Time to hit the playground

Escape to Everything drummer Mike Scapiccio says maintaining consistency has been his band’s biggest struggle since forming in 2004.

“We have four albums and gone through four different guitar players along the way,” Scapiccio says.

But the band’s new record, “Devil’s Playground,” sheds light on how Escape to Everything handles this problem: it simply dives into diversity. “Devil’s Playground” isn’t a bunch of songs sounding different from one to the next; rather, the different influences and contrasts bubble up within individual tunes themselves. “Dead Behind the Eyes,” for example, has a doom-y melody floating across the beginning of the song that gives way to a quaking, crazed thrash attack.

Escape to Everything celebrates the release of “Devil’s Playground” with a show Saturday, June 2 at The Palladium in Worcester. The show is happening in the upstairs room and begins at 6 p.m. Till We Die, Silent Season, Death Rattle, and Devil’s Feedback are also on the bill.

Scapiccio says that each member of the band brings a different emphasis into the mix. Guitarist Ronnie DiScicio likes the brutal elements of Lamb of God, while singer Mike Nota is a fan of dynamic contrasts found in Soulfly’s music. Scapiccio says he likes the leaner sound of Sevendust and its timekeeper Morgan Rose.

“We all like different kinds of rock and we try and get that in there,” Scapiccio says.

Bassist Steve LaGrassa and former 21^st December guitarist Al Capone, who is the newest recruit, round out the lineup.

Based in Boston, Escape to Everything toured nationally with Bobaflex and headlined its own East Coast jaunt.

Experience shows on “Devil’s Playground,” with punchier songs opening the record then yielding to darker, heavier stuff, all without sounding erratic.

Among the highlights, “Final Goodbye” sounds like a twisted psychological thriller.  “Not Followed” blurs sparse dreariness with caustic blurts, creating a jarring closing number. Earlier, on “Built to Fall,” the bands plays around with similar contrasts but cooks up something that sound more defiant than despairing.

Scapiccio says Escape to Everything handpicked the openers for Saturday’s show, banking on each band to bring a little something different to the concert.

“Silent Season is in a league of their own and we’ve been dying to do a show with them,” he says. “Devil’s Feedback has some screaming in it. Death Rattle are good friends. And Till We Die we’ve known for a long time and know how good they are live.”

“Devil’s Playground” is available on iTunes as well as other digital-music services. Physical copies will be available at the show.

           

New Abnormality video

Here's a taste of Abnormality's "Contaminating the Hive Mind." The band has a CD release show June 7 at Ralph's Diner in Worcester.

Thundering arrival

Negura Bunget’s road to the U.S. has been long and twisted. Formed as a duo more than 15 years ago in Romania, Negura Bunget has forged some powerful albums and earned its place among Europe’s elite black-metal bands. But Negura Bunget has not made it across the Atlantic. Until now.

Fresh off its appearance at the Maryland Deathfest, Negura Bunget brought its Transylvanian Legacy Tour with Eclipse Eternal and Din Brad to Ralph’s Chadwick Square Dinger in Worcester on May 27. This was also one of four shows on the tour to include Haethen.

The current 6-piece version of Negura Bunget is vastly revamped from the lineup that originally cooked up this band’s intriguing blend of brutality and beauty. But the legacy of albums such as 2006's “Om" is intact; in concert, Negura Bunget traveled to sonic extremes and aptly pulled together disparate musical elements into a cohesive bludgeoning.

 Drummer Negru is the sole founding member of the troupe, but through its ranks, up to singer Chakravartin (who joined earlier this year and made a joke about being 10 years old when the band formed), Negura Bunget displayed both discipline and connection to the material. The band carved out intricate arrangements, finding delicate ways to cut through the darker passages. At one point folkloric pipes and primitive percussion were as galvanizing as the epic guitar solos that give the band its progressive edge.

The hour-long set peaked with “Hora Soarelui,” as the band protected an anthemic melody amid booming dynamics.

