Obscura with support at the Camden Underworld

It's been a while coming but I've finally broken my gigging duck in 2012. And a great way to break it at that with a night of pure technical death metal insanity. When I first heard about this 4 band bill I thought damn I will be there like a shot and the ticket price was a bargain as well, at £10 for 4 bands. In the end a decent midweek crowd of roughly 300 or so turned out to witness these tech death magicians go through their paces.

First up were instrumental combo Exivious from Holland. These guys are as smooth as silk with their fluid, easy on the ear technical music. They do work up the odd head of steam but their brand of tech is quite relaxed in the main and allows the music plenty of room to breathe. The fretless bass playing was pretty nice to hear. The sound mix was pretty cool for Exivious. I enjoyed their set but it was obvious that most people were here for the other three acts in the main. A good start anyway for Cynic-lite tech fans.

Gorod got ready and goddamn they started like a freight train with vicious whirling drum and guitar riffs with fat grooves galore. The bass player was a mental nutcase pulling faces like a loon as he played and slapped his bass strings like rubber bands twanging away. The front man is a short haired dude who looks a bit metalcorish but he pulls some mean faces and is quite fun to look at as he gees up the moshers etc. The guitarists are just fucking unreal with snappy, heavy as hell tight grooving. Gorod were fucking immense and I paid them the honour of buying their new CD from the merch stall. Oh yeah and the sound for Gorod was absolutely intense as hell and wrecked my ears good and proper. A monstrous machine of a band.

Next up were uber complex Swedish tech death masters Spawn of Possession. These guys are a little bit more laid back than Gorod were in their on stage demeanour. Their sound was a touch worse than Gorod's and it was quite hard to make it out the bewildering complexity at times as things blurred into a complete note overload. Definitely the most complex band of the night and it was hard to make out the differences between the songs. How in God's name do they remember to play these songs though?? It's a miracle! They were tight as hell but their set wasn't as enjoyable and mental as Gorod's cause the Frenchies were absolutely fucking insane to be honest. Spawn were a tight and lean tech death killing machine but it was not quite their night for me. Lash by Lash from Noctambulant was easily the best and most memorable song.

At this stage we saw that whilst Obscura were getting ready, they were having trouble with one of the guitarist's amps and it had blown and as it turns out a second one had bust too! Finally I was thinking fuck they are going to play with only one guitarist as Christian's guitar didn't work but they somehow managed to find an amp from the Gorod guitarist and finally got that one working. Half an hour later than planned they finally took to the stage, but better late than never I say as they didn't waste a single note. The sound was a sharp as a cutthroat blade as the singer apologised for the delay and they sped through a totally blistering set of manic tech death. The drummer was totally on top of his game with clinical savage blasts but it's the guitarists who shone the most. These guys are just something else to watch. A blur of hair, fingers and wizard level guitar riffs jackhammering away in tight unison. An absolutely awesome sight from my viewpoint. You have to marvel at the skill level of musicians like these although the song writing is not always memorable, they still leave you in awe at their marvellous musicianship.

Obscura went down a storm like Gorod previously and got some pretty hefty pits going. Finally they left the stage at 11.20 or so but the chants for "One More Song!" went up soon and the smiling Germans came back and said their thank yous and the singer said well I'm not gonna introduce this song as you all know it anyway and the epic opening riff from Flesh and the Power it Holds resounded, crisp and clear, over the PA and the youngsters at the from went apeshit and I had a big shit eating grin on my face. I had made my way a little way back and I could hear the spirit of Chuck bounding through the song and their version was awe inspiring and spine-tingling if not even a little emotional. The moshing during the fast sections got pretty intense and the kids enjoyed the hell out of themselves and were bellowing the lyrics to this Chucky masterpiece. Just goes to show how much people loved Chuck's music and how much they still miss him. As the song ended the band got huge cheers and thank yous as the crowd dispersed having witnessed a great night of blistering technical death metal and I dread to think how many riffs were played last night!

Here are the photos.

