Post-Hardcore

Breaths – Though Life Has Turned Out Nothing Like I Imagined, It Is Far Better Than I Could Have Dreamt

Though Life Has Turned Out Nothing Like I Imagined, It Is Far Better Than I Could Have Dreamt Album Cover Art

Breaths – Though Life Has Turned Out Nothing Like I Imagined, It Is Far Better Than I Could Have Dreamt
Trepanation Recordings
Release Date: 21/01/22
Running Time: 36:24
Review by Dark Juan
9/10

It is miserable, cold and pouring with rain outside Dark Juan Terrace. Mrs Dark Juan is under a quilt on the sofa, making a round half dozen of what she is calling Paradoxical Bats. This is a woman who claims she is not a Goth, even though she has expertly carved out a niche in fabric art based upon the British belief that witches can transform into hares (also neatly dovetailing with the British were-animal being the were-hare) and is currently listening to a horror podcast whilst creating these beasts of the dark. Her Smellhounds are arrayed all around her, all gently snoring and farting, as per usual and I am banished to the other sofa because there is not enough room for my fat ass to fit on there as well. So, with my ‘pooter in my lap, I decided to attack my ever-growing list of things that need to be listened to and talked about…

I wish to make one thing clear, before I begin. I am a reviewer of music. This implies a certain criticality of viewpoint with regard to quality, ability, production and the like. This also means that if an album is poor, it is going to get a low score. I do not write for Ever-Metal.com to simply kiss the arses of musicians. Equally, if something is superb, expect me to froth excitedly in a most ungentlemanly fashion. I will attempt to be fair in my reviews and explain what is wrong with the record I am listening to, as much as I will laud to the highest heights. It is not for me to influence the marketing of a band, unless the record company and the band want to use my stuff in their blurb, which is always welcome, but I just might not get what other people are hearing. All the words I have written over the past few years (and there are many thousands of them now) are opinion pieces and I stand by my opinions. I do not feel that bands and record labels should expect anything less than honesty and not just expect smoke to be blown up the arse of someone because they have recorded some music. All art is subjective. And it’s my job to tell people about it.

Today’s thing that is here to be listened to and talked about is an album with an extraordinarily long title. “Though Life Has Turned Out Nothing Like I Imagined, It Is Far Better Than I Could Have Dreamt” is the second album by the irritatingly talented, multi-instrumentalist bastard (yes, this is jealousy talking because Dark Juan is something of a 20th rate musician) Jason Roberts of America, under the name of Breaths. This is a man who has a fine understanding of music, and is something of a genre-bending king. The record is a trip through the highs and lows of Jason’s life and there are some extremely personal moments that bleed emotion and pathos. The list of influences on Jason’s music is as diverse as it is eclectic – There are the grandiose soundscapes of Opeth and Soldat Hans, the primal power of the more polished practitioners of Black Metal à la Emperor. The emotive drone of Swans and the disassociated shoegaze of Kitchens Of Distinction. The punk edge of Killing Joke and the sweeping emotion of Deftones. This disparate (and some might say diametrically opposed) bunch of styles and influences combine to create a whole new beast, a chimeric interpolation of sounds and styles twining sinuously around each other – ‘The Wayward’ reminding this jaded hack of The Prize Fighter Inferno, before fuzzy, chunky bass leads into a howling Black Metal vocal replete with flayed emotions over-pinning a very Post-Metal riff that segues into a strange and intoxicating brew of Emo vocals and muscular Heavy Metal before fading on an overdriven note.

Opening track, ‘The Elders’, is a masterpiece in blackened drone – A heavy, slow grind depicting the pain of losing your older relatives and the wisdom they had. An unapologetic Black Metal scream leads to a clean vocal that sounds like the protagonist coming to terms with their loss, before returning to the raw pain, neatly encompassed by the lines:

“You were the ones I was closest to,

Yet I barely remember you.”

