The notion of a band being a brotherhood opposed to just a collective is of course a common one, but it is one that especially rings true when it comes to young Metalcore outfit Oceans Ate Alaska. In interview cycles and the like, their tale was that of a group of school friends since a very young age, before coming together and making strong ripples with their brand of Prog-tinged Metalcore on their début Lost Isles (Fearless).Continue reading
Look, let’s just talk metalhead to metalhead here shall we? This album is an absolute rager and nothing in printed form can prepare your ears for the assault that will hit them when you press play on the new record from Poland’s Decapitated. The album is called Anticult (Nuclear Blast), and it is probably the best pure metal album since Lamb Of God’s Sacrament (Epic/Prosthetic) in 2006.Continue reading
With the release of their début full-length album Grow (Sumerian) in 2015, Californian’s Chon found themselves standing out from a peer group they were arguably unfairly lumped in. Perhaps due to the Sumerian Records ties, but their début saw them linked to the contemporary Tech/Metalcore scene despite their sound being more technical, but smooth jazz with little to no signs of metal whatsoever. If such pigeonholing was unfair back then, on new album Homey (Sumerian), any comparisons to the like would prove practically absurd.Continue reading
You only need to glance at the fibre of metal in the last few years to see just how important Sikth were, and just how much they were missed during their absence. Almost singly responsible for the plethora of djent and Tech Metal bands in recent times; Sikth’s frenetic and jarring yet precise mathcore onslaught has grown its very own scene, with even festivals dedicated to such styles; and a legion of imitators. Continue reading
Portuguese metallers The Voynich Code made an impact as a young force of potential back in 2015 with their self-released EP Ignotum, which despite clear signs of worship of the likes Born Of Osirus, also showed some clear chops and a muscular take on Tech Metal. In such a short time they have turned into a recognisable name in the scene and the release of a full-length debut is therefore surrounded with considerable expectation.Continue reading
When you look across the whole metal spectrum you’d be hard pressed to find a sub-genre more over-saturated than Tech-Metal. There has been an absolutely massive influx of bands in that scene over the last few years, with a lot of them falling well short of what is needed to really stand out and make a mark. Enter Loathe. Hailing from Liverpool, this band are still relative newcomers so with The Cold Sun (Sharptone) have they made any kind of lasting impression? The short answer is “Yes”. The slightly longer answer is “Very much, yes indeed”.Continue reading
It was back in 2013 when Belgian mentalists BEAR really began to burst on to the radar for many. Having just signed with progressive metal champions Basick Records, the release of their second album Noumenon gained admirable plaudits, showing a band with a very direct and brutal approach to Tech Metal/Mathcore and, despite some shortcomings, plenty of future promise. It may have taken considerable time for the follow-up, but on album three; the creatively titled /// (Basick), the hibernation seems to have done absolute wonders.Continue reading
Mesmer (UNFD/Rise) has been coming. This lush, expertly crafted album should come as no surprise. We’ve not just had the warning signs that its protagonists, Australian progressive metalcore act Northlane were ready to bring it all together for a couple of albums now, it’s been portended in neon lights that they could. That they should. And while the band may have enjoyed relative success to date, they had yet to fully convince. That is, until now.Continue reading
There is something other than faeces and fluoride in the water down on the South Coast of England. And it’s contributing to a burgeoning scene of some repute; while the energetic and promising Saint(The)Sinner passed into the night, Southampton’s Creeper stand the dark denizens hotly tipped to become the UK’s next mainstream breakthrough. So where in the pecking order do melodic Metalcore merchants and fellow Hampshire dwellers Our Hollow Our Home sit Continue reading
Formed in 2008 by friends Alex, André, Jordan, Max and Arnaud, and hailing from Haute Savoie in France, the amusingly named Hybrid Sheep return with their second full-length album, Hail to the Beast (Tenacity Music). Continue reading