Music Releases For June 30th, 2015

A lovely welcome back from my vacation had my ears tingling for some new music to listen to.  Thankfully, I found some great bands dropping their albums last week, and now looking forward to checking them out.  While they all have value to AFGM, I am particularly looking forward to hearing August Burns Red, Old Rake (which you might remember from metal band Evile), Straight Line Stitch, Refused, 311, and newly discovered artists Wilson (who are rocking my socks as we speak).


(Artwork by AFGM. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

So hopefully throughout the years of reading AFGM you have gotten the hint of supporting music.  Whether it be from a local record store, an online retailer, or a trusted digital source, artists need fuel for the fire to create more music.  A couple of bucks can go a long way for some of the newer emerging artists.  Cheers and enjoy discovering new music!

(Neil Young + Promise of the Real - The Monsanto Years)

The Monsanto Years often plays like the musical equivalent of that: a guy fed up with big business and environment abusers who speaks out before he has a chance to collect his thoughts. But as he’s proven before, Young thrives in these situations. For all his restlessness and proficiency (hard to believe he actually has enough unreleased material in the can for an archives series), he’s also remarkably consistent in his devotion to his projects. Even when they’re as loose and as impulsive as this one. -Ultimate Classic Rock

(Wilson - Right To Rise)

With the songwriting style and lyrical subject matter, Wilson certainly showcase a great degree of pride in their Detroit roots, and their attitude undoubtedly rubs off on the listener. For that reason, Wilson look poised to add to the crop of successful ‘blue-collar rock’ bands going around at present. Fans of the likes of AC/DC, Steel Panther, Motörhead and Crobot would find instant appreciation in what Wilson stands for. This kind of music has been made by several bands for decades, and there is no reinvention of the wheel here, but as is evident from this album, Wilson clearly excel at playing the music they know and love best. -Metal Assault

(Senses Fail - Pull The Thorns From Your Heart)

Overall, the general concept of Pull The Thorns From Your Heart is an inspiring and positive record that’s important in today’s society because of how relevant some of the themes are a major part in music today as we still progress. Nielsen’s stance of the LGBTQIA community and Buddhist teachings has always been pivotal themes in music, but now more than ever seems like the proper time to vocalize it. Pull The Thorns From Your Heart may not be Senses Fail’s best album, but it’s purpose serves more than it’s sound. -Punk News

(Refused - Freedom)

Since then, things have changed, but not really. All it took was a reunion back in 2012 to make modern music fans sit up and listen once more. Now though, they’re offering up more than just a live show and it’s their biggest gamble yet.
From the first moments of opener ‘Elektra’, it’s spine-tingly good but it’s in the screamed sentiments of Dennis Lyxzén – “Nothing has changed!” - that really hit home. While the band might have technically been out of this game for the better part of two decades, there’s no falling short on ‘Freedom’. From the jarring metallic stabs of guitars on ‘Old Friends / New War’ and the under-your-skin chanting of ‘Francafrique’ to the stomach-turning drop in the middle of ‘Thought Is Blood’, here are a band still as potent as ever. -DIY Mag

(Dew-Scented - Intermination)

 Talking about taking no prisoners earlier, the steamed machine just kept on rolling, no stop signs to alert of its incoming attack. Solemn feverish moments of vehemence came true within the “On a Collision Course” but from there on the monstrosity just conserved its consuming with “Scars of Creation”, “Means To An End”, “Ode to Extinction”, “Living Lies” and the superb Thrash Metal “Reborn”, which also hosted Kyle Thomas of EXHORDER. Often, to be honest, it would quite easy to differentiate between the songs as those have the same vibe running through them while their arrangements share similarities, yet it would be hard to argue with the quality.

Although a bit behind of “Icarus” and its previous contender, “Invocation”, DEW-SCENTED expressed their obsession with extreme Thrash with high rated musicianship and a sense of toughness that as I have said earlier, will leave pit after pit blood dripped. -Metal Temple

(August Burns Red - Found In Far Away Places)

With their sixth full length record, August Burns Red reminds us once again why they’re the heavyweight champions of a very stacked metal scene. Clocking in at 53 minutes, not once does this record feel cumbersome - in fact, the ride goes by quicker than you’d think. Known for their intensity and unwavering vehemence, Found In Far Away Places shows the band exploring brand new territories both instrumentally and lyrically. A clear ‘Album of the Year’ contender for 2015. -Absolute Punk

(Kissing Candice - Blind Until We Burn)

What’s problematic is Kissing Candice can do better than this Mushroomhead-meets-We Came As Romans style that presents itself early on in the album. “Misdirection” is wonderfully creepy, maintaining an eerie vibe throughout; even the chorus nails the tone perfectly. Hell, even the breakdown is largely effective and bound to incite a riot in the pit. “Recycled LIE” and “Put Em Up” are also winners, the latter recalling an alternate universe where Hollywood Undead went full-on into anthem mode and, you know, actually knew how to play their instruments. As the record goes on, it seems like the band finally figured things out. It’s not perfect, as some songs really miss the mark (“Shop Smart”), but then “Decomposer” somewhat saves face and contains the best riff of the album. -New Noise Magazine

(Old Rake - Old Rake)

Like I said in the second paragraph, it’s not a metal record by any means but there are metal moments to keep the thrash fans happy, such as in the finale for Onions or the guest spot by the likes of Gary Holt during Guitarists Playing Guitars. The range of styles from metal to folk (Karma’s dark tinged folk dance sound for instance) to 80s shred to Oriental influences all combine well so that you don’t get overloaded by noodling despite it being solid guitar throughout. -Sound The Charge

(Thy Art Is Murder - Holy War)

Thy Art Is Murder have advanced, that much is clear. What else is clear is the direction these guys are going: stepping away from their ‘core’ beginnings, and bringing in elements of blackened death – à la Behemoth – this progression is a testament to the band’s skill as writer,s and could well see them on their way to becoming one of the biggest extreme metal acts in the world, provided they kick out the temptation to become a parody of themselves like so many other bands of their style. Holy War is THE extreme metal album of 2015 and YOU should be listening to it! -The Monolith

EPs:

(Straight Line Stitch - Transparency)

Their upcoming EP, Transparency, shows the band exploring new musical avenues, and each track just goes to show that no matter what you give Straight Line Stitch, they’ll make it into something so much more, while telling you to go back to the drawing board and come back when you have something better to show them.Straight Line Stitch -band The only way I can criticise this EP is through nit picking at certain things. This “certain thing” is the instrumental at the beginning. My argument is that for an EP, it’s just wasting a track, or just making an excuse to put another one on there. As nice as it is, it doesn’t transition well to the second track “Dark Matter”, but the track picks up the pace of the EP. -Rock Revolt Magazine

Box Sets:

(311 - Archive)

In celebration of their 25th anniversary year, pioneering rap-rock outfit 311 have compiled the 2015 four-disc box set Archive. The group's first-ever career-spanning rarities anthology, Archive brings together 81 tracks of demos, unreleased cuts, B-side singles, and bonus tracks. Also included is a 60-page booklet of photos, handwritten lyric sheets, and memorabilia. Every track on Archive was remastered by legendary audio engineer Joe Gastwirt, who has worked with such iconic artists as Yes, Tom Petty, the Grateful Dead, Miles Davis, and others. With Archive, 311 compiled songs off every one of their albums, from 1993's Music to 2014's Stereolithic. Along with B-sides like "Let the Cards Fall," "Gap," "Bomb the Town," and "Get Down," also featured are pre-production versions of "Feels So Good," "Homebrew," "Freeze Time," "Down," and more. -All Music