Syncopation and complicated rhythms and patterns abound. Jason Roberts is not so much a musician and vocalist as a dream-weaver, combining the rawest of emotional pain with dreamy, nostalgic memories. Concrete crushing heaviness gives way to grief driven soundscapes tinged with keyboards and electronics before expansive joy. ‘The Patriarch’ would not sound out of place on a Coheed And Cambria album until the last two minutes of the song. It’s all polished and smooth. Then it morphs and changes shape into a seriously pissed off killing machine that references Deathcore, Djent and the howling madness of Black Metal in the vocal. ‘The Tormented’ reminds me of Jaz Coleman singing in Pandemonium-era Killing Joke before that impassioned Black Metal vocal once again slams itself into the forefront of your attention, over a driving, almost industrial beat and heavy, pulverising guitar and a swirling keyboard line.

Jason is a fucking talented guitarist and bass player as well as an excellent singer in at least three different styles. The album’s production is just so, being rich and full as well as being Arcticly clean and pure. Every instrument can be clearly heard and easily distinguished at all times, even when the music is pure sonic attack. My only complaint is that the drums are obviously sequenced and electronic, but for all this they are very good indeed. This really is a nit-picking point, considering Jason does fucking EVERYTHING on this album and it would be extremely churlish of me to expect him to have mastered tub-thumping as well. The song arrangements are inventive and original and the musicianship and the vocals absolutely jaw-droppingly splendid. Clearly this is a one-man musical project that is welded to the heart of Jason Roberts. Rarely have I heard such an emotional rollercoaster of a record, one that is yet more proof that true heaviness can be achieved in other ways than sheer power.

There’s no need for this level of egregious talent. Bet the fucker is really good looking as well to make sure I hit new, exciting levels of self-loathing.

The Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System awards Breaths 9/10 for an almost perfect album. A mark was deducted for the drum sound, and The Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System hates itself for doing it to an album that would be a perfect late night on the motorway record.

‘The Patriarch’ Official Video

TRACKLISTING:
01. The Elders
02. The Patriarch
03. The Tormented
04. The Empty
05. The Matriarch
06. The Wayward

LINE-UP:
Jason Roberts – Vocals, guitar, bass, programming, engineering/production, mixing, mastering. Absolutely NO NEED.

LINKS:

Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of ‘Dark Juan’ and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

Seven Nines And Tens – Over Opiated In A Forest Of Whispering Speakers

Seven Nines And Tens – Over Opiated In A Forest Of Whispering Speakers
Williowtip Records
Release Date: 07.01.22
Running Time: 36:24
Review by Dark Juan
8/10

Hello, my hordes of beautiful people, starfuckers and the wall-eyed, vain and insane. So, with considerable surprise, I find I have successfully navigated another lap of Sol without physical injury although I was never right in the head so I couldn’t possibly comment on my general state of mind. I assume it is what passes for normal in the headspace of Dark Juan, being as it is riven with black thoughts, crude sexual deviancy and a total disregard for any form of reality that doesn’t involve large calibre weaponry, and my good self operating it. Although I would settle for a trusty longsword and hew my way through my enemies with gay and carefree abandon. Slaughter always cheers me up…

I must apologise for the lack of amusing content from me lately. I had hit something of a barren patch in writing, and couldn’t muster up the enthusiasm to write anything for quite a while, but I appear to have got hold of myself and given myself a bloody good talking to. I do so love having dodgy mental health. Which leads me to exhort you all, if you are feeling low, depressed or suicidal, to contact people and talk to them about it. Samaritans are there for a non-judgemental reason. And if you’re a fella, then get hold of Andy’s Man Club or something, because, and let’s not put too fine a point on it, mental health issues are pernicious, sneaky motherfuckers and they play merry hell with you. Far better to access therapies and get them the fuck out of your system than try to struggle through them. It does not show weakness, and it does not mean you are weak, ladies, gentlemen and gentlepersons, to ask for help. Man is not an island. Neither is woman, although an island of women is an appealing thought…

Enough of my exhortations. This is a record review, and I am currently listening to Sevens Nines and Tens, with the wonderfully titled “Over Opiated in a Forest of Whispering Speakers”. This Canadian trio have not passed my dubious interest before and it is with anticipation and excitement I am listening. Especially considering that they themselves have claimed that they wish to release “…One of the finest metal albums of 2022”. Lofty intentions indeed, but let’s see whether they can back this up with the music, shall we?

