June. 2008
TRUTH CORRODED UPON THE WARLORDS CRAWL CD REVIEW
MUSIC SA - By Stu Wright
TRUTH CORRODED
UPON THE WARLORDS CRAWL
TRUTH INC RECORDS
Upon the Warlord's Crawl is Truth Corroded's follow-up to the 2005 release Our Enemy is the Weapon, and is without doubt the bands most accomplished album to date. Recorded between October and December of 2007, at both Soundhouse Studio and Slaughterhouse Studios in Adelaide, the band utilised sound engineer Kyle Bloksgaard for the entire recording. The album was then sent to Black Lounge Studio in Sweden to be mixed and mastered by Jonas Kjellgren (Scar Symmetry, Carnal Forge, The Absence). And what an inspired decision this has been, for if Upon the Warlord's Crawl does not provide Truth Corroded with a European platform for their music, then something has gone VERY wrong.
That’s right...it’s THAT good.
'Crown The Apocalypse' opens with intense double kick and furious dual riffing, and I got the immediate impression of Florida Death Metal legends 'Morbid Angel'. Is Liam Okninsky really Pete Sandoval? Well, not quite...but he could be. Truth Corroded must be very happy with his inclusion for this recording, as his drumming throughout Upon the Warlord's Crawl is exceptional. This is no light praise; I know Percussion and Liam is near world class. The new album features four of the members from the last album - Jason North on vocals, Mark Lennard on guitar, Greg Damon Shaw on bass (all original members of Truth Corroded since its inception a decade ago) and Corey Grieve on lead guitar, with Liam being the latest inclusion. Upon listening to the album, one can hear that this line-up synch so well that they must stay together. However, that's often easier said than done in the realms of musical expression.
'The Immolation Seen' kicks in like the best Slayer change, urgent and brutal. 'Salute the Horrors' has an awesome groove, and runs through its 3:35 so quickly you sadly wonder where it's gone. 'Decimate' is a multi-faceted composition, with several changes and some very Marty Friedman styled 90s leads. The fret work from guitarists Mark Lennard and Corey Grieve is top class throughout this recording, with intelligent if not slightly familiar rhythms, technically impressive lead work and a good variety of sounds from both players.
'Buried Alive By Demons’' is a well layered, epic tune; overall, there is good balance between speed, heaviness and darkness throughout the recording. The bands lyrics and message have always reflected the social/political views of the bands lyricists Mark Lennard and Greg Damon, and do so with this album, challenging questions of religion, neo-Imperialism and the environment.
'We Are Failed' equals HEAVY; listen to this through a good system and you will truly appreciate the time that has gone into getting every sound just right. Not easy when everything is this low, loud and frantic. 'When God Is Murder' has one of the best CHUGS that I've heard on a CD in a long time, absolutely fantastic and totally in keeping the feel of the rest of the album. (DUST) is a well conceived and executed interlude into the brutal, highly political sentiment with brick like subtlety that marks 'The Waste That Is Their Word'.
'The Disfiguring' feels like where Slayer should be now (this would've ruled on CHRIST ILLUSION, however I digress...), before rounding out with 'Despair Your Black Earth' (featuring Lee Gardiner from Double Dragon).
Sepultura, Neurosis, Dark Angel, Slayer, Obituary, Forbidden, Isis, The Haunted, Testament, Lamb of God, Morbid Angel...it’s all in there. The trick is how well Truth Corroded has done it... Scary, Dark Thrash combined with the urgent feel of Death Metal, tried by many but accomplished competently by few, the boys nail it with such passion and desperation, it is truly inspiring and a surprisingly easy listen.
Then, you remember that this is an ADELAIDE band...however they may not be here for long based on the strength of this release. Without doubt the best metal recording I've heard, from ANYWHERE, in quite a while. Buy it.
