Funeral Rain Press Corps

When: July 29, 2011
Where: Pawn Shop, Edmonton, Alberta

Oh my. My oh my oh my. Exhumed return to life with All Guts, No Glory and that, thankfully, results in a tour. And surprisingly it stops in Edmonton, with fellow label mates Cephalic Carnage no less! Both are bands I’d love to see, and now finally have.
Before this night, I’d never even heard Macabre, and never even heard of Withered, and I didn’t know local metal bastards Begrime Exemious were going to be there until like two days before the show. So it turned out to be a killer night indeed.
First up, Begrime kicked some ass on the stage, pushing their brand of dirty sounding old school death metal onto the crowd that was slowly trickling in off the street. My second time seeing them live, and again I was quite impressed. I’m definitely a fan of these guys, and as an interesting note, they are label mates with Gravehill, and thus one member of Exhumed. (7)
After Begrime, Withered (who I had no idea were going to be there) took over as the night’s entertainment. They play “tortured blackened doom”, and are really fucking awesome. If you’re into feedback, heavy and loud riffs that are slower than hell, black metal shrieks, and insanely fast sections of songs, you should check these guys out. (8)
Cephalic Carnage were finally back in Edmonton, and I quite honestly could have had the concert end after they killed part of my hearing. It was a bit of a dream come true to see them, as they’ve been one of my favorite grind bands for years now, ever since I first heard Anomalies. For those that don’t know, Cephalic Carnage are a four-piece that combine death metal, grindcore, and a huge love of the herb to create some of the best metal you can hear. The crowd definitely was receptive for these guys too, as there were more than one shout of “One more song!” after the set. (9)
Macabre, a three-piece, were the wild card of the night. I’d heard of their murder metal, songs based exclusively on historic serial killers, but never heard a single song from them until the show. For the fourth time in the night I was impressed by a band. These guys were loud, and fun, like an evil version of Primus at times, crossed with a bit of GWAR. But, like GWAR, I don’t think these are guys I could buy an album from and listen to them, they’re definitely more of a live show kind of band. Hopefully they come back soon. (7)
Finally, the headliners of the night Exhumed hit the stage to destroy the Pawn Shop, and many an eardrum in the process. California’s masters of gore metal did not fail to exhilarate a single person in the venue with their fast, high energy performance and their even faster music. It would surprise me if they didn’t return within a year after seeing how insane Edmonton went for them, and again I would be there, front and center, for their whole set. Despite having my hand stepped on and my head kicked by the same asshole stage diver, or getting elbowed in the kidney by someone, or having my face whipped by the hair of the three chicks that were right beside me. All while holding a camera that ate up almost a whole pay check, and snapping photos. (8)
Fuck yeah, it was a great night. Got to hear some wicked death metal and doom, got a pair of records (Exhumed’s All Guts, No Glory and Dekapitator’s The Storm Before The Calm) and some buttons and stickers, and then got only three hours of sleep before having to go to work. I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.

The Hawthorne Theater – Portland, Oregon – 5/1/2011

Oh, I have been looking forward to seeing The Ocean since Precambrian hit store shelves! So yeah, I was pretty damned jazzed to see this show. I was a little bummed to find out that it would be at The Hawthorne Theater since the thought of a one-hundred and ten degree sweat box with hardcore kids crammed shoulder to shoulder like a bunch of nerdy sardines just didn’t leave a favorable taste in my mouth… BUT! This was the first show since before my daughter was born that my wife and I get to see together!

Let’s just see how well the night went…

The Ocean - At first, I thought that the stage was going to be flooded with musicians since The Ocean is often known as “The Ocean Collective”. But I guess they dropped that in favor of a core line-up. Now that that is out of the way… I said it once, I’ll say it again: FUCK YES! THE OCEAN RULES!!! These European genre melding maniacs tore up what little space they had in such a short time (about twenty minutes of stage time)! I was mostly surprised at the crowd’s reaction to The Ocean’s energy! I mean, most of these kids were here to see Between The Buried And Me and Job For a Cowboy and they were eating out of The Ocean’s tentacles!

Vocalist Loic Rossetti was moving and screaming like a front man possessed! He jumped into the crowd several times and never lost a beat. He also sounded AMAZING considering his harsh to visceral vocal style! Color me impressed! Guitarist Robin Staps was crackling with energy (and covered with oceanic tats) and lead the charge, churing out riffs and on one occasion, diving across the stage to fix his unplugged and possible discombobulated guitar.

Mid way through the second to last song, bassist Louis Jucker just disappeared (according to Staps, it was to wretch his brains out in the back alley)! His presence was missed! This thick as fuck bass chugs filled in a large portion of The Ocean’s collective sound. His return about ten minutes later for the final song of the set was met with deafening approval. And even though they played the shortest set, The Ocean made the biggest impression. The line at the mech table afterward made that perfectly clear…

Cephalic Carnage - Greeting the crowd with a camcorder, vocalist Leo Leal reminded us how great it was to be back in Portland for them. “Very.” Great way to get the crowd going apparently. I was hyped already for their painted brand of Hyrogrind that apparently not many of my ilk (RE: critics) care for much. Well, fuck them! Cephalic Carnage loaded my skull full of the stickiest of icky metal and then set it ablaze with brutal fucking beats and killer vocals! Their sound transfers incredibly well to a live show, which surprised the hell out of me since I thought that they’d be too high to play straight.

Nope.

They grinded as tight as you can get and had the audience letting them know if they’d rather kill for “WEED” or “BEER” or “PUSSY” (I asked why we couldn’t just go halvesies on a drunk hooker holding a bong?)! These guys were undoubtedly tons of fun and yet another band that I can’t wait to have drop back through Portland again!

