{"id":48204,"date":"2015-02-10T22:19:46","date_gmt":"2015-02-11T03:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=48204"},"modified":"2015-02-10T22:19:46","modified_gmt":"2015-02-11T03:19:46","slug":"maniac-rise-swallow-my-evil-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2015\/maniac-rise-swallow-my-evil-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Maniac Rise | Swallow My Evil<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alissa Ordabai<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"ManiacRiseArtwork.jpg\"Here is a cool bundle of six honest-to-goodness Thrash tracks spiced up with some of the finest guitar work the East Coast metal has to offer. Guitar player Rob Castoria presides over this release as the sole writer, guitar player, bass player, and singer. Also known as Big Rob, the Queens native endured on the NYC scene for decades. And although Maniac Rise in its current line-up played only three live shows so far, the material on this album dates back to the Eighties and the early Nineties. <\/p>\n

This explains the uncompromising feel of the record. Galloping harmonies, biting riffs, and neck-break-speed solos take you back to the time when die-hard believers played Metal from the heart. Opener \u201cSwallow My Evil\u201d goes on a tear with brazen aplomb, instantly bringing to mind early Slayer, Burton-era Metallica, and the gnarling anger of Napalm Death. Castoria makes sure his growling gives the songs their edge, but the words stay just about intelligible, making sure the message is not lost. <\/p>\n

\u201cAddiction\u201d that follows takes the life-affirming energy of early thrash into the terrain of note-perfect guitar soloing \u2014 crisp and laconic. But it doesn\u2019t take long for Castoria to start showing off his virtuosity to the full when he pours showers of notes over a rip-roaring riff on \u201cResurrection Absurd.\u201d Here harmonic tension is contrasted by a simple melody delivered in a self-assured, gravelly voice \u2014 no growling this time, just sheer thrash-driven audacity.<\/p>\n

But Castoria\u2019s stylistic terrain doesn\u2019t end with thrash. He can also go for Neo-classical swank, as on \u201cSilent Assailant\u201d where he weaves an expansive, faultless solo into the fabric of a riff-centric barn-burner. He never overplays, and even when he goes for insane speed, his shredding stays answerable to the melody. <\/p>\n

Overall, this is a treasure trove of a release for anyone who enjoys virtuosic guitar, loves thrash, or ever gets nostalgic for sincerity of old-school Metal.<\/p>\n

Genre: Metal<\/p>\n

Album line-up:
\nRob Castoria (Big Rob) \u2014 music, lyrics, all guitars, bass, all vocals except for \u201cKiller at Large\u201d
\nStacy O\u2019Dell \u2014 drums
\nJessica Pimenteli \u2014 vocals on \u201cKiller at Large\u201d<\/p>\n

Live line-up:
\nRob Castoria (Big Rob) \u2014 guitar
\nDave Sussman \u2014 bass
\nServo \u2014 drums
\nMaven \u2014 vocals<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tSwallow My Evil
\n2.\tAddiction
\n3.\tResurrection Absurd
\n4.\tKiller at Large
\n5.\tSilent Assailant
\n6.\tBurial<\/p>\n

Label: Maniac Rise<\/p>\n

Online: www.facebook.com\/maniacrise<\/a>; www.facebook.com\/robcastoria<\/a> <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alissa Ordabai – Senior Columnist — Here is a cool bundle of six honest-to-goodness Thrash tracks spiced up with some of the finest guitar work the East Coast metal has to offer. Guitar player […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":48205,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12394],"tags":[2317,10746,2267,10747],"class_list":{"0":"post-48204","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2015","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-maniac-rise","10":"tag-metal","11":"tag-swallow-my-evil"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}