Cradle to Grave -- 'Texas Medicine' [review]

Cradle to Grave - Texas Medicine
Eye of the Sun Records (4/15/08)
Metal

Cradle to Grave may hail from the dark corners of British Columbia, but the band emulates the groove-based metal of legends Pantera to a T. So, it's little wonder the band has called its latest effort Texas Medicine.

Chock full of thick, meaty riffs, explosive drumming and antagonistic bass licks—not to mention that absolutely crushing groove—Texas Medicine is an easy contender for metal album of the year. With opener "Broken God", a goliath of a track, the band grabs the listener by the throat and tosses them down 11 flights of stairs. The band rivals Hatebreed with "I'm at War With Myself", and shows a more introspective side with "Light", while still maintaining the choking pace.

But it's the middle of the album that completely steals the show. "From Nowhere to Nowhere" has the catchiest, most punishing groove that only compliments the sing-a-long chorus. And the band throws in an absolutely sick bridge mid-way through the song, with an acoustic opening and wonderfully sung break down, well... just because it can. From there, it tears everything apart with the speed-inspired "I Am Nothing", and ends the assault with a thick slab of southern metal called "At Last" (featuring a great group-sung opener).

Other highlights include the breakneck "F**k It Up", the acoustic instrumental "Daughters" and pulse-pounding album closer "Beheaded in Paris" (with a nice extended ending that closes with Freddy Krueger's warning, "You shouldn't have buried me").

There's no shortage of metal bands out there these days, but not too many come even close to presenting such a blistering package like Cradle to Grave has done here. This is a total surprise release for 2008 that shouldn't fly under any metal fan's radar.

Amorphis -- 'Eclipse' [review]

Amorphis
"Eclipse"
(Nuclear Blast Records)


These days, it's hard to pigeon-hole Finland's Amorphis into the metal category ... the band has more of a folk-metal feel for lack of a better phrase. The group is technically sound on the metal front, but adds a certain element to the chords and melodies, giving some of the songs an almost-medieval tone. When the band started out in 1990, it was purely a death metal outfit. But, over the years, the group's sound has evolved. Amorphis' last couple of albums with Pasi Koskinen in the vocal slot further expanded the group's direction (you could almost consider "Am Universum" a hard-rock album), drawing influence from a variety of places while keeping the same core principle. When Koskinen left the band following 2003's "Far From the Sun" release, fans began to wonder if the band would call it a day.

It did not.

The addition of Tomi Joutsen breathed new life into Amorphis. The group was rejuvenated and ended up crafting what is destined to be one of the strongest metal releases of 2006: "Eclipse."

The core, creative and vast sound of Amorphis is intact. The songs are full of elaborate guitar riffs, full drumming and expansive interplay between the guitar solos and bass-bridges. As impossible as it sounds, the band is completely metal but hardly metal all at once (think Dream Theater's earlier work mixed with European flavor and less overblown).

Joutsen's vocals are deeper in delivery and add a hard-rock element to the band's sound. Joutsen even offers up some death metal growls in limited quantity, a welcome addition to long-time fans and something that had all but disappeared from the group's last few outings. The guitar work is spot-on, the drumming is top-notch and never overpowering, and the bass offers a subtle presence to proceedings. The album pulls you in from the onset and is sure to win the band new followers.

Unfortunately, the production was a little muddy at times. Joutsen is a fantastic addition to the band, but his vocals are almost washed out in the first couple of tracks, overpowered by the band and guitars in particular. The problem is even more apparent on the US release of the album, which features a new (bonus) track ("Stone Women") with the vocals on a better level with the rest of the tracking. Literally, that is the only problem I have with the release. The spattering of death metal growls left me wanting more, but that can probably be considered a positive.

Amorphis really deserves much more attention than it gets. The group is one of the best European metal acts out there and, while a hit abroad, hasn't really caught on with the American audience. The band is a tight metal outfit, with enough riffs to appeal to any metal fan, but also with enough outside influence to be enjoyed by any fan "heavier" music. The new vocals add an awesome new dimension to the band which shows little signs off slowing down. Highly, highly recommended.

Shadows Fall -- 'The Art of Balance' [classic review]

Shadows Fall
"The Art of Balance"
(Century Media Records)


"We wanted to create a full on thrash metal album, especially the way they had variety back then. You had like the three-minute basher to open the record, an eight-minute metal epic somewhere in the middle, and the total power thrash ballad somewhere along the line. We wanted to do that instead of just making nine songs that all sounded very similar. We just wanted to mix it up."

-- lead singer Brian Fair

The core of Shadows Falls sound comes from the tag-team of guitarists Jonathan Donais and Matthew Bachand. The duo trade licks and riffs, crafting amazing solos which the metal scene had really been lacking for a good part of the late '90s. This, coupled with the dual vocals from Fair (everything from growling wails to melodic singing) and the complex back beats is what pushes Shadows Fall to the front of the line.

The song structures are never boring: a combination of the technical mastery and shifting tempos keep listeners on their toes and only add to the overall metal-effect of the band's music. Much like Metallica's "And Justice For All" (only with audible bass), "The Art of Balance" is an epic of a metal release. Each track is turgid with solos, bridges, anthemic choruses and elaborate verses.

From the explosive ("Destroyer of Senses," "Idle Hands" and "Thoughts Without Words") to the epic ("Stepping Outside the Circle" and "Idiot Box") to the haunting and almost beautiful (the instrumentals "Casting Shade" and "Prelude to Disaster" and "Fire in Babylon"), never is a song predictable and every one is a headbanger. The band sounds like a throwback to mid '80s power metal, but with that European edge of technical mastery; not quite thrash, not quite melodic hardcore ... but definitely a classic.

Like I already said, Shadows Fall's follow-up "The War Within" almost felt like a retread of "The Art of Balance," not that that is a bad thing. And really, that's simply this writer being a little too harsh in order to justify a pick. If anything, "The War Within" is a glimpse of where Shadows Fall is headed. The album is edgier, heavier, but still undoubtedly Shadows Fall.

Fusing metal and melody, the band has crafted a sound instantly recognizable and hard to duplicate. Each element of the band's sound -- the hard-hitting drumming and bass work; the dueling guitarists; the two-sided vocals -- is a perfect piece to the puzzle that is glued together with inspiration (the 80s metal scene) and emulation (the European metal scene).

If ever there was an album to retread over and over again, "The Art of Balance" isn't a bad choice.

Crowbar -- 'Lifesblood for the Downtrodden' [review]

Crowbar
"Lifesblood for the Downtrodden"
(Candlelight Records)


Sometimes you're in the mood for something comfortable. You don't need new, or experimental, or groundbreaking ... you just need the comfortable grind of old fashioned metal. And Crowbar's latest effort, "Lifesblood for the Downtrodden," is exactly what you'd be looking for.

Fifteen years since the band's inception and four years since the release of its last album, Crowbar, or more specifically, front man and guitarist Kirk Windstein, seems out to prove that that the band's plodding, sludgy, dirge-heavy sonic assault is still relevant in the modern metal scene.

Windstein hooked up with original Crowbar drummer Craig Nunenmacher and bassist Rex Brown (of Pantera and Down fame) for this album, a relentless blend of heavy, murky riffs and down-tuned melody.

Every track on here is uncompromisingly heavy, each explored and expanded to fullness. While prior Crowbar releases tended to bleed together, "Lifesblood" is full of tempo-changes and melodic breaks. The band explodes out of the gate on a track like "Dead Sun," but can do a 180 and slow everything down for the chorus without losing the "metal" and atmosphere of dread.

The drums are spot on, the bass is punishing and the thick guitar work is stellar. Everything pieces together nicely to form a crushing weapon to deliver Windstein's growled vocals.

While no new ground is being broken, "Lifesblood" is a welcome addition to the Crowbar catalogue. Sometimes you don't want new and unknown, you want to pick something up you know will kick your ass. Crowbar definitely hit a homerun with this one, which says something for a band that hasn't always been able to deliver the goods. This is a band that's been doing what it does long enough to put together a hit album, not a fluke, but a collection of tracks that will entertain you. Not just for a song here or there, but for an entire album.