Hatebreed – Jamey Jasta

Hatebreed are one of very few successful hardcore bands that have lasted the last 15 years in the industry. With 5 studio albums, a recent covers album and various live compilations, they have made a firm footprint in the heavy metal scene.  Metal Obsession recently got the chance to speak with Jamey Jasta about the band’s new self titled album and of course their upcoming Australian tour with Machine Head, Bleeding Through and Emmure.

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Metal Obsession: Hey Jamey, welcome to Metal Obsession.

Jamey Jasta: Thanks for having me.

MO: Hatebreed recently finished a massive tour of Europe with Machine Head. How was that tour received?

JJ: It was amazing. It was really interesting there. We played a lot of great shows with Machine Head and we sold out a lot of venues and played some arena shows as well. It’s been really incredible!

MO: The new self titled album has been out for a little under 6 months now. What’s been the reaction from fans towards the new album?

JJ: I think this one has been received the best compared to our previous albums. As far as absorption of songs, lyrics and whatever. There has been some great crowd reactions towards the new album, so we’re really pleased.

MO: Do you think this is Hatebreed’s best album so far?

JJ: I would like to think so, yes. I’ve listened to it the most out of any record we’ve done and I’m pretty happy with it.

MO: Could you tell us how the new album come about. Was there a concept behind it that you wanted to get across to the fans?

JJ: Not really. It had been 3 years. We put out our new live DVD ‘Live Dominance’ and our covers album ‘For the Lions’. Wayne Lozinak rejoined the band, so it seemed like the right time to get back into the studio and make a new album.

MO: Has the song writing dynamic changed much on the new album, or is what you write still heavily driven by aggression and personal ideals?

JJ: Yeah, totally! It’s more of the same recipe there. I like to think that the identity is firmly intact when someone puts it in the CD player, they instantly know it’s Hatebreed. There is new elements and new dimensions in the new material , but you know it’s still Hatebreed and that’s what we wanted to get across to our fans all along.

MO: Have you thought about delving into other song writing avenues with Hatebreed. Maybe going into something you’ve never tried before, or do you feel more comfortable writing an aggressive song?

JJ: We feel more comfortable in the aggressive state when writing music. We seem to be happier that way.

MO: Are you planning to work with any other bands, or do collaborations with other artists in the near future or is Hatebreed your main priority?

JJ: Its Hatebreed all the way. [laughs]

MO: …So no chance of another Icepick release?

JJ: Oh wait, there is! Everything is up in the air right now with other stuff. This tour takes us to Japan, Australia and then we go back to Europe then go to the US for a couple of dates. There is A LOT of touring planned for the new Hatebreed album,  so it will be sometime before I get the chance to work on the next Icepick release.

MO: I’m sure most metal fans know that Hatebreed have been around the scene for over 15 years. Are you at all surprised that Hatebreed has lasted this long in the scene?

JJ: Yeah man! We’re just grateful and very happy that we are able to have this longevity and to keep coming back to our solid fan base. We play for these people who just want to sing along to our music and it just feels great.

MO: What do you think has driven the band to survive the last 15 years?

JJ: Well, coming from nothing you have an appreciation for being able to play all these big shows across the world and you just really want to maintain that feeling. We go out and put on a good show every night. We want to give the fans something of value and just keep carrying the torch.

MO: Hatebreed have been to Australia quite a few times now. What’s one of the main attractions that you enjoy about the country?

JJ: To tell you the truth. EVERYTHING! We love it all. It’s one of our favorite places to tour. It’s just a great place. You have the people, the culture, the summer, the awesome weather…everything.

MO: Are you familiar with the Australian metal scene at all. Do you follow any underground or well known Australian bands?

JJ: Well I’m a big fan of Rose Tattoo. I don’t know if that counts?

MO: That’s a definite yes!

JJ: [laughs] Cool.

MO: Have you seen Rose Tattoo live?

JJ: Not since Pete Wells passed away, but we did do a festival with them in 2005 in Belgium which was great. Angry sounded better than ever!

MO: On that note I better let you go. Anything you want to share with us before we leave?

JJ: Thank you so much for the support. Sorry it’s been almost 3 years, but we are stoked to come back to play for you all. Make sure to check us out on Twitter, Myspace, Facebook…we got all that. Thanks so much for the interview.

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Q’s: Anwar Rizk
A’s: Jamey Jasta
Date: 22/03/2010
Origin: America
http://www.myspace.com/hatebreed

You can catch Hatebreed on tour with Machine Head, Bleeding Through and Emmure in Australia starting this week!

MONDAY 22 MARCH PERTH, METRO CITY – 18+

www.ticketek.com.au 132 849, www.bocsticketing.com.au 78 Records, Mills & Planet Video.

