Emmure and Caliban join forces for a UK jaunt known as the Hard Knock Life Tour. Both a brutal, gritty perception of the heavier end of musical awareness, the name lives up to the bands. Break out the boxing gloves…

The Eyes Of A Traitor start the night off… Actually, sorry to break the fourth wall here, but who am I kidding? The band play to about twelve people, in what is an absolute shambles of a turnout. It’s a real shame because the four-piece sound like a band that should be drawing at least ten times that themselves. Their gritty and relentless tact for metal-tinged hardcore sounds clearly impressive, even with the punishing vocals being somewhat drowned out, and it’s a literal kick in the hind quarters to see frontman Jack Delany urging the “crowd” to move forward between each song, only to see nobody in the front half of the room. The polite applause that greets the band after their round is well and truly a scandal; deserving of a lot more, TEOAT still put in a gutsy performance to open well.

Minneapolis mob After The Burial get a chance to play to more of a crowd, a chance they relish. Their longer, more structured metalcore sound is impressive; full of kick drums, aggression and style. Many seem to agree, hardcore dancing and general twatting about taking pride of place on the floor and finally making this look more like a gig and less like a soundcheck. Though their sound, like arguably every other band on the bill tonight, gets samey and a bit tedious after a while, it’s the power with which it’s driven, which is arguably it’s best quality. More of the same, please.

German metalcore merchants Caliban finally draw a respectable gathering, and positively kick the living shit out of it. Those daring to venture to the barrier find themselves victim to a barraging vocal onslaught from frontman Andreas Dörner. Songs from new record Say Hello To Tragedy are a frequent appearance tonight, No One Is Safe and the bruising 24 Years sound genuinely terrifying. It’s a pity clean vocalist/guitarist Denis Schmidt can not be heard from a nat’s pubic hair away; the riffage killing off any chance of hearing any singing tonight. Tight as they are, Caliban were never the most original of bands, and while some songs may sound repetitive and stale to the untrained ear, finisher It’s Our Burden To Bleed tears up the room as best it can, given the circumstances, (though some may find the masses of goose-stepping and Nazi salutes a tad offensive, no matter how hilarious they are in person) and cements a powerful, fast and brilliant set. Roll on next year; they’re set to return for more of the same.

For an established band from across the pond, the fact that there is little over 40 people turning out to see Emmure is a shambles. Not that they seem to care; the five-piece show relentless chugga-chug and tear the room a new hole, encouraging punches, arms swinging, and all matter of hardcore dancing. For a band that can be seen as nothing more than a piss-take, they’re incredibly tight tonight. Frontman Frankie Palmeri clearly seems comfortable in these settings, and between asking his audience for assorted drugs, shows off his beastly growl. Tracks from new album Felony like Sunday Bacon and the title track itself prove to be particular highlights; there’s nothing more than brute force behind the band, but it’s all that’s needed to prove to be an enjoyable set. It’s somewhat of a pity it’s limited to circa 35-minutes, but giving a local the microphone to display his vocal skills proves to be a great if not unorthodox ending to the set, especially with said local announcing them offstage. Short set, criminal turnout, great gig.

- George Cannings.

An interview with Emmure frontman Frankie Palmeri is to be posted soon!

Check out our photos of Emmure’s recent trip to Newcastle, with support from Caliban and After The Burial. Keep an eye out for a review of the show and an interview with Emmure frontman Frankie Palmeri.

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For more of Dan Hase’s work, click HERE.

EMMURE is doing it again! Following in the footsteps of the previously, very successful, The Mosh Lives Tour, Emmure will be heading out once again on “THE MOSH LIVES II TOUR”. The tour will be hitting US Major Markets and Canada featuring EMMURE, Terror, After The Burial, Miss May I, and Thick As Blood. The tour will be running from January 22 – February 21st. Dates will be announced shortly.

Photographed by Kristin Lucco

I recommend looking at it bigger.

– License

I spent the weekend listening to Now That’s What I Call Slam, a Metal Inquisition joint/Invisible Oranges production (mix-taaape!). I had almost completely forgotten how much fun I used to have listening to this stuff! When I was like 15 or 16, going to local metal shows to watch my friends’ bands play, it seemed like the only kind of death metal anybody played around the Boston area was of the slammy persuasion. In recent years, I just kind of assumed that nobody really played it anymore, but this mix was brutally pleasant reminder that it exists.

Yeah, it’s tough to tell bands, let alone songs, apart, but the style has some really endearing qualities that, I think, stand up well against more modern interpretations of death metal, like deathcore or needly tech-death. The pacing is much better—that is, it’s possible to listen to this stuff for an extended period of time without ear fatigue (shit, I’m tired of After the Burial after (hah) two minutes). Maybe it’s just because I’m so tired of the current trend, but 85 percent of the time, I’d rather listen to a slam over a breakdown and an effects-laden gutteral belch over a effects-laden scream-whine.

