Das Metal Blog

Moonspell - Can't Bee

2016-12-15T18:06:00.001-08:00

Short and sweet today. I have a few friends that are metalheads and we swap suggestions for new bands decently often and today's suggestion comes from Farshad, "Can't Bee", by Moonspell, a Portugese Gothic Metal band. You can find their music on these sites: Napalm Records - Amazon Music - Apple iTunes - Google Play Music - Spotify

Artist: Moonspell

Song: Can't Bee

Album: The Butterfly Effect

Year: 1999

Genre: Gothic Metal

Webpage: Moonspell.com

Thoughts: I don't normally make an appoint to listen to Gothic Metal because it's usually too "slow" for me. I generally don't listen to metal to relax actually, I listen to downtempo for that, so the intro to this song threw me for a loop. I was expecting the entire song to be melancholy with some heavy guitar at some point, and was actually pleasantly surprised by the quality guitar that comes in at about the 2-minute mark. I'll definitely be exploring this band further. Thanks again to Farshad!

Keep of Kalessin - Typology

2016-12-11T17:17:00.002-08:00

I'm really glad that there is such a focus on harder metal in Scandanavia. Without that focus, we wouldn't have great bands like Keep of Kalessin. All is not well though, the former front-man for the band was fired from the band after going on a spirit-quest in the African jungle.... For three months... Issues aside, I honestly prefer the new vocalist more than the old one. To each their own though, I'm just glad that they continued making quality music. You can find their music on these sites: Nuclear Blast Records - Amazon Music - Apple iTunes - Google Play Music - Spotify

Arist: Keep of Kalessin

Song: Typology

Album: Heaven of Sin

Year: 2016

Genre: Black Metal, Death Metal

Website: Keepofkalessin.com

Thoughts: Like I said above, I really like the new vocalist (who's actually the founding member responsible for guitars, keyboards, bass as well!) and the inclusion of sampling a movie quote is rather interesting -- I listen a lot of music that samples arcane movies/shows/etc and its generally hit and miss -- and they nailed it in this song. The powerful and consistent guitar was another plus in this song for me. Keep of Kalessin is a Death Metal band, so you can expect a sound consistent with the genre -- vocals are no exception -- but I really enjoyed their healthy variation of pitch and tone that kept things fresh and kept me guessing while I was listening.

Behemoth - Ora Pro Nobis Lucier

2016-12-05T17:36:00.000-08:00

Black metal gets a bad rap for it's association with Satanism and anti-religious ideologies/lyrics, but it's not like the people listening to it or the artists who write it are out in the forest sacrificing goats on giant pentagrams drawn on the ground - So why the hate? It seems that people can't separate the idea that this is music, not a manifesto of actions or beliefs.

One could go further and make the claim that the "violent and hateful" lyrics are warping the minds of our youth, for which they would apparently be right. According to Anderson, Carnagey, Eubanks (2003), there is a positive correlation between violent lyrics, aggressive thoughts, and hostile feelings. No meta study was performed, no other pre-existing factors were accounted for (personality, ethnicity, age, financial status, musical preference, etc), and they only tested college students. Given the small sample size and likely near-homogenous pool of participants, this study should be redone with a larger and more representative group of individuals in order to confirm its initial findings - not to mention that they only proved a correlation, NOT causation. To top it off, the study only compared an individual's self-reported feelings while listening to one song as opposed to a different song - no FMRI study was performed. The results are dubious at best.

All associated negativity aside, it seems that this band, Behemoth, is *also* banned in Russia. Surprise, surprise. The lyrics, while hard to understand, are pretty intense and sing of praise and empathy for Lucifer - not quite fit for "relaixing weekend music". I ran into this interesting question and answer while researching the lyrics for the song and laughed pretty hard. Cleverly disguised lyrics always add a comedic bit to a song and serve to remind us that this is clearly intended as art, not a guide to reality. You can find their music on these sites: Metal Blade Records - Amazon Music - Apple Itunes - Google Play Music - Spotify - Behemoth Web Store

