Two members of Fates Warning, John Arch and Jim Matheos, formed a new project called Arch/Matheos (duh) and released their debut album, "Sympathetic Resonance" after eight long years of waiting since the excellent EP "Twist of Fate". This album is like Fates Warning 30 years later except it's updated obviously. 

John Arch definitely is the mastermind behind Fates Warning's success and downfall(they sucked after he left) and now he's doing it again with this project.  I'm not entirely sure if it's going to be a permanent thing or just a project.  I guess we will find out soon enough.  Anyway, he practically picked up where he left off when he disappeared after Fates Warning time and it's like he never left the music scene.  It's crazy how great he sounds and his talents haven't faded away.

It's full of insane guitar solos and the vocals is absolutely killer.  One thing for sure, don't expect another Fates Warning album! It is very prog and and even heavier.  I even detect Nevermore style riffing in some songs.  There's a lot of variety with the tempo and vocal ranges.  I haven't become bored as I listen through the album and every song is at least enjoyable though most are great.  At the same everything flow together and each song complements each other.  There is one thing that really disappoint me is the bass.  The bass is mostly just in the background and there is nothing special about it really.  As you regular readers know I am bass fanatic and I want to hear more bass!


Definitely a great comeback album for John Arch! Recommended for progheads and anyone who dig interesting metal album.

Score: 8/10

Labels: arch/matheos, fates warning, metal, nevermore, progressive metal, review

I picked up a copy from a local metal shop today and listened to it as soon as I got home.  I've been looking forward to get a copy for a while and finally got the opportunity to buy it.  Vallenfyre is founded by Gregor Mackintosh of Paradise Lost along with members of PL, My Dying Bride, and some other band.  Mackintosh decided to form a old school style death metal band and Vallenfyre is the new superband full of famous musicians.  Same idea as Shrinebuilder and etc. 

This album is excellent old school death metal sound with big doom influences ala Entombed and Celtic Frost.  However there is nothing new with the sound but don't let that stop you from getting this album.  It's definitely great solid album.  The guitar riffs are heavy and dirty sounding.  The vocals is very gritty and really brought the sound together. The production is excellent and very gritty sounding without being too muddy and losing the clarity of being able to hear all the instruments. 

The artwork is excellent and I'm even considering buying a vinyl version of this album just for the artwork and listening to this on the good ol' wax! 

Definitely recommended for all death metal fan!


Score: 8.5/10

Labels: death doom, death metal, metal, my dying bride, paradise lost, review, vallenfyre

If you've been following my blog since the beginning then you should remember my review of their album "Sombre Romantic" and gave it a 8.5.  This album was released after "Sombre Romantic" and is a first part of the Requiem trilogy.  So far only the first two albums are released and the final part is unknown.  I really wonder if they will release the final part...

Back to the point, this album is an absolutely gorgeous gothic doom album with tons of classical influences.  The vocals are top notch and the instrument works is near perfect.  They got a symphony orchestra from their home country to play the classical parts of the album. That's pretty awesome and really expand the atmosphere of the album.   The lyrics is beautifully written and full of emotion but at the same time not so cheesy.  I don't normally over hype albums but I'm blown away from this one and it's definitely one of the best album I've ever heard.  Not just for metal genre but for music in general.  Recommended for any music fan really.


Score: 9.5/10

Labels: classical, doom metal, gothic metal, review, virgin black

I'm going to review the reissue of Sinai Beach's debut album by Victory Records.  I do own the original print but it's so terrible in production it's not even worth listening or recommendation.  So forget about the original print and let's focus on the reissue.  Sinai Beach was your typical metalcore during the height of the core music in early 2000s and they were signed to Facedown then Victory Records.  Unless you are metalcore superfan and want to own every single metalcore album in existence then don't bother with this one.

The production definitely improves over the original issue but still can't save this album.  The album is full of boring and predictable breakdowns and the vocals is awful.  There's some sound clips from random movies inserted in couple tracks and that just doesn't work here.  It works very well for Zao but Zao is good at everything they does.  I think Sinai Beach was trying to be like them but they threw in the clips just to be "different".  You can't be different for the sake of being different.  If it has purpose then do it, but if it doesn't then don't bother.  That's an important lesson all new and upcoming bands need to learn.  Unfortunately they didn't so it ruined the album in my opinion.

