Every year new music comes out, sometimes you get excited and anticipate the release. Other times you discover a band new to you because of their newly released full length or E.P. 2015 was a great year for metal, we had plenty of albums, E.P.’s singles and tours that happened.
Why make a list of the “best” or the “worst” albums of the year? This is a list of our favorite albums of 2015, here you will find E.P.’s, full lengths, deathcore, black metal, death metal grind and everything in between that graced our playlist.
In no particular order these are the top albums, our favorites, and the albums we simply cant get enough of.
Cattle Decapitation- The Anthropocene Extinction
Vehemence- Forward Without Motion
Cryptopsy – The Book Of Suffering Tome 1
The Black Dahlia Murder – Abysmal
Pronostic – An Atomic Decision
WRVTH – Self Titled
Iron Maiden- The Book Of Souls
Napalm Death- Apex Predator
Skinless- Only The Ruthless Remain
High on Fire- Luminiferous
Baroness- Purple
Antlion-The Prescient
Alterius- Voyager
Fulgora- Stratagem
Hate Eternal- Infernus
Jungle Rot- Order Shall Prevail
Lamb Of God- VII Sturm Und Drang
Fit For An Autopsy- Absolute Hope, Absolute Hell
Born of Osiris- Soul Sphere
Vattnet Viskar- Settler
Horrendous- Anareta
Solium Fatalis- The Undying Season
Unleashed- Dawn of the Nine
Parius- Saturnine
Punching Moses- Humanity Pandemic
While 2015 has given us so many more albums, we like to keep it short and to the point. If we went beyond and tackled the 100+ releases many of you would not stick around for the other notable releases on the list.
Feel free to comment with other albums you feel deserve to have made the list, and also it looks as though 2016 will have plenty of great metal coming also. Big releases coming from bands like Pig Destroyer, Alterius, Sevenday Curse, Solium Fatalis and many others. \m/
Thank you for following us on Facebook, Twitter and by subscribing to our emails. 2015 was a great year for us, and we couldn’t have done it without, the metal heads out there, the fans, the bands, the P.R. agencies and all the people who helped the bands release their music, and play local shows as well as tour.
Here’s to 2015 and all of its greatness, on to 2016, NOW LETS SEE THOSE HORNS \m/
I recently had the chance to go down and hang out with the guys from Sevenday Curse, and hear what they have to say about the past the present and the future. I got a chance to hear some of the new material, and see them playing songs like ” Revelations”. I am pumped after hearing the rough mixes of the new material. They have not lost their touch, they are bringing it back, hard. Like they just finished with After The Storm and are picking right back up where they left off. Playing some bad ass metal. So with that said, lets get down to the interview.
Badger – So I am here with the guys from Sevenday Curse welcome back and couple things I wanted to talk to you guys about.
Badger-So how does it feel to be back together, and playing shows?
John- It feels great, this is something that a few of us wanted to do for a long time and we’ve finally all separately felt the need to try to get back together and we started talking to each other and found out that we were all kinda thinking the same thing so we did it. That was the first hurdle, getting back together back in the same room and seeing what transpires. Where this band is actually is at a point right now, where things are starting to be fun again. There was some heavy lifting we had to do re learning our songs and getting somewhat tight. Playing some shows, and things like that. Kinda starting from scratch, but now with the new material that we are working on, you know that whole fun its enjoyable again the aspect of it. Playing together, and playing new shit you know its pretty exciting. Especially after 15 years.
Badger: Does it make you feel kinda like you guys are young again?
Sevenday Curse – No hahaha.
Pat – I wouldn’t say that nope.
John – We definitely aren’t young. I mean you saw us downstairs practising and we played 1 song and 10 seconds into it I’m sweating like a pig.
John – I wouldn’t say ,
Pat – Getting up for work the next morning after our jungle rot show was hell.
John – Chasing your kids around after, band practices before (having kids) playing shows we would just go our separate ways, some of us would go out, or go to bars. Now in between practices my kids are running around.
Pat – Usually my kids are running around,
John – Pats kids are running around my wife helps out a lot, but its like you know we fit it in and we do the best we can with the time and energy but, yea that’s about it.
Badger-So what was that first show back like for you guys, what was it May 2014 right?
Scott – Kinda of nerve-racking.
Pat – Nerve-racking, yeah haven’t been on a stage in a long time.
John – Yea I think were all a little spooked out a little (bit) because after 15 years.
Pat – that was a fun show lot of people lot of people a lot of old friends it was a great feeling that was a good show, people coming from far away.
Scott – A lot of familiar faces,
John – it was definitely, fun and definitely we came out on stage it was a ruckus crowd we welcomed pretty well that was something that stood out to me was the applause from the people who were like, “fuck yea!” you know this is after 15 years it’s about to happen and you know it’s finally happening but yea.
Badger – When you guys first started bands like At the Gates were one of those very influential bands and I picked up that was an influence on you guys as well at the time. Slaughter of the soul was a killer album you know what I mean.
John – One of my top 3 favorite albums of all time
Badger-So you know as far as your influences then, what are your influences now? Do you have new artists, are you guys stoked to see At the gates back together and playing shows? So do you have any new influences?
Scott – I guess in the time in between we weren’t a band um I got into film scores a lot, I really like listening to soundtracks, pretty much everything Hans Zimmer has ever done its amazing, a lot of other really good composers, I’m not even remotely close to being anywhere near their level but I like to dabble, into arranging strings and stuff like that so that’s become I guess an influence for me kinda the dramatic side the music I guess . Bringing a little piece of that into the band it feels good I like it. It adds a different flavor to our music that’s different from what a lot of other bands are doing.
Badger – A whole different dimension being added to it.
Scott – Other influences I don’t know I think we are across the board I think that’s one of the really good things about the band we don’t, were just not all into the same music, and it’s always been that way Dan was always into the more brutal death metal stuff I was into the Swedish stuff Pat brought in a lot of hardcore influence John just straight up metal stuff. I think it’s still kinda that way, just more of it.
Pat – How am I the hardcore kid? ( laughing)
Dan – Well you were like, I learned about hardcore bands from you, Sheer terror Black flag, and you were in Close Call I think a mistake bands make is that you’re not going to be original from listening to other metal bands especially, newer bands or local bands you either got to dig back to the roots where this all came from or understand its OK to be influenced by music that’s not metal. I’m into everything I love even those early 90’s dance groups like The Real McCoy I like stuff like that I like seventies rock anything, Doo Wop classical music film scores anything dude, I can take that and channel it into metal it doesn’t just have to be metal I can take it from all the other places and when it does come to metal I think my biggest influence is I dig back I’m not going to reference a band like Trivium. They are a great band, but they are never going to be an influence (for me). To me an influence, is going to be Iron Maiden that’s an influence Entombed is an influence.
Badger yea the left hand path
Dan – Right any of them, that’s where metal influences come from. The newest band I’d call an influence would be from the early 90’s you know that’s how I think of an influence should be.
Badger – So what have you guys been listening to lately Scott mentioned film scores, for the rest of you what are you guys listening to lately , you got some old stuff, some newer stuff what are you listening to?
Scott – the newest Dark Tranquillity record
Pat – Nursery rhymes, The Frozen Soundtrack
Badger – But you have kids so that’s what you would be listening to most of the time anyway.
Pat – that’s all I listen to. ( laughing)
Scott – the newest Dark Tranquillity record
John – Scott and I have been , you know like I said I think we were the bigger Dark Tranquillity fans so we were looking forward to the new album and although I’d say Scott is maybe listening to a lot more than me. Its one of their darker albums so sometime its just not in the mood for it, but other times you know I can’t stop playing it.
Scott – Its pretty depressing music.
John – The album is really dark but so yea Dark Tranquillity I also listen to everything and with kids you know your choices change. I have Maroon five on my iPhone because my two kids love that I have to rock that a lot of the time but other than that. I have some old shit I have some new shit I’m actually way into Parkway Drive lately for the past 2-3 years, which is different for me I wasn’t really into that genre of hardcore. When I found Parkway it was something I never heard before and their breakdowns are just so brutal it has a metal aspect their guitarist is a metal guy so it was good that’s pretty much what I’m rocking that new Lamb of God, Dark Tranquillity and Maroon 5 (laughing)
Scott – that’s an eclectic mix (laughing)
Pat – Mostly folk music like the Clancy brothers, Schooner Fare from Maine,I dig them, talk about harmonies you would appreciate their harmonies
Badger – They definitely have their place there something for everyone out there. There is something for everyone out there, and that’s one of the things is that a lot of people think that if you’re in a metal band you have to listen to metal. That’s what what people generally think, that’s one of those things. You (Scott) listen to film scores, Maroon 5 has its place on your iPhone. You know everything you have to get that blend or you have tunnel vision and you’re not focusing on what else musically is out there. You are kinda broadening your horizons.
Pat – Dallas Green I listen to a lot of Dallas Green, check out Dallas Green City and Colour amazing!
John – so yea that stereotype that metal guys only listen to metal, rap only listens to rap punk only listens to punk but that’s not true and that’s proven by any artist you talk to they have several influences. You and I talked about this the other day Scott, Brent Hinds from Mastodon is way into that southern 70’s blues rock, and that comes through in their music.
Pat – I think everyone likes southern rock. You can’t say, the Allman Brothers are not good I dont care who you are. ( laughing)
Dan – I said in an interview years ago, the acoustic folk James Taylor stuff the Carol Cole, Cat Stevens, it all made it into our music. That’s an influence. People were saying it at the Jungle Rot show, that’s part of the gig “no one else is doing what you’re doing” that’s part of the game, doing something that not everybody is doing.
Badger – Back in 1999 when you guys were kinda of doing this there was no Facebook, there was no Myspace I mean there was really, there wasn’t much of anything. So you guys came from a time when it was like putting up flyers at shows handing out flyers at shows you didn’t have Facebook Myspace or anything like that so how has it changed for you guys now getting back into it and there’s just like everything is digital? Has it been an easy transition or…
Dan – I want to say something about this, just to show the difference, you asked if its different now. Just as a point of reference me and Scott were seniors in high school, and I played in a band called Adversary one of the many pre cursors for this band and dude I remember a kid made up a website for my band in 1995 somewhere around there dude I laughed at it, he’s like “this is your website”, he gave me a paper with the address, and when I went to the website it took about five minutes for the thing to load up. I thought “this is never going to take off.” Boy was I wrong. The exact opposite happened. You have to have it (the internet) now.
Badger – So has it been a whole learning lesson for you guys or did you guys transition into it pretty easy.
John – Fortunately for us Scotty and I are both in the IT industry. And it was pretty easy we’re very technology savvy so it comes easy to us like the other two guys not so much, but….
Scott- I think there’s still a lot of room for improvement, and how were using those tools, is part of what were working on now.
John – The whole social media thing were going to try to step up our game but with the internet now a days of course its one thousand percent better you know the whole heavy lifting thing getting in your car driving around putting up flyers, making calls. Just one example Facebook and the events page. You know you can make an event age and invite as many people as you want, as many people your friends with. And now a days everyone has at least 4-500 friends. Especially if you know you have an objective. You’re in a band or something like that. We share different mixes of our songs via social media. We have immediate access to each other via a text message or a face book message. We have been since day one, we have this one Facebook message, that is probably, fourteen thousand pages long now.
Scott – A thread
John – A thread of constant back and forth of what time are we meeting for practice, just wanted to check in what’s going on with the shows hows the new song coming? Here’s a new mix listen to it tell me what you think, maybe some making fun of each-other.
Scott – A lot of those last two. (laughing)
John – The purpose of my statement is just showing just how much of course it is a different age and its much easier to get.
Badger – You guys are embracing it.
John – Yea getting our music out there and getting our name out there.
Badger- so you guys recently put up After The Storm up on bandcamp, are we going to see the new material on there as well?