Opening the album with ‘Popular Delusions’, the band cruise into the song with chiming guitar overlaying a classic rock riff and simple drumming, and all the fuzz and phaser a psychedelic loving acid freak could ever desire, before a soft, beguiling vocal dripping with honeyed harmonies reaches out to caress your avid lugholes, and the guitar and bass thicken up to a meaty, fuzzy tone not out of place on a seriously psychedelic stoner metal record. The middle eight changes tone and speed before the song comes crashing back into your attention and the whole thing is a dreamy, navel contemplating piece of post-everything. Until the last minute of the song where everything descends into fuzz soup and nothing is distinct apart from the vocal. I can hear Post-Hardcore, Post-Punk, Post-Metal, Post-Prog and Post-Rock, forming into a dreamlike Ambient Shoegaze that reminds this silly old fool of the likes of Porcupine Tree, a less heavy version of French bruisers Rostres, the early releases of Sugar, Soldat Hans, (several songs on this record remind me of “Schoener Zerbirst Part 1” and Quantum Pig). What does make Sevens Nines and Tens different is the singing. All three members of the bands sing on this album, and their harmonies are jaw-droppingly splendid and tighter than the multiplicious arses of an entire armada of ducks. ‘Midnight Marauders’ is a fine example of this, where the vocal overlays some incredible, Bob Mould-like guitar work in the heavier sections and flits ethereally over somber, slow acoustic passages. It is also the song that is the most post-everything on the album, if you know what I mean. It’s got some seriously chewy guitar, but retains a dreamlike quality. ‘Let’s Enjoy The Aimless Days While We Can’ is a schizoid switcher between Post-Hardcore and almost classical parts, with the distortion abruptly giving way to gentle echoing guitar and switching back again but with a wonderfully emotive guitar solo four minutes in that segues itself into a melody finely underpinning the vocals.

The record is not without issues, however. The production is absolutely fine until you have the band speed up slightly, in which case the richness of the sound descends into a thick gluey mess. And the snare sound is not unlike someone twatting a piece of plyboard with a hammer. The bass drum sound is massively epic though. ‘Edutainment’ suffers from this prodigious bottom end when the song accelerates and all you get through your cans is egregious subsonic thumping. However, I would contend that this is the heaviest song on the record and it adds a certain dynamic which the album lacks in parts. The sound of the record is almost TOO SAFE. There are times when it seems that Sevens Nines and Tens are teetering on the brink of absolutely letting rip and tearing your face off and then they dial it all back in a disgracefully prick-teasing fashion. I want massively tumescent violence as well as being beguiled. The vocals, as magnificent as they are, also have moments when it sounds simply like the lead singer has been multitracked, all three gentlemen having quite similar voices.

These are minor niggles though. The record as a full body of work is gloriously crafted, tightly written and very entertaining, even if there are parts where the band are too clever for their own good, and deliberately chop a growing (and extremely groovy) vibe off in favour of noodling. I do approve of the dreamlike, aching quality that pervades the whole album and I enjoyed the nods towards Classic Rock that peek through the clouds of perfumed psychedelia and post-insert-your-chosen-genre-here. In short, it’s a bloody good record (album closer ‘Sunshine’ throws some mental Jazz in there in the manner of French genre benders Baron Crâne, who you all know I think are utterly wonderful) that has some minor quality control issues. Sevens Nines and Tens stand on the brink of something incredibly special, but they need to take that last step.

The Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System awards a stonking 8/10 for a record of supreme but flawed loveliness, that will be being played on long, lonely journeys through the night very often indeed.

