January ended four days ago, so it’s past time for our usual monthly round-up of news about forthcoming albums. I have to confess that this list is even more spotty and sporadically assembled than usual — which is saying something. Various distractions prevented me from keeping a sharp eye out for news about new releases, so I have no doubt this list is incomplete.

Here’s how this round-up usually works: In these METAL IN THE FORGE posts, I collect news blurbs and press releases I’ve seen over the last month about forthcoming new albums from bands we know and like at NCS (including occasional updates about releases we’ve included in previous installments of this series), or from bands that look interesting, even though we don’t know their music yet. In this series, I cut and paste those announcements and compile them in alphabetical order.

Remember — THIS ISN’T A CUMULATIVE LIST. If we found out about a new forthcoming album earlier than the last 30 days, we probably wrote about it in previous installments of this series. So, be sure to check the Category link called “Forthcoming Albums” on the right side of this page to see forecasted releases we reported earlier. For example, on this list you won’t see such notable releases as the forthcoming albums from Meshuggah, Enthroned, Unleashed, Psycroptic, Goatwhore, Asphyx, Naglfar, or Autopsy, because we’ve mentioned them elsewhere. Or at least I think we did.

Having said all that, please feel free to leave Comments and tell all of us what I missed when I put this list together. Let us know about albums on the way that  you’re stoked about, even if you don’t see them here!

7 HORNS 7 EYES: “Progressive, atmospheric, death-metallers 7 HORNS 7 EYES will be releasing their debut full-length album, Throes Of Absolution, on April 23rd, 2012 throughout Europe via Basick Records. Featuring a guest appearance by Jeff Loomis (ex-NEVERMORE) and already named one of Metal Sucks’ “Albums That Will Fuck Your Face Off In 2012”, this highly anticipated album has been many months in the making, but worth the wait!”

ANTIGAMA: “Warsaw, Poland’s revolutionary grind/metal assassins ANTIGAMA announce their return to Selfmadegod Records! Following two full-length releases via Relapse Records over recent years, ANTIGAMA have re-signed with their longtime friends at Selfmadegod and are currently locked away in Warsaw’s Progresja Studio with sound engineer Pawel “Janos” Grabowski. The band are in the process of recording several brand new tracks for two different upcoming releases — a 3-way split with Noisear (USA, Relapse) and  The Kill (Australia), as well as a MCD tentatively entitled Stop The Chaos. The session started on February 1st 2012, and final mixes and mastering duties will be completed by none other than the band’s long time friend and famous Polish music producer Szymon Czech (Nyia, Third Degree). Both releases are due this Spring via Selfmadegod Records, and plan on recording a new full-length for the label later in the year as well.”

BENEATH THE MASSACRE: “The lyric video for “Left Hand”, a new song from Montreal’s monsters of tech-death mayhem BENEATH THE MASSACRE, has been released. The track comes off the band’s new album, “Incongruous”, which will be released in the U.S. on February 14, in the U.K. on February 20, in mainland Europe on February 24 and in Canada on February 28 via Prosthetic Records. The CD was produced and mixed by Chris Donaldson (CRYPTOPSY) and mastered by Alan Douches (HATEBREED, SHADOWS FALL, CONVERGE).”

BORKNAGAR: “Norwegian avantgarde metallers BORKNAGAR have completed work on their new studio album with Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios (OPETH, PARADISE LOST, KATATONIA) in Örebro, Sweden. Entitled“Urd”, the CD will be released on March 26 in Europe and March 27 in North America via Century Media Records.”

CANNIBAL CORPSE: “Florida-based death metal veterans CANNIBAL CORPSE will release their twelfth studio album, “Torture”, on March 13 via Metal Blade Records. The follow-up to 2009′s “Evisceration Plague” offers up 12 tracks of maniacally precise, soul-searing death metal.”

DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT: From a DT Facebook post on Jan. 15: “Just finished writing track one for Z2! (Ziltoid 2) It’s about a year and half away now… scary! ”

ENSHADOWED: “Greek misanthropic blackmongers ENSHADOWED have inked a deal with Pulverised Records. Due later in the year, the band’s third full-length effort, entitled “Magic Chaos Psychedelia”, is “the ultimate combination of orthodox black metal with experimental grotesquery parts. Chaos, ritualism, paranoia — the formulas of how it can be harmonized with the chaos and the utter,” according to a press release.”

GENERAL SURGERY: “A Collection of Depravation, a compilation of 30 GENERAL SURGERYchoice cuts will see its official release via Relapse on March 27th and is available for pre-order now.  The collection was digitally remastered by Pig Destroyer’s Scott Hull and contains a 24 page booklet with extensive liner notes from the band.”

GOROD: “French progressive technical death metal act GOROD has officially joined the LISTENABLE RECORDS roster. Fall 2011 the band entered the studio with talented french metal producer Frederic “Elmobo” Motte. Their fourth full-length A Perfect Absolution will be released  in March 2012. The lyrical concept of this album is based on the history of Kievan Rus during the 10th century. Heavier, more progressive, catchy songs, awesome guest solos by Christian Muenzner (Obscura) and Mike Keene (The Faceless).”

HOODED MENACE: “Finnish death / doom bringers HOODED MENACE have entered the studio to record their highly anticipated new album and first for Relapse Records. The new record, entitled Effigies of Evil, is being self-recorded by the band at their very own Horrisound Studios, the group’s personal compound of stench and decay. Drums are being tracked at SF Sound and the band plans to complete recording in mid February for a Summer 2012 release.”

HOUR OF PENANCE: “Italian death metal band HOUR OF PENANCE has set “Sedition” as the title of its fifth album, due on March 27 in North America, April 2 in the U.K. and April 6 in mainland Europe via Prosthetic Records. The follow-up to 2010′s “Paradogma” (Unique Leader) was recorded at Cellar Studio in Rome with producer Stefano Morabito.”

IMPENDING DOOM: “IMPENDING DOOM will release their brand new full length album entitled Baptized in Filth on March 13, 2012. Produced by Andreas Magnusson (The Black Dahlia Murder) and Machine, this is the band’s fourth full length and most ferocious effort to date.”

KREATOR: “German thrash metal veterans KREATOR have set “Phantom Antichrist” as the title of their new album, due on June 1 in Europe and June 5 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD is currently being recorded at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with renowned producer Jens Bogren (OPETH, KATATONIA, SOILWORK,DEVIN TOWNSEND, AMON AMARTH). ”

LECHEROUS NOCTURNE: “South Carolina-based extreme metal band LECHEROUS NOCTURNE has set “Behold Almighty Doctrine” as the title of its third album, due later in the year via Unique Leader Records. The CD was recorded at SoundLab Studio in Lexington, South Carolina with longtime engineer Bob Moore.”

MASTER: “Legendary death metallers MASTER have set “The New Elite” as the title of their eleventh album, due later in the year via Pulverised Records. The CD, which was once again recorded, mixed and mastered at Shaark Studios, contains “11 tracks of unambiguous death metal in its wretched form, in perfect coalition with the offensive Paul Speckmann-spewed lyrical shitstorm,” according to a press release.”

