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Demo Stream: Ceres – ‘Tyrants Rise’

There are many words which can be used to describe listening to an old heavy metal tape, but the one which strikes me the most is classic. Heavy metal is about being classic, reclaiming the days of old and deifying the genre’s triumphs through worship and tribute; cutting one’s teeth on the riffs which made heavy metal great and presenting them in a new light. On their debut cassette, new U.S. power metal duo Ceres capitalizes on classic, “true” metal’s catchy and infectious nature, feeding upon the powerful character which the genre forerunners defined in the ’70s and ’80s and bringing it to the new decade.

On Tyrants Rise, the duo of Jesse Balgley and Leo Kabat’s Ceres debut, the band positions itself among the classics. Written with hook after hook and incredibly (incredibly) powerful vocals, Ceres’ smooth as silk and sledgehammer-heavy riffing is a trip to the days of old, a tape which could very well have been traded and left in a closet for eons, now suddenly unearthed as a pristine relic. Stream Tyrants Rise in full and read an interview with both Balgley and Kabat below.

Your artist bio declares the vast majority of modern heavy metal to be mediocre. What about it is mediocre to you and how does Ceres overcome these obstacles?

Jesse Balgley: Mediocrity is more easily felt than explained. There are lots of bands who dress the part or have all the right gear but lack the ability to craft memorable songs, which is ultimately what matters most. When a song doesn’t grip you or leave you with a hook stuck in your head, that’s mediocrity, no matter how “cool” the band looks. Ceres is concerned with songwriting before anything else and we let all other aspects of the band follow from the music we create. To avoid mediocrity, we look to our influences, not simply emulating musical styles of old school bands, but more so paying attention to how albums were written and sequenced in the golden era of heavy metal, striving for diversity in sound that will keep listeners engaged and excited.

Leo Kabat: That’s a blurb that someone else wrote – but nonetheless I would have to agree. It’s plain enough to see this trend of bands rehashing old ideas without adding any spark of their own–and that doesn’t do it for me. You can name-drop all the classics you want, but it’s not going to do your band any favors when it’s lacking in authenticity. Let the music do the talking!

What did you learn in your search for fellow “unpolished” heavy metal and why do you feel it is a struggle?

JB: The most glaring realization (though maybe the least surprising) is that truly compelling metal comes from real diehards: people for whom metal made an impact at an early age and who stuck with it against ridicule and being misunderstood, whether it was popular or not. The “struggle” we’re highlighting isn’t necessarily the adversities we face individually, but instead the difficulty of finding like minded people who aren’t just jumping on the bandwagon when metal is trending.

LK: Well, firstly it’s not about whether a band plays “polish or unpolish” heavy metal–there are certainly some great bands from Poland! Probably it was more difficult for those eastern block bands of the 80’s–but for us, it is not so much of a struggle. Information and equipment is readily available nowadays and you just have to know where to look, and more importantly where (and when) NOT to look!

What about being unpolished and genuine appeals to you? What did you do in your songwriting process to achieve this?

JB: Seems obvious, haha, who would want to be disingenuous? And yet many are! Authenticity doesn’t necessarily imply unpolished-ness, and certainly doesn’t mean “lo-fi or die”. On the contrary, a genuine band doesn’t care if they have the most old-school sound, the right outfits or vintage t-shirts, or the most perfectly curated social media presence. That’s the kind of polish we’re against. We stayed true to the music we love and didn’t pay attention to whatever is making waves this month. We made sure our recording sounded good to us, taking cues from classic heavy metal albums of course but not just trying to sound like we recorded it in the ’80s.

LK: We recorded all instruments and vocals ourselves–something we’ve each done for quite some time with our other respective projects. We took care to get the sound as close to what WE want to hear. As for the writing process–it never stops, so it’s always handled roughly!

How do you feel Ceres continues the US power metal legacy? For the uninitiated, what makes US power metal special and different from EU power metal?

LK: We continue the legacy because we play Powerful metal and are from the US of course! Those who are uninitiated are not necessarily our target audience – but even they can listen to the demo and draw their own conclusions. It goes without saying that we enjoy the classics, as well as the lesser-known bands from both the US and Europe–however these categorizations are the last thing on my mind when writing my contributions for CERES, or any project for that matter. After all, this is not Research and Development… this is Heavy Metal. It all comes down to the FEELING. Nobody else can feel it for YOU…!

FEEL THE REIGNS ON YOUR SKIN…!

JB: I see early US power metal as much more rugged than its European counterpart, and is more characteristically anthemic and mid-tempo than fast ‘n’ loose. Lyrical themes often deal with battle, conquest, honor, and death; it can be both dark and flashy, which appeals to me. One of the biggest distinguishing factors is the “kingly” vocal style/delivery championed by legends like Mark Shelton, JD Kimball, Harry Conklin, and Eric Adams. While I was raised on equal portions of European and US metal and don’t favor one over the other, I felt that not enough bands today draw from the US style and often lack aggression and bravado. We decided to hone in on these traits to show that US power metal lives on.

Though Ceres is rooted in the “old ways,” how do you feel it will further U.S. power metal (if that’s your intent)?

JB: US power has already been perfected and its heyday is long past, so we can only strive to make more memorable songs that make listeners feel empowered themselves and give people something to bang their head and raise their fist to.

LK: We will continue to make music that we believe in–with the conviction and feeling that WE would want to hear in ‘modern’ music ourselves.

Tyrants Rise releases July 2nd on Electric Assault Records.

The post Demo Stream: Ceres – ‘Tyrants Rise’ appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

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How Punk Thrashers Fucked and Bound Found its Filth, Switched Up Monikers, & Created an “Eternal” Sophomore Album

So Fucked and Bound is now Filth is Eternal.
“It was a tough decision to change the name because we all believe in free expression and valued the feral intensity of the previous moniker,” guitarist Brian McClelland tells Decibel. “But we also believe in the work that we had done with those concepts just as much. We decided that, ultimately, we wanted to live.”
And live the Seattle quintet certainly does on its incandescent sophomore LP Love is a Lie, Filth is Eternal — a brilliant and enlivening piece of extreme music that deftly bridges the gaps between Disfear-ish D-beat, old school dark thrash, mid-career Napalm Death punk grind, serrated sludge, and Sonic Youth-esque noise swagger.
It is, in short, the spirit of Fucked and Bound, intact, rehoused in a nastier, sharper, more lithe musical body.
Decibel spoke with McClelland about Love is a Lie — out this fall, preorder here — the band’s multi-layered evolution, pandemic living, and what it means to not just survive but thrive…
So, even as a confirmed devotee of your past work, I have to say Love is a Lie, Filth is Eternal feels like a watershed moment. It’s amazing. And it’s accompanied by this switch in monikers to Filth is Eternal. Can you talk to me a little bit about how the thought of changing the name evolved into action — and whether it is connected to the musical evolution on display here?

Hey, thanks so much. Love is a Lie, Filth is Eternal was a process. We wanted to write different kinds of heavy songs. We wanted to dig a little closer to the truth. We were able to welcome Matthew Chandler and Rah Davis to the band and were excited to build on the strength of a new team.
We’ve had this record completed for a little while, but even after it was finished, we kept building the meaning of the songs. Initially, we did twenty tracks and whittled the selections down to what we felt were the best. We wanted to make the track list perfect. We took the time to redo the artwork, and to shoot videos for some of our favorite tracks. We did all of this as we were reissuing our first album, Suffrage.
Gearing up to get those records back in the wild again with Quiet Panic, we were starting to see the walls closing in. During the pandemic, social media was a mess, flagging us as sexualized and violent, and shutting down our reach. We’ve always been a very live, word of mouth kind of band and without being able to perform our new record, and facing a hostile climate online, we were staring at the very real possibility of this album dying on the vine.
Considering “Filth is Eternal” is both the band’s new name and appears in the title, it would seem the phrase has some resonance for you. What’s the provenance and how long has it been kicking around the right side of your brain(s)?
Love is a Lie, Filth is Eternal began as a simple declaration. Rebellious in its truth, it resonated at us every time we got together to write and prepare for recording. Scrawled on the wall at our warehouse venue in South Lake Union, it became a mantra that we came to know, meaning that when love has become so cheapened by those that abuse its goodwill, we shall turn from it and again embrace the filth from which we came as our true salvation.
How soon into the writing process did you realize there was change afoot in the house of filth? Did these songs flow as I’m hearing them? Or did you go in with the conscious intent to expand the horizon?
When we started writing, it was a simple thing. Songs were a minute or two, and each had to have a moment. Those songs were vital and exciting. Then we started breaking our own rules, songs got longer and heavier. Some got noticeably darker. We could at times feel the weight of the world bearing down. All the while, we kept at it as members of the group went through changes. We’ve traveled the world together, lost friends and family, and made new ones. These things all bled into the writing in a way that none of us really expected. The whole time, we just wanted to do what we love, and make something for others.
Press materials note this record was “accelerated by isolation.” Can you expand upon that idea a bit?
Yes. We had an epiphany in the quarantine induced daze. Like a lot of our friends, we were debating what to do. Were we going to keep grinding with no relief in sight? Could we even get together safely? What was even the point.

