Friday the 5th: Polyphia - Euphoria

     It never fails, does it? I'm starting to get close to caught up, then comes the combination of a busy long weekend last week and then a good old dose of Canadian winter this past Tuesday that required some digging out, and suddenly I'm back behind several eight balls again, blog-wise. Oh well. Onward and upward, shall we? Starting with a post for a couple of Fridays ago.

     So how do you feel about Polyphia? Do they make you feel decidedly old and un-hipsterish? Jokes aside, do you dig their techy, shreddy instrumental, or are you among those who feel it lacks some soul? The band's latest "Euphoria", from their forthcoming LP Renaissance, might go a ways towards converting you from the latter for the former. The sheer noodliness is dialed back a little here, with melodic lines taking centre stage. Think a little along the lines of Intervals, or something similar -- leads are there, buttery smooth as usual, but things are more in service of the song now. Check it out.

Wednesday: Intervals - I'm Awake

     You guys should know by now that I'm always excited when I get to feature new music by a band I dig. The Canadian origin of today's song, fact that it's from an outfit that's just so damn tasty, and the scant couple of weeks I'm going to have to wait to hear the rest of this new album are all just various shapes of icing on this colourful cake. (See what I did there?)

     "I'm Awake" is the first single from the upcoming new Intervals album The Shape of Colour, and it's definitely got enough bouncy instrumental prog energy to wake you up and get you going. Fans of the band will likely know that the lineup has changed significantly since the release of Intervals' debut LP A Voice Within, but you can rest assured right now that primary songwriter Aaron Marshall is still going strong. Some slick and emotive lead work and some really interesting phrasing in the main riffs of "I'm Awake" have already whetted my appetite for the early December release of The Shape of Colour. What about you?

Sunday: Rest Among Ruins - Sign to Surrender

     Upon what can I cast the blame for being late a day yet again? Well, since all of the usual suspects have pretty much been tapped out already this weekend, I'll be cryptic and say only that I've been working on a little something for you that should (hopefully) appear towards the end of this week.

     Anyways, now for a Sunday song. This time out it's going to be a little bit of tasty melo-death courtesy of Baltimore's Rest Among Ruins, who've recently released a playthrough video for "Sign to Surrender" from their upcoming debut LP Fugue. If the rhythm guitarist in said playthrough looks a tad familiar, that's understandable, as Mike Semesky did vocalist duties for Intervals on the first full-length A Voice Within and the subsequent tour cycle.

     Presumably part of Mike's decision to part ways with Intervals with his role in Rise Among Ruins, a melodic death metal band with djent frosting and vaguely symphonic sprinkles. Have a listen to "Sign to Surrender" if that sounds like something you'd like a taste of.

Intervals - Automaton

     Playthrough videos have been the order of the day in heavy music for a while now, and that suits me just fine. As someone who plays guitar, and wishes they had the coordination to play drums, I enjoy being able to see a song actually played on an instrument, from start to finish. This is especially true of songs by bands I've never seen in concert, or likely will never see.

     There's just something about being able to watch and say, "so that's what he's doing there!" And as I said above, not being able to play the drums myself just makes a good drum playthrough video that much more impressive for me personally.

     So when the stars align and the Venn diagram circles of "good song" and "good playthrough" overlap, who am I to deny the will of the gods and forgo making such a song your Song of the Day. That's why tonight you're getting "Automaton" from A Voice Within, the latest from Canadian former instrumental act Intervals. Drummer Anup Sastry has put out a lot of good playthroughs, and this one's no exception.

Saturday: Intervals - Moment Marauder

     I know I've featured Intervals pretty recently, but now that A Voice Within is actually out and I've had the chance to spend some serious time with it I feel like there's another track on it that I can't resist shining some spotlight on.

     "Moment Marauder" features a cool, snaky, vaguely Spanish-sounding riff that I really dig, and on top of that it's got a sweet keyboard solo that leads into an equally sweet guitar solo. Even if you're not completely on board with the addition of a vocalist to the Intervals mix, there's a lot of Intervals-y goodness still to be found, like "Moment Marauder"

Intervals - The Escape

     It's a quickie post tonight, and one that's aimed at commemorating the upcoming release of Intervals' debut LP A Voice Within next week.

     "The Escape" is the second single to be released from A Voice Within and our second chance to come to grips with Intervals with a vocalist. I'm still reserving final judgement for when I can listen to the whole album, start to finish, a couple of times, but I definitely thinking instrumentally the band is as strong or stronger than ever. Vocals or no vocals, there's no shortage of tasty riffing in the first two songs we've heard off the record so far. I for one am looking forward to next Tuesday.

Intervals - Ephemeral

     Today's song of the day is going to hit two pigs with one bird, in the sense that it's both a New Music Monday kinda song and something I've been looking forward to for a while now. The title of today's post may have given things away, but just in case, allow me to spell it out for you: Canadian (formerly) instrumental badasses Intervals have just released the first song from their upcoming debut LP.

     What does he mean by "formerly", I hear you asking. Well, for two EPs now Toronto's Intervals have been cranking out proggy, djenty instrumental tunage, but today's song release also came with the announcement that their forthcoming album features bassist Mike Semesky handling vocal duties as well as locking down the low end.

