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Soundbites
by Stephen Seigel
It's a rather slow week for touring bands, but it seems as though local musicians have conspired to make it a pretty exciting week anyway, as three local acts are releasing new albums this week.
Formed in 2007 by bassist Gino Silva and guitarist Ray Wheeler—vocalist Jason Bowers and drummer Vik Andrade round out the lineup—LeVel XIII self-release their debut album, Demons, this week.
I'll be honest: Although the album cover art, by local artist Ryan Brown, looks pretty damn cool, especially as far as the metal milieu goes, the photos inside the CD package had me worried. They're a little, um, cheesy: lots of guns, lots of blood, some face paint, one straightjacket and one toilet. And these are not professionally shot photos; these are snapshots.
But after listening to Demons, I am reminded not to judge a book by its cover. Over the course of its dozen songs, the album touches on many facets of metal, and does pretty damn well with most of them. The band is tight as a fist, all crunchy guitars, booming bass and thudding drums, and LeVel XIII pretty seamlessly moves from the speed metal of seven-minute opening track "6 O'Clock News (A Father's Rage)"—complete with a partially acoustic, almost proggy interlude—to the grunge-inspired "Respect," to the Sabbath-y opening chords of "Eye of the Storm." Lyrically, the songs tread in fairly typical metal territory: "Voices" opens with, "Traumatized! By all the voices in my head / Dangerous! Mental violence I am fed / Hear me scream! From the torture that's within / See me bleed! To commit a mortal sin."
But perhaps the oddest song on the album—especially given those aforementioned pseudo-gory photos—is the thrashfest that is "King Amongst Kings," an ode to Jesus Christ in which Bowers applies his Grover-croak to incongruous lines like, "He carried all their anger, dawned (sic) their crown of hate / Endured the whips of disbelief, for you to just believe / Nailed upon the cross, suffers for us all / Father hear the call, make their temple fall."
LeVel XIII celebrates the release of Demons with a CD-release show at The Rock, 136 N. Park Ave., on Saturday, July 18. The all-ages show starts at 6 p.m. with sets from Scorned Embrace, Devils Left Shoulder, Ruins of Contention and Silent Bliss. Tickets are $9 in advance, or $10 on the day of show. For more information, call 444-1879 or 240-7019.
- Tucson Weekly
On a dark and stormy night...
I open the new packaging like an excited little boy, gleaming with joy because I am about to hear the new "Demons" LP before it has even been released! Sweet! The CD and layout look great, high quality shiz here, no flimsy indie bullshit...
The intro on this CD, "6 O'Clock News (A Father's Rage)" gives us an eerie glimpse of the lyrical journey to come... You learn of an unfortunate mishap with a young boy and an older man that tragically lead to the child's death...
Then it begins... The sound this band has is hardcore to the MAX! As the music builds the guitarist starts to shred fiercely and the drummer pounds faster, I feel inclined to get the hell up and mimic what I imagine the boys from LeVel XIII will be doing tomorrow.... Rockin the SHIT out of stage and head-bang harder than a base-head hits a glass pipe! Before I know it I'm cleaning my whole house instead of writing about the CD, fuck!
As I continue my journey into the land of "Demons", I am still begging for more! Songs like "King Amongst Kings" and "Numb The Pain" keep delivering hardcore metal at it's finest. The sheer speed of this band at times is jaw dropping, and aggressive vocals give them a spicier egde than most bands I have heard recently.
With the freshman release of "Demons", the band is a true force to be reckoned with in the local scene here in Tucson, AZ. and will be gaining respect of the entire country very soon. I am way more excited for the concert than I ever thought I could be!
ND Promotions will be featuring them @ The Rock tomorrow night!!! With local support from: Scorned Embrace, Silent Bliss, Ruins of Contention, and Devils Left Shoulder.
- Tucson Rock Alliance
Discography
The first single "Goodbye" from out LP "Demons" was released May 29th, 2009. The song was entered into a myspace contest "Rock The Space" It was ranked 1st worldwide out of 13,000 participants (all genras) for 6 weeks straight. After 8 weeks the song had recieved close to 2 million plays and ended up ranked 4th most popular. It can be heard at myspace.com/level13az or you can hear streaming audio at Rhapsody.com.
LeVeL XIII's debut 12 song LP "Demons" was released on July 18th, 2009
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Bio
LeVeL XIII exploded onto the metal scene in mid 2007. The bands only agenda is to awe all who attend their shows. The Tucson based metal band formed in late 2006. Their form of metal is driven by hard distorted riffs, low-ended bass lines, jaw dropping drum beats, and heavy aggressive vocals. These four key factors combined, create a deep sinister sound that only adds to their ever changing stage antics. Catchy riffs, melodic hooks, and out of control stage shows, LeVeL XIII creates the kind of mayhem that leaves one feeling satisfied both musically, and visually. The onslaught will continue with LeVeL XIII's dark image and chaotic form of entertainment, adding more chaos and debauchery to their shows. Tickets, merchandise sales and fan base continue to grow exponentially, thanks in part to touring and opening up for such acts as, Static X, Hellyeah, Testament, Chimaira, Otep, and Mushroomhead. With their experience, dedication, professionalism, and hard work, LeVeL XIII is sure to succeed!
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