Wednesday, August 22, 2012

A View from the Pit: Black Breath and Red Fang

When I found it about this show a mere week before the event, I was in shock that I had not realized two amazing bands were going to be gracing the same stage with their beautiful presence. Two bands diverse enough to keep the venue full and keep the crowds attention for the duration of the night. Hipsters and heshers alike filled the floor and participated valiantly as if this were the last show that one would ever be witness to. Local black/death/thrash/crust/whatever other label you want you add on brought in the locals and new found riff master generals Red Fang brought the name recognition now that their latest album, Murder The Mountains, had decimated the underground. With the venue opening an hour and a half before the show even started (!) it was a little unnerving at the low attendance at first, but after local openers Brokaw lit a fire under everyone's asses, the crowd filled in and the bloodshed was ready to begin!

Friday, July 13, 2012

Allegaeon Formshifter Review


WHY U NO LISTEN TO ALLEGAEON?!??!?!?! Is it because their name is almost impossible to read? Is it because you don’t like awesome music that is capable of setting your balls on fire!?!? Whatever your reason is, you need to settle in and listen to these melodic-tech-death maestros. Their previous album Fragments of Form and Function was one of my favorite albums of 2010 and I have been eagerly awaiting their next opus.  Welcome 2012 when the Fort Collins, CO band released Formshifter, another grand piece of melodic death metal. Combining death metal with classical guitar interludes and mind bending solos that make the Haldron Collider seem like a 6th grader’s science project, the band seem to have elaborated on their previous album and expanded their horizons to new reaches.





Friday, July 6, 2012

Mid-Week Br00tal Break: Cerebral Bore

Relatively new to the scene, Cerebral Bore out of Scotland have seen much success after only one full length album, 2010’s Maniacal Miscreation. With new track “Horrendous Acts of Inequity” released in February of 2012, we can only hope that a new album is right around the corner. And with a high profile spot on the Summer Slaughter Tour alongside heavyweights Cannibal Corpse, Between the Buried and Me, Goatwhore, and Exhumed, Cerebral Bore are set to bore (pun intended) their brutal death metal straight into the minds of thousands more heshers.




Tuesday, July 3, 2012

New Band Spotlight: Balescream

We here at NW MetalHead Productions are always looking for new bands to put into the spotlight. Today we spotlight Balescream, a melodic death/groove metal band from Newcastle. Getting ready to put out their first album, they have released a couple demo songs to get their name out there. For fans of Devildriver, As I Lay Dying, and In Flames, they play a chunky style of melodeath that has grooves for days. The talent in this band is very evident and I cannot wait to hear more from these guys in the future. If they move more towards the melodic death metal side of their sound big things could be in their future. So for now check out their 2 songs "Cyclonic Terror" and "Kusanagi" and raise your horns up high!







Thursday, June 28, 2012

Mid-Week Br00tal Break: Skinless

Beginning their br00tal journey way back in 1992, Skinless have been grinding out brutal death metal longer than most of you have even been alive! Even though they have been around for so long, though recently split up in April of 2011, only 4 full lengths were ever released. However there were several demos, EPs, and splits released to give even the most heartless beasts enough to bash their faces into the wall with. And today we praise the work of these soulless harbingers of gore, enjoy!



Monday, June 25, 2012

A View From The Pit: Municipal Waste and 3 Inches of Blood





With new albums from crossover giants Municipal Waste and power metallers 3 Inches of Blood recently being released, this is a tour that was meant to grab you by the short hairs. Both of these beasts are known for their live shows so it was guaranteed to be an excellent night of wailing vocals, wailing guitars, and more stage diving than the Obese Child’s Choir of Milwaukee on bacon grease night at the local VFW hall. And when you bring along underground sludgsters Black Tusk, it is going to be a booze-soaked fun filled evening!



Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Mid-Week Br00tal Break: Cattle Decapitation

Here’s a new feature of NW MetalHead Productions. We all need to take a little break during the week and what better way to take a break than listen to some br0000tal metalz?!?!?!?! Some of it will be brand new, some of it will be the clichéd blast from the past. There will definitely not be any ballads or ambient passages here, just the heaviest of the heavy. Let us get this ish started!


“With every life I take, an ecosystem I create. Blood and guts consume my life! I am the ‘brutal gardener’, I – ‘quantity controller’, no more insane than Jesus Christ!”

