The Black Dahlia Murder is one of the best modern death metal bands. Each record is better than the last, and the songs only get bigger and better. Such is the case for the group’s latest effort Everblack, out now on Metal Blade Records. I got to talk to bassist Max Lavelle about all things Black Dahlia, as well as touching on classic rock, really poor bathrooms, and why he chooses not to use a pick.
And So I Watch You From Afar – All Hail Bright FuturesAll Hail Bright Futures is an odd proposition for a metal fan. A mix of upbeat post-rock, twisting math-rock ideals and an entirely liberal approach to incorporating instruments such as flutes and steel drums alongside their own personal moments of ‘metal’ heaviness may be a description enough to put more than a few of you off them instantaneously. However, for those of you still able to see the riffs through the trees, as it were, there’s a vast amount of fascinating and varied ideas on offer here that would satiate any fans of forward thinking metal music.
And So I Watch You From Afar waste no time in making a statement of intent early on and the combination of the chirpy, opening build-up of ‘Eunoia‘ and the frankly sublime ‘Big Thinks Do Remarkable‘ do that in a rush of synth-drenched leads, gang vocals and a complete ADD approach to post-rock. The entire concept could be described in rough terms as all the most sugary sweet sections of Torche meeting the sheer uplifting emotional left-hook of If These Trees Could Talk and Pelican, most obvious in tracks such as ‘Like A Mouse‘ and ‘AMBULANCE‘ that manage to sneak in some heavier sections that segue seamlessly in with the rest of the track.
All Hail Bright Futures is a record out on it’s own, few bands could take the energy of heavy music and infuse it with twee, jangly pop sections. And So I Watch You From Afar may have changed, but they’ve changed for the best and produced a record that could even put the most po-faced black metaller in a cheery mood. – DL
4.5/5
Despite forming little more than two years ago, Melbourne slammers Whoretopsy have wasted little time in making a name for themselves within the burgeoning Australian brutal music scene, their horrifically absurdist and grotesquely humerous brand of death metal even landing them a slot alongside Cannibal Corpse at the 2012 Bang-Cock Deathfest.
As they now gear up to support Dying Fetus in a few weeks time before heading back to Asia in support of Obituary, the band have just released the first track from their forthcoming sophomore album, as well as an accompanying lyric video produced by Blixa Productions. Entitled ‘Nature’s Pocket’, the song is a cautionary tale to all of you out there who wile away your work days looking lustfully at your co-workers, wondering what sexual deviance lies hidden beneath the veneer of mundane office attire, and secretly hoping for a chance to one day live out your fucked up fantasies.
It’s pretty well known around the Heavy Blog camp that I’m not the biggest fan of death metal. Not that I have anything against the sub-genre, it’s just that I don’t connect with many bands therein. However, there are a handful of straight up death metal acts that I really enjoy, one of those bands that have continually kept my attention through the last half decade is the New York based band Immolation. It’s been nearly two years since the last release from Immolation, the Scion A/V release Providence. And while that EP was rather spectacular, it was more or less just B-sides from the band’s 2010 effort, Majesty and Decay. So it’s about time that the band release another full album.
Beyond Creation are one the best progressive/technical death metal groups. I typically try to avoid sweeping claims like this, but that’s just how I see it; the band are right up there alongside the likes of Obscura and Spawn of Possession. Their debut album The Aura speaks for itself, and apparently we weren’t the only ones who noticed. The band has just signed a deal with Season of Mist Records, who will re-release The Aura on May 14th.
Defeated Sanity01. Initiation
02. Naraka
03. Verblendung
04. Lusting For Transcendence
05. The Purging
06. Verses of Deformity
07. Perspectives
08. Frenzy
09. Martyrium
German brutal death metal band Defeated Sanity don’t need many introductions. Having a sound that is built on early Cannibal Corpse, but with a ridiculous amount of added brutality a la Disgorge, their blend of slam and technical death metal is delightful to fans of either genre. All of their releases have been met with at least some degree of acclaim, so their fourth album Passages Into Deformity has a lot to live up to.
A few weeks ago, we informed you all that the almighty Cannibal Corpse were celebrating 25 years together as a band this year and were planning some special things to commemorate the anniversary. A killer headlining tour was announced alongside Napalm Death and Immolation, but that couldn’t have been all the band had planned, surely.
