LP Review: "There Was Death" by My Silent Wake

There Was Death

There are few things in this world that are uniquely American.

The big one though, is Thanksgiving. That holiday is wholly American and didn't exist anywhere else before the Pilgrims celebrated it way back when.

Over the centuries, it has escaped our greedy claws and landed elsewhere...Canada...I'm looking at you.

The traditions are also wholly American...gluttony, over abundance, etc, but even with all of that, it's still my personal favorite holiday.

If you're wondering why, it's because it's the only holiday that I'm permitted to host and I absolutely love cooking a giant spread. Years ago I'd hold Friendsgivings as well, because, my circle worked retail and retail workers don't always get to spend time with their families as they'd like.

Album Review: "No Limit To The Evil" by Zero Down

No Limit To The Evil

Today we consider Seattle based traditional metallers, Zero Down.

This is another one of those times when I'm first hearing a band as I listen to their record for review.

Before really going further, let's discuss the term traditional metal. What precisely does that mean?

When I was growing up, I'd have called this album metal. In the end it's not overly fast, so it's not Thrash/Speed Metal. It's not hyper brutal, played at 1,000 MPH, and not overflowing with blast beats or growls, so it's not death metal.

They don't sing about fantastical worlds and cram in 100 guitar solos, so it's not power metal. No growling, anti-church themes propped up by a keyboard, so it's not Black Metal.

"Calculations of the Ancients" by Super Massive Black Holes

This is another Canadian metal band. For some reason, I never consider The Great White North when thinking of finding new metal bands.

Every time I have been north of these United States I have found the Canadian people to be polite, friendly, and not really all that angry.

I suppose I'd be less angry to if I knew that every sixer of Molson Export Ale I bought went to help pay for my health insurance...

Here we have their debut record. This is the chance to jump onto a bandwagon that has yet to even be built! Don't miss out.

It's really hard to describe what sort of band this is, which is great. In the end, they are a metal band, but not a garden variety of any sort....unless you're a fan of Tosin Abasi...