Fit For An Autopsy – Absolute Hope Absolute Hell

The time between previous album, the 2013 released Hellbound, and its new successor Absolute Hope Absolute Hell, has seen death metallers Fit For An Autopsy become not only more brutal but strikingly bolder in the adventure behind the infusion of melodic imagination and diversity shaping their ferocity. The evidence is all strikingly there in the band’s third album which is also the first with new vocalist Joe Badolato after the departure of Nate Johnson last year. Quite simply Absolute Hope Absolute Hell is a gripping tempest of sound and intensity, of passion and anger, and a new heady bench mark for the New Jersey hailing sextet.

Self-produced by guitarist Will Putney, who has also previously produced the likes of Thy Art Is Murder, Acacia Strain, and Northlane, Absolute Hope Absolute Hell opens with its title track and a melodic tempting which reflects the first part of its title perfectly. Within a few more deep breaths riffs are crawling through the air and dark grooves binding ears as the quickly impressing delivery of Badolato steers the brewing volcanic tempest. Whereas in previously releases the open barbarism fuelling the new intent would be undiluted, here the opening enticing continues to flirt from within the storm, ebbing away occasionally to return with vocal elegance as the track relentlessly grows into and evolves its furious skin and body.

      It is a mighty and thrilling start carried on by the following Wither, its first touch a crunching tide of raw riffs and imposing rhythms again straddled by the excellent tones of the new frontman. Johnson was a mighty force and texture within Fit For An Autopsy but Badolato brings something just as hearty but stirringly different which simply fits the band’s evolution in sound, Saltwound straight after conformation if it was needed. Backing vocals equally seem to have found a new zeal and hue to their roars too, on the third song creating searing harmonics within the sonic smog wrapping the rhythmic trespass of the track. Though not quite living up to the pair before, such their stunning success, the track quickly unveils more melodic enterprise and atmospheric imagination as forcibly alluring as any raw ferocity unleashed across song and album.

Both the Gojira meets Oceano like Murder In The First and Storm Drains exhaust the body and ignite the senses, the first a zealous predatory stalking which bewitches with repetitive hooks and spiralling grooves whilst becoming more barbarous with every passing minute and blast of viciousness. Its successor is a viscous sonic and vocal assault but again a turbulence unafraid to spin magnetic melodic and caustic tempting through the guitars of Putney, Tim Howley, and Pat Sheridan, drummer Josean Orta alongside splintering bone with his often restrained but fierce swings; that reserve emerging with the almost post-rock like ambience which also blows through the track.

Another high is breached with Ghosts In The River, Badolato offering a Jaz Coleman like tone to his cleaner grizzled delivery whilst around him vivaciously shimmering melodies seep from guitar strings and a warm inviting atmosphere leads the listener into the volatility and perpetually animus of the song’s heart. Bassist Shane Slade sculpts bait which borders on bestial but is tempered, almost smothered at times by the mesmeric melodic imagination working away on an already by this point greedy appetite. The track is as enthralling an inventive and fluidly diverse violation as you could hope for and quickly matched by the outstanding and creatively rabid Mask Maker which takes things to even more entangled richer depths. One moment it is scarring the senses with sonic acidity and the next creating a furious anthem which again has a slight Killing Joke scent to it, not to mention that of bands like Thy Art is Murder, though as shown yet again by Hollow Shell straight after, Fit For An Autopsy have created a presence truly distinct to them showing past great efforts were still a sound in the making. Hollow Shell is almost gentle in comparison to the previous track, well for a passing moment or two as sinews become stretched, emotions turn sour, and intensity is uncapped as the track boils over with rancor but without losing any of its creative enterprise and seamless fusion of melody rich ambience and toxic savagery.

Out To Sea is a song which took time to fully persuade, its opening emotive calm and sweeping atmosphere tempered for personal tastes by the vocal delivery choice of Badolato, his rasping tones a dampener on the climate but coming into their own as the short but potent track breeds a cantankerous torrent of hostility around the persistent beauty. It is a great appetiser for the virulent bad-blood of False Positive though, this a maelstrom of creative spite and bedlamic ingenuity as blusteringly unpredictable as it is punishingly hellacious. Every second brings a new chastisement for the senses and inventive tonic for ears and imagination, the album closing on the same lofty heights as it started, a pinnacle reinforced by album closer Swing The Axe and its more controlled and tempered storm flowing with and exposing the new direction and ingenuity in the Fit For An Autopsy songwriting and sound.

To simplify things, Absolute Hope Absolute Hell is technically compelling, brutally impacting rock ‘n’ roll to give your soul to, the roar of a band’s sound coming of age with plenty more still to be explored and experienced. We have another best of year metal contender!

