From The Ashes

From The Ashes Review

Born out of the rubble of many different bands Syracuse, New York, From The Ashes have built and rebuilt their sound from an almost strictly metalcore band to a much more mature sound that will have listeners creating circle pits in the privacy of their own homes. Starting from a series of metal jam bands, From The Ashes solidified their lineup after their debut tour in 2009. Since then they put out a six song EP titled “Perdition” and have another four song EP coming out in February which will be titled “In A Dead World”. The band’s latest project has attracted the attention of some major label bands such as Chimera. The band recorded this EP with guitarist Mike Hatalak of it dies today who has been showing it off to major labels. The band plans on changing their name as well as other things although we’ll have to wait until the end of January/beginning of February to see these changes. All I can say is that they will be for the better and add a much more professional air to the band.

“In a Dead World” shows a lot of growth in the band when comparing it to their first EP “Perdition” which sounds more like something that As I lay dying made with its clean vocal choruses. "In A Dead World"displays a much more aggressive sound than the bands debut effort. Starting off “In a Dead World” is the cleverly titled track “intro” which leads off the EP with hard hitting double bass (compliments to drummer Kory) and samples the two guitarists (Scott and Greg) working well together on a slower paced two part guitar harmony. The only problem with the song is that it is not long enough and will have listeners begging From The Ashes to create a full song out of this short yet catchy intro.

After the slower introduction to the EP comes the hard hitting thrash influenced song “Chasing Ghost” where bass, guitar, drums and vocals all come together to create a sound reminiscent of Unearth and As I Lay Dying. Vocalist Anthony combines lows and highs to make sure the faster parts of the song are emphasized and keeps a mid-range tone so that every word in the breakdowns are heard. The song goes back and forth between fast and slow, thrash and breakdown to satisfy ears to all genres.

Next up is the song “Means and Ends”, the first ten seconds of the song will remind As I lay Dying fans of a more palm muted version of the song “Within Destruction” off of their 2007 release “An Ocean Between Us”. The rest of the song plays to a faster two step riff that will please fans that enjoy an older style of hardcore. The song ends in a breakdown in the style of Hatebreed in which the words “You will be judged!” is screamed repeatedly pushing fear in the hearts of listeners and having them beg for more.

As all great things start, they must also come to an end. Fortunately From The Ashes put forth their best effort for the last song of the EP. “We Will not Surrender” begins with a complicated drum fill which leads into a guitar intro which goes a melodic two step riff. Epic, is the best word to describe this song. The listener will feel the energy of a general refusing to lose through bass, drums, and guitars alone. “We Will Not Surrender” shows that this band will not give up and continue to play with their hearts until they stop beating.

From The Ashes will release “In a Dead World” at their show with Reign Supreme, Mother Of Mercy, Unearth and many more at the tenth anniversary of Syracuse shows, in Syracuse, New York. The band has tickets that they are selling for 13 dollars if you message their myspace (listed below).

In an online interview with their drummer Kory, it was confessed that the band will be making some big changes including a new name which should be exposed within the next month. From The Ashes signed a distribution deal and the EP will eventually be available on Itunes, Amazon, Napster and Shockhound shortly.

From The Ashes put a breath of fresh air into a genre quickly being taken over by guitarist who can only play breakdowns and power chords and drummers who have only a double bass pedal and a china cymbal. Luckily for those of us who enjoy metalcore, we will have a band whose CD shows creativity and hard effort.

You can find this band at…
http://www.twitter.com/fromtheashes315
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/From-The-Ashes/126039263782
www.purevolume.com/fromtheashes315
http://www.youtube.com/user/FromTheAshesTV

Best two songs on the EP
We Will Not Surrender
Chasing Ghost

Stay Brutal
Dan

Spare Not The Villagers

In a scene where few bands rise out of the pit and onto the stage, Spare Not the Villagers not only rises onto the stage but break it down with their brutality. Forming in 2009, Spare Not the Villagers came together through mutual friends and a classified ad on MySpace. Since then the band hit the ground running releasing a three song EP in August of 2009 titled “Our Perception Has Left You Disfigured” which showcases the bands unique style of deathcore mixed with trash and semi-progressive death metal. As with all deathcore bands you can expect to hear breakdowns but these break downs are not the typical two chugged open notes on the lower guitar strings Guitarist Warren Welch and drummer Clark Mitchell set the complex time signatures and unique beats to create so much more than the typical breakdown hardcore. Bassist Matthew Wiatrowski doesn’t miss a single note and uses his rough distorted bass tone to help the band avoid one more member but still keeping the rhythm section sounding as full as it would with two guitarists. The vocals range from lows to high to even talking in between that sounds like your listening to someone who is about to stick a knife in your heart.