Here are some select slabs of early-2000s Boston-area slam I found buried within my iTunes. Both are pretty good!

Terminally Your Aborted Ghost – Open Concave Chest Wounds

Dysentery – Baptized in Disbelief

There’s a certain warts-and-all charm that comes along with all low-budget recordings; in this case, it’s the sound of max-gained guitars played through shitty amps with the clamor of hollow piccolo snares, wet kick drums and ice-bell cymbals all around it. Even the bands with drum machines, like Putrid Pile, manage to sound more alive than some of the Sumeriancore bands with real drummers, like Born of Osiris.

Maybe I’m just being nostalgic and having a case of selective memory, but slam feels like a grassroots thing for dudes who would be into hardcore but like drugs and Devourment. It’s a small niche with, really, no ability (or need) to grow. Kill babies!

~ Liam

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Randomshots (30)
After The Burial (108)
Beneath The Massacre (112)
Blackguard (126)
Born Of Osiris (101)
Darkest Hour (188)
Decrepit Birth (101)
Dismantle The Cyborg (118)
Ensiferum (145)
Necrophagist (126)
Origin (143)
Winds Of Plague (160)
Acaro (164)
Fallen Shall Rise (112)
Hivesmasher (131)
Mordisk (63)
Scalpel (58)
What Lies Beneath The Tide (103)


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Born of Osiris' A Higher Place redefines deathcore

Born Of Osiris – A Higher Place

Any fan of heavy music knows that the recent surge of “deathcore” bands has divided listeners tremendously. While some enjoy the predictability of generic riffing and nonstop dissonant breakdowns, the majority feels insulted by this formulaic approach. Now, with the release of Born Of Osiris’ first full length, A Higher Place, the “deathcore” tag will finally get some credibility. Utilizing complex song structures and intertwining melodies, the mighty BOO have conquered a progressive approach that will surprise any fan of metal or hardcore.

Opening with the symphonic “Rebirth,” a fitting title, Born Of Osiris delve into twelve tracks of technical bliss. Keyboardist Joe Buras has finally found his role within the band; instead of awkwardly entering the mix with goofy synth settings, Buras uses his instrument to add an overall ambiance to the music. “Now Arise”, for example, would fit nicely on a Dimmu Borgir record due to the black metal vibe of the keys. Another standout track, entitled “The Accountable,” features extremely precise drumming, constantly changing rhythms and an unexpected melodic finish that will have even the most serious of metal-heads air guitarring to no end.

While some may argue that the bass is inaudible on the new album, the production sounds absolutely huge (thanks to the almighty Chris “Zeuss” Harris). Not only will A Higher Place appeal to a wider audience than Born Of Osiris’ previous EP, it will help cement Sumerian Records as a reputable source for extreme metal. Those who decide to check out their roster will be pleased by the intelligent take many of their bands (After The Burial, Veil Of Maya, etc…) have on the ever-so-despised “deathcore” genre. So give A Higher Place a fair shot and you are bound to be pleasantly surprised. As for you elitists, I’m sorry to say that you are missing out on a fantastic listening experience.

Poison the Well's latest is both experimental and cohesive

Poison The Well – The Tropic Rot

One of the best-known bands in hardcore since the late 90’s, Poison The Well have survived by evolving as musicians and keeping their art fresh for themselves and their fans. While critics were generally harsh towards 2007’s Versions, their most experimental effort yet, I thought that it was an ambitious and well-executed effort. Thankfully, Poison The Well continue to stick to their convictions – The Tropic Rot is a great addition to the band’s discography and arguably their most cohesive record to date.

Although it does not contain the array of instruments that made Versions such an interesting listen, the new album certainly packs a punch. This “bare bones” approach is actually really effective because it demonstrates the songwriting talent of the band and puts strong emphasis on smart chord progressions. Jeff Moreira puts on an incredible vocal performance, and every noticeable inflection in his delivery exudes so much emotion. When he switches from singing to screaming, the music calls for that increase in intensity. Nothing is forced.  Poison The Well’s comfort with their instruments is the ultimate success of the album.

Fans of the now legendary LP The Opposite Of December may still miss the group chants and breakdowns that were once prevalent in the band’s repertoire. Too bad. I dare you to listen to album closer “Without You and One Another I Am Nothing” and not get the chills. This song alone validates the staying power of The Tropic Rot.

Poison The Well has crafted a record that is likely to eat away at your soul with its honesty.  Succumb and enjoy.

