A small research thru the net reveals that Italians Last Warning aren’t exactly newcomers in the music scene, having formed in 1887 and already released two albums prior to the new offering “Throughout Time”, which the latest “Under a Spell” goes way back to 2000. Apparently, the Italian group have been working on “Throughout Time” since 2002, yet a series of line-up reshuffles and label hassles have prevented them from releasing their third release any sooner, which is a shame really, because seven years ago this would sound like a fairly acceptable affair, but nowadays it’s near impossible not to feel it’s a bit outdated. Even tough albums of this kind, revolving around a progressive metal sonority in the vein of bands like Dream Theater and Queensryche don’t stray too far from its stereotypes and tend to be lightly atemporal, “Throughout Time” sadly suffers from a slightly lustreless production work that gives it a sense of passé. Bands of this ilk have to be granted with incredibly first-rate productions in order to highlight all the technical and interesting twists and details to ultimately grab our attention. I believe the band’s budget isn’t quite as large as Dream Theater or Queensryche, yet in today’s standards “Throughout Time” sound-wise just doesn’t have what it takes to make Last Warning stand out.
Nevertheless, the band plays remarkably well and knows how to craft some effective and interesting songs in this genre, sticking to most of its prominent patterns, which might sound tiresome at first, yet Last Warning do it with great technical proficiency and enough aplomb to warrant at least some spins from the unconditional fans of Dream Theater and Queensryche. (6.5/10)

Band info: www.last-warning.com
Label info: www.mykingdommusic.net
Distributed in Portugal by www.majorlabelindustries.com

I knew straight away that I would be getting something positively interesting and surprising when I first opened the envelope containing the debut full-length work of Portuguese group Switchtense called “Confrontation of Souls”. Usually, promos are shipped within a cardboard depicting the front cover of the record, the song titles and some info at the very best, yet Switchtense have graced me with the full digipack release, revealing one of the best artwork covers and inlays I’ve seen lately. So if this review would be based on the graphics alone they’d be getting full points from me, yet since it’s basically about the music that we all want to read about let me just reassure you that it is equally exciting and compelling. Most definitely one the best things I’ve heard coming from Portugal lately.
Whilst “Confrontation of Souls” presents nothing remotely new or original, what makes it so damn interesting to listen to is the unbridled aggression and ferocity with which Switchtense play their instruments throughout these eleven songs. No matter how hard you try to fight it, it’s impossible not to feel like we’re being crushed to a wall with all the unrelenting chaos bursting from the speakers.
The moment the opening intro piece that names the album “Confrontation of Souls” fades out and the first proper song “Infected Blood” kicks in at break-neck velocity spewing thrash-driven riffs with uncontrolled anger, it’s clear that Switchtense aren’t here to mess around and go straight to business as soon as each song starts. “Infected Blood” sees Switchtense merging a Slayer-derived riffage with chugging breakdowns, a combination that coupled with the raging vocals of Hugo Andrade works remarkably well. It’s pretty obvious that Slayer, especially circa their “Seasons in the Abyss”, have played a major influence on both guitarists Neto and Pardal as they constantly churn out crushing and vicious riffs that reminded me a lot of the interplay between Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman.
Throughout the remaining songs the Portuguese group continue to bulldoze us with fierce riffs and pummelling grooves, and even when they slow down the pace a tad, like in “This Misery” and the Lamb of God influenced “Origins of Darkness”, they still maintain a remarkable capacity to wreak a tremendous sonic devastation.
“Confrontation of Souls” clearly positions Switchtense as one of rare bands within a thrash/hardcore/death style worth paying attention to in 2009, so grab all your copies of your Unearths, Calibans and Cataracts and head to the nearest second-hand record store to trade them all for this near-essential release. (8/10)

Band info: www.myspace.com/switchtenseportugal
Label info: www.rastilhorecords.com

Kylesa have been hitting the road pretty damned hard in the last few years, having toured with a number of bands such as Amebix, High on Fire, The Ocean, Withered, Lair of The Minotaur, Baroness, and The Hidden Hand between many others.
Right now, the band is sitting at home preparing to go on tour with Mastodon and Intronaut to promote their recently released fourth work “Static Tensions”, which has been unanimously touted in most magazines as the band’s best work so far. I’d say that things look extremely promising for the Savannah’s quintet right now.
When we approached guitarist and vocalist Laura Pleasants through e-mail to know more about “Static Tensions”, we eventually had to enquire about the current mood inside the Kylesa camp after hearing about the rapturous acclaim the new album is garnering and all the positive things that are about to happen?

