Abysmal Dawn - Leveling the Plane of Existence

This is the newest release from Relapse, one of the heaviest labels out there these days. ‘Levelling the Plain of Existence’ certainly is heavy, but does it have anything more than that to give?

I don’t listen to an awful lot of death metal for the one reason that so much of it sounds to me like empty brutality. By that I mean, it seems the band have met up one day and said ‘let’s make a brutal album just because we can’ as opposed to ‘let’s make a brutal album because it best expresses our feelings at the moment’. You may think it not very ‘metal’ of me to like music based on feeling, but in reality, music needs feeling to have any lasting impact on the listener.

I am afraid to say that I think Abysmal dawn fall into the mindless brutality category. It’s by no means as bad as a lot of the death metal out there, so if you listen to a lot of the stuff, you certainly won’t find it a problem. What it detracts from the album for me, though, is a wish to listen to it again. Each time I’ve started listening to this album I’ve thought ‘oh, this again.’ That’s not what you should think when you hear a song you really love.

In real terms this band is by no means bad. There is clearly skill in the guitars and the drums. The vocals aren’t great but they don’t harm the sound particularly. It’s not a very fulfilling album though. It’s not so brutal that when you come home in a rage it’s the first album you grab to let off steam, and it’s not so technical that you’d listen to it when you felt like some mind-numbing time signature shred insanity either. It’s just a solid, middle of the road, nothing very special, death metal record.

The riffs are good, the solos are alright and the songs as a whole all seem well constructed. There are times on the album that you may find your head banging along, but to be honest, I’d hope that would be the case with all death metal.

For those of you who like a lot of death metal, you’ll almost certainly like this. For those of you not so familiar with it, this shouldn’t be enough to put you off but I can’t see it as being enough to suck you in.



6/10

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1. The Age Of Ruin
2. Pixilated Ignorance
3. In Service of Time
4. Rapture Renowned
5. Our Primitive Nature
6. Perpetual Dormancy
7. Leveling the Plane of Existence
8. Manufactured Humanity
9. My Own Savior
10. The Sleeper Awakens

MY TOP 10 SONGS of 2010

By a stretch, I’ve not heard all the songs released in 2010, and certainly not all the good songs: Life is unfortunately just too short. This list is my opinion: The songs have been chosen either because I like them; or because of the influence I think they will/have had on the music scene. They are shown in Artist-Alphabetical order, not in order of priority. I tried to get a mix of genres and fit some less well known stuff in here, so there should be something for everyone. I hope you enjoy, even if you disagree with some of it (which you certainly will, I’m sure).

The Watcher's Monolith
Agalloch (Marrow of the spirit)


This song is the epitome of melancholy, progressive, dark metal. The entire album is an artistic masterpiece, but it is best showcased in this nearly 12 minute long epic. Easily one of Agalloch’s finest achievements to date, which is saying something when you look at their already majestic back catalogue. The piano at the end is beautifully chilling. Plug in, sit back, enjoy.

Access Denied
The Algorithm (CRITICAL.ERROR)


One of those artists that far too little is known about by far too many people. This song literally goes completely and utterly mad, but somehow pulls it off with absolute flawless perfection. You will not have heard anything like it in your life, and doubtful ever will again. It grabs you by the horns, and doesn’t let go.

Vessel
The Contortionist (Exoplanet)


My love for this album cannot be expressed enough. I could have chosen any song off it, but I see this as the best song which isn’t a direct development from songs on previous albums. The breakdown is just out of this world, and the guitars after it are just beautiful.

Final Exit
Fear Factory (Mechanize)


This came out quite early in the year and for a while it was my front runner for song of the year. It’s unlike most Fear Factory songs in that it puts feeling ahead of the thumping guitar rhythm for which they are so well known. It’s an epic and emotional metal track that covers the sensitive topic of human euthanasia, but with the definitive Fear Factory flare.

A Man Of Science
Orbs (Asleep Next To Science)


Not heavy enough for some, and certainly the vocals will put most people off this song. But an exclusive audience doesn’t make for a bad result. It covers a rather curious subject area but does it so well. There is a very strong charm to this song that can’t be explained to someone who hasn’t heard it, and even if you had heard it, you’d simply agree how inexplicable it is.

Home is for the Heartless
Parkway Drive (Deep Blue)


I wasn’t overly keen on this album as a whole compared to their previous releases, but there really is something about this song. It’s not particularly heavy, but it’s got one of the best sing-along choruses I’ve ever heard and the lead guitar does just sound so good!

Letter Experiment
Periphery (Periphery)


Periphery’s influence on the fast-developing djent scene is undeniable, and that is the reason this song has made it to the list. This is my favourite song of a generally strong album: It has pace; variety and technicality, and of course showcases Misha Mansoor’s new take on the djent sound rather well.

Deception (Concealing the Fate Pt 2)
TesseracT (Concealing the Fate EP)


This is another djenty one, but from the different end of the spectrum. This song is very rhythmic, with a strong progressive focus. It varies greatly and some of the riffs and fills are very nice indeed. It’s not at all heavy but it’s a very strong performance.

...The Kids We Used To Be
Your Demise (The Kids We Used To Be)


This song has such an energy and charm that is so unfortunately rare in melodic hardcore. And it has THE best sing-along chorus I know. This song just feels like summer to me. You can’t sit still while listening to this song, and if you do, there is something wrong with you.

Animals as Leaders - Animals as Leaders (2009)

This is one of the first djent records I heard since its sudden growth in popularity in the last year or so. It’s the solo project of ex-Reflux guitarist Tosin Abasi, and it is still one of the most technical but smooth djent records around.

The record is entirely instrumental. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though: There is a lot of very talented bands out there who are brought down by a weak vocal performance, and in the case of this album, it would be a struggle to find vocals to match the ability and feel of the music. This certainly isn’t, however, a boring record, which all instrumentals run the risk of being. The guitar-work and sound is varied and never plain, and so it remains engaging throughout. Both guitarists play on 8 strings, so there’s certainly never a shortage of notes available. It also allows a real depth: There is a mix of the heavier power chording and the intricate solo work a lot of which is only possible with the additional strings, giving this album a fairly unique sound: To most guitarists, 7 strings seems a ridiculous amount, but 8? Sadly almost unheard of to my knowledge.

Tosin may be a touch modest – he initially refused to do this album because he thought it ‘egotistical’ – but his talent is certainly starting to get noticed, even if he refuses to accept it himself. Personally I think he’s one of the most skilled and original guitarists in the world at the moment. If you think yourself to be a good guitarist, go and learn some of the material on this record and you’ll find out why. Not only is their great technicality, but the music flows in a progressive and melodic way that is incredibly listenable, and definitively likable. And Tosin makes it all sound so easy.

The now famous Misha Mansoor worked on some of the production of this album, and you can certainly tell. However, luckily, this is not a clone of his production on the seemingly millions of djent records that are spilling out as a result of Periphery: Tosin seemed keen to maintain his own sound. This is very fortunate, because it separates Animals as Leaders from the pack, and this needs to be separate, because it’s something special. I am anxious to hear any new material from Tosin: definitely one of the guitarists of the future; Petrucci eat your heart out.


8/10



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1. Tempting Time
2. Soraya
3. Thoroughly at Home
4. On Impulse
5. Tessitura
6. Behaving Badly
7. The Price of Everything and the Value of Nothng
8. Cafo
9. Inamorata
10. Point to Point
11. Modern Meat
12. Song of Solomon

Architects - The Here And Now (2011)

This may be their lightest, most melodic and most ‘radio-friendly’ release to date, but I’m not going to hate on 'The Here And Now' just because a band has chosen to change their musical direction.

