Folk metal has never really had a strong foothold in the WNY music scene, but all that changed when some talented musicians from Buffalo and Rochester decided to get together in April of 2013 and craft their own brand of it. The band is called Throne of Wilderness and they produce a sound reminiscent of the bands that started folk metal in the first place.
Big European acts like Ensiferum and Korpiklaani are widely regarded as being authorities in the genre, but Throne of Wilderness takes an honest approach to early folk and early thrash. This makes for quite a dynamic and with a collaboration of talent like this, it’s pretty hard to leave one of their shows disappointed, regardless of what kind of metal you’re into.
The band is made up of Allana Sturm (vocals, whistle), Kevin Murphy (guitar, vocals), Josh Mason (guitar), James Hallenbeck (accordian and keys), Jason Roman (bass) and Eareckson Murray (drums). Allana has a fun way of working the crowd like no other I’ve seen. She commands the audience with stories of mythical creatures and enchanted forests, while leaving no excuse to not be a folk metal fan by the end of the set. Kevin’s vocals compliment her’s perfectly, giving the classic folk metal choir sound to their songs. Josh Mason, already a well established metal musician in Rochester with his other band, Nazgul, brings his own array of crushing guitar skills to the table, while James keeps the folk alive with his accordian skills, and Jason and Eareckson provide the perfect rhythm section to back the entire group.
Furthermore, it’s hard to be a part of Buffalo’s metal scene without having heard of Eareckson Murray. He’s a longtime supporter and promoter of shows, and also lays down sick guitars and vocals for local thrash 3 piece, Cain. All this being said, if you’re a fan of any kind of metal and you haven’t heard this band yet, don’t sleep on your next chance to check them out. Your next opportunities to see them are Saturday March 21 at the Rockin’ Buffalo Saloon and Saturday April 18 at the Tudor Lounge.
Acrassicauda, derived from a Latin word for a species of black scorpion commonly found in the Middle East, originally hails from Baghdad, Iraq. Formed in 2001, they are often hailed as being the first heavy metal band to emerge from Iraq and were made famous in 2007, when they became the basis for the internationally acclaimed documentary, Heavy Metal In Baghdad. Back in those days, the band was persecuted to no end by Islamic militants operating under the Saddam Hussein regime and condemned as Satan worshipers. They had to sneak in and out of their well-concealed basement practice space, while under the constant threat of attack, only to find it destroyed by a missile during an insurgency uprising one day. All of their equipment was destroyed.
Heavily influenced by western bands like, Slipknot, Slayer and Metallica, they were only able to play two or three shows during the entire time they were still based in their homeland and in the midst of being seemingly hunted for playing heavy metal, some of their fans died for having listened to it. One of their first performances included a song called “The Youth of Iraq” which the band was forced to write in support of Saddam Hussein. Headbanging was banned, because it was considered to be too similar to the head movements of Jews during prayer.
But all of that is behind them now. Acrassicauda applied for asylum in the United States shortly after the taping of Heavy Metal in Baghdad and were granted green cards one year after that. In fact, on their second day in the US, the band was able to watch their oldest musical influence, Metallica, perform at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. Afterwards, they were allowed to go backstage and meet their idols.
The band currently resides in Brooklyn, New York and has an EP under their belts called Only the Dead See the End of the War, released by Vice Records in 2010. They followed up that release with a performance at the Scion Rock Fest in Columbus, Ohio, where they played with Cannibal Corpse, Voivod and others. A few national tours came later and in 2012, when they opened for Ministry, Ministry’s frontman, Al Jourgensen was quoted saying, “Acrassicauda is my favorite band.”
Furthermore, after 14 long arduous years, the band is finally on the verge of releasing their first full length album, called Gilgamesh, to be released on April 4, 2015.
All this being said, any struggling band with talent who’s thinking about calling it quits because of monetary setbacks, scheduling conflicts, high school drama or a general lack of productivity, perhaps all of the above, needs to take a hard look at Acrassicauda’s career and rethink things. This band is the physical embodiment of perseverance, and after only having seen Heavy Metal in Baghdad just recently, I’m already so proud of these brave guys and their accomplishments.
Check out the links below and support this great metal act, who clawed their way out of hell and lived to tell the tale.
By now, anyone who frequents local metal shows in Buffalo has heard of I’m From the Government and I’m Here to Help. Having seen these guys live many times myself, I wanted to give the dedicated metal show goers of our town a behind-the-scenes look at this particular band, and why I think they’re worth a listen to anyone who isn’t familiar with them. Personally, I’d recommend these guys to any fan of any kind of metal, because I think they have something for everyone in the metal world. Their performances are energetic, their songs are incredibly catchy, and they stay just as brutally heavy as they do honest and melody driven, for the duration of their tunes.
Recently, I had an opportunity to catch up with Tom Bieler (vocals), Robby Warren (guitar) and Steve Keicher (drums), and ask them a few important questions about their project. Here’s what they had to say.
