Sunday, May 25, 2014

The Austerity Program/Beyond Calculation/Controlled Burn Records/2014 CD Review


  The  Austerity  Program  are  a  band  from  New  York  that  plays  a  very  heavy  form  of  post  hardcore  mixed  in  with  elements  of  metal  and  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Beyond  Calculation"  which  will  be  released  by  Controlled  Burn  Records.

  A  very  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  sticks  to  a  slower  direction  for  a  couple  of  minutes  before  going  into  the  next  track  and  adding  in  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  and  semi  melodic  vocals  and  the  music  starts  going  for  a  more  post  hardcore  direction  while  also  having  a  good  amount  of  heaviness  and  melodic  guitar  leads.

  The  other  tracks  stick  to  the  musical  style  that  is  present  on  the  first  2  tracks  and  the  drum  machine  also  has  a  very  powerful  sounding  presence  on  the  recording  and  the  band  sticks  mostly  to  a  slow  or  mid  paced  direction  as  well  as  having  a  couple  of  songs  that  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  The  Austerity  Program  play  a  very  melodic  and  heavy  form  of  post  hardcore  and  while  it  is  not  very  original  sounding  the  songs  are  very  well  executed  and  more  enjoyable  than  most  bands  of  this  musical  genre,  the production  sounds  very  professional  and  the  lyrics  cover  everyday  themes.

  In  my  opinion  The  Austerity  Program  are  a  very  decent  sounding  post  hardcore  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Song  30"  Song  33"  and  "Song  37".  7/5  out  of  10.  

9 Fake Reasons/Days of Downfall/Doweet Records/2014 CD Review


  9  Fake  Reasons  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  an  alternative  form  of  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Days  Of  Downfall"  which  was  released  by  Doweet  Records.

  Dark  symphonic  sounds  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  along  with  some  melodic  vocals  as  well  as  the  music  combining  metal  with  the  heavier  side  of  alternative  as  well  as  having  a  good  amount  of  melody  in  their  musical  sound  and  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  bring  a  more  mainstream  hard  rock  sound  to  the  album.

  Most  of  the  music  on  this  album  sounds  like  it  would  be  perfectly  suited  for  regular  airplay  on  all  of  the  mainstream  rock  radio  stations  and  acoustic  guitars  are  also  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  vocals  start  having  a  bit  of  a  more  aggressive  edge  to  them  on  the  later  tracks  a s well  as  all  of  the  musical  instruments  doing  their  parts  and  sounding  very  powerful  and  there  are  also  a  couple  of  power  ballads  presented  on  the  album  as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  choirs  being  utilized  on  the  last  track.

  9  Fake  Reasons  takes  the  heaviness  of  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  alternative  and  mainstream  rock  to  create  the  sound  that  dominates  this  album,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  and  the  lyrics  cover  everyday  themes.

  In  my  opinion  9  Fake  Reasons  are  a  very  great  sounding  alternative  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Show  Me  Your  Scars"  "Poison"  "Hate  After  Confusion"  and  "Outcome".  8  out  of  10.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Azoah/Self Titled/La Voix Des Heres/2014 EP Review


  Azoah  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  mixture  of  metal,  alternative  and  hip  hop  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2014  ep  which  was  released  by  La  Voix  Des  Heres.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  the  music  combining  the  heavier  side  of  alternative  and  metal  together  as  well  as  adding  in  vocals  that  combine  hardcore  and  hip  hop  together  and  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  amount  of  melody  in  their  musical  sound  and  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  very  melodic  sounding.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  band  also  brings  in  a  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  aggressive  element s in  the  vocals  at  times  along  with  some  screams  and  growls  that  almost  border  on  death  metal  but  with  a  more  alternative  melody  outlook  on  that  genre.

  Azoah  are  one  of  the  better  band s that  mix  hip  hop  and  metal  together  and  while  this  combination  usually  bores  me  I  actually  find  this  band  actually  interesting  and  it  takes  a,lot  for  me  to  like  a  band  in  this  genre  but  I  actually  enjoy  the  music  that  is  on  this  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  sounding  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  French  and  cover  everyday  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Azoah  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  metal,  alternative  and  hip  hop  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Al  Kepun"  and  "Les  Fourberies  de  Scato".  8  out  of  10.

Friday, May 23, 2014

Monolith/Dystopia/Finalgate Records/2014 CD Review


  Monolith  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  psychedelic  form  of  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  2014  album  "Dystopia"  which  was  released  by  Finalgate  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  retro  70's  doom  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful  and  the  music  incorporating  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  the  vocals  are  in  the  earlier  direction  of  Black  Sabbath  and  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  also  carry  on  in  that  tradition  as  well.