Exivious:



Gorod:






Spawn of Possession:






Obscura:

Ian Anderson - Thick as a Brick 2

I am not a huge Tull fan but I am a fairly big fan of theirs as there's something about their music that is just perfection to me. I was sceptical of this release and expected it to suck pretty much when i heard about it but lo and behold the damn thing is actually quite good! Didn't expect that at all. Ian's voice lacks power and can be a bit cringe worthy here and there but he sounds reasonable on this release. The theme is of course whatever happened to child genius Gerald Bostock from the original TAAB? I am not one for following concepts or lyrics in detail so therefore I approach this purely on a musical standpoint. At least 6 or 7 of the songs are wonderful pieces of music, with very well crafted prog parts. Some of the spoken segues are not real songs so I don't count them.

The good songs are Banker Bets, Banker Wins, Old School Song, Wootton Bassett Town, Shunt And Shuffle, A Change Of Horses, Confessional and Kismet In Suburbia. The best song on the album is A Change of Horses. It's a musical masterpiece with wonderful accordion, flute and heartfelt emotion. Kismet in Suburbia is also a superb progressive track. Old School Song is a very catchy tune and features themes lifted from the original TAAB alongside a new theme and fits so well and eloquently. Wootton Basset Town is a very modern sounding keyboard heavy piece which is rather emotional indeed and a song that is pretty much perfect in my eyes. I like the fact that Ian decided to incorporate some musical lines from the original within the follow up as it creates a nice musical link between the two albums and gives a reminder to how great the original really was.

The flute playing on the album is superb as usual from Ian and is an aspect of the band which is unequalled in any band I've heard. There are quite a lot of progressive parts on this album as well as gentle reflective parts. The guitar can get fairly heavy by Tull standards but is mainly on the same level as keyboards and does not dominate. The mix is clear but could be a bit sharper but I'm being picky. If you are a Tull fan I think you maybe surprised and enjoy some of this. It's better than any studio Tull music since a long time. It's still not as good as the classics but how can we expect that from Ian at this stage. There are still many things to be admired about the album cause there is a lot of sounds and music to absorb. All in all the album is not without fault but nevertheless credit where credit's due to the musical genius Mr Anderson for a very interesting and reasonable and somewhat worthy follow up to the original prog masterpiece. 8/10

Unisonic - st

The album is a really fun and happy listen. So melodic and playful with cool solos galore. The riffing is just simple rocking and never really ventures into power metal territory as Kai eluded to in interviews. He didn't want the album to sound anything like a Gamma Ray or Helloweeny album and it doesn't . It sounds to me like a lighter or poppier new PC69 album or something like that but with a little more rock and roll feel with fun bouncy riffs and Michael's unique happy go lucky, soaring vocals on top.

Unisonic - A good statement of intent for the band with it's soaring cries of Unisonic and general energetic feel. 8/10

Souls Alive - A playful and rocking melodic song with a beautiful chorus sung brilliantly by Michael. One of the best on the album. 8.5/10

Never Too Late - A similar song in terms of tempo with a slight retro rock and roll feel. The song builds to a happy slightly Helloweeny chorus. A sunshiny light feel makes you smile during this song. Great for the summer as is most of the album. 9/10

I've Tried - A slightly more relaxed pace with more emotional vocals from Mickey this one. Leads onto an amazingly beautiful chorus with relaxed melodic backing. The song is as smooth as silk and it doesn't even feel like a rock song to me apart from the solo. It sounds like an 80s hi-tech aor pop song with a beautiful melody plain and simple. This sort of music should be huge in the charts IMO.

Star Rider - A slow paced song pretty much with Mickey's usual warbling soaring vocals leading onto an ok but a rather average chorus. Not loving this one that much as it's a bit pedestrian. There are some nice harmony vocal sections during the verses though. 6/10

Never Change Me - Another relaxed fairly, slow of tempo, light song with a pop feel that leads on to a fun melodic chorus again similar to the ones we've heard before. The formula of the songs so far seems to be to have simpler verses that lead onto bug hook filled choruses. This song is no different. The solo has a great melodic feel but the song feels very rock and rolly. 8/10

Renegade - One of the slightly heavier songs with a heavy groovy riff opener which gives way to the typical relaxed verses which again leads into an amazing chorus with quite a unique feel the way Michael sings it. I like this song a lot. Soaring, spine tingling vocal melodies on this one. 8.5/10

