The Resurrection

…of this blog.

Shows I saw between now and the last post:

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Since I didn’t go to any shows out of the country in 2017, I planned on seeing the Slayer, LoG, Behemoth Tour. I had tickets but was unable to attend.

In 2018, I focused on my triumphant return to Europe. I walked around with an oversize backpack for five weeks this summer and was lucky enough to catch Iron Maiden’s Legacy of the Beast Tour in Poland. I also returned to Summer Breeze Open Air in Germany and caught some fantastic performances.

Iron Maiden was an incredible experience and I met a bunch of great people who had also traveled to Krakow for the show. The set was next level and props were amazing. I’m impatiently waiting to go to the 2019 North American Tour. I’ll be heading to Canada for two shows in August.

Summer Breeze had a solid lineup so I returned thinking I’d finally see Behemoth after three previously failed attempts. It turned out I had missed their set due to unforeseen circumstances so maybe fifth time is a charm? Regardless, I caught some excellent shows and learned of some great new bands. Warbringer’s performance was incredible and Cannibal Corpse never disappoints.

Even though that was only a few months ago, I’ve got eyes turned toward 2019 shows. Primarily the Iron Maiden Tour, Decibel Magazine Tour, and if I can find a way to get to Norway for Inferno Festival I will have one incredible year of shows.

Currently listening to: 

Asagraum, Potestas Magicum Diaboli

 

 

I Wish I Were Going To Steelfest

It is true. That is what I would be doing right now if I had the chance. Loading up the backpack and heading to Alaska’s Scandinavian counterpart, Finland. The lineup this year is pretty snazzy. It covers a good handful of bands I’d love to see live and all the headliners are veterans. I was too drunk at Summer Breeze 2015 to remember Marduk and I don’t get to go to Summer Breeze this year and see Mgła so I’ve been drooling over the S.O.A. Facebook countdown. I’m hoping all my wonderful Finnish friends go and get too drunk off overpriced Jäger in my honor. Someone send me a Karhu to easy my lack of live black metal.

Isn’t that lineup enticing?

Alas this summer I will not be returning to my beloved Europe. Which only means that I just have to look at what’s going down nationally in the land of metal. So far I haven’t been too stoked on anything announced. With the exception of Maryland Deathfest- WHY DO YOU TEMPT ME SO?! (and why does airfare have to be so &@#*ing expensive from Alaska?) So far I’m patiently waiting for what calls to me most and is budget friendly.

Right now the Slayer, Lamb of God, Behemoth Tour has my attention. I’m trying to figure out how to smash it into a not-yet-actualized road trip from Portland, OR to Baltimore, MD that is supposedly taking place late July/early August. Somehow Behemoth has avoided me all these years and every time I get close to seeing them live they get yanked from the bill. I had a similar situation with Lamb of God even though at this point I only listen to them for the nostalgia factor. (NO SHAME) And regardless of what anyone else says, I will never get tired of seeing half of Slayer play Slayer songs pretty fantastically.

Other than that I’m hoping to unearth some sweet smaller fests as we drive across the states. Or discover some shitty local bands in some shitty local bars. Either one works.

Let me know if you have any suggestions!

-MtlMaiden

12/01/13

Hello all! The world of metal continues going and Mtlmaiden sits passively on the side…waiting. For what you ask? We may never know…

Kidding. I’ve been buried 6 feet under…homework. Yay college.

But my life has been relatively lacking of metal action. I haven’t been to too many shows as of late. But I did attend the Girls Girls Girls concert at Koots. Let me just inform you now so you can beat yourself up about it- IF YOU MISSED IT YOU MISSED OUT ON THE BEST SHOW ALL YEAR. This is a fact. This all female Motley Crue tribute band gave new life to the best of the crue songs. These ladies are my new music idols. Not only did they look incredible- they were all super hot- but they could rock just as hard if not harder than any all male band. This was not their first time up here though so you can be hopeful that Family Tree will bring them up again. Go like their Facebook page because they kick ass. Here is a link for you lazy bitches.

Here is a couple of pictures from the show and me with the band.

 

The Doomstar Requiem was hands down the greatest thing I’ve ever seen. I’ve watched it an insane amount of times and the number is only increasing. In addition I’ve listened to the album about as much if not more. PLEASE SUPPORT BRENDON SMALL AND GO BUY IT. I did. And then once you have it blast it in the car as loud as you can. This album perfectly demonstrates the genius that is Brendon Small. It has every type of musical element you would expect in a musical and goes above and beyond anything you can imagine. Brendon Small also teamed up with Bear McCreary-the composer for the tv show The Walking Dead- to write for a fifty-piece orchestra. So now that you know this is some serious musical composition put it on the top of your to do list. It also features guests such as George “Coprsegrinder” Fisher, Jack Black, and of course Mark Hamill. I’m so excited for a new season to come out-although we have no inkling of when it will be out or any details really. I suppose I will patiently wait. And in the meantime continue listening to the Doomstar Requiem soundtrack on repeat.

Check out this awesome behind the scenes video of the making of the Doomstar Requiem.

Oh and the solo is incredible and I think this guy deserves some recognition for being the first to cover it. He does a pretty good job too so props to him-only a few mistakes but nobody else has done it yet so who cares. AND he is doing it on the Thunderhorse guitar. Quick someone get this kid a Snow Falcon!

Speaking of Metalocalypse guitars- a brand new Gibson called the “Snow Falcon” will be released sometime in the near future. If you don’t get the reference you haven’t seen the Doomstar Requiem. It’s a beautiful flying V with an alpine white and grey burst finish on a mahogany body. It features burstbucker pickups. Here is a picture of it-and a picture of Toki with it- and if you want to hear what it sounds like I’ve also included a video of Brendon Small shredding on it.

Now Brendon Small has been doing this for awhile now and I have managed to dig up this fabulous lesson featuring him as Thor Von Clemson. Here is Brendon Small’s “Advanced Fast Hand Finger Master Class”. (This is pre-Skwisgaar Skwigelf Advanced Fast Hand Finger Wizard Master Class.) It is quite funny.

