Browsing Tag

Metal

No-mad tightened their grip on the alt-metal scene with ‘Don’t Let Go’         

Posted on 25 August 2024

 No-mad’s latest single, Don’t Let Go, is a blistering reminder of why the alt-metal scene is still alive and kicking. This track is a full-throttle assault on the senses, driven by razor-sharp hooks and a tight, tensile instrumental arrangement. The band’s precision is undeniable, delivering a performance that’s as technically impressive as it is emotionally charged.

From the first note, Don’t Let Go grabs hold and refuses to let go, pulling you into a chaotic soundscape where head-spinning time signatures and relentless rhythmic pulses create a feeling of cultivated chaos. The vocal performance is a tour de force, moving from the powerful, crusading energy reminiscent of Disturbed to vicious growls that would make any metalhead’s spine tingle, before seamlessly transitioning into melodic harmonies that add depth and contrast to the track.

With a foundation in progressive metal and an affinity for nu-metal’s gritty edge, their sound oscillates between gentle harmonies and jarring dissonance, reflecting the inner conflicts and personal struggles that fuel their lyrics. The band, founded by Ofer Tamir, has evolved significantly since its inception, now boasting a lineup that’s ready to take their music to the next level.

With three singles already making waves and a debut album on the horizon, No-mad is clearly gearing up to carve out a space at the forefront of the alt-metal scene. If Don’t Let Go is anything to go by, they’re more than ready to lead the charge.

Don’t Let Go was officially released on August 9th; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Drenalin – This is My Night: An Alt-Rock Anthem of Hedonic Liberation

Posted on 10 August 2024

Drenalin, an Emmy-award-winning ensemble from Cleveland, OH, established in 2005, were out to wreak maximum emotional havoc with their latest single, This is My Night.

The track ensues with fitting-for-Broadway vocal intensity, intertwined with fantastical orchestral elements and playful, carnivalesque twists that would resonate with any Nekrogoblikon fans. As the track progresses, Drenalin evokes the early 2000s metal scene, reminiscent of Drowning Pool, Soil, and Fear Factory, but the transmutations in sound don’t end there.

The song’s structure is meticulously crafted, with each melodic transition pushing the boundaries of emotional catharsis. The interplay of hard-hitting fury and rock opera flair is nothing short of prodigious; the volition is teased through tensile with innovative vision progressions to ensure anyone who bears witness to the anthem of hedonic liberation will feel its maximum force.

It is so rare to say that you’ve encountered an outfit with a sound no one would ever conceive without replication, but clearly, Drenalin is a diamond in the rough of mediocrity.

Stream the official music video for This is My Night on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Unwelcome Soul embraced the shadow self in the abyss of the black metal hit, Time, Don’t Save Me

Posted on 30 July 2024

With the release of ‘Time, Don’t Save Me’, Unwelcome Soul—a one-man black metal behemoth from Tennessee—ushered in a devastatingly potent chapter of his debut album, ‘Dried Petals’.

The track initiates with a barrage of thrashy blast beats that lay the groundwork for a seismic uproar, providing a perfect stage for the vocals to manifest. The guttural proclamations that gnarl and echo across the tumultuously unhallowed ground of the track embody the track’s achingly articulated Nietzsche-esque underpinnings of despair and disillusion.

The lyrics scathe at the naive hope that time might heal or save, hitting raw nerves and exposing a darker acceptance that for some, damnation is a sweeter resolve than salvation.

Instrumentally, ‘Time, Don’t Save Me’ mirrors the lyrical descent into macabre fatalism, gaining relentless momentum with each passing beat until the track wraps the listener in a spectral, gothic atmosphere, reaching a climactic fervour in a melodic outro that mourns the forsaken.

Time, Don’t Save Me was officially released on July 5th; stream the single on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Changing Tymz eviscerated anxiety by bringing the hard rock hammer down in ‘The Fear is Gone’

Posted on 20 July 2024
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=NfDpOE5glmM&si=1YFe7soOmWljtAqM

With their seminal single, The Fear is Gone, the breakthrough powerhouse, Changing Tymz delivered a sonic behemoth that firmly established them within the modern hard rock pantheon.

The track ensues from distortion-heavy chugging guitar riffs; an immediate clarion call for anyone who seeks sanctuary within the volition of hard rock. From there, a Metallica-esque aura of power and intensity takes hold of the auditory assault that is cast in introspective gold, encasing the most affecting elements of hard rock and metal.

Meticulous yet menacing, the rhythmically tight and explosive transitions that would leave any hard-rock fan broadsided become the perfect vessel for the deep-penetrating lyricism. By the time the song reaches its tumultuous outro, it has already awakened an indomitable spirit within.

The efficacious melodic hooks work in synergy with the haunting tinges of dark gothic glamour which manifests through the Evanescence-esque vocal stylings, affirming that few hard rock outfits can overpower the juggernautical entity which is Changing Tymz.

