Who knew that a bunch of Germans would take the fusion of metalcore and melodic death metal, and put the genre’s American ambassadors to shame. Heaven Shall Burn I tend to liken to Dark Tranquillity in that they release album after album of fantastic work. 2008’s Iconoclast was easily one of my favorite albums of 2008, and the more I listen to Invictus, the quicker it gains the ranks of my list for this year.

Furthering the comparison to Dark Tranquillity, I believe my interest in Heaven Shall Burn is rooted in their ability to pave their own sound, despite playing a genre that is largely lacking originality, amongst their peers that use every once of their often considerable talent, to rip off the best parts of the best albums and bands. Dark Tranquillity essentially invented Swedish melo death, and they haven’t sounded the same sense despite maintaining their unique style that has persevered throughout the years. Heaven Shall Burn, after every new album, seems to echo the sentiments of their Swedish brethren, and I fully commend them for that.

One major change on Invictus, is the larger scale of the sound. Prior to Invictus, Heaven Shall Burn I don’t think ever relied on creating an epic song structure, instead on focusing on the essentials. With this album though, listeners are treated to some electronica and grandiose melodies that reach beyond standard melodic guitar or keyboard riffs. In fact, I really think Heaven Shall Burn were truly inspired by Dark Tranquillity’s usage of the same techniques? Are they copy cats? I guess you could argue that, but the key difference maker is that Invictus does NOT sound like a Swedish melo death album, it sounds wholly Heaven Shall Burn.

Heaven Shall Burn is quickly rising to become the new kinds of melodic death metal, and it’s due SOLELY to their uncompromising ability to manufacture an album that doesn’t betray their aims with not only themselves, but their fans. Maintaining integrity to one’s craft is an essential product of success in underground music, and if Heaven Shall Burn continue to release album that brutalize the senses, all while serenading us with sweet melodies, I will continue to be a huge fan.

VERY GOOD

Similar Artists: Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, Killswitch Engage

1.    Intro
2.    The Omen
3.    Combat
4.    I Was I Am I Shall Be
5.    Buried In Forgotten Grounds
6.    Sevastopoll
7.    The Lie You Bleed For
8.    Return To Sanity
9.    Against Bridge Burners
10.    Of Forsaken Poets
11.    Given In Death
12.    Outro

Marcus Bischoff – Vocals
Maik Weichert – Guitar
Eric Bischoff – Bass
Alexander Dietz – Guitar
Matthias Voigt – Drums

Century Media

http://www.myspace.com/officialheavenshallburn

So I’ve listened to some really good bands that have a chick as a lead singer, and I’ve heard some bad one’s as well (which I won’t mention, just to save from receiving many, many comments on how I don’t know what I’m talking about), but nothing makes me wanna punch my own brother in the face quite like Laura Nichol, who runs house as lead vocals for Light This City! Since my first listen to this band, with their Remains of the Gods album (released in 2005), I have wanted nothing but more! I had never listened to The Hero Cycle before now, and I wished I had.

The opening track “Apostate” really gets the blood moving, right down deep into my guts, to the point where I could mosh by myself in my office, which would really scare the neighbors I might add! It begins with about 10 seconds of static, of which instantly rips into a Odin-worthy roar of man-like triumph, in which you say to yourself…”This is coming from a CHICK…I LOVE IT!” There on out, all of the tracks reek of the same sound, with lots of your expected Metalcore breakdowns, which isn’t a bad thing, but is to be expected, along with the abundance of double-bass from the drums, which again isn’t bad, but is pretty expectant of a Metalcore band, especially early on in their career. Having listened to Light This City’s later albums, I can pick out which songs on this album they really followed through with onto later productions, to make the staples of their sound. Songs like “Sierra” and “Parisian Sun” really sound a lot like “Letter To My Abuser” and “Guiding The North Star” from their second album Remains of the Gods. I definitely believe that the latter was a better composition of music on the whole, with more of a solid variety between their songs, which you don’t hear as much on The Hero Cycle, but definitely a solid start for a band that has shown major talent, both on stage, and in the studio.

All in all, I did really enjoy the album, and would definitely make it a permanent spot in my collection, right there with the rest of the Metalcore. Unfortunately, Light This City would have to share spots with some bad bands as well as the good in my playlist. But if this shows anything, I would have to say they are one of the very few female-fronted bands to stay on the list, and away from the recycling bin!

