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Roseblood - No One Here Gets Out Alive
Rating: 8.7/10 Stream/Download on Bandcamp //Support on Facebook New Jersey metalcore act, Roseblood dropped their debut record No One Here Gets Out Alive the other night and it is as diabolical as the title suggests. This album takes heavy influence from bands such as Kickback and Shattered Realm and does everything in its power to live up. Clocking in with five songs at eleven minutes of violence and terror, Roseblood’s name is sure to make its way around local hardcore scenes across the country. Starting off the album with the track “FTD” you get some very dark and inclosed vibes, almost like being trapped inside a solitary cell at your nearest mental institution. Delivering some crushing riffs bristling with feedback, your ears will orgasm as the track drops you into the hellish sounds of “Pure Sadism.” “BURN. CRUSH. KILL. BLEED” and “This is what you should fear / you are what you should fear” are lyrics that will burn themselves into your brain as you destroy your surroundings to the intense drum patterns and riffs, a soundtrack to pure war. “DCLXVI” is a song off their debut EP, released almost a year ago, but that line “I’ll set myself on fire just to watch you die” will force you into a euphorically destructive state of mind. It’s nothing short of a perfect metalcore line. “Zapruder” almost feels like a grindcore track, clocking in at less than a minute but preparing you for the record’s climax, “No One Here Gets Out Alive.” If you’ve made it to the title track, you’re in for a real treat as the band has prepared some ambient, sinister noise to send you off. Not only does this track provide some of the most uncanny harmony I’ve ever heard from a metalcore band, it has one of the best instrumentals I think I’ve heard so far in 2018. Roseblood is coming for you. Prepare yourself, because as the title of the album suggests, you won’t make it out alive. - D.G 
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Locked Out - Dissociation
Score: 7.6/10
Album releases on August 3rd, 2018
Connecticut has never been shy about introducing brutal and impressively intense metalcore acts into the world and today is your introduction to Locked Out, who, with their debut release Dissociation, are not strangers to groovy riffs and extreme vocals, coining for themselves the genre of “slamming metalcore.” Dissociation is close to bands like Bodysnatcher but also aims for the more simplistic metalcore elements you’d find in bands like Knocked Loose. The one thing that is clear immediately from the intro track, “Decimation,” is that the band is coming for your head. Intro tracks for this genre are generally instrumental hype-ups, which holds true here with a brilliant, slammy pit-starter setting the mood and letting you know what you’re in for. Once you recover from “Decimation,” you’re tossed into “Dead End,” which provides some tasty two-step riffs but lacks substance compared to the rest of the record--it’s just a little run-of-the-mill, without a defined purpose. “Burden,” however, picks the record back up with the nastiest pig squeal I think I’ve heard since Acrania dropped their album in 2014, showcasing the monstrous abilities of frontman Steve McCormack. The second half of the album kicks off with “Collateral Damage,” which sounds like getting knocked out at the edge of a Locked Out pit feels. It’s basically a massive mosh track featuring Gamma Sector vocalist Daniel Burris, making the song almost illegally heavy. “Trauma” hops back and forth across the deathcore/metalcore line, showing off some of the best-judged songwriting on Dissociation. It’s the record’s stand-out track, closely followed by “Chin Check,” which could not close the album any better. It makes you itch for more Locked Out, and as soon as possible. Dissociation isn’t perfect, but it’s satisfying heavy and yet another gem of the Connecticut scene. “Chin Check” is in line to be one of the best metalcore outros yet, next to Volition’s “Hyron,” off their farewell EP. Do not sleep on Locked Out. I promise you will regret it. - Dakota G. 
Death Grips. A name that has truly taken the internet by storm. This experimental hip-hop trio has released new music every year since forming in 2010, whether in EP or LP form, and they live for controversy. When told by Epic Records that they couldn’t release their second LP, NO LOVE DEEP WEB, they not only put it up for free the next day, they made this the cover of the LP. That doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what this group has done over the years. Between 2012 and 2014, they would constantly cancel tour dates, even going as far as to saying they broke up just before a tour where they were opening for Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden.
Controversy is not the only thing that has kept this trio going, though. Their sound is truly unlike any other. Of course, hip-hop that dabbles in industrial and noise is nothing new, but it’s how these three minds approach it with passion, anger, and ambition that makes it special, each project doing something exciting the others do not. In their eighth year as a project, they have unleashed Year of the Snitch. This is easily one of my most anticipated listens of the year thanks to a note-perfect promotional campaign that made it feel as if this LP was slowly creeping up on us. First there was the trailer; then came the song drops every week until big release day finally arrived on June 22nd. I only listened to the first three of these singles, more than enough to get me psyched. In 37 minutes, Death Grips manages to showcase all their forward-thinking madness at once. Each of these tracks pumps with the same energy we’ve come to expect of the Death Grips brand while taking advantage of a different influence. Flatlander, who always provides a quality product, really went out of his way to give this project the best possible production: “Death Grips is Online” has a paranoid, jumpy air that keeps the track sounding uniquely, and almost bizarrely, positive; later cut “Shitshow” is borderline cybergrind. Death Grips has dipped their toes into punk before (see the first two tracks off of their previous effort Bottomless Pit), but this is easily the most abrasive they have ever been. Flatlander’s influence makes sure it punches as hard as possible. Then we have “Dilemma,” featuring Shrek director Andrew Adamson and an instrumental blatantly influenced by ’70s progressive rock. If it wasn’t clear, Death Grips is going places they never dreamed before. They’ve been thinking forward since day one, and still have new tricks up their sleeves all these years later, informed by that same deadpan sense of humor that informed so much of The Money Store and the hoopla around NO LOVE DEEP WEB - the instrumental interlude is hilariously titled “Outro,” and its almost cartoonishly cyberpunk, reminiscent of the music for Batman Beyond. Somehow, it really, really works. Despite the tracks all being relatively different from each other, Year of the Snitch remains coherent in that way only Death Grips seem to manage. One of the best transitions on this entire LP is between “Flies” and “Black Paint.” The former track is some of the most experimental music on the record and is just short of abrasive. Conversely, “Black Paint” is one of the record’s angriest tracks, yet the outro of “Flies” perfectly connects the two. There’s also a nice transition between the instrumental “The Horn Section,” which sounds like you’re about to play a few hours of Tekken, whereas “Hahaha” is exactly what you expect from its title: absolutely kooky. In typical Death Grips fashion, the percussion is pretty much entirely electronic. Sometimes they go faster than hell (“Shitshow”), only to see them keep it mellow on the very next track, “Streaky,” the first single released for this LP. They play a similar role on “Linda’s in Custody,” giving a much more relaxing feeling on an LP that is otherwise completely out there in production and lyrics. Then crank the heat up on “Little Richard” and “The Fear.” It’s a back-and-forth Zach has come to master over the years; he knows instinctively when and where to go crazy and when to take a backseat, demonstrating a rare finesse in a group that often strives to sound as off-the-cuff as possible. Take the voice of Death Grips, and for many, it’s selling point: MC Ride. Year of the Snitch contains arguably his best and most varied vocal performance yet, and considering their back catalogue, that is saying something. Tracks like “Black Paint” and “Shitshow” feature his typical vocal mannerisms, which essentially consist of him yelling in your face, but “Flies” and “Streaky” feature cleaner vocals, which are just odd and unsettling after so many years spent establishing his primary style. Exacerbating the odd and unsettling tone he chooses for Year of the Snitch, “Flies” is literally about being devoured by the vomit of flies (“Should the opportunity arise, vomit me flies”), and O have a strong feeling that “Streaky,” with lyrics like “Booty on the outside,” is about anal prolapse. It’s good to know that Death Grips still rides the edge of decency with their lyrical content. The LP concludes with “Disappointed,” which is probably my favorite Death Grips closer since NO LOVE DEEP WEB’s “Artificial Death in the West.” Lyrically, it sees Death Grips once again taking a jab at their fanbase, mocking them for not being able to understand the direction the group wants to go; they know how polarizing their inter-album mood swings can be, so they made sure this remained the listener’s last impression of Year of the Snitch. The instrumental is expectedly stellar here as well, bringing the main ethos of Year of the Snitch together; it’s almost home to what I think might be Ride’s best vocal performance yet. There’s not much that can top “Why me?” repeated throughout the track, each round more intense than the last. VERDICT: Year of the Snitch shows us Death Grips at their most Death Grips, making music for themselves and no one else. If they weren’t before, Death Grips are now most assuredly online.
- Alex Brown
 If you’ve been even semi-adjacent to the Connecticut hardcore scene in recent years, then there’s a pretty good chance that you’ve heard the name Atonement. They released a six track EP titled Prelude to Agony in May of 2017, and have since built their name by opening for some of the biggest bands in northeastern hardcore, such as Sanction, Vein, Queensway, and Absolute Suffering. A year and-some-change removed since, the group return with a two-song EP, In Search of Divinity, which marks a big shift for the band stylistically.
