Periphery - Periphery II: This Time It's Personal [Progressive Metalcore]
From friends of Animals As Leaders comes this other Djent project from Sumerian Records, and the guitarist is the man behind the production of the fabulous AAL albums. But this is almost completely different from AAL. A more apt comparison would be Trivium or As I Lay Dying.
Even though the tag says progressive, I did not find anything progressive about this album. As the title implies, this is a personal album, with emotional lyrics and screamo vocals and lyrics about how bitchy his ex-girlfriend is yada yada yada. A lot of the press are praising this album which dazzles me, seeing that there isn't much to be impressed by. Vocals, while emotive, do not strike much of a chord with me. For a 'progreesive' band, the guitarist is one hell of a bore, choosing to go for dreamy Dream Theatre-esque soundscapes instead of creating anything original and captivating. Speaking of which, John Petrucci himself brings one of the few highlights of the album with a solo on 'Erised'.
The production, which cannot really be complained about, helps to bring to life the few moments when electronics come in (see instrumental 'Epoch'), as Misha has showcased in the Animals As Leaders projects, but otherwise, there isn't much to bring to the surface with the album's serious lack of detail. The songs are really just, songs, without much creativity. It's more of an ambient album then a metal album, with the death vocals never really punching you in the face (is it autotuned?), and the album works better as a whole than a song-by-song basis, a bitter irony which describes the homogeneity of the album. Some nice production for a boring band trying to capture the glory of old Dream Theatre days. For a better example, listen to Haken's 2011 album Visions.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Passable - One or two good songs, a bit of flow
Between The Buried And Me - The Parallax II: Future Sequence [Progressive Metalcore]
I was hesistant to listen to this album at first. As you know, Between The Buried And ME has a schizophrenic style that virtually tries to combine every genre of music together, though not as masterfully shocking as Mike Patton did in Mr Bungle, but with enough change to have many people label them as pretentious hipsters who are compromising musicality and trying too hard to shock audiences. I myself, being an Opeth fan, hated the sudden jolts and unskillfully crafted transitions, if any existed.
To my surprise, this album has a lot of improvement from the band's previous 'The Great Misdirect', which was a ironically apt title for the album. To the pros; Tommy Rogers finally sounds like deathcore vocalist and not a confused metalcore-screamo singer in the wrong music. Transitions, though still not as fluid, have become more pronounced and I rarely had a "How did just happen" moment while listening. Production sounds energetic and vital, which amplifies the schizophrenic nature of the music.
Despite the evident chaos of the album, there are numerous moments of brilliant creativity spliced in between every song and there. The inclusion of Nintendo music, some really soulful guitar moments (which also give the band a more mature appearance, at least slightly more than pretentious teenagers) really marks the surprises in this album. The definite album highlight is 'Melting City', with its funky keyboards, gentle fretless bass in the middle, and death metal explosions in its introduction, not mention the polyrhythmic musical outroduction that is sure to dazzle even staunch Dream Theatre fans.
This album is an absolute grower, and time will tell if it moves up the ranks or if I find it disgusting towards the end of the year. The fact that this year's competition includes heavyweights Krallice (whose album 'Years Past Matter' is getting better and better with each listen) and Blut Aus Nord, who have managed to mix creative music with masterful songwriting, doesn't bode too well for BTBAM. This is quite a phenomenal album albeit one for a limitted audience, but as for now, it will not stand out in the year's better releases.
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average - Half of album is listenable
I will admit that this album took me by pleasant surprise. Metalcore, the most hated metal subgenre today, with it's kiddish clean vocals and youthful immaturity, is usually a guaranteed miserable listen for me, but Awakened manages to overcome many odds with powerful vocals (screamed ones, at least) and relatively strong guitar work.
The same metalcore problems are here, weak clean vocals, relatively inflexible songwriting, but as I mentioned before, this is a shortcoming of the genre rather than the artiste, since the only band adding some colour to metalcore, and not necessarily successfully, is Between The Buried And Me. But for the most part, the strengths are also self evident in the ultra-crisp production, heavy, nuanced and sterile without diluting the dirt. Perhaps this is what gave me the kick when I listened, and to top off that, the accessibility of the band is up there with Linkin Park and radio-friendly rock bands.
This isn't a mindblowing release, there is nothing new. But for fans of the genre or the band, the album is about as consistent as anything AILD have put out in their last decade.
Rating:★★☆☆☆ Passable - One or two good songs, a bit of flow
Here it is - the Grand Final of the Metal Drummers series! Twenty of metal music's best percussionists got together and pitted their skills against one another and out of these twenty only two remain: Meshuggah's Tomas Haake and Dream Theater's Mike Mangini.
Who among the two has the better combination of speed, technique, musicality, endurance and accuracy though? Let's find out.
THE GRAND FINAL [MANGINI vs. HAAKE]
(a) Solo Work
MANGINI
Mike Mangini is, even to the untrained eye/ear, a fabulous technician. That explains how he has always been one of the world's most sought-after drummers, whether for live performances on tight schedules or for studio recordings. His solo work, however, tends to be a tad mechanical at times. His full repertoire of skills is on display, yet his solos do not quite have that gripping quality about them that makes the listener want more.
HAAKE
Haake possesses neither the sheer linear speed nor the incredible multi-genre knowledge of Mangini, but manages to extract far more musical value out of his solos. A first-class technician in his own right, Haake thrives in solo/duo situations that allow him to show off his chops which, as can be seen and heard in the video, extend far beyond metal playing.
Advantage: Haake
(b) Band Work
MANGINI
Despite being such an accomplished musician, Mangini has not really made his mark with one particular band (though he may well do so with Dream Theater soon). His work with James LaBrie, Steve Vai and Extreme has generally been done on the fly; Mangini's strongest selling point is that he can come in, learn things in a very short time, and play them perfectly on gig day. However, he loses some points for the fact that he never has consistently shown off his incredible skills in any given band setting thus far.