NEPHELIUM: “Nephelium, the Dubai death metallers whom now reside in Toronto, Canada are now exclusively streaming their highly anticipated debut album “Coils of Entropy” on MetalRecusants.com at the following link here. “Coils of Entropy” is set for release next week on Tuesday, February 7, 2012 and a free download of their first single “Merciless Annihilation” is available here.”

NIGHTFALL: “Greek metallers NIGHTFALL have commenced work on a new album for a late 2012 release. The follow-up to 2010′s “Astron Black And The Thirty Tyrants” will contain 11 tracks.”

OUTCAST: “Listenable Records has set April 4th, 2012 as the North American release date for Awaken the Reason, the third album from French brutal djent metal mongers OUTCAST. Awaken the Reason is the band’s strongest and most solid recording to date and it genuinely captured the band’s musical madness. Expect a modern sounding, yet organic production spiced up by a frenzy of extreme guitar and drums assaults. Awaken the Reason was recorded between January and September 2010 at The Artist The Office Studio. It was mixed at SplitSecond Sound Studio By Jochem Jacobs (Textures) in October /November 2010 and then mastered at West West Side Music by Alan Douches (Mastodon, Dillinger Escape Plan).”

PALLBEARER: ” By encompassing the more traditional metal style of their brand of doom, PALLBEARER’s sound takes cue from such legendary doom metal bands as Candlemass, Trouble, and Warning along with a ‘70s prog influence and some influence taken from “Gothic” era Paradise Lost that finds its way into the band’s epic yet sorrowful odes. PALLBEARER’s debut album Sorrow and Extinction will be released by Profound Lore on February 21 in the U.S. and February 28 in Europe.”

PELICAN: “Thunderous post-instrumental outfit PELICAN have announced the long awaited follow-up to their sprawling 2009 full length What We All Come To Need, a new four song EP Ataraxia/Taraxis to be released via Southern Lord on April 10. With members now residing in separate cities, the EP represents a new chapter in the band’s evolution with a reenergized focus on composition and the utilization of the recording studio as a creative tool in the songwriting process, yielding one of the most diverse efforts in the band’s prolific discography.”

PUTERAEON: “The Death Metal platoon, PUTERAEON, hailing from Sweden which released the incredibly acclaimed debut album “THE ESOTERIC ORDER” (Cyclone Empire) in January 2011, wants to inform you that they will lock themselves up in the studio “RZA Mobile Recording” on the 30th of January 2012. Together with sound engineer Kristian “Risza” Isaksson (Evergrey, Hardcore Superstar, Psycore, Reclusion, Notre Dame, Snowy Shaw) they will record the follow up entitled “CULT CTHULHU”. 
The album will have 11 tracks and, as the debut, will be mixed by none other than super guitarist Andy LaRocque (King Diamond, Death, At The Gates) at Sonic Train Studios and the album is planned to be released in May 2012 via the German label Cyclone Empire.”

SECRETS OF THE MOON: “Prophecy Productions has announced that SEVEN BELLS, the new SECRETS OF THE MOON album, will be out on March 16th, 2012.”

SIX FEET UNDER: “Florida-based death metallers SIX FEET UNDER are currently mixing their new album at Audiohammer studios in Sanford, Florida with producer Mark Lewis (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, WHITECHAPEL, DEVILDRIVER, TRIVIUM). The band’s frontman, Chris Barnes, writes on Twitter, “The new SIX FEET UNDER CD is sounding fucking unbelievable!! [The] mix [is] almost done!!”

VEIL OF MAYA: “Chicago’s VEIL OF MAYA are back to lead the charge of the American progressive-deathcore assault, with the release of their mind-blowing third album, “Eclipse”, out via Sumerian on 27 February. Produced by djent hero Misha Mansoor of Periphery, ”Eclipse” is a stunningly concise yet diverse metal record, packed full of death-metal chops, tech-metal grooves, progressive arrangements and hardcore rip-yer-throat-out attitude.”

WRETCHED: “Wretched has entered the studio to record their third full-length album, Son of Perdition.  The forthcoming effort is set for a March 27 release and will be produced by Jamie King (Between The Buried And Me, He Is Legend, For Today) at The Basement Studio in Winston Salem, North Carolina.”

WYKKED WYTCH: “Female-fronted extreme metal band WYKKED WYTCH and Goomba Music have teamed up with HailsandHorns.com for an exclusive premier of the song “Despised Existence” off the band’s forthcoming album. The Ultimate Deception. The Ultimate Deception is set to be released on February 14th and is currently available for pre-order through Goomba Music.”

Damn, I’m finally able to go outside without shivering and being beaten about the head and shoulders with high winds and rain blowing sideways. That must mean it’s June in Seattle!  And so it is. A largely dismal May is behind us, the Seattle Mariners are astonishingly only a game and a half out of first place in their division (that’s baseball for you outlanders), and the summer lies ahead.

What else lies ahead? A bunch of new metal, of course. And because it’s the beginning of a new month, we’re bringing you another installment of METAL IN THE FORGE, in which we collect news blurbs and press releases we’ve seen over the last month about forthcoming new albums from bands we know and like (including occasional updates about releases we’ve included in previous installments of this series), or from bands that look interesting, even though we don’t know their music yet. In this series, we cut and paste those announcements and compile them in alphabetical order.

Remember — this isn’t a cumulative list. If we found out about a new album during April or preceding months, we wrote about them in previous installments of this series. So, be sure to check the Category link called “Forthcoming Albums” on the right side of this page to see forecasted releases we reported earlier. This month’s list begins right after the jump. Look for your favorite bands, or get intrigued about some new ones.

THE ACACIA STRAIN: “Massachusetts metallers THE ACACIA STRAIN will release their first live album on June 21 via Prosthetic Records. The Most Known Unknown is a double-disc set, limited to 5,000 copies, and coming out just in time for the band’s first appearance on the long-running Vans Warped Tour. The music on the album comes from two separate shows — a sold-out concert at the Worcester Palladium in December 2008 and a gig at the much smaller and more intimate Waterfront on the band’s home turf of Holyoke, Massachusetts — which were documented on 2009′s The Most Known Unknown DVD.”

ALL SHALL PERISH: “Audio samples of all the tracks that appear on This Is Where It Ends, the fourth full-length album from ALL SHALL PERISH, can be streamed in a YouTube clip. The CD will be released on July 26 (North America) and July 29 (Europe) via Nuclear Blast Records.”

ALMAH: “Brazilian progressive power metal band ALMAH — the side project of ANGRA members Edu Falaschi (vocals) and Felipe Andreoli (bass) — will enter Norcal Studio in São Paulo, Brazil today (Monday, May 2) to begin recording its third album for a September release. 10 songs are being tracked for the effort, which was composed by the entire band and is described in a press release as ‘really heavy and up-to-date with less influences of typical melodic metal.’”

BARREN EARTH: “Finland’s progressive death/doom maestros BARREN EARTH have entered Helsinki’s Sonic Pump Studios to record the follow-up to last year’s highly acclaimed debut album, Curse Of The Red River. The band has written 12 new songs, and is currently laying them down with engineer/co-producer Jukka Varmo. Dan Swanö (KATATONIA, OPETH) will once again be at the mixing helm. The album is due for release in autumn 2011 on Peaceville Records, and the artwork will be made by Paul Romano (MASTODON).”

