Song Of The Week: Man Must Die - Gainsayer

GAINSAYERRRRR!!
Ignore the truth, inhale the lies. [2x]

Double standards in the values they preach.
Hail Mary and all your sins forgiven.
Segregation in the name of peace.
Keep them down, keep them scared.
Controlled.
Outdated is every fucking part of your ideology.
I'm sick and tired of people dying in the name of peace.
No peace!
Brainwashed under their control.
Denounce all that you think you know.
I've stood on the brink.
I've watched the world tear itself apart.
Conditioned not to think.
A meat puppet deceived from the start.

Our fear is their weapon.
Forever destined to crawl.
I'm going to fight, I'm going to win.
My life is mine.
And I will retake it by force! [2x]

I've stood on the brink.
I've watched the world tear itself apart.
Conditioned not to think.
A meat puppet deceived from the start.

Your words aren't worth the fuckin' paper they're printed on.
A work of fiction bastardised through misinterpretation and delusion,
You expect me to believe that your god loves everyone equally,
Yet you wage war on anyone who opposes his will?

FUCK YOU!!! [2x]

My mind's made up, I've had enough!

FUCK YOU!!!

*Guitar Solo*

GAINSAYERRRRR!!
Ignore the truth, inhale the lies. [2x]
Double standards in the values they preach.
Hail Mary and all your sins forgiven.
Segregation in the name of peace.
Keep them down, keep them scared.
Controlled.
Outdated is every fucking part of your ideology.
I'm sick and tired of people dying in the name of peace.

THERE IS. NO. PEACE!!!

Our fear is their weapon.
Forever destined to crawl.
I'm going to fight, I'm going to win.
My life is mine.
And I will retake it by force! [2x]


Deathcore bands can be some of the sickest bands around on the underground metal scene. All the brutal guitar shredding and breakdowns, blood-curdling death growls, overpowering double bass drumming, misanthropia, and morbid artwork just spell out loud the word S-I-C-K.

I have got to say, in terms of misanthropia, Man Must Die is the most human-hatin' deathcore band I have ever come across so far. Their name is self-explanatory, their album name for this Song Of The Week is titled "No Tolerance For Imperfection", and look at the angst-filled lyrics targeting mankind's helplessness and weakness. Whew, what a band.

Human-hatin' humans: From left to right - Matt Holland, Alan McFarland, Joe McGlynn, Danny McNab

A ferocious and blazing fast masterpiece by Man Must Die, headbang to this piece if you are a lover of any of the musical traits I mentioned in the first paragraph.

My SotW's are getting shorter and shorter now, and that is probably because I am getting too lazy and tired of repeating things I have mentioned before in older posts over and over again. =P

Song Of The Week: Carnifex - Hell Chose Me

With weapons of war in my hands I will become what begs to be forgotten.
With weapons of war in my hands burning to purge this faithless nation.
These are the eyes, I am the mastermind sent to open God's gates and tear down heaven.

Tear down heaven.

You are the programmed dead set to look me straight in the face and I'll tell you what separates Truth from faith.
These lies I preach ever extending my reach inside of your head. [2x]

And with my scriptures I will summon the serpent's tongue, these words will become walls keeping angels from the light of the Son.
This congregation rains like cinders from the sky.
The product of childhood nightmares.
Empty hopes behind empty eyes.
Open your ears, hear my sweet tragedy, open your mouth and drink my sick blasphemy.

Empty hopes behind empty eyes.

I'm crushing the hope of the saved.
Haunted, dark and driven insane.
This is my unholy rapture.
Oh Lord is this not your desire?

With weapons of war in my hands I will become what begs to be forgotten
With weapons of war in my hands burning to purge this faithless nation.
These are the eyes, I am the mastermind sent to open God's gates and tear down heaven.
Tear down heaven.

You are the programmed dead set to look me straight in the face.
I'll tell you what separates Truth from faith.
These lies I preach ever extending my reach inside your head.

God damn this world!
God damn my life!
I didn't chose hell!

Hell chose me!! [4x]

Whew, what a thoroughly brutal and blasphemous anthem from Carnifex.

Admittedly, there is a limit to how much the Deathcore genre can be explored, because there will come one day when no drummer will be able to double-kick the bass drums any faster, and no band can let the breakdowns get any slower and heavier. But! There is still much room for experimentation with the harsh vocals, and Carnifex sure could use that in future.

While the guitarists and drummer kick-ass, they play very similar to fellow peers in the Deathcore genre such as Suicide Silence and The Red Chord (as any experienced metalhead would be able to tell) , and this is probably why most conventional Deathcore haters hate Deathcore - almost all the bands in the genre seem to sound like one another. Ever since I heard Carnifex on their 2nd full-length album "The Diseased And Poisoned" (which was also their first with Victory Records), I thought they would be a promising band to follow in this genre, and I have not been proven wrong with their nasty new album "Hell Chose Me". As you can see, this Song Of The Week is the title track and first single off their latest album, and it deserves to be up here for all its misanthropia and unholiness. Oh yeah, throw in typical but brutal guitar riffs, rapid bass drumming + catchy snare drum beats, and inhuman screaming too. It is not an excellent song (there is hardly anything excellent in Deathcore these days), but good enough to sate that voracious thirst of the Deathcore-lover or be a good illustration of what one can expect from standard "listenable" songs of the genre to a metal newbie.

The executioners are: From left to right - Fred Calderon (Bass Guitar), Ryan Gudmunds (Guitar), Scott Lewis (Harsh Vocals), Shawn Cameron (Drums), Cory Arford (Guitar)

I can emphatize with the Deathcore haters though, for the genre really needs a dose of creativity. Honestly, if this banal onslaught of Deathcore music continues, the genre would start killing itself off.

Until next time.

Genre Seeker: Deathcore - The Art of Harsh Vocals

Yes m'dears.

Those disturbing, ear-piercing, monstrous screams... together with the incoherent shaping of words, and bullet-like guitar riffing are signs that you have just listened to deathcore.

Quite literally obvious, deathcore is a sub-genre that fuses the styles of death metal and metalcore together. If you are someone who don't particularly like metal, let alone death metal or metalcore, please do not ever try deathcore, your ears might get traumatized. Now, while death metal as a genre presented morbid or dark lyrical themes, standard harsh vocals, and rather complex instrumentals, metalcore on the other hand was a resultant sub-genre which incorporated hardcore elements into the death metal style. Basically, metalcore was, well, more hardcore in every aspect of the death metal style. Harsh vocals were given more room to expand with metalcore vocalists experimenting with different forms of growling or screaming, and there was also the occasional moment of clean singing thrown in as well. Instrumentals went up a notch in terms of complexity, but sometimes just end up sounding plain thrashy though. As for lyrical themes, they can range from esoteric topics like philosophy to good ol' love.

So... deathcore was in its essence, a spin-off of a spin-off. This can be summed up quite simply by the equation below.

Death Metal + Metalcore = Death Metal + (Death Metal + Hardcore) = Deathcore

What you get out of deathcore however, is quite vastly different from its roots. Instrumentals no longer have any discernible rhythmic pattern (or at least not so obvious until after many listens), the harsh vocal range and experimentation is so much greater, and the lyrical themes mostly don't even make sense let alone their lyrics, meaning they can be just about any topic in life you can think of. If you are someone who has been exposed to some deathcore, and is currently going "What? How can all this crazy screaming and growling be music?! It's noise!"

Well, I would beg to differ. Under the unspoken laws of avant-garde music, deathcore can be (in my personal opinion) alternatively known as the art of harsh vocals. You see, it IS the crazy screaming and growling here that is the main focus of this avant-garde music genre. The guitars and drums are kinda secondary here, since the vocalists of deathcore bands are actually taking on the hardest role. If they don't do their growling-screaming thingamajig properly, they can end up with very frequent throat inflammations (or even throat cancer when they are old). I think they use their diaphragm the most when doing their standard growls, not their larynges. Anyway, it might be an interesting thing to note that the different types of harsh vocals presented in deathcore can be somewhat amusing and intriguing to listen to at the same time. In fact, I would dare say they are the only thing of interest to look out for in most deathcore bands.

There are quite a few different types of harsh vocals employed by current deathcore bands, namely...

The Shriek


The Low Growl


The High Scream (0:29 - 0:31)


The Pig Squeal (0:47 - 0:59 and any other similar parts in the song)


The Shriek-Growl (this is darned hard to do O.O)


Clean Vocals (they can be surprisingly quite good, differs from band to band though)


The Scream-Growl (rather common type apart from the Low Growl)


Alright, your eardrums must be ringing now. That about sums up the various types of harsh vocals in deathcore so far, and if you think this is extreme enough, there are sub-genres closely related to deathcore, that are even more extreme. Grindcore, noisecore, anyone?

Yes, deathcore may be the ugliest sub-genre of metal yet, but well, metal was all about being ugly in the first place (with the exception of symphonic, power, and some progressive metal). It is not really accepted as "music" by bands from other less extreme genres, most notably the frontman of Bayside, but hey, these guys are fronting an avant-garde genre that they have great passion for, and doesn't that put them on the same stage as the guys from the other genres? Even Black Sabbath's original heavy metal style was not widely accepted at first, but as time went by, look what became of the metal behemoth.

Deathcore is certainly not for the weak-hearted, hearing-impaired, pop-loving average Joe, but if you feel like the mainstream's not offering you enough, try delving into deathcore, you just might like it. There must be a reason why Bring Me The Horizon has shot to fame within a short span of 3 years you know.

Song Of The Week: Emmure - False Love In Real Life

As my girlfriend always likes to proclaim, "Hmpf!". That, would be the reaction of most people towards Deathcore.

As I have previously mentioned, Deathcore is a very avant-garde genre that probably took root and nourished into a full-blown genre today in the underground scene, probably thanks to American hardcore bands learning death metal and then screwing around with it. Well, that's the essence of making music anyway, constantly experimenting and pushing the boundaries to create something new, or else there would really be no point listening to music ever again if everyone is gonna sound like R&B from the start to the end of their careers.

Emmure is a somewhat okay deathcore band, that has recently shown some promise on this single off of their second album, "The Respect Issue" released last year. Some basic information about them: They hail from Connecticut, USA, and formed in 2003. When I first listened to them on their first album, "Goodbye To The Gallows", I immediately thought of demons from hell feasting on half-alive humans, screaming for their lives. That's because, the vocalist, Frankie, really just screams his way through every song you can think of. I was thinking, if that was the way it is, I probably would not really like Emmure, 'cos sure, they are brutal and heavy and all, but there wasn't really much adrenaline-pumping moments to talk about when trembling to their songs (their bass and drums are very overpowering, and worse still, deliberately slow and dreadful at the start of most of their songs).

Ee-mew-er is - Frankie Palmeri - Vocals, Mark Davis - Bass, Mike Mullohand - Guitar, Michael Cobb - Drums, Jesse Ketive - Guitar

But this song changed it all. I actually like this song by them, and oh yeah, did I mention they are the only deathcore band I've heard so far that makes use of growls, screams, and clean vocals? I am not sure if The Acacia Strain does this, 'cos many people have been comparing Emmure to them and I have not heard any of their songs yet, but one thing is for sure, if you actually hear many people talking about a hardcore/deathcore, chances are that band is G-O-O-D. Not many bands manage to make songs that are intense yet fun to listen to.

By the way, Frankie's face in this music video is hilarious, it almost broke my smile into a laugh when I first saw it. The bass guitar part in this song is worth mentioning too, because it just plays mainly one tone throughout the entire song yet adds that foreboding and mean feel to the song. The way the bassist plays it is cool too, with his fingers fluttering and barely touching the strings at all. Check it out in the video above.

Yes, this song is playing on my speakers again while I'm ending off this week's post. Perfect for pumping yourself up before starting on some intensely boring studying again.

Emmure's 3rd album, "Felony", is set to be released on 18th August this year. Watch out for it and anticipate more headbanging to come your way, and perhaps, some funny album artwork again.

Songs Of The Week: The Autumn Offering - Curtain Hits The Cast | Bleeding Through - Love Lost In A Hale Of Gunfire

Floridan death metal band, The Autumn Offering will be back with a renewed attack on the metal scene with Requiem, their 3rd studio album that will be (in TAO's own words) "by far the band's most ambitious and dense material yet. Longer songs, complex rhythms, and dynamic vocals fill out this 11-track monster."

Well, the song I have uploaded onto YouTube above sounds good, and let's hope the rest of the album stays that way. The Autumn Offering has always been one of those quality metal bands on Victory Records' metal roster, and that is because they are typically melodic death metal with heavy influence from the metalcore sub-genre, something which many new American metal bands today lack. Sure, the likes of The Black Dahlia Murder may be melo-death, but their vocals suck. Sure, A7X has nice instrumentals, but again, the vocals suck (e.g. Many people I know thought "Beast And The Harlot" sounded good until M. Shadows started 'singing'). The Autumn Offering has merely okay harsh vocals, but at least, it doesn't suck so bad that you would get tired of the song after a few listens. Considered to be part of the New Wave Of American Heavy Metal (NWOAHM) movement, The Autumn Offering is one band you would not want to miss out on.

Requiem is out June 9, 2009.

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Bleeding Through is one of the more melodic bands from the deathcore genre. Deathcore is one of the most controversial of metal sub-genres, drawing criticisms from many people that principally flames its messy instrumentals, screaming vocals that sound more like monsters growling than humans spewing words out, and its lack of depth in lyrical content. Even Zen himself has called it "noise", thus, only I am left to appreciate the little-appreciated stuff (as usual). 

Now, as a metalhead immersed in the non-mainstream scene might or might not already know, most deathcore bands all like to name themselves something bloody, morbid, religiously inclined, or random. Through The Eyes Of The Dead, As Blood Runs Black, WhenBloodBurns, The Taste Of Blood, Walls Of Jericho, Whitechapel, these are just the tip of the ice(blood?)berg, and this usually spells doom to a potential new fan. Why so? This is because generally speaking, most deathcore bands whom have followed this trend so far have extremely un-melodic, thrashy, dissonant music that is called noise by many to date. Even the more mainstream deathcore bands like Bring Me The Horizon have been called by punk rock band, Bayside's frontman to be "making a mockery". 

Being the open-minded dude that I am, I just cannot bring myself to diss deathcore like that. Personally, my opinion is that deathcore was probably NOT MEANT to be as melodic as typical music is supposed to be like in the first place, instead being an avant-garde musical entity that provides differentiated individuals whom have either an extremely unique taste for music or an extremely weird taste for music, with an outlet to satisfy their little understood needs. Bleeding Through has given me a rather good impression, because they actually use clean vocals from time to time (not like they are good clean vocals anyway) in some of their songs, unlike the 90% others that scream and growl their way through their compositions of hatred.

Bleeding Through is: Brandan Schieppati (Lead Vocals), Jona Weinhofen (Guitar), Ryan Wombacher (Bass/Vocals), Derek Youngsma (Drums), Marta Peterson (Keyboards), Brian "Lefty" Leppke (Guitar)

Anyway, the music video above for this single is from Bleeding Through's 3rd studio album, "This Is Love, This Is Murderous" released back in 2003. If you have already watched it before reading the rest of this post, did you not find the video being romantic in a morosely dark way? Making a mannequin and all (probably as a reminder of someone you once loved but passed away), with so much time and effort spent on it, and then taking a nap because you thought you were hallucinating, only to wake up and realise even the mannequin has abandoned you in your life. Most deathcore bands probably don't bring across their meaning clearly in both their abstract lyrics and videography, but some like Bleeding Through certainly has succeeded doing so with their music videos, and even managed to induce sympathy within the view/listener's heart through their beautifully ugly music. 

Song Of The Week: Molotov Solution - The Myth of Human Progress

Death metal had its fair share of skeptics and critics back in the early 1990's when it first started to surge in popularity, thanks largely in part to the likes of Cradle of Filth and Children of Bodom.

With a bass line that doesn't sound like its there (but assumed to be there, otherwise it ain't no metal), usually duo or trio electric guitars that ferociously rip and shred with the zeal of ravenous demons, a set of drums dishing out a truckload of beats whose tempo usually rival that of heavy rain, and harsh vocals that seem to be intended more for enhancing the 'heavy-like-f**k' feel of the song than the clarity in bringing across the meaning behind the lyrics of the song, this is the modern-day evolution of death metal. A new breed of underground American death metal that has been called Deathcore (closely related to Grindcore and Noisecore as well).

Take a listen!: Brutal, heavy, ear-bleedin'ly insane

Molotov Solution is one of the many brave souls out (or perhaps under) there on the current American underground metal scene whom place their sanity and earnest efforts on the line where they let traditionalists and critics alike verbally slice and dice the legality of their 'music', and extreme non-mainstream fans looking for a good heavy band to headbang to. With that said, it still doesn't mean normal people cannot listen to deathcore, it would be a good experience for new and old metalheads alike who are new to this genre. Music is all about pattern-imitation, and then pattern-changing, and then there is the element of freshness as well. Instead of the typical opening guitar solos that beguiles your saliva glands to start drooling over the possibly melodic aspect of the typical metal song, or the harsh but partially discernible sung lyrics, "The Myth of Human Progress" is a great song to start with in order to get a better idea of what deathcore is about. The vocals are never-before-heard, with the monstrous-sounding growls that would make your blood curdle, and the sudden calm respite in the middle, it sure gets one anticipating what the next surprise would be.

Fiery underground fiends: Robbie (Guitar), Joe (Guitar), Jeremy (Drums), Nick (Inhuman Growling), Anthony (Bass Guitar)




Although not guaranteed to be liked on the first listen, and probably not by many metalheads as well for that matter, this is a unique song that perfectly sums up what deathcore is about in a nutshell.


Foreboding silence >> Impending outburst >> Calm [sometimes melodic] transition >> Recapitulation of first subject >> Abrupt, gritty end.


Yes, this is the musical variation of a dominatrix experience folks. Deriving pleasure from the aftermath of pain.