The Apparatus

 Tuesday, 18 December 2007 Former Bodies In The Gears Of The Apparatus members have spawned at least three bands from the wake of the last known line-up. BITGOTA founder/guitarist Aaron Haines and fellow guitarist Ian Sturgill have formed the Nuclear Blast-signed Success Will Write Apocalypse Across The Sky. Vocalist Josh Vitale has joined Khann on Black Market Activities. Now, drummer Dom Lizzio has lent his blasting skills for the New Jersey death metal band called Dead Walk The Earth. The newest of all the post-Bodies bands, DWTE employs a similar penchant for delivering extremely grindy guitars and drums. With these first three tracks, this band is, in time, likely to join the stylings of Brain Drill and Insidious Decrepancy.

The first and best of the three available tracks is "Bring Forth Hell." Lizzio's unbelievable skin-beating work found on BITGOTA's albums is indeed still present on this recording. It's blazingly fast and heavy with a very classy breakdown to end the song. "I Cut Her To Pieces" is much swingier and groovier than the other tracks on the album and happens to have some rather generic death metal leads, but the energy level is kept high thanks to Lizzio's drums and Alex's vocal delivery. Guitarists Louis, Matt and Jack retain a lot of the traditional NYDM style while catering a bit to deathcore in the process. "Skulls For The Throne" has a really good vocal performance and the thunderous breakdowns tend to remind of Beneath The Massacre, only they don't come across as hammy. There is also a riot shout bit that happens near the end of this final demo track. The riot shout is a bit cheesy, but it's short enough not to grate.

Now, the thing that makes DWTE interesting is the clear separation of interests that tend to blend together rather well. For instance, Alex, the vocalist, has a lot of range. He reminds me of Frank Mullen of Suffocation. However, Mullen never did inverts and pig squeals. That's the kicker of DWTE. It's brutal death/grind. It's old school, but is also new-school deathcore all in one. That presents a conflict to consider: who is the audience? The deathcore aspects are done well, as are the brutal death grind parts. It never seems schizophrenic or awkward, but I can't help but think that the band could do better without the scene angle. Still, that's my personal preference and doesn't take away from the integrity of this band. DWTE is still trying to find their sound, and I have full confidence that they will make the decision right for them. I'll support them all the way, regardless.

It's always refreshing to see a real DIY band sprout from the ground up. Louis Mansfield, bassist of DWTE, contacted this site out of the blue to let us know that they were around. The Bodies angle helped generate our interest, and I must say that I really like this band. DWTE seems extremely humble, hard-working and serious. They are still very underground and need all the help they can get from fans, so please check them out.

 Tuesday, 18 December 2007 For hardcore TYAG fans, this is a must, but their music is chuggier and chock full of brees on this early rough recording. Brees make up 80% of all vocals, now that I think about it. This is more in the vein of a chuggy brutal death record than the noisy grindy death of the band's present output. When hardcore shouting does come in, it's really well done and I prefer it to the typical death metal gutturals, in fact. This is actually the first release in full that I've ever heard from this band. Can't say it's totally my thing, but it is certainly fun.

The recording job is really nice for such a rough demo. It helps the fact that the music, while fun and catchy, is goofy as hell. The bree attack with the countless breakdowns really puts a smile on my face, mostly for the wrong reasons. What we have here is just a typical brutal deathcore record with more brees than I would like to have in a single album. TYAG does have fun with their music, so I can't fault them. They're honest. The gritty production helps make it more bearable.

There's one thing that I can't figure out is the last track: why the run time difference? I don't own the original EP, so I have no frame of reference. The older version of the song clocks in at 2:15 instead of 5:32 on the newer release. It seems that they have some bonus tracks or something tacked on, but since I'm not an obsessive TYAG fan I have no idea what they are. Perhaps "Her Dead, Burning Hair," a track missing from the original incarnation of this EP, is the mystery bit at the end. I don't now, but I do know that all their songs sound pretty much the same, with the same beginnings sometimes.

This re-release of their older EP is completely remastered and features bonus tracks. The track list and album art is even different. The B&W hatchet mixed with the bull's eye background makes it look a little more metalcore than it should. At least the blurry, fuzzy cover art of EP past is replaced with something crisper.

TYAG has one-upped themselves as of late, so this more primitive, rougher EP may not snag all the stragglers. Rather, it's a decent time capsule of sorts. Fans of deathcore and underground music should check this out. It's nothing spectacular, but it's certainly not going to hurt anybody to try.

 Tuesday, 18 December 2007 Among all the needlessly overly-technical death metal bands, it's extremely refreshing to hear a death metal band so rooted in being retro and fun. It's as if Brainsic, from Portland, has roots so deep in old-school death and thrash that this kind of music is the first thing that came to their minds during practice. That's not to say that this isn't death metal. It is. It's just not the death metal style that many are privy to anymore, and it's clear that this band is technically proficient. The solos, fills and general instrumentation can easily tell you that. Another interesting aspect of this band is the fact that they are a 3-piece.