  On  the  other  tracks  the  band  starts  mixing  a  more  raw  and  70's  atmosphere  into  their  sound  as  well  as  having  a  musical  style  that  would  appeal  to  fans  of  both  stoner  rock  and  doom  metal  and  while  the  main  influence  is  Black  Sabbath  they  also  mix  in  a  more  upbeat  direction  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well  as  having  more  of  a  psychedelic  edge  and  a  few  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Monolith  do  not  really  bring  much  originality  in  their  sound  with  a  good  portion  of  the  tracks  being  too  close  to  early  Sabbath  but  they  still  do  a  great  tribute  to  this  legendary  band, the  production  is  very  raw,  heavy  and  old  school  sounding  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  dystopian  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Monolith  are  a  very  great  sounding  psychedelic  doom  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "cosmic  Fairy"  "Dystopia"  and  "Rainbow".  8  out  of  10.   

Motorfire/Rising Fire/Metal Tank Records/2014 CD Review


  Motorfire  are  a  band  from  Serbia  that  plays  a  hard  rock  form  of  heavy  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Rising  Fire"  which  was  released  by  Metal  Tank  Records.

  Motorcycle  noises  start  off  the  album  along  with  the  sounds  of  chaos  before  going  into  a  heavy  old  school  metal  direction  along  with  some  powerful  sounding  bass  lines  and  melodic  guitar  leads  and  after  the  intro  the  Iron  Maiden  influence  really  starts  showing  in  their  sound  while  the  vocals  have  a  more  Michael  Kiske era  Helloween  sound  to  them.

  There  are  some  more  mainstream  metal  and  aor  hard  rock  elements  being  added  into  the  bands  musical  sound  at  times  along  with  a  small  amount  of  back  up  shouts  and  the  band  takes  an  80's  style  of  metal  and  makes  it  sound  more  modern  with  the  way  the  music  is  produced  while  still  having  all  of  the  catchy  old  school  elements  to  their  sound  as  well  as  a  grea t amount  of  NWOBHM  style  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  As  the  album  progresses  the  music  starts  mixing  the  heaviness  of  true  metal  with  the  poppy  song  structures  of  hair  metal  while  being  a  little  bit  too  heavy  for  that  particular  sub  genre  and  later  on  during  the  recording  acoustic  guitars  are  brought  into  the  music  briefly  along  with  a  power  ballad  before  returning  back  to  a  harder  direction  on  the  following  tracks which  also  has  a  few  seconds  of  growls  that  have  a  death  metal  feeling  to  them  while  the  guitars    never  get  heavy  in  that  direction  and  on  of  the  tracks  towards  the  end  has  a  slight  pre-speed  metal  feeling  to  it.

  Motorfire  play  a  very  retro  and  hard  rocking  form  of  heavy  metal  but  with  a  more updated  take  on  the  genre  as  well  as  having  a  great  amount  of  catchy  melodies  in  their  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  and  the lyrics  cover  dark  and  everyday  themes.  

  In  my  opinion  Motorfire  are  a  very  great  sounding  hard  rock/heavy  metal b and  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should c heck  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Burn  Out"  "Ghost  Rider"  "Miss  You"  and  "Demoni".  8/5  out  of  10.  

Nota Amara interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
 1.Natalia:We are the band from the town in the south of Russia, created in 2011, which lost some of our musicians, but with combined energy of me and the guitarist Alex we made and realized a new album.
 
2.Recently you had released a new album, how would you describe your musical sound?
2.Alex: I’d rather call it a gentle try of making more complicated songs than before. We’ve been trying to make smth progressive, smth like Dream Theater, Symphony X, and in the same way to keep sympho-metal melodism. Unfortunately running for melodism, we lost a little bit dinamics of the songs, and then we tried to gain it back on instrumental song La Comedia. In any case it was just a step to further experiments.
 
3.A lot of the lyrics where based on Goethe's 'Faust' what was the decision behind using this concept and also can you tell us a little bit more about in your interest in this classic play?
3.Natalia: Faust quite entertaining and colorful character, although the text does not contain the title track of his descriptions, rather, it is adapted to our modern monologue discourse in the first person. In general, the interest was not only Faust, but also other mystical characters and not giving their names to titles. Faust harmoniously joined in their palette. The main concept of semantic poetry was the idea that every person in his life can try on all these images, and many faces from imperfections turn into impersonal perfection of thought formation.
 
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Nota Amara'?
4.Alex: Translated from the Italian "Nota Amara" - "bitter note" completely universal name that allows fitting any idea (laughs). Seriously, the idea of monotonous routine pain haunting person every day, and fruitless attempts of the individual to change something in your life to be very close to this title and the debut album, as well.
Natalya: But perhaps this is not the most noteworthy phenomenon. Pain also goes through if we very much want to do so (smile) in the moral sense of the word "pain", "suffering". For me it is important that the name was related directly to the music industry, nice and not very difficult to pronounce and was aimed at students of different categories and countries, perhaps (laughs).
 
5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
5.Alex:We have divided the life of the party "before the album" and "after". "Before" were minor performances, local scale, which say something and it makes no sense, but since the beginning of the album fell problem. Now we are temporarily experiencing great staffing problems because they have lost even those small performances.