Absolute Hope Absolute Hell is available from October 2^nd via eOne / Good Fight Music.

http://www.fitforanautopsy.com   https://www.facebook.com/FitForAnAutopsyOfficial   https://twitter.com/FitForAnAutopsy

Pete RingMaster 02/10/2015

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

For more exploration of the independent and promotional services check out http://www.zykotika.com/

Get The Blessing – Astronautilus

Jazz is not a genre which gets squeezed into our schedule too often and when it does it is the more experimental and often schizophrenic takes on it which most spark the imagination. With more offerings like the new album from UK’s Get The Blessing, making room and finding time to explore many more potential treats might just be a new intent though. The fifth full-length from the Bristol instrumentalists is a fiercely captivating, imagination stirring adventure which according to the band sees them create a proposal which is “dark with a joyous soul.” It is a declaration quickly confirmed by the album, as also claims of others which describe Astronautilus as being bred with “more adventurous improvisation and electronics” than ever before without losing the unpredictability and musical mischievousness the band is renowned for. New to Get The Blessing through their latest encounter we again take their thoughts as being on the mark whilst just adding that Astronautilus is simply irresistible.

The successor to 2014 albums Lope and Antilope, and dedicated to Ornette Coleman, an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer who died earlier this year and “was pivotal to the band’s formation in 2000”, Astronautilus opens with the dark shuffle of Phaenomena. Instantly the fuzzy groan of Jim Barr’s bass resonates on ear drums, their attention keen to get involved as to that of the imagination as the warmer tones of brass blowing seductively yet devilishly over the senses. The skittish beats of drummer and percussionist Clive Deamer take care of the body whilst the hips belong to the hook swung by the sax of Jake McMurchie and trumpet of Pete Judge. In no time the body is enslaved, shadows and light colluding within the improvised piece of contagion spilled to cast a dance perfect for darkly lit surroundings and hope fuelled good times.

     The following Carapace is a sultry romance for ears and thoughts, its seductive smoulder of brass and horn alone bewitching as the song takes the listener on a flight through exotic realms built on reflective intimacy. Like all great instrumentals, thoughts inspired, escapades sparked in the imagination most likely vary from the inspirations and themes the band breed the piece from, but they are ignited and that is the potent success which Get The Blessing achieves time and time again.

Next up is Monkfish, a piece simultaneously inspired by Thelonius Monk, a pair of Deamer’s shoes, and the fish, though as it swings and shuffles with tenacious enterprise and flirtatious bait we cannot help but think of the Fast Show and the character Inspector Monkfish, especially with the core swagger which relishes its inescapable lure on feet and emotions. The track reminds of eighties band Mouth, especially rhythmically and in insatiable energy whilst Conch straight after reveals a unique presence grown from an echoing shimmer of melodic enticement which almost toys with the senses as undefined and shadowy resonance invasively flirts with dark elegance.

Things get a touch surreal with Cornish Native next, the outstanding incitement a rhythmic compulsion for the body and its creamy invention a spark for the mind. At times it has the salty taste of the sea, or the oyster it is titled after, and a sense of the random landscape and deceptively busy natural life of the remote area where the band recorded the album. In other moments within a sense of isolation, abstract sounds and twists break out to leave the listener roaming disconnected yet still alluring scenery; the latter a bit like visiting the Scilly Isles when it is closed i.e. Sundays.

The lapping of waves continues in next up Nautilus, its melancholic and hazy air a drifting melodic fog within warm spirals of brass driven air which gets more intensive and lively, in turn suggestively dark and almost intimidating, across the length of the mesmeric track. It is enthralling, a tantalising swim though emotionally refreshing sound which like the night makes way for the morning light brought by Green Herring, a joyful and carefree piece that carries a smile to induce a matching response in the listener. The bass especially has feet enslaved, trumpet and sax taking care of the rest with both colluding to riveting effect for a finale where the imagination envisages a battle between fish and man, the net, the escape…or not.

The album is closed by firstly Hayk, a track which for no obvious reason than that is simply is, provides a mesmeric exploration which is just sinister on the ears and thoughts, and finally the haunting Sepia, a piece which lives up to its name in tone and suggestiveness whilst sending the listener drifting off into a spatial yet emotionally smothering atmosphere. It is not one of the emerging favourites within Astronautilus but it is the most fascinating proposal inciting new imagined experiences with every listen.

We cannot say if Astronautilus is the best Get The Blessing release or if they have tapped into a new plateau with their sound, with as said earlier the album our first meeting with them, but if it is not the case, past albums must be set in stone classics as the band’s new offering is simply delicious.

Astronautilus is available digitally and on Cd and vinyl from October 2^nd via Naim Jazz Records.

http://www.theblessing.co.uk/     https://twitter.com/gettheblessing   https://www.facebook.com/gettheblessing

Pete RingMaster 02/10/2015

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

For more exploration of the independent and promotional services check out http://www.zykotika.com/

Counting Coins – Don’t Look Down

Here is another band we could kick ourselves for not discovering before now, well we will once we stop bouncing to their glorious new single. They are Counting Coins, a UK band which in one breath you might call ska, in another gypsy punk, in another…well you get the idea, and their new release is Don’t Look Down, a song destined to turn venues, festivals, and the world into a heaving mass of bodies.

   The Hull hailing Counting Coins formed in 2009 and it seems took little time in exciting crowds locally before drawing broader attention through debut EP Take the Ride in 2010. With its successor, the Reach for the Sky EP three years later even more successful, the band were soon and hungrily since, lighting up venues across the UK and into Europe, sharing stages with the likes of Random Hand, Sonic Boom 6, The New Town Kings, The Talks, Jaya the Cat, Babar Luck (ex-King Prawn), The King Blues, The JB Conspiracy, and Neville Staple along the way. Equally performances at festivals such as Boomtown, Rebellion, Tramlines, Galtres, and Freedom Festival have only drawn acclaim and seen the band’s reputation gain momentum. With new single Don’t Look Down constantly in our ears alongside a retrospective investigation of Counting Coins, it is easy to see and hear why the quintet of vocalist Harry Burnby, guitarist/bassist Matty Dennison, bassist/guitarist Rob Green, drummer Sam Burnham, and trumpeter Will Chalk are so lustfully supported.

As mentioned at the top, the band’s sound is a weave of styles; ska, punk, gypsy, and hip hop aligned and entangling in Don’t Look Down alone. A brief rally of beats introduces the magnetic flames of brass, they enticing choppy riffs, a pulsating bassline, and the resourceful and magnetic lures of Burnby, his voice just as eagerly backed across the band. The ska swagger of the song is pure temptation, feet and hips soon in tandem, vocal chords a swift addition too. Around them though, the song seamlessly slips in flames of reggae, ska gypsy, and more, it all managing to collude to breed a swing like dynamism. With elements of dub and folk, tango and waltz, and at one point we swear steam punk, the track just continues to roll and twist like a melodic acrobat as it takes the listener and passions on a heady and exhausting ride.

Single of the year contenders is a list longer than a queue on Black Friday and now it is one song richer, an incitement which has more or less jumped the line to stand to the fore of 2015 essential treats.

Don’t Look Down is out now as a digital download on All Our Own Records.

https://www.facebook.com/CountingCoins  https://twitter.com/counting_coins

Pete RingMaster 02/10/2015

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

For more exploration of the independent and promotional services check out http://www.zykotika.com/

Autopsy Boys – Song For Debbera

Listening to the Autopsy Boys always sparks thoughts of the film Re-Animator, probably not particularly surprising when the bands own passion for horror movies and their inspirations songs is so open, but why pretty much always that particular Stuart Gordon offering is hard to say. The same has happened with the British synth punk’s new offering Song For Debbera, that and the equally recurring sense of rich enjoyment. Another stirring fusion of synth pop and horror punk, the song manipulates the body and teases the imagination with its nostalgia meets modern tenacity roar of contagion. In some ways it is a single out of its time but equally a rousing twenty first century incitement which might finally open doors to the kind of spotlights the band is long overdue.

The band was formed in 2011 by vocalist/ synth player William Brunskjill and bassist Gary Hargreaves, the pair infusing inspirations from 80’s TV and horror movies, especially bad B-movies, into an emerging sound influenced by bands such as The Dwarves, Germs, TSOL, and The Queers. With a collection of songs and motivated by encouraging words from favourite band The Dwarves, the pair left their jobs and enrolled on intensive music courses to gain entry into Leeds Music College. A buzz amidst increasing online support gathered around the band through tracks they had posted, they leading to a live gig at a Leeds based music festival which in turn led to attention from a local record label. Deciding to do things DIY though, the band proceeded to record and release debut double A-sided single Rich Kids Playground/ Negative 8 in their own hand built studio, its success and that of first album Def Elements in 2012, waking up thicker and increasing attention in fans and media alike.

   Subsequent singles Crushing On Cynthia and recently No Ambition which came out earlier this year, continued the ascent in reputation and sound of Autopsy Boys, though each is now outshone by Song For Debbera. The single is the start of big things for the band. It is the debut song from their upcoming second album Revenge of the acid casualty auto humans and the first of five singles which will be accompanied by music videos depicting a chaotic 24 hours in suburbia, they being endorsed and distributed by B-movie legends Troma Entertainment.

