Kollapse/Angst/WOOAAARGH/5 Feet Under Records/2017

  Kollapse  are  a  band  from  Denmark  that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom,  crust  and  post  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their 2017  album  "Angst"  which  will  be  released  in  May  as  a  joint  effort  between  WOOAAARGH  and  5  Feet  Under  Records.

  A  very  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  aggressive  hardcore  vocals  and  post  metal  style  guitar  leads  and  when  the  music  speeds  up a   great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  music  a  crust  influence  while  the  slow  riffs  are  done  in a   doom  metal  fashion.

  At  times  you  can  hear  elements  of  noise  and  the  darker  side  of  emo  while  clean  playing  is  also  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length  and  you  can  also hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  clean  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly.

  Kollapse  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  post  hardcore,  crust  and  doom  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  something  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics cover  anxiety,  loss,  suicide,  freedom  and  death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Kollapse  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture of  post  hardcore,  crust  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Death  Of  A  Monotheist"  "Blinding  Light"  and  "Abadon".  8  out  of  10. 

   

Attonement Theory/Illumination/I Defy Records/2016 EP Review

  Atonement  Theory  are  a  solo  project  from  Chicago,  Illinois  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge  and  post  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "Illumination"  which  was  released  by  I  Defy  Records.

  Distorted drones  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  melodic  yet  heavy  riffing  a  few  seconds  later  as  well  as  some  drum  beats  and  after  awhile  angry  sludge  style  vocals  start  to  make  their  presence  known  while  the  riffs  mix  in  the  heaviness  of  doom  metal  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording.

  A  great  amount  of  post   metal  elements  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  tracks  and  the guitar  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical direction  and  elements  of  hardcore  are  also  used  at  times  along  with  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  atmospheric  synths.

  Atonement  Theory  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  sludge  and  post  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes. 

  In  my  opinion  Atonement  Theory  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge  and  post  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Illumination"  and  "The  Hallow  Imprint".  8  out  of  10. 

Cybernetic Witchcraft/Troglodithic Trip/2017 Full Length Review

  Cybernetic  Witchcraft  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays a   mixture  of  stoner  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  album "Troglodithic  Trip".

  A  very  heavy  and  melodic  stoner  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some 70's  retro  rock  elements  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  also  mixing  in  the  heaviness  of  doom  metal  and  the  vocals  are  done  in  a  clean  singing  proto  metal   style  with a   touch  of  aggression.

  While  the  music  has  a  lot  of  old  school  influences  it  still  sounds  very  modern  at  the  same  time  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  stick  to  a  70's  rock  direction  and  most  of  the  tracks are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  spoken  word  samples  are  also  used  briefly  along  with  the  music  sticking  either  to  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  some  shamanistic  style  chanting.

  Cybernetic  Witchcraft  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  stoner  and  doom  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of t heir  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  mythology,  occult,  science  fiction  and  horror  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Cybernetic  Witchcraft  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  stoner  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Cult  Of  the  Druid"  and  "Tyrannosaurus  Hex".  8  out  of  10.

  

 

Barque/Coffin Cutters/Eastrain Records/2016 EP Review

  Barque  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  dark  mixture  of  crust  and  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "Coffin  Cutters"  which  was  released  by  Eastrain  Records.

  A  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  elements  of  crust  and  d  beat  while t he  vocals  are  mostly  aggressive  hardcore  style  vocals  and  you  can  also  hear  touches  of  post  hardcore  in  the  bands  musical  style  along  with  the  faster  sections  using  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  amount  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful  and  most  of  the  tracks a re  very  short  in  length  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  the  guitar  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  the  ep  also  remains  very  heavy  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

  Barque  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  a  dark  form  of  post  hardcore  and  mixes  it  with  crust  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Barque  are  a  very  great  sounding  dark  mixture  of  crust  and  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Path  Of  The  Hierophant"  and  "Torments".  8  out  of  10.     

Wolfbrigade/Run With The Hunted/Southern Lord Records/2017CD Review

  Wolfbrigade  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  mixture  of  crust,  d  beat  and  hardcore  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Run  With  The  Hunted"  which  will  be  released  in  April by  Southern  Lord  Records.

