Norma Jean Brujeria Alter Bridge Barishi
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NORMA JEAN BRUJERIA ALTER BRIDGE BARISHI POLAR SIMILAR POCHO AZTLAN THE LAST HERO BLOOD FROM THE LION'S SOLID STATE RECORDS NUCLEAR BLAST CAROLINE MOUTH Polar Similar is a reminder that Norma Jean Brujeria emerged from the sunbaked hells- Heroes push us to excel. Their will, courage, SEASON OF MIST is anything but rudimentary. “Sonically, we cape of Los Angeles in 1989. Led by lyricist and sacrifice can bring out the best in the In a scene that has become largely repetitive, hoped to open minds to something different,” and mastermind Juan Brujo, Brujeria were world around them. Fittingly, on their fifth full- nostalgia driven, and prone to navel gazing, explains lead singer Cory Brandan. “We alternately rumored to be satanic drug lords length album, The Last Hero, hard rock jug- few bands stand out as breaking new ground. pushed ourselves really hard to be something and members of well-established metal bands. gernaut Alter Bridge pursue a level of With their sophomore full-length Blood from the else.” Decisions like recording at Pachyderm The truth, as always, lays somewhere in be- excellence inspired by timeless heroism. Mak- Lion’s Mouth, Barishi demonstrate that it is still Studio (the same studio where Nirvana re- tween. Fast forward to right about now: Pocho ing the record became something of a per- possible to challenge the established formulas corded In Utero) in Minnesota proves it. Each Aztlan is Brujeria’s first new album in 16 sonal quest for the quartet—Myles Kennedy of the metal genre by recombining its musical morning the band walked from the cabin to years. The title translates to Wasted Promised [vocals, guitar], Mark Tremonti [guitar, vo- DNA. There is an undeniable progressive un- the backyard studio, turned on The Shining, Land, a combination of Aztlán, the fabled cals], Brian Marshall [bass], and Scott Phillips dertone in their modern approach to hard gui- Stanley Kubrick’s isolation-themed thriller, and ancestral home of the Aztecs, and the term [drums]. Alter Bridge is a band known for tar based music, but at the same time, the used the space’s legendary acoustics to re- pocho, which native Mexicans use to refer - blurring the line between hard rock and heavy Americans delve into the darker side of ex- cord audio that would end up so powerfully not always kindly - to a man caught between metal. The Last Hero marks a creative high- treme sound that defies the happy fret-fingering raw, it would need no added effects. From the two worlds. Many pochos are not exactly ac- point for the quartet, exploring styles and all too often employed by their peers. This track “Everyone Talking Over Everyone Else”, cepted with open arms in Mexico. Mean- musical influences from throughout the band’s album will not give away its treasures at a su- an anthem about clawing yourself out of the while, they’re too often regarded as history. From the first notes of opener ‘Show perficial glance but demands to be given time cave of abusive relationships, to the song “A second-class citizens in the U.S. Brujo has Me A Leader’ to the final notes of the title track to grow. Barishi provide the listener with Thousand Years A Minute”, which looks inside transcended both scenarios through the power ‘The Last Hero,’ it’s clear Alter Bridge are earth-shattering grooves and savage vocals self-harm, to “Reaction”, a song dealing with of grindcore and death metal. His all-Spanish back with their most complete musical work to born in the verdant mountains of Vermont. Pre- the struggle to reach victims, Polar Similar lyrics telling tales from the frontlines of the date. pare to be pounded on and thunderstruck with exposes — honestly and powerfully — the drug war, the racial divide, and the battle for ecstatic metal from the ancient hills of New varied perspectives of relational abuse. the border. England. TRAP THEM AURAS GORGUTS AURAS CROWN FERAL HELIOSPECTRUM PLEIADES' DUST HELIOSPECTRUM PROSTHETIC RECORDS EONE MUSIC SEASON OF MIST EONE MUSIC Trap Them didn’t form in 2002. They simply Auras come from a soil rich with heavy music Few extreme bands can boast the pedigree of Breathe In The Water is frontloaded with the type cracked the hostile cocoon into something more innovation – Canada! Heliospectrum is the first Gorguts. During their early days as part of of impassioned vocals that erupt from the depths than an idea. It became a living, breathing mon- full-length offering from the Canadian upstarts, death metal’s first wave, they created a legacy of the gut, unforgettable blues-soaked riffs, and ster, deadset on distortion. Founding members produced by Anthony Calabretta (Stereos, of legendary releases including their debut pulverizing rhythmic clap. Driven by frontman/ Brian Izzi and Ryan McKenney gave themselves Abandon All Ships), with engineering/editing album Considered Dead (1991) and its