1 Up with Solium Fatalis's Jeff Demarco

Solium Fatalis

You might recall that we talked to Jim Gregory of Solium Fatalis about his touring life. Today we're going to get some information from the band with dulcet tones on the lower register.

The one who brings the bass and we don't know how low he can go...

But aside from my re-purposing old Anthrax/Public Enemy lyrics, let's get on with it.

Myself, I'm a big gamer and I enjoy talking about that sort of thing...

So today we're asking Demarco about his life in the alternate universe of video games...

Glacially Musical: My first system was a pong clone, the yellow and black Odessey 300. What was your first Console?

Vinyl Review: "Daisy's Beauty Salon: by Very Be Careful

Daisy's Beauty Salon

When I've been out and about at concerts talking to my fellow goers, if I'm on the job, there's no reason to be shy about it.

Should you be one of the people who've received my lamentations on my frustrations with the music blogging "biz," you certainly are afforded my most humble apologies.

But, to unmuddy the lake, there are great amounts of frustration that go along with what we do. My personal blogging empire isn't exceptionally vast and it's certainly not lucrative financially.

What I'm afforded from this venture is the occasional vinyl promo, the opportunity to review shows, and acres of digital music.

So, really, if you think about it, it's a lot like getting paid because those are the kinds of things my money gets spent on anyway....but here's the reality of the situation.

Video: "Towards The Pillars of Chaos/Kenosis

Just under three years ago, Psychotomy was good enough to drop their debut album on us.Well, really we have to say that it's been too long for our friends from Italy.

Now that the chastising is over, it's glad to have you back. So, why not bend your ear and see what these gentlemen have been up to in the intervening years.

Everlasting Spew Records has this one coming out in late September. Preorder it HERE.

5 Minute Origin Story with Sean Meyers of Gates to the Morning

Out there, over in New Jersey, there's a progressive metal entity called Gates to the Morning.

This band is a little bit strange if you ask me, because what's that old joke?

What's the last thing the drummer said before he was fired from the band?

Hey, guys, I wrote a song!

But, Sean Meyers of Gates to the Morning not only plays the drums and the guitars, but he also writes the songs.

You can stream a couple of the songs from their upcoming debut album on BANDCAMP.

While you're taking in that check out how it's all starting...

Video: "Sinister" by Ominous Eclipse

For some reason, this week has seen us spending some time up near the Great White Way .

Today we're asking you to bend your ears and eyes to Ottawa, Ontario's Ominous Eclipse. They're a very heavy death metal band. Though, if you had to watch Winnipeg and Toronto play Canadian Football when you didn't have a team, you'd probably grow up angry as hell too right?

These gents are dropping an album in about two weeks on 9/1/4/18 that you'd do well to check out.

In the mean time, hit them on Facebook and Bandcamp.

Now that Ottawa has the Redblacks, will Ominous Eclipse remain angry? Only time will tell.

LP Review: "Sentiment" by Un

Un

Let's get things in the open. The Tomb of All Things absolutely kicked my ass upon its release and it's been in regular rotation for me. But it's been almost three years since we'd heard it. What's new since then?

Well, Un did a tour and stopped in St. Louis.

What they didn't mention, but it was kind of assumed, is that there was a new album on the horizon. Back in June, we weren't event thinking about September. As Summer dies and morphs into the dying world of Autumn, so will Sentiment be unloosed into our world.

The style is much the same. The songs are exceedingly long and depressing. The vocals are still harsh, yet sad. The guitars seem a bit fuzzier to my ears, but the time and distance may be confusing me. On first glance, it would seen that Un has chosen to not reinvent the wheel.

The second glance is the one that counts though. You'll see it more clearly once you get to the beginning of side two and it's confirmed at the end of side two how things are changing. There's even a rapid little section in that song.... Pools of Reflection. It's also song two.

Un is releasing a double LP with only four songs on it....ballsy.

