Evolution of the Groove - Miracle track rewview

Year : 2018
Genre :Funk Rock
Origin : United States
Where to check it out: > - here - <

This review starts off with an informative snippet about the origins of the band, taken directly from the official SoundCloud of the ensemble.

Funk, rock, R&B, Hip-hop, soul, gospel, jazz: These are the elements that have molded and shaped the core sound, as well as, the overall experience that is Evolution of The Groove. Originally founded in 2010 by Steven Cunningham and Chris Sclafani, the band focused on combining the elements of each member’s background to create a new and unique sound that would emphasize the preservation of the ever lasting “Evolution” and “Groove” that is music, which is demonstrated by their brand new sound with everything from high energy, in-your-face jams, to soothing meaningful beats, featuring emotional lyrics as well as invigorating instrumentals.

"Miracle" is an excellent example of straight-to-the-point funk-pulsation, heightened by a rock heft, yet tamed with firm hands amidst the fields of slick melodic sensuality, courtesy of a wise-, yet soberly traditional choice of harmonics. One area in which the song immediately emerges to distinguish itself from the fray, is the excellent vocal performance of the female lead, periodically supported by a decently performed male counterpart, a sound/narration that is fortunately wise enough as to not attempt to challenge the female principle, it instead chooses to submit to it, thereby showcasing the former in its optimal sonic volumetrics. 

A stone traditional, yet very efficient verse is traded for a surprisingly effective chorus structure, in which the band declares complete freedom to express the best inventions they have happened to sculpt into audible stimulus, and this climax certainly does not disappoint, supplying enough interest to keep the keenest of ears occupied. One relative hindrance is, that once the particularly interesting chorus reaches its conclusion, the re-occurring verse structure can't help but reveal its less challenging appeals. Yet, one can be sure that the chorus will re-surface, and the excitement factor regarding this anticipation won't really dissipate into nothingness during the entirety of the track.

"Miracle" is doubtless a quite solid effort, and one has a hunch that this ensemble has all the chance in the world to open up a hatch or two directly into Funk-Sezame in the future, a happenstance likely to be realized as soon as they decide to invite a little bit more experimental spirit into their craft, of which they already exercise a solid command and a sober understanding.

Check out the song here.

GyZ at Bandcamp.

If you want, check out my music

and / or

Buy me beer. Read more!

Solsikk - Solsikk review

Year : 2011
Genre : Groove Metal
Label : Femme Metal Records
Origin : UK
Rating : 9.0 / 10

Buy it now

Solsikk brings you hyper-complex groove metal with a chick on top who has a tremendous amount of a certain influence going on. In fact, the whole function of Solsikk's female fronter seems to be a continuous attempt at mimicking the vocal style and deeply emotive allures of one particular artist. That artist is none other than the - utterly and completely - female fronter of industrial psyche observation unit Kidney Thieves.

Here is the thing : whenever it is possible, - and it always IS - I close out the "I" from a review, because a review should gravitate towards notions, percepts and mental constructs solely relating to its effective subject matter, and the "I" is not important, only the experience that ensued in the "I" is important and deemed as deliverable. But now I apply a short pause on this behavior, the gesture being a necessity to tell you about Kidney Thieves from my current perspective.

A relatively - and frankly, perplexingly - little known band, Kidney Thieves first hit me while I was playing the video game Deus Ex - Invisible Wars and there was this insanely elegant, and, at the same time, insanely rabid music playing in a bar that was modeled in the gameworld. A woman was singing on top of raging industrial guitar music, and her voice touched me at parts I did not know I have. I immediately searched for intel on which band that might be, and that is how I became aware of the oh!, so fruity existence of the band Kidney Thieves.

Kidney Thieves have put out top of the heat sci-fi music all the way back from 1998 that to this very day sounds and registers galaxies more relevant than your everyday average row of current random metalcore monkeys can ever HOPE to fail to dream of in their current miserable spiritual state. In other words : Kidney Thieves kicks tremendous monolith butt, their fronter is a spectacular human specimen, and sure, this here indeed is a review of Solsikk's self titled debut, a debut that REEKS the influence of Kidney Thieves. That is not a bad thing at all, at all. That is a good thing. Suggestion : first check out the female fronter of Kidney Thieves, Free Dominguez, via inspecting this video of a high quality unplugged studio performance. Then read on to be confronted with a deep analysis of Solsikk's self titled debut.



