Once in a while you listen to a thrash record and usually, when you’re in a band or just started one, you strive to get to that level of intensity. Well, be prepared to feel totally inept as a musician - if you are one- and inept as a human being if you aren’t a musician and just a fan. This is going do your fucking head in.

Enter Lost Society the four-piece thrash metal outfit from Jyväskylä, Finland. Formed in 2010 by the front man Sammy Elbanna (Guitarist/Vocalist) who is a speed/thrash metal enthusiast. He has managed to enlist three more truly gifted musicians - Arttu Lesonen (Guitar), Mirko Lehtinen (Bass) and Ossi Paananen (Hellhammers) - to produce probably the best, yes the very best thrash record I have heard in a decade. So at ages 17, 18, 19 and 19 it easy to understand that Lost Society is a pretty big fucking deal as they also managed to beat every single other band participating in GBOB (Global Battle Of the Bands) to reign supreme.

Well, if that doesn’t impress you, you’re either retarded or in another thrash band feeling pretty butt-hurt. They released their first full-length titled Fast Loud Death on the 15th of March 2013. If I had to compare the record to other thrash releases this year, it would have to consider a crime against humanity and I should be put to death, because you just can’t. It put me in a tailspin as I plummeted into a thrash spiral and ended up in the 80’s for about 36 minutes or so.

The record has it all, amazing rhythms/ melodies that even recently past Jeff Hanneman (May his soul rest in peace) would have been proud of, with solos that would make Kirk Hammett, Dave Mustaine and Gary Holt proud. The drumming is absolutely outstanding and the bass just adds that thickness you want in the over all sound.

It has back-up vocals that are a-la-80’s thrash mania deluxe. I was pretty taken a back by a certain journalist for a blog about oranges and his article titled “Re-Thrash – a Post-Mortem”, where he “officially” pronounces the so-called “Re-Thrash” movement dead. Maybe it’s merely moronic short sightedness or just plain idiocy, because Lost Society embodies everything that the thrash sub-genre stands for.

Ps: Just because a certain sub-genre doesn’t produce something noticeable according to you for a year or 10 years for that matter, doesn’t mean it should be deemed dead.

Fast Loud Death is absolutely phenomenal. I am absolutely blown away by these lads. Keeping thrash metal alive and I hope they keep doing so well into their late 40’s and early 50’s. If they can do it for longer, all I have to say is THRASH TIL DEATH!

Do yourself the biggest favour and get yourself Lost Society – Fast Loud Death and allow these lads to THRASH ALL OVER YOU!

Washington is not only Capital Hill, is not only the White House, is not only the Washington Redskins but it is also the native city of an artist with a consolidated name in electronic music.

Andrew Bayer made a name for himself among music lovers with his experimental debut album It's Artificial, released in 2011. Nowadays he is an artist famous for his electronic beats and able to craft a widescreen and whole organic-sounding world.

The first time I heard about him was when he started remixing tracks in the Anjunadeep collection. After that I've always kept an ear out for his works. 

If It Were You, We'd Never Leave is his second album released under Anjunabeats since 2011 and it's a 16 track journey of melodic and suggestive electronica. This new album seems like a continuation of the DC native artist's debut album and confirmed his capability of creating complex and powerful rhythms and movements just using simple tools.

The whole album has a really progressive style incorporating melodic electronic, ambient music, melodic techno rhythm and the so-called glitch-hop. It seems like Bayer worked in a laboratory experimenting with all the possible mixes.

The album has a gorgeous open with 'Opening Act 2' that has the aim of announcing that something new is ready and it works like an overture to the following tracks. At this point Bayer catch the listener’s attention and 'Doomsday' bring them into his music world. This track has an introspective reverse organ loop which keeps listeners stack on it and that gradually decline into the softer following song 'It's Going To Be Fine'. And it's really gonna be fine with these rich piano chords: this track is lush and glitchy at the same time, it's the best way to free your mind and your spirit. It brings you far away from your day-by-day life into a dreaming world.

'Lose Sight' represents something different. Try to imagine what happens if you add an incredible voice to a melodic electronica track: 'Lose Sight' is the outcome and Ane Brun’ huge voice will grab your attention. Ane Brun is a singer and songwriter that made the entire world fall in love with her voice (think at the wonderful song 'Words', just to mention one).

'Lose Sight' is the proof of how well their collaboration works! You'll love it immediately, just a few seconds before that beat, that voice and the downtempo rhythm will conquer you. 