TRACKLISTING:
01. Popular Delusions
02. Throwing Rocks At Mediocrity
03. Midnight Marauders
04. Let’s Enjoy The Aimless Days While We Can
05. Edutainment
06. Fight For Your Right To Partial Relevance
07. Sunshine

LINE-UP:
David Cotton – Guitar/Vocals
Maximillian Madrus – Bass
Alexander Glassford – Drums

LINKS:

EMQ’s With SEEK HARBOUR

EMQ’s With SEEK HARBOUR

Hi Everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Kent, UK based Post-Hardcore band, Seek Harbour. Huge thanks to their Frontman/Clean Vocalist, Edwin, for taking part.

What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?

Hi Ever Metal! We are Seek Harbour, I’m Edwin, I am one of the frontmen of the band. I am what is referred to in the industry as the “clean” vocalist, who does all the whiny high bits. Hah.

History of the band! An interesting story that sort of spans a few years of us knowing each other which started as a running joke to be in a band together. We have all grown up in the same town together over the years and have been in several other bands over time as well. Some of us go further back than others in the band as we have worked together as well as drank together and hung out together in the past.

It got to a point around 3 years ago I started joking around with CeeJay (Chris) each time I saw him that we should be in a band together as I was aware of his talents as a musician, so playing along, we thought of other friends who we knew and mentioned Simon, our drummer, and then we mentioned Loz, our other vocalist, as we all thought we could bring a bit to the band, and the joke for us four to become a band began.

CeeJay did originally say no from the get-go when I mentioned it with less jest, but nevertheless this reverted to a joke that must’ve lasted a long while. He then started bringing it up whenever he saw me play in pubs (as I used to play acoustic guitar and sing in a few local restaurants/bars) until one day a random WhatsApp group started with CeeJay stating something along the lines of “Okay guys. Let’s give this a shot, anyone game?” which happened after he saw Being As An Ocean at the Impericon ‘Never Say Die’ tour. That inspired him into wanting to re-create music within that genre we’ve always liked!

How did you come up with your band name?

Oh wow we had no idea for such a long time! We kept bringing the idea back into the WhatsApp group every so often, and tried our best to send ideas we might randomly think of throughout the day or every so often, but to no avail. Then the release of the first single was fast approaching and we needed to sort it!

I remember CeeJay, again, wrote a list he had of a collection of ideas and shared it and I randomly saw Seek Harbour in the middle of it and sort of went BAM – it had a great ring to it. The idea of the name derives from the fact we are by the sea, the name could suggest being lost at sea and in searching(seeking) for Harbour you find home – comfort. I tried to entice the guys by saying “whenever a band has their name a while it sort of becomes forgotten as to what the name means, it’s more about the ring to it and all you need is for fans to picture you when they hear it, not the original meaning of the name” – perfect example here is the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I don’t think of a vegetable!

What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?

We are all from the South-East of England, Kent, in a little seaside town called Deal. There used to be a bigger music scene in our hometown and surrounding areas, it’s still going but it’s very much more relaxed genres. I haven’t seen Metal or Rock for a while now. We all sort of met around the pub that did the only metal and rock we had, old bands that some of us were in have even played there.

If you venture further out from Deal though up to 30-40 minute drives in different directions you will hit towns such as Folkestone, Margate, and Broadstairs, to mention a few, and the city of Canterbury where, again back in the day, was much bigger on Metal and Rock, but still definitely has those places you can go to find it. I always find it’s better to venture out of Kent nowadays, to London and beyond, but I don’t search for gigs and things much myself now, it’s more the other guys – they’ll know! I’m normally the one that tags along.

What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)

Our latest release just came out actually! ‘Dagger Like Eyes’ a song essentially about vices, but with a twist, it focuses on an inability to overcome the final hurdle of abstinence, or being fearful of re-lapse and being dragged back into a negative situation.

