mynameisleftie

My ever-growing music portfolio alongside my Youtube vloggings.

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Revocation - Self-titled album review.

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Karnivool - 'Asymmetry' album review

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No Consequence – IO

Released – 1st April 2013.

Label - Basick Records

Genre - Technical/groove/melodic metal

Where are they from? - South East England.

For fans of - TesseracT, Uneven Structure, Born of Osiris, Architects.

Listen to – Coerce:Conform, Bury Your Debt, Enemy of Logic.

2013 sees the long awaited return of tech metallers No Consequence with their new album ‘IO’. With this being their first release since 2009’s ‘In The Shadow of Gods’, No Consequence are ready to re-stake their claim in the ever growing Tech metal scene.

The album kicks straight into some mind-bending riffage with track ‘So Close To Nowhere’ blended with the perfect amount of melodic ambience and a brilliant vocal performance from lead singer Kaan Tasan. ‘Enemy of Logic’ is another perfect example of this with its well thought out structure of groovy riffs, mosh-pit educing breakdowns and cathartic ambience. Hard hitting track ‘Bury Your Debt’ is a song of pure wizardry which shows you don’t have to make a song of breakdowns to make a song heavy, with the ending of the song leading beautifully onto the next track ‘Sentient’ which is a melodic masterpiece featuring some beautiful harmonies from guitarists Dan Reid and Harry Edwards. The lead single off the album Coerce:Conform is great choice to lead off with, with its meaty riffs and underlying melodic parts it makes it an excellent blend of the entire album. The final track of the album ‘Unify’ is a great track to end the album on which gives a feeling of the album ending in wonderfully melodic manner.

On the whole this album is beautifully crafted and so well planned out and technically proficient it is going to get massive thumbs up from everyone and bound to place them well into the limelight within the metal scene. This is a great performance from the entire band and the amazing production quality is also something that should be noted.

No Consequence have recently just come off a tour with Odessa and this year will see them tour the UK and Europe and also appear that this year’s SummerJam in Manchester.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMu2-GqqAEQ

9/10

Follow the band - http:/www.facebook.com/noconsequenceband

https://twitter.com/NCband

http://www.youtube.com/noconsequencetv

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Funeral For A Friend - Conduit album review.

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Deaf Havana - Fools and Worthless Liars Deluxe Version album review.

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Parkway Drive - Atlas album review.

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The HAARP Machine - Disclosure album review.

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Sylosis - Monolith album review

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Between the Buried and me - Parallax II: Future Sequence album review.

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Label – Distiller Records.

Genre – Rock, Hardcore, Post- hardcore, melodic-hardcore.

Where are they from? – Bridgend, Wales.

For fans of – Fightstar, Lost Prophets, Silverstein.

Listen to – Conduit, Best Friends and Hospital Beds.

Funeral For A Friend are back! This time with their sixth album in just over a decade entitled ‘Conduit’. FFAF’s genre has always been a hard thing to diagnose with even the band members themselves admitting as well they don’t know specifically what they are.

Conduit as a whole is a difficult album to describe as it is similar to their previous releases and it is also different to the others. This album has a more hardcore-y feel to it with its many severe breakdowns and crushing riffs (which are certain to cause many moshpits live).  It also blends its melodic parts beautifully which sound a lot more technical than previous releases. It only takes to hear title track ‘Conduit’ and ‘Nails’ to hear this. The album is also a very easy listening album with its short tracks lengths and the number tracks it makes it a perfect day filler.

Overall Conduit is a perfect start to the musical year and they set the bar high with this release also with them on tour right now it makes it a great time to catch them live!

9/10

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The reviews below contain facts that were correct up to date of release.

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Label – Century Media Records

Genre – Progressive, Ambient, Technical Metal

Where are they from? – Reading, England

For fans of – Periphery, Animals as Leaders, Monuments, Uneven Structure

TesseracT blast back onto the progressive scene in 2012 with this new EP entitled Perspective which showcasing the very obvious talents of the band.  With vocalist Dan Tompkins departing, the band had some very big shoes to fill and they did that with recruiting Sky Eats Airplane’s Elliot Coleman.  Back in 2011 TesseracT did a one off acoustic show and that is the inspiration behind this acoustic EP.

