Thursday, July 31, 2014
NEWS: Seattle metallers Blood of Kings announce tour with Hessian
Blood of Kings announce tour with Hessian
Seattle speed metal band Blood of Kings are pleased to announce a US tour with Hessian!
Starting in Seattle and ending in Brooklyn, the tour consists of a whirlwind 25 shows in 29 days.
The band's drummer Eric Jelsing had the following to say:
"We're very stoked to hit the road with our good friends in Hessian! Looking forward to sharing the stage with such a great band!"
The following are the confirmed dates for the tour:
1/9/14-Seattle,WA-The Kraken
2/9/14-Portland,OR-TBA
3/9/14-Medford,OR-Musichead
4/9/14-Sacramento,CA-TBA
5/9/14-Oakland,CA-Eli's Mile High Club
6/9/14-San Francisco,CA-TBA
7/9/14-Los Angeles,CA-Black Flame Collective
8/9/14-San Diego,CA-The Bancroft
9/9/14-Phoenix,AZ-Yucca Tap Room
10/9/14-Albuquerque,NM-Sister Bar
12/9/14-Denver,CO-Mutiny Information Cafe
13/9/14-Salt Lake City, UT-Buirts Tiki Lounge
17/9/14-Portland,ME-Geno's Rock Club
18/9/14-Worcester,MA-Ralph's Rock Diner
19/9/14-Newport,RI-Jimmy's Saloon
20/9/14-Philadelphia-Kung Fu Necktie
21/9/14-Richmond,VA-TBA
22/9/14-Charlotte,NC-TBA
23/9/14-Atlanta,GA-TBA
24/9/14-Nashville,TN-Springwater Supper Club
25/9/14-St. Louis-Fubar Saint Louis
26/9/14-Chicago, IL-Red Line Tap
27/9/14-Detroit-Corktown Tavern
28/9/14-Cleveland-TBA
29/9/14-Brooklyn-Saint Vitus Bar
www.facebook.com/bloodofkingsmetal
www.bloodofkings1.bandcamp.com
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Saturday, July 26, 2014
black metal Mysteriarch live shows coming up
Metal Bulletin Zine @MetalBulletinZn 9m
black metal from North Carolina, U.S.
Mysteriarch @Mysteriarch 3 killer shows in August!
http://fb.me/32bmbYG7e
http://www.reverbnation.com/mysteriarch
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Metal4Africa FREE SAMPLER
Metal Bulletin Zine @MetalBulletinZn · 11s
http://Metal4Africa.com @metal4africa Get warmed up for Winterfest '14 with our sampler, featuring tracks from ...
www.metal4africa.bandcamp.com
FREE thrash EP from Russia: MADRAX + Madrax -- Pyromaniac (Live 27.12.13)
FREE thrash EP from Russia: MADRAX
Madrax plays thrash and have free/name your price music for you.
www.madraxthrash.bandcamp.com/album/pyromaniac
www.facebook.com/MadraxThrash
Sunday, July 20, 2014
read and download Metal Bulletin Zine, issue number 44
at Fuglymaniacs you can read and download pdf of Metal Bulletin Zine, issue number 44.
Last Bastion (U.S.)
The Drip (U.S.)
Wan (Sweden)
Sinaya (Brazil)
BattleroaR(Greece/Germany)
Lie in Ruins (Finland)
Gravehill (U.S.)
Hour of Penance (Italy)
Insain (France)
UnKured (U.S.)
Unisonic
Schammasch (Switzerland)
Bifröst (Austria)
Nux Vomica (U.S.)
Cultfinder (U.K.)
go here: www.fuglymaniacs.com
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Friday, July 18, 2014
Thursday, July 17, 2014
U.S. Death Metal band BLOODSTRIKE release new demo entitled "NECROBIRTH"
Metal Bulletin Zine @MetalBulletinZn
U.S. Death Metal band BLOODSTRIKE release new demo entitled "NECROBIRTH"
www.bloodstrike.bandcamp.com/releases
www.facebook.com/bloodstrikemetal
black metal from Indonesia: Sakrality
According to Metal Archives, this is the discography of the band.
Below is a link where you can hear the black metal of Sakrality.
Rehearsal Demo 2004 Demo 2004
Reincarnation in Hell Full-length 2008
Bisikan Energi Mimpi EP 2012
Bisikan Energi Mimpi Full-length 2013
Imajinasi Hitam Full-length 2014
www.reverbnation.com/sakrality
www.facebook.com/pages/Sakrality/466756390048844
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
NEW: Iron Man (U.S.): The Passage (1994); Generation Void (1999) (Shadow Kingdom Records) (reissues)
Iron Man (U.S.): The Passage (1994); Generation Void (1999) (Shadow Kingdom Records) (reissues)
For those for whom doom is a passion and obsession, these two albums are classics of the genre, or at least for some people, “rare jewels,” as I have seen them called. Iron Man disguises nothing about its fanaticism: these songs sound like they were written specifically in the style of, say, “Master of Reality” and “Volume 4.” They are very much siblings to 70s Sabbath albums. Now, thanks to Shadow Kingdom Records, you have a chance to hear Iron Man, if you never have (Note that this band is very much alive today and in 2013 had an album called “South of the Earth.”).
