Queen Wolf/Snakefeast - Queen Wolf/Snakefeast (Split Album Review)

Queen Wolf and Snakefeast, two bands under Baltimore's Grimoire Records, have put together a split album that is as diverse as they come.

Both bands are hard to put any label on, as they both vary so greatly in their sounds. Queen Wolf is a five-piece, female fronted band, consisting of the vocal styles of Sarah Heiderman, Mike Walls on rhythm guitar, Alex Vallejo on lead, Thejus Chakravarthy on bass, and Chuck Hannan on drums. They play metal and hard rock that emanates a punk sound, hiding great, technical guitar work behind a thick, punk-esque crunch effect. Their music is a nice blend of speed and the occasional shade of soul. Snakefeast is a bass, drums, and vocals trio, occasionally accompanied by saxophone. The band consists of Dave Cavalier on drums, Carson Korman on bass, and the vocals of Phil Doccolo. They play a unique brand of progressive sludge metal that beautifully mixes jazzy riffs with sludge-like licks.

"Reflectors", the first track off of the Queen Wolf half of the album, sounds like a typical punk song when you first listen to it. Pretty normal riff, speedily played, thick crunch, etc., but after a few listens through, you start to notice very technical guitar work throughout the entirety of the song. Along with the double bass you begin to pick up on in the drum work, you can already tell there's more to this band than there first appears to be. This reigns true in the next track, "Inside The Wolf", a punk/thrash metal hybrid, not just in sound, but in the instrumentation. The mixture of speedy, heavy riffage, solo guitar, and punk-like drum work makes this song a true testament to the different sound this band can achieve. Speaking of different, remember that thing I said about shade of soul? Well, that's "Riding". This track is an easygoing, bluesy masterpiece. The guitar (both rhythm and lead) and vocal work stand out especially in this track, really adding to the feel of skillfully played blues that is so hard to attain. This song is definitely a well executed change of pace for the album. "Lil Cuts" has more of a hard rock feel to it, but the song is progressive throughout, and contains some of my favorite riffs off the album. The fifth track, "Queen Wolf", is a bit all over the place, but is a catchy tune nonetheless, and gives a nice end to the Queen Wolf half of the album.

Snakefeast gets right to the point. Their first track, "Damiens", starts out almost immediately with heavy bass and high shrieks/low grows. This makes for an interesting transition from the speed and clean vocals found on the Queen Wolf half. The first part of the song is carried almost entirely by the drums, while the bass and saxophone set an eerie mood, switching from drawn out notes to bass grooves and sax solo work. It's fairly slow and calm, but it keeps you listening as the bass progresses through different riffs. The song then switches to a bass solo, picking up pace a bit, but ends back on a familiar, slower note. "Cave", the second song off the album, starts out with a fantastic, groovy bass lick, followed by equally great drum and vocal work, all of which progress throughout the song. The pace of the song falls halfway through, but maintains its groove factor, and picks up again at the end with the original lick. "Frontier" is an even faster track that seems to repeatedly build up speed, then let it out in a beautiful, heavy bass/drum combo that will undoubtedly make you bang your head. After dropping pace a bit, the song progresses into a groove masterpiece, followed once more by the intro riff. The album seems to just get better and better as it goes, and the fourth track, "Wither", is no exception. This track seems to have the most technical bass and drum work, which fuses well with the slow, jazzy intro and outro. "Being", the final track off of the album, is a beautiful mixture of skillful instrumental work and off-time time signatures. In the last minutes of the song, the bass, drums, and vocals compliment each other in a way unmatched by any other part of this album, ending it with a bang.

Queen Wolf gives you your dose of fast, hard hitting metal/rock. Their half of the album can appeal to almost any metal fan. It's rare to find thrash elements combined so well with the elements modern alternative metal, and even more rare to hear it all sound good with a punk sound. Snakefeast lays out groove after groove, whether it's slow, sludgy plodding, or groovy, progressive riffs. This combination compliments each other in a way, giving you the best of two very different sides. While some parts may take a few listens to really warm up to, both halves of this album are a great listen, masterfully put together, and diverse in a way that you rarely see today. I definitely recommend checking it out. You can pre-order Queen Wolf/Snakefeast here.

Legion X - Beat By Nothing (Throwback Review #1)

Welcome to throwback review, where we review an album or EP that you missed, but definitely should know about. First up, Atlanta, Georgia's Legion X.

Legion X started out in 2006 with their first studio release, "Demonic Hour". After four successful years of touring in support of the album, the band re-entered the studio to record their sophomore album, "Beat By Nothing". The name rings true, as this album is indeed truly unbeatable.

