Architect-Ghost Of The Saltwater Machines Review

“When it’s all said and done, everyone dies alone,” vocalist Keith Allen screams during a brutal breakdown on “Casus Belli,” one of several on Architect’s sophomore album Ghost Of The Saltwater Machines. For 38 minutes, Architect blazes through song after song, with nary a melodic moment in sight, save for the soft electric guitar opening up “Camelot In Smithereens.” The weighty material, coupled with the wall-of-sound production, overcomes the listener on the first play-through and may prove to be too much for those who like a bit of melody with their heaviness.

 

Multiple listens are warranted to grasp the political and philosophical message beneath the pummeling drums and relentless guitar work, inspired by a blend of hardcore, punk and stoner metal. Gang vocals, another mainstay of hardcore music, are sparingly used, but when they are, in “Lamplighter” and “The Dog And Pony Show,” Allen sounds like a four-star commander leading his troops onto the beaches of Normandy.  

 

Ghost Of The Saltwater Machines is seemingly split in half, divided by the quick interlude “I Am Become Death.” The first half is straightforward, with three-to-four minute slabs of hardcore. The second half, however, pushes the song lengths past the five minute mark, with the exception of the mediocre “House Of 1,000 Habeas Corpses.” Samples of speeches and out-of-key singing bookend these tracks, which all leads up to epic closer “Traitor.” With a long breakdown and plenty of screeching guitar feedback to tear into a listener’s eardrums, it lends a bleak and apocalyptic conclusion to Ghost Of The Saltwater Machines.

 

Hardcore music has become a saturated genre, with dime-a-dozen bands cranking out politically-charged messages hidden behind screams, breakdowns and gang vocals. Architect doesn’t re-invent the wheel, but provides a solid follow-up to All Is Not Lost. Fans of hardcore and metal will find Ghost Of The Saltwater Machines to be an engaging and compelling album, with a lot of material to digest; just don’t expect to be floored by the final product as a whole.

 

Rating: 7.0/10

Label: Black Market Activities/Metal Blade

Website: http://www.myspace.com/architectkills

 

Mini-Review Of Coheed and Cambria’s “Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow”

The Band

Claudio Sanchez-Vocals, Guitar
Travis Stever-Backing Vocals, Guitar
Michael Todd-Backing Vocals, Bass
Taylor Hawkins-Drums

The Review

Finally, we have reached the end of the month-long journey into Coheed and Cambria’s catalog. The band had a rough two years between their last release and “Volume II,” with the band dealing with the release of their drummer Josh Eppard and the leaving, and eventual return, of bassist Michael Todd. Coheed and Cambria, specifically Claudio Sanchez, was able to work around this situation and release the album that ends the Amory Wars on a high note.

On this album, the band focused on producing tracks that are to the point and are able to get the story across in great detail. The band also seemed to kick the tempo up a notch, as most of the songs come out in a fury and stay that way. “The Running Free,” “No World For Tomorrow” and “Gravemakers & Gunslingers” immediately come to mind.

The main highlight of Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow is the five part epic “The End Complete.” After the brief interlude, “Radio Bye Bye” brings a more radio-friendly sound to the music, which has its positives (catchy chorus) and its negatives (sounds like any other song on the radio). Thankfully, the title track of the epic brings the album back together with its surprisingly meta-sounding middle section and creepy vocals by Claudio (“We’re going to get you, my love…”).

The five part epic ends with a one two punch of “The Road and the Damned” and “On The Brink.” Both tracks start off slow, “The Road and the Damned” turning into a brilliantly cheesy 80’s ballad, and “On The Brink”  a Pink Floyd-ish jam session. While the album ends too low-key for my liking, it is nice to see the band incorporating some of their earlier riffs from past albums to bring a sense of continuity to the end of the storyline.

Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow is a great finish to The Amory Wars. The band sounds tight as a collective unit and the story ends as well as it was going to. The future only looks bright for Coheed and Cambria, and I am interested to see where the band goes from here.

My Q&A With Total Fucking Destruction Drummer/Vocalist Richard Hoak

Richard Hoak is the drummer/vocalist for Total Fucking Destruction (TFD), which is presently one of the biggest underground grind bands. He began as a drummer for Brutal Truth in the mid 1990’s, a band with countless influence on future grind bands, and started TFD after his former band went on hiatus. In an exclusive interview, Hoak spilled details on TFD’s new album, his philosophy on life, and the upcoming album from the re-united Brutal Truth.

 

Dan Marsicano: Could you go into details about the origins of TFD?

 

Richard Hoak: TFD started out as the idea to play music called ‘grind’ at its very simplest, and also to have the emotions expressed by the lyrics to be the simplest expression possible. That’s sort of always directed the band; that’s why there’s only three people in it and not four. That’s why I just play the kick and the snare drums, so I don’t have to carry all those other drums around. I guess a lot of that started with me being bummed out with Brutal Truth’s breakup and I was like ‘oh fuck man, what a waste. Any knucklehead can start a band with a dumb name and go around the world doing grind shows. Oh wait! I’ll start a band called Total Fucking Destruction and travel around the world doing grind shows.’ It was a drunken thought, but snowballed to what it is today.

