NO CLEAN SINGING

MORE SEEN AND HEARD: FORGOTTEN TOMB AND BECOMING THE ARCHETYPE

Sep 192012

I already wrote one of these round-up posts early this morning, but hours have passed since then and I’ve found more new things worth sharing.

FORGOTTEN TOMB

This Italian band is one whose name I’ve heard or seen before but whose music I don’t recall ever delving into. I gather from my reading that their sound has evolved over the course of five albums, the last of which was Under Saturn Retrograde (2011), starting out as fast black metal, moving to depressive, doom-oriented black metal with a lyrical focus on suicide, and then eventually settling into a kind of blackened goth-oriented mix of metal and rock with clean production and a predominance of clean vocals.

The band have a new album slated for release by Agonia Records on October 30 in Europe and November 6 in North America. Its title is …And Don’t Deliver Us From Evil…, and today Agonia started streaming a new song from the album called “Deprived”, which will be released separately as a 7″ single with a second acoustic track.

I don’t know how well this song represents the rest of the album, but it’s really good. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: ARCH ENEMY, ARKAIK, OAK PANTHEON, THE SECRET

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 3 Responses »

Sep 192012

Here’s a grab bag of things I saw and heard over the last 24 hours that I thought were good enough to pass your way. I saw and heard other things that I’m keeping to myself, for your own protection.

ARCH ENEMY

Laboratory testing of animals is a hot-button issue for lots of people. On one side are those who view it as utterly unethical, as a vestige of humanity’s barbarism that should be abandoned as quickly as possible. On the other side are those who argue that animal testing is essential for the development of things like new medicines that will save lives (of course, animals are also used to test products that have nothing to do with human health).

But I suppose there are lots of people who give the issues no serious thought at all, which is unfortunate. Sweden’s Arch Enemy are trying to get more people to think about the treatment of animals in laboratory testing through a video they released today. The video is for “Cruelty Without Beauty”, a song from their latest album, 2011’s Khaos Legions. It effectively mixes disturbing film clips of animal testing with animation — and of course shots of Angela Gossow venting her rage.

I had mixed feelings about the album, because I thought the quality of the songs was a mixed bag. For me, “Cruelty Without Beauty” is one of the stronger tracks, though I should confess that I lean toward the side of the debate that the song represents. Check out the video, which gives a voice to the voiceless, after the jump. Continue reading »

SYBREED: “GOD IS AN AUTOMATON”

Album Reviews 5 Responses »

Sep 192012

(DGR reviews the new release by Sybreed.)

Sybreed, the four-piece hailing from our favorite land of neutrality known as Switzerland who manage to combine elements of groove metal, industrial, electronica, and melodeath into one package are back again. Three years removed from the group’s album The Pulse Of Awakening (written about in an incredibly ridiculous manner here), we find ourselves ready to dive headlong into another four-word titled album God Is An Automaton.

If there is one thing that we can gather from Sybreed’s discography so far it is that although the band have some unifying themes, each disc has sounded different. Antares was pretty heavy the whole way through, and Pulse Of Awakening whiplashed back and forth between a catchy pop-oriented sound and some the more violent metal aspects that lay at the heart of Sybreed. God Is An Automaton is a different beast from these two because it is a heavier, more vicious album than what Sybreed have done before. If you’re one of those people who have been aching for the band to get back to beating the hell out of everyone, then God Is An Automaton may just be your cup of tea.

God Is An Automaton actually opens with a fairly familiar version of Sybreed, one that bounces between a hooked chorus and catchy riffs before quickly taking a turn toward the slower-paced songs that make up a large part of this disc. In the three years between albums, Sybreed have attained a sense for a really heavy groove and sound, more machine-like than they have ever been before. Maybe having Seth design your album artwork two times in a row has rubbed off on them, but God Is An Automaton is a much darker album than its predecessors. Continue reading »

A BAG FOR YOUR DICK

IQ Subtraction 14 Responses »

Sep 192012

If Condom Commercials Were Honest — powered by Cracked.com

(Sorry about the ad.)

It will come as no surprise to our readers that of all my many Facebook friends, most of whom undoubtedly have mistaken me for someone else, it was Phro and Phro alone who posted a link to the above video on his page. By being straight-forward and direct, it serves as a pointed reminder of how much bullshit we put up with in advertising. It made me think of how refreshing it would be if promotional campaigns for metal albums followed a similar formula.

Don’t get me wrong. I have cordial relations with many label representatives and PR folks, and I generally enjoy reading their album descriptions because they write better than I do and I admire good writing, except when I don’t enjoy their writing because they write better than I do. Also, I depend on them for advance access to music, which I appreciate because there’s not really a quid pro quo, given that even when I whip my lazy ass into writing a review it’s difficult for me to imagine anyone actually relying on my opinion in deciding what music to buy. This is why I always include music with the reviews. I may be stupid, but I’m not dumb.

Still, after seeing that video, I couldn’t help but fantasize about what the “Bag For Your Dick” approach to promotion would mean for metal PR:

“This album sounds like thousands of other deathcore albums with a few weedily riffs thrown in to make it sound “progressive”. It gave me diarrhea by the second track, but brainless teenagers will think it’s brutal. If any brainless teenagers read your blog, pimp the crap out of these hacks. Make sure you have the quart-sized Pepto Bismol on hand before you listen to this shit.”

“Here’s the long-awaited and highly anticipated new album by this band whose name I’d give my left nut to forget. And by ‘long-awaited and highly anticipated’ I mean these assholes have been auto-tuning and pro-tooling the living shit out of this pile of putrescence for the last year while getting high every night and bitching about their gf’s, who must be as retarded as the deluded dudes in this band. Whatever.” Continue reading »

ARKHAMIN KIRJASTO: “TORCHES ABLAZE”

Album Reviews 3 Responses »

Sep 182012

To operate effectively on your brain stem, extreme metal doesn’t require catchy melodies or viral riffs. You don’t have to find yourself humming the songs in your head hours or days later in order to enjoy the listening experience. In fact, as we all know, music in which the instrumentalists deliver nothing but down-tuned brute-force percussion, especially when accompanied by ravenous howling or bear-like roaring, can strike all the right chords even when you can’t reconstruct the songs in your mind a day later.

Yet I think it’s undeniable that clever melodic hooks and instantly headbangable rhythms are a big part of what makes classic heavy metal “classic”. Those are key ingredients (though not necessarily essential ones) that give songs staying power. Match that up with extremity in the vocal department, and you’ve got something that has the potential for real appeal to listeners (like me) who enjoy a memorable, neck-snapping song but also have a thirst for musical bestiality with a seasoning of the occult. And if you discover a band who do that while also delivering surprising variety and lyrical themes involving Lovecraftian horror, then you’ve got yourself a real winner.

And that’s what I’ve found in Torches Ablaze by the Finnish duo known as Arkhamin Kirjasto. They’ve pulled off a neat trick on their virally infectious debut album: combining throwback heavy metal riffs, death metal vocals, atmospheric guitar touches, and Lovecraftian lyrics in a way that’s as interesting as it is irresistible.

In a nutshell, Arkhamin Kirjasto (“The Library of Arkham”, in Finnish) is the project of Jussi Lehtisalo, who manages the eclectic Ektro Records label and has been involved in numerous other bands (including Circle, Pharoah Overlord, and Split Cranium) and solo artist Samae Koskinen. Lehtisalo brought to the project his interest in extreme experimental music as well as hard rock, glam, and punk, while Koskinen was driven by interests ranging from Maiden-esque heavy metal to early death metal. Continue reading »

CAN MDF XI GET ANY MORE AWESOME?

Metal News 5 Responses »

Sep 182012

I know, I’m a grown man and grown men don’t say “awesome”. But I can’t fuckin’ help it. Earlier this morning, the organizers of Maryland Deathfest XI officially announced the addition of 10 more bands to the line-up, including the headliner for Thursday’s event: BOLT THROWER. Here are the latest additions:

BOLT THROWER (UK)
SLEEP
CARPATHIAN FOREST (Norway)
REVENGE (Canada)
ABIGAIL (Japan)
CRUCIAMENTUM (UK)
ANHEDONIST
SPEEDWOLF
AMBASSADOR GUN
ASTHMA CASTLE

Seriously, this festival is reaching nose-bleed heights of ridiculousness. If you want to lose your breath momentarily, take a look at the now-updated line-up (recognizing that it’s still not complete and that the final announcement of bands won’t come until sometime between October 8-10): Continue reading »

GRAND SUPREME BLOOD COURT

Metal News 2 Responses »

Sep 182012

Somehow I missed the news earlier this year about the formation of Grand Supreme Blood Court, though with a name like that I’m puzzled about how it could have eluded me. However, the unveiling yesterday of the cover art for their debut album, created by Axel Hermann (Asphyx, Grave, Unleashed, etc.), remedied the situation. It appears there will be blood and death, which is an appetizing prospect.

The prospect becomes even more mouth-watering when you understand who’s in this band. It’s the brainchild of former long-time Asphyx guitarist Eric Daniels. After being essentially out of metal for almost a decade, Daniels picked up his guitar again and started creating riffs. He shared them with select friends, and GSBC was eventually born. In addition to Daniels, it includes current Asphyx bass player Alwin Zuur (who plays guitars along with Daniels in GSBC), Bob Bagchus (Asphyx) on drums, Theo van Eekelen (Hail of Bullets) on bass, and the always stunning Martin van Drunen (Asphyx) handling the vocals and lyrics.

GSBC has finished recording a debut concept album — Bow Down Before the Blood Court — which was mixed by the awesome Dan Swanö (Edge Of Sanity, Bloodbath) and is scheduled for release by Century Media on November 12 in Europe and November 20 in the U.S.

With a five-man line-up, four of whose members consist of current or former members of Asphyx, the obvious question — which Eric Daniels will no doubt tire of answering until GSBC’s music is finally released — is what GSBC has to offer that’s different from the music of Asphyx? Continue reading »

EXTOL ARE RECORDING A NEW ALBUM AND SEEK FAN SUPPORT TO FUND A DOCUMENTARY

Metal News 4 Responses »

Sep 182012

Between 1998 and 2005, Norway’s Extol recorded four albums and two EP’s, beginning with Burial and ending with The Blueprint Dives. As Andy Synn wrote for us in his third SYNN REPORT, which provided a detailed review of all six releases in January 2011, they had “a profound, and vastly underrated, influence on many of today’s bands” and “were in many ways the epitome of counter-culture in metal circles at one time.”

After years of silence, May 2012 brought the first of several cryptic videos at a site named www.extolfilm.com. No explanation for these videos accompanied them. When Andy reported about the first of the videos (here), he wrote: “What does it mean? A documentary about the band? A concert dvd? Or… dare I hope… a reformation? While the latter is unlikely, I can’t help but hope . . .”

Today there will be joy in the hearts of the Extol faithful, because we have received word from the band that after five years of silence and seven years following the release of their last album, Extol are returning to the studio to record their fifth album. Here is the band’s official statement:

“After the The Blueprint Dives in 2005 and the massive worldwide touring with bands such as MASTODON and OPETH, we dissapeared without any further explanation. Now, years later, we are back on track working on what is to be our fifth full-length. As expected from the musical legacy of Extol, no compromise is offered.”

SHOW REVIEW: ANTHRAX / TESTAMENT / DEATH ANGEL – ACE OF SPADES, Sept 14, 2012, comma, dash, dot, comma

Concert Reviews 4 Responses »

Sep 182012

(In this post DGR reviews the Sept. 14, 2012, performance in Sacramento, CA, by Death Angel, Testament, and Anthrax.)

This is probably one of the easiest show reviews I’ll ever have to write because the three bands you see on the tour flyer are literally it. No local opener, no smaller band, just three standard-bearers of the thrash scene putting together one of the better tours that have hit recently. I always joke that if you really want to find me at a show then you need to look for the guy with the long hair and the goatee. This time, however, I probably was easy as hell to find based on that description, and I should’ve told everyone to look out for the balding guy.

I was really excited for this show for a couple of reasons. I’d get to see Testament again for the second time this year. I feel they’re one of the best ‘legacy’ bands out there right now, and the quality of their recent discs is just as good as the older stuff that they’re known for. Another reason was that this would be the first show I’ve attended at Ace Of Spades that was sold out. I’ve been to some pretty big shows there and seen the room filled with people, but never packed to the gills as it was that Friday.

Finally, I knew the place was going to lose its collective mind for these three bands. When Testament rolled through here previously, the venue went completely nuts. If there’s one thing I could rely on, it was that Sacramento’s fans were going to go nuts and I would be there to bear witness to it.

I was lucky enough to find a really great view in the upper bar about fifteen feet from the stage, but perfectly level with the performers on stage, so I grabbed that spot as quickly as I could and just rested on that railing. If you’re not one of those people who is obsessed with being up front on the floor or in the pit, my location was seriously one of the best spots in that whole venue. Not long after I got inside, Death Angel took the stage and the night began. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: UNFATHOMABLE RUINATION, RAGNAROK, BEITHIOCH, AND DEATHSTORM

Free Shit, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 6 Responses »

Sep 172012

You may have noticed that we’ve had fewer than the usual number of posts on the site over the weekend and again today. This is because your humble editor has (a) been devoting extensive time to other extracurricular activities that involved (i) heavy drinking, and (ii) screaming himself hoarse at an NFL game; and (b) hacking into his mother-in-law’s new computer, while recovering from (a)(i) and (a)(ii), in order to reset a password that she must have mis-typed when doing the initial set-up.

All of this proved to be a significant diversion from the demands of NCS. Things should be at least somewhat back to (ab)normal around here by tomorrow. However, I did want to add one more post today to share a few items I saw and heard over the last 24 hours. Fair warning: the shit I found will peel back the skin from your face like a bloody onion.

UNFATHOMABLE RUINATION

This London-based band is a delicious new find for me. This past spring, they recorded their debut album, Misshapen Congenital Entropy, at 16th Cellar studios in Rome with Stefano Morabito, who has produced albums for bands such as Fleshgod Apocalypse, Hour of Penance, Vomit the Soul, Inherit Disease, and Blasphemer. It will be released on October 1 by Sevared Records, and limited edition pre-orders are now being accepted at this location.

Recently, the band have uploaded two songs for streaming — “Carved Inherent Delusion” and “Edges of Disfigured Atrocity”, which features Konstantin Lühring from Defeated Sanity and Despondency as a guest vocalist. (Giulio Moschini of Hour of Penance also provides guest vokillz on the album.) Both songs are available as “name your price” downloads on Bandcamp. Both songs will also smash your cranium into tiny little fragments and chop up the goo inside like minced garlic. Continue reading »

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