Never one to disappoint, Cattle Decapitation play grindcore; technical, progressive, and br00tal grindcore. Monolith of Inhumanity is the newest album from these wily vets and it follows the lineage of previous albums The Harvest Floor, Karma. Bloody. Karma., and Humanure. And even though there is a little bit of GASP! clean singing, it is not done in a way like all the craptastic metalcore clones out there.  It is sure to get all the diehards and new fans moving in the pit when they start touring with Voivod, Havok, Misery Index, and Fear Factory this summer on the Shockwave touring festival. But in the mean time while they are not bludgeoning your skull in, have a listen and get ready to get br00000talized!




Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Marduk - Serpent Sermon Streaming In Full


Black metal these days seem to be all bogged down with ethereal moments, drawn out keyboards that try to be "atmospheric", or clean singing, GASP!, Marduk is continuing their mission continue what black metal was to begin with and do not fall into the trend of hipster douches trying to be trve. With their new album Serpent Sermon coming out and a tour beginning now, Marduk are ready to take over the black metal world that Watain have been ruling as of late. The good news here is that CVLT Nation are streaming the entire album in full here. Go listen to it because the album is a very good followup to Wormwood and Rom 5:12, their most recent releases that were lauded by critics and fans around the underground. So be sure to check them out on the tour where they will definitely be playing some of these tracks and here is Seattle get there early to see local black metal beasts Funeral Age.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

A View From The Pit: A Tale of Two Pits - Behemoth and Demon Hunter

A mere 7 days apart at the same venue were two shows that, while both containing bands of the heavy variety, they could not have been more different. The styles of the music that was played at the shows were different, one being of a black, death, and doom variety and the other lending more toward the melodic side of the metallic spectrum, they both brought the heavy with diverse methods. The first show was billed to be one of the most anti-religious affairs to ever cross this great nation with Behemoth, Watain, In Solitude, and The Devil’s Blood, and the ceremony that ensued more than lived up to its reputation. The second show was a send-off for Christian band Demon Hunter before they set off for a headlining run in Europe, and the atmosphere was starkly different from the week prior.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Cannibal Corpse's Newest Album Is Torture



Cannibal Corpse - Torture

The other night I was out enjoying a few adult beverages and generally having a great time when I suddenly felt that urge that we all have, the one to expel some fluid as soon as humanly possible. And when I approached the urinal and laid waste to the cake that quietly slept in its porcelain sarcophagus I felt a sense of extreme relief and satisfaction, one that can only be felt in that exact moment. But I began to think, is there any music that might get close to that sensation, one that makes you sigh and think, “Man that was amaaaaaaazing!”…………



Lo and behold, what was in my inbox but the newest long player from death metal legends and originators Cannibal Corpse! The 12th full length in CC’s long and hall of fame worthy career might just be that feeling of relief that I am after. The spleen splattering hatred of “Encased in Concrete” is exactly what we expect from CC, a brutalistic (yea that’s a word) symphony of pure anger. “As Deep As The Knife Will Go” is sure to be a crowd favorite at shows, from the very beginning it is trying to shove a shank through your solar plexus. The chorus will have the entire crowd banging their heads and when the solo kicks in towards the end of the song the pit is destined to be full of rage that only a reindeer in heat could imagine. The riffs on “Scourge of Iron” are a little too basic for the brand of death metal that we are used to from these wily vets. The plodding nature is very reminiscent of “Evisceration Plague” without the sense of dread that song evoked. This was one of the only low points of the album as the majority had CC’s characteristic pummeling nature, pinecone gargling vocals, and heavy as an elephants balls rhythms. Cannibal Corpse has put out another good album to add to their arsenal of debauchery. While nothing extremely different from what they have released in the past few years, it is definitely a satisfying collection of music that is very close to that urinary culmination.

Struck By Lightning Get Crusty


Combining the likes of metal and hardcore in the 80s was something revolutionary; it fused the ferocious anger of every day thugs in hardcore with the intricacies and brutality of those in the metal sphere. As time moved on, this “metalcore” became a fad that turned metal into a joke and made it very easy for crappy bands to become very popular very quickly. Nowadays there is a bit of a resurgence of combing hardcore and metal into something more crusty, something filthy that goads the listener into behaving in a primal way that equates to man wanting nothing more than food, fire, and fornication. Black Breath, Kvelertak, and Cancer Bats have all used this equation to create something beautifully grimy and now Ohioan sludger-mongers Struck By Lighting have come out with their sophomore outing Predation. The album is a fun filled romp of sludge/hardcore/death metal that will easily appeal to fans across any subgenre. The album is streaming in full HERE  at Brooklyn Vegan and is out now on Translation Lost. If your work day is dragging a little bit, make sure you listen to this now for that 2:30 feeling the commercials have been telling us so much about.


Friday, April 13, 2012

A View From The Pit: Black Dahlia Murder, Nile, Skeletonwitch, Hour Of Penance

Here we are, another Monday night show that comes on the heels of a solid sow the previous night. A week before was Onslaught following Deicide, this week its Black Dahlia Murder and guests following Dying Fetus, 3 Inches of Blood, and seemingly 100 other bands. Now I did not go to either of the Sunday shows but as I was driving to the venue I was hoping more people show up to this Monday show than the previous one. Onlsaught was playing their very first US date in the United States and the venue was empty, by the end of the night there was maybe 200 heshers there. When I walked around the corner from the parking lot this time my fears were quickly laid to rest as the line was around the corner. I hadn't seen a lineup this long to get in to a show at El Corazon in a very long time.



Thursday, March 15, 2012

Death To All Tour 2012

Even though this is not coming anywhere near the great Pacific Northwest, the Death To All Tour 2012 is an amazing idea. Featuring the likes of Gene Hoglan, Sean Reinert, Steve DiGiorgio, and a handful of others, this 5 city tour is a benefit for Sweet Relief and is going to honor the memory of the godfather of death metal Chuck Shuldiner. Sweet Relief is a non-profit orgainization that helps musicians that need help with medical bills. Check out sweetrelief.org and if you live in San Fransisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City, or Orlando be sure to go see this show, it is destined to be a great night.

March Madness, Metal Style

It is that time of the year again, where nothing much gets done because college basketball is dominating the airwaves and forcing us all to fill out our brackets (I’ve got Kentucky taking it all). Even if you don’t follow college basketball, everyone seems to get all wrapped up in the fun. Rooting for the underdogs, picking cinderellas, praying that your team’s name gets called on Selection Sunday, and wanting to do nothing but sit on the couch, drink beer, and follow the success or failure of your picks. And here at NW MetalHead Productions we have made our own metalized version of the brackets. We have drawn a bracket up for some of the best metal to come out in recent weeks or anticipated releases that are soon to be out. Do you agree with our picks or are you screaming at your screen with all the rage of a bull moose in heat?


Saturday, March 3, 2012

A View From The Pit: Possessed,Gravenloch, Funeral Age, Crush Your Enemies




The renowned Possessed decided to grace the Pacific Northwest with their presence in order to spread their message of anti-religion and evil, and the masses were more than willing to accept them in to their cold, darkened hearts. One of the best things about this show was that the openers were all local bands! Normally there is only one local opener for the major headliner bands but this was an exception, the only touring band was Possessed and 4 local band were more than willing to jump on board.


Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Allegaeon Have New Song and New Album!!!

As most of you may know, I am particularly fond of melodic tech death metal band Allegaeon as seen in my Favorite Metal Albums of 2010. And by courtesy of the band's Facebook page they have announced that their brand new album Formshifter will be released via Metal Blade Records on May 8th! This was one of the albums that I have been most looking forward to (see I'm not lying!) and this news brought a smile to my face today. Along with this announcement was the premier of new song "Tartessos: The Hidden Xenocryst", I have no idea what that means but its an absolute ripper of a song. It follows along with songs off their previous album Fragments of Form and Function bringing forth tight melodies with crushing vocals and mindbending solos. Hopefully this means that there will be some tour dates announced soon but in the meantime the new track will keep us satiated.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Meshuggah is Koloss-al Once Again

The buzz that is surrounding the metal underground is all coming from Sweden, something that is not novel to us. Meshuggah have announced that their new album Koloss will be released March 27th in the US and they will be touring with Decapitated and Baroness, a tour that no one should miss. To get everyone pumped up they have have released 2 songs from the album already. Check out "Do Not Look Down" here and listen to another track below. The godfathers of djent are back!!!!


Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Metallica Announce Their Own 2-Day Festival

Today Metallica announced that they are to make their own festival this summer, it’s a 2 day festival with bands they supposedly picked on their own. It takes place June 23 and 24 with Metallica headling both nights. They are also going to be playing the Black Album in its entirety one of those night. You might be thinking that this is going to be a huge metal festival with tons of amazing bands both underground and above, yet when looking at some of the bands already announced, this is not the case. Artic Monkeys, Avenged Sevenfold, Modest Mouse, The Gaslight Anthem, Cage the Elephant and more odd bands fill out the list. Even the worst black metal band ever is going to be there, Liturgy. This seems to be just another Lollapalooza or Cochella, more big name bands that have nothing to do with good metal. The hate that a lot of metalheads have towards what Metallica has become is not going to be diminished by this announcement. Check out www.orionmusicandmore.com for more info on the fest as more bands should be announced in the coming weeks. The band is still doing their announcement as I publish this to discuss the fest in more detail, but it isn't telling me anything that would make me want to actually attend the show. It is streaming at the above mentioned site.

Stay tuned for more info as it develops

Monday, February 6, 2012

A View From The Pit: Ghost, Blood Ceremony, and Ancient VVisdom



Doom and gloom, a feeling that is easy to have in the Pacific Northwest this time of year. To go along with that atmosphere one needs music that is as heavy as the torrential downpour outside the windowpane and as dark as the ominous clouds encompassing the skyline. And what better group of bands than this trio of dark lord loving misanthropes! Whether through doom, 70s occult rock, or a more traditional heavy metal approach to doom, these bands came to celebrate all that is evil and dark, and the masses were more than happy to oblige on this particular night.

Friday, January 27, 2012

End of January Playlist

We haven’t given you guys a new playlist recently, and for that we are ever so sorry. You need new music, you want to listen to something that has slipped past you, and you want to relive some oldies that haven’t spun in your player in a while. Trust me, I know what’s best for your all. We’ve got everything from death/grind to thrash to black to proto-70s prog/cult/doom-ish to tech-death, and oh so much more. So here’s a little variety that will be sure to get your fists pumping and your blood spewing from all ends!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

The Return of the Traveling Metal Festival?

Earlier this week, the initial lineup for this year’s Rockstar Mayhem Festival was released, and it contained some typical mainstream rock names and some legitimately good metal bands. One has to wonder if this bringing together of not just one good underground band with a bunch of fad hopping, teenage girl obsessing pin-up bands might lead to some more righteous touring festivals.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

More Exciting Metal Tour News!!!!!!

There have been several great announcements as of late concerning some epically awesome tours. These are the lineups that get all your metal loving panties in a bunch. A couple of them do not have any dates posted as of yet, but we can all agree that everyone is moist with anticipation. Just the names that have been released have made my head spin. First up is the must looked forward to return to the US by blackened death metal heroes Behemoth! Decibel Magazine has announced that after defeating leukemia, Nergal and his horde of beasts are coming back to these shores kill every living being with their mighty roar. Coming along on the trek black metal titans Watain, doomy newcomers The Devil's Blood, and heavy metal bruisers In Solitude. No dates have been released yet but this is guaranteed to be one of the biggest tours of the year.



Friday, January 20, 2012

New Cannibal Corpse Shows Old Guard Can Still Dominate

One of the originators of death metal, a living legend that just about everyone loves, Cannibal Corpse are coming back to mutilate the ear canals of every living beast in this world. They just premiered a track off their upcoming album Tourture entitled “Demented Aggression,” and I have to say that this is one of the better songs the band has put out in recent years. It starts off fast, really fast, faster than anything they have played in a looooong time. Corpse Grinder seems to be able to keep up well with his signature growl without losing any steam. The riffing solos are short but amazing, they are exactly what people would want who have been a little disappointed with recent efforts. While I enjoyed such works as Evisceration Plague and Kill, many old school lovers did not like them as much as their classic works, but this track might be evidence of something they can cling on to. The song is fast, heavy, yet melodic; all characteristics of a great Cannibal Corpse death metal classic.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Goatwhore, Goatwhore, and More Goatwhore!!!!!!

Louisiana based blackened death troupe Goatwhore are seemingly popping up everywhere. They are on the cover of the newest issue of Decibel, one of the last remaining US metal magazines that actually still write about metal, good metal, they have just announced a co-headling tour that is going to obliterate audiences all over the US, and they have also released a new song off their upcoming album Blood for the Master. So far 2012 is starting out to be the year of the Goatwhore, and this writer could not be more happy to see this happen.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Weekend Metal Madness

As the new year has begun, the metal underworld has already reared its ugly, frostbitten, mutilated face. Bands are announcing new albums, knew tours, and posting some off their news music for heshers of all ages to enjoy. Whether they are young bands trying to get their careers off to a good start or established bands continuing their legacy of domination, every new year comes with exciting news of new music. Here are a few of the ones we are looking for in the coming months.