P.S. – If you plan to dig more of the music from this band, they put out their last album Stormchaser in 2008. Sad news – They will be missed!

VERY GOOD

Top Track: Sierra

Similar Artists: Arch Enemy, Lamb of God, Trivium, The Absence

1.    Apostate
2.    Picture Start
3.    Give Up
4.    Parisian Sun
5.    Cold (At the Gates cover)
6.    Laid to Rest
7.    Sierra
8.    No Solace In Sleep
9.    The Weight of Glory
10.    Next to Godliness

Laura Nichol – Vocals
Brian Forbes – Guitar
Ryan Hansen – Guitar
Jon Frost – Bass
Ben Murray – Drums

Prosthetic Records

http://www.myspace.com/lightthiscity

Review by TONY

Not too long ago, I had the chance to listen to Orwell’s newest album, Endeavors, and I liked what I heard. I was able to pull a rich sound from their album, which is something that is becoming harder and harder to do with all of the growth in the genre recently. So if you really dig Melodic Death, then read on down through my interview with Tim Bradley (one of the band’s guitarists), and make sure to scope out the links at the bottom!

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AMR:  First off, thank you for the opportunity to conduct this interview. From what I’ve read about the band, you hail from La Crosse, WI. How much fan support have you gotten from the locals in making the band possible, and becoming better recognized?

Tim:  Thanks for having us! The local fans have been great. Lately it’s been even more apparent how awesome the people in La Crosse are towards us. Funny story in that vein: A guy buys our old van from us, and decides not to pay us, so after hounding this dude for months, we finally put on our ass-hole hats and tell the guys we are calling the cops. Dude finally pays us the rest of what he owed, and literally said “I’m sorry about all this, but i have been voting for you on the No Label Needed contest every day, you guys are awesome!” hahaha. After all the AWFUL verbage that we had exchanged with this dude, he put that all aside and supported everything Orwell was doing. That’s just an example of how awesomely dedicated the metal fans in La Crosse are, now we just need to find more of them.

AMR:  You also say that “Orwell has seen many shapes and sounds over the past 4 years.”  What kind of transformation have you gone through to come to this point in your careers today?

Tim:  We  have gone through every transition a band can go through. Member changes, changes in sound and direction, you name it! I think the major thing that FINALLY made the difference we needed was that the guys we brought in on this last lineup change all have the drive that those of us who started this thing have. There’s always been a weak point in Orwell before this point; someone not showing up to practice, someone who just wanted to come jam and wanted no part of the actual work that goes along with all of this. Everyone in the band now is incredibly driven and proactive, and more than happy to pull some weight on the business side of things as well as musically. We are a well oiled machine now, before we were the jalopy! haha

AMR:  Do you feel that Endeavors has a better, more refined sound than your first album The Undying? Has there been a better response from the fans with the new album?

Tim:  YES, and YES! Endeavors is leaps and bounds above anything we’ve ever done before. We spent way more time writing it. I think it was the first time we sat down and really dissected a lot of the songs and made changes to things that were considered “done.” The lyrical content of Endeavors is something I am very proud of Logan for. The idea was to create the catchiest and most epic thrash record we could with what we had. And I believe we accomplished that.  As far as the fans, like I said before, they are awesome. A lot of people are just so happy to see a band that isn’t associating themselves with “Core” or screamo they support us by default. We are very honest as a band and as people, and we make sure that everything we put out there has 100% of us behind it, and the fans recognize that, and enjoy it.

AMR:  After your touring winds down this year, when do you plan to go back into the studio for another album?

Tim:   We have already started to dabbling in writing, however, there are alot of things going on with Orwell behind the scenes right now. We have some really exciting things going on, and we are planning for the next step in our career. So, I would say that I HOPE we can give the fans some new stuff to chew on by the end of 2010, but it all depends on touring and what’s going on with all that.

AMR:  What band(s) really influenced who you are today?

Tim:  As a person, I (Tim) have been heavily influenced by A LOT of bands. Just to name a few: Metallica, Thrice, Murder By Death, Isis, Mouth of the Architect, Darkest Hour, Mastodon, Behemoth, etc. I think each of these bands have a little chunk of wisdom that you can take away and apply to your life. For example, Behemoth; no matter what you are doing, believe in it and support it 100% unwaveringly. People will respect you whether they agree or not. Murder By Death; you don’t have to play metal, to be metal as fuck! haha. Darkest Hour’s music has pulled me through some of the darker times in my life as well. Music makes up a lot of who I am, and I’m extremely proud of that.

