HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Did you see what we did?  We had to change the logo for this edition of SICKNESS.  Because 2010 is behind us, and the new year lies ahead.

We spent the last 30 days, as we’ve been doing for the last year, collecting news blurbs and press releases about forthcoming new albums from bands we know and like, or from bands that look interesting, even though we don’t know them yet. And in this post, we’ve cut and pasted the announcements and compiled them in alphabetical order.

All of our previous monthly updates can be found via the “Forthcoming Albums” category link on the right side of our pages, and because we’re not keeping a cumulative list, you might want to check the last couple months of these posts if you want to get a full picture of what’s coming. The list that follows, in alphabetical order, are albums we didn’t know about at the time of our last installment when November ended, or updated info about albums we’d previously heard were on the way. And be forewarned: This is a really long list. There’s a massive slag of new metal coming our way, and man, does it look hot.

So, without further ado, let’s get started. See if there’s anything on the list that makes you moist, or tumescent, or just generally slobbery.

ABORTED: “Good news is that we are starting pre-productions for our upcoming record on January 4th. This means we will demo all the songs for the record, make sure everything sounds good and make the necessary adjustments to make sure they are all more lethal than a chainsaw in Mr. Leatherface’s hands. We’re all very excited about the material thus far and can’t wait to get this over with and proceed to the actual recordings later this year. Expect a fall 2011 release through our culprates in mayhem Century Media.”

AGNOSTIC FRONT: “The Godfathers of New York Hardcore, Agnostic Front, have just finished recording their highly anticipated follow up to their 2007 release, Warriors. The yet to be titled album features 13 new powerful and anthemic songs laid down by Erik Rutan (Madball, Goatwhore, Cannibal Corpse) at his Mana Recording Studio in Tampa, FL under the watchful guide of producer Freddy Cricien of Madball. The record was mastered by Alan Douches (Nile, Mastodon) and will be released in Europe of March 4, 2011 and in North America on March 22, 2011.”

(the list continues after the jump . . .)

ALESTORM: “Scottish folk/power metal band ALESTORM has issued the following update: ‘It is my very great pleasure to announce that on January 10th ALESTORM will be heading to the studio to record our third album, which we’re gonna call Back Through Time. It’s gonna be an epic adventure through piratical badassery in 11 tracks, with more drunken singalong anthems than you can shake a stick at. There will be songs about midgets. There will be songs about Wisconsin. There will be songs about travelling through time to kill Vikings. And, of course, loads of songs about pirates doing what they do best; kicking your ass and stealing your wenches!’”

ALGHAZANTH: “Three years after the release of the band’s highly acclaimed fifth album, Wreath of Thevetat, Finnish black metallers ALGHAZANTH have arisen from the depths and are preparing to unleash their brand new full-length offering titled Vinum Intus. The album contains 54 minutes of majestic black metal full of grim beauty and burning passion for the ‘Master.’ This piece of black art will be unveiled to the world by Woodcut Records on January 1, 2011 as a digipak CD and in February as a gatefold double LP.”

AMARNA SKY: “Victor Bullok (a.k.a. V. Santura), guitarist for such bands as TRIPTYKON, DARK FORTRESS and NONEUCLID, will guest on the forthcoming album from the Egyptian-themed Brazilian doom metal band AMARNA SKY. Entitled Under Sekhmet’s Breath, the CD will be, according to mainman Deni Deathnoise, ‘heavier, more technical and aggressive’ than AMARNA SKY‘s debut, Rising Heresy. Other guest musicians schedules to appear on the album are Aziza A. Poggi, frontwoman of American prog-metal act DENDURA, and NILE‘s Karl Sanders.”

ARCH ENEMY: “Coming off a triumphant headlining tour in the U.K. last month with support from GRAND MAGUS, CHTHONIC and MALEFICE, Swedish/German extreme metallers ARCH ENEMY have entered Sweet Spot Studio in the south of Sweden to begin recording their new studio album for a tentative May 2011 release via Century Media Records.”

ASPHYX: “Dutch death metallers ASPHYX will enter Sonic Assault studio in January with engineer Frank Klein Douwel to begin recording the first four songs for their forthcoming album, Deathhammer. Song titles set to appear on the CD include ‘Reign Of The Brute’, ‘Vespa Cabro’, ‘We Doom You To Death’, ‘Asphyx-Minefield’ and ‘Deathhammer’. Axel Hermann will create the cover artwork while Dan Swanö (BLOODBATH, EDGE OF SANITY) will take care of the mixing duties.”

