Benea Reach look to the summit, don’t quite make it.
One thing that I enjoy about the ridiculous amounts of bands that I follow, is that every now and then one slips through the cracks until they release new music. Then, I get to rediscover said band all over again. It’s like a birthday present that you get to open twice and be just as excited about the second time! Meshuggah were like this for quite sometime (they’ve recently, as in the past few years, made it into my regular rotation). Benea Reach are another one. I really enjoyed their last album Alleviat when I heard it back in 2009, but I never followed them. So, it came as surprise to me yesterday when there was a new video/song from the Norwegians on all the metal blogs.
The song, “The Mountain,” is a decent song. In fact, it’s a pretty good tune. Lots of heavy, a nice chorus and the video is interesting enough. Unfortunately, the song also plods a little and doesn’t have the same “umph” they used to. That said, I still found myself replaying it a couple of times and one decent song does not a great album ruin. So, I’ll look forward to their next slab of music. In the mean time, check out the video for “Mountain” below.
Benea Reach’s new one, Posession, comes out on March 22 via Spinefarm.
-Dan
It must be video week(s); Sulaco with “The Approach”
I’ve been listening to Sulaco’s latest To Build and Burn recently and it’s a pretty awesome album. A review will be coming soon, but I feel like a bit of teaser to wet the appetite is in order. So, check out the video for “The Approach” off of To Build and Burn, which is presently available through Handshake, Inc in a variety of formats.
-Dan
Arch Enemy: Live in Denver
It wasn’t until Arch Enemy vocalist Angela Gossow said how long it had been since they toured the U.S. that I realized; “Holy Crap! It’s been awhile!” The band’s last tour on U.S. soil was opening of Machine Head during their tour supporting The Blackening, four years ago. The tour featured Taiwanese metallers Chthonic, Skeletonwitch, Devildriver, and of course; Arch Enemy.
Chthonic opened the show with a bang. The group’s music was a great blend of death and symphonic black metal with the addition of some Asian instrumentation, primarily from the Erhu, a two string instrument played with a bow by their vocalist. The group sounded great and what I really liked from their set is while many of the songs were fast paced, the solos were slower and moodier and just sounded fuckin’ awesome.
Skeletonwitch were up next, and they definetely turned up the volume! One of those bands that really made me wish I brought earplugs; noted. This is a band that really thrives in the live setting and they really got the crowd going. They are one of those band you watch and think, “This is how a show should be”. Ears bleeding, bodies flying, beer spilling, good time.
With the crowd warmed up, Devildriver hit the stage in Colorado for what I think is the fourth time this year. Opening up with the always epic “End of the Line” they tore it up as usual. It’s crazy that no matter how many times you see these guys, it never gets old. Dez and crew are still on top of it!
After a barrage of lights and video, Arch Enemy hit the stage. Every time I see them their guitar sound is soooo strong. The Amott brother’s solo’s and clean parts sounded stunning and their punishing riffs from song to song were spot on. After the show Dez from Devildriver tweeted something basically praising vocalist Angela Gossow’s voice, saying she’s one of the best period, guy or girl, and I’d have to agree. She was solid all night and her screams continue to become stronger every time you hear her. The group played their staples and the songs from their last album Khaos Legions sounded great. If you don’t believe me check this out:
This is another ridiculously good video from Superskum’s Youtube channel, definetely go check out their videos!
-Chris
Hey, look at that! A metal band wrote a song about something I’m studying!
Being the literature nerd that I am, I’m completely in love with a recent class assignment where I get to analyze The Book of Kells, which as a person of Irish heritage, has extra special meaning to me. After doing a brief youtube search for The Book of Kells, I found a video of a Jag Panzer song titled, what else, “The Book of Kells.” Even cooler still, for me at least, is that Jag Panzer are a Colorado Springs, CO band. It’s like winning at the triple level! The only thing keeping it from being a perfect home run is that apprently, Jag Panzer have broken up. Natch. Oh well, the music still lives on. Check out the song below!
-Dan
Good news if you like Insomnium!
