Going back a month or so when I was reviewing some new artists from Canonical Hours including Withershin and The Day of the Beast, I was also presented with a third album, Steps of Descent, from Cyaegha. The first two bands I wrote about were so outwardly great, that the words flowed quite easily, however, with Cyaegha, its become a mixed back of reactions. When I initially listened to this CD upon first receiving it, I thought it was great alongside its peers, but since then whenever I put this album on, I am not so confident in my original opinion, which leaves only two courses of action: beat up a middle schooler and order them to make the decision for me, or, take the more technical route and weigh the pros and cons…I guess I’ll be nice.

First, the positives. Steps of Descent is a technical death metal album without going over the top like so many bands do with arpeggios and squeals coming every which way out of the woodwork, which makes it easier to dig down and find material that has staying power. Bands like Napalm Death, Deicide and Immolation have gained critical acclaim because there is substance behind their technicality, and this factor is what initially drew me to Steps of Descent. However, what initially drew me in,  has begun to turn me off. Cyaegha is a band that seems to take pride in not running with the deathcore crowd, and I am happy as well that they did not take their band on that route, unfortunately, this can also lead to stagnancy. By picking up where others left off, Cyaegha is really doing nothing to progress the sound, or even make the sound their own. Steps of Descent is a relative paint by numbers record, and it’s hard to absorb its entire running time without becoming a little bored.

Still though, what brought me into this album to begin with has not vanished. Steps of Descent is a tight, aggressive album that would be killer to see played live, and this fact makes it a worthy addition to my collection for the simple reason that death metal fans can never have too much technical death metal in their collection. This is a decent effort, I just hope Cyaegha matures a bit more on their next release, and doesn’t get into the rut of releasing the same material over and over again.

GOOD

Top Tracks: While Sarnath Lies Desolate, Ulthar’s Decree

Similar Artists: Deicide, Origin, Immolation, Cryptopsy, Krisiun

1.    Ulthar’s Decree    03:45
2.    Mask in Flesh    04:20
3.    While Sarnath Lies Desolate    03:38
4.    From the Depths    04:33
5.    Obduction Sapientia    02:11
6.    Epiphany of R’lyeh    03:45
7.    Postmortem Enlightenment    03:18
8.    Logos Immolated    03:48
9.    Fuck-Start My Dinner    02:56

Steve - Guitars
Cooley - Vocals
Tweed - Bass
Wells - Drums

Canonical Hours

http://www.cyaeghamusic.com/

http://www.myspace.com/cyaegha

Review by CODY

Inspired by the thrash masters Exodus and their debut record Bonded by Blood, Bonded By Blood is yet another newcomer to the thrash revival that we have been seeing in the last few years. Hailing from California along with fellow thrashmongers Warbringer and Fueled by Fire, Bonded By Blood is not only one of the best of 2008 in the Cali scene, but one of the best revivalist thrash bands period.

Despite their name, Bonded By Blood’s sound is only inspired in part by Exodus, in fact, despite their sound being old school, Bonded By Blood really has a sound of their own (obviously this only goes to a certain extent considering the limitations of traditional thrash in terms of originality, much like its punk predecessor). Feed the Beast gives us a more old school Exodus feel but much heavier, but not quite as raw and heavy as modern Exodus thereby maintaining the punkish feel but filling it in with maximum aggression (some songs are very reminiscent of Razor). Prior to Feed the Beast the best example of thrash being done in a way that really can be identified with one band was Municipal Waste. While there are plenty of quality thrash bands coming out left and right with great albums that I really can’t get enough of, it takes a special kind of act to really mold together a group of musicians into their own band as opposed to a simple revivalist band that play borderline covers.

In a few years when this new era of thrash begins to die down like all musical fads, I sincerely hope that Bonded By Blood only matures into a modern thrash band and can stay the test of the time, because they have the talent and ingenuity to go places in the genre giving America back the staying power it once had in thrash instead of allowing Germany to hold a monopoly on traditional thrash. Feed the Beast is potentially only the beginning for Bonded By Blood, and if they play their cards right, their name could be transformed into a name that represents a great band in addition to its status as a great album.