     Is Intervals better off with a vocalist than they were without? Why don't you be the judge. Turn your shit up loud and then have a listen to "Ephemeral" from the upcoming A Voice Within. I was on the fence about the introduction of vocals to such a rad instrumental band at first, but it's growing on me with every play. Some pretty sweet leads aren't hurting anything either.

Twenty Questions - Salt of the Chief Cornerstone

Hey everybody, as you may or may not have noticed, it's been a long time since I've posted a Twenty Questions interview, and I think it's high time I fixed that. What's that? You agree that I should rectify this situation? You want to read another e-mail interview as soon as possible? Well then today's your lucky day!

     Today's Twenty Questions were answered by the boys from Salt of the Chief Cornerstone, an instrumental guitar-and-drums duo I saw open for Protest the Hero back at the start of November. I dug their sound so much that I picked up a copy of their demo EP and subsequently singled them out as my next victims for interrogation. Read on for the results of my questioning.

Intervals - Inertia

     It seems like a lot of albums on my "watch" list have come out recently, or will be out soon, so it's more or less time to shift from "waiting for records to drop" to "waiting for records to be recorded". A number of bands I'm into are either in the studio or just about to head in, like today's band.

     Toronto's Intervals are an up-and-coming young instrumetal band that I've feature a bunch before, but since they're within days of heading into the studio to lay down the last of the material for their debut LP I think it's only fitting that I give them another few minutes in the spotlight.

     To that end, here's "Inertia", the closing track from Intervals' debut EP The Space Between  from back in 2011. A little bit djenty in groove terms (in the best possible ways) but also proggy and melodic, and all without a single word being sung. If instrumental stuff if your thing, you should know about Intervals, and if it isn't, Intervals is a big reason why it should be.

Song of the Day: The Color Morale - Saviorself

     How bitter am I that none of the dates on the Misery Signals Absent Light release tour are close enough for me to make it out this time around? Let me count the ways.

Twenty Questions - Michael Ciccia from Mandroid Echostar

     As you may have seen me mention in a recent post, Loud Noises turned a year old about two weeks ago now. If you've followed the blog for any length of time, you may also have seen me mention that I've got some things in the works, simmering away in the background, that I couldn't yet unveil to the world. But none of those things has ever really amount to much more than continued simmerings. Until now.

Song of the Day: Intervals - Duality

     Staying instrumetal and staying Canadian this evening with this song from a band that I've posted about a couple of times before but that's always worth checking out.

     Your song tonight is "Duality" from the 2011 debut EP The Space Between by Toronto-based Intervals. Catchy but still heavy, tastefully shreddy, and laden to the gills with groove, Intervals are really going to make a name for themselves if they keep releasing material of this quality at this pace (two EPs in two years, by my count) so you should get in while this ride's still on the ground floor.

Song of the Day: Anup Sastry - Limitless

     I've written about the purveyor of today's track before, but previously it's always been by way of his connection  to other musical projects. You see, up and coming drummer Anup Sastry is the skinsman for both Intervals and Skyharbor, two slick bands that are more than worth checking out. But Mr. Sastry has just released his first solo effort, which means more tasty grooves for the masses!

Song of the Day: Ever Forthright - Latency and Tendencies

     Evening everybody. I've got something for you today you probably haven't heard, which is always something I'm looking for, and on top of that it's something I haven't written about yet, which is always a bonus.

     So New York City djenty-type band Ever Forthright have been on my musical radar for a while now: back in September they toured southern Ontario a little with Intervals and Mandroid Echostar, both Canadian bands I'm always trying to talk up, and last week I finally picked up a copy of their 2011 self-titled debut. I've only given the disc a couple of plays, but I'm already intrigued by Ever Forthright's jazzy, glitchy take on the increasingly over-saturated tech metal/djent subgenre. Let's see if you are too.

     Your song today is called "Latency and Tendencies". So far it's one of my favourites on the album, so it's the one I'm going to share with you. Enjoy!

Song of the Day: Intervals - Mata Hari

     Evening, friends. Just a quick one today since I gotta hit the hay so I can get up super early tomorrow for work. I've written about Canadian instrumetal band Intervals a couple of times before, but since my CD copy of their new EP is finally here (yay!) I figure it's a good time to promote this band again.

     So your song today is "Mata Hari" from October's EP In Time, and as an added bonus, you get a play-through video by guitarist/songwriter Aaron Marshall, so you can watch him play this song's badass leads as well as listen to them. If heavy, progressive, instrumental music is your thing, you need to know about these guys already, and if it's not, this band is one of example of why maybe it should be.

Song of the Day: Intervals - Tapestry

     Guten tag, everyone. Today I've got a killer new tune for you from a band that I've been talking up at every available opportunity over the last few months. They've been streaming their new EP online for the last week or two, but since said EP is officially out today, what better day to crank some instrumental metal?*

Song of the Day: Intervals - Sonar

     I've got some cool Canuck instrumetal for you today. I just recently discovered today's band, Intervals, and downloaded their debut EP The Space Between. I've only had the chance for a couple of listens, but so far I'm digging it: djenty, headbanging grooves, some good leadwork, a couple of nice (and audible, thank the gods!) basslines, and some solid drumming courtesy of Anup Sastry of Skyharbor (among other things). There's even some electronic-style manipulation and ambient-ish stuff, and the whole package amounts to something that makes me very excited for the new material that their Facebook page tells me will soon be in the works.

     Your song today is "Sonar" by Intervals. Check it out.