HAAKE
When people think of Meshuggah, they do not think of Thordendal or Hagstrom as quickly as they think of Haake. This is where Tomas holds a significant advantage over Mangini when comparing the two drummers' band work. Meshuggah, as most metal fans would know, are a tech/death/jazz-fusion monstrosity of a band that puts out track after genre-defying track; central to whatever they do is the steady drumming of Haake.
Major Advantage: Haake
(c) Gimmicks
MANGINI
The man has held various hand and foot speed world drumming records and is still, even at his relatively advanced age, an incredible speed and endurance drummer.
HAAKE
Tomas' biggest gimmick is probably his liberal use of polyrhythmic beats in Meshuggah's music. Other than that, though, there is not much in the way of flash in his playing.
Advantage: Mangini
(d) Live Performance
MANGINI
Whether for Steve Vai, the G3 tour, Extreme or Tribe of Judah, Mangini will come in, put in his hours of practice, and bust out whatever is needed come performance time. A consummate professional and a startlingly accurate live performer, Mangini is always a treat to see in the flesh.
HAAKE
Haake is himself no slouch live; while some of his contemporaries have resorted to using drum machines in studio or omitting certain songs from their live gigs, Meshuggah and Haake have done everything the old-fashioned, organic way. Haake is terrifyingly accurate whether in studio or live, and while he may not be as bubbly a showman as Mangini, he more than compensates for that with the fact that he always jazzes things up live.
Tiny Advantage: Mangini
The Verdict: Each drummer has his advantages over the other; both are, when all is said and done, truly fantastic musicians. Mangini is the superior live performer due to his versatility and infectious personality, but Haake would have to be my pick for superior drummer because he makes the most of his considerable skill and knowledge in creating his music and crafting his solos.
This is a free E.P by Revocation which may be downloaded legally here. It downloads at 320 bitrate for five extremely well crafted songs.
Revocation hit the metal world only in 2008 with their long awaited debut 'Empire of the Obscene'. This was enough to get scooped up by Roadrunner Records, which gave way to 2009's excellent 'Existence Is Futile', with many noting the prowess of young guitar virtuoso David Davidson, which has led to some dubbing Revocation the next Metallica or Megadeth. Fusing technical death metal and thrash metal together for a fresh style of music that moved forward with as much reverence for the past, Davidson's solos demonstrate astonishing confidence and skill for a young man, and this brought their 2011 album (yeap it was only last year) Chaos Of Forms to mainstream attention. The thing about Revocation is that they truly are the next big thing; accessible, complex, technical, old-school and clearly having fun just listening to the record.
And if Teratogenesis is any indication, this band can only keep getting better. Starting off with 'The Grip Tightens', the title is apt for a truly refined sound that sounds even tighter than previous records. And there is a sense of urgency too, Davidson launches to a blinding solo just one and a half minutes into the song, after a well crafted chorus that can be enjoyed both in studio quality and in a live setting. There is also a new concentration on groove in the second song 'Spurn The Outstretched Hand'; vocals are more bearable and guitarists always give time for the bass to have some show off time but he rarely produces much to be interested in, whilst drums manage to keep up with the varying song tempos. This may be the one and only big flaw of the album, and the band on the whole, that none of them match up to Davidson's guitars. But think about it, did Metallica and Megadeth come to power with equally talented band-members? Perhaps this is what gives the music its youthful accessibility, its human element despite the technical wankery, and not in the emotional way, but in the reckless teen way, a bridge that metaphorically gaps the guitar-hero days with the newfound anger with political systems, and if that isn't metal, then you are obviously a Megadeth hater. One of the few bands of today with a serious amount of potential, watch out for them in years to come. Rating: ★★★★☆ Good - Strong flow, immediately grabs you
This album is, immediately, a flurry of musical segues that do not necessarily form a cohesive song all the time. This is within hearing the first two minutes of the first song and lead single 'Thoughts Like Hammers'. A screeching guitar note leads to tribal drums, wails and tremolo picked riffs, dies out, leads to the main verse with a between-groove-and-progressive riff and then out of nowhere comes organs and electronic synth, and then the next verse in clean, almost crooned vocals. Whilst this is sure to spell disaster in the hands of lesser beings like Between The Buried And Me, Enslaved manages to pull this off rather well.
Getting far away from the simple song structures of 2010's 'Axioma Ethica Odini', the over-the-top theatrics of RIITIIR should not be alarming to fans of the genre. Having earned a lot of praise for their past few albums, RIITIIR created quite a lot of anticipation amongst the heavy metal press. Heralding a style of music that is also a precursor of the viking metal genre, Enslaved has become quite a progressive metal powerhouse after the emergence of Opeth in the first years of the 21st century. So does the album live up to its expectations? No.
Like it's predecessor, Enslaved seems to be plagued by the same problems of blunt songwriting. Despite the obvious headway to 70s rock, the music lacks serious punch at vital moments, choosing instead to go for more of feel than technicality in their music. If that is the case, the song lengths have to be shortened. Songs meander on and on even after repeated listens, without enough distinction in between to be dramatically interested.
This is still a very ambitious, grandious effort, but where Axioma Ethica Odini excelled even with the same elements, RIITIIR takes for granted the progressions of a song without sustaining interest from one movement to another. There are strong moments on the album, from the introduction song, to the obvious highlight of the album, 'Roots Of The Mountains', an album worthy of carrying forth the grandiosity of modern progressive metal. Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average - Half of album is listenable
Here's the moment that you - all three of you - have been waiting for: the Final Eight of the Metal Drummers series!
Here they are, in the order that they were 'promoted' from their groups: Marco Minnemann, Gene Hoglan, Flo Mounier, Neil Peart, Mike Mangini, Tomas Haake, Tim Alexander and Peter Wildoer. These eight elite musicians will battle it out in groups of four, and from each group of four one drummer will be selected to compete in the Grand Final.
The groups are as follows:
GROUP A: Neil Peart, Gene Hoglan, Mike Mangini and Flo Mounier
GROUP B: Marco Minnemann, Tomas Haake, Tim Alexander and Peter Wildoer
GROUP A [PEART, HOGLAN, MANGINI & MOUNIER]
1. Neil Peart
Kicking off the action is the grizzled veteran Peart. In this clip (taken from a 2011 edition of the Letterman Show), Peart sends out the message that he isn't just here to run along with the young ones; he's here to grab them by the collars and show them a thing or two. Peart's timeless musicianship and excellent phrasing are on full show here, which is a testament to his professionalism as well - playing five-minute-long drum solos on Letterman is much like reading Hamlet to a bunch of four-year-olds; the target audience just doesn't quite get what they are seeing and hearing.
2. Gene Hoglan
The Atomic Clock enters the fray next, and this time we see an excerpt off his DVD titled - you guessed it - 'The Atomic Clock'. Gene's trademark precision is there for all to see - he even breaks it all down into little digestible bits for lesser musicians like ourselves. The bass work here is pretty neat, as are the subtle shifts in time signature and sticking patterns.
3. Mike Mangini
Quick analogy: if we were to take all the history's elite swimmers and make them race the 100m freestyle, would that be fair? Logic says no, since different swimmers excel at different strokes and distances. Similarly, not very many drummers are as comfortable as Mangini in 'contests' of this format. Mangini's drum solos are always a treat: fast, energetic, technically impressive and powerful. Again, there is nothing that this dude cannot play.
4. Flo Mounier
At speeds like those reached in this video, many drummers tend to play out of control and let pure muscle memory take over. Not Flo. The man is in control of whatever he does; he makes playing at over 200bpm for minutes on end look like taking a nap. His fill-work in this song (and pretty much the majority of his discography) is, while fast, much more creative and refreshing than is typical for his genre. Flo is a spectacular drummer and musician who combines speed and technique with taste and substance.
GROUP B [MINNEMANN, HAAKE, ALEXANDER, WILDOER]
1. Marco Minnemann
Minnemann starts off Group B with some extremely high-level stuff which is at once rapid, creative, groovy and entertaining. The last quality is Minnemann's biggest draw: rarely will you find someone who gets bored listening to the man. Hell, he could be counting out 4/4 on his ride cymbal, and even that would sound interesting. Minnemann plays with such feel and musicality and genuinely establishes himself as the man to beat in this group from the get-go.
2. Tomas Haake
And boom. Right after Minnemann comes his evil twin, Tomas Haake of Meshuggah. Haake, like Minnemann, is powerful and fast, but at the same time musically diverse and creative. In this video, we don't see much of Haake's signature rapidfire polyrhythms; we see a groovier, funkier side of his playing that is perhaps even more entertaining and intriguing. This is getting real hot.
3. Tim Alexander
The above clip is an excerpt off the Primus song 'Jellikit'. Herb is in good form here, showing off some exceptional stick work and incredible timing, tightness and accuracy in a live setting. Herb hails from the old school of fundamental drumming (think dynamics, timing and rudiments over mind-blowing speed and fancy tricks) and it clearly shows in his playing. No surprise at all that a certain Neil Peart is one of Herb's biggest influences.
4. Peter Wildoer
The second Swede in this group of four rounds things off with some blazingly accurate and powerful metal stuff. More known for his progressive drumming, Wildoer shows everyone that he is equally at home in a more 'traditional' metal setting, displaying his full array of blast beats, double kick patterns, fills and flams. Will that be enough to haul him into the Grand Final?
Verdict
Group A: For sheer speed, versatility and diversity, Mike Mangini makes it into the Grand Final.
Group B: A tougher bunch to pick from. Marco Minnemann would have won pretty much any other group, but is edged out by the wonderful Tomas Haake. I feel empty having to eliminate one of these guys.
If you were looking for Iron Maiden-esque music, you're gonna have a bad time. Hideous vocals and an overpowering bass that undermines a rather tasteless guitar, and not to say Steve Harris is even trying to play properly. Worse than Mike Portnoy's Adrenaline Mob, seriously. Don't waste your time. ★☆☆☆☆ Rubbish - One or two good songs
Krallice - Years Past Matter [Avant-garde / Transcendental Black Metal]
When I saw this album being released, I thought it would be an E.P or compilation, seeing that their last album was only released last year (incidentally, also my album of they year). Still, I must press on with my reviews. A bit of background:
Krallice is an American black metal band that was formed by jazz educated guitarists (Mick Barr played in legendary avant-garde jazz band The Flying Luttenbachers, performed for experimental pop band Animal Collective's live show and is signed to Mike Patton's record label whilst Colin Marston plays the 12-string warr guitar for technical-jazz-instrumental-metal Behold The Arctopus and is the bassist for technical death metal band Gorguts and avant-garde post-metal band Dysrhythmia). The band has been part of the recent backlash against 'hipster-black-metal', namely American black metal bands that disregard the genre's tradition of corpse paint, cynicism and anti-religion such as Deafhaven (punk/blackgaze), Liturgy [blackened math metal), Wolves In The Throne Room (transcendental folk black metal) and Castevet (blackened noisegrind). This album is definitely not going to change your mind on the 'hipster black metal' scene whatever you think of it, but Years Past Matter is easily one of the strongest metal albums of the year.
Firstly, the band takes musical proficiency to and insanely high level, which I daresay is unmatched except by Liturgy. There is almost no chord played here - every riff, every corner of this album is almost strictly tremolo picked, so quickly that they form their own melodies. This is a very jazz technique, although that genre isn't played on such a high speed like this band. The effect is what one can truly call 'transcendental', a huge wall of nothing but rapid guitar notes that seem to propel forth from an endless pit of a highly diverse cacophony of guitar noises. As if this is not enough to already scare the callow minds that are unaccustomed to such a ridiculous amount of skill, the two guitarists seem to play as if like symbiotic twins, creating a push pull dynamic between each other and bassist Nick McMaster, and when all three instruments are playing at different speeds and patterns and tones, the effect is truly overwhelming. The three guitars never ever rest, finding a portal to weave in a note or two, even at the moments when there is one guitarist riffing, the play with an urgency as if in eager anticipation of the next band member, creating a thick, claustrophobic texture that is truly unique to metal.
This brings me to the next point, the fervor and ferocity on this album is a reflection of the sheer passion each member has, ironically, for black metal. Basically, this is black metal separated to its unique trades; high pitched shrieks, thick enshrouding atmospheres, maniacal drums, tremolo picked riffs and philosophical themes. The album itself, even without distinguishable lyrics, is tightly based on metaphysics and cosmic mystery, as displayed by the album cover and title. And somehow, these themes bleed into context as each musical piece unfurls, with the titles simply being 'IIIIIII', 'IIIIIIII', 'IIIIIIIII' and so on. Even without obvious diversity in musical styles, the band has played around with structure and composition, writing strong individual songs rather than trying to mix various genres together like what every other progressive metal band right now is doing. This, is truly black metal, with its strict adherence to the same musical style. The key here is the moods triggered by the music, even with the same technique. The production is crystal clear, as opposed to the lo-fi on the band's previous album of the year 'Diotima', and the new sound gives Years Past Matter an overall lush atmosphere, with even some synth thrown into the mix. The greater emphasis on tremolo picked riffs creates a vibrant colourful sound, and riffs simply comes in waves of twenty seconds before breaking away and forming yet another new wave, before culminating in the tsunami that is the last two minutes of 'IIIIIIIIIIII', where the band finally plays in unison for an epic, grandiose conclusion.
Thirdly, the band's emphasis on structure and composition rather than gimmicks and lame experimentation is an evolution of the genre, and for metal itself. Whilst we hear of bands toning down their music (Opeth, Devin Townsend, Dream Theatre etc.), or heavy bands just piling up on speed without getting any new intelligent ideas (Behemoth, Nile etc.), Krallice is altogether pushing further and further on the barriers of music. Up to this album, there has never been any challenging 16 minute track that completely pummels the listener not just with tonal ferocity but also complex time signatures that keep dissipating and reforming repeatedly in bursts of 20-30 seconds. Not only that, the confidence on Years Past Matter is apparent with an almost complete rejection of 'traditional' black metal passages which still lurked in 2011's Diotima (probably the lo-fi production). It seems Colin Marston's working with Liturgy on last years has definitely rubbed off in the 'slow-stop-speed up- slow- speed up' dynamics (which is most apparent in 'IIIIIIII'), and it is clear that the two bands are working hand in hand to create some of the most compelling music in the world right now.
When I heard Blut Aus Nord's magnus opum 777 - Cosmosophy, I was pretty sure that my album of the year would be a clear winner. But with the sheer immensity of Years Past Matter, Krallice might just be my album of the year for two consecutive runs.
Note, this album is really not for anyone. It is very extreme. ★★★★★ Excellent - Undisputed classic for critical listening
For those of you who haven't been following this series thus far, a list of twenty famous/skilled/influential/popular drummers from various metal sub-genres was drawn and the drummers 'pitted' against each other in groups of five, with the top two in each group advancing to the Final Eight. Three groups' worth of action has passed so far: the six who have already made it to the Final Eight are: Marco Minnemann and Gene Hoglan (Group One), Flo Mounier and Neil Peart (Group Two) and Mike Mangini and Tomas Haake (Group Three).
On now to the final group, Group Four.
GROUP FOUR [DRUMMERS SIXTEEN THROUGH TWENTY]
16. Tim Alexander
Opening Group Four is 'Herb' Alexander, who gained mainstream recognition with Primus. Primus, for the uninitiated, is fronted by eccentric bassist Les Claypool, who happens to be a close friend of one of music's most wacko people, Buckethead. That gives you an idea of what Herb gained fame playing: complex, irreverent yet musically challenging stuff. In the video (as well as in every other bit of footage you can find), Herb plays with unparalleled precision and a solid sense of groove and timing. A strong start to Group Four.
17. John Bonham
Bonham, by virtue of his sheer fame at the peak of his career as well as his 'pioneer' status, simply had to be included in the discussion. Anyway, around 1:01 into the above video, Bonham launches into his trademark 'Moby Dick' solo. Nothing too technically fancy compared to modern music, but bear in mind that Bonham was doing this stuff four decades ago. 'Bonzo' was truly way ahead of his time, from a technical and musical standpoint.
18. Paul Bostaph
Bostaph enters this contest with his signature brand of death metal drumming. If the word that best describes Herb's drumming is 'feel', the best word to describe Bostaph's is 'intensity'. Disregard the poor sound of Paul's kit in this video and focus instead on how he never, at any point, lets up or slacks off. Certain drummers have 'cruise modes' where they just coast and let muscle memory take over; if Bostaph has this mode, he certainly chooses not to show it, instead always extracting as much value as he can out of each and every note. Traits like this have enabled him to garner significant success with bands like Slayer and Testament.
19. Peter Wildoer
When Peter Wildoer auditioned for Dream Theater right after Mike Portnoy left the band, his playing was so precise and polished it had the other DT members gushing about how they could have just held a gig right there and then with him. That's Peter in a nutshell - technically flawless, capable of handling the most complex of polyrhythms and grooves with consummate ease and blessed with tremendous work ethic.
20. Danny Carey
Danny Carey is a natural; he just makes drumming look like a walk in the park. Also, doesn't that kit of his sound absolutely gorgeous? The solo in this video is not one of his most technical ones, but it does show off Carey's more musical side. Some drummers play mere notes; Carey plays good, high-quality music.
Verdict: The sentimentalist's choice would obviously have been John Bonham, but all that has to be put aside in favour of objectivity. And objectivity says that Peter Wildoer and Tim Alexander make in through on the strength of their collective combination of technical proficiency and interpretative ability. Those two have drumming down to a science; then again, so does Danny Carey, who must be considered a major scalp here.
Ladies and gentlemen, your Final Eight: 1. Marco Minnemann (Germany) 2. Gene Hoglan (USA) 3. Flo Mounier (Canada) 4. Neil Peart (USA) 5. Mike Mangini (USA) 6. Tomas Haake (Sweden) 7. Tim Alexander (USA) 8. Peter Wildoer (Sweden)
Four of the Final Eight have already been determined - they are: Marco Minnemann, Gene Hoglan, Flo Mounier and Neil Peart.
Here come Groups Three and Four.
GROUP THREE [DRUMMERS ELEVEN THROUGH FIFTEEN]
11. Casey Grillo
The vibe that Kamelot's young drummer gives off is scarily reminiscent of Dave Lombardo, except with slightly less power and slightly more finesse. Grillo's standout traits are his solid fundamentals, machine-like consistency and remarkable endurance. Yup, sounds like Lombardo. The key difference: Grillo's penchant for pulling off stick-twirling stunts while belting out long double-kick passages.
12. Hannes Grossmann
The above clip in and of itself shows Grossmann to be a hugely accomplished jazz drummer capable of slapping up polyrhythms and swing beats while maintaining an understated yet extremely tangible groove. Now for some context: Grossmann was the drummer for freaking Necrophagist's Epitaph album. Now that's a mixture of skill and versatility. (Side note: The other German drummer to have been featured so far, Marco Minnemann, is primarily a jazz-fusion drummer but has also gigged for Necrophagist and is already in our Final Eight. Hmmmmm.)
13. Mike Mangini
Mangini is best known for two things: being an incredibly masterful technician and holding multiple world speed records for drumming. Dream Theater's incumbent drummer has been around the scene for a good three decades now and is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down or letting up. There is literally nothing this man cannot play.
14. Vinnie Paul Abbott
Vinnie's game isn't about showy five-minute-long solos or complicated time signatures; he'll be the first one to tell you that. Vinnie makes this vaunted twenty-strong list, however, on the basis of how much he brought to metal - he was one of the first few drummers to truly integrate catchy, listenable grooves into his band's music and still is one of the select few drummers who plays with incredible tone and power regardless of kit. A true legend, and always a blast live.
15. Tomas Haake
You knew this was coming. 'Bleed' is the one song most associated with Haake and his band Meshuggah. The scary thing about Haake is that during live performances, he matches the original recordings note for note and then some. Here, he piles on ghost note after ghost note on top of what has to be one of the most challenging pieces to play not just in metal but in all of music. Haake is a frighteningly talented drummer, a legitimate freak.
Verdict: This group is unquestionably the most diverse of the three thus far, with drummers of varying ages, genres, styles and techniques. All in all, Tomas Haake and Mike Mangini stood a cut above the rest this time (Hannes Grossmann has to be considered a huge casualty here and by huge I mean colossal, super-size, god damned huge).
In Part One, we saw Marco Minnemann and Gene Hoglan emerge from a tough group to claim spots in the final eight. On now to the second group.
GROUP TWO [DRUMMERS SIX THROUGH TEN]
6. Mike Portnoy
Kicking off the second batch of five is none other than former Dream Theater member Mike Portnoy. Equally notorious for his creativity and natural ability as his eccentricity and alleged lack of dedication, Portnoy has always been something of an enigma throughout his career (even starting his guffaw-worthy side project, Adrenaline Mob). In this particular clip, though, some of Portnoy's enduring strengths are seen, such as his peerless ability to improvise and innovate within a band context.
7. Charlie Benante
Ignore the sub-par sound quality; ignore, too, the fact that Anthrax (Benante's band) is unquestionably the least 'big' of the Big Four of thrash metal. Focus instead on Benante's speed, precision and fundamental soundness. Benante isn't the flashiest or most innovative drummer; rather, he's been astoundingly solid and consistent over his lengthy career and thus deservedly finds a spot in this group.
8. Flo Mounier
I like it when musicians push limits and test boundaries; I absolutely love it when Flo Mounier goes batshit crazy at around 0:58 in the video. Mounier is well known not just for his devastating speed, but also for his longevity (him and his band Cryptopsy have been around since 1988) and ability to create beats that are, on top of being blindingly fast, heavy as anything. The amazement factor goes up a notch when you consider that the city that Mounier hails from is most famous for producing Celine Dion and Michael Buble.
9. Inferno
Holy shit. Another speedster! Just when you thought Flo was fast, in comes Inferno. Flo might be faster 'overall' (when factoring in hand speed, foot speed, ability to change rhythms and tempos and all that stuff), but for raw double-pedal rapidity, Inferno takes the cake all day. Nearing the end of the video (at around the 0:55 mark), we are treated to a machinegun-like flurry of beats (which is significantly faster than the earlier portion of the solo, which is already itself fast. Shiiiit.) Side note: Inferno isn't the most unique drummer - there are a number of notable drummers in his mould (think George Kollias, Derek Roddy and their ilk). Still, he beats out the rest of them (themselves terrifyingly talented musicians) due to his superior combination of speed, power and precision in a live setting.
10. Neil Peart
Rounding off the group is Neil Peart who, stylistically and historically speaking, couldn't be more different from the drummer just before him in this list. To call Peart a 'drummer' is to call Michael Jackson (R.I.P.) a 'dancer'; they both do their respective labels more than enough justice, but have far more to their games than those labels suggest. In this video, Peart shows off his tremendous versatility and musicality, riffing on various percussion instruments and maintaining the feel of the solo through its entirety. Peart was truly way ahead of his time.
Verdict: Objectively speaking (and oddly since all these drummers represent the elite in their various genres), this group was slightly weaker than the first and therefore easier to come to a conclusion with; Neil Peart and Flo Mounier advance into the final eight. As a Dream Theater fan, I've got to say this: I'm gutted, but truth hurts.
Stay tuned for parts three and four and the Final Eight!
