Diamond Plate: Dance With Reality – new video & Pulse – full album stream

DIAMOND PLATE's new video, ‘Dance With Reality’, has left me a bit confused but that just might be its intention. I wonder… ‘Dance With Reality’ comes off the band's sophomore album ‘Pulse’, which was released digitally only in Europe and which can be found in North American stores since August 2013 through Earache Records/Century Media Records. Recorded with producer Neil Kernon as was the band's debut, 2011's ‘Generation Why?’, at Studio Chicago in DIAMOND PLATE's home town, with artwork created by Gustavo Sazes, have fun listening to the album below, courtesy Earache Records, and then order the album on iTunes (here) or BandCamp (here) if you live in Europe, or get it from Century Media here (CM Distro) if North American. The album is also available through Amazon. Metal Injection's Jeremy Ulrey wrote:

“When you play a revivalist style of music it’s generally expected that, as time goes by, you refine your craft rather than retool it. As such, there isn’t a great deal of artistic development per se between ‘Generation Why?’ and ‘Pulse’, but DIAMOND PLATE fans wouldn’t have it any other way. That said, there is ample evidence of greater sophistication in the singing on tunes like ‘Walking Backward’ and ‘Dance With Reality’. Taking that even further, ‘Still Dreaming’ and ‘Face To Face’ represent legitimate left turns, both trading on the more gothic tendencies of US power metal bands like NEVERMORE, with ‘Face To Face’ even featuring vocals in an old school (D.R.I., EXCEL) hardcore mode. It doesn’t always work – the gang chorus on ‘Bottom Of The Glass’ has a forced, awkward phrasing to it – but in toto DIAMOND PLATE have significantly upgraded their songcraft, suggesting the sort of longevity that may well outlive the retro-thrash trend that the band are increasingly figureheads for:” [More here]

 

Formed in 2004 in Chicago, Illinois by three thrash metal devotees who apparently displayed musicianship and passion for heavy music that went beyond their years (and who were still in high school at the time), DIAMOND PLATE obviously displayed maturity at the beginning of their career as well for I read they declined early record label offers in favour of perfecting their sound. Drummer James Nicademus, former vocalist and bassist Jon Macak and guitarist Konrad Kupiec self-released EPs and kept enlarging local fan base by the way of word-of-mouth, until they were conscripted by Earache Records bare months after graduating from high school. DIAMOND PLATE's debut album entitled ‘Generation Why?’, recorded in Chicago's Rax Trax Studios with producer Neil Kernon, followed in 2011:

“DIAMOND PLATE have a sound firmly rooted in the world of progressive thrash. But they don’t use this as an excuse for pointless noodling and self-consciously difficult soloing. The band can clearly play - not just play, but compose. Guitar players will marvel at the musical acrobatics of Konrad Kupiec, but the layman can appreciate it as well. The songs on ‘Generation Why?’ have a rougher edge that will appeal to fans of both old school and blackened thrash, as well as progthrash aficionados,” [commented Nicholas Pell, MetalSucks - read the rest here:]

DIAMOND PLATE features: James Nicademus – drums, Konrad Kupiec – guitar and Matt Ares – vocals and bass