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Review of Black Widow from In This Moment

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Powerful hardrock and metal band, In This Moment, are back in 2014 with heavy mainstream release Black Widow.  The follow up album to Blood, is a mix of different modern metal sounds with extreme attitude.  In This Moment and lead vocalist Maria Brink infuse hard rock with poppy hooks, feminist attitude, heavy breakdowns, and melodic vocals with a scream edge.  Blood also incorporated more techno and poppy sounds, blending two genres in a very unique way.  No doubt there is no band out there quite like In This Moment, and there is nothing out there like their new album Black Widow.

 

Black Widow has parallels with Blood, but even more attitude and darkness as well as completely new sounds to the band.  It is clear the band is going for a mainstream sound, integrating a rap rock and Korn style sound to the new album.  They also have tracks that are similar to “The Gunshow” and the entirety of Star-Crossed Wasteland.  There is something more shocking and gripping about this album than previous In This Moment releases.  I can say honestly this album is heavily targeted towards women empowerment and feminist themes.  Obviously Maria Brink is very active in female expression and it has clearly steered their music in new direction.  Regardless if you like these themes or not, there is an artistic quality that makes the music desirable.   This album is also themed around old film, having this horror movie feel to it.  Black Widow is reminiscent of Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson as well.

 

Every track from “Sex Metal Barbie”  to “Infection” to “Big Bad Wolf” is extremely catchy and dark, with beats easy to dance to and words easy to sing along with.  These songs are audibly written for shock rock live performances, having an attitude to pull the audience in and memorize them.  Then there’s completely new and gripping tracks like “Sick Like Me” and “Sexual Hallucination”.  “Sick Like Me” is an epic, dark, melodic anthemic track that is undoubtedly one of their best tracks yet.  “Sexual Hallucination” is a power ballad featuring Shinedown’s power house frontman, Brent Smith.  This track is reminiscent of “The Promise” with the dark and gloomy weight and melodic bursting vocals from two different vocalists.  “Bloody Creature Poster Girl” is a really different track with this traditional pop sound, blended with a couple growls and heavy instrumentation.

 

Black Widow continues to surprise with a piano ballad with a dark Jazz sound never heard before in the track “The Fighter”.  This track features Maria Brink’s amazingly powerful vocals in a stripped down and unedited way.  It is a much needed track on this very poppy album.  “Bones” is a darker melodic track, staying with the poppy theme of the album, but adding a Five Finger Death Punch like heaviness.  If all the tracks were similar to “Bones”, “Sick Like Me”, and “Sexual Hallucination”, I would still label the album as metal and not pop rock however.  “Natural Born Sinner” is poppy and heavy like Blood, reminiscent of “Whore” and “Comanche”, containing a slow and dramatic build up with aggression.  This track is definitely rebelling against religious figures and themes, a newer influential subject to In This Moment’s writing.  The emotion definitely carries it beyond the actual instrumentation.  Maria Brink still has one hell of a voice and that’ll never change.  “Into The Darkness” is a disturbing and gut wrenching interlude that solidifies the women empowerment theme to it.  It tackles the subject of self doubt and inner demons, featuring a sobbing Maria, making it really difficult to listen to.  It is moving to say the least.

 

“Out Of Hell” begins with a beautiful piano intro and soft emotive vocals, reminiscent of the brilliant sound achieved with “World in Flames” of The Dream.  This is by far one of the best songs In This Moment has ever put on an album.  This track is a much needed artistic track on the album.  “Turn You” and “Rib Cage” are back to the Blood sound, bringing the metal and hardrock back to In This Moment’s prized sound.  These two tracks are good, but do not stand out compared to other tracks on the album.  I expected a more epic closing track to Black Widow, but it seems to end as quickly as it began.

 

Overall, Black Widow tends to be very disjointed and all over the place, lacking a consistent sound to pull the the album together.  The beginning of the album is very shock rock and rap rock themed, while the middle contains a power ballad and more pop-like songs, and the last four tracks tend to be a throwback to In This Moment’s melodic hard rock sound.  It sounds like the band are caught in a limbo of mainstream radio and 2000s metal.  It’s a different direction for the band, and overall they pulled it off well.  However, the first few tracks on the album are terribly executed and have no catching qualities to them.  I could’ve done without some of the songs on the album, because they just don’t fit with the other tracks.  I liked a lot of tracks on the album, but the shock rock direction of the band is demeaning and dumbing down their sound.  Maria Brink is too vastly talented to waste time with these shouty rap rock vocals.   Black Widow isn’t disappointing, but it is not the best from In This Moment.

