Citizen - As You Please - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Almost two years to the date of the of their breakthrough album, Citizen return with their highly anticipated follow-up full-length, Everybody is Going to Heaven. Haunting these ten songs is a foreboding, dark atmosphere masterfully crafted by producer Will Yip, and an immediate, intense energy is palpable from even the first grimy seconds of the opener, 'Cement.' As with every one of Citizen's releases, Mat Kerekes' signature vocal delivery here is a trademark feature, demonstrating the emotional tension that boils over on this . As cathartic as ever, he duels between a soft croon and a haunting scream, confronting his demons on tracks like 'My Favorite Color' echoing the tormented refrain, 'my heart still beats for nothing'. And while most of the record is an intense and noisy onslaught, songs like 'Heaviside' and 'Yellow Love' act as armistices, each aching in reverb-drenched consonance. Everybody is Going to Heaven is a defining record for Citizen once regarded as newcomers with undeniable potential, the band shows here that they have matured both abruptly and uniquely, with no end to their upward trajectory in sight.

Robert Lehmann - Chamber Music for Strings [COMPACT DISCS] date 11/30/2010

US based Azure Emote led by Mike Hrubovcak (VILE, MONSTROSITY, ABRAXAS, DIVINE RAPTURE) have just released their 2nd studio album InchThe Gravity Of ImpermanenceInch. InchThe Gravity Of ImpermanenceInch is an original mix of Avant-garde Death Metal featuring pummeling blast beats, haunting female vocals, violins, saxophone, harmonica and a barrage of other eclectic surprises, all brought together into one melting pot of misanthropic darkness. Azure Emote Mike Hrubovcak - vocals, lyrics, keyboards, electronic programming, samples, harmonica, Mike Heller on drums (FEAR FACTORY, SYSTEM DIVIDE, MALIGNANCY), Ryan Moll on guitar (RUMPELSTILTSKIN GRINDER, TOTAL FUCKING DESTRUCTION), Kelly Conlon on bass (DEATH, MONSTROSITY, SARGON), Pete Johansen on violin (TRISTANIA, SINS OF THY BELOVED, SIRENIA, MORGUL), female vocals by Sandra Laureano (SUTONIA, KEIN ZURÜCK) and Melissa Ferlaak Koch (VISIONS OF ATLANTIS, AESMA DAEVA, ECHOTERRA). Also featuring guest saxophone by Bruce Lamont (YAKUZA), keyboard solos by Jonah Weingarten (ECHOTERRA, PYRAMAZE), guest guitar solo by J. J. Hrubovcak (HATE ETERNAL, VILE, DIVINE RAPTURE), and guest electronic programming by Jason Ian-Vaughn Eckert (TODESBONDEN, AURORA BOREALIS). The cover art was once again done by Azure Emote's own creator and frontman Mike Hrubovcak, who is known for illustrating artworks for SINISTER, GRAVE, CATTLE DECAPITATION, HATE ETERNAL, DECREPIT BIRTH, MORTICIAN, and many others. The album was recorded, mixed and mastered by Ron Vento of AURORA BOREALIS at NIGHTSKY STUDIOS. InchThe Gravity Of ImpermanenceInch contains 14 songs and over 1 hour of music.