Thursday, June 17, 2010

Amazing review from "Rock Freaks"

name - Internet Killed The Audiostar
Written by: TL on 14/6-10 at 00:18:09


Hello readers. My name is Tim, and once upon a time I was a writer with this fine site. Nowadays, it's been weeks since my last real contribution, something I aim to change right now, through the production of a review I have long owed the band known merely as name, namely that of their recent début "Internet Killed The Audiostar". Truth be told, with them peddling some very ambitious mathcore, I never seemed the most apt for the task, yet somehow this record managed to force an unusual number of plays through my trusty headphones. Let's see if I can explain why that is:

For the majority of its length, "Internet Killed The Audiostar" displays as uncompromising a will to defy expectations, as a an album by a band so cheekily named could be expected. The core sound is visceral, chaotic mathcore, bringing to mind the music of The Dillinger Escape Plan, appearing purposefully ridiculous in its technicality, and changing in rhythm and structure, so fast that even the most impatient listeners should be left breathless on several occasions.

Fortunately, at least the way I see it, name are not settling for simply melting your face with a relentless barrage of insanity. Oh no, instead, they'd rather go all Between The Buried And Me on you when you least suspect it, introducing lengthy periods of easily accessible bass grooves, clean Mike Patton-esque singing, jazzy experimentation, bright tremolo riffing, majestic chord progressions, or even new rave-ish electronics. These zones of oddity appear as tranquil little oasises, eyes of the proverbial storms that make up the mainstay of name's sonic universe, and in the contrast between the two approaches, the band draws its strength.

It is this contrast that reveals that name are somewhat more ambitious than your regular noise-worshipers and that they are more keen on defying attempts at labeling them. By balancing chaos with calm, each appear all the stronger. However, being this hellbent on defying convention also means that structurally, "Internet Killed The Audiostar" is the nightmare of the sensible listener. I've heard this disc more times than I care to count, and while many individual bits are recognizable by now, the grand idea of it all certainly still eludes me. In the first place it's going to require of you that you're used to listening to bands like TDEP, BTBAM and The Ocean to even consider it music for your ears, and even then, you're looking on dozens of listens ahead of you, if you want to see if there's more to appreciate this for than the immediate aggression and seeming randomness. Still, though I can't quite seem to explain why, the one clear vibe I get from this record is that it is quality stuff, coming from a genre where I usually have trouble finding any. Call it reviewer's instinct or whatever, but I'll recommend this, even without really knowing why. [7½]

Download: Killer Whales, Man; Charmer
For The Fans Of: The Dillinger Escape Plan, Between The Buried And Me, The Ocean
Listen: myspace.com/name

Release Date 19.04.2010
Lifeforce Records



Actual review here: http://www.rockfreaks.net/index.php?page=albumreviews&id=2900

An incredibly kind review from web blog "Home Nucleonics"

Name – Internet Killed The Audio Star
Posted on 16/06/2010 by homenucleonics

Almost a decade ago Lars Ulrich and Metallica started the download age when they dragged Napster to court and managed to get them condemned. In hindsight Lars Ulrich and Co just opened the floodgate, because nowadays there’s torrent sites available everywhere. The whole digital revolution caused of lot of mayhem between the established artists and created new chances for more innovative bands. All these events are sarcastically commented on Internet Killed The Audio Star by Name.

Name is an acronym for New Approach to Martyrs Expressions and they unleash a barrage of Fantomas/The Dillinger Escape Plan/Mr Bungle inspired madness upon the masses. At first Internet Killed The Audio Star comes across as just one big incoherent mess of musical ideas. After a couple of intense listening sessions things really start to sink in and you’ll start to uncover the raw and unpolished gem that this album really is.

Freestyle jazz, breakdowns, death metal, progressive rock, funk and even a bit of blues, simply everything is allowed to make compositions like You’ll Never Die In This Town, The Spark Of Divinity, My Sweetheart The Whore, Mare and the different Empathic Communicator parts float. Transcending musical boundaries is the message here.

The vocals are just as varied as the music and encompass everything between screaming, growling and clean vocals. A special mention should go the rhythm section, because they are the glue holding the musical lunatic asylum that is Internet Killed The Audio Star together. This album has a somewhat raw production, giving it an even harsher edge.