The idea itself of adding vocals is great and when you choose an hypnotic voice like this one I would say the result is successful. Ghosting Season reshaped 'Lose  Sight' creating a stunning techno/electronica version of it. The first time I listened to the original song I loved it; after that I listened to the remixed version and I loved it too. In the end I tried to find my favorite one and I said: ok, both versions are cool though! It's really a pleasure when two or more expressive forces are experimenting with music. This is what we've got for your baying ears right here as Andrew Bayer add his dreaming, melodic and sometimes visionary music together with the fragile, hypnotic and mystic voice of Ane Brun. Ghosting Season added driving beats to vast soundscapes and this final touch will bring the listeners to a visionary world. The remixed song is a triumph and you'll enjoy it a lot.

'All This Will Happen Again': it's true! Andrew Bayer never stops to surprise us. This song is extremely beautiful. It gives a pause from the constant beat of the album and soon you'll be transported into a magic and dreamy world where everything is possible and there's no space for any reasoning because the beat is too intrusive. There will be no escape: that beat will be everywhere and the only thing you can do is to move along following it.

Having successfully overtaken the listener’s expectations, Bayer follows up with the cinematic  'Gaff's Eulogy', one of my favorite track from this album. It has an inviting and captivating beat that will blow your mind and will lead you to lose yourself.

The club mix of Bayer's 'Farnsworth Court' is stunning: this track represents a journey within a journey taking from several music styles. 'Counting Down' works in the same direction: it's as emotional as  innovative, it's the place/space where the minor-tonal bass meets the major melodic chords creating a beautiful harmony.

As the title suggest 'Closing Act' is the final act and there wouldn't be a better curtain to end the Bayer's stage. This song is loaded with dream-like chords; it's a bedtime and daydreaming melody and leave us in the most peaceful dimension after a storm of emotions.

I do believe that with this album Andrew Bayer made a big step forward gaining a great position in the electronic and experimental music world.

If It Were You, We'd Never Leave is one of those albums that’ll slowly creep under your skin, becoming bigger at each listen. It's an overall great exercise of musical art. 

My initial reaction upon hearing The Boy Who Spoke Clouds’ Secret Corridors Lay Outside the Walls was the urge to strip down to my skivvies and dance around a fire. Maybe smear some face paint on and drink the black liquid from that mysterious bowl that’s being passed around. As the elixir takes effect, I start to drift off into parts unknown, but everywhere around us…. Ok. I’m back now.

Recorded live to tape by Adam Casey without any tricks of modern-day smoke and mirror, Secret Corridors Lay Outside the Walls is essentially a near 40 minute experience cut into three tracks. (Note that this is my take on the album. Nowhere in the press info is it stated to be taken that way). ‘His feet bled as he climbed to the temple’ starts out as the sun rises. You’ve long walked in the desert, you're tired, and you pass out in the blazing sun. You wake up surrounded by villagers who speak no language you're familiar with, but they’ve given you water and food. In the night you’ve joined them for their ritual (here’s where the bowl of elixir is handed to you). As they gaze at you, they begin to sing and chant in ways you find haunting and slightly disturbing, but powerful. As the chants continue to become stronger and faster you eventually go black.

‘The earth moaned & snapped at his dancing heels’ finds you suddenly awake in the middle of the desert, again, in the blazing sun. How you got here you do not know. But you must get up and get moving. To where, you're unsure, but you travel the way the wind guides you. Eventually you walk upon a village that seems familiar, but you cannot put your finger on where you’ve seen it before. Before you know it you are taken by men with spears pointing at your throat. Do not resist, it would be foolish. As they bark orders and demands at you, your pride has taken over and you risk trying to strike one tribesmen. Within seconds you feel a mind-numbing blow to the back of your head and everything goes dark.

As your eyes open you are not sure what happened, but the desert has vanished and all around you is a glowing sea of vibrant light, light of thousands of colours flowing around you and in your hands. You don’t know if you’re ‘Drunk with the angels’ but that doesn’t matter now. All that matters is what you feel, and where it takes you, no matter where that may be...

You can grab your copy of Secret Corridors Lay Outside the Walls on The Boy Who Spoke Cloud’s and Natural World Records’ Bandcamp pages, right now. I see no reason not to, you might find a passage or two that you didn’t know was there.

