Tag Archives: modern metal

Features, Reviews

Phoenix Lake and Friends Rock Saltbox!

Leave a comment

Nottingham locals Phoenix Lake headlined a packed line up at Saltbox, hot off the release of their debut album ‘Seraphina: The Fall From Eden’. Friday night drew a good crowd to the bar-venue in  Nottingham, and with four bands taking the stage that evening it wasn’t long before that crowd
got energetic.

Opening the night and getting room on the right level were 7eventh Sea, another Nottingham based metalcore band with heavy riffs and high energy breakdowns. Their thirty minute set was impressive from start to finish, their track ‘Falsified Dreams’ was a particular standout from the set. Vocalist Stee Owen had a commanding stage presence and skilled vocals to back it up, and drummer Aaron Gregory was incredibly tight throughout the dynamic and technical set. Fans of  Lorna Shore and While She Sleeps keep an eye on these lads over the next few years.

With the room filling as more people arrive, Aethoria took the stage next. Hailing from Ipswich this  hard rock group are a perfect accompaniment to headliners Phoenix Lake. Very similar in style and sound, but with their own attitude and a good hit with the crowd in the room. After some initial technical problems with the microphone, vocalist Mecia had the room in the palm of her  hands for the rest of their time on stage. A confident band with a solid sound, raising the energy once again in the room.

The crowd are raring to go by this point two solid sets down and two bands left to perform, next up: Black Lakes from South Wales. Entering the stage draped in black cloaks and kilts alike the
five piece metal group started strong with some high energy tracks. It appeared a good portion of the crowd were fans and had come down to check them out, and their energetic frontman knew how to play to the crowd well. While they performed well I think due to the strong showings of the other bands Black Lakes were the weakest set of the night. Their strong start felt like it waned as the set progressed, leaving me expecting more of a band this high in the billing.

Any feelings of disappointment were quickly dispelled when headliners Phoenix Lake took the stage. Coming out to a roaring crowd the Nottingham band felt the hometown love in Saltbox as they tore into their hour long set. Vocalist Lana Phillis doesn’t have to rely on just her impressive vocal talents to hold her own on stage with the rest of the band, interacting seamlessly with the crowd and letting the other band members take their moments to shine. A healthy dose of tracks off the new album was to be expected as the band tours the UK to promote its release.

Luckily for us the album is brilliant and the new songs sound great live. The group obviously revelled in having a home town crowd show so much support, it will be great to see what lofty heights the four piece can reach off the back of the album. Phoenix Lake are on the road around the UK throughout April and the beginning of May, be sure to check them out as they rightfully show off what they have created together! A truly amazing night packed full of incredible music!

Written by Owen Hathaway.

Interviews & Features

Detroit Run: ‘Building a community is way more important than having the biggest following!’

Leave a comment

We sat down with the awesome alt metal band Detroit Run ahead of the release of their new EP to talk all about it, as well as their future touring plans and the state of the industry. Check it out below!

How would you describe your sound?

It’s alt rock with a bunch of synths thrown in. Kinda dark, kinda dreamy, with big energy and some weird sounds going on! We think it’s a one of a kind sound really!

You have a second EP coming out, would you say it’s different to your first?

Yeah, it’s definitely different. The first EP was us figuring things out and working out our sound. This one leans harder into the synth side and feels a bit more focused with elements of heavy guitars. Still us, just more dialed in.

Is there a specific theme/story around the release, or is it more individual stories?

They’re separate stories, but they all came out of the same period in life — so even though they weren’t written to follow a narrative, there’s a shared feeling running through them.

What made you split the release into multiple parts?

Honestly, it just felt right. We didn’t want to drop everything at once and have stuff get lost. Splitting it gave each song room to breathe and let people really sit with them.

What is the writing process like for you guys?

It’s kind of a mix, really. Sometimes one of us will bring an idea — a riff or a synth line — and we’ll just build on that together. Other times, it’s more individual. One of us writes lyrics, the other adds the music, and we end up meshing it all in the studio. We try to let things evolve organically, and as any band there are sometimes disagreements on certain things, but we always are happy with the final result, even if there are bumps along the way!

You guys pretty active on social media, do you have any advice to bands who are just starting out in that regard?

Just be real with your followers. People connect with you, not some perfect, curated version of you. Post behind-the-scenes stuff, let them in on the process, and share the ups and downs. Building a community is way more important than having the biggest following, and don’t be afraid to experiment with different posts and ideas!

Do you have a busy rest of the year planned? I imagine some shows to support the EP!

We’re definitely planning on playing a bunch of shows, but we’re still locking in the details. We’ve got some exciting things in the works, which we will be revealing very soon and can’t wait to get out there and see everyone. Stay tuned!

What would you say the state of the music industry is like currently?

It’s a weird time for the music industry — a lot of things are changing fast. Streaming is obviously huge, but it’s a double-edged sword. It’s great for getting music out to the masses, but it doesn’t always translate to fair pay for artists. At the same time, there’s more opportunity than ever for independent bands to get noticed, so it’s definitely a mixed bag!

Do you have a dream tour lineup you’d want to be a part of? Anyone you’d want to support or bring on the road with you?

A dream tour lineup for us would definitely include Bring Me The Horizon. Their energy is unmatched, and their mix of heavy and electronic elements is right up our alley. We’d also love to tour with bands like Bad Omens, Wind Walkers, or Sleep Token. All of them have that perfect balance of big sound and atmosphere, and it would be awesome to be a part of that kind of lineup.

Reviews

The Ugly Side of Me: Tetrarch’s Best Album Yet?

Leave a comment

Fun fact, Tetrarch’s last album was the very first review I did here at Overtone. Said album holds a special place in my heart, not just for that reason, but also because it’s one that I still revisit pretty regularly nearly four years later. So, when I got word of them finally working on a follow-up, I was already hyped. Then, we got their awesome lead single, and I got sent it through from the wonderful people at Napalm Records a little early, and there was no way I wasn’t immediately diving into this release and giving it a full review. Let’s check it out together, ladies and gents!

The album starts in typical Tetrarch fashion, with an awesome, heavy, nu-metal riff. The drums work so well alongside the guitars and bass, making it sound so massive and heavy. Josh Fore’s now-iconic vocals soon come in over the top, them only adding to the new-nu-metal feel in both the delivery and lyrics. I love the multi-layers for the second part of the verse too, with the main line being a slower, drawn-out few words and under it after is a faster line. It makes for some awesome dynamics and I’m very curious to hear how they do it live. It all builds to a huge, open chorus, something the band are known to do so well. I would say it’s catchy but honestly, with all of Josh’s delivery, it’s all catchy as anything! It gets heavier for the bridge, the vocals getting harsher and it almost feeling like a breakdown. And then a massive double chorus and outro take us home in style. It’s a simple-structured song that is the perfect way to open the album; showing off the bands sound perfectly!

Single ‘Never Again (Parasite)’ continues the same feel and vibe as the first track, but I do love the vocal intro a LOT. The riffing again is awesome, and the electronic melody behind it adds a lot of depth. I like it dropping back in the verses too, the majority of the guitaring falling away and leaving mainly just the vocals, simple drums and electro stuff. It’s yet another awesome great dynamic, and makes the chorus even bigger when everything explodes back in! Speaking of the chorus, it’s another huge, arena-filling one that gives big early Linkin Park vibes. To my shock, the second verse features lead guitarist Diamond on vocals. She sounds great, fitting in alongside the music and Josh perfectly! Hopefully this isn’t the last we hear of her voice! We also get another awesome little lead line in the bridge, it separating the choruses perfectly. It’s an awesome song, a deserving single and one that easily makes our playlist!

Lead single ‘Live Not Fantasize’ is a song I’ve been obsessed with since the moment it released. We did a reaction video to it and I think I gushed like a fangirl the whole way through it. So, I shan’t reiterate too much of it, you can just check out the video, but I of course love this song. It’s everything you want out of Tetrarch, and it’s a clear highlight of the album!

