MetalSucks

Lambgoat is reporting that West Virginia prog metallers Byzantine will be reforming for a series of 3 “farewell” shows in March 2010. The reunion comes more than two years after the sudden split that followed the release of their highly excellent album Oblivion Beckons, which earned #3 honors on my Top 10 list for 2008. Oblivion Beckons was a near-perfect record, a progressive American metal masterpiece; because the band broke up four days after the album was released they never had a chance to tour it and the record never got its due. Until now… sort of.

Vocalist/rhythm Guitar Chris “OJ” Ojeda had this to say about their upcoming reunion: “2 and 1/2 years ago we put a sudden and abrupt halt to our musical careers under the name Byzantine. It was a really anti-climactic way to go out. We know a lot of fans and friends alike felt cheated that we didn’t play any shows supporting our last album, ‘Oblivion Beckons.’ Now, we all feel like it’s time to give a little something back, all guns blazing. Unfortunately, we are unable to tour since we live scattered across 3 states, have children and full-time jobs, but we want to give our local fans something to remember us by.”

While this doesn’t seem like a full-fledged reunion, at least the band will be getting together to play a series of shows for their fans, all 3 in March of next year in their home state of West Virginia. Dates are listed after the jump, although tickets aren’t yet on sale. Here’s to hoping these shows lead to new Byzantine music, because I’ve a feeling they’ve got a lot left in the tank.

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2008 has been a fucking great year for metal, and in due time — Monday, Dec. 15, to be exact — Axl, myself and the rest of the writers of MetalSucks will all release our Top 10 year-end lists so you can incessantly argue over which great album was left off or tell us we’re assholes for ranking a certain album higher than it should’ve been.

But for now, ya’ll can argue about something else: here’s my personal short/working list for said year-end list containing all of my favorite metal releases from this year as well as a few that aren’t likely to make my own list but will surely be appearing on others’. Feel free to pipe in with your thoughts or to notify us of any egregious omissions before we put together our final, ordered lists. Regardless, it is going to be really fucking hard to pick just 10 of these and put them in order of awesomeness.

And, my favorite metal records of 2008 in no particular order are…

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“Sand and Snow,” the new song by Light this City, is currently streaming on the band’s MySpace.

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I can’t believe I forgot to include Byzantine’s Oblivion Beckons in my Early Top Albums of 2008 list, because finding out that it came out in 2008 (I had thought it was late 2007) was actually the inspiration for writing the post. What a fucking great album, and a grower too, getting better each time. Read what I had to say about it here. Then go buy it right away!

-VN

So this weekend I listened to Byzantine’s excellent album Oblivion Beckons — which came out on January 22 of this year, four days before the band broke up — and then when it finished, I listened to it again. It’s that good. Since reviewing the record in early March, this album has really grown on me — not that I didn’t like it then, because my review was certainly favorable — but holy fuck, Oblivion Beckons is one monster of an album that isn’t getting nearly the recognition it deserves.

Guys: PAY ATTENTION TO THIS ALBUM. I was raving about it to Frank @ Metal Injection on Friday, and to Axl the next day. No one seems to give it the time of day most likely because the band broke up so soon after its release.

Byzantine is like a proggier, smarter Lamb of God — it’s got the same groove metal aspect, but it’s more dense and more dynamic. Think what would happen if Lamb of God drew Opeth as an influence over Pantera, and you’ve nailed it. Best of all, there’s nary a trace of metalcore. I literally cannot get enough of this album right now.

Take a listen to “Centurion” on their MySpace page, but please note that the first several songs posted there are older material which I don’t think is quite as good as the new stuff.

-VN

For their third full-length release Oblivion Beckons, Byzantine have conjured up a damn fine record, and by breaking up right after its release have ensured at least something of a legacy for themselves. Musically this band is totally on-point; groove-based Pantera / Lamb of God-influenced metal mixes with something more progressive and heady like Nevermore — or even at times Meshuggah — for a riff-based affair that’s fresh, brutal, and will definitely get you moving your head. The band chugs forward, each musician quite talented at their fare, from punishing grooves and poly-metric passages to catchy but never-predictable choruses. Vocally, I have some real issues with frontman Chris Ojeda. Ojeda proves on Oblivion Beckons that he is a versatile singer capable of many styles. His screams vary from are bowel-inducingly brutal to screachingly ear-shattering (in a good way) and his clean singing is quite good too; but all too often he results to some kind of half-scream/half-sung voice that aims to sound badass but just ends up sounding more like a vomiting rabbit. It makes me cringe every time.

Fortunately the rest of the band members are there to save the day; Tony Rohrbough (guitar) and Matt Wolfe (drums) often play in perfect chug unison but aren’t afraid to split apart for some prog flavor. Some of Rohrbough’s guitar work — as in the scorching solo of the title track, the intro to “Expansion and Collapse,” and the clean ending of “The Gift of Discernment” — is truly fresh. I actually revised that last sentence at least 5 times because I kept wanting to add in songs that have awesome guitar work, but shit, I’d just end up listing every song. Seriously, Rohrbough’s work is so fresh and inventive, and he nails it through and through with both leads and rhythms. But then there’s that fucking rabbit voice again. Ugh.

Anyway, if you can turn off the part of your brain that listens to vocals, this is a fucking great album. If you’re into singers or are a singer yourself suffering from LSD, this probably isn’t for you. But either way it’s a pretty good record. Maybe if and when Byzantine regroups they’ll hire a new singer.

-VN

(three and a half out of five horns)

-VN

[Byzantine on MySpace]

Byzantine are a band I think I should like more than I actually do like – but I know some people go absolutely ape shit for them. Their new album, Oblivion Beckons, is still a few weeks away from a legal release, but in the meantime The Underworld already has it for free download.

Oblivion Beckons gets its official release on Prosthetic on January 22.

It sounds a lot like Pantera. Shocker.

-AR