Single Review: Drop Oblivion - Detached (Thrash, 2018)

A big pack of riffs and drums that creates so much fun like I had back in the day when starting listening to metal music. Come on take a ride!

Artwork by Barnaby Oakley at Crossfade Productions, (c) by Drop Oblivion, used with kind permission

Summary
Some songs give you this special something. This one has it. As for me the whole thing started to fully come to fruition when I focussed on the way the drums and six-strings add to each other. There are these sections when it feels like being in a loop on a racing track. It simply kicks my brain.

But let us look from the beginning of the new song. This one takes it up where "Damaged Goods" left the road opened up for more. I love this, it feels as if it's one or as if could be recorded at a live set.

There are two main riffs, one slightly lighter on the first verse with a rougher one following later on. Then there is the outworked refrain feeling big and out of this world. The verses offer a hacked feeling that is added by the words that perfectly fit into this structure.

Finally there are softer parts inside. One in the last third of the duration and one at the end. They add a breathing and relaxing note to the package. It's toped by the drums counting in back to the tune after the first section. It's those little things that make something great out of a good tune in my ears.

Purchase-Link / Crowdfunding / Stream
Don't hesitate any longer. Please support this project with a purchase of the track at Bandcamp or reserve the full album on the pre-order campaign. The digital album goes for 10 GBP while the "Detached" single can be downloaded in various formats for 1 GBP. You can also stream the music on Spotify and Soundcloud.



Contact-Data
Also see the Facebook page of Drop Oblivion for all the further progress of the project.

Single Review: Drop Oblivion - Damaged Goods Reworked (Thrash, 2018)

I reviewed and introduced this track already some time ago. Ian Mortimer, the man behind the project has constantly worked on the song since then. Can a good piece of music still be upgraded?

The cover for Damaged Goods, artwork created by Barnaby Oakley Crossfade Productions, (c) by Drop Oblivion

Reworked for the better
The answer is: yes it can! It is nearly unbelieveable how different the new version sounds compared to the previous version. It feels as if a new song comes out of the speakers right now.

In detail "Damaged Goods" sounds much sharper and clearer now. Most of all the different parts and sections come out to the front. Now it's clear how many riffs and finer undertoned effects this track has in it. The guitars are much louder on this version.

A new drum sound also supports the easier understanding of the track - it's like it's putting marks and properly pointing parts into their direction now. It feels easier to get a fast grip of what the song is all about now.

The guitars got some new riffs in them I think. One section is brand new - the one where the guitars are quite for a few seconds.

The vocals have been completly re-done. They have a more constant line in them now. The overall tonality of the demonicness feels like one layer being constant through the whole duration now.

It's fascinating to hear how much one track can change with such a overhaul. Very well done!

Purchase-Link & Album Crowdfunding
Pick up a copy from the digital plattform Bandcamp. It costs 2 GBP. More platforms will follow in the coming days. I'll add them as them come in.

Currently a full album is in it's finishing stages. Please help to cover the expenses for mixing, mastering and worldwide release with pre-ordering a digital copy of "Narcissistic Councilor" for 10 GBP via Crowdfunder.

Contact Data
Be sure to follow this project further through the Facebook band page of Drop Oblivion.

Single Review: Drop Oblivion - Damaged Goods (Thrash, 2017)

The last days of the year are running but there's still something going on. This time it's a brutal piece of heavy music coming our way giving a idea of how 2018 could sound like.

The single cover for "Damaged Goods" without background and title, (c) by Drop Oblivion, used with kind permission

Introduction
Drop Oblivion is the brain child of UK based solo composer Ian Mortimer. After getting into the local Metal scene in 2006 performing with various bands over the years, he started an outlet in 2014 for his own heavy creations with Drop Oblivion.

Originally conceived as a “just for fun” project, Ian began working with other musicians on some initial demo tracks,  and created an entire album of material over the course of a few days. As Ian progressed and focused on performing with his other ambient project “Skin For A Canvas”, Drop Oblivion took a back seat for a few years until 2017 when new demos were taken into full production at his home studio in England. The first single taster track for the new album was released in December 2017 titled “Damaged Goods”. The completed album is expected for release late 2018.

Summary
It's a plaesure to see that one man can give heavy music a push into a new direction. The fine thing about this single track is it's continous push it gives. I like the constant going of the drums and the overall song-structure as composed to sound as one piece. Guitars are riff-oriented but not too loud making the listening experience smooth.

