Byonoisegenerator
Subnormal Dives
Transcending Obscurity Records
13 June 2025
Oh, boy, what a doozy! What on planet Mars do we have here?! This is the most interesting album that I have heard this year, if by interesting we mean "out there wacky world experimental mind melting freak out". This music turns into a pancake slap to the face in a matter of mere seconds. So, friend, check it out, the band calls this "jazzgrind" and that sums it up pretty well. They can row their boat with the best of them, and they get down and boogie with their saxophone interventions all over these songs, and they can break down their songs like an expert Rubik's Cube decoder-shuffler-airbender. Not only that, friend, it turns out that they have an actual saxophone player in the band.
Can you imagine what type of personality you have to have in order to grow up practicing the saxophone for hours, and your parents think that you are going to play normal saxophone mellow music, only to find out that you went off the deep end and joined an experimental grind band?!
Well! That's different, huh?
Just when I thought that 2025 would not hand out any more parking permits to the parking lots on Pluto, here comes an album to make fans wonder where grind goes to party after the party. Buckle up, safety harness on, and get ready for the drop. Where is Frank Zappa when you need him?! What would Frank Zappa have said if he had lived to see this? "Thank you for chaos, but please remember to feed the beavers"?
One last thing. The band has shared their lyrics with this publication. I am glad to report their lyrics deal not with zombies, demons, politics, murder and the usual grind topics, but possibly rather with equations about chemistry, maybe about elements from the periodic table or perhaps about life forms. I'm not sure. Really, it is possible that the only person that knows is the author of the lyrics!
Subnormal Dives
by BYONOISEGENERATOR
https://www.facebook.com/byonoisegenerator
Below is a new video from CONFESSIONS OF A TRAITOR (U.K.). "Noble Bloom" is a song from their upcoming album This Pain Will Serve You scheduled for May 16th, 2025 on Facedown Records. If you check out their Facebook page (link below), you will find all all the revelant information for the buying the album and also their concert in London planned for the end of May, 2025.
Below is the official information about the song and the upcoming album. I have not yet heard the album itself, but this song is sounding pretty representative of the band's overall sound, their mix of heaviness and melodies, done in a way that is fun, easy to understand, and difficult to remain still while listening to the music. Their smooth sound proves to be, despite the heaviness, rather easy on the ears, in my opinion. As you will see below, the music is fun, but they make an effort to provide lyrics that have meaning. In this case, it is a situation of terminal illness. Thus, it is that contrast of heaviness of music and lyrics, and catchy songwriting, that may appeal to you. Find out if that's true!
"London metalcore quartet CONFESSIONS OF A TRAITOR have released their brand new single 'Noble Bloom', an emotionally-charged track about the relentlessness of grief. The single is the latest to be taken from their recently announced upcoming album This Pain Will Serve You, set for release on 16th May via Facedown Records. Sitting somewhere between ballad and metalcore monolith, 'Noble Bloom' demonstrates CONFESSIONS OF A TRAITOR's ability to walk the tightrope between delicate emotive intensity and boundless sonic force. Lyrically the track explores the complex emotions that surround the terminal diagnosis of a loved one, coming face to face with mortality and the painful journey towards inevitable loss; something that guitarist Jack Darnell had to confront when he tragically lost his mother."
"This song is about being forced to move through the stages of grief far too quickly," Darnell shares, "starting with overwhelming anger, then realising just how limited your time together truly is. Eventually, you're left with no choice but to accept the immutable truth. For those who are going through, or have been through, something as life-changing as a terminal illness: the pain never fully goes away. But over time, the space around it grows. It does get easier. I promise."
"This Pain Will Serve You delves deep into the complex and raw emotions of grief and loss. Through haunting melodies and powerful lyrics, CONFESSIONS OF A TRAITOR explore the universal experience of mourning and the journey toward healing. The album captures the lingering presence of the memories that shape our lives while also reflecting on the beauty that can emerge from the depths of sorrow, serving as a poignant reminder of the enduring impact that those we've lost continue to have on us. Produced by the band and Justin Hill (SikTh, Heart Of A Coward) and mixed by Lance Prenc (Alpha Wolf, Polaris), the eleven track record is set to cement their status as one of the most promising prospects in British heavy music.
Speaking on the record, the band states:
"This record is a heartfelt tribute to those who have experienced profound loss to those who continue to grieve the ones they love. It stands as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, inviting listeners to find comfort and solidarity in faith, hope, and the shared experience of grief. We grow from trauma. We let it serve us."
"Shortly after the album release, the band will be performing a very special show in their London hometown, celebrating the record in the heart of the city they started their journey in. The exclusive UK show will take place at The 229 on 31st May."
CONFESSIONS OF A TRAITOR "Noble Bloom" Official Music Video
CONFESSIONS OF A TRAITOR "Still Haunted" (Ft. HolyName & Heal The Hurt) Official Music Video
https://www.facebook.com/confessionsofatraitor
Melodic prog visionaries Kardashev (U.S./Canada) are streaming two new songs from the upcoming third full-length album titled Alunea, scheduled to be available in its entirety on the 25th of April, 2025. The songs are called "Reunion" and "Seed of the Night," and both exemplify well the current direction in their always-turning wheel of music. In the past people have spoken of certain subgenres when referring to this band, even using new-fangled fancy terms like "deathgaze," and the like.