John-YES!
Badger- Bandcamp so far you have only had it up for about seven days today I think. How’s that turned out for you guys, in one week what would you say. Have you had positive results?
John – its been positive actually after about three days I went on and checked the statistics and our first song was streamed 54 times and second track was 43 times and I think that’s good for 3 days.
Badger- I’d say so definitely.
Pat – I haven’t seen it
John – We know you and I.T. (laughing)
John – After The Storm the goal is to have it available, but have it at a drastic price cut because its our old stuff. I actually have anxiety about it, but we have to make some money you know.
Badger- I think it would be something if it was one of the earlier demo’s or and E.P but it is a full length album.
Scott – It is a legit record.
John – I’m not denying that.
Badger – It was on Tortuga recordings you know what I mean so I definitely think its something that you have priced accordingly, I mean you can’t even find this album in most areas either. If I didn’t still have my disk I would buy it on here
Badger – when did you guys decide it was in fact time to get back at it?
Scott – That would have been November, December 2013 that’s when Pat started organizing everybody and at first you (Pat) contacted me about just playing guitar in a new band.
Pat – That was way before that
Scott – I’m talking about this time around.
Pat – Well I called a lot of you guys cause I just wanted to play, and I didn’t think you guys wanted to play Sevenday Curse stuff, I thought you guys were way beyond that at first it was hey you guys want to just jam and then it was I was getting like, “like Sevenday Curse? Or jam?” And I said let’s get together and see what happens.
John – In the back of our minds I know myself and Pat I told the story earlier, it was like the girl who got away we always wanted to try to resume and see what would happen and I think the other thing is I know like for myself I don’t know about anybody else. If I jammed with somebody else it was weird I always thought in my head that if I jammed again I just wanted to jam again with the same guys even if we didn’t do Sevenday Curse as long as if it was with them I thought the musicianship it would be on point we have an understanding of each other we worked together in the past and as far as musicianship these are the best that I know it’s why I wanted to put it together, it’s obviously one of the reasons we got together. Dan is one of the nastiest guitarists , Pat was nasty on the bass. And when Scott came in that day at practice we were like “ Dan you gotta get him in the band” the musicianship , I’m probably the worst drummer they’ve played with, but I don’t feel the same hahahahah.
Badger – So what musical direction are you guys going in? Are you guys trying to be more modern with the sound, or almost like After The Storm got released you are picking up right back where you would have?
Pat – That’s how I feel.
Dan – Yea that’s how I feel.
John – That’s the attempt; you know we feel like our music now, the new music were writing is a much more structured matured, engineered…. (form)
Badger – So you could say it’s the single barrel scotch of Sevenday Curse?
John – Yes!
Badger – It’s more refined you guys have had time to you know mature as adults.
Dan – It’s picking right back up but still relevant to what’s happening. Obviously we will be influenced by what’s going on around us in music, were up with the times but we’re still Sevenday Curse, and doing what we were doing back then.
Scott – I don’t think anyone ever creates something artistic in a way that’s free of influences everyone is always influenced by things. With that said I feel like for my part of the song writing, right now; I feel like the connection between what I’m writing and what I feel and want to say is the strongest it’s ever been for any music I have ever written. It just feels like it’s coming straight from inside.
Badger – Yea.
Scott – Not really when I’m sitting down to write and arranging there’s very little thought in my head in terms of I want it to sound like this or I want it to impress this type of person anything like that it’s really just what feels right.
Scott – I feel like that’s something every band says, it hasn’t been that true for me in previous bands that I have been in, or other times, it’s true for me now.
Dan – Brian there’s something we talked about this when we first got back together. There is a peanut butter and jelly thing that goes on with his guitar and my guitar. You know we played some of the stuff down here, and I was adamant that I wanted you also to hear one song predominantly Scott and one song predominantly me. When you put those two together because we acknowledged it, we build around the guitarists first,. That’s still there that’s what built the band in the first place. There’s still that contrast of his guitar versus mine and that’s no matter what that’s Sevenday Curse’s vibe. It’s going to be there whether we like it or not, it’s all still there. That’s how we wrote stuff After The Storm, it’s a series of songs that we glued together as a band at the time.
Badger – That leads up to my next question, is one member doing the primary writing, or do you guys jam and come up with the ideas and pick and choose? Or is it like I’ve got my idea, you’ve got your idea. Lets see if they both work or if they’re two individual songs.
Scott – I there’s been some of each of those things there’s been some parts where Dan brings in a riff and I listen to it and I come up with an idea for something to do in conjunction with the riff that he wrote. There’s a song that I wrote completely from start to finish before the band even got back together that’s the one you heard. That was written about three years ago and we re arranged it a little bit but it’s primarily still what I wrote. So its kind of all over the place
Dan – That stuff that I was playing , those riffs I mean the other night we had this riff for a while that I had that we like a lot and Scott was like “ we need to build a new song” a fast song around that so right away I started doing riffs again and this morning I was playing them for him that you heard. That was just done last night, in my head you know, so I mean I might come with that whole idea, and like Scott said he may come up with a whole idea and I feel like as a band we review it and listen to it and go back. And with Scott’s got the recording equipment, so we are putting a lot in his hands just because of convenience. He’s got the recording equipment, were not going to fight it, he’s got it let Scott work on some of this stuff on his own and then shoot us back the demo’s he came up with for it.and say you know “what do you think”
Scott – It’s a highly highly iterative process I put a raw collection of parts together and John will say why don’t you change this. Or why don’t you make that half time beat or whatever and a lot of stuff changes we have had about thirty different mixes of a song by the time we are done with it.
John – This is something that the way we wrote in the past (you know before the breakup) After The Storm would be a lot of it would be done. Either done in person or me and Scott over the phone or Scott would bring or Dan would bring something to practice but what’s different about this is a lot of this is done remotely its uh Scott putting his ideas in pro tools and getting Dan’s idea, putting that into pro tools and coming up with ideas and going back and forth on what’s good and what’s not.
Dan – A large majority of band practicing now is done over the internet we have band practice through emails Facebook messenger and I have no problem with it were all cool with it, these three guys each have two kids a piece, and a wife, and a house all that. OK this is how were going to have to practice now times not through the week we’ve got busy schedules. Times not on our side. With scheduling , I mean we’re OK with all of this. This is how were going to have to practice now.
Scott – And its working!
Dan – And its working, its great!
Badger – Have you guys had some positive feedback since getting back together as a band. You had mentioned your first show you have a huge crowd, got a lot of and response on the Facebook page that you guys are back at it?
Scott – Lot of excitement people commenting saying “ I can’t believe this is real!”
Dan – Yea I cant either! (laughing)
John – Pretty much what I said to myself.
Dan – It’s very surreal.
John – That one night after we got back together was “I cant believe this is happening I cant believe this is real” and we have people approach us and say that. Dan is still somewhat plugged in to the scene the metal and hardcore scene.
Scott – I’d say very plugged in.
John – Yea he doesn’t have kids and he is able to do that and he gets feedback every time that he goes to a show, any time he plays with his other band you know.
Dan – I feel like I get interviewed like” so what are you doing you got stuff coming out when are you playing etc. I tell them whatever they want to know. I can see from a fans view I would be asking the same questions.
Badger – What can the fans expect for the rest of 2015 ? Booking a few more shows?
Scott – Our main focus is getting this recording out I think we are hoping to do that by November that’s the goal that were at right now as soon as we’re done with the actual mixing and arranging and its moving to getting pressed we want to book some shows. So I’d say winter we want to play a lot.
Badger – So looking at beginning of 2016 you guys want to be playing some shows?
Pat – I want to do that metal night in Worcester.
John – It’s three things, mainly finishing the record we have new merch ideas we want to get out a couple of shirts maybe After The Storm on vinyl maybe some pressing of After The Storm maybe vinyl for the new album I don’t know we just got a lot of ideas and three is just getting on a lot of good shows for the end of 2015 and promoting that record and getting that new music out there.
Badger – So something I had talked to you guys earlier is that you worked with Kurt Ballou on After The Storm when it comes to the mastering it sounds like you are going to do as much as you can independently as you can and then you are going to leave the mastering up to someone like a sound engineer someone who does mastering?
Scott – I think it’s an intelligent decision, none of us know about mastering so.
Badger is there anybody in particular that you are looking to work with or are you not at that place yet.
Scott – We have only vaguely begun to research that.
Pat – Who did we use before.
John – We went to nine west.
Pat – When we went in there the guy was mastering Nuno Bettencourts new solo album.
John – We were very taken care of by Tortuga it was great to have the backing because studio time we’re not paying for record pressing were not paying for cd distribution were not paying for. The only thing we needed to worry about was finding ourselves some shows.
Dan – Even mark helped us out with that he got us shows with Isis( the band)Soilent Green
John – So then the mastering was great because the label paid for that and I feel like mark, when Tortuga was around mark had a lot of bands on his label but he had two that was his heavy hitters Scissorfight and then us. And I felt like he did extra work for the two of us and when it came to mastering I was taken back when he said that we were going to Nine West . Nine West is A+ for mastering, you look on the back of albums.
Pat – You look on the back of Nuno bettencourt’s album and you see Nine West.
John – Looking at that and then looking at our situation now its completely 180° were looking to do a lot of our stuff DIY. We’re trying to raise some money with that the mastering. We’re trying to take care of the recording the mixing ourselves and maybe, maybe were looking to try to get some help I don’t know but the mastering thing were just now starting to talk about it. We definitely want to do that we just want to see what depending on the funds, and what the avenues are.
Badger – So is Scott going to be doing the majority of the vocals just like After The Storm?
Scott – We haven’t arranged much of the vocals yet but I think its going to be the I’m not sure I’d agree that I did the majority of the vocals, I guess yea maybe I did two- thirds of the vocals but these guys.
Pat – That’s the majority hahaha
Scott – I think its probably going to be the same kind of mix, I’m the lead singer, but……
Badger – So you’re not labelling yourself the lead singer, just the guitarist and handling vocals as well while Pat and Dan are doing vocals too.
John – What you never heard my vocals?
Badger – (laughing) I have not heard your vocals no.
Scott – So I mean I guess I am the lead vocalist by default but I don’t think of myself as a singer.
Badger – You’re a guitarist that also handles vocal duties.
Scott – I am a guitarist that sings I think the mix is probably going to be the same (to address the original question) Pat and Dan are will still have some prominent vocals I guess the difference there is their not just doubling my parts they have lead parts they always did and that’s going to continue.
John – They have individual parts/ assignments
Badger – So are you guys planning on trying to get a label, get on a label rather?
Scott – We haven’t strategized a lot on that, we have a little but that’s definitely a goal.
Pat – That’s a main goal.
John – He perfectly said it we haven’t really come up with a game plan on that yet but that’s a goal so we somehow would like to in a perfect world would have our new material and get it in front of record exec’s and hopefully we find someone who is willing to work with us. Were not looking for the world were just looking for a little help.
Pat – Like I had said with these guys were not going to be a touring band.
John – There are bands out there that don’t tour.
Badger – You know there are some labels that do, do that.
Scott – Also we might be a low investment band, if we’re self producing and mixing that its really just the mastering and pressing, promotion.
Badger – So you guys recently did crowd-funding on the www.gofundme.com site, hows that working out for you guys?
John – There’s been some good response by a lot of close friends and some of the older fans it’s not where we would like it to be. We’re not really near our goal.
Badger – Well this is all new for you anyway, doing a crowdfunding thing.
John – I think our game plan is to release a new track before the album comes out, planning on try to use that to drum up some money / attention to the page.
Badger – So are you guys holding off on new material at the shows until the new E.P. is released?
Pat – I think we would like to play some a new song but ..
Scott – I think in general I am personally not a fan of playing stuff that is not released. However I am a fan of pre releasing a song or two before the E.P. or album is out.
Badger – So maybe not playing it at a show first , because you don’t want that dead crowd reaction. Actually releasing it (via Spotify, Bandcamp, blog, etc one of those avenues) just to get people to hear the new material, then playing it a show after.
Scott – Once its out for about a month we can play it at show.
Badger – You don’t want to be playing a show have a pit for the last three songs and then drop this and all the people are just staring at you.
Scott – I think in general, it works better when some people have actually heard the song before the show.
John – I got a different opinion on that were a band that hasn’t put anything out in fifteen years. So I think we owe it to the little bit of a fan base that we have now especially at this Revocation (September 3rd )show where we would like to try to play a new song People know our other album, and maybe they are sick of it and what to hear a new song. So we’re hoping that we can début it Scott song the one that you heard at the Revocation show, because it’s a good show it will be a great crowd there, and it will be a great platform for us to get back at it.
Badger – It is a badass tune definitely!
Scott – I’m hoping to release the song before that show.
Badger – How many tracks is the E.P. shaping up to be so far?
Scott – So I think it might end up being six or seven realistically something like five full band new songs, one instrumental and then possibly one of the songs from After The Storm re-done.
Badger – Cool re-done like not just remastered I mean playing it fresh?
Scott – Playing it with the new sound completely redone playing it.
Badger – That’s great to hear!
Badger – I just want to say welcome back! I can’t wait to hear the new material! I’ve been a long time fan . So is there anything else you guys want to say to the fan let them know what Sevenday Curse has for them?
Scott – That’s a good damn question.
Dan – I just want people to know that these little clips we’re releasing its one tiny piece of this big idea we have for these new songs.
John – We have something for you, so stand by.
Dan – It’s coming it’s going to have all the elements from the past those are going to be there as well as the new stuff the teasers we’re putting out we’re glad people like it we’re getting a great response from it I am more than confident that any people who have liked us at any stage of our career past, present or even the future fans it’s all going to be there. Your going to dig it, whatever you liked about us in the past. You’re going to like it, all those elements are going to be there.
Badger. So this is just something that I like to do, but with the new material just give me five words to describe it.
So with that said I did get a chance to hear some new material. Seeing them play their old material was great. If you have ever been a fan of these guys. Get ready to be blown away. Sevenday Curse is back, and they are ready to pick right back where they left off. Playing some killer metal, with some creative melodies, and having fun while delivering only finely crafted New England metal. Check them out their last album on Spotify and Bandcamp. Then stay tuned because they have new music coming and it’s sounding pretty bad ass. Just to get you into the swing of things check out a clip from their album After The Storm titled ” Revelations. this is a personal favorite of mine.
And check out a little teaser of the new material.
Many if not all of you know that Lamb Of Gods latest album VII: Sturm Und Drang dropped this past Friday. This is a huge release for the band with everything that Randy and company has endured through the past few years.
Lets just get into this album
Still echoes:
Starts out classic Lamb of God style, nice guitar riff into drums and Randy s vocals. More blast beats used by Chris these past few albums. They are a band that doesn’t need the blast beats but Chris does a great job with them. Never goes over the top with the quantity of blasts. By the time the chorus comes around, i gotta say i do like the chorus, and then the guitars between will and Mark. They seem to be more connected as a team for this album. Starting the album off with a solid track like this one is a great way to get the show started.
Erase This:
Guitars, drums, i really am digging this song, so far one of my favorites on the album, the classic Chris drum sound/ style his double bass fills are his signature attack. Randy belts out a line, they go into a slower feel than the fast beginning but. Then go into a transition of fast riffs and drums. Break it down ” For what it’s worth ” great head banging pace of Lamb of God grooves. This album has a similar feel for me to Ashes of the Wake with the guitars. the fast pace of the song right before the chorus is great, it really builds you up to get into that chorus and groove. the song goes right back into the way it started with the riff, and drums, but the bridge has the guitars using a pedal I haven’t heard the guys use in other albums. Damn it sounds good, they are going back to a rock, bluesy feel to the metal. Its like they are adding spices to this album that work very well. The song ends with the chorus and the guitars and drums riff for a few bars then end.
512:
Starts out with the guitars playing and Randy comes in with his spoken word style vocals. The guy really has one of the best voices for metal because to utilize the spoken, and then his heavy lower mid range brutal vocals yet he can still get those high screams. This song is definitely a slower mid paced song, but you will be moving to the beat. It is a solid tune with a great beat, the chorus ” my hands are painted red” has great lines. then into a great guitar solo. The next verse starts and midway through Randy speaks again, going right into the chorus. You can almost feel how the songs and lyrics have such a strong emotional impact on Randy. You can feel it through the music
Embers:
Starts out with an echo like guitar riffs, and you can hear the drums sound like a nice double bass feel with the snare on the quarter notes. Just a solid set up and it fades in clear with a drum fill to enter the clear sound. One hell of a great song beginning in my opinion. When Randy does come in we here Chris switch from hi hats to his crash cymbal then into his splash which is a classic musical move. It just works perfectly for him I mean it is effortless for Chris to play killer metal drums. The song goes into a chorus back into a verse, again into the chorus, and then a bridge that features Chin Moreno’s vocal talents. Randy growls leading up to Chinos classic vocal sound. This section of the song is worth the buy right here. As a Lamb of God fan and a Deftones fan this is a killer track that really works with both Randy and Chino. I would love to see some more collaboration between the two in the future.
Footprints:
Double bass roll and tom roll out, into with blast beats to fill the gap between the bars. This continues until Randy joins in. This is a mid paced heavy tune, with a verse that reminds me of the earlier albums, and then a chorus that brings back the blast beats and into the next verse. Gotta love Randy’s vocals, I hold this album higher than the previous four albums. Nothing but great songs so far. The lead up into a bridge is brings the listener into a faster paced groove hi hats classic Chris double bass fill. with Randy screaming and into another verse that has an enhanced sound. That’s the sound of Chris wailing on the bell of his ride cymbal. The song transitions into the beginning sequence for a few bars and then transitions into the chorus with Chris hitting the crash cymbal on the quarter notes to emphasize that this is the conclusional chorus which we bring on the ending sequence. a killer guitar riff, and Randy giving the microphone everything he has left in his lungs.
