The Veil

Musically Ghosts of Memory is absolutely superb, unfortunately however it doesn’t quite reach the heights it could. From the very beginning, one thing that will stand out is the extremely deep clean vocals. While they’re certainly impressive, they tend to drown out some of the more subtle parts of the music, and occasionally sound too far separated from the rest of the band. They become a bit monotonous by the end as well, although the higher cleans and harsh growls that pop up at times break it up just enough. And the general dark-versus-light theme of the album would benefit greatly from a more dynamic sound, but the heavier riffs don’t have the power behind them to really contrast with what is either side. They simply sound a bit lacklustre, and even muddy in parts.

In the grand scheme of things, those negatives are nothing. Once you get past the low point that is opener “When We Were Alive”, Ghosts Of Memory is a moving listen. The violin is very tastefully used, and you’ll be craving some picturesque scenery in no time. There is some serious passion in here. 8/10

Band: The Veil
Album: Ghosts of Misery
Year: 2011
Genre: read the review…
Label: Independent
Origin: Sydney, Australia
http://www.theveilband.com/

Track list:
1. When We Were Alive
2. Crushed
3. Endtime
4. The Tide
5. The Light That Burns
6. Distance
7. On Other Days
8. What Will Come
9. Trust Me

It begins with a rush of percussion, the pounding of hearts right before the rush of adrenaline..

What is it that makes a truly great album? Is it pounding riffs and driving drum lines? Is it soft melodies and strong dynamics? Is it powerful vocals and intelligent lyrics? Is it strength in diversity and composition?

The answer is no. While each of these vicissitudinous elements is fleetingly important (and of course seasoned to taste) they are not at the heart of this issue. What makes a truly great album, an album that you will never forget, an album that you will keep coming back to regardless of mood or temperament is feeling. It is the feeling that music is able to inject into its listener that has been the source of hairbrushes turning into microphones, thin air turning into guitars and metal crowds turning into headbanging, swirling pools of madness for as long as such things have been possible. It is this same feeling that makes Ne Obliviscaris something else.

Portal of I is absolutely intense from start to finish. Every moment of the album is engineered to grab the listener and just not let go. This is not music that will simply hold your attention- it is music that will completely enthral you, hold you in stunned rapture, for its entire 72 minutes, not letting go for even a second. The album is astoundingly diverse, yet no matter what the dynamic level is at any given moment, it is completely captivating. Whether it is the flamenco-style grooves swinging at the start of “And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope”, the classical guitar and violin dancing together, constantly building over the course of 6+ minutes to form a majestic, melodic introduction to “Forget Not”, the unbelievably tight Gojira-style drumming pounding incessantly behind the strings or the gigantic Opeth-style walls of chords that will simply take your breath away, everything is constructed to be nothing short of heart-stopping. The constant interplay between these styles only serves to emphasise the energy pouring out of the songs.

If you thought the vocal performance on the band’s 2007 demo The Aurora Veil was impressive then Xenoyr and Tim Charles will completely blow you away on Portal of I. Xenoyr’s black metal hissing shrieks have improved dramatically from the demo (and this is coming from a reviewer that is not even a huge fan of black metal) and his overall range has expanded to also include a massive death metal roar that is used just as often and perfectly matches the intensity of the rest of the music. Tim Charles’ clean voice has reached unnerving levels of beauty- whether he is singing on his own or dancing a dynamic duet with Xenoyr, Charles’ haunting voice will send shivers down your spine. The album’s conclusion in particular is particularly profound, featuring only Charles’ voice dancing beautifully, hauntingly, over a very soft guitar line before gradually building the number of voices and incorporating a violin line to end the piece on a note as grandiose as the album deserves.

I have never given a perfect score before, and indeed I rarely give anything even close. To describe an album as perfect is to say ‘this album is faultless, I can find no flaw, no place to improve upon the quality of the sound, the composition or the style’, a truly rare thing to say of even the very best albums. But perfection is more than the absence of flaws, it is also about possessing that intangible something else, that extra little bit that pushes it from something you love listening to something that you cannot imagine now being absent from your life. The perfect album is something that will pick you up and take you somewhere else, the album against which all others much be compared only to inevitably fall short. With all that said, this decision was never in question.

