Is This Album Cover Metal Enough?
Jesus Christ.
I love it.
Gorod is a tech / prog / death metal band from France.
The whole album has this ‘classic’ feel – lots of wanky riffs going up and down scales, played blazing fast. This usually isn’t my cup of tea…but it used to be. I went through a phase awhile ago where I was listening to lots of Anata and Emeth. Bands like this just bleed with technical prowess, every riff cuts like razorblades.
I Want To Commit Murder!
I kind of like the restraint of this song title. Like, if this guy was truly evil, he would’ve just done it already…or he would’ve pretended that he runs around murdering people all the time like it’s no big deal. Instead, it’s like, MURDER: IT’S ON MY BUCKET LIST! (Just give me a minute to consider the consequences, the moral ramifications, etc.)
Metal bands fall all over themselves to be the most brutal, the most disgusting…CADAVEROUS MASTICATION, MUTILATE THE STILLBORN, every grindcore song title ever…it has a real comic book quality to it. Sometimes it’s best to step back from the arms race, to keep it simple.
“I want to dig your grave!” “I want to collect your shadow!” What is this, Pokemon?
But seriously, this song is pretty catchy for black metal.
Here’s a really helpful guide to murder:
http://www.theawl.com/2012/01/the-only-murdering-murder-guide-youll-ever-need-you-murderer
Let’s Talk About Love.
Maybe you think it takes some guts to say “I love you”.
Maybe you get choked up when you’re letting out the words “will you marry me?”
That’s nothing.
Try turning to your significant other and saying, “hey, maybe we should move out of our house, live out of our van, and just tour as a metal band for most of the year.”
That’s when the bullshit ends. There’s no way you can be dishonest at this point. If you’re not devoted to the metal lifestyle, then it’s time to walk away. You were just asked to join a menage a trois with Satan.
I was astounded by Jucifer when I saw them last year at the Black Cat. I ran home and blogged about it, kind of like tonight, another ominous, snowy night. But back then, maybe I didn’t appreciate the strength of their love. They are THE MOST METAL COUPLE OF ALL TIME.
Look. The most I can really expect of any girls I date when I talk about metal, is a “that’s nice, dear.” Maybe I can drag someone gutsy to see someone super-heavy like This Will Destroy You or Sleepytime Gorilla Museum or Fucked Up. And that’s okay with me, you know?
Well, it was okay with me. But then I see JUCIFER. The ultimate metal couple. METAL SOULMATES. I gotta find mine.
What’d You Get For Xmas?
I got this canvas print:
It’s from this guy. Recommended if you like skulls.
Potato Chip Metal
Sometimes you’re just not looking for anything deep. Sometimes you just need some good riffs and stupid lyrics and quick, fast songs to get your fix and get on with your day. Some days are perfect for Structures.
Is deathcore okay to like? I’m here to tell you it is. I mean, if you accept its existence, this is TECH-DEATHMO.
THA FUCKIN’ GOVERNMENT!!! Why are these kids so pissed about it? Who cares.
I guess there’s a moment towards the end of “Hydroplaning” where, even after all the death-growling and spastic, shifting time signatures, they slip into early 00′s-era screamo, like they think they’re Saosin or something. That’s the moment where I get chills and think about my teen years and decide I’m too old for this band. But whatever. I’m glad kids these days are at least super-precise with their polyrhythms and have perfected their guitar tone. More power to ‘em.
Animals as Leaders: Instrumental/Jazz/Prog Metal Champions.
I’ve listened to a million progressive metal bands in my days. They were my bread and butter when I was a teenager; I didn’t care how lame the lyrics were, as long as the music was super-complex. Blind Guardian wrote whole albums about Tolkien! Pain of Salvation‘s least-lame concept album was about nuclear waste! Kind of embarrassing in retrospect.
But yeah, I’ve never cared much about metal lyrics. They’re usually dumb! I love metal singers, but I don’t want to know what they’re singing about! Ignorance is bliss. ‘Instrumental’ means nobody’s going to make fun of you for listening to music about dragons. Not that you’d ever give a fuck what anyone else thinks.
Animals as Leaders are the best prog metal band these days. They’ve got complex rhythms, sick riffs, and…god, there’s just nothing lame about it! It’s heavy through-and-through.
Their guitarist Tobin Abasi plays a custom 8-string guitar because six strings was just a waste of his potential. Check out these videos if you’re a guitar nerd like me. Otherwise, just watch this:
This video showcases their musicianship, yet is also ‘artsy’ in that Tool-inspired, whatthefuckisgoingon way. That’s exactly what I want from metal videos. Music videos in general, really.
I saw AAL open for Thursday and Underoath earlier this year. Everyone left the show talking about AAL because they were so unexpectedly amazing. Anyway, their new album Weightless is one of my favorites of the year, so without further ado, here’s the heaviest song:
Spiral out, y’all.
Put a bird on it.
On your band. Put a bird on your band. Make your band a bird band. DO IT.
This post is about Eagle Twin. Their album “The Unkindness of Crows” is an unrelenting sludgefest. I love the guitar tone, All the songs on this record are about birds, too:
In The Beginning Was The Scream
Murder Of…
10,000 Black Birds Of Hot Fire
Storytelling Of Ravens
Crow Hymn
Carry On, King Of Carrion
And It Came To Pass That Birds Fell To Earth As Black Snakes
Crow Hymn is the apex of the album, IMO. It’s immediately accessible, it’s got some sweet riffage right at the start…listen to that fuzz!
Remember when Incubus put out that steaming pile of shit, A Crow Left of the Murder? Fuck that. I officially award this album the Best Crow Album Award. It’s one of those albums that flies by, the kind that lasts an hour but doesn’t feel like it. Oh hey, you can understand the lyrics on this album! Amazing. They sound ominous. They sound like some tale about how these birds don’t give a shit about you, and are probably ancient.
These guys are on Southern Lord, home of the sludge. (I wish that was their tagline. It should be.)
Circle Takes the Square
What does screamo mean to u?
Screamo is one of my favorite genres because it’s so dynamic. There are all these softer parts that give you a quick break from all the noise, then they keep hitting you with these really abrasive riffs. Their drummer is INSANE – can’t believe how fast and accurate it is. This band is closer to grindcore than any other genre (yeah, it’s that intense).
Honestly it makes me sad that most metal bands don’t write memorable lyrics. I usually just tune them out, because who the hell can understand them anyway? Plus, once you do, you’ll be disappointed to find out they’re secretly a Christian band, or misogynist, or whatever.
That’s why I turned to SCREAMO. Screaming is how you celebrate metal/hardcore. The greatest singers IMO are the ones with so much energy that it’s contagious. Listening to all that noise, you need a way to fight back, to let out that energy. Luckily, the lyrics are strangely catchy. So of course you’re going to scream along “that you curse! curse constantly!” whenever you can. You’re going to scream at the show, at your laptop, on the street while iPodding, etc.
Oh also there’s a chick singer/screamer in this band so obviously I’m in love with her.
marry me plz
Here’s what you need to know about OCEANSIZE.
Oceansize was a great progressive metal band that broke up last week. When you think of “bands that Tool obviously influenced”, these guys should come up. The basic structure of an Ocensize song is, themes slowly develop over the course of a song, building up to an epic climax. Hmm, so is this post-metal? Because that’s exactly what happens in a post-rock song, so they took that formula and added distortion. Anyway, it’s that with sung vocals. If you like Dredg, you will probably like this.
They put out two albums that were quite good. Here are my favorite songs from each:
This song has the same structure as Tool’s “Pushit” or “Eulogy”, for example – verses and choruses for awhile, then BAM, epic ending, usually with lots of screaming and loud riffs. The reason I enjoy tracks like this is that they’ll just be playing in the background, gaining my acquiescence, then they’ll grab my attention in a flash. “Why is this awesome?” I don’t know, I wasn’t really paying attention! I’ll have to re-listen to the songs just to get the nuances I missed the first time.
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I guess I’m a little late on this screamo band
But oh god they are awesome. This is a little grindy at first but then falls into beautiful melodies, which is exactly what I want songs to do. 2007.
