Monday, 19 May 2014

BURIED INSIDE

GenresPunk / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Metalcore / Post-Rock / Screamo / Experimental / Thrash
Related artistsThe Grey, Crusades, Sedatives, and Experiment In Terror.
CountryOttawa, Ontario CANADA
Years Active1997-2010
Song: "Kroc of Shit" and "Time as Imperialism"
Album: "Suspect Symmetry" and "Chronoclast"
Year: 2001 and 2004
Label(s): Relapse Records / Init Records / Cyclop Media / React With Protest / Matlock Records / Standingwave
This post's artist is from the May 2014 Mix. This is track #4 and #29.
You can download the May 2014 Mix#5 right here or get the new June Mix#6 here.
For fans of: AmberThe EndIsis, Converge, Back When, Examination Of The..., LocktenderThis Day Forward, Tephra, Arktika, Codeseven, Mare, Cassilis, Beneath The Ashes, Ken Mode, Hexis, Rorcal, Envy, Mesa Verde, Rosetta, Tool, Titan, Cult Of LunaAlaskan, Le Kraken, One Eyed God ProphecyEnvyKowloon Walled City, Seventeen AgainBreag Naofa and Union Of Uranus.

BURIED INSIDE are one of the most important Canadian...no wait, international heavy band of the 2000s. They released 3 full lengths during those 10 of their 13 year-career with all of those albums being absolutely phenomenal in it's/their own right.

'In And Of The Self' tends to get very black metal and speed-thrash. They also combine lots of early This Day Forward, Codeseven ('Division Of Labor'-era) with Converge. Like the vast majority of great bands, they had their growing pains through an early record that had direction, but an overload of it. There's even a bit o' cheese, although it is minimal. There's seems to be a lot of German-crust/hardcore/powerviolence on here as well. I waited for years for this bad boy to pop up on Ebay so when it finally did I dropped over $60 for it. Oops.
Best tracks: eh...

'Suspect Symmetry' is BURIED INSIDE's first fantastic album in a strung of such albums, and this is the band's 'Swords Against The Father', if you will. It's crazy fast and technical. It holds without question some of the sweetest riffs I'll ever hear. All of the players help out in every song. They really include all the instruments equally and effectively. "The Fallacy Of Wildlife Conservation" is a fist-to-face song that is destroys the listener from the get-go. If at first it's too hard for you, just wait until the 2-minute mark when the song slows down to a beautifully constructed crawl. The eerie, twirling bass riff sends the track back into breakdown mayhem, but with a long overall rhythm that is very easy to find yourself rocking back and forth. "Kroc Of Shit" is fucking stellar. Holy shit I love this song. It's easily the best song on this album and encapsulates all that makes this record amazing. The opening bursts the door in before slowing down to a massive and catchy-as-all-hell breakdown from 0:14-0:48. The drums at 0:16-pretty much the end of the song are immaculate.
Best tracks: "Racking The Skulls Of Golgatha", "Clockwork (Birth of the Chronophile)", "The Fallacy Of Wildlife Conservation", "Kroc Of Shit" and "Terrortourismology".

'Chronoclast' is heralded by most who follow the band's legacy as their crowning achievement, although it probably equals 'Suspect Symmetry' in my...ears. This is an altered beast. Gone are the lightning-fast songs. In their place sludgy/doomy/post-hardcore/death-metal and dare I even say hints of metallic screamo. "Time As Surrogate Religion" is probably my favourite, with that big juicy bass blast near the end of the song. Oops, I sit corrected. "Time As Imperialism" is the best song on the album due to the epic, slow, web-like nature of the song. Again perpetuated by a very Tool-esque bass riff, it ebbs and flows until culminating in an orgiastic climax that showcases multiple vocalists and has an awesome Envy-ish riff that is really at the forefront of the track. I should also mention that the lyrics are primarily based off of Timothy Rifkin's "Time Wars" book. I borrowed it from my bro and he says it will change the way you look at the world. I'm excited to start it after all these baby books.
Best tracks: "Time as Ideology", "Time as Surrogate Religion", "Time as Imperialism", "Time as Abjection", "Time as Commodity" and "Time as Resistance".

'Spoils Of Failure' was the band's final venture. This is a massive release that constantly pummels the listener with post-metal, post-hardcore and post-rock perfection. Songs such as "I" never let up for the entire duration of the song and are generally led by a thunderous bass riff enveloped by 2 deep guitars, crashing drums and some of the harshest/deepest vocals the band has had on any album. For the most part this formula of new, heavy and slower BURIED INSIDE is constant with a few exceptions. "II" could have been culled from the 'Chronoclast' sessions, being of the shorter variety and a bit faster with the screamier vocals.  "III" is a post 10-minute romp that combines both styles and the rest of the album follows suit, for the most part, balancing amazingness with awesomeness, and they do it flawlessly. If anything, hit up "V", as it's essentially the title-track and the last half of the song may equal the sheer perfection of "Time As Imperialism", as the dual vocals, amazing lyrics and guitar solo will make your goddamn day.
Best tracks: "I", "II", "III", "IV", "V" and "VIII".

I've heard some people posit that the band recycles some riffs and the songs can sound identical. Identical is a bit of a stretch, but I'd have to agree that the band does have a distinct style that sometimes sounds like I've heard it on earlier albums. They do like their themes, though. Considering how downright amazing the band was, I don't give two shits about this argument and for the most part it's a moot point.

Download their complete discography and learn a thing or two from these legendary Canucks.

Chronoclast Medley from the band's final show in 2010.

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DISCOGRAPHY
Click )==>here<==( to download the band's complete discography in mp3 form.

1999 - In And Of The Self cdLP

2001 - Suspect Symmetry cd/12"LP

2004 - Chronoclast cd/12"LP

2009 - Spoils Of Failure cd/2x12"LP

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(2001) BURIED INSIDE - "Kroc of Shit" (from 'Suspect Symmetry')

(2004) BURIED INSIDE - "Time as Imperialism" (from 'Chronoclast')

(2009) BURIED INSIDE - "V" (from 'Spoils of Failure')

(2001) BURIED INSIDE - "The Fallacy of Wildlife Conservation" (from 'Suspect Symmetry')

(2004) BURIED INSIDE - "Time as Surrogate Religion" (from 'Chronoclast')

(2009) BURIED INSIDE - "I" (from 'Spoils of Failure')

(1999) BURIED INSIDE - "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi" (from 'In And Of The Self')

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BURIED INSIDE out-of-print discography mp3 download

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DIP LEG

BandDIP LEG
GenresPunk / Screamo / Post-Hardcore
Related artists: Unknown.
CountryOkayama, JAPAN
Years Active: 1999-2006
Song: "Rod Lost Die Understand"
Album: "The Sympathy Without Love"
Year: 2004
Label(s): I've Come For Your Children / Papakerma / Satire Records / 
This post's artist is from the May 2014 Mix. This is track #15.
You can download the May 2014 Mix#5 right here or get the new June Mix#6 here.
For fans ofSnøras, Hue, Gauge Means Nothing, Nitro Mega Prayer, Hot Cross, Off Minor, Bright Calm Blue, Envy, Apollo 18, Lautrec, Dream CasteCease Upon The Capitol, Eyes Of Verotika, Secret Arms and Birthday Boyz aka PROPER Screamo.

Ryan Lewis (I've Come For Your Children label, Meatcube label, member of Sanctions/Cease Upon The Capitol, one of my heroes and a stand up guy) has been the primary reason that Japanese screamo has made its way over to North America and many parts of Europe. You really should peruse his blog which consists of pretty much only Japanese artists and they are generally all punk/screamo/hardcore bands. It's called Sanitized Japan and you should definitely check it out here. DIP LEG was the first amazing band I came across when I found out about said blog.

DIP LEG is fucking sweet. highpitched screaming over adventurous guitars with very little heavy riffs or breakdowns. Most instrumentals by this band are swirling, playful and chaotic simultaneously. They sound a heck of a lot like Snøras if they chilled out, nailed every note and included more clean vocals - or if Envy sped their music back up, dropped the atmospherics for sweet licks and their vocals became higher-pitched. The drums are outstanding, which I came to appreciate more after Ryan (drummer from Cease Upon The Capitol) told me he was influenced by her. The bass riffs are really bouncy and don't follow the standard guitar format (aka just copying that shit) and remind me of bands like Choke, Serotonin and Hue - that's complex and amazing.

The band slow it down with some really intricate riffing and interesting time shifts. They mold these into some very original, passionate, beautiful and driving music. 'The Sympathy Without Love' is a great album. It can run together but considering their sound is great, don't expect any complaints from me. Without a doubt "Rod Lost Die Understand" is the cream of the crop, as the ridiculous section from 1:36-2:15 is absolutely stunning and the best moment on the record. The band occasionally toys with clean singing (like "President Took A Sad Ending" and "We Exclaim On A Proven Sham") with mediocre results, although it doesn't detract from the music as the vocalist is proficient enough. I love the screaming, though one could make a case that a little more variety would help the band, as the vocals can get a little monotonous.

