Tag Archives: DevilDriver

Whitechapel – Mark of the Blade

Posted on by

Whitechapel – Mark of the Blade ghostcultmag

Seeing that it is 2016, and it has been two years since Our Endless War, it seems that we are due for another studio album from Knoxville’s pride and joy, Whitechapel. And right on cue here it is in the form of Mark of the Blade (Metal Blade).

Young bands could stand to learn from that work ethic as it netted Whitechapel a Billboard Top 10 spot for Our Endless War. That’s a pretty awesome feat for a Metal Blade artist. If memory serves me right, the last time someone on that stable landed on such a lofty chart spot was As I Lay Dying. Yeah, that one didn’t end well.

Will Mark of the Blade spring the trick again? Yeah, probably. After all this is the album that’s been making headlines on metal news sites for containing clean vocals (‘Bring me Home,’ ‘Decennium’) and taking aim at elitists (uh, ‘Elitist Ones’).

Plus it follows the same game plan as Our Endless War and the self-titled before it. What’s that said game plan? It’s less deathcore or death metal and quickly making itself comfortable in the real estate that housed Devildriver for so long; “groove metal”. Who came up with that moniker? Hell, if I fucking know, but it’s certainly proved itself popular. To me it loosely translates to some kind of mutant post-thrash metal. I guess it became vogue in the aftermath of Pantera. If it truly is a subgenre, then its best albums are Burn My Eyes, Chaos A.D., and Wolverine Blues.

whitechapel band 2016

But you know what the funny part is? The best moments here are the non-groove bits. That’s not discounting tracks like ‘Dwell in the Shadows,’ ‘Venomous’ and the aptly titled ‘Tremors’ which will fit nicely along Whitechapel live staples like ‘The Saw is the Law.’ But what’s most impressive is that the clean vocals, albeit sparse, truly work. It’s not unlike in Lamb of God’s melodic turn in ‘Overlord.’ And the fact that they were feeling ballsy enough to try an instrumental in ‘Brotherhood’ that has some ‘The Call of Ktulu’ leanings to it.

So, it’s another solid release from Whitechapel, who will likely continue to forge onwards to decent sales and many a Summer tour. Groove metal be damned, there are plenty of cool moments here. I mean, I could do without ‘Mark of the Blade’ and ‘Elitist Ones,’ but there’s more than enough to make for those missteps. Now excuse me, I have to find more subgenres to dislike.

7.0/10

HANSEL LOPEZ

 

[amazon asin=B01ES3PF90&template=iframe image1]


Mastodon, Ministry, Parkway Drive, Behemoth And More Booked For Brutal Assult 2016

Posted on by

A2_BA2016_v5.ai

Long-running and legendary Brutal Assault Festival takes place again this year for their 21st edition. Taking place which takes place in a military fortress Jofesov in Jaromer, in the Chech Republic the four day festival runs from August 10-13th. In addition to headline acts Mastodon, Ministry, Parkway Drive, and Behemoth, the fest features names from across all genres of rock and metal such as Aborted, Agnostic Front, Angelcorpse, Animals As Leaders, The Algorithm, Archgoat, Birdflesh, Bury Tomorrow, Conan, Coroner, Dark Funeral, Dark Tranquility, Devildriver, Die Krupps, Disavowed, Destruction, Electric Wizard, Eskimo Callboy, Exodus, Eyehategod, Gruesome, Hypnose, Immolation, Insomnium, Iron Reagan, Jig-Ai, Knuckledust, Leprous, Mgla, Misery Loves Co., Mithras, Moonspell, Mono, Mutoid Man, Nile, Obituary, Omnium, Gatherum, Satyricon, Septicflesh, Shining, Sigh, Sikth, Slagmaur, Taake, Terror, Textures, The Black Dahlia Murder, Tribulation, Vektor, Valkyrja, Voivod, Whiplash and more. Tickets are on sale now with camping packages at this link:

 


Hatebreed: Live at The Marquee, Tempe AZ

Posted on by

Hatebreed devildriver tour

2200 hours: People are milling about. They are still buzzed after an exhausting Devildriver performance. The last strains of a sound check happens: drums, guitars, bass, vocals. Hey Hey Yup. Yep. Hey A. The floor fills quickly to the sound of Boston “Rock and roll band… everybody’s waitin’ … getting’ crazy anticipating love… and music… Play Play Play….” Christina says, “I haven’t seen them in a long time. It’s the first time in 19 years seeing them. I’m here to have a good time and see a great band.”

