Author: THE SAW

Categories
Classic Album Review

Album of the Week: As I Lay Dying – An Ocean Between Us (2007)

As I Lay Dying is one of those bands that are a staple piece within the metal community. Their sound when they first hit the scene was raw, fresh, heavy, and groovy. The type of era of metalcore that As I Lay Dying was in was my favorite type of metalcore. I loved the harmony mixed with intricate riffs, technical drumming, and to top it all off, with some very powerful screams and cleans. Their fourth studio album, An Ocean Between Us is a staple album for anyone who is a fan of the metalcore genre. The sound on this record is timeless, it sounds as if it was released today! This is an album that I never get tired of, when I listen to it I get a nostalgic feeling because it takes me back to when I first started listening to heavier metal and listening to this album with my brothers.

An Ocean Between Us is arguably the best release As I Lay Dying has ever come out with and it is argued that this is the record that defines that band. The album was released on August 21, 2007 through Metal Blade Records and it debut at No. 8 on the Billboard 200.

Nick Hipa commented on the album stating that everyone in the band pushed themselves and they were just experimenting and trying new things on this album. Overall, they were just jamming together and it ended up creating an amazing album. Tim Lambesis stated that they listened to their last album (Shadows Are Security) and they were getting tired of how the genre, as a whole, copies one another and As I Lay Dying wanted to create an album that was different and more diverse. I think they successfully made an album that sounds like no one else, and since it’s so different, it helps their sound stand out and become a recognizing force within metalcore. They didn’t just use the traditional metalcore sound, they had mixtures of deathcore, thrash, and death metal on this record, and I think the combinations of genres is what makes this record so timeless.

Almost all the songs have an epic feel to them, and it carries a message and a meaning within their songs. The cleans are not used to carry entire songs, but to compliment the songs and give it harmony along with the guitar riffs.

I love this album so much and I still know every word to every song, even after almost 13 years.

10/10!!!!!


Favorite songs:

Nothing Left, I Never Wanted, The Sound of Truth, An Ocean Between Us, and Within Destruction.

What are your favorite songs off of An Ocean Between Us?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Band/Artist Profile

Band of the Week: Debauchery

I first started listening to Debauchery probably about 2 years ago when I was looking for groovy death metal to listen to. As you all have probably guessed, and are not surprised, is that I love groovy death metal; it’s my all time favorite. The first song I heard by them was Murder Squad and I LOVED it!!! The riffs are groovy and smashing and the vocals are very deep with some raspy gutturals, it reminds me of Chris Barnes!

Debauchery is from Stuttgart, Germany and are a death metal and death ‘n’ roll band. I have never heard of death ‘n’ roll but it definitely suites Debauchery! They were founded in 2000 as Maggotc**t before changing their name to Debauchery in 2002. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Thomas Gurrath. Gurrath was a high school philosophy teacher until he was discovered to be a part of Debauchery in 2010. He was given the option to either keep his teaching job or his band. Obviously, he chose his band.

The band’s lyrical content involves themes such as war and death. They also involve the science fiction Warhammer 40,000 fictional god, Khorne. This band is hella groovy and is sure to make you bang your head and bounce around. If you want some groovy ass death metal, then Debauchery is for you!


Discography:

Kill Maim Burn (2003)

Rage of the Bloodbeast (2004)

Torture Pit (2005)

Back in Blood (2007)

Continue to Kill (2008)

Rockers & War (2009)

Germany’s Next Death Metal (2011)

Kings of Carnage (2013)

F**k Humanity (2015)

Thunderbeast (2016)

In der Hölle spricht man Deutsch (2018)

Blood for the Blood God (2016)


Current Members:

Thomas Gurrath (vocalist and guitarist)

Dennis Ward (bassist)

Oliver Zellmann (drummer)


Favorite Songs:

Murder Squad

King of the Killing Zone

Storm of Iron

Death Metal War Machine

What are your favorite songs by Debauchery?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Classic Album Review

Album of the Week: Upon A Burning Body – The World Is My Enemy Now (2014)

Upon A Burning Body (UABB) is one of my favorite bands of all time. They were one of the first heavier bands I first started listening to and I have been a fan ever since. Their album, The World Is My Enemy Now, is one of my favorite albums by them. The majority of my favorite UABB songs come from this album!

