Musicalwise the album tends more to the lighter side with the occasional exception (example: “Hoffen und Bangen”) here and there which makes it much more mainstream compatible than many Metalheads prefer their Metal to be, while others will love it. And that is okay! It is not the kind of music people would expect at a Thrash Metal gig, but at a party? Why not? Ad some beer and a lot of sun to the mix and you get the metalised version of what you would expect at a regular beach club. Think “Jürgen Drews goes Metal”, but with occasionally smarter lyrics than one would expect. Is it right to call this “Fun Metal”? That is a tough question. Some will likely find this kind of Metal annoying, or at least occasionally annoying, but others will find it funny indeed. Love it, or hate it so to say.
Anyway, do not be surprised when some songs sound familiar. The reason for this is simple. J.B.O. went and metalised a couple of popular pop and “Schlager” songs here. And yes, this can be a bit annoying here and there, but then – all of a sudden – you get a slightly harder sequence that makes up for the annoyance. Also, the lyrics! Funny, silly yet surprisingly intelligent. J.B.O. would simply not work without them. And this is also why non speakers of German should be careful with this particular album, because you will only get half the fun.
Now, what to make of this album? 7 devils. However, if you should plan a party and want to play some Metal then this might be exactly the right album for you with its fun and “beery” vibe.
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This is going to be my first time seeing HEXED live and as I really enjoy listening to bands with strong female fronted vocalists I am very much looking forward to it.
I do have one concern, though. It is difficult to be original in this genre, as it’s not easy not to be considered a clone of other bands playing the same type of music. Many of these bands tend to sound alike.
When the band members enter the stage, it’s sad to see that the venue is almost half empty, and the band is struggling to get the crowd going.
Being the first act of three cannot be an easy task, but the band is really putting on a show, like there was a fully packed house, and they are not holding back.
Singer Tina Gunnarsson has a really beautiful, strong and powerful voice and she is using it to her fullest. Her body language, gestures and performance on stage is very powerful. She has that kind of aura that reaches out from beyond the stage and onto the audience.
Yes, I do think of bands like Amaranthe and older Within Temptation when hearing Hexed, but still there is something unique about their performance.
Tina Gunnarsson’s voice is pitch perfect and together with the screams/growls from guitarist Stellan Gunnarsson, they make the sound more metal than the typical Symphonic Metal sound. It feels more “raw”.
After a few songs, I can see the crowd responding to their performance, and I am enjoying myself. The band is tight, the performance is rock solid and you can see that the band is having a good time.
I am impressed, and by the looks of it, this band is performing as if they were in a huge arena instead of a small venue. I can imagine this band headlining their own European tour in the future, maybe with a support act called Amaranthe, who knows?
]]>And Premieres Brand New Video for “Blodet Skygger”!
Indisciplinarian presents Ensomhedens Kolde Kald, the hook-soaked debut LP by Copenhagen, Denmark-based NYT LIV.
The album will be seeing the light of day on May 3rd, and with the release record’s artwork, track listing, and preorders, an official video for the lead single “Blodet Skygger” has just been premiered!
NYT LIV is a melodic, rocking hardcore band with slick, infectious hooks and an emotive but bright tone.
Comparable to outfits like Modern Life Is War and Kvelertak, the band sings in their native Danish language about current social problems.
Their bold debut album Ensomhedens Kolde Kald (“The Cold Calling of Solitude”) captures ten songs which deliver ferocity and intensity combined with dynamic songwriting in a lyrical field of social indignation.
The album was produced by Jacob Bredahl (Rising, Hatesphere, Fossils), mastered at Audiosiege by Brad Boatright (Modern Life Is War, Nails, Mutoid Man), and completed with artwork and layout by Lasse Høgh.
Ensomhedens Kolde Kald’s second track, “Blodet Skygger,” sees release through a video, directed and filmed by NYT LIV guitarist Martin Goltermann, who states, “’Blodet Skygger’ is the first single off our debut album Ensomhedens Kolde Kald, and it deals with the state of feeling miserable and how to escape life.
We wrote the song during an unexpected break at the studio caused by an old Marshall amp blowing tubes but managed to make use of the ninety-minute studio timeout to write an additional song for the album. We wanted to write a dynamic and intense song, which turned into ‘Blodet Skygger,’ also being the last song we wrote for the album.”
See NYT LIV’s video for “Blodet Skygger” HERE!
