“Bloodline” isn’t a new album any more, but I thought it was worth reviewing anyway…
Just in case you’ve managed to go through life without ever listening to or reading about Obituary, I’ll give you a brief heads-up on who the Tardy Brothers are. The Tardy Brothers are John and Donald Tardy and they take care of the vocal and drums duties respectively in Obituary. “Bloodline” is their album and Tardy Brothers is their side project. If you’re still not up to speed, I recommend you head over to obituary.cc and do a little reading… and a little listening!
So, how the hell am I going to describe “Bloodline”? 
“Bloodline” is a beast of an album. If you’ve ever listened to Obituary, you can kind of guess what expect. Straight-forward Death Metal with insane vocals and killer guitar solos. “Bloodline” could quite easily be another Obituary album, but – for me – there is one thing that separates it: the production. I don’t know if it’s just me, or my speakers and/or earphones, the production does seem to be cleaner on this album than any Obituary album (including their newest opus “Darkest Day”). On the whole, this works well for this album and does serve to distance it from the Obituary discography. My only gripe is that I love the dirty and raw feel of the Obituary albums! The production on this album doesn’t take anything away from the listening experience, I guess it was just a little bit unexpected. A huge plus is that the guitar solos really have their chance to shine (“I’m Alive” is a fantastic example of this).
The album kicks off with “Bring You Down”, a riff-heavy monster that allows John Tardy to growl like a madman. While it does remain brutal, it carries an infectious melody that will work its way into your brain (this is aided by some superb guitar work!).
The title track seems a little more savage than “Bring You Down” and it’s one of those songs where you have to bang your head. Definitely one of my favourites from the album.
“I’m Alive” is the kind of song that I want to learn on guitar – the groove is just so (for want of a better word) awesome! Very addictive and oozing with confidence – these guys know that they don’t have to rush through things and they’re happy to let this track have a near-laidback feel. It travels along at its own pace and seems entirely organic as a result. You can almost imagine this track being the result of a jam session with a few beers.
“Deep Down” turns the pace up again and it’s at this point that I want to enter another ‘headbang-a-thon’. This is heavier than a very heavy thing. 
“Wired” is a beautiful instrumental piece. That’s a weird sentence to write here, but it describes the track perfectly. It is beautiful. Listen for yourself and see what you think… and feel free to comment via the comment box thing below.
If “Wired” lulls you into a sense of security, “Fate’s Call” rips you right back out of it. The band seem to be extra aggressive here and it results in an unbelievably good track. There’s nothing not to like here.
For some reason “Eternal Lies” didn’t grab me as fast as the other tracks on the album, but after a few listens it really grows on you.
“Scream Descendent” has some superb guitar work. I really can’t stress how good this is! 
The album closes with “Fade Away” – a track that definitely doesn’t just fade away. Pace-wise it has more in common with “I’m Alive” rather than the other tracks on the album and it provides us with a great way to finish off.
It works as an album in its own right, as well as a continuation of the Obituary legacy.
Rating: 98%
“What Makes You Human” is the official debut for Enema for Alkemist Fanatix Europe. Musically the band fall somewhere between Metal, Rock and Hardcore.
The vocal hooks are catchy (even though I can’t speak Italian) and the riffs are incredibly addictive. The only thing that works against the band and the album is that it took me a few listens before I really ‘got it’. But, by the third or forth listen, I found myself hooked into the album from the very first song. After that I developed an urge to hear more and, with 12 tracks, Enema have provided us with plenty to sink our teeth into.
Due to the range of styles on the album, the tracks all seem to be going in different directions. As separate entities the tracks work fine, but for some reason when they are put together they seem to be unlikely bed-fellows. There isn’t a seemless line from track to track. I can’t help but get the impression that these songs were put onto the album because the band had them and liked them, rather than because they worked well together. If this doesn’t bother you, then there’s a very good chance that you’ll enjoy this album (as I’ve said, the tracks are good), but if not, you may find the changes of direction quite distracting.
