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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.