Metal

Band Of The Week: Westfield Massacre

Heavy music comes in all shapes, sounds and vibes. Sometimes the band is just a full on gutteral screaming band that just thrashes about with their music. Other heavier bands incorporate brutality and riffs that make for some pretty intense tunes. And then you have heavy bands that can be “heavy” and “brutal” but still have a sense of melody that doesn’t compromise their intention to be heavy. Which brings me to Westfield Massacre. These guys have made music that combines heavy guitars along with thumping bass and groovy drums and soaring vocals that range from aggressive screams and melodic harmonies.

Led by the ever busy Tommy Vext on vocals, Westfield Massacre is a band for today’s heavy metal/rock circles. The rest of the band which includes Ira Black (Guitar),
Stephen Brewer (Guitar), Erik Tisinger (Bass), and Dio Britto (Drums), add their own personal flairs to writing groove laden and hook filled songs, that doesn’t come across as cheesy or “commercial.”

Westfield Massacre are about to release their second full length album. The first single “Only The Dead” is a great step forward for the band not just as writers but, as players as well. You can tell they were inspired to step up their game on the new album.

Westfield Massacre- Only The Dead:

Westfield Massacre- Self Titled Debut:

Anticipated Albums: Gojira- Magma

I remember when I first heard Gojira. I thought this is great and I need to see this band. Sadly I missed them the first couple times they came through Los Angeles. Then a couple years ago I finally caught them with Mastodon, and they were everything I wanted them to be. From that point I’ve been craving a new Gojira album. The last album L’ Enfant Sauvage is one hell of an album. With the release of their new song “Stranded” from their upcoming album MAGMA, Gojira are well on their way to being one of the best metal bands in the world.

Gojira- Stranded:

Against The Grain: Solstafir

Solstafir are different breed of metal. Their unique blend of metal with beautiful melodies, psychedelic moments and a strong undercurrent of classic / hard rock strikes rough, rugged and cinematic as the climate of their native Iceland can be. The band has been around since 1995 and have released 5 full length albums, and assorted EP’s, and singles. The band started out as more of a black metal band and over the years have really evolved into more of a progressive post metal force. Their album “Masterpiece of Bitterness” released in 2005, got exceptionally good reviews almost everywhere and the band kept on making a good name for themselves with powerful live performances. Their followup “Köld” was released in early 2009 and like “Masterpiece…” it not only got exceptionally good reviews, but most critics also had a hard time putting Sólstafir’s music into a specific genre. Descriptions like“Sigur Rós goes metal!” were becoming really common as did band comparisons such as “Imagine if Nachtmystium, Alice In Chains, and Neurosis got hammered while listening to Entombed.” Their fifth full-length “Otta” released in 2014, is the next step in their evolution this four-piece adopted over the years. If anything their new album is a concept album that needs to be heard over and over to really grasp all that it has to offer. Solstafir are one of those bands that if you take the time to really listen to, you will come away with a greater appreciation for heavy music. It’s not your run of the mill garbage that is out there. These guys have real depth and truth to their music and it shows in each release they put out.

Otta:

Kold:

Live:

By: Brian Lacy

Photo by: Levan TK (instagram.com/levan_t_k) and (soundbysight.com)

Unsung Masterpieces Part 1: Tool- Undertow

Tool is one of the most artistic, innovative and creative bands to come out in the past 25 years. Each of their albums have left a mark with rabid fans eating up everything that they do. Tool’s catalog though short is very deep. The subject matter of lyrics and the depths that the music creates is not for the weak. You can tell the amount of time they band spent working on the songs is worth every second. Maynard’s vocal approach is undeniable his own. Many have tried to copy him but don’t come close. Adam Jones has one of the more intriguing guitar tones and styles. Danny Carey’s drumming is said to be created by seances and summoning sprits, to which is very believable especially with the odd time signatures. Originally on bass Paul D’amour created a bass tone that ripped through the songs with such ferocity that it became the driving force of quite a few songs. Now Justin Chancellor has taken that sound and progressed it to an etherial place. A lot can be said for what their masterpiece is. Some will debate that it is Aenima or Lateralus, Undertow is an unsung Masterpiece. Songs like Intolerance, Crawl Away, Bottom, Flood, and of course Sober all have such a well of emotion and insight into the inner workings of Tool. A bit of history about the album, Undertow was recorded between October and December 1992 at Sound City Studios, and at Grandmaster Recorders, Hollywood, California, by Sylvia Massy. Some of the songs featured on the album are songs that the band decided to not release on Opiate. Henry Rollins makes a guest vocal appearance on the song “Bottom.”

Take a listen again and see what you’ve missed out the first few times you listened to Undertow.

Undertow: