The Ritual Aura has some weird stuff planned out where…..they want to play a……game? No it’s not jigsaw, where your limbs will get hacked and thrown into a vat of acid but it’s a more normal game. As posted above, the band is planning to release “Velothi” sooner than later. But first, break out your magnifying glass and trench coat Sherlock Holmes! Stay updated with every clue along the way to solve the puzzle, Macgyver. Here’s the first bit of information we have received from the overlords.
Constructs guitarist Trayen Burke has gone on his own adventure while his mainstay is recording a follow up to their EP “Shapes”. He has been hinting at working on his own music and this GLORIOUS track dropped, and absolutely love it. Constructs is an instrumental djent band, inspired by heavier atmospheric layers and melody. But what I dig about Burke’s sound (based off one song) is it’s a bit more technical, and just as heavy as Constructs…..so it isn’t exactly the same. Give your ears something different, tasty, heavy and soulful. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it looks like that’s Jared from Rivers Of Nihil on drums? Maybe my eyes are deceiving me? If “Gravity” is a sign of things to come, then wow……we’re in for a treat. If Constructs releases new music this year we will have two great releases from Trayen! Check out the awesome song below and pay attention to both of his projects!
Progressive Melodic Death Metal outfit Archaic Decapitator is releasing their upcoming EP “The Apothecary” on April 19th and we have our extremely invaluable opinion on that upcoming effort! The band recently added Xenosis drummer Gary Marotta to their lineup as their drummer, and didn’t hesitate at all to get familiar with this band. If anyone in Xenosis (their album from last year was totally overlooked) has a hand in a project, I’m sure as heck going to check it out. And here we go!
The guys have a very melodic sound on their frantic EP, but add a little bit of progressive and black metal structuring to some of their sound. A couple of the tracks are longer, with track length not in mind as they seamlessly put together a stellar effort. If you love mixing your metal genres without sacrificing quality, Archaic Decapitator totally fits that to a tee.
You can check out the song they JUST released this week titled “Skyward” right below!
ARCHAIC DECAPITATOR:
Kyle Quintin: Vocals Craig Breitsprecher: Bass & Backing Vocals Yegor Savonin: Guitar Gary Marotta: Drums Christopher Ridley: Guitar
Marotta’s drumming is a foreseen highlight on “The Apothecary”. Craig locks down the bass, adding a lot of depth and low end to the band’s sound. I really dig the guitar duo of Yegor and Chris, blending together a heavy influence of Opeth’s first 3 albums and classic black metal like Dissection that add some melody to their raw heaviness. Kyle’s awesome vocals really stand out on this effort. The band will most likely fly under the radar with the plethora of music that gets released, but make sure you pin this band down and highlight them so you don’t forget! You can check out the band’s two previous offerings right here and also get your preorder in! Don’t worry, you have plenty of time with about 2 months until the release date. I would do it sooner than later, to be honest. I loved this EP and highly suggest this to you metalheads!
Hey people! We’re back with our third edition of Try Something New Thursday! You can check out the bands from the first and second editions before diving into this one! We hope our followers enjoy another eclectic mix of music from TMR!
Utica’s Progressive Death Metal behemoths Inhumatus bring a technical, chaotic, heavy and emotional sound to the musical game. I first heard of these guys at the Revocation show a handful of summers ago at the Montage Music Hall in Rochester. A lot of bands that day before Revo absolutely bored the piss out of me….between them and Rochester’s own Gutted Alive totally made it worth suffering through the boring bands that didn’t click with me until the legendary Revocation hit the stage. Everything about this band just rips….sweet guitar work, rhythms, the vocals and drums…..it all just CLICKS. All they have is a 3 song EP for now, but are working on a full length album. There’s no timetable for that bad boy yet, but doesn’t mean you can enjoy these great tunes!
Icefish is a progressive metal band that brings a lot to the table. Virgil Donati is the band’s drummer…..and if you know him, anything he touches basically turns to gold. They’re a melodic and technically proficient band I was turned onto recently, that our followers would definitely dig. Check out a few of their tracks below and don’t forget to follow them on social media!
