Album Review: "Lusus Naturae" by Beastmaker

Lusus Naturae

I am not sure how true this is in other genres of music, but in heavy metal fandom there certainly exists a reverence, respect and admiration for the forbearers of the craft.

Since no band is more significant to heavy metal than Black Sabbath,  it stands to reason there will be bands who will seek to flatteringly imitate the founding fathers. 

After all there is no limit to the amount of down tuned doomy power chord riffs the world needs, and Tommy Iommi and company cannot write them all.  In steps Beastmaker.

Every song on this album sounds as though it could be the lost track from one of the classic Sabbath albums.

They have truly achieved the Sabbath sound, which is all the more remarkable because the album was completely produced and recorded by the band.  This allows them to explore the underground (and underserved) world of doom metal free from the influence of those who would steer them back to the commercialized surface.

Album Review: "Friches Et Bestioles" by Neurococcyx

Friches Et Bestioles

Basically what I do is sell air.

Remember that scene in City Slickers when Billy Crystal's character was talking about how he sold on air ad time for a radio station when he was discussing how unfulfilled he felt at work?

Think about all of the thousands of bands out there are doing just that?

Naturally, I don't mean this in a bad way! It's a whole other world out there. Some people in this great big marble we call Earth prefer no physical copies of anything. Movies, books, music, video games what have you. They want digital.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I have purchased digital things too. My most recent digital purchase was Dungeons & Dragons Shadow Over Mystara to play it in English on the Wii U. My copy was for the Sega Saturn and in Japanese and my daughter wants to know the story!

Album Review: "New Misery" by Cullen Omori

New Misery

When the days are dark and there's no hope, what is your first move?

For me, it's to immerse myself in something else that helps me understand the feelings and take my mind off of them.

Music is a great way of handling that, whether it's relaxing in my upstairs sitting room listening to vinyl or enjoying the soundtrack of my iTunes while playing a video game in my living room.

Music, and any art for that matter, has an amazing ability to help me deal with my internal struggles. It would be nice to say that there aren't ever struggles in my life or my brain.

If I said that though, it would be the biggest lie of my life. Finding hope where from where there is none is an amazing feeling that will reverberate and imprint onto your soul permanently.

Album Review: "Excluded" by Defecto

Excluded

During the excessively long four years of high school, many of us were doing something that was laborious.

How many times was the phrase this is the best time of your life spoken? Or it gets better?

For me, one of those statements is true and the other is a god damned lie and they  knew it!

I'll leave you to choose which one.

But what was high school? It was an effort, at least for me, to show everyone how cool you were. This same concept also came about with the rise of social media.

For many of us, trying to compete and show others how cool we were was really just showing how cool we were not. When someone tries too hard, their work and life, smack of effort, in a bad way.

Concert Photos: Black Sabbath at the Sprint Center February 17, 2016

Ozzy Osbourne and drummer Tommy Clufetos -photo by Danny Nichols

Album Review: "Snow//Heritage" by Chiral

In no genre of music is the one man band more prolific than black metal. I understand why Varg Vikerness of Mayhem and Burzum fame had to go it solo after having killed the guitarist in his previous band, but why have so many others (Old Man’s Child, Xasthur, Myrkur, Leviathan, Panopticon to name just five of hundreds) gone this route? 

Maybe it is difficult to find other musicians with the ability or desire to play this most extreme of music.  Or maybe the misanthropic mindset which leads one into this genre just doesn't allow for dealing with bandmates. Whatever the reason, it often leads to an uncompromised product of the creator's artistic vision.


This is certainly true of Italian one man band Chiral’s soon to be released instrumental EP “Snow/Heritage”.   The artist does not categorize this album as strictly black metal, rather opting for the tag of atmospheric-post black metal neofolk.  

Certainly elements of black metal are there on the first and last songs of this four song EP, “Sage Moon ” and “Whiteness (The Snow and the Borrowed Lights)” .  Some of the hypnotic sections which feature blast beat drums surely sound as if they are ominously emitting from a frozen Norwegian forest.  

Album Review: "Chief" by Talmud Beach

Chief

Recently I had a lovely time with a friend of mine and his wife. He'd invited my wife and I over for dinner and an evening of conversation, laughter, beers, and records.

Jokingly...He was asked if I should bring my Carcass records? Well, my buddy's not really metal at all and his wife is certainly less so.

After we discussed it, Kaki King, The Hiders, and Labors were all under my arm when we arrived. My six pack of Michelob Golden Light Draft was in my other hand.

Many folks have this impression of me that all of my music is hail Satan this and Rock'n'Roll All Nite that. In all honesty, that's very untrue. Perhaps you've noticed the new header photo I recently posted on all of my social media pages and this very blog. There's nearly no metal in that slab of vinyl.

With that in mind, let's check out something from the Heartland.

Album Review: "Of Despair" by Horrified

Of Despair

Do you remember the point when you truly found yourself?

Up until that point you seemed like a different person. We all have a moment in time, or some cases many moments, when we walk away from what we were and into what we will become.

Those steps can be big or small.

