Kyle Brady: Blog » Metal

Archetype [Metal Band of the Week]

Kyle Brady — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 03:21:53 +0000

A two-member death metal band from the UK, Archetype, is producing fantastic music that’s far more interesting and talented than many other, more established, members of the genre – with only two sets of hands.

Archetype uses some of the typical archetypes of black metal, such as harsh vocals, blastbeat drums, and heavy, speedy guitars, but avoids becoming cliché. What makes this band stand out, besides the obvious talent necessary to produce such music with only a pair of individuals, is their choice to mix in some more innovative musical elements: Gothenberg arrangements, breakdowns in the style of metal-/hardcore, progressive melodies, and an overt emphasis on song writing over homages to their predecessors. Most interestingly, they seem to be the non-joke, fully-realized, well-planned version of Dethklok.

With their online four-song catalog, their goals are obvious and ambitions high – metal fans worldwide should hope they can find a full lineup to round out the already fantastic band.

Archetype can be found on MySpace.

Engraved Disillusion [Metal Band of the Week]

Kyle Brady — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:05:56 +0000

If the members of Arch Enemy had been born twenty years later, and the beautiful, talented Angela Gossow had never joined the original lineup, Engraved Disillusion could very easily have been the result of such a timewarped event in metal’s history.

Employing elements equally Satanic and Swedish, this five-piece English band smoothly mixes progressive technicality, Gothenburg melody, and the more classic elements of death metal into a coherent and wonderfully abusive whole. Unafraid to slow a song’s tempo down for greater melodic and anthemic effect, Engraved Disillusion can make even the most morose rhythms into head-banging material, much like their self-proclaimed influences and predecessors. Within their three-song EP, there exists not a single moment of boredom, second-guessing, or listener distraction – every moment is pure melodic, aggressive bliss that is easily on par with any comparable greats of similar genre.

Engraved Disillusion can be found on their MySpace; their EP is available for download at Last.fm.

Amarna Reign [Metal Band of the Week]

Kyle Brady — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 08:05:09 +0000

Hipster, scene, emocore, American Idol, punk, Disney, aggressive technical fusion - one of these things is not like the other, although it may be difficult to determine which.

To say that Amarna Reign is a metal band would be the equivalent of claiming Prince to be slightly eccentric, making one of the greatest understatements of all time. Even though this five-piece from Indiana eschews some of the aesthetic favorites of the genre, such as long hair, they bring a musical ferocity that’s difficult, at best, to find in many modern bands, especially those that are unsigned and still hungry for attention. By blending orchestral elements, various nodes of other heavy subgenres, and implementing a pace of rhythm that simply refuses to give up, this band runs the gamut from technical death metal to hardcore, metalcore to progressive, Gothenburg to Massachusetts.

With their seven song EP, which includes a black metal Christmas song, Amarna Reign has demonstrated not only extreme musical ability but a maturity of sound often reserved for bands that have long since ditched their “baby face” stages of life. Claiming influences such as In Flames and Soilwork, while having toured with Darkest Hour, Between the Buried and Me, and Misery Signals, it’s not difficult to imagine how such a brilliant group of musicians formed their aural coherence, or even how they will quickly ascend to mainstream metal awareness.

Amarna Reign can be found on MySpace; their EP is available on Amazon [MP3].

Katsumoto [Metal Band of the Week]

Kyle Brady — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 08:05:01 +0000

Katsumoto, a three-almost-four-piece hardcore/metal band hailing from Long Beach, CA, is a fusion band of some heavier elements of metal, the better points of hardcore, and the occasionally appropriate bit of screamo – if influences were to be named, Threat Signal, Soilwork, Misery Signals, Caliban, and maybe even some Saosin would likely be on their list, or at least bands of similar sound structure.

