Voivod/Target Earth/Tridroid Records/2014 Cassette Re-Issue Review

  Voivod  are  a  band  from  Canada  that  has  been  around  for  more  than  30  years  and  have  went  from  1st  wave  black  metal  to  thrash  and  progressive  metal  during  that  time  era  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Target  Earth"  which  will  be  re-issued  on  cassette  on  November  25th  by  Tridroid  Records.

  Avant  garde  and  experimental  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  a  powerful  sounding  bass  guitar  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  takes  their  music  into  a  heavier  direction  along  with  some  clean  singing  vocals  and  early  80's  post  punk  elements  while  the  music  is  still  mostly  rooted  in  a  metal  direction.

    When  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music  they  are  very  melodic  and  old  school  sounding  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads  and  the  music  is  very  progressive  but  in  a  different  way  than  most  bands  and  you  can still  hear  elements  of  thrash  in  the  bands  musical  sound  along  with  back  up  gang  shouts  being  utilized  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  As  the  album  progresses  acoustic  guitars  and  clean  playing  are  brought  into  the  music  at  times  and  they  bring  an  more  of  a  ethnic  feeling  when  they  are  utilized  and  the  band  also  brings  in  a  few  long  and  epic  in  length  tracks  and  as  the  album  progresses  you  can  hear  some  of  the  raw  energy  of  early  hardcore  punk  and  they  also  get  more  experimental  towards  the  end  of  the  recording  while  still  being  very  heavy  at  the  same  time.

  Voivod  creates  and  album  that  has  the  melody  of  their  mid  80's  to  early  90's  period  while  also  bringing  in  some  of  the  heaviness  of  their  1986  to  66  era  while  also  having  more  of  an  up  to  date  and  modern  approach  to  their  sound,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  science  fiction  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Voivod  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Target  Earth"  "Mechanical  Mind"  "Resistance"  and  "Artefact".  8  out  of  10.       

American Heritage Interview

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

Nothing. Adamn quit.


2.Recently you have recorded a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the new recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

I don’t know… you tell me. I guess to me this record feels like a continuation of what we were doing on the last record, as was the record before that one… but NOT the one before that one. That one was half bullshit.


3.This is the first album to be released in 3 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?

Not much.  Our drummer lives in Georgia and the rest of us in Chicago so we couldn’t function like a normal band. We would practice once every six months or so and try to write as much as we could. I did a handful of tours filling in for Enabler, Wolvhammer, and Mares of Thrace. Me and Adamn got married (not to each other). We started jobs. We quit jobs. One of us played a bunch of Soccer. Another got a job as a janitor and lives with his mom. You know… normal life stuff.


4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?

I’m not really sure. Adamn wrote most of those. But from what I understand of them they are mostly about assorted hemorrhoid creams, trepanation, and the latest offerings from Cold Steel®.


5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'American heritage'?

None. It was either that or Meow Meow Kitty Meow. No… I’m not joking. I’m still not sure we made the right choice. Eh, I suppose U.S. History is pretty brutal, right?


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

This is impossible to answer. We’ve been a band for so fucking long and played with so many kick ass bands… it’s really hard to single out just a few memorable shows.

I’m not sure how to describe us live… it’s been so long, I kind of forget.
We have fun. We also play everything way faster than we do on the record. Our drummer likes to make it as difficult for the rest of us to play as possible.


7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album/

We will play at least one show in 2015 with Adamn as a farewell.
As far as touring goes…Probably not but I’m not saying no difinitively.


8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to the newer music by fans of metal and hardcore?

Great. I mean… I still don’t think anyone has heard of us after all this, but it seemed like people liked our last record? We got a lot of positive reviews for whatever that’s worth. We live in a bubble so it’s really hard to say. We haven’t been able to do a proper tour in a very long time, so it’s not really in our faces. We’ve never been ones to pay too much attention to that sort of stuff anyhow. We just would write our songs, record them and play shows when it was possible…. Which it very rarely really was. It’s too bad because I think we always enjoyed playing live more than recording.


9.Are any of the band members currently involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

I have a project with Botchy from Sweet Cobra called Dissident Regressor. We have an EP that’s in the can and are currently trying to figure out how to release it. I’m working on a new project with Bill from Indian / Lord Mantis… but that’s kind of on the back burner at the moment since he’s been out on tour. I’m playing drums in a noise rock band with members of Mares of Thrace and Ling Ling called Waspkeeper. We are recording an EP next week. I have a couple other projects that I’m working on but am waiting to see how they pan out before I talk about them more. I don’t think Mike, Adamn, or Erik are up to much musically these days as far as I know.


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

I don’t.