 
6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
6.Alex:Certainly. We want to complement the composition ready for the tour to support the album and start writing EP.
 
7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
7.Natalia: Yes, we are in talks on cooperation with domestic and foreign labels. Maybe after this interview, there will be new proposals (smile).
 
8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of progressive and symphonic metal?
8.Natalia: Album tracks At the line hold auditions good statistics for this particular genre. Reviews are generally positive, but it's nice, with a fair share of criticism, which of course, is important for us.
 
9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
9.Alex: In our large-scale plans musical experiments, the sample itself in the avant-prog (avant-garde progressive metal)) although pleasant things, like symphonic elements, too, will be pleased), which is already possible to embody this year in a small EP. Hopefully, from these experiments was not taken aback part fans (laughs). Undoubtedly, we are planning to do and concert performances, while in our country, perhaps with very good circumstances, and visit your hospitable land. New for us is always interesting (smile).
 
10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
10.Together: Undoubtedly Dream Theater, as a top group that even in Russia is well known (smile), Symphony X, there are still echoes in songs hearing huge amount symphonic bands with female vocals.
Alex: At the moment I'm studying jazz ,fusion. Just me very attracted to extreme eclectic experiments such groups as Unexpect, King Crimson, Transatlantic, Dream Theater, The Fusion Syndicate, Queen, Genesis, Van Der Graaf Generator, Liquid Tension Experiment, Steve Vai, Kiko Loureiro .
Natalia: I'm interested in  music listed by Alex, besides in terms of vocals and arrangements it’s very captivate Bruno Pelletier, Rhapsody of Fire, Luca Turilli, Dark Moor, Sonata Arctica.

 
11.What are some of your non musical interests?
 11.Alex: I try all means of creativity gradually (smile). Dabbled in literature and even modeling.  And I read different literature.
Natalia: I’m engaged in various arts and crafts, painting, drawing, knitting, sewing, decorative painting, reading books on science, go to the gym, periodically repairing the car (laughter), sometimes recall my profession and provide veterinary services (smile).

 
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
12.Natalia: I think we should thank the musicians who participated in the album, recording studio, "our colleagues"-our friends who helped with the technical and social issues and, of course, our fans and music lovers.
Together: Wishes? Musicians found! We will be happy to make interesting music together.

 

Thursday, May 22, 2014

On Top Interview




1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days? 

We are currently gearing up for the release of or brand new EP entitled "Top to Bottom" on June 3rd. This release marks the debut of our brand new guitarist Brian Davis. We have a few gigs coming up in June and we will play the rest of the summer by ear. We are scheduled to record a second EP towards the second half of the summer as well.

2.Recently you have released a new ep, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction of the new recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you had released in the past?

The newest EP features Brian Davis on lead guitar and he has helped solidify On Top's signature sound. This record basically takes everything we did on our debut record "Top Heavy" and elaborates much more. Bigger vocals, more attitude, bigger sound... We are really proud of how it came out. 


3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new release?

I try and write about personal experiences and stories through the eyes of close friends. This particular release touches base on addiction, conformity, and as usual, scandalous behavior. 

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'On Top'?

It can be referenced in so many ways but aside from the obvious sexual relation, it just explains a sort of "over the top" mentality. We are always trying to top our previous efforts and put everything we have into what we do.


5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We have been fortunate enough to play quite a few shows and always give 100% on stage. We are a trio and are a "no frills" sort of band. We are here to perform with our instruments and tell a story while projecting as much energy as possible. 

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

We have a few shows in the early summer... Mainly in the tri-state area and one in Virginia Beach. We may try and tour later in the summer but we are more concerned about doing another recording for now. If any opportunities arise, we will definitely consider.

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of hard rock and metal?

The feedback for our first album was pretty killer. It was well received over seas as well as in the states. However, Americans are more picky about their metal and did have some criticisms as expected. We tried to cater to those criticisms on our new EP. Hopefully people will dig it!

8.What is going on with the other musical projects these days that some of the band members are involved with?

Right now I am currently on the road with my other band Mach22 in support of our debut album "Sweet Talk Intervention". We will be appearing at this years Rocklahoma in just a few days. Danny's band Fisthammer just releases their second album "Infallible" and plans to tour in support of that release as well. Brian is always working on all sorts of projects, he should be releasing details about his latest release very soon. 


9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

I see he band honing in more towards are signature sound with some more aggressive grooves with super energetic guitar work. Edgier yet catchier.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I love everything from funk to thrash.. A few artists worth mentioning would be Glenn Hughes and George Lynch as my main influences and preference. They both have great new releases and incredible discographies. Check out the new KXM record and the new California Breed release. Totally top notch!

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

I am a huge fan of skateboarding. Some other interest include movies and food haha.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thanks for your time and taking a minute to chat... For those reading, please check out our new EP "Top to Bottom" available June 3rd on iTunes and at www.ontoprocks.com. We hope to see you on the road soon!