The Faceless - "Planetary Duality"
November 12, 2008
Producer: Michael Keene
If you are a fan of Death Metal you are a fan of extremely fast music. While that is an obvious statement, the point I'm trying to get across is basically this: Everyone in this genre is very capable of executing fast, heavy and aggressive music.
So while it is easy to find countless bands that fit the criteria above, it is also at the same time kind of depressing. There was a time where all it took was the speed and nature of the music to be considered a good Death Metal band. Nowadays bands have to be willing to take the next step in working to create an identity of their own and put their own fingerprint in this wonderful but sometimes mundane genre of music. However, a California quintet known as The Faceless were up to the challenge and did they ever deliver!!.
Whether your a fan of melodic leads, themes and passages. Or whether your a fan of technical riffing and time changes, it is all here within this record. Producer Michael Keene (who also serves as the band's primary songwriter and guitarist) does a stellar job at capturing everything his band was looking to accomplish with this album.
The Faceless' claim to fame more-or-less is the guitar work from the guitarist duo of Michael Keene and Steve Jones. Throughout the entire record both of their playing abilities shine without question. Showing casing both of their strong senses of rhythm, flawless time changes and tastes for melodic and even softer sections (like the instrumental interlude "Shape Shifters" for example.)
While this record adds a little more diversity in the fact that the band does explore more with experimenting around with genre-hopping. With a couple more sections with clean vocals provided by Michael Keene, the use of robotic vocals for a few different sections throughout the album and proper use of keyboards throughout (which is a major improvement from their debut album "Akeldama".) This excellent record does come with a couple of personal flaws in my opinion.
While the band pushed the bar up once again rising the technicality of their music, even with additional breath-taking moments throughout the entire record. In my eyes they were off the mark just a little bit as I found myself missing some of the incredible melodies found on "Akeldama." Furthermore, while the use of robotic vocals can be and are really cool, on this album I found them to sound almost out of place and could be considered by some to sound comical.
However, "Planetary Duality" was indeed the right step and progression for The Faceless to make. You have to respect the band for not making "Akeldama - Part 2," and following their own musical instincts to make the exact record they wanted to make. It simply comes down to maybe "Planetary Duality" just didn't hit me nearly as hard as "Akeldama" did?
With all comparisons aside I can tell you this though. "Planetary Duality" is one record that is very much worth owning and dare I say was one of the more elite records of 2008. All I can really say in closing is this: I am very excited to hear what their next record will have to offer. Furthermore, to see what musical boundaries, ideas and inspirations that have influenced them over the last three to four years.
My Killer Kutz: "Xenochrist", "Coldly Calculated Design" and "Prison Born"
Friday, August 19, 2011
"When Legends Become Dust"
Conducting From The Grave - "When Legends Become Dust"
February 17, 2009
Producer: Zach Ohren
Every long time Metalhead will tell you at one point or the other they go through a phase where nothing new they find excites them as much as bands from the past. That almost every new Metal band on the circuit is just a copycat version of something that is years gone by. I know this because I myself was guilty of this on a few different occasions.
I was somewhat in that state of mind again when a very good friend of mine mentioned the band Conducting From The Grave to me. So like the devout metal head that I am, I went to youtube and began my search. The quest was looking for material off their debut record: 2009's "When Legends Become Dust." So needless to say but after listening to the title track I was far beyond mildly interested, in fact I was hooked immediately.
It wasn't too long before I tracked down the record and popped it into my cd player. Thus beginning a 53-minute journey that cleansed me of my self-doubt the week before and drenched me with a new found enthusiasm. That indeed there are still plenty of bands unheard to my ears that have the ability to drop my jaw and embrace my heart.
Conducting From The Grave is no ordinary Deathcore band. Drawing heavy influence from various aspects of Death Metal (and even Jazz) that prosper flawlessly throughout this record. Having a taste for technical riffing and very melodic hooks and leads is ever apparent through the entire album. Tracks like "From Ruins We Rise," "Improper Burial" and "The Skies Are Blackened... Not By Clouds But Insects" are just only mere examples as the entire album is full of memorable catchy riffs and melodies.
