extreme metal

New Music Monday The Black Dahlia Murder Everblack

In this Mondy Music blog, we are going to get into the latest record from The Black Dahlia Murder from Michigan.  The record is Everblack which is their sixth studio record in their music career.  We are going to get into the history and then the music.  Here is the history.

History

The Black Dahlia Murder was formed in late part of 2000 in Waterford, Michigan.  It was named after unsolved murders.  They were signed to Metal Blade Records in 2003.  Ryan Williams joined the band to replace David Lock just in time to record their first record, which is “Unhallowed.”  The band toured and then released their second record, which was “Miasma,” in 2005.  After the tour for Miasma, Zach Gibson, who was the drummer, and Pierre Langlois, who was drummer, left the band.  Pierre was on drums after Gibson.  The band replace Zach Gibson with Shannon Lucas.  In 2007, the band released their third record, which was “Nocturmal.”  The band went on a World Tour with Cannibal Corpse to support their new record and celebrate 25 years of Metal Blade Records.  In 2008, they joined tour with several different metal bands for Summer Slaughter Tour.  After the tour, John K guitarist left the band and was replaced with Ryan Knight in 2009.  In the later part of 2009, the band released their fourth record, which was “Deflorate.”  They tour to support the record.  In 2010, they kept on touring while writing their next record.  In 2011, they released their fifth record, which was “Ritual.”  In 2012, the band gets another line up changes.  Max Lavelle replaces Ryan Williams on bass.  Shannon Lucas steps down as the drummer and was replaced by Alan Cassidy.  In 2013, the band released their new record called “Everblack.”  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

In Hell is Where She Waits For Me

Heavy and hard-hitting music at the beginning from the drums, bass, and guitars.  There is some talking but I can not make it out because it is not loud enough. The lead singer comes in screaming.  The guitar playing on the main part is solid.  The singing is the type you can barely understand what he is saying.  The lyrics that I have picked are pretty solid.  There is some nice back up singing too.  I love time changes towards the middle part of the song.  There is some nice double bass from the drums about that time.  This is a pretty solid song.  I love slower guitar solo at the beginning of it and then it picks up towards the middle and end of the solo.

Goat Of Departure

I love the guitar playing at the beginning.  The drumming is good but it starting to sound the same from song to song.  I love the lyrics they wrote for this song.  I really not a fan of the back up singing on this song.  I love the guitar solo towards the end of the song.

Into The Everblack

I love the guitar work and the drums fit perfectly even though it is the same beat. It changes a bit when the singer comes into the song. I hate the chopping guitar playing. I get it fits but it sounds very messing during the main part of the song. I love the keyboard part in this song. It gives a break to the same old in the song and the record. The guitar playing coming out of it. It is some pretty impressive playing. It leads into a short guitar solo.

Raped in hatred By Vines of Thorn

I love the guitar playing at the beginning and the slower drum beat. This song has a nice pace and I love it. It gives you a different feeling unlike the rest of the record. I love double bass but this is a bit overkill. I love the lyrics and the singing. The listeners can understand the singers a bit. I do not know how I feel about the lyrics but it is what it is. There is a pretty well written guitar solo towards the end of the song.

Phantom Limb Masturbation

The song starts with the vocals in your face. This song echos the songs at the beginning. The drumming slight different but about the same. I love the lyrics they placed on this song. I love the chorus music. There is a nice short guitar solo at the quarter point of this song. There is another guitar solo towards the middle part of the song that is a little longer than the last one. This one is a little well thought about it. I love the pace of the music and solo itself.

Control

Just like the last song, the vocals start it out but the music is right there after the start of the song. I cannot pick up the lyrics. There is some well written guitar riffs on this song. The drums are pretty complex and well written. He has been kicking some serious ass throughout this record. This song is short and to the point. There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song and I love how the guitar solo keeps on going to the end of the song.

Blood Mine

I love the guitar playing and bass too. The drums can let off on the double bass at least one song please. Asides that, I have been loving the drums towards the end of this record. I cannot understand the vocals so I cannot pick up the lyrics. I love the title of the song. I am not sure on the duo singers at least on this song. There is a guitar solo towards the end of the song but it is short and sweet to the point.

Every Rope A Noose

Oh my God, I love the drumming at the beginning. It has pretty awesome beat. I love the guitar playing. I love the singing but I cannot understand the singers. This song has a nice fast pace and it is perfect towards the end of the record. The double bass makes so much sense at this point of the song. There is a well placed guitar solo towards the end of the song. There is a nice piano playing at the end that comes into full focus to end the song.

Their Beloved Absentee

I love the singing from the group of singers at the beginning but they were so far in the background and volume is to low. This is a straight driving song. It has a nice pace. This is a classic extreme metal song.  I love the pace. I love the music on this track. I love the guitar solo towards the end and it is well placed.

Map Of Scars

There is some nice well-written music from the drums and guitars. The bass playing is pretty simple but it is perfect. I cannot understand the singer so I cannot judge lyrics. I guess I could look up the lyrics on the net.  This is a perfect song to finish a great record from this Michigan band.   Great song and nice ending to this record.

Original Line Up:

Trevor Strnad – Vocals

Brian Eschbach – Guitar

John Kempainen – Guitar

David Lock – Bass

Cory Grady – Drums

Current Line Up:

Brian Eschbach – Guitars

Alan Cassidy – Drums

Max Lavelle – Bass

Ryan Knight – Guitars

Trevor Strnad – Vocals

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.facebook.com/theblackdahliamurderofficial

Twitter:  @bdmmetal

Closing, overall, this is a great record and I really enjoyed this song.  I wish I could understand the singers a bit more but I understand because it is the singing style.  There is some nice music on this great. I kind of wish drums were a little bit different from song to sing but that is hardest job in this band.  I get what he is trying to do and it is pretty limited.  They place guitar solos in the right spots to break up the song. I love how some times the guitar solos keep going during main part of the song at the end. It gives a nice and different sound. Great Job! It is a nice touch for someone that does not like this singing type but love the music. It seems every song of this type of metal needs a guitar solo to break up song.  If they do not put the guitar solos in the songs, the songs will become white noise.  I love this band and I cannot wait to hear their next record.  I highly recommend this band and this record.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser16@gmail.com

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Unknown Music Thursday Blog Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals Walk Through Exits Only

In this Unknown Music Thursday blog, we are going to get into solo record from former lead singer of Pantera.  I am talking about Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals and their record Walk Through Exits Only.  We will get into the history of the band and then the music.  Let us get into the history.

History:

Phil Anselmo joined Pantera in 1987.  The rest is history for this great 1990’s power house.  Pantera had several hits in mainstream and several in metal world.  Towards the middle of 1990’s with Pantera, Phil joined a super group called Down in 1991.  It was a side project but later become his main band.  Down had a few hits in the metal world.  In 2003, Pantera broke up and that led to the shooting and death of one of the founding members of Pantera, who was Dimebag Darrell in 2004.  There has been rumors after rumors of reuniting of Pantera.  It might never happen.  Down was his main band until Superjoint Ritual was formed early 1990’s but did not release their records until early 2000’s.  In 2011, Phil decided to work on a solo record and it was later released in 2013.  Let us get into the music.

Song List:

Music Media Is My Whore

It has a nice heavy and fast pace guitar.  Nice drumming with well written bass playing.  I love the pace.  It reminds me of a faster heavier Pantera.  I love the lyrics and singing.  I love the guitar solo towards the middle of the song.   The singing and some of the music reminds more as his days in the band called Down.  This is a great opening track.

Battalion Of Zero

The music from the second track is just as fast and heavy as the opening track.  I love the pace and the singing.  I love the touch of the effects on this vocals.  I love the drumming and bass playing.  The guitar playing sounds the same as the first track.  Phil has written some nice lyrics on “Battalion Of Zero.”  The ending is pretty interesting.  It has a nice creepy piano playing.  I like it.

Betrayed

“Betrayed” is slower than the first two songs.  I love the pace.  This song sounds different from the first two songs.  I love the guitar playing.  Phil singing great with some great lyrics.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  To me, it sounds like the guitar player is playing the same riff over and over again through the song.  They could not write another few riffs to break it up.

Usurper Bastard’s Rant

This song is beyond fast.  It is a little  too fast for my taste.  This song sounds like pure white noise.  I love Phil’s singing and lyrics.  The music is pretty good asides for the speed of the song.  The guitar playing is off the charts.  I love the short guitar solos.  I love the music and singing towards the end of the song.

Walk Through Exits Only

I love the music and singing at the beginning of the title track.  The drumming on this song is awesome.  This song is short and to the point.

