Tag Archives: I Am Heresy

2014 Staff Picks- UK Editor Steve Tovey’s Top 25 not in his Top 25…

Posted on by

10384916_10154608674115099_2974010232730210485_n

Here are the “Top 25″ albums I heard this year that didn’t quite make my Top 25. Maybe there’s something in this for you to check out?

As is always the way I’m discovering more great albums from this year now from everyone else’s lists, so, looking forward to checking out Code Orange, Indian, Krokodil, Hark all amongst others!

ANAAL NATHRAKH – Desideratum

Relentless anarchic vitriolic mix of black metal and intense industrial. Reviewed this one – you can read the review here: https://ghostcultmag.com/anaal-nathrakh-desideratum/

ANTROPOMORPHIA – Rites ov Perversion

Old school influenced Death Metal. Good vibe. Nowt new, but bloody well done.  Reviewed this one n’all: https://ghostcultmag.com/antropomorphia-rites-ov-perversion/

ARCH ENEMY – War Eternal

Best one they’ve done since Burning Bridges. New vocalist is better than Gossow too. Ha, another I reviewed if you’re interested. https://ghostcultmag.com/arch-enemy-war-eternal/

ARTIFICIAL BRAIN – Labyrinth Constellation

Mental Death Metal.

AUTOPSY – Tourniquets, Hacksaws & Graves

More great Autopsy, innit

COFFINWORM – IV.I.VIII

Hateful, with big, skull crushing riffs. Heavy, weighty. Bit of sludge, bit of doom.

CONAN – Blood Eagle

Epic, heavy doom, innit. Reviewed n’all: https://ghostcultmag.com/conan-blood-eagle/

DARKEST ERA – Severance

Bit of trad, bit Celtic, good riffs, strong vocals. Promising. Good band, good album. Another I wrote about. https://ghostcultmag.com/darkest-era-severance/ (Not necessarily the song I’d have chosen for a vid, but decent enough)

DELAIN – The Human Contradiction

Poppy, bit more symphonic than I was expecting. Went down a storm at Wembley with Within Temptation too.

DEVIN – Dark Matters

Aka Ziltoid 2. The heavier, more symphonic, more metally of the two parts of the double album. I like it, just a bit too much monkeying around at the expense of the songs, for me.

DRAGONFORCE – Maximum Overload

Not quite as good as ‘The Power Within’ but still proving they write better songs since changing vocalists. Some belters on here, tbf.

ENGEL – Raven Kings

Like In Flames, but heavier guitars and catchier choruses. I like this one (well, I like them all on here, or they wouldn’t be on here, but this surprised me). Wrote about it, too. https://ghostcultmag.com/engel-raven-kings/

EPICA – The Quantum Enigma

Took a few listens, but once it clicked, there’s a lot going on but it’s bloody massive. Symphonic to the max. Another I wrote about. https://ghostcultmag.com/epica-the-quantum-enigma/

GRAND MAGUS – Triumph & Power

Ronseal Metal. Doesn’t quite compare to Hammer of the North or Iron Will to me, but big Valhalla filling songs. Very enjoyable, if no surprises. Another of mine. https://ghostcultmag.com/grand-magus-triumph-and-power/

I AM HERESY – Thy Will

Haven’t listened to it for a while, but appealed a lot at the start of the year, and a good combo of metal and hardcore that mixes it up a bit. https://ghostcultmag.com/i-am-heresy-thy-will/

JOB FOR A COWBOY – Sun Eater

Took me by surprise this one. Adding a large dose of Ulcerate to their sound, but all the better for it. Rather than rattle clattering through a load of sterile overly tight DM/core, they wrote some (very) heavy songs, too.

KING 810 – Memoirs Of A Murderer

The marmite album of 2014! Ha, I liked it. Big angsty anthems. Not perfect, but some quality tunes. Korn meets Slipknot fo’ sho’, but some different stuff going on too. Another one off the review list! https://ghostcultmag.com/king-810-memoirs-of-a-murderer/

LORDI – Scare Force One

I like Alice Cooper. I love King Diamond. This mixes the two with aplomb, delivering a monster munch bunch of good fun tracks. https://ghostcultmag.com/lordi-scare-force-one/

MORBUS CHRON – Sweven

Interesting album, this one. Don’t think I’ve quite given it all the time it deserves, but another I’ve liked this year that doesn’t just sit in a box. It starts from Death Metal but doesn’t stay there.

OBITUARY – Inked In Blood

Really good comeback album. Big grooves. Big riffs. Great tunes. Well done. Best Obi’s album since ‘Cause of Death’ , for me.