‘Erase’ again keeps the heavy assault going, reminding me a lot of the opening track. The lyrics, while a little juvenile, fit the tone and genre of the song perfectly, and are still horribly relatable. I feel like already I don’t need to say that it’s a great, catchy chorus that deserves to be played in front of huge festival crowds. It’s subtle but I like the drums following the guitars in the little bridge between the chorus and second verse too, it sound so good and heavy. It happens again after the second chorus and is just as awesome then, too. It really is little touches like that that can elevate a song to new levels. We get an awesome little solo from Diamond, showing off why she’s one of the most underrated guitarists on the scene currently. Then, once again, it’s another huge chorus and outro to cap off another incredible song!

‘The Only Rhing I’ve Got’ is another banger similar to the other tracks so far on the album. It’s insane to me that, even though it isn’t a single, the band have the innate ability to make every song a potential radio hit. It’s heavy and moody yet packed full of catchy vocal lines and melodies, and is just another absolutely fantastic song! Goddamn I love this band!

As we pass the midpoint of the album, tracks like ‘Best of Luck’, ‘Crawl’ and ‘Cold’ are all pretty similar to what has come before. It’s certainly not a bad thing, and they are certainly not bad songs by any stretch. Honestly, between the breakdown in the former and the solo in the latter, they are some of my favourite tracks on the album. However, they are similar enough that I found myself repeating a lot of my earlier points, and didn’t want to make this a boring read, or come across as too much of a fangirl for the band! And the album is short enough that the songs being a slight bit repetitive isn’t really an issue!

Another incredible riff opens ‘Headspace’, and I love all the production and editing choices that went into those first 10 seconds or so, excellent stuff! Heck, once again the writing/production throughout the whole song is amazing. The guitar tone for the breakdown build-up is phenomenal, and the breakdown as a whole… *chef’s kiss*. Then the title track of the album closes things out perfectly. And, while still heavy, it does have a bit more of a trudging pace to it, and the electronics give a great modern metal vibe to it. It’s almost epic, being the biggest, slowest song on the album, making it super fitting to be its end. And we get another cheeky bit of Diamond’s vocals, which again fit in perfectly. The pair harmonising with each other is incredible. It’s another fantastic song on an album packed full of them!

Overall: To answer the question posed in the title, yes, this is very much Tetrarch’s best album, in my opinion. While I wouldn’t say any song is quite as strong as the very best from Unstable, it’s a stronger album overall and there really isn’t a bad song on it! The band have one again shown that they are going to be an absolutely massive name in the industry, sooner rather than later. I’m gonna be spinning this a LOT in the coming weeks and months, and don’t be surprised if it ends up high on my of albums of the year come December!

The Score: 9/10

Reviews

Te Rā: Alien Weaponry Knock it Out of the Park with their Third Album!

Leave a comment

Fun fact; Alien Weaponry were featured on the very first edition of our New Music Monday series. Looking back at that, nearly four years ago now, I’m so glad to see that my writing has improved at least a little! Still, I clearly enjoyed the album, and still listen to some of it today. I’m honestly shocked it’s taken the band this long to put out another studio release, but the hype around it is pretty mad. I’m yet to hear any of the singles too, I’m going in completely blind, so let’s check this out, shall we?

The album instantly goes hard with the thrashy ‘Crown’. The awesome, heavy riffs and Lewis’s powerful cleans and screams add so much over the top. For something so heavy, it still has a pretty catchy chorus too, which is always great! The Māori influence comes in in the second verse, reminding me why I love the band so much and just how unique they are to a European audience. And everything after the second chorus, the heavy, Gojira-like breakdown, is AMAZING. It’s a fantastic song and a really great choice to open the album on. It’s an immediate highlight and easily makes our playlist.

‘Mau Moko’ keeps the heaviness rolling but slows the pace down just a touch, it having an awesome stomp to it. Still, the double bass keeps it pretty frantic through the verses. The drumming is already a huge highlight of the album, and I can see it being the same through the whole thing. It’s another fantastic chorus, easy to sing along to even though I don’t speak the language. Add to that the chanting in various sections too and it’s a damn catchy song. The breakdown is another great one, breaking up the choruses perfectly. And that outro kinda gave me Trivium vibes with that scream, which was awesome! They’re two for two so far on this album of phenomenal songs!

