Free Metal Monday: Intervoid-Weaponized

Self-Release/Independent
2014

"Weaponized" is the full-length debut album from Ohio's Intervoid (https://www.facebook.com/Intervoid)
 Digitally released this past December, with the nearly 60 minute long (!) album available for download at the link below as a name-your-own-price deal, this extreme piece of studio savageness has now been released as a must-buy CD! Featuring the current line-up of vocalist/lyricist Ricky Lewis, lead and rhythm guitarist Sam Vang, bassist Jacob Marxen and drummer Johnny Zazo this (inexplicably!!!) unsigned band has been in existence since 2012 with their pulverizing sound reaching new heights as far as madness and terror are concerned on the buzz-worthy "Weaponized"! A mind-blowing mash-up of technical/progressive death metal, groove-infused industrial metal and blackened death thrash this Ohio four-piece are every bit as good live as they are on this twisted beast of a recording! Now, back in August of 2013  I covered the band's excellent debut EP, "Xenolith", but (blame it on getting older or there just being too much metal in the world to sort through and not enough time!) somehow I missed out on the Oct. 2014 Halloween split EP that Intervoid did with Despondent and Cunt Cuntly entitled "Jesus Christ How Horrifying". That being the case and all it isn't too late to hear that particular release or the group's debut offering by simply following links on Intervoid's bandcamp page right here: https://intervoid.bandcamp.com/album/weaponized As a final note if you live in Ohio and you have the chance then I would HIGHLY recommend catching this band live! Loud, heavy and full-tilt extreme doesn't even begin to describe this underrated Ohio act on the live stage and for those labels/PR folks who are listening in Intervoid are yet another killer Buckeye band who are primed and ready for the big time! Our scene continues to grow and it never fails to amaze me how much Ohio has to offer the heavy metal scene at large when it comes to the high-quality end of the spectrum! Maybe that's an article in and of itself that is better suited to another day, but Intervoid and "Weaponized", their first full-length release and a great pick-up for lovers of all things technical death metal and industrial death metal, are just two things from this great state of mine that are in need of a wider audience so it has to start somewhere....    
 
Coverage of "Xenolith" EP
http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2013/08/intervoid-xenolith.html

Psychotic Gardening-Hymnosis

Self-Release/Independent Recording
2014

Due to be released tomorrow (May 13th, 2014), "Hymnosis" makes it four full-length albums for Winnipeg, Manitoba's Psychotic Gardening. Having first been assembled in the mid-nineties by vocalist/guitarist Chuck Labossiere (at the time a member of Immortal Possession) this one-time solo project has slowly grown into it's own. A unrelenting side-effect of heavy metal that has run amok, unrestricted by the barriers that are meant to keep everything in check (whether, as in the case of Psychotic Gardening, it's doom or death, groove or goth) this metallic freak of nature is pure, unfiltered fury and we, the heavy metal community at large, are all the better for it! Currently featuring a superb line-up of Labossiere (guitars, vocals and keyboards), (second) vocalist Chris "Gillshammer" Gillis (Mnemonic Void, Reign of Terror), guitarist Andrew Wiens (Aberration, ex-Children of Tragedy), bassist Mike "Junior" Jannsen (Eyam, Kaluza, ex-Damascus) and drummer Matt Penner this uncompromising (Canadian) monster of metal fury is as extreme as they come! And no, we're not even talking about the lyrical content* of "Hymnosis" here!  Joined by a couple of guests like Will "Willishammer" Janssen (additional keyboards on "Journey to the Sun"), Into Eternity's Tim Roth and Broken Hope's Chuck Wepfer (two guitarists, both of whom play on the band's choice Death cover, "Open Casket"), Manitoba's Psychotic Gardening manhandles their instruments, striking the listener with deadly blows to the head via the eardrums! With roots that seemingly point to not only old-school death metal, post-Pentagram doom metal and hardened thrash, but traditional heavy metal and the previously mentioned groove and goth (yes, truly all of that morphs together here on "Hymnosis" in a killer way!) Psychotic Gardening have a real raging vibe about them and any attempt to downplay the utter brute-force of this 41 minute platter would be ill-advised! This could prove to be one of 2014's most dangerous releases as it has mean look at it and it's bark is as dangerous as it's trap-jaw bite! It would be disastrous if this album was overlooked by the metal community at large as Psychotic Gardening's "Hymnosis" is METAL
and it strikes all the right cords! For Chuck Labossiere a release like this one has to be rewarding as it's build upon a solid foundation of THICK metal riffs and SICK solos that will stand tall against the inevitable wave of piss-poor imitators! Get on board with this lot while you still can folks as this (fully-armed battle) ship is going to be causing some major waves soon enough as they bring the hammer down on the competition !