Black Sabbath has recently released “Black Sabbath: Life…Gathered In Their Masses” a live DVD/CD featuring songs from their 2013 tour. I have not seen it yet but I saw them live on this tour so in reality the DVD probably won’t be able to compare. However if you didn’t get to see them on tour this year you should check it out. It features some classic Sabbath hits and some songs off of their latest album “13”.

Download Festival has released their first wave of bands scheduled to play. I really am confused as all hell by the lineup. Dying Fetus with Aerosmith and A7x? I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS LINEUP. This year’s Download I will pass on… Here is who’s playing so far.

The hit zombie TV show “The Walking Dead” has taken off so much that Peavey has released a line of Walking Dead guitars. The guitars feature artwork from The Walking Dead comic book artist, Charlie Adlard. In addition there are also a line of accessories is also available featuring straps and picks. There are 13 different guitars featuring the artwork. I know a couple people who this would appeal to.

If you are still needing some holiday cooking guides try Mosh Potatoes. This heavy metal cookbook includes a variety of recipes from over 100 different bands. This cook book takes cooking to a whole new level with some fun and obscure recipes. And yes it is metal- quite a few recipes necessitate alcohol. 

Now that we have entered the holiday season it is a great time to reflect back on how grateful metalheads should be to this music for helping us survive the chaos of family and holiday shopping. I know I sure am. And when in doubt metal makes holiday gifting easy! Black Sabbath CDs for everyone! Maybe get your little sibling a Cannibal Corpse t-shirt and for mothers try a Nightwish or Epica DVD.

And don’t’ forget that Monday nights from 10-Midnight I will be providing you a dose of your favorite and my favorite tracks in metal on my show The Threshold of Pain on 88.1 FM KRUA. You can always livestream from your computer here.

Keep it brutal.

–Mtlmaiden

10/13/13

Because everyone is upset about Slayer cancelling, here is a Dose to make you all feel a little better and know that you are not alone.

To take your mind off of the bad news here’s some new Winds Of Plague.

Their new album entitled “Resistance” is coming out relatively soon. It is being released October 29th. The band has been releasing bits and pieces of their new album over the past couple of weeks. They premiered a new track on Lambgoat called “Say Hello To The Undertaker”. If you haven’t checked it out yet you can do so here. So far from what I have heard we have the traditional WOP sound but stylistically going back a little bit to the days of “Decimate the Weak”. (Still my favorite album by them!) But you never know. We still have an entire album to hear before judging!

The band has also come up with a pretty sweet little contest on their Facebook page. If you want to try to win a copy of their new album and check out the band for free on one of their upcoming tour dates, carve a WOP pumpkin and post a picture of it on their wall. The band is embarking on a tour of the US of A with Oceano, Gideon, Bleeding Through, and Sworn in beginning November 4th.

If you decided to do this please send me a picture too. I would like to see a Winds of Plague pumpkin.

Onward with this talk of new albums! Iced Earth has completed the mixing and mastering of their upcoming album “Plagues of Babylon” which is set to be released sometime around January 2014. Here is the track listing for it.

They have just released a LYRIC VIDEO for their title track. We all know how I feel about those damn things… regardless the track is totally epic!  A must listen as far as new metal releases are concerned.

The band is also very proud of the album artwork (as they should be!) and it is extremely badass. You can see some of it in the video. The band is also keeping busy with a large upcoming tour with Warbringer and Elm Street. They’re going global! Wish I could go-you can bet that both Warbringer AND Iced Earth will be playing new tracks from both band’s upcoming albums.

 

 

We now have an official date for some new Impending Doom that I talked about last blog. “Death Will Reign” comes out November 5th. And all the core kids rejoice!

Here is their title track in all its core-ness glory.

 

How about some more new music? Maybe some Deicide? But mentally prepare yourself before clicking play as this is the definition of brutal. This band has mastered the art of death metal and this track is the proof. I am so ready for this album! I’ve been lacking new death metal and this is exactly the cure for my incessant and undying need for more.

Here’s something random and exciting- 8 bit Wretched! I love this song and band and honestly the 8 bit version of “The Exodus of Autonomy” made me wish it was in a video game. It puts a different perspective on the song.

Okay so yes we are bitter at Slayer for cancelling our Anchorage show that was supposed to be next week but we can still secretly rejoice in this news. Apparently some of Jeff Hanneman’s work will be on the next Slayer album. In an interview with Loudwire, Tom Araya discussed the new album and direction of current Slayer. It is a really informative interview and anyone interested in the goings on of the band should read it. Get your Slayer update here.

If you missed out on the All That Remains concert that was on Friday, you need to get your act together. Honestly I’ve never been a huge fan of the band- as their music isn’t entirely my style- but I have been converted. I am an All That Remains fan now. Not because I have had some kind of spiritual awakening with their music, but because I respect any band that will go out of their way to come play in Alaska. Not only have they played here but have played TWICE. And they have never cancelled on us. Respect. Here is a couple pictures I managed to take from the show.

Don’t worry, even if you missed ATR AK Soul is still bringing you Zombiefist to look forward to this October. All Alaskans can get down to some 36 Crazyfists. October 27th is the date and Egan Center is the place and all ages are welcome. Openers will be Thera, Decepticide, Divides, and The Harlequin State. There also will be a $1000 prize for best costume. You can get your tickets at Ticketmaster, where they will charge you an outrageous fee to process and handle your ticket.

In November Family Tree Presents is bringing up Girls Girls Girls, the first all-girl tribute band to Motley Crue. November 7th at Koots is when these feisty females will be here. They also will be playing a show in Soldotna on the 9th at Hooligans. I can’t wait! I’ve always been a huge Crue fan.

That’s about all I got right now. But I would like to leave you with this. 

