Montreal based Funeral Doom/Dark Ambient band Atramentus has announced today that they have signed a deal with Pennsylvania-based record label 20 Buck Spin. Here is a statement from 20 Buck Spin :
"Atramentus, the Canadian Funeral Doom band featuring members of Chthe'ilist and Gevurah, has joined 20 Buck Spin for the release of their upcoming debut album. Expect absolute freezing cold Extreme Doom in the dead heat of Summer."
Updated: Jun 22, 2020
Did you know that the state of Texas is responsible for patenting some of the most useful inventions in history? I'm dead serious. 3D printing, Dell computers & hand-held calculators were invented in Texas, so were Snickers Bars, Fritos and motherfucking silicone implants! But do you wanna know what else Texas invented? Technical/Progressive Metal. Indeed, the musical subgenre which was originally pioneered by four Texan gentlemen of the names of Billy White, Rick Colaluca, Doug Keyser and Jason McMaster would be born in 1985 with the release of Watchtower's Energetic Disassembly. The band's debut album was a ground-breaking record that set the bar to a new level that no one could touch at that time. The only band that would ever surpass Watchtower in terms of technicality and creativity was...Watchtower themselves. Er... well, half of Watchtower, anyway. See, half of the band's original line-up left shortly after the album was released. Billy would be replaced by a young prodigy named Ron Jarzombek and Jason would depart the band a year after. Vocalist Mike Soliz would make a brief stint with the band before Alan Tecchio integrated the band full-time. This new line-up would go on and release Control & Resistance in 1989, an album that to this day remains unequaled and unmatched. With that said, Energetic Disassembly remains just as much of an essential classic to me and I feel it should get more appreciation. It set the bar quite high and it would inspire many bands in its wake, most notably bands like Sieges Even & Secrecy. I'm still undecided as far as whether I prefer it over Control & Resistance or not and I sometimes find myself wondering how C&R would've sounded like with the original Watchtower line-up. As it turns out, not THAT different. If you're like me and have a boundless sense of curiosity, it just so happens that I've stumbled on something by pure accident that you may want to hear. I have attached the files below on my youtube channel for you to hear and make your own opinion about :
This demo is a must listen for people who've always wondered how Control & Resistance would've sounded like with Jason McMaster doing vocals instead of Alan Tecchio . This tape was indeed the band's first release with guitarist Ron Jarzombek and the last release to feature vocalist Jason McMaster whom sang on the band's debut album. Every song on this demo, except "Plastic", were re-recorded and released two years later on "Control and Resistance". Jason's vocals fit quite well here and I must say that it was a wise move of the band to re-use these vocals arrangements when they re-tracked the songs for Control & Resistance as the foundations were already rock-solid. I have come to really appreciate the rawness of this demo, and the fact that it acts as an effective way to bridge the "ED" & C&R" eras together. It does a great job highlighting Jason's performance on these compositions which has, in my opinion, as much charm as Alan Tecchio's on these tracks. Following the release of this demo, vocalist Alan Tecchio joined the band and Watchtower made history with "Control & Resistance". Jason did rejoin Watchtower in the late 90s and together they went on and released a live DVD in the year 2000. He would leave again in 2009 but it wouldn't be the end of the road for him. It seems like it is a recurring pattern for gifted musicians to release one or two album and then completely vanish from the scene. André Corbin is another great example of this phenomenon. He took part of 2 godly albums with Helstar then all we got from his end of things was radio silence for decades aside from a few interviews here and there. Jason did not ever fall into this pattern. He's a true metal lifer. Actually, he's had more bands than most people can count and his discography speaks for itself.
To this day, Jason McMaster is an highly respected veteran of the Texan old guard and is considered to be a very notable figure in the US metal scene overall. Jason has remained very prolific over the years, being involved with numerous bands such as Broken Teeth, Dangerous Toys, Evil United, Howling Sycamore, Ignator, Killa Maul, Sad Wings, Gahdzilla Motor Company & more. He has also appeared on numerous albums as a guest musician, most notably Spastik Ink, Vesperian Sorrow & Shadows Fall. He is even mentioned in Lemmy's book. Imagine that. Probably the highest honor ever! For those curious, I have attached a link to Jason McMaster's website, which I recommend checking out : http://jasonmcmaster.net/. As for Billy White, he seems to have completely vanished from the scene whatsoever. I view him as an important pioneer to the genre known as progressive metal and I would greatly appreciate it if anyone reading this could shed some light on his current situation. Whether he released other musical outputs following his departure from Watchtower or not, it doesn't matter. I want to know regardless. I do want to write a full article on him one day because he certainly deserves the spotlight just as much as Ron Jarzombek. I just don't have any information on him whatsoever to do so! On that note, I hope that you enjoyed what you heard and read. All hail the Watchtower and hail Texas technical metal! Written by Phil Tougas // The Vault Visit my youtube channel here
Via Metal Gods TV : "Eternity’s End are a power/speed metal band from Germany formed in 2014 by guitarist and songwriter Christian Muenzner. The bands debut album ‘The Fire Within’ was released in 2016. Proceeding to record a second album, Eternity’s End recruited a second guitarist, becoming a six piece outfit. The new album ‘Unyielding’ harks back to the glorious days of power metal evolution with bands such as Helloween, Running Wild and Gamma Ray, with screeching guitars, screaming vocals and fast paced foot on the monitor style catchy sing a long able choruses.
