True American Black Metal.

Quality American Black Metal (USBM) is no secret, yet the DNA strain isn't always easy to trace. Bands like like Averse Sefira, Krieg, Absu, and Judas Iscariot carried the torch to many dark places on our shores, but the movement was never a crushing tide.

Black metal is now fairly accessible in one form or another and has even wormed its way into indie rock circles with bands like Wolves in the Throne Room. But things seem to have reached a new nexus point with Philly band WOE.

Woe's (Pennsylvania) brand of nihilist black metal is almost a joy to listen to but also driving and powerful with interlocking layers of melody and blast beats. But what really stands out with Woe is their dedication to black self-discovery.

"Your flaws, the ones that you are aware of , they never go away. The person who you were years ago hasn't changed, neither will your friends or family or strangers. You're stuck. try to change and you'll find yourself right back where you started, sooner or later. And it's that frustration with the fact that nothing changes and nothing matters and there is nothing we can do about it. - that's what fueled this album."

With concepts that brutal who needs to sing about Satan?


[Engage]

Bosse-De-Nage (California) is more on the raw side with an expansive depressive sound, but worth the effort of checking out. Little is known about the band and they apparently recorded this album in one session committing all the unchecked emotion to tape.



[Engage]

And though not technically full on black metal Teen Cthulhu are one of my favorite overlooked American metal bands. I wear my Book of Black Earth T-shirt Proudly. \m/

Warm January.

January got warm all the sudden. I just got use to the cold and now it's 60 degrees. Stop playing with my emotions.

The new Burzum is great, though some of the production value is a bit questionable. The vocals are much much too high and feel isolated from the overall mix. Still, the best songs he's written since he's been in prison.



Engage.

If you enjoy sweeping, almost emotional, almost oppressive style black metal (think early Gorgoroth) you should totally dig the new Sargeist. It's well played, well written, and sounds just peachy. I hear bits of Nachtmystium as well, without the progy moments.Shatraug's solo project should be his full time gig.




Engage.

Winds of Genocide are crusty metal of the best kind. So much more fun that typical hardcore and a bit more straight forward than most death metal. They should open up their sound just a bit but it's a solid first effort.




Luca Turilli is back and bringing the shred with the new Rhapsody of Fire Album. You should know who they are if you care about epic power metal, or survived Dragonforce. It's a terrible video though, so keep that in mind. No elves, or forests, or flying ships of doom. Just some middle age guys rocking out how they do to a white background. Just skip up to the solo at 2:40 and get your lube ready.



I'd really like Best Coast if the vocals weren't so stale, limited, and almost monotone. To me, indie rock really rests on how good the vocals are. I turn my head from a lot of nasally, weak, and or annoying vocals even if the jangle is pretty decent.

People seem to like them though.

Running into you at the grocery store sucked.

Read about O Children in a metal magazine. They said they think being compared to Joy Division is being Lazy. Good point, and I think they do a good job of sonically distancing themselves in a way that a band like the editors never really could. I like the somewhat twangy jangle of Dead Disco Dancer, and the heavier well produced drum and bass sounds than most dark wave bands.

The whole album is really worth a listen. I was please with every track and wanted to listen again.

Return to form.

Humanfly makes me think a bit of 90's style sludge Dystopia, and a bit of High on Fire like Black Sabbath Worship. Heavy, dense, and dark with really awesome songs under it all. This song in particular grabbed me as being particularly wretched in a good way.

Humanfly - the Enemy of My Enemy is Me.

http://www.myspace.com/humanfly

I don't dress up for halloween.

I take Halloween pretty seriously. It's the only holiday I celebrate in a "spiritual" sense, though I'm not spiritual at all. No ghosts, no god (with a little g) in nature, no nothing. But Halloween is a good time to celebrate the changing of the seasons. The submission to the dark as the day gets shorter and the night grows.

• This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

Setting light to things and making predictions about the future has to beat out a shitty ironic costume and puking from all the beer you've consumed. Or maybe not. Either way I think it's important for people to be reflective on Samhain, more so than any other time of the year. Think about life, and death, and what you want to see in the future. But Halloween is always seen as the most commercial of Holidays, and that it's completely OK for it to be only about selling bags of corn syrup candy, and stormtrooper masks. It's a little frustrating considering christmas (with a little c) is a total sham, about things that never happened to anybody, yet it's held up as a very serious time for family and friends.

Anyway, I don't dress up. Maybe I'm just lazy, but what's the point? You don't need a costume to get blind fuck drunk and you won't be getting any candy from strangers.

Puke.

I find this mildly arousing and aurally satisfying.

I wish I knew what the fuck she was lip syncing.

Update this.

Arckanum - Pjobaugvittr


I'm really enjoying Arckanum's album PPPPPPPPPPP. It has the majesty of a Drudkh release but is a bit more direct and blistering. Like everything else good in metal in 2009 they are from Sweden and they sing in their native tongue. I really don't think Black Metal should ever be in English. It loses a bit of it's impact. I also have a total hard-on for the bass sound. Crisp and powerful. That's what I'm talking about!


Fukpig - The Horror is Here.


What to say about Fukpig? Dbeat crust punk fused with black metal. I now find 90 percent of the hardcore and punk I hear completely irrelevant. Blasting. A pretty creepy little video too. I highly recommend downloading "Spewings from a Selfish Nation" as it's limited to 100 cds. It's worth it for the track "Caught out". Sums up the milieu of the state of capitalism right now more than anything I can think of. Punk hasn't been this threatening since Crass.


Demonical - Baptized in Fire.


Demonical are putting some grit back in death metal. And they are from Sweden! I hear a bit of Hypocrisy in their music, but it's also a rather fresh studio sound.


Good metal.

The Power and the Glory - End of Summer Power Metal Mix.

I have been throwing together some power metal songs to listen to while I workout, and I decided to share the fun. There is so much I wanted to put on this mix that didn't make the cut like: Legend, Sacred Rite, Rug, Tyrant, Blind Guardian, Heathen Hoof, High Power, Alestorm, Messiah Force, Bullet, and Hammerfall. I tried to strike a balance between new, fun, traditional, rare, and familiar. I hope some of my friends enjoy it and let me know if they like it!

http://www.mediafire.com/?dm14gnjnnte

Tyr - Hold the Heathen Hammer High.

This song is so damn catchy. Hailing from the Faroe Islands, where it's not that much of a stretch to call yourself a viking.


Primal Fear - Riding the Eagle.

Primal Fear kept the flame of Judas Priest alive and well for a long time, even though their last few albums have been slightly less epic. This track is a powerful return to form with some of the best pipes in metal today.

Cauldron - Dreams Die Young.

It took a few listens for me to enjoy this because of the vocals, but the music cannot be denied. New band from Canada, on tour now! Will be playing in Raleigh next month!

Judas Priest - All Guns Blazing.

Classic. One of the most shredding, blistering songs ever put to tape.

Lion's Share - Judas Must Die.

Like Accept on a pissed off morning. Thick, harmonious, and powerful. Really enjoying this record. More proof of Sweden's current metal dominance.

Enforcer - Speed Queen.

More Swedish dynamism. Enforcer has such a fresh sound, somewhere between thrash, power, and traditional metal. On tour now with Cauldron.

Avantasia - Reach out for the Light.

Dipping into the symphonic edge of the power metal pool, this is an older track that I've always enjoyed. It's very posi and soaring, if you can handle that.

Luca Turilli - The Ancient Forest of Elves.

I never get tired of this song. Epic in every sense, and great to read a Warhammer novel too.

Persian Risk - Riding High.

Going back to the NWOBHM, this song has a gallop that would make maiden proud. More rock and roll/heavy metal in style but an excellent break down chorus.

Slough Feg - High Passage/Low Passage.

Fucking epic track. Based on the Traveller RPG and injecting some much needed Sci-fi into the proceedings. This song doesn't really have a chorus but it still gets stuck in your brain.

Hibria - Steel Lord on Wheels.

Crunching Brazilian Power metal.

Power Quest - Edge of Time.

I feel like the keyboards on this song could be from some 80's action movie, or TV show. A bit more relaxed and bright, but a great song. "Living a life on a wing and prayer".

Helloween - Mr. Torture.

This song is taken from the bands later career and is a bit heavier and darker than what they are usually known for. Always been a favorite of mine.

Leather Nunn - Take the Night.

From one of the rarest and most OOP metal records. Limited to 500 copies. Every metal head should have this album in their collection in some capacity. I Can't get this chorus out of my head.

Halford - Wrath of God.

Heavy, punishing, and full of self-righteous anger. Nobody does it like Rob.

"I'll meet you
And once again defeat you"

Grand Magus - The Shadow Knows.

More metal from the land of Sweden. Magus have such a rich, vintage sound and take themselves dead serious. I'm Pretty sure this is about the old crime comic the Shadow.

Grave Digger - Monks of War.

Underrated vets of power metal with a back catalog the size of my arm, Grave Digger demands respect from the metal faithful. This song is almost a trash track, but heavier. Full tilt, balls to the wall.

King Diamond - The Family Ghost.

You can't fuck with King Diamond.

Armageddon - The Broken Spell.

What's in the water in Sweden? Hypnotic.

Saxon - Let me Feel Your Power.

Ripping, later Saxon song.

Savage Grace - Fear My Way.

Early 80's power from L.A. and they love putting naked chicks on their album covers.

Wolf - Demon Bell.

Can you Guess where these guys hail from? (Guess Sweden!) I've been listening to wolf for 9 years and loving every minute. Severely underrated. Nikla's vocals can put some people off but I rather enjoy them.

Thunderstone - Holding on to My Pain.

Introspect, and a great way to end. I love the resonance. Just a well written song.

Bonus:

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Raleigh NC's own Colossus! These guys are friggin sweet and playing at slims this weekend!

http://www.myspace.com/thecolossuswillcrushyou
http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A395198

And now for something you really don't care about...

My Late summer thrash mix. There are just too many good thrash bands to mention right now, but here are a few super awesome ones.

http://www.mediafire.com/?d202jfwne23

1. Megadeth - Head Crusher
2. Witchburner - Dirty City
3. Toxic Holocaust - Lord of the Wasteland
4. Ravage - Apocalyptic Raid
5. Legion of the Damned - Slut of Sodom
6. Raped God - Evil to the bone
7. Mantic Ritual - Panic
8. Motorpenis - Thrasherection
9. Sarke - Old
10. Necrodeath - Burn and Deny
11. Deathhammer - Total Thrash Assault
12. War-head - Circle of Emptiness
13. Corrupt - Profits Prevailed
14. Municipal Waste - A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Destroyer)
15. Warbringer - Severed Reality
16. Sadus - Desolation
17. Reanimator - Thrashing the Neighborhood
18. Trench Hell - Southern Cross Ripper
19. Evile - First Blood
20. Fueled By Fire - Thrash is Back

Feels so good.

This is probably the only reunion I've ever cared about in my life.



amazing.
just.
amazing.