Skeletonwitch. Photo Credit: Hillarie Jason
Skeletonwitch is currently writing material for their new album, due out later in the year via Prosthetic Records. A post on the band’s Facebook page comments on the matter:
Psycroptic’s new self-titled album doesn’t quite sound like the extreme metal of 2015. And that’s not a knock whatsoever on the record. It just seems to be from another decade.
An artifact from an era where death metal bands played it no frills. A generation before neck tattoos and digitally altered vocals became fashionable (cough, deathcore). It’s from a time when death metal didn’t dabble in synth atmospherics or space age themes.
While I do enjoy many of those atmospheric/concept minded bands (The Faceless, Fallujah, most artists on the current Unique Leader roster) that are so prevalent today, it’s always fun and even refreshing to hear something more on the raw side of the sonic spectrum. And the less we say about modern American deathcore the better.
While everyone is in fine form, guitarist Joe Haley is still the main attraction. It seems like every nook and cranny on this album is packed with the man’s incessant riffage. See ‘A Soul Once Lost’ and ‘Echoes to Come’ for prime examples of wrist snapping fret action. As strong as Haley’s performance is he never lets the guitar pyrotechnics become overbearing or completely overshadow the songs. Psycroptic is a lean 39 minute recording that is all about tight songwriting and clean production. If anything it’s a little too clean. I would’ve appreciated just a tad more low-end in the mix.
And in that regard, this self-titled offering is much like their 2012 wrecker, The Inherited Repression, Psycroptic’s current musical makeup is as much about groove as it is about death metal and its concussive blast beats. ‘The World Discarded’ is the perfect marriage of tech wizardry and Pantera/Testament groove. It’s a mating of sounds that leaves Psycroptic sounding more akin to Gojira than to Decrepit Birth.
It’s not your kid brother’s idea of extreme metal, but that doesn’t mean it can’t kick all sorts of ass.
8.0/10
HANSEL LOPEZ
Post-rock masters Junius have plotted a headline trek of dates across western Europe, beginning this April. The band is on the road supporting 2014’s brilliant Days of The Fallen Sun EP (Prosthetic). Most of the dates have City of Ships as the supporting act and notable stops on the tour include an appearance at this year’s epic Roadburn Festival and ending with the Hit The Deck fest in the UK.
Press Notes:
Post-rock outfit JUNIUS has announced a series of headlining dates across western Europe this April surrounding their appearance at The Netherlands’ prestigous annual Roadburn Festival (Solstafir, Russian Circles, Anathema), which this year is being curated by Ivar Bjørnson (Enslaved) and Wardruna’s Einar “Kvitrafn” Selvik. The band will kick off their tour in Siegen, Germany on April 9 with support from Brooklyn-based rock trio City of Ships and wrap up two weeks later with a two-date appearance at UK’s Hit the Deck Festival (Cancer Bats, While She Sleeps) in Bristol and Nottingham!
TOUR DATES
4/9 Siegen, DE – Vortex #
4/10 Tilburg, NL – Roadburn Festival @ 015 Venue
4/11 Karlsruhe, DE – Dudefest
4/12 Essen, DE – Panic Room #
4/13 Hamburg, DE – Headcrash #
4/14 Copenhagen, DK – UnderWerket #
4/15 Berlin, DE – Magnet #
4/16 Leipzig, DE – Conne Island #
4/17 Wien, AT – Arena #
4/18 Milano, IT – Lo Fi Club (Pescara Festival) #
4/19 Munchen, DE – Feierwerk #
4/22 Paris, FR – Covent Garden #
4/23 Antwerp, BE – Kavka #
4/24 London, UK – Barfly #
4/25 Bristol, UK – Hit The Deck Festival
4/26 Nottingham, UK – Hit The Deck Festival
# with City of Ships
Tasmanian tech-death dealers Psycroptic have delivered their new video for the song ‘Cold’ today and Ghost Cult is proud to premiere it! ‘Cold’ is the third single released in advance of their anticipated self-titled new album, due out on March 10th from Prosthetic Records. The single for ‘Cold’ can be bought on iTunes today, Pre-order’s are available now on cd or black LP at http://store.prostheticrecords.com/bands/psycroptic and you can experience the video below:
Press Notes:
PSYCROPTIC DEBUTS ‘COLD’ MUSIC VIDEO
Third new track from upcoming self-titled release now available digitally via iTunes, Amazon MP3
Lauded as “one of the best technical death metal bands in the world” (MetalSucks), the Tasmanian group PSYCROPTIC will release their self-titled Prosthetic debut on March 10. Watch their music video for the new song “Cold,” filmed by Wilson Bambrick (Deafheaven, Black Breath, Title Fight), at Ghost Cult (LINK) ! “Cold” is now available for digital download via iTunes.
