Metallica. In my youth I would have told you they were my all time favorite band without thinking twice. After all, they were the band that got me into “real” heavy metal. Before Metallica, my middle school ears had an affinity for all things hair metal, such as Poison and Motley Crue. But then one fateful day, I heard “One” either on the radio or possibly on (gasp!) MTV, memories are a bit fuzzy at this point. But what I can tell you of my first experience hearing that majestic thrashterpiece is that it was one of the defining moments of my life as a music listener, the staccato riffing and bludgeoning drums coalesced with James Hetfield’s barked lyrics into the sound my ears had always wanted to hear.
Continue reading ‘Dethroned Emperor #15′
At a glance, Zebulon Pike seem to craft their music from the same materials as Pelican: lumbering doom metal riffs, lengthy instrumental songs, and dynamic soft-and-quiet vs loud-and-heavy transitions. But closer listening shows some drastic differences between the two bands. Pelican’s songs, especially on their first two albums, are repetitive and loose; they create the feeling of refined jam sessions that slowly build up to skin-tingling highs. While unafraid of the occasional improvised break, Zebulon Pike’s compositions are more detailed and intricate. Constantly re-arranging and changing the riffs and melodies, they fuse the ambitious musicianship of prog rockers and classical composers with the thunderous doom metal. Zebulon Pike’s inspiration comes from the likes of Stravinsky and King Crimson rather than Earth and Godspeed You Black Emperor. What made The Deafening Twilight one of the most enjoyable releases of 2006 was the inclusion of these more complex ideas in doom metal without losing any heaviness or energy; it was epic, it rocked, and it was dense, revealing subtleties on repeated listens.
Continue reading ‘Zebulon Pike - Intranscience (2008, Unfortunate Music)’
As I’ve mentioned time and again, it’s extremely rare that a truly killer show manages to make its way to my neck of the woods, ensconced as I am in the deepest, darkest trenches of the North American Midwest… Des Moines, Iowa to be exact. And while there has been a spate of great bands making their way through town in recent months, nothing could prepare me for Sweden’s Watain rolling into our fair city on October 12th like a fetid bout of the proverbial Black Death.
Before Watain took the stage, Seattle’s Book of Black Earth impressed with a thundering set of slow-burning, doomy death metal that served as a killer way to kick off the evening. The band has an impressive sophomore recording recently released on Prosthetic (see review below), and judging by the combined strength of the new album and a brutally heavy live set, one can only expect big things to come for this relatively young band. Book of Black Earth’s Prosthetic label-mates Withered are also touring behind their second album and conjure up a similarly sludgy, brooding brand of heaviness. The Atlanta quartet’s mixture of blunt, oldschool death and dirt-caked southern dirge sounds even more ferocious on stage and made for a truly gnarly live experience.
Continue reading ‘Dethroned Emperor #14′
Judgement Day are a 3 piece “string metal” band from California. Utilizing electric cello, violin, and drums, their debut album, Dark Opus, inducted Judgement Day into the likes of Apocolyptica, proving that the domain of metal extends beyond just guitars. On their latest release, Opus 3 Acoustic, Judgement Day unplug their instruments and create 15 minutes of purely acoustic cello-violin duets.
Continue reading ‘Judgement Day - Opus 3 Acoustic (2008, self-released)’
Being a big fan of Grayceon I had the pleasure of reviewing a promotional copy of their up and coming album This Grand Show that is officially out in November 2008. When discovering the band in 2007 with the s/t album, I was struck by their special and compelling sound made up of a trio of drums, guitar and electric cello. I now had the pleasure of conducting an online interview with cellist and vocalist Jackie Perez Gratz who also plays in other bands such as Giant Squid and Asunder.
Continue reading ‘An Interview with Grayceon’s Jackie Perez Gratz’
From Satanic Warmaster to Sargeist to Circle of Ouroborus, Finland is far from lacking when it comes to producing black metal that is filthy, f—ed up, and utterly unique. But relative newcomers and self-described “nekro punk” practitioners Aanal Beehemoth just might be the filthiest and most bizarre act yet to be vomited forth by the small, unassuming country. Comprised of principal members Crazy Bomber and Deathly Fightar, the band sounds like nothing short of Darkthrone doing heroin in a scum-ridden Detroit back-alley with The Stooges.
Sure, many bands out there of late have developed an interest in combining black metal with elements of ’60s psychedelia, but Aanal Beehemoth takes a different approach, eschewing drug-addled atmosphere in favor of another aspect of that era’s music, the rough and tumble proto punk frenzy of bands like the aforementioned Stooges, The MC5 or the New York Dolls. By mixing snotty attitude with a seriously dark and grimy sound, the Finnish duo accomplish something that ninety-nine percent of black metal bands simply aren’t capable of. Quite simply, Aanal Beehemoth rocks.
Desperately wanting to find out more about this unholy duo’s rancid cocktail of blackened garage filth, I sought them out via that stronghold of true grimness known as myspace. To be honest I am not sure whether it was Crazy Bomber or Deathly Fightar (or both?) that answered this e-mail interrogation, hence all answers are attributed simply to Aanal Beehemoth.
Continue reading ‘Dethroned Emperor #13′
A continuation
Grayceon’s s/t album was one of my favourite releases of 2007; an album I got addicted to, drowned in, in love with. With its captivating sound, the Grayceon trio with their cello-guitar-drums made a deep impact, not only on me but on a wide audience as evidenced by the numerous positive reviews they’ve received. It is therefore not surprising that this, their second effort, released in 2008 is one of the year’s most anticipated albums, not only by myself. They face a difficult task in this aspect; following up on what to is a stellar first release and a fabulous album in itself. Where would they go from here? Do they even need to go somewhere? Is repetition enough? Or do they need to evolve progress and offer us something new not heard on the first album? I personally was curious to see how they chose to go, and was trying to keep an open mind in that regard.
Continue reading ‘Grayceon - This Grand Show (2008, Vendlus)’
October Equus are battling a sea monster
The third album by October Equus, released in 2008 is named after Charybdis, daughter of Gaia and Poseidon that was turned into a sea monster by Zeus. If one looks at the title of the tracks on the album, he’ll notice that mythological and nautical themes are at use here. This album was released through the RAIG label, who has been delivering intriguing and captivating experimental and avant-rock albums in the last years. It is therefore very fitting that Spanish band October Equus release their album through this label as this is a spectacular example of boundary breaking rock.
Continue reading ‘October Equus - Charybdis (2008, RAIG)’
Delicately rocking you
Rock, fusion and Celtic music are on the menu of the French band Sylbàt, which formed in 2006 and has released their first album called Mara in 2008. Bearing a distinct sound, they create an “airy” sort of rock, light-sounding but not light in the effects it has on the listener. Their special fusion sound, with a particular folk/Celtic taste is augmented with a rock attitude (though not a too heavy or dynamic one) that is created by drummer Patrick Boileau and guitarist Hélène Brunet. The special and mostly ethereal sound of Sylbàt can be attributed to the electroharp of Clotilde Trouillaud. It is indeed the instrument that “reigns” here and is the dominant sound here.
Continue reading ‘Sylbàt - Mara (2008, Kerne Productions)’
As I’ve mentioned in previous writings here at SF, the turnover rate in extreme metal is pretty darn high. It seems like some bands rarely record with the same lineup twice. But rarely does a band give itself a complete overhaul the way UK-based quintet The Rotted have with their new album, Get Dead or Die Trying. Formerly known to the death metal realm as Gorerotted, the new disc not only signals a name change and shifting lineup, it also ushers in a drastic refinement of style and sound.
Continue reading ‘Dethroned Emperor #12′
