A Link to the Past : Nostalgia Turned Metal

 Video game music/audio is one of the biggest unsung heroes of game development. A good theme can be as iconic as the game itself. Among gamers and non-gamers alike, you would probably be hard pressed to find anyone who wouldn't immediately recognize the themes from Super Mario Bros and Tetris. Even a certain Street Fighter theme has found life as a running gag on YouTube. But whenever I reflect on themes that have stuck with me, I always go back to the heavier, more guitar-driven ones. Even further reflection made me realize the amount of times I've listened to the Mega Man X OST outside of actually playing the game is a tad embarrassing.



Years later, when I would go on to fall into the depravity that is heavy metal fandom, there was something in my brain that kept trying to make connections between the metal I was into and the video game themes I was into. It was a connection that was never cut and dry but at the same time I have never been able to completely disregard it. This abstract idea has bugged me for years and was the impetus for putting this article together. Thankfully, there were other like-minded individuals out there who were more than excited to dig deep into this. These interviews were approached as a free flowing discussion about connections between metal and video game music from the perspective of metal musicians, not necessarily to prove or disprove any theory of mine. But there certainly were some interesting revelations.

Read the interviews after the break!

Durf's Dilatorily Discovered Töp Albums from 2018

It happens every year, without fail:  I listen to hundreds of albums over the course of the year, find some I like, put them in an order representing how much I liked them, write some blurbs, and call it a day.  Year End lists are arguably the piece de resistance of music blogging, and I'm really happy with the work we do here at Brutalitopia in that regard.  However, in the same way I work hard and make my list, I similarly always miss things.  Always.  Trying to listen to all of the music put out in a calendar year is a Sisyphean undertaking, and there will always be stones that roll past the giant metaphorical boulder being pushed up the hill.  And that's where this post comes in.  Based on other year end lists I've read, some December-released promos I received, and other assorted influences, I started digging in to the albums I missed last year.  And after a couple weeks of listening, I've found some that I really, really enjoy, to the point that I'm making a new Töp 10 list of albums I missed last year!  ...which you knew if you read the heading of this article.  So without further ado, here are the albums I missed last year that I really enjoyed and wish I would have heard sooner!

Tribulation - Down Below

I don't think "fitting" is the right word, but I find it humorous that in my Top Albums of 2017 list, I mentioned how Tribulation hadn't fully clicked with me while praising the latest album from Cloak. And now for my first review of 2018, I'm here getting to ready to gush about how on board I am with Tribulation. It's a strange world we live in, but that's what keeps things interesting, right? Anywho, Tribulation's latest endeavor, Down Below, is bringing in the new year in a big way. The band's rock sensibilities shine through with gravelly vocals casting an eerie ambiance over the otherwise upbeat and spirited guitar rhythms and riffs. Even though they are accurate descriptors, "black n' roll" and "goth-rock" are terms that are being used too liberally and make it easy to look past what Tribulation has achieved with Down Below.

All Pigs Must Die - Hostage Animal

 

Every music fan I know has a musical sweet spot, the middle of a venn diagram wherein resides the music they absolutely fucking love.  They may "listen to everything (except country!)," but it's that intersection that represents their absolute favorite musical sensibilities, regardless of genre.  For me, that melting pot looks something like a stew of slow- to mid-tempo, atmospheric, ten-plus minute songs with progressive shifts, strong melodies, a bit of groove, and harmonizing vocals.  I love bands and songs that stray from those tendencies, but when an album lands right in that sweet spot... that's the fuckin' jam.  There's a comfort there, a knowledge that you as a listener have heard enough to know what you like.  I bring this musical g-spot up because to me, the only thing better than finding something new that fits into an established idea of "favorite" music is finding something new that doesn't check any of your Favorites boxes, but still gets your head banging, your pulse racing, and your motor running.  From the title of this post, I'm obviously talking about Hostage Animal, the third full-length from All Pigs Must Die.

Chicago Open Air 2017 Preview... With Some Thoughts!

