Death Thrash Supergroup Dieth; The iconic line-up of grammy award winning bassist Dave Ellefson (ex-Megadeth), Swedish Grammy nominated guitarist/vocalist Guilherme Miranda (ex-Entombed A.D) and drummer Michał Łysejko(ex-Decapitated) release their debut full-length album via Napalm Records - To Hell And Back.
The title track To Hell And Back starts with some traditional acoustic harmony with bass, that wouldn’t be out of place in an early Metallica album.This is contrasted with sudden …Death! And some good ol’ heavy groove. It’s clear from the get go that all members are on top form. Thumping bass lines , shredding guitars and ferocious drums waste no time in telling us exactly what Dieth are about.
Don’t Get Mad… Get Even! There’s something just fun and energetic about thrash music with chants. Wicked Disdain. Bangs head in happiness. Well produced Death Thrash should definitely be a more popular genre. There’s something almost Pantera-esque about a lot of this song. Brutal, Grooving, Heavy as ten bears! Free Us All has a bass intro then chug! Chuggier than a train with breathing problems. More chanting, which I’m not too sure about but Guilherme Miranda pulls out an absolute face melter of a solo and the riffs are great.
Heavy Is The Crown is a much more basic number but an easy song to nod your head and sing along to. This one I think I’d enjoy a lot more live. The first half I’m not too keen on, but it picks itself up at the halfway mark. Walk With Me Forever showcases David Ellfson’s lead vocal performance debut. And it’s not bad at all. Unfortunately, it does remind me a bit of somebody he’s worked with, particularly during The World Needs A Hero album. Dead Inside meanwhile is Thrash , Thrashy evil Thrash with some more killer leads. It may not be anything innovative but it had my head and feet going for the duration.
The Mark Of Cain is Death, Deathy evil Death then Thrashy Death. Michał Łysejk’s drums are awesome on this track! I don’t know much about Guilherme Miranda but I’m fairly certain Dimebag Darrell is a big influence and I’m going to listen to some Entombed A.D. after this. Ellefson’s bass tone is bloody great too! In The Hall Of The Hanging Serpents; their debut single, is a good thrash song ,but apart from a decent breakdown and leads, offers little to discuss. Severance is the mandatory instrumental cool down after thrashing oneself into A&E is a pretty number. A nice, slow beat with some decent harmonies lines between the bass and guitar are all good choices to play us out.
Although not particularly original, I really liked it. I mean, If you want a more old school thrash experience I’d recommend this over both Metallica and Megadeth’s newest albums. Saying that, it is far more than just thrash. The death and grove influences really give it that extra flavour and the choice of tones and production make it a really good sounding record. 7/10
Dead Quiet - Dead Quiet IV (Artoffact Records) [Rich Piva]
Man am I a sucker for organ in my rock. So, when I heard about a new album from the Vancouver, BC dark stoner/blues rock band Dead Quiet, my pre order fingers were warmed up and ready to go, because up to this point, they have given us three killer records that have all been great, but somehow leaving you thinking these guys can do even more. Enter the aptly titled IV, which is next level stuff for the band in their song writing, production, and overall sound. IV is eight tracks of killer stoner blues rock that we have heard from the band before but there is a heaviness and maturity to this record that takes them to some new heights.
Take the opening track, The Hanging Man, that right off the bat hits you with a driving rhythm and that killer organ right up front in the mix. I have heard comparisons to Graveyard and Witchcraft, but to me these guys are more raw, heavy, and emotional than those bands (both of which I love by the way). There is a danger and an urgency to IV that you can hear in the vocals and the playing. I also get a Murder City Devils vibe from these guys given the organ and urgency that both bands employ. No Gods, No Gold is up next, which has even more of a doomy/occult rock feel to the heavy blues rock goodness. Oh, and how about that twin guitar NWOBHM solo?
Dying To Live Again is introduced via a minute long acoustic interlude until the thunder and doom vibes hit you. This is the most “metal” song you will get from Dead Quiet, and it may be my favorite song they have ever done. The unique sound of this track is something to behold, and the urgency is once again right up front like you are dangling off a cliff and your fingers are slipping one by one. You get it all in this seven-plus minute track of which words will do it no justice. Existential Dread brings the heavy and is there such a thing as hardcore blues? If not, now there is.
