BODY COUNT - BLOODLUST

Body Count released their sixth full length studio album, Bloodlust, on March 31, 2017 via Century Media Records. Body Count, fronted by former gangsta rapper Ice-T, made their debut in 1991 at Lollapolooza and were said to be the highlight of the show. Their early days were plagued with controversy, primarily associated with their song "Cop Killer", which was pulled from the album by Ice T, as not to take attention away from the rest of the album.

Now, 25 years later, many Americans have a different opinion of law enforcement due to citizens documenting use of excessive force, racial profiling, and deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of the police. So there is a lot for Body Count to draw inspiration from, it is unfortunate that it exists, but holy hell did it inspire Ice-T like a mofo! Bloodlust is raw, pissed off, and is oozing with soul. Ice T does a fantastic job fronting Body Count; his swagger, anger, and view on the issues plaguing the community are what make this band so fucking amazing.

Bloodlust surprised the hell out of me, not because I didn't know that Body Count was so talented, because obviously I was aware. Ice-T seriously absolutely slayed covers of Slayer's "Postmortem" and "Raining Blood" and several tracks have very prominent guest appearances from Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), Randy Blythe (Lamb of God), and Max Cavalera (Sepultura & Soulfly). So, it was overall a way better album than they've put out in the past and that is saying a lot! Stand out tracks on Bloodlust are "No Lives Matter" and "This Is Why We Ride".

Go pick up Body Count's Bloodlust, you will not be disappointed (and even if you were, don't say it aloud because I am pretty sure that Ice-T would kick the living shit out of you).

Tracklist

1. Civil War
2. The Ski Mask Way
3. This is why We Ride
4. All Love is Lost
5. Raining Blood/Postmortem 2017
6. God, Please Believe Me
7. Walk With me
8. Here I Go Again
9. No Lives Matter
10. Bloodlust
11. Black Hoodie

Body Count is:

Ice T

Ernie C

Ill Will

Vincent Price

Juan of the Dead

Sean E Sean

Little Ice

Written by Jacek Leja for Bloodrock Media on May 5, 2017

Check out our website and follow us on social media

MASTODON - EMPEROR OF SAND

Mastodon...we have gone through one hell of a wild ride together, haven’t we? Mastodon is one of those bands that I am truly proud to have grown and evolved with. From their punishing riffs on Remission to their insanely heavy Leviathan, to their perfect concept album Crack the Skye and the proggy goodness of The Hunter, Mastodon continues to grow and grow with their newest release, Emperor of Sand.

Emperor of Sand is one hell of a heavy progressive powerhouse. It has its “radio” track “Show Yourself”, which traditional metalheads will probably complain about, but holy hell on a stick, the rest of this album brings me back to the days of Crack the Skye, which, in my opinion, is their greatest album to date. Emperor of Sand has the potential to reach that status though, as every single song on this release completely slays.

My favorite track on this album is “Jaguar God”, as it totally reminds me of “The Last Baron” from Crack the Skye with amazing vocals from Brent Hinds. As much as I love Troy and Brann’s vocals, Brent’s voice is just icing on an already wonderful and delicious cake. Also notable about this album is yet another track where Scott Kelly of Neurosis fame lends his vocals to “Scorpion Breath”. The only complaint I have is that the song is too short!

Mastodon is:

Brann Dailor - Drums and Vocals

Brent Hinds - Guitar and Vocals

Bill Kelliher - Guitar

Troy Sanders - Bass and Vocals

Emperor of Sand Track Listing:

1. “Sultan’s Curse” (4:10)
2. “Show Yourself” (3:03)
3. “Precious Stones” (3:46)
4. “Steambreather” (5:03)
5. “Roots Remain” (6:28)
6. “Word to the Wise” (4:00)
7. “Ancient Kingdom” (4:55)
8. “Clandestiny” (4:29)
9. “Andromeda” (4:05)
10. “Scorpion Breath” (3:19)
11. “Jaguar God” (7:57)

Release Date:  March 31st, 2017

Label:  Reprise Records

Written by Jacek Leja for Bloodrock Media April 10, 2017

Check out our website and follow us on social media

PALLBEARER - HEARTLESS

Ahh, these crazy cats from Arkansas.  Pallbearer released its much awaited album Heartless courtesy of Profound Lore Records/20 Buck Spin on March 21st…  and by the grace of the gods, it is one powerful album.  I have been a fan of these dudes since I heard their 2014 album Foundations of Burden.  Last year we had a small taste of how the band had evolved with their EP Fear and Fury which included their insanely amazing cover of Type O Negative’s “Love You to Death”. That little nibble led us to where we are today and Heartless did not disappoint.

Doom, funerals, despair, power, riffs, haunting vocals.  These are all words that came to mind when I listened to Heartless.  Usually bands of this genre fall into a rut where each and every track sounds the same, but this album does nothing of the sort.  For example, the track “Dancing in Madness” has almost a Pink Floyd type feel, and the following track “Cruel Road” punches you in the gut with some of the heaviest riffs you can imagine.  

Pallbearer does not just offer amazing tunes though, the packaging of their vinyl is seriously top notch.  I was lucky enough to snag one of their purple versions of Heartless, which really looks nice with the rest of the packaging.

