Deftones – Gore

Posted on May 3, 2016 by News Team

One of the most anticipated albums of 2016 is here with Deftones’ long awaited eighth album, Gore (Reprise). While much has been made in the press by the band themselves of the growing division of styles and tastes between core members Chino Moreno and Stephen Carpenter, the reality is the band has always thrived on challenging themselves musically. Continuing the arc the band started with 2010’s Diamond Eyes and followed to a logical next step with 2012’s Koi No Yokan (both Reprise), musically they continue to flow back in more of the aggro-heaviness that made them shine early in their career. Meanwhile crafting sweet, dreamy shoe-gaze inspired jams takes equal footing without giving any ground. The blend of the two styles is magical most of the time. If there is any disharmony in the ranks, it doesn’t show in these beautifully crafted tracks. In fact, this is music that screams out “let’s get making with the love! Oooh yeah!”

Lead off track ‘Prayers/Triangles’ could be straight off of the White Pony album. The track has a persistent beat and is not overly heavy, but works well. A hypnotic, multi-layered vocal track from Moreno hits home, as few vocalists in modern music can make you feel what he wants you to in an instant. Considering his penchant for obtuse and poetic lyrics, this is quite a feat.

Much heavier and slower, ‘Acid Hologram’ creeps in with massive riffs and subtle melodies. Turntablist/programmer Frank Delgado adds a lot of sonic heft here as well. When the song pivots toward the end and steps up the sonic urgency, it is one of the best moments on Gore.

‘Doomed User’ is another top track out of the gate. Chopping riffs and that patented super-tight Abe Cunningham beat bring it home. I can’t wait to hear this one performed live. Similarly ‘Geometric Headress’ kicks in with a tribal beat, but has a very different feel by the end, almost a proggy, Tool-flavored affair track Chino’s lovely crooning coming in between periods of yelps of dismay.

‘Hearts/Wires’ finds them exploring their Joy Division jones before the epic chorus kicks in. In terms of dynamic interplay and lyrics, this is easily the best track on Gore.

One standout thing about the last few Deftones releases are the contributions of bassist Sergio Vega. Long past is the time when he was standing in for the late Chi Cheng, and is now a full-fledged, weight-bearing member. Cheng himself was a dynamic writing force on early Deftones albums. Vega has more than picked up that mantle now. Beyond putting his unique stamp on the songs, Vega pushes and pulls the tracks as well now too.

Tracks like ‘Pittura Infamante’ and ‘Xenon’ will call to mind the Around the Fur days of the band, which was the moment they killed off the nu-metal of their youth and became something much more deep and interesting as a band.

If this band made power-ballads in the traditional sense, ‘L(Mirl)’ would be the closest thing to one. Not at all typical, but an easy to digest track that grooves along. Switching it up, the title track comes next and it is like a DNA strand of the bands history. A little metal, a little gaze, and a lot of brilliant.

‘Phantom Bride’ is another standout deep cut. It’s as gorgeous as it is harrowing on the senses. It’s the most “Chino sounding” track here, but isn’t so way out that it sounds out of place. It also has a stellar guest performance from Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains adding some slick lead guitar and his trademark harmonized licks. I kind of wished the ending riff of the track would have gone on for a while longer, but it’s pretty satisfying still. ‘Rubicon’ is the album closer, but it has the energy of an opening track. A soaring, emotive song full of chaos and sadness all at once.

The hallmark of all the great bands is they continue to grow gradually across many albums and ages, without over-shooting when it comes to experimentation. This band remains unique in that they always sound like themselves, even when incorporating new influences and themes. Deftones remain the same, but spreading outward like a glacier. Solitary, beautiful, cold, and unstoppable.

9.0/10

KEITH CHACHKES

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Exclusive Stream: Au Revoir – Sinking

Posted on February 24, 2016 by News Team

New Jersey Post-Rock/Post-Metal upstarts Au Revoir are streaming a new single, exclusively with Ghost Cult. Sinking comes from the bands forthcoming release Veles (Flesh And Bone Records), due out on March 4th. You can stream the track at this link or below:

Written from March to August 2015, Veles showcasesAu Revoir’s diverse, multi-faceted songwriting, and light-shade dynamic intensity. Fans of Red Sparrows, Mogwai, and Rosetta will love this band. Produced by the band, Veles was Engineered and mixed by Scot Moriarty at Backroom Studios in Rockaway NJ , assisted by Zak Hait. Additional engineering by Eric Scholz. Mastered by Dave Harris at Studio B Mastering in Charlotte NC. The band is self-releasing Veles on vinyl/digital formats, with cassette and CD formats to be handled by Flesh and Bone Records.

