Faceshift – All Crumbles Down


It’s funny: last week I discovered my appreciation for a genre that I could never stand, and this week I have to notice that a genre, that I enjoyed back in the day, no longer appeals to me. Objectively speaking, it’s got nothing to do with the quality of the release, because Faceshift‘s All Crumbles Down is a really solid modern heavy metal release, still the spark simply didn’t ignite after my usual ten listening sessions.

As I said, the Swedish quintet’s sound is orientated towards modern heavy metal, with down-tuned guitars and hammering drums, heavy riffs and a lot of palm-muting. The songwriting, however, has that classic feel to it with massive melodies and occasional keyboard use. Generally speaking, every element that is necessary to make an album of said genre appealing is there and well executed.

The same goes for the vocal performance during these eleven songs, which is mostly kept in the clean range and very occasionally accentuated by screams. There is absolutely no denying that the singer has great pipes either and he displays a broad repertoire of melodic singing capabilities. At times his timbre reminds me of Layne Staley from Alice In Chains and in other passages he has that slight Dio resemblance, the mix of the two truly makes it an enjoyable ride.

In the opening lines I said that I just couldn’t get into the music, which is sadly true, because during the forty-nine minutes that are All Crumbles Down, I was never taken “into the zone”; which is a major factor to me when it comes to liking a band.

Honestly, I entirely attribute that to the fact that I simply lost touch with heavy metal, and I’m convinced that Faceshift will manage to impress many of their listeners. So please, do yourself a favor and check out their video below and head over to their Facebook page to follow their progress. Last but not least, if you like what you hear, be sure to check out their album when it drops in April 14th!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOON4FO_LMg]

Twin Planets – These Walls Hold Nothing But The Death Of All That We Hold Dear


I know I seem like a broken a record this year, but I can’t stress enough how many “new” genres I’ve discovered for myself in these past three months. Today is yet another example, because usually I would have changed the channel if I heard this kind of music…but Twin Planets have managed to make alternative rock or, how I used to call it, radio-friendly rock, very relevant to my interests. Their new album with the super long name These Walls Hold Nothing But The Death Of All That We Hold Dear is going to be released on April 6th, and I’m happy to share my thoughts with you in advance!

While the music the Brits play is indeed very pop-orientated, there is one major thing that sets them apart from all the previous bands that I’ve heard in this genre: post-rock elements. The song structures are quite traditional and, dare I say, simple but the musicianship that is hidden within them is very intricate, and manages to make them more than just boring melodies that hold the eleven songs together.

Especially songs like Communicator and Empires succeeded in making me lose myself in the soundscape, due to their almost hypnotic build-up and the resulting aural explosion. While I genuinely love the instrumental side of the quartet’s sound, the vocals add another layer of melody and diversity to the forty minutes, making TWHNBTDOATWHD quite the ride.

My only minor gripe are the repetitive lyrics, especially when it comes to choruses, since they are often limited to about ten lines per song and often sung over and over. While that could be considered a plus for live performances, because they favor sing-alongs, I quite honestly tended to ignore the words during my listening sessions after the first time.

All in all, Twin Planets convinced me that alternative rock can be more than just background noise, and I sincerely hope to experience these guys live in the near future! If you want to find out if it’s to your liking, be sure to click on the video below and head over to their Facebook page! Enjoy!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhapSpI1ja0]

Your Own Decline – Stay True To Yourself


The following sentence is as shocking to me, as it might be to some of my returning readers: I found a power metal album that I thoroughly enjoy! The “culprit” is called Stay True To Yourself by the Italians Your Own Decline, and there is a good reason why I like it so much…read on if you want to find out!

First off, you should know that my long-lasting aversion to this particular genre is solely based on the, to me, often cringe-worthy vocals that are prevalent in the majority of bands. While I do enjoy the instrumental parts in general, the singing makes out a big part of the whole package, which is why I can’t stomach the ensemble in most cases!

The quartet, however, features a very diverse singer whose “power metal” voice is not only very bearable to my ears but I would even go as far as saying that it’s brilliant. On top of that he also screams from time to time and even growls occasionally, which adds a very welcome twist to the six songs.

Another huge plus during these twenty minutes is the fact that the instruments don’t follow the traditional rules of the genre, because you can, for example, find several modern influences in the guitar sound and the riffing, coupled with the one or the other breakdown, without excessive chugging, this makes for a super interesting mix…one that I can honestly say blew me away.

Ironically, Your Own Decline have completely ignored the title of the EP in a way, because they have added many different “new” elements to this, in my opinion, worn-out genre…and it definitely paid off. Stay True To Yourself is another record that you should absolutely check out if you don’t want to miss out on a great experience! So, please click on the video and head over to the band’s Facebook page if you like what you hear! Forza Azzurri!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny2YL_bYPc4]

No Return – Fearless Walk To Rise


I’m going to be honest here…even though No Return are a fairly well-established death metal band that has been around for twenty-six years, I have never heard of them before. Which is why I won’t be able to tell you how well their new record Fearless Walk To Rise fares against their previous releases, but what I can tell you is: boy, does it rock!