Last year, the first annual Chicago Open Air Festival arrived, featuring mainstream metal bands like Rammstein, Disturbed, Korn, Five Finger Death Punch, Breaking Benjamin, and Slipknot, alongside heralded underground bands like Carcass, Deafheaven, Gojira, and Meshuggah.  It was an interesting and pretty decent - if unspectacular - mix of metal that a lot of folks have heard alongside bands that hover in more extreme territory.  Also Hollywood Undead was there, which throws my perception of the whole thing off a bit.  I didn't make it to the festival last year, but I did catch the sterling aftershow featuring Carcass and Deafheaven, which was excellent.  Obviously a giant, open air metal festival in my backyard is something I want to support and attend, so I was eagerly awaiting news on this year's lineup.  Last week, the festival organizers announced the lineup for the second iteration of the festival, to be held at Toyota Park in Bridgeview (just outside Chicago) July 14th-16th.  Would the festival bring in more underground bands?  Would early-2000s alt-metal continue to headline?  Would 2017 be the year that puts COA alongside Maryland Death Fest or Southwest Terror Fest in the pantheon of American Metal Festivals?

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.

Exclusive Interview - Tony Foresta (Iron Reagan/Municipal Waste)

I interviewed Tony Foresta (Iron Reagan/Municipal Waste) and we talked about Iron Reagan's new album Tyranny of Will, Oderus Urungus, GwarBQ, politics, touring in NJ, and celebrity deaths. All in all, it was a fun time had by all.

I hope you enjoy our rambling down below after the break.

Welcome Back

Hello friends!

We unfortunately don't have a return date for the league's best point guard either, but we hope the news we do have finds you well, enjoying the music and funtivities that make life worth living.  Over the past few months, you may have noticed a conspicuous lack of activity from Brutalitopia, as the three of us embarked on a multitude of adventures and endeavors ranging from incredibly fulfilling to exceedingly monotonous.  You know, like stuff.  However, over the past few weeks, discussions were had, ideas were floated, and finally a decision was made: like the Phoenix, Brutalitopia is rising from the desert of Arizona to oppress anyone who can't produce a driver's license.  Just kidding, we don't care about things like that.  But we are back, and cliched as it may sound, we believe we're stronger and better than ever.

We'll have a lot more information to share about the site in the coming days, including new features on the site, some different things we're going to try out, and (at some point) when new content will begin filtering in. Stay tuned to this page, our brand new owned by us domain, our Twitter (@Brutalitopia), and our newly created Facebook page (www.facebook.com/Brutalitopia) for the latest updates, and we look forward to bringing you fun, enjoyable content centered on the metal we all love so much.

Talk to you guys again real soon.

- Jack, Mick, and Durf

Listen To The Show This Sunday!

Since the info for where Brutalitopia actually airs is always on the side of the site, I've tried to avoid doing too much shameless promotion of the show here but I've made an exception this time around.  This upcoming Sunday, 11/20/11, will be the last airing of Brutalitopia for 2011.  In order to do something special for this show, I'll be bringing on my fellow comrades in metal from our radio station onto the show as special guest co-hosts.  Of course, I speak of none other than my good friends Nathan Brue and Mic Durfee.  Being that this will be the last show of 2011, we've collectively decided to do a best of 2011 theme, a 2011 metal blow-out if you will.  So it should go without saying that if you don't have anything going on this Sunday from 5-8pm cst, Radio DePaul is where you will want to be tuned into to get your metal fix.

Hope to have a bunch of you tuned in.

- Mick  

Metal Requests All Weekend... No, Seriously.

So if you're like me and you're a total metalhead troll, you've called into a local radio station and requested Cannibal Corpse before. The prudes probably hung up you, but those days are over... at least for a weekend. Sirius 27/XM 42 Liquid Metal is hosting Social Network Takeover weekend, asking you to send in any and all metal requests you can think of until early Monday morning via their Facebook page. I would highly implore everyone to head over there even if you don't have Sirius/XM, which you should also get on if you don't. It pretty much perfects how music radio should be, with Liquid Metal serving as the perfect example. Metal encyclopedia Ian Christe (who hosts Bloody Roots, a heavy metal history show) essentially served as the original inspiration behind Brutalitopia, so we gotta give props where props are due. 

Now get over there and request something super obscure, like Mayhem's earliest EP or something even more controversial. 

- Jack

We'll Do It Live Fridays: High On (The) Pot

 

I've been rambling on quite a lot recently about what is or isn't metal. Not actually determining which bands or albums are or aren't (you should know by now that I find that age-old debate to be pretty fucking pointless), but why it becomes such a big deal with the masses. Whether you poke around the bowels of the internet on metal forums or even just talk to your average Chris Barnes look-a-like, the topic inevitably rears it's rather fruitless head; "Yeah, dude... I totally dug White Pony too... but is it really even metal?" We've all dealt with this before. And it's probably not out of the realm of possibility that the majority of us have dealt with this when listening or discussing Tool.