Mike Marlinski: Where does the name I’m From the Government and I’m Here to Help come from and how would you describe your music to new listeners?
Robby Warren: The name comes from the famous words said by President Reagan during a speech as “the 9 most terrifying words in the English language”. He couldn’t have been more right and those words still hold value today.
Tom Bieler: I almost wanted to name the band, I’m a Firefighter and I’m Here to Help You, but the government quote was a lot better. I would describe our sound to new listeners as metal. Too many people focus on sub-genres nowadays and it isn’t helping local scene unity at all.
Steve Keicher: For new listeners, I would describe our sound as being heavy with some underlying melody, whether it be vocals or guitars, with influences ranging from hard rock, heavy metal and hardcore. Modern American Heavy!
MM: What kind of music were you raised on? Who are your musical influences?
RW: I was raised on a lot of classic rock, ‘80s hair metal and country from being raised by my mom. Once I found Megadeth at 10 or 11, it was all metal there on out. My guitar influences range from Dimebag Darrell to Ted Nugent to Marty Friedman.
TB: I was raised on mostly rock in the same vein as Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Tom Petty, Billy Joel and stuff like that. Once I hit high school, it was all Wu-tang and skate punk music like Millencolin and Bad Religion.
SK: I was raised on a wide variety of things. My parents listened to everything from The Doors and The Beatles to Alabama and Charlie Daniels. I grew up with some older cousins who were always jamming the heavy stuff so Sepultura, Suicidal Tendencies, Slayer and Metallica invaded my ears when I was in like 4th grade.
Everyone was always skating and blasting thrash! MTV was huge while I was growing up too. Pop music was everywhere, then I saw that first Nirvana video. Pantera wasn’t far behind either. I’m constantly trying to discover new bands and things to listen to. Lately it’s been old psyche rock bands from the ‘60s and ‘70s, bands like Blue Cheer, The Nice, Joshua and a ton more.
MM: Who do you typically listen to on the way to a performance?
RW: On my way to a show, I’m usually listening to something very heavy to get me psyched up. As I Lay Dying is a regular to get me pumped.
TB: Just whatever’s in the CD player. Lately it’s been Seplophile and Makhai, both Buffalo locals.
SK: Since a show night tends to be filled with a lot of loud and heavy music, I tend to listen to hip hop to get pumped or old classic rock to just chill out and focus.
MM: Do you have future touring plans? Where are you hoping to tour?
RW: I hope we are able to tour in the near future, but who knows how realistic that is. These days it’s tough to do it with bills and such at home, while making next to nothing being on the road. It is a dream of mine though and I hope to at least tour the east coast.
TB: If the demand for a tour comes and we’re able to do it then that would be really rad. The truth is we’re all hardworking American men and have jobs and we can’t just leave our responsibilities at a moment’s notice.
SK: I would love to travel with this band. I’d love to see the west coast, and from there, possibly some European cities. I’ve always loved to travel, so any place outside of the norm would be fine with me.
MM: Do the five of you have a common major musical influence? Who would you collectively love to open for one day?
RW: We all have our own style we bring to the band to create what you hear. I can’t say we all have a common musical influence, but that makes for something truly special having that many different influences coming together. We would love to open for any major band out there in the metal world. It is always very exciting to share the stage with a band you listen to. I personally would be able to die a happy man if we got to open for Megadeth.
TB: Collectively, we have a really wide range of influences, so I don’t know if we would agree on one band between us. I would love to open for a classic metal band like Iron Maiden or Megadeth.
SK: I can’t say if we all collectively have a common influence. The age range (23?-33?) in this band is funny, but I feel that’s what brings all sorts of different influences to the table. We all want to write heavy, memorable songs that connect with the listener on some level. Musical, lyrical, emotional, spiritual, whatever.
MM: Can you recall a specific news story or personal experience that first motivated you to take the band’s lyrics in a political direction?
RW: Tom, that’s all you. (laughs)
TB: I think it’s important to have meaningful song lyrics. We sing songs about things that matter to everyday Americans like you and me. We worry about drones, we worry about politics and religion and we worry about getting through the day and taking care of our business.
MM: Does the band have an overall message you all wish to convey to your audience with each performance and studio release? If so, what is that message?
RW: The overall message we try to give our audience, whether it’s live or in the studio, is that we must unite and stand for what we believe in, whether it’s against a shaky government or uniting with our brothers and sisters in the metal scene.
TB: Musically speaking, I think the one thing we try to convey in everything that we put out is the importance of riffs. We’re lucky to have some tremendous guitarists. At the end of the day metal is all about the riffs!
MM: What can we expect from the next EP?
SK: New songs. (smiles)
RW: The next EP is going to have lots of exciting guitar work, pummeling drums, sick bass ripping, and of course lots of hard truth.
TB: The next EP is going to be a step up. I think we set a pretty high standard with “Hard Truth/Forced Unity” and now we have to meet and exceed that standard. It’s a challenge but I think we have the right songs to do it.