This is a full chrome musculature release that has a huge amount of love and the supremely admirable intent to seriously entertain incorporated in it. You are not taken for a fool here at all, because groove metal music gets the holy shit - and everything else, for that matter - played properly out of it on this spin, and, as such, the revealed and delivered complexity/efficiency of the effort reigns far beyond criticism. Here is why : the music on Solsikk's debut is not only complex, but it also packs legit power all the way through. Top tier, rampant riffage, manic drum work, a true feast even for the most snob pairs of ears.

The release has the super-rare ability to unravel the beauty of "organized randomness", so to speak, since everything you hear exhibits a very finely constructed balance between the formless, limitless potentiality of chaos and the expressed intent that declares a glorious path to thread diligently along, never disrespecting the potentiality of rabid chaos it actually is threading in, it actually is drawing patters in-, drawing patterns from. Regardless of the genre, this clearly is the most demanding kind of music to construct, and here is why : because, to put it as simply as it is humanly possible, it takes fucking WORK to realize. You can not employ shortcuts and other similar tricks to come up with presentable results while on this agenda of contributing music that exhibits this commanding level of complexity and legitimacy. You need to worship the mere nature of rhythm, pitch, dynamics and similar entities to be able to come up with something that compares to the delicate sonic data contained on this exquisite release.

Solsikk's debut is one superbly fresh and brisk delivery, giving you 42 minutes of top quality audible intricacy to immerse yourself in. The compositions are exceptionally efficient in the regard that they are totally free of a need to relate to a certain comfort zone, they instead declare their indisputable right to exist by raw sonic willpower, and this also is something you can not mimic if the consorting, true awareness of the musical field you want to channel from is off limits to your current musical intent. This album is formed of very luscious and well defined intents, about that, you can - paradoxically enough - have your zero doubts in a comfy manner.

The only reason the album does not shatter into the well-above-9 category on this here music review website Noise Shaft, is the vocal contribution of the female fronter of the band. She is a Free Dominguez wannabe, and not herself, not on this release. She is decent. But far from great. Her simulated "I just had my 123rd nervous breakdown and you're about to be my painkiller, baaaabbbybear" stance wears out twice as quickly as you hope it would, her bluesy rasp is simply artificial and is subject to constant abuse, and her pipes simply lack the emotive power and crystal clear rendition of female fragility/female strength so evident in the voice of Free Dominguez. She does not sound to be coming from the heart, she sounds to be coming from the agenda of mimicking Free Dominguez at all costs. I - oops, I did it again - do not think that it is impossible to mimic the style of Free Dominguez efficiently, but, to accomplish that, that female performer definitely has to have this fragile, tender vibe in her voice along with the Animal, Rampant. Free Dominguez packs both the damsel in distress and the vamp. The fronter of Solsikk, on the contrary, packs both the desire to pack the damsel in distress and the desire to pack the vamp. Hell, that IS a start.

One simply can not spiritually afford to end this review on a lower note than almost unalloyed praise though, because Solsikk's debut is certainly one of the most pleasant surprises this current year has brought to us so far. In fact, it is entirely possible that the fronter will be able to cultivate that extra "it" factor into her voice later on. If you see her with that cleaver asking for me, please tell her that the ideal hitman is on my lousy ass already.

Rating : 9.0 / 10 If you liked this article, check out my music

and / or

Buy me beer. Read more!

Trendkill Method - Affective Arousal review

Year : 2011
Genre : Groove Metal
Label : Sonic Blast Media
Origin : Latvia
Rating : 8.5 / 10

Buy it now

This Latvian groove metal formation with the name "Trendkill Method" either tries to hide its immense Pantera influence without all that much noticeable avail, or embraces it instead by admitting it in a perplexedly violent and super-submissive fashion. Wait, wait, wait - you don't get it, man! The cover art of this release has a buzzsaw-wrapped female body with an ear as a head, man, surely, I MUST love THIS?!

Granted. Coming to think of it, it really does not matter that much at all, because, apart from the pretty damn close to z-grade exploitation - nevertheless, as noted, also pretty damn efficient - cover art Affective Arousal initially punishes you with, the music of Trendkill Method - regardless of its shape, its orientation and its mass density - kicks your ass to hell and back, and that is sufficient.


Affective Arousal is a record that uses the intrinsic worship of the groove to bring you rampant energies unalloyed, showing zero regard to the recent and - in my opinion - misplaced "tradition" of incorporating melodrama on occasion, so an acceptable pair of grooves could affect you again upon comeback. Once the grooves you offer are great and pack the legit bite, there is little if any need to deliver profound intermissions between them.

