Wednesday 28 November 2012

Hacktivist EP Review

Members:

Jermaine Hurley - Vocals
Ben Marvin - Vocals
Timfy James - Guitar / Electronics / Vocals
Josh Gurner - Bass
Rich Hawking - Drums

New Age

This intro track prepares us for what we can expect to hear on the E.P. An interesting intro of male orchestral vocals makes us wonder if there’s something different about this E.P from the tracks released previously. It quickly breaks into a heavy background riff with Jay and Ben delivering some fast vocals. There is a short melodic break before its drops into some heavy dissonant chords, an addition to the previous open note version. It settles into some ambient picked chords with short stabs summoning the head banging!

Unlike Us

Hacktivist previously released a music video for this back in July, so I’m sure we've listen to this many a time! Anyway, after the huge intro riff it breaks into a catchy verse. Loving the way Josh has made the bass so prominent and outlines the rhythm of it, again Jay is laying down some vocals over this. In the second verse, it’s Ben's turn. About two thirds of the way through, Jay and Ben hype us with call and response vocals for what is about to come for the outro! The outro is absolutely huge! I first heard this at UK Tech Metal Fest when I was watching Tim test out some new gear from Invictus, Zilla and Line 6. By heavily gating the same intro riff, it really highlights the amazing production – I’m sure people would agree with me if I said it’s my favorite instrumental part of the album, either that or the riff in blades...

Blades
Have to give it to Tim on this one for laying down some vocals of his own to open the track. They fit really well, and tie the song back to other bands on the scene such as Heart of a Coward (Ben and Tim’s ex-band). Back to the grime style now as Jay and Ben produce some lyrics in a rhythmic style that compliment the rhythms of this track. Might have to create a groove button for 1:53 on this track; definitely one that causes crowds to nod simultaneously. Tim uses the 8 string to its full potential with some massive chords that fill out the mix extremely well. The lows cut through just as well as the highs. This is the part just before his cleans enter again. Another heavily gated part leads us out in the Hacktivist style we know and love!

Hacktivist

My jaw dropped when I heard the album version. Having been used to the previous release, I was not expecting it to be mixed too differently or new parts to be added! The drums in this track laid down by Richard particularly stand out for me in this track, it makes the track sound so much more powerful. I can almost mime the words to this now I've enjoyed it so many times! Just before the mellow interlude half way through the song, Tim shows off both his writing and production skills; using gates again, and off-beats to create a contrast. “I think that you have bitten off more than you can chew” is part which is the epitome of this track, and maybe this E.P.

Cold Shoulders

Ben takes his turn in kicking off the track this time, with Jay providing the response. I think Ben is more dominant on this track. This track includes the heaviest riff of the album – it’s brutal! Bending and releasing of the first fret of the low E by the sounds of things, such an awesome tone! This is quickly contrasted with the second verse; it’s quite mellow and predominantly driven by drums. Now time for another head banging groove at 2:20 – has a great response at Hacktivist gigs. The instrumental from here on in is phenomenal, so melodic and yet still driven by rhythm, pure writing genius! I love the drum groove which leads it perfectly into a chorus including vocals from Tim again. It’s a great climax and the way it all comes together to end the E.P is fantastic.

In summary then, Hacktivist have put together a brilliant E.P full of groove and grime – a milestone in this combination of rap/grime/djent.


Good job guys, keep at it and we’re looking forward to the album! 
Listen to the whole EP on our Youtube now: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLclZYosOpjWoU4x84xx4SobtSyhq6xFu&feature=view_all
  
 
 

Sunday 7 October 2012

Sean Hall Terrestrial Album Review

Terraform

Terraform kicks off the album and has a trancey, eerie introduction which is quickly contrasted with the sharp tone of mid-range guitar stabs. This continues throughout, and remains a theme within the EP. Snare shots accent the beat, as you begin to hear the ‘following’ of rhythms. Almost like call and response, Sean plays a riff which is identical to the kick drum rhythm. This sequence is then followed by snare quavers. It reminded me of Recreate by Born of Osiris, near the end.

