Album Review: "Vol. 1 & 2" by Seer

Vol. 1 & 2

Today we have another opportunity to discuss a debut release.

Seer has only been in existence for just about a year and here we are consuming the first, in hopefully a long line of albums.

I'm not going to make a big deal about subgenres today. They are what they are and that's what they are.

Once again though, we have that, that bit of a residue, a glimmer, a stain.

Seer is stained by their homeland. They live in the Pacific Northwest of Canada.

Vancouver, British Columbia. That's the sort of thing that influences a band more than anything else can. The homeland...

Album Review: "Ei valo minua seuraa" by Vorna

Ei valo minua seuraa

Translated from Finnish: No Light Follows Me.

Did you watch that show Metal Evolution or whatever it was called on VH1 where the guy from Canada did crazy research and interviews with all the metal guys?

He also went way deep into the various subgenres of metal.

Well, he left one out!

Orchestral Pagan Metal.

I know, I was shocked that he left this very large and well known subgenre out as well. If you think about it for a few minutes, I bet you could name about 15 to 20 different Orchestral Pagan Metal bands...no?

Well, let's dive right in with the first time I've heard any music referred to in this manner, Vorna.

Album Review: "Moving Monoliths" by WILT

Moving Monoliths

What is in a genre?

When the term black metal is uttered in your presence, what comes to mind?

For me...it's people painted up like Kiss, but less cool, extremely vicious vocals like death metal, but less cool, and pounding rhythms that are bolstered by keyboards.

If you're a black metal devotee, you'll probably realize that I'm not a fan of the genre personally.

But perhaps I think of genres as steadfast rules rather a mere set of unwritten guidelines. It's also interesting to see sub-sub-genres of metal...like today...let's talk about atmospheric black doom metal.

Album Review: "Death Poems" by The Fifth Alliance

Death Poems

When people ask me what kind of music I listen to....

Well, I think of myself as a metalhead, because once you go metal, no one else will accept you. So, hopefully my little piddle patch here will show some others that just because we listen to extreme metal doesn't mean we can't rock out to some dance pop too.

But anyway, I didn't want to talk about that. How do you define metal?

Black Sabbath has zero in common with Metallica. Metallica has zero in common with Napalm Death. Napalm Death has zero in common with Ahab. Ahab has zero in common with Babymetal.

Metal has wound itself around so many things that it's created a forest of sub-genres, many of the devotees even see these as separate genres unto themselves.

So, today I'm telling you about an upcoming metal album that I find has zero in common with any of the aforementioned bands.

Album Review: "Tales From Adrenechrome" by Adrenechrome

Tales From Adrenechrome

Canada is one of my absolute top countries in North America.

If I was able to choose in which country I wanted to live and Japan, The United Kingdom, and Spain were crossed off the list, I would say I want to live in TO. (That's Toronto, Onatario for those of you who aren't up to the latest Canadian slang that Degrassi Junior High The Next Generation, shout out to Jimmy "Drake" Brooks, taught me.

Canada has healthcare, trains, hockey by the hockey bag load. I mean you can't go anywhere in Canada without seeing all sorts of those things.

To top it off, they even have my favorite brand of outdoor football, The Canadian Football League. I mean really, they just have it all up t here.

They've also got more metal than you can shake the whole Sherbrooke hockey stick factory at. So let's snow the goalie and get on with it.

Album Review: "So Damn True" by Miss Mec

So Damn True

Could you imagine twenty years ago, back when I was in high school no wait just graduated, how much different music, and the music industry would be?

Back then it was all blow parties for the labels and the A&R men.
The idea of supporting independent music meant you caught your cousins' friend's band at Metal's Edge on South Broadway opening up for Agnostic Front.

Back then, no one wanted to be an independent artist. The idea was to record something, get it put out on cassette or CD and get picked up by an indie label and then a major. The final goal was to be invited to the blow parties with the A&R men as you were handed a gold record.

Well, we've come a long way, baby.

Album Review: "And When the Sky Was Opened" by Serocs

And When the Sky Was Opened

Years ago, I was sitting in American Literature 1 with one of my best friends from high school, Lisa.