Rating: 5/10  I stand by this review, even if it is against popular opinion.  

 

Listen for yourself here: http://loudwire.com/in-this-moment-black-widow-exclusive-album-stream/

 

http://inthismomentofficial.com/landing/

Power Metal Band From Allentown PA Releases Amazing New Album

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Mindmaze, a Traditional Metal and Power Metal band from Allentown PA, released their 2nd album this October.  As far as Power Metal goes, America is lacking in numbers, so discovering a quality band here is a big deal.  Mindmaze is a meld of Ancient Bards, Iron Maiden, and Dream Theater.  Their music has characteristics of European Power Metal that most American bands do not strive to achieve, causing American Metal’s downfall in my eyes.  This band restores my hope for American Metal. With Female Fronted Metal on the rise, more and more extremely talented Metal bands are coming out with a woman at the front.  No doubt there is something different about the music when a woman leads the band, causing a superior power to male lead metal bands.

 

With their new album Back From the Edge, Mindmaze proves their underrated qualities and shows immense maturity.  Every song on this album is different and unique, containing subtleties as well as huge powerful sound.  The guitars are technical, gritty, and fast with perfect rhythm from guitarist Jeff Teets.  The bass is incredibly audible and quick, demonstrating a rare technical ability from bassist Mike LePond.  The drums are dynamic and hit with precision, reminiscing of the days of Mike Portnoy.  Kalin Schweizerhof is just a great quality drummer and holds the music together.  Last but not least, Sarah Teets is a powerhouse of emotive and technical vocal ability.  She brings an explosive quality to the music, fitting inspiring lyrics in a perfectly placed pocket.  Her abilities are that of Tony Kakko of Sonata Arctica, having a theatrical quality that makes the music so relatable.  All of these amazing musicians put their all into Back From the Edge, making it a well executed metal album that sounds like a blast from the past.

 

Tracks like “Dreamwalker” and “The Machine Stops” remind me of the times of Dio and Iron Maiden, when true Power Metal prevailed over the Hair Metal.  Then there’s tracks like the title track and “The Machine Stops” that bring a more modern metal song.  “The Machine Stops” is actually a ten minute long track featuring brilliant instrumental sections as well as slow building vocals.  It is one of the best tracks I’ve heard of this year.  “Consequent of Choice” is another great song, showing a progressive off-beat rhythm that is reminiscent of Dream Theater and Hammerfall.  With songs like that, I could easily Mindmaze touring with bands like Kobra and the Lotus and Halestorm.  There is no song on this new album that disappoints.

 

Back From the Edge is an incredible Power Metal album that brings reincarnates a classic edge that American metal has strayed from.  Mindmaze truly surprised me with how solid their sound is for being a smaller American band.  I absolutely loved this album.  Every aspect of it blew me away, but especially the throwback sounds that they executed so well.  It’s so rare to find Metal like this in America and it’s something I hope gets much popular here. With bands like Mindmaze being overlooked here, it makes me wonder if the music industry is just as greedy as the government.

 

Rating 8/10- I highly suggest purchasing this album.

 

https://www.facebook.com/mindmazeband

 

http://www.mindmazeband.com/

 

http://www.reverbnation.com/mindmazeband

Sonata Arctica, Delain, Xandria Denver October 4th, 2014

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In 2014, I discovered three bands that would forever change my perception of music.  I have been an obsessive fan of Symphonic Metal for about three years now, but discovering Xandria and especially Delain opened my world to new music.  So of course I jumped on the chance to see the two charismatic female fronted bands live, and get a chance to discover Sonata Arctica.  I was extremely excited for this show, because I knew all three bands put on a spectacular show in concert, but they blew my expectations out of the water.  This is now my favorite concert I have ever been to, topping an Epica headliner and many Halestorm shows.  Every band lit The BlueBird up and continually raised the intensity in a way I have never experienced before.  Discovering these three bands prior to the concert, I knew what to expect, but this was a greatness I could have never anticipated.

 

Regardless of my personal preference of Delain and Xandria, these two bands are absolutely flawless in concert.  Xandria came on and played a very short explosive set.  They opened with Nightfall, their heavy operatic single off of their latest album, Sacrificium.  Dianne’s delivery of soprano operatic vocals on this track blew my mind.  Her technique, control, and projection match a perfection few singers achieve today.  “Blood on my Hands” was a heavier jam, keeping up with the intensity Nightfall had started.  Every member had energy and intensity as well as excellent and engaging stage presence.  “Forevermore” was seamless in the set and allowed Dianne and guitarists to show off a little more than earlier songs.  “Stardust” was well played and executed in a live setting and proved Xandria are up to par with the best live Symphonic Metal experience.  Dianne Van Giersbergen was absolutely the right choice for the new era, as she blew away all expectations with their final song, “Valentine”.  This is one of my favorite songs they’ve ever put out and their execution of it live made it even greater of a track.  The only complaint I have about Xandria’s set is that it was entirely too short for their quality of live play.

 

I have the utmost genuine respect for Delain and this concert made that respect turn into love.   Delain is possibly the best band I have ever seen live, because of the fun, tight, interactive set they produced at this concert.  Their set was absolutely spectacular and awing.  The mix and volume of each member, the lights, their overall live sound is absolutely perfect.  Most songs sounded like an album version turned up on high and injected with fierce energy.  The set was diverse as well, playing songs from almost every album except April Rain.  They opened with the heavy track “Mother Machine” off of We Are the Others and instantly stunned the crowd with their tight sound.  They followed the heavy opener with the fun and jamming track, “Get the Devil Out of Me”, giving Charlotte the chance to show off her flawless falsetto.  “Army of Dolls” swoons and ebs with intricate melodies and a unique beat easy to dance to and rock out to.  Next they mesmerized the crowd with their impressive hit, “Stardust”, off of The Human Contradiction.  This song was absolutely flawless live, containing a breakdown that centered around Charlotte’s enchanting vocals.  Delain continued to heat things up with emotive and powerful track, “Electricity”, a song that had the crowd belting lyrics out and head banging all the way through.  They also played the slower more haunting track, “Milk and Honey”, that was smooth and delivered well.

 

Delain continued their dynamic set with an old track off Lucidity “Sleepwalker’s Dream”, a more symphonic track that contains mind blowing vocals.  The delivery of operatic soaring vocals by lead vocalist, Charlotte Wessels, is indescribable.  The pure power of her voice on this song was distorting the sound system of the venue.  I’ve never seen anything like it.  They also played heavy hitting song, Pristine with bassist Otto on grunts, classic symphonic duet The Gathering with Timo on the male vocals, and closed with powerful hit “We Are the Others”.  I cannot say enough good things about this band live.  Delain really set the bar high for Symphonic Metal performances.  I will never forget their set, and can’t wait to see them again with Nightwish in April 2015.  I highly suggest seeing this band live.

 

Sonata Arctica are a legendary Power Metal band hailing from Finland.  They are still one of the most unique and cherished bands from Scandinavia.  They integrate Folk, Theatrical, and Symphonic aspects into their music.  Sadly, I didn’t hear of this band until I discovered this concert date with them as headliner.  The good thing is, this concert developed a love and immensely impressed me.  Lead vocalist, Tony Kakko, is one of the best male vocalists of all time in my opinion.  His performance throughout their nearly two hour set was flawless and eye catching.  The whole band matched Tony’s theatrical enthusiasm and made for a show that pulled you in.

 

The new songs they performed from Pariah’s Child were even better live than on the album.  “The Wolves Die Young” was dynamic and fast, a perfect live jam with an incredibly well executed bass part.  “Love” was a ballady change up in the set, allowing for an easy sing along.  “Cloud Factory” is possibly their catchiest song ever and was really fun and exciting to experience live.  They also performed older tracks without missing a beat.  “Letter to Dana” was a beautiful power ballad.  Tony captivated the audience with softer building vocals on this song.  Sadly, I am not familiar with a lot of the songs they played that night.  Regardless, Sonata’s set was absolutely incredible.  Their sound is infinitely energetic and hooks you right from the beginning.  I was vastly impressed with them and would love to see them again soon.

Within Temptation Premier New Trailer For “Let Us Burn”

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Dutch Symphonic Metal band, Within Temptation, release a new insight video to their live DVD “Let Us Burn”.  The video features tour and live footage, as well as live audio of Covered By Roses.  The DVD/CD release comes out November 14th, you can preorder the release on the website below.  The DVD features 2 concerts, one celebrating their first release Elements, and the other celebrating their new compilation Hydra.  It’s a very unique DVD, because of how much content it has on it.   I think it’s absolutely worth the money.

Watch Covered By Roses Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3id2LQGeYk&index=1&list=PLB4brr7vf-P6tw-xEeIFqRWeNWd21oeeO

Preoder Let Us Burn: http://www.within-temptation.com/orderletusburn/

Arch Enemy Premier New Epic Live Video

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Arch Enemy premier new live video from Masters of Rock 2014, showing insane dynamic and technique, as well as a huge eerie stage presence.  The video is for “As The Pages Burn” a single off their debut album with Alissa, War Eternal.  The performance in the video is immaculate and shows the chops of the Melodic Death Metal band, although the mixing lacks bass and depth, muting the bottom tones.  Nonetheless, it is a great video for those who have not seen the band live yet and are looking to check it out.

Watch the new video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKrXeRDLbMg

Metal Valkyrie of 2014 Results

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In early October, the polling for Metal Valkyrie of 2014 began.  The poll got over the required forty votes by fans, making it a fair decision for best front woman of the year.  With great new albums, trailblazing tours, and uprisings it was a big year for female fronted metal.  The year was bombarded with new albums from Lacuna Coil, Delain, Xandria, Ancient Bards, Stream of Passion, Lyriel, and of course Within Temptation and Epica!  Every one of these releases were fantastic and unlike anything I’ve heard before.  The voting was certainly close between Floor Jansen, Marcela Bovio, Charlotte Wessels, and Cristina Scabbia.  The countdown below will list the top three highest scorers and explain why they deserved to be on the podium for the first ever Metal Valkyrie of the year polling.

3.   Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil

Lacuna Coil, the Italian Gothic Metal band, has been popular for 10 whole years now.  They have influenced so many people and have become one of the most popular Goth Metal and Rock bands ever.  From their breakout album, Comalies, to the coveted Karmacode, to the moving and power album Shallow Life, to the controversial change up Dark Adrenaline, Lacuna Coil create absolutely fantastic albums.  One of their greatest elements is one of two vocalists, Cristina Scabbia.  She is a pint sized mixture of attitude, range, dynamics, and well executed skill. Cristina is one of the most influential vocalists in metal, having guested on anything from Ayreon to Apocalyptica, to Alter Bridge.  It is unarguable that she is one of the most gifted vocalists in metal of the 2000s and why her success continues on.

 

In 2014, Lacuna Coil release brilliantly and beautifully constructed beast of an album, Broken Crown Halo.  The album had something huge to prove after the great departure from their sound with Dark Adrenaline.  Broken Crown Halo is everything Lacuna Coil is about summed up into one powerful and moving album.  Scabbia’s emotional performance and artistry on this album is absolutely unparalleled.   Broken Crown Halo is a perfect example of what Cristina brings to music.  Her transition from power vocals, to perfect falsetto, to emotional and moving ballads is executed with a level mind blowing perfection.

 

After her performance on this album, Ayreon’s The Theory of Everything, and the smashing sold out tours she’s lead, she absolutely deserves to be on the podium of this poll in 2014.  Every music project she’s been a part of is pure gold and impossible not to love.  Cristina will continue to rule Metal throughout the years and impress all who witness her spectacular talent.

2.    Charlotte Wessels of Delain

Symphonic and Gothic Metal band, Delain, released a smashing and daring new album in 2014, The Human Contradiction.  Despite lack of hype by critics and limited reviews on the new album, it has become very popular and gained the Dutch band many new fans.  The band has also put out earlier albums of spectacular and tremendous quality.  Lucidity, their very first album released in 2006, was a dark and mysterious pool of heavy tracks featuring special guests like Liv Kristine, Marco Hietala, and Sharon Den Adel.  April Rain was a departure from the first album, exploding with beautiful and intricate melodies, heavy driving drums and guitars, and masterful classical piano lines from founder Martijn Westerholt.  We Are The Others is a jamming, empowering, and enchanting album from start to finish.  Interlude is a brilliant compilation album with a number of gems, including a moving and mesmerizing cover of The Cranberries’ Cordell.  The Human Contradiction however is leaps and bounds above their previous releases, heavy with instrumentation and emotion.  It is a purely beautiful and solid album, and may be my favorite album of 2014.  So, why is Delain’s music so unique, beautiful, and mesmerizing?  The main reason is undoubtedly lead singer and writer, Charlotte Wessels.

