Friday, March 12, 2010
NATIONS AFIRE
The Uprising
I'll admit that sometimes I'm a little slow in the fast paced world of punk, metal and hardcore. What can I say man, I do this for fun and have a killer 9-5 job that takes up most of my time. But when I stumbled upon Nations Afire it made me reali
ze how much of a rock I've been under for the last year or so. Nations Afire is a four piece punk/hardcore act that hails from California. Haven't heard of them? I bet you've heard of some of the member's previous bands. Guitarist Chris Chasse was guitarist with Rise Against on two albums (Siren Song of a Counter Culture and The Sufferer and the Witness). Guitarist/vocals Nik Hill and Bassist Brett Rasmussen are both long standing members of one of my favorite SoCal hardcore band, Ignite. Drummer, Todd Hennig was behind the kit for three albums with Death By Stereo. The Uprising is a hard, driving force that will have you playing it over and over on a loop. The five song EP leaves you wanting more and more.
TOP TRACKS: All of em! Someone sign these guys and get a full length recorded ASAP!
FINAL VERDICT: The Uprising is a hard, driving force that will have you playing it over and over on a loop. The five song EP leaves you wanting more and more.
RATING: 4/5
THROUGH THE EYES OF THE DEADSkepsis
Prosthetic Records
The new album from TTEOTD has caused quite an uproar in the metal community. Being a virgin to their sound I decided to see what all the racket was about. What I found was a chaotic mashing of crunchy guitar riffs and a double bass that could have you beating your chest at 3000 bpm. No, I'm not a conesour of death metal by any means, and I tried really hard not to fall into the same mindset of all the other reviews heaping praise on this album as if they were giving out free blowjobs for 5 star ratings. But dollars to donuts, this is good shit. "Skepsis" features a new frontman (Danny Rodriguez). Now I haven't heard any older TTEOTD so I can't compare Rodriguez to anything, but he offers a wide range of bowel moving growls and heart wrenching screeches. But death metal has never been about having beautifully flowing vocals has it? The meat and potatoes of "Skepsis" is the string work. The trio has been the heart and soul of the band since inception and their art is truly refined on this album.
TOP TRACKS: The Manifest, Defaced Reality, No Haven, Skepsis
FINAL VERDICT: Coming from someone who is not the strongest fan of death metal, I don't know what my opinion will be worth. I ended up buying into "Skepsis" so take that for what its worth. My only gripe? Some of the songs bleed into each other and i can't tell when one ends and another begins. So is the world of death metal though.
RATING: 4/5
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