Today on board we have Soul Cycle, a crazy project which was created by underground metal producers Chris Catharsis and Mark Hawkins. The aim of this project was to write melodic music without sacrificing deez nuts. Our writer Naman Lakhani recently interviewed both Mark & Chris and this is what they had to say:

1) Hey guys! Greetings from the Metal Wani team. How have you been?

 

Mark: Busy as always, but more than happy to chat with you guys!  Thanks.

 

Chris: Always glad to talk to someone other than ourselves. Life becomes very lonely when you're an Internet metal band.

 

2) How has the response been to the new album “Soul Cycle II” both from fans as well as critics?

 

Mark: It has been incredibly positive all across the board.  The reviews so far have been wonderful and the fans do not seem at all disappointed!  I’m really happy with how much it has spread and we have our fans to thank for that!

 

Chris: It's been really surreal since we released the album. The response has been overwhelming, mostly due to the sheer amount of talent that chose to be a part of this album with us. Each and every one of the 24 guests on "Soul Cycle II" deserves the utmost praise and recognition for their endless creativity, patience, and commitment to what we were trying to do. We're comfortable with the songs themselves, but they're more or less the backing track to a human highlight reel of shred.

 

3) Tell us about the history of the band and how you guys started out. Where did you guys come up with the name “Soul Cycle” for the band?

 

Mark: We basically stole the name from this super rad exercise bike…hahaha, no, but really it was a name I pitched to Chris a long time ago along with some other names.  This one seemed to stick!  I should mention there is another funk/jazz band called Soul Cycle, but they didn’t happen to come up when I did a search on MySpace several years ago.  Thought we were in the clear!  I suppose it has led to some very confused metal and funk fans when they find the wrong Soul Cycle.  Hint: Type in “Metal” along with your search to find us.

 

Chris: The Soul Cycle funk band is far more talented than us, and the Soul Cycle exercise bike is far more metal than us because IT'S MADE OF METAL. We were doomed from the get-go. But Mark and I have been working together since the mid 2000's on different projects (Kongregation, Rape the Dead), and long story short, Soul Cycle is just the next step in that process. Will there be a fourth step, yet another project in yet another sub-genre of metal? Probably - but so far, we like Soul Cycle the most.

 

4) Please enlighten us with some of your influences.

 

Mark: I have lots of insanely talented friends and collaborators who all influence me to try new things or just sit down and practice.  As far as guitarists go, I’ve got to give it up for my friends: Luke Jaeger, Vishal J. Singh, Malcolm Pugh, Sam Bell, Sacha Laskow, Paul Wardingham.  They are all fantastic players and great people as well.  As far as some more well-known guitarists, I love: John Petrucci, Tosin Abasi, Guthrie Govan, Ron Jarzombek, Jeff Loomis, Andy James.  I could go on forever, but I’ll stop there.  These guitarists provide me with lots of inspiration and creative ideas for pushing the boundaries of modern metal lead guitar playing.

 

Chris: Most of my inspirations are not directly guitar related. I don't practice guitar as much as I should, otherwise my technique might be sky high by now and we could be making some money! My inspirations mostly come from songwriters. I grew up on Creedence Clearwater Revival. I've always respected John Fogerty as a master of writing simple songs that never fail to be timeless, and for his understated lead guitar technique. I'm a huge fan of other classic rock bands like The Allman Brothers and The Eagles that have an authentic sense of harmony and melody. I also try to find a few hidden gems here and there, like Bloodrock (if you haven't heard the song "D.O.A.", DO IT NOW). Other than that, I love 70's funk, jazz and be-bop, and of course, the all powerful METAL.

 

5)  Most of the fans were sure that the new album would consist of a few guest appearances. But 24 guest appearances on a single album is way too much talent put into 1 album. How did it all go about?

 

Mark: I wish there could have been more!! HAHA!  But, really we have always placed an emphasis on collaboration so this really was a wonderful opportunity for us to talk with all of our friends and ask them to help us make an awesome guitar-driven record.  We even took some chances here and there, reaching out to some people who we didn’t think would even respond to the email.  But, we were very pleasantly surprised.  Not just by how many guests agreed to play on it, but by the quality of their work as well.

 

Chris: Like Mark said, we really want to foster more of this collaboration in the future. There are only a handful of people that are trying to push the envelope with making music over the Internet. We're certainly part of the litany of stay-at-home metallurgists crafting nerdcore in their basements, but we want to be more than just a one-man band pumping out song after song. I don't think we've taken Soul Cycle as far as we want to yet in terms of involving the fans, making them as much a part of the process as the guest guitarists. We want Soul Cycle to be like a brain trust, a think tank for creating music we all want to hear but can't get any of the major bands to write. They get it right 95% of the time, but I think Soul Cycle needs to live in that remaining 5%. We may never get there, but the ambition is present. 

 

6) Chris, you are in charge of composition, rhythm/bass guitars, drum programming and production and Mark, you are in charge of composition and lead guitars. Tell us about how it all goes around; the song composition, the recording, the entire procedure.

 

Mark: My contribution to Soul Cycle consists of mostly lead guitar work, but also layers and a lot of the clean guitar parts as well (like the intro to Heartless or the clean section from Unphased).  We will email files back and forth until a song doesn’t suck anymore (this takes a while).

 

Chris: Sometimes it's a nightmare, with me flooding Mark's inbox with revision after revision after revision until he hates my guts and won't talk to me for like a week. But in the end, it all works out. The fact that ANYONE ELSE wanted to be a part of that annoying process is incredible to us. I think we're migrating to Skype to write the next album, but who knows? We've been playing the e-mail game for years and it's never failed us yet.

 

7) Recently lots of fans have been freely using the term “djent” in context to your music, even when you guys cite yourselves as Melodic Metal. What is your opinion on that and what are your views on the word “djent”?

 

Mark: I don’t necessarily see the word or the community around it is as such a bad thing.  I will say that I am not a huge fan of the style as a whole, save for some standouts.  But, overall the community is rather supportive and I appreciate any press we have received through sites like got-djent.com,etc. Things get too complicated with classification of bands into these sub-genres.  For me, there are only two kinds of music…Good and Bad.  Life is easier that way.  Are we djent or not?  I’m neither concerned nor qualified to decide that. 

