Sepultura - Kairos

Sepultura have released their latest studio album "Kairos" with label Nuclear Blast and producer Roy Z (Judas Priest, Halford, Bruce Dickinson, Helloween). The tracklist is:

1 - Spectrum 4:00
2 - Kairos 3:35
3 - Relentless 3:35
4 - 2011 0:29
5 - Just One Fix 3:30
6 - Dialog 4:54
7 - Mask 4:29
8 - 1433 0:30
9 - Seethe 2:24
10 - Born Strong 4:37
11 - Embrace The Storm 3:30
12 - 5772 0:27
13 - No One Will Stand 3:15
14 - Structure Violence (Azzes) 5:37
15 - 4648 0:28
16 - Firestarter (Bonus Track) 4:30
17 - Point Of No Return (Bonus Track) 3:24

After listening to it a couple of times, I have to say that it does not have much difference to their last two studio albums. There is nothing new in it, and nothing blasting, but if you like "post-Max" period of the band, you will not dislike Kairos. My favourite tracks are "Relentless", "Just One Fix" (Ministry version), "Mask" and "Born Strong". Also, check out the track "Firestarter", a heavy version of the infamous track of The Prodigy.

On the other hand, the band has endorsed a new drummer, 20-year-old from São Paulo, Brazil, who won the Modern Drummer "Undiscovered Drummer" contest as a teenager in 2006, Eloy Casagrande. Jean Dolabella leaves SEPULTURA after a five-year run of relentless touring and two studio albums to focus on personal projects. If you want to check out this "little guy", have a look to the following interview:

Lamb of God

Lamb of God, formerly known as "Burn The Priest", is an American Heavy Metal band from Richmond, Virgina, formed in 1994. Current members are: Chris Adler (drums), John Campbell (bass guitar), Mark Morton and Willie Adler (guitar) and Randy Blythe (vocals). Until now, they have released six studio albums, and played on several acts as OzzFest and Download Festival.

I got to know them thanks to my friends from La Cuerda de Carradine (Carradine's Rope), and took the chance to listen to their 2009's "Wrath". Their style is classified by the media as thrash metal, death metal, hardcore punk and grindcore. The truth is, they are unique in their sound and they have a very strong and powerful sound.

Here is an example from their album "Resolution", released on 24th January 2012. The track is number 3, "Ghost Walking":



Their guitar sound is best known for their drop-D tunning, which gives them that heavy groove riffs (any bells ringing from Pantera?). Both Mark and Willie seem to be very nice and friendly guys. Each one has their preferences on guitar playing:

Mark Morton: "Morton frequently utilizes pentatonic scales and harmonic minor scales, and it has been noted that he has a blues style to his music. He composes and plays almost all of Lamb of God's guitar solos and forms many of the heavy groove rhythms". - Wikipedia -

Willie Addler: "Self-taught, Willie is well known for his unconventional style of playing, which includes odd/dissonant chord shapes, unique timing patterns, odd rhythms, high usage of his fretting hand's pinky finger, wide stretches between frets due to an increased reach, and being an obsessive perfectionist with his right hand rhythm playing. He plays mostly the jagged staccato riffs in Lamb of God's songs, while Mark Morton plays more of the groove-oriented rhythms and solos. Willie does solo occasionally, and says whereas Morton is more knowledgeable of scales and modes, that he 'attacks solos like a division problem'". - Wikipedia -

Now, I will leave you with some examples, so you can check out what I am talking about: