Das Plague - S/T

Tracklisting:

1. Ritmos Sincopados, Sonidos de Muerte

2. A Un Paso de la Determinacion

3. La Segunda Regla

4. Mimesis

5. La Marea de Piedras

Band Members:

Nelson - Vocals

Gabi - Guitar/Vocals

Blas - Guitar

Marcos - Bass

Javi - Drums

Imagine taking bits of Isis like post metal and then mixing it with crusty hardcore influence (think Recreant without violin). Then throw it in Spain. Das Plague. Seriously, this album is so masterfully done. The melodies, builds, and instrumentation blend perfectly to a beautiful, emotive, heavy experience. Sadly, I truly don't know much about this band and can't find much about them online. In light of this, this review is pretty short, so all I can say is LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM. You may be surprised, but you definitely won't be disappointed.

Support the band HERE

Download the album HERE

BAT - Primitive Age

Tracklisting:

1. BAT

2. Total Wreckage

3. Code Rude

4. Rule of the Beast

5. Primitive Age

Band Members:

Ryan Waste - Bass/Vocals

Felix Griffin - Drums  

Nick Poulos - Guitars

Imagine if Ryan Waste from Municipal Waste decided to star a band where he played Venom style proto-black thrash with Felix Griffin from D.R.I./Blunt Force Trauma. Doesn't that sound awesome? Yeah, that's BAT. Hailing from Richmond VA, BAT is a force to be reckoned with.

The first track which is also the title track has everything you'd want in a release like this. The production has a low budget quality to it, but everything is still clear and mixed well. It sounds like Venom, if they learned to play their instruments a bit better, upped the production quality a little, and threw in more noodley solos.

Then Total Wreckage comes on smashes you in the back of the head with a half empty beer bottle. This song is fast and unforgiving. My only complaint for BAT's Primitive Age demo is that it's too short, but then it IS a demo, so I suppose I can overlook it. Definitely can't wait to see what these guys do next.

Follow them HERE

Get the demo HERE

Six In Line - Even Though We Go Way Back, This Ain't Like Old Times (Though We've Gone Back In Time)

Track Listing:

1. Even Though We Go Way Back, This Ain't Like Old Times (Though We've Gone Back In Time)

2. Prison Rules

3. When All Is Sad and Done

4. Happy Again

Band Members:

Kaptain Nuke - Vocals

Jonathan Von Swaan - Guitar

Adrian Seifi - Guitar

Daniel Hate Crew Arvidzone - Bass

Hampuss Hansson - Drums

Sick thrash from Sweden. I could end the review right there, but I won't. Six In Line are back with their best release to date, and possibly my favorite release name ever. Hell, even the abbreviation (ETWGWBTALOTTWGBIT) would be a mouthful. These guys are fantastic and this release really shows it better then their previous two releases.

The title track is everything you could want in a party thrash band. Sick riffs, mosh beats, and angry screaming complete with party gang vocals. Not much more I can say, you just have to listen! Their single, When All is Sad and Done, is every bit as good. Instead of talking about it though you can watch their video for it:

I was lucky enough to see these guys play with Sonic Pulse about a year ago and I got to interview Adrian and Daniel, along with my buddy Dave from Sonic Pulse. I learned that Swedes love cheeseburgers. Check it out:  

Awesome thrash from Sweden. Eat cheeseburgers, thrash hard, stay laid.

Support the band HERE

Download their music HERE

Turrigenous - Black Stone Opus

Track Listing:

1. Prima Materia
2. Drawn to an Edge
3. Hegira
4. Render Chaos
5. A Prism Divine
6. Whited Sepulchre
7. Citrinitas
8. The Annealing
9. Zephyr
10. Aurum Nostrum

Band Members:
Greg Giordano - Guitars/Vocals
John Vullo - Guitars
Phil Montalbano - Bass/Backing vocals
Ray Marte - Studio Drums

 This record solidifies the fact that Long Island is a hub for ridiculously good progressive metal. With fantastic guitar work and exceptional vocals, both harsh and clean (another one of those things that's becoming a rarity in modern metal), Turrigenous is dynamic metal indeed.  

One track in particular that stood out to me was The Annealing. It is everything you could want from a classic prog song. Awesome jazz influenced solos with rich full tone, heavy, epic, and melodic riffs, and Matt Barlow-esque vocals that all fit together so nicely. 

Another track, Aurum Nostrum kicks in and we're treated with a mid tempo heavy ass riff. And just as soon as you're getting into it, it kicks you in the nuts, yells "PSYCHE!" and blazes into a twin guitar speed metal riff before morphing into a thrash mosh riff. This song clocks in at 11:38 mind you, and in the first 2 minutes we've gone from groovy to Iced Earth to thrash.  

I won't go into too much more detail about the rest of the album, you're going to have to hear it for yourself. Turrigenous blends Dream Theater's best moments (sans Labrie and keyboards) with Iced Earth speed metal, and then puts its own modern prog spin on it (including the occasional deep gutteral). I'd also like to add that drummer Ray Marte provided drums for this album. He's also in Moon Tooth, which if you've read my blog before you know that I hold them in high regard! All in all, this album is worth your time AND YOUR MONEY.

Support the band at Turrigenous.com

Buy their album on iTunes, or CD Baby
Also check out their live album at Amazon.com