Can-Con Double Feature: The BODY POLITIC - Egressor and WHERE GIANTS ONCE STOOD - Live Above

I try and support Canadian metal, I really do. But sometimes I get promo CDs that I have a hard time promoting. Like Egressor, the new EP from Nanaimo's The Body Politic. And even then it comes down to taste. The Body Politic can be categorized generally as mainstream metal. A young band for young fans. I'm old.

There are a lot of progressive elements weaving their way through the emo-core these lads are co-ordinating. Djent and staccato rhythms hammer away as synth/key melodies meander below the current and soaring vocals trade off with aggressive screams.

At times TBP sound like they are tripping over themselves in an effort to make the songs as jagged as possible. Also, in the attempt to diversify they shoehorn parts in where they aren't necessary and it can ruin any flow the song has going.

There's no doubt their live show is a co-ordinated attack with the long-banged masses losing their shit over the emotive outpouring juxtaposed against the back-breaking poly-metrics. For those raised on Sumerian-core, Protest the Hero or anyone who thinks that Meshuggahswitch Engage would be the sickest shit ever will find that Egressor scratches that itch between the shoulder blades. But if you had pimples when say, Metallica released ...And Justice for All, you might want to run the other way.

http://thebodypolitic.bandcamp.com/track/armature-single 

On your way out of there you may come across the place Where Giants Once Stood. This Toronto group bears a lot of similarities to TBP but take things in a more metalcore direction. There are still staccato rhythms but they incorporate more groove and defined breakdowns on their EP Live Above. Less emo, more aggro. Vocally the death growls and snarls pull down the clean vocals making it all less whiny sounding than it could be. The technicality is less in your face but still tight. Many karate moves will be flashed around the pit at a WGOS show, I can guarantee you that. I could have seen such a sight for myself a couple weeks ago but I was out of town.

I can hear a similarity to Linkin Park here and there but without the electronic elements and again, less whiny. Actually, the growls and snarling screeches aren't all that bad. “Living In Security” (nifty little play on words) has some nice guitar work, both within the riffs and the solos but follows with the syncopated nature of the album.

Less progressive and more -core than their Nanaimo counterparts, WGOS may appeal to a larger subset of metal's younger demographic. Still not my cup of tea but I could see this doing well on satellite radio or that Vevo metal channel. Plus, I know a guy who is going to love both. Kids these days....

https://soundcloud.com/where-giants-once-stood 

Death Toll Rising - Infection Legacy

Infection Legacy is the sophomore album by Edmonton's Death Toll Rising. Thankfully the new album doesn't have any references to death by feces in the title like the last one. The death (metal) on hand here is more of the apocalyptic variety.
For nine tracks over 47 minutes the Albertans go for broke with hard-hitting and edgy death metal. DTR blend a mix of chug and speed with subtle technicality. Two-toned death vokills (low/high) tear through chords as well as anyone else, and the drummer is pretty outstanding.
One can hear the uh, legacy of classic DM bands in their sound but overall DTR sound fresh and modern. Ripping solos and scorching runs balanced by burliness and grit. It's a formula bound to ensnare plenty of death metal fans. But death metal is a tough genre. True innovators are hard to find. There are plenty of horrible DM bands though. But a good majority simply do death metal very well. DTR is one of those bands. Not much really stands out but as far as death metal goes, there's really nothing to complain about. Lots of aggression, tight musicianship, good vocals, and infectiously catchy riffs.
Well, I will complain about the overly dramatic spoken/sampled intro and outro. I understand their aim to tie together the concept but they sound really cheesy. If only they were separate tracks...
Infection Legacy is worth checking out. You might even want to "Crack Open a Cold One" to go along with it. I mean beer, but that's not what the song is about.

http://deathtollrising.bandcamp.com/album/infection-legacy

Shooting Guns - Born to Deal in Magic: 1952-1976

I kept hearing great things about this Shooting Guns band but never really paid much attention. Most of the praise came from a resident of Shooting Guns' home base of Saskatoon. Therefore, I assumed a local bias was at least partially responsible. Much like the way I fawned over Kingston's I Hate Sally (RIP) and Guelph's Arise and Ruin (also RIP)(I lived in Guelph for 3 years). I might never have known how wrong I was about that bias had Born to Deal in Magic :1952-1976 not shown up in my inbox. I love being wrong.
Drinking deep from the well of doom (anti)luminaries Black Sabbath ("Dopestrings") and Electric Wizard ("Harmonic Steppenwolf"), this instrumental quintet has conjured a gem of an album from the ether of those cold prairie nights. Born to Deal's fuzzed out jams flow with hypnotic grace, lulling the listener into a state of total bliss. Sharp angularity has no place here as the smoothed edges of the groove transport you to a land of complacency. No need to worry about anything as you let the swell of psychedelia wash over you in waves of calming vibration. The wall of sound created is anything but oppressive. It feels more like non-violent explosions of warm light blooming in the darkness, the riffs floating on a sea of synths. EW and Sabbath aren't the only tributaries feeding these dark yet tranquil waters. Streams of Clutch ("Public Taser"), the almighty Sleep ("The Last Great Depression") and Karma To Burn ("Liberator") filter through the bedrock to augment the effectiveness of Born to Deal until you're neck deep in numbing coolness. Overdriven and delay-soaked, Shooting Guns drown the listener beneath texture and layers of sonic serenity. Not merely content to wallow in subsonic frequencies at an easy pace, "Stay Awake Forever" is a Hammond-drenched ride down a space highway with a Steppenwolf patch on its jacket while album closer "Cheater's Justice" sounds heavily informed by early Monster Magnet. And we can all use more Monster Magnet influence in our lives. It may sound like a lot of name dropping but this is no album of ripoffs. Shooting Guns merely take a queue from killer bands and reconfigure those methodologies into something unique and wholly satisfying.
It's been a while since I've heard something I'm so comfortable in labeling "stoner rock". But not even in the sense that it's music for stoners as much as music that makes you feel stoned. It's cantering rhythm and "bathed in smoke" feel pull the listener away from the physical sensations shackling them to their Tellurian existence to transcend dimensions on a cosmic trip. Pack your (dime)bags and bongs my friends, this is one journey you can't afford to miss.

Any band that can take a handful of my ALL TIME favourite bands and sew them into an album of considerable greatness is worthy of all the praise I can throw at them. I can't get enough. Get some. NOW. 

http://shootingguns.bandcamp.com/album/born-to-deal-in-magic-1952-1976