With their five-song EP, and the newest demo song, Katsumoto has demonstrated their ability to produce fiercely organized pieces of musical destruction that encompasses melody, brutality, and emotionality into a singular whole – time and time again. The raw energy inherent in their music is enough to make listeners headbang, scream, and sing along with this brilliant orchestration, which undoubtedly translates into highly memorable live shows. Despite a lack of solos, which is likely a result of the influence of hardcore, this band manages to produce an aura that is far more metal than any other genre, while also making sure not to stick too closely within a specific genre.

The metal community should have high expectations for this Southern California band.

Katsumoto can be found on their MySpace; their EP is available on request.

Mindset Defect [Metal Band of the Week]

Kyle Brady — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 08:05:41 +0000

Imagine August Burns Red, Threat Signal, Killswitch Engage, and All That Remains came together to form a gigantic supergroup of musicality, and that’s close to what Mindset Defect, a three-almost-four piece band from Nashville, TN, sounds like.

This metal, possibly metalcore, band uses the now-common singing+screaming combination, but not strictly within the typical formula, as the truly singing vocals also appear outside of the chorus, just as harsh vocals often provide background accompaniment to the singing itself. What makes this band different from many of those within similar genres is their choice of tempo and technicality: solos and intricate guitar work are constant throughout the songs, but guitar harmonies and galloping drums have substantial roles in both the verse and chorus, sometimes bringing to mind other bands of similar habits, such as Trivium, Bullet For My Valentine, or, as the originators of this technique, Iron Maiden.

Even though the music of Mindset Defect is heavy, syncopated, and has great focus on highly proficient guitarwork, they choose to step once again outside the expectations of genre by preferring slower tempos than are typical, leading to more focused attention by listeners - who would likely expect a much more brutal rhythm. Without such changes to the musical formulae, these southern rockers would not stand out as original or interesting, but, luckily for fans and listeners, they made the decision to choose creativity over copycat appeal.

Mindset Defect can be found on MySpace; their EP is available on Amazon.

Guilt By Association [Metal Band of the Week]

Kyle Brady — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 08:05:11 +0000

Hailing from Chatsworth, California, Guilt By Association is a hard rock band that exists at the intersection of bands like Stain’d and Breaking Benjamin, using heavy guitars, soft rhythms, and vocals that vary in size and strength to great effect. While not truly a metal band, they deserve a mention.

This four-piece band, with three members that apparently all contribute to vocals, is both radio-ready and a prime example of a mainstream rock sound that isn’t exactly mainstream. The majority of the vocals are sung in a rough-edged fashion, but an occasional screaming vocal line makes an appearance where appropriate, much as the guitars, drums, and bass all waver between beautiful serenity and powerful force - with influences as diverse as Led Zeppelin, Alice in Chains, and the Deftones, it’s easy to see how their sound began to form. The ten songs available from Guilt By Association vary in quality (both production and musical), style, and substance, but there is significant promise for them to become the next band that blurs the line between metal, hard rock, and the mainstream on the radio, which will inevitably result in another crop of bands that prefer Metallica over Fall Out Boy.

Guilt By Association can be found on their MySpace; their EP is available on request.

The Best Metal Albums of 2009 [Metal Band of the Week]

Kyle Brady — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:00:47 +0000

The following are the best metal albums of 2009, in no particular sorting order. No descriptions should be necessary for these bits of musical brilliance, but the links are to Amazon for album and song previews.

1. Mastodon – Crack the Skye

2. DevilDriver – Pray For Villains

3. Insomnium – Across the Dark

4. Dethklok – Dethalbum II

5. Megadeth – Endgame

6. For the Fallen Dreams - Relentless

7. Between the Buried and Me – The Great Misdirect

8. Blessthefall - Witness

9. August Burns Red - Constellations

10. Devin Townsend – Ki / Addicted

jekyL [Metal Band of the Week]

Kyle Brady — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:05:16 +0000

jekyL is more hard-rock than metal, but the distinction is a hard one to make, as the Ireland natives’ fivepiece contains enough metal moments to be worlds apart from bands like Nickelback - the effort is appreciated.