Arrival


This song is great mix of sheer fast-paced rhythms spaced between glitch-driven interludes. Hall and Farias have definitely made use of panning in this track! Whilst the guitar stabs and rhythm are predominant, there are ambient picked notes in the background. There is a small interlude with glitch drums that breaks up the song before it drops again into the punchy rhythms. 1.55 is very groovy, using whammy depressions – a technique becoming more popular in the tech metal scene nowadays.

Orrey

Harmonies are definitely prominent here. A very melodic song, offering a contrast to Terraform and Arrival. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still packed with ‘djenty’ riffs and fast-paced solos. Towards the end, it really fills out as the drums build up with the melodic guitar solos.

Xenomorph

A cracking djenty riff is what drives this song. Short stabs, with quick guitar runs. Snare shots accenting the beat helps bring this song together and keep it tight! I like how there is a strong sense of noise gated rhythm, but at the same time melodies that give the song direction – and the tone is fantastic!

New World

In my opinion, this is my favorite track on the album. It has the perfect combination of progressive rhythms and catchy melodies. It’s also backed up with some huge power chords! It begins with a tapping progression and rhythm that you might find in a melodic metalcore composition. I have to give him credit for the drum programming in this, some of the fills and cross-rhythms very well done.


Summary

The Terrestrial Album is an inspired creation from Diego Farias and Sean Hall. As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve highlighted the ‘melodic’ element within the songs – it really does describe the main feature of this album well. The sustained picked chords separate this from many ‘djent’/tech bands, but the thing I like the most is that they are mixed well so as not to detract from the epic rhythms! Good job lads, looking forward to Terrestrial 2.0!
 
For Fans Of 
- Elitist
-Monuments
-Volumes
www.Facebook.com/SeanHallMusic
seanhall.bandcamp.com/album/terrestrial

Tuesday 2 October 2012

Monuments Interview!

Starting off, I just want to say great job with Gnosis. It's been a long wait for me and I'm happy to finally get my hands on the finished product. That being said, what were the biggest obstacles when writing/recording Gnosis?

There were many many obstacles to overcome, mainly just time and the shear amount of energy required when you undertake a challenge like making an album. Im pretty sure most people are aware that we had to find a new vocalist during the process which is easier said than done in this genre, apparently no one wants to work intensively and make no money, haha. But after a long time spent searching we found Matt and he managed to smash out the vocal parts in under a month, which we were all very happy with since we were already more than a year behind schedule. Other than that it went pretty smoothly, the hardest part was making sure everyone in the band was happy with the mix that Brown was working on and then finally the mastering which was done at Metropolis studios in london.

 How did the writing process go? Was it a collective effort as you went along, or were there staggered breaks between writing between the members?

Yeah the process was mainly a collective one, although it ran over a period of just over three years, so the members that came later (Matt and Olly) had less input into the instrumentals than the rest of us. Browne was the main song writer for the vast majority of the record, but the rest of the members helped arrange parts and add there voice to there particular intrument. Later on Olly added some lead work and Matt brought his vocals.

I understand that you'll be proud of the album as a whole. But is there one specific song that stands out as your most proud moment in terms of songwriting or your own personal ability?

Weve all got our favourite tracks but i think the one that really came together with vocals and everything else was BlueSkyThinking, at least thats wat me (Swan) and Matt think, the rest of the guys would probably argue all day over that question.

Do you write music in your downtime, or do you have periods of time where you just sit down and write?

All of us write music in our spare time, not nessecarily for Monuments but all of us love music and its a part of our daily lives. We are just starting to get ready to write the next album as i type.

What kinds of things do you find inspire you to write new music? Other music, films, nature, anything?

All of that and more, Browne likes to get inspired by films and documentarys and work to a concept in his head, Matt like me (Swan) is inspired by a huge range of music and lyrically for this record, Noam Chompsky, Christopher Hitchins and Bill Hicks. Olly's influences are mainly drawn from heavy music (Gojira,Decapitated etc) and I think I can safely speak for me and Mike and say we are heavily inspired by everything from Jazz and Fusion to Hip-hop and Soul as well as Prog and Technical Metal.

