Introduction

I figured I'd introduce myself for my first post. Metal Matt found me on Last.fm, and I'm looking to help out make this an awesome blog.

I'm a rabid music fan and spend a ridiculous amount of time searching for and collecting underground music. I love metal, but I also listen to a lot of ambient, rock, electronic and folk... as should any real music fan I'll never dismiss anything in any genre without a listen first - you never know what hidden gems you can find in any genre!

In metal I listen to pretty much everything I can get my hands on, although I tend to stray away from the newer mainstream like modern metalcore and deathcore as they don't really interest me much. Currently I've been listening to a lot of Sludge, but love Black, Death, Doom, Thrash and Grindcore as well.

To finish this up, here are some awesome new releases this year I've been digging so far:
-Absu - S/T
-Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II - Dialogue With the Stars
-Buried Inside - Spoils of Failure
-Cattle Decapitation - The Harvest Floor
-Giant Squid - The Icthyologist
-Khanate - Clean Hands go Foul
-Kreator - Hordes of Chaos
-Kylesa - Static Tensions
-Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind
-Napalm Death - Time Waits for no Slave
-Obscura - Cosmogenesis
-Tombs - Winter Hours

I'll write up some reviews for a few of these later.

Magazine Special

So if you are like me, then browsing through Metal/Indie magazines occupies much of your time. Unfortunately, 2 years of my life was wasted reading Revolver and Alternative Press, and hopefully with the following review of a few magazines in circulation, you won't make the same mistake as I once did.

Revolver - When I first started listening to heavy music (not necessarily metal, more screamo I suppose), I religiously read Revolver. However, once my tastes began to veer toward the underground, I realized just how commercial this fucking magazine is. Well written articles are scarce, and the records reviewed include shit like Shinedown (whose new album received 3 stars, the same amount as Nostradamus by Judas Priest!) Stay away from these fake fucks

1/5

Alternative Press - Generally, I'm not ashamed of my past musical experiences. However, I did once own work by Fall Out Boy, Good Charlotte, and Motion City Soundtrack, which explains why I used to read AP. When the editor stops focusing on the generic pop-punk that is currently extremely popular, and looks back at the punk/emo scene that was prominent in the 90's, the magazine is actually interesting. Also, the 100 Bands You Need To Know In .... issue is always very well done. Unfortunately, much like Revolver, AP is just too commercial for my taste.

2/5

Decibel - I immediately gave up reading Revolver after discovering Decibel, which discusses metal deep within the American underground. All of the articles are well written, and the reviews are excellent, and often quite humorous. Generally, I am introduced to 5 new bands while reading 1 issue of Decibel, which is an incredible ratio.

5/5

Metal Hammer - Basically the U.K.'s Revolver, but not as mainstream. However, their writing is often times subpar and discrimantory towards American music, which is to be expected, I suppose. The posters that come with some issues are a delightful (yes, delightful) treat, and are worth the $15 each issue costs (also, the cd that accompanies each issue contain listenable music).

3/5

Terrorizer - The U.K.'s Decibel, but more underground. I love the scene specials that are in each issue, and the cd's that come with the magazine contain some great underground metal. If it wasn't so damn expensive, I'd probably subscribe to them rather than Decibel, although the writing is not as well done.

5/5

Spin - This is the magazine that I have subscribed to in place of AP. The articles are decent, but the reveiws steal the show, with over 75 reviews of albums from a diverse number of genres, including metal, electronica, hip-hop, punk, and indie. However, all of the advertisements are of shit like Axe Deodarant, making them no better than Rolling Stone.

4/5

Chimaira - Secrets of the Dead

It appears that Chimaira are following their fellow metal brethren Mastodon in terms of hyping an album. Never have I seen two albums build up so much hype based on one single and a website. It's insane, but both bands definitely deserve the attention they are receiving.

We all know that Mastodon's first single, "Divinations," exceeded everybody's expectations, but how would Chimaira's first single fare? Unfortunately, "Secrets of the Dead" is an extreme letdown, especially after all of the hype (thanks metalsucks). It's not necessarily a bad song, but the song simply moves nowhere during the first 3 minutes. It's not until the last minute of the song that the listener's interest begins to climb, but it is too little too late.

However, the song does show some promising new aspects of Chimaira. First, it appears as though they are moving in a heavier direction, incorporating both blast beats and a menacing death metal growl in "Secrets..." The song is also much slower than anything seen on Resurrection, and the soft banging of my head is informing me that there is indeed a bit of groove in the song as well.

With the single Chimaira show that they are headed in a very intriguing direction; Hopefully the rest of their new album will grab the listeners attention a bit sooner than at the very end of the song.

3/5

Shuffle Sunday

Mastodon - Oblivion: Holy shit, Brann can sing! Amazing song, not sure I would rank it above Divinations though.

Airbounre - Fat City: AC/DC is easily one of my Top 5 favorite bands, so obviously I'm going to love copycats Airbourne. Great song.

I See Hawks In L.A. - Carbon-Dated Love: Got this off a Paste Magazine sampler. Has an easy-going country feel to it. Not ashamed at all. Remember, this site is about being open-minded.

Fleetwood Mac - You Make Lovin' Fun: I love Fleetwood, and this song is one of my personal favorites. Stevie has such a beautiful voice.

Jay-Z & UGK - Big Pimpin': Don't deny it; everybody loves this fucking song.

Swan Lake - Widow's Walk: Dan Bejar is a musical genius, as this song clearly shows.

Modest Mouse - Bukowski: Not the biggest fan of Modest Mouse, but the album "Good News For People Who Love Bad News" is actually a decent album.

Aesop Rock - The Tugboat Complex Pt.3: True hip-hop.

The Mutants - Psycho Surgery: Got this off a compilation called "Thrash Invasion" displaying some of the young new talent in the genre. This band definitely looks promising.

The Red Chord - Catelepsy: Love the Red Chord. This is not my favorite song of theirs, but it is definitely a good song.

Under Construction

Soon to come:

Reviews (Music/Movies/Books/Concerts) Section
Tour Section
New Release Tuesday
Shuffle Sunday
Bands At Their Best
Opinion

Waste Your Money On...

So the first major metal tour of the summer has recently been announced: Mayhem Festival 2009. Before you start bitching about the fact that last years headliners were a bunch of washed up nu-metal bands, why don't you go check out this years set list. That's right, fucking SLAYER, Cannibal Corpse, Behemoth, and God Forbid.

I don't know how Kevin Lyman does it, but he continues to amaze me. So for 1 day forget about the economic situation we are in and go waste your money on SLAYER!!!

Week's Playlist

Lamb of God - Contractor Single
Mastodon - Divinations Single

These two songs have pretty much controlled my life for the past week. Lamb of God sounds like they are taking the natural step to replace Pantera as Groove Metal Masters, and Mastodon are beginning to lose their prog-metal sound for a more classic rock/metal feel, which, so far, sounds incredible. Some of the other albums I have been listening to:

Danzig - Danzig
Manowar - Kings of Metal
AC/DC - Live