Saturday the 20th (of February): Circles - Sand and Wind

     Just because I'm super far behind doesn't mean I don't still get to feature the latest and greatest from some great bands. Imagine if I limited myself to stuff I'd heard by the supposed date of these posts? I'd be even worse off, no doubt.

     I am, however, definitely better off for hearing the newest track from the Australian prog djentlemen in Circles. No solid word yet on when their next disc will be out (other than a general "this year" posted in response to a question on Facebook), but if the band's latest single is any indication, it should be a fitting follow-up to the band's debut LP Infinitas. "Sand and Wind" is an expertly-balanced showing of melodic and groovy djent-prog. Album number two could be a big one for Circles; they just need to write a bunch more rockers like this one.

The Great Airport Mystery - Eris

     Space and science fiction are rich sources of inspiration for many metal bands, but the actual application or execution of such themes can be a little hit or miss. Sometimes you get something suitably epic and badass (The Faceless' Planetary Duality comes to mind), but sometimes you just get something silly and B-movie. Today's song, and the EP whence it comes, is anything but silly and B-movie.

     The EP in question is Voyager, the latest from self-described space metal band The Great Airport Mystery and a continuation of the interstellar concept begun on their debut LP The Great Spaceport Mystery. Voyager consists of only three tracks, but there's a lot packed in there: appropriately spacey atmospherics; big, sometimes djenty grooves; equally big vocals that remind me more than a little of Perry from Circles. There's even some sci-fi lyrics going on that don't sound terribly corny and cheesy. Bonus!

     The net result of all of the above is that Voyager does indeed succeed as a proggy little slice of space metal, so much so that it's got me interested both in checking out the band's previous The Great Spaceport Mystery and in keeping an eye out for whatever these guys do next. If you think you might be in the same boat (spaceship?) start with EP opener "Eris" and go from there.

Circles - On My Way

     Another day, another new video to share with all of you. The universe just seems to keep dropping tasty tidbits into me lap. Thanks universe!

     The Australian djentlemen in Circles have been somewhat busy over the last few months, partly because they've been trekking around the world on one tour or another, and partly because they've been working on a couple of things. Thing One: perhaps earning the ire of early purchasers and pre-orderers, the guys have worked up a new, deluxe edition of the debut full-length Infinitas, with some extra tracks and some fancy pants packaging. Curse my impatience!

     Thing Two: a new music video to go along with the Infinitas re-release (or for said re-release to accompany, take your pick), this time around for the song "On My Way". It's not a straight performance video, but it's not a tour/behind the scenes-type video either. It's got a little bit of both going on, and the song is just as groovey and snakey as you could want too. Initially I was definitely a bigger fan of Circles debut EP The Compass than their debut LP, but "On My Way" is making me think I should give Infinitas a revisit or three. You should probably join me in doing so, for your own good.

Monuments - I, The Creator

     June is shaping up to be a good month for new metal. Yesterday I was talking about Mastodon's new album Once More 'Round the Sun, which comes out on the 24th of June, and today I'm directing you to the first song to be released from Monuments' sophomore disc The Amanunensis, which comes out the day before (in Europe anyways, we'll have to wait a week or two over here across the pond).

     I've featured the British prog djentlemen of Monuments and their first album Gnosis a couple of times before, mostly for their much-better-than-average djentish riffing and miles deep grooves. But "I, The Creator", the first song we heard from The Amanunensis, gets the nod today for throwing a stronger sounding sense of melody into the mix.

     Some among you will of course decry things like an increase in clean singing as being too poppy (or something more colourful). But think about it this way: the formula of groove-centric metal plus catchy melodies is what yielded Australia's Circles. Or Sevendust, for that matter. If Monuments were to evolve in the direction of either of those bands, it wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen. Have a listen to "I, The Creator" and see what you think.

2013 Round-up: Loud Noises Ten Best of 2013

     Well, it's finally time to sit down and look back on the year that was and celebrate the fact that 2013 was a very strong year for heavy music of every stripe. My belief that we shouldn't judge a year until it's actually done, coupled with my very gradual (read: glacial) working pace over Christmas, has put me several weeks behind where I originally intended to be on this, but now that 2013 exists only in our memories, and I've got all my ducks in a row, I'm ready to jump on the bandwagon of musical criticism (every other metal website out there has of course had their "Top X of 2013" lists up for, like, two months now).

     Now, before you read the following list and then explode with rage at my selections, let's establish right now that these are my personal favourites from last year, the albums that I would say I spent the most time listening to and enjoying. I am in no way saying that these are definitively or objectively the ten "best" albums from 2013. Yes, the words "Ten Best" do appear in the title of this post, but in the context of being the Loud Noises Ten Best, not the Ten Best. So there. I refuse to take any responsibility for any butthurt you might incur from the omission of your favourite band or album.

     So, without further ado, and in no particular order, please enjoy the Loud Noises Ten Best albums of 2013.

- Tesseract - Altered State
     Tesseract's first LP One left me such a fanboy that I probably would have lapped up new material like a cartoon cat with a saucer of milk regardless of its quality. What good fortune then that follow-up full-legnth Altered State is so goddamned awesome. Call it metal, call it prog, call it djent if you feel you must, but whatever label you choose to apply to Tesseract, you can't deny their infectious groove and rhythmic power. More than perhaps any other band represented on this list, Tesseract are a band you can put on for your non-metal head friends and still reasonably expect them to enjoy it. Yeah, you read that right: Tesseract are an accessible metal or "heavy" band, but in a way that renders "accessibility" a good quality instead of a dirty word.

- The Ocean - Pelagial
     If you'll pardon the nautical pun, Pelagial is album with a very deep concept. The idea, if I understand things correctly, is that the sonic journey of the album from start to finish is supposed to represent or replicate the experience of descending into the depths of the ocean. Of course, Pelagial doesn't adhere to this template rigidly, but rather does so just enough to sketch out the concept's bones. The prettier, prog-rockier early parts of the record, replete with piano parts, give way to denser, more prog-metally parts, and things get doomier mood-wise as we get further down. Interestingly, Pelagial is also one of several albums I've come across lately (another being Tesseract's Altered State from above) that come with both a regular version of the album and an instrumental one. Regular readers will know I'm a fan of instrumental music, but it's a true testament to The Ocean's songwriting and musicianship that Pelagial is just as enthralling without any vocals at all.

- Revocation - Revocation
     Thrash is dead! Long live thrash! I've heard the whole movement of which Revocation can be considered part called retro-thrash, or re-thrash, but there's nothing retro about the Boston band's badass sound. What Revocation plays is decidedly modern thrash, an evolutionary leap forward from the kind of metal bands like Metallica used to play back in their heyday. And yet, Revocation has a classic feel too, like it would be at home alongside any era of fast and furious metal. Revocation is also one of those albums that satisfies with its own awesomeness at the same time that it whets the appetite for more awesomeness to come. Songs like "The Hive", "Archfiend", and "Invidious", to name just a few, make me very excited to hear what Revocation will come up with next time out.

- letlive. - The Blackest Beautiful
     Yet another year has gone by without a major new release from post-hardcore legends Glassjaw, making them the genre's equivalent of Tool in terms of productivity. An album like The Blackest Beautiful, however, is enough to make you say "go ahead and take your time, Glassjaw". I don't know that everybody would agree with me on this one, but I really feel that letlive has the vibe of a "spiritual successor" to Glassjaw, especially with The Blackest Beautiful. They've got the same blend of energy, aggression, and pop sensibilities and vocal stylings. Glassjaw's Worship and Tribute is still a classic, but letlive might have crafted the modern equivalent in The Blackest Beautiful. And if they haven't done it here, their next album is going to slay.

- Misery Signals - Absent Light
     This one is a little like Tesseract's Altered State, in the sense that I've been a Misery Signals fan for a long time and would probably have been satisfied with just about whatever Misery Signals came up with. I don't know if it's possible to re-bottle the lightning of earlier Misery Signals albums (2008's Controller is still my favourite) but Absent Light is still a rock solid balance between the dense technicality of Misery Signals' more recent work and the earnest aggression of their early stuff. As a supporter of the band's Indiegogo campaign, I for one am fully satisfied with the album that the band came up with, and would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

- East of the Wall - Redaction Artifacts
     A word I often like to use about the sound and style of the band above, Misery Signals, is "dense". This is a word that could also be applied to East of the Wall's latest, Redaction Artifacts. "Dense" in the sense that there's so much going on. If you read even the occasional post around here, you'll know I like to try and compare bands to other bands, to help all of you get a bit better handle on things before you press play. East of the Wall had me stumped, and in the best possible way. Redaction Artifacts is unorthodox, but not inaccessible, technical, but not overly so, disharmonious, but not amelodic... I could keep pulling juxtapositions out of my ass all day, but a better use of your time would be to just go on Youtube and find out for yourself exactly why East of the Wall and Redaction Artifacts resist my attempts at classification and description.

- Anciients - Heart of Oak
     As I've made clear in an Anciients Song of the Day, Heart of Oak is a hard album to pin down. It's a well-forged alloy of Mastodony post-metal, Opethian prog, straight-up death metal, and healthy helpings of classic metal and rock. Sprinkle in some impressive drum work, some vocal variety, and some truly tasty guitar leads, and you've got a delicious brew that is, incredibly, only the debut LP from this Vancouver band. I can only imagine what a little maturity will do for a band that's already this technically sophisticated.

- Plini - Other Things
     I don't know if it's cheating a little or not to include an EP on my list of ten best "albums" of last year, but I don't really care. Plini is an incredibly talented guy, and he's put out some incredibly rad music in the past year, but his first EP Other Things was how I initially discovered his work, and of all his releases so far it's the one that's spent the most time coming out of my speakers since I got it. More than almost any other act on this list, I can't wait to hear what's next from this rising star, and that's saying something. It'll be absolutely criminal if Plini doesn't eventually get huge.

