When you look across the whole metal spectrum you’d be hard pressed to find a sub-genre more over-saturated than Tech-Metal. There has been an absolutely massive influx of bands in that scene over the last few years, with a lot of them falling well short of what is needed to really stand out and make a mark. Enter Loathe. Hailing from Liverpool, this band are still relative newcomers so with The Cold Sun (Sharptone) have they made any kind of lasting impression? The short answer is “Yes”. The slightly longer answer is “Very much, yes indeed”.Continue reading →
Back in December we weren’t even sure if Metal Hammer would be around this year, but thanks to Future Publishing, they are, and it’s time for them to celebrate as only they know how. Continue reading →
Mesmer (UNFD/Rise) has been coming. This lush, expertly crafted album should come as no surprise. We’ve not just had the warning signs that its protagonists, Australian progressive metalcore act Northlane were ready to bring it all together for a couple of albums now, it’s been portended in neon lights that they could. That they should. And while the band may have enjoyed relative success to date, they had yet to fully convince. That is, until now.Continue reading →
For the record, I’m not a huge fan of the first person approach when it comes to reviews or metal writing, but as this is a personal run down, and seeing as it’s you lot, I’ll break that particular fourth wall just this once…Continue reading →
Heavy music. We don’t just love it, we breathe and live it. And we want you to drink in every album that made the list of our favourite albums of 2016. Heading to the business end, to find out even more of the very best of the very best of this years’ heavy music, read on…Continue reading →
Sad news from camp of British technical metalcore band Architects, as guitarist Tom Searle lost his three-year battle with cancer. Tom’s twin brother and bandmate Dan posted to the bands’ Facebook page to announce the news:
“It is with unbelievable pain and sadness that I have to announce that at around twelve minutes past midnight on August 20th my amazing brother, Tom, passed away after over 3 years living with cancer.
He was an incredible songwriter and guitarist. He was my closest and oldest friend. He was a funny, intelligent and sweet man and he leaves an enormous void in all of our lives.
Many of you will be aware that Tom has been absent from various shows over the past 15 months and I can now let you know that this was due to various surgeries that he had to have to treat the cancer. When we left for our European Festival tour on June 2nd Tom was very unwell. He had been advised to stay in hospital to receive care but ultimately there was nothing that they could do for him and he signed himself out of the ward two days before we departed for Germany. Some of you might view this as reckless but this is the way Tom wanted to do things throughout his last year because he never wanted the cancer to get in the way of what he loved. He got on stage and performed his last two shows at Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park, which took him an incredible amount of strength but those are two shows that we will never forget.
We had to cancel our European festival tour and US headline tour because on June 8th, in Luxembourg, Tom was extremely sick, we called an ambulance and he was taken into ICU. The following day he was placed into a medically induced coma and the doctors told us that it was unlikely that they’d ever be able to wake him. Five days later, against all the odds, he was awake again, and in a few short days following that, myself and Tom canceled the air ambulance that was due to take him home and we got the Eurostar train home. Classic Tom Searle.
He spent the last 2 months of his life fighting with everything he had to overcome the disease once and for all, and things appeared to be moving in the right direction, but in the last 2 weeks it suddenly took a turn for the worse and finally he left us.
I don’t know what will become of Architects. Me and Tom started playing in a band together when we were 13 and, really, Architects is just an evolution of the band that we started all the way back then, over half my life ago. To pretend that Tom wasn’t at the heart of everything that the band created would be to show a complete lack of respect to the amazing talent that he was. The band will never be the same and there is simply no denying it.
We will 100% tour All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, there is no doubt about that. We will be going to Australia in a few weeks and we will be doing our UK and European headline tour in October and November. We hope that these shows will be an opportunity for everyone out there to show their respects to my wonderful brother. It won’t be easy for us to get on stage and play every night without him, but its something that we must do.
We want to carry on, that is important to say, and we will strive to do so, but we will not release any music unless we truly believe that it is something that Tom would have been proud of. Whether or not we can achieve that is something that we will have to discover in time.
The Martlets Hospice in Hove took unbelievable care of Tom in his final days. We were constantly blown away by their compassion and hard work and we feel hugely indebted to them for ensuring that we were able to make some amazing memories with Tom before he passed away. If you feel as though you’d like to contribute a donation to the Hospice in Tom’s memory then please donate on the Just Giving page that we have set up below.
For now we need to begin to process what has happened. Myself, Sam, Ali and Adam will need time to fully come to terms with the loss of our brother and we hope that everyone out there will continue to respect our privacy during this terribly difficult time.
Much love,
Dan x”
Architects released their recent album this spring, All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, via Epitaph. Our sympathies go out to Tom’s family, friends, band, and fans.
For the most part, Metalcore is a genre with an air of defiance and empowering; normally a genre that is anthemic and uplifting with a positive message throughout. On latest album album All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us (Epitaph), serious credit has to be given to Brits Architects as they break this notion and offer an album with a towering message of bleakness and the need for us to stand up for change, in one of the boldest releases in the genre to date.
