Thy Art Is Murder. Pic by Jake Owens
With longtime vocalist CJ McMahon’s return, Thy Art Is Murder guitarist Andy Marsh spoke to Power of Metal about the process of recording their latest album Dear Desolation.
Hi Andy, thanks for the time! I’ve read a few interviews CJ has done, and they either brought up some other questions I had, or I wanted to expand upon some of his answers. So here we go!
How much of the music/lyrics were done before CJ came back, and how much input did he have in it/them when he did?
All the music and lyrics get written before he comes to the studio, then he comes in and delivers his vocal performance. He’s like an insane voice actor that takes the script and invents the character that you need for the role, and his talents there are quite unmatched.
What sense of freedom did you have making this album compared to previous and why?
The same as always, we just had more time to work on this record as we spread it up over three months, so we had the added comfort of not rushing our decision making, and being able to see the record as a whole for a lot longer before finishing it. In the past its like we were painting the idea in our head without ever taking a few steps back to look at how it was coming together, this time we did.
It sounds like you are usually pretty guarded with your song ideas going into any writing process, what made you more open and comfortable in sharing everything this time around?
I guess so, sometimes it takes a lot for me to dig out the idea and then create a metaphor or the right words to give power to the thought, and in a way that is not too specific to my experience. I think when I wrote They Will Know Another we finally realized the true potential of Sean’s music and my lyrics.
What kind of impact do you think NOT having Shawn and Kevin around during the final recording process have on the eventual output?
I can’t be quite sure, it just made for a lonely recording experience, but it was very focused. Sometimes you doubt certain ideas and not being able to get immediate feedback was an issue but it all worked out in the end.
Lastly, do you have anything to say to the fans that stuck with you during CJ’s departure/hiatus?
Thanks for your support and loyalty, enjoy Dear Desolation.
Thy Art Is Murder are currently on tour with Fallujah, Ghost Bath, and A Scar For The Wicked. They also have recently announced a tour of their home country Australia in support of Dear Desolation. Check out the video below, and thyartismurder.net for all the latest dates.
]]>
Music has faced many transitions in the last century. From vinyls to cassettes; from CDs to digital mp3s; now, most music-lovers store their tunes on one of their devices, whether that be a laptop, mobile phone, or iPod. Though our music sharing and storage can take many forms, we should always be cautious of the risk of losing our downloads. Glitches and even piracy can affect technology without warning, and you don’t want to wake up one morning with an empty music library.
Luckily, there are numerous ways to protect and store your music. Because some digital music services do not store your purchased or downloaded songs in any sort of cloud system, you are ultimately responsible for keeping your files safe. Keeping this in mind will lead you to being proactive and finding security solutions for the sake of your cherished tunes.
Streaming Services & External Back-Ups
One way to store your music is to use a streaming service to play all of your music. Most streaming services have a variety of cool features for music-lovers, such as access to the radio and playlist-sharing. But, you must keep in mind that streaming services do have the potential to face hackers, lawsuits, and loss of your information. If you simply forget a password or change your primary e-mail, you can lose all of your music in an instant.
If you are averse to streaming services, there is also the option of using an external back-up, like an external hard drive or a portable USB flash drive. This is a foolproof ways to keep all of your computer information in one place, though the devices can get quite pricey.
Cloud Storage
Now that we are well into the technological age, it is wise to plug into the last option for the safekeeping of your music: cloud storage. As long as you have an internet connection, you can access any of your music files from the cloud. Hosting your entire music collection from one device no matter where you are in the world is a huge benefit of cloud storage, as your favorite files will always travel with you. Some of the best options for cloud storage include:
- SugarSync – featuring unlimited syncs for any device, a mobile app for iOS and Android, file sharing, and online backup in separate folders. Plans for up to 1000 GB of storage are available for users, though all storage packages comes at a price.
- iDrive – With an automatic 5 GB of free storage, this option allows you to play your music directly through iDrive’s iOS or Android app. The encryption security is also extremely safe, making you type in an encryption key for every song if you wish to share or play it after uploading it to iDrive’s storage.
- JustCloud – Though subscription isn’t free, you can purchase up to 1 TB of storage space on JustCloud, which handles back-up of larger music files quickly. The security is through Google Cloud Platform and stores your data there, so be aware of Google’s terms and services in terms of protecting music files.
With any of these cloud storage services, you won’t have to worry about losing or misplacing your external back-up. You can also basically guarantee that your files will never be stolen or damaged in any way. No lockouts; no hassle. Cloud storage gives you the chance to share and store your music in the easiest way possible with the safety and longevity of your files at the foreground.
