I’ve been a huge fan of Evanescence since late 2002, a few months before Fallen dropped. I’ve had the privilege of seeing them a total of seven times now, and finally, at the most recent show with my wife, we were able to do the pre-show meet and greet for the first time ever! Amy, Jen, Tim, Troy and Will were all so down to earth, made great eye contact and were very genuine. I was able to share with Amy how “Imperfection” had a great impact on me after losing two family members to suicide. She was so kind, shared her feelings and heart about where the song came from, said she was so sorry for my loss and gave me a really big hug.
Ok, so on to “The Chain”! I had actually never heard the original until just a few days ago when I went to listen to it to compare the two songs. The twist that Evanescence puts into this song is absolutely incredible! They found a way to pay homage to a classic song, but in doing so, creating their very own dark and epic song in the process! This song literally builds from beginning to end, and just when you think you’ve reached the peak, it just builds more and more!
The instrumentation on this song is incredible! The atmosphere created just in the first few seconds before Amy’s vocals begin is eerie and dark. The atmosphere gets a bit of a pulse around :12 seconds in with a bass drum kick coming in. Some distorted guitars kick in and strings start to underlay this already ever building first verse. Then we get to the chorus which has an awesome groove to it. Amy’s vocals, as always, are strong and shine through. There’s a slight hold back in intensity, but you can tell it’s for the purpose of having somewhere to go dynamically with the rest of the song. The second verse has a heavier feel to it than the first with an industrial sounding groove. Building into the next chorus the vocal intensity picks up, and Will follows suit with some tasteful but sick sounding drums! Amy’s voice is really powerful by the end of this chorus.
Then the part I wasn’t expecting, which definitely gives this song an even more epic feel! (I can’t say I’m surprised by it though!) The instrumental leading into the bridge and the bridge itself is amazing! The strings in the instrumental really add to the overall sound and effect! Amy’s vocals throughout the bridge are really powerful, yet as always, showcase her amazing control.
We all face inner conflict. We all face times that we feel like we’re being pulled apart by things in our lives or situations we face. To me, “The Chain” can stand for standing firm despite the conflicts in our lives, especially when we tackle things together in unity.
“And if you don’t love me now You will never love me again I can still hear you saying You would never break the chain You would never break the chain”
This to me says that we need to love one another through conflict. In standing together, we can build a “chain” that is unbreakable.
Amy, Jen, Tim, Troy and Will have outdone themselves with this song. From the arrangement, vocals and instrumentation, to the blend and balance of the different layers and the mixing, I have to give this track a 5 out of 5! If this song is any indication of the new material they’ve been working on during their creation/writing process, I absolutely can not wait to hear! I’m very excited to see where they’ll take us with EV4!
If you haven’t heard “The Chain” yet, it’s available on all digital/streaming platforms!
While I’ve never heard of these guys, Deep As Ocean has got to be one of the best metal bands I’ve heard in a long time! Deep As Ocean easily reminds me of great bands such as Breaking Benjamin, All That Remains, As I Lay Dying, Three Days Grace (w/ Adam Gontier) and others. The clean vocals on the album strongly remind me of a cross between Adam Gontier (Ex: Three Days Grace, Currently Saint Asonia) and John Cooper (Skillet).
Crossing Parallels – A title track as an intro, I love it! This 1:39 long intro starts out with an ethereal sound that give you the feeling of crossing into a different dimension. A bit of a beat starts to kick in around :19 seconds and then the guitars and drums fill out the ethereal sounds and give this intro some more atmosphere. This gives the listener a small idea as to where the album is going musically. The last :22 seconds pull it right back to the ethereal sound that we opened with, with a light guitar and synth pulse in the background.
Hourglass – This song features Mattéo Gelsomino of Novelists and hits hard right away at :14 seconds in! The guitars in this song are killer! To me, the title for this track is perfect! I feel this song is about how limited our time is. We only have so much time, and what we do with it really matters. Life is choices, right?
“Break free How many voices’ left unspoken? Break free How many tears we’ve shed and left unheard? Freedom has it’s costs, nothing is for granted We don’t pull the reins, we are dragged down Grain by grain we are becoming The sandy bottom Of the hourglass”
This chorus really speaks to me. A few years ago, I faced a really toxic work environment. I had a choice to make. I could let the voices destroy me and allow them to break me down, or I could chose to break free. If we don’t take control of these situations, we get dragged down by them. I would no longer remain ‘unspoken’ and I chose to rise above and was able to break free.
Knives & Flames – This song starts out aggressively vocally, and it’s a perfect fit for the meaning I take away from it. For me, this song is about being betrayed and the feeling of betrayal. We all have faced that person who we’ve trusted for a long time. That person that we’ve unguarded our hearts around and let our guard down. That person that we’ve trusted like family, only to have them stab us in the back. Like fire, when we’re stabbed in the back by people we’ve entrusted our hearts to, (family, close friends, significant other, etc..) it burns.