However, in my eyes the most interesting feature about this band is their approach to playing breakdowns.
While breakdowns are sometimes frowned upon by listeners because some view breakdowns as just a way to lengthen a song without adding any depth to it. Conducting From The Grave prove so many people wrong as they added their own unique twist of playing lead runs and hooks over their breakdowns, truly giving them a sound like no other band I have heard to date. Tunes like "The Calming Effect," "Burdens of A Dying World" and the title track again are just mere examples as each track truly has it's own identity and specific qualities to look for. Indeed, the guitarist duo of John Abernathy and Jeff Morgan have a playing chemistry I have not seen in a very long time.
With all the talk of the guitar playing on this album I must mention that the other members of this band are just as equally responsible for the brilliance of this record. Drummer Greg Donnelly indeed knows how to play the entire drum kit as he does not fully depend just on blast beats to get him through the album. In fact Greg throws quite a few different time signatures and influences in his playing furthermore making him the point of interest at various moments during this record.
Working with producer Zach Ohren meant that the bass would get the attention it so rightfully deserves on this compilation. Steve Lovas, while not pumping out any bass leads on this album, nonetheless plays at a breakneck speed through many technical bass passages on this record. That furthermore at the hands of the wrong producer would have gone unnoticed if not for Mr. Ohren. For that every fan of this record and band owes him a huge thank you.
Last but not least vocalist Lou Tanius delivers one of the finest vocal performances I have heard on a Deathcore/Death Metal release in quite some time. It's been awhile since I've heard a Death Metal vocalist with as much power and clarity as in my opinion the best Death vocalist in the scene: George Fisher of Cannibal Corpse fame.
I realize up until this point I have only praised this album. I am a very realistic listener and usually have something to point out that could have made the record in question that much better. However, with this record I have really no concerns. I have listened to this album a full fifteen times and still do not have a bone to pick with it. Despite people who think differently than I, I do believe this is the closest thing to a perfect record I have heard in a very long time.
All that is really left to say is for those fans of Death Metal/Core who have yet to listen to "When Legends Become Dust" have no idea on how much they are missing out on. This record should be pushed to the top of all their album lists. No joke this record has the changed the landscape of Deathcore music in my eyes forever.
My Killer Kutz: "Improper Burial," "Eternally Gutted" & "From Ruins We Rise"
February 17, 2009
Producer: Zach Ohren
Every long time Metalhead will tell you at one point or the other they go through a phase where nothing new they find excites them as much as bands from the past. That almost every new Metal band on the circuit is just a copycat version of something that is years gone by. I know this because I myself was guilty of this on a few different occasions.
I was somewhat in that state of mind again when a very good friend of mine mentioned the band Conducting From The Grave to me. So like the devout metal head that I am, I went to youtube and began my search. The quest was looking for material off their debut record: 2009's "When Legends Become Dust." So needless to say but after listening to the title track I was far beyond mildly interested, in fact I was hooked immediately.
It wasn't too long before I tracked down the record and popped it into my cd player. Thus beginning a 53-minute journey that cleansed me of my self-doubt the week before and drenched me with a new found enthusiasm. That indeed there are still plenty of bands unheard to my ears that have the ability to drop my jaw and embrace my heart.
Conducting From The Grave is no ordinary Deathcore band. Drawing heavy influence from various aspects of Death Metal (and even Jazz) that prosper flawlessly throughout this record. Having a taste for technical riffing and very melodic hooks and leads is ever apparent through the entire album. Tracks like "From Ruins We Rise," "Improper Burial" and "The Skies Are Blackened... Not By Clouds But Insects" are just only mere examples as the entire album is full of memorable catchy riffs and melodies.
However, in my eyes the most interesting feature about this band is their approach to playing breakdowns.
