As another great year for heavy music comes to a close, APESHIT takes a look back at our favorite pieces of music of 2012. This year had some great comebacks in CRYPTOPSY and STRIFE. There were also some nice surprises in the new sheer quality of the new SIX FEET UNDER and brutality of the new SOULFLY.
We want to thank all our readers, friends in the industry, and all the amazing artists, big and small, that we get a chance to work with for a great 10th year of existence. As the music industry as a whole continues to take an economic hit, let us all remember: If you like a band or one of their releases, support it!
Hardcore heroes CONVERGE will be going out on tour this Fall in support of their upcoming album, All We Love We Leave Behind. Coming along for the ride are TORCHE, KVELERTAK, and NAILS and WHIPS/CHAINS for select dates. Check out the tour dates. How can you not come out and see this tour?
All We Love We Leave Behind will be released on October 9th, 2012 on Epitaph Records/Deathwish Inc. Check out a track from CONVERGE‘s recent split release with NAPALM DEATH below.
Back in 1997 when NAPALM DEATH was still on Earache Records and enjoying what is probably best described as the final days of the height of their popularity, they came out with the song, “Breed to Breathe.” The song can be found on the EP of the same name as well as Inside the Torn Apart.
Check out the official video for the song which mixes a live performance along with videos and images of some very violent footage of real life occurences. It’s definitely not safe to view at work nor in front of your mum.
Legendary bands CONVERGE and NAPALM DEATH have come together for a split release on Deathwish Inc.
Recorded as part of their new album sessions, CONVERGE offer up the blazing new song “No Light Escapes.” Also on the release, CONVERGE offer a “We Are the World” styled rendition of the influential ENTOMBED classic “Wolverine Blues.” Joining them in tribute is a number of friends including Tomas Lindberg (DISFEAR, AT THE GATES, LOCK UP), Aaron Turner (ISIS, OLD MAN GLOOM, SPLIT CRANIUM), Kevin Baker (APMD, THE HOPE CONSPIRACY), Brian Izzi (TRAP THEM), and more. A new CONVERGE album will surface later in 2012 on Epitaph/Deathwish Inc.
On the flip side, metal pioneers NAPALM DEATH offer up two new aural monsters. First, “Will By Mouth” erupts in classic grind fashion. Also on the release, NAPALM DEATH offer the slower and textural new song “No Impediment To Triumph (Bhopal)“. A deeply resonant number that lyrically sheds light on the horrific Bhopal Gas Tragedy of 1984.
Long time fans of NAPALM DEATH out in the world and in the media are probably all guilty of one thing…and that is taking NAPALM DEATH for granted. For the past 12 years, NAPALM has done nothing but release consecutive high quality albums starting with the return to form, Enemy of the Music Business. Meanwhile, some new band gets all the attention and hype after releasing an album that doesn’t even come close to NAPALM‘s level of quality.
Utilitarian demonstrates more of the band’s trademark sound. Their driving, grinding, and slamming riffs are all present along with blasting, chugging, and bouncy punk tempos. In the vocal department, Barney injects more of his clean, ominous vocals into the mix in addition to his famous bark. Guitarist/vocalist Mitch Harris contributes a good amount of his punk vocals and when he sings with Barney, it’s excellent. And who can forget the contributions of riffmaster general Shane Embury and unsung drum god Danny Herrera?
Throughout Utilitarian‘s 17 songs, the strong sense of urgency and immediacy is omnipresent as the band scorches through. While fans may obtain the album in strictly mp3 format, they would be doing themselves a disservice by not obtaining the lyrics.
NAPALM continue to stand out as stellar songwriters always remembering that memorable, catchy songs are what makes a great band versus sheer extremity, gimmicks, or costumes. Long live the gods of grind! (Century Media Records)
LOCK UP, the grindcore supergroup featuring genre veterans, Tomas Lindberg, Shane Embury, Nicolas Barker and Anton Reisenegger, has announced its first ever North American tour, a headlining run with GOATWHORE and STRONG INTENTION.
Said drummer, Nick Barker, “After many attempts in the past, sadly to no avail, Lock Up finally gets to make it stateside for a string of shows with our good friends from Louisiana, GOATWHORE. For us in LOCK UP, to play with GOATWHORE in the US is like a dream tour, as they are one of our favorite bands – and being good friends with them too only makes this package even more special to us. Be prepared North America ‘cause we’re coming over to blast your minds into deathgrind oblivion!”
