…CLAIMED SENTIENCE ONCE) on guitar, and additional vocals from the young up-and-coming U.K. singer Abbie Johnson. Vancouver-based non-profit record label Revolution Harmony was launched in 2011 by Holroyd. After founding the non-profit Grade 9 Records in 2008 and growing the label over three successful years, Holroyd decided to expand upon what he had originally established as a means for his students to sell their music and donate the profits to…
…band’s lineup between then and their seventh album, which is going the self-titled route. Lone original member and guitarist Dod knows how to pack in those tight, compact compositions, and the album’s 35-minute running time is best suited to be engulfed all at once. BRT hits hard and often, using flavors of Florida on “In Hell I Roam” and “Primitive Killing Machine,” as well as rolling, palm-mute action on “Hymn of the Asylum.” The dynamics that c…
…stand with us to celebrate as visibly as we can,” said Tate. “Don’t go to work, listen to SLAYER!” For more information, visit www.nationaldayofslayer.org….
…re a part of the progressive metal scene, which is chalk-full of music know-it-alls who can be awfully disconcerting. Are you equipped to handle their sometimes unfounded criticism? Wieten: Sure. I mean, we haven’t seen too much of it. Not on the level of Periphery or TesseracT and bands like that anyway. It’s really hard to keep a level of humility when you’ve busted your ass and put your blood, sweat, and tears into a piece of art. It can take m…
…airstyle were being made, probably because the singer’s blonde streak is oh-so-not thrash. But hey, the man can do what he wants with his hair. At least he has some. Thankfully, the soundman had BBB dialed in, and their passable brand of thrash got some people excited, specifically on “The Aftermath” and “Immortal Life.” With little or no interest in bearing witness to Blackguard’s overrated and pretentious “epic metal,” we mingled with old friend…
…at all actually [laughs]. We spent too long in the studio, like a year and-a-half. It didn’t turn out better because of that. Production sucked on that one. It could have sounded differently, but what’s the point on thinking about that now. Dead Rhetoric: I’m with you on Figure Number Five. Natural Born Chaos was such a critical and consumer success that a part of me back then, thought you would really devote a few years to it. Strid: Natural Bor…
…laughs]. I don’t know if these things are extremely extraordinary or tongue-and-cheek, or whatever. As someone who’s not a drummer, it’s like, “Oh, oh really, you’re doing that?” So I still have to ask him. Blistering.com: Like on “Are You Metal?” which takes the drumming to a whole new level. Weikath: Even though I want to remind you that we did some extremely intricate drum patterns on “Born On Judgment Day” [off Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Le…
…ing.com: Describe the amount of work that went into putting together the 56-page booklet and short film “Tir Nan Org?” Tessyier: Wow… Describe? Cannot been described. With numbers, I can tell you that I spent one month and 15 days on the artbook making (paintings, design, layout etc). That is a HUGE amount of work but I chosen it! I am happy because everybody who received the artbook is happy with it and most of them notice the work which is behin…
…o the top of power metal mountain with Andi Deris, Helloween have more wear-and-tear than they’d like to admit. Compound that with a perpetually divided fanbase (Hansen vs. Kiske; Kiske vs. Deris; Weikath vs. Grapow/Kusch, etc.) and it’s no wonder mainman/guitarist Michael Weikath has been able to retain his trademark sense of humor. The trick behind Helloween is taking risks and the band has stuck their necks out once again, this time by re-arran…
…n the death metal puzzle; one of the first albums that demonstrated a band willing to expand upon its sound. And that album cover? One for the ages. www.emptywords.org (This content originally appeared on Blistering.com)…
…thing, it should also give longtime fans a chance to listen to some impeccable symphonic power metal and Portrait of a Dying Heart will do just that. www.secretsphere.org (This content originally appeared on Blistering.com)…
…rdi tried to when they claimed they’ve never heard of GWAR…The Devil look much like the Swedes. Furthemore, their name couldn’t be more misleading. www.thedevil.org (This content originally appeared on Blistering.com)…
…e on A Map Of All Our Failures, another strong release for yet another band shooting past the 20-year mark. Fantastically depressing times await you! www.mydyingbride.org (This content originally appeared on Blistering.com)…
…ect, while the oddly-titled “Nothing For My Mum” has a distinct Destruction-on-South of Heaven feel, making it probably the most potent track of the bunch. However, the two new cuts (“Borderland” and “Entering the Now”) blend listlessly into the scenery, making one wonder why they were recorded at all. As a regular middle-of-the-bill act in Europe, Holy Moses have been able to peddle their thrash wares for over 30 years with varying degrees of suc…
…hat is create atmosphere with bare-bones elements. And if the band’s simple-on-simple execution achieves something, it’s that. With a little more pushing of the melodic needle to the right, Secrets of the Moon could be more than just an everyman German black metal band. On Seven Bells, they provide the necessary amount of evil-doing, haunting of the chapels, and spell-casting, all done without getting all animated and hokey on us. The scene could…
…nce past that, it’s bombs-away on the title track, where a nice little call-and-response with Page Townsley and roving guitars unfolds into a jarring mid-tempo romp. Additional tracks of note include the surging “Progeny of the Leviathans” and nimble “Thrown to the Wolves.” Right in the line with the simpleton death metal likes of Obituary and Jungle Rot (both are probably the two best bands of this ilk), Vore’s Gravehammer is a savory slab of tra…
…like most LP’s that have few songs, but long song lengths. The song-within-a-song, within-another-song approach has its advantages, for the crescendo that takes off around the 8:30 mark on opener “Daystar Angelwar” is as desolate as anything WITTR have done recently. Beyond that, Chasma pretty much chucks the same old smeared land soil black metal ideas at this listener, including the pre-requisite amount of shrill-y shriek, hushed-into-full-blas…
…tal was about to over-exhaust itself. To minimize its value would be doing it a tremendous disservice. Utterly brilliant 18 years after its release. www.emptywords.org (This content originally appeared on Blistering.com)…
…h the gashing melodic jabs of “Cleaver of Souls” ultimately proving there’s a lot of meat on the bones of a band that is improving right before our eyes. Heart-warming, really. www.skeletonwitch.org (This content originally appeared on Blistering.com)…
…chance for this stuff to sound inherently dumb being that it’s often lowest-common-denominator rock, yet BNS have veteran songwriting chops like you wouldn’t believe. They could essentially please both a redneck and hardlined metalhead. Not an easy task. Anyway, United State has a swath of catchy jams to choose from, including “All My Wheels,” which is a pure-bred FM rocker. Same bodes for “Infamous” and “Bed of Nails” where 70’s rock riff action…
…ase, it’s still every bit as challenging, pummeling, and captivating. And it’s good enough to distract adolescents from chewing their food properly… www.emptywords.org (This content originally appeared on Blistering.com)…
…on of its predecessor, Fallen has its share of charming, world-beating-this-is-unstoppable-black-metal moments, but also a rash of plodding, uninspired drivel, too. It’s like Vikernes is staring at greatness across the street, yet doesn’t feel like jaywalking to get there. Might put him back in jail… As noted, Fallen picks right where Belus left off, with the two albums sounding virtually identical to each other. Riffs are repeated ad infinitum at…
…le previously heard on Human and Individual Thought Patterns. One of the best albums to hit the late 90’s, The Sound of Perseverance essentially is the climax of Schuldiner’s career with Death. One could easily chart the progression from album-to-album, and while this is not the preferred Death album (Individual Thought Patterns remains their best work), it is still very much a progressive death metal hallmark. As it should be. www.emptywords.org…
…atalogs in all of metal. Newcomers would be best advised to start with The Mantle and work their way forward; everyone else knows the score by now. www.agalloch.org (This content originally appeared on Blistering.com)…
…hear Schuldiner’s vocals on some of these songs, but it’s more in the half-sung/half-scream vein that was starting to shine through on Perseverance. Still, one would have liked to hear what was in store for the band if the clean vocal kinks were ironed out. As mentioned, tacked on is a disc with demo versions, some dating back to 1996 prior to when Death reformed. There is little value to these other than for perspective, as there was a time when…