AMAZING

Top Tracks: Mind Pollution, Psychotic Pulse, Self Immolation

Similar Artists: Exodus, Razor, Forbidden, Sadus

1.    Immortal Life    02:55
2.    Feed the Beast    04:52
3.    Psychotic Pulse    04:28
4.    Necropsy    03:18
5.    Mind Pollution    03:26
6.    Another Disease    03:23
7.    The Evil Within    04:48
8.    Tormenting Voices    02:50
9.    Civil Servant    03:48
10.    Self Immolation    03:26
11.    Vengeance    03:25
12.    Theme From Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Jose “Aladdin” Barrales - Vocals
Alex Lee - Guitar
Juan Boogie - Guitar
RuDo - Bass
Carlos Cervesa - Drums

Earache Records

http://www.myspace.com/bondedbyblood

Review by CODY

Birthed from the remains of Puya, the nu-metal breakout sensation from Pueto Rico that overtook the Ozzfest scene out of no where for a brief year or two and then faded into obscurity outside of their die hard fanbase, Yeva combines heavy metal riffs and latin rhthyms to create a very unique sound. Unlike his predecessor though, founder bassist Harold Hopkins has strayed from the simpler formulations that categorize nu-metal and has completely made a fusion of latin jazz as a base with a healthy dose of metal thrown in.

I discovered Yeva recently after doing a random search for Puya related material, as I am an unasbashed fan of the band, despite their general distaste in the metal community. I had already heard Ankla, which is another spin off of Puya from guitarist Ramón Ortíz, and is also a far heavier act bordering on death metal (while also maintaining it’s latin beat). Yeva is definitely a different beast from both Puya and Ankla with it’s emphasis clearly on traditional latin jazz, but what perked my interest about this act in comparison to the other two was its perfect insertion of metal into songs to really bring the group outside of the sphere of both metal and jazz. This isn’t an edgy band, but it’s one that you can headbang to while performing a sexy salsa with your significant other. Try imagining if 70’s era Santana decided to make a record with Sepultura, that is essentially the sound that Yeva brings to life.

http://www.myspace.com/yevapr

http://yevapr.com/

And just because, here is a lil music video action featuring the song “Morphogenesis”:

THE BEST

10. Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh

Awesome. Great song writing, interesting lyrics and lots of creativity. A Sight To Behold is a classic song.

9. Psycroptic - (Ob)Servant

Crazy technical death metal with a great range of harsh vocal styles.

8. The Faceless - Planetary Duality

Amazing production and technical ability. A very atmospheric and immersive album.

7. Cynic - Traced In Air

While not as hard as Focus, Cynic brings us a great prog-metal album

6. Textures - Silhouettes

Great album from a young band from the Nethelands. Must have.

(Note: I relistened to a few of these albums today and decided to reorder and put Textures in, move Gojira to 10 and bump Kataklysm out.)

5. Scar Symmetry - Holographic Universe

The catchiest band around. They will now start to suck seeing as how Christian Alvestam left.

4. Meshuggah - ObZen

Chaos, as usual. 

3. Eluveitie - Slania

Out of nowhere this band blew me away. I’m not usually into the folk sound but Eluveitie has figured it out.

2. Opeth - Watershed

The usual impeccable release from Opeth. Brilliant.

1. The Sword - Gods Of The Earth

I’m not really into the whole doom metal sound but I can’t get enough of this band. They won’t wow you technically. They don’t play super fast but they write badass shit. With lyrical content all based on the writings of Robert E. Howard (Conan), how can you go wrong? I can’t wait for the day that I can see these guys play a show with Mastodon. 

THE WORST

5. Iced Earth - The Crucible Of Man

This one hurt. Iced Earth was a favorite of mine for a long time and now this schlock has made them a band that I cannot stand. They bring back Matt Barlow and they still can’t get it right.

4. Gamma Ray - Land Of The Free II

Awful power metal.

3. With Blood Comes Cleansing - Horror

Christian Deathcore. Nuff said.

2. Metallica - Death Magnetic

Don’t get me started. Again.

1. Emmure - The Respect Issue

“I still cry to that Bayside CD everyday.” …You’re fired.

– Great Job –

10. The Human Abstract - Midheaven

9. Cult of Luna - Eternal Kingdom

8. Burst - Lazarus Bird

7. Protest the Hero - Fortress

6. Byzantine - Oblivion Beckons

5. Cynic - Traced in Air

4. Gojira - The Way of All Flesh

3. Intronaut - Prehistoricisms

2. Textures - Silhouettes

1. Opeth - Watershed

– You Blew It (Attn: retards) –

5. Dragonforce - Ultra Beatdown
How many times are they going to release this album?

4. In This Moment - The Dream
The singer isn’t hot enough to justify tolerating her vocal ability. Oh and the music is bad.

3. Iced Earth - Crucible of Man
This album made me give up hoping Jon Schaffer had any talent left.

2. Emmure - The Respect Issue
The only issue here is that people like this band.

1. Metallica - Death Magnetic
From the beginning, this had to be the worst. It was doomed since the release of St. Anger. First it was all the annoying hype. Then that album title. Then the actual album came out and confirmed just how bad Metallica has become (and how idiotic their fans are, for buying it and/or defending it).

