Miss May I - Monument Review

Miss May I is a quintet hailing from Ohio (seems like a breeding ground for metalcore, huh?) specializing in punishing percussion, driving melody and breakdowns...oh wait. lets talk about what makes them different from the rest of the sprawling scene, shall we? While many bands have started following the br00tal trends of dissonance and all out unorganized mayhem, Miss May I keeps it classy with a straight up thrash feel to most of their songs (more like As I Lay Dying than anything else) with a hint of made-for-stadium melody (also like As I Lay Dying) mixed with a splash of breakdowns made for moshing (...blah blah blah AILD blah blah)...man. what is it that I love about these dudes again?

oh yeah. EVERYTHING.

Lets start with Jerod Boyd on the drums: fast, precise, and all around perfect for the music. With the switches between atmospheric cymbal passages, deep tom rolls and enough snare rolls to make you feel sorry for the drumhead. Next up is the Ryan Neff's vocals. Here is a guy who (unlike the rest of the overpopulated scene) knows how to push his voice enough to put emotion in the songs, but stays away from the octaves in which he has no earthly business. He also seems to expand a bit more on this album, with some nice basic counterpoint (check just before the last chorus on Gears, my personal favorite). The guitarists, BJ and Justin, continue their tradition of classic, memorable riffs delivered at dizzying speeds. And last but not least is Levi Benton, he of the Indestructible Pipes; this guy can shriek at high range with the best of em and summon deep, crushing low end vocals in the same breath. This is a younger, faster, more modern incarnation of the AILD guys, and Miss May I is more than ready to take over this stagnant metal scene with their classic thrash twist of metalcore.

My favorite songs on the album are definitely Gears, Relentless Chaos (the single, video can be seen here) and definitely don't miss the ballad track on this album, In Recognition.

Tracklisting:

1. Our Kings
2. Masses of a Dying Breed
3. Answers
4. Relentless Chaos
5. Creations
6. Gears
7. Colossal
8. We Have Fallen
9. In Recognition
10. Monument
11. Rust (bonus, iTunes exclusive at time of album release)

COVER: The Price of Beauty, Suicide Silence

The Devil Wears Prada, Zombies EP Review

Love them or hate them, chances are you've heard of the Ohio-based sextet The Devil Wears Prada. Breakdowns, beautiful synth-assisted choruses, and their apparent mastery of all things metalcore have led to widespread success not only in the "scene" but commercially as well (the last full album came to the #11 on the billboard 200 charts). This EP is a step in a definitively heavier direction the TDWP guys. The EP is comprised of 6 songs telling the haunting story of a world overrun by zombies. "Escape" evokes emotions of panic as the outbreak gets its start on conquering the world; "Anatomy" is the beginning of the human resistance and study of the new predator of the earth; "Outnumbered," the single, is mankind's first realization that there may be trouble in retaking the planet. "Revive" is the realization that the world as we know it is forever lost; and "Survivor," one of my favorites on this album, is the last song and a mourning cry.


These lyrics are some of the best TDWP has written in my opinion. Mike spent alot of time reading up about zombies and the forewarned zombie apocalypse, and it shows here. The choice of FX they out in this album (sirens, shotguns, moaning, etc) and the overall heaviness of this album make for a spine-tingling story int he form of an EP. This is an album full of dissonance, pinch harmonics, breakdowns and clean, eerie melodies. Two aspects of this EP that deserve attention (as far as I'm concerned, anyway) are Daniel's more intense drumming and Mike's new vocal talents. Mike has always been amazing, intense and unrestrained as a vox man, but on "Anatomy" he seems to push his high scream higher to make an especially frenzied scream. And Daniel brought out some technical flash on "With Roots Above and Branches Below," but on "Zombies" he tends to go for more of a direct, down-n-dirty, four-on-the-floor double bass assault. New and old fans alike can get into this effort full tilt.

Tracklisting:

1. Escape
2. Anatomy
3. Outnumbered
4. Revive
5. Survivor

apologies already?

yeah, sorry about the typographical errors and such. posted a link to this blog on ultimate-guitar.com and got the usual close minded "these bands all suck" message. BUT did get one constructive comment: "poor writing and terrible bands. kthx" well said, sir. to the point, I'll be sure to actually proofread these from now on. and this isn't a blog for every metal fan in the world. these are gonna be bands I like, and fans of these bands are who I'm talking to. them, and open-minded dudes who are willing to try something other than accepted metal. so, if you're not into the bands I post about, go ahead and just fuck right off. if you do like em, even better. let me know. recommend me stuff, I'll try anything once. that's about I had to say, Imaginary Readers. carry on

Upon a Burning Body Live Show Review

If you want to mosh, two step, scream along or just headbang, then you need to catch the next Upon a Burning Body date in your town. I went to see them With Abandon All Ships, Confide, In Fear and Faith, and We Came as Romans at the high ground in Metarie, LA on 9/12/2010.

All I have to say is wow. I;ve been to shows where the band plays and then leaves with NO crowd interaction (**cough Bullet For my Valentine cough**) but these guys, like all good metal bands, encourage you to mosh and stage dive and to get up there with em and party. They know how to have a good time and keep the energy in a venue up for their whole set. Live, they can pull off everything they do on the album flawlessly, at least that's how it sounded to me. And it doesn't hurt that these are some of the nicest dudes I've ever been able to hang with. I got to talk to CJ and Ruben (guitars and bass, respectively) after their set and was blown away by how approachable they were. With a crushing live set, great sound, awesome crowd interaction and a cool factor of 5/5, I'd definitely go see these guys live if I were you. Album review coming soon.

Within the Ruins Invade Review

Within the Ruins is definitely my favorite band for the month. These tech/death metal beasts first caught my ear with the release of Creature. Their sound is dominated by extremely technical poly-rhythms and riffs to match; these guys play in G#, but their focus isn't big doomy breakdowns but rather super-catchy riffs (this is the first band's riffs I've caught myself humming throughout the day) but intense, layered and extremely technical songwriting.

What impresses me the most with this band is the both guitarist can sweep, shred, and tap with best of them, but Joe (Cocchi, lead guitar) chooses for more emotive solos comprised mostly of memorable patterns and long epic notes. And for all you drummers out there? This is the guy to aspire to be. Simply known as "Drummer" on album liner notes, he instantly became one of my favorite drummers, ever. Here is a man at the top of his game; with the ability to keep up with ANY picking speed on the bass drums, unparalleled precision and accuracy on the snare and toms and a flawless sense of which cymbals need to be heard from, this guy just can;t be stopped. I cannot stress enough: this a band with the perfect drummer for their overall sound.

The lyrics and vocals on this album are a bit stronger than those on Creature; Tim (Goergen, vocals) went through some tough times in the process of making this album, and it shines through. He speaks of strife and having the determination to not fold under any circumstances. The bass is the one thin that doesn't impress me about this band; while Mike (Beaujean, bass) can keep up with anything Joe and Jay (Van Schelt, guitars) throw at him, sometimes I wish he would incorporate more independent bass melody into the songs. Then again, this is a band that practices EVERY DAY, so I'll leave the songwriting to them.


Get into these guys.

Tracklisting:

1. Designing Oblivion
2. Versus
3. Behold the Harlot
4. Red Flagged
5. Invade
6. Ataxia
7. Crossbuster
8. Feast or Famine
9. Oath
10. The Carouser
11. Roads

Blindwitness, NIghtmare on Providence St Review

Blindwitness is high on my list of bands that deserve wayyyyy more attention. They stand out among the Mediaskare band roster to me because of their drummer and the fact that they don't seem to have forced their breakdowns into the songs. I stumbled across the video for "Baby One More Notch" on accident and haven't looked back since. Their songwriting makes every riff, every section of every song just flow into each other without the feeling you get from most metal bands that they just kid of threw it together. Lyrically he seems to speak of loss, regret, partying, sex and leaving liars and dishonest people behind.

Now, why should you listen to this band? Listen: they bring together all the required metal elements, like super fast, punishing double bass and snare rolls, breakdowns, intense vocals, soaring epic guitar solos and an overall feeling of kicking someone's ass in a mosh pit. This is a band for those who want music with technical prowess, the ability to knock you on your ass.

"All Alone" is the perfect opening track. Right out the gates, blast beats and seemingly machine-powered double bass assault the eardrums. Breakdowns galore and an epic closing gravity roll let you know you're in for a incredible album. The closing track, which contains a couple clean chorus sections layered over some epic screaming vocals in the background make you want a new Blindwitness album...then immediately start from track one all over again.

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/blindwitness

Tracklisting:

1. Prologue
2. All Alone
3. Nightmare on Providence Street
4. Since the Beginning
5. These Countless Sleepless Nights
6. 10 Minutes of Clinical Death
7. Baby One More Notch
8. Have You Ever Been Lucky?
9. Lovely Flesh
10. For Life
11. The New Year

Veil of Maya [Id] Review

This is an album for djentlemen and metalheads alike. Id completely blew me away. For those of you who don't know, Veil of Maya is a progressive/death metal band from the good ole Windy City. Marc Okubo is without a doubt one of my favorite guitarists. His chording techniques, alternate picking and sweeping sequences, and the layering and harmonizing he does as the bands only axe-man is simply beautiful. The rhythms and patterns are complex but don't make the band inaccessible to those not familiar with djent. The bass is what sets this band apart in alot of cases, as Matthew Pantelis cuts through the mix with his own separate counterpoint and melodies, completely independent of Marc. Brandon Butler is an insane frontman/vocalist, even though his highs are a little raw for my liking. Last, and most certainly not least is Sam Applebaum on drums.Wow. Here is a drummer who is singularly talented with his feet, his hands, and his timing. His use of the cymbals is always just what the song calls for; he knows when to go all out on the kick drums and when to hold back, and his fills are so tight and precise he sounds like a drum machine on some parts of the album.

This is the album that sets this band apart, in my opinion. Their sound makes me think of the Faceless, Animals as Leaders, and other such bands. "Codex" was one my favorite tracks simply because it brought back the beautiful "It's Not safe to Swim Today" riff one one of the guitar tracks, but still managed to retain its own identity as a separate song. Buy this album, get into this band, because their musicianship, professional ability and overall ability are going to be worth every penny.

tracklisting:

1. Id
2. Unbreakable
3. Dark Passenger
4. The Higler
5. Martyrs (Instrumental)
6. Resistance
7. Circle (Instrumental)
8. Mowgli
9. Namaste
10. Conquer
11. Codex

A Plea for Purging: The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Review

A Plea for Purging is a hardcore/metal band coming out of Nashville, TN. Their sound is a little hard to describe, but let me try: downtuned, complex poly-rhythmic chug patterns, huge open notes, fast syncopated drumming and one of the most distinctive vocalists/frontmen on the planet. This latest album is, in my opinion, the most diverse product to ever come from this five-piece. It includes some of their heaviest riffs (Sick Silent America, Golden Barriers) and the introduction of some very well-placed clean vocals (The Fall, Trembling Hands, Finite, and The Jealous Wings which is actually sort of a ballad.). The production value on this album is a definite improvement from Depravity, with more sound effects, crisp sounding cymbals, and distinguishable guitar tracking. The lyrics are loosely centered around a "wolves in sheep's clothing" theme, demanding listeners to not be fooled by those with less than pure motives. The lyrics also convey a feeling of a loss of faith in the human race ("If I were God, we'd all be dead" - taken from Shiver) after some hard times experienced by the band.

I preordered this album, and with good reason: APFP is a great band from both a musician's standpoint and that of a music lover. Christians and agnostics alike can appreciate this onslaught of heavy music easily. I've personally met the guys, and never before had I found the dudes on the other side of my speakers to be so cool in person. I highly recommend this album and their entire catalog, for that matter. I'm anxiously awaiting the next album, especially after the melodic side to these guys. I want to see where this new direction takes them. 5/5

Tracklisting:

1. The Eternal Female
2. Sick Silent America
3. Shiver
4. Golden Barriers
5. The Fall
6. And Weep
7. Trembling Hands
8. Finite
9. The Jealous Wings
10. The New Born Wonder

@ the warehouse in Jackson, MS

the Schecter I won from Facedown Records for preordering TMOHAH.

Why am I doing this again?

I don't to be getting backstage at gigs and interviewing bands off of this blog, I just needed a place to keep my thoughts about music and review albums and such. If you like whats here, keep comin back for more, share your opinions, tell me what you'd like to see on here. I have a YT account where I post covers too: http://www.youtube.com/user/antidrummer13. so yeah, thats about everything I had to say here. My first few posts will be live show reviews, album reviews and the like. Stay metal and support your scene.