Song Of The Week: Within The Ruins - Invade

This band has really matured quite a bit since the last time I have visited them on this blog. Whether they saw my advice the last time round or not (Haha! I wish!), it is definitely good that they did clean up their image after all. They sure look more like metal musicians now!

One thing that might be quite amusing to note though, and I bring it up because Zen has mused to me about this phenomenon on quite a few occasions so far; what is with all these metal musicians in bad shape playing topless?! Notice how Drummer their drummer is playing topless in the music video above even though he has a physique that would make a Greek god roll over in delirious laughter? Look at the "tsunami waves" he creates whenever the camera rolls over to Drummer briefly in the music video...

Musically, their guitars still retain that signature high-pitched sound complete with that same old frenetic playing. This is a mind-blowingly technical masterpiece full of speedy and precise breakdowns, fretboard raping, flying fingers, impossible riffing, and an attitude that simply just kicks ass! But the music video is a typical one that simply shows the band rocking out to their own performance, albeit with lots of bouncy moments, and it sure does show off the technical prowess of the guitarists. The possible addition of an animation of some sort showing an unknown creature pillaging some small town somewhere would have been nice though, although since that has not been done, this music video serves as a good live performance video for WTR fans to watch over and over again whenever they feel like seeing the band in action.

Tech Metal Masters: From left to right - Drummer (Drums), Joe Cocchi (Guitar), Tim Goergen (Vocals), Jay Van Schelt (Guitar), Mike Beaujean (Bass Guitar)

If you are a metalhead who has not heard of WTR until today, go on, play the video and be bewildered. Actually, the same praise can be showered on practically every other track off of the entire "Invade" album, but my lazy mind is telling me that the pillow on my bed is more worthy of my attention on such a comfortably cold night.

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!

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.

Song of the Week: Grand Alchemist - Down Again

Sorry for the long period of absence, we return today with a song by the symphonic black metal band Grand Alchemist. After the release of their first (and only to date) album, Intervening Coma-Celebration, in 2002, Grand Alchemist have pretty much disappeared. Their official site is down, with the last update made in 2006, there isn't a lot of activity on their myspace page either and all news of progression for a new album seemed to have trickled off. After listening to "Down Again" however, I am absolutely flummoxed by this standstill in their career because they seem in every aspect to be a quality band who really know their stuff.

If "Down Again" is any indication, Grand Alchemist is heavily keyboards driven, but that doesn't mean that the guitars are neglected in any way. Both elements work together very well to form varied melodies that makes the song worth listening to again and again. The opening intro particularly appeals to me for its "Alice in Wonderland" feel. Harsh vocals are nicely pitched, and go pretty ok with the tempo. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, "Down Again" is catchy in the way that only a metal song can be, in its musical intricacies and not simply in its chorus or melodies. The only slight drawback is a typical one, the lyrics are not quite up to par. There is structure, and rhyming, so that the singing is in sync with the song. But the meaning of the song is sketchy at best and apart from the general negativity you're not likely to know what the song is trying to put across.

Overall, "Down Again" is less dark than it is melodic and at some points, melancholic, but remains a fine example of symphonic metal that holds true to the latter term as it does to the former. But the mastery of Grand Alchemist reveling in its chosen genre of symphonic black metal is expressed through the hint of creepy eeriness that presented itself in the beginning and lingered throughout the song. This is undoubtedly metal, and fine metal at that.

The rather interesting thing about their music video is that for a song that might be accused of having too much synths and keyboards in it, there is no 'boardist featured at all. In fact, the keyboards strike up even as the band members are shown to be entering the room and picking up their instruments, as if its a supernatural phenomenon. Maybe there's some sort of implication there hmm..

Song of the Week: Mandragora Scream - Dark Lantern

"Aaaarrgghhh!!"

Well that's one evil scream to start the song off. If the starting moments of 'Dark Lantern' doesn't strike you as gothic, then you don't know what gothic metal is. As part of the Italian band Mandragora Scream's 2006 album, Madhouse, 'Dark Lantern' is quite an interesting track. Founded by Morgan Lacroix (a cool name if I ever saw one) and Terry Horn in 1997, Mandragora Scream regularly craft their music into concept albums that features rather prominent gothic elements to their music, more so than its metal elements that they can sometimes be classified under the genre of gothic rock. 'Dark Lantern', as it is, has a rather sinister beginning with its ethereal wails and synthesized growls but is otherwise almost exclusively sung in clean vocals and is quite mild really. Nothing really taxing for the ears.

In terms of its musicianship, 'Dark Lantern' is really quite simple. The 'boards repeat the same creepy tune over and over again, the guitars has very little to do 'cept for that bit near the end which I don't think can be even counted as a solo and the bass is chugging away on atmospheric duty. But simplicity is its strength- the song is not difficult to follow and the main melody of the song doesn't scatter into different layers at all. What deserves special mention though, is Morgan Lacroix's rather unique singing. Her voice can be rather deep and raspy for a female and if it weren't for the music video you'd be wondering about the gender of the vocalist. Her Italian accent (I think, or it could just be her own special way of pronunciation) also somehow accentuates the atmosphere of the song in a way that I can't explain. If any linguistic semiotics professor would like to leave a comment below, that'll be great, thanks a lot. Otherwise, I guess you just have to listen to get what I mean. Conversely, the harsh vocals done by (I think) the guitarist Terry Horn is surprisingly high pitched and should be considered as screams rather than growls. Still, that downplays the aggression and brings out more horror, which fits the theme.

Lyrically though, 'Dark Lantern' is barely coherent to me. I can't make head or tail about what the song is trying to say but I reckon the spinal cord is there. There's just a lot of lines that combines words that I'm pretty sure are never grouped together conventionally, which is bound to sprout some question marks at the top of your head, like "darklin' in light" for instance. What the heck is that?

All in all, 'Dark Lantern' is a rather nice song, and deviating from all mainstream genres, including metal. Its currently their most-played song on Mandragora Scream's myspace page. Mandragora Scream's latest album, Volturna, has just been released a coupla weeks ago, featuring a different line-up apart from Lacroix and Horn. I haven't gotten round to listening to it yet but if 'Dark Lantern' intrigues you enough, go ahead and pick up Volturna to give it a spin and tell me how you like it.

Below is the music video of 'Dark Lantern'. Check out the funky microphone~

Song Of The Week: Destrophy - The Way Of Your World

It's all been done before and
No one can listen to anyone's answers
They're drifting farther everyday
And they say

“We hold our hands to block the sun
We blame the light for what we’ve done
We look away so We’ll forget what We’ve become”


First take what you want
Then you throw it away
- This is the way of their world
Don't know what you've got
Until it's taken away
- This is the way of your world

When the night falls you know who you are
And you cast reflections as the mirror gathers rust
“It’s so safe and lonely with you”
Lovers ripping in two
Grind away ‘till nothing’s left
There’s nothing left inside

First take what you want
Then you throw it away
- This is the way of their world
Don't know what you've got
Until it's taken away
- This is the way of your world
Your lives will fade before their time
And you’ll never say goodbye

The end of all the things you know
And all of what you can be
It’s fading fast before you

What we want, we are.

Ah, another solid metal band to add to Victory Record's roster of diverse musicians. Formed in 2002, this Iowa "melodic metal" band is certainly radio-friendly.

As they themselves have said it during an interview in VictorV Episode 51, they are basically a band that plays heavy stuff yet throw in poppish-sounding choruses that are easy to get hooked on as well. Well, not like most metal fans would be complaining anyway (me included). If you were to ask me to choose between, say, Dead By April and them, I would definitely choose them. I mean, sure, they both have poppish-sounding choruses, but Dead By April's poppish choruses just sound a little too whiny for my own liking. Destrophy's style of poppish-sounding choruses on the other hand, are just right, and in fact, they remind me of those old metal bands whom utilize group vocals frequently throughout the entire length of their songs.