It doesn't get much more metal than this, folks. This is "I was handed this CD for free outside of an Anthrax show" metal. This is  "They're playing so hard that the drums sometimes overpower the recording equipment" metal. It's raw, unmatched groove/death metal that steps above the generic to deliver a diverse and original album. Each part of this record builds so perfectly off the others. The riffage throughout the entire album is heavy beyond belief. The guitar is able to lay down a beautiful combination of thick grooves and classic, death-like licks. The bass work hits hard, and the solo work is equally as astounding. There's not a single track on the album (Save the acoustic one) that doesn't contain a screaming, classic thrash-sounding solo that contributes to the heaviness of the song, as well as the overall atmosphere of it. Certain solos do tend to sound a bit similar, but not to the point of simply repeating a solo in a different song. The drum work amplifies all of it, the heaviness, the groove, the speed, etc. It holds it all together and makes each track not only progress but charge forward at you with unmatched intensity. The in-your-face vocals top this beautiful combination to make this lineup a heavy metal dream team.

There is not a single bad song on this album. I could listen to it in its entirety over and over again. In fact, I have, but there are a few tracks that stand out to me, the first being "Arrival of the Fittest". The intro is a thick, low riff accompanied by higher toned shredding, that moves into a catchy, heavy groove of a second riff. As soon as the verse starts, it becomes a song that one could charge into battle listening to, and the song keeps this pace the entire time. The song ends with a masterfully written solo, and simply leaves you in awe of what you just listened to. The title track, "Beat By Nothing", starts out like a classic death metal song, mixed with intense soloing, then switches to a groove metal sound right before the vocals kick in. It's a great display of how Legion X can change style mid-song so flawlessly, and really shows that this is an album for all kinds of metalheads. "Black Metal" is one of the tracks off this album that starts out with a fairly simple riff, picks up, and blows you away by the time the vocals kick in. If you re-listen to this song knowing what's coming, you're mentally preparing to get up and start moving right when you hear the first riff. The riffage throughout is diverse, and the solo is creative, making this song easy to appreciate from a musical standpoint. The track "Soarin'" starts with a solo, and has a somewhat lighter tone as compared to the rest of the album, which makes it even more amazing when the darker, more sinister tones kick in, making it sound almost like a conflict between the two. These are just four of the ten amazing tracks on this record.

Legion X is currently playing shows and working on writing a third album, with plans to release it in spring/summer of 2014. For now, I HIGHLY recommend that you check out their other releases! You can do that here.

Despite - EPic (Album Review)

If you are anything like me, hearing "Swedish Metal" is enough to excite you. Despite's new release, "EPic", certainly lives up to these expectations.

"EPic" is the third album by these Swedish rockers (their first with vocalist Peter Tuthill), and their experience in the field is evident, as the album is masterfully produced. "EPic" is truly a great listen for any metalhead. It features elements of newer metal, combined with those of death metal, and is absolutely hard hitting all the way through. Oscar Nilsson on drums manages to remain extremely heavy while setting the pace throughout the entire album, while André Gonzales and Timmy Leng on guitar experiment with different riffs and sounds. The guitars compliment each other extremely well on this record. More than often one will set the atmosphere, while the other hammers out a heavy riff, which is accented well by Matte Dagge on bass. Any solo work found on the album is superb as well, making the record a diverse compilation of guitar styles.

The intro to the first track, "As You Bleed", sounds like it would be found on a Meshuggah record, and is followed by powerful vocals. This really kicks off the album well, hitting the listener with a dose of heavy right from the start. The chorus gives off more of a modern hard rock vibe in certain aspects, but the song never takes a full turn, changing between the two multiple times. The next track on the album, "Awakening", starts out with an immensely fast intro, followed by an equally speedy verse, with great variation in both guitar and drum work. The rest of the song keeps this pace, save the chorus, which once again takes on a more modern rock feel. "Unexceptional", the third track on the album, keeps a constant, slower tempo throughout the entire song, but is equally as heavy, and contains very creative guitar work and a very catchy chorus. "Give Me Life" is a headbangers paradise. Whether it's the quick paced riffs throughout the song, or the heavy, djent-like parts, you're almost guaranteed to move to this song. "Sanctum Falls" is hard hitting while also communicating the theme and feel of the song, primarily through the vocals and the solo, my favorite solo of the album. A song with such substance is a phenomenal ending to the record.

"EPic" is a great display of Despite's varied skill set. While some parts can get a bit dry, and some structures are repeated, it is still a well made record and an enjoyable listen.

You can listen to "EPic" on ReverbNation, and pre-order it here for its official release in early 2014.

Lykaon - The Rising (Demo Review)

Siegen, Germany's Lykaon have put together a three track demo that will kick your ass. Is that not enough? Okay, I'll go a bit more in depth.