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

We all grew up on punk rock and sort of grew into metal as we got older. I think there’s been an undercurrent of our punk roots going through everything we’ve done.

As far as what I’m listening to these days… I’m all over the place. I don’t even know how to choose what to list, so I’m just going to post from my “Recently Played” playlist… Apparat, Art of Burning Water, Asva, Bastro, Belong, Black Flag, The Cardigans, Craw, Dark Angel, Darwinsbitch, Decapitated, Dismember, Ditches, Early Graves, Einstürzende Neubauten, Ben Frost, Glazed Baby, Gorguts, Mark Harris, Hoover, Damien Jurado, Keelhaul, Krieg, Lewis & Clark, Lord Mantis, Low, The Melvins, Moving Targets, Origin, Pedro the Lion, Phantogram, Power Trip, Rival Schools, Rotten Sound, Saviours, Skinny Puppy, Skitsystem, Struck by Lightning, Twilight, Vio-lence, 1349.  


12.What are some of your non musical interests?

I’m an artist / illustrator. I’ve done artwork for Coffinworm, Corrections House, Buried at Sea, Enabler, and a bunch of others. You can check out my work atscottshellhamer.com.


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

Farts are funny and poop comes from butts. 

Astrakhan/A Tapestry Of Scabs And Skin/War On Muisc/2014 EP Review

  Astrakhan  are  a  band  from  Vancouver  B.C,  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "A  Tapestry  Of  Scabs  And  Skin"  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  War  On  Music.

  A  Melodic  guitar  lead  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  heavy  riffing  that  also  utilizes  a  good  amount  of  melody  along  with  some  clean  singing  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  and  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  stoner  doom  metal  direction  while  also  bringing  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  and  the  band  also  uses  a  good  mixture  of  both  slow  and  mid  paced  parts.

  A  good  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  awhile  elements  of  groove  metal  are  added  into  the  music  while  the  vocals  bring  in  a  very  old  school  70's  and  80's  metal  sound  to  the  music  while  they  also  have  an  aggressive  edge  to  them  at  times.

  Astrakhan  plays  a  musical  style  that  combines  sludge,  doom,  stone r and  groove  metal  together  while  also  bringing  in  more  of  a  traditional  metal  vocal  approach  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Astrakhan  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  'Cupid's  Fist"  and  "Rest  in  Depths".  8  out  of  10.         

Sarpedon/Anomic Nation/Inverse Records/2014 CD Review

  Sarpedon  are  a  band  from  Norway  that  plays  a  very  progressive  form  of  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Anomic  Nation"  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  inverse  Records.

  A  very  heavy  old  school  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  a  few  seconds  later  melodic  clean  singing  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  which  also  leads  up  to  synths  becoming  a  huge  part  of  the  bands  musical  style  and  at  times  blast  beats  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  after  awhile  the  vocals  start  adding  in  more  aggressive  elements  while  also  remaining  melodic.

  The  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  are  in  a  very  melodic  80's  style  of  metal  direction  while  the  riffs  bring  in  a  more  modern  metal  sound  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  synths  start  adding  in  elements  of  70's  progressive  rock  and  the  band  also  brings  in  a  few  tracks  that  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  at  times  the  music  has  a  very  operatic  and  Broadway  feeling.

  At  time s you  can  hear  a  decent  amount  of  thrash  influences  in  the  bands  progressive  metal  sound  which  also  makes  their  music  a  lot  more  heavier  than  most  bands  of  this  genre  as  well  as  having  a  slight  avant  garde  Norwegian  black  metal  feeling  at  times  and  towards  the  end  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  are  added  into  the  music.

  Sarpedon  plays  a  style  of  progressive  metal  that  is  very  different,  original  and  more  heavier  than  most  bands  of  this  genre,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sarpedon  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Anomic  Nation"  "A  Seed  of  Evil"  and  "My  Mysteries  Unwind  -  Part  II".  8  out  of  10.    
  

Mothership/Mothership II/Ripple Music/2014 CD Review

  Mothership  are  a  band  from  Texas  that  plays  a  mixture  of  old  school  heavy  metal  and  classic  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Mothership  II'  which  will  be  released  on  November  11th  by  Ripple  Music.

  Psychedelic  sounding  keyboards  and  clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  bringing  in  a  70's  vibe  to  the  bands  musical  style  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music  they  bring  in  a  southern  rock  feeling  to  the  bands  musical  style.

  When  the  music  starts  getting  heavy  you  can  hear  a  bit  of  doom  metal  in  the  way  the  band  approaches  the  heavier  side  of  things  and   the  vocals  the  band  uses  are  all  clean  singing  and  compare  70's  proto  metal  with  stoner  rock  and  the  later  tracks  start  adding  in  more  elements  of  classic  and  rock  while  also  having  a  more  modern  and  up  to  modern  take  on  those  genres.

