Karma Violens - Dormancy [Full-length, 2011]

Karma Violens - Dormancy  [Full-length, 2011]

After 9 years of existence, 1 demo and 1 EP, finally the first full-length album of Karma Violens is released. After seeing them supporting the almighty Judas Priest on their final tour this summer, I was pretty sure that the aggressive feeling they had on stage would be depicted on the record as well.

Dormancy is the name, extreme riffing is the game. This record really grabs you by the nuts from the beginning till the end. After being “dormant” for many years, the band has finally decided to strike. The first song “Animal” gets you in the mood for what’s coming up next. A sense of dark thrash/black riffs combined with drum blastbeats and brutal vocals is more than enough to do the trick. The second song “Full Dose Of Hate” is picking up where “Animal” left off and “Death Is Symbolic” is introduced by the great late Chuck Schuldiner, who speaks against categories in metal music, and naturally it contains many Death elements.

The band’s lyrics are mostly about politics and reaction to everything which disturbs us in the society we live in. The next song “Christian Lovers (Made Me Do It)” needs no explanation as it is already a strong statement (and a personal favorite of mine). “Returning From Oslo” is also very good and in “Headstrong Vs. Progress” one can spot a lot of experimenting. The band easily blends all genres of extreme metal and the outcome is indeed way better than many others who tried doing the same. “Molotov Syrup” is a proof of that and one of the best songs on the album. The last songs on the album are “Storm Before Calm” where the aggressive riffing and drumming are at their best once more and “Dormancy” which is, as far as I’m concerned, an instant classic, combining the best elements of Karma Violens and satisfying even those who might not be so interested in the extreme genre of metal. The lack of guitar solos is a little obvious in some parts, but most of the songs are more than fine without them.

This is definitely one of the best works from a Greek extreme metal band, a real mixture of pure roughness and excellent riffology with a very good production by Fotis Bernardo (Septic Flesh) and George Emmanuel (Valet Parn), which really leaves you wondering how their next album will sound like. Definitely a must for every Pantera, Machine Head and Slayer fan out there.

Band Lineup:

Marios - Vocals
George - Guitars
Costas - Guitars
Steven - Bass
Nikk - Drums

Tracklist:

01 – Animal

02 – Full Dose Of Hate

03 – Death Is Symbolic

04 – Christian Lovers (Made Me Do It)

05 – Returning From Oslo

06 – Headstrong Vs. Progress

07 – Molotov Syrup

08 – Storm Before Calm

09 – Dormancy

Contact info:

Shop : www.shop.karmaviolens.com

Facebook : www.facebook.com/karmaviolens

Myspace : www.myspace.com/karmaviolens

E-mail : info@karmaviolens.com

Download is a substitute, support real music and buy some records!

YELLOW BIRD

ANGRY BIRDS - YELLOW BIRD

I haven’t written anything for a while, and that’s because so much has happened during 2011 in Greece, that I really don’t know where to begin! I’ve made some decisions though during the last months and that is NOT to refer in some subjects which might be considered as “serious matters” by most people.

I’ll sum it all up in one article but until then I really needed something to get me going, get me writing again (yeah, you guessed right, THIS is it). I stopped playing PC-games over 5 years ago (with the exception of GTA3 and GTA4), but lately I found out that my browser (Google Chrome) has this game installed which is called “Angry Birds”. I started playing, just for fun, and I really became addicted. I finished it up in a matter of hours and it really felt very good to ease your mind after so long. Most gamers might think it’s silly but well, maybe if I had a blog in the 90s this game would be “Lemmings” or “Worms” instead of “Angry Birds”.

     This is my small humble photo tribute to my favorite bird from the game, the yellow one. Enjoy. (All photos are from Google, I don’t have the copyrights for anything.)

Some related stuff here also...

     

And some real yellow birds!!!

The End...

