Rising from the unhallowed wastes of Western Sydney, extreme metal outfit Thy Art Is Murder have carved a trail of bloody mayhem since their inception in 2006. With an acclaimed EP and debut album in Infinite Death and The Adversary to their name, the band have traversed the highways and autobahns of Australia, the UK and Europe on a relentless crusade to destroy every venue and audience they can with like minded peers in a who’s who of heavy metal.

2012 brings a new ritual offering of darkness from the five piece. Simply titled Hate, the band’s second full length is the pointed result of Thy Art Is Murder’s growing dissatisfaction with all aspects of modern life – political, religious, social and environmental – everyone is to blame. Fusing the blasting technicality of metal luminaries The Black Dahlia Murder with thunderous breakdowns and the intensity born of their nascent hometown scene; the blackened grandeur of Behemoth and the pit churning groove of Tampa originators Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse, the furious musical arrangements provide a bloody canvas for vocalist CJ McMahon’s outpourings of bile.

No strangers to stoking controversy and criticism, the band have not toned down their art for the sake of palatability and have introduced a morose melodicism into their maelstrom – the rumination before pulling the trigger. With their best work to date ready to be unleashed on an unsuspecting world, Thy Art Is Murder will once again take to the road to unleash the Hate with one simple message – get in the pit or get out of the way.

For Seattle’s I Declare War, one of the new heavyweights in the deathcore scene today, there are conflicting stories as to where the band’s name actually originated from. All five members can agree that hip hop was the influence, either based on the Jay-Z tour or the Pace Won album, both of which bear the same name. The fact that the deathcore band’s name is inspired by hip hop is not ironic at all, as I Declare War will concur that their diverse musical influences help keep their sound unique and fresh.

After a few lineup changes while growing the band, they eventually evolved into their current lineup as members were introduced to each other through the local Seattle music scene. As other bands began to disperse, the I Declare War lineup was solidified and grew stronger with each lineup addition. Guitarist Chris Fugate had the ultimate experience, beginning as a fan of the band who was eventually asked to fill in on a brief tour, and later asked to permanently join the band.

While on tour in 2007, the band crossed paths with well-known death metal band Whitechapel and formed not only a mutual respect amongst each other, but a lasting friendship. Two years later, Whitechapel’s Alex Wade approached I Declare War to join The Artery Foundation for management and become part of the yet-to-be-launched Artery Recordings roster. “Being signed to Artery Recordings was the best thing that could have happened to us. They’ve been great to us along with everyone at Razor & Tie, and I’m extremely excited for our future,” said bassist Brent Eaton. “We feel really connected and close to everyone there,” agreed guitarist Evan Hughes.

As heavy as I Declare War’s sound is, their message is just as poignant and serious. “Our lyrics are based on a lot of what we think is corrupt in the world today – government, religion, and the self-inflicted downfall of humanity,” stated Hughes. “We have elements of a lot of different styles but try to stray from sticking to a formula and to keep things interesting by not writing the same song 11 times.”

Touring is fundamental to the growth and development of I Declare War, and has proven to be key to their success. The technical skill of the band is showcased when they find themselves in front of fans and fellow musicians. “We feel the intensity just as much as someone watching, usually even more so,” Hughes explained. The band has already been touring nationwide for the past few years, but hopes to find themselves out of the country in the near future. “I hope to be an international band. I would like to reach out to more fans and really push to get our music out there,” drummer Ryan Cox stated in summation.

A force to be reckoned with in the deathcore scene, I Declare War shows no signs of slowing down. As Alternative Press said, “Five years in, they know exactly what they’re doing and they do it without hesitation or mercy.”

Corrupt politicians, manipulative mainstream media, government surveillance, mass shootings, clean water shortages, religious warfare, aggressive agribusiness, climate change, GMOs and a whole host of mind-numbing problems certainly make it feel like humankind is “going to hell in a hand basket,” as they say. There may be nothing that can be done about it at this point. But at least we have a killer soundtrack.

