With that said, I would like some suggestions for bands that are out of the normal listening stream. Bands that have released good albums but don’t get the press or respect they deserve. However, I don’t want to hear any more bands from the “trendy” genres such as another deathcore or metalcore, mathcore, or any “core: band for that matter. Maybe some good progressive metal, death metal, doom metal bands that I’m not familiar with. Whatever you can think of that I won’t normally find in a chain record store or from a press release from a major or standard label that I normally post about (Nuclear Blast, Metal Blade, Prosthetic, Roadrunner, etc.).

I know I miss out on a lot of good metal that should be heard and bands that could use some good exposure. Even older bands that might not be around anymore that still have a good album or two floating around out there that never got the credit they deserved. So, let’s have it?

Post from: Metal Martyr

The State Of Heavy Metal And The Record Industry

Post from: Metal Martyr

Kolossus, the new album from Norwegian metallers KEEP OF KALESSIN, is available for streaming in its entirety at the band’s MySpace page. Due in Europe on June 6 and in North America on June 10, the CD will feature the following track listing:

01. Origin
02. A New Empire’s Birth
03. Against The Gods
04. The Rising Sign
05. Warmonger
06. Escape The Union
07. The Mark Of Power
08. Kolossus
09. Ascendant

In addition, Kolossus will include a BONUS DVD that will include live sets, album and band documentary, behind the scenes, and other killer material that only you’ll be able to watch by purchasing the album!

For more info on Keep Of Kalessin click on the links below

• Keep Of Kalessin Myspace
• Keep Of Kalessin Official Website

You can pre-order Kolossus Here

Image Source: Amazon.com

Post from: Metal Martyr

In the metal industry these days, you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. What I mean is that metal fans are never satisfied one way or another. Through all the changes that have gone through metal over the year, there is always something that aggravates us as fans. Let me explain…

In the beginning all metal was created equal. Through innovation and evolution it has changed in order to keep thriving and satisfying the fans hunger for something bigger and better. As thrash and speed metal started to get big, a big fat, wet, cat crawled out of a trash can and glam rock was born. Glam rock took over the scene and metal as we knew it was put in the shadows for the moment. We still knew it was there and supported it but it wasn’t so much in the public eye. When it was it was always a bad thing like some schmuck off-ing his best friend while listening to his favorite metal band, while glam rock probably spread more STD’s than a big city crack whore. Men looked like women, pants were tighter than a most women’s, yet these guys were seeing more ass than a proctologist. Am I jealous? Nah. It was time for something new though. Even glam rock fans were getting bored and very tired of choking on Aquanet fumes.

Grunge suddenly became the staple food for music fans. Torn jeans were a fashion statement, guys stopped shaving and washing their hair or bathing in general. You were either depressed or just playing the roll. That didn’t last very long until it was named “alternative”. It was a slowly dying cow. Alternative is still here and there but not nearly as big as it was back then and probably never will be again.

Punk re-emerged in a new pop kind of form. The new “punks” were instrument extraordinares. They knew how to play their instruments and sing well. But it wasn’t fooling the old school metal-heads. The ones that saw punk die. They knew that 99.9% of these guys were posers. It was quite obvious. Metal needed something new still. Even though in the mid to late 80’s a different kind of metal had emerged out of Florida called “Death” metal. This was more underground and controversial because of the lyrics and cover art on records and often incomprehensible deep, growling, throaty vocals . Some liked it and some didn’t.

As the “punk” scene had it ups and downs (Mostly downs) a new kind of metal was forming. A new metal that sometimes had turn tables, tuned down guitars, and even rapping. A New kind of metal called…Nu-metal. To me it was something new and different. I wasn’t into the bands that did a lot of rapping like Linkin Park. It was tried before and still lives a bit with Hardcore bands like Biohazzard, but Biohazzard did the hardcore/rap (not hardcore rap) thing well. Some metal fans turned a deaf ear to Nu-metal. Even if you fit the nu-metal bill but still had a bad ass metal sound you were still called names and mocked. While bands like Korn, Nothingface, and Slipknot had hard and heavy sounds people still hated them. Nu-metal is kind of still alive but the bands that were big knew they would need to change their sound a bit in order to survive.