It ends with a whisper, a murmur into infinity… 10/10

Band: Ne Obliviscaris
Album: Portal of I
Year: 2012
Genre: Progressive Metal
Origin: Melbourne, Australia
Label: Welkin Records (Australia), Code666 (International)

Tracklisting:
1. Tapestry of the Starless Abstract
2. Xenoflux
3. Of the Leper Butterflies
4. Forget Not
5. And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope
6. As Icicles Fall
7. Of Petrichor Weaves Black Noise

Recent Rock n Roll Hall of Fame inductee and one of the greatest exponents of the electric guitar, SLASH, returns this August for an unmissable tour in support of his new album ‘Apocalyptic Love’. On his last visit SLASH sold out all of his Australian shows in under 10 minutes. Those shows were moved up to much larger venues and promptly sold out again. So this time around, he will come not only armed with the most gifted rock vocalist of this generation, Mr. Myles Kennedy and the band of Conspirators, but with an arena production to deliver his fabled show; just as the rock gods intended.

SLASH & Co are set to perform an all killer career spanning set from early Guns to Velvet Revolver and 2 amazing solo albums, the latest of which, Apocalyptic Love, has garnered praise from fan forums to broadsheet newspapers and all points in between. “Like some kind of rock ‘n’ roll kaleidoscope, the album evinces the legendary guitarist at his best from all angles. There are soft and subdued moments. There’s danger. There’s mayhem. There’s blues. There’s shred.” – Artistdirect.

Like the new album, and the debut before it, the perfect rock marriage of Gibson and Marshall comes to life in SLASH’s live show.  “In front of a wall of Marshall amps Slash in top hat, leather pants and sleeveless shirt played his guitar like a man possessed racing from one side of the stage to the other” Triple M

TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY 1 JUNE, 9AM

THURSDAY 23 AUGUST        BRISBANE, THE RIVERSTAGE– Lic A/A
www.ticketmaster.com.au

SATURDAY 25 AUGUST        SYDNEY, ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE – Lic A/A
www.ticketmaster.com.au  

SUNDAY 26 AUGUST        MELBOURNE, HISENSE ARENA – Lic A/A
www.ticketek.com.au

TUESDAY 28 AUGUST        ADELAIDE, THEBARTON THEATRE – Lic A/A
www.oztix.com.au  / www.venuetix.com.au  

THURSDAY 30 AUGUST        PERTH, METRO CITY – 18+
www.oztix.com.au

Presented by Soundwave Touring – www.soundwavetouring.com

Legendary Swedish grindcore band NASUM head to our shores for the first – and only – time this August as part of their world tour to celebrate their 20th Anniversary and final farewell. This is it…never to happen again.

Nasum terrorized the underground with their unique and unmistakable blend of brutal musical madness from their inception in 1992. With 4 full length albums, countless 7”s, MCDs and a plethora of compilation appearances, Nasum were unstoppable and the undisputed kings of the grind scene until their untimely and tragic end.

Nasum parted ways after their vocalist Mieszko Talarczyk tragically passed away in Thailand during the tsunami of 2004. After long deliberation and scrutiny they decided to reunite and do a handful of shows around the world in 2012 to celebrate their 20th anniversary and say a final goodbye to the fans and Mieszko. No cheesy reunion, no new albums, no epitaph for Mieszko – just unruly celebrations.

To handle vocal duties on the upcoming shows they have asked Keijo Niinimaa, vocalist in Finnish grind favourites Rotten Sound. They were always close friends of Nasum, and while Keijo’s plagued screams won’t replace Mieszko, they will add a crippling viciousness to the shows.

Joining Nasum around the country as special guests are the Tasmanian extreme metal horde PSYCROPTIC on their first Australian tour since the release of their critically acclaimed new album “The Inherited Repression”.

Take note people: if you ever wanted to see Nasum blast shit to bits, this is your last and only chance. Ever. Psycroptic on the bill will only sweeten the deal. These shows are unmissable!