Artist: Behemoth

Song: Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer

Album: The Satanist

Year: 2014

Genre: Blackened Death Metal

Website: Behemoth.pl

Thoughts: I love the song for how powerful and intense it feels. It has that perfect combo of complexity and dark lyrics from Black Metal and the intensity and speed from Death Metal. The lyrics are pretty funny in a certain light if you Google them, but perhaps they're not meant to be funny. The band has been around for 25 years and have dedicated themselves to 10 full studio albums filled with dark and Satanic lyrics -- they're either very passionate and creative in this vein of lyricism, or they're actually musically-talented Satanists. Last I checked, Satanists weren't a united front dedicated to terrorism, slavery, or oppression, so I don't feel bad supporting the band by buying their music.

Cannibal Corpse - Kill Or Become

2016-11-25T16:51:00.004-08:00

The name that evokes fear in old, stodgy conservatives planet-wide -- Cannibal Corpse has drawn controversy for its brutal lyrics and equally brutal musical style. If you want aggressive, angry, and powerful lyrics and sound, Cannibal Corpse is your best bet. Sure, you could find some angrier screamo band that might match the intensity you're looking for, but CC does it best -- the lyrics are intelligible, their instruments are well paired, no one sound overpowers another, and they're a far cry from being labeled as 'noise'. Talent aside, their reputation is a stellar one:

- Banned from touring in Australia and people looking to purchase their music must be over 18

- Accused of "undermining the national character of the United States" and there was an attempt to coerce their music label into dumping them (along with 20 other bands)

- Their first three albums were banned in Germany and they couldn't perform any songs from those albums while touring until 2006 because a random teacher threw a fit about their band shirts.

- Russian Orthodox Christians successfully cancelled six of eight tour destinations in Russia in 2014, which of course led to rioting fans and threats of arrest against the band by the Russian Police.

In the situation of CC, I don't imagine that they're too bummed about cancellations/controversy, after all, "there's no such thing as bad publicity". It would be a different case if someone like Bono were banned from touring or selling albums, as CC clearly goes for "shock value" in their recordings and tours. You can find their newest album on these sites: Metal Blade Records - Amazon Music- Apple Itunes - Google Play Music - Spotify

Artist: Cannibal Corpse

Song: Kill Or Become

Album: A Skeletal Domain

Year: 2014

Genre: Death Metal

Website: Cannibalcorpse.net

Thoughts: I'm really not a fan of the lyrics, but I do enjoy the overall sound and would love to see them play live some day, I'll just have to be sure to remember to wear my steel-toed boots that day. I really prefer their newer albums, their older songs have that "tinny heavy metal" sound to them that could either be an artifact of the original recordings, or just part of their sound. That being said, the remasters of their older albums are much more tolerable. I know remastering is an abomination and clutters up songs and attempts to cram as much sound into as many possible audio channels as possible, but in the case of the available older recordings, I honestly can't stand the tinny sound to them.

Soilwork - Light The Torch/Deliverance Is Mine

2016-11-20T16:55:00.000-08:00

Based on my past posts, can you guess why I like Soilwork? Their inclusion of a synth and melodious interludes from the harsh vocals are a great contrast in their musical style making them an easy-listen for people not-yet able to fully handle regular Death Metal, but are still aggressive enough for even the seasoned metalheads. Lucky for me, they're a rather prolific band and have been consistently putting out new albums every 2 years or so since they formed in 1995. Their newest album, "Death Resonance" is filled with rare releases from their older singles and albums but also has two new songs. You can find the album on these sites: Nuclear Blast Record Label - Amazon - Apple Itunes - Spotify

They comissioned music videos for three of their songs , "Light The Torch" off of 'Figure Number Five', "Spectrum of Eternity" off of 'The Living Infinite', and "Deliverance Is Mine" off of 'The Panic Broadcast' seven years later as a followup to the first video. Check out the two related videos below:

