Review: Traveler "Self-Titled Release"

    Screaming through the galaxy with a classic metal vengeance of super sonic metallic force, Canada’s Traveler offers a scorching full-length debut release looking to consume the heavy metal universe with glorious sounding riffs and triumphant sounding vocals.

    Speed metal and power metal fans will be rather pleased with this release, as the band demonstrates strong songwriting skills and skillful musicianship. The band’s singer, Jean-Pierre Abboud, also known for his work in the band Gatekeeper, does a tremendous job presenting the lyrics with a high soaring vocal delivery. Along with Jean-Pierre’s amazing vocal abilities, the twin guitar attack of Matt Ries and Toryin Schadlich proves to be a lightening fast force of riff making fury. I also thought the rhythm section comprising of bassist Dave Arnold and drummer Chad Vallier, packed a mighty punch on each track to help establish a bold and bombastic sound.

    The album’s production and overall sound is full of relentless heavy metal energy which is very consistent on each song. You know you’re in for a ripping heavy metal experience when the opening track, “Starbreaker,” bursts out of your speakers like a starship screaming through the cosmos fueled by an atomic sounding main guitar riff. The vocals add an extra emphasis of epic heavy metal attitude and Jean-Pierre has an unbelievable range that does not sound forced and seems to come natural when he hits those high notes. After the opening track ended I liked the transition into the next song, “Street Machine,” because the music maintained such a passionate and fierce edge. Traveler does a great job not settling for generic and simplistic riffs and comes up with these arrangements that convey a high level of profound energy.

    Track three off of the album, “Behind the Iron,” is a very Maiden-esque type song that utilizes the two guitar attack extremely well. The way that the vocals compliment the melodic guitar compositions is perfectly executed and keeps delivering until the song ends. Other songs worth mentioning are, “Fallen Heroes,” “Mindless Maze” and “Speed Queen” with probably “Mindless Maze” being my overall favorite song off of the album. From the soothing intro guitar arrangement to the epic chorus section to the mind being lead guitar parts, I felt like the song was extremely well written from start to finish. Traveler combined all the elements needed to write a stellar heavy metal song that does not disappoint in the least bit, or sounds poorly slapped together like what you hear from most classic metal worship bands who spend more time on their album artwork than their songwriting skills.

    Traveler is yet another great example of a band paying homage to classic heavy metal, while forging their own path by writing some exciting and powerful pieces of music. The band’s self-titled debut release is a recommended listen for fans of classic heavy metal, speed metal, power metal or people who want something to bang their head along to while raising their fists in the air. Better not pass this release up, because the way Traveler is going right now, these guys are going to be coming at the heavy metal world faster than the speed of light and you don’t want to miss out!



Traveler "Behind the Iron" :

Traveler Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/travelerheavymetal/

Archangel A.D. "Warband"

    Bursting out the abyss like an unstoppable demonic force without remorse, Archangel A.D. is group that is ready to strike. The Edinburg, Texas based band unleashes a fist full of thrash metal madness on their upcoming album, “Warband.”

    Taking the fierce and skull crushing spirit of 80’s thrash metal, Archangel A.D. constructs brutal headbanging riffs while composing some blitzkrieg like pieces of music. I hear a very classic thrash vibe in their songs and the songwriting is rather impressive for a young bunch of dudes. There are so many bands who try and look “thrash metal” to where the songs come out sounding incomplete, or are just poorly recycled riffs taken from Slayer songs. I think Archangel A.D. is going about writing their songs in the right manner to where they are not just hitting the repeat button on each track.

    The album opens with an explosive song called, “Unto the Evil,” containing a crushing main riff section. I thought the music was very reminiscent to that of early Testament and Megadeth where the riffs contain some strong and thoughtful chord progressions accompanied by catchy verse sections. The drumming is solid along with the overall guitar and bass work, but I felt like the vocal presentation during the song was where the band really excelled. The band’s singer delivers a strong performance and the recording quality of the vocals helped give the songs that extra emphasis of aggression. Track number two, “Blighting,” is yet another classic thrash worshipping slice of galloping fury. There is no hesitation as the band feverishly hammers out a blizzard of notes and sounds to construct a sinister song.