Keep it brutal! \m/

–Mtlmaiden

9/22/13

I have been gone. I have returned. I am also on the airwaves now of 88.1 FM KRUA Monday nights from 10- Midnight (AK time). If you are so inclined to listen to metal for 2 hours every Monday night feel free to do so here. To start things off I have complied a few photos of something very near and dear to me.

 

This is why Slayer fans rule

I think you get the point. Slayer fans are the best.

Oh and if you live in a hole and are unaware that Slayer is touring soon be excited. Because they start their tour in Anchorage, Alaska on October 22nd. Unfortunately they aren’t bringing Gojira with them for the Alaska show. It is also their first show here since 1996. And probably their last so that is why you should empty your pocketbooks and pay the 40-100 dollars it takes to get a ticket. Tickets available through Ticketmaster so prepare for outrageous “processing fees”. I’ll see you in the pit.

Slayer North American Tour Dates:

10/22 — Anchorage, Alaska — Sullivan Sports Arena
10/25 — Las Vegas, Nev. — The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
10/28 — – Hollywood, Calif. Hollywood Palladium
10/30 — San Jose, Calif. — Events Center @ San Jose State-
11/8 — Minneapolis, Minn. — Myth
11/10 — Austin, Texas — FunFunFun Fest
11/12 — Houston, Texas — Bayou Music Center
11/13 — Dallas, Texas — South Side Ballroom
11/15 — Chicago, Ill. — Aragon Ballroom
11/16 — Detroit, Mich. — The Fillmore
11/17 — Columbus, Ohio — LC Pavilion
11/19 — Washington, D.C. — The Fillmore
11/20 — Pittsburgh, Pa. — Stage AE
11/26 — Wallingford, Conn. — Oakdale Theatre
11/27 — New York, N.Y. — Theatre @ MSG
11/29 — Camden, N.J. — Susquehanna Bank Center
11/30 — Boston, Mass. — Tsongas Arena

 

So today while driving home I was listening to the radio a song came on and I was like “huh what a Metallica sounding riff” but the tone was familiar. And then it hit me- this was a track off of A7x’s new album. And the vocals came on and I started laughing so hard because Robb Flynn was spot on. Not to jump on the bandwagon but yes it sounded like a Metallica rip off. I enjoyed Flynn’s jokes about it immensely. Haven’t read them yet? Here you go! And no I haven’t listened to the whole album yet and I don’t really plan to anytime soon. I’m not that big into A7x personally. But I am into Metallica soo…

Something that I think everyone will be excited about is Metalocalypse: The Doom Star Requiem. This is going to be an hour long special on Adult Swim. Essentially it is a rock opera. The Adult Swim website says this:

Coming this October is Metalocalypse: The Doom Star Requiem, an hour-long special. The special picks up after the finale of season 4. With Toki abducted and in mortal danger, his only hope is the rest of Dethklok. But, like always, the band’s egos start to get in the way. To save their band member and friend, they need to get over themselves, work together, and save Toki in the hour-long heavy metal rock opera (with an original score, of course!). Set your calendars for October.

I’m excited. I miss Toki.

Now Lets Talk Local!

ALSO coming this October- 22 and More Metal Than You! This is the first show that my friend KC and I have put together and we are extremely excited about it. We have been conspiring to start throwing some local all ages shows because we love giving back to the scene and seeing it flourish. What is super special about this show is that it is my birthday show! Hence the 22 part. Essentially nothing cool happens when you turn 22 so we decided to do something about that. And thus 22 and More Metal Than You was born. And the lineup is awesome! Some of my favorite local bands have agreed to perform and I am completely stoked about that and you should be too! I hope to see you all there!

The details in brief-

October 4th (Friday) at 7 pm

$6 dollars at the door

Bands: Famine, Thunderfish, Terraform, Decepticide, Machinecorpse (See! I told you that lineup was killer.)

 

If you missed out on Emmure that is a huge bummer! They played a killer set. Big ups to Family Tree Presents for continuing to provide our tiny local scene with rays of hope-in the form of core bands. I can’t wait to see what else is coming up for them!

If you are in the dark- Mondays are metal days. At the Taproot that is! Which does mean you have to be 21 and over to enjoy. Two badass local metal bands every Monday evening with only a 5 dollar cover. Sounds like a good way to end a long Monday to me!

It appears that AK Soul decided to take over the month of October. Up first we have All That Remains at the Egan Center on Friday, October 11th. Which means it would be a good idea to come to the all ages show on the 4th as mentioned earlier, that way you can have some practice time in the pit before going in head first! Tickets are 30 bucks in advance and that is not including Ticketmaster’s evil, omnipresent ticketing fees. This will be the second time ATR has come to the glorious 907! I went the first time around and had a great time. They played a great set and were spot on live. The only thing I remember that I didn’t like about the show was that they didn’t play an encore. Which I still find weird…

 

Following up ATR is one of the most traditional metal shows we have in Alaska. That’s right-the annual ZOMBIEFIST. Like every year 36 Crazyfists will be headlining. Same pricing as the ATR show and same location. It is always a good time. I believe Zombiefist was my first concert. But that was more than a few years ago so I am not 100% positive but I do know that 36 headlined and it was at Egan. But then again when is 36 not headlining the metal shows at the Egan Center?

Alrighty, now that I have provided you with a solid calendar of local metal for the next month, let us digress. Here is a quick rundown of bands coming out with and/or working on new albums:

As Blood Runs Black– The album is entitled “Ground Zero” and will be out sometime this winter. Preorders are available now. Instinct (their last album) was pretty good. I can’t wait to see if they’re going to continue in the same direction or throw in some new elements.

Deicide– The album called “In The Minds Of Evil” will be out this fall. Can’t wait! This band brings the heavy to the metal. These seasoned metal masters never really disappoint.

Warbringer– “IV: Empires Collapse” This is their fourth album and it set to drop October 29th. They recently released the track “Hunter-Seeker” off the album and like all good bands- made a lyric video for it. I love this band for being the embodiment of modern thrash. Check out the video and enjoy.

