ALBUM REVIEW: Dead Empires, "Designed to Disappear"

By: Mark Ambrose


Album Type: Full Length

Date Released:23/02/2018

Label: Silent Pendulum Records

 

“Witnessed live and through my speakers, “Designed to Disappear” is a juggernaut of a record – one that hops easily between genres while remaining the work of a distinct, remarkable quartet.  I’m onboard for whatever challenging, inspiring output they have in store.”

“Designed to Disappear” CD//CS//DD//LP track listing

1. Spectacular Ruin

2. The Form

3. Slay Rider

4. Reverse Speak

5. A Summertime Song

6. Ones and Zeros

7. Ergot (feat. John Carbone)

8. Designed to Disappear

The Review:        

The term “progressive” gets thrown around pretty egregiously in metal – most often you’re left thinking of bands like Dream Theater or Iced Earth, and even then thinking in terms of scale, length, or concept albums.  Far too frequently, it’s easy to forget how the genuine first wave of “prog” artists, from King Crimson and Santanato Yesand Rush, embraced weirdly abstruse musical styles.  While a ton of modern prog enthusiasts will point to the longform arena rock epics like “2112”, there aren’t many who hold up the 80s pop experimentation of Yes as key progressive cornerstones.  Yet with the supremacy of total oddball artists like Mike Patton and his onetime collaborators in the dearly departed Dillinger Escape Plan in the 1990s and 2000s metal/math/whatevercore scenes, there is growing appreciation for boundary-free heavy music.  New York state’s Dead Empires, formerly an instrumental trio, have all the hallmarks of these monumentally talented virtuosos with a healthy injection of pop sensibility to match. 

Intro track “Spectacular Ruin” displays the muscular guitar- focused energy at the heart of Dead Empires winning formula, allowing John Bryan space to lay down harmonized, rousing leads that will please the Thin Lizzy fanatics out there.  “The Form” unleashes vocalist Jason “PRKR” Sherman for the first time – his monstrously distorted vocals and noisy manipulations are all the more exciting when his melodic strengths come to the foreground later.  The rhythm dynamic of Phil Bartsch and DJ Scully is monumental – heavy as the heart of a neutron star.  And Bryan’s apt countering of chugging rhythm and shrieking high end melodic guitar work sounds like the best Mars Voltaleads we never got. 

“Slay Rider”, a thrashy two minute blast of galloping drums and blast beat choruses, is a great example of the Dead Empires’ bold disregard for genre conventions – they could have forged on with the noisy, experimental math rock of the first two tracks and had a pretty solid record, instead, they go full on groove-thrash attack before the heady, jazz grind freakout of “Reverse Speak.”   And that’s only the first two minutes of the track, before a beautifully salsa infused guitar and piano (guest Jason Volpe) tradeoff, pounding double bass drumming of Bartsch, or the magnificently melodic bridge vocals.  Just when you think you have Dead Empires’ formula pegged they drop into a spaced out dub metal (is that even a thing?) track like “A Summertime Song”.  Like a 311song if they could just muster the grit to be HEAVY, “A Summertime Song” is the unlikeliest, weirdest 7 minutes I’ve heard on an album this year that actually works as a pop single.  DJ Scully’s gnarly bass gets some time to shine here and it’s easy to see why he’s an in demand multi-genre bassist – dude has some serious tone and chops.

The instrumental “Ones and Zeros” is a bit of a palate cleanser after the consistent tonal changeups of the record so far, recalling the meat and potatoes harmonies of “Spectacular Ruin”, with some moments that recall Big Country(maybe the most overlooked non-metal guitar group of the 80s), and others that once again have me thinking of Phil Lynott and company.  “Ergot”may be the most “conventional” post-metal/metalcore piece of the whole record, if a punishing metal song in the midst of all this post-rock beauty, featuring a spoken word coda courtesy of Moon Tooth’s John Carbone, can be called conventional at all.  The epic, titular finale is a 12 minute, anthemic journey through regret and mortality that is cinematic, rewarding, and ultimately uplifting, even with lyrics like “death, the great equalizer / everything will end one day / that’s the hard truth we go to bed with everyday, / designed to disappear we all go away”.  Somehow it’s far more inspiring than you’d imagine, with moments of seriously dissonant brutality.  More than any other track, I could see this as full on arena rock – it deserves an audience of thousands to truly appreciate its massive scale.