Iron Man - Unjust reform
Iron Man - Winds of Change
www.store.shadowkingdomrecords.com
www.ironmanband.com
NEW: the total doom of The Wounded Kings (U.K.): Consolamentum (Candlelight Records)
The Wounded Kings (U.K.): Consolamentum (Candlelight Records)
The Wounded Kings specializes in slow, depressing funeral doom, the kind that makes Tony Iommi seem like a speed metal blazing shredder. Sit down and relax because this will take a while and it is going to be slow, all day, every day. Depression, melancholy, funerals, cemeteries, loneliness and mourning; crawling riffs topped off with the (clear) singing of despair. I have been listening to this album a lot and I am ready for the end of the universe and it’s no problem because The Wounded Kings says everything is meaningless anyway. The Wounded Kings is cult doom metal strictly for fanatics of the genre, I think. It's an accomplished album. Believe.
The Wounded Kings - Lost Bride
www.facebook.com/thewoundedkings
www.reverbnation.com/thewoundedkings
the cult is looking for you: Cultfinder (U.K.): Hell’s Teeth (Eldritch Lunar Miasma Records)
Cultfinder (U.K.): Hell’s Teeth (Eldritch Lunar Miasma Records)
Given that Cultfinder now has two EPs:
“Black Thrashing Terror” (2012) and “Hell’s Teeth” (2014),
it’s an appropriate time to think about the cult. Genealogically, the lines might be traced as follows:
Venom. Hellhammer and early Bathory, of course. early Sodom and early Destruction.
early Sarcófago. Blasphemy. and especially Nifelheim.
Cultfinder features “black thrashing” songs of the devil and hell. Cultfinder has mastered the art of “black thrash”: this “thrash” is caustic and this “black metal” is no hipster haberdash, either.
If the genealogy listed appeals to you, know that the band wants you as a listener. If you happen not to know, that’s no problem, either, as long as thrash and black metal are two genres that you support, and want to see converge in an alliance of fire and brimstone. Once you go this path, you might not ever come back. Nor would you want to. Grab your bulletbelt and pentagrams, and let’s go.
www.unholycultfinder.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/unholycultfinder
Did you get around to Nux Vomica yet?:Nux Vomica: Nux Vomica (Relapse Records)
Nux Vomica: Nux Vomica (Relapse Records)
I kept hearing that Nux Vomica is hardcore or post-hardcore (whatever that means), or that they are something like experimental sludge, or that they sound like Neurosis or Today Is the Day and other such bands.
For a simpleton like me, all of the above descriptions basically tell me, “That’s what the hipster tree-hugging ‘post-rock’ people are into.”; and I am not skilled to talk about such superduper latest hip music of the flannel-wearing smarrte kolege rich kids with dreadlocks and those rainbow-colored beanies. (If you don’t wear Immolation, Marduk and Saxon shirts, and pentagrams, spikes, inverted crosses and bullletbelts, how is this grandma supposed to figure out who are you, kids?)
I guess all the ‘post’ talk is kind of correct about Nux Vomica, but I don’t know. I’m not really qualified to talk about “post-hardcore” or “post-metal.”
Instead, I’ll tell you what I hear. This album is three songs: two last about 12 minutes, give or take a minute, and another is some 20 minutes. The moods and moments are many: rage; tree-hugging melancholy; doom; shoegaze; headbanging; angry-yet-melodic segments that you have to hear to feel; quiet moments of bass; bass rumblings; minimalistic ambient-like landscapes, to name some ideas that come to mind. When I was first listening to this album, I found myself double checking that it was the same band and that it wasn’t that somehow I had been listening to this band and moved on to a different band and forgot to check. So, yes, it is pretty eclectic, with the bass-rumbly melodic, crusty doom framework; more melodic than you would expect.
No set style per se: it’s all in here: gremlin-like shrieking that is just as much crust punk screaming; double-bass drumming speed, thrashing speeds, vibes that could be called avantgarde incursions or could be experimental crust projections of doom or post-punk ruminations, if you will. I would assume that this band could not care less, just could not even give a shrug of the shoulders if you call the music this or that genre. They might just say, “Ok, whatever you say. If you like it, great!” (Or, they might just give you a smirk, depending on whether they are nice or super arrogant elitist wealthy artists too busy to talk with the little people, like you and me.)
More and more, bands based in Portland, Oregon seem to be getting their names out there. I have enjoyed the sounds of funeral doomsters Ephemeros and the grind of Honduran, for instance. I wonder which of the crop of bands from Portland will start to experience national and international success. It could be that some Europeans will go absolutely bonkers when they hear Nux Vomica. I would think that Nux Vomica should be in the mix of the “Portland scene” or “Portland sound” or “Portland” this or that, that soon might take over.
One more thing: the band will not like what I am about to do, but I’ll do it just the same. Perception is personal. The album’s track list could be divided up differently just as easily. For example, the almost-20-minute song “Choked at the Roots” could be:
00:00-03:23 (mellow spacey, bassy part);
03:24-10:42 (faster, uptempo);
10:43-14:38 (ambient-ish, space rock-ish);
14:39-19:48 (melodic, crust)
See what I did there? I just mutilated the band’s epic song. Shhhhhh! Don’t tell them that I did this. Hate mail might be on the way. Anyway, give this album a chance. I did it and found out that Nux Vomica rocks. Something is going on in Portland. Keep Portland weird.
PS: FYI, according to the interweb: nux vomica is a plant and is an important source of extremely poisonous strychnine used to kill certain animals, like rodents. (Wait. What? Did they just now insult their listeners by calling them rats? Is that what happened just now, right now? These Portland people are too smarrte for their own good.) www.facebook.com/nuxvomicaband
one more time, just in case you missed it: Bifröst: Tor in eine neue Welt (Einheit Produktionen)
Bifröst: Tor in eine neue Welt (Einheit Produktionen)
This “pagan folk” metal works well as Oktoberfest music, in October or whenever. These Austrian beer-drinking machines play the tunes good and loud, through melodic, catchy pirate festivities.
According to Bifröst, every day is Oktoberfest, so reach for your favorite O’Douls or Warsteiner Fresh or Clausthaler Premium and party it up correct. Bifröst is upbeat rocking fun party folk metal with shrieked vocals and it's one of most drinking-and-dancing albums that you will hear all year from a metal band. Whether it’s the Texas two-step or the polka or just get down with your folk self in Lederhosen.
If you are a grouch, then stay miles away. All the merriment will infuriate you. You can't hang with this folk metal fun, which runs for a total time of 1 hour and 10 minutes, more or less. The shrieking/growling is in German, and it’s awesome to learn some fancy lines in German, such as, “Friend, will you do the folk metal Texas two-step with me?” Or, “Bartender, I will have a rum and coke, hold the rum.” Bifröst has lots of melodies, fast drumming, shrieking/growling vocals, catchy tunes, fun vibes and sing-along bar tunes. Look into it if you want some fun, “fast and grim” melodies. www.facebook.com/bifroestaustria
in case this passed you by: Schammasch (Switzerland): Contradiction (Prosthetic Records)
Schammasch (Switzerland): Contradiction (Prosthetic Records)
A high-density monolith by an ambitious cast—sums up the album “Contradiction” by Schammasch, a group characterized by a grand-narrative approach to aesthetics. The vision found on the recording returns time and again to the execution: maximize the band’s strengths. The question then becomes: what are the band’s strongest points? Schammasch rejects the hobby mentality of a group getting together, having some drinks, and jamming out some tunes just for fun and giggles, to have something to do when they are bored on the weekends.
Epic greatness is their objective. If forced to reduce the sound to a sentence: Schammasch is midtempo, chugging, “cold,” post-black metal with slow passages and some bursts of speed here and there. I have listened to the album many times and it is a time-consuming two-part project. Part 1 is five songs, for a total time of 38 minutes; part 2 is four songs, for a total time of 46 minutes. Undoubtedly, they want to create music that stands above normal, by-the-numbers metal. Therefore, look into this album if chugging, cold, semi-industrial-like, groove-oriented “black metal” appeals to you, or if you tend to investigate bands that make long albums that require attentive listeners and much time. www.schammasch.bandcamp.com
www.schammasch.com
www.facebook.com/SCHAMMASCH
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
young, fun and playing metal on the run: these Brazilians live for traditional heavy metal: FIREFROST
They are just getting started and have a demo for you to hear. Listen to the songs at the link below.
www.reverbnation.com/firefrost
www.facebook.com/firefrostband
Contact: firefrostband@gmail.com
a reminder about UNISONIC
Unisonic: For the Kingdom (Armoury Records)
Things seem to be going well for Unisonic, known to the metal audience for featuring two former Helloween alumni, guitarist Kai Hansen and singer Michael Kiske. In fact, the band’s sophomore outing, “Light of Dawn,” will be available in August. So, to get the public in shape, here is the EP. Two new songs:
1."For The Kingdom" - 4:58
2."You Come Undone" (EP exclusive song) - 3:48
Plus: four live recordings from Masters of Rock Festival in the Czech Republic 2012.