PSYCROPTIC will next be seen on a headlining jaunt across Australia alongside Goatwhore as well as additional support on select dates from Earth Rot, Disentomb, Ouroboros, label mates I Exist and more! For a full list of dates and upcoming festival appearances (including Brutal Assault), scroll to the bottom of this page.
TRACK LISTING
1. Echoes to Come (music video)
2. Ending
3. A Soul Once Lost
4. Cold (music video)
5. Setting The Skies Ablaze
6. Ideals That Wont Surrender
7. Sentence Of Immortality
8. The World Discarded (lyric video)
9. Endless Wandering
UPCOMING TOUR DATES
3/12 Perth, AU – Amplifier ^
3/13 Melbourne, AU – The Hi-Fi *
3/14 Adelaide, AU – The New Dead Festival (Fowlers) *
3/15 Ballarat, AU – Karova Lounge *
3/18 Geelong, AU – The Barwon Club #
3/19 Lanceston, AU – Club 54 #
3/20 Hobart, AU – The Brisbane Hotel #
3/21 Melbourne, AU – Wrangler Studios #
3/25 Canberra, AU – The Basement &
3/26 Newcastle, AU – The Cambridge Hotel &
3/27 Sydney, AU – The Factory Theater &
3/28 Brisbane, AU – Crowbar &
6/07 Osaka, JP – Nanba Rockets
6/08 Tokyo, JP – Duo Music Exchange
8/05 Prague, CZ – Brutal Assault 2015
^ with Goatwhore & Earth Rot
* with Goatwhore, Earth Rot & Aversions Crown
# with Goatwhore, Disentomb & Whoretopsy
& with Goatwhore, Disentomb & Ouroboros
Scale The Summit is recording their fifth album with a tentative summer release date via Prosthetic Records. According to the band, the process is expected to continue for the next two months.
Skeletonwitch, Goatwhore and Mortals will play the following European/UK Tour this spring:
Apr 03: Inferno Fest – Oslo, NO
Apr 04: Kulturakademin – Motala, SWW
Apr 06: Pumpehuset – Copenhagen, DEN
Apr 07: Hafenklang – Hamburg, GER
Apr 08: Bastard Club – Osnabruck, GER
Apr 10: Roadburn Festival – Tilburg, NET
Apr 11: Sound Control – Manchester, UK
Apr 12: Voodoo Lounge – Dublin, IRE
Apr 13: Ivory Blacks – Glasgow, UK
Apr 14: The Oobleck – Birmingham, UK
Apr 15: Corporation – Sheffield, UK
Apr 16: Underworld – London, UK
Apr 17: Magasin 4 – Brussels, BEL
Apr 18: Underground – Koln, GER
Apr 19: Covent Garden – Paris, FRA
Apr 20: La Nef – Angouleme, FRA
Apr 21: Sala Lemon – Madrid, SPA
Apr 22: Sala Razz 3 – Barcelona, SPA
Apr 23: MJC O Totem – Lyon, FRA
Apr 24: Dynamo/ Werk 21 – Zurich, SWI
Apr 25: Lo Fi – Milan, ITA
Apr 26: Traffic Live – Rome, ITA
Apr 27: p.m.k. – Innsbruck, AUT
Apr 28: Backstage – Munchen, GER
Apr 29: Conne Island – Leipzig, GER
Apr 30: Magnet – Berlin, GER
May 01: Arena – Wien, AUT
May 02: Exit-us – Prague, CZE
Prosthetic Records will be hosting a Holiday Party at Saint Vitus Bar in Brooklyn, NY on Thursday, December 4, 2014 featuring Junius and So Hideous. Prior to the show’s start, ticket holders will have access to an exclusive listening party from 8-9 pm featuring some of the labels most-lauded singles as well as some newer, previously unheard material in addition to being the first to taste the label’s exclusive collaborative brew with Sixpoint Brewery – Prosthetic Imperial Black Ale.
Tickets for the showcase (21+ only) are currently available online for only $15 & also include a limited-edition hand screened poster featuring collaborative artwork by JUNIUS and PROSTHETIC as shown above. Posters will be received upon entry, until supplies last!
Check out Junius’ stream of “Days of the Fallen Sun” here. Listen to a full stream of So Hideous’ Last Poem/First Light here.
Making a mark in the northern metal touring scene over the past couple of years, Scouse thrash ensemble SSS (short, sharp shock to their friends) have finally got into the studio to record their new album Limp. Gasp. Collapse. (Prosthetic); the bands fourth full length release in all. As most thrash album bands do when releasing an album, the band reached a crossroads of whether to change or improve their sound, SSS stuck rather than twisted, and this release sees the band continue their chugging thrashing sound, only adding additional chug!
Limp. Gasp. Collapse. continues the bands’ now signature blend of Slayer and Anthrax inspired trash metal sound combined with the beatdowns and snarl of early metallic hardcore bands like Biohazard and Stampin Ground, which leads to a heavy sound with enough pace and aggression to stop it becoming lumbering at any point.Though the sound might be on the straight and narrow side of metal (doubtful this release will be getting a dubstep remix edition any time soon) and possibly on the straight side of the revival thrash scene with not one message of beer pong or destroying a menagerie of zombies on a skate board made from kryptonite, but at what they do, SSS are really damn good.
Like most bands in the genre, SSS quickly find a gear and stick to it on Limp. Gasp. Collapse. The album then ploughs through the rest of its run time with no thought of slowing down for the innocent bystanders stood in its path. In truth the album finds top gear about 45 seconds into the first track ‘For Your Own Good’, and from then on it’s a carpet bombing of chugging thrash riffs at a frantic tempo from there until the end.
Overall, Limp. Gasp. Collapse. is a slice of dense, heavy thrash that oozes dirt from its many chunky riffs on display. The album eclipses most of what its peers are doing currently in the scene, on top of having a booming production and in your face sound that really grabs you by the ears like a rabid escaped ape.
If thrash is your genre then you could be doing a hell of a lot worse than SSS.
7.0/10
DAN O’BRIEN
I recently had the opportunity to catch the second leg of the Mastodon/Gojira/Kveletak tour at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, RI. I had seen the tour in the spring when they stopped by Worcester, MA and was just as excited to see this line up again as I was the first time that they came to town.
First up were Norway’s own, Kvelertak, who played a crushing and energetic set. After having seen them about a half dozen times before this show, I was surprised that they only played for half an hour, but, I’ll be damned if they didn’t make the most of it with songs such as ‘Blodtørst’ and ‘Ulvetid’ off of their self titled Kvelertak (Indie Recordings), ‘Åpenbaring’ and the ever popular ‘Bruane Brenn’ from 2013’s Meir (Roadrunner Records). I’ll be waiting on ‘Nekrokosmos’ and ‘Sultans of Satan’ for next time. If you haven’t seen Kvelertak live yet, you really need to get on that. These are some really talented guys and they’re only going to continue getting better and better just like Bjarte Lund Rolland’s shirts; he was sporting High on Fire this time around and everyone knows how I feel about them.