Knowing the best way to store your music files safely is increasingly important so that all of your favorite oldies, new metal tunes, and even those guilty-pleasure hits don’t get lost in the ether. Finding the right cloud storage for your needs is key to endless hours of music sharing, no matter where you find yourself nor what device you have on hand.
]]>Intro ‘Fill The Darkness With Black’ is the first and last time you have something easy to listen to on Strength In Numbers. Aptly titled true opener ‘Brute Force’ is a solid punch in the face. Aro barks along to Erlandsson’s blast beats, asking the universal question “Should I kill myself, or everyone else around me?” ‘Spark’ brings the tempo down a bit, but cranks up the groove in something of a of pre/Peter Dolving era combination. ‘Preachers of Death’ crushes with a foot stomping/head banging riff reminiscent of their classic song ‘D.O.A.’ This stomp carries through to the title track, where the band even drops a breakdown, a ’la Lamb of God. Jensen blasts the listener with some crunchy riffs through ‘Tighten the Noose.’ ‘This is the End’ is a purposeful dragger, again evoking some Dolvingesque memories. After another LoG-like track, ‘The Fall,’ ‘Means to an End’ brings back that patented The Haunted punishing groove as we take Aro’s “demons for a walk.” ‘Monuments’ closes out the album with a thumping swing, crushing you all the way to the end.
For The Haunted, Exit Wounds was a definite return to form, especially compared to the semi-disappointing Unseen. Strength In Numbers is head and shoulders above Exit Wounds. Its combination of thrash, groove, and Swedish death metal, that is still full of hooks, make for a much more memorable album. The mark III version of the band has created a sound that mixes their past, along with a few new influences, to create a promising future. So don’t pass on Strength In Numbers, because this might be the best version of The Haunted yet.
]]>Anyone who is aware of Thy Art Is Murder knows they have long been one of the premier deathcore bands on the scene. This is especially significant considering just the number of quality deathcore bands coming out of their native Australia. Therefore, the level of anticipation for a new album from these guys is pretty high. This, combined with CJ’s return, make it even higher. This is where the preamble about taking a break comes into play. During the writing process for Dear Desolation, the other band members had already completed a tour without CJ, so they assumed they were moving forward without him. This uncertainty of TAIM’s future seems to have pushed the music in a new direction.
The ten tracks of Dear Desolation definitely have more death than core in the mix this time around. Whereas previously their songs would typically be focused on the breakdown, this album is more focused on the riff. Opening track/single ‘Slaves Beyond Death’ is a great example. Instead of running the opening riff into a breakdown, the tempo is actually kicked up a notch. Sure, there’s still a breakdown at the bridge, but they don’t dwell on it. Second track/single ‘The Son of Misery’ takes it one step further, elevating the opening riff to a blast beat, and barely breaks from it the entire song. This pattern continues throughout the album, with each track being built more from a riff than a breakdown. Not that guitarist Andy Marsh didn’t write smoking riffs before, but they just seem to be more prominent on Dear Desolation versus the breakdowns. Don’t worry folks, the breakdowns are still there and just as brutal as ever. ‘Death Dealer’ and ‘The Skin of the Serpent’ are proof. There are times where you think TAIM will fall back into their old pattern, like in the opening moments of ‘Man is the Enemy’ or ‘Fire in the Sky’, but then they never fully commit or cut left. This keeps things more interesting and the listener doesn’t get lulled into a breakdown trance.
Thy Art Is Murder has taken a nice step forward with Dear Desolation. By pushing their music in a more deathly direction, the songs have become more focused and sharp as ever. They are more angry than evil, like on the previous album, Holy War. Apparently, sometimes taking a break is a good thing, because that’s exactly what it took for Thy Art Is Murder to create their best album to date.
]]>Worlds Apart, released July 28, 2017 via Rise Records, is Make Them Suffer’s third full album since their inception in 2008. It marks a change in not only the band’s personnel, but also their sound. The personnel changes were Booka Nile replacing Louisa Burton on keyboards and clean vocals, and Jaya Jeffrey replacing Chris Arias-Real on bass. Lachlan Monty (guitar) also parted ways with the band. I think the change in sound is a direct correlation to these changes in personnel. On the previous album, the former members wrote many of the songs, so collaboration on those was non-existent. This is where the changes in personnel come in. The song writing process on Worlds Apart became more of a group effort, creating what sounds like a more cohesive album that flows much better from start to finish.