Heh, I wonder if they did it on purpose to get some airtime on radio, 'cos that was definitely a tried-and-true tactic for popular metal bands of the past.

Destrophy is certainly a blast of fresh air to any metalhead who follows Victory's metal roster, because they are probably the only damn band in there who utilizes such catchy clean vocals. I am definitely one of them, they are a good break from deathcore and melo-death bands. Did I mention that Ari, their frontman (picture on top) is also one of those rare guitarists who can actually play half-naked during live shows? Yeah, look at his buff physique (*whistle*), that is the very good reason he has that many other of his peers lack to do so during live shows :P. So not only do Destrophy have a radio-friendly sound, they certainly have eye candy in the form of a frontman with the body of a Greek hero too. Man oh man, Petri Lindroos must feel so envious! Oh yeah, I personally thinks he resembles Hugh Jackman too.

Heavy Candy: From left to right - Phil. T (Bass Guitar), Ari (Vocals/Guitar), Bruce Swink (Guitar), Joe Fox (Drums)

All in all, Destrophy would be another good band to check out for this year. I especially recommend them for fans of alternative rock, or nu-metal. Fans of Five Finger Death Punch, Linkin Park, Korn, Papa Roach and the likes should like Destrophy's music. They are currently on tour with Type O Negative and Otep, and this is not related to this week's post, but check out Destrophy's fellow label mate, Otep, too. She's hot for a goth-makeup sporting, and heavily tattooed industrial metal musician. B-D

Alright, here is the awkward and time-wasting moment at the end of each "Song Of The Week" post when I try to come up with as many words as possible just to fill up the empty spaces left before this paragraph extends below that last picture used (in this case, the one on the right of Bruce Swink). Awesome, I just went below him, time to end if off here.

Song of the Week: Avantasia - Lost in Space

The saga of pop sounding metal continues at zetalambmary! This time with what is positively the lynch pin of Avantasia's latter day career, "Lost in Space". Why is that? Well this catchy melodic song first made its appearance in a single entitled (you guessed it) Lost in Space in 2007 and went on to feature in 2 EPs (Lost in Space (Part 1) and Lost in Space (Part 2)), one compilation album (Lost in Space (Part 1 and 2) yes the creativity with album titles are not lost on us) and just for good measure, was included as the last song in Avantasia's most recent album, The Scarecrow. About half a dozen different versions of it exist, but they don't deviate from each other a great deal, which makes it either a really good song, or Avantasia is simply milking it for as much as it can fetch in aesthetic value.

As a side project of Edguy's frontman Tobias Sammet, this symphonic power metal band was founded in the turn of the new millenium and has since released 3 studio albums, with Toby as the consistent vocalist while numerous guest musicians lend their hand in this endeavour to create "a world beyond human imagination". This is aptly reflected in "Lost in Space", with its lyrics attempting to place a setting for introspection in a out-of-this-world context. And I dunno, there's something about the debonair charm of Toby that allows the suave German to pull it off. Musically though, it resides very comfortably within the pop zone that ensures a guarantee that even if one isn't hooked on the song, they're not likely to dislike it. After all, what's there to dislike? There's a handsome young guy with an interesting voice (am I sounding way too jealous here? XD) singing a totally catchy chorus that at least has more depth in content than most gormless pop songs out there. It exhibits a sense of romance and wanderlust. How many metal songs out there can accomplish that?