 

Chris: The "djent" community, if there is such a thing, has been very kind to us and we are extremely thankful for that. For the most part, I don't think we fit in with most of those other bands. Our primary concern is to write great songs that we like. Hopefully, everyone else feels the same way about our music that we do.

 

8) Do you have any other musical projects and endeavors other than Soul Cycle?

 

Mark: TONS!  I love to stay busy.  Currently working with the extreme metal band DEVOLVED to track a new album and I’m very excited about the material.  Other active bands I am a part of include: Robots Pulling Levers, Assimilated Mind Phase, Cofe Time, and The Global Warming Extravaganza.  Also, very much looking forward to an acoustic project with my friends Luke Jaeger and Vishal Singh once the DEVOLVED album is complete.  I’ve also recently been featured as a guest on the latest releases from NOVA and Hypnorock as well as an upcoming song from Son of Aurelius.

 

Chris: I'm FAR less busy in this department than Mark, and rightly so. Mark is extremely talented and he deserves as much exposure as possible. I'm working on a couple things in the future, namely Soul Cycle III, but I have plans for a full length down tempo post-rock album, an experimental prog album with vocalist Martin DeBourge, and a sludge album called "Mouthbreather". We'll see how many decades pass before I get to any of those!

 

9) Both the albums do not have a physical release. So can we hopefully expect a release of some CDs and merchandise by the band in future?

 

Chris: Yes, and yes. We're getting there soon but reality sometimes gets in the way of the Internet. Really looking forward to releasing some tasteful merch so I can buy some for myself! 

 

10) Undoubtedly, the songs on both the albums are marvelous! But unfortunately they’re never played live. Are you guys planning to get a complete line-up and play these songs live?

 

Mark: If it ever becomes financially viable for us to do any kind of touring, I’m all for it!

 

11) Coming to the last question: What does the future hold for Soul Cycle? What awaits the eager fans?

 

Mark: Vocals!!  j/k, no vocals….ever.

 

Chris: We still haven't written our best songs yet. That's about it. Until we can say we've written the best we can write, we don't plan on stopping the quest. 

 

12) Thanks a lot guys for being on Metal Wani. It was a pleasure having you guys aboard. Any words to the Indian fans and all fans in general?

 

Chris: India is awesome, you guys are the best! Thanks for everything. 

 

 

Read Our Soul Cycle Album Review Here 

 

Official Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/soulcyclemetal 

 

Official Bandcamp Page: http://soulcyclemetal.bandcamp.com/album/soul-cycle-ii

 

 

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Interviewed By,

Naman Lakhani

 

It’s been ages since I've heard a nice, "in your face" thrash album with multiple guitar solos making you want to air guitar your way to the Rock n' Roll Hall Of Fame. Rather, in this age of playing just the top three strings of the guitar, solos are almost extinct. Here is a band from Poland, that call themselves BrainWasheD. These guys know how to Thrash like Mike Tyson pounding his opponent, and I ain't joking. BrainWasheD released their album Wrecked recently and it promises a lot for die hard thrash fans.

BrainWasheD are:

Dariusz "Bonzo" Biskupski - Vocal

Tomasz "Teściu" Chmielewski - Electric Guitar

Paweł "Boczu" Kuziel - Electric Guitar

Jakub "Taśny" Słowik -  Electric Bass Guitar

Kacper "Kacu" Misztal - Drums

In Your Face Thrash to the core. Fast paced riffs, some killer bass lines and kick drums rule the full album. The vocals on the other hand, isn't the extreme vocals people do these days. Instead, you will be treated with some good old yells and screams from the age of Sex, Drugs and Rock n' Roll back when musicians were pure rockstars, and had no time for make-up. The album starts off with a fast paced song - "Bringing Out The Dead". The song is an average one but has a blistering solo that makes up for the mediocre riff.

"I, Leader", is one of the longer songs in the album, and is one of the "out-of-the-ordinary" songs too. It starts off with a haunting bass intro. The drummer then shows us his snare hitting skills with some hard bashing on the skins. A breakdown. And then comes the mindfuck - an insane bass and guitar duel that blows one away, and just when you think that’s all, the guitar solo sends shock-waves through your ears, and then the eerie bass kicks in again. A thriller of sorts narrated in the form of music. The title song "Wrecked" and "Voices In Your Head" are full on thrash tracks with fast paced riffs and some killer guitar solos, with the solo in Voices In Your Head being nothing less than a shredding masterpiece.

"Beast Within Me" is a darker composition with a slow-mid paced alternating riff. The bands' obsession with haunting riff continues with "Give Me Your Blood". The song starts off with the bass playing and some reverberating kick drums backing it up it then follows on with a typical thrash riff with hard snare hits. The fun, though, begins with the epic 35 second guitar solo followed up with a second solo. Stuff that can give any good guitarist multiple orgasms.

Two songs which need special mention from the album - "Breaking The Chain" and "The Battle". Breaking The Chain has more of a melodic approach. The guitarists make it a point to show off their fingering skills. It's as if these guys have spider legs implants in their hands instead of fingers. The Battle/Back To The War is one track with some killer bass lines. 1:20-2:05 in the song, you have insanity personified, simply put, stuff the pro's are made of. 2:40 in the song, and the riff makes one to punch the air and mosh.

The last song of the album - "Last Breaths" is another "out of the box" song. Things to look out for in this track, unlike other songs in the album are the drums and the vocals, that reign supreme in the song. 4:01 into the track, and most drummers will envy Mr.Kacper here. Beast of a drummer that he is.

The album is very well produced, with each instrument given equal space and each musician had the freedom to do what he does best. My top 3 from the album -

1. Breaking The Chains
2. Give Me Your Blood
3. I, Leader

Rating - 9/10 (A must listen)

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/BrainWashedOfficial

 

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Reviewed By,

Abhiraj Das 

 

Sylvatica is an unsigned folk metal band hailing from my family’s homeland, Denmark, and has self-proclaimed themselves to be Brutal folk metal. It’s tough to classify this band into any certain genres. They just fucking rule! This band impressed me right out of the gate. They are unsigned and seem to have formed very humbly, with a random “Hey let’s start a folk metal band” kick start. They have toured all across Denmark, and are looking for international and abroad tour dates to really get this folk machine rolling. They’re also seeking out a record label, for those that are interested. *wink wink* I vote yes.

Mosemanden is the band’s very first full length release and has already started quite the buzz in the underground folk metal community. Many of my friends here in the United States actually knew of this band and were surprised I had gotten the chance to write a review for them, and let me tell you I am honored. The musicianship on this demo is well beyond the level of a young unsigned band, and the recording surpasses any ideas you may have in your head for a beginning metal band. The quality of the music, song writing, mixing and mastering, and even artwork is well beyond my expectations. This band is clearly showing us they want to be taken seriously.

The Good:

The album combines doom-like atmospheric qualities with very heavy guitars and bass, and mellow but driving drums. The vocals are perfectly layered and hold a lot of death metal sound. All together, the music is well-rounded brutal folk metal and there’s really no other way to describe it. Track #2, Mosemanden, shows a pure vocal talent, not just a man growling into a microphone. Sylvatica has little to no effects on the vocals so you hear every strain the vocalist screams out, bringing a very honest, and  raw feeling to each track. When the music drops out from behind the vocal track and the vocalist is on his own, he stands strong, sounds very balanced, and that on its own is pretty impressive. Mosemanden is a nine minute long song that really seems to fly by. It goes through many different tones, death metal heaviness, then into a soft-flowing guitar melody, and back to heavy. It’s an all-around pleasant listen.

The next track, Dodssonnen, starts out pure folk metal as the guitar hits you with a very light hearted melody that makes me want to pour a beer just so I can swing it back and forth. Very quickly the song gets hard and heavy, but doesn’t let up on its folk elements. Track number six, titled Sylvatica, is one of those songs that makes me feel like I’m stepping onto a battlefield. The guitars and bass produce a somewhat dark fanfare… as a king marches into battle with his flags waving furiously behind him. Happy, yet serious, as if something horrible is about to happen but there’s nothing we can do about it but fight. The drums pick up in this song with a nice drive and gallop. I’d like to see any metal head try not to head bang to this song. The last song on the album, Mjoelner og Mjoed, is definitely one of my favorites mainly because of the opening riff. This song feels like a last hurrah, a “just in case you didn’t know what we’re about” kind of song. It combines all elements of death metal, a little thrash, and a bit of folk metal, to create a fantastic sound.

The Bad:

The only improvement I could recommend to this band is to change up the vocals here and there. The layering and tone quality is great, but it is very monotone throughout the whole album. I would love to hear some more variations, more choruses, or even clean singing. I think with the music quality backing the vocals either or all of those options would be perfect. My favorite moments of these songs are when the vocals are layered for a chorus effect, but the layers are still very monotone, and that loses a lot of the impact a chorus is supposed to give.

I also feel like the bass could be more prominent in the mixing. I love to hear a bass line cracking alongside a riff. They most definitely can enhance drum impact, but I feel like a lot of those opportunities are lost for bassists. So crank up the bass!

All in all, this album deserves a 8/10. I would recommend it to anyone into either genres, especially you folk metal fans out there. I don’t speak any other language other than English and I don’t understand a single word this band is saying, but that doesn’t fucking matter, and you folk metal fans out there understand. Buy the album! Support the band! Get them signed and get them tour dates!

Line-up:

Jardén Schlesinger - Guitar and Vocals

Martin "Bøssefar" Hamann - Guitars and backing vocals 

Thomas Haxen - Bass and backing vocals

Pelle Buch - Drums and backing vocals

Contact:
SylvaticaOfficial@gmail.com

Links:
http://www.facebook.com/SylvaticaOfficial
http://www.youtube.com/user/SylvaticaOfficial
http://www.myspace.com/sylvaticanu

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Reviewed By,

Mattie Jensen

 

Memoria is an Australian band that started off as a folk solo project by Jonathan Caroll in 2003. Since then they evolved into a six-piece blackened death metal band. "Death Calls the Island" is the first album released that features all six members. It was released in 2011 by Misantrof Anti-Records.

The album definitely has a melodic but heavy feel to it. The low-tuned guitars and heavy bass give it this morbid sound. The vocals consist of a mix of high-pitched, black metal inspired growls and harsh cleans. Synthesizers are also included in the album in songs such as, “The Blood Wave.”

When listening to this album, I could hear the plethora of influences. The most prominent are melodic, black metal, and a dark atmospheric twist. This band obviously is influenced by black metal heavyweights such as Immortal and Burzum, but with melodic riffs they don’t sound as harsh. While listening, you feel this powerful sense of melancholy and darkness, very gothic-like. With collaborating their influences, this band really has a unique sound and brings a new kind of life to the black metal and melodeath communities.

I think this band and album are definitely for people who appreciate the original and gloomy black metal sound. I feel this album is too simple and repetitive. I get a more depressed feeling than anything. If that’s what the band is going for, well then they got it down perfect.

This band is definitely an acquired taste. Black metal has a dedicated following, and I definitely recommend any black metal fanatic pick up this album. As for everyone else, give it a listen and see how their music makes you feel. You may be surprised by what you hear.

Rating: 4.5/10

Official Website: http://www.memoria.com.au/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/MEMORIA/316839766561

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Reviewed By,

Stephanie Jensen

The realm of Progressive Metal has always been under the reign of Opeth, Dream Theater and so on, which over the years has remained stagnant. Prescient on the other hand, is a Progressive Metal band from the ever so magnanimous and “sunny” Perth. Their musical style varies from Groove to Thrash but manages to revolve around their Progressive forte with a tinge of technical elements here and there.

This band consists of :

Drew Shepherd - Guitars

Robin Hare - Bass

Taz Buckle - Drums

This unsigned band was formed in 2009, with an aim to sound both "insanely technical" and "chaotically improvised". Their influences vary from Tool to Pink Floyd to Animals As Leaders. Their EP, "The Polynomial Framework" is their first attempt to make it big.

This record starts off with the track “Revolutions”, and sadly, turns out to be a not so promising start to the EP. The problem lies in the repetitive riffage and the occasional, but still, an abrupt outburst of shredding. Basically seems to lack the song structure required. Kudos to Drew though, he managed to raise the bar of the song to “Satisfactory” with a great solo at the end. As the EP progresses, the next track, “Conductive Cell”, gets the derailed record back on track with a great intro. This song has all the members putting in some magnificent teamwork with each one contributing equally well. One very important point I’d like to make is, that the drummer has done a splendid job throughout, but the comparatively mediocre production played the spoil sport for him. This song also has some great bass slapping by Robin and another great solo by Drew.

As you move into the latter part of the record, your adrenaline is sure to rise up! Although this E.P has a couple of tracks that might descend you into boredom, the 4th track, “Phases of Penumbra Pt 2”, is one RIPPER of a track! The song has a mind blowing intro which transcends to one of the best solos I’ve EVER heard! Trust me, I am a kind of person who is always on a look out for crazy solos on the guitar and this one left me dumbstruck!

The tracks to look out for would be “Conductive Cell”, “Phases of Penumbra Pt 2” and the last track, “Foresight”, which boasts of some great transition between the two face melting solos. The E.P ends with the last track leaving you very happy and satisfied, also taking into consideration that this is their first recording in the studio.

Apart from the tiny downfalls of the songs sounding a bit repetitive or a poor man’s version of Blotted Science, the E.P was great! It was well decorated with lovely bass lines, epic drumming, and the stand out lead by Drew Shepherd. The ones into Progressive music will surely have an amazing, hell of a ride! Whereas if you’re really not into this genre, and not really open minded about the genres you don’t like, I’d feel sad for you, but ignore it then. All in all, it’s a great start by Prescient,  and I’m now, a fan already!

Rating : 8.2/10

Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/Prescientband

Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/PrescientBand

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Reviewed By,

Vishaal Gollerkeri

There was a time, when the biggest rock band in the world, was not from the US, England or Europe, but from Australia. After the release of Highway to Hell, and the monster of an album, that was Back in Black, AC/DC had catapulted themselves to super-stardom and were in the league of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. But in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, the hard rock and heavy metal scene of Australia spiraled downward. In the past few years, there has been a resurgence in the Australian metal scene with bands like Universum, Chaos Divine, Parkway Drive and Psycroptic, coming to relative prominence. One such upcoming band is Empires Laid Waste.

Empires Laid Waste, the brainchild of guitarist Adam and bass player Trevor, is a melodic death metal band from Perth. Along with Pete (vocalist), Scott (drummer) and Jonas (rhythm guitarist), they released their second album “With The Tide Comes Destruction”, which is eons ahead of their debut “The Age of Decay”, in terms of instrumentation and lyrical themes.

The album begins with a bang. With the title track “With the Tide Comes Destruction” giving you an impending sense of doom before it, kicking into auditory carnage. The song is about nuclear warfare and the holocaust, more specifically about the incineration of the human body when subjected to a nuclear attack, which has been described in the most gruesome manner, true of the death metal lyrical approach. It is followed by “Banished to the Wasteland”, which has an introductory riff very similar to that of a standard Cannibal Corpse intro. This song speaks about a person’s exile into some god forsaken place as a result of his sins. Even the song progresses like that, with a death metal start and a thrashy finish, giving a sort of warning to the listeners. In the mid-section, the drummer executes some brilliant triplets.  Then comes “Closer the End”, themed on the end of the world, this song is pure melodic-death metal, with riffs that make you want to sing along.

 ”Home like Hell”, which I felt had absolutely brilliant lyrical content, describes a person’s paranoia on facing the wrath of Satan when he descends upon the world, instead of Christ, with the chaotic way, the world is running. This song is more of thrash metal piece, with a tinge of melody and an introductory death metal passage.”Our Betrayers” kicks off, with the traditional death metal blast beats, and oscillates to and fro, from death to thrash, with very political lyrics, spitting out bile onto the faces of our bureaucratic politicians. “Quaken the Earth” is a metal core song, with a brilliant opening and lot of hook laden trills and riffs juxtaposed with low, diaphragm- busting gutturals, with a tad bit of hyena screams. It speaks about the end of the world, in a cosmic way, i.e. Armageddon.

In retrospect, the album is a huge improvement, especially the drumming. Scott has executed the classic death metal blast beats to perfection on this album. Another thing, which I really liked, was the song listing. Instead of separating all the extreme songs from the melodic songs, they gave the listing a sort of rhyme scheme, with a melodic track followed by two extreme tracks, which is the reason one can listen to the album in a single stretch without breeding a feeling of monotonousness. The production, for an underground band was good, but the guitar soloing needs improvement.The USP of this album, in my opinion, is the lyrical content. Very well researched, this band can actually embark upon creating a concept album in its next musical venture.

Empires Laid Waste has seriously raised the bar for death metal aspirants in Australia, and around the world. The singer with his Chris Barnes kind of vocals can take the band to new heights, along with the brilliant instrumentation. All in all, “With the Tide Comes Destruction” has, along with hundreds of other extreme albums, proved to the world, that death metal has a “beautiful cacophony” to it.

Rating: 8/10

Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/empireslaidwaste

Myspace Page: http://www.myspace.com/empiresstrikeback

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Reviewed By,

Rohan Thomas
 

December of 2011 marked the release of Bangalore-based solo band Enthrall’s 2nd full-length “Throes Of Fire”. Enthrall is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Neil Rego. “Throes Of Fire” has elements of progressive metal, power metal, thrash metal and groove metal. It is a concept album revolving around the life of a fictitious individual, named ‘Raven’ and the emotions he comes face to face with through his phases of life. The varied styles of music in this album make it very hard to categorize it under one genre.

Enthrall is nothing new; just a resurrected version of an ‘80s hard rock band, yet a very good attempt. Neil’s approach to all the songs is very different which at times is quite impressive but most of the times, a let-down. Neil’s multi-instrumentalist capabilities are sure worthy of praise.

The vocals don’t exactly have the force and emotion the album needs. They’re, on many an occasion, pale and monotonous. Yet we cannot deny that he has put in great effort here. The guitars on each track vary. Tracks like “Stoned” and “Agony Bound” have really awesome and great riffs. Even the solos on most of the tracks are catchy and one cannot resist air-guitaring to them! The bass here is not very extraordinary; just some normal basslines, nothing worth mentioning. The drumming too is average; suiting some songs whereas not doing justice to others.

