Let's speak with Memories of a Dead Man (Post Hardcore, 2020)

It was the cover of Memories of a Dead Man's album that quickly lead my attention towards their music. A deer crying out while he is standing in ruins - I never saw something similar before.

 

The music turned out to be balanced. Some very rough songs (Shapeshifter) are to be hard while other tracks stick to a far more melodic side. Let's see what stands behind such a diverse post hardcore formation and the newest release (re) M.A.Z.E.d.

Heavy Metal Underdogs: How did the idea with the deer on the cover come up?
Thierry :The stag has many meanings, especially in the post/hardcore world, and can symbolize the everlasting cycle of life, losing its crown and growing it back up. (re)M.A.Z.E.d is a record made after a long break, a sort of rebirth for a 15 years old band with an history, so the image fits well for the record.
 

Does the new album (re) M.A.Z.E.d follow a concept when it comes to the lyrics?
Thierry :There is no specific theme for the whole album, but some “things” came back naturally one after another, and it kind of binds the record together. Every track is based on introspection, feelings, and social unrests, with a changing point of view, depending on the vocalist or on the track itself. 
 
The songs are mixed to a loud volume. Do you want to express something as well this way (maybe inner pressure) ?
Ben : Indeed to give intensity the mix is strong enough, it sticks to our style for a long time and inner pressure is increased !
And in addition we play hard it would appear  ;) 

 
Is the album linked in any way to it's predecessor V.I.T.R.I.O.L - the cover of both records have a similar style and color with them ?
Thierry :In a way, it is linked, because the band has an history, and the records of yesterday made the sound of today. It was a way for us to express the “back to roots” side we did with (re)M.A.Z.E.d, as well as the coming back of the band, while the line up and styles of vocalist are totally different from the previous record.
 
The new output comes around well balanced. Aggressive tunes and more baladesque material follow one another. Do you prefer to build a certain atmosphere inside the listeners mind?
Thierry :If chaos seems to be a ladder, music is a conduct where feelings can bloom and mindblown the listener, following changing time signatures and different tempi. Every track from the album was thought as a “one shot piece”, where the decor and different actors are set for a quick duration.
 
Do you write the music together as a band or are only certain members involved in the songwriting?
Thierry We write together as a band, each one of us bringing his personal stone to the edifice from his musical influences, under the attentive orchestration of Ben, the band’s oldest member and founder. Some passages of (re)M.A.Z.E.d were discussed together, in order to mix things up more efficiently.  

How do the digipak and jewelcase CD formats offered on Bandcamp differ from each other?

Thierry :The current digipack of (re)M.A.Z.E.d contains a special offer for the first purchasers (including one “stag” t-shirt and a pick of your choice color, depending on the stocks left). 
 
Ben : You can have all merch here :
Bandcamp : https://memoriesofadeadman.bandcamp.com
 
Season of Mist : https://shop.season-of-mist.com/fr/memories-of-a-dead-man-re-m-a-z-e-d-cd-digipak
 
Streaming : https://id.ffm.to/remazed  
 
And Exclusive T shirt  on  Season of Mist 
 
https://shop.season-of-mist.com/merchandising/print-on-demand?display_all=label_layer&label_layer=15331

CD Review: Midnight Blackout - Hangover (Post Hardcore, 2018)

Heavy to the brim. But still slightly melodic so it remains tasty enough to listen to it.

The cover says it all what the topic of the EP talks about.

Post Hardcore seems to be a style many bands aim at these days. The only downside in my eyes is that the overall heavyness often tends to make the music less enjoyable. Happily Midnight Blackout have not chosen to go this way.

Instead they composed their music to be more melodic and most of all straight forwards. That's also a point I love. Whilst other Post Hardcore tunes are a bit complicated when it comes to song structures this french based formation keep all the power going directly from the mind to the music without fiddeling all around. This means that you can easily headbang to the stuff like you used to do in the older days of metal.

The only weaker aspect for me was the overall too loud mastering of this record. Sure listening the loud way helps to push the mood but here the guitars scream it out a bit for me. Less of the high notes would make listening a more silk and less rough experience. 

My personal favorite is the song "In Sheep's Clothing" that the band also picked as a single for the promotional music video.

Also this one comes around as a EP the duration feels like it's goin forever. You get a good bunch of music for your money served directly onto your favorite device through the band's Bandcamp page. But listen here for yourselves.