Ah but therein lies a cause for repulsion- "Lost in Space" hardly constitutes as rock, to say nothing of metal. There are generic female vocals at the back, largely simple tunes are coming from all instruments that serve as ambiance at best and without Toby's voice driving this song, it could very well serve as a backdrop for taichi or meditation. In any case, "Lost in Space" is not particularly original or amazing, it just sounds.. so difficult to dislike. Just that as a matter of principle, metal fans would utterly resent the fact that Avantasia seems to be selling out to a larger audience and neglecting the core metal community that it first based its very existence on. But I'd say give the guy a break, its his side project, he's doing his time with Edguy. This isn't bad anyway if you're willing to let your prejudices go. I'd pick this over Backstreet Boys any day.

Official MV for "Lost in Space". Watch it, and get a feel of Avantasia's world.

Song Of The Week: Between The Buried And Me - Obfuscation

From the simple idea of Change Blindness, our minds are not as they seem.
An entire existence revolving around what we can't acknowledge.
A brain function we'll never admit as defeat....
a constant determination to find truths...to find reason...to find comfort.
An unspoken religion in being the ALL-DOMINANT...This is what we call a brain.

This step will allow the universe to run it's course.
We have a short ticket and a lot of it is in hiding...so lets take in what we can for now.
Just like here on Earth(a notion we do comprehend)
Hide what "others" can't understand. The universe is the biggest threat...
overachiever that commands attention. Brute force of hysterical reasonings...
There will always be a Marfa.

Close one eye. Step to the side.

As humans we could never be content with knowing all, yet we can't be content with the fact that our brains will never know.
A mental surgery...
a never ending journey...a technological drawback.
Pushing us further from our natural minds.
Even things created by other humans should be considered in the experiment of an entire species understanding.

A magicians pure joy...
A mind bend for the common folk...
Follow the straight line...(A full house watching what we can't see)
The ultimate deceiver...

Close one eye. Step to the side.

We will always be part of the great misdirect...stepping in and stepping out.
We will always be part of the great misdirect...Mirrors and Obfuscation.


Yes everybody, every Victory fanboy's favourite progressive metal band is set to rock your socks off you yet again with their forthcoming 5th album, the Great Misdirect out on October 27th.

Between The Buried And Me had originally started off as a crazy metalcore band, and they gradually progressed towards speed metal and then progressive metal. Amazing style changes huh, just like what Amorphis had undergone in the past. Anyway, if you have not heard of BTBAM, you really have not heard of progressive metal at all. The style of progressive metal favoured by senior progressive metal bands Dream Theater and Opeth are ever draaaaaaawling and nice to nod off too, they are no longer progressive metal in my opinion, because they do not seem to have progressed much at all.

Between The Buried And Me are y'all!: From left to right - Dustie Waring (Guitar), Tommy Rogers (Vocals), Blake Richardson (Drums/Percussion), Dan Briggs (Bass Guitar), Paul Waggoner (Guitar)

BTBAM on the other hand, has (from the sound of that new track above) definitely progressed from their last epic, Colors. The starting was reminiscent of the opening guitar riffs from Mastodon's "Capillarian Crest", the drum beats have gotten more complex, the bass was as thundering as usual, and the vocals was just good ol' BTBAM. Oh yeah, the length is definitely progressive metal (9 minutes and 15 seconds). As usual, they have that good blend of harsh and soft moments, in which during the latter, Tommy takes a break from growling and Paul, Dustie, and Dan just shred away on those seemingly indestructible strings on their guitars. The guitar melodies have definitely improved, with appropriate moments when they go hiiiiiiiiiigh up (like towards the end of Pantera's "Cemetary Gates"), and Killswitch Engage-ish moments when their vibrato just shake you up from the inside.

Good utilization of a blend of clean and harsh vocals in unison also certainly added a new unique musical device to BTBAM's musical arsenal, and the guitar solos, although long and mellow like Opeth's, do not make you want to doze off as quickly as they started.

Hell yeah, it would be a pity if you did not give this amazing song a listen!


The Great Misdirect will be out on October 27th, 2009.

Song Of The Week: Threat Signal - Through My Eyes

Tear through the ashes of what still remains
The blood runs down my face
Can't find the reason we're all left to waste
You must awaken

See through my eyes!