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Psychotic-Gardening/8376017862

*This band's fierily attack on religion, or more specifically Christianity, is boldly spelled out make no mistake of that!

Pet The Preacher-The Cave & The Sunlight

Napalm Records
2014

Pet The Preacher? There's a novel idea. Not that I actually recommend that anyone go up to and pet a preacher today. Or any day for that matter. No, that might be considered harassment and there might actually be laws against that sort of behavior. Still, I totally dig the name of this Danish act. And yes, I totally dig what this Danish power trio lays down on their second full-length album. Especially given the huge stoner rock riffs and fuzzed over layers of feedback that these three wizards of groove land surf like a wave! The three in question being guitarist/vocalist Christian Hede Madsen, bassist/backing vocalist Torben Wæver Pedersen and drummer Christian Von Larsen and, seeing as "The Cave & The Sunlight" has a homegrown flavor to it (a groovy delicious flavor if that's possible?), these fine gentlemen make you feel right at home thanks to the warm and cozy vibe that their sophomore recording gives off! And here's the thing, if stoner rock riffs and fuzzed out feedback are not enough to wet you're appetite then how about a number like "Remains" where, in grand, garage rock-like fashion, Pet The Preachers rolls out bastardized blues? Tasty doesn't even begin to describe a track like "Remains"! And that's just one of eleven tracks on "The Cave & The Sunlight"! Just one! Just one out of the eleven (all killer and no filler!!!!) "Groovy does it lads!" tracks from Pet The Preacher! Nice....

Jupiter Zeus-On Earth

Magnetic Eye Records
2014

First known as Nebula (under which they released one 1994 demo, "Born Deformed", and the full-length, 1995 album, "Sadness Vs Madness") and originally wowing audiences with their own take on groove-infused death metal before transferring their collective consciousness (guitarist/vocalists Simon Staltari, bass guitarist Jeremy Graham, guitarist Michael Lawson and drummer Aidrian Vudrug) into the art-form that stands before us now, Perth, Western Australia-based Jupiter Zeus are something refreshingly different and yet oddly familiar. Short and sweet this is prime and proper (hypnotic) psychedelic rock. Only here we find a album like "On Earth" awash with heavy grooves (no doubt the one carry-over aspect from Nebula), flashes of melodic sensibility ("Cosmic Rays", "Waiting In Line"), some space rock weirdness (ala Hawkwind), splinters of garage rock and mighty mighty riffs that (on occasion mind you) bear resemblance to something that you'd expect to find from your local (college-age no doubt) stoner rock (hipster) collective and not a potential (radio rock) hit-making crew like this. And that's the real clincher here. As HEAVY as this band is on the rock front (listen to opener "Waves" and then simply follow the flame to "Over" and go from there!) and (even more so with) the psychedelic/groove tendencies there's more then meets the eye with this bunch seeing as Jupiter Zeus are strong contenders on the "pop" side of things. Sure, it's more akin to the craftiness of college rock/alternative rock of old ("Talkback Caller", "Waiting In Line"), but the fact remains that this four-piece (punctuated by the hypnotic performance of Simon Staltari) know how to write music that is catchy and sticks with you for a long time afterwards! No fears though as "On Earth" is still a sick enough slab of stone-cold riffs (see "Psychotic Seeds") so as to offer more then enough material to appeal to followers of all things stoner rock! That's especially true as the HEAVY groove-lines offer a nice little one-two to your eardrums (dig the fat riffs of "Co-Creators"!). Now, as to how this Western Australia bunch has managed to elude stardom so far remains any one's guess? The band's previous release (the well-received EP "Green Mosquito") did set the stage, but now it's time for Jupiter Zeus to actually take to the stage and just let it rip. But they can't do it alone. People need to perk up and listen as well! "On Earth" offers itself as a (sublime) alternative to the daily grind that is (repetitive) rock and/or metal so all you need to do is reach out and take hold of the flame. Easy enough right?

