Belgian math-metallers BEAR have made a name for themselves as Europe’s answer to The Dillinger Escape Plan.
With Dillinger set to split before the end of the year, the race is on to crown the new kings of mathcore. BEAR have already proven themselves as worthy contenders, and /// carves that fact in stone.
BEAR’s list of influences runs longer than just one band Read more…
Weeknight gigs are normally low-energy affairs. The crowd is usually set on saving its energy for Friday, that one long last push needed to get work done and dusted before the weekend. Then, come Friday and Saturday night, it’s time to go the fuck off and spend the rest of the weekend in recovery.
Normally.
When The Dillinger Escape Plan are in town, it’s a different story – and when they have the likes of Primitive Weapons (92%) in tow…Jesus. Hailing from New York and clearly fired up by Read more…
As the music industry slows down, its alternative end hibernating while the pop-enamoured mainstream hungrily ogles Christmas shoppers, the time has come to look back on a seriously strong year for organised soundwaves. For me, it’s been heavy, intense, and a hell of a lot of fun thanks to the releases listed below.
With so many exceptional contenders in the running for the top spot, the thought of ranking them in order of quality is plainly ridiculous. So instead, I’ve picked out three releases that had memorable impacts on me when I first heard them, and assembled the others in alphabetical order.
The Pretty Reckless’s Who You Selling For – along with previous effort Going To Hell – is conclusive proof (if it were honestly needed in 2016) that women belong in rock music, and are fully capable of kicking ass. The sexists of the music world are like Wile E. Coyote; they’ve run off the edge of the cliff, nothing surrounds them but empty air, they’ve looked down, and they’re panicking. Sonic Boom Six’s The F-Bomb picks up where that image leaves off – it’s cheeky, chirpy, happy and hard-hitting (sometimes simultaneously), addressing a wealth of gender-related issues and providing a great ska-fuelled party soundtrack as only Sonic Boom Six can.
Musically, Dissociation is The F-Bomb’s polar opposite. The Dillinger Escape Plan’s swan song is crammed with brutal and ultra-experimental mathcore – but it’s also Dillinger’s most delicate and diverse album. The Dillinger Escape Plan are living proof that you can achieve great things without compromise, by sticking to your guns and just going for it.
Beyond that point, you’re free to dive into an epic range of albums including solidly grooving rock sets, monolithic slabs of military-grade metal, and progressive masterpieces. Since I’ve not reviewed many EPs this year, I’ve also included a pair of extended-playing mind-blowers in the form of Dorje’s Centred And One and Toska’s Ode To The Author. Dorje specialise in utterly idiosyncratic rock tunes with added progressive spice, while to me, Toska (made up of Dorje’s backline, namely guitarist Rabea Massaad, drummer Ben Minal, and bassist Dave Hollingworth) represent the future of instrumental metal.
Both Dorje and Toska are bands on the rise – and they fully deserve to hit the same peaks enjoyed by the biggest names on this list.
There’s little more to say; for me, this list represents the top albums of 2016. Enjoy the full reviews linked below, follow TMMP on Twitter, subscribe to my brand new YouTube channel, and stay tuned for more world-class music next year!
The human capacity for perseverance and survival is absolutely incredible. When our backs are to the wall, we’re capable of coming out fighting – and that’s exactly what Ion Dissonance have done with upcoming album Cast The First Stone, reviewed on TMMP here. I talked to Ion Dissonance guitarist Antoine Lussier about his band’s first album in six years, life changes, Donald Trump, and keeping the dream alive under pressure… Read more…
Ion Dissonance are pissed off – and with good reason. Held back by behind-the-scenes struggles for the past six years, the Canadian metallers are finally ready to unleash fifth album Cast The First Stone upon the world.
By the time Ion Dissonance are done, you may not have any ears left Read more…
Metal is often dismissed as being brutish, blockheaded, and generally stupid. In some cases, that reputation is well deserved – but Exist Immortal’s upcoming album Breathe (reviewed on TMMP here) stands as a great example of intelligent metal done right. I got talking to Exist Immortal vocalist Meyrick de la Fuente about not only Breathe, but also an approach to spirituality that pretty much exactly matches my own.
When most people discuss bands in real life, they rarely do so using hundreds or thousands of words; they sum it up succinctly. Face to face with a metal-enamoured mate in a rush, I’d describe Exist Immortal as “a sick tech-metal band,” and recommend the person in question check them out. But if that same guy or girl hadn’t yet heard Meshuggah, that same task would become far harder; pushed for time, I’d tell them just to listen to Nothing and brace themselves.
On Darkness Of An Age, Exist Immortal managed to combine an impressive range of influences from the increasingly ubiquitous Meshuggah to Fear Factory and Devin Townsend. The result? Read more…
Outside the Scala, London is wilting under a mid-September heatwave. Passers-by and queuing punters fan themselves with gig flyers, eagerly awaiting the welcome cool of air-conditioned surroundings. Within the Scala’s walls, mere minutes away, awaits an equally overwhelming experience.
Tiny Moving Parts (85%) do math-rock right, blending Read more…
Until today, I was always that guy. The Dillinger Escape Plan fan who said, in the face of the still-epic Option Paralysis and One Of Us Is The Killer, “…yeah, they’re sick, but Ire Works is still easily their best album.”
You never know what’s going to happen in Brighton on a Saturday night.
When Toska (97%) are on a lineup, though, you can always expect to be blown away. Time and time again, I’ve watched these guys tear venues apart – and with an extended tour behind them, Toska are now capable of pulling off next-next level performances. Holy hell.
Opening their opening set with two new tunes (A Tall Order and Congress), Toska wasted no time getting stuck into an unrelenting barrage of ultra-complex instrumetal moments. Eschewing Read more…
