Rolling Metal Thread 2014

i'm in my dark flat

but i'm listening to eyehategod so

MDF has been a total blast so far. The festival is run really well, the weather has been great, and the bands at Edison Lot on Friday were uniformly fantastic. I've been doing some live-tweeting (@stpaulhimself) if anyone wants to read along and see photos. I hope to have more photos and some vids posted later today.

Highlights for me yesterday were definitely MGLA, whose poise and relentless precision were awe-inspiring (Andrew Hock from Castevet was standing side-stage and going nuts while MGLA played); The Ruins of Beverast, who brought a great sense of dynamics, pacing, and atmosphere; Taake, who were playing on US soil for the first time and seemed to be having an absolute blast (the singer wore a shroud for most of the performance; all members were corpse-painted); Agalloch, who completely and utterly ruled live (Don Anderson brought some showmanship and tremendously nimble guitar playing; Aesop Dekker has unbelievable stamina behind the kit; they played a nice mix of older and newer songs); and At the Gates, who also seemed to have a total blast and who sounded really, really tight.

Right when At the Gates were starting, I spotted Niklas Kvarforth from Shining hanging out by himself in the crowd. I was kind of afraid to interrupt him because he has always seemed like a scary dude, but he couldn't have been nicer. When I told him I was a huge admirer of his work, he gave me a genuinely sweet smile, wrapped his arm around me, and laid his head on top of mine. He kept his arm around me for a few moments while we watched At the Gates together, then gave me another huge smile and a thumbs up, at which point I walked away and let him have his space. I know he has a reputation for being difficult and drug-addicted and crazy and dangerous, etc. etc. etc., but he seems like he's in a really good place in his life right now, just judging by his looks and demeanor. He seemed healthy and chill.

Tonight: Bolzer, Bolzer, Bolzer.

Nice to hear it's going well. I've been leering at the emerging YT clips, covetously. (If you search "Maryland Death Fest 2014" and filter by "last hour" or "today" you -- well, not you specifically, you're already there, but for those like me who aren't in Maryland -- can find short clips of Taake, Mgla, Necros Christos, Incantation, At the Gates, and a few others.)

I've never been that into Taake, even in their early stages as a second wave Norse bm kind of band but apparently they sound like Turbonegro now? The song I saw on YT was total black n' roll, and more roll than black.

Incantation look like Grand Funk Railroad at this point. I say this affectionately.

oh yeah well I had a cool time at the farmer's market with my kid today so WHATEVER

Brutal inkalement.

Organik Holisticaust (with special guest Blood Kombucha)

I played Foulest Semen of a Sheltered Elite while sauteeing leeks tonight. the leek fritters were most kvlt

The free shows at the sidebar have had some amazing sets. Bastard Sapling, Ashencult - seriously my 2 favorite sets of deathfest and not even legit MDF shows. Don't miss Yautja there today at 10:10 if you're here and have a break. Yesterday was all about the Soundstage tho - БУТ , victims, stapled shut, archagathus, NOOTHGRUSH?! Stoked on Windhand, Enabler, Yautja, Gorguts and Candlemass today. I bought Laina Dawes book and then turned around and ran right into her, she rules btw

how fuckin great was noothgrush tell me stories

real sad i didn't have a soundstage pass all weekend but edison and rams head were totally sufficient, almost everyone i saw was unbelievable

i could have passed you mine over the fence

Noothgrush was completely insane. Dino took out his nose ring and inserted a long glowstick in its place - someone had tossed one on stage - and kept it in there throughout the set. He kept chanting "FUCK scion, fuck scion..." They were really tight and awesome.

Impaled was by far the wildest show I have ever seen at MDF. Literally nude bodies flying everywhere.

Oh wow, haven't thought about Impaled in a long time. I was kinda into an album by them that had an incredibly nasty cover -- think it was a toilet full of guts, with a guy passed out next to it. Worth looking into their newer stuff, I take it?

Coffinworm still rulz fyi

That was The Dead Shall Dead Remain, their debut, and yeah it was great. They just rerecorded the whole thing (on Willowtip, I think) because of whatever contractual shit prohibits them from reissuing it. (I assume that's the case, anyway.) The album after that, Mondo Medicale, is amazing, sort of like the progression from Symphonies of Sickness to Necroticism.

I have no idea why I haven't heard any Impaled after that because I used to love them.

Deathvomit Records, ah those were the days. They also put out Rotten Sound's Murderworks and Circle of Dead Children's Genocide Machine, both ridiculously intense. I guess the label's kaput.

If you like gothic pop-metal from unexpected places, check out Turkish singer Ayşe Saran's new album Kavga Başladı. Her Turkish origins show up in the arrangements only sporadically, but that fact that she's singing in Turkish is interesting, and the band is something like a slightly more straightforward and punchier Xandria, which I consider a fine category to fill up a little more.

http://open.spotify.com/album/6bFviF7quvDn7119IHwdrA

Oh, and in much crustier folk-metal news, the new Metsatöll album Karjajuht is out, and highly recommended if you like your folk-metal to be shouty and Estonian. I kind of think of Metsatöll as the mountain-pass troll-ambush translation of pirate metal. But if the trolls were real, not the cartoon Finntroll version.

I want a new Madder Mortem.

But I think it's unlikely as they haven't updated their website or facebook since January 2013.

Deathvomit Records, ah those were the days. They also put out Rotten Sound's Murderworks and Circle of Dead Children's Genocide Machine, both ridiculously intense. I guess the label's kaput.

I've got the Deathvomit version of Murderworks, my intro to Rotten Sound (via Nasum, naturally). It was reissued by Relapse, wasn't it? Any difference?

bill ward...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6l0Co3EE6k

I've got the Deathvomit version of Murderworks, my intro to Rotten Sound (via Nasum, naturally). It was reissued by Relapse, wasn't it? Any difference?

That anniversary edition of Nightside Eclipse is on Spotify. The alternate mix is odd, sounds like they scooped out all the midrange and all but the highest fizz of distortion, so you're left with a wiry guitar sound that has details impossible to hear otherwise. All those glorious synths sound a little muted as well, til they jump out at what I guess would be climactic moments. Some of the vocals are pushed way up front too, and reverbed/echoed or multitracked or something. Sounds kind of Halloweenish when that happens.

This is actually fascinating, the deeper I get into it. Obviously the definitive edition already exists but I do enjoy hearing all this new detail. Every once in a while I get a "whoa where did that come from" chill.

The remaster itself sounds "bigger" but I can never tell in those cases if it's compression that does that. Maybe more bottom end, too.

Q: is there a website any of you all use that lets you know what metal bands are touring?

I use Pollstar and Bandsintown to figure out who's in my area but the issue is I often have to travel to see the great shows as a lot of them still bypass FL, and unless I know the specific band I'm looking for, it involves me changing around locations to see who's going where. I'd rather just see who's on tour so I can figure out where they're going and if they're coming close enough for me to roadtrip.

songkick? last.fm ?

fuckin A that Sabbath clip with the original Walpurgis lyrics!

Discovery this year that I keep returning to: Alrakis "Alpha Eri". Released three years ago on some obscure Mexican label. It's a german dude doing the ambient drone/space black metal thing, and pulling it off extremely well. Imagine a much mellower Darkspace, or alternatively, Lustre In Space. From what I can dig up, the guy behind Alrakis has ended the project but there's a final, second album coming out this year called "Echoes From η Carinae".

well, that sure sounds promising...

metal-archives also has this note about a bootleg or something like that:

The album "Omega Cen" is not an official release, but it contains 8 unreleased Alrakis tracks, many of which appear on the debut album, "Alpha Eri"

Trying to parse the review of the new Mayhem on PopMatters and it's doing my head in. Seems like a record for which you are able to say this:

However, from the viewpoint of a fan of the genre, Esoteric Warfare is an excellent release that confirms Mayhem as the leaders of what once was a dynamic and thriving scene.

would mean it'd be worth more than the rest of the review makes it out to be (not to mention the score).

(NB I haven't heard it yet)

Makes me miss when at least one certain ilxor used to write more of their metal reviews.

fuckin A that Sabbath clip with the original Walpurgis lyrics!

― Now I Am Become Dracula (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Sunday, June 1, 2014 12:30 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah that was pretty goddamn great.

Nobody should have high expectations for a Mayhem record anno 2014, even considering how unexpectedly great Ordo Ad Chao was. They're like The Eagles of black metal.

Deathcrush or no crush imo

j/k, I am actually looking forward to this and have on pre-order

i dunno i'm p. ignorant abt mayhem but i like it, seems like there's a lot of vitality there

http://www.invisibleoranges.com/2014/06/the-story-of-lucifers-hammer-part-1/

^ abt bay area ludicra predecessors lucifer's hammer

http://pitchfork.com/advance/459-savage-gold/

new tombs!

http://www.invisibleoranges.com/2014/06/tombs-mike-hill-and-savage-gold/

“The only pressure is the pressure I place on myself to produce something that I find compelling,” Hill explains. “Of course, I want people to enjoy the music, but I never consider the listener or what they want out of the experience. To do that would seem a compromise and I don’t believe in compromising the creative statement.”

^ accurate har har

Just got a promo download of the new Origin album, which I only decided to listen to because it was mixed and mastered by Colin Marston. And you know what? It's not brickwalled to hell; the guitars and bass occupy separate frequency ranges; there are drum parts that sound like a human being played them...this is a pretty major achievement for Origin. I am pleased.

colin marston being the key thing obviously

Yeah, but compositionally it's great, too. Definitely worth checking out.

There's a new Blind Idiot God record coming out - I know, I thought I was dreaming too but it's seems to be real. Indeed, it's a double LP called 'Before Ever After'. No idea who's doing press for it; I've asked on their Facebook page.

'Gap Var Ginnunga' by Wardruna (2012 album, on vinyl for '14) is a p good example of that 'pagan/folk metal that accidentally sounds like Godspeed YBE' microphenomenon

don jamieson from that metal show liked it when i said his shirt was better than eddie trunk's #feelingblessed

http://s9.postimg.org/pjkc1kwn3/ttquick.jpg

It's an enjoyable record, but it's a pretty big stretch to call Wardruna metal.

There's a new Blind Idiot God record coming out - I know, I thought I was dreaming too but it's seems to be real. Indeed, it's a double LP called 'Before Ever After'. No idea who's doing press for it; I've asked on their Facebook page.

Holy crap. The title sounds very retrospective/reissuey, is there reason to think it's new material? I'm unreasonably excited either way.

xp yeah agreed - they are 'culturally metal' shall we say

Googling the label name turns up nothing, so I think they're self-releasing it. Can't wait to hear it.

It's more remarkable that supposedly 'authentic' archaeological music created on hundreds of years old instruments sounds so much like G!YBE.

Aren't Wardruna the ones that do the score for the TV show Vikings?

I love when Incantation ends their albums with epic doom tracks. The last track on their new one, Dirges of Elysium, is called "Elysium (End is Nigh)" and it's 16:23.

If you want to learn about the history of extreme metal in New Zealand, check out Craig Hayes' "South of Heaven" series for Radio NZ. First episode is streaming now:

Googling the label name turns up nothing, so I think they're self-releasing it. Can't wait to hear it.

Re Blind Idiot God, I emailed Tim Wyskida yesterday and he says Andy Hawkins is setting up a label for the record, it'll be a double LP/CD/download and they expect to have a release date and whatnot over the summer. Produced by Hawkins and Bill Laswell and written and recorded over a number of years (so I think Gabe Katz plays on it too, he apparently left the band two years ago).