Burner : "No One is Coming to Save Us"

Thematically, this album looks at the violent human nature, with some dispersion. Death metal bands opposed to death are baffling, but here we are; I will give them a shot. It carries more of a sludge lumber, but with clean modern death metal production. Midway into the first song, things blast to life with a blackened buzz. "Harrowing and purposful might best describe what happens here. Josh from Sylosis joins them on the more punk-driven death metal pace of the second song. Though I doubt his voice is distinct enough for me to pick out from the other growling going on here. They are well-produced growls, and more of a hardcore chug comes in on this one. I can hear where the Full of Hell comparisons might cocme in, though they are not as dark as Full of Hell. 

"Blood River " is possessed by a more savage chaos until they lock into the chug. It sounds great, but nothing new is going on here. When I am in the mood to listen to this kind of thing, I probably would be more likely to listen to Full of Hell, as they are more sonically experimental, which is more of my thing. This is not to say I don't like meat-and-potatoes death metal, as Cannibal Corpse is one of my favorite bands. "SSunrise Parabellum" starts off with a racing death metal feel. The drummer has chops, and no one in this bandd is a shabby player. Matt from Trivium is on this song and I cann tell his voice apart from theirs despite never really being impressed by Trivium. Trivium always strikes me as being middle of the road in a genre that should be pushed to extremes. 

There are a couple of songs that venture over seven minutes long, but they are more compact more often than not. "A Shattered Visage Lies" feels like blackened death metal with some hardcore smarts. I think, much like Trivium, what is not wowing me about this album is how it needs to be darker than it is. There are introspective and bleak passages, but nothing holding the weight for darkness, which is weird, as they are influenced by black metal, though not a black metal band themselves. Perhaps that is the difference between a band that is warning you about the dangers of violence rather than a band that celebrates it. Music is an extension of whoever is making it, so they are not very dark-souled people to begin with. 

There is almost more of a Lamb of God feel to  "Accelerationist". So middle-of-the-road hardcore grooves over big guitars.  "The Agony of Peace"is the best song so far, even though it's the least heavy, due to the melodic guitar riff that works nicely to balance the vocals.It compensates for the blast beats they resort to. There is also more purpose to the deliberate drumming on "Wish Granter," which grooves more likea hard core song with more technical riffing. "Kurtz" finds them joined by Anthony from Cult Leader, who I had the most hope for but instead it's more of a raging thrash fest. I do like how samples are used on this album. They go headfirst into blackened hardcore on "My Hands Become Weapons' though without the darker atmosphere of black metal. The melodic section in the middle works well. 

They clsoe the album with a seven-and-a-half-minute ripper, which, when you combine all the styles that are in collision here, the result is metalcore jsut not the Myspace kind. They do bring the breakdown perhaps the hardest on this song, though it's not the only one where they indulge this sort of thing, just the most prominent. Still, the layered guitars are effective. This song also follows the formula of throwing in an almost post-rock lingering melodic section in the middle. Then it builds into a more hardcore chant. I will give this album a 9 as it is effective at what it does even if it is not dark enough for my personal tastes. Drops September 25th on Church Road Records. 

pst391

Ibaraki : "Rashomon"

 

Matt from Trivium and Emperor mastermind Ihsahn  collaborated on this album. It is not secret I am more into the Ihsahn side of this equation, which is the half brining more of a progressive side to thing, Trivium just strikes me as Sirrus radio ready mainstream metal. The songs are well written, though not as black metal as press buzzing about this album might lead you to believe.  Things get heavier on the second song, though I am not really blown away by it as when it comes to metal these days this just sounds like a more polished and better version of what is already out there. I would prefer a Ihsahn solo album, the transitions from clean vocals and the typical screaming, is somewhat formulaic. The more screamed vocals even more so, they have almost a more hard-core cadence to them. 

The more melodic "Jigoku Dayu" is an improvement, though I cannot say even in this direction I am not finding my opinion of Matt Heafy swayed. Rightfully so as the song winds up where I assumed it would. He is effective at doing what he set out to do here, what he set to do just is not very original.  It doesn't feel like it flows as well on "Tamashii" . Nergal guests on "Akumu" which is heavier and more focused but offers little surprises. When it's not circling the same angry stomping grounds there are some cool guitar passages on "Komorebi". "Ronin" which features the vocals of  Gerad Way from My Chemical Romance, goes from an almost power metal vocal dramatic to Way's harsher black metal vocals, when people online were surprised by this , it is obvious they did not pay attention to My Chemical Romance's first album.

