Inhuman Rampage – Pathfinder

In a previous review I said that our country doesn’t have a lot of good deathcore bands, but I’ve been proven wrong in the past and such is the case today! Because Inhuman Rampage are a talented quintet that managed to convince me with their debut EP Pathfinder.

As is custom in the genre, the music is generally-speaking very fast-paced and involves quite a few chugging breakdowns. However, in order to keep the six songs, plus one intro, from being monotonous, these passages are interlaced with some interestingly technical riffing and in some parts groove-laden drumming.

But for the most part it’s a lot of blast-beating and rapid double-bass work in the percussion department and crushing riffs in the string department. One thing I especially liked in the latter is the fact that the bass guitar is clearly audible throughout the twenty-five minutes, which is always a plus in my book.

The vocals are all in all quite solid: the growls are deep and brutal, and the screeches are bone-chillingly evil. I have to say that the high-pitched variation could have been more dominantly used, but that might just be a personal fancy since I found them to be the better of the two.

To sum things up, I could honestly say that Inhuman Rampage managed to record a more than satisfying EP and even though they did not blow me away with innovation, they do the genre a lot of justice. So be sure to listen to the song below and visit the band’s Facebook page for more information. Pathfinder will be out this Friday, March 21st, at the release show at Kulturfabrik in Esch/Alzette!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hySILMmQt-g]

Trash Monday CIX

One of my favourite bands announced on Facebook that they are going to play with Babymetal on their tour around the Asian continent. Full of anticipation I wasn’t able to discern the sarcasm beforehand, but I dare you to make the same mistake as I did and push the play button. Have fun!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIKqgE4BwAY&app=desktop]

Architects – Lost Forever // Lost Together


Less than two years after their last record, Daybreaker, the guys from Architects are back with their sixth full-length Lost Forever // Lost Together! Right off the bat, I can say that despite a relentless touring schedule and them shrinking down to a quartet, they managed to record a true return to form.

While the predecessor already distanced itself from the softer fourth endeavor, The Here And Now, the new record almost completely drops that facet of the Brightonians’ sound and delivers an all-around heavy experience with intricate guitar parts and equally mind-blowing drum patterns throughout the eleven songs.

Connoisseurs know, of course, that the origins of Architects lie in mathcore and therefor they shouldn’t be surprised that these structures can be found again this time around…the tuning however is much deeper and almost submits a djent vibe. The production is, as should be for this type of music, glass clear during these forty-four minutes and pounds on your eardrums right where it feels good.

Logically, the vocals are much more scream-based than in the past three years and clean-sung passages are a rarity on LF//LT. However, they are yet again a beautiful display of the vocal capabilities of the frontman, who, by the way, is equally good on stage as in the studio. Lyrically, it’s still very socio-critical with an emphasis on the man in the sky. Last but not least, there are guest vocals on Youth Is Wasted On The Young by Murray Macleod of The Xcerts.

All in all, I would say that Architects managed to expand their old sound while still maintaining the evolution from previous records and will surely please fans and other music enthusiasts with this output. For more information, be sure to check the band’s Facebook page and give the song below a listen!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MHTy_dcSKE]

Cosmogon – Chaos Magnum


When Cosmogon played their first show in January 2012, I called them the “newcomer” of the year and I was anxiously awaiting the announcement of any recording plans. It took the guys two years and a considerable amount of shows under their belt before they set these plans into motion and this year, on March 14th, they will finally release their debut EP Chaos Magnum!

The Luxembourgish quartet, which consists mostly of members from now-defunct Ex Inferis, has the rather unusual particularity of only having one guitarist…but they marvelously display that one talented guy is all you need when it comes to their ingenious brand of groove-heavy metalcore. The amount of neck-breaking riffs that are jam-packed into these thirty-two minutes will have you pressing replay after every listen-through for want of more cranial trauma, trust me.

The bass and drums on the other hand form a perfect duo of a living and breathing groove machine, whenever the drummer isn’t relentlessly pounding your eardrums further into their sockets. It’s especially worth mentioning that all throughout the eight tracks, the guys managed to capture the feeling you get when you see them perform live: the urge to bang your head, jump around like a maniac and just forget all of your surroundings.

This is in part due to the clean, but not overdone, production and, of course, to the driving vocals that are only slightly fine-tuned on the record but otherwise kept in their raw state. While they might not be everybody’s cup of tea, they hit just the right spot for me since they somewhat remind of the performance on the legendary Slaughter Of The Soul by At The Gates.

All in all, the space dudes have put together a truly tasty compilation of songs and I can only say that if the full-length, whenever it may come, will pack at least half the punch of Chaos Magnum it will be a mental album! The band will be playing a release show at l’Entrepôt in Arlon this Friday and I can strongly recommend attending, since it will be one hell of a party! For more information, visit the band’s Facebook page and to get yourself pumped, listen to the song below!

As It Is – This Mind Of Mine


Get ready for some more punk! This time I have the pleasure of writing about the Brighton-based band As It Is, who are releasing their new, fan-funded, EP This Mind Of Mine on March 17th!

The quintet plays pop punk but with a melancholic note to it, so while it’s not super depressive, it’s not too far on the happy side of things either…which is something I appreciate a lot, since it helps the blokes to stand out among the vast amount of other bands in the genre.