   As  the  album  progresses  the  band  also  brings  in  a  couple  of  long  and  epic  in  length  tracks  as  well  as  bringing  in  an  instrumental  that  shows  how  talented  and  skilled  these  musicians  are  and  all  of  the  tracks  stick  to  mostly  a  slow  to  mid  paced  direction  while  also  adding  in  a  very  dark  touch  to  their  stoner  metal  style.

  Mothership  goes  back  to  the  70's  days  of  rock  and  early  metal  and  mixes  those  style  with  modern  doom  metal  and  stoner  rock  to  update  the  genre  for  the  modern  days,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Mythology,  Fantasy,  and  Real  Life  Themes.

  In  my  opinion  Mothership  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  stoner,  doom  metal  and  classic  rock  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Priestess  Of  The  Moon"  "Centauromachy"  "Serpents  Throne"  and  "Eye  of  Sphinx".  8  out  of  10.    

      

Vanish/Come to Wither/Massacre Records/2014 CD Review

  Vanish  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  progressive  form  of  power  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2014  album  "Come  to  Wither"  which  was  released  by  Massacre  Records.

  Progressive  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  vocals  and  they  also  add  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  getting  a  lot  more  heavier  and  goes  for  more  of  a  power  metal  style  which  they  also  mix  in  with  a  great  amount  of  prog  metal  elements.

   You  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  high  pitched  melodies  in  the  vocals  which  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  the  80's  sound  while  the  keyboards  bring  in  elements  of  psychedelic  rock  at  times  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  band  also  brings  in  a  very  modern  style  to power  and  prog  metal.

  A  small  amount  of  demonic  vocals  are  utilized  briefly  on  one  of  the  tracks  and  as  the  album  progresses  solos  and  leads  are  finally  added  into  the  music  and  they  also  enhance  the  melodic  qualities  of  the  bands  musical  style  and  there  are  also  a  few  long  and  epic  in  length  tracks  as  well  as  a  few  power  ballads  while  the  main  focus  remains  on  a  very  heavy  and  melodic  progressive  metal  sound

  Vanish  plays  a  style  of  progressive  power  metal  that  takes  all  the  melody  and  epic  structures  of  the  80's  style  while  also  mixing  it  in  with  a  more  modern  and  heavier  sound  as  well  as  adding  in  a  touch  of  psychedelia  to  create  a  very  original  approach  to  this  musical  genre,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  philosophical  and political  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Vanish  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive/power  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Great  Collapse"  "This  Is  How  We  Die"  "Hollow"  and  "The  Grand  Design".  8  out  of  10.

   

     

Lonewolf/Cult Of Steel/Massacre Records/2014 CD Review

  Lonewolf  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  mixture  of  speed  and  heavy  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Cult Of  Steel"  which  was  released  by  Massacre  Records.

   Classical  guitars  which  are  also  used  again  on  a  couple  of  the  later  tracks  start  off  the  album  and  you  can  also  hear  some  symphonic  sound s in  the  background  which  also  leads  up  to  the  music  getting  heavier  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  bring  in  an  80's  German  style  power  metal  sound  to  the  recording  and   all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

   When  vocal  are  added  into  the  music  they  are  mostly  clean  singing  while  they  do  have  an  aggressive  bite  to t hem  at  times  along  with  some  back  up  shouts  and  all  of  the  music  sounds  like  it  could  of  been  recorded  30  years  ago  while  the  production  makes  the  band  sound  a lot  more  modern.

    There  are  a  lot  of  tracks  on  this  album  that  bring  in  an  old  school  anthem  style  of  heavy  metal  and  one  of  the  tracks  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  horror  movie  style  organs  as  well  as  also  making  a  return  on  a  later  track  and  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  psychedelic  elements  while  the main  focus remains  on  a  hard  and  heavy  sound  with  the  speed  metal  influence  almost  bringing  in  the  heaviness  of  thrash  at  times  and  at  times the  melodies  have  a  folk  metal  to  them.

  Lonewolf  plays  a  style  of  true  metal  that  is  heavily  rooted  in  the  80's  and  brings  the  traditional,  power  and  speed  metal  genres  together  to  create  and  album  that  is  very  heavy  and  epic  sounding,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  occult,  storied,  madness,  evil,  fantasy  and  heavy  metal  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Lonewolf  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  heavy  and  speed  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Werewolf  Rebellion"  "Blood  Of  the  Heretic"  'Force  To  Fight"  and  "Children  of  The  Unlight".  8  out  of  10.