LP Review: "IV" by Grayceon

IV

About a month ago, while my daughter was helping me prepare dinner, she said to me...

Daddy did you know that my favorite people in rock and metal are boys?

Now, as she's a 100% Daddy's Girl, it was clear what she was trying to do. She was saying, see Daddy, I love you so much that I love people who look like you too.

I did what any loving father should be do after he saw that his daughter didn't have heroes that look like her...

We spent the next 30 minutes going through my phone, youtube, and whatever busting out the best women in hard rock and heavy metal. As an American White Male, there are no shortage of heroes who look like me.

LP Review: "To The Great Monolith I" by Death. Void. Terror.

To The Great Monolith I

Years ago, in the before time, my crew would go play songs at a coffee house in Webster Groves, MO.

The name escapes me, but later it became Pony Espresso. Though, by and large, we were not coffee drinkers, there we were most Tuesday Nights.

We often played a "song" called The Clown Joke.

We played fast and loose with the word song. It was a fifteen to twenty minute avant garde tour de force telling of a really terrible joke.

Let's be quite clear, there was nothing written to this song excepting more or less, the punch line of the joke. There was never any telling how long it would go on or what we would play on our instruments.

Album Stream: "26" by Kzohh

This is something new for Glacially Musical. We are giving you an entire album stream.

The Ukranian Black Metal phenomenon, Kzohh, has dropped their latest album, 26, today. Let's be honest, no one knows how to pronounce the name of the band right? We'd have to ask:

Khorus
Zhoth
Odalv
Helg
Hyozt

In the meantime, you can click right below to get in on this new album. 26 features two tracks and about 38 minutes of off the beaten path black metal. Just be warned, if you like your black metal like you like your whole wheat milk toast...

You're probably not going to enjoy this, but for the rest of you, pick it up HERE.

Video: "The Summit" by Within The Giant's Reach

You may know that we are based out of St. Louis, MO. Not just the metro area, but St. Louis City proper. My delightful hometown is oft maligned by outlanders and locals alike.

So, when something cool comes out of my city, it's easy to want to support it. Here we've got a band that's half St. Louis and half San Antonio.

I don't know what do with that, but in the meantime, you can go see them at The Firebird on May 27th, check out this banger of track, and say hi on the Facebooks.

LP Review: "Voidwalker" by Jollymon

Voidwalker

It's been discussed at length, but we're never too proud to breaking the same old ground....if enough time's passed.

It was around 2014 that stoner metal arrived into my personal sphere.

Now would be a pretty darned good time to begin judging the holy living hell out of me really. It seemed so new to me. What I didn't know, is that the genre was already decades old.

Yet, it had never hit me, because my mind was elsewhere and I was closed off to new music.

It's hard to fathom now that an entire new genre of music and it caught me completely unawares. It would appear as though I've done my best to catch up on the Stoner and Doom metal though. It's been around here a bit hasn't it?

Foods We Love with Andy Field of APF Records

We're talking to people all over the world about their foods. Today we get to hear from Andrew Field from APF Records based out of jolly old England.

This label features releases from Bong Cauldron and Desert Storm.

But right now, it's time to find out what sorts of foods he eats.

For my American readers who don't watch Monty Python, Red Dwarf, Benny Hill, or Black Books...

Crisps are potato chips. In England they call fries chips...it's confusing I know.

Anyway, make sure you check APF Records for some sweet metal.

For me, lunch is usually the meal where I don't have to deal with the Napoleon of Food. So it's my favorite meal. What's your best meal of the day? 

Video: "LIVES" by Scars on Broadway Featuring Daron Malakian

If you go back about fifty years, the term heavy metal was used to insult musician as being stupid. It was music for dum dums.

Here we are now and more often than  not, the metallers are typically writing the smartest and often times most socially conscious music out there.

Enter, Scars on Broadway, the band fronted by System of a Down's guitarist, Daron Malakian. LIVES celebrates life in spite of tragedy.

This track is released 103 years after the Armenian genocide, and some of the proceeds from iTunes go to benefit The Areminia Fund.

“I want to help the innocent people currently caught in Azerbaijan’s ceasefire violations against the Republic of Artsakh and prevent another genocide against Armenians,” Malakian.

LP Review: "Darkness..." by Mordor

Darknes...

In the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair...

It's been almost fifty years since Robert Plant put that line on wax in the classic track, Ramble On.

