Top Ten Albums of 2016

It is that time of the year when all the online rock and metal websites and blogs start releasing some of their top ten albums of the year lists. I have noticed that they seem to start earlier and earlier each year. I think some websites started putting out their top ten lists before Halloween! Anyway, I believe the time is right to release what I thought were the top ten rock/punk/metal albums of the year. These are my choices and feel free to mention in the comments section some of your favorite albums from 2016. However, no whining...2016 has been the year of whining and I want people to start putting on their big boy pants, big girl pants or whatever else you freaking identify as pants... And if I triggered you...get over it! 

1. Kicker “Rendered Obsolete”

The Bay Area veteran punks once again put together an album of pissed off sounding hardcore punk that was much needed during this year. After the release of their debut album, “Not You,” these guys without question are one of my favorite punk bands. Kicker knows how to write some catchy punk songs that contain memorable phrases. “You Can’t Take Me Anywhere,” is song with pure punk rock attitude and the subject matter is very relatable. Their veteran presence definitely allows them to string together a great full-length release. In this crazy world where technology is making certain things obsolete, Kicker shall never be replaced...unless they do invent that android Pete the Roadie. 

2. Eldamar “The Force of the Ancient Land”

Atmospheric black metal is a style of music where I find myself constantly discovering new artists who display tremendous talent. The up and coming artists within the genre take their time to create musical masterpieces of cinematic and emotionally moving splendor. Eldamar was yet another band who has come out in recent years to compose an overall astonishing release. I really like how the music allows you to escape into this massive sounding world of melodic synth and distorted guitar arrangements. Plus, they provided an amazing cover of Summoning’s “Land of the Dead,” to a Summoning tribute album, which you should all check out.  

3. Cauldron “In Ruin” 

The Canadian based trio released this album back in January and I still think it is one of the best produced and written releases to come out this year. Their classic eighties metal sound is like a blast from the past and the songwriting is extremely solid. I felt that ever since “Chained to the Nite,” the following releases did not grab my attention. To my pleasant surprise, “In Ruin,” just comes across as an all around crushing metal release. Once again, the songwriting carries this album to the point I find the words get stuck in my head for hours. Also, there are some great guitar riffs that may not be super technical, but construct powerful verse and chorus sections. 

4. Hemotoxin “Biological Enslavement” 

These guys are in my opinion living proof that hard work pays off if you commit yourself to whatever it is you are trying to accomplish. I saw them open up for Havok a few years back and thought they had something going, however, the music on this new album exceeds anything I could have imagined. I really think they offer a great balance of technicality and songwriting skills. Also, the vocals on this release inject unbelievably amounts of raw emotion into the songs. I think they are a band who can continue to rise if they keep working hard. 

5. Gojira “Magma”

The song, “Stranded,” alone put Gojira on this list and the entire album screams well produced hard rock and metal music. Still, “Stranded,” could very well be my favorite song of the entire year. I love the unapologetic sounding guitar riff which matches the aggressive vocal delivery. The rest of the album is very enjoyable and I would say that there are not too many dual moments. Another area that shines on this release is the riffs, which I think deliver crushing blows to the ears when cranking this album up in the car. I mean, my five year old nephew would probably put this as his number one album of the year, because he constantly listens to it along with the band’s previous album, “L’Enfant Savage.” 

6. Trecelence “Justified Atrocities” 

These Santa Rosa, CA technical thrashers are not just great musicians, but great dudes overall. It has been a privilege to witness first hand their progress within a relatively short amount of time. I can honestly say that the musicianship on this album, especially factoring in their ages, is down right impressive. Some of the guitar arrangements leave you speechless at times. For their first full-length release, I think they did a solid job. Looking to the future I expect even more brilliant mind bending riffs from these dudes. 

7. Unreqvited “Disquiet”

Yet another powerful atmospheric black metal release to come out this year. The one-man project that is Unreqvited painted a diverse musical painting that always had my full attention. I really liked how this album was recorded and I think more bands should focus on coming up with finding a sound that allows them to truly convey their music in a compelling fashion. You can tell that the music was not cheaply thrown together, because each sound offers tremendous emotion and raw expression. 

