Composer Mick Gordon performs a medley from the DOOM soundtrack live at The 2016 Game Awards with the help of Periphery's drummer, Matt Halpern. Check it out below!
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Jarrod Alonge is back with a djent parody track featuring Mike Semesky. (ex-Intervals). You can listen to the track below.
Los Angeles based band Volumes has released a pre-production version of their new track “Vahle”, which serves a tribute to a close friend of the band who tragically passed away in an automobile accident. A final version of “Vahle” will appear on the band’s forthcoming album.
Set for an early 2014 release through Mediaskare Records, the bands’ as-of-yet titled album showcases the band’s growth musically. “We have matured as musicians and dug deeper into ourselves for this album,” stated bassist Raad Soudani. “The new album is the next evolutionary step for Volumes.” Check it out below
Brad from The New Fury joins me once again as we discuss new releases, upcoming tours, Bradley Manning, Edward Snowden and more. Past episodes can be found here. If you like the podcast, write a 5-star review for it and subscribe on iTunes.
According to our source, The Chariot are going on a headliner with Glass Cloud as support this fall. No other support has been announced yet.
With Scale The Summit’s release of “The Migration” I was a bit apprehensive to listen to an instrumental metal/ambient band. Most instrumental bands have nice sounding idea, but fail to constantly entertain the listener. Bands either overdo it and complicate the instrumentation too much, or fall short in keeping the listener enticed with the songs. But I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with “The Migration”. With the exception of a few lulls, Scale The Summit has a unique sound that finds a middle ground between energizing the listener with full band grooves as well as relaxing fans with guitar oriented ambiance. The sound and style of the band follows a similar path of bands like Periphery or even August Burns Red, but takes it a notch or two down in intensity.
Not to be discouraged though, the band absolutely has an album worth checking out. Their opener “Odyssey” is reason enough to check out the rest of the album. This song starts the listener off in a catchy guitar riff that the rest of the instruments groove along to. Most of the other songs mimic “Odyssey” in their own style keeping it interesting with familiar syncopation that can be heard everywhere in the hardcore genre.
Although the album is a powerhouse in heavy instrumental synergy, the band brings a mesmerizing sound of ambiance and reverberated guitar that fits in perfectly with the album. The sixth track “Evergreen” shows the perfect balance of ambiance as well as their full band. With these songwriting techniques, Scale The Summit takes their album a step further and treads into the story-telling part of instrumental music. Whether or not it was their goal to create a concept, a journey can be heard throughout the album. While this is an aspect that can be heard through most instrumental bands, it is not always achieved fully. Scale The Summit succeeds in telling their story of “The Migration”. The band does a more than sufficient job in tying the songs together to create an image and creation that can be followed pretty well throughout the album.
While most of this album rings of praise, there are a few dead spots throughout some of the songs on this album. The only exception here though is that this is something that comes with most instrumental bands, and in the big picture Scale The Summit does a much better job of it than other bands. Most of the ambient parts are of a good length, not boring the listener after 10 seconds, and the songs themselves prove the band to have a unique sound while keeping in the pocket of a genre.
Good instrumental bands are hard to come by but Scale The Summit reminds us all that they are not dead! Be sure to check out and experience the journey that is “The Migration”. To get a good feel for the album be sure to listen to the opener “Odyssey” or track six “Evergreen”. Keep an eye out for future Scale The Summit activity and be sure to support original and creative bands like this one!
Rating: 9/10
-Nic Cheatle
Instrumental bands; they are an uncommon commodity. Sometimes you find yourself simply wanting to jam out to some metal that doesn’t have vocals. Luckily that’s where bands such as Intervals come in. Hailing from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the four piece of Aaron Marshall and Lukas Guyader on guitars, Anup Sastry on drums, and Matt De Luca on bass compose the Progressive Metal band Intervals. With an EP already under their name titled The Space Between comes their newest release ‘In Time’.
