Slave I - Scriptures

Slave I - Scriptures

Written by Ken Bowden on March 22, 2016 for Bloodrock Media

Initial thoughts may be why the hell does Slave I have three guitar players and what the fuck is Mandalorian Metal?! While the latter of the two contemplations may lead one to believe there will be some Star Wars related, geeky sound effects, possibly a sci-fi speech or two on Scriptures, they would be totally off base. What fans will actually encounter is nothing short of top notch, FORCE-ified metal and while their name is geeky (and we at BRM love geeky), every moment of Scriptures will make even the most jaded metal mercenary yearn for a Wall of Death.

The first track on the EP, ‘Left Hand of God’, will blast through listener’s speakers with the fury of a thousand fists, a phenomenal combination of vicious vocals and savage guitar riffs, the track sets the tone for the rest of the EP.  The middle tracks are equally tremendous, very early Black Dahlia Murder-esque, yet still unique. The last track on Scriptures, ‘End of Days’, concludes the EP perfectly, even with its title with its doom-worthy epicness.

Fans searching for something short, new, not so sweet, and epically kick ass will find themselves playing Scriptures on repeat. And will finally answer their own question of why the hell do they have three guitar players, with the obvious answer of “WHY THE FUCK SHOULDN’T THEY?!”. Bottom line, every track on Scriptures will feel like the business end of a blaster meeting listeners’ faces and with the approval of Boba Fett himself from the depths of the sarlacc pit, Scriptures is a must purchase…….like yesterday. 

Soliloquium - Absence

Soliloquium - Absence

Written by Kelsie Lunsford on March 14, 2016 for Bloodrock Media

The Swedish, melodic doom metal trio known as Soliloquium, released their album titled Absence on February 1, 2016 courtesy of Transcending Records.  Absence is a compilation of their previously released EPs, When Silence Grows Venomous, The Concept of Escape, and A Night of Burdens; featuring six original songs and two covers, ‘Forever Failure’ by Paradise Lost and ‘Zombie’ by The Cranberries. The overall feel of Absence is reminiscent of hard rock of the 90’s with a doom metal twist brought by Stefan Nordstrom’s deep growl vocals. 

The first track, ‘Garden of Truculence’, opens very melodic, mellow even, listeners will be searching their pockets for their lighters, well that is until about two minutes into the song and it is time to head bang and mosh. The third track, ‘Crossroads’, kicks off with a long, powerful guttural scream by Nordstrom. ‘Crossroads’ is powerfully catchy; the clean vocals are beautifully executed, and a nice contrast to the typical screams and growls, fans will find themselves repeating this track over and over. The lengthiest track on Absence, ‘Nighttime Revelations’, is quite unique, beginning very whimsically; listeners will almost feel as though they are reliving the scene in Lord of the Rings when Pippin sings ‘A Walking Song’ to a noisily gluttonous Lord Denethor in Gondor, that is until the proverbial shit hits the fan…..in the most fantastic metal way.  The track very diverse, with strong guitar riffs and a beautiful guitar solo around the four minute mark. The song is exquisitely composed and executed, while it is very long, fans will find it worthy of every moment of ear time. The final track on Absence, ‘Zombie’, was originally written and recorded by alternative rockers, The Cranberries in 1994, while Soliloquium’s doom metal twist on the classic 90’s is well executed, the addition of clean vocals and integrating more of the higher range screams that listeners will hear in the chorus would have taken the track from good to most excellent.

Overall, Absence is phenomenal, extremely powerful, well written, and unique spin on what doom metal should sound like. Metalheads will appreciate Soliloquium’s take on melodic, doom with fantastical and whimsical twists, and the familiar sound of what metal used to be; a group of dudes, serving metal fans everything that they love: killer guitar riffs, beats to head bang to, and tracks that they will want to listen to over and over again. 