AURORA BOREALIS: “Maryland-based death/black metallers AURORA BOREALIS recently entered Nightsky Studios to begin recording their sixth album, Timeline: The Beginning And End Of Everything, for a tentative early 2011 release.”

AVA INFERI: “AVA INFERI, the Portugal-based band whose lineup includes Norwegian guitarist Rune Eriksen (a.k.a. ex-MAYHEM guitarist/songwriter Blasphemer), will release its fourth album, Onyx, on February 14 (February 15 in the U.S.) via Season Of Mist.”

BATTLELORE: “Finnish fantasy metallers BATTLELORE have completed work on their sixth full-length album, Doombound, featuring 11 new songs, one of which is instrumental. . . . Release dates: Jan. 26 – Spain, Finland, Sweden; Jan. 28 – Germany, Austria, Switzerland, BeNeLux, Italy ; Jan. 31 – rest of Europe ; Feb. 08 – Canada, U.S.”

BECOMING THE ARCHETYPE: “Atlanta, Georgia’s Becoming The Archetype has finished recording their new album, titled Celestial Completion. The effort was recorded by Matt Goldman (The Chariot) and will consist of eleven songs. According to the group, ‘Dennis Culp of Five Iron Frenzy fame lent his trombone skills to a particularly interesting track containing a ska section.’ A March release via Solid State Records is planned.”

BEFORE THE DAWN: “Nuclear Blast Records is proud to announce the signing of Finnish melodic death/dark metal outfit Before The Dawn. Founded in 1999 and led by multi-talented Tuomas Saukkonen, Before The Dawn have managed to pave their way to uniqueness by combining the heaviness of melodic death metal, the gloom of dark metal and the frostbitten cold of Finnish winters with beautiful melodies and epic hymnody like no other band out there! The brand new album Deathstar Rising will be unleashed February 25, 2011 (in Europe).”

BENIGHTED: “Season of Mist is happy to welcome French brutal death metallers Benighted to the roster. The tentative release date of the band’s as-yet-untitled sixth album has been set to April 18th, 2011. The band issued the following statement: ‘Benighted is back from the psychiatric hospital and is very proud to announce the signing with Season of Mist for the new album – twelve tracks mixing brutality and groove, a new concept album telling the story of a schizophrenic and the abysses of his delirium about Josef Fritz in his own cave.’”

BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME: “As expected, Between The Buried And Me will be recording a new EP this month. The group is currently in Toronto, Canada and will track the material during the next ten days with engineer/producer David Bottrill at the helm. In addition to winning three Grammys, Bottrill has produced several notable releases, including Tool’s Aenima, King Crimson’s Thrak, and Muse’s Origin of Symmetry.”

CANDIRIA: “Candiria will be in the studio this month tracking new material. The group will be recording drums at Jupiter4 Studio in Rockaway Park, NY with a spring 2011 release planned.”

CEREMONIAL PERFECTION: “Nailboard Records has set a January 11, 2011 release date for the debut album from the up-and-coming Estonian melodic death metal band CEREMONIAL PERFECTION. To support the release, the band will embark upon a 15-day tour of Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.”

CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED: “CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED — the project led by acclaimed metal drummer Richard Christy (ICED EARTH, DEATH, LEASH LAW, CONTROL DENIED, BURNING INSIDE) — is preparing to enter Criteria Recording Studios in Miami, Florida with producer Mark Lewis (ALL THAT REMAINS, DEVILDRIVER, TRIVIUM, CHIMAIRA) to begin recording its sophomore album for an early 2011 release via Metal Blade Records.”

CHILDREN OF BODOM: “CHILDREN OF BODOM (also COB), the hard partying Finnish Heavy Metal band that features frontman and modern day guitar hero Alexi Laiho will release its new album Relentless Reckless Forever on March 8, 2011 via Universal Music. Recorded in Finland’s Petrax Studios with famed rock producer Matt Hyde (Slayer, Monster Magnet), Relentless Reckless Forever is the seventh studio album of COB’s illustrious career and the first new record from the band since 2008′s Blooddrunk, which debuted at #22 on Billboard’s Top 200 Chart and scored the quintet its third consecutive #1 debut in Finland.”

