01. Devilizer 3:20 02. Rise Of The Undead 3:53 03. Never Say My Name 2:03 04. Blast 1:51 05. The Seal 2:11 06. Dark Heart 3:00 07. Impure 3:41 08. Summoning The Futura 1:06 09. Anger 2:14 10. We Are The Horde 3:11 11. When The Sun Drowns In Dark 4:33

Vader are back. It’s been three long years since we last heard any new material from the Polish masters of death, and during that period the band has undergone some changes. While everything as always revolves around guitarist/vocalist Piotr Wiwczarek, he’s brought in new faces on drums, rhythm guitar and bass, with Vader’s casualty list of previous members now well into double figures. Perhaps that’s why all we’ve heard from the band lately has been re-issues and compilations; last year alone saw a 25th-anniversary compilation album and the Lead Us!!! EP, which really whet the appetite for new material by revisiting the timeless Art Of War EP. Well, this month, at long last, Vader are sending some brand-new tunes our way.
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01. Infected Nation 5:33 02. Now Demolition 5:46 03. Nosphoros 5:30 04. Genocide 7:42 05. Plague To End All Plagues 5:55 06. Devoid of Thought 5:38 07. Time No More 4:00 08. Metamorphosis 7:41 09. Hundred Wrathful Deities 11:15

In this age of a rapidly accelerating music industry, the inevitable backlash to a burgeoning genre (or in this case, genre revival) seems to occur almost instantly. As soon as the ‘New Wave of Thrash’ grabbed metal press headlines in 2007, cynics and friendless naysayers were waiting to moan about bands “offering nothing new” or “cynically cashing-in on nostalgia”. Two years is a long time in the music world and it’s make or break time for many of this resurgence’s highly-publicised acts. Can they offer more than a mere throwback fix or is it all just another fad?
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The weather’s unpredictable, there’s no foreign exchange rate to distract from the high beer prices and wasps buzz around on their endless campaign of annoyance; it’s good to see nothing’s changed in my two year absence from a UK open air festival. In its five years of existence, Bloodstock Open Air has cemented its reputation as the UK’s equivalent to the mighty Wacken festival and given that the BOA site is roughly only 1/10 the size of said German ‘fest, there’s plenty of potential for growth. Such reduced surroundings are no disadvantage though: frequent spottings of participating musicians and regular re-encounters with newly made friends (you know: those cool people you drank with last night and never expected to see again all weekend) bring a greater feeling of intimacy and community. This reviewer certainly never anticipated such a sense of unity at a UK ‘fest (marred by one idiotic event – more on that later).
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01. The Games We Play in Hell 06:24 02. So I Can Not Lose My Way 07:56 03. Nancy Thompson Gravewatch 04:40 04. Just a Ride 07:20 05. Tonight, Houston, Texas 10:59 06. Prayer for the Crippled Ballerina 08:48

I have been a fan of Dundee based Stewart Griffin’s music for quite some time and having worked with him in two bands I was excited to hear of the launch of his new project; Bergen St.

Bergen St are a hard band to categorise as there are many wide and varied influences at work in their debut EP including the likes of Sigur Ros, Pink Floyd, Leonard Cohen and even the now disbanded Dundee based act Eye. Despite all of these different influences the band has a unique style which can be clearly heard throughout each track. For the readers out there who require a label for the band I would recommend progressive, experimental, metal.

Although only featuring six tracks this EP is over 45 minutes, surpassing some albums in length (looks at Alestorm). Despite the long track lengths the songs never become tedious or repetitive and instead draw the listener into the sometimes ambient, sometimes heavy soundscape.
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01. Oblivion 5:46 02. Divinations 3:38 03. Quintessence 5:27 04. The Czar: Usurper/Escape/Martyr/Spiral 10:54 05. Ghost Of Karelia 5:24 06. Crack The Skye 5:54 07. The Last Baron 13:00

Mastodon have always been a band I’ve held in the very highest esteem; extremely technically proficient, an excellent live act, and above all the rare beast of a prog metal band who manage to avoid Lord of the Rings entirely in their subject material. So, great things were expected of their fourth full-length, Crack the Skye, when it was released earlier this year. And my god, did Mastodon deliver.