How do you plan to structure your touring schedule after the release of Gnosis? Do you plan to tour for a short period of time, then get back to writing new material, or do you plan to tour for an extended period of time?

Both really, we would like to tour as much as possible but we also know we need to get another album out as soon as we can.

How would you describe the experience of filming/recording/releasing your video for 97% Static? How much of the actual production were you a part of? Besides recording in it, of course.

We decided to go with Stuart Birchall because we trusted giving him creative control over the video and i think we all agree that him and his crew did a great job.

How do you feel about the current generation of the "metal scene"?

I think its great, i mean the scene we're in is getting very over saturated with copycat bands but ultimately i think it'll simmer down to the pioneers and anyone else who throws out somthing original.

Last question, what music are you currently listening to? Anything new, or do you stick to old favorites?

Everything really personally i try and listen to new music every day. Im with Matt now and hes currently spinning the new Deftones, Ive also recently got into the new Architects and Browne is always playing  Karnivool.


Monuments new album Gnosis is out now on Century Media

Check them out

http://www.facebook.com/thisismonuments
http://www.youtube.com/user/THISISMONUMENTS





Wednesday 5 September 2012

WINGS DENIED INTERVIEW


Is There any Concept to the EP?

Zach: Nope. Originally, back when we were first starting, and went by the name Aeviternity and had a different singer, we had plans to record a conceptual EP, which Vultures was supposed to be a part of. But, then Luka wrote his own lyrics, we re-wrote part of the song, and we scrapped that old idea pretty quickly.

Paul: There is no concept. There are way too many of those and Devin Townsend already created the greatest concept album with deconstruction.

Luka: Yes, it’s about a man who wakes up, and takes a giant poo that ends up dominating the world. Just kidding. There is no concept what so ever. All the songs were done independently of each other and were created through a long period of time.


How Did you form Wings Denied? What is your musical background?
Zach: I got my first guitar on my 13th birthday (a little over six years ago). I always listened to a lot of Rush, Yes, and King Crimson, and one day, a friend showed me Dream Theater and Opeth, which was pretty much my introduction to metal. I’m not a traditional metalhead, and never have been- I got into it through prog, and that’s pretty much still all I listen to. I started off with a band called Acrasia in my native North Carolina, which played BTBAM-esque prog metal (we’ve got an album on bandcamp if you’re curious), and opened for big-name acts like The Human Abstract, Animals as Leaders, Scale the Summit, Last Chance to Reason, and Intronaut. When I moved to DC, Acrasia broke up, and I wanted to start a new project right away. Turns out that Paul, my roommate, was into the same kind of music, and we started writing together, first calling our project Aeviternity, because we couldn’t think of anything else. Paul found Alec, and Alec found Luka, and the four of us went from there.

Paul: Wings Denied was formed from Aeviternity, a project Zach and I worked on for the first month as roommates. We started looking for members and I was referred to Alec by a buddy of mine, Jesse, who is another sick drummer and from there we started jamming a couple ideas and eventually Luka came aboard and completed us. As far as musical background I have been classically trained for about 15 years on violin, and not so classically trained on guitar for about 7 years.

Alec: Paul found me through my room mate. I played piano for a long time and drums for around 6 years.

Luka: I knew Alec from before (we lived across the hall from each other) and I told him I sing and he invited me to try out for his new band in the making. My musical background is jazz singing.


What made you want to play "Progressive" music such as "Djent"?
Zach: It’s what I’ve always listened to, simple as. My favorite bands are Porcupine Tree, Isis, Tesseract, Unexpect, and Between the Buried and Me, all bands that break the mold of traditional music in many ways, and I like doing the same. I actually see Wings Denied as a bit of a challenge, trying to tone down the crazy structures and passages I used to work with in Acrasia, and focus on groove-laden and melodic music, not stuff that’s just heavy or progressive for the sake of being heavy or progressive.

Paul: I play “progressive” heavy music because I enjoy the freedom it gives you as a musician. If you feel like the music calls for a major or jazzy section, you can include one, if you want a song with all clean vocals, you can have a whole album of clean vocals.

Alec: I like that progressive music is musically interesting and I like busy music.