WEDNESDAY 24 MARCH ADELAIDE, THEBARTON THEATRE – Lic A/A

www.venuetix.com.au & Venuetix outlets

THURSDAY 25 MARCH  MELBOURNE, FESTIVAL HALL – Licensed and

www.ticketmaster.com.au 136 100         Unlicensed areas available

SATURDAY 27 MARCH BRISBANE, THE HiFi – 18+

www.ticketmaster.com.au 136 100

SUNDAY 28 MARCH  SYDNEY, LUNA PARK BIG TOP – Lic A/A

www.ticketek.com.au 132 849, Luna Park Box Office 1300 Big Top & Utopia

“Greetings travellers, and welcome to the latest gossip from Claim The Throne. 2009 was a successful year for the band, with the release of the ALETALES CD/DVD, our first video clip, and our first interstate show. 2010 promises to be just as eventful!

It is with pride that we can officially announce drummer Ashley Large (Oscarius – known for going completely oscar) as a permanent addition to Claim The Throne. Acknowledged for his tremendous work in Dyscord and Mochief, Oscarius provides Claim The Throne with a tight and extreme style of drumming that can take the band to the next level. We met Oscarius late one night in a bar fight where he tore the leg off an oaken table and battered every fiend who dared cross his path. A remorseless warrior who fears not!

In addition to soon to be announced Perth shows, Claim The Throne will be pillaging Adelaide again in May, teaming up with the mighty ones of Double Dragon, Truth Corroded and more of Adelaide’s finest acts. We are stoked to be getting back there so soon and cant wait to rejoin the brave warriors of the souths for another triumphant victory.

22nd May 2010
Double Dragon @ Fowler’s Live, Adelaide
w/ Truth Corroded, Claim The Throne, Se Bon Ki Ra, Skintilla, Satoria and TBA
Tickets available at the door, L/AA.

We are also extremely thrilled to be joining Scotland’s Alestorm on the ‘Plunder Down Under’ Tour! We hope to be having beer funnels with many of you around the country and look forward to pillaging places we are yet to visit.

ALESTORM – Australian Tour w/ Claim the Throne
Thursday 17^th June – Amplifier Bar, Perth
Friday 18^th June – The Gaelic Theatre, Sydney
Saturday 19^th June – The Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Sunday 20^th June – Rosies, Brisbane

And with that, the Aletales era is coming to an end – we will be going into Bergerk Studios with Al Smith in June to record the next full-length album. The new songs are a mixture of stylings from both of our releases, fusing the folk-metal stylings of ALETALES with blackened melodic death. We are very excited with how the new tracks are sounding, and cant wait to get them released. The writing of the second book has also begun, but it is undecided whether this will be released with the album or later down the track.“

To check out MO’s reviews of Claim the Throne’s release so far, hit up the following links!

Aletales (EP, 2009) – www.metalobsession.net/claim-the-throne-aletales
Only The Brave Return (2008) -www.metalobsession.net/claim-the-throne-only-the-brave-return

NILE, HATE ETERNAL, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS – Australian/New Zealand Tour, May 2010.
May 21st – Transmission Room, Auckland, Lic/AA
May 22nd – Bodega, Wellington, 18+
May 25th – Capitol, Perth, 18+*
May 26th – Fowlers Live, Adelaide, Lic/AA*
May 27th – Hi-Fi Bar, Melbourne, 18+
May 28th – The Factory, Sydney, Lic/ AA
May 29th – Hi-Fi Bar, Brisbane, 18+

*Abigail Williams not performing

La Raza, Spanish for “The People”, is the band’s first full-length in 10 years, and despite the absence of the band, they’ve delivered an album which will satisfy the older fans of the band, while also having strong possibilities of attracting a younger audience – with the mix between old-school and more modern hard rock/metal stirred to perfection.

A suitably epic build-up of nylon guitars and string sections welcomes the listener to the album opener “Loose Cannon”. As the song turns into a straight-ahead rocker, it’s obvious that John Bush’s powerful voice has lost none of its power. “Head On” starts with an Iron Maiden guitar-harmony section, showing off the understated guitar duo of Jeff Duncan and Phil Sandoval. Morphing into a mid-tempo Ozzy-esque riffer, the muscular middle-section is bolstered by the particularly solid half-time groove. “Left Hook from Right Field” is another fantastic tune, with a strong riffs and a catchy as hell chorus, as well as thought provoking lyrics.

Interestingly, many of the songs show off the band’s somewhat surprisingly eclectic sound; the title track starts off like a Santana number, with Latin percussion all around, before launching into a massive heavy, yet bluesy, riff. “Black Feet” continues the outside influences trend, by introducing an acoustic-blues element while “Bandit Country” has almost a Primus style funky, angular riff. Probably the only negative aspect of the record is the slightly flat production, with the guitar parts sometimes getting lost in the mix.

