Remembering Never -- 'Women and Children Die First' [review]

Remembering Never
"Women and Children Die First"
Ferret Records


"This bandwagon's on its last leg. How long will you beat this dead horse?"
-- From "serenading this dead horse"


Remembering Never apparently started off as a joke band, though you'd never guess it after listening to the band's latest offering, "Women and Children Die First."

After releasing "Suffocated My Words To You" in 2001, the band went through "severe line up changes" (according to the band's biography), signed with Ferret, and recorded "She Looks So Good In Red" the following year.

Polishing their sound with constant touring with the likes of hardcore staples such as Between the Buried and Me, Every Time I Die and Dead to Fall (amongst others), the band headed back into the studio and created "Women and Children Die First."

At one point, Remembering Never's sound strongly resembled that of Poison the Well, and many reviews point out similarities between the bands' lead singers, but on "Women and Children," the singing seems much more guttural and Remembering Never's melody is more intrinsically set within the heavy, hardcore style of the band. Also, the acoustic guitar sprinkled around "She Looks Good" is abandoned and forgotten here except for a particularly pointed moment during the bridge in the last track.

The disc opener, "for the love of fiction," really sets the stage for "Women and Children": driving guitars, crushing bass and thundering drumming tightly knit around lead singer Peter Kowalski's intense vocals -- sometimes screaming, sometimes lower, discreet and intentional and sometimes transitioning to wails of emotional.

Kowalski growling out "This is an exaggeration of your mortality" over a wailing lead guitar and accompanying thick rhythm and bass onslaught opens up "a grenade in mouth tragedy," and after the third track, "plotting a revolution in A minor," it becomes clear Remembering Never aren't going to let up.

"incisions" is one of the many perfect songs off the disc. From the opening sound of an old-fashioned camera developing (a sound you'll recall from the "Texas Chain Saw Massacre" movies), the song evolves from an eerie, hardcore attack to a hauntingly beautiful metal anthem, layer upon layer peeled back and exposed. Within the first 30 seconds of this four minute plus track, there's a bludgeoning guitar and bass intro, a hint of high pitched guitar noodling sliced up by the start/stop of the drums and the song as a whole; Kowalski initially growls out the lyrics before opening up his throat and letting loose with some insane singing. And that's all in the song's first 30 seconds?! The song continues its breakneck pace, steamrolling to a hault with the lead singer repeating "Die knowing you lived your life on you knees."

The disc's swan song of sorts: the closer "serenading this dead horse," a song encompassing the band's feelings about the downfall of the hardcore scene, the banner of which Remembering Never holds high. Within the disc's liner notes is a letter from Kowalski and the band discussing (in depth) the dilution of the hardcore scene due to trends, less-than-sincere bands and posers. "Now it all seems to be about cool hair and who has the bigger belt buckle," Kowalski writes.

"We've been working on this record since the day we got out of the studio for 'She looks...' and were extremely unhappy with it ... This record is to the memory of hardcore ... but most importantly this record is for you."

"dead horse" alone is a must-hear for any fan of the genre, a perfect hardcore song with all the elements that fans could easily pick out: the driving guitars and forced vocals, the thudding drumming and bass riffs, the more mellow bridges and vocal accompaniment, and smart lyrics: "Shed another tear as I stab you in the chest with pieces of your broken heart. Fuck your broken heart. Why can't you let this die?"

And the exclamation point to the disc is a hidden track: a completely blistering cover of Pantera's "Strength Beyond Strength," complete with Kowalski's dead-on screaming of "Stronger than all" at the song's conclusion with the great guitar riffs, repetitive and fading out.

Closer than Kin -- 'Machineries of Breath' [review]

Closer Than Kin
"The Machineries of Breath"
Punktuation Records


"I sold my soul for understanding
but all I got was apathy,
Keep on screaming to an empty sky as life keeps passing my by.
You take without giving."
-- From "If Demons Could Weep"


If you ever longed for a hardcore band to inject punk sensibility and a metal edge into its sound, then Closer Than Kin is the band for you.

Hailing from southeastern Massachusetts, the five-piece hardcore band is made up of vocalist (and screamer) Nick, dueling guitarists Steve and JK, bass guitarist Rich and drummer Roger (no last names are given in the liner notes). Each musician also offers up backing vocals throughout the album.

For the past couple of years, Closer Than Kin has been building up a steady fanbase touring the United States and Canada with bands like Atreyu, Sick of It All, Death By Stereo, Pennywise, The Misfits and Agnostic Front (just to name a few).

