Want some irresistibly amazing free music? Here's the best news you'll hear in a while. Our favourite UK label Basick Records has been named “label of the month” by no less than Amazon.co.uk. That means for the entire month of November, you can get a ton of Basick releases at a specially discounted price - just £4.49 for albums and £1.99 for EPs.
But the best is yet to come (or this shouldn't be under Free Music Monday). The label is giving a 12 track sampler absolutely free! That includes Misery Signals, Circles, Skyharbor, No Consequence, Glass Cloud, Bear, The Algorithm, Uneven Structure, Aliases, Damned Spring Fragrantia, Dissipate and Chimp Spanner! That's a shit load of amazing free music! You still there? Click on that link!
I've been hoping Rémi would do something like this since I first discovered his music. And now we have The Algorithm remixing an amazing metal by Born Of Osiris, “M∆chine”. I don't know about you but I'd love for The Algorithm to make more of these remixes, maybe even an album or an EP of metal remixes... just dreaming.
Anyways I'm sure that some of you may enjoy it even more than the original. This song has also been played live during the first shows of The Algorithm's tour with Uneven Structure and Weaksaw around Europe. Check out the remix and the original song below and stay tuned... We have something special from The Algorithm coming very soon.
Our favourite French producer Remi Gallego aka The Algorithm decided to please us with a minute and half snippet of a new track he's working on. He announced it in the morning, launching a weird joke on Facebook with this post...
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“The last person to comment this post will get to hear a 1 minute preview of a new algorithm track”.
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That obviously triggered a funny war of comments which ended up with Remi giving up and letting us hear his new tune. It will definitely be interesting to hear what he's going to create now that he has a guitarist and a drummer to play his songs too. Go check out the snippet now on Remi's Soundcloud and dance / mosh to some of his older tunes!
So our Italian team member MATTIA and his videographer have approximately 10 hours of footage to sort through from the 5 days of madness that were this year's UK Tech-Metal Fest. They're working hard to bring you a 1 hour documentary of what went down. Just to keep you on your toes, he put together a rough teaser. Watch and read Mattia's statement for more info below.
And if your Tech Fest cravings aren't satisfied know that our official video and final report are coming soon! In the meantime, read up on Report 1 HERE, Report 2 HERE, Report 3 HERE, and Report 4 HERE. Booyah!
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We recently crashed UK Tech-Metal Fest in Peterborough and filmed
some amazing footage there including HD live performances, interviews
with great bands, some hilarious and even psychedelic stuff happening
around during the weekend. We filmed a load of material and we're
working hard to bring you a finished live experience as soon as possible.
It
will end up being a one-hour documentary showing you how amazing that
weekend has been for us and everyone who attended. We filmed so much material that if you were there, you will probably appear in some frames
of the final video. In the meantime, we've decided to show you a small,
low-quality teaser of what's coming because we just can't wait for you
to see what we're working on. The definition of the final video should
be way higher but this should give you an idea of what we have here. We hope it can bring you even just a small glimpse of what was the
amazing vibe you could feel at Tech-Fest.
The ambient track in the
beginning of the video is called “Genghis” produced by
an artist called Interlaken. The track is featured on an amazing
downtempo/glitch compilation called “Fragm'nts”. It has been released
under a Creative Commons License so it can easily be downloaded for
free on the psychedelic music portal Ektoplazm.com or at the label's Bandcamp.
You need to check that compilation out if you're a fan of this type of
music too.
The heavy djenty song is from our old, good French friends in
Cycles and it's called “From Fear To Fascination”. This track is
available for a "name-your-price" download on Bandcamp as well. Keep your eyes on this band too, since their new EP shall be hitting
your eardrums soon. Check out the teaser below and be patient...the full
video's coming very soon!
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There's a massive tour whipping through Europe very soon! The French Connection will strike with a solid lineup of The Algorithm, Uneven Structure, and Weaksaw starting later on in September and ending up in October. It's a great time waiting to happen \m/
Check out the dates and music from the bands down below. Also take a look at the artwork! The Uneven Structure was just exploding wine bottles all along.
Video and additional reports coming soon! Read up on Report 1 HERE.
Friday July 12th, 2013
The real UK Tech-Metal Fest is just getting started. The sky is grey over our heads but it seems like there will be no rain for the whole weekend, which is a remarkable sign of good luck for the fest considering we're in the UK.