Another interlude brings us to High Roads, which is the most straight-ahead rock song on IV highlighted by great guitar work and an organ solo. I swear I made the Murder City Devils comparison before I realized there was a track called Murder City on IV, which validates it (in my mind at least), but instead of that I hear some serious evil Blue Oyster Cult vibes in this track, which I am always here for. I love how they closed with the 80s metal tinged Leave The Light On. A perfect coda to this excellent record.
Dead Quiet have what may be their best album yet with IV. The urgency and danger to this record makes it a visceral experience that everyone should be a part of. If you like your stoner blues heavy and with lots of organ and emotion, Dead Quiet IV is here for you to help you wallow in whatever ails you at any given moment. 9/10
Dead Quiet have what may be their best album yet with IV. The urgency and danger to this record makes it a visceral experience that everyone should be a part of. If you like your stoner blues heavy and with lots of organ and emotion, Dead Quiet IV is here for you to help you wallow in whatever ails you at any given moment. 9/10
Rainbows Are Free - Heavy Petal Music (Ripple Music) [Rich Piva]
When Ripple Music announced the signing of the killer heavy psych/stoner/metal hippie band Rainbows Are Free about a year ago, I was pumped to get some new material from the Norman, Oklahoma group.
Their last record, Head Pains, was an unheralded classic, and I was very excited about what was next for the band. So, when I got my preorder info for Heavy Petal Music (awesome name for this album given how these guys roll) I was surprised, not disappointed but surprised, that the first release on Ripple was going to be a career spanning live record, given we were due for some new stuff since Head Pains came out in 2019. But in Todd we trust, and after thinking about it, this is a brilliant move to get a broader audience interested in the band. By all accounts (I have not been lucky enough to witness it yet) Rainbows Are Free are a killer live act, so what better way to introduce these guys to the masses via what they do best. I think this was the right move because Heavy Petal Music absolutely rips it up to the point you can see the tie dye flying and the feel sweat pouring as if you were there.
Heavy Petal Music is taken from a hometown gig at the Summer Breeze Music Festival amongst throngs of loyalists who you can tell are having an experience. The band has been around for fifteen years and have three great albums and an EP to pick from for their setlist which was done flawlessly for the record. These guys are heavy psych stoner goodness, with the emphasis on the heavy, bundled with endless energy and without a good band to compare them to. You can feel the emotion right off the back with the set opener, Come, from their first full length, Believers In Medicine. A slow burner that has lead singer Brandon Kistler letting out all his pent-up rage over the last year and a half of the pandemic, as this was their first show after all the shit hit the fan.
We start to really get moving with one of my favorites, Electricity On Wax, which is like a stoner/Kraut/psych mashup that is here to smash you right in the face. The sound and production of this live album is amazing, it could be easily mistaken for a live in the studio record if it wasn’t for the rabid fans screaming between songs. All in all, you get eight tracks that keeps the party going with their unique brand of heavy rock, with my personal of the set being Shapeshifter from the Head Pains album, led by the driving bass, enchanting vocals, killer solo, and an overall trippy feel like nothing else you will experience any time soon.
Remember when the live record really meant something? Well, that feeling is back with Heavy Petal Music, which captures Rainbows Are Free in their element doing what they do best. I will be patient and wait for new studio material, but what you get here is most likely the live album of the year. 9/10
Red Cain - NÄE'BLISS (Self Released) [C Hunter]
Prog-Power band Red Cain release their third full length album NÄE'BLISS. A concept album inspired by Robert Jordan’s Wheel Of Time series. The current incarnation of this Canadian metal band is said to take its influence from progressive metal and Slavic roots. As this also pretty much describes myself…Vodka and a pickle at the ready, and I’m intrigued to get stuck in.
Fisher King has me instantly thinking of Devin Townsend, as Evgeniy Zayarny’s vocals start off strikingly similar. However , once that distraction is overcome, it’s easier to hear the track for what it is. It’s clever , it’s theatrical and epic. Blight starts with some modern guitar wankery. The Periphery and Mastodon influences are clear and some top tier prog groove riffery … riphery … A great showcase in pacing.
