Rolling Metal Thread 2010

I've been to shows with circle pits, etc but there's always been a certain level of pit etiquette that I appreciated (ie if you're on the edge and not moshing, no one touches you or invades your space, and so on). I'm all for letting people have their fun provided it doesn't get impede on mine.

Quite honestly the worst show I was ever at was a Pearl Jam arena gig at the old Point in Dublin; there was nowhere safe to stand as the crowd kept surging backwards and forwards and side to side like we were in a fucking wave pool. Not for me, thanks.

I loved the pit when I was a kid. There was a sense of camaraderie in the somewhat small scene I was in at the time; a lot of people knew each others faces from other shows and most of the shows were 18+ so alcohol wasn't a big worry. It was never about hurting other people and in fact, people were more about keeping each other on their feet. When people fell down, they were picked up. People on the outsides of the pit acted as a cushion/barrier and mostly pushed people back in. I had a friend who was pretty small and got tossed around a lot, but he was even more into it than I was. I never saw any serious injuries.

These days when I go to shows I get a lot more out of watching the performers do their thing, but I still see the pit as a pretty fundamental aspect of death/thrash metal. All that said, I would steer way clear of a mosh pit at a rock show like Torche.

I've been listening to a lot of new stuff at random today,
and this black/death band from Belfast really grabbed my attention.

http://www.myspace.com/altusastrum

Their debut full-length just came out this month.
All four tracks on their myspace are pretty impressive.

I hate pits but they do have their place. What I hate more is when there's no pit, but there's 1-3 guys trying to make one and just generally upsetting the vibe for the rest of us geezers.

Saw Triptykon play a crushing set to less than 100 people in Portland last night. Despite the dismal turnout, they played a set that made me feel utterly purified. I can see how this band could easily bore a lot of folks, but the minimalism and heaviness is EXACTLY what I want from this band. Tom is in great form, the band look and sound excellent, and they do so much musically with so little. Also the entire set was Frost/Triptykon/Frost/Triptykon the whole time. A very nice crowd-pleasing balance.

Then I crossed town to see a late set from Ancestors who made full use of their organist and modular synth players. Super epic jams. Great night all round.

Helluva a double last night Nate! Jealous as I'd love to see them both.

posting from the high on fire/torche/kylesa show. hof still to play; got to hang out with markers for a bit before he had to catch a train. fun night!

^ cosign!

Fuck yes - Monarch are touring the U.S.

Yup. West coast dates with Trees. I'll see them in PDX 11/3. Hopefully right after I get out of the Gordon Lightfoot show.

Home after Supersonic and fighting the urge to go and see Zeni Geva again in a couple of hours. Review of sorts to come later, but for now think of it this way: AWESOME.

Still undecided whether I'm going to Zeni Geva tomorrow... got Swans on Thursday already

Seriously, Zeni Geva were on fucking fire. I am just feeling it after a whole weekend.

Also, two disc "My Father..." being listed on the merch table as tour only, so might be your last chance to get it.

I saw Blake Judd walking down Milwaukee once and I tried to give him a nod/smile thing that was supposed to read "I know who you are and really like you and your band, but I don't want to be all fanboyish about it". He kind of scowled at me in return. Probably because I was wearing my work dress clothes and looked about as un-metal as possible.

been away from this thread for a little while but I just read this and am crackin' up.

also, screwed ride the lightning is awesome.

I am not the tr00 metal. :(

take a look at that poll right before you're banned
it's the last time you will!

just kicked off my first spin through the new enslaved lp. this shit kills!!

So first we had Dimmu Borgir dragging Enslaved around the country as their opening act, and now Cradle of Filth have announced that Nachtmystium will be opening their U.S. tour in February. What's going on here? Is there some kind of alliance between pomptastic ex-black-metal bands and arty post-black-metal bands?

is the new Dimmu Borgir worth a shit?

Someone should take a shit on dimmu borgir. Awful band.

The Dimmu album is okay in parts, but it's totally on autopilot. The orchestral arranger actually does all the work, the actual band just phones it in.

Oh, and the first week numbers of the Dimmu album are really mediocre. The last album sold 15,000+ first week in 2007, and Abrahadabra is way down, 9,400. "Gateways" was a disastrous choice for a single, based on that song I don't blame the consumers for staying away.

"consumers" says it all about those buying dimmu borgir and cradle of filth et al

I've never heard anything by them, but I guess I'll be passing on their new one

I'm one of "those" buying Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth records. Consume yourself.

lol!

Has anyone else heard the new EP by Djerv? The female singer from Animal Alpha (and Dimmu Borgir's latest) teamed up with a guy from Trelldom and a guy from Stonegard to creat a really cool fusion of blackened riffs and modern hard rock. Factor in her distinctive voice, and it's pretty unique stuff. The three songs are fantastic, especially "Immortal"...I'm looking forward to their new album, apparently coming out next year on Indie.

http://www.myspace.com/djervmusic

So first we had Dimmu Borgir dragging Enslaved around the country as their opening act, and now Cradle of Filth have announced that Nachtmystium will be opening their U.S. tour in February. What's going on here? Is there some kind of alliance between pomptastic ex-black-metal bands and arty post-black-metal bands?"

