Wherein joanismylover takes issue with one of my reviews.
The issue on appeal is whether Inter Arma, as evidenced on Sky Burial, is “boldly combining influences in new ways, or do they lack identity?”* The rule applicable is whether the release kicks enough ass to make the listener say, “Whoa, this some good fuckin’ shit.” (hereinafter “the kick ass good shit rule”).** Respondent argues in essence that the length of the release, combined with its allegedly mis-placed acoustic interludes and discordant influences present a confused but potential-laden release. We granted this writ because it presents an issue of first impression – i.e. significant disagreement between FMA and joanismylover. Because real-party at interest – Inter Arma – despite some minor mis-steps, ultimately satisfy kick ass good shit rule, joanismylover will, as explained below, give Sky Burial an improved rating.
I’m not quite sure what to make of Virginia’s Inter Arma. The band’s sophomore full-length Sky Burial defies categorization while sounding completely familiar. They combine a lot of different elements, but primarily they take the sound of current-day U.S. black metal (e.g. Castevet) into the tempo and song structures of an arty kind of groove metal. It reminds me a great deal of France’s Eryn Non Dae, with some caveats.
Are they boldly combining influences in new ways, or do they lack identity? That’s largely a function of how good you think it is, and in all honesty it’s little of both, but I’m leaning more towards the lack of identity.
Groove metal is almost entirely an American phenomenon. Like most American-dominated branches of metal (e.g., glam metal, metalcore), it is largely derided by metal elitists. To be fair, they usually have a point. Even when it’s thoroughly infused with death metal (as with Lamb of God) there is definitely something too polished, too clean-cut, and generally too damn palatable about it.
Leave it to that bastion of metal awesomeness that is Poland to fix that. Deep Desolation’s Rites of Blasphemy quite literally answers the question, “What would groove metal sound like if the album cover was an amateurish drawing of hooded figures with a nude woman sacrifice?” I didn’t even know anyone was asking that question.
Hydra Lernaia, the debut full-length of France’s Eryn Non Dae, made my list of the best metal albums of the last decade. A year later, I set out to write a complete review of the record, because there are so few out there, and what’s out there is usually misguided.
It’s easy to be misguided about these guys. They were clearly ahead of their time in 2009. Three years later, they’ve finally blessed us with a follow-up. Meliora is an incredibly difficult-to-define, love-it-or-hate-it experience. I will do my best to describe this music, but you should be aware that the description and list of influences do not adequately capture how they really sound. You must hear it for yourself.
Gojira is one of the most iconic metal bands of today. They have an instantly identifiable style, and a strong ecological message that may be entirely unique in the genre. They also write some excellent music that pleases a wide swath of fans, leading to a rare combination of both mainstream and underground appeal. While they aren't universally beloved, few bands come close.
They have this annoying tendency to take years between releases. They blew a lot of people away with 2005's From Mars to Sirius. It wasn't until 2008 that they released one of my favorite albums of that year, The Way of All Flesh. It was well worth the wait. They made us wait another four years before releasing L'Enfant Sauvage. Was it also worth it?
Fear Factory is perhaps the most extreme band ever to make a dent in the mainstream. I actually picked up a copy of Obsolete as a prize at my post-prom, of all places, back in 2000. Fast-forward to 2010, and the real Fear Factory's comeback album Mechanize was one of the first album reviews I ever wrote, giving it a 4 out of 5 star rating. You could say I'm a fan.
The Industrialist is a continuation from the core Fear Factory Obsolete/Mechanize industrial groove metal sound that I'm sure you already know, complete with the catchy, clean vocal choruses that let them put their feet in the door of the mainstream. Since there's no innovation or change in direction here, it's pretty easy to set it side by side with the other records in their catalog to see how it stacks up.
Today, February 21, 2012, is the 20th anniversary of one of the most divisive albums in metal history: Pantera'sVulgar Display of Power. On the one hand, it's almost universally acclaimed as the band's greatest work, and one of the most influential albums in metal history. Outside the core metal audience, that is. You can predict with near-certainty that any casual metalhead over 25 has a copy in his collection. But the more outspoken, critically-minded metalheads hate it with near-unanimity. Metalheads on the whole are pretty well divided.
Much of the hatred toward the album is based on what it's not, rather than what it is. The band's prior record, Cowboys from Hell, is reasonably well-loved among metalheads. It's a good example of thrash, with hints of the band moving toward groove metal. But Vulgar is clearly not a thrash metal album. Yet, you'll see many reviews call it a terrible thrash album. That's like ripping on a pickup truck because it doesn't get gas mileage like a compact. It doesn't make any sense.
Perhaps more prevalent is the hatred directed at Vulgar precisely because of its influence. The stripped-down, simplified, slowed-down approach hasn't been seen as bringing Sabbath back into metal (which would be a perfectly legitimate opinion) but instead as ushering in nu metal, and the bad groove metal of the late 90's. The vocal style and mosh-readiness of the music is blamed for the tough-guy posturing of metalcore bands like Hatebreed or hard rock bands like Drowning Pool. But plenty of great albums have led to terrible imitators. It doesn't make any sense to tear down Thergothon just because there are bad funeral doom bands out there.
Lamb of God's Ashes of the Wake was an important record for me when I began the transition from a mostly mainstream metal fan to a more extreme metal fan. The band's combination of an extreme sound with accessible songwriting was just what I needed at the time. But despite my love for that album, I've paid no attention to them since. I have no idea what "Redneck" sounds like, despite that being (apparently) their best-known song.
I am a different person since then. Then, I had no kids, I was still in school, I was renting, and the only really extreme metal I had came from Opeth, Meshuggah, and Death. Now, I have three kids, am in a career, am about to buy my second house, and I'm more likely to listen to a self-released record than a Roadrunner one. So, I think it's not them, it's me. I've changed, but Lamb of God hasn't. I couldn't even get through the record, stopping it at the instrumental cut halfway through and thinking, "I don't think I can listen to this same song seven more times."
I've already documented the impact Dez Fafara has had in my own personal journey with metal. In short, I was a budding metalhead in the mid- to late-90's, and Coal Chamber was one of my favorite bands. They were better than most other nu metal because they had an angrier, more evil sound. And then Dez started DevilDriver, and The Fury of Our Maker's Hand was an important stepping stone for me into more extreme music.
You're probably already familiar with DevilDriver, since they're one of the best-known bands in what's sometimes called the New Wave of American Heavy Metal. The style is similar to others in the NWOAHM (like Lamb of God, Machine Head, and Dååth), i.e., an aggressive brand of groove metal strongly influenced by the Gothenburg melo-death sound, and recorded with perfect production. You know what to expect, and DevilDriver doesn't stray from the formula. Since there's nothing new, the album can only be judged on the strength of the performance and the songs.
The performance is as strong as ever, with every instrument doing exactly what it's supposed to do, and doing it with feeling, as they say. Dez Fafara has convinced me (for the umpteenth time in the last decade and a half) that he is one of the most charismatic frontmen in metal. That's not to mention his nails-and-battery-acid gargled voice, one of the most instantly recognizable, aggressive, and all-around perfect voices in metal. Nothing at all is missing from this performance.
The songs aren't the strongest the band has ever offered, but none of it's bad. There are only three real standouts ("Dead to Rights", "Shitlist", and "Black Soul Choir"), but there are also only three songs you might want to skip ("Bring the Fight (to the Floor)", "Talons Out (Teeth Sharpened)", and closer "Lend Myself to the Night"). The rest of it's solid, if predictable material. And you can't really go wrong with that. But this kind of album shouldn't go on for 55 minutes either (you're not doing anything artsy here, and this isn't funeral doom), so it is a tad long. Unless you skip those three weaker tracks, because then it's perfect.