– Jeremy Garber

my new favorite genre (sarcasm). when i got into music, i always liked it fast. then i discovered the happy fast wasnt as good as the angry fast. slipknot turned me onto blast beats with their song ‘eeyore’, which eventually led to suffocation (pure death metal) and the drummer of terror zone (paul) who i worked with at tapeville usa in 2002 turned me onto hatebreed and other new york hardcore bands. im not much into nyhc anymore, but i should be because new music sucks. every . single. fucking. damned. band i can think of that ive ever liked even just a little has gotten blatantly worse with age. the # 12 looks like you is a prime example. they started off being some of the smartest, fastest, heaviest, most distorted, complicated music id ever heard. it took me years to be able to memorize their songs, and to this day i cant go a day without listening to them. ‘put on your rosey red glasses’ their first release from 2004 is by far my favorite album of all time. their new album, belongs on z100. the lyrics are very good and smart. the drums are amazing (courtesy of my somewhat friend jon karel whom i see often in nyack) but other than that, the vocals are soft like the backstreet boys, and the guitar/bass licks are just plain boring and the furthest thing from technical. and i love technical. not to mention theres not one breakdown on the entire cd and is the furthest thing from fast. totally not exciting. even to fans of softer rock, they dont see anything interesting about it. epic fail. 2/6 of the original members left. one singer down, one guitarist down, bassist replaced, better drummer, yet worse music. 

heres some more bands that should be embarassed by their newer releases: 

sky eats airplane (never really liked them too much, but some of their heaviness was incomparable. and they had cool, perfectly mastered 8 bit parts. now theyre typical pop-rock-core with no songs that stand out above the rest)

daughters (i still love ‘hell songs’ but it took a while to adapt to it, considering theyre the messiest, most complicated band on earth. now he sounds like the guy from danzig, but drunker. he was always like that live, the the new cd is devoid of screaming whatsoever. so sad)

job for a cowboy (new cd has no pig squeals. nuff said. totally boring generic death metal that sounds like a cannibal corpse cd)

bury your dead (new band members, new level of suckitude. all their songs used to sound the same, but in a good way. they also pussied out and added bsb vocals way too often)

the locust (my favorite band of all time! their new cd is industrial digital noise. too much time wasted making literal digital feedback-ish noise instead of complicated guitar + bass + drums + screaming passionate music)

mindless self indulgence (new cd is 80s dance music. not as many taboo, sexual lyrics or fast ‘bounciness.’ also not very fast. way too catchy, radio-worthy music)

the acacia strain (had a very original bendy note thing going on during their first cd that made it easy to distinguish them out of a mix of hardcore/metal. new cd completely ruled that out and sounds just like everything else. indistinguishable anymore. they lost their only bit of individuality)

every time i die (burial plot -2000- is amazing, heavy, technical, true metal-core with dinosaur vocals. gutter phenomenon -2005- sounds like fucking coheed, and its all they play live. when i saw them recently, the singer even dissed their “shitty old hardcore songs” saying they “purposely learned how to forget them”. sorry, but i lost all respect for them after that and refuse to claim i like them or sport their merch. fucking posers)

all shall perish (first cd was awesome, legit, ‘death-core’. heavy as shit and non-stop double-bass relentlessness. now they added 50% softness and little girls like them. fuck off)

psyopus (still love this band. one of my favorites ever. but their new cd is a joke. they spent 20 minutes doing danny elfman like orchestra music. its impressive. to my dad. but i wanna hear their ridiculous guitar shredding and blast beats. they have the most ridiculous time signatures of any band ive ever heard, but they wasted 20 minutes on their cd creating tim burton movie music)

i could go on forever, but i wont. eventually i would like to get my own cd/music review site and criticize the shit out of all this terrible music coming out. hardcore just aint what it used to be. bands use open note chord breakdowns 90% of the time. chug chug chugga chugga chug chug. yawn. they all sound exactly the same. impossible to tell the different between after the burial, oceano, veil of maya, belay my last, a different breed of killer, white chapel, and hundreds more. it makes me very sad to see how dumbass little scene kids ruined heavy music. it was underground for a reason.

the thing i hate most is how bands go from such extremes ends to the opposite. literally they sound like the backstreet boys one minute, and then are growling and roaring with br00tal sick mosh breakdowns that make you want to step on tweens faces. (a day to remember, beneath the sky, as cities burn) i dont get it! pick a side. the fact that 60% of your album could be mistaken for the new kids on the block, completely cancels out any heaviness you’ve tried to achieve. your band and your music doesn’t exist because it cancels itself out. embarassing.

another thing i cant stand is how they waste time on their album with acoustic songs. every heavy band out there right now has at least one track of their cd devoted to a completely different type of music that makes no sense. acoustic, jazz, transcendental, blues, etc. they waste entire tracks on their albums sounding like music that my dad listens to. it makes no sense. its not like they play it live in between songs, its simply just wasting time on the cd. i dont understand. congratulations you can pig squeal and play the mandolin. i dont give an elephant shit. 

