Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Concert Review

El Corazon
Fri Dec 4
Eyehategod
Samothrace
Akimbo
Lesbian
Grey

Fri Dec 11
3 Inches of Blood
Red Fang
Heiress
H.M.P.

Studio Seven
Tue Dec 8
Marduk
Nachmystium
Mantic Ritual
Horde of Hell
Forest of Grey

Sat Dec 19
Warrel Dane

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Album Review


Skeletonwitch - "Breathing the Fire"
The latest offering from the blackened thrash metallers from Ohio has been highly anticipated. Following up their breakthrough album "Beyond the Permafrost" is not a task easily taken on. The album received rave reviews across the board from critics and fans alike. Many bands have tried to replicate previous successes on new albums and make a record that falls well beneath. Skeletonwitch decided to make a little change in their sound for "Breathing the Fire." They decided to put the black metal emphasis on the back burner and make a more straightforward thrash album. The vocals still have that grim and frostbitten feel but the rest of the music has more of a Bay-area thrash sound. The album starts off with the powerful Submit to the Suffering which pummels the listener with lightning fast riffs, seemless transistions, and a dark chorus with amazing death metal growls. The dynamics shown in the opening track give the listener a glimpse into what they are about to bear witness to for the rest of the album. Crused Beyond Dust starts out slow but quickly builds up to a climax of intensity which segues into a breakdown which transistions to the vocals finally kicking in and beating you over the head with an empty bottle of MGD. It is not easy to combine the party atmosphere of 80's thrash with the epic feeling of a snow covered tundra. Skeletonwitch have found that middle ground and showcase it on this amazing record. A must have for all thrash fans.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Pure Molten Metal

Its been awhile since I have written an editorial so I thought I'd let you know what has been going on lately. I have been trying to buy as many albums as I possibly can lately. In recent memory I have purchased (not downloaded):
Through The Eyes of The Dead - Malice
Dimmu Borgir - Stormblast
Destroy Destroy Destroy - Devour The Power
Skeletonwitch - Breathing the Fire
Dying Fetus - Descend Into Depravity
Dying To Bleed - The Decaying Process
Shaded Enmity - Like Prayers on Deaf Ears
Those are just a few that I have bought in the last month and I have six more coming in the mail as I write this. My reason for bringing this up is the fact that so many people do not buy albums anymore. Gone is the day when people would wait for every Tuesday and purchase the latest releases. Gone is the day that people would bring their latest purchase over to their friend's house to listen to the music and look through the booklet. The age of Napster and iTunes has almost destroyed the recored industry. People can download whole albums for free or purchase single songs without even caring about the other songs on the album that they are missing. It is a shame that this is happening because there are thousands of people that depend on selling their music as their passion in order to make a living for themselves. Luckily, it seems that the metal community has not completely abandoned the music industry. As a result of metalheads shunning most of popular culture, they still purchase albums when they come out. The majority of metalheads still revel in buying a new album so that they can read through the booklet, enjoy all the artwork, and share with their friends the glory of their new purchase. My advice, go out, buy what you can, and enjoy all that a new CD entails. To me, there is nothing like opening the plastic wrap on a new album and breathing in the wonder that is brand new music.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Upcoming Shows

El Corazon
Sunday Nov 1
Valient Thorr
Early Man
Witchburn

Thursday Nov 6
Big Business

Monday Nov 23
Vader
Decrepit Birth
Warbringer
Augury
The Amenta
Swashbuckle

Tuesday Nov 24
Municipal Waste
The Accused
Phobia
Cauldron

Friday Nov 27
DRI
Black Breath

The Showbox
Wednesday Nov 25
Trivium
Chimaira
White Chapel
Dirge Within

Studio Seven
Saturday Nov 14
Suffocation
The Faceless
Vital Remains
Annotation of an Autopsy
Gravenloch

Saturday Nov 21
Ensiferum
Hypocrisy
Ex Deo
Black Guard
Shaded Enmity

Tuesday Nov 24
Eluveite
Belphegor
Alestorm
Vreid

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Concert Review

Obituary
Goatwhore

Krisiun

The Berzerker

Warbringer

Obituary, Goatwhore, Krisiun, The Berzerker, and Warbringer
Saturday September 12, 2009 El Corazon Seattle, WA

