Search This Blog

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Blood Region - For All the Fallen Heroes

Blood Region - For All the Fallen Heroes

Blood Region - For All the Fallen Heroes

If Slayer and In Flames formed a super group or at minimum a game of Dungeons and Dragons, Blood Reign’s newest release For All the Fallen Heroes would be either the result or what was blasting during game time. 

A magnificent blend of intense harmonic riffs, gruff and meaty vocals, and a slamming rhythm section, Blood Reign manages to be both articulate, as well as savage. For All the Fallen Heroes stands out for its distinctive balance of emotional depth, while maintaining a level of simplicity. The entire EP will inspire introspection, but isn’t preachy or pompous. For All the Fallen Heroes exudes a “this is what we are, take it or leave it” sense to it.  This message usually gets lost in translation among gruesome imagery for “shock value” and just general pretentiousness, in metal. 


It’s rare you can find an EP that can fit the mood; they rock when you wanna kick back and chill and they rock when you want to blast some shit to get hype, but Blood Reign managed to accomplish this flawlessly on For All the Fallen Heroes.  Exhibiting an amazing blend of melody and mayhem, For All the Fallen Heroes, knocks it out of the park. 

Check them out:


Written by Ken Bowden for Bloodrock Media on January 31, 2017

Monday, January 30, 2017

Hate Unbound - Plague


Hate Unbound - Plague

The Motor City is going to be taken over by molten metal on February 17th, the date Hate Unbound is scheduled to release their debut album, Plague, courtesy of Inverse Records. Hate Unbound, made up of Art Giammara (vocals), Daryl Mitchell (guitar), William Cundiff (guitar), Sean Demura (bass), and Franklin Hannah (drums), make no excuses but what they do make is heavy, groove-laden death and trash metal.

From the moment Plague begins it is abundantly clear Hate Unbound is about to shred your face off. Coming at you with a straight savage metal fury, no mercy and leaves behind no prisoners, Plague hits like a sonic sledgehammer and will make your inner-sadist thank it for the pleasure. A hellacious harmonic mix of unholy sounds reminiscent of bands like Lamb of God, Deicide, and Death, Hate Unbound manages to sound as unique as they are fierce, avoiding the pitfall of mediocrity all too common among their metal brethren. The fellas know what they were doing and Plague does an excellent job at matching the vibe of the song, with the pace and length, keeping it short and sweet when necessary and expanding when it is called for.  Huge kudos for that!

The opening track, “Baptized in Lies” kicks off with the guttural, biting vocals, courtesy of Giammara and a violent attack by Hannah on drums. The guitar riffs by Mitchell and Cundiff emanate ominously throughout, not to mention the searing guitar solo which is like a cherry on top of this deliciously wicked sundae. Other tracks worth a mention are “Cut”, “Soiled”, and “The Fallen”, all exhibiting extraordinary guitar prowess, unfathomably powerful drumming, and intense grating vocals. From start to finish Plague is a solid piece of glorious, dark thrash metal art.

Hate Unbound is a breath of heavy, menacing air and with the release of Plague mid-February and a tour kicking off in April, you won’t want to miss a chance to breathe it all in.

hate_unbound-tour2017


Track Listing:

1. Baptized in Lies
2. Cut
3. Suffering
4. Burn Your Idols
5. Soiled
6. Puncture
7. Plague
8. I, Martyr
9. Grey Skies
10. The Fallen


Check out the guys from Hate Unbound:

facebook.com/HateUnbound/
reverbnation.com/HateUnbound
hateunbound.bandcamp.com/merch/

Written by Ken Bowden for Bloodrock Media on January 30, 2017

Friday, January 27, 2017

Softcore Suicide - R.I.P.

Softcore Suicide - R.I.P.




Fresh outta Finland, Softcore Suicide, dropped the attitude laden single “R.I.P.”. Softcore Suicide began when vocalist Petu, guitarists Samu and Laassi, bassist Sane, and drummer Aku joined forces in 2014, these guys bring their unique blend of hard rock, punk, and thrash that will appeals to fans of bands The Misfits or Motorhead. 

The vibe of this track (as well as others readily available on Spotify and YouTube) will make you wanna jump on a Harley or hop in a hotrod while wearing your most badass leather jacket and burn up the road. 

Check out their other kick ass singles as well “Bleed Until You’re Dead” and “Sick as Fuck” the mash up of solid groove and no fucks given attitude make these European up and comers infectious and their zero fucks given let’s rage attitude is undeniable, this is rock raw and roaring.