Check out Music SA here
June. 2008
TRUTH CORRODED UPON THE WARLORDS CRAWL CD REVIEW
METAL OBSESSION
TRUTH CORRODED
UPON THE WARLORDS CRAWL
TRUTH INC RECORDS
7.5/10
Truth Corroded’s third release heralds almost a coming of age for the band. After their two previous release showed signs of promise though were seen as sub par due to their song writing and production, the band has now capitalised on an improvement in these areas and has created a piece of work they can be truly proud of – Upon The Warlord’s Crawl.
The addition of drummer Liam Okninsky to the band’s ranks has paid dividends with one of the major notable aspects of the album being his powerful drumming throughout the whole 45 minutes of the album. With guitar solos throughout, matched with some catchy chorus hooks that work hand in hand with the riffing guitars, these Adelaide boys leave you with ‘stuck in your head’ material – I personally suffered a severe case of ‘Buried Alive By Demons’ chorus fever.
In fact the whole track ‘Buried Alive By Demons’ is in my opinion one of the best on the album. With a long build up, the song is met by quite an epic sounding track of effective simplicity often seen in tracks by Dark Tranquillity. Another highlight of the album is the song ‘Decimate’. A solid riffage attack complete with a nice with guitar solo, this song is perhaps the one that will confirm to you that the album is one that can be kept on solid rotation without you getting bored of it.
While generally I don’t like taking any focus away from the music, I simply must point out the artwork of the album. Going right throughout the booklet, the art created by vocalist Jason North goes hand in hand with the band’s social and political lyrics. With topical content ranging from religion, environmental issues, politics and the military industrial complex, Truth Corroded have shown themselves to be one of the forerunners in the Australian scene when it comes to lyrical content.
Overall, with its good production, catchy hooks and chorus’, Truth Corroded deliver 11 tracks of dominating thrash which offers the listener an unrelenting foray into the true world of thrash metal.
For fans of: Lamb of God, The Haunted, Testament.
Track Listing:
1. Crown The Apocalypse
2. The Immolation Seen
3. Salute the Horrors
4. Decimate <– Reviewers Choice
5. Buried Alive By Demons
6. We Are Failed!
7. When God is Murder
8. (Dust)
9. The Waste That Is Their World
10. The Disfiguring
11. Despair Your Black Earth
You can purchase ‘Upon The Warlords Crawl’ and other Truth Corroded Merch by following this link.
Check out Metal Obsession here
June. 2008
TRUTH CORRODED UPON THE WARLORDS CRAWL CD REVIEW
OBLIVEON - ZINE.
TRUTH CORRODED
UPON THE WARLORDS CRAWL
TRUTH INC RECORDS
8/10
(IN GERMAN)
Mit der kürzlich auf ihrem eigenen Label Truth Inc veröffentlichten Scheibe „Upon The Warlords Crawl“, legen die Australier schon ihr drittes Werk vor. Auf dem aktuellen Release ist man – nach eigenen Angaben - den Thrash-Roots treu geblieben, hat aber beim Songwriting jetzt den perfekten Bogen zu modernen Metal-Sounds a la Lamb Of God und Chimaira ebenso knüpfen können, wie man die bandinterne Vorliebe für dunkle Einflüsse der Marke Neurosis einfließen lassen konnte. Auch mit der Produktion ist man endlich zufrieden, denn nachdem die Aufnahmen in der Heimatstadt Adelaide (in zwei verschiedenen Studios) abgeschlossen waren, hat man die Bänder zwecks Mix und Mastering nach Schweden zu Händen von Jonas Kjellgren in den Black Lodge-Studios geschickt, der mit seinen Arbeiten für Scar Symmetry und Carnal Forge die Aufmerksamkeit der Band errungen hatte. Mit ihrer durchaus angesagten Mischung aus Old und New School Sounds, dem aggressiven Grundtenor – zu welchem die angepisst-kritischen Lyrics perfekt passen – und einer 100%igen Einsatzbereitschaft für den Erfolg, müssten den Südaustraliern eigentlich einige Tore offen stehen. Während Thrash- (Slayer, Dark Angel, Sepultura)Fans besonders auf die Eröffnungsnummer „Crown The Apocalypse“ sowie die Hooks in „Salute The Horrors“ und „Decimate“ (coole Nummer) stehen werden, werden Hörer mit Vorlieben für die düsteren Sounds einen Titel wie „Despair Your Black Earth“ auf ihrer Vorlieben-Seite vermerken.