Here’s a killer band some of our technical death metal fiends may already know of……but if you don’t, well then have at it! Phil from First Fragment and the other 10 bands he’s in is one of the guitarists in this band……they’re wildly entertaining with their technical passages and pure musical virtuosity. With their immersive levels of talent, they somehow don’t lose their groove. Serocs treads that fine line of tech and foot tapping/headbanging groove. They have a superb album “The Phobos/Deimos Suite” that was released last year. They have 3 prior releases to this, as well. Check out the band’s music below! Oh, and there’s also a playthrough for one of their songs…..try not to drool too hard, okay?
Here’s another great technical death metal band for you to drool over. These guys are flat out stellar, and also are relatively new…..well, to me at least. They’re already working on new music, which is great. I’ll just let their music do the talking……Vitriol just fucking rules. Check out their EP below and stay up to snuff with them on social media in regards to their shows and upcoming album/EP. Mmmmmkay?
OKAY LAST TECHNICAL DEATH METAL BAND FOR THIS WEEK! Okay…..maybe. If you’ve been a good follower and been paying attention, we worked with the guys on premiering their guitar playthrough of “Edge Of Divergence”. The band has a two song demo with that title, and currently working on a full length album to be released through their record label EastBreath Records. The guitar virtuosity of band guitarist Victor is just well…..mind blowing at that. The playthrough a few sentences beforehand is a great testament to that opinion. Check out the two track demo below, and patiently wait for news on their upcoming full length album.
These guys are an amazingly talented weird instrumental fusion/metal/jazz/rock/prog/whatever you want to categorize them as band. If you dig bands like Panzerballet you’ll love this 3 piece. They recently released a new record The Story of Scott Rötti I highly suggest you should check out. The guys have crafted a wild, fun, experimental band with so many surprises they’ll keep you guessing. If you want to listen to something out of the norm you may not expect to, or wanna switch it up Mörglbl is a great start. They rule! Check out their latest album below!
This instrumental 3 piece released a great EP “Shapes” a few years back, went on some tours and played some stellar shows. The band recently lost their bassist but quickly acquired a new one. Their follow up is in the works, and their spectacular guitarist Trayen is also working on new tunes himself! They’re an atmospheric, melodic metal band that loves to djent. These guys drew me in when I heard “Event Horizon” and was all we had for a while. Then, they released ” Shapes” and was happy I had more than one song to jam from the Constructs fellows! Let the band’s wild progressive and atmospheric sound and melodies take you into another dimension today. Check out their EP below and follow the guys on their journey to their follow up, as well as Trayen’s solo project!
Earlier this week, I published a review for Prophets’ first LP; from what I gather, it’s been a long road to get this album out, but they’ve done it. Deep brutal death growls meets Revocation-esque riffage, plus some jazzy, ambient interludes. The Indian metal scene is pouting out incredible acts, and these guys aren’t ones to sleep on. Check it out!
The perfection that is the Technical Death Metal supergroup that is known as Continuum is releasing their second album this Friday February 22nd. My good friend Austin Weber at Metal Injection premiered this beast of an album on Tuesday, and can check it out in in its entirety right here. Wanna know why this band is so great? The veterans of quality metal bands of many subgeneres, and ones that made very big impacts on the genre. Vocalist Riley McShane fronts Allegaeon and Suns Of Aurelias (3 bands!), lead guitarist Chase Fraser plays in Conflux (ex Arkaik, ex Decrepit Birth and ex scour…..impressive resume, I’d say), Rhythm Guitarist Ivan Munguia plays in Deeds Of Flesh (ex Arkaik, ex Brain Drill, and ex Odious Mortem), bassist Nick Willbrand of Eviscerated (ex Flesh Consumed) and newest member Ron Casey of Inanimate Existence on drums (ex Arkaik live, ex Rings of Saturn, ex Flesh Consumed)…….so again, look at the quality of bands (lots technical) these super talented artists have been in. So I reiterate the obvious and going on a stretch saying this will be a top record of 2019, but not really a stretch. Let’s get rolling.
Allegaeon rips, no lie. They’re a modern melodic technical death metal band with some serious flavor, but man Riley’s voice is SO PURE on this record. He’s squealed and breeeeeeeeeed like I’ve never heard him before! Methinks he’s been holding back, but on “Designed Obsolescence” he sure as heck didn’t hold a dang thing back. His consistency in his gutturals is amazing…..maybe that’s why he was temporarily recruited to front brutal death metal legends Pathology (for a few minutes, I think?).
What can I say about Ron Casey? It’s no secret I’m WAY too obsessed with Inanimate Existence and his drumming has helped catapult Continuum to modern day legendary status. The band’s debut was so cool and groggy, I couldn’t say no to check it out and have been curious to what the guys had been up to. Then I see updates get excited…..then get more excited when Ron is added to the group to replace Spencer Edwards (their original drummer). His precise drumming is always a treat, no doubt. His blast beats are so clean, so fast and so….beautiful? Ron won’t overdo it, and won’t overfill you with them tasty fills. He adds a consistent element to a technical band, and holding down a great rhythm keeps a project as wild as this at bay. Having a great drummer in a band as this is SUPER important, and Ron adds the RIGHT flavor on his fills and its the rhythmic backbone along with Hillbrand’s loud thundering bass with fills as tasty as Casey’s (I JUST RHYHMED!).
The guitar talents of Chase and Ivan are just well…..damn, that swear is the best adjective that describes it. The guitar leads are so melodic, powerful and shockingly not over the top in a tech band. What is though, are those meaty techy riffs the guys have come up with for the album. The production is absolutely crisp, especially the guitar. Overall this album just fucking smashes, mixing enough brutality and enough technicality to combine for an absolutely stellar death metal effort to blend all sorts of extreme metal into one amazing album. Coming in at a mere 32 minutes, you’ll have this album on repeat as much as I have (about 4 times since the stream dropped, no lie. And you don’t wanna know how many times I’ve heard the 3 singles before Tuesday’s stream…..so we’ll leave it at that!) I urge you all to preorder this album like I did (CD and both vinyls HURRAH) because it’s a 2019 contender and after I finish composing this article I’m adding it to my list (the good part of the list, that is!)! Check out the record when it drops Friday and check out the guys when they go on a quick west coast tour with Alterbeast!
Definitely hit up these shows if you live out west with the guys active bands you don’t know when Continuum will play next…..and also for the Alterbeast guys I have no idea who’s in that band but I saw GABE SEEBER is filling in on drums for the band. Michael Alvarez who left the Beast is filling in on this tour (that’s what they all say….right?) on vocals, but there’s been no confirmed drummer or vocalist in the band…..so we’ll see what the future holds for Alterbeast. Aethere are no slackers either, this lineup is stacked!
Huelga is a one man instrument mathcore/death metal instrumental project by Mike Fonseca. If you love your djent, mathcore with some sneaky melodies you’ll love his music. The EP is expected to drop March 31st so keep your eyes peeled! The sound of the band is really tight, and isn’t boring at all. It’s very groovy and gets melodic at times…..and isn’t repetitive. Mike plans on releasing a cassette as well of this upcoming EP, which you can do so here.
The rhythms are pretty nice as well. I think he totally stands out in the world of increasing instrumental projects. If you enjoyed the one band I covered Pathos And Logos you’ll probably dig Huelga who’s similar to P&L but heavier. Mike didn’t overwrite or overdo the music, and is at a stellar medium where there’s enough going on but your brain isn’t on overload trying to comprehend everything. You can check out an interview he did last month right here. He also derives a lot of influence from artists such as Frank Zappa and plenty of heavy metal as well.
The drums are pretty heavy and groove really hard. Sometimes it gets quick enough that makes you think back to the 1980’s thrash metal days. Overall it’s a stellar debut I think people should check out. It’s not of the lighter side of instrumental bands like Intervals, but don’t expect to be lulled to sleep because this project is heavy. Mike is awfully talented considering he also did the instrumentation for the songs. Grab this bad boy once it’s released!
One thing that’s really been rustling my jimmies (as our self proclaimed tech-death goddess Vick loves to say) is how lazy, ignorant and stupid people are when it comes to discovering new music…..and that also includes the older crowd. Now before we REALLY take off and spout off, I want to say we love older bands and people from older generations! Well, maybe moreso in Dave’s case. A lot of great bands helped influence who we have today, and greatly salute them. This isn’t new for TMR as we’ve had a few zingers involving Opeth, Michael Keene, how much Dave loves Dying Fetus and a random article of how people need to stop being ironic and support their local scene.
