CONDUCTING FROM THE GRAVE, FALLUJAH, AWAITING THE APOCALYPSE, SOMA RAS, ALTERBEAST, LIFEFORMS: LIVE AT THE BOARDWALK (Oct 5, 2013)

 Concert Reviews  8 Responses »
Oct 132013
 

(In this post DGR reviews the CD release show of Conducting From the Grave (with friends) at The Boardwalk venue in Orangevale, California, on October 5, 2013.)

Saturday (Oct 5) was exciting for a several reasons. First, it was my chance to see Conducting From The Grave take the stage fresh off the release of their new disc. Second, I also got to see Soma Ras again. Third, I’d get to see the newly christened Alterbeast and find out if my generally high opinion of them from their GBAA days would still hold up. And finally, and I swear this is true, I would finally get to see Fallujah — more on that later.

The whole show was basically a celebration for the Conducting guys, and they were treated like conquering heroes the whole night, with a pretty packed Boardwalk venue and a crowd receptive to every band who took the stage. Also, holy shit, were there a lot of cameras at the venue too; I guess quite a few people wanted to have their own bootlegs of the show that night.

One of them was right next to me for the whole show, someone who I would later find out was working for clothing/media company Atrocious Works (Home site and Facebook page) and has been posting the material online as he has uploaded it. You should obviously check them out because they’re adding to the huge archive of live shows on the net that are out of Sacramento venues, and a huge thanks to them for that. Right now, the videos consist of front-row views (and damn good sound quality) of Alterbeast, Lifeforms, and Conducting From The Grave. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD (THE DGR EDITION): THE NEOLOGIST, AETHER REALM, CONDUCTING FROM THE GRAVE, SOMA RAS, THE KENNEDY VEIL

 Free Shit, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Sep 232012
 

Our Sacramento-based contributor DGR hit me with a flurry of e-mails this morning, bringing to light a multitude of musical developments for your entertainment. I’ve now packaged them in this Sunday edition of the “Seen and Heard” post.

THE NEOLOGIST

DGR began covering the work of this East Coast duo during the days of the sadly departed The Number of the Blog, and he introduced their work to NCS beginning last January. In addition to creating their own original songs, The Neologist have also been recording cover songs as tributes to their influences. They’ve made an entire In Flames cover album titled In Flames We Trust: Volume I, and they’ve also been releasing tracks from a work in progress by the name of Working the Soil, which will eventually become a complete album of Soilwork covers. And everything they’re doing is . . . free (or available on Bandcamp with a “name your price” option).

Today’s news is that The Neologist have just released their sophomore album of original music, The Promise of Eternal Separation.  This new album comes with a variety of “extras”, including a cover version of “Red Clouds” by Disarmonia Mundi, a dub-step remix of “A Call To Harms” by Jester Strikes, and two bonus tracks from the band’s Kazakhstan release and Vatican City release (both of which are due in October 2012).

DGR promises a review of The Promise of Eternal Separation, but the music is already streaming and available for download on Bandcamp (here), so go check that out. But that’s not all we have from The Neologist camp. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: SOMA RAS — DEMO

 Album Reviews  5 Responses »
Jun 092012
 

I have DGR to thank for introducing me to Sacramento’s Soma Ras. Back in March, he wrote a review (posted here) of a show headlined by Conducting From the Grave that included a Soma Ras performance, and he was obviously very impressed. By chance, it wasn’t long after when Soma Ras uploaded a three-song demo to Bandcamp, and off and on since then I’ve been letting it wreck my fucking head. It seemed only fair that I ought to provide a public thank-you. So . . .

Thank you Soma Ras for wrecking my fucking head.

To be clear, I quite enjoy having my head wrecked by death metal when it’s as vicious, voracious, and well-executed as the songs on the Soma Ras demo. And I chose those adjectives with care, because the music definitely has a predatory quality. Soma Ras attacks like a ravenous beast that’s fast, nimble, and loaded with big teeth.

The drumming (by Flint Marshall) is off the hook — an almost non-stop flood of blast-beats, double bass, and pounding toms. It triggers an immediate adrenaline rush and maintains the intensity level in the red zone from start to finish. The blazing drum assault is matched by rapid-fire riffing and heated bursts of swarming shred, punctuated by big, jolting breaks and slams in the rhythms and rapidly slithering melodies. Continue reading »