On The Road…. Accept

Posted on October 7, 2014 by News Team

Heavy Metal legends Accept are criss-crossing Europe on a huge headline tour. They are out on the road supporting their acclaimed, Andy Sneap produced Blind Rage (Nuclear Blast) and back to putting on the high energy performances that made them a major draw in the 1980s. In his review of Blind Rage, Ghost Cult’s Mat Davies opined that “Accept have rarely sounded as fresh, vibrant or exciting. Well, not since they invited us to place our balls to the proverbial wall, anyway.” TJ Fowler (Fowler Photo/Skullbanger Media) caught their recent concert in Tampere, FI and provided us with these exciting photos of the big rock show.

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Accept on Facebook

Fowler Photo on Facebook

Anathema: Live at Academy 3, Manchester UK

Posted on October 7, 2014 by News Team

A fearlessly charismatic outfit whose loyal fanbase have grown throughout the evolution of their sound, it really beggars belief that Anathema are not headlining venues double this size.

Tonight’s performance is sold out and the intimate confines of the Academy 3 only help to make the evening feel that much more special. New opus Distant Satellites (KScope) has garnered much praise from all quarters and rightly so. The sweeping orchestral arrangements and ethereal vocal melodies of ‘The Lost Song, Part 1’ kick things off. The set is mainly comprised from their last four albums with particular emphasis on the current record which for some acts would be a bold statement but for this Scouse quintet it is just comes naturally.

Vincent Cavanagh and Lee Douglas voices are the perfect foil to each other their harmonies evoking sadness, emptiness, hopefulness and triumph sometimes in the space of one song.

Lee’s brother John and Daniel Cardoso swap between drums are keys effortlessly adding lush electronic textures to the shimmering bedrock of guitars and strings. Lee herself is in particularly fine form lending her soaring emotive performance to ‘The Lost Song, Part 2’ and encore highlight ‘A Natural Disaster’.

Danny Cavanagh is in fine fettle, showing bags of charm and charisma laughing and joking with the crowd between songs. Even when technical gremlins threaten to derail what is a truly magnificent performance during ‘Closer’, Danny comes to the rescue with an impromptu rendition of Pink Floyd classic ‘Wish You Were Here’ which fans sing along with gusto. Vincent then returns to the vocoder and belts out ‘Closer’ without a hitch. A truly incredible live experience full of such warmth and sincerity that you cannot help to be swept way in. A captivating, emotive performance from some immensely talented musicians that have carved a career from determination and a total lack of compromise. Concluding with the anthemic ‘Fragile Dreams’, Anathema demonstrate, yet again why they are literally in a class of their own.

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Anathema On Facebook

WORDS: ROSS BAKER

PHOTOS: LUKE DENHAM PHOTOGRAPHY

Crowbar – Revocation – Havok – Fit For an Autopsy -Armed For Apocalypse: The Worcester Palladium

Posted on October 3, 2014 by News Team

There have been a lot of killer tours of late, but few packed the variety and the punch of the bill accompanying Crowbar on their latest jaunt. Rather than take out a bunch of similar bands with an overlapping fanbase, the creators of this tour package took a bunch of cool bands that are all slightly different in genre and fandom make-up and sent them out to do something really unique. It definitely worked, because for a Tuesday night, the upstairs of the Palladium was fairly thick with heshers and heifers by the time my awesome photog for the night, Meg Loyal, and I rolled into the venue.

Armed For Apocalypse was already on when I got in, and they seemed to be going over well with the the early crowd. Apparently I also missed a slew of great local talent, which pissed me off. Promoters of shows: stop beginning before 7 PM on a weeknight (Tuesday) when most of your crowd is driving from 65 miles away or more during rush hour. Armed… meanwhile put on a killer show I wasn’t expecting this early. Their talents lay somewhere between a sludgy metal base with some grooves, death metal flair, and occasional flashes of technicality. They also had a gang-vocal-thing going on from most of their band that I liked too. We’ll be looking out for these guys again!

Fit For An Autopsy has been grinding it out live non-stop this year. They continue to pick up steam since adding Greg Wilburn to their ranks. The Palladium crowd also takes a fancy to this band they know very well from numerous shows and fests, and so the crowd was amped up and the pit was instantly activated. These guys always put on a killer performance and inspired the best, most violent pit action of the evening. There is just something about the way they carry themselves with confidence and the brutality of their style, I can really see them stepping up to the level of a Suicide Silence or a Whitechapel when their next album drops in 2015. You’ve been warned, don’t sleep on this band!

At the midway point of the night, I caught myself feeling very positive about the current scene, and that a tour like this can even happen and pass through our neck of the woods. Sentiment. I need to watch that! Meanwhile Havok came on and clearly had some of their own fanbase in the house, because their entire front of the stage was more or less a total circle pit for their set. A band that has hit the 10-year mark and also has a big following in our area, had a triumphant feeling hitting the stage and thrashing their balls off. Front man David Sanchez, like his entire band, has some sweet musical skills and has a shriek not unlike Mark Osegueda of Death Angel, who make a fair comparison for the band too. Special note goes to Marshall Wieczorek of Wretched, who was filling in for Pete Webber behind the kit did a great job. The band recently signed with Century Media and are also planning a new album for next year.

The Palladium, even the more intimate part of the venue upstairs, can be a clusterfuck on any given day. It was cool seeing a lot of my my local brethren of metal fans and friends at the show. It had been a very heavy week of shows in our surrounding area, with many national and local bands worth seeing. Still, I was impressed that by the time Revocation took the stage, the place was pretty full. Ans why not? Being a Boston band and playing this venue was practically a hometown show and many people in the house were sporting their Revocation shirts (a no-no to me, but good for the band I suppose). The anticipation was higher than usual, since the band has signed a new deal with Metal Blade and are on the cusp of dropping their new album Deathless. The band played a tight set with a mix of “hits” and new songs that left bodies sweaty on jaws on the floor. As usual, a lot of folks are just here for the guitar fireworks in the form of Dave Davidson and Dan Gargiulo. Their rhythm section was augmented tonight too, with Jon “The Charn” Rice (Scorpion Child, ex-Job For a Cowboy, The Red Chord) filling in for Phil DuBois (arm injury). Revocation is just one of those bands that wears many hats and pulls it off extremely well.

Heading back stage to interview Revocation, I was just wrapping up my chat when I heard the strains of the first few songs of Crowbar’s set. The went on pretty quick with little turnover apparently, but I didn’t miss much. The crowd was doing the “slow acknowledgment” head-bang to ‘Symmetry In White’ when I finally made it back downstairs. Kirk Windstein made a funny crack about turning all the lights off, then just relegating the rest of the night to a sparse spotlight, that was befitting of this workman-like band. As their set list shows Crowbar is as important to this genre as they relevant today, with a string of great songs and new material that holds up too. Kirk likes to slide to the side of the microphone when not singing, an unintentional but necessary move that puts him where he belongs, front and center. He has a solid group of guys behind him these days, but it makes him shine that much brighter.

About half-way through the set I realized this was about the best Crowbar show I’d ever seen. Kirk has raised his game up a few more levels than he was already at over the years and his laser focus on this band has definitely paid off. While a lot of people associate the band with ‘All I Had (I Gave)’, it was a song like ‘Planets Collide’ that really write the story of this band in granite. Kirk, his voice up to a mic and his hands around a guitar neck are a treasure to the metal community. I hope we get to enjoy them for a long time.

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Crowbar Set List:

Cemetary Angels

Walk With Knowledge Wisely

Symmetry in White

Self-Inflicted

Planets Collide

The Lasting Dose

Sever the Wicked Hand

Liquid Sky and Cold Black Earth

Conquering

High Rate Extinction

New Dawn

All I Had (I Gave)

I Have Failed

Crowbar on Facebook

Revocation on Facebook

Fit For An Autopsy on Facebook

Armed For Apocalypse on Facebook

WORDS: KEITH CHACHKES

PHOTOS: MEG LOYAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Arsis – Allegaeon – Exmortus – Scalpel: Live at The Brighton Music Hall, Allston MA

Posted on September 29, 2014 by News Team

Spearheading the events were practiced local (body) openers, Scalpel, who are honestly one of the few forever-local-band-syndrome Death Metal bands that I can enjoy seeing repeatedly. They’ve done the honours of opening ceremonies for Aborted, Morbid Angel, and Gorguts, just to name the recent ones that stick out. It’s nasty, brutal, primitive, and hairy, technically proficient when appropriate, and inciting brainless pit violence the next. By “brainless pit violence”, I kinda mean a few guys tossed each other around and bumped shoulders like so many rams, but clearly the music is working the way it should. For fans of Brutal Death Metal, as you may have guessed.

California’s Exmortus (not to be confused with Tampa old school death metal) embraces antiquity without shunning modernity. With influences equal parts scorching NWOBHM licks, Black Thrash barbarity, and classical sensibility to taste. A welcome contrast to Scalpel, awash in gore, Exmortus’ rousing, anthemic approach is the meeting ground between Holy Grail -represented by the bassist’s choice of shirt- and that bygone Baroque swagger of early Children of Bodom, sans keyboards, plus signature ESP models. Melodic, but not too much so, there were hints of power metal scattered throughout, but never in danger of erupting into an inflatable swordfight.

As much as I wish I could sing praise to Allegaeon for their brand of admittedly decent Melodic Tech-Death, I found this Colorado crew to be ultimately uninspired. Though vocalist Ezra does have an animated stage presence and the band is certainly competent, I’ve heard so many similar acts that I can scarcely feel as impressed as others seem to be. I think of Sylosis, who play a very similar style; Scar Symmetry, who have, in my mind, captured a distinctive take on the Melo-Death sound; and Dark Tranquillity, whom we may ‘blame’ for this strain of Gothenburg mysticism. Their breakdowns seem obligatory rather than energetic, and the solos, while thankfully, not long-winded, don’t seem constructed to the best of their ability. If this is their best, then it’s just not my cup of tea. Or maybe it’s a cup of tea I’ve had too many times.

Technical Death Metal poets laureate in Virginia’s Arsis have once again given us a sermon in the obscure day to day sorrows of humanity. Their title pays homage to a poetry term running counter to thesis; it is the unaccented beat in a work of verse, and/or the unaccented part of a measure. Indeed, Arsis’ particular style meshes the ‘Elegant and Perverse’, a mournful take on death metal that incorporates both the twisted brutality and the flowing melody it is capable of, with equal portent.

Conducting the proceedings with a symphonic grandeur was of utmost importance, this year marking the 10th anniversary of the band’s landmark album, A Celebration of Guilt (Willowtip), an album whose corrupting influence has blackened many a heart with its majestic hooks, its malicious, sharp-edged sheen respected by both Technical and Melodic camps; opening, as expected, with out favourite love song, ‘The Face of My Innocence’, to exposing the folly of falsity in ‘The Sadistic Motives Behind Bereavement Letters’, and the chronicles of bestial nightmare itself through the venomously sweet ‘Wholly Night’. It was like a walk-through of essential Arsis, with ‘We Are The Nightmare’ and the abbreviated, but no less brilliant, version of ‘A Diamond For Disease’ making much appreciated appearances. Breaking the pattern of ‘Maddening Disdain’ (I tried), we were treated to an amusing cover of ‘Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)’ by W.A.S.P., which James Malone says they learned mainly to get laid. I suppose the fact that they play it now means either it works, or it has yet to. I’ll stick to their originals, myself, and would have preferred to hear ‘The Cold Resistance’ in its place, but a rare talent like Arsis deserves to succumb to their baser instincts between composing some of the more brilliant Death Metal this side of Keats. The video for ‘Forced To Rock’ will be all the evidence I need, I’m sure.

Arsis on Facebook

Allegaeon on Facebook

Exmortus on Facebook

Scalpel on Facebook

SEAN PIERRE-ANTOINE

Winterfylleth – Eastern Front: Live at Colchester Arts Centre, UK

Posted on September 25, 2014 by Steve Tovey

While blighted by sound problems, it is apparent that Eastern Front have undergone significant improvements over the last twelve months, adding melody, tension and drama to their Marduk-ian overtures and go down well to the swelling crowd. Playing a set entirely of tracks from their new album Descent Into Genocide, the Suffolk black metallers have made the right choice in focusing on new material that comes across as an entirely different, improved band to their previous efforts.