Hailing from France, Gojira took the stage next and opened their set with ‘Ocean Planet’ to the deafening roar of an excited crowd. A Gojira show is always an experience in the art being as heavy as possible. I was a giddy little girl thanks to being treated to two more tracks off of From Mars to Sirius (Prosthetic Records); ‘Backbone’ and “The Heaviest Matter in the Universe’. ‘Vacuity’ provided the finishing touch to an already flawless set. I would really like to see Gojira headline another tour. While they never disappoint live and tour with other incredible acts, eight songs just aren’t enough and I’m always left wanting more. Maybe we can add ‘World to Come’ next time?
Headliners Mastodon took the stage last and treated us to an eighteen song set. Once More Round the Sun (Reprise Records) had not been released when I saw them last and about half of the set list for this evening consisted of songs off of the new album. This was really the Mastodon Sing-A-Long Tour as there wasn’t a time when the crowd wasn’t belting out every single song. The crowd was the loudest for ‘The Motherload’ and screamed their lungs out although there was no twerking. ‘Oblivion’ and ‘Divinations’ garnered a similar response and the chant at the end of ‘Aunt Lisa’ will quickly become a crowd favorite. ‘Halloween’ was also appropriately included in the mix for a show the day before the holiday of the same name. Everyone’s favorite new break up song, ‘Ember City’, made its live debut as well and was met with applause. It was phenomenal. These southern sweethearts brought the evening to a close with the powerful ‘Blood and Thunder’ and the venue went insane. I may or may not have grabbed my friend to shake him violently in my excitement. He seemed fine. Even if a good chunk of the set was dedicated to material off of OMRS, it’s a solid album and Mastodon are always excellent live.
I try not gush, but, sometimes it just can’t be helped. It really doesn’t matter how many times I’ve seen any of these bands, I’ll continue to seek them out and you should too. They’re fantastic performers and
I look forward to seeing them for many years to come. I’d also like to thank Erika Kristen for being a friend and a wonderful human being in general.
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WORDS: ALEIDA LA LLAVE
PHOTOS: HILLARIE JASON PHOTOGRAPHY
Paving their path supported in their own effort since 2001, the Spanish blackened death metallers Noctem have released this year the third full-length Exilium, via Prosthetic Records/Art Gates Records.
This band is clearly an enthusiastic one regarding the grandeur of darkness and providing a touch of celestial taste to the songs in Exilium, the operatic choruses appear in tracks like ‘Apsu Dethroned’ or ‘Eidolon’ dancing above the black metal distorted guitar riffs that sometimes are alternated with solos or cleaner moments that exalts their death metal vein.
Noctem aren’t a band deprived of melody regarding the organic instruments – on the contrary however, the first melodic soundscapes are truly felt in the fourth track ‘Namtar’s Crown’ in which, from its beginning to the end, the guitar riffs go up and down harmoniously somehow recalling Dissection. And in a moment of diversity, the guitar picking technique is used in ‘Halo of Repugnance’ something that’s not so usual in this genre, but I admit it was put there in a perspicacious way.
‘The Adamantine Doors’ is without doubt the pinnacle of Exilium in which Noctem’s symphonic side emerges with great splendor through the orchestrations lined by wind instruments with some reminiscences of Dimmu Borgir in their less raw phase. In spite of these characteristics, the double pedals of the drums are brilliantly heard. The using of those symphonic tools is so evident that the record even ends with an elegant orchestral version of the song.
As a final observation I would point the overusing of the shredding technique as a downside, but all the other features are able to overcome that – like the acoustic song ‘Egregor’. Beleth, alongside Exo, is one of the two remaining founding members and his voice is still potent and quite raw in some passages employing to the album his huge experience.
7/10
DIOGO FERREIRA