TOUR DATES:

Wednesday 15th Aug – Amplifier, Perth www.amplifiercapitol.com.au
Thursday 16th Aug – Fowlers Live, Adelaide www.fowlerslive.com.au
Friday 17th Aug – Hi Fi, Brisbane www.thehifi.com.au
Saturday 18th Aug – Hi Fi, Sydney www.thehifi.com.au
Sunday 19th Aug – Hi Fi, Melbourne www.thehifi.com.au
Tuesday 21st Aug – The Kings Arms, Auckland www.kingsarms.co.nz

Tickets on sale Monday 21st May, see venues for details.

Pre-orders are available over at their Bigcartel page.

All three of those demo tracks do appear here again, but the much improved recording has breathed new life into them, making them just as thrilling to listen to as the first time those original recordings hit the internet. In particular the eerie, mellow guitars on “The Black Rain” sound leagues better and the newly added keyboards, written and performed by Mark Kelson, add a whole new layer of depth to “Like Jewels In The Sky”. Despite being the shortest and probably fastest track, “I Hope” is also somehow the darkest, with Jayme Sexton’s vocals being at their most monstrous, and some clean guitars very reminiscent of early Opeth. And in contrast, the ten minute title track is surprisingly beautiful; one of those tracks that is better with your eyes closed.

Okera have taken the best parts of both ends of the whole melodic death/doom spectrum, forging an album that hits all of the right spots. It is overflowing with infectious yet melancholic melodies, and is continuously flowing from crushing riffs through to subtle clean sections and back again. And despite the whole album sounding somewhat bleak, it has a constant sense of hope throughout; it sounds exactly as the title would suggest.

Expect to see A Beautiful Dystopia on quite a few end-of-year lists. 8.5/10

Band: Okera
Album: A Beautiful Dystopia
Year: 2012
Genre: Melodic death/doom
Label: Independent
Origin: Melbourne, Australia
http://okera.bandcamp.com/

Track list:
1. The Black Rain
2. I Hope
3. Futility
4. In Solitude
5. All That’s Lost
6. Like Jewels In The Sky
7. A Beautiful Dystopia

I’m not even sure whether there’s any need to write an introductory paragraph for this, but if you somehow managed to miss the news; Melbourne’s Ne Obliviscaris have finally, after far too long, released their debut album Portal of I. Judging from the feedback floating around, the general consensus is that is was certainly worth the wait. With live shows kicking off this weekend (dates at the bottom), we thought it was time to ask violinist and vocalist Tim Charles about the back-story and what the band’s future plans are.

————————-

This album has been a long time coming, with several delays. For those who couldn’t quite keep up with the rather eventful process, why did the album take such a long time to complete?

The album took this long for a variety of reasons. We released our demo ‘The Aurora Veil’ in April, 2007 with the plan to re-record those songs and several others at the end of that year for a 2008 album release. That original plan was derailed when we parted ways with our original lead guitarist in mid 2007. That then led to a 9 month search for a new lead guitarist that landed us the incredible Benjamin Baret who arrived in Australia in mid 2008. By that stage we had more than enough material for the album, and so the plan was to play a few comeback shows and then record the album straight away. We were trying to get things happening with a certain producer in Australia, but it was difficult to fit in with his schedule and after a couple months trying we abandoned that plan and decided to seek out different studios/producers. When we came to the decision we were going to record at Pony Music with Troy McCosker & have it mixed with Jens Bogren in Sweden we then had to wait until mid 2009 to see if the government grant we applied for was successful as otherwise we couldn’t afford to pay for that team to handle the album.
When our government grant was successful we then booked in to the studio for the summer of 09/10 with plans for it to be released in the first half of 2010. All was going according to plan and we had recorded all drums, bass, rhythm guitars and most of the leads when I had a family emergency that resulted in us having to cancel the remaining dates (we were only around 2-3 weeks from the album being fully recorded at that stage), and because the studio was quite busy at that time we couldn’t get new dates to finish the album for several months. We then had several personal life things get in the way, some big like family members dying, and some minor like Marc & I both getting the flu which pushed back some vocal sessions twice. Then when we finally were getting close to the album being done, our lead guitarist Benji’s new Australian visa got denied and was he consequently stuck in France, where he stayed for the next 15 months whilst we appealed the unjust decision.