It came out on the 17th of December, it’s the start of our debut EP and is available everywhere on all major streaming platforms, including an official music video on YouTube via Dreambound!

Who have been your greatest influences?

I have my own influences – where I have shaped my own voice from, and also looked up to, which would be Hayley Williams, Josh Franceschi, and Johnny Craig as some of the top few, but, as influential bands for us and our sound they would have to be thecityisours, Alazka, Alexisonfire, Being As An Ocean, Deaf Havana and Slaves- but again, our influences also vary from person to person within in band too.

What first got you into music?

Oh, good question! I haven’t thought about this for years but it has to be around year 5 or 6 in school, (not sure what Grade that is in America etc?) when a ‘music man’ visited our school with a load of instruments from the brass/woodwind section of an orchestra, everyone queued for trumpets and trombones alike and I was one of few queueing for the Saxophone, which I then went onto play for 6 years in a street band and various places. I have an alto sax to this day! I almost convinced CeeJay to let me sneak it into one of our EP songs, but I’m a bit out of practice.

If we’re talking about this genre (and just for interest) then I started on bass, moved to guitar and then I went to college. That’s where the magic happens! You get into all kinds, and I found a love of Pop-Punk, Metal and Post-Hardcore. The scene in Canterbury back then was big on Hard Rock music and nights out. I even formed a band similar to us now!

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician, who would it be?

Me personally? As the melodic vocalist I’d love the opportunity to sing with Yours Truly. I discovered them when one of our songs featured as one of those what are they called… ‘next videos to click’ that appear at the end of a YouTube video basically? From there I have gone onto liking (almost) every single song they’ve released (apart from one, sorry!) that is absolutely gold-mine rare for me. It’s never happened. I just really idolize Mikaila’s vocals, and love their whole sound, it reminds me of being in back in college.

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

Considering we’re from the UK, and we all follow the heavy music scene it would probably HAVE to be Download Festival, although, there would be a bitter-sweet irony in getting to play one of the ‘Impericon’ shows, because that’s where our guitar player hacked the idea to start the band as I mentioned!

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?

Okay this is an interesting one as we have only done a couple of shows to date, and I haven’t met any in person yet, but, when we first started releasing music a person I met in a pub one night said they liked our band and said after a few that they “wouldn’t mind getting a Seek Harbour tattoo” so that’s as close as I’ve gotten so far, ha!

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

We really appreciate people that have supported us from the beginning, and everyone with us up until now. All of you are still on the road to helping us build our dream, thank you for digging our tunes and taking the time to interact with us, even if that’s coming up to us in person, Instagram-story-tagging, or just simply saying they like the new tunes whenever we release them. It really helps when people follow, like and share with their friends & family, and we are really thankful for everyone who’s been with us in the journey thus far. We hope you come and see us when you get your first chance if & when we get the chance to play near you!

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

This is a great question but as my music taste is so broad, I haven’t delved into the “rock star” repertoire as much as others, but, am I allowed to say Freddie Mercury? Does that count? (Beth here – absolutely counts – the best frontman to ever grace this earth in my humble opinion) I just reckon he’d still keep on giving us absolute bangers!

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

What I enjoy most is touring/gigging because I like the social side, the travelling, the laughs, hanging out with the boys, the other bands and the fans, the venues, loud music, and even the food!

The reason being is that this falls under why I like the touring as it sorta branches out; someone having a connection to the songs we play and finding a personal feeling to it. I’ve always wanted to write music that helps people through tough times, or even a song for them to just have a little moment to themselves, so I really enjoy helping the fans out through music as other artists songs have helped me out, so again, I do like hearing from them and them reaching out to say they like our music.

What I hate most? Can I hate on myself? Hah! I hate that I’m lazy. I never learned my vocal scales, I never learn to use my music programs, and I never finish my own songs. This is all fixable and part of growing and learning, I guess!

