Cold Blue Mountain - Old Blood

The metal blogosphere is much like the American political media, in the sense that buzz words are used to carry much of the weight and attract the most attention.  Where a Senatorial Candidate may tell the people that he's for "lower taxes" or "anti-gun control" to try and quickly give you a sense of his beliefs, metal bands rely on the increasingly hyper-specific sub-genres like "doom" or "sleepcore" (something I really read the other day).  While these words usually mean nothing when applied vapidly, when chosen carefully they can indeed give the voter/listener a pretty good idea of whether or not they want to proceed in checking out this politician/band.  For me, those words typically include "sludge," "post-rock," "doom," or "blackened," so when I saw three of the four attached to California's Cold Blue Mountain and their second album Old Blood, I decided that yes, this would potentially be someone I'd like to learn more about before voting.  Er... a band I would like to listen to.

Durf's Top 15 Albums of 2013

 

Hard to believe it's already December and time to look back on the past year, reflecting on the changes we've made, the adventures we've had, and most importantly, the albums we've listened to and really, really enjoyed.  Below are my Top 15 Albums of 2013; if you correctly guess which album is Number One before looking, I will mail you a cookie.  And don't forget to agree/disagree/tell me how full of shit I am in the comment section!

Exclusive Interview - Steve Brooks and Evan Danielson of Mouth Of The Architect

This past Sunday, here in Chicago, I wasn't quite as captivated with the train-wreck that was the MTV VMA's as much as the rest of the country seemed to be. I was much more interested in the fact that Ohio metallers Mouth Of The Architect were playing a headline show in a super tiny bar venue for a mere $5. In addition, I was able to catch up and interview their guitarist/vocalist Steve Brooks and their bassist Evan Danielosn. We managed to chat about their touring they just wrapped up, future plans, thoughts on the new album, and plenty of other topics worth hearing about.

Check out the interview and some awesome footage of the concert after the break!

We'll Do It Live Fridays: Triple Header

As you may or may not know, Mick and I sat down with Chris Letchford from Scale the Summit this past Wednesday night in Chicago for an exclusive Brutalitopia interview.  What you may or may not also know is that this interview took place during the band's stop on their tour with Mouth of the Architect and Intronaut.  What you probably DO know is that all three of these bands are absolutely exceptional, both on their studio records and live in concert.  So in a special sort of WDILF twist, the kind you can only get on a site that doesn't care about rules and established traditions, today you get THREE live videos, one each from Mouth of the Architect, Scale the Summit, and Intronaut.  Hopefully seeing those will encourage you to get out and see the show when it stops near you, because this is the sort of show people hang themselves for missing.  Check out my picks after the jump.

Torrent-Free Tuesdays: June 11th, 2013

Back in the days before the internet and album leaks, if you wanted to hear music you had to wait for its release day, at which point you went to your local Best Buy or other record store to pick up a cd or record.  In celebration of this physical media, Brutalitopia will be bringing you a weekly look at what’s coming out each Tuesday, with notes about some of the more notable releases (Editor’s Note: “Notable” is completely subjective and can and will mean whatever Durf wants it to mean on a week to week basis).  Find out what's happening this week after the jump.

New Song Premiere: Mouth Of The Architect "How This Will End"

If you've been in the need for a groovy new track from Mouth Of The Architect, then you're in luck!  Lambgoat has officially premiered a previously unreleased track of theirs, entitled "How This Will End."  You can listen to the track here.

As if new music from these Ohio atmospheric metallers wasn't good enough news, it should also be noted that they have dates posted for an upcoming summer tour.  Check out the dates after the break.