The album begins with the song “Alchemy”, a spacey futuristic sounding opening, soon after accompanied by their signature guitar, bass, and drum work. Right away you can hear a difference in guitar tone from the previous EP. The tones they’re using on guitar sounds crunchier and more gritty, a more modern ‘djenty’ tone. Fitting for the band’s sound, however it doesn’t do much too much to make the band sound unique. What they do to stand out however revolves around their instrumental work coming together.
Songs like “Mata Hari” featuring a complex rhythm and also a complimenting lead, with instances that are fast and give off that typical djent sound we’ve all known to love; then smoothly flowing into that spacey sound again. This time with the lead guitar almost bringing you on a journey. The prog-metal elements are definitely seen in the lead guitar, with beautiful riffs tying together their songs. That’s not to say that the bass doesn’t contribute to their songs. I’m happy to hear a band that has their bass guitar actually mixed to audible levels. A good bass tone always ties songs together well, and Intervals are no exception to that rule.
Intervals, thankfully aren’t the type of band to rely on repetitive chugging to hold their songs together and to fill up the space with something unnecessary. Don’t expect anything on the level of Animals as Leaders however, Intervals have gone with a different approach to the instrumental metal genre. Songs such as “Momento” actually seem to have taken inspiration from bands such as Monuments, utilizing a palm muting technique to get what sounds reminiscent of their song The Uncollective. The style in which they use it accompany that dream like flow they have with their leads. There is also a beautiful clean sounding verse on the final song of the EP “Epiphany” that I honestly would have loved to hear more of. Not necessarily in that same track, but in another track or two to extend the EP a bit. It adds character to their work.
I’m disappointed in the length of this release however. Though it is slightly longer than their previous EP, In Time at 22 minutes feels short to me. It starts, and then it ends. The other side of that coin however is that if they were to include more it would have just felt like filler, just something to extend the life of the album without adding anything significant. Now I’m sure there are many people out there wishing that the band would have a vocalist, and I believe it would be unnecessary.
The lead guitar while staying lead, already takes on the role that vocals would effectively enough. Intervals have definitely cemented their place among other instrumental metal bands, and I anticipate hearing more from them in the future, so long as they’re able to keep it fresh and change it up. Make sure to pick up their EP when it drops on October 30, 2012.
- Christian
I’ll be honest; I used to hate Periphey because of Spencer’s vocals on their debut self-titled. After their 2011 release of the Icarus EP, I quickly changed my stance. Having a chance to catch them on their headline tour with The Human Abstract, I was blown away by Spencer’s ability to hit high notes live. The band is currently in Europe in a support slot for Dream Theater and took time to answer some questions.
Spencer:
How do you go about writing vocal melodies and hooks over such intricate progressions, timings, etc. I can imagine approaching instrumentals with lyrics to fit into them can be quite daunting. Is it just yourself writing them or do the rest of the band have a say?
For the new album, I wrote all of the vocal melodies and lyrics. ive just gotten used to the band’s sound over the past 2 years and have adapted to writing over the complexity of the music.
How do you ensure that your influences simply “influence” the writing on your albums and not affect the uniqueness of your sound? With that said, do you feel that you’ve stayed true to your own unique sound as much as possible on the last album?
Since I didn’t have much of a hand in writing the vocals for the last album due to time constraints, you can expect to hear a different approach to all the singing and screaming on this next record.
In your live performances, as soon as your start screaming or growling, you have a much harder time singing more demanding vocal parts. Eventually by the end of the set it sounds like you find it almost impossible to sing higher notes. What impact has this had on how you arrange your set list, and how you take care of your voice outside of your performance?
You may be watching videos where my voice is suffering from not having enough rest or I may have been sick. Screaming has never hindered me being able to hit higher notes.
What made you decide that you would do two records in one year as most bands would simply ride the tide on the one album?
We are starting on the next record after completing this one we are currently working on. We are not making any promises about when the second one will be out. If it is finished this year then we will release it, but we are definitely not rushing it by any means.
Misha:
State your name and profession please.
