The Haunted, In Flames & Borknager news

News today that seminal Swedish melodic metallers In Flames & Norwegian Black/Pagan/Folk/Prog Metal act Borknagar have both signed multi-year deals with Century Media Redords. For the Swedes this is their first venture with the US label, having produced most of their discography through Nuclear Blast. Borknagar however are returning to the German formed but now primarily California based label.

In Flames:

"We are very happy to make IN FLAMES part of the Century Media Family. The band has a very loyal international fan base and has found a partner with an international set up," says Antje Lange, Century Media Records.

"This is number 10..... Album number 10!!!!! That we even made it this far, that is amazing. Then, to deliver the album of our career, that is something else..... It's fast, slow, heavy and mellow. It's happy, sad, angry and calm. 'Sounds of a playground Fading' is everything we ever done on crack (it's a metaphor boys and girls), it's cask strength whisky when it's THAT perfect moment. Use and abuse!!!!!" - Anders Fridén/In Flames

Around since the early 90's, In Flames produced some of the finest Melodic Death metal of the time with releases like Black Ash Inheritance, Lunar Strain, and The Jester Race. Compellingly melodic but packing enough wallop to satisfy many Death Metal fans, the band has unfortunately slipped into synth infused popish metal with at times Nu-Metal under-tones. Truthfully their last few efforts have barely made an impact but perhaps a new label might invigorate the band to grasp some of its old brilliance. With CM as the label though I wouldn't hold my breath.

I spread the news of Borknagar as they have a pretty solid following but are a band I've just never caught on to. I'm willing to give them a chance and check out the next record though.

Borknagar is currently working on material for a new album, at this point roughly scheduled to be released in early 2012.

Øystein G. Brun comments:
"Well, sometimes life takes slightly unexpected yet great turns! Due to internal business affairs the deal with Indie recordings was mutually terminated by both parties in January 2011. Since then we have been negotiating a possible re-signing with CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS. While you are reading this, Jens F. Ryland and I are at the headquarters of CMR in Dortmund to ink a new deal with our old partners in crime. If feels very good to be back in the fold of the mighty Century family- there is simply no team- no label alike. Thanks to Jens Preuter (head A&R) we have worked out and landed a deal that we are 110% sure will serve the future endeavors of BORKNAGAR in the best possible and most potent way. We share so much history with CMR and we are now preparing to create more musical history for the future to come- together with our friends at the Century family!"

After the split up of At The Gates, the brother's Bjorler formed The Haunted and put out a few really fantastic album in their self-titled,(The Haunted) Made Me Do It, One Kill Wonder. These were followed by the shockingly infantile titled rEVOLVEr. Since then the band hasn't even been on my radar and I'm not even going to bother with a full review of their new record Unseen, which I have heard. It's awful, and sees the band finally eschewing their Melodic Death/Thrash roots for a straight up Pop Metal album that I can only imagine appeals to those still dealing with adolescent acne. Not to belabour a point, but it is utter shite.

I'll leave you with some solid stuff.

Review: Amon Amarth - Surtur Rising

Ever since their initial offering Once Sent From The Golden Hall back in 1998, purveyors of Viking-themed Death Metal Amon Amarth have coralled a fierce and faithful following amongst lovers of extreme but melodic Metal, never seeming to let those followers down. Since then the band's output has been second to none in quality of both albums and live shows. Often understandably looked at wryly by those who only see a more extreme version of the 'manly' aesthetic seen in the ever cheesy Manowar, these Swedes however have truly never put form over function and proved this with 2008's Twilight Of The Thunder God; an album of surging power and aggression but also swathed in sublime melody that never goes so far as to relinquish its main thrust of battering you on the side of the head. In fact, the album was so revered (#1 on my top 20 of that year, and on many, many other 'best of' lists) that it seemed the band would be hard pressed to top it without going in a unforeseen direction like Enslaved had done a decade before. Not to worry AA lovers, the band have not left their Viking ways behind and have again produced a mighty fine slab of death and fire.

Galloping out of the gate "War Of The Gods" is a thunderous track, pinning you back with force and conjuring the best moments of AA's aggressive nature. Throughout Surtur Rising the hair swinging in unison, and constant marauding Swedes seem to rely a little less on melody than their recent efforts and stick to more bars of churning Death. And all over it works beautifully. With feet firmly entrenched in their mid-paced dirge landscape, and including those catchy melodies by dropping down an octave and picking out three or four note counterpoints, "Töck's Taunt - Loke's Treachery Part II" slips into that groove AA have carved out for themselves. Guitarists Olavi Mikkonen and Anders Hansson are experts at this playing, one carrying on with a cutting rhythm while the other dropping down to pick a melody at a shifted tempo; it's a sound I love and Amon Amarth do it like no other. This style isn't as ubiquitous as on more recent records, but it's still present and comes in always at just the right moment. Vocals are executed like always by mead swilling Norseman Johan Hegg, from his raspy and ever increasingly decipherable low key starts to his searing deeper growls. "Destroyer Of The Universe" is another battering ram of energetic Death Metal, surging at a hefty clip. On bass Ted Lundström continues to plunder out a deep crevice which drummer Fredrik Andersson flies around, joining him in creating a solid backbone for the others to riff off. The band detours from the slashing warfare to slow to a near Doom-Death requiem on "The Last Stand Of Frej", a sure fire favourite anthem for fans of grooving their headbanging.

Mikkonen and Hansson go a bit out of their usual same key solos on a lot of the songs here, choosing instead to rip out some shredding blasts instead; and again it just works smoothly with such well written work. If you're in the need for catchy, melodic but also unrelenting Death Metal you've found your prize in Surtur Rising, another tremendous weapon in Amon Amarth's already overflowing cache of deadly artillery. The longboat is sailing...grab a sheild and jump on, it's a fantastic journey.

Addendum: The album is being released in what seems like 10 different version; deluxe, digi-pack, luxurious gate-fold LP etc. Some of these depend on which continent you are on. I was given the US album with the bonus System Of A Down cover "Ariels". It's not bad, but I'm not a great fan of covers. It doesn't diminish the album and many may get a kick out of it. On other versions are a cover of Accept's "Balls To The Wall" and KISS's "War Machine".

Of 5 wailing horns:





1. War of the Gods
2. Töck's Taunt - Loke's Treachery Part II
3. Destroyer of the Universe
4. Slaves of Fear
5. Live Without Regrets
6. The Last Stand of Frej
7. For Victory or Death
8. Wrath of the Norsemen
9. A Beast Am I
10. Doom Over Dead Man

Official Amon Amarth Site

A retort to Cosmo Lee regarding lyrics

"Lyrics matter. I shouldn’t even have to say this."

So begins Cosmo Lee over at Invisible Oranges (the finest name of any Metal site on the net) in a piece regarding lyrics. As clear a premise as you will come across. No qualifiers. Concise. Of course during the article Lee presents many caveats as to why lyrics are both poor and great, and also therefore why one should value lyrics or not. I have no problem with such arguments; they're pretty common, especially in Metal, and can lead to some very interesting and heated debate. The problem is that Lee presents two wholly dismissible points as the central arguments to back up his thesis that lyrics should matter to someone and if they disagree for some reason they are failing to understand or enjoy fully the art presented to them. Lee continues:

"The first is aesthetic completeness. Just like you shouldn’t watch a foreign film without subtitles, you shouldn’t listen to music with words without knowing what they are. Of course, this is crucial for critics – one should not pass judgment on something without perceiving it in its entirety."

Attempting to divine the wholeness of art, in any form, is a tricky business not just in the attempt to glean all the information, but also in the assumption that such information is available and even understandable. One would not just need to have the complete work of art in front of you, but also the artist available and willing to share their desired meaning. This may seem either preposterous or stunningly obvious to others, but both avenues propose incredibly taxing philosophical feats. If you need the artist to explain their work, how much does the work itself even matter? Why not just ask the artist what meaning or point they'd like to convey is? If you do not need the artist to explain the true meaning behind their work you are kidding yourself to believe you can perceive all meaning from that which is presented without explanation. To believe art is not complex and obtuse is both foolish and misses one of its main purposes: that not all things are to be digested intellectually or can succumb to a reductionist system of belief. While there are certainly many cases within any art form of the artist being straight-forward with their work(s), more often than not this intention is left either to the imagination or is conveyed in such a way as to leave the entirety of the intention ambiguous. You may not like that, but any claim to the contrary regarding all art is simply wishful thinking. When one stands in front of an archaic painting at the National Gallery in London where the artist's motives are long since lost, one can still fully enjoy the work presented. Lyrics and music are no different.


Lee:

"If you’re a metal band with a singer, you can’t say that the guy you drag along on tour and put in the center of the stage doesn’t matter. He’s the center of attention – so what comes out of his mouth is important. It’s not enough just to sound good."

It sure is just enough to sound good to many. Why not? As my above point proves, knowing the words does not in any way necessarily impose upon the listener the intention of those words unless you ask and again then I would point out why not just have the lyricist write a book? Can those lyrics mean something to the listener? Absolutely, but it is not necessary and I will come back to this.

Lee Again:

The second way in which lyrics matter is political, strange as that may sound. We live in an age of overload of both information and disinformation. We are told more things than ever, and they mean less than ever. When we watch TV adverts, and some rapid-fire voice machine-guns out a legal disclaimer at the end, we hear the letter but not the spirit of laws that are meant to protect consumers. Every time we see a news story, other stories could have been presented. Omission is an editorial and political act. It happens every second. Interests big and small use omission to keep people from knowing everything – and knowledge is power.

Here Lee makes the fatal flaw of mistaking knowledge for understanding. He presumes knowing what words are used is the same information as why they were used. Again, such reductionist theory strips art of a fuller meaning or at least oppresses it with a formula that while may work for Lee, most certainly is not necessary for others to enjoy their art as much as they desire. Claiming the latter is ignorant takes away the judicial "editorial" quality that the fan or consumer has every right to express as the artist does themselves. (I also find Lee pointing out something a 12 year old should know to be quite insulting to his readers, who he goes on to tacitly suggest are not ignorant people.)

I am not claiming lyrics don't matter, of course they do, to the writer and to many who are fans of any artist. But that is the point: lyrics matter to those they matter to. It is an unmistakable tautology and as such is not one available to such a simple canonical decree as Lee proclaims.

(p.s. I actually really like Lee's writing, and as someone with a fine arts degree in Film, there is one thing here I agree with Lee 100% on: never see a foreign film without subtitles.)

Trunk, KISS and the R 'n' R Hall of Fame again

At the risk of going negative again on a certain subject as I did previously, it's time to put the Eddie Trunk/KISS Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame spat to rest. As expected, with Ace Frehely as a guest last night on That Metal Show, Trunk took the opportunity to go apoplectic about KISS not being inducted into the Hall of Fame; again as I stated in that previous post, the Hall is simply misnamed and people (especially Trunk) need to get over it.

To his credit Trunk rails against quite a number of acts who have been snubbed like Judas Priest, Rush and a few others that I agree with. I also realize the Latin phrase "de gustibus non est disputandum" (in matters of taste there is no argument) comes in to play here, but if we stuck to those parameters there would be no art criticism at all. So with that: KISS and why they do not deserve to be included into the Hall of Fame. Being born in 1964, Trunk would have been 10 when the band's first album was released, but more importantly in his adolescence when the band really hit their heyday. This is important, as the music we love during this period stays with us irrespective of its value as we grow older. Much like most people look back on this time in their life with fondness (outwith those with traumatic experiences), the music is incorporated into this nostalgia. The nostalgia and clinging to these bands extend into the early twenties also. Can such bands be good and respected? Of course, and the time they are popular doesn't necessarily discredit that. But KISS stands out in this respect.

There are many people who list amongst their favourite bands those who came long before they were born or those who came along long after their adolescence. I know many people who's favs include The Beatles, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and many more who had formed and sometimes disbanded long before their birth. Likewise, I also know quite a few, myself included, who would include bands who came along long after that impressionable period had passed. However, I've never come across anyone who claim KISS as a favourite who doesn't fit into that impressionable demographic. You don't see teenagers claiming Destroyer is a classic, or even those well into their twenties. On the other end, I've yet to find Rock fans who were much older in the '70s who look with fondness on the banal recordings of the band. The reason is simple: KISS are nothing more than a novelty band. Did they sell a grip of albums? Sure, but is that going to be the criteria for Hall of Fame inclusion? If so, expect Nickleback to be first year inductees! No, KISS simply were over-the-top showmen whose music was a secondary thought. Big, flashy shows with blood, fire, ridiculous costumes and face paint? Again sure, but that wasn't even original as Alice Cooper had done it before and much better, and along the way produced stellar albums like Killer, Billion Dollar Babies and School's Out. Original make-up with supposed characteristics of the paint imbued on the members. Hmmm...
Paul Stanley aka Starchild

David Bowie in his Starman period.

So, let's recap shall we: KISS is a band with fans limited to a specific period, a stage show that was nothing original, and even one of their trademark make-up designs seems eerily unoriginal. Let's add to that they have stayed together (and by that I mean Paul & Gene) and haven't put out any meaningful music in over 20 years. With lagging sales and tours, what does the band do to build a bigger fan base? Write and release some fantastic music? No, in 1996 they go back to their make-up gimmick and go on tour. Like I said, nothing but a novelty band.

p.s. Just to add something which I think backs up my position with Eddie Trunk and KISS. Watching a rerun of That Metal Show last week, Trunk along with co-hosts Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine, listed the top 5 Metal guitarists of all-time. Trunk had Ace Frehely at No. 1! Ha...seriously? Look up any poll on the same subject and Frehely isn't normally in the top 20 (or most cases 50) anywhere. Christ, Paul Stanley's a better player probably. Then again, Frehely did have a smoking pick-up, so what do I know?

Salome - Terminal & disappointing news about Kat Katz

Although praised all over the net's extreme Metal community, far too many people are not aware of the brilliance of Salome's Terminal, released in November last year. After a popular debut in 2008, the trio of Rob Moore, Aaron Deal, and Kat Katz (Agoraphobic Nosebleed) decided to bestow upon us in Terminal, a crushing and razor-sharp sortie of Sludge crusted Doom which will rip your face off. Filled with gargantuan riffs o' plenty from Moore throughout and accompanied by Deal's thunderous percussion, the album really does deserve all the cliched synonymous adjectives oft used in Metal for music which pummels and throttles the listener. That the band achieves this with no bass player is itself astonishing. You really don't miss it though, such is the thick sound of Moore's guitar tone. This aspect along with a female singer attracted a lot of attention (including a segment on NPR), but rather than being novelties, the music and vocals stand alone to produce easily one of the finest albums of 2010.
From chilling slow but incredibly powerful passages to mid-tempo sways of thrusting Doom, Terminal runs the gamut of the two genres they incorporate, blending both seamlessly into a mesmerizing experience.

It was sad and disappointing news then this past week to learn that Katz had left the band as she reported on her Facebook page:

I’m no longer in Salome because of personal conflicts within the band. I wish them well if they decide to continue on, and I hope they’re successful with all their projects. I’m continuing with Agoraphobic Nosebleed and will hopefully be forming another project in the future.