The four songs are all composed in a similar vein, but they all have this almost melodic hardcore feel to them in some parts before jumping back on the pop punk train. Instrumentally this might sometimes lead to a bit of confusion the first time you listen to the EP, but it grows on you quite fast.

All throughout the fifteen minutes, the vocals also switch from clean singing to, not aggressive but rather heart-felt, screams, thus enabling immediate understanding and sympathizing with the lyrics. These are, as mentioned earlier, on the bluer side of life and deal, for example, with fear of growing up and issues of self-identification.

While I don’t believe that the guys will change the whole scene with this release, it’s easily noticeable that it’s music that was written with dedication and conviction, so thumbs up from me! There’s not much more I can tell you, to be honest…except that you should give them a listen below and check them out on Facebook.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnPraSsFHTQ]

The Intersphere – Relations In The Unseen


Barely two years after their last album, The Intersphere is releasing a new one: Relations In The Unseen. One might think that such a short period of time might not be enough to evolve musically, but one couldn’t be more wrong! But let me elaborate that in the next few paragraphs.

While the German quartet sticks to their traditional sound, which is an interesting mix of alternative rock with some progressive elements, they have added some more facets to it thus resulting in a compelling experience. The majority of the twelve songs starts off with a predominantly dreamy atmosphere, progressing into a slightly more upbeat pattern and at some point, usually unexpectedly, exploding into a heavily groovy part. This formula is not always executed quite in the same order, but it’s definitely a recurring theme.

The aforementioned new pieces in the mix, are various exotic electronic instruments such as various moogs and an omnichord; please don’t feel bad if you need to look that up. They provide some of the songs with a previously unknown depth and variation, which is exactly what was one of the weaker points on the predecessor. The other instruments have also received a little overhaul and sound fresher than ever, and pretty much every musician has his own time to shine at one point or another. My personal highlight being the bass-work on the song Joker, which has this really driving riff that I just can’t playing on repeat.

The vocals have not changed much, but that is good…since they were already extremely strong in the past. However, the singer tried and succeeded in adding screams to his repertoire on the song The Ghost Of A Chance, which features the hands-down heaviest instrumental part on the entire album. One interesting factoid: the album clocks in at forty-six minutes…the same as the previous endeavor.

All in all, The Intersphere have succeeded in improving their music without losing their known and appreciated style, which I’m truly glad about. The album will be out this Friday, March 7th, so be sure to check it out if you like what you can hear below and also head to the band’s Facebook page for additional information. Last but not least, if you get a chance to catch the four guys play live…do so, since they are very energetic performers!

King Goat – King Goat EP


Before I start today’s review, I should probably say that I am by no means a big doom metal connoisseur, I have had a few minor encounters when I was still looking for the direction I wanted to take and that’s about it. So please excuse the lack of comparisons that the aficionados among you might be able to find. Anyways! Brighton-based King Goat are on the menu today, with their self-titled EP!

Released in December 2013, the three-track record is actually quite diverse despite the low amount of songs: a multitude of riffs in each song, under-laid with drums that don’t try to stand out too much and rather deliver a great a supporting performance keep the listener from getting bored anytime soon.

Although there’s only three songs, the total playtime comes to about twenty-seven minutes. That length is mostly due to the thirteen minute opener, The Final Decline, which spends about two-thirds of its time in building up momentum step by step before erupting in doomy glory. I do have to say that the build-up is a bit too long for my taste, but I get what the quintet is aiming for, so I tip my hat to them.

While the production is really tight and clean, it doesn’t overdo it…thus achieving a warm and fitting sound. But my personal highlight is definitely the vocalist, who has a plethora of different singing styles in his repertoire and is, in my opinion, the main driving force on the EP. Especially his clean vocals reminded me in some parts of Ozzy in his glory days…free goosebumps included.

All in all, the blokes did everything right and I can heartily recommend giving them a listen…especially since you can legally download their stuff for free below! For more info, go to their Facebook page and if you are in the general vicinity of Brighton…go check ’em out live!

Cauldron – Chained to the Nite


When I was a little child there was one record, my former all-time favourite, which made me imagine that my playroom was an oversized drum kit. So just before joining my mother and father for the weekly Saturday evening game show, I took the Playmobil pirate ship’s mast and circus tent’s middle pole and drummed through my room like a maniac who forgot to take his Ritalin. Later on I switched to the air guitar and played amazing imaginary gigs in my room every Saturday night.

Why do I tell you this? Because, every time I listen to Cauldron‘s Chained to the Nite, I become this professional air guitar player from my oh so precious childhood again.

Cauldron, formed out of the ashes of Goat Horn, is part of the New Wave Of Traditional Heavy Metal scene and released their debut full-length album in 2009. It quickly became one of my favourite heavy metal records, simply because there is not even one mediocre song on it. The melodies go right into your auditory canal, even after the first listen, and make you tap your foot to every single song. The three-piece Canadian band certainly didn’t invent anything new but they are hungry, loud and, most importantly of all, genuine without taking themselves too seriously.

All in all, Chained to the Nite has everything some 80s metal bands used to dream of back in the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal years. As I already said, the melodies are catchy and Ian Chains provides one classic staccato metal riff after the other. Together with the clean and kind of unique vocals, old-school solos and polished, crystal clear production, Cauldron delivers an effective traditional heavy metal record which I can’t stop listening to.

If you’re into the metal revival movement, you shouldn’t pass up this brilliant record filled with fast, aggressive and slow earworms!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeJAZGLayBA]