TesseracT - One (2011)

Band: TesseracT
Country: Milton Keynes, UK
Style: Progressive Metal/Djent
Label: Century Media Records

After my praise of last years "Concealing Fate EP," I don't think it should be necessary to say that I was looking forward to this full-length. That EP managed to be one of the most played releases of last year, actually, which made the fact that those songs appearing on this album only the better. This album has been long awaited from fans for years, and only now is it finally getting to be heard from start to finish. If you've read the review of the EP, forgive me if I'm repeating myself.

Tesseract are a group that definitely have their own sound in today's modern metal world, taking influences equally from things like Meshuggah to Jeff Buckley and Pink Floyd. Their sound is one that definitely takes the heaviness of Meshuggah's djent riffs, but mixes them with soaring clean vocals, with some screaming, and a much more ambient soundscape, not unlike that of Porcupine Tree. As such it's a very groovy sound, but one with many layers of clean guitar parts and keyboards. Now, I'll say that while the Concealing Fate portion of the album is easily about half of this disc, but despite some comments I've read regarding the fact that only about half the album hasn't officially been released till now, that doesn't damage the impact of the overall album.

Despite their highly atmospheric and textured sound, it's still a very catchy album throughout, with memorable choruses and groovy riffs appearing in every track. There's also quite a bit of diversity on here, from the more proggy tracks like Acceptance or Eden, more melodic track like Lament and Deception, to heavier tracks like Nascent and Sunrise. I do have to compliment the production on here, it's extremely clean sounding, which in some bands causes them to sound too mechanical, but it works in this case, with all the ambiance within the music, it does add more dimension to it, breaking that one-dimensional stereotype. The vocals are also extremely tuneful, which stops them from having the same sort of Meshuggah effect, where they do sound like machines.

Overall, a really great album, and one that I've really been looking forward to for a while. I could see some people not really liking this because of lack of new material, mainly clean vocals, high production value, but I truly believe that there's something in here for everyone. If you like progressive, modern metal, check this out for sure.
Overall Score: 9.5
Highlights: Every Track Is A Highlight

Born of Osiris - The Discovery (2011)

Band: Born of Osiris
Country: Chicago, Illinois
Style: Progressive Death/Deathcore
Label: Sumerian Records

I remember a few years back when I first heard these guys, I was still in my death metal phase, but I thought these guys were going to be huge. Their sound at the time was basically progressive deathcore, then the second album kind of came and went for me, I had kind of lost interest by then. But, with this new release, and the samples that I'd heard, it sounds like it's definitely a leap forward to the more progressive side.

The sound on here definitely takes elements of the current djent movement, but combines them with equal elements of their deathcore and death metal sound. Another well inclusion into their sound is the more progressive riffing, which is well associated with djent, but you'll hear Dream Theater influenced guitar parts all throughout this record. There's also a bigger sense of melody on here, something I really liked, parts repeated themselves more often, usually for a chorus, and they wound up being quite catchy. All these elements add up to create a sound that definitely interests me more so than what I heard from their last album.

I have to say that tracks like Devastate or Shaping The Masterpiece definitely show how much the band have grown from their first album to now, as they still have very brutal and deathcore elements, but they show a better sense of songwriting and musicianship. Meanwhile tracks like Recreate struck me with just how melodic they sounded, seaming to favor a more progressive metal sound rather than any sort of death metal, except for the vocals. Though I will say a track like A Solution didn't really work for me, including a weak trip-hop sort of song with auto-tuned clean vocals on here really threw off the flow of the record for me and just sounded totally out of place. Other tracks like Behold should definitely appeal to their old fans, as they definitely come from a much more technical death metal spot than progressive, not that it's bad.

Overall, I'd call this a really solid release, this is the kind of work I come to expect from newer groups. Like I said, I wasn't too keen on their last album, but this one has some really great stuff on it. If you like progressive death metal, modern prog metal, djent, deathcore, definitely check these guys out.
Overall Score: 8
Highlights: Ascension, Two Worlds of Design, Atomic Motion

The Haunted - Unseen (2011)

Band: The Haunted
Country: Gothenburg, Sweden
Style: Thrash/Groove Metal
Label: Century Media Records

I don't know why people like to knock The Haunted, so they feature two members from At The Gates and they aren't melodic death metal, so what. Even when they went through a more mid-paced and groove oriented phase, I still enjoyed it just as much, if not more, than their more thrash oriented stuff. Apparently, this is supposed to be the band's most accessible record yet.

With 2008's "Versus," many people praised it as a return to form after the previous album, "The Dead Eye," made use of more progressive structures and a more mid-tempo style, but this album pretty much disregards the last album and moves into a much more progressive, yet heavy sound. When a member of a band says that an album is their most accessible yet, it could either mean the band have given into pressures and decided to conform to current trends, or it could mean a greater development of songwriting, the latter proves to be true on here. Throughout the album traces of other bands come out and reveal themselves as influences, everything from the Tool melody on opener Never Better to the Clutch oriented blues vibes from No Ghost and All Ends Well.

Ever since his return to the band, vocalist Peter Dolving has been criticized by many for his vocal style, not quite living up the growls and yells that Marco Aro, but I have always enjoyed his style more so than Marco's. His singing and hardcore shouting really bring something different to the table and his lyrics have always been a high point for me, being one of the few lyricists I actually hold in high regard. But in regard to his vocals on this album, you'll find that there is a lot more clean singing on here than on a the last few records, hear tracks like Disappear or The Skull. But as for the rest of the band, guitarists Anders Björler and Patrik Jensen offer up some killer riffs, if not a bit simplistic, hear tracks like The City, but also some more psychedelic parts like in the title-track, Unseen. Bassist Jonas Björler doesn't step out too much, though his occasional bass interludes do come to mind as cool, hear Motionless. Drummer Per Jensen is a great drummer, no doubt, but some tracks definitely have a sense of more restraint, others do feature a more all-out approach, hear Catch 22.

I think by now, it's obvious that I'm already a fan of these guys, and that I like this album. This is definitely one of my favorite releases from them, the newer and more melodic take on their sound is definitely a welcome one, though I'm sure a lot of people will most likely hate it due to the lack of all-out thrash. If you like melodic thrash with a sense of experimentation, definitely check this album out.
Overall Score: 9
Highlights: Never Better, Unseen, All Ends Well

Maruta - Forward Into Regression (2011)

Band: Maruta
Country: Miami, Florida
Style: Grindcore/Deathgrind
Label: Willowtip

Willowtip is a label that has it's hit and misses for me, some bands are really good and others just don't do anything for me at all. Maruta is a band that, while I was aware peripherally of their first album, it wasn't something that listened to. It was only after realizing that all the grindcore acts I've heard this year have been of a high quality, so I might as well give this one a shot.

Brutal, aggressive, technical, fast, it's pretty much all in here. The vocals give you either guttural lows or high pitched screaming, the riffing is constantly moving, going between something of a technical death metal spazz and crust punk aggression, and then the drumming is pounding and fast-paced as well. It's all there, everything you could ever want from a grindcore record, they even throw in more sludgy parts as well. This whole record is just under thirty minutes, so you're getting just another grinding record in terms of length as well.

In essence it's nothing new for the genre, except that it's played really well. Tempo shifts on a track like Stagnation Routine are what make me like this record, starting slow, moving into a grindcore part, then going into a weird mathcore-meets-punk type of riff. You also have the touch of the 8-string guitar that add that super low bass heavy chug to this record. I do have to say that longer tracks, or tracks that manage to make it over a minute, tend to contain some nice riffing, as oppose to the chaotic frenzy of notes that go on in those shorter tracks, compare Body Weapon to Conform to Deform. Though, even when these guys play actual riffs, there's always something a little off about it, hear Salient.

Overall, while this isn't as impressive as some other grindcore records this year, it's still good. There's plenty of energy in here, plenty of technical guitar work, crazy vocals, and frenetic drumming, so it checks all the boxes for grindcore in my book. Definitely check this album out if you're into grindcore at all.
Overall Score: 7.5
Highlights: Strain, Swine Swallower, Hand of The Overseer

Alarido - Alarido Demo (2011)

Band: Alarido
Country: Las Vegas, Nevada
Style: Blackened Crust
Label: Ecophagy Records

