THE MUSIC BLOGS REVIEW LAMBS TO THE SLAUGHTER

Album Reviews

Kaamora: Lambs to the Slaughter

16Jul09

The eerie opening to the first track builds tension like few albums I’ve heard before, before your dropped into what can only be described as a Spartan pit fight. This is metal. Real metal. And there are no prisoners taken here.

It’s definitely progressive, but it’s not math metal. Thankfully. It’s raw and quite emotive. The timing is supburb.

Ballarat never sounded so brutal.

Yep, this is a local band from Victoria, Australia. The drums and bass stick together and move as a powerful force. The guitars are dripping wet on top and drive a lot of treble and high mid. The vocals are done in a full growl – not everyone’s cup of tea – and the force is again brutal. You can hear a unique blend of a wide range of influences coming to taint this voice: I get flavours of Bolt Thrower, Cradle of Filth and a little Pantera in the higher screams.

The guitars continue to fly on top of drums and bass that can only be described as a rumbling boom. It’s a really nice balance of blood lust and atomic doom: it’s fast yes, and raw, but the bass and drums ground the sound to give it depth. Depth, especially in faster and harder metal, is vital to develop any kind of story and emotion with the listener.

Soul of A Machine is track 5 of the 7 track album – is a great little spoken word piece. A really unique mark on the album – and something rarely done.

Birth of a Digital God would definitly have to be one of my favourite tracks followed by Ruptured. Over all, the final track End of The Aeon - would be my favourite. Like the opening track, we’re treated to the vocalists clean styled vocals. AND FUCK ARE THEY GOOD. The vocalist, Luke Greenwood, really showcasing his full range, tonal flexibility and raw emotion throughout this last piece.

The album over is very dynamic and is great cranked at some solid volumes. To Dylan, Will, Aaron, Jase and Luke: keep up the amazing work. Hope to see you guys in Sydney sometime.

For everyone else, get your copy of Lambs to the Slaughter by Kaamora and prepare to be taken apart with a pick axe, and love every minute of it.

Post-Script:

I just kept the CD running and discovered the secret track. Hah. This is fucking brilliant.

Foto of KAAMORA Digital Image Cafe Photo of the Day

Well, here is something a little different.

Sue Krane, from S & S Studiios, who has been taking the recent promo shots of Kaamora, sent us an email to say that one of her pictures of KAAMORA was selected by Digital Image Cafe as the photo of the day.

Here is a link for you to check it out

www.DigitalImageCafe.com/viewPhoto.aspx?type=contest&id=562536


Well done Sue: mucho congrats from the band

Lambs TO THE SLAUGHTER REVIEW

'Lambs to the Slaughter' is one of those CD's that you'll find yourself cranking on your car stereo to scare the kids in the neighborhood. It's loud, it's heavy, and it's unapologetic"
- Jourdaine Middleton Metal Music National Examiner., eXaminer.com (USA) (Jun 19, 2009)

While others start bands with hopes of becoming the center of the universe, Australian death metal band Kaamora (cah-mor-rah) was formed for self-enjoyment and was unintentionally tossed into the crowds' attention after selling out every copy of the band's demo. Following this great success, the five-piece group got together in the studio and recorded their debut EP 'Lambs to the Slaughter', which was a DIY effort as they produced it themselves and released it under their own label, RMF records, in May 2009.

The band consists of vocalist Luke Greenwood, lead guitarist Will X, Jase Emgee on guitar and keyboard, Aaron Thomas on bass, and Dylan "Dyl" Jones on drums.

'Lambs to the Slaughter' is a 7-track EP:

1. Into The Storm
2. Tempest Rising
3. Ruptured
4. Educating The Worms
5. Soul Of A Machine
6. Birth Of The Digital God
7. End Of An Aeon

'Lambs to the Slaughter' is one of those CD's that you'll find yourself cranking on your car stereo to scare the kids in the neighborhood. It's loud, it's heavy, and it's unapologetic. It begins with a 58-second intro track called "Into The Storm" that is unsettling, eerie noise that appropriately ties into the ambiance of down-pouring rain. In the end a nightmarish, almost ghostlike scream leads into the second track, "Tempest Rising", and you'll find your head moving to this easy-flowing song without realizing it. It's the type of sound that makes you want to fight somebody, which in turn makes this song a great crowd pleaser for live shows. It combines hard, aggressive guitar riffs with a melody established by the keyboard, and Luke Greenwood's voice going through a scale of low growls, spine-chilling high screams, and somewhat "clean" vocals within the chorus.

