Video: "Nostrum Mare (Ed deixo un pont de mar blava)" by Helevorn

When doom metal is what you need, the fellas in Helevorn have you covered. They have just released their latest record, Aamamata on vinyl, CD, and digital. You can see about picking that up HERE.

Vocalist Josep Brunet says this about the song...

This is a song about what our Mediterranean Sea was and what is nowadays… I mean, during the past times it was a sea to share, to grow, of course, there was a lot of wars, but it was our true nation, of all of us, so in this song appears eight different languages of our big cultural area (Greek, Maltese, Spanish, Arabic, Catalan, Italian, French, and Hebrew), and we had our friends and fans of the band do the vocals on it.

The lyrics for it are from a poem by Catalan writer, Miquel Martí I Pol, translated into these eight languages. The melodic vocals done by Julia Colom too are really awesome; we had goosebumps on our skin when she was recording her vocal parts. Very epic, gothic and very deep.

In the mean time, check out their latest video below:

Bookin' It with Tommy Concrete

Tommy Concrete

How many times have you thought about music from Scotland?

Well, being a pretend Scotsman, i.e. my family goes back to the Highlands, it's really  not all that often.

Perhaps it's times to think about my ancestral homeland a bit more often. In that method, let's talk about Edinburgh's own, Tommy Concrete. 

In October he released his latest record, Unrelaxed, and you can preview or puchase that on digital or CD via BANDCAMP.

So, let's get down to business and talk to him about books.

1. I try to read at least two books per month, and mostly fail, what's your goal and reality?

Two a year is my goal, but to be honest I struggle to manage one. Reading is very important to me, but it is also very difficult. I have limited visual imagination, in the sense that I don't 'see' anything in my mind when I read. 

LP Review: "Lords of the Permafrost" by Usurper

Lords of the Permafrost

In the middle 1990's, a band formed that was strong and legendary.

That band recorded five albums and called it a day in 2005. This band of course, was Usurper.

Now, we all know how metal is. There are a great deal of amazing, legendary, and staggeringly good metal bands, but they're all pretty much underground.

So for me, it's Usurper, welcome back and it's so wonderful to meet you.

In this case, without fear of contradiction, I can say that their reputation is quite well earned.

Lords of the Permafrost takes me back to a time when death metal was heavy, but it wasn't so heavy that, well you know my speech certainly. The biggest change between the before time and the current time that Usurper embodies...is my personal favorite.

The guitarists don't always simply play the same rhythm chunks in order to pound the listeners' ear canals into bloody submission, but they harmonize, play arpeggios, and yes, offer bitchin' guitar solos.

Lords of the Permaforst is a perfect death metal record from top to bottom. Welcome home, Usurper. We're better off having you back.

RELEASE 2/22/19 BANDCAMP FACEBOOK 

Hometown Tales with Sam Huber

Sam Huber

The Hometown Tales have been really cool for me. Even though the vast majority of the respondents have been Americans, they've told us all about new places.

It's easy for people in other countries to forget just how large the United States is. Our nation is the same size as Europe.

You might recall my review on Sam Huber's latest vinyl release.... He's from Helsinki, Finland. Apart from the Black Metal bands and Hockey, I can't really say that I know too much about the Scandinavian nation.

Let's find out some more about it together.

1. St. Louis City is my hometown. I've lived here for most of my life in and around the city. Where are you from?

I’m from Helsinki, Finland. I’ve lived here for all of my life.

2.We have three things that don't really exist anywhere else: the slinger, the gooey butter cake, and toasted ravioli. Tell me about your hometown delicacy.

Video: "Fibonacci Sequence" by Neorhythm

My daughter turned 8 years old this weekend and my question for her was...what does the world look like to an 8 year old?

She looked at me like I was nuts, but clearly, there was some existential angst and dread going on in her STEM addled brain.

Well, for all the people out there with crushing existential dread or a desire to crunch numbers into oblivion, here's a thumper of a track that comes to us all the way from Finland, by the space metal friends in Neorhythm.

They've just released a new EP via BANDCAMP called Meteoric Thoughts. Click below to find out why.

Beer Thirty with Kyle Halldorson of Dizzy Mystics

There's a city in the prairies of Canada that I've been longing to visit since I first heard its name back in the 1980's when their hockey team played ours.

Winnipeg, Manitoba.

How many times have you heard it called the coldest populated city in the world? Right now in that city in the plains, it's MINUS 15 F (-26 C ). This is at the warmest point in the day.

My wife told me of a museum she wishes to visit up there, so we've got several reasons now, but what's life like up there?

What kind of music is made? How in the world can the even keep their guitars in tune?

Unfortunately, I have little information to offer you in regards to those questions, but Kyle Halldorson of Winnipeg's Dizzy Mystics was kind enough to talk about beer with us.

These mystical lads are a rock band that's got more ingredients than a TV Dinner, so for now, we'll just look into the beer scene.

1. My personal favorite beer style is the might Double India Pale Ale. The best DIPA in the world is STLIPA by Urban Chestnut. 

Tell me about your favorite style.

Classic Spins with Dust Prophet's Otto

Dust Prophet

Over the world of New Hampshire... New Hampshire...what's so new about it?

Anyway, perhaps today is the day to seek to distract me from tasks.

That's where Dust Prophet resides. They've been at it for just a little bit so far and have dropped to major singles on us in the past 4 months.

Check that stuff all out on BANDCAMP. 

Now should that get your motor running, it'd be best to get thee to the FACEBOOKERY for all the updated information on the quickness.

1. My favorite kind of album is the concept album. The Wall is my absolute favorite. Beyond the amazing songs, it has spectacular nostalgia for me. What's your favorite one and why?

Vinyl Review: "Victim/Nonvictim Pt. 1" by Quin Galavis

VICTIM/NONVICTIM Pt. 1

Before we move forward...

Out at night...

The Stars are big and bright....

DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS!

We are heading back to Texas for a first. Quin Galavis is now the first artist to receive three vinyl reviews here at Glacially Musical.

We're quite sure indeed that he'll take the non-existent award and cherish it as it should be cherished. Galavis is a delightful enigma currently residing (at least close to) Austin, TX

He's an enigma to me as we've never spoken, crossed paths, gotten an interview, or even exchanged words via Twitter.

I heard tale he enjoyed my review of his double LP.

There's really nothing for me to tell you about his social media presence, because I know nothing about it. Does he even have one?

LP Review: "Thanatophobia" by Unendlich

Thanatophobia

It's time that the phrase is uttered and it's going to get people angry.

Black Metal, by and large, is boring.

It's a boring genre. Look, I dig Mayhem. The only album of theirs I have, and will ever have is Live In Leipzig.

When it comes to what's traditionally called Black Metal, aside from hiding some racists in there, it's kind of boring music.

Now, when you take out the Nationalism and add in some hyphenation on the already  hyphenated genre name and  you have Thrashened Black Metal or Blackened Death Metal, you start cooking with gas.

Undendlich could probably do a straight up whiskey no chaser black metal record that would make the masses jump for joy, but thankfully they did not.

Instead of making a 45 minute song about Satan doing whatever he does with the goats to whomever he does it to...they wrote a kick ass record that happens to be largely black metal. It's not just any one thing, but it's not just a pastiche of TRVE KVLT VLAVK METALZ.

It's an attempt to add in other elements of metal that makes the other genres so much more appealing than Black Metal. Standard Black Metal it a rejection of many things we hold true, but Thanotophobia is about making amends and bringing it all back together.

RELEASE 2/1/19 BANDCAMP FACEBOOK

Beer Thirty with Greyhawk's Darin Wall

Greyhawk

Greyhawk is a band that's got a peculiar genesis.

There is this neo-classical shredder by the name of Jesse Berlin form New York. He apparently made contact with a man from the far northern reaches of Canada by  the name of Darin Wall.

Speculation is probably a bad thing, but as Wall's city and province of origin seem to be left off of the historical record, the only logical assumption is that he lived north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

I cannot be convinced otherwise.

In order for this musical union to be considered legal, and again, this is all assumption on my part, the pair fled to the Pacific Northwest. Seattle apparently has found this to be well and good. The pair then started setting the world aflame with the release of their debut EP, Ride Out.

Fans of Power Metal, seriously get in on this one. Imagine a if Accept had King Diamond as their lead singer...and you're on the right track.

Naturally, it's time to talk about beer.

Cassette Review: "Psychic Pinball" by Protovulcan

Psychic Pinball

First off, it's time for the way of the truth.