50% a hand-out to bands they respect, 50% makes them look cooler since fans with better taste have been steering clear of them for a long time.

As for Zeni Geva--holy shit they were great when I saw them in Barcelona earlier this year. What a lineup!

OK, Supersonic.

Friday: Necro Deathmort - BM overtones, doom ambient electronica squelching? May have suffered a bit from being the first thing on (and getting in was running late) but still the highpoint on Friday. See a bit of Gum Takes Tooth, who are entertaining enough in a sub-Lightning Bolt way. Fukpig are up next and they're not half as good as they think they are. Pretty competent crust/grind, but not much more and great play is made for the remainder of the weekend out of the chorus of 'Mind Attack' which is just WRONG. I stand no chance of getting into the packed (and apparently awesome) Devilman with my ankle so hang on for Drumcorps, which is great for about 5 minutes of his set. The rest is like when Moby goes hardcore, with some crap sub-Alec Empire shite thrown in. Ugh. The day ends (yes, I know, I should have gone to Dead Fader but my leg was hurting too much by then) with Napalm Death, who do pretty much what you'd expect them to, although it's a bit quiet really. I have a discussion on Sunday with the Hardcore Sean Hughes about Barney and how everyone thinks of him as the new boy but he's been in the band for TWENTY YEARS. Is it wrong to hanker after a lineup that existed for barely 2 years against a lineup that's been pretty stable for 2 decades? I THINK NOT.

Saturday: I spend the afternoon remembering how to solde making a noisebox with Glatze. http://www.supersonicfestival.com/line-up/workshops/supersonic-noise-boxes Amplified, it will make some racket. Despite being the first to finish the box, I barely make the start of Eagle Twin and watch them be not quite as good as Big Business (but still pretty fucking good). Gnaw recover from a shit first ten minutes to become IMMENSE, a glacier of doom surrounding Alan Dubin being tortured. Into an utterly rammed library for maybe the best thing all weekend - Lash Frenzy v KK Null is full of smoke, sweaty bodies, blokes wandering round shining strobes in your face, a bass tuba through a mass of pedals and shards of noise pulling at every part of your body. It's like Sunn playing at normal pitch and speed, but with added violence. Amazing. Catch a bit of Cloaks, which is OK if you like dubstep, which I have to confess I'm not made keen on. OvO veer between good and fucking apalling. Fat Gimp vs Owl Woman, which sees her playing her dreads with a violin bow at one point. Which is as bad as it sounds. King Midas Sound get things back on track soon, with the loudest bass of the weekend. Like being punched in the face by Wladimir Klitschko and being brought round by angels singing to you. Kev Martin is till a ringer for Bill Bailey though. Godflesh are Godflesh. There is no other description. Like Rats/Christbait Rising/Streetcleaner/Tiny Tears/Avalanche Master Song/Weak Flesh/Spite/Mothra/Pure/Bigot/Crush My Soul/Slateman. I would have loved them to have done Pulp, but I'm being greedy. Maybe the first Godflesh show I've ever been at that wasn't in some way disappointing, the obligatory fuckup this time was that it wasn't loud enough at the beginning. Melt Banana closed the day with their usual disregard for anyone's health. They have added an electronic noise squelch part to the set for the first 15 minutes or so, which undoubtedly adds to the fun. They never let you down.

Sunday: The pigeon fly-past is cancelled because one of them has salmonella. Beat that, ATP. We choose to have a quiet day by watching the 77BOADRUM film, then intend to watch Rob from Lichens' picks of short films - only half of them don't work, including the Matthew Barney centrepiece. Rob apologises to us every time he sees us for the remainder of the day, and it finally screens at 9. It's challenging even by Barney's standards, and lots of people watching it just don't get it. Which is fine, but YOUR LAUGHING IS KIND OF SPOILING IT FOR THE REST OF US. The library is rammed again for Ruins, they're turning people away but we manage to get in via the back doors before they notice. He's great, but doesn't really do anything new for anyone who's seen him before. Nisennenmondai are, if it were possible, even better than they were last year. They now have a definite Italo edge to their sound, but the bass player is still rubbish. MMOB are late starting and sound pretty good, but it's too late in the year to stand around listening to that sort of thing. Would have been fine in the summer. Factory Floor take a long time to get going, and are the most disinterested teenagers at the whole event, but once they do it's easy to see why people are going on about them. Joy Division meets TG? Really don't knwo what the best way to describe it is. Zeni Geva blast my face off. Uncompromising and brutal. SWANS are not dead. They are the embodiment of frustration, a continuing wave of barely contained violence that always threatens to erupt but never quite does. The songs build and build and build and if this was post-rock it'd break soon, but it never does. They play for nearly two hours, instead of the sheduled 70 minutes. We leave, battered and bruised.

I thought laughing at Matthew Barney was the whole point.