 

Oceano– How core do you go? If you can handle the brutality that is Oceano get stoked because their new album "Incisions” is about to be released. October first is the date. On the bands Facebook page you can check out a few tracks from the album. Apparently someone has been leaking it so they are now available for your enjoyment- keep in mind they aren’t the best quality because they are not official.

Carnifex– Sometime ago they broke up, I cried, and forgot about it. Then one day out of nowhere a Facebook status popped up saying something like “working on new material”. And suddenly the world regained its beauty. The band seems to have reconciled any “creative differences” that caused the split and they are touring and working on a new album, which will be released sometime “early 2014”. I am beyond excited as they have never put out a bad album yet. Bring on early 2014! 

Impending Doom– Another fun core band! Their album is set for sometime in November. If you are so inclined you can enjoy 10 seconds of one of their tracks off the album on Youtube. (Prepare to be disappointed as it is an intro, which is why I didn’t put the video on here for you.)  Which track? We don’t know. All we do know is new album, November 2013. Now to wait patiently for a single…

And that is all I have for you right now! But I will leave off with this because it made me laugh. Carnifex had a show and there was a slight misspelling in the signage but I kinda like the result. What do you think?

As always, keep it brutal.

–Mtlmaiden

3/26/13

Hi MtlMinions! This Dose I just have brief updates for now on the realm of heavy metal.

I just want to start off by saying how much I don’t like lyric videos. I can actually hear the words myself so I’ll pass on the translation. I find them distracting and sometimes they seem to invalidate the meaning of the song. Especially when they show repeated phrasing. What is the point of that? Anyway speaking of lyric videos here is a new one from As I Lay Dying’s newest album. It’s okay. (The song that is.) I’m sticking with their older albums. But for your viewing pleasure (Why anyone would want to watch a song is beyond me) is their latest greatest that was just put on their Youtube page. If you’re as perplexed as I am with lyric videos have a look see. Here.

This was too funny not to include. Sure we’ve seen a million and a half little kids on youtube rocking out or complaining about how they want to listen to heavy metal but this one caught me off guard. It’s hilarious.

 

German deathcore band We Butter The Bread With Butter make this awesome and hilarious album announcement via clever youtube video. I’m stoked because for some weird reason I love this band even though they do everything I can’t stand in metal. I guess they just do terrible deathcore brilliantly because I’ve always been infatuated with them. Here’s the announcement for you entertainment.

 

Summer Metal Tour News

So the morning of the 18th I woke up, grabbed my computer and went to the Mayhem Fest website. Only to be told that I had to wait till 4pm PST. Which made me promptly scream at my computer and scowl the rest of the day. I mean come on I’ve been waiting months for the announcement already!  But of course it was announced and I am okay with the lineup. I was a little disappointed. Because honestly WHY IS CHILDREN OF BODOM NOT A HEADLINER?! But that’s okay and I’m still attending this summer. I’m stoked that they gave Amon Amarth a headlining spot. I can’t wait to hear some new tunes from them and Children of Bodom. I heard Rob Zombie puts on a great show so that should be kind of cool. I suppose I’ll be hanging out in the beer garden when all the bands I do not care about go on stage. For all who have been walking around bitching about how Mayhem Fest went mainstream, you might be right a little, but I can promise there are some great bands on there. The headliners are Rob Zombie, Five Finger Death Punch, Mastodon, and Amon Amarth. They’ve also added another stage this year- the Musicians Institute Stage- where Children of Bodom (YES!), Behemoth (HELL YES!), Emmure (seriously?), Born of Osiris (too bad this isn’t 3 years ago), Motionless In White (who?), and Thrown Into Exile are playing. On the Jagermeister stage Machine Head (rad), Job for a Cowboy (I CAN’T WAIT FOR THOSE PITS!), Butcher Babies (I’ll pass), Battlecross, and Huntress are going to be shredding. Sure it might not be an ideal lineup but they can’t make everyone happy so either go or don’t go. Either way stop bitching.

Another tour announcement I’ve been waiting around for is Summer Slaughter Tour. After last years headliner with Cannibal Corpse I was really hoping for something great. But not happening. Slated for the bill is Dillinger Escape Plan, Animals as Leaders, Periphery, Norma Jean, Cattle Decapitation, The Ocean, Aeon, and Revocation. If you’re into that yay for you but I’ll pass.

 

Another summer tour that looks totally brutal and awesome is Hell In July. It has Six Feet Under with Decrepit Birth and Cannabis Corpse. Death metal galore! I can guarantee this is probably one of the greatest summer tours that will be announced.

 

Children of Bodom have made a very large album announcement. Their new album Halo Of Blood will be released June 7th on Nuclear Blast. I’m always down for some new COB! The track listing and album art has been released and it looks classic! Here is what to look forward too. This is also the trailer for the album. If you ignore the German dudes talking over the music you can get an idea for what is to come. But if you do listen to the German guys note how totally awesome they say “metal”.

 

01 Waste of Skin
02 Halo of Blood
03 Scream for Silence
04 Transference
05 Bodom Blue Moon (The Second Coming)
06 The Days are Numbered
07 Dead Man’s Hand on You
08 Damage Beyond Repair
09 All Twisted
10 One Bottle and a Knee Deep

 

So I accidentally found this and after watching it I’m still not sure what it is… It reminds me of really bad drugs and death metal combined. But for some reason I felt obligated to share. Prepare to be disturbed.

No clue how I found this and what it is…

 

Anyway that about wraps it up for me! \m/

–Mtlmaiden

2/24/13

This is a segment I wanted to do the earlier but got sidetracked-

Mtlmaiden’s Most Exciting Upcoming Albums of 2013 (in no particular order)

Oceano– Just because I love this deathcore band since their beginning-primarily because of Adam Warren’s vocals are incomparable and untouchable. After listening to their new track “Slow Murder”, you can rest assured that the band is only getting more in touch with its “core” roots. This equates to breakdowns and dead notes galore.