Song for Debbera is curated by Canadian scream queen Debbie Rochon, a big fan of the band herself. Her introduction on the single brings a great Tales of The Crypt like coaxing to the emerging contagion of spicy hooks laid down by the keys of Brunskjill and guitar of Alan Laird. The song soon settles into a lively predatory stroll with electro bait bouncing off the crisp beats of Sam Shelton whilst the dark hues cast by Hargreaves’s bass shadow the distinctive vocals of Brunskjill. The flowing infection only ingrains itself deeper as a classic horror hook winds its way across the sinister landscape and punk infused energy and enterprise springs its trap within the already inescapable lure of the song. At times there is a feel of seventies bands The Normal and Naked Lunch to the encounter, in other moments Calling all Astronauts and Rabbit Junk; these all spicing another individual synth punk escapade ultimately unique to Autopsy Boys.

Things are certainly looking up for the band with Song For Debbera also set to be a bonus feature on Debbie Rochon’s latest movie whilst Autopsy Boys is to appear on VHS Massacre, a documentary about the decline of video nasties and physical media. Their biggest key to major things though just might be this one irresistible song ahead of an already highly anticipated album.

Song For Debbera is out from October 2^nd via Underdogz Records.

http://www.autopsyboys.com/   https://www.facebook.com/autopsyboys    https://twitter.com/autopsyboys

Pete RingMaster 02/10/2015

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

For more exploration of the independent and promotional services check out http://www.zykotika.com/

V/ VEGA – Leaving Lyra

Leaving Lyra is like a newly discovered dish which lies on the tongue very nicely on the first mouthful, but it is in the after taste and subsequent eager snacking that its full range of flavours escape to thrill and seduce the taste buds into having another bite, and then another. So it is with the new EP from British progressive metallers V/ VEGA, a release which pleased on the initial listen but continues to reveal new creative spices and textures to simultaneously and increasingly impress at the same time. Elegant and warm, fierce and volatile, the EP’s quartet of songs challenge as they entice and enthral, each a tempest of sound and emotion which only leaves an appetite for more.

Hailing from the eastern county of Bedfordshire, V/ VEGA emerged in 2014 with a sound which we earlier stated as progressive metal but in truth it is a tapestry of styles and flavours across metal and rock. Band inspirations include the likes of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Dance Gavin Dance, Karnivool, and Periphery amongst others, they alone a clue to the diversity involved within the sound and now EP from the quartet. Making their live debut in the June of last year, V/ VEGA have hit the live scene with hunger, sharing stages with bands such as Shields, Giants, Canvas, and Create to Inspire whilst earning acclaim and potent reputation for their craft and explosive performances. The well-received release of debut EP Nostalgia, also out mid-2014, whipped up further attention, including that of Crooked Noise Records who now nationally release Leaving Lyra. It is easy to expect bigger spotlights and reactions to follow in the wake of the new EP’s unleashing, an assumption quickly in place after that initial listen and only cemented thereon in.

The song Lyra starts things off, it’s opening ambience of brewing intrigue sparking the imagination with ears swiftly involved as atmospheric melodies and invitingly agitated rhythms unveil their suggestive prowess. The vocals of Jim Dummer firmly engage and impress just as quickly, his soaring tones backed well by Tom Williams whose guitar enterprise alongside that of Edd Durcan, similarly spins a web of emotive and at times tempestuous persuasion. Outbreaks of heavy and voracious crescendos only add to the drama and lure of the track, raw antagonistic growls emerging from either Dummer or Durcan to drive the ferocity which manages to potently align with and be entangled in the melodic charm colouring the warm landscape of the encounter.

It is a thickly enjoyable opening to Leaving Lyra which continues with Grand Declaration. Straight away the track is badgering ears with the hefty swings of whoever is at the drums and the carnivorous tones of Josh Levy’s bass. Simultaneously melodic flames and clean vocal prowess wrap the twisting grooves and sonic tendrils that vein and spear the keys spun ambience which, as in the opener, adds an ethereal breath and climate around the stormy heart of the song. Even more than its predecessor, the track is a maelstrom of ideas and textures which may need time to reveal its depths but only with increasing rewards for the time offered in return.

Wanderer follows and swiftly flirts with djent seeded technical adventure within another ferocious expulsion of dark metalcore like antagonism. After another mournful yet inflamed breath, the band slips into a melancholy washed calm which subsequently embraces fearsome volatility, an progressive wind, and corrosive malevolence, in time all fusing into one rich confrontation. It is a mouth-watering proposition which again needs time to be explored before announcing itself as the best track, if only by a slither or two such the quality throughout Leaving Lyra.