I bleed to let myself know I'm alive
As you hide in denial
Break through the clouds and reach out to the sky
You must awaken

See through my eyes!
See through the lies!
We're not far away ~ [x2]

As we crawl ~
To salvation, the rest try to hold us down
As they fall ~
We separate from the hate that will bring us down
Bring us down ~ [x2]

These lacerations!
They will reveal for the rest of my life!
These aggravations!
Will not conceal 'til I die or we end this fight!

As we crawl ~
To salvation, the rest try to hold us down
As they fall ~
We separate from the hate that will bring us down!

Forget the words that they've said!
If it's all deceit in your head!
This life is more than just lies!
Awake and see through my eyes!!

Awake and see through my eyes!!! [x3]

Threat Signal is very fond of fading out their tracks, having catchy, melancholic guitar solos, and very generic guitar riffing to go with the scratchy harsh vocals. That is how I would sum them up in a single sentence.

Pleasantly surprising melo-death aficionados (such as yours Truly) with their soulful guitar solo in 2006's hit single, "A New Beginning", Threat Signal is set to burst back onto the metal scene with their upcoming album, Vigilance. As they are signed onto Nuclear Blast records, arguably one of the rare few music labels around that boasts an elite roster of metal bands (from Avantasia to Wintersun), one can certainly expect some quality music from them.

Probably taking a leaf from the book of fellow American music label, Victory Records, Nuclear Blast has recently adopted the approach of releasing songs from upcoming albums earlier than they should, in the form of their official music videos on YouTube. Thus, the song that the above music video took inspiration from is not out yet. :)

Briefly scanning through Threat Signal's 2006 Under Reprisal to get an idea of how they sounded like 3 years ago, I could not help but wonder about frontman, Jon Howard's claim about his musical efforts thus far.

"It's funny how the whole string section of Threat Signal was replaced, but the most noticeable progression lies within my vocals. On Under Reprisal I was really pushing and forcing my voice trying to find myself. I've found my voice and range with this album and I feel very comfortable." Jon Howard had recently said.

True, as much as Threat Signal's guitarists are mostly successful at crafting kickass guitar solos that do justice to the melo-death genre, Jon Howard still falls short of breaking out of the image of being the stereotypical harsh vocalist. He sounded almost the same on both 2006's "A New Beginning" and "Rational Eyes", and 3 years later, he is still screamin' the same in 2009's "Through My Eyes". By the way, what's with his obsession over eyes?

A foreboding warning to the metal scene - From left to right: Norman Killeen (Drums), Adam Weber (Guitar), Jon Howard (Vocals), Pat Kavanagh (Bass Guitar), Travis Montgomery (Guitar)

Only difference I could make out in his voice this time, is perhaps that of his better-sounding clean vocals during the choruses, albeit a bit too poppy for his (and our) own good. Melo-death harsh vocalists really ought to take a leaf from Scar Symmetry's original vocalist, Christian Älvestam. That guy makes the skinhead look cooler for harsh vocalists than the typical mane look.

All in all, Threat Signal is a Canadian melo-death band any metalhead should certainly look out for. After all, they are part of the Nuclear Blast brethren, and that's saying a lot.

Song Of The Week: H.I.M. - Killing Loneliness

HIM - Killing Loneliness (Version 1)

HIM - Killing Loneliness (Version 2)

As usual, I am very late in putting up amazing songs up for this section of the site.

This is one of my all time favourite alternative metal/rock songs, 'cos it is just so darned emooo. Thrashes most of those indie emo numbers you see flooding the mainstream music market everyday I would say.

From the opening few notes from the soulful keyboard, to the uncouth but sorrowful entry of the electric guitar, the first few seconds of this song already strikes one so hard in the chest, that your breath is simply taken away as you are led hypnotically and helplessly into the pits of melancholy dug into your own heart by this HIM masterpiece.