What is immediately striking about AOGHAU is how genuinely angry it sounds. Far from the faux rage of many of their peers, Architects have genuine reasons to be pissed off. As vegans and environmental activists, much of the album’s focus is on humanities destruction of the planet, and the sentiment of it is undoubtedly clear and real. Frontman Sam Carter in particular gives his most impassioned displays ever and very rarely drops from a full throttle roar, which amplifies the tone even further. The guitar work of course is very prominent and has a much darker tone than the genre is renowned for, whilst keys, rather than dominate, increase the atmosphere with subtle usage.
Aside from the soundscapes and textures, there are other signs that Architects are going for greater ambition than many of their peers, namely the 8 plus minute closer ‘Memento Mori’ which interjects the album’s trademark heaviness with passages of brooding, near ambience before erupting once again in sheer, white hot fury. In a genre that for all its greatness can prove stagnant at times, these signs and moves put Architects in a class of their own when it comes to vision in the genre, and thus have not only exceeded all their own greatness, but have further proven why they are one of the shining lights in the style, and for British metal itself.
Most modern metalcore music comes from the US, which is not surprising as the genre was formed in the States. The UK has also recently upped its metalcore offerings, with the likes of While She Sleeps, Bury Tomorrow and Architects dominating the airwaves. One country that is not particularly well-known for its metalcore scene is France, but Paris-based quintet Novelistsare hoping to change this with their debut album Souvenirs (Arising Empires). They have been teasing their ever-growing fanbase with a variety of singles since 2013, but their newest release should satisfy both pre-existing fans and newcomers alike.
In a genre which is infamous for its unoriginality bands need to ensure that the first track resonates with both pre-existing fans and newcomers, and that is exactly what Novelists have achieved with ‘Inanimate’. The haunting piano melody fused with the almost djent-like riffs creates a distinctive yet engaging sound which certainly makes an impact. Although the song itself is only two minutes long it is hard to ignore the powerful technical guitar work, never mind Matt Gelsomino’s harrowing vocals.
The progressive nature of their songs definitely takes their sound to the next level. The ever-changing tempo of each song is anything but unorganised; instead it adds to the excitement as you are unsure of exactly where each track is heading. In a genre full of predictable riff-chorus-riff, it is genuinely exhilarating to hear such a fresh take on metal music as a whole.
Despite the heavy nature of the majority of Souvenirs, Matt and co. are able to show their softer side in the ambient-sounding track ‘5:12AM’. Versatility is a handy trait to possess in the music industry, and it is clear that Novelists are not afraid to try something different.
Novelists have managed to take the best parts from genres across the metal spectrum and fuse them together to create their own signature style: heavy breakdowns, eerie melodies, hardcore-esque vocals, synth beats and technical guitar riffs.
Being a new face on a record label with a storied history like Nuclear Blast Records can be a daunting task for any band. For the members of Speaking The King’s, they became one of the label’s newest faces that spearheaded a breed of youth based punk driven metal.
The band completed their full length album Carousel and is excited to share it with the world. The public got their first taste of the band with their debut EP (2013’s Here To Stay), and since then they began growing into their sound by experimenting with a variety of styles and crafting songs that reached a variety of listeners.
“We worked real hard on the EP but we were trying to figure out which direction we wanted to go – if we wanted to go wider, heavier. We wanted to see what we could do. So one of the things we really loved and really wanted to exploit was Bobby’s [Burap, lead vocals] great voice so we figured let’s focus on a lot of using that element that he has and getting that into our songs,” said guitarist Mike Entin.
“When we were writing the full length, it was a lot of basing off of the choruses opposed to who can write the biggest breakdowns. Now granted there are plenty of breakdowns and plenty of heavy parts on the new CD, it does have something for everybody. It’s a much longer roller coaster.”
Taking the name from a familiar film, guitarist Justin Bock talked about how this hit them enough to name the band after this.
“There was a scene in the movie Inglorious Bastards and it’s actually exactly what you said – it’s a shorthand of speaking the king’s English. It’s the scene where an English soldier first sees a German soldier in the basement of a bar and is captured by one of the actual German soldiers. He basically realizes that it’s the end of the line and there’s really no way out of this. So he’s going up to this place and we just felt like we’re just going to take over this place and we’re just gonna throw everything we’ve got into it and just hope for the best and see where it takes us. So that really struck a chord with us and we grabbed the name and the rest is history.”
On Carousel, they enlisted veteran producer Steve Evetts to man the recording sessions. While soliciting producers to work on their record, they found a connection with him over some of his past producing projects was some of their favorite records and ones that helped shape the band’s sound.
