Metalcore: The Best Genre in 2022?

4/13/2022

10 minute read

    Metalcore is often a genre overlooked by the elitists.  Often the genre is associated with more “Emo” themes.  That is simply a misnomer.  Metalcore is arguably the most diverse of all subgenres.  It is a broad subgenre with millions of possibilities; some bands have a Metal version of Punk Hardcore, some Extreme Metal with Meshuggah-Esque breakdowns.  I was originally a naysayer of the subgenre.  I expected whiny, high-pitched, off-key screams, and generic guitar riffs stolen from Killswitch Engage and All That Remains.  Those derivative instances may exist, but the juggernauts of the new wave of Metalcore are reinventing the wheel.  I became educated in Metalcore really fast upon my first listen of “Circle With Me” by budding Vancouver Island Progressive Metalcore band, Spiritbox.  From there, my glass house of elitism was shattered forever.

    Spiritbox’s Eternal Blue is the album that changed Metalcore forever but seemingly came out of nowhere.  Between lineup changes and the pandemic, Spiritbox didn’t necessarily start successfully.  They were unable to tour, put the new album together in the studio on the original timeline, and were forced to find a drummer remotely.  The strife this band faced was formidable, but they turned it into something immensely positive.  Eternal Blue is a true example of “pain turned into art”.  It is a masterful record.  It is beautiful, angry, tragic, and devastatingly good.  It’s not what I expected; Holy Roller was a track that threw me off.  It’s dense, abrasive, and completely heavy.  It took me months to appreciate it.   Once I heard Circle With Me, however, I immediately understood why this band went viral.  Now, I can’t stop listening to Eternal Blue. The dramatic, sometimes bipolar, djent down-tuned chugging riffs to beautiful intricate melodies grabs every fiber of my being.  I crave their sound to the point of obsession, and I think this album did the same thing to everyone who’s heard it.  

There’s a wide spectrum of sound in Spiritbox that I’ve never heard before.  It’s an assault of layers upon layers.  Mike Stringer is known for maxing out the session data in Protools with these layers: Specifically on the beautifully heart-wrenching Alzheimer’s inspired track, Constance.  This is the emotionally heaviest song I’ve heard in nearly fifteen years (Devin’s Deadhead takes the crown for me there).  His musical composition is the most interesting I’ve heard since Devin Townsend.  The way he aligns heavy guitars or melodic shredding with Courtney’s vocals is nothing short of visionary.  Many bands have attempted this sonic chemistry, but Mike and Courtney have a cornerstone on the chemistry that I don’t think will ever be matched.  This is why Eternal Blue is one of the greatest Metal records of all time and has brought Metalcore back to the forefront.

Once I became obsessed with Spiritbox, I went on to find other bands that shared a pension for Progressive Metalcore.  Below is a list of bands that add to why I think Metalcore is the best subgenre in 2021 and 2022.

https://spiritbox.com/

Architects

    This may seem like an obvious name drop, as Architects have been dropping some of the best records in modern Metal for the last ten years.  They write relatable, coarse, heavy, and melodic tracks with excellent breakdowns.  They sit at the more aggressive end of Metalcore, with screaming and down-tuned guitars while staying accessible.  The band has been millions of fans’ entry into the extensive world of Metalcore.  Tracks like Minesweeper, Day in Day Out, and Doomsday are blisteringly heavy and coarse with newer addition Sam Carter’s style.  His screams and cleans are drastically different from each other, to an almost bipolar level.  Their music is catchy, but not repetitive or derivative.  It truly sticks in your mind; Whether it’s a riff or a vocal hook, Architects becomes addictive just as well as Spiritbox.  Josh Middleton, another newer addition officially joining in 2017, is a driving force on lead guitars.  Coming from Progressive Metalcore powerhouse Sylosis, Josh has made his imprint on Architects’ riffs.  I think the band has gained success due to the innovation of Sam and Josh’s contribution and unique styles.  At least, I’ve enjoyed the band more since Middleton began riffing for them.

    For Those Who Wish To Exist is the latest from Architects. Released at the height of Covid on February 26th, 2021, this is one of the most poignant records of the decade.  In my opinion, this record is a momentous record for all of music.  The album is one of the heaviest records to climb the US Billboard charts in my lifetime.  It got the recognition and credit it deserved for tracks like Black Lungs, Animals, and Dead Butterflies all frequenting successful Satellite radio.  This record is not what I consider radio-friendly, but it is deeply relatable and tragically accurate for Covid-19’/s terrorist reign on the world.  It captures the loss, the loneliness, the falling to addiction, and the rage for stupidity amongst the human race.  I unequivocally love this record and find it to be the highlight of Architects’ career.

https://architectsofficial.com/

ERRA

    Talk about underrated bands that seemingly come out of nowhere; the Progressive Metalcore scientists Erra hit me like a god damned truck.  These guys put out harsh rap vocal lines over smooth clean choruses, right before obliterating breakdowns.  Jesse Cash on vocals and guitars has written some of my absolute favorite riffs of all time.  Dancing between Killswitch, Tool, and Meshuggah’s off-beat chugging, it’s a savory ride of guitar flavors that I am always impressed by.  It’s impossible to get bored of Erra’s irregular and entropic music.  It switches between fast down-tuned riffs, atmospheric interludes, and catchy vocals over blast beats.  There’s also melodic shredding underneath the chunky riffs; a contrast I absolutely love.  Cash and company compose songs with such deliberation and care so it flows through you like a symphony.  I appreciate the music, but the lyrics are even more of a reason to listen to Erra.  They eloquently talk about death, astronomy, psychology, neurology, societal issues with technological advancement, mythology, and mental health.  Their storytelling and emotional transparency are what sets this band apart from all other Metalcore bands for me.

Erra, the self-titled record, is an astounding mix in a plethora of titillating ways.  It’s grinding, blue-collar chuggy, and then refined and technical, and then warm and heartfelt.  It’s surprisingly heavy, but the dynamics and smooth changes are what make it an essential Metalcore album.  Snowblood opens with speed and breakdown shreds, continuing into equally disjointed Gungrave with an absolutely devastating breakdown at the end, and then it breaks and surprises into Melodic Divisionary.  House of Glass is where the Prog shines through and captures me more than the Metalcore aspects.  There’s a blinding ode to Tool in this song that is mouthwatering and unexpected.  There’s a break in the music and this perfect off-time riff pre-verse that blows my mind every time I hear it.  I won’t spoil the rest of the easter eggs in this brilliant record, but it’s a must-listen all the way through.

Essential Tracks: Snowblood, Vanish Canvas ft. Courtney LaPlante, Monolith

https://www.erraband.com/

Periphery

    I doubt there’s a Modern Metal fan in America that hasn’t heard of Periphery, but just in case you need an incentive to listen to Prog Metalcore juggernauts Periphery, I’ll spell it out for you.  Washington D.C may not be progressive these days, but at least it has birthed one of the greats of Progressive Metalcore.  I have yet to see a band in the genre with more lineup changes, which is off-putting for me.  It can cause inconsistencies and identity confusion, making the music derivative.  Not with these guys.  They are a band who have only improved with changes and time.  The current lineup is a perfect medley of styles, technical ability, and some of the best musical chemistry I’ve ever seen.  Periphery IV: Hail Stan is an album for the ages that went nearly viral.  It is one of the highest-ranking Progressive Metalcore albums of the century, and rightly so.

    While Spencer Sotelo’s vocals took a while for me to warm up to, it was their live videos that grabbed my attention. While some male vocalists in the upper register lose tonal quality and pitch control in a live setting, Spencer is an absolute rock.  I am baffled by the lack of reaction videos to Spencer’s live and in-studio performances. His range and steadiness in infinite style changes and emotional dynamics are unbelievable.  This is demonstrated best in the song Reptile, one of the craziest songs I have ever heard.  His ability to keep up with the virtuoso composition while staying very current is unprecedented.  He makes me angry.  He makes me smile.  And, he even makes me teary.  Lune is one of the most beautiful vocal performances I have heard and destroys me every time I hear it.

