This Means War – ‘Truckasaurus’ Single Review

This Means War are a five-piece metal band from Brighton. With an extremely catchy opening riff, the song is instantly impressive. With fast-paced guitaring and heavy vocals, This Means War prove that they are an exciting new addition to the metal scene. A strong bass line and breakdown suggests that they’d be a great band to see perform live. ‘Truckasaurus’ conjures up images of the giant mechanical truck dinosaur from ‘The Simpsons’, but it’s now also an insanely good metal song.

Check out This Means War on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thismeanswarband/

Fifth Day of Ice – ‘Blood Red Sunrise’ Single Review

Fifth Day of Ice are a five-piece metalcore band from Townsville. Their single, ‘Blood Red Sunrise’, starts with ambient guitaring, leading onto a heavy riff and impressive drumming. Their vocalist Brad has very powerful vocals, whether he’s screaming or singing. ‘Blood Red Sunrise’ has a fantastically brutal breakdown, and if you’re a fan of bands such as Parkway Drive and August Burns Red, I’d definitely recommend that you listen to them.

Check out the song here: http://www.reverbnation.com/fifthdayofice
Like Fifth Day of Ice on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fifth-Day-Of-Ice/

Klone, Trepalium and Gojira at Mo’ Club Southampton 15/11/12

The Mo’ Club is a small music venue in Southampton, which also serves as a roller-disco venue. With powerful lighting and good sound quality it’s a great place to see bands and enjoy live music.

Klone burst onto stage, full of energy and passion.  Formed in 1999 in France, they were a great start to an evening of live French metal music. Opening with ‘The Eye of Needle (Part 2)’ Klone were impressive from the start of their set due to their unique sound. Yann Linger has incredibly powerful vocals and also performed some entertaining dance moves on stage.  ‘All Seeing Eye’ seemed to be a crowd favourite, and it had a very powerful bass line. Klone’s new album, ‘The Dreamer’s Hideaway’ is out now.

Next on stage was Trepalium, another French metal band who formed in 2000. More in the death metal genre, they impressed the crowd with heavy riffs and breakdowns. Singer Cédric Punda has strikingly deep vocals and the crowd seemed to thoroughly enjoy their set. Ending their set with a song called ‘Usual Crap’, they proved they were a strong live band and all notable musicians. If you’re a fan of death metal, I’d definitely recommend them.

After two impressive support bands, the eagerly anticipated Gojira arrived on stage. After impressing both critics and fans with their fifth album ‘L’Enfant Sauvage’ in June, it was fairly obvious that their set tonight was going to be incredible. Opening with their latest single ‘Explosia’, the crowd instantly descended into a sea of headbanging and moshpits. Joe Duplantier is one of the best metal vocalists around today and he’s even better live than on record. It was guitarist Christain Andreu’s birthday so the crowd all sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to him, which was a great moment of the night. Gojira had a strong setlist of both old and new songs, and when they started playing ‘The Heaviest Matter of the Universe’ it was obvious it was a crowd-pleaser. Mario Duplantier played an impressive drum solo which wowed the audience. Ending their incredible set with ‘The Gift of Guilt’, Southampton definitely got an amazing night of French metal here at the Mo’ Club.

Check out Klone here:  http://www.facebook.com/KLONEBAND
Check out Trepalium here: http://www.facebook.com/TREPALIUMBAND
Check out Gojira here: http://www.facebook.com/GojiraMusic

Wake of Redemption ‘Earthshaker’ Album Review

Wake of Redemption are a progressive Christian metal band from North Carolina. Despite Christian metal not being as popular as the original genre, Wake of Redemption prove that you don’t have to blaspheme in metal songs to be successful.

The opening track, ‘Goliath’, instantly transports you into a world of progressive metal with melodic guitar and powerful screaming vocals. With obvious influences from Dream Theater and Opeth, Wake of Redemption are pleasant to listen to and very talented.

‘Break Free’ is a fast-paced song with impressive technical guitaring. The vocals are softer, showing the variation of the band and how they aren't a band where every song sounds the same; they’re more exciting and varied.

The third song on the album, ‘Earthshaker’, has an amazing guitar solo – definitely enough to make any progressive metal fan air-guitar along. This is possibly the best song as it incorporates everything needed for a successful metal song: a good breakdown, heavy vocals and a strong drumbeat.

‘Mars’ is an infectiously catchy song, even just from hearing the first few seconds. Hard hitting riffs and varying vocals instantly capture your attention, making it an extremely effective song.

The fifth track, ‘Oh, Yeah!’, includes even more impressive solos, which are obviously a strong point of the band. Try and stop yourself singing along to this song: I dare you.

‘Fade Away’ is a fast-paced metal song which proves Wake of Redemption have mastered a variety of both fast and slow songs. The lyrics capture the band’s Christian influence: “God’s in my heart and he will stay.”

‘Risen’ is the seventh track on the album. The harmonic guitaring is remarkable and matches the impressive vocals perfectly.

The last song on the album is ‘Artorius Rex’. At over nine minutes long it’s the lengthiest track on the album, a popular trait of progressive songs. With interesting lyrics and vocals, it’s a great way to end a powerful album.

Check out the album for yourself here: http://wakeofredemption.bandcamp.com/

Torpor Review

Torpor are a sludge/post-metal band founded in early 2012. The dictionary definition of the band’s name means “A state of mental or physical inactivity or insensibility,” which possibly reflects their introspective view of the human condition and life.

The first track on their ‘SoundCloud’ account is ‘Bled Dry’, which starts with a guitar riff which displays their obvious influence from bands such as Will Haven and Crowbar. A mixture of harsh vocals and shouting also reinforce their post-metal genre. It is apparent from the first song that they are very talented and bring a fresh attitude to sludge metal.

‘Ashes’ is the second song, opening with a powerful drumbeat and slightly harmonic sounding guitar. Harsh vocals then break the tranquility as it descends into heavy sludge metal. With a powerful breakdown and a changing pace, ‘Ashes’ is enjoyable to listen to.

The third track, ‘Anchors’, is full of anger and distortion, making it diverse and distinctive. A mixture of brutal vocals mixed and down tuned guitars is what you will find in this five minute song.  

‘Blackened Lungs’ is the last song. The distorted guitars are incredibly impressive, and, as with the previous three songs, the vocals stay strong and make a huge impact on the listener. All in all, it was good to hear of fresh talent in the sludge metal genre. With a lot of character and a unique style, Torpor are an interesting band to listen to.

Listen to Torpor’s songs here: http://soundcloud.com/torpornoise

Green Day – ‘Stray Heart’ Single Review

Stray Heart’ is the latest single from Green Day’s upcoming album '¡Dos!’, which will be released on Monday 12^th November. Opening with a catchy bass line, it’s off to a good start for the American punk rock band. The chorus is ridiculously catchy; it’s definitely something that will stick in your head afterwards, whether you love it or hate it. ‘Stray Heart’ has a happy vibe about it and it’s enjoyable to listen to. However, it does sound slightly similar to their 2004 single ‘Letterbomb’. Maybe the full album will see the band going back to their roots? We’ll soon find out.

Listen to ‘Stray Heart’ here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrsmegFkwpk&feature=player_embedded

‘For The Hearts Still Beating’ by Harboured Album Review

The opening track, '16 Ways to Start a Fight’ begins with the line “I like these calm little moments before the storm. It reminds me of Beethoven,” from the 1994 film ‘Leon’. Harboured sure know how to make an entrance. With strong hardcore vocals and heavy riffs, they have a similar sound to bands such as Deez Nuts and Your Demise.

‘The Bold, the Brave, the Free’ has varying tones and a deep bass line, sounding extremely catchy and impressive for a band that only formed this year. It’s one of the best hardcore songs I've heard due to its striking breakdown and appealing chorus. If you only listen to one song by Harboured, I recommend this one.

The next song on the album is ‘Devastator’, which is two minutes and thirty-seven seconds of fast-paced guitaring and very heavy vocals. With yet another impressive breakdown, they've mastered the hardcore genre very well. 'Kids Who Play Contra’ is another short song, with yet another catchy riff. Despite being a short song, it leaves a strong impression and sounds great.

‘Kids Who Play Contra’ is another short song, with yet another catchy riff. Despite being a short song, it leaves a very strong impression.

The fifth track, ‘Better off Betrayed’ begins with an impressive technical guitar riff, leading into heavy vocals shouting “Get on your knees!” It’s almost impossible to stop yourself moshing away to this song, and the drumming is extremely notable. It would definitely be amazing to hear this song played live.
‘D.D.T’ is an extremely fast-paced thirty-six second song, full of energy and liveliness.
The final track on the album, ‘Hang Your Head’ is a strong ending to an impressive first album, with possibly the best breakdown on the album. Full of anger and emotion, making it very enjoyable for any hardcore fan to listen to.

Their album is free to download, and I strongly suggest that you check it out here: http://harbouredhc.bandcamp.com.