-wetF1wOLlwyFIX7UMNLU0nItcls0jHWgBAvQxsMRJO2MZ0cwk2lW5Ro7APIEP13uXbmhQrEUYh4mm2wFhgQrFADxaDqQ3mvDKCv_yBNZOfjh3Q/s320/IMG_6002.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whitechapel's Gabe Crisp (Sam McLennan photo)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Whitechapel was deadly precise in its technical attack,
weaving spaced out interludes into the otherwise brutal assault. At times
singer Phil Bozeman was overpowered by what was going on around him. He
did cut through for a fierce “Section 8,” one of the band’s new songs and clear
sign that it is a force driving tech-death at the moment.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd7Bi6l2r-gRUVYpBKtd9TXZq5pm7iK1oMKnMCuVZM2dN3ckcsW8f_scj2z-L-GqXZSwpFnXvWz2F3PPcV9T8MtS1qp0jXL-IFikpdl39vdA01MWjid_zqd3proQXlMBs7wg5GU_86ZJ4/s1600/IMG_5935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd7Bi6l2r-gRUVYpBKtd9TXZq5pm7iK1oMKnMCuVZM2dN3ckcsW8f_scj2z-L-GqXZSwpFnXvWz2F3PPcV9T8MtS1qp0jXL-IFikpdl39vdA01MWjid_zqd3proQXlMBs7wg5GU_86ZJ4/s320/IMG_5935.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike Tiner makes the difference in All Shall Perish (Sam McLennan photo)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcryDLLkU7Zt3QBGazJtmN7TAjv55FB58OKFBFprxW4QswEhR2Hhyphenhyphen2Z9vS6I3-U_zBuW8-r3PjvFa0ZP30fo8wTnik2jlsbtMX_JDVRvHqjZgCP1b3_TlYvds9oQhd1HdBqkkU9O2n0fk/s1600/IMG_5945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcryDLLkU7Zt3QBGazJtmN7TAjv55FB58OKFBFprxW4QswEhR2Hhyphenhyphen2Z9vS6I3-U_zBuW8-r3PjvFa0ZP30fo8wTnik2jlsbtMX_JDVRvHqjZgCP1b3_TlYvds9oQhd1HdBqkkU9O2n0fk/s320/IMG_5945.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hernan Hermida and Tiner of All Shall Perish (Sam McLennan photo)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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All Shall Perish is a groove-driven metal monster. Bassist
Mike Tiner is the secret weapon giving All Shall Perish a means of busting away
from the underground metal pack. A set-ending “Wage Slaves’ shot out like grimy
anthem.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIUkTTR7okwOJlmN8Zz1az5bH2SyhcBxop6gTCejzHXNKVLd03XgVb5CbzN4BqYeeirSPLT8CKo35S7EzFaqE0mZmy-gpOnfUk-rW5zq46vgJ3ZxBhuUdzEDHq_AXExqONwrBOagRk3v0/s1600/IMG_5878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIUkTTR7okwOJlmN8Zz1az5bH2SyhcBxop6gTCejzHXNKVLd03XgVb5CbzN4BqYeeirSPLT8CKo35S7EzFaqE0mZmy-gpOnfUk-rW5zq46vgJ3ZxBhuUdzEDHq_AXExqONwrBOagRk3v0/s320/IMG_5878.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shatter the Sky's Brendan Coughlin on guitar and Alex Fopiano on bass Sam McLennan photo)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi30L-mVlKFAuCNeZFlc2290D37Ttt0hlo4-vASWRO6h-uMEBPGHSbsjpwfp0Q2SD9ybl6k0hwbIMFBBy7KATQAwS5FJsDpYIA83Vv5cZ9gzdsbU2ucUtxryK_D96xgy7z1CViQBi1MTrc/s1600/IMG_5876.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi30L-mVlKFAuCNeZFlc2290D37Ttt0hlo4-vASWRO6h-uMEBPGHSbsjpwfp0Q2SD9ybl6k0hwbIMFBBy7KATQAwS5FJsDpYIA83Vv5cZ9gzdsbU2ucUtxryK_D96xgy7z1CViQBi1MTrc/s320/IMG_5876.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonh DeCoster makes his point during Shatter the Sky's set (Sam McLennan photo)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Shatter the Sky hopped on this show after Deez Nuts
canceled, and this troupe from Weymouth
made the most of the opportunity. Influenced by metalcore, but not dated by it,
Shatter the Sky loosened up the dynamics to inject progressive guitar
arrangements and some purely heavier strains of metal. “Wrath and Ruin” and
“This is Revolution” turned into gale force storms, serving notice that these
guys are worth coming back for on Oct. 13 when Shatter the Sky plays at the Rock
and Shock<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>convention.</div>
Scott McLennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08260857905018687889noreply@blogger.com0