    Are three guitarists too many?  Ask yourself that, and then listen to Misha Mansoor, Mark Holcomb, and Jake Bowen.  Three very distinctive and different guitarists that ebb and flow and layer over one another flawlessly.  The guitar riffs dance over Matt Halpern’s metronomic and catchy beats.  Halpern has a pension for creating a perfect and effortless pocket, most evident in songs like It’s Only Smiles, Marigold, and Flatline.  This band is one of the most talented bands I’ve ever heard, without being cheesy and neoclassical.  Three technical shredding and beautifully melodic, atop a hell of an inventive drummer, underneath one of the most diverse vocalists I’ve ever heard; it’s a recipe for brilliance.   This recipe is profoundly shown in Satellites, a song of their career, in my opinion.  Not a fan of Metalcore?  Listen to these guys, and you’ll be hooked for life.

  Essential Tracks: Marigold, Satellites,  Reptile, It’s Only Smiles, Alpha

http://periphery.net/

Monuments

    On the heavier side of Metalcore, Monuments brings it hard and groovy.  These guys have a lot of similarities to Periphery, but a completely different feel to the music.  As a drum nerd, Monuments fills a need that no other band on this list can; a flair for flam.  The use of flam on the snare adds urgency and a unique flavor to the music.  Mike Malyan has an unexampled take on Metalcore drumming; it’s more of a Punk or Post Rock style that shows exceptional technicality.  He can also blast well.  The whole band is a quartet of sleepers.   You’d never expect the caliber of a technical ability underneath the catchiness and softness of some radio-friendly tracks.  Monuments is an interesting mix of styles.  I had never truly listened to them until researching for this article, but they have piqued my interest.  While they can be blistering and grinding heavy, they can also be almost sweetly melodic.  The mix is crazy, but it works on every song I’ve heard so far.

    I’ve found that most singular vocalists in Metalcore have bipolar styles. Howard Jones from KSE days had his unique belt and soaring vocals to supreme gutturals and harmonic screams.  M Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold is another upper-level example of the range in Metalcore.  Andy Cizek, the new addition in 2019 after the sad and unexpected departure of Chris Barretto, is a powerhouse of melodic and rhythmic texture.  Andy has a hell of an upper range.  It may not be for everyone, as it leans towards a twangy side of cleans, but I appreciate his quick switch from high twang to almost gutturals. 

 Despite the heaviness and melodic twang vocals, I believe Monuments is a great introduction to Metalcore for people that usually listen to Punk or Rock, which is really what Metalcore is all about.  It’s a transition between old hardcore and Modern Metal.  Bands like Monuments could bring Metal back to the forefront where it belongs; Celebrated and appreciated.  Their new album, In Stasis, drops tomorrow April 14th, and I highly recommend checking it out.

Essential Tracks: False Providence, Cardinal Red, Animus, Stygian Blue

Home

Veil of Maya

    A Deathcore band turned Metalcore, Chicago quartet Veil of Maya, have created their own style of Metal.   If Periphery and Lorna Shore had an atmospheric baby, this band would be the maniacal product.  Some tracks such as newer Viscera, Mikasa, and Members-Only remind me of European bands like The Unguided and Amaranthe.  There are electronic and atmospheric aspects underneath yelling Punk vocals, and then full-on breakdowns with rhythmic screaming.  The tracks are pretty chaotic and may be hard to follow at times.  This is not your entry-level Metalcore band and is not necessarily my style, but there’s a lot to appreciate with Veil of Maya.  Definitely check out Spanish beat-based Danger featuring legendary guitarist Jeff Loomis.  

Essential Tracks: Doublespeak, Viscera, Outsider

Veil Of Maya

Wage War

    Wage War, the breakout band on Sirius XM Octane, is the quintessential mix of Hardcore and Melodic Metal band that illustrates Modern Metalcore at its height.  They have a wide range of tracks that show what they’re capable of.  Some songs echo A Day To Remember, some echo Killswitch Engage’s new era, and some echo the heavy breakdowns of Spiritbox.  Where technicality may be forefront in the others on this list, Wage War is more brutal and Slipknot with their heaviness.  They have no regard for song structure on songs like Stitch.  It’s just all-out brutality and searingly slow breakdowns with strings flapping against fretboards, and I love it.  

While most of the hit songs are not my desired flavor of Metalcore, deeper cuts are insanely tasty.  Yet another American band, hailing from Ocala, Florida, is bringing Metalcore back to the masses.  Wage War has already scored a tour with Three Days Grace in July.  It’s a huge billing for them and will hopefully gain them even more respect amongst American Metalheads.

Essential Tracks: Take The Fight, Circle the Drain, Relapse, Surrounded

http://wagewarband.com/

Any Given Day

    One day whilst browsing Youtube for good covers, I stumbled upon a rugby-player-looking big-necked dude in a black suit beautifully singing Diamonds by Rihanna.  I almost closed the browser, until that scream and riffing hit, and my jaw unhinged.  German Hardcore/Melodic Metalcore band Any Given Day went viral with this shockingly beautiful but heavy cover, and I fell in love with Dennis Diehl’s smooth delivery.  This huge man has the sweetest and smoothest clean vocal I’ve heard since Howard Jones but has wicked gutturals rarely heard in Metalcore.  His voice is stunning, mesmerizing on songs like Apocalypse, Home is Where the Heart Is, and Farewell.  While very heavy and containing many breakdowns, they are one of the more melodic bands along with Spiritbox on this list.

    This band is not a one-trick pony or formulaic, no two songs sound similar to me.  It’s a very diverse and emotionally ranged catalog.  They have breakdowns, rapping grunting vocals, and down-tuned guitars that echo the Hardcore veins of the band.  The Melodic parts are echoing Killswitch Engage, Trivium, and heartful songs from All That Remains.  Any Given Day incorporates guitar layering instead of Electronic effects for atmosphere, and that is something I appreciate.  I love their flavor of Metalcore and hope they gain more popularity in the states for a North American tour billing.

Essential Tracks; Arise Ft. Matt Heafy of Trivium, Home Is Where the Heart is, Savior

https://arising-empire.com/artists/any-given-day

Honorable Mentions:

Northlane

Northlane – Carbonized [Official Music Video]

Conquer Divide

Conquer Divide – “Atonement” (Official Audio)

Bad Omens

BAD OMENS – THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND (Official Music Video)

More Metalcore: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metalcore_bands

Insane Death Metal 2022

3/30/2022

Read Time: 7 min 59 sec

Insane Death Metal bands in 2022

    After Lorna Shore dropped To The Hellfire in 2021, the world was finally exposed to absolutely brutal Death Metal, finally finding out the talent in this genre is unbelievable. The virtuosos in this genre parallel the speed Classical music began showing when Verdi started making violinists cry in the 1800s. Yngwie Malmsteen might’ve brought that speed to Neoclassical Metal, but Metal brought the quintessential aspect of true brutal speed;: The Blast Beat. I love any band that effortlessly integrates that level of controlled speed in a song. Whether it was Black Sabbath, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Asocial, or Napalm Death, Blast Beats have become integral in showing speed and intensity in the infinite depths of the genre. My first introduction to the Blast Beat was on Fear Factory’s 1995 album Demanufacture. They made this technique mainstream without being necessarily Death Metal.  

