Gritty Rockers PILLBUSTER Announce “Brothel” Release Show on August 16th in Norfolk, VA – Hosted by Local FM99

VA Beach stoner rockers PILLBUSTER are pleased to announced their upcoming Brothel EP release show, taking place at The Belmont House of Smoke in Norfolk, VA (2117 Colonial Ave) on August 16th. The show begins at 9:00PM and will be hosted by Shelley of Local FM99. The FM99 promo team will be at the show, with remote broadcasting throughout the evening. Tune into Local FM99 to win tickets during…

HOLA EVERYBODY!

Not a lot of new music in the rock & metal world at all this week, but since there was so much I missed last week, I figured I'd go over that stuff instead, which includes material from Arceye, Pillbuster, and Night Demon, plus the long awaited "From Death To Destiny" from modern metal stars Asking Alexandria!

But alas, this week shall not be ignored, for we nonetheless have some great stuff from Panzerchrist, Black Water Rising, and Psychic Teens! New music from Rosetta is streaming as well through MetalSucks.com, be sure to check that out as well.

So anyways, enjoy!

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“Pillbuster” by Pillbuster

Stoner Metal

Released August 06th 2013

     “Pillbuster” is a stoner’s secret wet dream, complete with classic blues-driven jams, heavy laden sludge, trippy undertones, and just a thick hard sound that can still let loose when need be. It starts off like a monolith, dripping with fat grooves and feedback, alone generating enough power to fuel a small plane. And to think, that’s only the opening. Every track hits with its own little bits, with ‘5th Helena Drive’ delivering a droning hard rock sound, ‘Recovery’ steaming with Black Label Society soul and grit, and ‘Coincide’ reveling in stewy guitar parts. The writing is simple, but great, with solid hooks and lots of aggression channeled quickly, and everything is produced to give off great crunch without reeking with noise. What Pillbuster have done here is create a really solid rock album, and then make it heavier, perfect to jam along to, and even perfect to light one to and simply relax with a beer. And god damn, that bass. So fucking heavy.

Rating: 4/5 (Great!)

“At First Light” by Arceye

Death Metal/Thrash Metal

Released August 06th 2013

     From the very start Arceye slams you in the face with death metal tinged thrash, with progressive undertones cloaked by an abrasive nature and downright fire. To put things simply, “At First Light” is one of the heaviest metal albums of the year. Arceye paints pictures of fear and agony with a barrage of progressive riffs and echoed drumming that pummels like a jackhammer, coupled with lyrics of devastation, heartbreak, anger, and pure sin. Its all the death metal tropes, but smarter, and with a few cute tricks thrown in to add on to the progressive undertones previously mentioned, the coolest being a beautifully laced acoustic section in the beginning of ‘I Silently Wait’, as well as the combination of droning cymbals and silence to create tension that channels aggressive metalcore without abandoning the death metal power. Arceye have made an already angry genre even angrier, and their definitive album as a result.

Rating: 4.5/5 (Incredible!)

“From Death To Destiny” by Asking Alexandria

Electronicore/Alternative Metal

Released August 06th 2013

     Asking Alexandria joins the ranks of several generic metalcore acts that will be forever ridiculed by the metal masses unless you’re a “swagfag” or a teenage girl, but god damn it, they deserve some justice, so I’m here to say that while they may not be fantastic, they finally show potential on “From Death To Destiny”. Seriously. With influence from 80’s metal icons Bon Jovi and Mötley Crüe and even a touch of modern electronic music and Slipknot’s indulgent rage, Asking Alexandria manage to pack some decent hooks, some decent lyrics, and even some decent riffs. There is actually a lot less metalcore this time around, with more of a focus on synths, big choruses, and alternative melodies, and this makes them a better band as a whole. They appear smarter, more mature, and as a whole, the music is far more interesting, with ‘Moving On’ packing a great Stone Sour meets Bon Jovi chorus, ‘The Death Of Me’ gleaming with electronics, and ‘Until The End’ packing a solid guest spot from Howard Jones. The occasional use of auto-tune is a letdown, as are the sometimes cliched lyrical themes, but in the end, this is still Asking Alexandria’s smartest record to date, and packs some of their best songs.

Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)

“The Inheritance” by Witherscape

Progressive Metal/Gothic Metal

Released August 06th 2013

     Dan Swano’s latest project is a tad stranger than the titanic death metal of Bloodbath, instead settling along progressive music, gothic metal, doom metal, and occasionally even post-metal. Lots of clean melodies with occasional growls, often only for contrast, coupled with gothic chords arranged in very weird yet silky patterns. But hey, it fucking works, as Dan swings through different techniques and ideas to back it all up, using that previously mentioned contrast to create tension, attitude, and genuine beauty at times. While this is the basic blueprint for the album, the songs themselves are extremely distinct, with ‘Astrid Falls’ pumping out dark experimental metal, ‘Dying For The Sun’ taking influence from old-school prog rock with cheesy keyboards, and ‘Dead For A Day’ delving into atmospheric melodic death metal, like a strange hybrid of Alter Bridge and Dreamshade. As a whole, Witherscape stands apart from anything Dan has previously done, and feels as genuine as it is weird. If you’re looking for something REALLY different, Witherscape has you covered.

Rating: 4/5 (Great!)

“Hand Of Glory” by The Lumberjack Feedback

Doom Metal

Released August 06th 2013

     Instrumental doom is a tricky genre to sell to anyone, even to a metal loving freak like me, but The Lumberjack Feedback have a few tricks up their sleeve, one being their absolutely massive, sludgy sound. Riffs collide and grind, dragged with blasts of fuzz and pure gloom, setting a direct tone given a direct heartbeat thanks to the bands second trick, their percussion. The Lumberjack Feedback actually has two drummer’s, for those you who don’t know, and the both trade off each other with grace and precision, almost as if they’re communicating with their instruments to channel layers of dark power. It brings to mind the working dynamics of Candlemass, Helen Money, or more appropriately, instrumental jazz works, but more controlled and far heavier. This entire package creates something fierce and unpredictable, though one could argue that it lacks context and direction due of rhythmic change and of course vocals. That aside, The Lumberjack Feedback add a loud edge to a fairly droning and difficult genre to swallow, one that fans of instrumental doom will appreciate despite its general lack of originality.

Rating: 3/5 (Decent)

“Night Demon” by Night Demon

Heavy Metal

Released August 06th 2013

     “Night Demon” is the EP that old school heavy metal fans have wanted for so long. I know little of Night Demon’s previous work, but this EP stands as proof of their talent, worshipping in NWOBHM classics like Diamond Head, Tygers Of Pan Tang, Angel Witch, and splashes of Paul Di’Anno-era Iron Maiden. Guitars in that regard are what you expect; crisp, speedy, and brimming with hooks, backed up some strong clean vocals and complete thumping rhythms. Everything just sounds great, fueled with the kind of energy that created this genre that we love so. Is this the most original release out there? No, it isn’t. But its one of the most entertaining, as it brings so many packets of metal full throttle, in just a short EP’s worth of time. Again, I know little of Night Demon, but this EP has convinced me to find ouy more, and I personally suggest you do the same for a nostalgic blast of classic rock and metal.

Rating: 4/5 (Great!)

“Come” by Psychic Teens

Deathrock/Post-Punk

Released August 13th 2013

     Bordering the lines of post-rock, punk, and gothic rock, Psychic Teens is channeling a lot of dark energy, and “Come” shows them fleshing that sound into a matured monolith. Layers of pure noise build up for an unleash of metallic fury, backed up with the subtly poetic wails of Larry Ragone, who rages right in your face channeling the presence of Johnny Rotten himself. The end result is a very loud and noisy album, but not a stupid one, as Psychic Teens continues to build layers with gothic riffs and static percussion. Hooks are not common, often buried underneath guitar fuzz, but Psychic Teens can still ring you in on the strength of the guitar work along, as it lets out so much rage, and even the few hooks are pretty good, the most notable being on “LESS”, which explodes right off the bat before devolving back to violent energy. Psychic Teens took a relatively simple sound and added so much to it through the use of layers, and peeling them back to understand this becomes a true joy, as their combined darkness envelops you.

Rating: 4.5/5 (Incredible!)

“Define Me” by Serianna

Metalcore

Released August 13th 2013

     Unfortunately Serianna disappoints again with “Define Me”. Whereas before they kinda sounded like generic metalcore, now they DEFINITELY sound like generic metalcore, with all the clichéd liberal lyrics, ‘personal’ themes, constant thumpy breakdowns, and super simple tabs. Should I even go on? I mean really, you should already know what to expect at this point. So instead of pointing out the obvious bad of being ‘generic metalcore’, lets focus on the good. For one thing, Serianna has some decent melodies. The delivery on them is less than impressive, but at least there was some effort put into it, and there are moments of silence at times that let the lyrics resonate and take effect, backed up then by a barrage of noise. It sounds simple, but many bands fuck that up, so credit to Serianna for accomplishing at least that. Guitars are thick too, heavy and constant with great percussion. It’s all ultimately precise and well performed, but again, it’s so generic. The writing is poor, the sound mix is chunky, and the constant use of breakdowns sucks. Take what you will from that, but if you don’t like metalcore, “Define Me” certainly won’t change your mind.