Light The Torch - 3:24

Deliverance Is Mine - 3:36

Light The Torch - Spotify Link

Deliverance Is Mine - Spotify Link

Artist: Soilwork

Song: Light The Torch / Deliverance Is Mine

Album: Figure Number Five / The Panic Broadcast

Year: 2003 / 2010

Genre: Melodic Death Metal

Website: Soilwork.org

Thoughts: I really prefer their older albums, the new ones feel like they're trying to cram every single bit of sound possible into a song and it doesn't sound right unless you have a very expensive audio setup that's capable of playing it back accurately (I tested it on one such setup and then compared it to generic Apple Earpods, the difference is night and day -- or rather, music and noise.) A lot of their songs are hit or miss, but it's still pretty easy to find at least two or three songs per album to love. I feel similarly with most bands to be honest, so rare is it that I find an album that I love 100% of. I'm not being a snob when I say that, everyone's ears are different and I'm no more wrong for liking what I like than you are for liking what you like -- "To each their own", yes?

Mind Shelter - B612 (Zardonic Remix)

2016-11-18T16:40:00.001-08:00

I found out about Zardonic the day after Christmas in 2012 and it felt like Christmas all over again -- especially since he was giving away a free album at the time (Metal Up Your Bass (2012 Revamp)). You can still find a preview of the album here on his official Youtube channel along with a tracklist in the description.

Federico Ágreda, a Venezuelan keyboardist and D&B artist is the one-man band that is Zardonic. Despite the fact that most of his works are remixes of other famous songs within certain niche musical genres, he still manages to draw massive crowds when he tours. His signature characteristic is the custom-made mask that he wears for photoshoots and performances (the hair is actually made of various AUX/RCA cables!)

Artist: Mind Shelter

Remix Artist: Zardonic

Song: B612

Album: Unknown

Remix Album: Metal Up Your Bass (2012 Revamp)

Year: 2009?

Genre: Metalcore, Bass Metal

Website: Zardonic Soundcloud - Zardonic Facebook

Thoughts: While researching this song, I really couldn't find any good links to anything about the band itself or concrete info about release dates. Discogs lists B612 as their only song, and the band site leads to a page covered in Japanese writing, but I digress. Listening to the Zardonic version and then listening to the Mind Shelter version really makes me appreciate Ágreda's skill as a musician. I wouldn't listen to the Mind Shelter version even if someone paid me, he really rescued and revamped the song. B612 is actually the song I've listened to the most off of his Metal Up Your Bass album!

Metallica - Hardwired (New album!)

2016-11-16T15:22:00.002-08:00

Metallica seems to be a love/hate band. You'll find three camps of people with opinions about Metallica: "Kiddie Metal", "Love em", or "Who?" It seems Metallica is releasing a new album called "Hardwired.... To Self-Destruct" this Friday (November 18th) and they've released a few of the songs early on their Youtube page. My favorite so far has been "Spit Out The Bone" which was leaked by someone a few days early but has since been pulled from Youtube for copyright violations. I assume they were then kidnapped by Metallica and are currently being tortured in a basement somewhere.

I honestly prefer their older songs, but you have to give them credit -- they formed the band back in 1981 and have been taking progressively more time between each album as time goes on. They are human after all, so some grace and understanding is necessary. They're well past their prime (they're all in their early 50's now), but still manage to put out good/okay music (if you disagree, we'll have to agree to disagree, no need to get nasty). That's more than most bands can boast, not many survive for 30+ years and keep putting out new music. Many classic bands will continue to tour or do collaborations, but few have the energy, time, or desire to dedicate themselves to a full length album anymore.

Kudos to Metallica for still touring and producing, and congrats on the new album!

Spotify Link

Artist: Metallica

Song: Hardwired

Album: Hardwired... To Self-Destruct

Year: 2016

Genre: Heavy Metal

Website: Metallica.com

Thoughts: I have mixed feelings about this song and their newest album. The guitar and drums are on-point and amazing as always, but the vocals feel a bit... strained? The band members are much older now than they were in their hay-day, so it's not surprising that their vocal style would change (one of my favorite Death Metal vocalists *ruined* his voice by growling too much, not kidding...). I enjoy the vocal style they had in the 90's moreso than their current style, so my interest/disinterest balances out. I'd give the album a 7/10 for effort and instrumental skill -- the whole album is definitely worth a listen if you're an old Metallica fan or enjoy Heavy Metal.

