Revisiting older records can be a hit or miss. Revisiting older records and actually re-recording them can be an even bigger risk. Some bands do it and go the “This is how we play them now” route or the “This is how we originally envisioned this album” route and others, like the brothers Cavalera (Max & Iggor of course), just say “Fuck it! Let’s go heavier and harder than ever!” And that, my friends, is why we now have this beautiful beastly pair of updated records of two Sepultura classics.
[Read more…]Absent In Body Create A New Primal Rage On Debut Plague God
Supergroup is a weird fucking term. And completely objective. For me, an artist like Old Man Gloom is the definition of a supergroup put in the same realm as, say, Down, there’ll inevitably be people who are all “Who is even in this band?” (For the record, OMG features members of Cave In, Isis, and Converge i.e. most of the Mount Rushmore of Boston heavy). Again, objective. Which brings us to similarly underground supergroup Absent In Body who feature in their ranks members of Amenra, Neurosis, and Sepultura and have a debut release that, as an essential part of this “supergroup” formula, sounds unlike anything that makes up the sum of its’ parts.
[Read more…]The Troops Of Doom Expand The Story Of Brazilian Thrash With Bombastic New Chapters On The Absence Of Light
The Absence Of Light, the latest release from Brazil’s The Troops Of Doom, is a clear-cut and concise collection of cranium splitting Metal that’s not to be missed this year. Born from the creativity and drive of original Sepultura guitarist Jairo “Tormentor” Guedz, The Troops Of Doom takes that Brazilian Thrash that Guedz help engineer and combines it with an aesthetic much like Slayer’s base DNA to make something that’s leaner, meaner, and undeniably heavy.
[Read more…]20 for ’20: An Exhausting List Of Our Favorite Music That Got Us Through A Truly Exhausting Year
It’s an understatement that 2020 was a pretty fucked up year, right? Machine Head was the last live band I saw back in February and a few days after that I found myself in an emergency room with some unexpected surgery to be had (Don’t worry, I’m fine now!) followed by the shutdown across the country. There’ve been ups, downs, and everything in between in 2020 but one constant has been the music. Artists have adapted with some keeping those schedules and releasing new albums despite not being able to tour behind them while others are holding off altogether. Some have done well with the new norm of livestreamed concerts and while I’ve checked out a few, personally they’re just not my cuppa.
[Read more…]Max Cavalera: A Rock And Roll Fables Conversation
There is no doubt that Cavalera Conspiracy’s latest album, and first on Napalm Records, is their heaviest one yet.
“I just think Pandemonium is a really cool record. It came out really cool. It’s really underground kind of sounding. Nate (Newton) did a great job on the bass. Out of the three, it is the heaviest right now and people should check it out.” [Read more…]
Cavalera Conspiracy Make Their First New England Metal And Hardcore Fest Appearance, Show The Kids How It’s Done
After a day filled with heavy bands from all walks of intensity from upstarts like Downpour (Featuring Shadows Fall’s Brian Fair and Seemless/Unearth skin basher Derek Kerswill) and Lody Kong to old school favorites like Overcast, Jasta, and COC, it was finally time for the godfathers to take the stage for their New England Metal and Hardcore Festival debut. [Read more…]
Igor Cavalera: A Rock And Roll Fables Conversation
Pandemonium, the third offering from Cavalera Conspiracy is easily their heaviest yet. From the onslaught of “Babylonian Pandemonium” and “Bonzai Kamikazee” it’s easy to see that CC has found a place in the musical echelon that suits them well and that happy place happens to be heavy as hell. Max Cavalera sounds like a veritable monster on the opening track with a throaty growl that’s unlike any vocal performance he’s given while brother Igor pounds away at ludicrous speeds one moment, settling into a tribal groove the next. [Read more…]
Untitled Metal Column: Volume 1 (3.15.14)
Eleven years ago today I said “I will” to my wife but I’ve been married to metal for longer than that. I’m not really sure what my first metal album was (Either …And Just For All or The Black Album by Metallica on cassette I think) but as soon as I discovered the genre, I couldn’t stop eating it up. My first concert was Pantera with Crowbar opening at the Wallace Civic Center in Fitchburg, MA on the Far Beyond Driven tour in April of ’94 and I’ve been to hundreds of heavy shows since (Wow, 20 years since my first show. I’m old.) Anyway, I listen to metal, see metal live, and while I was writing for popblerd.com, wrote a regular metal column for over 2 years (I have some metal tattoos, too).
Which brings us to today and Rock And Roll Fables’ first “regular” column, a play on my old “Metal Monday” from my Popblerd days. I tend to write about what I like so if you’re looking for some scathing reviews of bands I don’t like then go elsewhere cuz frankly, I don’t have the time to write or listen to what I don’t like (There are few exceptions, however, especially when a band I like puts out a shitty record.)
But I digress. A lot apparently.
I had plans on reviewing the new Lamb Of God doc (That’s coming next week) and then I was going to write about the phenomenal new album from Hark (That’s coming next week, too, I hope) but then yesterday Killer Be Killed premiered the first two tracks from their upcoming debut on Nuclear Blast Records and I was immediately inspired.
If you don’t know Killer Be Killed yet they are the definition of a metal “supergroup”. Mostly (Sorry ex-The Mars Volta drummer David Elitch!). Beginning as the brainchild of Max Cavalera and The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato who wanted to create a Nailbomb-type project (Which was a one off pairing of Cavalera and Fudge Tunnel mastermind and later The Mars Volta producer Alex Newport), the group eventually expanded to feature drummer Elitch and Mastodon’s Troy Sanders.
First up is “Wings of Feather and Wax” which opens with a wall of feedback followed by a juggernaut of riffs as Sanders and Puciato trade lines. Cavalera enters later with his uncanny growl. The band hits tribal territory during the breakdown with Elitch laying down a solid foundation until Max brings the Sepultura with a line beginning with “Arise! Arise!”. The song is all over the place with elements of metal, thrash, and some really melodic lines thanks to Puciato and Sanders.
“Face Down” is the more straightforward metal song of the two with a great Cavalera riff and Puciato letting it rip vocally. The song goes for the jugular for almost five minutes and displays the diversity that this debut is sure to have. The surprising thing about both songs is how diverse the vocal line up is. If you were expecting this to be the Max Cavalera show then you’ll be sorely disappointed. The other great thing is the amount of melody involved. Sanders has evolved considerably over the years and it shows here while Puciato really gets to show his stuff on “Wings…” bringing to mind the “poppier” DEP moments (“Black Bubblegum” in particular) and his work in Spylacopa. If this is a sign of what the rest the rest of the album holds then metal fans are in for a treat!
Killer Be Killed will be unleashed through Nuclear Blast on May 13th. Pre-orders are up now over at the Nuclear Blast shop but for now you can check out “Wings of Feather and Wax” and “Face Down” below. For more on the band, head on over to their official Facebook page.