With their debut LP, Finish the Race, riling the airwaves, it’s time the world tuned into their cultivated, conscious command.

The Fear is Gone was officially released on July 5th; stream the single on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Suffer The Evenue – Compatible Blood: A Rabid Anthem of Nu-Metal Revival

Posted on 28 June 2024

If you gave Korn’s nu-metal hooks rabies, they still couldn’t come close to the rancorous grooves in Suffer the Evenue’s driven-by-infectious volition anthem, Compatible Blood.

The track broadsides you with hardcore brutalism as the vocals chameleonically prowl between bruising rap verses and Mike Patton-style ferocity, putting the fourpiece at the vanguard of the nu-metal resurgence.

The four-piece may have honed their sound since their last EP, but you’ll still want to give your speakers a tetanus shot after they have slammed out the cataclysmic discordance that will have every alt-90s metal fan kneeling at the mercy of these inexorable antagonists.

Suffer the Evenue has injected their own brand of tensile electricity into the genre, creating a sound that finds a refreshingly chaotic way to pull at the roots of alt-metal nostalgia while implanting something new into the razed ground of the airwaves.

Whether you were in the pits for the first wave of nu-metal or you’re discovering it for the first time, the raw energy and relentlessly aggressive pushing of boundaries in Compatible Blood make it a standout hit in the alt-metal underground.

Compatible Blood is now available to stream on Spotify with Suffer The Evenue’s Vol 2. Superdeader EP.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Carniwhore crawled out of your nightmares to deliver their infernal alt-metal debut, Tyrannosaur

Posted on 24 June 2024

If you have noticed something sinister in the atmosphere lately, that may be due to Carniwhore, who crawled out of your deepest darkest nightmare to deliver their sense unsettling debut single, Tyrannosaur. Fans of Tallah, Hungry Lights, and Darko US, will instantly be drawn in by the Stoke on Trent-based powerhouse’s carnivalesque approach to tearing through the alt-metal scene with maximum volition.

Blazing through the footsteps of Marilyn Manson by using chugging riffs and eccentrically emulating his baleful charisma while bringing the brutalism of heavy metal and mainlining devil-may-care derangement ensured your ears have never been defiled in this way before.

After being recorded, produced, and mixed by Chris Dulson at Venombase Studios and Mastered by the industry heavyweight, Jens Bogren (Sepultura, Dragon Force Baby Metal, Dir En Grey) Tyrannosaur hit the airwaves on June 21.

Whatever Carniwhore has in the pipeline for their sophomore release, we have no doubt that it will be a fiendishly unholy triumph.

Stream the single on Spotify and keep up to date with the infernal outfit via Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Everything is Nothing ignited an industrial metal inferno with ‘fire breathe on me’

Posted on 21 June 2024

Everything is Nothing’s latest single, Fire Breathe on Me, aurally industrialises metal to deliver a cauterising anthem for anyone who wants to purge themselves from their own mind. The industrial electronica aesthetics are stripped back in the production, beckoning in a new era of hardcore; when they hit, they establish Everything is Nothing as one of the fiercest contenders in the past and present of industrial metal.

The unhallowed vocals prowl through the single, finding the gritty middle ground between Godflesh and Napalm Death, and attesting to the solo artist’s tenacity in chartering his own path through extreme sonic intersections.

Established in early 2023, Everything is Nothing quickly made his mark with the ravening furore in his debut EP, Beast Who Eats Everything, before exposing his cerebrally nihilistic side in his sophomore EP, Somnambulist, which explored the enduring emptiness and subjugation that bays at everyone’s door.

The latest single from the solo project, born in the mind of the UK one-man powerhouse, James Orez, embodies a raw and visceral intensity that belies the home-recorded production. It’s a relentless, uncompromising experience that you’ll want to relive every time you need a reprieve from the weight of crushing sentience.

The official music video for fire breathe on me is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Prisoner harnessed thunder in their hard rock hit, Skies Are Blackened

Posted on 19 June 2024
Prisoner

Prisoner brought the hard-rock hammer down once again with their latest single, Skies Are Blackened. Prepare for the colossal impact of their hell-hath-no-mercy riffs, tumultuously tight breakdowns, and lightning bolts of dynamic vocal energy that pull you right into the centre of the frenetic furore Prisoner is quickly becoming infamous for.

There are high-energy rock bands, and there are powerhouses who go sonically supernova. With Skies Are Blackened, the Canadian three-piece firmly planted themselves in the latter camp, which any fans of Metallica, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, and Iron Maiden will want to join them in.

Vocalist Murray Emery’s ability to keep the power surging through his mirthfully electrifying vocal lines in the higher register and the instrumentals being tighter than Mick Jagger’s jeans is enough to seal the trio a place in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. They’re not an outfit to underestimate. Watch this space as they tear it up with hedonically high-voltage hits.

Skies Are Blackened will be available to stream on all major platforms, including Apple Music, from June 19.

Discover more about the Prisoner via their official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Oceandvst cured nihilism with their hooked-up juggernaut of an emo post-hardcore anthem, Dead End Hope

Posted on 16 June 2024

‘Dead End Hope’ is so much more than the sum of its parts; a savant polymath wouldn’t know where to start breaking the latest expansively affecting single from Oceandvst down.

The only true way to do the augmented with raw volition alt anthem any justice is by alluding to the visceral impact of the release that covers the entire emo spectrum while extending an olive branch of empathy to anyone who has ever known the claustrophobia of being trapped within their own mind.

From Paramore-esque vocal hooks to the heart-in-throat vindication of MCR to the hell-hath-no-fury like a post-hardcore breakdown of blast beats, ferociously distorted guitars and snarled basslines, Dead End Hope delivers it all while keeping the emotion of the single at its core.

Since forming in 2017, the Greek trio has lived up to their mission of becoming architects of sonic sanctuaries to the disillusioned, the lost, and the outliers with the candour in their lyrics and the intensity of their melodies. Messages of solidarity and hope underscore each of their releases which have been lauded by Billboard Magazine and Alternative Press.

If any outfit is capable of curing nihilism while simultaneously perfecting the formula for a pop-punk-post-hardcore anthemic hybrid, it is Oceandvst.

Dead End Hope was officially released on June 7th; stream the single on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Behind the Metal Mask: Mindistry Talks “DOPPELGANGER’

Posted on 29 May 2024

Get ready to dive deep into the sonic abyss with Mindistry as they gear up to drop their electrifying sophomore LP, “DOPPELGANGER.” We sat down with the metal mastermind to talk about the raw inspirations behind the album, balancing hardcore influences, and the thrill of pushing boundaries in the industrial thrash scene. From the original Swedish version to the English translation, Mindistry reveals the emotional and cinematic journeys that fuel their music. With a nod to legendary bands and a fierce dedication to unique sound, this interview is a must-read for metalheads eager to understand the chaos and creativity behind “DOPPELGANGER.

Mindistry, welcome to A&R Factory, thanks for sitting down with us as you gear up for the release of your sophomore LP, DOPPELGANGER, can you tell us about the inspiration behind this album? 

Greetings warriors and thank you for having me! Well, DOPPELGANGER was the first-ever full album I wrote, and originally it was in Swedish. My native tongue. I always wanted to release and English version as well and here we are, months out. The first version is named “KATASTROFTANKAR” (catastrophizing) and was released in 2022.

This version contains the same songs in English and the subject matter of the songs remain the same. It’s about everything from fictional warfare in Gothenburg, Evil Dead 2 & some darker emotional songs as well.

There is no real main inspiration behind it, to be honest. It’s an album of original stories, emotional trauma lyrics and movie tributes.

How will you balance your influences and your unique style in the album?

So since this album was originally written which feels like about 209 years ago now (actually about 4-5) I have levelled up musically quite a bit. The influences are strong and I have always been very upfront about that fact, and I still get to hear it often, haha.

It was purposefully written in the style of specific music to fill the void left behind by another band, “Raubtier”.

I wouldn’t say that I regret taking inspiration from them and “Rammstein”, but I might have done it a bit differently today, which I am with all the new songs I’m working on (due 2025). I hear it all the time that I sound like these two bands, but to me it does not sound THAT similar really.

Thrash fans are often very traditionalist in their tastes, how has your industrialised thrash sound gone down in those fan circles?

Yes, this statement is very true. From the response I’ve gotten so far, from thrash metal to extreme metal fans to pop metal fans it is mostly positive. On TikTok (yes, I have one) there was quite a big drama on some videos regarding the influences, and I found this very entertaining. One guy actually commented months later that he had changed his mind to loving Mindistry which is pretty cool.

You’re currently the only member of Mindistry, do you prefer the creative freedom of working as a lone entity?

Indeed currently it is a one-man army musically. However, there is a machine within Mindistry that consists of me and two others. Photographer, illustrator scheduler Chanel & the best propmaker in his apartment Michael. So we are a team even if I handle the musical parts. Without them Mindistry would not be here, so hail thee my lovely friends.

Did your producer influence the final sound of the LP? 

Yes, definitely! I was such a rookie when recording with Felix (producer), so he definitely influenced the sound but the songs were written by me. He added some flavour here and there, and also plays the amazing solo on “Nightmare”!

What do you hope listeners will take away from the lyrical themes in the album?

I wish they will be able to escape even for a few minutes, enjoy the riffs and melodies, or have fun debating which song I ripped off with themselves or friends. To give entertainment or some small escape would be awesome!

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Listen to Mindistry on Spotify and follow their journey on all platforms via this link.

 

Interview by Amelia Vandergast