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]
__________________________________________________________________________

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

As I Lay Dying: The Powerless Rise

Year released: 2010
Websites: www.myspace.com/asilaydying, www.asilaydying.com
Label: Metal Blade Records

Tracks:

1. Beyond Our Suffering [2:50]

2. Anodyne Sea [4:35]

3. Without Conclusion [3:15]

4. Parallels [4:57]

5. The Plague [3:42]

6. Anger And Apathy [4:26]

7. Condemned [2:50]

8. Upside Down Kingdom [4:00]

9. Vacancy [4:27]

10. The Only Constant Is Change [4:08]

11. The Blinding Of False Light [5:05]
__________________________________________________________________________

American metalcore veteran AILD is back to slaughter eardrums by the masses, yet again, with their ferocious 5th studio album, "The Powerless Rise"!

Alright guys, turn up the volume of those speakers, and tune up the bass settings for that bass booster. This is one helluva album to blast! With overpowering bass lines and pounding drum beats that is sure to gratify any metalcore fan's appetite for aural destruction, wailing guitar melodies so intense that they not only shake up one's soul from the inside out, but blaze by so fast that you find your finger subconsciously hitting the song on repeat, and anthem-like choruses that would make any decent post-hardcore band proud, AILD proves that metalcore can be a genre that is not all about overly-generic distorted guitar riffs and sub-standard harsh/clean vocals.

This is a good album, not excellent definitely, but just good. There are two issues stopping me from giving this album a 9+/10 rating, and here they are.

Firstly, AILD might want to consider better planning of their vocals on future albums. Their combination of harsh vocals and clean singing on the more popular songs of this album, especially my personal favourites "Anodyne Sea" and "Parallels", proves itself to be a successful formula for creating metalcore hits that aren't too sappy yet overly-aggressive such that it borders on sounding generic. However, the five songs "Beyond Our Suffering", "Without Conclusion", "The Plague", "Condemned" and "The Only Constant Is Change" comprises of entirely growls and screams, which is nearly half of the album. The utilization of both types of vocals is not evenly spread out. If not for the relentless assault of belligerent guitar passages and brutal breakdowns on those tracks with zero clean singing, they would end up sounding like overly-generic metalcore music. If AILD wants to stick closely with the decent formula mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph, it would be better if they tried utilizing both types of vocals simultaneously on a more frequent basis from now on (not to the extent of sounding too much like pop metal of course).

Secondly, although the album blasts off with a good and explosive start and ends off on a nice, mellow and melodic note, it is rather boring in the middle. I mentioned in the earlier paragraph that "If not for the relentless assault of belligerent guitar passages... end up sounding like overly-generic metalcore music." Yes, those tracks mentioned do not sound overly-generic, but that still doesn't mean they do not sound generic. Chugging guitar riffs together with seamless drum beats and simple bass lines are such a common staple in metalcore music that even veterans like AILD cannot do without them, and that is precisely what makes a boring metalcore song these days on the modern metal scene. This is certainly something for AILD (as a matter of fact, all aspiring metalcore bands as well)to watch out for on future albums if they want their songs to be memorable for their musical value and not how they sound like so-and-so metalcore band's so-and-so song.

They will steal your last breath: From left to right - Josh Gilbert (Bass Guitar, Vocals), Phil Sgrosso (Guitar), Tim Lambesis (Vocals), Jordan Mancino (Drums), Nick Hipa (Guitar)

Production-wise, AILD had roped in Adam Dutkiewicz as their producer (guitarist for Killswitch Engage) yet again for the second time, with the last time being when they were recording their second-most recent album "An Ocean Between Us". They did so because they believed Adam understood their sound better than anyone else, and I do not find fault with this claim because Adam certainly continues to do a good job ("An Ocean Between Us" was also a well-received album).



Another minor thing to bring up would be the lyrics, and as usual, it is all about mankind's ignorance, shallowness, and hollowness. Ah, the typical lyrical theme adopted by most metal sub-genres, listening to metal sure makes one feel ashamed of your own species. Oh well, I guess this is a part of metal music that is so deeply ingrained in the culture created by many metal musicians such that one can never really expect it to have much variation.

Being yet another milestone in AILD's scintillating career thus far, "The Powerless Rise" is definitely for fans of the old Bullet For My Valentine, Caliban, Killswitch Engage, Lamb Of God, and Shadows Fall.