These seven tracks are full of melodic parts, breaks for cool leads, bass fills, shred fests, and a lot of swingy, groovy death metal. "Until Sleep" has a cool ambient part that wouldn't be out of place on an old Roadrunner Records disc from '92, for instance. The structures of the songs are interesting, if nothing groundbreaking, and transition well without losing their melody or fun factor. "Over," the shortest song at 3:18, is their trademark track. It's fast, heavy and memorable. Brainsic organizes their songs with their ears and not their scale chart. I hear equal parts Entombed and late Behemoth here, especially in the great drumming and guitar work. The lyrics tend to be a bit bland and boring, but the vocals do the job nicely to help cover up any unsightly phrases. I'm willing to bet that a lot of people can get into this style of death metal if they don't always look for the most technical, intense band on the market. This isn't Psycroptic or Atheretic here, nor is it trying to be.

Brainsic cares solely about playing death metal. In this musical climate, they are perhaps more rebellious by not bowing to trends or what is popular with extreme music fans. The band has a lot of crossover appeal; it's technical and heavy enough for many death metal fans and catchy enough for casual observers. If you or someone you know is a jaded death metal fan, listen to this CD. It'll help re-instill to the listener what is lacking from a good heap death metal today: unpretentiousness and fun. No doubt Brainsic puts on a great live show. The band's own statement on their website is more indicative of their overall intent: "We play what we like and love playing shows so show up, drink, rock the fuck out and kick some ass!"

 Saturday, 15 December 2007 One of the original death metal bands of the 80s, Dutch act Pestilence already had three well-respected albums under its belt before this album came out. Their "Consuming Impulse" album was one of the genre's biggest hits, critically and commercially, of '89. Their follow-up, "Testimony Of The Ancients," was a more fleshed-out, expanded vision. Then, the end came. 'Spheres' was a radical step in another direction. They lost many fans. The critics blasted them. They soon broke up after this album was released. What is left behind? Is this album really as bad as they say?

The first four tracks are pretty solid, if a bit standard. The flutters of guitar synth are very much present on this album. No doubt this sent FL death metal fans into convulsions. The riffs are solid and technical enough, but the mini-leads and solos on this album make it a bit easier to pay attention to. They're melodic, clean and expressive. Vocals, on the other hand, are typical of the genre of the time; throaty, raspy yells are aplenty.

Many sources plug this as being a jazz fusion record, much like Atheist and Cynic's late output. I can't say that it's as developed or successful as those bands, but they do try. I wouldn't go as far as calling it jazzy death, but more experimental-sounding death. The synth and solos lend themselves to that direction. The track "Personal Energy" is more illustrative of their new direction. It's a song that has so much melody and texture; it's also a perfect fit for the rest of the album. It's not "metal" or any of that, but rather an interesting mid-point that bridges two distinct styles of death metal that were going on at once. It gives another dimension to the genre. I would recommend buying or at least listening to this album solely for this track (and subsequent remainder of the album). The title track also features some absolutely stunning composition choices with clean guitar and ambient tinges. There are also a few minute-long ambient tracks, similar to Atheist's "Fractal Point" track on 'Elements.'

This is nowhere near as bad as originally received, 'Spheres' is a very solid addition to the progressive death metal movement of the early 90s. It does deserve to be placed among the albums of Cynic and Atheist, but on a different level. I applaud the band for trying something new and giving fans another album to check out if they want something a bit more for their death metal collection. Traditional death metal fans will hate this. Prog and jazz fans will probably dig it. As of August 20 of 2007, a Polish label has re-released and re-mastered this album and gave it the deluxe treatment. Get it while it lasts!

 Wednesday, 12 December 2007 Texas' best technical metal guitarist has released a second solo record that is almost too intense for the 45 minutes it runs. Jarzombek has written every single piece of music on this album and used a lot of hardware to do so. The thing that solidifies this release for me is the liner notes to each song. They are so helpful and are so funny and informative. It helps the listener understand exactly what's going in during these micro-songs.

Each track is about a minute long and is a perfect representation of the Jarzombek style. It's Jarzombek 101 if you will. The artist structures the entire album in such a way that everything flows together to create an epic journey of guitar theory and practice. Songs such as "Grizzly Bears Don't Fly Airplanes" and "Frank Can Get Drunk And Eat Beer" are mnemonic devices made to learn lines. "Sick, Dirty, Sick" and "Yum-Yum Tree" have titles based on amusing real-life instances and are very technically-involved, but it is full of humor and is never pretentious.

Some could be turned off by the inherent goofiness of some of it, but Jarzombek himself has said otherwise. "Just because the music is technical doesn't mean that there can't be some goofing off here and there. It doesn't hurt anything, and it actually gives you a break from getting a massive techno headache," he has said in an interview. "I remember when I was a kid going to Rush concerts and the Max Webster guy would come out with these goofy elf boots and do all this weird stupid stuff. My brothers and I would get a bit pissed off because it didn't seem like he was taking the music seriously. What the hell was he hurting?? Nothing! I think my favorite Steve Vai song is 'When I Was A Little Boy' from Fire Garden. If you haven't heard that yet, put it on. It's the funniest thing ever... He doesn't even play guitar in the song and it's brilliant. And could we ever forget Frank Zappa's brilliant musicianship mixed in with humor??"

If there is a downside to this album it's the rhythm section. A "Dee Fore" drum module is credited with the percussion and Jarzombek himself handled the bass. The issue here is that they're not as dynamic as they could be and tend to make the music, as amazing as it is, sound stiff and processed. Then again, it is a guitar album first, not a full band. Therefore, it's excusable. I would like more varied drums and bass in the future, but this album does enough things right as it is. Another win for Jarzombek, 'Solitarily Speaking Of Theoretical Confinement' is everything a fan needs to have when waiting for the next project.