Enemy Logic: Breakdown Of The Bicameral Mind

Year released: 2010
Website: http://www.myspace.com/enemylogic
Label: Unsigned


Tracks:

1. The Iron Law [3:21]

2. Final Movement [3:06]

3. Heart of Stone [3:54]

4. The Savage Mind [3:35]

5. Distorted Process [3:49]

6. Dual Diagnosis [3:26]

7. Fall of the Sun [3:49]

8. Hostile Hallucination [4:01]

9. Vengeance Served Cold [4:57]

10. Endless Life [4:49]
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8-year old Irish metal quartet Enemy Logic is back with a brutal cause to share with the upcoming release of their second album, "Breakdown Of The Bicameral Mind"! The melo-death/metalcore act certainly doesn't sound amateurish, and their sound has a traditional European taste to it.

Staying true to their influences, Enemy Logic's guitars riff and shred like any good European melo-death band should, reminding me strongly of the British band Sylosis in particular. Come on, the technical guitar solos, riffs, and breakdowns all just scream of professionalism!

"Firing" off the album to a great start, Enemy Logic begins this album with a cool sound effect in the form of a gun loading a bullet and launching a tirade of growls by vocalist James, instead of a bullet. Now that's cool, and I wonder if it is a coincidence but I was recently listening to Heaven Shall Burn's latest album "Invictus", and there was also a cool gunshot sound effect utilized at 1:44 in the song "Combat". Anyway, back to Enemy Logic.

While the instrumentals are superb, Enemy Logic needs to consider widening its arsenal of harsh vocal types and better group vocals. While James' growls are definitely up to melo-death standards and sound great, it gets rather dull after some time to keep hearing growls at nearly the same pitch throughout all songs on the entire album. Utilization of more low growls, screams, or maybe even shrieks (if the particular song's structure allows for them) are welcome on future albums. Additionally, the group vocals need some polishing up as well, for they sound like chants rather than the band singing as a whole. Taking a leaf from As I Lay Dying...'s book might be a good idea, because their group vocals are excellent. A very good example of AILD's proficiency in group vocals can be heard during the chorus of their latest single "Parallels" (off of "The Powerless Rise"), whereby the bassist sings in a catchy and melancholic voice while the vocalist growls alongside him to great effect. Vocals-wise, this will be a great direction for Enemy Logic to move in.

Ah, on to the guitars. Good guitars are a must for making good melo-death metal, and Enemy Logic certainly doesn't suck at this part. Apart from the technicality mentioned earlier, the guitarists are also good at making catchy tunes without resorting to inhumanly fast riffing or shredding (like Children Of Bodom's insane Alexi Laiho), that is why almost all songs on the album have such good openings. My personal favourites (for the good guitar openings) are the 3rd and 6th tracks, "Heart Of Stone" and "Dual Diagnosis" respectively, so go check them out guys.

Irish Metallers: From left to right - Des (Guitar), Dan (Drums, Backing Vocals), Seán (Guitar, Keyboard), James (Bass Guitar, Vocals)
*Note: Des has left the band as of 2010

The keyboards on this album add a hauntingly beautiful touch to any song they appeared in, and these songs are the 4th, 6th and 9th tracks, "The Savage Mind", "Dual Diagnosis" and "Vengeance Served Cold" respectively. The 6th track "Dual Diagnosis" has one of the best introductions of them all, with the keyboards and guitars opening the song together to great melancholic effect. The appearance level of the keyboards throughout the album is just nice, and it should stay this way unless Enemy Logic wants to venture into Symphonic Death in the future. Otherwise, they should stay sufficiently melodic and relevant to the European melo-death scene.


Enemy Logic - Heart Of Stone


Enemy Logic - The Savage Mind

Overall, Enemy Logic displays outstanding instrumental proficiency and sufficient diversity, but lacks variety in the type of harsh vocals utilized and needs to work on their group vocals. Looking for energetic riffing, technical solos, standard bass, drums and the occasional inclusion of keyboards? But not from a band that is mainstream? Here you go, you are looking at a decent album by Enemy Logic!


Verdict: 8.2 / 10

Wormrot: Abuse

Year released: 2009
Website: www.myspace.com/wormrotgrind
Label: Earache Records


Tracks:

1. Lost Swines [1:20]
2. Exterminate [1:07]
3. Double-Feeding [0:29]
4. Born Stupid [1:20]
5. Sledgehammer [0:15]
6. So Fierce For Fuck!? [0:08]
7. Dis-Appointing [1:34]
8. Good Times [0:57]
9. Freedom To Act [1:25]
10. Indonesia [0:53]
11. Shitlack [1:04]
12. Condemnation [0:25]
13. One Round Away [1:07]
14. Fuck... I'm Drunk [0:53]
15. Operation Grindcore [0:26]
16. Rich (Yeah Yeah Yeah's cover) [0:43]
17. Overgrown Asshole [0:35]
18. Blasphemy My Ass [1:08]
19. Fix Your Broken Mind [1:08]
20. Newkiller Nuclear [0:39]
21. Uncovered And Proud As Fuck [0:38]
22. Murder [1:29]
23. Scum Infestation and Last Song [2:17]
__________________________________________________________________________

Don’t be fooled by the seemingly lengthy track listing. Although this album has 23 tracks, it is far from long. Its total length is only slightly over 20 minutes, but this is to be expected from any grindcore album.

If the line separating extreme music from being a mockery exists, grindcore as a genre would be pushing that fragile line’s very limits. Including noise, drone metal, and thrash punk, grindcore completes the list of some of the most extreme genres of music today that often crossover into what people politely call experimental or crudely call being a joke.

Wormrot, a superbly new grindcore band from Singapore, was only formed just a mere 3 years back. They are also the first Southeast Asian band in the world to be signed onto a renowned underground extreme music label overseas, namely Earache Records. The band recently had a successful European tour in 2009, and will be soon embarking on a US tour. There is no doubt about it, this probably marks the rise of Southeast Asian metal beyond its own borders. \m/,

Man, I feel increasingly proud of being Singaporean these days.

Anyway, being part of the grindcore horde, I automatically assumed at first that Wormrot would sound like a bunch of amateur wretches plowing away on their instruments mindlessly. Well, mindlessness is actually a fairly large part of making grindcore music, but I was really surprised to find my previously horrid image of grindcore slowly fading away from the skeptical depths of my mind as my ears got assaulted by the blissfully gratifying death-metal-influenced aural snacks.

There is grindcore… … and then there IS GRINDCORE! As I mentioned earlier, being extreme or a joke are two vastly different things, and trying to stay extremely extreme without turning into a joke is a very subtle art to master. I can safely say that Wormrot has mastered this subtle art, for although they do have senseless track names and lyrics and constantly recycled guitar riffs, their songs have a vibrant energy to them that just makes one feel like moshing out to them on the spot.

Grindcore is all about speed, speed, and more speed. If you are looking for intelligent track names and lyrics, or long and epic songs, you are looking at the wrong genre. Grindcore is all about instant gratification, it is the MacDonalds of extreme music, offering any speed-deprived metalhead a quick shot of adrenaline to get them to a speedy ‘high’. “Abuse” is an album that really excels at doing this, while injecting some comedy along the way in the form of senselessly explicit track names and lyrics. In fact, they actually fit rather well into the album structure of “Abuse” thanks to the joking manner in which the band carries themselves (e.g. the photographs of themselves with their eyes striked out on the album sleeve, and the DIY artwork and wacky layout of the lyrics pages).

Singapore's very own grind masters: From left to right - Arif (Vocals), Fitri (Drums), and Rasyid (Guitar)

Needless to say, the drums are inhumanly fast, and the vocals consists of standard growls and screams. It would be an improvement if Arif could start utilizing pig squeals more often (if any in the first place, at least I don't think I heard any on "Abuse"), for they would add more variety to his vocal range and a whole new dimension of vocal brutality. The artwork displaying the rotting human face with the word “Abuse” in the left eye socket really complements the overall theme of this album too, being viscerally reviling enough to give one an overview of how this album might sound like just by looking at it.


Wormrot - Live at Obscene Extreme Fest 2009 in the Czech Republic


Wormrot - "In Grind We Rot" Indonesia Tour

I guess the only thing I would hope to see an improvement in is Wormrot making slightly lengthier tracks on their next album for an enhanced duration of speedy aural fun on each song. Not so long as to sound like repetitive noise for 3 minutes or so, but maybe just around an average of 2 minutes to utilize the short attention span of speed-crazed metalheads to its fullest!

In parting words… IN GRIND WE ROT!


Verdict: 8.1 / 10

Q&A with Draconis Infernum

From left to right - Xeper/Sonic Depravation, Kount Cider/Aural Misanthropy, Niloc/Blade ov Inhumanity

*Note: I couldn't find any promo shot of them with Serberuz Hammerfrost inside, but I do have a photo of him here if you guys are interested to see it - http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=6219440&id=510082344&ref=fbx_album


The very first local band interview by Zetalambmary is finally up! In this interview, Shadori sat down in front of his computer to talk with Xepher of Draconis Infernum via e-mail so as to learn more about the band.

Here goes:

Zetalambmary: Draconis Infernum is probably the coolest Singaporean metal band name I have come across so far! Why this name?

Xepher: Draconis Infernum which means Infernal Dragon was a recommendation by a friend and I thought it suited us well since we’re all Chinese and the dragon was a good representation of it. On the other hand from the black metal aspect it was relevant and hence we settled for that name.

Zetalambmary: Your style is "strictly old school black metal". What are the bands that influenced and inspired you guys to make similar music?

Xepher: Just to name a few, Bathory during the black metal era, old Darkthrone, old Mayhem, old Venom and of course not forgetting, Slayer, which is of course not black metal, but was one of the bands that inspired us to start writing our own songs.

Zetalambmary: Contrary to popular belief, many metal musicians actually have their roots in classical instruments (e.g. piano, violin, flute). Do you guys?

Xepher: Well, we don’t exactly have classical roots except for Serberuz Hammerfrost, who plays the piano. As for Niloc, his music roots and influences are the blues.

Zetalambmary: What are your thoughts on the infamous misconception that just because certain forms of metal are satanic, all metal is satanic and thus, metal musicians are bad people?

Serberuz: We don't give a fuck!!! It's them who made the mistake, it's them who're not educated enough to realize the importance of looking things through from all angles and perspectives before jumping into conclusions. It's their fault. So why are we the ones expected to clear it all up? And by we, we don't mean just Draconis Infernum but the whole Metal community. Why are we the ones expected to explain things when people who're unrelated to us apparently do not know what's called self-reflection?!

Make no mistake here. Long before Metal ever existed there was Country and Blues. It was the same thing people are saying about us now, what people were saying to them back then. The very term "Underground" came from that era, used by Country and Blues musicians. Not Metal. People just need to find some sort of excuse to feel better about themselves. But guess what? Their existence means NOTHING to us!!

Having said that, Black Metal stands for The Adversary. It will always do for us. The facts have spoken for itself what kind of hypocrisy ALL religions have been (absolutely, without any exceptions at all), and Black Metal stands AGAINST them all!!! Those vermins who think they're "Holier than Thou" can think whatever the fuck they want if self-deceit makes them feel better about themselves. It's none of our business. Better be hated for who we are than to conform and be loved for something we're not. Non Serviam!!!

Zetalambmary: Asian metal seems to be on the rise recently, with bands like ChthoniC and Wormrot being signed on to reputable record labels overseas. What future do you foresee for Asian metal?

Xepher: It’s definitely on the rise with more Asian bands touring Europe, getting signed to reputable labels and getting proper international recognition. There is definitely more to come in just a matter of time. It’s about time more Asian bands get recognized.

At the same time more international bands are coming over to tour Asia which shows that Asia is being recognized by the other side.

Zetalambmary: Do you guys have any plans to strike a record deal with a prominent label overseas? If so, which would be the preferred label? Century Media, Metal Blade, Nuclear Blast, Relapse, Roadrunner, Spinefarm, or Victory?

Xepher: We definitely welcome label support, however it doesn’t matter which label it is as what’s more important is what the label can offer us.

Zetalambmary: You guys are more famous overseas than locally, how do you feel about that?

Xepher: Are we more famous overseas? I’m not too sure about that. However it would be great if more people came to know of our music, but not to the extend that it goes mainstream.

Our music is not for the masses. Many people don’t and will not understand it. It’s only for a certain type of people who embrace a certain type of ideology.

Zetalambmary: As you guys are still indie, the band's expenses mostly come from your own pockets and that sure as hell isn't cheap... Was that why "Death In My Veins" was limited to only 500 copies?

Xepher: 500 was the minimum that we could press and as we weren’t sure if it would be in demand, therefore we agreed on 500. We felt that 500 copies was enough at that time to spread the plague. Currently, all 500 are almost gone.

Zetalambmary: Your second album is titled "Rites Of Desecration & Demise", and is said to be much longer than "Death In My Veins". Is there any other information about it you guys can share with your fans?

Xepher: I cannot say much right now, but yes, it is definitely longer, you’d just have to wait to find out.

Zetalambmary: Here's a fun question, if each of you could choose to date a hot metal chick, who would they be?

Xepher: Mother Mary.
__________________________________________________________________________

There you have it folks, apart from the last question and its reply, I hope all the other questions and answers have deepened your understanding of Draconis Infernum a wee bit more.

While we sit tight for the impending dark onslaught of Draconis Infernum's upcoming second album, do check out our review for their first album "Death In My Veins", and if you like it, buy it to support the band.

Until next time, and we hope to bring you more local band interviews!

P.S.: Foreign band interviews will be great as well, if ever possible.

ChthoniC 閃靈: Mirror Of Retribution tour (Live In Singapore!)

East Asia's first extreme metal band to be signed on to a major European metal label (aka Spinefarm Records), the world's first Oriental Black Metal band, a politically active frontman, and.... a hot bassist! If not for these unique features of the band, Chthonic would probably just be another everyday Asian black metal band, trying as hard as they can to break into the international market.

Chthonic is 15 years old as of 2010, and these Taiwanese black metal legends had been to Singapore once 10 years ago, making this more recent trip to Singapore their second to date. The concert yesterday was nothing short of a breathtaking experience, with me and my trusty digital camera planted at the very first row of the audience in the center, it was very deafening as well (ear plugs are awesome). However, it was only because of my fantastic location that I could take many clear and close-up pictures of the band members (with the exception of Dani, the drummer). You readers can check out the pictures by clicking on the link below.

ChthoniC Concert Photos

Friendly Freddy: The front man was humorous and interactive, but it was hard to discern his words whenever he spoke in English.



ChthoniC 閃靈 - Forty-Nine Theurgy Chains



ChthoniC 閃靈 - Rise Of The Shadows


Initially, I thought no Singaporean Chthonic fan would be crazy enough to the extent of imitating their Taiwanese peers and throw hell notes into the air during the concert. Well, I was wrong. Not only did local fans buy hell notes and pass them around to fellow fans so that they can all recreate that unique Chthonic concert atmosphere, this enthusiastic Chinese fan from Johor Bahru came all the way here just to catch the Taiwanese band in action, and was probably the wildest mosher in the entire crowd.

Here's a picture of the rabid animal:

This is the second metal concert I have attended in the year 2010 so far, and I certainly wouldn't hesitate to go for more if the bands that are performing are as unique and fascinating as Chthonic. After the concert, I camwhored a bit with fellow Zetalambmary pal Zen, and a guy we befriended at the concert. We queued up for about half an hour outside the studio afterwards, and managed to get a group picture with the band and our autographs too!

Before leaving, we shook hands with members of the band, and I was slightly light-headed for a while after that for I shook hands with Doris Yeh and Jesse Liu!

Photo with the deities of the Taoist underworld!: From left to right - Wraith, Lareyne Kaufmann, Zen

All in all, this was one concert that any Singaporean asian metal or black metal fan should not have missed, and if you did, you really missed one hell of a great time. The only slight disappointment about this concert was that Chthonic's keyboardist CJ Kao could not make it due to him being called up for NS enlistment (yeah, Taiwan has it too), but otherwise, his band mates still made a great stage presence.

If Chthonic is returning for a third gig here in the little red dot anytime soon, we hope to see you around next time CJ!

Slash: Meeting the Rock Legend

The Winning Air Guitar Video: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=415911892033&oid=114842408563631

The Lucky Dude's Photos of that Fateful Night: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=190746&id=517362033&ref=mf

RazorTV's Video Interview of the 2 Winners (1 Real Guitar, 1 Air Guitar): http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/entertainment/51594.html

So, how many lucky asses actually get to meet that much revered guitar god? Well, here is Srivatsan, a friend of mine from college, and one such lucky ass who got to meet the legendary Slash!



How did you feel when you met Slash?


Shocked! It was like a child meeting a Pokemon or Power Ranger, something they really love but never thought they will ever meet them in person. After that, I was really just very happy, I just kept staring at him while he was signing all those guitars and posters.




So did you manage to ask him what his favourite movie is?


Nope, he was already waiting at the photo-taking area when it was my turn for my photograph with him. Just a handshake, a "Hello Slash!", and a snap. After that, he called the next person to come over. During the photo shoot, I was whispering to him "You're my God man...", that is why my mouth is open in the photo.




Then what did he say? Or... did he even hear it?


Haha, I guess he didn't hear it, 'cos he didn't say anything.




How was Slash in person when you talked to him? Was he friendly, cold, or what?


Hm, there wasn't much of an interaction between him and the people, but he seems to be quite friendly. You know that guy who won the real guitar competition? He told Slash that he was the one who won it, then Slash asked if he was the one who played with the guitar on his back. That guy said "Yeah", and Slash said that was pretty cool. Yup, so I guess he is friendly. I kept quiet 'cos I didn't wanna go tell a guitar god that I got to see him by pretending to play a guitar. Lol.




Hahaha, well, at least you got to meet him.


Yup.




What thoughts were running through your mind when he was signing your guitar?


I was just looking at him autographing. To him, it was just another autograph, but it meant the world to me. After he signed it, he even wrote "2010" below the autograph. Although it was quite a small thing, I was still impressed that he even bothered to date it.




Hahaha okay, I bet 50 years from now, if you ever intend to sell that guitar, it will cost a bomb. So moving on, I know you will feel biased about this, but I will still ask it anyway. How was the Slash concert as a whole?


Hm, I will just say the order of events and then tell you how I felt.


Firstly, we were told to be there by 11:45 AM so that we can get to see Slash and the band doing their sound check at 12:15 PM. I was late, so I took a cab down, but alighted at the wrong area.
It was already around 12:10 PM by then, and I could hear the sound of drums. I thought the sound check had already begun, so I followed the sound and ended up inside the concert area. I saw the stage and all for the first time. Slash wasn't there yet, the workers there were setting up the drums, so that was where the sound came from.


I asked one of the guys where should the VIP pass holders go, and he guided me there. There, I met the LAMC people and the other VIP pass holders, and the real guitar winner as well. We were all told to wait for a while. After that, I heard the sound of a guitar, and the playing was pretty good. I was thinking "Wow, those guitar techs can play quite well", but then the LAMC gal ran back and told us that Slash had already begun his sound check.


Yup, so I went in there to see the sound check, and that was the very first time I saw Slask. Man, that feeling was fucking awesome man. We were told to keep away from the stage, like at least 10m, so we sat down on the grass patch and watched Slash and his band do their sound check. They actually performed 3 songs during the sound check, so I already had an idea of how the concert will probably sound like. The sound check ended at around 2:30 PM, and at 2:45 PM, the LAMC gal said that we were gonna meet him then.


We went to this tent at the back of the stage which had lots of guards outside, and after like 10 minutes of waiting outside, we were told to enter the tent 4 by 4. When it was my group's turn, one of the guards brought us in there. After we got into the tent, I saw Slash at the photo taking area. What happened after that, I told you already. So after getting all our stuff signed, we were given 2 posters each. Yup, that's it for the Meet-and-Greet session.


At 7 PM, the concert started. The first band was called Twenty Two Hundred, some unknown band from Australia whom Slash thought had great potential, which was why he brought them along to Singapore. They were awesome man, seriously.


After that came the main guest, Coheed & Cambria. I hated them. Their vocalist looked like an ass with all that bushy hair, and his voice was like the Dragonforce dude but more gay. Unfortunately, they played a full set that lasted 90 minutes. I was just standing there for time to pass... and oh, I have to say that I was standing in the front row, holding on to the barrier towards the right side of the stage (traditionally, where the lead guitarist always stands).
After, Coheed & Cambria finished, I was relieved and fucking excited. After setting up the stage for like 20 minutes, Slash and his band finally came out.


During the sound check and Meet-and-Greet session, he had tied his hair up and wore a cap. When the concert finally started, I was seeing him for the first time with his signature top hat and leather pants with a black hankie hanging from his back pocket. He was wearing a sleeveless tee. The first song was "Ghost" from his solo album. It was a very energetic song, the riff is pretty fast and cool-sounding. When it was time for his guitar solo, he played the famous "Godfather" theme. It was an extended solo that lasted for like 15 minutes, then right after the solo, he played "Sweet Child O' Mine" and the crowd erupted into cheers. It was the song everyone was waiting for. When the concert was coming to an end, an encore was obviously expected, and Slash and his band played "By The Sword", before ending off with the freaking great performance of "Paradise City". Yup, and the concert ended there. Throughout the concert, Myles Kennedy was speaking into the mike pretty often, something that he admitted he was not used to doing).

Sri's Slash-autographed guitar!!

Wow, that was long. Alright, last question. If Slash is coming back to Singapore next time, and there is another such competition again, will you participate once more?


Haha nope, but I will definitely go for the concert. If I am working by that time, I will pay for the VIP pass (US$500 for the 2010 Slash concert price). After hearing all those new rock bands such as MCR, A7X and Muse live, it was a really great experience to hear something classical. The sound was just totally different from the other bands I heard. It is the classical rock sound. One song I love by Guns N' Roses is "Civil War", 'cos Axl Rose's different voice ranges, combined with the meaningful lyrics and Slash's really stylish licks and riffs really just fit the song so well. When I heard that live, I started tearing. Yup, that is all I have to say about the concert. The experience as a whole was one that I will never forget.


Slash is God.




Ah yes, what exactly did you win by the way?


Haha, they gave me so many things man. The Meet-and-Greet session (S$700), guitar and hard case (S$750), MacBeth shoes (S$100) and free guitar lessons (S$200).

Close-up shot of the million-dollar autograph

So there you have it folks, don't drool over this guy's unbelievable experience now, all you guys have to do is follow in his mock-guitar-shredding awesomeness when there is another such competition available when Slash comes to perform in Singapore again next time!

Song Of The Week: Opiate For The Masses - Black Book

Cold wind's blowing at my cigarette,
No this can't conceal
I'm hanging like a marionette
Can you make me real?


See the world best I can
Through the smoke as its hand tries to choke me again...


Got my black book open and
I'm burning down at that hotel
A hundred thousand miles in my way
On the road to hell


Give me something to touch
something I can smell - of you
I'll take it to my grave as I burn for you.


Blind weight twirling in my skin that'll pass
Like only time can tell.


Guess this letter's gonna be my last
I hope it finds you well.


See the world best I can
Through the smoke as it's hand tries to choke me again...


Got my black book open and
I'm burning down at that hotel
A hundred thousand miles in my way
On the road to hell


Give me something to touch
Something I can smell - of you
I'll take it to my grave as I burn for you.


A hundred thousand miles away -aye
I've fallen -aye aye
I can feel my final day -aye
is calling -aye aye


I'm burning alive for you
Just reaching for something true
I'm burning alive for you
I need something to pull me through
to pull me through


I've got my black book open and
I'm burning down at that hotel
A hundred thousand miles in my way
On the road to hell


Give me something to touch
Something I can smell - of you
I'll take it to my grave as I burn for you.


Got my black book open and
I'm burning down at that hotel
A hundred thousand miles in my way
On the road to hell


Give me something to touch
Something I can smell - of you
I'll take it to my grave as I burn for you.


Burn for you.


Los Angeles, CA. Perhaps one of the few places in the USA that have produced some of the biggest, finest modern rock and metal bands of today, and complementing this roster of acts was Opiate For The Masses (they broke up in 2009, 10 years after they formed).

OFTM sounds just like Linkin Park, just a little more sparing with the synths, and definitely more stylish in terms of image. C'mon, how cool is it to see a Nu-Metal band dressed up as Commies?! By the way, for those who have never heard of Karl Marx, he once said that "Religion is the opiate of the masses." Yeah, now you know where this band took their name from.

You know, this song is one of those rare gems out there that actually has a bass line that is existent. Right from the very first second, the bass line makes its presence known by humming in to the catchy beats of the drums, with Ron's lulling voice accompanying it to great melancholic effect. Ron's voice is another one of those gems... no wait, a natural perfectly-cut diamond amongst the hordes of rough, uncut gems in the realm of rock/metal vocalists. The only person I can think of to compare Ron to, would be the legendary Chester Bennington of the titanic Linkin Park. One can never really forget Chester's talent for blending both harshness and clarity into a voice like no other, a voice that screams of all the angst within oneself, yet exudes an honestly clean feel that doesn't scare mainstream listeners off. Well folks, here is another talented vocalist who was in an excellent band for you to check out.

Opiate For The Masses were: From left to right - Anna Kjellberg (Bass Guitar), Jim Kaufman (Guitar, Synthesizers, Programming), Ron Underwood (Vocals), Seven Antonopolous (Drums)

In the words of Joey Jordison of Slipknot, "Opiate For The Masses is nothing short of hypnotic." Indeed, the band had named themselves appropriately during their active years. They have completely changed the atheistic flavour of the phrase they extracted from Karl Marx's famous quote, and instead, turned it into a phrase synonymous with good music for rock and metal fans.

Looking for a wonder drug to cure that occasional itch for a mainstream fix? Look no further than OFTM!