It's also fine to hear that the vocals take part on this journey and also it remains sounding as one bold metal track it also changes in it's way of dark tonality. There are many various undertones of the dark vocals that are presented with various pressure. The end comes a bit surprising with a guitar solo offered as part of the song structure instead of forming a own part as usual.

Track-Stream & Purchase-Link
If you're into experimental heavy, let's say mostly thrashy music this one is a ear to keep upon. Devin Townsend came to my mind but also slight comparsions with Trivium rushed in every here and there. Expect raw heavyness mixed with little surprises and lot's of riffs with modern sound well produced for your listening pleasure.

Pick up a copy from the digital plattforms such as Bandcamp, CD Baby and Spotify
Have a listen by checking the visual video below.

Contact-Data
Make sure to follow Drop Oblivion on Facebook. The full album is set for release late 2018.

Watch Rock am Ring festival 2016 via Livestream

The open air season goes on! This weekend the legendary Rock am Ring festival will take place. For all those who cannot make it there it's surely great news that their will be a livestream of that event already starting TODAY!

The portal ARTE concert has announced to stream the following bands or set up videos as a stream on demand service (all times are MEST)

Friday 03. June 2016

15:35 - 16:30h  Amon Amarth
16:55 - 17:50h  Breaking Benjamin 
17:50 - 18:45h  Frittenbude    
18:45 - 19:45h  Disturbed   
19:50 - 21:20h  Tenacious D.
21:20 - 22:00h  Panic At The Disco
22:00 - 00:00h  Volbeat  
00:00 - 01:10h  The 1975 (Recording)

Saturday 04. June 2016
Foals / Trivium / Billy Talent / Heaven Shall Burn / Red Hot Chili Peppers / Bullet For My Valentine

Update for day 3 of the Rock am Ring livestream: the organizers have decided to close the festival due to another massive warning on the weather forecast and the city Mendig having taken down the permission for the festival. So there will be no performances and no broadcast. The linked stream page offers some of the shows of the past days as video on demand (scroll down to the bottom of the website).

Update 2 on the Rock am Ring livestream: the concerts and the broadcast will continue on 21h (MEST). The exact schedule is to be confirmed yet. Please check the subpage of the livestream for details.

Update for the Rock am Ring livestream Saturday 04. June 2016: currently the livestream shows only recorded material from yesterday. There has been a electric power failure but the staff is working hard to get the live broadcast back online again. Current plans say that it should be back at 20h (MEST) but a thunderstorm has been announced in the weather forecast so changes are always possible. The current schedule looks like this:

19:50 - 21:20 Uhr: Billy Talent

21:20 - 22:00 Uhr: Killswitch Engage

22:00 - 23:10 Uhr: Heaven Shall Burn

23.13 - 00:45 Uhr: Red Hot Chili Peppers

00:45 - 02:00 Uhr: Bullet For My Valentine

Sunday 05. June 2016
Wirtz / Johnossi / Bring Me The Horizon / SDP / Korn / Alligatoah / Biffy Clyro / Fettes Brot

The performance of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers will also be broadcasted on german television!

Stay tuned to this page as I update it wth info as soon as possible. Or have a eye on my Facebook page that I'll update with the latest info, too.

You'll find the stream of the Open Air and the on demand stuff on the website of ARTE concert.

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.

Summer sampler from Roadrunner Records up for free download

Summer is my favorite time of the year. Everythings much better in this season - weather, the people are more happy and you feel more powerfull.

Roadrunner Records seems to be in a good mood as well and gives us a free label sampler for download. Check this location for the download.

The tracklist reads as follows:

1. Stone Sour - 'House of Gold & Bones'
2. Killswitch Engage - 'A Tribute To The Fallen'
3. Trivium - 'Through Blood And Dirt And Bone'
4. Gojira - 'The Axe'
5. King 810 - 'Fat Around The Heart'
6. The Amity Affliction - 'Pittsburgh'
7. Theory Of A Deadman 'Drown'
8. WeAreHarlot - 'Denial'
9. Black Stone Cherry - 'Me and Mary Jane'
10. Marmozets - 'Why Do You Hate Me'
11. Dream Theater - 'The Enemy Inside'
12. The Devil Wears Prada - 'Sailor’s Prayer'
13. Heartist - 'Pressure Point'
14. Kvelertak - 'Kvelertak'
15. Opeth - 'Cusp of Eternity'

You can also check out the songs by clicking on the song widget below. Enjoy summer! :-)

Graspop Metal Meeting webstream broadcasts several band performances

This weekend another big, fat classic of the festival season is taking place in Belgium. It's time for the Graspop Metal Meeting. For all those of you like me who can't be there I have a little goodie. I've looked a bit around and found out that there's a official stream for the festival running. They also show of interviews and reports of the festival so you should get a good impression of what's going on over there.