The Verdict: Yeah, it's predictable, but it's also good. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
Dååth (sometimes written as "Daath") is one of the most well-known and most hyped bands of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal. Most "trve metal" folk rip on them, probably because the band is now associated with both Roadrunner and Century Media. If you hate them because they're not kvlt enough, maybe you should read True Metal vs. False Metal instead of reading this review. If you like DevilDriver, Lamb of God, Machine Head, or Fear Factory, read on.
Though they're often cited as an industrial death metal band, Dååth is not exactly Zyklon or The Berzerker. More accurately, they're an industrial groove metal band with some melodic death influence. In other words, they're a cross between DevilDriver and Fear Factory. As with the band's previous material, you'll find blastbeats mixed with industrial sounds, heavy mid-tempo riffs, fast riffs, and black metallish distorted vocals.
This self-titled album is their fourth full-length. Sadly, it doesn't really offer a whole lot of evolution for the band. Highlights like "Indestructible Overdose" and the extremely catchy "Accelerant" are perfect examples of the great songwriting this band is capable of. But there seems to be more filler on this album ("Exit Plan", "Manufactured Insomnia", "A Cold Devotion"). That's probably due to the band's core members overextending themselves. The excellent The Hinderers came out three years after the band's debut, and the very good The Concealers had another couple years to brew. In contrast, this one is coming out a year after The Concealers, and just months after the debut from Levi and Werstler's side project.
The Verdict: There are a few excellent tracks to be found here, but the majority of the album is forgettable. That seems to be the new pattern for Century Media. I give Dååth 3 out of 5 stars.
Sometimes it's tough to decide exactly which genre label you should apply to a particular group. Everything I've read says Finnish group V for Violence is a thrash metal band. If you listen critically to their debut The Cult of V, you'll realize they're not really thrash metal, but instead groove metal, or possibly alternative metal (I've never put much stock in the latter label, as I don't really understand what it means), with heavy influence from nu metal.
Of course, it's easy to understand the confusion. All of those genres are almost exclusively American--not Finnish--and almost universally loathed by the European metal scene. The geo-cultural origins of a band can often get them lumped into the wrong genre (see Alice In Chains). But V for Violence really sounds like an American group, from their name which doesn't make sense outside the English language, to their sound, to their image, to their liberal use of profanity (most European groups use little, if any).
As I said, their sound is heavily influenced by nu metal, particularly Slipknot and Powerman 5000. For some people, this is going to be a big turnoff; for others, it may lend some credibility to nu metal.
Don't let the nu metal talk scare you too much, though. They are solidly on groove/thrash ground here, but draw influence from the much-maligned style.
The Verdict: Comparisons aside, their writing is original yet consistent, and they perform with energy and charisma. The music is interesting, and the album seems to be about the right length, though most of the tracks aren't really going to floor anyone. Unless you're rabidly anti-nu metal, there's a good chance you'll like this, even if you don't love it. Though I've said nu metal is dead many times, it seems they have used strong nu metal influences for a new take on groove metal. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.
Mudvayne's self-titled album came out back in December. I understand the album cover is really neat, with blacklight art. But that definitely wasn't enough to get me to jump right on this album as I usually do with Mudvayne. But after 2008's lackluster The New Game (to which I gave a very generous 3 star rating), I wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to hear this one.
Supposedly, Mudvayne recorded this album at the same time as that one. If so, they must have saved the best material for their self-titled album.
While they haven't managed to capture that raw energy and innovative songwriting they had on their 2000 debut, they have almost managed to latch onto that progressive streak they had on 2002's The End of All Things To Come. In fact, "Heard It All Before" may be the most progressive song they've ever done. A few other strong tracks are here, such as "Burn the Bridge," "Closer," and "I Can't Wait."
The Verdict: The album is very much worthwhile for fans of the group, or anyone who likes nu metal, since this is probably the best album in that genre to come out since Slipknot's latest over a year earlier. I give it a conservative 3 out of 5 stars, but they still haven't restored my faith.
