COVER YOUR FUCKING MOUTH IF YOU COUGH NCS PLAYLIST III (BY NEILL JAMESON)

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
May 262020
 

 

(So far, Neill Jameson (Krieg, Poison Blood) has shared with us (here and here) two playlists of musical suggestions to help us get through the current plague time, and today he follows those with a third selection.)

I’ve been a little slower than I wanted to be with this third quarantine playlist, slow to the point where the country decided the virus is like black metal and moved on to grind.  Or something like that, I’m probably mixing my irritations up. But much like your desire to hug all the homies “when this is over” these playlists aren’t going away. Well, after the fourth one it will, but let’s suspend disbelief for a minute because these are TRYING TIMES and my inability to get a haircut makes it illegal for me to be in close proximity to a school. Catch-22 though, there’s no kids in there anyway.

Moving on. I think the format to this is pretty much established, especially since I see a few people biting off it, terminology and all, so let’s get into it. Continue reading »

ESSENTIAL ENTRIES: MARCH 2015

 Album Reviews  14 Responses »
Apr 062015
 

 

(In this post Dan Barkasi continues his monthly series recommending music from the month just ended.)

Welcome, welcome, to the March edition of essential entries. February was a decent month, highlighted by stellar releases by Crypt Sermon, Devouring Star, and Sarpanitum. Overall, it wasn’t as solid as January, and I listened to a ton of music for February. There were plenty of strong albums, but also a lot of “decent, but not great” sort of releases. Everything included here, however, is top-notch, of course!

March, however, was loaded with a metric ton of great albums. As a result, there were a few difficult omissions, but that’s a good problem to have. The following turned this guy’s head the most.

Antagoniste – The Myth of Mankind

Hailing from France – the land of oddball experimental metal – is another entry of this sort by Antagoniste. A one-man avant garde black metal project, this is the debut release, and it’s nothing short of beastly. The vocals vary wildly, with a mix of menacing growls and chants. It’s heavy, a bit out there, quite catchy, and all quality. Continue reading »

THE LATEST WORD IN THE COLD HARD TRUTH (FROM CHRIS GRIGG)

 Mosh Pit  44 Responses »
Nov 022012
 

After the nearly three years since I started NO CLEAN SINGING, what I know about the economics of extreme metal has multiplied by orders of magnitude. There are two caveats that go along with this statement:

First, when I started this blog what I knew about the economics of extreme metal wouldn’t fill an ant’s ass, so what I know now is all relative to that barren starting point.  Second, since I’m not a musician, a producer, a promoter, or involved in running a label, even what I know now is second-hand, incomplete, and undoubtedly inaccurate in at least some respects. My learning has come from a lot of reading and a fair number of discussions with musicians, but that still ain’t the same as living the life. I watch, while others do.

I’m still curious and I’m still trying to learn. My latest bit of learning comes from a long piece written by Chris Grigg, posted on his personal blog last night. Chris Grigg is the founder, vocalist, and guitarist for Woe, a Philadelphia-based black metal band that also includes members of Rumpelstiltskin Grinder. Their last album, Quietly, Undramatically, was released by Candlelight Records in 2010 and they’re working on a new one now. Chris has also been involved with Krieg and The Green Evening Requiem as well as a grindcore outfit named Unrest.

Chris Grigg also runs a recording studio and holds down a full-time job with an IT services company.

In the article I read — which is entitled “The Music Industry Is A Fucking Pit” — he explains in detail why independent musicians do not make money, and who does. He summarizes his thesis thusly:

The music industry, as it has existed to date, is a fucking pit. It is a dead-end. Anyone who expects to play rock music in 2012, follow all the old rules about touring full time and signing with a label and all that shit, AND live off of it is living in a dreamworld because by the time the purse floats down to the bottom of the river, everyone along the way has reached in and taken their share. There is nothing left for you. Continue reading »