In actual fact, I’m not really going to hate on it at all. This album isn’t bad. It’s just really not very good, either. I have no issue with a band that is willing to progress their sound musically; in fact I generally applaud it. However, I think ‘The Here and Now’ marks a step in the wrong direction for Architects. Following on from the sound of Hollow Crown and the sudden djent boom on the metal scene, I believe Architects could’ve gone on to be innovators in a more hardcore interpretation of djent. This would be pioneering and something a little original, but not so much of a step from Hollow Crown that they’d be selling their souls, and they could have pulled it off – in my opinion - very well indeed.

Instead, they’ve elected to go down the commercial melodic hardcore / metalcore route, which I see as a bit like giving up: Giving up your sound to fit the norm to gain popularity, instead of making your own sound so good that it becomes the norm. I suppose the change would have been fine, if the new sound was done well. The truth is, though, that Sam Carter is an alright screamer and a pretty bad singer, and unfortunately for him, the musical direction that the band are taking requires a very strong vocal performance on every level. I don’t think it’s quite hit the mark on ‘The Here And Now’.

There are some good songs on this record, though. Curiously enough, my favourite is the song that departs farthest from their norm: ‘Heartburn’. What this album really lacks for me, however, is something exceptional. Anything, in fact. All the songs are all okay - some better than others - but there’s nothing that give you a ‘wow’ factor and makes you want to go back for more.

It leaves a lot wanting, then, but it’s not a wholly unpleasant listen. A lot of people have been complaining of their leaving the complexity behind, and yes; the songs have become simpler, but the more melodic approach allows a more varied sound throughout the album, and so I don’t see it as a huge tragedy. When push comes to shove, though, if you want a heavy, technical hardcore album; get Hollow Crown. If you want a good, English, melodic hardcore album, get ‘The Kids We Used to Be’. And if you still want more, get this.


5/10


1. Day In Day Out
2. Learn to Live
3. Delete Rewind
4. BTN
5. An Open Letter To Myself
6. The Blues
7. Red Eyes
8. Stay Young Forever
9. Heartburn
10. Year In Year Out/Up And Away
*11. Day In Day Out (Big Chocolate Remix)*


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Nociceptor - Among Insects (2011)

For me this is one of the best albums to have sprung out of the new djent scene so far. It has aggressiveness and energy, but maintains progressiveness and melody.

It seems to be a bit of a mix between Periphery, undermorphine, Devin Townsend and of course Threat Signal (This is their side project). It maintains the now distinctive djent sound that’s becoming so popular on the scene recently, so pretty much every fan of other djent bands will be able to enjoy Nociceptor. However, Among Insects is a fair bit heavier than a lot of the new djent. There is still some clean vocals but significantly less than seen elsewhere, and it’s a lot less of an integral part of the sound, more just in the background for atmosphere. This means that people who’ve been complaining that djent is full of scene kid screamo singers can appreciate it too.

The thing that stands out to me about this album is how engaging it is. However ‘innovative’ the new djent movement is, I find it to have a tendency to become a little repetitive and even boring when, for example, you have a 72 minute Periphery album to slog through. Among Insects has a lot more pace, and it seems to me a lot less obsessed with technicality and more just on making good sounding music (the two aren’t mutually exclusive obviously, but technicality does sometimes tend to hinder the overall sound. Anyone can play fast if they practise, but it takes a master to play well).

The only real flashy guitar solo on the record is on the very last song ‘Angus Mcgillicuddy’, however I don’t see it in this case to be such a bad thing for a djent record to just have one definitive solo on it. I think longer solos on other songs would have actually detracted from the record, unless they could be pulled off with incredible weaving ability to fit with the song seamlessly.

My favourite track off the record is the somewhat curiously named ‘Pornoholocaust’. It showcases the relentless pass of the album, while having in my opinion the best clean section and the best scream section on the album. The afore mentioned ‘Agnus Mcgillicuddy’ is also worth mentioning as the most progressive song on the record.



