Rolling Metal 2017

Saw Astronoid tonight! Despite technical difficulties cutting about a quarter of their set, it was a lovely time!

I have not been able to get excited about the King Woman album yet, but I'm sure it'll happen. I loved their EP and cassette.

I do really like the Bathsheba album though.

there are no mentions of it above to my surprise but the new Obsessed record is pretty great. Not all doom, all the time either.

Saule
Saule
(Avantgarde Music)
Release Date: 5/13/2017

http://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17862455_10158502094115597_6360095141923206270_n.jpg?oh=152c0a4f10b7648bb675795b439f642a&oe=5953F20D

http://avantgardemusic.bandcamp.com/album/saule
http://www.invisibleoranges.com/saule-vi-song-premiere

Even if you're getting tired of this sort of things, Poland's Saule do the post-metal thing so beautifully it's hard to ignore it. The songs on the album are numbered roman numerals; "II" which is on the label's BandCamp page, is lilting and epic; "VI," which is streaming at Invisible Oranges, starts off that way but gradually gets a lot louder. As Chris Rowella says:

there’s more ISIS and Altar of Plagues than Immortal going on. The slow buildup teases at first, with light instrumental flourishes and vocals floating along the edges, until the band kicks on the distortion with a droning, monstrous riff that builds and builds…until it doesn’t. Saule doesn’t dwell on one theme for too long.

After “VI” has its ‘metal’ moment, it just as quickly pulls back, fading in and out with a restrained drum pattern and delayed echo-drenched guitars, until the screeches and distortion come roaring back in unannounced, over and over. The ensuing album follows similar patterns, exploring peaks and valleys within this somewhat-new genre while still managing to stake out a singular sound. Much like “VI”, the rest of the album sounds purposeful; it’s still metal at its core, and metal tends to be carefully crafted much of the time. Overall, Saule sounds like a band taking what they do seriously. That’s a good thing, and should lead to greater things.

Also at Invisible Oranges, the full album from Pyriphlegethon who I mentioned above, is streaming.

Says Jon Rosenthal:

Heralded by eerie keyboards, this more “frightening” manifestation of Pyriphlegethon bears its teeth and slinks with sinewy guitars and hollow, barbaric rhythm. Akin to early Samael and Manes, the haunting atmospheres here more closely resemble Mories’s other works, albeit condensed and pushed through a pinhole.

"The Coldest Grave" is still my jam. Mories briefly explains each song on the disc and of that he says, "You can never go wrong with Under the Sign of the Black Mark Bathory worship. I like the lyrics on this one." He doesn't mention bubblegum, however.

this year's Sinister is hardly Cross the Styx level but it's p fun

http://agitreader.com/wp2/space-the-metal-frontier

The first published music criticism I have done in six years... A concert review from Astronoid and Coronal Mass Ejection and album reviews for Slagmaur and Medico Peste.

speaking of Astronoid ... who can point me to a band (or bands) that truly do what they do. not so much bands that have elements of what Astronoid does, but a very similar combination of elements.

like, is Alcest the closest thing? or are there closer examples?

basically, i'm testing my theory that Air is this band doing something totally unique. which is rare.

i also might be talking out my ass. i fucking love this band.

they are pretty damned unique AFAIK, to get what they do you have to do some arithmetic involving multiple existing bands or styles, though some Devin Townsend stuff I've heard gets close

worth noting, i guess: i have never listened to Devin Townsend. probably should.

Mesarthim are pursuing a parallel course, maybe

But of course quite different

Melting Sun by Lantlos is somewhat similar I reckon

It's hard to find a band that compares to Astronoid in all facets. Bands that are as spacey as they are tend to come from a black metal sensibility whereas these guys are more pop/thrash as a background. Not sure where they get the atmospheric side of what they do to be honest. I don't think they sound like Deafheaven or Alcest but I love all of those bands for similar reasons if that makes sense.

i listened to the earlier Astronoid stuff today and heard the song or two with the screaming. i'm glad they decided to avoid that altogether on Air. not that i mind it, but if you're gonna do those Air vocals, might as well go all the way in. adding screaming parts makes you like all the other bands.

though some Devin Townsend stuff I've heard gets close

That pretty much nails why I don't like that Astronoid album, 'cause I never liked Devin. I'm sure they're good live, though.

probably more likely to find an band from the emo world that sounds close to Astronoid than a metal band

actually i'm gonna say that's even harder

maybe it's just that they remind me of coheed and cambria, or more accurately what I would like coheed to sound like

Digging these preview tracks:

https://invictusproductions666.bandcamp.com/album/dysangelium

Invictus also put out the Apostate Viaticum album I've been enjoying from this year, as well as last year's Head of the Demon and Occult Burial.

New Suffo has a release date of June 9, and some odd (for them) cover art:
http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/suffocation-to-release-of-the-dark-light-album-in-june-artwork-track-listing-revealed/

Also new Impetuous Ritual on June 16:
https://youtu.be/ByydxD2P9wE

There's also new Dying Fetus coming, a band I've not really thought about for many years, but the ridiculous title and reversion to the old logo has me at least a little intrigued:
http://www.metalinsider.net/releases/dying-fetus-will-release-wrong-one-to-fk-with-in-june

Apparently June will be the month of crushingness.

Are Suffocation still using a different singer for out-of-town gigs? Anyway, I like the new album cover a lot and I'm sure it'll be great. I see they're continuing their tradition of re-recording one Breeding the Spawn song on every album ("Epitaph of the Credulous"), too...

Can't wait for the Suffo/Morbid show

I thought this interview with Locust Leaves was really interesting. Mostly about what conventions do/don't benefit HM/BM. Convinced me to spend more time with their new release.

https://daily.bandcamp.com/2017/04/13/locust-leaves-interview/?utm_source=twitter

Looking For An Answer's Dios Carne is a good grindcore album if you're looking for one. Big 'n' beefy, in the Kill the Client/Rotten Sound/Nasum zone.

