This doesn’t really seem like the crowd for it, but just in case: if you have the opportunity to catch Blessthefall on the Hollow Bodies 10th Anniversary tour, I highly recommend you do it. Saw them last night in Denver at my second favorite venue in the world and they were fantastic. Fifth time overall since 2012 and they haven’t lost anything. They have such incredible live presence and energy; it’s such a bummer they never got bigger.
Anyway, they’re doing Hollow Bodies front to back and then a 5 song encore, ending with a three-song throwback to Witness: “2.0,” “What’s Left of Me” and “Hey Baby, Here’s That Song You Wanted.” That’s my favorite album and three favorite songs of theirs, so that was a nice little treat.
Going through Blessthefall’s discography today now. EDIT: Maybe. I can’t seem to take Witness out of the CDT. I’m annoyed that I forgot how good they are. They definitely have their own formula, but it works and never really gets stale. To me anyway.
Due to RTD light rail issues, we missed Dragged Under and Kingdom of Giants, but caught all of Caskets set. They are definitely not for me, but they still put on an energetic show. All in all, $25 well spent.
Any He Is Legend fans here? Put on I Am Hollywood for the first time in a long time. This album is such a journey and holds up so well. This the title and final track on the album and my favorite of theirs:
FFO: Every Time I Die, southern rock-inspired riffs, concept albums
Not the biggest metalcore fan, but damn those are pretty nice songs. I’ll check out the album later today.
Also, some albums I’ve been listening to:
Reminds me a lot of Blood Incantation, similar sound and guitarwork with a more atmospheric vibe to it. Well produced too also, has a nice sound to it.
Re-listened to Beyond Creation discography after almost two years of not listening to them, personally it’s The Aura >> Algorythm > Earthborn Evolution.
The Aura is just a very, very solid album with possibly the best production I’ve ever heard on a techdeath album, I would say it even beats Lucid Collective Somnambulation by Archspire, which already is a really great sounding album that is clean, snappy and focused, but the Aura IMO is even cleaner, snappier and slightly more dynamic.
Will probably go on my AOTY list, I’ve enjoyed a lot their previous works like Detestor or Abyssal (less so with Valde but it was still solid) and this (Ashen) is at least on par with Abyssal. The major difference between the two is that Abyssal had better written lyrics while Ashen has better guitarwork IMO, I’ve found it to be more varied, but that’s not all.
I actually prefer the production on Ashen, despite many people not liking it because it’s “overly compressed”, IMO thanks to it the album manages to achieve an even greater density and weight, which really helps to settle the oppressive atmsophere. Doesn’t even sound that congested as one would imagine, still remains fairly well separated for what it is and retains some nice dynamics.
Also, the clipping felt purposefull, didn’t think it subtracted from the experience since it was still somewhat controlled, and actually I would say that at best it improved it and made me enjoy the album more.
Lol I wouldn’t call myself a “fan” but I have one record that I bought recently and have heard a few albums when my guitar teacher was guest playing on a microtonal focused band. They are very prolific indeed!
I like I’m in your mind fuzz and Flying Microtonal Banana but those might be the only ones I remember/listened to.
Yooo I found this album last year and I couldn’t believe how good it was! Might be my favorite album of 2023. This was so good. Polaris absolutely hit it out of the park. The sense of melancholic anger and existentialism could really be felt throughout the whole thing, the message reminded me of Architects’ AOGHAU. Fast forward to the present and it is still one of my favorite metalcore albums.
I love the opening track and how it leads into the second track so succinctly.
Love that opening! Gets all the feels. Season of Mist is great, I like a lot of the stuff they put out.
The new Northlane EP has been really infecting my ears. Nobody else is really making the unique signature sound they have at this point. It’s such a good blend of metalcore and edm/techno influences, they have such a futuristic cyberpunk feel, yet somehow manage to be very melodic and heavy at the same time.
These are my two favorite tracks from it. I remember when I saw them live despite not being as big as the main band that night (Parkway Drive) their performance was pretty catchy. I’m really excited to see the direction these guys are going.
Haven’t listened to Northlane in years…since Analog Future came out in March 2018 (got 2 copies of that…I kind of thought it would’ve become a collector’s item since only 500 were produced and this band has a fervent fan base). I was a big fan of Adrian and did not care for the direction they were heading with Marcus.
