I think a real quick best of 2013 is in order but in no particular order. It's probably missing something great but here it goes:
Humanity's Last Breath released their self titled album. It's got heavy, evil riffs and the best guitar tone of last year. It's also got "blegh"s, "fuck"s and chugs.
This is something I think more people should read, regardless of their opinions or knowledge of the existence of Daughters: http://athousandtrivs.com/2012/07/16/ive-been-called-a-sinner-brian-cook-muses-on-time-spent-with-daughters/
I wanted to post a link to this great interview with Gazelle Amber Valentine from Jucifer as I think her viewpoint on women's role in the world of metal, and the world as a whole actually, are very relevant these days. www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2014/03/06/286427110/gazelle-amber-valentine-gender-is-not-a-genre?
A Lot Like Birds have, in my opinion, everything going for them. The first time I heard them I heard a twenty or thirty second piece from a song and I immediately went to Amazon to order both of their full lengths and got their debut Plan B off of Bandcamp. I just couldn't imagine going on without having this band in my life, they are that good. Today I want to talk about their debut full length Conversation Piece for the simple reason that I listened to it today so it's on my mind.
Today's album is the newly released A Voice Within by Intervals. While it's their third release overall it is the first one to feature vocals and those are professionally handled by ex-The HAARP Machine vocalist Mike Semesky. It has, in my opinion, most of the things that made Intervals exciting as an instrumental band with the added bonus of having great vocals on top but still it feels like something's missing. Recently I've had difficulties getting into instrumental metal as I feel like it needs to offer something that wouldn't work with vocals or else I'll feel like it's kinda missing something (I'm still waiting for 15 year old me to bitch slap me through the space-time continuum for saying that) and although Intervals worked as an instrumental band I loved the idea of them adding vocals. With the vocals out of the way I'll tell you right away that the instrumental side of the music is fantastically played as well, great melodies and catchy compositions, however the album is a bit samey throughout but it's good nonetheless. I can't quite put my finger on it but it feels like there is something missing to make it truly great. If you want one song to check out I'd recommend Moment Marauder but the whole thing is pretty good.
These columns will have rapid fire "reviews" telling you about albums I really like or love but can't be bothered to write a whole blog about. Let's start with the column's namesake: The Great Redneck Hope made an album called Behold the Fuck Thunder, it's 11 songs in 9 minutes, it's very chaotic grindcore and it's produced by Kurt Ballou, what's not to like? At least, if you don't like it it wasted less than 10 minutes of your time.
Finding an album that's so well put together that, after repeated listening, every single song has become your favorite at some point is a rare occurrence. Buying an album at random because you like the album cover and liking it is usually a risky move but occasionally pays off. This album fits both those categories.
Not really going to write a lot here, I just saw a really cool album cover on the front page of Amazon.co.uk in the "Recommended for you" column and decided to check it out. This band sounds like a cool blend of Torche, Baroness and the Melvins, catchy and rugged. The lead singer/guitarist is Dave Verellen's brother so that's pretty cool too. Enjoy. JÞ
Sexist meme picture aside, I've been following the new consoles (PS4 and Xbox One, not counting Wii-U) since they were announced and I noticed something quite different from other generations. In every other generation there was "that game" either released at launch or at least announced that made me want a next-gen console no later than yesterday. Most memorable was perhaps Metal Gear Solid 2 and later Gears of War. This generation had nothing I was dying to play on next-gen consoles, it had some exciting games up to a degree (Assassin's Creed IV for example) but every cross-gen game (released on both generations, PS3, PS4, 360 and One) until now hasn't really sold me on the idea of forking out my hard earned money for one. Only two games are drawing me towards this new horizon at the moment and one of them is cross-gen.
A blog mostly about music but also films and video games. No genre of music is out of bounds but underground, experimental and progressive music has been the focus so far.
Jón Þór - Editor/Writer - Iceland
Troy Alexander - Writer - Australia
Þyri R.B. - Writer - England If you have suggestions or if you are a band/artist looking for coverage there is a blog-specific email at the top of the page.