As most of you should have realised by now, Finnish metal bands really are a class above the metal bands of other nationalities, probably thanks to their superb education system (one of the few in this sad world that actually promotes creativity rather than stifle it) , and even then, HIM is one of the more popular bands amongst this elite group of musicians in the metal world. They were the first Finnish rock band to achieve a gold record status in the USA (by the way, many people consider HIM a rock band, but I consider them to be metal since the band thinks so themselves, as evidently seen by the 2003 album name "Love Metal"), and that means being the first among an amazing group of musicians to sell 500,000 copies of their album in a foreign land. In fact, the album that gave them this breakthrough in the USA was 2005's "Dark Light", which contained the song of the week I am relentlessly praising at the moment, 'Killing Loneliness'. It was a single off that amazing album, and anybody who just listened to it for the first time a moment ago should really see by now why that album was so popular a few years back.

One reason why such alternative metal songs can manage to sound so melodic even with the punctuations of the ugly electric guitar riffs every now and then, is because of the wondrous inclusion of the keyboard. Without the keyboards, there would possibly be no such thing as a metal ballad, because unlike pop ballads, metal ballads do not rely solely on the vocalist's voice to bring out the emotions intertwined with the lyrics. They rely BOTH on the vocalist's voice and instrumentals to collectively bring out the emotions in the song, of which the electric guitars are definitely out since they are the ugly kick-ass fronting instruments of metal that were not bred for such gentle tasks. The keyboard, is the key to bringing out the colours in an otherwise black and white world of distorted melodies and heavy drum beats, and it is only when a keyboard is included in an emotional metal song can it be truly called a metal ballad. Although there are a few exceptions, such as Children of Bodom's 'Everytime I Die' from their album Follow the Reaper, which is considered a metal ballad by Zen even though the electric guitars sound more pronounced than the keyboard.

Our Infernal Majesties: From left to right - Janne Puurtinen (Keyboard), Mikko Lindström (Guitar), Mikko Paananen (Bass Guitar), Mika Karppinen (Drums), Ville Valo (Vocalist)

That's all for today folks, if you are feeling suicidal or downright depressed, don't fret, HIM is here to emo your way out of it. Watch and listen to the music videos for this song of the week above, and follow the lyrics at the same time if you can to experience the song in the best way possible. Kill some time (and perhaps loneliness) while you guys are at it yeah, life often moves so fast that we barely have enough time to stop and admire the beautiful things around us before the little flame of existence that is each and every one of us is extinguished mercilessly one day.

Song Of The Week: Detroit Metal City - Satsugai

Lyrics:

I am a terrorist from hell
I raped my mom yesterday
I will carve my dad out tomorrow
I am a terrorist straight out of hell

I don't have a mom or dad
It's because I killed them
I have neither friends or lovers
It's because I killed them

Kill kill kill your close ones
Kill kill kill everything kill

Murder it's murder
Murder it's murder
(KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!)
Paint your memories in blood
Murder it's murder
Murder it's murder
(KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!)
Paint your future in blood

Kill kill kill your close ones
Kill kill kill everything kill

I have support from hell
This morning my brothers disappeared
I destroyed my relatives
I am a terrorist straight out of hell

I have neither brothers nor relatives
It's because I killed them
I don't worship and gods
It's because I killed them

Kill kill kill your close ones
Kill kill kill everything kill

Murder it's murder
Murder it's murder
(KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!)
Paint your memories in blood
Murder it's murder
Murder it's murder
(KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!)
Paint your future in blood

Kill kill kill your close ones
Kill kill kill everything kill

Murder it's murder
Murder it's murder
(KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!)
Paint your memories in blood
Murder it's murder
Murder it's murder
(KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!)
MURDERRRRRRRR!

Once again, I must ask too much of you readers.