First off…..music is SO easily accessible! Bandcamp exists and SHOCKER….they have more than METAL! Many people have access to the internet, and can get onto this amazing website that also barely takes any money from the artists! When you buy something off there, BC takes like 10% of the sale for profit? So if you’re not a jackass and buy your music, you’re also supporting your favorite artists and bands at the same time! I know people have bills to pay, and we all do……but if you want to see your favorites survive (even if most still work off tour. Testament’s vocalist Chuck Billy drives truck while they’re off tour! A band around that long shouldn’t need to do stuff like that, but shows his commitment for a band that’s been around for over 3 decades! Commercial radio is well, you know….poopoo. Satellite radio isn’t much better, as I’ve noticed in my time at least it’s still similar. There’s certain song rotations I’ve heard, and the “new” music they’ll play when they get their hands on it are still from reputable artists…..so, whats the point? I’m not a fan of satellite radio either, if you can tell. Bandcamp on the other hand, has a super large and wide library even countless signed artists have their own sites! You also can buy merchandise, not just music on there as well. And what’s even cooler is Bandcamp suggests bands of similar styles, if you’re on a page so they’re already on your case showing you EVEN MORE MUSIC! BUT THERE’S NO MORE MUSIC LEFT (rolls eyes dramatically)!
This has been around for a while, but for the people that live under a rock there’s this great invention called Youtube! Another big thing is labels and artists (signed or independent) are now more than ever (to help garner traffic and hopeful purchases) stream their releases for a period of time before it’s official release day. So….not only can you search for damn near anything on Youtube (even US!!) record labels and artists are streaming their new releases a few days before they drop! And like most websites, they suggest similar videos which is how I found a lot of new music as well. SEE….IT’S NOT THAT DIFFICULT!
Here’s an example. One release I’m looking forward to from California Tech Death supergroup Continuum…..their record label streamed their upcoming album today through my boy Austin Weber at Metal Injection. It’s out on the internet for people to check out….I understand older people aren’t into technical death metal (although it’s possible!) but many bands do these sorts of things. BTW Continuum rules and you should listen to this mind blowing album. Better yet, get your preorders in and support them!
TRY SOMETHING NEW! Hey, isn’t that the title of our NEW COLUMN? YEP! We have (one and two) two articles since we started earlier this month for all you lazy bums to…..well…..TRY SOMETHING NEW! We are trying to include all the different genres TMR promotes, and make it specifically for generally smaller bands who need the followers and fans…..and well, because there’s as many talented smaller bands and artists than in the commercial and mainstream. So pay attention to our weekly article that comes out every Thursday, titled “Try Something New”. TRY SOMETHING NEW WILL YA?!?!
Another great invention that is also diverse (who does more than music, by the way) is called Soundcloud! Yep….this website has all sorts of music, and lots of bands use it to promote their music. There’s also podcasts for you people who love those sorts of things (check out the one Vick and I run called Metallurgy WILL YA? kthxbai 🙂 ). It has every genre imaginable, and yes even some bigger bands will put stuff on their website.
Also, check your fliers! It’s something I do, which is easy…..if you have time to bitch about your pathetic life and drama on Facebook, and act like you know everything about politics and sports…..then you have the time to look up bands on national, international and local fliers (whether its for a show or festival any kind really). And don’t lie saying you’re old enough that you can’t follow anything and smart phones are challenging or its too much for your eyes. I’ve seen plenty of people that look like they were in their 50’s and 60’s with smart phones in their hands! All this shit really just chalks up to people being lazy, and using the terrible mainstream scene not motivating to looking for new music. Well, that is true……but don’t give up, if you say you love music as much as you supposedly do. If you have the internet (again which most people do these days) you can easily look up the bands on fliers, and listen to (hopefully they have something!) music they recorded!
Another thing that needs to be pointed out is the lack of will. Older people get stuck in their own world, and don’t want to always come out of the era they grew up in. Don’t get me wrong it happens to that in many generations, that’s just the way it is. Nostalgia is a bitch…..right? SO many innovative bands have been started in our generation, but again…..some people (some older) refuse to try new things or give anything else a shot due to their ignorance and self righteousness, not JUST their personal will. Animals As Leaders absolutely rips, right 30 somethings? They’re a instrumental jazz metal band with two guitarists who play 8 string guitars and a drummer NO BASSIST! Did you get that sort of stuff in the 60’s and 70’s? Not really…..Some people and artists don’t dig extended range guitars which is okay, and understandable. There’s so many great bands, I could just go on and on.
One event that personally transpired recently that helped motivate me compose this opinion piece: a small group consisting of about 1,000 people on Facebook (where our internet overlords rule us all!) who didn’t like an article I shared, because IT INVOLVED DEATH METAL! Again, with the lack of will and ignorance…..they’re generally older people, stuck in the prime of their lives in the 70’s (where lots of progressive rock was starting to come out of the woodworks) not having any knowledge of newer progressive music since the 90’s. Our writer Vick who is starting a series on technical death metal wrote a FABULOUS article on her favorite bands…..she’s a hard working, compassionate, idea brewing creative individual who’s a great friend of mine. Why do you think she writes for TMR? Well….duh! We click about 95% of the time. Do I agree with everything she thinks? NO! That’s virtually impossible! What I DO respect is her opinion, and value her friendship. We may make fun of each other but know it’s in good fun. And I’ll always stick up for anyone who will work with me here, especially if they’re not wrong.
This ignorance here really kills me. Vick stated her opinion, and I love to see what she comes up with in the future especially the rad interviews she’s done since her arrival in December (Levi of the Ritual Aura, Sahil Makhija The Demonstealer, Contrarian, Cory Coleman of Chernobyl Agency, and even helped with some questions on two of our biggest interviewees Hugo Doyon-Karout and Nick Padovani). Now, that’s just a self righteous pretentious cocksucker if I ever saw one. First off, there’s so many technical death metal bands that’ll blow that peabrain away. Archspire, Inferi of recent memory…..we’ve had the modern godfathers Beyond Creation and Obscura force their way into modern day greatness. Possibly the two greatest tech bands ever the short lived Necrophagist and Spawn Of Possession absolutely rip house….and have plenty of melody and plenty of odd rhythms. Death metal simple? NOT REALLY ASSHAT. Ever hear of the experimental extra dissonant and weird GORGUTS? Probably not. Modern day killers ARTIFICAL BRAIN? Probably not. This is more proof of ignorance, and wonder why they just can’t…TRY SOMETHING NEW! Some people are stuck in the past, and don’t want to get out of it. Only way to move forward is to do that, and move on. Nobody said to ditch what you love, just check out some new tunes. What’s the worst that could happen YOU DON’T LIKE IT?!?! WOW! Absolutely asinine. And we wonder why as humans we can’t move forward and work together…..well, here’s another example.
Why can’t we grow as a society, you ask grasshopper? Ignorant fucking pricks like this, that’s why. I love progressive music, and the people I know involved in it. It’s so unique and different than the generic stuff that gets tossed around everywhere. Every now and then, you get knob goblins and the admin in that small group is one of those said knob goblins. Respect people, their opinions and their well being. It’s pretty easy to do, but not for everyone. Stay tech and brutal my friends!
Chicago’s progressive blackened death metal band Warforged announced their debut full length (they have an EP “Essence Of The Land” from 2014). These guys have been on the road playing all kinds of shows, and been recording their first full length for a while. In celebration of their accomplishment the band compiled a teaser video with their record label The Artisan Era.
This video was more unique than about every teaser video for an album, because it included quick snippets of guitar playthroughs of every song on the album……maybe they are also going to launch a FULL album playthrough? Either way you slice it, it’s a sweet way of promoting your upcoming album.
What is even wilder is the all star cast of musicians that lent their talents to this record…Dallas Toller Wade (Narcotic Wasteland, Ex-Nile), Christian Munzner (Ex-Obscura, Alkaloid), Dan Garguilo (Revocation, Artificial Brain), Steve Boiser (Tethys, Inferi, Equipoise, Ashen Horde), Kevin Hufnagel (Gorguts, Dysrhythmia), Will Smith (Artificial Brain), Poh Hock (Native Construct), Craig Bruenger (Ahtme) and even MORE GUEST MUSICIANS! I know, it sounded like a terrible middle of the night scam advertisement on TV…..but there really is a laundry list of seasoned musicians on this Warforged album.
This progressive melodic blackened death metal (i THINK i got every genre in there?) is set to release “I:Voice” on May 10th and can be preordered already for you early birds!
India remains a buried gem within the treasure hoard that is underground metal. Though bands like brutal death Gutslit and progressive melodic Demonic Resurrection have been gaining momentum and notoriety, everyone is still missing out on what incredible music the Indian underground has to offer.