“Things are quite busy with Kylesa right now. Quite good as well! We recently came home from a run of the south east with Skeletonwitch and BlackTusk. We leave on Friday for the Mastodon tour, so we're practicing and finishing things up around here before we go.”

With the music industry undergoing through such wrecking times, touring and playing gigs is now more important than ever, especially for any band that wish to build a career with some durability. Is that something you all enjoy doing, seeing that you’re not completely tired of packing all your gear into a van and drive to all sorts of places or would you rather be sitting at home more often, writing and recording?

“We've always been a touring band and I think overall that's how we've gained our fans. We've never had a "hype machine" or much money behind us so we've had to do a lot of the leg work on our own. We do enjoy touring but it has its ups and downs for sure. I really enjoy writing and recording but after being home for several months, I get the itch to go on the road again. I love to travel and I love meeting new people, and playing live is something I really gain from.”

With such hectic touring activities throughout the last few years, Kylesa must have some interesting and amusing stories that happened previously on tour, do you care to share any with us?

“Generally, what happens on the road stays on the road! That's the best rule of thumb. We've had lots of funny, weird, and crazy experiences that will probably surface one day in form of a DVD or book.”

Not only Kylesa’s music should be experienced live it should also be heard on record and their latest release “Static Tensions” is starting to get some serious appraisal from well-known magazines like Decibel, Rock Sound and Metal Hammer.
The new album is by far Kylesa’s most accomplished and experimental effort to date, with the band diversifying a bit the song structures by incorporating more progressive and psychedelic elements, yet at the same time remaining incredibly song-oriented.
In your opinion what are the biggest differences between “Time Will Fuse its Worth” and “Static Tensions”?

“I think you nailed it in your previous sentence. We put a tighter reign on a lot of the basic song structures and were more conscious of writing songs. We wanted to cut a lot of the filler and we thought about how the songs would feel and fit in a live setting. Psychedelic music has been a big part of Kylesa since day one, but instead of having more jammy elements or long winded moments, we wanted to include the trippy parts into the songs as long as the song called for it. We were able to blend our influences a bit better than on the previous album. All the ideas were there with ‘Time Will Fuse Its Worth’ but with ‘Static Tensions’, they are realized and refined.”

Do you think the recordings of two Pink Floyd’s covers last year, “Set the Controls for the Center of the Sun” made available on your MySpace page and “Interstellar Overdrive” for the tribute album to Syd Barrett “Like Black Holes In The Sky” instigated Kylesa to pursue a more experimental and psychedelic direction on this record or is was just coincidence?

“I'd say it was a bit of both. We started to cover Pink FLoyd's ‘Set The Controls...’ a while ago because we thought we could really turn it into something of our own and add to the foundation of the song. I knew I wanted to do something like that for the new album because it really worked out well and it was incredibly fun to do. Later we were approached to record ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ and at that point we had already been covering the other Floyd song for about a year live. It's not like one day we decided to listen to Pink Floyd and go in a more psychedelic direction. We've been listening to Pink Floyd and psychedelic music for years and several of our past records suggest that. However, it wasn't until we covered ‘Set The Controls...’ that I decided to use more melodic singing on the record. I've never been that comfortable with my voice but Carl really liked it at the time of that recording session and suggested that I do more of it on the record. I thought about my vocals a lot before recording the new record. I wanted to improve upon them and give them some more focus.”

As mentioned before, the new album is starting to get some serious media coverage and judging by the fabulous prospects that lay ahead it seems that the name of Kylesa won’t be confined to the underground circuit for much longer.
Do you think it’ll be hard to resist the temptation of signing to a bigger multinational label if the opportunity eventually arrives to the table like it did for Lamb of God and Mastodon for example?

“It's an interesting time for metal right now. Metal is the biggest it's been in a long time. Time will tell how things unravel for heavy music in the counter culture.”

