Mastodon, Ministry, Parkway Drive, Behemoth And More Booked For Brutal Assult 2016


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Long-running and legendary Brutal Assault Festival takes place again this year for their 21st edition. Taking place which takes place in a military fortress Jofesov in Jaromer, in the Chech Republic the four day festival runs from August 10-13th. In addition to headline acts Mastodon, Ministry, Parkway Drive, and Behemoth, the fest features names from across all genres of rock and metal such as Aborted, Agnostic Front, Angelcorpse, Animals As Leaders, The Algorithm, Archgoat, Birdflesh, Bury Tomorrow, Conan, Coroner, Dark Funeral, Dark Tranquility, Devildriver, Die Krupps, Disavowed, Destruction, Electric Wizard, Eskimo Callboy, Exodus, Eyehategod, Gruesome, Hypnose, Immolation, Insomnium, Iron Reagan, Jig-Ai, Knuckledust, Leprous, Mgla, Misery Loves Co., Mithras, Moonspell, Mono, Mutoid Man, Nile, Obituary, Omnium, Gatherum, Satyricon, Septicflesh, Shining, Sigh, Sikth, Slagmaur, Taake, Terror, Textures, The Black Dahlia Murder, Tribulation, Vektor, Valkyrja, Voivod, Whiplash and more. Tickets are on sale now with camping packages at this link:

 


SikTh – Opacities


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Extreme geeks everywhere rejoice as for the first time in nine years, tangential Watford sextet SikTh returns with a new product. Latest mini-album Opacities (Peaceville) seems a little more influenced by the vocal melodies of natural descendants TesseracT, though their own progressive atmospheres remain in evidence.

hankfully, despite the occasionally touching and sometimes overwrought emotions here, the savage switches and screams that have influenced so much in the emo and djent scenes during the last two decades are coursing through the set, almost as if to justify the band’s re-emergence. The mechanical creativity and robotic rants of ‘Philistine Philosophies’ might easily have been anachronistic but the personalities and character of the protagonists shine through the vocalising to make this over-mined sub-genre vital once again: the brutal drops and duelling screams as organic and fiery as they are entertaining.

Those twisting, intricate riffs baffle and confuse delightfully throughout the soaring ‘Under the Weeping Moon’, but some of the vocal lines here and in the otherwise poignant closer ‘Days Are Dreamed’ appear rough and tired, the harmonic cleans also seeming somewhat strained – the coruscating yells are staccato and feral enough to win the battle but it’s here that an occasional lack of spark is initially highlighted.

Overall this is a welcome return, albeit seeming a little dated, and it’s very possible that new fans of the scene spawned by these guys might find much to like. Borne out further by the more mature (I’m being kind here, you understand) sound of ‘Walking Shadows’, however, the bouncing, switching sound fails to fully disguise the lack of instantaneous chaos and youthful risk that this kind of music – Meshuggah excepted – largely demands. More energy and some fat-trimming please…

 

6.5/10

PAUL QUINN

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Crowdfunding: Sikth – New EP and December UK Tour


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SikTh has launched a PledgeMusic crowdfunding campaign towards releasing a new EP and a December headlining UK tour. Vocalist Mikee Goodman said of the project:

“We did not realise our music had spread so far! I believe we have amongst the most passionate and energetic fans in the World. I am honoured to play to them. But what we have been asked most is about new music. My desire to make new Sikth music is as strong as it’s ever been. I can’t wait to get started!”

Dec 05: Classic Grand – Glasgow (UK)
Dec 06: Academy 2 – Manchester (UK)
Dec 10: Marble Factory – Bristol (UK)
Dec 11: Academy 2 – Birmingham (UK)
Dec 12: Forum – London (UK)

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Dan Weller Producer Q&A Part 1 PledgeMusic update is live!!http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/sikth/updates/52809

Posted by SikTh (official) on Thursday, May 7, 2015


Carcass Headlining Big 69 Festival in India


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Big 69 Festival Heavy Metal Pilgrimage has added Carcass as their headliner for the 2015 edition. The event is a two day event, happening January 17 and 18, 2015 at Richardson and Cruddas, Mumbai in India. Watch the trailer for the festival here.

The previously announced lineup already includes:

Fleshgod Apocalypse
SikTh
Hacktivist
Underside
Plague Throat
Albatross
Providence
Demonic Resurrection
Gutslit
Devoid
Inner Sanctum
Chronic Xorn
Grammy Winning Effort
Escher’s Knot
Undying Inc
Noiseware
Zygnema

Big 69 Festival


Krokodil – Nachash


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For the past few months UK based riff lords Krokodil have been making all sort of headlines, most involving people referring to them as “Slipknot’s new bassist’s other band”, which is completely unjustified and harsh as it is hardly judging the band on its own merits. With all the coverage, the eyes of the metal world are on Krokodil as they prepare to unleash their debut album Nachash (Spinefarm) so it’s a very good thing that the album is rather bloody brilliant.

The band, which contains members from a menagerie of great British bands such as Cry For Silence, Sikth, Gallows and of course the mighty A, as well as now Iowa’s own metal behemoth Slipknot, Krokodil sound like a well oiled riff making machine and from the sounds of Nachash the machine has been working overtime on this release. With a heavy dose of Mastodon in its veins, Krokodil are a groove juggernaut that pummels all in its path with its three guitarists of fury, a decision that usually over complicates the material but in this case triples up the guitar tracks, like Helmet making it sound as heavy as a ten ton rhino that’s thinking of gaining a few pounds.