I recently acquired 'No One Is Hurt At A Place Of Love' and it's a great followup EP but didn't grab me the way their first EP did at first, although after 4 spins it really clicked. This is a phenomenal album that also included a live 14-minute set. Some notable tracks are "Aggression For This Half A Century", "One Of The 6.4 Billion Pens" and my favourite "News".

DIP LEG's first release was a split with Struggle Minds and is a much rawer and unpolished affair that predates the band's swirling and technical guitars and instead has the band following a much thicker and hardcore vibe. The vocals sound like a different vocalist simply because his scream doesn't hit those emotive high-pitched screams he pulls off on the 2 later EPs. Part of me likes this release as much as their later material even though I generally dig the more thought-out and original approach. I love "A Round Light" in its demo stage, as it bridges the band's 2 sonic styles perfectly.

If you haven't already checked out DIP LEG, insert dip shit joke. Lazy.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2000 - Struggle Minds split cdLP (download here)

2004 - The Sympathy Without Love cd/cassetteEP (buy here)

2006 - No One Is Hurt At A Place Of Love cdEP (download here)

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(2004) DIP LEG - "Rod Lost Die Understand" (from 'The Sympathy Without Love')

(2006) DIP LEG - "News" (from 'No One Is Hurt At A Place Of Love')

(2004) DIP LEG - "A Disguise Around" (from 'The Sympathy Without Love')

(2006) DIP LEG - "Aggression For This Half A Century" (from 'No One Is Hurt At A Place Of Love')

(2000) DIP LEG - "A Round Light (demo)" (from 'Struggle Minds' split)


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DIP LEG out-of-print discography mp3 download / additional links

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Sunday, 18 May 2014

RAVIN

BandRAVIN
GenresPunk / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Screamo / Powerviolence
Related artistsN/A.
CountryPerpignan, FRANCE
Years Active2013-present
Song: "Mercy Brown"
Album: "Ravin"
Year: 2014
Label(s): Self Released / Zegema Beach Records
This post's artist is from the May 2014 Mix. This is track #21.
You can download the May 2014 Mix#5 right here or get the new June Mix#6 here.
For fans ofState Faults, Cassilis, Young Mountain, Smile To The Wind aka Улыбайся Ветру, Carrion Spring, FoxmoulderNous Etions, Black Kites, Callow, Loma PrietaFrameworks, Voyage In ComaItto, Storm(O), Youth FuneralJungbluth, Alpinist, Orchid, You And I and The Setup aka PROPER Screamo.

RAVIN sent me their stuff about 2 months ago. When bands send me their songs not many make it onto this particular blog (I have the OMSB-Talent page located here for the majority of stuff) but as soon as I heard this band I knew I was lucky enough to have stumbled upon something special. The band's debut cd is all made by the band. The packaging is diy and actually quite beautiful, although a lyrics are not included. (*note: lyrics ARE included)

But what do they sound like? That's pretty simple, they sound like Smile To The Wind and Carrion Spring but harder and with deeper vocals. The instrumentation is very similar to Smile To The Wind in the fact that it is fast, technical and punishing. The songs themselves rarely eclipse a minute and a half in length and don't contain any slow or pretty jams. The vocals remind me of a screamier version of Nous Etions that is placed with hella precision and ends up being catchier than most bands who play style. The track "Portraits" is an explosive song that showcases the vocals and powerful nature that band embodies - and by such a young band. I'm sure after a few listens you'll be singing along with "I don't know why / you're never coming back / and every single night / I wait to listen / to your whispers in my ears". Another fantastic song is "Sinking Ship" which has a killer off-kilter solo at the 20-second mark and then leads into more great vocal work "If this ship is going down, I will sacrifice / for the cowards / for every one of them" before bringing in a hectic breakdown and ending at 1:01. Lastly, "Mercy Brown" is probably the band's most accessible number and is reminiscent of newer screamy hardcore bands with more melody than power such as State Faults and Frameworks, and is arguably the band's best song. There's also an instrumental interlude and an outro song that both sound like something Hot Cross would have done but simpler.

My only complaint is that the some of the songs kind of run together and could use a little more variation to help differentiate the tracks. Grab their album from bandcamp or buy it from Zegema Beach Records here, as of this post I still have 3 or 4 copies left and I'm pretty sure they're the only ones in North America. The packaging, as described before, is diy and the you get a hand-numbered copy /100 cut into the cd sleeve with a knife. Cool. I think I'll be involved with their next record but it certainly isn't set in stone.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2014 - Ravin cdLP (stream here, buy here)

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(2014) RAVIN - "Mercy Brown" (from 'Ravin')

(2014) RAVIN - "Portraits" (from 'Ravin')

(2014) RAVIN - "Sinking Ship" (from 'Ravin')


Click and then scroll down here to watch a 2 minute live video.

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RAVIN additional links

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