The main attraction on Trendkill Method's latest is the vulgar display of love for the rumble, and hell, that is all you want from groove metal at the first place. The primordial factors that give Affective Arousal's rendition of the rumble all the chance in the world to convince you to give a head to bang, are the brute elegance of the grooves, paired up with the rhythmic intricacy they come to thrash you into the wall with. Keen and exigent sense to respect, to summon and to properly worship the infinite faces of the aggressive groove is on constant display here, seeking AND finding the equally infinite faces of the rumble the groove expresses its ultimate nature through. There is no doubt at all that the favorite fixation of the release is the lowest possible note that is producible by the stringed instruments, but one must ask : if it sounds good, then who gives a sear shit if it is?

Structurally, the compositions are consisting of organically connected elements of high octane rampancy, each having their own agenda and rhythmic flavor, yet always keeping their sober touch with the surrounding components to follow them up. Melodic choruses that flatter the feel of stoner rock and well presented metalcore, - aua - are offered, as well. Luckily enough, these choruses tend to manage to entertain the ears with legit musical stimuli, as the singed melodies look pretty muscular on the cleverly structured wall of sound chords that hurry to back those up on these occasions. As such, these melodic sequences do find a way to emerge both as accessible and dignified. Just to give an example : the track called "Reason to hate" has one of the most relevant melodic choruses this release has to state, one that seems to be similar in nature to the chorus of Stone Sour's "Mission Statement". Both of these hooks are great, yet they feed from the same musical scape, a scape not easily expressed if the attempter has zero access to it. Casting an evident light on this scape is a great accomplishment on its own.

Trendkill Method's vocalist surely has the Philip Anselmo going on, yet, this time around, the imitation is acceptable, because the scream register has just the right amount of rawness and presence associated to it, and it sits in the mix in a very well researched place. The aforementioned melodic sequences with clean vocals are equally tight, ultimately. The singer, though clearly lacking the display-worthy animal of a Corey Taylor, does a decent job at delivering the melodies with dignity, humanity and badasness, and it is very respectable that the band decided to refrain from the use of various magical effects to pump up the voice artificially.

Affective Arousal is a delivery even the members of Pantera would probably give the nod on, and this is not something you could frequently say and keep an inner face intact. If you know what is good for your neighbor's spiritual integrity, give this album a spin. And one more. And one more.

Rating : 8.5 / 10

If you liked this article, check out my music

and / or

Buy me beer. Read more!

Lamb of God - Ashes of the Wake review

Year : 2004
Genre : Groove Metal
Label : Epic
Origin : United States
Rating : 6.5 / 10

Buy it now

Lamb of God has all the chance in the whole wide world to emerge victorious when the fabric of the Universe organizes the annual Who Has the Most Notable Pantera Influence Embedded in Thy Souls? contest.

There is nothing wrong at all with being influenced by Pantera, a band reigning beyond doubt as one of the most influential forces that, to this day, define the field contemporary metal tends to present itself upon. The only thing you really want to give this Lamb of God - Ashes of the Wake affair a spin for, is the bitter chance you will have at listening how the T-Rex of Pantera sounds with its balls miniaturized. Wait. Are you SURE you want to hear that? Okay, read on then.



Ashes of the Wake, for a start, AND for a precisely aimed conclusion, at least submits to its own aspirations, and delivers the everyday average Pantera cloning as solidly as the band could in 2004. The face of groove metal is not a face that necessarily has to depend on intricacy to sell its raw charisma : it simply needs to depend on the sole weight and/or catch of the groove, and there seems to be a difference between individual grooves with autonomous rhythms being shot at your direction, and grooves that have organic connections and common feelings that they playfully circulate between each other. Lamb of God doubtless knows how to deliver a relatively solid groove, yet their readiness and urge to make the grooves flirt with each other, so you have no chance but to scrutinize their fun closely, sounds to be modest on this 2004 effort.

The sections tend to get thrown away rather easily, without them being given the attention their rhythmic and sonic structures do sound to exhibit. Instead of taking a pattern apart to see what actually is inside, the band hastily brings another build out of thin air. The vocalist sometimes addresses the depths of his Pantera influences by giving away two or three lines in a narrative fashion, as Philip Anselmo likes to do. The vocalist's speaking voice packs way less drama and charisma than Anselmo's, but the he probably has managed to eradicate his own capacity to notice this evident potentiality of reality. Connection between the patterns, sometimes DOES get established on the spin, and those are the moments the LP is at its top form - but these moments are relatively scarce to come by, and the basic character of the spin remains that of a diligent presentation of doubtless muscular groove metal loops the band developed during the production, yet loops that exhibit mild organic connection with any other.

