HeXeN - Being and Nothingness [2012]

The musicianship here is uncanny! 

It is always incredible to hear an album where you can clearly hear each members love for their musical instrument. If it takes these gents a little bit longer than the fans wanted to get this one out then so be it. If you find yourself thinking, "Man, I have been waiting forever for this bad mother to come out! It better be good!"; then fear not! Because these songs are VERY thought out and much time was spent with each and every one. 

What really sticks out about this undoubtedly the astounding musicianship. Things keep moving here and well, progressing into something more. A lot of the time whenever the word "progressive" is uttered, people shun and think "BOOOORING!", and that could not be further from the truth. It is as if the band has to move forward each time they play a riff. The evidence is clear in every song, but for example with the first song "Macrocosm", which starts out with a piano playing a minor chord progression (total prog move), you can take every phrase and find a little something different each time. And that applies to every song on this glorious bastard. 

There is one thing that must be noted. This album is very melodic. This is one thing that I actually tend to stay away from because to be frank, it isn't my thing; nothing against it. It is just not my thing. But for those who cannot get enough of melody in metal this is the perfect album for you! These guys did not skip a day of music class and clearly know what they are doing. 

This really is a great album and to be honest, this one will probably be the one that takes them to the top. They really deserve it for the time and effort that was put into this bad boy. This is album appeals to everyone but if you happen to be a guitar player... prepare to crap yourself, and then start touching yourself... in that order. Legends could take a lesson for these guitarists. For a band that spent this much time trying to make themselves as well as you happy with killer tunes; you should return the favor and pick this up. Well worth your money and more importantly it is worth your time. 

83%

Favorite Tracks: Defcon Rising, Stream Of Unconsciousness, Nocturne

Vektor - Outer Isolation [2011]

Vektor's Standard is Excellence!

Vektor is the type of band that I feel no matter how far they go in their career, all the success in the world wouldn’t be enough to match that of such prodigious talent. They simply give me everything I want to hear in a thrash album; or any genre of album at that. There isn’t one thing I would change about Outer Isolation or any of their previous albums.


1. Cosmic Cortex
                I love that they start the record with this song! It begins with, without asking them, what seems to sound like radio emissions from the planet Saturn (Don’t ask me how I know that; Nerd Alert!) then moves into a heartbeat that slows down into a clean intro. You have got to hand it to them; that is some pretty nifty stuff! The intro in this song to me is a shining monument to everything that is Vektor! Then Dave may just make you spill your coffee with his high falsetto! Thus bringing the song to maximum head-bangage! What really makes this track shine to me is the remarkable guitar work! They really out did themselves with the different harmonies and transitions! Specifically I would like to point out a few quick riffs and transitions: Besides the intro, 3:03, 6:00, and the very last riff! On that last riff, having one guitarist chug while, the other strums, what sounds like an F minor chord, is just genius.

Haha I just wanted to say that the beginning of this song reminds me of fighting the "Brain" of Andross in Star Fox 64. Anyone? 

2. Echoless Chamber     

                The beginning here is a HUGE catcher! I love how it moves from that semi clean intro to the verse riff so quickly. That is easily one of my favorite moments of the whole album, it’s executed perfectly! That verse riff it quickly moves intro is one MONSTER MOSH RIFF! The bridge in this song is out of this world as well! I say that because of the outstanding BASS at 3:09 and so on! It brings in the solo section so well!

3. Dying world

                Gotta love that bass! My favorite part of this beginning is the fill on the bell at 1:00 in! It’s those little things that bring out so much. The verse in here really makes me want to stand in front, grab the monitor, and head bang until I puke! But, most of all the whole song seems to be building towards the chorus, which has somewhat of an old-school flair with the lyric, “Welcome to a Dying World”!

4. Tetrastructural minds

I always seems to be mentioning intros. If you are wondering why; it is because of the “Curb appeal”. When someone first selects a track, if the intro doesn’t put them in a strangle hold right away, one may be inclined to skip the track all together. That being said, HOW COULD ONE PASS UP THIS GEM! Not with all that bass kicking your ass! I really enjoy all of the high notes in the riffs. The harmonies really stand out here. But, the real flavor is at 4:22 where the song almost gets kind of “poppy”. Like, if you heard this part alone you may not be able to tell this is Vektor. The clean part right before it is magical as well. There couldn’t have been a better part. Also, I remember Vektor mentioning a Pirate riff. I’m sure someone beat me too it, but it was in to Demolition version of this song.

5. Venus Project

                I actually discovered Vektor because of this song. I was doing a little research on Jacque Fresco, and I stumbled upon the greatest band ever. I’m not quite sure if the lyrics are speaking of the same thing though haha. But alas, there is a very interesting clean intro. Vektor’s standard is above awesome. Things really get interesting when the song slows down. The bass under the clean part is incredible; I think it carries the whole section. The background noises here are very other worldly, if you are listening to this stoned… prepare for a vision quest. That is all.

6. Dark Creations, Dead Creators

                This is the most “to the point” song on the whole album. A “Quicky” per say. That being said, I love how this song still has about a minute of intro. Happy face. Something that really shines in this song is the DRUMS! The highlights of which is the intro, obviously, and the part at 2:37; where at one part he throws some double bass in there and the next time around you hear some blasty snare! If you are a drummer, you better hit rewind! The solos afterward are… how do I say… Special because they are more “standard?” than their others. That may be a poor choice of words, but I am trying to say that they seem to stand out because I know Erik makes a point not to have boring solos or leads. And he does so by saying, mother fuck the major and minor Pentatonic (If I may), and tends to lean more modal with the things he writes; a man after my own heart. And, I am not saying that this solo is boring; I am saying I love it and it really stands out!

7. Fast Paced Society

                There is even more bass awesomeness here at the beginning! I really wish I knew how they went about writing this part. Because, I would find it hard to write a catchy and simple bass line to EITHER that beginning drum beat or the guitar that follows. Amirite, gentlemen amirite? But, moving on… THE TRANSITIONS… OH GOD THE TRANSITIONS! I could only imagine how long it would take me to write this glorious bastard! Just skip around to any part of the song, and think, what the hell how did they get here? Also, LOVE the mid tempo upbeat at 3:51. And, the chaos at the very end of the song is freaking genius. That moves beautifully into the last song.

8. Outer Isolation

                Alas! The final track! Vektor never fails to make the title track one of the best. This one has a different feel to it. And, I can’t quite put my finger on it. I really like that high note that jumps up and says high during the verse riff. And again! My favorite part in this song is the clean, slower part; and really the whole bridge. The classical influence really shines out to create the most beautiful lead. Prog nerds could really take a lesson from this section! It really moves from clean to heavy very well here. I always pay attention to things like that because if you don’t know… Those things are very hard to write!

Favorite Tracks - 1, 2, and 8

100%

Not all my reviews will be this long. Just seeing as this is the first one of my blog I wanted to do something special. And, I really needed to write all this out before my thoughts on this album drove me insane.

Stay thrashy my friends.