Pre-orders are available for Veles now at this link:

Veles track listing:

1. The Bottom

2. Drifting

3. Sinking

4. Deluge

Exclusive Stream: Cult Of The Lost Cause – Hessian Crucible

Posted on February 20, 2016 by News Team

Denver based post-metal merchants Cult Of The Lost Cause have released a new single, ‘Hessian Crucible’, from their new album, Contritions, out next week on Sailor Records. You can hear ‘Hessian Crucible’ exclusively from Ghost Cult at this link or below:

Previously the band released streams for ‘All Those Opposed’ and ‘The Drowned God’. Contritions was recorded at Flatline Audio by acclaimed producer Dave Otero (Cephalic Carnage, Khemmis, Native Daughters). Combining dirge-laden riffs and sly atmospherics, the instrumental band has found a common ground with greats of the genre such as Rosetta, ISIS, Pelican and Russian Circles.

Contritions track listing

1. All Those In Favor

2. All Those Opposed

3. Hessian Crucible

4. The Drop

5. The Cloud Collector

6. The Drowned God

7. Wall of Bones

8. The Gemini

Cult Of The Lost Cause has booked a home town record release show next weekend, at The High Dive on 2/27.

Cult Of The Lost Cause on Facebook

Cult Of The Lost Cause on Bandcamp

Sailor Records online

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Hexvessel – When We Are Death

Posted on February 12, 2016 by News Team

Even in this musically idiosyncratic world of genres, sub-genres, tribes, sub-tribes and singleton geniuses, the desire for Finnish psychedelic folk rock may not have been top of your musical shopping list. You should change that forthwith now that Hexvessel’s third album, the striking When We Are Death (Century Media), has arrived for our collective delectation.

Four years ago, their second album, No Holier Temple was a curious and often compelling blend of Woods of Ypres inspired atmospherics, Opeth tinged acoustics and an obvious and deep-seated love of drug influenced 60s and 70s rock, particularly that made by Mr. Jim Morrison and his partners in crime in The Doors.

No Holier Temple was about the trip and the mood; it was inviting and beguiling. By contrast, When We Are Death initially appears as a straightforward folk rock record. Before you jump to a logical conclusion that they have thrown the baby out with the Finnish bathwater, hold your psychedelic horses. The band’s love of psychedelia remains resolutely intact: when you have songs called Drugged Up On the Universe and Mushroom Spirit Doors it is fairly self-evident how the band spend part of their leisure time but there is also a much more deliberate attention to song structure and that oft-ignored discipline of the tune in distinct evidence here. Have a listen, for example to the sparky, keyboard soaked friskiness of When I Am Dead or the smoky jazz backdrop of the reflective and melancholic Mirror Boy and you’ll immediately understand what I’m getting at.

At the heart of this collective endeavour is the vocal prowess of British born Mat McNerney who has a fragility and emotional heft to his voice that does three things particularly well. First: it brings an authenticity to the songs that cuts through with striking immediacy. Second: as narrator, his range is never overbearing nor irritating. Third: he does the best Jim Morrison you’ve heard in ages. Oh and, yes, this is the same Mat from Beastmilk, by the way.

Hexvessel are an intoxicating proposition. They are not, repeat, not, a heavy metal band. Not in the stereotypical sense of the phrase anyway.However, Hexvessel share some of the same qualities and attitude that underscores the metal aesthetic. This is a record is a record of charm and wit and invention. It is a record that is warm and inviting and, being released in the depths of winter, you cannot say any fairer than that. So we won’t.

7.0/10

MAT DAVIES

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Audio: Bloodiest Stream Their New Album In Full, Out This Friday

Posted on January 12, 2016 by News Team

Bloodiest, Photo Credit John Sturdy

Chicago post-metal band Bloodiest, which counts Bruce Lamont of Yakuza in its lineup are streaming their entire self-titled new album, ahead of their release this Friday from Relapse Records. The album was produced by Sanford Parker (Corrections House, Minsk). You can hear the stream at this link or below:

http://soundcloud.com/relapserecords/sets/bloodiest-bloodiest/s-51Wlh

The band will embark on a short tour this March with Electric Hawk and Sweet Cobra.

Mar 03: UFO Factory – Detroit, MI
Mar 04: The Hard Luck -Toronto, ON
Mar 05: Gorham Brothers Music – Syracuse, NY
Mar 06: Bar Le Ritz – Montreal, QC
Mar 07: St. Vitus – Brooklyn, NY
Mar 08: Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA
Mar 11: Now That’s Class – Cleveland, OH
Mar 12: Empty Bottle – Chicago, IL

Bloodiest is:

Bruce Lamont – Vocals
Cayce Key – Drums
Tony Lazzara – Guitar
Eric Chaleff – Guitar
Colin Dekuiper – Bass
Nandini Khaund – Piano/Synth

Pre-order CD/LP/Digital via Relapse: http://bit.ly/BloodiestPreOrder

Bloodiest on Facebook

Bloodiest at Bandcamp

Bloodiest on YouTube

Bloodiest at Myspace

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Colin H. van Eeckhout – RASA

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Steve Tovey

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The Church of Ra – comprising Belgian outfits Amenra, Wiegedood and Oathbreaker and sharing members between them – is a wildly inventive Cerberus which nevertheless tends to remain largely within the confines of its Metal boundaries. Colin H van Eeckhout is often regarded as the titular head of that movement but RASA (Consouling Sounds), the debut solo effort from the Amenra frontman, is moving, ambient drone with little of the growling anger usually expected from the genre.

The bumph accompanying the one-track album tells how its creation has tapped into the man’s emotions. Initially however, the effect is purely soothing: an atmospheric thrum, its gradual increase in volume coinciding with the subtly wailing harmony of the hurdy-gurdy. Fans of van Eeckhout’s day job will be aware that the agonised shriek isn’t the only weapon in his arsenal, and here his easy yet mournful inflections add further poignancy to a lament which grows more hypnotic as even less seems to happen.

The brief introduction of rhythmic tub-thumping at the midway point brings a level of fire whilst simultaneously retaining the gentle feel of a deer springing through hard ground, the tension building while bizarrely massaging the temples. As drums re-enter the fray the listener becomes aware of having been lost in a reverie: constantly juxtaposed elements of light and dark polarising the equilibrium of the senses, the whispering laments of the sensual atmospheres whistling through a forest and bewitching the mind, with van Eeckhout’s gently howled intonations continuing to both trouble and assuage the soul.

There are elements of Amenra’s genius here: the tremendously affecting last five minutes reminiscent of the suspense-filled lull in ‘A Mon Âme’ for example. Those who have witnessed the band live will also recognise a stripped-back version of the barely controllable tension as their sound builds toward its terrible crescendo. Much as with the indigenous warblings of Wardruna, there is no crescendo here, merely a wonderfully hypnotic, emotive coda which continues to build the protagonist’s pain alongside its irresistible relief.

It has often been said that the aforementioned Norwegians draw tears from audiences, so what this will do God alone knows. RASA is a half-hour embodiment of distress and salvation, delivered with the most moving, disarming beauty, stripping the listener’s soul bare and leaving them distraught whilst not entirely bereft of deliverance. Pure and staggeringly powerful, this is a compelling, wistful drama that must not be polluted by extraneous noise and should be upheld as a beacon of perfect expression.

8.5/10

PAUL QUINN

Guest Post: Joseph Spiller Of Caricature- End Of Year List

Posted on December 22, 2015 by News Team

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As we dash towards the holidays and the end of the year Ghost Cult is feeling good about this season of giving. So we are giving our fans a chance to get to know our partners, peers, and friends from bands in the world of music. They will chime in with some guest blogs, end of year lists, and whatever else is on their minds as we pull the plug on 2015. Today we have Joseph Spiller of progressive metal band Caricature. Caricature put out the acclaimed Shadows: Maxi Single this summer have a full-length in the works for 2016. Here is Joseph’s “Most Topesty Cool Favorite Releases of 2015”.