more guitarist Eddie Veliz, Kyng features drummer no guidelines, no pre-conceived delusions of take- by Cameron McLellan (Protest The Hero, Inter- experimental and technical follow-up Erosion Pepe Clarke Magana and bassist Tony Cas- over, no aspirations of success. They wanted to vals). It’s the inevitable culmination of years of Sanity (1993). Now Gorguts are back taneda. They take a no-nonsense approach to create music and they wanted it to damage. They spent perfecting their sonic alchemy in base- with a mind-blowing EP, Pleiades’ Dust. “We music: free of pretense, studio trickery and gim- wanted to make to make it ugly and bitter. Crown ments, clubs, theaters and rehearsal rooms, have been looking forward a long time to micks. The result is a collection of songs that is real Feral marks Trap Them’s venomous return. honing a juxtaposition of unrelenting heavi- share this new journey into uncharted musical and raw, addressing themes of anger, loss and Crown Feral is an album by a band at their fero- ness, complex riffery and ambiance. The territory with you,” says Gorguts mastermind desperation. Original cover artwork by Conor cious peak - perfectly balanced and crafted with band’s debut full length is also the result of Luc Lemay. “I could hardly be more proud of Nolan reflects topics running throughout the a tension and an anger that is Trap Them at disciplined dedication and focused collabora- this ambitious composition. The theme of a album. Brian Blickle (Baroness) and Zach Blair their best. The band’s fifth full-length was once tion. “Chronos Fear” showcases the relentless long forgotten library makes a story of beauty (Rise Against) are guest collaborators. “We were again recorded with longtime friend and collabo- riffing and intricate rhythms Auras bring to the and fascination. I like to see this work as a finally able to create a record that had zero stig- rator Kurt Ballou (Converge, Skeletonwitch) at table, sublimely enhanced by nuanced modula- tribute to those great minds of an ancient civi- mas to appease the industry. Every song on this GodCity Studio in Salem, Mass., and follows the tion and craft. Lyrically, “Chronos Fear” medi- lization, their books and history. These three record came from the depth of what Kyng truly is 2014 release of “Blissfucker,” which Revolver tates on the unpredictability of time and future items have long held my own curiosity and as a band. This album is far beyond anything that called their “most dangerous declaration to events. It’s thematically not unlike the band’s interest for many years. I hope you enjoy we have done in the past. Some of my best work date”. music, which includes curveballs that are inte- this.” resides in Breathe In The Water,” says Veliz. gral to their sound. Hold onto the grooves, be- cause the musical ground will always move. KNOCKED LOOSE OPETH MESHUGGAH LAUGH TRACKS SORCERESS THE VIOLENT SLEEP OF REASON PURE NOISE RECORD NUCLEAR BLAST NUCLEAR BLAST Named one of Alternative Press’ “16 Bands To Watch in 2016” Ken- An unstoppable force for uniqueness amid a sea of generic swill, Opeth In 2017, Swedish progressive metal pioneers Meshuggah will be entering their tucky’s Knocked Loose is on track to takeover underground hardcore have been setting the rulebook ablaze and ploughing a uniquely progressive 30th year of existence, defying expectations on record as to the limitations of this year with one of the most intensely delivered records in recent mem- and exploratory furrow for nearly 25 years now. Formed in Stockholm in metal, and then proving their virtuosic prowess by taking their cathedral-complex ory. The band’s debut, Laugh Tracks, features 11 catastrophic tracks, as 1990, the band led by singer, guitarist and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt compositions to stages all over the world. The Meshuggah legend was estab- witnessed with “Deadringer” that bleed with unfiltered passion and pre- began life as maverick and honorary members of the then flourishing Swed- lished through the likes of 1995’s groundbreaking Destroy Erase Improve and the cise rage. “Laugh Tracks is a long time coming for Knocked Loose, a ish death metal scene, but from their earliest recordings onwards this band band’s third record, 1998’s Chaosphere. 2012’s immense Koloss solidified the new chapter so to speak,” says Bryan Garris. “A project we all equally have neither conformed nor exhibited any desire to be restricted to a single band’s reputation as creative mavericks raising the reputation of what metal could put time into, something we are extremely proud of. We hope you enjoy genre. Instinctively brave and effortlessly mysterious, Opeth could be super- be, resulting in status as the creators and godfathers of an entire progressive music it.” Says Metal Injection: “From top to bottom, you can tell that this is a ficially described as “progressive death metal,” but are plainly much more, style known as djent.