Psy:Code “MØRKE” Album Review + Stream + 360degree Video…

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Psy:Code

MØRKE – Vinyl // Digital Download

Independent – Released – July 29th, 2017

Reviewed by Mike Hackenschmidt

 

Lineup:
Schou/ Vocals
SteiN / Guitar
JezpR / Guitar
Dag / Bass
Gøtsche / Drums

 

 

Review:
Psy:Code is a Danish modern hardcore / deathcore act who recently signed to Pavement Entertainment. Mørke is their 3rd independent release that’s created a stir of interest just before their recent signing. According to their website, it’s been a dream of Psy:Code’s to go to America and play their music and between signing with an American label and the scene’s current fascination with deathcore and grind core, the timing couldn’t be better for Psy:Code to realize their aspirations.

Starting with the cover, I’m not exactly sure what they’re going for with this one. The plant and the head and the skull… no clue. I was hoping translating the album title would shed some light on this. Ironically, Mørke is Danish for darkness. I guess that’s where I’m going to stay on this one for now. Maybe one of my readers can explain it to me? I love symbolism when I’m smart enough to get the reference.

Musically, this album starts with some slow guitars, slightly off-tune guitars for a few seconds before going hard and heavy. Schou growl-screams his way through the album Anselmo-style; though there are some periodical clean backing vocals for effect. How original that is? Well… I’d tend to say not very.

Where I think Psy:Code is going to garner most of their fans is from the technical guitar work from SteiN and/or JezpR. To be honest, there’s not much indication who’s playing the lead here so it could be one or the other or both. While the capitalization seems random the song structure tends to be more technical and progressive. This is an area where my expertise is extremely limited, though I can say that the guitar has six strings… except when it doesn’t.

Pro Band Pic

Interestingly, to write and compose Mørke, Psy:Code recluded themselves to a cabin in the Swedish wilderness. If the story in their Riven video is truth, the plan was to make some awesome metal. Instead, they got drunk. I can’t say how many times this has happened to me. Not the part about the Swedish cabin or the part about making awesome metal… just the getting drunk part. Perhaps you can relate? Anyway, what came out doesn’t appear to be the work of drunken fools so I assume they were just kidding. That or I need to start writing shit down when I have a few beers in me. I can hardly operate a pen sober… so maybe not?

Lyrically speaking, I’m not sure what they’re singing. I scoured the internet for lyrics but the best I could find was a lyric video for Riven. They seem to like this song, as this is 2nd video I could find for it. Riven seems to be about being scarred by a vicious former lover or perhaps an over-bearing parent. I’m a little confused but the recurring line “I can’t receive”. I don’t know how this ties into the rest of the words.

In conclusion, Psy:Code is a hard hitting band and  Mørke is a hard hitting album that’s going to appeal to those who enjoy a more technical sound. I believe some will criticize it for lacking variety, which might be a legitimate concern for those who like me who can’t follow the progression. In this case, I think you either get it or you don’t. Check them out and see what you think.

Additional Links:
http://www.psycode.info/

https://psycode.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/psycodedk/

https://www.youtube.com/user/PsycodeDK

The Interbeing “Among The Amorphous” Album Review + Stream…

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The Interbeing

Among the Amorphous – Vinyl // CD // DD // Signed Merch

Long Branch Records / Prime Collective – released June 23rd 2017

Reviewed by Terry “The Ancient One” Cuyler

 

A couple days ago my friend Brett Windnage of Lascaille’s Shroud and Soulmass posted a link to a video by a band of Danish Metalers from Copenhagen that I had never heard of called The Interbeing. After reading his post telling people how the band had crowdfunded it’s latest album Among the Amorphous through a kickstarter and spent two years making it I kinda felt the music merited a listen. So I cranked my speakers to 11, clicked my mouse on the YouTube link and enlarged the screen to full size and WHAMO!!  My ears were filled with futuristic tech metal and an amazing Sci-Fi themed Music Video to introduce their new album.

 

 

For those who are unfamiliar with The Interbeing, the band’s origins began in 2001 with a shared vision of founding members – vocalist Dara Toibin, guitarist Torben Pedersen and bassist Jacob Hansen to create a metal band with an innovative sound influenced by several genres. It was in 2006 that the band started to truly develop their sound with the addition of guitarist and electronic sound master Boas Segal and percussionist Kristoffer Egefelt whose technical skill helped The Interbeing seize a place for themselves in Denmark’s metal scene with the release of its demo Perceptual Confusion. Since their formation The Interbeing has been nominated for the 2008 ‘Talent of the Year’ award at the Danish Metal Awards and Band of the week on Bandbase.dk.

In 2010, The Interbeing won the Best Metal Act at the Underground Music Awards and the Royal Metal Grand Prix. Then they slammed into the Danish Metal scene with their first full album Edge of the Obscure in 2011 which received much acclaim in Denmark’s music magazine GAFFA as album of the year.  Not being too familiar with The Interbeing myself and with my distrust of media hype, I decided to give the band’s past releases a listen on Bandcamp and I believe I can say with certainty I will being buying their past albums as well.