–
Like the saying goes, you have to take the good with the bad. Unless it’s Emmure, then run like hell.

NATE

Featuring horrific cover art and perhaps even more horrific, a malignant sound combining brutal thrash, grindcore and black metal that was rarely heard, Holocausto made it’s way through the tape trading circuit in 1987 with their debut Campo de Exterminio which still stands as one of Brazil’s most violent and controversial albums to date. This stuff is so brutal, it makes Sepultura’s early material sound like Britney Spears. If that isn’t the most stellar review an album of this stature and sound could garner, I don’t know what is.

Holocausto split up in the early 1990’s after releasing three more albums, and have recently reformed in 2004 and put out a comeback album in 2005 entitled De Volta ao Front. I have yet to hear this new album, but I am anxiously looking for it because I want to hear what Holocausto sounds like over 20 years after their controversial debut release.

Despite it’s uncompromising cover art and questionable themes, Campo de Exterminio is a true example of extreme underground metal that was harsher than all the Death’s and Napalm Death’s at the time. Seek this out, but be forewarned, you may have to pay a hefty pricetag as I don’t think this has been reprinted.

http://www.myspace.com/holocaustowarmetal

http://www.holocaustowarmetal.kit.net/

CODY

10. The Sword - Gods of the Earth

Moody doom metal dripping with fantastic themes. Saint Vitus and Candlemass would be proud of their offspring.

9. Falconer - Among Beggars and Thieves

Matthias Blad once again shows why his voice makes Falconer the quintessential European power metal band in my eyes. They have no problem breaking out speed metal enfused power metal, and then switching gears for a melodious folk tune in their native tongue. Falconer deserves more recognition for their fantastic work, I can only hope that Matthias chooses to stay with the band and play some shows in North America to help get them out to the yearning masses.

8. Guns N Roses - Chinese Democracy

This album shattered my expectations. Truly. The two singles they released I thought were crap, but once I listened to the album, I quickly realized that every single other song on this record is at the vert least better than average. Axl, as weird as he is, cannot be denied the credit he deserves. This album is great, and will likely get better the more I listen to it.

7. Warrel Dane - Praises to the War Machine

Warrel Dane is a master at turning his voice into raw emotion with maybe the only person of his style to  do it better being Mikael from Opeth. Warrel not only carves out amazing gothic majesty, but the lyrics that accompany it are very carefully crafted with so many meaning and artistic imagination. This is very creative and stand out project from the Nevermore vocalist.

6. Amon Amarth - Twilight of the Thundergod

Talk about being on a roll! I believe this is the third consecutive Amon Amarth album that has made it into my yearly top 10, and boy do they deserve it. Amon Amarth has to be one of the most consistent metal bands today, with their output not only being at regular intervals, but each one being as good if not better than the previous. I look for to maybe a 2009/2010 release? Come on guys, we gotta keep up tradition!

5. Avantasia - The Scarecrow

Another album that I just can’t seem to pull myself away from, despite it having been released months ago. The Scarecrow may prove to be too melodic for many modern metalheads, but I find the catchiness to be outright addictive, and Alice Cooper singing an entire song while at his best is remarkable in itself.

4. Judas Priest - Nostradamus

The British Steel boys are back, and they are truly screaming for vengeance. Halford has sounded as good as at any time in his career, and along with the rest of the band, has written an epic masterpiece that gets better every time one listens to it. This is an example of why metal became what it is today, and why it will continue to thrive on indefinitely. 2008 also marks the year I saw my first Judas Priest show, and what a magnificent show it was.

3. Opeth - Watershed

When this album first came out, I listened to it for the sake of listening to it, and thought it was good, but it never had the impact that I look for in great albums for some reason. However, recently, I have sat down and really given this album a go, and it has surprised me with it’s depth and precision (which it shouldn’t considering it’s an Opeth album). This is one of the band’s best, which goes to show that a popular band within the metal community can maintaing artistic integrity while also making a rockin’ album.

2. Protest the Hero - Fortress

You can always tell when you really enjoy an album by how many times you listen to it. Fortress was one of those albums that stayed on my ipod for most of the year, which accompanied me to work on many an occasion, This album plays a well tested game but adds on awesome bass lines, awesome vocals, and other awesomeness that turns out to be awesome. This is just a burtally catchy album seconded only by Scar Symmetry.

1. Scar Symmetry - Holographic Universe

A monumental melodic death album with voracious riffs combined with feverishly catchy melodic hooks. This is the best album of 2008, by far, with wall to wall tracks that leave nothing to be desired because all expectations are met from beginning to end.