Well, this week we found out what else the band had up their sleeves: the band are releasing their discography on a super-deluxe box set. You can see the beast laid out in the photo above, but the full list of specs is available after the jump:
Shannon Lucas is one of the best metal drummers ever. Period. Nobody can tell me otherwise. Even when he was in All That Remains he ruled, and to be honest, that’s all the band ever had going for them. But I digress. After announcing his departure from The Black Dahlia Murder a month or so back, I’ve been really digging deep into his work with them and other bands. His playing is just so fluid and so effortless that it’s almost disgusting. He had announced a side project in the same video talking about Adam from Killswitch Engage and Corpsegrinder from Cannibal Corpse doing a sideproject with him, but it seems to be shelved for the moment. But now we’re getting word that there will be another supergroup, consisting of current TBDM vocalist Trevor Strnad, Napalm Death bassist Shane Embury and Adam Faris, who was a member of Wartorn, Lucas’s previous band.
I am super stoked. This lineup is killer, and it’s not going to be hard to make a killer record. The group, unnamed as of today, apparently already has guitars tracked and will be heading into the studio to track vocals and drums very soon. We’ll get you more details as they come!
[News and image via Metalsucks]
-SS
This year’s iteration of The Decibel Magazine Tour was “sorta unofficially” announced at last weekend’s Decibel Magazine’s 100th Issue Show, and was said to include Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death, and Immolation. Eyebrows were then raised all over the internet at the thought of such a killer dream team for death metal. Now the pot has been sweetened as the tour’s lineup and run of dates have come to light, and will also include support from Cretin, everyone’s favorite prog death band Beyond Creation, and Magrudergrind on select dates.
Oh man, The Decibel Magazine Tour is making itself known as one of the top tours in extreme metal if they keep this up. For reference, last year’s lineup included Behemoth, Watain, The Devil’s Blood, and In Solitude. They’ve kicked things up a notch this year, for sure. The only thing that would make this tour a bummer is the lack of a date within a 4 hour drive from me.
5/10 Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s
5/11 Dallas, TX @ Trees
5/12 San Antonio, TX @ Backstage Live
5/14 Tucson, AZ @ The Rock
5/15 Ramona, CA @ Ramona Mainstage
5/16 Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
5/17 Oakland, CA @ Oakland Metro
5/18 Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
5/19 Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
5/21 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
5/22 Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Ballroom
5/23 Edmonton, AB @ Starlight Room
5/24 Regina, SK @ Riddell Centre
5/25 Winnipeg, MB @ The Garrick
5/26 St. Paul, MN @ Mill City Nights
5/28 Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
5/29 Detroit, MI @ Harpos
5/30 Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
5/31 Toronto, ON @ The Phoenix
6/1 Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
6/2 Boston, MA @ Royale
6/4 New Haven, CT @ Toad’s Place
6/5 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
6/6 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
6/7 Cleveland, OH @ Peabodys
6/9 St. Louis, MO @ Pops
6/11 Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
6/12 Orlando, FL @ Beacham
Ah, it figures. I need to move towards one of the bigger market areas. I can’t make it, but if you can, go see this show and tell us how sweet it was.
- JR
Cannibal Corpse are one of the best death metal bands ever. There’s no denying that, and in celebration of their 25th anniversary, they’re releasing limited edition commemorative merch! This is actually really awesome. I know Tentaclesworth wants the calendar (available here in the misc. section), and I know plenty of people who’d love that picture disc. Not to mention the fact that they’re going to do another headlining tour. Honestly with so many of these bands celebrating anniversaries soon, I can already tell it’s going to take a ton of willpower not to spend every last cent I have. Hey, college ain’t cheap! So be on the lookout for other bands celebrating anniversaries or milestones in their careers!
Via Metal Blade:
2013: Cannibal Corpse Celebrates 25 Years Of Brutal Death Metal!
Special Anniversary Logo, Picture Disc a Month, and North American Headline Tour to be Announced Shortly!2013 marks death metal juggernauts, CANNIBAL CORPSE’S 25th year as a band and CANNIBAL is going to celebrate it all year long! The logo has been updated to reflect the monumental occasion and will be used on all things CANNIBAL, from merch to packaging, throughout 2013. There is also a box set in the works for the most extreme CANNIBAL CORPSE fan, which is expected to drop in March – details coming soon!
In addition to the updated logo only being used this year and the box set, Metal Blade Records will be releasing one picture disc a month from the band’s expansive catalog (Eaten Back to Life, Butchered at Birth, Tomb of the Mutilated, The Bleeding, Vile, Gallery of Suicide, Bloodthirst, Gore Obsessed, The Wretched Spawn, KILL, Evisceration Plague, Torture). A total of 12 pictures discs will be released, covering all of the band’s full-length studio albums, some of which have never been released on picture disc. The first picture disc available for preorder is Eaten Back to Life, which was released August 17, 1990, and can be found HERE. Check back each month to get a glimpse of the next picture disc available for preorder.
Go to JSR Direct to check out all the new merch and collectable items.
Stay tuned to MetalBlade.com and Facebook.com/CannibalCorpse for news on a full North American headline tour featuring one of the best death metal lineups a fan could ever ask for.
Be on the lookout for tour dates coming soon!
- SS