But man, this EP is GREAT. It’s refreshing. I should go back to Node and give everything another chance.
EDIT: and speaking of refreshing, I have barely been able to stop listening to Bring Me The Horizon’s POST HUMAN: NeX GEn since it released at the end of May. It’s SO fucking good. Easily my album of the year and, honestly, it’s my favorite work of theirs, and I’ve been a fan since 2010.
Yeah, I really think that since their album Alien they have been evolving their sound into something very unique. Obsidian is one of my favorite metal albums, if it can still be called that.
Interesting, what about it did specifically did you like? I actually found it pretty bland and unengaging personally. To me it just felt like an amalgamation of what everyone else was currently doing in the genre and trying to mix it with some of the current trends in hyperpop and glitchcore stuff. The only song I genuinely liked was LosT (which could just be my personal preference for punk sounds). BMTH is a great band though, my favorite album of theirs is Sempiternal (which I also just think is their best objectively), but I also unironically like Count Your Blessings.
I have been to quite a few concerts and events this past year for metal stuff.
I got to see my current favorite metal band, Imminence in April. They haven’t had a lot of experience touring so their live performance needs some work, but other than that it was a magical experience.
I was able to see Powerwolf live too, with supporting band Unleash The Archers. Both were great. That was a fun concert.
The next day I went to see Polaris, one of my current favorites. A few other bands performed before them… Nerv (amazing vocals), Thousand Below, and blessthefall (I got to give Beau a high-five which was pretty cool).
Later this year I went to Mayhem Festival and saw a ton of bands, including Born Of Osiris, Unearth, Poppy, After The Burial, Suicide Silence, We Came As Romans, Architects, August Burns Red, and the big headliner Bad Omens.
I had not heard After The Burial before, they were surprisingly good. I have since kept coming back to them. Very energetic and heavy.
This whole album is incredible, highly recommend. Frankly all of their music is good.
Getting to see Bad Omens live was sort of healing in a way. Some of their songs mean a lot to me personally, so it was really impactful to get to be there while they performed them.
That being said, August Burns Red was the highlight for me despite not being the headline like Bad Omens. They performed their entire Constellations album, which is an absolute classic. Their energy and crowd interaction was way better than anyone else there.
Unfortunately concerts are expensive, and it is probably going to be a while before I can go to any more. But it was fun while I was going. And yes, I wore ear protection for all of these. I want to be careful with my hearing while I am still young.
I need to get back into other genres of music and branch out more, metal has taken over the majority of my listening lately, sheesh!
It’s so infectiously catchy. I avoided all of the singles except for “Strangers” (second least favorite track on the album, “Limousine” being my least favorite) and “Die 4 U” (arguably my favorite on the album). Listening to it, the level of production is incredible. It feels like a ride. Each song segues into the next for the most part, and there are so many little touches, flares, and other minor background things going on that give me such strong vibes of Nine Inch Nails’ The Fragile (my favorite album of any band of all time). I think it’s pretty clear Jordan Fish was heavily influenced by that album and Trent Reznor in general, so part of it is definitely that.
On the whole, it really sounds and feels like the culmination of everything that came before it. I’ve been going through their whole catalog a lot since it released and it’s amazing to hear their evolution. They’re exactly where they should be. I love that they keep experimenting and bringing new genres and ideas into a scene that has been stale for at least half a decade. Nex Gen so refreshing and done so unbelievably well.
Unrelated: I’ve finally gotten into both Many Eyes (Keith Buckley’s new post-ETID band) and Better Lovers (Jordan, Stephen, and Goose from ETID, Will Putney, and Greg Puciato). It took a while for each and I guess it’s because both sound like 75% ETID, but missing something the other band has. Such a damned shame what happened with them.
EDIT: @Soren what’d you think of Poppy? My wife and I saw her in Denver in March 2022, our first show post-COVID and she was great, if a bit boring to watch. ABR puts on a hell of a show and it must’ve been awesome to see Constellations in its entirety live. They always sell out so fast, I don’t think I’ve seen them in at least 10 years.
How was Mayhem overall? I went 2012, 2013, and 2014, but skipped 2015 because I really don’t care for Slayer and it was expensive for like 1/3 of the bands as previous years.
