So first and foremore, welcome to the HEAVY T.O. series! This is a lil thing I wanted to do to get all my fellow Toronto (and Montreal) readers pumped up for the 2 day of non-stop solid action your ears about about the experience. I was fortunate enough to hit up the 2011 edition of HEAVY T.O. and even purchased the tickets before the band were announced. For some reason, I had a feeling it was going to be a good year :-)
Now, for these articles, I usually throw around some opinions and constructive criticisms. I'm going to keep all feelings aside and just report on some need to know facts about these bands to make your experience at the festival a little more enjoyable. If you know of someone going to the festival, pass the articles along and get them just as stoked as we are!
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"Cincinnati, Ohio’s Rose Funeral bring fast paced riffs, bone crushing breakdowns, and just the right amount of melody to make the group brutal yet still catchy. Rose Funeral has built a sizeable fan base over the past few years in their hometown and across the US and Canada.
Ryan Gardner - Vocals | Kevin Snook - Guitar | Julian Kersey - Bass
This band is determined to tour nonstop. They’ve endured countless DIY shows and tours even as many of their peers have struggled to tour at all. Their style of death metal and their unquenchable drive to be successful has helped them rise among the ranks of the finest in underground American metal bands.
(Photo courtesy of Adrian Perez @ Ultrablue Studios)
Rose Funeral’s first demo, Buried Beneath the Blood, was self recorded and self released in March of 2006. The demo was followed quickly by the release of their EP, Crucify.Kill.Rot, in August of 2006. The EP was well accepted among their fans in the tri-state area and helped to further their national presence. It was enough for them to get picked up by Siege of Amida Records, who re-released Crucify.Kill.Rot in March of 2007.
(Photo courtesy of ReturnToThePit.com)
While promoting their debut, they toured and played shows with: The Black Dahlia Murder, Unearth, Walls of Jericho, The Red Chord, Animosity, Too Pure To Die, The Faceless, Dead To Fall, As Blood Run Black, Emmure, With Blood Comes Cleansing, Becoming The Archetype, Dead Man In Reno, For The Fallen Dreams, Diskreet, Last House On The Left, Once Nothing, My Bitter End, Endwell, Year Of Desolation, Nights Like These, In This Moment, The Burning Season, Veil Of Maya, Iscariot and more.
(Photo courtesy of Adrian Perez @ Ultrablue Studios)
Their numerous regional and national tours helped gained the attention of Metal Blade Records and by early 2008, they had landed a deal. Since then, Rose Funeral has been hard at work continuing to tour across North America as well as writing their Metal Blade debut. The Resting Sonata is the title of that debut and will, no doubt, solidify them as one of the best up and coming young death metal bands in the US."
So far, the group has released "Gates of Punishment", which came out on September 27th, 2011 via Metal Blade Records. As well, you can see some of the reviews for the album (in case you're thinking about picking it up):
"Sonically, Gates of Punishment sounds clear and crisp, every instrument is audible to a degree and it isn’t over-produced nor over-saturated with the attempted exaggeration of ‘heaviness’. The album has a dark, sometimes morbid and at times climatic feeling to it. Most songs have their own identity, there are a few that sound too familiar at times, there is nothing awful though.
Rose Funeral have produced a good first attempt of progression. Gates of Punishment shows they’re willing and trying hard to leave their ‘core’ roots behind in a trail of ashes. They need to stop relying on breakdowns and branch out more, if they try to be more creative with their guitars it would benefit them greatly. Some may say this album is awful, some may say this isn’t good enough considering it is their third album and some may say this isn’t a bad start to a long road ahead; whatever your view, you cannot condemn them for trying to progress and to become a better band than what they were known for. Rose Funeral have a long road ahead of them, it’s possible for them to achieve the end goal of becoming a much tighter, technical, all-round improved band." -Sputnik Music
"Sonically, Gates of Punishment sounds clear and crisp, every instrument is audible to a degree and it isn’t over-produced nor over-saturated with the attempted exaggeration of ‘heaviness’. The album has a dark, sometimes morbid and at times climatic feeling to it. Most songs have their own identity, there are a few that sound too familiar at times, there is nothing awful though.
Rose Funeral have produced a good first attempt of progression. Gates of Punishment shows they’re willing and trying hard to leave their ‘core’ roots behind in a trail of ashes. They need to stop relying on breakdowns and branch out more, if they try to be more creative with their guitars it would benefit them greatly. Some may say this album is awful, some may say this isn’t good enough considering it is their third album and some may say this isn’t a bad start to a long road ahead; whatever your view, you cannot condemn them for trying to progress and to become a better band than what they were known for. Rose Funeral have a long road ahead of them, it’s possible for them to achieve the end goal of becoming a much tighter, technical, all-round improved band." -Sputnik Music
Gates of Punishment track listing:
1. Legions of Ruination
2. Grotesque Indulgence
3. Beyond the Entombed
4. False Divine (feat. Steve Tucker)
5. Arise Infernal Existence
6. Malignant Amour (feat. Kate Alexander)
7. A Recreant Canticle
8. The Desolate Form
9. Entercism
10. Amidst Gehenna
11. Gates of Punishment
"We had the greatest time recording Gates of Punishment. It is definitely a HUGE step for Rose Funeral. I can honestly say this album just crushes any release we have done. We are looking to turn heads and drop jaws with this album. Gates of Punishment is filled with intense blasts, fast paced solos, melodic harmonies, dark chords, pissed off vocals, and harsh breakdowns. This is the sound I have been searching for with Rose Funeral, and I couldn't be happier. All I can say is that with the guys I have, it will be a huge climb in sound every album from now on." -Ryan Gardner
You can also check out the music video that was released last year for the track "Beyond The Entombed":
"Across the album each and every track delivers originality and intense terror to please any dark soul. Varied and loaded with the darkest riffs and wickedest intentions musically and lyrically at every turn, there is nothing but contentment to be found. From the crumbling incessancy of ‘False Divine’ featuring vocals from ex Morbid Angel frontman Steve Tucker, through the clutching grasp of ‘Malignant Amour’ with another guest in the form of opera singer Kate Alexander bringing her glorious melodic voice to work against and with the direct aggression, to the albums best track ‘The Desolate Form’. The song ripples with pernicious urgency and fierce energy, if one has to go this is the kind of track to leave this realm with.
Gates Of Punishment is an epic, not in the size of the release or even the sound but in the intensity, creativity, and total enjoyment it gives. With a year of very good and strong releases in the death metal genre Rose Funeral has just raised the bar for them all." -Ring Master Review
And just for some giggles, head over to Metal Sucks to read about their infamous UNO incident (haha)...
*ROSE FUNERAL WILL BE PERFORMING ON SUNDAY (THE 12TH) AT THE JAGERMEISTER EAST STAGE FROM 11:50-12:10*
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