 

Charlotte Wessels may not be the most popular or most hyped lead singer in Symphonic Metal, but she is quickly growing to the top five of the world’s most talented vocalists.  In 2014, she’s lead some of the best tours and headlining shows throughout Europe and making huge waves in America with Sonata Arctica and Xandria.  The reviews of Delain’s most recent shows have been bursting with surprise and respect for the band, but also Charlotte’s mesmerizing and breathtaking live performances.  Some say her performances are flawless, containing incredibly moving and emotive performances throughout the set, and absolutely inspiring.  She isn’t compared to any other vocalist, because there is simply no other fitting comparison.

 

Charlotte’s uprising in 2014 has brought a lot of needed attention to Delain.  The band has gained fans from North America as well as all over the world this year, thanks to Charlotte’s constant interactions with fans, brilliant and intelligent interviews, and mesmerizing powerful performances.  She has literally every characteristic you want in an influential front woman.  It’s no surprise to me that she is runner up to Metal Valkyrie of 2014 and was close to being the winner.  I truly believe in the next couple years, she will rise to the top and be an essential vocalist in metal.  I cannot rave about her and Delain enough.  There aren’t enough words to explain Delain’s sound or why they’re fantastic.  You simply just have to listen to them and see them live to experience their incredible sound and presence.

1.   Floor Jansen of Revamp and Nightwish

Floor Jansen has been a huge influence in Symphonic Metal, since her origin in the powerhouse band After Forever.  Floor’s vocals are beastly, haunting, and bursting with power and gorgeous tones.  She began as an Operatic Soprano with an impressive technique, not sacrificing emotion with skill.  With each album and project she’s been involved in, she’s progressed into one of the best vocalists of all time. Floor has since branched her vocals out into more power vocals and picked up grunts on Revamp’s latest album, Wild Card.  From the powerful jamming album After Forever, to her performances on Ayreon and Star One albums, to her recent work with her Power Metal band Revamp, Floor is undoubtedly dynamic and a very desirable voice in metal.  There is no limit to her vocals or skills as a singer.

 

Now Floor is getting the recognition she deserves in the legendary Symphonic Metal band, Nightwish.  She was a shoo in for the lead part, after Nightwish departed with Anette Olzon in 2012.  Floor had to quickly learn the set for the Imaginaerium Tour and fly out to finish the tour in America, whilst Alissa White-Gluz and Elize Ryd filled in.  Floor quickly took the part in a brilliant and unexpected way.  She was a departure from Tarja and Anette, using pure power to her advantage.  Nightwish got new life from Floor, and soon after the tour she was announced as the official singer.  No one knew what to expect, but Floor’s loyal followers expected greatness and a new era for Symphonic Metal.  They were absolutely right, evidence being Nightwish’s 2013 live DVD, Showtime Storytime.  On that DVD, Floor performs classic Nightwish tracks to an unparalleled quality.  Her performance throughout that Wacken show is absolutely legendary.

 

Floor has earned her spot in Nightwish, regardless of what the hardcore Tarja fans think.  Floor will be a huge addition to Nightwish, as they embark on a new era and a new album.  Tuomas Holopainen and crew are still vastly impressed by Floor’s voice and technique and are very happy that she is a new addition to the band.  She may not be the original vocalist and is a huge departure from past Nightwish vocalists, but she is unarguably the greatest vocalist the band could’ve gotten for the lead part.  Her range, power, technique, stage presence, and emotive ability is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.  Her talent is infinite, and that’s why she is the Metal Valkyrie of 2014.  Floor getting to the top of Symphonic Metal as lead singer of the band that started it all, is enough reason to put her to legendary status.  I don’t think there will be another vocalist like Floor, ever.

American Thrash Metal Band Machine Head Premier Track

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Regardless of Rob Flynn’s backlash at other metal bands and online fights strewn throughout the media, he presses on with legendary band metal Machine Head.  The Thrash Metal group had announced a new album fall of 2013, but had encountered perils and set backs along the way.  In recent years, Flynn has become very vocal and open about what it is like to be in an American metal band.  Long story short and opinions aside, Machine Head has blazed through all doubts and have risen to the top of American metal.  The new album encompasses all of Machine Head’s turmoil and strengths, high and lows, and best aspects.  Their ability to create darkened and melodic Thrash Metal is unparalleled: There is nothing quite like this band.