BATHORY: “Black Mark has set a July 18 U.K. release date for a limited-edition BATHORY vinyl box set. The collection, which is being released in honor of the band’s late mastermind Quorthon, contains the following:  Three double gatefold LPs ; 48-page booklet; BATHORY “Goat” poster (70x100cm); Picture-disc recreation of the original BATHORY “yellow goat” 1984 pressing of the band’s debut album.”

BURY YOUR DEAD: “Slaughterhouse Five, a brand new song from BURY YOUR DEAD, can be streamed at YouTube. The track comes off the band’s new album, Mosh & Roll, which is scheduled for release on August 2 via Mediaskare Records.”

DECAPITATED: “Polish technical death metal band DECAPITATED have set Carnival Is Forever as the title of their fifth studio album, due later in the year via Nuclear Blast Records.”

ENTHRONED: “Belgian black metallers ENTHRONED have inked a new deal with Regain Records. The band is currently writing material for its new album for a late 2011 release. Commented the group: ‘We’ve been working on the successor to ‘Pentagrammaton’ for the last months and even if there’s still some parts of the book to be written, the overall idea looks very promising.’”

EVILE: “British thrashers EVILE will release their third album, Five Serpents’ Teeth, on August 29 via Earache Records. The CD was recorded at Parlour Studios in Kettering, U.K., with producer Russ Russell (NAPALM DEATH, DIMMU BORGIR), who also worked on the band’s previous CD, 2009′s Infected Nations.”

GLORIOR BELLI: “Metal Blade Records has announced the signing of France’s GLORIOR BELLI. The band’s new album, The Great Southern Darkness, will be released in the fall.”

GORGOROTH: “Under The Sign Of Hell 2011, the re-recording of GORGOROTH‘s third album, will be released by Regain Records on June 20. On the LP, Pest and Infernus repeat their roles as vocalist and guitarist/bassist, respectively, from the original 1996 recording, while Tomas Asklund handles the drums. As for the still-untitled next GORGOROTH album consisting of new material, the band states that ’66,6 % of the material has now been written, and work on the album is continuing at a steady pace. If all goes according to plan, the album will be recorded later this year.’”

GRIEF OF EMERALD: “Swedish death/black metal band GRIEF OF EMERALD will release its fourth album, The Devils Deep, on June 3 through Non Serviam Records. The first CD to feature the group’s current lineup sees GRIEF OF EMERALD ‘increase[ing] the power by adding some new intricate songs, boosting harmonies with haunting keyboards, tight double-bass drumming, backed by a massive guitar sound and haunting vocals, plus superb packaging,” according to a press release.’”

ICS VORTEX: “Norway’s ICS VORTEX, the project led by the former DIMMU BORGIR and current BORKNAGAR member, has signed a worldwide deal with Century Media Records for the release of its debut album, Storm Seeker. Due on August 22 in Europe and August 23 in North America, the CD ‘takes the musical elements from [ICS Vortex's] 10-plus years of experience withDIMMU BORGIR as well as the legacy of the classic bands with whom he is still active (BORKNAGAR, ARCTURUS and LAMENTED SOULS), topping things off with his signature clean vocals in order to make Storm Seeker become a perfectly balanced axe, whether a song is cutting fast, or dicing slow.’”

ISIS: “ISIS, who disbanded in May of last year, is set to release a series of five live albums that span the Los Angeles-by-way-of-Boston band’s thirteen year career.  The digital releases begin with Live I 9.23.03, a four-song, forty-minute recording from a performance at The Fillmore in San Francisco, which will be available on May 31. Each subsequent recording will be released at two week intervals.”

THE KONSORTIUM: “”Lik Ulven”, a brand new song from Norway’s THE KONSORTIUM, is available for streaming. The track comes off the band’s self-titled debut album, which is scheduled for release on June 24 via Agonia Records. The effort will be available as a limited heavy vinyl, digipack CD and a limited fan metal pack CD. The Konsortium was recorded over a one-year period at SOS Studio in Stavanger and Crystal Canyon Studio in Oslo and it features Teloch from MAYHEM and NIDINGR on guitar, and guest vocals by Erlend Hjelvik from KVELERTAK.”

LOCK UP: “Extreme metal supergroup LOCK UP will release its new album, Necropolis Transparent, on July 1 in Europe and July 12 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. Necropolis Transparent will feature guest appearances by HYPOCRISY/PAIN mainman (and one-time LOCK UP vocalist) Peter Tägtgren along with Jeff Walker (CARCASS, BRUJERIA).”

MALEFICE: “U.K. modern metallers MALEFICE will release their third full-length album, Awaken The Tides, in the U.K. on July 18, in the rest of Europe on July 15, and in North America on August 2 via Metal Blade Records. The 10-song effort was recorded at The Face studios in Reading with drums laid down at Fortress Studios in London. All tracks were mixed and mastered by Justin Hill.”

MEGADETH: “MEGADETH has tapped Johnny K (full name: John Karkazis; DISTURBED, SEVENDUST, MACHINE HEAD, STAIND) to produce the band’s new album, tentatively due this fall via Roadrunner Records. The drum tracking for the CD began earlier this month, with the entire recording process expected to be completed by the time the group hits the road this summer as part of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival with DISTURBED and GODSMACK.”

MORS SUBITA: “Finnish metal quintet MORS SUBITA will release its debut album, Human Waste Compression, this summer via an as-yet-undetermined record label. According to a press release, the CD will contain ’11 tracks of aggressive, melodic and groovy metal.’”

NAPALM DEATH: “Grindcore progenitors NAPALM DEATH have entered Parlour Studio in Kettering, U.K. with longtime producer Russ Russell to begin recording their 14th album for a tentative October release via Century Media Records.”

OPETH: “Swedish progressive metallers OPETH have set Heritage as the title of their tenth album, due in September via Roadrunner Records. The CD was recorded earlier this year at Atlantis studios (formerly Metronome studios) in Stockholm. Mixing duties were handled by OPETH vocalist/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt and Steven Wilson (PORCUPINE TREE). The new material has been described by the band as ‘good.’”

PATHOLOGY: “San Diego’s PATHOLOGY will enter Lambesis Studios in the band’s hometown this summer with producer Daniel Castleman (IMPENDING DOOM, AS I LAY DYING, WINDS OF PLAGUE) to begin recording its new album for a fall release.”

SOULDRAINER: “Swedish death metallers SOULDRAINER have inked a deal withViciSolum Productions. The band’s second full-length album will be released in the fall.”

SUICIDE SILENCE: “California deathcore masters SUICIDE SILENCE will release their new album, The Black Crown, on July 12 via Century Media Records. The CD was recorded with heavyweight producer Steve Evetts (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, EVERY TIME I DIE, HATEBREED) and features the following songtitles, among others: “Human Violence”, “Cancerous Skies” and “Fuck Everything”.”

