“It is with great regret that DragonForce announce a parting of the ways with singer ZP Theart. This is due to insurmountable differences of musical opinion but the rest of the band sincerely wishes ZP great success with his future projects.”

The band has begun a global search for his replacement immediately: “We are looking for a powerful, melodic singer to write a new chapter of DragonForce with us.” said guitarist Herman Li.

If you have the chops to do this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jgrCKhxE1s

you should go here: www.dragonforce.com/audition.

Have a nice day.

via MetalInsider

I can’t say I’ve enjoyed an album more in 2010 than Bangers, the Metal Blade debut from Montreal’s Barn Burner.  Since it’s only the end of January, that statement may sound like a backhanded compliment – make no mistake: Barn Burner is the shit.

I foresee these dudes quickly rising to the very tippy top of the “stoner rock” genre, putting a couple notches in their belts in other musical categories as they climb.  I find them to be way more palatable than The Sword and Fu Manchu, while still nestling in that kind of sound.  Bangers has some of the best rock tracks I’ve heard in years, ripe with biting lyrics, badass grooves and familiar riffage.  They don’t disappoint in touching on the typical topics of smoking drugs (“Holy Smokes,” “Beer Today, Bong Tomorrow”) and there’s that damn Wizard (thanks Sabbath) to whom so many of these groups feel the need to pay homage, but I adore the foray into redneck territory with “Fast Women.”

The musicianship is strong, the writing is solid, the melodies and lyrics are catchy – I can picture people across America driving in their cars, busting guts singing along with “Brohemoth.”  Vocalist/guitarist Kevin Keegan, with nods in the direction of Page Hamilton–style vocals in dismissively spitting out what he really thinks, is already a pro; Marc Doucette and Nick Ball would have no problem engaging the QOTSA guys in a session and Taylor Freund’s timing makes me so comfy I want to sit in his lap.

These dudes can fuckin’ rock it out. I am desperate to see Barn Burner play live.  So far no planned tours have been announced, but the boys will be doing a set at SXSW on March 18th at East End Tattoo, so if you’re in the Austin area, and can, GO.  For the rest of us, this will have to suffice for now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv33mDo7kIA

It could be appropriate to see them hit the road with an Eyehategod or maybe Crowbar in my metal circles, and granted, they’ve warmed up Priestess crowds already… but I can most certainly envision Barn Burner opening for Mastodon by the end of the year.  Who do I have to call to make that happen?

Check them out here and plan to pick up a copy of Bangers on February 16:

http://www.myspace.com/theinfamousbarnburner

Mark your calendars, March 13,  for the Second Annual Scion Rock Festival. Just check out the lineup, you’re not going to be disappointed.

CANNIBAL CORPSE

SHRINEBUILDER

VOIVOD

D.R.I.

BRUTAL TRUTH

HATE ETERNAL

YOB

PELICAN

3 INCHES OF BLOOD

ABSU

LUDICRA

ACCRASSICAUIDA

TRAP THEM

MAGRUDERGRIND

LANDMINE MARATHON

THOU

SAVIOURS

LITURGY

STRUCK BY LIGHTING

BLACK TUSK

DEADSEA

LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH

LULLABYE ARKESTRA

From what I’ve been reading, this is going on in several small venues through out Columbus.

Check out Metal Insider for the Complete Detail. And hopefully we can all get some beers together.

]]> http://www.knucklesfirst.com/2010/01/scion-rock-festival-part-deux-columbus-ohio/feed/ 0 http://www.knucklesfirst.com/2010/01/conducting-from-the-grave-when-legends-become-dust-review/ http://www.knucklesfirst.com/2010/01/conducting-from-the-grave-when-legends-become-dust-review/#comments Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:00:52 +0000 Butters http://www.knucklesfirst.com/?p=578 So I’ve been in the metal slump over the past month or 2. Not reviewing, not doing a lot actually. But I’m excited about this next band, Conducting From The Grave. I needed to hear a band like this. It’s been too damn long since I’ve heard something truly amazing, and Conducting From The Grave as done so.

Hit the jump for more!