Übrigens bekommt ihr das 11-Track-Album für 20 Aussie-Dollars (inkl. P & V) ( http://www.truthcorroded.com ; http://www.myspace.com/truthcorroded ; http://www.myspace.com/truthincrecords ), während die asiatische Lizenzpressung vom in Singapur beheimateten Mourning Sound-Label erst dieser Tage erscheint. Für Europa und die USA sucht man noch nach einem Lizenzdeal.
(TRANSLATED TO ENGLISH)
With the release of „Upon The Warlords Crawl“ on their own label Truth Inc. the Australians present us their third output. Believing the bands own words (and not knowing the first two albums) the guys have stayed true to their thrash-roots, but have managed to pull the right strings to modern metal-sounds like Lamb Of God and Chimaira, when talking about songwriting. Finally they also have put in some darker influences in the vain of band-faves Neurosis. Also this time Truth Corroded are very satisfied with the production. After recording “Upon…” in their hometown Adelaide in two different studios, they..ve sent the tapes for mixing and mastering to the hands of Jonas Kjellgren in Black Lodge-studios in Sweden who has convinced the band with his works for Scar Symmetry and Carnal Forge. With their up to date-mix of Old and New School sounds, the aggressive basics – which fit perfectly to the pissed/critically lyrics - and the 100%-attitude to give all, the doors should be opened wide for the South-Australians. While Thrash- (Slayer, Dark Angel, Sepultura)fans will love the opening-track
„Crown The Apocalypse“ and the hooks in „Salute The Horrors“ and „Decimate“ (cool song!), the favourite song for the listeners who prefer the darker side of metal will be the title „Despair Your Black Earth“.
You can get this 11-track-album for 20 Aussie-Dollars (incl p & p) through www. truthcorroded. com ; www. myspace. com/truthcorroded ; www. myspace. com/truthincrecords , while the asian licence-pressing from Mourning Sound-records in Singapore just comes out these days. For Europe and the USA the guys are still searching for a licence-deal.
8/10
Stephan Becker for www. obliveon. de
Check out Obliveon here
June. 2008
TRUTH CORRODED UPON THE WARLORDS CRAWL CD REVIEW
THE METAL FORGE
TRUTH CORRODED
UPON THE WARLORDS CRAWL
TRUTH INC RECORDS
9/10
Killer death metal from the city of Churches and serial killers
Truth Corroded’s debut long player, 2001’s Begin, caught my attention. I couldn’t really nail down why but something about it lead me to wanting to see them live at Brisbane’s (Australia) Overcranked festival the following year. They impressed but this was only the beginning of even better things to come. After a rough patch, disbandment and some indecision, they re-grouped to unleash 2005’s excellent The Enemy Is Our Weapon. It was an album that saw a new focus, some new faces in the band’s line-up and plenty of brutal metal to boot. So it was with much anticipation that I sat down to tackle their latest effort, dubbed Upon The Warlords Crawl.
Right from the get-go, as Crown The Apocalypse unleashes its unrelenting attack, you get the vibe that Truth Corroded are onto something special. It has a bit of a Devildriver like vibe to it, which isn’t a bad thing in small doses of course and Jason North’s vocals at times have that Chuck Schuldiner (Death, Control Denied) snarl to them which simply adds to the ferocity of their aural attack. There’s no relief in sight either as The Immolation Seen savagely takes hold and even the mid paced Salute The Horrors contains enough venom to keep aggo-meter in the red. There’s plenty of variety to be found within the aptly named Decimate, the slow building epic Buried Alive By Demons and the sinister sounding rhythms of We Are Failed keep the flow of the album alive and well.
