Photo by Georg C. Parr

I have to be honest: tonight was my first time seeing Death Angel. The highly underrated and often-overlooked Bay Area thrashers have been very active since their reformation in 2001 and have passed through the New York metro area a decent amount of times in support of their 2004 comeback record, The Art of Dying, and 2008’s Killing Season. Yet, I still blew it time and time again. This time there weren’t gonna be no excuses: I had to see these guys.

And goddamn if I wasn’t glad I did.

Founding vocalist Mark Osegueda and guitarist Rob Cavestany [Watch our video interview HERE], along with guitarist Ted Aguilar and newly recruited bassist Damien Sisson and drummer Will Carroll (who also play in Ulysses Siren and Warning S.F.), stormed the stage like bats out of hell, opening with “Lord of Hate” into “Buried Alive.” While I wasn’t too familiar with these newer cuts, the packed crowd still thrashed like it was the mid-Eighties and knew the songs as if they were old classics.

And when the guys did get around to playing classics such as “Third Floor,” “Seemingly Endless Time” and the excellent “Kill As One,” the very appreciative audience went wild. The band was clearly in high spirits, too, especially Osegueda, who was all smiles and thanked the crowd every chance he got.

Throughout the cult legends’ set, I couldn’t help but notice Cavestany’s constant technical issues with his guitar/amp. Despite this, he soldiered on without missing a note and ripped his leads with the same passion he had 20-plus years ago. The rest of the band played with point-blank accuracy, especially Will Carroll, who is definitely a worthy replacement for original skinsman Andy Galeon.

Unfortunately, because they were opening for Soilwork, Death Angel was stuck playing a short set. But they made the most of it, and concluded with a taste from their upcoming album, Relentless Revolution, which is due out September 14 through Nuclear Blast. I have to say – it sounded promising and worked very well live.

Death Angel isn’t a warm-up band and their appearance at the Gramercy proves it…the crowd definitely wanted more. But I was stoked to finally have the chance to see this excellent band live, and I can’t wait for their return! —Henry Yuan

Photo by Henrik Øiestad Myrvold

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any more brutal after Maryland Deathfest, New York City got treated to back-to-back death metal shows the following week, when Swedish death metal pioneers Entombed and the young Norwegian deathsters Obliteration rolled into town. While Entombed definitely brought the carnage on June 2 at the Gramercy Theater, for this review I’ll focus on the following night’s event, featuring Obliteration, Unearthly Trance, Nekromantheon and Mutant Supremacy.

The show was free, thanks to a bunch of sponsors including Revolver, Scion and Tones of Death, and also featured free beer provided by Asahi. Free beer and death metal…is there anything better? Seriously.

The night jumped off with New York’s Mutant Supremacy, featuring two members of Atakke, guitarist/vocalist Sam and drummer Robert, along with bassist Winslow and lead ripper Curt Johnston. It’s pretty obvious from the first couple of riffs that these guys really love Bolt Thrower! The band ripped through 25 minutes of massive death metal, taken from their cassette demo, Corpses in Pieces. If you like your death metal heavy, gruesome and, well, heavy (and who doesn’t) Mutant Supremacy is for you.

Up next were Norwegian thrashers Nekromantheon. This was extra cool for us here in the States, as most Americans view Norwegian metal as nothing but the grimmest of all black metal (no doubt thanks to its increased public visibility via hipster outlets like Vice). But as Nekromantheon’s set quickly proved: Norwegians can also thrash as maniacally as their L.A. counterparts.

This three-piece—drummer Christian “Kick” Holm and Obliteration guitarist Sindre Solem on bass and Arild “Arse” Myren Torp—are well schooled in the art of thrash very much in the vein of Dark Angel, pre-South of Heaven Slayer and their Kolbotn elders Aura Noir, and they’re not afraid to show it. One thing that really stood out in their set was the alternate vocals between Sindre and Arse. It added variety and personality to a genre where bands tend to become repetitive even faster than their already blazing beats per minute. Their debut full length, Divinity of Death, is out now via High Roller Records and it is highly recommended.

Following Nekromantheon’s set of full-on speed, New York’s doom crew Unearthly Trance took things to a whole new (s)low, when they hit the stage and began unleashing their thick wall of rumbling riffs. Drummer Darren Verni kept the pace heavily and steadily as bassist Jay Newman and guitarist/vocalist Ryan Lipynsky gradually laid their lines over top. The band’s atmospheric-brand of doom metal was the perfect lead-in to Norway’s Obliteration.

Featuring the incredible rhythm section of drummer extraordinaire Kristian Valbo and bass virtuoso Didrik Telle, Obliteration hit the stage and primarily delivered cuts from their latest record, Nekropsalms. Whereas most other modern death metal bands rely on technical wizadry and squeaky-clean production, Obliteration kept it true and relied on feeling, atmosphere and soul to execute their music unmercifully. In the half hour or so set, the band conjured feelings of death, helplessness and overall aggression. If you ever get the chance to catch these death metallers live, please do so. And make sure to brace yourself for some serious headbanging and fist pumping. —Henry Yuan

What happens when Revolver magazine announces a free show featuring Municipal Waste, Boston’s Ramming Speed and local metal punks Atakke with free beer? The answer should be pretty obvious. Chaos!

The insanity jumped off last weekend, when Revolver held a free screening of their Golden Gods Awards concert (which was recorded on April 8 at Club Nokia in L.A.) at Fontana’s in Chinatown with performances by the aforementioned bands in the space downstairs. It was crazy to see—among the packed crowd—the guitarist from Australian thrash band Grenade and from the drummer from Iron Maiden-worshipping Swedish crust punks Wolfbrigade and the guitarist/singer of metal-punk cult Sonic Ritual all in one place. It turns out that many out-of-towners were traveling to New York to hang out before this weekend’s Maryland Deathfest, where Wolfbrigade will play (super stoked for that!).

The celebration was kicked off by New York’s Atakke (who actually played with the Waste a few weeks ago at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn). The band was just as ferocious as I remembered them to be, with vocalist Chloe Puke belting out her screams to match the intensity of guitarists Sam Awry and BillDozer’s crushing Bolt Thrower-like riffs. Ramming Speed from Boston carried on the proceedings with their take on hardcore punk and speed metal. As hard as these guys party, I expected the growing crowd to be a little crazier.

The tiny space in Fontana’s basement had reached capacity just as Municipal Waste were about to play, and everyone was pumped. As soon as drummer Dave Witte hit the stage, the band launched into their set (with a neat intro courtesy of MTV’s Jersey Shore).

The Waste were definitely spot-on, even if vocalist Tony Foresta warned everyone he was drunk. Bodies were flying and slamming as the Waste unleashed cuts like “Terror Shark”, “Beer Pressure” and “Wrong Answer.” Unfortunately, just as their set was reaching its fever pitch, the soundman abruptly announced “This is your last song,” which pretty much bummed the entire audience, myself included.

Despite the abbreviated set, it was great while it lasted. And at the low cost of free, who can really complain? —Henry Yuan

Cynic’s Paul Masvidal. Photo by Rich Mathias.

Before coming to this show, I knew it was going to be a pretty interesting night. It wasn’t just because the awfully underrated and super-legendary Floridian progressive metal masters Cynic would once again be supporting a band that they helped create, but it’s because I heard that they would be premiering out a new tune. Considering the fact that their latest masterpiece, Traced in Air (Season of Mist), came out 15 years after their landmark debut Focus (Roadrunner), I was more than happy to get a fix of brand-new Cynic songs.

I didn’t make it in time to check out most of Scale the Summit’s set. From what I caught, these guys played instrumental guitar music. I wouldn’t call this metal in any way. In fact, I wasn’t even into it. Sorry, but guitar-heavy instrumental music isn’t for me. I will give props to these kids, though. They can definitely rip on their instruments.

Up next was another legendary figure: Canada’s Devin Townsend. The former Steve Vai singer and Strapping Young Lad frontman is back after retiring from the music industry for some time—and he’s more whacked out then ever. I never understood his music or his sense of humor, so I guess that’s why I didn’t really enjoy his set. While I was walking around the venue, I heard a lot of people who came specifically for him and were super stoked to see him. His onstage banter reminded me of Mike Patton and Frank Zappa, but even more intense. Tonight’s crowd definitely worshipped “Heavy Devy.”

Cynic was up next, and I don’t think my love for this band needs too much of an introduction. They were a band so far ahead of their time that it was ridiculous. Even today, I feel that they are criminally overlooked. With that said, I must admit I was pretty disappointed with the band tonight.

Why? First, they only played only one song from Focus. I know singer/guitarist Paul Masvidal is a very spiritual person, but that doesn’t mean the fans—the people who truly find solace in his music—don’t want to hear his classic songs (even if they were written 16 years ago when he was in a different mindset). Cynic only has two albums, each of them clock-in at about 35 minutes. I’m sure if they cut the live segue samples a little bit, they could’ve added two or three more songs from Focus. I was extremely shocked that they didn’t even play “How Could I?” That’s like Slayer not playing “Raining Blood.”

The new song, whose title I did not catch, really got me thinking. The direction was more straightforward and more in the lines of Paul and drummer Sean Reinsert’s other project, Aeon Spoke. It was definitely a song that I need to listen to at home in order for me to get the most out of it. Right off the bat, I got a latter-day Katatonia vibe, which was awesome, though not exactly “Cynic”-like. Perfomance-wise, the band was on fire, as usual. Bassist Robin Zielhorst held it down and second guitarist Tymon Kruidenier played his leads as fluid as ever.