I never listened to this on the cassette version that showed in the mail. It was stared at for a time by me...with a confused look on my face.

What is this thing for?

After realizing it could be played in my wife's pretending to be vintage stereo, I emailed the band and said...umm... help me.

They shot over some digital files and here we are.

Make a tape someone said. I can assure you this is a tape.

Protovulcan is a well, they call themselves an acid rock band played on keyboards. Ok, we'll go with that. This time around, they flirted with the idea of having lyrics on their album. It's a good change, but expect to hear some Jim Morrison sound alike screaming about a monarchy of lizards.

Like the rest of the band, the vocals are very synthy. (If I didn't know better, I'd swear it was because someone is a bit ashamed of their voice, but I don't.) Regardless of the why, it sounds amazing and fits in perfectly with what they've been doing.

As for release dates, where to buy it, and the like, I'm a bit in the dark, but get to bugging them on FACEBOOK and get a copy.

Hometown Tales with Northern Crown's Zachary Randall

Northern Crown

Northern Crown is putting doom metal on the map in Florida, but if we're being terribly  honest, how much more doom can America's handle really take?

There's so much abject wackiness going on in that state, I worry for their continued safety. Did you know there is a python problem in the Everglades?!

Too many Floridians decided their pythons were far too much work and they tossed them into the swamp!

Oh well, wait, this interview is about Indiana. Hey, Indiana, do you know what HOOSIER means in St. Louis?

You can pick up their latest thumper of an album over on their BANDCAMP page. Their latest album is their self-titled. If that's too serious for you, spend some time on their FACEBOOK instead.

So, see what it's all about below.

LP Review: "Örmagna" by Örmagna

Örmagna

Is it time for the Icelandic Honey Week already?

Well, in case it's not, we're instead going to look into some Icelandic Black Metal.

Today I'm considering the debut record from Örmagna, which is appropriately entitled Örmagna.

Firstly, this album never falls into one of those round holes of black metal. Mostly, because of the vocals. 

They're certainly abrasive enough, but featuring a wealth of emotions. It's an absolute embarrassment of riches in terms of emotion... as long as your emotional range is depressed.

Maybe there's a touch of the old black metal anger here and there, but the depressed vocals create a more intricate sound. Musically, Örmagna is full on atmospheric black metal. Fans of Wilt and Mournful Congregation should find a place were their chocolate and peanut butter become yummy cups.

Örmagna equal parts transparent and opaque. This is the precise reason to check them o ut.

RELEASE 2/1/19 BANDCAMP

Bookin' It with The Great Sabatini

The Great Sabatini

These kinds of columns for me a lot of fun, especially when I'm dealing with people from other countries.

Now, The Great Sabatini isn't from like Uruguay or Ghana, but from Canada. 

Even though, they hail from the Frenchest French part of French Canada, it's still Canada, but all the same, I have friends in the Great White North and there are still loads of things that are different between our two nations.

So, let's check in and see what books are like up there.

1. I try to read at least two books per month, and mostly fail, what's your goal and reality?

I'd love to read 2 or 3 books per month but it usually winds up being 1. I always have a pile of books on the go. But it's slow going, due to my daily routine. 

LP Review: "Deliquesce" by Maestus

Deliquesce

In the hopes of continuing to be a bit varied, lately Glacially Musical has been focusing on extreme metal bands and now it's heading back into the lighter side of metal.

Doom Metal is one of those many subgenres that's near and dear to my heart.

The best doom metal and this is an un-debatable point, is mellow, but it's flat out heavy.

Thick like molasses and just as hard to spread. Moving like a glacier...there we go, that's the right metaphor.

Enter Maestus.

This doom quintet hails from the wilds of Oregon. Their music has been described as an onslaught of granite. That's an exceptional description of what they're doing here. This album's got four tracks and fifty minutes of music.  Obviously, the songs are a bit on the long side.

It's melodic, angry, and full of latent frustration. The addition of keys and strings takes this band's music and puts them in very small company. Fans of Eye of Solitude might want to check in here.

Maestus is a difficult band to really describe. The best I can do is tell you they're a densely layered and excessively  heavy doom metal band that you should be listening to.

RELEASE 2/8/19 BANDCAMP AMAZON FACEBOOK

Classic Spins with Usurper's Rick Scythe

Usurper

If you get into your way back machine, head to Chicago in the early to mid nineties and you can meet this band that continued to write heavy metal Dungeons & Dragons long after it had been deemed cool.

That band was called Usurper and they've returned to the fore in order to bring us more heavy metal based folklore.

They were one of the first extreme metal bands to sing about those old heavy metal ideas.

Here's the good news, they're back and ready to drop their new record, Lords of the Permafrost, but that's not hitting your ear holes for about a month yet. Check back for a full review.

In the meantime, Rick Scythe is the first person to check in on my new column, Classic Spins.

Let's get it on.

LP Review: "Civilizations" by Hollow Leg

Civilizations

It's been nearly thirty years since Pantera debuted (to the wider world outside of East Texas anyway.)

Before they came out metal was lacking in... well for no other words, danceability.

It was stiff and oftentimes painful. Since those dark days, you now see people at metal shows doing full on conga lines.

It seems strange, but here we are.

Now, generations later, we have Hollow Leg. They might not know it, but they're Pantera's great, great, grand, niece's second cousin twice removed after she fell in with the wrong crowd.

It's been a minute since Hollow Leg dropped the Murder EP. In that time, they've been working. This album features a new kind of metal. The walls are coming down. This thing is clearly fuzzed out. Just listening to it makes the wrackspurts come all up in my brain.

But it's also got a swing to it that even most groove metal acts can't quite touch. If you like metal, this one should probably be on your radar.

RELEASE 1/25/19 PREORDER FACEBOOK

Beer Thirty with Ernia

Ernia

On the other side of the side of the pond, resides a band called Ernia. This December past, they released their first full length album, simply entitled Ernia.

If you're into that death grind written by weirdos telling dumb jokes, you should probably take a look into that record.

All of the metal you're looking for is available at BANDCAMP and you really should learn to be friends with them over at FACEBOOK.

I really enjoy getting into the heads of the bands I cover here and this one is going to be a fun one I think. Ernia is the first band from Spain that's done one of our beer columns.

Let's see how they're drinking in Logroño.

LP Review: "Living Tomb" by Ossuarium

It's been rolling around in my internetting lately.

The it being the latest album from 20 Buck Spin: Living Tomb by Ossuarium.

That was enough to pique my interest in this up and coming death metal band.

Ossuarium appears to love to defy convention as much as they adhere to it.

Living Tomb begins with the requisite overture that so many death metal bands entitle, simply Intro.

Then instead of the blast beats from hell, I was greeted by a thunderous two four beat that held power and sway.

After denying the blast beats for a time, they came in, but not overpowering the music like in so many records laid down at Morrisound, but with a subtlety that made the tracks feel like they were running...away.

Living Tomb won't be the longest album you get this year, but it's likely to be on many end of year lists in about 11 months.

RELEASE 2/1/19 PREORDER FACEBOOK

Hometown Tales with Dead Register's Avril Che

Dead Register

Atlanta, GEE EH.

Let's talk about that amazing town, or should we discuss Dead Register first as their own Avril Che will be giving us the skinny on what it's like in Hotlanta.

Dead Register gave us an amazing debut album back in 2016 and a vinyl and cassette release in 2017. This year, they took some time out and released the follow up, Captive.

Oh wait...it's 2019 now, I mean all that stuff happened last year. Let's find out about what it's like to live in the shining city of Atlanta in the country of Spare Oom.

I mean Georgia. Anyway, let's see about the country outside of the airport.

St. Louis City is my hometown. I've lived here for most of my life in and around the city. Where are you from? 

Split LP Review: "SPLIT" by Coltsblood and Un

Split

As a blogger, my personal opinions factor largely into what I cover.

As it was before, it is now, there are several bands, labels, etc that always catch my eye.

So, when scrambling to write, it's not uncommon to head back to those particulars to see what is available.

Translation Loss Records  is releasing another album by Un. Now this catches my attention. So, I pull out the email, boot up the promo and see that it's not an album, but listed as an EP.

Oh, it's also a split, with Un on the back end. This other band is leading the charge... Coltsblood? Dunno them.

I've listened to this split several times at this point, the first time, it was all about getting to that Un track, but more and more, Coltsblood is really growing on me. Both bands delivered twenty minute PLUS song. Based on quantity of songs, we're looking at a AA Single, but this is a full length record.

Coltsblood...they're doomy, but a bit more vivacious and attacking than our good friends from Seattle. This is probably the best match split I've heard in my life. The bands go together so very well.

Just go ahead and check this one out....

RELEASE ORDER COLTSBLOOD UN

Beer Thirty with Texas Metal Outlaws's Robert Williams

The Texas Metal Outlaws have put out their blistering power/groove metal extravaganza, aka their self titled debut, on vinyl via TMU Records.

If you like anything metal from the 80's, you should probably pick that up via BANDCAMP.

Because it makes absolute perfect sense, instead discussing all that's glorious about that new record, we're going to talk about beer.

1. My personal favorite beer style is the might Double India Pale Ale. The best DIPA in the world is STLIPA by Urban Chestnut. Tell me about your favorite style.

I like cheap domestic beer. My go to beer is Rolling Rock. I can get a twelve pack for about ten bucks at 7-11. If I'm in a fancy mood, I'll spend a little extra and get Dos Equis. 

Years ago there was a 24oz sold at corner stores called the Dos-A-Rita. It was about 7.5 ABV synthetic margarita and if you had three of them in a row you'd fall over and vomit. 

LP Review: "Óreida" by Juseph

Óreida

In times of crisis, it's worth retreating back into ourselves in order to calm and recoup our losses.

I cannot be the Lone Ranger when I say that it's easy to get my fill of extreme metal. Any reader can look at the passages and ebbs and flows on this very site to see that.

There was nearly a six month break where it was all doom, stoner, and sludge because a break was needed.

Lately, I've been retreating into Pink Floyd because of the outlandish soundscapes that build into otherworldly pictures.

What if, there was a metal band that could do something quite similar? Portugal's Juseph does just that.

Yes. Juseph was just compared to Pink Floyd. The former is nearly as progressive as the latter, but the latter isn't nearly as heavy as the former. Because I'm tired and my words are growing thin, the easiest path is the best...

Juseph is Pink Floyd if Waters and Gilmour:

1. Were Portuguese.
2. Decided that Black Metal was better than progressive synth rock.
3. Also figured neither of them should sing.

RELEASE 2/1/19 BANDCAMP FACEBOOK

Hometown Tales from Solium Fatalis's Jim Gregory

Because I'm your buddy...it's time to mention that band from New Hampshire again...

Solium Fatalis.

To begin with...there's no way you're going to get a classic this is brutal in your face metal than that name. They're harkening back to a time when metal bands were smarter than the popstars' producers who made them all that money.

That's awesome. They're latest album, Genetically Engineered To Enslave, has been out for a little while now. If you've been hesitant, now's the time to pull the trigger.

You can even get your copy in a police evidence bag.

That's seriously metal. Let's get the low down on what city made them this metal.

LP Review: "...Of Death Eternal" by Ulvdalir

...Of Death Eternal

Today we're checking out one of the best kept secrets in Russia, besides what's in the kompromat...

Ulvdalir is now exporting their True Ingrian Black Metal Death into these United States via Iron Bonehead (digital, CD, and LP formats).

Upon a quick google search, this term does auto fill, but it doesn't lead me to any information that can be imparted unto my readers regarding the meaning of this phrase.

Let's just assume it means a circle of bands from Siberian Russia that play a not quite so avant garde version of post modern black metal.

...Of Death Eternal opens with a standard extreme metal convention, the intro. This particular track caught my attention due to the vocal stylings. First of all, these intro songs shouldn't have vocals and for a second, they sounded folksy. From that point the band started playing a melodic style of metal that kept me enraptured throughout its duration.

Let's clarify the melodic comment. This isn't like Melodic Death Metal where there's a little tingle tangle between the riffs at certain intervals. The riffs and the vocals ooze melody. Melody isn't a crammed in afterthought.

That's what makes this record so undeniably amazing.

RELEASE 1/25/19 BANDCAMP

Beer Thirty with Hollow Leg

Hollow Leg

Let's check out the Hollow Leg fellows on more time.

By now, you've read my review of Civilizations and clearly it's time to think about what kind of beer the men there enjoy right?

Well, here you go. As you've still got 11 days till their masterpiece of sludge drops on your face, let's find out what kind of beers they're drinking.

What kind are you drinking?

1. My personal favorite beer style is the might Double India Pale Ale. The best DIPA in the world is STLIPA by Urban Chestnut. Tell me about your favorite style.

LP Review: "Crimson" by The Wandering Ascetic

Crimson

It's been awhile since I've checked out anything from Singapore, but our friends from Rudra are back.

Well, to be more precise, a couple of them are back. The Wandering Ascetic is a side project from half of the band.

The major difference between the two projects comes down to simple branding. Rudra is Vedic Black Metal, or as I read it Indian Pagan Metal.

The Wandering Ascetic is a neoteric take on semi-traditional black metal. Makes sense right?

This album is an absolute engineering gem. This record is the way metal should sound when it's hitting your speakers.

Because it sounds that great, it's even more immersing. The drums and bass are both clearly audible. The guitars aren't a massive blur of gain. Too many great albums have been recorded so poorly rendering them pointless.

Oh, the music? Yes, yes. Crimson is a straight ahead rock record that's been seriously metalized. The vocals are pure black metal. The guitars are riff  heavy rock. No listener will be wanting for blast beats here.

When all of the elements are added up, The Wandering Ascetic becomes something that's new to my ears. This is the reason everybody needs to at least give this album a try.

RELEASE 2/12/19 BANDCAMP FACEBOOK

Bookin' It with KOSM's Erik Leonhard

KOSM

In light of recent metal happenings, you know which ones...the ones...in Florida...that if you read the song titles...you'd know they were going to happen...

It's high time we point out once again that most metal folks are just normal people who really love heavy fucking metal.

We're well adjusted and we bang our heads and sometimes run into the walls because we were dodging the cat.

So, let's check out Progressive Metal band, KOSM. Erik Leonhard was good enough to take time away from publicizing their latest record, Cosmonaut, to talk to us about the printed word.

Just in case you've all forgotten, the pen is super metal, because it's mightier than the sword. Take that, Amon Amarth!

1. I try to read at least two books per month, and mostly fail, what's your goal and reality?

I wouldn’t say I have a monthly goal, although I try to read as much as possible. Some months I end up flying through a couple books easy. 

Video: "Hide Your Children" by Skulk the Hulking

Well, the first question that needs to be asked....is what precisely is Skulk The the Hulking?

A young man and not yet a beast, Skulk first began to form in college when he was torn apart by Nietzsche and Hume.  God was dead, there was no free will, and actual truth could never be perceived.  Drowning himself in music, he looked to it for answers.  Post Hardcore was thriving in the Midwest and a young ogre engaged the scene learning all he could about time signatures, aggression, and the idea that art is communication.

Well, that about sums it up really, but it really doesn't speak to the music itself. Hide Your Children is an odd little track. It's got as much in common with Parliament and MC Lars as it does Danzig.

None of that is hyperbole. Of the video, The Hulking says:

When you're taking a good hard look at what makes you who you are, it can feel best to bury your demons deep inside.  When those demons define who you are, however, it's just quicker to let them bury you instead.

Check out the rest of the album HERE.

Skulk the Hulking - Hide Your Children from Post Everything Productions on Vimeo.

Beer Thirty with Anthems In Ashes's Micheil Grey

Anthems In Ashes

Anthems In Ashes resides in the world class city of Toronto, Ontario in the Fabled Canadas.

Their debut EP, Burn It Down, was produced by a Juno Award winner: Siegfreid Meier. Neither Meier nor the Junos are household names here in The States, so to give you an idea, it's not that different from Eddie Kramer producing an Indie Band's debut.

You can purchase Burn It Down HERE. 

If you're interested in seeing them in action, their first video is movin' and groovin' on YOUTUBE. In the mean time though, we're talking about the wide and glorious world of beers.

Micheil Grey was kind enough to talk about their favorites.

Check it out!

Video: "FFF (False Flag Flying)" by Aftermath

It's a rare time when one can enjoy both progressive music and thrash metal at the same time. Chicago's Aftermath is able to do that.

In advance of their new album, There Is Something Wrong, the Chicagoans have released this lyric video. Check it out below.

In the mean time FACEBOOK and you can preorder on all major digital outlets.

Hometown Tales with Lords of the Trident

Lords of the Trident

Lords of the Trident refuse to be done with us!

