Trivium

Manfrea – Noire Review

By GardensTale on September 25, 2021 in Reviews, Black Metal, Metalcore, 19 comments

“Novel genre mixes are always fun. I thought I had one of those when I grabbed Noire, sophomore effort from Moscow musicians Manfrea, from the bin. Blackened metalcore, it said. Russia seems to have developed a penchant for experimental, envelope-pushing metal, so it’s only natural my thoughts went to bizarre concoctions of Trivium and Darkthrone and the question how two such disparate genres could possibly mix. My esteemed colleagues immediately shot down such ruminations when I pondered these questions aloud, by proposing the suspicious half of this amalgamation might be more along the original, non-melodic metalcore line, which would make the figurative distance between genres considerable shorter.” Near and Noire.

Black Swamp Water – Awakening Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on August 16, 2021 in Reviews, Hard Rock, Southern Metal, 19 comments

“I grabbed this promo from the rattlesnake and scorpion-infested bin at AMG’s Southwest office because I thought it was thrash. See, I’ve been on a thrash kick lately and I had no qualms grabbing another thrash release to review. The band name didn’t exactly strike me as a band that played thrash. But, who am I to judge? Maybe they’re swampy thrashers from the South, like Pantera and Exhorder. But, this is no thrash band. Everything I know about life is a lie.” Swamp romps.

Sunken State – Solace in Solitude Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on June 19, 2021 in Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore, 7 comments

“Though childhood friends and siblings surrounded me with the stuff, the only two metalcore releases that stuck were Trivium’s Shogun and God Forbid’s IV: Constitution of Treason. And, depending on the mood, As I Lay Dying. The rest ain’t my bag. The reason I grabbed Sunken State’s debut record was mainly for the vocal performances. It’s an interesting melding of barks, rasps, and shouts. Solace in Solitude also combines their metalcore sound with melodeath, Lamb of God groove, and subtle hints of death metal. It’s an interesting combination of elements—especially for a band from South Africa.” Core tour.

Heathen – Empire of the Blind [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]

By Dr. A.N. Grier on December 20, 2020 in Things You Might Have Missed 2020, Thrash Metal, 21 comments

“Heathen. I’ve got three shirts that say it and nine people that call me that. I liken it to a word like ‘dickhead.’ It’s got great pop and works in all situations. Though it’s maybe more fun to call my mom a ‘dickhead’ rather than a ‘heathen.’ But, I suppose it depends on the day. Speaking of fun, let’s talk about that other Heathen. The one that released Empire of the Blind, and we never got it.” Blind fury.

5Rand – Dark Mother Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on September 4, 2019 in 2019, Italian Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore, Reviews, Time to Kill Records, Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore, 27 comments

“Regardless what the band name means, I bet those who dabble in guessing a band’s genre by their name can guess this one. With simple melodeath riffs set atop typical metalcore ones, 5Rand’s unique trait is the alternating rasps, growls, cleans by vocalist Julia Elenior. Toss in headbanging licks of Shogun-era Trivium and some rather impressive drum work, and you’ve got the band’s second full-length release, Dark Mother.” Mother knows beast.

Ketos – First Strike Review

By Kronos on April 26, 2019 in 2019, Hostile Media, Irish Metal, Metalcore, Reviews, Metalcore, 30 comments

“With that technicolor cover and macho album title, First Strike makes its presence and intentions clear from the get go. Or so you’d think, but you’d be wrong—this is a melodic thrash metal band we’re talking about here. If you never liked and never will like, uh, “melodic thrash metal,” Ketos won’t change your mind on the subject and you can feel free to scroll right down to the comments and tell everybody to listen to some vomit-inducing folk-power-black album on bandcamp. It’s your loss, since First Strike is a great example of “melodic thrash metal” passing both the taste test and sniff test—it’s a good album from a band with some serious chops.” Keto friendly.

Lucis Absentia – Gehenna Gate [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

By Dr. A.N. Grier on December 10, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Things You Might Have Missed 2018, Thrash Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 33 comments

“I remember when I was first introduced to Cincinnati’s Lucis Absentia back in 2015. Only that wasn’t the name they went by. When Justin of War Curse first told me about them, they had a single EP under the moniker of Gomorrah. With the name change in 2016, the rumors of a full-length release began to whirl around the dark alleys of the underground. And, now, after three long years, Lucis Absentia’s debut record is here. And you, I, we are going in on Gehenna Gate at ground zero.” Gate creepers.

Manam – Rebirth of Consciousness Review

By Lord Doom on November 20, 2018 in 2018, Italian Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Rockshots Records, Melodic Death Metal, 30 comments

“Metalcore is an important genre. Now that all the metal elitists are lighting torches and gathering pitchforks, let me explain. Most kids these days (sadly) aren’t listening to Master of Puppets, and the gateway bands of the 80’s simply are not converting new people. I would never have discovered this site and thereby many of my now favorite bands like Wilderun, Barren Earth, Æther Realm without first stumbling onto Killswitch Engage. So, my interest was piqued when Lord Druhm visited the n00b dungeon to deliver the promo for Italian band Manam’s debut, Rebirth of Consciousness, promising a blend of melodeath and metalcore.” Gateway thugs.

An Interview with Unleash the Archers

By Huck N Roll on November 19, 2018 in 2018, Blog Posts, Canadian Metal, Interviews, 43 comments

“This autumn saw Unleash the Archers undertake their North American tour in support of 2017’s excellent album, Apex. October saw the tour roll through Calgary, with supporting act Striker and a couple of local bands. Huck N Roll somehow shoehorned his way into the club and managed to find some time to sit down with vocalist Brittney Slayes (before he was discovered and rudely extracted from the premises), to talk about the tour, the next album, and King Diamond.” Apex interviewer.

Final Hour – Final Hour Review

By Dr. Wvrm on February 23, 2018 in 2018, Danish Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Wargear Records, Melodic Death Metal, 0 comments

“I often wonder why bands ape a particular sound to death, but pass over another. Is Iron Maiden truly more worthy than Judas Priest? Why does Dark Tranquillity never get the same love as In Flames and At the Gates? What makes Bathory a hot ticket but not Type O Negative? Final Hour, as you may suspect, evoked this line of questioning with their take on melodeath’s tried and true tropes. Their influences are exactly the ones you would expect, and their music works inside the box.” Crazy like a box.