Well I promo'd this is as much as I could Over the last few months. You're either sick of the posts by now or have been waiting for today for the album to release. Well that day is here and the album is indeed ready for purchase. I've added it to the Amazon widget over to the side so you can get your digital copy if you're so inclined. Good luck guys, I hope this is a success for you as the numbers start rolling in. You deserve it.
So after the last couple of months of talking about this album it's finally getting the stream before you buy treatment. Head over to Metal Underground to check it out and then come back and tell me what you think. If you like it make sure you get a copy on February 1st through Metal Blade Records.
Here is a cool opportunity. Death Angel is holding a sweepstakes for a chance to win tickets to any shows on their upcoming tour with Lazarus A.D. and Bonded by Blood. You bet your butt I entered this thing. Here is the official statement from Death Angel.
"We want to see you at the show! Enter your name into the drawing and you could win a pair of tickets to a show on our North American Tour"
I've extolled the virtues of this album already more then once and Metal Blade is continuing to promote the hell out of it as they should. But each of the three songs that have been released before the album drops have been from different areas. I almost wish they'd just stream the album on Myspace for a day like everyone else does and then reap the rewards of sales coming in.This time the song being streamed is 'Casting Forward' and it can be heard on this interview conducted by Decibel magazine. The track in my opinion is not one of the stronger tracks on the cd but to each his own.
Yes I'm still talking about this band and this album. And I will continue to do so until it's released. Black Rivers Flow is that good. There are two singles that have released so far.Well thats to say 'The Ultimate Sacrifice' is supposed to be at this link. It must have been taken down but instead has a cool Making of Video and links to order the cd and some merch from. I actually agree with everything that is said about the direction of the album. Here it is.
The other place is Noisecreep if you want to hear the title track. Hopefully these songs intrigue people into checking the album out.
I've spoken quite a bit about this band over the past month both in news on the new release and on the last podcast. Here is my brief review of their set when I saw them live in '09. As I've stated before I have high hopes for these guys in making noise on the thrash scene as a potential frontrunner of the new guard. After one listen to the new album Black Rivers Flow it looks like they're well on their way to doing just that.More on this after the jump.
First of all the production on this cd is fantastic. And why shouldn't it be? James Murphy of Death and Testament fame was tapped to do the production and mixing of this and it's light years beyond the debut 'Onslaught' which was already a solid debut release. The guitars have a solid punishing tone as well as the bass. The drums sound cleaner and not buried in the mix like most albums where all you really hear is the double bass. And the vocals by Jeff Paulick have done exactly what I had wished for and improved. For the most part. He is delving into more of a range from almost clean vocals to the screams from before. Where Jeff is really starting to shine is the gruff melodic vocals as in the track 'Casting Forward'. Unfortunately he still delves sometimes into the style of vocals from the first album like in the 'The Strong Prevails' which makes for almost tedious listening.But in the grand scheme of things it's just nitpicking as there are so many improvements in other areas.
This brings me to the songs themselves.There are riffs all over the place on this thing and for the most part it's good and memorable. The opening track 'American Dreams' has such a killer intro that if you're not drawn into this album from there somethings wrong with you. Most of the riffs delve into either speed thrash as in the 'The Ultimate Sacrifice' or groove thrash like in the title track. The last track even delves into ballad territory on 'Eternal Vengeance' before kicking your face in. There is so much variety from each song I can't honestly see anyone getting bored with this release. Unless you don't like any forms of thrash to begin with. Hopefully this album will convert you then.
Overall this is an excellent thrash release and really I see the only thing possibly supplanting it for thrash album of the year is Testament should they release something this year. Not bad for a bunch of guys from Kenosha,WI. Look for Black Rivers Flow to release through Metal Blade Records on February 1st.
Score: 8 Sins out of 10.
Lazarus A.D. made an impact a couple of years ago when the re-thrash movement was in full effect with their debut 'The Onslaught'. I saw them open up for Testament and was impressed with their stage presence and made a note that if they improved the vocals this could be a fantastic thrash band.
Well after two years they've finally released new album details. The banner is the new artwork for the cd due out Febuary 1,2011 entitled Black River Flows.
This quote is what has me excited:
On 'Black Rivers Flow', everyone stepped up their game; the riffs are heavier, the choruses catchier, and the vocals have improved and been diversified tenfold.
I can't think of too many better ways to spend a Friday night then going to see one of your favorite bands in concert. In this case Testament was playing the Fillmore on Friday night in San Francisco and overall it was alot of fun. Here's some interesting notes and such from that night.
1. Laaz Rockit was the unbilled first band up and it was a cool surprise. I remember those guys from the early to mid 80's as I believe one of the members was local to my hometown. I forgot they had reformed after breaking up in the early 90's. Anyways they looked their age but they were thrashing it up on stage and having fun. Here is a vid from their heyday brief as it was.
2. This was my first ever show at the Fillmore. It has only been recently that I've been hitting the smaller clubs to see the bands I like. During my heavy concert going in the 80's and 90's it was mainly arenas. There's definitely a different vibe being in close quarters.
3. For the first time ever I came away with a souvenir from the band. A guitar pick with Alex Skolnick's name and the band logo on it.
Ok on to the show itself. Let me first say that the Fillmore is a great place to go catch a concert. Parking is not that bad as there is alot of garages in the area. The hallways outside of the stage and floor are narrow but the floor itself is pretty spacious. And the sound is pretty good overall. It's loud but you can pick out every aspect of the band.
The bill itself had Lazarus A.D. officially opening then Unearth and Testament closing it out. Lazarus put on a great show. This band has put together some killer thrash tunes on their debut cd Onslaught and had some great energy up there. I actually look forward to the vocalist improving his vocal skills on future releases as there is definite room for improvement but the attitude is there.Here is the video off the debut album.
Then Unearth played their set and I give them an A for heaviness but otherwise I wasn't digging these guys too much. Not as much energy as Lazarus and frankly their songs all sounded the same and left me bored. Even when they tried to hit some groove riffs it was just lacking something for me. I was actually more entertained by my buddy Malastrana's friend actually going into the pit and tensing up for a couple of passes around then hitting the floor. The other thing that struck me at what an absolute clown the mohawk guitarist was being up there. Showmanship is constantly spitting your drink out of your mouth, spitting in the air and catching it in your hand to rub in your hair, and spitting in the air to catch it back in your mouth? Oh well they're somebodies cup of tea so to be fair here is a vid of them.
Testament then came out and it was a pretty good show. There were some sound problems throughout their set with Chuck Billy's mic but it was a solid set. Almost every track was the thrashiest track over the course of their career. There was a poll on Testament's myspace page to let fans vote on which set they should play at each stop. The choices were New Order + greatest hits,Practise what you preach plus greatest hits, or a compilation of songs including tracks from the latest album. With this being the 1st time I've ever seen them live I voted C and thankfully that is what won out. Here is the set list.
The Persecuted Won’t Forget
Practice What You Preach
Into the Pit
Dog Faced Gods
Raging Waters
More Than Meets The Eye
Demonic
True Believer
The Legacy
Over the Wall
The New Order
Souls of Black
First Strike Is Deadly
Disciples of the Watch
D.N.R.
Three Days in Darkness
The Formation of Damnation
Now here is one of the disappointing parts besides mic problems. I don't think the guys played this full set. I don't recall Demonic, Dog Faced Gods, or True Believer being played. Which is to bad because those are some of my favorite tracks post Skolnick in the 90's. But overall it a good show. Here is a vid for More then Meets the Eye off Formation of Damnation. If you haven't picked the cd yet do so. I ranked it as one of the best of last year. At this stage in the game Testament is the best thrash band of the old guard in my opinion. Check them out.