The issue on appeal is whether Inter Arma, as evidenced on Sky Burial, is “boldly combining influences in new ways, or do they lack identity?”* The rule applicable is whether the release kicks enough ass to make the listener say, “Whoa, this some good fuckin’ shit.” (hereinafter “the kick ass good shit rule”).** Respondent argues in essence that the length of the release, combined with its allegedly mis-placed acoustic interludes and discordant influences present a confused but potential-laden release. We granted this writ because it presents an issue of first impression – i.e. significant disagreement between FMA and joanismylover. Because real-party at interest – Inter Arma – despite some minor mis-steps, ultimately satisfy kick ass good shit rule, joanismylover will, as explained below, give Sky Burial an improved rating.
Hydra Lernaia, the debut full-length of France’s Eryn Non Dae, made my list of the 
Gojira is one of the most iconic metal bands of today. They have an instantly identifiable style, and a strong ecological message that may be entirely unique in the genre. They also write some excellent music that pleases a wide swath of fans, leading to a rare combination of both mainstream and underground appeal. While they aren't universally beloved, few bands come close.
. It wasn't until 2008 that they released one of my favorite albums of that year, 
. It was well worth the wait. They made us wait another four years before releasing L'Enfant Sauvage. Was it also worth it?
Fear Factory is perhaps the most extreme band ever to make a dent in the mainstream. I actually picked up a copy of Obsolete as a prize at my post-prom, of all places, back in 2000. Fast-forward to 2010, and the real Fear Factory's comeback album Mechanize was one of the first album reviews I ever wrote, giving it a 
Today, February 21, 2012, is the 20th anniversary of one of the most divisive albums in metal history: 
Vulgar Display of Power. On the one hand, it's almost universally acclaimed as the band's greatest work, and one of the most influential albums in metal history. Outside the core metal audience, that is. You can predict with near-certainty that any casual metalhead over 25 has a copy in his collection. But the more outspoken, critically-minded metalheads hate it with near-unanimity. Metalheads on the whole are pretty well divided.
, is reasonably well-loved among metalheads. It's a good example of thrash, with hints of the band moving toward groove metal. But Vulgar is clearly not a thrash metal album. Yet, you'll see many reviews call it a terrible thrash album. That's like ripping on a pickup truck because it doesn't get gas mileage like a compact. It doesn't make any sense.
Lamb of God's 
was an important record for me when I began the transition from a mostly mainstream metal fan to a more extreme metal fan. The band's combination of an extreme sound with accessible songwriting was just what I needed at the time. But despite my love for that album, I've paid no attention to them since. I have no idea what "Redneck" sounds like, despite that being (apparently) their best-known song.
was one of my favorite bands. They were better than most other nu metal because they had an angrier, more evil sound. And then Dez started 
was an important stepping stone for me into more extreme music. 
You're probably already familiar with DevilDriver, since they're one of the best-known bands in what's sometimes called the New Wave of American Heavy Metal. The style is similar to others in the NWOAHM (like 
came out three years after the band's 
, and the very good 
had another couple years to brew. In contrast, this one is coming out a year after The Concealers, and just months after the debut from 
). But V for Violence really sounds like an American group, from their name which doesn't make sense outside the English language, to their sound, to their image, to their liberal use of profanity (most European groups use little, if any). 
and 
. For some people, this is going to be a big turnoff; for others, it may lend some credibility to nu metal.
came out back in December. I understand the album cover is really neat, with blacklight art. But that definitely wasn't enough to get me to jump right on this album as I usually do with Mudvayne. But after 2008's lackluster 
(to which I gave a very generous 3 star rating), I wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to hear this one.
, they have almost managed to latch onto that progressive streak they had on 2002's 
. In fact, "Heard It All Before" may be the most progressive song they've ever done. A few other strong tracks are here, such as "Burn the Bridge," "Closer," and "I Can't Wait."
over a year earlier. I give it a conservative 3 out of 5 stars, but they still haven't restored my faith.