The details are irrelevant, that's between Kat and the band. But what is unfortunate is it means no more epic albums by Salome with Katz as a stunningly potent frontwoman. Let me tackle that also for a minute. There are now quite a number of female vocalists in extreme bands; Angela Gossow of Arch Enemy, Krysta Cameron of iwrestledabearonce, and let's not forget Lori Bravo with the criminally overlooked Nuclear Death all those years ago. But whereas these singers delved into the realm of manly growls and screams, Katz does so with a distinctly female sound. It is as furious and visceral as any of the aforementioned as well as her male counterparts, but there is something uniquely female sounding about Katz's scream that is appealing as it conveys a voice not readily heard in extreme music. She plays in a supposed man's world but makes it her own and is just as viscous, suffocating and alerting as anyone in the field. As she states, good luck to the guys if they continue on with Salome, but it simply won't be the same without Kat Katz and her unique voice.

Exhorder bassist Frankie Sparcello passes away. RIP

As reported by many outlets, including the band's own website, Frankie Sparcello of the criminally under-rated New Orleans Thrash band Exhorder, has passed away. Sparcello recorded "The Law", the band's second of only two albums. He was however scheduled to play with the band in their upcoming tour, including The Maryland Deathfest. According to TMD's Facebook page, the band has stated they are not canceling the show; although that isn't being reported on the band's own site. Although a lot of controversy surrounded the belief by many that Exhorder was a direct influence on (and many say ripped off by) Pantera, there is no question in their short career they influenced the Groove-based Thrash that many came to love.

A recent video of the band with Sparcello playing.

Ufomammut - Eve...another 2010 album to seek out

It is astonishing that it’s only recently have I been turned on to this album or this band. Hailing from Tortona, Italy, Ufomammut play such an expansive, mesmerizing brand of Post/Doom/Sludge Metal it is exactly the kind of music I look for outside of the fierce fare my ears normally seek. While mainly entrenched in these genres, Eve must also be described as a swirling incursion into experimental and avant-garde music, as those expecting an Isis or Intronaut type of basic flow between light and dark will be taken aback by the musical minimalism throughout much of this record. In that sense it plays more like MINSK than most others in their genus of Metal.

Truly just one long track cut into 5 pieces, Eve is a monster like few others I have heard in recent memory. While certainly plying their trade with the likes of Isis etc, these cats are out there, crushing with such viciousness but then not just slowing things down but creating a rich, dark landscape of sounds and words that border on the non-musical. Again, this does invoke memories of “The Ritual Fires Of Abandonment”, but here Ufomammut take it a step beyond and challenge the listener with moments of eerie serenity and almost frightening caverns of calm. Do not mistake this for Drone as some have, the song structure here shifts and flows, unlike the unendurable banality the likes of SUNN O))) play. No, this may be challenging, but it is worthwhile and engaging.

Heavy on guitar and vocal effects, these are used during Eve not to buffer the band’s sound like synths do in many symphonic or melodic albums, but are used in and of themselves to create their own arresting atmosphere and melancholic tone. While perhaps not sounding like Metal, trust me these passages are as heavy in their own way as when the trio seem to collapse the sky around your head with sledgehammer like power. Unlike much of the flow in other Post-Metal albums, the crescendo after meandering moments doesn’t feel like the destination; those rhythmic, churning and experimental moments feel just as important a point as when “Eve” rises to throttle you. You’re as anxious to hear the next wistful detour as you are the whipping ferocity that undoubtedly will proceed and follow.

Vocally you get odd restrained screams, mellow chants and sparse spoken moments that all fit Ufomammut’s intoxicating panorama. It feels like a cop-out to claim any album is almost indescribable, generally due to the inability to peg down a genre, but Eve is such a unique endeavour it does honestly evoke such a response. This is an album to be fully experienced as opposed to discussed. As useful to drift of in to sleep to as to have you banging your fist, Eve almost deserves its own category when compiling the top albums of the year; not better or worse, just so unique. For that reason alone it was one of the best albums of 2010; but that and so, so much more.

Of 5 big, thick, and atmospheric Horns:

Dimmu, Enslaved, Blood Red Throne, Dawn Of Ashes...live in NYC

DImmu Borgir, Enslaved, Blood Red Throne, Dawn Of Ashes

Live at Terminal 5, New York City

** I want to state up front that if you are hoping for an in depth review of Dimmu Borgir you won’t find it here, which I will explain towards the end**

Having lived in Florida again for a couple of years, it was odd walking along W 56^th street with my hands shivering as I took a puff of a cigarette and looked forward to my first Metal show in Manhattan. In fact, I had planned my 8 day trip around this show as the tour wasn’t coming down to the Sunshine State and I hate to miss Enslaved and the chance to see Blood Red Throne was just too much. So with that on my plate I entered the venue on the west side of the city. A bit of an odd place Terminal 5; simply a big, open warehouse with beams on display and what feels like a make-shift bar at the back of the space. Still, I’ve been in way odder places and I was also happy to finally meet my Russian pal Leonid after many years knowing each other from being on a Metal mailing list. All set and I even got there at a decent time so as not to miss anything.

I had told Leonid not to expect even much Metal from Dawn Of Ashes as everything I had seen and heard from them online was almost straight up Techno-Rock. This simply turned out not to be the case and there was no question they were doling out some much heavier cuts than I had been exposed to in my research. Still, nothing terribly compatible with my palette. What most turns me off from the band is their gimmick of dressing up in costumes that come across as a Gwar rip-off. I fucking hate novelty bands that push something more than their music and I have almost no time for them. The few exceptions I make for this are Alice Cooper and the early days of Black Metal; everyone else can just taking a running jump when it comes to such a marketing stunt. Oh and yes, I include the insufferable KISS in this category; a band who without make-up would NEVER have made it past their first album. Before long, in fact before short, I was completely bored with Dawn Of Ashes and looked forward to their swift exit.

Not knowing what to expect from my beloved Blood Red Throne, I left my friend and ventured much closer to the stage to see and hear what these Death Metal stalwarts had in store for an eager fan. As I feared, the curse of the ‘early band audio’ did manifest itself in the BRT set. As Leonid, a promoter friend of his from Moscow and I discussed, this propensity at shows of early bands on the bill having poor sound is often by design. Starkly put, headlining bands want to sound better than those who are supporting them and because of it you often get a pretty shitty sound from a lot of bands you might have even gone to see in spite of the main act. This may be a contentious point but it happens with far too much frequency and has been confirmed by too many people I know in the industry not to be the case. So, BRT’s set was not the most impressive sonically but the setlist, including “Arterial Lust” was solid and being that I know the band so well, I suspect I could decipher the songs far better than those who were not familiar with them. They gave it their all and on a night with two legendary Black Metal acts playing I was surprised and happy to see the crowd give a lot of love to the Death gorging Norwegians. Hopefully I get the chance to see the band again soon, with better sound, as I think they are a criminally under-rated Death Metal band with a superbly growing discography.

What to say about Enslaved? For my money the finest band in Metal over the past number of years, and riding high on Axioma Ethica Odini, easily my favourite album of 2010. It had also been a couple of tours back since I had seen them and I was like a 12 year old at a Justin Bieber show. Needless to say, the lads from Bergen did not disappoint, as they never do. To return to the sound issue, I’m not sure I’ve ever heard such a stark difference as that between Blood Red Throne and Enslaved. Not that BRT was anywhere near as bad as I have heard, but Enslaved’s clarity was stunning! Opening up with the first two tracks from their new album, Grutle and his cohorts were just on it, hitting every note perfectly in a shortened but excellent set. Sure many tr00 fans have dismissed Enslaved for some time now as they have ventured quite far from their raw Black Metal roots, but I disagree vehemently with that take on their decade or so of expansive progression. To me they are the Black Metal equivalent of Opeth, though even that is not quite apt as Opeth have to some extent had progressive elements in their albums and have also done it in a slightly more mainstream way than Enslaved have. No, from the criminally under-rated Below The Lights up to their new opus, Enslaved have been masterful at weaving in near disparate progressive elements and now bordering on psychedelic nuances, yet all of it seems to fit just perfectly. This was glaringly apparent in their set on the night, from their vicious hammering of “Raidho” to the opulent "Isa". While they certainly played songs that are considerably longer than your usual Metal fare, I was a bit disappointed they didn’t play a good bit longer. There was something said about having to go earlier and having looked up the setlist before hand, it seems “Ground” was what got sacrificed for time. Still, what was on display (see below for a bitch about this to some degree) was near perfection and it only reinforces my belief that they are the paragon of Metal right now.

*Gripe time*! Okay, I get that certain things evoke an emotive response on stage. Strong, vivid back-lighting is one of those things. I worked as a roadie for a while, but more than that I have a film degree centered on cinematography so I do understand all aspects of lighting, and as I say, back-lighting is a strong aspect to a good live show. However, if there is absolutely NO front lighting whatsoever, how the fuck does the chief lighting tech expect anyone to see even the most macro detail of a band? It’s simple really, strong back-lit subjects with no front lighting means complete darkness facing the crowd; a silhouette is all you get. This was a pretty obvious aspect of Blood Red Throne’s show, but with Enslaved is got to absolutely ludicrous proportions. As you learn in biology, your eye is just like a camera iris, close it down and those places with little light get blacked out, and this was the case for the duration of Enslaved’s set. It was so bad that when keyboardist/vocalist Herbrand Larsen, who was up to the left, started singing his clean vocals, my pal didn’t even know where it was coming from, like many others around me. A shocking state of affairs not to be able to watch musicians play their instruments or see any detail of their faces. Yes, silhouette can create a great mood live, but for the duration of the show it makes part of the live show nothing but futile. So memo to lighting technicians: get it fucking sorted!

Now the two reasons why I only caught a little less than two songs of the Dimmu Borgir set. Firstly, I’m no fan of the band at all and find their bombastic, symphonic endeavour just way over-the-top. Secondly, I had already been warned by another friend who had seen the show a couple of nights before that she thought at least 80% of Dimmu’s show was besot in strobe lighting, and she was correct. As someone with a form of Epilepsy, I have to be very careful with strobes. Experience has taught me that with medication I seem to be able to deal fine with some exposure to strobes, but it was so prevalent during Dimmu I just didn’t want to push it. In an ironic twist, I was a bit disappointed because the band has a pretty impressive stage show right now, the centerpiece being a five-headed lighting set-up that was really cool; and add to that the fact that they DID have some front lighting so as to see what the fuck they were doing. But, the special light, strobes, and Vari-lights were all strobing like fucking mental, and I just had to leave.But I'll give them their due, they are impressive as an act and sounded better than I would have thought they might. But again, twitcher here had to leave.

Good night in all. Fantastic to finally see Blood Red Throne, and once again Enslaved made a case for being the best all-around band in Metal.

Dimmu Borgir

Enslaved

Blood Red Throne

Dawn Of Ashes

The new Amon Amarth

Even though I'm a big fan of Swedish Pagan/Viking/Death/Tolkein Metallers Amon Amarth, I really had only given the new track that has been released a cursory listen. I loved Twilight Of The Thunder God, and had it in the top spot that year. So now I've had some time to digest the new track, "War Of Gods" from the upcoming album Surtur Rising, I have to say I'm neither feeling let down with it nor doing cartwheels over flaming pentagrams. Look we all know, you get what you get with Amon Amarth and that's normally solid, melodic, groovy Death Metal, but the song seems just a little too derivative for my palate right now. Anyway, here's the track and the new album comes out March 29th. Thoughts?

Why don't you own "Paracletus" yet?

I'm not kidding, if you don't own Deathspell Omega's Paracletus from last year, you're seriously limiting your enjoyment of all that is beautiful, dark and unholy! This is the last in a trilogy by the French Black Metal outifit, and for my money the best of the three; the first two being 2004's Si Monvmentvm Reqvires, Circvmspice and then 2007's Fas – Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum, both outstanding ventures of bone-jarring, near experimental Black Metal mastery.

Out of the gate, “Epklesis I” hammers home the spine-chilling effect DO can create with nothing more than juxtaposing peculiar keys and shifting those all over the map. In essence it is oddly familiar to The Dillinger Escape Plan in this respect, yet on Paracletus like their previous efforts, the band constructs these in such a way as to remain firmly in a modern Black Metal framework, be it a small circle of bands that inhabit this area with them. A song such as the opener conjures moments of horror film scores where the twangs of discordant strings are used to jar an audience and put them on the edge of their seat. DO then take this, add blasting but more often odd-timed drums and compile it all to create a suffocating, troubled soundscape which permeates their continually engrossing ventures. On the heels of this is a blistering lament in “Wings Of Predation”, a more traditional excursion of twisted Black Metal, while still keeping entrenched in their own mire of hair-raising darkness. Unlike Fas – Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeternum, which got a little hindered in its attempt to undertake a more experimental sound, Paracletus is most certainly a solid, if off-putting, Black Metal album. Aspa’s vocals seem trapped between BM screeches and an authoritative condemnation of the entirety of existence. He is both sermonizing and damning at the same instant, and that only adds to Deathspell Omega's horrifyingly beautiful torment. For good measure the band also throw in a slower, more methodical dirge in “Dearth” without losing any of the albums caustic effect. Through some of the tracks on the album, the band returns to a chilling but simple refrain which would otherwise disturb some, but played by an outfit like DO it borders on a sweet hook; a tormented, malevolent excursion that warms a Metalheads bullet-spiked cockles.

I know many will already have this record, but if you don't, run and buy it. Now fucker!

Finally! Details on new Morbid Angel album

According to both Morbid Angel's own website, as well as on their management company World Entertainment Inc.'s site. the legendary Florida Death Metal outfit will be releasing their upcoming album in June:

World Management would like to announce that Extreme Metal Masters Morbid Angel have set “Illud Divinum Insanus” as the title of their eagerly awaited forthcoming album. The album has been scheduled for a June 6th, 2011 release in Europe and June 7th , 2011 in North America.
This will be MORBID ANGEL’s eighth studio album, and the first since legendary frontman David Vincent rejoined the fold. The album will appear on Season of Mist and JVC in Japan. S.O.M. plans to release a single for the song “Nevermore” which will be out on May 16th as a 7” collectors edition vinyl and digital download.

At long fucking last! It seems like forever since MA released Heretic (well, it was almost 8 years ago!) and almost as long as since I had seen them at the House Of Blues in Hollywood. So this is extremely welcomed news, although with fingers crossed we do get something a bit better than Heretic. Not an awful album, but let's not pretend it was on par with most of the band's previous excellent work.

This comes on the heels of the release of a video last week of session drummer, Tim Yeung, playing a new song (well, percussively) at a drum clinic in Tampa:



I'm sure those who haven't been following Morbid Angel closely in the past few years (probably forgot they existed), will wonder "who the fuck is Tim Yeung? And where is Pete Sandoval?" Funny you should ask. Apparently Pete has been having chronic back problems since the Domination tour and last year elected to get surgery and is recovering, hence the band enlisting Yeung to at least record the new album. There doesn't seem to be any word on when Sandoval is expected back, but back surgery is no joke, so if they tour, I'd assume more than likely Yeung will be playing. Weird too, because I ran into Sandoval twice last year at shows in St. Pete, and both times he was absolutely sauced out of his mind. At the Absu show he could barely stand and was being held up by a rather nice young lady. No matter, I hope he has a speedy recovery.

So, let's enjoy some Morbid Angel while we await the new album:

Funny or Die: Juggalo, Insane Clown Posse News

Low hanging fruit it may be, but the Insane Clown Posse seem to be a bit of an obsession with some Metalheads. The stoner crew over at Metal Sucks can barely go a week without taking a shot at them. Well, to be more specific, the infatuation around ICP are their cult-like following who seem to posses the IQ of a shoe; and yes I'd rather listen to cat's claws scraping down a chalkboard while it screeches and plays Mexican Tejano music from its ass. Harsh? If you think so you probably spent last night painting your loser 16 year old brother's face to go to 7-11 for a Slurpee, so fuck you. You only have to look for pics or watch a video like the one below to see they may just have the most mentally challenged fans on earth.


In fact, the entire Juggalo asylum has its own page at Encyclopedia Dramatica, in which you could find yourself immersed for so long you either ache with mockery or are terrified for the planet's future.

Well, seems this band of jolly retards have found their way into today's Zeitgeist through some side-splitting parodies on HBO's "Funny Or Die". Not as huge a fan of FOD as some, but this stuff is quality.

Overkill, Forbidden & more live in Orlando

Overkill, Forbidden, Evile, Gamma Bomb, Bonded By Blood

Club Firestone, Orlando Florida

It’s not a long trek to central Florida from its west coast, so having beaten the traffic through Tampa this fine Metal night, my mate Chris and I figured we’d probably be at the venue before any band had started playing. They must have lifte the curtain on the stroke of 8pm, as when we entered nary a few seconds later, Bonded By Blood had already started their set. Part of the recent throw-back revival of Thrash, the young band was well in the throes of their hasty assault by the time we moved toward the stage. Not being familiar with the band’s work, I couldn’t tell you their setlist at all. What was apparent though is that they reside firmly in the break-neck paced arena of Thrash; never a moment of remotely slower songs or passages, just fucking kill it with speed all the way through. Their sound was poor, so it was even difficult to tell how well they executed their own work. They did nothing to make me want to go out buy any of their music anytime soon. I would be remiss though if I didn’t comment on the singer’s endlessly awkward jumps while clad in skin-tight red jeans! He seemed just a little too happy to be there (although I suspect the demon drink had a bit to do with that), and it had numerous people around me sniggering a bit. Lastly, the band played for an inordinately long amount of time for the lowest group on a bill, which as usual manifested itself on later bands having to cut their set short. Now, I assume these things are planned ahead but way too often this happens and it drives me mental. I’m guessing more people paid and showed up to hear a longer set from both Evile and Forbidden than they got. Certainly not Bonded By Blood’s fault, but as a fan it was disappointing as they were just filler on the night for me.

Now, Gamma Bomb are a band I had heard of but had simply never made an effort to check out. I didn’t even know these jokesters are from the Emerald Isle. Playing a punkish, yet also melodic style of Thrash, I was quite taken by their fun and engaging performance. Looking nothing like a Thrash band at all, down to their guitar choices (how often do you see Thrash bands these days cutting away on a Les Paul?...Alex Skolnik excepted), they managed to convey much of what you used to see in many Thrash acts: great Metal and a good bit of fun into the bargain. Nice solos mixed with solid rhythms and a tongue-in-cheek attitude did a lot to impress me and I plan on checking out their albums soon. Sound opening act.

Much like Gamma Bomb, I had heard a lot about Evile recently and managed to listen to their most recent outing “Infected Nations” before I went along to the show. While it’s a stoic, likeable album firmly fixed in contemporaneous Thrash, it still wasn’t anything that had me salivating with excitement. Judging by reactions they were definitely well liked by most of the crowd and I was looking forward to what they could throw forth. First, their sound was extremely poor, worse than the previous bands’ and it’s at this point in shows I always wonder what the fuck the sound guy is listening to? I mean, the clarity went down from Gamma Bomb and how anyone couldn’t notice that is astonishing. Perhaps it was something to do with Evile’s equipment, but it looked like the usual bad-sound-for-lesser-bands-on-a-bill-syndrome, as they were sharing most of the hardware with the other supporting bands, so I have little clue what happened. So it is with this hindrance I have to filter what Evile gave us on the night. For the most part Evile ploughed through hasty Thrash with a cutting sound and the accompanying rawer vocals many new Thrash bands utilize. A bit messy in presentation, the group had the crowd moshing and from all appearances enjoying their set and execution. Besides the poor sound I didn’t find much to get excited about but neither much to have me yawning. Evile then were like many bands on bills I’ve seen recently: perfunctory.

While I was quite intrigued to see Forbidden live after such a long hiatus, I wasn’t quite as enraptured as most at the show or the legions online who had blown a gasket upon hearing the band had both reunited and were touring. I certainly appreciate their work and have enjoyed both “Forbidden Evil” and especially “Twisted Into Form” many times, but I can’t count myself among those who think Forbidden are a tragically under-rated band. They had their moments and recorded a few good albums, but I’ve just never been one to salivate over them. Ironically one of the aspects that turns me off from them was one of their best qualities on the night: Russ Anderson’s vocals. Recorded I find his vocals to be just a little too soaring, a little too ‘Power Metal’ for my tastes. But on a night where gruff shouts where the norm, Anderson’s sweetened voice stuck out and came across far better than it does on CD (or LP for those of us old enough to own such things). The band fired through a good set at a rapid pace. Sounding excellent and an obviously revitalized band due to circumstances, they forged through class songs like “Twisted Into Form”, “Step By Step” and “Chalice Of Blood” with real ferocity and vigour. Strong, technical and with their own brand of melody, Forbidden impressed me beyond what I had hoped for and they left the stage with a rapturous response from both the crowd and yours truly.

Forbidden setlist I believe:

Alpha Century
March Into Fire
Step By Step
Adapt or Die
Omega Wave
Twisted Into Form
Through Eyes Of Glass
Chalice Of Blood

Amongst the ‘big’ bands of American Thrash, I think both to some degree critically and amongst fans, Overkill have most often been given less credit than their contemporaries. You could stick Testament in with them but I think for a band who have never split up and have a fantastic and prolific output, Overkill get overlooked more frequently and far too often. With their recent records being some of the best in Thrashdom, especially this year’s “Ironbound”, these New Jersey natives are as vital and impressive as any plying their trade in the genre right now.

It was with that mindset and the fact I hadn’t seen them live in over 20 years that I was awaiting their show with baited breath. With only the slightest of disappointments (see below) they were near perfection; just balls-out, face-splitting fucking Thrash. This is how it’s done, no bells and whistles, no egotistical bullshit, just out in front of an adorning crowd giving them exactly what they came for. Noticeably the light show was upped and provided a cool but not too extravagant wall of atmosphere and after an initial minute of muddiness, the sound cleared to a perfect level. Blitz was the consummate front-man we’ve all come to respect and love and judging from his continuous sly grin, he was loving every minute as much as everyone in the seething crowd. Galloping out first with “Green And Black”, the brilliant opening track from their new album, Overkill never let up with their bludgeoning assail. Blitz continued his propensity for running on from off-stage just in time for the next vocal and delivering it with unwavering commitment. D.D. Verni still blasts out those gut level bass lines with authority, even if he is looking a bit like a Wall Street banker these days. Classics like “Rotten To The Core”, “Hello From The Gutter” and “Horrorscope” were battered out with brutal precision. An unusual highlight was “Bring Me The Night” which I’m sure not too many of the older crowd knew but sounded fantastic live. Dave Linsk cut through a decent little solo and everyone was on top of their game, providing an excellent show and reinforcing my value of them. If you’re a Thrash fan to any degree, Overkill are a must see before you traipse off this mortal coil, and a band I won’t be waiting another two decades to catch up with.

Overkill setlist*

Overkill setlist*

Green and Black
Rotten to the Core
Wrecking Crew
Infectious
Bring Me the Night
Ironbound
Necroshine
Thanx for Nothin'
Give a Little
Hello From the Gutter
Where It Hurts
Old School
Horrorscope
Elimination
Fuck You

*this is to the best of my recollection as my memory is fucked, so I also used posted setlists to help. My only tiny disappointment being no inclusion of any of the “Overkill” series, especially either the first or most recent, but you can’t have it all!

Eddie Trunk (That Metal Show) needs to get over the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

It's hard not to like Eddie Trunk, and to be honest I do. He seems to be an affable guy, pretty level-headed but still passionate about Hard Rock and dabs of Metal; and he certainly has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of those areas. I have come around to understand that That Metal Show is on VH1-Classic, so the chances of episodes or segments on more extreme or modern forms of Metal, which I swim in daily, just aren't going to be covered. Fine, woe is me eh? 13 trillion Metal blogs, every band on the planet with myspace pages and plenty of dedicated pages of videos on YouTube.

So I take That Metal Show for what it is, however there is one ongoing aspect that is starting to get on my tits, and that's Eddie's incessant harping on The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame and his many perceived injustices therein of the inductees. As you can see the members of the Hall are incredibly varied and many raise an eye for those who think of Rock & Roll as an edgy, more modern style of music and not those of a much earlier, mellower era; and utilizing primarily traditional instruments, and not those of an electronic nature. But that supposition is simply negated by the artists that have been inducted, year after year. What is apparent then is that 'The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame' by those pretty accepted standards is simply a misnomer. Instead, it should be called the "Pop Music Hall of Fame", and would therefore make sense of its membership and purview of musical history. Once that is done, its easy to accept Aretha Franklin, Abba and The Supremes, and stop gnashing your teeth over the fact you think Judas Priest or KISS (much more on them and Trunk later) have been royally fucked in the ass.

Come on Eddie, get your head 'round it and you'll save yourself some indigestion and us having to hear your whining every other bloody episode of TMS on how you may stab someone unless UFO get their day in the sun.