TEL "Lowlife"

Richmond, VA based sludge/doom outfit, TEL, delivers a massive dose of hypnotic compositions and cataclysmic riffs on their debut full-length album, “Lowlife.” The blend of melancholy atmospheric touches infused with bombastic sounding sludge elements makes for a dynamic and utterly HEAVY sounding release.

Following in the footsteps of bands like Neurosis, Paradise Lost and ISIS (the band not the moronic terrorist group!), TEL blends a variety of different sounding extreme music styles to craft their own distinct and powerful sound. I would describe the album as a journey fueled by raw emotion and ambitious musical attitude. The musicianship is highly impressive and I really like the guitar playing which seems to evolve throughout the album. You can find yourself being overwhelmed by a gritty sludge riff at one point and then be suddenly taken by surprise with a vibrant sounding guitar solo. I think the album’s production and recording quality really captures the band’s sound quite well and keeps you listening with interest.

The album’s opening song, “Ouroboros,” slowly builds up with a mesmerizing doom composition that conjures such force yet conveys a soothing and tranquil quality. You feel consumed by a thick cloud of distorted aggression and soon find yourself drifting through a gateway into an endless void of calming hypnosis. The next song, “Submerged,” is another solid track and the intro drum part does a great job establishing a strong doom like foundation for the other instruments join in and add to the bombastic sounding assault.

The third song off of the album, “Red Level,” is more aggressive in terms of attitude and overall tone. Right away the band wastes little time by delivering a vicious main riff that sort of dictates the song’s direction. The band also uses contrasting vocal styles which compliments the struggle between the heavy and melodic elements. The final two songs, “Choke” and “Strangers,” continue to display the band’s progressive mindset with numerous examples of creative songwriting skills. I think fans looking for an album that is not one dimensional in terms of style will really enjoy hearing these songs, because the music is always changing and there are no dual moments in the band’s compositions.

In the end, I believe, “Lowlife,” is a strong release and TEL’s ability to craft such unique and diverse sounding pieces of doom/sludge will be recognized right away by listeners. All around the musicianship is extremely solid, so I predict we will see the band continue to push themselves on future releases. I’ve heard other young bands similar to TEL and the main difference is that the songs on this album were very well written and did not sound sloppily put together. If you want to make a musical cyclone of rubbish go ahead, but don’t cry when not a lot of people listen to your music…definitely not the case with TEL.



TEL "Ouroboros" :

TEL Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/TelRVA/

New Documentary: Rising from the Bay

   About a year ago my friend Yuvraj and I decided to make a documentary that would help promote some of the Bay Area's hardest working up and coming metal bands. Also, we wanted to bring awareness to the growing issue facing a majority of bands within the Bay Area, which is that there are fewer places to perform live. The bands who contributed to this documentary provide wonderful insight into how they have developed over the years and share some awesome stories regarding the current underground metal scene. We really do hope more people check these bands out, because the artists featured in this documentary are working hard to carry on the heavy metal legacy that was established by so many icon bands like Testament, Exodus, Autopsy, Sleep, Forbidden and many more of course. Please share and help promote the future of heavy metal which is right here...Rising from the Bay!

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A New Release from Trecelence - "For I Am the Eyes"

   Sonoma County based technical thrash metal enthusiasts, Trecelence, demonstrate their passionate and uncompromising music making talents with the release of the band’s new EP, “For I Am the Eyes.” The three songs featured on the new EP convey an aggressive and fearsome style of thrash metal music that is sure enough to appease any headbanging maniac looking for blistering thrash metal experience.

   After a line-up change that led to guitarist Chris Olney Burnett taking over bass and vocal responsibilities, the band shows how they are confidently moving forward into the future by pushing themselves as musicians and songwriters. The addition of guitarist, Alex Miletich, helps maintain the band’s potent two guitar attack and his style of playing compliments that of fellow guitarist Donnie Small. I find the songs on the new EP to be a great glimpse into where the band is heading musically along with what they are capable of crafting on future releases.

   The EP opens with, “For I am the Eyes,” which features a ravenous sounding introduction riff accompanied by the ferocious yet precise drumming executed by the band’s drummer Ilan Cabrera. Compared to previous releases from Trecelence the music sounds extremely tight and the song flows with a mighty dose of abrasive attitude. The vocals in my opinion were what stood out the most and Chris delivers a strong performance by presenting the lyrics in such a vivid manner. Overall the music is more raw and the recording quality perfectly captures the band’s feverish thrash metal sound.

   The other two songs, “Divide to Conquer” and “Blood Moon,” are vicious pieces of thunderous riffs, fluid shredding and cranial crushing drum parts. I believe the track which steals the show on this EP is without a doubt, “Blood Moon.” I think the song is one of the most impressive recordings from the band to date and the entire composition is extremely well written. The song is dynamic and contains a variety of elements that all blend together into one monumental thrash metal recording. Songs like this are what I think the band needs to focus on more, because the overall level of musicianship and musical creativity was simply outstanding.

   Fans of thrash metal will definitely want to sink their teeth into this prime cut of metal music which Trecelence was able to offer up. Their dedication and passion for metal music is undeniable and as Chris once said during one of the band’s live performances, “We’re Trecelence and we’re not FUCKING going anywhere!” So, for all those wondering if the band plans to make more music in the future, I am confident that they will have something for us.



Listen to the EP below:

Trecelence bandcamp:
https://trecelence.bandcamp.com/

Venom Prison "Samsara"

    Like a tsunami of merciless raw emotion, Venom Prison’s new album, “Samsara,” hits the heavy metal world with devastating force. For their sophomore release the UK based band offers listeners a scorching extreme onslaught of relentless brutality.

    Venom Prison pushes their sound in a more abrasive and technical direction on this new album, while offering more explosive and dynamic sounding compositions. Compared to their first album, “Animus,” I personally feel as though the band drastically improved in terms of songwriting, while also finding more ways to breakaway from the standard technical death metal/hardcore stereotypes. Listeners will instantly notice that Venom Prison seems to have a knack for writing explosive sounding riffs that compliment singer Larissa Stupar’s unapologetic and vivid vocal delivery. Also, I think the production for this new album does a great job capturing Venom Prison’s passionate extreme music making abilities.

    The album flows with tremendous synergy and from the beginning riff of the opening song, “Matriphagy,” you find yourself intently listening to the vicious world of endless chaos. I really like the opening song, “Matriphagy,” and the guitar parts created by guitarists Ash Gray and Ben Thomas are truly ferocious and construct these monumental sounding bursts of distorted destruction. The next song, “Megillus & Leana,” maintains a bombastic and dynamic edge full of bone crushing guitar riffs, monstrous sounding drum parts and utterly unforgiving vocals.

    Out of all the tracks of this album I think, “Uterine Industrialisation,” is probably the most intense and musically catastrophic sounding songs on the album. You are instantly hit with a juggernaut of malicious attitude as Larissa comes roaring over the savage guitar riff assault. I also recommend checking out the music video for the song, which I feel compliments band’s vivid and extreme nature quite well.

    Another song I want to mention is, “Self Inflicted Violence,” which hits hard with a sinister sounding main driving riff and contains some powerful vocal sections to amplify the song’s pulverizing overall tone. Other tracks to take note of are “Sadistic Rituals,” Asura’s Realm” and “Dukkha.” All around you hear a strong and talented group of musicians who combine their efforts into crafting very meaningful tracks of extreme music. There is no cheapness pertaining to how these songs sound, because I find the music is written with great purpose and attention to detail when laying out the drum, guitar and vocal parts.

    In the end, Venom Prison’s “Samsara” is without question one of this year’s most impressive sounding releases and serves as a reminder on how bands should approach the songwriting process. In my opinion Venom Prison really took their music to the next level and one can tell they put a lot of energy into writing some very engaging pieces of music. In this day and age we need more artists willing to not hold back and step outside from the repetitive metal clichés. When a band gives that 101% effort listeners can definitely hear the difference. So, I highly recommend keeping an eye on Venom Prison, because I think they have the potential to release even more strong sounding albums.



Venom Prison "Uterine Industrialisation" :

Venom Prison Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/venomprison/