Luka: I wasn't even aware of the existence of the djent movement (except Meshuggah and Tesseract) until I'd met the guys from the band. I was drawn in by the fact that I was able to experiment with my vocals and use primarily cleans and that’s why I personally like playing djent, although I am not a big fan of many djent bands.


Why did you decide to release the EP for free using sites such as bandcamp? Has it benefited the band by using the "Pay-as-You-Please" method?
Paul: We chose to release the EP for a free download because as music lovers, we know it is hard to get people to pay for music nowadays. When it comes down to it we play music because we love it not because of the money. We have had several donations and we greatly appreciate each one.

Zach: I’m with Paul on this. For one, we both know if we put it out for money, we’d lose a lot of potential listeners, or they’d just torrent it anyways. For two, we’re a small band from DC that nobody’s ever heard of (though we’re looking to change that!), so nobody would pay for our stuff anyways. For three, I personally think that “pay what you want” allows people to give what they can, and what they think the music deserves. We’ve had people pay $10 for our 3-song EP, and we’ve had people pay 50 cents. Out of something like 425 downloads, I think we’ve had like 20 that have paid anything at all. And we love all of you, regardless of whether you paid or not. Just so people know, the money goes to pay for things like shirts, gas when we play shows, and posters.

What do you think of the Progressive Metal/Djent scene , do you think there is more to come out of it?


Zach: I think that though it’s popular now, people have been playing music with sections or riffs similar to djent since the beginning of metal. I think that music naturally continues to progress, and incorporate new and exciting elements, and djent will do the same thing. I think it’ll still be around in 20 years, but the “purists” probably won’t call the new stuff djent anymore. And that’s totally fine.

Alec: I think djent is a phase just like all forms of music...but it doesn't matter really because we just play music that we like to play. It's about enjoying yourself.

Luka: I think the djent metal movement is fascinating due to its incredible boom but it has also peaked and is slowly losing its momentum in terms of musical creativity and freshness of the material produced. It very much reminds me of the metalcore movement that started with Killswitch's Alive or Just Breathing and then everyone tried to hop on to that train but the music kept getting more generic and now it is very hard to find good metalcore. I feel like same thing will happen with djent.


Any plans for a album? Will it be self produced again?
Zach: We’re not sure. We had two songs not on the EP that we were playing on tour as well, have another three which are nearly 100% finished, and another four which are works in progress. We’re looking into a full-length, but we’re also looking into doing a split or two, or maybe another EP. We’ll see. We only want to release our absolute best material.

Paul:  We have many crazy plans in the works with a lot of music coming your way. Let’s just say that. It will most likely be self produced again. ;)

Alec: No real plans for a full-length yet...maybe a split in the future, but we really want to ride Awake for a little while.


What equipment do you use?
Zach: A Schecter C-7 Plus for now, but I’ve ordered a Carvin DC 727, which will soon become my main guitar. I use a Pod X3 Live. We tune to Drop G# on a 7-string, except Maiden, which is in A# Standard, and a new song, which is Drop G# with the low string tuned to F#. Heavy as a particular Strapping Young Lad album.  

Paul: I use a Schecter Jeff Loomis signature guitar, and a Line 6 Pod X3 Rack, with a foot controller. Also, I can answer the production side of things. To make “Awake”, we used a tape recorder and held that up to a stereo blasting Periphery and Meshuggah and hit record. Next we converted it from tape to mp3 then back to vinyl then back to mp3 to ensure top grade audio. Then we took those samples and threw some midi into pretentious drummer 5. Then we got our singer Luka to sing into our Macbook speaker straight into Garageband. I mixed, and mastered in Audacity. Finally, after reviewing the tracks, we realized that it sounded like shit, so we went onto some underground russian djent forum and downloaded some bands first EP and re-released it as our own.

Alec: DW pedals, Ddrum kit, mix of MeinL, Zildjian, and Sabien Cymbals, Tama stands.

Luka: I use a voice. And live, I borrow a couple of Zach’s guitar pedals (Boss CH-2 Super Chorus, and DD-3 Digital Delay) for ambient shit.


