Horns Up For Halloween

Halloween, the greatest time of year! The decorations, the scary movies, the costumes, but most of all the music, nothing goes together better than metal music and the greatest holiday in the world. So here is a look of songs, bands, and albums that come to mind when I think Halloween. Please feel free to add to this list with anything I might have missed or forgotten.

                So let me start with a not so metal band, but the kings of sci-fi and horror. I am talking about none other than the Misfits. From their Glenn Danzig days to present they represent rituals, movie monsters, sacrifices, and the holiday itself. Their new cd which consists of only one original member, Jerry Only deals with zombies; “Twilight of the Dead” and “Land of the Dead”, Frankenstein’s monster; “The Ghost of Frankenstein” (Which happens to be one of my personal favorites), mummies, vampires and werewolves. The Misfits have stayed true to their path for many years. They also put on a killer show.  Only’s bass guitar looks like a skull, as well as the microphone stand, and the show is nonstop Misfits songs delivered with enthusiasm and energy.

                Force of Evil, which is pretty much Mercyful Fate minus King Diamond did an album which focused on horror movies. The album Black Empire has songs that focus on Leather face from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Candyman, to a song that pays tribute to the master horror author Steven King. If you are looking for an old school metal feel with a horror movie twist, this is the perfect album for you.

                Metal music fits the Halloween tradition so well, even without trying. Death metal and black metal are proof of that. Horror and gore are what a lot of death metal bands prided themselves on. Look at Deaths first album; Scream Bloody Gore!!!  Zombies anyone? Even when they went more real world, it was still scary stuff. It doesn’t hurt that they were one of the greatest death metal bands to ever grace a stage. Cannibal Corpse is another fine example of horror and gore. Who needs music when you have Gory album covers, much Like Cannibal Corpse does. It also helps their music is gore infested metal!!!  Iced Earth even has an album called Horror Show that puts all the classic horror movie monsters into songs. Who doesn’t want to hear a song about Dracula, or better yet, The Creature from the Black Lagoon?

                Ok, now onto everyone’s favorite subject, ZOMBIES. Who doesn’t love zombies? Heck, even my 2 ½ year old loves zombies. What better way to pay tribute to the living dead than by putting out a whole EP album dedicated to the flesh eating monsters? That’s what exactly The Devil Wears Prada did. Their Zombie EP is a 5 song sledgehammer to your face. The songs include sound bites like a shotgun blast, chainsaws, and even have a public service announcement warning the public of a zombie outbreak.  This album is great if you’re a metal fan, but even better if you’re a zombie fan.

                I could go on forever about what bands tie in great with Halloween and horror, but I’m going to conclude here and hopefully people chime in with some of their favorite Halloween or horror themed albums.

Carcass – Surgical Steel; New School Feel By An Old School Band

Carcass’s new album Surgical Steel is a death metal album every metal fan dreams of. It has speed and aggression, but also comes full blast with melody involved. We could spend the whole time arguing which prior Carcass album was the best, but let’s get to the point, this album is awesome. For a band we thought we would never get new music from, Jeff Walker and Bill Steer brought the goods!!! The album has songs that are, in my book, going to be instant classics. “The Master Butcher’s Apron” is dark and aggressive, definitely a stand out track. “The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills” has to be one of my favorite songs on the album. The opening track “1985” sort of gives the album an epic beginning to lead you through the rest of the album. You could almost certainly see yourself singing the chorus, especially “6,0,2,6,9,6,1”, which no one seems to have any idea what it means, but it works! On a scale of 1 to 5, I give this album a 6, it’s that good. Long Live Death Metal!!!!!