"The Rising", the first release from these German thrashers, is a fantastic combination of raw, fast, and heavy. From the second it starts, it just gets heavier and heavier in aspects of riffage, drum work, and vocals. The song "The Chained" and self-titled song "Lykaon" both stand out as thrash hits. These two tracks are powerful, quick, and amazingly catchy. The record does a great job of maintaining a flow throughout, while presenting a mixture of fast-paced shredding and dark, clean guitar parts, giving it an overall thrash feel. The vocals on the record add to this classic thrash feel, though there are certain times that they overpower the instrumentals. Another thrash-like aspect of this demo is the solo work. The solos are varying and creative, all very unique to the record, though at times the solos do sound like they're getting ahead of themselves, but given that this is simply a demo, both the vocal tracking and the raw solos have the potential to be changed in the future. 

The first full length Lykaon album is scheduled to be released in early 2014, but for now you can get their fantastic demo here. Lykaon is also currently #17 on ReverbNation Germany, you can help them move up the charts by listening to their music on ReverbNation.

Captive Sight - Global Heist (Album Review)

Captive Sight, a Groove Metal/Metalcore band from South Stockholm, Sweden, has just released their debut album, "Global Heist". This band consists of an excellent line up of musicians. The vocals, provided by Fredrik Majilund, coincide perfectly with the flow of the music. The clean vocals and guttural vocals are almost flawlessly interchanged when needed, keeping up with the guitar's (Anton Sjöberg and Fredrik Majilund) theme of changing between clean and distorted tones. Adrian Rönnberg on bass provides the heavy parts of the album with an equally heavy structure, making them absolutely blare out. The most striking thing about this band, however, was the absolutely insane drum work by Adde Hagman. There is not a moment in this record that you will find the drums doing the same exact thing. Whether it's providing a strong double bass, keeping an even and expeditious thrash beat, Hagman makes full use of his drum kit to bring this album to life.

This album kicks off with "Binocular Living Pt. 1", an eerie monologue that really sets the tone for the rest of the album. From then on, the album consistently lays out riff after ripping riff. Some of the highlights of this album include the catchy, melodic chorus from the it's title track "Global Heist", and the amazing percussive intro to "The London Mist", followed by a great riff that goes hand in hand with the beat. My favorite track off the album would have to be "Deceptive Stride". The song starts with a mind-blowing riff, followed by super heavy vocals. It then slows pace, but rebuilds to it's original intensity by the end of the song. The last track, "Decay Avenue", is a superb close to the album. It begins with an astounding clean guitar riff, accompanied by beautiful vocals. Majilund does a great job of communicating the emotion through his voice as he sings on this track.

At the end of the day, I would put "Global Heist" at the level of considerably average. While certain parts of the album sounded fairly repetitive and certain songs didn't stand out at all, it did display the incredible skills and catchy instrumental work that Captive Sight have to offer.

You can give "Global Heist" a listen right here.

Demeanor - Divinity (EP Review)

Demeanor, a Baltimore based metalcore band formed in 2012, hit the ground running this week with their debut EP "Divinity". The EP kicks off with the track "Welcome to the Progression", aptly named, seeing as the entire EP is a progressive journey filled with fantastic guitar, drum, and vocal work. "Welcome to the Progression" itself reflects many different styles. Its intro resembles that of a death metal song, but it soon transitions into a slower, heavier style, while maintaining beautiful, technical solo work. This solo work continues throughout the whole EP, both behind the vocals and standing on its own. The band does a great job of keeping the lead guitar prominent while not making it excessive, which is one of the things that really makes this album. The next three songs on the album are all super heavy. The fantastic riffage and drumming, accompanied by heavy vocals, keep you headbanging, while also keeping you engaged with multiple different transitions. It took a while to warm up to the small parts of the songs with clean vocals. They give off a pop-punk vibe, which somewhat deterred me at first, but after a few listens, they seemed to fit more with the music and didn't take away from the instrumentation. The final track on the EP, "Seventeen", has the longest examples of these parts. It starts out with an entirely clean vocal/guitar intro, but soon follows in the heavy footsteps of the preceding songs, ending the EP with a bang.

The best part about this EP is the little things that the band experimented with, such as the sludgy bass solo in the song "Ashland King" that comes out of nowhere, giving the part a doom metal vibe, or the changing of lyrical structures throughout similar parts of songs. Things like these take their great songs one step further, making it to where the listener is never bored.

Demeanor is a fantastic group of musicians. Never once did I find any aspect of the music lacking. The rhythm guitar was varying and creative, and carried the songs, same with the bass and vocals. The lead guitar was equally as great, laying down masterful riffs at one point, and beautiful technical work at another. The drumming did a wonderful job of adding to the variation as well. With a lot of metalcore, you'll find entire songs where the drums just follow the guitar, making the songs somewhat plain. The drumming on this record switched between that style and a very speedy thrash/death style, making it a headbanger's paradise. This entire EP is truly a reflection of the band's different influences, and stands out in a sea of modern metal being put out. I look forward to more releases from them.

I definitely recommend checking "Divinity" out. You can download it for FREE right here .