The Great Hunt switches seamlessly between electronic and 8-string demonic groove. I automatically pull bass stank face when the Mick Gordon Kicks in . Ooof ! Ghosts in the machine on a Transylvanian mountainous road … with Mick Gordon. I don’t care if that doesn’t make sense to you, it’s what came to mind and it’s a good thing. Then We Are Chaos … Fuck me dead! Nice licks! No more comments on that one. Forgot I was supposed to be writing and got lost in the song.
Sightblinder is a more aggressive number. An instrumental with a melancholic Gothic Eastern European twang that had me thinking If Dimmu Borgir were a prog band. Ooo, a two parter, can’t really call yourself prog without one of them on the album can you. The Man Who Can’t Forget (Part I) kicks off like a sorrowful number in an alternate universe where musicals come with down tuned guitars. Crane Of Malkier (Part II) adds technical guitar melodies. Two short and beautiful pieces.
Lastly, Fires Of Heaven which features James Deibridge from Canadian Power Metal band Lycanthro has a bit of everything. Death Metal tick, Power Metal tick, Prog tick, Thrash tick, Groove tick, Symphonic tick, Shred, Electronic. The Vocalist’s work great together, swapping between styles and harmonising . Technical guitar solo wizardry is strong and a gorgeous noir like piano melody creeps in and out of the background.
Evgeniy Zayarny (Vocals), Samuel Ridout (Guitars), Tyler Corbett (Guitars), Kalie Yan (Bass/Vocals), Taylor Gibson (Drums) and everybody else involved in making this album; Have a vodka and a pickle and take a fucking Bow.
What a masterpiece!
In my last review, I gave my first 10/10 and called it my album of the year. That place has already been overtaken.
Loved it, need I say more. 10/10
Remember when the live record really meant something? Well, that feeling is back with Heavy Petal Music, which captures Rainbows Are Free in their element doing what they do best. I will be patient and wait for new studio material, but what you get here is most likely the live album of the year. 9/10
Red Cain - NÄE'BLISS (Self Released) [C Hunter]
Prog-Power band Red Cain release their third full length album NÄE'BLISS. A concept album inspired by Robert Jordan’s Wheel Of Time series. The current incarnation of this Canadian metal band is said to take its influence from progressive metal and Slavic roots. As this also pretty much describes myself…Vodka and a pickle at the ready, and I’m intrigued to get stuck in.
Fisher King has me instantly thinking of Devin Townsend, as Evgeniy Zayarny’s vocals start off strikingly similar. However , once that distraction is overcome, it’s easier to hear the track for what it is. It’s clever , it’s theatrical and epic. Blight starts with some modern guitar wankery. The Periphery and Mastodon influences are clear and some top tier prog groove riffery … riphery … A great showcase in pacing.
The Great Hunt switches seamlessly between electronic and 8-string demonic groove. I automatically pull bass stank face when the Mick Gordon Kicks in . Ooof ! Ghosts in the machine on a Transylvanian mountainous road … with Mick Gordon. I don’t care if that doesn’t make sense to you, it’s what came to mind and it’s a good thing. Then We Are Chaos … Fuck me dead! Nice licks! No more comments on that one. Forgot I was supposed to be writing and got lost in the song.
Sightblinder is a more aggressive number. An instrumental with a melancholic Gothic Eastern European twang that had me thinking If Dimmu Borgir were a prog band. Ooo, a two parter, can’t really call yourself prog without one of them on the album can you. The Man Who Can’t Forget (Part I) kicks off like a sorrowful number in an alternate universe where musicals come with down tuned guitars. Crane Of Malkier (Part II) adds technical guitar melodies. Two short and beautiful pieces.
Lastly, Fires Of Heaven which features James Deibridge from Canadian Power Metal band Lycanthro has a bit of everything. Death Metal tick, Power Metal tick, Prog tick, Thrash tick, Groove tick, Symphonic tick, Shred, Electronic. The Vocalist’s work great together, swapping between styles and harmonising . Technical guitar solo wizardry is strong and a gorgeous noir like piano melody creeps in and out of the background.
Evgeniy Zayarny (Vocals), Samuel Ridout (Guitars), Tyler Corbett (Guitars), Kalie Yan (Bass/Vocals), Taylor Gibson (Drums) and everybody else involved in making this album; Have a vodka and a pickle and take a fucking Bow.
What a masterpiece!
In my last review, I gave my first 10/10 and called it my album of the year. That place has already been overtaken.
Loved it, need I say more. 10/10
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