Spare not the Villagers are set to release a six song EP later this month off of BRKEN MIRRR Records that will leave listeners wanting for more. Guitarist Warren Welch stated that the band “had enough songs for a full length, but decided we'd rather drop some of the weaker songs and put out a really solid EP instead of a spacey full length” so you know that this band only puts in the best of what they have. The EP starts off with an epic build up song titled “Tu Amor Es Muerte” (Your Death is my Love). The song builds up into one of the most epic battle breakdowns that have ever been recorded. The opening song best represents the EP although the songs vary in speed and technicality. The third song “Jesus Died in Vain” shows off how even speaking during a song can be one of the most brutal and scariest kinds of vocals that anyone will ever hear. This is by far one of the best independent label debuts of 2010 and is worth every cent paid. A little bit more hardcore than the big names in deathcore such as Whitechapel and Despised Icon, but Spare not the Villagers will have fans of both the death/thrash metal and the hardcore genres.

The top two songs on the EP in my opinion are “Tu Amor Es Muerte” and the title track “Present this at your wake”. Both songs build the listener up wanting to tear their hair out with anticipation. Both songs in my opinion show the true colors of this band which is a heavy slow deathcore band prepared to literally rip your heart out.

This is the first major release from Spare Not the Villagers and it most certainly will not be there last. Spare not the Villagers can be compared to the technical death metal riffs of Whitechapel and Darkest hour with the breakdowns of other deathcore veterans such as Oceano and Martyr AD. The band is a perfect example of the 21^st century of new wave deathcore. After being a band for only one year the band signed to newly founded Pittsburgh record label BRKEN MIRRR Records and plans on touring the east cost for a week this April. Already opening at the Thrash and Burn Festival over the summer, the band has raised heads opening for some big names that are not limited to but include Veil of Maya, Oceano, Despised Icon and Devil Driver. This band is going places without a doubt; it is all just a matter of time before they are headlining national tours. “Present This at Your Wake” is only a small taste of what the band has to offer; unfortunately we’ll have to wait for a full length to experience the full effect of their brutality. Even with the wait “Present this at your wake” will be sure to fly off shelves and have MP3 venues for music begging the band for more to sell.

You’ll like this band if you listen to…
Suicide Silence, Oceano, Martyr AD, Darkest Hour, Inflames, Whitechapel and A Different Breed of Killer.

Best Two Songs on the EP…
“Present This at your Wake” and “Tu Amor es Muerte”

You can find this band at…
www.myspace.com/sparenotthevillagers
www.myspace.com/brkenmirrrrecords

www.sparenotthevillagers.com

I truly had a wonderful time interviewing, listening and writing for this band and they are one of the few straight deathcore bands that rise above the others and will make a name for them in the near future. Make sure you listen to them and go to a show when they come within 20 miles of you.

Stay Brutal
Dan

Mayhem couldn't live up

The Lineup to this years Rockstar energy drink mayhem festival is by far one of the biggest let downs of the year. Although the line up includes some big names in metal, it is not enough to come close to even top last years hot topic stage. The lineup goes as follows and the bands that are worth seeing will be put in bold.

MAIN STAGE
KORN (headlining)
Rob Zombie
Lamb of God
Five Finger Death Punch


MAYHEM FESTIVAL STAGE (No longer the hot topic stage)

Atreyu

Norma Jean
In this moment


3 inches of blood


JAGERMEISTER STAGE
Hatebreed
Chimara
Shadows Fall
Winds of Plague

Over all I'm disappointed but hell I've never been to Summer Slaughter, and they never disappoint, So Summer Slaughter 2010 here I come.

For more information on Mayhem festival visit www.mayhemfest.com

Stay brutal
Dan

Mayhem 2010

Two days until we learn the fate of The Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem festival lineup for the summer of 2010. Many don't think that last years lineup (with the exception of Marylin Manson) can be improved upon. I agree with them, by opening with a band like Whitechapel and adding death metal legends Cannibal Corpse to the stage, they almost set the limit to high to exceed. There are a lot of newer bands getting signed this year though none of them are big enough to garner the attention of the public. As far as I know the rumors that Korn and Rob Zombie will serve as the headlining acts is pretty much true. The rest of the bands are still up in the air. These are the results I'm hoping for without repeating any bands from last year.

Lazerus AD
Unearth
Lamb of God
The Absence
Trigger The Bloodshed
Veil of Maya
Born of Osiris

Thats really all I have for the moment, I guess we'll just have to wait two more days to find out. E-mail me if you want to discuss it, tell people about the site, lets talk about metal and maybe find some awesome bands in the meantime.
Remember Stay Brutal
Dan

T.A.N.K

The arts, cheese and fine wine are the immediate thoughts when thinking of France, who knew that the country produced some of the most well written metal to come out in modern times. Few bands these days can be called just pure metal. Well French metal outfit Think of A New Kind (T.A.N.K for short) fit that description along with legends in the making such as Lamb of God and Pantera. T.A.N.K cannot be described by how fast their blast beats are or how slow or how many breakdowns they have in their songs. They are the definition of what it is to just be metal.

