You can learn a lot from an album’s artwork. When The Kite String Pops is no exception, emblazoning a piece taken straight from the deranged mind of serial killer John Wayne Gacy that was painted when he was awaiting execution. It’s childishness is unnerving to say the least and, naturally, Acid Bath muster up some equally unnerving sludge to go with it that cements When The Kite String Pops status as a cult classic.
Hello everyone! It’s me Tentaclesworth! Upon weeks of contemplation, I’ve decided to adopt the weekly column from Dormition who has joined ranks with The Monolith. I’d like to give this column a bit of a facelift and give it a new logo and a new preface, which should be ready to go for next week’s entry. I look forward to providing some insight to what I listen to and the music that made us heavy. So let’s get to it!
The discovery of a new band is always exciting. Will it be something you’ve heard countless times? An experience that leaves a bad taste in your mouth? Or is it a treat from which you cannot stop consuming? I wanted to take a trip back in time to reminisce about bands/albums that not only introduced me to heavy music, but kept me coming back for more…
Today we venture into the wacky realm of Maximum the Hormone. The band name itself sets an expectation. It doesn’t make any sense for one thing and seemingly satirizes Verb the Noun type bands. Though any correlation between the trend in band names and Maximum’s own band name is purely coincidence. Maximum the Hormone though sounds like something fun and maybe even silly. Say it out loud and see if you can attach any negative connotations to it. There are definitely easier things to do right?
While the North American release of Dark Tranquillity‘s new EP, Zero Distance, may not be the most exciting or groundbreaking work the band has every put out — it’s a collection of b-sides from the We Are the Void sessions — I can at least say this about it, it has given me the chance to see the thrill of Dark Tranquillity’s back catalog once more. Which really should not have had to happen, because Dark Tranquillity are without a doubt in my mind, the most consistent band from the Gothenburg melodic death metal scene, and I don’t think it would be too far of a stretch to say they are the most consistent melo-death band of all time. With over twenty years of experience, and nine full length albums under their belt — all of which are spectacular, by the way — they are easily in the forefront of current metal bands. Even if they never reached the level of popularity that In Flames some how managed, DT have a respectable number of fans, and their audience is continually growing.
While I could heap praise on the band as a whole for an infinity, I want to take the time to talk about one album in particular; the first Dark Tranquillity album I ever had the pleasure of experiencing; 1999′s experimental masterpiece, Projector.
The discovery of a new band is always exciting. Will it be something you’ve heard countless times? An experience that leaves a bad taste in your mouth? Or is it a treat from which you cannot stop consuming? I wanted to take a trip back in time to reminisce about bands/albums that not only introduced me to heavy music, but kept me coming back for more…
From The Archive: Agent Steel – Unstoppable Force
It’s been a bit of time since I last delved into the genre of thrash/speed, but I would be a fool to completely ignore a genre of metal that pretty much was at the forefront of my everyday listening for quite some time. I was only a young lad when thrash was at it’s highest point, the 80′s. Sure, there is no denying that thrash today is still prominent and one of the top genres of metal, but there is no mistaking how amazing and in your face it was during the 80′s. All the greats where in full force; Sodom, Slayer, Kreator, Metallica, Riot, the list goes on. But rather than cover a band that has no doubt been discussed to death, I’m going with a band that I believe is one of the greatest in the genre, Los Angeles, California’s Agent Steel and their 1987 full-length album, Unstoppable Force.
The discovery of a new band is always exciting. Will it be something you’ve heard countless times? An experience that leaves a bad taste in your mouth? Or is it a treat from which you cannot stop consuming? I wanted to take a trip back in time to reminisce about bands/albums that not only introduced me to heavy music, but kept me coming back for more…
From The Archive: Life of Agony – River Runs Red
It’s been a bit of time since my last write up, and thanks to fellow heavy bloggers Juular and DeusExMachina, at least this column wasn’t diminished due to my absence, so I thank them for keeping it alive! Anyway, I last left off talking about Long Island, NY hardcore band Skycamefalling, and I felt it was best to continue my trek through the music of my teenage years. So for this weeks installment I will be covering another band that is close to home, Brooklyn, New York’s Life of Agony, and more importantly their 1993 debut album, the angst-filled hardcore/heavy metal hybrid, River Runs Red.
I find it a bit disconcerting that very few people are as excited about Arjen Lucassen‘s newest release as much as I am. So in order to help drum up a bit more enthusiasm, I thought I would discuss the first album I heard from the mind of Mr. Lucassen. For those unaware Ayreon is the epic saga of rock-operas penned by Arjen Lucassen. Each album in the discography, with the exception of Actual Fantasy, follows a loose narrative that is interconnected to the previous albums. It’s very tenuous at times, and not always that well fleshed out, but these discs hold a special place in my heart, especially The Human Equation. Not only was this the first release from Lucassen that I had heard, it was also my first foray into progressive music. It’s a sprawling, epic, evolving sort of musical landscape that spans the course of nearly two hours, across twenty tracks. Each song represents an individual day in a consecutive narrative that all builds and culminates into a beautiful story of struggle and emotional perseverance.
The variety on display here is something that has and will continually amaze me as I keep coming back to this record. Each and every song feels distinct, with layers of beautiful and exotic instrumental arrangements and vocal melodies that soar and rip through any given song. It’s a masterpiece that features 10 various instrumentalists, and 12 vocalists, each one unique, honest, and epic. I will be using that word quite a bit with this record. Epic. From cellos and violins all the way to didgeridoos, panpipes, and flutes, the music on here runs the gamut of folk, and progressive styles, and nothing feels bloated or pretentious. It feels lighthearted and purposeful, and it’s all so well done. Almost every instance is memorable and distinctly recognizable, no matter how small or fleeting it may seem.
Unlike some of the older fellows who write for this website, I actually got my start from listening to metalcore rather than nu-metal. Indeed, my first post on this site was about All That Remains was my first real metal band, and how it opened up so many doors for me, not just in terms of this new genre I would soon love with all of my heart, but music in general. When I first listened to All That Remains, I searched for a while to find more of the same style they performed. After going through many bands that were good, but didn’t impress me like I wanted to be, I discovered a band named Anterior, a band based out of the United Kingdom.
The discovery of a new band is always exciting. Will it be something you’ve heard countless times? An experience that leaves a bad taste in your mouth? Or is it a treat from which you cannot stop consuming? I wanted to take a trip back in time to reminisce about bands/albums that not only introduced me to heavy music, but kept me coming back for more…
From The Archive: Skycamefalling – To Forever Embrace The Sun
As of lately I’ve been regressing back to the music of my teenage years. Not sure if it’s a longing to feel young again, a trip down memory lane, or is it because I’ve come to understand whatever music you’ve listened to as a teenager, is the music that you’ll never forget. For those who are beyond their teen years, you might understand what I’m getting at. Sure time changes, as does ones taste, but every now and then, do you find yourself thinking about those bands and/or albums that you listened to when you were a teenager, and all you wanted to do was rebel against the world? No? Anyone? Oh well, to get to the point of my rambling, I’ve pretty much been re-listening to a bunch of 90′s hardcore albums that defined my teenage years. For this weeks installment, I will be discussing Skycamefalling’s debut EP, To Forever Embrace The Sun.
Anyone who regularly reads this site knows that I’m a massive fan of the North Carolina-based progressive metal group Between the Buried and Me. This band has actually been my favorite band for quite a few years, and they have changed my entire perspective in regards to musical boundaries and the metal genre, as well as being responsible for shaping my music taste towards the progressive and challenging. It seems odd that it took this long for me to tackle the band in this light, but better late than never!
The discovery of a new band is always exciting. Will it be something you’ve heard countless times? An experience that leaves a bad taste in your mouth? Or is it a treat from which you cannot stop consuming? I wanted to take a trip back in time to reminisce about bands/albums that not only introduced me to heavy music, but kept me coming back for more…
From The Archive: Carcass – Heartwork
Carcass. The name itself instantly embeds an image of something dead and left to rot, but if you happen to listen to metal music, then perhaps you might find yourself thinking of the goregrind/melodic death metal band who hailed from Liverpool, England. Once going by the name of Disattack, and playing hardcore/punk, they eventually changed their name and gravitated towards goregrind with the release of their first full-length album, Reek of Putrefaction. Overtime though, the band moved on to a more death metal sound, and it wasn’t until Heartwork came out that we saw the band evolve into melodic death metal. Along with albums such as Slaughter of the Soul and The Jester Race, Carcass’s Heartwork is one of the first melodic death metal albums to be released, and one of the most popular and influential in the entire genre.