Though there are only eight tracks on their newest record, Dead Empires’ offer lightning fast jaunts through multiple genres, embodying the bold heart of progressive music’s infinite potential.  While their forebears like Dillinger Escape Plan have retired, or Mike Patton has stopped only occasionally to focus on projects that exist as more than one-off experiments, Dead Empireshas the potential to continue as a band to watch, as every move seems to take you to new, unforeseen destinations.  It’s really amazing to see it replicated live, as I had to pleasure to experience this autumn, and hear so MUCH coming from a stripped down quartet.  If you have a chance to see them during the upcoming tour, I’d absolutely recommend it, as the pure intensity and prowess is somehow just as monumental, even in a small venue.  Witnessed live and through my speakers, “Designed to Disappear” is a juggernaut of a record – one that hops easily between genres while remaining the work of a distinct, remarkable quartet.  I’m onboard for whatever challenging, inspiring output they have in store.

“Designed to Disappear” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

FOR THOSE ABOOT TO ROCK: Riffs of Canada with Jean Mustard (British Columbia)

By: Mark Tremblay

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 29/04/2017

Label: Independent

“Sonic Jam” DD track listing:

1). Stinkbomb

2). Under The Oceans Maybe I Know

3). A Version  Of Black Pigeon

4). Yo Dude

5). There Was A Rhino

6). B

7). Afro Lavine.....to Be Continued

The Review:

Jean Mustardis the sonic equivalent of an anxiety attack and “Sonic Jam” sounds like the band took everything they listen to, and tossed into a blender to see what came out. If you enjoy any combination of sludge metal, noise rock, indie rock, and jazz, this record is right up your alley.

The EP opens with a dizzying track “Under The Oceans Maybe I Know”; picture The Dillinger Escape Plan with beat poetry vocals. Traditional song structures are thrown completely out the window with this EP, as each of these songs have moments pasted together that make no sense, and yet they work. The drumming plays a myriad of jazz beats. These beats pair perfectly with the cacophony of sound, and helps transition all of the hairpin tempo changes on “Sonic Jam”.

 “Yo Dude” acts as a palette cleanser for the listener before being pummelled into the ground with the albums heaviest of riffs. The EP ends with its heaviest track, “Afro Lavine...To be Continued”, which consists of one extremely heavy slow riff. Overall, the EP is a breath of fresh air into the sludge metal genre. If you enjoy bands like Mare and Faith no More,this is for you.

“Sonic Jam”is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

TRACK PREMIERE: Manchester's gonzo sludge triplets Under display their "Innards"

Under are a trio from Stockport, Greater Manchester. Though rooted in the blueprints of sludge and doom metal, their sound is harder to pin down with elements of prog, noise and avant garde creeping in. Under play with jagged, slow, off kilter riffs that tease the listener into a false sense of security. With dark and abstract lyricism evoking a trippy and sinister unease, the trio cite Swans, Mr. Bungle, Melvins and Radiohead as prime influences.

After the success of their debut EP 'First Attempt', Under built up a solid reputation playing frequent live shows in and out of Manchester and in 2016 they embarked on a successful UK mini-tour with Kurokuma.

'Slick' is their highly anticipated debut full length album, completely self produced and recorded by the band themselves. The trio have successfully built on everything they have been working towards, carefully fine-tuning every detail on the record. This eclectic listen is chock full of crushing riffs, odd time signatures, and a mixture of aggressive screaming vocals juxtaposed against a backdrop of more relaxed tripped out clean sections. With all three band members providing vocals, often harmonising together to create epic melodic textures. The record's bizarre lyrics, out there vibes and unpredictability will surely pull in listeners for repeat listens. 