For this author, I was truly found after getting serious with my wife. I know, it sounds cliched doesn't it? Some people were wondering if I had given up and had changed myself.

That was surely not the case though. That was when I stopped trying to be cool and accepted that I'm gloriously uncool. That was when I could accept me for me. It wasn't like Nik Cameron became a whole other person. Much of who I was remained in what I became, but it wasn't all the same.

Always be true to yourself, especially when who you were isn't who you are.

Album Review: "Advent of the Human God" by Necronomicon

Advent of the Human God

Let's talk about metal sub-genres!

The collective groan is palpable all seven of you reading this right now.

This is a common topic here, but this is on of those times  when it's really important to discuss them. It's pretty well known that I am a big fan of Death Metal, with Tampa Bay Death Metal being my favorite.

So, this email arrives asking if I would like to check out Blackened Death Metal Band Necronomicon.

Blackened Death Metal isn't Black Metal, which it's well known that is not one of my favorites, right? I have no strong feelings regarding Black Metal, but it's just not my bag. To me, Blackened Death Metal is a bit of a useless name meaning Carcass like death metal that sings about Satan and his underlings....and I can get behind that.

Album Review: "A Formless Dawn" by A Soul Called Perdition

A Formless Dawn

In the music world there are no shortage of solo artists. What always gives me pause is when I think about someone who was in a famous band that sold arenas and then decides to break out on his own.

Peter Criss is a prime example, and easy target, to demonstrate what it means to leave a platinum selling band without the name.

Criss went on to a dismal solo career. In the 27 total years outside of Kiss, he has released 4 albums and only one of them is remotely worth listening to.

It's not the quantity or the quality really of these albums though. In those 27 years Criss has only embarked on two concert tours, and they were back to back on the heels of his best solo effort, Cat #1.

As detailed in his autobiography, he would be disappointed when only 250 people would attend. Mind you, he never played any Kiss songs and didn't perform soundchecks. Criss simply thought people would show up and buy millions of albums because of him.

Concert Photos: Abysmal Dawn, Cryptopsy, Obituary and Cannibal Corpse at the Ready Room February 24, 2016

Abysmal Dawn drummer James Coppolino   -photo by Danny Nichols

Album Review: "The Lost Estate" by John Dillon

The Lost Estate

Perhaps you've caught me waxing nostalgic on Twitter for Full House after beginning the Netflix sequel to it, Fuller House.

As much as American intellectuals, may wish to decry it, the American Sitcom is just as much a valid art form as painting.

Not that I'm saying Full House is more important than Starry Night, but art is art is art.

What makes this show so engrossing for me isn't the story lines, the acting, the characters, or the new additions.

It's the feeling of home, but without rehashing what's been done in the past. Even the mighty Gene Roddenberry couldn't pull this off with the first season of Star Trek. 21st Century music in a similar spot.

New styles of music are often rehashes of what's been popular in the past, but they don't always offer something we haven't heard in the past.

Album Review: "All That Is Beautiful" by Deathkings

All That Is Beautiful

One of the things fans of more extreme types of music hear is how can you possibly listen to music like that?

Our world is populated with a great many people who think that if one listens to angry music all the time that they must be angry people.

It's not often that someone would say the same things about blues or country music is it?

It's not music is another chestnut we hear all the time. As if the super twangy country music vocals are.

Music conveys mood and emotions. That's what makes music art. It's one of the few art forms where the consumer can hear, see, and feel the emotional connection from the creator of the art.

Album Review: "Ad Mortem Festinamus" by Anger As Art

Ad Mortem Festinamus

It is good to know the spirit of the 80s bay area metal scene is not only alive, but well, in the hands of thrash masters Anger As Art.  

Although the four piece does not actually hail from near San Francisco their sound would fit well amongst the legends of northern California.  

Their third album Ad Mortem Festinamus, which will be released by Old School Metal Records on March 11, 2016, not only keeps the thrash genre alive, but contributes significantly to it. If drawing comparisons, I would consider their sound to be most similar to Exodus and Overkill with maybe an influence from Hallow's Eve and Iced Earth. 

Yet they manage to put a unique element on these classic sounds, with relentless riffs and aggression infused melodies. What I like best about the album is how the song compositions allow the musicianship of each individual member of the band to take front stage at various intervals.  

The listener gets the impression creation of these songs was a truly collaborative process, and a quick glance at the songwriting credits indicates contributions on this front were widespread.

Album Review: "Across Corpses Grey" by The Wolves of Avalon

Across Corpses Grey

Possibly the best activity in the world is drinking while talking, or talking while drinking.

When you're at the bar with your buddy, whether people watching, watching the sport on the TV, or just reminiscing about how great Kiss used to before they went straight up cosplay, telling a story is what it's all about.

No one sits at the bar with a cold pint and fails to tell a story, at least not at our table.

When one finds themselves across the table from this guy, a great many long stories can seep out, especially after being plied with a double IPA.

Telling an overarching story isn't the same as repeating that joke your co-worker told this morning. The storyteller has to be able to hold their listeners' interest. Therein, lies the task.