Overlord:
Now here is the song a lot of people have had a hard time with. It is a slow paced song, with Randy doing semi clean vocals. IT has a very Alice in Chains feel to me. Bluesy rock fuelled Layne Staley-like vocals. This song is the song that so many people will get hung up on. Mark likes a blues guitar sound, this is most likely the most soulful song on the album as far as he is concerned. The guitar solo after the second chorus is almost too short as far as I am concerned. Maybe they wanted it to be short and sweet, but i would have liked to have heard a little more out of it. for the listeners who stayed the whole song it picks up speed to a fast paced bridge with Randy doing his usual vocals. The song remains fast paced until t it fades out with the same guitar riff they used in the beginning with a little feedback and some drums. One more chorus to round the song out, slowing to half time emphasis on the crash cymbal, and fade out feedback.
Anthropoid:
Does not hold back Randy is growling some heavy vocals the moment the song starts. a nice up tempo tune, with the first verse sounding like classic Lamb of God, pre chorus Chris raises the intensity bar with his splash cymbal and then Randy with some higher vocals, the chorus ” WE ARE” ” WE ARE” the crowd chanting metal anthem of the album. the next verse starts off nice and heavy with half the bars and into the pre chorus.Chris on the splash into the chorus ” We are the faces of the end,We are the architects of ruin,fathers of rebellion, disciples of the reaper,We are the apex predator” This song is heavy Lamb of God bringing it back to the “as the Palaces burn” feel to the verse. “Yet still has a Omerta feel to it. The songs kicks ass no matter what way you look at it.
Engage The Fear Machine:
Now Randy has gone on about this song, basically its about the media. It fuels our fears, what happened with Ebola? there was a global panic, and then it vanished. The song is about the powers keeping the fear machine ( media) well oiled and running smoothly to get reaction from the population. It starts out with a march drum roll feel, with bass drum on the first note of the bars. it progresses into Randy screaming and a mid paced tempo with a really bad ass guitar riff. The verse is a mid tempo line transitions into a killer guitar riff and Chris wailing on the bell of his ride. The chorus is solid, ” Paranoia writes the checks” its not the fastest Lamb of God song, it may not be the heaviest either. But it is solid, well written song.
Delusion Pandemic:
Killer fast riff to start out the song. Fast paced, man the guitars are killer on this Chris hitting the bell. then half time, crash cymbal but still that guitar riff is bad ass. I could honestly have listened to that for 5 minutes alone. Randy comes in with his vocals great verse solid straight to the point. Pre chorus builds the song up with two changes. The chorus ” this is the rise of our demise! Randy has some seriously powerful lyrics on this album. I did like Resolution, but really this album is the best I have heard from these guys since ashes of the wake. An unexpected transition into a slower pace with Randy doing his preaching style vocals. the intensity level builds its going to get sick in 3..2…1.. slow bad ass breakdown, the pit will go nuts right about now.
Torches:
Has a slower feel to it, Randy talking ” the soul of the nation” tranquil guitar riffs, with very minimal percussion until Randy crescendos bringing the intensity of the verse up for a few bars, then it drops back down to the slower pace feel. the song transitions by progressing with a snare drum pattern and double bass roll leading into a heavy mid paced pre chorus. This song features Greg Puciato as backing vocals. The song continues to build on itself, until “I am the inferno, I am legion” where the song fades out. Definitely a song to end the album with. Unless like me you got the
DELUXE EDITION!!!!
Wine & Piss:
Southern rock sounding slower to mid paced song with a solid riff, the verse starts in with slow pace and after the first bar picks up double time for a few bars, back into the verse. it maintains its pace the whole time not many changes in this song. its just a consistent tune. It really has that flip the middle finger attitude throughout the entire song. Not a bad tune, maybe not my favorite, but its still a solid tune.
Nightmare seeker: (the little red house)
More of a fast paced song, emphasis on Chris splash and the guitar riff. Few bars like that until it gains a little more dimension When Randy comes in the song transitions into the slower but heavy paced feel, with his vocals that growl from low to the higher dragged out banshee style.This is a fun song to be listening to, I mean when the pre chorus comes in the guitars are great, solid chorus. You really have to give it to Willy and Mark they write riffs that are just great. Think of all the songs with pretty bad ass riffs, Laid to Waste, The Subtle arts of Murder and Persuasion, In Defense of our Good Name, Vigil,Ashes of The Wake to name a few. This is a great song right here, everything about it. The bridge Chris playing on his splash, and then going to the ride, but using his other hand to hit the bell of another cymbal. Then a short solo, into the chorus. “I CAN NEVER FORGET War is coming, (never forget) War is coming to take us again. War is coming ( never forget) war is coming to take us again!” This repeats a few bars and fades, out with a classic Randy growl,
All in all this is a killer album, best Lamb of God work in a while. Every song has it’s place, every song has it’s own fingerprint making it unique. The album is a must have. Do yourselves a favor and get the Deluxe edition.
Here it is the Lamb of God track many have been waiting to hear. The song is titled Embers and features Chino Moreno (Deftones) as a vocal contribution.
This seems like a good tune, I like what I am hearing so far from it. It does remind me of the track The undertow from their last album Resolution. Get to the chorus and to hear Chino on a Lamb of God track is pretty cool. As a fan of the Deftones I do like the contrast between Chino’s vocals and Randy’s vocals. The way the song starts out really minded me of The Undertow, until Chino comes in to the chorus and Randy and him are almost going back and forth between them. It really takes the song to a different level, one that I am satisfied with for sure.
Also big news is that Lamb of God and Megadeth are going on tour which means Chris Adler is doing double duty on the throne. Now that would be a killer show to see. Check out the new track Embers and rock out.
