DESULTORY

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Jan 042011
 

2010 saw powerful new releases from two first-wave Swedish death-metal bands that we meant to review: Evocation and Interment. We failed miserably in following through on our intentions, as much as we liked those albums. However, the new album from yet a third first-wave band is now almost ready for release, and we’re not going to miss the chance to write about this one.

Formed in approximately 1989, Desultory was caught up in the hotbed of Stockholm death metal. They released three demos between ’90 and ’91 (From Beyond, Death Unfolds, and Visions) and a 1991 EP called Forever Gone. That led to a signing by Metal Blade for a three-album deal. 1993’s Into Eternity and 1994’s Bitterness (both recorded at Sunlight Studios) were well-received and solidified Desultory’s role as one of the progenitors of a more melodic brand of Swedish death metal. And then the train went off the rails.

Guitarist Stefan Pöge left the band, and the remaining members made a musical course change, producing an album called Swallow the Snake that apparently left death metal behind in favor of hard rock and groove metal. We haven’t heard that album, but from what we’ve read, it clearly disappointed Desultory fans in a major way. For all intents and purposes, Desultory came to an end, with the three members from the Snake album continuing on as a rock band under the name Zebulon.

But Desultory is now back.  The remaining three members from the 90’s — Klas Morberg (vocals/guitars), Hakan Morberg (now on guitars), and Thomas Johnson (drums) — have recruited bassist Jojje Bohlin and have produced the first Desultory album in 14 years. It’s called Counting Our Scars, it’s scheduled for release later this month, and it’s a welcome throwback to glory days. We got an advance listen — and yes, Desultory is indeed back, with a vengeance.  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2010’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS: PART 8

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2010  8 Responses »
Jan 042011
 

So far, we’ve named 14 songs to our list of 2010’s most infectious tunes, and so far the songs have been without clean singing. No shock there, of course. But today we’re including a couple of exceptions to the normal rule around here, with songs from Soilwork and As I Lay Dying.

Both of these bands have been favorites of this site’s founders for many years. We’ve always found something to like in their albums, even when the overall album strength has dipped a bit, and 2010 was no exception. Plus, both bands put on great live shows, and we snap up tickets whenever they venture into the PNW.

Both bands released new albums in 2010 that we reviewed, and both albums contained multiple songs that made our master list of “most infectious” candidates. In the end, we picked one song from each. For a full explanation of what we mean by “most infectious”, read this. And to see the songs we’ve named so far, click the Category link over on the right called MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2010.

To read about and hear the songs we picked for our final list from Soilwork and As I Lay Dying, continue on after the jump. Continue reading »

OMNIUM GATHERUM: “SOUL JOURNEYS”

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Jan 032011
 

 

Look what we just found! It’s a brand new video for a brand new song from a forthcoming brand new album! It’s all just brand new, just like 2011! And it’s from Finland’s Omnium Gatherum. They’re not brand new, but they are fucking good.

And this song? It’s the best new song we’ve heard in the New Year. Granted, the New Year isn’t even 3 days old yet, but we’ve got a feeling that 362 days from now, this song will still be one of our 2011 favorites — it’s that strong.

This is melodic death metal done right. It hits hard, it makes you wanna headbang, but it’s catchy, and it has a surprising — and surprisingly dreamy — interlude in the middle with clean singing, of all things.

The album will be called New World Shadows, and as we explained when we featured Omnium Gatherum in our Finland Tribute Week series (here), it was produced by Dan Swanö and it includes guest vocals from Mr. Swanö. In fact, that’s probably his voice during the middle interlude of this song. What a fucking coincidence, seeing as how we wrote about Mr. Swanö just yesterday (here).

Enough of our blather. Watch the video. You won’t regret doing it. Fucking awesome song.

AN NCS INTERVIEW: TRENDKILL’S VIRGIL PALAZZOLO

 Interviews  No Responses »
Jan 032011
 

Trendkill Recordings is an up-and-coming French record label that we discovered through its signing of Pristina — a U.S. band whose 2010 album The Drought (Ov Salt and Sorrow) we thought was awesome. (Read our review here.) Since then, we’ve discovered more of the bands in the Trendkill stable, and it’s a remarkably varied and remarkably good group of artists.

Recently, we got the chance to conduct an e-mail interview of Virgil Palazzolo, the founder and impresario of Trendkill Recordings and Trendkill Entertainment, and a musician in his own right. If you want a bit of insight into the mind of a dude responsible for signing a wide range of bands to recording contracts, distributing a diverse catalogue of albums, and organizing tours and shows in Europe — and who’s on the verge of opening a U.S. office in 2011 — then you ought to read what follows.

Our interview covered topics such as his perspectives on the music business in the Age of Download, what he looks for in potential Trendkill signings, his label’s plans for the new year, and new Trendkill releases on the horizon, among others. We thought it was a damned interesting conversation, and hope you will, too. So read on . . . after the jump. Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2010’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS: PART 7

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2010  No Responses »
Jan 032011
 

Ah, too bad — the holidays are behind us. For most U.S. denizens, school and work resume today, and consequently the suck quotient of life will rapidly escalate back into the normal zone. We will do our best to help soften the blow by rolling out the next two entries on our list of 2010’s most infectious extreme metal songs.  For a full explanation of what we mean by “most infectious”, read this. And to see the songs we’ve named so far, click the Category link over on the right called MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2010.