7/10


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1. Intro
2. The Fell
3. Emergence
4. Botfly
5. Mollusk
6. Pornoholocaust
7. Cuntagion
8. Angus McGillicuddy

Grievance - The Phantom Novels (1999)

This is a bit of an old album (12 years!) but I don’t believe age really takes anything away from it. It’s fast passed, melodic, and dark all at once; it’s an uncommon mix, and I think it unfortunate that there hasn’t been much experimentation in it since.

Though there’ve been other melodic death metal bands who have drawn influences from darker metal, like Insomnium who draw from doom metal, there has been very little – if any - in the way of a pure fusion of black metal and melodeath. Think the dark feel of Amorphis and the melodic energy of In Flames, but in the dead of Norwegian winter, and you’ll get an idea of what to expect with Grievance.

Through the fusion of these genres, Grievance manage to make what is clearly melancholy music but do it with an energetic rhythm: You’ll be able to head bang along while feeling the pain in the music at the same time. The amazing thing is that it really, really works; and they somehow make it cool. Bordering on catchy, in fact!

Grievance seem to have found the right kind of level of heaviness for the record. The drums are the loudest instrument, and the guitar seems to me a little repressed, except for the occasional riff that is accentuated. There is a heavy emphasis on the orchestral synths that go with the territory of the genre. While I would personally have liked a little more guitar, it’s not a bad mix.

Because I got this record so long after it came out, it’s hard to find anything out about them. They were signed to reputable Norwegian label Hear Not Found, and worked with members of In Flames, but there is very little else to yield. I don’t think they had any real commercial success, (though gladly this is not usually the aim of black metal artists.) It’s a testament to the quality of their music, however, that it still sounds good and fresh 12 years after its release, and I’m sure I’ll still be listening to it another 12 years from now!



8/10

1. Origin in Vain
2. Angels Succumb
3. Atrocity Upon Deceptions
4. The Mask Of Sin
5. A Devil's Rhyme
6. Crabbing Path
7. The Phantom Novels



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Make Them Suffer - Lord of Woe EP (2010)

Deathcore and Black Metal are two genres I’ve wanted to experiment with myself for a while. That was until I found this: 'Make Them Suffer' have gone and done it for me already! I’m sure they’re not the only one to have done so, but it’s still a relative novelty to me I’m afraid, and I kinda like it!

They describe themselves as ‘symphonic death metal’, which would put them in the same bracket as the likes of ‘Cradle of Filth’ and ‘Dimmu Borgir’, where I believe they don’t entirely belong. To me this is more the psychopathic love child of ‘Abigail Williams’ and ‘Whitechapel’, and to my great satisfaction, the combination works.

I’ve already stated my general distaste for bland and predictable deathcore, and while the deathcore influence in 'Lord Of Woe' does come awfully close to that dreary unoriginality, it is – for me at least - completely counteracted by the more innovative symphonic black metal fused into it. In fact, it’s enough to make the breakdowns sound better!

               

I think it’s easy to tell that Make Them Suffer are not trying to replicate ‘True Norwegian Black Metal’, and so criticising them on failing to do so is significantly pointless. But denying that it is black metal is equally idiotic. For normal black metal fans who don’t regularly feel  the urge to burn churches and kill your band mates, this offers something fresh to have a bit of fun to. To some metal fans this may show that just because a band plays breakdowns doesn’t instantly make them ‘emo scum’ or some fail like that.

I know what these guys are doing isn’t so innovative that it needs a patent or something: War From A Harlots Mouth have black metal influences, Winds of Plague have symphonic influences, and it can easily be argued that Abigail Williams have been impacted by the hardcore / deathcore scene. However from what I’ve seen this is the purest blend between the genres. It’s done well, and to make it even better: They’re still unsigned.

They’ve got a way to go until it’s really ‘hitting the spot’, but this EP is certainly a good listen for deathcore and black metal fans alike.