Friday, January 13, 2017

NORD - ALPHA


Image may contain: text


NORD - ALPHA


Danish melodic progressive rockers, NORD are set to release their debut EP titled Alpha on March 3, 2017 courtesy of Inverse Records.  Forming in 2013 in Denmark, NORD set out with the ambition of creating heavy music with a Nordic feeling while combining dreamy soundscapes, tight riffs, and head bang worthy breakdowns.  So what do you get when you mix Alestorm, Flogging Molly, and Death with a pinch of Type O Negative and In Flames? You get NORD! 

Alpha is a blend of skillfully bellowed choruses and savage guttural vocals, which is perfect for many situations one may regularly partake, such as: pounding mead, raiding a village, or just straight up head banging. Every track is as catchy as they are asskicking. The brilliant mash ups of infectious melodies and biting riffs fit pretty much any metal head’s taste and mood from let’s rage to fuck it I’m going for a drive.  One would be hard pressed to deny the animal magnetism of NORD’s sound as demonstrated in their debut single “Rosehip Garden”, which garnered the group much deserved international attention.  The third track on Alpha, “Restless”, has similar badass anthem appeal as such beloved tracks like Pantera’s “Walk” or “Art of Ruin” by Lamb of God.   It is just the damn good!  Seriously!

When the EP drops March 3rd of this year don’t be the last of your fellow metal heads to put this into your regular rotation, you will regret it.  If this is how NORD is beginning their careers, then we will be hearing A LOT from them in the future and we will get to say ‘you heard it at Bloodrock Media first’.

You can check out their lyric video for “Rosehip Garden” here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CeLUUuI1Ds


Line-up:
Bjarne Brogaard Matthiesen - Vocals
Niels Thybaek-Hanson - Guitar
Thomas Bogh Jensen - Guitar
Peter Littau - Bass
Magnus Elisson - Drums



Tracklist:
1. Kill the Marshalls
2. Rosehip Garden
3. Restless
4. Omega


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nordmetal

Written by: Ken Bowden for Bloodrock Media

Monday, January 2, 2017

Sleepwalkers - Hollowpath



Sleepwalkers - Hollowpath

Sleepwalkers, established in 2010 by Mike Watts to create slow, melodic death/doom metal that evoke visions of shifting dreams and bleak nightmares within a heavy framework of dark overtones and deeply tortured screams, roared emotionally by Caleb Bergen and rumbling bass lines provided by Daniel Luces to accompany the thick, layered guitars laid down by Watts.
On October 14th, 2016, Sleepwalkers released their somber, crushingly heavy album, Hollowpath, via Transcending Records and dark, severe, marvelous, and heavy as fuck are just a few ways to describe this delicious morsel of doom metal. While the EP is more sludgy metal style, the blend of pacing and throat slashing guitar riffs will have even the speed freaks throwing up their horns.

These Texas boys do right by melodic doom metal by creating a complete audio atmosphere of sobering steady ferocity and darkness, while maintaining a very solid sense of time. Their attention to the details is evident in their ‘against the doom metal norm’ of ending a track when the track is over, not keeping a track going just because doom metal tracks are supposed to be 13 minutes long.

The second track on Hollowpath, “Sliver of Salvation”, is particularly badass with its explosive opening but, truthfully, the entire EP is solid. From start to finish it never provides an opening for a listener to get bored. The breadth of disconsolate brilliance exhibited on Hollowpath saves it from suffering from the dreaded ‘EP Syndrome’; too short and fans lose interest because it will a while before the band puts out anything new, that is if they don’t break up before then. While the anticipation of a full length album is there, the order of the tracks, the pacing of each track and depth/quality of each song on Hollowpath will keep fans interested and will keep them satisfied for quite some time.

A solid, enjoyable (in the most depressing and dark way possible) listen from start to finish for anyone that likes their music as dark and intense as a soul crushing abyss. Hollowpath is everything Sleepwalkers strive to be “the embodiment of despair, grief, and loss in musical form and showcases new forms of desolate melancholy with which to bring thoughts of overwhelming hopelessness to the listener”.


Album Lineup:
Mike Watts - Guitars,Drums
Caleb Bergen - Vocals
Daniel Luces - Bass


Tracklist:
1 Hollowpath (7:04)
2 Sliver of Salvation (6:20)
3 The Burning Oracle (6:34)
4 Netherworld (7:07)



A video for the track “Hollowpath” can be seen here: https://youtu.be/blgsiS7vftM


Written By: Ken Bowden for Bloodrock Media on January 2, 2017