8. Witchcraft “Nucleus” 

I felt like this album deserved more promotion and went under the radar. Yes, Witchcraft has strayed away from that old raw vintage sound that was heard on earlier releases, but the new music is nothing to brushoff. The songwriting is probably what I liked most about this release and in my opinion Magnus Pelander is one of the best lyricists in rock and metal music. The way he writes his lyrics perfectly compliments the instrumental arrangements on this album. 

9. Exmortus “Ride Forth” 

Exmortus is another hardworking band who does not settle for basic when writing metal music. I thought the album once again demonstrated the insane guitar playing abilities from their two highly talented guitarists. Plenty of songs about battles and destroying enemies with weapons of iron. Also, they do another awesome instrumental piece that blends the worlds of metal and classical music. Exmortus knows how to shred with style and I hope they keep it up when they start working on their next album. 

10. Abbath “Self-titled”

A lot of people were upset when the whole Immortal fiasco went down and Abbath deiced to go solo after he could not get the rights to the Immortal name. I myself was one of those people, but I really respected how he decide to start his own band and released this self-titled album which features King ov Hell on bass. It sort of reminds me of their work on that, “Between Two Worlds,” collaboration album. Although this does not sound like early Immortal and is not very kvlt to the true black metal believers, I enjoyed most of the songs on this release and thought the production was quite solid. Abbath is in my opinion the voice that made Immortal, so I am really interested in hearing Immortal put out a release without Abbath. Better hurry up Demonaz, because Abbath is already talking about releasing a follow-up to this self-titled album. 

Awesome Releases That Also Deserve Mention: 

• Thought Vomit “Punks Brutal Retaliation” 
• Putrid “The Triumph of Impurity” 
• Feign "Atlas” 
• Necrot “The Labyrinth” 
• Nachtzeit “Sagor I Natten” 

Top Compilations: 

• Four Doors to Death
• In Mordor Where Shadows Are-Homage to Summoning 

Rob "The Metal Guy" Awards 2016

• Hardest working label of the year: Unspeakable Axe Records 
• Best live performance of the year: Night Demon 
• Breakthrough artist of the year: Amnesia
• Best twin guitar attack of the year: Donnie Small and Chris Olney Burnett (Trecelence)
• Most overrated band of the year: Metallica 
• Most annoying artist of the year: Myrkur 
• Musician with the largest ego: Paul Stanley 
• Hair metal band that made me laugh the most: Ratt
• Most opinionated and sarcastic album reviewer: you decide...

Nachtzeit "Sagor I Natten"

    Some individuals are able to demonstrate tremendous creativity and talent when crafting black metal music. Nachtzeit is one of those individuals who has been very active in the black metal community with a history of solid work.

    I mainly know him for the music he has created in his atmospheric black metal band, Lustre, where he plays all the instruments and writes all the music. He also has this other project simply called, Nachtzeit, and has an EP called, “Sagor I Natten,” that will be coming out later this month through Nordvis Produktion. The new EP will be a follow-up to the debut EP he released last year for the project called, “Där Föddes en Längtan”. Compared to Lustre, this new music is more traditional style black metal and strays away from the atmospheric black metal world. Plus, the songs on the EP are definitely shorter than the tracks he writes for Lustre. I would compare the EP's recording sound to early Burzum, Darkthrone and even the first Summoning album. The riffs convey a very distorted and grim frost bitten sound to compliment the vocals.

    Nachtzeit offers four tracks on this EP that are solid in form and express a similar sounding theme. “Ett Fjärran Minne,” begins the album with a burst of distortion and is quickly joined by the screams of black metal torment that cut through the haunting curtain of noise. I am very impressed by the overall sound and find the recording of each instrument to compliment the music Nachtzeit wrote for this EP. Track number two, “De Färdas Genom Natten,” continues the first song’s overall atmosphere and formula. The drumming provides the perfect backbone for the guitar to conjure an extreme sounding world of sinister distorted notes.

    Taking a quick break from the black metal assault, track number three, “Över Myr Och Mark,” is a more cinematic sounding piece that you might hear as a build-up to a major battle. I enjoyed the brief change in sound and thought it helped make the lead-up to the final song more epic. Finishing off the album, “Där Allting Har Sin Början,” leaves listeners with yet another grim and cold piece of music. I think this was my favorite track on the EP, but overall each song makes for one consistent sounding listening experience.

