A Crowbar DVD is on it’s way, but meanwhile, here it is «Lifesblood for the Downtrodden», Crowbar’s latest record.

I believe most of our visitors don’t know Crowbar. Well, you should. They are one of the heaviest bands on the planet. Kirk‘s riffs are heavy as shit. He’s the heavy-riff master! He also has one of the most original voices out there. Maybe not in a good way [you might not like it at first] but he’s one of a kind.
Crowbar´s style is a kind of sludge metal but not as doomish / stoner as EyeHateGod, for instance. Crowbar is more direct, HEAVY and, sometimes, has some punk roots [mostly on the early albums].

“New Dawn” opens the record. It’s a typical Crowbar song. It’s slow, heavy and with memorable riffs. Pretty much in the vein of Crowbar’s latest records.

“Slave No More” follows in the same style. Maybe a bit more catchy tough. Ends up with a very cool heavy riff. This is one of Crowbar’s trademarks. Head banging all the way!

“Angels Wings” it’s one of my favourite tracks. Hell yeah! Old Crowbar style! Starts up with an aggressive pace, kind of punkish and then ultra-heavy chorus. God I love Crowbar… The middle section has a evil sabbath feeling. Great track.

With “Coming Down” the other side of Crowbar steps in. It’s a kind of ballad, but an heavy ballad. Throughout the albums, Crowbar always had some tracks like this, and most of them are pretty cool.

“Fall Back to Zero” starts with clean arpeggios. Very calm… But as soon as the chorus comes in, the head banging begins! Nice track, with very cool heavy-to-clean passages.

“Underworld” reminds me those «Broken Glass» days. And that’s a good thing – «Broken Glass» rules. This track could, in fact, belong to that album. Heavy playing with a more punkish pace.

“Dead Sun” rocks. Starts up with one more memorable heavy riff. The chorus is very well conceived. Melodic but heavy at the same time. Kirk really knows how to do it.

“Holding Something” reminds me of the melodic tracks on «Broken Glass» record. One more cool track.

“Moon” has that ballad vibe again. The chorus it’s pretty damn heavy. I’m Repeating all over myself, I know. But this is Crowbar’s style – there’s always an heavy passage that make you head bang! It finishes up with another heavy riff. Crowbar style.

“The Violent Reaction” is another favourite track. Starts with a demonic Black Sabbath kind of riff. Then, oh my god, what an heavy riffing. Kirk shows, once again, who’s the riff master. The pre-chorus it’s punk paced – «Broken Glass» style again. The chorus reminds me of “Like Broken Glass” track chorus and you know what that mean… Hell of a slow heavy chorus. This track is great and finishes up with the starting riff, doing that classical rallentando thing.

“Lifesblood” is the closing track. It’s a calm, acoustic track. Crowbar has some of this kind of tracks on the other records. I don’t enjoy them very much tough. Their nice tracks but I don’t see the purpose of them on the context of the record.

Final notes:
It’s another Crowbar album. Has a bit of more “melodic” then “heavy” tracks. I prefer the heavier ones. My favourite albums still remain «Broken Glass» and «Odd Fellows Rest». They are the heaviest ones. Nevertheless, it’s a good album and probably a nice one to get into Crowbar. Try the predecessor «Sonic Excess In Its Purest Form» also, very good record and heavier then «Lifesblood for the Downtrodden».

Crowbar – Slave No More

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Do you know Gorguts?! Luc Lemay is back with Negativa, his new project.

When I heard that, from the ashes of Gorguts, a new band was being assembled, I became very curious to know if it was Gorguts alike or a complete new band. Well… Surprise surprise! It’s Gorguts alike. «Obscura» alike, to be more precise.

The question is: Is this EP up to the Gorguts high-standards?.

Yes and… No.

In this three song EP we are taken to a place were Gorguts had left us with the «Obscura» album. But the thing is: Gorguts had already grabbed us by the balls in «Obscura» and taken us to «From Wisdom to Hate» – an album close to perfection. With this Negativa EP, it’s like going back instead of going forward. Don’t get me wrong, the songs are pretty good, but after all this years I expected a bit more, an evolution. Damn, I expected much more. Nevertheless, I’m happy Gorguts soul is back and I’m still salivating for a new full-length record.

“Chaos in Motion” opens up the EP. It starts with a string pick-tapping and some dissonant chords. Then the blast beats comes in. Typical «Obscura» playing [Prepare to listen to this EP several times before you can truly enjoyed it. You all know how «Obscura» sounds and how dissonant, complex and chaotic this sound is].