this is why i listen to grindcore and death metal. bands like insect warfare, dr. acula, shitstorm, see you next tuesday, fleshgrind,  cannibal corpse, never let up. they throw in some funny samples to pass time occasionally, and usually have under 1 minute long songs making 10 minute cds, but they stick to their guns (another shitty ass pop-core band) and stand by their passion for heavy music. all these “screamo” and “death-core” bands care more about their hair and the size of the gauges than making valid, reputable heavy music that will stand the test of time. cryptic slaughter was one of the first grind bands ever. they were around in the late 80’s. i got into them when i was about 15 and still love it. they had passion and didn’t care how many fans they had. they wanted to have fun and make music that was actually different than what was out there. they successfully took it up a notch. same with the locust. people hated them at first. they were laughed at. now, there are thousands of scene kids trying to make ‘cyber grind’ on myspace music who would kill to suck the locusts dick. they broke boundaries and will be remembered forever. despite how many people think they’re just yelling and making noise. i challenge you to figure out how to play a locust song. you cant. 

just wait til i start making music. no one will like it. but hopefully it will stand the test of time and in the future, people will appreciate what i’ve done. cross the line.

that being said, the ‘music’ category is going to be about my music. not other peoples. because all new music just keeps getting shittier and shittier and im sick of it (all). i listen to the most ridiculous music out there, and now i have to 1-up it. and based on some of the screaming i’ve recorded myself doing, i can. i just need to learn how to program drums in reason like agoraphobic nosebleed and either get decent at guitar again or find an awesome guitarist.

After the Burial is yet another example of the prime progressive death metal that the Twin Cities is home to these days, and even though 99% of Minneapolitans probably don’t know who they are, there are legions of fans that wait for them to play shows around the globe. With the support of Sumerian Records and a fervent underground of young “deathcore” fans (and, yes, Myspace), After The Burial is one of the few Twin Cities metal bands that have garnered enough acclaim to transition into full-blown 24/7 touring status in the last 10 years. Though they still are kind enough to grace us with a local show every now and again, these days they are proud to be rubbing elbows with names such as Machine Head, Necrophagist, Suffocation, and Dying Fetus and count rising acts such as Suicide Silence and Emmure as good friends. Whatever way you look at it, it seems like After the Burial is poised to be landing some very big tours over the next few years; in unofficial terms, I think you could unofficially christen them as this generation’s ambassadors of MN metal. Better yet, Minnesota’s ambassadors of the breakdown!

If you’ve yet to hear After the Burial and their technical-yet-catchy death metal/hardcore punk hybrid, watch this video of  “Cursing Akenaten” they recorded last month at Station 4 in St. Paul to get acquainted.The dualing guitars on foreign-sounding 8-string lead are undeniably cool, and the young band has an arsenal of twisted breakdowns that were guaranteed to make the hometown crowd move. It’s nearly impossible to get good footage out of Station 4, so I’ll give them big kudos for shooting a high quality (seemingly pro) live video there either way! It gives you an accurate picture of what it’s like to see a show at this venue, and it’s a great representation of their powerful live set. Cheers to the future, guys..

LACUNA COIL

Click HERE for MUSIC AS A WEAPON IV tour dates featuring LACUNA COIL, Disturbed, Killswitch Engage, Chimaira and more.

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Official MUSIC AS A WEAPON 4 Tour Poster

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Locally known and now with the label Sumerian Records, After the Burial has just announced their Crush ‘Em All tour with bands Veil of Maya, ABACABB (who is releasing their album Jan. 20th of 2009,) and FellSilent. Props to this Twin Cities band! They just put out their new album in stores now, and it is sounding fuckin‘ sweet. Their 33-show tour is due to start in San Jose, California, on Jan. 23rd, 2009, and will continue through the U.S. and Canada until they finish with their grand finale at good ol‘ Station 4 right here in the Twin Cities on March 07, 2009. This show will prove to be brutal. Physically drained and glad to be home after almost 3 months of touring, After the Burial will crank out one more amazing show, their best performance of the tour. Tired and bloody, ATB is will be sure not a single sweat gland goes un-soaked. They are the second headliner, right behind Veil of Maya, who are sick as all can be. Fellsilent is schedules to warm up the crowd with a hardcore punch to the face, followed by an excellent sing to lull the bruise back down. ABACABB plays second, and is sure not to disappoint.

I’m looking forward to this show, and will not leave without a bloody… anything. I’ve seen some clips on YouTube of After the Burial’s live performance here, and holy shit does it look intense. I just might have to pick up their album before the show rolls around the corner. $10, all ages show. More info here. I’ll see ya there.

Genre: Metal / Hardcore / Progressive
Country: USA
Website: Myspace

Tracklist:
1. Berzerker
2. Drifts
3. Cursing Akenaten
4. Rareform
5. Aspiration
6. The Fractal Effect
7. Ometh
8. A Vicious Reforming Of Features