 

DM: Your new album, “Peace, Love, and Total Fucking Destruction” is a concept album. Could you explain a bit about the concept?

 

RH: “Peace, Love, and Total Fucking Destruction” is the story of warriors of the fourth World War, after the collapse of civilization. There are people who will fight to survive and it’s mixed with the Game Boy generation. There’s world-wide global manufacturing of weapons and technology that can go anywhere in the world. You can be a 12-year-old in Africa with an IPod, an AK-47, and a Hello Kitty backpack. It has a lot to do with globalization and giant corporations run the world; turn the Third World children into soldiers.

 

DM: Is there any main character; I know there is a child with a gun on the cover art…

 

RH: It has a lot to do with children in the future. I guess the whole concept is more than the “Peace, Love, and Total Fucking Destruction” concept. It’s more of the concept of TFD, the band, and the lifestyle. This is one certain aspect of it. In TFD, we assume that there is a slow-motion apocalypse unfolding around us. We don’t know if it’s the result of the world-wide corporate-military-entertainment-technological complex. Post-modern gadgets fill our lives; take our minds off of what’s really important; that the world civilization is approaching the end of history. When I was a punk-rocker and thought that the world would blow up, it would all be a nuclear cataclysm in seconds, but I since realized that the end of the world could take a hundred or a thousand years. It’s not until the year 2080 that the oceans are suppose to run out of fish. Taking all of that as fact, with TFD, I try to create a sort of…mindset (so people) can come together and celebrate the end of the world.

 

DM: Let’s shift focus to Brutal Truth for a second. They are back together and you guys are working on a new album. Can you update the status of that?

 

RH: We recorded at Watchman Studios with a guy named Doug White, who did an amazing job recording bass and drums. We recorded 24 tracks and then Kevin (Sharpe) did his vocals out in Chicago. I think the text mixes are coming in and we are having Jason Fuller from Blood Duster do some test mixes, and if it sounds good, he’s going to mix it.

 

DM: How does the new Brutal Truth material sound?

 

RH: It sounds pretty good man. It’s like if you listened to “Sounds Of The Animal Kingdom” and took a step beyond that, and mixed it with the production of “Need To Control” and 30% of the brutal grind of “Extreme Conditions.” I think people are going to dig it; I think the songs are great. I haven’t really heard a lot of it with Kevin’s vocal tracks put on, but it sounds pretty spot on so far.

 

DM: What’s the biggest misconception that people have about grindcore as a genre?

 

RH: There are people on the planet who are privileged to have the extra leisure time and extra money to not only survive, but to make noise and create obscure art, like grindcore, renaissance painting, or free-form jazz. I always thought the music was supposed to be meaningful or self-aware; you have to be self-aware of what’s going on.

 

 

This is only a small sample of the interview I had with Hoak. You can find the rest of the interview at SMN News. I like to thank Hoak for taking time out to talk to me and don’t forget to visit Total Fucking Destruction’s MySpace page for the latest on the the grind band.

Who The Hell Is…Architect?

Architect, a metal band with members from both Philadelphia and Syracuse, NY, has spent the past couple of years working their way up. The band is preparing to release their sophomore album, Ghost Of The Saltwater Machines, on November 25. While relatively unknown in the metal world, Ghost Of The Saltwater Machines could be the album that gets them the attention they deserve.

Architect, comprised of Keith on vocals, Jay and Seib on guitar, Joe on bass, TJ on both bass and guitar, and Dan on drums, has a sound that takes elements of technical, progressive, mathcore, and hardcore and blends it together for a cohesive and heavy sound. The new album, from what I have heard so far, is a monster, blasting out of your speakers like a siren from hell.

Their MySpace page has some of the track off the new album, and I would recommend to immediately check that out ASAP. Not only that, but next week, live here on the blog, I will have an advance review of Ghost Of The Saltwater Machines. Yep, you can get my opinion four days before the actual release date. You can’t get more exclusive than that.

Oh, and this Monday, I will have another exclusive; an interview with Rich Hoak of Total Fucking Destruction. Trust me when I say this; it was one of the most entertaining interviews I’ve done in recent memory.

Mini-Review Of Coheed and Cambria’s “Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume 1: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness”

The Band

Claudio Sanchez-Vocals, Guitar

Travis Stever-Guitar

Michael Todd-Bass, Backing Vocals

Josh Eppard-Drums

The Review

While their first two albums were underground hits, it would be their 2003 album, Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume 1: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness, that made Coheed and Cambria a household name. Single “Welcome Home” tore up the charts and showed the band leaning closer and closer to progressive rock. The album starts off with a bang, continues the frantic pace, and ends with an almost thirty minute, four-part epic that counts among the band’s best songs. All the pieces fell together for Coheed and Cambria, as they finally found their niche in rock music.

The story is still confusing, but the basic premise this time around involves Claudio, the son of deceased Coheed and Cambria, protecting the Keywork, while more information is given on the deaths of the two characters and the virus infecting the world. Oh, and the entire story this album is told through The Writer, who crafted a fictional story out of all the characters and plotlines discussed in the last two albums. 