Fit For An Autopsy’s Hellbound is the perfect score with which to watch the flames rise. Punishing, unrelenting and alternately both heavy and dissonant, the New Jersey metal band’s first album for Good Fight/eOne conjures visions of Nero vigorously attacking his fiddle, even as Rome was engulfed in fire all around him. Esteemed English actor Michael Caine delivers perhaps the best line in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” trilogy: “Some men just want to watch the world burn.”

Death metal often chooses to deal in devils, demons and horror-movie inspired gore. “Deathcore” detours into broken relationships and introspective issues, much like its scene cousins in Metalcore and alt-rock. Fit For An Autopsy blaze their own path, opting to address the dirty, gritty and grimy reality of modern day life. There’s no fantasy, no plaintive odes to lost love. This music is hell. These songs are Hellbound.

Scene queens, careerist cartoons and poseur-iffic hacks best step aside when confronted with the self-assured, art-for-art’s-sake vibe of Fit For An Autopsy. As MetalSucks observed early on: “The band’s brutal, glowering take on [deathcore] reminded [us] of the squandered potential of the genre. Hardcore grooves and swagger, when incorporated correctly, blend quite well with death metal.”

On Hellbound, Fit For An Autopsy expand upon their commanding approach to an often maligned subgenre by synthesizing the rhythmic experimentalism of Gojira, the aggressive post-Noisecore of Converge, the esoteric and meditative tribalism of Isis, a virulent dose of the New Wave Of Swedish Death Metal (At The Gates, Dark Tranquility, early In Flames), the legendary progenitors of Floridian death metal (Death, Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Obituary) and the “deathcore” acts who offer actual proficiency in the genre (Suicide Silence, All Shall Perish, Whitechapel).

Each nuanced building block is meticulously assembled together to form a near-perfect modern metal masterpiece, all with the confident vibe of a group of people making the music they want to make for its own sake, trends and “hype” be damned.

There was justifiable reason to be excited about Fit For An Autopsy from the start. The rich pedigree of its core members foreshadowed the momentous music that was to come. Guitarist Will Putney is an accomplished metal producer, mixer, engineer and cowriter. Putney’s fingerprints are all over currently relevant albums from Stray From The Path, Reign Supreme, Misery Signals, Vision of Disorder, Counterparts, For Today, Like Moths To Flames, and more. Guitarist Patrick Sheridan is rightly well regarded for his work on the fretboard as well as with a tattoo machine. The rhythm section of bassist Shane Slade and Sick Drummer-approved Josean Orta is beyond formidable.

The earliest rumblings of Fit For An Autopsy emerged on a 2008 demo. The self-released Hell on Earth EP arrived the following year, eliciting interest from Guy Kozowyk, The Red Chord vocalist and Black Market Activities label honcho. Kozowyk released Fit For An Autopsy’s devastating debut, The Process of Human Extermination, in 2011. Sputnik Music paid particular attention to Johnson’s dominating presence. “The dude’s a swamp creature,” they wrote of his “absurd” (in a good way) delivery. “When you hear him scream, it’s like, ‘What the —- was that?’ You realize whatever it is would probably eat you if you ran into it in the woods.”

The group’s seething contempt for modern society is rivaled only by the sonic bombardment dropped upon the unsuspecting all over Hellbound, a record that is equal parts challenging and engaging. It’s an album designed to make people feel uncomfortable, while at the same time, counter-intuitively soothed by its catharsis. Criminals, junkies and the systems that fail them; deadbeat parents; poisoned food; BS celebrities and false idols; they’ve all led humanity here. Hellbound draws a line in the sand. It’s a declaration that even it’s all going down the proverbial drain likeminded individuals can take some solace in the expression of shared rage.

Formed in April of 2010 and making music ever since.

Energetic, aggressive, and passionate music. A four piece metalcore band based in north Texas. We say whats on our hearts to express how we feel, who we are, what we stand for, and wont stand for, as well as the problems of our generation. In hopes of tapping into the underground and revealing the unseen lives and feelings of the youth in modern American society. We are fighting to make an impact in a music scape bogged down with meaningless lyrics and recycled with mindless music. Trying to push messages that often get overlooked or ignored in the nation today, hoping to use our music as a vessel to relate with people and emit hope.