The Pit Push

To begin; to all those who are reading this and to anyone who has ever read this blog, thank you. I haven’t been able to keep up with it for the past five or so months but I’ve been busier than I’d like to be with school and other such things.

Now that you’ve all accepted my apologies I’d like to take the chance to use this post to shed some light on a few of the lesser known bands who are coming out with new stuff that I think everyone should listen to on a daily basis.

I guess I’m a little bias when it comes to the first band, considering I’ve known ever member for over five years, however I can objectively say that they are one of the most original bands from the Philadelphia area. The guys in Embedded Within have been beating the hell out of themselves to deliver some of the most technical deathcore in the area. Their first EP Breeding and Screaming was great with the exception of the production quality (I blame the studio that mastered it, whose name will not be mentioned). They are currently in the process of recording a full length which will be called Adversary and will probably not be released until the end of the summer. However if you search their face book you can find three of the songs that are finished on there and be amazed. I say this with all of my heart; they have a very unique sound that other bands would be lucky to be able to copy.

The next band on my list is a band from King of Prussia/Philadelphia, Pennsylvania called, Garmonia. I saw this band for the first time a while back and among a band full of deathcore bands that for the most part all sounded exactly the same. The bands blend of technicality mixed with brutal riffs makes them stick out over many of their peers. The first time you listen to them, you think that their similar to Born of Osiris and Veil of Maya. I don’t mean they sound the same as either of these bands but they have something much different to offer a crowd that many of the bands you’ll see at local shows. Rather than focusing on brutality, they focus on song structure. If a part needs to be fast, it’s fast and it isn’t questioned. I don’t know enough about them to say if their coming out with anything anytime soon, but search their facebook and you’ll find two songs: “Fistful of Regret” and “Autonomy” and you’ll be impressed.

I can’t say too much about this next band considering I didn’t like them too much until a few hours ago after I heard their new song, but if Ecesis continues on the path their going now, they’ll only get better than their new single shows. The band recently took a trip to Ohio to record with former Attack Attack! Singer, Jhonny Franck and the end result is a wonderful song called “If you’re not first, you’re last.” The song is simply a metalcore song, but it’s done well. As I said before, when I first saw them three years ago at a show with a bunch of death metal bands, I wasn’t into their sound. But if they keep sounding like their latest single, I’ll keep listening.

Seraph in Travail has made a demo which has become one of my favorite things to listen to on a weekly basis. Taking a step away from the deathcore scene, their demo titled “Stem the flood” has been anticipated by circles of people in the area and did not disappoint. The melodic death metal is refreshing in a scene controlled by breakdowns. Each song has a mood to it and whether or not you interpret the lyrics correctly you can envision a story behind each song, even though the lyrics aren’t describing events (I think). Each member has a voice on the demo and if you personally know them you know where they come in. For instance if you know the guitar playing of Tim Otto, you know that his solo is the second solo in the song “Nightfall.” It is a great demo that they took long enough to put out, and I’m excited to see what the band does next.

Finally a band who’s second CD is better than their first but their first has a better production quality. Sacred Serenity has been playing more shows than they have energy for and are going to the famous atrium studios in a week to record a new EP. Their first EP “Death in solitude” was done completely by guitarist, Nate Parker and vocalist, Pat Scanlon and their efforts have paid off. Now with a complete band, Sacred Serenity is going to be releasing a third EP in less than two years and will no doubt be playing a countless number of shows to support the release. Ultimately a great band that works there nuts off to make great music.

All of these bands are on facebook and/or have some sort of online presence so you have absolutely no excuse to not look them up. I don’t give bands a bump or free promotion unless I actually like it so you should check it out.

Also I am starting this back up again, so bands send me your demos in an MP3 or RAR file to clark.dan4@gmail.com and if I like it I’ll give you what I’m going to being calling an into the pit push. So to end, Sacred Serenity, Embedded Within, Ecesis, Garmonia, and Seraph in Travail, you’ve all been pushed into the pit and I hope you all continue to make music even better than the stuff I already think is great.