Single ‘1000 Friends’ keeps the energy and heaviness turned up to 11. The band are so good at playing around with their riffs, again the drummer doing fantastically as he gets every last bit out of each with all of his beat changes. It’s has some more awesome metalcore riffs to it too, definitely continuing the Trivium feel over the thrash with this track. The powerful clean vocals are awesome throughout, and so very catchy. It was a fantastic choice for a single! And yet it still gets heavy as anything at times during the bridge. Yet again, it’s another excellent metal song! The band really are firing on all cylinders with this release.

‘Hanging By a Thread’, while still heavy, feels a little more subdued and a little darker. Still, it’s one of the best choruses on the album, and the lyrics throughout are amazing. It’s a good change of pace for the album at this point, still feeling like Alien Weaponry while being different enough to keep it fresh and interesting! And still, it goes hard in the bridge!

‘Tama-nui-te-rā’ picks up the heaviness again, and the Gojira-feel also returns with a vengeance. It’s also heavy with their heritage influence, which I love too. The same could be said for ‘Myself to Blame’, ‘Te Riri o Tāwhirimātea’ and ‘Ponaturi’. However, the former of those does have a bit more of a 2000s alt metal feel to it, which I found really cool and interesting! It certainly channels that proggy modern metal that they are becoming so known for in the bridge, though. It’s another huge highlight track, and yet another to make the playlist!

The Randy Blythe featuring ‘Taniwha’ is another awesome track and clear highlight. I found it interesting that Lewis’ vocals adopt more of Randy’s style of screams for the track, that was a nice touch. It made Blythe’s vocals fit even better when they come in for the bridge, doing his spoken word thing and building up to his iconic scream. Outside of his involvement and the slightly changed vocals, it’s a pretty standard Alien Weaponry song but still, it was awesome to hear him feature. Especially when it’s been a hot minute since we’ve had some new Lamb of God. It’s just another fun, great metal song!

‘Blackened Sky’ was another interesting one as it felt a lot more nu metal than anything else on here. It gives surprising Otep vibes with that huge, crunchy riff and fast vocals. Even the chorus melodies and riffing felt nu metal in the very best way possible. There were elements of Jinjer in it too, which was cool! As much as I love their Māori-inspired sound, this was awesome and I hope we get more of it moving forward! It’s another huge highlight of the album and maybe my favourite track on it!

The closing track is brief but a great way to cap off the album. It fits perfectly with the tone and style of the album, and feels epic enough to conclude it all in a fitting way. Honestly, it was longer it may be another top song for me, but I’ll settle for it being the final awesome send-off to a truly great album!

Overall: This was a really fantastic release! I’ve always been a fan of the band, but I feel like this is the first time I’ve sat and enjoyed a full album from them front to back. The band really feel like they’ve stepped up in the last year or two, and this album proves that they are ready to take things to the next level. A few of the songs here are up there with some of my favourites put out by the band, and as a whole it is solid throughout. They feel less like a cool concept now and more like a well oiled machine pumping out genuinely awesome albums. It’s well worth a listen if you’re a fan of the band or just metal in general, I’d certainly recommend!

The Score: 8.5/10

Reviews

Izzy Reign: The Explosive Debut Album from the Alt Metal Queen!

Leave a comment

The highly anticipated debut album from the alt/metalcore woman is finally releasing this coming Friday. The album, and by extension Izzy, has been described to me as ‘bold, eclectic and rebellious’, so I have to admit I’m pretty excited to check it out! Plus, having heard a couple of the singles from it, I’m definitely liking what I’m hearing. All of it sounds like it should be right up my street, so let’s dive right in!