From the real-world I would probably have to say it’s the costs. It costs a hell of a lot to get up and going, and even more to stay running. Most the time you don’t see anything back for months or even years. That’s why musicians continue doing it for the love. The love and the passion of the music, and the love of spreading it.

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

I would definitely change the fact that there are tons of unknown artists out there with huge talents and amazingly different-sounding music that will never make it because all the talent scouts/labels/big guys do is pick the boring 4 chord one-hit wonders (as an example), boost them to the top and let that take centre stage because of some unbeknownst reason to us. Could be entertainment value or the fact that they sold a few records. There is always a certain way this type of music “sells” by the way it’s written, and the fact that the majority of listeners lap it up is quite disheartening for the future of music.

So, it’s a goodbye X Factor and all others from me I’m afraid!

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

ONE of my all-time favourites?! Oof that’s a hard one, this means I can’t pick one that’s taken my interest recently, hmm. It’s probably going to have to be Paramore’s “Riot”. Classic.

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs, or Downloads?

I do like a nice Vinyl, I really do. There’s something about playing music from Vinyl that’s taken it from ‘play a CD and carry on with what you’re doing’ to now the experience of sitting and just, listening. It’s reading that pristine shiny cover and having it in hand and listening from start to finish. I used to work in a Vinyl shop so I had the experience but I don’t own any myself, my flatmate does so it’s not out of sight, I’m all Spotify now but I do prefer Vinyl!

What’s the best gig that you have played to date?

We’ve only played a couple as a band so far, as I mentioned, but it probably has to be the first show we did, a big stage with 4 bands for a big charity event, great turn-out, and just a good old fashioned night of beer, sweat, rock music and dancing. The atmosphere was everything.

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

I am a barman/waiter by trade so I would probably be going further afield into this, I wouldn’t mind even doing some sort of food truck/food stall with someone, but, although I have been on holiday a fair few times, I’ve never actually done that “I’m young let’s travel and work” thing yet, and I really feel the pull on it still… I’d probably be doing my bar work so I could globetrot. Yeah.

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

Oh, can they be celebrities? I suppose that makes this more fun as people reading this won’t know my friends haha! I’m going to have to think who would work well together…

Jack Black – for the jokes/vibe/random songs

Ricky Gervais – for stupidity, mocking people in jest and that infectious laugh

Johnny Depp – for a bit of an alternative/weird/serious/fun person thrown in there

Russell Brand – let’s make this more fun and weird- weird, funny and intelligent guy

Noel Fielding – I’ve seen enough ‘Big Fat Quiz of the Year’ to know how funny this’ll be now

What’s next for the band?

We have a big year coming up we hope! We had a show on the 23rd of December for the end of theyear in our hometown at The Lighthouse Music & Arts Pub, the guys that own this place are musicians themselves with contacts all over so they put on 3-4 shows a week with the most wonderful diverse music and they asked if we’d want a slot with two other great bands ‘We Struck Gold’ and ‘Sky Cassettes’.

For next year, we’re starting to book anything we can! We firstly have the slow release of our EP to start the year off along with shows and touring around the final song of the EP dropping and I even heard CeeJay mutter the word “album…?” at one point!

What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?

The classics, no Twitter unfortunately.

https://www.facebook.com/seekharbour/

https://www.instagram.com/seekharbour/

https://www.tiktok.com/@seekharbour?lang=en

https://soundcloud.com/seekharbour/

And all other major streaming platforms for the music.

Jaffa Cakes? Are they a cake or a biscuit?

I’d say they’re a cake that are able to be eaten by the many just like a biscuit; without the guilt nor judgement!

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Thank you for taking the interest and time to get hold of us for this interview! I had fun reminiscing and answering these and I hope you enjoyed reading through!

As I said earlier it means a lot when we get follows/shares/likes so it’d be great if people can just carry on doing what they do and check our new tune I mentioned!