Raymond Herrera played that first Blast Beat on Demanufacture, and I think it shook people even more than Lorna Shore has. Critics and Metalheads accused Herrara of using a drum machine for the bass drums because the speed was so precise and blistering. Upon accusation, many critics attended live shows in LA and were shocked by the speed of the entire band. Herrara said the speed came from using two bass drum pedals. The preciseness came from his use of a click track to play through the entire record. Maybe this is just the first popularly known blast beat or the first professionally recorded one, but it’s my favorite of the decade.

You can watch some of the footage from the Demanufacture tour here as proof: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7DgFV8eoYI

    Now that we know where the speed came from, let’s list the bands that not only have speed but insane intensity and brutality. Of course, you can be a genre elitist dick wad and argue that the bands below are Deathcore and not “trve kvlt” Death, but if you’re looking for four dudes in Scandinavia beating their instruments to absolute submission while recorded on a Sanyo voice recorder, this site isn’t for you anyway.

Carnifex

    Carnifex has been around since 2005 and has released some of the greatest Death Metal Records of the century. The Diseased and the Poisoned was the San Diego band’s first release to Victory Records, and it gained quick success. The US has always had a pension for Death Metal, but Carnifex brought a new wave of it from their Myspace days, gaining a cult following. They mix Hardcore, Death Metal, and Progressive fluidly in with gory and brutal themes as you would expect from any band in the genre. The vocals may not range or vary too much, but the little nuances in pitch and multitracking are quality. The breakdowns are fluidly mixed in, not looking for dramatics or massive bass drops, but absolutely sonically pummel you. They also have sick “:thrashy” and shreddy arpeggio guitar solos which differ from the typical rhythmic-based guitar riffing. If you crave that classic sound like Dark Funeral, Mayhem, and Immortal, but want an updated sound with dueling solos and drop tuning, this band might interest you.   Slow Death is a perfect record to delve into the depths of to discover Carnifex’s multitude of layers and is personally one of my favorite records of the genre. However, this band simply doesn’t have a bad record and avoids algorithmic writing and cheesy themes.

 Essential Tracks: Die Without Hope, Slit Wrist Savior, Seven Souls, Dark Heart Ceremony

http://www.carnifexmetal.com/

https://www.nuclearblast.com/eu/carnifex

Signs of the Swarm

    Pittsburgh, PA is one of the last places I would expect an animalistic Deathcore band to come from, but in 2014 Signs of the Swarm was born out of the Steel City. This is a band that makes you go “What the fuck am I listening to?” These guys are one of the most brutal and hair-raising bands I have ever heard. If you want Slamming Deathcore with gutturals that plummet lower than tectonic vibrations, these guys deliver. Breakdowns with pig squeals? Check. Brutally honest lyrics without horror or gore themes? Check. Blast beats with insane speed and well-tuned bass heads? Check. Signs of the Swarm have perfected every aspect I love about Deathcore, but added a crazy vocal range. David Simonich is simply maniacally brilliant in his delivery of gutturals, to screams, to harmonic squeals out of this world. The craziest sounds come out of this guy’s neck. It’s between animal-like and demonic aliens from a dark cold planet creating possessed clones. It is gloriously addictive and thought-provoking music. It’s shockingly good, much like Lorna Shore, but even more depressive and nihilistic. It’s amazing what these guys have achieved so far, and I really hope they continue despite so many lineup changes.

Essential Tracks: Nightcrawler, Cesspool of Ignorance, Cowards Deathbed

https://www.facebook.com/signsoftheswarm

Signs of the Swarm

Signs of the Swarm

Worm Shepherd

    The mix of Doom and Death Metal is not a new innovation in music. We’ve had bands like Paradise Lost, Draconian, Candlemass, and Celtic Frost for three decades. They’re some of the most successful bands in the American market for Metal and worldwide as well. It’s a mix I enjoy occasionally. But as with all music I always say, “This needs blast beats”. Worm Shepherd is a band that was shared with me on Twitter upon asking what everyone’s favorite Death Metal band is. And, I was truly shocked that this band was the first response I received. These guys from Massachusetts have truly set themselves apart in this saturated genre. Their music is an assault on the senses, hard to process at first listen, and definitely not a band for rookies. They pummel with desperation and frantic beats. It captures you as you break down what is happening, and hooks you with pure dirge emotion. Worm Shepherd is one of the heaviest bands I have ever heard without being derivative or repetitive. These are some of the lowest sustained growls I have ever heard, maybe the lowest. They might be the most cvlt band on the list, but still have a modern refined touch that all generations can appreciate.

Essential Tracks: Ov Sword and Nail, The River Ov Knives, Ritual Hymns

https://uniqueleaderrecords.bandcamp.com/album/ritual-hymns

https://wormshepherd.bigcartel.com/

Archspire

    Full disclosure: I am a huge fan of Dean Lamb and his wife on their Youtube series “4 Levels of Death Metal”. I watch it religiously and they are the most realistic and hilarious Metal Youtubers. So, when I found out Dean played in Archspire, I was immensely excited because he is a sensational guitarist always trying to innovate and improve. Hailing from Vancouver Canada, the five-piece Technical Death Metal juggernauts have recently gained a huge cult following. They’ve become Youtube sensations with their latest track Golden Mouth of Ruin which combines Tech Death with Numetal squeals and rapping gutturals. This band has staggeringly fast, catchy, and grooving rhythmic tracks. They are hands down my favorite Tech Death band. Drummer Spencer Prowett really leads this band with his exquisite drumming. He is one of the most flawless live drummers I have ever heard playing blasts at breakneck speeds of 250 BPM. Spencer’s snare hits are unbelievably fast, playing quadruplets with one hand like it’s just another day at the office. They are a complete aural assault and it’s hard to stop listening once you start, because you have no idea where each track is headed next. Dean Lamb and Tobi Morelli are two of the most underrated guitarists in Metal and deserve much more credit. They are innovators of the genre, at least if not all of music. With neoclassic perfection, these two shred harmoniously unlike anything else in Death Metal. Archspire is my number one most recommended band on this list, even if just shock value alone.

Essential Tracks: Drone Corpse Ruin, Rapid Elemental Dissolve, Bleed the Future

https://archspire.bandcamp.com/album/bleed-the-future

Archspire

https://www.indiemerch.com/archspire

Carnation

    One of my favorite Death bands has to be young Belgian bruisers, Carnation. Jens De Vos, mastermind of Off The Cross and videographer for Epica, exposed me to this excellent band. 2020 album Where Death Lies was my first listen, and it is a satanic indulgence for the ages. It’s dripping with speed and gutturals and good old hardcore breakdowns. Simon Durson delivers compelling gutturals and screams, ranging three octaves of absolute endurance. The sure stamina of his voice is shocking. He is unreal in every track with such a unique take on Death vocals. There are so many influences in each track, it’s impossible to get bored. While the drums and vocals are typically shocking, Carnation’s guitar work is equally mind-bending. It’s the most melodic playing in the genre but still keeps within the heavy themes. It’s melodic, yet absolutely aggressive and dark. Carnation also has gore and horror themes, if that is in your sweet spot. They’re a band who have immense chemistry and fit in a pocket together so well, which is an aspect I never look for in Death Metal. I truly think this is attributed to great bassist Yarne Haylen. Bassists are being phased out in Metal, but let’s hope Yarne makes a case for hiring one and keeping a tight rhythm section.

Essential Tracks: Sepulcher of Alteration, Plaguebreeder, Napalm Ascension  

Main

https://carnation.bandcamp.com/

Carnation

Aborted

    Yet another abhorrent Belgium Death Metal band; Aborted, has been tearing up the gore scene for over a decade now. I was blessed enough to see its two founding members live, guitarist Mendel and vocalist Sven. It was my very first exposure to Death Metal in 2012 when System Divide opened for Epica. Since that decadent evening, my hunger for Death Metal has grown every year. System has since disbanded, but Aborted has only gained success. Maniacult released in 2021 received 90% ratings from over forty different review sites. When I crave blue-collar gory and angry Death Metal, I always go back to Aborted. This band is utterly relentless from start to finish on every track. They are mechanical, almost robotic, but in a good way. Each song drives with every note and beats in perfect synchronicity. Death Metal is a cornucopia of virtuosity, and Aborted is in the upper echelon. While legend Mendel Bij de Leij is no longer in the band since 2019, the band is still active and hitting harder than ever. I personally will always prefer their material with Mendel, but that may be for nostalgic indulgence.

Essential Tracks; Dead Wreckoning, Divine Impediment, Termination Redux

Main

Septicflesh

    I know most of everyone in the Death Metal scene has heard of Greek heretics Septicflesh, but I couldn’t resist mentioning them. While the band has Melodic and Symphonic overtones, they’re still one of the heaviest bands I’ve ever heard. Codex Omega, released in 2017, is one of my all-time favorite records in any genre. Their capturing of Dante’s Divine Comedy Inferno is exquisite. It’s a trip straight to the horrific images in Aligheri’s head. There is something bone-chilling about Spiros’ voice that enthralls me. It’s the sure steadiness in his depth of gutturals. He doesn’t deviate or drop out from a deep slow guttural that sounds like it comes from the depths of the Inferno. Mind you, he can also spit out fast raspy vocals right to the blast of Internet sensation drummer, Krimh. Drummer Kerim Lechner has lent blasts to Tech Death band Decapitated, Thorns of Ivy, a fill-in for Behemoth, and put in an application to join Slipknot with a brilliant cover of People=Shit and Eyeless.   I have a pure passion for Symphonic Death Metal and I find these guys to be criminally underrated. While you might be looking for something more blast beat and riffy, don’t overlook the shockingly good Septicflesh.

Essential Tracks: Dante’s Inferno, Portrait of a Headless Man, Neuromancer

Intro Page

https://septicflesh.bandcamp.com/

Honorable Mentions

    These are bands that didn’t quite make the list for me, and I wanted to keep it short and bittersweet. Here are ridiculously heavy and unintelligible bands if you just can’t get enough of demon sounds in blazingly fast Metal.

Abhorid- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhQHkpO3GC8

Extermination Dismemberment- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpprZ4OsLR8

Waking the Cadaver- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USqJY-FTQeE

Oakenform- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJQ5TDquIn4

Rings of Saturn- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmu3zjmkJZ0

Top Ten Best Albums of 2014

2014 has been a prestigious year in metal, with many new albums, new bands, break ups, huge tours, and great losses.  All of these events and highlights attributed to metal being a huge topic this year, very deservedly.  The amount of crossover fans from country, pop, electronica, and indie to hard rock and metal is astounding.  Many bands and artists pushed the limits with music and media this year, gaining metal the popularity it deserves.  As a very passionate metal fan, this year made me proud of this musical genre and lifestyle.  I discovered more incredible bands this year than I have in my entire life, meaning the new releases caught my attention in special ways; Not to mention the several tours I had the lucky pleasure of experiencing in person.

Summing up a year in metal in just one post is difficult, so I decided to list what I think are the best albums of the year.  This list is merely based on quality of music and personal preference, not based on gain in popularity or popular opinion (unlike other review sites).  It took all year long to develop this list, as more and more new releases upped the anty on talent, quality, passion, and true musicianship.  Picking the top ten for the year wasn’t easy, but these choices for me are definitive.  The amount of incredible and intelligent metal musicians prevailed this year, giving hope to metal music afterall.  If it weren’t for true passion in metal, 2014 wouldn’t be a year to remember for me; Passion being the biggest contributor to my decision making and a word you will hear throughout this post.

Top 10 Mainstream Releases

 

1: The Human Contradiction (Deluxe Version) by Delain

 

Upon my first listen on a rainy April Wednesday to this album and my first concentrated listen of this Dutch Symphonic Metal band, I was bombarded with sounds and characteristics that were foreign to me.  Every aspect to what I was hearing was new and very intriguing.  I found myself getting lost in the music and dissecting it as I listened.  The album was loud, layered, textured with beautiful melodies and contrasting heavy riffs.  The keyboards and synth were grand, yet not overpowering.  The writing was complicated and passionate, every track exploding with personality and emotion.  The vocals in the forefront, filled with technical and poppy lines throughout each track, each word well placed in a defined pocket of music.  Every aspect, every measure, every characteristic of “The Human Contradiction” blew me away with the first note to the last note.  From the heavy and dark intro Here Come the Vultures, to the incredible poppy anthem Stardust, to epic and powerful game ender Tragedy of the Commons, this album is a Symphonic Metal Masterpiece.  Upon first listen, this band opened a whole new world of metal to me and instantly became one of my all time favorites.

 

Delain have this way of crafting well thought out, intelligent, mesmerizing music that is just so different than anything being produced today.  You can hear directly how each member contributes to each track individually, giving the music life and its own personality.  Considering Delain started out as a collaboration studio project by Martijn Westerholt, the growth is exponential in the music.  You can hear the growth of the band in “The Human Contradiction” especially.  It is matured and well versed in subjects the band is passionate about, creating this very unique identity for the band.  The vocals are absolutely stunning and room filling from lead vocalist, Charlotte Wessels, and the lyrics are so perfectly delivered.  The instrumentation from Zoer, Martijn, Timo, and Otto is powerful and contrasted with interesting subtleties.  The bass guitar is well heard with heavy and low bass lines, like on Army of Dolls.  The synth and keyboards are epic, mimicking the sound of an entire orchestra.  The guitar is punching, powerful, and screaming with technique.  The drums are simple, balancing out the sound perfectly.   All of these aspects make “The Human Contradiction” and Delain’s music in general catchy and powerful unlike anything you’ve ever heard before.  Each track is interlaced and streams together, almost like a story or a musical.  Regardless of how people characterize this album, I think it’s an incredible and transcendent Symphonic Metal release and I highly suggest it at any age or musical preference.

 

I picked the Deluxe Edition of the album because it is 100% of Delain’s effort.  Two bonus tracks and perfectly performed live tracks adds to the incredibly high quality of the album.  Scarlet is a moving, powerful track that is a gorgeous stripped down version of Delain.  It highlights beautiful vocals of Charlotte and the classical abilities of Martijn on keys.  This song is really a defining track from the band, because it is every characteristic that makes this band great slowed and based on pure emotion.   Don’t Let Go is a fun upbeat heavy and dance style track that is different from Delain’s other material, showing great versatility.  The live tracks are absolutely flawless versions of other songs and are mastered surprisingly well.   Every track on this album sounds incredible and refined perfectly.  This deluxe album is my number one album of the year, because there is no album like this one and it reinvents metal in a passionate, technical, fun, engaging way.  I highly suggest listening to this band’s entire catalog and experiencing their live shows.

 

2: 5. The Gray Chapter by Slipknot

 

After the death of Paul and all the turmoil that the band has experienced for the better part of five years, I didn’t think Slipknot were ever going to tour, let alone release a huge new album.  It surprised me when they announced the new album.   I wasn’t sure what to expect, especially after hearing the first three singles.  I liked the singles, but they led me to believe that Slipknot was becoming too much centered around Corey Taylor’s vocals.  As much as I think Corey Taylor is an amazing vocalist, Slipknot is about what each member has to contribute.  I didn’t want another Stone Sour album in the form of a Slipknot album.  After first full listen of “5. The Gray Chapter”, I was sorely proven wrong.  This album is a spectacularly heavy, dark, and intense release from the legendary American Metal band.  It is every great aspect of Slipknot’s music in one epic album.  I was genuinely surprised by their comeback with this album.  The band took all the pain, turmoil, and emotions from over the years and used it for the fuel of writing this new album.

 

“5. The Gray Chapter” has every Slipknot characteristic a cherished fan might expect.  Tracks like the intro XIX, Skeptic and Custer are reminiscent of “Iowa” in the darkness and heavy guitars and percussion.  Other tracks have undertones from “Subliminal Verses” and the self titled album, creating slow and dark haunting melodies through vocals and guitars.  There is of course that mainstream “All Hope is Gone” sound on tracks like The Negative One and catchy song Killpop that reminds me of Vermillion.  This mixture of classic Slipknot and new evolved Slipknot is brilliant, pulling you in differently with each track.  The darkness they achieved on certain tracks like Goodbye and If Rain Is What You Want is captivating.  Once again Slipknot’s darkside has prevailed and inspired absolutely brilliant tracks.

 

It is no doubt that this album is a tribute to Paul Gray, with songs like Skeptic and Goodbye.  The heaviest part of the album is not the instrumentation, but the sadness and frustration.  The burden of losing Paul hangs over this album and somehow brings it to life in an absolutely incredible way.  Fans can complain about the “change” or “new sound”, overlooking the complexity and beauty of the album, but it will never demean the album’s sentimental value.  This is the first album without Paul, but it keeps him alive somehow.  I think all of the emotion and sentimental thoughts put into it is why it may be Slipknot’s best album ever and why it has the number two spot on this list.

 

3: War Eternal by Arch Enemy

 

I had sadly never heard of Arch Enemy (due to living under an American rock) until the headline that Angela Gossow had stepped down as lead singer of the Melodic Death Metal band.  The band then brought in former singer of The Agonist Alissa White-Gluz and the news scattered about with hateful and disappointed forums.   As a previous fan of The Agonist, I was ecstatic to see Alissa getting an opportunity to use the heavy side of her in such a prestigious band.  I knew she could handle anything Michael and company threw at her, as she was personally mentored by Angela and asked to fill the spot in the band.  When the band announced “War Eternal”, I had no idea what to expect.  Alissa can also do clean vocals, so I wondered if Arch Enemy were going to use this dueling talent.  The fans were worried about a “softer” side of the band.  Upon first listen, I was enraged by any negative reviews or comments I had read prior, because of how absolutely powerful and brilliant this album is.  Being that this is my first Arch Enemy album that I’ve heard, I became a fan and now love their entire discography.

 

“War Eternal” is a brilliantly composed album about the wars we face everyday.  Whether it’s people trying to control you, judge you, hurt you, or inner struggles this album empowers you to rise above.  The theme of this album is very relevant to modern times, seeming like a heavy soundtrack to going through the trials of high school.  The instrumentation is obviously incredible, mixing pummeling riffs with well executed melodic solos.  The drums are spot on and driving along with the bass, truly carrying the rhythm.  The vocals on this album are extremely heavy and true to Arch Enemy’s roots.   The lyrics are still incredibly audible, like Angela had achieved on “Khaos Legion”.  The guitars are layered and constructed with extreme technical ability, adding a vast depth of sound on this album more than previous releases from the band.

 

This album is number three on the 2014 best album list because of the authenticity and pure quality of Melodic Death Metal Arch Enemy has created.  Everything about it is excellent and profound with everything I expect from a Melodeath album.  The transition of Angela’s style to Alissa’s style is a game changer for the band, and keeps them going in modern metal times.  The change is huge, but the change is ultimately good.  As long as Michael is the sole writer for the band, I don’t foresee anything half-effort ever coming from Arch Enemy.

 

4: Massive Addictive by Amaranthe

 

Amaranthe, a Gothenburg Metal band with a brand of their own, has struck big once again after the profound success of “The Nexus” album.  It was uncertain if Amaranthe could put out an album of equal or better quality, after the perfect mix of heaviness and poppy vocals were achieved.  The band mixes power vocals, poppy vocals, and death growls with loud and catchy synths and techno.  The lead guitarist Olof tames the three vocalists with melodic and shredding guitar riffs.  This creates a unique blend of sound that I’ve never experienced before with any metal band.  Having three vocalists and three exceptional instrumentalists creates stadium filling sound, especially with anthemic songs like The Nexus, 1,000,000 Light Years Away, and Invincible.  There’s certainly no lack of explosive sound and energy piercing through every Amaranthe track, and that energy and enthusiasm is what makes their music so great.

 

“Massive Addictive” is everything Amaranthe has ever achieved with any release, ten fold.  The energy, passion, technicality, and effort put into this new album is incomparable to 90% of the albums I’ve ever heard.  This album may take time to grow on you, because it is a very fast paced techno metal album and is hard to grasp.  It takes several listens to comprehend all that’s going on in this album.  The vocals are huge and powerful, providing attitude and identity to the album.  Between Jake E’s powerful vocals, Elize’s innocent poppy lines, and Henrik’s chesty growls the album is not short of dynamic sound.  The perfectly pocketed vocal lines are as catchy as ever on this latest Amaranthe album, clearly justifying the name for the album.  The guitar work from rhythmic riffs in the background and insane shredding melodic solos is absolutely incredible.  If it weren’t for Olof, this album might be overpowered by the vocal section.  His visionary guitar work adds a much needed balance to the album, keeping it to it’s melodic metal roots.  Olof had more free reign to get creative on this album more than past releases, adding a new sound and epic quality to “Massive Addictive”.  Songs like Dynamite, Drop Dead Cynical, and Digital World are blazingly fast and heavy, more than ever before.  Over and
Done, Trinity, and True are softer songs with moving vocals, adding depth and diversity.

 

I think “Massive Addictive” deserves the number four spot on this list because it is the bravest metal release of the year.  Amaranthe dares to defy genre and metal stereotypes and create something one hundred percent authentic to themselves.  The passion and perseverance comes out strongly in every song this band puts out.  Their music is incredibly unique and brings something completely different to the world of metal.  The fact that there’s no album that sounds even close to “Massive Addictive” is a sign that Amaranthe strive to create authentic music, bringing a new string of metal into modern times.

 

5: IV- One With the Storm by Ghost Brigade

 

Ghost Brigade is a Melodic Death Metal band from Finland, mixing Doom Metal lyrics and Death growls with slow building guitars.  Their special blend of music creates ethereal, mood setting music that is truly hard to describe.  Past albums from the band have been incredibly dark and heavy, with Sludge like characteristics.  “Isolation Songs” their second album had a perfect blend of Death Metal tracks like Suffocated and Birth, then Doom Metal tracks like Into The Black Light and My Heart Is a Tomb.  “Guided By Fire” was an all out growl fest with echoey guitar solos and heavy drums.  The band strives to get better with each album and advance their sound, getting darker and deeper with each one.

 

Ghost Brigade’s new album achieves the growth of quality perfectly, getting darker and even more ethereal than ever before.  “IV- One With the Storm” is a complicated and emotional album.  Each song is much different than past releases from the band, but definitely keeps the same characteristics that make their music so captivating.  The guitar work stands out to me the most on this album, holding a consistent building sound with each track.  The guitars create this incredible ominous and absolutely heavy sound that I’ve never heard on any other album before.  Songs like Departures, Electra Complex, and one of my favorite songs of the year, Long Way To the Graves highlight this signature guitar sound.  Aurora is one of the heaviest songs on this album and is the best single from the album so far.  Aurora and every track on the album is well balanced between instrumentation and clean vocals and grunts.  The mix of Death Metal and Doom Metal is perfection on this album, a mix no other band achieved quite as well this year.

 

It differs from any Melodic Death Metal album released this year, surpassing In Flames and At the Gates ten fold in my opinion.  Ghost Brigade created a perfectly balanced and intricately crafted album, which I find rare in the stereotypical genre of Death Metal.  This album made it on the list because of the emotion it successfully captures and delivers in a powerful way.  The way they combine Nihilistic yet hopeful themes into Death Metal is pretty brilliant and can’t be heard anywhere else besides bands like Summoning and Omnium Gatherum.  Ghost Brigade is high on this list because they released one of the most unique albums of the year and the album transcends 95% of the music I’ve heard this year.

 

6: The Quantum Enigma by Epica

 

Epica being one of the best Symphonic Metal bands of all time have released brilliantly composed albums over a decade of existence.  The level of pedigree this band achieves with albums is absolutely legendary.  The combination of Classical Themes with grand orchestrals and well executed operatic vocals with heavy instrumentation and growls from Mark Jansen is Symphonic Metal at its best.  Epica have a huge signature sound that either fills your entire house and stadiums, or is soft enough to sleep to.  With every album this band gets better and creates even bigger sounds that cannot be matched.  “Requiem For the Indifferent” is such an amazing album and conquered so many fans to where they believed it couldn’t be topped.  The same quality was achieved with older records  “Design Your Universe” and “The Divine Conspiracy”, both contenders for best albums of all time.  So how could Epica ever top those albums and advance their sound to a better level?  They topped those albums by going in a brave new direction and smashing any predispositions about the band, creating something completely different and daring.  Epica is a trailblazing band and “The Quantum Enigma” proves it.

 

What Epica did with this new album strives for a new level of masterful Symphonic Metal that is unlike any release in their listed genre.  The orchestra work underneath the pounding instrumentation from the band create a completely full sound.  The songs are as fast and as technical as ever, sounding completely succinct with every note, having the tightest sound I’ve ever heard from the band.  The layers upon layers of Classical influence is what makes this album so great.  The sound is ghastly large and potent on this album because of these layers.  The vocals of Simone are ever interlaced between Classical, Power, and pure Symphonic influences.  She combines pure emotion and power to deliver cleverly written modernized lyrics, much like Epica achieves on every album, but even greater.  With absolutely pounding songs like The Essence of Silence, Victims of Contingency, and Unchain Utopia, the band fills the mind and ears, captivating the listener with every tightened and refined beat.  The Melodic side of each song balances out the heaviness perfectly, making it certainly not your typical Metal album.  This album is different, because it is an album so intelligently layered that it took me at least five full listens to be able to compartmentalize it.  At first it didn’t grab me, but the more I listened to it the more I could appreciate it.

“The Quantum Enigma” deserves to be on this list, because it is one of the best examples of Symphonic Metal I’ve ever heard.  It takes every quality from the genre and reinvents it in a personalized way.  It is so different, yet true to the defined identity of Epica.  Each of their albums is its own project and creates its own world, but this album creates its own universe where traditionality and modernism collide in the heaviest way possible.  Each album has its own great aspects and brilliance.  This album’s sound is so vast, I simply cannot describe it without boring everyone to death.  It is Epica’s best and most textured, layered, and refined album yet, so just give it your best concentrated listen.

 

7: Z10 by Devin Townsend Project

 

The musical mastership and inventiveness of Devin Townsend is unparalleled in our current universe, because of his ability to mix creativity, intelligence, Sci-fi, inner struggles, and Metal all into one progressive monster.  Summing up Devin Townsend project in a two paragraph review is simply not possible.  He has this imaginative way of creating non stereotypical metal, mixing Power Metal and Progressive Metal with his own signature sound.  The edition of his accompanying musicians adds another incredible aspect to this particular project, especially the contrast of female vocals from Anneke van Giersbergen.  Every album is straightforward and true to the styles and creation of Devin Townsend, but this new album is particularly epic and huge with Progressive sound.  This album is nothing short of a Soundtrack to an epic Science Fiction blockbuster and it is a great approachable Prog Metal album

 

The new album from Devin Townsend Project is essentially three albums smashed into a two disc compilation.  Z10 is an album that has two sides to it, a side similar to “Epicloud” and “Ghost” with melodic touches from Anneke and well executed synth throughout disc one.   Songs like Rejoice, Universal Flame, and Forever are similar and in the similar gauge of songs off other albums, while other tracks like A New Reign and Midnight Sun are really different from past work from Devin.  The first disc is astounding with passion and power and would be an amazing album alone, but Devin had to add another spin on this album.  The second disc is a soundtrack to Devin’s Ziltoid character that has been chronicled throughout the past couple albums.  It’s full of chaos and good character, allowing you to use your imagination and put your own vision to the Ziltoid.  The second disc is heavier than the first disc, breaking up one album into two completely different projects.  It is rare that a band can achieve this kind of diversity on just one album, but I am not surprised that Devin achieved this.  While this album is not my favorite release from Devin Townsend Project, it’s still an absolutely amazing release of 2014.

8: Broken Crown Halo by Lacuna Coil

 

Lacuna Coil is one of my favorite metal bands of all time no doubt, but I had a love hate relationship with their last release “Dark Adrenaline”.  I appreciated the change up and modernized concept of the album, but none of the tracks truly captured my attention.  I wanted to like it, as I had been waiting for a new album for awhile, but it just didn’t impress me compared to other releases that year.  I was not confident in Lacuna Coil after that album and did not anticipate the next album being any better.  In true Metal fashion, the band proved me sorely wrong and exceeded all expectations.  “Broken Crown Halo” is everything I expected from such an amazing Gothic Metal band and so much more.  This album is different from anything they’ve put out, but does not lose the band’s original identity, beating the hell out of “Dark Adrenaline”.  Every song on this new album is dynamite and catchy, with brilliantly delivered Melodic vocal lines that soar above past albums where Cristina was more in the background.   Lacuna Coil rises to their full potential on this album.

 

Every song is of great quality from anthemic Nothing Stands in Our Way, to dark and melodic Zombies, to heartfelt and hard hitting track One Cold Day.  Every song is impressive as the next and not one song falls flat, thanks to the brilliant dark composition of this album and the power coming from the vocals and bass.  “Broken Crown Halo” is full of sounds from every spectrum, full with heavy instrumentation and intricate vocal lines fitting atop the distorted riffs.  Songs like I Burn In You and In the End I Feel Alive have a unique off beat that keep the album interesting.  Then slow building track One Cold Day ends the album in an epic way, full of pain and darkness, letting Cristina deliver a hopeful and emotional vocal line.  This is one of my favorite Lacuna Coil songs, because of how dynamic and dark it is.  The album overall is absolutely solid and  “Broken Crown Halo” certainly worth the recognition of the masses.  The album would be higher on this list it weren’t for the domination of Symphonic Metal, because of that the album didn’t stick with me very long.

9:  Home Is Where The Heart Is by Any Given Day

 

A German Melodic Death Metal band released one of the most surprising albums of the year with hardcore and moving album “Home is Where the Heart Is”.  For a debut album and considering the band isn’t very well known, this album is absolutely incredible.  The guitars are incredibly heavy and technical, reminiscent of Adam from Killswitch Engage and his fast melodic style.  The vocals are a mix of chesty growls and high pitched screams and spot on clean vocals from lead vocalist Dennis Diehl.  Dennis has powerful and unique male vocals, unlike anything I’ve ever heard.  The drums are simple but perfectly placed as a structural support for the music.  The bass is dropped extremely low and pounds the rhythm full and audibly.  Already with their first album, the band has put everything they have into it.  It is a brilliant effort from the band and absolutely caught me by surprise upon first listen.

 

The title track is a perfect example of everything that makes this band great.    The rhythmic and technical instrumentation drives hard, while the vocals pound and soar, and the music comes together with a catchy formula.  Every track on the album is a powerful anthem:  From Anthem for the Voiceless, The Beginning of the End, Never Say Die,  and If Tomorrow Never Shows, the album has a pounding and strong song to lift you up at any occasion.  The mix of hardcore and melodic metal is not foreign to me, but this album seems to capture it in a whole new way.  Some of the songs on the album are unlike anything I’ve heard in metal, especially since the uprising of Metalcore in America.  Genre aside, this album is beautiful and heavy at the same time.  It dares to be different than anything out there while being a very approachable Death Metal album.  “Home Is Where the Heart Is” is one of my favorite albums of 2014, because it surprised me almost as much as number one of this list.

