Welcome back to another installment of me voicing my own opinions on a variety of metal-related things.
This post was originally supposed to have happened sometime around Wednesday, but I've been busy and feeling under the weather since Saturday, so obviously that wasn't going to happen. So, in order to make up for the time it took to actually make this post, I decided to talk about a lot more than I would have normally. We've had a bunch of new songs unveiled and just general stuff announced since my last post on this here blog, so there's going to be quite a bit of material here (a long with some other stuff). You might as well grab a flagon of mead, sit back, and enjoy my ramblings for the next several minutes 'cause
here
we
go.
New TÝR Song-"Blood of
Heroes"
So last Monday (June 22nd), Faroe Island folk metallers Týr
released a new track from their upcoming album, Valkyrja. This one’s called “Blood of Heroes” and will be the first
track of what is to be a concept album about a Viking warrior who left his
woman to impress a Valkyrie on the battlefield so that she may take him to
Valhalla.
I was extremely excited, as usual, when I heard that another band I
adore was giving fans a sneak peek at what they’ve been up to, holed up in a
studio for the past few months. This time, Týr got George Kollias to aid them
as a guest drummer, making me all the more joyous and eager to hear what they’ve
got in store for us this time. I’ve been a fan of Týr for a little while now,
with such favorites of mine being “Valhalla”, “Hold the Heathen Hammer High”, and
“The Hammer of Thor”, and Heri Joensen is undoubtedly one of my favorite clean
vocalists in metal. I had high hopes for “Blood of Heroes”, and was eager to
prove to myself that I won’t be disappointed with Valkyrja (not that I ever expected to be, of course).
And you know what?
“Blood of Heroes” is wonderful.
I literally could not stop listening to this song the day it was
released. It was incredibly catchy, both musically and lyrically, which makes
it very hard to not hit the replay button over and over again. Heri’s voice is
just as charming, if not more, than it was on previous releases, and is the
primary reason I began liking the band in the first place, as usual. The guitar
solo is another highlight, and George Kollias’ drumming is as nice and clean as
ever. The only negative thing I have to say about it is that it ends a bit…suddenly
after the chorus. Of course, this can be overlooked, as you’ll probably just
hear it all again immediately afterwards several times over, anyway.
I can tell that this will be played live a lot, and that the crowd will have absolutely no problem with
shouting that great chorus back at Heri.
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| Brief exchange between myself and @Chrisbizarre13 (I do not know why his icon wouldn't show up) |
That’s basically what this song makes you feel while listening to it.
If you say that the chorus to this song isn’t catchy and enjoyable, then you’re
a little nuts.
TYR-Blood of Heroes
Click here to pre-order Týr's Valkyrja (shirt, CD, vinyl, and rune pendant bundle available).
Other New Things
Quite a few things have been announced/released over the
past week. So many that I decided to just lump them all into one post because I
completely put-off making this post earlier this week as promised. So you get
about twice/three-times as much of my opinion as you would usually receive!
Lucky you!
New Fleshgod Apocalypse Song-“Minotaur (The Wrath of
Poseidon)”
Alright, so I was hooked on this song from the very
beginning. I won’t spend a whole lot of time discussing this song since I did a
lengthier post on “Elegy”, but it is equally deserving of a spotlight. Maestro
Ferrini opens up this track, though what I especially loved about this track
was that, one, it featured a choir, and two, you can hear the guitars. The
choir is not too overpowering, and it’s about damn time you got to hear what
Tommaso and Cristiano are actually playing.
This is also a song I can hear being played live a lot (and
I do really hope I get to hear it on Wednesday), as chanting along to “kill the
king” and “gods kill for me” is simply irresistible.
Also, this track features some angry shouting in Italian
like “Abyssal” did on Mafia and I
think may have been included somewhere in Agony.
A nice touch, despite not having any idea what’s being said at all.
FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE-Minotaur
(The Wrath of Poseidon)
Click here to pre-order Labyrinth (CD + shirt pre-orders available).
New Cattle Decapitation Video-“Your Disposal”
So I like Cattle, and I love this song, and the entire
album, Monolith of Inhumanity, is
incredible.
This video was alright.
The concept of it was good, but the video didn’t really
showcase much of that concept. I’d watched “Forced Gender Reassignment”, and
yes, I was a bit grossed out, so I was a bit skeptical on watching this one.