  If you want straight forward black metal riffs and drumming with the echoes of harsh black metal vocals providing the perfect touch... then you should check out this release. I think it is great that Nachtzeit can step out from the Lustre world and offer the black metal community something a bit different. There are plenty of bands who play traditional style black metal, however, Nachtzeit seems to have the recording sound down along with the songwriting skills. Just another strong release from a talented black metal musician.

Nachtzeit “Ett Fjärran Minne” : 

Nachtzeit Facebook Page: 

https://www.facebook.com/svartmetallpafadrensvis/

Interview with Unreqvited

Unreqvited is a one-man atmospheric black metal project from Canada that skillfully combines a variety of different sounding elements to construct an atmospheric world with cinematic like qualities. Last month Unreqvited's debut full-length album, "Disquiet," was released and has received high praise from fans and critics. After reviewing the album for this blog, I thought it would be a good idea to learn more about the band and ask the mastermind behind this brilliant music some questions. Here is the interview...


Hello there and thanks for taking the time to do this interview. “Disquiet,” is a release that I think displays brilliant songwriting and very creative musical abilities. How long has Unreqvited been around for and when did you start working on the album?

Unreqvited: Thank you! I began writing for the project towards the end of last winter. I wrote the title track off the record before I had even decided that I wanted to start up a black metal project. As soon as the song was complete I put it up online and Pest Productions sent me a message within two hours of it being up. This was my confirmation that I wanted to follow through with the project.

From what I have read on your Facebook page and in the album’s description, you play all the instruments on the album. Is that correct? What is it like being in a one-man band? Do find that you get to have more creative freedom?

Unreqvited: Yes, I composed all of the music and recorded, mixed, and mastered all of it myself in my bedroom. Of course one of the main perks of having a solo project is having full control over everything creatively, which isn't something I necessarily had in previous projects. Unreqvited is not my only active music endeavor, however it is the only project where I can conduct everything exactly as I want it to be done.

The production quality on this album was very impressive and that really stood out when I first listened to the release. Where did you record the album and maybe walk readers through how you recorded some of the songs? Were there any songs you felt took longer to record, or maybe need extra time to compose?

Unreqvited: I've heard quite a lot of mediocre production coming out of the scene recently, and although it is not traditional to do so, I set out to create something that was produced well enough that it could appeal to people outside of the strict genre confinements that it may be categorized as.

I would describe Unreqvited as atmospheric black metal with an incorporation of different musical elements that mainly focus on creating a strong atmosphere. However, I find labeling and describing music to be a difficult task, as musicians can have a variety of influences and reviewers can possibly ignore certain aspects of an artist’s album. I was wondering if you could talk about the different styles of music that have influenced you and may have contributed to Unreqvited’s sound?

Unreqvited: I was heavily influenced by many different genres in the creation of Disquiet. Apart from the newer wave of black metal/shoegaze hybrid bands, I am very interested in film scores, New Age music, and generally anything with a huge cinematic feel. I think you can see a lot of this influence in the very last track on the album. I set out to create something that could still fit within the genre of atmospheric black/post-black, but to put enough of my own influences into it to make it unique.

To me the entire album is one massive story divided up into chapters, but instead of using words you have created a tale with dynamic and captivating sounds. I would describe it as almost cinematic at times. Could you maybe talk about what inspired you to write the album? Also, can you maybe explain your decision to not use actual lyrics to narrate your songs?

Unreqvited: I've always been a huge fan of instrumental music, because it can tell a story that is very open to interpretation by the listener. All of the songs on the record are written with a very personal story in mind, and the meaning behind them will never be unveiled to anyone. I want to put the creative process back into the hands of the listener to create their own meaning.

Unreqvited "Death" : 

This is going to be one of those commonly asked questions, but is there a track on the album that you personally think stands out amongst the rest? Let’s say someone has never heard of Unreqvited before and this is the song you believe they should hear first?

Unreqvited: I think The Autumn Fire and the title track Disquiet are the two songs that really hold the quintessential Unreqvited sound. Any new material will revolve around keeping that core sound, and expanding on it.

Right now you are a one-man project, but would you be interested in performing live with other musicians? Do you think Unreqvited could one day have a full line-up, or are you perfectly content with working on all the music?