"He or she who does not turn things topsy-turvy,
who is unhappy at work,
who does not risk certainty for uncertainty,
to thus follow a dream,
those who do not forego sound advice at least once in their lives,
die slowly." 

Pablo Neruda, 'Die Slowly'

The concept of this split EP is very simple. Three bands, contributing one song each, all three bands are Australian bands, all three bands are based in Melbourne, and all three bands are instrumental bands. The execution is far from simple though. The three bands on offer here each play a different style or musical genre, although with plenty of overlap, and each band plays with a freakinglishly impressive technicality.

Let’s start with Xenograft, who kick off this 3-way musical love affair with the track ’Victimentia’.  And oh my, it’s been a while since I pressed play to listen to a new release with my jaw instantly just dropping to my knees! From the second the drums kick in you know you’re in for a technical musical virtuoso, a masterclass in instrumental precision. Xenograft utilises a huge range of instruments, drums, guitars, bass, keys, various percussion instruments, and most notable the saxophone. And it is this saxophone combined with the rhythms jumping all over the place which makes me think of this Italian band called Zu, but only because of the similar use of the saxophone.  But it’s not as ‘crazy’ and intense as Zu and my comparison is only based on this saxophone sound. There is a point in this track where everything drops into a brilliant jazz-fusion part with guitar and saxophone alternately solo-ing their way towards the end of the track. As you can tell, I am really impressed and I am looking forward hearing more from this band.

We leave this jazzy math-madness behind and we hit the next track by Kettlespider, and it’s straight away obvious that ‘The Transcent’ is something completely different. This is progressive metal from the top shelf. I am not the biggest prog metal fan, but I’m enjoying this track immensely. The guitar and keyboards mirror themselves in this repetitive sequence of similar sounding notes, which at first listen bothered me slightly, but after a listening to this track a couple of times I actually found myself whistling along to it. I never thought this musical genre would work very well without a vocalist but Kettlespider demonstrate nicely on this track that I am totally wrong thinking this. The heavy keyboard use make the use of a vocalist totally not needed here.

After a fade out it’s Bear the Mammoth’s turn and they bring a huge ‘progressive’ post-rock track to this split EP. The bass sounds amazingly Tool-like when ‘Sea Caesar’ starts, with those looped sounding bass notes going all over the neck of the bass guitar. The drums sound programmed when the track starts, but when the real drums kick in the drummer in me can only smile and appreciate the emotions the drummer hits in my drummer’s heart. It’s nothing too technical but brilliantly executed and just perfect for this type of music. I’ve listened to this EP mainly on my commute to and from work sitting on a busy buss going through Edinburgh’s busy city centre and each time this track made me lose my thoughts and stare out of the window without noticing much of what was going on around me. It’s stuff of which beautiful dreams are made of.

Interestingly, the digital bandcamp download of this split EP also comes with three additional remix tracks, which I won’t review here, as the physical CD doesn’t have these included. All in all, three very good and very well produced tracks by three quite different bands, but what makes this a very interesting split EP is that all three tracks seem to blend together quite effortlessly.

Go and check this EP out now and support these very talented Melbourne musicians!

Thrash Metal from Russia. I know what you’re thinking. “Huh?” But believe me, Deformity do a good job of not sounding like an 80s throwback…or Russian..? To The Music!!!!

Opener ‘Burn Them’ sounds fresh but still familiar, as does the following title track. The galloping drums. The half shouted/half sung vocals. The NWOBHM inspired guitars. It’s all enough to still make you want to throw the horns and crack a Budweiser. (Cause Bud Light is NOT for Thrash Metal) This is the music that keeps your feet moving and makes you regret cutting your hair, ya know? The trade-off solo on the title track is a beast, the kind that demands air guitar!

Now I know I’m simply bringing back nostalgic feelings and scenes, but this still doesn’t sound like a throwback. Granted modern day production has changed how albums sound, but had this been written and put out in ’88, it would have garnered some attention. ‘The Life Is Better Than Love’ is my one major gripe about this album. It is the “ballad” of the album and brings the momentum down. ‘Liars’ brings the album back up to speed with melodies in tow. A nice trade off solo once again, with a great sounding guitar tone, which is more than I can say for a few bigger thrash albums released in the past few years. ‘The Lost Man’ closes this sucker out like a whirlwind. Relentless and full of awesome guitars up until the mid-section, where the solo (!) is once again shared and even doubled up at times. These guys still know how to shred with the best of them.