 

We had worked for a long time to get this album ready, and we had built a great team. A hit some roadblocks not being able to play live, but we kept moving. Getting to work with our friends at Two Minutes to Late Night helped us keep the momentum going. With much to consider, we felt like we owed it to our community to do what we came to do.

 

Suffrage by Filth is Eternal

Decibel has been in the Tad Doyle luv biz for a while, and I see you worked with him on Love is a Lie. Did that experience live up to expectations?
It always does. TAD is a monolithic force. He’s a guy that truly knows what heavy is. We had the pleasure of working with him previously in He Whose Ox is Gored and always love to visit him at Studio Witch Ape. He has a skill for finding the root of the feeling that you’re working on and helping you see it more clearly. TAD is a living legend.
We’re coming out of a minor cataclysmic moment — both for bands and humanity itself. But now tours are being announced and venues are opening back up. You’re armed with this extremely aggressive and weirdly beautiful record. How, if at all, do you think the experience of the last year plus is going to affect how you moved forward as individuals, as artists, as a band?
Personally, I hold a quiet anger for some of the things that we’ve all had to experience together, but I realized that it doesn’t matter. What matters is what you do with it. Part of the idea of Love is a Lie, Filth is Eternal is that there is always some corrupting force eating away and the things we know and love, but we always have the power to love these things anyway. No one can take that away from us.
Anything I missed? Again, I imagine this is a very gratifying and exciting moment for you — would love to hear about any aspect of it…

This is a beautiful moment. We love that the world is opening back up, and though it’s been difficult, we all get to be here to see it open up again. For that, we are thankful. Sometimes, I didn’t think I would see the day, but tonight, I want to scream and writhe with joy in the arms of the one I love. Tonight.

The post How Punk Thrashers Fucked and Bound Found its Filth, Switched Up Monikers, & Created an “Eternal” Sophomore Album appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

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Album Premiere: Vampirska and Wampyric Rites – ‘The Drowning Void’

The Drowning Void is a split LP of nocturnal black metal featuring lengthy contributions from Vampirska and Wamypric Rites. USBM project Vampirska have released a flurry of sanguinary splits since their Torturous Omens of Blood and Candlewax album. Meanwhile, Wampyric Rites are prolific members of the Black Metal Plague Circle. I love when split albums have their own title, instead of just featuring a couple band logos. Because this split feels like a cohesive experience, like The Drowning Void is where sunlight goes to die. Venture into an unlit world of raw black metal with this stream, courtesy of Inferna Profundus Records.

Both bands have about 17 and a half minutes to work with on The Drowning Void. Vampirska lure listeners with a sickly melody before “As Their Faces Fade From My Memory” drains their blood with blasts. “Encompassing Death’s Lightless Flame” might be the shortest track on the split, but it still mixes tempos and rhythms while guiding the listener to the River Styx. On the other side of the LP, Wampiric Rites share their two-part composition “Tragedy of Existence.” In part one, the band accompanies the song’s pensive mid-song crawl with somber guitar leads. In part two, they close out the split with organ-soaked evil that sounds like it would haunt distant castles. The distinct lethality of each band carries this split and makes it one of my favorite black metal releases of the year. These children of the night do make some extraordinary music. Highly recommended for fans of raw, depressive, and vampyric blasphemy.

Don’t wait for the next blood moon. Light your cursed candelabra and enter The Drowning Void by pressing play below.

The Drowning Void by Vampirska / Wampyric Rites

Pre-order The Drowning Void from Inferna Profundus Records HERE

Or you can order the split LP on Bandcamp HERE

The post Album Premiere: Vampirska and Wampyric Rites – ‘The Drowning Void’ appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

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ENFORCER Release Single

 

In March 2021, Swedish heavy metal commando Enforcer released its second live album, Live By Fire II, which included a truly triumphant show captured in Mexico City, 2019.

 

But Enforcer have not been revelling in past glories during the last couple of months, quite the opposite.

 

Brothers Olof and Jonas Wikstrand have been locked up in their own Hvergelmer Studio, crafting new songs to now unleash the brand-new single Kiss Of Death, a first impression of Enforcer’s sixth studio album, which is expected to be released in early 2022.

Continue reading ENFORCER Release Single at HEAVY Magazine – Rock, Punk, Metal Music & Beyond.

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CASKET Reveal New Single

 

Heavy Music Award nominees Caskets are proud to reveal The Only Ones, the third single from their upcoming debut album Lost Souls.

 

In regards to the new single, vocalist Matt Flood comments “The Only Ones is a song about losing someone you loved, and coming to terms with the fact that it is actually down to your own actions as to why the other person left and that it hurts to know that the other person is hurting just as much.”

 

Watch The Only Ones below:

 

 

 

Continue reading CASKET Reveal New Single at HEAVY Magazine – Rock, Punk, Metal Music & Beyond.

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THE BRONX launch New Single

 

The Bronx have released the first video in support of their upcoming album, Bronx VI, sharing the gritty, garage-based, Estevan Oriol directed clip for Curb Feelers.

 

“Every Bronx record has a backbone track, a sonic anchor that sets the tone for the entire album,” explains vocalist Matt Caughthran, “Curb Feelers is the rock that the rest of the record breaks itself against.”

 

Watch Curb Feelers below:

 

Continue reading THE BRONX launch New Single at HEAVY Magazine – Rock, Punk, Metal Music & Beyond.

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COSMIC PSYCHOS & THE CHATS With Streaming Events

 

Queensland shed rock group The Chats and their drunken uncles, Cosmic Psychos, are the next bands to join forces with eMusic Live and deliver streamed events to fans right across the world.

 

Cosmic Psychos are revving up to release their new album Mountain of Piss, featuring new single/video Sin Bin, on July 9 via their own label Go The Hack Records.

Continue reading COSMIC PSYCHOS & THE CHATS With Streaming Events at HEAVY Magazine – Rock, Punk, Metal Music & Beyond.

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DESCENDENTS Announce Album, Drop Single

 

Legendary punk band Descendents have shared the 56 second raw energy track Like The Way I Know.

 

The song is taken off their forthcoming album 9th & Walnut due out July 23 via Epitaph Records.

 

Watch Like The Way I Know below:

 

Continue reading DESCENDENTS Announce Album, Drop Single at HEAVY Magazine – Rock, Punk, Metal Music & Beyond.

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THE HU To Appear On METALLICA Anniversary Project

 

Chart-topping rock act from Mongolia The Hu have been announced as part of Metallica’s Special 30th Anniversary Black Album Reissue Covers Project, on which they cover the iconic group’s song Through the Never.

 

They appear on the tracklisting alongside some of the biggest names in music – Elton John, Miley Cyrus, Yo-Yo Ma, St.

Continue reading THE HU To Appear On METALLICA Anniversary Project at HEAVY Magazine – Rock, Punk, Metal Music & Beyond.

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SCHATTENMANN Drop New Tune

 

With their new single Cosima Schattenmann is dropping a bombshell – they simultaneously are starting the pre-sale for their upcoming new record ‚Chaos, which will hit streets on November 5 2021.

 

But do not believe that the complete album will sound like this new single, disbelievers will be proved wrong in the end for sure. Cosima is a very special song, but the core of it has got the same amount of social criticism as other tracks on the album and poses a question: does mankind still need true and real love?

Continue reading SCHATTENMANN Drop New Tune at HEAVY Magazine – Rock, Punk, Metal Music & Beyond.