Cold Night For Alligators - Ulterior Motives [Demo] (2010)

What you have to bear in mind when you listen to ‘Ulterior Motives’ is that this band are completely unsigned, and this is (as far as I can tell) their first ever release. With that in mind, you’ll see that the quality of this 3-track demo is frankly outstanding.

In fact, it is good by any standard. I can certainly think of numerous bands who have major record deals and who are a great deal inferior to ‘Cold Night For Alligators’. What we have, in fact, is an extremely talented group of young musicians who, as their Myspace says, ‘wish to present a different musical experience to the listener’.

To an extent, they have indeed achieved this. They certainly don’t fall simply into the standard musical brackets. However, they’re not so avant-garde that it’s like trying to put a square through a circle. They bear strong resemblance to numerous bands in the progressive or technical deathcore ‘arena’. They do, perhaps fall into the style that’s becoming known as ‘Sumericancore’ (named after the record label).

In Spite of this, though, we must remember that this is a first demo (did I mention it?). I’m fairly sure that even some of the best bands in the genre didn’t produce a demo tape quite as good as ‘Ulterior Motives’. There are obvious places for the band to improve, mostly in terms of making the transitions of riffs work better and layering some parts of some songs a little better, but these are all fairly easy to fix, and fixing them will make this band outstanding.

There is very noteworthy technical ability throughout this band, especially in the realm of lead guitars and vocals. With some refinement, and perhaps a little funding, I believe very strongly that ‘Cold Night For Alligators’ could be pioneering in the genre. Well worth grabbing this record so that in a few years time you can say ‘I knew them before they were famous’... and kind of mean it.

7/10


1. Tempus Fugit
2. Wonderland is in Your Body
3. Beward of the Horse

Visit their Myspace for a free, legal and high quality download.

Protest The Hero - Fortress (2008)

Admittedly I hadn’t heard of ‘Protest the Hero’ before ‘Fortress’ was released. I was introduced to them first by listening to a few instrumental versions of the songs. This was perhaps lucky, because had I heard it first with the vocals I may have disregarded them straight away.

Don’t make that mistake. While at first the vocals have a tendency to sound a little whiney and screechy, I’ve actually become quite fond of them. It’s certainly not the strongest link in their chain, but this Canadian quintet have so much to offer that slightly unconventional vocals shouldn’t be enough to put anyone in their right mind off.

Luke Hoskin’s guitar work is exceptional. Not only is it technically outstanding, but it sounds fantastic in every single one of the songs on the record. The guitar truly does dictate the pace and mood of this whole album, and this is done seamlessly and from start to finish and Hoskin makes it look easy. The sound perhaps borders on math-core, but there is very little of the jerky starting and stopping stereotypical of the genre. Generally, in fact, this album flows very well, with good transitions throughout.

The album is, however, not one great big movement of music. Nor is it a concept piece like their previous release ‘Kezia’. It is in fact split into three distinct sections. Personally, I don’t see a huge purpose for this: The musical and lyrical styles don’t change greatly from one movement to the next; in fact there is no major change of any sort that I can determine. Perhaps someone more versed in musical theory can prove me wrong on that. The piano interludes, it could well be argued, provide relief from the intense music it brings pause to, but its really not that brutal! I can't really complain though, as they don't really detract from the sound of the album.

Every single song on this album has fairly unrivalled energy and frankly enviable ability, both in the writing and performing of the songs. I couldn’t really name one stand-out track, because- despite the interludes- this album really does just work so well as a whole, and each song is has its own merits. I for one will be most interested to see how they can build on their achievements on ‘Fortress’ and make something (hopefully) even better in their up-and-coming (not yet named) album.


9/10

1. Bloodmeat
2. The Dissentience
3. Bone Marrow
4. Sequoia Throne
5. Palm Reads
6. Limb From Limb
7. Spoils
8. Wretch
9. Goddess Bound
10. Goddess Gagged


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Stick To Your Guns - The Hope Division (2010)

I’m a bit of a fan of most of the bands signed on Sumerian Records, and Stick To Your Guns are no exception. ‘The Hope Division’ is not, however, a technically demanding progressive deathcore album that is perhaps the norm from Sumerian; and while it is progressive, they don’t play around with insane time signatures, and it certainly doesn’t come anywhere near the realm of deathcore.

