What Heavy Blog Is Really Listening To – 10/13/17

Scott Murphy
What We're Really Listening To
For those who missed our last installment, We post biweekly updates covering what the staff at Heavy Blog have been spinning. Given the amount of time we spend on the site telling you about music that does not fall neatly into the confines of conventional “metal,” it should come as no surprise that many of us on staff have pretty eclectic tastes that range far outside of metal and heavy things. We can’t post about all of them at length here, but we can at least let you know what we’re actually listening to. For those that would like to participate as well (and please do) can drop a 3X3 in the comments, which can be made with tapmusic.net through your last.fm account, or create it manually with topsters.net. Also, consider these posts open threads to talk about pretty much anything music-related. We love hearing all of your thoughts on this stuff and love being able to nerd out along with all of you.

87 – Honorary French

Noyan
Podcast
Eden is away colonializing, so we have fellow writer and regular substitute-Eden Ahmed back on this week! We have some really interesting discussions. We discuss how Jay-Z's new album has a poor business model with its Tidal exclusivity. Funny thing is, in the day between the recording and release of this podcast, he managed to put his foot in his mouth and decided to release the album for free for non-Tidal subscribers! The salt during the episode is still interesting. We then discuss a questionable Hatebreed shirt, and the Nevermore stand-in Dead Season and their awesome new album Prophecies. Then we continue the deep segment on Devin Townsend, discussing Ziltoid, Deconstruction, Z2 and Transcendence. Spoilers: Ahmed is a MASSIVE Devin fan. Finally, we go into an extended freeform discussion about tunings in tech death which goes off the rails in many ways. Along the road we talk about the upcoming Wintersun album, the recently released Igorrr album, Andy McKee and more. Enjoy!

Crowbar – The Serpent Only Lies

Kieran Fisher
Reviews
In 2016, if you’re still listening to Crowbar then you know what to expect: slow tempos, chugging riffs, raspy vocals, the occasional shifting time signatures, and – most of all - comforting, loud familiarity. The Louisiana sludge pioneers have been doing what they do best for thirty years after all, and even with their endless line-up changes, you can count on them to deliver the goods. After nearly three decades grinding away, they might not sound as fresh as they once were; often is the case with so many bands who don’t evolve significantly with time is they get stale. On the other hand, some bands try to evolve and end up worse because of it. But Crowbar are a band who’ve remained consistently good for the duration of their career so far without ever departing from their roots, and it’s never been to their detriment – nor is it now.

Heavy Chat // Boston’s NIHIL and the Next Wave of Hardcore

Heavy Blog
News
Welcome to another Heavy Chat, and today we’re going to take things into hardcore territory. Jimmy and Spencer had a little gab about a Boston hardcore band we covered a while ago called Nihil, who are set to release their debut album Foundation in November. So without further ado, let's dive right in!

Heavy Rewind: Converge // Jane Doe

Heavy Blog
Heavy Rewind
It's no secret that a good many of us on the Heavy Blog staff enjoy Converge. Since 1990, these guys have been making some of the best hardcore out there, consistently pushing their genre forward in ways nobody could have imagined. Last Sunday (September 4) marked the fifteenth anniversary of the band's seminal release Jane Doe; an album that is still regarded today as legendary and incredibly influential on the metalcore/hardcore scene, and I thought it apt to say a few words about this album.