Manowar @ O2 Academy Brixton, London, (UK), November 5th, 2011

Manowar @ O2 Academy Brixton, London, (UK), November 5th, 2011

Being at a Manowar concert does not mean that you’re there out of curiosity, but rather that you’re a diehard fan of the band. There always are a few exceptions but that’s the case most of the time.

Having already seen 2 out of 3 Greek Manowar shows in Thessaloniki this year, I was getting ready for another live blast of epic proportions from the Kings. The Greek shows were by far some of the best I’ve seen in my life and certainly among the best performances a metal band can give.

Arriving at the venue I had this feeling of warmth inside of me, because I knew I was going to see something more than just “a band”, something way more important for me. The fans were already gathering up and I met a lot of crazy people who came from all around the world there. Poland, Spain, Italy, Greece, etc.

My disappointment started as soon as I entered the venue. The doors opened at 19:00 and the band didn’t get on stage until 21:00. So we had a 2 hour wait in front of us which easily kills part of your joy for being there. Then I heard that the band was going to do… a 20 minute break? I didn’t believe it until I saw it happen. The venue clearly stated that the band was going to play from 21:00 until 23:00 so the total duration was well below 2 hours (Nothing like the 2 ½ hour Greek shows). The ticket price was much higher as well.

Finally it was time for the gig to begin and I tried to forget every bad moment until that time. Manowar was on stage and the glory of the “Battle Hymns” record unfolded in front of us almost in its entirety. I’m saying almost because “William’s Tale” was not included for some reason and I didn’t like that "small neglection". Karl’s solo followed and then “Brothers Of Metal” and an amazing “Hail To England” ended the first part of the show. The venue was really good, and the acoustics were good also, but the drums were horrible. That’s because Donnie is using a drum trigger which combined with the new Manowar audio system, makes the sound from deafening (in a bad way) to unbearable. I hope that he reconsiders this choice because it ruins some parts of the songs. Eric is something over awesome for another time. He’s pushing 60 and his vocals are still extreme! After the 20 minute break it was time for  and “Hand Of Doom”, “Call To Arms” and “Thunder In The Sky” were starting to warm us up again. Generally the crowd didn’t react much, except certain groups of people, but it was “Hail And Kill” time and everybody got crazy again. A bass solo by Joey followed which was a mixture of 3 Manowar bass solos and many notes were missing. I’d rather hear some more old hymns instead to be honest. The first notes of “Warriors Of The World” were heard and everyone started singing passionately. It’s already a Manowar classic by now. “Kings Of Metal” followed and the show ended with “Black Wind, Fire & Steel”. The band left in a hurry and a roadie got up with a very long speech, telling us that we should buy official Manowar merchandise, and scream “FUCK YOU!” at the merchant outside the venue selling false merchandise and to harass him in general. And sadly there were people who did it.

After the gig I visited the official merchandise bench just to be surprised at the prices. I guess the people there must think that a Manowar t-shirt is the most important thing given to man after the discovery of fire.

So, although I didn’t like the big lack of classics like “Sign Of The Hammer”, “Thor”, “Heart Of Steel” which were played on the first leg of the tour, the wait before the show and during (the 20 minute break), the overall duration which was much less than 2 hours, the drum trigger and the lecture from the roadie at the end, overally this concert would satisfy the average Manowar fan, even if it wasn’t one of their best performances, and personally I’d see them again anytime. It was nothing like the Greek shows but it was more than satisfactory.

MANOWAR setlist:

01. Manowar

02. Death Tone

03. Metal Daze

04. Fast Taker

05. Shell Shock

06. Dark Avenger

07. Sun Of Death (Guitar Solo)

08. Battle Hymn

09. Brothers Of Metal Pt.1

10. Hail To England
-20minute break-

11. Hand Of Doom

12. Call To Arms

13. Thunder In The Sky

14. Hail And Kill

15. Bass Solo

16. Warriors Of The World United

17. Kings Of Metal

18. Black Wind, Fire & Steel

19. Army Of The Dead (outro)