On the whole, this album is a good effort but lacks potential. It could’ve been much better. Although I really appreciate Neil taking risks to experiment with this album; something not many people would dare to do! Unfortunately, it did not work in his favor greatly. Maybe it would be best if the band sticks to one specific genre and not try experimenting around with their music.

Standout Tracks: Stoned, Agony Bound and Throes Of Fire

Rating: 6/10

Reviewed By,

Naman  Lakhani

One word: SHRED!!! Soul Cycle’s new album Soul Cycle II is all about shredding!!! Soul Cycle is the brainchild of Chris Catharsis and Mark Hawkins with Mark handling the lead guitars and composition and Chris handling the rhythm guitars, bass guitar, drum programming, composition and production. The most shocking aspect of this album is the gigantic number of guest appearances made on this album. Two dozen prodigies have made guest appearances on this album, something you might never come across anywhere else! If you have heard the debut album, you will notice this album is musically very different from the 1st one, mainly because of the numerous number of guest musicians contributing to the album in their own style.

With 11 instrumental tracks to the album counting upto 1 hour, this is one massive album where you will never come across a single boring and monotonous moment. The album starts off with “Instar / Soul: Reborn” which has a very smooth starting and then on descends into a groovy and rhythmic track with heavy drumming and jazzy bass guitars and distorted riffs. 2 consecutive guitar solos are played by David Maxim Micic (from Destiny Potato) and Alan Sacha Laskow (from Enditol and Walk As Chaos). The work on the solos is truly great.

The next track is “Against The Iron” which is an awesome follow-up to the previous track. This track is, once again, very groovy with noteworthy drumlines and basslines. And a very clean guitar is heard throughout over-powering the distorted riff. Two short yet nice solos are played by George Richman (of Hypnorock) and Roma Ivakov which keep the listener keen and content.

“Reject Humanity” is that track that will get you up-and-about and headbang throughout. With 2 solos by Kevin Suter (of Warp Prism) and 1 by Paul Wardingham; this is pretty much the heaviest track on the album. “Ethereal” is different from the rest of the tracks; having an ambient start to it. Alan Nagelberg and Mr. Fastfinger have played 1 solo each. This track is very unique; even though it lasts for 6 and half minutes, the track feels too short.

“Trancendence” for me was the most anticipated track on this album as it features our very own Indian djentlemen: Vishal J. Singh (of Amogh Symphony) and Keshav Dhar (of Skyharbor)!!! The track did not manage to fail and disappoint me at all. I was so excited by this track that I got up and started air guitaring on my bed! Vishal played 3 solos on this song and Keshav played 1: adding up-to a total of 4 solos. The solos have been well carried forward by Chris and Mark.

“Unphased” and “Cast Down” are pure djent! With JT Bruce and Martin Buus (of Mercenary) making a guest appearance on “Unphased” and Adam “Nolly” Getgood (of Red Seas Fire)and Ben Robson (of Robot Zombie Army) performing solos on “Cast Down” one cannot simply hear these songs only once. Both songs have very complex riffing. “One Fleeting Moment” has a groovy feel to it; making the listener tap their feet to it and headbang simultaneously.  The  solos on this tack are phenomenal and the credit for this goes to Breeze (of Cartoon Theory) and Bryant Crawford (of Head Transfer Process).

“Distant Skies” again is a very heavy track mainly because of its drumming and chuggy riffs. A notable mention ought to be given to Jordan Miles (of From Mourning To Morning) and Reece Fullwood (of Eumeria) who have performed guest solos on this song. The last 2 tracks on the album “Evolutia” (the longest song on the album) and “Break The Cycle” are flawless and are full of awesomeness! Jake Linder, Francesco Filigoi (of Abiogenesis) and Jakub Zytecki are the guest trio who have made a remarkable appearance on “Evolutia” whereas Nate Vennarucci (of Anomalous), Keith Merrow (of Merrow and Demisery) and Mathieu Marcotte (of Augury)have made their presence visible on “Break The Cycle”.

The drumming and bass guitar accompany the guitars smoothly and perfectly adding to the sheer great work on this album. This is not the kind of album that would appeal to the normal mob, nevertheless eargasmic. After all, chuggy riffs, guitar shedding, poly rhythmic drumming and jazzy and catchy bass guitar isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Maybe a few hears, and you’ll get used to it. At the end of the day, I really do not know under what genre do I categorize this album: Djent? Groove metal? Progressive metal? Technical metal? Experimental metal? Melodic metal? Its up-to you to judge. Go ahead and give it a hear.

Rating: 9/10

Official Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/soulcyclemetal

Official Bandcamp Page: http://soulcyclemetal.bandcamp.com/album/soul-cycle-ii


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Reviewed By,

Naman Lakhani

Death metal is arguably the best adaption of the Metal sound along-with Thrash and the sub-genre is very much standing on the foundation of its harsh guttural vocals and is the god-father of many sub-sub genres that were spawned because of it. Since the advent of personalizing and adding unique touches to Death metal, Gojira have in fact taken a different turn, as they successfully bridged a link between Death Metal and modern day groove, which makes them this unique.

Gojira and Cynic are two of the best examples of bands that take the us of a Vocoder (Vocal Processor) to a different level altogether. The incorporation of sample-like death screams running through the vocoder into the traditional death metal sound would never sound so tasty and unique without execution as proficient as Gojira's.

Their current offering L'enfant Sauvage is 'smart' to describe in one word. The lyrical themes (which Gojira is also known for) supremely surpass all of their previous albums and combine the environment and aggression which lays the foundation to this strong album. Being one of the bands that aims at constantly evolving their sound, taking influences from Death, Thrash and Prog-metal , this album is a good example of the perfect union of heaviness and melody. The fans that they MAY have lost in their The Way of All Flesh album are bound to be getting back in line due to the way this album has been made/produced. For example the track 'Born In Winter' has a haunting riff which runs melodically through the entire track with the deep vocoder voice.

On the other hand the tracks "Explosia", "L'enfant Sauvage" and "Liquid Fire" are explosive and full of prog-metal, death-metal's finest elements and gripping melody. So also the drums sound too tasty to believe on this record , especially the "Mouth of Kala" track where the very first snare-hit till the last cymbal crash has a solid journey. The album finishes with elegance as the track "The Fall" has a very catchy chorus and a explosive ending. Production-wise the album has been mixed efficiently but the bass tones could have been more evident.