Score: 3/10 (gotta give them Candice song which was actually decent)

Labels: american, metalcore, review, sinai beach

The new album released by The Black Dahlia Murder.  Normally, I'm not a fan of the band ever since they formed and I never gave them chance until now.  A lot of people told me that this release is their best work and that I will definitely like it.  I decided to listen and bought a copy and give them a chance.  Boy, I'm very glad I did because it truly kicked ass!

Now, don't expect anything innovative or new to come out of this release.  It's really just a solid death metal album.  One thing that I really liked about this album is that it's very varied.  There's some tech death, some melodeath, and even some nice atmospheric sound being created by usage of strings, piano, and acoustics.   One thing that I am very impressed is how much the musicianship has improved since their debut album, Unhallowed, and they proved that they are serious musicians that just so happen to be metalheads who love to party.  There's good amount of solos that are very creative and doesn't completely take over the album.  It's all there to guide the tracks along like a support beam.

I also loved the fact that this album is only around 45 minutes long and that's right amount for this release.  I don't really hear any filler tracks and feel like each track has its own purpose in the whole concept.   That's tough thing to do for a band to pull it off and they did.  All the fans of TBDM will love this album and those who doubt should really give them second chance and give this release an unbiased listen.


Score: 8.5/10

Labels: death metal, metal, music, review, ritual, the black dahlia murder

  A California metalcore band, Thyne Scabbard, was founded in early 2000's and released only one full length as far as I know.  This debut album laid in my cd collection and has been collecting dust til few days ago and I went through my collection and I decided to give it a listen.  Honestly, I cannot remember if I gave it a listen when I obtained it years ago.

   Musicially, the band is straight up metalcore with some death metal influences.  A lot of people said it has some black metal tones in it but I don't really hear it anywhere with exception for the vocals which is high and raspy but I don't really consider that solely black metal... just a vocal style, nothing more.  The drums is very loud and clear throughout the album.  The biggest disappointment for me is the bass.  For some reason it sounds pretty fuzzy and it's more of a background and supporting the guitars.  I would like to hear the bass player to be more assertive and do some of his own solos.  Guitars is very solid and crisp.  The production is not really consistent but that's to be expected with this being an independent release.  Doesn't really bother that much.. just a note for those audiophiles.

  So far, my favorite tracks are The King of Abandon,  Lies, Lust, and Redemption,  and To Those Who Cursed Me.  Those songs are fast, heavy, and very catchy.  I definitely can see the band's potential to develop their sound with those songs.  However, the album also has some awful songs such as Reaching Out With Broken Fingers, which is boring and sound like it is a combination of two other songs on the album.   I don't like to hear an album where the songs are bit samey and I detect that with this album.  I still have to say it's a pretty solid debut album and I expect the band to progress further with next album if they do plan on it.

Score: 7/10

Labels: death metal, metal, metalcore, review, thyne scabbard

Hey readers,

     It's been awhile since I've checked in here.  I honestly thought the blog is done for good but I got an itch to start reviewing again.  However, I'll be reviewing mostly stuff that I already own in my music collection so there will be a lot of older albums.  I'll review whatever new album I purchase from now and on as well, but I don't buy as much as I used to due to finance reason of course. 

Bands, if you want me to review your music, I will, but only if you send physical copy of your music.  I'm really tired of digital music and a physical copy will certainly make it worth an effort for me.  Sorry, I'm still old school!   Just send me an e-mail: xfilesmanix -at- yahoo -dot- com.

Expect to see some new reviews coming soon.  I'm currently sorting through my music collection!