Tour dates:
2/08 – Buffalo, NY @ Club Infinity
2/09 – Albany, NY @ Bogies
2/10 – Boston, MA @ Club Lido
2/11 – Montreal, QC @ Katacombes
2/12 – Tortonto, ON @ Wreck Room
2/13 – Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s
2/14 – Columbus, OH @ Alrosa Villa
2/15 – Baltimore, MD @ Sonar
2/16 – Brooklyn, NY @ Europa
The final list of bands confirmed to play next year’s Maryland Death Fest X has been announced. Headliner acts include GODFLESH, MORBID ANGEL, ELECTRIC WIZARD, NAPALM DEATH, AUTOPSY, and SAINT VITUS. The full roster can be viewed here.
The event will take place May 24-27, 2012 at Club Sonar in Baltimore, Maryland. Tickets go on sale Monday, September 26, 2011. They can be purchased here: http://www.marylanddeathfest.com/.
LOCK UP have set the bar pretty high for properly executing blistering grind albums, and their TERRORIZER-inspired grind/death style is seemingly unstoppable. PENTAGRAM guitarist Anton Reisenegger pays homage to original axe grinder, Jesse Pintado (RIP), by writing a few angry and aggressive songs to say the least.
Upon pressing play, “Brethren of the Pentagram” blasts and grinds your face in immediately, and you can bet that Necropolis Transparent is going to be one hell of an album with no compromise whatsoever. The fury of Nick Barker’s (ex-DIMMU BORGIR) insane drumming, the chaotic guitars, and Tomas Lindberg’s (AT THE GATES) tortured soul all equate to a combination made perfectly from hell. Songs like “Anvil of Flesh,” “Rage Incarnate Reborn,” and “Vomiting Evil” are guitar driven, super catchy, and brutal, with a tinge of the European flavor.
Bringing in Jeff Walker (CARCASS) and ex-LOCK UP vocalist Peter Tägtgren (HYPOCRISY) for a good chunk of the songs sure doesn’t hurt, either. Their vocal styles compliment Lindberg’s harsher style nicely, accenting some catchy lines in a few tracks, such as “Necropolis Transparent,” “Parasite Drama,” and “Through the Eyes of My Shadow Self.”
There are plenty of worthy grind albums these days, but LOCK UP is the closest band to rival the debut album from TERRORIZER. With short, blasting tracks that make sense, this is one of the few “supergroups” who are not overrated, so be sure to pick this one up for a dose of grind filled goodness. Wherever he is, Jesse Pintado is somewhere out there smiling and proud of this effort. (Nuclear Blast Records)
Sometimes being the first band to do something doesn’t necessarily guarantee that first always means best – case in point, TERRORIZER‘s 1989 debut, World Downfall. Sure, one can point to NAPALM DEATH‘s Scum as the birth of grindcore but let’s be honest, the album isn’t very listenable.
Simply put TERRORIZER‘s World Downfall is absolute perfection.
The influence of the legendary World Downfall can be heard in virtually every grindcore, death metal, or extreme metal album that came afterwards. Often times, you can put on an album by a band that came afterwards and hear direct ripoffs. The generations of bands that this record has directly or indirectly influenced is readily apparent in everything from the vocals, riffs, drumming, song structures, and style. Just take the drumming for example. Who in the world was drumming with these kinds of archetypal fills, blast beats, sped up d-beats, and with this kind of complete mastery in 1989 other than Pete Sandoval?
Let us enjoy some selections:
“After World Obliteration“:
“Fear of Napalm“:
“Dead Shall Rise“:
What happens when you gather together a young and hungry Pete Sandoval, David Vincent, Jesse Pintado, and Oscar Garcia? Perfection.
As another great year for heavy music comes to a close, APESHIT takes a look back at our favorite pieces of music of 2012. This year had some great comebacks in CRYPTOPSY and STRIFE. There were also some nice surprises in the new sheer quality of the new SIX FEET UNDER and brutality of the new SOULFLY.
Hardcore heroes 
Legendary bands 
Long time fans of 
The final list of bands confirmed to play next year’s 