 Is Heafy is more than just just a decent guitarist? Yes. Does he do anything original ? Not really. Sure things get more progressive by the end of the song , but this is clearly one of those sections that is Ihsahns's doing. The plus side is when Ihsahn makes his presence known it is very tangible, I just wish there was more of that.  Overall I like this more than I would a Trivium album, but not as much as an Emperor one, things sound great, and his singing has improved over the years, but not the most original thing, as even the more melodic parts feel like they are being barrowed from Opeth so i will give this album an 8. 

  

6.9

Trivium : "What the Dead Men Say"

I heard there first album and have caught a song here and there since, but have not paid much attention to them since. I remember they were trash and now they have conformed to what the current trend of  modern metal is a little Slipknot, a dash of Killswitch Engage and then produced the guitar tone like Gojira. Heafy's vocals have improved over the years. He is supposed to be a really good guitarists and the first song doesn't really wow me. I think if the whole album is like this it will bore me. I am ok with Slipknot, I liked their last album as they were fucking with their formula and experimenting .  I am not ok with Heafy trying to sound so much like Corey Taylor. Corey Taylor's voice by itself would be boring , but it works in the context of Slipknot. This just sounds like middle of the road metal that everyone else plays who wants to get an opening slot playing Slipknot or an equally mall metal band. Metal needs to have a sense of danger and darkness as this just feels like eating left overs .

As a song "Bleed into Me" is a little better. But if you can not hear the Corey Taylor, you are an idiot who doesn't want to hear it. Wait you cry...you can't call me an idiot. Oh, yes I can this is my fucking blog and if you don't like click somewhere else. Now I get this could be the record label and producer trying to nudge them into a more Slipknot direction . Though that makes them sell outs for agreeing with that in the first place. They do get away from this and more into the kinda Myspace thrash that Killswitch Engage plays. Heafy sings more than he yells or darks these days. The drums sound like shit on this song. The mix is all fucking guitar and the bass has no balls. I just made the 50 heaviest albums of all time list, so go find it on here, if you want to hear what real metal that is not made by pussies sounds like. I think we know I am not the right audience for these guys. I think when I was in the I Do Not Know Better Because I am 13 mode, I made better choices. King Diamond, Iron Maiden and even W.A.S.P are way more metal than these guys. Yes they have a big galloping sound, too bad they do not put it to better use.

There is a kinda power metal riff before they go Breaking Benjamin on "Scattering the Ashes" . This one at least makes more of an effort from a songwriting perspective , which proves they can write a decent song if they set their mind to it. It's the least heavy song, but every thing fits and is hooky.The rest sounds like filler in comparison. The guitar playing still isn't impressing me. It could be one of a thousand generic metal guitarists. Back to boring with "Bending the Arc to Fear" . Nothing original. The last song "the Ones We Leave  Behind" doesn't do anything to change my opinion of the band, which is this is how Myspace Metal sells out. I will round this down to a 6. The one song that saves the album from being a 5 is "Scattering the Ashes" which in hindsight if someone asked me how I like this album, I would say "It has one good song on it" .

Various Artists : "Kerrang! : Maiden Heaven Volume 2

I used to sing for an Iron Maiden tribute band so the bar is pretty fucking high when it comes to what my expectations are for bands who try to tackle Maiden. The first installment Kerrang! did of this had some pretty mixed results and the lineup on this one could be hit or miss. Stonesour is wise to stay away from the Bruce songs and give Corey Taylor something more easily attainable given his style of singing, by going after "Running Free" one of the least demanding Dianno songs. I expected a little more fire in the guitar attack so not really blown away they do a pretty passable job. I am not really familiar with the British band Reigning Days. I think it is a little odd they chose a song from Maiden's latest album. "Speed of Light" was my least favorite song on that album, but the rock n roll take on the song is well-suited. Escape the Fate was pretty bold to take on "Hallowed Be Thy Name". Their singer can't come close to the power and command Bruce has. He sings in the teenage-sounding emo whine. He fails to hit the note on the phrase "crazy dream" and tries to scream or growl on notes he has no hope of hitting. The palm-muted thing they do leading into the solo is an attempt to give the song a more modern spin that it doesn't need and then the breakdown is almost blasphemy. The guitarists try to overcompensate on the solo and really lack the quality of tone Smith and Murray have.