While Prelude to Agony resembled bands like All Out War, Merauder, and Buried Alive, In Search of Divinity eschews that style for one closer to bands such as Zao and Turmoil. “Blood & Betrayal,” for example, is littered with constantly-shifting harmonies and dissonant chords, creating a more manic and active sound that what is found on earlier releases from the group. “In Search of Divinity” is slightly more calculated, with each section building to the next before ending in a frankly monstrous breakdown. The vocals are also well done, with a somewhat lower register than you’d usually hear from this type of metalcore that sets the band apart from their contemporaries, and the drumming is about as good as you can expect from a band of this nature - nothing out of the ordinary but certainly enough to keep the moshing going. Atonement have crafted a release that manages to pay tribute to their influences while also sounding fresh enough to not be compared 1:1 to any other bands. I highly suggest that you check this band out, especially if you’re from Connecticut or if you happen to be near any of the stops on their tour with Typecaste, .tourniquet., or Foreign Hands this summer. -Cesar G.  For better or worse, modern day hardcore is full of bands desperately trying to emulate sounds pioneered by 15-to-20 year old bands. Some fail miserably while others succeed; New Jersey’s .tourniquet. certainly fall in the camp of the latter on their debut EP, i hate the way this makes me feel. If you’ve been following this band prior to this release, then you’d know that they heavily invoke early 2000’s Orange County in the vein of (primarily) Eighteen Visions, Bleeding Through, and Throwdown in both sound and image. Their music is chock-full of dissonant chords and breakdowns, many of the members have dyed hair ala early 00’s fashioncore, and they even lifted the idea of placing doll heads all over their amps just like Eighteen Visions once did. This is a band that unabashedly wears their influences on their sleeves, but are they successful in practice? Absolutely.
Musically, there isn’t much new here; dissonant chords-laden breakdowns peppered with metallic riffs reminiscent of many of the aforementioned bands can be found on this release. What’s so impressive about i hate the way this makes me feel is how it’s executed, and to that end, i hate the way this makes me feel. sounds absolutely deranged. Inzinna’s lyrics read like something out of a ’50s asylum, and his vocals perfectly compliment the cacophonous madness-with-a-method going on around him. Backing vocals, which pop up with some frequency, are top-notch as well, especially on “Copper Palms”; and the production, done by Evan Perino of Separated, finds the right balance between rawness and cleanliness, ensuring that you can actually hear what’s going on without the record coming across too polished or artificial. The second instrumental does feel a bit unnecessary, but it’s at the very end anyway so its impact on the quality of the record is negligible. Many bands currently playing this style of hardcore seem to be doing it out of its relative “simplicity.” Anyone who knows their way around a guitar can write a panic-chord breakdown, but not everyone can craft songs as well written as these while adhering to that style of breakdown. .tourniquet. immediately showcase their elevated songwriting ability on “Black Cups of Spit,” which starts off with a breakdown that transitions into a patient chord progression as vocalist Chris Inzinna lays down his tortured screams before the band launches into a punishing blast-beat section that would fit right at home on Until the Ink Runs Out. The band could easily have taken the lazy route of slowing that original breakdown or attempting to shoehorn a two-step, but instead searched for a way to keep the music interesting. Simply put, .tourniquet. know how to write this kind of music. i hate the way this makes me feel is a nasty, insane-sounding metallic hardcore debut. If you like any of the bands I mentioned earlier, or any current bands like Sanction, Vein, or Knocked Loose, you should definitely not let this fly under your radar; make sure to catch them on tour this summer too. -Cesar G. 
Metal Lifestyle Presents: Versus
Match #01: Organ Dealer, Nerve Grind, Invertebrate Preorder the split here.
