Best news of the day was when the latest Mastodon album, The Hunter, was officially scheduled for a release on September 27th and not in October. Sooner the better, I say! Second best news was the release of “Black Tongue”, the band’s first offering from The Hunter. It’s heavy, it’s fast, it’s definitely Mastodon. This one sounds like a natural progression from Crack The Skye but more stripped down and sleek. How about this: take the guitar tones from “Blood […]
Posts tagged "2011 in metal"
Metal Monday Volume 28 (7.25.11)
I told you it was gonna happen and it did. Less than 24 hours after last week’s 2nd half of 2011 preview post went up, the almighty Will Haven bestowed upon the masses a brand new song in the form of “Mida’s Secret”. This is important for three main reasons: It’s the first taste from Voir Dire (Due October 11), It’s their first new song in almost 4 years, and most importantly, it’s the first new studio music that original singer Grady Avenell has sung on in almost […]
Metal Monday Volume 27 (7.18.11)
In moving forward from the recent Top 10 so far list on the Blerd last week, I give you my “Top 5 metal albums guaranteed to kick your ass during the next 6 months without hearing a note”. Catchy title, right? 1. Will Haven: Voire Dire> The first album that vocalist Grady Avenell has sung on since 2001’s Carpe Diem (And one of my Top 5 albums of all time). When Will Haven reformed a few years ago, I was […]
Metal Monday Volume 24 (7.5.11)
The March, for me, was an unparalleled step forward for Unearth. It was a band stepping out of their comfort zone to expand upon an already established sound and forge a new future for themselves. The breakdowns were incredible. The musicianship was stellar and the tones coming out of the band reminded me of Crowbar and some of the best sludge metal out there. Made with Seemless/Kingdom of Sorrow drummer Derek Kerswill, it was a definite high point for the […]
Deconstructing the Ghost (Devin Townsend reigns supreme!)
This is been such a daunting piece to write. Not because I don’t like the music I’m about to write about but because of the sheer amount of music I’m about to write about. Devin Townsend started releasing this 4-album project back in 2009 when Ki and Addicted were released within 6 months of each other. He took some time off to tour and fine tune the last two, Deconstruction and Ghost, but instead of separating the releases, Townsend released […]
Metal Monday Volume 23 (6.20.11)
You know it’s not often that you look to sweeping huge choruses in your metal songs but that is one thing that In Flames are sure to deliver. If you haven’t been a fan of the last few In Flames records then stop reading now because Sounds Of A Playground Fading is not gonna win you back. I’ll admit that I only began my relationship with In Flames after 2002’s Reroute To Remain but having bought everything before and after […]
Metal Monday Volume 22 (6.13.11)
A day late and a dollar short my mother always used to say to me but hey, I only have so much room in this column per week. Anyway, at least by reviewing Doctor Midnight & The Mercy Cult’s debut a week late you know it’s at least available in stores now, right? Dr. Midnight & The Mercy Cult are an extreme super-group featuring Hank Von Hell of Turbonegro, Tim Skold (KMFDM, Marilyn Manson, Skold), Anders Odden (Satyricon, Celtic Frost), Audun Stengel (The Kovenant, Apoptygma Berzerk), and David Husvik (Extol). Whew! That […]
Metal Monday Volume 21 (6.6.11)
“ Gossamer ” off of Tombs last record, Winter Hours, is one of my most favorite metal tracks ever. It’s this lumbering behemoth that lurches along and just when you think you know where it’s going, it smacks you in the face with a 2 X 4. It’s so good that the quality of the rest of the album doesn’t matter (It helps that all of Winter Hours is great but that’s not the point…). Based on that one song, Tombs follow-up Path […]
Metal Monday Volume 19 (5.23.11)
If you were a fan of Cave In’s earlier work but let them go from Jupiter onward then White Silence should get the band back in your good graces again. Never before has a band managed to take the sum of all of its separate parts (Old Man Gloom, Clouds, Zozobra, Octave Museum, etc…) and make such a cohesive record with it. The first thing you’ll notice about White Silence is how visceral and raw it is. Caleb Scofield is […]
KMFDM…Doin’ it Again!
I always get incredibly excited when a new KMFDM is announced. They are definitely the AC/DC of industrial metal i.e. they do what they do and they do it well. Love ’em or hate ’em. For some reason when WTF?! was announced a few months ago, I got a little more excited than I usually do. They released “Rebels in Control” in December in support of Julian Assange of WikiLeaks and “Krank” soon followed. They weren’t reinventing the wheel or anything but they definitely […]
Tim Skold Certainly Doesn’t “Suck”.
It is so hard to type this without mentioning how brilliant the full-length is but you’re gonna have to wait for that column for a few weeks. If you’ve been a fan of either Marilyn Manson or KMFDM during the last 15 years, chances are you know who Tim Skold is already. For me, I discovered his S/T album while shopping at Mystery Train Records on Newbury Street. He was an integral part of two of my favorite KMFDM records (Symbols and […]
Goes Cube Goes for the Throat (Metal Monday sidebar)
Too much good metal in 2011! Brain can’t take it. In Tides And Drifts came out of left field for me. I had heard some hype on Goes Cube’s debut full-length, Another Day Has Passed, in 2009 but I never got into them and then In Tides And Drifts crossed my path. It’s a must own for EVERY metal fan this year. Take the diversity of Converge songs like “Grim Heart/Black Rose”, “Cruel Bloom”, and “Wretched World”; mix them with the musical […]