The Famine - “The Raven and The Reaping” [Solid State] … the world has pretty much had it with the lackluster Metalcore that gushes from Solid State’s stigmata (trust me, I asked)… well this band bends the modern mold and opts for harsher vox–a la Living Sacrifice–and more creative use of the guitar over and above the prevalent breakdowns … starts strong, but loses much of its steam in the middle, not to mention the artwork is a flat, carbon copy of John Baizley’s inimitable designs, but at least they’re trying, you know? … FCC OK … Try 1, 2, [...read more]

The Funeral Pyre - “Wounds” [Prosthetic] … for their third full length, the SoCal quintet followed a darker muse–one that would see them replace melodic keyboards with an additional guitar, and further invoke Norwegian Black Metal … they got a killer recording team to showcase their new formula (Haddad/Rutan/Douches), who add depth and shape to a sound which is ofted known for being flat and muffled … expect buzzing twin guitar harmonies, relentless drumming, and throaty rasped vox on all songs, but they do allow for some expansive tracks (1, 4) and are working in Folk melodies as well (9) [...read more]

This is Matt Longo with Mind Over Metal and I’m happy to be talking today with Brian Patton, guitarist for SOILENT GREEN. Thanks for joining us today, Brian … I really appreciate it. Oh, no problem, man … the pleasure’s all mine. Alright, so I wanna start off by saying that I’ve been loving you guys ever since “Confrontation” and you’ve become known for genre-defying, gear-shifting music, but always with an organic flow that keeps it from sounding like “Metal cobbler” … what is your songwriting process like? That’s great: “Metal cobbler” [laughs] … we’ve got all very eclectic [...read more]