https://magneticeyerecords.bandcamp.com/album/on-earth 

Dogs of Delphi-Irons in the Fire

Self-Release/Independent
2013

Based in Kansas City Missouri, whose pro football team the Chiefs are very likely to remain undefeated after they destroy my hometown (not so) pro team today, the Browns (especially when it comes to our anemic and down-right offensive offense!), let me introduce all of  you to the band Dogs of Delphi. This real deal, raw, ravenous and ready to strike band is not only heavier then King Kong's (big and hairy) testicles, but their demeanor is even nastier then damn stinky ape! Dogs of Delphi, with what I expect is their debut-recording, offer up (for your listening pleasure of course!) 5-tracks of unapologetic metal. This mid-west act is every bit what you'd expect based not only upon their cool moniker and the EP's gripping title, but also the effective black and white art-work that dons this EP! This five-track release opens strong with the cutting "Voice's of the Sky" and like a mean and vicious junk yard dog, whose gone rabid and has developed a taste for human flesh, it sinks it's blood-craved teeth into you and just doesn't let go!  Not even the album's closing number, which in this case is the gut-punching title-cut "Irons in the Fire", offers relief from it's trap-jaw so don't bother saying any prayers or begging for mercy. Long after this one is (technically) over your head is still going to be rattling from all of the meaty riffs and you'll be wondering where that mack-truck is that just ran you over! Now, usually I try to steer clear of a band's self-penned description. But, in the case of the Kansas City act it is actually a fairly spot-on description. As such it would be hard for me to argue against such a fact as the following. In a nutshell, Dogs of Delphi are said to be what you would get when you combine the three bands Black Sabbath, Clutch and Corrosion of Conformity into one volatile collective. Alright, you've got me as the "volatile collective" part I added myself. The thing is it's all too real and this band's sonic destruction is downright dangerous! So, this one sure does seem to be a combination of all three (Black Sabbath, Clutch and Corrosion of Conformity) with the Clutch part having everything to do with the sound & style of lead singer Adam Vinck. As he has the same kind of gnarly vocal delivery that a younger Neil Fallon did, which is f**king wicked friends, it's easy enough to draw a line between Dogs of Delphi and Clutch. Beyond that yes, sure enough there are those definite pieces/parts of both of the (other two) previously mentioned bands (Black Sabbath and Corrosion of Conformity). But, hold on a minute or two as we check out some of the other groups that spring to mind when you're talking about Dogs of Delphi. There's quite a bit of  anything/everything that Phil Anselmo had/still has to offer the heavy metal community.  This four-piece recalls the likes of Pantera, Superjoint Ritual and Down and in this case that's far from a bad thing! It's simply that Dogs of Delphi has more the enough substance to keep them interesting. With a guitarist like Todd James on hand, who keeps himself quite busy by laying down groove-heavy riffs (with the emphasis on HEAVY!), there does seem to be a tiny bit of (let's hold off on the psychedelic please and, in it's place, how about we try it with a bit more punk fellas?) Monster Magnet. Well, there's that and then (and I'm not sure why it was that I came away with this one) I heard the familiar rumblings of the mighty Motörhead in between Dogs of Delphi's riffs. Why it is that bands like this always bring me back to Lemmy and company I just don't know. Maybe it's a genetic defect on my part?. Either way there are also a lot worse things in life then being compared to a band like the one Lemmy fronts! On subsequent listens (as this one DEMANDED that I listen to it a half dozen or so times!) I came away with the impression that Dogs of Delphi could be what an alternate universe version of Motörhead would sound like if their biggest influences had been not only bands like Black Sabbath, C.O.C. and Clutch, but also "No Life 'til Leather" era Metallica! All of that just goes to show the diversity of this Kansas City collective and how "Irons in the Fire" is a beast of an EP!  Well, that and then it shows that my mind never likes to stay in one place for too long. I will chalk that one up to all the years of headbanging and thrashing out as it would explain the scrambled egg brains of mine! And hey, Dogs of Delphi, which is filled out by the pair of  bassist Michael Christopher (formerly of Primer 55) and drummer Jason Byrd (formerly of Cherry Wench with Todd James), might not helped me any with there monstrous riffs, but you are not going to hear me complain! Maybe the group's not a well-known commodity right now, but if they keep on cranking out this kind of ball-crushing, heavy on the groove and southern fried for extra crunchiness material then that will change soon enough. Be sure to clear out the runway for this Kansas City collective when you do secure a copy of this EP. Because let me tell you, when they come down to land these 5-tracks it's going to make one hell of a heavy metal explosion and leave layers upon layers of carnage everywhere! You can snag a copy of this one on iTunes, Amazon and other sources that deal in all things digital and all things "hotter then hell and capable of drop-kicking the devil's ass all the way to heaven" metal!