Out: 9/28/18 PRE-ORDER FACEBOOK

Video: "As Rats Devour Lions" by by PREZIR

Godz of War is teasing us with the title track of PREZIR's upcoming record, As Rats Devour Lions.

In these times, that particular line sounds rather apropos doesn't it?

You can digitally preorder the album HERE.

Check out the video whilst I enjoy a nice cup of tea. Make sure you talk to PREZIR about the song on FACEBOOK.

5 Min Origin Stories with Stormland

Stormland

Let's have some real talk right now. It's about time to put something to rest in this world.

Canada, you know what you are right?

We all know that me, I love Canada, but that doesn't change what Canada is at its heart, America's do-gooding younger sibling. We get it. America gives the world Saved By The Bell and Canada counters with Degrassi Junior High.

We give you insurance and you come back with single payer insurance. Geez. Could you guys try any harder to make us look like a slacking elder brother who really doesn't know what we are doing in this life???!

Well, we were here first so we win...wait, what were we talking about. Oh yeah, Stormland has a new album and you should check out this Canadian death metal out on BANDCAMP.

In the meantime, we talked to Justin about all the good stuff...check it out below...

LP Review: "Vida" by Appalatin

Vida

Over the coming weeks, there's going to be a few reviews from albums, where honestly, we got a little bit behind and that stack of CDs has gotten bigger.

The first of these will be the third album from vaguely rockish falk act, Appalatin.

The main songwriters are from Nicaragua and Kentucky. In the Donald Trump Era, it's hard to even consider such a collaboration, but it began years ago, naturally.

If you're out there, looking for some music that's different than what you've ever heard in your life, Vida will definitely fit there.

If you've ever thought that bluegrass, folk rock, psychedelic rock, and Latin music all need to be fused under the power of the wah wah, Appalatin has something for you. What makes this album so much fun is how off the wall it is.

The songs flow together far more easily than they should. Considering the variables involved. If you can listen to this album without smiling the whole time, I'd suggest you call a funeral home and make a reservation because there's no way you could still be alive.

OUT NOW PURCHASE FACEBOOK

1 Up with Flummox's Alan Pfeifer

Flummox

There's something about this band, but it's hard to put my finger onto it. It's on the tip of my tongue, but here we are and I can't grab it.

What is it about Flummox that has me so...charmingly befuddled?

They're a band that's kind of in the out. It's hard to pigeonhole them into any type of music without about seven different names in it....they're sort of Post Psyche Blackened Trout Metal Core Peel...

However you'd like to consider them, be sure you consider their latest album, Intellectual Hooliganism, that releases on September 8 via Wood and Stone Productions.

Alan Pfeifer is one of the criminal geniuses behind this band of merry weirdos.

There's a lot to unpack on this record, but instead of that, we're talking about video games.

Glacially Musical: My first system was a pong clone, the yellow and black Odessey 300. What was your first Console?

EP Review: "Captive" by Dead Register

Captive

Atlanta, GA's Dead Register is back with their follow up to 2016's Fiber.

The sophomore effort is an EP instead of a full length album, which a good choice if you ask this blogger. Too many times bands have taken their whole lives to write an amazing debut, only to fall short on the next one.

The second album is a great time to begin your shift, if one happens to be coming.

Dead Register shows a good deal of growth on this record, but without losing any of that gothic flavor we've all come to know an love from them.

The structure of the songs remains rather familiar. The timbre of M R Chvasta's voice hasn't gone off into metalcore pastures (either dirty or clean). Neither Avril Che nor new drummer Danny Ryann doing anything that would put lovers of Fiber off, but listen carefully and you'll hear the difference.

They were able to use the same pieces, colors, and textures in a new way that creates the effect of casual strangeness. It feels like home, but not quite your home.

This release is like sleeping at your long lost cousin's house. It feels familiar, but it's just a tick different.