Brokeback Mountain: The Band - Oops. I meant Blow Job For A Gay Cowboy… argh! You know who I mean! Anyway, I know it’s cool to hate on Job For A Cowboy but please understand that I’m hating on them for a legitimate reason… namely because they fucking blow live. The people I was standing around were confused about if wheatear or not they played one song or three from the beginning of their set! And during their first pause, Jonny Davy asked the crowd what they wanted to hear next. “MATTER OF SPLATTER!” One over enthusiastic fan shouted over the rest. Jonny sought him out just to say “Um… you’re a fucking moron. We JUST played that song.” To which I hear someone else reply, “Maybe that’s because all of your songs sound the same, douchbag!”

…ok, that last guy was me. I couldn’t help it! Act like a douch, yer gonna get heckled. And I mean, c’mon! If one of your obvious FANS couldn’t tell that his requested song was just played, then you fail as a musician!

Anyhow, they continued with their “meh-heh” performance until another pause to stop and do whatever it was that they were doing in the back corner there, when there was another message for the band from the floor, ’GET OFF THE FUCKING STAGE ALREADY!” Jonny was visibly pissed while a good chunk of the proximity of the crowd was all smiles.

…fine! That was me too! My God, they just wouldn’t stop eating away at my soul with their lazy stage presence and trendy muscle shirts and skinny jeans (minus bassist Brent Riggs. His dizzying bass abuse was just plain cool.) Let’s just say that I was more than happy to see these guys exit.

Between The Buried And Me - Sadly, I was called home just as these guys took the stage. Next time Between The Buried And Me. Next time.
The Ocean On Facebook

Cephalic Carnage On Facebook

Job For A Cowboy On Facebook

Between The Buried And Me On Facebook

Genres: Brutal Death, Doom, Progressive Death
Label: Independent

These guys asked me if I’d do a review of their demo like a million years ago. I said sure, downloaded the .rar and kind of forgot about it in the clutter of my computer.
But alas, in burning myself a promo-filled disc, I saw Corpsex waiting patiently in the To Review folder. And so today these sick bastards are blasting my ears.
Now, naturally, in today’s metal world if you play brutal death with occasional technical flourishes, you’re going to be compared to Cannibal Corpse. But at the same time with these guys I can hear some Cephalic Carnage, Cattle Decapitation, and Cryptopsy influences, as well as tons of doom and stoner influences too, like Candlemass, Pentagram, and of course the big daddy of metal, Black Sabbath. The second song, “My Dear Killer”, especially shows these doom influences, and it’s my favorite track on the demo.
Overall, these guys are playing a very wicked blend of various metallic influences, turning it into a great listen. If you haven’t had any Corpsex today, I recommend you give it a try.
8 out of 10.

Corpsex on MySpace.

Since the release of 2008′s groundbreaking debut In Waking: Divinity, New England metallers THE BREATHING PROCESS have prided themselves on the hybrid nature of their music. Splicing symphonic black metal with brutal death metal, the band further manage to introduce elements of epic ambience and melody unseen by most acts in today’s realm of heavy music. Now with the release of Odyssey: (Un)Dead the band look to break through to a larger audience delivering an amazing album that is already eagerly anticipated.

Odyssey: (Un)Dead features 12 tracks and was produced by Dave Otero (Cephalic Carnage). Conceptually based on a single person’s journey down the path of exile,the new songs progress in bold, varying movements that emphasize the power and landscapes of the world’s natural elements: Oceans, forests, great plains, glaciers and deserts. These elements are reflected in the songs themselves, almost as if each song is an interpretation of the world’s vastness. Huge, grandiose keyboard flourishes blend with pulverizing riffs and breakneck drumming, topped off by a perfect balance of screamed and sung vocal patterns — it is a treasured listen.

In addition, The Breathing Process will be performing a handful of east coast dates prior to the record’s release:

2/17/2010 Mojo 13 – Wilmington, DE
2/18/2010 Championship Bar – Trenton, NJ
2/19/2010 Tuxedo Junction – Danbury, CT
2/20/2010 Bogies – Albany, NY
2/21/2010 Higher Ground – Burlington, VT
2/26/2010 The Warehouse – Hartford, CT w/ Silent Civilian
2/27/2010 The Pal – Fall River, MA

Odyssey: (Un)Dead will be released on the US on March 9th via Candlelight Records.

The Breathing Process on MySpace.

Colorado extreme metal troupe ENEMY REIGN will play a hometown show with death metal giants NILE, IMMOLATION, KRISIUN and DREAMING DEAD on Monday, January 25, 2010 at the Bluebird Theater: 3317 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. Click the poster above to see it in its full glory.

In related news, the band will release their critically acclaimed Means To A Dead End EP in Europe through Neurotic Records. The EP was recorded by Dave Otero at Flatline Audio (CEPHALIC CARNAGE, MARTRIDEN, COBALT et al) in 2008 and, until now, self-distributed through the ENEMY REIGN online webstore. The European version of this EP will  contain one newly recorded exclusive bonus track entitled ”If The Truth Hurts…Suffer.” The European version will also have exclusive art work and other bonus materials.

In conjunction with the EP’s European release, the band  will appear on the 2010 edition of the Neurotic Deathfest featuring BOLT THROWER, CARCASS, DYING FETUS, INSISION, LOCK UP, NAPALM DEATH, and ORIGIN (among many others), followed by a tour throughout Europe (dates TBA).

ENEMY REIGN features the punishing lineup of former SKINLESS vocalist Sherwood Webber alongside drummer Andon Guenther (DEADSPEAK; creative director, programmer, and co-creator of Sick Drummer Magazine), guitarist Nick Guenther (BECOMING THE ENEMY, MASAKADO) and bassist Cassie Begay (THROAT CULTURE/THROCULT, DEADSPEAK).