While Ensomhedens Kolde Kald will see release on Vinyl and all digital platforms on May 3rd, find the LP preorders through Indisciplinarian HERE!
Ensomhedens Kolde Kald Track Listing:
1. Kniven
2. Blodet Skygger
3. Aske Og Blod
4. Fortidens Tæsk
5. Det Skal Du Nok Blive
6. Løgne
7. Stille Ikke Død
8. Ingen Fast Form
9. Farvel Til Fornuften
10. Lys
NYT LIV will perform on this year’s SPOT Festival in Aarhus, DK, along with a string of headlining club shows in Demark and more over Europe to be announced soon.
NYT LIV LIVE:
22.03.2019 Hotel Cecil – Copenhagen, DK w/ Cancer Bats (sold out)
03.05.2019 Spot Festival – Aarhus, DK – Spot Metal w/ Baest, Orm, LLNN, Xenoblight
NYT LIV was formed in 2016 and subsequently recorded the debut EP, Livet Brænder (‘Life Is Burning’), which was released August 2017.
Following the release came a busy 2018 during which the band made a mark with performances at major Danish Festivals such as Roskilde, Copenhell, and Aalborg Metal Festival.
NYT LIV is a flock of experienced musicians from the Danish hardcore and metal scene in which the members has recorded and toured with a string of powerful acts.
The merits of the members are showing in a focused songwriting and sound as well as in the band’s energetic and confrontative shows that are equally solid entertainment and indignant catharsis, depending on what you seek to extract from a hard-hitting rock performance. Either way, the human immediacy of the music does not deny itself, and it is swiftly realized, that this is a band with something on their mind.
As on the EP, NYT LIV’s debut album was recorded with Jacob Bredahl producing and Brad Boatright mastering, giving the album an aggressive, organic, and intimate sound.
Bredahl is an old friend of the band and its members, whom has all recorded with him in prior contexts. Therefore, a cooperation was natural and with his signature and background in the same scene, Bredahl comes as an integrated part of the band’s sound.
The unit’s music can be viewed as a summary of the members’ earlier endeavors plus the experienced musician’s natural pursuit of an expression void of detours and unnecessary elements.
NYT LIV cuts to the bone and delivers direct and engaging songs in a hard rocking and melodic version of metallic hardcore, in which music and lyrics seems to be perfect for communicating with an attentive audience. It is possible to have good time, but also to let one be captured and rightfully enraged from the personal and solemn narratives that portraits a world on the brink of dissolution.
NYT LIV’s singer and lyricist Michael Aagesen composes a straightforward and simple poetry, which positions itself within the literary tradition of Danish social realism from the 1970s.
The songs touch upon subjects such as loneliness, abuse, love, and suicide, and the sympathy lies with people, as most people are: without power, money, and agency, and with perfectly normal problems of both existential psychological and economical observance.
Devoid of academic manners, the troubles of the little man and woman are examined from a personal perspective, where Aagensen’s own experiences speak within the lines, but where also a macro perspective lives within the songs.
The life world of the individual is often an expression of greater contexts and the problems emerge as the consequence of structures to which we are simultaneously submitted and are paradoxically also accomplices in upholding. The depiction of the woes of the individual contains therefore a societal critique and equally a call for change as to how we treat and view each other.
The “cold call of solitude” is a much-needed proclamation to all of us to stand up for ourselves, but also to stand up for each other. No matter the cost.
NYT LIV is:
Michael Benborg Aagesen – vocals
Martin Goltermann – guitar
Søren Hvidt – bass
Simon Erlendsson – drums
For More Info Visit:
www.indisciplinarian.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/indisciplinarian
Countless Goodbyes announces their genesis, introducing a new surprising sound to fans and lovers of metal and rock with the release of their long-awaited debut album, Cycles.
The forthcoming record is set to be released on April 19th, 2019 by Inverse Records.
The second single ‘Faith in Me’ from the upcoming album is released today.
Watch Faith in Me music video: https://youtu.be/yUk7v04z4bE
Vocalist Onni Kivikaarre comments:
“The song is about relationships and self-examination; rethinking what really matters. It’s about sacrifices, learning to let go and to say goodbye.”
Cycles is composed of 10 tracks.
The album will introduce a new style to the band’s music, since the band has added a lot of clean singing in to their songs to support the heavier screams.