I don’t even remember how I stumbled onto Prophets of Yahweh, but I was smitten with their first single, the first and title track off of Oronodromozro(don’t ask me how to pronounce that). And I was fortunate enough that I could get part of my preorder a couple days early so I could write it a proper review.
The album begins with a gloomy sounding guitar solo, a somber chorus chimes in in the background, and then emerges a quiet but deep growl. And then you’re yanked under by the sheer weight of the track.
The level of heavy is pretty consistent throughout, however if for whatever reason the prospect of thrashy/ proggy death metal is too heavy for you, rest assured that there are a few slower, jazzy, ambient interludes to lighten things up a bit. But don’t let that deter you; Oronodromozro isn’t so proggy that it becomes hard to follow, but it isn’t so simple and redundant that attention meanders away elsewhere.
Aside from the title track, “No More” stood out to me; it reminded me of a song that might have been on a later Revocation album (Deathless, perhaps?). It might just be me, but I hear some serious Dave Davidson inspired riffage and solos. The only thing that’s different are the vocal tones. Jithin Peter (leads, vocals) exhibits a stellar vocal range; his high/mids are very reminiscent of Jens Kidman (Meshuggah), and his lows are purely demonic.
I don’t want to give too much away, but this album is sheer fire. My only qualm is that I wish there were another couple tracks; Oronodromozro seems to end almost too quickly after it starts.
This album is out now! You can jam it right here in the embed above, and if you like what you hear, you can head over to the Prophets of Yahweh bandcamp and scoop that bad boy right up. They’ll even send you a CD if you’re interested. Of course, if bandcamp isn’t your thing, you can find Oronodromozro on a myriad of other platforms such as Youtube, Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, etc. etc.
Though this one release has taken quite a bit of time to finally become a reality, Jithin and the Prophets of Yahweh guys are already concocting ideas for their next release. If you have an opportunity to ever see these guys live, I envy you, and you should absolutely check these dudes out.
Want a totally wacky, heavy energetic metal band that doesn’t repeat themselves? Under The Pledge Of Secrecy has you covered! This two man metal project blends a lot of subgeneres into their own band its wild! There’s a lot of extreme metal, grindcore and mathcore influence in “Black Hole Mass Evolution”……in the end, it’s their own wild and chaotic sound. This wild album was released all the way back in 2014, but they are working on a new album that should be out this year in 2019. Under The Pledge Of Secrecy has been around since 2005.
UNDER THE PLEDGE OF SECRECY: Stefan K. – Vocals & Drums Thorsten S. – Guitars & Bass
The guitar is absolutely crisp and blistering. The varying speeds make for an interesting album, and isn’t a predictable style. After listening to this record a few times through, I’m now extra interested in hearing what their upcoming record is going to sound like. They’re as weird as The Dillinger Escape Plan were, and blend a lot of sounds the deeper you travel into this album. The duo has blended a unique sound, you truly can’t categorize them……kinda like Primus, who doesn’t fit in a specific genre but once you say their name you totally know their sound. Under The Pledge Of Secrecy is THAT unique.
The drumming is absolutely off the wall. Considering the different speeds and tempos, it has to be difficult to keep up on the drumming end of things. The bass is absolutely punishing on this record. I love how the snare drum sounds on this, production wise. It pops so loud and stands out it’s like a classic grindcore album to a tee, even some new school brutal/slamming death metal. The band has done a stellar job crafting classic and modern extreme metal that should bridge both generations together. Stay up to date with the band’s actions in regards to their yet to be titled 2019 release! I’m really looking forward to it!
Progressive Metal group Left Eye Perspective is premiering their single “Death Of The Sun” today through us and we couldn’t feel any more honored! These guys mix a sludgy, stoner sound with the melodic prog style that peaks its head out every now and then. The song is taking from their upcoming EP “Defiance!” officially out March 2nd. The band is a riff heavy prog band similar to my Mastodon boys. I love their dynamic guitar work, rhythms and eclectic vocals. I’ve been waiting on this project for a final product, and man am I glad the patience paid off. There is so much emotion and mood packed into this 7 and a half minute epic you’ll be craving more. But you’ll have to wait until March for that! For now, we hope you enjoy this new jam.
