Bands once considered djent are now morphing from the groundwork that they displayed in establishing the scene’s basics. The likes of Periphery and TesseracT have gone in their own, more progressive directions, with some acts pushing forward with new directions, such as America’s own Veil of Maya. Australia’s Northlane, however, has always been something of an interesting act. Since their second album, Singularity, the band seemed to form their own sound and mixed signature djent qualities with more focused songwriting and a larger sense of scale to their music. Following 2015’s Node, the band decided to drop their new album, Mesmer, out of the blue with little-to-no warning. Beyoncé style.
Nearly three and a half years after initially being announced, Marvel and Netflix have finally brought together their Defenders team. While not a functioning unit just yet, the groundwork has been laid out and we’re finally up to Iron Fist, the proclaimed “Final Defender.” The controversy and press around this series has been, to say the least, polarizing, but what does a casual Iron Fist fan such as myself have to think?
Every so often, a band comes along that turns the heads of everyone in the extreme metal underground. Perhaps it be for a revolutionary sound or just general greatness, bands can do this with a single song. Persefone is one of those, and as such have been getting their recognition since the release of 2013’s Spiritual Migration. Now with Aathma, the band are aiming higher than before, yet still playing it safe enough to appease their growing fanbase.
The deathcore titans in Suicide Silence are back. You know that already, right? Between the numerous articles and coverage this new self-titled album has been getting, as well as the fact that their initial fan base has been in hysterics, everyone seems to be paying attention to it. To put it lightly, (and to get right to business) this album is causing a firestorm, and if it weren’t for the inclusion of clean vocals and the nu-metal influence at play, it probably wouldn’t be causing as much of a stir as it currently is.
Japan has a style unto itself when it comes to metal, and ultimately the number of bands from the East that find success overseas are small in number. While true, that does not reflect the quality of music coming from Japan, and Serenity In Murder are a perfect example of what more bands in the symphonic side of the genre should be accomplishing. With The Eclipse, the band’s third album shows them fine-tuning their sound, and in a quick 40 minutes accomplish what many bands take twice as long to do across two discs.
Stephen Pearcy‘s fourth original solo album, “Smash” is out today via Frontiers Music Srl. Stephen Pearcy, best known as the original vocalist and founding member of the platinum rock band RATT, has crafted an album that will surely please fans of the Ratt ‘N Roll style he is known for, while also pushing himself into new rock ‘n roll terrain.