Black Sabbath 13– The band has said that they are moving into the mixing part of the album and the whole world continues to hold its breath. They’ve also picked up Brad Wilk (Rage Against The Machine) on drums which I find to be an interesting and exciting choice. They’re also bringing up heavy touring for after the album drops and thankfully the USA is scheduled for the end of this summer. I am terrified and excited at the same time and really hope we aren’t disappointed.

Bullet for my Valentine Temper Temper– JUST KIDDING. They’ve lost their metal roots, sold out, and Matt Tuck cut his hair. There is absolutely no heavy vocals to be seen in the new album. I could honestly give absolutely no shits what this band does anymore. For anyone who wants to see why I cared about the band to begin with go back and listen to their first album The Poison. Because that’s what I will be doing. You won’t be seeing Temper Temper in my music library that’s for sure.

Megadeth Super Collider-I feel like with all the publicity Dave has been getting over the past few years maybe with this new album he will channel all of his frustration and distain into his writing. That would make for something heavy I think. As long as he keeps the subject matter of his public outcries out of the music I’m all on board for this. The album is being released on Mustaine’s label, Tradecraft. It’s set to be released in June.

Amon Amarth– I’m hoping and thinking that this will be one of the coolest metal albums to drop in 2013. I liked their last album, Sutur Rising, and I still love Metal Blade Records. They’re also working with metal god producer Andy Sneap so I see nothing going wrong here. It’s about damn time to have an excuse to polish off my battle axes and run around the house.  Bring on the viking metal.

Behemoth– A new album is the best way Nergal can say he’s back and here to stay. I’m ready for these Polish metal vets to give us another reason to love them-in the form of a brutal heavy metal album. There hasn’t been much stated about the new album but it is scheduled to come out this year. That’s good enough for me.

Children of Bodom– Now back on Nuclear Blast, I hope they can put out something a little stronger than their last. Not that I didn’t enjoy it and blast it in my car (because I totally did). I’m just ready to see them get heavy again. I don’t know too many others who would disagree. They’ve been in the studio recording and should be pretty much done soon. The album is set to be released sometime this summer. Alexi also released this statement on their official webpage “We will be doing our versions of songs by BANANARAMA and ROXETTE, and a track chosen for us by the readers of the Japanese magazine Burrn.”

Ghost Infestissumam– I might not be the biggest fan of their music- I do dig it, it’s just not my style. But I do love the concept of this band, their style, and how big of an impact they made on the metal community. Respect. I am curious as to what direction they might be heading on their second album, Infestissumam. They also have a new frontman.

Slayer– Of course I’d be more than stoked about this band’s new music. They are my metal gods and inspiration. After pushing back the EP that was supposed to be released last year, we better get a new album sometime this year. There hasn’t been much news or talk of the new album but I am still hopeful. But it is a shame about Dave Lombardo leaving the band. He just released on his Facebook page a lengthy explanation that in summary was mostly due to financial reasons. So he will not be a part of the new album. Bummer.

Avenged Sevenfold– I’m not a huge fan and never was. Unless they completely change their direction I probably won’t be. But I am always intrigued by this band. I heard their new COD song and it sucked. But maybe that will have nothing to do with their new album. I think my favorite part about this band is their drama. Recently M Shadows had an interview with Metal Hammer where he did say that “fans shouldn’t take it [“Carry On”] as any indication of the new record’s direction.” Thank god? In the interview M Shadows also said “The new album has a lot more of a Sabbath and Zeppelin feel to it, there’s definitely more Sabbath in what we’re writing, and we’re proud of ‘Carry On,’ but this album is going to be on a whole new level. We’re shooting for late January, early February [to enter the studio] and to have the album out in the summer. I’m pretty sure that we’re looking to go overseas first, so you guys will be seeing it before everyone else!” Cool story brah. We shall see.

Six Feet Under Unborn– I can’t think of many  bands that are heavier than Six Feet Under. These death metal dudes have been working hard to make Unborn a worthy sequel to Undead. This album is about to drop-scheduled for March 19th on Metal Blade Records.

Phil Anselmo Walk Through Exists Only– I am not exited for this album musically. I honestly just want to see what happens to it and what it does. I’ve never been one for Pantera’s member’s side projects and yes that’s all I will ever be able to see this stuff as. Phil is an idiot and I enjoy watching him show the world this. With words of wisdom, “walk through exits only”, we can only set the bar so high. The album is supposed to be out sometime this summer.

Now enough of my opinions and back to news from the metal world-

My favorite metal news to receive would be regarding the promising upcoming book “METALDUDES CATS BOOK”. YES THIS IS REAL. Photographer, Alexandra Crockett, has compiled pictures of many metal dudes with their furry felines. Pretty much making all of my dreams come true in one book by combining two of my favorite things. Yes I will be preordering my copy whenever that option is available. The cool think about this book is that 40% of the proceeds are going to be going to no-kill shelters.

Here is a hilarious video that has not one, not two, but THREE parts. Three magnificent parts to expose us metalheads as part of the satanic illuminati. I present to you Exposing Metal Bands. They do a pretty good job by pointing out that the lyrics, vocals, and concepts of metal music are all obvious indications that metalheads and musicians are in cahoots with Satan. For your viewing pleasure here is Exposing Metal Bands. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud watching it. In the second video they define what exactly they believe the satanic illuminati is. And honestly I want my dang invitation already to join because it sounds like a killer party! It is pretty long but it is quite entertaining. Here is all three parts

 

 

I also wanted to share a fun little game I invented because I think some of you could enjoy it too.

Mtlmaiden’s Metalocalypse Drinking Game

SHOT- When a band name is hidden in the episode

Drink-When Toki or Skwisgaar messes up English

Two Drinks-When someone says that something would be a good song title

Drink- When fans die at a concert

Drink-When Dethklok swears

SHOT-When someone says “that’s brutal”

Drink- When the society brings in an expert

Drink-When Rockso says “I do cocaine”

I guarantee this is a solid game and everyone will have plenty to drink and plenty of fun. I’ve played quite a few times now. (Warning: Do  not attempt game for an entire season of the show. Bad things will happen.) 

I leave you with this video that made me giggle- Slayer’s “Angel of Death” smooth rock version. Enjoy and keep it metal. \m/

 

Mtlmaiden

2/3/13

So while I’ve been away from my computer I’ve been attending shows and trying to be more social. So I bring you the Mtlmaiden’s Daily Dose Review.

First off I went to Sicarius’ last show. Because I have been lazy and procrastinated seeing this band I felt like I should attend their last event at least. So I arrived at Koots ready to be disappointed and stumble upon another cliché alaskacore band. And that’s when they caught me off guard. Sicarius is definitely not an alaskacore band. They somehow managed to create an amazing metal ruckus without the typical boxy and unprofessional tinge of unadjusted levels. This is reassuring as they moved to Oregon in hopes of “making it big”: hence it was their last Alaska show. Every member of the band pulled their own which helped make a tone that makes you want to shove the closest person into the pit. I can honestly say I regret only seeing this band once-especially since the show was cut short by a fan’s dislocated knee. But that kind of was the metal icing on the cake demonstrating how brutal they are. Bummer if you didn’t check out this band. You missed out.

Next I decided to continue to be a scenster and keep on the trail of local metal and discover new bands- which is why I found myself at The Anchor one Thursday evening for Brandon’s Birthday Bash. It did take some encouraging from Brandon himself to appear but I figured I didn’t have much to lose. And I have to say his band, Shifter, is pretty relentless for a three piece. If you’re in the neighborhood or don’t have plans and you know they’re playing near bye, go check them out. They wont disappoint.

I continued with my support of the local scene by showing some all-ages love. And that’s how I found myself at The Fiesta Room asking “Where the hell am I?” Just kidding. But it was their second Epic Meal Show so I hoped it would be as entertaining as the first. (And it was.) I got to listen to some local favorites and watch band members shove copious amounts of food in their faces.  And Decepticide played a killer Black Sabbath cover. Always a great time.

So where might Mtlmaiden be turning up next? It’s possible I could be spotted at any one (or all) of these shows.

The Rage Against The Machine Tribute Show– at Koots. Hosted by Family Tree Presents. There’s a $5 cover but that’s cheap so no excuses. They are also doing a food drive to support Children’s Meal Mission so be a good person and bring something for the kids. The bands are diverse and it should make for a totally rad show.

And out in Eagle River at the Boys and Girls Club Family Tree is bringing an all ages show-Teen Music Night. And another totally awesome food drive so you can either pay $5 or bring 5 cans of food for The Food Pantry. Cool bands, a good purpose-so why not?

So far that’s all I’ve heard of as far as upcoming local metals- seeing as I don’t have facebook anymore(I confess I enjoy being out of the loop and oblivious).

Now that we’ve taken care of local metal-here is what’s going on in the global and national scene.

Mayhem Fest dates have been announced (YAY!).

06/29 San Bernardino, CA – San Manuel Amphitheater
06/30 Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
07/03 Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
07/05 Phoenix, AZ – Desert Sky Pavilion
07/06 Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheatre
07/07 Englewood, CO – Fiddler’s Green Ampitheatre
07/10 Toronto, ON – Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
07/12 Burgettstown, PA – First Niagara Pavilion
07/13 Camden, NJ – Susquehanna Bank Center
07/14 Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
07/16 Mansfield, MA – Comcast Center
07/17 Bangor, ME – Bangor Waterfront
07/19 Scranton, PA – Toyota Pavilion
07/20 Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
07/21 Hartford, CT – The Comcast Theatre
07/23 Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
07/24 Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
07/26 Noblesville, IN – Klipsch Music Center
07/27 Tinley Park, IL – First Midwest Bank Ampitheatre
07/28 Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
07/30 Atlanta, GA – Lakewood Amphitheatre
07/31 Tampa, FL – 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre
08/02 Austin, TX – Tower Amphitheatre
08/03 The Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
08/04 Dallas, TX – Gexa Energy Pavilion

Unfortunately we don’t know for sure who is playing and won’t until next month where they will be released slowly via interwebs one by one, week by week, in the most painful manner possible. I cannot freaking wait as last years lineup was amazing and it was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to.

The movie Sound City was recently released in select theaters. I bought my tickets in advance and went to the Alaska premier showing. Needless to say Dave Grohl kicks ass in movie making in addition to his mastery of music. Another reason to want to hate him, another reason to want to be his best friend because he is so freaking badass! For people in the dark (shame on you!) it’s about the famous recording studio that held the likes of Johnny Cash, Fleetwood Mac, Metallica, and way too many other killer bands. And Dave Grohl decides to be even more awesome and purchase the famous console that these historic albums were recorded on and then get all the famous musicians who recorded on it to come jam with him and everyone else and make a kick ass album together. Now how much do you want to hate Dave Grohl? Me too. It’s a great film that every music lover should put on the top of his or her “to watch” list.

So a long time ago, sometime early last year, I wrote about Cannibal Corpse releasing their 25th anniversary box set. Well it has been revealed and looks as amazing as I thought it would. I want!! Too bad I have to wait till March and it’s a hundred bucks. Totally worth it though if you’re a collector!

More for your shopping list: Motorhead just released Motorhead Sacrifice Shiraz. A boxed wine that looks like an amp. How cool is that!? (For boxed wine.) Too bad it is only released in Sweden… they get all the good stuff.

NAMM just recently happened. So the awesome people at Metal Injection compiled their list of 5 coolest guitars unveiled at the convention. I think they picked well so you should check out their selection in this article. HERE. CLICK THIS.

I assumed that this “band” Unlocking The Truth would be like all the other internet fads of cute kids playing metal. Boy was I wrong. These 11 year olds from Brooklyn are more metal than a lot of what gets shown through internet fads. They can seriously wail and I’m thinking they have bright futures in the world of heavy metal. Here is a sample.

That’s all I got right now! Keep it metal! \m/

–Mtlmaiden

1/5/13

A new year… hopefully that brings more and better metal. So I have procrastinated long enough and without further ado, in honor of the show they have coming up (and because I feel bad for being such a procrastinator), I present:

An Interview With Terraform

I sat down with the four dudes (and assorted randoms) from the local scene, Terraform, one drunken evening for an interview (my first one!) and amid the video game and alcohol abundant sausage-fest that it was, managed to get these fabulous slurred responses to my questions.

What is the origin of the band?

Murat Demir: We started the band with this guy, Mike, actually and we were called Exorcism and played old school death metal.

Mike: I wrote lyrics and some of the riffs.

Murat: Me and Cross, the drummer, hated each other. For a bout two years we disliked each other. We were acquaintances but we didn’t really like each other. But I really needed a drummer and no one I knew could hold up because everyone played deathcore and metalcore and I knew this kid played classic rock. I knew I could get him to play some old school death metal. So I called Cross up and was like “Lets jam”. So me and Cross and Cody and Zach were were already in a band together and we decided to have Cody as our bassist and Zach as our guitar player so we decided that we wanted to jam with Cross as our drummer. They had already been jamming with him for like four or five years before. So I knew this kid’s good. So we went to his house and we jammed. And I had a song written previously, I had, like, five or six riffs so we just mashed them up into a certain song and we called it "Disentombed” and that was our first song. We called our band Destroyer after the Kiss album. And it was all over after that.

Awesome. So what’s with the bassist thing?

Murat: When we drink we get pretty stupid and originally we didn’t want to ever get rid of Cody but it was just like a parent thing. Because we jam here and Zach’s dad owns the shop and he didn’t like Cody for running a certain someone over with someone’s own truck. So we had to get rid of him for a month.

Cody McAlpine: More like three months.

Murat: Was it three months?

Cody: Yeah.

Murat: Well let’s say like, two to three months. In retrospect it’s not that big of a deal because it’s like he never really left the band. So Cody is our bassist and he will be our bassist for a very long time. Until he is in the grave. Until one of us dies.

Cody: Fuck it I ran that guy over. I’m sorry Zachary!

Why did you change your name?

Murat: Well when we were Destroyer people were giving us shit about it being a generic band name.

So you care about what people think?

Murat: Well about certain things I should say. If it was about something that we did on stage I wouldn’t give a fuck. But about our name, our name is important, because, like, a label won’t sign you if you have a super generic name. So I thought about bigger than Anchorage, like,if people give us shit for changing our name in Anchorage is that a big deal? So I thought about it and if we move to a different state and someone is calling us Destroyer they’ll probably think that it’s a really generic name like a Slayer knockoff or something.

I thought it was really thrashy.

Murat: It was and also about the thrash thing, we don’t want to be labeled as a thrash thing anymore.

What do you want to be as? Do you want to be labeled?

Murat: We don’t want to be labeled because it confines you to a certain genre. If you think about it, people call us a thrash band so we have to write thrash riffs. I don’t want to think about it like that because when I write riffs I don’t think about it like I have to write a riff that sounds like Exodus or something, you know? I’d rather write based upon my own opinion. And that’s what we did so we were like, okay, Terraform. Not one thrash band that I know of has a name that sounds similar to that. 

Why that name? What in that word did you relate to?

Murat: Well we wanted something different because at the time we were listening to a lot of progressive stuff like Cynic and Obscura and all that other stuff.

Cody: Fuck that shit dude, it’s because we are shaping our lives, that’s what we’re doing. We’re terraforming our lives.

Murat: But when we first named the band I was 18 and now I’m like twenty. That’s not a long time but really two years is a long time and at that time we wanted to destroy competition.

Do you all have a favorite show you’ve played?

Zach Cross: Suicide Silence.

Murat: For me it was the first Battle to Warped Tour show because that was probably the biggest circle pit The Downstairs has ever seen in its whole career.

Move away from Alaska or stay? Granted every band wants to leave, get signed, go big, right? But in reality for a lot of Alaskan bands that’s not exactly the easiest thing to do. So do you have any plans for doing that? Is that a work in progress?

Murat: It is a work in progress right now but we’re waiting for Zach, the rhythm guitarist, to turn 18. He’s only 17 years old. We’re starting out in Seattle and maybe we might go to Turkey actually. We might play a few gigs there and then move back somewhere in the states so we’re used to traveling with each other. I was thinking about this actually by myself, if we moved to a country that I know and I’ve lived in before, Turkey, it would be good for travelling experience and then move back into the lower 48. Honestly I think we would have a more competitive edge against bands that are out right now because I know for a fact that we’re better. I don’t even have to be arrogant about it, I know about the musical abilities and confidence that we have. We just want to be something bigger than we are and we have the hunger for that.

And you guys are young too so that’s also an advantage.

Murat: I dropped out of school to be a musician, you know, I didn’t drop out for no good reason. I did it so I could pursue that and I’m going to do that until I fail. If I fail I’ll go back to being a normal human being.

So where do you guys pull musical influences from?

Murat: Depends on what I’m listening to this week. It’s all over the place because every week I’m listening to something different and I’ll get over. Death and Metallica are the biggest influences. The two originators of our band are death and Metallica.

Cody: I’ve been listening to a lot Blotted Science.

After that it became a big slurred list of nearly every awesome metal band being shouted at once. If you have been living in a hole and hiding from our tiny local metal scene you can check these dudes out at the Metal Invasion show on the 11th of January at the Eagle River Boys & Girls Club. The cover is either 5 cans of food or 5 bucks. Quite doable.

And Terraform recently came out with their first music video for their track “Infected Humanity”. So here it is. Metal.

 

So I was being bored all in my lonesome (fine it was more like I couldn’t sleep and it was 1 am) and googled “metal” and I found this mapofmetal.com. I don’t know how I could be so oblivious that something like this existed but I was. Mock me if you will, I blame everyone else for not sharing it with me. It is an interactive map that goes through and connects all of the genres of metal. To be honest it is more aesthetically pleasing rather than informative but it is fun to click around it. Plus it plays metal and does other weird stuff. Good for when you’re bored and tired of staring at your computer screen. If you are like me and have not yet experienced the Map of Metal you should give it a onceover. And then maybe eventually you will be bored and go back to it.

As the new year comes barreling at me with full force I can only hang on and keep hoping for more summer tour announcements. Sure I’m half a year away but I cannot wait to once more abandon my hometown in search for raging live metal shows with big names. For the most part I have to wait a very long time still before hearing any promising news but I have in my search found things such as this:

And after that came this:

The confirmed lineup for 70,000 Tons Of Metal so far is now as followed:

ANACRUSIS
DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER
DORO
DRAGONFORCE
ENSIFERUM
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM
GOTTHARD
HELLOWEEN
HELSTAR
IMMOLATION
IN FLAMES
KREATOR
LACUNA COIL
NILE
RAGE and LINGUA MORTIS ORCHESTRA
SABATON
SUBWAY TO SALLY
TURISAS

The cruise will be setting sail from Miami, FL on January 28 to Cockburn Town on the beautiful Turks and Caicos Islands, returning on Friday, February 1!

Ticket prices start at US$666 plus US$299 taxes and fees per person and include all on-board entertainment, non-alcoholic and non-carbonated drinks, all meals at the dining rooms, most on-board restaurants and even 24 room service!

*courtesy of MetalHammer.com

Someday when I have somehow acquired a lot of money I will be one of these lucky 2000 ticketholders and set sail into the tropical waters headbanging all the way.

Here is another metal fest that would be so beyond epic to see. Ozzfest Japan 2013. Also if anyone can read the katakana under Slipknot and Black Sabbath, I hope you grinned as big as I did. Gotta love those Japanese translations. This is the first time ever that Ozzfest will be held in Japan and this two day fest is something that will be a shame to miss. Thank you Sharon Osbourne. Don’t worry it is in May so you have 5 months to attempt to raise as much money as you can to go. Oh and for people who can’t translate yen into dollars, tickets for both days are about 300 bucks. It’s the plane ticket to Japan that is gonna empty your wallet.

Another thing I found courtesy of MH was this video of this kid talking about Nuclear Blasts 2012 releases. I am happy that kids dig metal these days. But at the same time I feel like when this British 12 year old says “metal” it’s not very metal. Maybe after he hits puberty? Anyway here are this 12 year olds critiques and comments regarding his top 5 releases from the label in 2012. He sounds like he knows what he’s talking about. It prompts me to wonder whether or not there are queue cards. I’m still weirded out.

And I’ve stockpiled a bunch of these internet popular memes to bring you another Mtlmaiden Top Ten. I bring you

Mtlmaiden’s Top Ten Metal and Music Memes

(In no particular order.)

How many of you can relate?

 

No, he did not. That is for sure.

This is a little more true than I like to think.

The best idea now is to put on the song and pretty much from here on out it is all you will be able to hear when Halford sings “Breaking the Law”.

My friend sent me this one and said this is how he imagined I made cookies… and it’s nearly 100% accurate.

I miss this band so much already…

The world has spoken.

Open condom store? That’s all I could hear when I heard that song. But the dance is pretty rad.

Russian Captcha. Awesome.

Yep. This is what my ipod looks like.

Well my metal minions, here is to a new year of metal! I can’t believe I still have readers… weird. Let 2013 commence!

–Mtlmaiden

11/1/12

This Dose dedicated to Mitch Lucker. RIP.

I’m sure everyone is aware of the tragic happenings that went down last night. For those unaware he was in a motorcycle accident last night. This morning while in the hospital in Orange County he was pronounced dead. The band posted on their FB page

There’s no easy way to say this. Mitch passed away earlier this morning from injuries sustained during a motorcycle accident. This is completely devastating to all of us and we offer our deepest condolences to his family. He will be forever in our hearts.

R.I.P. Mitchell Adam Lucker – We Love You Brother

To try to move away from depressing things, check out this festival:

Look at that lineup!!! I could never ever imagine seeing that many bands in one place. If you are looking at a trip to Cali over Thanksgiving you might also want to look into California Metalfest. You can purchase your tickets at ticketfly.com.

Another insanely brutal tour: Dying Fetus “The Blood Of Power Tour”

With support from Cattle Decapitation, Malignancy and Cerebral Bore. It doesn’t get much more metal than that. Tour starts on the 24th of November and runs through December 23rd. Seeing Dying Fetus with their amazing support would be the best way to go mentally prepare for your relatives to come for the holidays.

So here is a show that already happened but it’s one all metalheads might want to put at the top of their concert to-do list: Metal Female Voices Fest. It took place on the 20th and 21st of October. Think about it: A metal festival with all the hottest and most talented females in metal performing in two days in one place. So this one takes place over in Belgium so if you ever decide to go on a trip to Europe you might want to coordinate it around this festival. Check out some awesome footage of it below!

So Bullet For My Valentine released a new track. Normally I’d be all sorts of excited about one of my favorite bands releasing a single but seeing as they’ve only been going downhill with every album so far I wasn’t that eager to hear it. Listen to their new single “Temper Temper” and you will understand why. I don’t normally bust up a track or album like I’m about to but listen to it and you will know why! It’s horrible! It’s like a mix of this new hard rock stuff and there’s not even screaming anymore! It is the same generic rock band riff that you can hear on any rock radio station track. Sure it’s still their same guitar tone but it is the same riff. And this is why I will only be listening to their first two albums for the rest of my life. Go ahead, listen to it. Cringe and die a little inside. I know I sure did.

Uhm so everyone who hasn’t heard the new Dethalbum can just stop everything they’re doing and go listen to it. Now. It’s everything brutal, and Dethklok. Check it out. Dethalbum III.