“If you’re going to have a war, you should kill everyone there.”
— Glenn Danzig talking to Steppin’ Out magazine about the war in Iraq.”
Actually, the whole interview is worth a read.
This week’s column was crafted while listening to Children of Bodom’s “Hate Crew Deathroll” and In Memory’s “In So Many Words.”
So, the Grammy’s are this weekend, and anyone who reads me regularly should know by now that I despise most (if not all) forms of awards shows. I just can’t relate to forcing a bunch of diverse material into strictly-structured categories and saying one thing (movie, song, album, etc.) is better than another. But, just to give the metalheads a little head’s up on the Grammy metal category, I point you back to my column from last December. There’s a rundown of the year’s metal nominees, and a little history lesson for anyone that cares.
Good, with that out of the way, let’s move right on to the column proper …
So, back in October of last year, I was musing about a potential Alice in Chains reunion with the band soldiering on as a three-piece and Jerry Cantrell on vocals. From my column: Talk circulated last year about a possible Alice in Chains reunion, which would never be entirely possible what with Layne Staley’s current health (read: dead). The remaining members of the band hmmm’ed and haaa’ed over such a proposition, never entirely ruling it out and even went so far as to say they’d need to be careful looking for a front man.
Except…
What better front man that Cantrell himself? He sounds just like Staley. An AIC as a three-piece (with no new member to taint the offering) could be huge. Man, AIC was one of the best bands of the ’90s. The band has a nice catalogue to boot.
We can only hope…
And my hope only grows stronger …
According to a story over at RollingStone.com, this “reunion” is one step closer to happening. It seems, following the tsunami disaster earlier this year, “drummer Sean Kinney contacted guitarist Jerry Cantrell and bassist Mike Inez and proposed a benefit to aid the victims of the disaster.
The trio picked Damageplan front man Pat Lachman (along with some other notable musicians) for vocal duties; the set will apparently feature Alice in Chains tunes.
The story also points out, “The show will be Kinney, Cantrell and Inez’s first together in nine years — as well as their first without lead singer Layne Stanley, who died from a drug overdose in 2002. ‘Obviously we all needed to take some time and all deal with the situation of the band and Layne’s death,’ says Cantrell.”
And, on top of all that, there’s an open door to the possibility the trio will start to record new music together. Now, I’m not going to get too exciting here, but I’m pretty sure this is more a matter of when, than if, a reunion is down the road. I’m just hoping the group goes ahead with Cantrell on vocals for future recording.
As for the connection to Lachman and Damageplan, Cantrell recorded a track with the group for last year’s “Punisher” soundtrack.
For those interested, the rest of the story can be found here.
Real, quick: as my metal tastes were growing and developing over the years, I always found myself drawn to the metal happening stateside. Back when I was really immature, I was strictly closing my mind to bands simply because they were “from Europe.”
Of course, as I grew older, this sort of thinking eased up and eventually died. Nowadays, I couldn’t care less where a band originates from. I care about music … about hearing good music … about finding new (to me) bands to check out and listen to … regardless of where the band lays its head at the end of the day.
For case of reference (a look at my more recent history), I got into Cradle of Filth for a while, then became disinterested in Dani Filth’s “one-trick pony,” though the band’s more recent efforts have once again rekindled my fandom.
I’ve been listening to the female-fronted metal bands for a while: Arch Enemy (since the addition of Angela Gossow); I was listening to Lacuna Coil well before the band broke huge; I’ve recently come to enjoy Nightwish, ever since Gloomchen and myself left the Nightwish singer off a list of female metal singers we put together (which made a bunch of waves at the time).
Anyway, I also enjoy (in no particular order) Amorphis, Evergrey, Opeth, The Haunted, Dimmu Borgir, In Flames and so on.
Which brings me to this week’s pick of the week: Children of Bodom’s “Hate Crew Deathroll.” The album was actually released in September of 2003 (otherwise I’d be reviewing it for the site), but I only just got my hands on it more recently.
While I’m not expert on the European metal scene, I can see the noticeable differences from what’s going on “over there” compared to stuff “closer to home” (for me at least). I don’t really think one scene is better than the other, but each does have its strengths and weaknesses.
The U.S. metal scene has always had its strong cornerstones: the thrash and intensity of Slayer or Megadeth, the laid back attitude of band’s like Clutch and Corrosion of Conformity, the longevity of groups like Pantera and Metallica…
Lately, hardcore has sort of melded into the metal scene. This was apparent a couple of years ago when Hatebreed stepped up its act, though one need only look at last year’s Ozzfest second stage lineup, or any recent episode of MTV’s “Headbanger’s Ball”: band’s like Diecast, Everytime I Die, Atreyu and As I Lay Dying — bands that, a couple of years ago, would’ve been considered simply hardcore — are now big hits with metal fans.
(Note: there are band’s on the U.S. metal scene that are bridging the gap between the “scenes” — groups like Shadows Fall just off the top of my head.)
Over in Europe, the emphasis seems to have stayed with the more “epic” feel of metal, an intricate blend of lead and rhythm guitar and keyboards and tons of complex solos (think older Iron Maiden with a modern twist and synthesized melody). I love it. From the overblown orchestration off Dimmu Borgir’s latest album, to the inner-turmoil surrounding Stratovarius, there’s a ton of great music to be had from all corners of Europe.
