The Apparatus

 Thursday, 31 July 2008 To me, it seems like this album came out 4 years too late. I'm sure if it came out with the Unhallowed's and the Frail Words Collapse's of the world, this album would be regarded as a classic. Unfortunately that isn't the case. Neuraxis was 4 years late and the result is an album that sounds 4 years old. "The Thin Line Between" is a typical death metal release. It has all the melody, riffing, blast beating you could wish for in the best metalcore record but not one note clearly stands out in my mind. It's a shame because I'm sure there are some good ideas in there, small riffs lost amongst the rest of the 'tech-death' that fills the album, I just don't feel like digging around for them.

I remember seeing Neuraxis a few years ago with a few local bands. I was not impressed then, and I can't say I'll be raving about them now. Back then they used to play pretty standard death/grind, now I guess they matured, playing mediocre technical death metal. It seems like every riff on this album I've heard somewhere else, in fact when I popped this in for the first time, I thought I was going crazy because a lot of it sounded so familiar.

Now, I know Neuraxis have a good reputation amongst the metal community, and yes as far as death metal goes, this album is pretty solid. But that's just the thing, who really wants to listen to solid death metal when there's so much more out there?

 Thursday, 31 July 2008 First things first, Eternal Kingdom has probably the best cover artwork I've seen this year so far. If the album inside wasn't great, I would have been severely disappointed at an utter waste of great art. Fortunately for all of us, Eternal Kingdom is indeed a great album and most certainly worthy of the artwork. Now that that's out of the way, we can discuss the music.

It all starts with a dissonant chord, which then makes way for incredibly heavy riffs and possibly the slowest blast beat(sort of) ever. From this moment on, Cult of Luna have you by the throat. In all honestly I am not very familiar with Cult of Luna's work, I've heard their previous release "Somewhere Along the Highway" before, but it never really struck a chord with me the way this album does. "Eternal Kingdom" is a much darker release than "Somewhere", and certainly more aggressive. Klas Rydberg's vocals sound like an anguished roar at all times and it perfectly compliments the music whether it's heavy as fuck or melodic, slow and beautiful. The lyrics are cryptically mystical, as they are all taken from the journal of Holger Nilsson, a man charged with drowning his wife and committed to a mental institution. Nilsson painted an elaborate portrait detailing the events surrounding his wife's murder, creating a world where Owlmen and Trees walk the earth and where he is not guilty of murdering his wife. Now with Cult of Luna's music put to it, the album resonates an eerie atmosphere that sounds both archaic and prophetic at the same time.

This may have something to do with the many minds behind the music. With an 8 person line-up, you can certainly expect a certain level of intensity, or at least hope for it. For some (excluding The Ocean), 8 people in a band might be overkill, but it does truly show in Cult of Luna's music. Eternal Kingdom has so many different layers, different patterns and ideas going on at once on various different instruments that it demands multiple listens. This album may have no chance in the Apparatus Album of the Year competition, but I am confident in saying that not only is this the heaviest album I have heard this year so far, it is also the most beautifully composed. From the light xylophone breaks to the wailing saxophones in "The Lure" to the keyboards or even a simple drum accent, no member of the band has their talents wasted. It's obvious the band has a unique approach to writing music. Unlike many of these doom influenced post- metal bands, Cult of Luna don't simply play a heavy riff over and over and over again. The best way I can put it is this; Cult of Luna write songs that live. Possibly the best example I can think of is my personal favorite track on the album, "Ghost Trail". It's starts off slow as molasses with a simple drum beat and repeating guitar riff, and eventually the angry yells of a madman raving about his own Eternal Kingdom as the song crescendos on, and on and on for 10 minutes until the crushing ending. Throughout those 11 minutes the song lasts for, no ideas or concepts seem to repeat, the whole song seems to evolve right before your ears and it's a marvel to behold.

I really did not expect to be blown away by this album, because for some reason post-whatever bands without the name Isis or Neurosis don't really stick out to anyone, including myself, I don't know why that is because Cult of Luna are certainly worthy of being noted alongside or even in place of any of those bands. After only one listen to this album, I can honestly say I have fallen in love with Cult of Luna. I cannot praise this release enough, it will certainly be in my rotation for quite a while to come, and I'm sure I'll keep coming back to it.

