Illinois’ finest deathcore band, Born Of Osiris, has treated us once more with a mathematical masterpiece! Their fourth studio album “Soulsphere” is drowned in airtight guitar riffs with a mix of heart-breaking and beastlike vocals. As a listener you will get sucked into an unworldly universe with no chance of escape before the end of these 12 highly technical tracks. Of course because of the tight mix everything could sound too generic, especially the drums which are triggered to the maximum. The excessive use of sound samples could be positive or negative, depending on the listener but I think if Born Of Osiris can pull off the tight performance on this album in a live setting, no one would dare to whine about the samples. Highlights on this album are the very catchy “Throw Me In The Jungle”, “Illuminate” and “The Louder The Sound, The More We All Believe”. The outsider on the album could be closing track “The Composer”. This song begins with the typical Born Of Osiris wall of sound but ends with an interesting techno/classical composition. A real ‘ear catcher’!
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‘Modern hardcore’ always seems like a strange term to me, but it's actually what Evening Call is all about. Hailing from Liege, Belgium, this band recently released their latest EP titled “Restore”. Blending hardcore (or better called ‘old hardcore’ then) with the more progressive sounds that makes a band ‘modern hardcore’. Melodic parts, clean vocals and clean guitar parts all contributing to an eclectic mix that finds it roots in hardcore but takes it a step further. Another step forward in the organic growing process for Evening Call. The ‘Restore’ EP holds four tracks that bring contemporary hardcore, heavy sounds, tons of breaks and ranging from cleaner melodic vocals to straight-up grunts. Evening Call takes it all out and balls it into one ferocious EP. Following their examples such as Stick To Your Guns, Defeater and even Architects these Walloons deliver a nifty EP featuring four tracks of hardcore version 2015.
– David Marote
"Purple" is the highly-anticipated fourth studio album of Baroness. These four guys from Savannah, Georgia, show once more why they’re getting in line with larger acts in the genre like Mastodon or Valkyrie. Their raw sound with wailing vocals grasp you by the throat with just a few occasions to breath normally like during “Try To Disappear” or “Fugue”. Real highlights are “Shock Me”, “The Iron Bell”, with a guitar solo that could remind you of Thin Lizzy, and the heart-breaking “If I Have to Wake Up (Would You Stop the Rain?)”. Last but not least the 30 seconds long “Crossroads of Infinity” leaves you with a confused but satisfied feeling with a strange preference for the colour purple…
– Frederik Geuvens
“Walk The Plank” is already the twelfth studio album of Californian punk rockers Zebrahead. Their straightforward, ‘I don’t care what everyone else thinks’ attitude is once more reflected in these 13 songs of pure happiness and absurdity. This whirlwind with black and white stripes will make you dance in no time! Who could stand still with instant classics like “Who Brings A Knife To A Gun Fight?”, “Headrush”, “Save Your Breath” or “Wasted Generation”? Of course there’s also time for the more soft-hearted fans. “So What”, “Keep It To Myself” and title track “Walk The Plank” are slower songs talking about typical teenage angsts like not being accepted and change. Zebrahead won’t be Zebrahead when they woud let you end up with any negative feelings, so after singing along with these teen anthems you’ll feel a whole lot better! So cheer up, Buttercup and pogo your heart out with these veterans of punk rock! We are the wasted generation!
– Frederik Geuvens
We Came As Romans has been paving their wayward way for about ten years now. With their latest album, simply called “We Came As Romans”, this five-piece from Troy, Michigan, illustrates once more they are not afraid to reinvent themselves. Of course you’ll hear the clean vocals of Kyle Pavone, although far less auto-tuned than we’re used to, and the typical positive message We Came As Romans stands for. But you’ll also hear a lot of clean backings from screamer Dave Stephens and more modest intermezzi with samples to build up the contrast between the sing-a-long pieces we all know so well with this band. We even hear Dave rap in “Tear It Down”, a song that could just as well be released by Linkin Park or Papa Roach. The only downside on this album is the simplicity of the musical arrangements in comparison to their older songs. The musical instruments seem to be of secondary importance to the samples which seem to be in their turn in function of the vocals. Nevertheless, this album has a couple of songs you have to listen. For example, “The World I Used To Know”, “Blur” and “Defiance” are tracks that in a live setting will be in line with older hits like “To Plant A Seed” and “To Move On Is To Grow”.
– Frederik Geuvens
This album is what every singer-songwriter album should be: light, easy-listenable and catchy. Still, the songs do sound a little alike and there isn’t really one that has the ‘wow’-factor. So it’s a good album to relax to, to listen to on a Sunday morning, but it could use some spice, some twists to the gentle guitar riffs. Lastly, I have to say I do appreciate the song’s subjects. They’re not all about love, like so much music is nowadays, but about more refreshing things like the singer’s grandfather and the fleetingness of time. So all in all, this is a good album if you’re looking for something simple and calm, but not if you’re more into something provocative and novel.
– Renske Gommer
The five-headed band from California, Atreyu has been paving their way since 1998. And after all these years they’ve stayed true to their signature format of shredding guitars, ripping screams and heart-breaking clean vocals. So don’t expect something completely different while listening to their latest release “Long Live” but who could blame them? They’ve found their lucky recipe and changing their sound just for the sake of change would be plainly dumb. So if you want to hear the real Atreyu, listen to songs like title track “Long Live”, “Brass Balls” and “Start To Break”! The Special Edition of this album provides the fans with hit single “So Others May Live” and new masterpiece “Stronger Than Me”.
– Frederik Geuvens
From What We Believe is a five-headed band hailing from Hermeskeill, Germany. These five guys already released their first album “Sink Or Swim” in June, 2015 and has been touring ever since. The dubstep-ish intro to the album called “Coming To Light” gives you the impression that you’ll be listening to a metal album with lots of electronic elements but nothing is less true. Of course, one can ponder on the real necessity of this song in the overall concept of the album but that would bring us too far. The rest of the album provides a full-on wall of sound with very tight guitar and drum riffs, roaring screams and angelic clean vocals. Everything sounds very polished and clean but this subtracts nothing from the pure, raw emotions in songs like “My Lighthouse”, “Compass” or title track “Sink Or Swim”. One demerit of this album we have to admit is that each song could be of another band like Parkway Drive, Bury Tomorrow and many others. The influence of these bands cannot be overlooked and while listening to “Sink Or Swim” you have to admit that these guys must have listened very carefully to their heroes so they could sound like them. After listening to this album you’ll be left with no breath and the only thing you could do is just sink or swim.
– Frederik Geuvens
The album title represents the album quite well, I think, because spitting at the sun seems like kind of a rebellious act, right? And that is just what this album sounds like: rebellious and passionate. However, there are also a few things I don’t like that much about it. For an example the singing/screaming starts to sound a little monotonous after a while. Also, the songs seem to lose a little of their power as they go along. Most of them start really fierce and then droop at the end. So I guess this should be Banquets’ challenge: to keep us entertained to the last second of every freaking song.
– Renske Gommer
Bruges, not just home to fancy lace, tasty chocolate and medieval sightseeing but also home to the finest band in the Belgian thrash metal scene: After All. Following their 2012 release “Dawn Of The Enforcer”, After All decided it was time to kick some ass again, so songs were written, the studio booked and a new full album is on its way as we speak. But first they leave you with “Rejection Overruled”, a three-song EP on limited 300 pieces pressed in nuclear green vinyl. Featuring two new tracks and one reworked track the band once proves its talent and delivers a fine display of old-school metal vocals, energy, melody and hell-hard riffs. “Rejection Overruled” can keep every thrash metal fan satisfied while waiting for their next full album.