In 1986, that was the first time I'd ever heard anyone say Mordor that I could recall. The Rings cartoon movie...never saw the whole thing and never got past Frodo talking about his missing finger

Yes years later, those Peter Jackson movies....they're on my shelf on blu-ray, but Randall Graves was right.

He was right.

Today's Mordor isn't a Led Zeppelin clone, nor do they seem to be writing songs about The Lord of the Rings. It's just that their name made me think of other things and past experiences that make me smile.

Video: "Warchief" by Graveshadow

If there's one thing this guy's a sucker for, it's a kick ass guitar riff.

The folks in Graveshadow certainly have those in spades. On top of that Graveshadow is a pretty sweet name for a metal band.

Let's also score one for diversity, both in music and gender. They're currently riding the wave on their latest album, Ambition's Price that was released last week.

Check it out the video below. Send them your messages on Facebook and pick up their album on Bandcamp.

Vinyloscopy with 20 Watt Tombstone

20 Watt Tombstone

Let's head up to Snowy Wisconsin. A close friend lives in Green Bay and the pictures they're sharing on Facebook of 30 to 40 inches of snow in April.

Well, it makes me look at the 30-40 degrees we were getting before the needle climbed up to over 50 and I must confess myself jealous of their delicious never ending winter.

Has anyone see Queen Jadis, The White Witch of Narnia riding around up there? 

On the plus side, 20 Watt Tombstone did get to enjoy our St. Louis weather when they were here last week for the War Goat Festival. 

Just before we go any farther, they've got a deluxe and expanded edition of Death Blues Vs The Dirty Spliff coming out on May 18th. Check that out if you haven't already. Be sure to keep your eyes on their Merch Store for that.

Though, I'm reasonably certain they could not bring anything back with them. This is of course is a rambling re-introduction to these gents. 

Video: "Shit Kicker" by Hogan's Goat

Let's change the pace. Let's change it so hard from heavy metal that people wont' even believe this is the same website that was never really a heavy metal site but switched to a heavy metal site, kind of!

To show you how hard we're changing that pace, check out the latest video from Hogan's Goat.

Make sure you check them out on Facebook, but only if you're into some cool grooves that shake.

LP Review: "Solitude" by TOTALSELFHATRED

Solitude

Life is a series of contradictions that one must traverse in order to arrive.

Musically, my library is full of a vast array of opposites, but that's what keeps it interesting.

When not listening to records or the rare CD in the car, the dreaded iTunes shuffle is my method.

Because my playlists are simply the albums in my digital library all jumbled together, there are several amazing juxtapositions of music that pop through.

Sometimes the most brootal metal will be followed by Simon and Garfunkel. Bon Jovi serves the dessert to The Coup. When it comes to music, it's hard not to always head back to something Eddie Van Halen said...

Foods We Love with Old Man Wizard

Old Man Wizard

Old Man Wizard is a southern California Rock Band. San Diego if you're into brevity.

They've been out there for years, pressing vinyl, doing shows, and slogging it out all for the people of these United States.

They're the kind of band you need to check out if you're into things like Ghost, Opeth, and/or Jethro Tull.

Their new album drops next month on May 11th. You can preorder that on BANDCAMP.

So check out below to find out more about how they eat.

1. For me, lunch is usually the meal where I don't have to deal with the Napoleon of Food. So it's my favorite meal. What's your best meal of the day?

Francis: Dinner. Usually a burrito.

Andre: Why do you hate France? 

Video: "Tabula Rasa" by Æpoch

It's been far too long since we've discussed any seriously Canadian death metal right?

Ontario, especially Mani-Tario should be rife with extreme metal bands, but it appears not all that many of them arrive here in the States.

We should be importing them from Kitchener and Victoriaville like hockey sticks, but here we are. All Canada is willing to send us is their hockey players.

Check this out this one by Æpoch when you're ready to rock.

LP Review: "The Blinding Light of Faith" by De Profundis

The Blinding Light of Faith

Before we start, let me state there is a sticker on the back of my Prius that says "DEATH METAL."

In 2018, it's starting to feel like that Death Metal is waning in popularity.

Perhaps, this view of mine is based solely on my personal listening habits. It just doesn't feel like it once did.

The death metal crash of the mid-90's was one of the best things that could've happened to the genre, though Illud Divinum Insanus is quite possibly the worst thing to happen.

The strange part is that each of those two things did something to clear the throat of the collective consciousness.

The second wave, third wave, and now the seventeenth waves of black metal, doom metal, the third wave of Neo-Thrash, the New Wave of American Metal, and whichever other elder genres of metal that have spun right back around like a record, all pushed death metal back a little bit.

Video: "Shackled" by Bloodshot Dawn

One of the best feelings out there happens when you first get a hook caught into your skin. We're not talking about either of the fish hooks that pierced my ear and back respectively, but that of music.

Bloodshot Dawn is going to that hook in your arm the moment you hear the first riff on this track. We always preview these videos a little bit and it didn't take long to decide to tell you all about it.

Apart from the lethal riffing, there's some tasty solos, and a man whose head is going to explode if he doesn't scream all about it to you.

Don't be inhumane and make him explode. Listen.

LP Review: "Ruin" by Wilt

Ruin

It's been a couple of years, but this album by this Canadian black metal band crossed my desk. Their name was Wilt and they were about to release their full length-debut Moving Monoliths.

This album arrived to me late and there was no time to get it into my scheduled posting, so I did a favor and released my review of it on Thanksgiving Day, 2015.

Their album was one of the first black metal records that really caught me. It was a bit droning and long form. It clocked in around 40 minutes in length with only four songs.

The term atmospheric black metal was now in my head. it was something that stuck with me, but at the time, there wasn't a vinyl release. So, the promo was put into the digital library and I moved on.

Video: "Red Bible" by Avantist ft Adrián Terrazas-Gonzáles

What's the Monty Python line you remember?

And now for something completely different....

Well, that's our right now. You reading this and my writing this. These days, my love of all things post it notes has begun to merge with my love of music. So, let's consider some Post-Rock if we could.

If you get lost along along the way, write down the band's name on a post it note. It helps, it really helps.

It would be wrong to tell you too much about this song, band, or album, because the chase is betterthan the catch as our man, Lemmy once said.

If you dig this, before to find them on Facebook.

Fuzz Lord Undergoes Vinyloscopy

There are times in this life when you look at the mask of a professional wrestler and the whole path of your life is set before you.

The table laid out, the plan, the meal, whatever particular metaphor you prefer.

Fuzz Lord, that's these guys.

This trio based somewhere out of a city in Ohio that shares a name, well some of it, with that of a Hooten Hallers record plays doom, fuzz, and sleaze.

The crept out of their semi-secret lair out of the aforementioned, though unnamed city...ok, fine, it's Chiilicothe, OH, in order to check in on the vinyl score.

One would presume a retro metal band like them would face towards analog shores....

Video: "Resurrectionist" by Infected Dead

One of my ever running diatribes with myself and sometimes those on twitter is about the genres of Technical Death Metal and Brutal Death Metal. Think, Cattle Decapitated and The Black Dahlia Murder, but I'm not sure which one of those is which.

I get confused.

Me, I'm not a fan of that kind of metal typically because it feels like the quality of the music is overshadowed by heavy for the sake of heavy. Think about it this way, a .22 caliber handgun isn't going to be as impressive as a .357 Magnum, but either one can get the job done.

To that end, offered for your consideration is the latest single from Infected Dead. What's totally cool about this SUPREMELY heavy track is that it isn't loud for the sake of loud and heavy for the sake of heavy.

It's heave and it's awesome. There's a song in there intertwined in the blast beats, breakdowns, and guitar solos.

Ask them about their inspiration on Facebook.

LP Review: "I Shall Forgive" by The Erkonauts

I Shall Forgive

It's hard to think of this, but it's true.

There was a time where Faith No More and Infectious Grooves did not exist.

When the only time you were hearing those funky ass bass lines was in...well funk and whatever the hell The Red Hot Chili Peppers are.

Then, this new thing surfaced. You could listen to heavy music with dat funky butt bass. Jason Newsted attempted to add this sort of thing to Metallica, who knows if it ever made it past the editing room.

Infectious Grooves and Faith No More were the beginnings of a new kind of metal. Then bands like White Zombie and Pantera took this idea and made it more mainstream by making it less crazy.

Vinyloscopy with Matt of Plastic

Plastic

Back again.

First off, that title feels a little bit misleading. See, this isn't an artist called Matt of Plastic.

Certainly there's a band by that name right? Well, a quick google search does not reveal an act by this name. So, this name is UP FOR GRABS!

What we are doing is talking with the drummer from the group Plastic. They recently released a new record on Sweet Low Records and you can check it out HERE.

1. Listening to Black Sabbath's eponymous debut the night I got it blew me away. What's the album that sounds the best on vinyl compared to digital sources? 

I think the best albums I've heard are the oldies, man.