Bedroom Destroyer

Some of Phil’s singing does not really go well with the music.  This has to me my favorite song off this record so far.  It is hard to understand the singing on this song.  I can not comment on the lyrics.  There is some nice guitar playing towards the end.  I am not liking the effects on the bass guitar at the end.

Bedridden

This is a fast and to the point song.  I love the lyrics.  The music is better than the rest of the songs.  I love how they call on his punk influence.  I love the guitar playing towards the of the song. I love the ending of this song.

Irrelevant Walls And Computer Screens

This is the longest song on the record.  I love the beginning with the music and the singing.  They put some thought into the guitar playing on this song.  I love the drumming and bass playing.  I love the guitar solo and dueling between the two guitars.  Even though there is only one guitar player in this band. I love how Phil has taken some other song titles and threw them into this song’s lyrics.  The music on this track gets better and better as the song goes deeper.  The ending and the back half of the song is pretty interesting music.  It is the same thing over and over but it works.

Line Up:

  • Phil Anselmo – Vocals
  • Marzi Montazeri − Guitars
  • Bennett Bartley − Bass Guitar
  • Joe Gonzalez − Drums

Here is his website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.philanselmo.com

Twitter:  @philiphanselmo

In closing, I was pretty excited to see that Phil came out with some new music and I love the fact Phil is still out there making music.  I was a pretty big fan of Pantera back in the early 1990’s.  I love some of the songs off his first solo record.  I just feel he could have done better than this record.  I can see people enjoying this record.   All the music from track to track sounds the same.  It is like they took a few riffs and used them in all the songs.  The last song was a little different.  The guitar player put some thought and wrote some great riffs on it.  This is not his finest work but it is not his worse.  I love how the record is short and to the point.  If you are a Pantera or just a Phil fan, I recommend you checking out this record.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Unknown Music Thursday Blog The Ongoing Concept Saloon

In this Unknown Music Thursday Blog, we are  going to get into an up and coming artist, which is The Ongoing Concept.  Saloon is their first record and only studio recording from this young band.  There is not much history on this band.  They are signed to one of the biggest record labels, which is Solid State, in metalcore.  Let us get into this record.

Song List:

Let’s Deal The Cards Again

There is some nice saloon sounds like back in the wild west times.  There are people talking in the bar.  It is a nice intro song for this record.

Saloon

The music is in your face and heavy.  The piano is like wild west time sound.  The singer is screaming and does get into some clear vocals.  I love the bend of different types of music.  This is a pretty good opening track for their first record.   Ongoing Concept has written some nice lyrics and music.  I love the ending of the song.

You Are The One

I love the singing and the beat at the beginning.  The singing is like old church singing.  I love the music and the singing.  There is some nice lyrics on this song.  This is a pretty good record so far into track number three.  I love the guitar playing on “You Are The One.”  I love the drumming towards the end of the song with some awesome singing.  They put some thought behind this song.

Cover Girl

I love the drumming and the singing.  It is just right into the main part of the song.  It is straight up in your face.  I love the guitar, drumming, and bass playing.  The singing is very good with some well written lyrics.  They wrote some nice music.  I love how they used the banjo on “Cover Girl” during the main part of the song.  It is not over the top and annoying but it is used just right.  I love the singing towards the end of the song.  It reminds me of the beginning of Van Halen’s “Ice Cream Man.”  I love how they put the focus on the banjo at the end.

Little Situation

I love the acoustic at the beginning with some nice clean vocals.  I love the beat of this song.  There is some well written lyrics on this song too.  This song is pretty heavy just like the first few songs.  It is a nice break and change pace on this record.  I love how they let the bass player loose on this song.  The guitar and drumming are spot on and well written.  There is some nice guitar work towards the middle of the song.  I love how they came back to the acoustic guitar towards the end of the song.  I love the build up in the last-minute of the song to end the song.

Sunday’s Revival

I love the classic hard rock sound on the guitar.  There is a nice drum beat with a nice simple bass playing.  I am not really a fan of the singing and the lyrics.  I love the music.  It reminds of something from the late 1980’s to the mid 1990’s.  This is not my favorite song on this record it is still pretty good.  It has a pretty good ending.

