Author: THE SAW

Categories
Band/Artist Profile

Artist of the Week: Doja Cat

Doja Cat

Doja Cat is one of my favorite artists at the moment. She is so unique and talented and has her own signature sound and style that makes her stand out from other artists. I found Doja Cat through my best friend. She absolutely loves her, and she showed me Doja Cat’s song, Casual. I instantly loved her voice and her vibe. She is a bad bitch and she knows it. When listening to Doja Cat, all of her songs have a different vibe. There is never a dull moment while listening to her because she always brings something new to the table. She experiments with different beats and her lyrical flow is impressive. And don’t get me started on her music videos… THEY ARE ICONIC!!!! She doesn’t do the basic type of music videos, she adds her own spin to it; whether that be being a cat (Rules) , in love with a robot (Cyber Sex), a ‘70s throwback (Say So), and looking so elegant while in a pool of milk (Streets). She is so creative and you can see that with her music, videos, and style. Not only do I love her music, but her content on Twitter and Instagram is hilarious! She is 100% herself and is unapologetic with it. 

Doja Cat (Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini) was born on October 21, 1995 and was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She began making and releasing music on SoundCloud as a teenager. At the age of 17, she signed a joint record deal with RCA Records and Kemosable Records. Doja Cat achieved viral recognition for her music video, “Mooo!,” which is iconic, 10/10. She also gained attention with her songs on TikTok because of the dances that people would do to her songs. 

Discography: 

Amala (2018)

Hot Pink (2019) 

Favorite Songs: 

Say So

Rules

Streets

Tia Tamara

Juicy 

Freak

Casual 

Like That 

What are some of your favorite songs by Doja Cat? 

Stay Metal, 

THE SAW 

Categories
Band/Artist Profile

Band of the Week: The Acacia Strain

The Acacia Strain (TAS) is an American metalcore band originally from Chicopee, Massachusetts, that formed in 2001. They are currently signed to Rise Records and have 10 full-length albums. The band first started with high school friends Vincent Bennett, Christopher Daniele, and Ben Abert. They were in a band called Septic Orgasm and they wanted to take their band to the next level and make the music more technical. Their friend, Daniel “DL” Laskiewics was to play both bass and guitar, but he received a shoulder injury playing football, so the band got their friend Daniel Daponde from Blood Has Been Shed to play guitar for them. Daponde brought a heavier and technical sound to the band, so when DL returned, they asked Daponde to stay, thus creating a three-guitar lineup.

TAS has been categorized as metalcore, but I think they are predominately deathcore due to their heavy tuned guitars, their technicality, and the vocals that are used. The band has been noted to include influences from sludge metal, doom metal, death metal, and some punk rock style aesthetic. By having three guitar players, it gave a signature blend of hardcore punk, death metal, and doom metal to develop a bone crushing sound. The band sees their sound as “hardcore-influenced metal” which I can hear when listening to their music. They have some absolute skull crushing riffs and vocals, but when mixing in some 2 step riffs and other hardcore contributions, it makes for a very unique style of music. Also, when seeing TAS live, the majority of the crowd are hardcore kids. They love them some TAS!!!

When looking at the lyrics of TAS songs, they are written by their lead vocalist, Vincent Bennett, and they are generally centered around misanthropy, nihilism, misogynistic and sexually deviant imagery. He usually uses metaphors to help get his points across while keeping the songs’ overall meaning open for interpretation.


Discography:

…And Life Is Very Long (2002)

3750 (2004)

The Dead Walk (2006)

Continent (2008)

Wormwood (2010)

Death Is the Only Mortal (2012)

Coma Witch (2014)

Gravebloom (2017)

It Comes In Waves (2019)

Slow Decay (2020)


Current Lineup:

Vincent Bennett (vocalist)

Kevin Boutot (drums)

Devin Shidaker (guitarist)

Griffin Landa (bass)

Tom “The Hammer” Smith, Jr. (guitarist)

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Classic Album Review

Album of the Week: Tash Sultana – Flow State (2018)

Since the release of Tash Sultana’s first debut album, Flow State, that was released in 2018, it has been on heavy rotation for me. This is by far one of my favorite albums because it is some soothing, relaxing, and enchanting music. When listening to this album, I get very tropical, hippie girl vibes (I know… The Saw actually likes the hippie aesthetic. Who knew?). I remember when I first heard this album. I was at my friend’s apartment and he was telling me about this new album that was released, and he started playing Flow State. I instantly fell in love with Sultana’s voice, lyrical content, and the way in which they structure their songs. When listening to the songs in the order that they are on the album, it has a great transition from starting off mellow (like the song Big Smoke), and then kicking things up a notch (like the song Murder To The Mind), and then bringing things back down to a more mellow vibe (like Free Mind). Sultana did this on purpose because it gives the listener the impression of what a live show would be like. Brilliant!!! The cool thing about Tash Sultana is that they play all of the instruments themselves on the record and live!

Sultana released Flow State on August 31, 2018 on their own label, Lonely Land Records. They spent parts of 2017 and 2018 writing and recording the album, and was working with Matt Corby and Anderson Paak. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2018, Flow State won the ARIA Award for Best Blues and Roots Album. At the J Awards of 2018, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year.

So, why did Sultana name their album Flow State? In an interview with Indierocks, Sultana said that the term, flow state, is a term to refer to when you access a part of your mind known as your being, and when you find something you are passionate about. I think the title Flow State fits perfectly for Sultana’s line in music. When watching them play live, they completely loose themselves in the music. They embody the music and make it a part of them. It is absolutely beautiful.

Favorite Songs:

Big Smoke, Murder To The Mind, Seven, Pink Moon, and Blackbird.

Rating:

10/10!!!!

What are some of your favorite songs off of Flow State?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Band/Artist Profile

Band of the Week: Kublai Khan

You wanna talk about ass beating music? Kublai Khan is THE band for me when I need a pick me up. This is what I call my “bad bitch” music. Any song by Kublai Khan will for sure make you bop your head and groove to the riffs. You would totally lose a try not to headbang, mosh, or dance, etc. if Kublai Khan is on there. Kublai Khan has the perfect blend of grooves and anger. You can hear the intensity and violence in Matt Honeycutt’s vocals. But mixed with a bouncy rhythm and chunky riffs, the overall essence of Kublai Khan is absolute (HA! See what I did there? Because of their new album? No? Okay). I just wanna dance when Kublai Khan comes on, it just makes me so happy!

I have seen Kublai Khan several times and seeing them live never gets old. Honeycutt is great with the crowd and that crowd… is something else. Everyone loses their minds when Kublai Khan hits the stage. It’s so hard not to! They make it so easy to jam. My first few times seeing Kublai Khan, they were touring with predominately metalcore bands, but later they started touring with more hardcore-esque and deathcore bands. I think this is because of their sound. At first, Kublai Khan had more of a metalcore feel, but soon transitioned to incorporating more hardcore and deathcore type riffs and vocals. I love their evolution because they have mastered their sound. Now, I know there is some debates about what qualifies as metalcore, hardcore, and deathcore, etc. but this is simply my opinion and how I hear the music. Music is subjective and can be interpreted differently by others. Even though some of the songs sound redundant because of the usual riffs and sound, they make their songs so groovy that I can’t help but play them all the time.

Discography:

Youth War (2010)

Balancing Survival & Happiness (2014)

New Strength (2015)

Nomad (2017)

Absolute (2019)


Favorite songs:

The Hammer, No Kin, High Hopes, Boomslang, Antpile, 8 Years, Beligerent, and Us & Them.

What are some of your favorite Kublai Khan songs?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Playlists

Shut Up and Hand Me the Aux

With being a DJ, I get very excited when my friends hand me the aux chord. I love creating playlists and setting the vibe for a car ride. I usually let my friends have aux because I like listening to new music that I could find because of my friends. But when I get handed that aux… you know it’s on!