In 2001 the band released a five song demo and sold over 15,000 copies (no small feat). The band also managed to distribute the demo internationally, hitting markets in England, Australia, Chile and the Philippines.

In June of 2003, Closer Than Kin finally released its first full-length, "The Machineries of Breath." The group's bio on its Web site refers to the band's sound as a "blend of hardcore, punk, and straight up metal all meshed together in a chaotic assault of emotion and aggression." While some of the songs are redone from the band's initial demo, there are also a handful of new tracks offered on "Machineries...."

Kicking off with "The Euphoria of Strangulation," the track (and the album as a whole) builds up slowly before exploding into a punk-fueled, five-plus minute diatribe against -- someone (an ex-lover probably?) who did someone wrong. "Strangulation" is a perfect introduction to the band though: traded singing and screaming vocals, massive rhythm-guitar riffing and tons of varied melody. The band sways from a frenetic, bulldozing pace to a pounding, steamroller intensity at the drop of a hat.

Closer Than Kin mesh punk and metal perfectly, presenting the result in a hardcore package that slowly gets under you skin and festers there; with each listen you grow to love the album and band that much more.

The band's lyrics drip with contempt -- tales of social injustice and broken hearts, songs about misery and hate. Musically, Closer Than Kin runs the gamut from driving, punk-laced riffing, to metal-tinged drumming and guitar noodling, and freely mixes and matches throughout the disc throwing in acoustic guitar and melody for dressing. The band sometimes sounds similar to From Autumn to Ashes on tracks like "When Toys are Traded for Tears," throws out a bass line similar to Megadeth's "Peace Sells" on "3 Words 3,000 Tears" and even conjures up comparisons to the Misfits on tracks like "Dead Flowers for a Dead Lover."

A definitely standout on "Machineries" has to be "The Uncertainty of Sanity." The acoustic track runs a little over a minute and a half and bleeds into the next track, but really showcases some great guitar work and soulful, emotional vocals. It's great for a band like this to stretch ever so close to its boundaries and still maintain a sound concurrent with what it hopes to present (in this case, brutal, pummeling hardcore music).

"The Machineries of Breath" has gradually become one of my favorite releases of 2003, and any fan of hardcore, metal or punk could find something to like in this release.

Slayer -- 'Soundtrack to the Apocalypse' [review]

Slayer
"Soundtrack to the Apocalypse"
American Recordings


Slayer.

Every fan of heavy metal has listened to this band.

Even people that don't listen to heavy metal are familiar with the name.

Over the years, Slayer has consistently built a strong catalogue and even stronger fanbase, from 1983's "Show No Mercy" on Metal Blade Records to their debut on American Recordings, 1986's "Reign in Blood," to newer albums like 1998's "Diabolus in Musica" (one of my all-time favorites) and 2001's "God Hates Us All," Slayer has cranked out some of the most blistering, awe-inspiring tracks of all time.

Singer and bassist Tom Araya, guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, along with a rotating line-up of drummers (most notably Paul Bostaph and Dave Lombardo), have been tearing through the metal scene for over 20 years. Surely it was time to put some sort of career retrospective out.

Enter: "Soundtrack to the Apocalypse."

"Soundtrack to the Apocalypse" is a box set of Slayer material spanning its years with American Recordings.

There are two different versions of the box set: a four disc set and a limited edition five disc set. The four disc set consists of three CDs worth of "greatest hits," rare and live tracks, songs from soundtracks, overseas releases and a DVD of performance footage spanning 20 years. The limited edition consists of the same thing but comes in an "ammo box" and also features a banner, backstage pass and fifth disc that features a full concert.

So, is this a box set worthy of one of the greatest (metal) bands of all time? Let's take a look at each aspect of the set and then at the set as a whole.

Disc 1

The first disc acts as a "greatest hits collection" off the band's first four albums for American Recordings (the band's Metal Blade catalogue is ignored). There's a nice remix of "Criminally Insane" and crisp transfer of "Raining Blood" (both off the "Reign in Blood" album). From the live version of "Chemical Warfare" (off 1991's "Decade of Aggression") to the chunky, riff-heavy "Seasons in the Abyss" (off the 1990 album of the same name), Slayer's older stuff sounds as good as ever.

Disc 2

Most of the second disc continues chronologically, touching on Slayer's next four albums. There's a whopping five tracks from Divine Intervention (with "Serenity in Murder" and "Dittohead" standing out as the stronger cuts), three off Slayer's "Undisputed Attitude" ("Gemini" was a nice pick), three off "Diabolus in Musica" (including "Stain of Mind") and three off of "God Hates Us All" (with the obvious inclusion of "Disciple" with a chorus of "God hates us all...").

The remaining tracks are where the meat of the collection finally starts to get exposed.

First up, there's Slayer's cover of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" off the soundtrack for the 1987 movie "Less Than Zero." It's not a bad cover per se, but I remember thinking at the time of it's initial release that Slayer could have really made this a creepy-ass, heavy cover.

Also from the realm of movies, there's "Human Disease" from "Bride of Chucky" and "Disorder" off the "Judgement Night" soundtrack.

The tracks off the "Judgment Night" soundtrack featured heavy metal bands and rap artists joining forces (Cypress Hill and Pearl Jam; Biohazard and Onyx). In this case, Slayer teamed up with Ice T which wasn\'t such a stretch at the time since Ice T was also fronting the metal band Body Count.

Rounding out disc two are songs available off the overseas releases of "Diabolus" and "God Hates Us All" (two each) -- with "Wicked" being one of the stronger tracks on the entire set.

Disc 3

The third disc consists entirely of rarities. There's live tracks from the very early days (the disc kicks off with "Ice Titan" live from 1983) all the way to 2002 ("Bloodline" live in Sweden), rehearsal stuff, home recordings (a couple of home recordings by Jeff Hanneman -- "Raining Blood" and an early version of "South of Heaven") and a rough studio mix of "Piece by Piece." There's also a track Slayer did with Atari Teenage Riot complete with industrialized techno that seems totally out of character for the band, but at the same time not a terrible song.

Disc 4

This is the DVD of the box; it contains 15 live tracks spanning the band's career. From "Die by the Sword" (live from 1983) to "Disciple" (live from 2003), the disc offers a glimpse into the evolution of Slayer, from an 80's big-haired, thrash band in a small California club, all the way to grizzled, tattooed, head-shaved, arena-touring, metal veterans.

The earlier clips are pretty rough. The video is as clear albeit somewhat grainy, but the audio is murky at times, with a lot of bass; the sound is ambient instead of coming off the sound board (which is what is done when the show is specifically being taped for release). Obviously these shows weren't taped to be put on DVD and released, but they do their job showing the band in its beginning stages. Though the clips are seen out of context (I know it's California, 1983, but what club? And is Slayer the opener or headlining?), it's still amazing to see them packing the house with what appears to be die-hard fans. "Aggressive Perfector" is particularly fun to watch.

The later clips are great both sonically and visually. "War Ensemble" and "South of Heaven" (live from Michigan in '91) feature great live energy. The ESPN performance of "Bloodline" is solid, even if the band was performing in a cramped space. "Disciple" and "God Send Death" (live from France, 2003) sound good, although the band was performing on a dark set so there's not too much to look at.

In addition to the live footage, there's two other "gems" to be had. There's some home video footage of the band accepting the Heaviest Band Award at the Kerrang! Magazine Awards in 1996, and an electronic press kit for "Diabolus in Musica." While the award thing is a little too lengthy for what it was (the band simply said thanks and that was it), the EPK is great to watch -- spliced between interview clips from all band members is rehearsal and live shots of the band performing what was, at the time, new material. But it also gives a little insight into the album in general and where the band was at that point in its career. The EPK is definitely the highlight of the DVD.

Disc 5

The deluxe edition of "Soundtrack to the Apocalypse" also features a fifth disc: a full-length concert from the band's Anaheim stop on the God Hates Us All tour (2002). This was Slayer's first tour with original drummer Dave Lombardo back in the fold (he had left the band in the early '90s). The CD comes in a "Blood pack" sleeve -- essentially a slip case that's filled with fake blood and floating skulls -- that looks pretty cool.

As for the set list, the band dug way back for this one. After kicking off with the two opening tracks off "God Hates Us All," the band essentially played all their classics. Sure, they fit in "Stain of Mind" (off "Diabolus in Musica"), but the rest of the material had been aged at least 10 years (maybe this had to do with Lombardo re-entering the fold). It's nice to know the band can still bust out old favorites like "Chemical Warfare" or "At Dawn They Sleep" (featuring a kick-ass mini drum solo) and not miss a beat while "Seasons in the Abyss" and "Raining Blood" still sound as strong as ever.