Firstly, I have to apologise for the lack of a flash widget to conveniently display this song's lyrics within a quarter of a page length. Couldn't find any so far that has the translated version of the lyrics of this week's Japanese death metal song.

Secondly, as with most of my Songs Of The Week, this is yet another long overdue song. Had originally intended to put it up soon when I first learned of it last year, but kept pushing it back as I had other things to attend to (like socialising perhaps).

Okay, I presume that anyone who is reading this now would have already watched the music video above. Anyone ever heard of Dethklok from Metalocalypse? An adult cartoon on a fictional metal band? Well, Detroit Metal City is like the Japanese version of it, only wackier and crazier. This cult series originally began as a manga series, but was soon developed into a 13-episode anime series and even had a live-action movie shot of it that was shown worldwide in the first quarter of this year. I am not going to spoil the series for you, so go read/watch it to find out more about what it is all about.

Anyway, back to the main thing - DMC's music! This fictional Japanese death metal band plays sick numbers throughout the series, with only one being really popular though, that being "Satsugai", which literally means "Murder" in English. And why wouldn't it be? Those plodding, sick guitar riffs that come in from the start, that shrill scream-growl from Johannes Krauser II, and the guitar shredding that follows all complete that perfect death metal moment.

Despite the song's vocals being actually sung by the real-life Kenichi Matsuyama ("L" from the Death Note movie series, and "Johannes Krauser II" + "Soichi Negishi" from Detroit Metal City the movie), whom is by profession an actor, it is simply amazing how he can portray that image of the demonic Krauser II so well on-stage as vocalist of DMC by doing crazy death metal stunts such as the 'teeth guitar' (the only real-life person I know who had done it before is Alexi Laiho from Children Of Bodom) and saying "F**k!" 11 times within a second (until he bit his tongue). I would like to see a Hollywood actor (perhaps Johnny Depp? :D) play tribute to a harsh vocalist from a Western metal band someday (Marilyn Manson, anyone?).

Johannes Krauser II - DMC's vocalist as seen in the live-action movie, with the DMC logo being clearly seen at the top right, and bassist Alexander Jagi at the bottom left

Some trivia too, if you hail from the '70s or '80s, and find DMC sounding vaguely familiar, that would be because it is a reference to KISS' "Detroit Rock City" single from back then. Also, I personally feel that Krauser II's image is heavily based on Alexi Laiho, the vocalist for melodic death metal band Children Of Bodom, except for the face painting which the author obviously took inspiration from KISS, the heavy metal band that started the visual-kei fad in Japan.

DMC's antics - Krauser II making the Eiffel Tower "wet"

All in all, if you are kinda surprised why not only various weird styles of metal appear on this site, but even cross-culture styles of metal too, do keep up to date with us. We are even planning to do Korean and Chinese metal if possible, and when we can find the materials to do so. Lastly, check out DMC, and if you like their music, do not forget to...

GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC!

Song of the Week: WarCry - Espíritu de Amor

Yes, its a Spanish song, by a Spanish metal band. But its not just any Spanish metal band, its one of Spain's premier power metal bands, who have collected numerous accolades throughout their career from Radial Awards, Rockferendum, MetalZone etc, ranging from best keyboardist and guitarist and vocalist to best album and even best website (oO?). Its state of existence fluctuated during its initial years and it wasn't until 2001 that WarCry became a full-time band, fronted by Víctor García. Since then, its line-up has gone under constant change, with the exception of García, but its quality remains top class and it has quickly risen to fame first in Spain and then across Latin America.

"Espíritu de Amor" is from their 2004 album, Alea Jacta Est, and it means "spirit of love". Its an intricate piece of work, befitting the band's genre of power metal. Everything from the twin guitar riffs to the powerful keyboards solo to García's gravelly voice gives the song a simultaneously complex and simple beauty. And at the centre of this paradox is the lyrics itself, a sad poetic declaration of love for someone who has passed on that is delivered in a soaring energetic fashion. There is passion in its creation, with some sort of certainty that love transcends life or death. Even if you didn't know a single bit of español, I bet you can still feel all that emotion from the music itself.