More info at: www.myspace.com/kylesa
Kylesa photo by Dusdin Condren

Ever since their inception in 2001, Georgia’s Kylesa have been consistently and audaciously perfecting their sludge-rock art, gradually carving a niche that have became so resolutely of their own and establishing themselves as one of the genre’s most well-known and interesting names. I think it’s incontestable to say that their fourth full-length release “Static Tensions” is no exception to the rule. In fact, it’s their absolutely best and most immediate record to date, where Kylesa have finally grown into a colossal sludge-rock beast just about to blow the confines of the underground.
“Static Tensions” sees Kylesa deeply trimming down the jam-like ramblings of their previous record “Time Will Fuse Its Worth”, crafting shorter and more concise songs replete with memorable and compelling moments. Just don’t make the mistake of expecting any radio-friendly tunes here as Kylesa’s music continues to remain experimental and daring as ever, spiced up with layers of psychedelic rock and progressive and tribal percussion. It’s just that, whereas in past releases the band had an itch to meander into overlong and fuzzy sections, nowadays they opt to positively boost the songs with a more typical rock structure with greater emphasis on mesmerizing choruses and hummable melodies. It’s near impossible not to enjoy “Static Tensions” from front to back, there’s no impulse to skip forward to the next theme as all of them have their own distinct appeal and texture. Anyway, there are a handful of songs that I’d like to stand out like for example the opener “Scapegoat”, which kicks in with the pounding and dual drum charge of skin-bashers Carl McGinely and Eric Hernandez. It’s short and to the point, exuding an almost Hardcore-Punk feel with sludgy and gargantuan riffs provided by guitarists Phillip Cope and Laura Pleasants. Kylesa continue to weave a similar and punchy groove of distorted guitars and pounding percussion on the following two numbers “Insomnia for Months” and “Said and Done”, but then there’s an unexpected and tasteful transition into a more trippy and smoother pace in “Unknown Awareness” with the guitars echoing in a eerie and psychedelic, yet so wonderfully infectious tone. It’s definitely one of the albums highlights, just like the following theme “Running Red”, which starts with a haunting piano melody and the gentle crooning of Laura, sounding almost like a psychedelic lullaby until the punchy guitars and her enraged vocals burst in abruptly. The vocal interplay of guitarists Pleasants and Cope was always one of the most recognizable and appreciated traits of Kylesa, and the new record sees Laura putting a lot more emphasis on her melodic range, which turned out undeniably great and contrasts nicely with Cope’s more cavernous roars.
I could go on waxing lyrical about Kylesa’s “Static Tensions”, but I guess it suffices to add that it will be one best albums you’ll hear in 2009. (8.5/10)

Band info: www.myspace.com/kylesa
Label info: www.prostheticrecords.com

Nowadays there are an increasing number of bands blurring the lines separating distinct styles of music that normally we’d never expected to hear merged together into a single and cohesive whole, constantly pushing the envelope forward. Such is the case of France based four-piece Celeste who play a eerie and anguished blend of Post-Hardcore with Black-Metal and whose latest creation “Misanthrope(s)” is more than worth talking about, for it does sounds deeply compelling and disturbing.
I wouldn’t call “Misanthrope(s)” an accessible album, it will take some time to get used to their intriguing musical visions and all the bile and torment emanating from them, but with a slight amount of patience and persistence the experience will prove to be rewarding.
There are no gentle intros or slow build-ups; rather Celeste plunges straight into an avalanche of repetitive, heavy riffs and raspy and agonizing screams on the opening theme "Que des yeux vides et séchés". The vocal performance of Johan is more caustic and tormented than some of the most raw and filthiest Black-Metal coming from Scandinavia and the fact that he sings in French only adds a cryptic ambience to the songs. I should add that the Black-Metal influence is not only perceptible on the vocal department as there are also traces of Black-Metal to found in the guitar work of Guillaume as well, most notably on “A défaut de te jeter sur ta progéniture”, where the chords are faster and more malevolent. However, throughout most of the remaining songs their riffs crawl fiercely from the speakers at a somewhat comatose pace hint slightly at Cult of Luna on their initial stage, when they were far more destructive and fiercer than today.
Celeste have presented us a sludgy, nasty and downright intense record that all of you looking for something different and vicious should give it a listen, and all you have to do is download “Misanthrope(s)” at the band’s website for free. Or eventually you can donate a little something to support them. (7.5/10)

Band info: www.weareceleste.com
Label info: www.denovali.com

Celeste, the name alone would suggest something blissful and angelic, yet for a rising extreme metal group from Lyon, France who’ve chosen the Latin word to name themselves, Celeste stands for cruel, savage and abrasive sounds. Citing influences as far-ranging as Neurosis, Amen Ra, Meshuggah, Wolves in the Throne Room, Nasum and Black Sabbath, the four young and talented musicians known as Celeste have recently issued another feast of vitriolic and malevolent music intriguingly titled “Misanthrope(s)”.
Intrigued by the nature of this singular and exciting collective Scratch the Surface took the opportunity to exchange a few words with vocalist Johan to find out more about Celeste’s origins and their latest creation “Misanthrope(s)”.

The music of Celeste clearly draws influences from a wide variety of genres and artists, yet if you were asked to single out a style or artist whose influence prevails over the new record what would it be?

“At the beginning we were influenced by bands like Shora, Neurosis, Breach, old Cult of Luna… but honestly when I write it, I’m not sure that I mean it unless for Shora, I honestly don’t know by who we could be influenced. Maybe our particularity is that each one of us doesn’t listen to the same kind of music, and actually we’re not big music listeners, so we can’t really be influenced…
It’s really hard to put us in a particular category. Some people say that we are a Black Metal band, others think that we are post-hardcore, and some still think that we do screamo. That’s weird. But finally the interesting thing is that our audience is extremely eclectic.”

How did you all get together as a band? It’s not everyday that you hear about a French collective blending strands of Hardcore, Sludge, Black-Metal and Post-Rock into a whole and there’s precious little information regarding Celeste’s origins available on the band’s official sites.

“Actually, we’re active for almost 4 years now and we are from Lyon. I was singing in Mihai Edrisch before I met the other guys from Celeste. The band already existed, not as Celeste, but they hadn’t released anything. When I joined the band things went pretty fast. As Mihai Edrisch disbanded a bit later, Celeste became my only band, so I really got involved into it. We have 2 albums already released “pessimiste(s)” and “nihiliste(s)”, and we’re currently releasing the new one called “misanthrope(s)”.

Your latest work “Misanthrope(s)” is available on Denovali Records’ website for free, as it occurred with Celeste’s previous two releases “Pessimiste(s)” and “Nihiliste(s).” The band along with their record label seem to have an inclination for doing this, is there any particular reason for that, do you think the album will eventually be available for downloads from illegal sources?

“I always thought that sharing the music was a good idea. I was thinking about asking Timo and Thomas from Denovali about that, but they came to me with the proposal before I had time to ask them. I think that it helps us a lot to catch the audience during our shows. Thanks to downloads we know that more people will know our songs, so the ambiance will be better. But I think that people are not aware enough about the issues behind this. I think that too many people see this as a free gift. But the real point is: This is a way to discover us. Then if you like our music, it’s important that you get a real release from us to support the label and us. If you don’t care about Cds or LPs, you can simply donate a few bucks. I hope that in the future, people will understand that more and more.
And yeah, of course, it doesn’t stop people sharing it in some other ways than from the label site. If you type “celeste misanthrope(s)” you’ll find something like 50 different blogs which put our stuff online via websites like rapidshare or mediafire. In some ways, I don’t care, but I don’t get the point of this behaviour… they could simply put the official download page link.”

“Misanthrope(s)” can be seen as a scarring experience with sludgy and crusty riffs creating a tension that is disturbingly menacing and heavily tormented Black-tinged singing, cleverly juxtaposed against more unwinding moments provided by more hypnotic and dissonant guitar chords.
In your opinion what is the biggest difference between “Misanthrope(s)” and “Nihiliste(s)?”

“It wasn’t made on purpose but I think that the biggest difference is that the Black Metal hints are more obvious. To get us, you just have to know that our goal is to do the darkest music we can, without being just brutal. Years after years we try some different tricks o find the best solution. With ‘Misanthrope(s)’ it seems that it came with Black Metal riffs, and some heavier and sludgy parts, but maybe for the next one it will be something else. We learn more and more how to be darkly effective.”

Celeste sing in their mother tongue and although I haven’t had the chance of reading the lyrical content of “Misanthrope(s)”, song titles such as “Il y aura des femmes à remercier et de la chair à embrocher” and “Une insomnie avec qui tout le monde voudrait baiser” reveal that the band have a penchant for metaphors.
Can you shed some light on what kind of themes “Misanthrope(s)” deals with lyrically?

“I always sang in French, I feel more confident with my mother tongue, furthermore it simply seems normal to me to sing this way. I’m glad that you appreciate it, I’m always wondering how it sounds for someone who doesn’t know a French word… I just hope it doesn’t make people hate our music.
The translations are unfortunately not available. My English is not good enough to translate my lyrics, and I didn’t find someone to do it correctly. As our album titles let you guess, I only deal with dark topics, mostly about rape, paedophilia, and incest… the other main topics are Religion and War. I also deal with our contemporary way of life. What inspires me is mostly hatred.”

More info at: www.weareceleste.com