COLDWORKER: “COLDWORKER — the Örebro, Sweden-based ‘blasting’ death metal band consisting of current and former/current members of such acts as NASUM, RELENTLESS, RUIN and PHOBOS — has entered Soundlab Studios in the group’s hometown to begin recording its third album for an early 2011 release.”

CONDEMNED?: “Northern CA based crossover veterans Condemned? have re-signed with their former label Nuclear Blast Records. As the second band to ever be released by Nuclear Blast the label is honored to be once again working with one of the groups that helped get them up and running. The band is currently wrapping up recording at Prairie Sun Recording Studios with producer Billy Anderson (Neurosis, Mr. Bungle, Cattle Decapitation) and an early-2011 release is expected.”

CROWBAR: “Legendary metal-sludge giants Crowbar will release their crushing, long-awaited new studio album, Sever The Wicked Hand on Tuesday, February 8th, 2011 via eOne Music. . . . The new album, produced by Kirk Windstein and mixed by Zeuss, is the band’s first new album of all new original studio material since 2005′s Lifesblood for the Downtrodden.”

DEICIDE: “The most infamous blasphemers in heavy metal history are set to return on February 15 as Deicide gears up to unleash To Hell With God. This smoldering heap of brutality will certainly find itself at the forefront of much backlash due to its themes but critics will not be able to deny the sheer brilliance of a band that has once again redefined the face of death metal.”

DEVILDRIVER: “DevilDriver’s new album Beast will come out on Roadrunner on February 22.”

DIABOLICAL: “Swedish death metal veterans Diabolical have signed with Abyss Records for the worldwide release of their upcoming full-length album, Ars Vitae; due out in February of 2011. Ars Vitae contains 17 tracks and will feature a mix of new material – recorded earlier this year at Necromorbus Studios - and previously unreleased recordings.”

DYING FETUS: “Dying Fetus will see their earliest records remastered and repackaged for a series of expanded re-issues set for release in early 2011 via Relapse Records. In January, Dying Fetus’ 1995 collection of demos Infatuation With Malevolence will be re-released including liner notes written by the band, archival photographs from that period, expanded artwork, and two previously un-released bonus tracks. Infatuation With Malevolence will see its re-issue on January 18th. Also to be released on January 18th is the re-issue of the band’s debut album Purification Through Violence.”

ELECTRIC WIZARD: “World-class British doom metal band Electric Wizard will release its long-awaited new album Black Masses in North America on January 18, 2011 via Rise Above Records. The legendary group’s seventh studio album and first since 2007′s Witchcult Today, Black Masses was recorded with Grammy Award-winning British recording engineer Liam Watson (The White Stripes) in London’s Toe Rag Studios and promises to deliver ‘a crushing behemoth of funereal march pyschedelia’ and ‘the oblivion and ecstasy of 10,000 watts of doom!’

EMMURE: “Emmure‘s next album, Speaker of the Dead, has been scheduled for a February 15th release via Victory Records.”

THE FAMINE: “North Texas death metal outfit THE FAMINE has posted the first in a series of video blogs featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the band’s new album, The Architects Of Guilt. The Architects Of Guilt will be released on February 15 via Solid State Records. The follow-up to 2008′s The Raven And The Reaping was produced by D. Braxton Henry (ex-DEVOURMENT) and was mixed by Jason Suecof (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, TRIVIUM, DEVILDRIVER).”

INFUNERAL: “Swedish black metallers INFUNERAL will release their second album, Torn From The Abyss, on January 7, 2011 via Blackcrowned Records. According to a press release, the CD contains “eight tracks of fast and majestic black metal played in the Swedish way.” The album will be made available on CD and as a limited-edition DVD box (100 copies) containing a sticker and a postcard. The first single from Torn From The Abyss, entitled “The Circle Master”, is available for streaming at this location.”

IN SOLITUDE: “Metal Blade Records is pleased to announce the signing of the metal act In Solitude, who hails from Uppsala, Sweden (the same town as Watain and Invidious). . . . The week of November 15th, the horde entered Nicke Anderson’s (Hellacopters) brand new studio Gutterview Recorders in Stockholm, Sweden with producer Fred Estby (Dismember, Death Breath) to record the band’s sophomore record, which will see release in the spring of 2011.”

IXION: “French atmospheric doom metallers IXION have inked a deal with Avantgarde Music for the release of their new album, To The Void. Due on February 28, 2011, the CD features 10 tracks with a running time of 56 minutes.”

