Coming at you on September 27th is a split by two bands you better know in 2011. Their names: Junius and Rosetta. One is a Philadelphian band named Rosetta who released their third album, A Determinism of Morality, last year. The other, Junius, a band from Boston whose last record (2009’s The Martyrdom of Catastrophist) took almost 3 years to complete and was inspired by the works of Immanuel Velikovsky . Yeah, they’re deep. “A Dark Day With Night” begins as if […]
Posts tagged "2011 in metal"
Metal Monday Volume 35 (9.12.11)
Let me start off with this, I got into Anthrax during John Bush’s tenure. I know Persistence of Time, State of Euphoria, Among The Living, etc. well but I’ve always liked Bush better. That said, I was very cautious coming into Worship Music because this is not MY Anthrax anymore. That said and with a biased opinion already laid out, I can say that this is one un-fucking-believable Anthrax album. Worship Music is such a metal as fuck album that […]
Metal Monday Volume 34 (9.5.11)
Every song on MonstrO’s debut is a deeply layered opus. From the opening wail of “Fantasma” through the gentle chord fade out of 8-minute closer “April”, MonstrO deliver a solid album comprised of seasoned veterans who’ve been through the motions before and have the musical chemistry to guarantee staying power. Look at the line-up: There’s ex-Torche axemaster Juan Montoya, ex-Bloodsimple members Kyle Sanders on bass and Bevan Davies on drums along with vocalist/guitarist Charlie Suarez. Then you have their first album (available […]
Metal Monday Extra: Will Haven Post 2nd Voir Dire Preview!
Just for the record, Will Haven could make a video that centers on a stationary drawing of stick figures and I’d still be captivated for however long the song lasted. The set up: Tombstones, some girl mourning, a dead body, maybe some foul play? The soundtrack for this piece of morbidity is of course provided by Will Haven. Who does dark and foreboding better than them after all? A choir opens “Held To Answer”, the lead song off of October’s […]
Metal Monday Volume 33 (8.29.11)
What defines “being metal”? Is it the heaviness of the music? The members involved? Do you review a Hank Williams III album because he frequently plays in bands with Phil Anselmo? Do I put an R.E.M. album in here because their current drummer used to play in KMFDM and Ministry (Really!)? While Crosses , the self-titled debut EP from Shaun Lopez of Far and Chino Moreno of Deftones, is definitely not a metal record, its’ member reps certainly warrants that it […]
Metal Monday Volume 32 (8.22.11)
Who would’ve thought combining CKY with death metal would be such a great idea? It’s another one of those times where, on paper (I’m looking at you, The Damned Things!), this should not work. But pop it into the player, press play, and you’ll find out that surprisingly it does. Really well, actually. What you get is World Under Blood whose debut, Tactical, effortlessly mixes death metal with CKY frontman Deron Miller’s very melodic layered vox which fits in well […]
Mastodon Play the Singles Game!
Did Mastodon actually make a single that sounds like a single? I think they did! “Curl of the Burl” is still a big ball of unrelenting riffs and guitar solos wrapped into a neat under 4-minute package but wait ’til those vocals come in. Are they singing throughout? I think they are. And it’s very melodic! Who knew? And is that a huge pre-chorus filled with “Ohhhh’s”? It’s a little scary when you think of it as a Mastodon song […]
Metal Monday Volume 31 (8.15.11)
The most satisfying thing about being a music fan is when something comes at you from out of nowhere and just blows you away. ICS Vortex’s Storm Seeker did that to me recently. This album just floored me. Being a casual Dimmu Borgir fan, I was familiar with Vortex already but Storm Seeker is so much more than Dimmu. Storm Seeker is one of those albums that transcends metal. Is it heavy? Sure, but it’s also something else. The thunderous apocalypse that […]
It’s Gettin’ Better, Man! (Anthrax Round 2)
Ok, this definitely sounds aLOT better than “Fight ‘Em Til You Can’t” but I can’t help feeling that this was all written with someone else in mind. It’s got that crunch of Bush-era ‘Thrax and that breakdown in the middle is totally something that John Bush would’ve dominated on Sound Of White Noise. It probably doesn’t help that I’m not a Belladonna fan to begin with but anyone who’s’ stuck with Anthrax over the last 15 or so years can […]
Where Have You Been, Staind?
Wow. It’s not often a band declares “Oh yeah, we’re gonna get back to our heavy roots on the new album” and then actually delivers on that statement. Staind really mean it. I haven’t been more than a casual fan of the band since Dysfunction was released back in 1999 (Christ, has this band been around that long?) but the songs I’ve heard off of the forthcoming Staind disc (due September 13th) give me a lot of hope for this […]
Metal Monday Volume 30 (8.8.11): Trivium
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if Metallica ever decide to retire, Floridian metallers Trivium are the obvious choice to inherit the throne. They have the old-school thrash style down and vocalist Matt Heafy has a growl almost identical to James Hetfield at times.One listen through their latest, In Waves, and it’ll be mighty hard to dispute my claim. Personally, I am not a fan of any album hanging around the stereo for more than 12 tracks. […]
Metal Monday Volume 29 (8.1.11)
If I could sum up Dir En Grey’s latest album, Dum Spiro Spero, with one word it would have to be this one: Evil. Dum Spiro Spero is definitely one evil sounding motherfucker of an album. If you’re unfamiliar with the musical stylings of Japan’s pre-eminent metallers, then DSS is the perfect introduction to their unique blend of metal, prog, and pop. It’s this kind of mixture of styles that has worked so well for Dir En Grey over the […]