- Protest the Hero - Volition
     Another longtime favourite of mine, Protest the Hero could almost do no wrong on this one. Me and thousands of other Indiegogo contributors basically said (or gambled) as much when we threw scads of money into a Protest-shaped hole in the internet. News of drummer Moe Carlson's departure disheartened as much as word of his session replacement Chris Adler excited. In the end, we needn't have worried about a thing: Protest's technicalilty is still top notch, and while the prog is dialed down, the songwriting is dialed way up. These are some of the best songs -- not collections of cool riffs and parts strung together -- of the band's career.

- Circles - Infinitas
     The debut LP from Australia's prog-djent darlings Circles demonstrated that not only can the band craft riffs but songs as well. That was the thing about the band's 2011 EP The Compass: it was full to the brim with tasty riffs and bits, but the songs weren't always cohesive wholes so much as these riffs and bits strung together serviceably (sound familiar? *cough* Protest the Hero *cough*). Don't get me wrong, I really really dig The Compass, but for the most part you can't really build any kind of a career with just a good collection of riffs. You need some solid songs. Circles seems to think so too, as they brought an album's worth of solid material to the party with Infinitas. With initial outings as strong as The Compass and now Infinitas, this is yet another case of me being well stoked to hear a sophomore LP.

     Aaaaannnnd there you have it. Not exactly ringing in the new year punctually, but as they say, better late than never. Right? Right?!

Circles - Erased

     There's a decent chance you're getting tired of this whole djent thing by now. If, however, you're still interested in such things, you've no doubt spent some time with Circles' new record Infinitas by now, and discovered for yourself that there's still some quality water in the djenty well.

     Circles don't necessarily bring to the party any of the usual bits of extra flavour metal bands typically use to differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack -- blistering speed, super bizarre time signatures, that sort of thing -- but the bits they do bring to the table are as solidly done as they come. Big riffs, even bigger vocal melodies and harmonies, good production values, Infinitas has it all in spades. Circles' debut EP The Compass is a pretty big pair of metaphorical shoes to fill, but Infinitas is definitely growing on me with every listen.

     This evening I'm going with Infinitas opener "Erased" as your song, because it does exactly what a good album opener should: it gives the listener a thorough sampling of what's in store for them over the next however many tracks. "Erased" does this nicely, aptly demonstrating that, as I've said many times before, you don't have to reinvent the wheel to come up with something that rolls (and rocks) pretty damn hard.

Song of the Day: Circles - Responses

     With each passing day of the waning month of September, the month of October is shaping up to be a really solid month of releases for fans of metal and all its heavy music subgenres. I've mentioned a few already, and in the coming days I'm sure I'll mention a few more.

Song of the Day: Circles - The Design

     Still no word yet on when Australian band Circles' debut LP Infinitas will hit our earholes, so for the time being you'll have to settle for today's song.

Song of the Day: Mean's End - Candle in the Dark

     I've got some new stuff for you tonight, all the way from Sweden. Those Swedes must do nothing but sit in their Ikea rooms and think about metal. It's a nice gig if you can get it.

Song of the Day: Circles - Another Me

     If you've been following along, you know that a little less than a week ago, I featured a song by rising Australian djentlemen Circles in honour of the impending release of the first single from their forthcoming full-length debut. Of course then Circles would have to go and mess with my shit by putting out a video for this new single just a couple of days later.

Song of the Day: Circles - Clouds Are Gathering

     Hey everybody, got another quick one before bed again, dealing today with up and coming Australian prog-metallers Circles. I've written about these guys before, but now they're hard at work on the first full-length, and have just debuted the first single. I haven't heard it yet, but that's no reason not to check out something from their 2011 EP The Compass.

     So your song today is "Clouds Are Gathering". Check it out and then go get stoked up for the new album.

Song of the Day: Circles - Eye Embedded

     Another day, another song here at Loud Noises, and today, like yesterday, I'm going to do a little retreading of ground from days gone by. A week or two ago, I posted my United Nations of Metal with a whole slew of international recommendations. Maybe you checked them out, maybe you didn't, but today I intend to make sure that at least one of these bands gets a little attention from you.

The United Nations of Metal

    I’ve got something kinda fun planned for this time out. Or at least I think it’s fun. Maybe I’m just a big dork. Anyways, some set-up: I recently got thinking about how insular we metal fans can be. I mean, we do listen to a pretty niche genre of music. Even your most mainstream modern metal bands, your Lamb of Gods (Lambs of God?), your Killswitch Engages, your Slipknots (OK, maybe Slipknot is a bad example...), even bands like these aren’t getting top 40 radio play, or appearing on People magazine, or even being followed by douchebags from TMZ. Even the biggest fish in the metal pond are seldom caught by the nets of mainstream popular culture. (How’s that for a metaphor?)