After a disappointing set, I decided to catch some of Between the Buried and Me. I couldn’t help but notice the band’s eclectic crowd, with fans ranging from hardcore tough guys, teeny-bopper MySpace girls, Berklee College of Music rejects and the occasional old-timer who probably heard about the band in the New York Times or the Village Voice. I’ve read a lot about this band and even checked out some of their latest material, but I never got into it. I was hoping I would at least enjoy them live. Not surprisingly, I was wrong.

Usually, when I don’t enjoy a band, it’s almost always going to be that the music is not for me. However, there are cases where I will see a band live and get so blown away by their energy that I will go back to their records and actually enjoy them, which happened with Sweden’s Nifelheim.

Between the Buried and Me do not fall under this category—and it’s nothing against the band. These guys are so unbelievably talented it’s ridiculous. In particular, I must call out drummer Blake Richardson. This guy is an incredibly fluid and dynamic drummer. I’d like to say he’s the Dennis Chambers of progressive metalcore.

Overall, it was the night for Between the Buried and Me and the sold-out crowd showed it. The fans might have gotten their money’s worth but I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth. This just shows that Cynic need to finally do a proper headline tour so that will give their music justice. In a perfect world, I would love for them to co-headline with Atheist—the band who sparked the reformation of Cynic. Maybe that will give Paul the type of energy to whip out “Uroboric Forms.” —Henry Yuan

Jacob Bannon about to ignite another packed crowd. Photo by Matt Miller.

When hardcore stalwarts CONVERGE rolled through New York last spring to play Brooklyn’s Club Europa, MetalKult grabbed our cameras and posted up to capture all the twisted riffs, guttural barks and flying bodies that a Converge show brings.

During that show the Massachusetts four-piece—made up of singer Jacob Bannon, guitarist Kurt Ballou, bassist Nate Newton and drummer Ben Koller—debuted a couple of brand-new tracks, “Wishing Well” and” “Axe to Fall,” which would eventually make their way to the band’s current release, Axe to Fall (Epitaph).

To celebrate the release of Axe to Fall, which hits stores today, we’re pleased to present that March 27, 2009, show in it’s entirety.

And when you’re done with that, check out our Q&A with Bannon and Ballou.

For the final installment in our coverage of the October 8, 2008, Watain, Withered, Krallice show at the Knitting Factory, we’re pleased to present to you four brutal songs from Seattle black metal group Book of Black Earth.

Book of Black Earth were touring behind their 2008 release, Horoskopus (Prosthetic Records).

Below, check out the crew as they play “2160” into “May Your God Deny You” and “Death of the Sun,” “Total Control” and “Clamor Beneath.” (more…)

On October 8, 2008, we went down to NY’s Knitting Factory to catch up with Sweden’s Watain. Before the black metallers hit the stage, we were treated to a good crop of opening bands, including extreme virtuosos, Krallice, Seattle heavies Book of Black Earth and Atlanta, GA, black metal crew Withered.

Below, check out Withered as they play “Drawn Black Drapes” into “Reveal the Essence of Suffering” and “Clamor Beneath” from their 2008 release Folie Circulaire (Prosthetic Records). (more…)

MetalKult is pleased to bring you some more coverage from the Relapse Records tenth consecutive South By Southwest showcase at Emo’s Annex, March 13, 2008.

As one of the main sponsors of the showcase, MetalKult was there to capture all the chaos brought about by the crushing bill, which featured High On Fire (Oakland, CA), Genghis Tron (Philadelphia, PA), Coliseum (Louisville, KY), Vverevvolf Grehv (Omaha, NE) and special guests Municipal Waste (Richmond, VA).

Below, check out the brutal set by Coliseum, where they tear through some tracks from their 2007 release, No Salvation.

(more…)

On October 8, 2008, MetalKult trekked down to the Knitting Factory to catch the live actions of the mighty Watain. Before the Swedes’ scorched-earth attack began, we were treated to a good, grim group of opening bands, including NY’s own black metal virtuosos, Krallice.

The brainchild of guitar wizards Mick Barr (Ocrilim, Orthrelm) and Colin Marston (Behold…The Arctopus, Dysrhythmia), Krallice blends blazing guitar histrionics with seasick atmospherics and seriously vicious vocals. The result, as heard on their self-titled debut (released on Profound Lore earlier this year), is truly intoxicating. And as we found out that night, Krallice’s live show is not to be missed.

Below, check out Krallice as they play “Wretched Wisdom” and “Timehusk” from their debut: (more…)

On March 13, 2008, in Austin, TX, Relapse Records held their tenth consecutive South By Southwest showcase at Emo’s Annex.

As one of the main sponsors of the showcase, MetalKult was there to capture all the chaos brought about by the crushing bill, which featured High On Fire (Oakland, CA), Genghis Tron (Philadelphia, PA), Coliseum (Louisville, KY), Vverevvolf Grehv (Omaha, NE) and special guests Municipal Waste (Richmond, VA).

Over the next few weeks we’ll be posting the full sets from each of these artists. First we gave you Municipal Waste, then came Genghis Tron and now prepare yourself for the mighty High On Fire. Enjoy all the brutality below! (more…)