Angry Metal Guy

Biohazard // Reborn in Defiance
Rating: 3.5/5.0 — A Defiant Rebirth *Cough*
Label: Nuclear Blast [EU | US]
Websites: facebook.com/biohazardDFL
Release Dates: Out Now!

Oh man. Biohazard were one of those bands that really broke me into heavy music when I was just a tyke. While the band’s debut—which oddly enough was largely edited verbally—never did much for me, Urban Discipline, State of the World Address (I still have the version with the orange gel case somewhere), and the much maligned Mata Leao were all albums that dug into my 10 to 14 year old soul and left permanent impressions. Those records were tough, heavy slabs of machismo that with Type O Negative, Life of Agony and Sepultura paved the way towards the heavier side of tracks. Unfortunately, I grew away from these guys and—I’m going to be frank—their records really started going downhill in quality (turns out I *wasn’t* down for life). So, when I saw that the original lineup had reunited for a new record (before Evan Seinfeld left the band), I gotta say: I was interested in spite of myself. Continue reading

Vise Massacre // Expendable Humans
Rating: 2.0/5.0 — Expendable youth
Label: Gorilla the Horse Records
Websites: visemassacre.com | myspace.com/visemassacre
Release Dates: Out now!

Here’s something slightly different for us here at Angry Metal Guy Worldwide Industries. Vise Massacre is a Brooklyn-based hardcore/punk-thrash power trio and Expendable Humans is their debut full-length (a very short one at thirty-one minutes). Although it’s fairly thrashy and abrasive, there’s no mistaking that this is pure hardcore with similarities to vets of the past like Cryptic Slaughter, Cro-Mags and Sick of It All. It’s all short bursts of fast, chunky punk rage, with most songs (fourteen of em) clocking in at, or under, two minutes. There are some decent riffs scattered about and some really aggressive, herky-jerky, pissed-off material, but sadly, not much here really interests or grabs me in the slightest. Now, let’s be clear. I’m not anti-hardcore at all. In fact, I really like the bands mentioned above. This just feels entirely generic and flat to me, almost like paint-by-numbers angry punk. This somewhat surprised me, since these guys have a fair amount of underground buzz swirling around them. Continue reading

Rabbits // Lower Forms
Rating: 1.5/5.0 — Irritatingus Maxiumus
Label: Relapse
Websites: rabbitusmaxiums.com | myspace.com/rabbitusmaximus
Release Dates: EU: 14.02.2011 | US: 02.15.2011

OK. So. Let me preface this by saying that I’m not a huge fan of anything Rabbits is defined as. I don’t really like hardcore and haven’t liked it since I was in high school. And even then I only flirted with the genre and never really got into it. Second, I listen to a lot of music. I get new music every day and I hear new shit all the time. I try to be pretty open minded, but sometimes I just don’t like shit. And I really, really, really don’t like Rabbits – Lower Forms. I’m sure these guys are OK with that, though, because that’s the point of being counter cultural. Continue reading

The Ocean // Anthropocentric
Rating: 2.5/5.0 — On the ‘meh’ side.
Label: Metal Blade
Websites: theoceancollective.com | myspace.com/theoceancollective
Release Dates: EU: 05.11.2010 | US: 11.09.2010

I gotta say up front that I am not a big fan of sludge, I mean, you should be forewarned of this. So when I first heard The Ocean‘s controversial (and apparently much hated) opus Heliocentric I was really happy about it. It was way more shoegaze or post-hardcore than it was sludge or anything really coming near to it. Short on the hardcore and tall on the clean vocals—I was impressed. I gave it a 4.5/5.0 and I stand by that (in spite of the incessant whining of jilted fans). So I was pretty interested to take a listen to the follow-up Anthropocentric. And my worst fears were confirmed: they pulled an Opeth. Soft record. Heavy record. Blech. Anyone else ever notice that this never works? Continue reading

Bison B.C. // Dark Ages
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — Way cool record
Label: Metal Blade
Websites: myspace.com/bisoneastvan
Release Dates: EU: 9.04.2010 | US: 04.12.2010

Another record from Metal Blade’s Canadian installation and the third record from Canadian 70s-metal-meets-hardcore band Bison BC. This record took me totally by surprise, as I’d never heard of this band before and wasn’t really sure of what to expect. Honestly, all I had to go with was the look of the record and it looked very 70s. That fact alone hasn’t been very reassuring, while there are some bands out there trying to push the sound a bit, it just feels like another nostalgia movement that isn’t going anywhere to me so I tend to be pretty skeptical of such records.

