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Oct 11 2013
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Reviews

A Day To Remember – Common Courtesy (Review)

ADTR

http://www.facebook.com/adtr

Record Label: None

Release Date: Oct 8th, 2013

Reviewed By: Alex Maimone

Probably one of the most anticipated albums of the whole year has finally arrived. Common Courtesy, by the greatly known A Day To Remember, has been released after a very long wait. For those who are fairly new to A Day To Remember, they are a Florida based band that mixes different styles of Pop-Punk and Hardcore together. The blend was smaller in previous records but it shines brightly in CC.

“City of Ocala”, the 1st track off the album, begins the album with a complete Pop-Punk feel. It brings strong guitar riffs and powerful vocals to make the ultimate blend. But of course, we all know A Day To Remember is a very talented band, overall. Most of us have been listening since their first record “And Their Name Was Treason”. They have definitely evolved highly and have lost some of that super heavy feel to them but there are still many strong and heavy songs in Common Courtesy.

“Life Lessons Learned The Hard Way”, “Dead & Buried”, “Violence (Enough Is Enough)”, and “The Document Speaks For Itself” completely bring A Day To Remembers heavy side into the picture. Chuggy breakdowns, heavy low screams, it’s the ADTR many have been waiting for. This album literally hits a taste of everything they are perfect at.

Of course, they bring out some softer acoustic songs. “I’m Already Gone” and “End Of Me” are meaningful, slow, acoustic tracks that just keep you singing along every time you hear it played. But, I’ve always had this album on repeat since I received it.

Common Courtesy is a masterpiece. The most anticipated A Day To Remember album to date and they definitely gave the fans what they’ve been asking for. Even newcomers to Hardcore could find enjoyment in CC due to the various genres that ADTR tends to throw at us! I highly recommend this to everyone; it’s an overall great record.

OVERALL RATING: 10/10

A Day To Remember is:

Jeremy McKinnon – Vocals

Neil Westfall – Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals

Joshua Woodard – Bass Guitar

Alex Shelnutt – Drums

Kevin Skaff – Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals

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Sep 02 2013
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Reviews

Avenged Sevenfold – Hail To The King (Review)

AS

http://www.facebook.com/avengedsevenfold

Record Label: Warner Bros. Records

Release Date: August 27th, 2013

Reviewed By: Michael Thomas

Every now and again heavy metal music needs a new generation of superstars, another adrenaline fuelled shot to the arm, another hard kick up the arse. Avenged Sevenfold could well be that shot the industry needs, and if their latest instalment Hail To The King is anything to go by, they are well on their way for world domination.

Recent interviews suggest the band are willing to be as big as their heroes Metallica, Guns N Roses, Iron Maiden, and Pantera. A few years ago many people would have laughed at such a comment, however if record sales are anything to go by, that spotlight on the main stage may not be as far away as they think.

Following 2010′s Nightmare album, Hail To The King sounds absolutely huge. The album opens with the tolling of a church bell not so dissimilar from that on the debut Black Sabbath album. Salutes to Metallica’s black album can be heard in the crushing track This Means War, whilst fans of Megadeth will enjoy familiar musical phrasing in Heretic.

The album ploughs on through the Guns N Roses-esque Doing Time and a song that could be Iron Maiden at the height of their career in Coming Home. The influences are pretty shameful at points, but at least the inspiration is that of heavy metal legends.

The title track takes you on journeys through medieval wastelands and stone clad corridors. Requiem features a slightly dark and all together satanic influence and sounds like a completely new territory for Avenged. Separating the heavy tracks on the album is the power ballad Crimson Day, a song begging to receive music video treatment

OVERALL RATING: 7.0/10

Avenged Sevenfold is:

M. Shadows – lead vocals

Zacky Vengeance – rhythm guitar, backing vocals

Synyster Gates – lead guitar, backing vocals

Johnny Christ – bass guitar, backing vocals

Arin Ilejay – drums

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Aug 29 2013
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Reviews

Dead Like You – This Is Never EP (Review)

DLY

http://www.facebook.com/deadlikeyouband

Record Label: None

Release Date: May 4, 2013

Reviewed By: Mario Yanez

Introducing, Dead Like You. A group not concerned about genre’s, or scenes, or anything superficial really, who’s ultimate motive is to make their own music the way they want to make it.

Consisting of past members of both Upon A Burning Body and Lonestar Driveby, Dead Like You definitely wouldn’t be considered “new” to the scene. Members in the band know what it’s like to start from the bottom, and to work their way to where they are now. Having no fear of hard work, the band has released their own EP and has played alongside many major label bands.

When you do decide to listen to the This Is Never EP, the first single you’ll come across is “Secrets”. Taking the road less traveled, Dead Like You incorporates a sort of rap/hip hop feel with some of their verses. Screaming the words, “So fake, I can hardly wait, for the time and place, to slap the shit grin off of your face”, Dead Like You makes a statement towards all of the two faced people in the world and tells them to keep away.

The EP’s title track, “This Is Never”, brings a steady hardcore beat, intense and brilliant screams, unparalleled clean vocals, and a sick breakdown that’ll make the HxC Gods smile.

