Sort By Title - Lost [2010]

Genre: Metalcore/Punk
Label: Unsigned
URL: http://www.myspace.com/sortbytitle
Country: Trollhättan, Sweden
Note: By band request

You can almost feel the thoughts behind the band's name: "Dang, can't think of anything. Hm, let's browse some through iTunes and maybe we'll find some inspiration... Mm, okay.. Sort by title... ... waaaait..!"
Sort By Title, hailing from the same town as Walking With Strangers - Trollhättan - has a very youth-ish sound to them which sure could deserve a little refining and maturity. I'm pretty sure Sort By Title wants their music to be heavy and hard hitting, but it's fairly weak and sounds like an average 90's punk band, except it features (relatively decent) screaming. However. Something that cuts my ears like a razor is the horrible, horrible clean vocals. Pretty much constantly out of key it makes me want to put pens in my ears to make it stop.
Music-wise it's pretty straight forward with very basic riffs and drum patterns. Also, I don't know if it's meant to be but the slam pad they're using sounds a little too electric to be good.
As parting words I think Sort By Title needs much refinement to make their work interesting. It's all too monotone and basic to catch your ear. The screaming is pretty decent, but they need much more work with their music and clean vocals.


Score: 5/10

I've decided to remove the Best track-part from reviews. Nothing personal against Sort By Title, but I've noticed it's hard to choose a best track on some records so it's better if I choose none at all.

Ink Stained Promises - Ink Stained Promises [2010]

Genre: Deathcore/Metalcore
Label: Unsigned
URL: http://www.myspace.com/inkstainedpromises
Country: Gävle, Sweden
Note: By band request

Another swedish band that have that "international" sound most swedish bands are unable to acquire. And another band I've never ever heard of. How come all these good bands are such good hiders? Ink Stained Promises gave me the same surprise as Last View did when I reviewed their album Become The Storm. Really heavy builds that could never give away their swedish heritage, and mindblowingly chaotic vocals.
Being unsigned they have done a real good job producing and recording their own record; it has a very clear quality and sounds really good.

Opening track Loesmael starts the album with a bang. Chaotic. fast and pissed. And on top of that, it's about a minute longer than the rest of the songs on the album - which perfectly filled the cup of awesomeness to the rim.
One of their songs, Beneath The Ocean, features Sebastian Källgren from - oh my god, it's true - Last View. Even though Thomas and Sebastian sound pretty different I'm having a hard time telling them apart in this song. Then again, in almost all songs where some other vocalist features, I have a hard time noticing them.
I'm going to complain about the same thing I did when I reviewed Last View: too few songs! It's almost mean for such a good band to tease the listener with only a handful of songs. However, it only makes you happier when they come out with a full-length later on, because now you know how good they are.
Since they played a show with my good friends in Played Out! in February I hope they'll come to Stockholm again, and when they do I'll make sure I'll catch them live.


Best song: Loesmael
Score: 8/10

Last View - Become The Storm [2009]

Genre: Metalcore
Label: Unsigned
URL: http://www.myspace.com/lastviewsthlm
Country: Stockholm, Sweden
Note: By band request

Wow. I can't believe I haven't heard of these guys until now. Pissed, chaotic metalcore that totally rips you apart, even at the first few seconds of listening. With dual vocal-approach, crushing breakdowns and intense verses it can't be anything but good.
It's not common for swedish bands to have this kind of chaotic energy, judging from my own experience. They really have their own thing going on, and aren't trying to imitate other bands. Altough, you hear a vague similiarity to Architects and Bring Me The Horizon from time to time, vocal-wise. Unintentionally, I'm guessing.
Even though they've only been a band for ~1,5 years, they've recieved a number of awards from various magazines and radio stations (Demo of the Month - P3 Rockster, Best in Sweden - Close Up Magazine). Not only do they prove their potential, but we all know they will go very far.
This EP was only a three-track and it serves pretty good as a teaser for their debut album planned for release during spring. I'm REALLY looking forward to it.

Sidenote: I LOVE the chorus on Anastacia. It's so damn awesome.