While breakdowns are sometimes frowned upon by listeners because some view breakdowns as just a way to lengthen a song without adding any depth to it. Conducting From The Grave prove so many people wrong as they added their own unique twist of playing lead runs and hooks over their breakdowns, truly giving them a sound like no other band I have heard to date. Tunes like "The Calming Effect," "Burdens of A Dying World" and the title track again are just mere examples as each track truly has it's own identity and specific qualities to look for. Indeed, the guitarist duo of John Abernathy and Jeff Morgan have a playing chemistry I have not seen in a very long time.
With all the talk of the guitar playing on this album I must mention that the other members of this band are just as equally responsible for the brilliance of this record. Drummer Greg Donnelly indeed knows how to play the entire drum kit as he does not fully depend just on blast beats to get him through the album. In fact Greg throws quite a few different time signatures and influences in his playing furthermore making him the point of interest at various moments during this record.
Working with producer Zach Ohren meant that the bass would get the attention it so rightfully deserves on this compilation. Steve Lovas, while not pumping out any bass leads on this album, nonetheless plays at a breakneck speed through many technical bass passages on this record. That furthermore at the hands of the wrong producer would have gone unnoticed if not for Mr. Ohren. For that every fan of this record and band owes him a huge thank you.
Last but not least vocalist Lou Tanius delivers one of the finest vocal performances I have heard on a Deathcore/Death Metal release in quite some time. It's been awhile since I've heard a Death Metal vocalist with as much power and clarity as in my opinion the best Death vocalist in the scene: George Fisher of Cannibal Corpse fame.
I realize up until this point I have only praised this album. I am a very realistic listener and usually have something to point out that could have made the record in question that much better. However, with this record I have really no concerns. I have listened to this album a full fifteen times and still do not have a bone to pick with it. Despite people who think differently than I, I do believe this is the closest thing to a perfect record I have heard in a very long time.
All that is really left to say is for those fans of Death Metal/Core who have yet to listen to "When Legends Become Dust" have no idea on how much they are missing out on. This record should be pushed to the top of all their album lists. No joke this record has the changed the landscape of Deathcore music in my eyes forever.
My Killer Kutz: "Improper Burial," "Eternally Gutted" & "From Ruins We Rise"
"The Common Man's Collapse"
Veil of Maya - "The Common Man's Collapse"
April 1, 2008
Producer: Michael Keene
Deathcore is one of the most difficult sub-genres of Metal music to fully create an identity of your own in. Having to meet certain criteria such as odd-time signatures and poly-rhythmic abilities among others. Yes, it does take a group of very skilled musicians to pull this off flawlessly. However, it seems that the majority of bands in this genre get carried away with only making very math-like music and forgetting the most important thing: Passion for the music itself.
It takes an extraordinary group of musicians to not only meet the criteria above but also to give their music a DNA type of it's own. Furthermore, giving the genre itself a facelift in a time where things were starting to look seemingly mundane. That band would be Veil of Maya and the record that came to the rescue, the band's second full-length offering: 2008's "The Common Man's Collapse."
Behind every great record is a great producer, and in this case that man was Michael Keene. Michael (on top of being a producer) is also known as the guitarist and primary songwriter in the Technical Death Metal group known as: The Faceless. So it's easy to see Veil of Maya was in very capable hands. It truly takes a metal musician to know a metal musician, so Michael knew exactly how to record and mix this band.
When I think about this record the first thing that comes to my mind is the melodic nature of this band. It is something very worth while to note because a lot of bands in the Deathcore genre generally rely just on very heavy riffing and atonal-like leads. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, however this trend has somewhat become the norm of the genre. So when I heard tracks such as "We Bow In It's Aura," "It's Not Safe To Swim Today" and "All Eyes Look Ahead" the melodic themes that kept re-appearing throughout these songs made me realize right away that Veil of Maya was going to become something special in the world of extreme music.
While there are plenty of melody hooks throughout the entire album, there are songs that are dominated more-or-less by disjointed riffs and odd-time signatures. Tracks such as "Crawl Back," "Entry Level Exit Wounds" and my personal favorite song off the album "Mark The Lines" showcase this perfectly, while displaying a strong Meshuggah-ish like influence in their playing.
There is a great number of good things to be said about "The Common Man's Collapse." However, there is one aspect about this record that nags at me. While Veil of Maya's musicianship is flawless, it seems the bass on this record lacks an identity of it's own.