Verdict: 8.7 / 10

Bullet For My Valentine: Fever

Year released: 2010
Website: www.bulletformyvalentine.com, www.myspace.com/bulletformyvalentine
Label: Jive Records (a unit of Sony Music Entertainment)

Tracks:

1. Your Betrayal [4:52]

2. Fever [3:57]

3. The Last Fight [4:19]

4. A Place Where You Belong [5:07]

5. Pleasure And Pain [3:53]

6. Alone [5:56]

7. Breaking Out, Breaking Down [4:04]

8. Bittersweet Memories [5:09]

9. Dignity [4:29]

10. Begging For Mercy [3:56]

11. Pretty On The Outside [3:56]
__________________________________________________________________________

“Fever” is the third studio album released by the Welsh metal band, Bullet For My Valentine. It was released on 27th April 2010 in the US. Since then it has risen to debut at #3 on The Billboard 200 and #1 on the Rock and Alternative Charts, making it the most successful BFMV record out of the three, the others being “The Poison” and “Scream Aim Fire”.

Listening to the record, it is easy to see why; Fever is comprised of 11 songs, with a mix of infectious and catchy riffs, anthem-ish rhythms, both upbeat and slower songs with tinges of Matt’s screaming giving the whole album that edgy feel, there’s something for everyone. The sound on this album is definitely more calculated than that of The Poison with “a crisp, clean production where every note is experienced.” (Noisecreep). Looking in terms of the band’s individual skill, the more complex riffing progressions, guitar solos, and unusual breakdowns and layers makes it obvious that each band member’s skill is improving. As usual BFMV pulls out another record of high quality, and depending on how well they continue to do, they could be en route to being a future classic of the metal arena. Although they have improved, I can’t help noticing that the band has however toned down the screaming compared to their debut album, “The Poison”. The screaming on the title album now serves mostly to accentuate and not as the main medium of singing, a slight downside for me.

The first song and also their single, “Your Betrayal” is possibly one of the best openers I’ve heard in a long time with the first 1:20 of the song serving both as a superb build-up as well as showing off the skills of the drummer (Michael Thomas) and the guitarists (Matt Tuck; Michael Paget).The progressive layering together with the first line of the song when Matt whispers ‘Am I going insane’ runs chills up my spine and the other whispered parts also serve to a great effect a contrast to Matt’s screaming. All in all, it’s the little details (like the bass slide at 2:33) that make this song outstanding, and it really sets the tone of the rest of the album. A noteworthy song (hah, noteworthy) is ‘Dignity’, because this is a song that I reckon more screaming would really suit it, especially at the part where the lyrics go – “Don’t push me because I won’t go quietly”. But then again this is still a good song, with a well-placed guitar solo that shows BFMV is still a band that doesn’t hide its skill and pugnaciously shreds for the world to hear.

Morbid Sweethearts: From left to right - Matthew 'Matt' Tuck (Vocals, Guitar), Michael 'Moose' Thomas (Drums), Michael 'Padge' Paget (Guitar), Jason 'Jay' James (Bass Guitar)

Another song that caught my attention is “Begging For Mercy”. This song was available to the public as a free download prior to the album’s release, and it features much more screaming than the other tracks. This is one of the few songs on “Fever” that shows Matt has not lost his edge since “The Poison”, which is probably his way of gratifying the scream-starved metalcore fans awaiting for BFMV’s return to harder songs. Since this album features a lot more singing than “The Poison”, it is worthy to note that Matt’s accent becomes apparent here and it might sound strange to listeners of mostly American metalcore. An example would be his accent giving the ballad “Bittersweet Memories” a ‘flat’ tonality. The closing song “Pretty On The Outside” is a really good song with very good energy, rapid-fire screamo parts, and sorrow-filled chugging guitar riffs that ensure most listeners would remember what this album was all about.


BFMV is back on track: Heavy, fast, infectious

Fans of “The Poison” will be glad with the reversion to a similar style after the departure from the forgettable sound heard on “Scream Aim Fire”. Matt explains that this album was intended to return to the formula that created “The Poison”, but with greater experimentation with sounds and techniques he never tried before. This album finds an interesting mid-ground between “The Poison” and “Scream Aim Fire”, highlighting the aggressiveness of the record with greater technical detail and embellishments, leaving listeners to look forward to the next BFMV album. Personally, I feel that this album does succeed where “The Poison” never did, and that is its dynamical sound. It seems to me that with their accumulation of better techniques gained through musical experimentation, BFMV will definitely be capable of throwing out a truly epic album sometime in the future.

Verdict: 9.3/10

Written by guest writer, Low Yi Ming (edited by Shadori).

