Ontario Death Fest 2017: Cryophilic

       Saturday night at Ontario Death Fest, everyone will be rested up ans ready to go. It's gonna be hard to follow up what Friday night had to bring, but dammit Cryophilic are gonna try their damnedest! These up and comers from Hamilton are born to play on stage, if there's anything I learnt from my research that's it!

        Only downside is the band doesn't have much to work with, they are currently in the process of writing and recording their first album if I'm not mistaken so Saturday night sure just be a whole lot of fun ans new music for even the oldest of fans, on YouTube though you can find a few demo versions of their songs and damn are they good. "Bludgeoned" stood out the most being a Thrash/Death crossover many bands strive to release and majority fall short of. Most bands either just end up turning into a Tech Death without enough Tech to make it worth it or just start to sound sloppy, "Bludgeoned" takes into consideration speed, anger and tone and throw in a bit of shred to make it even better. The main riff is catchy, Thrashy and is bound to get a few of the hardcore fans moving in the bit while the bridge is heavy and will get hair flowing.

        While its hard to say much without having a whole lot to go off of besides a couple demo tracks and some cellphone quality live videos, what I can say is this is a new band to watch out for, even some of the oldest in the scene should be keeping an eye out because these guys are here for the crown and it wouldn't surprise me if after releasing a full album, claimed a headline slot on an upcoming year of Ontario Death Fest. Catch Cryophilic open up Saturday night with some wicked Death Metal and lets get the blood flowing at the Coalition! 

Interview with Brittney Slayes of Unleash the Archers

      Brittney Slayes, vocalist for the Canadian Epic Metal band Unleash the Archers, took a few minutes out of her day to speak to us at Five Magics Music about the new album "Apex" that is being released June 2nd through Napalm Records!

Malacoda "Ritualis Aeterna" Review

The style of “Ritualis Aeterna” is quite unique, Malacoda have found a way to blend the styles of old school Heavy Metal mixed with some Horror tropes into the instrumentals and the use of the keys really helps to push your emotions in the direction the story is trying to make you feel. The real draw here is the vocal style of Lucas Di Mascio, the beautiful blend of haunting Power Metal vocals, almost Manson-style Industrial yells and of course the terrifying Black Metal vocals makes for a very unique experience. By mixing the different styles the tone of the song shifts drastically and gives off the idea of multiple characters to the stories.

Kicking off with “Penny Dreadful”, you get the full experience of the mixed that band is capable of. Starting off with an almost upbeat sounding Power Metal riff and vocals, you can’t expect the tone to shift so dramatically that you'd think you just changed over to Dimmu Borgir. The reason the sudden shift works is it gives urgency, you’re just going along with the Power Metal sound that when the sound changes that much your mind goes “damn, what did I just miss” and if you’re anything like me, will make you want to read into the lyrics and follow the story that’s being played out for you.

Another song that shows off the style really well, probably a little bit better actually, is “There Will Always Be One”, but since it’s the same sort of idea I want to focus on its intro, “Linger Here”, first. The thing about “Linger Here” is it comes out of nowhere, the song is a ballad, not a long one but a ballad nonetheless. It’s a bit of a risky move to throw something like this in the album, it can throw a lot of people off and make them skip that part of the album, but I think the length and placement is perfect. It's the second to last track on the album so at that point you’re already pretty invested in finishing out the album. On top of that, it’s short so before you really realize and might decide to change it, it’s over and you’re in the next track. Lastly, as a ballad it obviously has a sad tone to it so it lasts long enough to make you feel exactly what Malacoda want you to feel, without bumming you out for the rest of the day.

Overall, I think this is an exceptional album that deserves a lot of praise. Malacoda put everything they could into “Ritualis Aeterna” just to make an outstanding release and if I can convince just a couple of you this album is worth giving a chance then maybe it’ll end up with the recognition it deserves.

95/100

Black Absinthe "Early Signs of Denial" Review

                Here comes an album that I have no idea how to categorise, Black Absinthe and their third album “Early Signs of Denial”. This is an album that incorporates all the old Heavy Metal sounds, some thrash techniques and a bit of Death/Black Metal influences. Let’s go for a ride and see what all this album has to offer, shall we?

                Early on, you’ll find the song “Now”, which features a blend of sounds from The Offspring and Mastodon. The general sound of the song is upbeat, quick pace and has some real punk resemblance, especially in the chorus, but the part that really catches me is the Mastodon sort of screams and rasp added in to make the vocals sound even more aggressive and contrast with the sort of more Rock sounding chorus. After the second chorus and a brief slow down the song kicks it up and really floors it, much quicker Metal pacing and an awesome guitar solo will bless your ears very quickly before heading back into the chorus and yet another Mastodon scream to end it out.

