Tag: metal
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A new year, more new (in) metal: 2017, part 1
While much of modern civilization seems to be imploding (or, perhaps, some destructiveness is becoming harder to not see), metal continues to evoke, chronicle, critique, ignore, and sometimes contribute to the chaos. There’s too much going on in metal these days to leave all our ‘best of’ and year-in-review lists to the end of the year. Here…
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Dragged Into Sunlight – American tour blog 2016
I tagged along with England’s Dragged Into Sunlight for their first journey across America in 2012. I did so again for their second American tour last summer that spanned 27 cities. Comparing crowd sizes to their initial go around (about 50 to 75 people per show) to this time (100 to 400), it’s obvious that…
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Warbringer – Woe To The Vanquished
Warbringer has a new record, Woe To The Vanquished, being released on March 31st on Napalm Records; this is the Ventura, California thrashers’ fifth studio album. I had the opportunity to see them last week in San Francisco at the DNA Lounge with fellow thrashers Exmortus and Havok, and what a treat it was. As much…
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Five Alarm Funk – Sweat
Without intending to come off as trite, there are occasions when it’s possible to mark certain similarities between a new album and music which has appeared elsewhere in music history, but those moments can still reverberate with excitement because no one saw that music or the connection to anything else coming – from anywhere, ever.…
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Jupiter Hollow – Odyssey
I am very impressed by this EP on any level. Sounding, to my mind, like a cross between Rush, Zombi, and Mastodon, this is progressive metal as it should be. Grant MacKenzie and Kenny Parry, the two men that make up Jupiter Hollow, can be proud of this EP. It features strong playing, excellent song-writing, and…
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Godstopper/Grizzlor split 7”
It’s been a little while since Toronto noise-rock weirdos Godstopper have graced us with an album—and somehow, said record seems to have slipped my radar completely. But as I’m just getting caught up with their latest full-length, this tasty tidbit should tide us over in the meantime—a three-song, seven-inch split with Connecticut trio Grizzlor. Godstopper…
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Hark – Machinations
Hark now hear the second record from this heavy-ass Welsh outfit! They may not sound like a choir of angels, but these Swansea slammers bring the riffs for 47 minutes on the follow-up to their 2014 debut Crystalline. And hey, their lead singer’s name is Jimbob, and he used to be in a band called…
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3rd Machine – Quantified Self
Heavy metal fans really are a spoiled bunch. The diversity of sound and styles underneath the metal umbrella is so vast that there seems to be an unlimited amount of possibilities. From the brutality of death metal, the eclecticness of prog, or the embarrassment of Nu-metal, heavy metal has your particular poison ready and waiting…
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Forming the Void – Relic
Now, I gotta say, I’m a pretty big fan of NOLA-style sludge metal. (EHG FTW!) But while Lafayette, Louisiana might just be a couple hours away from New Orleans, these native sons are several more miles removed from Crowbar or Eyehategod—while still clearly inhabiting within the stoner/doom subgenre. The second record from Forming the Void…
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Mothership – High Strangeness
I’ve been a big fan of this Dallas outfit ever since I first heard their self-titled debut in 2013, so suffice to say I’m super-stoked for this, the third record from Mothership. More heavy rock than heavy metal, these guys create a potent concoction combining AC/DC, Thin Lizzy and ZZ Top with riffs that are thicker…