Setting the Atmosphere (intros)

by Mike Arsenyev on January 26, 2013

Most metal bands apply intro tracks to greet and set the mood before their music takes form. Metallica used ‘The Ecstasy of Gold’, which readied their audiences and became somewhat their trademark (which suits their country-metal).

Death metal on the other hand went a bit further. From Deicide’s goats in anguish, to Carcass’ surgical salute, to Morbid Angel summoning the Ancient Ones; it’s become standard to employ sounds outside of what bands typically use in their songs. What are your favorite intros?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCP-No1DcQI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mEH4ZTdE34

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Ildjarn entire catalogue re-pressed on Season of Mist

by Brett Stevens on January 26, 2013

ildjarn-re_releasesDuring most of its active life, this one-man band (with occasional collaborators) was ignored for being primitive, primal, raw and feral. Its few-chord songs and droning incessant beat made it an obvious target for mockery; from a distance, it sounded like a mis-tuned Toyota with a broken fan belt.

However, as the 1990s wore on and it became clear that black metal had expressed itself fully and wasn’t “coming back,” people listened to the advice of our reviews and decided that Ildjarn was, after all, part of the essential black metal collection.

In the mid-2000s, Ildjarn re-surfaced with a spate of re-releases on Northern Heritage Records and Full Moon Productions, but then vanished as its creator moved on to other things. However, as of this month, Season of Mist Records plans to re-release the entire Ildjarn catalogue, first digitally and later, on CD and LP.

  • Norse (EP)
  • Ildjarn (album)
  • Strength and Anger (album)
  • Landscapes (album)
  • Svartfråd (EP)
  • Forest Poetry (album)
  • Hardangervidda (album)
  • Hardangervidda part 2 (EP)
  • 1992-1995 (compilation)
  • Eksistensens Jeger (single)
  • Nocturnal Visions (EP)
  • Minnesjord – The Dark Soil (EP)
  • Ildjarn 93 (EP)
  • Ildjarn Is Dead (compilation)
  • Sort Vokter – Folkloric Necro Metal (album)

All 15 reissues will be available digitally in the upcoming weeks and most of them will hit the stores in physical editions later on.

The label warns us: “Please note that Ildjarn ceased all musical activities a long time ago and therefore does not do interviews and does not run any official web page or social network.”

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Voivod to tour the world 2013

by Ralph Archer on January 25, 2013

Voivod on stageThe Metal File recently interviewed Voivod drummer Michel “Away” Langevin. To no surprise, the interview mainly concerns the band’s new (thirteenth) album, Target Earth, released on January 22nd by Iron Gang Factory and Century Media.

According to Langevin one of the reasons why the album sounds a lot like earlier Voivod is because bassist Jean-Yves “Blacky” Thériault is back in the band after a 17 year absence, being closely involved in the songwriting with new guitarist Dan “Chewy” Mongrain. Among all the “very progressive” songs with “strange time signatures”, Langevin requested to include two more thrash-y songs à la Motörhead, which resulted in “Kluskap O’Kom” and in the band’s first French song, “Corps Étranger”.

Langevin also says that due to Voivod’s 30th anniversary this month, the band plans live tours throughout the world this year, starting in Canada, crossing North and South America, then going to Europe and ending in Asia. In between tours they want to write new material. The past is alive.

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Abyssal releases 2nd Album “Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius” (2013)

by Mike Arsenyev on January 12, 2013

On January 1st, England’s Abyssal released their second album of decomposing death metal via digital download.

Deriving influences from early Immolation, Incantation, and most noticeably Arkhon Infaustus; Abyssal executes their lust for decay and molds it into a good mixture of modern death/doom metal. If a rat gnawing at a corpse manifested into a soundtrack, this would be suiting.

“In a decaying society, art, if it is truthful, must also reflect decay.” – Ernst Fischer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFoxRK8f4fw

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Summoning “Old Morning’s Dawn” release date set

by Brett Stevens on January 11, 2013

summoning-old_mornings_dawnMiddle earth sweeping epic metal band Summoning are due to release their next full-length soon. Old Morning’s Dawn will follow after a lengthy gap the spectacular and critically-acclaimed Oath Bound released seven years ago.

After black metal fired off its initial salvo by 1995, Summoning rose from a melodic black metal band into their own style, which meshed longer melodies, lush keyboards and backgrounded guitars, Tolkien-derived imagery and softened but rasping vocals. Building on the work of other long-phrase black metal bands like Ancient, early Enslaved and Gorgoroth, but using its own sense of tempo and mood, Summoning quickly became a favorite for many who were searching for a new direction after the underground blazed out with a final peak of intensity in albums like Transilvanian Hunger and Hvis Lyset Tar Oss.

