My Best Of 2013

2013 was in my opinion a great year for metal. I am not going to do a list, but will highlight some of my favorite albums or songs from the year. So let me start by throwing out a couple of “best of” songs. First I would have to say “In Due Time” from Killswitch Engage’s new album Disarm the Descent was an amazing start to Killswitch’s new endeavor with their new, old singer Jesse Leech. The album as a whole was great. Very melodic, but had the aggression of classic albums. Jesse’s voice seamlessly went from growling to clean vocals bringing a new life to the band and songs. My next song pick, “Blood like Cream” off of Red Fang’s Whales and Leeches is so addictive and catchy that it could possibly be stuck in your head for most of 2014. From start to finish, the album delivered pure party hard rock and roll.

As far as albums go, this year saw quite a few thrash metal legends coming out with great live albums. Metallica had Through the Never which was a spectacular display of their live abilities and also acted as a soundtrack for their movie. The album spanned their whole career, which was great to hear classic songs like “Hit the Lights” with newer songs such as “Cyanide” and everything in between.  Metallica never missed a beat packing full blown metal in a 2 cd set. Kreator and Testament who are also both thrash metal legends in their own right both came out with live albums spanning their careers which made you feel like you were literally at the concert.

Some of my favorite albums this year all happened to be by classic death metal bands. I may be partial to death metal, but these albums kicked some serious butt. Where to start is hard, but we will start with Autopsy’s The Headless Ritual.  The songs were straight up death metal, with a hint of doom mixed in. Suffocation’s new album Pinnacle of Bedlam was so brutal, it left you breathless. I could listen to this album over and over. I also liked the fact that the album came with a making of DVD which was pretty cool to watch the process. Exhumed and Immolation both had great albums, so if you love death metal as much as me, they are defiantly worth a listen.

Okay, on to my pick for the “Best Album of 2013” and the winner is…. Alright it’s a two way tie. Both albums were by bands that haven’t put out an album in years and both came back with a vengeance. I loved both albums a lot, but for different reasons. Let’s start with Gorgut’s Colored Sands. Every song on the album was pure death metal, well with the exception of “The battle of chamdo” which is done by an orchestra. Luc Lemay, the mastermind behind the music, did not miss a beat bringing his style of technical death metal to each song. Every song is great and worth listening to over and over again. I really enjoyed “Forgotten Arrows” and the title track “Colored Sands” very much. It also helps that I saw them play live this year and met Luc Lemay. He was very cool and charismatic which added to the greatness of the album.  Now for my other pick, which if you’re a metal fan, most people will agree with. Carcass’s new album Surgical Steel was an amazing display of metal greatness. Again it is an album you can listen to straight through over and over again. Each song has structure that makes them individual metal hits.  One of my favorite songs on the album “The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills” has a chorus that you will find yourself singing over and over again. Not bad for a band who hasn’t made an album for quite a while. They are touring next year, so if you have a chance to see these songs played live, do it. I know I am sure going to try and see them. The best part of that too is Gorguts are also touring with them.

2014 list of albums that are supposed to come out will make next year’s “Best Of” really hard. So far, I heard Slayer, Napalm Death (the godfathers of grindcore), Tombs, Mastodon, Opeth, and Behemoth are coming out with new albums. I don’t know about you, but I’m very excited, especially for new Slayer and Napalm Death. That’s just a small list of bands who are releasing new music, I’m sure there will be many more great albums no one even knows about yet. So this concludes my 2013 blog and I’m looking forward to new albums and some great concerts to blab on about next year. Hope you enjoyed it and continue to follow my rants next year.

Slayer / Gojira / 4 Arm Concert

                I might have died and went to heavy metal heaven. About 15 years in the making, but I finally witnessed, experienced, and absorbed the ALMIGHTY SLAYER. The venue was perfect, the crowd was energetic, pumped, and the sound was amazing. The night started with the thrash metal band 4 Arm, who were obviously influenced by Slayer. Horns were raised, fists were pumping right from the first note. They were defiantly not a bad way to start the night.

