We’ve appreciated all your support and comments. Sadly we are announcing our official hiatus for the next while – but we WILL return with new content in mid 2012 to keep you entertained! Keep it metal!!! \m/

Gruesome Geddes from "Anger Management Radio" and Missy from "The Pit Music" salute you!

Seattle’s Book of Black Earth return with their record The Cold Testament, and you’ll probably be able to burn down any churches within a ten mile radius of your stereo just by pressing play.

Death metal of the blackest variety, the band’s organ-grinding riffs, machine gun drums and throat-shredding vocals are amped up with some cleaner production for this record. Never fear though, the gritty and raw sound BOBE are revered for stays, it just sounds a hell of a lot denser and meatier.

From opener “Weight of the World” to the brutal “Research & Destroy”, the band perfects the familiar black metal prototype- building on predecessors such as Morbid Angel and Deicide while welding their own intensity into their songs.

“Road Dogs From Hell” stands out as the bastard marriage of black metal and Pantera/Motorhead beer-can-crushing rock, and while the odd track out, it’s a good time. “Irritating Spectre” is easily the album highlight, with a phenomenal lead guitar line that carries it throughout.

The anguished, raging chorus of “Antarctica” shows off the powerhouse vocals on tap in this band courtesy of T.J Cowgill. Vocals and growls of this intensity yet always consistent are impressive- the emotion, the rage, the rawness isn’t sacrificed for the vocal effect, Cowgill has a perfect balance of both of these necessities and is a front-runner for one of the best vocalists in metal of any genre.

This is one solid record in the repertoire of a fairly young band. This is a band to keep your eye on.

Courtesy of Anger Management Radio
“LESS CHATTER…MORE SPLATTER! SINCE 2005!”
Thursdays 10pm Till 1am (EST)

RADIO – 88.3 FM
ONLINE – www.cjiq.fm
DIGITAL – Rogers Digital Cable channel 947

10pm
Winds Of Plague- Only Song Were Allowed To Play In Church Venues/ Most Hated
*Cancer Bats- Sabotage (Beastie Boys Cover)
*3 Inches Of Blood- Deadly Sinners
*Disfigured Elegance- Catharsis For A Stillborn
*Rosesdead- Balance
*Counterparts- (You Think You’re F***king) John Locke
Dream On, Dreamer- Persist The Voice
*Conquered Ground- Back To Beginnings Feat Kent Sheehey)
Carnifex- Hell Chose Me
Arsonists Get All The Girls- Dr.Teeth
After The Burial- Your Troubles Will Cease And Fortune Will Smile Upon You
Born Of Osiris- Follow The Signs

11pm
Erra- Andromedia (Gruesome’s Extended Mix)
For Today- Seraphim
The Black Dahlia Murder- Conspiring With The Damned
Here Comes The Kraken- Never Regret
Defiler- Cryomancer
*Dancing With Paris- Plurals
August Burns Red- Mariana’s Trench/ Backburner/ Empire
For The Fallen Dreams- My Anthem/LikeSymphony // Vengeance

12am
***Classic Cut Set List (Punk Theme)***
The Casualties- Casualties Army/ On The Frontline
Rancid- Time Bomb
Misfits- Die, Die, My Darling
Sex Pistols- God Save The Queen
The Clash- London Calling
******************
Attilia- Rage
Ligeia- Teenage Wasteland
The Irish Front- Monsterbation
Norma Jean- I Used To Hate Cellphones… Now I Hate Car Accidents
A Different Breed Of Killer- The Accidentist
All Shall Perish- Never Again
Asking Alexandria- Morte Et Dabo
Gwen Stacy- Gone Fishing… See You Next Year
I See Stars- Gruesome Geddes Remix

Listening to Portrait’s new album is an interesting experience, to say the least. One moment it’s face-melting, finger-shredding, testicle-dropping (that’s right, kids) solos that will have you, or in this case me, knocking everything else off the desk to pull some epic air-guitar to this amazing guitar wizardry. The next, what was awesome has turned into some rather bland metal that could be any number of bands already out there.