                When “Now” ends it brings the sounds of a chilling wind with it, which will bring us right into the tapping into of “Winter”. Man, this song works,  after the tapping intro, the song slows right down for the verse. Once the song kicks back into gear, the instrumentals get very melodic and heavy, but it’s post chorus that catches me. You get a small glimpse of it early on, but once the instrumentals start that have a marching feel it really gets good, straight Black Metal vocals and a quick great solo. Think of Metallica, but James Hetfield gets inspired by Immortal for a song, that’s kind of what “Winter” is. The song ends out with the tapping guitars again and it leaves a chill right in your bones.

                It’s hard to say exactly what Black Absinthe play, but who cares. “Early Signs of Denial” is an album that pretty much anyone can enjoy, it’s quick, it’s easy to listen to and its awesome. Regardless of whether you like the more Extreme Metal style of vocals or not, there are so many different influences in this one album that you should be able to find something you like. Is in innovating and groundbreaking? No, probably not. Is it awesome, worth a listen and worth checking out? Fuck yes! The band will be playing a CD release show on May 14th at the Coalition in Toronto and if you’re in the area, you’ll want to be there!

75/100

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Van Halst "World of Make Believe" Album Review

                It’s been a few months since the release of the single “Save Me” but Van Halst have finally released their Gothic-y debut album “World of Make Believe” and if you were a fan of the original single you won’t be surprised to like the rest of the album. The album surprised me a little more than I expected it to, which is great of course and who knows, you may really like it.

                Yes, Van Halst are fronted by a female and if you’re one of those “females don’t belong in metal” “female fronted bands suck” kind of people you can fuck off now, thanks. So to kick off the album we have “The End,” yup weird song to open with. Instrumentally this song is just straight up Heavy Metal just like “Save Me” was, the part that surprised me was the consistency in Kami Van Halst’s harsh vocals through the chorus in between the gang vocals. Even though they were included in “Save Me” a bit as well, they’re more prominent here for sure. The second part to shock me was the breakdown, considering the average breakdown like this are more prominent in the Metalcore/Deathcore scene and generally very predictable when they’re coming it was interesting for this one to just sort of pop up even if only for a few bars.

                “Save Me” was the first and only single released from the album, starting off with a hit at religion this song is very much about the lack of “need” for the supposed “higher power.” This song sounds like a really heavy Evanescence song, the riffs are fairly standard for the most part as is the presentation of the vocals except for in one section where the instrumentals are heavier and the vocals are presented in a more speedy fashion. “Save Me” is a fairly standard Heavy Metal song but kicks the shit out of what the “popular” standard Metal songs are these days.

                A bit later in the album you’ll find the groovier “Put Him Down,” this song starts off sounding like something you’d see a woman singing on a stage in a bar in a 50s era movie. Slower, groovier pacing than anything else on the album Kami Van Halst’s ability to sing like a show performer of the 50s era sort really puts your imagination on the run. With very obvious Blues inspiration into the lead guitar, even the guitar solo sounds like something straight out of an Eric Clapton album, the slower pace to the rhythm guitar underneath creates a nice contrast in styles.

                On top of all this you have ballad style songs, Heavy Metal and piano oriented songs, this is a band that wrote something to make everyone happy. “World of Make Believe” is a well rounded album that was worth the wait, even if it was months away. For an idea for anyone who isn’t close minded and instantly shuts out any band female fronted, the more Metal songs on the album Kami Van Halst kind of sound like Elena Seigman who is the woman that sings on the Call of Duty: Zombies songs in the first 2 Black Ops games, just so you know. Excellent release, excellent bands and I personally look forward to seeing them rock out at the Hard Rock Cafe in Toronto!

90/100

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Interview with Canadian Thrashers Dark Messiah!

Again from the northern wasteland known as Canada, out of Winnipeg we meet Dark Messiah. These guys are up and coming thrashers who already have a lot of draw to their shows and down even have an official release yet! With an E.P. fundraiser (and the actual E.P.) coming, these guys of Dark Messiah took time from their busy schedule to talk to us and let us know about the music, the influences and the thoughts on MegaDave!

Hey, how are you guys doing today?

Great, thanks.

Tell us a bit about Dark Messiah and where you guys come from.

We are a local Winnipeg heavy metal band. We are trying to get back to the roots of metal but with a modern twist.

You guys play plenty of local shows and are building up to an E.P release fundraiser in February. What can fans expect at this show?

We are hosting this show to help us raise money to record and release our very first E.P. All of the money raised will go towards the studio costs of recording our songs. We'd like to say thank you to the other bands; Five Hundred Pound Furnace, White Trash Heavy Metal and Awaiting The Answer for playing for free and helping us along the way. Fans can expect a head banging party that will be a hell of a lot of fun.

For your fans too far away to come to the show will you have a way for them to support the release?

Fans will be able to access our music online. Copies of the E.P will also be available for purchase that can be mailed anywhere around the world. 

How many songs can we expect on this E.P? "Dark Messiah" which you've shown off live alright will make it on I assume?

We will have about 5 or 6 songs on the E.P, and yes "Dark Messiah" will make it on there.

What's the chance at your first release having "Dark Messiah" off of "Dark Messiah" by "Dark Messiah"?

We haven't discussed the title of the E.P yet. Only time will tell. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Live you also generally play Metallica covers. Will this continue after the release of the E.P and possibly become a live staple?

We will always honor metal that came before us in our live shows but covers will slowly be withdrawn from our set as we create more original music. For the time being I would say that "The Four Horsemen" is definitely a live staple.

What are you looking into for tours? Will you guys try to get out and around Canada soon or is it too early to tell?

After the E.P is released we are aiming for a tour of western Canada. An east coast tour will happen at some point after that we're just not sure when at the moment.

How many songs will be on the E.P? Will there be a studio version of a Metallica song on it?

We'll have about 5 or 6 songs. When it comes to recordings we are going to stick to original material.

So clearly you are on the side of Megadave in the Megadeth vs. Metallica debate right?

Let's just say that Dave didn't get kicked out of Metallica. Metallica got kicked out of Dave.

Tell us a bit about your inspirations. Metallica doesn't count anymore. Who inspires you as a musician and what bands inspire your sound?

Well our singer Steve gets lyrical inspiration from Corey Taylor and Dave Grohl to name a few. Our bassist Jared is influenced alot by Judas Priest and Zakk Wylde. I myself am a huge Pantera fan and Dimebag will always be someone I idolize. Our new guitarist Lawrence likes anything fast that feels like you're about to get kicked in the teeth. As a whole we don't try to really sound like anyone else. When we make songs we just collaborate with each other and see what happens.

Last but not least, where can fans keep up with you and find your music(as it's released)?

When our E.P is released we will have a website. In the meantime you can follow us at.....

www.facebook.com/DarkMessiahWpg

On twitter @DarkMessiah204 and, our Youtube channel

www.youtube.com/channel/UCB_7W0hSWjumImFiIhvcO8w?view_as=public

Thank you guys very much for your time, best of luck with your E.P. and everything to come.

Adrenechrome "Tales From Adrenechrome" Review

                This is a band I’m not certain on how I would classify, they have a lot of groove to them but they’re full of heavier section, so how about we just call this Heavy Metal. Adrenechrome are a Canadian Metal band that can show most older bands how to write, with so many sounds from other bands you’d almost think they had Mastodon and Megadeth in the studio with them one day then High On Fire and Baroness the next. All “Tales From Adrenechrome” needs now is a studio report called “Tales From Tales From Adrenechrome” just to start confusing people.

                                 

                Right off the bad you face “A Familiar Face,” which starts off the album sounding like an incredible Mastodon jam, after the intro plays out you’re jumping right into “Lockstep” which begins again sounding a bit like Mastodon from the “Blood mountain” era, but the interesting part is when we get to the chorus. The chorus takes on more of a Dave Mustaine, softer Megadeth feel. The contrast between the high speed almost harsh vocals and slower cleaner vocals is nice and allows the musicianship of the band to show that they don’t have to be playing 1000 chords a minute.

                “God Sized Shadow” takes on a more Baroness sound knocking the speed down a little bit and keeping the tempo a little more constant, the only real change is right near the end as the song slowly, well, slows down up to a final conclusion of “she says hello.” The albums closing track “The Led Elephant” and talk about saving the best for last! Building up slow until it hits the point of explosion the song kicks into high gear going the incredible guitar work of both Tim Kehoe and Chris Friesen, not to mention the vocals of the latter mentioned Friesen that almost offer a tone of desperation while yelling “we cannot win.” The song closes out the same way it opened, with a slow crawl to the end playing probably what is one of the best riffs in this album with constant double bass pounding away in the background until it comes to a halt.

                Adrenechrome wrote one hell of an album, then recorded one hell of an album and finally, released one hell of an album. This is good ol’ Heavy Metal full of Rock N’ Rock sounds and grooves from bands that most modern Metal fans love, plus look at that album cover! The comic book inspiration mixed with Metal makes for an amazing formula for great album covers, this is  style the band should embrace and release with each album, but that’s just my opinion. There’s no reason for anyone not to check “Tales From Adrenechrome” because it’s probably better than most albums you’ve heard this year.

5/5