It's getting closer and closer to the inevitable showdown between Glacially Musical and Lords of the Trident.

There's lots to love in their most recent record, Shadows of the Past. Lots to love that is if you're into large, epic power metal that'll crush your soul.

Find them!

1. St. Louis City is my hometown. I've lived here for most of my life in and around the city. Where are you from?

While I’m a wanderer, mostly, I feel like I can call Madison, Wisconsin my current “hometown”. I’ve lived here for quite a few years now.

LP Review: "Chapters of an Evil Transition" by Ravenous Death

Chapters of an Evil Transition

In the world of tomorrow, Death Metal has cleaned up its act.

Long gone are the drums featuring as much distortion as the guitars. The vocals now have changed into something barely recognizable to those weened on Carcass and Master.

In days gone by, the subgenre was rearing its head out of the muck left in the wake of Thrash.

Death Metal is the unholy second division of metal.

Bands like Morbid Angel, Arch Enemy, and latter day Carcass turned it into something clean. Surgical even.

That's all well and good, but horror, classic horror show...you can see the strings. You know the blood is actually Hershey's Chocolate Syrup... That's when it's time to listen to music that sounds like a two by four to the face feels. Today, Ravenous Death is willing to give us the blow that we all need to take from time to time.

Chapters of an Evil Transition is a dirty thing. The tracks are slimy and it'll be like your first time hearing death metal all over again.

RELEASE 1/21/19 BANDCAMP FACEBOOK

Hometown Tales with DayGlo Mourning's Joe Mills

DayGlo Mourning

DayGlo Mourning is on the post-release afterglow.

It might even be glowing during the standard diurnal hours when that sort of thing isn't precisely expected. The Mourning crew teamed up with Bludy Gyers for a spectacular sludge split, Rope Enough For Two. Check that out on the BANDCAMP.

There's even a vinyl edition hitting the mailbox around..well actually right now.

Joe Mills was good enough to tell us about Atlanta from his perspective.

Check it out.

1. St. Louis City is my hometown. I've lived here for most of my life in and around the city. Where are you from?

I'm originally from WV, but after a lot of travel I've settled in Atlanta, GA.

LP Review: "Hymns For The Hollow" by Leach

Hymns For The Hollow

It might be well past time to add a slight separation to the Thrash Metallers.

Looking at the Big Four: Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax., and see the one who's a little different than the others?

Somehow, Anthrax's vocal style has become more associated with Thrash to me than the others and it's less than pleasing to me.

Leach has thrown their lot in with Slayer and Co. The vocals are shouted, grunted, and forced out with reckless abandon and a complete disregard for melody.

It's significantly refreshing because, well, thrash can be very dry. So how does a band give a new take on one of the eldest heavy metal subgenres?

Instead of vocal melody and musicality, there's a strong focus on the riffs and the interplay therein. Looking back at the works of the elders, there's strong riffing, but little time is spent with the instruments working in concert, at least in the beginning.

In a time when I shy away from any music bearing the word thrash, Leach has made me a believer again.

RELEASE 1/18/19 BANDCAMP FACEBOOK

Beer Thirty with Max from Bane

Let's head over to the greatest city in the French world. Sorry, Quebec City.

So, sorry Paris.

Oh wait... St. Louis is...FRENCH...aww crap. Well, those Montreal folks are pretty good people and the province of Quebec is proudly French-Canadian. They were also kind enough to trade Jaroslav Halak to use all those years ago.

Sure, the Blues made mistakes going forward, but that was a great day. Another thing that makes Montreal great is this band called Bane. This Blackened Death Metal Mini-Horde is riding high on the digital, cassette, and CD release of their third album, Esoteric Formulae, but the amazing news is that next month they'll be smelling that sweet new vinyl smell.

Get all your pre-ordering on over BANDCAMP should you be interested in the sweet, sweet nectar of death metal on the grill.

While you're previewing that, let's talk beer.

1. My personal favorite beer style is the might Double India Pale Ale. The best DIPA in the world is STLIPA by Urban Chestnut. Tell me about your favorite style.

LP Review: "Latum Alterum" by The Sabbathian

Latum Alterum

How many times have you listened to oddly juxtaposed music?

In this new, modern era of music that's a large swath of what this reviewer finds particularly enjoyable.

King Diamond has made a very long career on doing such things. His vocal stylings are able to cover more ground than anyone on the planet really, but there's one thing he required help with.

That's kind of where The Sabbathian comes in. Though, the vocalist, Anette Uvaas Guldbrandsen, didn't feature on the King's albums, her style did.

Guldbrandsen has linked up with US black metal musician, Chad Davis. The pair of them have created a sound that's lavish and baroque. Latum Alterum has simple songs that drive forwards. The forward motion is what gives them strength.

Guldrandsens's beautiful vocals intertwine into the keyboards and guitars. It's almost just rock. The grandiosity takes me.

RELEASE 1/25/19 BANDCAMP FACEBOOK

Bookin' It with Kurtis Jeffrey of Technical Damage

Technical Damage

Are you familiar with Technical Damage?

Hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, they're a melodic death metal band. Back in September, they released their debut full length LP, The Introspect. You should check that out at BANDCAMP.

You'll always feel better checking in with any of friends from The Great White North. Instead of discussing the minutiae of their record, Kurtis Jeffrey was good enough to talk to us about what books he's been reading.

1.  I try to read at least two books per month, and mostly fail, what's your goal and reality?

A goal that I've been facing an upward battle with recently is taking care of my personal health. A demanding job, busy lifestyle and the constant mental gymnastics I use to justify "down time" prevent me from seeing certain specialists who I know would improve my general quality of life. 

Stream: "Nanoångström" by Bast

Today I have a very special kind of stream for you. Blackened Doom Metallers, Bast, have released the follow up record, Nanoångström, on CD, LP, and Digital via Black Bow Records.

The gents from London are quite proud of having a record out on wax. Because of that, they've asked us to show you the spinning disc whilst you get a feel for the songs.

Check it out below!

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Bookin' It with Static Tension's Brian

Static Tension

How long has it been since Glacially Musical checked in on our good friends, Static Tension?

They're an indie band in the eastern part of the American Midwest. Hey, I'm sorry, but if you don't live west of the Mississippi River, you're somewhere else that's not precisely the Midwest. Due to that fact, it'll be deemed necessary by Glacially Musical management, namely me, to add qualifiers to your midwestern bonafides.

Well, instead of my blah blah blahing about flyover country, what have they been up to in the meantime?

Oh, well lookee lookee Senator, you can pre-order their latest album, Ashes To Animation, via the greatest site in the world, BANDCAMP.

While you're there, check out some of their earlier releases too.

1. I try to read at least two books per month, and mostly fail, what's your goal and reality?

LP Review: "Vol. 6" by Seer

Vol. 6

It should be so easy to pontificate why this album is such an amazing piece of art that how I can't go on about that fact for 500 words is really beginning to bother me.

My process for review isn't that different (if different at all) from others. First spend time listening to the music.

Second after the music makes sense, write about it.

Seer though, and this isn't my first write up on their spectacular music, is somewhat hard to tell you about.

The vocals are big, ambient, and perhaps a bit tortured.

Vol. 6 is somewhat different from its predecessors that I'm familiar with, namely volumes 1-4. There's an uncomfortablness to the guitars, a tremor, that gives them extra feeling.

Seer is the band that we all wished Baroness would've  had grown into. That's the best way to really explain it. I can say without fear of contradiction that Vol. 6 is the best musical output of their career.

The great news about that? It's being released on vinyl next month.

RELEASE 2/18/19 BANDCAMP FACEBOOK

Beer Thirty with Skulk, The Hulking

It's time to check your personal privilege. You'll never once hear me talk about how it's so hard for me in this world. My family has achieved the American Dream...well the Glacially Musical dream.

We have a two living room lifestyle that allows me to listen to records at loud volumes while my family is safely downstairs ensconced in the warm, iridescent glow of the plasma television. 

As the colors emerge from the screen...my daughter is comforted by smallish horses living in a town that's always fair and ruled by a congress of princesses who've never been corrupted by the sheer power granted to absolute monarchs.

Skulk, The Hulking isn't as luck as myself or Rainbow Dash. 

He's an oppressed ogre living somewhere in the world and he drinks beer to deal with said ogre oppression.

Check out the screams on Afterbirth of a Nation while you sit back, pop open a Natty Light and read on.