AMR:  What are some of your favorite things to do in your spare time?

Tim:  What spare time? Do people have spare time? haha I do alot of artwork for bands, but what I really enjoy is hanging out with my family. My fiance Dani is just as busy in life as I am, so on the rare occasions we have a bit of time to spend together, we usually relax and just spend that time with each other, and our dog Max, he’s a little handful. haha
It may come as a surprise to some people but as a band, we spend a lot of time together hanging out as well. we are all best friends, we’ll get home for 4 days on the road, unpack our shit, and be back together within a couple hours grilling out, haha, these dudes are like brothers to me and my family, and same goes all around.

AMR:  Anything else you would like to say to our readers?

Tim:  Explore music, it’s not a drag race to find the heaviest fucking band on the planet. Open yourself up to everything, and actually LISTEN to music. People spend so much time making this art, please don’t go to a show to use it as a trendy place to text your friends at. OH, and check out the following bands and don’t forget to drop us a line on facebook and myspace! bands: Iron Thrones, Australis, Red Sparows, Baroness, Animals as Leaders, Doomriders, Murder By Death, and Scale the Summit. There’s a million more, thanks for putting up with my babbling, and get out and get Endeavors, any way you can, check it out!

Orwell on MySpace!

Interview by TONY

I can’t be sure if anyone else does this, but for some reason sometimes I get this ridiculous preconceived notion that just because of a band’s particular geographical location, they might suck. I don’t know why I do that. I feel like I have a pretty level head when it comes to thoughts like that, and I always try to give a band it’s fair try. I did that very thing with the band Orwell, who hail from La Crosse, Wisconsin. All I can say is, good thing I gave them a shot, or I might have missed out on some “IN MY FACE” METAL!

Orwell just recently released Endeavors (2009), and I must say, that they definitely have a lot going for themselves in this album. When I did some research into their MySpace page, I noted the music genre wasn’t shown, which made me a little nervous, because that usually leads to some major “screamo” bullshit that I know I’m gonna hate right off. But Endeavors mixes both Melodic Death and Metalcore together pleasantly. The breakdowns in all of the songs are fitting, and don’t sound out of place. It makes for a nice change-up through part of the song, and we get a sense of talent when we hear the beat take a turn around the bend, even for a short few seconds here and there. Not only was there good instrumentals, the vocals are a pleasant mix as well, using both scream and growl to melt my face with!  I never once felt like I was getting sick of the music, because of some pansy singing about his slashed wrists and depressing girlfriend. All I felt was good from this album, and it’s made me want to relive the pleasure.

Endeavors isn’t an album I would suggest to the faint of heart, but more towards the devoted veteran listener, who’ll enjoy the album for what it brings to the table. I will definitely keep Orwell in my sights for future albums, and whether or not they’ll make their touring trip over my way. Oh, and a special thanks to the metal gods for showing me the way down the right path!

VERY GOOD

Similar Bands: Killswitch Engage, Lamb of God, In Flames, Light This City, God Forbid

1.    Dictators In Disguise
2.    Temting Our Damnation
3.    Walking Ghosts
4.    Anticipation
5.    Consumed
6.    Distance
7.    Chasing Illusions
8.    Fortress
9.    A Promise Of Pain
10.    Firefighting In Hell

Luke Mathson – Vocals
Eamon Nechvatal – Drums
Tim Bradley – Guitar
Bern Wachter – Guitar
William Strickland – Bass

http://www.myspace.com/orwellwi

Review by TONY

Barren Earth is the superstar band that no one has been talking about. Containing former/current members of Amorphis, Chaosbreed, Swallow the Sun, Moonsorrow, the debut record Curse of the Red River is set to debut at the end of March, and really, after listening to this thing, it should be on everyone’s priority list because this album is downright awesome and a clear challenge to the already great albums heard this year only three months in.

As is clearly evident by the utter variety of the band members involved with their other projects, Barren Earth is/was destined to not be your average band. Curse of the Red River is a combination of gothic metal, melodic death metal, folk metal, stoner metal and progressive metal, which is about as eclectic of an assortment of metal as you can possibly get. Since pretty much the dawn of death metal, we have had bands that have never wanted to settle with the average death metal sound, and Barren Earth is the latest in a line of fantastic progression. Curse of the Red River is so much an advancement in the attitude of heavy musicc, that you don’t know whether to call it beautiful or harsh; its a true juxtaposition that allows for so much art with very little compromise. Whether it be latin guitar strumming in between synth laced balls out death metal, or melodic clean passages dueting with gutterals, Curse of the Red River is a fantastically original collection of music that only adds to the immense metal landscape that is growing by leaps and bounds.