This leads us to the change in sound. There were many points on Old Souls were Maker Them Suffer would lean toward a blackened sound, a la Carnifex, especially in their gross use of blast beats and eerie piano flourishes. When the single ‘Ether’ was released in June of last year, we got a taste of what the new configuration of the band could do. The songs on Worlds Apart build upon this initial outing and come out even better.
The aptly titled opening track, ‘The First Movement’, utilizes Booka’s clean vocals and keyboards right away as a counter balance to Sean Harmanis’ gruff shouts and snarls. The upper mid-tempo beat also makes it an immediate head bobber. This sound turns into a trend throughout the album, as each track has just enough dark to balance the light. The mix of Booka’s purposeful keyboards and syths, with the occasional samples on intros, and guitarist Nick McLernon’s chugging riffs worm into your brain and won’t let go. ‘Grinding Teeth’ is great example of this, especially due to the tempo changes that DON’T focus on the break down. Lead single ‘Fireworks’ is another track, like many on Worlds Apart, which focuses on the melody more than the breakdown, and it pays off.
Make Them Suffer have really distinguished themselves from the deathcore pack with Worlds Apart. By giving their sound a little more core flavor than death, with a pinch of djent here and there, they have come up with the perfect recipe to get this album played repeatedly. Therefore, not only has Make Them Suffer created an extremely memorable record in Worlds Apart, but their best record to date.
]]>
What’s Your Sound?
Buying a guitar is an investment: not only in a financial sense, but it’s an emotional investment too. The guitar that you buy is going to be fundamental to shaping your style and achieving the sound that you want. This is particularly the case when buying a guitar for playing metal: we all know that the many genres, sub-genres and sub-sub-genres of metal are incredibly diverse, and what works for doom, for example, isn’t going to cut it for thrash, and visa versa. When making this decision, there are a few key elements to consider:
1. Low end power or treble glory
2. Heavy body vs light body
3. Width of the neck
4. Depth of fingerboard
5. Pickups
Each of these variables is going to have an effect on your sound and on your style. The heavy, viscous tones of dense-bodied guitar might be what you need, or perhaps you’re a shredder who requires a thin Wizard neck and flat fingerboards; it always best to think about what you want to get of your guitar before you spend your hard earned cash. More info is available in this guide on finding the right guitar for playing metal.
]]>Night Demon is a power trio out of Ventura, California with a serious NWOBHM vibe. Jarvis Leatherby handles vocals and bass along with new guitarist Armand John Anthony and drummer Dusty Squires. Opening track ‘Welcome to the Night’ is a definite indication of their roots with its driving riffs and galloping drums. They also might possibly be into Iron Maiden. Between the song ‘Maiden Hell,’ complete with lyrics consisting of nothing but Maiden song titles, and the wannabe Eddie on the cover, it’s pretty obvious. However, for all the love Night Demon has for Maiden, for me they are not the most notable influence. Songs like ‘Stranger in the Room’ and ‘Life on the Run’ have more of a Saxon flavor, while ‘Black Widow’ feels kind of like Dio era Sabbath. Then there’s ‘On Your Own,’ which could be a long lost Armored Saint track. However, for all these comparisons, each track still has its own Night Demon flair. For instance, the instrumental ‘Flight of the Manticore’ reminds me of a lighter version of something Revocation would do more than anything from the NWOBHM days.
Night Demon are some of the finest practitioners of “traditional” heavy metal. They celebrate everything that was good about the NWOBHM movement and their fellow Americans that followed suit. I appreciate bands like Night Demon. With all the originators only getting older and/or passing on, it’s good to still have groups to keep the traditional heavy metal flag flying high. So get out your battle vests and bullet belts, and put the final touches on that cardboard air guitar. Night Demon is bringing it old school with Darkness Remains, and you’re gonna want to be ready!
]]>Amber Galactic is as groovy as ever, with each song’s lyrics reading like the plot of an 80’s porn. Perfect, right? Damn near, as each track has its own identity, but the album still flows very well. Opening track ‘Midnight Flyer’ shuffles in with a triplet filled kick drum. It and ‘Space Whisperer’ are two of the heavier tracks on the record. We always knew Strid had one of the best voices in the melo-death world, but it is most clear in TNFO. The combination of keyboards and backing vocals really highlights its soulfulness on tracks like ‘Star of Rio,’ ‘Josephine,’ and ‘Something Mysterious.’ Using different modulations and synths also adds just the right amount of “spaceyness” to tracks like ‘Gemini’ and ‘Saturn in Velvet.’ In addition, the omission of Hammond organs brings the tunes out of the 70’s and firmly into the early 80’s. None more so than the extra groovy ‘Domino’ or the tambourine tinged ‘Sad State of Affairs.’