    The album’s title track, “Warband,” is strong piece of music and the musicianship from each member really stands out. Archangel A.D. does not settle for simplicity, however, they do not try and complicate their music with unnecessary technicality. That also goes for the instrumental track, “Enter the Temple,” which is a decent composition that is heavy and features some monstrous riffs. The final two tracks, “Evil Dreams” and “Metal Horde,” are dark pieces of music that both contain some haunting arrangements. I think the intro to, “Evil Dreams,” was down right terrifying and I really liked the bells ringing in the background. The band did a great job creating a very ominous and doom like atmosphere which was an enjoyable change of tempo.

    In a sea of countless thrash bands around the world, I think Archangel A.D. did a tremendous job showing what they are capable of doing on, “Warband.” I want to hear them continue to focus on coming up with dynamic song structures, because I think that is where they will excel the most and separate them from the usual suspects. Also, the recording quality of the songs on this release was fairly decent, so I hope they build off of how this album sounded and find ways to produce some impactful thrash records. Thrash is still alive and kicking, especially when you have young bands like Archangel A.D. showing they have the potential and talent to conjure up some wicked sounding tunes.


Archangel A.D. "Blighting"

Archangel A.D. Facebook Page:
 https://www.facebook.com/ArchangelA.D

Laceration "Remnants"

  The Bay Area metal scene is thriving right now with numerous up and coming bands recording some really impressive material. Laceration is band taking old school death metal and thrash metal and unleashing blistering tracks of extreme metal chaos.

  Formed in 2006, Laceration has gained a strong following over the years amongst the Bay Area metal scene and keeps building momentum. Working with Unspeakable Axe Records, a label that seems to produce devastating releases from some of the most ravenous bands around, Laceration will be putting out a release featuring songs from a couple EPs, demos and songs that were part of their 2013 split with Tinnitus. I think fans will be pleased to hear a sinister array of material on the upcoming release, which I believe will help build anticipation for more new material from Laceration.

  “Remnants,” features a strong dose of tracks that shall appease any extreme metal maniac looking for some high quality headbanging. The opening song, “Realms of the Unconscious,” is a dynamic assault of brutality and technical prowess. I felt like the track was a great introduction for people who may have never heard of Laceration, because the song really touches upon what this band is about musically and demonstrates their style of songwriting. The following tracks continue to maintain a vicious edge while constantly leaving carnage in their wake. Track number two, “Self Deprivation,” is a bombastic slaughter of sound and molds such ferocity from various influences that range from old school death metal to 80’s thrash. Laceration does a good job maintaining a balance of death metal and thrash metal to where the band is able to utilize the combination to their advantage when writing their songs.

  Other songs to mention off this release would be, “Exhausted in Form,” “Bred to Consume” and “Hobo with a Shotgun.” I personally enjoyed, “Hobo with the Shotgun,” the most since I am fan of the movie which the song is named after and I also thought the music sounded just as brutal as the film. Laceration’s vocalist is a strong singer and he does a tremendous job presenting the lyrics throughout the song in a bold unapologetic nature. Another killer piece of music off this album is, “Shadows of Existence,” which begins with a massive wall of distorted chaos that comes destructively crashing down along with the hellish sounding drum parts. The riff sections are harsh and convey such raw energy to where you feel consumed by this malicious force of extreme sounding horror.

  Overall I believe, “Remnants,” is a well put together release featuring songs that demonstrate solid musicianship and creative songwriting which seems to have evolved since the band’s inception. The band does not just simply slap together recycled death and thrash riffs, and I find there is a bit more thought in their instrumental compositions compared to most other death/thrash bands. I think if Laceration keeps up this type of songwriting and musicianship on future releases, we are going to be getting treated to some killer sounding extreme metal releases. Th future looks brutal people, so keep an eye out for Laceration!


Laceration "Exhausted in Form" :

Laceration Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/LACERATION-Bay-Area-106524719409624/

Top Ten Albums of 2018 / Rob "The Metal Guy Awards"

If someone was to tell me that 2018 was a poor year for hard rock and heavy metal music I would consider tying them to one of Elon Musks' SpaceX rockets and sending them off into space. In reality 2018 was another strong year for rock and metal music with plenty of impressive sounding releases. I know that moron from Maroon 5 says rock is "nowhere" but then again, his music is equal to that of horse manure, so what does he really know. I was pleased with the albums that came out this year and I do not think rock and metal are going "nowhere." People just need to pull their heads out of their asses, or do more goddamn research before opening their douche crusted hipster mouths. Here are my top ten picks of 2018 from some exceptional artists in the rock and metal world...