The Extras

The limited edition of "Soundtrack to the Apocalypse" includes a wall banner and a replica backstage laminate. Both versions of the box set come with a booklet featuring tons of pictures spanning the band's career, along with interviews with each band member and producer Rick Rubin. The booklet is pretty big in the deluxe version of the box, so I'm not sure how it is packaged in the regular version (from what I saw on the shelf, the regular version seemed to be packaged in what was, essentially, a double CD case).

Assessment

Well, the set kicks off with "Angel of Death," and it's such a great thrash-based song and a perfect way to kick off things. Slayer has just always been such a strong, riff-based metal band, and all of these tracks are great reminders. The "Decade of Aggression" live tracks are still phenomenal -- the live version of "Hell Awaits" is full of fury with great King riffs throughout. In between you've got gems like "Raining Blood" (with a great opening of rain and drums before the riffs and double-bass kick in) and "Seasons in the Abyss" (another one of my Slayer favorites). Also nice to hear the great Araya scream on songs like "Aggressive Perfector."

I'm particular happy with the inclusion of "Bitter Peace" on disc two, just because it has one of the coolest openings of any Slayer song -- the slow, plodding drumming and down-tuned guitar slowly picking up steam before plowing into the opening riff (great opening track for "Diabolus" too). And the guitar riffs mid-way through the track are particularly venomous. It's great to have "Death's Head" following because you expect the heavy bass and guitars of this tracks opening right after the abrupt ending of "Peace." Drummer Paul Bostaph shines on the "Intervention" tracks but instead of having such a heavy focus on this release I would've preferred a cover or two off "Undisputed Attitude," or maybe something else off of "Diabolus" or "God Hates Us All." The Ice T track is pretty interesting too, as it's substantially different from T's Body Count stuff, and he adds a weird element to the band that almost makes them sound slowed-down. Plus, it's weird hearing Araya moved down to background vocals.

The sound quality on disc three is questionable, but that's what you expect given the source material. The vocals on "Seasons in the Abyss" threw me off at first, and the rawness of the garage recordings is fun, but overall this is a hit-or-miss collection of rarities. The Atari Teenage Riot track really caught me off guard, but was pretty good.

As for the DVD, I was pretty disappointed with it. What was there was fine. The club shows sounded raw but I "get it" and still enjoy watching those clips (I had the same problem with the old clips off Fear Factory's "Digital Connectivity"). Still, I was dying for the band's actual videos. And maybe a couple of interview clips or something. Even something off a Headbangers Ball, or some festival stuff -- ANYTHING. As it stands, the whole thing clocked in a little over an hour, so there was obviously room for more.

The setlist for the live disc is strong. The sound quality is great and it stands unedited (with Araya comments throughout the set including a nice rant against the bouncers at the front of the stage). Plus, it's a nice capture of the energy the band has live (better than the other live clips sprinkled throughout the set apart from the "Decade of Aggression" tracks). In short: a strong live disc.

I loved the booklet that accompanied the set, but was mixed with the rest of it. I guess collectors would be into the banner and laminate, but I'll just keep those things in the box. I never understood the point of the laminate anyway, it's just a replica. (Now if you could keep it for potential fan meet-and-greets down the road, it would be a different story.) I just look at these things like prizes in a Cracker Jack Box: they kind of fun to get but useless overall.

OVERALL

Well, first off, the Metal Blade stuff is largely ignored except for live tracks or the DVD (although the studio version of "Aggressive Perfector" was a nice addition). The set could have been a lot stronger even if there was just an EP as the sixth disc with five or six tracks on it.

As for an anthology of sorts, the first 2 discs do a great job of spotlighting the band's career. Slayer's music hardly sounds dated, and the energy from the earlier tracks is comparable to anything being released today (there's a reason Slayer's considered one of the greatest metal bands of a ALL TIME).

The rare stuff is probably something only diehard fans would really be into, although there's nothing wrong with any of it. The DVD fell below expectations which is the biggest problem with the set overall. As for the bonus disc: there's nothing quite like seeing (or in this case hearing) Slayer live, and the set list is a great mix of old and new tracks.

You get the sense there could've been more included here. The band supposedly had done a rumored 50 or so tracks during the sessions for "Undisputed Attitude." There were also rumors of older tracks getting re-recorded at some point. I suspect there were a couple other unreleased tracks that could've been dug up.

There's some nice touches here. The CD's themselves are black (on the underside -- instead of shiny and reflective like most retail CDs). The box itself is what it is, the booklet is great to look through, and while I question the value of the extras, they were nice inclusions.

Armsbendback -- 'The Waiting Room' [review]

Armsbendback
"The Waiting Room"
Victory Records


ArmsBendBack burst onto the scene in 2002 with "Even Though I'll Hurt You." While there were only a handful on songs on the disc (five to be exact), they seemed to generate enough buzz to sign with Trustkill Records. Of course, it didn't hurt that this Philadelphia quartet was also heavily touring with the likes of OneLineDrawing and A Static Lullaby.

The band isn't nearly as grinding and hardcore as some of their label-mates (Nora or 18 Visions). But then again, Trustkill is also the home of Open Hand (a phenomenal band) and Poison the Well (which, while pretty hardcore, has it\'s moments of melody and softness).

I was familiar with the band prior to this release, but hadn't really heard any songs. I assumed the band's sound was similar to A Static Lullaby -- there's a huge sticker on the front of the wrapped CD talking about Finch and Thrice ("If you're a fan of these bands, check this out..."). Victory Records had done this type of marketing in the past with the likes of Taking Back Sunday and Thursday to try and get more buys. It almost saying the band can\'t stand on it's own, so we'll reference these other well-known bands instead.

And that's definitely not the case with Armsbendback -- they CAN and COULD stand out on their own.

The band consists of Andrew Kegerise on drums, Brad Sloan on bass, vocalist Mike Coasey and guitarist Carson Slovak. Slovak and Sloan also handle backing vocals. The band's sound is catchy and dynamic, with vocals drifting from melodic wails to angry screaming (but leaning towards the former); the tracks seem intricate and simple all at the same time. Coasey's vocals didn't appeal to me on first listen. The vocals seemed murky, almost waterlogged if it were possible, like there was a weird bass to it. But that was just a "first-listen" thing, and the strength of his vocals are what's rapidly making this one of my favorites of the year.

Four of the five tracks from the first album were re-recorded for "The Waiting Room" at Big Meanie Studios in New Jersey (where Thursday has also recorded for what it's worth). The rest are new and the whole thing was recorded in eight days, a commendable feat given nothing seems rushed or off, and the disc probably feels a little more raw (in a good way) for it.

"Hooray for hell if it\'s on the way." With those words Armsbendback opens "The Waiting Room." The opening track "Countdown to the End of the World," sets the tone for the album: driving guitar and bass with thundering drums and traded off vocals ranging from melodic rambling to strained screeching and screamed, hardcore punctuations.

"Primera (Last Goodbye)" is a fantastic track. The song works great as the second track: it isn't quite intense enough to open the album, but a great lead in to the meat of the disc. The vocals are strong and Coasey's singing really shines, especially as he draws out lyrics like "This is my last goodbye" and makes them sound so haunting.

"Trading the Silence" has some interesting back and forth vocals in it, but the music seems too monotonous. Definitely one of the disc's weaker tracks... but that's still saying a lot as it isn't terrible, just not too exciting musically.

"The Arms of Automation" is one of the songs redone from the first album and is my personal favorite on the disc. The lyrics, seemingly dealing with spurned love, are great ("My arms will not take hold of you. Instead of giving up I wait."). The guitar riffs and drumming are fast-paced but deliberate during the song, while the chorus' music has a great catchy sound. And as the song comes to a close with Coasey singing "I've waited all my life for this," there's a sort-of sing-along scream in the background that still comes off as melodic.

The drumming shines during "Terms and Conditions." The vocals seem pretty strained, but the bass and drumming trade off work well. This is another one of those songs that seem almost monotonous, but the double-bass pedal-work of Kegerise makes it worth while.

"Garry Gilmore's Eyes" has a Helmet feel to it: the thick guitar start/stops with a driving, hook-laden chorus. "Radial" is more of a hardcore track, with an interesting start/stop during the verses. The chorus is more melodic and Coasey voice again shines. There's a great, almost hypnotic guitar line played through most of the song too, just a simple back and forth chord.

"Watermark" again revisits work from "I'll Hurt You..." The lyrics make the song come off like a love song ("I want to live inside you, just to see just what you see"), but I can't help but feel there's more underneath the surface. That's the great thing about most of these songs, they're open to interpretation. The verses are slower and melodic, with the choruses picking up energy and the vocals becoming more scratchy.

"Dystopia" (the last of the previously released tracks) is just a great, slow brewing song with a lot of energy in the choruses and haunting feedback during the verses. There's some great drum work mid-way through the song too.

"This Could Be" seems out of place on the disc overall. It has the thick, guitar riffs during the verses, but the tempo seems off for some reason ... it might be the placement of the song so close to the end of the disc. There's some nice melodic singing during the chorus though.

"Red Ceiling" is a slower, driving track -- musically the song just keeps drilling towards something, but never seems to get there. But the vocals save it: Coasey follows along, ploddingly during the verses but really opens up during the choruses ... and I assume he handles some of the hardcore yelling during the bridge which sounds great. "Red Ceiling" is the perfect example of a song that starts off boring, but hooks you in by the middle, and then by the end you're wondering why you didn't like it to begin with.

A piano break opens up the last and longest track on the disc, "Apollo's Collapse" (clocking in around 7 minutes). It reminds me a little of the weird, Pink Floyd sounding stuff Snapcase puts out from time to time. There's some space effects, and Coasey sounds like he's singing a lullaby ... then right as you feel safe and relaxed the track really opens up with the whole band rocking out. Of course, the lullaby returns to calm things down again ... and the cycle continues. A nice ending to a solid album.

Mushroomhead -- 'XIII' [review]

Mushroomhead
"XIII"
Universal Records


It can be tough trying to classify a band when it mixes so many elements to its sound. Such is the problem with Mushroomhead, relative newcomers to the national metal scene. What to call the band's sound? Hard rock with a techno edge? Even that seems too confining, although it's clear the band is firmly grounded with at least one foot in the metal scene.

Starting out, Mushroomhead was more of an underground sensation, developing a reputation off the strength of its live show. The band broke nationally in 2001 with the release of "XX," an album which featured re-mixed material from Mushroomhead's hard-to-find independent releases: "Mushroomhead"(1993), "Superbuik"(1996) and "M3"(1999). The band has been compared to everything from Faith No More (musically) to Slipknot (both bands feature mask-wearing jumpsuit clad members -- that's where the similarities end in this case), but the band has managed to create a unique enough sound that is easily recognizable: dualing vocals, chunky bass riffs, down-tuned guitars, plodding drums, samples and interesting orchestration. If you had to sum it all up in one word: Murky.

So, does "XIII" do anything to further the legacy of Mushroomhead? Whereas "XX" was really hard to digest (covering such a large expanse of the band's catelogue -- the album lacked a certain focus on it's own but served as a nice introduction to the band), "XIII" features all new, fresh music.

Mushroomhead's unique sound comes from a variety of elements: the vocal combination of J Mann and Jeffrey Nothing, drummer Skinny playing off of Pig Benis' wicked bass lines, Shmotz on keyboards, guitarists Gravy and Bronson with Stitch rounding out the amalgam with samples.

"XIII" kicks off with "Kill Tomorrow." The song has some great, fast-paced rhythm during the verses with the bass and drums sounding better than ever, but the choruses slow down to the familiar Mushroomhead sound.

The disc's strongest track, "Sun Doesn't Rise" was, I assume, the first single off the disc, and is reminiscent of "Solitaire/Unraveling," the big hit off the last album. The vocals are pretty strong, the drumming is great during the bridge, and overall the song exhudes a creepy vide which is perfectly suited to the band.

"Mother Machine Gun" starts off with an interesting piano and drum piece before the sludgy guitars kick in. This song is a perfect microcosm for the album as a whole: it starts off real promising but falls back to the safe, usual sound for the band, and comes off lacking in some fashion. Still, the guitar riffs in this song are great.

On "Nowhere to Go" the band finally slows down, this song has a ballad feel, but still features an edgey guitar sound to it -- like, you're not quiet sure if the song is going to tear apart at a point (in a good way), and by the time the full band florishes mid-way through, it's like a well-deserved payoff.

"Becoming Cold" seems like a write-off track. At this point on the disc, the similar-sounding songs start to blend together. You start to feel like you've already listened to the song before it really gets going.

"One More Day" opens up with piano too, but the piano stays throughout the song which creates a great atmosphere (with the vocals and programming) for what I assume is a spurned-love song with lyrics like "You take me higher than the lowest place."


Benis' bass work on "The Dream is Over" is fantastic, grinding under the vocals like a steamroller and giving the track a feel of something like a song off Coal Chamber's first album. The fast paced "The War Inside" follows, giving a a nice one/two punch mid-way through the disc. I wonder if the album would have been better off leading off with these two tracks, and then blending into a slower track.

