MetalSucks

Candiria needs no introduction, but even those familiar with the band might not know that guitarist John LaMacchia is one of the most hard-working men in underground metal. In addition to his work with Candiria — who are releasing Toying With the Insanities Volumes 1 and 2 this September — LaMacchia runs Rising Pulse Records, the label that will be releasing the aforementioned new Candiria albums. He’s also a member of Spylacopa together with members of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Isis and Made out of Babies, and and he’s co-writing and producing a solo album with Julie Christmas of the latter. In a phone conversation earlier this month, I chatted with John about the new Candiria sets, the aforementioned side projects (which are only the tip of the iceberg), the current status of Candiria, and some local bands he digs. Our chat, after the jump.

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I’ve really been enjoying Frank Godla’s “Frank’s Favorite Drummers” series on Metal Injection over the past few weeks; I’ve gotten to see live footage of some of my own favorite drummers and I’ve also learned about incredibly skilled skinsmen I’d never heard of before. Today’s entry focuses on Kenneth Schalk of Candiria, a man who proves that you really only need a 4-piece kit to kick fucking ass on the drums. Mike Portnoy’s 10,765-piece monster? Psssshhh.

-VN

Thanks to Metal Injection for buying me whiskey last night and for reminding me how cool Candiria were/are. Sure, there are some cringe-worthy rap moments in this song, but it’s not like they were following a trend — they created the trend. And mixed in with all the other genre-pushing elements of their music, it makes a whole lot more sense what Candiria were trying to do: something different. I’d love to see these guys do a show in a small club in Brooklyn some time soon; how ’bout it, guys?

-VN

A couple of months back I published an article declaring that Spylacopa, the new supergroup featuring John LaMacchia (Candiria), Jeff Caxide (Isis), Greg Puciato (The Dillinger Escape Plan) and Julie Christmas (Made Out of Babies / Battle of Mice), was sounding surprisingly tame for a band whose members usually spit such intense venom. Now I eat my words.

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If I told you there were a new supergroup on the block that includes John LaMacchia (Candiria), Jeff Caxide (Isis), Greg Puciato (The Dillinger Escape Plan) and Julie Christmas (Made Out of Babies / Battle of Mice), you’d think the result would be some kind of furious explosion of heavy, right?

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Lest we forget that once upon a time the genre we now scornfully refer to as “nu metal” was actually a pretty innovative idea, there’s always Candiria to remind us. Like Faith No More, New York’s Candiria often get blamed for what a million copycats did so wrong but they did so, so right: combining elements of heavy, rhythmic metal riffing with hip hop-influenced vocals and jazz and funk musical undertones.

Candiria – “Down”

Two members of Candiria are back after a long hiatus (Candiria’s last release came out in 2004) with a brand new project, Hope Kills Fear. Vocalist Carley Coma and drummer Ken Schalk are currently recording new material with producer Mike Barile (E Town Concrete, Candiria, 40 Below Summer). From the two tracks currently streaming on the band’s MySpace page one thing is clear: these guys are content to put their nu-metal / hip-hop past aside and forge ahead in a decidedly more straight-up metal direction, more consistent with late-era Candiria like the above track from their final album.

The resut is an alt-metal powerhouse that’s immediately harder hitting and better than the hordes of mediocre alt-metal bands on the radio waves these days (we’re looking at you, Breaking Benjamin). Thankfully Coma and co. have not hopped on the metalcore bandwagon, nor have they hopped on any bandwagon, really. Big, wall-of-sound guitars and undeniable hooks mix well with swirling, atmospheric guitars and dense vocal layering. Definitely one to watch out for in 2008 — release date TBA.

-VN

[Hope Kills Fear on MySpace]
[Candiria on MySpace]
(above photo by Tony Behar)