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Show Reviews

THE FACELESS ARE ON THEIR WAY TO BECOMING PROG METAL GREATS

 Friday, December 4th, 2009 at 3:00pm by

Last Saturday’s performance by The Faceless in New York City was special — it’s not often you get to see a band perform an entire album, let alone a NEW band perform an entire [relatively] NEW album. That The Faceless were bold enough to attempt it and able enough to execute it should speak volumes about the band. They’re total pros, even at such a young age, and they’re absolutely at the top of the proggy tech-death pack.

Here’s a video from the show that I found on YouTube of the band performing “Sons of Belial” and “Legion of the Serpent.” Having been shot from above in the back of the room, some of the energy seems absent… but down on the floor, even towards the back where I stood, there was an amazing feeling throughout the audience. The show was positively mesmerizing. And not for nothin’, Dying Fetus absolutely killed it before The Faceless; if not for their decidedly un-PC band name, I’m certain Fetus would be just as popular as Cannibal Corpse.

-VN

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  • Ben

    I saw these guys last night. Undoubtedly the best concert experience I’ve ever had.

  • DidgeryDo

    Are you implying that “Cannibal Corpse” is a politically correct name? lol.

    • fasshole

      Dying Fetus is a bit of a step above Cannibal Corpse.

  • Gunnar

    I absolutely love The Faceless, probably one of my favorite bands ever.

    unfortunately, I saw them the following day at the Sonar in Baltimore. The sound guy didn’t give a shit, apparently, and nothing but bass came through. Bullshit. I waited 12 hours in a shitty venue with a bunch of shitty bands (some good ones though) for that shit? Ugh.

    did get to meet everyone in the band but the drummer, though, which was cool. They were pretty much just walking around which I had never seen up to that point.

    • Gunnar

      Though it was my second time seeing them (first with Cynic/Meshuggah) so I don’t feel like I missed much all in all.

  • DidgeryDo

    I’d love to see them live. I didn’t even know they were here Saturday.

  • Captain Blacklung

    Because Cannibal Corpse are as PC as your mother’s table manners.

  • http://jordanmunson.wordpress.com Jordan Munson

    The Faceless are killer live. Saw them with BTBAM, In Flames, and 3 Inches of Blood like, two months ago or something. Awesome show. Would have loved to see them perform all of Planetary Duality, though.

  • kirk

    tight as fuck and totally uninteresting.

    • http://www.last.fm/user/groverXIII groverXIII

      Not unlike your mom, actually.

      (In truth, I don’t actually know your mom, so that may or may not be true. But I couldn’t resist a setup like that.)

      • kirk

        word, i can appreciate a nice shot

  • Ben

    Also, the failure to mention Enfold Darkness is criminal. They are one of the best new bands, and metalsucks needs to give their debut album, Our Cursed Rapture, a look at.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mathieu-Martin/649451074 Mathieu Martin

      + fucking 100 man. Enfold Darkness is great!!Love that band!

      That show was my favourite. I enjoy Fetus and Btm..but..dudes…The Faceless is just so awesome!I never see something like that! And could you guys please stop with the” Dying Fetus should headline” shitty argument!?

      • Gunnar

        the best part: dying fetus did headline, they just didn’t play last…

  • Geekbeater

    Man I fucking love “Sons of Belial”. That song always pops up on my shuffe while im in the gym. I always seem to come back to both of The Faceless albums on a weekly basis. They are incredible. I agree they are at the top of the tech-death mountain.

  • Patrick

    I feel the faceless get too much credit, prog is short for progressive, meaning moving forward; advancing. Although these guys can shred and they like aliens I don’t feel anything they have done is progressive. Take this video for instance it is chock full of “status quo” prog. dissonant guitar chords, single note syncopated double bass breakdown intro, psuedo jazz solo, these are all go to or stock if you will within the “prog”genre. When a band puts together a bunch of stuff from a variety of prog bands and makes music from that doesn’t seem to be progressive. I’m not trying to knock these guys too much, but I think as music fans we use “prog” too much and apply it music that do not deserve it. Can much of you give an explanation other than, “they have dream theater qualities” and “they shred notes that sound wierd” “they have clean singing and growling” that makes their music progressive? So far I have not seen anything from this band that hasn’t been done before thats why I don’t think they are “prog” It sounds like to me that we are giving this band this “prog” label based on what we have been told is progressive, when it isn’t.

    PS – Having robot voices in your music doesn’t make you progressive either.

    • Michael

      you sound butthurt man. it’s all a matter of taste. i think their music is very progressive. it’s not a big deal.

    • Matthew Grant Anson

      There’s a different between tech and prog, sweetheart.

    • cosk!

      you seem to be confused. the faceless are definitely tech metal. fuck what the dudes on this website say.

      • Russell

        Look at how they progressed from their first album. I call that talent. Their new CD tells a great tale of alternate dimensions and death metal. Who doesn’t like these things?…

        I saw them at the Marquis here in Colorado and I must say that it was freakin amazing.

        Dying Fetus was great but I am pissed that Enfold Darkness didn’t play.

        • Lybrium

          robot voices? ohhhh, so thats what I’m supposed to think makes TF “progressive”? Cynic too maybe? Look man if you don’t find it “progressive”, than the fact is that you use that word differently than people who DO find it “progressive”. You can go your whole life arguing semantics, in the end what you mean with the words you choose is never exactly what the other person hears. These guys are “progressive” in my view, because they ARE moving forward. I say that because I listen to a shit ton of metal, and these guys made me fucking dizzy the first time I heard them. But wow, I got way off topic, all you really said was that they get too much credit…, man i don’t keep a consensus on how much credit a band is receiving, nor do I give a flying fuck. WHO CARES? they just make sweet music, fuck the rest!

  • More Metal Than You

    I haven’t paid enough attention to these guys. Fucking good stuff.

  • Patrick

    no I’m not butt hurt, I still kinda like these guys , I just don’t feel they deserve the label of “prog metal giants” I don’t enough people actually do enough musical research and settle for The Faceless as prog.

    • Ben

      They are certainly technical, and some people use the terms interchangeably.

      • Patrick

        agreed

    • krunkulor5000

      well i saw em live again last wednesday and progressive came to mind. So it was mos krunkullent to see PROG 1st mention of the faceless on this fucking site, FUX YEAH MS!!!!!!
      deathtech? certainly but youll feel the progressive live
      not to mention the studio like accuracy

  • RockOutWithMy…YouKnow

    I’ve been hearing how great these guys are for months now, so I finally picked up their CD today.
    HOLY SHIT!!!! Unreal. These guys are gonna be spinning nonstop for a solid month! Thank you MS for being on their jock so much that you actually forced me to buy this. So damn good!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Tony-Bullard-Jr/500191336 Tony Bullard Jr

    I found The Faceless by seeing them live. It sounded like they were playing a CD it was so tight. These guys are awesome.

    • Russell

      I agree completely. Their sound was right on with the CD.

  • Voyage to the Stars

    I like these guys but the clean vocals make me cringe.

    • the benthic

      you dont dig the soul???

      • Lybrium

        haaha

  • myke

    i would have love to see this show but my old shitty band opened up this show. but saw the faceless back in october and they were great.

  • http://www.noisecreep.com Jay

    Love this band.

  • Skanes

    I seen Protest the other night on the 27th, it was the first time they played Fortress in it’s entirety. Good times.

  • meow

    Fucking love Planetary Duality. One of the best albums of 2009.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/George-Navarro/1025899902 George Navarro

      -_-” 2008

  • krunkulor5000

    i wish they would have played that long in ATL. My metal appetite carves THEFACELESS way so much more than Black Dhalia Murder

  • SolaceInNothing

    Sons of Belial is one of my favorite songs off the album and that was like note for fucking note and the fact that it comes through mediocre quality video is even more incredable. Great band, totally the future of legendary metal.

  • Elpants

    The Faceless are one of the absolute worst bands I have had to see live (twice). This comes after once having to sit through The Devil Wears Prada.

    Their sound sucks, it makes their album sound like it was recorded by another whole band, which are also mediocre. I have no idea where people are getting this studio like accuracy idea from, they are sloppy as Metalsucks’ taint after God Forbid released a new album.

    As for being progressive, what clear qualities make them Prog?

    When I first saw The Faceless, it was with Cannibal Corpse, Neuraxis and Obscura. Each band blew TF out of the fucking water in every aspect down to stage presence.

    • Ben

      lulz.

    • the benthic

      your gay

      • Lybrium

        video’s tend not to lie bud, uhh can i get a witness here? sloppy? c’mon.

  • joshkid

    I was at the show on Sat. and it was fuckin amazing. The Faceless were just PERFECT live and Dying Fetus was unbelievably br00tal!!!
    P.S. I love how the rhythm guitarist of The Faceless was just chillin and chewing gum while playing some death metal lol. He came down after the show to talk to the fans. Pretty cool!

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/35398457@N06/ Logan

    seen these guys five times there are fucking amazing and i even got a photopass when they played with lamb of god. if anyone wants to look http://www.flickr.com/photos/35398457@N06/

  • xfuckfacex

    I declare, the faceless, this decade’s greatest band.

  • Vince

    I never considered these guys progressive when I heard them, but all the critics and whatnot label them this. I always considered them tech death, but they do incorporate some interesting sounds and ideas. So maybe settle and say tech death with some prog influences? Now I heavily consider Between the Buried and me progressive death. But the Faceless are the shit either way, ultimately these are just stupid words for something we try to explain rather inadequately. Tech fuckin death

  • d00shc00gr

    This show was fucking great but who the hell are Enfold Darkness and WHAT the hell is up with their singer’s mustache?