STYG’s pedigree in west-coast hardcore is not completely lost on the record, though; the guitars still carry a definitive hardcore tone, and the vocals are very much shouted as opposed to growled or screamed. But if anything, this album is metalcore: with more of a drive on melody and use of clean vocals than on angry brutality.

So the new songs aren't quite as moshable as the likes of ‘This Is More’ or ‘Such An Outrage’ from their older releases, but (though I’m yet to see them live) I’ll be willing to bet that a lot of the songs on this album will certainly be something to behold when played live; from the epic build up in ‘Some Kind Of Hope’ to the relentless rhythm of ‘Wolves at the Door’.

I don’t quite know what it is about this album, but it holds a captivating charm that makes you want to listen to it over and over. It provides a musical journey that is incredibly rare in the genre: the band were not afraid to stick an exclusively clean and acoustic song (‘Life Through Western Eyes’) in the middle of two heavier tracks, and yet it flows a lot better than other similar interludes.

If there’s one thing I didn’t like about this album it was the clips from some accented old man speaking about hope and responsibility and stuff. I have nothing against using clips of films in albums, but in this case it just didn’t work for me. The clips are too long, hard to understand, and boring.

8/10

1. Where The Sun Never Sleeps
2. What Goes Around
3. Faith In The Untamed
4. Amber
5. Wolves At The Door
6. Some Kind Of Hope
7. Scarecrow
8. Life Through Western Eyes
9. 3/60
10. No Cover
11. Sufferer
12. La Poderosa
* Hidden Track: This Is More acoustic



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Painted in Exile - Revitalized EP 2009

This EP really is something special. There are very few bands out there who are able to seamlessly span numerous styles of music across an album, and fewer still who can do it on one song.

‘Revitalised’ really does deliver everything; from rap, to deathcore, to jazz. You’ll listen to it struggling to understand why or how each song actually works, but for some reason they always do. The transitions are brilliant, literally going from smooth-jazz ‘elevator music’ style interlude to a pummelling deathcore breakdown is certainly an achievement not to be overlooked.

It really isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, though. The minute long rap section at the start of ‘Skylines’ will be enough to put some people off, and there are some parts that do sound like commercial pop. In many cases, this would be enough to put me off. But not here. ‘Revitalised’ really is something different. The fact that they use a couple of genres that may not be to everybody’s taste doesn’t make it bad: I think they should be admired for daring to try it, and making it work.

The EP is only 3 songs long but the total playtime is nearly half an hour, the shortest song being 8 minutes 35 seconds long. If you don’t like long songs, this is not the band for you. The songs, however, are not like your standard progressive metal epic. I’ve already mentioned the switching of genres, and this really helps keep the songs sounding fresh and new for the entire duration, without losing the flow of the tune.

Their earlier EP (3.14) maintained a more regular blackened deathcore sound, which is still prominently featured in ‘Revitalised’, especially in some of the vocals. There is no true stand out song on the record, as there is only 3 songs and they are all fantastic. They are yet to release a full-length, though there are suggestions of one being crafted and appearing at some point within the next year. It is certainly one to keep an eye out for: It will be very interesting to see what these still-so-young guys can do over a LP. They may even one day rival Between the Buried and Me!

8/10

1. Revitalized
2. Distanced By Dissonance
3. Skylines


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Insomnium - Across The Dark (2009)

My album of 2009 (it beat Between The Buried And Me’s ‘The Great Misdirect'!), and my all time favourite album in the arena of ‘melodic death metal’ by a stretch, this is really not one to miss.

Scandinavia are good at metal. It’s a fact. From it we have seen the evolution of two of the biggest and most popular sub-divisions of metal ever: black metal and melodic death metal. And Finland’s ‘Insomnium’ certainly keep in the spirit of this. ‘Across the Dark’ is an album so full of feeling, and so charged with energy, that even my mum enjoyed it!

