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Streaming: Atlases - Upbringing

Band: Atlases
Album: Upbringing EP
Label: Self Released
Year: 2014








Tracklist
01. Betrayer
02. Secret Keeper
03. My Testament
04. The Deepest Dark
05. You Dreamer, You Fool
06. Consume/Deny
Streaming

Hailing from a small town in quaint Berkshire, Atlases are one of the freshest faces on the UK metal and hardcore scene. The five childhood friends joined forces at the start of 2013 when previous bands went their separate ways. 2013 has seen Atlases touring up and down the UK whilst squeezing in time to write and record the technically mature and flawless EP “Upbringing”.

With an undoubted passion for playing and performing, Atlases have quickly built a reputation on the live circuit for their heartfelt and captivating, yet, powerful live show. It's clear to see that these guys are enjoying every minute of it and making friends and fans along every step of their journey.

Drawing musical influences from bands such as Of Mice & Men, Architects, The Ghost Inside and Bring Me The Horizon, Atlases have defined their sound with a distinctly British vibe which is clearly visible throughout the 6 tracks of “Upbringing”.

Atlases don't hide away from the influence that Parkway Drive and their lifestyle have had upon them. Going on tour, heavy boozing, partying, skate and wake-boarding, meeting and making as many new friends as possible and all whilst delivering killer live shows every night are what Atlases hold dear.

'The Red Dragon', a kitted-out LDV Convoy, is Atlases pride and joy. Boasting, bunk beds, a TV, a sink, stoves and a huge sound system, as well as black go-faster stripes, a Mercedes Benz badge on the bonnet, a huge exhaust and a massive fog horn, you will definitely see and hear them coming!

Atlases are going to be touring throughout the UK and EU from the new year. Dates to be announced very soon.

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Album: Amanita - Amanita

Band: Amanita
Album: Amanita
Label: Self Released
Year: 2012








Tracklist
01. With Empty Hands
02. Remains (feat. Art Colwell)
03. Awakening
04. Years Pass By
05. Static
06. A New Life
07. Home?
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Amanita started as the solo project of Jim Tobakos in 2010. Jim wrote, recorded, and released his debut self-titled EP in August 2012. Now Amanita has expanded its line-up to feature Aaron Stinson and Jake Reske on guitars and Zech Lakatos on bass.

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Album: Oh, Sleeper - Children Of Fire

Band: Oh, Sleeper
Album: Children Of Fire
Label: Solid State
Year: 2011











Tracklist
01. Endseekers
02. Shed Your Soul
03. The Marriage Of Steel And Skin
04. Hush Yael
05. The Conscience Speaks
06. Dealers Of Fame
07. Means To Believe
08. In The Wake Of Pigs
09. Claws Of A God
10. The Family Ruin
11. Chewing The Stitch
12. Children Of Fire
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Oh, Sleeper have been consistently an above-average metalcore band. Releasing their debut record When I Am God in 2007, the band was able to come up with a sound that was not necessarily their own, but one that worked for them. Now with that being said, the album had a lot of room for improvement, and in their second album Son of The Morning, Oh, Sleeper tried to correct the flaws found in When I Am God. Their sophomore album found them experimenting with more technicality and more aggression, but still, something beneath the surface seemed to be lacking. The previous statements, however, no longer apply to their sound, thanks to their newest effort Children of Fire. 

The album opens up with EndSeekers where dark melodies and eerie dissonance mark the platform for Micah Kinard's highly improved emotionally-charged vocals. Right from the bat the listener will notice a drastic improvement in the bands sound. Whether it is the aggressive drumming and the deep bass tones, or the sporadic, chaotic riffs, the guys in Oh, Sleeper really stepped up their performance in all areas. 

The guitars in the album really provide the solid backbone to set the tone of the album, whether that tone suggests utter chaos as in Shed Your Soul, or even a sense of reflection as in the acoustic driven Means To Believe. Now a lot of people may be skeptical (and rightfully so) of acoustic tracks on a "metal" album, but the band were really able to pull off not just one, but two acoustic tracks on this record. Both aforementioned Means To Believe and the song The Conscience Speaks are perfect songs of reflection amidst all of the chaos that is Children of Fire. Showcasing clean vocalist Shane Blay's talent at singing and wonderfully played acoustics, both songs are delightful breaks for the listener before they are thrust back into the turmoil.

Now Oh, Sleeper is a band that delights in concept albums. When I Am God is loosely based on a concept, whereas Son of Morning is a full on concept record depicting the events leading to, and including, the final battle between God and Satan. During Son of Morning's closer The Finisher, God cuts of Satan's horns in the dramatic climax of the album. This album, conceptually leaves off exactly where the previous album finished. As Satan's horns hit the ground, both him and God disappear, leading the world to believe that they killed each other off. This leaves the world in chaos, as former, shallow, believers lose faith at the disappearance of God, and former disbelievers (in God) begin growing in their faith after witnessing the battle. Micah Kinard uses beautifully composed lyrics to tell this story. Songs such as Hush Yael and Chidren of Fire leaves the listeners heart pounding, wondering where the plot will take them.