Where shall I begin? Vocals? Guitar? Percussion? I have yet to hear something that I dislike on When Legends Become Dust. Vocals are similiar, but yet different to Trevor Strnad of Black Dahlia Murder, in the demonic screeches and beastly growls. Lou Tanious, I tip my hat to you, sir.

I believe Sumerian Records, have made a name for themselves in the Progressive Metal genre. And musically, Conduction From The Grave has nailed in on the head. From amazing riffs, to various time signatures, to being just straight balls to wall, brutal. I’ve been trying to do a fare share of research, and I’ve stumbled across, John Abernathy (the Lead Guitarist) YouTube page. And he dropped a video of some new material.

And I’ve also read that he is offering guitar lessons via web cam, and in person (Sacramento area).

I’ve recently become mildly  obsessed with drumming and other forms of percussion. Danny Carrey, Shannon Lucas, Leche, Chris Adler, are a small list of my current favorite drummers. Now I’m adding one more, Greg Donnely. This band is tight, this band is loud, this band is everything I could want and more. They are like getting looking in your pockets and finding an extra $20, or when you look and see that you still have some more weed, even though you thought your little brother stole it. Conducting From The Gave has officially stolen my mercury filled heart, and hopefully yours soon.

Also, if any member of GFTG see this, email me. You need to come to Ohio.

So until next time, stay brutal.

MySpace

last.fm

Buy it:

Amazon

iTunes

Merch Connections

Sumerian Records

9. Destroyer 666 – Defiance

This is about as close to black metal as I can get without feeling uncomfortable. You know, that same feeling you get around somebody who’s holding scissors that shouldn’t be allowed to hold scissors. I can’t remember exactly why I decided to give it a listen in the first place, but it had something to do with a description I read somewhere that it was “Blackened Thrash Metal”…and some doobed out reasoning along the lines of “I like chicken, and I really like blackened chicken, so let’s see how it goes.” My favorite track is definitely “Weapons of Conquest”.

8. Goatwhore – Carving Out the Eyes of God

I had never listened to Goatwhore before listening to this album, but I’m sure glad as hell I decided to check them out…this is fucking demolition derby metal, my friends. The opening track is enough to make me want to strap knives onto my Mazda and enter the ring. “Who needs a god, when you’ve got SATAN!” Fucking aye!

7. Lay Down Rotten – Gospel of the Wretched

If you haven’t heard this album (and you probably haven’t), you’re missing out, plain and simple. If you like Amon Amarth, but you’re looking for something with a little more depth and complexity, look no further. These tracks are juicy, the rhythms will pound you, and you will feel the glory of battle.

6. Jungle Rot – What Horrors Await

There’s something just unbelievably fun about this album. It’s muddy. It’s ballsy. It’s simple. It hits hard. Love it. Who can say no to a track entitled “Exit Wounds”? Yeah, nobody.

5. Revocation – Existence is Futile

Thrashy, beautiful, original. Retro, experimental, solo-tastic. Why haven’t I heard of these guys before? There’s something nostalgic, something familiar about the guitar work here that just feels right, and their performance is tight as hell. Forests and Fjords forever.

4. The Black Dahlia Murder – Deflorate

Yeah, I pretty much love these guys. You can’t watch Majesty and not, really. They love what they do, they’re serious about it, and it fucking shows. I am looking forward to hearing more, especially with a well-acclimated Ryan Knight on the roster.

3. Slayer – World Painted Blood

Now this is an evolution I can get behind. I love the album enough by itself, but, in addition to it being awesome, it gave me a new appreciation for like…every Slayer album ever. When I heard World Painted Blood in its entirety for the first time, it rekindled something inside me that…fucking loves Slayer.

2. Job for a Cowboy – Ruination

Funny how a release I initially cringed at gradually made it damn near to the fucking top-of-my-top-of-the-year, right? Yeah, you heard me: I didn’t even like it when it came out. I soon discovered that my problem was a combination of me being so in love with the quirky, sporadic sound of Doom and the fact that Ruination… sounds nothing like Doom. I just didn’t see eye to eye with the people who praised the departure as an evolution to “real death metal” or whatever the fuck; I like my metal WEIRD, and I think their first two albums are nothing short of genius. I took a step back, looked at all of their releases, and saw the beautiful evolution that has taken place. If you give this album a serious listen, you’re sure to see they haven’t lost those bizarre twisting, jutting foundations that lie at the heart of every track.

1. Gorod – Process of a New Decline

What can I say about this album I haven’t already? Technically impressive, groovin’, quirky, ethereal, brutal…they manage to be tight as fuck and all over the goddamn place all at once. Death metal with a swing beat? Jesus. With my attention span what it is, it takes mad skills to put together an entire collection of tracks I don’t skip to the ends of “after the cool part’s over”. This album gets 8 gold stars and a banana sticker.

Listen to the magic that begins at 2:50 !!!!!

Honorable Mentions (whatever the fuck that means):

Lamb of God – Wrath

Behemoth – Evangelion

Darkest Hour – The Eternal Return

Daath – The Concealers

I really, really like some of the songs on these CDs, I just didn’t like enough of them enough to feel comfortable saying they were among my favorites of the year. They’re definitely good albums, though. After about an hour of trying to decide between the three of them which one got the #10 spot, I says, “Buh, honorable mentions.” I’d venture to guess Wrath is closest to making #10. The album was great, but in its entirety just wasn’t interesting enough for me.

Other than these, of course we got Crack the Skye…I wudn’t really feelin’ that one. Skeletonwitch is awesome, but for some reason I can’t bring myself to enjoy their CDs nearly as much as their live shows. Baroness is good, but I can’t help but feel like they’re overrated. “A Horse Called Golgotha” from Blue Record is definitely awesome, but I didn’t enjoy the rest of the tracks as much. Who knows, as with any metal albums, any one of these CDs could end up being my favorite in a month or two, heh.

Happy New Year – Spread the Love.

• Skeletonwitch: Breathing the Fire
• The Black Dahlia Murder: Deflorate
• Job for a Cowboy: Ruination
• Austrian Death Machine: Double Brutal
• Slayer: World Painted Blood
• August Burns Red: Constellations
• Lamb of God: Wrath
• Dethklok: Dethalbum II
• Darkest Hour: The Eternal Return
• Revocation: Existence is Futile

Most of these were awesome, though to be honest 2009 wasn’t the best year for metal in my opinion so it wasn’t exactly hard to shine. Job for a Cowboy seems to have matured to the point of a reputable death band with Ruination, The Black Dahlia Murder stepped it up even harder (which was hard to imagine) with Deflorate, and Skeletonwitch…they just continue to amaze me with their excellence. With these exceptions, better luck next year folks. Stay classy metalheads.

10. Dethklok – Dethalbum II

9. Job For a Cowboy – Ruination

8. Austrian Death Machine – Double Brutal

7. Unearth – The March

6. August Burns Red – Constellations

5. Suicide Silence – No Time To Bleed

4. Caliban – Say Yes To Tragedy

3. Lamb of God – Wrath

2. Skeletonwitch – Breathing the Fire

1. The Black Dahlia Murder – Deflorate

You don’t have to agree with me on this. Or really on anything ever. But feel free to comment below if you’d like.  And in no particular order (because honestly, it’s too hard to decide) my top 10 metal records of 2009 are:

Tombs – Winter Hours

The Black Dahlia Murder – Deflorate

Behemoth – Evangelion

Gaza – He Is Never Coming Back

The Red Chord – Fed Through The Teeth Machine

Revocation – Existence Is Futile

Job For A Cowboy – Ruination

Cannibal Corpse – Evisceration Plague

Goatwhore – Carving Out The Eyes of God

Cattle Decapitation - The Harvest Floor

What I CAN tell you is that of those top 10, the ones I listen to the most are the new Gaza and the new Red Chord. But those are more recent releases… so that may be why.  I also fucking adore Mastodon’s Crack The Skye but am starting to feel like I can’t call them a metal band anymore.  Tombs had the most interesting record and Cattle had the most brutal record in my top 10… and the rest are listed because they didn’t disappoint me.  Or were actually pretty good.

Happy New Year to all, be safe in your revelry and thank the lord (whichever one you worship) that 2009 is fucking over.  2010 will give us a new Misery Index record and a new Whitechapel record… so we have something to which we can look forward.