AMAZING

1.    The Curse Of The Red River
2.    Our Twilight
3.    Forlorn Waves
4.    Flicker
5.    The Leer
6.    The Ritual Of Dawn
7.    Ere All Perish
8.    Cold Earth Chamber
9.    Deserted Morrows

Mikko Kotamäki – Vocals
Janne Perttilä – Guitar
Sami Yli-Sirniö – Guitar
Kasper Mårtenson – Keyboards
Olli-Pekka Laine – Bass
Marko Tarvonen – Drums

Peaceville Records

http://www.myspace.com/officialbarrenearth

Review by CODY

It’s a sad day when a Kalmah album isn’t reviewed, because these guys are one of the most under-appreciated bands in the history of metal. Sadly, AMR failed to review this album back when it came out despite being a magnifficent display of modern melo death. Well now I am encouraging all of my readers to jump in, head first, into this fantastic Kalmah release and when you’re done listening to it, stay tuned for a review of their latest album 12 Gauge which just came out last month. It’s a good time to be a Kalmah fan here at AMR!

Combining the likes of Opeth, Arcturus, Agalloch and Amorphis, Sweden’s In Mourning are a come out of nowhere success in the underground metal scene. Despite finding their roots as early as 2000, In Mourning have only released two albums since 2008. Monolith, the band’s latest album, is making waves as the next Swedish sensation with a deep, chilling heaviness that is seemingly only rivaled by Opeth in popularity and, arguably, skill.

The technical precision of Monolith is really impressive, and while I don’t think it quite equals the immensity of Opeth, comparing the two is unfair to In Mourning who have crafted easily one of the most memorable records of the year, bar none. However, one avenue where In Mourning differs from Opeth is their focus on their death metal roots, instead of becoming a progressive metal band that employs death metal when it suits their needs, In Mourning are a progressive death metal band that harnesses the depth of melancholy and atmosphere. In this respect, I think Monolith takes on a bit of their Swedish brethren in Dark Tranquillity, melding melodic death with outside elements.

In years to come, these Swedes could become the cream of the crop of one of the world’s most rich bastions of metal. Monolith marks the rise of In Mourning to whole new levels of respect and admiration amongst both critics and general fans alike, and perhaps what makes that even more of a grand statement, is that Monolith is enjoyable enough, without all the heady weight attached to it, which allows for the average listener to replay over and over again. I have a feeling we are going to see so much more from these lords of precision and chaos.

AMAZING

Similar Artists: Arcturus, Opeth, Amorphis, Agalloch, Dark Tranquillity

1.    For You To Know
2.    Debris
3.    The Poet And The Painter Of Souls
4.    The Smoke
5.    A Shade Of Plague
6.    With You Came Silence
7.    Pale Eye Revelation
8.    The Final Solution (Entering The Black Lodge)

Tobias Netzell – Guitar, Vocals
Bjorn Pettersson – Guitar
Tim Nedergard – Guitar
Pierre Stam – Bass
Christian Netzell – Drums

Pulverised Records

http://www.myspace.com/in_mourning

Review by CODY

Arsis have had a short, but storied career since their 2004 debut, A Celebration of Guilt, which immediately set them apart from their contemporaries as technically gifted death metallists. Since then, the band, while generally staying in favor with most critics and fans, has experienced a mixed bag of criticism from their next two efforts, United in Regret and We Are the Nightmare. This year though, Arsis are truly set to re-take the world as they once did with their latest foray, Starve For the Devil.

Arsis’ two middle albums, while I think are generally good, had some set backs based on a general lack of originality. What made Arsis so awesome was their fresh take on melodic death for their debut which was filled with unreal riffs from top to bottom making it one of the best albums of 2004. Starve For the Devil brings back that spirit of original songwriting by orientating traditional metal solos and melodies that actually make portions of this album sound like a classic speed metal album with the guise of it being death metal (which hearkens back to the early days of Johan Liiva era Arch Enemy). From top to bottom, Arsis offers up a king’s ransom worth of riffage that should make any modern death metal band stand up and take notice, because these guys could easily steal album of the year from critics the web over.

If I were to be critical of Starve For the Devil, well…I really can’t to tell you the truth, there isn’t enough substantial criticisms I have of this record to warrant their inclusion in this review because this chunk of modern metal is just that damn good. I suppose, at the very least, one could say that they rhythm guitar riffs may become a bit over-used as the album progresses, but really, this isn’t really a slight on the overall quality of this effort, especially when you hear the righteous solos of Nick Cordle who practically stole this album with his performance.

Essentially, if you have yet to buy a new album for the new year, do yourself a favor and go out and purchase Starve For the Devil, it really is a delightful piece of death metal, and a certain runner for best album of the year released only in the second month of 2010. Now if you don’t mind, I think I’ll sit back with my morning coffee and jammies on, and listen to Arsis all over again.

AMAZING

Similar Artists: Arch Enemy, Daath, The Black Dahlia Murder

1.    Forced to Rock
2.    A March for the Sick
3.    From Soulless to Shattered (Art in Dying)
4.    Beyond Forlorn
5.    The Ten of Swords
6.    Closer to Cold
7.    Sick Perfection
8.    Half Past Corpse O’Clock
9.    Escape Artist
10.    Sable Rising

James Malone – Guitar, Vocals
Mike Van Dyne – Drums
Nick Cordle – Guitar
Nathaniel Carter – Bass

Nuclear Blast Records

http://www.myspace.com/arsis

Review by CODY

Italian deathcorians, Stigma, have released a few new streaming tracks off of their upcoming album Concerto for the Dead due out on Pivotal Rockordings, and they are damn good! Metalsucks.net is hosting some of this new material, but feel free to check it out over at Stigma’s Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/stigmahc.

The debut of the much anticipated Roadrunner self titled release from New York’s Mutiny Within is upon us. Mutiny Within is set to hit stores tomorrow and marks the most “metal” album Roadrunner has released in what feels like ages (contrary to the speculation swirling around that Roadrunner was steering away from metal releases), however, will this album live up to the hype and usher in a new era for American metal?

Mutiny Within is sure to whip Americans into a frenzy as the next “in”  sound based on their aggressive melodies, but really, this album is absolutely nothing spectacular in any way. It’s a mixture of Mercenary’s and Raintime’s power/death fusion, Bullet For My Valentine’s glossy melodic death attempts and All That Remains’ over the top melodies with a side helping of death metal. Mutiny Within is essentially a Euro melody version of American new wave melodic death metal, and while it is refreshing to hear a new take on an old sound, it’s still the same old tricks with a new face.

With that said, despite not wholly impressing based on the hype it has received in terms of their originality and songwriting abilities, the band’s talent is a completely different story. Mutiny Within is comprised of some very effective musicians mainly for their ability to meld virtuosity VERY well with the traditional metalcore riffs that have permeated our country for so long (not to mention that Chris Clancy really is a legitimate singer). This virtuosity is what will ultimately lead to Mutiny Within’s unbridled success in this country, but also what I suspect might be a shunning from European fans for their attempt to do something that they perfected during an age when Americans were proudly listening to Limp Bizkit and Drowning Pool. Now, I don’t want to sound bitter about Mutiny Within’s imminent success upon the release of their debut record, because it really is good and worth picking up, I just hope that their success leads to an outbreak of more traditional, virtuosic forms of metal in America (i.e. power metal) because North America sorely needs more variety in this area.

We as Americans have already regained our appreciation of thrash metal, we are on our way to regaining an understanding of our traditional NWOBHM roots, so now its time to shun the disrespect so many of us have for things that are truly melodic in nature. I really do commend Mutiny Within for their efforts and the talent that they so obviously play with, but I think their debut could have contained so much more.

GOOD

Similar Artists: Mercenary, Raintime, Bullet For My Valentine, All That Remains

1.    Awake
2.    Images
3.    Falling Forever
4.    Year of Affliction
5.    Forsaken
6.    Lethean
7.    Oblivion
8.    Undone
9.    Hours
10.    Suffocate
11.    Reflections

Chris Clancy – Vocals
Brandon Jacobs – Guitar
Dan Bage – Guitar
Andrew Jacobs – Bass, Vocals
Bill Fore – Drums
Andrew Stavola – Keyboards

Roadrunner Records

http://www.myspace.com/mutinywithin

Review by CODY