A good album that shows signs of even more promise to come, I recommend Deformity’s When Tomorrow Comes if you were a fan of the second wave of 80s thrash bands. When Tomorrow Comes is available through Thrash Massacre Records,make sure you check it out. Support artists and musicians you enjoy and listen to.

HAIL!!!

You know that satisfaction your taste buds have when you bite into something savory? When the taste is so overwhelming that you almost can't help but let out a moan of pleasure? Just like ripping your teeth into a piece of meat, warm and flavorful, seasoned and textured. It makes you salivate on mere contact with the tongue; one bite makes you hungry for more. The diverse and palatable sounds that pour out of Entrails newest LP Raging Death are just that, only pleasure for the taste buds that should rightfully exist inside the ear. Each song finishes with an aftertaste that makes you crave the next one more than the one that came before.

The multifaceted guitar sounds wail with a siren song of pure death that immediately transports you right into the middle of the destruction, chaos, and ruin that can only be found on a battlefield. The viciousness of the drums on the track ‘Descend to the Beyond’ crawl into the blood and oxygen instantaneously, elevating the heart rate. As the songs weave together, scenes from gruesome horror movies come to mind. All of a sudden the mind is taken to an operating table where dead tissue is being reanimated. When the track ‘Carved to the Bone’ plays, you’re able to envision yourself in a cemetery covered in fog; being lowered into the cold ground still breathing. Just like tales of pain and suffering reminiscent of H.P. Lovecraft, each song is a chapter and this album writes one hell of a story. The experience of Raging Death awakens the flesh and opens the door for the imagination to come alive.

With riffs so catchy that they take hold of the mind, this is the kind of album you'll find yourself tapping your fingers to hours after you stop listening  (if you can bring yourself to stop listening). Fans of Grave, Entombed, Bloodbath, and Dismember alike will take to this record like hooks ripping into the skin and taking hold. Once the songs break through the fleshy tissue of the brain matter, neurotransmitters are unleashed. This allows the ears to experience a pleasure that radiates directly into the nervous system. With the unrelenting pounding of the drums and the seething muscle of the bass, serotonin and lust for the obscene are felt simultaneously.

This is the kind of record a death metal lover will crave again and again. Just let it marinate. The LP as a whole acts as an appetizer, main course, and desert for any headbanger hungry for what solid Swedish-style death metal can provide. Don’t be afraid to sink your teeth into it. (And while you’re doing that I’m going to put on a horror movie and wrap myself in the Swedish flag).

Side note: As an added bonus there are guest vocals from Kam Lee (Bone Gnawer, ex-Massacre), Jorgen Sandstrom (The Project Hate MCMXCIX, ex-Grave, ex-Entombed), Rogga Johansson (Paganizer a.o.) and Dan Swano (ex-Edge Of Sanity, who also mixed and mastered the album) on the track ‘Death League’.

Raging Death will be out on Metal Blade Records and released in the UK on May 13th and in the U.S. on May 14th. Get stoked!

Set and Setting hail from St. Petersburg, Florida and are a band I have followed since thier early days. After a period of relentless touring, it's with much excitment time for thier forthcoming debut album Equanimity.

Set and Setting have always incorporated elements of drone and ambience into a post-something cocktail of intoxicating musicality. They do so on their debut with more purpose and confidence than ever before. Instrumental In delivery but shifting in styles and dynamics throughout. There is a hefty dose of classic post-rock, but delivered with vigour and invention. Other influences appear and the album shifts and astounds throughout.

Beginning with the ambient openings of 'Through the Unhindered Break of Day' It sets the mood perfectly, leading into the more forceful 'Spiraling Uncertainties'. This is where Set and Setting come into their own, providing driving rhythms and intricate melodies. Although many fans of post-rock will love this, they deliver in a way that will appeal to fans of a range of music. Similar at times to Brooklyn instrumentalists, Sannhet or our own What the Blood Revealed. There is a multi-textural appeal to Equanimity that stands it apart. A dark and foreboding menace at times that is missing from too much "post" music. They also counter this with moments of tranquil beauty. 'Fear of Obtainment' for instance builds on relentless snare drumming, with delicate melodic momments of ambient passages. It's a thing of mesmerising effect and is full of tension, before crashing with release.

'Petrichor' is an acoustic interlude allowing a pause in the flow of long tracks crammed with ideas. 'New Age' brings a piano led intro into the mix and again is evidence of the unpredictability at work, strings and tremelo make this almost sound like Mono and their soundtrack like approach to writing.