Perspective kicks off with track ‘Perfection’ taken from the EP ‘Concealing Fate’ which is also on the album ‘One’ which starts with a very ambient intro. Straight away you can hear the ability of Elliot’s voice adapting the ambience that TesseracT has. You get a sense of relaxation of the track as the acoustic guitars work really well with the song, which is surprising seeing as they are a band which use extended range guitars. The second track is ‘April’ taken also from the album‘One’ Jay Postone’s soft drumming in this really matches the bass tone and compliments the guitars throughout the track. Elliot’s voice once again is showcased as he shows how he can really hold his notes and can match the vocal style of ex vocalist Dan. The next track is ‘Origin’ taken again from the EP ‘Concealing Fate’ which is also on the album ‘One’ which quite groovy for an acoustic song but on the contrary to this it sounds amazing and original. In which this song I think is the song in which the frontrunner for best track on the EP. Second to last track is a cover of ’Dream Brother’ the late Jeff Buckley which a highly appraisable cover going for a like for like sound. Elliot’s vocal performance on this track is suburb and is a great homage to a wonderful musician. The final track on this EP is a rerecorded track of ‘Eden’, entitled ‘Eden 2.0’ which has Elliot’s vocals on. This version is a good basis on which Elliot can show that he can sing well with TesseracT and it’s a very commendable version of the song it makes you want to listen to more songs by them in this style and is a great song to get people waiting on a new album release with Elliot Coleman

This EP is an awesome way of showing what talented musicians TesseracT really are and what a cool way to do it by releasing a relaxing acoustic EP. It is also a brilliant way to bring in a new singer and silence some of the criticism they were getting of people. Well worth purchasing!

Recommended tracks –Origin, Dream Brother.

8/10

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Label – EMI UK Records

Genre – Alternative rock, pop punk, pop rock.

Released  – October 2011.

Where are they from – Weybridge, Surrey.

For fans of – All Time Low, Canterbury, Deaf Havana, Kids In Glass Houses.

You Me At Six are back! And back with their usual bag of tricks! This is the bands third studio album and we all know how difficult this album is to make, well YMAS are not a band to disappoint their fans. Sleeping With Sinners showcases the consistent uprising and progression of themselves as a band and as individuals. Lead singer Josh Franceschi promised that this album was going to be ‘heavier’ than previous albums ‘Hold Me Down’ and ‘Take Off Your Colours’ well let’s see.

The album jumps straight in which is in typical You Me At Six fashion with its catchy chorus and pop punky riffs in ‘Loverboy’.  Second track ‘Jaws on the Floor’ also comes off as a heavier track than previous records. ‘Bite My Tongue’ is a track you can sing a long too also a surprise guest vocal appearance from Bring Me The Horizon lead singer Oli Sykes who voice definitely matches the style of the song but somewhat brings the track down a little bit. Fourth track ‘The is the First Thing’ is quite upbeat something that sounds familiar to tracks on ‘Hold Me Down’.  The album then takes a turn in the style of song with tracks ‘No One Does It Better’, ‘Little Death’ and ‘Crash’ being more relaxing and laid back. After these the album goes back to its upbeat punky way with ‘Reckless’. Heaviest track on the album goes to next track ‘Time is Money’ which features Parkway Drive vocalist Winston McCall. This track is probably the heaviest song You Me At Six have wrote in the 8 years they’ve been around however when it comes to Winston’s vocals on the track they don’t match that well with his voice being very strong and boisterous. ‘Little Bit Of Truth again shifts the style of music back to YMAS’ slow and melodic style of song. Next track ‘The Dilemma’ is a very short upbeat song that’ll get your leg moving to the beat. Final song When We Were Younger is a nice way to end the album and is a song that will go down very well live with its easy to sing lyrics.

Josh Franceschi was right; this album is the heaviest record You Me At Six have done to date. With the band going nowhere but up this album is one that is going to push them up festival bills and into bigger music venues also overseas to countries they've never played before and they have worked hard to get to where they are, hopefully this will means bigger things for them.