Forming in 2007 by guitar players Edd and Symheris after having a popular internet presence on the internet by playing Pachelbel’s “Canon in D”, Symheris and Edd went on to find vocalist Raf and bassist Oli D to form Think Of a New Kind. After two drummers the band found drummer of one way Mirror Clem to complete the lineup. T.A.N.K has been getting new fans ever since and playing shows throughout Europe. People who like Inflames and As I lay Dying thrown in with a little bit lamb of God and Pantera will love this band.

Although unsigned the band has played Metal Camp 2009 in Slovenia with international acts such as Nightwish, Hatebreed and Napalm Death. If you’re still not impressed T.A.N.K played the Wacken Open Air festival in 2009 just before Volbeat and Machine head. Not to mention the band is now sponsored by Schecter guitars. Although the band is still seeking a label, they will be hard to ignore with the release of their debut album in March of 2010 which will have thirteen songs one featuring the lead vocalist of current drummer Clem’s other band One Way Mirror, Guillaume Bideau. The album will be called “The Burden of Will” and will be a refreshing sound of technical listener friendly metal that will surely have heads banging all across the globe. The guitarists Edd and Symheris create melodic riffs that one can appreciate the complexity of it all while not having an aneurism from too many sweeps. The new drummer Clem seems to fit in rather well. He moves away from the stereotypical continuous blast beat throughout entire songs and experiments with unique fills that can be compared to those of Chris Adler of Lamb of God. Bassist Oli D creates a rough slightly distorted bass tone to back up the guitars on the tracks. Raf can scream in all sorts of ranges from low to high and in between, he even sings parts when it seems necessary. Overall T.A.N.K are following in the footsteps of French metal outfit Gojira and should be playing outside of France to the rest of Europe and the United States in only a matter of time.

Sounds Like
As I lay Dying
Lamb of God
Pantera
Inflames

Next Show
T.A.N.K + In Trails + Black Horizon @ Centre Culturel Dourdan (91)- Dourdan, Ile-de-France

Top Song
Destination

Website
www.myspace.com/tgmetal

Stay Brutal
-Dan

Some Bands that the whole world should look out for.

Embedded Within
Started as a mixture between two different bands (remorseless slaughter and Maelstrom) Mat Cook, James Clark, Mike Berardi and Richie Pickwell combined their love of death metal and death core to create a sound that many of today's bands can only dream of having. After a year of playing, former remorseless slaughter/beneath the wreckage guitarist Tim Carey relieved Cook of his guitar Duties so that Mat could take over full time on vocals allowing him to truly incinerate the ears of listeners. Tim Carey adds a thrash influence to the band as well as a machine gun hand that strengthens the rhythm section. James Clark brings a mix of funk style playing death metal. After years of playing a mix between Incubus, Lamb of God, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Iron Maiden he plays with the best of them and makes sure all songs have a smooth bass line that listeners can pick up on. Richie Pickwell, uses his knowledge of music theory and love for technical death metal to write the fastest and hard driven songs. Drummer Mike Berardi mixes his love for thrash, hardcore punk and death metal to play the blast beats when necessary. Mat Cook gets inside of the music to find the words brutal enough to scream over the fierce guitars.

This band is going places, after only a year of playing together Embedded Within (EW) has played numerous shows and signed to newly formed independet label BRKENMIRRR (Broken Mirror) records based out of Pittsburgh.

Embedded Within has recently released a five song EP titled "Breeding and Screaming" which can be heard on their myspace and bought at any shows you may see them at. Expect big things from this band, "Breeding and Screaming" was only the beginning, wait and see what they can come up with next.

Top 2 songs on the EP
Umbilical Noose
Subsurfaced

Upcoming EW shows
-Bordz Skate Park, South Hampton PA with Alustrium, The Sky is Falling and Ecesis. $8.00 to get in.

You can find this band at www.myspace.com/embeddedwithinew
You can also check out BRKENMIRRR Records at www.myspace.com/brkenmirrrrecords

Stay Brutal
-Dan

Introduction to the pit

In a world filled with screamo bands, true metal often goes unrecognized and bands that deserve the money and respect are pushed to the side. I am here to try to change that. I'm Dan and I write about music, chances are if your band has a myspace, I'll listen to it and review it, if I like it I'll ask you for an interview. I just want the good bands to have some light shine down on them. If you're reading and you can think of any good bands tell me about it. My email is intothepit1212@gmx.com. Remember Stay Brutal.