The Return of Gorguts concert and Colored Sands Cd Review

First off let me start by saying Luc Lemay of Gorguts is one of the most approachable, energetic, and passionate people I have met. Before the Return of Gorguts show even started, he was selling shirts and albums, but it just wasn’t that. He was shaking hands, taking pictures (something I unfortunately didn’t do because my camera on my phone sucks), and basically thanking anyone who would listen for coming out to the show. The venue was small, but it was perfect for that intimate Gorguts experience. The band was touring for their new album Colored Sands, their first new album in 12 years. Man, is the album a killer and as of right now one of my favorites for 2013. The opening track “Le Toit Du Monde” starts the album with some heavy riffs and is one of 3 new songs they played last night. The song is just straight out cool because it has the heaviness, but at points he makes it sound like he is distant and ambient. Then the technicality of the song kicks in and just leaves you breathless. The band also played “An Ocean Of Wisdom” and “Forgotten Arrows”, both adding to an unforgettable show. The album title track, which was not played, is Luc Lemay showcasing his all-around musical abilities, as well bringing on the crushing power of his technical death metal. The album even features a track that is strictly a symphony called “The Battle of Chamdo” and after hearing it, you will definitely be ready to throw on some old school armor and battle it out.  The album is worth listening to once, twice, a couple hundred times, and well at least twice a day. The album is amazing, the concert was unforgettable, and Luc Lemay is a cool guy in a great band.

Useless Ramblings of a Metal Head

                Napalm Death, “The Godfathers of Grindcore” and Death with mastermind Chuck Shuldiner, the “Father of Death Metal’ are just a few examples of bands setting the trend of future metal. Also these are two of my favorite bands. Both bands have gone through many different lineup changes, but have withstood the test of time. It’s unfortunate that there will be no new Death songs, but what they have are etched in history. I could go on for hours why Napalm Death’s lead Growler Barney Greenway should be President, but what it all comes down to is, he sings for Napalm Death!! Metal has had its ups and downs, its dry periods, in the end it always comes back with a vengeance. Look at all the old school death metal bands coming back with new albums. Carcass for example, or how about the return of Gorguts, who I might add I am excited about seeing them play classics and new material live. Metal music has some of the greatest live experiences. It’s the raw energy you see expressed through the bands and the music they play. Thinking back to all the bands I have seen over the years still amazes me. Ozzy shooting a giant water gun, Greg Puciato kicking over the microphone stands and climbing anything in site, the fire of Rammstein, it just amazes me what some bands will do and capable of.

                There are still many live metal bands I have yet to experience and some I sadly never will; for example seeing the original lineup of Slayer or Metallica. Don’t worry my loving wife; you’re not the reason for the original Slayer lineup. Jeff Hanneman was a thrash metal genius. Metallica’s late Cliff Burton bass playing skills and overall musicality were just amazing, just look at the solo off of Kill ‘Em All. I read the book on Cliff Burton “To Live Is To Die” and if you’re an early Metallica fan, I highly suggest reading it. What he brought to thrash metal will never be forgotten, at least by true fans and hopefully passed on to generations to come.

                One of my favorite things about metal is there are so many different categories of metal, each with a bunch of bands that are unique and amazing. Death metal, thrash metal, doom metal, grind core, classic metal are just a few examples. It’s definitely cool when bands combine different elements into their style. Take for example Volbeat who have a combination of rock, country, and death metal. The have songs with guest musicians from Mercyful Fate, Napalm Death, Kreator, and even King Diamond himself, which adds to each of their albums and the uniqueness of the songs. There are even bands that add traditional folk music to metal such as Finntroll and Eluveitie. How about a symphony? Bands like Fleshgod Apocalypse and Septic Flesh have both used this element in their music and quite successfully.

                What it comes down to is metal music is exciting, original, and never ending. As long as bands keep coming up with original ideas and the record labels keep printing the classics, we as metal fans should be golden! Keep those horns raised and music loud!!