Make sure to create a account on Bandcamp before purchasing. The excellent plattform for up and coming bands let's you re-download music you once bought there. This means that as long as the service is up and running you can always download a copy if you lost your old one or changed your device (e.g. bought a new smartphone and forgot to transfer the tunes to the memory card before the old device broke down).

Finally check out Midnight Blackout's Facebook page and give 'em a supporting like on over there.

A Place To Fall are looking for a rehearsal room

It's sad to see band's often have to suffer to find a place where they can create and rehearse their musical expressions. The same thing happend to the post Hardcore formation A Place To Fall.

They are currently looking for a new place to rent in the area of Lingen / Meppen (Lower Saxony) in Germany. If you have something to offer or know of somebody who has please don't hesitate to get in touch with the band on Facebook. Serious offers only please.

The band recorded one last video at their old rehearsal room. It's the album opener "Your Fall". Make sure to see the full video because the end has a nice making of and some funny scenes showing the moments when things didn't fit at every single note...

A Place To Fall drum video shows killer rhythm performance

In today's music I often feel that the musicians give more than everything but in all the sound it's not always easy to make it out clearly how certain parts contribute to the overall sound picture.

This thought came to my mind when I saw the drum playthrough video that the post hardcore band A Place To Fall released. It's massive to see how heavily the drummer follows with his pattern the guitar chords and how much it powers the track to overall high energy level. Nevertheless the end has some redemption feeling with it...

The track "Dream Of Memories" is taken of the band's latest record "Lost Myself". Make sure to pick up your copy on CD from the band's webshop. There's also a option to pick a bundle of the silver disc and a band shirt in white color (not seen so often in the world of metal).

Make sure to follow A Place To Fall further through Facebook or Instagram. They are already working on new material so it's exciting to see how things will go on further.

CD Review: A Place To Fall - Lost Myself (2016)

What we have here is a bitter brutal post hardcore album that leaves no mercy as about it's message. This band screams out that they really want it all and they've put in so much energy that it will make your speakers blow. Find out how post hardcore should sound in 2016.

Introduction

The band came to my attention at a Open Air festival here in Lingen - the Rock am Dom. At that time the band was starting to form in line-up as well as soundwise but it was already clear that they would sound very promising. So I kept a eye on them and followed them further both on Facebook as well as live at the Rock am Pferdemarkt and a little later at the Abifestival contest. In the meantime the band wrote and recorded "Lost Myself" and over the gigs one could easily see and hear that the band has evolved quite a lot.

The cover of Lost Myself, (c) by A Place To Fall, used with kind permission

Summary / Album overview

The album has a lot of killer qualities. As I wrote above I was able to follow the development of the band but never expected such a result in the end. The record comes straight in with the intro for "The Rise", a dark haunting melody carving the way for what is about to come. The following "Your Fall" shows the heavyness the band combines along with great rhythm. The vocals come in quite harsh on this one but are always melodic and outworked with much passion.

The same goes for "All your lies". That song was already available as stream early at the band's Youtube channel but this version is quite different. The contrast of growls of guitarist Oliver and the clean parts of vocalist Sebastian gives this one a special kicking note. You'll remember this after listening. The tile track that follows shows a masterpiece in my eyes and a first high peak of the record. This one builds slowly crawling on the floor just to explode at the refrain directly into the listeners face. Don't miss out this one.

"New Hopes" goes a more straight way vocal-wise but I love the riffing and drumming on this one. It goes back and forth and shakes 'till the end. "We're Fading Away" has a anthemic refrain and is most melodic and straight forward of the album. The clear guitar parts have been my favorite from the first listen.

We continue on "Dream of Memories" that rips us up with a direct riff. Many vocal layers and variations on this one. Very heavy indeed. "Photographs" is next to go. It's a dark number which much heavy distorted guitar sounds and rhythm changes but a lot of brutal elements nevertheless. "Behind A False Light" closes the album in a straight forward way. The clean notes towards the end leave you with a redemption feeling.

Purchase-Link

The record is up on digital outlets such as Amazon, iTunes and Google Play for 8 Euro. The band also has physical copies on sale in a beautiful fold-out case for the same price. It is available through their webshop or you can message the band through Facebook if you don't have Paypal.

Player

The whole nine songs can be heard on Spotify or Deezer. I've also included the track "We're fading away" for all of you who don't have a acoount there or just want to quickly check out the bands sound.





Contact Data

The band has a cool Facebook page up and running and also offers a insight into the bands activities via Instagram. Also make sure to have a look on their homepage if you want to contact or book them.