"Almost Gone" has a nice Corrosion of Conformity vibe to it. Vocally, the COC vibe popped up slightly in "Nowhere to Go" first, but here it\'s the vocals and the general feel of the music -- the sludgey guitars and bass and bluesy riffs -- that almost make this sound unlike anything else the band is doing. (This is personally, my favorite track.)

From here the album just sort of plows on -- each song has nice little moments but aren't too great: "Eternal" features some great attacking bass lines and drum progressions on it; "Our Own Way" is a powerful track ending with a constant scream of "Arise" and piano; "Destroy the World Around Me" just seems too long and overblown clocking in at over 8 minutes.

The last track, "Thirteen," begins as an instrumental, but turns into a heavy cover of Seal's "Crazy." I could recognize the song, and never liked it before -- but I don't mind it so much here. If you never recognized it as a cover, it would sound like a good Mushroomhead track. Instead, it's a hard twist on a mellow song. As far as covers go, it's not bad, and the band puts its stamp on it.

Between the Buried and Me -- 'The Silent Circus' [review]

Between the Buried and Me
"The Silient Circus"
Victory Records


North Carolina's Between the Buried and Me (BTBM) is looking to make a big name for themselves nationally with the release of their Victory Records debut, "The Silent Circus." The band\'s self-titled 2002 release garnered moderate attention on the underground circuit, so much so that the band was playing shows with the likes of Poison the Well, Hatebreed and Malevolent Creation before signing with Victory. So, will "The Silent Circus" redefine people's existing notions of "metalcore" as their band bio suggests? Well ... perhaps. But new listeners will have to exercise a little patience when checking out the new album to form their own answers.

Guitarists Nick Fletcher and Paul Waggoner, drummer Mark Castillo, bassist Jason King and vocalist/keyboard player Tommy Rogers have created an interesting sound for themselves, combining hardcore melodies with death metal vocals, while at the same time being unafraid to throw in some keyboard bridges, acoustic guitar or haunting melodic singing. The caveat here is they don't mix and match the different music styles in the songs, but develop BTBM's sound throughout "The Silent Circus."

The disc's first three tracks -- "Lost Perfection: a) Coulrophbia," "b) Anablephobia" and "Camilla Rhodes" -- kick the album off with an assault of death metal vocals and thundering bass riffs and drum kicks. While the music aspect reminds me of a band like Suffocation, the vocals are of the more extreme Cannibal Corpse variety. I thought this was a hardcore band(?!).

A quick break from our review. Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns, while anablephobia is defined as "a persistent, abnormal, and irrational fear of looking up," which unfortunately causes millions of people needless distress every year. Glad we could all learn together. Use your newfound phobias with care. Now back to our review.

Track 4, "Mordecai," is when the band finally breaks free of its death metal sound. The album kicks off with death metal vocals alternating with extreme hardcore screaming. The song still sounds the same as the preceding three, but the band throws in some start/stop riffing that causes you to sit up and take notice. Mid-way through the song the intricate guitar chords give way to a mellow bridge with Rogers' wrought vocals shining through. It's like a breath of fresh air. Suddenly the "bridge" flourishes and the song immediately turns into something of an opus. THIS song is the reason to check out BTBM. It sounds nothing like what precedes it and really makes the band stand out from its contemporaries.

"Mordecai" gives way to "Reaction," which opens with Rogers on keyboards (the first time keyboards show up on the album). But "Reaction" seems to just be a bridge to "(Shevanel Take 2)," which can basically be boiled down to an acoustic track. Minimal drumming with alternating acoustic and electric guitar, complete with ballad-ly vocals. How can this be the same band that started off the album?

It's at this point I realize why BTBM were on tour with Poison the Well, as the layout of the tracks on this album remind me of Poison the Well's "Tear From the Red," except more extreme on the metal end, and more mellow on the softer tracks.

Track 7, "Ad a dglgmut," is a whiplash back to the death metal vocals at first, but soon gives way again to the more mellow singing and rhythmic underscores. Clocking in at over seven minutes, it's the longest song on the album -- a journey from BTBM's darkest, angriest sound, to one of its softest moments (with lyrics like "It all makes sense, we are capable of beauty.") and then back to the full-on metal dirge.