Oh, Sleeper have really stepped up their game with this release. Improvement shines like a beacon in the darkened genre that is metalcore. Combined with the heart-wrenching concept that everybody can relate to, and the instrumentals that will tear you to shreds, Children of Fire is an excellent record that gives hope to a dying genre.

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Album: Cave In - White Silence

Band: Cave-In
Album: White Silence
Label: Hydra Head Records
Year: 2011









Tracklist
01. White Silence
02. Serpents
03. Sing My Loves
04. Vicious Circles
05 .Centered
06. Summit Fever
07. Heartbreaks, Earthquakes
08. Iron Decibels
09. Reanimation
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Cave In is an alternative/metalcore/Post-Hardcore band that formed in 1995, in Methuen, Massachusetts.

The group’s early work on Hydra Head Records was more extreme and chaotic in the style of bands like Converge and The Dillinger Escape Plan, but their later output appears to be influenced by a wider range of styles. Their 2003 album Antenna (released on RCA Records) has had more success than previous albums and enabled the band to play the second stage on the 2003 Lollapalooza tour. However, playing Lollapalooza didn’t garner the band enough financial success to prevent them from being dropped from RCA Records’ roster. Although the albums before Jupiter had alluded to melodic yearnings within the group, the throat injuries of lead vocalist Stephen Brodsky clinched the band’s decision to move forward with the group’s present, more euphonious sound and abandon their metalcore leanings.

Most of Cave In’s recent material can be categorized as space rock, using themes centering around space. Examples of this are the songs Jupiter and New Moon, album names Jupiter and Antenna, and the band’s singular brand of resonating ambient “spacey” guitar effects they incorporate into their songs.

It’s been six years since their last full-length and though this, Cave In’s fifth studio album, is more ‘Perfect Pitch Black’ than the rest of their discography, it’s also completely different to anything the band have ever released. When time is on a band’s side marvellous things can happen, and ‘White Silence’ is proof of that. Two years in the making, this is by far the most experimental and diverse record Cave In have made to date. The riffs and volume are still present but then there’s the layering (‘Iron Decibels’), the acoustic closer ‘Reanimation’ and the static noise ‘White Silence’. This is a grower not a shower but persevere because ‘White Silence’ has been worth the wait.

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Album: Vulturum - Vineta

Band: Vulturum
Album: Vineta
Label: Sangue Dischi
Year: 2009







Tracklist

01. Mantide

02. Blckhlsfrys

03. R.Y.E

04. We Own The Stars
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Vulturum is a three piece band, two of which are drummers, from Milan, Italy. Nicola Ferloni lies behind the vocals and all the stringed instruments, as Alessio Leone and Luca "Yety" Battaglia are behind the two drum sets.
Their debut album "Vineta" consist by 4 unique tracks, so delicious as an Italian menu.
"Mantide" acts like an appetizer and makes you to want to have the main menu consisting from "Blckhlsfrys" and "R.Y.E" and as a dessert "We Own The Stars" is a little bit heavier than expected, as it's the only metalcore track of the album. A post/sludge-core storm that leaves you wondering for what you just heard.
After such a debut album the only thing that comes to mind is their next move.
*Thanx to Soundholikz for their review.

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Album: Oh, Sleeper - Son Of The Morning

Band: Oh, Sleeper
Album: Son Of The Morning
Label: Solid State Records
Year: 2009







Tracklist
01. Son Of The Morning
02. The New Breed
03. In All Honesty
04. Breathing Blood
05. Reveries Of Flight
06. World Without A Sun
07. The Fire Dawn
08. Banquet For Traitors
09. Commissioned By Kings
10. The Finisher
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An empowering call-to-arms descends upon the weak-minded, the undecided, the superficially concerned with the arrival of Son Of The Morning, the new album from Oh, Sleeper. On the followup to their When I Am God debut, these Texan lads obliterate any notions of the "sophomore slump" with an alarming urgency sure to excite anyone with even a cursory interest in bands like Underoath, Slipknot or Dillinger Escape Plan. Oh, Sleeper has crafted a concept album detailing the final battle between the devil (with Micah Kinard screaming in character on the title track) and God (with Kinard answering on "The Finisher," which closes the record) from start to finish. Produced by Andreas Magnusson (Black Dahlia Murder), Oh, Sleeper's Son Of The Morning is poised to turn 2009 upside down.

Kinard and guitarist / vocalist Shane Blay (ex-Between The Buried And Me) offer a brilliant and somehow uncontrived vocal point / counterpoint with the ten catchiest heavy anthems of recent memory, delivering on the promise hinted at by the first album's breakout video / single, "Vices Like Vipers."

There is not a moment of filler on Son Of The Morning, with Kinard screaming his heart out while Blay and guitarist James Erwin add just enough shred and complexity to their blazingly memorable riffs. New drummer Matt Davis is full of dynamics and power without ever sounding needlessly busy, laying down a foundation sure to elevate him to the upper ranks of heavy music drummers. Bass player Lucas Starr, who started out in Tooth & Nail rockers Terminal alongside Erwin, injects the proceedings with power and groove which anchors everything heard on Son Of The Morning. Kinard weaves a literary and intellectual yet relatable tale of good, evil and humankind's spiritual struggle.

If "The New Breed" and "Commissioned By Kings" (with its "Bring out the dead! Bring out the dead!" chorus) don't get your fists pumping, nothing will. "A Banquet For Traitors," "In All Honesty" -- Epic moments, driving moments, pummeling and punishing moments -- all are to be found in abundance throughout the record. A few tasteful doses of electronics can be found on the record which combined with Blay's soaring vocal melodies lend balance to the otherwise ultra-heavy assault.

The broken pentagram adorning the cover of Son Of The Morning represents evil vanquished, both inside and out. Oh, Sleeper has brought their music to stages across the world touring with bands like Underoath, Finch, Bring Me The Horizon, Every Time I Die and more, sharing their musical and spiritual point of view.

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Band: *Shels

Artist: *Shels
Album: Laurentian's Atoll
Label: Shelsmusic
Year: 2007






Tracklist
01.Atoll
02.Water (New Full Version)
03.The Ghost Writer
04.City Of The Swan
05.Lights In Laurentian
06.Fireflystarrs
07.Wingsgortheirsmiles
08.m
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Artist: *Shels
Album: Sea of the Dying Dhow
Label: Shelsmusic
Year: 2007





Tracklist
01. The Conference Of The Birds
02. Indian - Part 1
03. The White Umbrella - Part 1
04. The White Umbrella - Part 2
05. Water - Part 1
06. Sea Of The Dying Dhow
07. Atoll
08. The Killing Tent
09. Indian - Part 2
10. Return To Gulu
11. In Dead Palm Fields
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Artist: *Shels
Album: Wingsfortheirsmiles
Label: Shelsmusic
Year: 2004





Tracklist
01.Atoll
02.Fireflystarrs 1
03.Fireflystarrs 2
04.Wingsfortheirsmiles 1
05.Wingsfortheirsmiles 2
06.m
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So, what is *Shels exactly? It is one of the finest attempts to incorporate metalcore aesthetics into a progressive rock setting. Basically, they succeed where other bands have failed. They are able to be progressive without being overtly cheesy (like, say, Between the Buried and Me's "Alaska"), and they are able to be progressive without entering realms of unnecessary pretension (like the middle of Pax Cecilia's "Blessed are the Bonds"). Sure, we could throw out a list of comparisons to groups like Kayo Dot or Isis in hopes that some of their fans might streamline through this review and check them out, but *Shels really doesn't embrace the arty atmosphere of either band. Everything on this album is meticulously arranged, but is also grounded in a solid base genre of metalcore. Essentially, I guess it is the best of both worlds; complete originality and full blown clichés. Whatever is the key to *Shels successful formula, it works and "Sea of the Dying Dhow" effortlessly proves that.

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Album: Devil Sold His Soul - Darkness Prevails (EP)

Artist: Devil Sold His Soul
Album: Darkness Prevails (EP)
Label: Eyesofsound / Black Willow
Year: 2005





Tracklist
01. Darkness Prevails
02. Some Friend
03. Clouds
04. LIYL
05. Like It’s Your Last
Download (link updated)

Comprising ex members of the awesome Mahumodo, Devil Sold His Soul is the phoenix rising from the ashes, and it's a name you'll be hearing a lot this year. An epic mixture of ferocious power, bone crunching heaviness and soaring melodies, "Darkness Prevails" delivers a truly astounding musical smack in the chops!

Devil Sold His Soul is the sound of a group of amazing musicians, freed from past constraints to create something truly special; it's the sound of brilliant potential fully realized. The Mahumodo power and feeling remain, but now broader ideas, a wider spectrum, more experimentation, have been introduced. This band takes as starting points the cerebral structures of Tool, the fearsome musical musculature of Will Haven and the sweeping emotion of Deftones. The band is also easily comparable in scope, sound and progressive power to epic, wide screen visionaries such as Isis and Cult of Luna.

If you like it, buy it HERE.

Links: Official Site / MySpace