Greenwood's abilities as a vocalist are something uncommon amongst many independent metal bands, as in he can actually sing and he doesn't suck. He possesses a very powerful voice that demands your respect (and your soul). With Dylan Jones, his drumming has the quality of any top metal band's, going rabid on his drum kit and yet maintaining time and beat. The guitars can be difficult to distinguish in these songs considering there's so much going on, but Will X makes his presence known in future tracks as he wreaks havoc in "Ruptured" and "Birth Of The Digital God.

Throughout the EP, each musician will leave their impact as very talented individuals. From first impression it might feel like the songs are becoming unoriginal and difficult to distinguish, but all it takes is time to sit down and really listen and you can name each song by heart without looking at the track number and back of the CD case. Kaamora are well on their way to establishing their signature sound to separate themselves from what we've already heard in the metal scene. It's definitely Will X's personal style as a lead guitarist and Jase Emgee's keyboard that makes them stand out the most from other bands.

As these guys continue descending down the right path, not only are they material as an opening band for huge tours and/or metal festivals, but they can even be a likely candidate for big record companies such as Trustkill and Century Media. You might not fully recognize the talent of the band as a whole by first listen to 'Lambs to the Slaughter', but after the second or third time, this band will be stuck to you like an infectious disease. With their raw talent and potential in mind, Kaamora's debut EP earns a 7.5/10.

This EP is available for purchase in stores in Victoria, Australia, but for everyone else you can buy it from their Myspace. Keep your eyes and ears open for these guys, they're making way into the metal scene and they're armed and dangerous.

Favorites: Ruptured, Educating The Worms, Birth Of The Digital God, and bonus track "Joe The Redneck" because it's way too funny to pass up.

Author: Jourdaine Middleton

FEATURED ARTIST OF THE MONTH

ANNOUNCEMENT: MYSTAGEMUSIC FEATURES KAAMORA AS THE METAL-HD FOR THE MONTH OF JULY

The band is happy to have been selected Mystagemusic metal hd band for the month of July. All the members of the band are so pleased that a USA site would select an Australian metal band.

It is a difficult business to get some recognition and therefore the band appreciates this honour that Mystagemusic has bestowed on them. There are lots of artists and bands struggling to get some recognition in a world where more and more people seem to turning their hand to making music: one of the outcomes of homerecording and the internet.

If you can spare sometime to check out this website you will find some excellent unsigned and unrecognised bands and artists.

MUSIC VIDEO ON THE GO

The news is out! Kaamora will be doing a music video with the help of Australian film-producer John Chase. Who is John Chase you ask?

Well, John has spent some thirty years in the Australian film industry. His resume includes films such as Mad Max, Evil Angels, Dalkeith, and The Break-In, to name a few. He has also worked on TV shows such as The Henderson Kids, Blue Heelers and the like. He was also involved with producing Kylie’s first music video.

The band is just ecstatic to have someone of John’s caliber and connections working with them. After the initial meeting Luke just got into it so much that he has produced a storyboard already for the next meeting with John.

Currently, ‘The Chief’ and John are looking at possible locations. It may transpire that Rivers again may come to the fore with their warehouse providing a suitable location.

At some point the band will need to call on Extras for the film clip. Hopefully, the band will be able to put on a show for those people involved. The ‘show’ may include some other bands as well: such as BerserkerfoX. However, the details about the free gig still have to be worked out.

KAAMORA IN RIVERS

Recently, Kaamora featured in a Rivers Australia catalogue as a follow up to the TV ads, which featured Kaamora music. There was wee bit of a write-up and some photos. It was great of Rivers to highlight the band but to note as well that Kaamora had changed the way Rivers will approach the music for their TV ads.

Rivers Australia is now offering bands/artists the opportunity to have their music used by Rivers in their TV ads or in store. This would not have happen had not a “bunch of self proclaimed head bangers from Ballarat contacted us to see whether we wanted to use their music in our TV ads or stores (Rivers Cat #12-09 p.6).”

Now, the opportunity exists for others to get a little bit of recognition. So, if you are interested then email a sample of your music to MUSOS@RIVAUS.COM.AU

It has worked for KAAMORA and the band hopes it will work for you.