Being based in the US, you’d probably expect a relatively new band like Astralborne, formed in 2018, to adopt more popular current musical traits in order to attract attention. However, instead of going for standard metalcore vocal trappings or deathcore breakdowns in drop Z, the enterprising Ohioans keep clean singing and Djent at the door, owing far more to the likes of European melodeath acts such as Arch Enemy, (early) In Flames and Amon Amarth.
Finland is home to some of the most acclaimed Melodic Death Metal bands in the scene. This chilly, cool country is heated up by the vast amount of fiery talent offered by their locals. Before the Dawn was one of these great acts that proudly waved the banner of MeloDeath high. Shortly after the release of their very successful record, Rise of the Phoenix in 2012, the band went on hiatus. Now the Finnish fellas are preparing to release their first album after their ten-year absence. With a new lineup, a revived energy, and an eagerness to share their sound again, the band is back with Stormbringers (Napalm Records).
It has been nine years since Scar Symmetry released their previous album and the first in a planned trilogy, and time has seemingly not been the kindest to them since then with a plethora of delays (am pretty sure we can all guess one of them by now) preventing them releasing any form of follow up.
Upstairs at the Worcester Palladium, a venue that most closely resembles a bougie studio apartment, was the host of one of the most anticipated tours of the early summer. Let’s take a journey through the March to Milwaukee Tour, featuring supergroup The Halo Effect, Unearth, and High Command. First up for the night on this world premiere tour was Worcester Massachusetts’ own High Command. Bringing old-school heavy metal, a chain-link microphone stand, a guitarist wearing an executioner’s mask, and an 8-foot-long, broadsword on the stage… these folks sure as hell know how to open up a show. Pummeling riffs, teeth-grinding vocals, and grooves are so infectious. you may want to call a doctor afterward. If you close your eyes you would think that UFO and Goatwhore made a band together. Brandishing a long sword out on stage, I straight up thought they were going to break a pipe in the ceiling… remember, we’re upstairs at the Palladium. You got 8.5-foot ceilings, MAX. Awesome band, I had no idea that they were a local band until after the show. But that only makes the next band of the show even more hype moment for the crowd.
While paring Enforced’s third album, War Remains (Century Media) down to a violent interbreeding of Seasons In The Abyss and Nightmare Logic may seem a little unfair and reductive, nonetheless, it immediately focuses the mind on the sort of aggressive perfection you have in store on this utter treat of metallic pummelling. Continue reading
April showers started to sprinkle when a line of people outside the Royal Oak Music Theatre, located in the Detroit suburbs, began to move. The long queue was due to the fact the Metalcore masters, August Burns Red was in town to celebrate their 20-year anniversary. They brought along The Devil Wears Prada and Bleed from Within to help them party. Many rejoiced when the doors of the historic movie palace finally opened. Sneakers skidded across the art-deco hall and clamored straight to the front row claiming their spot to witness such acclaimed acts in their favorite genre. Soon the large, multi-level venue was flooded with flannel and a raucous was raised as many eager fans awaited their heroes to take the stage.Continue reading
It was a typical, quiet Monday evening last week in downtown Detroit. Except at the city’s treasured music venue, Saint Andrew’s Hall. There was a bit of a hullabaloo happening at the preferred concert spot because metal titans, Enslaved and Insomnium brought their North American co-headlining tour to town. Both of these acts are experts in their respective genres and both of them are on the road to promote their newest full-length albums that have come out earlier this year. The place was buzzing with anticipation as metal fans of all sorts filed in to hear the new tunes.
The snow had finally tapered off right when the doors opened for the night’s event at the historic Majestic Theatre. This beloved spot is one of Detroit’s preferred venues to catch a heavy show. Continue reading
Only a few years ago, Viscera set the UK Deathcore scene ablaze with their debut album Obsidian, now with a few years under their belt (albeit partially being in the pandemic) and fresh straight off their big European tour with big-hitters Despised Icon and Decapitated, the deathcore group are back with their latest helping of heavy anthems with Carcinogenesis (Unique Leader). Will they be able to maintain this momentum brought on by their debut, or will they succumb to the looming threat of the sophomore slump?
Taking a leaf out of the Lorna Shore handbook, a harmonious orchestra floods your ears before putting the aforementioned question straight into the nearest bin as if it was ridiculous to even begin to suggest in the first place. Chugging rolling guitars and blast beats take the centre stage shortly before Jamie Graham’s beastly voice bellows out the album title and hollers out the first of many screams to come. This brutality can ultimately only be summarised in one word: heavy.
It is evident that the deathcore band are set out from the get-go to show they’ve not softened in sound at all. It’s not all the same as before either, interjecting some less screaming vocals, Graham’s almost spoken word for the gaps in mayhem, give almost an element of Sheffield heroes, Malevolence. This doesn’t for one moment lower the tone or scale back the furiosity of the sound. On the contrary, the break in dynamics make the heavier sections seem much heavier in contrast, and these pauses help to build momentum back up, culminating in a song that will devastate the live circuit.
While in Obsidian, the band put on a fine display of technical deathcore prowess, in Carcinogenesis, on the other hand, the quintet put forward a range of other influences from the death metal spectrum into the album’s mixture. ‘Layers of Skin’ demonstrates this perfectly, seamlessly flitting between the chugging core sound of the subgenre, sounding almost like it’s punching into your head, into more technical finger tapping feats, in line with more melodic death metal. These two sounds subtly merge together you’d have thought they were entwined the entire song.
Once again, Viscera take it up a notch with the sixth track of the release, ‘Sungazer’. Synthy introductions greet the listener for the first time, shortly being joined by a tech metal sound straight out of the Veil of Maya catalog as the band then push the throttle on and launch into a ferocious heavy sound. Part of Graham’s highlight in his previous bands, especially in Heart of a Coward was his rich, clean vocals. ‘Sungazer’ allows Graham to display his full range in the chorus, throwing all of himself into it.
Bringing back the orchestral melodies interpolated into the heavy deathcore sounds, the band don’t leave the album without another face melter in the guise of ‘On Earth As It Is In Hell’. Spoken word passages are interspersed throughout the song, bringing forward a similar mood to the likes of ‘Daylight Dies’ by metalcore stalwarts Killswitch Engage. This combined with the Hellish brutality of their previous song produces the perfect album to close on.
Not only have Viscera managed to maintain the quality of Obsidian, but in by bringing on the different influences of either side of their subgenre, the band have managed to create a body of music that goes beyond what their first album managed too. It definitely seems, as much of cliche as it is to say, the skies are the limit for this deathcore quintet.
Viscera should definitely be at the top of your list to look out for in the UK Deathcore scene. It definitely feels like there’s still a lot more to come from this band in the future.
But the album here:
https://orcd.co/carcinogenesis
8 / 10
CHARLIE HILL
In essence, Melodic Death Metal began at some point in the early nineties when the Gothenburg scene laid a foundation for the subgenre to flourish. A lot of bands took flight later in the decade and pushed the boundaries of this newly formed category. Insomnium is known for taking its heavy, melodious riffs beyond the norm and conjuring a truly inventive tone full of dreamy dismalness and gripping gloom. Their ninth studio album, Anno 1696 (Century Media Records) is coming to light soon on which they share the perplexing horrors of humanity in vehement ways.