Rating: 64%
There are a number of bands coming out of Britain at the moment that show just how metal of a nation we are. Revenant Dead are definitely one of them. While the English football team may be leaving you with that bitter taste of disappointment, Revenant Dead make you proud to be British again. Hmmm… I seem to have digressed a bit… even though I can’t stand football and haven’t watched any matches, it’s still managed to sneak it’s way into one of my reviews. I think they must put something in the water around World Cup time.
On “Two Evils” Revenant Dead have taken everything they like from the Metal genre and thrown it together. I’ve witnessed many bands attempt similar things like this over the years, but it often leads to failure. However, on this album, Revenant Dead have pulled it off. Almost every possibly subgenre is blended together here with an expert touch!
This album is dark, moody and heavy and the combination of various vocal styles work impressively well. Revenant Dead’s use of melody is fantastic and you’ll find yourself humming some of these tracks long after you’ve stopped listening to the album (check out “Requiem” for a prime example).
All too often, we are subjected to bands who borrow to heavily from one inspiration or another. Revenant Dead don’t do that. They are their own entity and have a uniqueness that is incredibly difficult to find these days.
In conclusion, I need to listen to more of this band.
Rating: 93%
(definitely one of my favourite albums of this year so far)
First of all, I’m not sure if it should be Societys Plague or Society’s Plague. I don’t know why, but not knowing this upsets me. Sometimes I seriously do think that I should be talking to an overpaid head doctor! Anyway, spelling and grammar are not important in this instance… so I’ll forget about it. Well, not entirely – otherwise this review would be impossible to read and completely pointless!
“The Human, The Canvas” is Society’s Plague’s debut album (released through Stand and Deliver Records). There’s no two ways about it – Society’s Plague are metalcore… so, if you don’t like metalcore, turn away now. I can’t see that Society’s Plague will change your mind about the genre. That’s not to say that the album’s bad (it isn’t), it just isn’t going to change your mind about the genre.
This album is extremely well produced and gives you the opportunity to really pay attention to what’s going on, and enjoy the ride. The use of keyboards originally made me raise an eyebrow in a quizzical fashion, but as the album progresses, they really start to make sense. They add another dimension to the music and this helps to separate Society’s Plague separate themselves from the rest of the metalcore pack.
The clean vocals, on the other hand, took a little longer to get used to. I got the impression at times that they were just there to please certain members of the record buying (or MP3 downloading) public, rather than to fulfil a particular plan in a song. At times they also broke the flow of the songs, and I started to feel like I was in a car that was stopping and starting instead of speeding along smoothly. I’m not against clean vocals in metalcore, but I do feel it’s important that they’re there to bring something to the track, rather than just put there for the sake of being there.
“The Human, The Canvas” isn’t a bad album, but it’s a long way away from being perfect. But, hey, the band is young and this is their debut – they’ve got plenty of time to perfect their craft.
Stand out tracks: “Legions”, “Refuge in Silence”, “Mourning Sun” and “Lies of the Broken”
Rating: 52%
LOUCIFER SPEAKS PRESENTS:
Hell-o!
I’m pleased to announce that Scream is continuing it’s tradition of having a Metal night on Thursdays… by having another Metal night on a Thursday! It truly is a stroke of genius if you ask me…
This particular night of metally goodness will take place on Thursday 5th August, from 7.30pm.
We’re still firming up the running order, but the bands will be THE CONFLICT WITHIN, VIOLATION COMPLEX + NEAR DEATH EXPERIMENT. All AWESOME bands!!!
Some links for you to point your mouse to:
http://www.myspace.com/neardeathexperimentrock
http://www.myspace.com/theconflictswithin
http://www.myspace.com/violationcomplex
The full address for Scream is:
The Scream Lounge
20 South End
Croydon
Surrey
CR0 1DN
FLYER COMING SOON.
Click here to check out the event page on Facebook.