What a show this was!! The almighty Obituary brought its legendary brand of death metal to Seattle and completely slayed the audience. They are on tour to support their 8th album, Darkest Day, and have not dulled their sound one bit. Coming along on this tour are some of the most brutal and heavy acts in metal. Up first were young thrash upstarts Warbringer. They bring their retro thrash metal sound to this death metal heavy lineup. Opening the set was "Total War," the opening track from their album full length debut album War Without End. It was a perfect song to begin their set because just about everyone in the place knew the words and screamed out "TOTAL WAR!!!" along with lead singer John Kevill. They busted through their best songs from both of their albums and ended the set with "Combat Shock" which is always a crowd pleaser. All in all Warbringer are one of the most energetic bands to watch live and we can all expect more from this seemingly limitless band.

Up next was the less know grind band from Australia The Berzerker. I don't think that the crowd knew what to expect from this intense groups of Aussies. They played with an incredibly high amount of energy that did not seem to be limited by the lack of energy from the crowd. Throughout their set there were a couple of pits, however they could not be sustained for much longer than 10 seconds. It wasn't until the last couple songs of the set that the crowd started to get into them. I really enjoyed just watching the band play, especially the lead singer as he appeared like he could explode into a fury of destruction at any moment. Hopefully they come through again soon as I believe they will have a better showing next time.

Tech death masters Krisiun stormed the stage next. These Brazilian behemoths came out and completely destroyed the audience. The pit did not seem to stop throughout the set except to chant "Krisiun! Krisiun!" The sound was completely brutal and did not stop throughout the entire set. From beginning to end, they completely owned the stage and destroyed the crowd. I will definitely see them anytime they come back to town.

Blackened death destroyers Goatwhore catapulted to the stage and put on one of the most energetic shows I have seen in a long time. Ben Falgoust is one of the most aggressive lead singers around. He was bouncing from side to side, engaging each and every one of the members of the crowd that surrounded the stage, and did not miss a beat. Every one of the songs they played sounded exactly like the album. They played songs from both A Haunting Curse and Carving Out the Eyes of God which are both simply amazing records. Bottom line, they put on a great show that was completly enjoyed by everyone in the venue.

Finally, out came the main act, the death metal legends, Obituary. They came out with very little talking a completely dominated. The pit was overwhelmingly brutal. Bodies were flying all over the floor as the riffs from Ralph Santolla blugeoned the crowds' ear drums. The Tardy brothers controlled the atmosphere with Donald's brutal beats and John's hellacious vocals that could raise the dead. The show kept rising and rising as each song blasted on. The band stayed offstage while Donald Tardy began the encore with an incredible drum solo that electrified the crowd. It all climaxed with "Slowly We Rot," the song that the majority of Obituary fans believe to be their greatest song. From beginning to end this has to be one of the best shows to come through Seattle in a long time. I don't understand why this show wasn't completely sold out and packed but nevertheless, it was an amazing night.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Album Review


Behemoth - Evangelion

The latest effort from Polish blackened death masters Behemoth is one that has garnered a great deal of attention. Behemoth is one of those bands that have risen from the depths of the black metal underground and have risen to death metal mainstream popularity. Their previous two records have ushered them into the lime light and provided them the opportunity to play countless shows all over the world. However, for as many fans they have gained, many of their original fans have strayed as Behemoth's sound has evolved. This may be the album to get their core audience back. Their sound on the previous two albums, Demigod and The Apostasy, while extremely aggressive and dense, did become stagnant through repeated listens. The speed and combative was impressive but became less interesting as all songs were similar. On this album Behemoth vary that sound. On "He Who Breeds Pestilience," the song travels from that signature song to slower tempos that allow the listener to catch their breath. The song ends with the drums being completely in the forefront and brings the listener down from the wild ride they just experienced. "Ov Fire and the Void" is the lead single and has an almost doom-like quality while still containing the blackened death assault. While still assaulting the listener with unrelenting brutality Evangelion has the ability to take the audience to new levels. This album is one that will bring the old fans and the new ones together. Make sure you see them when they come through and destroy your town.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Upcoming Shows

El Corazon
Tuesday, August 25
Forbidden
Drown Mary
Witchburn
The Brain Dead
Fallen Angels

Saturday September 12
Obituary
Goatwhore
Krisiun
The Berzerker
Warbringer

Monday September 21
August Burns Red
The Acacia Strain
Impending Doom
My Children My Bride

Thursday September 24
Edguy
Epicurean
Luna Mortis

Studio Seven
August 24
Suicide Silence
Bury Your Dead

September 1
Beneath All Kaos
Moral Sacrafice
Blood & Thunder
Hands of Gabriel
Dekrepit

September 26
NW DeathFest

Hells Kitchen
September 7
Hatchet
Havok
HMP
Sword of Judgement
Decapitated Corpses

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Album Review


Cannibal Corpse - "Evisceration Plague"


The latest album from one of the OG's of death metal is one of its finest. Cannibal Corpse has consistently put out albums of high quality for 20 years and while many of their contemporaries have died out and had to make comebacks, CC have never wavered. This new album has the same brutal riffs and caustic vocals that we have all come to love. The title song, also the lead single, has a little bit of a slower tempo, which a few of the other songs contain as well. However, they are able to use the slower tempo to create a heaviness that still pummels the listener just as much as the faster songs. That was one of the first things I noticed about the album was that the tempos varied more than usual for a pure death metal album. This extra layer to their songwriting really made the songs stand out from each other as opposed to most of them blending together, which can happen a lot on death metal releases. However, that does not mean that CC have completely changed their sounds. They are still the same old CC that we have all grew up with. The lyrics are still the same brutal and disgusting verses that make them so amazing. "Beg for your life, you won't escape the knife Your fate was sealed today Disease has spread, you pray for death Evisceration plague." That lovely nugget comes from the title song and brilliantly displays the death and destruction that CC have always had. This album is great for the original fans that have always loved the band yet also should bring in new fans. This is a must have for all the classic fans of death metal.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Upcoming Shows

El Corazon:
August 2, 2009
Bison BC
Lazarus AD
Woe of Tyrants
Witchburn

Studio Seven:
August 2, 2009
Threat Signal
The Agonist
The Autumn Offering
No Living Witness

Neumos:
August 5, 2009
Sunn O)))
Trap Them
The Accused
Black Breath

August 6, 2009
Sunn O)))
Pelican
Eagle Twin

Showbox Sodo:
August 11, 2009
Down
The Melvins
Danava
Weedeater

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Pure Molten Metal

Today's rant is about one's interests in music. As I have grown up, my taste in music has grown as well. I have moved beyond the bland commercial rock that has inundated our musical airwaves. Nickelback, Three Days Grace, Rev Theory, and Breaking Benjamin are all bands that sound pretty much exactly the same and continue to put out watered-down rock the disguises itself as new. When I was in high school I was guilty of loving these types of bands. The Nu-Metal phase was in full effect and I was swept up into it. My first concert ever was Korn, Disturbed, and Trust Co. However, as time went on, I began to realize that I needed more from my music. Like a great deal of metalheads, I moved on from Nu-Metal to Metalcore to everything else. I started with Korn, then moved to Hatebreed then to Malevolent Creation. This was not a transistion that I made quickly. I had to start off my musical journey on my own, finding new and exciting bands without the aid of an older brother or friend down the street. I started off with music magazines and online news sites that gave me information on an insane amount of new bands. As of today, I am in possesion of hundreds of albums and still have barely cracked the surface of the spectrum of metal. Currently I am in the habit of buying older albums that every metalhead should own including album from Vader, Kreator, Aborted, and many many more. So my advice to everyone out there is to never stop searching for new bands and genres. One cannot simply be content to stay in one spot and not try new things. There are more bands out there than the first ones that one finds. Keep on truckin!

Album Review


Aborted - "Gormageddon"


This is an old album from the death metal stalwarts Aborted. "Goremageddon" came out in 2003 and these Belgian BDM heroes brought the pain with this intensly graphic album of brutal lyrics and even more brutal riffs. The album starts off with Meticulous Invagination, and the song is just as intense as the title suggests. The song is about a killer and how he actually kills, with graphic descriptions of his actions. With lyrical content such as this, the music has to be just as vehement, and it is. The double bass blast beats and the gruff vocals help push the album to extremes not seen by many of the band's contemporaries. The savagery of this album is just a pleasure to listen to. For those that are still listening to just metalcore or deathcore, this is a must listen to album. Some say that Aborted is a deathcore band but I see them as more of a band that lead to deathcore. It is not riddled with breakdowns and pig squeals, it is pure and simple brtual death metal. This is an album to get angry with in all its glory.

Future Disorder's First Show











This is the first show of the newly revamped lineup of Future Disorder. The show was at La Cantina in Downtown Seattle, the old Rainier Brewery. The place could onlyhold about 50 people, if no one walked or even moved. But nevertheless, it was one hell of a good time. With a great beer deal at the bar ($10 bucks and all you can drink PBR) and good friends around, the band put on a great show. They played a fairly short set but played classics such as "Deterioration" and "Critical Mass." The sound was great, the songs were played just like the album, and the band was able to entertain the whole crowd. Definitely look for more from this band as the are beginning to start the process of writing new songs.








Thursday, January 29, 2009

Concert Review

3 Inches of Blood, Toxic Holocaust, Early Man, and Asema
The Wild Buffalo Bellingham, WA

I have never been to a show at The Wild Buffalo before, but I was pretty happy with the venue. Unlike other clubs in Bellingham, the crowd was actually able to mosh around and have fun at a metal show. The night started off with a new local band, Asema. This was a talented young band that definitely showed some promise, mostly in the vocal abilities of the lead singer. She was able to spew forth some very amazing guttural growls and screams that blew me away. However, she did not put very much variety in her vocals. Each lyric of each song seemed to bounce back and forth between growls and screams at the same pace making each song tend to blend together. There was one song in which she did try out some clean singing, which was pretty decent but she should stick to what she does best, which are the screams that made the songs. Nothing too great but they definitely seem to show a lot of promise.

Early Man was up next. They are a thrash band with some definite punk aspects. For the live setting, they slayed the audience. There was an energy behind them that does not come across on record. They are too talented to only be heard on their album because there was a raw energy that they disgorge upon the crowd. Most of the people did not seem to be too familiar with this band and were not up front when they began their set. However, once the metal fury was unleashed upon these metal maniacs, they learned exactly what the band was all about.

Toxic Holocaust took to the stage next. They are a brilliant combination of thrash and black metal. The band is the masterpiece of mastermind Joel Grind and they come off with an intensity that would literally kick you in the face if it had the physical ability to. I was able to be in the front row for their entire set which gave me a perfect vantage point to witness the unrelenting barrage of thrash that laid waste to the audience. I became a very big fan of this band as a result of this show and will be trying to catch them every time they come through this area.

Finally the main event was up, 3 Inches of Blood came to the stage. This was the one band that everyone seemed to be there to see. They started of their set with Deadly Sinners, probably the first song of theirs that everyone there heard. Even though I had heard it so many times, I still loved hearing it live. They whipped through many of their beast songs including Swordmaster, Wykydtron, Crazy Nights, Goatrider's Horder, Night Merauders and Trial of Champions. The crowd was worked up into a frenzy that lasted the entire set. The crowd was singing along, moshing, crowd surfing, and just having a great time. Overall, I was very glad I made the trip up to Bellingham for the night. All the bands played well and I look forward to seeing them all again.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Local Seattle Shows

El Corazon

Sunday Jan 25:
Rotting Christ
Mantic Ritual
Epicurean
Ceremonial Castings
Skelator

Friday Feb 6:
Meshuggah
Cynic
The Faceless

Tuesday Mar 3:
Soilwork
Darkane
Warbringer
Swallow the Sun

The Shoxbox
Tuesday Feb 3: (At the Market)
Cradle of Filth
Satyricon
Septic Flesh

