In a unique tribute to Czech classical composer, Bedřich Smetanat, black metal band, Cult Of Fire will join their forces with the Bohemian Symphony Orchestra Prague. Together they will deliver a special set commissioned by Brutal Assault, an experience not seen at the festival before, and rarely elsewhere. Keep reading below for more details.
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Tag Archives: Deathstars
ALBUM REVIEW: Deathstars – Everything Destroys You
It’s been twenty years since Deathstars arrived on the scene with the release of their debut album Synthetic Generation, and Everything Destroys You (Nuclear Blast) is their sixth outing, and the first following a hiatus after the release of The Perfect Cult in 2014, and its subsequent touring cycle.
New Music Friday 5-5-23 Preview
Graspop Metal Meeting Books Pantera, Slipknot, Disturbed, Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy, Kreator, Meshuggah, Gojira, Parkway Drive, Testament, Voivod, and More
Pantera, Disturbed, Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy, Architects, Behemoth, Kreator, Meshuggah, Gojira, Parkway Drive, Testament, Voivod are among the 103 artists who have been added to the 26th edition of the Graspop Metal Meeting, set to take place June 15-18, 2023 in Dessel, Belgium. Tickets are on sale tomorrow at the links below. Continue reading
Trailer: Withering Soul – Adverse Portrait
Chicago melodic black metallers Withering Soul have posted their video trailer for their forthcoming album Adverse Portrait, out June 9, 2015 via Mortal Music. Stream it below. The album was engineered and mixed by Chris Wisco at Belle City Sound, and mastered by Dennis Israel at Clintworks Audio. Cover art is by Pierre-Alain D of 3mmi Design. The album features guest vocals from Steve Sagala (ex-Enforsaken) on “No Longer Within.”
01: Vestige
02: No Longer Within
03: The Dreadful Echo
04: Awakening
05: Hour of Obstinacy
06: Hex Illusion
07: Shadow Path
08: In Absence
The band has an upcoming show:
May 11: Reggie’s Rock Club – Chicago, IL (with Septicflesh, Moonspell and Deathstars)
Video: Septicflesh – Prometheus
Septicflesh is streaming their music video for “Prometheus”, directed by Jon Simvonis. View it below.
The band will be on a North American tour with Moonspell and Deathstars with dates posted here.
Moonspell, Septicflesh and Deathstars Announce North American Tour
Portuguese goth metallers Moonspell is releasing their eleventh album Extinct on March 17, 2015 in North America via Napalm Records. In support of this record, they will be touring North America with Septicflesh and Deathstars. Check out the “Road to Extinction” teaser for the Bonus DVD that comes with the Mediabook and vinyl editions of the new album here.
Stream the lyric video for “Breathe (Until We Are No More)” here, and the title track “Extinct” here.
MOONSPELL
Apr 24: Circo Volador – Mexico City (MX)
Apr 25: Dirty Dog – Austin, TX
Apr 26: The Rail Club – Ft. Worth, TX
Apr 28: Joe’s Grotto – Phoenix, AZ
Apr 30: LVCS – Las Vegas, NV
May 02: Metro Opera House – Oakland, CA
May 03: Tonic Lounge – Portland, OR
May 04: Studio Seven – Seattle, WA
May 05: The Pin – Spokane, WA
May 06: Rickshaw Theatre – Vancouver, BC (CA)
May 09: Emerson Theater – Indianapolis, IN
May 10: Riot Room – Kansas City, MO
May 11: Reggie’s – Chicago, IL
May 12: The Agora – Cleveland, OH
May 13: The Opera House – Toronto, ON (CA)
May 14: Theatre Corona – Montreal, QC (CA)
May 15: Montage Music Hall – Rochester, NY
May 16: The Palladium – Worcester, MA
May 17: Gramercy Theater – New York, NY
May 18: Empire – Springfield, VA
May 19: The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
Deathstars – The Perfect Cult
You know that feeling… The one when you’ve waited a long time for something and you soooo want it to be great but, when it arrives, it turns out to be less than great and, whilst it’s not terrible, it’s merely alright?
Well, a whole load of THAT.
I had high hopes for The Perfect Cult (Nuclear Blast), the latest album from Sweden’s industrial/pop/metal overlords Deathstars, but whilst it is as efficient as a Volvo it, disappointingly, leaves me as cold as a Scandanavian winter.
If you have been a long term supporter of this band then I suspect that The Perfect Cult will be a welcome arrival in your record collection but, overall, this is the sound of a band just doing their thing. It sounds exactly like what you think a Deathstars album might sound like. And herein lies part of the problem.
Although there isn’t anything on The Perfect Cult that really drives me mad, there just isn’t anything I can get genuinely excited about either. There is a lot more of a pop sensibility (I mean the songs have choruses), and there is a familiar croakiness to Whiplasher’s vocals, but if they aren’t your bag (and they aren’t my bag) then this record is going to grate on you like nobody’s business. Much of the band’s leitmotifs are solidly in place – anyone with a Rammstein or Type O Negative record will probably warm to the riffing on ‘Explode’ or ‘Asphalt Wings’, which chug along quite nicely without really setting your ears on fire.
Performance wise and performance wise, there is a real sense of this record sounding like it was done “as live” in the studio, which certainly brings a different dynamic to the album but surely the whole point of this industrial malarkey is that it doesn’t sound like it was done organically. I want my industrial to sound other worldly, alien, detached and relentless. I don’t want it to sound like a pile of musos throwing shapes in a studio down the road.
On the plus side, the second half of this record indulges a much darker and more gothic persuasion which is quite welcome, and you cannot deny that Deathstars have a very clear aesthetic that they maintain throughout.
The problem for this particular listener is I find the aesthetic not particularly compelling. Their shock rock tactics aren’t particularly shocking and I’m left with a gnawing but undeniable feeling… if I wanted a Rammstein or mid period Marilyn Manson album then I would put on a Rammstein or mid period Marilyn Manson album.
Sorry and all that, but The Perfect Cult is just a little bit meh.
5.0/10.0
MAT DAVIES