  A  very  heavy  and  aggressive  crust  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  d  beats  and  aggressive  hardcore  style  screaming  vocals  and  the  music  also  takes  a  very  old  school  style  and  makes  it  sound  very  modern  along  with  the  heaviness  of  metal  and  the  riffs  and  guitar  leads  also  use   a  great  amount  of  melody. 

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts    and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  the  album  also  remains  very  heavy  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording  with  no  clean  parts  ever  being  utilized.

  Wolfbrigade  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  hardcore  punk,  crust  and  d  beat  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  very  heavy  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  socio-political  and  dystopian  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Wolfbrigade  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  hardcore  punk,  d  beat  and  crust  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Nomad  Pack"  "No  Reward"  "War  On  Rules"  and  "Dead  Cold".  8  out  of  10.

 

Carnero/Assalto/Retro Vox Records/2017 CD Review

 Carnero  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  crust,  d  beat,  and  hardcore  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Assalto"  which  was  released  by  Retro Vox  Records.

  Distorted  amp  sounds  along  with  soem h eavy  guitar  riffs  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  d  beats  a few  seconds  alter  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  some  aggressive  hardcore  style  screams  and  the  music  also  mixes  in a  lot  of  crust  and  post  hardcore  elements.

  Spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  the  riffs  also  using  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  the  album  also  remains  very  heavy  from  beginning  to  ending of  the  recording.

  Carnero  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  hardcore,  crust,  d  beat  and  punk  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Italian  and  cover  violent  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Carnero  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  crust,  d  beat,  punk  and  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Citte  Nere"  "Ignoranza"  "Veleno"  "-+Punk".  8  out  of  10.    

Heavy Temple Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band? Heavy Temple started in 2012. I [Nighthawk] started writing that summer for a band that had yet to be. Then I found a line up and we started playing out. We've been through several incarnations since, but the current roster is not to be missed, with Tempest still on drums, and the newest addition Thunderhorse on guitar.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings? I have to think about this every time. It's everywhere. There are elements of doom, psych, stoner, desert, whatever kind of rock you want to assign a name to. It's really just heavy. If one listens carefully, from the first EP through the new one, they'll notice some hidden riffs. Like easter eggs. Though this EP is slightly more frantic, I think. Key and Bone is nearly 8 years old, Ursa was scrapped from the first EP, and the other two were written for a two piece.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music? The first album was about an exorcism of sorts. And the last track presented a new demon. This new album, Chassit, is inspired by the Dark Tower. And how it seemed to creep into my life, having somewhat parallel experiences with some of the characters.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Heavy Temple'? It just seemed fitting for the aesthetic of the music.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance? We just wrapped up a tour with Pilgrim, and I'd have to say one of the best shows was at Geno's in Portland, ME with Manic Abraxas and Hessian, both killer locals. It was a party. Also Windhand were terrific. We've played with some killer bands, and Valient Thorr is on the top of that list. Being out really gave us a chance to work on our vibe. After the departure of Barghest we didn't know that we'd be able to find someone who do him justice. But we did, and we like to shred to the fullest extent of our capabilities.

6.What are some of the touring and show plans for 2017? We have a few shows lined up, mostly in the Philly area. But we'll be heading to Psycho Las Vegas this year in August, and then Shadow Woods Metal Fest in September. We're very much looking forward to both of those.

7.The ep was released on both 'Tridroid' and 'Van Records', are you happy with the support both labels have given you so far? Absolutely. Christine and Sven, respectively, have both been great to work with. They've both known us for about the same amount of time, and we're flattered that they still want to be involved in supporting Heavy Temple.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by  fans of psychedelic and doom metal? The response has been overwhelming. We wanted to put this album out the right way, since the first one was just supposed to be a demo. We're flattered and humbled by all of the support.

9.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future? The full length has pretty much been written for a year. With the addition of Thunderhorse I think we can finally start working on fleshing out the songs and get into the studio before the end of the year.

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? Well, there are the obvious influences, which I'll leave to the reader/listener to decipher. But I draw on a lot. Everything from classical to Sabbath to early 2000's post punk. Recently we just hit Record Archive in Rochester so I can tell you what we listened to in the truck. In no particular order, Metallica, Wu Tang, Tool, Primus, Against Me, Die Antwoord, Motorhead, Jesus Lizard, The Dead Weather, Type O Negative, just to name a few.

11.What are some of your non musical interests? Reading. A lot. And currently Resident Evil 4

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? Buy the ticket, take the ride. You won't regret seeing us.