The legacy game of 'Super Mario Bros.' and the 'Super Mario Bros.' of Gojira, i.e Joe Duplantier (Vocals, Guitars), Mario Duplantier (Drums) weave their talent yet again in this release. The band which is arguably called one of the finest and tightest bands live, has their secret in the brotherhood of these two talented musicians. Their ever evolving musical genius and magnetic stage presence is beyond words.

The album was one of the most anticipated and hyped albums of 2012 and it delivers the promises quite strongly. From someone who hears them for the first time to their sworn fans ,  this perfect merger of brutality and melodic layers will help strengthen and widen Gojira's fan base to celestial levels. Since every artist is compulsively compared to their prior works (which is not a good routine) and Gojira will too , the comparison will only bring out the fact that the band is just growing with each release,musically and commercially .

Rating - 9/10

After the planning and waiting, it was finally here. Bangalore Open Air - The much awaited event of the year and India’s first major metal music festival which was partnered with the famous Wacken Open Air. We reached the venue by 10:30 a.m. after a long drive and were blown away by what had been planned for the concert. The huge circular arena was garnished with well planned stalls and enough place to stretch freely. I could already visualize the massive mosh pits and brutal walls of death which made Wacken what it is today. The fans had already lined up to enter the arena which was being promoted with the punch line “where insanity is religion”. I was eager and curious to see if the hype generated over 2 months would live up to the name.

We entered the arena and the sound check for the wacken battle were already underway. Zygnema, one of the finalists from west zone took to the stage. There were about 100 people in the crowd and the guys from the band didn’t care. They began their performance. After 3 songs, I wanted more although they could not continue. I didn’t realize how time flew by with the powerful performance with a special mention of Jimmy, the band’s vocalist. He made sure that the crowd was behind him and could teach few of the upcoming bands a thing or two about stage presence.

Crypted, the finalists from the south zone were up next. They took a long time to setup and i felt that the band got their act together as musicians. Everyone were playing their part and the vocalist played a very important role in trying to set the mood for a full length performance. But they had few technical issues which made the performance dull in few places. But I have to appreciate the kind of song writing and music compositions they had. Looking forward to seeing them play in many more places.

Last of the Wacken battle finalists, Damage-Era from East zone, came down all the way from Gangtok, Sikkim. Having visited Sikkim and seen the talent there, I was expecting a lot from them. Unfortunately, the problems which affected Crypted, continued to affect Damage-Era. The guitars were not audible and I felt that the band was not completely happy performing. But they had their moments with the guitar solos and a vocalist who brought out the band’s inner rage on the crowd in ways we don’t expect to see in India.

Theorized were up next and were chosen to replace the Wacken North finalists since they couldn’t make it. I had a feeling that Madhav would have mellowed down on the vocals since he was away with Escher’s Knot. But his screams and growls restored the lost faith. They showed that any band which wanted to be there with them needed the experience they had and it was worth the full 30 minutes that they were up there. A surprise was when the vocalist of Escher’s Knot, Abhijeet joined the band for their title track, "Venemous Tormentia".

Albatross were next, ready to set the stage on fire. Bassist Riju Dasgupta came on stage with the blood coated doctor’s coat, set the mood for some heavy metal or horror metal as the band calls themselves. Biproshee blew the audience away with his small stature but powerful, powerful vocals. The band played 5 songs from their 2 E.P's which left their mark on the audience.

Bevar Sea which translates to 'Bastard' in the local language took the stage next. Having seen Ganesh with Kryptos 8 years ago, I was looking forward to seeing him perform after a long time. The band members played stoner metal and set the mood by bringing bottles with booze to the stage. With each member bringing years of experience in music, how could anything go wrong? Long, well written, songs which got the crowd into headbanging mode and the artwork carefully designed for each song made me wonder about the amount of talent we got. Abhishtu was their most popular and the whole crowd was screaming “Abhishtu”. Worth it, completely blew away any doubts anyone had about how serious they were about Bangalore open Air.

The Black Metallers from Delhi, 1833 AD took to the stage and were held back with few technical problems which could have been fatal to their performance. Rahul’s guitar string broke and he had to exit the stage for medical assistance. But thanks to Nolan, they were back up soon. Special mention to Nishant for holding the crowd together and Raghav for the mind blowing on the spot drum solo. The band belted out 5 of their famous songs with power which reaffirmed their place as the top black metal band of India. Minus the technical problems, they would have torn apart the scene.

Dying Embrace, the band that brought doom metal to India even when metal was in its infant stage were up next. Having seen them live before, I was eager to see how Pritham would fit into the band as a bass player. After the performance, I just had 1 word : Respect. You have to appreciate Deepak for spending hours on stage with bevar Sea first and then with Dying Embrace. Pritham on the other side was on stage after a decade and damn he was fuckin awesome with his crazy bass-lines. Jimmy on guitars was awesome and belted some amazing riffs. He along with India’s legendary doom metal performer Vikram were bang on. Vikram with his massive presence brought the crowd together with his small stories in between songs, the air guitaring and the monstrous voice which made me wonder if I could do something like that at the age of 36. The songs were short and well executed. I was disappointed to see no merchandise and later was reminded by a friend that they were purely underground. So I would highly recommend them to anyone.

Eccentric Pendulum, winners of last year’s wacken battle took off immediately after Dying Embrace. With experience from Wacken, they put the crowd in the mood with what felt like Experimental / Progressive metal. I felt that every band member was lost in his own world, but somehow it brought the music together. With crazy guitar solos and bass-lines, these guys nailed it completely.

It had been 7 years since i saw Kryptos live. I had heard of the changes, the album launches, but could not attend any of the previous live shows. The entire duration of their time on stage was pure bliss. From the intro to the 4 guys in denim jackets, Kryptos reminded me about Nolan’s ideals about 1 year ago when he was interviewed by a friend. They wanted to stick to their roots of old school trash metal and in my eyes, they hadn’t changed at all. Nolan showed his skills which have been matured over years, Jayant and Rohit showing their dedication to the band. The un-sung hero of the performance was Ryan Colaco. After the second song, there was some problem with the drum kit and he wanted to fix it. But Nolan was unaware of this and began the performance. But without a second Tom on the drumkit, Ryan carried it off with no problem at all. All I could wish for Kryptos was to play more shows outside India.