What does this year hold for Wings Denied?
Zach: Hopefully some Taco Bell. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get Taco Bell near where we live in DC? It’s like a 30 minute metro ride. But seriously, at least one new release, most likely, a lot of local shows (we’ve got a few planned already), and possibly another tour next summer. Right now, we just want to get our name out there more.

Alec: This year we really want to branch out and increase our following...lots of shows and some new music!

Friday 27 July 2012

Miroist Interview!

First of all thank you for taking the time talking us here at DWTV , you recently recorded a 3 track EP called The Pledge. How was the recording Process? Is there any concept behind it ? and where can people find it?

Hey, thank you for having me!

The Pledge is available for free on Bandcamp http://miroist.bandcamp.com/.  The idea behind the EP was to try and combine my joint love of post-rock and progressive metal and create something dark, heavy and murky.  I wanted to get away from the highly processed, digital style of djent and do something with a more organic feel.  There is an overall concept, and lots of effort went into creating a theme and the artwork and the whole package, but at its heart it's just about making decent music, otherwise its all bullshit.

Writing and recording took place over about 5 months.  I basically learned how to mix from the ground up over that time, and I've still plenty to learn.  I've been in bands before (none anyone has heard of), and dabbled in recording, but this time it was just me, and I could be responsible for the whole writing and the recording process.  It took a lot of work, but I really enjoyed it and am really pleased with the final result.  The best part of it was working with my good friend Chris Lees on the artwork, I think his designs are incredible and fit the EP perfectly. 

Do you feel like the Pledge has been received well by fans?
So far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive.  I started from scratch and released a dodgy demo in November that a few people seemed to like, and then just disappeared into making the EP until April. So, I wasn't expecting anything from it, but so far, with the help of an amazing and supportive scene people are finding my music and seem to be really digging it, so it has been a really good few months and huge thanks to everyone who has supported me so far.


What pulled you into the Progressive Metal/"djent" scene? , How did Miroist start?
Inevitably, the answer here is going to be Meshsuggah, though I was listening to Mnemic and Tool before them.  I've been making music for many years, but have always struggled to tie my influences together.  I've always been inspired by the cinematics of post-rock music, it's heavy in a totally different way, and that's one sound, perhaps Cloudkicker aside, that hasn't really made it into the djent sound.  I wanted to create huge walls of sound and play with dynamics, and have interesting grooves and kinetic riffs.  It's taken a while to piece all that together.


What Bands do you take influence from?
Godspeed You Black Emperor, The Twilight Sad, Cloudkicker, Vildhjarta, Meshuggah, Boards Of Canada, Autechre.


Where did the name Miroist come from?
It's just a word I made up.


What do you think of the "djent" scene at this moment in time , do you think there is more to come from it , or is it slowly turning stagnant?
The sound was blessed with some exceptionally talented people in the early days - Misha, Acle, Chimpy etc weren't just brilliant musicians and players, they were also skilled *producers* too.  Unfortunately I think that's had the knock-on effect of blurring the musical aspects with production aspects of it - there's a passionate interest in how it's produced that I don't really see in any other form of music.  But if everyone aims for "8string EMG hyper-compressed syncopated riffing with glitch interludes" it's going to start sounding the same because only one part of that is anything to do with what you're going to do in the music.  It's just going to take more than a few years for things to diversify.  Sure I think there are some copycat bands, but that's the same in every genre and I don't think djent has any more of a 'problem' than other styles. There's a huge wealth of support from the fans, the level of engagement is incredible, and djent continues to be blessed by many forward thinking and unique musicians too.


Any plans for Miroist becoming a live band , or will it simply stay a "studio project"
?
I would love to take Miroist live and I'm looking for the right musicians to do it.  There's no rush though.


Whats in store for the rest of 2012? Any big plans?
I've started work on a full length album, though I have no set timescale and can't say when it will be out. I can say that it won't contain any of the songs on The Pledge because recycling is boring - I like creating new music and see no reason to revisit things once I've put them out.

HUGE thanks to everyone who's downloaded, purchased or listened to the EP so far, and thanks to DWTV for the continued support!