The almost Gorefest like chug of When God Is Murder continues to mix things up without straying out of character and has been the case with each track so far, the fret work from guitarists Mark Lennard and Corey Grieve has been top class. Of course, a solid rhythm section provided by bassist Greg Damon and drummer Liam Okninski ensures that this well oiled machine never skips a beat. The noise and sample based interlude (Dust) provides a brief passage of breathing space before the quintet launch at full speed into the Devildriver-esque The Waste That Is Their Word. There’s a strong Death vibe to the excellent The Disfiguring before the crushing behemoth of a finale, Despair Your Black Earth which features guest vocals by Lee Gardiner of Double Dragon, brings proceedings to an end.
There really are some gems in the Aussie metal scene all around the country, and the one shining the brightest in South Australia right now is clearly Truth Corroded. Upon The Warlords Crawl is easily their most brutal and focussed work to date and things are clearly on the up and up for this quintet, and deservedly so as well.
Check out The Metal Forge here
June. 2008
TRUTH CORRODED UPON THE WARLORDS CRAWL CD REVIEW
STEEL PRESS - Issue #2 June 2008
TRUTH CORRODED
UPON THE WARLORDS CRAWL
TRUTH INC RECORDS
8/10
Stand Out Tracks
The Immolation Seen
Salute The Horrors
When God Is Murder
Bearing similarities to Lamb of God in their delivery and tonality South Australian band, has toured Australia and Asia.
Being a virgin listener to this South Australian based metal band, I can say that first impressions last. And these first impressions bruise! truth Corroded have most definitely taken careful time in producing this latest work "Upon The Warlords Crawl", good things always come to those who wait. From the opening few tracks, "The Immolation Seen" is an immediate standout and should become a welcom addition to any metal fans playlist.
Bearing similarities to Lamb of God in their tonality and SYL through their soundwalls, Truth Corroded's message is clear... great atrocities await us all in due time unless we as a race of humanity stamp out the causes now.
Blastong 5 piece metal searing through the heads of those who choose to heed the warning
Check out Steel Press here
June. 2008
TRUTH CORRODED INTERVIEW
RAVE MAGAZINE - BRISBANE. AUSTRALIA
In one word and three punctuation marks, TRUTH CORRODED’s vocalist JASON NORTH summarises an entire set of the South Australian five piece. TOM HERSEY takes notes.
What metal head could argue when that one word is “THRASH” and those three punctuation marks are “!!!”? What started out in the ‘80s as a few bands combining the aggression of punk with the speed and technicality of metal went on to give the world bands like Metallica (at least pre-black album Metallica), Slayer and Sepultura. However, as history repeats itself and thrash has become cool again, a myriad of bands are casting its good name into disrepute. Truth Corroded’s latest album, Upon the Warlords Crawl, proves that despite the insidious crass commercialisation of the genre, thrash metal shouldn’t be discredited just yet.
Jason said that to make an album that stood out from their weaker international contemporaries, they had to return to the true roots of thrash. “The bands that influenced us and gave us the inspiration to write music were the bands that created the thrash sound, and these bands continue to produce outstanding if not career defining albums today. Testament, Exodus and Kreator have all released new albums that stand alongside their greatest work and even could be considered their greatest work. These bands invented the sound and continue to define the sound - not these metalcore or emo bands that are desperately seeking to be stand outs by attempting to re-invent the wheel and call it their own.”
The influences of bands like Testament, Exodus and Kreator can really be identified on Truth Corroded’s third full length. When the conversation turns the band heading up to Brisbane in support of Upon The Warlords Crawl an innocuous comment about the drive from Adelaide to Brisbane elicits an impassioned response.
“Fuck no! Never again! We fly - the drive is killer! We drove back to Adelaide after we came up to play Overcranked one year. On the way back, at least we thought it was the way back, we some how ended up heading to Darwin! After all we are South Australian - and were probably really stoned as well. We drove back the entire way without rest and it took 22 hours. It is a good road trip story but also a retarded idea.”
