The Apparatus

 Wednesday, 22 April 2009 Most of the songs off the album are under three minutes, which makes for a more jam session vibe from the band, compared to the monolith concept albums of The Mars Volta. With half of the members being The Mars Volta\'s core composers, it\'s not a surprise that El Grupo Nuevo doesn\'t stray far from the TMV sound. Though, I was left wanting a little more at first. With the exception of \"Punky Humans\", I was honestly hoping for more drums solos. Though that is really tough to say, considering that Zach Hill\'s style of playing could be thought of as \"complimentary soloing\". I kind of wished there was more long winded, musical \'battling\' between Omar and Zach. This album could have been a lot more epic in that respect. But hey, I trust that you won\'t be in that frame of mind. With all due respect, this is Omar Rodriguez\'s band, and you need at least a second listen to get anywhere near the full effect.

On the shinier side of the coin, Cryptomensia is a punk, funky, energetic and psychedelic musical trip, though deep down, I might have expected something a little different. I really couldn\'t ask for more. I feel this album is great alternative if you weren\'t the biggest \"Bedlam in Goliath\" fan. This album doesn\'t really expand Omar\'s musical variety as much as it does to his volumes of albums and projects. However, it seems Omar\'s right mix of drugs and musicians are always nothing less of A-class tunes. With almost 30 albums under his belt, Omar Rodriguez Lopez surprisingly doesn\'t show a sliver of slowing down.

 Tuesday, 31 March 2009 I've always noticed that The Number Twelve was on the edge of diving into trendy post-hardcore territory, although they are not 100 percent there, they are inching closer and closer. Their previous album 'Mongrel' sounded focused and complete, where as 'Worse than Alone' attempts to be more solid on a song-by-song basis. At times, the album sounds too "fun," slapstick, and loose in their new experimental ground.

"Mush Mush Mush"... really guys? That's honestly kind of lame. To top it off, some kind of spiced up Mick Thompson riff is played behind it. To me, nu-metal is a really piss poor genre to play around with. "Glory Kingdom" is undoubtedly the weakest track on the album, and a bad first impression. "Given Life" isn't much better. It's starts off with some cheese ball, theatrical 'Lollipop Lustkill'-style vocals that could have been trimmed off the start and end of the song. By track 4, "Marvin's Jungle", we are at the obvious commercial hit of the album; perfectly clean, pretty, and dressed up for MTV2. The vocals are a definite weakness of the album. They have turned into poor, faux radio-friendly singing that comes off too playful, and down right jokey at times. The Number Twelve always had a flamboyant tone in their voice, but perhaps it's gone a little too far. Is it me, or does the song "The League Of Endangered Oddities" sound like an AFI B-side?

I have to say that drummer Jon Karel is the man! Though I miss The Number Twelve's blast beats (absent on this album), I have no complaints in the drumming department. His cymbal work is definitely unique and sounds gorgeous. I thank him for attempting to bring back the drum solo at the of "Retort, Rewind, Remind". He is definitely the jazziest and tightest drummer The Number Twelve has had. Jazz is an obvious factor on 'Worse Than Alone'. A lot of Mathcore bands play a few clean chords and think its jazz. However, I think Alexis Pareja and co. clearly have this department down. My favorite track on 'Worse Than Alone' is "The Garden's All Nighters", and it just so happens to be their most fusion influenced song to date. I really wish they went without the "bah bah bah's", but that's just another example of the little touches that are bothersome to a long time follower of The Number Twelve such as myself.

The album has few good pieces and moments. If there was more, I didn't notice it because of the clusterfuck of cross-genre attempts and ideas that just don't seem to flow 100 percent this time around. 'Worse Than Alone' is still The Number Twelve and is still a decent listen. This album may be a hair overshadowed by an awkward execution. It's almost as if they are poking fun at their own scene (such as touring mates From Autumn To Ashes, From First to Last, Drop Dead Gorgeous, etc) by playing their techniques with 'just okay' sounding clean singing. Even the 2 or 3 breakdowns on the album seem half assed. It's definitely playful and progressive in other aspects, but as memorable as 'Mongrel' or 'Nuclear.Sad.Nuclear'? No way.

 Tuesday, 17 March 2009 2 years have passed since Scale the Summit released their debut album 'Monument'. Unfortunately, I'm not as blown away with 'Carving Desert Canyons' as I was with 'Monument.' There are some really good passages and a couple killer riffs, but mostly the album has an all too consistent flow without many big ups and downs. I feel that the band tried really hard to write a quality, Prosthetic Records-worthy album, but the end result sounds too much like they played it safe, for my tastes.

'Monument' had a very classy, progressive METAL feel. Almost all metal or aggressive aspects have since vanished or at least have been pushed into the far background. This album is extremely 'posi' and clean - just a hair too much. The atmosphere of the album is very vast and grandiose, such as the album cover and track list suggests. The problem that I have with the earthy, natural, and elemental theme of the album is that it seems to be stuck on an observational level (from the metaphorical point of view of the songs). I kept inching and waiting for volcanoes to erupt, winds of a category 5 hurricane, soft ball sized hail, negative 200 degree temperatures, wild fires burning away half a continent, etc. "Glacial Planet" shows the hair of aggressiveness still left. I miss the nostalgia of that gorgeous whipping splash and that punchy double bass work Pat Skeffington played on 'Monument'. I have to be really honest: if nobody told me they are playing 8-string guitars, I would have never known. I don't expect every 8-string player to be as heavy as Meshuggah, but where's the low end?

If metaphorically Scale the Summit played a song about a mountain cliff, they wanted to you to stand still and take in the view. However, I wanted to bungee jump off the edge. After listening to this album all the way through, one might feel very refreshed. I think this album is too solid in that respect. It's too accessible. They obviously have the 'posi' and heartfelt side of progressive music down, but what other musical sides do they have to offer? 'Carving Desert Canyons' seems PG-rated, and doesn't seem to break a single musical convention (besides not having a singer), that I couldn't take much away from this album

 Thursday, 12 March 2009 This band has gone through some tremendous changes and growth. The line up shuffle/struggle that this band has endured has worked out for the best. To make a long story short, singer Brian Craig left the band in Jan 2007, Paria was left to record an entire full length, in a new direction, as an instrumental band. Then at the last minute Brian returned to the fold. The band then recomposed most of the tracks with vocals. With all these member changes, 'The Barnacle Cordious' sounds refined and tweaked to perfection. Since a lot of these songs in theory were all instrumentals in a past life. All the instruments individually are pushed into the audible foreground. This album is definitely a bass player's wet dream. The guitarist plays a tremendous range of both orthodox and unorthodox guitar playing. I hear everything from classic guitar virtuosity to the best elements of 'Misanthropos' (all the dissonant and abrasive Mathcore techniques).

When I tried to listen to this album all the way through for the first time I got stuck on 'Pish Posh.' It took a good 4 or 5 listens to digest the song. before moving on in the album. This 8 and a half minute instrumental is truly breath taking. I imagine 'Pish Posh' as if Fade to Black or Welcome Home were reincarnated as a progressive metal opus instead of a thrash metal ballad. The other instrumental epic on the album "I've Never Been Here Before In A Long Time" has a slight uptempo hint of Black Sabbath's 'Planet Caravan.' I know it's extremely bold to compare Metallica and Black Sabbath songs to Paria's but it think they pull it off well. Paria plays, what I consider, retro AND modern metal at the same time.

'The Barnacle Cordious' makes for one of the best multi-pallet musical experiences. The heavier riffs and overall elements have a sludgy, stoner metal groove to them. There is also a lot of spacey guitar effects that assist to create a giant atmosphere. The vocals surprisingly have folded perfectly back into the band. There's plenty of vocal variety such as the angstful sing-a-longs "Staring Death in the Face", "Justice Will Be Met," etc There's also a range of tasteful clean singing in "Circus" and to deep and powerful growling in "Be." I know of a ton of bands that play so many genres they are unclassifiable. Paria is definitely one of them. I suggest this album to anyone fans of the band 'Name.' The only difference between Paria and most of their peers is that they pull it off so naturally and unforced. For what it's worth, this album has been well worth the wait. By their sophomore album they are proving themselves as high contenders in this cut throat world of modern metal.

 Wednesday, 04 March 2009 It's been along time since Into the Moat first broke into the scene with their 2003 debut 'Means by which the End Is Justified' EP. My question is why so little turns in their path? If you can't get enough of this new wave of Deathcore you definitely have a top notch album that's going to blow up your car stereo system. If you've grown tiresome of the Deathcore scene and are looking for something to spice it up, you might have a little difficulty finding it on 'The Campaign'.

As much as Into the Moat seem to refine their sound and tighten up their skills, I can't help but think they are sticking to their own formula too closely. After hearing drummer Matthew Gossman's electronic project, Life of Seals (http://www.myspace.com/lifeofseals), it is evident that the band has the musical diversity and talent to experiment a little harder. Don't get me wrong, there are parts of the album that stand out, such as the melodic intro to the album on "The Last Century", the jazzy doodling on "The Grunt", and the progressive dabble all over in "Advocate v Activist." In fact "Advocate v Activist" is easily my favorite track on the album. However, I would label the rest of the album, in bulk, as The Design 1.5

Earl's vocal deliverance has a touch more enthusiasm and anger compared to their previous releases. Unfortunately, that's where it stops and the Deathcore cliche continues. It's seems that vocalists of this genre stick to one tone and one tone only (i.e. Beneath the massacre, etc). I don't expect any shriek/growl Black Dahlia clone or brie-ing idiot to do any better than Earl, but this is Technical Metal too. If the guitar and bass are going to utilize 24 frets, why does the vocalist only play one note?

It's tough not to nitpick the shit out of this album considering the amount of Technical Deathcore bands and releases that have been stepping it up since 'The Design's release in 2005. It's been wearing on my mind that 'The Campaign' sounds as if it did not take 3 years to write. It simply took 3 years to come out. As harsh as that sounds, it's still an extremely solid album and I will continue to listen to this album a few more times. But, 2 or 3 months from now? I doubt it. Let's keep in mind, after 3 years, patience is a vice in a genre riddled with ADHD music fans.