Metalhorizons: Broadening One Band at a Time

It only took one minute for me to know that this album was going to be great. 'Viper Vixen Goddess Saint' is the debut album from Belgian psych rockers 'Fire Down Below'. It offers up 7 tracks of gargantuan riffs, groove, and all around stoner rock greatness. Everything about this release is brilliant, the artwork, the vocals, the atmosphere. 'Fire Down Below' have created a true work of art which all fans of the genre need to hear, so check it out below.

Check out more of Fire Down Below.

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/firedownbelow
Bandcamp https://firedownbelow.bandcamp.com/album/viper-vixen-goddess-saint

Dark, evil, brooding, visceral, these are some words that we can use to describe the latest offering from Montreal based Dopethrone. First we showcased Hochelaga and I thought it couldn't get any better, now Dopethrone serves up an incredible 3 track ep, '1312'. Listening to this ep brings me back to the first time I listened to Electric Wizard, it was a style unfamiliar to me, something fresh and exciting. Dopethrone continue to carry the blackened, sludge covered torch passed down to them from the greats and much like every new release, I will eagerly be awaiting the next one.

Check out more from Dopethrone.

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/dopethrone.mthell
Bandcamp https://dopethrone.bandcamp.com/album/1312

Triple Goddess plays huge, ass kicking Rock & Roll. Their hard-hitting sound stems from working class South Jersey roots and a wide array of influences spanning virtually every era of heavy rock music.

Triple Goddess latest release 'Pure Power' is a six track ep of just that, pure power. The ep opens up with 'Get some Rock & Roll' and well, I just did. This album could be the definition of rock & roll, its a constant assault of everything that's heavy and everything that rocks. Check out 'Pure Power' below.

Check out more of Triple Goddess.

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TripleGoddessRock/ Bandcamp https://triplegoddess.bandcamp.com/album/pure-power Official http://www.triplegoddessrock.com/

Mephistofeles is a stoner rock band from Argentina who may have some demons hiding within. Their latest album 'Whore' is some of the grooviest and fuzziest stoner doom I have heard lately, all wrapped up in this dark, occult vibe. With track titles such as 'Kill Yourself', 'Drug Addict' and 'Wizard of Meth', this isn't your regular happy and mellow stoner doom. The album has received quite a lot of praise and is definitely a must hear, so check out this 'Whore' below.

Check out more of Mephistofeles

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/mephistofelesdrone/ Bandcamp https://mephistofeles.bandcamp.com/album/whore-full-album

Salems Pot is a stoner rock band that doesn't have much personal info available online, but who really cares when their music is this damn good! Their latest album "Pronounce This!" is one of the trippiest, most psychedelic, stoner/doom release I have heard in a long time. Salems Pot has received great reviews all over the web and some are already calling it album of the year!

You have to hear it to understand why its so good, so check out 'Pronounce This!' below.

Check out more of Salems Pot

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Salems.Pot Bandcamp
https://salemspot.bandcamp.com/album/pronounce-this

Ghosts Of Pandora are an establishing band that are hitting the ground running with chest-crushing rhythms, breakdowns, mind-numbingly fast riffs and lyrics that hit close to home. Since formation in mid-2014, the band have been putting in the hard yards, blood, sweat and tears to create the best material they possibly can. With music that can be compared to the likes of Whitechapel, Parkway Drive and Thy Art is Murder, GOP provide the heavy music scene with a rarely encountered versatility that is a force to be reckoned with.

Back in May they released their 'Scorched Earth' ep which brings us 6 tracks of straight in your face deathcore. Sometimes when I see the similar bands listed in a bio, I scoff and say 'yeah right, in your dreams guys'. This time, I one hundred percent agree, Ghosts of Pandora deserve a spot right up beside Parkway Drive, Thy Art is Murder and all the other greats of the genre. Check out their 'Scorched Earth' ep below and tell me I'm wrong.

Check out more of Ghosts of Pandora.

Facebook https://ghostsofpandora.bandcamp.com/album/scorched-earth-ep
Bandcamp https://www.facebook.com/GhostsOfPandora

Metal has progressed far beyond its roots, branched into a thousand or more sub-genres. Some live some die; some are just a flash in the pan. But occasionally metal throws at you something unique, something never heard before, something that you know is going to change what metal is. Excellion is not that thing, but it comes pretty close.

Excellion is a Mexican band from based out of the capitol Mexico City. A quartet, they play a unique mix Rock, Metalcore, Djent and Prog Metal. Imagine Ihsahn, Periphery, Killswitch Engage and their music passed through a Rock filter. They have the same intensity and same sensibilities as the mentioned artists which is what gets me excited about their music.

Their new EP Unsean is released on August 6, and what I heard in these five songs is definitely something that is worth everyone’s attention. The production is really good (note that these guys are still unsigned). The existentially charged lyrics delivered by singer Frozen Chava have a lasting effect on the listener who will want to sing along on the repeating anthemic lines in the songs “In Search of Infinity” and “The Heart of the Sapphire,” which bookend the EP and are part of the “Unsean” story. The opening tune, in most respects sounds very coloured with the crushing riffs, resonating leads in the back and odd time signatures with beefy bass lines. And that’s something that builds up throughout the record.

Unsean by Excellion is very strong and a promising release for a band that knows how to challenge themselves creatively. Unsean is a must-listen for all metal fans.

Excellion is on Facebook.