‘Unyielding’ is a barn storming and furiously aggressive rampage of high velocity power/speed metal. The duel guitar attack is savage, as Eternity’s End rocket through ten songs in fifty one minutes, hitting the ground in full flight with ‘Into Timeless Realms’. Phenomenal pace hits very hard as ‘Into Timeless Realms’ screams along at high velocity, invoking vigorous head banging from the moment it begins. The power metal scene in Germany has been a stronghold since the early eighties and with the likes of Eternity’s End, will continue to be for many years to come.
‘Into Timeless Realms’ is one of the best opening songs off an album I have heard for ages, pricking the ears up, raising the hairs on the arms, sending a tingle down the spine and pumping adrenaline like it’s going out of fashion. The breathless opening doesn’t relent either as ‘Cyclopean Force’ takes off with the energy and urgency of a jet fighter off to war. Heavier than ‘Into Timeless Realms’, ‘Cyclopean Force’ is a typhoon fuelled rampage of devastation, that will leave you gasping for breath. As a teenager growing up during the eighties power metal explosion, this is an offering that has gone straight for my heart, and after only two songs, am already in love with it. The title song ‘Unyielding’ drops a gear and marches on at a mid tempo heavy rock pace. Majestic and anthemic in style as it strides forward, ‘Unyielding’ stands astride the borders of the hard rock, heavy metal and power metal genres.
Gloriously fast paced heavy metal takes the album to the next level of brilliance, with the outstanding ‘Blood Brothers (The Oath)’. The fierce aggressiveness delivered throughout ‘Blood Brothers (The Oath)’ keeps the pace very high, with heads banging hard everywhere, neck muscles stretching to new limits, as fans of high velocity power metal all around the world raise their fists high and punch the air in sheer delight. What a song… ‘Dreaming Of Cimmerian Shadows’ brings a touch of the symphonic metal genre to the album, with prominent keyboards and sublime guitar solos keeping the listeners attention fully hooked. Oh, and maybe I should mention too that ‘Dreaming Of Cimmerian Shadows’ is an instrumental. With its mellow intro, ‘Horizonless’ gives off the impression of impending balladry, building to a climactic crescendo as, yes, here comes the obligatory modern day power metal album ballad inclusion. Although heavy and somewhat a little moody and dark, ‘Horizonless’ is a majestic march of heaviness, keeping just half a step away from planting both feet in ballad territory.
Blistering speed returns to the album in emphatic style with ‘Under Crimson Moonlight’. High velocity and highly energetic, ‘Under Crimson Moonlight’ screams on by at a speed that may just outrun the Japanese bullet train. With a title that sounds like it should belong on a death metal album, ‘Necromantic Worship’ is a furiously fast paced, lightning quick, heavy metal masterpiece. Keyboards, guitars and vocals all scream and screech as ‘Necromantic Worship’ scorches by at break neck speed, leaving burn marks in the ground. A devastating combination of power and speed, is quickly followed by ‘Triumphant Ascent’. With hints at the sound of fellow countrymen Running Wild, ‘Triumphant Ascent’ is melodic power metal at its finest. Catchy and infectious with a sing a long able chorus, ‘Triumphant Ascent’ stands tall in the glory and epic sub genres of the power metal genre. Bringing the album to a close is the six minute epic ‘Beyond The Gates Of Salvation’. An aggressive barrage of heavy hitting heavy metal, ‘Beyond The Gates Of Salvation’ is fast paced, foot on the monitor style power metal at its finest, and is a glorious end to a glorious album."
Overall, fast paced and furious power metal, Eternity’s End deliver an infectious and catchy album of head banging addictiveness. 10/10
Originally written by Iron Matthew for MetalGodsTV.com