TEXTURES: “Dutch progressive metallers TEXTURES recently entered Split Second Sound studios in Amsterdam to begin recording their fourth album for a fall release via Nuclear Blast Records. The as-yet-untitled CD is being produced by TEXTURES guitar player Jochem Jacobs, who helmed all of the band’s previous albums.”

UNEARTH: “Massachusetts metallers UNEARTH will release their new album,Darkness In The Light, in Europe on July 4 via Metal Blade Records. The CD was recorded at Zing Studios in Westfield, Massachusetts with producer (and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist) Adam Dutkiewicz. Sitting in on drums during the sessions was Justin Foley of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE/BLOOD HAS BEEN SHED.”

VEIL OF MAYA: “Prior to their appearance at this year’s edition of The Bamboozle festival, which was held April 29 – May 1 at the New Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Chicago’s VEIL OF MAYA was busy in the nation’s capital demoing new material with their great friend and Sumerian labelmate Misha Mansoor (PERIPHERY) for their as-yet-untitled new record that will be dropping in the fall.”

WARBRINGER: “Los Angeles thrashers WARBRINGER entered the studio on April 18 with producer Steve Evetts (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, SYMPHONY X, SEPULTURA, HATEBREED) to begin recording their third album for a late 2011 release via Century Media Records.”

YOUR CHANCE TO DIE: “Red Cord Records has announced the signing of the South Carolina-based female-fronted melodic death metal band YOUR CHANCE TO DIE. The group’s second album, Suscitatio Somnus, will be released on August 16. The CD was recorded with renowned producer Jamie King (THROUGH THE EYES OF THE DEAD, THE HUMAN ABSTRACT, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME).”

(NCS writer Andy Synn has been burning up his keyboard this week. Today we’re featuring Andy’s review of live performances by The Faceless, Born of Osiris, Veil of Maya, and Gorod in Leicester, England, on May 17, 2011.)

Leicester’s Sub91 is a nice venue. It was my first time there and I was definitely impressed. The layout is spacious but focussed, with a well-positioned sound-desk, a nice-sized bar at the rear of the venue and a large, open stage which provides a good space for the band as well as a clear viewing area for the audience to watch. A perfect venue for tonight’s tech-tacular spectacular.

First up were French Jazz-Tech-Metallers Gorod, who quickly get down to business with a bruising, thrashy assault of complicated riffs and complex song structures. New singer Julien Deyres supplemented the more traditional death growls with an additional hardcore/thrash bark thrown in for good measure, whilst drummer Samuel Santiago performed as an obscenely tight machine on the drums, potentially the best drummer on the entire bill, handling the multitude of timing and tempo changes with ease, while maintaining an unrelenting pace throughout.

Guitarists Mathieu Pascal and Nicolas Alberny were reasonably static presences throughout, capably delivering impressively technical trade-offs and hook-filled tech-riffs with aplomb, while occasionally dropping down for a good old-fashioned headbang, which only served to reinforce the old-school 80′s thrash vibe of their performance. Think Atheist, Sadus, Martyr, but with a more modern, tech-ed up and souped out extreme metal edge.  (more after the jump . . .)

The real star though was bassist Benoit Claus, whose nimble fingers danced over his fretboard like lightning, delivering impressive tapped melodies and winding bass-lines while grooving down and rocking out to the thrashing chaos going on around him. He also served as a collaborative carnival caller with Julien, inciting the crowd to greater efforts and a louder response, which in turn fueled the band to even greater heights of intensity in their performance.

Touching on material from all three of their albums, these French tech-wizards delivered an impressive set, cohesive and flowing throughout. Tight and mechanical at times, flowing and natural at others, the band made the most of their limited stage time, delivering a master-class in oblique, angular dynamics, and extreme metallic fury. A band to watch for the future.

Veil Of Maya were up next and provided the evening’s sole disappointment. Though I have heard good things about the band on other dates, tonight something was clearly off. A very one-note set which seemed like one long breakdown did little to capture my attention in any way other than negative on this evening. Employing every cliché available to cover up for extremely basic and limited song-writing, the band often seemed content to simply move from one breakdown to the next by way of random dis-chords, derivative Meshuggah-isms and an excessive use of bass bombs several times through the duration of each song. If anything, the over-use of bass drops to transition between sections served primarily to highlight the uneven and forced construction of many of the songs, disparate parts forced together simply to provide something other than a constant stream of recurring breakdowns.

Yet the band themselves clearly have a lot of talent; bassist Danny Hauser employed some great finger-work between the repetitive chugging, happily noodling away in an attempt to add some body and substance to the overall sound, while sole guitarist Marc Okubo used a loop pedal cleverly and to great effect in the moments which called for greater depth and ambience than could be provided by the call-and-response nature of the crowd-pleasing breakdowns. Okubo got to demonstrate his significant chops during some of the high points of the band’s set, where the group broke away from their general stomping tempo to allow for some beautifully textured, multi-variate guitar work to shine through, providing a far more interesting form of musical exploration that was less aggressive, but more effective overall.

Drummer Sam Applebaum was a notable presence behind the kit, probably the overall star of the band’s set, providing some believable intensity and heaviness that was otherwise lacking in the group’s guitars. This could be attributed somewhat to the mix, which was a little flat, but also to the overly processed guitar tone which so characterises bands of this ilk. Even the constant processions of breakdowns were only really given any heft by the man’s powerful playing, the guitars more akin to being hit in the face with a pillow, their impact soft and annoying rather than punishing. Yet one can forgive the band this, the sound not entirely capturing the heaviness they so clearly ached to achieve.

It didn’t help the rather basic construction of the band’s songs that frontman Brandon Butler curated the set with all the feigned enthusiasm of a US gameshow host, his constant exhortations for movement coming across as forced and uninteresting. His vocals as well were less than stellar, not weak per se, but certainly weaker and delivered with less intensity and, potentially, less passion than any of the other vocalists on this bill. By the end of the set even the band’s die-hard fans (who predictably went crazy for each and every booming bass drop) had grown somewhat wearisome of his bland attempts at banter and the constant thudding use of generic breakdowns. Still, the band performed with a verve for what they do and connected well with their crowd, despite the limitations of their material.

Born Of Osiris were up next and attracted the biggest crowd of the night, which came as no surprise to anyone who has seen their star in the ascendant recently. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of the band, seeing the hype about them as something of a case of the Emperor’s New Clothes(tm), the band “just” technical, “just” heavy, “just” enough of a lot of things to attract a wide metal following without ever really defining their identity. However, tonight the band put in a great performance that, while still limited by some of the issues which dog them, proved to me they at least have the passion and dedication to continue to push on for a good many years yet.

It was also a pleasure to see six such musical misfits gel into a tight, coherent musical entity (even if the keyboards remain somewhat overbearing and, at times, more distracting than useful). Vocalist Ronnie Canizaro stormed the stage with a passionate, assured stride, his strong delivery accenting the textured and technically adept playing of his band-mates. Both Lee McKinney and Jason Richardson locked in well to trade off fluid, melodic solos and blistering riffage throughout the set, only their furrowed brows betraying the concentration required to keep their fingers dancing in step with the fast, jerky rhythms of each song.