Lamb of God just released another video for their upcoming album, and listening to it, reminds me of Alice in Chains. It is a slower paced song, with clean vocals for the majority of the song. With 6:31 for the song, it has a lot to offer. Its fairly light and refreshing, however if you are looking for the typical heavy as hell metal feel you wont get it until about half way through the song, so stick around don’t just dismiss it. You may be surprised altogether, but the calm beginning, and then to transition into the signature Randy Blythe vocals is cool.
With Randy’s world being turned upside down a few years back, being put in a prison in an unfamiliar area, for the death of a fan. Then to be released, and found not guilty, Randy will most likely be giving every emotion he felt during that time. So if you are willing to dismiss the album in an instant you aren’t really getting the point of this album. Randy has been to a dark place, and now he has risen up again. Through these songs he tells a story, and you will have to listen and pay attention. Only then will you have a fraction of understanding what not only he went through but the entire band. They are a family and did everything they could to get where they needed to be. AS a band, as a family this upcoming album will chronicle their journey, and that my friends is what’s going to make this album explode. So check out the video
Lots of interesting things happening lately. Might not be metal news but Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl fell off a stage, broke his leg and then finished up the show. You have to give anyone credit for being a badass if they play with a freshly broken leg.
now moving forward, Skinless put a track up on the facebook page for their new album Only the ruthless Remain. The title of the track is ” The Beast Smells Blood” i am currently listening to this track right now, and it sounds great. This has Skinless brand metal written all over it. I am really digging this song. so for your enjoyment i have the Audio for it right here, but with visuals including merch and ordering information for the album.
John Coffey would fit more in the post hardcore, punk, indie sound however regardless of sound, a video surfaced of the vocalist catching a beer. This is just pretty bad ass all in itself. Shit if Stevie Wonder were to catch a beer like this i would have it on my metal blog too.
In other news Hivesmasher will be calling it a day with their last show on June 26th. They will be playing a ” the party is over” show and if you are interested check this out
Revocation drummer or ex drummer? havent heard anything official as of yet. But Phil has changed his profile on instagram, and has also left out any mention of Revocation in his bio. while it used to read that he was the drummer it now has no omention of that. We know he was unable to play the drums for some time when he broke his arm, and had Alex Rudinger fill in while the band was on tour. As well as Jon Rice filling in when he could also. So while ther has not been any official statement, it may be safe to say there is something going on, and we may hear more about it soon.
For fans of Into Eternity it looks as though they just signed to Kolony Records recently. They just finished up the recording for a 2015 album release Sirens, and they have announced that they signed with Italian record label Kolony records. The band is planning on actively touring and getting ready for the release of the new album.
Kolony records seems like they have been making some good business decisions, as they had signed Orpheus Omega back in April. Their upcoming album PARTUM VITA MORTEM’, out on July 24 sounds pretty badass so far. here is a single off the new album for you to check out
Metal Alliance tour news;
So it does not seem like Deicide kick Entombed A.D. off the tour like all the spreading rumors had stated. So based on several FB posts by Deicide it paints a different picture all together. It seems as though the organizers are the ones to blame, and while Deicide could have just said ” Pound Sand” and went home, they dont want to dissapoint any fans. However Deicide had these statements posted so you can decide for your self
“These are the final dates to this tour, we could have just said fuck this whole mess, and been done with it! We don’t do business like that and believe there is honor in finishing it not for ourselves but for the fans who deserve to see the band and who expect us to show up! This will be our last U.S. TOUR FOR A LONG LONG LONG TIME, come on out and support these great bands”
“What happen with this tour is this…the agents put together a package that the local promoters had no faith in and couldn’t afford and we’re all asking to cancel their dates, so to keep it going and finish it out entombed were told to go home not by us. But by the agents that set up this tour so the local promoters could still do the shows, we are all in this mess together and I can assure you we will never get involved in anything like this ever again.”
“We had nothing to do with entombed being kicked off tour blame metal alliance, there fucking mess!”
“METAL ALLIANCE IS WHO YOU SHOULD BE ANGRY WITH, THIS FUCKING TOUR IS THERE BIG FUCKING MESS, NOT DEICIDE WE ARE ONLY GUILTY OF AGREEING TO DO THE TOUR!”
So Deicide dont seem too happy about this whole mess either.
Lamb of God news! It seems like every week there is something to mention about this band. So it has been reported that Lamb of God will have guess vocals from none other than Chin Morneo (Deftones) and Greg Puciato (Dillinger Escape Plan). That just makes this album seem that more promising, with these guys offering their vocals to some tracks. Greg will be on the track ” Torches” and Chino will be on ” Embers”. I for one think that this album will be killer. You already have so much that has fueled the writing for this record, and then to add two frontman from great bands. This album just seems to be getting better and better as the release date gets closer.
Full Terror Assault open air festival will take place 9/10/15-9/12/15 at Cave-In Rock Illinois. There are three days, and three stages with 75 bands listed.
I couldnt get the video on here before but i wanted to make sure to throw the new video and not just a link up today. So for all you Lamb of God fans out there who havent had a chance to watch the video. Here it is ” 512″ in its entirety.
Make sure to show your support for everything these guys have gone through in the past few years, and pre order the album Sturm Und Drang to be released July 24th 2015. GET IT
Big news for all you Lamb of God fans out there. Lamb of God put up a video on their website today! Huge news really as they just released the audio for it about a week ago. So stop what you are doing and head on over to http://www.lamb-of-god.com/
while you are there why don’t you think about pre-ordering the album too.
Sorry for any delay to any metal news there is, i happened to take a vacation this past week that included seeing Cryptopsy wrap up their ” Back to the U.S. tour in Syracuse, Ny, and then making my way down to Florida to relax by the beach or pool and read Extremity Retained written by Misery Index’s own Jason Netherton. Needless to say i did not have my computer or wifi so any posts i could do were few and far between and on my phone with only a 1G and maybe if I was lucky 3G/4G service. At any rate lots to report and i still wont be able to fit it all in to one post without everyones ADD needing to look at something different, so i am going to break this up into a few posts just to keep you guys engaged.