However, it had been allowed on YouTube, so it couldn’t have been that bad. If
you weren’t a fan of the “Forced” video, or were too squeamish to even try to
watch it, I can tell you that you really haven’t anything to fear with the new
video. But honestly, the failed attempt at trying to tie a clear concept into
the video should have been left out, and the video should have just portrayed
the band playing. It was too choppy and jumpy, and the cuts with the actual “video”
were too short to even understand what message the director was trying to get across
without reading the description. Overall, it was just a bit too “artsy” for me.
There are some videos I can watch over and over again and still love them every
time.
This isn’t one of them.
CATTLE
DECAPITATION-Your Disposal
New Devildriver Song-“The Appetite”
I’ve never been one to gush over Devildriver. I’ve seen them
live, and I give them props – they’re a good live band. I like “Clouds Over
California” and probably couldn’t name any other song of theirs unless I really
thought about it. They’re one of those bands where, if someone had them on
while I was around, I wouldn’t complain about it. I enjoy them, but I’m not
sure I would consider myself a ‘fan’. I support them, I bought one of their
shirts when I saw them with GWAR, but yeah, I’m not too crazy about them, for whatever
reason.
With “The Appetite”, that doesn’t change. My opinion isn’t
worsened or bettered with this track. It was good, it was enjoyable, I wouldn’t
complain if someone put it on while I was around. To me, it’s the in the same
category as the rest of their material. Nothing too special to me, but nothing
I’ll complain about either.
This song is pretty catchy (if not a little repetitive), the
guitar work is nice, the vocals are alright though I was never too big a fan of
their vocals in the first place. They’re just one of those bands that I never
really got into. I may not have a reason as to why, but that’s just how it is
sometimes. They’re coming around with I think Trivium within the next few
months, and I’ll probably go and see them again for the hell of it, but for the
most part I’m sort of neutral towards them.
If you’re a Devildriver fan, you’ll like “The Appetite”. If
you’re like me, well…you won’t mind it.
DEVILDRIVER-The
Appetite
Click here for a variety of pre-order options for Winter Kills.
New Gorguts Song-“Colored Sands”
This is honestly the first Gorguts song I’ve ever heard, and
I’ve had so many people go completely nuts over this band lately even though
they’ve technically been around since ’89. Apparently, this is their first
studio album in twelve years (beat
that, Wintersun and Necrophagist!...but seriously, please don’t try), and their
first release since reforming in ’08.
I’m sorry to say, but, from this song, I don’t understand
the hype. Perhaps I’ll get around to going back and listening to the band’s
other four full-length albums, but until then, I remain neutral and primarily unimpressed.
It’s nothing new to my ears, and nothing too incredibly unique. A bit slow for
my tastes at times, but perhaps that’s just how they play. It isn’t bad at all,
that’s not what I’m trying to say. It just isn’t anything surprising or
uniquely spectacular. They know how to play their instruments and they play
them well, creating some good and overall-enjoyable death metal, that much is
clear, but what am I missing that is so worth losing your minds over with this
band?
I’d be thrilled if someone could cue me in on the secret.
GORGUTS-Colored Sands (link)
Go here for Gorguts pre-orders (am I done with all these links yet?).
In other news:
-A new Overkill album due in March! This will be
their seventeenth album. That’s
insane. I have so much respect for these guys. My brother saw them a few months
ago and Bobby was apparently sick with some nasty cold or something, and he
still sang as well then as on a regular night (so sayeth the brother). Plus,
his voice overall has aged like the finest of wines. For 33 years now, this
band has been putting out great thrash records, and they just keep going. They’re crazy, and you can’t
not love them, or you probably at least find it hard to not respect these guys.
The Electric Age was awesome, so I’m
looking forward to March, and seeing
these guys with Kreator and Warbringer this Halloween.
-Behemoth's Nergal says The
Satanist will require another six months before it’s released. What an
eager six months of waiting that’ll be…I can’t wait until we get to see some
previews for this. I’m especially curious as to how Nergal will sound in the
studio for the first time since ’09, what with recovering from leukemia and
all. He’s progressively sounded better live since then, from what I can tell in
fan-shot videos and whatnot, so I definitely have some high, high hopes for this album.
