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THANKS

to everybody at Unified Underground.  You rule.  Great times with great friends, helpful and refreshing.  Miss you all already.

[undergroundcollectivehousto-blog]

Album Review: Valeluna - "In Your Absence" Written By: Joel Delfin

Concept albums, by definition, are musical and lyrical ideas that contribute to an overall theme or idea; a great example would be “The Wall” by Pink Floyd while a more modern example would be "The Suburbs" by Arcade Fire.  Local band Valeluna throws their hats into the ring with “In Your Absence”, their debut album. Since it has a very relaxed tone, your attention will not fade.

With over fifty three minutes and eleven tracks, “In Your Absence” is above average when it comes to run time. The album is split into three acts, each song adding to its overall tone and story. There are a couple of standout songs, “High in the Valley”, “October”, “In your Absence”, and “Epilogue: Between Us, Earth”. Unfortunately, the other songs seem a bit like filler. The songs each flow into each other creating the illusion of listening to one massive track, however, due to this there is no real “best song of the album” and it makes it feel like something is missing. Despite the flaws, there are many things I enjoyed from the album. The ending of “Intro” and the piano in “In your Absence” has a very classical yet modern feel. The ending of “Epilogue: Between Us, Earth” is especially stand out. It begins, like most songs on the album, very mellow but then picks up and goes into a harsher style with some very well done harsh vocals.

Photo courtesy of Tay Lee Phtotography. From left to right: Justin Allison, Aaron skipper, Ricky Ward, Ty McMahon

The story of the album, which the band insist is a listener’s interpretation, comes across without a hitch thanks to the synergy of the band and the details of album. I interpreted the story as one of love, losing it, and what can happen because of it.All the lyrics are clearly heard thanks to Justin Allison’s clean vocals and the rhythm section, composed of Aaron Skipper on the drums and Ricky Ward on bass. Ty McMahon does a great job on guitar, as evident in the final section of “Epilogue: Between Us, Earth”.

To recap, In Your Absence is a very good album with only a few minor hiccups. The faults are visible, but they find their ways to make up. Some songs do get muddled together but it is a good listen overall and should not take away from the whole experience. I was impressed by the harsher style used in “Epilogue: Between Us, Earth”, and would like to hear the band explore more of that style on their future releases. Rating: 3.5/5 ★★★ 1/2 

Pros

+ theAmbient Feel on most tracks

+  Good Production

+ Standout Tracks Are Really Great

Cons

- ­A Few Songs Get Mixed Together

- The good songs are good while the rest kind of lag behind  Check out more from Valeluna on their website and Facebook page: http://valeluna.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/ValelunaBand

[undergroundcollectivehousto-blog]

Album Review: Thraxis - "Tempt Fate" Written by: Juan Olivo

Summary: Thraxis' debut release a solid tribute to the classic Thrash Metal of the 80s but sub-par production and lack of innovation hold it back. During its inception in the 1980s, as the antithesis to the ever growing Glam Metal sub- genre, Thrash Metal was one of the most popular and influential types of Metal in the world. After a remission in the 1990s due to factors like the emergence of Grunge, many classic bands (Like Metallica and Anthrax) changing styles, and the evolution of Thrash into the Black and Death Metal sub-genres, Thrash Metal experienced a renaissance of sorts in the mid to late 2000s. Many classic Thrash metal bands reformed and returned to their roots and many up-and-comers, like Evile and Warbringer, were bringing back and modernizing the sound of Thrash Metal. Thraxis ' debut album "Tempt Fate" is an obvious tribute to the sound of 1980s era Thrash Metal, so much so,  that this album could have been easily been released in the 80s and fit right in. From the moment the first track "Wreck" charges in with a mixture of guitar feedback and speedy, intricate  riffage,  the listener can already distinguish the influences that Thraxis is taking. From its "Hell Awaits" inspired intros to the "Kill 'Em All" Era sounding riffs and vocals, the entirety of" Tempt Fate's" 40 minute runtime will satisfy the needs of any Thrash Metal fan with its vicious speed, raw vocals, and pummeling instrumentation.   Thraxis' guitar duo, Joshua Rivera and Juan Sanchez , are truly the highlight of the album bringing a plethora of technical riffs ,shreddy solos and some very well done Iron Maiden-esque twin guitar harmonies throughout the album. Tracks like the amazing multi-part instrumental "Losing Grip" and the chugging, NWOBHM influenced track "No Glory" are greatly enhanced by their performances creating very glorious and heroic sounding instrumental sections.

Members of Thraxis posing for a photo While the guitars are a highlight of the album, both the bass guitar and drums (performed by Ray Alvardo and Raymon Minton respectively) both have their moments whether it's isolated bass solos or crazy drum  fills. However, due to the production they seem to be pushed to the background. Thraxis recorded in an analog style to gain a more authentic Thrash Metal sound but in the process lost some quality. The bass seems inaudible through various points in the album and the drums don't have the 'oomph' that they should which is a shame to due to their performances. This problem extends to the guitars as well seemingly burying some solos under the rhythm section. The vocals on the album also fall victim to the sub-par production sometimes seeming distant or just lacking power in general. This however could just be a problem with vocalist Joshua Rivera's  delivery which while suiting the album a majority of the time, occasionally feel weak. Even though Thraxis' albums sounds like a classic Thrash album straight  from the 1980s this ends up being a small fault in the album. During Thrash's heyday and even today there are bands like Voivod and Vektor (Both suspiciously beginning with the letter V) who pushed the boundaries of Thrash Metal, whether it was through brute speed and brutality or technicality and innovation.  Thraxis have a clear and tight grasp on the Thrash Metal sound, but it is when they  break away from the  traditional sound that my ears perked up the most. The dual guitar harmonies, the bass solo in "Losing Grip", and the stoner metal-esque riff in the title track are some of my favorite moments of the album. On their next release I hope they expand upon these additions of other influences and add more moments like them because it will make for a more unique and exciting album. Despite some awesome moments in  "Tempt Fate"  it truly doesn't bring anything new to the table that the average Thrash Metal fan hasn't already heard.  But if you look past this small fault and the problems with the production you have a great Thrash Metal release from a band that shows a massive amount of potential. Rating: 3.5/5 ★★★ 1/2 

Pros

+ The entirety of the track "Losing Grip" and "Mood For Mayhem" +The guitar performance throughout the album Cons - The subpar production - Lack of innovation in the genre Thraxis' Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/THRAXISOFFICIAL

Check out the band's Bandcamp for more music: https://thraxis.bandcamp.com

[undergroundcollectivehousto-blog]

Album Review: Sleep Labs - "Lucid Living" Written by: Juan Olivo

Pictured Above: Members of Sleep Labs charmingly posing for a photo.

Following that track we have "Exposed and Alone" which is one of the shorter tracks and by far the most accessible song on the album. A highlight of this track are the vocals done by lead singer Andrew Vivero. He shows off  mid to high range of clean vocals which paired along with studio effects and overdub create a very consistent vocal performance. The production of the album, handled by Andrew, is very impressive for someone who has only had three years of production experience, however there are minor faults in the production. Occasionally the vocals and bass  will be lost in the production which is shame due to the almost constant intricate base-lines and beautiful melodies. This problem is not consistent but a small problem none the less. The title track, an ambient interlude with spacey guitar soundscapes and wavey bass lines, also serves an introduction to the heaviest track on the album "Cascade and Erase".  Beginning with the end of the previous track it hammers on some vicious, growling riffs with a tone similar to artists in the Djent sub-genre of Progressive Metal such as Periphery and Meshuggah.  At this point in the album you realize how much influence Sleep Labs are taking from other genres such as Jazz, Funk, Post-Hardcore, Ambient and even Pop. The climactic ending of the previous track leads us into the final track of the album. "Destroy and Consume" is one of the longer tracks on the album and by far the most technically demanding. The vocalist channels Cedric Bixler-Zavala, of At The Drive-In and The Mars Volta fame,  to hit some beautifully done high notes while the band produce very brutal instrumentation with the bass guitar doing some insane runs in the background. The song transforms mid-way into a spacey soundscape reminiscent of the title track and the guitars perform a very well done Pink Floyd-esque solo over the ambience. It is a fitting end to the album and my personal favorite track. Sleep Labs grasp the concept of Progressive music but I would like to see them push and break the boundaries. They use their components tastefully and never over blow things to the point of over indulgence -cough- Dream Theater -cough-. I would love to see more complex rhythms and incorporation of different genres, styles, and instruments on a much grander scale. With all of this being said, this is still a great debut release that contains only very minor and fixable faults. Sleep Labs can only progress from here on out which isn't hard to imagine from a Progressive Metal band.

Rating: 4/5 ★★★★ Pros + Jazzy section of "Short-Lived and Anti-Climactic" + Ending section to song "Cascade and Erase" + The entirety of "Destroy and Consume" + Almost perfect blend of accessibility and complexity + Rhythm Section Cons - Vocals and bass get lost in the mix occasionally - Not as progressive as it can possibly be - The runtime of about 30 minutes is a bit short

Sleep Lab's Facebook page: Facebook.com/SleepLabs Check out more music from Sleep Labs: https://sleeplabs.bandcamp.com/

[notdelilahnotkelsey]

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