On the album, the band’s new singer, Onni Kivikaarre, among other topics is singing about the present course of the world toward potential man-made ruin which the cover art of Cycles refers to.
Cycles will bring something new to the lovers of metal music by introducing compelling melodies, heavy riffs and punchy hooks.
Band Countless Goodbyes reincarnated in 2017, when their new singer moved to Finland from Germany to record Cycles and start his singing career in Countless Goodbyes.
Countless Goodbyes have shared stages with metalcore-giants such as Asking Alexandria and August Burns Red.
Cycles is the most striking release of Countless Goodbyes to date.
PRE ORDER Cycles CD: https://bit.ly/2ICmwP5
PRE SAVE Cycles album on Spotify: https://bit.ly/2XmIby0
Listen to Faith in Me single:
Youtube: https://youtu.be/yUk7v04z4bE
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2FqrFpG
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/us/album/86887142
Tidal: https://listen.tidal.com/album/103815850
Apple Music: https://apple.co/2HTcxDd
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2unAcmZ
Track List
1. The Fallen
2. Butterfly Effect
3. Faith In Me
4. Memories Left Behind
5. Enemy
6. Hiding From Myself
7. Are You With Me
8. Who We Are
9. No Escape
10. Hourglass
Album cover by: Petri Lampela
Line-Up:
Jancarlo Rodriguez – Guitar
André Rodriguez – Drums
Ilari Ukkola – Guitar
Lauri Lilja – Bass
Onni Kivikaarre – Vocals
Links:
http://www.countlessgoodbyes.com
https://www.facebook.com/CountlessGoodbyesOfficial
https://www.instagram.com/countlessgoodbyesoffcial
]]>The band’s decision to do cover songs is not paradoxical at all and actually made perfect sense after listening to the songs. The original songs are huge pieces on their own and are already symphonic by nature; multilayered with classical harmonies and a lot of rock elements. Attempting to do justice to the songs must have been a colossal job in its own right and I think Epica gave themselves a proper challenge embarking on this project.
The EP is initiated with “Crimson Bow & Arrow” – a detonating start that begins with a cinematic entrance akin to a film score that will grab you right from the get-go; something that is not at all atypical for the band. It builds and brews for some time to an inevitable concoction of a bombastic chorus that will have you moving your head around, senseless; the impact is nothing but memorable. They then progress to “Wings of Freedom” which, given the Epica treatment, feels more like a song written by the band themselves; that is, if we overlook the intro and the content of the lyrics for the moment as they confused my ears a bit; I’m just not used to hearing the band talk about “flying into victory” – a parochial idea, but it was an amusing thought. The opus is brought home with a hint of familiarity through Mark‘s intense growling over Ariën‘s blast beats and Isaac‘s leads on the guitar. Then the theatrics move on to “If Inside These Walls Was a House” which delivers a very musical and Disney-like sound, rendering the atmosphere and pace of the album to buffer and lead the tone for what is to come on the fourth track, “Dedicate Your Heart”. The song expresses a new wilderness that fans of the band have never heard of before. It is an ensemble packed with diversity and changing passages that makes one think of how talented and adaptable the band truly is, their potential to do other things. And if you have a passion for singing, then rejoice because the rest of the songs on the EP are the instrumental versions of the four songs. Having a run through them is worth it as they’ll give you a different perspective and experience of the songs. It’s a quick realization of the powerhouse of the band that is Simone and her vocal abilities to nail all those gigantic songs!
I can’t say that I’m a big fan of many covers, per se, but “Epica vs. Attack on Titan Songs” songs turned out to be superb renditions of great songs, there is nothing to complain about, really. It is nothing short of effort and has reminded me of my deep respect for this band as musicians as well as human beings – they are some of the most humble and happiest musicians I’ve ever met. Having met and interviewed a lot of musicians in metal, that is something I don’t often say.
Taking stock of their journey to this release, it’s obvious that Epica is still a brim-full of great ideas and continues to remain creative and dedicated musicians. Their skills have not halted and only soared over the years. I for one can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
]]>I’ve given “Devour and Birth” several spins now to merit some kind of an opinion. I’d say that the entirety of the album flows pretty well in a way that it always seems to end so quickly. And you can hear the groove of their influences right from the get-go; Their drums are blasting away with interesting and ever-changing patterns, the vocals possess the guttural tonality and brutal screams of Suffocation and their writing, very methodical with progressive chops akin to Opeth.