Recommended tracks – Bite My Tongue, Loverboy and When We Were Younger.

8/10

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Label – Sumerian Records

Genre – Technical death metal, Progressive metal, Deathcore.

Where are they from – Chicago

For fans of – Born of Osiris, Periphery, The Faceless.

Veil of Maya are back and sounding better than ever! This new release entitled Eclipse is the fourth studio album from the band. It was produced by none other than Mischa Mansoor of Periphery, who also helped produce Born of Osiris’ album The Discovery last year.

VOM have kept to the same style of layout for the album sticking with ten average time length tracks, with an instrumental intro track and another instrumental part of the way through.  Straight off the intro track 20/200 you get an idea of what the album will be like with its well-produced panning breakdown. The first track that really stands above the rest is Punisher the verse riffs will really get you head-banging and wanting more, halfway through the song a sample is played that mimics the band the drop back played is a play-off of these sample and it works magnificently! As the album progressive you can get a real sense of quality in the production, you can hear everything clearly and Marc Okubo’s riffs have improved greatly, and bassist Dan Hauser is such a talent as the bass lines with stick out on this album which is a first for them.  Every song has a jaw dropping part that showcases the band’s talent, you jaw will most definitely be on the floor for the intros to tracks The Glass Slide and Numerical Scheme. This album with definitely get  your fists pumping with your horns out and head-banging no matter where you are in the world.

Fans of the band will love this album but however I don’t feel that it would be the album that I would show someone if was going to get someone into them albeit this album is a strong one that will push them a lot further up the musical ladder and onto some pretty big line ups and they honestly deserve it.

Recommended tracks – Punisher, The Glass Slide, Numerical Scheme.

8/10

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Release date – 11/3/11

Label – Nuclear Blast        

Genre – Trash/melodic death/death metal

Where are they from?  - Reading, England

For fans of – Viatrophy, Trivium, Death, The Black Dahlia Murder.

This is the second album from Sylosis, which sees the band go in a different direction vocally after the departure of vocalist Jamie Graham (now in Heart of a Coward). To keep the album on schedule guitarist Josh Middleton steps up to the microphone as well as maintaining his duty as the lead guitarist. After making their name now with tours with acts such as Dragonforce and The Cavalera Conspiracy, also headlining tours taking Anterior, The Defiled and Exit Ten with them on the Jagermeister free tour. The band also has played Sonisphere Knebworth the past three years including this year main stage performance in front of 30,000 people!

 Back now to Edge of the Earth which is a concept album from the mind of Josh Middleton, about a character who spends a lifetime in isolation and the aging of the character.  The album is a long one with a total of 14 tracks spanning 70 minutes!  

After the first track Procession breaks in, getting a taste of the new vocals they sound a lot heavier and lower than what Jamie’s were.  The riffs are still as technical and as melodic as they were in Conclusion of an Age as well as the drumming. Into second track Sands of Time you’ll be head banging to the massive breakdown at the end of the song and screaming the outro lyrics. Into Empyreal part 1 which has a real fist pumping intro until the jaw dropping sweep picking will leave you breathless! However the verse riffs in this song do feel a little bland compared to other songs on the album but the solo easily redeems the song. Fading into Empyreal part 2 seamlessly this is an instrumental which is just an extension of the sweeping riff from part 1. Moving on to A Serpents Tongue which is definitely a crowd mover has very strong old school thrash elements, the vocals suit this song better than the previous tracks. The drums stand out in this track with the technicality of it. As the album progresses you get the feeling that the album starts to drag a bit, this is mostly down to the shear amount of tracks and the length of them.  If this album was a couple of tracks shorter it would be a lot more easy to listen to, on the other hand though this is something you can get used to. A track that really stands out is Where the Sky Ends, it is an instrumental that pretty much is just all solo and it really showcases the talent that guitarist Josh Middleton has.  The last track From the Edge of the Earth also really stands out with its ambient intro and outro also with its epic thrashy riffing and clean vocals, which may need a little work to perfect.