"Destructo Spin," "Aesthetic" and "The Need for Repetition" round out the disc. "Repetition" features a really interesting guitar sound that seems thick and heavy and adds interesting dimension to the vocals and is a great closer to the album. (Note: there is a hidden track tacked onto the end of "The Silent Circus" about 11 minutes into the last track.)

From the driving bass on a track like "Aesthetic" to the great guitar interplay "(Shevanel Take 2)" and intense extremes of the vocals, BTBM have created a unique disc. They've managed to bridge the huge gaps between the different sounds they attempt effortlessly, yet I wonder if the gap was too big to attempt to bridge. The band will hit the road in for a North American tour in 2004.

Static X -- 'Shadow Zone' [review]

Static-X
"Shadow Zone
Warner Brothers


Static-X burst onto the music scene in 1999 with the release of "Wisconsin Death Trip." At the time, I had just seen Static-X open for Fear Factory and remember being taken with lead singer Wayne Static's vocal delivery. It was fast paced and urgent ... and he wrote lyrics that rolled off his tongue in such a unique fashion. The music sounded almost industrial in nature (think: Ministry without the edge), and over the years developed into a mix of programming and metal almost on par with Rob Zombie's band for the solo material (only with all the production effects added).

"Death Trip" was, at its heart, a nice little metal album. Static did some programming effects for tracks throughout the disc, but the album as a whole, was a nice little kick in the ass for fans of that type of music. Songs like "Bled for Days" and the title track are as good today as they were four years ago while other bands making disposable music at the time have since disappeared.


Static-X followed up "Death Trip" with 2001's "Machine." The album was much heavier than its predecessor. Songs like "Get to the Gone" and "This is Not" were louder, angrier and more fierce than anything the band had offered up previously. At some point the band also offered up a track for an animated Batman series that sounded like trance music and seemed totally out of character for the band.

"Shadow Zone" seems to have taken a step back from the foundation laid by "Machine": the band toned the "heavy" down, and added a lot more programming -- it just seems overly apparent in every track. Plus -- and this is a complaint I heard about the band from fans and non-fans throughout the years -- each song seems to bleed into the other and sound the same. In the past I'd have disagreed, but "Shadow Zone" seems to lack whatever I had heard in the previous albums.

Each song has nice parts, but most of them don't seem very memorable. It's nice to hear the trademark Static growls at the end of the opening track, "Destroy All." Tony Campos' underlying bass riffs on "Control It" are fantastic, but the guitar riffing gets annoying after a while. "Control It" is actually one of the strongest tracks on the album and I'm surprised it wasn't the lead off-single as it's a track that showcases the elements that fans of the band have come to love.


"New Pain" starts off with some potential, but then there's a strange bridge after each chorus with weird vocals that detract from the overall sound the song has going for it. The title track has some nice vocal delivery from Static, but the actual lyrics seem nonsensical, and the song again suffers from a weak chorus heavy on the keyboards. The singing reminds me of "Bled for Days" only less threatening. The guitar work done by Static and Tripp Rex Eisen on "Dead World" is another trademark of the band, the buzzing back a forth of the two creates a nice frenetic atmosphere.


"Monster" has some great vocals again from Static. He just rattles off line after line at breakneck speed while the guitars grind along with him like a locomotive. While it's mostly a list of words or phrases, everything flows nicely together and actually makes sense.

"The Only" is a little slower than the tracks preceding it, but has a nice edge to it. The drumming and bass lines at the end of the song are a highlight of the track. "Kill Your Idols" is the closest song to sound like the Static-X of old. Musically "All in Wait" is strong, especially the bass, but the vocals seem distant and bring the song down. The programming on this track also seems out of place. "Otsegolectric" was the song I heard touted before the release of the disc, but doesn't really do anything to stand out on its own.

"So," a song about pushing a loved one away, is the best song on the "Shadow Zone." It's a great love-type song with a nice edge. It's the type of song you could put on a mix tape for someone, but still listen to it alone and get into it.

"Transmission" is just a bridge of noise and sounds to the last track, "Invincible." The band goes out on a slower note with this melancholic track that doesn't seem to fit in with its normal sound.

Well, at first listen it seems like Static-X has lost it's edge. The songs have strong elements, but suffer ultimately from either bad choruses or weird structure. The strongest songs on the disc have to be "Control It," "Shadow Zone," "Monster" and "So." I know that the programming is one element of the "Static-X sound," but I just feel like it gets overwhelming after a while. On second and third listens the band still comes off angry and loud, but in the end this album just didn't quite do "it" for me.