As just hinted above, the LP sounds to have a clumsy tendency of mistaking the abrupt termination of a solid direction for flamboyant variation. The intensity has a hard time reaching moments you must remember or rewind to, - there ARE such moments, though - regardless how the band ventures into metalcore territory on occasions, just to resonate some miserable fake fry screams you can laugh a round male-ass off. The performance of the vocalist is probably the most disappointing contribution of this spin. He sounds to have a rather time, and general wisdom suggests that as soon as it is hard for you, then it will be no fun to you, and probably it won't be fun to listen to, either. The vocalist tries to get the job done, but trying is way less than sufficient when you can subject yourself to legit vocal performances you can hear from number 1 real deal screamers like Pantera's Phil Anselmo or Slipknot's Corey Taylor.

From a musical point of view, - without the vocal contribution, that lacks notable unique character beyond its over-abused aspiration to imitate Anselmo - this is a decently produced, prolonged sequence of quite acceptable Pantera tribute, but, as with most tributes, this one, too, lacks the promise of a chance of approximating its mighty inspirator. In 2004, Lamb of God had no capacity to offer anything else of-, or sufficient enough of what its definer, Pantera delivered as a timeless navigational beacon of metal. Ashes of the Wake is not a bad album, it simply is an effort at cloning its own robust ideal.

Rating : 6.5 / 10

If you liked this article,

check out my music

and / or

Buy me beer. Read more!

Consfearacy - Consfearacy review

Year : 2011
Genre : Thrash / Power / Groove
Label : Independent
Origin : United States / Germany
Rating : 8.6 / 10

Buy it now

Consfearacy's self titled affair spins for 42 energized minutes of continuous and rather inventive attempts at blending the trademark traits of various metallic sub-genres into colorful autonomous declarations, each sticking though to a cleverly raw and muscular character the album cultivates as a prime direction to project itself as.

By giving you the palpable basic sensation of thrash metal utterly failing to give a shit about what you think or do not think of it, Consfearacy utilizes this commanding feeling to pull playfulness and groove out of its rabid body from time to time, just to hide all the pleasantries and unleash the intense nihil - aua - of thrash once again in the next bar.



The 10 tracks have a pair of common denominators they secretly and soothingly assuage in the background without a stop : Consfearacy, first of all, is not at all afraid to unleash an output that simply has no concept of subtraction from intensity. Everything here is happening for a wide, thick, weighty experience, one which though never quite crosses the border of death metal type musical brutality that may exhibit the tendency of being a bit hard to approach towards.

Consfearacy delivers compositions with rock-solid ideas behind them, each realized with raw, nevertheless carefully sculpted and highly efficient musical musculature. Addressing these attributes in a clear and easily decipherable fashion is a focal method of how this album throws its fingers towards the throat of your propensity to appreciate.

The last track on the spin, "You're dead to me" is a fine example of the dormant workings herein : while the anatomical structure of the background compliments the mere power of the chug during the chorus, the vocal melody mounts true catch and elegance on top of the monster, addressing even the "our hair against the wind" power metal vibe for a tint of a second. And not for a tad more, and that is why the moment in question seems and sounds to be a great one.

The LP, while brings forth a keen readiness to engage the thrash metal cannon, also keeps an eye and an ear out for lush compositional routes to take, systematically and luckily arriving at choruses and interludes that speak a non-theatrical, pretty much unorthodox and wild power metal register, one which refrains from giving the traditional nod for the so easily abusable pathos, and, instead, expresses its endless affection towards the mere catch and weight of the groove.

This is a furious, superbly controlled and elegantly presented album with meticulous production work, making use of a wisely limited selection of sonic war-wielders. Consfearacy's musicians had zero doubt about what they wanted to do with this spin, and what they wanted to stay safely away from. These clear intentions are flattered further by the audible results they have produced. Consfearacy's latest to date confronts your musical awareness with an album that manages to reign strongly throughout tasteful tints of great variation, maintaining this great attribute not by trying to do so, but, simply by doing so, instead.

Rating : 8.6 / 10

If you liked this article, check out my music

and / or

Buy me beer. Read more!