Sidelines

I love the singing and piano playing at the beginning of “Sidelines.”  This song sounds like something in the mainstream music today.  There is some well written lyrics and music.  I really enjoyed listening to this song.  He is pouring out his soul into this song.  The mid part is where the rest of the band comes into play.  I love drumming and bass playing.  I am not a fan of the ending.

Failures And Fakes

I love the touch on the organ at the beginning and throughout the song.  I love the music with some nice lyrics.  I love the singing on this song.  I love the melody on the singer.  I love how he goes from clean to distorted singing.  There is some nice guitar playing towards the end of this song.  I love the build up to an awesome ending to the song.

Like Autumn

I love the piano but do not like the main part of the music.  This song is pretty bad.  It just seems this singer is just screaming.  The bad 8-bit video game music during the main part of “Like Autumn.”  I can not make out the lyrics.  I do not like the back up singing.  This is the worse song on this record by far and I cannot finish this song.

Class Of Twenty-Ten

This song is just like the last song.  It just seems the deeper I get into this record.  It keeps getting worse and worse.  These last two songs are filler songs to complete this record.  I cannot finish this song like the last.

Goodbye, So Long My Love

Oh, I love the music at the beginning of this song.  I love the singing from the lead and the back up vocals.  There is some nice lyrics and they put some thought behind it.  At beginning, it seems like something you would hear in the mainstream music.  The song went off the deep end and just gone bad at the midpoint of the song.  This song had some much promise.  The screaming over that awesome music just kills me.  The middle part of the song there is some nice piano and singing.  She has a very beautiful voice.  This song has rebound.  It was a nice ending to the song and the record.

Band Line Up:

  • Dawson Scholz- Guitar, Vocals
  • Kyle Scholz- Vocals, Keyboards
  • Parker Scholz- Drums
  • TJ Nichols- Bass

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.theongoingconcept.com

Twitter:  @ongoingconcept

In the end, this is extremely talented band and I believe they could do better tan this record. This is a nice start. I came across this band and listen to samples of some of their songs.  I loved how they used different types of music.  I also love how they use different elements to give their sound a nice twisted.  The beginning of this record was pretty good.  I have to say the back half was a little rough.  The one thing that is a plus for this record is the lengths of all the song.  They are just right.  I love the pace and speed of the songs.  It has a nice balance.   I am not much into Christian rock but I love the metal on this record and this band.  I will check out their next record.  I recommend any metal head to give this record a listen.  I bet you will be shocked at how good it is.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Unknown Music Thursday First Reign As The Dead Lead The Dead

In this Unknown Music Thursday blog, we are going to get into a band that comes out of the northern part of Canada.  The band is called First Reign and the record is “As The Dead Lead The Dead.”  I have played their songs when I had a radio show on www.stfu.fm before the station shut down.  I have talked to these guys from their twitter feed and they are really nice and down to earth dudes.  I have been wanting to do a review on their record on my blog but I have been so far behind.  I now have a chance to do it and I am going to write it.  There is not much history on this death metal from Canada.  I know they are working on their second record.  Let us get into the first record.

Track List:

Inception

The opening track is “Inception.”  This track is intro to the real opening track.  I have to say I love the music from the guitars.  The drumming is pretty good.  I love how they are using the bass on this song.  It is a nice build up song.  I feel this song is great display of an opening song.  Most bands should take some notes from this song and band on how to write a good opening track.

This Ghost Of Ours

I love the insane and in your face drumming.  It is a nice step up for the fast pace music.  The guitar and bass playing is really good.  I really love the singing on this song.  They have written some nice lyrics.  There is a nice guitar solo in the first quarter of the song.  I love the lead singer’s death metal vocals.  It is pretty than most death metal singers.  There is another pretty good short guitar solo almost to the half way point of the song.  There is a nice groove to this song.  I love the music change in the back half of the song.  I love the singers screaming.  There is a nice long extended guitar solos towards the end.  I love the trade-off from the two players.

Where The Ocean Meets The Sky

I love the drumming and bass playing at the beginning.  I love the nice guitar riff with the guitar solo over the top.  This is some awesome music.  I love the singing from the singer.  I love the switch off from clean to death metal singing.  There is a nice guitar solo in the first quarter of the song.  The drumming so far on this record is off the charts.  I would put him in the same class as Richard Christy of Charred Walls Of The Damn and Iced Earth.  I love the music change in about the half way point.  Nice touch on the acoustic guitar with some nice singing over the top.  This music on this song is mind-blowing.  First Reign took the idea of Opeth to the next level.  I love the guitar works towards the end of the song.  There is some nice exiting guitar solos at the end.