The EP comes to a fine close with Reaching Eden, a song instantly gripping ears with its opening bait of riffs. Featuring the potent tones of Glass Cloud front man Jerry Roush, the song is a rousing and fierce blustery wind of sound and emotion, but also unafraid to drift into ambience clouded calm spun by technical tempting, flowing harmonies, and emotional reflection. Everything is seamlessly involved; what came before and is to follow fluid with the now within the track, uniting for a constantly contagious and raucous cacophony of vocal and emotive animus driven magnetically by the rhythms. Like Karnivool meets Periphery meets Bring Me The Horizon, with a healthy wash of Between the Buried and Me too, the song is a dynamic and wonderfully testing finale to a continually impressing offering from V/ VEGA.

With the band still barely into its second year, it is easy to think this is only the start of bigger and bolder things for and from V/ VEGA. A smile is breaking out at that thought.

Leaving Lyra is available from October 2^nd digitally and on CD via Crooked Noise Records.

https://www.facebook.com/VVegauk     https://twitter.com/vvegauk

Pete RingMaster 02/10/2105

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

For more exploration of the independent and promotional services check out http://www.zykotika.com/

RISING WELSH METALLERS BETWEEN WAVES RELEASE NEW VIDEO SINGLE!

 

Between Waves have dropped their new video ‘Paper Chain’ – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOXRPi1-UDc&feature=youtu.be ,

taken from their new EP by the same name, which is unveiled this October.

South Wales five-some Between Waves exploded on the scene in 2013 after frustration with the lack of diversity in the current UK metal scene. Formed from the ashes of a series of recognised bands, most notably Hondo Maclean, the metallers hit the ground running and amassed a formidable set list. Consisting of Helen Page (Vocals), Richard Wood (Guitars/Vocals), Lee Wood (Guitars), Andrew Gordon (Bass), and Grant Robinson (Drums), Between Waves are quickly accumulating a legion of fans drawn in by the band’s alluring riffage, pounding beats and emotive vocal lines.

With a series of highly successful UK shows already under their wings, and with the recent support garnered for their debut video ‘Place To Fall’, the band are building momentum and are poised for national attention.

Between Waves unleash their debut EP ‘Paper Chain’ featuring five killer cuts. Their forthcoming single ‘Paper Chain‘ is one of the many highlights with its duelling Tool-esque passages and remarkably crunching chorus. Stay tuned as the band plan to tour throughout the UK this Autumn, and check out their Facebook page for updates.

-BETWEEN WAVES HAVE RELEASED THE VIDEO FOR ‘PAPER CHAIN’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOXRPi1-UDc&feature=youtu.be –

https://www.facebook.com/BetweenWaves

THIS CITY LIMITS DROP NEW VIDEO

Energetic Yorkshire rockers ‘This City Limits’ have released their stunning new video ‘Runaway’. The single is taken from their blistering new EP ‘Here’s To Hoping’, which is out on Friday 13th November.

Check the video here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju1ZI24LD4c

This City Limits have already picked up glowing comparisons with bands ranging from Mallory Knox and Lower Than Atlantis to the likes of Rise Against and Brand New. The Leeds-based foursome unleash an intoxicating blend of hooks and refrains merged with vigor, power and thoughtful expression.

Formed in 2014, the band consist of brothers Will Turner (Vocals, Guitar) and George Turner (Guitar), bassist Rob Burns and drummer Josh Peters. In April and July 2014, the quartet released two singles, ‘Amputate’ and ‘Colourblind’, receiving keen attention from national press and radio. Since then, This City Limits have spent time working on their increasingly frenetic live shows and growing their fan base, gathering support along the way from figures such as Christian Carlisle of BBC Radio Sheffield and Tom Robinson of BBC 6 Music.

This City Limits’ current single ‘Too Scared To Swim’ was premiered by Big Cheese Magazine, and also picked up strong support from a wide range of radio stations and online publications. In support of the release, the band performed relentlessly over the summer, including shows at festivals such as Blissfields, Tramlines and Clarence Park. The guys now push on with the national release of their new EP ‘Here’s To Hoping’, which includes the stunning follow-up single ‘Runaway’. Stay tuned to the band’s website for details of upcoming tours.

-THIS CITY LIMITS HAVE RELEASED ‘RUNAWAY’ – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju1ZI24LD4c –

www.thiscitylimits.com @thiscitylimits www.facebook.com/thiscitylimits