“On this one, we were lucky enough to work with Steve Evetts. Nuclear Blast gave us the opportunity and we couldn’t have been more thrilled. There was a point where we got the list of producers on board and we were writing down the list of CDs they did. We wanted to work with Steve Evetts but let’s put him on here and the reason why was, is because he worked on one of our favorite albums – The Here and Now by Architects, and a lot of our favorite CDs in the past ten years.”
“When we got a call a few days later from Nuclear Blast, they said ‘hey we’re meeting Steve Evetts. OK later.’ We just dropped our jaw and said ‘did that just happen?’ Steve Evetts is an amazing producer. He did a wonderful job and we’re beyond stoked on this,” said Entin.
Bock explained their songwriting process and how they approach their vast string of songs they have written. He said they took more chances on the new record that they did not on the EP.
“Typically Mike or I will come up with riffs or chorus parts. We build from there. It’s become a more closed process than it has in the past. I think with the full length there’s much more variety. We feel we put in a little bit more than we did on the EP where it was more straight ahead heavy. We took a little more risks on this one. I think it paid off huge for us.”
“It usually starts off with Mike or I will write and then we put drums to it and then we put the basic idea structure wise. Then Bobby puts the vocals and then we wait and make it fit the way it is. It’s usually small changes and sometimes big ones and it turns into songs.”
They spoke about the variety of styles on Carousel, ranging from heavier mosh songs to more melodic tunes with sing a long parts, which gives listeners an assortment of songs to choose from.
“It’s funny because what we do is when we put the set together, we will try to knock off a little of everything. We try to make sure to play something for the kids with the breakdowns, and we’ll also play something back to back that the girls want to sing along. The other thing that we also do is that all of our biggest fans say that they like it and they have so much fun and they’re involved. We don’t make it seem like we’re not down on anyone and they wanted to listen to it. I think that’s one of our awesome qualities that we like to win people over. We’re trying to get them involved – even if it’s not a genre that you like, you won’t feel like you’re lost in the crowd. We want you to sing along with us. I think that stuff shows how much we like to put into making this more of a band than just a band’s show,” said Entin.
Having Evetts manning the recording sessions helped Speaking The King’s elevate their sound to the next level. They explained how his past experience helped them grow as a band and working hands on with the band made them a better band overall
“With Steve we gave him a much more complete product. When we did the EP, the band and I just recorded. We didn’t have a singer at that point. So it was like doing two halves and it was the EP. With this record, everything was finished and ready to go when Steve came up and spent a week with us at our rehearsal space just going through everything and song structure – change the kick pattern to this and change the guitar chord to this – little things that help make all the songs into something maybe bigger than we had imagined it being.”
“He’s a master at his craft and was one of the single biggest learning experiences of my life, which was spending that one month with him and learning more than I have than all of the records I’ve made combined. It was really cool just picking his brain and letting him show us how he makes records with real sound the whole time. It’s not all that programmed drums. It’s all real live natural feeling and I think to me those records seem to last. We were super fortunate to be able to meet with him and then to work with him and make a record that way with somebody like that that’s done so many records we have so much respect for,” said Bock.
“One thing that he did actually that we all experienced as musicians he broke us down. He made us work until we had the perfect take. He only strives for the best and we all loved that. It made us better musicians as growing musicians. It was hard love but it was awesome because he got a lot out of you. I think that’s one thing that all of us got after we got out of the studio,” said Entin.
“For me, he made me play so much that there were so many drumheads that we had to switch. I even broke one of his cymbals. He made me play so much and so hard to get the recording correct and perfect. I’ve never sweated so much in my life,” added drummer Will Peacock.
At what point did the members of Speaking the King’s realize that Evetts was the same guy who produced records for such artists as Hatebreed and Dillinger Escape Plan?
“I think for me we kind of had an idea of a lot of that stuff when we went in there. For me specifically, I found out during the process that he actually produced a lot of the records I’ve listened to for a long time that I had no idea he did. Bands that whenever certainly I’m thinking about pitching to who was producing one, I found three or four records that were some of my favorites that he had done and had no idea. We went in there awestruck and left there even more awestruck. It’s really cool,” explained Bock.
While the band are still a new face on the music scene, they are learning the ins and outs of how to maneuver in many situations. They shared some of their experiences from their brief time on the road and playing with other touring artists.
“We’ve learned that there’s all kinds of people that know what we do in there. It’s cool the variety of people who come together for music. We also learned that the sound guy is your best friend in the world. We played a festival out here with Emmure and their sound guy mixed for us for the show. There was an incredible difference. We played at The Grove in Anaheim, CA and it’s a pretty good sized venue. It was a night and day difference between what we had with him and what somebody in the band had with the house guy or whatever. Each venue is different and so when you get a good sound guy, make sure you thank him for that,” said Bock.
Peacock concluded, “Another good aspect is keep it simple. Don’t complicate things with your rigs with everything that you’re using. You’re making it in and out on the road 24-7 for 28 shows out of 30 days. You want to keep it simple because it will have a lot of wear on it and take care of yourself.”
