THURSDAY
It”s August and raining, but nobody cares because we’re home again. Yes, for the next few days (and for some early birds, the previous 24hrs), Catton Hall in Derbyshire has become the focal point of the true metal community as fans converge on Bloodstock Open Air for their annual dose of hard drinking and unholy hangovers.Continue reading
DC Sound Attack and Foodinati have teamed up for a live event, Foodinati LIVE! Set to take place on Saturday, 20th April, at the Devil’s Dog in Birmingham, UK, it promises a unique fusion of culinary delights, live music, and conversations with special guests from the Birmingham heavy music scene. The night will feature interviews with Andy Whale (Deathcollector/Bolt Thrower) and Recall The Remains, as well as acoustic performances from Nameless, Netherhall, and Straight For The Sun. It was inspired by the popular YouTube show Foodinati UK, as seen in the article below.
Look alive kids, it’s time for America’s favorite game: initial impressions. Not going to lie, there was some editorial concern when noticing the album art for Upon Stone’s Dead Mother Moon (Century Media). When presented with an image depicting an armored warrior with broadsword in hand and the full moon lighting him from behind, I had some thoughts. Worst case scenario is this is some Dungeons & Dragons inspired Power Metal nonsense. Best case scenario, it’s very Castlevania by way of airbrushed art on the side of a van.Continue reading
Let’s talk about Volbeat for a minute. They have a huge following and a ton of people dig ‘em. Good for them. I’m just not their target audience. I was born and raised on Carcass, Bolt Thrower and Deicide.
Something that begins as a bit of fun can often turn into something bigger and this is certainly the case for UK death metal act DeathCollector. Getting together in 2021 as a way to pass the time while things got rolling again post-Covid, it didn’t take long for fun cover versions to turn into writing original material, the four-piece independently releasing the excellent Time’s Up EP last year.
For my money, there is no better Death Metal vocalist than Karl Willetts. There is just something about it that just feels like “Classic Death Metal”. His delivery is always on point with the perfect blend of raw power and intensity. His time and contribution to the one and only Bolt Thrower were nothing short of incredible. When the band broke up in 2015, Willets along with Benediction bassist Frank Healy quickly formed Memoriam the following year.
What was the first bit of heavy music you ever heard in your life? Did you level up, gaining mana from the ear-peeling riffs and shouts? Lovers of extreme metal surely have had experiences like this in their lives, where their entire world is tossed upside-down a new band, or a clutch of new demos from an emerging scene. This is how my ears felt hearing Grief Symposium, with a new take on the Death / Doom sub-genre with their debut, …In The Absence of Light (Church Road Records). Although mysterious and secretive, they did not set out to reinvent extreme music, but rather invent themselves, and a sound that should echo for a long time.
I have a long held belief that predictability is underrated, and it ties in here with the rise in credibility once more of the concept of mono-tasking… rather than the futility of being merely competent in several disciplines there is something to be said in the mastery of a point of focus, and delivering again and again in that field. These words need to be framed with a context that this is not damning with faint praise or providing criticism, but acknowledgement that Unveil In The Abyss (Xtreem Music), the seventh full-length from doom / death stalwarts Desecresy, follows the patterns and symbols laid down by its predecessors, and does so to the expected standards sole contributor Tommi Grönqvist has long established.
Musicians are masochistic creatures. Never truly happy unless their schedules are recklessly overstuffed with writing, studio work, live shows and promotion, guest appearances and side-projects are just two more ways to ensure life outside of music consists of nothing but eating, sleeping, the occasional TV show and visits to the pub.
Would you like to know what’s one of my favorite aspects of metal? It’s that it’s too goddam stubborn to ever go away. As long as there is breath in a metalhead’s lungs they’re going to find ways to tune lower or crank in even more blast beats into a song. As To The End (Reaper Entertainment) roared from my car’s stereo is when I realized that Memoriam is Karl Willets’ latest musical endeavor despite already having a hall of fame run with Bolt Thrower. Bless that man.