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!

All in all, as much as I love my Vegas friends (one of whose couches I slept on while I was there) this was probably the worst vacation I have ever had. Bad timing coupled with stress, anxiety and lack of funds (which was plaguing ALL of us) forced me to gamble with strangers all day (who then became friends) and even though I managed to keep my blackjack money alive for hours and hours of play, I ended up losing it all… my budget, not my shirt. (I’m a responsible gambler…whatever that means.)

I did, however, drink for free for 3 days which can’t be beat… and I attended the Down show at the House of Blues in Mandalay Bay on the last day of my vacation.

Down is out with the Melvins and Weedeater. Weedeater was UNBELIEVABLE. I adored every single song (“God luck and good speed”) the energy, the synergy – all fantastic. I will most certainly catch them on their next tour, regardless of which bands they may be out with on the road. I had never seen the Melvins before either, and they were rocking their two-drummer ensemble (which apparently means they’re not exACTly the Melvins that way) and I wanted to get up on stage and take over for one of them. (I played drums for 9 years and quit when I was living in dorms in college – no room for a set there.) But quite seriously, I may look into getting back into drumming soon…

One thing I’ve neglected to mention thus far is that even though I had four tickets to the show, none of my compatriots had shown up yet (due to all the reasons listed above…and some extra time at work for another one.) So, standing alone at the House of Blues, I was noticed for doing so and one kindly gentleman from the Air Force (Nellis is a rather large air force base near Las Vegas) invited me to come hang out with him and his friends so that I was no longer alone…which at first I thought was sweet. But then I realized how drunk this dude, Josh, was and I had to rename him Rapist Air Force Douchebag. I had to spend the entire set of Weedeater avoiding his hands and finally got away from him on the floor of the venue halfway into the Melvins set when one of my friends finally arrived… phew. Finally I settled in to watch the show.

Down started their set with “Ghosts Along The Mississippi” and within 2 minutes, R.A.F.D. was apprehended by two security guards for slamming into the people in the front row (moshing by himself.) But the two guards couldn’t get him under control, and he ended up being thrown out with force by five security guards. Scary.

I managed to secure a spot in the front row on stage left, literally five feet away from Kurt and often Phil (which if you know me = heaven.) Phil is back to rocking the Cowbows From Hell hair again (yes, I’m a girl, and yes I was drooling. I’ll stop that now.) So even though Down’s set seemed short because we have been spoiled with tours like an “Evening with Down” or whatever the fuck it was when they played for over two hours and included “Jail” in their setlist… the whole show was great. Phil did a lot of interacting with the audience, Pepper’s playing was right on point and you know Jimmy Bower always brings it… I’m not sure where Rex was, they had a bassist from Canada who filled in quite nicely… It’s funny that I fly all the way across the U.S. to see a show that I could see within an hour’s drive from my house… but I didn’t want to wait until September 8th to see them.  And now, I don’t think I will even be making it to the Baltimore show due to complications back in NoVa – however I think YOU should go. You should ALL go. And don’t miss Weedeater.

Tue 09/01/09 Atlanta, GA Center Stage

Wed 09/02/09 Lake Buena Vista, FL House Of Blues

Fri 09/04/09 North Myrtle Beach, SC House Of Blues

Sat 09/05/09 Charlotte, NC Fillmore Charlotte

Sun 09/06/09 Knoxville, TN The Valarium

Tue 09/08/09 Baltimore, MD Sonar

Wed 09/09/09 Clifton Park, NY Northern Lights

Fri 09/11/09 New York, NY Nokia Theatre Times Square

Sun 09/13/09 Boston, MA House Of Blues

Tue 09/15/09 Hartford, CT Webster Theater

Wed 09/16/09 Rochester, NY Main Street Armory

Thu 09/17/09 Buffalo, NY The Town Ballroom

Fri 09/18/09 Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Small’s Theatre

Sat 09/19/09 Mount Clemens, MI Emerald Theatre

Mon 09/21/09 Indianapolis, IN The Vogue

Tue 09/22/09 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues

Thu 09/24/09 Omaha, NE Sokol Auditorium / Underground

Fri 09/25/09 Sauget, IL Pop’s

Sat 09/26/09 Mokena, IL Pearl Room

Mon 09/28/09 Louisville, KY Expo Five

God I love Behemoth. Their ninth studio release Evangelion will be released upon the world August 11^th and as I sit with it now, I imagine it will be one of 2009’s finest black metal achievements.  (Although we apparently have a new Immortal album to look forward to – we’ll see who takes the reigns!) I’m a little thrown by the beginning of the first track, “Daimonos,” because it reminds me, a little too closely, of Misery Index’s “Ghosts of Catalonia.” However, as soon as the straight kicks, well, kick in, it turns right back into Behemoth.