Below are the top 10 songs that I play depending on who I am with, the vibes I’m feeling, and something that will make my car ride not feel so long. When I am with my friends who listen to metal, I tend to play more metal songs. Majority of my friends do not listen to metal so it’s a good thing The Saw is diverse in all kinds of music!! I know when I have aux that I can play anything that I want, but I like for everyone in my car to enjoy what they are listening to. It’s the DJ in me!

Metal Up Your Ass:

1.    High Hopes – Kublai Khan

2.    Grotesque Impalement – Dying Fetus

3.    Nail in the Coffin – Bent Life

4.    Nothing Left – As I Lay Dying

5.    Brimstone – Whitechapel

6.    No Other Way – Boundaries

7.    Black Pill – Ingested

8.    Evisceration Plague – Cannibal Corpse

9.    Sire of Sin – Cryptoposy

10. Burning Blood – Six Feet Under


Dumb Bitch Hours

1.    He Say She Say – Mulatto

2.    15th and the 1st – Gucci Mane

3.    Cap A Lot – Fredo Bang

4.    Wood Worm – Noel

5.    Cabin Fever – Wiz Khalifa

6.    How U Luv Dat – Young Dolph

7.    Suge – Dababy

8.    Boogie – Brockhampton

9.    1800 – Snoop Dogg

10. A Lot – Isaiah Rashaad


~~Vibing~~

1.    Bootsy Bellows – Wiz Khalifa

2.    Special Affair – The Internet

3.    Amphetamine – Smino

4.    Why Worry – Isaiah Rashaad

5.    Rules – Doja Cat

6.    Diamond & Gold – Mac Miller

7.    South Beach – Ty Dolla $ign

8.    Murder To The Mind – Tash Sultana

9.    Egyptian Joint – Young Bull

10.Gosha – $not

What is in your aux playlist?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Band/Artist Profile

Band of the Week: Jinjer

Y’all don’t even understand how ~~shook~~ I was when I first heard Jinjer. I came home from school and my mom tells me that I have to listen to this band called Jinjer. She showed me their song Pisces, which I thought was a really cool name for a song because I am a Pisces!! Where are all my Pisces at?! When the song first starts, the vocals are clean and beautiful. Their vocalist has a pretty singing voice, and when she started growling? OH MY GOD. I was in awe and shocked that she can transition so seamlessly between the two vocal styles. I love watching reaction videos of people listening to this song because the looks on their faces are hilarious!

Jinjer is a Ukrainian heavy metal band from Donetsk, Ukraine that formed in 2009. The band considers 2010 their official formation when Tatiana Shmailyuk replaced Maksym Fatullaiev on vocals and Roman Ibramkhalilov was picked up for lead guitarist. The band was still trying to create and develop their sound until bassist Eugene Abdukhanov joined the summer of 2011. Their first EP, Inhale, Do Not Breathe, gained significant attention within the metal community, and Jinjer began touring constantly throughout the year with their own money. The band gained more attention after winning the “Best Ukrainian Metal Act” in 2013 and again in 2016. Jinjer was gaining a lot of recognition after the release of their EP, so the band quickly wrote another album and self-released their 2014 album, Cloud Factory. This album would later gain the attention of Napalm Records, which is the current label the band is signed to. The band has mentioned that many of their influences for their music are Slayer, Death, Pantera, Lamb of God, Gojira, and Opeth. Hip-Hop acts such as Cypress Hill and House of Pain has also influenced their sound.


