I also find it fitting that Adam D (who I last saw playing beer pong with a box from a case of beer as a hat) from KSE is heading up the production on this one, as his band also convinced me to rejoin the metal world at that time. Adam has perfected the sonic sheen on metal records – for example check out any of the albums in the last 6 years from All That Remains, Norma Jean, Unearth, Underoath and of course his work on all the Killswitch records solidly identifies the bands to which he puts his touch.

As I Lay Dying may be the only metal band that actually makes me feel like I’m falling in love – the emotions they evoke with their guitar melodies, it’s almost like dark chocolate for the ears. Their fifth full-length record is The Powerless Rise. All in all, I think this one completely annihilates their last record in brutality. “Anodyne Sea” is my favourite on the first couple of listens, and will most certainly become a perfect addition to the already stellar line-up of AILD classics.

“The Plague” has the meat, right out of the gate and I’m back to swooning for the guitars (Nick and Phil, geniuses, both) in “Upside Down Kingdom,” while Josh rounds out the tones. Solid drumming from Jordan on this one (no surprise there) – the drum sounds are big and fat and a little verby…maybe a little too verby, but that’s just me.

I am a huge Tim Lambesis fan, and smile to myself when I hear a little Austrian Death Machine vox sneak in there (bound to remind me, of course) and although my tastes tend to run dark and evil (I’ve been known to shudder when any band breaks into harmonies…) now I find that I don’t mind so much anymore. In “The Blinding Of False Light” Tim melds his monstrous vocals with Josh’s melodic singing flawlessly.

As I Lay Dying has established themselves as amazing musicians, with a solid discography, a Grammy nod and a sound that many try to duplicate and fail miserably. (Unless they get Adam D… then they can get a little closer, at least.) The Powerless Rise drops from Metal Blade Records on May 11th. Can’t wait to see them live again. Oh look, I can on Thursday:

Mon 05/03/10 Des Moines, IA People’s

Tue 05/04/10 Springfield, MO Remmington’s

Wed 05/05/10 Louisville, KY Headliners Music Hall

Thu 05/06/10 Richmond, VA The National

Fri 05/07/10 Allentown, PA Crocodile Rock Cafe

Sat 05/08/10 Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Small’s Theatre

Sun 05/09/10 Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Small’s Theatre

Mon 05/10/10 Nashville, TN Rocketown

Tue 05/11/10 Chicago, IL House Of Blues

Wed 05/12/10 Minneapolis, MN The Cabooze

Thu 05/13/10 Kansas City, MO Beaumont Club

Fri 05/14/10 Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre

Sat 05/15/10 Magna, UT The Great Saltair

Sun 05/16/10 Boise, ID Knitting Factory Concert House

Mon 05/17/10 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory Concert House

Tue 05/18/10 Eugene, OR McDonald Theatre

Thu 05/20/10 Reno, NV Knitting Factory Concert House

Fri 05/21/10 San Diego, CA SOMA San Diego

Sat 05/22/10 Las Vegas, NV House Of Blues

Out on tour with not a lot of my favourite bands, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go early. They’re also booked to rock the Download Festival with AC/DC on June 11th in the UK and on the 25th, playing at Gods Of Metal in Italy. Fuckin’ right, guys.

“Hi! I should be on the guestlist…?”

Two texts, a phone call, a handing-of-my-phone-over-to-the-nice-smiling-chica-running-the-will-call-office-who-then-handed-the-phone-to-her-boss…. And we were in. (New town and a newer venue for me to frequent… you never know if it’s going to come through or not… but it did.  Thanks to all of the wonderful people involved in that exchange!)

Unfortunately, we missed Between the Buried and Me, which I was relatively bummed about, but I HAD caught them at the 9:30 Club in DC on their last tour in 2009 – I want to say it was when they were out with the Faceless, so it’s not as though it was the end of the world.  I’m sure they were fantastic. (If you were there, please feel free to comment below… on Valient Thorr‘s performance as well!)

Mastodon took the stage after 9p.m.  Projected behind the big, hairy men was a film that seemed to include Rick Rubin (playing Rasputin, of course) who eventually got into a sword fight with the devil… along with a naked male who kept appearing in a very precarious situation with his, um, highly extended, coiled umbilical cord lit like a stick of dynamite… Symbolism. Ha. All of the images came from the amazing artwork from not only C.T.S. (including the starlit night sky for the astral projection imagery) but as the evening progressed, previous album artwork as well.  (I actually grabbed a sweet drawing from deviantart for this review – http://deathbox-was-taken.deviantart.com/art/Mastodon-Blood-Mountain-92434242 )

Mastodon kicked off the set with “Oblivion” which got my blood pumping right away, but, as pointed out by my gf, perhaps due to the fact that it’s towards the beginning of the tour, Brann’s vocals were nowhere in the mix.  Maybe he wasn’t singing.  Maybe Brent was supposed to be doing Brann’s part. No clue. But that was a little awkward.  After the rough start though – which may have just been an audio glitch – and Troy’s apparent little struggle with his in-ear mix, the rest of the set was practically flawless.  The sound was thick, the lighting appropriate and tastefully done as to not interfere with the constant images on the screen.  They rocked out tons of tracks off their newest record, Crack The Skye, with favourites thrown in like “Seabeast” and “March Of The Fire Ants” in their encore, which I can’t imagine NOT hearing when venturing out to catch these boys live.  Honestly, I don’t think it’s possible to walk away from a Mastodon show not completely impressed.

We were lucky enough to get to grab some time with most of the band afterwards and even shared a couple beers at the Capital Ale House (good god is their beer list massive.) Brent mentioned his passion for all the side projects he’s been doing – I’d check out fellow ATL band Zoroaster’s new track “White Dwarf” as an example…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkFe-oDoRyo&feature=player_embedded

The dudes got their bus call and Suzy and I, as our luck continued, grabbed a ride home from yet another nice, hairy boy before heading straight to bed (it was a Sunday evening, afterall…)

By all means necessary, go catch this show.  Baroness, along with Valient Thorr, is on the tour for the duration and please try not to miss BTBAM like me… go early.

April 21st Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom

April 22nd Hartford, CT – Webster

April 23rd Worcester, MA – Palladium

April 24th Burlington, VT – Higher Ground

April 26th Pittsburgh, PA – Palace Theater

April 27th Rochester, NY – Water Street

April 29th Grand Rapids, MI – Orbit Room

April 30th Indianapolis, IN – Vogue

May 01st Columbia, MO – Blue Note

May 03rd Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater

May 04th Tucson, AZ – Rialto

May 05th San Diego, CA – House Of Blues

May 07th Pomona, CA – Fox

May 08th Oakland, CA – The Missing Link

May 09th Reno, NV – Knitting Factory

May 10th Eugene, OR – McDonald Theater

May 11th Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory

May 13th Billings, MT – The Shrine

May 14th Fargo, ND – The Venue

May 15th Omaha, NE – Sokol Hall

May 16th Lawrence, KS – Liberty Hall

May 18th Madison, WI – Orpheum

May 19th Urbana, IL – Canopy Club

May 20th Memphis, TN – Minglewood

May 21st Knoxville, TN – Valarium

May 22nd Lexington, KY – Busters

So you would imagine how super excited I was to learn that Danza (out of Nashville) is back on the road with Through The Eyes of The Dead, Impending Doom, Arsonists Get All The Girls and Chelsea Grin (and is actually going to be playing JUST mere blocks away from me here in Richmond at the Canal Club later in the month…) PLUS they released the first song off their upcoming record Danza III “I Am Sammy Jankis” – to listen:

http://bit.ly/901SXg

New album drops early summer.  Check out the Road To Metalfest dates and go support a band who is still writing new metal… not “nu” metal. But NEW FUCKING METAL

http://www.myspace.com/tonydanzatapdanceextravaganza

Fuckin’ slays. Can’t wait.

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

’nuff said.

The sweet, dying sigh of the guitar line in “Ingest The Ash” is refreshing, while I don’t understand the use of Vari-Fi in the middle (aren’t we done with that plug-in yet?) I adore the screaming that tears out of it. “Embarrassment Legacy” is really smooth (the beginning tones somehow remind me of “11th Hour-”ish Lamb Of God.) That track is topped off by a very precisely played blast section towards the end, mostly due to the punishing assault of drums – this may be Brad Fickeisen’s best recorded-performance to date.

I like that their tracks average a little over 2 minutes, that they’re in and out, point made, no need to rehash… other than the repeated lyrical lines which have their individual impact on your soul… some of them angst-fueling.

“While I was counting hours, you were counting fists.”

“My life’s work, forgotten.”

The longest musical journey on the album is the final track, “Sleepless Nights In The Compound.” Feel free to get lost in it and let it drag you around. Once you finish, you could just kick it back to the second track “Hour of Rats” and unleash.

The new effort from The Red Chord, out on Metal Blade Records now, will sit strongly in their own album repertoire and is better than their oft-coupled tourmates’ “Deflorate.” If I had my way, I’d say next time Black Dahlia Murder and The Red Chord go out together, The Red Chord headlines.

Gaza is one of those bands I find so satisfying to listen to because as much traveling as the music does inside the songs, it always comes back to that deep, dark note of despair (“The Kicking Legs”) they’ve been dancing around for a minute and a half and when it hits, it’s like a flood of relief, a long-awaited homecoming of sorts. Sweeping, soaring guitar lines that fill up your ears a la Will Haven’s el Diablo, the grindier side coming out in sections of songs like “Carnivore,” Gaza does not force themselves into a genre, nay even a steady tempo throughout a piece.

“Windowless House” and “Canine Disposal Unit” showcase the band’s faster-paced brutality, but I still prefer the drug-induced swaying of the title track, a perfect example of what Gaza brings to the metal table. Continuing to crush the spirits of all Christians everywhere (or at least in their hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah) He Is Never Coming Back is a formidable expression of anger, dismissal of beliefs, and display of utter abandonment, a smack in the face to those who have committed themselves to long and widely-held ideals.

Gaza has outdone themselves with this one, a well-rounded album that will blast through my speakers for the rest of the year. Just don’t wait to put it on your Christmas list – that would be blasphemy.

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.

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!