La Raza probably won’t receive wide-spread hysteria from the metal community when it’s released – but regardless of that, Armored Saint have written a powerful comeback album and has the potential to finally get the wider rock society to stand up and take notice. However, with the strong likely-hood of John Bush returning to Anthrax in the very near future, will The Saint’s reunion be short lived? If so, you couldn’t ask for a more fitting epitaph. 8/10

Band: Armored Saint
Album: La Raza
Year: 2010
Genre: Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
Origin: Los Angeles, USA
Label: Metal Blade/Riot! Entertainment
myspace.com/armoredsaint1

Track listing:
1. Loose Cannon
2. Head On <- Reviewers Choice
3. Left Hook From Right Field <- Reviewers Choice
4. Get Off The Fence
5. Chill
6. La Raza <- Reviewers Choice
7. Black Feet
8. Little Monkey
9. Blues
10. Bandit Country

Devin Townsend Project 

w/ Contrive
Billboard, Melbourne – 14th March 2010

Having a band like the Devin Townsend Project hit our shores opens up support spot opportunities for those bands who are just that bit too quirky, creative and varied to fit onto the usual metal tours. Well, in my eyes, that chance was wasted on Melbourne’s Contrive. They were an obvious choice no doubt with Devin having mixed their new album and whatnot, but that didn’t make the announcement any less disappointing. Now, being the Devin fan that I am, I took advantage of the ability to see him multiple times and headed up to Sydney. I got their early, claimed a great spot up the front, figuring it would be worth waiting through the support to be up there for the main act.

I skipped Contrive at the Melbourne show.

Now I hear you say, how could I skip a band that I’m supposed to be reviewing? Well I think that’s pretty much a review in itself isn’t it?

Contrive are the type of band that don’t have overly interesting nor catchy melodies, the riffs are often quite bland, and vocals that bit flat, but with a great mix (like that which Devin has given their new album) they can sound pretty good. On the live stage however, without the wall of sound, and being only a three piece, the power that saves their music is completely absent. Andrew Haug’s drumming was the highlight in every single song, which makes it a shame that the music surrounding such a varied drum approach doesn’t give it justice. And while the band tried their hardest to warm the crowd up with some between-song banter and a bassist that was trying a bit too hard to look ‘metal’, the crowd response was mediocre at best, which was no surprise.

Down in Melbourne, I wandered in just in time to hear the last bit of what I’m assuming was Devin’s personal choice of PA music (including the Vengaboys, Beyonce, and that damn Barbie Girl song) and see the man himself storm the stage once again. Cutting such a vast yet consistently fucking awesome discography would have been a challenge for sure, but despite the few personal favourites that everybody would have liked to hear, it was a near flawless choice of tracks. Starting with two tracks of his recent ‘Addicted’ album then kicking straight into some heavier material with “Kingdom” ensured that the show started with a massive amount of energy from both crowd and band. In fact, it seemed even during the quietest moments of the show, there was this buzz of energy and excitement throughout the entire venue that you don’t feel very often. The surprising choice of “Deadhead” sounded absolutely spectacular and was quite easily one of my favourite live moments, ever. Ziltoid’s presence in the set was at large with 5 tracks, apparently as practice for his upcoming performance of the whole album over in Europe. I’d always wondered how any Ziltoid material would come across live due to its clinical sound and machine-gun drums, but the band pulled it off, with no complaints from me. The almost ten minute “Earth Day” kept ‘Terria’ fans happy, while “Life” took the gig to new levels of fun. Will he ever write a song that’s even more irresistible to sing along to? I highly doubt it. Towards the end of the set, Devin took the stage all to himself, performing an absolutely beautiful rendition of “Ki”, before kicking into the “Bend It Like Bender” with the rest of the band to finish things off.

Devin’s voice was enormous, blowing everybody away with his screams, and keeping everyone thoroughly amused with a myriad of distorted facial expression, vocal abuse, and crouch thrusts. Surprisingly enough, he really hasn’t lost a whole lot of vulgarity since his Strapping Young Lad days, which I’m sure many a fan were happy to hear. He is, by far, one of the most entertaining front men in the universe.

There are a few questionable areas; mainly the mix. Now I can imagine, without much actual technical knowledge, that Devin’s material would be an absolute bitch to mix, especially with such a heavy use of samples. With such an intense overall sound, at such a high volume, it was just too big for the venue. The wall of sound became a bit overbearing at times, sacrificing the intricacies of his songs, with the samples going from too loud to almost inaudible and back again. The other questionable area is his strong use of samples and backing tracks. Now personally I don’t have any issues with it. It gave Devin the opportunity to run around the front of the stage and interact with the crowd at times when he would otherwise be stuck behind the microphone. But I can see it being a tad overused for some people’s tastes.

Needless to say, if you missed this show then you should be kicking yourself. It was one of the most memorably and generally impressive shows I have ever witnessed, and I know I’m not the only one thinking that. But do not fear! He will be back next year, and that came from his own vulgar mouth. When the time comes, I’ll be heading off interstate once again, because I want to watch that band as many times as I possibly can, while I can.

More photos are available at http://www.metalobsession.net/gallery?album=8&gallery=130

Setlist:
Addicted!
Supercrush!
Kingdom
Truth
OM
Deadhead
ZTO
By Your Command
Ziltoidia Attaxx!!!
Seventh Wave
Life
Earth Day
Numbered!
Disruptr
Namaste
Encore:
Color Your World
The Greys
Ki (Devin solo)
Bend It Like Bender

The MetalObsession.net ‘Weekend Gig Guide’ offers a detailed gig listing for all states and cities around both Australia and New Zealand for the upcoming weekend.