During the early afternoon the performance that surprised us the most was delivered by The Colour Line, one of the first bands to take the main stage today. Everyone who saw the set can confirm that this band definitely wins the award for the most frightening and insane live performance of the fest. A perfect example of what a chaotic mathcore band should do live (we got it on tape, you will see it very soon). You need to check out this band if you're a fan of The Dillinger Escape Plan's recent stuff and live attitude, or if you like some good mathcore in general.
Later on we received sad news that Destiny Potato had to cancel their show. But we were informed that it had only been delayed to the following day due to some trouble with their gear on the plane. Exist Immortal's performance received good feedback from the audience during the first afternoon. Other bands proceeded to play main stage, including the heavy live show from Cold Night For Alligators, supported by a good and enthusiastic audience as well.
After lunch, around 3:30 PM, our friends Damned Spring Fragrantia got on stage despite the long series of troubles with the UK plugs (they're completely different from all the other European plugs. And believe me, this gave a lot of problems to a lot of European musicians). Their set was powerful and enjoyed by a considerable audience. It was amazing for these guys to travel more than 2000 miles for their first show out of Italy and find several people already wearing their t-shirts. We filmed part of their set too, which featured a good portion of their latest album “Divergences” including the song “Heritage” that they weren't able to perform during their recent release party. I've already described more than once the power and the intensity of their live shows, so I won't reiterate. But it was a great show, trust me.
After that, UK local heroes Meta-Stasis played their ruthless show headlining the second stage. I had seen these guys walking around the camping grounds and the stages, doing their best to try to give away their CDs and spread their music, putting all their heart into it. You should check em out.
Destiny Potato's spot on the main stage was taken by the Israeli band Linked. Fronted by two vocalists, capable to bring dynamic singing, both clean and screaming, this band had a sort of Fellsilent and early Monuments flavour, reminding this band during the “We Are The Foundation EP” period. I've met them many times during the weekend. They were a bunch of really friendly guys (they also saved Damned Spring Fragrantia's ass one minute before their set, finding them an adapter for the UK plugs, of which I spoke before). I really hope to meet them again. This was the last show of their UK tour with Invocation and No Consequence, who played shortly after. The UK-based band signed by Basick records has been growing so much since last year. With the release of their album “IO”, they've been showing more than serious potential. They played the most renowned tracks, like the single “Coerce:Conform” and “Unify”, but also amazing tracks like “Enemy Of Logic” and “Bury The Debt”. It was a memorable and high quality performance from a band that has by now conquered their spot in the UK and international tech-metal scene as one of the most interesting and promising acts. Me and my mate also met their vocalist around the venue many times for some very drunk Italian lessons with him - one of the funniest moments of the weekend.
Unfortunately I was busy trying to solve problems with my computer and camera so I wasn't able to attend Cilice's performance and part of Scar Symmetry's set. Anyways, I was told that Scar Symmetry's set was damn intense and attended by the largest audience so far. They performed songs like “Morphogenesis”, “The Anomaly”, “The Iconoclast”, and “The Illusionist”.
After a short break we were ready for the first after-party! After midnight it was officially my birthday as well! Celebrating it here at UKTMF was one of the best experiences of my life. As I was walking towards the stage I met two really funny English guys that insisted that I had a real English birthday, so every time they found me without a drink in my hand they bought me one. Alcoholic nights apart, I met them in the following days and had great times with them. Unfortunately, I cannot remember their names (met so many people!) and I hope this post will help me find them.
I was really curious to see the UK-based metal & drum n' bass band Collisions. Luckily, I was sober enough to enjoy them and The Algorithm as well in a worthwhile way. There was a good number of people to watch them even though most of them didn't know the band. I must say that I was really surprised and liked their performance more than their studio stuff, which I actually already loved. They played their singles “Believe In This”, “Push” and the the Bjork cover “Army Of Me”, also bringing us some new amazing material. I'm definitely looking forward to this band's new album, coming very soon. You all should check em out too if you already haven't. After Collisions, it was the time for The Algorithm's live set. I already told you about The Algorithm's live show with Mike Malyan, and how intense and incredible they are. This time was possibly even better than the last time: Remi and Mike were also supported by an amazing guitarist adding thickness and epicness to the sound. The show was also more continuous, almost without interruption between the songs, making it more similar to a live DJ set.