Serentiy - Oceans of Ruby

2016-11-15T15:47:00.000-08:00

I found this song in 2009 and haven't stopped listening to it since. The different styles that go into this song are perfectly interwoven. You get the Power Metal guitar and synth, the creativity of lyrics and harmony of Progressive Metal, and the intense growls of (melodic) Death Metal all woven together to form a masterpiece. I'd definitely recommend listening to Serenity if you like any of those three genres.

Spotify Link

Artist: Serenity

Song: Oceans of Ruby

Album: Fallen Sanctuary

Year: 2008

Genre: Power Metal, Progressive Metal

Website: Serenity-Band.com

Thoughts: The gradual fade-in and quick change to powerful guitar/synth combo as a lead in to the main chorus is a common melodic/power/progressive metal style and I love it. There is so much you can do with it and still keep the sound fresh. Some intros/outros get stale rather fast, as (most) every band that uses those particular styles seem to use them in the exact same way and offer little-to-no variation in how they're used - down to the same timing, beat patterns, and overlapping end vocals.

Deathchain - Graveyard Witchery

2016-11-14T15:49:00.002-08:00

I can't understand any of the lyrics save for when they shout the title of the song in a few places throughout it, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it. Deathchain is a Finnish group that started off as a band called "Winterwolf" (real creative, huh?) in 1997 but didn't put out their first album until 2000. They switched their name to Deathchain after two albums and briefly back again for a release in '09, but haven't put out anything new since 2013. Here's to hoping they put out more great music soon!

Spotify Link

Artist: Deathchain

Song: Graveyard Witchery

Album: Deathtrash Assault

Year: 2005

Genre: Death Metal, Thrash Metal

Wesbite: Deathchain.com

Thoughts: Powerful drums and deep growling in unison are a perfect opener for the song - perfect "angry gym music" to get you pumped to pump iron. Be sure to check out their album art and band name/logo, the St. Peter's cross for the "T" in their name works well with the font they chose. "Stele ov the Vultures" on their titular album was the only song of theirs that I could remotely understand the lyrics to, so you might not appreciate this band if understanding lyrics is extremely important to you -- but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give them a shot anyways.

Blood Stain Child - Electricity

2016-11-13T15:44:00.003-08:00

My two favorite super-genres are Metal and Electronic, so this band is a no-brainer for any like-minded(like-eared?) listener. Normally the fusion of the two results in something closer to Industrial or Electro-Industrial, but this band is definitely on the metal side of things.

They hail from Osaka, Japan and disbanded recently, but their music label still allows licensing for sales and streaming on popular sites. Google the band name and check out some of their group-photos to get an idea of how they incorporated Japanese fashion into the stereotypical "metal band look".

Spotify Link

Artist: Blood Stain Child

Song: Electricity

Album: Epsilon

Year: 2011

Genre: Melodic Death Metal, Electronic Metal

Website: Bloodstainchild.com

Thoughts: I really like how they balance male and female vocalists, they expertly chose who would be responsible for singing each part in a way that artistically contrasts their styles and vocal ranges. Side anecdote: Why does all Japanese metal that I've heard seem to be so fast-paced? It would be interesting to find something slower and compare them to see if there's a reason. Perhaps its a reflection of their musical culture or it sounds better given the range of their singing abilities.

Dark Fortress - Ylem

2016-11-12T16:07:00.004-08:00

Post election jitters have many understandably upset, so how about some music to reflect the mood? Nothing says "healing through brutal music" quite like some Melodic Black-Metal. My musical choices throughout the day are usually a reflection of my mindset or are to help modulate my energy in the moment ("Your what?" Don't knock it. If I need to focus, I'll put on something soft and electronic, if I want to feel alert and in control, I'll throw on something intense - that kind of thing.)