Today, they release a new song off Bloodstone and Diamonds called Night of Long Knives.  It is a dynamic, pounding, shredding, beastly track that is sure to impress the typical heavy metal fans.  While the overall track succeeds and proves what the band is all about, it is not the best track off of the new album.  The direction of this track is diluted and chaotic, making it sound like a mess of noise.  The highlight of the track is the well executed guitar solo, even though it doesn’t truly fit in the song.  The style is all over the place, lacking artistic direction.  If you like pure and raw Thrash Metal, this song is definitely up your alley.  But if you’re looking for Unto the Locust, this track is definitely not satisfying.

Listen to Night of Long Knives https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MlnlYsTpTY&index=1&list=PL4qfuCI0_FfOlnedFiLH0u3d65KaJBQD1

German Festival Rockharz Open Air Announces More Bands for 2015

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The German Open Air Metal Festival, Rockharz, is currently announcing bands for the 2015 lineup.  So far they’ve announced Hammerfall, WASP, Eluveitie, Behemoth, Kataklysm, Delain, Die Apokalyptischen Reiter, The Haunted, Cradle of Filth, and LETZTE INSTANZ.  So far this sounds like an amazing festival, a good one to catch before Wacken!

You can check out more about the festival here http://www.rockharz-festival.com/

Epica Premier New Video for Victims of Contingency

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Symphonic Metallers hailing from The Netherlands premier a smashing and medieval new video for their new song “Victims of Contingency” off of their latest album The Quantum Enigma. They once again create a gorgeous video for a brilliantly written track.  I absolutely love their videos and agree that “Victims of Contingency” was a great choice for a new video.

Watch here now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7IIYIFljZM

.5 The Gray Chapter Reviewed and Unleashed

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After an almost six year long wait without new Slipknot, they emerge from the darkness with new album .5 The Gray Chapter in 2014.  The band was put up to a difficult task, to go on without two original brethren.  Paul Gray passed in April of 2010 suddenly and tragically, leaving Slipknot grieving.  During this time, the band was in shambles.  The eight were determining if they could go on in music without Paul and Slipknot seemed to be doomed at the time.  But, they prevailed and continued playing festivals   They did a small stint of touring in Europe in 2011 and vocalist Corey Taylor said “If this tour doesn’t work, this band might be over, straight up.  And I’m not gonna lie; I’m not the guy that’s going to lie to the fans.”  Luckily, Slipknot weren’t without hope as they began writing new songs for a new album just as DVD Antennas to Hell was released.  Then, they disbanded with drummer Joey Jordison because of his “lack of commitment to the band”.  The band has been through a lot for the past four years, but .5 The Gray Chapter turns the news into a positive bombardment of brilliant new songs.

 

The new album is a mix of Iowa’s intensity and aggression and Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses melodic and artistic processes.  .5 The Gray Chapter is everything Slipknot has to offer all in one album.  The drums are heavier than ever.  The guitars are tight, technical, fast, and absolutely shredding.  The vocals are raw, melodic, powerful, and chest rattling.  The bass is technical and fast, played as a definite tribute to Paul.  The album is everything the fans love about Slipknot and so much more.

Each member of the band put everything they had into this album.  Whether it’s grief, rage, discontent, or relief, you’re going to hear it on this album.  Slipknot have tracked back to their roots to create a brilliantly well written and heavy new album in 2014.

 

The sixteen track album begins with XIX, a chilling and haunting intro track that brings images of walking down the aisle with a casket in hand.  It leads into Sarcastrophe, a song straight out of the hell that Iowa created.  This song is brilliantly heavy and fast, keeping the raging sounds that they’ve always had.  The dynamics on this song prove that time away brought Slipknot together, combining their best qualities into one album.  AOV has a Thrash edge to it with blazingly fast rhythmic guitars and perfectly executed drums.  The chorus is full of beautiful and powerful melodic vocals.  The bass solo on the bridge sounds like a soulful and skilled tribute to Paul.  Then you have The Devil In I, the perfect single for a perfect album.  This track really represents the band’s aura in such a darkened way.  It is tightly percussed and pocketed with flawless powerful vocals.  This is absolutely one of the best tracks ever released by Slipknot.  The album continues with the dark and chilling, Killpop, a track very reminiscent of the sound created in Vermillion Part 1.  The melody on this track is extremely catchy and is written out of beauty.  It drives with passion and quality that I’ve never heard on a Slipknot album.  .5 The Gray Chapter might qualify as the best Slipknot album of all time.

