For many who tuned into the Eurovision Song Contest in May, Australian entrants Voyager were just another fun, novelty rock act. Crowd-pleasers with wild hair and even wilder grins, the Aussie five-piece were still a markedly different proposition to the previous hard rock and metal participants in the completely serious competition reserved strictly for European countries, featuring absolutely no politically motivated judging whatsoever.
Johan Lenox kicked off the night at the O2 Ritz venue, and even for the opening act of a two-band bill, the venue was already pretty full and the atmosphere positively electric. Right from the start, Johan’s performance was a sublime mixture of classical and hip-hop, highlighted by his absolutely divine voice. The audience and I include myself in that, was mesmerized, and the sea of phone lights only added to the visual impact.
Hailing from the artistic and musically cultural hub of Berlin, The Ocean are certainly no ‘ordinary’ band. Founded in 2000 by guitarist and principal songwriter Robin Staps, the collective have released a staggering amount of fine music, with around forty different musicians lending their talents to the cause over the years. Always an outlet for extreme experimentalism, The Ocean explores both the light and dark sides of music as eloquently as anyone else in the business, and to catagorise their sound into any one genre is impossible. Continue reading
Thirteen years since the release of their debut self-titled album, Periphery have made a name for themselves as one of the leading forces in the progressive metal world. Utilising a vast array of influences and genres into their own sound to create something unique with each release.Continue reading
Trying to crack the shell that is Greylotus is like the struggle of explaining the inner workings of the Holy Roman Empire in three sentences.Continue reading
I think I’ve made my point regarding redundant subgenres within metal quite obvious in past reviews. If you haven’t read those, then what are you waiting for? Go arm yourselves with knowledge. I only bring this up because after a few listens of Bleed From Within’s Shrine (Nuclear Blast) I have no idea exactly where to file them in the grand metal rolodex. And that is actually a good thing. Continue reading
Although the word itself suggests an insusceptibility or inability to change, Immutable (Atomic Fire), the title of the ninth studio album by prog/tech death metal act Meshuggah, proves to be the opposite, acting as another step forward in the band’s natural evolution. Continue reading
Animals As Leaders started as a project by virtuoso guitarist Tosin Abasi, after his former label Prosthetic Records asked him to create a solo LP, following the end of his band Reflux. After taking a year out to study and immerse himself in his guitar playing, he put together the group who have now been releasing music for over a decade through to Parrhesia (Sumerian) their fifth album.
They say no band is really an “overnight success” in the music industry. Like most cliches, that one has been ridden into the ground by lazy people. Rolo Tomassi has been a band for over fifteen years at this point, and if their ascent to the top of the underground metal genre has taken you by surprise, you just weren’t paying attention. The band has been DIY (with some proper distro mixed in) the entire way, making music on their own terms, gathering forces of fans and waves of respect. Wearing many musical masks and expertly jumping from Grindcore, to Thrash, Hardcore, Pop Rock and even Blackened extremism, the band has always sported loads of talent and great songs. For their debut album for MNRK Music, Where Myth Becomes Memory, the band is determined to change your perception of the band, even if you are a longtime fan.
Let’s take a minute and talk about hype. We all have a vague notion of what it is, but how does one obtain it? Can it be harnessed long term or is it a matter of riding that wave while it’s marginally available? For instance, how did Job For A Cowboy use it to jump from MySpace unto Metal Blade? Beats me. Whatever the case may be, it appears abundantly clear that Spiritbox know how to tap into it and are doing so on Eternal Blue (Rise Records). But can Spiritbox carry this momentum all through an album? Continue reading