1. Tigran Hamsayan – Mockroot

Tigran Hamasayan - Mockroot album cover 2015

How often can an album tote a definite influence of Meshuggah, Dave Brubeck, Keith Jarret, and Porcupine Tree? Add on top that this is still a pure jazz record? Pfffft. This is the sound of someone furthering and redefining a genre.

2. Fetty Wap – Fetty Wap

Yeah, before anyone says it sucks because it’s not metal, listen to this record. Fetty is all hits, all the time. Zoogang knows how to make pop hooks as if it’s in their DNA.

3. Steven Wilson – Hand.Cannot.Erase

Steven Wilson, by Melina D Photography

Backing band of the century along with the golden god of Prog. Though it gets overly self-indulgent from time to time, Hand.Cannot.Erase is absolutely stunning.

4. Psycroptic – Psycroptic

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Do you even riff, Bro? Joe Haley most definitely does.

5. Ghost – Meliora

Ghost, by Meg Loyal Photography

I never got the hype on this band. I actually disliked almost everything prior to Meliora, but goddamn, did Papa bring that A-game with this heavily Dave Grohl “inspired” record.

6. Abigail Williams – The Accuser

Abigail Williams The Accuser
Who doesn’t love a good comeback? Possibly the best thing Ken Sorceron has ever done. Crushing and beautiful with rich song structures. BUY THIS RECORD NOW!

7. Lamb of God – VII: Sturm Und Drang

Lamb of God, by Evil Robb Photography

After all that went on with Randy, the band came back and tell that tale along with snapshot a troubled time in the world perfectly. The riffs and drumming on this record are some of their best to date, and Josh Wilbur killed it on the production side.

8. Baroness – Purple Record

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Another “Comeback Record” of sorts. Stronger, more refined, defined. The mesh of only the finest points of Yellow & Green mixed lush instrumentation and what sounds like an intense infatuation with The Cure. This one has it all.

9. Ellie Goulding – Delirium

Ellie Goulding - Delirium album cover - Copy
Though not an immensely technical singer, Goulding has a golden voice. The slight raspiness and harmonically rich tambre makes me envious. This album is LONG for the pop genre, but its all top quality with fantastic hooks meshed with smooth beats and tranquil melodies.

10. Solution .45 – Nightmares In The Waking State

Solution 45 - Nightmares In The Waking State album cover - Copy
If you don’t know who this band is, we probably cannot be friends. GROOVES

EXTREMELY HONORABLE MENTION:
I’ll be Me – Soundtrack

glen-campbell-poster

The delayed release of the soundtrack to the documentary about the legendary guitar player, singer, songwriter, and former member of The Wrecking Crew, Glen Campbell, who has been battling Alzheimer’s Disease for the past few years. This has two live songs from his final tour that will blow your mind considering his state, along with songs from his daughter that will make you cry while your heart flutters. The title track, penned by Mr. Campbell himself as a final letter to his wife and family will give you goosebumps (unless you don’t have a heart.

Caricature on Facebook

Caricature on Bandcamp

Caricature on Twitter

Exclusive Song Stream: The Old Wind – Wooden Scythe

Posted on December 17, 2015 by News Team

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Ghost Cult is pleased to premiere the stream of the new track from The Old Wind, ‘Wooden Scythe’. The track comes from their split EP with Cult Of Luna, Råångest (Pelagic Records) dropping January 29th. You can stream ‘Wooden Scythe’ track below:

The Old Wind features members of The Ocean and Breach and the will have another new song on Råångest. Cult of Luna he heard covering Amebix’s ‘Last Will And Testament’, the last recording for the band before they go on hiatus later in 2016.

The title of the EP, Råångest, means raw anxiety in Swedish. LA-based German artist Florian Bertmer drew the cover. In a Facebook post, the band commented on the meaning of the album:

RÅÅNGEST.
The title itself is a big part of where we come from.
As much as we love the beauty and clarity of the north,
it can be a struggle. 5 months of darkness and harsh cold can definitely do stuff with your mind. For a lot of people living in the north anxiety is the main dish on the dinner table…

Us and the guys from COL can all relate to this when this is our birthplace and where we grew up. We come from the same scene and it feels like our thoughts and musical ideas are a pure reflection of our origin and the way we project it. The outcome of the harvest is RÅÅNGEST.