The World Is My Enemy Now is the third studio album from UABB, released in 2014. This album has received backlash and negative attention for a publicity stunt to promote the album. The stunt involved UABB’s lead vocalist, Danny Leal, and reports that he was missing. The band later posted the album cover which showed Leal tied up, revealing the reports of Leal being missing was a joke. Since the stunt, the band has not apologized. Regardless of the negative attention, this is a great album. There are so many smashing hits that come off of this record.

This album is aggressive, with lower-tuned guitars, a combination of the speed and the technicality of metalcore, and death metal style vocals while keeping a musical structure that derived from hardcore. There are some tracks on the album that have deeper and lower vocals that could be classified as more of a death metal style, even though it isn’t the traditional style of death metal vocals. The hooks and anthems that are on this album make it enjoyable to play over and over again; you won’t get tired of. The album is not that repetitive, so it never gets boring!

The opening track, Red Razor Wrists, kicks off the album on a high note, starting off with the screaming of violence and brutality that is yet to come from the album. Pledge Your Allegiance is very anathematic and will be sure to make you move around. The title track,The World Is My Enemy Now, has a more hardcore sound to it due to its riffs. There is a lot of variety on this album and there is a song for everyone to enjoy!


Favorite Songs:

Judgement

Bring The Rain

Scars

The World Is My Enemy Now

Fountain of Wishes

What are some of your favorite songs off of The World Is My Enemy Now?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Band/Artist Profile

Band of the Week: Citizen

I was with one of my friends, heading to Taco Bell when she started playing Jet by Citizen. I loved the vibe of the song and the soothing, but raspy vocals. When I got home, I looked up Citizen and quickly started listening to them more and more. Now, their music is sad. You can hear the vulnerability and sadness in the lyrics and vocals, but complimented with the musicianship, it makes for a beautiful song.

Citizen is a rock band from Southeast Michigan and Northwest Ohio. Some have considered Citizen to be indie rock, grunge, or post-hardcore. Citizen is currently signed to Run For Cover Records. The formation of Citizen started in 2009 when Mat Kerekes departed as the drummer from his previous band, Sound of Glory, a metalcore band. The early material of Citizen was characterized as melodic hardcore which is unlike their most recent work.

After signing to Run For Cover Records in 2012, Citizen recorded a Split EP with labelmates, Turnover. This Split EP marks the growth and maturity of both bands as helped them evolve from local bands to national artists. My favorite album by Citizen is Youth (2013). Every song on this album is so good and you can feel the emotions that the song is projecting. People have described this album to be emo, grunge, or post-hardcore and I get those vibes from the album. I am a big fan of grunge and the grunge I listen to, for the most part, is sad. Citizen gives me that impression, and I never get tired of listening to it.

Discography:

Youth (2013)

Everybody Is Going to Heaven (2015)

As You Please (2017)


Current Members:

Mat Kerekes (vocals)

Nick Hamm (lead guitar)

Ryland Oehlers (rhythm guitar)

Eric Hamm (bass)  


Favorite Songs:

Jet, Roam The Room, Sick And Impatient, The Night I Drove Alone, The Summer

What are your favorite songs by Citizen?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW  

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Baby Saw’s ABCs

What’s going on Butcher Crew? It’s ya girl, your Master Butcher, The Saw and I am back with another fun blog post! Today we are going to learn our ABC’s, but with metal!! I thought it would be fun to see what the first 4 bands that come to mind when thinking on the alphabet. I know my ABCs!!!