If you’re into Fantomas, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Mr Bungle, Between The Buried And Me and Cephalic Carnage you should give this album a go. You won’t be disappointed.




Actual review here: http://homenucleonics.wordpress.com/2010/06/16/name-internet-killed-the-audio-star/

Awesome review by "Tempelores" from The Netherlands

Releasedate: 19-04-2010; Label: Lifeforce Records
By: Lara Cappelli

NAME (New Approach to Martyrs Expressions) is an American Experimental Metal band formed in 2003 by brothers Wes and Jeremy Fareas.

The experiment carried by Name is to put in their music as many styles as you can imagine, including Metal, Death, Grind and little of Jazz and Electro as well, although I’d definitely put this album into Metal. Right from the screaming start of “Killer Whales, Man” you take a deep breath and get into this chaotic and energetic atmosphere. Something that must be said is that “Internet Killed The Audiostar” atmosphere is far from being any relaxing; on the contrary, through the first couple of songs, NAME immediately demonstrate what they want to deliver: an aggressive but sometimes slightly overwhelming kind of music. The appreciable thing to point out here is the flexibility of the album that hardly gets repetitive, balancing the most brutal parts to some calmer melodies like the ones you find in the beginning of “The Sycophant, The Saint & The Gamefox” and “You’ll Never Die In This Town Again”.

There’s really a lot to find out in this album and even if initially all the elements found in there seem to be hardly linked to each other, afterwards the whole picture starts to get a bit clearer and for this, more appreciable.




Actual review here: http://tempelores.com/?p=2293

Saturday, June 12, 2010

"Name Of The Wall" Tour Dates

Here are the dates.. I brought them to YOU.. So now, pick a date, and mark on your calendars... Lets have some fun. It's been a long while since we've hit some of these areas up, so let have a blast like we did last time we were there!! NO EXCUSES! lets make it happen.




7/03/2010 Charm City Art Space - Baltimore, MD w/ Questioner, Old Crow
7/04/2010 *TBA/HELP NEEDED - Richmond/DC/Virginia Beach, etc.
7/05/2010 *TBA/HELP NEEDED - Charlotte, Raleigh, Wilmington, etc., NC
7/06/2010 The Muse - Nashville, TN
7/07/2010 Drunken Unicorn - Atlanta, GA w/ Let The Night Roar
7/08/2010 The Tavern - Hattiesburg, MS
7/09/2010 The Bar - Metairie, LA
7/10/2010 *TBA/HELP NEEDED - Dallas, Austin, Amarillo, San Antonio, etc, TX
7/11/2010 *TBA/HELP NEEDED - Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Albuquerque, etc, NM
7/12/2010 Revolver Records - Phoenix, AZ w/ Black Sheep Wall, Hellas Mounds
7/13/2010 Surf City Saloon - Huntington Beach, CA
7/14/2010 Cobalt Cafe - Los Angeles, CA w/ Black Sheep Wall
7/16/2010 The Red House - Walnut Creek, CA w/ Black Sheep Wall, Izeovasis
7/17/2010 The Fire Escape - Sacramento, CA w/ Black Sheep Wall, Journal
7/18/2010 The Zephyr - Reno, NV w/ Otis
7/19/2010 The Outer Rim - Salt Lake City, UT w/ Black Sheep Wall, God's Revolver
7/20/2010 The Old Curtis Street Bar - Denver, CO
7/21/2010 The Slowdown - Omaha, NE w/ Masses
7/22/2010 RME Hall - Davenport, IA w/ Spanish Harlem
7/23/2010 The Aquarium - Fargo, ND
7/24/2010 *TBA/HELP NEEDED - Minneapolis, St. Paul, Madison, Wausau, Milwaukee, etc, MN/WI
7/25/2010 Metal Shaker - Chicago, IL w/ Arbogast
7/26/2010 Level 2 - Lansing, MI w/ Ganon, Endless Aisle
7/27/2010 *TBA/HELP NEEDED - Cleveland, Akron, Columbus, Buffalo, Rochester, Pittsburgh, etc, OH/NY/PA
7/28/2010 The Shop - Ithaca, NY
7/29/2010 The Downtown Quarterback - Endicott, NY w/ This City Needs A Hero, And Then There Was Darkness
7/30/2010 Webster Hall - New York, NY w/ Black Cobra, Howl, Struck By Lightning
7/31/2010 Keyport VFW - Keyport, NJ w/ Abacinate, The Ghost In Black And White, An Aborted Memory, Sydbarret
8/01/2010 Broad St. Ministry - Philadelphia, PA
8/02/2010 The Charleston - Brooklyn, NY w/ Meek Is Murder

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

I heart EMG!