Though the keys were too often cartoon-y or computer game-y for their own good, over the course of the set their sound leveled out to accent the music, rather than overwhelm it. Certain songs did continue to rely on rhythmic chuggery to convey a sense of heaviness, but the band displayed an admirable willingness to play around within the confines of their style and mess around with the delivery of their (occasional) breakdowns, and they produced a higher, more intense level of energy than Veil Of Maya. They also maintained a great rapport with the crowd without feeling the need to dumb down or telegraph their material to achieve this effect.

The sound suffered somewhat from the overly-triggered drums of Cameron Losch, although the man’s playing itself couldn’t be faulted — as tight and precise as one might wish. Composition-wise, the group still occasionally fell prey to employing a more lumpen breakdown or jarring keyboard break where something more flowing and natural would have worked better, and the over-processed guitar tone so common to the band’s style certainly didn’t help to naturalise their sound either, but they delivered a believably honest and driven performance that was pleasingly heavy and direct, without sacrificing nuance and style in the process. Credit must be given for the well-used Charlie Sheen quote which preceded crowd favourite “Now Arise”, as well as the pleasing maturity of the band’s performance, inciting more headbanging than hardcore dancing and gathering a passionate response from the crowd without ever pandering to it.

Not a progressive band in the way that many have presented them (too many of their supposedly progressive aspects are merely derivative of other, more progressive bands), the group are still a legitimately interesting, technical-deathcore group who avoid many of the pitfalls of the genre and exemplify many of its best aspects in doing so. Although I do not see them as being ever fully able to escape the “Sumerian ghetto” which they have inhabited for so long, I do see a real potential in the group to expand the limitations of the sound in the future, a process which they have already begun. An impressive performance, brimming with uncertain and untapped potential.

Headliners The Faceless took a while to appear, technical issues delaying their start time somewhat, which unfortunately meant that many of BoO’s crowd had left by the time the Californian chaos-bringers hit the stage. Yet hit it they did, with a hard and intense performance that focussed primarily on material from Planetary Duality, dipping back into Akeldama for a few gut-wrenchingly heavy numbers, as well as giving us a look into the future with a performance of “The Eidolon Reality”, the recently debuted tack from their upcoming, as yet untitled, new record.

The group’s death metal credentials are undeniable these days, the demonic roars and banshee screams of their new vocalist (Geoff Ficco) as brutal as they come, while the superfluously furious drumming of Lyle Cooper ripped and pummeled throughout the set, relenting only for those moments of cold, alien ambience which add such light and shade to the band’s material. The careful, limited use of backing samples and eerie keyboard lines gave the set a bleak, inhuman atmosphere which helped the band realise their dark, sci-fi concepts on the stage more fully, while musically their precision and aggression was mechanically lethal yet organically lucid, dreamlike melodies and ethereal clean vocals adding to the shadowy, ominous atmosphere of their clinical death metal assault.

New bassist Evan Brewer is a great addition, switching between picking and finger-work as necessary, utilising his bass-lines to accent and enhance the moody, hallucinogenic breaks of semi-clean guitars and jazzy structures, whilst also grounding and pounding the harsh, artillery assault of the groups syncopated guitar- and drum-based violence. Band founder and main-man Michael Keene demonstrated his singular musical talents throughout the course of the band’s set, his inhumanly tight playing during songs like “Prison Born” or “An Autopsy” all punishing rhythms and lethal technicality, giving them a much sharper edge by virtue of his vicious guitar tone and the flawlessness of his playing.

I almost felt bad for second guitarist Steve Jones, relegated to the secondary, yet no less vital position of supplementary guitarist, his own breathtakingly tight delivery ensuring there were no cracks in the complex, complicated material on offer. In addition, his understated melodic nuances served to expand the remit of the group’s dense, often claustrophobic sound, without ever becoming flashy or over-stated. An unsung hero.

Between songs the band offered little in the way of banter, focussed more on introducing each song with as little preamble as possible, and thanking the audience for their presence and participation throughout the course of the set. As credit to the crowd, even the less dedicated fans stuck with the band as they pushed and pulled the audience through a series of convoluted, labyrinthine compositions, resulting in some clearly puzzled faces and at times a somewhat muted crowd reaction.

The high point of the set was (arguably) a rabid rendition of “Xenochrist”, introduced as a song about “the otherwordly defilement of the virgin mother”. Its wildly chaotic, whirlwind riffs and creeping sense of dread epitomised the sheer audacity of The Faceless experience in one precise package, barbaric and ferocious yet shadowy and alien at the same time. The skull-crushing finale of “The Ancient Covenant” whipped the crowd into one last violent paroxysm of cathartic activity before the band left the stage in a squall of feedback-drenched noise and sweat-drenched bodies.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Today's guest post comes to us from Dan, who apparently is now called The Artist Formerly Known As Dan. Dan is an American temporarily transplanted to Adelaide, Australia. He has a list for you.]

So, I realize it’s cliche to make one of these lists (and maybe a bit premature?), but they’re usually useful for several reasons.  Firstly, it allows me to shamelessly plug the bands I like and push my agenda on you.  Secondly, it allows you to post lists of the records I forgot and tell me why my first list was wrong.  I can then subsequently go back to the records I may have forgotten or never owned in the first place.  Everyone should theoretically win here, since there is always music overlooked or forgotten about throughout the year.  So, let’s begin.

10. The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza – Danza III: The Series of Unfortunate Events

Technical, but so brutal.  A perfect recommendation for someone who listens to too much vanilla-breakdown deathcore (and, for some of you, “too much” implies listening to any deathcore at all).  I highly recommend seeing them in concert; they bring tons of energy.  Yippie-Kay-Yay-Motherfucker.

(more after the jump . . .)

9. Arsis – Starve for the Devil

Hands up if you forgot about this one.  I got a copy back when I saw them on tour with Exodus and Arch Enemy in February and loved it.  Nick Cordle has seamlessly integrated with James Malone and it shows in the guitar work on the album.  The video for “Forced to Rock” is also hilarious.

8. Cloudkicker – Beacons

This guy is awesome.  He doesn’t need a label because he can already do everything he needs to by himself.  And he’s beyond talented.  A must-have if you are into instrumental djent.  Islander wrote a better review (with audio sample) here.

7. As I Lay Dying – The Powerless Rise

Ok, I might get some flak for this one, but hear me out (or…read the rest of this paragraph, whichever makes more sense).  These guys wrote a legitimately well-sorted metalcore record and I’m not afraid to say that I thought this was one of the best albums of 2010. The guitars sound big and the drums give it a rock solid backbone.  But what really makes this album for me is Tim Lambesis.  His vocals have definitely gotten stronger as they’ve put out more records and I would argue that The Powerless Rise is his best performance. [NCS reviewed the album here.]

They also put on a sick live show with tons of energy – a definite winning combination.  If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s an uninspired stage performance, but these guys are phenomenal live.  Try to put aside any qualms you might have with them being Christian or their obvious At-The-Gates influence and just enjoy the sweet sounds:

As I Lay Dying: Beyond Our Suffering

6. The Ocean – Anthropocentric

Ok, even though I haven’t heard the whole album (comes out November 9th), I had to include this band on the list.  They are admittedly one of my all time favorite bands, but the song featured below and this song tell me the whole album will be great.  Additionally, they were recently robbed of all their merch sales while on tour in Europe and they really need financial help right now.  Even if you don’t like them, it’s a shitty thing to get robbed of over $8200.

5. Iron Maiden – The Final Frontier

It’s no The Number of the Beast, but that’s like complaining about free pizza or refusing to eat a steak that costs less than $50.  Sometimes, it’s unfair that their absolute masterpieces are behind them because we’ll inevitably always compare them to their glory days.  But this is new Maiden, and hey, the album is pretty damn catchy.

4. Veil of Maya – [id]

Sumeriancore at its finest.  These guys are truly great artists, and put on a really good live show.  Can’t recommend them enough.  Also, their guitarist samples himself during the live show and loops it so he can then play the other parts – if you want to talk about musical skill, Marc Okubo has it in spades.

3. Daath – Daath

These guys just keep writing quality metal albums.  Last year they released The Concealers, which was sick, and their self-titled release this year does not disappoint.  The drumming is tight and the guitars are incredible.  If you dig them, you should check out the instrumental album the guitarists released, Avalanche of Worms.  Anyway, Daath are friggin’ great and I’m not sure what else to say, other than listen:

2. The Crown – Doomsday King

If you don’t know who The Crown is, go check them out immediately.  No, I’m not going to question your metal fanhood, but this is one of those bands you should definitely know about.  So go listen now.  They are everything that is right with metal today.  Simultaneously, you can read a far better and more in-depth NCS review by Andy Synn at this location.

1. Kvelertak – Kvelertak

You: “Aw man, what the fuck, The Artist Formerly Known as Dan, your number one album isn’t even a metal record!”

Me: “I don’t care, this album fucking rocks.”

Seriously, if you like rock music at all, you’ll like this.  The music is infectiously good, even if I can’t understand the Norwegian singer (who definitely shows some black metal influence in his singing).  The songs are all just so fun.  The music is also exceptionally good for listening to while driving fast.  I challenge you to listen to this music and not enjoy it.

Honorable Mention:

Deftones – Diamond Eyes

After the Burial – In Dreams (comes out November 23rd, so I haven’t heard more than one song, but I’m betting it will be good).

White Wizzard – Over the Top

Conducting From the Grave – Revenants

Iron Thrones – The Wretched Sun

Trap Them – untitled as of yet, and I’m not sure if it’ll actually be out by the end of 2010, but I know it’s going to rip shit apart.

And there it is.  Yes, having an honorable mention column is a cop-out.  Please discuss.

This is the second part of a two-part post about the SUMMER SLAUGHTER tour’s performances in Seattle and Portland on August 20 and 21. In Part 1, we gave our impressions about the music and posted photos of about half the bands performing in Seattle.

Today, we have a random assortment of observations about our two days of metal in the Pacific Northwest, plus photos of all the bands at the show in Portland.

None of us here at NCS know what the fuck we’re doing with a camera. We like to justify our ineptitude by telling ourselves it’s just like the DIY ethic of underground metal. We also like to make excuses that divert attention from our complete lack of training, such as the constantly changing or almost non-existent light, the non-stop motion on stage, the distance from which we’re taking the photos, and — most important — the fact that we go to shows to listen to the fucking music, not to take photos, so there’s a limit to how much time we’re going to spend snapping away like a fucking tourist.

But, despite our manifold shortcomings as photojournalists, we think these pics are just barely good enough to share, so we’re sharing them — a lot of them, since 11 bands played in Portland and we didn’t miss out on any of them.  (after the jump . . .)

But before the photos, some random observations about what we saw, heard, and did:

In Seattle, SUMMER SLAUGHTER played at a club called Studio Seven, with an advertised capacity of about 550 people. It looked like the place was about as full as it could get, and by the time Vital Remains started playing at around 3:00 in the afternoon (the first of the bands on the national tour), it was already pretty full.

With the club that packed, the crowd energy got intense, and especially so when Lenzig Leal (the frontman for Cephalic Carnage) came on stage with a big video camera. He explained that he’d been making videos of the crowds at every stop on the tour, looking for the most brutal mosh pit in the U.S. and Canada. Up to that point, he said Vancouver B.C. and another city (the name of which I didn’t catch) were tied for first.

He then threw down the gauntlet to the Studio Seven crowd and launched into “Endless Cycle of Violence”. And holy fucking shit! The entire floor erupted into a maelstrom of bodies like nothing I’ve ever seen. As I said, there was no room to move, and yet the whole place boiled into violent motion — and I mean absolutely no fucking around.

For several songs, Leal screamed and gurgled and barked with his mic in one hand and that video camera pointed at the crowd with the other, and the floor continued to pitch and heave and collide in a frenzy. It was intense and exciting and scary as shit.

24 hours later we’re in Portland at the venerable Roseland Theater, with a capacity of 1480. At the start of the afternoon, one of the dudes who manages the place told me that they were only expecting about 500 paying customers — so about the same draw as Seattle, but in a place almost three times as big. So the crowd on the main floor was more spread out, and it spread out even more when the theater opened the balcony about half-way through the show.

Leal gave the same speech as he did in Seattle, video camera in hand, except this time he proclaimed that Seattle’s pit was the most brutal he had yet seen on the tour. He issued the same challenge to the Portland crowd. The crowd responded, but the excess space diminished the impact considerably. Don’t know what he said in SF at the tour’s final performance last night, but I’m assuming Seattle was still at the top of the mosh heap.

Leal also had far and away the best song introduction of the night, dedicating a 30-second grindcore tune “Perpetual General Arousal D____” (couldn’t make out the last word) to all the chronic masturbators in the audience, and then extolling the virtues of masturbating 4 or 5 times a day.

More random observations:

In Portland, Jonathan Huber, the missing-in-action vocalist for Seattle’s deathcore upstarts I Declare War, bolted on stage during one of The Red Chord‘s songs, grabbed a spare mic, belted out some of his trademark gutturals, and was then gone like a ghost. (That’s him, walking away with a mic in his hand, in the last of our Red Cord photos below.) I still haven’t heard why he left IDW’s recently concluded national tour in mid-stream or what his future plans are.

We’ve already written that, in our humble opinions, Animals As Leaders stole the show in both cities. My sometimes NCS collaborator Alexis chatted up Tobin Abasi at the merch table in Portland and got him to autograph an AAL t-shirt — which she will now never wear or wash.

Bill Robinson, Decrepit Birth‘s stoner frontman, took a massive hit of weed from a doobie that someone in the audience managed to hand up to him over the crowd barricade at the start of the set. When the smoke came out, it looked like a fucking mushroom cloud, lit up a dozen colors in the spotlights. Visual proof of the lung capacity required to sing death-metal vocals. (I think the dude fired up again much later in the evening at the merch table, because we were over on that side of the floor at the time, and I got a contact high for about 10 minutes.)

Refreshingly, both venues were almost entirely devoid of scene kids. All that unadulterated death metal must have functioned like scenester insect repellant.

It hurts your back to stand for more than 9 hours if you don’t have a job that keeps you on your feet all day. It looked like about 100 people eventually gave up in Portland and moved to the balcony where there was seating. I was sympathetic for sure, but on the other hand, I don’t think of live death metal as a spectator sport that you gaze down upon from balcony seating. On the third hand, no one ever accused me of having any sense.

But I do have enough sense to know it’s time to stop with the words and start with the photos.  Here you go — the bands who played at SUMMER SLAUGHTER in Portland, beginning with a local deathcore act called Regiment 26:

REGIMENT 26

VITAL REMAINS

ANIMALS AS LEADERS

CARNIFEX

DECREPIT BIRTH

CEPHALIC CARNAGE

VEIL OF MAYA

THE RED CHORD

ALL SHALL PERISH

THE FACELESS

DECAPITATED

This year’s edition of THE SUMMER SLAUGHTER tour was a celebration of death metal in some of its more brutal and technical flavors — and one out-of-place wild card that stole the show. In this case, “stealing the show” is a relative term, because the line-up of bands was so strong.

In fact, with allowances for the extremity of our musical tastes here at NCS, this was as consistently solid a line-up, from start to finish, as any tour in recent memory: Vital Remains, Animals As Leaders, Carnifex, Decrepit Birth, Cephalic Carnage, Veil of Maya, The Red Chord, All Shall Perish, The Faceless, and Decapitated.

In fact, we were so stoked about this tour that we decided to see it both in Seattle last Friday and again in Portland the next day. The tour’s last show is in San Francisco tonight, so we were catching the bands near the end of a long summer haul that no doubt wore them out. But you couldn’t tell that from the way they played. If we didn’t have day jobs and were closer to SF, we’d be tempted to take in a third performance — it was that good.

As usual, we took a crapload of photos at both performances. And in fact, most of them are crap. But we’ve been painstakingly sorting through them to find the least crappy ones that we wouldn’t be too embarrassed to share.

So, today, we’ve got some high-level reactions to what we heard from all the bands, plus photos from the Seattle tour stop. Tomorrow (now at this location), we’ll have some random observations about the scene and the crowds and a few other thoughts that aren’t really in the nature of a review, plus the best photos from the Portland show (which are a bit better than the ones we’re posting today).  (continue after the jump . . .)

Last Friday, my sometimes NCS collaborator Alexis and I got to Studio Seven in Seattle in the middle of the afternoon, missing the performance of the local Seattle band that started the bill, but in time to catch the performance of the first national act, Vital Remains. I left after Cephalic Carnage because I knew we were hitting the road early the next morning for Portland and I still had shit to do before I could leave town. Alexis and another friend stayed almost to the end.

The next day, my other sometimes NCS collaborator IntoTheDarkness joined us for the drive to Portland and the next stop of the tour at The Roseland Theater. So Alexis basically saw the whole line-up twice, I saw it one and a half times, and ITD saw it once.

Our musical tastes don’t match up completely. We all like a wide range of metal, but ITD is a deathcore afficionado, Alexis generally prefers more melodic music, and I’m more of a straight-ahead death-metal fan. Surprisingly, the band that all three of us thought was the show-stealer was the one band that didn’t fit the profile of this tour at all — Animals As Leaders.

We saw AAL in Seattle in April (reviewed here), along with Dillinger Escape Plan and Darkest Hour, and we’re now planning to see them again when they return to Seattle in November with what appear to be a bunch of non-metal bands we’ve never heard of (Circa Survive, Dredg, and Code Seven).

Tosin Abasi (guitar) and Navene Koperweis (drums) are simply amazing, and Javier Reyes is no slouch either — an amazingly tight, technically jaw-dropping group of performers playing intricate, heavy, beautiful instrumentals. Just stunning shit.

And in both Seattle and Portland, the crowd gave them a very enthusiastic response, even though they couldn’t have been a draw for most of the fans who paid to see this tour. The mosh pit even erupted on AAL’s last song in Seattle, which Abasi announced in a surprising death-metal guttural!

Deathcore addicts got a good fix from Carnifex and All Shall Perish. We all got especially severe neck-sprain from All Shall Perish’s set of memorable, blast-furnace songs. The drummer had one of those devices that, when struck with the stick, causes a triggered boom that feels like an earthquake in your intestinal tract, and he used it at the onset of each breakdown to good effect.

In their most recent album, Hell Chose Me, Carnifex seems to be inching away from deathcore and toward more straight death-metal, but the biggest crowd-pleasers were the band’s older deathcore standards, “Lie To My Face” and “The Diseased and the Poisoned”.

Breakdowns weren’t the sole province of those deathcore bands. Veil of Maya included some crushers, too, but mixed with a high level of technicality in the playing. For me, they were the big surprise of the Portland show (I left before seeing them in Seattle). Tremendously high energy — like the stage was packed with fissionable material that had just been set off — and fascinating instrumental work. I really enjoyed the hell out of their set.

The Red Chord had a few breakdowns, too, but they’ve pretty much shed the deathcore label with their latest awesome album, Fed Through the Teeth Machine. None of us thought the band sounded nearly as good on stage as they did on that CD — the sound came off too muddy, without enough separation in the instruments. Vocalist Guy Kozowyk also had a strange, lengthy monologue in Portland about bassist Greg Weeks’ latest bout with an X-Men video game that seemed to have no connection to anything.

I’d never seen Cephalic Carnage or Vital Remains before, and they were also eye-openers. Vital Remains has been around longer than all the bands on this tour, but they were the opening act. Bludgeoning, riff-heavy, straight-ahead death metal. Not much discernible difference from song to song, and vocalist Scott Wily’s growls grew monotonous (at least for me), but they got the crowd into the right spirit both nights, and it was undeniably some heavy shit.

Cephalic Carnage offered up a generous helping of grindcore, a big dose of freaked-out death metal, and 100% mayhem. Lenzig Leal is a funny-as-shit frontman, with his constant comments about weed and a nice dedication to all the chronic masturbators in the audience.

Nick Schendzielos (bass and backing vocals) and new guitarist Brian Hopp fly and bounce and headbang around the stage with abandon while they’re playing. Quite a sight, and the music is energizing cacophony (more about the mosh pits during this band’s performances tomorrow).

John Merryman is also amazing to watch behind the drumkit. His playing is intricate and fast as lightning, and yet it seems almost effortless — he barely seems to be moving above the elbows.

Decrepit Birth was another blast to watch on stage. Vocalist Bill Robinson, who looks like, and apparently is, a homeless person, has got tons of charisma and funny banter to accompany his satisfyingly cavernous death-metal growls.

Most of the other musicians all seem to be new touring members of the band, but their playing is technically sharp and intricate — and the bassist and one of the guitarists look like they’re about 18. Their fresh-faced, clean-cut appearance next to Robinson’s matted beard and dreads was an interesting sight.

And that brings me to the last two acts of the show. The Faceless was another show-stealer. Despite their name, I’m tempted to call them the face of modern death metal. We’d seen them before, were blown away then, and were even more head-over-heels impressed with them this time. Their live set faithfully captures the technical intricacy of the recorded music, while supercharging it with intense live energy.