And who doesn’t!? Remember awhile back, when half of our posts seemed to have something to do with Insomnium!? I figure it’s been long enough, plus the band has finished recording their latest offering One For Sorrow. The album will be available October 17th in Europe and October 18th in the United States. A portion of the press release reads:
“The name One for Sorrow comes from a traditional children’s nursery rhyme. There are ten different scenarios in the original rhyme; likewise there are ten different songs and stories on our album. I think “One for Sorrow” truly depicts what this album is all about: bereavement, grief and loss.”
As depressing as that sounds, I can’t help but be excited about this release. Their last offering Across the Dark made my year-end list and is a really solid, melo-death record. While the band never really stray far from their sound, they never dissapoint. They are kind of like Amon Amarth in a sense; you know what to expect, yet they release these incredibly epic, monstrous sounding albums. While October seems far away, we’re less than two months from new Insomnium!!!
Since we already posted their live video from the new record, I’ll keep with the “sorrow” theme and post this live video of my favorite track from Across the Dark. Enjoy!
-Chris
The Devin Townsend Project – Deconstruction/Ghost
Devin Townsend has been a busy man. Since the release of Addicted, he has given us ever increasing doses of the finale of his Devin Townsend Project, the last two albums: Deconstruction and Ghost. While released at the same time, the albums couldn’t be any more contrasting in sound. For me, I NEED to listen to Ghost after the chaotic influx that is Deconstruction.
The “third” album of the series, Deconstruction is a very dense record, that becomes even more so the deeper you delve into the album. The first few tracks carry on fairly conventionally, traveling through standard riffs and industrial sounds before blasting into the third track “Juular”; an outburst of aggressive guitar and drum work lays the base for Townsend’s wide range of vocals. The additional accompaniment of a choir give the track a playful but epic feel. Townsend’s clean vocals give way to a more harsh scream and a building momentum into blast beat territory before channeling into the eleven-minute “Planet of the Apes”. Devin’s unique lyrical delivery really shines through as you get a real sense of the range he has. The fifth track “Sumeria” features Joe Duplantier of Gojira (one of MANY guests on the album) and you can definetely hear his influence in the song. The marching of the guitars and the blend of electronic wizardry in the chorus are just one of the many things to focus on. The choir and vocal delivery is so layered and there’s so much going on, this is where I had to buckle down and settle into the adventure Hevy Devy was guiding me through. The next track “The Mighty Masturbator” is boundary pushing to say the least. A soothing intro breaks way into one of the more powerful moments on the record, the song sounds absolutely MASSIVE. Townsend’s vocals are at his strongest as you hear shades of Addicted‘s “Numbered”. The madness continues through the 16-minute trek as his guitar work really shines before entering an industrial filled interlude of vocal ramblings before the grand finale reminiscent of something you would hear at a fair or circus or Disneyland…Shit gets real. The track “Pandemic” may be the most “metal” track on the album. Hellish drum blasts, ferocious guitars licks, and a song that was gone just as fast as it began. The title track “Deconstruction” begins with a fart, expands to a cheeseburger, and mentions of penis, drugs, sex and money all occur before Devin completely SHREDS his fretboard, only to exclaim “Good Lord, it’s a cheeseburger! A double!”. Things get weirder as a choir echoes “all beef patties, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun”. The deconstruction continues and before you know it, you’ve survived one hell of an aural jolting. A post on Twitter may describe this album best; apparently coming from Greg Puciato (no way to officially confirm) but “Check it out if you wanna sit down and feel like you’re losing your mind”.
Then comes the finale, the ethereal Ghost. This truly shows the scope of Devin Townsend’s talents, as it is a polar opposite of Decontruction. With a heavy dose of electronics and acoustic instrumentation, the album creates a slow moving, relaxing, and transcending journey exploring a completely different spectrum of the music world. It would be easy for people to believe that Ghost and Deconstruction are albums from two completely different artists. While many metal fans may be wondering “WTF!?!?!” There is plenty to appreciate in these works. While I love metal music, I have an appreciation and respect for a variety of other genres, and as far as a relaxing element goes, Ghost is near the top. I never like to say an album is good to sleep too for fear of making it sounds boring, but damn it, it’s good to sleep to!!!
While these albums bring an end to The Devin Townsend Project, Townsend is probably already hard at work on his next musical move. It will be interesting to see where he goes from here! He is currently on tour with Children of Bodom, Obscura, and Septic Flesh, go check him out!
-Chris
DC Metal Review 