Video: "We Will Walk Alone" by Wallachia

You know that feeling, the one of love at first sight? We all know that you do because it's been the topic of at least six thousand three hundred and eight TV shows and movies.

Wallachia...they had that effect on me. All of a sudden, I see this delicious woodcut in an email and think to myself, that's the kind of thing I could really get into.

Take a listen below and see if you love them too.

EP Review: "Innen Aussen" by Tarasque

Innen Aussen

The first bit of housekeeping that needs to be discussed is whether or not this is an LP or an EP. The disc clocks in around 27 minutes which puts it slightly under one Reign In Blood.

Slayer's masterpiece clocks in at just under 29 minutes. So, that's the minimum. These delineations are here for the readers! Some of us, like me, know what it's like to buy an EP when you were expecting an LP....

Second bit of housekeeping. Tarasque are listed under the post-metal heading. Does anyone out there refer to anything as Post-Anything?

They're also listed as sludge metal. Each time a post-metal record is reviewed here, we ask for help defining this term. As no one's stepped up, my personal definition of Post-Metal will be this now and forever: It's metal that doesn't simply tick the boxes off and adds in non-metal elements. 

So it is metal and it's not metal at the same time with a tendency for the avant garde.

Lyric Video: "Dawn of Creation" by Iron Fire

It's Friday. It's 2pm CST. Don't even try to tell me that w'ere not collectively thinking about the weekend and that first beer.

Sadly, we do not have the ability to alter time and speed up the harvest, but maybe there's a few minutes of peace and metal to be had to help you get there.

Iron Fire is getting ready to release Dawn of Creation: Twentieth Anniversary on Crime Records. This update will feature a second disc full of demos, cover songs, and live tracks.

You can preorder it HERE.

LP Review: "Wrath of the Wilds" by Wormlight

Wrath of the Wilds

When considering metal convention and cliche, is there any subgenre that's so indebted to these things than black metal?

Black Metal is full of interesting tropes that are brought out again and again by new and different acts trying to recapture the magic of what once was.

Even the facepaint is oft used. The same faces will appear in different bands. Honestly, I don't know if that's an homage or a heist.

Either way.

It's as if there's this straight and narrow path that delineates black metal from all other forms of music. Should it walk the edge and make a misstep that drops a single, fur covered boot into the snow....is it still black metal?

Fast Formats With Oceans

Oceans

It's been a minute since we've heard one of the bands out there talk to us about how they listen to music and what their faves out there are.

Today we're hearing from a younger band out of the UK, Oceans. You can check them on Facebook.

After reading below, you'll see a bit of a generational drift between yours truly and some of the other bands out there.

Oceans are the first band to list digital download as their favorite (favourite?) format.

The first album I ever owned was….

actually Road To Revolution: Live In Milton Keynes, it was a live recording of Linkin Park and I lived around that area at the time. Now might be a fitting time to give that one a listen again.

Video: "Pay Us In Dimes" by Baby Bones

If you haven't heard, the debut record from Baby Bones, The Curst of the Crystal Teeth, is being released on April 14, 2018.

These guys are from Louisville, KY and have made a video, see below, that could have been featured in the reboot of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Upon watching and listening, the meaning is still very lost on me, but the song...

The song has this cool laid back groove when overlaid on this action movie, the juxtaposition becomes delightful. Check out the album and pick it up on BANDCAMP.

LP: "The Splendid Iniquity" by Angerot

The Splendid Iniquity

Before we get to anything else, let's discuss the name of this band...Angerot. Honestly, I don't know how to pronounce this. An-sher-Oh? Anger-rot?

I could see this being really cool either way, as long as an-sher-oh actually means something...

These guys need a pronunciation guide like they have for hockey players...because those dudes, like the metal militia, come from all over the world.

One of the best things about metal is its ability to soothe negative feelings. That's what I love the most about metal apart from the absolutely bitchin' guitar solos.

It's the mother's milk, the ambrosia, or the beef stew of the music world for me. Yesterday, I was home waiting for the roofers and blasting metal. Check out the Insta feed for that fun.

Video: "Edge of Tomorrow" by Eyes Wide Open

There's a new sheriff in town and his name is...hmm. Well, frankly, I have no idea where I'm going with that, so instead let's discuss that octopus plugging up a black hole.

Eyes Wide Open have just released a new single that an uptempo rocker that heads right on down to metal town.

If you dig this tune, be sure to check out their upcoming full length And So It Begins.