At the moment the infopage says that for today Civil War, Trivium, Gojira and Satyricon will be broadcasted. The table a little further down the page even speaks of a broadcast of the show from Alter Bridge.

Tomorrow shows from Tiamat, Comeback Kid, and Schirenic plays pungent are announced for the stream. The only little cumber so far seems that you'll need to have Silverlight installed to watch it. Anyway, if you like these bands just jump over to the site where the stream and the information table with playing times is located and enjoy it.

Watch Rock im Park 2014 liveshows through internet webstream

The little twin of the well know Rock Am Ring Festival kicks off today, one day after the big brother started last night. This festival features mostly the same bands as the bigger one just with a little time gap in between.

The best of all: you can be there also if you don't have a ticket to the show. Just go to the internet livestream that is directly provided through the official homepage of the festival.

For a detailed list of bands and stage time please check in at the schedule on the proper subpage of the event. Have a good time everybody! :-)

Listening blast: hear the full new albums from Trivium,Dream Theater and Korn

By now that the autumn time is back a lot of bands seem to have just waited for the right time to bring their new CDs out. Happily a lot of them give us the chance to listen to the full albums before buying them so you everyone can check them out before buying them.

Let's start with the new Korn album called "Paradigm Shift". I like it, it comes with a fresh attempt but also has a lot of the old raw power of the band. Plus it features a track named "Never, Never". It's about how it is when you hearts broken. Who didn't already had to deal with this emotion? Anyway, here's the stream for all of you out there:


Korn - Prey For Me on MUZU.TV


To you yearn for some fresh more thrash-alike metal music? Then the new Trivium album "Vengeance falls" might be what you're looking for. The first free download track "Brave this storm" already gave hope that the album might be a killer, but the album stream now proves that this band is excellent. Check it out for yourselfes at this page.

The last in todays row are progmetal veterans Dream Theater with the new output simply entitled "Dream Theater". In my eyes they go more straight to the meat with this one, which is very welcomed by me. The last track is too lenghty in my eyes. Less repeatings and well known song structures would have worked out fine here IMHO. Listen to the full album at the Rolling Stones website.

Wacken Livevideos back online again

There are currently some videos of these years Wacken Open Air back online again. For a limited time (mostly a week) you can watch live footage from Trivium, Motörhead and the amazing Heaven shall burn gig again. Have a good time with these goodies.:-)

http://www.zdf.de/ZDFmediathek/beitrag/video/1395110/Wacken-2011-Motoerhead-und-Trivium?bc=kua884716;kua1527208

Liveshows from Megadeth, Trivium and Korn

The december is a expensive months for most of us. Christmas is near and it's time to give some nice presents to all those people who are next to you or who do matter the most to you. Anyway, this shouldn't keep you from having the possibility to watch some fine concerts also tickets aren't cheap and bands aren't always touring every country in the world. Here is some live stuff I gathered on youtube. Enjoy and share these gifts with as many of your friends as possible. :-)






Edit and Update 12/18/2011: the second part of the Trivium set has been taken off from youtube. Don't know why, I just found out for myselfs and just wanted to let you know so you hopefully don't wonder what's up with this. If you have more info on this, please let me know I'd like to know and put up a new link, if that's legally possible.

Trivium

Maybe you've already heard about them - their music has become more popular in the last months through touring with Iron Maiden, playing at Wacken this year. Soon they will tour with Dream Theater in the US! I've been introduced to them by looking the stream of their performance at Wacken Open Air. Wow, many power! A mixture of thrash with some melody and a modern production with a cool vocalist. I'm listening to "Black" from the actual album "In Waves" while typing these lines. You can do it too - and even hear the full album legally for free from the Roadrunner Website. Here you go:

Trivium - In Waves full album stream