During this time we continued to finish off the record, finalise vocals/violins & move on to mixing/mastering but without great urgency as we knew that we didn’t want to release it until we if were getting Benji back as we knew it would be very difficult to get the faith of a record label when we knew that if we couldn’t get him back we weren’t sure what the future for the band would hold. Plus at this stage in 2011 we knew that our drummer Dan was likely going to move on to other things, and so we had that issue to contend with as well.

FINALLY, in late 2011 we got notification that we won our appeal, Benji arrived here in Australia just before Christmas at which stage we started rehearsing with our new drummer Nelson Barnes who also plays in the amazing ‘The Schoenberg Automaton‘. With a full band in place once again we then started putting everything into place to release the album and here we are!

I gather you’re happy with the way things have turned out?

Absolutely. I don’t think we could have done any better for our first album. We learned so much from the process and are very proud of what we are presenting to the public with ‘Portal Of I’.

One big difference I have noticed between the new album and The Aurora Veil is how much deeper and more dynamic your vocals are. Is that something you have been focusing on developing for the album?

First of all, thanks very much for the kind words. It’s definitely something that I focused on for sure. When I first joined NeO I was only the violinist, not a singer in the band also, and so this has definitely been a role I have slowly grown into over time. I definitely feel that my vocal performances on the album are far superior to what we did on the demo, so it’s always nice when others agree.

Obviously the EP tracks are fairly old, and you have been playing Xenoflux and And Plague Flowers The Kaleidescope live for some time now. Over the years, in what order (roughly, obviously there would be overlaps) were the songs written in?

Hmmm, roughly the 3 TAV tracks & ‘Butterflies’ were written approx 2006. Plague & Xenoflux were both written in 2007/2008 whilst we were trying to find a new lead guitarist and then we finished them in the 2nd half of 2008 when Benji finally moved to Australia to join the band. ‘Of Petrichor Weaves Black Noise’ was then written in mid 2009 and finished shortly before we started recording. This song wasn’t originally going to be on the album as we had already started pre-production when we started writing this, but then as it started to come together we all just fell in love with it and added it in at the last second. We actually then continued writing and were close to finishing a couple songs for album #2 back in 2010, but when Benji ended up stuck in France all writing ceased for a while. We’re all really excited about starting writing the next album very soon as we have so many ideas and parts of songs that we’ve been sitting on for the last couple of years that we haven’t had the chance to develop yet.

Did your new-ish drummer Nelson Barnes make any changes or was everything already set in place by that time? And how does his playing style compare to Dan Presland’s?

Nelson came on board after the album had been fully completed, so all credit for the drums on the album goes to Dan who did an amazing job. Nelson
has been doing a great job thus far and we’re really excited to have him in the band. As for playing style… I’d just encourage people to come see us play live and see for themselves!

We have probably a full album worth of older material that didn’t make the cut, most of which we stopped playing live many years ago. Songs like ‘Upon The Tongue Of Eloquence’ & ‘When The Black Hands Dance’ were early live favourite when we first hit the scene, but we definitely feel that it wasn’t until we wrote ‘The Aurora Veil’ material that we really came into our own. We did start writing several other newer songs, but in general if we aren’t being blown away by a new song generally it just never gets finished and we had a couple songs like that which we got 80-90% finished and then we weren’t quite happy and ended up tossing them away and maybe using the riffs elsewhere or storing them away for album #2.

Do you have a personal favourite track on the album?

It is a bit like trying to choose between your children as I really love every song as they all are quite different, but if I had to choose one it probably be ‘Of Petrichor Weaves Black Noise’. But if you asked those that know me well they’d probably tell you our newest song is almost always my favourite..haha

What’s the plan for the rest of the year?

Tour! We’re really excited about finally getting out and playing some shows, and then we’ll also be spending a lot of time promoting the release, doing interviews, and hopefully starting work on getting some overseas tours happening for 2013.

Last words?

Thank you so much to everyone that stuck by us all this time! The only thing that kept this band together through the years of delays was the fact that we knew we had such amazing support from so many people across the world. So many people helped us out with our visa appeal, and we wanted to ensure we thanked everyone by doing the best we could with this album. Thanks again, go buy the album if you haven’t already and see you all on tour!

You can purchase the new Ne Obliviscaris album over at their Bigcartel page, and catch the band live on the following dates.