Nothing terrible, but nothing note-worthy or impressive. There’s a tide of kick-ass riffs and solos that surf over a body of work that’s a lot of filler. Vocalist Per Karlsson invokes a power-metal falsetto the best he can, giving most of the songs a familiar Iron Maiden/King Diamond sound, which works well for the most part but one can tell he’s still working on finding his own voice instead of emulating others.

The rhythm section is a gaping hole in the sound, where it needs to amp up the sound between solos, there’s nothing giving the music any extra push or depth. Spectacular guitars, sub-par songs. Portrait has some fantastic secret weapons as their guitarists, but they have some work to do to sound like their own band.

Having formed in 2006 though, there’s much potential here, so if you’re in the mood for some six-string insanity, pick this up and keep an eye on their future work: it’s missing their own, carved out sound but it does sound like they’re getting there. Some great dark, powerful moments and some excellent eerie, Goth-metal moments. Candlemass and Venom fans might find something they like in here as well.

Available on CD, loving this Scandanavian-gothic throwback of a cover: dark church in a barren field framed by dead trees. Awesome old school, black metal aesthetic that looks fantastic and suits the album.

Scrap metal reigns supreme with Quebec’s raging rockers Barn Burner. Missy spoke to lead vocalist Kevin Keegan, about their upcoming release “Bangers II – Scum Of The Earth” and keeping the dream alive…

***

Tell us about this “Scrap Metal” genre the band coined recently (on the facebook fanpage). If anyone else could fit into this niche alongside Barn Burner, who would it be?

KK: It started out as just another one of our goofy t-shirt ideas. Taylor (drums) has a weird obsession with scrap yards so we started coming up with all sorts of funny scenarios involving us as a band running our own scrap yard. Scrap metal as a moniker for our sound just came conveniently with all of the scrap yard talk. The idea of scraps of different styles and influences made sense along with the constant confusion over what genre we belong too. I don’t want to classify any other bands as Scrap metal just in case it bums them out. They might think its something on par with nu-metal, which would be a disaster! Any band that defies specific genre classifications but just loves all that is metal could probably be considered Scrap Metal.

Your touring schedule has been nothing short of eventful; the band is always trying to reach new cities, what’s been the wildest ride to date?

KK: Our European tour was probably the wildest. There is a totally different standard for bands in Europe, the basic notion that a band should be fed and given a place to stay is the standard, which for a band like us seemed like heaven on earth. The sort of fun that having those basic fundamentals covered opens up really makes touring easier.

And how has this tour with Cancer Bats and 3 Inches of Blood been so far? It must be cool to tour with friends as opposed to just other metal dudes?

KK: Yeah, the friend aspect makes it really smooth. There isn’t a buffer period where you are still getting to know each other, you just pick up where you left off.

Is there a different vibe when touring with fellow Canadian rockers; are the crowds more receptive to your tunes?

KK: Well, it’s only been a couple of shows so far so I’m not sure yet how its going to be overall. In general I think there’s enough familiarity with our stuff through having played shows with these bands before that the crowd is more receptive.

Your debut album, Bangers, launched last year – did you anticipate that the days of sleeping on your mom’s couch would finally come to an end with its release?

KK: haha, most definitely not, I think since its release I’m more likely to move back in with my parents and take up permanent residence on a couch. Touring and making ends meet is a constant battle and in no way is it financially beneficial. It’s what we love so we put up with the financial ruin and squalor.

With Bangers II – Scum Of The Earth being released later this summer, is that dream still alive?

KK: Yup, if we are still putting ourselves through the ringer to do what we do, the dream is very much alive.

Where did you find your inspiration in writing lyrics for Bangers II?

KK: It’s usually anything that sparks a fire in me, whether it be something that makes me sad, angry or excited. Everything from broader themes about war and famine to personal stuff about my family and friends. Religion is also a huge one for me, not that I am religious but more about my qualms with religion.

How have your inspirations changed since the last time your focused on writing?