The music of jekyL is a cross between hard-rock and metal, with old school influences like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Judas Priest, and Ronnie James Dio that are worn, very publicly, on their sleeves: the vocals are clean and occasionally approach operatic, the twinned guitars alternate between modern and classic styles, and the overall feel is a cohesive sound that feels both familiar and new. If Bullet For My Valentine formed a supergroup with Trivium and Black Label Society, it might sound like this.

There are hints of Irish background and other influences throughout their music, but jekyL rides the balance between hard-rock and metal successfully by using flashy guitar solos just as often as squeals, classic riffs, and vocal prominence. Having moved to Los Angeles to expand their career, it’s easy to assume that this stand-out band will advance quickly by attracting audiences on both sides of the curtain – even if this wasn’t a planned strategy, it promises to work successfully in terms of fame, fortune, and aural pleasure.

jekyL can be found on MySpace, along with their 5-song catalog.

Return From Exile [Metal Band of the Week]

Kyle Brady — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 08:05:41 +0000

As the titans of old move on to newer sounds, venues, and audiences, new bands inevitably rise to fill the gap – in this case, bands such as In Flames have moved away from their melodically brutal roots in favor of a more mainstream sound, and Return From Exile has defined itself as a worthy successor.

The likeness to the “Jester Race”/“Whoracle”/“Colony”-era In Flames is astounding, with the vocals even approximating a similar range to that which Anders Friden is known for. This is not to say that Return From Exile is a copycat band, because they aren’t – they exist entirely as their own entity, but seem draw heavily from their predecessors, a fact on full display. The music produced by this four-piece from California is fast-paced, thumpingly brutal, and syncopated, but wields melody and intricate musicianship as a tool to cut through what would otherwise be considered borderline black metal.

Running the gamut from acoustic guitars to solos, from blastbeat to melodic phrases, from guttural to harsh vocals, Return From Exile has chosen to blend the best of an era only recently gone with modern sensibilities and interests, to extremely great effect. Even though this band is far from the “heaviest”, “baddest”, “most brutal”, “most talented”, “fastest”, or any other ridiculous labels that might be applied by cynics, they are extremely worthy of attention and success. Perhaps Return From Exile will be the next reigning king of melodic death metal, reinvigorating a subgenre currently out of favor…

Return From Exile can be found on MySpace; their self-titled, full-length debut is available on Amazon [CD] [MP3], as well as their original EP, “Consumed” [CD].

upinarms [Metal Band of the Week]

Kyle Brady — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 08:05:32 +0000

It’s rare that a decent metal band comes out of New Jersey, an area mostly known for its attitude and and not being New York, but even rarer is the birth of a great metal band occurring within the state’s borders – upinarms has risen above the “guido” stereotype, and promises to be one of the acts whose career bears watching.

The music of upinarms lies at an interesting intersection of metal, hardcore, and metalcore, melded together in a way that is distinctly heavy but melodic in parallel. Breakdowns, solos, screaming, singing, various forms of melody, blast beats, guitar prowess – this band is not afraid of musical boundaries, and it shows within their musically impressive four-song catalog. The clean vocal lines invoke comparisons to Jesse Leach (formerly of Killswitch Engage) and Tim Lambesis (As I Lay Dying), while the harsh vocals are closer to those of Karl Schubach (Misery Signals) and Dez Fafara (DevilDriver); beneath the vocals, comparisons become more difficult to define, as they occur only in fleeting ,momentary phrases, but could possibly be said to include Unearth, DevilDriver, Bullet For My Valentine, Misery Signals, Killswitch Engage, and significantly more.

upinarms is an exercise in proving that, when executed properly, genres are nothing more than self-inflicted restrictions on the creative process, and they deserve the recognition that their talents demand. If this group of five determined musicians can crawl out from underneath the New Jersey blanket to make their mark on the worldwide metal community, they will be one of a few bands communicating the important fact that genres must not be used as weapons, but rather as tools to help describe the often unique sound of a band that just as often fall short of being complete.

upinarms can be found on MySpace, where their four-song catalog is available for streaming.