Thursday, June 13, 2013

Blessthefall Latest Album "Hollow Bodies" Hitting Shelves, BTF Hitting Warped Tour

The release date for BTF's new album is August 20, 2013. It features several guest appearances including Jake of August Burns Red. In their latest interview, they seemed very excited about and satisfied with the new effort. They all seemed to agree that this was musically a step forward for the band, and presented new challenges to the members. Below is the cover and song list that they have just posted on their facebook page. Right now it looks like preorders are only available at the Warped Tour shows, where they will be doing meet and greets. Here is the cover...





Broken Flesh Warbound CD Physical Copy Full Review







Just picked up my copy of Broken Flesh's new CD 'Warbound' from drummer Brandon Lopez a little while ago. Popped it in the car CD player and turned it up! The first song was one they had released on video for a preview, but it sounded better pumping through the car system! Head bangin!!

From the first burst, this CD takes off in a direction upward from their last release. Recording, songwriting, everything is made perfect on this one. The song structures are much more free, and the tempo and time changes are interesting and more unpredictable. There are some very cool riffs here, and well coordinated with the drums. It's sounds like the songwriting included everyone, and utilized the strengths of the individual members.

On the 3rd song, we start to hear some shredding of sweeps and scales by studio guitarist, Steve Giddens (of the band Horde Casket). He hits some nice sweeps and runs, and it gives the music a well timed boost of heaviness. The 4th song, Warbound, begins with a traditional sounding crunchy intro riffage that is perfectly accompanied by a resounding battle cry, "WAR!!" After an enthralling speed-death frenzy, you get to hear a monster metal scream-gutsqueal duet featuring high screams by bassist Joshua Mathes. I think it's one of the standout songs on the album, though all of the songs have their own distinct things about them.

I liked their use of the semi-famous Bell Labs for the drum recording. They sound excellent! The kick is tremendous, cymbals cutting through but not taking your eardrums out. Another local secret, Pirated Audio, was used for other recordings. The album has an excellent balance in volume and frequencies, it sounds very well mastered. The cover art, which you have seen a preview of, is really cool, and it extends around the back and sides. A complete lyric sheet for those who dare to follow, and a sticker of the album cover that is the same size as the CD! I'm glad to have held out for the hard copy. Go get your copy Saturday, June 15th at The Chameleon Room! Or grab it here at Big Cartel! DO IT!



Tuesday, June 11, 2013

New A Wolf. A Liar. release streaming live now!




I've been waiting for a chance to give this one a full listen-thru. The new album from A Wolf A Liar made its appearance on iTunes this week, which I don't use much at all. The previews sounded great, but I like to hold out for the physical copy. Well I'm not sure if I will get a copy before their show opening for Impending Doom on June 25 at The Chameleon Room (tickets here). But thanks to Under The Gun website, the entire album is streaming free. I had a hard time getting the songs to play on the above link, but here is the link to UTG's soundcloud page, which may work better.

The type of scream vocals used on this album are, in my opinion, a little harder to pull off. I like the screams a lot, the lyrics are decipherable to attentive listeners. The music is quite faithful to the metalcore genre, but has some really interesting breaks from the norm, like the title track, "Persevere". It takes you on an atmospheric, ambient journey far away from low tuned tritone powerchords, even utilizing some electronic drums and synth sounds. I'm a little less of a fan of the clean vocals on this album, but I don't dislike them. They are used well and in the right spots.

So right now is the time to give this one a listen for free! They did a great job and took their time to get everything right. I will really be looking forward to getting my hard copy of "Persevere", and seeing them open up for the great Impending Doom!!! Pics to follow!