Although Truth Corroded might not be the biggest fans of the commute, they say that they’ve always enjoyed playing Brisbane because of their friends in the local scene. “We have played in the sunshine state several times and really enjoy playing there. Every time we have, we have had a great time and over each successive appearance have made new friends and partied with old ones. You have a good vibe in QLD and some outstanding bands such as Lynchmada, The Crisis Therapy and State Of Integrity. We miss the lads from Devolved, they’re good mates of ours and we have shared the stage with them further down the coast many times back in the day. It’s a pity that Minus Life aren’t around anymore, but no doubt we will be seeing some former members for a few beers and a laugh.”
Check out Rave Magazine here
May. 2008
TRUTH CORRODED INTERVIEW
BLUNT MAGAZINE FEATURE & REVIEW
May 2008: Issue #70
May. 2008
TRUTH CORRODED UPON THE WARLORDS CRAWL CD REVIEW
BLUNT MAGAZINE
TRUTH CORRODED
UPON THE WARLORDS CRAWL
TRUTH INC RECORDS
8/10
Truth Corroded have really outdone themselves here. With a world class sound but a local attitude and guile, the band sound somewhere in between Lamb of God, Testament and The Haunted. Dark thrash combined with the atmosphere of 90’s death metal may not make for the most original combo, but these guys have certainly made it their own. It’s rare to hear such a tried and tested sound nailed so well,let alone by an Australian band. “Buried Alive By Demons” could make Randy Blythe blush in awe, and the political diatribe of “The Waste That Is Their Word” could burn a hole or two in Parliament House!
James Cottrell
April. 2008
TRUTH CORRODED INTERVIEW
RIP IT UP MAGAZINE, STH AUSTRALIA
by Shayne Charlesworth
Local band Truth Corroded would have to be considered one of the most experienced acts on the local metal scene and began back in ’97, although they’ve well and truly had their share of setbacks. It took them until 2001 to release their debut, Begin, but since then they’ve become one of the most well-known and accomplished metal acts in this city.
The middle part of this decade saw a change in terms of sounds towards a more brutal, heavier and dense sound that featured on 2005’s Our Enemy Is The Weapon and now with the very latest, Upon the Warlords Crawl.
RIU spoke with bassist Greg Shaw about the band past, present and future and the mutation of sounds that has evolved since 2004.
“In a sense the last album really redefined what the band was about as a five-piece and we’d taken on a new identity,” Shaw stated. “There’s still elements of what Truth Corroded used to be, but with our songwriting and what we wanted to achieve the whole idea had changed. In a sense there was the idea as perhaps coming back as a totally different band under another name but we decided to stick at it, especially the Bay Area thrash stuff - bands like Testament and Exodus and Dark Angel. I think stuff like Neurosis and Isis has inspired us to add another element to our sound - the light and shade of it and that introverted darkness - and we’ve always tried to blend those sounds and we think it’s achievable.”
The band’s Our Enemy Is The Weapon was released on both their own label Truth Inc and in Asia with Mourning Sound, which led to, in early in ’07, an Asian tour which included playing in Singapore.
“It was one of the coolest experiences we’ve had and we had the chance to go to this whole new country,” Shaw chirps. “Singapore is a pretty small place so a lot of the people who went to that show really knew about us and the actual reaction that we had was pretty overwhelming. We’ve got a good following in Australia but it was a totally different experience to have these peeps want to take photographs and stuff. There’s a real camaraderie between bands over there and some great bands as well.”
While Our Enemy Is The Weapon signaled a change in the band’s musical approach in comparison to early days Upon The Warlords Crawl continues this trip into brutality with the help of Swedish producer Jonas Kjellgren.
“The last album in a sense was a stepping stone or blueprint for how we wanted to be seen musically, said Shaw. “So come to through to this one we started writing it in the first six months of last year and it all came together in that timeframe so the material was still fresh and I think we had a really clear idea of what we wanted to do as a band.”