 

Pro band pic

 

The Interbeing’s latest album Among the Amorphous is a masterful blending of metal, with bellicose hardcore vocals and breakdowns, moving clear vocals in the choruses throughout that hearken back to good old fashioned power metal, with ethereal synthesizer movements and heavy dub beats. Listening to Among the Amorphous on my headphones feels rather like being in the Animated movies Akira or Ghost in the Shell. The band’s musicianship is tight.  The songs that stand out the most for me are ‘Deceptive Signal,’ ‘Purge the Deviant,’ and ‘Sum of Singularity.’  That said, I suggest you listen to it in it’s entirety than to single songs as this is an amazing Progressive Concept Album!  Highly Recommend!

 

 

 

Links:
http://theinterbeing.com/
http://theinterbeing.bigcartel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pg/theinterbeing/about/?ref=page_internal

Demon Head “Thunder on the Fields” Album Review + Stream…

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Demon Head

Thunder on the Fields – Vinyl // CD // DD

The Sign Records // Caligari Records – released April 7, 2017

Reviewed by Santiago “Chags” Gutierrez

 

Demon Head was formed in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2012. After releasing a couple of demos and a single, they released a rather impressive debut album, Ride the Wilderness, in 2015. They quickly followed that album up with a split single, sharing the release with their equally impressive country-mates Alucarda. The common factor here is vocalist Ferreira Larsen who provides his drumming talent to Alucarda as well. Upon listening to “Menneskeӕderen”, the first track off Demon Head’s Thunder on the Fields, it was clearly obvious that this release was going to be just as equally impressive, if not more so, than the already absorbing Ride the Wilderness. Their Facebook page says their rhythm section, which consists of Fuglsang (bass) and Jeppe Wittus (drums), swing much like “Bill Ward and Geezer Butler had a loose, jazzy rhythm style that made Sabbath’s songs swing no matter how hard and heavy they got.”

Listening to Thunder on the Fields, and all their previous work for that matter, it’s hard not to agree with that statement. The expressively captivating vocals of Larsen adding to the overall ambiance of their sound. Add to that the seamless guitar work of duo Gjerlufsen and Gjerluff Nielsen, and the record just flows from one track to the other.

 

 

“We are Burning”, “Thunder on the Fields”, and “Older Now” resound with a deliberate prominence found in early proto-doom/diabolic rock, yet with a sensibility all their own. “Hic Svnt Dracones” and “Gallows Omen” are longer, more drawn out tracks with sheer musical sections that transfix the aural senses. “Hic Svnt Dracones” featuring a fantastic, soulful solo. Final track, “Untune the Sky”, showcasing their theatrical, impressive flair.

Demon Head’s version of nefarious proto-doom, is a welcome throwback for the modern age. They have a way of admirably channeling that vibe much like early Witchcraft did. There is a certain charisma to this band, a somewhat soulful swing to their sound, whether it be on harder and heavier tracks like “Menneskeӕderen”, or on slightly more subdued tracks such as the masterful closer that is “Untune the Sky”. There is an underlying mood to this record that you hardly find anywhere else.

Band Pic

 

Worth another listen? I’ll let Demon Head answer that question: “Lose your way, we are burning, we watch the sun rise, still with stars in our eyes, lose your way, we are burning, we watch the sun fall with the fire inside. And I’d do it all again with you.”

GoatHawkBuffalo “Release The Beast” EP Review & Stream…

Written by

GoatHawkBuffalo

Release The Beast – DD // Band Shirt

Burning Tube Records – Released: April 21, 2017

Reviewed by Ric “Suisyko” Dorr

 

Founded – 2013

Home – Copenhagen, Denmark

Band Members – Vocals: Johan / Guitar: Jacob / Guitar: Asger / Bass: Michael / Drums: Poul

Self described as ‘Sludge Rock’ and citing that they are “Five guys playing heavy rock music. It might get dirty, and it definitely will be loud!” An apt description of this EP that appears to be the first release from this quintet and the four songs seem to represent exactly that; five guys slamming and jamming with hands DEEP in the ‘heavy’ and they are not afraid to use it.

Band Pic

“A split-second of feedback and ‘Love Song lullaby’ rips your face off from the get as the full force of the standard two guitar/bass/drums and a ripping vocal takes hold and MAKES you move with a pure rock-n-roll edict rolls forth setting the bar for this EP and as the fury grows towards the end of this first track, you have been primed and should be ready for more!!”  ‘Dirty Filthy Names’ opens with a staggered drum-line that leads right into the double staccato attack that opens and gets even ‘uglier’ in the best way possible as the darkness shines through with every stop/start that flows all the way through to the last section when the speed picks up and rips along to the end. ‘Mirror Queens’ has an even faster intro with clean guitar notes taking us along for the ride of power chords and slamming drums/bass before that voice tears through the dust to take control of this tale of rage. ‘Wanted Man’ opens with a slower, more relaxed beginning that belies that these guys are capable of much more than just a ‘party-band’ approach and the clean note intro serves up a tale of “Take it back…” that begins this story. Being the longest song on the release, it stands out to me as the one that they took the time to show off their skill-set and shines as the perfect book-end and when it gets thick and heavy again at 2:45 in, it is exactly the perfect shift and allows each member to show ‘what they have’.

If this is any indication of what these guys have waiting in the wings, then the world is in for a major treat!! Buy this EP right off, share it with everybody you know, support ’em live if they come anywhere near you and turn it up LOUD!!