The Wild Buffalo
Saturday Jan 24:
3 Inches of Blood
Toxic Holocaust
Early Man

Pure Molten Metal

Today's Rant

I love thrash metal. To be honest, it seems that thrash gets pushed to the wayside too often. In today's scene, metal generally has to have the word core at the end of it to be seen in the media. My problem with that is the fact that adding hardcore diminishes the name of both metal and hardcore. Both have amazing tendencies in their own right and they do not need to be added to each other in order to achieve a new sense of popularity. I have, in my noobish days, been lumped into the metalcore scene because I knew no better. However, I believe that I now know a lot better. I am aware of so many more scenes and bands that I am better for it. Thrash is now one of my favorites, if not my favorite. As I write this I am listening to Kreator. I only recently found this band (in the last year and a half or so) and I am in love!! They have the type of brutality and techinicality that I am enamored with. Thrash gives the listener the ability to witness some of the most techincal guitar gymnastics as well as some of the most passionate vocals. In addition, it contains some amazingly brutal aspects that will completely destory the listener into hundreds of different pieces. Kreator, Warbringer, Exodus, Municipal Waste, Skeletonwitch and many others continue to bring the thrash to the masses in a way that has not been seen since the early 90's. So my advice to you all is to witness the pure awesomeness of thrash and embrace the technical, political, brutal, and even melodical tendencies of what truly makes an amazing thrash band. And by the way, I do love Metallica despite their recent subpar albums I am in love with them

Reviews


Bloodbath - The Fathomless Mastery
This album is one that both amazes and disgusts me. Technically, musically, vocally, this album is damn near perfect. This is an album that I can put in whenever I just need to hear something technical and brutal. The vocals on this album will put any vocalist to shame. Mikael Akerfeldt has some of the most beautiful death metal growls that I have ever witnessed. The bombasts that emits from the depths of the speakers and encompasses the entire atmosphere of the room that the album is playing in completely destroys any other sense one can identify. From beginning to end, I loved this album........That is until I got around to reading the lyrics. As a Christian I could not relate or enjoy the lyrical poetry that can be found in this and most metal albums. This album especially put me off. However, this is one of the times that I love not being able to hear the lyrics to well during the songs. Even though I do not relate or like the lyrics, it is impossible to not enjoy the music, which is why I bought the album. One can put aside those differences because we will not always agree on all aspects of ideals, but we can all agree that this album is brutal as f*ck!!!!!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Pure Molten Metal

This is my new idea where I express my thoughts, views, or any other ideas on metal whether it be a local, national, or global view or it could just be about a band I am really digging at the time. Right now I would like to talk about elitism. For better or for worse, I hope this thought process continues in our scene. I would not listen to about 90% of the bands that I listen to these days because there are people that Have told me that what I listened to was crap. Sometimes they were wrong, but for the most part they were right. There needs to be these elder statesmen in the metal scene in order to inform the new kids what to listen to. If it wasn't for these elitists, I would probably still listen to solely metalcore because from the earliest points I had to find music on my own. I would like to thank the people on Facebook groups for helping me become the metalhead I am today and continue to push me into new directions of amazing bands. Especially the I'm a Metalhead and Proud of It group because it is the one I frequent most and post more regularly than any others. There have been many people in that group that have helped direct me into the direction I am in now. Whether they be elitists or simply people who have been listening to this type of music for a lot longer than I have, I thank them and I hope that I can influence a few people of my own.
\m/

Washed in Blood

This is where I will tell you all about my band, tentatively called Washed in Blood. I am still learning the ways of the guitar while my partner in crime, Cody, is killin it on the bass. Our friend Chris has the pipes to lay anyone and everyone to waste. It will be a while before we post or perform anything so please keep checking back for updates.

Local Seattle Shows

El Corazon

Sunday Jan 25:
Rotting Christ
Mantic Ritual
Epicurean
Ceremonial Castings
Skelator

Friday Feb 6:
Meshuggah
Cynic
The Faceless

Tuesday Mar 3:
Soilwork
Darkane
Warbringer
Swallow the Sun

The Shoxbox

Tuesday Feb 3: (At the Market)
Cradle of Filth
Satyricon
Septic Flesh

The Wild Buffalo

Saturday Jan 24:
3 Inches of Blood
Toxic Holocaust
Early Man