Wanted to get this news out to you fine Metal Legions that might already have tickets for this tour but the event known as the 2015 run of “Metal Alliance Tour” has been cancelled. This tour featured a headlining Deicide with support from Entombed AD, Hate Eternal, Svart Crowne and Black Crown Initiate. That is the bad news. The good news is that Deicide will continue on with the remaining dates as a headliner with Hate Eternal, Black Crown Initiate, Lorna Shore and Svart Crowne. Entombed AD is no longer appearing on this run of remaining dates. I’ve posted the updated tour poster and the official press email that I just received below so check it out.
The Press Release: Due to unforeseen financial issues, Continental Concerts and the “Metal Alliance Tour” regret to announce that the 2015 “Metal Alliance Tour” has been cancelled. However, the remaining dates will continue on as a DEICIDE headlining run, featuring special guests as support (ENTOMBED A.D. is not on the bill due to the aforementioned issues). See below for all upcoming dates. Continue reading This Just In: “2015 Metal Alliance Tour Is Cancelled, Deicide Continues With Headlining Run”→
Artist: All Shall Perish Title: “The Price Of Existence” (re-release) Label: Metal Mind Productions Release Date: 12/9/2014 Genre: Technical Grindcore/Death Rating: 3.5/5
Originally released in 2006 on Nuclear Blast Records, the sophomore album by All Shall Perish was recently re-issued by Metal Mind Productions. The album now comes in a Digipak holder and features no additional tracks, so with that being the case my original thoughts on it remain the same. I have restated those views in the review that follows. The edition is limited to 2000 copies so diehards might want to act fast if interested in purchasing.
Oakland’s All Shall Perish might have something here with their interesting mix of traditional Death Metal along with Technical Grindcore as it allows a new view to be taken of a format that often has loyal fans on either side but seldom together. The band also shows a great level of musicality not often found in either extreme genre and they base this on their mutual love of bands like Opeth and At The Gates while at the same time enjoying Cannibal Corpse and Hatebreed. As you listen to some of the intricate changes during songs like “We Hold These Truths” you would think drummer Matt Kuykendall a protégé of Cryptopsy’s Flo Mounier. He was equally brutal on “The True Beast” and it’s evident that the strength in this kind of music falls to the drummer in most cases. The group has a new vocalist in Herman Hermida and he handles both the growls and the shrieks to speaker blowing levels. I had not heard the bands previous release “Hate, Malice, Revenge” so I cannot compare him to his predecessor and only felt that he handles the material they deliver very well. Continue reading “The Price Of Existence” (re-release) by All Shall Perish→
Artist: Bloodbath Title: “The Wacken Carnage” Label: Peaceville UK Release Date: 6/2/2008 Genre: Death Metal Rating: 4/5
It’s not too often that you find the term “super group” applied to the likes of a Death Metal band, but when it comes to this particular lineup for the band Bloodbath is most certainly makes sense. The Swedish Death Metal group delivers the no-holds barred approach to the genre and this rare concert appearance from 2005 is not something we can easily expect to see again based on the daytime gigs of its roster. The supposed “one time only gig” finds Michael Akerfeldt and Martin Axenrot (members of Opeth) handling the vocal and drumming duties, while Anders Nystrom and Jonas Renske (guitar and bass respectively) hail from the Doom Metal band Katatonia. Rounding out the project is Dan Swano (Nightingale/Edge Of Sanity) who not only provides crushing guitar riffs but also additional and very necessary growling. According to research this was the band first ever live performance and supposed to be the only one as well for the band was formed as a studio only side project based on the very busy schedules that its members are involved in on a daily basis and while the future might find this to be a different case altogether I am glad that the cameras were on hand to capture this one. The film finds the guys dressed in bloody tatters as the pummel the audience with a very traditional brand of Swedish Death Metal. The sound while different from the USA brand of the stuff is no less heavier or intense and what made this most interesting for me was that it offered the viewer the chance to see these musicians performing outside of the roles that we know them most from. Seeing Akerfeldt with no guitar for example is one thing, and to find him doing nothing but the gut-wrenching soul tortured growls as opposed to any level of melodic singing is the other. It’s true that while Opeth offers many levels of heaviness across the board there is much more brutal intensity being brought to the table during “Cancer Of The Soul” and “Eaten”. Clearly the bands subject matter is very along the lines of their equally brutal name. Continue reading “The Wacken Carnage” by Bloodbath→
Artist: Amon Amarth Title: “Twilight Of The Thunder God” Label: Metal Blade Records Release Date: 9/30/2008 Genre: Death Metal Rating: 4/5
Stand yourself at the ready with attentive eye and sharpened sword for it is time to once again do battle at the side of the Vikings of Death Metal Amon Amarth as they pummel the senses with their latest epic “Twilight Of The Thunder God”. As an album this stands proud and strong as the perfect follower to their previous effort “With Odin On Our Side” and in some cases delivers a bit of a musical upgrade as it finds the band raising their own personal bar in terms of their delivery. “TOTTG” resonates with Metal power as soon as it begins and there is such a driving force behind the albums title track that the listener feels as though he is riding into the fray at the side of Johan Hegg – the bands giant of a front man. To me that is an effective beginning because it draws you in immediately as opposed to waiting for any of the action and intensity to build up. Those who have enjoyed Amon Amarth in the past already know this but those who are new might not realize that while Viking in theme and generally spirit, that their music is still a more conventional Melodic Death Metal that calls to mind some aspects of Thrash as opposed to being anything Folkish which we find more commonly in bands like Ensiferum or Turisas. Despite this, the bands energies on the new album focus on the mythology of Thor, the Norse God of Thunder and many of the songs sing about his majesty and adventures. The guitars of Johan Soderberg and Olavi Mikkonen really shine brightly here as they trade leads and truly crushing riffs in order to drive the bands point home with much more resolve. While the album maintains certain heaviness from beginning to end they wisely don’t make every single tune a Thrash Fest which allows them each to remain interesting individually and not bleed into one another by keeping the same tempo and vibe. Too often do the Death Metal bands have tracks that go from one to the next and often find the listener wondering if a new song had begun. I had to offer up some levels of praise for the bands rhythm section as well for bassist Ted Lundstrom helped to keep it steady while the drumming of Nico Mehra at times made you feel how he was keeping up such a pace. There are points where it seems as though he is running in place as the double kicks roll at break neck speeds. As a fan of drumming in the first place I was very satisfied with the stuff happening here. Continue reading “Twilight Of The Thunder God” by Amon Amarth→
Artist: Never Again Title: “Against the Rest” Label: 1981 Records Release Date: May 29, 2007ath Metal Genre: Death Metal Rating: 1/5
Dear PiercingMetal Reader-
If you’ve read my reviews for this site you have by now gathered that I am in no way, shape or form a fan of the “Cookie Monster” vocals-ridden death metal genre. This raging dislike comes not from the genre’s ubiquity, but from the fact that albums and bands within the form tend to be virtually indistinguishable, perhaps over-illustrating the old adage of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That assessment may sound glib, but having had to listen to album after album after album of this stuff, I swear to whatever gods there may be that they really do all sound the same and I can only take so much of it without suffering a nervous breakdown of Brobdingnagian proportions. That sameness is a complete and total headache inducing drag, and this album is another example of that. There is simply nothing more that I can say about it without repeating myself yet again, so if you like this stuff, good on you. If not, skip it. Continue reading “Against The Rest” by Never Again→