This all brings me to Finland’s Children of Bodom. I’ve already said I’m not that familiar with the band (or its back catalogue), but its latest offering is nothing short of fantastic. Each song features great lead guitar work; the drumming is pretty intense, while the bass work is suitably muted yet noticeable all at once; the keyboards aren’t too overpowering and actually work better on this album than on In Flames last offering; and the vocals, much like the band’s overall sound, somehow manage to sound crushing and aggressive yet beautiful all at once.
The band named itself after a group of kids that were murdered on the banks of Lake Bodom in the early 1960s. In 1960, four youths went on a camping trip at the lake and were brutally attacked; all but one died and the murders remained a mystery until recently when the survivor was charged. A bunch of information on the case, along with tons of news on the band, can be found at Scythes of Bodom Web site.
The band is planning on recording the follow-up in April (which I will review upon release) but, until then, go check out the album Guitar World described as “A crushingly brutal yet melodically complex sound that combines million-mile-per-hour power chords with sweep arpeggios, Vai-inspired solos and infectious leads”… my album of the week.
..:..Stagedive = prison time (almost!)..:.. A story by The Associated Press popped up earlier this week detailing the problems of one Joseph Seink, a man who accidentally injured two women at a Clutch concert in Ohio when he stage dived during his “favorite song.” The man was brought to court on charges of felonious assault, charges which would lead to up to eight years in jail. He was found guilty of reduced charges on Wednesday and put on probation for one year. The two women each suffered a cracked neck vertebra but no serious spinal damage when the 195-pound Seink landed on them last June 4. Both said they didn’t expect someone would jump off the stage during the concert. Well, hello!? It’s a rock concert, what did you expect? I, for one, am pretty sick of the amount crowd surfing that goes on at concerts in this day and age (even during set changes?!), but it’s not a completely foreign concept to me. These women were 28 years old, I’m pretty sure they had an idea something like this could happen. This is just one more instance of our overly litigious society going too far. Thank God cooler heads prevailed.
..:..No Hitler for Stratovarius..:.. It seems (according to one Finnish newspaper) that Stratovarius is having a little tug-o-war with its record label (the Germany-based Sanctuary) over the its new song “Hitler.” The song is said to feature clips from a Hilter speech, which is apparently a big no-no in Germany. “I won’t give up on the song,” the band’s front man told Iltalehti. “This is a matter of principle.” The situation has been forwarded to a German government office which looks into such things. The band has said it will adhere to any decision, but feels the song is important as it shows Hitler as a maniac that spread fear across the world. The whole story can be found here.
..:..Chimaira guitarist not dead..:.. I guess rumors were circulating earlier this week that Rob Arnold, guitarist in the band Chimaira, was killed in a car accident. Well, leave it to Metal Hammer to set the record straight: the whole thing was a hoax, and no one was more surprised than Arnold himself. An official statement from the band read: “In more startling news, guitarist Rob Arnold has returned from the dead. Donations for his family are still being accepted.”
..:..Slipknot getting along fine..:.. I remember prior to the recording of “Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses),” fans were ready to accept this would be the last offering from Slipknot. But nowadays, that just doesn’t seem to be the case. The band is set to launch its third national tour in less than a year and drummer Joey Jordison recently told Launch Radio that the band has never been more unified. “This is still the most important thing in our lives … and you can really tell that when you see us onstage too.” In other Slipknot news, the band will perform on Conan O’Brien (yet again) on March 1, though it is unclear what song the band will perform.
..:..New Remains..:.. A new track by Still Remains, “White Walls,” is available for download here. The song is taken from the groups forthcoming Roadrunner debut, “Of Love And Lunacy,” which will hit shelves on May 17. The band have officially announced that guitarist/vocalist Mike Church has joined the ranks. Keep an eye out for this album, I expect it to be great (and the artwork on the site, which I assume is the new album cover, looks good too).
Here’s a little mix I put together featuring the song’s I’ve been listening to a lot lately (or songs I wish I’d be listening to more). Check one, some or all of them out … who knows, you might discover something you like or remember something you used to …
Amorphis: “Alone ” (off “Am Universum”)
Children of Bodom: “Needled 24/7” (off “Hate Crew Deathroll”)
Lacuna Coil: “To Myself I Turned” (off “In a Reverie “)
In Flames: “Reroute to Remain” (off “Reroute to Remain”)
Cradle of Filth: “Beneath the Howling Stars” (off “Cruelty and the Beast”)
The Haunted: “All Against All” (off “rEVOLVEr”)
Arch Enemy: “Web of Lies” (off “Wages of Sin”)
Evergrey: “Great Deceiver” (off “Recreation Day”)
Dimmu Borgir: “Progenies of the Great Apocalypse” (off “Death Cult Armageddon”)
Nighwish: “Phantom of the Opera” (off “Century Child”)
My apologies that this is a little later than usual this week (I was/still am sick).
I’ve been slow on the CD reviews as of late, but you can expect a pre-review of the new American Head Charge CD “The Feeding,” which will be up before the release date next week. I was planning on doing a review of the new Seemless album (new band from the former vocalist for Killswitch Engage), but it turns out it was just a re-release of the band’s debut. There’s a bunch of other great stuff on the way, so stay tuned.
And that’s that. As always, drop me a line. Until next time, I’ll be here at Inside Pulse making sure no metal news falls through the cracks.
Take it easy…