Great verse-to-chorus section. I missed these passages. Gorguts are back! Ermm… Negativa… Negativa are back…

“Taedium Vitae” is a more slow doomish song. Maybe more in the vein of «From Wisdom to Hate» but more dissonant and sick. The middle section is close to… Well… Close to… Close to the opposite of a beautiful melody ^^ Very sick passage. A more speed-up passage follows end then it finishes up with a similar start but with guitar noises in the middle and the end of the section.

All three tracks end up with noisy stuff, it’s kind of boring.

“Rebellion” brings up the fast blasts again. More typical «Obscura» playing. Fast dissonant stuff. Did I mention “chaotic” riffs? Oh, and chaotic riffs. There’s a slow passage also in «From Wisdom to Hate» style. Well, it’s Luc’s style to be more exact.
The track finishes with some more guitar noises. *ironic mode on* Wow how cool, ending all tracks the same boring way *ironic mode off*.

That sums it. Nothing new with this EP. But, for the sake of Gorguts, it deserves a few listens. I’ll be waiting for the full-length album.

Negativa – Chaos in Motion

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Meshuggah are back! Well, not really. They just released «Nothing» again. So… Is it just another stupid re-release in digipack with a Japanese bonus track? No, this is a remastered version of «Nothing». Well, to be honest, remastered version do suck most of the times. Let’s see what about this one!

First of all, we have new cover art and a bonus DVD. But let’s dig a little deeper. Basically, we have all the rhythm guitar re-recorded, some subtle changes in some tracks – like the end of “Closed Eye Visuals” and “Nebulous” was slowed down [Nebulous... Hmmm that sounds familiar somehow... Hm! Weird].
The drums were also tightened down and mixed from scratch [and I might add: a little over-compressed].
In the vocals we now have some delays here and there.

Is it good? Well… yes and no. Some tracks are great but… some tracks are way worst. In my humble “MESHUGGAH ARE GODS” opinion.
Before the track-by-track comparison, two things stand right away: The rhythm guitars are brutal. When comparing, the old guitars sound like crap. The new ones are very tight, very clean and heavy. On the other hand, the drums sound more mechanical and “hidden” under all that grooviness – particularly the cymbals.

“Stengah”. This track sounds great on some parts. Much more heavy and clean that the previous version. But, there it is… The drums…… The original mix had the cymbals rocking all the way! I really enjoyed that. Hearing all the cymbals in that syncopated rhythms, that was fun. Now the cymbals are quiet down… But that’s not the worst in this track. Didn’t enjoyed very much the removal of the clean chords right before the verse. That creepy chords were great. Too bad…
“Rational Gaze”… Well… This track sounds good. Didn’t notice any changes on this one. Just that, it’s less groovy somehow. Can’t explain it. The guitars sound heavier and cleaner but… Less groovy.
“Perpetual Black Second” did lose on the drums too. I loved that cymbals on the beginning. Now they are down there, under that monster guitar sound. It’s a pity. Delays were added on the vocals giving more power to the chorus.
“Closed Eye Visuals” it’s nice. Subtle change in the end with a re-recorded fill melody. The drum rolls sound worst [like in all other tracks...].
The beginning of “Glints Collide” lacks on the drums. That power groovy organic drums are now a synthetic compressed sound.
“Organic Shadows” it’s an OK track. Didn’t notice any big difference…
“Straws Pulled at Random” is one of the best “new-sound” tracks. Very powerful indeed. The new guitars do squash like a bug the old ones. I do miss that china cymbal pounding all the way tough – right after the intro.
In “Spasm” we have another big loss. Once again, the drums… of course. In the middle part there’s a drum solo kind of thing. Well, with the new drum mix it sounds very “plastic”. The old mix was way more organic.
“Nebulous” is the winner of the new mix. Why? Because it’s my nickname ^^ Now honestly, the new mix is great. It’s slower, heavier and punches you right on the stomach.
“Obsidian” is the final track and it was extended. Never listen to this track many times on the old version, at least on it’s full length, but I must confess that, after the 8 minute therapy, listening to “Stengah” again is very refreshing.

Final notes about the new «Nothing»: the guitars are great, the drums are… worst. Nevertheless, I like having both options. If I’m into some drum madness I’ll listen to «Nothing» v.1. If I’m into some crazy sick guitar groove insanity I’ll listen to «Nothing» v.2.
If this is your first contact with «Nothing» I recommend the new version. Way better sound and you’ll not miss that drum sound I was talking about. Ignorance is bliss.

Meshuggah – Straws Pulled at Random

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By Night is one of the bands that I include in the Meshuggah wannabes pot [like Textures and, mostly, Coprofago]. They are in the pot, but not as deep as Textures and, surely, not in the same way as Coprofago [the Meshuggah clones]. Well, to be honest, they are barely in the pot, and that’s why I like them. They have Meshuggah influences, sure they do, but the overall is way beyond that. Maybe is their melodic side, I don’t know. There’s something in this guys that’s really special.

With their first record they got my attention. I didn’t expect much from a possible second record. The truth is: they did a great record. In the beginning I didn’t dig it very much, but the first song was really cool and I gave this record a second chance. Hell I even gave a third and a fourth chance. Next thing I knew, I was addicted.

“A New Shape of Desperation” is a very melodic record [yeah they're Swedish! It seems melody is in their DNA] with great guitar work, a bit of calc / math metal [fuckin Meshuggah riffage] and a nice production ["Destroy Erase Improve" style but more up-to-date].

First track “It Starts Within” is a small intro that leads into the first song.

“The Truth Is Sold” has a great riff. When I first played this track it just blowed me away. My favorite track, no doubt. Headbanging all the way.

“People Like You” is next in line and is a blast. The pace is increased and my headbanging too. This one is a heavy motha’fucker. In the middle section we got a cool heavy groove, Meshuggah style ["Nothing" era] far from rip-off though [for those who like Meshuggah rip-off clones, I recommend Coprofago].

Next track is “Through Ashes We Crawl”. This track starts with a more melodic vibe but soon we fall into some heavy riffage. Meshuggah style once again.

“Same Old Story” follows and the heavy grooves are back. The chorus has a cool melodic riff. It reminds me “Descent” from Fear Factory‘s “Obsolete” album [check out Soundcult's review to Fear Factory latest work. Did I said "work"? I meant "crap"... latest crap... latest piece of crap... piece of latest... pile of... Ahhhhh crap. Metallica better release their new album really soon, I'm trying hard to forget Fear Factory's crappy album. You know what they say: Fight Fire With Fire ^^ ]. Anyway… Another nice track.

“Dead Eyes See No Future” is next and it’s kind of an instrumental track. Slow melodic riffs really well conceived. Really really nice track.

“Walls of Insecure” starts and is probably my second favorite track. The pace is back up-to-speed and we even got a little blast beat on the drums. Really cool section, mixing this kind of Hardcore playing with a bit of Death Metal. In the middle we have a melodic section with a guitar solo. It fits like a glove. Near the end we have another of those Meshuggah heavy grooves. Really powerfull stuff.

“Idiot” is a 50 second track and is like By Night went berserk. This track could almost be an Hate Eternal [check out Soundcult's review] track, but with a more hardcore feel to it, can you believe that? Sounds a bit out of place, but, I’m a Death Metal freak so…

“Forsaken Love” starts with a cheesy riff. Didn’t dig that at all. The next section is more interesting, Meshuggah strikes again! I’m re-considering the “take By Night of the Meshuggah wannabes pot” decision. Hmmm, but there it is. It’s influenced but has something different. Something that makes it a By Night riff.

OK, “Cursed by the Thought” is another of my favorite tracks. It starts with old Fear Factory riffing style but it’s just an intro. Then By Night’s melodic side steps in once again. Very nice. Heavy riffs but very melodic. I think this might be By Night’s strongest skill. The chorus has another heavy melodic riff. This track has a very nice epic ambiance. It’s this kind of tracks that make all the difference in a record.

The record finishes up with “Time Is Running Out”. Another instrumental. I do not think that this track fits very well with the record. Maybe it’s the piano parts, maybe is the sad feel to it.

OK, so, overall, this is a great record. By Night really surprised me with this second work. I think they now have all that it takes to be a great band. All the conditions to stick around for a long time are created.

Check out this epic song ^^

By Night – Cursed By The Thought

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Lamb of God did OK with their second album. “As The Palaces Burn” was my first contact with LoG. It’s a very nice record. It’s like Pantera meets Meshuggah kind of record. Their third album, “Ashes of the Wake” did nothing to me. I played the record over and over but nothing got my attention. I think of it like the leftovers from “ATPB”. There’s one or two good tracks but the rest is just the same thing over and over. I didn’t expect much from “Sacrament” because of that. And don’t expect much from a record is normally a good thing. If the record is good that’s a nice surprise, if it’s bad, well, I didn’t expect much anyway so…

Fortunately “Sacrament” was a nice surprise. Not as nice as: “ohh my GOD there’s two oiled up naked blonds on my bed”, but, a nice surprise nevertheless.

First thing I noticed, when I played “Sacrament”, was that they are more melodic. The second thing was that Pantera incarnated in LoG. At least on track #3 “Redneck”, It’s Pantera all the way. Even the vocals reminds me Phil Anselmo on some parts.