Negura Bunget’s keyboard player Inia Dinia and drummer Negru aired a softer side of the ensemble with their duo Din Brad, which played a short opening set steeped in sound scapes and folk-based melodies.

Eclipse Eternal was also taking part in a first foray into the States. Hailing from Toronto, Eclipse Eternal hemmed closer to the darker edges off black metal, earning its corpse paint with such brutal fare as “Writing with a Razor Upon the Blue Lines.”

As punishing as the band could get, Eclipse Eternal also took off into headier displays such as “Summoning the Negative” and “The Dragon Has Come to Blot Out the Stars.” Like Negura Bunget, Eclipse Eternal uses dramatic keyboard parts to broaden the sound without sacrificing any of the heaviness.

Haethen, a progressive black-metal band from New Jersey, opened the night. Scrappier than the international visitors on the bill, Haethen nonetheless reveled in the dynamics shifts of the sort that would ultimately become more pronounced as the night went on.

International holiday

So over the course of this quintessentially American holiday weekend, there are a mess of metal bands from all over the globe converging in Worcester on Sunday. Go figure.

Italy's Rhapsody of Fire (formerly just Rhapsody, and Thundercross before that) delivers a dose of symphonic metal at The Palladium. Australia's purveyors of prog-metal Voyager is on tour with Rhapsody of Fire. The show starts at 6:30 p.m.  with homegrown talent Aversed, Forevers' Fallen Grace, and In Harm's Way.

At Ralph's Diner, the amazing Negura Bunget (in video) from Romania headlines with support from fellow countrymen Din Brad, and Canadian death troupe Eclipse Eternal. Don't sleep on this one. Negura Bunget offers an engrossing blend of seething black-metal fury tempered with melodic detours. Transylvanian folklore binds the package nicely. Haethen was recently added to the show, which gets under way at 9 p.m.

More heavy dates

Metal 101 is at the Lucky Dog Music Hall in Worcester on June 2. Tribute to '80s metal that bills itself as running from Anthrax to Yngwie. Doors at 8:30 p.m. Acquaintances of Disaster and The Mondays are also on the bill.

Horna (in video), Kommandant, Bog of the Infidel, Nachzehrer, and Sacromancy are at Great Scott in Allston June 5. Show time is 8:30 p.m.

Black Trip springs new E.P.

Black Trip covers a lot of ground with the three songs it just released as the “Heart of the Dream” EP. The disc opens with a string quartet and closes with a short, fierce jab of vintage-sounding metal. In between, the band puts its own stamp on progressive and power arrangements, and Gennaro Ammendola’s dark, submerged vocals even bring in a flourish of death and grind.

“Voice of Truth” and the title track showcase Black Trip’s smart arrangements (the biggest giveaway that this quartet was founded at Berklee College of Music). Drummer Jeff Hale sounds relentless on the song “Heart of the Dream,” providing a common thread as the rest of the band darts in and out of elements you’d find in thrash and power-metal tunes. The strings that open the tune resurface midway through as a nice counterpoint to Ben Levin’s guitar leads.

“Voice of Truth” likewise has a tiered arrangement, but this time, the rhythm section conjures a more dramatic sweep, and the band transitions from the prog-thrash of the opener to a more classic style of headbanging.

“Wings of Steel” is the shortest of the three songs and the one that shows Black Trip unafraid to just go for the jugular with a burst of guitar riffs and aggressive attitude.

For info on ordering “Heart of the Dream,” check out www.blacktripmetal.com.

Metal benefit show

Stop the Bleeding Metalfest 4 is on tap for Saturday June 16 at The Raven, 258 Pleasant St., Worcester. Engorged (shown above), Sorrowseed, Betrayed by Prophecy, Carnivora, and Wrenchneck are on the bill so far and more bands are being added.

Stop the Bleeding is dedicated to raising funds for various organizations tackling social issues at the community level. This event will fork over ALL proceeds to the Lighthouse food pantry and kitchen in Worcester. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased in advance online at www.letsstopthebleeding.org.

Doors open at 3 p.m., and all ages will be admitted before 8 p.m. After 8, it's a 21+ affair.