Bury Your Dead: It's Nothing Personal

Year released: 2009

Official website: www.buryyourdead.com, www.myspace.com/buryyourdead

Label: Victory Records

Tracks:

1. Hurting Not Helping [4:10]

2. Without You [4:38]

3. Broken Body [4:30]

4. The Great Demonizer [3:48]

5. Dead End Lovesong [4:43]

6. Swan Song [4:00]

7. Lakota [3:02]

8. The Forgotten [4:21]

9. Lion's Den [4:29]

10. Legacy Of Ashes [4:28]

11. Closed Eyes [4:51]

12. Enough [1:33]
__________________________________________________________________________

Don't be fooled by the album name. BYD themselves have said that what they mean by naming this album in such a way, is really just the opposite of what it says. It IS something personal, at least to the band members that is. This 5th album by groove metalcore band, Bury Your Dead, who formed in 2001 and hails from Massachusetts, USA, is the second album the band is doing with new permanent vocalist Myke Terry, and he is doing a fairly decent job of continuing the BYD tradition of hardcore music packed full of fretboard mayhem and groovy, heavy beats.

Take a listen!: Even the dead would headbang to these groovy beats

Exploding right into your ears from the very first second with mean, catchy guitar riffs, BYD's first single off this album, "Hurting Not Helping" certainly makes a very explicit summary about what they have more or less been through over the turmoil that was 2008. Apart from the frustration expressed in the songs' lyrics, you can also practically almost feel BYD's frustration with the s***t they have been through trickling into your ears in the form of vibrating air particles. Although heavy and hardcore, BYD also manages to bring about their own unique brand of melancholy on this album, proving once again that metalcore isn't necessarily always only about angst-driven extreme music. However, there are many repetitive guitar riffs on most of the other songs on this album that doesn't serve any purpose other than losing the attention of the listener fast. Furthermore, the guitar solos are mostly boring, with only the two at the start of the tracks "The Great Demonizer" and "Lion's Den" sounding more melodic and memorable than on the other tracks. The drumbeats are fairly more complicated than the dull guitar riffs, and shine best on the track "Lakota". Vocals-wise, Myke makes good harsh vocals with his rough voice, but his clean vocals sound lifeless and flat. That is something that he has to polish up on future albums. BYD's new style is almost similar to their old style; they still dish out punishing drum beats, testosterone-pumping guitar breakdowns, and ugly yet world-weary vocals to create a headbangin' mosh pit of songs for anyone needing an emotional outlet to let out their suppressed frustration or angst with the world. But other than that, this album is really not fantastic, and will soon be forgotten with the times.

Oh, I forgot to mention - Slipknot fans who have never heard BYD before, give them a try, as BYD does bear some resemblance to that group of Halloween enthusiasts. Although BYD is not as strong in the image department as Slipknot, they do triumph over them in terms of making heavier music that gives off a satisfying bunch of raw energy. However, Slipknot does make more memorable melodies and guitar solos than BYD. Hardcore fans of the old BYD however, would not like this new BYD. Sure, they are still heavy like before and all, but having a new vocalist really changes the feel of an otherwise familiar band. It is like replacing Chestor Bennington on Linkin Park with another guy someday, which will definitely cause LP's popularity to dip sharply since Chestor himself has more or less single-handedly molded that harsh, constipated sound of LP's music. Less hardcore fans of the old BYD however, would most probably welcome this new BYD with a spanking new stereo set to better headbang to this renewed attack by a revived BYD. As for those who haven't heard of BYD and wants to try them out now, go ahead, but don't expect them to be as good as other big metalcore bands you have heard before.

These hardcore rockers are: From left to right - Mark Castillo (Drums), Brendan "Slim B." MacDonald (Guitar), Myke Terry (Vocals), Aaron "Bubble" Patrick (Bass Guitar), Chris Towning (Guitar)



As the saying goes, simplicity is beauty. The album artwork is certainly thought-provoking... because it really makes one wonder what is up with that overly simple scenery. Perhaps the barren land juxtaposed against a clear blue sky is supposed to be a reference to the chaotic year BYD had in 2008?

Overall, "It's Nothing Personal" is a rather lackluster metalcore album, only pick up this album in stores if you are a hardcore BYD fan. If you are someone wanting to try out metalcore, don't start from BYD as they are an average metalcore band to start from. Start from consistently good metalcore veterans such as AILD, Killswitch Engage, Lamb Of God, or excellent metalcore newbies such as Bullet For My Valentine.

Drummer: Check out an insane Mark

Bury Your Damn Dead!: The music video for "Hurting Not Helping"; the crowd-favourite gimmick "Wall Of Death" at live metal performances can be seen here too


Verdict: 7.5 / 10

Within The Ruins: Creature

Year released: 2009
Official website: www.myspace.com/withintheruins
Label: Victory Records

Tracks:

1. The Book Of Books [3:58]

2. Arsenal [3:50]

3. Dig A Ditch [4:23]

4. Call Off The Wedding [3:38]

5. Extinguish Them [3:56]

6. Jump Ship [2:53]

7. Creature [3:31]

8. Tractor Pull [4:56]

9. Holy Mess [4:36]

10. Victory [2:16]

__________________________________________________________________________

There is no doubt about it.

Creature, is just like what its name and its artwork is all about: A mean, teeth-gnashing, ferocious machine of aural destruction that showcases a relentless display of abstract vibrance. Its instrumentals are as colourful as its monstrously cartoonish-looking cover, and its technicality is one that rivals Skullgrid, making it undoubtedly one of the fresher metal albums I have ever come across in my fourth-running month as a music reviewer so far.

Within The Ruins, the Massachusetts band whose eccentric brilliance gave birth to this wild beast of fretboard breakdowns, insane tempos, swift guitar riffs, and good old I-don't-really-care-what-you-think-about-me attitude, probably did not have it easy in the process of producing this successful debut album of theirs.


Take a listen!: Like seriously, there isn't really a solid way of describing this.

Needless to say, WTR's members have been practising innumerable hours everyday ever since they met back at their old high school and formed the band in 2000, and it is only with such effort can any musician reach this high level of perfection of their instruments. It is a little hard to believe that their early influences came from the likes of Metallica and As I Lay Dying, because they are both generally thrash and metalcore respectively, which is a little of what WTR exhibits on this album, but yet not quite it as well. Now how do you put it, it is just like an eagle's egg mistakenly landing up in a swallow's nest, and although the infant eagle learns the ways of the swallow initially, it eventually grows big enough to consume the swallow and mutate into something different (that is not to imply that swallows have mutating effects upon consumption however, as this is just a random analogy). Yeah, basically, WTR is purely a unique band in their own right, crafting a sound that is so borderless and daring that they do not resemble anyone else and which gives them the edge in terms of experimenting with their style further in future.

Being on the front brink of progressive metalcore, WTR has so far successfully blended technicality, ferocity, death, and hardcore into a jam-packed arena of blistering aural bliss. A very interesting thing to note about their music would be that although it is metal, it does not give off the typical heavy feel. Creature, unlike most metal albums, actually skims along in an energetic fit for the whole album due to the incessant staccatos omnipresent throughout the guitars parts. This is a plus point for me, because it is the first time I am seeing such an effect being used to great texture rendering, seamlessly creating multi-layered melodies together with a seemingly unending torrent of stop-starts which is easy on the metalhead's ear (after a long day of blasting the poor eardrums with the daily diet of melo-death and thrash of course) and yet retains the gritty melodic satisfaction one can only derive from metal. It really gets me greatly anticipating what this ingenious band would come up with next. Perhaps technical black metal might be up next on their music laboratory's roster? :P

Already receiving a positive reception from live shows across America on their virgin tour which kickstarted at the beginning of this year, WTR is one band whose current inflating fan base is one you would not want to miss out on joining. Such bands whom continuously inject freshness into the quickly rusting underground metal scene deserve as much support as they can get to increase the exposure they get, and perhaps then, their producers or band manager might finally start telling them to get a better image too. Although almost individual masters of their own instruments, WTR still lacks one thing many underground American metal bands still lack today: A better image.

Seriously, there you are making kick-ass music, and yet you look like you wouldn't be out of place walking amongst ordinary Americans on some ordinary American street.

  

 

WTR ought to lose that teenage punk image by replacing their dull mushroom-head goodie boy haircuts in place of, say, a mohawk or long, braided hair? Okay, maybe they can even try out a monstrous-looking haircut like the Devil's Lock to enhance the image of their album or something. Honestly, no metalhead would ever want to have sweet memories of a kick-ass album being tainted by abysmal nightmares of a suck-ass band image.

All in all, pick up this album if it is available at your local CD store. If you have enough cash to spare for iPods, why not apportion some towards increasing the productivity capacity of good metal bands? Certainly, this is one band whose progress you would not want to be missing out on, as they are sure to continue churning out technical masterpieces that would blow you off your seat.

Hell, I want that Creature shirt!


Health Warning: This video might cause seizures or temporary paralysis, I'm not kidding, the video says so itself.


Verdict: 9.0 / 10