To The Teeth: Metallica, Ulver, Necrot, Pain of Salvation, Macabre Omen
New albums
Ulver (avant-garde/electronic from Norway) could probably never entrance me like they did with their previous record. This one is a straight continuation though, in a way. A bit lighter, a pinch more accessible. I mean, Ulver never really set one foot right after the other in their career, but this one fits snugly after the danceable, dark edge electronic pop of 'Assassination'. I really don't care if we should call them a heavy band at this point, I'm just happy they exist and I bet a lot of you do, too.
Necrot (death from the USA) are all about the riffs, man. Thick, thumping metal of death done with swagger. Just look at that cover! If you've been disappointed by the recent output of death metal (although I really can't imagine), check this out.
Metallica & San Francisco Symphony (thrash from the USA and an orchestra from the USA). I was 16 when S&M came out and I was blown away, and the new version blew me away the same way, but better. Last time they arrogantly let Michael Kamen and the orchestra play around the band. This time, it's much more synchronized and you can hear it.
Plus, for the Dutch readers, I had a talk with Kirk Hammett and I thought he was a great guy to talk to about music. End of advertisement for my own shit.
All right one more trip to memory lane: I remember first hearing Pain of Salvation (prog from Sweden), when they were about to play a festival I was going to attend with my girlfriend. We were listening to the bands we didn't know beforehand at home. I hated what I heard, she loved it so we went and I was ready to be annoyed for 45 minutes. But... they completely won me over. Not all their records do that immediately, same with this one. But I've had the promo for a while and I keep finding myself going back to it. I think it'll stick.
There's more: Venomous Concept (hardcore punk/grind from the USA - with members of Napalm Death and Brutal Truth), Pig Destroyer (grind from the USA), Macabre Omen (hellenic black from Greece - a new mini-album with one new song), Panzerfaust (black from Canada), Cultus Profano (black from the USA), The Devil's Trade (doomfolk from Hungary), Exist (prog/psych death from the USA), Hinayana (melodeath/doom from the USA), John Petrucci (prog from the USA), Over the Voids... (black from Poland), Luna's Call (prog death from the UK), Null (depressive black/doom from Iceland), Whoredom Rife (black from Norway - a two song ep), Plague Organ (avant-garde black/death from the Netherlands - members of Cryptae and Dead Neanderthals), Frostvore (death from Japan), Spook the Horses (post/experimental from New Zealand), Ominous Scriptures (brutal death from Belarus), Intoxicated (thrash from the USA) and a split from Brain Corrosion & Ripped to Shreds (death/grind from Taiwan and death from Taiwan/the USA).
New singles
There are new songs out from: Enslaved (prog black/viking from Norway), Skeletal Remains (death from the USA), Ihsahn (prog from Norway - an A-Ha cover with Leprous' Einar Solberg), Greg Puciato (mathcore? from the USA), Necrophobic (death/black from Sweden), Inferi (tech/melodeath from the USA), Hiidenhauta (melodic black from Finland), Botanist (avantgarde/post-black from the USA), Dumal (black from the USA), Eternal Champion (epic heavy from the USA), Insidious Disease (death from Norway), Slaughterday (death from Germany), Lucifer (heavy/doom from Germany/Sweden), Old Mother Hell (epic doom/heavy from Germany), Fates Warning (prog from the USA), Garmarna (folk rock from Sweden) and Carnation (death from Belgium).
Next week
Non-metal album of the week: Sevdaliza - Shabrang
I’m looking forward to next week because of: Deafkids & Petbrick, Oceans of Slumber and Void Rot.