Devildriver, by Melina D Photography

Devildriver, by Melina D Photography

 

2213 hours: The lights go out and the crowd erupts into chants of “Hatebreed! Hatebreed! Hatebreed!” Eerie creepy kid horror music is piped in. “Arizona! Are you ready?” Why yes, Jamey. We are indeed ready! “I’ve been a Hatebreed fan since ’99 when I was in the ARMY. It’s his (points to 7 year old son) first show.”, says Tony. Tony’s son says Hatebreed are “Awesome.” Jamey Jasta hits the stage looking more like Mike Muir. “Destroy everything!” he commands as a pit, a tad smaller and milder than Devildriver’s breaks out. To wit, I think the crowd is a bit tired. They are densely packed yet hardly moving. There are, however, lots of cell phones in the air.

Hatebreed, by Melina D Photography

Hatebreed, by Melina D Photography

Jamey reminds his erstwhile captives that the new album The Concrete Confessional (Nuclear Blast) is the #2 rock record and #13 on Billboard charts. Hatebreed then launch into ‘Looking Down the Barrel of Today’. Live, the song has a wicked funk sound and the pocket is strong with Chris Beattie and Matt Byrne. “The party is only just begun!” Jamey tells us. Finally, the pit has grown. The crowd was a slow burn. They fed off the intensity of the band. Multiple crowd surfers rise above the masses. It’s now a packed house on a Monday night. I was told by a Marquee employee that a good 2500 were in attendance. ‘A.D’ causes a proper circle pit to erupt. Live, ‘A.D’ is a psychotically intense old school thrash song. But, alas, a majority of the crowd stood about like deer in headlights. “They know what they do and they do it will. They stick to it.”, says Patrick. Some are bobbing their heads while others just have this glassy look to their face. I guess I’m just a rabid Hatebreed supporter. Such a laid back attitude towards live music is an anathema to me.

Hatebreed, by Melina D Photography

Hatebreed, by Melina D Photography

“Everyone of us are in it together. Everyone leaves with a smile on their face. Everyone leaves with no voice left from a Hatebreed set.” –Jamey Jasta

Hatebreed are killing it on stage. There is elegant beauty in their brutality. It’s been 3.5 years since they played in Tempe. Live they exhibit a tribal feel. Matt’s drumming is deep and mesmerizing. The light show makes me feel like I’m being inducted into the cult of Hatebreed. There are eight discharge lamp/beam/wash moving head fixtures on stage. They shine and flash to the audience; a code of induction. They illuminate the band from behind making them seem larger than life. I drank the Hatebreed kool-aid a long time ago. But tonight I grabbed the chalice and drank deeply again. “I take this vow of hatred, never to be broken.”

“There is no family drama. There’s no death. There’s no suicide. There’s no poverty.” – Jamey Jasta.

“People hear the music and they think we’re crazy. This is music. It’s transformative. It helps people.” – Jamey Jasta.

Hatebreed, by Melina D Photography

 

Hatebreed, by Melina D Photography

Hatebreed, by Melina D Photography

 

Hatebreed, by Melina D Photography

Hatebreed, by Melina D Photography

 

[slideshow_deploy id=’41826′]

WORDS BY VICTORIA ANDERSON

PHOTOS BY MELINA D PHOTOGRAPHY

[amazon asin=B01D5DY72A&template=iframe image1]