WARBRINGER
WORLD TORN ASUNDER AUSTRALIAN TOUR

In music, there are leaders and there are followers. For every blistering riff there is an imitator, for each impassioned bellow, a sound-alike. It is the challenge of the modern musician to take the finite set of notes upon which all music is built, and make it their own. WARBRINGER did not invent their own vein of metal. They were preceded by greats like Slayer, Exodus, Testament, Anthrax and the almighty Metallica – but over the course of their previous two albums, they have managed to construct songs that are equal parts ferocity and finesse, and in doing so, created a sound that is distinctly their own. With the release of Worlds Torn Asunder, WARBRINGER are poised to take their rightful place at the table alongside the big boys.

The music on Worlds Torn Asunder was created in the studio but was borne of years of relentless touring. True road warriors, the members of WARBRINGER have lived their lives in a van together for months on end, playing an average of 300 shows a year since the release of their debut album, War Without End, in 2008. In the process they have built an organic, diehard fanbase, sharing the stage with such metal stalwarts as Exodus, Nile, Suicide Silence, Megadeth, Napalm Death, Suffocation, All Shall Perish, Hatebreed, Testament, Obituary, Overkill, Halford, Kreator and Nevermore.

Despite their inclusion in the recent resurgence of thrash and retro-thrash metal, the breadth of WARBRINGER’s musical output extends well beyond such monikers. While the band – guitarists John Laux and Adam Carroll, drummer Carlos Cruz , bassist Andy Laux and vocalist John Kevill – are all fans of said genre, their music crosses boundaries and defies simple compartmentalization. The band’s sound has become more diverse with each subsequent album, with Worlds Torn Asunder standing as a testament to such growth. “Exploring different dynamics lends to a much more mature interpretation of this style of metal,” guitarist Laux explains,” I am very proud of how far we have come since we started, and how much that development shines through on this album.”

“We wanted to work with someone who had experience outside of the more “modern” metal sound”, says Laux of the experience of working with producer Steve Evetts (Dillinger Escape Plan, Symphony X, Sepultura). “He wasn’t afraid to push us and it was great to have someone with so much experience in our corner.”

Worlds Torn Asunder sees the band not only maturing musically, but lyrically as well. Lead singer John Kevill touches on topics that range from the personal to the political. “On this record I made sure no two songs share a topic, so it covers a lot of ground lyrically. I tried to tailor each lyrical theme to the musical feeling of each song.” The singer continues, “There’s a lot of different stuff on Worlds Torn Asunder – technological singularity, a return to the natural order, the Soviet Gulag prison camps, and also some good old heavy metal evil to round it out” Album opener, “Living Weapon” discusses the plight of the modern soldier and the nature of free will, whereas “Treacherous Tongue” is about the feeling of removing a wrong from the world, the lyrics echoing the music as it moves from anger into exultation.

Once Worlds Torn Asunder hits the streets, the band will be back doing what they do best – playing live. Their blistering attack is a sight to behold, and with three album’s worth of material to choose from, the band is prepared to take the step from being a support band to becoming headliners in their own right. Peers take note, heroes check your rear-views, because that van you see coming up behind you just might be the future of metal.

TICKETS ON LINE NOW!

Thursday 4th of October – Jubilee Hotel + 18 (Brisbane/Qld)
w/ State of Integrity, Eternal Rest and Malakyte
Tickets from http://www.moshtix.com.au/event.aspx?id=57259

Friday 5th of October – The Bald Faced Stage (The Wall) +18 (Sydney/Nsw)
w/ Darker Half, Dawn Heist, Tortured, Hell Itself and Thrashed
Tickets from http://www.gobookem.com/ / http://www.thecoffinsslave.com/test/

Wednesday 10th of October – The Basement + 18 (Canberra/Act)
w/ Tortured, Nekrofeist and Festering Drippage
Tickets from http://www.moshtix.com.au/event.aspx?id=57260

Thursday 11th of October – Amplifier +18 (Perth/Wa)
w/ Malignant Monster, Devour the Martyr, Enforce and ColdFate
Tickets from http://www.moshtix.com.au/event.aspx?id=57262

Friday 12th of October – Enigma Bar +18 (Adelaide/Sa)
w/ Truth Corroded, Imminent Psychosis and Alkira
Tickets from : http://www.moshtix.com.au/event.aspx?id=57258

Saturday 13th of October – NorthCote Social Club (Melbourne/Vict)
w/ 4arm, In Malice’s Wake, Desecrator and Sewercide
Tickets from https://corner.ticketscout.com.au/gigs/571-warbringer

Sunday 14th of October – The Patch (Wollongong/Nsw)
w/ Nekrofeist, Tortured and New Blood
Tickets from: http://www.moshtix.com.au/event.aspx?id=57263

www.warbringermusic.com
www.heavymag.com.au
www.metalobssesion.net
http://www.utopia.com.au/
www.facebook.com/Venomclub
www.centurymedia.com
www.facebook.com/oceanic.sharks

Dumbsaint

The album opens with some chanting, before bursting into some tight and precise drumming and delay rich guitar lines. There’s a sort of musical undercurrent to the song as it drifts and bounces around in its own space, the bass and guitar parts weaving in together and out together, tied to the central point of rhythm: the drummer. Sure enough some fuzz filled powerchords kick in, but only for a moment. It’s then back to the simmering, soft spoken styling of the first three minutes of the song. The song seems to build, the pace picks up, but a left turn at the last minute loops it back to more of the reserved, glassy, and introverted guitar sounds. The song is an awkward moment drawn out: just as you think the climax of the song arrives, it peaks off. Tension rises and tension falls. Finally the distortion is kicked on, the drumming picks up pace, and everything drives towards the final moment, powering along towards the song’s grand finale. The song not only rocks, it is also an immaculately constructed soundscape.

The sonic qualities described above pretty much cover it. Dumbsaint have honed in on a distinctive sound and style: fuzz based distortion, glassy delayed melodic riffs and  the continual mounting of tension. The band has an extremely cinematic feel to their music, as you’re drawn into the musical plot, as it escalates and de-escalates, you are pulled along with the twists and turns and false build ups. More so than music, Something That You Feel Will Find Its Own Form is about sound.  The album is full of moments that are sonically intense, or sonically dark, or both as on ”INT.A CHEERLESS ROOM. A MAN IS SCARED”. Whose cinematic title hints at the song’s film like sense of atmosphere, some of which is conveyed through sparse sound bites mixed into the music. The song catches the sense of panic and paranoia  that are present in the sound bites, dragging the listener into one of the darkest and most powerful songs on the album.

Something That You Feel Will Find Its Own Form  is album with incredible musicianship, a focus on sonic detail, and a powerful atmosphere. Over eight songs, the album runs for almost an hour  and towards the final track things start to get stale. The repetitive nature of the music starts to really weigh in towards the end, something post-metal icons Neurosis and ISIS both managed to avoid on their records.

All in all Something The You Feel Will Find Its Own Form  isn’t the easiest album to just sit down and listen to. It requires concentration, time and something resembling the right frame of mind. But when all the pieces fall in place, it’s one hell of an album, and even when they don’t, it’s an excellent and incredibly impressive record. 9.3/10

Band: Dumbsaint
Album: Something That You Feel Will Find Its Own Form
Year: 2012
Genre: Post Metal
http://birdsrobe.bandcamp.com/album/something-that-you-feel-will-find-its-own-form

Tracklist:
1.Rivers Will Be Crossed
2.Cinematic
3.Lying In Sign
4.Don’t Forget To Bring Down The Sky
5.INT. A CHEERLESS ROOM. A MAN IS SCARED
6.Inwaking
7.She Was His
8.I Am An Image

One of the most violent albums to come out of Australia this year will no doubt be the upcoming Idylls record. The ten track release Farewell All Joy will be available for digital download, and to pre-order the 12″ version, this Wednesday, through the very awesome Monolith Records. It contains these songs;

1. Funerals in Queensland
2. Paradise of Blood
3. Swine Virgins Utopiates
4. Bombs Reign Youthless
5. Bastardized Harvest Spring In The Badlands
6. Amps For God/Plague Hell
7. Violent Caves
8. Heaven’s Transistors
9. Teenage Noose
10. Susy

They’re playing live at Black Wire Records in Sydney on June 30th with Serious Beak, Thorax, Jesus Christ Posse and Snakes Get Bad Press, and we’re sure more tour dates will be announced soon.

For now, enjoy this new song.