Unreqvited: Although I am perfectly content with remaining a studio project, I would love to take the project on the road if the right opportunity arose. There are no plans to do so as if right now, but I won't rule it out as a possibility.

Well, this is the final question and I am going to ask if maybe we can get a glimpse into the future. Are you already starting to work on new material for a follow-up to “Disquiet?”

Unreqvited: I have a few ideas brewing, but I've been very wrapped up in other projects to really put the time into new music right now.

Thanks again for the interview and hope to hear more exceptional recordings from Unreqvited in the future.

Unreqvited: You're very welcome, take care! 


Unreqvited Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/unreqvited/?fref=ts

Unreqvited Bandcamp:
https://unreqvited.bandcamp.com/

Concert Review: Red House November 26, 2016 (Cartilage, Dismembered Carnage, Hemotoxin, and Lord of War )

Hemotoxin

    On a cold dark night in the city of Walnut Creek, CA, Red House Studios happened to be a haven for extreme metal music enthusiasts. The bill featured four brutal acts that displayed solid talent and allowed for fans to unleash their inner aggression and revel in the sound of extreme distorted chaos.

    The line-up consisted of four bands: Cartilage, Dismembered Carnage, Hemotoxin and Lord of War. I think four bands was the perfect amount to have booked and I have been to shows where there were seven bands which really cut down on each group's set time. Also, you had consistency amongst the bands who played this show, so it was not like you had to wait after two bands to finally get to a band that knew how to write songs and play their instruments.

  Before the Red House even opened its doors, you had a decent amount of people waiting around to get inside. Starting the show off was Cartilage from San Francisco who I think had a supportive following from what I observed as they began their set. The band’s sound was a mix of old school death metal and flesh ripping grindcore. They even wore blood splattered cloths to add to the music’s gory death grind themes. Cartilage was an very impressive act all around, especially with regards to their musicianship. The band’s drummer demonstrated tremendous talent behind the kit and the guitar sound cranked out plenty of corpse cutting riffs. At times I felt like the guitar riffs were capturing that early Carcass sound and the intense blast beat sections hit hard to the point where you felt the sheer force of the drums. Also, the singer had great personality and solid stage presence. Definitely an act to keep an eye on and a really enjoyable live band.

Cartilage

  Second up after Cartilage was Dismembered Carnage, a group of blasphemous brutal sounding musicians from Concord, CA. The band’s sound draws influence from old school death metal and the slower gruesome sounding riffs really stood out during their set. I thought they had a solid guitar and drum sound throughout their set and the vocalist showed great passion when growling into the microphone. They seemed to have a fanatical following of fans in front of the stage who were headbanging along and constantly moshing around. Songs like “Devoured in the Tomb” and “Split Open the Pope” received positive response from the audience. I felt the lyrical content at times fell into that cliché death metal category, which has been done so many times before. I mean, Deicide and Vital Remains have made careers out of talking about dismembering priests and frightening Bible Thumpers. In the end, Dismembered Carnage has something going with their sound, but I would like to see the band maybe push themselves more in certain areas.

  After Dismembered Carnage concluded their unholy old school death metal sounding performance, Hemotoxin started gearing up to begin their set of technical style of death/thrash. I saw Hemotoxin a month prior when they played at the Trecelence release show. Also, I reviewed, “Biological Enslavement,” when the album came out and I do believe that there is a chance it might make its way into my top ten albums of the year. Hemotoxin is band who has really put in the extra effort since the release of the new album. Their hard work is paying off and the recent performances seem to get better each time I see them. The vocal’s perfectly compliment the attitude of the music, while each member shows great enthusiasm when playing their instrument. Also, you remember certain songs like “Regression” and “Forgotten Faces,” because of the thought provoking lyrics and well constructed verse sections. The band demonstrates that technical talent alone does not make a band great, it is about crafting memorable songs that convey powerful energy and can grab people’s attentions. Even with some slight guitar monitor issues the band put together a tight sounding performance which the fans seemed to appreciate and enjoy.