What I mean by that is there are plenty of moments throughout this record where guitarist Marc Okubo and drummer Sammy Applebaum shine in the spotlight, furthermore showcasing their abilities to their own breaking points. While bassist Kris Higler more-or-less just does his job (which is no easy task in Veil of Maya.) It's just with everything that Marc and Sammy bring to the band I guess my expectations were high on what I was looking for bass wise. Kris is not a bad bassist at all, what I'm trying to get at is I just wish Kris stepped out of Marc's shadow a little more and put his own fingerprint on this record like his band mates did.
With "The Common Man's Collapse" clocking in at about thirty three minutes there is a lot of music to be absorbed in a short amount of time. While die-hard fans like myself will more likely fall in love with this record upon first listen. It might take a few more listens for new coming fans of the genre to fully understand why this band is the real deal.
My Killer Kutz: "Mark The Lines," "Sever The Voices" and "It's Not Safe To Swim Today"
April 1, 2008
Producer: Michael Keene
Deathcore is one of the most difficult sub-genres of Metal music to fully create an identity of your own in. Having to meet certain criteria such as odd-time signatures and poly-rhythmic abilities among others. Yes, it does take a group of very skilled musicians to pull this off flawlessly. However, it seems that the majority of bands in this genre get carried away with only making very math-like music and forgetting the most important thing: Passion for the music itself.
It takes an extraordinary group of musicians to not only meet the criteria above but also to give their music a DNA type of it's own. Furthermore, giving the genre itself a facelift in a time where things were starting to look seemingly mundane. That band would be Veil of Maya and the record that came to the rescue, the band's second full-length offering: 2008's "The Common Man's Collapse."
Behind every great record is a great producer, and in this case that man was Michael Keene. Michael (on top of being a producer) is also known as the guitarist and primary songwriter in the Technical Death Metal group known as: The Faceless. So it's easy to see Veil of Maya was in very capable hands. It truly takes a metal musician to know a metal musician, so Michael knew exactly how to record and mix this band.
When I think about this record the first thing that comes to my mind is the melodic nature of this band. It is something very worth while to note because a lot of bands in the Deathcore genre generally rely just on very heavy riffing and atonal-like leads. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, however this trend has somewhat become the norm of the genre. So when I heard tracks such as "We Bow In It's Aura," "It's Not Safe To Swim Today" and "All Eyes Look Ahead" the melodic themes that kept re-appearing throughout these songs made me realize right away that Veil of Maya was going to become something special in the world of extreme music.
While there are plenty of melody hooks throughout the entire album, there are songs that are dominated more-or-less by disjointed riffs and odd-time signatures. Tracks such as "Crawl Back," "Entry Level Exit Wounds" and my personal favorite song off the album "Mark The Lines" showcase this perfectly, while displaying a strong Meshuggah-ish like influence in their playing.
There is a great number of good things to be said about "The Common Man's Collapse." However, there is one aspect about this record that nags at me. While Veil of Maya's musicianship is flawless, it seems the bass on this record lacks an identity of it's own.
What I mean by that is there are plenty of moments throughout this record where guitarist Marc Okubo and drummer Sammy Applebaum shine in the spotlight, furthermore showcasing their abilities to their own breaking points. While bassist Kris Higler more-or-less just does his job (which is no easy task in Veil of Maya.) It's just with everything that Marc and Sammy bring to the band I guess my expectations were high on what I was looking for bass wise. Kris is not a bad bassist at all, what I'm trying to get at is I just wish Kris stepped out of Marc's shadow a little more and put his own fingerprint on this record like his band mates did.
With "The Common Man's Collapse" clocking in at about thirty three minutes there is a lot of music to be absorbed in a short amount of time. While die-hard fans like myself will more likely fall in love with this record upon first listen. It might take a few more listens for new coming fans of the genre to fully understand why this band is the real deal.
My Killer Kutz: "Mark The Lines," "Sever The Voices" and "It's Not Safe To Swim Today"
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