Cologne's Euroblast Festival doesn't need an introduction for many of you, so I'll put it this way... One of Europe's most mind-blowing metal festivals will unleash all of its energy on the crowd from the 11th til the 13th of October. It seems like this forthcoming ninth edition is going to be another blast!
In fact, the guys at the Euroblast Collective have announced a good portion of this year's line up and two of the headliners. Textures will be performing their only German show of 2013 here. The second headliner is Germany's very own The Ocean. The rest of the unveiled line up is stacked as well, making this an unmissable event. Euroblast 2013 will feature international names like Threat Signal, The Agonist, Twelve Foot Ninja, Arsis, Hacride, Benea Reach, Mnemic, Feared, Xerath, Lifeforms, Aliases, Humanity's Last Breath, Syqem, The Omega Experiment, Deathember, Der Weg Einer Freheit, Dawn Heist, Hord, Overdown, Pomegranate Tiger, Tardive Dyskinesia, Cyclamen, Kartikeya, Heights, and Third Ear.
Last year's line up featured more than 40 bands. This year is currently at 28. So the only thing you need to do is stay tuned for the announcement of the third headliner / rest of the line up, coming very soon. If you live in Europe, you should definitely start thinking about buying tickets. This is the kind of event you don't want to miss!
Here are 5 amazing albums from this year that were just shy of making our top
ten. They all deserve your full attention as the honorable mentions of 2012.
1 GOJIRA - L'ENFANT SAUVAGE
There's no doubt that Gojira's "L'enfant Sauvage" (French for "The Wild Child") is an amazing album. To put it simply, one of the best things about Gojira is that they always manage to sound like Gojira. This is a band which proves that musicians don't need to be complex to be musically efficient. Not to say there isn't depth and complexity here. Gojira pummels the listeners eardrums with blasting heaviness and musically creative force. There are so many awesome tracks on this record. The title track, "The Axe", "Explosia", and "Mouth of Kala" are just a few examples of the greatness you can expect from "L'enfant Sauvage". It's a wild ride.
This is the kind of record that will catch you off guard. You go into it expecting one thing and experiencing something entirely different. The Omega Experiment's self-titled debut strikes as a powerful cross between Supertramp and The Devin Townsend Project with a pinch of Meshuggah... Yeah, go ahead and read that again. All of this while bringing a sound of their very own which is hard to describe. When you add it all up, it makes for a mind blowing, unique musical experience. Tracks such as "Stimulus", "Terminus", "Gift", and "Furor" are guaranteed to leave you wanting more goods from The Omega Experiment.
Veil of Maya's fourth full-length record really stood apart from the rest while simultaneously staying rooted. For example, the intro "20/200" sounds like a throwback to "Common Man's Collapse" while the title track is easily the most melodic, open song the band has ever written. "Eclipse" really opened up a whole new dimension of Veil of Maya with an increased focus on musicality. This may have been in part to Misha Mansoor's production and influence, but the fact is this record provides phenomenal music through and through. Stand outs include "Divide Paths", "The Glass Slide", "Vicious Circles", and "Punisher" among others.
4 THE TONY DANZA TAPDANCE EXTRAVAGANZA - DANZA IIII
Not only does The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza have the best band name ever, they always manage to produce devastating, awesome metal. The bands fourth and sadly final album, "Danza IIII: The Alpha - The Omega" is no exception. It's also too cool for Roman numerals. This is an earth-shattering venture into chaotic, technical heaviness. There are many greats on this record like "You Won't", "Canadian Bacon", "Paul Bunyan and the Blue Ox", "Rudy X3", and you can't forget the semi-title track, "The Alpha, The Omega". "Danza IIII" is a worthy end to this band's insane career. R.I.P. Tony Danza... talking about the band, not the actor.
Elitist have been emerging as one of the best Metalcore bands around. Actually, their debut full-length "Reshape | Reason" is easily the best Metalcore record released in 2012. Even with various key line-up changes over recent years, Julian Rodriguez's compositional ability has remained true, even improved in some ways. There is a progressive, creative take on how this band approaches the core, yielding amazing results. With a serious focus on driving melodies and musical execution, Elitist produced a monster of a debut record here. "Square And Compass", "Equinox", and "Unto The Sun" make an aural impact among others.
I've been listening to The Omega Experiment a lot over the past couple days so I need to give them some credit. I love this band, but their sound is tough to describe. The best I can do is if Queen and Supertramp had a baby and gave it music lessons from Dream Theater and Periphery. They range from progressive metal to a big classic rock sound and do an absolutely phenomenal job of it. Their debut album "The Omega Experiment" (very experimental name...) is quite possibly one of the best this year. With solid writing, strong vocals, and haunting moments running throughout this is a must listen... and listen a couple more times. As with most complex music, you don't catch all the goodness the first time around. This album gets deeper and deeper as you go. Definitely watch out for these guys.