Yet from the moment vocalist/guitarist Chris Naughton leads the crowd in a semi-ironic arm waving intro that leads into the Celtic Frost / Motorhead chug that propels ‘Mam Tor (The Shivering Mountain)’ into the converted church, it is clear that Winterfylleth are a class apart. While they remain staunchly anti-image, no histrionics or pyrotechnics, and clad in plain black T-shirts, their music does all the speaking and impressing for them.

Up next ‘The Swart Raven’ builds from open chords, swathed in beautiful tremolo-picked melodies and underpinned by a driving beat, before dropping down to it’s clean build-up, that sees arms and voices of the gathered throng raised along in chorus. Already the audience is firmly in the hands of the band as the song’s coda bruises in a flurry of bass drums and vocal roars, even before the double-punch of crowd-pleasers ‘Casting The Runes’ and ‘The Wayfarer Part I’ see the dark of night.

Yet, better is yet to come, as the two new tracks aired, an epic broil titled ‘A Careworn Heart’ and the more straight-forward Darkthrone tinged yet still wholly “English” Black Metal of ‘The Divination of Antiquity’, along with rousing closer ‘Fields of Reckoning’ are the highlights of a set where the ‘fylleth disprove the myth that black metal doesn’t work live with an excellently delivered performance that uplifts the gathered faithful, with heads banging all the way back throughout. Mesmeric and powerful at Bloodstock, they perhaps even exceed that, with darkened anthems filling the Essex evening.

In a scene where the genre classics have been unchallenged for two decades, Winterfylleth are now established as one of the leading exponents in their field, status their excellent new album The Divination of Antiquity will only enhance. With their output ranging from raging Bathory influenced aggression to sweeping, landscape-inspired grandiose moments via Primordial midtempo pump, all is delivered with the confidence of a band who know their wave is rising. Their brand of organic, atmospheric and all-consuming blackened metal with touches of class, heritage and intelligence has seen them rise, relatively unopposed, to stand as one of the best black metal bands today both live and on record, with tonight a further example of their inherent quality.

Winterfylleth Set List:

Mam Tor (The Shivering Mountain)

The Swart Raven

Casting The Runes

The Wayfarer Part 1: The Solitary One Waits For Grace

A Careworn Heart

A Valley Thick With Oaks

The Divination of Antiquity

Defending The Realm

Fields of Reckoning

Winterfylleth on Facebook

Eastern Front on Facebook

PHOTOS: KRISTI O’CONNEL

WORDS BY STEVE TOVEY

Yob – Pallbearer – Ghold: Live at The Roadhouse, Manchester, UK

Posted on September 24, 2014 by News Team

The Roadhouse is terribly small. And dark, much to our snapper’s consternation. Suitably subterranean then for the evil rumblings of London’s Ghold, an unassuming looking duo of bass and drums until part-time guitarist Oliver Martinez began to create stunning atmospheres halfway into their set. They surprised and seriously impressed by producing a captivating set of unholy sludge doom, the power of which would have given Conan a real run for their money.

The allure of doom’s new boundary breakers subsequently created a struggle for room. Brett Campbell‘s Godflesh shirt belied the soft edges Pallbearer portray on record, but their pulverising power was unmistakable from the opening strands of World’s Apart, the opening track from their recent and magnificent Foundations Of Burden (Profound Lore) album. Guitarist Devin Holt was the archetypal rhythm master, throwing shapes with grave abandon, whilst Campbell’s leads soared and punctured holes in the ceiling. A nod to drummer Mark Lierly induced the swell of noise that is first album highlight Devoid Of Redemption: a cymbal puncturing the purr of Zeus’ cat, that slow juggernaut of a riff catching a groove from Lierly’s brutal yet studious pounding. Campbell’s voice was a chiming bell, hitting notes full of melody and pathos, whilst bassist Joseph Rowland punched the air during the huge coda of Foreigner, showing both the relief and the euphoria of a defining moment. The crowd adored this brave, unfettered quartet who believe in every note they play and who were only slightly thrown by a venue protesting against the sheer weight of their sound. This was something special.

As was the performance from tonight’s headliners, the revered YOB: a pulsating, fulminating mass of energy, the enigma that is Mike Scheidt‘s voice soaring then slicing through a now-hammered venue. The full playing of latest album Clearing the Path to Ascend exploded forth with the maelstrom of clear sound and thundering bass that was In Our Blood, Scheidt bounding to his mic like a mugger, whilst he and bassist Aaron Rieseberg bucked with every twist of the crater-creating riffs. The sonic violence of Nothing to Win was greeted with joy, Rieseberg’s ferocious bass peddling belying his peaceful demeanour, Travis Foster’s drumming as phenomenal to witness as to hear on the album version. New classic Marrow concluded the evening, and was possibly the most subliminal and emotional twenty minutes of a gig I’ve ever experienced. In two-tone espadrilles and a purple leather waistcoat, the prince of doom led his bare-chested sticksman and spacey, body-shuddering bassist to a mellow yet wondrously heavy glory: at times a caressing savagery, others a cosmic beauty, the whole moving more than this old hack to tears.

The aftermath was a bewildered delight, people hugging the band or sitting on the stage fringes shaking their heads in awe-struck wonder. This most glorious of nights was a privilege, an epiphany, which a bigger venue would have enhanced but possibly robbed of its intensity and warmth, and will forever be fondly remembered by the fortunate souls who witnessed it.

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YOB on Facebook

Pallbearer on Facebook

Ghold on Facebook

WORDS: PAUL QUINN

PHOTOS: LUKE DENHAM PHOTOGRAPHY

On The Road…. With YOB and Pallbearer

Posted on September 19, 2014 by News Team

YOB and Pallbearer are both out on the road in support of stellar new albums. YOB’s Clearing The Path To Ascend (Neurot) received a 9/10 from Ghost Cult earlier this month. Pallbearer’s Foundations of Burden (Profound Lore) was a rare 10/10 from us and was our August Album of the month. Both bands recent teamed up for a co-headlining run of dates in the UK and Luke Denham of Luke Denham Photography caught both bands in front of his lens. A full review is coming soon. In the mean time, enjoy these shots!

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YOB on Facebook

Pallbearer on Facebook

Luke Denham Photography

Skeletonwitch – Ghoul – Black Anvil: Live At the Sinclair, Cambridge MA

Posted on September 18, 2014 by News Team

Skeletonwitch continues up their climb up the modern metal ladder. They seem to be a band generally liked by many, with no real haters as far as I can tell. Their infectious combination of blackened thrash metal frames them as a crossover act for fans of many genres of metal. It doesn’t hurt that they are a tight live act and a lot of fun to see on stage. Waiting patiently for a legit headline tour, not just off dates here and there, the band promised to reward faithful fans with a deep set list. I rolled with Ghost Cult photog Meg Loyal, and we got there early, mingling with a lot of Boston Metaldom’s usual suspects.

Starting things off right was Black Anvil. They immediately ripped Cambridge a new hole from the jump with the lively, caustic stage show and brutal sounds. I was an immediate fan of their album Hail Death (Relapse) which is a modern masterpiece, and it took me by surprise as the venerable NYDM and NYBM scene, although historically great, hasn’t turned out a band that really captured my heart a long time. I think even the early crowd in the venue was shocked at how killer their set was. They played with the energy and power of a headliner and really inspired the early crowd to move around a bit and hurt each other. This is a band definitely on the rise, so don’t sleep on them.

Ghoul is always a lot of fun live and they were the perfect band for the middle slot on this tour. Our heroes from Creepsylvania always come to party with GWAR-inspired fake blood, and all kinds of crazy characters as a part of their performance. More than anything, Ghoul is a killer band with sick chops playing a fun take on a deathly take on old-school Bay Area thrash metal. There were circle pits galore, crazy breakdown and mass hilarity ensued. They definitely had their own core of fans in the house based on all the Ghoul merch being sported (fail!), and also bought and toted (good job!). It’s rare that you laugh as much as you headbang at a show. GWAR (RIP Dave Brockie) is one band that has always done that for me and Ghoul carries on that tradition to the hilt. Do yourself a solid and go pick up their latest EP Hang Ten (Tankcrimes) or any of their albums really.