Labels: i am back, music, review

Desolate Anguish is a band from Tennessee. I cannot really describe their exact genre because they combine many different sounds to form their own unique music. There's some doom, noise, and punk. I really dig it a lot because punk just so happen to be my favorite genre and it's nice to hear some chaotic sounds incorporated in the music. This demo consists only three songs and the longest track clocks at over 12 minutes and shortest track is a little over 3 minutes long. That's some nice variety of lengths which I dig because sometimes I wanted to hear a short track and sometimes I like to sit down and truly listen to the longer tracks. The punk influence truly shines in the riffs and you can really hear the gritty and dirty style being shown in the guitar riffs which is my favorite part. The vocals is very screeching and normally that would annoy me but it really fits the music very well so I don't really mind as much as I normally would. They displayed their doom/sludge side in the construction of the songs. You can hear how things slow down as they enter the breakdowns and how heavy this sounds really are. They definitely have something special here and I am really excited to see what they will do and I was told by the band that they are entering studio very soon so they should have something new sometimes this year. I definitely recommend this for any people who dig the sludge style and punk as well. If you dig both as I do then you will really love this one.


Best Song: Traitor-Love this track- full of punky riffs and perfect mix of punk and sludge being shredded in the blender.

Worst Song: All That A Man Has He Will Give To Save His Own Life- great track but does get bit repetitive for my taste and this is where the vocals annoy me sometimes as well.

Score: 8/10- great demo and really make me looking forward to whatever they plan to spit out this year.


http://www.myspace.com/4desolateanguish

Labels: desolate anguish, noise, punk, review, sludge metal, tennessee metal

UniSEF hail from Boise, Idaho and they are proud to be one of the only Christian punk band from that area as well. Unfortunately they just split up last year so that means no plans for new album. You can still order their albums from their online store at: http://www.unisefmusic.ecrater.com/

This is some great straight up punk rock album and they definitely remind me a lot of old school punk rock like The Altar Boys...especially their early stuff. The vocals is fun and I absolutely love their lyrics. It's fun to sing along! You can hear various of influences from street punk like Rancid to a little bit ska. They are very passionate about what they sing about so you can feel that they are very genuine at what they do and believe in. They also included their songs from Death and Revolution split with Thee Impostors in this album so that's nice if you don't have the split.

Best Song: Drive Thru Amerika -very catchy and the lyrics is my favorite out of all songs.

Worst Song: Paulie-still pretty decent though.

Score:8/10

http://www.myspace.com/unisef

Labels: boise punk, idaho, jchc, punk, review, unisef

Burden is a German sludge rock band and they released a 3 song EP called "The Fool". The sound is very southern and remind me a lot of Corrosion of Conformity at least vocally. That's not necessarily a bad thing but don't expect to hear anything new. What I really dig about this stuff is it's very catchy and I can detect some blues influences which I really love when bands do that. I will give them points for that.

I have to admit I hate it when the band put out an EP that is only 3 songs long. Just call it a demo for Pete's sake. The sound is also a little bit too fuzzy for my taste and it kinda make the songs a bit less catchy than it could be with more polished mastering. The bass kinda got lost in the noise which I really don't like. I'm a bass frenzy and I want to be able to hear bass just as clearly as rest of the instruments. However the EP definitely show some promise. It's for anyone who dig some sludge-y rock that's catchy as well.

Score: 6.5/10

Best Song: "Bottled Betrayal"-very catchy and I really can see the band's potential in this song.

Worst Song: "The Fool"- the album title track that could be much better with good mastering. The sound is too fuzzy and I didn't enjoy it as much as rest of the other songs.

http://www.myspace.com/listentoburden

Labels: burden, corrosion of conformity, german, hard rock, review, sludge metal

I am officially a writer on the Untombed staff so I've been doing interviews and reviews. I've gotten permission to type in my reviews here from the magazine. However, I strongly encouraged you guys to purchase the magazine from www.divinemetaldistro.com because it's awesome! :)



Sit At My Right Hand-As The Sun Sets

An EP by Sit At My Right Hand and one of two CDs released this year. The guy is definitely one busy dude. The music is straight up death metal and it's very brutal. Some said they have experimental sound but I disagree because there's nothing new that's being done. I'm glad the production is much better with this EP than the debut album. I dig the passionate lyrics and I can see that this guy is very genuine about his beliefs and his goal for this band. However, the music composition is decent at best. The guitar riffs are good without any doubt. The drums...not so much. I really think they need to get someone who can play drums or at least know what he/she is doing with drum programming. If they invest more in that then the next album will be much better. What would be even better is for them to be picked up by a record label to get some good mastering done. I would recommend this for any fan of death metal and if you are not then don't bother. 4/7