Best track: Anastacia
Score: 9/10

Hearts Alive - The Black Sheep [2008]

Genre: Metalcore
Label: Rising Records
URL: http://www.myspace.com/heartsalivemusic
Country: Helsingborg, Sweden
Note: By band request

Swedish metalcore act Hearts Alive, freshly signed to british label Rising Records, have had their old treasure The Black Sheep out for some time now, and it's only appropriate they receive some renown until their upcoming label debut this year.
Even though slightly generic, it clearly delivers a heavy and even catchy sound and I can't help but bob my head and play a little air drums while listening to it. Seemingly they have the energy and passion, but it doesn't quite stand out. As I said, it's generic and sound like the typical metalcore act, and (here I go again) what's lacking is a little unique-ness. Sure, what's there already is fine the first listen but the more you listen the more boring it gets. To keep your interest we need something new, or perhaps even something weird that opens your eyes and think 'whoa, what was that'. It's enough to not let the listener fall into a 'I'm listening to something, but I don't really care what it is. All I know is that it's not bad'-state. Not that you do listening to The Black Sheep, but it's something to keep in mind for the future.
Judging from what I hear on this record I'd say it's a good base for a better sequel. On a live performance I believe it oughta be pretty chaotic and energetic, so I'm hoping I'll get a chance to see them live, hopefully together with other good bands from Rising Records!

Best track: The Lady, Blindfolded, Raped And Hanged
Score: 6/10

Place Your Bet$ - Demo [2010]

Genre: Electronic/Metalcore
Label: Unsigned
URL: http://www.myspace.com/pybuk
Country: UK

One-man band Place Your Bet$ may have a questionable name, but it's pretty goddamn awesome music he's creating. Mr. Jenkin, bassist of This City Is Burning, does all vocals, guitars, bass, keys and programming by himself. And I gotta say, even though he "just got discovered" he's already rising above most other bands in the genre. A sweet blend of crushing breakdowns, deep growls, clean singing (although pretty much autotuning, which is a minus) and Nintendo- and techno-influenced samples makes it not only innovative, but better than many other bands who try to combine the above. Even though he's only one person, it sounds better than a lot of other bands that have a full crew.
This is worth checking out, and I'm looking forward to hearing a lot more from Place Your Bet$.

Best track: I Am Stronger
Score: 8/10

Dana Walker - A Ghost Among Us [2009]

Genre: Metalcore/Progressive
Label: Unsigned(!)
URL: http://www.myspace.com/danawalkerband
Country: Kilmarnock, Scotland

Scottish quintet Dana Walker's recently released eight-track A Ghost Among Us is exactly what the music business needs. As themselves state, they are not driven by following trends, which can surely be heard. Dana Walker delivers metalcore at it's finest, and leave you unable to associate them with anything else - they have their own true sound. Ranging from sometimes-out-of-key clean vocals to deep growling, aswell as smooth interludes and heavy melodies to match. You'll also find a one-and-a-half-minute beautiful piano intermission half way in.
A Ghost Among Us is a new and fresh metalcore album that stand listening over and over again.
Dana Walker was recently seen touring with post-hardcore giants Confide, aswell as up-and-coming Bury Tomorrow. It won't be long until they're as big!

Best track: We Die Alone
Score: 8,5/10

Bury Tomorrow - Portraits [2009]

Genre: Melodic Metalcore
Label: Basick Records
URL: http://www.myspace.com/burytomorrowband
Country: Southampton/Portsmouth, UK

Up and coming UK act Bury Tomorrow have gained a lot of renown lately. Reviews at Kerrang!, posted in Best New Music-section in Rock Sound and, of course, the awesome blog And then i heard it., helped BT come into the scene.
Bury Tomorrow is a very melodic kind of metalcore with symphonic clean vocals and heavy, deep screams. As BT themself claim, many bands dare not put too much melody in their music, especially vocal-wise, but Bury Tomorrow take no risks. While keeping it brutal, they embrace their melodic side aswell.
Portraits is a solid metalcore album, which stands a lot of listens. Don't wear it out though, because the possibility of it becomes a minus.


Best track: Confessions
Score: 8,5/10

Gwen Stacy - A Dialogue [2009]

Genre: Metalcore/Christian
Label: Solid State Records
URL: http://www.myspace.com/gwenstacy
Country: Indiana, USA

Christian metalcore act Gwen Stacy's second full lenght came as a complete surprise to me. I had no idea they were making new material, and out of the blue dropped a new album. Reading 'Gwen Stacy' and '2009' didn't even catch my attention because I was certain it was something old by some reason.
A Dialogue starts with a very melodic piece, The First Words, which has a pretty fitting title for a starter track, don't you think? It has it's melodic parts, but still they don't stray too far from their heavy sound. What starts with clean singing and catchy melody turns into a brick to the face. This is the general rule with Gwen Stacy and their A Dialogue. Very melodic, yet heavy breakdowns and powerful vocals.
When hearing this album it really makes me wonder why I hesitated and decided not to go when they came to play in Sweden. I've heard them before, I liked what I heard, so why I didn't go troubles me. If you get a chance to see them, don't let the moment pass. I know I won't.

Side note: Don't be scared by the christian tag. A lot of people frown upon christian bands, but try to be a little open minded. You will most likely not be disappointed.

Best track: A Dialogue
Score: 7/10

The Arusha Accord - The Echo Verses [2009]

Genre: Technical Metalcore
Label: A Wolf At Your Door Records
URL: http://www.myspace.com/thearushaaccorduk
Country: Reading, UK

First full length release after a split and an EP, UK metalcore act The Arusha Accord strengthens the bond between TAA and fellow countrymen Architects even more.
At 0:01 in the opening track Dead To Me the word 'Architects' appear in my mind. Pretty similar riffs, same technical metalcore style, similar vocals. One thing different though is the dual-vocal approach, which should always expect a warm welcome. This is however nothing new, but something to be noted. As I've not seen this band live (or any other band that has two main vocalists for that matter) it oughta be pretty awesome.
Even though similar to other bands in the same genre, it has a pretty unique sound to it. The two vocalists each have their own "area", one of them have pretty high screams, while the other do the lows, and both do awesome clean vocals.

I'm a little disappointed though as most songs sound pretty the much the same. There are no "weird" intermissions, nothing that stands out. A pretty darn decent album though, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.


Best track: Dead To Me
Score: 7/10

Across The Sun - Pestilence & Rapture [2009]

Genre: Symphonic Metalcore/Progressive
Label: Authentik
URL: http://www.myspace.com/acrossthesun
Country: Oregon, USA

What caught my attention on this album is the beautiful cover artwork. I really like it when bands put some effort in creating a good looking cover for their album, and that's why I decided to go for it.
I have to admit, the first listen wasn't very pleasing. As I heard the somewhat out-of-genre clean vocals in the first song May Silence Keep You, I thought "what the hell is this?". It didn't fit in the sound of the band at all.
Then comes the most catchy and awesome song for a long time. The Ardent Optimist. I have to say that the clean vocals really DO sound amazing, and that this song made me realize how unique and awesome his voice actually is. Heavy riffs and growling in the verse parts, soothing and enthralling through the chorus.

Something I don't get is that they only have around 13,000 plays on last.fm, and ~as many on their Myspace. Having released three albums in total should yield a little more listens than that. Nevertheless, these numbers will shoot through the sky, I'm pretty darn sure of it.

Best track: The Ardent Optimist
Score: 9/10

How Things Proceed - Live at Kafé 44, Stockholm (Last show)

Genre - Metalcore/Progressive/Experimental
Label: Unsigned - broken up
URL - http://www.myspace.com/howthingsproceed
Country - Stockholm, Sweden
Note: Last show


Really sad to see these guys breaking up when they're on top. After a pretty big lineup change they've changed their sound, going from pretty melodic and regular metalcore to a more chaotic and even more progressive and experimental version. The reason they're breaking up is because the vocalist and the guitarrist don't have time to be in a band anymore, and the remaining two members feel like they can't find any members dedicated enough to steer it all up.

To the show itself. As usual when you see HTP play, you want more. More more more. 4 songs isn't enough, and you feel like you could keep listening to it for many hours without stop, where the only time to you have to leave is because your ears are bleeding.
I don't know what else to say. I'm really sad they decided to break up and I hope they'll come back some time!

Until then, feel free to check out the guitarrist Oscars other band, Played Out!.

Enemy Logic - Bones As Armour [2009]

Genre: Metalcore/Melodic Death Metal
Label: Unsigned
URL: http://www.myspace.com/enemylogic
Country: Cork, Ireland
Note: By band request

Irish metalcore quartet Enemy Logic has released their debut album, Bones As Armour.
First impressions and the keyboards give me a thought of old school melodic death metal, but as whole it's pretty much very generic metalcore. Pretty boring riffs, mediocre vocal efforts, the songs sound pretty much the same...
Sick and tired as I am of melodic death metal, this may have an impact on this review. Don't get me wrong about this album, it's perfectly fine. However, if they work a little on standing out of the crowd and create that "something special", I may get my ears open.
I have to admit though that the Ring of Fire cover is a little amusing. Why, oh why did you make a cover of THAT song?!

All in all it's classic metalcore with a dash of melodic death metal. If this sounds appealing to you, go ahead and check the band out, you won't get disappointed. But if you're looking for progressive and new, you may want to search somewhere else.


Best song: Scatter The Ashes
Score: 4/10

For The Fallen Dreams - Relentless [2009]

Genre - Melodic Hardcore/Metalcore
Label: Rise Records
URL - http://www.myspace.com/forthefallendreams
Country - Michigan, USA

Long have I waited for this wonderful band to release new material. My wish was fulfilled, and with huge success.

Opening with an intro, reminding me of Killswitch Engage's melodic parts, which in 37 seconds turns into the first single from Relentless; Perceptions. Only a few seconds into the song you feel For The Fallen Dreams' distinguished melodic hardcore touch.
What you see in Relentless that you didn't meet very much in Changes is the clean vocals. I've heard many people complain about this, that it's not fitting... All I can say to them is they can go die in a fire. The growling is very similar to former vocalist Chad's chart, but the clean vocals are so damn good that they make bands with pure clean vocals obsolete. The blend of astonishing growls and wonderful cleans make an awesome mix as FTFD continue to blast my mind through the rest of the album.
Being a fan of Dylan's clean vocals my next musical orgasm came no further away than the next song, A Plethora Of. Listen to it yourself and see.
The album continues to show its way, one amazing song at a time. The intermission in In Sincerity makes you feel like you float away in zero-gravity, whereas the last song of the album The Pain Loss makes you wish this album never ended.

For The Fallen Dreams with Relentless is probably the band and album of the year. Hell, even the century. Words can't express.

Best track: Perceptions
Score: 10/10

How Things Proceed - A Single Touch EP [2009]

Genre - Metalcore/Progressive/Experimental
Label: Unsigned
URL - http://www.myspace.com/howthingsproceed
Country - Stockholm, Sweden
Note: Good friends of mine!


First of all, I would like to say that these guys have developed a LOT since the first time I saw them. I still remember the first show I went to, on which the crowd was all friends of the band members and their parents - maybe not the crowd you want. Only like 6 persons was moshing in front of the stage, because we knew you wanted it so bad ;)

Nevertheless, the first released EP from How Things Proceed, after yeeears and months and days of asking them when it's planned to be released, it's finally here for everybody to enjoy.
It starts off with the title track, A Single Touch, which blends both heavy and melodic riffs whereas the first middle part of the song is fast and chaotic and the other part is beatdown and melodic. It creates a pleasant mix and, as always, turnarounds in songs are always appreciated to chase the monotony away.

You see some old classics, like Chasing Time. On every one of their earlier shows they asked the crowd to yell "RESTLESSLY" after "We're all chasing time" to get the chanting going. Since it was a while I went to one of their shows, I'm pretty sure you don't have to ask nowadays.
All in all a very melodic song, with a lot of chanting to liven up the sing-along and get the one in the mood.

I would like to review all of the songs on the EP but it would be too much, so all I can say is that no song on this album is, in any way, bad. I love it all. However, if I have to point out something I don't like it's two things. One of them being I would've wanted more songs, maybe some re-recorded old songs. The other being it's pretty poor quality. But what the hell, it doesn't matter really, it's awesome anyway.


It's safe to say that How Things Proceed make their own music. No other band sound like them, and let's hope it stays that way.


Best track: Summer's Waving Goodbye
Score: 9/10