                Gojira took the stage next. I have their live DVD The Flesh Alive and it’s nothing compared to physically seeing them live. The guys from France sure do know how to rock out an arena. If it wasn’t for Slayer coming on next, I probably could have watched them play all night. Joe Duplantier sounded great, full of energy and enthusiasm. Songs like “L’Enfant Sauvage” and “The Heaviest Matter of the Universe” were just killer. Their whole set pummeled you to a point of no return. That slide Duplantier does on his guitar is mesmerizing. The band sucks you into their world, and to be honest, not a bad place to be.

                I have been listening to Slayer since High School. For years, seeing them live has evaded me. November 30, 2013, the wait was finally over and it was worth the wait. Would I have loved to see Hanneman (RIP) or even Lombardo?  Yeah of course, but both Holt and Bostaph are no slouches to the Slayer camp. Tom Araya’s vocals were like the Titans crashing down upon us, absolutely brilliant! The chorus for “War Ensemble” is still ringing in my head. Kerry King’s live performance is everything I imagined, but oh so much more. He and Holt destroyed the crowd with face melting riffs that only Slayer can do. I felt like a little kid in a candy store when Season in the Abyss’s “Dead Skin Mask” came on. Even if you wanted to sit still, you couldn’t, some part of you was rocking out. Heck, there was even a kid in a wheelchair crowd surfing. I thought the banner they did for Hanneman was awesome; it was a great tribute to a great guitar player. They closed their set by playing their killer classic “Angel of Death”. The set was so amazing, it flew by. Before you knew it, the lights came on and the show was over. But I can tell you this; it will forever be embedded in my head how great the show was. SLAYER NATION LIVES ON!!!!

Live Albums: Passion Of The Show

Live albums, you either love them or hate them. I have had many conversations with different people about live albums and what it comes down to, is I love them. Yeah a studio album is polished up, but something about the raw energy of a live set is just amazing. You receive what the band was actually trying to say in the album, your auditory system is getting the passion within the music. Okay, so there is a little talking between songs, it might be an introduction or a small bit about what the song means, heck it could just be a little speech to get the crowd or listener fired up for what they are about to play, but overall the albums tend to be an in depth look into the soul of what the band is like live. Many great bands have come out with live albums over the years. Metallica, Kreator, Machine head, Testament, Meshuggah, and Death are just a few to name off the top of my head. Within the past couple of months I have purchased Kreator’s Dying Alive, Metallica’s Through the Never, and Testament’s Dark Roots of Thrash. Two things you can gather from that small list, first is YES, I still buy physical copies of albums (I’m a sucker for flipping through the booklets) and second, thrash metal has had a constant stream of live metal albums coming out. Live albums are also a great way of getting a band’s collection of what some would call their greatest hits. Where else are going to get Metallica’s classic “Hit the Lights” and “One” on the same album. You can feel the crowd’s energy surging through each track.

 

When I listen to Kreator’s live version of say “Phantom Antichrist” I feel connected to the show, I can visualize it in my head. The band has to be on their game for studio versions. The Testament album has some great combinations of old songs, as well as new songs. “Trial by Fire” is a rock solid old school head banger while new gems such as “Native Blood” literally have you off your seat and ready to mosh. I really enjoyed Dark Roots of Earth, so to hear songs from that album, as well as older stuff is awesome. Some, if not most live albums you can buy a version that has a DVD of the actual show with it.  Gojira’s The Flesh Alive CD/DVD combo is great. Not only do you get a great live CD, but two different DVD’s with concert footage, as well a documentary of behind the scenes footage. I absolutely cannot wait to see them live myself when they tour with the Almighty SLAYER.

           

Red Fang: Whales and Leeches Album Review

Red Fang’s new album; Whales and Leeches brings a new meaning to bang your head. The album is 11 tracks of pure energetic rock and roll. If you do not find yourself at the minimum bobbing your head, get your ears checked!!  As they say in the song “Blood like Cream”: “Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up” and that’s how the album should be approached, at maximum volume. As of right now, “Blood like Cream” is my choice for Best Song of 2013. The album as a whole is great, definitely in my opinion going to be on a lot of lists for 2013 metal and hard rock top albums. With songs like “No Hope” and “Blood like Cream” how can you go wrong? Sing along choruses, riffs that have you dancing, and vocals that grind away at your ability to not head bang. Not bad for four guys out of Portland, Oregon!!

 

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.