Ways. portrait their musical contrasts in beautiful video

Ways. are a post hardcore formation from France that incorporates many different elements in their music. Some are of the traditional harsh and brutal nature, some have their origins in softer and melodic regions but this band has the ability to melt all of them into a sound that feels as if it has been always like this for them.

The newest video that comes fresh of the video cutting table of the band uses intensive and outstanding romantic as well as rough video recordings of nature phenomenons to express the varity in their musical spectrum. This video will give you a relaxed as well as kicking start into the new month.

The band will play a couple of shows in September 2016 in Spain (!) and France. Just check the flyer below if you can make it to one of their performances.

The tourposter of the upcoming Ways. shows in September 2016, (c) by Ways. , used with kind permission

A look on the bands internet plattforms such as Bandcamp or Facebook is a good idea if you'd like to find out if the other songs of their debut EP "Warching from afar" match your musical taste.

CD Review: Ways. - Watching From Afar EP (2016)

In short a hardcore EP with a clear aim: to bring in fresh elements to a well known genre. Ways. carefully thought out their songs and created a listening experience both being familar and surprising alltogether.

Short Introduction

Ways. are a rock / metal / alternative band from Paris, France. In April the band released their debut EP Watching From Afar. The band first came to my attention when I saw their video for the song "Misty Hope" which made me more than looking forward to their first record. A great track and teaser to this EP.

The cover of "Watching From Afar", (c) by Ways. , used with kind permission

Summary

Listening to this very first release of Ways. quickly will let you identify it has a music of the hardcore genre. The typical elements like the harsh vocals and the strong and strict song structures are easily identifiable.

But it's also clear after a short time that the band ever had the idea in their mind to give new impulses to this. There are hacked riffs in there as well as timing variations ("My Blue Stain"), you'll be confronted with silence packed in the loud message of "Misty Hope" just to reach a hardcore half-ballad with "Something to say..." and come to the end with "Twenty First Sectuary" which closes the release with the classic hardcore style but mixed up with a slight fun-riff. I think you'll be surprised to hear how this sounds but it will leave you with a smile and the good feeling behind.

If you still prefer to stick to some old hardcore sounds don't worry: the second track "As A Duty" offers this so the old core of the genre is not forgotten from this band at all.

Player / Purchase-Link


The EP comes around as a pay what you want offer on Bandcamp. Sure you can pick it up for free but please keep in mind that young bands need a push at the start so they can progress further. If you help them out with a few bucks who knows how their next release may sound like? Or how the tracks sound live? You can help to make this happen by giving a amount of your choice.

Other places such as Spotify, iTunes and Google Play can also be used to stream and buy the "Watching From Afar" EP.

Contact Data

Ways. have some nice social outlets up and running out there, you can choice between Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Live-Review: A Place To Fall / FiftyFour Planets / Acoustic Steel - Lingen 19.9.2015

So this past weekend hopefully will stay some time in my mind. It was time for the local town party. The whole city of Lingen is changed into a big open air location at the end of each summer offering a wide variation of music to check out for free for everybody.

This big wheel gave the chance to take a impressive look from ca. 35 meters above over Lingen

As part of this event you can find one place that offers a special section that keeps it mostly a bit heavier for the younger people of the city. It's called "Rock am Pferdemarkt" and it had a good line-up this 2015 edition offering three of my favorite local bands on Saturday. A note: there were more bands playing but I will ignore those here since they don't fit to the musical style of my blog so I will stick to the heavy bands of the line-up

First out were "A Place To Fall" which offer a mixture of Hardcore / Heavy Metal along with a fine mixture of melodic riffs and melodies. I arrived early to the show so I was able to see the band doing the soundcheck. The band was going to lay it down heavy that was made for sure. They had brought along a good package of speakers so they were really playing loud. Plus they had prepared the stage with some whistle blowers which they used every here and there at the show. Finally the band took the stage and got into the set very well. Most of all vocalist Sebastian Molleker gave a good signature of his abilities. It payed off that he doesn't had to play the bass guitar anymore and could concentrate of the vocals. On one song he screamed the parts as if he was collecting them up from deep inside and was letting off some real pressure. That was towards the end of the set and I feel that he was getting better with every minute that allowed him to get out of himself a bit more.

Malte Hornung, the lead guitarist showed some cool riffs and it was a good mixture of heavyness with fine melodies put inside that made me curious on the upcoming release that the band is currently working on. Make sure to check out the track below so you won't miss out them. If the band had been given a stage time in the later evening time I'm sure the band would have had the chance to gather a lot of new fans. At this time it was too early for most of the people to show up. Keep in mind that the show already started at 18:50 h so I thing you can imagine it. I for one was very happy that I didn't missed them out. I would have really regret if I had chosen to stay at home.

