Ready, Set , Fall, an Italian band playing Swedish melodic death with American metalcore and a strong preference for agile variability. Five members: Marco Pochettino (drums), Giovanni Santolla (Bass/vocals), Christopher Volpi (vocals), Francesco Scaravelli (guitar) and Frank Mossa (guitar).
As the title of this US band implies, Strangelight are more than a little familiar with Ian McKaye’s Fugazi, I guess they spin at home quite some discs by Lungfish, Angst, Killdozer, Butthole Surfers, Naked Raygun, Jawbox, …as that's what they most closely resemble. The result is sometimes pretty interesting but here is one thing that bothers me. There are the vocals which annoy me, I wish they were more expressive, but this clear nasal tone has bored me to death.
Silent Voices is a Finnish progressive metal band formed in 1995. Current members: Timo Kauppinen (guitar), Pasi Kauppinen (bass), Jukka-Pekka Koivisto (drums), Hendrik Klingenberg (keyboards) and Teemu Koskela (vocals).
Seether is a South African post-grunge/alternative metal band founded in 1999. The band was originally formed under the name "Saron Gas" until renaming it to "Seether" in 2002. The first disc on Seether’s collection is comprised of all fifteen singles the band has released throughout the past eleven years. Tracks like ‘Gasoline,’ ‘Broken,’ ‘Remedy,’ ‘Fake It,’ ‘Rise Above This,’ ‘Country Song’ and ‘Tonight’ all turn up on the collection.
Satanic Malfunctions formed in the mid of the 80’s returning of the 22 years with a new album “Them”. With vocalist Kai, guitarist Yaga, bassist Ryan and drummer Ade they still plays aggressive and ultra-fast hardcore/punk mixed with grind/thrash frenzy, fueled by political lyrics.
Kill For Eden a 4 piece London based rock group. The band is based around lead singer Lyla D’Souza’s powerful but tuneful vocals. Members are: Lyla D'Souza (vocals), Dave Garfield (Guitars), Andrea Basiola (Guitars), Wally MMiroshnikov (Drums) and Mike McGuiness (Bass).
I have had this CD for a while, but failed to write an immediate review on it because the band is so hard to put your finger on.
Anaal Natrakh, Burzum, Darkthrone, Satyricon, and some other Norwegian black metal come into my mind when I listen to the songs of Unravel, at times very hymnic and melodic, then icy cold and fast, combined with the bone-dry production sounding basic as Gehenna does without any detours. Yet this album has one big flaw for my ears, yes, again, the vocals which destroys much of any upcoming atmosphere.
As 2013 is coming to an end I realized that I have left some of the better albums of the year un- reviewed. The Argentinean Dragonauta is perhaps the most notable. Dragonauta have been roaming the scene for 15 years now and ever since their beginnings I have been a big fan and for just as many years they are one of those bands that never even remotely received the recognition that they more than would deserve for their releases. There’s something to be said about a band that have been around for so long and are still kicking.
I think it’s time fans of sludge and noise core discover the Beringen, Belgian outfit 30 000 Monkies. Their second EP contains four pieces, each one containing its fair share of noise, disoriented and frightened passages. However, the songs “Czarring”, “Imperial Staches”, “Amazones” and the longest 13-min “Battering” don’t go through a variety of tempo and style changes, 30 000 Monkies does an excellent job of building and maintaining a suffocating atmosphere ending on the darkest possible note.