At first listen, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the Georgia 4-piece have mellowed a bit over the years. The vocals are relatively clean throughout, and they’ve shed some of the wilder, more experimental musical content - there’s nothing quite as unhinged as Bladecatcher here. It’s still much more complex and intricate than your average metal album, still unmistakably Mastodon, but you get the feeling that while Leviathan and Blood Mountain foamed at the mouth, Crack the Skye merely looks at you a bit funny. That’s until you start to explore the story a little.
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01. Pray for Villains 4:02 02. Pure Sincerity 4:38 03. Fate Stepped In 5:10 04. Back With a Vengeance 3:42 05. I’ve Been Sober 5:16 06. Resurrection Blvd. 3:59 07. Forgiveness Is a Six Gun 4:42 08. Waiting for November 5:07 09. It’s in the Cards 4:25 10. Another Night in London 3:05 11. Bitter Pill 4:25 12. Teach Me to Whisper 4:01 13. I See Belief 3:55

I should start out by pointing out that I was excited, properly excited by the release of the new Devildriver album, Pray for Villains. I still regard their previous effort, The Last Kind Words, as one of the best albums at least of 2007, and their formidable live show has only added to the wave of hype behind this latest release.

And for the most part, it does not disappoint. The album opens with title track and lead single Pray for Villains, which showcases everything we’ve come to love about Devildriver. Breakneck riffs, soaring melodies, utterly ludicrous drumming, and of course the distinctive vocal stylings of Mr Dez Fafara, who has come a long way from his dubious origins in Coal Chamber. I think it’s actually a legal requirement to bring that up at some point when discussing Devildriver. Anyway, the title track sets the theme for the album, starting as they mean to go on. The technical execution is nothing short of fantastic, with both guitarists showing off their lead and rhythm skills on every song (I‘ve Been Sober and Resurrection BLVD in particular), and John Boeklin’s drumming frankly jaw-dropping throughout. I have often observed that you could listen to just the drum parts from The Last Kind Words in its entirety and never get bored, and the same is largely true on Pray. Boecklin, despite his propensity for double-bass, rarely settles for a simple beat and spends much of his time engaged with wild breakdowns and fills, while keeping his work interesting throughout. Perhaps this is why the drums sit so high in the mix; this contributes to them occasionally drowning out more subtle moments from the guitars, such as on Forgiveness is a Six-Gun.
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01. The Feverish Alliance 4:01 02. Once Kissed By The Serpent (Twice Bitten By Truth) 3:22 03. Bloodstained Endurance 3:36 04. Triumphant Gleam 3:41 05. In The Valley Of Ashes 3:55 06. A Storm At Will 4:00 07. Take Aim. Reclaim. Prevail 3:12 08. The Desperation Corridors 4:13 09. Farewell To Sanity 4:32 10. Dead End Gaze 3:58 11. Faith Comes Knocking 4:32 12. Onward March The Merciless (Digipak bonus track) 3:08

Roughly a decade ago the world of Gothic Metal had just been revolutionised by the appearance of three Norwegian bands; Tristania, The Sins of Thy Beloved and Trail of Tears. Out of the three bands Tristania was instantly the most recognisable and went on to redefine the genre and spawned many copy-cat acts.

Fast forward ten years and things are very different. The genre of so called “Beauty and the Beast” Gothic Metal hasn’t really changed much, some claiming it has become stagnant, Tristania’s future seems doubtful with members leaving faster than rats abandoning a sinking ship, Sirenia, a Tristania spin off band, released two glorious albums before sinking to glorified goth pop with their latest two offerings and The Sins of Thy Beloved have been on hiatus since 2001.

After the release of their previous album, ‘Existentia,’ most of the members abandoned the band and many fans feared the death of Trail of Tears. However after listening to the opening tracks of ‘Bloodstained Endurance’ Trail of Tears have proved that they are neither dead nor stagnant.
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Testament, Onslaught and Warbringer - Glasgow Garage, Tuesday July 21st 2009

ome things in life are indisputable: the sky is blue, the earth is round and a good thrash bill will always go down a storm in the city of Glasgow. Despite starting ten minutes after opening time, a well packed venue and very warm reception greets Warbringer. Visibly elated by the crowd, the Californian thrash revivalists provide a perfect warm-up for the devoted bangers in the pit.

Bristol’s Onslaught then proceed to kick everything up a notch or ten. Clearly a much-beloved band within the Glasgow thrash scene, it’s a shame that their otherwise crushing set is a bit too short due to the 10PM curfew. Highlights include the opening salvo of ‘Killing Peace’ plus the timeless and anthemic ‘Power From Hell’.

No disrespect to Anthrax, but is this reviewer alone in thinking Testament are musically worthier of belonging among the thrash genre’s legendary “big four”? Possibly not judging by the response welcoming these legends as they dive straight into ‘The Preacher’ and then utterly destroy for the next 70 minutes. Classics like ‘Over The Wall’ and latter-day gems such as ‘D.N.R.’ are fired from the stage like precision-guided missiles; each causing maximum carnage on the dance floor. It’s hard to find suitable adjectives to describe the sheer intensity of this gig or how on-form Testament are. Ending with the title track from the excellent ‘Formation of Damnation’ album, the band leave a venue and crowd so drenched in sweat it’s amazing we’re not paddling our way to the exit. Testament are brilliant live, now that’s fucking indisputable.

Article by Gordon Jeans

01. Long Lost… (Single Mix)         03:29 02. The Esoteric Order of Dagon   03:48 03. Long Lost… (Optimistic Mix)    03:19

‘Long Lost…’ is the first single to be released by Sunderland based artist Synoiz. The single is a preview of the upcoming album ‘Ambients’ and if these songs are an example of what is to come then the album will certainly live up to its name as each song is rich with its own ambient feel.

The title track begins with low organs and synths, ethereal drums are added to complete the nostalgic, yet foreboding atmosphere. Also included on the single is an ‘Optimistic Mix’ of the track which uses the original as a base and builds a new, more ‘up-beat’ drum line to give a completely different feel to the track.

For me the highlight of the single was the second track; The Esoteric Order of Dagon. This dark, threatening track gives the feel of a twisted ritual, indeed the track even contains Lovecraftian chants that become more distorted as the track goes on. If the deep baritone vocals of the chants are Synoiz himself then I hope to hear them used more often in future works.

My advice for listening to this single would be to lay back, close your eyes, get some good headphones and let the ambient tracks wash over you.

‘Long Lost…’ by Synoiz can be found on both amazon and iTunes.

Genre : Experimental, ambient, progressive

Article by Ewan McNulty

So here we go again. 2009 marked the 7th Anniversary of Download at the historic Donington Park. With few highlights last year (Kiss, Disturbed and Spinal Tap-esque backdrop malfunctions during Judas Priest aside) 2009 didn’t need to do much to surpass

Friday
Hollywood Undead – A suitably nu-metal opening to a day featuring the Bizkit, Korn and Faith No More. Everything about this band screams 1999, from the masks to the lumpen, downtune riffs and rhymes about bitches and hoes. Still strangely enjoyable though (3/5). In This Moment – The only interesting things about this band are the delectable Maria Brink and her mighty scream. Fact (2/5) Staind (3/5) Surprising heavy showing from Aaron Lewis and co, makes you wonder why they’re so fucking morose on record. Billy Talent (4/5) really enjoyed this band. Great tunes, new material sounds ace and they got the crowd pumping. KsE (5/5) Superb, tight as hell and that’s just Adam D’s hotpants. They would have been the band of the day if it weren’t for the acts that followed. Howard’s vocals weren’t always spot but with mass sing-along’s to belters like ‘Rose of Sharyn’ and ‘My Last Serenade’ it didn’t matter one bit. Limp Bizkit (5/5) Fucking superb they were. Was curious to see how this would go down but opening with ‘Break Stuff’ was the right move. It really was genuinely exciting to see the Bizkit back on stage tearing it up. Phenomenal. Korn (4/5) Tough act to follow but Korn delivered a set with their typical vigour and passion. ‘Thoughtless’ was a very nice surprise but the Pink Floyd cover was a bit of an energy sapping misfire, especially after the one-two punch of ‘Blind’ and ‘Got the Life’. Faith No More (5/5) A set full of heaviness and wonderful eccentricity. Watching Mike Patton go from charming crooner to screaming madman was totally enthralling. Seeing the lighters out for ‘Easy’ was awesome, as was a bizarre yet brilliant cover of Lady GaGa’s ‘Poker Face’.
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