Blood Incantation - Starspawn

Death metal and the cosmos; not a common thought, considering the roots of the genre of the music. When you think of full fledged death metal in an experimental environment you might think of the now defunct Morbus Chron and their sublime Sweven. Maybe you fancy the cosmic orations of Inquisition? Somewhere in between is where Starspawn; the latest from Blood Incantation (their debut full length) lies and it is a wonder to listen to.

Durf's Treatise on Social Justice Warriors, Scene Bullying, and the War for the Very Soul of Metal

Lately, there has been an uptick in controversies and arguments within the metal community.  Some say that metal is offensive and crude and insulting toward women, the LGBTQ community, and anyone the scene doesn't deem "troo kvlt."  Others say that metal is meant to be extreme, and that it isn't for everyone, and if you don't get it, then kindly go the fuck on about your day.  Still others are still trying to figure out what "troo kvlt" means, and why it's spelled like that (this last group might just be me).  I don't pretend to speak for metal as a whole, or metal blogs as a whole, or even THIS metal blog as a whole, but I feel like there are some things I'd like to say on the topic, so I'm gonna.

Cobalt - Slow Forever

The seven year gap between Cobalt's landmark Gin and newest album Slow Forever have certainly seen some interesting times for the band.  Scratch that; the first six years were pretty solid, normal years, including a tour and appearance at Maryland Deathfest 2013, but this past year... whew, it's been a doozy.  Vocalist and founding member Phil McSorley quit the band last year, giving instrumental wizard Erik Wunder his blessing to continue using the moniker, before returning to the fold, announcing the recording of a new album, and then being kicked out for... well, generally being a dick.  Wunder continued on, announced the title of the album as Slow Forever, and brought in Charlie Fell (ex-Lord Mantis, ex-Nachtmystium) to provide vocals.  Fell is no stranger to controversy himself, having had to defend the cover and some lyrics of Lord Mantis' (pretty great) album Death Mask.  I could honestly dive into further detail and opinion and soapbox grandstanding about any and all of these topics, save for the facts that 1) I really don't want to deal in drama, lest I become known as the Perez Hilton of metal, and 2) THERE'S A NEW FUCKING COBALT ALBUM OUT, AND WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THAT!!!

Inter Arma - Paradise Gallows

Coming out of the metal hotbed of Richmond, VA, Inter Arma has been a rising name since the release of their sophomore album, 2013's wonderful Sky Burial.  That rise only increased in speed and height in 2014, when they released The Cavern, an absolutely stunning forty-five minute sole composition EP featuring a litany of guests.  The band now returns with their next full-length, Paradise Gallows and it's little surprise that it is a worthy, exemplary addition to the band's discography that will continue to elevate them up the metal ladder.  What is a surprise, though, are some of the changes that Inter Arma throws on to the table with Paradise Gallows.

We'll Do It Live Fridays: Carcass - Gods of Grind Tour '92

From the legendary Gods of Grind tour that featured Entombed, Cathedral, Carcass, and Confessor. This live set is a time capsule from after Carcass' third album Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious and their most famous work, Heartwork. 

Grind away after the break!

If These Trees Could Talk - The Bones of a Dying World

If you ask a dozen different people to define instrumental post-rock/metal and give you a band that best fits that definition, chances are you'll get some different answers.  From the heavy riffs of Pelican, to the proggier leanings of Scale the Summit, to the ambient/intense duality of Explosions in the Sky, to any other band you can think of, the post- genre seems to lend itself to a litany of sounds while defining none of them.  Personally, my baseline for post-metal is ISIS, so my baseline for instrumental post-metal is "take Aaron Turner's vocals away from ISIS, and go from there."  It's a fascinating genre that allows for quite a bit of experimentation, subverted expectations, and deviation from the norm (like all music should), and I think it's cool that so many different yet similar sounds can fit under one umbrella.  Now that you know how I feel about post-metal, let's talk about If These Trees Could Talk and their new album The Bones of a Dying World.  If These Trees Could Talk hail from Akron, OH, and have been around for a little over a decade.  They first crossed my radar when I heard some songs from their second album Red Forest, all of which I enjoyed.  The Bones of a Dying World comes at a perfect time, as post-metal has seen a lull in quality releases this year compared to years past and other genres.

Sumac - What One Becomes

Even though they've been gone for six years, ISIS' (the band) fingerprints are still all over the metal world, especially guitarist/vocalist Aaron Turner.  In addition to his splendid work with Old Man Gloom, Turner is currently holding court as the Supergroup King with his other other band Sumac.  Comprised of Turner and Baptists drummer Nick Yacyshyn (with Russian Circles bassist Brian Cook recording with the band and playing live whenever he can), Sumac came about from Turner's desire to create the heaviest music of his career, and their debut album The Deal certainly lived up to that (lofty) goal.  The band returns with their follow up What One Becomes, and while they've gotten just a dash more introspective, they've certainly remained as heavy as possible.

Gorguts - Pleiades' Dust

When Gorguts released Colored Sands in 2013, it had been over a decade since the band's last album, and Luc Lemay was the sole Gorgut remaining from that endeavor (as he ought to be).  Colored Sands was a critical smash, Lemay's new lineup - Kevin Hufnagel on guitar, Colin Marston on bass, and Patrice Hamelin on drums - crushed it both in studio and live, and almost immediately people (me) began hoping for a follow up from this edition of Gorguts (it's weird, and I can't explain it, but even though I liked Carcass' Surgical Steel a bit more than Colored Sands, I remain far more excited by the prospect of new Gorguts than new Carcass).  That follow up has been delivered in the form of Pleiades' Dust, a one song EP that spans an even thirty-three minutes.

Podcast # 6: "Off the Rails, The Tom and Durf Variety Spectacular, Magma Quagmire"

In this episode, Tom and Durf take time to chat about Gojira's new album "Magma", the emergence of metal-themed late night talk show "Two Minutes to Late Night", and plenty of sports related side tangents.

Listen in after the break!

We'll Do It Live Fridays: Gojira - "A Sight to Behold"

It's been a long, long time since we've done one of these, but the time is right for a return.  We know you can find live performances of bands anywhere and everywhere on the internet now, and we appreciate you watching this one here.  Have a great weekend; we'll be back next week.

Nails - You Will Never Be One of Us

Outside of perhaps power metal, no metal subgenre has given me as many fits trying to enjoy as grindcore.  Don't get me wrong, I can get down with some grind from time to time; it's punishing speed and ferocity can be just the ticket, and obviously bands like Pig Destroyer, Napalm Death, and Dying Fetus are legendary figures within the metal world.  But I just don't seem to find myself sitting down after a long day and saying "You know what Durf?  You should listen to some Brutal Truth right now."  And it's for a silly reason: time.

Podcast Episode # 5: "#FatAxl"

In this episode of the Brutalitopia podcast, Mick and Durf talk about a new track that they're not too hot about, the validity of breakups/hiatuses, a fun side-tangent about Axl Rose, and their dream bands to play Maryland Deathfest XV.

Listen in after the break!

Jim Breuer and The Loud & Rowdy - Songs From The Garage

American comedic icon Jim Breuer loves few things. He makes this abundantly clear through his comedy; those things are the New York Mets, Heavy Metal and of course his family. His Facebook page in particular became increasingly more popular in this past calendar year due in large part to his Mets' postgame recaps, wins or losses. His largest impacts on me prior to that were his uncompromising performances in Half Baked and his excellent comedy special Jim Breuer: Hardcore; which is still heavily quoted in my circle of friends. So his family life and heavy metal come full circle here on his debut album Songs From The Garage; a combination love letter to both things and it can be described in one word; fun.

Gojira - Magma

If you're reading this review and already know of Gojira, chances are good that Gojira doesn't need to prove anything to you anymore. While simultaneously being one of the most impressive live metal bands on the planet, they have also crafted an ever-evolving discography that's filled to the brim with more heavy rhythms and unique guitar slides than you could ever know what to do with (I guess except headbang to). 2005's From Mars to Sirius was a pinnacle for the band; showing that progressively minded compositions and destructively heavy metal stylings don't have to be mutually exclusive. Magma, however, showcases the band going back to square one, in some respects. Their latest offering still has its heavy moments, but it's evident that the overall emphasis is placed on the simplifying the rhythmic tendencies that have contributed to the foundation Gojira's sound since their inception.

Wayfarer - Old Souls

In Mick's spot-on review of Zhrine's Unortheta the other day, he talked about the genre descriptor "atmospheric" more often than not being applied to black metal bands.  Lo and behold, I bring to you today a review of such a band!  I'm not sure what it is that makes me go so crazy for well-done atmospheric or folk metal, but throw some acoustic guitar or ambient sound between some blast beats and snarled vocals, and I'm all in.  And with the demise of Agalloch not too long ago, I've been looking for some good ol' American folk/black ambiance with which to fill my day.  Lucky for me, Denver, Colorado's Wayfarer has stepped forward with their sophomore album Old Souls, and it's exactly what the musical doctor ordered.

Cough - Still They Pray

I get why people don't like sludge or doom or any of the other myriad metal subgenres that live in down-tempo ten minute songs; I do.  It can get tedious to listen to the same riff over and over again, and your mind starts to wander, and before you know it, you're humming whatever Taylor Swift song was on the radio at work today, and you finish it, and the song you were originally listening to is still going.  I get it.  There's a lot to think about in a given day.  For these genres to really stick, they need something to pull you in, like technical mastery of their instruments or riffs that are as catchy as they are endless.  Still They Pray, the new full-length from Richmond, VA's Cough, certainly has both of those things, but it has another thing going for it that I quite honestly did not expect to find: Still They Pray is one of the more existential metal albums I've heard, and as I listened to it, I found my mind dwelling on it and contemplating life in a way very few albums have prompted.

Podcast Episode #4: "MDF XIV Recap"

In this episode of the Brutalitopia podcast, Mick and Tom devote the entire episode to reminiscing about this year's Maryland Deathfest.

Listen in after the break!

Zhrine - Unortheta

Within the metal-sphere, the genre tag "atmospheric" is more often than not used in conjunction with "black metal". Bands as stylistically different as Alcest and Altar of Plagues have contributed to the expansion of the sub-genre's boundaries. Here to push those boundaries just a bit further, however, are Iceland's Zhrine and their debut album Unortheta. While elements of black metal are evident, Zhrine makes it clear that death metal is their calling card, making Unortheta an aural adventure that is just as devastating as it is enthralling.