And then it was finally time for the headliners to take stage. After Iced Earth dropped out, Suidakra was given the task of co headlining Bangalore Open Air, along with the mighty Kreator. All questions that had risen in the minds of the dubious, were put to rest when Arkadius and his folk metal cohorts took stage, and showed India how destructive their style of music was. Arkadius, clad in Armour, brought the crowd on his feet, with his meritorious rhythm guitaring and his top notch frontmanship. The drummer, Lars’ performance was also commendable, but the man who stole the show in my opinion, was the one who played the bag pipes, who did most of the solos, in place of the guitar, thus exhibiting their intricate innovation. Their music, copious with melody, was an absolute treat to the ear, and the crowd was head banging with all their might, completely oblivious to the heavy downpour. The band were so impressed, by the sheer energy of the crowd, that they  debuted crowd surfing, with the drummer and vocalist jumping into the crowd, halfway through their performance. They concluded their set with “Wartunes” and the vocalist announced that they were extremely pleased to play in Bangalore for the second time, and that he would be guesting with Kryptos, a week later.

And it was time for Frankenstein’s monster itself, the mighty Kreator. The evening saw a huge acceleration in momentum, when the Phantom Antichrist backdrop was put on, and then Mille Petrozza, along with the rest of the band, walked on stage. Greeted by a deafening roar, they started their gig with “Violent Revolution”, giving way to circle and mosh pits.The crowd sang the chorus, with the utmost patience and dedication, venting out all their frustration and anger, throwing light on the obstacles faced, to organize such an event .This was followed by “Hordes of Chaos’ from their last album,”Phobia” and “Phantom Antichrist”, which I felt was one of the best Kreator tracks to date, with their melodic chorus, blended with Mille’s flawless vocals. It showed that the band had no boundaries, and that they were ready to venture into new territory.

After experimenting, with a bit of their new songs, the band went into old school mode and belted out classics like “Extreme Aggression”, “Terrible Certainty”, ”Enemy of God” and “Endless Pain”. The crowd went into a frenzy when they played, in my opinion, the song that gave birth to the death metal genre “Pleasure to Kill”. After playing “Terror Zone”, Mille raised the classic “Flag of Hate” signaling the same, and began the song. They ended their gig with “Tormentor” and with Mille addressing the audience and how happy he was, that he finally played in a country, that he held in the highest regard, India.

The road crew of Kreator was at their best, running around places, trying to set the show, in the very little time they got. Mille’s guitar sound in the beginning was not all that good, which was very evident, while he was soloing, as his guitar sound was completely drowned by Sami’s guitar, but his vocals and raw intensity completely over shadowed all the flaws in their performance.

The real heroes of the day were the organizers of the event. Special Thanks to Salman Syed, Anupam Roy for the amazing sound and entire B.O.A. team for this phenomenal event. Even with their path filled with hindrances and obstacles(the Iced Earth and the Palace Grounds fiasco), they managed to work under pressure, and they delivered a more than satisfactory venue and line-up. The crowd turn out was really low, with barely 2000 people, but these people had the aggression of the 10,000 people who were expected to come. Frankly, I feel sorry for those who were not present to witness an event of this magnitude. Kudos, to the B.O.A. team for organizing such an event. I am looking forward, with all my heart, to the next edition of this event, and I urge all the people to attend it, without lending a deaf ear to certain mishaps that might take place.


Rating: 8.5/10

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Reviewed By,

Team Metal Wani

This year Nile released At the Gate of Sethu, adding another album to their legacy which has lasted almost twenty years. Nile, being one of the most unique bands in metal, definitely stands out amongst the masses. Combining speed, technicality, low guitar tuning, classic death metal influences, and amongst it all, Egyptian and Middle Eastern influences which ensures that everything this band releases is destined for success.

The first track off of the album is titled, “Enduring the Eternal Molestation of Flame,” which opens with a sound clip of Middle Eastern instruments and people screaming. The sounds become more intense and violent until the opening riff, where the speed and power accelerate. Vocalist and guitarist Karl Sanders then comes in with his gruesome growls that make your hair stand on end. The next track is, “The Fiends Who Come to Steal the Magick of the Deceased,” which introduces itself with more technical riffs and aggressive drumming.

 After a couple more rapid and heavy songs we get to “Slaves of Xul,” which is comprised of Middle Eastern instrumentals (particularly percussion) and the sound of a deity screaming and whipping several slaves. After a little research (out of curiosity because I’ve seen this term before) I found that “Xul” is the Sumerian word that stands for evil, and in the book The Necronomicon by H.P. Lovecraft, (whom Karl Sanders is also inspired by) all gods are malicious and destructive, are known as ‘Xul’. The relentless metal monster that is Nile then goes on into “The Gods Who Light up the Sky at the Gate of Sethu” which is less technical than the previous songs but equally as intense.

After an aural onslaught of some more intricately written songs, violence and Middle Eastern-inspired instrumentals, we get to the album’s epic conclusion entitled “The Chaining of the Iniquitous.” The intro of the song consists of a calming Ney,which then transcends dramatically into a heavy, low-tuned piece along with Sanders’ most wicked growls. The technicality of the guitars increases as Sanders uses his trademark vocal styles against against a backdrop of extremely aggressive drumlines. In the middle of the song we get to a fierce guitar solo that gets your adrenaline pumping through the roof and the following last minute and a half or so of the song just sounds like pure evil; an excellent way to draw a conclusion to this jaw-dropping album.

The multi-talented and master behind the band Karl Sanders once again brought us this masterpiece of an album. Drummer George Kollias, definitely one of the fastest drummers in death metal, never fails to impress as he continues to blast his way into our souls. And new bassist Todd Ellis' bass-lines are brutal as hell.

Honestly, Nile has to be one of my favorite bands. I’ve been obsessed with Ancient Egypt from a young age; the art, the mythology, and the history has always been captivating to me. When my brother told me several years ago about a band that is inspired by Egyptian mythology, I was ecstatic to find out that a band combines my appreciation of Egyptian culture and my passion for death metal. Ever since then, Nile has made my blood boil, my heart race, and above all, kept me headbanging!