“I’m tired of lying And sayin’ everything is fine I’m tired of lying And sayin’ everything is fine It’s like playing with fire Until it burns inside Trust has a cost And I will be cold as a knife I give up pretending I don’t know anything I’ve forgiven you once…”
I, as I’m sure many of us can relate to this. Sometimes, we’re so hurt by things that we foolishly seek revenge. But does revenge really solve anything? For me, this song is not only about the feeling of betrayal, but also what we chose to do with being betrayed.
Oblivion – This song starts off with clean vocals and screaming vocals at the same time. After the vocal 4 measure intro with some underlying synth, the main riff kicks in, which kinda reminds me of Breaking Benjamin.
We all make mistakes, but do we ever learn from them? Sometimes we make the same mistakes over and over again without ever learning anything. The writer of this songs seems to feel that we’re headed for our own demise, or “oblivion”, if we don’t learn from our mistakes. It’s a pattern of self destructive behavior that needs to be broken.
“Oblivion How can we get there? Have we not suffered enough? We have never learned from the faults of it all.”
We’ve all gotten to a point this point where we continuously suffer from the same mistakes over and over again, yet we’re sometimes too stubborn to want to fix anything and learn from our past decisions.
The Sinking Ship – This song has a more ethereal intro, but kicks into its main groove at about :17 seconds in. If this song isn’t a wake up call, I don’t know what is! As a society, we’ve become complacent, apathetic and careless. I feel like although the song seems to call us ‘the sinking ship’, that it also talks about the ability to fight back against that downward spiral and to fight our way back.
“We are the sinking ship I refuse to sink Into this poisoned sea At least I’m trying to swim.”
Whenever I feel myself falling into a pattern of complacency and apathy, I “refuse to sink”. We need to first be aware that we’re falling into this pattern and need to care enough to want to rise above it.
Underwater – This song starts with its main riff right off the bat, and it’s catchy and right in your face. About :20 seconds in the vocals start off aggressive, but has a great balance with clean vocals overlaying! This song, for me, is about the false sense of security we all can get from loneliness. Sometimes when life gets too difficult, we tend to go into our shell of wanting to be alone, and we tend to shut people out, especially those who truly care for us.
“My enemy Is my loneliness It resides in me It’s invisible My enemy A part of me I can’t escape it…”
Our loneliness isn’t always visible, and it eats away at us from the inside out. When we’re facing “the abyss”, we need to first realize that our enemy is loneliness, then we need to surround ourselves with those we love and trust to help redirect us. For me, I also lean on my faith as a Christian when I’m facing difficulties that drag me down.
Feels Like Nothing – Featuring Andy Pali of Sharks In Your Mouth, this song starts off with an ethereal sound with electric guitar and synth droning on Bb creating an awesome atmosphere. The main riff kicks in at :18 seconds and doesn’t disappoint!
The band says this song is influenced by the series “13 Reasons Why” and also the death of Chester Bennington.
For me, this song encourages empathy towards those who suffer with mental illness and depression. So many are quick to judge, but instead we need to be loving and understanding and to be there for those suffering. We also need to understand that at times, people are so far down that they have a hard time receiving love and support.
“How can I love myself? I was too blind to see all the love I got from y’all”
We also need to understand that at times, people are so far down that they are blinded to the love and support they are receiving.
“I felt alone and maybe the only one When I tied the noose Too late”
This line really hits hard for me. I lost my God-Mother to suicide by hanging and to this day, I have mixed emotions. On one hand I still feel anger and hurt, but on the other, I try to put myself into her shoes. I still to this day try to understand what she was facing that she felt that helpless and desperate.
Floating Anchor – This track is definitely one of my favorites on this album! It starts off a bit differently with what sounds like muted guitars, but quickly kicks into high gear at :6 seconds with the main riff and vocals.
In this journey we call life, we all need to find our purpose and we look for meaning in our lives in different places. A lot of times though we struggle with things in life, and feel like we have no where to turn. As a Christian, this song actually really speaks to me, because I feel that my faith in God is my anchor.
“Find a way to feel alive Your best reason to survive Fight the war you have inside No matter how long you have to try If you don’t try you will never succeed Standing still is a passive acceptance Of the defeat, so pick your guns up Aim what you want and take your best shot…”
For me, this part really speaks to me. When I was younger, I went through a lot of verbal abuse in school, as well as some physical bullying. I went through life angry and alone. I was even angry at God for the longest time. In 2008, everything changed for me. The anchor that was holding me down, the fear of rejection, became my salvation when I realized that my salvation was found in God. He took all of the fear, shame and rejection that I had felt for so long and changed my perspective on life.
Black Rose – And here we are at the end of the album and what an end it is! This track, for me, is a not so typical love song. Not only is the song saying that a loved one is a light in difficult times, it’s also saying that you have to put work into the relationship to keep it alive. Even when facing difficulties, we need to stay alive and focused on putting work into the relationship to keep it working.
This song actually has mostly clean vocals and some nice synth grooves throughout. Another favorite for sure!
“A rose with no thorns Is incomplete It’s like something missing As well as our love I feel it stings Reminds us we’re alive You’re the light that Illuminates my eyes You’re the light that never ends to shine…”
“Black Rose” is a perfect title for this song. Just like a rose with no thorns is incomplete, a life without some strife doesn’t exist. The lines above remind us that love stings at times, but it reminds us that we’re alive. Just because we face hard times in love, doesn’t mean that we still don’t need each other.
Deep As Ocean has created an awesome work in “Crossing Parallels”! This album is a great blend of power, harsh vocals, clean vocals and melodies. I HIGHLY recommend this album for any fans of bands such as Breaking Benjamin, As I Lay Dying, All That Remains, Three Days Grace and others alike. I give this album 4.9 out of 5.0 stars!
“Crossing Parallels” is set to release December 13th, 2019, so be sure to check it out!
This was a concert about a band called 3Teeth seen in Cleveland, Ohio, on November 7th, and for those who may not know, 3Teeth is an up and coming Industrial Metal band from Los Angeles, California. Seeing them live was absolutely bad-ass!
Unfortunately, I don’t have much to comment on because the venue had some issue unbeknownst to the management and me, where I didn’t get my ticket and photo pass for over an hour, and I missed almost all of 3Teeth. 😦
Fortunately, I was able to hear about 2 songs of them and get into the pit before the next set. With that being said, what I saw was great! The light shows were superb, and the guys rocked so hard on the stage, and in my opinion, they sounded better live than they did on the album version.
What I saw of the set, I still would give it a 5 out of 5! I hope to check them out again if they ever come back to Cleveland!
Also, checked out what major names in metal are saying about 3Teeth:
“State-of-the-art sensory overload with take-no-prisoners level aggression”- Rolling Stone
“Another 10/10 banger from the modern carriers of the industrial-rock torch.” – Revolver
“These guys really nail the aesthetic and visuals of what a cool industrial band should be like. And, the music kills too – so that’s always great.” – Metal Injection
“The reimagined version of the song [Foster the People — Pumped Up Kicks], gives the track a grittier feel, while also putting a little more focus on the song’s gun-centric lyrics.” – Loudwire”
Review by Jessica Clingempeel | November 13th, 2019
I have been looking forward to seeing Lacuna Coil again for a while, as the first time I saw them was several years ago, back in Lynchburg, Virginia. The night didn’t go well for me then. I ended up leaving as Lacuna Coil was coming onto stage at that point. So this was my second chance and I loved every bit of it.
Opening the night was the band Infected Rain. I had never seen them live and had only heard one song by them prior to this show. If you are having doubts about this band I will tell you now, don’t. They put on an amazing performance and I am a new found fan. The only downside to Infected Rain was that the setlist was just too short, but with a curfew of 10pm due to also being a night club, they would not have had the time to play a few more songs. As I said, great start to the night.
Next up was Eluveitie. I have been a fan for a few years now and was looking forward to seeing them as well. They played at Wacken this year as well, but due to a clash with something else, I did not get to see them apart from a song or two on the big screen. There was also a downside to this performance. More because of space issues rather than band issues. The stage was just too small for such a big band. Some members stayed in certain spots due to the limitation of the stage. Once again though, flawless performance. One of my favourites would have to be the performance of Artio, which I recorded and you can view that video below. Fabienne is a beautiful vocalist with a very nice register to her voice. Their set lasted about an hour.
Last, the main course for tonight, Lacuna Coil. The energy that started the show was kept throughout. The setlist had a lot of my favourites, including many from their latest release, “Black Anima”. Their set lasted for an hour and a half. Many of the North American concert goers stated that their setlist included a choice of “Heaven’s a Lie” or “Swamped”. Luckily enough, we were able to hear both. At one point, the members left the stage, and when you think all is done, they come; Cri and Andrea wearing santa hats, and “Naughty Christmas” is performed. Such a fun and strange song, haha. I am very glad I got the chance to see them again while visiting Scotland. There were no disappointments.
I give the entire night 5 out of 5. All bands were amazing, very energetic, and kept the crowd going the entire time. Check out the exclusive videos below and some photos.