Whisker Biscuit - Whisker Biscuit

Whisker Biscuit - Whisker Biscuit

Written by Kelly Durrenberger on March 11, 2016 for Bloodrock Media

Canadian hardcore, punk grind band, Whisker Biscuit is scheduled to release their twelve track, self-titled, debut album, Whisker Biscuit, on April 15, 2016 courtesy of Transcending Records. Fans that are searching for a band to rock their dirty, grungy, nasty socks off need not look any further than Whisker Biscuit. The quartet’s debut self-titled album, Whisker Biscuit, is twelve tracks of a rock-a-holic’s party playlist featuring titles such as ‘Pizza Slut’ and ‘Drink Til Death’. The album was recorded live on the floor and in a single session in order to give the album the same energy the band offers during their shows. The band as a whole is one of those that will make fans want to immediately find a college party to crash and fuck shit up. Kyra’s raspy, punky vocals certainly bring that youthful inner angst front and center, right where it belongs.

The tracks on Whisker Biscuit come together in a disgustingly beautiful way; sort of like the brief marriage of Lyle Lovett and Julia Roberts. It could almost be compared to unicorn poop; there’s something orgasmically grotesque about it but it’s so majestic and rare that you can’t help but marvel and adore it. 

From beginning to end, fans will be enamored by this powerful woman and the rest of the band, in the same way the band is captivated by the amber colored eyes of beer and greasy pizza. And, let’s be honest, if pizza were a person named Pat, ‘Pizza Slut’ would basically be a cheesy love song dedicated to Pat. 

When the album ends, fans will want to break stuff or least aggressively push play again to restart the party. All in all, Whisker Biscuit is a wonderful combination of party style grindcore and hardcore punk, that’s the perfect mix of cheesy and delicious.

When Blood Falls Down - Ven[Ǝ]aH

When Blood Falls Down - Ven[Ǝ]aH

Written by Kelly Durrenberger on February 29, 2016 for Bloodrock Media

Mexico’s When Blood Falls Down re-released their brutal 2012 EP titled Ven[Ǝ]aH on March 4th, this time around releasing the album with Transcending Records. The death metal foursome consists of the dynamic vocals of Kubrick, face-melting guitar riffs of Varg and eWOLF, and insane hammering on the drums of Jose. 

The title track is unquestionably worthy, kicking off with an intense scream and followed by chest pounding bass drum, so fast that it is a surprise that Jose’s feet didn’t fall off. Every verse in Ven[Ǝ]aH is filled with so much detestation and abhorrence, fans will yearn for a mosh pit to release their pent up rage.

Ven[Ǝ]aH is frankly a work of art; so metal that fans will feel as though they are summoning the dark prince from the instant the first track The Rotten begins. From the onset, fans will hear and feel the torment, rage, and hatred in Kubrick’s sinister vocals paired with crazy guitar riffs and enough double bass to raise the dead.  The album is perfectly well rounded, so much so it is impossible to choose the best track; death metal fans will certainly agree that from start to finish Ven[Ǝ]aH holds their attention for ransom. Visit Transcending Records to grab a copy of Ven[Ǝ]aH immediately; it will be the most positively malevolent day of any death metal fan’s life! 

Anthrax - For All Kings

Anthrax - For All Kings

Written by Ken Bowden on February 25, 2016 for Bloodrock Media

Let’s be honest, Anthrax is one of those old school trash bands metal lovers either fuck with or they don’t. Regardless what side one is on, they are icons of the metal scene, and they get their respect. The band’s newest release For All Kings or 4AK made its official debut on February 26th and sports some killer cover art, even though most jaded heathens will like.

The intro to 4AK is short and sweet, instrumentally ominous and all that good stuff. The first track “You Gotta Believe”, is like someone kicking in the front door, filled with sick riffs, more or less what you expect from trash Gods. Midway through the track, the guitar picks up a notch, as do the vocals, improving the track tremendously. At first it’s not seriously impressive, just typical trash, but when it picks up, it becomes a damn good song.

The next track, “Monster at the End” boasts a catchy chorus, the instrumentation isn’t bad either. It is simply an okay song, not for lack of energy, there just seems to be something missing. Following that are “Zero Tolerance” and “Breathing Lightning”, “Zero Tolerance”, as wicked as the guitar riffs are, this is probably a weak point in the album.