KK: I got a bit gloomier on this one probably, a lot has happened since the first record, somethings for the good and others not, but seemingly darker.

Would fans be able to find a moral or message within the new record, or is the release simply about raging and partying it up?

KK: There’s always a superficial fun vibe with everything we do, we want that to be the first thing that strikes people about us, the fact that we are a fun band and play tunes that are conducive to doing so. If anyone wants to go beyond the initial layer of debauchery they will find that lyrically the songs are often pretty serious. The moral message is a positive one though, something that has always been latent in a lot of the lyrics is the notion of never giving up what you love to do. \m/

***

Bangers II Scum Of The Earth released by Metal Blade Records is available in stores : June 7th, 2011

Courtesy of Anger Management Radio
“LESS CHATTER…MORE SPLATTER! SINCE 2005!”
Thursdays 10pm Till 1am (EST)

RADIO – 88.3 FM
ONLINE – www.cjiq.fm
DIGITAL – Rogers Digital Cable channel 947

10pm

IWRESTLEDABEARONCE- You ‘Aint No Family
Carnifex- The Diseased & The Poisoned
* A Textbook Tradgedy- Stay Out Of Riverdale
*Despised Icon- Day Of Mourning
*The Agonist- Martyr Art
*Blessed By A Broken Heart- Mic Skillz 2
I See Stars- Gruesome Geddes Remix
Your Memorial- Hope Era
Here Comes The Kraken- Never Regret
*Intake Of Glass- Up In Arms
The Black Dahlia Murder- Moonlight
*Dancing With Paris- Plurals
After The Burial- Bread Crumbs & White Stones
A Plea For Purging- Motives
Parkway Drive- Sirens Song

11pm

For The Fallen Dreams- The Human Collective// My Anthem- Like Symphony
Winds Of Plague- Only Song We’re Allowed To Play In Church Venues/ Most Hated
Hundreth- Desolate Ft Vigil of The Ghost Inside
Unearth- My Will Be Done/ Eyes Of Black
American Me- Black Maliscous Lie
My Children My Bride- On Wings Of Integridy
As Blood Runs Black- Hester Prynne
Within The Ruins- Red Flagged
Emmure- Looking A Gifthorse In The Mouth/ A Fist Fight With Dick Tracy

12am

*** CLASSIC CUTS***
Megadeth- Symphony Of Destruction
*Anvil- Metal On Metal
Judas Priest- Heavy Metal
*******************
Woe, Is Me- Gruesome Geddes Remix
Adept- This Could Be Home
Lionheart- Through Hell & Back
Born Of Osiris- Bow Down
*Counterparts- Sturdy Wings
Motionless In White- Gruesome Geddes Remix
The Ghost Inside- Faith Or Forgiveness
Suicide Silence- Wake Up
Thy Art Is Murder- Laceration Penetration
A Day To Remember- You Be Tails, I’ll Be Sonic
Sky Eats Airplane- Giants In The Ocean
Lamb Of God- Walk With Me In Hell

Saturday June 11th at Circus Room
729 King St E in Kitchener, ON
Doors @ 9.
Tickets Available at Doors

Sometimes the musical landscape out there gets frustrating to deal with: stale, uninspired and dull.

In My Coma is a breath of fresh air to bring much needed new blood into rock music, melding the sound of their influences with their own melodic and dark approach.

Vocalist/guitarist and main songwriter Jasper James perfectly crafts a mix of dark, hook-laden rock in the vein of The Cure, Depeche Mode and The Smiths along with modern, heavier riffs that would sound at home on a Placebo or A Perfect Circle record.

While the intense lyrical themes and the downbeat mood of the songs are in gloomy Nick Cave territory, In My Coma are incredible song smiths, with chord progressions and melodies being anything but predictable but infectiously catchy at the same time.

Radio rock for heavy music fans who don’t normally like radio rock. They bring an arsenal of Kyuss-style riffs and bass grooves to rival Tool.

The comparisons help to give an idea of their sound, but they hardly do justice to the individual, fresh and innovative sounds In My Coma delivers.

The band has worked hard over the last several years and has become a sought-after staple of the late night Toronto music scene and rightfully so.

Thepitmusic was lucky enough to catch In My Coma at 2011 Canadian Music Week and witnessed what this band is capable live: loud, tight, near-hypnotic grooves and riffs with stellar musicianship and incredible stage presence.

Their full-length debut is to be released on iTunes this month, so if you enjoy any branch of rock, In My Coma has something for you on their pallet.

Look for its release and get yourself a copy, and check ‘em out live.

Throughout Between the Buried And Me’s career, the band has obliterated any and all boundaries surrounding their music. Tearing down the walls between progressive rock, death metal, math-metal, jazz, and anything and everything else they see fit to construct intense, complex and thoroughly enjoyable noise.

Their newest release sees them continuing their no-limits songwriting with a lean, half an hour album that may be divided into three tracks, but for all its worth its one cohesive piece.

The album plays like a movie- you just can’t wait to see what happens next. Opening with an epic synth-heavy opus that could score a film (these guys make their presence known immediately), the album finds it’s metal footing with fantastic growls and amazing chugging riffs to rival their heaviest material. However, they’ll take you for a ride at a moments notice, whether it’s a bizarre euro-folk section breaking out during the second track “Augment of Rebirth” to a cool, jazz fusion intro to the third track.

BTBAM take the best of prog-rock/metal and take it to even loftier heights, truly smashing down the barricades of genre. This EP is to be a lead in to a full-length, so there’s no telling where the band could go from here, but as this record proves: the sky’s the limit. Fans of the newest releases of The Human Abstract and Protest the Hero will not want to miss this.

Available on CD. BTBAM always do a great job with their artwork, and this record is no exception: awesome abstract art that feeds off of the lyrical theme of the album: the potentially devastating and life-changing decisions of two people living worlds and years apart.

Courtesy of Anger Management Radio
“LESS CHATTER…MORE SPLATTER! SINCE 2005!”
Thursdays 10pm Till 1am (EST)

RADIO – 88.3 FM
ONLINE – www.cjiq.fm
DIGITAL – Rogers Digital Cable channel 947

10pm
*Structures- Transitions
Killswitch Engage- Never Again
*The Twin- Victims
*Baptized In Blood- Up Shirts, Down Skirts
Here Comes The Kraken- 3:33 AM
*Dancing With Paris- Bled Dry
*The Holly Springs Disaster- My Pet Monster
For The Fallen Dreams- My Anthem/Like Symphony
*Misery Signals- A Certain Death
Miss May I- Relentless Chaos
The Color Morale- Demon Teeth/ Be Longing Always
Emmure- Demonds With Ryu
As I Lay Dying- The Darkest Nights/ Confined

11pm
Winds Of Plague- The Only Song Were Allowed To Play In Church Venues/ Most Hared/One For The Butcher
The Black Dahlia Murder- Moonlight Equilibrium
Asking Alexandria- A Single Moment Of Sincerity ( BARE REMIX)
Ligeia- Hoodrat
Adept- At World’s End
Suicide Silence- Lifted
Woe, Is Me- Gruesome Geddes Remix
Motionless In White- Gruesome Geddes Remix
Chimaria- Power Trip
Children Of Bodom- Downfall
Parkway Drive- Unrest

12am
*** CLASSIC CUTS***
The Fall Of Troy- What Sound Does A Mastadon Make?/ F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X
The Bled- Red Wedding
Norma Jean- The Shotgun Message/ Memphis Will Be Laid To Waste
********************
In Flames- Take This Life
Born Of Osiris- Dissumulation
This Or The Apocolypse- Lamnidae
We Came As Romans- My Love (Justin Timberlake Cover)
Slipknot- Spit It Out
Sepultura- Roots Bloody Roots
He Is Legend- I Am Hollywood
Sea Of Treachery- Misery Business
Stick To Your Guns- This Is More
I Killed The Prom Queen- Say Goodbye