So, yet again, the story is not the main draw, per se; it keeps you interested and wanting to decipher the main tale, but for first-time listeners, the music is the most important thing. For the third album in a row, Coheed and Cambria nailed it out of the ballpark. There are more solos, catchier melodies, and Claudio’s soaring vocals going even higher than ever before. All of this comes together on “The Wishing Well,” the most ambitious project undertaken by the band. For thirty minutes, the band takes the listener on a musical journey, sounding like a modern-day “2112.” ”The Final Cut,” the last part of “The Wishing Well,” is one of my favorite Coheed and Cambria songs, with a Pink Floyd vibe surrounding it, and an wonderful solo section to close out the song.

Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume 1: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness was the next step for the band, one that they would embrace with open arms. This was my first Coheed and Cambria album and, as of right now, my favorite one. The band is tight as hell and the songwriting is top-notch. As a modern progressive rock album, Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume 1: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness stood out amongst the masses.

Brief Update

Hey everybody, sorry about the short update today. My workload has increased, and with that, comes a lack of time of certain things; my blog mainly.

Don’t worry though: I got big plans this week. Wednesday will continue looking at Coheed and Cambria’s discography, Friday will have a whole new band you should be listening to, and on Monday, I will have an exclusive interview with Total F’N Destruction founder, and drummer, Richard Hoak. So get ready for a great week of material, starting this Wednesday, and don’t forget to visit the other sites I write for, 411 Mania and SMN News.

Classic Music Video Of The Week

I was browsing YouTube, as I usually do when I’m bored out of my mind, and what do I find? New York thrash metal legends Anthrax and their video for the single to ”Madhouse,” off of Spreading The Disease.  A great song with a cheesy video, this is one of the reasons why the 80s were simultaneously awesome and terrible.

(Credit: Universal Records)

Mini-Review Of Coheed And Cambria’s In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3

In part two of my four part look at rock band Coheed and Cambria’s discography, I’m diving into the 2003 In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3, which is a more ambitious project from the quintet and takes them one step closer to mainstream fame.

The Band

Claudio Sanchez-Vocals, Guitar

Travis Stever-Guitar

Michael Todd-Bass, Backing Vocals

Josh Eppard-Drums, Piano

The Review

For their sophomore album, Coheed and Cambria continues the Amory Wars, with the third chapter of four. Like the previous release, the story doesn’t make any sense, but the music is stronger and leans closer to progressive rock. The songs are longer, there’s even a three-part series, “Camper Velourium,” which emcompasses most of the middle of the album. Three songs are over the eight minute mark and the guitar work by Sanchez and Stever is more technical, with some fantastic work on display in closer “The Light & The Glass” and the “Camper Velourium” trilogy.

The story this time around involves Al The Killer, Inferno, a Red Army, the son of Coheed and Cambria, Claudio, going after revenge for the death of his family, and a whole bunch of randomness that only makes sense if you do proper research. That isn’t a fault against the album; its nice to hear a concept album that you have to think a little bit about.

The music is a bit heavier and more progressive, with an increase of guitar solos and less emo tendencies. There are concert staples on here (the title track, “Blood Red Summer,” “A Favor House Atlantic”) and the album as a whole is more memorable than their debut. The evolution of the band over a two year period is quite evident. In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3 is another worthwhile album from the band, but it would be with their third album, Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume 1: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness, that all the pieces of the puzzle came together for Coheed and Cambria. But that’s for next week…

Who The Hell Is…Evoken?

The Band

John Paradiso – Vocals/Guitar
Nick Orlando – Guitar
David Wagner – Bass
Don Zaros – Keyboards
Vince Verkay – Drums

Official MySpace Page

Doom metal has been a genre that began to become more widespread in the early 90’s. Bands like Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Novembers Doom, and Anathema took charge and became the “kings” of doom metal. As the years went on, these bands evolved and added in many other influences, including progressive, death, and funeral. While their core sound was the same, the different elements added in tended to overshadow the basics of what made these respectable bands in doom metal.

There are very few bands left that are churning out consistently solid doom metal. Evoken, from Lyndhurst, New Jersey, is one of these bands. While largely unknown outside of the hardcore doom metal fan base, Evoken has still carved out a decade and a half worth of brooding, punishing metal that takes its sweet time to evolve into an uncontrollable beast.

Evoken was formed in 1994 from the ashes of Funereus, which was founded by current Evoken guitarist Nick Orlando. The band’s lineup has gone through some changes here and there, but Orlando, vocalist/guitarist John Paradiso, and drummer Vince Verkay remain from the beginning of the band. Evoken takes its time between releases, having only four studio albums in a 15 year period. Each album is over an album, with songs usually topping the ten-minute mark.

The band has also been a hit with critics, with allmusic.com giving Antithesis of Light 4 and a half stars out of 5. It’s amazing that an underrated band of this calibur has been right under our noses for such a long time. If you haven’t heard this band, you owe it to yourself to check out this doom metal heavyweight.

“In Pestilence Burning” Live 2003 (Credit: thefrontline.be)