3."Unisonic" (live) - 6:00
4."Never Too Late" (live) - 4:36
5."Star Rider" (live) - 4:07
6."Souls Alive" (live) - 5:53
The two new songs are upbeat rockers, well in line with the Unisonic narrative established so far: quality and talent on all fronts, and very memorable. In terms of the live songs, the material sounds as the listener would expect, and it appears that the band is having fun. It’s always nice to hear Mr. Kiske rocking again, and if Kai Hansen is involved, then lots of heavy/power metal supporters will naturally be interested. Here’s hoping we all hear the new studio album soon. www.unisonic.org
www.facebook.com/unisonicofficial
a reminder about a "baby Origin": INSAIN
Insain: Enlightening the Unknown (Kaotoxin Records)
It’s not entirely clear whether the band is now broken up or not, but if so, as a parting statement, they leave behind this 2013-recorded EP. Hyperfrenzied blasting in the crazed-cyborg way, Insain (France) functions as a death metal bulldozer of “brutality” and “blasting” in the way that Origin is a death metal wrecking ball of intensity. Insain might as well be a “baby Origin,” but that’s not a bad thing, if you are into the style. Insain overwhelms the ears with nonstop low guttural growling, some shouting, blasting and a sharknado of heavy riffing to make you dizzy. Did they break up just when things were starting to get good?! www.facebook.com/insaindeath
a reminder about UnKured
UnKured (U.S.): As Reality Melts
There’s something about UnKured that makes the music very likable. It could be just my own imagination, but UnKured sounds like a critique of “modern metal” so infested with chugga-chugga, hardcore-diseased, lazy-guitar low-string knuckledragging plucking that passes for “riffs” and that stupid “macho man” angry-guy-down-street yelling-style vocals, not to mention the hipster or shopping-mall radio aggro/angry-rock posturing.
So, how is UnKured a critique? The shredding, for one thing. This band has worked on creating real riffs in the thrashing way, worked up with some blasting and old-style thrash/death Terrible-Certainty-era-Kreator-like vocals, within a bass-and-guitar friendly context. UnKured is into doing these cool guitar solos that show that they have spent time practicing the guitar. Hey, I notice these things! Into shredding thrash/death? Do you have an interest in a band from Cincinnati, Ohio that’s been at it stubbornly for several years?
www.facebook.com/pages/UnKured-Band/127769993918598
Have you heard the new Hour of Penance yet?
Hour of Penance (Italy): “Regicide” (Prosthetic Rec.)
I sometimes get the impression that whenever a metal band is the object of praise, some attitudes often react with cynicism because some listeners really do perceive themselves as standing apart from what they reject (“mainstream” music culture, including metal, for example), as a means to express a self-assigned mark of so-called uniqueness, oftentimes displaying an unnecessarily excessive pessimism, just to go against the grain.
A case in point is Hour of Penance. Dismissive views have labeled the band a blasting one-trick pony or a Behemoth clone. Sometimes, more favorable reviews highlight the speed, saying that it is fast, intense, so on and so forth, which can also be a polite way of saying that it is a mediocre band with somewhat repetitive songs. In other words, a person says that the band is fast or heavy, as if that really means something in technical death metal; however, fast and heavy, in a “techdeath” context, is like saying that ice is cold.
My own experience listening to this album was interesting from the beginning: the blasting “technical/brutal death metal” of Hour of Penance made sense on the first listen.
The drumming caught my attention, in part, because it’s easy for a listener to connect with a beat. Hour of Penance is not the “fastest” ever, although it is assuredly a blasting album. As I already knew what to expect in terms of speed, what caught my attention was not the blasting. What caught my attention is something else that the drummer is doing: in between the blasting, there are patterns that sneak into the brief spaces at this warp-speed drumming; in the interstices of the frenzy, there are lots of small details that somehow add up to give the album a creative, a distinctive face from other “technical/brutal” blasting albums.
Second, the guitar work is a balance between tendonitis-inducing wizardry and memorable hooks, done at a blasting pace, of course. I like the fact that I can hear the riffs and that it is not simply chugging away with play-on chords. The guitar work is an attractive proposition for the listener wanting to hear the guitar, while still hoping for technical/fast playing. It does not go totally over your head, but it is undoubtedly on the shredding side of death metal; the equilibrium between speed, chaos, absurdity and a bit of melody works well for the band.
The elements—the drumming, guitars and the growling—make up complete songs, compositions that the willing listener can consolidate in her or his mind with the feeling that the music may be talented, fast or extreme, but at bottom, it’s a fun listen. It seems to me that these compositions have the key components that the listener partial to “modern/extreme death metal” will approve in a big way, as there is here much to enjoy. www.hourofpenance.net
www.facebook.com/hourofpenance
the music of the devil in Saudi Arabia: WASTED LAND
Sunday, July 13, 2014
26-minute FREE EP of thrash: Warbound Order (Greece)
If you are thrash-obsessed person, then this will help with your obsession:
26-minute FREE EP of thrash: Warbound Order (Greece)
www.warboundorder.bandcamp.com/releases
www.facebook.com/warbound.order
did you miss the boat on Gravehill?
