NZGuitars.com

I know Zorran's a regular poster on here and don't want to steal his thunder but heres a new track from them:

http://www.soundclick.com/player/single ... i&newref=1

Its a tribute to the singers mum who died of cancer, really sad news but a beautiful song!

Ash put me on to these guys. I remember meeting the monk while he flatted with a friend so was cool to see him in this. talented and humble dude were my impressions.

Regardless of who is in this band.. this is some of the most interesting and what seems to be underated metal I've been lucky enough to hear.

can't wait until they spend some money on a tight ass mix as the domino's are just begging to fall.

I'm lovin' it.

I remember hearing 'Soul' on their myspace a year (or maybe 2!?!) ago now. Don't know if it's the same version as this but I love that track. Saw them open for Meshuggah in Auckland in 2008 and they were great despite nobody around me knowing who they were other than Fler!

Their album must be coming out soon surely... ?

There's an ep out - Anomaly, I bought it on iTunes, it's awesome, hanging out for an album tho'!!!

So their hugely anticipated album Mirrors has dropped, I got a copy last week at the concert and it's amazing, check it out!!!

Review.

I'm not much of a reviewer but here we go...

New Way Home have a really unique sound, but the best way to describe it would be to look at their influences, bands like The Deftones, Nine Inch Nails, Tool, Devin Townsend Project, you can feel touches of all of them in their sound, but without sounding like them.

Rich's lyrics and singing are quite haunting yet beautiful in tracks like "Autumn", "Adrift", and "Tides", whereas on tracks like "Mirror", "Chrysalis", and "Paper Hearts" he delivers the HEAVY vocals more reminiscent of their 2005 EP Anomaly.

The guitar work on the album is tighter than a tight thing, with the duo of album producer and ex band member Zorran Mendonsa (since replaced by Brandon Reihana), and Christian "Monk" Humphreys creating a thick layered relentless sound that builds you up and then knocks you down. The track "Atrophy" for example has such an awesome groove to it that just gets my head banging and my feet stomping at my desk at work, which gets an interesting reaction from my colleagues

Rom's bass playing and Scott's drums keep the whole band knitted together with some creative rhythms and bring that groove thats sorely missing from so many bands today!

The title track Mirror has been released as a video, its an awesome slamming track which showcases their sound really well:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCt1OVkjZlI[/youtube]

Chrysalis has been out in the wild for a while too, mixed with a crazy animation Rich found:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrB0TvykNaA[/youtube]

"Paper Hearts" is my favourite track on the album, the lyrics are incredibly emotional as it was written by Rich as he watched his mother die in hospice, his ex hanging paper hearts above her bed. So sad but beautiful at the same time, other tracks like "Adrift" have a thematic connection as well, can only imagine the pain he feels singing these songs, that kind of honesty is so lacking in music today.

If this album does not take off internationally I'll be very surprised, whats left of my faith in the music industry and peoples taste will be destroyed, as it really is world class and a showcase of some amazing talent and hard work that deserves the recognition overseas, I really hope the stars align for them!!

The album is available on CD at the gigs on their tour, and I assume in shops soon! You can also pre order (altho' I think it was released there last friday) on itunes: http://itunes.apple.com/nz/preorder/mirrors/id549069735

Its very much my favourite album of the year, which is a big call as there has been some amazing releases this year, but it really delivers, 9 stars out of 10, BUY IT NOW!

Alrighty.

Just got this CD and am about 3/4's of the way through. Fantastic. J-dog isn't exaggerating - if you are even remotely interested in great heavy music (I was gonna say local, but why even? It's world-standard). Have been following these guys since they started... It's a long term labour of love and it shows. If only everyone created with such care and passion. Here's hoping the next one doesn't take such a ridiculously long timeframe.

I give it 4.5 Badmotors out of 5.

^LIKE

Hey!

thank you for posting this! This is great!

I picked up the new album from Jb-hifi about a week ago and I remembered this thread being posted so figured I would share my 2c and also ask some questions.

Firstly, like others have said, New Way Home should not be called a "local act". That term seems to, for some unknown reason; imply that they will never be anything but. This is without a shadow of a doubt the BEST album next to Oceania by The Smashing Pumpkins that I have purchased in recent times. It is incredibly well produced, well engineered and most importantly well written and played/executed.

The musicianship is top notch and the hooks, melodies and riffs are all there in spades. There are some really beautiful slow/ambient songs on this album (Adrift, Saturn, Soul, Tides) that one usually doesn’t find on an album made by a "metal" band. This album really show cases the bands growth since their debut EP was released. It also really shows off their influences, with no hint of plagiarism. Fans of Tool, Deftones, Blindspott, Meshuggah, Devin Townsend and Periphery will all find something they can get into on this album. The song order has also been carefully thought out and listening to the album from start to finish is a great trip. I’ve found it especially addictive on long drives!

Every track on the album imho is good but the standouts for me are - Tides, Soul, Atrophy & Autumn.

Anyway, thought I would share since its not often an album grabs me from the start and doesn’t let go. This is a goodie!! I’ve said it before and ill say it again. NZ music FTW!!! We have some fucking talent here man I tell ya what!!!

Now the question....I usually give two hoots about "genre" and I hate to pigeonhole a band. But what is this music? Hard Rock? Prog-Rock? Prog-Metal? Nu-Metal? Alt-metal? Alt-rock? There are hints of this "Djent" thing in this album too but only a sprinkle. I have always found it difficult to "classify" Tool and Deftones and I am finding it just as hard with New Way Home. Anyone care to share their opinions??