10. Skeletal Remains - Devouring Mortality

Skeletal Remains is a death metal band that knows how to craft some bombastic sounding old school death metal music, while also providing some solid elements of technicality. I feel like, “Devouring Mortality,” was definitely a step into more of a technical world compared to their previous releases, and I think the musicianship is becoming really impressive. Skeletal Remains is a strong act with more left to offer, so I am looking forward to how they can top this album.

9. Exmortus - The Sound of Steel

The shredding assault of Exmortus is still going strong and their new album. “The Sound of Steel,” does not disappoint. Exmortus is a band full of talented musicians and the guitar playing always stands out on each release. Their mixture of neoclassical shredding with thrash and death metal make for some epic and exciting cuts of metal. Plus, I always enjoy hearing battle themed lyrics accompanied by blistering lead guitar playing.

8. Petrification - Hollow of the Void

Gruesome, terrifying and paying homage too old school death metal, Petrification delivered a sinister sounding release this year with “Hollow of the Void.” These Portland, Oregon death metal musicians are exceptional players and wrote some really vicious tracks. I think they are definitely one of the strongest up and coming death metal acts to come out within the last couple years and a force to be reckoned with in the future.

7. Summoning - With Doom We Come

One of the most important bands in the world of atmospheric black metal, Summoning, is such an iconic force that when news of their new album came out fans were highly anticipating this new album. The bands 1995 release, “Minus Morgul,” is quite possibly the blue-print for atmospheric black metal and is an album that has inspired so many current artists within the sub-genre. “With Doom We Come,” features long epic pieces with lyrical content inspired by the works of Tolkien that pulls you into a world of cinematic musical fantasy. I think fans will be pleased to hear the band maintain a very epic atmospheric black metal sound.

6. Vargrav - Netherstorm

When I first heard Vargrav I was quickly reminded of Emperor and all those black metal bands who are able to successfully incorporate keyboards into their black metal sound. “Netherstorm,” is stellar blizzard of raw black metal, yet has these moments of cosmic melodic atmosphere. You can’t write this band off as another typical black metal band, because the riffs and song structures are very well crafted. There are no recycled riffs, or poorly written compositions. Each song flows with great synergy on this album, so you never lose interest when listening to it.

5. Abstracter - Cinereous Incarnate 

Another band from the Sentient Ruin roster, Abstracter did a tremendous job creating what could possibly be the soundtrack for the apocalyptic demise of humanity. The music is unbelievably heavy to where seismic shocks are sent out each time a chord is struck, or a cymbal smashed. Overall, these musicians are a solid unit and keep offering some wicked sounding tunes of destructive blackened sludge. 

4. Barren Altar - Entrenched in the Faults of the Earth 

I have seen Barren Altar a fair amount of times over the last few years and have interviewed the band on a couple occasions. To finally hear this Sonoma County based band release a devastating full-length album really made 2018 a solid year for extreme music. The dynamics and unique blend of black metal, death metal and doom metal sends chills down your spine, while also obliterating your speakers. The vocals on this album present tales of pure agony and inner anguish, which compliments the abysmal sounding instrumental compositions. 

3. Atrament - Scum Sect 

One of the most brutal sounding releases to come out this year, Atrament’s “Scum Sect” is a pulverizing assault of blackened death crust spewing hatred from the dark depths of the Bay Area. I thought the songwriting on this album was extremely well done and there were no throw away tracks throughout the album. Plus the overall production quality added a malevolent punch of musical insanity to your ears. When pertaining to underground extreme music, Atrament is one of the top up and coming acts around.

2. Cauldron - New Gods

Cauldron’s last album, “In Ruin,” was an impressive release from top to bottom in my opinion. The production and songwriting was flawless, so I looked forward to what they would do on their next album. “New Gods,” definitely maintains that same essence which can be heard on “In Ruin,” while taking a more melodic hard rock/classic metal approach at times. There are plenty of catchy riffs on this album along with very melodic song structures. The lyrics are well written and can get stuck in your head for hours. What is it about Canada and great rock and metal power trios? They just seem to know how to make them. 

1. Old Tower - Stellary Wisdom 

Old Tower, “Stellary Wisdom,” was without a doubt one of the most fascinating and most brilliant sounding releases to come out this year, hence why I have it as my number one pick of 2018. The artist behind this project known only as, The Specter, continues to demonstrate amazing composition skills by taking dungeon synth music and creating worlds of tranquil sounding darkness. The overall atmosphere on, “Stellary Wisdom,” is truly phenomenal and the consideration to detail and recording quality is so well done. For those who are looking for a great dungeon synth release I can tell you “Stellary Wisdom” is the album you should be checking out. 