A: Alice in Chains, Abbath, Abdominal Putridity, Amon Amarth  

B: Behemoth, Beartooth, Boundaries, Bent Life

C: Cannibal Corpse, Cattle Decapitation, Chelsea Grin, Cryptopsy

D: Death, Dying Fetus, Debauchery, Devourment

E: Electric Wizard, Emmure, Emperor, Elysian

F: Fit For An Autopsy, Fit For A King, Fallujah, Facebreaker

G: Godsmack, Ghost, Genocide, Gwar

H: Hollow Point, Hands of God, Hypocrisy, Harms Way

I: I Am, I Declare War, I Prevail, Iced Earth

J: Jungle Rot, Judiciary, Justice For The Damned, Judas Priest

K: Kairos, Kamelot, Kataklysm, King Diamond

L: Laceration, Lamb of God, Led Zeppelin, Left Behind

M: Miss May I, Machine Head, Megadeath, Metallica

N: Necrot, Nile, Napalm Death, Nuclear Assault

O: Obituary, Opeth, Overkill, Omen

P: Parkway Drive, Pantera, Papa Roach, Pathology

Q: Queensway, Quiet Riot, Queen, Queensryche

R: Rage Against The Machine, Radiohead, Ratt, Rammstein

S: Six Feet Under, Slayer, Slipknot, Suffocation

T: Thy Art Is Murder, Testament, Typecaste, Type O Negative

U: Upon A Burning Body, Uriah Heep, Under Oath, UFO

V: Vader, Van Halen, Venom, Violence

W: Whitechapel, Wasp, While She Sleeps, White Zombie

X: Xray, Xenobiotic, X-Caliber, Xecutioner

Y: Y&T, Yngwie Malmsteen, Your God is Dead,

Z: ZZ Top, Zakk Wylde, Zao, Zealotry

Your turn!! What bands did you come up with?

Stay Metal, 

THE SAW

Categories
Band/Artist Profile

Band of the Week: Bring Me The Horizon

The first time I heard of Bring Me The Horizon (BMTH) was years ago with their debut record, Count Your Blessings (2006), when my brothers would listen to it and I loved their sound.  I got to see BMTH once at the Carolina Rebellion and boy, let me tell you, they put on one hell of a live show. They probably have one of the best stage performances that I have ever seen.

Bring Me The Horizon is a British rock band formed in Sheffield in 2004. They signed to Columbia Records exclusively in the United States. The band released their debut album, Count Your Blessings in 2006. Their sound was new for listeners and they were met with critical disdain. Critics may not have liked their album, but I loved their heavy hitting, ass beating sound. Their second release, Suicide Season (2008), was a creative, critical, and commercial turning point for the band. With later releases, they changed their style with more influences from classical, electronic, and pop music. BMTH is easily one of the most musically diverse bands I have ever listened to. They have changed their sound so much over the years of their existence and they are the only band (in my opinion) that can change that much and still make great music. Even though I am a fan of BMTH from their album Sempiternal to their first release, they never fail to keep fans on their toes with their evolution. I am willing to bet that they can make any type of album, and it will be an awesome album.

BMTH’s earliest influences were bands like At the Gates, Carcass, Pantera, Metallica, Every Time I Die, and genres such as death metal, grindcore, and emo. Their sound has developed from that starting point and now are influenced by progressive rock, post-rock, dubstep, and electronic. With their changes in influences, it can be seen that BMTH has always attempted to grow and change with each album, believing that they should be different.

Current Members:

Oliver Skyes (vocalist)

Matt Kean (bass)

Lee Malia (lead guitar)

Matt Nicholls (drums)

Jordan Fish (keyboard)

John Jones (touring musician) (rhythm guitar)


Discography:

Count Your Blessings (2006)

Suicide Season (2008)

There Is A Hell Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is A Heaven Let’s Keep It A Secret (2010)

Sempiternal (2013)

That’s The Spirit (2015)

Amo (2019)


Favorite Songs:

Happy Song

Drown

Sleepwalking

Hosptial For Souls

Chelsea Smile

Pray for Plagues

Have you seen BMTH? What is your favorite song by them?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Band/Artist Profile

Artist of the Week: Mulatto

The first time I ever heard of Mulatto was one year ago when she released the music video for her single, B**** From Da Souf, and I absolutely LOVED it!!! Bad b**** music is my favorite type of music. Mulatto is so raunchy and real in her music and it’s a breath of fresh air to have someone playing the game like she is. I didn’t start listening to more of her music until recently and I wished I started listening to her sooner! She writes her own lyrics and her flow with lyrical word-play is so smooth! Her type of flow and style of vocals reminds me of how DaBaby writes and raps his music. Those two on a track would be fire!!

Alyssa Michelle Stephen born on December 22, 1998 is an American rapper professionally known as Mulatto. She chose this racial slur as her stage name because she is a mixed woman. Her mother is white and her father is African American. She wears her mixed race with integrity and lets everyone know where she comes from. She talks about her life being mixed in her songs claiming that she is “too white” or “too black” depending on who she is around and hangs out with.  When listening to Mulatto, you can hear the pain and struggles she had been through, especially on the song “No hook.” I love artists who are real in their songs and discuss things that they have been through and what is going on inside their head.

