Dec 232016
 

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The Lovecraftian mythos of The Great Old Ones can be musically interpreted in different ways, and within the realm of metal it has been. But the overpowering horror and ancient, terrible power of Lovecraft’s creations seem to cry out for the grandeur of a symphonic treatment. Others have attempted such a thing; few have been as successful as Temple of Demigod in the new album we’re premiering today, which boldly takes The Great Old Ones as its name.

The great peril of all symphonic metal is its tendency in the hands of many bands to become cheesy, or simply too monochromatic and uninventive to add much of worth to the underlying metal elements of the music, or so incessantly bombastic that it tends to produce a mind-numbing effect over the length of an album. These are all pitfalls that Temple of Demigod masterfully avoids, and the success is all the more impressive because The Great Old Ones is the work of only one person. Continue reading »

Nov 192016
 

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When you confront a truly daunting task, sometimes the result is paralysis; the magnitude of the effort discourages effort. Experience teaches that sometimes the only way to overcome that paralysis is simply to make a start, no matter how small the step may seem. Usually easier said than done, but that’s what I’m doing today.

I’m sitting on a ton of recent music and videos I want to write about in the time I have left before our year-end LISTMANIA extravaganza inevitably begins monopolizing my time. I haven’t figured out how I will get everything out and before you that I think you should check out. But this is a start, selected in fairly random fashion, but with an effort to cover a range of styles.

SORDIDE

Early last month we enthusiastically premiered a stream of the new album by the French black metal band Sordide. Entitled Fuir la lumière, it is now available through Avantgarde Music and from the band. And as a further reminder about how good Sordide’s music, they’ve now released a live performance video. It was recorded on October 23 at White Noise Studio. Continue reading »