'The Truth of the Path' continues in setting the ambience levels with falling and rising drones of guitar, building into a stunning refined and restrained  piece. The often dominant rhythm again leads the track to a climatic end. 'Essence of Paradox' concludes the album in breathtaking style. Opening with the kind of shoegaze influenced guitar style that Deafheaven have used to great effect. The track drifts in and out like losing consciousness. Riffs emerge from the shimmering melody with triumph. Before it all crashes together again in relentless fashion. The track spirals out like some enveloping wave of sound never feeling like its 13 minute running time. It's a dramatic conclusion to what is an album of excellent quality. I can only urge you to seek it out and experience it for yourself.

Set and Setting release Equanimity through Science of Silence Records on June 4th. Vinyl and digital pre-orders are available now. Forcefield records will also be releasing limited edition cassettes.

Max Lilja's new release Plays Electronica by One Cello is a long way from his musical roots which started in Metal and the band he helped form named Apocalyptica. Fans of Max's work with Apocalyptica who are expecting something similar won't find it here. As the album title aptly suggests: Plays Electronica by One Cello; Max has moved on. 

The overall sound of the album is refreshing and unique. The cello has such a moving and distinctive voice throughout the album and it expresses a diverse range of tones, moods and feelings. The cello's voice sings loudly because a vocalist doesn't. All the songs on Plays Electronica by One Cello are instrumentals. I found the pairing of cello and electronica works quite well. The electronic music creates a perfect musical canvas for Max to paint evocative scenes with his cello. The album clips along quickly with ten tracks clocking in at just over 34 minutes with all the tracks under 4 minutes long. The "loop album button" on your device, computer or stereo was meant for Plays Electronica by One Cello.

The album kicks off with the crisp and clean 'I Sound My Sound'. A catchy opener that blends an engaging cello melody alongside a groovy electronica beat. There are some darker tones that creep into the album however. 'Now' is a crunchy dark track which is accented by a reoccurring somber bell. Equally prickly is the bassy track 'Like This' and sinister kung-fu flavoured, tension filled 'Qualified'. It is a deeply evocative track and conjures a different scenario in my mind every time. By contrast "A State Of Mind" is mellow, gentle, light and tranquil, much like the track 'The End'. 

The album alternates back and forth between the lighter and darker tracks, slower and faster tracks creating a very inviting flow. Max impresses with all the various voices he creates with his cello. The electronic end is consistently well paced and complimentary. While the music is light at times it is never dull and Max adds extra effects or instrumentation often to create a variety of compelling sounds.

Occasionally I could sense the heavier edge of Max's background lurking in the mix wanting to poke through but it never does. Perhaps one day he'll release Plays Metal by One Cello...

Plays Electronica by One Cello is an impressive and innovative merging of musical genres. Max Lilja utilizes electrified and acoustic cello to illustrate the versatility and potential of the instrument in modern music. The album is catchy, convincing and begs to be replayed. Those looking for slick, melodic, addictive electronica blended with the unique tones of a cello may never take Plays Electronica by One Cello off shuffle on their stereo. Give this a spin.

Step into flames. Wallow in fears of what is and what could be. Try to breathe while pinned underneath a pile of decimated rubble. Fight to be clear of destruction; of charred beams and fallen walls of familiarity. As the light gets closer you hear it... the faint sound of hope, or the din of chaos. It is muffled at first. It is hard to distinguish one jarring riff from another. Your steady climb reveals more with each cautious step: swirling guitar lines ring out, only to be swallowed by more relentless chugging. Voices now, still so far away. From dark, guttural growls to harsh, demonic shrieks. Almost there. You feel a warm breeze; the surface is nearing. Is it safe? Is there even a world to greet you out there? Has mankind finally pulled the plug and done us all in? Just a few more feet, and you will know.

Chico, California quintet Cold Blue Mountain know. They created the landscape you're trying to escape. From the opening riff of 'Branch Dividian Compound' to the final moments of 'MK Outro,' the band hits you over the head with a hammer and drags you through just over 27 minutes of hot ash and splintered wood. The nine songs on their self-titled record touch on multiple genres: from the stoner-ish 'Dark Secret' to the dense, experimental layers of 'Lone Pine,' there's a chunk of remains for just about any fan of metal; a sludge-filled, doom-laden slab of what can only be described as “good.” Perhaps “great” is a better word. These guys know exactly what they're doing. I, for one, hope they keep doing it.

Cold Blue Mountain was engineered and recorded by Scott Barwick at Origami Lounge, with additional tracking and mixing by Chris Keene at Cutters Cathedral. Mastering was done by Collin Jordan at The Boiler Room. The simple, yet captivating cover art was created by Matt Loomis. Vinyl can be procured from Gogmagogical Records.

If you're looking to be pummeled, dragged, and trapped under tons of debris, Cold Blue Mountain has the ticket to your funeral. Maybe you'll survive. Maybe. If so, you'll be better for it. Believe me.

Agrimonia’s newest album Rites Of Separation is somewhat of a blunder to me. I, out of ignorance or never being at the right place at the right time, had never even hard of the band until I read the press release and decided to give it a whirl. Glad I did, though.

With five songs clocking in at right around an hour (and only one of the five being under 10 minutes) you would expect an album mixed of Swedish death metal, black metal and moderate atmospherics to be a chore to listen to. On paper, 10 minute opener ‘Talion’ shouldn't bend and curve through peaks like it does, on paper at least. Thankfully the song moves at many different paces, yet always sounds like it is moving forward. Never does the band become over-indulgent, or meander for too long. And even the tempo shifts, they never sound too abrupt or forced. The same goes through the rest of the album, whether it be the ringing piano at the beginning of ‘Hunted’ or the spacey parts of ‘Awaiting’. There isn't any fat that needs to be trimmed throughout, something I don’t think I've ever said about an hour long death metal album. But, even just calling this a “death metal” album even seems wrong at times. This album is just epic piece after piece, in a way that never comes off as pretentious or cheesy. That’s something many bands cannot say in these times.

All song explanations aside, their choice of guitar tones, bass being mixed with everything else (a major plus in my book), drums played flawlessly but without any modern tricks and a great vocalist whose roar never breaks and fits right in; it all sounds perfect. In an age of genre crossing and music mashing in an order to come up with something new and original, Agrimonia leap ahead with their take on how metal should sound. And for once it’s something more than rehashed ideas put in a blender.

Rites Of Separation will be available on April 29th on CD and on 2xLP in May, both through Southern Lord Records. Don’t miss out on this one, you’ll be sorry if you do.

Support the artists and bands you love and enjoy.

HAIL!!!!

United States, 1921, a writer and a story that begins with the narrator describing the opium effects and the fantastical vistas it can inspire. In few words: Rhode Island, H.P. Lovecraft author of horror and gothic-horror tales and his short story 'The Crawling Chaos'.

Lithuania, 2013, a fresh post-rock project and a new album. The correlation? Simple: just take a mysterious and fascinating story and tell it accompanied by a great music.

This is the idea of the man behind the post rock and post metal project Autism.

All of you that are into post rock and post metal music already should take the chance to listen to the Autism debut album Falling Motions, characterized by rugged guitar sounds and vibrating melodies. The Crawling Crowds is the new album from the Lithuanian band in which the band decided to introduce a story-teller that reads fragments from the story that gives the name to the album and therefore honoring the American writer Lovecraft.

The first time I listened to this album my mind went to Khartoum, the EP of the German band There's A Light, and their idea to use as vocals the speech of J.F. Kennedy. Post rock music is most of the time only instrumental; just few bands use the vocals and the way chosen by the Lithuanian band wins the prize for its originality. The voice Autism used in this album is like an additional instrument: sometimes it's louder than the music, sometimes it is in the background. The resulting contrast between instruments and voice is sublime. The tone itself of the voice adds darker atmosphere to the whole album.

The new release contains 6 tracks and the opening one 'The Crawling Crowds', as the album and story title, is stunning. The start provokes a thrill and even when there's no vocals it speaks loudly by telling you everything that can't be said in words. 'Maelstrom' starts softly, like a continuum of the opening song. It's just the starter because in a bunch of seconds an explosion of guitars burst on the scene.

The relaxing first half of 'Concealment' features a persistent rhythm that at high volumes it’s enough to get my heart pumping. The same happens in 'Onset' that is my favorite song of the album together with 'The Crawling Crowds'. The continuous alternation between the instrumental show driven by the guitars and the drum and the pauses dominated by the voice is excellent.

'Behind The Shapeless Figure' begins with a beautiful and melodic guitar meanwhile the vocals continue to tell us his story. The sound is soft, our attention is focused on the deep voice and we are trying to remember where we left the story before we are unexpectedly scared into oblivion by a crashing of guitars and cymbals as Autism, at this point of the album, are well known for.

The way the tracks merge together to form a whole composite enhances the general atmosphere of the album and gives it a homogeneous colour. Most of the shades of this colour we can find in The Crawling Crowds are something between grays, blacks and the darker tonalities. But there's also something light in the album: just listen to the 'Radiant Waters', the closing song, and you'll find that light. And, if for a moment you felt confused, after few seconds you'll realize you in a beautiful room lighted by many windows and golden rivers. Pay attention to the lyrics also and you'll notice how Autism has been able to create the right music for it or to choose the right part of the story for this wonderful arrangement. In both cases the Lithuanian band made a step forward gaining a great position into post rock and post metal music world.

The Crawling Chaos is constantly good and intense. It has the rhythm of a good melancholic poem.

If you’re into experimental music with a hint of post-rock and a large influence of ambient music then you’re looking at the right place! We are in Warwickshire, England, to explore the sound of Northcape, the music solo project founded in 2003 by Alastair.  The new album Exploration and Ascent will be released on May 14th by the US independent label Sun Sea Sky Productions and it’s going to lock you into a deep and fantastical daydream. I’ve already enjoyed the previous albums from Northcape (Letter to Nowhere captured me at first listening!) but It took me a bit to get my head around this album. Exploration and Ascent is a pure machine soul, reminiscent of forgotten landscapes, timeless and spaceless, “inspired by Himalayan exploration” as Alastair said about his new album.

I think that everybody likes to take journeys and explore new places. I believe that music has this power: music can take you places. Northcape will take you on a journey through his sound. Exploration and Ascent is an 11 track album where each song bleeds into the next, where transitions mean nothing. Exactly like a journey: you’ll feel invaded by this music and you’ll be taken somewhere where you’ve never been before. Could be Himalaya that inspired Northcape or somewhere else, you’ll have your personal destination.

It starts off with the lush ‘Cleaning the Glass’ which works as an intro to the album and it spirals into your head in no time. The same affect has ‘Potentilla’ where cyclical melodies will involve and put you into a different state of mind through beautiful downtempo loops and beats. it’s one of the longest tracks of the album and It’s able to penetrate your eardrums and hypnotize you. It declines softly flowing into the longest track ‘The First Crossing Of The Watershed’. Its start is like a deep massage, relaxing and inspiring for your soul. In a bunch of seconds the rhythm changes with the introduction of a gentle drum beat. It’s lovely! One of my favorite tracks of the album.

On the track ‘Arrive Rattledge Col’ the intro of delayed chords is awesome and through the song drums and many elements come in creating a sound that is never cluttered: everything is in its right place!

‘High Mountain Record’ is maybe my favorite track of the album and I use the term maybe because at each listening of this album I find a new favorite track. There are delicious downtempo arrangements in it that will blow your mind. About halfway through the song a constant melody works like a loop: it is mind consuming, fascinating and addictive.

On the last 4 minutes and a bit more of ‘Last View’ and ‘Carbon’ a nicely chilled plate of ambient/downtempo beats and grooves emerges and is as good, as evocative. The last two tracks are quite nostalgic, peculiarly isolationist and simply beautiful.

Many of you that love electronic and ambient music will enjoy Exploration and Ascent for its escapism; it’s not important where you are, you can climb Himalaya or jump into a dreamlike state created by the sounds that Northcape gave us as the best another world souvenir.

Old School Swedish Death Metal. I’m pretty sure there’s a book on it. (Probably worth reading if you’re a fan of this type of music). Tormented as a band have only been around five years, but after a bit of searching I found that some of the members are veterans of this Death Metal game (Since the promo had no names dropped, I shall not either, as I believe this album has merit enough without the need for that).

The title track starter has a classic-but-don’t-call-it-classic sound to it. A drum and guitar build up with a nice lead guitar harmony flowing all until the buzz comes in. And for those of you new to this type of music, that buzz is from a Boss HM-2 pedal turned to fucking 11. It’s a signature sound of the early Swedish death movement; and Tormented have it down well. Lots of galloping rhythms, guitars that seem to just emit a curse causing you to move your neck and body, this is horns in the air death metal. And this is all just from the first track. HA!

‘Blood Orgy’ is bound to incite a group meeting of pupils for that of which it gets its genital-cringing name from. I’ll leave that at that. 'To Spill Her Blood' has a classic early-90s guitar intro to it with a death determined demeanor following. It’s a real chugging track, meant for driving at night with your crew before you head to the show. Don’t forget the beer for afterwards. ‘Black Sky’ is one of those songs that sounds like at any given moment it could fall to fucking bits. And it does. At 2:35 when it’s over. Last two tracks ‘Into the Crypts of Death’ and ‘In the Presence of Death’ are like peanut butter and jelly; if peanut butter and jelly could kill you with sheer volume and evil incantations toward the dead. Tormented saved the most painful (in a good way, cause you fuckers are like that) tracks for the end.

If you know the likes of Entombed, early Dismember, the early vocals of Tom G. Warrior and/or even the slightest bits of At The Gates, you've heard parts of this record before. And that IS NOT A BAD THING whatsoever. This album is doing things those bands haven’t done for years. I’m not a fan of revival trends or bandwagons. Tormented is not that. With great written and superbly executed sounds of filth and death, Tormented are just pick up where other left of. Someone has to waive the flag.

Tormented’s Death Awaits is available now through Listenable Records in the UK, and on May 7th in the US. Listenable Records has been on a roll lately, with acts such as Svart Crown, The Amenta and a few others you’ll see here on the site. Keep and eye out for even more coming. Support artists and musicians you love, go out and grab Death Awaits!!

HAIL!! HAIL!! HAIL!!

There's always a certain amount of trepidation involved in listening to a new album from an act you love, and I am an unashamedly huge Frank Turner fan. A straw poll of my twitter followers resulted in some incredibly varied opinions, from "awful, rushed" to "good, but Love, Ire and Song was better" right through to "his best album, without a doubt".

On Saturday, I swallowed my anxieties, purchased the album and listened through it start to finish. Then I waited a couple of days and listened again. After that second listen, certain songs had already infected my consciousness, creeping up on me at the most unexpected times, and I would catch myself singing lines without even realising it - a sure sign of a great album.

Look at that album cover. See it? Up at the top-left hand side of the page? See it? How fecking GLORIOUS is that cover? I know right? It’s the kind of cover that says ‘this music is for MEN with luxurious hair and beards and if you don’t like it you can ruddy well do one sunshine’. They say you should never judge a book by its cover but this isn't a book so we can. And if the music is anything as near awesome as the cover then we’re onto a winner. Fortunately for us all Abra Kadavar from Kadavar is the Red Rum of the music world. (By that I mean they are bloody good, not that they can be found in a Findus Beef Lasagne).

The excellence does not stop with the cover (bear with, Dear Reader I will get to the music post-haste). It continues throughout everything this band does. The press release states “The world’s leading scientists recently declared in unison: time travel can no longer be considered fiction but reality!” and that “It was the record of a rock trio from Berlin, Germany, that had dropped into the professors’ laps out of the blue and led them to proclaim joyfully: “Warm, intense, authentic – doubtlessly a gift from bygone times!”. You can’t argue with that can you?

Or the fact that their drummer’s name is Tiger. I shit you not.

This is a band that embraces its 70s hard rock roots from the music (yes we’re getting there….) to the wardrobe. Now if the music were sub-par this would be the highest form of mockery but as soon as the opening strains of ‘Come Back Life’ waft their way through your speakers, a warm rich vinyl sounding (can that be the case in MP3 files?!?!?) rock/blues wave washes over you in a satisfyingly way.

The wailing roll of ‘Black Snake’ with it’s brilliant guitar and vocal interplay from singer/guitarist Lupus Lindemann is surely the centrepiece of their live show. ‘Liquid Dream’ has an infectious beat that you can’t stop nodding your head to and a lovely late 60s –esque keyboard solo too. ‘Rhythm For Endless Minds’ slows things back with its acoustic intro and “spacey” sound effects; it’s all very ‘Set The Controls for the Heart of The Sun’.

This is a delightfully retro yet relevant album. In today’s dubstep/hyper processed music scene it’s great to hear music hat aims to replicate the era of 70s classic rock. When bands got together and played in a room and it got all sweaty and it was rocking and left you with a big fat grin on your sweaty face. Kadavar are on tour until August so go grab yourself this album then grab yourself a ticket and prepare to enjoy some straight-ahead no bullshit hard rock