Metal State BOLO

BOLO = Be On The Lookout.  Not sure if this term applies outside of the U.S.

I have been lazy keeping up with things that come across our inbox.  For that, I apologize.  I should never deprive anyone of metal because I am just too busy.  It’s not fair to you.  So, let’s play catch up!  Below is a list of various styles of metal you may find attractive in more ways than one. Enjoy and have a great day.

Huntress will be releasing their forthcoming album on September 25th via Napalm Records.  Here is their lyric video for Flesh.

New Music Videos in June

A small selection of new music videos released in June, including Septekh, Being As An Ocean, Nekrogoblikon, Mutilation Rites, Deadspace and ColdSpell.

 

Being As An Ocean – Little Richie (melodic hardcore), from their self-titled third album released June 30.

—-

Lazy proggy Sunday afternoon

Weekends are when I park off in the Metal State vaults while the other writers argue about who should have won the Eurovision song contest. Unsupervised, I pick out new prog rock and extra-proggy metal to try. This afternoon, between naps and snacking, I found some goodies.

Some of these new or forthcoming releases are pure prog rock. Others are crossover prog rock / prog metal, some are prog metal, and some are… they’re music. Good music doesn’t recognise the boundaries that are supposed to surround it.

 

A Few Things to Check Out…

As summer looms, it must be a good time to release metal because it seems to be coming at us from all angles.  Here is another group of music files, videos, and clips to take a listen to. This is a diverse grouping, so be prepared.

Pyramaze is about to release Disciples of the Sun on May 22^nd.  The title track below is their first video.  They fall under the umbrella of melodic metal, but don’t let labels steer you in any particular direction. The music should do the talking.

  

A Few Things to Check Out…

I wish we had time to talk about every band/artist that gets sent to us.  Unfortunately, time is not always on our side despite our finest efforts.  But, we do our best to spread the word because no one should be deprived of metal in whatever metal subgenre it comes in.  Here are a few bands we checked out that may or may not find a home in your music library someday.

Have you ever thought about what Maroon 5 would sound like with growling vocals?  Neither have I.  Honestly, I never knew such a thing existed.  Personally, I can’t really stand Maroon 5, but hearing someone else metalize it puts a new spin on it.  The Persevering Promise currently has their debut album out called An Illusion in Shambles.  If you are into genre labels, they are considered post-hardcore, but it would be hard to tell from the cover song, so I included another song from their album.

New videos in March 2015

A small selection of new metal videos that came out in March. I promise, it’s no joke! Enjoy!

—-

Inter Arma – Destroyer, from their 2013 album “Sky Burial” (blackened sludge/post metal)

—-

Exploring New Things: Jakub Zytecki, guitarist

Some of you might know this young man as “the shred-master of feels” in the Polish prog band DispersE, or from his channel on Youtube, as he’s quickly becoming a well known name in prog rock/metal circles. Jakub Zytecki has the talent, the skills and the charm, all of which he’s ready to show off to the world in his upcoming solo debut, released next week. Today the second single was presented to us, and in similar fashion to the first one, it left me deeply impressed and excited for what’s to come. Easy flowing interesting compositions, a great vocalist and dreamy guitar work – the songs freshness and complexity exceeded my expectations by far. Have a listen!

Mystery, intrigue and inception: Michael X

I was present at the birth of my son. I was there when numerous litters of puppies and kittens were born, and when my Harpactira tarantula, Miss Piggy, kept guard over an egg sac until about 100 baby tarantulas emerged. This is the first time I’m following a music project from its beginning.

So far it is just one song, “Michael X”, from an EP, album or maybe some other type of production currently named “Michael X”. The man behind the adventure is named Michael X. All the vocals are sung and all the instruments are played by Michael X. All he has on his website so far is what you see in the YouTube video, below. He also has a Soundcloud page where you can get the song.

What I know from Michael X is that the project will be introspective and self-exploratory. His ideas for making his own music have been germinating since he was barely larger than a Harpactira. The first song of “Michael X” offers clues about the theme. The news item at the beginning is part of the song.

That is the inception. The mystery will be how the theme develops and what it’ll eventually become. The intriguing part was trying to figure out what sort of music Michael X composes and plays. Is it prog metal, heavy prog rock or art metal? I’d say it’s all of those plus prog/metal electronica. This X-man had better keep me briefed as his further work unwraps itself.

Sonic Cathedral’s female-fronted roundup for February

As we did last month and as we intend to do every month, we’re very pleased to share some of the information posted during the month by our friends at Sonic Cathedral, the website that specialises in reviews of albums by female-fronted bands. Sonic Cathedral covers a wide range of female-fronted metal and rock.

Once again we’re presenting the album details, an intro from SC, and a link to the full review on SC’s website.

Sonic Cathedral has a web magazine and music store and a Facebook page. We highly recommend both of those places to female-fronted bands, labels and fans.

Grinding Recommendations

Corrupt Leaders

A selection of newly released grindcore.

French band Bind Torture Kill (BTK) gives us their first full length, death metal/mathcore influenced “Condamné” (January 26th, self-released)

—-