Meshuggah – ‘Nothing’ [Special Feature]

meshuggah nothingAs the originators of the metal style known as djent, Meshuggah are one of the most influential heavy bands in existence today. If you’ve ever sat and scratched your head at an ultra-complex riff until you listened to the cymbal pattern and suddenly it all made sense, you were most likely listening to a band paying lip service to Meshuggah – if not a track by the Swedish maestros themselves. Djent bands the world over owe their rhythmic and tonal signatures to Meshuggah, although the origin of the genre-encompassing word itself is the subject of much controversy. Read more…

Posted on 09 December 2014

DNKL – ‘Wolfhour’ [Review]

DNKL-2014-Wolfhour-coverDark, heady synth waves offering moral support to a disarming and vulnerable vocal before an unsettlingly shaky rhythmic base emerges from a nanobot beach; direct and instantly memorable lyrics; a winningly simple melodic line that Kraftwerk would be proud of. All are components of Wolfhour‘s identically-titled opening track. Read more…

Posted on 23 November 2014

Cyan Marble – ‘2/3’ [Review]

cyan marble 2:3Prog is known for going over the top, stuffed to splitting point with pomp and circumstance. Epic-length albums, EPs, and even songs are more or less the norm. But prog is really about much more than that. It’s about thinking differently; being progressive. Read more…

Posted on 22 July 2014

Dirty Loops – ‘Loopified’ [Review]

dirty loopsAlthough YouTube is home to a vast number of musicians of note, few bands have demonstrated YouTube’s marketing power as efficiently as Dirty Loops. A Swedish power trio whose fusion-flavoured take on Lady Gaga’s mega-hit Just Dance catapulted them into the online eye, Dirty Loops’ YouTube channel has attracted over 100,000 subscribers and 15.5m views while being home to just ten videos. Not bad for a group known as much for their collective technical abilities as their song-related skills.

Make no mistake – Dirty Loops are a musician’s band. Every track on Loopified is a compositional and technical masterclass, and no self-respecting muso is likely to run out of inspiration here. But what really sets Dirty Loops apart is their ability to appeal to a wider crowd. Read more…

Posted on 19 May 2014

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