Darkness Before Dawn-Kings To You

Darkness Before Dawn is a death metal band with considerable metalcore influences. This is their debut album released by Bombworks Records. It is too bad it was kind of "lost in the shuffle" among many releases over the summer. This is actualy a decent death metal album with nice symphonic elements with the keyboards. They do pull some breakdowns in a couple of songs and I think it's done pretty well. The best song definitely is "Undeserved hatred" which is full of great double bass drummings, spooky keys, and some great guitar riffs. The keys is bit more of a background and supporting the composition as the whole. Some people may not like that bu tI think it's a perfect mix. The main complaint I have about this album is the vocals. I think it gets boring and I've been focusing a lot on the guitar riffs and drumming to keep myself interested. The other thing is the album cover art is way too dark and should be much brighter so I can see the details. 5/7

Labels: darkness before dawn, death metal, metalcore, review, sit at my right hand, untombed

Surtr is a doom band from France and consist of two members. Pretty new band, founded last year, and released a demo. They sent me a copy and asked for a review. The demo includes three songs, two original and one cover song. The music is pretty much straight up doom which is not bad thing. I can definitely tell they are influenced by Sabbath and Reverend Bizarre(one of my favorite).

The first two songs are simply titled part I and V which makes me suspect they already have a full length in works but I could be wrong. The first song is about 9 minutes long and I really love the beginning which is full of heavy riffs. However I have to admit I get a little bored after a while and I was wondering when the song will end. The second song is much more interesting and pretty catchy. Last song is a cover song on Black Sabbath "Electric Funeral" and I think it's done pretty decently. However, I think it's getting old because I've heard tons, tons of bands doing cover on Black Sabbath songs. I would prefer a cover song on some underrated bands like Reverend Bizarre. In fact, I don't think I ever heard of any band doing a cover on Reverend Bizarre songs. If any of you guys know of one then please tell me!


Overall, this is pretty good demo and I definitely will keep an eye on this band and see what they will do with their music in future. This is good stuff for anyone who dig some catchy doom music.

Best Song: Part V

Worst Song: Part I (gets boring after a bit while)

Score: 7/10

http://www.myspace.com/surtrdoom

Labels: black sabbath, doom, doom metal, review, surtr, traditional doom

Yidhra is an upcoming doom metal band and I've heard one of their song off the DMA(Doom Metal Alliance) Sampler. I really loved the song so I went ahead and bought a copy of their EP. I have to say it's such a bargain because it was only 5 bucks!

The music is pretty much straight up doom metal and there isn't anything that haven't been done. However they played it so well that I can't help but really dig the music. It's very catchy and I absolutely love the song structure. Just listen to "Witch Queen" and you will know what I mean.

One thing I really have to commend is the production of the EP. When I heard how clear and crisp the sound is, I pretty much said "YES!". I love me underground music and totally understand the reasons behind crappy or so-so production, either on purpose or not. However, I would like to hear some good quality music every now and then. They really put their money into this release and the quality is excellent. I can hear every instruments really well and none of them are either too loud or too quiet. Huge props to the guy behind the mastering.


Best Song: "Witch Queen"

Worst Song: "Ancient Ones" (don't get me wrong...still a good song!)


Score: 8/10


www.myspace.com/yidhra

Labels: 80s metal, doom metal, doom metal alliance, review, yidhra

Doom Metal Alliance is one of the biggest supporter of the Doom scene. If you are into Doom and still haven't heard of this then you better get your butt out of the rock and check it out. They release a sampler every now and then and this is their 9th one. I have to say this is my favorite sampler so far because of a high amount of excellent bands that deserve more recognition. The sampler consist of not just Doom but Drone, some Post Rock, Ambient, Sludge, and more. All the samplers are free for download so I'm telling you it won't hurt to check it out. I know nobody would say no to free music.