Our staff scour the net and street press to find as many gigs as possible, however we do miss a number. If you come across a gig that we haven’t got listed, please submit it using the form on the left of the page!

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Australian – International

Victoria

25th Mar 2010 **MetalObsession.net supported event**
Machine Head @ Festival Hall, Melbourne
w/ Hatebreed and Bleeding Through
Tickets available from Ticketek.

26th Mar 2010
Between The Buried And Me @ The Corner Hotel, Melbourne
w/ TBA
Tickets available from CornerHotel.com, $38.50.

26th Mar 2010
Scar The Surface @ Ruby’s Lounge, Belgrave
w/ Internal Nightmare, Anythium and Witchgrinder
Tickets available at the door 8pm.

26th Mar 2010
A State Of Flux @ The Espy, St Kilda
w/ Xenograft, Eve Protege, Mister Seven Six and About The Noise
Tickets available at the door 8pm, $13.

26th Mar 2010
Venomartyr @ Daiseys Hotel, Ringwood
w/ Severed Crow, Ayera, Silent Rose, Ninth Legion and Crown Us Thieves
Tickets available at the door.

27th Mar 2010
Scar The Surface @ Warrnambool Showgrounds, Warrnambool
w/ Internal Nightmare, Deliverance We Prey, As Liberty Falls and Severity
Tickets available at the door 7pm. $15 presale through Core Music or $20 at the door.

27th Mar 2010
Winterun @ Revolver Upstairs, Prahan
w/ Free to Run and Two Shot
Tickets available at the door.

27th Mar 2010
Binge and Purge (Metallica tribute) @ Mr Pockets, Tullamarine
w/ 4arm
Tickets at the door 8:30pm

New South Wales

26th Mar 2010 **MetalObsession.net supported event**
Hell Itself @ Lewisham Hotel, Lewisham
w/ Dead Letter Opener, Forgery, Hazmat and Primal Intent
Tickets available at the door $10, 7:30pm.

26th Mar 2010
Daysend @ The Factory, Sydney
w/ Dyscord, Beyond Terror Beyond Grace, Recoil, Bane of Isildur and Dawn Heist
Tickets available at the door, AA.

27th Mar 2010
Between The Buried And Me @ Manning Bar, Sydney
w/ Sydonia
Tickets available from Manningbar.com.

27th Mar 2010
The Day Everything Became Nothing @ Home Tavern, Wagga Wagga
w/ Synperium, Tortured and Nemesphyxia
Tickets available at the door 8pm.

28th Mar 2010 **MetalObsession.net supported event**
Machine Head @ Luna Park Big Top, Sydney
w/ Hatebreed and Bleeding Through
Tickets available from Ticketek, L/AA.

Australian Capital Territory

26th Mar 2010
The Day Everything Became Nothing @ The Basement, Canberra
w/ Inifintium, Tortured and New Blood
Tickets available at the door 8pm.

27th Mar 2010
Darker Half @ The Basement, Canberra
w/ Forgery, Dead Letter Opener and Dark Nemesis
Tickets available at the door.

Queensland

26th March 2010
Octanic @ Monstrothic (Rosies), Brisbane
w/ Born From The Ashes, Raw Machine, True Depth and Meat Snorkel
Tickets at the door 8pm.

26th March 2010
Idle Theory @ Club Envy, Maroochydore
w/ Desolation and Rob Stanley
Tickets at the door 8pm, $10.

27th March 2010
308 @ The Lock Up, Fortitude Valley
w/ Hate Disciple, High Plains Drifter, Cross The Lips Of Grace and Alice Through The Windshield Glass
Tickets at the door 8pm.

28th Mar 2010 **MetalObsession.net supported event**
Machine Head @ Riverstage, Brisbane
w/ Hatebreed and Bleeding Through
Tickets available from Ticketek.

28th Mar 2010
Between The Buried And Me @ The Hifi, Brisbane
w/ TBA
Tickets available from thehifi.com.au

South Australia

24th Mar 2010 **MetalObsession.net supported event**
Machine Head @ Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide
w/ Hatebreed and Bleeding Through
Tickets available from Ticketek.

25th March 2010
Between The Buried And Me @ Fowler’s Live, Adelaide
w/ TBA
Tickets available from Moshtix. AA.

27th March 2010
Daysend @ Fowler’s Live, Adelaide
w/ Dyscord, Double Dragon, Union Buries It’s Own, Slow Motion Jones, Orphans of the Sky and Dogs With Bees In Their Mouths
Tickets available from the door.

Western Australia

24th Mar 2010
Between The Buried And Me @ Amplifier Bar, Perth
w/ TBA
Tickets available from Moshtix.

26th Mar 2010
Cuntscrape @ Rocket Room, Perth
w/ Nails of Imposition, Dee Eff Cee and Dethlahem
Tickets available at the door 8pm, $10, heaps of giveaways on the night!

27th Mar 2010
Tangled Thoughts of Leaving @ Rosemount Hotel, Perth
w/ Noctis, Nexus and Ibex
Tickets available at the door 8pm, $10.

27th March 2010
Red Descending @ The Railway Hotel, North Fremantle
w/ Khariot, Parietal and Beneath The Nightmare
Tickets available at the door 8pm, $10.

28th Mar 2010
As I Lay Dying @ Amplifier Bar, Perth
w/ TBA
Tickets available from Ticketek or the venue.

Tasmania

No gigs listed for this period. Please submit future gigs by emailing contact@metalobsession.net

Northern Territory

No gigs listed for this period. Please submit future gigs by emailing contact@metalobsession.net

New Zealand

No gigs listed for this period. Please submit future gigs by emailing contact@metalobsession.net

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Note:

The weekend gig guide is intended as a guide only. Although we take all care in posting accurate information, Metal Obsession will take no responsibility for any errors contained within. To ensure your gig is featured here, please send us your gig details using the form at the top of the page, or at contact@metalobsession.net.

Mortification

Due to a major culture change in the early 90’s, the band quickly exchanged their soaring power metal melodies for a more stripped back and extreme death metal approach, which inevitability saw Mortification join the elite death metal movement at the time. This also saw the release of their highly successful “Scrolls of the Megilloth”.

What made Mortification’s success more astounding was lead singer and song writer Steve Rowe. Rowe has devoted his time and effort into his two favorite passions, music and religious faith. These two ideologies went hand in hand as Mortification soon become the most highly recognised and successful Christian heavy metal band in history, so far.

The band’s music may have evolved over time, yet their initial message is still quite clear to this day. I’m sure many will question the band’s belief system, yet I’ll leave that half open can of worms to discussion forum elitists.

So, what do you do with 20 years of heavy metal music under your belt with over 20 albums released, numerous live performances around the world and a legion of die hard fans? You release a “best of” album. Well, your fourth one in Mortification’s case.

‘20 Years in the Underground’ is a pretty self explanatory ‘best of’ album. The album hosts 2 discs with 36 tracks from the band’s career so far, which include many re-recorded classics, live and unreleased acoustic performances. It’s a great overhaul of tracks which gives an excellent insight to the band’s trails and tribulations throughout the Australian heavy metal movement in the early 90’s til now..ish!.

The album is great fun to listen too, yet its essentially more a ‘best of’ live album with the main bulk of tracks representing the band’s tours throughout Europe and South America in the early to mid 2000’s. The band have also included on the album their entire set from “Live Planetarium”, which has been praised by many and is an excellent addition to the album, as the original is hard to come by these days.

There isn’t much that I can say more about this ‘best of’ album, yet it does a good job of representing Mortification’s’ evolution over the last 20 years in Australia, and around the world.  7/10

Band: Mortification
Album: 20 Years in the Underground
Year: 2010
Genre: Death Metal/Black Metal/Thrash Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast, Rowe Productions, Riot! Entertainment
Origin: Australia
www.soundmass.com/rowe

Tracklisting:

Disc One:
01. Nocturnal (Re-Recorded)
02. Grind Planetarium (Re-Recorded)
03. Impulsation (Re-Recorded)
04. Hammer Of God (Re-Recorded)
05. The Majestic Infiltration Of Order (Re-Recorded)
06. Eyes Of Destruction (Live)
07. Searching (Live)
08. City Streets (Live)
09. Bloodworld (Live)
10. Scrolls Of The Megiloth (Live)
11. Spoken Word (Part 1)
12. New Beginnings (Live)
13. Spoken Word (Part 2)
14. Chapel Of Hope (Live)
15. Spoken Word (Part 3)
16. Too Much Pain (Live)
17. Spoken Word (Part 4)
18. 12 Men (Live)
19. I’m Not Your Commodity (Live)
20. Priests Of The Underground (Live)

Disc Two:
01. Grind Planetarium (Live)
02. Distarnish Priest (Live)
03. Brutal Warfare (Live)
04. The Destroyer Beholds (Live)
05. Inflamed (Live)
06. Scrolls Of The Megiloth (Live) <- Reviewer’s Choice
07. Symbiosis (Live)
08. Time Crusaders (Live)
09. From The Valley Of The Shadows (Live)
10. Human Condition (Live)
11. The Majestic Infiltration Of Order (Live)
12. This Momentary Affliction (Live)
13. Metal Blessing (Acoustic)
14. Standing At The Door Of Death (Acoustic)
15. Your Life (Acoustic)
16. Grind Planetarium (Acoustic)

The songs are, to be blunt, dull and un-inspiring, with what sounds like the same riffs being repeated constantly through-out the album. Only the odd breakdown keeps things vaguely fresh, but even they become repetitive not far into the record. Frontman Scott Lewis’ ‘low growl then high scream’ vocals are essentially a carbon-copy of fellow Californian’s Suicide Silence, with the band clearly bringing nothing new or fresh to the table.

Hell Chose Me’s first four tracks fly by without a single hook or memorable riff, and it’s not until the fifth track, “Heartless”, that the pace somewhat changes. Opening with an impressive classically inspired acoustic intro, followed into a great heavy, yet melodic, section “Battery” style guitar-harmony section, things seem to be going in the right direction… only for all the progress to be ruined by returning to the same format as the first four songs.

Carnifex have clearly decided to stick to their guns on Hell Chose Me, and despite a lot of their peers jumping off the sinking ship that is Deathcore, their fans will surely lap this album up – however if you’re fan of more old-school or progressive death metal, expect to be disappointed. 4/10

Band: Carnifex
Album: Hell Chose Me
Year: 2010
Genre: Deathcore
Origin: California, USA
Label: Victory Records/Riot! Entertainment
www.myspace.com/carnifexmetal

Track Listing

1. Hell Chose Me
2. Dead Archetype
3. Entombed Monarch
4. Names Mean Nothing
5. Heartless
6. Sorrowspell
7. The Scope Of Obsession
8. By Darkness Enslaved
9. The Liar’s Funeral
10. Genocide Initiative

Symphonic black metal group Arkheth have unleash their sophomore album ‘IX & I: The Quintessence of Algaresh’.Due out nationwide April 6th 2010 as the long awaited follow up to the 2003 debut ‘Hymns of a Howling Wind’.

‘…Algaresh’, ten of the most uplifting, epic yet mournful and sorrowful black metal symphonies to grace an album, stands at titanic two hours in length. This double CD, elegantly composed over a four year period while the band secluded themselves in their home town of Orange, NSW, Australia.

Arkheth’s concept of Algaresh provides a place the band draws unique ideas, myths and music from. This methodology keeps the context of the music highly original, well thought with a freedom of expression. ‘…Algaresh’ is a masterpiece of creativity on all fronts, from concept through to fruition.

IX & I: The Quintessence of Algaresh Tracklist:

01. The Conception And Creation
02. Chronicles of the Ancient Narwynd
03. Kings in Black
04. The Breeze that Stirs the Snow
05. Faint Winds in the Heart of Orion
06. Where the Wind Blows Ether
07. Dewy Eve Upon the Eminent Foreland of Arg’Thorn
08. The Well of Urd
09. The Black Riders of Avernus
10. Upon the Golden Walls of Dreaming

Arkheth, initially formed as Eternal Dark in 1999, Orange NSW. The band performed several times under this moniker and circulated a handful of promotional recordings before the band split up with some members moving cities. Members Tyraenos and Skulthorn remained in Orange to continue under the name Arkheth. This partnership culminated in the debut release ‘Hymns of a Howling Wind’ with several more live appearences supporting this release. Some 6 years later, 4 years in the making, Arkheth are back with their sophomore album ‘’IX & I: The Quintessence of Algaresh’.

You can hear tracks from the album at their Myspace and purchase the album from the Obsidian Records online store.

Decapitated – Waclaw “Vogg” Keiltyka

After a motor vehicle accident in 2007 which resulted in the tragic loss of drummer Witold “Vitek” Kieltyka and seriously injuring vocalist Adrian “Cowan” Kowanek, guitarist Waclaw “Vogg” Kieltyka made the decision to continue with Decapitated last year after a long hiatus. Returning to our shores in April, Metal Obsession recently had the opportunity to talk to guitarist Waclaw Kieltyka about continuing the band, his involvement with Lux Occulta, and the recent controversies in his native Poland.

————————–

Vogg: Hello, it’s Vogg from Decapitated.

Metal Obsession: Hi, it’s Megan from Metal Obsession, how are you doing?

V: I’m great, thank you. How are you doing?

MO: I’m good. What time of the morning is it over there?

V: It’s 11.30am here. What time is it over there?

MO: 9.30 in the evening.

V: Not too late for you over there?

MO: No, but I don’t have to work tomorrow anyway.

V: That’s cool.

MO: And you’ll be here in Australia in a few weeks, are you guys looking forward to the tour?

V: Yeah, we’re very excited about it, we cannot wait. We hope it will be a great tour. We’re on with some very amazing bands, like Misery Index, Origin and Psycroptic.

MO: Last time you were here was in 2007, and with the new lineup, what can Australian audiences expect from a Decapitated show, and what songs will you be including in the set list?

V: They can expect a really nice death metal show, we will do mostly stuff from the last album, some songs from the first album and everybody can find something from different albums. For sure you’ve heard about the change of the lineup, new vocalist, new drummer and new bass player. If the people can see the new lineup, they can expect a different band, but they are very good performers.

MO: Your last album, Organic Hallucinosis was released in 2006, will you be working on a new album in the near future?

V: We just started working on some riffs for a new album, but it’s still too early to talk about it.  The new lineup has been playing together since only January. We first want to concentrate on our upcoming tours. After the touring we will be going into the studio in December 2010 or January 2011. The new album should be ready for release in 2011, provided there are no problems during the process.

MO: Have you done any complete songs?

V: No complete songs, only some riffs and song ideas. We are only into the early stages of working on the album.

MO: My next question is not about Decapitated, it’s about Lux Occulta.  Are they still active?