Rating: 2.5/5 (Mediocre)

“Pissed & Driven” by Black Water Rising

Hard Rock/Southern Metal

Released August 06th 2013

     Despite their crispy southern-fried coating, Black Water Rising resembles a more traditional hard rock band in terms of basic writing and execution, like a simple-minded mix of Audioslave, Texas Hippie Coalition, and Black Label Society. The end result drips with classic rock n’ roll attitude, with soulful hooks, swirling grooves, and grainy blues-tinged solo’s. Bass is really heavy in the final mix too, giving the album a very natural feel that more than suits the aesthetic of Black Water Rising. However, you’ll be shocked that heavy bass is the only true constant factor, as Black Water Rising adapts more influence from the other bands mentioned above, whether it be the anthemic edge of ‘Last Man Standing’, or the fast sludge of ‘The Allure Of Self Destruction’. Writing stays relatively simple despite the changes and they handle it all well. Performance wise, I personally would’ve liked gritty vocals, something with the rough patches to match this blues heavy mix, but that’s more of a nitpick on my part, as “Pissed & Driven” delivers strong rock at a strong pace.

Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)

“The 7th Offensive” by Panzerchrist

Death Metal/Black Metal

Released August 13th 2013

     Panzerchrist has been tackling death metal with the tropes and themes of war since their inception in 1993, with touches of black metal insanity and an overall sense of fury. Chords are impatient, charging into battle with long bursts of frenzied solo’s, contained rage, and genuine power, and Panzerchrist handles it all just fine as always. Everything is performed well, and the writing is strong for what it is. But that’s really it. This is what Panzerchrist has done for years now, and by this point, there are tons of bands out there with this exact same style and aesthetic, following the same tropes all the way to the end. If you’ve listened to any other Panzerchrist album in your life, or any album that fits into the ever-growing war metal genre, you know what to expect, and me personally, I don’t really like listening to the same stuff over and over for 20 years. That aside, the music is really good, but don’t expect a massive work of epic proportions.

Rating: 3/5 (Decent)

“Idiots” by Dead

Sludge Metal/Mathcore

Released August 13th 2013

     From start to finish, “Idiots” is actually a solid album, but stands as a testament to the fact that Dead is quickly becoming dry for ideas, and sometimes the performances themselves are mixed in the fray. Guitars are straight up empty, just uninteresting in every aspect and only here for the sake of noise. The same can be said for vocals, which come off as distant voices that are rarely heard. When things get interesting is when the drums and bass come into the light, because the way those two interact is simply great. The bass rumbles, the drum echoes with cutting ambience, and together they sound wholly dynamic. It came to a point where I listened to this ONLY for bass and drums, and stopped paying attention to the rest of it. The writing has some progressive undertones as well, creating a very simplistic but notable influence from mathcore, as rhythm and sludge is calculated for effect. Its clear that Dead is still relying on their influences and their rhythm section for support, and that needs to stop in the future, but for now, “Idiots” is suitable as it is.

Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)

"Goldkinder" by We Butter The Bread With Butter

Neue Deutsche Härte/Death Metal

Released August 13th 2013

     "Goldkinder" marks a pretty signifigant change for We Butter The Bread With Butter, as they've completely abandoned their deathcore origins for a German industrial style akin to the likes of Rammstein, but with slight death metal influence. One could argue this is electronicore, but its not just that has changed, its the genuine structure and writing style of the band. Songs sport chunky industrial riffs, hardcore welps, trippy melodies, and genuine weirdness, again channeling Rammstein. Its all strange but supported with strong lyrics, a great sound mix, and a wide variety of other influences. Unfortunately, sometimes a song drags along thanks to some ungodly bad auto-tuned hooks, and even keyboards sometimes fall behind as simply accompanyment, playing single notes and chords. Using the sound effect of a camera in 'Krieg Aus Gold' is especially lame and pretentious given the modern's world love for snapping photo's of fucking everything. But hey, when "Goldkinder" gets things rolling, its hard not to enjoy all the weirdness.