With a breath of fresh air, Dead Like You pulls out energy, passion, experience, talent, and originality and throws it all on the table. And if you happen to catch them at a live show, you’ll see that their performance is just as solid as their EP. I’m going to personally rate this EP a solid 8.5 due to the fact that they’re material is original, strong, and has potential to move forward from this point on.

Here’s to the future, Dead Like You.

OVERALL RATING: 8.5/10

Dead Like You is:

Birdy Gonzales – Vocals

Josh Paccione – Guitar

Miggy Sanchez – Bass/Clean Vocals

Ramon Villarreal: Drums

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Aug 29 2013
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Reviews

Born Of Osiris – Tomorrow We Die ∆live (Review)

BOO

http://www.facebook.com/bornofosiris

Record Label: Sumerian Records

Release Date: August 23, 2013

Reviewed By: Shaine Medvid

Born of Osiris is a death core (metalcore and death metal) band from Chicago, Illinois.
They have two previous full length albums which are, A Higher Place(2009), and The Discovery(2011).

Personally I only listen to Born of Osiris occasionally when it pops up randomly on my ipod, but this album will easily find its way onto repeat.

There’s something about the “Tomorrow We Die Alive” album that brings a new energy and light that I’ve never seen in this band before (again just personal preference). The album “Tomorrow We Die ∆live” features 11 songs, and never gets boring. The combination of high tempo guitars, percussion, piano/synth and vocals blend together very nicely compared to what I’ve listened to before.

I’ve always been a little hesitant and judgmental listening to bands that are branded as the genre “death core”, as I expect a lot more heavier guitars and heavier/deeper screams, but when I listen to this album I don’t hear too much of that, which really surprised me.

Each song has been structured perfectly to a tee and keeps you wanting more and wondering what the next song is going to sound like and incorporate. Although I cant say Born of Osiris has worked its way into my “Top 5 favorites” it will easily be a frequently listened to album.

I rate this album an 8 out of 10 based on the song structure alone. Each song was constructed amazingly and shows the true talent and time they took in creating this album. Definitely worth a listen even if you haven’t been very fond of them in the past.

I like each song as much as the next song but my 3 recommended tracks off this album would be: Divergency, ∆bsolution, and Venge∆nce.

Enjoy!

OVERALL RATING: 8.0/10

Born of Osiris is:

Ronnie Canizaro – lead vocals

Joe Buras – keyboards, synthesizer, programming, vocals

Lee McKinney – guitars, editing, engineering

David Da Rocha – bass guitar

Cameron Losch – drums

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Aug 27 2013
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Reviews

The Ongoing Concept – Saloon (Review)

TOC

 

http://www.facebook.com/theongoingconcept

Record Label: Solid State Records

Release Date: August 20, 2013

Reviewed By: Mario Yanez

When was the last time you listened to a clip of a metal album and thought to yourself that it could possibly be a country album that you were actually listening to? What about the last time you’re listening to the same album and you hear a banjo lick right before a very Chariot-styled breakdown? The Ongoing Concept is going to change that very quickly.

Not only does this band impress me with their originality (which they proudly boast), they showcase their personal abilities by recording and producing the album on their own (minus the drums), creating their own album art, designing their own merch, and even releasing their first EP on their own.  The band consists of four members, three of whom are brothers and the youngest of which barely at the ripe old age of 15. The fourth member being a close friend and playing bass, is equally as important as the others in the mix of elements on the album.

The band claims to want to make music not for today, nor for tomorrow, but music that’s going to considered timeless. Music that you can still jam out to on your iPod four, five, even ten years from now. And for myself personally, I’d say they’re doing a pretty good job. Only a handful of albums have made that list, one of which being Underoath’s “They’re Only Chasing Safety”, but I can definitely foresee this band possibly being on the list if they continue to grow and refine. But then again, how much closer could 3 brothers and a best friend get?

So many different styles of music overlay this album that you’ll be hearing something new on every track. Southern banjo licks and honkey tonk pianos accompany spoon clapping and raw vocals, all of which seem to be going everywhere yet somehow mix and fit so well with each other, as if you saw it coming, even though you didn’t.

Fast paced tracks such as “Like Autumn”, “Saloon”, and “Cover Girl” keep my feet tapping with and my head shaking and make the album what the band wanted it to be, fun. The slower and softer songs keep the album from being overwhelming and show that the band has way more talent than just playing guitars banging drums. And a female feature on the last track “Goodbye, So Long My Love” really takes things away and gives something to the metal heads that maybe they haven’t heard in a while.

With only one small vocal clip on “Sidelines” that I feel could have been done better, this album is near greatness, if not at least totally amazing. I’d recommend this album for someone looking for something new, something different, but something familiar at the same time and something they can blast in their speakers and play air guitar with. I’ll keep this album playing on my phone for a while.

OVERALL RATING: 9.0/10

The Ongoing Concept is:

Dawson Scholz – Guitar, Vocals

Kyle Scholz – Vocals, Keyboards

Parker Scholz – Drums

TJ Nichols – Bass

 

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