The truly international nature of metal is something that always warms the cockles of my wizened old heart. There's good shit cropping up everywhere, and one of my goals here at Loud Noises is to bring some of that good shit from whichever neck of the woods it originates in to whichever corner of the forest you happen to inhabit. I'm just a nice guy like that.
This is why I'm pleased today to be able to point you in the direction of something from the (somewhat) less traditionally 'metal' European country of Denmark. Cold Night for Alligators (what a name, eh?) might sound a little too generically djenty for you at first blush, but give single "Followers" a chance and it'll throw some big, hooky choruses at you too. And some nice chunky grooves, with some vaguely proggy timings in there. Oh, and a bit of jazzy noodling too, leading up to a big ol' breakdowny outro.
I'm sure there are some among you (many, perhaps) that are experiencing a bit of "djent fatigue" with me lately. But if it really bugs you, hold your nose, call "Followers" a slice of melodic tech-prog, and then dive right in! Cold Night for Alligators has another single dropping soon, and an album Daydream following behind that, just in case you like what you hear.
Tuesday, 10 November 2015
Monday, 9 November 2015
Saturday: The Drowned God - Mezzanine
After "yesterday's" relatively polished and, in a sense, sparse production (don't worry, I'll explain in a second), I hope you're ready for some dense chaos, because that's what you're going to get from your Saturday song by The Drowned God.
If I were throwing darts at my "metal genre label" dartboard, the ones marked "The Drowned God" would probably land in the "post-metal" segment of the board, or maybe the "post-hardcore" section. But those darts wouldn't be telling you the whole story, because there's a lot happening on The Drowned God's latest EP The Ebony Void. There are blackened and doomy elements, grimy distorted vocals, heady doses of ambiance and atmosphere, and like I said above, a dense and chaotic sonic maelstrom. Interested?
There are only three beefy tracks on The Ebony Void, so I'm going to pull a me and start you with track one, "Mezzanine". Put some headphones on for this one, please.
If I were throwing darts at my "metal genre label" dartboard, the ones marked "The Drowned God" would probably land in the "post-metal" segment of the board, or maybe the "post-hardcore" section. But those darts wouldn't be telling you the whole story, because there's a lot happening on The Drowned God's latest EP The Ebony Void. There are blackened and doomy elements, grimy distorted vocals, heady doses of ambiance and atmosphere, and like I said above, a dense and chaotic sonic maelstrom. Interested?
There are only three beefy tracks on The Ebony Void, so I'm going to pull a me and start you with track one, "Mezzanine". Put some headphones on for this one, please.
Friday: Mandroid Echostar - Paladin
You might have already had the chance to check out the latest from friends of the blog Mandroid Echostar, since the new single "Paladin" was unleashed upon the world last Friday. But, being a couple of days behind as I always am, I thought the Mandroid jam might make the perfect belated Friday post.
If you're ahead of me on this one, good for you. But if you're not, here's what you're in store for: "Paladin" sounds a little darker than much of Mandroid's work, but the band's top-notch musicianship and songwriting skills are still very much in evidence, from the pummeling introductory twin-guitar riff to the big, hooky choruses, to that soaring outro that feels like it should just fade into the sunset.
If "Paladin" is any indication, the upcoming new Mandroid Echostar doesn't seem like it'll be worlds apart from previous Mandroid material -- no unexpected forays into throat singing or Finnish blackened speed folk or whatever. But that's perfectly fine by me, because it does sound like it'll be more of the tasty Mandroid goodness that even two admittedly solid EPs just couldn't deliver enough of. "Paladin" sounds like the guys have taken what they already do, and just decided to do it better, more, and longer. I'm on board for a debut Mandroid LP like that, how about you?
If you're ahead of me on this one, good for you. But if you're not, here's what you're in store for: "Paladin" sounds a little darker than much of Mandroid's work, but the band's top-notch musicianship and songwriting skills are still very much in evidence, from the pummeling introductory twin-guitar riff to the big, hooky choruses, to that soaring outro that feels like it should just fade into the sunset.
If "Paladin" is any indication, the upcoming new Mandroid Echostar doesn't seem like it'll be worlds apart from previous Mandroid material -- no unexpected forays into throat singing or Finnish blackened speed folk or whatever. But that's perfectly fine by me, because it does sound like it'll be more of the tasty Mandroid goodness that even two admittedly solid EPs just couldn't deliver enough of. "Paladin" sounds like the guys have taken what they already do, and just decided to do it better, more, and longer. I'm on board for a debut Mandroid LP like that, how about you?
Sunday, 8 November 2015
Thursday: Trivium - Kirisute Gomen
Longtime Trivium fans seem to be somewhat divided on the subject of the band's more recent offerings, and understandably so: their last three albums have, in this writer's humble opinion, been hit or miss, at best. But I think even the most jaded Trivium fan would agree that the band's last great record, and arguably its best, is still 2008's Shogun.
Personally, I still have a soft spot in my beard for 2005's Ascendancy, both because that was the album that introduced me to Matt Heafy and Company, and because that was back when I was first getting into Metal with a fucking capital M (and yes, I know, purists among you might argue that Trivium is anything but straight-up metal, but whatever). But even I can appreciate the fact that Shogun represents Trivium firing on all cylinders: they took the energy and intensity of Ascendancy and alloyed it with the chops and songwriting skills they honed with 2006's overindulgent The Crusade.
The result is a collection of tracks that strikes a balance between heavy and melodic, rife with metaphor and symbolism and mythological references, and complete with some tasty riff and leads for the discerning air guitarists out there. Since I like to start at the start, and since its title is a badass phrase from the history of feudal Japan, I'm throwing it back to album-opener "Kirisute Gomen" for your belated Thursday post. Exercise your right to cut and leave and crank this one.
Personally, I still have a soft spot in my beard for 2005's Ascendancy, both because that was the album that introduced me to Matt Heafy and Company, and because that was back when I was first getting into Metal with a fucking capital M (and yes, I know, purists among you might argue that Trivium is anything but straight-up metal, but whatever). But even I can appreciate the fact that Shogun represents Trivium firing on all cylinders: they took the energy and intensity of Ascendancy and alloyed it with the chops and songwriting skills they honed with 2006's overindulgent The Crusade.
The result is a collection of tracks that strikes a balance between heavy and melodic, rife with metaphor and symbolism and mythological references, and complete with some tasty riff and leads for the discerning air guitarists out there. Since I like to start at the start, and since its title is a badass phrase from the history of feudal Japan, I'm throwing it back to album-opener "Kirisute Gomen" for your belated Thursday post. Exercise your right to cut and leave and crank this one.
Wednesday: The Dear Hunter - Is There Anybody Here?
Regular readers will know by now that, although this is ostensibly a blog about heavier music, when I find something that's good, I calls 'em like I sees 'em whether it's metal or not. If your musical taste is, shall we say, more limited, hopefully I've been able to teach you that there's good stuff out there in virtually every genre. If, however, this is a lesson you've yet to absorb, I've got just the band for you.
The aforementioned regular readers (I know you exist, I just know it!) should at least have heard the name The Dear Hunter before, but for the latecomers: singer-songwriter Casey Crescenzo started genre-spanning prog rock act The Dear Hunter as a side project while he was in post-hardcore outfit The Receiving End of Sirens. Unfortunately, the promising Sirens have since broken up, but the silver lining to that cloud is that The Dear Hunter has become Casey's main project -- and what a project it's been!
So far, The Dear Hunter's catalogue includes four album-length "acts" of a planned six-act/album arc, the Colour Spectrum album/set of EPs, the 2013 "one-off" album Migrant, a couple of live albums, and a handful of other EPs -- all in the last ten years or so. Busy guy, right? Even better than Casey's prolific productivity is his wide-ranging creativity: it might not be metal, but The Dear Hunter songs always have enough cool bits to keep even metalheads like me interested. Case in point: "Is There Anybody Here?", taken from The Dear Hunter's latest record Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise, a melancholy, dreamy, downtempo kind of number that morphs into a big rocking guitar solo towards the end, reminiscent of classic rock legends like Pink Floyd. Appetite whetted yet? Thought so. Check it out.