Parkway drive just released a video yesterday for the song ” Vice Grip” if you are a Parkway fan then be sure to check this out, if not hey maybe you will like them or move along to the next story i have.
Heart of a coward, new video released today on Century Medieas youtube channel, they are a bit more mainstream sounding but anyone who listens i bvet you could hear them on either Sirius XM Liquid Metal or Octane easily. Not bad definitely check them out.
Slipknot released the video to the song Killpop yesterday and has already broken a million views, 1,381,960 to be exact right now as i am typing this which is a big feat considering it was released yesterday.
Stream High on Fire’s new album “ Luminiferous” because why nowadays bands are putting it out there to stream the whole album. I say YES because if i like it i am still going to buy it. Call me old but i like to have the CD. I like being able to physically hold it in my hands and read the booklet. See where it was recorded who produced it, all the way to the thank you’s. Shit i used to find a way to the record store, pick up a cd, and the first thing i did was read the booklet. See who the band thanked, who they toured with etc. you get a good idea of the smaller less known bands that way and i would end up checking them out to see what they sounded like, go to shows or buy their albums if i could. So with High on Fire putting the album to stream you can get a good listen to all the tracks and make up your mind and buy it when you can. i have listened to all the tracks and it is good, I really dig The Black Plot! so go on and check it out
Shadows fall hiatus is over? Whether or not this is just a one show gig, or if they are going to come back at it full swing its still pretty cool. The band announces summer show at The Big Kahuna Festival in Providence RI Saturday August 22nd. Maybe this will lead up to more band news, maybe it won’t but if you are in the New England area and you are a Shadows Fall fan you may not want to miss this show.
Cannibal Corpse and Testament will be going on a Latin America Tour! This fall the Tour will have Testament and Cannibal Corpse playing in November and December dates listed on their Facebook page so far are;
17-Nov-15 -Porto Alegre, Brazil – Opiniao
18-Nov-15 -Curitiba, Brazil -Vanilla Music Hall
20-Nov-15 -Rio De Janeiro, Brazil – Circo Voador
21-Nov-15 -Sao Paulo, Brazil -Carioca Club
24-Nov-15 -Buenos Aires, Argentina -Groove
25-Nov-15 -Santiago, Chile -Teatro Caupolican
26-Nov-15 -Lima, Peru -Embarcadero 41
28-Nov-15 -Bogota, Colombia – Downtown Majestic
29-Nov-15 – San Jose, Costa Rica -Club Peppers
1-Dec-15 -Mexico City, MX -Pabellón Oeste Del Palacio de los Deportes
2-Dec-15 – Guadalajara, MX – Teatro Studio Cavaret
Sickdrummer Magazine posts a video of Archspires Spencer Pruwett killing it on the drums to “ Rapid Elemental Dissolve”Now I have heard a few different opinions on the band from the vocals to the sound. Everyone has an opinion, Mine is that Spencer is a great drummer and I really dig watching his playthrough videos on youtube. He has one for Lucid Collective Somnabulation that is just great to watch becuase it covers several different camera angles. So here is the video from Sickdrummer Magazine
Cryptopsy crowdfunding only has 29 days left, and $6,366.00 raised so far click on the link to help them reach their goal!
I know I have posted a lot about Cryptopsy, but you have to understand, when they formed years back most of the metal was just the typical death metal. These guys are from Canada and just created a sound like no one else, and still no one can pull off the same sound. I have always been a huge fan of Flo Mounier as a drummer, the guy is just incredible. and also i had the chance to meet and talk to the band at their last show in Syracuse, NY. The guys are some of the most down to earth people, and are all a bunch of great guys who have lives like you and me. Each had great stuff to talk about with the new album, and also had great ideas for the future music from Cryptopsy. So check out their crowdfunding Indie gogo page, maybe you have never heard their music before, listen to some songs and heck if you dont want to buy a cd buy the digital download, its only $5.00! You can even have exclusives like Matt doing vocals for your band or flow doing drum tracks etc.
Warpath Ireland reveal guest vocals for a track have been recorded with the one and only Mark Kloeppel from Misery Index for the upcoming E.P. ” The Ambiance of War”. The track Mark did vocals on is listed as ” Hunted like the prey that you are”. Which sounds like it will be a killer track. if you want to get some more information on this news check out Warpath’s facebooks page at; https://www.facebook.com/warpath.ireland
Other misery Index news the legendary Jason Netherton Bassist and founding member of both Misery Index, and Dying fetus as well as author of Extremity Retained will be presenting at the Modern Heavy Metal Conference in Helsinki Finland. Also if you are a fan of metal, and like me grew up listening to it, do yourself a favor, pick up Jason’s book Extremity Retained. It is a must have for every fan of metal.
And of course as I posted yesterday Lamb of God has the audio for the track titled “512” up to listen to. Its not a fast tempo song, its a good mid tempo song that has some powerful background fueling the lyrics. Randy had spoke to Rollingstone magazine and said that his cell number while in prison over seas was 512. So if you have not listened to it yet, get on that. New Lamb of God what are you waiting for?
And right now the Video for Killpop has 1,382,160 views and picking up steam.
So thats just part of my news cathc up stay tuned for more. and make sure to support local music, and actually buy the music. Bands need to earn a living too.
New Lamb of God track titled “512” as been released and it sounds pretty badass.
Reported by Rolling Stone, “512” was Blythe’s prison cell number while he was in Pankrác Prison in the Czech Republic after being charged for manslaughter in the death of a fan at a 2011 concert. D. Randall Blythe was eventually found not guilty, and the new album, VII: Sturm und Drang, features lyrics Blythe wrote while incarcerated during that time. It seems to be a killer album so far, and the fact that Randy Blythe can write some powerful lyrics. I’d say it’s safe to say that being in prison may have added fuel to Blythe’s lyric writing fire. The band sounds more together than they have in the past as if this experience brought them closer and they were able to harness it and deliver something great. Check out the video. And be sure to ore order their new album.
The Metal Breakdown 