Rob “The Metal Guy” Awards :

Best EP of the Year: Mournful Cries “Vices” 

Best Split Release of the Year: Putrid and Pathetic “Devorando Carne Divina” 

Best Live Album: Night Demon “Live Darkness” 

Label of the Year: Sentient Ruin

Best Live Performance: Trecelence (March 23 at the Phoenix Theater / Opening for Act of Defiance)

Up and Coming Artist of the Year: Blood Star

Most Metal Movie of 2018: Terrifier (First premiered in 2016 but I saw it in 2018)

Most Metal WWE Wrestler: Becky Lynch 

Most Obnoxious Group of People on the Planet: ANTIFA (For cancelling the Taake tour. Hoping they don't cancel any shows or tours in 2019...fucking dicks)

Biggest Douche Award: The dumbass from Maroon 5 with Gene Simmons as runner up (Surprisingly Gene wasn't as big of a douche this year as the previous year.) 

Atrament "Scum Sect"

    Taking D-beat crust punk and adding a pulverizing helping of backend death brutality, Atrament summons forth an abysmal sounding world of eternal chaos. Each track on the Oakland, CA based band’s new album, “Scum Sect,” is a sinister attack of pure blackened hatred sure enough to drain the happiness right out of your inner soul.

    Their debut album, “Eternal Downfall,” was an impressive and utterly extreme sounding release and was one of my favorite releases for that year. Somehow the band takes the music into even more blasphemous and dark directions with their sophomore album, “Scum Sect,” by writing more down right unapologetic lyrics and unleashing some devastating riffs. Also, the overall musicianship on this new album is rather solid and as a whole the band is able to produce some strong tracks. Out of the ten songs on this release I don’t think you will find one track that does not fit, because the songwriting and musicianship is unbelievably consistent. Once the band hammers out the first offering of merciless sounding terror you can’t run away and are sucked into this endless nightmare of pure destruction.

    The song, “Plague Upheaval,” kicks off the album with a thunderous punch of distortion and malevolent sounding vocals. The drumming is crushing is overall sound and maintains a killer groove which you hear throughout the album. I felt like the sound engineer did an awesome job with the drum and guitar levels to where every extreme sound flows in perfect synergy. The next song, “Chains of Terror,” feverishly strikes away at a ghastly sounding blackened death riff while the drumming keeps the music moving forward in blistering fashion. Another area to point out is the vocals and Atrament’s singer provides one monstrous sounding vocal delivery on this album. Songs like, “Boiling Blood,” and “Spit on Mankind,” are given an extra boost of gruesome and harsh sounding attitude by the band’s lead singer.

    Other songs I want to mention are “Craven” and the last track on the album, “This Night Shall See No End.” Both tracks continue to display this bands vicious musical talents with even more sickening vocal lines and bombastic humanity destroying riff compositions. “This Night Shall See No End,” is probably my favorite song off the album, because I like how the band combined all the different elements of black metal, death metal and crust punk to create one massive sounding extreme assault on the ears.

    I think Atrament’s, “Scum Sect,” is yet another great release from this band and the album continues to build upon their vicious legacy as one of the Bay Area's strongest up and coming acts. Easily one of the most profound and intense sounding recordings to come this year in my opinion. If they sound this extreme and apocalyptic on their recordings, just imagine what these guys sound like live…the venue would probably collapse and a portal into a black and endless abyss would open up sucking everyone in, besides the promoter of course who would take all the money and get out of their faster than a blast beat.



Atrament "This Night Shall See No End"

Atrament Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/blackatrament/

Cauldron "New Gods"

   The evolution of Cauldron is quite fascinating and their new album, “New Gods,” is yet another strong effort from the Canadian power trio. From a young and hungry band offering blistering riffs of classic metal fury to a more melodic hard rock attitude, Cauldron is beginning to find the right blend of heaviness and melody to where the songs really standout.

   On their previous album, “In Ruin,” I definitely noticed the band focusing more on developing strong songs and the overall production of that album was simply amazing. The band's 2007 debut EP, “Into the Cauldron,” came out during a time when a lot of young metal bands were trying to emulate the classic acts by creating heavy riffs and throwing around lightening fast guitar parts. I am glad Cauldron never participated in the speed war by showing off how fast they could play and I think that the band’s focus on solid musicianship plus strong songwriting skills has led us to the current release, “New Gods.”