First official day has been a fucking blast! Tomorrow will be probably be even better considering it's my birthday but also one of the busiest days. You'll see...
One Of Us, a djent / hardcore / drum and bass group from Mexico City, Mexico collaborated with the human robot himself, The Algorithm, to put together this club banger of a track. “Anachronistic,” raises the roof, raises the heart rate and raises questions like, “who is One of Us? and how did they meet up with The Algorithm?"
Well, One of Us is a relatively new band, this song being their first ever single. I’m assuming that because The Algorithm is a boss he saw “One of Us” as an excellent channel to broadcast more of his ideas through. Both teams succeeded greatly in delivering a new style of song. Go Crazy!
Welcome back explorers! Today we're heading back to France to discover some awesome, new music.
Remember our last time here? We talked about the best dark progressive / death metal acts coming out of this nation including Gojira, Uneven Structure, Blut Aus Nord, Eryn Non Dae, Hypno5e and Atlantis Chronicles. Aamzing stuff!
But in its multifaceted metal scene, France has a lot more to offer. Today we'll show you some more amazing artists. But instead of focusing on a specific genre we'll be exploring the most interesting music delivered by French solo musicians. That's right. There's so many impressive solo projects coming out of this region and they all deserve a shout. Let's go!
Well, the beginning is easy: the brilliant mind of Remi Gallego, who's beautiful musical inventions flow from his main project The Algorithm! The Algorithm delivers a mix of modern metal and several types of electronic music in some truly devastating and eclectic musical creations. His debut album “Polymorphic Code” came out in 2012. You can read our review here. He has now teamed up with Monuments' drummer Mike Malyan to deliver even crazier live shows. I hope you all will have a chance to check 'em out on stage. Recently, I had the chance to meet / interview both of them before one of their shows in Europe. We'll be posting a video soon!
Another easy one is Auré Pereira, mostly known for being the guitarist of Uneven Structure, but also largely appreciated for his solo project WorC. He brings some truly amazing instrumental metal, with touching atmospheres and creative instrumentations. He released a full-length album “Plychrmatic 0.1” and an EP “When The Day Forms” so far and they are both available for free on his Bandcamp page! Go check him out and don't forget to give a listen to his band Uneven Structure, if you already haven't.
The next one is one of The Circle Pit's favourites, A.I.(d). His human name is Lou Gregoire and he created some of the most insane and possibly even painful (in a veeeeery good way) music I can remember. Especially with his 2012 EP “Solar Feelings”, which is available for a free download here . That alone pretty much destroyed my aural apparatus (and once again, I was really happy of it). It also looks like he's got some new music in the making since he recently uploaded two new songs: “Ballentine's Night” and “Dramatic Lazyness”. So if you enjoy what's below start following him and expect crazy things!
A very talented French man named Clemente Reviriego from Bordeaux just released his new album called “Arid Landscapes”. This is the debut full-length release of his Instrumental/Tech/Prog/Groove/Jazz project Dorthal. All that you need to know about this talented young guy is written in the review we recently posted for his album. So if you're intrested, you can go read it here. All Dorthal's music is available for stream and name your price download on his Bandcamp page. Go show this guy some love!
Some truly surprising stuff is delivered by Nicolas Jeanney, who's artistic name is Tenkan. He partially specializes in delivering metal/djent covers of a lot of unexpected music: from Adele to Rage Against The Machine, from Rihanna to...Lana Del Rey. Ok, I know it might sound a bit strange and weird, or even useless. But believe me, it kicks ass! This guy also has his own original tracks on his SoundCloud profile. So go give him a listen and enjoy. I think I'll be presenting his project properly very soon, since he's also the only one in this post who hasn't already been in the Pit before.
Last but not least we'll bring up Cartoon Theory, wich is one of my favourites, even though it's not exactely a solo project. In fact, there are two members working on it, but it's still far from being a full band and they definetly deserve another shout. They're working on a new release “Planet Geisha” and there will be surely some incredible stuff on it. Give a listen to their previous material while waiting.
There are tons of talented artists creating their music in France and everywhere around the world. So much greatness to discover... life seems too short to find it all. Anyway, we haven't finished with France yet. We'll be back very soon to meet more amazing bands. Stay tuned, explorers!