Oh, and keep an eye out for our tour. 😉

Much love all x

Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

Areis – Areis

Areis – Areis
Wormholedeath
Release Date: 10/09/2021
Running Time: 39:12
Review by Steven Hooke
7/10

The region of Occitania in Southwestern Europe that acts almost as a centre point to the Venn diagram of France, Spain, Monaco, and Italy, drawing in cultures, dialects and history from a multitude of sources. Hailing from today’s geography lesson is Areis, a four-piece from the French Occitanie region who – much like their homeland – pull in inspirations from a variety of styles, creating a mood board of punk, post-hardcore, sludge and black metal.

On this, their debut self-titled album, Areis offer a fluid amalgamation of genres that share a kinship with the likes of Giver, Pariso and Morokh. A duality of low-end grooves and higher-end melodies dominate the album, traversing the realms of blackened hardcore (‘Born Again’, ‘Le Pain Maudit’, ‘Of Gold And Blood’), melodic hardcore (‘Eternal Curse’, ‘The Wanderer’, ‘Recall’) and post-rock (‘Under The Sun’, ‘Vacillate’). The album’s wonderful production job allows both layers to be heard crisply, revealing a strong library of riffs from axemen Paul Gonzalvez and Pablo Malbec, and bringing forth an extraordinary wall of sound on the final third of the release, with a rich, full climax in ‘Recall’ through to ‘Vacillate’.

Another dual-attack on “Areis” is the tandem vocals of Gonzalvez and bassist/vocalist Michaël Jarrié. A similar attack as their instrumentals, the pair trade low growls and a gritty, hardcore bark to add an extra layer of assault to their sound. Both vocal styles share the limelight in fair and naturally-feeling transitions that do not take away from the momentum a song has built, and even add to the energy of a song when layered, creating a vicious gang-vocal-esque effect, heard from the off on opener ‘A Wretched Vow’.

It’s a fair outing for the quartet on their debut. What could’ve been a muddied sound is in fact a new worthwhile entry into the modern hardcore spectrum, with dynamic vocal and tonal pairings, a cracking production job, and a bounty of jaw-clenching riffs. But while there are a lot of interesting ideas and arrangements, it’s hard to think that Areis have lent on this potential creativity enough. Looking at bands such as Respire, Svalbard and Birds in Row – 3 bands who also craft a sound made from hardcore, black metal, and aggression-tinged melodies, albeit in a much different way to Areis – they push the boundaries of their already-very loose parameters, and experiment from the first note to the last. In Areis, the furthest they leave the core sound of the debut is ‘You Are The Best At Your Worst’, which ironically feels like it takes more away from the broader sound, stepping closer to a more straight-forward groove metal sound when there are so many different avenues at their disposal.

The good news from this is the aforementioned bands are all at least two albums in with a plethora of EP’s and comps surrounding them. The fact that Areis can sniff at their heels, and draw comparisons to Giver, et al. paints the Occitans in a strong and hopeful light for the future, and a group to put stock into now.

‘Under The Sun (Official Video)

TRACKLISTING:
01. A Wretched Vow
02. Born Again
03. The Wanderer
04. Of Gold And Blood
05. Eternal Curse
06. You Are The Best At Your Worst
07. Escur
08. Le Pain Maudit
09. Recall
10. Under The Sun
11. Vacillate

LINE-UP:
Paul Gonzalvez – Vocals, Guitars
Michaël Jarrié – Vocals, Bass
Pablo Malbec – Guitar
Antoine Dineur – Drums

LINKS:

Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Steven Hooke and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

EMQ’s with TELLING SECRETS

EMQ’s with TELLING SECRETS

Hi everyone! Welcome to our new EMQ’s interview with Manchester, UK based Post-Hardcore band, Telling Secrets. Huge thanks to Guitarist/Vocalist, Vik Kovacs, for taking part.

What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?