 Wednesday, 16 July 2008 You may remember Gorerotted as those British punks who played death metal fast, loud and angry, with a sound sometimes described by our Webmaster as "catchy and brutal". Now Gorerotted have become The Rotted, but not much has really changed. The Rotted still play metal like punks with no real care or concern for anything except speed and intensity. Get Dead or Die Trying has certainly more of a hardcore punk influence than death metal, unlike Gorerotted's releases. With this slightly refurbished sound, the Rotted created an album worthy of being praised alongside "Only Tools and Corpses" as quintessential in the band's discography. Despite a decidedly younger sound, Get Dead or Die Trying may even be the band's most mature release. Where Gorerotted's lyrical content was more focused on horror and gore related, The Rotted turn the aggression inward and give us tales of nihilistic self-medication, drug abuse and meandering through London backstreets with nothing but contempt, a far cry from their previous material. Now unlike most death metal bands who just play a normal blast beat or tremelo pick throughout the entire song, where the Rotted succeed is by breathing live into their songs. Their songs progress, the drummer adds a variety of subtle accents to what could become tedious drum patterns, songs don't follow the typical intro-riff 1-bridge-chorus-etc. with makes for a more interesting listen.

Within the album's 38 minute runtime you'll get 9 tracks of trademark "catchy and brutal" death metal and 2 instrumental tracks (one being the cover of the theme of 28 Days Later..., originally composed by John Murphy). Once the album is over you are left satisfied, the Rotted delivered exactly what I expected and more: ridiculously punk beats and blasts, an audible bass that does more that just keep the rhythm, shredding riffs and pissed off vocals. The production leaves nothing to be desired, every note is audible. For those who felt that A New Dawn for the Dead was perhaps a little to slow to follow up Only Tools and Corpses, Get Dead or Die Trying is a solid alternative.

 Friday, 06 June 2008 Zillah are probably the only technical metal band I can think of that hail from Scotland. Then again, if anyone should be the ambassador of such, it should be Zillah. Now, I personally have not heard anything else in their discography, sadly, but if it's anything like Substitute for A Catastrophe I'll be happy. Zillah's sound here is very archaic, and prophetic, in a way similar to Mastodon, only with a heavier punk influence, harsher sound and increased complexity. What I like about the album is it's furiously played and almost purposefully sloppy it completely adds another layer of unabashed anger to Zillah's rough and abrasive sound, a nice change of pace compared to today's triggered out productions used by any passing deathcore band. The distortion and grit of the production on this album perfectly balances out the spastic and droning moments of the album. And though I can't say I'll be giving this album spins daily I will say that I will surely look into Zillah's catalogue and be on the lookout for new records. Zillah is another victim of bad advertisement and interest, their plays on last.fm and the like are not nearly as high as they should be for a band of this caliber. With the new album coming, hopefully Zillah will elevate from unappreciated gem to a well known and respected band like they should be.

 Wednesday, 28 May 2008 I don't usually get excited when a new tech band emerges from it's respective town, but that's usually because most new bands waving the tech flag tend to plague the internet with watered down spastic music with a few "fast" sweeps and tapping segments. Boring as fuck. Thankfully this is not the case with Bedlam of Cacophony's debut EP 'Turmoil Machine'. They certainly have the skills to back up their name. The first riff off of the album goes from slow and jazzy to brutal and rampant in seconds and the only break you are given is when the album's eight minute runtime is up. But when it's done, you'll play it all again because it's surely over far before you want it to be. Honestly, I haven't been this excited about an up and coming band's EP since The Crinn's self-titled and "Subhuman Empire" from SWWAATS and just like those two, this EP shows excellent promise. This band is fully aware of what it's doing. I can't say I wasn't skeptical when Ivebeenshot's vocalist Lee Artavia was brought on as Bedlam's official vocalist. Nothing against the guy but I don't really see "reeeeeeeeee ree" going over technical grindcore very well. Artavia proved me wrong, he shows a remarkably more dynamic range on "Turmoil Machine" than with Ivebeenshot and if anyone's voice can match the brutality of this music, it's him. I really don't know much about the rest of the band but of thing is for sure, they know how to write intense music. Their demo followed by this EP has certainly set Bedlam of Cacophony in the right direction, it's a sin that a band with this much talent has not yet been picked up by a record label but I suppose it's because hardcore kids can't dance to this, nor sing along to any pretty choruses.

Stop reading and buy it.