Perhaps its not such a conventional song for making confessions of love, but it takes a different kind of appreciation perhaps. In that whirlwind of power metal melodies, with 5 instruments and a single voice playing out their separate roles to form a complicated song, there is just that simple meaning of wanting to be with the one you love. And experiencing the same loss of life within yourself when you lose your other half. Porque tu dolor es mi dolor.

No matter how difficult things can get, how messed up everything is, there can be meanings that shine steadfastly through all others, always strong, just like the quality of WarCry. For all those who are in el espíritu de amor, this is for you *winks*:

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: Silverstein - Vices

Finally, my favourite post-hardcore band for the past 4 years make an appearance on Zetalambmary! :D

Silverstein, the Canadian quintet has made quite a name for themselves on the indie punk scene ever since they formed back in 2000. Revitalising a dying scene with their fresh, earnest take on independent music, this band has been successful in fusing emo, hardcore, and alternative rock tunes into what I would call 'Stein-mo' for nearly a decade now. This week's featured song by them, "Vices" is the first single off Silverstein's 4th studio album, released earlier on this year at the end of March.

When the first few seconds of this epic roll in, any good ol' 'Stein fan can instantly tell that this band has finally matured into something more. Something darker. Something a wee bit more sinister. Something insinuating towards... M-E-T-A-L. Showcasing a very different kind of raw energy on this song compared to the previous few singles from their previous albums, Silverstein is now balancing on the tightrope separating indie hardcore punk from alternative metal, teasing the rope by bouncing gently on it on a few occasions, sometimes even nearly giving in to temptation to jump on it. I haven't heard the album of "A Shipwreck In The Sand" in its entirety yet, but from the sound of the single above, if the rest of the album is like that as well, this would be one of the occasions where Silverstein is boldly jumping on the tightrope, almost daring themselves to push it to its limit until it snaps. Lyrically emo at heart, Silverstein's lyrics are typical indie punk lyrics though, dealing more with human emotions and conflicts with the usual tragic love story thrown into the midst of the lyrics as a story device, or just plain rebelliousness as heard on their first studio album, "When Broken Is Easily Fixed". The song names and album title usually don't really have any synergy.

These outstanding Canadian hardcore rockers are: From left to right - Paul Koehler (Drums), Billy Hamilton (Bass Guitar), Shane Told (Vocals), Josh Bradford (Guitar), Neil Boshart (Guitar)

However, they have finally started to experiment with a conceptual album, and so came along "A Shipwreck In The Sand". Just a note of interest, conceptual albums are usually done almost exclusively by metal bands (e.g. Mastodon, Kamelot, Amon Amarth), and it is indeed very rare to see a post-hardcore band do one. Also, Silverstein's instrumentals have become overall more thunderous and foreboding, as evident from the intimidating opening of thudding drum beats and the reverberating bass line, and even the twin guitar melodies has sped up significantly while remaining capable of dishing out melancholic tunes, bearing a huge resemblance to common melo-death songs. Best of all, vocalist Shane Told's harsh vocals have improved tremendously, as they sound more aggressive yet polished instead of the previously angsty scream-growls that were much more unpolished in comparison. Oh yes, Shane's mellow clean-singing is still in tip-top condition and ready to solicit tears from the eyes of girls, and it really balances out the overall feel of the song by acting as a sort of counterpoint to the angsty, screaming alter-ego of Shane.

This brings Silverstein's unique brand of hardcore to a whole new level, which creates more room for them to experiment with their music in future as the doors to the varse kingdom of metal are now thrown wide open, ready to receive them with warm, molten steel.

All in all, this song is aggressive and gritty, yet pleasant to the ears with the combination of infectious clean vocals. This would be another nice song to warm anyone up to the genres of post-hardcore and metalcore.