Decapitated ended the night, and it was just amazingly cool to see this band on stage, resurrected from the bonfire of their apparent demise in the bus accident that killed Vitek and left Covan in a coma. Vogg has reconstituted the band with new members, and they sounded awesome. The crowd in Portland had been through a very long day and night of metal by the time these dudes took the stage, but the place came alive when they cranked up the first song.

The playing was tight, crushing, and rhythmically convulsive, and these dudes definitely get the tour award for best non-stop windmilling.

Enough words for today. Time for photos. The following are the best of the half-assed shots I could manage at Studio Seven in Seattle before leaving for the night. So, I don’t have pics of any of the bands that followed Cephalic Carnage in Seattle. But I do have photos of all the bands in Portland, and we’ll put up the best of those tomorrow, along with some additional comments about these two shows.

VITAL REMAINS

ANIMALS AS LEADERS

CARNIFEX

DECREPIT BIRTH

CEPHALIC CARNAGE

The official line-up for the Summer Slaughter Tour 2010 has now been confirmed (by Metal Sucks).  Here it is:

DECAPITATED
THE FACELESS
ALL SHALL PERISH
THE RED CHORD
VEIL OF MAYA
CEPHALIC CARNAGE
DECREPIT BIRTH
CARNIFEX
ANIMALS AS LEADERS
VITAL REMAINS

That is one mouth-watering band list of extreme metal awesomeness, isn’t it?

But as you scan your greedy eyes over that list, which band doesn’t exactly fit with the rest? If you’re like us, your eyes probably came to a halt at Animals As Leaders. Wonder how they came to be included. Mind you, we’re not complaining at all. We saw Tobin Abasi and his mates play in Seattle last week (and wrote about it here, with photos), and they are gobsmackingly good. But it’s an interesting choice.

Tour dates and places aren’t available yet. You can be abso-fucking-lutely sure that if this tour comes anywhere near Seattle, we will be there.

Just saw some bittersweet news. First, the good part. The line-up, dates, and places have just been released for the Atticus Metal Tour II — with NCS favorite UNEARTH as the headline act. And it gets better. Check out the line-up of other bands on the bill:  Stick To Your Guns, Veil of Maya, The Ghost Inside, and Carnifex — with Darkest Hour, Stray From The Path, and, Your Demise joining the party on select dates.  (Those dates and other details will be released here as they become available.)

Now for the bittersweet news (selfishly speaking): the closest the tour gets to the Pacific Northwest is Utah. Life ain’t fucking fair!  What else is new. Anyway, check out the full list of dates and places after the jump.

UNEARTH
Atticus Metal Tour 2
In association with Revolver Magazine and Headbang for the Highway
Tour w/ Stick To Your Guns, Veil Of Maya, The Ghost Inside and Carnifex

03/05 San Diego, CA Soma
03/06 Pomona, CA The Glasshouse
03/08 Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue
03/09 Denver, CO Cervantes Ballroom
03/11 Ft. Worth, TX Ridglea Theatre
03/12 San Antonio, TX White Rabbit
03/13 Houston, TX Meridian
03/16 Birmingham, AL 5 Points Music Hall
03/17 Orlando, FL Club Firestone
03/18 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
03/19 Raleigh, NC Volume 11
03/20 Richmond, VA The Hat Factory
03/21 Allentown, PA Crocodile Rock
03/23 Dayton, OH The Attic
03/24 Milwaukee, WI The Rave
03/25 St. Paul, MN Station 4
03/26 Chicago, IL House of Blues
03/27 Detroit, MI Magic Stick
03/28 Cleveland, OH Peabody’s
03/29 Indianapolis, IN Emerson Theatre
03/30 Albany, NY Northern Lights
03/31 Toronto, ON Opera House
04/01 Montreal, QC Tulipe
04/02 Quebec City, QC Imperial
04/03 New York, NY Gramercy Theatre
04/04 Worcester, MA The Palladium

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

IT’S THE FIRST DAY OF A NEW DECADE, AND A BRAVE NEW WORLD AWAITS!

So, why did you get so hammered last night? Is it really right to start off a new decade sleeping off a bender?  Well, I ain’t your mama, so my answer is:  Of course it is.

If you’re like me, today may not be the best day to pound your head with metal — unless of course you haven’t gone to sleep yet, in which case metal is exactly what you need. Because if you go to sleep now, that means you’ll wake up feeling like toad shit.  So, as your doctor, I advise you to listen to metal and don’t go to sleep.  Ever.  Be like that dude played by Christian Bale in The Machinist.  Except eat more.

Now, where was I?  Oh yeah, the new year.  As we gaze into the bright new future, we’re thinking about all the extreme music that’ll be coming our way in 2010.  We pulled together from various trade sources and internet prowling a list of extreme bands that have promised new releases in 2010, and then over the Christmas holiday your three NCS Co-Authors each picked the ones we’re most looking forward to hearing.

There were 21 bands that got at least 2 votes from the 3 of us, and that list is below.  Not that we think you really care deeply about what the three of us are stoked to hear, but our brains are too fogged today to do anything but post lists.  So here’s our list, and after the jump you can see the complete line-up we compiled of extreme bands who’ve promised new releases in 2010.  (If you know of bands we missed, let us know!)

A Life Once Lost
The Absence
Acacia Strain
All Shall Perish
Arsis
Carnifex
Dark Tranquillity
Decrepit Birth
Devin Townsend Project
Ion Dissonance
Living Sacrifice
Meshuggah
Necrophagist
Nervecell
Neuraxis
Rotting Christ
Soilwork
Through the Eyes of the Dead
Veil of Maya
Whitechapel
Wintersun

There’s one band that isn’t on this list that deserves special comment — PIG DESTROYER. They’re missing for only one reason: Although there have been widely circulated rumors (which seem to trace back to this report) that Pig Destroyer will be releasing a new album next fall, we haven’t seen any confirmation from the band or their label. But we definitely hope the reports are true.

And now, after the jump, you can see a complete list of NCS Metal bands that have announced 2010 releases.

Here’s the complete list we compiled from various trade sources that we used to pick the bands whose releases we most want to hear.

After the Burial, Arch Enemy, Arcturus, August Burns Red, Between the Buried and Me, Book of Black Earth, Born of Osiris, Cephalic Carnage, Children of Bodom, Converge, The Crown, Daath, Dark Tranquility, Darkane, Decrepit Birth, Devin Townsend, Disarmonia Mundi, Emperor, The Faceless, Fear Factory, Glass Casket, Goatwhore, God Forbid, Gorod, Heaven Shall Burn, In Flames, Lamb of God, Lesbian, A Life Once Lost, Light This City, Mastodon, Meshuggah, Moonspell, Mors Principium Est, Necrophagist, Nervecell, Nightrage, Nile, Norma Jean, Opeth, Pantera, Pelican, Porcupine Tree, The Red Shore, Revocation, Rotting Christ, Scale the Summit, Skarp, Soilent Green, Soilwork, Strapping Young Lad, Suffocation, Swallow the Sun, Textures, Unearth, Veil of Maya, Wintersun, Xerath