Breaking away from the pack of Modern Metal bands, Infected Rain is fulfilling their promise as one of the the best underground buzz bands of the new millennium. Their new album Time (Napalm Records) goes super hard, but more importantly, showcases their maturity as writers, riff dealers, and how to make every song stand on its own. It’s rare to get to see a label trust a band to follow their muse and really grow and change from album to album. Continue reading
Spiritbox have seemingly been effortlessly surfing the a crest of a wave since their debut album Eternal Blue blew up back in 2021, and have enjoyed a whirlwind couple of years since hitting millions of streams and views on Spotify and YouTube, while playing some huge festival shows and hitting the road with the likes of Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, Ghost and Bring Me The Horizon. Continue reading
Prog metal trio Black Orchid Empire crank up the technical complexity and again display their playing chops on Tempus Veritas (Season Of Mist). While there is a certain schizophrenia at play here, a clash of styles, if not intent, it has to be said that when these London-based boys (Paul Visser – vocals/guitars, Dave Ferguson – bass/vocals, and Billy Freedom – drums) are good, they are very good.
Igorrr and Amen-Ra on the same bill would already be a joyful tour to catch, but the show tonight at 013 is like a mini pre-pandemic Roadburn day, with Hangman’s Chair and Der Weg einer Freiheit joining this monster of a bill. While the start of the show is quite early, and the closed-off balcony and stairs imply not a huge amount of tickets sold, the ambiance is cheerful and the crowd is warming up as we wait for Hangman’s Chair to start as we get in from the icy rain outside.
The concepts and the all too real, bleak experiences of mental hardships and loss of loved ones will be well known to many people and additionally to many people we know. For Stake, these have been the fuel for the band since their inception (previously under the Steak Number Eight moniker), a vehicle for vocalist/guitarist Brent Vanneste’s grief and anxiety.
Warforged is one of those bands that has eight and a half million labels used to describe their music. From black metal, technical, death to proggy, I think each and every promo notification I received for this band labeled the band with something different. The multitude of labels are actually appropriate as not a single track on The Grove | Sundial (The Artisan Era), the band’s second album, sounds the same on this album.
Animals As Leaders started as a project by virtuoso guitarist Tosin Abasi, after his former label Prosthetic Records asked him to create a solo LP, following the end of his band Reflux. After taking a year out to study and immerse himself in his guitar playing, he put together the group who have now been releasing music for over a decade through to Parrhesia (Sumerian) their fifth album.
I’m sure none of you will take too much umbrage if I begin this by noting that, as a collective, rock and metal fans have not always been traditionally recognised as being open-minded or welcoming of acts that embrace fun as a way of life. And that’s even with ‘No Mosh No Core No Fun’ not become a genre-wide approach. That isn’t to say that there aren’t successes – Devin has always been indulged his gastric and wacky fascinations, Mr Bungle have always defied any and everything, and others have long-since smashed down the irony door.Continue reading