THE CRUD COVERED ALBUMS OF 2008

10. Here I Come Falling - Oh Grave, Where Is Thy Victory

Crappy metalcore that seems to focus on the failings of the genre instead of its vibrant successes.

9. The Red Shore - Consecrated

Yet another straight up example of deathcore done as, well, deathcore. Zero creativity, and zero originality. You need to have something to get people involved in an album, and The Red Shore have not discovered that.

8. Jeff Loomis - Zero Order Phase

Following the solo release of fellow Nevermore member Warrel Dane, Jeff Loomis has gone forth and released his own solo material, and it’s far from the same quality that Warrel’s produced. This is music that contains cool riffs and solos, but they are unfortunately not glued together with good songs. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you can’t compose, the final result is going to be lacking.

7. Misery Signals - Controller

Nothing really to confirm or deny with Misery Signals, this is just a bland metalcore record with no oomph. Need I say more?

6. Dragonforce - Ultra Beatdown

Dragonforce is a one trick pony. When you first hear their work, it’s very entertaining and catchy as hell. Fast riffs, soaring melodies, and epic tracks, but as soon as you pick up more of their records and see them live more than once, you quickly realize that this crazy power metal act really isn’t all that magnificent as you once thought. Ultra Beatdown is more of the same formula as all of their previous works save for a few minor twaeks here and there. Dragonforce diehards will definitely love this record, but for those of us who have broke from the bounds of this spell, this is just more of the same from good ole Dragonforce.

5. Whitechapel - This is Exile

This is a perfect ly awful example of the shitstorm of metal that has taken hold of America. How is this band popular? They simply don’t have an original bone in their body, and the riffs they do write, are repetitious even by their own standards! I am not necessarily an opponent of deathcore, but this band needs to just fade away, and fast.

4. Death Angel - Killing Season

Death Angel has kind of always been a band that has been hit or miss, and 2008’s Killing Season was definitely a miss in my book. Why? Straight up bad songwriting, that’s why. The thrash riffs were very boring and completely not worth moshing/headbanging to, and if you can’t at least produce one of these emotions from people either at a show or in their car while driving to work, it becomes an immediate failure as a thrash record.

3. Iced Earth - The Crucible of Man

Once a cherished band sitting high atop my list of favorite artists, Iced Earth has been reduced to a shell of their former selves, even with the return of long time vocalist Matt Barlow. Jon Schaffer has lost his balls, and insists of writing epic music that falls flat on it’s epic face. This should be the blueprint on how to NOT make grand music.

2. Metallica - Death Magnetic

The official release of Death Magnetic was a clunky, under produced, way too drawn out “comeback” album for Metallica, simple as that. Is it the best thing they have done in a number of years? Absolutely, and I’d even go as far as to say that the remixes various people have done to make the songs sound better produced and a bit more on point (aka shorter) have actually been with some better than average results that SHOULD have been on the official releases! However, the band felt the need to release the album as it was, and All Metal Resource is here to call them on it. Step in the right direction Metallica, but you are still in the wrong top of the year list.

1. Cryptopsy - The Unspoken King

Ahhhh yes, have we forgotten this album from earlier this year? Probably overshadowed by the monolith known as Metallica, Cryptopsy, one of the heaviest and extreme of death metal, completely took a left turn out of nowhere with the addition of vocalist Matt McGachy and a whole slew of new riffs that were painfully centered around driving the band kicking and screaming into the new age of metal. Sadness reigns in 2008 for Cryptopsy fans for sure.

CODY

April 02 - The Glasshouse - Pomona, CA
April 03 - The Key Club - Hollywood, CA
April 04 - Slim’s - San Francisco, CA
April 05 - Hawthorne Theater - Portland, OR
April 06 - Neumo’s - Seattle, WA
April 07 - Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC
April 08 - Starlite Ballroom - Edmonton, AB
April 09 - The Warehouse - Calgary, AB
April 11 - Royal Albert - Winnipeg, MB
April 12 - Station 4 - St. Paul, MN
April 13 - The Pearl Room - Mokena, IL
April 14 - Majestic Theatre - Detroit, MI
April 15 - Opera House - Toronto, ON
April 16 - Club Soda - Montreal, QC
April 17 - The Palladium - Worcester, MA
April 19 - BB King’s Blues Club - New York, NY
April 21 - Mr. Small’s - Millvale, PA
April 22 - Jaxx - Springfield, VA
April 23 - Volume 11 - Raleigh, NC
April 24 - The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA

Album: Death Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast
Year: 1997