Video: "Iron Coffin" by Dante's Theory

Remember when Informer got a video with the lyrics at the bottom? No? Well I'm old and I do recall it.

Death Metal...all the videos should be like that. Let's check some death metal from Singapore, Dante's Theory.

Punch them on Facebook and support their music on Bandcamp.

LP Review: "Musa" by Alchimia

Musa

There's a taco truck here in St. Louis that's been around since the advent of St. Louis Food Trucks.

I have seen no less than 365,577 social media posts about how great this particular truck is and that we all need to eat their tacos.

Their food was so great they had to start a brick and mortar location in order to serve all the tacos. According to the monolithic hive mind of the internet, Jake the Taco Delivering Mailman's tacos had nothing on this particular taco truck.

Well, I'm not the kind of person to go stalking a food truck and my offices have been out of the way so they won't make good money here.

Years after their inception. At an event I was attending at The Water Tower Park on Compton Hill, this vaunted Taco Truck was there too. I purchased a chicken taco and a steak taco. I hated these tacos more than I could imagine. Immediately, they were unfollowed on social media by me.

Video: "Slayed Pretender" by Four Star Riot

Let's again revisit Four Star Riot. They just dropped another video from their latest record which will be released later on this year.

Make sure you high five them on Facebook!

Tape Review: "To the Conrete Drifts" by Fell Ruin

There was just no way this album could go wrong for me. First, the labels releasing it (I, Voidhanger and Graven Earth Records) are putting some of the best extreme music on cd and cassette and their taste tends to match my own.

Second, I’m a sucker for killer cover art and Brian Sheehan (@legerdemain_art) kills it with the crystal/mask/spine photo collage here.

A great piece written on how he does his work HERE from Cvlt Nation.

What I didn’t remember is that Brian is also the vocalist/lyricist for Fell Ruin. Like I said, this album couldn’t go wrong for me - and it didn’t for one moment. I’ve been talking lately about how I listen to music in full albums, not in tracks. For example, I can name my favorite albums by artists but not know the track listing.

Video: "Easter" by Theocracy

We might have already passed the day that this one here is named after, but check it out below.

Easter comes from their Ghost Ship album that was released back in October. If you dig this, make sure to hammer them on Facebook.

LP Review: "Seasons of Desolation" by Enisum

Seasons of Deslolation

One of the worst travesties committed by the purveyors of extreme metal is that many of them are not playing songs.

When the idea of heavy overpowers the idea of song structure, well then, Houston, we have a problem.

The Heavy Metal Arms Race, as I've described it in the past, is alive and well. The ideas that triggering MOAR BLAST BEETZ and DOWNTUNE TO DROPPED L and adding an effect to the vocals to bring it down three octaves some how helps the song is Sean Spicer Grade Bullionum.

Heavy Music is something that can be as beautiful as it is heavy. It's a common misconception that all metal is dark, ugly, and foreboding. Many times the kind of music, which I'm lampooning right now, seems to have been written by the detractors of heavy metal in order to prove that their points of view are correct.

Video: "Seraphic" by Ghost Bath

Let's just have some serious metal from Nuclear Blast Records. It's been a long time and they've been delivering the goods.

Check out the latest video, Seraphic, from Ghost Bath's latest album, Starmourner. Commisserate with Ghost Bath on Facebook or buy their album on Amazon.

Album Review: "Gotterdammerung" by VARG

Although I am grateful to the British Empire, Elvis Presley and Black Sabbath for ensuring the majority of heavy metal is performed in the one language I fully understand, I wouldn’t mind if more bands performed in their native tongue.  The rhythm, cadence and melody of the vocals has always been more important to me than their lyrical content.  This isn’t to say strong lyrics are not of great value, but if a German band can get the vibe right, I am happy to dust off the little German I did learn in school and let Google translator handle the rest.  Certainly, if a band is performing German Pagan Metal, it is reasonable to assume, expect, and hope for the lyrics to be in German.  In this matter Varg delivers.

Varg has quite a devoted following in their home country with their brutal assault of melodic death metal.   The label of death metal alone does no fully describe their sound, as there are several passages throughout the EP which delve fully into the black metal sound.  Their strong visual element is a perfect blend of the death and black metal aesthetics.

Video: "Detroit Blues" by Jarkka Rissanen & Sons of the Desert

Every so often I get to tell you about a musician who's toiled for decades in relative obscurity. Today we're talking about Jarkka Rissanen.

Rissanen has been playing slide guitar for over forty years in his native Finland. Their new record, Hybird Soul,  will be released on May 26th on Humu Records.

In the meantime, check out their first single Detroit Blues. After you do that, make sure not to say anything to them about IKEA on Facebook, because they're Finnish and not Swedish.

LP Review: "Holy Flute (Shakuhachi Unleashed Vol. I)" by Cornelius Boots

Holy Flute

In the not too distant past, my family and I were enjoying the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

While we were sitting in the mezzanine and watching these classically trained musicians playing along with guests and dealing with little skits to keep the children interested, it occurred to me how hard it really is to make music.

It's hard to be able to blow continuously in order to make a saxophone, bassoon, or clarinet continually making noise. Not that I ever put much into it, but it was rather hard for me to do that in the short time I was in band in Middle School.

Those who aren't fans of either can never understand how a metal fan, like myself, can find so much to love in Classical Music. Well, as it turns out, I'm not the anomaly. Cornelius Boots has had a 45 year career in music, playing jazz, hard rock, and classical.

Vinyl Review: "My Life of Steel and Concrete" by Quin Galavis

My Life of Steel and Concrete

It's kind of true confession time.

About five or so years ago I made a discovery. On my commute home, NPR's All Things Considered was discussing a documentary that was coming out about a man with OCD.

Up to that point, like many others, I made jokes about being OCD about this or that. It had never honestly occurred to me that I might have that particular mental illness.

As the gentleman talked about what his life was like and how he saw the world, I realized, that's kind of what I see.

The idea that it was abnormal to take someone not giving me a courtesy wave on the highway personally was so strange. That's how it always had been for me. Rudeness, inconsideration, etc they get me and as someone on the internet, I tend to get put off.

Video: "Get Loud" by Roadcase Royale

Let's take a moment and step outside of our normal comfort zones. This little space was created in order to further my personal journey into music and then it morphed into celebrating all things new.

Today, we're looking at a new group featuring Liv Warfield of Prince's New Power Generations and Nancy Wilson of Heart.

What do you think?

Stream: "Sister" by Stonefield

Here's a great chance to introduce you to some new music by a talented Aussie group, Stonefield.

Anyone looking for heroines in the world of rock music, look no farther. This doomy track will most likely get you ready to purchase their album on iTunes or if you're not ready for that kind of commitment, get their new 7" in your choice of trippy colors.

Don't forget to hail them on all Frequencies, Captain.

Concert Review: The Obsessed with Fatso Jetson, Karma To Burn, and Spacetrucker | Fubar 4/20/17

The Obsessed

Please find below, the retelling of a strange night where memories may not be what they seem.

Captain's Log: 94904.3

As my landing craft came to a halt, it was very clear that I was nowhere near my final destination. The coordinates listed in the on board computers had me on the outskirts of this particular meeting place.

It was best that we didn't raise any alarm as we walked down the street. Unlike most of my voyages, it appeared that we were walking through a culture that was 150 years behind that of our own.

Wearing dark colors, I blended in and found that they did expect me. My seeking of an audience was approved by the councilor's gatekeeper. The disguise worked perfectly. Mind tricks were unnecessary and thankful we were. As my ingress preceded the ceremonial dances, I requested a local beverage from the host.

EP Review: "Absolute Control" by Terminal Nation

Absolute Control

The first seriously extreme metal that came out of the gate was Grindcore.

To this day, that name makes absolutely no sense to me, but the idea was kind of the same as thrash metal. Take Punk Rock and then add metal to it.

Then you have this new thing.

With Grindcore though, instead of punk rock, it was the post-punk genre of music, hardcore that was the other ingredient. Still, getting from one place to the other, is still confusing to me.

Grind...I guess it's like going through a meat grinder? I'm not really sure and it would be nice to be educated without my having to actually research it. The biggest genre markers are short songs full of rage and fury.