The creation of an experimental album is not an easy task, as those who try to accomplish it are tasked with blending the three essential elements which define the sound of this genre (heaviness, dynamics and atmosphere) without relying one particular one too much. If it isn’t perfectly centered, the whole thing will go lopsided. In terms of experimental music, the slightest imbalance in your sound might throw off the whole album and break the listener’s immersion. Fortunately, the five-piece act from Barcelona, Face The Maybe handled this balancing act with great sensitivity and skill in creating their gorgeous piece of experimental rock/metal, The Wanderer, which came out in March this year.

Clocking at almost 75 minutes, The Wanderer doesn’t feel long, given the genre’s usual album lengths. This album is filled to the brim with great moments within its perceived runtime. “0.086,” the opening track, kicks off the record with an almost two-minute build-up, mostly comprised of a string section and beautiful voice of Rosalia Vila, who is a guest on two tracks off the record including this one. 

It is in the second track, “All That I See” where Face The Maybe start introducing themselves. The song contains remarkable sections, coming all the way from soothing singing to frenetic rocking.

Other highlights are “The Island” with its combination of clean singing formatted in a psychedelic/indie vibe; swirling and noisy “Seth”, which has an eerie feel to it; nothing less eerie nine-minute monster “Sunstrings.” “New Dawn” brings back tasty guitar riffs which tirelessly go forth and back to further explorations within different metal subgenres.

Mixing-wise, The Wanderer is really well-made as well. The guitars of Eimel Trejo and Sebastian Budding are crisp and clean, Joan Carles Mari's drums have a lot of punch and sound roomy, Frederic Torres Dappen's bass is actually audible, and the vocals of Tomas Cunat fit in between the other components perfectly, rather than just being layered on top of the mix. There obviously was great attention to detail involved, and the album is much better because of it.

The Wanderer is available now from Bandcamp. For more info about Face The Maybe visit their Facebook page here.

Horseburner is a sludge metal band from West Virginia, whose recent release, 'Dead Seeds, Barren Soil' has garnered quite a bit of praise already. Being compared to the likes of Mastodon and Baroness, Horseburner have hit it out of the park with this release. They are in contention for the sludged and stoned metal throne and I for one will be backing them. Check out 'Dead Seeds, Barren Soil' below.

Check out more of Horseburner.

Facebook
Bandcamp

For I Am King is a furious metal band from the Netherlands who have recently released their debut full length album, 'Daemons'. The album has already received quite a bit of praise online, and it made me an instant fan. We were lucky enough to sit down with the band to discuss their style, their album and what the future may hold.

Before you jump into the interview, check out 'the Crone', the best track to know what 'For I Am King' is all about.

How did the band meet and what inspired you to start such a heavy band?

Some of us are friends for a long time and we also know each other from playing in other bands. The chemistry and friendship within the band was an important thing for us. Regarding the style choice, we are all lovers of melodic metal, but also love old school metalcore. We wanted to make, write music which mixes both.

What was the thought process behind the name? With Alma being the front woman one would think For I Am 'Queen' would be a more suiting title.

Haha yes that would be more suiting but when you listen to Alma's voice... ;). But we got inspired by the movie ‘The Man In The Iron Mask’, it's a quote from king Louis. It also gets used by more kings in other movies. Since the first second the name was pitched we loved it.

Female Fronted is a tag that has been getting negative attention lately simply for classifying by gender. What are your thoughts on this term?

Alma: Well you can't get around the fact that there is actualy a female fronting the band, so i don't think there is something wrong with the term "female fronted". But the fact that there is a female singing shouldn't make a difference. We see our band as one and we are not different than any other ‘male fronted’ metal bands.

Your debut album 'Daemons' was released on the 17th, and has said to take the listener through a world of tales and myths. Could you tell us more about that?

Jasper: All lyrics are fiction and inspired by myths and legends. I have always liked greek mythology and other old legends. For me it made it easier to write the lyrics in a short time frame because the subjects were already there.

I've seen nothing but praise for 'Daemons', and I myself am a huge fan. How are you feeling about the response from fans and critics alike?
Jurgen: We are for sure overwhelmed by all the positive feedback we are getting! We wrote this record for us but also for the ‘world’ and how it’s received it’s far beyond our expectations.

If a listener could only hear one track off of the album, which would you recommend?

Jasper: The Crone, because it contains all the ingredients of Daemons and I think fans of different metal genres will get their fix out of it.

Jurgen: Hmmm difficult, cause every song has his own strength. I also would say ‘the Crone’. It’s the first song we wrote for Daemons and the first step to our new sound.

I heard 'Black Death' on Spotify and then looked up the full album on Apple Music. Are you a fan of streaming services?

Jasper: definitely, because it makes it easier to spread our music worldwide. We are very proud of this record and therefore we want to share it with as much people as possible.

When I think about Amsterdam, Metal doesn't immediately come to mind. How is the metal scene and community like there?

The scene is getting better and better. There are a lot of great festivals and shows going on here in Amsterdam, like Amsterdam Metalfest and the Impericon festival at the Melkweg.

Any other notable bands from your hometown you want to give a shout out to?

Let’s go for within our Dutch borders ;). You should definitely check out the following bands:
The Royal, Pelgrim, Izegrim, Bring on the Bloodshed, Call it Off, For Blood and Vengeance,
2 Years To Apocalypse and From Earth.

How is the future looking, any touring going on? Perhaps some North American stops?

We are busy planning the upcoming year and for sure are going to do some touring. Keep your eyes on our page, social media.

Well, I don't want to take up too much of your time. I'm going to go listen to 'Daemons' again. I really appreciate you taking the time to sit down and do this for us at Metalhorizons. Do you have any final things you would like to say?

Thank you so much for having us and we hope to see you soon in North America ;) Stay metal!!!