'Slick' is destined to be one of those special records where you hear something new with each listen and today we’re excited to premiere a track from the album ahead of its official release via APF Records, ahead of its official release on May 31st 2017.  So if you’re fan of Melvins, Big Business, Swans, Faith No More, Dillinger Escape Plan, Mr. Bungle, check out the track “Innards” below.  'Slick' will be initially released on CD and Digital formats. So be sure to preorder a copy here

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

TRACK PREMIERE: Slagduster deliver grooved rhythms, technical riffing, odd time signatures and pummeling vocals on new single “Peeping Ron”

Hailing from Grand Forks, B.C, Slagdusternamed after, “a slang term local to our area for a piece of machinery that was used in the mines over a hundred years ago.” Isolation has most certainly bred inspiration in the shape of Slagduster. “We are the only four musicians in our small town driven to form a progressive metal band.”

Inspired by such giants as Goijira. Sikth, Meshuggah, Dillinger Escape Plan, Between The Buried And Me, vocalist Shane Sherman describes Slagduster’s sound as “progressive, groovy, creative, unique, heavy.” Set to release their sophomore album ‘Deadweight’ on May 5, 2017 the band feel their record will be well received by fans “Naturally our sound has come a long way since our debut release in 2010. The music is more complex, and much more developed, still heavy, but even more groove based. Listeners can expect to be challenged by focusing on the compositions, or lost in the musical landscape.”

‘Deadweight’ is due out on May 5, 2017 and will be available on Bandcamp, iTunes, Amazon, Spotfiy and all major online retailers.  Today were are exclusively debuting the band’s debut single 'Peeping Ron' which encompasses many aspects of their upcoming album 'Deadweight'. Grooved rhythms, technical riffing, odd time signatures and pummeling vocals, layered over complex drum work.  Enjoy! 

Band info: facebook|| official

ALBUM REVIEW & FULL ALBUM PREMIERE: Hyenas - "Deadweights"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 10/03/2017

Label: Pelagic Records

Deadweights” is an exciting opening salvo from Hyenas, it is an exhilarating hit of chaotic hardcore, metal fury and punk’n’roll that takes me back to the early to mid-2000s

“Deadweights” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Noise
2. Crooked Tongue
3. Ambiself
4. Crossbearer
5. Self-Adjusting
6. Homeostasis
7. Verminious
8. Smooth Talkers
9. Displaced
10. Live // Live
11. Nothing

The Review:

Hyenas debut LP fills me with a warm nostalgia for the recent past. “Deadweights” is an exhilarating hit of chaotic hardcore, metal fury and punk’n’roll that takes me back to the early to mid-2000s. Bands like Minus, Beecher and Norma Jean released killer albums that had an indelible effect on my heavy tastes and Hyenas bring this sound kicking and screaming into 2017.

“Noise”eases the listener in gently with a minute of ominous calm before the Nuremburg quartet lurch into the noise rock rumble of “Crooked Tongue”. From here the band launch into a series of high octane hell-raisers like “Crossbearer”where complex noisecore riffs and straight-ahead heavy punk rock combine to powerful effect.

“Verminious”takes up the clean guitar figure introduced in “Noise” and expands it into a moody, post-metal indebted burner. This provides a refreshing change of pace at the album’s mid-point and demonstrates Hyenas skill in tackling different elements without compromising on intensity. “Displaced” sees the band unexpectedly tackling a pared down ballad. Using only a clean guitar and vocals, the track is surprisingly effective and manages to avoid being jarring and cloying in contrast to the surrounding carnage. It also provides a welcome breather before the raging parting combo of “Live // Live” and “Nothing”.The former is one last reminder of Hyenas at their feral best which segues into the latter, a menacing slow-motion riff that slowly unravels into glorious chaos.

“Deadweights”is an exciting opening salvo from Hyenas, a brief burst of caustic racket that bodes well for a noisy future.

“Deadweights”is available to preorder/buy here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

FFO: The Chariot, Norma Jean, Converge, The Dillinger Escape Plan

LIVE REVIEW: This Feels Like Never Ending: A farewell To Dillinger Escape Plan

By: Philip Weller



“Farewell, fair cruelty.”

William Shakespeare

“It's just kind of known in the music industry that a farewell tour means 'for now.’”

Nikki Sixx

 

The Dillinger Escape Plan are a violent, Molotov Cocktail of aggressively designed soundscapes. From the rhinoceros charge of hardcore to their chaotic and angular mathcore inhibitions, as strobe lights flash and flicker like a warzone in a thunderstorm in Manchestertonight, it is clear that they are leaving behind a lasting legacy. As of July 2017, The Dillinger Escape Plan’s indefinite hiatus is initialised, and one in which uncertainty hovers over it like a vulture circling its prey. With Greg Puciato moving into poppy, electronic territories with former Nine Inch Nailsman Joshua Eustis – albeit ones shrouded in a dark ambience – and with Ben Weinman focusing upon his own label, Party Smasher Inc., nobody knows whether this staggeringly unique band will grace us with their presence again. Yet, tonight feels like anything but a funeral.

 

Bodies packed in tight, a sticky sense of anticipation clogging up the air; an intensity ready to burst. Tonight has the feel of a proper gig, tonight is going to be sweaty. Then, as the band burst, exploding like a hand grenade, into ‘Limerent Death’s’ opening grooves, which resemble the sound of metal scraping on concrete, it begins. Only the day before had Swedish tech metal giants Meshuggah laid waste to the city across town at The Ritz.That was catastrophically heavy, leaving you breathless, motionless, their perfectly timed lights show as mesmerising as the abundance of face distorting riffs. But here, while still being heavier than an elephant’s turd, their music has a different effect. As their lightshow does its upmost to blind you, you watch the band’s silhouettes throw themselves across the stage as if battling an itch that will not be scratched, the urge to do likewise surges inside you. This is heavy, but this is fun.

And their songs have so much character to boot. ‘Black Bubblegum’ is anthemic, it sounds fictionally massive and the whole room gets caught in its web. ‘When I Lost My Bet’ is inhumanly tight, with its off-beat, blitzing attack opening up the mosh pit as if it were the mouth of hell. ‘One Of Us Is The Killer’ is heart and gut wrenching in equal measure; haunted and beautiful, like a wolf dressed in Granma’s clothes, it is a pop single with deadly and sinister intentions.

 

Alongside earlier material, like the sheer musical obliteration of ‘Farewell, Mona Lisa’ – and one where Weinman really flaunts his technical guitar wizardry – ‘Sympton of Terminal Illness’, taken from their aptly titled final record ‘Dissociation’, represents their growth is beholden in all its glory. The latter builds on eerie broken guitar chords, infused with occasional thrust of metallic impotence and capped with a searing chorus. The heaviness and the insanity is still there, but the song writing is sharper, smarter and more dynamic. For all the decibel plundering however, there is so much personality which colours and brightens their songs. ‘Milk Lizard’ however, will always be the true party smasher.

 

Having seen Puciato in The Black Queen, a band where he can really explore the depth and quality of his singing abilities, to see him here in a more rabid setting is a delight. It is credence too, to a special talent.

 

‘Mouth Of Ghosts’ is one of the most incredibly surreal and hypnotising songs to witness in the flesh. That galloping beat, which waltzes with a gorgeous, emotionally distraught piano line brings a kaleidoscope of images to your head. From vast open plains to the red deserts of Cydonia, it is the kind of song which stirs the soul and heightens inner contemplation. It introduces an encore cut unfortunately short. Halfway through ‘Sunshine Werewolf’ they cut the music and raise the lights. Someone in the crowd is having a seizure. Puciato encourages the crowd to give the individual room and calls for medical attention. The atmosphere in the room changes, a real concern blankets us all. It dampens the spirit and indeed the power of the band’s farewell to a city that has supported them for a long time.  But it also accentuates the band’s humility. They sound like animals, play like animals, but have hearts that betray that visage: A heart that will be sorely missed when it stops beating this July.