In this list, we have compiled a few artists we're watching in 2015. There's a diverse selection of local talent and smaller, signed bands as well.
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Last week, Upon A Red Sky released their new EP, Aegis. You can also get the story behind the tracks in this story written by vocalist, Chris Breetzi
A vast battlefield comes into view, two armies are fighting to the death. On one side, a massive Persian army is carrying on their conquest of the world with Greece as their next conquest. On the other end, you have an army of 300 Spartan men standing between the Persian army and the end of the Spartan life as they knew it. This is the imagery playing out in Aegis, the new EP from Austria's Upon A Red Sky. Based on the movie and comic book 300, this is a blistering seven song attack on the ears and I say that in a positive way.
Musically, there's not a lot to really beat on here. The guitars are quite heavy here, a weight that constantly is punishing but never overbearing. There are also excellent riffs fill the record throughout, from melodic passages to the breakdowns that kick you in the teeth. The drums kick you right in the chest, beating like the feet of a thousand soldiers running onto a battlefield. Vocalist Chris Breetzi is a dead ringer for Whitechapel's Phil Bozeman, with his highs and lows cutting through the sonic barrage with a fine clarity. Together, all these elements form an excellent soundtrack for the epic battles of 300. Hell, I feel like throwing this one and watching the movie at the same time, it compliments it that well.
I enjoyed this EP quite a bit, I love 300 to death and it's awesome to see a band like UARS putting out something like this. UARS has a lot of potential here and this release shows that this band has the chance to really make an impact in the deathcore scene. Who knows, maybe this EP could break them here in the States, something I'd love to see. So do yourself a favor and put this EP on and prepare to dine in hell.
9/10
Upon A Red Sky have announced their new EP, Aegis, which is a concept following the movie, 300. The EP will be available May 4th. Their first EP can be purchased below at Amazon
Our friends in Upon A Red Sky will be entering the studio to record soon. View a message from the band below.
Upon A Red Sky frontman Chris Breetzi takes us through the band’s new EP In A Crisis. Buy the album (if you haven’t already) and read the descriptions below:
After The Catastrophe
The first song on our EP is about the instability of our current global financial system. Latter is visualized as a big tower that could collapse every second, due to the fact that so many people doing shit with money (“Everybody is poking him”). When the tower collapses, money is worthless (“Your hive turns into dust”) and we’ll all be buried in his debris. History proved that we can’t change this system, so we rebuild the tower with the same fatal vulnerability (“We’ll rebuild you with the same unstable heart”).
Misused
"Misused" is in general about the exploitation of religion. People are following pseudo leaders ("Thousands of victims running into open arms") and think that everything commanded and told is for the sake of worshipping god ("Stealthed as Dedication To him"). I wish everyone of them the power to reveal the real motives of their leaders ("Look through the facade, exposing your leader") and go back into the right direction again ("..that deceive you from the truth that lies somewhere out there. Find out what lies beneath.")
Parasite
The topic of “Parasite” is the pollution and exhausting of mother earth. The first paragraph of the song is similar to an old Indian saying that describes that when the whole nature is gone - we finally realize that we can’t eat our money. And that’s the picture that I had in my mind when i wrote the second paragraphs. A human being sitting on a huge hive of money (“Sitting upon your own green gold”), inhaling the polluted air(“and you can inhale your industrial’s breath”) and eating it because there’s nothing else left. As I personalize the earth into a mother, its obvious that we’re treating her really bad (“Raping Mother Earth”) and that we’re mutilating her organs e.g. the rain forest (“Her green heart was ripped out of her chest”). Humanity on earth is pretty much the same as a parasite - if we would have such a parasite on our body, we would instantly react and eradicate him.
Kingslayer
Our song “Kingslayer” is about the riots going on in the whole arabic world. Finally people have the power and the courage to stand up and say no to their tyrans. I imagine the people storming the golden palace (“We’re shattering your walls”) of the despot and then destroying his monument in a physical and mental way (“And break your monument of fear”). The country is finally freed from its shackles, but its a long way to a working democracy (“Your reign is over, let us rebuild a country in ashes”).
In A Crisis
Our classic “In A Crisis” is about the financial crisis. In this song the financial crisis is portrayed as a monster that threatens the world (“Holding the ball with its huge pranks”). Another topic are human beings doing wrong things with their money (“Lots of green paper implying responsibility, responsibility misleading into distrust”). The ironic thing is that we want to extinguish the crisis with the money itself - which is the cause of this problem (“Try, to fear the monster with itself away”). Only the symptoms are being fought (“Not digging under the surface Not destroying the core”). But in the end we have to trust in our leaders, because we have no other choice (“We’re trusting in the the responsibles again and again and again and again”).
Get their EP “IN A CRISIS” on
iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/at/album/in-a-crisis-ep/id497196959
AmazonMP3: (available in a few days)
Vocalist Chris had this to say about the release:
Do us a favor and share this song on Facebook if you like it and tag us in your post. https://www.facebook.com/uponaredsky
Note, that we will keep nothing of the money gained from the EP to ourselves, but invest it in new music for you, dear fan of brutal noise. So with buying our EP, you are directly supporting the music you like! ;)
Post-hardcore/Metalcore/Deathcore (vbr/mp3)
Track Listing:
01. In A Crisis (Upon A Red Sky)
02. Guardians of Genocide (Voice of the Soul)
03. A Song For The Apathetic (Through Tragedy)
04. Hallucinogenic Desecration (Strychnia)
05. The Supervisor of Danger (Go, Robo! Go!)
06. Spaghettification (Mandroid Academy)
07. Powers Out Boothe (Koskee)
08. Darkest Night of the Soul (Collapse Of The Empire)
09. The Poison Well (As Thick As Thieves)