Being a largely unknown group that has recently popped up on my radar recently, Alarido caught my attention with the ambition of a single track demo. This one track consists of a nineteen minute epic that definitely shows a lot of variety and potential. In exchange for reviewing this, the band stated that they want this link to be posted as to where you can buy the album: http://ecophagyrecords.blogspot.com/.
Being only a demo, the production quality is pretty lo-fi, with drums and vocals coming out as the dominant forces on here. While it's obvious that the guitar playing recalls elements of traditional black metal as well as hints of early thrash ,crust punk, and even a bit of folk in the acoustic moments. The vocals are a bit strained at times, but otherwise work, moving from throaty howls to regular screams with ease. The guitar playing is understated on this recording, especially during it's beginning phases, only near the middle does it begin to get clearer, where you can clearly hear the different riffs.
Overall, like I already said, this is a promising debut, but still quite muddy sounding. While this isn't the most original sound out there, I could clearly hear some really cool stuff going on throughout which could lead to a more original sound later on. This is definitely a group to look out for in the future, check them out if you don't already know about them.
Overall Score: 7
Highlights: There's Only One Track

Brocken Moon - Hoffnungslos (2011)

Band: Brocken Moon
Country: Karlsruhe, Germany
Style: Depressive/Atmospheric Black Metal
Label: Northern Silence

I'm gonna say that this album was done by a full-band, which is what I've gathered from my information, even though it appears that it was all, both the project and music, created by one Humanhater. While I'm not a hundred percent sure this is the correct information, this is what I've come to the conclusion of from what I've read. This is the third full-length for this project and takes their sound into even darker realms of realism.

Having only heard Brocken Moon's last album, 2008's "Das Märchen Vom Schnee," a few times in passing having read some good things about it, I can safely say that after hearing it, I didn't really go back to the band all that often. Having heard this, it did make me go back and listen to that album and comparing the two, this album's production is a lot better. The overall sound is not as fuzzy or hazy as the last one, but it retains a similar sounding atmosphere to it. The vocals also sound similarly depraved as before, which doesn't really do much for me, but might get others really into it.

Personally, I like it when a band that's been tagged as "depressive" makes use of tempos that have more in common with traditional black metal and have faster and more aggressive moments along with softer more melancholic parts. This album has tracks that take two routes, or at least this is how I heard it, tracks like the title-track, Hoffnungslos, have a more guitar oriented sound with some nice variation between clean and distorted parts, but tracks like Kälte appear to be more atmosphere driven with the keyboards leading the way. About half way through the record though, the band, I guess, decided they had enough with trying to be a black metal band, with tracks like T12 Ritual going for a sort of world music sort of vibe, and Einsamkeit going for a more piano and synthe driven sound, both making use of very little, if any, guitars.

Overall, this is an alright album, nothing great, but it's certainly not terrible. I wasn't the biggest fan of their last album, and my opinion really hasn't changed from listening to this. If you like atmospheric, slightly depressive, black metal, check this out, though I wouldn't call it an essential album for your collection.
Overall Score: 5
Highlights: Regen, Die Leere

Sylosis - Edge of The Earth (2011)

Band: Sylosis
Country: Reading, UK
Style: Thrash/Melodic Death Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast Records

2008 saw the release of Sylosis' debut full-length "Conclusion of An Age," an album that was critically acclaimed and won the band over a lot of new fans. Since then lead vocalist Jamie Graham has left the band and guitarist Josh Middleton has taken over vocal duties. This new album sees the band as ambitious as ever, saying that they have taken to a more progressive and technical approach on this album.

I'll give it to these guys, putting out another album that tops an hour in length and is filled with actual songs, including several interludes of real playing . Their sound retains their thrash metal roots and the melodic death metal influences are still there, but there is certainly another dimension added on here, the traces of groove metal, progressive metal, and tech metal definitely come through. There's plenty of guitar playing on here to make all those guitar nerds freak out, hear tracks like Empyreal or Awakening. But, while the musicianship has definitely improved, the vocals have sadly decreased, most of them feel so one-dimensional compared to the last album's varied style, and from some comments from others, that seems to be a big beef others have with this album as well, though I personally don't find the vocals to even be that bad.

I have to say however, that with all the material used on here, some tracks do kind of begin to blend together, which can often happen in albums like this. The middle of the album really has this problem, with tracks like Kingdom of Solitude or Dystopia just sort of going by without leaving much of an impression on me. Though this might just be me, I can assure that every track however, is excellently played and has great guitar playing no matter if I found the track memorable or not.

Overall, this is a decent album, it's certainly not mind blowing, but instrumentally it's top notch. This is an album that just makes you want to play guitar to it, which is a good thing in my opinion. If you like progressive thrash oriented metal, check this album out.
Overall Score: 7.5
Highlights: Procession, A Serpents Tongue, Apparitions, Beyond The Resurrection