Post-Millennial's Guide To Metal (And Some Other Stuff)

When asking people what they think metal sounds like, most would probably respond with 'noisy', 'fast', and above all, 'screaming'. If they knew virtually nothing about the genre, they would most likely provide examples such as Metallica , Iron Maiden , and Black Sabbath , and to their credit, they could give worse answers. However, some may be able to identify some "deeper" bands. As someone who entered this lifestyle with Tool , my own expectations regarding metal and its subgenres have changed drastically. With the knowledge I have now, I can posit what is and isn't metal, genre stereotypes, and can even identify some terminology. Yet consistently, these expectations are still broken. Sometimes, pinning down a particular genre for certain projects seems difficult. מזמור ( Mizmor) is a band that exemplifies this struggle. While 'Funeral Doom' is perhaps the easy tag to bestow, the strong black metal influences and element...

We really do not review enough death metal on this platform. The closest thing to this emblematic genre we have covered was the An Isolated Mind review, but that is a completely different entity. In our Best Albums of 2018 , we mentioned Horrendous , 1914 , and Rivers of Nihil , but not to the extent of a full-blown analysis. We also recently touched upon A Million Dead Birds Laughing , Warforged , and Musmahhu in our Albums You Definitely Should Listen To , but to the same end. It's about damn time that we review some actual, bonafide death metal on this blog, and today is the mother fucking day. Portland, OR-based quartet Witch Vomit have released their sophomore LP, Buried Deep In A Bottomless Grave , on one of the best underground metal labels around, 20 Buck Spin. home of such fantastic death metal bands as Cerebral Rot , Tomb Mold , and (rip) Extremity . With an even more impressive non-death catalog, the label was smart to pick up these...

Welcome to “The Co-Op,” where the site’s editor comes out of the woodworks to actually help contribute a dissenting opinion on whatever musical subject lays at hand. For this “special” installment, we covered Tool ’s long-awaited followup to 10,000 Days . Expectations are a dangerous thing. When it comes to the release of modern consumer art, much is made of the toxic hype cycle which perpetuates virtually every major announcement. This vicious cycle can dangerously skew perceptions, especially when the excitement involves contrasts to the artist’s greater body of work, in any number of ways. Various flavors of “Oh, it’s gonna be better than the last one,” or “There’s no way it’s gonna be as good as ________,” and the subsequent comparisons which emerge after consumption tend to cull most valuable discourse regarding said work. This is increasingly true when dealing with an artist who has either an immense break period between releases, or a much-beloved back-catalog....

I mentioned in last week's review of Avant Garde , everyone goes through an “edgy adolescent phase.” I similarly had a much longer and (maybe?) less regrettable rap phase during those horribly awkward years of one’s life. Prior to high school--and the subsequent metal train that was soon to run me off of my hip-hop and classic rock rails--I avidly listened to the likes of Eminem, Dr. Dre, and many more incredibly popular genre staples. I am aware that many have gone through this, as rap is inarguably the most dominant genre of music today, and most people I know personally listen almost exclusively to rap music. This has perhaps lent the genre an absence of faith from the wider metal community and a mild hatred from the older (which, let’s face it, is the majority) metal fandom. Do not be confused though, I do not share such a petty distaste, for a true patrician of the arts such as I listen to certain hip-hop artists. Kendrick Lamar , Death Grips, and JPEGMAFIA all tickle my...