Gravehill: Death Curse (Dark Descent Records)
The way that I like to think of crud death metallers Gravehill is a bunch of old California thrashers who grew up on Metallica, Exodus and Slayer and all those bands, but with the heaviness and vocals of death metal. I hear a whole lot of psychopath Paul Baloff-era Exodus in the music of Gravehill. It is also possible that I am a wingnut, but my ears are telling me that the album “Bonded by Blood” is in the DNA of this band, or at least, in the fundamentals of this new album “Death Curse.”
First of all, the vocalist Mike “I’m not ok” Abominator channels the spirit of dirtnapper Paul Baloff in several ways: screwloose and a bit too much like a real-life deviant-psycho. He sounds as if he has eaten the microphone and is gurgling the mic in his throat. What does this man have in his throat, a frog, broken glass? He growls from the belly and it sounds like it.
There is a lot of old heavy metal and thrash in those guitar solos. The tone is death metal, the first impression is death metal, the vibe is death metal, but the result is a death metal that is very ear-friendly, thrashy, classic-style. Gravehill sounds like those old slimeball bands that sounded like death, thrash and black all rolled into one in the 80s. Mainly, if you wreck your neck to old, classic metal in the death/thrash/black continuum, whether Bay Area/California thrash, German and Brazilian chaotic thrash/death, this should appeal to you in the low-life Gravehill style. This is too loud for the crowd, and I almost can’t stand it myself, but all my snakes in the kitchen like it so much, oh, well, let Gravehill show you the metal they got. www.facebook.com/gravehill
in case you missed LIE IN RUINS (Finland)
Lie in Ruins (Finland): “Towards Divine Death” (Dark Descend Records).
Whether your allegiances are with Incantation or your compass rides for TexasDM like Blaspherian and Imprecation or perhaps you have in the horizon Lantern, Vorum and Krypts (all three from Finland, too), the witching hour has arrived again with Lie in Ruins. All these bands share an affinity for what they call “dark” or “evil” or “blasphemous” death metal. Therefore, if you tilt your pentagrams in this direction, and you have not heard Lie in Ruins, this album will lash well with those other bands.
The overall atmosphere is blasphemous death metal heaviness of doom. The guitar work, while thick as a brick, appeals for its direct, forward motion. Like Blaspherian or Incantation, Lie in Ruins can play as fast and last as any gravedigger, but they do more: they also work on the atmosphere, on the doom.
As is customary with this style, the ugly production is often the reason why these bands undead for the “sinister” sounds. Don’t skip on this band, or you’ll be the one to sing the blues for missing out. Horns up, way up. www.facebook.com/lieinruins
it's worth to do a reminder: Battleroar
Battleroar: Blood of Legends (Cruz del Sur Music)
Battleroar (Greece/Germany) manages a balance between traditional heavy metal and traditional epic doom metal, which is to say, to rock with a melancholic edge. It would not be so far off to call it “epic heavy metal of doom” with expertise in the department of songwriting; much care to guitar playing, to the singing and to the melodies. Consequently, the quality of the music is very impressive.
The guitar work shows an effort to deliver shredding, hard-hitting riffs, melodic hooks and energies that the metal audience easily recognizes. The band speaks fluently the language of metal and communicates the tradition of metal, from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, the melancholy of traditional doom, the crunch of current traditional heavy metal, with a nod to more intense forms of metal, like thrash. One interesting detail: Battleroar has a substantial use of the violin. The results are effective: “Valkyries above Us,” for instance, reaches for symphonic doom and melody. The violin contribution to this album is essential, given the features, moods and layers added through said instrument.
The singing of Mr. Gerrit Mutz, he of Sacred Steel renown, seamlessly weaves in and out of various moods, coherently bringing to bear the wherewithal at his disposal: the metal-headbanging singing, the voices of the melancholic soul and intensity of a semi-death metal growl, the grit and the melody, the glory and doom. Musically, Battleroar sounds very, very different from the leather-and-spikes metal of Sacred Steel; this is more atmospheric and melodic. The singing is also substantially distinct, less aggressive and more multidimensional, more expressive, which is a big credit to Mr. Mutz for putting so much care and personality into Battleroar.
To end: highly recommended for those into traditional heavy metal looking for shredding, melody and quality, as well as a bit of a unique take on epic metal with power and doom elements. www.facebook.com/BattleroaR
in cased you missed it: Sinaya (Brazil)
Sinaya (Brazil): Obscure Raids
I just found out about Sinaya very recently. Fortunately, the EP’s four songs can be heard at the link below. Sinaya’s upfront thrash/death shows a solid level of energy, the attitude/intention is great, and the sound is solid. Sinaya wants you to mosh, pure and simple. Whether you prefer thrash or death metal, Sinaya brings a bit of both. The most, most, most important point: Sinaya’s excitement for metal gets across to the listener very well.
Reportedly, this is the debut EP, and they’ve been around only a few years. Here’s hoping we hear more soon from Sinaya. Email: sinaya@gmail.com www.reverbnation.com/sinayametal
Sinaya - Obscure Raids
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Wan, the filth from Sweden
in case you missed it: the filth of Wan, from Sweden
Wan (Sweden): Enjoy the Filth (Carnal Records)
In 2010 Wan had a grim black metal album called “Wolves of the North,” a headbanging, metal-on-metal-to-the-bone primal recording. Now they have a second title out to reaffirm their loyalty as defenders of the old metal standard. If anything, one thing is even clearer now: Wan is more in-your-face and the songs are better in the old school way. Whereas before Wan gave the impression of early 90s black metal totalitarians, now Wan is slimier, dirtier.
These roughnecks seek metalheads into classic Motorhead and Venom, Hellhammer and 80s Bathory, the punk of The Exploited and Discharge, the gutter metal of Autopsy, and of course, early 90s black metal from Norway and Sweden. Whether it’s 80s thrash or old death metal or ugly black metal, Wan searches for the audience with certain curmudgeon qualities, not necessarily the easy-going, not the go-the-flow, not the I-find-something-positive-in-every-genre attitude. Wan does not play nice. Wan does not get along with “everybody.” I am confident that if the jukebox at the bar plays In Flames or Killswitch Engage, these curmudgeons will pick up the jukebox and throw it out the window. When they walk the streets they make angry faces when they see people wearing Trivium shirts. They are cantankerous petulants. They’ll show you when you meet them.
Enjoy the filth. It’s an album title and an announcement for those that like their metal this way, rough around the edges, upfront, direct; roughneck metal, or “pentagram rockers,” as the band says. Wan’s music is incapable of leaving the gutter; it cannot, must not come to the light of respectability. Let it be mocked and dismissed. Let it be called garbage. Wan relishes all that. Wan resides in the places where the stink is so bad as to keep away those without the desire for this type of metal. Wan rumbles between slime-covered crust punk, cave black metal and obnoxious dumpster thrash, with a purposeful dirty 80s sound that is not far from early Venom, but definitely not as garage as the homemade Hellhammer and Death demos. This album is no accident, this music is not the result of “youthful ignorance,” and they are not ashamed or embarrassed of their music. This is not going to get more “sophisticated” in the future, either. They want it like this. Maybe you do, too?
www.facebook.com/TheUnholyWAN
www.reverbnation.com/theunholywan
The Drip, grind from the state of Washington
in case you missed it: THE DRIP, grind from the state of Washington
The Drip: A Presentation of Gruesome Poetics (Relapse)
There’s more to the state of Washington than certain bands that are famous for spitting on each other on stage, in far, far away places like Brazil. The Drip deserves more coverage because in addition to not being famous for assaulting each other, The Drip is also not famous for committing suicide. In fact, of the four people in The Drip, not one of them has ever committed suicide successfully.
The EP is 6 songs. If you are mad, mad, mad lunatically into Nasum, Insect Warfare and the local grind band in your town, and you want more grind, then The Drip is for you.
It’s time for me to learn more about the other two EPs that this band has. This is their third, actually, so I’ve got some work to do.
www.thedrip.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/thedripgrind
Last Bastion, power metal from Seattle
in case you missed it earlier, here it is again, about:
Last Bastion a power metal band from Seattle
(lyric video is below)
Last Bastion: The Road to Redemption
The state of Washington has power metal, too. The power metal audience should be on the lookout for Last Bastion, who recently, back in April, released the album called "The Road to Redemption." I’ve heard only one song and some samples of the other tracks. Sounds like good stuff.
Here’s a bit more about the album:
1. I Know When I'm Home 04:45
2. Ancient Lands 07:46
3. Plataea 06:45
4. Northern Kingdom 04:23
5. Angel's Tyranny 06:40
6. Road to Redemption 08:03
7. The Way of Kings Pt I: Cursed by Fate 03:58
8. The Way of Kings Pt II: Stormblessed 03:24
9. Liberation 04:15
10. Forevermore 06:35 TOTAL: 56:34
www.facebook.com/lastbastionpowermetal
www.lastbastionofficial.com
Friday, July 11, 2014
Darkest Era (U.K.): Severance (Cruz del Sur)
Darkest Era (U.K.): Severance (Cruz del Sur)
Every person has their individual way of hearing music, certainly, but the case of Darkest Era (Northern Ireland) seems a bit more perplexing than usual because the terms “Celtic metal” and “folk metal” have been utilized in relation to the band. Yet, I have no idea whatsoever as to why anyone would call this music “folk metal.” All I hear is traditional, melodic heavy metal, featuring a strong quality of melodic doom, contrasted with segments of uptempo energy. The category “folk metal,” to me, means old Skyclad, Cruachan, In Extremo, Korpiklaani, Eluveitie and other such entities with violins, bagpipes, accordions and other traditional instruments that underline the music with melodies of a particular tradition, time, culture or region.
Perhaps for the Irish listener, or an expert, the lyrics seem very Irish, but to the non-specialist, the lyrics simply are heavy metal storytelling; lyrics alone do not constitute a genre. Again: Darkest Era is a traditional heavy metal band, through and through: at least on this album, there is nothing—nothing at all—having to do with beer-drinking happy polka, Oktoberfest, humppa party tunes, or musicians dressed in furry boots.
Specifically, the sound of Darkest Era is characterized by a sense of traditional, melodic doom; sometimes the songs go at a midpace; frequently, the melancholy in the vocals is impossible to disassociate from doom. Still, that is not all there is: in part, it’s solemn music, but it’s also headbanging metal. The melody comes from two primary places: the singing and the guitar work. It is commendable, in my view, that Darkest Era avoids clichéd melodies. The melodies can sound somber, even though, overall, Darkest Era is most definitely not slow music. It could be that the melodies originate, consciously or subconsciously, from a combination of Thin Lizzy and traditional doom (Candlemass? 80s Sabbath?), if you can imagine those classic guitar melodies of Thin Lizzy and melodic doom tinged with melancholy. In addition, Darkest Era’s use of sad, midpaced tremolo works wonders for the vibe of the songs. Of course, if the band has, in fact, borrowed traditional Irish melodies, I am not qualified to identify them; if so, then, my point is that those melodies do not sound “folky,” happy or sweet, but rather somber and/or melancholic.
By the way, the singing is so good that I am curious about Dwayne “Krum” Maguire’s live performance. Can Krum really sing this well live? People who have seen this band live can answer that question. I hope that one day I get to find out for myself. At any rate, the album is highly recommended for supporters of traditional metal, talent and good songwriting.
www.darkestera.net
www.facebook.com/darkestera
Darkest Era - Beyond The Grey Veil (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Killfloor has an announcement
“@killfloormetal:
Hey guys just released the final track off of our 4 song EP called "Cabal" hit us up and listen at www.reverbnation.com/killfloor
Eluveitie will be touring North America and an announcement
First meet & greet for the North American tour: See you at Scrape records in Vancouver on Oct 8! www.facebook.com/events/672858946125681
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
a link to "DIY goregrinding"
D.I.Y. GOREGRINDING
A CONVERSATION WITH MIGUEL MEDINA
www.lastrit.es/articles/849/d-i-y--goregrinding
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
traditional heavy metal from Peru: BLIZZARD
The EP is named "Conqueror of Destiny" and it is Blizzard's statement of heavy metal.
1. I'm on My Way 04:40
2. Ghost Rider 03:18
3. The Joke 03:30
TOTAL TIME 11:28
www.soundcloud.com/blizzardbandperu
www.facebook.com/blizzardperu
FREE name-your-price 8-song album of thrash from Finland: AURA OF PESTILENCE
If you enjoy hearing new bands in the thrash genre, Aura of Pestilence's is one to hear. If you like it, you can download it, as easy as free.
1. Rapid Harmagedon 02:29
2. My Smoky Winchester 04:44
3. Unholy Nerve Gas 03:18
4. The Antidote 05:57
5. Steel Sun 03:29
6. The Chair of 1000 Volts 02:33
7. Machined Perfection 04:10
8. The Henchman of Death 04:26
TOTAL TIME 31:06
www.auraofpestilence.bandcamp.com/album/maximal-death-rate
www.sicktwins.com/aura-of-pestilence.html
Monday, July 7, 2014
the "grind-blasted death": Invidiosus: Malignant Universe (Tridroid Records Release: 29 July 2014)
PRESS RELEASE
Invidiosus
Malignant Universe
Tridroid Records
Release: 29 July 2014
There is a healthy diversity to their generally grind-blasted death. Malignant Universe exhumes the past and yet doesn’t reside there. It takes restrained guidance from modern, more technical deathly forms, and yet doesn’t wholly reside there either.-No Clean Singing
Invidiosus is a grindcore/death metal hybrid hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota. After hundreds of shows and several tours throughout the central United States over the last 5 years, the band has put forth their debut full-length album, "Malignant Universe." This album features drummer DUANE TIMLIN (ex-Dying Fetus, ex-Hank III, ex-Sacrificial Slaughter) and guitarist Nicholas Kulczycki (ex-Teratism, Anal Blast) and was recorded in the basement-studio of the Minneapolis grind trio, Ambassador Gun. In a fresh take on the status quo for metal recordings in the modern age, Invidiosus used no quantizing, click tracks, or digital instrument replacements on the record.