‘Insomnium’ have achieved the difficult challenge of managing to create a well-recorded and well-produced album without making it sound too ‘mainstream’ or artificial. The album is a beautiful refinement of the sound they have been crafting on all the albums that have come before this one. It has a dark but somehow hopeful feel to it, so raw that you don’t even have to hear what vocalist Niilo Sevänen is saying to feel the emotion.

Even more than on previous ‘Insomnium’ releases, there is a large focus in ‘Across the Dark’ on the epic, winding and dark riffs of guitarist Ville Friman, the defining sound of this album, and one of the main things that make it so awesome! Every song has its own treasure-chest of truly wonderful riffs flowing beautifully through with grace rarely seen in metal.

Insomnium have always been influenced by doom metal, and while ‘Across The Dark’ is perhaps somewhat less dark and melancholy than previous releases, the influence is still clear. The vocal style is perhaps more 'death' than 'doom', but Niilo certainly portrays more of a pained, emotive growl than common in death metal. Also the use of unconventional instruments sprinkled through the record that are certainly more commonplace in the more melancholy end of metal, but in fact only add to the feel of ‘Across the Dark’.

The standout song for me is the first single: ‘Down With The Sun’. While I love every single song on this album, I cannot overlook the full, epic and warm sound that this song has. The chorus of ‘Where the Last Wave Broke’ also deserves a special mention. For me, their next release is the LP I’m looking forward to more than any other at the moment. Right now, though, I’m still content with ‘Across The Dark’. A phenomenal album, not to be missed.

10/10

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1. Equivalence
2. Down With The Sun
3. Where the Last Wave Broke
4. The Harrowing Years
5. Against the Stream
6. Lay of the Autumn
7. Into the Woods
8. Weighed Down With Sorrow

Your Demise - The Kids We Used To Be (2010)

Being from the same town as the original members of ‘Your Demise’ probably makes me subconsciously loyal to them and likely to like them more (even though this is not the case for ‘Enter Shikari’). However, ‘The Kids We Used To Be’ departs from the ‘SAHC’ sound I know and love.

The most significant change is that vocalist George Noble has been replaced- after some supposedly quite brutal band politics- with Centurion’s old frontman; Ed McRae. The new voice is a lot less pummelling, and the feel music matches that.

While there is still some aspects that hint towards the old 'Your Demise' sound, they have pretty much completely re-invented themselves, which is perhaps to their credit. While the new sound is less brutal (there are very few (if any) noteworthy breakdowns, and the riffage on the whole has toned down noticeably), it’s not quite ‘soft’: It is still most definitely still hardcore (though perhaps a leaning towards metalcore).

It perhaps falls into a style I’ll have to call ‘sing-along hardcore’. Some may perhaps call it selling out. Live, they’ve changed their crowd appeal: Previously it’s been all about giving the people in the pit something to dance to; now it’s more about giving the keen fans at the barrier something to sing to. And I’m not such a die-hard fan that I won’t accept a band changing their sound. Besides, the title track is fun to sing along to live, just in the same way ‘Burnt Tongues’ is fun to throw windmills to.

They may have lost their focus on breakdowns, but this is not all a bad thing. As a result, ‘The Kids We Used To Be’ has a lot of pace and energy that I see as very important in a hardcore record. While a decent breakdown may energise the crowd, it kills the pace of the song like nothing else. The breakdowns themselves (the best probably being the one in ‘Shine On’) are not as slow as they used to be and seem to flow with the rest of the song more than they used to.

The standout track for me on this album is the title track (The Kids We Used To Be). It has great energy, an awesome riff, and one of the best live sing-along choruses to have appeared in quite a while. The clean singing may not be to everyone’s tastes, but if you don’t like clean singing then this is probably not the kind of hardcore you like anyway.

7/10

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1. MMX
2. Miles Away
3. Scared Of The Light
4. Life of Luxury
5. Teenage Lust
6. The Kids We Used To Be...
7. Get The Fuck Out Of Little Rock
8. Like A Broken Record
9. Shine On
10. Give Up, Get Dropped, Lose Out
11. xo

The Contortionist - Exoplanet (2010)

This might well be my album of 2010. That’s saying something. It’s pretty disturbing how small-time the Contortionist are when they make music quite as amazing as the stuff you’ll find on Exoplanet. I mean, they don’t even have a Wikipedia page! (Well, not yet, anyway).

They’ve often been given the label ‘deathcore’, which I suppose is fair enough; They have all the traits of contemporary deathcore; death metal vocals, heavy open chord breakdowns, etc. But this new album is so much more innovative. There’s a hint of influences from some of the new-era djent bands (Periphery and the gang) but they make a sound that is completely their own.

There is still pummelling breakdowns like their old albums, but there is also a lot of melody. They’ve become one of an elite bunch of deathcore bands that aren’t dependent on a breakdown to make a song memorable (though the one in ‘Vessel’ is particularly awesome). They’re just part of the package: The juxtaposition of throat ripping apocalyptic doom breakdown and happy days sweep picking is something that rarely works to the extent that 'The Contortionist' have managed.

There have been hints of their potential from the start: Songs such as ‘Nonmanual Dexterity’ from their 2008 Demo ‘Shapeshifter’, to the original recording of ‘Oscillator’ on their 2009 album ‘Apparation’ (the song is recorded to a slightly better quality and some changes are made on the new album). However it’s not been until the release of Exoplanet that the full potential of the Contortionist has been realised.

This is never more true than in the 13 minute, 3 part epic found at the end of the record. Going from Between the Buried and Me-esque cleans and general happiness to more than enough brutality in a progressive journey that leaves you just wanting to go back and listen again and again... and again. However each and every song is standalone and each and every song has progression so rare in deathcore, or any genre in fact.

Seriously keeping an eye out for any new material to come from these guys: if they can hold it together they have a very bright future ahead of them. Don’t miss out.

10/10


1. Primal Directive
2. Flourish
3. Expire
4. Contact
5. Advent
6. Vessel
7. Oscilator
8. Axiom
9. Exoplanet I - Egress
10.Exoplanet II - Void
11.Exoplanet III - Light


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Between the Buried and Me - Colors (2007)

It’s not exactly brand new, but it’s probably my all time favourite album, so I thought it would be nice to start with it. Between the Buried and Me (BtBam) hail from North Carolina, USA, and are without a doubt one of the most talented bands out there.

BtBam are one of those bands whose sound audibly progresses from one album to the next, and anyone can say they’ve come a long way since their 2002 debut. Notably, Colors is significantly less heavy than any of their previous releases (though there’s still a fair share of breakdowns, usually in messed up time signatures), but perhaps more profound is the band’s progression in musicianship.

They’ve always been a talented band, there’s no denying that: I still maintain that Paul Waggoner is the best guitarist alive, even if he’s not got fastest fingers on the fretboard. But Colors truly is a masterpiece. Every song flows seamlessly on from the last, and each song has its own dips and rises, climaxes and interludes. Listening to it is truly a musical journey. A journey that you will wish never to end.

And it certainly doesn’t disappoint in terms of complexity either. All the songs are layered, and each instrument is used to its full potential. That’s not to mention the fact that all the songs require a fair bit of musical prowess to even attempt to imitate, whatever instrument you are trying (yes, there is even a bass guitar solo). Time signatures are played around with a fair bit, somehow not managing to take away from the flow of the music in any way, like you see in bands such as 'Veil Of Maya'.

If you’re listening to this album for the first time, I seriously recommend stopping doing anything else, sitting back, and focus solely on the music, else you’ll miss something. You know you’re onto something special when you find a band with the technical ability of BtBam, who decide not to make a show-off album, but who decide to make a record showcasing the best that metal music can offer. If you have any sense, you will be awed, amazed and astounded.

10/10

1. Foam Born part A: The Bactrack
2. Foam Born part B: The Decade of Statues
3. Informal Gluttony
4. Sun Of Nothing*
5. Ants of the Sky*
6. Prequel to the Sequel
7. Viridian
8. White Walls*
*Songs too long for Youtube upload limit, you'll have to do a bit of searching for the rest.

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HI

These days there's a lot of crap music out there. I thought I'd take this opportunity to listen to the good, the bad and the downright shit on your behalf, so you don't have to!
I like pretty much all styles of metal so there'll be a fair mix on here given time. You'll find stuff from the mainstream all the way down to unsigned bands with their first demos. Enjoy.