Misha Mansoor, Dark Mage
What’s your view on the whole “djent” label/genre? It’s doing really well as it has spawned a lot of bands. (even though it’s just a guitar sound)
I think that people aren’t entirely sure what it is, and neither am I. I write music the same way I always have, and if people want to call it that, then that’s fine by me. It has grouped us with a lot of really cool upcoming bands, so that’s definitely a perk, but our approach has always been progressive: do whatever you want, so long as it sounds good.
How do you build the songs for what finally makes the album? Do you come up with a story that allows you to imagine a soundtrack to it or does something you play just inspire you?
It’s just ideas that come out of nowhere, sometimes they become songs, sometimes they dont. I dont really have much control over the creative process, when it happens, it happens!
How has it been with the label for you guys? A lot of bands have been saying very positive things about the label, but some bands have also spoken negatively of it. Ash himself is very outspoken. How has it been working with Sumerian for you guys?
We work great with them. Ash and Shawn are excellent and innovative businessmen and i think Sumerian are one of the few labels who are looking at ways to work with the current music industry and getting creative with it.
Have there ever been any incidents in the studio where you felt you couldn’t work with the band? (ex. fighting over every little detail?
We all actually get along quite well in the studio, if there are issues we discuss things and find a compromise where everyone is happy.
What are your thoughts on the continual volume increases in the industry, where music has just gotten louder, or more crushed, at the expense of dynamic range?
I think that there should be no general rule about anything when it comes to music. If people want to make louder music, they should be allowed to do so, if they want to keep it soft, they can do that too. I think it’s silly to force opinions on things that are so subjective.
How was it working with Veil of Maya on their upcoming release?
They are good friends of mine and it was just like hanging out, watching movies, having a good time while making an album. The vibe was awesome and the whole thing went by so fast somehow even though we pretty much wrote the album at my place, really proud of that album!
Last question; Will we ever see a full band version of my favorite Bulb track, Heliovice? How many Bulb tracks have turned into Periphery songs?
Perhaps, the best Bulb tracks become Periphery tracks, it just has to fit the vibe and make the cut.
I first saw After the Burial back in October on the Crush Em All Tour II and was impressed by their command of the 8 string. They’re currently writing for a follow up to their 2010 album, In Dreams. You can catch them this spring on The Recorruptour which will be headlined by Whitechapel and features Miss May I and The Plot In You with Structures and Within The Ruins on certain dates. Justin was kind enough to answer some questions about his guitars, and advice to upcoming guitar players.
Please introduce yourself and your role in the band.
I’m Justin and I play guitar and have been known to handle some production duties here and there.
How many years have you guys been playing, what sorta of practice did you do to get where you’re at now, and what is your warm up routine?
We’ve been a band for a little over 7 years now. We used to practice quite a bit more as a band compared to now. Back then, we had all of our members living close together around Minneapolis, and now only 3 of us live in the Minneapolis area. The difference is now, compared to the way things were back then, is we are almost always on tour. My warm up routine is simple, it usually just consists of me having a beer and playing my guitar for a few minutes. Anything to get the blood flowing.
The latest album, “In Dreams” is a year old. What are some misconceptions people have about the album?
I’m not sure, I don’t really look into that very much. However, I think people may not know that some of the album’s music actually has come from demo material that was written from as long ago as when the band started.
What made you decide to want to use an 8 string guitar for your songs and what are the advantages using it over a classic 6 string, if any?
I wanted to tune lower, without detuning my guitar too much. I was big into the 7 string guitar for a really long time before making the switch to 8. The 8 just made sense, because we could stay relatively close to standard tuning and still have the opportunity to tune very low as well. If anything, it was a bit of a challenge trying to decide what the best tuning for the bass was going to be.
What type of gear do you use in the studio and how does that correlate and translate to a live touring rig?
My studio and touring rigs are similar in that I use the Fractal Audio Axe-Fx Ultra pre-amp for both. Studio-wise, the setup I use for almost everything is pretty simple; MacBook Pro, Logic, Toontrack and Spectrasonics software instruments, Nord Lead 2, Axe-Fx Ultra, a pair of Yamaha HS-80m monitors, and an Apogee Duet interface. Live I use the Axe-Fx Ultra, powered with a Rocktron Velocity 300 power amp and controlled by the Voodoo Lab Ground Control Pro. I also use the Line 6 g90 relay wireless system. The main guitars I use live and in the studio include 2 Ibanez RG2228’s, one custom Ibanez 8 string, featuring a body similar to that of the RG2228 with a maple fingerboard, and an Ibanez RG3570z. All of the 8 strings are fitted with Seymour Duncan Blackout 8s.
What goes through your head when writing your songs; where do you draw inspiration from?
Sometimes there are too many different things going on in my head at once, so it’s tough to actually decide and be set on one riff/idea. Inspiration comes from all over though…For example, I got the idea for the riff at about 1:21 in our song “Berzerker” from reading the prices of the first three beers at the top of a drink menu at this bar Jimmy’s in Vadnais Heights, MN. Inspiration truly can come out of anywhere. With all members of the band, there are quite a few different inspirations and influences spread between all of us which I think can help give us a unique sound when we bring them all together.
How does a normal song process go for you? Do you start with guitar riffs and eventually evolve from there?
Most of the time, the song will start out with a riff or two. One thing I like to do is record a really long demo that has about 10 different riffs in there. They don’t necessarily all go together in that context, but we’ve been able to pick and choose from them and build songs around maybe one or two specific sections of the demo. That isn’t how it always works though, sometimes we’ll have a demo that basically becomes the song. For example our song “Pendulum”, Trent had the skeleton of that song and most of those riffs close to what the final song was. So it could go either way, sometimes we’ll be working in demo world, and an entire song will just present itself and won’t take on too many readjustments after that.
Are there any new singles and/or music videos coming out soon; maybe one for My Frailty.
As of right now, our main focus is writing our new album. Things are moving along, and it’s a really exciting time for us. There aren’t any immediate plans for a new video, but I’m not ruling that out in the near future.
What’s your view on the whole “djent” label/genre? (Even though it’s just a guitar sound)
My view on it, is that it’s cool, but you probably won’t hear me use the word very often. I think I’m part of an older generation of metal fans that like to keep the genres simple and to the point and stick to the ones that have been around for years. If it’s heavy, it’s heavy. No need to go in splitting hairs trying to pinpoint the exact right adjective to classify a genre. I think it’s taken on a life of its own with the younger metal fans and it seems like media is grasping on to the term as well. I’m totally fine with this because in my mind, anything that helps someone describe something to someone else and it has a positive outcome because of it I think is a good thing. For example, let’s say someone who says our band is “djent” has some friends that haven’t heard After The Burial and wants to tell them about it:
KidA- “Hey! You guys should definitely check out After The Burial”
KidB- “Yo, what do they sound like?”
KidA- “Well, I think they might be hellapolydjentcore mixed with a little shredjent”
KidB- “OHH FUK YAAAA. I love me some djent…I get dowwwwn to that shiiiat”
Then, if KidB goes home and checks us or any band out somewhere like YouTube and digs it, that’s awesome. That is how I think “djent” as a label/genre can be a good/cool/positive thing, whatever it takes to help describe music that people can relate to and understand that can potentially produce genuine results.
Do you have any advice for any guitarists/musicians who have reached a plateau in their playing and wish to go beyond it?
Absolutely, play as many shows as possible, and hit the road for a while. Constantly challenge yourself musically, in one way or another.
You guys played the All Stars Tour this past summer; are you playing Warped Tour or anything like that next year?
We had a blast at the All Stars Tour. It’s a little too soon to say, but we are looking to do some sort of major touring again this summer.
Any last words for people reading this?
Happy New Year! We’re really excited to getting back out on the road this March with whitechapel. Look for some new music from us coming later this year!!