[Review] Protest The Hero - Volition

Canadian progressive-mathcore-metal band Protest The Hero are back with their crowdfunded follow up to 2011's "Scurrilous", with Chris Adler of Lamb of God replacing Moe Carlson on drums and a number of guests on vocals (including long time contributor Jadea Kelly), their new album "Volition" takes them on yet another new direction. Whereas "Scurrilous" was dark, sad and instrumentally spacey at times, "Volition" is compressed, fast and agressive. While it feels than none of the songs in "Volition" are as epic in scale or exhilarating as "Blindfolds Aside", "Sequoia Throne" or "Hair Trigger" the album is enjoyable at all levels from beginning to end.

The album is both lyrically and instrumentally diverse, adressing discrimination and misogyny at one moment and stepping on the toes of dishonest musicians the next and the unending "Star Wars vs Star Trek" debate. It also features what is probably the most agressive song Protest The Hero has released: "A Life Embossed", with "Animal Bones" a close second.

The album sees the return of PtH's (post)hardcore roots in many of it's songs, with the closer "Skies" being the perfect example (specially in the second half). The constant jump between unhindered aggression and attractive choruses keeps the album fresh at all times and vocalist Rody Walker's range is one of the main attractions. In short, PtH has managed once again to keep things fresh in a genre often bloated with carbon-copy bands, while mantaing a high standard of quality in the whole album. it may take as long as 10 listens before the album really sinks in, because of everything it throws at you at the same time, but once it does it's immensely rewarding.

9/10

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[Review] Pez - Nueva Era, Viejas Mañas

Free download from the band's website: http://www.pezapesta.com.ar/bajadas/Nuevaeraviejasmanias.rar

Pez is an argentinian rock band formed in the first half of the 90's in Buenos Aires and known for reinventing themselves album after album, as well as being notably prolific (they've been releasing albums at an average of 18 months from each other). Througout their nearly 20 year long career, Pez has included elements from genres as diverse as punk, progressive rock, jazz fusion and metal.

"Nueva Era, Viejas Mañas", which translates to "New Era, Old Knacks" is the return of the band to their old roots in punk and hard rock, though undoubtedly showing what they have learned in all these years, specially in the songwriting department. The line up is mostly the same as it was 20 years ago, Ariel Minimal on guitar and vocals, Franco Salvador (who entered the band in 1996) on drums and backing vocals and "Fosforo" García (who had contributed backing vocals on their debut album in 1994) on bass and backing vocals.

The album features distorted guitar riffs, pounding drums, groovy bass lines and an equilibrium between clean and raw vocals; the band has reduced their scope after their expansive and epic album "Volviendo a las Cavernas" from 2011. Their new formation doesn't include "Pepo" Limeres on keyboards and piano anymore, an element that was present in almost all of Pez' albums since 1998. As a result of this and the fact that the album is mostly comprised of heavy hard rock/punk songs, "Nueva Era" feels a little unidimensional compared to their previous offerings, and though I wouldn't put it very high in their album ranking it's still a pretty solid record and a fresh start for the band.

If you've been reading this blog for some time and feel identified with most of the music I review, I'd recommend leaving this album for a later date and starting with "Los Orfebres" or "Volviendo a las Cavernas" instead (you can also download them at http://www.pezapesta.com.ar/audios.html).

The lyrics have returning themes in all of Pez' albums, mainly discussing social conflicts, ideologies and existencialism.

Overall, it features everything that you could expect from a Pez album, but narrows down their sound to something more specific an simple.

8/10

[Review] Scale The Summit - The Migration

In a world where the term "instrumental metal" has become a synonym of "squeezing as many notes and transitions as possible into a 7 minute long composition" it's hard to find bands that defy that formula. When I first listened to Scale The Summit a few years ago I instantly noticed there was more to them than just 4 insanely skilled musicians playing together. 

The band has come to describe their sound as "adventure metal" and once you listen to one of their albums from beginning to end it's easy to see why, each of their albums take you on a journey through a myriad of sonic landscapes. But while their previous efforts have had songs ranging from dark, heavy, intense metal to more laid back, calm and jazzy compositions, The Migration narrows the scope a little, and not always for the best.

Through the album does a flawless job at making you feel like you are running under a cloudless sky in a cool day with the sun hitting your face, it sometimes feel like the album could benefit from a little variety. In this regard it's good that it clocks at 42 minutes, because it's an adequate ammount of time for the scope of the album.

The Migration also starts in the same way as it ends, with two fast, lush and busy songs, and it's very difficult (if not impossible) to find a point in the record that could be described as a climax. The only one that strays a little from the lively sound of the album is "The Dark Horse" which lives up to it's name from beginning to end.

All in all, these things don't stop Scale The Summit's fourth record from being a breath of fresh air in the progressive metal scene, the skill and vision of their members is beyond question and there's no doubt The Migration sounds exactly as they intended, from the sunny landscapes it paints to the way the two guitars interwine constantly, it's evident that every note has been put there deliberately. Overall, a carefully crafted and solid record that struggles to achieve the scope of it's predecessors.

7.5/10

[Review] The Aristocrats - Culture Clash

Supergroups come and go these days, often building a lot of hype before collapsing after a release or two; sometimes chemistry never happens between the members and it never really ends up being a group but just a few musicians with backgrounds too different to work together as a band. Once in a while though, magic happens and bands like The Aristocrats come around. 

Formed after a NAMM show in California that almost didn't happen, Bryan Beller, Guthrie Govan and Marco Minnemann certainly felt there was something special in the air when they first jammed together in 2011, and soon after that they released their self-titled debut album, which received good reviews all around, praising their individual talents as well as their collective sound.

Two years later the trio strikes back with their second LP titled "Culture Clash", pointing at the cultural diversity of their members. Each of them contributed three songs to the album, though if you ask me they must be in the same headspace because the album flows very well and feels very heterogeneous.

Culture Clash is more focused than their first album, there's only one song under the 5:00 mark but the songs rarely feel too long for their own good, the album is filled with groovy bass lines and drum fills as well as long, engaging guitar leads and solos.  Though the album could be defined as a fusion of rock, a little blues and jazz (even a little metal here and there) each song has it's own sound and personality, from opener Dance of The Aristocrats, which sounds like Primus without their usual weirdness, passing through bluesy, fast paced Louisville Stomp, the dry tones of Desert Tornado and the heavy hitter that is Living The Dream.

It's fairly evident for those that have seen this band live that they both don't take themselves too seriously (you can see a video of the band stopping mid song to jam with their smartphones) and that they love messing around both live and in studio, and this shows in the tone of their compositions, often adding a cheery element to it.

Culture Clash is an album for those that like shredding as much as carefully composed rock songs, balancing both sides evenly, never sounding like the band is going too far in either direction. A must for all musicians out there.

8.5/10

http://the-aristocrats-band.com

[Review] The Dillinger Escape Plan - One Of Us Is The Killer

The Dillinger Escape Plan is a band known for crafting albums that come close to rupturing your eardrums and for doing it in a way that is remarkably enjoyable for the listener (or at least those adventurous enough for the sonic ride). While this is true for their newest album One Of Us Is The Killer, their first in Sumerian Records, the band has been experimenting with more traditional and even melodic compositions.

Make no mistake, the album still kicks and punches and it's knuckles have cymbal-shaped studs, but from time to time the album abruptly changes from a carefully crafted mess to a more traditional hard rock sound and vice versa. The title track is an example of this new refined songwriting that the band "experiments" with, making use of soft verse-loud chorus dynamics and keeping a slow, steady tempo for the whole song.

Each member has something to offer to both their new sound and their "old" one. Ben Weinman's riffs are lightning fast, dissonant and they sound like pure evil, specially when combined with James Love's rhythm guitar, Greg Puciato's furiously versatile vocals are largely responsible for the melodical side of their new sound, effortlessly jumping from quiet breakdowns to chaotic shredding to more melodic yet hard rocking segments, Liam Wilson adds a lot of atmospheric bass lines and Billy Raymer's epileptic drumming are a driving force in the hardest hitting songs and a source of groove in the breakdowns, taking the spotlight for the instrumental CH 375 268 277 ARS (something that instantly reminded me of Hella's 2011 album Tripper) and contributing a great fill for the phenomenal title track.

The production is very good, every instrument can be picked apart, even in the midst of chaos, though at the cost of trying to sound loud and agressive the album has a bit of clipping; sometimes the drums may sound too compressed and some of Weinman's arrangement's are partially lost in the mix.

In short, it's still DEP, it's not for everyone, it hits hard, it's raw and it's noisy, but the band shows it's not afraid of going into new directions and broadening their horizons, something I have always respected, and something to be expected from those who put their hearts into their music.

8.5/10