This is one of those things that makes you think there's still some kind of hope for your country's cultural future. A FREE SHOW was held at La Tenda in Modena, the north end of Italy, with The Algorithm (featuring Mike Malyan on drums!) and 3 Italian bands. It was a very underground show in a really cool venue. And even though this is not a big city, an outstanding number of people came to enjoy this amazing night.
The show started off around 9 pm with the performance of Psychostasy, a local Death Metal band which played a really fun set in front of a good number of people. Some friends came down to see them but a lot more people could enjoy their showmanship as they waited for the headliners. They have a demo out now wich is available for free download here if you want to give it a listen. You can also check an impressive drum cam video from the night of the show down below.
After their performance, the stage was taken by one of the most interesting bands in the Italian underground metal scene, Despite Exile. Hailing from Udine (wich is pretty far away from Modena), they came down here and melted our faces with a really intense show. I was especially surprised by the skills and the strong live presence of their singer, Jacopo, but the whole band put on an amazing set which was much appreciated by the audience. They played all their best songs, including the track for their new video "Oscillate", which is strongly recommended just like most of their tracks. Check out "Perfection Neutralized" and "Mechanical" on YouTube for example!
And now it's time for Damned Spring Fragrantia, the most promising, forthcoming, underground Italian band. Recently signed by the UK-based label Basick Records, they are going to release their debut album "Divergences" in 2013. Their performance was extremely powerful and explosive. These guys really owned the stage, and you can see they really have what it takes to attain international exposure. They played their single "DMZ", and even some new tunes from their forthcoming album "Divergences" which are sounded really huge. Definitely keep an eye on these guys.
A quick stage change and The Algorithm immediately started his show. Since the venue had some problems with timing, the set lasted about 40 minutes, or a bit less, but it was still enough time to be completely blown away. Rémi played the first song on his own and then he was joined by Mike Malyan (the drummer of Monuments) which really brought the show to a whole other level. Especially "Access Granted", which had the surrounding audicence respond with a slew of moshing and dancing from the very first lines. The whole crowd had a good time and enjoyed the show, even those who just came to give it a simple listen without knowing the artist, since the show was free-entry.
This is definitely a night I will never forget. I had the chance to talk with Mike and Rémi in the afternoon and we will be posting the interview we did very soon on this website. I had a lot of fun and met a lot of amazing people who were very kind and helped me even in some difficult situations. The Algorithm shows are something you need to see to believe. You better not miss it if Rémi and Mike come near you! - MATTIA
UK Tech Fest is expanding their operation aggressively this year. There's yet another auxiliary date before the main event. After recently announcing the two day UK Tech Fest London, they have returned with UK Tech Fest Manchester! It will take place on April 27th at Dry Live in Manchester. The line-up is even more stacked than the London event including Aliases and The Algorithm as headliners and several bands such as Red Seas Fire, Nexilva, and Orion in support. Check out music from all the mentioned bands below and also take a look at the flyer if you want to go. UK Tech Fest never fails to put on a good show and from what we've heard, the main event this summer will be MASSIVE. Get ready for that!
The Algorithm's music has been previously described as "impossible to play on drums and guitar". Mike Maylan (Monuments, Ex-Chimp Spanner) has proven the impossibility of the drums to be false on many occasions with immense skill. Now we have Max Michel (Currently working at Guitar Magazine among other awesome things) wrecking "Tr0jans" with his own immense skill. Seriously, watch him play the mind fucks below! Certain segments get really intense, like when he's tapping out the synths around 55 seconds in. Be sure to read our review of the new Algorithm record "Polymorphic Code" right here. We also provided more Algorithm related goods below! Enjoy!
"Mind Fuck" - That's the way people describe the style played by The
Algorithm aka the Al Gore rhythm... I'd say it has a good chance of
being the next big thing. Usually the idea of metal being mixed with
dubstep makes me cringe. But French producer Rémi Gallego pulls it off
in a way that I can't deny the awesomeness. Especially when Monuments
drummer Mike Malyan is wrecking the kit to this live. Mixing electronics
with sharp mind fuck patterns and overall quality, The Algorithm should
appeal to several circles.