My Sanctuary - A song from the ep awhile back and an a brilliant song in my book. Great build up and I love the slow bit in the middle with Kai's vocals singing "sanctuary" with his low vocals. The tempo of the song is very cool indeed with nice riffs and solos and a great soaring chorus of course. One of my faves with this glorious happy song. 9.5/10

King for a Day - A slow paced pretty heavy rock song with again great melodies from Mickey. The guy really out did himself on the album. This song sounds quite symphonic and epic thanks to great keyboard presence. A beautiful song again and with a multi layered chorus with both Kai and Mickey and maybe more voices. This song is the closest we get to a Gamma Ray feel as the second part of the song sounds very metallic and Gamm Ray-ish as it speeds up with a gorgeous solo. However the vocal parts are always delivered to slower backing with Kai doing harmony to Mickey's lead. An amazing song to be honest which I can't find fault with 10/10.

We Rise - A spiky and energetic heavy rocking riff to start which gives way to a sedate verse before we reach another one of the stratosphere reaching Mickey choruses that sways back and forth with a typical Germanic melodic feel. The solo in this song is to die for. 9.5/10

No One Ever Sees Me - The longest song on the album is kept back till last and what we hear is an emotional quiet ballad with acoustic guitars and Mickey crooning away on top. The song is a bit too emotional and sappy but I guess it's the only real ballad on the album so I can forgive them. It would probably have been better to put this in the middle somewhere and ended on a more powerful note but that's just me. The song has a very heartbreaking solo in it with lush instrumentation all round. 7.5/10

This album is an amazing listen if you enjoy melodies in your rock music. I rate it at 9/10

Favourite albums of 2012 so far

Here are my favourites so far in 2012.

Cannibal Corpse - Torture. The kings of death metal had me worried for a bit as I didn't like the initial single releases but the album as a whole smokes. Some of the grooves are intense.

Gorod - A Perfect Absolution. French tech death masters deliver the riffs with groove and allow the songs room to breathe.

Napalm Death - Utilitarian. The Gods of Grind! Can never be a let down. However this is Napalm at their most brutal and yet still with catchy parts galore.

Psycroptic - The Inherited Repression. Hyper brutal and technical with a little more groove. Great stuff anyway.

Dynazty - Sultans Of Sin. Miles better than their previous album. Swedish glammy aorsters deliver songs with class and great vocals.

Lacuna Coil - Dark Adrenaline. Probably the first LC album I like. It's super heavy and the male/female vocals are very melodic.

Sonic Station - st. Super soft westcoast AOR but with very good songwriting.

Sunstorm - Emotional Fire. The best AOR record of the year so far. JLT is amazing!

Adrenaline Mob - Omerta. I like the heaviness and the amazing crunch in the guitars. The songs are mostly good and enjoyable enough for me.

Amberian Dawn - Circus Black. Finnish Nightwish copy at the top of the game.

Eternal Dream - The Fall Of Salanthine. Super fast melodic symphonic power metal with ethereal otherworldly female vocals. Sounds huge!

Freedom Call - Land Of The Crimson Dawn. Enjoyable and super happy melodic power metal much better than I was hoping for.

Lanfear - This Harmonic Consonance. Slightly technical power/prog with interesting riffs.

Lyriel - Leverage. Typical female fronted gothic folk metal with a much better sound than their previous albums.

Pharaoh - Bury The Light. Only the rather dull production stops me from completely loving this. Some of the riffs are a joy for the ears with beautiful galloping parts.

Primal Fear - Unbreakable. Much better than the last album. Ralf turns in a stellar performance and the songs are very strong. One of the best efforts from Primal Fear no doubt.

Rage - 21. I like it a little less than the last two albums but the guitar work is still smoking hot from Victor.

Xandria - Neverworld's End. Monstrous Nightwish copy with vocals aping Tarja to the max.

Aggression - Viocracy. Quality heavy thrash and no messing about.

Bludvera - Terrorform EP. Unknown UK thrashers with a blisteringly good ep.

Game Over - For Humanity. Regular cool thrash metal with class.

Mad Maze - Frames of Alienation. Technical thrash merchants with huge production and fat riffs galore.

Skull Hammer - Destroyers of the Faith. Groovy and killer thrash with riffs ala Megadeth and Metallica.

Soulfly - Enslaved. Max is the king of metal! Brutal catchy riffs and rhythms and most importantly memorable tunes

Suicidal Angels - Bloodbath. Rip roaring Slayer worship from the Greek overlords of thrashy mayhem.

Testimony - Transcending Reality EP. Unknown tech thrash with many lengthy and enjoyable technical compositions.

Cannibal Corpse - Torture

Ok I have played the album now and I am happy to report that the two early songs released are easily the worst on the album. They are not bad CC songs but they don't represent the album as a whole. I think this album could be the most involved and technical album yet from Corpse. It's not so easy to get into straight away but as you are listening you can hear loads of little killer riffs and grooves here and there. It is also probably the most brutal sounding CC album yet. The Rutan production is monstrous and sounds like molten slabs of hot iron lacerating your ears.

Demented Aggression - A fast roaring start and a typical CC song. The groove riff in the middle makes the song with it's bouncy feel. 7/10

Sarcophagic Frenzy - Mid paced pounder that starts like Sentenced to Burn in pretty simple form however the song gets more involved and groovy and at 2.30 you have a great riff section for headbangers. The solo is very cool too. 8/10

Scourge Of Iron - My least fave song. Very slow and heavy with the odd fast time change here and there. The song might grow on me but at the moment it's boring. 5/10

Encased in Concrete - A frenetic and frantic corpse tune with fast double bass and amazingly fast vocals at time from Corpsegrinder. Nice killer time change sections as well that CC are experts at. The frenetic feel juxtaposed to the slower groove sections give the song good dynamism. 8/10

As Deep As The Knife Will Go - Fast hammering riffs again crash headlong into a great twisted slow riff before the slower groove riff takes over for the catchy chorus. Soon the faster blast section returns. Again the dynamics in this song are awesome. Not many death metal bands can master the mix between speed and mid pace as well as CC can. One of the catchiest songs on the album and a must for windmill headbangers. 8.5/10

Intestinal Crank - One of the most technical sounding songs on the album opens with a winding tech riff before a pneumatic drill type blast riff takes over. The technicality however remains. This is a song that tech heads need to try and listen closely to the twisted lines the guitars weave. Amazing stuff and the best riffs on the whole album when Corpsegrinder screams "Intestinal Crank!" The grooving tech feel remains to the songs conclusions as a madcap frenzied solos screams forth to bring the song to a manic end. 9.5/10

Followed Home Then Killed - A heavy and pretty sick song opens with a thunderous riff before a leap into a fast time change and a killer pattern and groove emerge with a twisted rampaging riffs. Corpsegrinder's vocals are very understandable in this song and you can tell a lot of though has gone into making the vocals fit into the riff patterns to make things catchy and interesting. The solo in this song is again very tasty, fast and chaotic. The groove is also completely head bangable, brutal and mean. 9/10

The Strangulation Chair - The killer song sequence with this track and it's sick mid paced groove with thumping sinewy riffage winding it's suffocating way around your neck. The song never picks up full pace and maintains it's slick groove till the last note with it's dark and evil tone. 8.5/10

Caged...Contorted - Again they refrain from playing too fast and settle on a thick mid paced groove with little peaks of vicious speed and double bass drum battery. I love the drums on this album by the way. Very snappy and tight with good feel and groove. Once again Caged...Contorted is a very dynamic and groovy song with good sway between fast and mid paced to keep the song flowing and back and forth. 8.5/10

Crucifier Avenged - Possibly the catchiest song on the whole album with it's superb mid paced riff rides and it's double timed drum patterns. This song actually reminds me of some Deicide song on Once Upon the Cross. The chorus on this by Corpsegrinder is spat out in a super catchy way and makes it the most rhythmic and memorable on the whole album. The song itself is not overly technical sounding but is played to perfection and tight as hell and provides a great bouncy ride. 9.5/10

Rabid - Possibly a contender close to the previous song as my fave. The song is perfectly named as Corpsegrinder sounds like a rabid dog chomping his way through the remains of his kill. The riffing in this song is even somewhat melodic and very catchy in general. The drums are simple and follow the songs pace but are very tightly played and with great groove. This song is a little technical than the last couple of songs, with the riff being a little more twisted and sicker. A great song indeed and I like the one word Rabiiiiiiid!! scream from Corpsegrinder and the awesome riffs in the background. 9/10

Torn Through - The album ends on a hyper manic and sonically vicious end with one of the most brutal songs which is riddled with double bass and brutal fast riffs that leave little room for breath. Not that the song doesn't have it's typical CC groove sections to allow the headbangers to windmill their plumage. It's not the best song on the album but it's still a killer tune in it's own right with good vocal patterns and a typically sweet demented solo. 8.5/10

So there we have the latest Cannibal Corpse CD and it's a good one alright. It has a couple of average tunes but is riddled with some ridiculously awesome grooves and shows that they are only getting better the older they get. Overall rating is 8.5/10

Napalm Death - Utilitarian

Been loving Napalm for a damn long time now. By rights I shouldn't even really like them but somehow the combination of death metal, hardcore and punk works extremely well for me creating an abrasive yet catchy metallic whole. So I have been looking forward to Utilitarian for a good while having watched youtube previews with Barney talking about the songs and explaining the themes and how they were written.

Well finally it's out there for us metal nutters to digest and spit out the scraps!

Well let me tell you the kings of grindcore are back again and this time they are super fucking angry! As if they are ever happy but this time Barney is completely seething and the band is on shit hot form.

Circumspect - Quite an interesting atmospheric instrumental opener.

Errors in the signals - Raging opener with a cool stop start groove before the blastfest takes over. A typical ND tune. Super fast and harsh chorus with alternate shout from Barney and then Mitch. Catchy groovy and wicked. This is why ND fucking rules all!

Everyday Pox - Quite a dreamy start before mucho blasts take over with crazy sax wails to give it an odd feel. The drum is fucking mental when it's playing the fast parts. Quite epic semi industrial clean vox give it an otherworldly feel. Song ends with fat riffs and more crazy sax. An interesting song and very brutal but not my fave.

Protection Racket - Crescendo guitar and drum attack before a typical ND grove thunders out and Barney roars away. The song blasts away continuously before the first break riff happens half way through to allow the mosh sections to take over. The final half of the song is too fucking good with glorious little riffs in the background making catchy little melodies. One of the best.

The Wolf I Feed - One of the most immediate songs on the whole album. Sounds like a more death metal version of Fear Factory with thunderous hardcore riffs with harsh yet understandable vocals before Barney's roar takes over. The chorus is completely clean sung and brilliant to be honest and I'm not sure who did it but it sounds close to Burton from FF. The thundering mid paced riffs are as catchy as a bad rash on this tune and I love the way the vocals are fitted around these amazing riffs. Great stuff!

Quarantined - The most technical song on the album and perhaps my fave. The opening riff will have air guitar enthusiasts going crazy. That main riff gives way to a typical Napalm hardcore riff before the chorus sees Barney screaming the title repeatedly in a catchy way with an atmospheric part in the background. However the song is so great cause of the amazing way the riffs are fast and furious and meld into one another like a rolling battering ram. The riff at 2.08 is something else!

Fall on their swords - A pounding and heavy song which reminds me of one of my fave songs from their past Reflect on Conflict. This is a groove based song with an absolutely monstrous riff that will burst past brick walls like there's nothing there. They never go into a blast section in this tune which is rather cool but instead use an atmospheric chant like vocal in the middle section which sounds cool as hell. Finally the song ends on a blast section which is melded together fantastically well with the chanting.

Collision Course - A simple catchy fast riff starts things off and soon you're head is soon moving before it settles down into a rolling hardcore riff with a really catchy refrain "...set on collision course!" roar from Barney. A simple tune but very catchy, blasty and groovy. This song reminds me a little bit of Greed Killing from Diatribes but a little more brutal.

Orders of Magnitude - Mid paced hardcore riff which settles down to a staccato mid point and then back to the hardcore groove. Mix of vocals between Mitch and Barney as the song picks of pace into the chorus which is full on blasted and blackened almost. The feel of the song is dark and ferocious and it's one of the most crushing songs which at 1.50 goes into one of the best break riffs on the whole albums which the moshers will go nuts too. Later a more technical riff centres into view and it's very brilliant and awesome I must say. the song only gets better as it goes along. More catchy and more brutal.

Think Tank Trials - Opens with a huge blast fest and Barney roaring "Think tank trials!" in rapid fire fashion before the song settles somewhat to a catchy very typical ND riff. At 58 seconds one of the most amazing riffs on the whole album comes into view before the grind blast sections return though it's not the last we've seen of that riff. It comes back to please me again a bit later. The song is one relentless battering from beginning to end and perhaps the most brutal song on the album.

Blank Look About Face. - Opens with Barney roaring the title as if he's screaming at soldiers "1 2 3 4!" to a militaristic marching beat before the classic heavy riff thunders out and it's a really catchy groove. The militaristic marching feel returns often in this song which features super heavy crunching riffs. Amazing tune indeed and gets better with the grooves taking over the song. Great use of industrial chant vocals again. A few times they do that on this album and it sounds wicked every time. One of the catchiest mid paced songs with a great atmosphere.

Leper Colony - Atmospheric start before the opening riff thunders out and then goes into a blast riff. Soon enough the industrial like chant vocals make a further appearance before barney goes into overdrive on the roars. At 1.34 we go into one of those typical ND break riffs where things get super groovy and catchy before the more typical ND blast section propel the song further. Barney does a great "aoooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!" in this song behind one of the riffs that makes you want to fuck shit up badly. I love the chant vocals in this tune, they sound epic!

Nom De Guerre - The shortest song on the album at 1.05 and a pure blast fest but still in that 1 minute they pack so much goodness in. Fucking awesome!

Analysis Paralysis - A catchy mid to fast paced riff and a typical Barney roar and soon you can't help but nag your head. The first change happens and as usual it's killer flows seamlessly until the chorus is roared by Barney. The groove in this tune at 1.03 is completely bad ass and leaves you wanting bounce off walls. So catchy and devastating. Just when you think there will be some kind of let up in quality there's nowhere near any such thing. The song ends with more unearthly blasts and punky grooves and is just as crushing as any other song heard so far.

Opposites repellent - Another brutal and crushing opening salvo that thunders headlong into a blast riff. That opening riff is mental catchy and the grind blast section is perfectly well balanced. The boys are masters of transitions between a blast, a catchy break riff and a punky groove. A short tune but still catchy as hell.

A Gag Reflex - Opens with a well placed groovy fast riff and Barney does what only Barney can do. Roar like there's no tomorrow! The song is very catchy and has a gorgeous break riff. This song somehow reminds me of some classic Morbid Angel Florida death metal for a short while although the abiding feel is of the band themselves with blasts and grooves mixed so well. One of the best riffs behind a chorus can be heard at 2.00 when it sounds very cool and Morbid Angelish. At 2.45 we go into a massive heavy break riff perhaps the slowest, best and sickest on the album. Very much reminds of the glorious break riff in the Silence is Deafening from a few albums back.

Everything In Mono - The bonus track opens with Shane's grinding dirty bass rumbles which soon is joined by a hardcore punk riff. Mitch's rasping harsh vocals join Barney on this song to great effect. The song is very punky but towards the end and middle goes full on death metal. Great use of those chant vocals in this tune once again. The riff at 2.00 is a head crusher make no mistake and keeps crushing you until the end of the song is up. Simply devastating hardcore, punk and death metal precision. If you like ND then it doesn't get any better than this folks and if you don't then what can I say your loss!

Edguy gets the cold shoulder

I was supposed to attend my first gig of 2012 tonight but I've wussed out completely and decided not to go and see Edguy tonight. It's just started to snow as well and I just don't fancy it cause I don't love them much anyway. There will be better gigs ahead anyway. Any one want an unused Edguy ticket? No? thought not!

Dream Theater plays Wembley next week and there is a tiny chance to be there but it's very slim cause I need a cheap ticket from ebay and it seems unlikely. Mastodon is a tiny possibility as well. The Rammstein tickets for the O2 are going for megabucks on ebay so no deal there.

On the musical front 2012 has got off to a fairly slow start. My favourite power metal album so far is Primal Fear's newie which rocks from beginning to end. Couple of death metal albums have been decent but nothing has completely amazed. However the one thing that has completely smashed my brain to mush is the new album by Greek thrashmongers Suicidal Angels. Now that's some blistering thrash right there. Couldn't even begin to say how much I enjoyed that one. A monstrous thrashterpiece make no mistake!