Welcome to the first ever (official) match-up for Metal Lifestyle’s “Versus” series. Since this is our first time doing this segment, allow me to explain: when a split release comes out, whether it be an LP or an EP, I am going to be comparing the sides. This isn’t as much of a competition as it sounds; just an analysis of each side. When we come to our conclusion,a winner will be picked. For example, allow me to look back at my first split review: If we did this series when I reviewed ‘sabella and Kaonashi’s Never Home split (review here,) it would look something like this:
Organ Dealer is a New Jersey-based grindcore act, who if you’ve followed Metal Lifestyle long enough, would know is no newcomer to the site. I reviewed their split LP with grindcore legends Birdflesh last year (read here); if we followed this format then, Organ Dealer would have won by quite a long shot. These guys pack a serious punch performing abrasive, techy, in-your-face deathgrind. They had a stellar debut LP, Visceral Infection, followed by an incredible showing on that split. Now, after a year’s break, they are back with six brand-new tracks. I have not heard of either band prior to this release, but from what I can gather, Nerve Grind is a three-piece grind act from California who is on their fourth split and fifth project now. They bring three new tracks to the table. Finally, Invertebrate is an experimental four-piece powerviolence band who formed in 2012 and have released a number of projects since then. This will be their first release since their split with Seatless Pants back in 2016. They come striking back with nine new joints for this project. All together, we have 18 tracks in just 11 minutes in typical grindcore fashion, so: let the games begin! Organ Dealer’s tracks on this split take up a large chunk of the run-time, being that they’re the only band of the three that writes songs over a minute long. This certainly gives them an advantage in memorability, having tracks that you can listen to in isolation. This is the punkiest Organ Dealer has ever been, stripping of the tech and math elements for an angrier approach. Even the vocals are more frequently yelled than screamed, as on their previous work, but the band is as confrontational as ever. Being they’re a grindcore band, you can still expect insane blast beats, and this thing’s six-minute timespan still leaves an impression. “Feed” is an incredible way to begin the split, letting you know what to expect right away. “Contour” is a very nice punk jam, which will certainly get you in the mood to mosh. My biggest issue is that I feel like it isn’t long enough to flesh out what Organ Dealer want to do. I understand that this is an EP - an EP split three ways, no less - but I feel this punkier direction requires more time than this project allows to show off the band’s new tricks. As it is, the sound feels a little compromised in an effort to let the other two acts shine a bit more, so I hope their next record explore this sound to a more satisfying extent. I am, of course, more than excited to see what Organ Dealer has up their collective sleeve, because we are going to be in for a treat if they perfect this sound. Nerve Grind’s section is three songs in under two minutes. This thing comes and goes, but not without making an impact, as these tracks are truly fucking out there, to say the least. They are textbook brutal, with not a single second wasted on any breaks, and will wind you out very quickly. This band’s vocals are absolutely gnarly, even animalistic, backed by angry, high-energy instrumentals. The only thing is I don’t really have much else to say about it. It’s fucking intense, but as soon as I was getting really into it, it ended. I now know I have been fucking up by listening to Nerve Grind sooner and will be keeping an eye out for them, because I desperately need to see what they bring to the table after this. Invertebrate has more songs than both the other acts, but their songs are also all under a minute, leading their side at roughly four minutes. These guys perform a pretty typical style of grindcore, getting both the metal and punk influences at a pretty equal balance. We have some really good death growls on this project, and the yelling backup vocals offer just enough contrast, but I can’t deny that this third of the split kind of blends together. Invertebrate insert samples from time to time as segues, which works nicely to differentiate songs, but it doesn’t quite save their part of the split from coming off as formulaic. Organ Dealer and Nerve Grind push fairly new ideas, beside which Invertebrate’s style just feels a little predictable. There’s nothing inherently wrong with following a tried-and-true format, but nine tracks of it gets boring, even if it only adds up to four minutes of music. “Fuckface” is worthwhile, and got me pretty pumped, but the hype dies the second this side of the split ends. I think Invertebrate will need to work on their songwriting next time around and branch out a bit more if they want to be noticed. If you are a fan of grindcore and/or powerviolence, you should definitely check out this EP. These three bands undoubtedly love their genre. I don’t think this thing will change your mind about grindcore and/or powerviolence if you aren’t a fan already, but if you are, these are three bands you should keep on your radar. This split officially comes out July 1st, and you can get it digitally or physically at the link above. THE WINNER/VERDICT: In under two minutes, Nerve Grind completely blew me away with their sheer intensity. Organ Dealer is working on a more punky sound, and I am excited to see where they go with it. I hope Invertebrate tinker with their sound in the future, because they have some serious potential.