The talent and hard work behind this band tells me that this band will continue to stride in the death metal community. I personally have no complaints. I’m just hoping they tour soon because I can’t imagine how incredible this album will sound live.

Rating: 10/10

“It’s not my fault that I’m pregnant and I love drugs. Who cares. Fuck the baby. Let it die”

2012! We have not even lived through half of this infamous year and we have been gifted with a number of ground-breaking heavy metal records. Ardent metalheads have experienced total turbulent music from eminent bands like Lamb Of God, Kryptos, Meshuggah, Cannibal Corpse, Overkill, High on Fire, Kreator; And now we get a fierce album from the brutal lords, Dying Fetus. People say the world’s going to end by the conclusion of this year. I know why; because even God will be caught in a mosh!

Dying Fetus is a three-piece band from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, formed back in 1991 by John Gallagher. The band is known for its ear-bleeding, brutal and absolute heavy music; the lyrical themes of most tracks being either vulgar and relentless or rage against the political system. One must really appreciate the consistency the band has maintained through all the albums. The last album, “Descend into Depravity”, filled with catchy riffs, mind-blowing blast beats and dense progressions, was well received by fans and critics. With John Gallagher on guitars and vocals, Sean Beasley on bass and vocals and Trey Williams on drums, the band releases its seventh studio album, Reign Supreme, through Relapse records.

Just like the album artwork, in my personal opinion, the album is also Dying Fetus’ best grind till date. The moment you plunge into the record, you feel like rising from your seat and moshing around. The fierce and reckless riffs which, most often, turn into blood-rushing grooves take you down to the netherworld of viciousness. The deadly sweeps in the very first track, ‘Invert The Idols’ tell us how simply mind-boggling the record is. John Gallagher is the man single-handedly responsible for the guitar parts throughout the album. We can hear some lightning fast solos in the tracks ‘Subjected To Beating’ and ‘Second Skin’ and some melodic ones in ‘Revisionist Past’ and ‘The Blood Of Power’, which sound a bit different from usual Gallagher solos, but are still brilliant.

Dying Fetus decided to go back in the past through the song ‘From Womb To Waste’ which reminds me of ‘Raped At The Alter’, from their very first album ‘Purification Through Violence’ in which we can hear a woman’s voice saying some really frightening lines before the song kicks in. The lines from ‘From Womb To Waste’ (mentioned in the beginning) have been penned beautifully as to perfectly justify the name of the band. Another summoning highlight of the album is the presence of really assailing grooves in all the tracks, especially in the songs ‘In The Trenches’ and ‘Devout Atrocity’. The work on drums has been truly exceptional. Williams does a full assault on us with his super-fast work on bass drums. The drum-lines on the all the tracks have an equally massive ear-splitting effect on the listener.

Summing it all in a nutshell, the album is frigging fantastic; one of the best records in the history of death metal in my opinion. If you are a heavy listener, then there should be nothing keeping you from buying that album.


Rating 9.5/10

Well we are just hours away from the biggest heavy metal festival in India, the mighty BANGALORE OPEN AIR. All of us are excited to witness 2 kick-ass German giants along with 10 brilliant Indian bands tear the stage apart tomorrow. After doing a little research, I thought of sharing my expected set-list  with you guys :)

So here goes the Kreator Set-list:

1. The Patriarch
2. Violent Revolution

3. Hordes of Chaos

4. Phobia

5. Phantom Antichrist

6. Extreme Aggression

7. People of the Lie

8. From Flood Into Fire

9. Terrible Certainty

10. Enemy of God

11. Voices of the Dead

12. Coma of Souls

13. Endless Pain

14. Pleasure to Kill

15. Terrorzone

16. Betrayer

17. Flag of Hate/Tormentor

P.S.: They may include "When The Sun Burns Red".
 

Expected SuidAkrA Set-list:

1. Wartunes
2. Dead Man's Reel
3. Isle of Skye
4. Over Nine Waves
5. Balor
6. Dowth 2059
7. The IXth Legion
8. Pendragon's fall

9. Birog's Oath
10. Stone of the Seven Suns
11. Let Me Put My Love Into You

12. Shattered Swords

13. Gates of nevermore

14. Darkane Times

15. Fury Fomoraigh

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Article By,

Owais 'Vitek' Wani

Today on board, we have 1833 A.D, a 4 piece Black Metal Giants from New Delhi. They bring forth a fresh approach to Black Metal digressing from the traditional abrasive sound, concocting a mixture of extreme tremolo picking riffs and mellow melodic hooks and solos. The band brings together their individual playing styles to create an atmosphere of sorrow and hatred which do justice to the lyrical themes of the band. 

Our writer Vikas Khokher recently had a small interview session with Nishant(Vocals/Guitars) and this is what he had to say:

1. Welcome back to Metal Wani. How is it going? You guys must be excited for Bangalore Open Air.

Nishant: Thanks! Great talking to you again. Yes, we are really looking forward to this one. 

2. 1833 A.D is the only black metal band performing at Bangalore Open Air. The crowd will surely have lot of expectations from you.

Nishant: And we hope they do because we have a good mix of old and new songs from the album. We have a great set lined up for BOA.

3. Are you guys planning to perform in black metal mafia style at Bangalore Open Air?

Nishant: We do not do most of the antics traditionally associated with Black Metal. We do however have our own humble way of performing live and we hope the crowd likes us just the way we are.

4. You have recently released the news of 'My Dark Symphony' release, somehow gig was cancelled. You are releasing your album at the end of this month. Where can your fans grab the CD’s? Will it be available at Bangalore Open Air?

Nishant: Yea it was really unfortunate that Summer Blaze didn’t happen. However, the release has been pushed forward and the CD's along with loads of 1833 AD merch would be available at BOA.

5. What's the massive playlist for Bangalore Open Air?

Nishant: Yes we do have a massive playlist coming up and we hope to squeeze in as much as we can in the allotted time.

6. How will you describe Bangalore Open Air in one word?

Nishant: Insane!!

Thanks! See you in the PIT \m/

Read The Full 1833 A.D. Interview Here

Buy The Bangalore Open Air Tickets Here

Read Kryptos Interview Here 

Read Bevar Sea Interview Here

Read Dying Embrace Interview Here

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Interviewed By,

Vikas Khokher