I'm still progressing through the subgenres of Metal and haven't quite hit all of them yet (not even close, don't look at a metal genre roadmap unless you have a few hours to kill), but regular Black Metal isn't quite something I can handle yet. Throw in "Melodic" before any subgenre and I'm in love. Emphasis on melody and harmony can ease the visceral reactions many might have when listening to any harsher Metal subgenre (ex; Black Metal) and actually leaves me wanting more. It's a good first-step for any less-adventurous individuals or people who'd rather progress a bit more slowly on their Metal journey.

So without further ado, I present the official music video of "Ylem", by Dark Fortress.

Spotify Link

Artist: Dark Fortress

Song: Ylem

Album: Ylem

Year: 2010

Genre: Melodic Black Metal

Website: darkfortress.org

Election Day song pick: Testament - D.N.R

2016-11-08T16:08:00.003-08:00

There comes a magical time once every four years in the United States of America that leaves many wondering: are we really United? There have been several studies that have successfully correlated the intensity and focus of songs and their lyrics with times of political strife (See Vietnam War and protest songs, Punk music and anti-facist protests in Europe, etc.), but many would argue that this political cycle is the worst in a long time.

So where is the angsty and angry music demanding change? Where are the anthems for youth to rally behind so that they feel heard? I'd argue that the relationship between music and politics have changed, mostly for the benefit of the politicians it seems. Big politicians are reaching out and obtaining permission from large stadium-rock bands to use their classic hits as 'theme songs' of sorts to help introduce them to crowds on the campaign trail, often choosing songs that mirror their political messages or points about their personalities that they're trying to play up (see Sarah Palin and Heart's "Barracuda" most recently, or check out this NPR listicle of songs used to promote candidates that angered many.) Gone are the rallying cries for change through musical medium, Pop is here to distract and placate (because who can be mad when we have Pharrell Williams' "Happy"?).

Extra reading: The Intertwined Relationship Between Music And Politics

Spotify Link

Artist: Testament

Song: D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate)

Album: The Gathering

Year: 1999

Genre: Trash Metal

Website: testamentlegions.com

Thoughts: I chose this song in particular due to the lyrics and sentiment of the song. It may be a stretch to some, but my discontent with the political ecosystem (perhaps my discontent in general, but it can be applied to politics as well) at this time is perfectly described by this song. Okay, maybe it's a tad melodramatic, but if feelings of general discontent were made into a song, well.... It just wouldn't be made into a song. One thing that stands out to me in the song is the semi-frantic yet subdued guitar intro leading straight into face melting chords. No wasted time in this song.

Scorngrain - 4-D Religion

2016-11-07T17:13:00.000-08:00

Spotify Link

Artist: Scorngrain

Song: 4-D Religion

Album: Cyberwarmachine

Year: 2004

Genre: Thrash Metal, Industrial Metal

Thoughts: They're a Finnish metal band and primarily sing in English but will occasionally throw in a bit of their native language into their songs. What caught my ear about this band was their inclusion and emphasis of a Synthesizer in all of their songs, giving it a modern and electronic twist to it. Synths are heavily relied upon in regular Industrial music and are common in Industrial Metal (see Fearfactory). Some lyrics are unintelligible against the brutal guitar and blasting synth, but they're masterfully balanced and it doesn't detract from the quality of their music at all.

Blog re-activation and revamp

2016-11-06T14:58:00.004-08:00

I originally created this blog to share my love of Metal with the world, thinking like a starry-eyed kid who's found the next greatest thing that the world needs to know about. While I still feel like the world needs to know about Metal music, I have tempered my expectations and have decided to share my finds and thoughts in a more pithy and succinct manner.

My first post was in 2010 and the last was in 2013, totalling 22 posts in three year - an abysmal number by any blogger's standards. I was rather surprised to see that I had 4000 views after all this time despite not advertising the blog anywhere, so "thank you" to those 4000 who stopped by, and "I'm sorry" for not keeping up with posting. I'll certainly try harder this time around.