- Alex Brown
LIMBS is a Florida-based post-hardcore project that caught my attention last year when I saw them with Capsize in Webster Hall’s Studio room. I’ve had a few of my friends tell me about their music before, and I thought it was pretty sick when I checked it out. However, seeing these guys perform their material is a whole new level of amazing. I put these guys on my Top 25 Concert Performances of 2017 for a reason (click here). The energy they gave off in their performance was absolutely impeccable, something many artists can only wish to imitate, and the fact that this young band was already destroying some of their contemporaries’ live-performance peaks really spoke to me. Late last year, these guys re-released their SLEEP EP on Equal Vision Records, and are now on UFND Records, through which they’ve put out their debut, Father’s Son, just in time for their tour with legendary metalcore headliners Underoath. This LP is 11 tracks in 34 minutes, and each of these tracks is gifted with absolute passion. From the moment “Fed” begins, to the closing notes of “Blister,” these guys showcase an obscene amount of energy. The first four tracks on this LP are all mosh-inducing, bringing listeners back to post-break-up Underoath. I’m talking about Disambiguation and Lost in the Sound of Separation, where the group was at their most abrasive and hard-hitting. LIMBS craft ultra-catchy, punky tracks out of that sound. There isn’t a moment that feels even slightly dull. These choruses are downright infectious. I feel like recent -core bands can’t get choruses down without sounding forced, but for LIMBS, they come naturally; the title-track and “Abba” are perfect examples. With this fast and abrasive structure, the group incorporates some very unexpected, very tasty Radiohead influences, especially on “Homestead” and possibly my favorite track on the project, “Crossed.” Limbs are able to pace these tracks so that, following approximately two minutes of complete and utter chaos, the slow, relaxing bridges feels like organic intermissions before the next section of chaos. Chris Constanza is already proving to be one of the most versatile vocalists in the current post-hardcore game. His harsh vocals are stellar, and he can switch from raw, yelled cleans to controlled, melancholic singing, but he neither overshadows or is overshadowed by the guitar work, which on tracks like “Abba” and “Homestead,” is super tight and on-point. The rhythm section kills it on “Sacrament” and “Black Thumb.” They create a heavy, percussive-based environment on these tracks that build upon the angry, raw emotion of the album thus far. “Sacrament” contrasts nicely with the title-track in terms of rhythm; whereas the former gets a nice spotlight, the latter shows them driving the momentum. Father’s Son loses a bit of momentum in the final two tracks; “Tangled Hands” is a pretty weird choice for a single, and I can’t lie when I say that it was a little worrying to hear prior to the official record release. The chorus is nice enough, but for the most part, it feels like filler with a particularly unnecessary and incomplete-sounding guitar solo, which sounds like it was recorded in one take and tacked-on last-minute. Moreover, it’s mixed differently from the rest of the record. “Blister” doesn’t really stand out either, and ends the LP on a bit of a whimper. Otherwise, this is a solid, hard-hitting debut. Post-hardcore was very much in need of a band like LIMBS. I think there is a bright future for this project, and their horizons are poised to expand on this upcoming tour with Underoath. I just hope they lay off the awkward solo-ing. VERDICT: Father’s Son is one of the best debuts I have heard from a post-hardcore project in a very long time, following through on the promise of their EP. If you are into 2000s metalcore and post-hardcore of any kind, these guys cannot let you down.
- Alex Brown
 Meek is Murder Drive-By Bukkake - Mary Todd - Wreath of Tongues Brooklyn Bazaar’s Cellar: 04/14/18 In June 2013, I attended that year’s annual Punk Island, which is a completely free festival that shines light on some underground acts. For the most part, if we’re being completely honest, these bands are mostly unremarkable, but I did have a reason to come to Punk Island. I had checked out Meek is Murder and their debut LP Algorithms, and I was amazed at the speed and aggression it produced in its 19 minute runtime. I waited the entire festival because I knew Meek is Murder were going to be something special, and as soon as they started, my day was made. They performed with twice the passion they showcased on the LP, and through their brief set, I started to truly understand the essence of the DIY scene. Since then, Meek is Murder has been my favorite local act. I’ve caught them five times between that show and this one at venues like the legendary ABC No Rio and the fairly new bar-space Gold Sounds. They’ve also released a ton of music, getting better with every project, up to their last LP Was which, as I wrote in my review when the LP came out, is as good as modern mathcore gets. Unfortunately, vocalist/guitarist Mike Keller (ex-The Red Chord) is moving out West, so they’ve announced that this show will be their last one for the foreseeable future. Of course, they didn’t fuck around with this lineup. Boston death-thrashers Drive-By Bukkake came down, and we got local support from two of the best in the game right now: techy-grindcore trio Mary Todd, and up-and-coming crusty grindcore act Wreath of Tongues (who just put out an incredible two-track EP, Like Rats.) Saying I was stoked about this lineup is an offensive understatement. I’ve also seen Wreath of Tongues five times, once as The Haunt. These guys put their all into each of their performances; this show they went even harder. They pummeled through an intense, angry eight-song setlist and took it upon themselves to start the pit. One of the most beautiful things about this show was that everyone participated; even people I’ve seen at shows like this that would usually just stand to the side and jam out there, myself included, knew that if there was ever a night that asked for everyone to give 110%, it was this night. This was easily the best I’ve seen the boys. I linked it above, but make sure you check out Like Rats, and while you’re at it, check out their debut EP, Out with the Good, for some crusty, heavy, angry music. Next were chabois in Mary Todd. The first time I saw these guys was also my first time at ABC No Rio, where they opened up a triple release show for Meek is Murder’s Everything is Awesome Nothing Matters, black metallers So Hideous’ debut LP Last Poem/First Light, and post-metal act East of the Wall’s Redaction Artifacts. I saw some serious potential with them, but I could also tell they were still getting used to being a band. I’ve seen them seven times since, from lineups with acts like the currently-popping Artificial Brain to opening up a show with the legendary PsyOpus. Ashley was even kind enough to give me a first listen to Bone Stock, which I reviewed here roughly a year ago. It’s safe to say I’ve watched Mary Todd grow up over the years, leading up to what was easily their best performance on this night. It was a typical set of late, mostly featuring tracks off Bone Stock and Scraping Under the Barrel, but I have never seen them as energetic as they were at this show. The audience reacted very well to them, moshing along to their set. I’ve waited a long time to see a Mary Todd set that left me completely and utterly winded, and boy, did it happen at this show. I’m going to be completely honest: I only caught the end of Drive-By Bukakke’s set. My main reason is simply that I was completely worn out and needed to ease up so I could go really hard for Meek is Murder. Also, my party wanted to get something to eat and relax a bit, which this venue is perfect for, having a lounge area on the ground level. What I heard was all right, but I’m not into thrash metal like I used to be. They take some influence from death metal, but it doesn’t do much for me; however, if this sounds like your thing, check them out here. I saw on my Instagram at roughly 6PM, an hour before doors, that Mike Keller had broken his ankle but was still going to perform, writing: “Welp, tonight’s show should be interesting.” Every bit of me was ready to give more than my all for Meek is Murder. As soon as Meek is Murder started with Algorithms’ intro track, “Hello, World!,” the room erupted into one huge mosh. This continued to grow through “Algorithms” and the punky “The Same Mistakes” off of 2016’s Was and Algorithms’ “(null).” The band tossed in a song off Mosquito Eater, “The Blessing and the Curse,” which I do not believe I have ever heard live before. I chilled out during this song and “Foo,” but the room wasn’t slowing down. Once Everything is Awesome Nothing Matters’ “Ashes & Glass” kicked in, it was time to party again, on through Into the Sun’s “Marty McFly (88 Mph).” There were people doing fucking pull-ups on the venue’s exposed piping, which was incredibly dangerous, but fuck it: it’s a Meek is Murder show. They played the majority of their Onward EP, which built up nicely to the conclusion of “Onward Towards the Red Horizon.” Mike Keller, who literally just broke his ankle, played his heart out, and you could see the love and passion he had for these tracks in his no-holds-barred performance. Sam Brodsky and Frank Godla held the rhythm down. The crowd response was just beautiful; there’s just something so fucking beautiful about a show without a stage full of surfing. We got a few more tracks off of Was and Everything is Awesome Nothing Matters, including “A Prison, a Life Raft,” where Russ Savarese (guitarist of Wreath of Tongues) picked yours truly up and swung me through the crowd, which was absolutely wonderful. The set then went into “More Always More” and “Less is More,” which is always a high point of a Meek is Murder set This night was no exception. “Play Dead,” the final track off of Everything is Awesome Nothing Matters, was bound to send shit through the roof. People took away Keller’s crutches and the stool he was sitting on, and then picked him and Sam up. Keller fell right onto Frank’s drums, which made me feel for him, but the show went on. Very few things have struck me as hard as Mike screaming “He said that everything is awesome but that nothing fucking matters, so just live your life and choose your own path” this night. That has always been a favorite lyric for me, but it meant so much more in that electrified setting. Algorithms’ “Recursions” concluded the night and an era with an eruption of madness. This was the best local show I’ve ever been to and there is not a shadow of doubt in my mind about that. It was a great lineup of bands in an excellent little venue, full of friends just having a good time supporting and respecting each other. So many local shows lack these qualities, that it’s nice to see one that brought it all together in the spirit of ABC No Rio in its heyday. I doubt I will ever see a local show like this again, but to have witnessed it is a privilege in its own right. Long live Meek is Murder. - Alex Brown