Best song: Yidhra - The Lament Of Longinus (killer song and I'm really into this band now thanks to the sampler)

Worst song: Destino Entierro - The Alcholichrist (pretty decent but I prefer the other songs than this one)


Score: 8.5/10


Download here

Labels: ambient, doom, doom metal alliance, drone, post rock, review, sampler, sludge metal

Second full length by Baroness, a progressive Sludge Metal band who are famous for the masterpiece, "Red Album" and they definitely doesn't disappointed me with this album. To be honest, I'm absolutely thrilled they decide not to make the exact same album as "Red Album" because then that would be bit...stale. They change their style a bit in this album and become more fun and catchy.

This album is much more progressive and focus more on the song structure. There's some repetition throughout the album and that is a good thing. I liked the fact I'm able to hear some amazing riffs over again and again yet at same time it's not occurring so often because there is some variety as well. The vocals is not the best and when I first heard the vocals I was taken aback at first because I'm not used to that. However, I gotten used and start to really appreciate the style. It actually really fit the music really well. It's definitely not for everyone but if you either enjoy the style or can get past it then you will absolutely adore this stuff. One thing that I really dig a lot is that blues feeling hidden in there somewhere... It's there but not quite there at same time so if you kept listening to the album over and over again then you will detect it like I did.

Best Song: "A Horse Called Golgotha" such a killer song and my favorite Baroness song. Killer chorus and just amazing vocals, guitar riffs, drumming...heck it's nearly perfect song. I don't want to say it's perfect because perfection doesn't exit but this is pretty darn close!

Worst Song: none...I can't pick which is the worst because this is such a killer album and I can't bring myself to pick a song and call it "worst song" out of the tracklist.

Score:10/10- Yes I gave it a ten...it's definitely album of the year for me and quite possibly of the decade. It's up there on my top ten favorite album of all time....but I need to give it some time to see if it will pass the test of time which I am pretty sure it will.


www.myspace.com/yourbaroness

Labels: 80s metal, baroness, progressive metal, review, sludge metal

Desyre is a Glam/Hair Metal band from Finland and they already have few demos under their belt. This album is their first full length album, which is released few months ago. The cover art is pretty cheesy and very 80's, but that is to expected. However I think it could have been designed better.

The music is classic Glam Metal sounds and it's actually bit dated to me because there is nothing new being done here. They played the sound really well though and sadly that style is not my thing. I bet fans of 80s Glam Metal and Hair Metal would dig this album a lot but if you are not then don't bother with this. I do have to admit the vocalist is really good and he's very talented. Too bad he's not in something like Power Metal or just straight up Heavy Metal band because I would totally dig that much more and buy the albums.

Best Song: "Can't Let Go" you can really see the vocalist' talent in this song and I actually liked it.

Worst Song: "Yule Night Brightness"-boring and like I said...not my favorite style so I don't like most of the songs off this album.


Score: 5/10-Gave them points for the vocals and being good at what they are doing. If I am a fan of the style then the score would be higher but I'm not.

www.desyre777.com

Labels: 80s metal, christian, desyre, glam metal, hair metal, review

Somber Gravity is one of many projects by Napalm Dave, and a very dark ambient/darkscape with horror/sci fi theme. The project has been around for years and he finally decided put it to rest with this two albums finale. I was actually sad to hear that because this is really an excellent project and it's free to download...can't beat that!

I'll start with The Burial album. I really dig the prevalent theme mostly about horror and sci fi influenced lyrics on death and end of life. It's pretty fitting considering this is the last Somber Gravity material ever to be released. I really dig the ambiance on the track "This Bitter End We Meet Without" which happens to be my favorite track on this album. The best part of the entire album has to be the samples Dave used because they aren't that obvious with first listen but if you listen carefully then you will be able to noticed where those samples came from. I won't tell you what it is because that is the fun part of listening to the album!

