Portugal is a country that seems to be underrepresented on the map of metal, where even countries like the United Arab Emirates are gaining territory. Shadowsphere are actually the first band I hear that comes from the land of… er… yeah, what is this country actually famous for? Anyways, they’re from Portugal.

The combination of Metalcore and Melodic Death Metal has been a tried and true formula and has failed to really catch my ear. Now that Inferno lies on my plate, I feel that this style can be quite appealing, as what Shadowsphere deliver, seems to be a solid bite. True, the album name is not too original, but I like the low-key album cover and the first few minutes sound very promising. The album’s starter Within the Serpent’s Grasp (leaving the intro for what it is), is a very good song; it has good, intense riffing and it’s quite catchy.
A thing that immediately comes out are the vocals. Singer Paulo Gonçalves sounds very much like Kreator’s Mille Petrozza, and in this case this isn’t a shame: he copies Petrozza well. On the other hand, his growls seem to come along as enforced, slightly blemishing his rasps.

In a sudden bout of spontaneity, I found myself on a train heading down to London, bound for a concert in a new venue and a rather motley lineup of punk and metal. The Purple Turtle in Camden is a cozy little venue with a bar alongside the stage and boasting a very competent sound system/team. I pitched up just as the first act, the amusingly titled The Cockrockets, were doing a soundcheck.

American Metalcore-outfit As I Lay Dying have had some recent coverage here on the Baboon and it’s safe to say that most of us are quite fond of this five-piece. Their previous release Decas was something of a weirdo with a mix of new tracks, covers of material by bands like Judas Priest and Dubstep remixes of old songs, with especially the latter being something people frowned at.

The name of the new album was revealed yesterday, and I was quite disappointed to hear that it will actually be called Awakened, which is a bit of an uninspired name in my opinion. However, with the new single released, fans of the pre-Decas AILD are able to breathe freely as what I’m hearing sounds like classic AILD material.

Every once in a while you come across something that totally blows you away. Stuff that pushes all the right buttons and gives you a wankjob as a bonus. In this case I have no ferkin’ clue why it took me two years to discover The Powerless Rise. I used to listen a lot to As I Lay Dying, I saw them live last year (with Amon Amarth) and I tend to listen to their older shit on YouTube every once in a while. Maybe I did check out a song or two before, might just have been the wrong one.

I shouldn’t call this a full-fledged review. It’s too short, I’m not actually saying much about the album’s content and, moreover, I haven’t listened to the full album. Yet. I have, however, quickly ordered it, based on what I’ve heard. Still calling it a review though, just be aware of its limitations.

I know, I know. I’m taking my sweet goddamn time. The thing is, it’s not that I don’t want to review, it’s that I haven’t got the friggin’ time for it. Hardly catch enough sleep as it is.

But the positive side of this is that not having to – or rather, not being able to – review something means I can listen to music in a rather ‘unforced’ way again. And that’s exactly what I’ve been doing with the four-song EP called Evil is a Necessity by Italian Melodeath / Metalcore outfit Karnæ. I’ll have to admit straight away that it’s not majestic, or even brilliant. It’s not massively technical or mimicking the build-up of classical music. But what it definitely is, is enjoyable! Very much so.

I am usually completely supportive of bands re-interpreting established styles of music, honoring the traditions set down by their influences and paying homage. However, there is a clear distinction between homage and copycat. French metalcore quintet In Trails haven’t quite crossed the border to the former, as proven in their début full-length Triumph In Suffering. Those acquainted with the Americanized version of Swedish melodeath will be instantly familiar with the sound here, combining elements of Threat Signal and Nightrage. Although doing In Trails do the metalcore genre justice, they never really establish an individual style, resulting in a feeling of re-hashing trodden ground.

After an intro made up of a melancholic guitar line and a continuous breakdown underneath, the album proper kicks off with “Kingdom Of Pit”. It’s a fairly standard metalcore number which does improve during the chorus with the Amenta-speed drumming of Leriche. The guitar and bass lines of Guerido and Allemand are entertaining on first spin, but quickly lose their appeal, especially during the frequent breakdown sections. The 4 solos on this album are evenly scattered throughout and provide light relief, particularly due to the over-powering crash cymbals exacerbating the breakdowns. In Trails do also employ some exceedingly fast sections which are more interesting (title track), but it’s not long before they drop into a slower ‘melodic section’ or a breakdown (“Virus Of Humanity”).

Hail Metal people! I’m back again. Can I get an Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhhh?

I’ve got a quicky today, because, as always, I’m in over my head. It’s by suggestion of Rufio: Denial Machine.

This Chicago-based outfit arose in 2009 and completed its first record in 2010, followed in the same year by an EP. Encyclopaedia Metallum lists them as Groove Metal / Metalcore, but I’m more inclined to give them a little Progressive label as well. I dug up a couple of songs for you to enjoy.

This album came in on the hight of my ‘Core-madness, but now after a good few weeks, it has diminished to something more in the way of indifference on the given subject. So Xes and Strokes will probably get some beatings here, although it won’t be beaten to death. Ok, lame pun there, but yeah, that’s how things go when inspiration’s lacking from time to time, as is often the case when writing on a subject that doesn’t bother you too much.

To begin with, Beaten to Death have a really interesting concept on their sleeves. Most bands would take their Grinding heaviness into a Punk direction, but on Xes and Strokes, Beaten to Death seemed to have looked at some Melodic Hard Rock in stead. For me personally, that’s not the greatest surprise, since I know some great Norwegian Hard Rock bands, but the combination turns out to be pretty good.
While trying to classify the album for you above, a few terms have been flying around in my head and on the screen. First of all Grindcore, which is the main genre, but also Metalcore, Grind ‘N Roll, Hard Rock, Hardcore etc. They all seem to fit.

Hot news! Our Slovenian Death Metallers have posted a new song on their Youtube channel and I must say, this gets better with the second. The song is called Demise and keeps going the same direction as the other two songs we saw before, and which I will post, just in case you haven’t heard them.

The music remains thick, with deep double bass blasts and warm low growls. However, this post however makes me quite impatient now. These three songs give no reason, not to be pumped about this record. I couldn’t find any release date, but it has to be soon guys, we’re waiting!

Metalcore is a genre often despised by metalheads, but personally I’ve never seen the problem with it. The origins of Metalcore, Metal and Hardcore Punk, are both great genres and the resulting combination of melodic lines and brutal rhythms certainly appeals to me. So why the hate? We don’t hate on Melodeath either which, although taking a slightly different approach stylistically and structure-wise, does the same thing; combining melody and rhythm.

Well, enough ranting for today, let’s move on to take a look at Ruled By Reason. Again they come in via my Tumblr page, where I posted a text-post on my favourite Metalcore band Still Remains. Assuming I posted similar stuff all the time they followed me, but sadly (for them), I mostly do pictures and sometimes a Black Metal post (sorry guys). Anyways, listening to their stuff, I found that their music is really interesting.