So… LoG sharpened their melodic side, some tracks are more speed up than the ones on the other albums, I noticed the solos are better too, the songs seem more balanced and less boring, but still, I do not think LoG is here to stay. The melodic approach might be an attempt to capture more audience, and that’s going to happen for sure. Even with the other albums I had kids talking to me about how LoG was great and whatever, but I don’t think that’s enough. They are OK. But OK bands do not survive for years to come. And you know what? the kids will, eventually, grow up and, probably, will get into other type of bands. See what happened to Limp Bizkit. They and their infants ruled the world [yeah, right] and now it’s like: “Limp who?!”. It’s not the same type of audience but is just an example.

“Sacrament” is surely better then “Ashes of the Wake” but my favorite still is “As the Palaces Burn”. If you’re are a LoG fan buy “Sacrament”, you’ll like it. If you’re not, I don’t think you’ll be amazed by this record. Highlights for the tracks “Blacken The Cursed Sun” and “Requiem” though. Really nice tracks.
Personally I’ll stick with Pantera, Meshuggah and At The Gates [the GODS of Melodic Death Metal]. Better check those blondies now ^^

Lamb of God – Redneck

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Vader is back with another album. This guys record new material like if there is no tomorrow. I bet that, in less then one year, I will be already reviewing another Vader EP.
So… carrying on the Vader’s tradition – making albums between EP’s, or vice versa – we now have the “Impressions in Blood” album [previous Vader's work was the "The Art of War" EP].

Every Vader fan knows what to expect from a new Vader work. Vader is Vader. They don’t change and I doubt they ever will. The question here is: do they still continue to smash us in the face when we listen to new material? Absolutely! I don’t know how they do it but, even with their “limited universe” [Vader developed they own style in the band early days and 98% of the songs are in that same style. All the riffs are Vader like, if you know what I mean] they always managed to create great anthems in all their works.

OK, now let’s talk about “Impressions in Blood”.
First of all, the only big change I noticed on the Vader sound is the addition of some orchestral intros [already explored in the previous EP]. I’m not sure if I like this yet. It doesn’t seem necessary somehow and some parts sound like black metal orchestration – like in Demon Burger. Hmmm I guess it doesn’t hurt, but it doesn’t help much either.

First track is an orchestral intro. I tend to skip it…
Second track is on and VADER starts playing. Typical Vader’s slow riffs in the intro, only to speed up one minute later. Hell yeah! Blasting all over the place. I think this album is one of the fastest albums in the Vader’s career, possible due to Darek Brzozowski faster skills. Doc [R.I.P.] has a great replacement, no doubt about that. Another slow part comes in right after the solo section. Very cool “Revelation of Black Moses” style passage, and then, blast away! once again.

“As Heavens Collide…” is fast as hell [yeah that was funny: as heavens collide, fast as hell. I rock ^^]. This 2:40m track really kicks you in the nuts.

“Helleluyah!!! (God is Dead)”. The intro is pretty evil. With that orchestral stuff it almost seems like a DB song. But soon we blast away into the chorus and Vader hyper-speed riffage. Very strong chorus by the way. I can almost see the mosh pit going nuts with this one in live concert. The middle part has a very cool mid-tempo riff.

Next in line is “Field of Heads”. This one starts with that Vader catchy-strong-fast kind of riff. I became addicted to this track. Another Vader anthem right there. I would lose the drum fill in the end tough.

“Predator” starts with another orchestral intro. This track as “filler” tagged all over the place. It’s a slow song, but that’s not the issue. The riffs are kind of lamme and boring. I would trash this five minutes track without thinking twice.

Thank god we have “Warlords” coming in. Another monster song! What a discharge… This track in a live situation can, and will, ignite the audience. This track rocks!

“Red Code”. This song as much of the “Revelations” vibe going on. Always enjoyed that album very much, so nice tune.

“Amongst the Ruins” is the next track. One more fast song, hurray! God, this IS the fastest Vader album till date [at least is the fastest since "Litany"]. As soon as this one starts you will realise that Vader rule and fuck the rest! [OK... maybe I'm overreacting, but this first riff really rocks! And is fast as hell!]. Towards the middle the pace slows down. Fifteen seconds pass the third minute and the bomb ignites again. Killer song.

“They Live!!!” is a two minute track with some kind of different vibe. It’s an OK track but it didn’t kicked me right on the nuts.

The record finishes off with “The Book”. I probably would cut this track also. Not as boring as “Predator” but hmmm it’s nothing special.

So, we have eleven tracks in total. One orchestral track and two tracks I would dump. We are left with eight great songs. That is a pretty good average. It is a fine Vader record and much more heavier then the previous album: “The Beast“. If you are a fan, you will love it. If Vader is not your cup of tea then “Impressions in Blood” will still not convert you. Try “Litany” first.

Check it out Warlords and bang your head!

Vader – Warlords

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