  The final act, Lord of War, from San Diego, CA, was currently on tour and seemed to be busy within the last month after recently finishing up a European tour with Vader and Hate Eternal. I was interested in hearing how they would sound and the band had a very impressive stage set up with smoke machines and an eye catching light setup. Unfortunately, I guess some other people in the crowd were not as interested and a fair amount of them either left, or went outside. This has happened where people only go to see their friends and sometimes bands end up playing to less than half an audience. I do believe it is disrespectful, however, Lord of War's singer sort of let it get to him and kept bringing it up throughout their performance. The rest of the band played on with really good passion and although breakdown riffs are not exactly my favorite style of guitar riff, I respect the two guitar players for at least maintaining a tight sound. Overall, Lord of War was a decent act who unfortunately learned that it is long way to the top if you want to rock and roll.

Lord of War

  Wrapping it up here, I think the entire show was not disappointing for those who showed up to the Red House. There were definitely some talented extreme metal musicians working hard to present vicious and unforgiving sounding songs that would have scared the pants off of a Southern Baptist Minister. Again, I cannot stress enough the fact that these four bands were all you needed to have a great headbanging experience. If there were seven bands billed...damn, Lord of War might have been playing to two people.

Unreqvited "Disquiet"

  2016 seems to be the year of atmospheric black metal, because I find myself writing a review for yet another talented band that explores the genre’s infinite potential for musical creativity. Unreqvited is a one-man project from Canada that captured my attention right away when I first heard the song, “Disquiet.” Soon after hearing that song, I was highly anticipating the release of this debut full-length album.

  The band’s style of atmospheric black metal is one that paints a canvas of musical diversity with elements of post rock, ambient and of course that majestic atmospheric black metal sound that completely washes over your soul. From the beginning you find yourself locked into this massive sounding world of guitars, synthesizers and drums. Instead of clearly presenting lyrical content, the artist uses these cries of agony to give the release a unique quality that replaces words with true human expression. When evaluating the overall production quality and sound of the album, I find there to be few weak moments, which tells you the sort of hard work that went into recording this release.

  As I said before my first introduction to the band was when I heard the title track before the album’s release. Now having heard the entire album, I am able to understand how that song fits into the entire picture. “Disquiet,” may be separated into seven tracks,  but the music is one piece of an emotional odyssey through these captivating atmospheric landscapes with fading cries of aguish to create a brilliant contrast of sound. Unrequited opens the album with the song, “Birth,” and ends the release with the appropriately titled track, “Death.” That final song happens to be one of the most deep and moving pieces of music I have heard this year and I will go into further detail later on in this review. The rest of the songs on the album convey their own distinct sounding themes, yet maintain a level of consistency that makes the transitions from each track flow with great synergy.

  “The Autumn Fire,” is one song that I found myself constantly replaying once it finished. I just close my eyes and let the music take me away with its soothing and dynamic guitar arrangements. The melodic touches combined with the cold black metal screams is very comforting. Other songs that expressed a similar sounding presentation that I also enjoyed were, “An Ocean of Ire,” and “Maydena.” In the end, my favorite song on the album is, “Death.” The keyboard parts are well composed, while the background synth provides a deep and moving atmosphere. As the final distorted guitar section concludes the sounds of thunder can be heard echoing in the background. The music fades out with a pleasant piano section to close the book on this atmospheric tale.

  Unreqvited’s, “Disquiet,” is an album that had me speechless at times, but as you can tell by the length of this review I had a lot to say about the release. Arguably one of the best sounding releases to come out this year and the recording quality is once again really impressive. When dealing with this frustrating and crazy modern world, I think releases like this are a great investment and can be really therapeutic. I feel like saying highly recommended is not enough...you should really make the time to listen to this album.


Unreqvited "The Autumn Fire" :

Unrequited Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/unreqvited

Unrequited Bandcamp:
https://unreqvited.bandcamp.com 

Thought Vomit Release Show (10/28/16)

Thought Vomit

    You could not have asked for a better night to have a release show for Thought Vomit’s new album, “Punks Brutal Retaliation/Sync the Skies.” With only a few days before Halloween, the Phoenix Theater was jam-packed with fans who were highly anticipating Thought Vomit's performance along with the other six supporting bands on the bill.

  Opening the show was the young punks from Ukiah known as, R4ID. The self-described, “Turd Punk,” dudes never fail to deliver that radiant hardcore punk attitude. I saw these guys a couple times over the summer and this time they would be joined by their new singer Clayton King. R4ID started their set off with just the original three members Daniel Young on drums, Phoenix Lewis on bass/vocals and Boden Vogus on guitar. Right away the band tore into a tidal wave of angry sounding classic punk jams to kick off the night. The people in the front row of the stage were really rocking out to the music’s overall unapologetic punk vibe. The drum sound and bass tone were well mixed, however, I wish the guitars could have been a bit louder. Still, that did not stop Boden from striking the chords with pure aggressive force and putting on a solid performance. When Clayton joined them onstage the band really came alive and I think the addition definitely adds to the band’s sound. Overall, the stage presence from the entire group was strong and I cannot wait to hear what they have down the road.

R4ID

  Following R4ID was a local band who I would be seeing for the first time called, EveryDayFreak. This trio played a style of hard rock/metal that took on a variety of different elements, but maintained a solid and consistent sound. The mixing of their instruments sounded good and the bass tone was probably the most noticeable during their set. EveryDayFreak was a group who seemed like they had their songs down and the band sounded very tight. I am sure they are still working on ways to push themselves as songwriters and I felt like the compositions were very simple and not too technical. Definitely a group to keep an eye on and it will be nice to see their progression with more shows in the future.

EveryDayFreak

  Third up on the bill was Petaluma locals, Pacifists. Unfortunately, Pacifists happen to play a style of hardcore/metal that I choose to not review too often. I shall be as constructive as possible, but their style of breakdown driven music is personally not my favorite. Whenever I see people doing that karate in the pit style of hardcore dancing, I just burst out laughing. The band relied heavily on simple breakdowns and can benefit from more dynamic instrumental compositions. Pacifists seemed to have their songs down and I noticed that the band had a loyal following giving them support. Like I said before, this is a style of music I struggle to comprehend along with the karate dancing. I’m surprised no one dressed up like the Karate Kid and went into the pit.

  Taking the stage fourth and hopefully deviating from the karate dancing was, Cyborg Octopus. This East Bay progressive metal outfit really explores the different musical thresholds available to them. Dressed up like characters from Scooby-Doo, the band began their set with some latin sounding dance music and then transitioned into a more modern progressive metal sound. They are very talented musicians who go outside the box on occasion to where you never know which direction their music will go. The saxophone player was really getting into the music and at times he was headbanging with great enthusiasm to the riffs. I noticed the fans were having a difficult time figuring out when to mosh, because one guy was doing his karate in the pit crap while the band was playing a more smooth jazz composition. Overall, their set was solid and entertaining with regards to some of the crowd members.

  After Cyborg Octopus wrapped up their unique sounding set, Predation, cranked up the volume and unleashed some riffs of brutality. The few times I had seen Predation before were unfortunately plagued due to poor sound quality. Tonight was a lot better, because the band sounded unbelievably solid during their set. Plus, vocalist Phil Bassini performs with great passion to where even though I am not a massive fan of their style of music, I find myself interested due to his delivery and stage presence. The riffs were brutal and thanks to that wicked guitar tone I thought the band definitely delivered a strong performance. It goes to show what can happen when the sound guy and the band are able to figure out the most optimal sound.

  What band we up to now? Oh yeah number six, Wolf King. This trio of blackened hardcore riff crushing maniacs put on one extreme set. They did not need a bass player as their guitarist, drummer and singer formula proved to deliver quite the impact on the crowd’s ears. Very relentless and vicious sounding compositions that contained simple structures, yet powerful moments of distorted expression. I felt like you had some recycled and generic compositions at times, but the band’s passion and energy seemed to carry them a lot during their set. People were headbanging along and the reaction after each song was positive.

  Finally, the band celebrating the release of their new album, Thought Vomit, started their set with an enormous roar from the audience. Everyone made a push towards the stage as the band began their first song. Guitarist Chris Meyer and bassist Jordie Hilley hammered madly away at the main riff, while drummer Clay Prieto handled the main rhythm with ease from the behind the kit. Singer Spencer Clark came out and as always poured endless amounts of energy into his onstage performance. Playing mostly new material the musicians in Thought Vomit put on one stellar and enthusiastic set. Probably one of my favorite songs during their set was, “Glad to Lose.” The crowd seemed to be digging the song as well and the pit kept growing throughout the piece. Later during their set the band was joined by Abby from X-Method who contributed a strong vocal performance. Abby was not the only person who joined the band up onstage. A fan with a chicken mask showed up and started rocking out with the band. In conclusion, Thought Vomit sounded brilliant and the crowd seemed to maintain an amazing level of energy during each of the band’s songs until the end.

Thought Vomit featuring Abby from X-Method

If you have read this far I congratulate you, because writing this review was not a simple task, especially with seven bands who offered many memorable moments. Although some bands I found to not suite my personal musical taste, I respect all the bands who played and congratulate all the musicians for putting together one gigantic night of hardcore and metal mayhem. Also, congratulations to Thought Vomit on the release of their new album and may their hard work and DIY ethic continue to carry them forward.

Trecelence "Justified Atrocities"

    Over the last last year I have had the opportunity to witness firsthand the growth and accomplishments of an extremely talented group of very passionate thrash metal musicians. Trecelence is a band that to strives make solid headbanging technical thrash music and they have gained a loyal following within the Sonoma County Metal Community. The Santa Rosa, CA based band's new full-length album, “Justified Atrocities,” now looks to take the global metal world by storm with a fierce arsenal of technical thrash tracks.

  To start, I am already aware that some will question the authenticity of this review and will claim that I am being biased since I know the band. However, as I have mentioned before when writing reviews with bands who I happen to know, I find that I can still present a fair assessment of the music. If I do not particularly like something, I will express my opinion. Also, all humans are biased and this bullshit about being as unbiased as pure white snow is a freaking joke. If the mainstream media is biased as hell, then I can write reviews about my friends’ music.

  Moving on, “Justified Atrocities,” can be described as a technical thrash offering that pays homage to all those eighties bands who led the way by shredding and headbanging with endless amounts of mosh pit conjuring riffs. The album opens with the triumphant instrumental piece, “Canis Major,” and gives listeners a brief introduction to the technical guitar talents of Chris Olney Burnett and Donnie Small. The track then perfectly transitions into the next song, “Into the Gateway,” where bassist/vocalist Zane Covington unleashes an epic scream as the guitars and drums viciously begin their thrash journey into the chaotic sounding vortex. Drummer Ilan Cabrera maintains a solid presence on the track and along with Zane, creates a heavy sounding backbone where Chris and Donnie are able to come up with some impressive leads.

    The area that stands out the most for me on this album is the guitar playing. Song number three, “Shrapnel Surroundings,” is filled to the brim with heavy skull crushing riffs and of course those tremendous note shredding leads. You even get a King Diamond like scream from Zane during the song to add that extra emphasis. I want to point out how Zane’s vocals have definitely improved since the band’s first EP “Acidic Demise,” and his ability to hit the high notes really stands out. Following it up, “Systematic Intimidation,” keeps the thrash machine moving and driving at top speed. At times I felt like the lyrics were getting lost in the riffs and Zane vocals during the verse sections could have been slightly louder.

    Probably my favorite track on the album, “Corporatocracy,” contains a variety of dynamic riffs that have elements of more than just thrash. There is this one part towards the end where one of the guitars picks through these haunting minor chords and sounds a bit like something you might hear in a black metal song. “Agenda 21,” and “Burning the Pendulum,” are a couple of solid tracks that sort of maintain the same style and sound you heard from the previous tracks. The bass playing really stands out during, “Burning the Pendulum,” which helps add that devastating low end punch to the music.

  The final three tracks are, “Under the Elusive Sky,” “Battle Beneath the Skull,” and “Aridscape.” All three tracks do not disappoint and the band stays consistent until the end. My only minor complaint is I am still not completely sold on the production for the vocals. I felt like the guitars and drums would drown out what Zane was saying, but that was only during a few sections. Overall, the band sounds really tight throughout the release.

  To conclude, Trecelence crafted one ambitious sounding album that enters the gateway into the global world of metal by delivering some relentless and ferocious sounding tracks. Unlike some bands in the thrash genre who settle for basic recycled thrash worship riffs, one can hear where Trecelence is pushing themselves to create clever instrumental compositions to compliment their thought provoking lyrics. This is definitely a good starting point for the band and I know that their hard work ethic will allow them to construct even more solid technical thrash tunes in the future. So, get off your Twitters and stop worrying about who is going to be the next circus clown leader of the world circus and go pick up a copy of, “Justified Atrocities.”

Trecelence "Shrapnel Surroundings" :

Trecelence Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/trecelence/?fref=ts