The aforementioned regular readers (I know you exist, I just know it!) should at least have heard the name The Dear Hunter before, but for the latecomers: singer-songwriter Casey Crescenzo started genre-spanning prog rock act The Dear Hunter as a side project while he was in post-hardcore outfit The Receiving End of Sirens. Unfortunately, the promising Sirens have since broken up, but the silver lining to that cloud is that The Dear Hunter has become Casey's main project -- and what a project it's been!
So far, The Dear Hunter's catalogue includes four album-length "acts" of a planned six-act/album arc, the Colour Spectrum album/set of EPs, the 2013 "one-off" album Migrant, a couple of live albums, and a handful of other EPs -- all in the last ten years or so. Busy guy, right? Even better than Casey's prolific productivity is his wide-ranging creativity: it might not be metal, but The Dear Hunter songs always have enough cool bits to keep even metalheads like me interested. Case in point: "Is There Anybody Here?", taken from The Dear Hunter's latest record Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise, a melancholy, dreamy, downtempo kind of number that morphs into a big rocking guitar solo towards the end, reminiscent of classic rock legends like Pink Floyd. Appetite whetted yet? Thought so. Check it out.
Saturday, 7 November 2015
Tuesday: Arkaik - Digital Shroud
It's belated Tech Tuesday time, but don't worry, it's not going to be another Arsis or The Faceless track. No, I've got something new for you today, courtesy of California tech-death act Arkaik and their new record Lucid Dawn.
Generally speaking, Lucid Dawn is a tech-death fan's dream, with blistering riffing and drumming sitting comfortably along side crusty vocals and just enough proggy tendencies to spice things up nicely. Your Tech Tuesday track "Digital Shroud" is no exception, with furious energy giving way to an avante garde-sounding bass solo that leads back into a relentless finish. Crushing and technical, Arkaik and Lucid Dawn are definitely worth a listen or two for fans of the genre.
Generally speaking, Lucid Dawn is a tech-death fan's dream, with blistering riffing and drumming sitting comfortably along side crusty vocals and just enough proggy tendencies to spice things up nicely. Your Tech Tuesday track "Digital Shroud" is no exception, with furious energy giving way to an avante garde-sounding bass solo that leads back into a relentless finish. Crushing and technical, Arkaik and Lucid Dawn are definitely worth a listen or two for fans of the genre.
Friday, 6 November 2015
Monday: SikTH - Philistine Philosophies
If you're a fan of anything in the djenty progressive metal subgenre, and you don't know British band Sikth, it's time for a history lesson. This whole sound is most often attributed to the influence of Meshuggah, but if a second band is ever named as being pivotal to this particular scene, there's a pretty good chance that second band is Sikth.
You can be forgiven a little bit if, like me, you're less familiar with Sikth than you should be; the band has been broken up since 2008 or so. Or had been broken up, I should perhaps say, as Sikth is back together and crowdfunding a new EP Opacities. Old and new fans alike would do well to check out the single from said EP, heavy groover "Philistine Philosophies", which has everything SikTH is great at: chunky, heavy riff and grooves that are techy without being too over the top; tons (tonnes?) of melody; a dual vocalist assault, of which half will definitely remind newcomers of Korn's Jon Davis at times.
Like I said, not being a longtime fan of SikTH from back in the day myself, I can't say whether or not "Philistine Philosophies" lives up to my long-held expectations. But being a newer fan of the band, I can safely say that this track is rock solid, and that it bodes well for the rest of Opacities. There's no better time than now to get into these guys, so get a move on!
You can be forgiven a little bit if, like me, you're less familiar with Sikth than you should be; the band has been broken up since 2008 or so. Or had been broken up, I should perhaps say, as Sikth is back together and crowdfunding a new EP Opacities. Old and new fans alike would do well to check out the single from said EP, heavy groover "Philistine Philosophies", which has everything SikTH is great at: chunky, heavy riff and grooves that are techy without being too over the top; tons (tonnes?) of melody; a dual vocalist assault, of which half will definitely remind newcomers of Korn's Jon Davis at times.
Like I said, not being a longtime fan of SikTH from back in the day myself, I can't say whether or not "Philistine Philosophies" lives up to my long-held expectations. But being a newer fan of the band, I can safely say that this track is rock solid, and that it bodes well for the rest of Opacities. There's no better time than now to get into these guys, so get a move on!
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