In a nutshell, what we’re doing is listing, in no particular order, the catchiest songs from a wide range of extreme metal sub-genres — not necessarily the best metal of the year (though lots of these songs would qualify for that kind of list), but the ones that most effectively got our heads and other parts of our bodies moving, and then got stuck in our skulls on mental replay long after they ended.

The two songs we’re adding today are by Germany’s Heaven Shall Burn and Kenos, from Italy. Heaven Shall Burn has been a band whose music we’ve liked for years, and their 2010 album was no exception. Kenos is a much more recent discovery for us, but we immediately got addicted to their music, particularly the song we’ve chosen for this list. To read about the selections and hear the songs, follow along with us after the jump . . . Continue reading »

DAN SWANO: THE UNISOUND GUESTBOOK

 Metal News  2 Responses »
Jan 022011
 

Dan Swanö is one of those names I associate with excellence in metal. He fronted the influential Swedish band Edge of Sanity (as well as others, including Nightingale), he’s been a member of other excellent metal bands, including Katatonia, Ribspreader, and Bloodbath, and he’s appeared as a guest vocalist or instrumentalist on albums by many others.

In addition to his creative work as a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, he has for many years run a recording studio in his hometown of Örebro called Unisound, and has been responsible for recording (and/or mixing/mastering) an eye-popping number of albums by the likes of Opeth, Dissection, Marduk, Dark Funeral, Katatonia, and The Project Hate MCMXCIX. Search Blabbermouth using his name for recent news, and you’ll see that he’s scheduled to work on the production of new albums from Asphyx, Coldworker, and November’s Doom, among many others.

Swanö ran Unisound for most of the 1990s, then closed it for several years, and reopened it again in 2005. In 1994, he started a guestbook, where bands with whom he worked would add remarks and Polaroid photos of themselves in the studio. As one guestbook would become filled, he would start another.

Earlier this afternoon we learned that Swanö has arranged for the digitizing of the guestbook for 1996-1997, and he’s made it available on-line, along with his own “liner notes”. It’s fascinating, and after the jump we’ll tell you more about it and give you a link where you can see it for yourselves. Continue reading »

YESTERDAY YOU RESTED, TODAY IT’S TIME TO DETONATE NAPALM IN YOUR HEAD

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Jan 022011
 

January 1 is a slow day for most people, a day spent sleeping in and recovering from the excesses of New Year’s Eve, a day when many Americans plant their super-sized asses on the couch and watch college football bowl games, a day when normally active human beings become human slugs.

But that was yesterday. Today, most people have got to begin mentally gearing up for the resumption of the shitstorm known as the work week. Yes, for those of us who are students or working stiffs, January 3 means the holidays are over and the usual daily grind begins again (and we’re not talking about Brutal Truth).

So, to help you begin clearing out the mental cobwebs and awaken from the foglike after-effects of your revels and reveries, we’ve got three videos for you. These babies will wake you the fuck up. They’re the musical equivalent of detonating a couple canisters of napalm in your head and just letting all that jellied gasoline burn until it has vaporized what’s left of your brain and left only oily soot behind, which will serve as good fertilizer for new oily, blackened tendril growth that will help you bob and weave with agility when the shit starts flying tomorrow. Sounds fun, huh?

After the jump . . . videos from Demonical, Aeon, and Son of Aurelius. Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2010’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS: PART 6

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2010  No Responses »
Jan 022011
 

As of yesterday, we’d finished rolling out, in no particular order, the first 10 entries on our list of 2010’s most infectious extreme songs. (For a full explanation of what we mean by “most infectious”, read this.) So far, here’s what we’ve got:

Byfrost: “Desire”
Evocation: “Sweet Obsession”
Keep of Kalessin: “Dragon iconography”
Living Sacrifice: “Rules of Engagement”
Kataklysm: “Suicide River”
Kalmah: “Bullets Are Blind”
Finntroll: “Solsagan”
Eluveitie: “Thousandfold”
Coliseum: “Blind In One Eye”
Kvelertak: “Blodtørst”

Today, we’re starting on the next 10. Does that mean we’re stopping at 20? Not necessarily. We’re still futzing with our list. If we had to place a bet today, we’d bet the final list will be closer to 30. Just depends on whether our naturally lazy natures succeed in stopping us from trying to shave the list down to something shorter.

Today’s additions to the list begin to draw us into black-metal territory — but trust us, they’re damned infectious.  Stay with us after the jump as we roll out songs by Demonic Resurrection and Sargeist. Continue reading »

DAN DANKMEYER: ARCOLOGIES

 Metal News  No Responses »
Jan 012011
 

You see that? You know what that means? It means 8-string instrumental wizard Dan Dankmeyer is beginning the new year with a new album.

We reviewed DD’s last album (his fourth release during 2010) in early November (here). That was our first exposure to his music. As you can tell from that review, we became immediate fans.

So how fucking cool is it to start the very first day of the new year with an unexpected surprise like this? Very fucking cool. Like his previous releases, Arcologies is available for immediate download at Dan’s Bandcamp page (here). It’s a name-your-price download, which means you pay nothing or anything that seems fair to you.

Guess what music we’ll be listening to today?

2011: MORE SICKNESS AHEAD

 Forthcoming Albums, Listmania  7 Responses »
Jan 012011
 


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 . . .)

Continue reading »

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