Wretched Flesh

I love the drumming and guitar work at the beginning.  The bass playing is simple and there is nothing wrong with that writing.  I love the singing and the lyrics.  There is a nice pace on this song.  There is a nice guitar solo in the first quarter of the song.  I love the change in the music about the half way point of the song.  There is some awesome singing about this point of the song.  I love how they pick up the heaviest of the music after that point.  I love how they are ending this song.  It is a very good ending.

Thistle

Here is another intro song to the ending track of this great record.  I love the acoustic guitars.  The drumming is calming but still heavy enough to be a metal song.  I love the dancing bass line with an awesome acoustic guitar solo over the top of the music.

As The Dead Lead The Dead

I love how the acoustic guitar playing at the beginning of the song but yet echoes the intro song.  I love the heavy guitar and the screaming vocals in the main part of the song.  I love the melody and the singing on this song.  There is a some insane drumming on this song.  I love the music on this record.  I love the guitar solo towards the mid-point of the song.  The drumming in the last-minute of the song is off the charts.  I love the distance effects on the music at the end of the song.  This is a perfect ending to the song and the record.

Line Up:

  • Russ O’Shea – Bass
  • Sean Lang – Drums
  • Dallas Erickson – Lead Vocals
  • Chris Holtz – Guitar
  • Ryan Macdonald – Guitar

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.firstreign.com

Twitter:  @firstreignband

In closing, I enjoyed the music on this record and I find myself going back and re-listening to this record at least every two weeks.  I love the length of these songs.  They are long and have a ton of thought behind them.  The drumming from Sean is off the charts.  This guy practiced a ton and he is extremely talented drummer.  I love the bass playing from Russ.  I am a bass player and I could not picture myself playing that fast.  I would have to work myself up to it.  This rhythm selection makes this band what it is as far as music side. The guitar playing is off the charts from Chris and Ryan.  The guitar solos are well written.  The singing from Dallas is really good.  I love his death metal vocals and his clean vocals.  First Reign taken the idea of Opeth and took it to the next level.  I really love this band and I cannot wait to see what their next record is going to be like.  I highly recommend you checking out this band.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Unknown Music Thursday Blog My Enemyz Blood And Now Welcome…Pain

CD-Cover

In this Unknown Music Thursday blog, we are going to get into a new and unknown band, which is My Enemyz Blood.  This is their first record and it is called “And Now Welcome…Pain.”  There is not much history on this because it is a young and upcoming band.  This band was formed in the summer of 2012. This record, which is their first one, was release this year. Their second guitar, who is Rudy, joined in June the same year. They mix a few different styles of Metal.  They talk about it on their Bio on ReverbNation.com which is Groove Metal and Thrash Metal.  I cannot see Lamb Of God and Zakk Wylde sound.  I hear more Pantera type of style with heavier feel that we received in the 2000’s.  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

And Now Welcome…Pain

I love the sampling and the heavy guitar with some solid drumming at the beginning of the song.  The singer is classic in your face extreme metal vocals.  He does more singing than the old school guys.  He is more like Shadowfalls and Pantera.  I love his singing and the lyrics.  The guitar playing is heavy and solid.  The drumming and bass are a perfect support to this band.  I love the guitar break and into a nice solo towards the end of the song.  This is a great opening track.  I love the ending of this song.

Sick

I love the guitar work at the beginning.  I love the singer’s singing at the start of the song.  It is perfect for the song.  I love the lyrics on this song.  There is some solid drumming and bass playing on it.  I love the guitar playing.   Damn that is one awesome drum beat with some sick playing on guitar.  I love the guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  I love the in the face that this song gives the listener.

Eternal Hell

I love the start of this song with a nice church bells.  This reminds me a classic Slayer song called “Rain Of Blood” with that guitar riff.  I love screaming from the singer and the singing.  There is some solid lyrics and drumming with support from the bass player.  The guitar playing has a nice grove to it.  I love the guitar breaks between the singing.  There are parts of this song reminds me of old school Pantera.  I love the ending.

