FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
A thundering and energetic traditional sounding band of heavy metal thunder, Pittsburgh’s Icarus Witch continues their excellent approach with this, their third full-length album. A highly talented band, Icarus Witch is far too under-recognized for their ability to rip out albums that are well-crafted and chock full of shredding metal.
There’s nothing easy about the album; no chant-along moments that incite crowds and establish instant followers. Everything with this affair is begrudging and hard-won on both sides of the band/listener relationship. Yet those who stick around long enough will realize that sometimes it’s those things we fight hardest for which wind up being the most enduring. To that extent, You Are Beneath Me is case in point.
“Having seen the Melvins in previous three-piece variants over the years, this was my very-excited first time seeing this four-on-the-floor version that includes the Big Business guys, even though the band’s been touring in this incarnation since 2006. First, the stage set-up is key: Looking like one monstrous kit, the twin drumsets are dead center of the stage mirroring each other as centerpiece of the show. Yes, everybody is situated right up front and gets to act as frontman-in-his-own-right in Melvins Mark, what is it, now, Eight?”
Kyle Harcott reviews the July 5th show Vancouver performance by the Melvins and Totimoshi.
After the huge letdown of Dark Tranquillity’s latest album We Are The Void it is really good to see Soilwork back on their game.
The awkwardly-named Charred Walls of the Damned delivered a solid headlining performance. While the other bands they shared the stage with has set a decidedly un-serious precedent, CWotD were much more straightforward and earnest in their presentation. Not to say that they were stuffy or stoic. They play unabashedly entertaining power/thrash metal, but choose not to caricature themselves to the point of complete cartoonification.
As for the bulk of the original album, it’s what you would expect from a former member of Within Temptation (Westerholt): soaring vocals, bombastic guitar solos, pounding drums, lush keyboard and symphonic string arrangements. All played with subtlety and an attention to contrast that it seems only those in power or progressive metal remember any more
Wrap the Body is a neat little experiment, but is likely only bound to be wholly accepted and tolerated by Racebannon die-hards, masochistic punishment gluttons and maybe even the occasional DJ. It’s probably a good thing that only 500 of these have been pressed.
It was a neat experience to see this concert in a movie theater. A few of my own pals hummed and hawed about going, wondering why it wasn’t made available as a Pay-Per-View event, but I personally liked it better seeing it at the movies. No home distractions, no interruptions from the outside world and being in those big, comfy Silver City chairs with all the legroom you could ask for made this a more enjoyable experience than it would be with ten of my friends crammed into my living room. And I didn’t have to clean up afterwards either.
Sean Palmerston reviews the June 22nd “Big Four” event that was shown at Cineplex theaters across Canada featuring Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax live in Sofia, Bulgaria.
That lack of needless hyperbole is exactly what makes Classic Albums – Paranoid so easy and interesting to watch. Here, viewers learn that Paranoid – the largest keystone recording in metal – was recorded recorded in two days, cut live off the floor with a minimal number of overdubs and mixed in an additional two. It was a matter of in, down and done, and then Black Sabbath left it to be mixed and released while they went to play in Europe.
All told, Botheration is amphetamine-amped, nitrous-gassed, catchy as fuck, and it also happens to be a laff riot – truly the whole package.