I am a sucker for a slow, dark march, so “Ov Fire And The Void” is definitely one of the standout tracks. Behemoth have created a video for that song which will be released as part of a digi-pak that also includes a DVD of the trio in the studio working on Evangelion.  I’m going to have to get my hands on that one…

“Transmigrating Beyond Realms Ov Amenti” is a typical Behemoth track, could have been found on The Apostasy.  “He Who Breeds Pestilence,” “The Seed Ov I” and “Alas, Lord Is Upon Me” seem to swim together as a story-line trilogy.  Of course, I can’t understand all of Nergal’s lyrics and since the Satan nerds don’t have access to the record yet to interpret and post them online, this is merely a feeling the three songs give to me.  Of course, the last track on the record is “Lucifer” an 8-minute epic piece, full of slow, swelling guitar lines, sung entirely, I believe, in Polish. Well, at least it’s not English…

The doom and despair dispelled by Behemoth beckons me and once inside, I’m blanketed, like a fog taking over a great city… they make the darkness, the hidden-away-from-God places, seem romantic.  Definitely powerful.

BEHEMOTH

ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK MAYHEM FESTIVAL

Tour w/ Slayer, Marilyn Manson, Bullet For My Valentine, Trivium, All That Remains, God Forbid, Cannibal Corpse, Job For A Cowboy, The Black Dahlia Murder, Whitechapel

08/06 Virginia Beach, VA Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheate

08/07 Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center

08/08 Hartford, CT Comcast Theatre

08/09 Washington, DC Nissan Pavilion

08/10 Spartanburg, SC Ground Zero not part of tour w/ Cannibal Corpse, The Black Dahlia Murder, God Forbid

08/11 Tampa, FL Ford Amphitheatre

08/12 West Palm Beach, FL Cruzan Amphitheater

08/14 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center

08/15 Dallas, TX Superpages.com Center

08/16 Oklahoma City, OK Zoo Amphitheatre

Good to see familiar faces upon arriving (Metal Nick and Brendan, whom I’ve now known for years and both are staples at most of the shows I hit up.) Otherwise, the crowd was pretty damn varied. I had zero idea what some of those girls were doing there – and then I remember I generally look like the girl next door as opposed to the metal chick even though I am… so I decided to shut-up and accepted them into my evening.

My first glint of happiness for the day: I recognize the bartender and snagged my beloved seat at the bar at Jaxx in Springfield, Virginia. The place was pretty damn packed and I’m pretty sure it was over 100 degrees up in there. Due to the mass of people, my seat was, unfortunately, right next to a few emo d-bags all night and thought to myself at one point… I wonder if that’s Evergreen Terrace. Just based on their looks, and behavior and the fact that ET were never heavy enough to put into rotation at XMLM… and an hour later those dudes were onstage…as Evergreen Terrace. Their set can be summed up as angst-filled “I want you dead” chants – but the kids in the crowd were familiar with that song and chanted right along. And then they covered “Mad World” by Tears for Fears…or by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules for the Donnie Darko soundtrack … or by Adam Lambert. Regardless, it was the high point of the set for me.

Unholy actually kicked my night off, and I think, outside of the Acacia Strain, that they had the best set of the night. They’ve released a new album on Prosthetic Records and I think it might be worth checking out. Cruel Hand and then Evergreen Terrace played after them and I finally realized why, in addition to being dead-tired, I just wasn’t having the best time – I was at a punk and hardcore show. I have never been a punk fan and am just so sick of straight hardcore bands (Hatebreed already wrote that song) and sitting there through Cruel Hand’s set was a little rough for me. I do this for you people. And I love you. And being a lover, I don’t generally like to put out bad reviews on bands… the crowd was totally into them. They’re just not my cup of tea.

A random fun point of the evening – everyone is still into “The Roof Is On Fire” by Bloodhound Gang.