-Obituary launches a fundraising campaign for their
next album. Honestly? I think this is a great idea for fans to show support for
bands. I know that Abiotic has used a fundraising campaign when their van broke
down, Battlecross did so they could attend Mayhem Fest, and I believe Hate set
up something for donations to Mortifer’s family to cover funeral costs etc.
after he passed away a few months ago. It’s just an awesome way for fans to
show support, and sometimes bands even offer special ‘prizes’ as thank-yous to
those who help. Battlecross definitely had some awesome ‘rewards’ for those who
donated to their being able to attend Mayhem. One of Obituary’s thank-yous is,
for donating 100-149 dollars, is an autographed poster, drumstick and vinyl,
plus a physical and digital copy of the album, a shirt, hat, sticker, death metal
coozie, and guitar pick. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s pretty
fair, and pretty badass. So it isn’t exactly a “hand-out” like some people
claim. You aren’t getting nothing in return, and you wouldn’t be anyway. You’d
be helping a great band put out another album! What about your “keep the metal
alive” mentality there, huh?
With 43 days left to go, Obituary has already passed their
$10,000 goal by about $1,500. The minimum pledge is $1, and you can go *here*
if you’d still like to donate regardless. All ‘prizes’ are listed along the
right, with all info regarding…everything summarized on the page.
-And Motorhead’s set at Wacken was cut short due to
Lemmy’s health. A shame this happened, and I’m sure we’re all hoping that Lemmy
gets well soon! Better that they cut the set short rather than try to have him
over-exert himself.
-And, of course, Watain announced a North American
headlining tour in support of The Wild
Hunt (and yes, I did drop $130 on their limited edition box set for the
album, though I will unfortunately not be able to attend their show in Philly
and am extremely disappointed because of that). If you’re in/near any of these
cities, I highly recommend you catch Watain on this tour, and that you check
out their upcoming album, The Wild Hunt.
-If you plan on seeing Watain, get a feel for their live performance by checking out Opus Diaboli here.
-Click here for a better view of tour dates, posted on Watain's official Facebook page.
Reunited EMPEROR
Yep! Apparently might black metallers Emperor are going to reunite for next year's Wacken Open Air Festival, conveniently the festival's 25th anniversary. According to Ihsahn, the band will not be playing any new material during their headlining set at the famous festival, and truthfully, nobody knows what's to happen afterwards.
Ihsahn never said the band is staying together after the festival, though I've already seen some people online get excited about tours and new material. From what I've read, it might just be a one-off show. I don't think people should be jumping the gun so far as to be expecting world tours and whatnot. That part of the deal was never even hinted at. They're playing next year at Wacken, and then who knows what's to happen?
All I can say is that I hope this gets professionally recorded, because I'd love to see this performance and I envy anyone who plans on attending the festival next year.
EMPEROR-Curse You All Men! (Live Inferno Festival)
Well, that's it for this post, I suppose. As a bonus for this post having been a bit later than I would have originally liked, here's a picture of my Endless Damnation vinyl I got recently.
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| Disregard my ugly carpet. |
Yes, it's one of the fifty signed by Nergal! It now sits at the helm of my ever-expanding collection of Polish death metal CDs, which are all laid out beside the rest of my CD collection. My Watain vinyl will be set right next to this as soon as I get it once the album is released, as Nergal is the primary reason I even decided to look up Watain in the first place. An immaculate duo.
UP-COMING BLOG TOPICS
-Wintersun
-Hate
-Dimmu Borgir
-That little girl on America's Got Talent
-"Irreligious" (a rant on
obnoxious practitioners of their religions/lack thereof)
-My "Top 10" of last year
-Whatever else I feel like
UPDATED LIST OF UP-COMING SHOWS (for me, at least)
-WINTERSUN w/ Fleshgod Apocalypse,
Arsis, and Starkill, 8/7/13 (going for everyone but mostly Wintersun and
Fleshgod)
-KAMELOT w/ Delain and Eklipse,
9/5/13 (going for Kamelot)
-VADER w/ Vital Remains and
Sacrificial Slaughter, 9/18/13 (going for Vader – late birthday gift to
myself…happy fuckin’ birthday to me!! also at a venue where my brother
says, from experience, you're practically guaranteed to meet the
bands...if I meet Peter, I shit you not, I will probably cry.)
OVERKILL w/ Kreator and Warbringer,
10/31/13 (going mostly for Kreator and Overkill, both of which are swapping
headlining throughout the tour – Overkill is headlining while in Philly)
-MORBID ANGEL w/ TBA?, 11/13/13 (as
of right now, going for Morbid Angel - first band I’ll see more than once!)
-LAMB OF GOD w/ Killswitch Engage, Testament, and Huntress, 11/24/13 (maybe; going for LoG and Testament)
-TRIVIUM w/ Devildriver, After the Burial, and Sylosis, 9/30/13 (maybe; for Devildriver)
BEHEMOTH-Here and Beyond
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