It is about this point where some may feel like 4AK is good but not great, not what you would expect from Anthrax, that is until “Blood Eagle Wings” comes roaring through their speakers and knocks them on their ass. Maybe it is production genius or intentional song place, one can never be too certain of these things, but from “Blood Eagle Wings” the entire album steps the fuck up. Pure, unadulterated domination rather!
When fans think of Anthrax they expect to get dope guitar, which is probably why Scott Ian is the most well-known member of the band, but from “Blood Eagle Wings”, the instrumentation is just all around spectacular, solid, and a well-oiled machine of trash. A perfect example of this is the phenomenal opening to “Suzerain”, which from start to finish drills fist pumping, horn raising metal into fan’s brains without apology.

Overall, 4AK is like the first season of Netflix’s series Daredevil, serious Marvel fans jump on it without hesitation; others may ponder the idea to see it but need some prompting but then are hooked. For All Kings is exactly like this, diehard fans will love the entire album, without question, whereas others may hesitate but will find some tracks on the album they really like, despite the albums slow start. It’s not groundbreaking, similar to recent releases by Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, and Megadeth, but fans looking for fresh but familiar, A4K is definitely worth a listen.

The Maledict - Dread

The Maledict - Dread

Written by Kelsie Lunsford on February 23, 2016 for Bloodrock Media

Australian death/doom band, The Maledict, is set to release their self-produced debut studio album, Dread on March 4th. The four piece band consists of Ian McLean’s screaming vocals, Stuart Henry’s sick guitar riffs, Stuart McCarthy rockin’ the bass guitar, and Karl Freitag beating away on drums.

If you’re not familiar with The Maledict, you’re honestly missing out on some vantablack, exquisitely morose, death metal.

Dread will quite literally rock death metal fan’s Chucks off. One of the first things one will notice while listening to Dread is the feeling that you’re in a fantasy world. From the distinct guitar riffs, to melodic, intense vocals, and all around dramatic instrumentation, The Maledict is nothing but extraordinary.

‘Tenebrae’, is the first track off Dread and begins soft and melodic. As the song progresses, it becomes more well-rounded, and gives a strong sense of how the remainder of the album will sound. The second track, ‘Fast Unto the End’ gives a more powerful and fast paced start. It is during ‘Fast Unto the End’ that McLean’s diverse vocal range becomes apparent, from deep growls to cleans.

Lyrically, ‘A Muse in Requiem’, the album’s longest track, is nothing short of impressive. It is everything one lyrically wants in a song; intensity, emotion, and meaning. With skin-crawling, goose bump inducing lines such as, “And in her throes of dying, the Muse spoke unto me: ‘End this now, for only ever my shadow’s had any love for thee.’”. While the track is long, 12 minutes to be exact, one will not get bored; The Maledict does an impeccable job of keeping listener’s attention and desire to hear more. The final track on the album, ‘Deadened Eyes to the Horizon’, is 11 minutes long, and yet again, lyrically remarkable. The song, as a whole, is vocally, lyrically, and instrumentally well-crafted.

Dread, is one of the most beautifully melancholy, multidimensional, and intricate albums to come out of the death metal scene in recent history, if not ever. It is a must buy album of 2016.

Aranda - Not the Same

Aranda - Not the Same

by Kelly Tucker for Bloodrock Media

Aranda, a post-grunge duo hailing from Oklahoma City, is comprised of brothers, Dameon Aranda and Gabe Aranda.  Their overall sound, self-described to be “like combining Woodstock with hearing the blast of an atom bomb”, is radio-ready pop rock that while simple, is still quite complex. Their third album, released on June 29th, “Not The Same” succeeds where many fail in the genre. The album is truly a free-form, from-the-heart product with prodigious drumming, guitars, and vocals. What stands out the most about the album is that while it is very catchy, it is void of monotonous choruses and boring verses, giving the album a beautiful complexity, rarely found in the genre . “Not The Same” is sure to be the stepping stone to the next level for the Aranda brothers.