Himsa
Death By Stereo
The Banner
We Become Less
We Shall Be Blessed
Friday 19th May 2006 @ Moshulu, Windmill Brae, Aberdeen
EARLY SHOW - DOORS AT 6PM
Tickets Onsale for £8 adv
In Person - 1-UP Records, Belmont St, Aberdeen
Online -
www.seetickets.com
Phone - 1-UP Records 01224642662
HIMSA
Hailing from the streets of Seattle, HIMSA’s continually evolving, but forever heavy, sound is probably more fitting for the rain capital of the United States than any other Seattleites before them. Where many a day are dark, gloomy, and soaking wet, HIMSA’s music, whether coincidentally or not, justly reflects the city’s dreary atmosphere. Hail Horror, the follow-up to 2003’s critically-acclaimed Courting Tragedy and Disaster, very much continues in that vein.
Reversing the meaning of a Sanskrit word for peace and harmony among all creatures, HIMSA’s name now rightfully dubs them the bearers of rage and wrath, essentially translating to “living life with the most amount of harm and evil possible.” With a name emodying the very nature of heavy metal, the HIMSA of this day and age has earned themself the name they’ve had since 1998 through constant touring and undying devotion to the band’s cause.
Being chosen for MTV2’s Headbangers Ball Tour alongside Bleeding Through, Arch Enemy, and Cradle of Filth, and having toured with As I Lay Dying, Shadows Fall, and The Black Dahlia Murder, HIMSA has continually upped the ante as a touring machine, clawing their way onto higher-profile tours each time around. The band headlined the Dirty Black Summer Tour, boldly hitting the road in the face of larger touring festivals, and HIMSA’s efforts culminated in the huge success of 2005’s Blackest of the Black Tour, alongside Danzig, Chimaira, and Behemoth.
Undergoing their fair share of line-up changes since the band’s early days, HIMSA is now the most tight-knit group the band has seen over its lifetime. With the retention of much of the band’s core from their previous effort, Hail Horror, is a natural evolution fit to follow up to Courting Tragedy, which was dubbed “a manic 11-song effort that’s as speedy and raw as it is technical and melodic” by Revolver, earning the band a highlight as one of 10 bands labeled the “future of metal”. Former guitar slinger Sammi Curr rejoins the fold alongside bandmates John Pettibone (vocals), Chad Davis (drums), Kirby Johnson (guitar), and Derek Harn (bass).
Through the course of eight years, fads have come and gone and musical tastes within metal have shifted like the tides just as frequently. But all along, HIMSA’s veins have undoubtably flowed with metal. One foot of the band’s collective conscious has been continually striding forward to lead an ever-evolving metal scene, while the other has remained in the hardcore scene from which they spawned. The result is a mix of Gothenburg melody and unrelenting thrash speed. “Kirby had a lot more input on this album than the last one,” Harn says. “This one follows suit from Courting Tragedy and Disaster, although we’ve gone a little more thrash-oriented this time. Kirby’s style is more Bay Area thrash than what Sammi did on the last album, which was more Swedish influenced.” Combine that with the unparalleled aggression of Pettibone’s vocals, and the HIMSA sound continues to evolve, with each member bringing something different to the band. “There’s more variance of styles,” Harn says about Hail Horror. “This album has a little more to offer a lot more people.”
The band enlisted Danish producer Tue Madsen (The Haunted, Mnemic, Heaven Shall Burn) for engineering, mixing, and mastering of Hail Horror. They also counted on him for housing. “We stayed in one room of his house, except for when we were recording [at Antfarm Studio]. It was one room with two bunk beds and a couch,” Harn says with a laugh. “Tue fucking rules. He was super laid back, and he knew exactly when to speak up, give us direction, and he pushed us when we needed it.”