The quintet plays death metal that definitely has old school roots, but doesn’t shy away from throwing in more modern, melodic, elements, which prevents the ten songs from ever sounding stale. The interplay between brutal riffs and devastating blast beats lends the tracks a lot of tempo and ferocity. On the other hand, you have groove-laden and truly melodic parts that infuse variety in just the right spots.

I get a certain Scandinavian metal feel from the music the Frenchmen play, mainly due to the fact that the song structures resemble those of the aforementioned genre and I personally don’t mind at all, because they absolutely nail it. The sheer mass of crazy-fast solos and technical goodness that is buried in these forty-seven minutes will certainly be appealing to returning listeners.

The only aspect that might be a bit difficult for some to get into, are the occasional clean vocals, or shouts rather, that are thrown in…especially because the French accent, that I personally adore so much, is hard to ignore in these passages. If you can overlook that small fact, the singer’s performance is top notch and he definitely delivers on the whole line.

All in all, as a first-time-listener, I can honestly say that Fearless Walk To Rise is a very solid death metal record, for fans of the genre as well as newcomers. I strongly urge you to give the song below a listen and visit the band’s Facebook page if you like what you hear, for more info on where to get the album once it’s released on March 30th!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM-QQcPJI3U]

A Horrible Death To A Horrible Man – Escape Escape


Today’s a first for me, because I’m writing about another genre that I have never really listened to and while I was skeptical about whether I’d like it or not, my first impressions have been generally positive. A Horrible Death To A Horrible Man makes its debut with an interesting noise rock EP called Escape Escape, which is due to be released on March 23rd!

Due to my unfamiliarity with this kind of music, some of the following lines might be common knowledge to you, but bear with me here. Most of the time, the quartet needs a lot of momentum to get going, but once they are rolling, there’s no stopping the intensity. In the groovy parts, I always get a certain stoner rock feel, akin to the slower and more intense QOTSA songs. A bit of grunge also shines through to me, and I love the resulting sound.

The Danes know how to build up atmosphere during the five songs, and even though, as I mentioned earlier, they sometimes take their time before climaxing, for lack of a better word, it’s never boring. Coupled with a fittingly dirty, yet crisp, production Escape Escape packs quite a punch. Especially the last song, A Radient City Return Trip, with its Sweet Dreams-esque intro riff has quite the effect on me.

During the twenty-four minutes the vocals are arguably the thing connecting the dots and keeping the ensemble together. The singers dreamily creepy timbre hits just the spot for me and should be able to entrance the listener easily.

All in all, A Horrible Death To A Horrible Man have managed to introduce me to a “new” genre without leaving a bitter aftertaste. I strongly recommend giving them a listen below and heading to their Facebook page if you like what you hear, in order to keep up with them!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRfnos8xoYA]

The Agonist – The Eye Of Providence


The remaining band members of The Agonist seem a bit lost without Alissa White-Gluz. At least that’s what I thought when I heard their new album The Eye Of Providence for the first time. I have to admit, that there are some interesting riffs on the new album, the pounding drums are fine as well and the new singer Vicky Psarakis definitely knows how to cast her magic spell on you with her brilliant voice. But somehow it’s not only the vocals that have changed… It seems as if the whole line up is different on this record.

Let me explain what I mean: As mentioned in the beginning, there are indeed some really cool riffs on The Eye Of Providence (e.g. Gates Of Horn And Ivory, Faceless Messenger, Perpetual Notion, Follow The Crossed Line). However, I do feel quite a lack of innovation throughout the whole album. The riffs are often quite boring, repetitive and even pop-like. And many times, the guitars only sound like some sort of background noise, especially during Vicky’s choruses. Maybe they did that on purpose in order to be able to show off her awesome voice…

Apart from the riffs themselves, the structure of the songs is quite different on the new The Agonist album. Compared to the previous albums, the song structures have been simplified as well. The Agonist have become a bit less progressive and are now sticking a bit more to the typical verse-bridge-chorus structure. Since this is a matter of taste, I’m not going to comment on whether that is a positive or a negative change.

Another thing that has changed is the sound of the band as a whole. Not only has the percentage of the clean vocals been upped a lot, also the guitars sound a bit more polished. I haven’t checked out the old stuff especially for the purpose of this review, but I think I remember the guitar sound to be a bit more aggressive and tuned down a bit more.

I tip my hat to Vicky though. She truly has an amazing voice and can easily poison your heart with her soulful clean vocals. She also does know how to scream and growl but Vicky’s unclean vocals can’t compare to Alissa’s, which might just be the reason why there’s more clean vocals on this new The Agonist album. This will probably also disappoint one or the other fan.

All in all I can’t say that The Eye Of Providence is a bad album! It can actually get you going at some points. However, the points that I mentioned in the article will probably disappoint old school fans. But maybe they changed with the goal to attract a new audience… It’s clear that this album is definitely more suitable for the masses.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urcLhku0I7Y]

This review was written by our Freelancer David from The Metal Diplomat!