Frankly, I'm sure right now that I have no idea what the writers are going to label the new album. Instead, I'll tell you what you will hear. Sweet melodic singing (and it's not the typical metal singing, either) sharing space with some rather deep, gruff growling, along the lines of death metal/deathcore, with some black metal shrieking in some parts, too. The drumming patterns are all over the place: from gentle, grooving rhythms to prog and to fast extreme metal, all punctuated with some heavy, soothing low frequencies of the bass. Likewise, the guitar goes to many different places, from chugging to djent, to prog and extreme metal, and various other localities, in which shades of black metal, death/deathcore, breakdowns and whatnot can be detected. However, when you hear it, it is all a lot better, smoother and flows very well, way better than I'm making it seem, just in case that you, dear reader, are getting the impression that this is a crazy mix of genres. It is not a crazy mix of genres at all, not experimental.
Finally, the band strives to bring intelligence to their songwriting. Their music includes some parts in the lyrics that have a made-up language. The album is appropriate for all metal audiences, given that the album has no profanity, according to the band. Having heard the album myself a bunch of times now, I can tell you that the album is certainly an interesting listen for all metal audiences, young and old. Some of it, is surprising when you first hear it. For instance, the melodic singing might just take you by surprise!
I am new to the VoidChaser game. It looks like this project began in 2023 with a single, then a couple of EPs in 2024 and now a new EP in 2025. This new EP is reportedly the conclusion to the space traveler concept that this Canadian/Swedish project has been working on since the start. The new EP is three songs in 20 minutes. So, science fiction space travel music, right? Yes, apparently.
The music is melodic and midtempo prog neosymphonic extreme metal. Think of melodic death metal played a nice, grooving tempo, with space, synth elements, and you have a good idea about the deal here. While the music is rather heavy at times, there is plenty of cleaner, leaner melodic passages, which may sound closer to traditional prog power or prog heavy metal. It's rather melodic and catchy, and not excessively meandering nor experimental. There are some growled vocals and the music throws down pretty heavy at those times during the harsh vocals. In my opinion, the guitar melodies are pretty cool. I like the melodic singing, too. It's good. I am not the biggest fan of these growled vocals in particular, as they sound too screamed and tend to be rough on the ears, as if the music is too elegant for the screaming, but who knows, maybe you will enjoy the growling the most! You never know. One thing is clear: the music gets across the message they have worked hard at making prog that is quality while being accessible.
Trust (Deluxe Edition) (EP)
by Voidchaser
The first link below is for "Trust," the first song available right now from the upcoming sophomore album titled "Next in Line" from Italian classic rockers Holler. The album will be released on the 23rd of May, 2025 on Scarlet Records. "Trust" is a good representation of the upcoming album. I am enjoying the new album a whole lot, probably a little too much, actually.
Italian singer Terence Holler (Mario Tarantola) is known as the voice of long-running melodic prog band Eldritch from 1991 to 2022, including the previous band named Zeus from 1988 to 1991. Therefore, even though Eldritch has now made one album, their first, in their new post-Holler era, there are some 12 studio albums with Holler on vocals, with tons of outstanding songs ranging from ballads to melodic thrash, and everything in between, songs that for some fans mean "Eldritch with Holler on vocals" for more than two decades.
Once out of Eldritch, there was in 2024 the first Holler album. In my view, that album's main objective was for Holler to be established as very different from Eldritch. Holler was not any type of continuation of the former style of prog metal, not any type of contemporary metal, but rather American-style, ear-friendly, arena-vibe classic rock that is very catchy.
To be perfectly honest, the debut album "Reborn" from last year took a while for me to understand it. Mentally, to go from Eldritch to the new music was a bit much, especially since the debut album, in my opinion, went too far away from heavy metal and was too soft for too much of the time. Basically, the guitars were very subdued, just pushed too much out of the picture. Later on, I have come to enjoy the debut album a lot more.
However, this new 2025 second album is much easier to understand! It has more guitars. It really does look like Holler realized that it was necessary to bring the guitars more to the forefront. Well, this new album does have more guitars. Of course, this is not prog metal or anything like that. It is classic rock and hard rock, with some heavy metal elements. For example, the song "Crystal Eyes" (not streaming yet) on the new album is a heavy metal song, like an oldie heavy metal tune, similar to the sound of heavy rock from 1975 to 1982, which is to say heavy rock that was dominant before thrash metal came on the scene. However, most of the new album is less heavy and less fast than "Crystal Eyes," while maintaining classic rock as the foundation of the sound: heavy rock and AOR (adult contemporary rock).
Finally, one interesting piece of information: The new album includes a Sia cover. Namely, they cover (not streaming yet) the pop music star's hit "Chandelier." Below I have included the video for the original pop version of "Chandelier." Holler's version, in my opinion, sounds, more or less, like a Holler song, not like a weird experiment, which it isn't. Holler makes the song their own. Anyway, check out the new song "Trust" and the previous album from 2024 until the new album comes in May 2025.
Next In Line
by Holler
Reborn
by Holler
HOLLER - Do You Believe (Official Video)
Sia - Chandelier (Official Video)