In March 2011, Abel Makkonen Tesfaye dropped his debut mixtape under his moniker The Weeknd. House of Balloons received widespread acclaim from both music consumers and critics for his dark approach to R&B music. That summer, he went on to drop a second mixtape, Thursday, which was also met with a relatively positive response. Later that year, he released the final portion of this trilogy of mixtapes, Echoes of Silence, which got nearly as much praise as the first. This trilogy told the music world one thing: look out for The Weeknd. He carried his dark R&B approach to his debut LP Kiss Land, but was met with a much more lukewarm reaction for just being kind of messy. Beauty Behind the Madness cleaned up a little, but it didn’t reach the heights of his mixtapes. It took Starboy to turn the tables in terms of style and sound. Sure, you still had your nocturnal moments, like “Party Monster,” but this was a more upbeat LP with less of the asshole-ish persona The Weeknd used on his previous projects, glamorizing his success. It was a hit. Now, over a year later, The Weeknd comes back with brand new EP My Dear Melancholy, which has to be one of the best titles for a project I have seen this year thus far. Having found positives in Beauty Behind the Madness and Kiss Land, I knew I had to jump on board with this project right away. From the title of this EP, I was expecting a return to form for Abel, and that he very much did. This is probably the most nocturnal The Weeknd has ever sounded on a project. Tracks like “Call Out My Name” and “Privilege” are walls of atmosphere that set the depressing mood in stone.Then there’s the future garage sound of “Wasted Times.” The instrumental on this track could’ve easily shown up on a project by Burial (he production was done by brostep pioneer Skrillex, so this isn’t too much of a stretch). The instrumental on “Hurt You” sort of recalls “I Feeling it Coming” on Starboy, but it’s much darker in tone, showing that those previous feelings are irrelevant. Both “I Was Never There” and “Hurt You” had some help from French techno artist Gesaffelstein, which further connects the two through this choice of production. “Try Me” generally sound like a depressed Starboy leftover. Lyrically, the EP is about a breakup. Plain and simple. Abel is not even trying to hide that fact. The EP plays out in a chronological order, almost like Abel is going through the stages of grief. In the very first verse of “Call Out My Name,” we see that he is reminiscing over his now lost relationship, singing “We found each other/I helped you out of a broken place/You gave me comfort/But falling for you was my mistake.” This track sees him wishing that his lover would come back to him in some way. He’s in denial. He continues the idea on the next track, “Try Me,” while also trying to convince his partner to leave whoever they’re seeing to come back to him; this is very much brings the scummy, jerkoff Weeknd we saw on the Trilogy mixtapes talking. He continues this attitude on “Wasted Times,” which shows him bargaining by sleeping with the partner he had before his last one, but realizing it is just not the same. The next two tracks are connected by the theme of depression: “I Was Never There” sees Abel resorting to drugs and alcohol to deal with his issues, whereas “Hurt You” is him telling everyone, particularly his former lover, to stay away from him, because he is in a very toxic place. The EP concludes with “Privilege,” which is acceptance - a very begrudging acceptance. Abel tells his former lover to enjoy their privilege, and that he knows he will get over the situation in due time. He is still hurt, and is constantly using substances to dull the pain, but he knows it’s only going to get better for him in the future. He closes off singing “I don't wanna hear that no more” as he walks away from his partner and her issues, wanting absolutely nothing to do with her. Structurally, these songs are some of the best The Weeknd has ever crafted. My issue with the EP comes from how much of a one-trick pony it is. Being only six tracks and standing at roughly 21 minutes, there is literally no variety. I remember expecting this to be a full length, but now that it’s out, I’m glad it isn’t, because I think the record’s dark tone it would get stale quickly. It’s hard to listen to in full unless you’re in a certain mood. I think all of these tracks are pretty damn solid, but I’ll only really be returning to the full project every now and then. That said, when it is THAT certain time and I am feeling THAT certain way, this is definitely going to be my go-to. It’s easily my favorite thing The Weeknd has done thus far. The production is great, and The Weeknd sounds as good as ever. Hopefully, we get a full length later this year too; one that takes this renewed interest in the dark, edgy sound he came up on in more adventurous directions. VERDICT: What My Dear Melancholy, lacks in ambition it makes up for in incredibly consistent songs. There is no room for fat on this 21-minute EP, a perfect soundtrack for those dark, lonely