Releasedate: 12-10-2023
Lord Volture, with over 15,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, is a heavy-metal force to be reckoned with. With three full-length albums under their belt since 2010, the band is now releasing their first Live Album, Live ’em Up. If you’re a fan of heavy metal, check out this new live album filled with high-pitched screams and guitar solos with us.
Releasedate: 29 september 2023
After releasing two tracks earlier this year, TerraDown is back with a vengeance with their latest EP, Checkmate. Coming in hard, guns blazing, with a video clip as well, this band is ready to take over the scene once more. Winners of the Metal Battle before, we expect a lot from this melodic metal band from Breda. Let’s tune in and check out their latest EP as we review Checkmate.
Releasedate: 01-09-2023
Obscure Reality is a metalcore band from Zevenaar, the Netherlands. They have competed in the preliminaries for the Metal Battle this year in Overijssel. Other than that, there is not much known about this band, so we’ll just dive right into the EP.
Releasedate: 29-09-2023
After four singles to tease us for this upcoming release, Nox Aeterna’s latest album Subject 17 has finally been dropped. This melodic death metalband from the West of the Netherlands have been around for almost 2 decades, and as they say, good wine ripes with age. Let’s take a sip of this new release.
Bards of Valor, a heavy rock and folk metal band from Enschede, have released their latest album Aegir’s Wrath during a live show last weekend. Let’s dive into the tale of Vikings and Dragons together as we listen to their 43 minutes of new music.
Following Trust Us We’re Liars’ initial release, “Neophyte Vitae,” the band attracted a significant following. They’ve performed at various venues across the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, sharing the stage with established acts such as Changing Tides and Resolve. With their latest album, Trust Us We’re Liars is now ready to take the spotlight by headlining their own show for the album release. Let’s explore the 41 minutes of new tracks presented by this Dutch metalcore band.
Trust Us We’re Liars is a metalcore band from Delft. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; metalcore seems to be the flavor of the season. TUWL gives their unique spin to the genre, however. That’s also the beauty of metalcore; since it’s evolved from hardcore and extreme metal, there are rarely two bands that sound exactly the same. If you want to compare TUWL with another band, however, Amity Affliction might come to mind. Or, in comparison to a Dutch band, maybe Wake of Dawn. The band released their first EP ‘Neophyte Vitae’ in 2019 and has since then been working on stage performance and new music. The last few years seem to have taken a toll on the band, however, since the vocalist Ward is leaving the band after their album release party. Not to worry though, the band has already found a replacement. Safe to say we’ll be hearing more from this band.
The album opens with the Bluest Light, for which the band also released a video. This track had been released previously so I’ve heard this one quite a lot already. It’s a good opener for an album, with clean vocals, nice melodies, and some orchestration to complement the heavy guitar riffs. I had heard this track before, so the breakdown at the end wasn’t a surprise to me anymore, but it will be if you hear this track for the first time. That kind of abrupt ending seems to be somewhat of a theme, since the next song Suffer has an abrupt ending to the song as well.
Suffer takes the TUWL sound one step further though by mixing in fast blastbeats. The chorus on this track is a good example of why this band has a commercial sound. I don’t mean that in a bad way – it’s just easy to listen to, with a good hook. For a metal band to connect to a large audience, it’s good to have hooks that stick, and the chorus of Sufer definitely stays in your mind.
Sleep Silently was also released previously and while it opens hard and heavy, the chorus is clean and emotional again. Again, a very good hook, as the line Finally Sleep Silently is easy to shout along. Breakdowns are never far away though with this band, and again this track has plenty. Landslide feels like a rollercoaster and reminds me of the 00’s sound of POD. Maybe it’s because of the intro of the song, but it might also be the fast riff with the emotional growls from frontguy Ward. That’s only for the verse parts though, the chorus takes this track in a whole other direction.
Forgive and Forget starts out a lot heavier, and slower, than the previous tracks. The build-up in the middle of this track and the following clean vocal part reminds me of Linking Park, so again we’re back to the 00’s sound. The djenty breaks and orchestration in the back make it sound very modern though. Again, the chorus for this track is very strong, with just the right chord progression and energy.
New Wind is one of my favorite tracks on this album. That’s because of the dissonant intro chords, that make it sound nice and dark. The screamy, raspy vocals match the energy of the guitars in the verse nicely. The chorus takes us back to the now familiar sound and again makes this otherwise quiet heavy song a lot more approachable. Then ending, however, is again a little too abrupt for my taste.
God’s Way continues the heavy path New Wind set us on and takes it a step further. The dark riffs and the almost desperate growls makes this definitely the darkest track on this album. It’s also the slowest breakdown we’ve heard so far (hello Djent).
Anno Doloris isn’t really a track, it’s an instrumental filler. It’s beautiful though, and sounds like a moviescore. It’s an interlude for Years of Pain, which starts where Anno Doloris left off. Every album needs a ballad, and this is Trust Us We’re Liars’ interpretation of one. Of course, still filled with the necessary riffs, breakdowns, and growls. Especially because of the melodic orchestration and the theme that continues from Anno Doloris though, it’s the most melodic and emotional track from the album.
With Fake Empire we dive back into the previously created chaos. Right away we start with the heavy riffs again. For the most interesting part of this track however, you need to wait till a little over half, when the track first kicks into double tempo and then switches back to the breakdowns again.
The final track of the album is Lost in Forever and Trust Us We’re Liars decides to go out with a banger. Energy high from the get-go, and basically a summary of all the elements we heard in the previous tracks. The double vocals on the chorus really add another layer to this chorus. Can anything make that better? Yes, it can! The addition of Amy-May’s vocals takes this track to a whole other level and reminds me of the emo-core bands that used to be. A really nice way to end a worthy second release.
Incrementum is a nicely balanced album for people who enjoy listening to metalcore. While that is still a rather broad genre, Trust Us We’re Liars combines all the necessary elements in tracks that are easy to listen too, while still interesting enough. Personal favorites would be Bluest Light and New Wind, but I can imagine a lot of people might pick Lost in Forever as a favorite as well. If you grew up with the 00’s metal- and emocore bands, you might recognize a lot of that in this album.
You can find Trust Us We’re Liars on Facebook, their website or in our database.
Ten Ton John has been working in the Dutch Metal scene since 2017 and has already released a few singles on Youtube and Spotify. This month however the band has finally released their debut album, Kingdom Rise. Kingdom Rise is a collection of already released and new material. The band will officially present this album during the album release party on Friday the 29th in WPC Nederland Drie. Let’s dive into these 14 tracks to prepare for the show!
Ten Ton John is a four-piece groove metal band from Den Haag. Besides having the groovy elements, that remind us of Machine Head, the band takes influence from thrash metal and dark metalheads Gojira as well. They have been working on their stage performance and new tracks for a while, but finally, the band released a debut album. Not much is known about the band, or at least not on the internet, so sadly there’s not much else we can tell you. Straight into the music it is, then!
Kingdom Rise is a collection of tracks that Ten Ton John already released over the years, complete with some brand-new tracks. The first track this band released, War of Lies, already dates back to 2019. The band has had enough time to perfect their art since then. Their style, however, didn’t change much. It’s still the same groovy, tracks, that kind of remind us of Machine Head on some tracks and Gojira on others. Especially the track Down reminds me a lot of Gojira.
The album opens with Infected Minds, a new track. After a short intro, we immediately dive into blast beats and grooving guitars. It fits the tracks we’ve heard from Ten Ton John before perfectly, and the atmospheric parts break up the song nicely. Stand My Ground, the following track, has been released before. Nice to know: the band released a hardstyle version of this track as well that’s also a lot of fun to listen to. The energy is strong with this track and it is for sure a moshpit killer when played live. Momentum is again a new release. With the progressive riffs in the intro, it has some Gojira hints again. Besides that though it’s mostly a heavy rock track, with the vocals kind of leaning towards Machine Head, especially in the cleaner, gritty parts.
With Spoils of War we are back in mosh-pit territory again. The whole track feels like Stand My Ground part 2 and it’s smart that the band put a track like Momentum in between. The next track Backbone is also a track that got released earlier. Groovy, punky, energy seamlessly transitions us from the previous track into this one. It’s not very unique, but nice to listen to nonetheless.
Run starts with a clean, almost balad-like, intro again like Infected Minds. The verse however borders on hardcore, which definitely makes this an interesting track to listen to. The verse is definitely more on the darker side. The song really comes to life with the bass and guitar riff after the first two minutes. There is that progressive goodness again that makes Ten Ton John stand out amongst the Dutch Metal scene.
Down continues on the progressive, unique line, with some Gojira influences again. Dark, low, mid-tempo riffs give this track a whole different vibe than the energetic tracks from the beginning of this album. Besides the guitar parts, it’s also Rob van der Scheers’ vocals that give us that Gojira vibes. Color it Red is a new release on this album. Again a mid-tempo intro, turning into a heavy rock track, layered with some guitar solos. Another track where the band shows their musicality with an interesting break in the middle of the song.
Into War starts with a clean, balad-like intro again, with a dark undertone that fits the title. It’s an interlude that leads up to War of Lies. Again, already previously released, but it fits the rest of the tracks very well. The band has done a good job of sticking to their own style. This is probably the slowest song on the album, taking inspiration from Doom-metal as well. Fear of Mind takes us back to the more energetic songs again after the slower middle part of the album. Not that we needed it but it’s a nice change of pace again. Rob van der Scheer shows us that his clean, melodic vocals fit this type of music very well too.
End of Hope is probably the fastest track, and a crowd pleasure with a very catchy chorus as well. I am the Enemy starts off with a groovy intro and stays with the heavy rock vibe for the entire song. The entire track is pushed along with the groovy, almost trance-like guitar strums. The final track on the album is I do not seek, I find. This has the most interesting intro of all the tracks on this album so it makes for a good closing track. Heavy on the Gojira inspiration again, this shows why Ten Ton John is unique in the Dutch scene. Especially the clean vocals in the chorus and the chord progression that follows show that influence best. This track, and probably End of Hope showcases the broad range of Ten Ton John well.
Kingdom Rise has been a few years in the making and I’m glad that the band took the time to combine all their tracks in one album. For those who have been following the band for a while, it’s nice to have a physical piece of art, and they get 4 new tracks as well. For those of you for whom this is the first introduction to the band, Kingdom Rise is a nice compilation of all the band has to offer. If you’re only going to listen to two tracks of this album, listen to I do not seek, I find and End of Hope or Stand my Ground. For fans of Gojira and probably Machine Head, although more old school metalheads will probably enjoy Ten Ton John as well.
You can find Ten Ton John on their website, facebook or in our database.
Check out the latest video for ‘Infected Minds’
At the end of the month, Trust Us We’re Liars is releasing their full lenght album ‘Incrementum’. After teasing us with a few tracks on Youtube allready, a new track dropped on Spotify today. Let’s dive into these 4 tracks to see what TUWL has in store for us later this month.
Releasedate 09-07-2023
Niels Riethorst, the man behind Dutch Black metal act Beenkerver, has released his second EP filled with 90’s style Black Metal. “Twee Wolven” is a 3-part epos about the Native American parable that each of us has two wolves inside of us; good and evil. Whichever one you feed, will win the fight. Let’s dive into these 16 minutes of dark black music and let’s see who comes out on top.
Releasedate: 30-06-2023
Bone of Elk is a new band. Formed in 2019 by the JP, Eddy, and Colin, they completed their line-up in 2022 with Delphine and Lenny. Since then they’ve been working hard on the release of their first album, A Whisper Out Of Reach. Teasing us with two singles and a video clip, we can’t wait what the full album has in store for us.