Listened to the new Dimmu last night and Adrien is very much OTM. Its like they realized how half-assed the songs were and handed them over to the orchestra to spice them up instead of, you know, trying to make them actually engaging first.

Have any of you heard that Dwarr Animals reissue on Drag City? Basically crazy 80s one-man-band stuff that is equal parts metal and weird, bedroom psych. It isn't revelatory stuff, but I have a feeling a few of you may find something to like.

Interview with Monster Magnet's Dave Wyndorf (part 1 of 2, with the rest coming Thursday)

Trip Report: COUGH - Ritual Abuse is fucking amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twMCPzY6IZg

Vestments: check. Mitre: check. Burning thurible: check. Skull facepaint: check. Dead serious stage presence: check.

Damn, I'm liking Ghost a ton.

I'm definitely warming to the Dimmu Borgir the more I listen to it. I agree with the observation that the songs mostly don't seem to have been constructed so that they'd sound complete without the orchestra, but to me that's not a criticism. The orchestra on this record is very much part of the sound. It makes as much sense to say that something wasn't composed to sound just as good without drums. It could be, but that wouldn't necessarily be better. An arrangement is a whole, not a sum of individually independent parts.

"Gateways" also doesn't strike me as a disastrous choice of single, but if it had been up to me, I probably would have picked "Born Treacherous", "Chess With the Abyss" or "Dimmu Borgir". And while I'm usually skeptical of "orchestral version" bonus tracks, in this case the symphony-only reprise of "Gateways" kind of works for me, bookending the mostly-orchestral intro "Xibir" and playing like exit music after the fairly dramatic band finale of "Endings and Continuations".

Also, I think the orchestral parts on this album are pretty impressive, and the integration is ambitious in scope. Maybe they don't always quite pull if off: a couple songs towards the end still seem to me like they lose their momentum, but I'm always suspicious when I feel like an album lags towards the end. Is the album lagging, or am I just not quite in sync with it yet?

Trip Report: COUGH - Ritual Abuse is fucking amazing.

hey, nice! I really liked the last one.

Really liking the Stargazer album. Trio prog-death; think Sadus crossed with the Trio of Doom (McLaughlin/Pastorius/Williams) and a (very) little (early) Opeth thrown in.

whoa, I could do with some of that

It's on Profound Lore. I think it'll be right up your street.

"think Sadus..." = instant excitement

the stargazer is good. somebody upthread recommended their previous album, "the scream that tore the sky." their split with invocation from '99 is good too.

Something else I recommend: Missing Time, the new CD by Many Arms. If The Process of Weeding Out is your favorite Black Flag record, you need this more than you know.

Does anyone know when Jeff Wagner's Prog Metal book comes out? I enjoyed the excerpt from Decibel, but Amazon doesn't even have a release date up for it.

If The Process of Weeding Out is your favorite Black Flag record, you need this more than you know.

If The Process of Weeding out is your favorite Black Flag record, who are you?!

hey what grindcore bands are on tour right now/soon?

No idea re grind, but I already know of two shows I'm going to next month: Monarch/Bloody Panda on 11/12 (though it's not listed on Cake Shop's website yet) and Blind Guardian/Holy Grail on 11/20.

Full BG tour dates:

11/19/10 The Trocadero – Philadelphia, PA
11/20/10 Best Buy Theatre (formerly The Nokia) – New York, NY
11/21/10 The Palladium – Worcester, MA
11/23/10 Metropolis – Montreal, QC – CANADA
11/25/10 Theatre Capitole – Quebec City, QC – CANADA
11/26/10 Kool Haus – Toronto, ON – CANADA
11/27/10 Royal Oak Music Theatre – Royal Oak, MI
11/29/10 Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL
11/30/10 The Cabooze – Minneapolis, MN
12/01/10 The Garrick Centre – Winnipeg, MB – CANADA
12/03/10 MacEwan Hall Ballroom – Calgary, AB – CANADA
12/04/10 The Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB – CANADA
12/06/10 Showbox at The Market – Seattle, WA
12/08/10 The Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA
12/09/10 Henry Fonda Theatre / The Music Box – Los Angeles, CA
12/10/10 Marquee Theatre – Tempe, AZ
12/11/10 Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM
12/12/10 Bluebird Theater – Denver, CO
12/14/10 Trees – Dallas, TX
12/15/10 Scout Bar – Houston, TX
12/17/10 The Orange Peel – Asheville, NC
12/18/10 The State Theatre – St. Petersburg, FL ***FLORIDA POWER FEST***
12/19/10 The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
12/21/10 Lincoln Theatre - Raleigh, NC
12/22/10 Jaxx – W. Springfield, VA

Disappointed BG is skipping my city (open date and everything, aargh).

Meanwhile, it's becoming more and more apparent that the new Agalloch just might be my album of the year. It's growing on me something fierce.

Blind Guardian are like a step away from grind.

i'm looking for well known (not playing in arenas or anything remotely like that though) bands to play at a grind festival, if they are planning on touring the US already that usually helps immensely