nights. - Alex Brown Hey everyone! It’s me again! I still write for this gosh darn website, but the plight of being an English-Education major leaves my ability to write on an extracurricular relatively crippled. Thankfully, I’ve been listening to a ton of new music this year, so I’m gonna borrow a page from the Book of Brian Lesmes and highlight some releases that you should definitely check out. Chamber - Hatred Softly Spoken Back in November I wrote a piece for the American Metalcore Project in which I highlighted Biohazard and proceeded to complain about nu-metalcore for about three-fourths of a paragraph. I won’t get into those complaints right now (go read the article to figure out exactly what I hate about nu-metalcore), but I’m glad to see bands like Nashville’s Chamber take the good elements of nu-metal and utilize them in crafting an EP that sounds like it was recorded in an insane asylum. There’s that trademark Korn pitch-shifting, as well as songwriting cues borrowed from Slipknot (not to mention the tasteful biting of Jim Root’s guitar tone) that all serve to create something that pays homage to the two aforementioned bands without sounding dated. FFO: Vein, Sanction Vamachara - Despondent California’s Vamachara surprised a lot of people at the end of last year when they suddenly announced that they were putting out a full-length on January 5th. Some might find it risky to put out an LP while essentially still DIY and without any “big” support tours, but the band managed to pull it off very well. The band’s sound is very straight-forward: down-tuned, HM2-tinged metallic hardcore in the vein of bands like Eighteen Visions, Disembodied, and Arkangel. While this sound has become very homogenous within the current hardcore landscape, the band’s top-notch songwriting manages to keep them head-and-shoulders above the vast majority their peers. Songs like “Substances Submission” and “Watch You Burn” (the latter being re-recorded from their “MMXVI” demo released in 2016) are good examples of this sound at its best, keeping things dark while also heavy and moshable. Catch them on tour with Twitching Tongues and True Love this month (and bring your dancing shoes too!). Speaking of… True Love - The Pact Fast hardcore is something of a forgotten art these days; there’s plenty of bands still producing the fast, power-chord driven sound that hardcore was originally based on, but they get lost in the crowd compared to a lot of the heavier mosh bands that are popular today. It’s this situation where Detroit’s True Love find themselves at this current juncture, touring in support of Twitching Tongues alongside Vamachara, two bands on the more metallic side of the genre. The Pact isn’t as “traditionally” hardcore as its predecessor, Heaven’s Too Good For Us, resembling something a little close to Lowest of the Low-era Terror over American Nightmare, but the band remain true to the fundamental hardcore sound. Tracks such as “The Other Way” and the title track are packed to the brim with breakneck chords and drums that serve as a great backing to frontman Dominic Vargaz’s impassioned vocals. Could bands like True Love save us from the dreaded horseshoe and bring back the old-school pile on? Here’s hoping. Ecostrike - Voice of Strength South Florida straightedge band Ecostrike’s last release Time is Now was one of my sleeper hits of 2017. Mid-90’s style straightedge hardcore in the vein of Strife and early Earth Crisis? Sign me up. I didn’t think a band could write a better record in that style, but then they went and did it less than a year later. Reading the lyrics from songs like “Still Remain” get me excited to be straightedge like I’m sixteen all over again: “Reaching in, searching for what counts / empty hands grasping in the darkness / find the strength to suffocate my doubts / find the truth; the answer lights my path / ask myself: does the feeling still remain?” But even if you’re not straightedge, the riffs are oozing with energy; especially the opening riff in “Standing Hard,” which is basically designed to get kids side-to-siding into each other. Check it out. Trail of Lies - W.A.R. Few bands have been as important to me over a month-and-a-half span as Syracuse’s Trail of Lies have. Their sound, bearing a resemblance to early Hatebreed and Throwdown, immediately appealed to me, but the band is so much more than just hard breakdowns. What has caused me to admire this band so much over the past few months is their dedication and the effort they put into their lyrics, as well as encouraging audience participation in more ways than just hitting each other in the pit. Watch any recent live set from the band (or actually go see them live for yourself) and amongst the first things you’ll see is vocalist Tom Damiano imploring people to move up and sing along, and they do. Trail of Lies push a message of relentlessness in all aspects of life, and their lyrics reflect that. “Fight For Victory” is the best example of this, declaring that “the mind is your most powerful weapon” before empowering the listener to “control, react, and overcome.” If you’re going through a difficult period in life and enjoy energetic, empowering hardcore, you owe it to yourself to listen to this record, study the lyrics and their themes, and watch a Trail of Lies set and sing along. This band truly is something special. -Cesar Gonzalez |
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