Kriadiaz-Kriadiaz

Pavement Entertainment
2013

I almost passed on this promo from Cleveland's Kriadiaz when I saw that it featured a former member of Mushroomhead. That was until I saw that it was (locally) well-known guitarist Dave Felton (Hatrix, ex-Centurion, ex-Purgatory) whose work I've always appreciated. On this self-titled album, which looks as if it was originally released way back in June of 2012*, Dave Felton is joined by some old friends of his. Chief among them are heavy metal veterans Bryan Trembly (ex-Spawn) on bass and Emery Ceo (Ritual Of Torment, ex-Ritual, Ex-Torment, ex-Tormentor and ex-Dark Arena) on drums. Meanwhile it appears as if this might just be the first rodeo for lead vocalist Mike Ruz. If it is then kudos to Mike as he handles the role of lead vocalist here with ease. There's an air of authority to his voice which fits this band's form of homegrown, bad-to-the-bone, southern metal sludge fest like a glove! Officially Kriadiaz was formed in 2010 and, in addition to this quite hard-hitting debut album, the Metal Archives makes mention of a demo CD that was released by the band. Whether that is true or not I can't verify (or simply choose not to at this junction), but it's neither here nor there when we're talking about what makes this band tick. With Kriadiaz you get a band that is a million times removed from what Dave Felton was doing in Mushroomhead and all I can say is thank God for that! The band's promo offered up the promise of real metal and they most certainly delivered just that-real metal. As Dave Felton put it "We didn’t use any samples and we all played our own parts with out any digital doctoring." He goes on to say "Its Heavy Metal. What can I say?". And he's exactly right about that! This is heavy metal that's partly along the lines of Crowbar, Down, Kill Devil Hill and Pantera. It's thanks to the vocals of Mike Ruz (who sounds rather like a poor man's Phillip Anselmo) that the Pantera reference comes into play, but it's not like you could hold the two bands side by side like they were twins or something. It's more like this Ohio heavy metal band walks the same long road as Pantera, Crowbar and Down which translates into a southern style of metal with a simple side of groove. OK, so notice how I said that Kriadiaz was "partly" along the lines of Down, Crowbar, Pantera and Kill Devil Hill. Here's the other part of the equation with this Cleveland 4-piece: Black Sabbath. No, not so much the doom aspect of early Ozzy-lead Sabbath. Instead these guys (occasionally) take in some of Black Sabbath's (later period) heavy metal sound with the emphasis being on the "HEAVY" part. It's the other side of coin that Kriadiaz is interested in. So, as they tinker with Black Sabbath's brand of heavy metal, their much more concerned with getting that heavy crunch style of playing Tony Iommi to work for them instead of the doom and gloom. And they pretty much do get it to work for them. In a nutshell this is raw heavy metal with a few nice wrinkles thrown in to make it interesting, but it the end it never forgets that it's first and foremost a "HEAVY" metal band that plays REAL heavy metal. What more could any metal fan want?

*It looks as though this album was initially released on Shark Sausage Records which I kind of suspect was the band's own label.