   
Afterwards it was time for the change over which turned out pretty short. The crew and bands really kept things short and quick but nevertheless made sure the sound was kept in good quality. Next to go were "FiftyFour Planets". Having seen them twice before I was curious what the band was going to do with the big stage since they previous shows were at a small live club here in Lingen called "Alter Schlachthof". The band used the place really well, most of all the Synthesizer Christoph jusmped around a lot as he seems to enjoy a lot. :-) The band has a own idea of sound mixing up classic Punk Rock elements with Synthesizer sounds and a good potion of Hardcore heavy elements. So on some parts they really keep it straight forward to the direct classic punk attitude just to go over without further ado to the hardcore parts that make a pushing, raw sound while the synths give some fine melodies to your ears you won't forget so fast anymore.

It's these versatile mix of sounds that keeps in your ears and makes the music thrilling and you can never know what's comes next. The drum patterns are sometimes kept unusual giving it a even more own character. You should definitely check out their noise in the tube player below. The only thing I still cannot feel fine with is the reaction of the audience. Why not give some applause to the band, why not show some enthusiasm? The band really layed it down heavy so there was absolutely no reason to hang around calmly and not giving the slightest form of reward to the band. The vocalist was right as he counted the applauding people and pointed at them (I was one of them :-) and thanked them for their reaction.



Last to go on my list were "Acoustic Steel". As their name already let's you guess they are drawn towards the heavier side of music but in a acoustic form. That said you may expect the usual tracks to be heard, mostly slow stuff and ballads. Sure the band has them in their set but most of all they also pick up tracks from the really heavy depths of metal like Slayers all-time classic "Seasons in the abyss" that you wouldn't even think of to be remade in a acoustic version. But this band manages to do so in a serious way, so all of the typical elements of the original tracks are kept intact, it's just that they rework them to fit to their attempt to the music. It's even cooler that the drummer uses Cajons and percussion to play his parts and that fit's also to the picture. Their set was filled with a lot of classics amongst them some Iron Maiden numbers like "Run to the hills" and "Fear of the dark" but they also weren't afraid to pick up Body Counts "Copkiller" for a acoustic version. The audience reacted quite well and showed some cool sing-along with dancing and giving a lot of applause to the band which was well deserved.

The peak of the show in my ears was their cover of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" which I never had thought the people to go along so much on it. I guess the australian rocker may even have liked to see this performace for themselves. Anyway here I've got their current videoclip for you to check out. Besides going serious on the music the band also put's out some fun stuff making sure they never take things too serious so it's also good for having a smile on this very monday. The only thing I would wish for is the band to write own songs and play them. I love their covers but it would also be cool to see them performing their own numbers. But I've hope that this will happen since they aren't around for too long yet.


All in all it was a cool evening and I enjoyed every minute of it. Please keep the good work up all you people at the team of the "Rock am Pferdemarkt" as well as all of the bands showing up there. Hope to see you all around again!

A Place to Fall upload new tune from the coming record

The second album from the german band "A Place to Fall" is taking shape step by step. The band has uploaded a new full track to Youtube which shows again a very versatile and technical but also raw and heavy approach to writing music in a modern way without forgetting traditional elements.

I like those little elements and variations the band put's inside - it gives them a different note to the obvious heavier elements and makes listen closely well worth it. Same goes for the vocals which vary from clear and pure to dark and screaming.

The full record will be entitled "Call to salvation" and is planned to be released in 2015. Until then check out "We're fading away". Make sure to keep track of the next band steps by following them on Facebook or visit their homepage. They are doing shows from time to time, mostly local gigs in Meppen but they are also confirmed to play in Hannover in December 2015. Just check the proper section on their website.

A Place To Fall stream first full song from upcoming EP

Support local bands! This band is from Meppen/Lingen (that's located in Lower Saxony, Germany) and they stream one full song from the upcoming EP. Check it out if you like bands in the style of Trivium.

They convinced me when they played at a small Open Air festival this year in Lingen called "Rock at the Church", a fine festival with no entrance fee nearby a church in the town of Lingen. They support the local band scene so it's well worth going there plus the atmosphere is nice.

The current line-up:

Vocals + Bass: Sebastian Molleker 
Lead Guitar : Malte Hornung Rhythm 
Guitar: Oliver Aepken 
Drums: Daniel Lübken

You can follow the further band activities by checking out their Facebook web presence.