V: Do you know Lux Occulta in Australia?

MO: Yes, I’ve got their album Dionysos.

V: That’s cool! Wow, I’ll have to tell the guys about it, they will be happy. Lux Occulta, as a band, is actually defunct. I was thinking, together with Jaro.Slav [Jaroslaw Szubrycht, vocals] and U’rek [Jerzy Glód, keyboards] to possibly reform Lux Occulta. They were a very well-known band in Poland, and then after a while the guys made the decision to stop the band. And even if we don’t play any live shows, I think that there is still a chance for a comeback. I’m not the chief, [Lux Occulta] is not my band, so it’s not my decision about a comeback, but possibly it will happen in the future if the guys make that decision. It was very cool to play in this band, very different from [Decapitated].

MO: On the subject of Poland, with recent events happening there, most notably the controversy behind Gorgoroth’s DVD Black Mass over Krakow, and Behemoth’s Nergal being charged with religious offence for ripping up a bible on stage, as a band, do you feel that these developments make Decapitated feel nervous as far as freedom of artistic expression?

V: You have to know that Poland is a very Catholic country, and it’s very traditional. There are a lot of churches. If someone does something like that, especially a metal band, they should know that there will be people who will turn against them. Here in Poland there’s a lot of people they didn’t like, very Catholic, and I’m sure that Nergal and Gorgoroth should have been thinking about what they were doing.

I know that Nergal had huge problems this time, there’s this guy here in Poland, one really fucked-up guy, really Catholic dude, he wanted to take him to jail, who’s always fighting between artists who want to express their feelings about [Catholicism]. Nergal is a very anti-religious guy, and wants to express his sentiments on stage. For him in my opinion it’s a huge risk to be doing stuff like that especially in a country like Poland, there are a lot of people who didn’t like the stuff he was doing.

I look at this in an objective way, I don’t care about religion, people who are always fighting about religion, about their beliefs, about politics, I’m more into the music and into the art. I don’t want to harm anybody, or piss anybody off with what I’m doing. My opinion about this is, if Nergal and Gorgoroth want to do this, it’s always no problem, but they have to know that there are people who are waiting for stuff like that, to be careful with some people if they want to do things like that on stage.

MO: Where are Decapitated be touring after the Australia/New Zealand tour?

V: After Australia and New Zealand, we will be playing a festival in Denmark in April, after that we play a metal fest in Europe, then we do a European tour. We’ll be playing the big festivals such as Metal Camp and Hellfest. After Europe we do the Summer Slaughter tour in the US and Canada. In October we do a two-week tour in Poland then after that we concentrate on the new album.

MO: Is the charity that is collecting money for Witek’s and Covan’s families still accepting donations?

V: Yes. Anybody who wants to help out their families, especially Covan because he is still recovering, you can send an e-mail to me on decapitatedband@gmail.com and I will answer all questions or go to the links on the Decapitated MySpace page.

MO: That wraps up the interview, any last comments for the Australian fans?

V: We are excited about going down to Australia to play, and to be touring with Misery Index, Psycroptic and Origin. I’m really proud to be headlining this tour. We’ll be in great form and you can see four amazing death metal bands playing together on the one stage. It should be interesting for sure!

MO: Thankyou for the interview.

V: Not a problem, and thank you for supporting the band.

Q’s: Megan Masters
A’s: Waclaw “Vogg” Kieltyka
Date: 16 March 2010
Origin: Poland

www.myspace.com/decapitated
www.decapitatedband.net

Catch Decapitated with Misery Index, Psycroptic and Origin on their Australia/New Zealand tour in April:

April 1, 2010  – The Transmission Room – Auckland, NZ
April 2, 2010  – The Esplanade Hotel – Melbourne, AUS
April 3, 2010  – The Gaelic Club – Sydney, AUS
April 4, 2010  – The Hi Fi Bar – Brisbane, AUS
April 5, 2010  – Fowlers Live – Adelaide, AUS
April 6, 2010  – Black Betty’s – Perth, AUS

Meshuggah

‘Crossing the Rubicon’, their debut album, is a concept album that apparently “follows a sadistic little man who harvests thumbs from various victims”. While that does sound kind of cute in a disturbed fairytale way, the ferocity of the album suggests otherwise. ‘Crossing the Rubicon’ is a vicious assault; it’s balls-to-the-wall heavy from start to finish with the latter half of “End Game (G.O.D)” being one of only rests you’ll get. Thanks to a bloody chunky production and a nicely balanced mix, the drums, guitars and harsher vocals have oodles of power, while still allowing any clean vocals or melodic leads to soar over the top.

While many Meshuggah-esque bands tend to sound quite safe despite their actual heaviness, House of Thumbs sound like they’re going to just explode at times. The bizarre layered mishmash of spoken clean vocals and odd clean riffs of “All Fours” sound like something out of a mental institution, and there are countless musical sections that leave you wondering whether they actually can return to a level of structured normality afterwards. Oddly enough, the clean vocals actually add to the craziness, with their wavering tendencies often adding a layer of madness to some simpler riffing and blasting.