*Was finally great to personally meet the woman we have had the pleasure to interview several times.*
I had never heard of Strike Master before. This EP is comprised of four, very in your face thrash metal songs. From the heart pounding drums, grinding in your face guitars and pulse pounding bass lines, this quick EP has it all. Vocally, this band honestly reminds me of Cradle of Filth. Let’s dive into the tracks –
Cosmic Owl Ritual – The tide rolls in! Buckle up, it’s gonna be a heck of a ride! This track opens up with the sound of the tide rolling in with a deep bass line kicking in a few seconds after. Then at about :20 seconds in, the guitars and drums smash right in your face with a hard but slow dirge. Then comes the main riff at :40 seconds, which reminds me of something off of Metallica’s “Death Magnetic”. If the main riff isn’t enough for you, wait for 3:10! If the pit hasn’t started already, here it comes! The drums kick it into high gear and the guitar is more in your face than earlier. The track brings it back down to just bass right at the end. If your face is on the floor, pick it up, and out it back on…you’ll need for round 2!
Knives – The main riff starts right off the bat after a quick drum fill, and there’s no questioning that this track is gonna take off right away! Don’t get too comfy though! At :38 seconds we get a nice time change into a 6/8 feel that gives a great break down right before we get back to straight time for the first verse. This track is even more brutal than the first! With time changes throughout, this track has a nice groove throughout the almost 5 minute track!
Strong As Hell – If you were hoping to slow it down by now, you’ve got the wrong EP! This is yet another brutal, in your face track. For me, this song is about being strong and not letting anything pull you down. We face many trials and “heavy fire” throughout our lives, but what defines us is how we come out of those trials.
“I was born like a beast, there’s no desist, no turning back. Torn by circumstance of heavy fire and forged in the void. When I thought that I had thrown myself into the abyss, the abyss had already thrown itself at me.”
For me, the writer is saying that he was born with the mentality of a beast. No matter what he faces, no matter what ‘the abyss’ throws at him, he’s not going to back down and he’s not going to give in.
A Corpseless Soul – The final track, but it’s not over yet! I think musically this is my favorite track on the EP! Don’t let the first :27 seconds fool you. What seems to be a tranquil intro gives way to a strong guitar and bass riff with driving drums. At about :42 seconds, this track is right back in your face. This song, for me, is about wandering through life searching for meaning.
“The nameless, speechless, the feel that’s around to mourn. The void that holds our deepest question of life.” Then later we hear “Death based illusions is what I am meant to be. A corpseless soul.”
All in all, I would give this album a 3.5. I absolutely love the riffs, especially in the closing track. While the vocals are strong, they aren’t my favorite type of vocals.
“Death Based Illusions” is available on all download and streaming platforms November 17th, 2019. Be sure to give it a listen!
This is my first concert review, as I had never actually been to a concert until this one. Being this was my first concert ever, I had no idea what to expect, and if I would be disappointed, but I definitely had a kick-ass time.
The concert that night was absolutely amazing, something like I have never experienced before. When Lacuna Coil came on stage, the fans went absolutely fucking crazy. I had never heard so much screaming and fanfare in my life before.
Their first song, “Blood, Tears, Dust,” introduces the band. Cristina and Andrea enter stage left and the crowd gets even louder and more boisterous than when the song began.
Once the drums kick in, Cristina starts vocalising then asks everyone in the crowd to scream and everyone in the crowd goes absolutely insane, and, at this moment, it became clear to me that the vast majority of the crowd came to see Lacuna Coil and nobody else.
Another notable moment was at the end of “Trip the Darkness,” there was a blue light show, timed perfectly with the guitar and drums, Cristina all the while slamming her microphone in the air in time with the beat.
The next song “Our Truth”, had a brilliant orange light show that was just, absolutely spectacular. In time with the beat of the song, the orange lights were just pulsating through the beginning of the song, toning down after the intro. You see Andrea jumping up and down and Cristina going right into vocalising. Towards the tail end of the song, you can see them both jumping up and down, just having a great time with the crowd.
One thing I have to commend Lacuna Coil on is that how they sound on stage is very similar to how they sound in a studio recording, which shows me they have a natural talent and don’t need excess layering, auto-tune, etc, to perform.
The set lasted about an hour, the songs played, were: “Blood, Tears, Dust,”, “Trip The Darkness”, “Our Truth”, “Spellbound”, “Reckless, “Layers of Time:, “Downfall”, “Zombies”, My Demons”, “House of Shame”, “Heaven’s A Lie” and “Nothing Stands In Our Way”.
Closing out the show, the set list is thrown into the crowd, along with a guitar pick, and the last thing we see is Cristina waving goodbye to the crowd, the applause echoing throughout the venue.
I absolutely cannot wait to go to another show, especially theirs, to see what it is like next time. I give my first concert, and their set a complete 5/5.
As for touring in The United States, Lacuna Coil most likely will not be back again until summer or fall of 2020. At any rate, if you have a chance to see Lacuna Coil in concert, I highly recommend you take that opportunity and you won’t be disappointed.
It’s just like someone told me: you never know when your favorite bands or musicians will stop touring or releasing albums, so make the most of every show and album you can.
