Mikasa - Veil Of Maya [New Single and Upcoming Album Info]

About a week ago, Veil of Maya put out a little parody video of Breaking Bad. It had to do with their new vocalist (Lukas Magyar) defending his right to sing with clean vocals. As a longtime fan of Veil I never thought I'd see the day where they include clean vocals. But damn, I'm actually pretty glad that I was wrong on this one. This new track embodies everything that Veil represents. Crazy guitar riffs by the always innovative Marc Okubo, with bass lines and beats to match provided by the Higler and Sam Applebaum. Then we get a taste of Lukas and his cleans. Let me say this: this dude can sing. He has not only a great range with his cleans, but his screams are tremendous across the board. Even from the live footage that I've seen so far of him performing with the band on some older songs, he kills it. Adding in cleans adds a whole new element to this band without leaving behind what they've been all these years. 

With the release of this new song, the band also announced that their upcoming album is titled Matriarch and will be available May 12th 2015. Pre-order bundles are up and I highly suggest looking into this album. Veil have yet to release a disappointing album and with this new direction that they are moving in, I'm sure that Matriarch will provide some of their best material to date. 

Check out the music video for Mikasa below!

Skylasher - Lee McKinney of Born of Osiris [Solo Debut]

Lee McKinney from Born of Osiris has just released his first solo track titled, Skylasher. I have always enjoyed BoO and Lee definitely proves that he has contributed quite a bit of his creativity to the band with this solo effort. This track features some great shredding with a surprisingly solid backing track formed of electronic sounding drums and bass tones. While not bad by any means, I simply have the preference for live instruments, although seeing how it was all written by one man, I think I'll cut Lee some slack. It's a nice track with a hint of Animals as Leaders that really shows off what Lee is capable of. Hopefully he brings some of these new ideas and concepts to the new Born of Osiris content...

On The Run - Dance Gavin Dance

AHH Dance Gavin Dance are back! Their second new song since Acceptance Speech, On The Run is a killer track. This has to be one of my favorite intros in a long time and it only builds on that. Tillians vocals are beautiful throughout and offer a more though provoking style over Jon's who seems to be back to his usual lyrical nonsense. Personally, I don't think that's a bad thing because Jon's lyrics may not be plotted out perfectly but his sporadic sound and style fit him very well within this band, as he always has.

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Bottom Line is this track is killer! My only complaint is that we need more Will!!! The guitars seem a little low on the mix and that could be due to "youtube quality" or some other b.s... however, Will Swan is a truly unique and talented guitarist and has been part of the backbone of this band since their conception. Let me hear those tasty grooves that he can deliver on the strings! Other than that definitely give this one a listen and keep an eye out for their upcoming album, Instant Gratification out April 14th!!

A Gift a Curse - Emmure [Video]

Sadly, Emmure have always been a guilty pleasure of mine. Hell, the bass player and I are even from the same town in good ol' Connecticut. Even though I was a little more than disappointed with their latest release, this was one of the exceptions off the album, and although the video might seem a little extraneous, I enjoy seeing new material from these guys in any shape/form. The video features Frankie growling away and has a dark theme that seems to be dealing with a parellel universe possibly? Who knows... it's Emmure. However, this video is on repeat on my end just cause I can always go for some nice chuggin' from Emmure. Enjoy!

New Oceano Singles!!

Oceano are back with two brutal singles off their forthcoming album. After a few somewhat disappointing releases, it's glad to see these deathcore aficionados are back on track. These tracks are Oceano at their best: brutal, violent, atmospheric, and just plain old heavy. The songs show a great deal of progression from beginning to end while also introducing motifs. These are two very solid tracks that will be a treat for long time fans, as well as those who are hearing Oceano for the first time. I'm glad to see that this album should be a great outing for Oceano and can't wait to hear more from these guys! Check out the two singles below!!

Dead Planet

Dawn of Descent

Favorites of 2014!!

Finally, I have my list of favorite albums from the whirlwind that was 2014. I know it's like 2 months late but whatever dudes. Hope you enjoy and make sure to check out something from this list!

Honorable Mentions:

- A Voice Within - Intervals

- Once More 'Round The Sun - Mastodon

- The Joy of Motion - Animals As Leaders

- Antemasque [Self-titled]

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THE LIST

10. Descensus - Circa Survive

9. You're Dead - Flying Lotus

8. From Parts Unknown - Every Time I Die

7. Run the Jewels 2 - Run the Jewels

6. Under Pressure - Logic

5. No Peace - Trash Talk

4. Tomorrow's Modern Boxes - Thom Yorke

3. Black Messiah - D'Angelo and The Vanguard

2. Language - The Contortionist

1. Lost Together // Lost Forever - Architects

22 Faces - Periphery [NEW from their concept double album!]

Whew! Just got done listening to this one myself and I'll say this... IT SLAYS. Periphery is one of the most consistent bands out there right now, and while I did enjoy the first two that they released from this dual-album concept, this is letting me know that they are still at the top of their game. Spencer's vocals really sound better than ever on these new tracks and it seems that all the songs are more coherent and based off the band as a unit rather than the individuals contributing their own pieces. An awesome solo by Jake really brings this one home and has me anxiously awaiting this release from the powerhouse that is Periphery.
Enjoy!!