Despite all that, there actually is quite a bit of variety in here, stopping it from becoming too ‘samey’. Some cleaner, technical riff sections provide enough faux-melody to stop the ballsier guitars from becoming monotonous; while straight-forward brutal death metal sections (see “Kin”) will give provide some relief to those who prefer their metal more traditional. There are even a couple of tastefully used breakdowns. The drums alternate between blasting and slower patterns full of groove, faultlessly complementing the music.

Now while I love and praise Linden Audino’s interesting use of clean vocals, it won’t be to everyone’s tastes. Be warned. It’s the type of thing some people will enjoy, and others will brush off as faggy metalcore shit.

‘Crossing the Rubicon’ is one of the more interesting albums to come out of Melbourne’s death metal scene, and one that is definitely worth a listen. 8/10

Band: House of Thumbs
Album: Crossing the Rubicon
Year: 2010
Genre: Death metal
Label: Independent
Origin: Melbourne, Australia
myspace.com/houseofthumbs

Track listing:
1. Tourian
2. Impulse
3. All Fours
4. Kin
5. End Game (G.O.D) <- Reviewers choice
6. Sunday Rat Race
7. Shura
8. Hangman
9. Plainfield
10. Lead Therapy

Dear All.

Regrettably, Just Say Rock Productions has had to announce the cancellation of the Paradise Lost and Sirenia tour to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane for April 2010.

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused to ticket holders. For a full refund of your ticket, please take it back to your point of purchase.

Regards,

Just Say Rock Productions Pty Ltd

The official Paradise Lost websites claims it was due to ‘promotional problems’.

“Leo is relocating to Sweden for personal reasons. The band will continue, and look to audition new vocalists in the near future – email imminent_psychosis@hotmail.com if you are interested. It is unsure if we will continue under the same name, or start fresh.“

To check out the band and their 2 full legnth release further, hit up www.myspace.com/imminentpsychosisoz.

“Brisbane lobby group Queensland Locked Out’s “Reclaim the Nightlife” rally drew a rowdy 500 outside state parliament last week. They held banners which stated “Save the Music” and “Stop crime, not fun”. They chanted “We don’t need your legislation, we don’t need your forced control” to Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall” and “No more shutdown” to a bongo-drum Rhianna’s “Don’t Stop The Music.”

In Melbourne, the fact that 20,000 fans protested on the street saw the state government cave in, and dilute their laws. But the relatively poor turn-out by Brisbane music fans (over 15,000 signed the Facebook petition, where were they?) meant that it would have made little impact on the Law, Justice and Safety Committee’s report on alcohol-related violence. It is due to be handed over this week (March 18) and expected to suggest the timing of venue closure.

The Queensland Police Union, aided by the likes of the Royal College of Surgeons and the Ambulance service, recommended to the parliamentary inquiry that closing pubs at midnight and nightclubs at 2 am would effectively fight alcohol-linked violence. But speakers at the rally argued that the government was relying on poor research and that early closing would only make the problem worse, and that it would hit venues hard as they make their most money after midnight.

Queensland Locked Out’s Zach Salar, fearing that such moves would only “destroy the culture of our great State” pressed for solutions, with harsher penalties for “the 1% of offenders”, increased police numbers in entertainment precincts and working with the licensees on the introduction of ID scanner“

PRIZE PACKS INCLUDE
Meet and greet with Decapitated
Signed Tour poster
Decapitated merchandise
Meshuggah ‘Alive’ DVD
Psycroptic ‘Initiation’ DVD
Annotations Of An Autopsy promo cd
Meshuggah, Exodus, Belphegor, Overkill posters

To go into the draw to win one of 5 meet and greets at each show, you need to buy your tickets BETWEEN MARCH 5th – MARCH 19th at the below outlets. Email your name and proof of purchase to soundworkspromo@bigpond.com to go into the draw. All winners to be notified by Soundworks Touring.

DECAPITATED AUSTRALIAN TOUR – with Psycroptic, Origin and Misery Index
April 1st –Transmission Room, Auckland, Lic/AA
April 2nd – The Esplanade Hotel, Melbourne, 18+
April 3rd – The Factory Theatre, Sydney, Lic/ AA
April 4th – The Hifi, Brisbane, 18+
April 5th – Fowlers Live, Adelaide, Lic/AA
April 6th – Black Bettys, Perth, 18+

Tickets on sale now from…

Auckland www.moshtix.co.nz , Real Groovy, www.undertheradar.co.nz
Perth – www.moshtix.com , 78 Records , Mills Records
Adelaide – www.moshtix.com , www.venuetix.com.au
Melbourne – www.oztix.com.au , www.espy.com.au , Espy Bottle Shop, Missing Link, Greville, Polyester Records.
Sydney – www.moshtix.com , www.factorytheatre.com.au , Utopia Records
Brisbane – www.thehifi.com.au/brisbane , Rockinghorse Records, Moshpit Music

For conditions of entry please visit blog section at www.myspace.com/soundworks_touring.