 

Keeping true to the tribute album to late bassist and writer Paul Gray, Slipknot keeps the passion alive in track Skeptic.  Skeptic proves to be everything Paul would’ve  wanted in another Slipknot album.  It is shredding, angry, dark, and as scary as Slipknot ever was.  It touches on the subject of loss in such a brilliant way.  I almost feel like this track is one to be smiled upon, even by Paul himself.  They couldn’t write a more fitting and personal tribute than Skeptic.  Lech is an angry and aggressive track, filled with industrial drums and raging guitar solos.  The new drummer absolutely shreds on this track in particular.  Goodbye is another track to deal with the grievances of Paul Gray and tales how the band came back together for this album.  It is such an incredible dark, atmospheric track that could easily be a soundtrack to a horror movie, entailing a glimmer of hope.  The guitar work is on Goodbye is absolutely my favorite work Mick and Jim have ever put out.  Nomadic is a faster more rhythmic track, definitely pulling a page straight from the chaos of Iowa’s sound, mixed with the melody that Corey Taylor achieves so dynamically.  The One That Kills the Least is one of the most melodic tracks on the new album, containing similar sounds to Till We Die.  It is one of the least impressive songs from the album, but contains one of the longest guitar solos from Jim Root.  It is a true Slipknot album.

 

The album continues with the last six tracks that contain more haunting melodies, faster tempos, more dark and disturbing atmospheres, and powerful smashing drums.  Custer screams and squeals like Eyeless, containing the blazingly fast and raging tempo that we’ve been waiting to hear again from Slipknot.  It has a frustrating edge to it that will send fans into a tantrum of anger and release.  Be Prepared for Hell is an interlude that screams the brilliance and darkness of Clown (Shawn M. Crahan).  It is a disturbing track as any, taking Slipknot back to their horror themed roots.  The interlude leads into more disturbing and haunting thrash track, The Negative One, a jam reminiscent of the energy and strength of Duality.  The Negative One is powerful and heavy, capturing the heart of Slipknot in a very visual and strong way.  If Rain is What You Want has a darker, more ethereal sound than I’ve really heard from Slipknot.  It is unlike anything the band has ever put out, in the best way possible.  It has a Doom Metal sound to it, unexpected from such an energetic Death Metal band.  It adds a new tone to the album, standing out as a gem much like Skeptic does.  There is nothing like this track on any Slipknot album.

 

The last two tracks on .5 The Gray Chapter close the album out perfectly, showing the true epicness of everything Slipknot strives to create.  Override let’s each musician shine and shred in their perfect form, proving to be an anthem on the album.  The build up to a shouty chorus from Corey Taylor and the contrast of melodic vocals is spectacular.  The stripped down style of the verses give you break from the constant onslaught of pounding guitars from JIm and Mick and effects that Chris and Craig provide.  Slipknot have really grown and shaped their music to a personal memoir made of sound.  This album is definitely the deepest, most meaningful album they’ve created.  Paul Gray and the departure of Joey Jordison inspire this album to greatness.  The Burden is the send off track of the album, leaving you with a sense that the saga of Slipknot may continue on past this album.  It is an unsuspecting ending track, but brings the album to a conclusion of melancholy and pain that Slipknot had to share one last time on .5 The Gray Chapter.

 

Overall there are a million good things and qualities and layers of this album that make it my favorite Slipknot album.  All my favorite things about the band are highlighted insanely well.  I think the band wore their lost brethren on their sleeves and took every ounce of pain and anguish, stuffing it all into this cornucopia of brilliant metal tracks.  Every instrumental piece is well executed and performed with urgency.  All vocals and lyrics on the album are unparalleled to any album released this year.  I really think this is the best album Corey Taylor has ever sang on.  Slipknot are fighting their way back into the hearts of their fans and into the spotlight.  To me, this is the most meaningful album they’ve ever put out and it has overall bettered the band.  They sound like they’re at their peak, which is something bands hardly ever achieve in America after losses and drama.  Slipknot is America’s best metal band, and I think .5 The Gray Chapter proves it.

 

Rating 10/10

 

“It was the rebirth of Slipknot, […] it was like us coming back together, pushing out the vibe that had gotten in there and kinda started pulling people away. But we figured out that you know, we do have to get space you know, we do need to let people be sometimes.”- Paul Gray