Really like the new Northumbria album, so I wrote about it. Along with a new video. And an interview with one of the two guys in the band.

https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/northumbria-translate-the-harshness-of-the-canadian-arctic-into-instrumental-bliss

Testament were great last night. even survived a mini-depressive meltdown at beginning of the set (for unrelated reasons, not cos I didn't like the setlist).

pulled out "Urotsukidōji".

For those who don't know, Sweden hands over control of its Twitter account [@sweden] to a different Swede every week. This week's curator is a Finn living in Sweden, and he's decided to spend Easter Sunday posting links to old-school Finnish death metal bands. So far, we've gotten YouTube links to Convulse, Demigod, Purtenance, Demilich, Abhorrence, Necropsy and Rippikoulu.

According to a lengthy post on their Facebook page, New York City black metal act Woe, along with their tourmates Ultha, have been removed from the bill at Hamburg Ist Droneburg at Hafenklang. While the venue has yet to make an official statement regarding booting Woe and co. from the show, Woe’s Chris Grigg claims that they were informed via SMS that they were being kicked off for booking a show with Inquisition.

Invisible Oranges

if that's actually what happened, I would agree.....

wonder what the venue is going to say

Ultha apparently have jewish members too

This did actually happen, Neanderthal. The promoters have announced that the venue forced their hand.

well, Woe confirmed that that's what the promoters said (the official promoter's statement on FB, which I had translated from German to English, states they can't say the reason why, but that it was not their decision but solely the venue's).

I trust that Woe is being truthful though. this is an unfortunate and silly reason to remove someone from a festival in the days leading up to it. I don't want to poison the well for the rare black metal bands that actually espouse leftist ideology given how toxic so much of the BM scene is (less so than in the second wave but still).

ahh nm I also see the venue confirmed it now too. that's fucked.

wonder if the anti-Nazi laws in Germany got them skittish even though said bands aren't Nazis themselves and even Inquisition isn't sporting any banned images.

One of my favorite trad metal bands, Voltax from Mexico, have just released their fourth album (their first since 2013), No Retreat...You Surrender. You can get all four of their albums on Bandcamp for $18 US after conversion from pesos. You should do it, too, 'cause they rule.

https://voltax.bandcamp.com/album/no-retreat-you-surrender

Mastercastle's Wine of Heaven is a pretty rad symphonic power-metal record on first listen -- midtempo, not super tweaky speedy stuff, actually with some weird downtuning stuff that's p uncharacteristic of the genre...the singer's chops aren't in the Tarja class, more rock than aspirational-opera, but this record is really working for me this morning. RIYL Epica and would be interested in kinda more down-homey Epica

The new Suffocation album leaked over the weekend - more than six weeks before street date. That really sucks for them.

Just got a press release saying that Van Records now has a US officer and distro through Revolver here. That's pretty great as getting their stuff inexpensively was always a challenge and they invariably have an album or two a year I really like - this year it was Dread Sovereign, last year it was Mourning Beloveth and Urfaust.

guys this Lich King album is *fantastic*
http://music.lichkingmetal.com/album/the-omniclasm

also, second thrash album this year to feature the a pro-LGBT tune (but the first to feature a song about the horrors of child-rearing, to my knowledge)

jeez gridlink is intense

the Skadi album linked upthread is gorgeous

Loudness were all set to kick off their tour at Reggie's in Chicago tonight for a tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of their Lightning Strikes album. They've been doing this for decades, and I highly doubt there were any errors on their part on the paperwork. Bands are losing not only money in these last-minute cancelled tours, but the chance to do this again as clubs and promoters will be hesitant to book them again if this might continue to happen. Eventually fewer acts will attempt to come to the U.S. Yes the bureaucracy has always been ponderous for the smaller groups (bigger arena acts usually have more clout/resources to grease the gears), but is getting worse.

"Due to the new strict policies the US government has placed on foreigners entering the country, Loudness was denied entry into the United States and sent back home this morning."

Christ that sucks so bad. Prepping an int'l tour is a fuckload of work for a lot of people. Pointless, stupid.

Craven Idol
The Shackles of Mammon
(Dark Descent Records)
Release Date: 4/17/2017
Formats: CD/LP/Tape/Digi

http://www.unholymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Craven-Idol-Cover-CC.jpg

http://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-shackles-of-mammon
http://open.spotify.com/album/5K3wsOktVasuHBuRCmPCAr
http://decibelmagazine.com/blog/2017/4/6/album-premiere-interview-craven-idol-smash-the-shackles-of-mammon

Very pissed off blackened metal with a lot going on undeneath the palpable anger. As Sean Frasier says at Decibel,

The Shackles of Mammon captures Craven Idol at their most frenzied, surging with the might and majesty of extreme metal's first wave.

"Besides keeping true to our foundations, I wanted to create a much more pissed off and furious record," shares guitarist/vocalist S. Vrath. "We wanted to draw more on our black/thrash/crust influences such as (Germany's) Poison, Bathory, and Master’s Hammer rather than Manilla Road, Venom, and Candlemass. I’m not saying those elements are missing, but the former is certainly more prevalent this time 'round."

guys this Lich King album is *fantastic*
http://music.lichkingmetal.com/album/the-omniclasm

Totally reverent, yet totally relevant as far as I am concerned.

Also, I love it that "Crossover Songs Are Too Damn Short" is the shortest song on the album!

seanwayne, formerly of this parish will be raging Loudness got cancelled

Where is he anyway? I miss the big lug.

he's on FB. I think he joined a band who tours japan a lot funnily enough

we need to get the hairy old git back on here