Keep Metal!

Intro

This people, is an awesome band. There are millions of death metal bands out there, all trying their own formula. Some work, some don't. But these guys have no formula because what they sound like, is like playing till your fingers bleed and then wiping the blood off before getting back to it...

History

Okay, Invidiosus was formed in 2006 and have since gone through 23 members. That's insane, but that can only mean one thing. The guys are perfectionists. And the result is not at all bad. The proof, they just released an EP named "The Heterotrophic Harvest", which sounds so good.

Why so good?

Because the first song off the EP starts like any other metal song. And it puts you in the mood straightaway. The riffs kind of reminds me of early Machine Head.

But when the second song kicks in, you know its a no bullshit death metal band. And you're in for a wicked ride. The songs are fast when they need to be, and slow when they need to be. The vocals are really a work of art. Shrieks, growls, low growls, lower growls, raspy it's all there.

Really, this band is one fine piece of metal. For a 3 year old band, they really kick some serious butt.



How they sound live?
Surreal. That's one word and that is that. That band has shared the stage with a million bands. They have gathered so much experience.

Worth the buck?

You guessed it, yeah they are. These guys are doing gigs all the time. And right now, they are on tour selling tickets at $5. Save 2 Big Macs and you got an amazing life-changing metal concert ticket.

What now?

Since I don't have any of their mercs to sell you, I'd really encourage you to head over to the Invidiosus myspace page. The page has got all the resources concerning the band. You may also listen to their latest songs for free (ICYDN).

Never heard of Hollow Sin? Don't be ashamed, cause they are new and unsigned. Hah unsigned. Only a matter of time.

History

The band formed in August 2008 when Andrew Lee (vocal and guitars) and Tom Goss (guitars) applied for a drummer on gumtree. The one replying to the ad was David Officer (drums). That's 3 members, which soon became 4 with bassist Harry Mitchell  joining the band in January 2009.

What they sound like?

In one word, badass. In an uncountable number of words, they are a mixture of Machine Head heavy riffs, Hetfield at its best vocals and Mustaine anger. That accompanied by epic guitar solos/harmonies to leave you having epileptic seizures on the ground.

Okay they are good. But what makes them stand apart?

A lot of things. Firstly, they are young. And having a young band trying to make it in the music scene makes the band look more credible.

Secondly, the band is true in all aspects. When you hear a riff, you hear not only the tones, but the passion behind. You can imagine the face of the guitarist when you hear a pinch harmonic. Their music lives. You can feel that Andrew is completely drowned in his lyrics. And that's something of utmost importance.

Thirdly, they stick to the working formula. I may sound conservationist and I probably am. The thing is, too many bands are not inspired enough to write catchy songs, so they come up with a kind of potpourri. But Hollow Sin really does a wonderful job in creating monster riffs but applying that same old formula that's been working for ages. Kudos to them.

Fourth, they've got solos. That's enough. You know the band is not crap if they got solos. That's my rule. No arguments.

Worth the dime?

Absolutely, in every fuckin way. The guys have got immense talent and they will be the next big thing to hit the metal scene.

If you disagree, here's the Hollow Sin myspace page. Go there, have a listen and dare disagree...

Iron Maiden band review... Where do I even start with this? I know. Lets go some time back, to December 25, 1975. On that day Santa Claus was probably stuck in a chimney somewhere, but that's not what this is about. Because on that day Mr Steve Harris created the band later known as Iron Maiden. Little did he know that Iron Maiden would be a band to make it in the history of metal music.

From day one till the next three years, there came an era of firings, initiated by Harris himself. Some were fired because of lack of on-stage energy and charisma, others because they had different political views. Okay that last one was a joke. But hey, if you're jamming and hanging out with the same guys, you're bound to have differences. That's what's amazing with metal music. Metal bands stick together because they want to, not because they need the cash.

Time leap again. We are now in 1978 and Iron Maiden has singer, Paul Di'Anno, join the band. That same year, on New Year's Eve, the band records their first ever demo. All the five thousand copies are sold in only a few weeks. This goes to prove how much their music was appreciated.

In 1980, Iron Maiden releases their first full-length album. The album is called Iron Maiden and it ranks number four in the UK Albums Chart. Running Free and Phantom of the Opera are probably the most popular tracks from that record. The band quickly gained popularity from there. They opened for Kiss and Judas Priest in that same year.

But things are still complicated. The next year, Iron Maiden fires Paul Di'Anno for cocaine abuse. They need a new singer and they audition Bruce Dickinson and the latter joins the band soon.