Face Your Fears

I love the sampling of the guitar and drumming.  It just snaps forward with the lead singer right in your face.  I love the pace of this song.  He has written some nice lyrics.  He is the modern-day Phil Anselmo of Pantera.  There is some solid music from the bass, guitar and drums.  My Enemyz Blood did a great job writing some killer music on this song.  I love the guitar work.  Holy shit!   I do not say that too much about guitar players work since I am a bass player.  I love the ending of this song.

Oblivious

I love the guitars, bass and drumming right in your face at the beginning of “Oblivious.”  I love the classic Megadeth break and the guitar playing and right into the main riff with the singer singing over the top.  I am not much a fan of this singing I have to say he has put his twisted on it that I like.  There is some over the top guitar playing on this song.  I will have to say these two guitar players have taken this band’s music to the next level.

Redacted

I love the screaming and drumming to guitar work.  I love how they have two guitar players that give a solid and thick sound to all their songs.  I love his singing but I am having a hard time understanding what he is singing.  I love the sample from the news and there is a killer bass playing.  This band needs to bring him out more often.  I love the build up to the end of the song.

Ultimate Revenge

I love the drumming at the beginning of the song.  There is a killer riff on the guitars.  I love the guitar break before the singer comes into the song.  There is some solid singing from the singer.  I love the lyrics.  They wrote some awesome music on this song.  I love the music towards the end of the song.  They did a great job on the back up vocals and they are well placed.

When I Leave Here

I love the fade into the song.  I love the music and the pace of this song.  I love drumming and the bass playing.  There is some sick guitar riffs on this song.  I love the rhythm on the singing and the melody from him.  I love the lyrics he is singing on “When I Leave Here.”  This is a nice driving song from start to finish.  I love the guitar break to a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.

Flowz Like Blood

I love the drumming and guitar playing on this song.  The bass playing is pretty solid and the singer seems like he is loss on this song.  I am not fan of the melody and rhythm of his singing that is what I mean loss.  I love the music on this song.  Singer has written some solid lyrics.  I love the well placed back up vocals.  I love the guitar break between the singing.  There is some nice time changes on this song.  There is sick guitar solo towards the end of the song.  I love how they ended that song and the record.

Line Up:

  • Richie Z – Lead Vocals
  • Kevin Mendenhall – Lead Guitar
  • Allen Blackwood – Drums
  • Mike Zimmerman – Bass
  • Rudy Gutierrez – Rythm Guitar

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.myenemyzblood.com

Twitter:  @MyEnemyzBlood and my guys @myenemyrudy and @MyEnemyMike

In closing, I have to say this is a pretty solid record from start to finish. The drummer and the guitar playing made this record the way it is from start to finish.  I love the pace of all the songs.  They are in your face and they will not let up.  They are killing your ass from the start of the record to the end.  I am not a fan of this kind of singing but the singer is pretty good.  They have master the art of writing some nice driving songs.  My Enemyz Blood is great at starting out all their songs.  There are not many bands that can get that right.  This band has found a way to do a good job on that part of song writing.  The only knock I have towards this band.  There is really no ending to any of their songs.  They just stop.  There is nothing wrong with that but the record sounds like one big song.  I know there is not what they are trying to get at because they are not like Mastodon or Rush.  Overall, this is a band is growing into their selves.  I believe adding the second guitar player and another mind to this mix.  I believe they will solve problems and come out with new ideas.  I pretty excited to see how this band turns out in the future.  I am hoping to see and meet these guys in person one day.  It was an honor to listen and write to this review.  Thanks My Enemyz Blood and Rudy for sharing this with me.  I recommend you checking their music out if you are a metal person.  Go get some and pass the word around!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Unknown Music Thursday Blog Mad Architect Journey To Madness

In this Unknown Music Thursday blog, we are going to get into some music that most of the readers on this blog have never heard of before.  The band is a Swedish Dark Power Metal band called Mad Architect.  Their new record called “Journey To Madness” with their new singer Snowy Shaw.  After a ton of research on the internet, I can not find too much information on this band.  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

Echoes From Beyond

The keyboards and guitars start the song.  It is slow and mystery.  The guitar riff is pretty good.  Nice intro to the record.

Dreamworld

The opening track has some killer drumming and guitar work.  I love the singers vocals.  I am not really a fan of the back up vocals.  I believe it will grow on me.  I love the movement on the guitar playing.  Snowy wrote some solid lyrics on this song.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle of the song.

Universal Law

I love the guitar playing at the beginning of the song.  I love the melody from the singer.  This song has a nice pace to it.  The keyboards are simple but it fits this song.  I have to say this is my favorite song off this record so far.  I believe this song should be their first single.  I love the singing between the lead and back up vocals.  The drums have a good beat and bass playing is perfect.  I love the acoustic guitar about quarter into the song.  I really do not like the singing over the acoustic guitars.  The drums are calming with a nice simple bassline.  The pick up after the acoustic part.  It comes with a nice guitar break.  I am not a fan of the singing at this part of the song.  To me, it does not really fit the music, however, it is still good and this is their music style.  The back half of the song has some really killer guitar work along with some solid drumming.  I love the guitar solo towards the end with some great singing over the top.  The drummer really made this song great.  I love the ending to “Universal Law.”

Mad Architect

I love the driving pace of this next song.  The drums and guitars are solid.  Bass player has a nice, simple but perfect bass line.  The singing on this song fits the theme and the music.  I love the time changes on this song.  There is some nice lyrics on “Mad Architect.”  I love the keyboard playing.  It really adds a nice element to this band’s sound and style.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song but I just felt it was too short.  Nice touch on the ending.

Transitions – Part 1

Here is another instrumental song on this record.  I love the guitar work and keyboard playing.  It sounds full not like most instrumental songs without the drums and bass.

Sailing Away

I love the guitar, drums, and bass playing at the beginning.  I can barely hear the keyboards.  I love the singing and the lyrics on “Sailing Away.”  Snowy’s singing is extremely strong on this song.  The music is awesome.  The drumming is off the charts.  Snowy’s singing style is starting to grow on me.  I can now hear the keyboards on this song.  I just feel at the beginning they turn it down.  There is a nice guitar break towards the middle of the song.  It turns into a nice guitar solo.  This is one of their best songs off this record.  “Sailing Away” needs to be one of the singles off this record.  Damn!   I love the drumming at the end of the song.

Floating

There is some good acoustic guitar work with some nice effects on the guitar.  I love simple drum beat when Snowy comes in singing.  Snowy’s singing is by far the best on this record.  I love the lyrics.  “Floating” has some great music on it.   This song might be the slowest song on this record but it is pretty powerful one on this record.  They did a great job on the music and how they used the keyboards to push the limits of the song.

Strange Machine

I love the music at the beginning of the song.  I love the pick up on this song.  I love the singing with some great back up vocals.  They put some thought behind this song.  There is some nice lyrics on “Strange Machine.”  There is an awesome guitar solo towards the end of the song.  It is the best solo off this record.  There is a nice ending to this song.

Altered States

This is the bonus song off the CD version. I love the music at the beginning of the song.  There is some great guitar work with some nice support from the bass playing.  The drums have been off the charts throughout this record.  There is some great singing and well written lyrics on “Altered States.”  Snowy has a nice melody.  This song has a nice pace to it.  There is a nice guitar break towards the end that turns into a nice guitar solo.  This solo fits and flows nicely in and out of the song.  I love the acoustic guitar exiting and ending of the song and the record.  The keyboards and distorted guitar fading in and out.   Nice ending!

Current Line Up:

  • Snowy Shaw – Vocals
  • Magnus Daun – Guitars
  • Erik Ferentinos – Bass
  • Zven Lindsten – Drums
  • Jorgen Oscarsson – Keyboards

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.madarchitectofficial.com

Twitter:  @MadArchitect777

Here is their management team:

Website:  www.metalrevelation.com

Twitter:  @metalrevelation

In closing, I do not get into too much of the dark, extreme, or death metal.  However, I will listen to it, I love the music these bands come up with but I can do without the singing.  I do love some of the singing from these bands.  I am not saying that about Mad Architect is in any sub genre of the metal universe.  They put out a great record that will have me listen to more these styles. Snowy’s singing comes close to that area of the metal world.  As I listen to “Journey To Madness” more and more, I found myself loving his singing and style.  He has a different pace and sound to other singers.  The guitar playing is really good on this record and Magnus wrote some great guitar solos on this record.  I love the work from the bassist and the keyboard player.  The drumming is off the charts from Zven.  This drummer makes this record from good to great.  I was pretty impressed with his playing.  I recommend you checking this band’s music out and let me know what you think of it.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser