Archive for September, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009 No Comments
I’m overworked and overplayed but the new Dying Fetus is not. Stamp of approval, although it’s not as brutal as I was thinking it would be and I find myself getting a little bored and slightly annoyed at some of the guitar work… I guess I’m still not much of a guitar solo kind of person. (Unless it’s Slash.) I do love the runs on “Shepherd’s Commandment.” The new drummer is pretty sweet though and John Gallagher’s vox still rule. The album kicks off strong with “Your Treachery Will Die With You,” but tends to wax and wane afterwards. The weakest song is unfortunately the title track.
Standouts: “Hopeless Insurrection,” “Atrocious By Nature” and “At What Expense.”
I wish I could remember which new songs I saw them play during Summer Slaughter this year… they’re definitely still maniacally awesome live. Headed overseas with Cannibal Corpse next… lucky Europeans.
Monday, September 21, 2009 1 Comment
If you are anything like myself, you don’t use the internet just to look at porn, new bongs, and to see how fucking awesome Behemoth’s new video is. You will know all about Crabcore, and how it’s the new “brutal” thing. The great guys from MetalSucks, first posted a video of the guitarist for Attack! Attack!’s latestt music video, Stick Stickly (I’m not going to link you to the video). Now, with that being said, I would like to appologize for Columbus, Ohio being known for the birthplace of “Crabcore”. Really, Ohio? Thanks for nothing.
Now this brings me to my next point in hand. This freakin’ sweet ass website, YourSceneSucks.com. Holy shit, it’s been awhile since my last visit. But I’m thankful that they have posted some new “scenes”. YouSceneSucks.com, has some pretty great stereo typical scenesters. So if you have some spare time besides trying to locate that last joint you hid in a sock, check it out.
Thursday, September 17, 2009 2 Comments
Brendon Small’s Metalocalypse is known in the metal community for its outrageous portrayal of what happens when a death metal band becomes one of the largest commercial entities in the world. It features the fictitious band Dethklok, the seventh largest world economy, who puts out the most brutal death metal records of all time.
In 2007, they released an album entitled “The Dethalbum”, and I recently got a chance to give their Sophomore album “Dethalbum II” a good listen. My hat comes off for Brendon Small and the crew behind Dethklok for this release. Where the first album was all about the show, making really epic songs with humorous themes and lyrics, this album seems to focus a bit more on the music.
That doesn’t mean the songs aren’t funny, take Laser Cannon Deth Sentence for instance. If you follow the show, during the second season’s first episode the Dethklok guys go to a prison to play a show for the prisoners, on the premise that they’ll be able to choose how 25 of the prisoners are executed. They play this beast of a song from on top of a 50 story giant metal robot spider with drills for legs as it stomps all over the fans and blows up the prisoners. This song is four minutes and thirty six seconds of absolute non-stop frenzied brutality.
Dethsupport is another hilarious song that makes you wonder if Dethklok even understands the concept of limits. The whole song is talking about somebody who is on life support, and the chorus seems to be a repeated chant of “PULL THE PLUG!”
The first track, Bloodlines, is probably my favorite track on the album, despite how much I’ve anticipated and anxiously awaited Laser Cannon Deth Sentence. It screams amazing from start to finish, sampling the scene from the episode where the band goes to the Amazon to do the drug Yopo. There’s a bit of a tribal feel to the whole thing, finishing strong with an epic progression of guitar riffs, tribal drums, and Nathan Explosion’s dark death growls. Every time I hear it, I shit my pants.
With tracks like The Gears, Burn the Earth, and Black Fire Upon Us, it’s evident that the objective here was to ensure that all who listened left the album with a stunned expression and destroyed eardrums.
I must sadly also mention that I’m largely unhappy with the way the vocals of this album have been altered in some songs. It sounds like they were recorded underwater, you’ll notice what I’m talking about if you listen to about 2:55 into The Gears. It’s a little bit weird, but overall it doesn’t harm the album too much.
All said, I’d say I have to definitely give this album an 8/10. Keep making more epic albums for us to melt our faces to, Dethklok!
Get the album from Amazon.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009 3 Comments
After the awesomeness that was Nocturnal, which came out in 2007, I’ve been waiting in high anticipation for the new release Deflorate by Michigans’s The Black Dahlia Murder. Although due to extenuating circumstances (seems like I’ve got a shitload of those recently) I missed BDM’s set at Mayhem this year at Nissan Pavillion (and in fact was SO late the only band I saw before the main stage started was Cannibal Corpse…which ruled. But I digress…) I did manage to find Trevor towards the end of the evening during the bands’ nightly bbq with spiked punch (which basically ruined me, wtf was IN that anyway?!?!) and it looks like we may be able to catch them for an interview when they embark on the next tour, headlining with Children of Bodom, Toxic Holocaust and Skeletonwitch. So, something for you knucklesfirst readers to get wet about…
Jason Suecof is back at the board: he covered mixing responsibilities and co-produced the effort with the Black Dahlia and Mark Lewis (who has done work with Deicide.) One of the first things I noticed (other than the superb playing and song structure) is how clean the production is. I must admit, I feel completely torn by this due to the fact that engineers (of which I am one) should ALWAYS be improving their sound and the sound of their bands so I WANT this album to sound amazing…but I think some of the brutality may be lost in the splendor of the sound – I’d love for the album to have a bit of the grit, the dirty, the raw, perhaps on the level of Unhallowed (which is ranked right up there with some of my favourite metal albums of all time.) I have no doubt that some of that grit will be experienced during their live shows. I promise not to miss them next time…
Although the title of the album Deflorate, by definition, means the point past the flowering state, post-pollen shedding, The Black Dahlia Murder is in no way past their prime bloom. Deflorate delves even deeper lyrically than Nocturnal, and with the addition of Ryan Knight of Arsis, we find BDM expanding musically as well. Shannon Lucas’s drumming is exceptionally brutal and supports the rest of the instrumentation without fail, while Trevor’s vocals, sitting nicely in the mix, scream and shriek and command our attention to his message. I know I find myself enraptured…
Standout tracks for me are “Throne of Lunacy” and “Necropolis,” which is the first single off the new record (check out Revolver.com for the video if you’d like…) “That Which Erodes The Most Tender” sounds the most like what I’d like to hear from BDM and the only truly odd spot on the record is “I Will Return.” As though Black Dahlia Murder wanted to dip a toe into the frigid waters of Viking Metal, the song reminds me of Amon Amarth’s “Twilight of The Thunder Gods.” A-B it yourself, I’m sure you’ll hear it too…
Don’t be afraid to budget in Deflorate from your next paycheck, the album drops September 15th and should become a part of your regular Ipod playlists as the seasons change and all the living green things start to wilt and die. A perfect soundtrack.
A note from Butters: Unlike Katie, I was able to see BDM’s performance at Mayhem Fest (Blossom – Cleveland), this was my first time witnessing their brutalness live (I changed my pants after). They did play Necropolis for us, because, we are awesome. Unlike Katie and her awesome BBQ outing, I had to wait in line to see them. Enough of my jealous rants, back to Deflorate! First round of this I immediately realized that this was going to an epic ablum. The new solos from Ryan Knight has taken this band to a new level. I believe I read somewhere that Shannon mentioned that this was his “Most Technical Album”. I couldn’t agree with him more. But yet again, they still are the fun boys that we’ve all grown to love (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’d recommend watching Majesty DVD) in the new music video for Necropolis (check it out here).
My two favorite tracks are going to be, Necropolis and That Which Erodes The Most Tender. I’m going to agree with Katie, this album is amazing, go buy this. Place it on your iPod and let your Mom listen. She’ll love it. If she doesn’t have her call me. Because, Black Dahlia Murder has yet again, amazed me. The new line up, is amazing, technical, and brutal. I’m highly looking forward to a possible interview, and face melting here in Columbus Ohio, on “Rocktober” 25th.
The Black Dahlia Murder Myspace
Buy Deflorate on 9/15 Here, and Here, and Here
Buy Majesty DVD Here!