Ah. I guess I can see that. Maybe it just didn’t catch with me.
Yeah I will say it is definitely very put together as an album and flows within itself well.
Interesting. I wouldn’t compare them quite to that level personally, but I can see where you’re coming from.
It’s definitely experimental for sure. I like experimental stuff but it has to sound good to me as well, not just being experimental for the sake of being experimental. I kind of feel like that is what happened with this one, but maybe it just isn’t my cup of tea and I’m not able to hear what others are.
I much preferred Survival Horror, but I do think that’s one of the strengths of BMTH as you mentioned. Their diversity of sounds that appeals to a wide audience gives lots of different folks different flavors.
I could never get into Better Lovers but I have massive respect for them, they absolutely kill at what they do. They are an underrated band.
I had lots of fun. I do think they had some issues with the side states and timing, some bands went overtime and pushed everything back. For example, Suicide Silence went way over, maybe they assumed they could get away with it due to their fans, but they got cut off finally for WCAR, which a lot of people were actually upset about ironically. Kittie actually went way over too into ABR’s time, which sucked. I guess some bands think they can just do whatever they want. As a festival overall I think the organization and schedule was kind of frustrating, but they had enough good bands to keep it fun. I just wish the sets had been longer for some artists.
I actually have the show times here:
As you can see you had to sort of pick who you decided to see. Some artists didn’t interest me, and others I had already seen before. I saw…
Born of Osiris, Unearth, Poppy, After The Burial, Suicide Silence, a little bit of WCAR, Architects, ABR, and Bad Omens.
I think she has a lot of potential, because I have heard her recorded songs before, which are very good, but her live performance was extremely lackluster. It felt very dead. I think she needs a lot more practice doing shows and developing the right stage presence. I actually almost fell asleep in my chair during her set.
On another note, I’m getting into a few bands I have not explored much before. As surprising as it might be, I had never heard Lamb of God before, but I heard this song recently, and I was hooked from the first opening riff. Ashes of The Wake is such a good album.
I know a lot of people are divided on the new Linkin Park release… but I think it is really cool that they are trying out a new vocalist. While she is never going to replace Chester, I am curious to see if they will take what they have now and find a way to improve. The album overall is average, but they do have a few bangers here and there such as The Emptiness Machine, Heavy Is The Crown, and Two Faced.
I remember in my mid-teens when I discovered Numb on my dad’s iPod and then proceeded to have a whole phase where I was really into Linkin Park, and some other alt/nu metal bands a bit. This album really brought me back to those days of blasting Hybrid Theory at almost full volume. Those were good times. I’m not sure if anyone else was really into Linkin Park as well, but I do believe they are one of the best bands of the 2000s and executed their sound very masterfully. Either way, I enjoyed some of the new songs and was wondering what others thought about it too.
I can’t fucking believe creepy quirky videos girl from 2018 poppy is my gateway back into metal.
I also love and am a late discoverer of knocked loose
incredible writing incredible aggression this is what I’ve been waiting for in metal. Dirty hyper aggressive music with actual thoughtfulness to the content.
I’ve also been really enjoying spirit box in my little stint of metal self discovery.
I guess I’ve been wanting this sound for a long time as a fan or hyper aggressive hip hop from groups like soul glo or artists like jpegmafia or scarlxrd
I think that is sort of her thing, she never really goes deeply into one genre or another, she’s very quirky with the genre-dabbling she does. I do think she could benefit a bit from finding a more defined sound.
Yeah it’s pretty interesting seeing how they have gained popularity so quickly, even to playing at Coachella. They are mastering their niche for sure.
Yooo Spiritbox is one of my favorites. I actually did not enjoy that release there, but I love a bunch of their other stuff. Courtney is very focused on her technique when she does her vocals, and it shows:
I remember when you introduced me to scarlxrd, pretty cool style that he does. I still play Heart Attack every now and then.
If you like Knocked Loose maybe you would like some bands such as Kublai Khan TX, Counterparts, ten56, or maybe this band too:
The guitar tones and bass are super chunky on this album and just come alive with the right headphones.
I will say Knocked Loose is still pretty unique in the metal scene, but if you’re ever looking for some recommendations and such I can send some your way to check out.
