This article serves as a stone cold warning to younger musicians: your band has no hope of being as big or as popular as the bands you love.
7 CommentsTags: commercialization, Heavy Metal, History
Analysis of Dissection’s “A Land Forlorn”
Dissection was one of the last bands to be associated with violence and action in metal. Jon Nodveidt, a true Hessian who rejected the modern world, committed various acts that most will consider morally reprehensible yet they embodied his personal philosophy and the ideology of his music. Barring the third album, Dissection display a penchant for ambitious composition within a framework of heavy/death and black metal. The second outing reached too far and ended up sounding almost confused from the virtuosity of the musicians and the wide number of techniques at their disposal without the vision to streamline all these ideas. The Somberlain is a lot more focused in its inspirations by sticking closer to the source material and more structured arrangements.
A Land Forlorn impressively bridges multiple approaches to metal.
Tags: analysis article, Black Metal, death metal, dissection, Heavy Metal, hessians, innovation, music theory, Swedish Death Metal, traditionalism
Interview with Cromlech (CA)
The Canadian band Cromlech strode forth boldly onto the field of battle with the promising album “Ave Mortis” in 2013. Honing their tactics and weapon-craft, in 2017 they released their excellent EP “Iron Guard.” Blending doom, death, and classic heavy metal influences the mighty Cromlech is the tip of the spear in the coming resurgence of epic power metal. In a brief lull between battles, the members of Cromlech most nobly took a few minutes to answer some interview questions.
33 CommentsTags: 2018, cromlech, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, interview, MAGA
Atlantean Kodex Live Album is Bad
At first glance, this album boasts a cool cover and impressively long song lengths, making a strong first impression. Then I hit play. It didn’t take long to realize this is really, really bad live album. It is not tightly played at all. The two guitars are not in sync and neither are the drums. You have to suffer through really bad lyrics like: “Onward to the sun” and “Destiny is calling!”. Everything is really bad waltzy Sabbath imitation but really boring. I can fairly say that this album qualifies as epic German cheese. So of course it will be popular. The singer sounds like the guy who sang those Budweiser ads Real Men of Genius.
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Tags: 2018, Atlantean Kodex, bad music, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, live albums, metal, review
Introduction to Power Metal, Part I: Origins and Influences
(Join DMU Legend Johan Pettersson for what may be the most expansive analysis of power metal ever presented in the first of a 3 part series. Listen to the accompanying suggested listening here)
Of all the subgenres and styles that fall within the metal spectrum (hence excluding unmitigated relapses into rock such as death’n’roll, stoner, nu- and indie metal), power metal most definitely counts as the one that has received the highest amount of scorn and ridicule from critics, fans and outsiders alike. (more…)
16 CommentsTags: accept, Angel Witch, black sabbath, blind guardian, britain, Dio, Europe, German rock, Heavy Metal, hellhammer, helloween, Introduction to Power Metal, iron maiden, jag panzer, judas priest, kreator, mercyful fate, metal history, metallica, NWOBHM, Omen, power metal, Queen, queensrÿche, rainbow, Ronny James Dio, Running Wild, Satan, Savage Grace, slayer, traditional heavy metal, United States, Uriah Heap, US Power Metal, USPM, Yngwie Malmsteen
SAD HIPSTER WREST EVICTED FROM WAREHOUSE
Leviathan mainman and convicted domestic abuser Jeff Whitehead (a.k.a. Wrest) is being evicted from the Portland Oregon warehouse he maintained as a storefront for his Devout Rcrds label/record store and the “anarchist print shop” Eberhardt Printsop. Whitehead is the victim of allegedly evil capitalist landlords who want to commit the horrible act of leasing their hard earned property at market price, which happens to be double that of what Wrest can afford. Therefore, Wrest has tapped his neo-communist friend Neil Jameson (who is publicly living out a similar midlife crisis) to help beg for moneytarget=”_blank” rel=”nofollow external” from “the miserable collective workforce” a.k.a. you, the consumers. Yes, you have read correctly- Wrest is so desperate to save a commercial “Anarchist clothing line” from having its free-market commerce shut down by other free market commerce that he has stooped to digital panhandling.target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow external”
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Tags: aging hipsters, anarchy, Black Metal, black sabbath, cash grab, commercialism, communism, depressive black metal, gofundme, Heavy Metal, hipsterism, hipsters, krieg, Leviathan, midlife crisis, pahandling, Realism, sad, suicidal black metal, traditionalism, trust funds
Judas Priest – Firepower (2018)
Judas Priest came from that intermediate stage between proto-metal and hard rock that emphasized really intense conclusions to compelling but basic riffs, and with Firepower, the band returns to form by delivering those moments of ritual ascension in which the foot-stomping, hand-flinging, and head-thrashing impulses join a sense of profundity through consilience as each track comes together.
26 CommentsTags: hard rock, Heavy Metal, judas priest
/dmg/ DEATH METAL GENERAL: BUMP STOCK NEWS EDITION
A quick rapid fire of metal news before liberals grab the guns!
5 CommentsTags: Andreas Kisser, cash grab, death, death metal general, dmg, Heavy Metal, holograms, judas priest, KK Downing, metal, Nevermore, news, power metal, rainbow, Ronnie James Dio, sepultura, thrash metal, Warrel Dane
Godflesh – Post Self (2018)
If someone goes on this tour, make sure to hand Justin Broadrick a telephone to signify that this album has been phoned in. As the term implies, when content creators are no longer focused on making their work significant, an “it’ll do” mentality results. This fits within what Godflesh and related Broadrick-acts have done through their careers.
9 CommentsTags: emo, godflesh, Grindcore, hard rock, Heavy Metal, indie, indie/emo, Industrial, industrial grindcore, punk
Accept – Rise of Chaos
Accept is a band best remembered for their old school song called “Balls to the Wall”, which used to play on the Headbanger’s Ball. Driving my BMV down the Autobahn at 120MPH through the Black Forest, I stopped in Bad Reichenhall. You know how they always have insane amounts of Gummy Bears everywhere in Germany. And then next to them are porno mags and stuff like biker lifestyle mags. Those were where I found out that Accept was still going strong at the time. It never ceases to amaze. This band just keeps hanging around, like a bad STD. Here they are again 20 years later. And they have this new album Rise of Chaos, which sounds like a cross between Sabbath’s Dehumanizer and an Exodus album.
6 CommentsTags: 2018, accept, Balls to the Wall, classic metal, Headbanger's ball, Heavy Metal, iron maiden, metal, STDs, The Rise of Chaos, Thrash