Pallbearer just finished a short US tour and now they are overseas playing Heartless for our friends in Europe.  HAIL DOOM!

Tracklist

1. I Saw the End
2. Thorns
3. Lie of Survival
4. Dancing in Madness
5. Cruel Road
6. Hearltess
7. A Plea for Understanding

Lineup

Brett Campbell - Vocals/Guitar

Devin Holt - Guitar

Joseph D. Rowland - Bass

Mark Lierly - Drums

Check out Pallbearer here:

www.pallbearerdoom.com

Direct order - http://geni.us/PLBRheartlessPFL

iTunes - http://geni.us/PLBRheartlessiTunes

Spotify - http://geni.us/PLBRheartlessSpotify

Written by Jacek Leja for Bloodrock Media on April 4, 2017

Check out our website and follow us on social media

VARAHA - VARAHA

Chicago has one of the best, yet overlooked metal music scene.  There are so many talented artists out there working their asses off to create their views of beauty, sorrow, angst, or whatever through music.  It is all within reach of music fans; as long as one is willing to find it.  I am one of those people, and the newest gem I have found is absolutely stunning.  This gem has a run time of less than sixteen minutes, but its’ impact on me has resonated itself as if I have listened to a whole full length album. This is Varaha, and their self titled EP is something quite special.

Before I talk about the tracks themselves, I must tell you about their live performance.  Over the weekend I had the opportunity to see Varaha open up for Finnish legends AMORPHIS, and their live set completely slayed.  From the moment they walked on stage, they had the attention of every single person in the venue.  They were tight, and their sound was massive.  What a joy it was to see these guys play.  Seriously, this band has worked really hard to perfect their craft.

Varaha is comprised of three tracks; it begins with the track “Cubicle”, which fans of bands like Russian Circles and Deafheaven will eat it up like Sunday dinner.  Ethereal and spacey, yet elegant and classy.  The second track, “La Mela”, is a short interlude featuring Chicago’s own Bruce Lamont wooing the listener with his bendy sex whistle. I highly suggest checking out Bruce’s other projects where he plays the saxophone in Brain Tentacles, Yakuza, and Corrections House.  The third and final track on Varaha, “Ghost” goes back to the shoegazey, black metal/post rock sound that Varaha has perfected and this track totally gives out the feels, man.  

Wow, what a powerful EP Varaha is.  Will someone please just fucking sign these guys so we can be graced with a full length release?  Oh and visit their bandcamp and spend the two dollars on this, or five if you want a hard copy.  You will thank me later.

Tracklist

1. Cubicle
2. La Mela
3. Ghost

Lineup

Fabio Brienza - Vocals, Guitars

Joel Hollis - Guitars

David Swanson - Drums

Bryan Gold - Bass

Check out Varaha here:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/varahachicago

https://www.varaha.bandcamp.com/

Written by Jacek Leja on March 28, 2017 for Bloodrock Media
Check out our website and follow us on social media

WITHOUT WAVES - LUNAR

I have a little bit of history with Without Waves. A couple years back, I was helping co-host the Rock in Chicago podcast, where we interviewed many of Chicago’s local music scene, ranging from punk, to indie, to metal. For one show, we had Without Waves in the studio to talk about their EP that they released at the time, called The Entheogen. I admit, I came into the interview completely unprepared, not having listened to this release. I admitted this to the all the guys, but that did not stop us from having a really interesting interview, which really intrigued me to listen to their EP as soon as I could. What an aural experience that was. Two original tracks and one cover that I listened to at least a couple hundred times since.

Since that night of interview shenanigans, I have bugged the hell out of all the Without Waves guys for a full album release. They kept telling me, “It is coming, we have a lot of great things coming up.” They were not lying. Since then, this progressive metal powerhouse have been signed to Prosthetic Records, and scheduled their first full length album Lunar, released on March 17th. 

Lunar is absolutely perfect. Since its release, it has pretty much been on repeat any time I have had time to listen to music. Lunar is a beast of its own and basically something that pretty much any type of metalhead can enjoy. It starts off like a rabid pit bull ready to bite your face off, then chills out and makes your underwear moist, then progs out so insanely that it would make any mathematician try to use their time signatures to help solve the mysteries of the universe. Oh, and the vocals, the vocals of Anthony Cwan on this record will have the guys nodding in acknowledgement, and the ladies swooning. 

Do yourself a favor and just buy Lunar, you will not be disappointed. It is going to take one hell of an album to knock this bad boy off of my number one slot of best album of 2017. 

Favorite Track: Us Against 

Tracklist

1. Sewing Together the Limbs 

2. Poetry in Putrid Air 

3. Us Against 

4. Never Quite Know Why 

5. Victorian Punishment 

6. EDMS 

7. Lost Art 

8. Fractals

9. Memento Mori 

Lineup

Anthony Cwan - Vocals/Guitars 

Zac Lombardi - Guitars 

John Picillo - Bass 

Garry Naples - Drums 

Check out Without Waves here:

https://www.withoutwaves.bandcamp.com/album/lunar

https://www.facebook.com/pg/withoutwavesmusic

Written by Jacek Leja on March 27, 2017 for Bloodrock Media

Check out our website and follow us on social media