Stephens was born in Columbus, Ohio and moved to Georgia at the age of 2. She was raised in Clayton County, on the south side of Atlanta. She talks about where she comes from a lot in her songs. She is also repping the south side of Atlanta. In interviews, Mulatto has stated that where she grew up was in the country side and that they have a close community. While growing up, she used to go to and participated in drag racing. Mulatto started rapping at the age of 10 and she quit school later on in her life to focus on her music career.

In 2016, she became a contestant on the Lifetime reality show, The Rap Game, produced by Jermaine Dupri and Queen Latifah. This show was set up like a boot-camp where aspiring rappers would compete against one another for eight weeks. Mulatto was the overall winner of The Rap Game and was offered a recording contract from Dupri with So So Def Records but she turned down the deal claiming that it wasn’t enough money. She then decided and continues to be an independent artist. She talks about this event in her music as well, talking about why she didn’t accept the deal and honestly, I am proud of her for following her gut and doing what was best for her. She did not want to be consumed by the industry and she wanted to have control of her music and what she released.

Since being on The Rap Game, Mulatto has released albums, Eps, singles, and has some features with rappers that were on The Rap Game with her and also some other female rappers such as Saweetie and Trina. For an independent artist, she is killing the game and is making her name known. These past few years have been great for female rappers in the game and I can’t wait to see what they do next.

So, if you like boujee, confident, pretty girl music, then Mulatto is the girl for you!


Discography:

Miss Mulatto (2016)

Latto Let ‘Em Know (2017)

Mulatto (2018)

Hit the Latto (2019)

Big Latto (2019)


Favorite Songs:

He Say She Say

B**** From Da Souf

No Hook

Longway

See Sum

ATL Hoe

What is your favorite Mulatto song?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Band/Artist Profile

Band of the Week: Wage War

What’s going on Butcher Crew?! It’s your Master Butcher, The Saw and I am here to highlight one of my favorite metalcore bands when I was in high school! I first saw Wage War at the 2016 Warped Tour! I was 17 at the time, and I primarily went to that Warped Tour to see Whitechapel (shocking right?). While I was waiting for Whitechapel to come on, Wage War was playing before them. I ended up staying for Wage War’s set and I am glad that I did! They blew me away with their energy, enthusiasm, and love of what they are doing.

After their set, I met the band at their merch booth and they are such nice guys! They are grateful for their fans, and you can tell that they genially mean that when you get the chance to talk to them. After Warped Tour, I started listening to more Wage War, and I have seen them countless times! They have one of the best live performances that I have ever seen!

Wage War is an American metalcore band from Ocala, Florida that formed in 2010. Before their name was Wage War, they went under the name Empires. In 2013 they changed the band name to Wage War and signed to Fearless Records in 2015. The guys in Wage War have been on numerous tours, including playing on the entirety of Warped tour in 2016, A Day to Remember’s Self Help Festival in 2017. The band has also opened up for bands such as August Burns Red, Chelsea Grin, I Prevail, For Today, and Of Mice & Men.

On March 18, 2019, Wage War lost all of their MySpace content form 2016 and earlier from their Empires era (except for their EP, The Fall of Kings). It was reported that over 50 million songs and 12 years’ worth of content were permanently lost with no backup.

The band has released 3 studio albums. Their first album, Blueprints, is my absolute favorite. They had that metalcore sound that I think is the best . Their songs had fantastic riffs that complimented the clean vocals and growls beautifully. Their first record was heavy and groovy, two of my favorite things! Their second album was also really good! There are softer songs, here, on their sophomore album but overall, it was also a great record. I wasn’t a big fan of their third album simply because it didn’t have that edge that the first two albums had. It seemed like on their latest album they were going for a more “hard rock,” rather than metalcore, sound; perhaps, to reach more potential fans outside the extreme genre. The album sounds awesome, but it’s not my cup of tea. I love seeing bands evolve and try different things in their music, and nearly all bands intentionally evolve and grow. Sometimes a band’s newest fans love the “new" sound, often their original fans wont make the jump with them. Concerning Wage War, I will stick with the first two albums.

Discography:

The Fall of Kings (Empires) (EP) (2011)

Blueprints (2015)

Deadweight (2017)

Pressure (2019)


Members:

Briton Bond (lead vocalist)

Seth Blake (lead guitar)

Cody Quistad (rhythm guitar, clean vocals)

Chris Gaylord (bass)

Stephen Kluesener (drums)


Favorite Songs:

The River, Spineless, Alive, Stitch, Gravity, and Johnny Cash.

What are your favorite Wage War songs? Have you seen them live? What do you think of their change in direction?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW  

Categories
Classic Album Review

Album of the Week: Six Feet Under – Haunted (1995)

Chris Barnes (my favorite Death Metal vocalist) was still in Cannibal Corpse when his side project, Six Feet Under, debuted their first album, Haunted (Metal Blade Records; 1995). While with Cannibal Corpse (the first four albums – Eaten Back to Life, ’90; Butchered at Birth, ’91; Tomb of the Mutilated, ’92; and The Bleeding, ’94), Barnes wrote some of the most brutal subject matter in all of Metal. With hardly an understandable syllable on the first three records, Barnes changed his style on The Bleeding, his last with Cannibal Corpse. This slower, gravelly, rumbling, gutteral style is what he carried over to the first few Six Feet Under records.

With Six Feet Under, and particularly on Haunted, Barnes dials back the more offensive subject matter, while retaining the beatings, blood and guts, and torture of classic Death Metal material. What a record this is, still! Barnes sets the standard for Death Metal vocalists, and his form and style are recognizable anywhere. As “Hammer Smashed Face” (from his days with Cannibal Corpse) is forever a classic, so “Remains of You” stands beside it as premier Chris Barnes performances. To be honest, Chris Barnes IS Six Feet Under!

With that said, Barnes has quite a lineup on Haunted. On guitar he has Allen West (Obituary), the bass is played by Terry Butler (Obituary; Death), and on the drums is Greg Gall. While this record is void of typical Death Metal blast beats, there is a more classical style time-keeping and smooth double bass under West’s patented groovy riffs, with Butler’s powerful bass tracks. Obviously, with West and Butler present, this record reminds me of Obituary (another of my favorites).

Rating: 10/10! …Just a perfect Death Metal record!! Classic!!!

Favorite Song: Remains of You

But every song, here – The Enemy Inside, Silent Violence, Lycanthropy; Still Alive; Beneath a Black Sky, Human Target, Suffering in Ecstasy, Tomorrow’s Victim, Torn to the Bone, and Haunted – is Awesome!

Stay Metal, 

THE SAW 

Categories
Classic Album Review

Album of the Week: Whitechapel – A New Era of Corruption (2010)

Okay, can we first just appreciate how badass this album cover is? I am getting Pinhead vibes!!! On June 8, 2010, Whitechapel released this beating and 10 years later, I’m still jamming out to it! There is something about Whitechapel; they have a sound that is timeless. The connection that the band members have with one another is insane and you can feel it when they play together. The grooves and breakdowns on this album cannot be beat, and Bozeman’s vocals??? Untouchable.

A New Era of Corruption is the third studio album by Whitechapel and it was released through Metal Blade Records. In the United States, it sold just under 10,700 copies in the first week AND placed at No. 43 on the Billboard 200 chart. Guitarist Alex Wade stated, “I think this record truly represents where we are as musicians at this point in our career.” When looking at Whitechapel’s discography, the albums do represent where the band is at in their lives and it is cool to see how much they have grown both as men but also as musicians.

The name of the album is derived from a passage of the lyrics in their song “Possession,” which appeared on their second album, This Is Exile. A New Era of Corruption is the first Whitechapel album that does not have a title track. The concepts and lyrical themes of A New Era of Corruption travel into new boundaries where previous album did not. With The Somatic Defilement being a narrative of Jack the Ripper and This Is Exile containing political and anti-religious themes, A New Era of Corruption is not a concept album. It focuses on negative themes: the devolution of society, the corruption of society, and the death of Phil Bozeman’s mother.

This album is awesome. I would definitely recommend it to anyone in search of heavier music. I am a Whitechapel fan so I may be a little bias, BUT this album is really, really good.

Favorite songs:

Single File Dehumanization

End of Flesh

Reprogrammed to hate

The Darkest Days of Man

Rating:

9/10

Stay Metal,

THE SAW