We were discussing how Morbid Angel was the heaviest god damned band in the world. Then we moved onto how just a few short years ago, Iron Maiden was as heavy as it got.

How in the world could it get heavier than, what we now today as, Tampa Bay Death Metal?

That's one of the things that routinely goes through my head when I'm listening to modern metal, because it is much heavier and much the same as their forebears, but also much different.

Serocs, the multinational death metal collective that recently picked up a Canadian as a full fledged member, is on the cusp of releasing their sophomore album that's lyrically and thematically cohesive.

Album Review: "Antinomia" by Psychotomy

Antinomia

One of my absolute favorite anime is Rurouni Kenshin.

It's the tale of an ex-Samurai in Meiji Era Japan after the Samurai class was outlawed. It doesn't follow the story line that I would personally conceive.

Akira Kurosawa could never have written this tale.

Kurosawa-sama was a teller of traditional tales in the mold of the Samurai, even when telling western inspired tales, like Throne of Blood, but I do go on don't I?

Today I'm looking at a new band from Italy, Psychotomy.

I'll be honest. It me about two or three passes on that name to figure out how to pronounce it. Formed in the heady days of 2010, Antinomia is their debut album. It was preceded by only an EP in 2012.

Album Review: "Zealots" by The Deadline Shakes

Zealots

Sometimes music comes to me and I just find myself thinking, you know I really need to check this out.

Today it's The Deadline Shakes.

They're from my family's ancestral home of Scotland. Glasgow to be precise.

As I'm oft happy to do, I'm introducing them partly because they are a brand new band on the cusp of releasing their first album. Zealots.

I have them on my list of bands to check out. I wrote their name down about a week and a half ago, and I honestly cannot remember why I chose them, just did. As I couldn't remember why I chose this particular album for review, I was not prepared for what came next....

Interview: Sam Gleaves "I'm a Fabu-lachian!"

Sam Gleaves

Music is a must have for me.

I think everybody knows that, but sometimes I like to wax poetic about this amazing medium we have in the world.

Music is truly a universal language.

I can listen to Baby Metal in Japanese, Malady in Finnish, and Deicide without having to worry about what they're saying.

I can feel the emotions they're conveying.

All that being said though...

Sometimes it's really nice to hear someone speak about something through music...in a language I understand well.

Sam Gleaves has done just that on his debut album, Ain't We Brothers. On the title track, he told the story of a gay coal miner who was ostracized by his co-workers. Powerful stuff. How am I supposed to ask questions of someone dealing with such large issues! Well I tried....

Album Review: "The Tomb of All Things" by Un

The Tomb of All Things

Welcome to the world of the dying, Un.

Seattle, Washington's newest Funeral Doom Metal band is now releasing their debut album.

Another genre to talk about or to shake my fist angrily at the sky in defiance screaming we only need metal...but you know I'm  not going to do that.

In the past few years, there has been a fissure in the metal community. Until recently, metal has been focused on anger and rage. Dee Snider said as much when discussing why rap fans and metal fans don't have nearly the crossover they should.

But now, there's something else. Metal has found another negative emotion on which to base their songs. Sadness is just as powerful as the anger. Edgar Allen Poe knew this all too well....

Album Review: "You Lived, Now Die" by Diavolos

You Lived, Now Die

Personally...I consider myself old school.

Back in the day it was one of hundreds of nicknames my friend gave me and it was stenciled onto my bright red Ibanez Super Strat.

Of course, at the time I was 19 and anything but old school. I was too young and dumb to even know what old school was.

Today we're looking at an old school death  metal band, but we're not talking about early to mid 90's death metal, but even older than that.

The type of music contained herein was forged in hell before Chuck Schuldiner of Death ever released a note. This goes back to when death metal became something more than thrash  metal, but before the formula was created.

Album Review: "Final Days" by War Curse

Final Days

Who remembers those heady days when Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Exodus, and Testament were giving birth to the music that would later be called thrash metal?

I don't, because I was a touch too young, but I can tell you who's been affected by it?

War Curse.

Fun fact: Final Days is the strangely titled debut album from War Curse.

I dunno man, I don't think that's what I call my first record, but War Curse is like that I guess.

They've only been in existence for just about two years and they're already on their third bass player. I find that interesting. It's like the Spinal Tap rotation, but with bass players. Well, good luck Eric Payne. I hope you don't spontaneously combust.

Interview: Twingiant's Nikos Puts Up With My Inanity

Nikos Mixas, second from left.

For the past forever it would appear....

There has been this idea that decades of metal progression has been wrong and that something was lost in the translation from Black Sabbath's unholy teachings.

Most metal bands today bear no resemblance to them.

Though he is still a huge fan, I can hear nothing of Tony Iommi in James Hetfield's playing.

If you picture Black Sabbath in your mind, likely you will see the four of them, dressed in all black, wearing giant metal crosses, but that is their revisionist history of themselves.

Black Sabbath started out as hippies. They were as much acid rock as Jimi Hendrix, but so many bands took off, in their preconceived footsteps. Nowadays though, we have bands that have hit the reset button and brought back the wah wah into heavy metal.

So, I told you all of that so I can introduce you to Twingiant's Nikos Mixas.

Album Review: "Boroughs EP" by Boroughs

Boroughs

New band.

Old timey music.

Boroughs are a self described Americana roots musical collective from the sunny state of California. (Where else right?)

As we all know, nearly everything under the sun has been done and done many times over. What I'm seeing in the music world these days is a great many bands returning to the roots of music.

Be it 90's Death Metal, 50's Rock'n'Roll, Delta Blues, and so on and so forth, what's old is now new again. As it once was, it always will be.

So, let's check out our new friends. They've only been at this for a year.

Album Review: "Revocation of the Blood Elect" by Rex Shachath

Revocation of the Blood Elect

Is there anything more unifying than Death Metal?

There is nothing else I can think of that unifies the populace like this tiny genre of music.

Granted, about 98% of the entire world think it's terrible and horrible noise. It could be argued that those people are just wrong and don't know how to hear the music...

Then we get into some very real unification.

Today's band comes from Northern Ireland, UK.

This is the follow up to their debut EP, Sepulchral Torment. After the end of 2014, they have done little beyond working about this album. As I've not heard the first record....let's just dive into the second.

Album Review: "Chiaroscuro" by Vingulmork

Chiaroscuro

The double metal.

Vingulmork is a band that's too big for a single metal subgenre. Their music transcends the boundaries of death metal, thrash metal, and black metal to create a new thing.

Blackened Thrash, or Death Thrash, or whatever other permutation you can come up with.

I'm going with Death Thrash, because it just sounds so much cooler than blackened anything , besides chicken.

Perhaps I'm just being a silly writer, but damn it it's my space to write in.

Vingulmork have been at this a few  years and today's album is their first full length album, a follow up to their self released EP, The Long March, from 2013.

Album Review: "Malady" by Malady

Malady

One of the reasons I started this blog oh so long ago now, was because I no longer would allow myself to be closed off from new music.

In the three plus years of Glacially Musical, we've done what I'm about to do probably at least 30 times....

DEBUT ALUM!

Finland's Malady had a goal, they were going to write and record an album before the band members turned fifty. Well, a full score and 3 before reaching the half century mark, our new Finnish friends are releasing an album, this one.

When it comes to Finnish music, I think most of us are more familiar with bands like Children of Bodom and black metal in general, but Malady are quite far away from there.

Album Review: "Ain't We Brothers" by Sam Gleaves

Ain't We Brothers

Meet Sam Gleaves.

He hails from Appalachia.

It's not often that I do anything with people from this part of the country. They're not normally associated with my channels, but from time to time things happen, slip through, and here we are.

I can't say I normally listen to music with banjos.

I'm not really a KDHX listener, bluegrass doesn't tickle my fancy too much, but I stop and toss a few coins into the bucket when I see the old men at the local farmers' market playing...

Gleaves though isn't like the normal kinds of folks that most Americans would expect from this part of our country. He's gay and makes no bones about it.