This weighty inheritance would be too much for any band to handle, but Summoning have refined it over the years, first adding more traditional folk elements and then dialing it back to a streamlined metal sound. During that time, they’ve also fought off accusations of political impropriety and overcome personnel changes and the mercurial black metal scene/market. With their audience primed with the release of the recent movie The Hobbit, Summoning are ready for conquest yet again.

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Master – North American Detonation Tour 2013

by Brett Stevens on January 11, 2013

Proto-death metal ear smashers Master launch an ambitious tour in 2013 in support of their newest album, which sounds the most like modern death metal since their popular On the Seventh Day… release. Catch them in your city or suffer ignominious sodomy!

master_tour_2013Fri. March 1st – Los Angeles, CA @ The Joint
Sat.March 2nd – Richmond, CA @ Burnt Ramen
Sun.March 3rd – Portland, OR @ The Branx
Mon.March 4th – Seattle, WA @ 2 Bit Saloon
Tue. March 5th – Boise, ID @ The Red Room
Wed.March 6th – Salt Lake City, UT – TBA
Thu. March 7th – Cheyenne, WY @ Forum619
Fri. March 8th – Topeka, KS @ The Boobie Trap
Sat.March 9th – St. Louis, MO @ Fubar
Sun.March 10th – Madison, WI @ The Frequency
Mon.March 11th – Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s Rock Club
Tue. March 12th – Warren, MI @ The Ritz
Wed. March 13th – Rochester, NY @ Bug Jar
Thu. March 14th – New England – TBA
Fri. March 15th – Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus Bar
Sat. March 16th – Philadelphia, PA @ Gunners Run
Sun. March 17th – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
Tue. March 19th – Chattanooga, TN – TBA
Wed.March 20th – New Orleans, LA @ Siberia
Thu. March 21st – Fort Worth, TX @ Tomcats West
Fri. March 22nd – Oklahoma City@Chameleon Room
Sat. March 23rd – Houston, TX @ BFE Rock Club
Sun. March 24th – Austin, TX @ Dirty Dog Bar
Mon. March 25th – Midland, TX @ Fast Freddy’s
Tue. March 26th – El paso, TX @ House of Rock
Wed.March 27th – Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
Fri. March 29th – Mexicali, MX @ Bar El Andariego
Sat. March 30th – Pomona, CA @ Characters
Sun. March 31st – CA – TBA
Mon.April 1st – Fullerton, CA @ Slidebar

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SA Symphony to Perform Brahms

by Mike Arsenyev on December 27, 2012

brahms facial

Even with lingering budget woes, the San Antonio Symphony is proceeding with their plans to perform Johannes Brahms’ inflectional contributions to Classical Music. 2012 saw the SA Symphony successfully stage a Beethoven Festival which received good reviews.

Created and curated by Sebastian Lang-Lessing, the program consists of all four Symphonies,  both Piano Concertos, the Double Concerto for Violin and Cello, and more.  It starts February 8th and concludes February 17th, at the rustic Majestic Theater in Downtown San Antonio.

Known as a nature enthusiast and sarcastic, akin to Beethoven, Brahms’ First Symphony has often been referred to as a ‘Beethoven’s 10th’. There is no doubt that Brahms was both intimidated and inspired by Beethoven, which contributed to the late bloomer’s compositions.

 

 

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Re-release of Sacramentum classic

by Ralph Archer on December 27, 2012

Far Away from the Sun

Century Media Records have given us some truly enjoyable metal gems throughout the years (and some really awful ones), but if ever we doubted their good intentions (haha), a look at this Amazon.de page tells us the Sacramentum classic Far Away from the Sun will be re-released next year on the 25th of January by said label.

Described in our DMU review as “a lucid but emotive tribute to the rebellious humanness of soul”, Sacramentum’s début album seems consistently hailed as a favourite among underground metal fans.

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Deeds of Flesh release track off upcoming “Portals to Canaan”

by Brett Stevens on December 27, 2012

This is a boisterous track with the best recursive bashing tendencies of percussive death metal, but it drops in modern metal influences, such as a rather “rock” interlude and some sweeps in the carnival music style of modern metal. However, that’s a minority of this track. The rest is great riffcraft like we saw on Path of the Weakening and other essential Deeds of Flesh material. Please enjoy “Rise of the Virvum Juggernaut”:

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