FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
Munich, Germany’s tech metal mastermind Steffen Kummerer returns in 2009 with his band Obscura’s sophomore album Cosmogenisis. With a few member changes and additional set backs now behind him, he now comes adorned with former members of Necrophagist and ex -Pesitlence bass extraordinaire Jeroen Paul Thesseling.
A couple weeks ago, the world’s most accomplished stoner, multiple gold medallist Michael Phelps, returned to the pool after serving out his suspension for inhaling what, considering his lung capacity, must have been enough weed smoke to lay out the state of Utah.
Known for their decidedly old school style death metal releases – we’re talking in the vein of Impetigo, (the Canadian) Slaughter and Repulsion here folks – it makes total sense that this album could have only come out on Razorback Records.
Perhaps a surprise to no one who has been following the band over the past few years, Lacuna Coil’s Shallow Life is an interesting step for the band but showcases a bland end result that dilutes the possibilities of the stylistic shift.
Having grown up on metal in Canada during the 1980s, the first thought that springs to mind upon hearing the debut album by Toronto trio Cauldron is, why in the hell couldn’t these guys have been around 24, 25 years ago?
Alright!
Fourteen bands.
Fifty-one song compilation.
Fifty-seven minutes of intensity.
You absolutely need this one.
After the success of their 2005 film Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey Canadians Scott McFadyen and Sam Dunn have made a follow up with a twist. Where Headbanger’s was a swift romp through extreme music’s history, Global Metal is an anthropological study of metal around the world.
With 2008 proving to be a stellar year for great releases from veteran bands, no one album stands out so clearly from the pack as this, the newest offering by Sweden’s Opeth.