Fleshgod Apocalypse - Where Opera Meets Death Metal

Nuclear Blast records have released another whirlwind of a record, this time by Fleshgod Apocalypse. With so many influential bands on that label, such as Meshuggah (one of my personal favorites), Scar Symmetry, and Kataklysm, it’s no surprise great records come out on a regular basis. The album simply titled Labyrinth combines Fleshgod Apocalypse’s death metal with a symphony in the background. Some songs even feature an opera singer. From what I read, the theme of the album is about finding yourself in the maze of life. Back to the music, it has some haunting qualities to it when you combine the orchestra instruments, the opera singing, and the growling death metal vocals. The guitar work is as solid as death metal music goes. The drums at the beginning of “Under Black Sails” make you think you’re getting ready for battle and songs like “Minotaur”, “Pathfinder”, and “The Fall Of Asterion” will make it hard for you to not drive excessively over the speed limit while head banging along. All in all a great cd and the entire atmosphere from the extra instruments just adds to the appeal of it.

Death Metal – Alive and Kicking in 2013

With new albums from some of Death Metals finest, it’s hard to believe death metal ever died. Let’s begin with Chris Reifert’s horror themed Autopsy and their new album The Headless Ritual. It is incredible that Chris pulls double duty drumming and vocals, especially with such a fast paced band. The album has some great riffs throughout, but what makes this album stand out for me is the fact that they go from break neck speeds to full on doom metal. An example of how they do this is in the album opener “Slaughter at Beast House”. About half way through the song it slows down to an almost sludge pace and some incredible doom vocals follow, only to pick up speed again towards the end. With song titles like; “Coffin Crawlers” and “When Hammer Meets Bone” you know they mean business. I was not too familiar with the band prior to this album, but once I started to look them up, I was excited to find out Chris was the drummer for Death’s Scream Bloody Gore album and you can tell he brought his Death influences with him when he left the band. The album is great and I would suggest it to any death or doom metal fan.

Another great death metal released this year was Immolation’s Kingdom of Conspiracy. The album is straight up 10 songs of unrelenting, unforgiving death metal. The album itself is a political album which singer/bass player Ross Dolan is quoted from a Metal Blade interview stating the theme is “ about real conspiracies, it’s about people conspiring every day to do very bad things, evil things in the name of greed and self-preservation”  Finer, Sam (14 May 2013). "Immolation (Ross Dolan) Interview". Metal Blast. Retrieved 2 June 2013.

Now to move onto one of my personal favorite death metal albums of 2013; Suffocation’s Pinnacle of Bedlam. No matter how many times you listen to this album, you cannot escape the raw energy and intensity. I like how the guitar sound varies throughout and even how the beginning of “Sullen Day” starts off a bit slower, and then kicks in. Frank Mullen’s vocals are just brutal and Terrance Hobbs just nails the guitar parts. The version I bought came with a short making of DVD which showed the album making process and what went into getting this album to where it needed to be. It was a great addition to an already great album. As brutal as this album is, the slow breakdowns add character to the songs that just top off the album. Get this album; it will defiantly be worth it.

 

 

Finntroll Bring A Whole New Meaning To Horns Up With New Album Blodsvept

Finntroll’s new album Blodsvept is a cross between metal and evil circus music. They combine classic death metal vocals with instruments that range from the traditional guitar, bass and drums to a horn section and whistles, keyboards. The band itself is from Finland, but all the lyrics are sung in Swedish, which does not at all take away from the album. It adds to the mysticism of the songs, which on this album range from evil troll beast to witches. The title track which in English translates to “Shrouded in Blood” opens with an evil beast growling, and then the song kicks into action. Vreth, the vocalist, reminds me a lot of the singer from Rammstein, I don’t know if that’s because I don’t understand a word they sing or their approach is similar, but regardless it works. Songs like “Rosetts Kung (King of the Cairn)” and “Hyxbrygd (Witch’s Brew)” are just two examples of standout tracks on this album. When “Rosetts Kung” starts you’re not sure if you want to dance or mosh and “Hyxbrygd” has a video that just exemplifies how out there and crazy this band is. The album as a whole is great and I would highly suggest it. They will be touring in the US and Canada in November and December, so hopefully I can experience the live version of many of these songs.