Amber Galactic might not be The Night Flight Orchestra’s heaviest record, but it is definitely their most complete. The orchestra’s sound has slowly changed since their first album, but it seems to have more to do with the production than the style. Between the outstanding musicianship and an obvious love for the music of the period, they have the recipe for this flavor of AOR tuned to perfection. I suppose that is what TNFO is really about: a love for something that once was, and the need to make it again. It’s been fun listening to the “evolution” of TNFO, and I can bet their next step will once again take us on an incredible journey.
]]>The first good thing about A Place Where There’s No More Pain is that LoA are back to the classic River Runs Red line-up, featuring vocalist Mina Caputo, guitarist Joey Z, bassist Alan Robert, and drummer Sal Abruscato. I think it’s obvious that from the energy of the songs that they are glad to be back together making music again. Songs like the lead single/title track, ‘Meet my Maker,’ and ‘Right This Wrong’ jump out of the speakers. They might not be as hard as something from River Runs Red, but the feeling is still there. This brings me to my second point; A Place Where There’s No More Pain feels more like the natural progression LoA should have made somewhere before or after Soul Searching Sun. It’s like the missing piece that make the rest of the puzzle make sense. Joey Z’s riffs and the hardcore-lite song structures bridge the gap between the heavily anguished songs the spilled from River Runs Red and Ugly over to the much more maligned Soul Searching Sun or even slightly disjointed Broken Valley. Speaking of disjointed, that leads me to my third point; Mina Caputo sounds great. Nothing against any of her previous performances, but from the sounds of A Place Where There’s No More Pain, she was very confident and comfortable recording this album. The transfer of emotion done through LoA’s music had always been one of their most noticeable traits. Caputo’s delivery on songs like ‘World Gone Mad’, ‘A New Low,’ and closer ‘Little Spots of You’ are as diverse and impactful as ever.
With A Place Where There’s No More Pain, LoA did not try to make another River Runs Red. Instead, they made an album that combines everything the band is known for, with a sound that fits their maturity as artists. A Place Where There’s No More Pain is the album Life of Agony fans didn’t know they needed. I just hope I don’t have to wait another twelve years before they do it again.
]]>Moonloop, like many of their peers, inevitably has been compared to Opeth. I don’t know why this is, other than because Opeth is possibly the most iconic band of their genre. I suppose if I was to follow suit, on Devocean one of the similarities I appreciate is in the production. The sound of the album to me is not overly processed, much like say Orchid or Still Life, so as to not let the musician’s talents be overshadowed by the job of the engineers. After this, it’s the typical riffs and chord progression familiarities.
Opening track ‘Megalodon’ jumps right in with some sweet noodling and double kick drums. The rhythm may be kind of start/stop, but the back beat is solid. Songs like this ‘Nightmare Gallery,’ and ‘Expired Kings’ bounce around quite a bit, but never lose you. Eric Baulenas’ (Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards) dark vocals, and lyrics, sometimes sound like Nathan Explosion incarnate. Most of the songs focus on this, so when his light vocals kick in, like on ‘Zeal,’ it’s kind of a refreshing surprise. Something else surprising is the strong presence of Vic A. Granell and his bass. He really gets to flex his muscles at the beginning of and throughout ‘Medusa.’ The breakdowns where he and drummer Raul Payan go off on their own are also great. Baulenas rips through a sweet solo also. One thing about Moonloop’s style, everything they do sounds deliberate, and nothing is forced. For example, the song ‘Intergalactical’ may start out electrified, but acoustic elements slowly creep in, eventually becoming a mainstay of the song. Closing track ‘Origin’ does this also, but in reverse order. Speaking of acoustic, Moonloop and the songs on Devocean, I feel they both could easily be presented unplugged, and they would translate very well.
Theodore Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” Moonloop has created a very enjoyable record in Devocean. With a song inspired by Frank Schatzing novel “The Swarm” (‘Oceans’), and another dedicated to Vincent Price (‘Nightmare Gallery’), it’s as fun to listen to multiple times as it is unpredictable on its first spin. If Moonloop keeps elevating their craft as they’ve done on Devocean, it should help them maintain their own identity, versus garnering more comparisons to their peers.
Songs:
01. Megalodon
02. Nightmare Gallery
03. Zeal
04. Expired Kings
05. Medusa
06. Oceans
07. Interglacial
08. Origin
Playing time: 58:53
Release date: March 24, 2017
Label: Listenable Records
Website: www.moonloop.es
]]>