I will continue doing themed posts and share funny images, but I won't ramble about intricacies of songs or muse over the meaning of the lyrics - I certainly wouldn't be the first blog to try and do that and I'd rather do things my own way. "Shut up and play music" is something that comes to mind every time I listen to the radio (which is rather rare these days, (thank you very much Spotify!), so that's the angle I'll go for with the revamp - plain, clean, simple. Music, track/album info (genre supplied by either the band's bio or Wikipedia entry), album picture or song thumbnail, link to the band's site, a few different links to the track, and a quick thought on the song.

How's this for a first entry?

Spotify Link

Artist: The Contortionist

Song: Language I: Intuition

Album: Language

Year: 2014

Genre: Progressive Metal

Thoughts: I really appreciate the mellow build up in the song and how well balanced it is - nothing is done in excess and every note is methodical and harmonious - I listened to the entire album after hearing this song and was very happy with it.

International Slayer Day

2013-06-06T14:12:00.007-07:00

Today is international Slayer day! There's even a website dedicated to it: http://www.nationaldayofslayer.org/ (WARNING, site has Raining Blood on autoplay in a miniplayer near the top rather loudly).

As a kid, I had always heard the name Slayer talked about with hushed voices, as if it were totally taboo and terrible. I grew up in a rather straight-laced and semi-conservative community, so it's not that surprising in retrospect. Slayer was one of the first bands I started listening to when I was discovering metal when I was an early teen, (They were probably the 6th Metal band that I discovered), and I instantly fell in love with them.

Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman recently passed away from liver disease and was with the band from the start and was actively touring up until his hospitalization and subsequent death. The remaining members of the band plan to throw a party in his memory.

News Article on Hanneman's Death

So in honor of International Slayer Day, here's my favorite song from Slayer, "South Of Heaven".

2012-07-26T18:04:00.001-07:00

Everyone is on edge these days because of the increasing rhetoric over Iran and their nuclear program, which has led to the spread of several viruses amongst Iran's nuclear facilities. The most recent virus is being called the "Thunderstruck Virus", because it shuts down much of the facility's equipment, turns on the computers, and blares the AC/DC song, Thunderstruck.

I'm not going to take sides in the argument over whether or not Iran should have nuclear power/capabilities, but I at least have to say that this attack made hacking, Metal.

Link to the article here.

Metalocalypse Rises From The Ashes For A New Season

2012-05-02T16:30:00.002-07:00

Metalocalypse is back once again, after a year and a half break, with new episodes. Unfortunately, the series has reverted back to airing shorter episodes of 11 minutes each (15 minute time slot with commercials reduces it to 11).

I remember when I watched Metalocalypse for the first time ever when I was younger. I was channel surfing and turned it to Cartoon Network late at night, and saw something I'll never forget. I had arrived at the channel at the perfect time, and saw Dethklok playing a concert, and watched as things spiraled out of control, leading to their head chef getting blown out of a helicopter, and into its blades, only to be stitched back together wrong, providing inspiration for a new song of theirs.

The darkness and twisted humor of the show immediately grabbed my pubescent-male attention, reminding me of the darker TV shows of the past I so loved, like Invader Zim and The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy. This show was better than all before it, because it combined my love of dark shows, and metal. Never before had I thought that metal could be turned into a show, and a good one at that. I've religiously watched Metalocalypse ever since I saw that episode, and have seen them all, and own some merchandise from the show even.

You can find their music on Itunes, Amazon, and Youtube, and can watch free episodes on the Adultswim Website. You can watch the newest episode, "Fanklok", here. New episodes premier each Sunday night.

New Pantera Song, April 2012 - Piss

2012-04-14T17:03:00.000-07:00

Pantera released a brand new song on their own Youtube channel 2 days ago, and it already has close to 450,000 views. The song itself still has the signature sound of Dimebag Darrell's guitar and lead singer Phil Anselmo's amazing voice. The song, called Piss, sounds like its straight off of Cowboys From Hell, their breakthrough album, 22 years earlier. The video for the song consists of the members and random people head-banging, moshing, wielding makeshift weapons, and causing general havoc in a studio, and occasionally sucker punching another band mate. This video is perfect for the song and band, I couldn't help but laugh a bit when I watched the video for the first time.