“Jason had just heard the Carnal Forge album and we found out that he was also the guitarist in Scar Symmetry and while that’s not quite the music that we’re into, at the same time it sounded really good. I think Enemy was good song-wise but not production wise and Begin was good in terms of production but not as much in the song department. So Jonas gave Kyle [Bloksgaard] all the specifics in the studio and he got them down to a tee. We got what we wanted and we’re all really happy with the result, I think it’s a real step up for us.”
Truth Corroded will conduct their all-ages CD launch with Melbourne’s Black Like Vengeance and Synthesist on Fri Apr 26 at The Underground.
April. 2008
TRUTH CORRODED INTERVIEW
DB MAGAZINE, STH AUSTRALIA
by James Brazel
A little over a year ago, local metal band Truth Corroded played their first overseas show. Curiously enough, the country they played in was Singapore, a place whose squeaky clean, almost puritanical, image makes it seem a most unlikely spot to do a metal show. "The people who set the gigs up over there do experience a few problems," admits rhythm guitarist Mark Lennard. "There're certain areas they can't put shows on in, for example, while the bands themselves - especially the international ones - have to satisfy certain criteria; you can't be too anti-religious, for example. Before we went there ourselves, we had to submit our lyrics to the government so they could approve them first. Luckily, though, our song lyrics aren't exactly direct; they're more metaphorical. For the most part, though, it was actually pretty easy to go there."
"We played in the old parliament house, which was really crazy!" adds bassist Greg Damon Shaw.
"Yeah, it was the sort of place you'd expect a choir to be singing in or something!" muses Lennard. "It's a big white building with chandeliers everywhere."
"Very, very regal!" sums up Shaw. "The country itself, though, is pretty Westernised. You walk through the main part of the city, and you could be in Sydney or Melbourne - it's very fashionable; in some respects, it's probably even a bit more Westernised than here! The people that live there have their own issues, though the ones we hung out with were awesome."
"They really let us know what was happening there," says Lennard. "They have their own little scene going on - there were some pretty interesting bands that we caught up with."
"Everyone does national service too," Shaw tells me. "We were hanging around with all these dudes who were rattling off what weapons they knew how to use. One guy was like, 'I can fire a missile launcher!' while another went, 'Well, I fly a jet!'"
All this talk of weaponry seems oddly fitting given that the band's new album, 'Upon The Warlords Crawl', is a critical look at the military-industrial complex and its influence on current events. "Our last album, 'Our Enemy Is The Weapon', was about something similar, though a lot more specific," Shaw muses. "In its case, the issue was nuclear weaponry and the relationship between it and the military-industrial complex. This one, though, is more about weapons per se. But yeah, it's again targeted at the military-industrial complex. It's about how we have a choice between taking a stand against it, or allowing all the shit it's responsible for to get out of hand."
'Upon The Warlords Crawl' is the band's third full-length album, and was created with the assistance of Swedish producer Jonas Kjellgren, who's worked with the likes of Carnal Forge, Scar Symmetry and The Absence. "[Vocalist] Jason North contacted him after we'd heard the new Carnal Forge album, 'Testify For My Victims'," Lennard informs me. "The time we wanted to do it was right for him; it was between the end of a Scar Symmetry tour and the beginning of writing for a new album of theirs. He spent longer than he said he would initially, and we're all pretty stoked with the finished product."
"We also worked with a guy called Kyle from Slaughterhouse Studios," Shaw adds. "He's a fan of groups like The Rivalry and Cry Murder, and did a great job for us, without a doubt."
"He's really, really good," affirms Lennard. "He caned us, but in the nicest possible way!"
"Yeah," laughs Shaw. "He's a nice guy, but he can work you!"
Says Lennard, "It was worth it; there's not one bit of the new album where we think, 'oh, that could have been better!'"
James Brazel
Truth Corroded launch 'Upon The Warlords Crawl' at the Enigma Bar on Sat 12 April with Double Dragon, Dyscord and The Omen (Vic); and the Underground on Sat 26 April with Black Like Vengeance (Vic), Synthesist (Vic), Fragmenta and Asphyxia.
'Upon The Warlords Crawl' is out now on Truth Inc. Records.
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