Now, The Funeral album. Pretty much similar as the first album and a good conclusion for the project in general. I think this one is "softer" and more somber with the lyrics and the music composition. Love the song "Prelude To The End of My Life" and my main complaint with this album is that its much shorter than the Burial. At first I was suspicious of the two albums concept because most of the time when a band does that it would be too long and the music would be bit too spread out. However this isn't true for this project and I'm really glad Dave decided to do double album concept to end it. It's definitely a grand finale.


Score: 9/10

Best Song: "This Bitter End We Meet Without"-best song hands down on this albums and quite possibly out of all Somber Gravity tracks.

Worst Song:" Dead"-still a decent track but could use some more variety because it sounds bit "same-y" with other tracks in general.


http://napalmdrones.niceboard.net/forum.htm (a forum where you can find this release and learn more about Dave's other projects)

Labels: ambient, darkscape, review, somber gravity

This is a debut album by one man project called Hguols and will be released by EEE Recordings in December. I'm fortunate to receive the promo copy from the guy behind this project.

I've heard of the project awhile ago and when I found out its 100% MIDI used, I was actually suspicious because normally when someone use MIDI to make music, it sounds terrible and cheap. I was blown away and surprised when I gave the song on his myspace a listen. Now, I finally have the album and gave it listen yesterday and all day today. It's definitely a GREAT album for a debut effort.

The music is definitely very raw black metal with a lot of ambiance for atmosphere. Obviously there is no real instruments since this is 100% MIDI but the composition is pretty much top notch. I absolutely love the guitar patterns and the distortion being used in many of the songs.
I think the drumming is the weakest point of the album because honestly...nothing beat the real drumming. Generally I'm not a fan of programmed drumming so that's why it's a minus for me. However, it doesn't ruin the album so it's still enjoyable.


Best Song: "...Of Blackened Skies"-love the ambiance in this song and guitar absolutely slays!

Worst Song:"...Of Threnodies Abided"-overal a decent song but bit boring to be honest. I already started to skip this song.

Score:7/10


www.myspace.com/hguols

Labels: black metal, christian, hguols, review

If you don't know who Impending Doom is then you must've been living under a rock. Impending Doom is one of the most popular Christian metal band in the scene. This is their second album and I have to say I am a little disappointed. Gone is the pig squeals and the raw feeling that Nail. Dead. Risen. had. Granted, the production is a lot better but the passion is not really as strong as the debut album is.

This album is pretty much a standard deathcore album and that is not necessarily a bad thing but I was hoping that Impending Doom could set themselves apart from the rest of the deathcore scene like they did with the debut album. I guess they actually wanted to be the same and that disappointed me. If you are a fan of deathcore then go for this album. If not then stay away!

Best Song: "More Than Conquerors" and "Revival:America" =shows their skills and passionate vocals plus the second song mentioned is what I was expecting from them.

Worst Song: "City of Refuges"-I skip this track a lot...just boring.


Score: 6/10- decent deathcore but still a disappointment





www.myspace.com/impendingdoom

Labels: christian, deathcore, impending doom, metal, review

An Aussie thrash/death metal band, Malignant Monster, released this seven tracks EP, "Foul Play" in 2005. I got a copy from an Aussie friend and I've been really digging this album for a long time. I'm really glad to see this EP with SEVEN tracks. I always hate it when an EP have fewer than 4 tracks. I mean come on...give me a break!

When I heard the first track, "Old Corpus Delecti", for first time...the first thing to pop in my head is...FINALLY! some good modern thrash metal. The drums are very thrashy and fast. Good blastbeats and you can definitely pick up death influences. The guitar works are pure thrash while the vocals bring some variety with black metal style growls. They did a pretty good cover on Megadeath's song "Liar" as the last track on the EP. I've been noticing more and more quality metal coming out of Aussieland. Total props for the country!

Best song: "My Rage"-full of brutal force and solid instrument works. Lyrics is very catchy too.

Worst song: "Turrets of Blood"- the least thrashy song out of the album. Doesn't really do much for me. They better not expand on this song on next album. Stick with the first couple of songs.


Score: 7.5/10

www.myspace.com/malignantmonster

Labels: aussie metal, black metal, death metal, malignant monster, metal, review, thrash metal