In conclusion this is a brilliant album that blends of epic thrash style verse riffs, ambient melodic bridges, shredding solos, technical drumming and scream along lyrics from Sylosis. It’s going to mean big things for them especially now they want to conquer the US, this is definitely the album that will do that also with the live performance they bring will make them famous worldwide. If Josh Middleton was to work on his clean vocals and incorporate this into new material their music will be perfect.

7/10.

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Release Date - 10/10/11

Label - Deep Burn Records

Genre - Metalcore/Alternative

Where Are They From? - Reading, England

For Fans Of - Fei Comodo, Forever Never, Alexisonfire, Kilswitch Engage.

This is the highly anticipated second album for the Reading lads and it’s been a long time coming since their old record label went bust 2 years ago.

Exit Ten promised us that their sound was going to be radically different from their first studio album ‘Remember The Day’ and Ep ‘This World They’ll Drown. Originally recorded last December it’s been a long wait for this album come out and it has been worth the wait. Right from the first track ‘Life’ you can hear the difference that it has. This album is definitely an upbeat album with its jumpy riffs and catchy sing along lyrics, you’ll find yourself singing and dancing along to track Drama, Suggest a Path, How Will We Tire and Lion. You’ll also feel the emotion put into the lyrics of the songs also in tracks such as Smoke and Mountains as lead singer Ryan Redman tells of the bands struggles to succeed and the will and determination they have to do so. It is definitely a big difference to Remember The Day but it is not such a change that fans of the band are going to be turned off by. You’ll find yourself listening to this album constantly on loop for days!

This album is definitely an album that will project the band into the big time with its radio friendly sound it’s a sure fire way for Exit Ten to gain so very well deserved recognition. It’s definitely a contender for my album of the year.

Recommended Tracks - Life, Curtain Call, Suggest a Path, Lion.

10/10

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 Release Date - 9/8/11

Label  - Roadrunner Records

Genre - Metal/Thrash/Metalcore

Where Are They From? - Orlando, Florida

For Fans Of - Machine Head, Sylosis, Unearth, Bullet For My Valentine.

In Waves is the fifth album from the metal quartet and also the first with eager to prove himself drummer Nick Augusto after the departure of former drummer Travis Smith.

After the popularity of the previous album Shogun, fans of Trivium have waited a long 3 years for this album and they will not be disappointed as the album has a monumental 18 tracks on it, which can easily keep the fans going for another 3 years. You wonder if it was not a better option splitting the album in two! 

In Shogun the band managed to blend perfectly all the previous styles and sounds of their previous albums onto it, it’s a bit disappointing to hear that on In Waves they have not be able to this. However it easily capable to split the songs to match the styles of the other album also the album definitely is a front runner of the ‘modern day metal’ genre.

From the minute and a half intro track Capsizing The Sea you can feel the build-up that Trivium are creating leading into the second and title track In Waves, as the track drops in you’ll definitely feel enticed to scream along with front man Matt Heafy. Second track Inception Of The End is also a track that will be popular with the fans with its Shogun sound and technical riffs as well as a new feature of Trivium, blast beats, these definitely work well with the song and they sound like they fit in this sound they have. As the album progresses you can’t help but to feel that the majority of the riffs in the album are extremely repetitive and samey. On the other hand another track that stands out is Caustic Are The Ties That Bind, with its progressive elements and harmonies in the solo definitely will stand out if you are a Bullet For My Valentine fan. The track that follows Forsake Not The Dream also stands out with its different intro that is incorporated will throughout the song and the lyrics are really catchy, the blast beats also work really well in the third chorus.

After Forsake Not The Dream the album declines, the songs become very repetitive and generic, they don’t fit in with the beginning of the album and you can’t help but to think that this is where maybe they should have split this into another album. The album only gets picked out with bonus track Shattering The Skies Above which was the first track recorded with new drummer Nick Augusto which is featured on the game Madden and the cover of Sepultura song Slave New World, however they are not worth the wait listening through the tracks before.

In conclusion this album is not the album to show your friends if you want to get them into Trivium, but fans will enjoy it as it’s something new and different.

Recommended Tracks - In Waves, Inception Of The End, Caustic Are The Ties That Bind, Forsake Not The Dream.

7/10