Signed to Europe's Basick Records (amazing
label), The Algorithm is currently gearing up to release his debut album "Polymorphic Code". It will hit stores and explode brains in Europe November 19th and make a
similar mess in the United States the following day, November 20th. However, the entire album was just posted for streaming so brains are exploding early! You can listen to the whole thing on Metal Hammer! (Subject to change if it's taken down.) And if you like it, go pre-order it! Or you can keep reading for my opinion if you are so inclined.
I think it was pretty much a given that The Algorithm's debut on Basick would be awesome, given the track records. But how awesome is it? I personally believe this man has a chance at starting a movement with his take on djentstep. Combinations between metal and dubstep style electronic music are typically lame, but Rémi takes it to a whole other level. I believe this has inspired other great artists such as A.I.(d) along the way. So yes, this album is really damn good.
Right away, "Handshake" delivers everything you've come to expect from The Algorithm and more. Packing the heavy between well thought out electronic interludes. If I'm not mistaken, this opener has a throwback to an Algorithm classic, "Boucle Infinite". This is definitely a stand out track among many on "Polymorphic Code". Others being the single "Trojans", the sequel "Access Granted", the explosive "Null", and the twelve minute closer "Panic". Every song has something great about it. All the tracks flow very well and have a great balance between heaviness, electronics, and ambiance.
This is really a next level effort. Rémi pays serious attention to detail throughout his compositions. The only real criticism I have is about the quality of the synthetic instruments at times. Generally they sound legit, but every once and awhile they sound faker than my ears prefer. Objectively, some people probably won't appreciate the genre crossing. This is not a record for the closed minded.
But for those of you with an open mind to creativity should definitely get on this record. "Polymorphic Code" is a great, out of the box listening experience. If you read this much of the review and don't give a listen, consider therapy. And if you do give a listen, consider therapy cause the mind fucks on this record! Buy it here!
To further hype up the release of his debut record, "Polymorphic Code", French electronic tech-metal (djentstep?) producer Rémi Gallego (aka The Algorithm) has released a music video for his single "Trojans" (aka Tr0jans). It definitely packs in eye candy and tetrahedrons. It's also interesting considering Remi's instruments are synthetic so it's just him, his pad, and the legendary Mike Maylan (Monuments, ex-Chimp Spanner) wrecking drums in some floating, multi-dimensional realm place thing code. Watch it below along with some other tracks. And if you enjoy, be sure to check out our album preview and grab "Polymorphic Code" here! Mind fuckery.
"Mind Fuck" - That's the way people describe the style played by The
Algorithm aka the Al Gore rhythm... I'd say it has a good chance of
being the next big thing. Usually the idea of metal being mixed with
dubstep makes me cringe. But French producer Rémi Gallego pulls it off
in a way that I can't deny the awesomeness. Especially when Monuments
drummer Mike Malyan is wrecking the kit to this live. Mixing electronics
with sharp mind fuck patterns and overall quality, The Algorithm should
appeal to several circles.
Signed to Europe's Basick Records (great
label), The Algorithm is currently gearing up to release his debut album "Polymorphic Code". The artwork, track listing, and European pre-orders just went live. The release dates were also made public. It will hit stores and explode brains in Europe November 19th and make a similar mess in the United States the following day, November 20th. But in the mean time, check out the new live video for "Access Granted" along with the artwork and the track list. Cheers.
"Mind Fuck" - That's the way people describe the style played by The Algorithm aka the Al Gore rhythm... I'd say it has a good chance of being the next big thing. Usually the idea of metal being mixed with dubstep makes me cringe. But French producer Rémi Gallego pulls it off in a way that I can't deny the awesomeness. Especially when Monuments drummer Mike Malyan is wrecking the kit to this live. Mixing electronics with sharp mind fuck patterns and overall quality, The Algorithm should appeal to several circles. Signed to Europe's Basick Records (great label), The Algorithm is working on his debut full length record as we speak. If any of this strikes your interest, maybe even if it doesn't, you should give the Algorithm's mind fuckery a listen below. We have a complete live set of The Algorithm jamming with Mike Malyan for you. Definitely check that out. There's also a drum play through and the track "Tr0jans".
Want some irresistibly amazing free music? Here's the best news you'll hear in a while. Our favourite UK label Basick Records has been named “label of the month” by no less than Amazon.co.uk. That means for the entire month of November, you can get a ton of Basick releases at a specially discounted price - just £4.49 for albums and £1.99 for EPs.
