Five Finger Death Punch Deliver In A Major Way With New Album

Consistent is one word that can definitely be used to describe Five Finger Death Punch. The band has released three albums so far in their career and all three have been certified gold, meaning sales of 500,000.  Now, the word consistent can also apply to two different mindsets depending on which camp you belong to. If you are a knucklehead, a nickname for fans of the band, then it would be safe to say that you think the band has consistently delivered some of the best head banging music since their first album The Way of the Fist came out in 2007.

Then, there are those who would say that the band has consistently put out some of the most overrated music ever since the release of their debut album. It seems that the band has developed a huge following of haters, which usually means that you are doing something right. Would their new album The Wrong Side of Heaven and The Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 1 convert some haters or just fuel their fire? Well, I think the answer to both questions would be yes. Let me dissect this new album and hopefully you will understand.

Ivan Moody and the boys open the album up with a track that has been all over rock radio, “Lift Me Up”, which features guest vocals by the iconic Rob Halford of Judas Priest. This is pretty damn near perfection for the boys. It has that chugging guitar riff through it that you associate with the band and it’s infectious as hell. Next up is “Watch You Bleed” and don’t let its acoustic guitar intro fool you because this is no ballad. It doesn’t take too long for Jeremy Spencer’s double kick drum sets in and takes over and it’s a full blown assault.

“You” is definitely a stand-out track and it provides one of the most intense, rapid fire vocal deliveries from Ivan Moody that I have ever heard.  “The Wrong Side of Heaven” is up next and it proves that the band has definitely perfected the modern age metal ballad. “Burn MF” is a tender, emotional, heartfelt song (insert heavy sarcasm). This should be another great song to perform live when the band hits the road, complete with a great sing-a-long chorus.

“Anywhere but Here” features a guest vocal appearance by Maria Brink of In This Moment. The two bands definitely have ties together that go back quite a few years. Ivan and Maria have also been trying to record a song together for quite some time now, but the suits got in the way a time of two. It’s a great song, but I kind of feel like Maria was underutilized on it. There are more guest appearances on the album including Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed. One of the most interesting tracks would be the band’s cover of LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out”. I was really looking forward to this when I read about it, but it just doesn’t blow me away. It features an appearance by Tech N9ne, but I think it would have been much cooler if LL himself would have been on it.

Ivan mixes up his vocals on here and delivers the lyrics just how you would expect him to. The riffage from Jason Hook and Zoltan Bathory may very well be some of their best work yet. Lastly, both certainly not least, would be the amazing rhythm section of Jeremy Spencer on drums and Chris Kael on bass, who seem to hold it all together and provide the underlying assault that sometimes gets overlooked and underappreciated.

Overall, it is definitely a very solid album and in time may prove to be their best one yet. It has a harder, more aggressive edge to it than their last album American Capitalist had. Will it convert some haters over to the land of being a knucklehead? I think it’s strong enough of an album to do so, yet it is definitely a huge dose of fuel for the fire for all of those haters out there. I don’t think there is much anyone can do for some of them because they are just always going to hate.

Anthrax: Grammy Awards, Cover Songs and Maximum Metal

Anthrax released Worship Music in 2011 and they were suddenly thrust into the mainstream spotlight. After 30 plus years of thrashing and headbanging, the guys were getting major props thrown their way from publications and fans and critics unlike anything they had ever seen before. It was a reassurgence in their career, although they were far from being on life support. Drummer Charlie Benante talked to me about their upcoming tour, their surprise Grammy nomination and lots of other interesting metal tidbits. You can read all about it here:

http://www.rockrevoltmagazine.com/jan-feb-2013-rock-revolt-magazine/

As I Lay Dying Have Awakened A Beast On Their New Album

The world of metalcore has grown into a huge ocean of music with each new year. It seems as if more and more musical fish join the already crowded waters and swim around aimlessly. In order to survive, those fish need to stand out somehow or they fall prey to the Great White music industry and are swallowed up and never heard from again. For a band like As I Lay Dying, they have learned better than many others how to stand out and survive.

The band has come a long way since their debut album Beneath the Encasing of Ashes back in 2001. Their 2010 release The Powerless Rise was highly praised by critics and fans alike. As a thank you to their fans and to mark their ten year, the guys released Decas in 2011 which features new songs, covers and remixes. The new songs only wetted the appetites of the fans and created more anticipation for their new album. Well, the wait is finally over as the band is prepared to unleash Awakened onto the world. Yes, it was well worth the wait.

The album, which was produced by Bill Stevenson (NOFX/Rise Against), opens with the first single “Cauterize”. I love how the song starts with what appears to be a “deep breath”. Yeah, you better take a deep breath and hold on because this is about to get very interesting. What an excellent way to start off the album. This song combines all the intensity that you would expect from the band. Lead vocalist Tim Lambesis delivers as he always does. There’s also a great mix of clean vocals too by Josh Gilbert. Throw in a breakdown and a killer solo and this song is near perfect!

Second song up is “A Greater Foundation” and features more of the same. The guitar work between Phil Sgrosso and Nick Hipa is strong and they manage to keep those riffs, which are plentiful, sounded fresh and not just rehash. “Resilience” is a stand-out track as it’s one of many that show how the band has grown on the lyrical front. I love the intro on this song as the guitar work is strong and melodic before crashing into intensity.

“Wasted Words” brings to mind Slayer when I first heard the riff in it. This is a kick-ass song and the clean vocals even manage to feel right at home in the chorus.  The clean vocals on the chorus are one thing that the band manages to do right where as other bands in the genre come up short. “Overcome” is a personal favorite on here as the guitar intro is really different. Add some great drum elements and great backing vocals and this song is a strong example of how this band is standing out. The album closes strong with “Tear Out My Eyes” as it seems that all the elements that make this band such a standout come together for one massive number.

I think that this album will make a lot of fans extremely happy. Tim Lambesis really doesn’t pull it surprises on this album, but he does what he does best. He delivers a strong performance as he always does. He really doesn’t stray from what’s made him a great vocalist in this field. Drummer Jordan Mancino delivers as well and displays more depth than just crashing the skins repeatively.

 Bassist Josh Gilbert's bass playing seems to get lost in the production. You can definitely hear him at the beginning of “Defender”, but it’s hard to hear him throughout the entire album. Maybe it’s just my advance copy and it’s compressed too much but I would like to hear other people feedback on that aspect. As far as the guitar work of Nick Hipa and Phil Sgrosso, it’s stellar. As I said earlier, these guys deliver in abundance and it doesn’t get old or redundant.

The guys have really stepped it up on this new album and have grown. The songwriting is definitely a progression as the songs seem to be, I hope you‘re setting down, catchy. They have somehow managed to write songs that are intense, brutal and at the same time, catchy. I definitely can see this album being on many “Best of 2012” lists at the end of the year. My hat’s off to the guys and my horns are raised high and I say job well done.

Whitechapel Bring The Brutality On New Album

Whitechapel burst onto the deathcore scene back in 2007 with their debut album The Somatic Defilement. It didn’t take Phil Bozeman and the guys long to leap to the front of that genre. These guys are road warriors and have played everything from The Summer Slaughter Tour to the Rockstar Mayhem Festival and the Vans Warped Tour. 2010 was a big year as their album A New Era of Corruption had a strong debut at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart. They teased their fans last year with the release of their Recorrupted EP as they worked on their new album.

That brings us to this month, which saw the much anticipated release of their new self-titled album. It’s their fourth full length album in five years and it’s sure to turn a few heads with both new fans and old ones. Producer Mark Lewis (Deicide/Devildriver) seems to have taken different elements from their previous albums and combined them to push the band in a different direction. Wait, don’t get too upset. I know that you may have heard of the guys adding a piano to a couple of songs, but this is still the dark, depressing and brutal Whitechapel that you have all grown to love.

The album opens with a shocker of an intro to the song “Make It Bleed” as a piano slowly begins this track. Wait, don’t be too alarmed, but there’s also an acoustic guitar on here too. Well, that’s definitely something new and thinking outside the proverbial box, but don’t fret because it doesn’t take long into the song that you realize this is definitely Whitechapel. The three guitar attack of Alex Wade, Ben Savage and Zach Householder quickly refresh your memory as to what you love the brutality that this band brings to the table.

Speaking of brutality, strap yourself for the second track entitled “Hate Creation”. This song takes off at mach speed and doesn’t let until it’s over. I think it’s one of the better tracks on the album. The band is not known for having “catchy” songs with memorable hooks that have you singing along with just one listen, yet this song will leave a mark on you after you hear it for the first time.

“(Cult)uralist” is a crushing song that combines one of the better vocal deliveries by Bozeman with some insane riffage from the guys. “I, Dementia” has an interesting intro that the band branches out to try. There’s even some electronics found on this track, but don’t worry. It’s just a little something added to the song and it works, but don’t freak out and expect a huge departure for this guys. I, for one, think it’s great that they like to experiment. “Section 8” is included on here and it’s a song that many of us should be familiar with as it was the lone new track on their EP Recorrupted that was released late last year.

Don’t be afraid, but the song “Devoid” also has a piano intro! The song is a three minute instrumental journey that really showcases that these guys can be diverse in their delivery. This song may actually be the slowest that they have ever played. 

an>It’s not a full frontal lobe assault with this one. It chugs along at a slower pace and not quite as brutal.

OTHERWISE Sign With Century Media Records

It seems as if every now and then that the music industry gets it right. Well, I do believe that this is one of those times. Century media Records announced on January, 12, 2012 that they had just signed the band OTHERWISE to a recording deal. Now, I know that many of you out there may not have a clue as to who this band is, but you are about to; mark my words.

The band was formed in 2005 by brothers Adrian and Ryan Patrick. The road up to this point in their careers has not been a bed of roses, as there were a few thorns experienced along the way. Adrian garnered quite a bit of national exposure when he was featured on "The Promise" singing with Maria Brink and In This Moment. The song received mainstream airplay and a video was also shot for the song. Adrian joined In This Moment on the 2010 Mayhem Festival and performed the song with the band. After the tour, he returned home with a new found hunger to make it to the big leagues, but it a setback. A major shakeup in band personnel happened and what might have ended other bands, just made Adrian and Ryan that much more determined.





The guys found the remaining pieces of the puzzle in bassist Flavio Ivan, drummer Corky Gainsford and guitarist Vassilio Metropoulos. The band was labeled by FOX News as the "#1 Unsigned Act in America" and by Xtreme Rock Radio 107.5 as the "#1 Unsigned Band in Las Vegas". Well, those two labels are a thing of the past thanks to the announcement on 01/12/12. The band are currently in the studio with Jay Baumgardner (Bush, Linkin Park, Papa Roach, Incubus) recording their debut album.

This article is just a little intro for all of you who may not be familiar with the band. The first video included here is "The Promise" by In This Moment. The second video is for "Soldiers" by OTHERWISE. Check out their Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/otherwiseofficial#!/otherwiseofficial?sk=wall, and learn more about this band who will definitely be making a major noise in 2012.