Apocalypse Now's new album out on GSR Records
Paris: the city of peculiar pastries, home of European Disneyland and the capital of romance. How is it possible that in exactly the same city there were equality riots back in 2005? It is true that France isn't the clean-washed city the media usually paint it to be and Apocalypse Now are the perfect band to expose that truth.
Apocalypse Now are a band who are riding the metal core tidal-wave that's currently flooding local scenes across Europe, with a sound that's best described as Caliban re-emerging from muddy marshes as Merauder looks on. This is brutality at it's finest, you have the great breakdowns you find within any half-decent NYHC band mixed with the crispy cymbal/chunky drum beats that resemble the Shadows Fall-esque sound. The band certainly aren't your standard metal band, 'Confrontation With God' introduces Bible passages to the lyrics of each song that bring relevance to the band's messages and more importantly their name.
The songs on 'Confrontation With God' are nothing short of being gritty, furious and energetic. One perfect example of this is 8th track 'Mercenary' with great musicianship binding the rhythms and guitarist riffs. Most songs hit the 4-minute mark giving buyers a solid 40 minutes of metal, only to be disrupted my midway instrumental 'The Last Breath.'
Despite not really being a fan of this sub-genre of metal, I quite enjoyed driving to college on the early morning with Apocalypse Now in my CD player, knowing I would have to face my Film Studies teacher with another excuse as to why I hadn't finished my experimental director's essay. Vocalist Elie seems to be the main charge of anger in the album with his distinct muddy growls that lend the music a hand in becoming a lot darker than would it would be without him.
Apocalypse Now don't anything considerably original to the international metal scene but their performances are certainly something you wouldn't expect from Paris, maybe this band are just the tip of a deep underground squadron of amazing bands in Europe.