 

10:  High Priestess by Kobra and the Lotus

 

Regardless of recent opinions from online blogs saying that this band “should stick to being an Iron Maiden tribute band”, I find the latest release from Kobra and the Lotus beastly and of high quality. This band mixes Traditional Metal with Modern Metal, similar to Halestorm’s approach but with more of a European sound to it.  The band is set apart from other Power Metal bands, because of the female Alto vocals from powerhouse vocalist Kobra Paige.  The band is highly acclaimed by manager and supporter Gene Simmons who originally discovered the band.  Kobra Paige is the main songwriter for the band, inspired by theatrical and wartime themes, making their music an epic experience.  Her vocal range is also a huge highlight of the band, ranging from high pitched screams, to lower aggressive vocals, to ballad soften tones.  The range of the entire band is incredible however, containing influences from Judas Priest, Dio, and even some Anthrax Thrash.  Kobra and the Lotus could be a band for old and new metal fans, if only they could escape from unfair stereotypes of metal elitists.  Nonetheless, the band continues to put out solid albums and blow me away with their style.

“High Priestess” is an excellent Power Metal album from a Canadian band with sounds that are a blast from the past.  The album has awesome tracks that highlight the band’s identity more than other tracks do.    I am, I am is a fast one of the album with impressive power screams and low bending speed metal guitars.  Hold On is my favorite track off “High Priestess”, because of the energy and technicality it shows throughout each instrument.   Heartbeat is a blazingly fast track, one of my favorite tracks on this album. Soldier is a beautiful rhythmic track, telling a tale of a innocent soldier going through battle, painting a very vivid picture from the eyes of a man of war.  Not every track on the album is up to the quality of the ones I listed above and that’s why it is last on the list, but it is by no means a bad album.  I find this to be a very underrated album of 2014 and I think it deserves to be on more top ten lists.

*Notes*

 

*I did not include “Hydra” from Within Temptation because it is a compilation album.

 

*This list is purely based on subjective opinion and if you’re opinion differs than mine, please write your own list and share it with me.

Honorable Mentions

 

Suspended At Aphelion by While Heaven Wept  Review: https://metalvalkyriereviews.wordpress.com/2014/11/24/while-heaven-wept-suspended-at-aphelion-review/

 

Melana Chasmata by Triptykon

 

Shadows of a Dying Sun by Insomnium

 

Guilty by Dawn of Eternity Review: https://metalvalkyriereviews.wordpress.com/2014/09/26/i-review-independent-symphonic-band-dawn-of-eternity/

 

Back From the Edge by Mindmaze Review: https://wordpress.com/posts/metalvalkyriereviews.wordpress.com

 

A New Dawn Ending by Ancient Bards

 

Origins by Eluveitie

Slipknot’s New Album Goes Gold

After all the negative headlines and drama about Slipknot, it is good to see them prevailing with their latest album 5. The Gray Chapter.  It has officially gone gold as of last week.  As you can see the plaques were personalized with each member’s number and framed by Warner Music and were presented to the band in Toronto.  Corey Taylor said the night before at a show “Passion is hard to find in the music industry days”, and I think passion prevails as this record has gone gold.  Congratulations to Slipknot!

.5 The Gray Chapter Reviewed and Unleashed

 

After an almost six year long wait without new Slipknot, they emerge from the darkness with new album .5 The Gray Chapter in 2014.  The band was put up to a difficult task, to go on without two original brethren.  Paul Gray passed in April of 2010 suddenly and tragically, leaving Slipknot grieving.  During this time, the band was in shambles.  The eight were determining if they could go on in music without Paul and Slipknot seemed to be doomed at the time.  But, they prevailed and continued playing festivals   They did a small stint of touring in Europe in 2011 and vocalist Corey Taylor said “If this tour doesn’t work, this band might be over, straight up.  And I’m not gonna lie; I’m not the guy that’s going to lie to the fans.”  Luckily, Slipknot weren’t without hope as they began writing new songs for a new album just as DVD Antennas to Hell was released.  Then, they disbanded with drummer Joey Jordison because of his “lack of commitment to the band”.  The band has been through a lot for the past four years, but .5 The Gray Chapter turns the news into a positive bombardment of brilliant new songs.

 

The new album is a mix of Iowa’s intensity and aggression and Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses melodic and artistic processes.  .5 The Gray Chapter is everything Slipknot has to offer all in one album.  The drums are heavier than ever.  The guitars are tight, technical, fast, and absolutely shredding.  The vocals are raw, melodic, powerful, and chest rattling.  The bass is technical and fast, played as a definite tribute to Paul.  The album is everything the fans love about Slipknot and so much more.

Each member of the band put everything they had into this album.  Whether it’s grief, rage, discontent, or relief, you’re going to hear it on this album.  Slipknot have tracked back to their roots to create a brilliantly well written and heavy new album in 2014.

 

The sixteen track album begins with XIX, a chilling and haunting intro track that brings images of walking down the aisle with a casket in hand.  It leads into Sarcastrophe, a song straight out of the hell that Iowa created.  This song is brilliantly heavy and fast, keeping the raging sounds that they’ve always had.  The dynamics on this song prove that time away brought Slipknot together, combining their best qualities into one album.  AOV has a Thrash edge to it with blazingly fast rhythmic guitars and perfectly executed drums.  The chorus is full of beautiful and powerful melodic vocals.  The bass solo on the bridge sounds like a soulful and skilled tribute to Paul.  Then you have The Devil In I, the perfect single for a perfect album.  This track really represents the band’s aura in such a darkened way.  It is tightly percussed and pocketed with flawless powerful vocals.  This is absolutely one of the best tracks ever released by Slipknot.  The album continues with the dark and chilling, Killpop, a track very reminiscent of the sound created in Vermillion Part 1.  The melody on this track is extremely catchy and is written out of beauty.  It drives with passion and quality that I’ve never heard on a Slipknot album.  .5 The Gray Chapter might qualify as the best Slipknot album of all time.

 

Keeping true to the tribute album to late bassist and writer Paul Gray, Slipknot keeps the passion alive in track Skeptic.  Skeptic proves to be everything Paul would’ve  wanted in another Slipknot album.  It is shredding, angry, dark, and as scary as Slipknot ever was.  It touches on the subject of loss in such a brilliant way.  I almost feel like this track is one to be smiled upon, even by Paul himself.  They couldn’t write a more fitting and personal tribute than Skeptic.  Lech is an angry and aggressive track, filled with industrial drums and raging guitar solos.  The new drummer absolutely shreds on this track in particular.  Goodbye is another track to deal with the grievances of Paul Gray and tales how the band came back together for this album.  It is such an incredible dark, atmospheric track that could easily be a soundtrack to a horror movie, entailing a glimmer of hope.  The guitar work is on Goodbye is absolutely my favorite work Mick and Jim have ever put out.  Nomadic is a faster more rhythmic track, definitely pulling a page straight from the chaos of Iowa’s sound, mixed with the melody that Corey Taylor achieves so dynamically.  The One That Kills the Least is one of the most melodic tracks on the new album, containing similar sounds to Till We Die.  It is one of the least impressive songs from the album, but contains one of the longest guitar solos from Jim Root.  It is a true Slipknot album.

 

The album continues with the last six tracks that contain more haunting melodies, faster tempos, more dark and disturbing atmospheres, and powerful smashing drums.  Custer screams and squeals like Eyeless, containing the blazingly fast and raging tempo that we’ve been waiting to hear again from Slipknot.  It has a frustrating edge to it that will send fans into a tantrum of anger and release.  Be Prepared for Hell is an interlude that screams the brilliance and darkness of Clown (Shawn M. Crahan).  It is a disturbing track as any, taking Slipknot back to their horror themed roots.  The interlude leads into more disturbing and haunting thrash track, The Negative One, a jam reminiscent of the energy and strength of Duality.  The Negative One is powerful and heavy, capturing the heart of Slipknot in a very visual and strong way.  If Rain is What You Want has a darker, more ethereal sound than I’ve really heard from Slipknot.  It is unlike anything the band has ever put out, in the best way possible.  It has a Doom Metal sound to it, unexpected from such an energetic Death Metal band.  It adds a new tone to the album, standing out as a gem much like Skeptic does.  There is nothing like this track on any Slipknot album.

 

The last two tracks on .5 The Gray Chapter close the album out perfectly, showing the true epicness of everything Slipknot strives to create.  Override let’s each musician shine and shred in their perfect form, proving to be an anthem on the album.  The build up to a shouty chorus from Corey Taylor and the contrast of melodic vocals is spectacular.  The stripped down style of the verses give you break from the constant onslaught of pounding guitars from JIm and Mick and effects that Chris and Craig provide.  Slipknot have really grown and shaped their music to a personal memoir made of sound.  This album is definitely the deepest, most meaningful album they’ve created.  Paul Gray and the departure of Joey Jordison inspire this album to greatness.  The Burden is the send off track of the album, leaving you with a sense that the saga of Slipknot may continue on past this album.  It is an unsuspecting ending track, but brings the album to a conclusion of melancholy and pain that Slipknot had to share one last time on .5 The Gray Chapter.

 

Overall there are a million good things and qualities and layers of this album that make it my favorite Slipknot album.  All my favorite things about the band are highlighted insanely well.  I think the band wore their lost brethren on their sleeves and took every ounce of pain and anguish, stuffing it all into this cornucopia of brilliant metal tracks.  Every instrumental piece is well executed and performed with urgency.  All vocals and lyrics on the album are unparalleled to any album released this year.  I really think this is the best album Corey Taylor has ever sang on.  Slipknot are fighting their way back into the hearts of their fans and into the spotlight.  To me, this is the most meaningful album they’ve ever put out and it has overall bettered the band.  They sound like they’re at their peak, which is something bands hardly ever achieve in America after losses and drama.  Slipknot is America’s best metal band, and I think .5 The Gray Chapter proves it.

 

Rating 10/10

 

“It was the rebirth of Slipknot, […] it was like us coming back together, pushing out the vibe that had gotten in there and kinda started pulling people away. But we figured out that you know, we do have to get space you know, we do need to let people be sometimes.”- Paul Gray

Slipknot Premier New Track “Custer” and Track Listing

Slipknot have been all over the news in the metal world, with speculation of new members and constant news going around.  It’s either vastly exciting or overkill on marketing on Slipknot’s part.  The new album however most likely deserves this constant news coverage.  “5: The Gray Chapter” is an album long time coming for Slipknot, it’s been nearly six years since their last album.  It is a blend of old sounds, like the darkness of “Iowa” and “Subliminal Verses” mixed with the hooks from “All Hope is Gone”.  It has Slipknot’s core and heart put into this album.  They put a lot of the pain from bassist Paul Gray’s death into it, but also some resolve.  It’s an album with mixed emotions, coming together in one layered beast of an album.

I personally have mixed feelings about this album.  Although I like the throwback to Iowa and older albums and am glad Slipknot are back, I crave more.  I find my preference for metal to be too advanced for just another Slipknot album, or any Corey Taylor project.  I crave a Slipknot album less about vocals and more about a stripped down, raw version of the band.  Maybe it’s just me, but Slipknot and Stone Sour have blended into one band because of Taylor’s active presence.  Not that it’s a bad thing, but I expect the bands to be vastly different.  Maybe the core of the album is completely different from Stone Sour, but the vocals are becoming one in the same.  Maybe Corey in his old age is lacking the dynamics he once used to possess so well, or maybe his projects are so much a part of him and his image he cannot differentiate.  Shawn Crahan and company surely make Slipknot what it is, trying to balance every piece of music in such a dark way.  Maybe that’s why this album is still so good; Each member balances each other out and blends into one signature sound that is Slipknot.

Regardless of my opinion, all fans should be pleased and relieved to have a new Slipknot album.  “5: The Gray Chapter” is surely a bit different than last releases, but it is classic Slipknot that millions of metal heads swear by.  Of course as a planet based on comfort and conformity, change is not always welcome in music or anywhere on Earth for that matter.  The change of members, melodic sounds, and a new emphasis on clean vocals may turn a lot of people off.  Luckily, Slipknot are out to make the music they want to and not what negative pricks on the internet want.  Either love it or hate it, Slipknot is back and slightly different.

Stream new song “Custer” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdBqOCS8LmM

The .5: The Gray Chapter track-list is as follows:

1. XIX
2. Sarcastrophe
3. AOV
4. The Devil In I
5. Killpop
6. Skeptic
7. Lech
8. Goodbye
9. Nomadic
10. The One That Kills The Least
11. Custer
12. Be Prepared For Hell
13. The Negative One
14. If Rain Is What You Want

Bonus tracks:

15. Override
16. The Burden

Slipknot Show New Masks Up Close

Slipknot have updated and changed their masks for the new album, “5: The Gray Chapter”.  Some are completely different and some are just altered a little bit, but they’re still signature to each band member.  Obviously whenever a band changes their look or sound controversy arises, so there’s a lot of opinions on the new masks and songs from the band.  Personally, I’m just glad Slipknot are back and carrying on with music after such a tragic loss.

5:The Gray Chapter comes out October 21st, 2014

See the new masks in detail here; http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pG-IEE8apJY

Slipknot Release New Video Featuring New Masks

Slipknot Release New Video Featuring New Masks.

Slipknot Release New Video Featuring New Masks

Slipknot are back in 2014 with their new album out soon, new masks, and a new gory music video.  “The Devil in I” is the 2nd single for “5: The Gray Chapter”, the new album appearing to be a tribute to the late and great Paul Gray.  As much skeptics as there were after losing two brothers from the band, Slipknot are back and sticking true to their Iowa roots.  The Devil In I video is shocking, gruesome, dark, metaphoric, and eye catching all at the same time.  Finally, we get to see the new Slipknot as they continue to battle inner and outer demons.

It’s a “killer” video.

Watch The Devil In I, here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEEasR7hVhA

Slipknot Frontman Talks New Members’ Masks and The Gray Chapter

 

 

 

Slipknot legendary front man Corey Taylor recently sat down with Full Metal Jackie for a in depth interview about Slipknot’s new album and the new members.  Everyone is curious about the drummer and bassist that will be sit ins for the late Paul Gray and departed drummer Joey Jordison,  Slipknot continues to be cryptic and quiet about the new members and what went down during recording, but he does talk about the masks

““We wanted to make something that still looked unified but still stayed with the spirit of what the band is all about,” Corey said. “Instead of trying to find something that was individualistic, we designed — well, [percussionist] Clown designed a mask that the drummer and the bass player will both wear. On one hand, they get a mask, but at the same time, it’s not the individual mask that we in the band use. We knew that any attempt to do anything like that might be taken as disrespectful, but at the same time it’s part of the way of moving, getting past the hardest steps, which is just moving on. So, we decided that we would come up with a mask that works for both the bassist and the drummer and that’s what they’ll wear on stage.””

Not too much information, but a good look at how Slipknot is dealing with the new members.

Check out the full interview transcribed here http://loudwire.com/slipknot-corey-taylor-5-the-gray-chapter-2014-knotfest-more/