Intervoid-Xenolith

Self-Release/Independent
2013

Intervoid, who hail from northeast Ohio, first came to my attention when I caught the tail end of one of their live performances. Given the line-up at said show, which included Cerulia, The Approach And The Execution and Erasing Never, this 4-piece band was more then able to hold their own as one of the evening's opening acts. My only complaint with their performance that night was the fact that I walked in too late to catch all of their set! The part that I did catch though was loud, pulverizing and downright brutal! Featuring the kind of  technical death metal that will never go out of style (or at least I hope not) the band's live sound also pulled in some progressive metal as well as some fringe elements of groove. The band even tore through a Coal Chamber cover as they tried to whip the still-growing crowd into a frenzy. To their credit they did try to wake the sleepy crowd up, but it seemed to remain rather quiet the whole night through. Anyways, after their bass player Matt Snyder ended up standing right next to me during The Approach And The Execution's set, and thus proving he had good tastes in music LOL, I decided to check this group out at a later date. All of that brings us to this 2-track EP which looks to be their latest release. By that I mean that this Ohio act has more then a few "single" releases to their name, but so far it does not look as if they've crossed the bridge into full-length release territory. If  I'm wrong then I'd hope that some one would correct me, but for the meantime we turn our attentions to this 2-track EP.  This short slice of  industrial death metal features the  brutalizing cuts "Xenolith" and "Godlike (8-Shit Remix)" with the later number quite obviously a re-mixed version of their single "Godlike" (which was originally released back on January 27th, 2013). Both tracks are quite nasty with some seriously twisted death growls coming straight from the mouth of lead singer Ricky Lewis! With Sam Vang providing the same kind of sick guitar work here on these two cuts as he did in a live setting and with the drum seat rightly filled by the heavy hitting Johnny Zazo (who appears to have been the last piece of this band's line-up puzzle) it's clear enough that all signs point towards potential success for this Ohio act. You might be asking though "What about Intervoid's actual sound?". What influences lie there lurking in the dark for this 4-piece, up and coming act? Well, a quick glance over at their Facebook page and you'll notice that Intervoid lists the likes of Fear Factory, Gojira, Nile, Testament, Devin Townsend, Strapping Young Lad, Godflesh, Behemoth, Carcass and Morbid Angel as influences. It's likely that you'll hear most of those influences if you back-track through the group's various recordings (all of which were self-produced by the band members themselves!) starting with this one of course or, better yet, if you catch this band in a live setting! That's where these kind of bands should be experienced. If seeing them live isn't a possibility though then at least take comfort in the fact that their hard-hitting music is available in a digital format. The group's bandcamp page can be found at the link below as well as their Facebook page. As always support local talent whenever possible whether you live here in Ohio or not. Underground bands like Intervoid are keeping the true spirit of metal alive so do what you can to support these types of bands and your scene.

http://intervoid.bandcamp.com/album/xenolith

https://www.facebook.com/Intervoid

Ungrace-Feed The Demons

Metal Scrap Records
2013


Have a craving for something fresh when it comes to your death metal? Are you bored with all of these bands who play things far too close to the chest for comfort? We all know the kind. They end up coming across as cookie-cuter versions of better bands from the past or even the present. That's where this Ukrainian group comes in. What makes them so different? Well, first off Ungrace was formed back in 2009 with their debut album, "Hostile Revival", being released the following year. While do Ungrace offer up brutalizing death metal it's intertwined with industrial metal. That might not being anything new in and off itself, but in addition to giving their death metal the industrialized once over it also comes with a side-dish of heavy as hell groove metal! That's not something you stumble onto everything day. When it comes to variety in the world of heavy metal (or in this case the world of death metal) there's always something new to be found, but it's kind of odd to find a band like this I'd argue. It all works though. Everything they utilize just gels together making this one more then just another stale death metal band. Worth checking out if you're looking for more then just another paint-by-numbers death metal outfit.

Free Metal Monday: She Loves Pablo-Burn And Levitate

Self-Release/Independent
2013

Alright, She Loves Pablo is not exactly "metal", as their sound is a mash-up of stoner rock/groove/ indie rock/punk and alt. rock. But, regardless of whether or not its" metal", this is one cool release. This 4-piece band, who formed in 2005, hail from Zagreb, Croatia with "Burn And Levitate" being their latest recording. The best way I could describ this would be Them Crooked Vultures meeting Foo Fighters and, after they all smoked a crap load of weed, they busted out some sold cold stoner rock. Enjoy.

http://music.geengerrecords.com/album/burn-and-levitate

Signs of Chaos Interview

Canada's Signs of Chaos are one of those bands that defy any sort of simple description. Well, other then "HEAVY"! While they are an extreme metal band they also indulge in groove-oriented thrash. When mixed with their brutal, and above all else HEAVY (yep, they are HEAVY folks!), death/thrash style it's a lethal combination. Recently I sat down to find out what makes them tick and what the future has in store for this 5-piece. If you have not yet had a chance to read my review of their latest album, the almighty "Rise", you can click on the link below.