“Devour and Birth” is rich and there might be a lot to digest on this album, depending on who is listening. It’s continually shifting and deviating so it’s a mixed bag of all sorts: heavy djenty guitars, odd time signatures, dissonant and melodic passages and it sounds ominous with some sci-fi -esque sounds smeared into it.
“Devour and Birth” is beautifully put together in a very listenable way but may need a bit of an open-minded approach. The album does not sit neatly in a certain mold of death metal and may require several listens to be fully appreciated. It is a modern take on progressive death metal with an overreaching technicality that is palatable to those who are looking for a more challenging and less straightforward type of metal.
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Either version of the classical song would make a nice little extra for an actual Metal album, but this? Also, why provide yet another song in two versions? Yes, this time it is Metal, but still, it is the same song in two different versions. And yet I find it difficult to rate the album. The songs are not bad after all, but the album could be better. 6 surprisingly merciful devils for this effort.
Here is to hoping that the actual full length album will provide a better mix.
]]>‘Open The Gates O Forest Keeper’, with lots of stringed and brass instruments, opens up the album in an epic and theatrical way, and ‘To Lost And Ancient Gardens’ follows with an acoustic opening with soft singing and delicate female vocals thrown in to compliment the male voice at the forefront. It’s interesting how both of these songs are relatively short and give us an introduction to the album before the third song. Most times there’s a short intro to an album and then bombast follows right away. Xanthochroid goes against the grain and chooses the slow build, which is unique and welcoming.
‘To Higher Climes Where Few Might Stand’ is where the black metal tone with the signature distortion and brooding mood comes in, but the music follows a power metal meets black format, which is interesting, especially with a mix of clean and harsh vocals. This song goes to show that their unique mix of different metal styles is still intact from their last album that was out in 2012. It’s epic and features lots of twists and turns to keep the listener engaged, and shows plenty of softer moments interspersed with the hard ones. ‘To Souls Distant And Dreaming’ starts off with an interesting picked bass line which then leads to light guitar and drums. There’s a laid back pace in general that drives the song, which is a bit surprising to me since this is the third song out of four so far to be in a softer vein. ‘In Deep And Wooded Forests Of My Youth’ continues on with the trend and reminds me of something that would’ve fit in well with medieval times.
Thankfully, ‘The Sound Of Hunger Rises’ gets back to the metal drive that the band has lacked on this album so far. This song features a mid-paced double-bass drum approach, and has lots of the cinematic flair that is a trademark of their heavy sound, along with some interesting riffs that leads the song in different pacing at times. However, the track ends in a slow and folky haze, which is a letdown considering I was hoping that they could’ve shown the strong side of the group for at least one more song in full at this point. And with ‘The Sound Of A Glinting Blade’, at this point I realize that waiting for the album to pick up with some consistency is a lost effort, although the harmonious and solo vocal efforts on this song are noteworthy even though at five minutes in length, this track is fairly forgettable.
‘The Sound Which Has No Name’ brings the album to a close, and the triumphant and conquering nature of the music saves the album from going out on a slow or forgettable note. The song is quite memorable in approach and drive with the band throwing all of their key elements into the mix to make an exciting composition.
I must admit that I like the concept of putting out a double album in staggered fashion. If it’s memorable enough, it leaves the fan clamoring for the next chapter instead of being given everything all at once. However, in this case I find that the idea of putting out the whole project at once would’ve served the band better, because if both albums are meant to accomplish a grand objective, then I find it hard to rank this album without knowing where the future will take me as a listener.
I’m at a loss as to what to say about this collection of songs when I know it’s accompanying piece is forthcoming in the future. While a band like Opeth made a point of stating during the ‘Deliverance/Damnation’ sessions that one album would be a purely soft and melodic album, they also mentioned how the other would be a true-to-form exploration of their already established sound. Perhaps if Xanthochroid could have put forth some information on whether this album will be the softer calm before the storm of ‘Act II’ is delivered, then I’d know how to properly digest this album. This isn’t me dumping on the effort or the music, but I have no clue if this album marks a departure in their metal tendencies, or if it’s a precursor to a bigger motive and delivery with a more metalized ‘Act II’.
The music is big and robust, and shows creativity that a lot of veteran acts fail to grasp at times, but I just feel underwhelmed by this first part installment. I hope that the second-half of the project gives us more rewards as a listener.
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