KYPCK: “KYPCK (‘Kursk’ in the western alphabet) — the Russian-singing Finnish doom metal band featuring former SENTENCED guitarist Sami Lopakka (a.k.a. S.S. Lopakka) — will release its sophomore album, which is named after the Russian word for ‘lower’ (pronounced ‘nizhe’), on February 9, 2011 via an as-yet-undisclosed record label.”

LAZARUS A.D.: “Midwest thrashers LAZARUS A.D. are pleased to announce Black Rivers Flow as the title to their second full-length album due out February 1st via Metal Blade Records. The highly anticipated release was recorded in July and August 2010 at Belle City Sound with Chris Wisco and was mixed & mastered by James Murphy at Safehouse Production.”

LIONHEART: “Northern California hardcore band LIONHEART will release its new album, Built On Struggle, on January 18, 2011 via Mediaskare Records. The CD features guest appearances by Brandan Schippati (BLEEDING THROUGH), Karl Buechner (EARTH CRISIS), Dave Nassie (BLEEDING THROUGH, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES), Lord Ezec (SKARHEAD) and Bruce LaPage (100 DEMONS).”

MARUTA: “Miami, FL’s Maruta have finished up work on their new album, and second for Willowtip Records, entitled Forward Into Regression. A release set has been set for February 22, 2011. Germany’s Power It Up Records will be releasing a gatefold LP version. A release date for the vinyl is TBD.”

MOTÖRHEAD: “MOTÖRHEAD‘s new album, The Wörld Is Yours, will be released in North America on February 8, 2011. The CD, is being packaged in the U.K. with Classic Rock Presents Motörhead fan pack, which will hit newsstands across the country on December 14.”

MOUNTAIN MAN: “Grief is defined as ‘a deep poignant distress caused by or as if by bereavement.’ In order for one to heal from the grieving process they must go through what is called ‘the five stages of grief’ – denial, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance. With this concept, Mountain Man details their debut full-length, set for release on February 22nd via Think Fast! Records. The album channels the five stages of grief musically and lyrically through 17 tracks that are as dark, bitter, and ugly as one would expect from the concept.”

NECRONOCLAST: “British black/doom metal cult NECRONOCLAST will release its new album, Ashes, on February 22 via Moribund Records. The cover artwork was created by Gabriel Byrne.”

NEGURA BUNGET: “NEGURA BUNGET — the Romanian band that incorporates elements of black metal, progressive metal, folk metal and dark ambient — is putting the finishing touches on a new mini-CD, Poarta De Dincolo (English translation: ‘A Gate From The Above’ or ‘Carrying From The Other Side’). The effort is being recorded once again at Negura Music studio and, as the title suggests, focuses on exploring the relation between worlds, either from above, under or beyond.”

NEURAXIS: “Montreal-based death metallers NEURAXIS will release their sixth album, Asylon, in North America on February 15, 2011. The cover art was created by artist Dennis Sibeijn of Damnengine Artwork, who worked with the band on its previous CD, The Thin Line Between, as well with JOB FOR A COWBOY, CHIMAIRA and more.”

OMNIUM GATHERUM: “Finnish melodic death metallers OMNIUM GATHERUM will release their fifth album, New World Shadows, via Lifeforce Records on the following dates: Germany, Austria, Switzerland: February 4, 2011; Sweden, Finland, Hungary: February 9, 2011; Rest Of Europe: February 7, 2011; North America: March 1, 2011. The CD was recorded at Astia Studios in Lappeenranta, Finland with Teemu Aalto, and was mixed and mastered at Unisound Studio in Örebro, Sweden by Dan Swanö (EDGE OF SANITY, HAIL OF BULLETS,NOVEMBERS DOOM). Swanö also contributed clean vocals to two songs while Niilo Sevänen from INSOMNIUM added ‘a few guest growls.’”

OPETH: “That’s right! Opeth will start the recording of their 10th album on the 31st January 2011. The band has picked the legendary Atlantis studios (ex Metronome studios) in Stockholm and will once again work with Jens Bogren engineering. Mixing duties will be handled by Steven Wilson (Porcupine tree). Possible release worldwide in the fall of 2011, through Roadrunner Records.”

PITCHBLACK: “Danish modern ‘melodeath thrashers’ PITCHBLACK have inked a deal with the Danish label Mighty Music, which is a part of Target Records. The band’s sophomore album, The Devilty, will be released on February 28.”

POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER: “Acclaimed drummer Marco Minnemann (KREATOR, NECROPHAGIST, EPHEL DUATH, JOE SATRIANI) has laid down the drum tracks for the third album from the Italian alternative/progressive metal band POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER. Entitled A Sense Of Decay, the CD is tentatively scheduled ror release in May 2011 via My Kingdom Music.”

RABBITS: “Portland, Oregon’s RABBITS has completed work on its new album, Lower Forms, at Type Foundry (THE DECEMBERISTS, LAST OF THE JUANITAS, RED FANG, THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS) in the band’s hometown with Jeremy Romagna and Lauren Newman at the helm. A February 15 North American release via Relapse Records (February 28 internationally) is expected. RABBITS‘ music meets somewhere in the crossroads of punk, sludge, and metal, using unwavering volume and intensity as their guides.”

RAMMSTEIN: “Bassist Oliver ‘Ollie’ Riedel of German industrial metallers RAMMSTEIN revealed during an interview with MusikUniverse.net that the band’s recent concerts in New York and Montreal were filmed for a forthcoming DVD. In addition, the group is planning to release a ‘best-of’ collection in April 2011 featuring two previously unreleased songs.”

ROTTEN SOUND: “Rotten Sound‘s brand new full-length album Cursed will see its worldwide (excluding Finland) release on March 15th via Relapse Records. The album will see its Finnish release on March 16th courtesy of Fullsteam Records.”

SPEED\KILL/HATE: “Old-school thrashers SPEED\KILL/HATE — who feature in their ranks OVERKILL guitarist Dave Linsk — will release their long-awaited sophomore album, Out For Blood, on January 25 via Hammerfist Records. The CD was recorded and mixed by Dave Linsk at SKH Studios and was mastered by Roger Lian at Masterdisk in New York.”

TESTAMENT: “Prosthetic Records will re-release TESTAMENT‘s out-of-print 1995 hometown-show album Live At The Fillmore on CD on January 18, 2011. The LP was reissued digitally last spring.”

TIMES OF GRACE: “‘Where The Spirit Leads Me’, the new video from TIMES OF GRACE — the new project that reteams KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist and producer extraordinaire Adam Dutkiewicz with original KILLSWITCH ENGAGE vocalist Jesse Leach — [has been released]. The song is featured on the band’s forthcoming debut album, The Hymn Of A Broken Man, which lands in stores on January 18 via Roadrunner Records. The unique clip is just one of 13 total videos that will appear on the special edition of the album, which is also out on January 18.”

TOMBS: “Tombs has entered Elmwood Recording studios in Dallas, TX with engineer John Congleton (Baroness, Explosions In The Sky, Black Mountain, St. Vincent) to begin work on their follow-up album to Winter Hours. The new album is expected to see a spring 2011 international release via Relapse Records with more details to be announced soon.”

TOXIC HOLOCAUST: “Toxic Holocaust has entered Dexters Lab Recording in Milford, CT to begin work on the long-awaited follow-up to An Overdose Of Death…. The band is recording with Toxic Holocaust/Kingdom Of Sorrow drummer and engineer Nick Bellmore (Hatebreed, Phantoms, Full Blow Chaos). The new full-length is expected to see a late spring 2011 release date via Relapse Records.”

UNIVERSUM: “A rough-mix version of a new song from Australian melodic death metallers UNIVERSUM, ‘Sum Of The Universe’, can be streamed in a YouTube clip. The track features guest vocals from Christian Älvestam (SCAR SYMMETRY, SOLUTION .45) along with lead solos from both NIGHTRAGE axemen Marios Iliopoulos and Olof Mörck. . . . ‘Sum Of The Universe’ comes off UNIVERSUM‘s sophomore album, Mortuus Machina, which is tentatively due in early 2011.”

VAN HALEN: “According to the unofficial VAN HALEN site Van Halen News Desk, VAN HALEN has tapped producer/songwriter/musician John Shanks (whom Clive Davis calls ‘the father of that guitar-driven kind of pop sound’) to helm the band’s upcoming studio album, which the group plans to begin recording in January.”

