NEW MUSIC TUESDAY - JULY 22ND

Today is Tuesday, listen to new albums like you’re supposed to.

Karnivool is one of those bands that definitely isn’t metal, they’re very obviously alternative or progressive rock, but constantly gets lumped into the group of bands modern progressive metal fans enjoy. I can think of a couple other bands that fit this bill. But that doesn’t really matter. Karnivool’s new album “Asymmetry” is due out today. “Asymmetry” is a Karnivool album. So it’s not be what you got on the last one, but no one is gonna care. Some of it I dig, some I don’t. Check out the haunting video for ‘We Are’ because it’s awesome.

Links: Facebook // Official Website // Twitter // iTunes // Merch

Another for the entirely other end of the spectrum. Mammoth Grinder is very metal, and pretty hardcore too for good measure. This Texas quartet brings a crushing, mammoth sized heaping of grinding tunes of the extreme variety for your listening pleasure today. These guys are masters of all trades of extreme metal. From black, to grind, to thrash and death. Prepare for it all. The new offering is called “Underworlds” and has a sweet album to match. Leftover songs from the recording sessions have been released as a single, streamable on Bandcamp and linked below.  Pick up “Underworlds” and get crushed like an insect.

Links: Facebook // Official Website // Bandcamp

Last but definitely not least is Misery Signals. These guys have had fans waiting for a new album for 5 long years and finally they’re delivering. “Absent Light” drops today to fans delight. And the fans have a lot to be happy about. “Absent Light” seems to a perfect mix of the different styles Misery Signals has explored throughout their career. The focus on songwriting and melody mixes perfectly well with the crushing aggression to yield the best Misery Signals yet. This album used crowdfunding to get started, but Basick Records is now handling some of the distribution, so it looks like Misery Signals will back in the game again.

Links: Facebook // Official Website // Merch

-Trisolino

KARNIVOOL “ASYMMETRY" ALBUM PREVIEW

Australian progressive rock kings, Karnivool, have been making quite a name for themselves over the past decade or so. The impressive albums "Sound Awake" and "Themata" have solidified their position as pack leader. And they aren't stopping anytime soon.

Karnivool just released the first video in support of their upcoming, third studio album “Asymmetry”. The new record is scheduled to be released on July 19th. The video itself is for a track called “We Are”. It packs in six minutes of both dark atmospheric passages and heavy moments filled with technique and a brilliant sense of melody. Great material reminiscent of previous conquests.

The band has also announced an Australian tour for this July and August which will touch the major Australian cities Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. It was also feature the hard hitters in Northlane.

Check out the new video below and go pre-order your copy if you're stoked for “Asymmetry”!

- MATTIA

 

Links: Facebook // Official Website // Twitter // iTunes // Pre-Order

EXPLORING THE WORLD - AUSTRALIA'S RISING METAL SCENE

AC/DC! Ok that's kinda obvious...oh gosh, we're here for an exploration! Give us something new! Ok...Australia definitely has a prestigious history when it comes to metal and hard rock. But in the last few years, from 2000 onward, a lot of new bands started to gaining worldwide exposure. Two big names, Airbourne and Wolfmother, picked up the heritage of AC/DC but Australia has recently developed a really fecund underground metal scene with a lot of talented bands emerging from every genre of modern metal. Let's try to make a small recap of the best things that this great nation has to offer to the world, since a lot of people don't even know that some of these bands are actually from another continent.

Let's start by taking a look at the local metalcore scene. The first huge name we all immediately think of is Byron Bay's Parkay Drive. This band definitely became one of the world's leading metalcore bands, especially in the wake of their last two albums "Deep Blue" (2010) and "Atlas" (2012).

Links: Facebook // Twitter // iTunes

A strong push to the Australian metalcore scene was also given by the local label We Are Unified which discovered almost all of the following metalcore bands, some of which also got signed by Roadrunner Records. For example, the party hardcore of Deez Nuts is currently enjoying huge success and it's taking them on tour all over the world. They have a new album coming out at the end of the month called "Bout It!" and it's looking to be a hit. Another band which is kicking ass world-wide is The Amity Affliction, recently signed by Roadrunner Records. Also Buried In Verona, who are currently on tour with Chelsea Grin, Attila, Betraying The Martyrs and Within The Ruins and will soon be trekking across Europe with Emmure and Obey The Brave too! Other bands like In Hearts Wake or Dream On Dreamer also have a good fan-base internationally and were both launched by We Are Unified.

Links: Facebook // Twitter // iTunes

There's plenty more to find if we talk about death-related genres. Thy Art Is Murder took the world by storm with their huge 2012 album "Hate", which led directly to their record deal with heavy metal giant Nuclear Blast Records who are now planning to re-release the album. Huge sounds, aggressive and groovy riffage, raw talent and creativity got this band to a really high level during the past few months. Now they even have a nomination as "best new band" at the Metal Hammer's Golden Gods Awards! A really important technical deathcore band is the amazing Signal The Firing Squad. They released a full-length album in 2012 too which was called "Abnegate". It was easily one of the best deathcore albums of the year. Should also mention Make Them Suffer, a young talented symphonic death metal band who's earning big time recognition everywhere thanks to their latest album, "Neverbloom". Psycroptic is another technical death metal band which is well known everywhere by now. They were also signed by Nuclear Blast Records and released a new album in 2012 called "The Inherited Repression". Last but not least you should really give a listen to Universum, a good melodic death metal band which had the honor of working with a lot of amazing guest musicians from bands like Soilwork, Scar Symmetry, Nightrage, MyGrain, and Mors Principium Est!

Links: Facebook // Twitter // iTunes  

But some of the most intresting proposals are coming from the progressive scene. The "Toolish" progressive sound of Karnivool, for example, has earned them a ton of followers and the same thing is happening currently for the djent-influenced progressive metalcore band Northlane, which just released their new album "Singularity", brought to you by We Are Unified, again. But the greatness doesn't stop there. What about Dead Letter Circus and their amazing take on progressive rock? The incredible experimentation of Ne Obliviscaris? The sharp cyber-metal delivered by Synthetic Breed? ONAN's incredible guitar skills? The beautiful and symphonic-influenced instrumental soundscapes created by Bend The Sky? The high level music of Circles? The Schoenberg Automaton and their hyper-technical math metal? And there's even more! Halcyon, Memoirs, Escapist etc... Australia is STACKED.

Links: Facebook // Twitter // iTunes

It's safe to say there's a lot of amazing stuff coming out of Australia right now. So many that it looks impossible to make a complete recap of the awesome music you can find down under. So many that I'm sure I forgot someone. We couldn't provide music from every band for obvious reasons, but if you're interested in listening, go ahead and search The Circle Pit or on Youtube / music provider of your choosing. Great stuff \m/

- MATTIA