The late 90’s started to bring metal back out of the shadows. Hardcore started to be seen more as well as metal and a hybrid called metal-core was born. Metal was getting bigger and the record labels saw it and started to sign every stinking band that fit ‘metal’. Metal genres of all sorts started forming from other forms of hybrid genres making the even more variety in the scene

Today there are a shit-load of metal bands on the scene. Some of them are barely worthy of the ‘metal’ label and some of them are just plain garbage. As metal fans we say stuff like “Cookie Monster” vocals and chuggah-chuggah guitars. We always say we want something new but talk about the good ole days of thrash. A few bands come on the scene playing that good ole thrash sound and suddenly we’re ass backwards complaining about it. Metal fans are such a mix of opinions and we can never agree on the same thing. Some like it tuned down and crunchy and some like it melodic with high pitched squealing solos. Some like the vocals deep and raw sounding and some like them clean and cut. Some like the bottom end heavy, some like it to mix perfectly and not over powering. I wouldn’t have it any other way though.

As metal fans we’re all different. If we all liked the same exact thing we would be the same bunch of dumb-ass, trend following bunch of zombies that the rest of them are. I like what metal has become. What the fans have become. Sure we still get the fans that think they are hardcore or the karate moshers making fools of themselves in the pits but that’s expected. The real fans help each other out in the pits. You may get hurt but that’s part of the pit. Luckily in a lot of venues security can spot out douche bags that cause trouble and escort them out.

Metal is bigger now than it has ever been, no matter what anyone says. It may not be all over the media like Hip-Hop or pop, but it’s there and growing. Enjoy it for what it’s worth. Keep bitchin, keep complaining, keep name calling. It’s normal. But at the same time keep raising your fists to the sky and supporting your favorite bands no matter who does or doesn’t like them. Once you start hating or liking someone or thing just because someone else does….you’ve become one of THEM! Metal fans are never satisfied. We keep the standard high and that’s why metal will never die!

Post from: Metal Martyr

In celebration, an album release party will be held at the Velvet Underground in Toronto on May 29, 2008 at 8pm, including an exclusive performance from Stalingrad. CDs and t-shirts will be available for sale at the venue.

Check out Stalingrad at Myspace

Post from: Metal Martyr

According to Blabbermouth.net Metallica’s upcoming cd will be mixed by Greg Fideleman. Lars also mentions a bunch of “nutty” stuff during a conference call.

METALLICA has tapped Greg Fidelman — an engineer/producer who has worked with current METALLICA producer Rick Rubin on albums for the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, SLIPKNOT and AUDIOSLAVE, among others — to mix its much-anticipated new album, due out in September.

During a conference call to promote Banaroo Fest Lars said all sorts of “nutty” stuff:

“We sort of promised ourselves that unlike all the records we made in the ’90s, [which] were just completely stressed-out and just nutty, that we were gonna try and have a little more sane environment — and we’ve actually, surprising mostly to ourselves, been able to keep to that,” Ulrich said, according to Billboard.com. “We’ve pretty much finished the music now, so all the next level stuff is just starting to go down.”

Ulrich said METALLICA wrote 26 songs for the new CD but ended up finalizing about 14 of them with producer Rick Rubin. A total of 11 have actually been tracked for the album, though Ulrich said “length issues” might mean one more has to be eliminated.

“These are long songs … we’re talking seven-minute, eight-minute, nine-minute nutty-ass songs,” Ulrich revealed. “We don’t make them long or short on purpose; you just kind of do what feels natural. We’re not really gonna edit them, (so) we’re gonna lose another one at some point in the next month or so and probably end up with 10.”

Ulrich described the material as “definitely pretty all over the place. There’s a lot of variation, a lot of fast, slow, melodic … kind of hardcore, nutty super-fast speed stuff. It’s a little more like how some of the earlier records were a little more dynamic within the songs.”

