TILL THE DIRT – OUTSIDE THE SPIRAL

Opening song “Starring Role” is the apt representation of Till The Dirt’s debut Outside The Spiral. It wallops screeching vocals, a grunge induced chorus, death metal chugs, a Black Sabbath groove, and a chaotic solo all in under 4 minutes. This album has no idea what it wants to be and I’m not sure Kelly Shaefer does either.

His work and vision with Atheist is undeniable, but there’s a fine line between innovation and being different just for the sake of it. He sees the death metal genre becoming too stagnant so he has decided to drown Till The Dirt in an abundance of influences to create this unfocused monstrosity. It doesn’t help with the modernized sound of the guitars and the computerized mix, but the drumming is the best aspect of this record – strong and captures the rapid pace of the album.

Shaefer is all over the place with his vocals, his screeches and screams are on point, but he turns the choruses on their head utilizing cleans reminiscent of Layne Staley and Jonathan Davis. It’s so strange and weird, but some might find this inviting.

BRAVEWORDS MUSEUM IN PHOTOS: AUGUST 28TH - SEPTEMBER 3RD BIRTHDAYS

BRAVEWORDS MUSEUM IN PHOTOS: AUGUST 28TH - SEPTEMBER 3RD BIRTHDAYS













BraveWords has one of the biggest music collections on the planet, with thousands of items signed. Each week we will showcase the last seven days of birthdays and anniversaries featuring some of the greatest album releases in metal history. To view photos from August 28th - September 3rd, click the photo gallery at this location.

The BraveWords Museum needs a home! Any interested parties please contact bwbk@bravewords.com.

KILL DEVIL HILL – “THE BAND DIDN’T HAVE ANYTHING…IT WAS JUST US”

KILL DEVIL HILL – “THE BAND DIDN’T HAVE ANYTHING…IT WAS JUST US”




To say a lot has happened since the release of the second Kill Devil Hill album, Revolution Rise, in 2013 is a massive understatement! Ten years have passed, and in that decade, half the band has changed. Drummer Johnny Kelly (Type O Negative, Quiet Riot) replaced Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath, Dio), and bassist Matt Snell (Five Finger Death Punch) replaced Rex Brown (Pantera, Down) – that’s a whole new rhythm section. Still leading the charge are vocalist Dewey Bragg (Pissing Razors), and guitarist Mark Zavon.

This revamped, and completely invigorated version of Kill Devil Hill releases their new album, Seas Of Oblivion, on September 20, 2023 via Legend Recordings. “To me, Kill Devil Hill is very identifiable by Dewey, and Mark’s riffs. So, to me, the identifying characters are still there,” begins Johnny Kelly. “Even though the band had a lot of star power with Vinny Appice and Rex Brown – those two together are incredible. But to me, Kill Devil Hill is Dewey. He’s such a great singer! That, to me, is what really stands out with Kill Devil Hill. Obviously, it’s going to be different when you change the entire rhythm section. Our approaches are going to be different. I don’t want to say better or worse, but it’s different. And that’s going to come across in any music.”

“We had recorded a couple of songs when Rex was still in the band, and that sounded different from the two records they did. You change one ingredient… it’s going to be different. You put me in place of Vinny Appice – that’s going to be completely different. Even though I was very influenced by Vinny when I was younger, when I first started playing; it’s still going to be different. Then when Matt came in, a totally different approach as well. I still think that it does sound like Kill Devil Hill though. To me, the identifying markers of the band are Mark and Dewey. And obviously, when you’re talking about ten years between records – everybody’s different. Put ten years between you, me, your Mom, your kids. So, there is going to be a difference. Hopefully, people who were fans of the band previously will dig what the band is bringing out. But that was the cool thing about it too, when we got together and started working on the record… we didn’t have an agenda. The band didn’t have anything – no label, no management, no booking agent; it was just us. We were just getting together, writing songs and seeing where it went.”

Avenged Sevenfold

Avenged Sevenfold posta série de vídeos misteriosos feitos com bonecas Barbie
Os episódios lançados diariamente parecem contar uma história




O que Avenged Sevenfold e Barbie têm em comum? Em um primeiro momento, nada. Mas ao longo da última semana, a banda de metalcore tem feito postagens no mínimo intrigantes.

Diariamente pelos últimos 3 dias, o Avenged Sevenfold tem postado uma série de vídeos surpreendentemente bem produzidos que parecem contar uma história. O diferencial? Os vídeos são protagonizados por bonecas Barbie e outros brinquedos.

Ainda não está clara a intenção da banda com esses vídeos misteriosos, mas todas as postagens foram cuidadosamente trabalhadas, então vale a pena ficar de olho no que vem por aí.

O primeiro episódio da série consiste no nascimento de uma Barbie chamada de Sweetheart Barbie. Ao longo dos episódios, nós percebemos que a personagem costuma acatar às opiniões dos mais velhos – especialmente figuras de autoridade como os pais e professores – e seguir sua vida com base nos papéis que lhe foram designados, sem questionar.

No segundo episódio, os integrantes do Avenged Sevenfold aparecem como alunos da mesma classe que a Sweetheart Barbie com fotos de si mesmos coladas nos rostos dos bonecos. O episódio cômico parece ser uma sátira ao papel que os mais velhos querem determinar que os mais jovens ocupem. De maneira bem-humorada, a professora-Barbie descreve o futuro de cada integrante do Avenged Sevenfold e seu papel na banda.

Já no terceiro episódio, a personagem Sweetheart Barbie se muda para a sua nova casa em um bairro suburbano e se prepara para seguir à risca a vida que outras pessoas decidiram por ela, mas é alertada por outro personagem excêntrico, um paciente do hospital psiquiátrico, a não se conformar com o sistema.

A história ainda parece inacabada e é possível que apareçam mais vídeos nos próximos dias. Confira as publicações feitas até o momento:

MARC HUDSON - STARBOUND STORIES

 

MARC HUDSON - STARBOUND STORIES




The Dragon’s tongue takes aim at the Land Of The Rising Sun on Marc Hudson’s debut full-length album Starbound Stories. The DragonForce singer shows his love and appreciation for Japanese culture, gaming, and anime on Starbound Stories and for the most part, it works. Taking some cues from his main band, Starbound doesn’t showcase insane technicality, but it’s a prompt power metal record with soaring vocals along with prog, j-rock, and j-pop influences.

Great to hear Galneryus’ Syu wow with his guitar abilities on proper opener “Freedom Heart” (following the instrumental buildup “As The Twilight Meets The Sea”) with Gyze’s Ryoji shaking things up with growling vocals to play off of Hudson’s bright stylings. Hudson shines on the whimsical ballad “Stars” (featuring shimmering violin from Mia Asano) and the title track is a true, uplifting masterclass of motivation – a song that would play as the credits roll to end an anime movie. The lyric “For all the souls who fell before me of broken men with dying dreams I will bring forth the day we speak thy name” is especially powerful and earnest.

It’s easy to hear how this was a passion project for Hudson with the album art that could fit a JRPG, sprinkling melodic, poppy keys and guitars with just enough force and speed to remind that this is a metal album. And the metal comes in force with the DragonForce-lite “Astralive” and the proggy methods of the swindling “Dracula X!”.

FROZEN CROWN MAKE LIVE DEBUT AS SIX-PIECE BAND; FAN-FILMED VIDEO AVAILABLE

 

On September 16th, Italian power metallers Frozen Crown made their debut as a six-piece band at Stadthalle Tuttlingen in Tuttlingen, Germany, having added third guitarist Alessia Lanzone to the line-up. Fan-filmed video can be viewed below.

Frozen Crown has shared the following message:

"Wow! Our first show as a 6 piece band has been amazing! Thanks to U.D.O. for allowing us to play for their awesome crowd, and thanks to all old fans that showed up to attend this special night! And yes, our Alessia rocked the stage and her guitar with a big smile on her face (the same you can see in the photo) and it felt like she was part of the band since forever!"

PAIN: LANÇADO CLIPE OFICIAL DE NOVA MÚSICA, “REVOLUTION”

A antiga banda sueca de eletrônico/ industrial rock/metal, Pain, fundada em 1996 por Peter Tägtgren, lançou uma nova música, “Revolution”. Peter comenta:
"Escrevemos essa música juntos, eu e meu filho Sebastian. Ele escreveu toda a música e eu fiz a letra. E ficou ótimo. Estamos muito orgulhosos dessa música. A letra é sobre informações falsas nas redes sociais e notícias, e para uma pessoa normal, é difícil entender o que é certo e o que é errado."




A atual formação do Pain inclui Peter Tägtgren (vocais), seu filho Sebastian Tägtgren (bateria), Jonathan Olsson (baixo) e Sebastian Svalland (guitarra). No próximo mês, o Pain embarcará na turnê europeia “I Am” cobrindo 17 países e 33 cidades.