Below is a full stream of their debut EP, “Hard Truth/Forced Unity”:
It’s no secret that ‘Armageddon’ is one of the most overused metal band names in history, with over 800 entries on Metal Archives alone. That being said, too many metal heads that shouldn’t be overlooking this particular ‘Armageddon’, have been for far too long. Formed in Sweden in 1997 by Chris Amott (ex- Arch Enemy), Armageddon has been home to a revolving door of session musicians, who have all happily catered to Amott’s array of metal writing concepts. Captivity & Devourment is the band’s first release since 2003’s Three.
The album features ten beautifully composed songs, all of which flawlessly pay homage to Sweden’s original melodic death metal sound. It kicks off with the title track, “Captivity & Devourment”, which has a more traditional death metal feel. This tune gives us our first opportunity to hear Matt Hallquist (Under A Serpent Sun) expertly deliver his signature punchy death metal vocals over Amott’s guitar work, and although Hallquist’s screams (traditional highs and lows) are nothing out of the ordinary, they compliment the music perfectly.
The album continues with the tracks “Locked In” and “Rendition”. These two tracks are instantly memorable and pack more of Amott’s signature melodic hooks and anthem like solos. However, the riffs are just as heavy and driving as they are insanely catchy. We even get a chance to hear Amott’s fantastic clean vocals by this point in the album, on “Rendition”.
The album’s fourth track, “Fugitive Dust”, was in my opinion, a perfect choice for a single. It kicks off with an ’80s sci-fi style intro, reminiscent of the soundtrack to the movie, “Blade Runner”. It then instantly kicks in to the main riff, a classic choppy melodeath riff, with quick pick scrapes and three note harmonic sweeps, adding even more to the mechanical sci-fi feel of the entire track. Hardly surprising, since their first album, Crossing the Rubicon (1997), was entirely science fiction themed. (Scroll down for the “Fugitive Dust”video)
Other songs like, “Conquer,” “Thanatron” and “The Watcher”really bring the initial ideas behind this album to fruition. We even get to hear more of Amott’s clean vocals on the track, “Equalizer”. As a whole, Captivity & Devourment is destructive, beautiful, masterfully layered, sinister, sludgy and downright metal. Fans of this genre shouldn’t be able to ignore this one.
Armageddon is now based in New York City and are currently taking the upper east coast by storm on their No Dead Weight tour with Framework. All the details for this tour are on Armageddon’s Facebook page. If you have the opportunity to check out one of these shows, I’d advise you to do so!
Albany based band Bishop might have been described at times as an alternative metal or hard rock act, as their blatant use of loud, blasphemous guitars suggests, but their upcoming album, Hate Wide Open, set to drop Jan. 6, has more to offer.
From an overall perspective, Hate Wide Open, is an experience in groovy, hard rock mixed with the melodic type of vocals. The instrument section, composed of three brothers – Tom Semeraro on guitar and lead vocals, Rocco Semeraro on drums and backing vocals, and Vincent Padula on bass and backing vocals — who also generate a fairly tight system of vocals based around their lead singers melody. The music is not far from groove – oriented hard rock. Clutch fans will enjoy the riff driven guitars, rather than stand alone chords — the latter of which is all but absent in the album, while Anthrax and Metallica fans will likely enjoy the vocal styles. And finally, Bishop, clearly understand the necessity of deliberation in an album. If nothing else, Hate Wide Open hits its listener in the jaw.
You’ll be able to shout along, bang your head, and nod to the groove in your car.
Unfortunately, the album is far from perfect. Bishop seems to have committed three great sins against their own ministry. One is that the album is repetitive. Guitars repeat the same scale all too much, and follow the same pattern. Songs such as the title track, and Pretty, come off as a rehashing of Clutch’s Blast Tyrant, Anthrax, and at times even Mötley Crüe. And these combinations result in the listener’s belief that Bishop’s ability to write is limited, and worse, it can cause the listener boredom.
Likewise, some of the lead vocals come off as lazy, as at certain points, they lack integrity, or may have been rushed through the recording process. In these instances, Tom Semeraro’s voice simply seems tired, it drags on for just too long.
Luckily, Hate Wide Open ,contains a few tricky twists, at least enough to keep the listening party active for one full round. “Awaken” is a brilliantly a constructed straight rock ballad — it seems to draw its influence from a few different acts and sounds different from any other song on the album — transitioning from an emotional acoustic dance to heavy sway.
Further, the album is strong with enough NOLA type riffs, along the lines of Down or Crowbar, to further the great energy the album has. In similar fashion, “Neverland” is quite possibly the strongest track on the album. It twists straight rock with psychedelic build. If this song doesn’t capture your attention, few things will.
Overall, Hate Wide Open, is a solid attempt, but Bishop doesn’t really bless us with this one. They would do well to reevaluate how songs are written — and although the album is energetic — it just doesn’t satisfy. But don’t worry, guys, we’ll give you a second chance. Say ten Hail Mary’s and we’ll consider you absolved.
The album can be purchased directly from the band at bishopmusic.com.
