Vorzug "Call of the Vultures"

    Death, black, thrash or call it down right brutal music. Arizona based extreme metal band Vorzug attempts to persuade the crazy headbangers and frighten away the wholesome church going folks.
    Their debut full-length album, “Call of the Vultures,” is dripping with gory blackened death riffs, intense head crushing drum rhythms and the death growls of utter brutality. I reviewed a single they released a little while back and remember the track instantly catching my attention. Unlike some bands who try to become the next Morbid Angel or Suffocation and flat out fail, I can tell when listening to Vorzug that these dudes just want to play some vicious sounding music.
    The opening track, “At Winters End,” started out with this cool triumphant sounding guitar lead. Overall, the song was very diverse and featured a variety of compositions that varied in tempo and aggression. There were some mellow sounding doom like parts and then you had those face smashing death metal cuts.
    Now, track number two, “Duct Tape Rapist,” was an interesting track because I thought I was listening to Macabre or some other death grind band that creates shocking song titles. In true death grind fashion the song was only 27 seconds long. The music exploded with a furious onslaught of noise and soon faded for the next track, “Her Screams.” I thought that maybe the two songs were connected based on the titles of the songs. However, I could still not get over the title for track number two. These guys are more shocking and controversial than most of your stand up comics these days!
    “I Am in Hell,” is the track I already reviewed for this blog, so you people can read my thoughts on that track by searching the old archives (I’m too lazy to describe it again, so yeah...). Song number five, “Silent Emotions,” is in my opinion where the album gets really interesting and seems to develop a solid sound. Also, the recording for this track was spot on. I liked how the band incorporated the guitar solo into the song which added a dash of excitement.
    For songs six and seven, “Making You Bleed” and “The Howling,” I felt the band threw in more thrash riffs. To be honest I like the death thrash sound over the blackened thrash, but in the end I think Vorzug is smart for keeping their sound diverse. Song seven, “Slumber Party Massacre,” is by far my favorite song. Vorzug sounded down right brutal and will probably scare any teenage girls who happen to hear the song.
    To wrap the album up Vorzug offered the song, “Broken Dreams.” Their songwriting skills were probably the most creative on this song and I liked the arrangements. However, it still could not beat out, “Slumber Party Massacre.”
    Is this style of music new? No! Did I enjoy the album? Yeah, I think this band has some solid songs and the recording on each song sounded pretty good. I especially found the song titles interesting and would pay to see the faces on my uptight professors if they read certain song titles from this album. For those who like extreme blackened death with a bloody splash of thrash, check this album out! If you are not already sold on the song, “Slumber Party Massacre,” I don’t know what else to say...

Click Here For Vorzug Facebook Page

Excimer "Thrash From Fire"

    Prepare to be thrashed by a young act from Alexandria, Egypt. Excimer offer up ten tracks of old school sounding thrash on their full-length release, “Thrash From Fire.”
    Originally recorded as a digital album, the band worked out a deal with the German label Witches Brew and had the album officially released on CD in March of this year. Taking a page from the unholy thrash book that was set forth by bands such as Testament, Metallica, Overkill, Anthrax, Slayer, Megadeth and a list that can take up an entire paragraph. These dudes looks to tear up the streets and win over those leather jacket wearing thrash maniacs. 
    “Thrash From Fire,” definitely comes across with a little more aggression thrown into the tracks. I think the band takes influence from a variety of different metal styles and creates their own unique musical sound of expression. The opening song, “Hell on Earth,” is fierce and relentless sounding. Of course there are many revival thrash bands who have written songs in this style, but I feel Excimer’s presentation has a raw and exciting quality to it. As a young band you hear where they are trying to push their talents into a more intense and technical direct, yet they stay true to their capabilities. Unlike some groups who feel like they need to play lightening fast and overwhelm listeners with random shredding, Excimer sticks to just writing a solid piece of thrash music.
    Track number two, “Victims of Plague,” reaches into that classic Metallica realm with a variety of heavy sounding instrumental parts. The vocals are definitely more harsh sounding than your usual thrash vocals. I hear some early black metal influence which just increases the band’s raw nature. “Provoke the Slaughter” and “War Terror,” continue that doomsday thrash attitude and features some wicked riffs.
    One of my favorite tracks on this album is, “The Curse of Seth.” There are some really sinister sounding guitar parts and the song’s overall tone is pure evil sounding. The whole band is locked in on this destructive sounding riff that makes the track stand out from the rest.
    There are also a couple covers on this album. For song number eight, Excimer covers Kreator’s, “Cry War.” I thought this was a strong cover because I hear a lot of early Kreator in Excimer’s sound. Now, song number ten is a cover of Judas Priest’s, “Rapid Fire.” I personally wasn’t as impressed with this cover as I was with the Kreator cover. Covering Judas Priest is not an easy challenge, especially given the band’s iconic status in the metal world. Still, Excimer tried and they approached the song with their own style instead of trying to mimic Priest note for note.
    Excimer’s, “Thrash From Fire,” is another one of those thrash albums that displays the undying love that young musicians have for this style of music. Their music can appeal to extreme thrash fans from across the globe. With more work and dedication to their craft, I believe Excimer will be a strong and recognizable force in the thrash world. If this is what they have to offer us now...I can’t wait to hear what they will come up with next! \m/

Click Here to Visit the Excimer Facebook Page

Rob "the metal guy" Rants About Metal #7

    Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Dave Mustaine’s mind flying away into the clouds.
    Yep, I need to start this rant off by bringing up Old Man Mustaine. Recently I have been hearing some news about the new Megadeth album. Unfortunately the type of news I am hearing is not increasing my interest in the new release. I am more afraid than when I first heard the title track to, Super Collider! First off, they have some country artist named Steve Wariner playing on a track. Is Megadeth jumping off the thrash ship and venturing into the world of country? I know the band played at some George Jones tribute concert, but they honestly don’t think their core fan base is really going to embrace MegaCountry. Also, I am just worried that the album will be a disappointment because Dave Mustaine is a squirrel. No offense, but his interviews can be a bit bizarre and musically I don’t know what else this band really has to offer. I shall hope that the new album is a strong release and makes up for the last album, Super Disappointment Collider. However, I will not hold my breath...
    Next topic is about a band that I recently heard on the radio. The band is... Butcher Babies. For those who don’t know of them, just imagine two female singers trying to growl and dress in outrageous sexy looking outfits. In all fairness they are not completely horrible, but after hearing their song, “Monster Ball,” on Sirius Liquid Metal, I really do not get how people consider them to be an act worth paying money for. Their sound is a mix of poorly arranged nu metal/ industrial metal and really bad growling. Vocally, I could not tell what was going on. The contrast of very pop like clean vocals and weak sounding death growls made my head hurt. Also, the lyrics being presented in the song were about as memorable as the words on the back of a cereal box. After the song finished, I learned to always turn the station when Butcher Babies shows up on air.
    Last topic I want to bring up... Did you know that Gene Simmons thinks rock is dead? Again! I am tired of hearing him saying this bit in every interview. Gene, why don’t you donate some of your money to the young rock/metal bands to help rock not die! Or just retire to some island and never bother us again! If rock was completely one hundred percent dead, then why do people still pay for Kiss shows? Why do people still give this arrogant man money? Best answer I can come up with for those last two questions, I think some Kiss fans have been brainwashed or fed subliminal messages. That would be a great science fiction movie. Kiss taking over the world with subliminal messages in their music and products. Wouldn’t be surprised if Gene takes my idea and actually makes the movie...
    Well, there is this week’s rant. Feel free to comment on one of the topics brought up. Don’t be afraid to voice your honest opinion like I do!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hard-Rock-and-Heavy-Metal-Zone/247306962023554?ref=hl

On Top "Topless"

     Down and dirty bar room style hard rock coming from the streets of Philly. That is one way to describe the young rock trio, On Top. This band is following in the footsteps of all those eighties LA bands who drove around drinking, messing around with groupies and eventually would need to find new jobs once the nineties hit.
    Now, I do enjoy some of the eighties hard rock acts who used too much hair spray. Also, there have been some recent up and coming bands who have incorporated elements of that style and done really well. On Top is really unique because they seem to go for your basic bar room style hard rock. The music is catchy and the songs are presented with a tough sounding edge. However, I was not really fully grabbed by the four songs on this EP titled, "Topless." I felt as if I was listening to watered down version of Skid Row or Mötley Crüe.
    The opening song, “282,” was a sleazy hard rock cliché. For the song’s lyrics, the band sings about the life of a prostitute. Of course this is not the first hard rock band to sing about the life of a street walker and probably won’t be the last. I will say the drummer, bassist and guitarist had a solid main rhythm going, but there was not much added to the song to really make the piece standout. I also thought the solo was bland and needed more dynamic variation.
    Track number two, “Go Crazy,” was a slight improvement from the last song, but not by a lot. The chorus is very catchy and has a stronger delivery. I would even say the guitar solo offered more variation and strengthened the band’s sound. Still, I just could not fully get into the music. There are so many bands like this and I really think the lyrics are extremely cheesy. Then again, cheesy lyrics sell sometimes, so can’t say that On Top might not be able to win over beer drinking rock fans who want to relive the Sunset Strip Days.
    The final two tracks “Got Me Runnin’” and “Lie to Me,” were not bad and I started to see where On Top was coming from musically. This trio wants to make some catchy hard rock songs and just have a good time. Their singer is a fierce sounding frontman and definitely gives the songs a punch of energy. The overall sound is not outright horrible, but I think this is a type of music that is more for straightforward hard rock fans.
    I really hate having to be critical on young hard rock and heavy metal bands, but that is my job unfortunately. In all fairness, I rather see a band like On Top getting their music played on radio over some rap artist who talks like a moron and needs to pull up their damn pants! Also, I must point out how On Top is very bold using the backside of a tattooed topless chick for the EP’s cover. These days ravenous feminists will lose their cool if they saw the cover and accuse the band of exploiting women. Personally, I think those feminists should calm down and go get a beer at an On Top show and have a good time.
    Although I was not completely won over by this EP, I would still recommend all hard rock fans who like that sleazy eighties rock sound to check this band out. Who knows? With more practice and gigs this band could put out the next, “Shout At the Devil”...Or, just keep playing the bars.

On Top Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/ontoprocks

Screams From the Garage "EP: Le Nostre Radici"

    In a world full of overpaid and egotistical rock stars, we need a young determined punk/metal band to rally the underground. Coming from Castelbuono, Italy, Screams From the Garage looks to be a group that can bring the hardcore and crossover scenes together in the fight against mainstream musical garbage.
    Their style of music stems from this group’s enjoyment of hardcore punk and metal. When listening to Screams From the Garage you feel as if you are going back in time to when Black Flag first released, “Nervous Breakdown,” or when Negative Approach was tearing up the streets of Detroit. This four song EP is exciting and it is a great example of true musical expression.
    The line-up featured on this release consists of Gabriele Growl on vocals, Antonio Sfascia Chitarre on guitar & vocals, Gabriele Wizard on bass and Gabriele Taddeo on Drums. I think the band chemistry is very solid and each song demonstrates the determination of this young group to get their message heard.
    Also, the band sings in their native language, which I think gives the songs an authentic style of expression. After translating some of the lyrics, I felt as if I already knew where the band was coming from just by Growl’s delivery. No matter what language the lyrics are presented in, this is a style of music that transcends borders with its powerful feel and energy.
    The first song that I heard from this EP was, “Il Dio Denaro.” You have this simple yet really heavy sounding thrash riff that kicks off the track and then Growl comes in with his rapid vocal delivery. The music is fierce and unforgiving. Once the song finished, I was immediately ready to check out the next three!
    “Moscardelli Is The Way,” is more of an upbeat and quick tempo type punk song. The track expresses the band’s enjoyment of soccer and has this really catchy chorus. As the band shouts out the chorus you almost want to join along as if you are attending a live show. Another area that really impressed me about this EP was the raw feel that can be heard on each track. “Le Nostre Radici,” is a song that is presented in this unapologetic manner and the instrumental composition is a perfect reflection of the lyrics. Antonio’s guitar parts are screams of rage while Wizard and Taddeo maintain this strong musical backbone.
    The final song on the EP, “Basta Scorie!,” stands out from the rest with a slow dark intro that then explodes into a hardcore tornado. I can see this song getting fans to jump off the stage and run around the venue knocking chairs over. To sum the song up, this piece of music simply embodies the spirit of punk.
    All four tracks on this EP represent the musical mentality that resides in the brains of many across this planet who want to express their inner rebelliousness nature. Screams From the Garage is a band that is needed in a world dominated by the shallow music industry elite. In the years to come, I can’t wait for what else this band has to offer musically. May their screams echo outside the confines of the garage and reach all hardcore punk/metal fans across the world!

Click Here to Visit Screams From the Garage Facebook 

Rob "the metal guy" Rants About Metal #6

    Another week full of metal news and crap that I can express my thoughts on. Oh what fun...
   
    To begin, Morbid Angel should win an award for confusing the hell out of their fan base and the entire metal music media. At one point I did not even know who was still in the band! First Trey talked about how him and Steve Tucker were working on stuff and the new Morbid Angel album would be a “...world beater.” Whatever the hell that was supposed to mean, it got everyone thinking David Vincent was out. However, David released a statement later that day saying that he was never asked to leave the band! What? The metal world literally went crazy with different scenarios such as their possibly being two vocalists in the band or that the band would split into two factions. People actually thought their might be a possibility of two Morbid Angels! Then Tim Yeung the drummer decided to leave the band for financial reasons. A few days later the band’s second guitarist Destructhor decided he was on his way out. At the end of this week I did not even know if Trey was in the band. Maybe Morbid Angel was a spiritual entity that would go on releasing albums.
    Well, I guess some of the confusion has been put to rest as David Vincent released a statement saying him and Trey are not going to be working together and he is moving onto new musical projects. Still, Morbid Angel confused the heck out of me this past week and I will not be enthusiastic if I hear there is a new album coming out. From now on I shall refer to Morbid Angel as Morbid Confusion. Don’t get me wrong, their music is some of the death metal’s finest (minus most of the songs if not all on that last album). Though I really will have a hard time believing anything moving forward that the band has to say, especially if posted on a metal media site.
    Next topic, would you believe it? Eddie Van Halen said something disrespectful about former bass player Michael Anthony. Wow, how old are these rockers?! They are worse than a group of high school drama queens! Eddie said in some stupid interview with Billboard that “...Every note Mike ever played, I had to show him how to play. Before we'd go on tour, he'd come over with a video camera and I'd have to show him how to play all the parts.” To summarize that quote for everyone, Eddie Van Halen is trying to tell people that he has an inflated ego and is unbelievably arrogant. In every interview that I have heard with Michael Anthony, I have never heard him make any strong critical comments or disrespectful comments for that matter about Eddie. Also, Eddie is getting old and bitter and probably realizes that most fans would like to see the original line-up. Wouldn’t be surprised if the band needs to cancel their tour due to Eddie’s health issues. He treated his body worse than Fred Sanford treated Aunt Esther on Sanford and Son.
    I think that is enough for this week. I swear these musicians are more childish than my three year old nephew. One day I would like to see metal news reporting sites just focus on young metal bands and their awesome new albums. Unfortunately, if not for these ridiculous rockers and their drama...What would I have to rant about?

Nightslug "Loathe"

    Beware the sludge monster from Düsseldorf, Germany known as Nightslug. This band will send shivers down your spin and overload your speakers with heavy amounts of distortion.
    Their second release, “Loathe,” is a harsh bleak sounding album of sludge and doom that reaches into the dark corners of society. Just to get to the point without using too many descriptive words, this album is extreme. The fact that this is a three piece band making such extreme sounding music is really impressive. Now, I think this is an album and type of music that you need to be in the mood for. If you are in an optimistic mood and are having a positive outlook on life, I would recommend not listening to this album. For people like me who enjoy the sludge and haunting sounds of doom like musical compositions, you will be very pleased.
    When an album begins with a harsh monologue followed by some loud bass and guitar parts covered by mountains of reverb, I instantly get hooked. Of course, if certain people don’t listen to this type of music often they might be taken by surprise. “Vile Pigs,” is definitely a strong first song and the title grabs listeners with its unapologetic attitude. The band hammers out a wicked sounding piece of behemoth sludge. Track number two, “Loathe,” is a massive cloak of distortion and the drums come crashing into the hectic riff filled land. There is this catchy heavy grooving rhythm going on, but it seems to get covered up by the immense amounts of distortion and tortured sounding vocals.
    For their third track Nightslug presents a song titled, “The Thrill is Gone: Repulsion” There is this loud scream of feedback and the pounding bass riff hits with tremendous force. Song number four, “Under a Bane,” wastes no time and instantly jumps into a distorted jam. Unfortunately, I was not as impresses by this track and felt the band sounded really off tempo. Then again, Nightslug’s style of music is all about being chaotic and intense, so not surprised by the hectic arrangement.
    “Disease,” is a song that I felt brought the band back to a more slow sludge like presentation and it reminded my of how Eyehategod sounds. I really enjoyed the crushing riffs that sound like they could level a city. “Pure” and “Tainted Throne,” are two strong sludge tracks and maintain the overall dark unapologetic vibe that this album has to offer. The band started out extreme and finished the same way.
    Overall Nightslug is an extreme noise making terror of sludge and doom. I believe there will be those who shall enjoy the album, and then there will be those who believe their speakers are broken. Definitely an acquired taste amongst the metal community. For the most part, I enjoyed the album and will be blasting Nightslug as I drive through the dark woods towards my ominous looking castle...okay, I don’t own a castle, but I will be blasting this album when I am in the mood for dark sounding sludge metal.

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