Råångest EP track listing:
1. Cult Of Luna – ‘Last Will And Testament’
2. The Old Wind – ‘Wooden Scythe’
3. The Old Wind – ‘Daughters Of Cleanse’

Pre-order links
LP: http://pelagic-records.com/shop/music/vinyl/cult-of-luna-the-old-wind-raangest-ep-vinyl
CD: http://pelagic-records.com/shop/music/cds-dvds-books/cult-of-luna-the-old-wind-raangest-ep-cd-digipak

The Old Wind on Facebook
Cult Of Luna online Official
Cult Of Luna on Facebook
Pelagic Records online

This Year’s Ghost – Yesterday Becomes Tomorrow Today

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Steve Tovey

With hints of Smashing Pumpkins and Alter Bridge, Yesterday Becomes Tomorrow Today (self-released) commences in a cascading shimmer before the opening song is supplemented by a flowing guitar line and an understated chorus, as Paul McKenzie’s honest vocals form a frontline for alt.metal trio, This Year’s Ghost and their current EP.

Elements of grunge, alternative rock and post-rock all fight to make themselves heard across the five tracks and seventeen minute breadth of the release; second track ‘December Sun’ starts with a riffier approach, before opening out in an expansive chorus, while TYG tease a metal side as ‘Carry Us In Blue’ kicks off acerbically, before twisting away and revealing a more thoughtful, if underwhelming, underbelly.

With ‘Silver Tongue’ meandering and a stolid ‘Black Dogs’ leaving the album closing with a yelp rather than a bark, as an introduction to the band Yesterday Becomes Tomorrow Today, is a mixed bag. While it is a deluxe sounding release, with Matt “Slipknot” Hyde performing a slick job twiddling the knobs, and while each moment is well crafted, there is a feeling that it’s all a bit so near, yet so far. Riffs don’t quite snap, McKenzie’s vocals are decent but not exceptional or overtly distinctive, choruses don’t keep the attention, and the hooks, well, don’t always. All in all, while the songs are decent they lack any tangible identity and YBTT is all a bit nice, and all a bit not quite.

6.0/10

STEVE TOVEY

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On The Road… with Deafheaven

Posted on November 21, 2015 by News Team

On an unseasonably warm start to the bleak days of November, Deafheaven rode into Boston to play the Royale Nightclub. The band is riding high on the strength of their recent album New Bermuda (Anti Records) and interest in the band, once a cult phenomenon is sky-high. Although not a sellout crowd, the joint was packed with the strange amalgam of fans you might expect by now: hipsters, old school black metallers, pizza thrashers, college kids and more. You might say it was a real melting pot concert goes, and giving way to the usual tribalism less diverse Boston shows sometimes get. The night was kicked off by Swedish blackened prog metallers Tribulation, who put on an amazing show. This is a band that continues to impress following their Children of The Night (Century Media) album early this year. We look forward to catching them again on the 2016 Decibel Tour. It seemed like Japan’s Envy had their own crowd in the house tonight. They were really vocal and made their approving presence known. That Envy is on tour with Defheaven shouldn’t be that surprising. Despite their hardcore roots, Envy is firmly ensconced in the post-rock/shoegaze majesty Deafheaven fans, and the band themselves clearly have an affinity for. Their show was a magical experience, with front man Tetsuya Fukagawa jumping into the crowd several times. It almost felt like they were the headliner themselves tonight. Lastly it was time for Deafheaven’s customary show of aggression, obscene volume, drone for days, bombast, light, shade, and very few words said to the crowd. Many intense glances from front man George Clarke sent the drooling crowd into overdrive. The band played a bunch of new songs, and some gems from the now classic Sunbather (Deathwish Inc.), but sadly nothing from Roads To Judah (also Deathwish Inc.). Despite the bands’ penchant for long, exploratory epic tracks, the set did feel a bit rushed through from my vantage point and ended in under an hour. Still, from tonight’s several minute chant for the band to return and play an encore (they didn’t) you can see why the band has risen so far, so fast. That is no doubt why many shows on the tour did sell out, including the last two this weekend at The Roxy in Los Angeles.