Pantera bounced around as a band, trading members constantly, and tried out several different styles like Glam Metal(complete with big hair), and Groove Metal, before finally settling on their fusion of Groove, Thrash, and Heavy Metal. Its a strange combo, but it works, and they still sound amazing.

Apparently the song was recorded a long time ago, but never released until this week. Pantera also plans on releasing a new CD come mid-May this year, that contains their new/old song, Piss, and live footage from the band performing at the Monsters of Rock festival, 20 some years ago. The CD is available for pre-order on Itunes.

Pantera - Piss

Sybreed, In A League Of Its Own

2012-03-24T23:10:00.001-07:00

Sybreed may seem to some like a guitarist just abusing the usage of power chords, and a drummer on coke with a drum machine. Even so, the abuse of the two meshes extremely well with the vocals and doesnt drown them out, but complements it, creating a strange harmony between the singer and the other band members.

The vocals themselves are really unique, as the singer switches from the usual shout singing one expects from Death Metal, to something more akin to the singers of the Alternative Metal genre, more purposeful, and a softer tone. The songs feel almost like a story is being told perhaps, and the switch between singing styles is putting emphasis on certain parts of the story.

In several of the band's songs, the vocals are almost relaxing, and eerily ethereal at times, using special effects to distort the singers voice just slightly, its perfect for them. T. Pain could learn a thing or two on voice enhancement from them.

Sybreed considers themselves not Death Metal or anything close, but a self created genre, called "Death Wave". I feel that Wikipedia's explanation of the genre says it best.
"This is described as a mix of various components and influences of extreme metal and progressive metal that incorporates melodies and groove-based rhythms synthesized with electronic music elements. The band also utilizes complex time signatures,polyrhythmic composition, blast beats, sampling, and keyboard effects. Their vocal work makes use of distorted clean vocals, death growling, and high-pitched screams."

My favorite songs of theirs are:
A.E.O.N - Sybreed
Doomsday Party - Sybreed
Challenger - Sybreed

Be sure to check them out on their website, at sybreed.com, and listen for free on their Myspace site.

Instrumetal, Part Two

2012-03-10T14:43:00.000-08:00

Eat your heart out Dragonforce, Firewind's 'The Fire And The Fury' off of their Burning Earth album is amazing. Unlike Dragonforce, Firewind didn't speed up their recorded song to get their final product. The song is an instrumental speed metal song, with a fast paced intro, and a slower, more relaxed movement towards the end.

Firewind - The Fire And The Fury

This band was actually the first contemporary metal band that I listened to a few years back before becoming a huge metal fan, and they have consistently been putting out new albums since about 2002. They're putting out a new album, called "Few Against Many", mid-May this year.

Support them by visiting their site at firewind.gr, or find them on Itunes, Spotify, and Amazon!

Female Metal Vocals

2012-02-29T21:28:00.000-08:00

Female vocals in a male dominated genre is a pretty rare thing. I found a band a while ago, and had been listening to it for a good 3 or 4 weeks, before I noticed something slightly off about the vocals. I brushed it off, and went in search of more music from this band. I then found a live version of a song of theirs, and proceeded to watch it, and realised something was even more amiss. The singer of the band was quite shapely, and attractive... Frontman--err... FrontWOMAN, Veronica Freeman, honestly looks like she'd be more at home being a salsa dancer/singer, than a heavy metal vocalist.

Anyways, Freeman is a very talented singer, and I think the band is a great combo of talent in all aspects; Drums, guitar, bass, keyboard and vocals all combine perfectly to form a band that has me hooked. My favorite song of theirs is Shell Shock - Benedictum.

Benedictum hasnt toured since the end of 2010, but be sure to check out their site at Benedictum.net

Crazy Old Man Blaring Metal In Traffic

2012-02-23T14:01:00.000-08:00

So I was driving through my city recently, listening to the radio with the windows down, and pulled up to a stop light, only to pull up to an old beaten-up pick up truck, with an old scraggly looking man, who appeared to be in his 60s, at the wheel.