Finally it’s time for the Acacia Strain. They’ve got the big tour banner hanging in the back but bring two on the stage in front of the guitar stacks – one is a bloody polar bear. The other? A bloody Stay-Puft Marshmellow Man. First time I grinned all night.

Vincent takes the stage and grabs his microphone and announces that their regular guitarist, DL, has decided to step off the tour due to a pregnant girlfriend. “We’re gonna have a good time and no stupid baby is gonna stop us.”

Someone pulled out a beachball (???) as soon as the Acacia Strain started, and the show was on. They hit some of my favourites, “4×4,” “Skynet,” and they ended the set with “Carbomb.” God I love that song. And this band. Although they didn’t get to “Smoke Ya Later,” my all-time favourite AS song, due to the fact that their new guitarist only had two weeks to learn a whole set, they really rocked it out.

I think the magic of live shows is a tight performance and the synergy between the band and the crowd, and this night with the Acacia Strain was way more than a rabbit-in-a-hat trick. It’s when EVERYBODY knows the words to all the songs… when 200 kids are screaming “I am the end of the world!” (“JFC.”) with thunderous drums (nice mix, dude) and a “fuck the world” chorus… Caught up in the “don’t fuck around, but have fun with your life” (Vincent’s words) celebration, I even danced. A little.

I walked out of there with the Stay-Puft Marshmellow Man shirt (Dogs and Cats, Living Together, Mass Hysteria) completely invigorated and satisfied. If you love hardcore, go early.

July 21st – Mt. Clemens, MI – Hayloft
July 22nd – Evansville, IN – Boney Junes
July 23rd – Iowa City, IA – The Picador
July 24th – Orlando Park, IL – Moejoe’s Coffee House
July 25th – Fort Wayne, IN – Sunset Hall
July 26th – Toledo, OH – Headliner’s
July 27th – Erie, PA – Forward Hall
July 28th – Albany, NY – Northern Lights
July 29th – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
July 30th – Manchester, NH – Rockos
July 31st – Bucksport, ME – The Kave
Aug 1st – Hartford, CT – Webster Theatre

New album drops July 7th while they’re out on the Rockstar Mayhem Festival with Slayer and Manson. FUN.

We’ll see them on tour alongside Suffocation, Origin and Necrophagist on the Summer Slaughter tour which kicks off in their home town at Sonar on June 5th. This has been your official Dying Fetus update.

The next chapter in the saga which I’ve grown to know and love and crave just got super climactic. Just for the record, Scott Hull (Pig Destroyer) writes disgusting guitar lines. On Agorapocalypse, they grab you by the hair and drag you around on the floor, pausing only for the rare break so you can nod along with the hook and wipe the blood trickling into your eyes from your bloody roots.

Newcomer kat (salome currently, some of you may remember her from body farm) brings a satisfying performance, a full on vocal assault (go ahead. hit me.) She ups the ante on the vocal violence ANb is known for, accompanying Richard Johnson (Drugs of Faith and Enemy Soil) who also supplies the balls of the record and J. Randall, both providing throat-wrenching oral ferocity and the ironically misogynistic lyrics. At least, I’m hoping they are ironic…

“Moral Distortion” and “Trauma Queen” are my standouts, if you’re looking for something a bit less jagged and violent, check out “White on White Crime;” it’s a little more fuck the facts (am I just saying that because both bands have female vocalists? maybe. hopefully not. i’ll call myself out on it regardless.)

Agorapocalypse is out in stores today, come see Drugs of Faith and Salome open for Misery Index tonight at the Rock and Roll Hotel in Washington D.C. I will see you there.

Very moody, as the album title may suggest, but not depressing, Tombs take you through the gamut of genres – they’re not afraid to thrash out, slam directly into a blast beat, then slow it down…and i mean, really slow, including full-on, reverb-saturated, guitars-only interludes.

It seems as though they pull from the ethereal guitar sounds of prog/alt rock band dredg (Interscope) which is probably not intentional as they are not metal (but are so good you may not care.) The vocals go from a paige hamilton (helmet) feel to a gravelly doom-yell and meld well with the ever-changing tone of the music and melody.

Mix-wise, the guitars overwhelm the album – it could use a little more kickdrum to be honest, but otherwise I love the choices they made – it’s a winner.

Standout tracks include “The Divide” along with “The Great Silence,” and I have a feeling that my favourite songs will change the more time I spend with this album which I plan will be plentiful.

if you happen to be in the Washington d.c./Baltimore area tonight, Tombs is playing at the Talking Head next to Sonar with local death/grindcore group Three Faces Of Eve. Go.

The new Cattle Decapitation, The Harvest Floor, is fantastic. “We Are Horrible People” is one of the standout tracks.

The new Cannibal Corpse is disgustingly awesome, check out “To Decompose.”

And the new Mastodon is sick. I’m listening to it right now…

The Masquerade was much larger than I had anticipated, an old mill-turned-venue with three performance areas lovingly named Heaven, Purgatory, Hell… and the Outside Stage. Ha. Kylesa was the first band to play on the main stage (outside) where I stood. I still felt similarly about them as I did when I first heard their latest recording… meh… but that’s mostly because I’m just not into the yelling vocal dude. Their music is tight, they have TWO drummers for god’s sakes, who rocked it out, and the chick on vox was great.

I moved into Purgatory to see Salome play, one of Northern Virginia’s local doom bands (so, they’re local to me, but not local to all the folks in Atlanta.) It was the second blond chick on vocals in a row, but they rocked it out. It was fun to hear that my friends in Rwake, out of Little Rock, had heard of them – it’s always good to see bands rising from their roots onto greater places and wider platforms.

Boris I had only heard good things about but had never heard them play or seen them live. I think they ended up having the best performance of the day, partially due to the over-the-top antics of their drummer who wields a mighty mallet against a gong – I mean, who doesn’t like a gong? They put on a fantastic show (even the lights were good, and they played in the afternoon in the outside tent, if that says anything…) and I would highly suggest hitting one of their shows when they come around.

Pig Destroyer never disappoints me. They had the one pit of the day of which I maneuvered the outskirts and managed to avoid getting trampled or pushed which I always claim as a great success. Usually I just stay way back and watch bands, but I had a couple drinks in me by that point and was bold enough to act on my desire to be up close to watch them play. Only the set was short.

Next was Skeletonwitch, out of my college town, Athens, Ohio. They were the only band I got to see play a full set in Heaven, and the crowd packed in to watch them play. Their chops are finely honed, having toured on this past album for a while now, their next tour will be with Goatwhore. Sweet.

Rwake are my people. I’ve been a big fan of theirs for years and always head out to see them play. Their doomy, soul-wrenching grooves suck you right in every single time. They played in Hell and I was smashed into people who all smashed into the smallest room at the Masquerade and I could only see the top of CT’s head, but it was worth it.

Neurosis, the most anticipated band of the day I’d say, took the main stage around 8p.m. and their set was magnificent. If only they had played earlier in the day. By the time they were into their 4th song I was ready for a nap. No offense. I’d just been standing for 11 and a half hours by that point, the sun had gone down which dropped the temperature a great bit, I was sober, hungry and I was ready for Mastodon.

While Neurosis’s set sounded and looked fantastic, by the time Mastodon took the stage either the engineer’s ears were tired, the speakers were dead or MY ears were ready to go to bed, but the whole sound was pushed to the brink, decibel-wise, with no control. It was straight up blown out. Not Mastodon’s fault. They fucking brought it, pulling from all their albums with no bullshit in between, all their songs sped up like I’ve never heard, with absolute precision in their performance – the mastery they have over their songs is highly satisfying. Although I had to avoid a rather large, swaying drunk dude during the middle of their set, my eyes were otherwise transfixed to the stage. They broke my heart when they played “This Mortal Soil,” which is one of my favourite Mastodon tracks of all time. Another highlight – Scott Kelly of Neurosis (who loans his vocals to a track on each of Mastodon’s albums) joined them on stage for each song he’s ever done with them, a total treat. Mastodon’s brand new album, Crack the Skye, dropped Tuesday, and I can’t wait to see them rock another headlining tour.

Really, the biggest disappointments of the day were when two bands I wanted to see were playing at the same time on different stages. I also didn’t really understand the reasoning for the lineups on the particular stages, I found some of the choices bizarre. I would have liked to see 1349 and Converge, but felt justified choosing other bands to watch since I have seen them before. A little gossip – Nachmystium had been booked to play but someone had called Scion complaining that Nachmystium were a Nazi band and thus planned to protest and cause a ruckus if they played, so they were dropped from the bill. Ridiculous. Good news though, apparently, the higher ups with the cash considered Scion Rock Fest a success – they’re already planning the next one. I’m planning to be there.