   As I said earlier, “In Ruin,” was exceptional in terms of production, so I was extremely impressed with how they carried that sound over onto the new album. The drums sounded great along with the guitar and bass sound which highlights the bands ability to craft some killer classic metal sounding music Also, I thought bassist and vocalist, Jason Decay, sounded great throughout the album and his vocal abilities do not disappoint.

   From the start of this album to the very end, Cauldron deals a strong selection of tracks. The album opens with the fierce hard rocking song, “Prisoner of the Past,” which I think sets the tone for the album by presenting a tight rhythm section and crushing main riff. Guitarist Ian Chains is an outstanding player who may not be the most flashy and overly technical guitarists around, but he gets the job done and knows how to construct heavy riffs that convey raw emotion. I thought the guitar solos on tracks like, “No Longer” and “Never Be Found,” were well executed and did not throw around random notes, or go off into pointless directions.

   Other tracks I wish to highlight are, “Save the Truth/Syracuse,” “Isolation” and “Together As None.” On, “Save the Truth/Syracuse,” the band hammers out a heavy dose of classic metal riffs and bold sounding drum parts. I feel like drummer, Myles Deck, provides a powerful punch on this song and throughout the album he is the beating pulse of this band when pertaining to rhythm. “Isolation,” is an instrumental composition stands out from the other tracks and in the end demonstrates the band’s musical creativity along with their ability to depart from what one would expect. Although I think the song on this album that vividly stood out for me was, “Together As None.” The song features a well built chorus section and the lyrics were extremely well written to compliment the instrumental composition. In this day and age I feel so many bands fail to capture the essence of their sound with solid lyrical content and this song was rather refreshing to hear.

   I believe Cauldron did a tremendous job on, “New Gods,” by conveying a classic metal sound, yet found a way to make the music sound distinct and strengthen their musical identity. Fans will enjoy the balance of classic metal riffs with a more melodic hard rock touch and compared to most of the music coming out, there is no real filler because each song is written with purpose and meaning. There is no slowing down for this band and I foresee them continuing to pour their die hard classic metal worshipping hearts and souls on future releases.

Review: Altars "Self-Titled EP"

    Drowning listeners in an endless black sea of hellish sounding death metal, the San Jose,CA based band known as, Altars, unleashes a merciless assault of extreme terror on their self-titled debut EP. 

    The band offers up four explosive tracks containing a sinister sound and attitude similar to that of classic death metal and grindcore bands that laid the foundation for extreme music. These musicians do not hesitate when pertaining to brutality and the music simply suffocates and possesses your overall senses. I also liked how the four tracks flowed and you get little to catch your breath on this EP. The opening track, “Unholy Retribution,” begins with a burst of distorted feedback to create an abysmal and very terrifying atmosphere, which eventually turns into a massive hurricane of vicious death metal. I thought the musicianship was rather impressive overall and the recording quality of each instrument is well captured throughout the release. 

    The second track on the album, “Conqueror,” is definitely more of a fast paced old school grindcore like piece and contains some extreme rapid fire drumming and riffs. I feel like the music comes and goes leaving behind a decimated wasteland of complete and utter carnage. The third song, “Ancient Plague,” I felt was a more dynamic sounding track compared to the first two. In the beginning on the song the band does an impressive job building up a very bleak and doom like sounding atmosphere before dragging listeners down into a swamp of distorted chaos. “Black Magic,” wraps up the EP with more bellicose sounding death metal riffs and demonic growls. The singer even lets out a blood curdling scream in the middle of the song which adds to the already horror like and fear inducing atmosphere.

    Overall, I think Altars presented some solid music with their debut EP and leaves me wanting more from this band. The musicianship did not disappoint along with the band’s ability to construct terrorizing atmospheres of brutal death metal. Also, Altars is yet another impressive act to have their music released on Sentient Ruin Laboratories, which is a label that continues to deliver some of the best up and coming extreme music acts around. In the end, there is some killer music being conjured up in San Jose, CA that I hope continues to strike fear in the hearts of priests and may one day awaken the destructive forces from starless voids beyond.


Altars "Conqueror" :

Altars Bandcamp:

altars666.bandcamp.com

Sentient Ruin Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/SentientRuin/