I heard some beastly wail emanate from his car, so I turned down my radio and listened. He was playing a metal song, but I had never heard it before. I managed to get the old man's attention, and he turned down the music to talk between our cars. The conversation that ensued went something like this:

"Excuse me sir, what song is that?"
"This? Oh this. This Is Blood of the Nations, by Accept. Yeah, its THE SHIT man..."
"Thanks sir, I appreciate it!"
"Fuck yeah man, rock on!"

He then peeled out of there as the light turned green, fist pumping the rock on symbol out of his window... I never saw the old man of metal again, but holy crap, was that old guy awesome.

When I grow old, I hope to be just as cool as he is, minus having a beater for a car.

Anyways, here's the song he had playing: Accept - Blood Of The Nations

Hope you enjoyed the recounting of my epic tale.

Republican Presidential Competitor, Rick Santorum, Declares War on Metal

2012-02-10T23:38:00.000-08:00

Santorum's War on Metal

Holy crap, did we travel back to the 80s or something? Let me guess, next hes going to say kids are playing their CDs backwards to commune with the devil. Heres a quote from the article that made me put several head-shaped dents in my desk, “If you listen to the radio today, many of these brand new, so-called heavy metal music bands like Black Sabbath, Venom, The WASP and Iron Maiden use satanic imagery to corrupt the minds of young people(...)”. How about declaring war against Lady Gaga, Justin Beiber, Kanye West or all the other shit the kids of today listen to? Now that's something I'd support him for.

Despite the implied message from the above quote, thats not what gets me about this crusade... It's the inaccuracies in his statement... Allow me to re-quote him a few times to make clear what I mean...
“If you listen to the radio today, many of these brand new, so-called heavy metal music bands like Black Sabbath, Venom, The WASP and Iron Maiden use satanic imagery to corrupt the minds of young people(...)”.
“If you listen to the radio today, many of these brand new, so-called heavy metal music bands like Black Sabbath, Venom, The WASP and Iron Maiden(...)".
“If you listen to the radio today, many of these brand new,(...)Black Sabbath, Venom, The WASP and Iron Maiden(...)".
"(...)radio today(...)brand new(...)Black Sabbath, Venom, The WASP and Iron Maiden(...)".
Yeah... So along with Santorum being a frothy mixture of anal lube and shit, he's also stuck in a timewarp.

Another great quote from the article: "In the past, Santorum has accused heavy metal of being the cause of some of the worst crimes in American history including the attempt on the life of Ronald Reagan in 1981, 9/11 and the passage of Obama’s Health Care Bill".

I still cant tell if this article is supposed to be satire, but I still dont like the guy anyway. Googling "Rick Santorum Metal" yields many similar stories.

Country Metal

2012-02-02T18:21:00.000-08:00

Country Metal is something I honestly never expected to hear, but thinking about it now, it makes total sense. With Metal's general feeling of anger, discontent and rebellion, it makes a perfect match for Country's feeling of depression, loss, anger and some angst. Combine the two together, and you get a heavy metal sound with a Southern twang and some Country guitar effects.

Two great bands I've found that play this style are:

Hank Williams III, playing I'm Drunk Again, and a more angsty sounding A Pale Horse Named Death, playing As Black As My Heart.

Both songs are great, generally relaxed, but still have everything that makes them metal. Definitely worth a listen.

More Amazing Tech Metal

2012-01-30T14:03:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend, using Spotify radio, I heard an amazing song that is a collaboration between Pendulum, an electronic Drum And Bass band, and In Flames, a Swedish metal band that does Death metal, Power metal, and regular Heavy metal.

In this case, the song is a Death metal version of Pendulum's Self vs. Self. The song has a collaboration of vocals from both bands, guitar from In Flames, and electronic after-effects from Pendulum. This song to me, was so good upon first hearing it, that I honestly hit the replay button on Youtube about 15 times before continuing in my search for more great music.

I really hope you enjoy this song nearly as much as I did.

Self Vs Self - Pendulum feat. In Flames