Dark Ages, however, is maybe that white buffalo of the herd, then. While maintaining the fundamental foundations that you hear from bands like High on Fire or Barn Burner, that is, the thick low end and doomy feel, Bison BC pushes the envelope with a much more hardcore oriented vocal approach. The sound is also characterized by some old school sounding death metal riffs and some deceivingly proggy moments which I could have done with even more of actually. While the indie scene is getting their 70s prog on, the metal scene seems to be more interested in emulating the simplicity of Motorhead and Black Sabbath and less with some of the more progressive roots of the scene—something that is slightly remedied here.

I might be wrong, but there is definitely the feel that these guys were also a bunch of former crust punks or something. The record is produced much more like an old hardcore or metal album than most of the modern stuff that’s coming out and it’s a sound that I really like. The tones are thick and meaty, the drums are nothing but beef and the guitar tone is like smooth like butter while still being totally fat. This is one of the best features of the album, as you sort of zone in and out of their riffs, it really stands out how fucking heavy old school production really  sounds when you compare it to a lot of the modern production tricks and techniques that we’re hearing these days. All-in-all, the earthy tone from this Canadian foursome is a refreshing change of pace and Dark Ages has all the heavy riffs that a modern metal head could possibly want. For me, the highlights were definitely “Stressed Elephant”, which has a cool horn section at the beginning, some acoustic work at the end and is just generally totally epic, and the track “Die of Devotion” which is almost thrash, except that the chord and melodic choices are way more interesting. But “Wendigo Pt. 3″ which seals the record up is definitely the finest moment and it culminates in all that prog that’s missing from the more straight hardcore and metal stuff.

Honestly, the biggest complaint that I have about this record is probably that it’s not proggy enough. They sound like they want to prog it up, but then they always break it back down to the more simplistic hardcore and crusty stylings. While it definitely works and is definitely enjoyable, it left me frustrated waiting for Rush or Kansas to burst through all the “raaaah!” that was going on here. Fans of the neo-70s stuff, crusty punk and hardcore should definitely check this out. Though, I think most people should at least give these guys a listen, because Dark Ages is interesting, thick and heavy as the nearly extinct land mammal from which they take their name.

The Dillinger Escape Plan // Option Paralysis
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — Gripping
Label: Seasons of Mist / Party Smasher
Websites: myspace.com/DillingerEscapePlan
Release Dates: EU: 22.03.2010 | US: 03.23.2010

The Dillinger Escape Plan‘s fourth record, Option Paralysis, has been one of the most anticipated records of this year so far. And for good reason, people are really taken by this band and their unique style. DEP has released some seriously wacky, sporadic records in the past that are both crazy and challenging and yet so very enticing and addictive—even teaming up with Mike Patton (and others) on an EP called Irony Is a Dead Scene. They’re a very hard band to stick into a genre, bordering on technical metal and hardcore as well as pulling in influences from industrial, jazz, acoustic rock and well, you name it, they can do it. That makes them feel very fresh—but can they maintain that freshness on Option Paralysis?

I could probably sum the review up in one word which answers the aforementioned question: yes. Option Paralysis, while not a terrible stretch from Ire Works, is still remarkably fun, layered and interesting to listen to. The band is able to keep themselves firmly straddling that border between experimental, progressive and sporadic and great poppy sensibility. While some have remarked that they want more blast and scream, from these guys, this Angry Metal Guy thinks it’s damn fresh to hear a band that is able to work clean parts, jazz piano solos and surf guitar tone onto an album without once coming off as feeling forced or even pretentious.

Instead, every track is a sonic adventure of beautifully structured and smartly written parts that blend with seemingly little effort. Vocalist Greg Puciato is definitely part of the reason for this, with a voice that can easily be described as “malleable.” There are very few vocalist I’ve heard like him who have the ability to take on a variety of vocal tones and ranges so that one could actually get the impression that there are different individuals singing different tracks throughout this album. Ranging between Patton and Claudio Sanchez (from Coheed & Cambria—which despite the band being lame, is not an insult), Puciato is remarkable. While being more of a death metal than hardcore kind of guy, I would prefer that he was a bit more guttural in his growls and less hardcore, one cannot deny that the sound works.

Of course, Puciato is far from the only member of this band and they all perform admirably. The music ranges between technical and ridiculous, to simplistic and heavy and even into the  more acoustic, as stated earlier, and everything is convincingly done and cohesive. This is one of those records that’s hard to choose standout tracks from, but “Gold Teeth on a Bum” is one of my favorites for its unique vocal performance and the big build at the end. “Widower”, filled with jazz piano and almost late NIN feel, is another fantastic track that I kept coming back to repeatedly. And, while every track on the second half of this album is great, “Chinese Whispers” stands out for its very cool rhythmic approach and a totally ridiculously intense vocal delivery.

The biggest issue with this record is that there are a few throwaway “aggressive” tracks that feel a little less cohesive with the whole, when the band has proven to be so effective at building tracks into perfectly executed chaos. There appears to be more energy for the big, epic and clean parts than there really is for the “mathcore” segments that the band has become so famous for. Both “Crystal Morning” and “Endless Endings” feel like filler and that’s a bit of a bummer, but as a smaller part of a very impressive whole, that is hardly an issue because DEP has once again managed to produce a gripping, brilliant album. Look for this record to be littering year-end top 10 lists. And check it out for yourself.

The Kandidate // Until We Are Outnumbered
Rating: 2.5/5.0 — No reason to come back to this…
Label: Napalm
Websites: thekandidate.com | myspace.com/thekandidate
Release Dates: EU: 27-29.01.2010 | US: 02.09.2010

The Kandidate wasn’t what I was expecting. Like a mix of thrash metal and Agnostic Front, these Danish metallers have produced an album to which I am utterly blasé. As Angry Metal Guy, it is my job to have really strong opinions about things one way or another, but instead I listen to this album and I just.. don’t hear much that I want to come back to. On the other hand there’s not much to dis. It’s just an all-in-all mediocre record by a band I’ve never heard before.

There are some good things about this album, however. There’s some great riffing on here. Some of it sounds a little hardcore, but a lot of it sounds like the band was asking themselves “W.W.S.D?” (What Would Slayer Do?) as they were writing the songs. This makes for some interesting moments, and because of the thick production it can be pretty hard to avoid getting into a bit of a groove (I just want to give a shout out to the drummer from the band, who is definitely super talented and the producer who decided to use good thick drums instead of modern production tricks—more power to you!). I mean, let’s face it, this stuff is basically built to be moshed to. You don’t build that kind of music without building a solid groove into your album.

The Kandidate doesn’t pull any punches, either. The tracks are short and fast, the riffs are heavy and blitz you directly out of the gate. But there is just a lack of hooks, which I think is exasperated by the totally bland vocal approach. The vocals are very much of the hardcore variety, and sort of vacillate between that and an almost Tom Arya style clean scream over the top of things. After a few songs it gets pretty damn repetitive. A few variations from this basic formula would have been welcome—but really, the band never strays far from the sort of run-in-place-hardcore kind of vocals that just feel like they lose their extremity with every listen.

The upside to all of this is that this album is short. The Kandidate offers about 32 minutes of music and that’s the end of it. So, for fans of fast, aggressive hardcore and thrash, this might be something to check out. For me, it just blended into the background. There were some cool riffs here and there, some groove that I liked and even a catchy chorus or two. But I doubt that I will come back and listen to this record much after I’ve finished this review. If the band could spice things up a little with some cool technical stuff, and maybe more varied vocals, they definitely have the talent to be putting out excellent records. But Until We Are Outnumbered, despite it’s totally kick ass cover art, doesn’t really seem like much more than a drop in a sea filled with bands doing similar things.

Evergreen Terrace - Almost Home
Rating: 2.0/5.0 – Band is tight, heard it so many times before.
Label: Metal Blade (EU | USA)
Website: myspace.com/evergreenterrace
Release Dates: US: 9.29.2009 | EU: 25.09.2009

Almost Home is a record that was influenced by how much everything sucks right now, according to the band.  It’s a bit of a dissertation on America in 2009, with a shitty economic situation, how hard it’s been to keep the band going in this kind of situation and so forth.  Honestly, I don’t hear it.  But that’s what the band says.  What I hear is a highly melodic and poppy hardcore band doing the same things that bands of this type have been doing for years.  It’s unfortunate, really, because they’ve got an alright sound—but things don’t stick.

Instead, Almost Home is a dissertation on the trend that is metalcore, and how something that was so fresh 7 years ago can sound so formulaic and boring these days.  Evergreen Terrace doesn’t fit into your standard box, though.  They don’t sound like Killswitch Engage or Unearth.  Instead they sound like Blink 182 or Green Day mixed with a hardcore band that has some metal influences.  The music is generally catchy, fun to listen to and energetic, but it leaves no trace.  To speak more metaphorically Evergreen Terrace is like water poured on your skin; it feels good at the time, but then it dries and goes away and you forget all about it because it leaves no mark.

For the die hards who love metalcore still, I suggest the band, but I also say that it’s nothing you haven’t heard before.  What made metalcore so impressive and good in the beginning was that it was edgy, new and interesting.  Records like The Stings of Conscience introduced an In Flames-esque technicality and melodiousness to the raw energy that hardcore had a monopoly on. But the breakdown has gone stale (not that it was terribly interesting in the first place), the songs have become predictable and the vocals and choruses on this album lack the edge and excitement that once characterized the scene.

Of course, the album has catchy moments and good choruses.  They’re signed to Metal Blade (and they’re not an 80s thrash imitation) so that means that they’re a professional quality band—of course they’ve got some talent.  And frankly, the album isn’t hard to listen to or torturous (except for the stupid hardcore talking…), I just know that if I ever were to purchase it, it would sit on my shelf and never leave it after the initial listen.