Wow. Now that’s just nutty! So they should have all kinds of nutty songs left over to make another nuty record in a year or so after this nutty one. Read the rest of this nutty article at Blabbermouth.net

Post from: Metal Martyr

Aug. 02 – Wacken, Germany – Wacken Open Air
Aug. 04 – München, Germany – Backstage Werk *
Aug. 05 – Leipzig, Germany – Werk 2 *
Aug. 06 – Prague, Czech Republic – Futurum *
Aug. 07 – Budapest, Hungary – Petofi Csarnok *
Aug. 09 – Maribor, Slovenia – Stuck *
Aug. 10 – Innsbruck, Austria – Hafen *
Aug. 11 – Rimini, Italy – Velvet *
Aug. 12 – Zürich, Switzerland – Rohstofflager *
Aug. 13 – Wiesbaden, Germany – Schlachthof *
Aug. 15 – Dinkelsbühl, Germany – Summer Breeze Open Air
Aug. 16 – Hasselt, Belgium – Pukkelpop Festival
Aug. 17 – Derby – Bloodstock Open Air
* denotes the shows being played with KSE

Post from: Metal Martyr

Why I love this documentary is because it shows just about every aspect of metal. I think it was Ronnie James Dio that said something like metal is so huge but it goes so unseen. Which is so true. As mainstream as it is right now, you can not deny the fact that it is still an “underground” music genre. Some see the popularity of it and try to jump on the wagon by marketing crappy bands to the tune of what they think is metal. But it’s so obvious that they don’t have a clue. It’s funny how the only time that Heavy Metal music ever gets any media coverage is when some stupid kid with problems shoots up a school or kills himself and then they want to blame the music. You don’t see the media trying to blame Michael Jackson’s music when some child gets molested or Country music when some some old sick dude rapes his daughter. Nope. It’s always metal that’s associated with the violent murders and such when a lot of Hip Hop has lyrics much more violent than most metal songs.

What this film also shows is how die hard metal is. Look at festivals like Woodstock and Lalapalooza. Those either died off or became a disaster like Woodstock ‘99. That had nothing to do with “Peace, Love  and Music” It had everything to do with a name that would draw big numbers and then the vendors could sell 16oz water bottles for 8 bucks a piece and a shitty slice of pizza for $10. You couldn’t bring your own food in and the price of tickets was outrageous. We saw peace turn to violence, love turn to rapes and such a mix of music and fans it was bound to be chaotic.

Now look at metal fests. HUGE all the time, every continent! (With the exceptions of the obvious). With the exception of Ozzfest, Ozzfest went on for so long that when it started to become less profitable Sharon decided that it was time to nix it. Europe (which I think is highly unfair because they get all the good one’s) has so many great metal festivals every year! EVERY YEAR! And the bands that show for these are legendary. It’s amazing.

No matter what anyone says, metal is bigger than ever. It’s everywhere, yet it’s so ignored…and I kinda like it that way. With all the stereotypes, rumors, and bullsh*t that gets said and spread about metal it still has some of the most dedicated fans than any other type of music. Metal fans from young kids to middle aged men (and women) bang their heads and scream to the beat and you don’t see that in many other genres. That’s why metal will always be what it is.

Post from: Metal Martyr

Teaser

Trailer

Post from: Metal Martyr

• It looks like Down will be joining Metallica and The Sword on the

European Tour this summer

• Metal Hammer Magazine has announced their Metal Gods Nominees here
• Celtic Frost is pretty much done after the departure of Singer/Guitarist Tom Gabriel Fischer left the band due to some crazy ass irreconcilable differences, it sounds like a damn divorce litigation.
• Dethklok and Chimaira will be doing summer tour. Rumor has it that Chimaira will be opening for Dethklok so sorry, you’ll have to sit through that to see Dethklok.
• Dino Cazeres shot down any rumors of a Fear Factory reunion after being seen talking to Burton C. Bell and says everything is good with Divine Heresy and he’s proud of his newfound band’s success.
• If anyone gives a shit, Tom Morello is being awfully silent about further Rage Against The Machine studio rumors. Let me guess…they are going to scream about more political views, oppression and corrupt law enforcement. ZZZZZZZ

Post from: Metal Martyr