February 4, 2010

http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/hqZGJXsiY_s&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0 I’ve always wondered why extreme metal bands don’t write more choruses. By “extreme,” I mean growling/screaming/etc. metal. Singing metal is often based on pop music, so choruses aren’t lacking there. But extreme metal is full of “the voice is just another instrument,” so entire songs and albums go by without the listener understanding a...

by Casey Boland Let’s face it: hype affects our initial opinions. Positive or negative, we bring assumptions and preconceived notions to the stereo, or more accurately for the times, the computer. Such is certainly the case with Shrinebuilder. When four musical titans group together, expectations will soar. Solar Benediction (excerpt) In Shrinebuilder’s case, the sum...

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fihV8IxlxM] Due to popular demand, I’ve resurrected the “Upcoming metal releases” list. However, it will take a different form now. Instead of a static page, which gets unwieldy with even a fraction of the 10,000+ releases annually, I’ve opened up access to my Gmail calendar called, naturally, “Upcoming metal releases.” “>Here is the calendar as...

by Chris Rowella I have a feeling Tony Reed and I would get along famously. His previous outfit, Mos Generator, was steeped in the Seventies hard rock tradition of Riffs, Hooks, and Blooze. With his new project Stone Axe — essentially a two-man band (Reed records all the instruments) — he’s delving even deeper into...