Bio-Cancer – Tormenting The Innocent


The Greek guys from Bio-Cancer are demonstrating with their second album Tormenting The Innocent how vital old-school Thrash sounds in the year 2015. With a lot of rage and a maniacal speed their opener Obliged To Incest immediately shows that they take no prisoners.

The vocals are a bit atypical as they are completely guttural and rather high pitched while one might expect a more snotty performance in their particular style of music. This might at first seem strange to the listener given the fact that it is also sometimes hard to understand the lyrics but it brings in more aggression and can definitely be considered as a unique selling point. It’s a bit of a pity that the vocals are mostly on the same pitch, as there could have been more variation right here, but the great vocal rhythms make up for this.

One major focus are the infectious riffs and soli which are played insanely fast and grant the nine songs a particular quality. Nevertheless Bio-Cancer do not only rely on speed, but also understand how to write mature songs which results in great tunes like Bulletproof and the title track.

Some calmer parts like the beginning of F(r)riends Or Fiends with its use of strings are a nice variation while the short Haters Gonna… Suffer!, which adds even more to the insane speed of the album, stands out as a nice eye-catcher by adding more of the same.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbmCW-SXUPg]
This review was written by our freelancer Luc Francois from Legacy.de!

Red Seas Fire – Resolution


Three-word-bands can be found like sand on the beach and while some are really good, some are just bloody awful. Luckily for me, and by association you, Red Seas Fire falls in the former category, because their fourth EP Resolution, which was released yesterday, is a piece of music that can stand its own very well and doesn’t afraid of anything. …sorry, I had to. Anyways, let’s dive in!

The Englishmen play progressive metalcore that reminds me a bit of the early Architects days but with way more grandiose melodies, yet enough progressive elements to keep avid listeners interested all throughout the four songs. The guitars have a powerful down-tuned tone and are guaranteed to kick you in the teeth riff by riff, while the drums provide a solid backdrop, filled with lots of crazy double bass work and a ton of tiny fills.

While all the songs present solid songwriting, the heart of the EP is definitely The Mistakes We Make, which constitutes almost half the playtime of these twenty minutes. That particular track perfectly showcases the epic scale that the quartet can reach with their music.

Especially the vocal performance is very multifaceted, covering screams, growls and most of all the simply entrancing clean vocals. One comparison kept coming back to me on every listen-through: a mix of both Tesseract vocalists, with an equally stunning instrumentation. I don’t know, maybe I’m just imaging it but that’s all I could think of.

I don’t want to be premature here, but Red Seas Fire might just be my personal favorite new discovery of 2015, because Resolution is one of those cases where you wish there were another ten tracks waiting for you. Be sure to check out their video below, and if you like what you hear, head over to their Facebook page!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24UqhahIIUo]

Schedule change


I’ve given this careful consideration and it’s clear to me that after managing and providing content alone for El Gore these past twelve months, I have to change the schedule a bit.

Starting next week, there will only be one guaranteed review per week, instead of the usual two, for two simple reasons:

1) aside from my full-time job, I have quite a few other hobbies that require a lot of time and, most of all, I also need some private time,t
2) the early months of the year are always kind of slow when it comes to music releases, so it’s hard to find records that I enjoy and thus want to review.

It is very likely that in the summer months, when more albums are being released, that you will get two or even three reviews a week, but for now I’d rather do one proper one, instead of half-assing two.

I can promise you one thing though: I am NOT willing to bury El Gore! Because I love doing what I do!

Last but not least, if you feel like writing reviews as a freelancer, be sure to hit me up on the Facebook page!

~The one-man El Gore team~

Not Scientists – Destroy To Rebuild


A bit less than a year ago I reviewed the debut EP, Leave Stickers On Our Graves, of the French punk supergroup Not Scientists, and today I have the great pleasure to write about their follow-up full-length Destroy To Rebuild!

What can I say? Not much has changed. But that wasn’t necessary to begin with, since the quartet had already found its sound on the predecessor and the musicianship was at a high level from the start. The main thing that stands out in comparison, however, is a more traditional production, with more natural sounding instruments or in other words, dare I say, simply a more punk approach.

In terms of songwriting, the eleven songs are still in the same vein as before, with a, for the most part, pop punk vibe and mostly good mood potential. But, the Frenchmen do take a few risks and add bluesy elements in some parts, and even some ska in other parts, which definitely adds a lot of variety to the mix. But the main addition to their sound is in the form of the dreamy and melancholic style, such as on the opener and on Just Break Me, which I absolutely love.

The singer still delivers on the entire line, and even performs some double takes on one song to form a really cool harmony. The lyrics during the thirty-eight minutes are less optimistic though, and lend additional depth to the music, with their reflective tone. Especially Tomorrow’s Another Day and the above-mentioned Just Break Me stand out to me in that domain. My only gripe is the fact that the background screams that I liked so much in the past, have almost completely disappeared…but that’s OK, I guess.

All in all, Destroy To Rebuild is a great full-length follow-up to a strong debut EP, and can easily be listened to several times on repeat without being boring even once. Last but not least, I can only strongly recommend going to a gig if Not Scientists are nearby, because their show’s a treat! So, if you are intrigued, head over to their Facebook page and listen to the album below, before the official release on March 6th!