My name is Vik, I sing and play guitar – I assembled the group around music I’d written and recorded in the last few years. Augustus William Clark (what a name!!!) plays bass, Lewis Wheeler plays guitar, and Matteo Tontodonati is on the skins. We are all either students or graduates of the Royal Northern College of Music, up in Manchester. I’d been sitting on a load of music and just shielding away from releasing anything until I got in touch with Matt McAndrew (Slaves vocalist) for singing lessons, and he’s really been guiding me, and helping me out musically and as a person. That was just under a year ago…so here we are!

How did you come up with your band name?

I was trying to force names by jotting down ideas and words in my phone that sounded cool, Matt was giving me suggestions too, and there were a couple that were cool, but none of them stayed cool for more than a day. It was quite stressful actually but, in the end, I was reading some of my lyrics and the penny just dropped! Cool names that aren’t good enough band names make good album names apparently, so I won’t have to think too much about those when the time comes!

What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?

We are all based in different parts of the UK, but we met in Manchester. We’ve never played a gig but as soon as it’s possible we will change that!

What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)

‘Secret Lies’ came out on the 26th February and it is available to stream/buy everywhere. It is also on YouTube too where you can catch the music video we shot for it. That was a bit of an operation during the covid tier system.

‘Secret Lies’ (Official Video)

Who have been your greatest influences?

Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Escape The Fate, Falling In Reverse

What first got you into music?

I think it was a mixture of my mum showing me Led Zeppelin IV and some Iron Maiden, and then sort of finding more rock songs like ‘Dream On’, ‘Paint It Black’ etc, through playing Guitar Hero 3! Also found Slash through that, which is why I’m a Les Paul guy.

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?

Ronnie Radke

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

Tricky one, just for nostalgia reasons, Warped Tour (does that count?)

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?

Ha – I’ll have to get back to you on this when we have earned fans!

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

If you’re digging ‘Secret Lies’ follow us up on all the socials, because there is plenty more coming this year and, as a small new band, your support is literally everything right now.

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

Jimi Hendrix

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

I don’t HATE any of it. It’s nice to have a variety of different jobs and to try my hand at each one, like planning the social media posts, editing them, then getting in touch with playlist curators and various others. I’d like to be the best leader possible, and in order to do that, I feel as though I need to know how people do things. The best two things for me though are the creative process as a whole, and coming off stage after a killer set. The beer after a set is awesome, too… Coming to think of it recording guitars is a bit of a pain sometimes.

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

It would be nice just to focus on the music alone. I love coming up with songs and the concepts for the visuals, and I feel as though I could focus on it way more if social media and groundwork jobs weren’t so demanding. That being said, it’s all part of the game.

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

Escape The Fate – “Dying is Your Latest Fashion”

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?

CD’s! I have a CD player in my car still, so I have lots of them!

What’s the best gig that you have played to date?

Not there just yet!

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

Thinking about how I could be one! When I was super small, I wanted to be an F1 driver. They’re kind of like rock stars too though, right?

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

Probably all the guys from Motley Crüe, hearing stories from back in the 80’s would be pretty entertaining!

What’s next for the band?

Right now, whilst the virus is still around, I’m just recording the next few songs and I’m hoping to get the guys together for some shoots. But I think it would be cool to play gigs or maybe even stream a virtual gig at some point this year!

What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?

Spotify – www.open.spotify.com/artist/5gOEb5JcLM5qEnorwA1lFO
Instagram – www.instagram.com/tellingsecrets/
Tik Tok – www.tiktok.com/@tellingxsecrets
Facebook – www.facebook.com/TellingxSecrets
Twitter – www.twitter.com/tellingxsecrets
Youtube – www.youtube.com/channel/UCuC03nEH0vpOZ3X05cayIEw

Jaffa Cakes! Are they a cake or a biscuit?

I’ve not had much sleep because this question actually kept me up last night, but I reckon they are a cake. Jaffa biscuit doesn’t have the same ring to it.

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Thanks for having me! And if anyone reading this likes the track then we’d love to have you over on the social pages, we post most days and have a lot of fun and the music will come thick and fast. Check out ‘Secret Lies’! Cheers!