‘The Sunken Place’ sets the tone for the album perfectly. An industrial-synth beat gives way to Izzy’s hauntingly beautiful vocals over the simple beat. It builds perfectly into a massive chorus, the drums, synth and guitars adding so much to the sound. It actually reminds me the most of THE DEFECT, which I am not at all against. I love the alternating play between the vocals and heaviness in the second verse, sounding awesome with all the dynamics. The dynamics throughout the whole track, for that matter, are incredible. We somehow get an almost dubstep breakdown in the middle, Izzy’s screaming finally being showcased and sounding just as fantastic as her cleans. It’s an awesome opening track and, if this is the quality of the rest of the album, we are in for something truly special!

Izzy’s incredible voice is once again the focal point of the start of ‘Phobos’. It almost has an operatic, symphonic metal feel to it, like it would feel just as at home over an orchestra as it does the synths. It once again builds up to a massive sound, the riff under the vocals being filthy, giving big modern metal vibes like Sleep Token or Spiritbox. The mix on this whole album is incredible, everything feeling so impactful when it comes back in after dropping out, and it’s never more evident than here. Her screams come back out for an AWESOME breakdown, ending the track perfectly. This is an amazing song, and one that easily makes our playlist!

‘Broken by Design’ has a touch of a different feel to it, having a bit more of a groovier beat. It builds up pretty similarly to the previous tracks, though, into an arena-filling chorus. Regardless of the similarities, it’s impossible not to like as her vocal delivery and writing keeps things so intriguing and fresh. This one feels a little more Motionless in White than the others in the best ways. It’s another great song on an album so far fill with them!

Outside of the more clubby stuff in ‘Pandora’s Box’, it again follows a similar vibe. However, I did enjoy the lower, effect-heavy vocals, suddenly turning the track into a more Skynd-like one. Plus, it’s catchy as anything! The heaviness builds up through the second verse and chorus, somehow getting even more Skynd. And of course the breakdown is pretty tasty, as expected at this point. It’s honestly another unexpected highlight of the album for me, and another that gets a spot on our Spotify! It’s catchy as anything and a lot of fun to listen to. It’s one of the ones I’d love to see it live the most!

Just as I was starting to get a little burnt out, ‘Bird of Prey’ immediately punches you in the face with that riff and scream. Yes, it still drops down to the simple electronic stuff in the verse, but it was at least a nice slight change of pace. It’s another huge, catchy chorus, and the dynamics again are just as great as before. And it does have the best breakdown on the album, it being pretty fantastically brutal. It’s another big highlight of the album, and it’s actually crazy to me that it wasn’t one of the handful of singles released before the album dropped, it’s THAT good.

Sadly, as I said before, this was where I started to feel a touch burnt out with the release. There are six more tracks on the release (granted one is an interlude) and only one or two stood out above the rest. ‘Your Entertainer’ is maybe my favourite track on the album, combining elements of Muse and Ice Nine Kills masterfully; really capturing that theatrical edge that she was going for masterfully. It’s really well crafted too, with an infectiously catchy chorus and melody, and plenty of interesting moments and awesome heavy screams. Then you have the Poppy-esque ‘Sandman’ which is another banger, having very much that modern/industrial metal edge to it with a truly awesome chorus.

However, I found the other three tracks a little samey compared to a lot of the album. That certainly isn’t a bad thing; it’s very rare to get an 11-track album packed full of completely different-feeling bangers, but it does make it harder for me to talk about from a review standpoint. And heck, it’s hardly an issue. They’re good songs still in their own right, other songs on this collection simply do it better. It’s a very minor gripe to have, if I do say so myself!

Overall: I really enjoyed this album! I went in pretty blind and ended up loving it a lot, and becoming a big fan of Izzy in the process. There’s so much awesome stuff on here that really fits in perfectly with the current scene and climate. Izzy is going to go incredibly far, and this will very much be the jumping off point when people look back at when it started. I do think, given the way it was billed to me, it does play it ever so slightly safe at times, but for a debut album this truly fantastic. Yes, I have my little problems, but in the grand scheme of things the positives FAR outweigh any of that. And, most importantly, I simply had a good time listening to it, and I would recommend it to absolutely anyone into this modern rock/metal style that she is playing very well into. I’ll certainly be spinning it a lot in the coming weeks and months!

The Score: 8/10

All hail the queen.

Reviews

Duél: Jinjer’s Best Album Yet?

Leave a comment

The fifth album from the Ukrainian modern metal band has been highly anticipated for what feels like months at this point. They are one of the biggest newer bands in the world currently, as shown in their chart-storming previous album. I’ve never been the hugest fan of the band, even I rather enjoyed Wallflowers. Heck, I’d even score it higher now too, after more listens. So, after being a big name for a few years now, can they carry through their remaining momentum into this release? I got it sent through early and just had to see for myself!

The album opens at a blistering pace with ‘Tantrum’, really taking no prisoners. I’ve been a touch critical of the band’s drums in the past, but Vlad really makes this song, right from the opening fill. It’s essentially deathcore, with a killer riff and Tatiana’s brutal screams fitting perfectly over the top. Then it leads to a fantastic, melodic chorus with her switching to her powerful clean vocals. It’s surprisingly catchy and arena-filling. We even get an awesome little breakdown to just bass in the middle, not quite a solo but the melody is great! It takes a very ‘Pisces’-like turn when the vocals come in over the top of it; more catchiness that leads to a rather epic outro. It’s an awesome way to open the album, and easily makes it onto our playlist!

Though slower paced than the previous track, ‘Hedonist’ follows the same trail; drum fill into a huge, heavy riff. However, Tatiana’s vocals start off clean, an incredible melody over the pretty technical instrumentation. Heck, the same can be said about most of the song, as the chorus is also the same. However, the duel vocals for it are fantastic, the harmonies working so well. And yet we still get a HARD verse in the middle, her screams fitting the rest of it just as perfectly as her cleans did. The contrast between the two is amazing, making her cleans even more beautiful. The structure is a bit confusing for the track but I don’t mind, it’s nearly 4-minutes of modern metal awesomeness, and another definite highlight!

‘Rogue’ explodes right in with the screams and low, heavy riffing. It’s fucking awesome! It also doesn’t let up much, going hard throughout its entire runtime. It boarders on deathcore, and probably would be if it wasn’t so djenty. However, the riffing is a huge highlight of the track, and the album as a whole so far. That isn’t to take away from the vocals and drumming though, which has also been top class. Another awesome song!

The pace slows again with ‘Tumbleweed’, the guitars, bass and drums working perfectly to create a really interesting soundscape. Tatiana’s mesmerising melodies weave perfectly around it all too, it almost having a prog element to it all. They are certainly one of the most creative and quirky big bands in metal currently. And yet again, the screams later on fit perfectly with the heavier riffing behind them, it almost feeling like a breakdown out of nowhere. It’s great!

‘Green Serpent’ kind of follows the same formula and style and pace as the previous track, again the multi-layered clean vocals and interesting melodies being incredible. The same can be said for ‘Kafka’. And ‘Dark Bile’. And even ‘Fast Draw’, though it is a little faster and more aggressive like ‘Rogue’. This is kinda my only gripe with Jinjer. They are incredibly talented players (and vocalist in Tatiana’s case) and insane songwriters, but it does all kinda merge into one for me with this album. Individually the tracks are incredible, but when put together in an album they get a little samey to me. Then again, I know plenty of people who are more into the style as I am that will absolutely love an album full of this style. So while it’s not 100% my sort of thing, it’s still very good.

The final three tracks on the album are more of the same. The first, ‘Someone’s Daughter’ does give me pretty ‘Pisces’ vibes, while I love the heavier, closing title track, it easily being another highlight. As I said before, all are good, but are still a little similar!

Overall: I still really enjoyed this! Despite my issues, I had a good time listening to this! Every track was great, some of them easily standing up there with some of the bands best. Their talent as a band is truly off the charts. And as I said, while I personally didn’t feel like the whole album was my sort of thing, I know plenty of people that will love it. It’s an amazing collection of modern metal songs, written like only this band can.

Overall: 8/10