Time to die for the Witch! The thing I like about The Sinclair is they do run a tight ship. The change over was fast and the band hit the stage with a quickness. There isn’t a bad place to watch the show from in the entire room and I had a good spot. I was interested to see if the crowd had any energy left at all since the Ghoul set was a non-stop mosh-pit frenzy. When Skeletonwitch opened up with ‘I Am of Death (Hell Has Arrived)’, their past go-to closer, it was a glorious moment. It can be hard for bands to break their own mold and change things up, so kudos to them for that. This was a portend of things to come with an excellent set list of “hits” and deep cuts they promised.

And what a set is was! The band brandished their musical might this time with a relentless performance that definitely had the mark of greatness. The fans drank, danced, headbanged and screamed along with every word. Chance Garnette and crew whipped the crowd into a frenzy with cut after cut from their repertoire. Chance paced the stage, inciting more and more fury from the pit and the rest of the crowd. Even up in the rafters, you could see people were feeling it too. This was an awesome night rushing towards an awesome finish; as the band closed out the night with mostly old-school tracks. On this evening if you were in the house, you knew you were witnessing one of the ascendant bands in the American metal scene. Hailz!

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Skeletonwitch Set List:

I Am of Death (Hell Has Arrived)

More Cruel Than Weak

From a Cloudless Sky

Burned From Bone

Upon Wings of Black

Choke Upon Betrayal

Infernal Resurrection

Fire from the Sky

Stand Fight and Die

Beneath Dead Leaves

Serpents Unleashed

This Horrifying Force (The Desire to Kill)

Crushed Beyond Dust

Unending, Everliving

Cleaver of Souls

Beyond the Permafrost

Baptized in Flames

Limb from Limb

Repulsive Salvation

Of Ash and Torment

Within My Blood

Skeletonwitch on Facebook

Ghoul on Facebook

Black Anvil on Facebook

WORDS: KEITH (KEEFY) CHACHKES

PHOTOS: MEG LOYAL PHOTOGRAPHY

On The Road…..with Puya

Posted on September 18, 2014 by News Team

“This is the Puya comin’ straight to ya! This is the Puya comin’ straight to ya!” Puerto Rico based Latin metallers Puya have returned from their dormancy to embark on a brief tour of the USA. They hit a bunch of East Coast dates, landed at Sirius XM studios in New York City and and appeared with Jose Mangin on Liquid Metal, and more. The band is revving up their engines again on their way to participate in the Patria Grande Festival in Cuba this November. Hopefully more tours and new music are on the horizon for the ground-breaking act that combined Latin Jazz, hardcore metal, funk and Nu Metal. Check out our photo set from their recent Boston show at The Middle East Downstairs. A full review is coming soon.

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Puya on Facebook

Puya Online

In Flames Goes Unplugged to Promote Siren Charms

Posted on September 12, 2014 by News Team

In Flames, minus the rhythm section, had a very intimate listening party for their new album Siren Charms (RED/Sony Music Germany), which took place in Manhattan NYC at The Bowery Electric, just across the street from where CBGB’s once stood. The evening started off with a few spins of their new album. After an hour so of mingling and a lot of free drinks, singer Anders Friden, along with guitarists Bjorn Gelotte and Niclas Engelin took to the stage. In between drinks and clearly nervous laughter, Anders commented about them never before doing something like this. All awkwardness aside, playing an acoustic set seems like the next logical step in the ever evolving world of In Flames.

Supported by only an ambient backing track, they started what turned into a two-song mini set with ‘Dead Eyes’ from Siren Charms. Anders sounded possibly even more powerful on the chorus on this rendition of the tune. They continued the show with the lead single off the new album, ‘Through Oblivion’. It sounds a lot more eerie this way and I’m having a tough time not hearing it this way again. These songs fit extremely well within the acoustic realm, the right songs for the right occasion. It was very short and pretty freaking sweet. Perhaps they will do it again…

In Flames on Facebook

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY OMAR CORDY

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