Füneral Rain Press Cörps

Genre: Progressive Metal
Label: Season of Mist

This happy little EP is coming out on transparent blue 10″ vinyl and CD. And by happy I mean boner-inducing prog metal happy.
Sing-along choruses are put to real effective use on Carbon-Based Anatomy, especially in my favorite track, “Box Up My Bones”, while crunchy heavy riffs are under the leads that soar and spin with grace, beauty, and perfection. The lush sounds, amazing solos, and beautiful singing that Cynic fans have come to enjoy ever since Focus are even more omnipresent here. Synths bubble and churn, with precise drumming that has a real human hand attached to it, and both are still done by Sean Reinert. The bass work is, as usual, amazing, taken care of by Sean Malone, who is no longer in the band.
There is a real sense of wonder with Carbon-Based Anatomy, a feeling of freedom and exploration heretofore only really glimpsed at with Focus and Traced in Air. It is as if the guys picked up their instruments and said “Play. No matter what comes out, if it’s pushing the Cynic envelope, it’s good to go. No limits, no compromise.” It’s inspiring to say the least, and I can’t wait for my record to arrive.
9 out of 10.

Cynic on Facebook.

Genre: Blackened Death Metal
Label: Abyss Records

Abyss Records is one lucky label. They’ve picked up Fester, one of the truly original black/death bands from Norway, and are in the process of re-releasing some of stuff, including the classic Silence from 1994.
Reminding me a lot of Cynic’s work, with more blackened elements, there is a reason this album is an underground classic. It kicks ass!
The technicality of the instruments is a lot higher than most black metal, with some gorgeous sounding clean parts and evil distortion.
Vocally, Bjørn “Tiger” Mathisen is one of the most understandable blackened vocalists ever. You can actually hear what he’s saying, he is enunciating, and the style is not shrieked but rather a rough smoker’s voice; a cross between death growls and black shrieks. This has brought him close to the front of my favorite vocalists.
I definitely recommend this for fans of melodic black or death metal, especially fans of Cynic and Dissection.
8 out of 10.

Fester on MySpace.

Genres: Hard Rock, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock
Label: Independent

I found an email from Thesis in my inbox, asking if I could do a review of their new body of work, Channel 1. They described themselves as a progressive rock with metallic leanings, so I said sure. I’d be happy to.
And if only I knew what I was getting into.
Thesis don’t fall into an easy to define area of music, because they are very progressive, with some psychedelic elements. Amazing musicianship, with an extremely strong voice, Thesis remind me of a slower, more melodic and pretty sounding Tool or Cynic. At times even reminding me of Opeth.
Violins, heavy riffs, and an occasionally oppressive feeling fill this album, and it’s great. Check it out if you’re into progressive music.
8 out of 10.

Thesis on MySpace.

Genres: Progressive Metal, Technical Death Metal
Label: Season of Mist

Metalgasm! Straight up, pure, unadulterated, and unfuckwithable eargasmic metal right here. I can’t stop listening to Traced in Air, an album I bought because I heard Cynic were pretty damn good and the tag on the album was Technical Death Metal. I thought I was buying an Origin- or Cryptopsy-like CD, but what came out was definitely not like either of those bands.
Instead, it reminded me right off the bat as Tool, but then the second listen brought in Deftones and Coheed and Cambria. And once I heard the Coheed-like elements, the Rush comparison was instant. And King Crimson. This is a wonderful, perfect album, a little on the short side (all of the best CDs are too damn short, aren’t they?) but still perfect.
It takes you on a mood swing ride, but unlike most death metal, it’s not all minor keys. Happy sounding major keys and beautiful melodies take you away on a cloud and drop you into a headbang session, then pick you back up again, just to smash your mind against the rocks of what you thought proggy tech-death could be.
If you don’t own this album, you are missing out on something so wonderful. Please, go to a store and pick this CD up.
10 out of 10.

Cynic on MySpace.

Between the Buried and Me are currently on a massive worldwide tour, and in April they begin to tour with Mastodon, Baroness, and Valient Thorr. BTBAM are touring to support their 2009 Victory Records release The Great Misdirect, and just wrapped up touring with The Devin Townsend Project and Cynic.

18 Feb – Live Music Hall – Cologne
19 Feb – Zapata – Stuttgart
21 Feb – Estragon – Bologna
22 Feb – Alcatraz – Milan
23 Feb – Alpheus – Rome
25 Feb – Arena – Vienna
26 Feb – Volkshaus – Zurich
27 Feb – Backstage Werk – Munich
28 Feb – Schlachthof – Wiesbaden
2 Mar – Columbia Club – Berlin
3 Mar – Grunspan – Hamburg
4 Mar – Vega – Copenhagen
5 Mar – Klubben – Stockholm
6 Mar – House Of Metal Festival – Umea
8 Mar – House of Culture – Helsinki
10 Mar – Sentrum Scene – Oslo
11 Mar – Tragarn – Gothenburg
12 Mar – Mejeriet – Lund
16 Mar – The Substation – Singapore
17 Mar – Overtone RCA (All Ages) – Bangkok
19 Mar – King Cobra – Osaka
20 Mar – Zion – Nagoya
21 Mar – Club Lizard – Yokohama
22 Mar – Club Seata – Tokyo
24 Mar – Amplifier Bar (18+) – Perth, WA
25 Mar – Fowlers (All Ages) – Adelaide, SA
26 Mar – The Corner Hotel (18+) – Melbourne, VIC
27 Mar – Manning Bar (18+) – Sydney, NSW
28 Mar – The Hifi (18+) – Brisbane, QLD
1 Apr – Pipeline Cafe – Honolulu, Hawaii

The following dates are with Mastodon, Baroness, and Valient Thorr:
16 Apr – Music Farm – Charleston, South Carolina
17 Apr – Lincoln Theatre – Raleigh, North Carolina
18 Apr – The National – Richmond, Virginia
20 Apr – Ram’s Head Live – Baltimore, Maryland
21 Apr – Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, New Jersey
22 Apr – Webster Theatre – Hartford, Connecticut
23 Apr – NEW ENGLAND METAL FEST – The Palladium – Worcester, Massachusetts
24 Apr – Higher Ground South – Burlington, Vermont
26 Apr – The Palace Theatre – Greensburg, Pennsylvania
27 Apr – Water Street Music Hall – Rochester, New York
29 Apr – The Orbit Room – Grand Rapids, Michigan
30 Apr – The Vogue – Indianapolis, Indiana
1 May – The Blue Note – Columbia, Missouri
3 May – Sunshine Theatre – Albuquerque, New Mexico
4 May – Rialto Theatre – Tucson, Arizona
5 May – House of Blues – San Diego, California
7 May – Fox Theatre – Pomona, California
9 May – Knitting Factory – Reno, Nevada
10 May – McDonald Theatre – Eugene, Oregon
11 May – Knitting Factory – Spokane, Washington
13 May – Shrine Auditorium – Billings, Montana
14 May – The Venue – Fargo, North Dakota
15 May – Sokol Auditorium – Omaha, Nebraska
16 May – Liberty Hall – Lawrence, Kansas
18 May – Orpheum Theatre – Madison, Wisconsin
19 May – Canopy Club – Urbana, Illinois
20 May – Minglewood Hall – Memphis, Tennessee
21 May – Valarium – Knoxville, Tennessee
22 May – Buster’s – Lexington, Kentucky