6/10

1. Summoning Storms
2. Lord of Woe
3. The Eternal Cold
4. Affliction of the Dead
5. Weeping Wastelands


VISIT THEIR MYSPACE!

The Carrier - Blind To What Is Right (2010)

It sounds a lot like Stick To Your Guns. I’d say it sounds too much like Stick To Your Guns. Is that really such a bad thing, though?

I think so. This record is good, very good in fact. The fact that there is pretty much nothing to differentiate it from Stick To Your Guns, though, does raise serious cause for concern. I mean, it really is the same: The guitars; the singing; the drums... everything. If you didn’t know otherwise, I wouldn’t blame you at all for mistaking it to be STYG.

I have no problem with a band having a strong influence from another band, but they have to make your own music: Draw influence from more than one place; do something original. The Carrier sound to me like a very good cover band. Which would be fine, if that’s what they said they were. But they don’t.

It’s not completely without merit, though. Like I said, it’s a good album. Very listenable to, in fact. All the songs on it are good, and it’s all fairly well made. All the music is played well; the vocals are good, if a little repetitive. I just can’t get over how much of a copy this is. I suppose in some genres, all bands sound the same. But somehow, this is different.

The song that stuck out to me most was the last one: ‘All That’s Left To See’. It sounds somewhat less like a Stick To Your Guns copy than some of the others, and has some good catchy parts to it and is an all round enjoyable listen. This whole album is definitely worth listening to if you’re a STYG fan, but I feel your pain if you think it too much of a rip off.


5/10


1. Blind to What is Right
2. Everyone Who I Knew and Loved is Gone
3. Wash Away My Sins
4. Hollow Pain
5. A Stranger to Myself
6. In Silence Together
7. Downstream
8. Into Darkness
9. All That's Left to See

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Oceano - Contagion (2010)

I’ll put it out there at the start: If you like Oceano, you won’t like this review. I believe that this album pretty much sums up the reasons people hate deathcore - and metal as a whole - quite so much. When talking to a friend who doesn’t like metal and they say ‘it’s just shouting and growling and noise’, I usually disagree. But if their impression of the genre had been formed from this record, I’d find myself nodding in shameful agreement.

This really is a case of ‘it was good, until the music started’. They do drop some okay breakdowns, but nothing exceptional. Besides, I’m yet to hear a deathcore band that can’t play their down tuned open chords a little bit slower than they were a moment ago. Maybe someone can explain to me, then, why Oceano are one of the biggest deathcore bands around.

It’s unbelievably unoriginal. It is pretty ‘br00t4l’, and I can imagine some of the songs being alright live. Seriously though, being able to predict exactly what a song is going to do next to the note is just boring. The whole ‘tried and tested’ deathcore template simply doesn’t work anymore. There is no way of telling Contagion from any other deathcore record around. Literally, the guitars and drums are toned and played the same way as every other band. The vocalist growls. They play breakdowns in unbelievably predictable time signatures. They pig squeal really badly. Even the album cover is cliché.

There are a few bands that can get away with playing fairly predictable deathcore, including Whitechapel and Despised Icon. They somehow make it their own. The same cannot be said for Oceano. Not a lot can be said for Oceano in fact, other than ‘what the hell were Earache thinking when they signed these guys’, because in reality the only thing that may distinguish them from your average Joe deathcore is the professional production. Money well spent? Nah.

The Album is only 38 minutes long, but it feels like a lot longer than that when you listen to it. The best thing about listening to it all the way through is the ending: Silence has never sounded so good. If you’re unfamiliar with this band, lucky you. Keep it that way.


2/10

1. Precursor to Enslavement
2. Viral Re-Animation
3. Regulated Disposal of Life
4. Quarantine
5. The Contaminated
6. Exist in Confinement
7. Persuasive Oppression
8. Weaponized
9. Sadistic Experiments
10. Remnants Aflame
11. Ending Intellect