 Alt-rockers Lonely the Brave go after "Fear of the Dark". The vocals are more of an introspective baritone. I think they should have gotten Ryan Adams to cover this instead. When it is time to crank it up, the band shows more promise. Their singer sounds more like the dude from Quicksand or Bad Religion than Bruce and really strains up top. No one ever said this was going to be an easy feat, but I think these guys give the song an honest shot. Trivium makes another odd choice in "For the Greater Good of God". Heafy does better than I thought he would on the more power ballad-like intro. However, when he tries to go up into his upper register it is poorly blended and sounds like someone at karaoke. Former LostAlone front-man Steven Battelle gives a questionable performance of "The Red and the Black". The chug of his guitar is mixed with almost as little balls as his voice has, so I suppose it is well-matched. Another odd pairing is the pseudo horror punk band Creeper, whose singer sounds like Fish from Marrillion. Their version of "The Evil That Men Do" was somewhat subdued. The screamo "Number of the Beast" that Lower than Atlantis performs, is also questionable. The singer is either screaming or crooning so there is little in the way of balance the solo section is the only part resembling the original. Anaal Nathrakh must feel the pressure of being the only black metal band as their cover of "Powerslave" is a little too blasty. The vocals on the chorus are decent. There is an almost djent-like groove to the pounding that give the song in certain places.

Shredder Jacky Vincent goes for the gold with his new band Cry Venom, who does a fairly decent version of "Aces High" that pays more respect to the original version than the bulk of these bands. Still, they are not as aggressive as Maiden in their frantic attack. You expect Fozzy to bring it on "Sun and Steel". Their performance is not unlike what you might think a band like Iced Earth would do if given the same song. Though their guitar tone is not as punchy as Iced Earth. Muncie Girls does an interesting cover of "The Wicker Man". I'm not really that emotionally invested in the original, so this indie rock take doesn't bother man. Heck who used to be called Baby Godzilla, doesn't try to really tackle "the Trooper". For good reason it's such an iconic song to fail at it is very amplified. They sidestep it for the most part. Instead, the go kinda noisey and screamo. Uncle Acid and the Dead Beats give "Remember Tomorrow" a better run for its money than Metallica. The vocals are heavily affected and the garage psyche works well on it. It sounds like Anathema has heard Ryan Adams's cover of "Wasted Years" as it's very similar. I'll give this one a 7.5, nothing I really need to own, but it was a fun listen the first time around.

Ihsahn : "Artktis"

Ihsahn has brought back the metal is back in a big way on his 6th solo album.  You won't forget Ihsahn was in Emperor. I suppose he felt he took the experimentation as far as he could without losing sight of where he came from. This makes for an album that is in line with his earlier solo work. Captures more of an Opeth like feel...that is when Opeth actually played metal.The electronic elements are still there just set back behind the guitars. The guys from Leprous are still around with  Einar Solberg, helping out with vocals . I really like the melody that closes in on the song's three minute mark. If you are going go from growls to clean vocals this is the way to do it. "Mass Darkness" finds Matt Heafy from Trivium stepping out of the where are they now files to lend a hand in the shredding department.  It's a darker more ominous song. He is back in full force with the harsher vocals.

There is a punchy almost Deep Purple like riff to "My Heart is of the North" . It really goes into an unexpected place, that almost made me think it was another song. If you think prog is about wanking then you need to learn something and give this album a listen. That's not to say Ihsahn doesn't flex his chops and he has them as one of metal most under rated guitarists. I'm not even going to tell you what happens at the three minute mark. The keyboards on this album are on point and production wise everything is dialed in perfectly. Things take a much darker turn into more Skinny Puppy direction on the incredible "South Winds" which still finds electronica in play but being used in context of what Ihsahn does best. The Opeth like clean vocals do show up, but somehow it all meshes. "In the Vaults" finds more of a tug of war between the influence of black metal and prog metal. The prog wins out.

"Until I Too Dissolve" finds him fighting off the Dream Theater temptation. The awesome chorus of "Pressure" is what really brings it all home and pulls the twisted verses together. "Frail" really takes the concept of being a musical oddity in the right direction.  The Nordic Shining's Jorgen Munkeby to chime in on" Crooked Red Line" . It's cook to hear him play something less spastic than his band, there is more straight up jazz to the melodies here, though it's worked smoothly into the type of dark thinking man's metal that makes up this album.  They balance is tipped into straight up balladry on "Celestial Violence". It kicks in right on time a minute and a half into it, which any longer would have wandered into power ballad territory. When the clean vocals come back in they prove you can really sing in 2016 and still have a sense of commanding power without coming across like you are in Primal Fear. For the sake of this review I am not going to count the bonus track which is the weird spoken word "Til Tor Ulven", it sounds like something from the Metallica & Lou Reed "Lulu" album. The rest of the album kicks ass and finds him back in fine form I'll give it a 10.