1982 was Iron Maiden's year of fortune. That year they released The number of the beast, one of the most popular albums. And they sign Nickp McBrain. From that year on, Iron Maiden rises to fame. All their following albums are instant hits among the fans. They produce numerous hits and inspire countless bands. They get so famous that even their mascot, Eddie, gets his share of the spotlight. The video below shows the band playing Aces High in 1985.


Yet, in the year 1993, Dickinson decides to part with the band to pursue his solo career. This news is not well received among fans. Iron Maiden plays their last show with Dickinson on August 28, 1993.

But the band is not dead. For the next year, they audition a gazillion vocalists and they select Blaze Bayley. The new vocalist has a deeper voice compared to Dickinson and fan's reactions are mixed. During that era, The band writes Virus, which goes on to be a massive hit thanks to its catchy, almost epic, interlude.

Bayley stays with the band for five years, but leaves in 1999. The reason: mutual agreement. The result: Dickinson is back in. Yeah baby!! In that year, Dickinson gets back with the band. And he's here to stay.

From 2000 onwards, Iron Maiden releases Brave new world, Dance of Death and A matter of life and death. These three albums receive very good reviews from magazines and websites. This prooves that the band has not lost their holy grail.

Iron Maiden's live performances are still energetic. Their music is still listened to. Even the younger generations are getting into them. There are so many bands rising with totally in your face debut albums, but then their next albums are just a bunch of Celine Dion metal covers. It's nice to know that one band, Iron Maiden, has not gone soft.

Buy Iron Maiden band material

Before I begin with this review, I should give you a brief intro on the band. The Way Out Is Through (TWOIT) is a new band. They are young, they are fresh and so is their music. They are from Worcester (Massachussetts) and they just released their LP, which goes by the name of "Bandages". The guys are by no means huge rock stars, but their music is true and honest.

The first song off the album is called Endorphin. And it starts aggressively, with distorted guitars and thumping bass. But then, it all stops. And the verse kicks in. The guitars get all melodic and calm. The singer, Hudson Eakin, is almost whispering at this point. I really like how this part sounds dreamy. The melodic tone set in here is amazing. There is also a very nice transition when this calm verse transforms into a distorted chorus with Hudson screaming at the top of his lungs. This song sets the tone of the album which is not straight metal or straight mellow. It's a combination of both. And the song ends nicely... With an outro solo. Man, I love outro solos.

Second song, Source of strength, starts off with a bluesy guitar riff. Hudson abandons the clear voice for a more raspy voice here. Change welcomed, sir. This song has got some nice musical parts. The drums (Sean Corbett, Esteban Garcia) get along well with the guitars (Zach Shaw and Andy Renard) while the bass (Dan Gilbert) delivers an awesome tone.

On to the next, Necronomicon. This song reminds me of early Suicidal Tendencies. It's amazing how TWOIT manages to play so many different styles. This song has some wicked screams coming in at 01:55. Nicely done. The chorus on that song is actually pretty catchy.


Ain't that good lyrics? Anyway we move on to the next song. It's called Don't care and it reminds me of early rap metal. It's actually more metal than rap. And I think its better this way. Hudson delivers some very nice vocal performance on this track.

My best shot, fifth song, starts calm. When you hear this song start, it feels so right. You know this song is going to be a hit. And I think it will. Why? Because there's some nice singing on the verse and some nice screaming on the chorus. Yeah baby, that's how we roll. It's even got a nice ending. This song is very strong. To me it's their best shot.

Sixth song, 1900, starts melodic. With Hudson's creepy cool voice over it. The voice reminds me of David Gilmour on that track. The song is very calm, but at halfway through, the drums and guitars go berserk, but the voice goes only a little bit faster. This delivers a special feel which makes the song different.

Surprise, there's a bonus track. The song has some kind of instrumental music which rap vocals. TWOIT once again nails it here. Their rap reminds me of Machine Head's rap metal period. It's the only kind of rap I can listen to.


So to end this here, I must say that this is a strong album from TWOIT. This band has got talent. They have a nice base to build up on. They are young and if they continue progressing, they'll make it far. Very far.

You can read more on the band on their official blog (free copy of the album to be had there). You can also head to their myspace page to listen to their songs online. And lastly you can scroll down and buy their albums from Amazon.

Buy The Way Out Is Through (TWOIT) - Bandages material

The first time I heard about this song, it was back when I was going through alcohol problems during my University years. I used to watch the song's video over and over. I just loved the way the song was sung on that video. Then I lent the CD to my brother and never saw it again. And I forgot how much the Hate me lyrics were genius, until...

Some months back, we decided to use a spare laptop at work as a jukebox. And someone added the Foiled album by Blue October. Then I heard the song again and it totally blew me. I started to listen to the song over and over. I started to sing the Hate me lyrics in my car, in the shower, at night. So I said, these lyrics can't go unread. I had to talk about it. I had to tell what it was all about. Read on, because here goes the lyrics analysis of Hate me by Blue October.

To me this song narrates how Justin Furstenfeld (Blue October singer) has alcohol/drug problems and how the only one helping him out is his mother. Okay don't go "Aww it's so sweeeet", because its not. The worst thing about having alcohol/drug problems is when your parents start to help you out. Funny I know, but that's how it goes.


The first verse narrates how Justin feels guilty about his mother helping him out. It's a thought that's constantly in his head. It crawls in him. Like eating him inside. He describes this as "a burning in my pride, and a nervous bleeding in my brain". This part of the Hate me lyrics is simply genius. This is an exact description of the state of mind of anyone in that situation. Then he starts to tell how his mother kind of became distant, because he asked for it.

The chorus of the song is brilliantly sung. You can feel all the anger and sadness in the screams. I love this guy's voice.


Sounds like Justin is feeling guilty. He'll never fall into alcohol/drugs again, because that's what tore him and his mother apart. He also narrates in a beautiful way how his mother always kept helping him. Even when he did not deserve it. Mothers are like that. They are strong and they'll do anything for their kids. Justin has mixed thoughts. He wants to get away from his mother, but does not want her to suffer. He came to a point where he feels he does not deserve to be cared for by his mother. But then again, he can't just disappear, he can't do that to his mother.


Then there's the post chorus. This part is really like the climax of the song. The part where the author goes all out. And says all that is on his mind. He's clearly frustrated. "Kicking shadows on the street for every mistake that I had made", that's one thing we all did when we were frustrated. He also tells how his mother over pampered him, so that he was never a man. Then comes the saddest part of the Hate me lyrics. The part where he sees his mother crying. That's when he became a man. That's when he realised all his mistakes. But it was too late. Because he can't make her smile come back. He can't bring her back to life.

So he says "Hate me today, hate me tomorrow, hate me for all the things I didn't do for you, hate me in ways, yeah ways hard to swallow, hate me so you can finally see what's good for you". He feels so guilty because all this time his mother was helping him get out of addiction, he did not realise how the time they had was priceless.

Now you have two options:

• Listen to the song on the Blue October official site or on Blue October' myspace page
  
• Buy the song from the links below

Buy Blue October - Hate me material

Enter Sandman - Metallica

Hey all. Back for another lyrics analysis. I wanted to do this one since a long long time, but my laziness got the best of me. Anyway, I heard this song when I was still new to the whole metal thing and when I read the lyrics I felt it was scary. It is actually. Read on.

Yeah so the thing with this song is that it actually makes a lot of sense. It has a meaning, a purpose, a story, everything. Ahh, back in the days, James Hetfield was writing great lyrics. Anyway here's my take on the song.


I love the way the lyrics kicks in. It really does great justice to the great intro this song has. The above lines are pretty simple. Its talking about a kid that is about to go to sleep. Saying his prayers like all kid should do. I really like the part where James goes "Keep you free from sin till the sandman he comes". The words are so true. Many parents tell these kind of stuff to their kids to shut them up.


This is the pre chorus and the chorus. I remember when I was a kid I used to sleep like that. One eye open and gripping my pillow... Haven't we all. To me the chorus is where the kid in the song is actually getting sleepy and diving into a dream. Like the kid is so scared, but he still falls asleep. Cause he's tired.


I love this part. "Heavy thoughts tonight and they arent of snow white". That line is so funny. That's the part of the song where the kid is having nightmares. Yeah being a kid and not understanding anything makes you prone to getting scared at night. I like to think of this song as a protest. As a protest against parents traumatising their kids with stupid fake sandman stories. Now stop it!

The next part of the song is the same pre chorus followed by the chorus. Then comes this part. But before that, there is an awesome solo. Its not the hardest solo to play (among the easiest on thier self-titled album). I really like that solo because its in the spirit of the song. Its very true to the song. Its not like something that has been plugged in. Feels more like it has been built from within. Anyway listen to the song again and take note of that.


This part comes after the solo. And its really catchy. Catchy because there is a small kid talking in the background. Saying his prayers. Funny thing about the prayer is that its actually

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
Should I die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
Source: wikipedia

Buy Metallica - Enter sandman material