VYGR: “Massachusetts’ Ambient-Sludge masters VYGR (pronounced ‘Voyager’) have announced the release of their highly anticipated full-length debut, Hypersleep. The Double-LP/CD release will hit stores on January 25th, 2011 via Creator-Destructor Records. A track from the record entitled ‘Shapeshifters’ is now available to stream at VYGR’s bandcamp website: http://vygr.bandcamp.com/”

WORMROT: “The critically acclaimed grind act, Wormrot will be heading into Singapore’s TNT Music Productions this January to record a brand new album entitled Dirge. With this being the full-length followup to Abuse, the band promises to bring their breakneck grind tones to grim new lows. . . . Wormrot’s new album, Dirge is due out in Spring 2011.”

Being in a Scottish pirate metal band like Alestorm must have its ups and downs. On the one hand, you’ll never be considered grymm. On the other hand, if you’re in Alestorm, you get to issue press releases like this one. Can’t imagine seeing something like this from, say, Gorgoroth.

“It is my very great pleasure to announce that on January 10th ALESTORM will be heading to the studio to record our third album, which we’re gonna call ‘Back Through Time’. It’s gonna be an epic adventure through piratical badassery in 11 tracks, with more drunken singalong anthems than you can shake a stick at. There will be songs about midgets. There will be songs about Wisconsin. There will be songs about travelling through time to kill Vikings. And, of course, loads of songs about pirates doing what they do best; kicking your ass and stealing your wenches!”

And then there are the projected song titles announced by the band for the forthcoming piratical badassery:

* The Sunk’n Norwegian
* Shipwrecked (Pure Dead Banjaxed)
* Buckfast Powersmash
* Rum
* Back Through Time
* Swashbuckled
* Death Throes Of The Terrorsquid
* Midget Saw
* Scraping The Barrel
* Rumpelkombo
* Barrett’s Privateers

(more after the jump . . .)

The band also promises “a silly digipak version with a bunch of daft covers as bonus tracks as well, the exact details of which we’ll announce at a later date.”

Don’t know about you, but I liked Alestorm’s latest album, Black Sails At Midnight — at least in small doses. Knowing that the new album will include songs about midgets, Wisconsin, time travel, Viking battles — and terrorsquid — makes me almost breathless in anticipation. How ’bout you? Breathless, right?

Having gone this far, I might as well throw up an Alestorm video. 

I suppose I should apologize to Andy for bumping his opus off the top spot on the site for this.  I just couldn’t resist.

Anyway, if you’re like me and you’ve been waiting for a good metal song about squid, the wait is almost over.

One of our favorite metal bloggers, whose base of operations happens to be in New Zealand, is Steff Metal. Every week we find unusual stuff on her site that we don’t come across anywhere else. This week she decided to create a mix-tape of her favorite pirate metal (and non-metal pirate) songs, most with video accompaniment and each with her own witty introduction.

A lot of extreme metal is angry, grim, violent, and cathartic — which is exactly why we eat it up here at NCS. Doesn’t mean it can’t be fun at the same time. In fact, we think most of the angry, grim, violent, and cathartic metal is also shitloads of fun.

But when it comes to fun, pirate metal may take the cake — as Steff Metal’s audio-video montage proves quite nicely. She’s obviously more a student of pirate metal than we are, and her collection includes some bands we’ve never heard of — but they can sure swash their buckles and haul their keels. (read on after the jump, mateys . . .)

We’re still not quite sure there’s a definitive set of criteria for classifying a band as pirate metal. According to Steff, all it really takes is to sing about pirates. Blow me down, that makes sense! On the other hand, as she notes in her post, some songs just sound “pirattey” even when you can’t understand the words (e.g., they’re in Swedish). I’ll drink to that!

So, go to Steff Metal’s site and have yourself a good yo ho ho! We recommend you first have a coupla tankards of grog before indulging, or at least a six-pack of PBR (which stands for Pirate Brain Readjustment). This pirate metal shit just sounds so much better in a drunken haze. Even better if you can lay hands on a cutlass after getting a good buzz on.

To supplement Steff’s festivities, here’s a video of “Keelhauled” by True Scottish Pirate Metal band Alestorm (pictured at the top of this post).  This song was our first exposure to pirate metal, and the video is a blast to watch and listen to. I’ll excuse myself now. Gotta go find a wench to molest.

I knew this would happen.  On New Year’s Day, we put up a long list of extreme metal bands who reportedly will be releasing new albums in 2009, and then carved from that list the 21 bands we especially want to hear in the New Year.  We tried to be complete in compiling the master list, but of course we’re already hearing about bands we left off.

So far, three overlooked bands, in particular, deserve mention: Kivimetsän Druidi, Portland’s own Agalloch, and Mors Principium Est. These bands may not be as widely known as others that made “forthcoming” lists in various trade publications, but we’re psyched to hear that new releases are in the works.

KIVIMETSÄN DRUIDI

Kivimetsän Druidi (pictured above) is a Finnish symphonic folk metal band whose name appears to mean “druid of the stone forest.”  The band released their Century Media debut CD “Shadowheart” in late 2008 and followed that with a cool video, shot in Finnish Lappland, for a song sung in Finnish called “Jäässä Varttunut.”  It appears the song title, loosely translated, means “Grown Up Within Ice,” as in, “The white steel that has been grown on ice will clot the blood with its strike.”

I saw the video, was impressed, tracked down the CD, and remained impressed. It’s a fast-paced, dramatic combination of symphonic death metal, celtic folk stylings, savage gutteral vocals from Joni Koskinen, and soaring sopranos from crystal-voiced Leeni-Maria Hovila. Heavier than you might expect, with memorable melodies and plenty of hard-driving riffs.  (more after the jump, including that video. . .)

Late last year the band toured the U.S. with Eluveitie, Belphegor, Alestorm and Vreid as part of “Heathenfest America,” and according to a blog post on New Year’s Day, they’ve finished recording their second album and are now mixing it in anticipation of a 2010 release.

We haven’t written much about pagan/folk metal on this site since we launched a couple months ago, but that doesn’t mean we don’t like it.  We do!  Even when it includes a heavy dose of clean singing along with the growling, as Kivimetsän Druidi does.  We’ll be looking forward to their second full-length in the new year.

Now here’s the video, and after that, more words about the other two bands we overlooked:

Kivimetsän Druidi – Jäässä Varttunut official music video

Kivimetsän Druidi (in the studio) | MySpace Music Videos

AGALLOCH

This Portland band has been around since 1995 and has produced an assortment of EPs and three full-lengths, the last of which was Ashes Against the Grain in 2006.  The band accurately describes its music as follows:

Despite their style being firmly grounded in the dark metal genre, Agalloch has always been a band who prefers experimentation over settling on a niche. The result has been three full-lengths and a handful of EPs that have bridged the gap between gothic doom, black metal, neo-folk, post rock, and industrial/ambient soundscapes. The band has earned a rabid cult following over the years due in part to their artistic & independent attitude, elusive aura, and scarce but volatile live performances.

In an interview, the band’s principal song-writer John Haughm described the concept behind Ashes as “a surreal tale that begins with mankind cutting off an arm and both legs and creating a flood of blood that covers the earth, changes natures patterns, and destroys humanity at the end so that everything can be reborn anew.”  Agalloch’s music is often considered a meditation on the power and purity of nature, but according to Haughm, “I was more fed up with humanity than I was enamoured by nature when I wrote this album.”

So what can we expect from the band’s long-awaited follow-up to Ashes? According to an interview Haughm gave to German TV last May, “expect the unexpected.” Haughm says that the next release will be “completely different” from its predecessors — “a bit darker,” closer to black metal, but with the same kind of dynamics that Agalloch is known for.  As for when we can expect the new album, Haughm said that he hoped it would be out by May 2010.

Agalloch produces passionate, highly original music, and we’re really looking forward to their new burst of creativity.  In the meantime, check out this sample of brilliance from Ashes Against the Grain:

Agalloch: Not Unlike the Waves

MORS PRINCIPIUM EST

Mors Principium Est is another Finnish band, whose name roughly translates to “death is the beginning,” and my Co-Author Alexis brought them to my attention about this time last year.  MPE has three full-lengths to its credit, the last of which was 2007′s Liberation=Termination.  The style is recognizably Gothenburg melodic death metal, and comparisons to bands such as Dark Tranquillity are inevitable.  But MPE is a collective of unusually talented musicians who play with power and precision and deserve to stand in their own spotlight.  Their discography has no weak spots.  Every album has been a head-turner, including Liberation=Termination, which included more pronounced experimentation with synthesizer-driven electronic beats and melody.

What will come next is a more than typical mystery, because since the recording of Liberation, Jori Haukio, the band’s main song writer and guitarist, decided to part company with MPE. Regardless, this is a band that has never disappointed in the past and we’re confident that whatever comes will be worth the wait.  To see what we mean, check out this cut from Liberation=Termination:

Mors Principium Est: Finality