Assyrian - Self-Portrait

Over the last couple of months, if not years, I've been wondering where all of the talented Mexican metal bands are. We're heard a couple over the years in such outfits as Brujeria and Infinitum Obscure but nothing that really stuck to me and made me want more Mexico metal. Blasting out at me at speeds unimaginable is a little project called Assyrian. Playing that Atmospheric Progressive/Death/Doom on the same platform as Opeth, Assyrian could easily be heavy hitters in the metal scene. All they need is a record label that would support them fully.They already have a solid fan base and with the intensity they bring on record, it's a real mind fuck how this four piece hasn't been signed to a record label at all.


So, this EP was giving to me nearly a week or so ago and it's literally taken me a full week to understand how I feel about this record. At first I was sort of iffy because it sounded just like some Opeth rip-off. As time passed and this record was blasting on and off through the weekend, I realized that these guys can really bring the heat when it comes to clean vocals and riffs that will make you feel like heaven has opened up. Imagine the cleanness that Opeth gives you, the brilliant epic songs that fill all your needs when it comes to rawness and just progressive death. Assyrian is sort of like that but a whole different breed of wolf. Packing a punch that would knock a fat woman off the back of a horse, it's literally track after track of beautiful chords, amazing piano sections and some solos that will make your head explode in glory. "Self-Portrait" is a record that has seven great tracks that span over the time of twenty-eight minutes. The great thing about this record is that Assyrian are never scared to show who they really are. They will never play something different to just try to impress the listener nor will they go in a direction they have no idea about. They play straight forward progressive death, the type of progressive death that make the trees shake, the type of progressive death that will make you thank God above for blessing you with such a talented band to listen to. As much as I enjoy the growls and the grunts, the clean vocals are something that make this record brilliant. From the softer sections on the track "The Gray" to the amazing melodies on "Quiet", the sixth tracks. It's all just beautiful, heart warming music that I wish everyone could hear, honestly. My favorite track on this record has to be "Empathic Narcissus", it gives me that doom/death I need but also feeds me this solo around the two minute mark, that solo builds and blasts into this Japanese/Korean style melody that reminds me of a Korean Rock band that goes by the name Seo Taiji. It's probably the most glorious thing I've heard since the first time I made my ex-girlfriend orgasm. Yes, it's that glorious that I can compare it to a female orgasming.

Solid record from a Mexican progressive death/doom outfit that should be making more noise than they are in the metal world. People need to open up some ears because we can't keep letting acts like this slip under the rug. If I have to do it alone, I will but Assyrian needs to be hear, period. Global domination? We can only hope with how beautiful this record is.

* ALL TRACKS ARE IN .WAV FORMAT SO YOU WILL HAVE TO DOWNLOAD EACH SONG INDIVIDUALLY!!

1) Impromptu

2) Empathic Narcissus

3) The Gray

4) Colour Me

5) Phobos

6) Quiet

7) Bright Green Light

Ocoai - The Electric Hand

Being stuck in a forest for weeks upon weeks with no worldly food, no tap water from a dirty river and no real shelter. Eating plants and insects, drinking the creek water so I don’t get dehydrated and sleeping underneath fallen trees so that the rain doesn’t soak me. Ocoai’s sophomore release “The Electric Hand” sets these kind of images into your mind with no problem at all. After they released their debut record “Breatherman” back in 2008, I was nothing but ecstatic to hear a brand new thriller from these guys. Progressive/Sludge/Post-Metal/Rock with a tear drop of orgasmic color, that is what Ocoai plays and it’s all instrumental. In my eyes, nothing is better than an instrumental record, nothing! Hailing from Tennessee, let’s see what these guys have to offer. Let’s see if they can take you to unknown lands that bring nothing but beautiuful waterfalls and bright green grass.

Flowing as beautiful as the ocean on a cool summer day, “The Electric Hand” presents itself in a way that most records can’t. Feeding you limbs of Progressive with the melodic sections but also giving you that sludge with those deep, dirty, filthy bass lines like on the tracks “Grimpeur” and “Marchand de Sommeil”. Taking influences from Isis, Neurosis and Pelican, Ocoai seem to have found the parts to replace what they did wrong on their first record. Providing a very large canvas for you to paint almost anything on, even something so large it can scream volumes, Ocoai has finally seem to find out the way it’s done and what they love doing. As the trees blow in the wind, you can lay on a beach while staring up at the sun wondering if tomorrow will ever have the same feeling as today did. “The Electric Hand”, to me, seems to lay out short stories for each track. “Niveus Hills” paints a picture of desperation, heartache and an uncontrollable living situations where nothing ever goes the way the people want it to. Being trapped in a room with flashing lights surrounding the outside while you hear screams and yells simply begging to be let in before they get destroyed by whatever creature is out there. The more and more I think about it, I seem to be making the connection to the video game “Alan Wake”. I have no idea why but the atmospheres this record creates and literally bring to life are very similar to the ones in the video game. Dark yet wonderful places with signs of hope and encouragement. “La Main d’Electrique”, the most uptempo and monstrous track on the record when it comes to Sludge influence. As the story seems to deepen, become more bothersome in a way, “La Main d’Electrique” gives you that sense of just raw teeth on a barbwire electric fence. The closest thing I can compare “The Electric Hand” to would have to be just a mixture of some old school biker that has the longest beard you’ve ever seen, being married to a Queen of some country. They may not look like the best couple but the relationship has blossomed since day one and they get along very, very well. Ocoai does the whole Sludge/Post-Rock thing very well and if this record wasn’t the way it is, I can’t see myself even enjoying what it would of been.

If it’s possible to have emptiness yet still have hope inside your broken heart, “The Electic Hand” is probably the record for you. Mountains with snow filled tops, rivers with eagles flying over the top so they can prey on their lunch, it’s just imagery that Ocoai bring to the table and that’s exactly why I love this record, let along the band.

1) Waking Fear

2) Niveus Hills

3) Grimpeur

4) Somnium

5) La Main d'Electricque

6) Marchand de Sommeil

7) Morte Audaciter

Download the record here