Andy-Could you introduce the band and give us a quick run-down on how Signs Of Chaos came about?

Matt-Sure, Signs of  Chaos is Matt MacIvor and Dave McCann on guitars, Nick Bedard on vocals, Tom Hansen on bass and Taylor Calderone on drums. Originally Dave and I had been playing in another band called Bioencrypt. When that band ended up disbanding we had some riffs and songs we had been working on so, Dave and I decided to start a new band to play that material. We had a different line-up originally and the style was a little different, but when Nick and Taylor came on boards things really solidified.

Andy-There's probably no real story behind the band's name other then "it sounded cool" right?

Matt-Yeah, that's pretty accurate. We had a hard time agreeing on a name for the band at first (which I think is the case for most new bands). I think we had a sheet of paper with like 20 different name suggestions at one point. We used to have this song called "Last Minute Chaos" and thought about naming the after that at one point. Dave was the one who suggested Signs Of Chaos and that was the only one that we all liked and could agree on. Also, I'm a big Testament fan and they have a song called "Sign of Chaos" so I always like that connection.

Andy-Very good. The name certainly fits your sound and style to a tee! Now, could you tell me how it is that "Rise" sounds so freaking AWESOME?

Matt-Excellent question! We recorded the album with Matt Bond at Pebble Studios here in Ottawa. Mike's kind of become the go to guy for metal bands in the city. Our drummer Taylor had worked with him before in his other band Dissentient (an awesome Ottawa progressive death metal band!) and their album sounded amazing. As soon as I heard that album I decided I wanted to work with Mike for our album as well. We're pretty happy with how it turned out!

Andy-I'd say it was a good call. OK, another routine question, but let's just roll with it. Who influenced the band?

Matt-As a band we're influenced by a lot of different stuff. I think you can hear aspects of bands like Gojira, Lamb of God, Machine Head, Testament, Nevermore, Opeth, Arch Enemy, Megadeth and stuff like that.

Tom-I'll second the Opeth again as well as Megadeth, Lamb of God, etc. Maybe some Scar Symmetry?

Dave-Back in the day I was into Vai, Santriani, Skolnick, and Friedman. These days Jeff Loomis and Chris Broderick are at the top of my list.

Taylor-My drummer influences are Gavin Harrison of Porcupine Tree, Tom Hake of Meshuggah and Mike Portnoy (ex Dream Theater).

Nick-Corey Taylor and Chad Grey inspired me to proceed in music and to scream my fucking lungs out!

Matt-When I first started out I was into guys like Tony Iommi and Dave Murray/Adrian Smith. Now, like Dave, I'm pretty influenced by Jeff Loomis and Michael Amott and probably lots of other guys I can't think of right now!

Andy-So, like I was saying, above all else I just found "Rise" to be "HEAVY". I've got to assume that when you guys bring it in a live setting that things get crazy. Lots of moshing I'm guessing right?

Matt-Yeah! Thanks! "Heavy" is definitely what we were going for! We usually get a good response to our live shows. Nick's really good at getting the crowd going. Sometimes, when it's a new crowd who are not really familiar with us already, it takes a few songs to win them over, but in the end there's typically lots of moshing and headbanging going on!

                                                   Guitarist Matt doing what he does best!

Andy-Any shows that stand out?

Matt-First show that springs to mind is when we opened for Eluveitie here in Ottawa. The show was completely sold out, packed house, and most of the people, I'd say 90%, I'd never seen at a show before (and I go to a lot of local shows!). The crowd was super pumped though and as soon we got on stage they went nuts! Even thought they had no idea who we were the pits were nuts throughout our whole set! Another time we played in Nick's home town, Limoges, which is a small little town. Even so a ton of people came out to see Nick. All I remember about the show was how the stage was shaking from people crashing into it, some guy with blood all over his face, beers getting spilled on my pedals, etc. I remember thinking "This is fucking awesome!".