With a formula that blends groove based riffage with a later day Cancer Bats bounce and groove is a fantastic mix which keeps up the pace till the bitter end, this on top of the high quality production of the album which makes it sound colossal. If the album does have a mild weakness it is that the vocals are a tiny bit one dimensional, the hardcore barks work well with the up tempo nature of the albums and work perfectly on the second track ‘Skin of The Earth’, but can come across as one note when the album gets into its final few tracks.

Overall, Nachash is a quality release from a band who deserve a lot more credit for their musical output and certainly do not deserve to be known simply as that other band with someone from Slipknot in, they’re not a DJ Starscream or Dirty Little Rabbits. As for this being the bands’ debut album, hopefully there will be even better to come from the band in the future, but for now Nachash is a cracking start to their career. Its high tempo, riffy and most importantly contains quality throughout.

9.0/10

Krokodil on Facebook

DAN O’BRIEN


Niskala – Panak


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True invention often comes from the least likely of sources. Augmenting the obtuse tendencies of math rock with Gamelan percussion you would expect from some radical new act from the Far East. Yet Niskala call Manchester, England home.

The origin of the band is certainly not the only unconventional aspect of this bewildering and intoxicating ep. The percussive assault blends perfectly with the downtuned riffs and weird and sinister vocals which are delivered supposedly in Balinese.

‘Kekawa’ evokes images of Cannibal Holocaust with its native chanting and sinister witch doctor laughter. It’s a truly demented cocktail of heavy music and haunting ambience. The samples of crickets chirping and the pan pipe intro don’t prepare you for the onslaught of ‘Sarebi’. This number offers a brief moment of familiarity with a gang chant taken from Mr Bungle’s “Goodbye Sober Day” yet it is delivered clearly as a homage to an influential act rather than an attempt to plagiarise one of their heroes.

Mastering quiet to loud dynamics Niskala realise the importance of building tension before unleashing their vicious tribal racket. Off kilter rhythms keep you on the end of your seat waiting for the next barrage of distortion and snarling vocals. Image abandoning members of Sikth and Secret Chiefs 3 on an island with only instruments and 70s horror films to inspire them and you’ll be close to the disturbing yet engrossing sounds of this intriguing release.

‘Kelem’ builds on angular stabbing ostinatos with some truly bloodcurdling screams. It’s the sound of feral tribesmen cannibalising eastern music with western extreme metal in a bold and authentic fashion. As disturbing as some of this stuff sounds it also feels like a wicked time was had by its creators. A fact which translates very well when experiencing this tense cocktail of jungle madness. At only three songs under fifteen minutes this journey to forbidden paradise is all too brief but suffice to say it will whet the appetite for forthcoming works. Intense and exotic Niskala produce the sound of shamanistic rituals and bewildering devilment. We gleefully await their next chapter.

 

8/10

 

Niskala on Facebook

 

Words: Ross Baker


Download Festival Preview


 

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With summer right around the corner, it’s time to get psyched for festival season. In the UK, there is no event bigger or more venerable than Download. As the feisty offspring of the legendary Monsters of Rock concerts at Castle Donnington in Donnington Park that lived in the imagination of rock and metal fans the world over for two decades, Download is as value packed as ever with bands. This years lineup shows a willingness not to be intimidated or outshine by the competition of other big festivals, the UK or elsewhere in Europe.

 

Held over three days, 13-15 of June at Donnington Park on five stages daily, the 2014 lineup is a bold one that promises something for everyone to enjoy. Bands of note for Friday include the much talked about headliners Avenged Sevenfold, Opeth, Anathema, Rob Zombie, Within Temptation, Black Label Society, Quicksand, Skindred, Miss May I, Huntress, Bloody Hammers as well as Bad Religion and Offspring.

 

Saturday blends the catchy, more mainstream fair with the best of modern underground metal. Linkin Park is playing all of their Hybrid Theory album and for fans of a certain age, that will sure bring back a few things. Among the main bands that our readers would most be interested in Killswitch Engage, Fozzy and Dying Fetus play along with Bring Me the Horizon and others. I kind of feel bad for everyone that has to follow Dying Fetus actually, so #WhyNotDyingFetus indeed. The other big band of import this day is Behemoth, who is coming of a sizzling run of shows in the UK and the USA recently. Other big bands include the reactivated American Headcharge, The Black Dahlia Murder, Orange Goblin, Monster Magnet, Battlecross, Anathema doing a special second unplugged set, Skid Row, Chevelle, and Sikth. Also for the more rock motivated Twister Sister, Status Quo and Ginger Wildhearts solo sets are are worth seeing.

 

On the final day Download has brought out the big guns, quite literally in Aerosmith. While their recent music is nothing to write home about, they always step up big live and play all of their hits brilliantly. Other worthy bands on Sunday include Alter Bridge, The Dillinger Escape Plan and their insane stage antics, Trivium, Volbeat, Philip Anselmo and the Illegals, Sabaton, Sepultura, Suicide Silence, Red Dragon Cartel, Avatar, Thy Art Is Murder, Kill Devil Hill, Monuments, Polar and Nick Oliveri (Kyuss, QOTSA, Dwarves) solo acoustic.

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Get tickets to download now!

 

Download Festival on Facebook

 

 

 


The Safety Fire – Mouth Of Swords


thesafetyfire-mouthofswordsA minute into the opening, title track of Mouth Of Swords (InsideOut), the new album from The Safety Fire, and you’re hit by full and complex layers of progressive metal and rock that reaches back to the ’70s and forward to the future as it takes inspiration from a broad range of themes and styles. Whether it’s chugging riffs or twidly high-pitched dissonant shredding, smooth flowing grooves or erratic rhythms and arpeggios, higher-range vocals or angry shouting, the songs are a conglomeration of many and varied parts.Continue reading