Wolves at the Gate Deliver Solid Debut Album

The Ohio based Christian hardcore band Wolves at the Gate made quite an impression on critics and fans with the release of their 2011 EP We Are the Ones. The band may be young, but they definitely have a vision of who they are and what they want to deliver to the people. They have just released their full length debut album Captors on Solid State Records and it looks to be a solid delivery for the guys. The album was produced by Andreas Magnussen (Oh, Sleeper/Haste the Day).

Lead vocalist Nick Detty and the boys come out of the gate with a thunderous crashing of guitars provided by Steve Cobucci and Jeremy Steckel on the track “The Harvest”. It’s a great opener for the album as if gives a little inside of who the band is and what they have to offer. It also sets a great tone for the album and what’s to follow. Detty has a great screamo voice that shows quite a lot of depth to it. They also mix in some clean vocals on the chorus and other parts.

“Morning Star” changes up on the vocal delivery as the song is mainly done in the clean vocals of Cobucci. “In Your Wake” is a standout track on the album and one of the most solid selections on here. The guys show that they can mix it up within the confines of a 3 ½ minute song. This one is slow and melodic at the beginning, but then it crosses over to the heavy side. Cobucci’s vocals on this song are very strong and this is a prime example of how his style and Detty’s screaming style truly complement each other. There are other bands out there who attempt this, but they come nowhere close to the results that these guys accomplish.

“Slaves” is a very interesting song on many levels. It starts out acoustically and builds up intensity and changes speeds as it tells the story of a slave attempting his escape. It manages the art of storytelling in 4 ½ minutes and that’s an art form that is sorely missing in music today. It also exits out acoustically, just as it began. “Step Out To the Water” may very well be the best example of how Wolves at the Gate is able to almost perfectly blend the clean vocals of Cobucci and the screams of Detty. They do it effortlessly in a way that they blend well and complement each other.

It’s hard to believe that this album was recorded less than a year after they released their EP. Cobucci is a double threat on guitar as well as providing the clean vocals for the group.  Jeremy Steckel is the other half of that dual guitar attack. The rhythm section of Ben Summers on bass and Ben Millhouse on the thundering drums are a powerful and solid unit. It’s a rarity in a young band to find such a seasoned and polished sound. It’s almost scary to think how far these guys can go if they are this strong out of the gate.

 They show a great deal of diversity as they can play heavy, grinding rock with breakdowns and heavy riffs and then they can switch to something acoustic or a little mellower. They wear their faith and display it proudly in their lyrics. Wolves at the Gate are definitely a young band top keep an eye on. The industry is complacent and stagnant and can use a band like Wolves at the Gate to make them stand up and take notice.

Funeral For A Friend: Refocused and Armageddon Bound!

The Welsh quintet Funeral for a Friend is back with a new found sense of direction and a return to their roots. There has been a great deal of things going on in their camp since the release of their debut CD Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation in 2003. Several roster changes and some experimentation found fans of their debut scratching their heads. What happened to their hardcore heroes that blew them on that epic release? Although their last release Memory and Humanity showed signs of returning to form, it was not a consistent effort.

Their new CD, Welcome Home Armageddon, finds them more focused than they have been in a few years. In part, this should be attributed to Gavin Burrough switching from bass to guitar and Richard Boucher replacing Gareth Davies on bass. Combine that with a new found hunger by guitarist Kris Coombs-Roberts who seems to have found his comfort zone on this release. I think some of his best work to date can be found on here.

The CD starts out with an instrumental track entitled “This Side of Brightness” that rips directly into “Old Hymns”. It really picks up with the third track “Front Row Seats to the End of the World”, which features drummer Ryan Richard’s trademark screams. This is an added element that the band doesn’t overuse hence losing its effect.


Kris really shines on “Broken Foundation” and on the standout track “Medicated”. I am not sure who unleashed him during the recording process, but his new found comfort zone excels on this CD. It just seems like all the separate elements have come together on this release to make a very cohesive unit. Let’s not fail to mention that Richard’s drumming is some of the best that we have heard from him. His double bass attack helps to bring back that aggressive edge that has been lacking in the band.

The band still does mix it up a bit on here, but at least this time it seems genuine and it flows much better than in the past few releases. Aggression, lyrically and in musicianship, plus emotion equals a return to sound for the guys. Longtime fans will welcome this and maybe some lost fans will actually jump back on board. Let’s hope this new found unity transcends into their live show. That will be the true test for these guys. Here’s to the next chapter in their hardcore saga.

Ashes Of Erin Scorches The Arizona Desert

The sun in Arizona is known to be smoldering hot and not much can grow in its desert like conditions, until now. Ashes of Erin, a group a five separately influenced individuals with a common motive: to create a sound unlike anything they had ever heard before. The band consists of Jenna Slate on lead vocals, Bryan Diehl on guitar, Josh Rafferty on guitar, Drew Alnas on bass and vocals and Andy Schroeder on drums. The band was named after a friend of theirs named Erin who was a huge supporter of their local scene early on. She died of cancer in 2007 and her husband suggested to Bryan, as they were spreading her ashes out in California, that they should name the band after her. They all agreed that it would be a great way to honor her for her support.

Ashes Of Erin began forming back in the summer of 2007. Josh and Bryan were in a band together and decided to leave to start forming their own band. Drew and Josh had been friends for a very long time and had even played together in another band. The guys saw Jenna performing with a friends band and asked her to come down and audition. She then proceeded to belt out the heaviest of all the songs that the band had and they knew then that they had found their new lead singer. They found their solid foundation in November of 2008 when Andy answered an ad that he saw on My Space.

I spoke with Jenna and Bryan to learn more about the group and how they got to where they are now. "The recording of this Cd was a nightmare....Ha ha! Seriously though, we started recording the album with some of our old members. It was almost finished by the time that Andy joined the group, but we decided that the sound had changed drastically just from him joining. So, we thought that it would be best to scrap that recording entirely and start over. we re-recorded everything at the beginning of 2009. Those sessions were a lot of fun though. Byron, who recorded the album, was a blast to work with and we worked very hard with him to achieve the sound we wanted on the album."

The five members of the band bring a very diverse mixture of styles and influences, from the Human waste Project to eighties rock to death metal, that mesh together to help form a unique twist to the common metal core style. Jenna's vocals run the gauntlet from gut wrenching growls to a very melodic vocal styling. One moment she sings to steal your heart away and the next she's screaming like she's going to rip it out of your chest! The band's music style also crosses back and forth across the "typical" metal core stylings. The band mixes aggressive, fast paced lines with slower, more melodic ones, henceforth creating a style that is very unique to this growing style.

Their CD entitled "This Somber Eve" is an assault on the ears of mind. The opening title track is an instrumental that kicks the door down at the end and explodes into the song "I". Jenna vocals run all over the board her ands sets the pace to let the listener know to expect the unexpected.Other standout cuts include "Abnormal Drifter", "One Pill Kill" and my favorite "Denounce The Air", which I think is Jenna's stellar vocal performance. "'Distorted Revelation' is probably our most "radio-friendly" song we have on the album. It is my favorite because of the meaning behind the lyrics. Most of my lyrics are fictional stories but this one was based off a traumatic event that happened to me so I think I'm more emotional when I sing it," stated Jenna.

"I think Distorted stands out a bit from the rest because of it's mainstream sound. But my personal favorite is probably Dead Fish. That one is just so brutal and fun to play," responded Bryan.

The musicianship in the band is also top notch. Bryan and Josh definitely trade off some intense guitar licks. In the meantime, the back beat propelled by the rhythm duo of Drew and Andy help to maintain that driving aggressive attitude that is expected from this band.

As my last question, I always ask the bands that I interview what CD they would want with them if they were trapped on desert island. Jenna replied with, "It would be 'E-lux' by the Human Waste Project. Seriously, one of the best Cd's that I have ever heard. I totally wish they were still around."

Bryan said, "That's a tough one! I think I'd have to take a Pink Floyd album, maybe 'The Wall', since it's a double disc."

"This Somber Eve" is a CD that will certainly appeal to lovers of the metal core style of music, but it is also diverse enough to cross over that line to appeal to fans of other stylings of new rock. It is fast, furious and in your face metal. Be prepared when you push play...it will grab you by your neck and demand your attention through it's entirety. It is most definitely a workout of epic proportions on your senses.

Walls Of Jericho frontwoman is a roar above the rest

Aggression. Anger. Frustration. All of these are very strong emotions. All come to mind while seeing Walls Of Jericho front woman Candace Kucsulain perform live. The band has a very hardcore sound and her vocal style is one more commonly known as "screamo", but she is a very intense individual onstage. I had a chance to interview Candace recently and was really surprised with the woman that I found offstage.

"I got into music early on. I loved going to shows in Detroit because back in the day, the hardcore scene was pretty intense. You could go to a different show almost every night and not see the same band twice. I was looking for something , anything that was different. I never got into this to become the next Korn or Limp Bizkit, I don't wanna be on the radio .I never really got into this to be a rock star," said Candace.

Candace is a very strong and powerful front person if you ever get to see the band live. She is somewhat intimidating and looks like she could kick some major butt and take names too. How does she come down from that after a show? "Well, we are still very hands on after the show , you know, tearing our gear down and everything, plus we like to meet the fans afterwards too. It takes a while to come down from that high of being onstage. It's fun meeting fans and it also blows my mind to have someone tell me that they know how I feel or that I have helped them with my music in anyway. Music has a way or reaching people when they feel like misfits or that they don't belong. I know it helped me when I felt that way."

The band has had a wild ride along the way since its inception. The bands' first EP was released in 1999 entitled "A Day and A Thousand Years" and a buzz started to grow about the band through intense touring. The band was signed to Trustkill Records that same year and released their first full release "The Bound Feed The Gagged" and hit the road again. Oddly enough , the band took a hiatus from 2001-2003 due to personnel problems and each member went their separate ways. Candace actually took up body piercing during her time off. The band got back together in 2003 and started touring yet again. They released a new CD in September of 2003 entitled "All Hail The Dead", which received rave reviews and actually catapulted the band to to opening for much larger, more established acts as Hatebreed and Sick of it All plus headlining their own shows.

2006 was a major year for the band seeing their CD "With Devils Among Us All" being released and the band was asked to join one of the biggest tours of the summer, OZZFEST. They also played the Family Values Tour that year where they met Corey Taylor from Slipknot and hit it off well. Corey said that he wanted to produce the band and they joined forces on an EP that was a major departure for the band. It was called "Redemption" and was released in April of 2008. It was all acoustic and showed that Candace had an amazing singing voice that is rarely showcased.

The band released "The American Dream" in July of 2008 which featured their more aggressive style of playing . They took part in the summer tour package Rockstar Mayhem Festival with Slipknot and Disturbed before headlining shows to support their new CD. When asked about a favorite song on their live set, Candace said, "My favorite songs to perform live would have to be "Feeding Frenzy" because the crowd really feeds off of that song, the really connect with it. I also like performing "The Prey", that's more for us because I really like how it vibes on onstage."

What are some of your highlights of your career so far? "I would have to say all of the amazing people that we have met so far. I still am caught off guard when a fan tells me that they were touched by me because they thought they were the only one who felt that way. Knowing that what I am doing made a difference in someones life is mind blowing. I guess the other highlight would be the amazing places that I have been to that I would have probably never had been able to see. I love Prague and Singapore, those are amazing places."

My last two questions are more on a personal level being a huge music fan myself. If you could meet any dead celebrity, who would it be? "Oh, without a doubt it would be Janis Joplin. What an amazing woman! She was a pistol, so full of life. Just imagine the stories that she would have."

My last question is my if you were on a desert island with only one store bought CD, what would it be? " I can't pick just one, it's an either or choice. I would say Bob Dylan's "Greatest Hits" because it is full of ups and downs and some of the most amazing lyrics ever written. It also conjures up such great memories for me. My other choice would be one that is a little less known. It's by Ray LaMontagne and it's called "Trouble", an amazing CD."

Our interview concluded and I must say that the intimidating, aggressive woman that I have seen perform on stage is so different from the woman that I spoke with that day during the interview. She still is a very strong, determined woman, but not so aggressive. Fans of hardcore and metal do need to pick up their new CD "The American Dream" and check it out. Standout tracks include "The American Dream" and "Discovery Of Jones" and the surprising acoustic closer "The Slaughter Begins."