Andy-Let's stay in that general ballpark. Who are some of the bands you've played with?

Matt-Our most recent show we played with Alestorm and Insomnium. We've also played with Arsis, Nightrage, Firewind, Unexpect, Necronomicon and all these other great local bands like Dissentient, Re-Animator, Insurrection, Crimson Shadows, Bolero and Aggressor. There's also been bills we've been on with Joe Thrasher, Accursed Spawn, My Shadow, ...From The Deep and probably tons of other bands I'm forgetting. We had a bit of bad luck with a couple of bigger shows getting canceled. We were scheduled to open for Nevermore and then later Scar Symmetry, but both of those shows got cancelled. We were super bummed Since we're big fans of both of those bands.

Andy-Yeah, that sucks. Other then those two bands who else would you love to play with if you could? What's a dream bill like for Signs of Chaos?

Dave-Other then those two shows we had cancelled I'd love to share the stage with Lamb of God, Arch Enemy, Opeth and/or Gojira!

Tom-Wintersun or Devin Townsend.

Nick-Slipknot!!!!

Matt-I'm going to steal some of Tom and Dave's answers. I think a pretty sweet lineup would be
Signs of Chaos, Jeff Loomis, Devin Townsend, and Gojira.

Andy-So, what does 2013 have in store for you guys? Any big plans?

Matt-Well, we had a pretty good 2012, got the album recorded and played some good shows in Ottawa. This year we'll be working on lots of new material and looking to start playing some out of town shows. Also, maybe a small tour. We definitely want to get some more exposure and get the band out there.

Andy-Before we wrap things up are there any other local bands that you think deserve mention?

Matt-Well, I should take the opportunity to promote some of our other bands. Tom and I both play in a local death metal band called Fumigation. We have our first album, "Integrated Pest Management", coming out pretty soon. Taylor also plays in Dissentient. They released an amazing album back in 2011 called "Black Hole Machine". The Ottawa scene scene has really picked up in the last few years though. There are some great bands right now. Some of my favorites are: Insurrection, Collider, Joe Thrasher, Accursed Spawn, ...From The Deep, Obduracy, Placentophagia and Deformatory. Oh, also Mortor are another great band! I could name a bunch more, but I'd still be leaving people out. Those are some of the ones that spring to mind right away.

Andy-That's a lot of names there! Its good to see that the metal scene continues to strive all over the world! Anything else you'd like to add Matt? I'll give you guys the final word.

Matt-I just want to say thanks to you for taking the time to check out our stuff and the time to write about it. We really appreciate it!

Well, there you have it folks. Be sure to check this band and if you're into groove-based (Pantera/Exhorder) heavy thrash/extreme death metal then "Rise" will satisfy your cravings!

http://metalmark.blogspot.com/search?q=Signs+of+Chaos

The Tide Will Take Us-Putrid Dynasty

Self-Release
2012

With just a little over one year together as a group The Tide Will Take Us has made some serious waves. Take from that pun what you will but honestly as far as debut albums go “Putrid Dynasty” is nine cuts of groove based melodic deathcore. Having shared the stage with such acts as Assassinate The Following, Ending Tyranny, Biocide, Behold! The City, Magnacarta and Abide this five-piece band has quickly risen the ranks to become an act to be reckoned with. The Tide Will Take Us unleashes all sorts of unholy music here and for a band named after the murky & volatile Georgian Bay waters of the Wasaga Beach, ON the name truly fits. Formed out of the ashes of Disthrone, Through Rose-Tinted Glasses and Prophecy of Plagues the band's main driving force seems to be guitarists Mike Longeri and Jesse Carter. The album was produced by Jon Howard (Threat Signal) and Bjorin “Speed” Strid (Soilwork) and builds upon the foundations set by their self-titled five-song debut EP. This Wasaga Beach, ON's melodic deathcore act should feel right at home to fans of Suicide Silence, Lamb of God, Whitechapel, Soilwork, I Killed The Prom Queen, Carnifex and Plasmarifle. Find out more at the link below and as always stay heavy my friends!

http://www.reverbnation.com/thetidewilltakeus