Admiral of Black’s Blood & Fire
By Jason Savio

Time to bust the black leather back out. As soon as the ominous opening of a heavy guitar drone hits, it’s fair warning that Blood & Fire, Admiral of Black’s new album, is going to be an unapologetic metal face melter.

AOB create guitar rampant compositions that make listener want to strap on their own axes. The double guitar attack of singer Jeremy Bremmer and Mike Anderson is a force on tracks such as the demonic swing “Dispatch,” with its swirling hypnotic leads, and the black-top peeling  “Throne.”  The battle cry of  “Timeless Is Gone” is one final kick in the face that drops big, grand meaty chords.

The only speed bump is the mid-album breather “A Kinship Forged with Blood and Fire (Part 1)” that kills the momentum. This instrumental is mainly a backdrop for the listener’s imagination to fill in, which is a cool concept and gets the listener involved, but ultimately becomes a buzz kill.

Luckily, AOB don’t allow any of the bad habits of other modern metal bands to encroach upon their sound. The rhythm section of bassist Ryan Distel and drummer Brendan Haas is heavy without Distel’s bass lines getting lost in the mix, and Jeremy Bremmer wisely avoids the unnerving cat screams of his peers.

Blood & Fire doesn’t rewrite the book of metal; there’s nothing new or groundbreaking here, but AOB put together a refreshing dose of mayhem that is heavy on the solos and musicianship.  Blood & Fire is good ol’ down and dirty metal.

Check AOB out at:
www.admiralofblack.com/
www.facebook.com/admiralofblack

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My Silent Bravery’s Can’t Quit
By Benjamin McNeil

Soured relationships, emotional burnout, numbing loneliness; My Silent Bravery’s (MSB) sophomore album Can’t Quit emphasizes that life is constant conflict, a cage match for the headstrong. Matthew Wade’s emotionally-charged vocals help form a rare personal bond throughout Can’t Quit’s ten tracks.

Wade, perhaps more familiar to us as Matthew Shwachman of MSB’s earlier incarnation, The Matt Shwachman Band, immediately establishes common ground with his listeners through “Four Years,” the CD’s first track. Past relationships leave permanent marks, as Wade bares: “Broken down, it’s nothing new / Four years without a word from you.” Wade’s crisply-crafted lyrics and blunt honesty dominate throughout Can’t Quit, ultimately settling on the sobering message: love can suck and suffering is universal, but get back up.

Can’t Quit, is, in one word, refreshing; Wade experiments with sounds ranging from classic rock in “Alright” to some reggae in “To Give (featuring Matisyahu),” with pop and alt rock sprinkled amongst raw vocals.

But the acoustic versions of “Burnt Out” and “Can’t Quit,” tracks 8 and 9, stand out most. For someone who has battled depression, these tracks are heartfelt; the acoustic sound makes for an unclouded appreciation of Wade’s emotion and overall message. Life is day-to-day inner conflict, as Wade voices in “Can’t Quit:” And when the doubt creeps in / And sneaks into my head / I need to look within and change / The way I think…” Everyday struggle, day by day.

Wade’s ability to construct an overall theme is deserving of kudos, but a solely acoustic sound to complement MSB’s strong vocals would have better fit for the track “Can’t Quit.”   Can’t Quit the album, however, is still something quite special.

www.mysilentbravery.com,
www.facebook.com/mysilentbravery

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As The Dead Lay Waiting’s Almost Heaven
By Katey Khaos

The Dead Lay Waiting have been tearin’ it up in the UK since 2007, and now ~ armed with their latest weapon,  Almost Heaven ~ are showing the US what metal is all about.

Don’t let their appearances fool you ~ their elegantly disheveled hair and style-friendly clothes do not line up with the style of music they play. That being said, hear me out:

I can’t explain how refreshing it is to pop in a metalcore album and not have my ear drums assaulted by double bass and endless fills. What’s better is that the omission of the constant drum kicks have in no way affected how kickass this album sounds as a whole.

“This Day Will Be Your Last” kicks off TDLW’s sophomore album with an ear bending metalcore guitar riff accompanied by deep scream vocals. (What did I tell you?)

Now, for those who aren’t into the heavy screaming and prefer clean vocals, this probably isn’t an album for you. Then again, most metal/deathcore isn’t.  However, there are other songs on the album ~ like “Take Me Away” ~ which are still loaded with scream vocals but do have occasional clean vocal tossed in here and there for variety.

Almost Heaven is packed with impressive sounds, proving The Dead Lay Waiting have a powerful ability to write intricate songs while staying true to the genre. Almost Heaven is a perfect indication that they are far from wearing out their talent, which gives exciting promise to what’s in store for their next album. Stay tuned!

www.thedeadlaywaiting.com
www.facebook.com/pages/The-Dead-Lay-Waiting/123805843564