We'd like to thank Miroist for taking the time to answer some of our questions , we wish him luck with his album recording!!!!



Tuesday 24 July 2012

Miroist - The Pledge ( Album Review )

Welcome to the first album review on this blog! The first of many we hope!

Miroist is a progressive metal/"djent" project from London. This Ep combines many common aspects of Progressive Metal and Djent with elements of Post-Rock. In my personal opinion I feel that many bands try to pull this off and most of the time don't hit the mark. On the other hand Miroist has done a great job in achieving this.

The Pledge EP is a 3 track phenomenon that really distances itself from the ever growing "Djent" stereotype that many other bands follow. It seems that Miroist has created his own style and really built on it throughout the process of this EP.

The Pledge kicks off with i ; Non decipies me , fortuna. Straight away the album kicks in with a fat technical groove. This pulled me in straight away and I knew from there I would enjoy this EP. After this massive riff , Miroist breaks it down with an ambient "chug" section , showing his versatility and writing skills.I really like the chord progression uses in the section as I personally feel it complements the ambient layers extremely well. My favorite part of this song is definitely the transition into the final groove at 4:20. I applaud Miroist's Production skill to create this.

The second song ii ; Schopenhauer's Fallacy is a more ambient track than Non Decipies. After a minute of ambience and a jazz style drum groove, the piece becomes more upbeat with a fast paced groove and the song comes to life.

iii ; He had been old in the beginning; but he was saved is the closing track of The Pledge. It is an 8 minute masterpiece and a great ending to a very enjoyable EP. This song has it all! Hard hitting grooves and Trippy Ambient sections supported by Heavy chugging guitars!

The highlight of the EP was the Post-Rock/Djent section in iii ; He had been old in the beginning; but he was saved. From 3:08 I was completely lost in music. The ambience supported by the chugging was absolutely beautiful , it created a really nice atmosphere me and reminded me of Post-Rock legends such as God Is An Astronaut and a heavier version of This Will Destroy You.


My Verdict

5/5 - I thoroughly enjoyed The Pledge from start to finish , I felt that the use of ambient Post-Rock style sections mixed with big grooves was great.


For Fans Of

- Fell Silent
- TesseracT
-God Is An Astronaut
-This Will Destroy You
-Outrun The Sunlight

 Check Out Miroist

-http://miroist.bandcamp.com
-http://www.youtube.com/user/MiroistMusic
-http://www.soundcloud.com/Miroist
-http://www.last.fm/music/Miroist
-http://got-djent.com/band/miroist
-http://www.facebook.com/Miroist

DWTV

If you are reading this , thank you for looking and welcome to the first post on the DWTV Blog.

We are DjentWorldwideTV. A "djent" scene promotion company looking to help promote the bands in the scene. We try to achieve this by doing several things. Things started kicking off on our original YouTube which was made in early 2011. The channel started to gain a lot of notice when we uploaded Alex Bois by Vildhjarta. This song was shared by many Djent FaceBook groups and got the channel a bit of notice. Things took a turn for the worst as our account was banned for Copyright reasons.

After a few months out of the "promotion" scene , we came back with a new YouTube channel. Things started off slowly but now we are moving forward with 304 subscribers and 47,000 views. We also recently created a FaceBook page which is also gaining popularity.

"DjentWorldwide is a none profit organisation run by a group of 17 year olds from England who have a keen passion for the "Djent" music scene. "Djent" is the preferment to many people on the internet to the sound of 7 and 8 string guitars and is a new wave of music which has exploded onto the metal scene from 2010 (after Meshuggah of course). The point in this Youtube account is to firstly introduce people to djent and to show to the world new sounds/bands and live videos to promote and help them achieve, also for the amazing music. Soon we will have a Facebook page. Everything is also HD \m/"  - Taken from our YouTube and FaceBook channel.

In the future , this blog will be used for many things. Current affairs in the music scene , Album reviews , Live reviews and the occasional bit of press work from the DWTV team.

If you want us to upload or review (even both!) one of your bands songs , send it to DjentWorldwide@Gmail.com.

Many Thanks

DWTV Team.