Artist: Various Artists Title: “Heavy Metal Killers” Label: Earache Records Release Date: 2/19/2009 Genre: Thrash Metal Rating: 4/5
“Heavy Metal Is The Law” are the words that you see blazing in front of your eyes when you take the booklet out of this supremely crushing CD compilation and as you begin to spin the disc this is a statement that you will no doubt agree with. Heavy Metal music was reaching a new level as the NWOBHM began to do its thing and these incredible years gave us the likes of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Saxon to name a few. The genre prospered and morphed over the years into more sub-genre than can easily be tallied and while a number of them were outstanding there was little representation of what came to be known as the “Old School” or “Traditional” vibe as the decades progressed. While I’m sure that bands were still delivering this sound in some fashion, the bands that were dominating the attention of the listeners were clearly the offshoots of this original style and it was high time for it to make a return. Over the last year we have seen a number of young upstarts delivering Thrash Metal again and with bands like Mantic Ritual, Black Tide and even Warbringer doing their thing for this classic style, could the original vibe be far behind. Thanks to the bands presented on “Heavy Metal Killers” I am happy to report that it is here and ready to impress. Let’s take a look at a few of the notable tracks on this great CD. Continue reading “Heavy Metal Killers” by Various Artists→
One of the big shows of 2008 was the reunion of Gothenburg Metal legends At The Gates. We were not originally supposed to be at this show because the logistics couldn’t be worked out for our attendance but at the eleventh hour our friend Jasmine St. Clair came through with an extra ticket. The show was a resounding success and be two nights of Metal. We documented our thoughts which you can all see by scrolling past the logo below.
Artist: At The Gates Venue: The Fillmore NY (New York, NY) Opener: Municipal Waste, Darkest Hour, Toxic Holocaust Date: 7/9/2008 Label: Earache Records
If you have been following the way that the Technical Death Metal scene has progressed and improved over the years, it is painfully clear that without the influences of bands like At The Gates that the geography of this Heavy Metal landscape would have been a very different place for us to experience. If you are among those who might require a little bit more background on this then you should be aware that At The Gates was one of the big three bands who founded what came to be referred to as “The Gothenburg Sound”. The other two bands are Dark Tranquillity and In Flames and each of them is still active in today’s Metal scene. At The Gates had broken up in 1996 and formed different projects that were taken to different levels and it wasn’t until 2007 that a reformation and reunion tour was planned. In 1995, the band released what was referred to as their most seminal work in “Slaughter Of The Soul”, and this genre staple would be the focus of tonight’s performance at The Fillmore NY in New York City. The original plan was for there to be only one gig but the immediate sell out of the first scheduled date led to the wise decision to add a second show. Oddly enough, this second performance would now fall before the original date making it the first show for the band in NYC. Supporting the band would be Darkest Hour, Municipal Waste and Toxic Holocaust and sadly I would arrive slightly after Darkest Hour had started and hence would find out that I missed the other two openers. What I did hear from Darkest Hour was pretty good and I remember seeing them at another show over the earlier year and felt that for this gig were much more on top of their game then I remembered them being that first time. So inside I was and was made aware that this new second/first show had also sold out in record time and everyone in attendance was hungry to hear these Gods of the Gothenburg sound without any question. When the house lights dimmed for their arrival it seemed like all Hell was breaking loose. Continue reading At The Gates @ Fillmore at Irving Plaza (7/9/2008)→
Artist: At The Gates Title: “Slaughter Of The Soul” (CD/DVD) Label: Earache Records Release Date: 3/25/2008 Genre: Melodic Death Metal Rating: 4/5
If you are one of those Metal heads who loves the powerful drive and intensity of Melodic Death Metal then you probably already have this molten masterpiece in your music collection for it is with At The Gates’ “Slaughter Of The Soul” that the soon to be called “Gothenburg Sound” first earned its name. Originally released in 1995, the album is considered to be one of the seminal works in the genre and it was with this release and alongside bands like Dark Tranquillity and In Flames that a genre was defined. The music scene in 1995 over in Sweden was clearly different as those three bands delivered music like this while the heavy music fans in the States got the Grunge Movement and while some of those bands were also profound there were hundreds being signed to deals that were nothing of the sort. The more Metalized fans began to focus their attention on the European nations and allowed bands like At The Gates to become legends, inspirations, and nothing less than leaders in the field of this new brand of Death Metal. The special edition of “Slaughter Of The Soul” will remind both older and newer fans of this influence as tracks like “Blinded By Fear” and “Unto Others” slam you into the wall with an unbridled sense of power once again and since this is a remastered edition the songs sound brighter and cleaner than they ever have before. There is a lot of mood and aggression being delivered on this one and while it was the bands fourth studio release it is clearly one of their very best and I am happy to report that it has withstood the tests of time and stands strong and tall above all such efforts that came after it. Continue reading “Slaughter Of The Soul” (CD/DVD) by At The Gates→
Artist: Various Artists Title: “Earache 1986-2000: Immortalised” Label: Earache Records Release Date: 6/10/2008 Genre: Extreme Metal Rating: 2.5/5
Well, if you have enjoyed your copy of “Earache My Eye” over the last few months and were hoping that another one of their earlier releases would see the light of day have I got some news for you. Earache Records has returned with “Earache 1986-2000: Immortalised”, a film that was originally released in 2000 and one that featured the labels powerful roster from those years. This DVD has a few more tracks than the last one we examined and leaves the viewer hurting from the head banging as it delivers some Napalm Death, Vader, Carcass and Bolt Thrower but wait a minute…..there are several tracks or films that also appeared on “Earache My Eye” and this rather troubled me, since I would have enjoyed entirely new content. It doesn’t feature all of those tracks but does repeat on Cathedral, At The Gates, Sleep and Entombed among a choice few others. While I know that this is a direct VHS to DVD version with some additional features, I am still not sure why they didn’t put all of them together in a massive boxed set with a decent booklet that covers the bands years on the label. There is no booklet in this release, but the bonus features do include liner notes and band discography and biographies for you to read on the screen. Hopefully you have a decent sized screen to do it on because I hate having to read screens on a smaller television. Continue reading “Earache 1986-2000: Immortalised” by Various Artists→
Artist: Society 1 Title: “Fearing The Exit” Label: Earache Records Release Date: 2/19/2008 Genre: Industrial Metal Rating: 2.5/5
Society 1 is an Industrial Metal band led by Matt “The Lord” Zane, a man most prominently known for his work in the adult film industry and also for being the person who broke the suspension record previously held by illusionist Chris Angel. If you are not familiar with the suspension stuff, well it is exactly how it sounds and found the singer essentially hanging himself above the band by hooks. Pretty wild stuff when it comes down to it but not my own cup of tea. This DVD gives the viewer a little bit of everything that the band is involved in by delivering some live material, videos and interview footage along with a healthy number of bonus features that should please the most ardent supporters. The film begins with a documentary about the band called “One Way To Hell” and it is sometimes interesting and also sometimes boring, but I guess that the hardest core fan would not agree with me on that part. They don’t really feature too much in the way of music in the documentary and instead show a lot of backstage liaisons as well as plenty of onstage berating of the audience by Zane who seems to know exactly what buttons he needs to push to incite them into frenzy. The documentary is loaded with sexual content as well, and while it is shadowed or grayed out, that when coupled with the blunt language makes this a for mature audience item only. Continue reading “Fearing The Exit” by Society 1→