Invidiosus has shared the stage with bands such as Suffocation, Hellwitch, Putrid Pile, Vital Remains, Into Eternity, Hull, Brutal Truth, Hirax, Deceased, and many more, and is set to tour the U.S. in July of 2014 with Mexican grindcore band ROTTENNESS. They will be performing at this year's New York Deathfest 2 (alongside bands such as Defeated Sanity, Devourment, Malignancy) as well as Northern Wisconsin Metalfest.
Invidiosus is:
Matthias Joyce - Vocals
Duane Timlin - Session Drums
Kevin Alter - Lead Guitars
Nicholas Kulczycki - Session Guitars
Todd Farnham - Bass
Colin Lewis - Live Drums
www.facebook.com/invidiosusMN?fref=ts
www.twitter.com/InvidiosusMN
www.facebook.com/TridroidRecords
www.twitter.com/tridroidrecords
What is "angry stoner hardcore"?: CONNOISSEUR: Stoner Justice (Tankcrimes Release: 8 July 2014)
PRESS RELEASE
CONNOISSEUR
Stoner Justice
Tankcrimes
Release: 8 July 2014
Tankcrimes is beyond baked to break out their latest stash of riff-smokers, CONNOISSEUR, with the release of Oakland stoner violence trio’s debut EP, Stoner Justice.
Likening themselves to Earth Crisis if they “smoked weed and listened to Spazz,” bongclobbering Smokeland, California-based CONNOISSEUR burns through hemp field sized riffage with each of the six-pack of jacked-up tracks on Stoner Justice. Raging upbeat/d-beat surges of West Bay powerviolence packed with resin-coated sludgedowns and disgustingly brutal cheeba-charged vocal exhalations consume the listener in a violently stoned, inescapable haze, recorded by Greg Wilkinson at Earhammer Studios, Oakland (Annihilation Time, Iron Lung, Vhöl, Brainoil). Those who burn down society’s morals and its weed to gutter-crusted pillagers Plutocracy, Spazz, Crossed Out, Dystopia, and of course, Earth Crisis, don’t pass a chance to blaze up with this Smokeland ganja squad.
An earlier version of EP-closer “I Am The Weed,” was previously released on Tankcrimes’ Have You Seen My Mind? Brainsqueeze 2 compilation. The band leveled Eli's Mile High Club on day three of Brainsqueeze (not-so-coincidentally, April 20th) consequently leading to a handshake deal with the Tankcrimes.
The Stoner Justice EP will be available on cassette from your local dealer and via free download, from Tankcrimes on July 8th, 2014.
For more information and tour information:
www.facebook.com/pages/Connoisseur/192545677457907
www.tankcrimes.com
www.facebook.com/tankcrimes
Sunday, July 6, 2014
black metal from Indonesia: HELLGODS
Hellgods started in 1995 and below you can hear what the music sounds like. It's only one song to hear, but if you are interested, it's a starting point.
www.reverbnation.com/hellgodsofficial
www.facebook.com/hellgods.official
a bit on the strange side: for those into instrumental-bass-and-drum duos: FOSSILS
from the PRESS RELEASE
A kickass combo rarely seen these days, with simply a bass and a drum kit, the FOSSILS twosome use their stripped-down setup to bring forward a storm of energetic, punk-infused and unpredictable metallic rock. The duo has stirred up a strong reputation as a powerful live band, ready to kick the audience in their head with a firm musical boot of metal and punk infused rock music.
www.meatrush.com
FOSSILS recording session - Critical Mass - extended version
FOSSILS recording session - Crack Horse
Fossils live at Spot Festival 2013, Aarhus (DK)
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Italian Progressive Black Metal CHIRAL release debut EP "ABISSO"
On June 21st Italian One Man Progressive Black Metal band released their debut EP entitled "ABISSO" in digital format and is now available on the band's bandcamp page: www.chiral27.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/ChiralItaly
Friday, July 4, 2014
Thursday, July 3, 2014
METAL SCRAP RECORDS announces the pre-order of the new release MORTIS DEI "Salvation Never Comes" /CD
METAL SCRAP RECORDS announces the pre-order of the new release
MORTIS DEI "Salvation Never Comes" /CD/
The fourth full-length (and first officially released) album by the Polish Death Metal band.
Lasting 30 minutes eighth tracks + intro of fast forward going Death Metal music with a dose of melody. Modern, but raw sound, low, yet understandable vocal parts and some melodic guitar solos are perfectly combined in this promising release.
After twenty years of playing Death Metal Mortis Dei shows its new incarnation. “Salvation Never Comes” is a concept album, so get ready and beware of horrible Death story!
Check it out or your salvation will never come!!
Metal Scrap Records, 2014 (MSR076/CD) Made in Ukraine.
Samples:
www.metalscraprecords.bandcamp.com
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