So my new pickups are almost here, probably in a couple hours. Im super pumped. I feel like a goddamn kid the night of christmas eve... which is actually my birthday... no joke.. Anyways, this is pretty rewarding: http://www.emgpickups.com/artists/artist/627












Saturday, June 5, 2010

Review from Denmark publication "Power of Metal"

Remember The Buggles "Video Killed the Radiostar", big hit from the eighties. Be now ready for ”Internet Killed the Audio Star” by New Approach to Martyrs Expressions.

You may sometimes write a review with full analysis for each song. You can also take few songs as the best ones or as an illustration of what you are trying to say about the CD contents.

Here, sorry, nope! I cannot, or should I say, do not want to do it. Am I too lazy? Jeps. But I have mitigating circumstances: think about violent math metal, sludge and atmospheric pop, spiced by many other music styles, breaks, changes during 13 songs and 77 minutes. A happy chaos, for Arioch’s sake!

Because of the many variations and the length of this ”far beyond” music piece, some could fully loose the sense of orientation. NAME’s American trio do not want to ease the listener’s task: it is up to you to follow them. I am actually not sure they care if you do it or not. It is great in a way: art it is.

If you are only into good old heavy metal, NAME is definitely not for you, even a millisecond of their music. If you are more open, take a deep breath, then give a real but worth try for a good trip.


Rating: 83/100


http://powerofmetal.dk/reviews10/name_review.htm

New review from "Dont Count On It Reviews"

Simplicity Just Wasn't An Option Apparently.

Name is a mathcore band from California. The band's name stands for New Approach to Martyrs Expressions. This is their debut record and exhibits everything you might expect from a new band within the genre.
The band site influences that range from metal to jazz to progressive rock, but some of those can be lost in the technicality of some of the songs. Within a lot of these tracks, you get a sound that is quite varied, if not on the verse of Mr. Bungle weirdness, with just the opening track, Killer Whales, Man, sounding like a mix of Dillinger Escape Plan, Converge, and Seemless. This type of extreme genre shifting can be hard to listen to due to the almost disregard for any conventional structure.
The guitars on this album are quite spastic sounding, think Ben Weinman playing with members of Mr. Bungle and The Faceless. These songs move from crazy technicality, My Sweetheart, The Whore, to almost proggy, Empathetic Communicator: Part III: Your Sun Machine, Your Space Embracer (Concious Competence), with a good amount of interplay with the other instruments in the band. The main style could obviously be derived from bands like TDEP, but the influences mentioned above come into play later in the album, and are played well enough to grab you. The almost post-rock influence comes up more often than expected within these songs as well.
The bass is mixed between everything on the album rather well. While the bass isn't heard in every track as well as some; when it does come up, it's used effectively. The bass is very groovy and full of rumbles, so the bass lines on here, listen to Mare, are great sounding.
Vocals on this album are just as diverse sounding as the music. From song to song you'll get an odd mix of hardcore screams, deathcore grunts, melodic singing, and everything in between. Shifts from one style to another go in sync with the music, a lot of rehearsal maybe, and show a lot of overall ability.
Most of the songs on here are about 5 minutes long, but are similar in their spastic nature. When the band goes on a tangent, they really start to shine, like in Mare or The Sycophant, The Saint & The Gamefox, where they reach for over 9 minutes. These tracks explore a lot more territory within the jazz, progressive rock, and even the post-rock areas without being nearly as crazy sounding.
Overall, this is a decent record with some interesting parts. Whether you're into the more spastic elements of metal or hardcore, or the more melodic and experimental, you'll find at least one song on this record that peaks your interest. Maybe a bit too long for it's own good, but if you're a fan, the more, the better.
Overall Score: 7
Highlights: Empathetic Communicator: Part I: Hommage to The Hunter (Unconscious Incompetence), Mare, The Sycophant, The Saint & The Gamefox, Avaler L'océan



http://dontcountonitreviews.blogspot.com/2010/05/name-internet-killed-audiostar.html