'When Metal Drummers Collide' is a multi-part series that imagines what it would be like if some of the world's leading metal drummers - on the strength of whatever solos/performances they have had captured on video or record - took each other on head-to-head to determine who comes out tops and claims the title of the most metal Metal Drummer.
I selected the list of drummers based loosely on the following factors: their speed, technique, style, genre, longevity and lastly 'pioneer' factor, which cannot adequately be described, so I shall offer this analogy: there are tons of really good bedroom drummers out there capable of mashing up five straight minutes of 220 bpm double-pedal beats, but none have as much 'pioneer' factor as someone like Dave Lombardo, since he was one of the first few people to bring such a style into the mainstream consciousness.
Without further ado, the list:
1. Assaf Seewi
2. Marco Minnemann
3. Dave Lombardo
4. Gene Hoglan
5. Hellhammer
6. Mike Portnoy
7. Charlie Benante
8. Flo Mounier
9. Inferno
10. Neil Peart
11. Casey Grillo
12. Hannes Grossmann
13. Mike Mangini
14. Vinnie Paul Abbott
15. Tomas Haake
16. Tim Alexander
17. John Bonham
18. Paul Bostaph
19. Peter Wildoer
20. Danny Carey
This list (and the accompanying analysis) is quite obviously partial in the sense that I lean towards drummers whose music I have listened to extensively. That having been said, in all analysis I try to be objective and logical, and anyway this was all done in the spirit of fun and should not be taken overly seriously.
Anyhow, here goes the faceoff.
GROUP ONE [DRUMMERS ONE THROUGH FIVE]
1. Assaf Seewi
In checks British musician Assaf Seewi. Fairly rudimentary stuff, but his sense of groove and style is awesome in its understated way. The gimmicks on show like those at 0:11 and 0:27 in the video, however, are anything but understated, and take extreme dedication and practice to master. Minus points for economy, sure, but a huge plus for groove, timing and showmanship.
2. Marco Minnemann
Minnemann comes in and puts on a display of highly refined jazz-fusion drumming while extending a complementary nod towards his dabbles into the metal world with passages like the one around 1:00 into the video. The Jackhammer, as he is known in music circles, shows his remarkable ability to shift from style to style and tempo to tempo, all while indelibly leaving his signature on his music. An extremely worthy effort here.
3. Dave Lombardo
NO NO NO U CANT PUT A MERE SONG HERE WHEN DAVE HAS SO MANY SOLO WORKZ LOL. Actually, yes I can, seeing as this particular performance (note: performance, not song) encompasses all of Dave's trademark characteristics: his eye-popping speed, remarkable endurance, amazing accuracy in live performances and of course his famed double-pedal work. Dave Lombardo is part drummer, part percussionist and all musician. Hats off to the legend (it must be noted that this performance was taped in 2007 and that Dave has been playing this exact way, only progressively faster, since the eighties. Wow.)
4. Gene Hoglan
Though this clip does not even take up half a minute, it shows in a nutshell what Gene 'The Atomic Clock' Hoglan is about: power, precision, technical savvy and improvisational ability. Some critics have pigeonholed Gene into the 'double-pedal and not much else' stereotype, but this solo (and, really, much of Gene's body of work) dispels that notion instantly.
5. Hellhammer
Jan Axel Blomberg aka Hellhammer is perhaps best known for his sheer, unadulterated hand and foot speed. Here, however, he shows off some jazzy chops (along with speed that's blazing, but not Hellhammer blazing - a testament to his high standards). Believe the word - Hellhammer is an all-rounded drummer, and he's scarily good.
Verdict: The first group contains a very diverse bunch of musicians and is already proving to be a headache to judge. If, however, we were being attacked by aliens and had to fend them off by impressing the hell out of them with drum solos, I would pick Gene Hoglan and Marco Minnemann. Honourable mentions go out to Hellhammer for his surprising versatility, Assaf for his eye-catching dexterity and Lombardo for, well, being Lombardo. So that concludes the first group of drummers; stay tuned to see Hoglan and Minnemann duke it out with their counterparts in subsequent editions.
Blut Aus Nord - 777 - Cosmosophy [Avant-garde Black Metal]
When Blut Aus Nord announced a trilogy of albums to be released within six months of each other last year, a lot of people wondered if the quality of music would be compromised for quantity. Devin Townsend and Ihsahn have put forth stale albums this year that could have been more polished on their own timing. So when the first two installments were released in the 777 trilogy, namely 777 - Sect(s) and 777 - Desanctification, a lot of people praised the freshness of the musical directions whilst people like me were rather alienated by the seemingly unmusical style of the band. Industrial computer beats, black metal riffs that drone in and out, mechanical but steady drums, and mostly indistinguishable vocals plagued the two albums and I didn't look through them again till late this year when the apparent message of the album sinked in - this is after all a concept about nightmare dreamscapes and fearful sounds, what else would it do but make you feel discomfort? With more spins, Sect(s) and Desanctification soon proved to be the more unorthodox and effective musical releases from this French metallers.
Followed by the news this year that the third installment would be delayed from February 2012 to September, simply because band leader Vindsval didn't find the product powerful enough then. Marketting plot or not, I listened to this record six months after it was due.
And then one understands the meaning of Vindsval's words when he announced the delay.
Immediately, things become apparent, the production is spacey and riffs float about within the first few seconds of Epitome XIV, before the first song starts proper with... vocals that have been processed by the vocoder while remaining as unintelligible as the previous records. While the previous records sounded evil and ominous, this record sounds bittersweet, emotional and triumphant, all at once.
As it progresses, Cosmosophy begins to unveil itself as something far beyond black metal at all, with an almost industrial backdrop and rapped out verse starting Epitome XV, a receipe that would spell cheesy disaster in the hands of another musician. But it is the final two epics, Epitome XVII and Epitome XVIII, with its post-apocalyptic compositions that even manage to find pieces of melodies from the previous two albums weaving in and out to fully utilise the fact that this is really a trilogy and not a bunch of albums with a similar theme. It is minimalistic, without the acrobatics of the past two polyrhythmic albums, and that is not to say 777 - Cosmosophy is replete of complexity.
As you listen, images of your own life would definitely surface as you let the music play. It was probably the inspiration for the 777 series when it was announced last year, but music this inspired, this paradoxical and this evocative is what differenciates the people who play music and the people who create music. If Tool, Pig Destroyer or Converge fail to make a more stunning album in the final quarter of the year, than we already have the album of the year. This is not even metal, this is music.
★★★★★ Excellent - Undisputed classic for critical listening
First of all, this album is one frenzied mess of madness. This may annoy some but its the album's redeeming factor. From the start, the bass and pathetic attempt for some atmosphere is punctuated by screams and a total technical death metal assault that sounds so phenomenally crazy, it puts the relative mildness of recent technical wankers to shame. Not since Brain Drill have I heard anything this hard.
The pros: quite a few but one must begin with the drummer from hell, Flo Mounier. His performance is devastating, not even bothering to do anything rhythmic or new-school but just pounding with a definite ferocity that is exhilarating. Guitarists Jon Levasseur and Christian Donaldson are not very skillful guitarists (go listen to Sophicide for best new guitarist of 2012) but they do stay within the confines of the madness, managing to keep up the furious pace of Flo Mounier. They provide numerous jazzy interludes throughout the album, but rather than expand the horizons of the band's music, they act as breaks for a moment's respite from the chaos. All in all, the music section works well.
Now... the vocalist, for some reason, sounds like he's only doing pig squeals throughout the album. You can tell that he did not intend to do so, so this must be some production fault. Drums are overproduced, and depending on what you prefer, this may be very annoying. The bass by Olivier Pinard seems nearly pointless, meandering in its own atonal trajectories in and out of existence without providing a nice compliment with the guitars, as opposed to the 90s Death era where bass provided nice introspective balance between the guitar tones. Also, the song writing originality is almost zero, you wouldn't be able to distinguish any song from another.
This album is exhilarating, it is extreme, fierce and a much anticipated kick up the ass. But it is, songwriting-wise, still generic death metal. It will not topple my favourite death metal album of 2012 (Cannibal Corpse's Torture), but I will definitely be revisiting this for my next workout or when another idiot pisses me off.
Sophicide - Perdition Of The Sublime [Technical Death Metal]
What would Jeff Loomis sound like if he switched to technical death metal? THIS.
Yet another stunning death metal record signed from Willowtip Records after the earlier debut from Japanese brutal headbangers Desecravity, Perdition Of The Sublime has the much awaited guitar leads and riffs that were supposed to come from the relatively disappointing guitarist Jeff Loomis' solo sophomore. One may liken this record to Necrophagist. It is that amazing.
Straight from 'The Art Of Atrocity', newbies Adam Laszlo (22 years old!) and Sebastian Bracht provides fresh tremolo picked riffs, downtuned groove riffs, neo-classical leads, acoustic Middle-Eastern interludes and thick fretless bass sweeps - you name it, they have it.
On top of the fantastic technicality, there is also some gorgeous melodies which show that this is a musical output that does not compromise song-writing for muscle, and the shredded solos are memorable, distinct and pleasant to the ears. True, there is nothing here that's not heard before, but this is a much welcome kick-ass technical death record.
Considering how much ownage the last album, Deconstruction/Ghost was, I would have to say that this is... a terrible album.
One very important Townsend album is missing here; his songwriting innovation. The one property that made the highly clusterfuck of a mess Deconstruction such an exhilarating record that was bold, epic and catchy. Epicloud on the other hand, sounds weirdly idiotic and stupid. Not only has Townsend almost completely forgot that he is a metal artist, which is okay considering how bands should expand their musical horizons, Epicloud sounds like a goddamn radio rock album with flat vocals, disappointing guitar and almost zero creativity in the songs.
It's like Townsend without the genius moments. No mindfuck guitar solos, no frenzied drumming, no slight acoustics with firm, supple vocals. Save for the massively accessible 'True North' and 'Liberation' that I can see even my niece singing along to, the album is rife with weird songs like 'Lucky Animals' that do not seem to make sense and sound ironically retarded. There are numerous songs that are almost pop, including 'Save Our Now', 'Grace', the rerecorded 'Kingdom' and 'More!'. Whilst these songs can be appreciated in a pop sense, the same does not imply for the rest of the albums.
Maybe his creative streak ended with Deconstruction, it's time he stopped mass-producing albums for some time and take a break.
The Faceless - Autotheism [Opeth/Devin Townsend/BTBAM/Mike Patton]
I will not say anything different from the thousands of critics on the Internet, this album is a mismash of Opeth, Devin Townsend (blatantly ripping off the song 'Deconstruction' on their song 'Autotheist Movement II: Emancipate') and every other progressive metal band that has basically mixed elements from numerous genres into their respective musical styles. Is this a good or bad thing?
The production is a very clean, crisp sound, which goes well with the Mike Patton-esque atmospherics (the circus elements in 'Deconsecrate' are pure Mr Bungle soundscapes). Guitar is amazing of course, as evidenced by the beautiful solo on 'Emancipate'. Drums, though not spectacularly remarkable, do service well to back the music. Vocals are puzzlingly immature, especially the clean ones. The death growls are what every fan of the band want but I find them very tiresome. This isn't Opeth.
Songwriting wise I could give them a high score, no doubt, these are powerful songs, but where is the originality? Given, this is the logical step from 'Planetary Duality' with the rise of more technical death metal bands, but you should be able to fill in with your own chops if you want to fill in the veteran's boots. This record is undoubtedly one that is full of promise, but is rather messy in presentation, rather than providing a full fluidity of tracks, and sections that do not juxtapose well together. For one, get rid of cheesy voice samples if you are going to do straight off death metal.
Given, this band tries do something unique by combining doom with metalcore, the result comes across as boring by mixing two genres that are already plagued by limitations that contradict each other. Instead of creating a unique fusion like Behemoth did with black and death metal on 2007's Apostasy or Ihsahn did with the saxophone and black metal, Xibalba sounds schizophrenic rather than frightening.
Drums are nothing special, playing ridiculously slow rhythms. Doom guitars need not even be bothered explained. Vocals sound sufficient but uninteresting or powerful. All in all, the technical qualifications of the band are quite lackluster. Production sounds waaaay too muddy to be appreciated as a form of heaviness, as said before, whilst it supports the band's sludge/doom tendencies, it makes their metalcore sections sound dull and blunt. Songwriting is pretty much monotonous throughout the entire album.
Do not get the entire album, there are a couple of interesting songs though. The female vocals on 'Mala Mujer' are shocking to the point of refreshing and gel well with the droning guitars to create a uniquely melancholic song. The other song is the instrumental 'The Flood', that is probably the only time the band create something unique with tribal drum patterns, spacey guitar riffs stitched together with droning bass that create a surprisingly introspective music backdrop amidst the relative shallowness of this otherwise annoying album.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Passable - One or two good songs, a bit of flow
Grave - Endless Procession Of Souls [Doom / Death]
Very quickly, this is old school death metal played in doom metal guitar tones. Unlike the technical wankers of today, veterans Grave decide to bring out the heavy, brutality factor with dragged notes that act like moderate waves on a beach- it is gentle but you know deep down the sea is powerful.
Excellent deep production that makes the band sound heavy as hell even though they aren't scary enough to scare away thrash lovers. Tempos are variant, with more songs going on with plodding mid-pace with enough speed on songs like 'Disembodied Steps' to make you unconsciously headbang even when you are listening in public.
On the negatives, perhaps the only thing about the material is that is predictable even before you listen to the songs. As with most veterans, Grave already has their signature sound, and when every other new band is trying different things with awry results, sticking with accessible familiarity may not be a career low.
Rating: ★★★★☆ Good - Strong flow, immediately grabs you
Amidst the sudden craze in thrash metal recently is yet another new fresh-faced band that has all the vital elements of thrash that make for a roaring good time.
Production is nice and thick, finding a fine compromise between space and warmth to create a large wall of sound, though as with all modern production, the bass gets lost in the mix and makes brief appearances only when the guitars are breathing. However, this common mistake is well covered guitar-wise, with every of the nine songs having chockful of crunchy beefy riffs.
Vocals are very standard, I do not have anything to say about them. The drummer, whilst working very hard on the excellent pacing of Violent Demolition, stands out very little in a genre founded upon drum wizardry as a key element in the music. Song-writing wise, the tracks are fully fleshed out in their own courses, but the effect is long-lasting.
To be exact, Violent Demolition is an excellent album, with every thing just right to make an album worth four stars. But personally, the tracks do not stick in your head as well as choruses from bands such as Revocation, Havok or even more recently, Testament, do. Also, the blandness of the rhythm section is a slight error that goes a long way because thrash metal is suddenly being revived and this young band faces extremely stiff competition from their peers. Dust Bolt sounds like Kreator at many intervals, which is not a bad thing, but they need to find their own identity if they want to find a place among the the modern thrash metal elite.
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average - Half of album is listenable
Animals As Leaders is a three-piece progressive/technical metal band comprising guitarist and frontman Tosin Abasi , second guitarist Javier Reyes and drummer Matt Garstka.
This all started when Abasi, having been noticed for his technical guitar work, was offered a solo record deal. Initially apprehensive, he nonetheless decided to take up the offer and thus AAL was born.
AAL has released two albums so far: their eponymous debut (2009) and Weightless (2011).
'Tempting Time', off their debut album, is perhaps the one song that catapulted Abasi (and the band as a collective) to relative fame. Its use of synth effects (particularly at the start of the song), odd time signatures, complex riff and rhythm work and brain-twisting guitar solos is characteristic of the band's overall direction on this album - an extremely technically-accomplished and musically-intelligent effort.
I personally recommend this band because its members, while being very skilled individual musicians, strive to make good, listenable pieces rather than attempting to show off their full range of skills. Each member's musical input adds depth and value to the pieces.
Another piece off the same album, 'Song of Solomon', shows this off well. While it does not feature any particularly mind-blowing solos (by Abasi's ridiculous standards anyway), it does contain some highly complex rhythm work courtesy of Reyes and previous drummer Navene Koperweis. The production and synth work is pretty neat too, a rarity among young-ish metal bands.
The second album, Weightless, goes in a different direction from the first, a testament to the 'true' progressiveness of the band. It's one thing for bands to be musically progressive in one album and afterwards stick to their trusted formula (hello, late Dream Theater) and another for bands to keep expanding their musical horizons and trying different things.
'An Infinite Regression' is probably my favourite track off their new album, and happens to be its very first track. The 'classic' AAL elements - complicated riffing, use of both clean and distorted guitar lines, technical drum work and copious shredding - are all there, but what makes this track 'belong' to Weightless instead of the earlier album is the section which starts at around 1:50 into the video. The fusion-jazz groove that kicks in is simply addictive; at the time of writing I have replayed this particular section of music at least five times. This is something you would not hear in the first AAL album (or any number of albums that Justin Bieber puts out, hehehe).
'Isolated Incidents' (actual song begins around 0:20 into the video) is rather different, at least in how it starts. The song begins with a slow, clean guitar intro and progresses into a clean, jazzy passage - again, a step in a new direction for AAL. However, at around 2:30 into the song, the music reverts to 'old-school' AAL, blazing solo and all. This is what I like about this album - it is easily identifiable as an AAL collection but distinct from its predecessor.
Overall, I find AAL to be a nice balance of technique and heaviness. AAL is, however, strictly NOT for headbanging to, unless you wish to experience for yourself what whiplash feels like. It is, instead, for you to grab a beer, put on, and sit back and enjoy.
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