Release: 11/2/18 AVR Records Goth Metal Bandcamp Facebook

Foods We Love with Anne Deming

Anne Deming

Right now, this part of the article is for all of my international readers. Dear Fellow Americans, go ahead and check out for a min and drink one of those delicious American IPAs while I talk to Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

Sorry Canada, you're America's Hat and Mexico, you're part of NAFTA too, and besides, have you been to the Yucatan lately?

It's damned American there... Which is why we're going to Puerto Vallarta next time..

So, there are two parts of this nation that have been trying ever so hard to be a part of Canada. No hate from on that one. Nationalized Healthcare, more hockey than you can shake a goalie stick at, Justin Trudeau, Curtis Dewar, and Molson Export. Hey, I'm down, but based on my time in Canada, The Twin Cities of Minnesota, and Buffalo...

Buffalo wins this fight, but Anne Deming is from the Twin Cities. We'll call it Lower Canada Minor. She's a blues/Americana artist looking to spread the words out there.

You can check out her latest single HERE. In the meantime, let's continue with the series of my combining my love of food with this site...

5 Minute Origin Stories with Hate Diplomacy's Joe Randaza

Hate Diplomacy

Hopefully by now, you've checked out Rant by Hate Diplomacy.

If not, right now you have two options as I see them:

1. You head over to Facebook and tell them why not.

2. You check out the link I just posted up at the top. It's hard to imagine anyone who reads this site not being interested in this album.

But, just in case that's not enough, Hate Diplomacy's Joe Randaza gives us all the goods one more time.

Check this one out, it's worth your time.

1. Is there an event you can point to you that made you say, wow, that's the instrument I want to play? Not like guitar or drums, but the reason why you play the model you do?

Vinyl Review: "Anomie" by Violet Cold

Anomie

By now, anyone who's going to entertain this record by Violent Cold may have already done so, but aside from slivers and snippets, this is the first time I've listened to the whole thing.

But maybe, I'm wrong about that. In fact, it's got to be certain that I'm incorrect.

Let's head backwards in time and explore the depths of my personal folly and how I could have been saved by my own hands.

Curtis Dewar of Dewar PR, who knows I'm a big vinyl nut, sent me a message saying that I'd better jump on Violet Cold's latest album before the preorders take them all.

Being perpetually behind in my emails, Anomie hadn't gotten a listen yet. At that point, it was relaxing time, beer thirty, and just general off the clockedness of what might have been the weekend.

Video: "Horde" by Hesperian Death Horse

When I was a child, a tween, a pre-teen, and into some of my adolescence, we learned about new music via music videos. TBS's Night Tracks, NBC's Friday Night Videos, and other non-MTV stations supplemented our growing desire for music.

In 2018, the art of the music video is dead. Most of them, on YouTube, are either lyric videos or performance videos. Hey, there's naught wrong with that, but concept videos are slowly fading into the rear view mirror.

In order to slow this descent into extinction, you can check out the lastest video from Zagreb, Croatia's Hesperian  Death Horse.

You can pick up the whole record over at Bandcamp.

5 Minute Origin Stories with Void Ritual

You might recall the interesting Black Metal solo album Death Is Peace by Void Ritual.

Well, the entire editorial staff got together and had a meeting about this band. Upon my..er their finding out it was only a single person, we felt that this was even more interesting than what we'd heard.

So, I asked them (I mean we asked him) about getting down on a slab of vinyl, but as there are no plans for that in the present and Glacially Musical's coffers have been voided by the purchase of an 18 pack of Rolling Rock and a vinyl copy of Radiant Knife's latest....

The best we can do is get you more interested in this really cool Black Metal outfit(?) and a great way to do that is to tell you more about the man and where is music comes from.

Check it out below.

(NOTE: Glacially Musical is a one man enterprise. It's helmed by a man suffering from delusions of grandeur who'll tell you flat out, Void Ritual and Radiant Knife are bad ass metal bands.)

Film School with Saint Karloff

Saint Karloff is a hard hitting doom metal trio from Oslo, Norway.

Right now, there are many people thinking..wow are they terribly brutal black metal? Norway? Wow. They must have to kill a wolf every day in order to maintain the safety of their keep.

Do those trolls get out there and try to steal their children? Do said trolls work in concert with the Goblins and Orcs????

It's a bit disheartening to find out that Oslo is Norwegian city that maintains an combined orc and troll population of precisely zero.

What they do have is loads of bands that are pumping out great tunes. One of those bands, Saint Karloff, has recently put out their lastest disc, All  Heed The Black God.

Check that out and then we're going to talk about some kick ass movies.

1 Up with Unholy Batism's Moloch

Unholy Baptism

In the depths of the earth there's something dreadfully repellent.

Thinking about all of the things in this world that sicken a human being to their core, it's hard to skip over the filth infested world of Black Metal.

By and large, these bands are willing to write songs about the worst of humanity and the overturning of goodness...but enough about Moloch's love of PC games...

Moloch is half of the Unholy Baptism crew and they're putting out an album called Volume I: The Bonds of Servitude on October 5th. Check out their Facebook for updates.

Glacially Musical: My first system was a pong clone, the yellow and black Odessey 300. What was your first Console? 

 Unholy Baptism: Sega Genesis. I played a lot of Sonic and Mortal Kombat as a kid.

GM: My stepdad was certain we'd destroy the TV playing Pong so we had to play it in secret, either when he was a sleep or when he was out of the house. Did you have to jump through any hoops to play games? 

5 Minute Origin Stories with Crucible of Hate

Who out there remembers Crucible?!  Crucible was an amazing metal band that was based out of my delicious hometown of St. Louis, MO.

They were so metal, they had songs called well... A Dying Breed, and...other songs! Their lead guitarist later founded another St. Louis metal institution, Travail!

That man was truly an amazing guitarist, but wait! There's something wrong! We aren't talking about any of those bands and my formative years in The Murder City. 

I left out some words...it's Crucible of Hate. You've liked them on FACEBOOK right?

Keep an eye out for preordering information.

Road Warriors with Rob Williams of Texas Metal Outlaws

Formerly of IGNITOR and  currently of Texas Metal Outlaws, Rob Williams gets with us on what it's like to be out on the road.

Look out for coming details of their new record.

In the mean time, let's dive right in...

1. What's the right length for a tour? 

There are a lot of factors that go into answering this question. What is the makeup of your band and their priorities? Do they have families or jobs to attend to? 

Do they play in other bands and will they lose money in the long run if you're on the road too long? Do you have a band account where you take your earnings from playing clubs and invest into an account where you can afford gas, food and lodging while on the road? 

Is the tour a strong enough package to get people in another city to come see you on aTuesday night? All of these kinds of questions need to be carefully considered and discussed as a group.

1 Up with Nick Noro of Survival

Who wants Survival?

In this rare instance, we are talking about Survival Horror. This is a topic that's never been discussed on these pages. In nearly six years of music journalism excellence, we (there used to be others) have never discussed what it was like to be a member of the Raccoon City PD.

NOTE: I did see a Raccoon City PD T-shirt at Slayer...

Nick Noro, he's ready to get real about what's going on in that fictional town. He's the Roger Waters of  Post-Thrash something something metal band, Survival.

This spring they released their latest record, Murkin Hella Fools, and you can check that out on BANDCAMP. You can also get to the bottom of their mysteries on FACEBOOK.

Apparently, Nick, like this Nik (the one writing) likes video games.

Check out this meeting of the Nicks. (Niks?)

5 Minute Origin Stories with Hollow Leg

Hollow Leg

Have you ever been to Jacksonville, FL?

I have not, but being honest, this blogger still has a pretty exposed hatred for Jacksonville, FL. You want to know why?

Because of American Football.

1. Jacksonville got one of the expansion teams we were supposed to have gotten in St. Louis.

2. Jacksonville got the owner we were supposed to get in St. Louis, Shahid Khan.

Anyway, hockey and soccer are better sports (Fight Me. Fair warning, I'm three lessons into Karate.) than the NFL anyway.

Jacksonville, FL is not only the home to the football usurpers, but also to the acclaimed doom/sludge band Hollow Leg. Once again, they're rather willing to jump into my fray.

Make sure you read all the way to the end...there's a surprise inside!

As always, FACEBOOK and BANDCAMP are your friends.

Video: "Beast of Oblivion" by Solborn

If there's one place in this god forsaken world that we can count on for life, liberty, and health care, it's Canada.

Naturally people will want to talk about trendy Canada, the microbrewed beer of Toronto. The glitz of Degrassi Jr High. I've even heard tale of the Hash Dens of Montreal.

But all of those places, they're not real Canada. Where did Sean's brother move to on Degrassi? Calgary, to go work on the oil rigs.

Today, we're talking not about Calgarians, but Edmontonians and the sworn enemy of the Stampeders. Let's head to Rough Rider Country....wait...Eskimos Country I mean!

Canadian Symphonic Metal band, Solborn, has released their debut record, Dark Lights of Delirium, and you can order that HERE and become best friends on FACEBOX.

Now click play on the rawk!

Road Warriors with Jim Gregory of Solium Fatalis

Coming up in October, the latest album by Blackend Melodic Death Metal Band, Solium Fatalis, Genetically Engineered to Enslave, drops via Bancamp.

If you're into the metals, you can pre-order that HERE.

Genetically Engineered to Enslave is the fourth album from the New Hampshire quartet.

Their latest release features some cameo appearances by some of Extreme Metal's most famous faces. Track 5, A Gathering of Storms, features assists from Matt McGachy of Cryptopsy and Haydee Irizarry of CHTHE'ILST. Ask them what McGachy is like in person FACEBOOK.

5 Minute Origin Story with Hessian

Hessian hales from Portland, ME.

The only other artist that springs to mind from that part of these United States would be Spose. He typically rocks a Portland Pirates hat on stage.

Hessian though, they're about as far away from Spose as one could possibly be. 

Their latest album, Mercenary Retrograde. will be released on September 14, 2018 through the Urtod Void imprint.

It's been five years since their last release got the world shaking, and their Thin Lizzy meets Danzig approach to Heavy Metal and Roll ought get some more fans butts shakin' in the seats while they worship the devil and take shots with the Crystal Skull.

Before you jump over to Bandcamp to get your fix...find our more about how the band came to be.

1 Up with Mega Ran

MEga Ran

It was in the middle of my state, in Columbia, MO that I first laid eyes on Random aka Mega Ran.

Over the years, his usage of multiple monikers hasn't made it as easy to keep up with him, but for those of us that have, we've been rewarded.

Anyone who's seen any of his album covers, videos, etc, will know that he's probably the best person to kick off the new Glacially Musical Column on video games.

His catalog will reveal a love for Capcom, which is one I share as well, but he's a Megaman guy and I'm a Dungeons and Dragons guy.

The nerdcore hip-hop stalwart has a new album coming out that he's made in collaboration with MC Lars called The Dewey Decibel System and you can order that HERE.

Glacially Musical: My first system was a pong clone, the yellow and black Odessey 300. What was your first Console? 

Video: "Goodbye" by Tragul

Symphonic Power Metal band, Tragul, have covered the song Goodbye from the Netflix series, Dark, their third single this year.

Check it out below.

Tragul can be harangued on Facebook and you can order their music HERE.

5 Minute Origin Stories With Tongue Eating Louse

Tongue Eating LOuse

So, up there in the Fabled Canadas exist a band called Tongue Eating Louse.

Founded in 2013, the Ottawa based quartet is prepping their debut release on Sludgelord Records, Voidwalker, which can be preordered HERE.

This two track blackened sludgestravaganza will have you dripping with sweat and glistening with contentment.

Ask them all about that on FACEBOOK.

In the meantime, let's get to know more about the fellas and what makes them tick....

1. Is there an event you can point to you that made you say, wow, that's the instrument I want to play? Not like guitar or drums, but the reason why you play the model you do?

Film School with 1968

1968

OK, let's get straight down to brass tacks today.

There's this band, called 1968 and they were formed in 2013.

So, 1968 was apparently nearly fifty years late. That's kind of a scary thought. What if right now, 2018 is running ahead of schedule?

Well...moving on to the real brass tacks, or red carpets, 1968 was formed out of an interest in that time frame in American history. 1968 was a very tumultuous year for us in the U S of A....and 1968 has chosen to ruminate on 1968 in order to make cool music.

You can sample their tunage on SPOTIFY and make good friends on FACEBOOK.

1. What's the first movie you remember seeing as a child?

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Video: "Unholy Lightness Summer Pt. 1" by Vardan

Vardan was able to set my nightmares to music in a truly chilling way. It's the kind of feeling that helped take the sting out of the pain though.

Vardan is able to create a strange, doom/black/atmospheric/electronic kind of thing.

The new album entitled, Unholy Lightness Summer, is being released on August 10, 2018. This record is a strange blend of the aforementioned elements in which Vardan works.

Allow me to introduce you to the first act in Vardan's macabre play.

Check in with him on FACEBOOK and preorder the album HERE.

Vinyloscopy with MC Lars

MC Lars

Now, you out there in the ether might think that I'm cool.

It's possible you've come to that conclusion, after all, you saw the interview I did with Rex Brown (Pantera, Kill Devil Hill) right?  Truly though, I am now, and always have been nerdy. I don't mean that hipster nerd BS that's out there these days.

So, one of the things I totally dig is music about fan cultures that I've always been into. Anime, Star Wars, Star Trek, video games, and literature.

MC Lars is one of the big names in Nerdcore Hiphop who's out there day in, day out, writing the songs he loves, spreading joyful smiles, and hustling as hard as he can. Toxic Toast Records just released his last two albums (of like 739) on glorious 33rpm vinyl, but those were his last two albums.

As a man who's always working and recording, MC Lars and Megaran have an album up for preorder now on Kickstarter, The Dewey Decibel System, about their favorite works of literature. If you're not up on the preordering, make sure you check out the Facebook.

As he's in the vinyl world now, it seemed like a good time to ask him about records.... see below.

LP Review: "Fringe" by Lurk

Fringe

There is just a time and a place for soul crushing doom metal.

That time is anytime. That place is any god damned place that has speakers. In previous epochs, doom metal, atmospheric metal, and avant garde metal would've been of little interest to me.

But over the years the avant garde metal set has largely coagulated into the doom metal sub-genre.

Lurk, for my money, has all of the hallmarks of what makes this music great. It's not just heavy, but dense. It's not just varied, but Lurk are likely suffering from multiple personality disorder.

Any fool with a guitar can go out and make an atmospheric doom metal record, but it takes a forward thinking band who's not sure if they're instrumental or not, to make a truly captivating doom album.

That's what Lurk have done...once they set their hooks in, you'll likely never leave the fringe again.

Release: 8/4/18 FACEBOOK ORDER

5 Minute Origins with Degrave

Degrave

For nearly 35 years, the wider world has known about thrash metal. It's a style of metal that even though is an ancestor to other more extreme forms, it never went out of style.

Thrash gave way to Grindcore and Death Metal, but unlike Homo Habilis, it kept on chugging along with thick riffs and reckless abandon.

Degrave is one those bands that's never let it go. Hailing straight out of Middle America's navel, Jefferson City, MO, they continue to let the fur fly. (St. Louis says hi, Jeff City, btw.)

Their latest record, Degrave, was just released without the aid of a record label. You can pick it up on Bandcamp. Don't forget to fistbump them on Facebook.