Heralded as one of Metal Hammer’s “25 Bands To Watch,” and receiving on-going video support on Headbanger’s Ball (where the band has twice been special guests), HIMSA has made the album that very well should propel them to the top of the modern-day metal food chain: Hail Horror. With chilling artwork from Stephen Kasner and Madsen’s masterful production, the new music showcases the band’s desire to succeed through a keen sense of brutal catchiness coexisting alongside musical complexity. It is that formula that has allowed the band to continue building a niche in the current metal scene and gaining positive attention from MTV, Metal Maniacs, Kerrang, Revolver, Metal Hammer, and countless outlets. With Hail Horror, HIMSA will continue defining the band’s trailblazing sound. Strap in and get ready.
Death By Stereo
Balancing chaos and consciousness is no easy feat, and few bands will ever do it as well as Death By Stereo has on the astonishing new disc Death For Life. Brutal and brutally honest, the set's eleven songs come swinging at you like a bag of bricks as they embrace the extremities of hardcore and the fluid riffs of metal.
"We fought it out and found out what we want to be," says vocalist Efrem Schulz. "We're still here, still fighting, still pissed and not pulling any punches. And while we may be into some pissed off music - at the same time we want to party. We also love Van Halen. So why not let out all of this aggression and have a blast doing it? So many people are so uptight about mixing the two ideas. C'mon. It's fucking rock and roll!"
With that in mind, there is still no way to prepare for "Binge/Purge," a musical riot of a tune peppered with touches of melody and the tenacious, expressive guitar lines of Death By Stereo's Dan Palmer and Tito. "It's a song that deals with the world and all the bullshit that is constantly shoved down our throats," says Schulz. "Everyone feeds off of this violence, apathy and ignorance. We want to purge it all out."
Crafted with the help of Deftones and Avenged Sevenfold vets The Factory (the production duo of Fred Archambault and Bruce MacFarlane), Death For Life marks a new sound and dynamic for Death By Stereo. "Working with Fred and Bruce was the best thing that could have happened to us," Efrem explains. "They really cracked the whip and made us play better than we ever have."
Schulz also cites new DBS bassist Tyler Rebbe for helping "add some much needed balls to our sound" as well as his own use of a vocal coach to expand on his vocal ability and endurance. Evidence of the latter's effectiveness is perhaps best exhibited on the sonic knuckle sandwich "Give My Life" as Efrem counters his biting, guttural throat work with the optimistic, alluring refrain, "We will live strong."
Braver still is the band's first-ever ballad "Forever And A Day," which forgoes much of Death By Stereo's hard-as-fuck tact for a moment of introspection. Says Schulz: "It's about friendship and always being there through the best and the worst, the dark and the light."
Also symbolic is the fact that Efrem recently shed his patented 'hawk. "It was just time for a change," he says of his new look. "You can't do the same thing forever. We're just moving forward, moving on and shedding our skin." Still, fans of the group's heavy, unrelenting drive should still find delight in maniacal charges like "Entombed We Collide," complete with the robo-drumming of Todd Hennig, plus recent live faves like "Middle Fingers" and "W.W.J.D.?"
Putting Death For Life up against its predecessor, 2003's Into The Valley of Death, Schulz says, "I think it blows it away. I love the last one but I think we really found out how to get our ideas on tape with this album. We've been trying to find this sound for so long and we finally unlocked the door. Dan took the reigns as the main songwriter and came back with the fiercest sounding stuff we have ever done, but he didn't lose sight of the dynamics. He got real gentle with his guitar when he needed to. Todd killed it. Tito shredded it. Tyler blew us all away. This record is who we are. I am more excited than ever. We are recharged, reenergized and ready to take on the world."
Perhaps no other song on Death For Life speaks for this new chapter of Death By Stereo better than "Forget Regret." As Tito's chugga-chugga riffs duel with Palmer's engaging guitar riff and Hennig's pummeling drums, it all becomes clear. "It's about dealing with death and learning to move on and not living a life of regret," explains the singer.
As Schulz delivers the tune's howling, infectious refrain, atop the rumble of Tyler's throbbing bass, it's more evident than ever that this five-piece is unrivaled in its fury. When probed for a credo that defines Death By Stereo, the singer fires back, "Never give up. Never give in." Roger that
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