ORIGIN – Omnipresent

This is a relentless fucker, this one. Love the aggression, love the riffing, love the technicality, love how much it just wants to punch you in the ear drums.

SLEEP OF MONSTERS – Produces Reason

Babylon Whores are one of my “hidden treasures”, probably the most underrated band of all time, always loved Ike’s vocals, too. He doesn’t quite hit it with his new outfit, but some cool gothy, dark/death rock going on. Grabbed this one for review as soon as it appeared in the inbox. https://ghostcultmag.com/sleep-of-monsters-produces-reason/

SLUGDGE – Gastronomicon

Only heard this once so far, but really impressed me on first go, will be getting a fair few listens going forward. Interesting modern melodic death metal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja4o9BsvUDY

TOMBS – Savage Gold

Black metal meets post-metal. Really good shit.

WITHIN TEMPTATION – Hydra

Started the year with this one. Massive pop-metal. Preferred the last one and Silent Force, but it’s got some big old songs, mofos. https://ghostcultmag.com/within-temptation-hydra/

Steve Tovey


Bridge Nine Records Releasing xXx Fanzine: 1983-1988 Book

Posted on by

XXX

Bridge Nine Records will be releasing xXx Fanzine: 1983-1988, a book documenting the sounds of Hardcore America, plus an album with artists such as Strife (doing “Who Are You” by Void), Done Dying (featuring legendary No For An Answer frontman, Dan O’Mahony), BoySetsFire, Enabler, ÆGES, Gallows, Krum Bums and I Am Heresy have all recorded tracks for the effort with many more currently booking studio time for the effort. A full track listing will be announced shortly.

“As much as hardcore was an expression of artistry, ambition and rage, it also fostered some of the best and purest songwriting in recent rock ‘n’ roll history,” says xXx editor and main writer, Mike Gitter. “You can’t deny some of the massive songs people like Greg Ginn [Black Flag] or Bob Mould [Hüsker Dü] were capable of. Those songs still thunder as loud today as when they were originally committed to vinyl.”

The compilation will be presented in several formats. All editions of the book will include a download card. However, a limited number of books will include a 12” vinyl version of the comp.

Work on the book itself is nearing completion with last interviews and liner notes currently being assembled with the help of Bridge Nine owner Chris Wrenn in the editor’s seat. In the meantime, keep up with xXx Fanzine on Facebook.


I Am Heresy – Thy Will

Posted on by

i am heresy thy will album cover

 

The term metalcore has been bastardized beyond the days when it applied to bands like Stampin’ Ground, who espoused the virtues of hardcore with a huge metal bent to now mean any band that combines shouting verses with clean choruses and/or with widdly leads (to show their love of metulz) and breakdowns (to be down wiv da kidz) as interchangeable as the slew of bands that play them. I Am Heresy, the brainchild of vocalist Nathan Gray (Boysetsfire) and featuring his son Simon Gray on guitars, belong in both camps: that which “metalcore” used to encompass, and parts of what it does now, equal parts metal, hardcore and a mix of melody and aggression and sound like what I always wanted Architects to sound like, but is the better for the fact that Architects don’t actually sound like this.

Thy Will (Century Media) kicks off with punchy and violent ‘Rahabh’, 3 minutes of what Slayer should have sounded like on Undisputed Attitude, before ‘Our Father’ punks out open chords in a Bring Me The Horizon fashion, moving into the more melodic ‘March Of Black Earth’ where Gray Sr opens up his clean vocals for the first time. ‘Destruction Anthems’ returns to the temple of Slayer, all Seasons In The Abyss being covered by Sick Of It All, ‘Thy Will II (Black Sun Omega)’ is a mix of As I Lay Dying and Killswitch Engage and tasteful mid-album break ‘Alarm’ would sit beautifully on an Ancient VVisdom release.

But at 13 tracks, they spread themselves too thinly with too many fillers for one record and their potential and sound isn’t fully realized throughout (for example ‘Blasphemy Incarnate’ is stock, ‘As We Break’ is all chorus and no song, the riffs of ‘Hinnom II’ close in on Avenged Sevenfold territory and serves as a weak closer). But make no bones, when this melodic metal/hardcore mesh works, it shows I Am Heresy are capable of creating some engaging music, at times aggressive, at others catchy and often both, with personal favourite ‘Seven Wolves And The Daughters of Apocalypse’ a nice summary of the whole.

 

7.5/10

I Am Heresy on Facebook

STEVE TOVEY