Current Members:

Tatiana Shmailyuk (vocalist)

Roman Ibramkhalilov (guitarist)

Eugene Abdukhanov (bassist)

Vladislav Ulasevich (drummer)


Discography:

Inhale, Do Not Breathe (EP) (2012)

Cloud Factory (2014)

King of Everything (2016)

Micro (EP) (2019)

Macro (2019)

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Miscellaneous

The Saw’s Favorite Album Covers

What’s going on Butcher Crew?! It’s your Master Butcher, The Saw and I have a very fun and exciting post for you today! I will be listing my top 10 favorite album covers! I think album covers can be a really cool way for bands to show off what ~~vibes~~ they want their record to give off. Depending on the genre (for metal in particular), album covers can show you what type of style a band is. I love it when bands put in a lot of time and effort on the album covers, because visual representation can be very beneficial! My dad, the “OG Metalhead,” told me that when was my age, he would go to the record store and he would find albums with the coolest album cover and band names and buy it. This is how he found new bands and I think that is a really cool way to find different artists to expand your own musical discography.

Let’s get into my top 10 favorite album covers!! This list is in no particular order, these are all equally, badass.

1.     Obituary – Inked in Blood (2014)


2. Cannibal Corpse – Eaten Back To Life (1990)


3. Whitechapel – A New Era Of Corruption (2010)


4. Pig Destroyer – Prowler in the Yard (2015)

5. Impaled – The Dead Still Remain Dead (2013)

6. Marilyn Manson – Holly Wood (2000)

7. Cattle Decapitation – The Anthropocene Extinction (2015)

8. Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath (1970)

9. KoRn – KoRn (1994)

10. Cryptopsy – None So Vile (1996)


What are some of your favorite album covers?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Band/Artist Profile

Artist of the Week: City and Colour

The first time I heard of City and Colour was on an episode of One Tree Hill where he played. It was the episode where Clay took Quinn out on a date and surprised her with a private show by City and Colour. How romantic!! I would love to have a private show by Dying Fetus, that would give me butterflies. Now, One Tree Hill is one of my favorite TV shows and I really enjoyed the sound of City and Colour because it was very soothing and I love music that is created with an acoustic guitar. It gives the music an authentic and pure sound to me. His songs are very emotional, passionate, and calming. I feel relaxed when I listen to his music. Simply put, City and Colour is a breath of fresh air.

City and Colour is the Canadian musician Dallas Michael John Albert Green. He is also known as a singer and rhythm guitarist for post-hardcore band Alexisonfire. In 2005, he dubuted his first full-length album, Sometimes, which became platinum in 2006. The name City and Colour comes from Green’s own name: Dallas (a city) and Green (a color). Green first got started with City and Colour by releasing songs on the internet for listeners to download and then compiled some songs in order to make his first album. Green has stated that the best type of music for him is sad music, he believes that this is the type of music he can escape to and the idea of sad music that people can identify with. A lot of the songs that Green writes about are from his own experiences and writing music is how he copes with it.


Discography:

Sometimes (2005)

Bring Me Your Love (2008)

Little Hell (2011)

The Hurry and the Harm (2013)

If I Should Go Before You (2015)

A Pill for Loneliness (2019)


Favorite Songs:

Love Don’t Live Here Anymore, Northern Wind, Sensible Heart, Sleeping Sickness and Hello, Im Delaware.

What are some of your favorite City and Colour songs?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Classic Album Review

Album of the Week: Cannibal Corpse – Tomb of the Mutilated (1992)

It is no coincidence that another of my favorite records, and one of THE best Death Metal albums in history, features Chris Barnes! Tomb of the Mutilated was released through Metal Blade Records in 1992. This is their third studio album, and where Cannibal Corpse really hit their stride. Of course, Chris Barnes handles vocals (and all lyrical content and arrangements), Bob Rusey is on guitar (solos in songs 2, 3, 4 and 7), Jack Owen is also on guitar (solos in 3 and 7), Alex Webster is the mastermind on bass, and Paul Mazurkiewicz is the mad drummer.

The record was first banned in Germany because of the album cover and the “extremely disturbed" lyrics. The album cover soon had to be replaced by a tamer version (until some years later). And the band, itself, was banned by multiple countries altogether for several years. As an aside, this is interesting to me because, unless you have a trained ear, you can’t understand a word of Barnes’ gutterals!

I’d like to list the song titles for you, but cannot; for those are also too controversial. I can tell you that one song, “Hammer Smashed Face" was featured in the movie Ace Ventura Pet Detective, where Cannibal Corpse made a cameo appearance (the band was Jim Carey’s favorite), and is featured as downloadable content for the Rock Band video game series. The song is known as a Death Metal Classic. “I Cum Blood" is also featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned. Those two songs, as well as “The Cryptic Stench" and “Split Wide Open,“ are fan favorites and played at most shows. The remaining songs I cannot list, here.

Tomb of the Mutilated has been described as a “high-concept album concerned with extreme necrophilia and sadism” by reviewers Jack Murray and Connur Joyce; especially concerning the last four songs, where the protagonist’s “mental state increasingly deteriorates.” Chris Barnes claims the lyrics are based on a true story, and one of the earlier songs on the record he says is based on his own experience (?!)!

Overall, reviewers rave about this album (as does your Master Butcher). As a rule, all say that it would be hard to pick out a favorite song (though I will) because they’re all awesome! The music is extremely complex and elaborated, especially when compared to their two previous records – unforgettable riffs, crushing bass progression, incredible drumming, and (of course) the unmistakable vocal gutterals.

In 2005, Tomb of the Mutilated was ranked number 278 in Rock Hard Magazine’s book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.

Favorite song: Hammer Smashed Face

Rating: 10/10!! You must have this record in your playlist! It is TRUE Death Metal (IMO)!

What are some of your favorite songs off of Tomb of the Mutilated? 

Stay Metal,

THE SAW 

Categories
Band/Artist Profile

Band of the Week: Bolt Thrower

When I was first in search of some groovy death metal, the band that came up the most (besides Obituary, of course) was Bolt Thrower! Right when I heard Bolt Thrower, I fell in love with their sound. They are so damn groovy I can’t even. The first song I heard by them was “The Killchain” and I LOVED IT!!! It begins with a fade into the song and then the opening riff with them grooves…. Iconic. I was walking around campus like I was strutting the runway when that groove kicked in.

Bolt Thrower was an English death metal band from Coventry, England, that formed in 1986. Over the course of their 30-year career, Bolt Thrower has toured Europe, the United States, and Australia. They have also released 8 studio albums. On September 14, 2016, the band announced that they were breaking up following the death of their drummer Martin Kearns… big sad.

When Bolt Thrower first developed, they were a grindcore band, influenced by Slayer, Cras, and Discharge. The band was founded by bassists Gavin Ward and guitarist Barry Thomson. Now this is a funny story, they first got the idea of the band while on the toilet during a hardcore show. Bolt Thrower has a very flexible sound. They incorporate death metal with hardcore and doom metal making their songs heavy, groovy, and doomy (ha, did you see what I did there?)

Martin Kearns, who had been their drummer from 1994-1997 and again since 2000, died unexpectedly at the age of 38 on September 14, 2015. As a result, Bolt Thrower went on hiatus and cancelled their upcoming Australia tour, which would have been their first tour since 1993. Exactly one year later on the anniversary of Kearns’ death, Bolt Thrower announced that they would not continue as a band. They say that Kearns’ was much more than just a drummer to them, so when they carried his coffin to his final resting place, the Bolt Thrower drummer position was buried with him.


Final Lineup:

Barry “Baz” Thomson (guitar)

Gavin Ward (guitar)

Jo Bench (bass)

Karl Willetts (vocals)

Martin Kearns (drums)


Discography:

In Battle There Is No Law! (1988)

Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness (1989)

War Master (1991)

The IVth Crusade (1992)

…For Victory (1994)

Mercenary (1998)

Honour – Valour – Pride (2002)

Those Once Loyal (2005)


Favorite Songs:

The Killchain, For Victory, Through the Eye of Terror, Cenotaph, Forever Fallen, and To the Last…

What are some of your favorite Bolt Thrower songs?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW