My Abbreviated Version of “A Best of 2012”

I wanted to share some bands, songs, and albums that people should check out. Let me start with what I considered the best song of 2012. Baroness’s song “Take My Bones Away” from the Yellow disc of the Yellow and Green Album is such a catchy and completely addictive song, with a chorus that just grabs you. The guitar riff that begins the song and rocks on throughout is so irresistible, you can’t stop listening. This is a song you can listen to multiple times in a row and still get something out of it. Decibel put their album as the No. 2 album of 2012.

A couple of 2012 albums that I want to throw out there were Barren Earth’s The Devil’s Resolve and Swallow the Sun’s Emerald Forest and the Blackbird.  Mikko Kotamäki does vocals in both bands and can go between clean and a death metal growl fluently. The Devil’s Resolve is Barren Earth’s 2^nd full length album and hopefully the 2^nd of many to come. The album was a great cross between Death metal and Doom metal. Songs like "The Rains Begin" and “Where All Stories End” play like epic tales of doom and sorrow, all packaged in a melodic death/doom metal package. The song “Cathedral Walls” off the latest Swallow the Sun record incorporates a mostly clean vocal sound and a little growl and a guest female vocalist named Anette Olzon. Also on the album is the “Labyrinth of London (Horror Pt. IV)”, the 4^th installment of their horror songs. The first one was “Swallow” (Horror Pt. I) off their The Morning Never Came album, then came “Don’t Fall Asleep (Horror Pt. 2)” off their Hope album. The 3^rd installment was “Lights on the Lake (Horror Pt. III)” off their New Moon Album. All four songs are different and unique in their own rights. The songs are Doom metal songs from their first notes to their last. Swallow the Sun is a band that should get more attention and one I would love to see live.

Meshuggah’s 2012 album Koloss was a force to be reckoned with. It was technical, intense, and brutal in every aspect of metal music. Jens Kidman’s vocals are fierce and you can feel his intensity in each song. I had the opportunity to see them live last year and their live show lives up to, if not surpasses their albums. Kidman looks evil with his many facial expressions throughout their set, as well as the amazing light show that went along with the songs. Songs like “Do Not Look Down” and “The Hurt That Finds You First” are simply pure Meshuggah and pound like a jackhammer through your head. The band as a whole is incredible and to experience it live is something any metal fan should do. Check out their live DVD Alive and their video for “Demiurge”.

Feel free to comment and tell me what you think or add any bands you think are important to you or the metal scene.

Dark Tranquillity - Review of upcoming album Construct and why you should check it out!

I first heard about the band Dark Tranquillity from the book “Choosing Death”. In the book author, Albert Mudrain writes how the original singer Anders Friden went on to sing for the Swedish Death Metal Band In Flames and how guitarist Mikael Stanne took over vocal duties. The band is said to have a Gothenburg sound or in other words a more melodic death metal sound which was popular in Sweden at the time. Again the band popped up in the July Issue of Decibel Magazine issue 105 discussing their new album Construct due out May 28^th, 2013. So curiosity got the best of me and being a big fan of In Flames, I went out and bought their 2005 album Character. The album was exactly what I was looking for, it was very melodic, great growling vocals, with some clean ones at times and really the band seemed to grasp what a melodic metal band should be. The key boards did not overpower the songs, but gave each song a cool rhythm for the guitars to chug along to.

On to their new album Construct, which after hearing some of their older stuff and listening to some of the new album, I am very excited to get. The song "Uniformity" has a video that promotes it, and it was a great choice for a single or at least a video. The song starts with the keyboards kicking in full blast giving the song melody that resonates throughout the whole track. The album has a great mix of clean and growling vocals and Stanne shows he can growl with the best of them on songs like "The Science Of Noise" and "For Broken Words". What I love about his vocals is you can understand what he is saying without taking away the gruffness of his sound. I suggest if you do not know anything by them, check out the video for "Uniformity" and I guarantee you will not be disappointed. Go out and get your copy of Construct May 28^th!!

 

Death To All Tour 2013

On April 27, 2013 I had the pleasure of attending the Death To All Tour featuring the Human-Era lineup of Death; guitarist Paul Masvidal, bassist Steve DiGiorgio, and drummer Sean Reinert. Guitarist/vocalist Max Phelps had the job of filling the very big shoes of Chuck Schuldiner .

The show started with a band called Anciients from Vancouver, Canada. I couldn't wait to see them and they lived up to my every expectation. I only discovered Anciients a short time before I found they were going to be on the tour and now after seeing them live I am a true believer in their music. The set was filled heavy riffs that shook the room and made you feel the emotion of each and every note. They have a death metal feel with a progressive stoner/doom quality that brought each song to life. I couldn't of asked for a better way to start the night.

Old school death metal juggernauts Exhumed came on next. They took us on a pummeling journey through old and new songs which covered every aspect of metals true form: DEATH METAL. They have a new album called " Necrocracy" due out sometime this year which based on their set, I am definatly going to get.

Now for the main course, the reason everybody went to the show. We are all paying tribute to "The father of death metal" himself, the late Chuck Schuldiner. His dream is carried on in his honor through the band members he collaborated with. This years line up help make one of death metals most pivotal albums; Human. With the help of Max Phelps they played songs from the first four Death albums. The set started with a precision version of " Flattening of Emotions", which right from the first note you knew the night as a whole was going to be spectacular. About nine songs in, there was this inspirational tribute video to Chuck followed by none other than "Zombie Ritual" Any song with zombie in the title or about zombies has to be awesome in my opinion! Being a bass player myself, I am going to be a little biased and say Steve DiGiorgio was on fire!!! As a whole the show was simply amazing and I cannot wait to see how they top it next year.
          Chuck Schuldiner May 13, 1967 - December 13, 2001

2013 New England Metal And Hardcore Festival

On Sat. April 20th, I attended the NEMHF with Opeth as the headliner. The show was amazing with many different genres of metal playing. Of all the bands that played I would have to say I enjoyed Katatonia, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and Opeth the best. Katatonia was the supporting band for Opeth and rocked. The set was a little shorter than I would of liked, but they played an amazing set.  Jonas Renkse looked like Cousin It with his hair in his face, but still sounded great.

The Dillinger Escape Plan have to be one of the most energetic bands out there right now. It was a toss up who was more wild and crazy between singer Greg Puciato and lead guitarist Ben Weinman. Puciato had the roadies earning their money that night knocking down and throwing microphone stands, jumping off amps, climbing anything he could get on and kicking anything in his way. He ended the set in a stunning fashion by throwing the high hat symbol into the bass drum. The energy was just amazing and if you ever have a chance to experience them live, definitely do it!

Dillinger was a hard act to follow, but Opeth pulled it off. Mikael Akerfeldt said from the beginning he's not as energetic as Puciato, but what he lacked in energy he made up in raw talent. The set went from progressive rock to growling death metal. They varied the songs so it wasn't a whole set of one or the other. For those of you who like their more progressive songs, they started the set with "The Devils Orchard" from their Heritage album. He switches back and forth between clean and growling vocals with very little effort. The show was simply amazing!

The Beginning

I wanted to start this blog as a way for people to share their love for music, specifically metal music, with each other. I enjoy music so much, its a passion that I can't seem to get enough of. I love waiting for my next issue of Decibel magazine to see what's new and see articles of bands I love. I recently discovered podcasts where people geek out over the music they love. Getting a new cd is an experience that excites me each time. Its a visual experience as well as a listening one. The booklet if done right is just as creative and exciting as the music. My goal with this blog is to share my thoughts on new and old music as well as learn about new bands. Hopefully people will enjoy it! Feel free to leave comments.