Heavy Metal Turns 40

[Crucifax Autumn]

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article7025742.ece


It began with a clap of thunder and a tolling bell. Then, as a heavily distorted guitar played a diminished fifth — a tone sequence once banned by the Roman Catholic Church for being the “Devil’s interval” — a male voice started to wail as if from the grave. A few bars later the drums came in, and the resulting din was loud enough to make it seem as if Earth was coming apart at the seams.

The date was February 13, 1970 — 40 years ago today — and the album Black Sabbath, by the band of the same name, had just been released. It gave birth not only to heavy metal, but also to a new kind of dance move for the working-class male: headbanging.

Four men were responsible: Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Terence “Geezer” Butler and Bill Ward. All had grown up amid the postwar “bomb building sites” of Aston, Birmingham, and left school with virtually no qualifications. Before forming Black Sabbath and recording their eponymous LP — by no accident, the release date was Friday the 13th — Osbourne had worked at the Digbeth slaughterhouse, where he killed up to 200 cows a day, while Iommi, now considered one of the great rock guitarists of all time, had been a welder, losing two of his fingertips in an accident with a sheet metal press. To get around his disability, he made prosthetics using an old Fairy Liquid bottle.

“To be honest with you, the only reason we ever played music was to get out of our s*** day jobs,” said Osbourne, now 61, in an exclusive interview with The Times to mark the anniversary of his former band’s now venerated album.

He was later fired by the band and went on to become a successful solo artist and a pioneer of reality television. Osbourne and Iommi have since been involved in litigation over who owns the name Black Sabbath, with Osbourne saying that he wants it to be split four ways equally.

“We had no idea what we were doing,” he said. “When we made that first album, for example, we had a manager up in Birmingham, Jim Simpson, and all he said was: ‘When you’re on your way to your next gig in Switzerland, why don’t you stop off at this studio in Soho and put some of your songs on tape?’

“It was a tiny, poky little place, I remember, and it was the first time we’d ever been recorded. We got the whole thing done in 12 hours. If you ask me what I think 40 years later, all I can say is, I wish I could make a record that quickly now.”

As for the origins of Black Sabbath’s signature dance move — a frenzied bobbing of the head, the drama enhanced by having long, unkempt hair — Osbourne is reluctant to claim sole credit. “I used to head-bang on stage, but I honestly don't know if it was me who started it, or whether it was just the thing to do,” he said.

“It got out of control, to the point where people would be headbanging with their heads inside the speaker cabinets. I mean, people were getting f***ing brain haemorrhages. One bloke died, I think.”

As might be expected of four men whose consumption of alcohol and mind-altering substances went on to become part of rock folklore, accounts vary of how their music morphed from the standard heavy blues of the late 1960s, as practised by the likes of Cream, Jimi Hendrix and the Kinks, into the material of their first album, which spawned a genre that has lasted to this day. One turning point, according to the band, was when a 1963 Boris Karloff film played at the cinema opposite their rehearsal room. Its title? Black Sabbath.

“It’s true that we were influenced by watching horror movies,” Bill Ward, the band’s drummer, told The Times. Although it started out as a gimmick, he said, “it matured into something that was almost waiting to arrive. Although a lot of established bands were playing loud rock then, what Sabbath did made it very different.” Critics were sceptical.

In Rolling Stone, the rock journalist Lester Bangs gave Black Sabbath’s debut two and a half stars out of five, panning the band as “unskilled labourers... hyped as a rockin’ ritual celebration of the Satanic Mass or some such claptrap. The album is a schuck”.

Osbourne wasn’t put off; his severe dyslexia meant that he never read reviews. Fans such as Graham Wright, now 59, from Stockton-on-Tees, who later became a roadie for the band, attributed the bad press to elitism. “These snobby middle-class journalists were looking down their noses.”

The public bought the Black Sabbath album regardless, with sales reaching a million by the end of the year. The band saw very little financial reward for it, having previously signed away all their rights “in perpetuity”.

The band were particularly successful in America, although some fans there were disappointed they didn’t take the black magic theme seriously. When Osbourne was confronted with Satanists holding a seance outside his hotel room, he blew out their candles and sang Happy Birthday. In another, more serious incident, a man in a black robe jumped on stage and lunged at Iommi with a dagger. A roadie intervened.

It wasn’t until the mid-1970s that the term heavy metal emerged for the music that Black Sabbath had created, although the band had no affection for it. “We said, ‘This ain’t heavy metal, we’re a hard rock band’,” said Ward, who lives in Orange County, California. Osbourne and Butler live in Los Angeles, Iommi in Birmingham.

“To some extent we still consider ourselves a hard-rock band,” said Ward. “But that first album, when our lyrics changed, that is heavy metal. Was it the first heavy metal album, in every sense of the word? Yes it was. It was the beginning of a new era.”


Here's another story about that landmark album that was released 40 years ago today, February 13, 1970:


If Black Sabbath’s eponymous debut album invented heavy metal, it was more by accident than design. When I interviewed him in 1995, Ozzy Osbourne confessed that his group’s fascination with the occult was partly born of simple opportunism.

“We used to rehearse across the road from a picture house and Tommy [Iommi, the guitarist] said: “Don’t you think it’s strange how people pay money to get frightened? Why don’t we start writing horror music? And that’s what happened.”

In 1968, when Black Sabbath were formed, it wasn’t altogether clear that a gap in the market existed for a group of Brummie Satanist rockers. But two years later, when the album appeared, its timing was immaculate.

Flower power had faded to grey. Open-air festivals in profoundly unlovely locations such as Plumpton and Maidstone hosted bearded blues-rockers like Grimsby Dyke, Hard Meat and the Groundhogs. More than any other band, Black Sabbath were emblematic of an era that wanted nothing to do with the summer of love or the 1960s.

The unrelenting heaviosity of standouts from Black Sabbath — in particular N.I.B. and Warning — have ensured that the album remains something of a lodestone to groups such as Metallica, Slayer, Anvil and, more recently, Flaming Lips and Arctic Monkeys.

If Sabbath weren’t Satanists to start with, the stories surrounding the creation of the album’s signature song suggest they warmed to the role.

The pummelling brutality of Black Sabbath’s title track was apparently borne of an episode in which bassist Geezer Butler — who had painted the walls of his room black and bedecked it with upside-down crucifixes — was given a book on witchcraft by Osbourne.

Butler read it, went to sleep and woke up to find a dark, shadowy figure at the end of his bed. When the figure disappeared, Butler went to get the book, only to find that it had gone.

Sceptics may counter that the figure might have just been someone going in to get the book.

Be that as it may, nothing at this stage can detract from the mythical status that the album has accrued.


And the sound of metal is inleashed on the world...

akt3awj_Ah8

[Crucifax Autumn]

xtqy4DTHGqg

[OUHOMER]

I can almost under stand what Ozzie is saying when he singing

[Crucifax Autumn]

Yep...in 1970 the self abuse hadn't caught up to him yet.

[yermom]

it's like a switch flips when he's singing

dude could still bring it when i saw him

[Crucifax Autumn]

He certainly enunciates more when singing!

Unfortunately, we'll see for sure what he's made of in the coming year since he has turned away the services of Zakk Wylde. Zakk frequently anchored the vocals over the last 15 years and outright sang the songs on particularly bad nights. Meanwhile, Dio is still belting out high caliber vocals and remembering all the words at 70 and with stomach cancer in Heaven & Hell.

[Leroy Lizard]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Dio_IronFest3.jpg

Dio is frightening. And a bit old to be wearing leather. But he could sing, no doubt.

[SteelClip49]

.... just kidding ;)

Is there Light Metal?

[Dio]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Dio_IronFest3.jpg

Dio is frightening. And a bit old to be wearing leather. But he could sing, no doubt.

Thanks....I think.

[AggieTool]

.... just kidding ;)

Is there Light Metal?

Yeah....they're called Winger.

[Crucifax Autumn]

This thread is about real metal, not pop boys dressed up as chicks with guitars.

[SoonerInKCMO]

[hairGel] HEAVY METAL'S A MAN!! [hairGel]

[AggieTool]

This thread is about real metal, not pop boys dressed up as chicks with guitars.

Yahhh! No girly metal no......

Only zee dyeth metalz rulz.

[Crucifax Autumn]

You can enjoy your Poison and Kix all you want, but I'll stick with the guys that believe in music.

[Leroy Lizard]

The women fronting heavy metal bands from Eastern Europe are a sight to behold.

http://therockblog.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/liv_beautiful.jpg

[Leroy Lizard]

http://www.beatandbyte.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/monikapedersen.jpg

[Leroy Lizard]

http://wallpaper.metalship.org/images/sirenia2.jpg

[Leroy Lizard]

http://www.gothtronic.com/Goth/data/10a_1.jpg

[Leroy Lizard]

http://worldofgnr.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/vibeke-stene-tristania.jpg

[Leroy Lizard]

Did I make up for the Dio pic?

[Leroy Lizard]

Shoot, how could I forget Unsun, from Poland?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3146/3056653033_2f27b10788.jpg

[Leroy Lizard]

Liv Kristine again.

http://blog.mangaworld.se/wp-content/random-image/Liv%20Kristine.jpg

[Crucifax Autumn]

You've barely scratched the surface of the lovely and talented women in metal in Europe and not just singing. Same thing goes for places like Turkey where there is a huge metal scene, particular power and prog metal as well as a smattering of fantastic symphonic bands. The diversity and quality of metal around the world is one reason it's stayed so big for 40 years now.

[Leroy Lizard]

Turkish women are beautiful, no doubt. But you have to admit that Liv Kristine is pretty special.

Of course, this does us no good without pics.

Thank God I grew up on heavy metal and not that bitter fem-folk crap.

[Leroy Lizard]

Symphonic metal rules! I especially like Tristania.

[Crucifax Autumn]

Have you ever heard Almôra? They are a Turkish band with 2 attractive women, one that plays flute and another that plays violin and sings in addition to having 2 male vocalists most of the time.

http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=3943

That page classifies them as symphonic/gothic metal, but they also cover a lot of power metal and folk metal ground and also bring in a lot of traditional Turkish-Middle Eastern influence. They are definitely an acquired taste, but once you "get it" it's pretty amazing music.

[Crucifax Autumn]

O98YL4k3z08

vAvHYAxGLcs

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gNveRZeR6VU

lSh9vxXuE-Q

I can't find much with the male vocal, but usually they are anywhere from baritone to tenors to growls and screams.

DXcIqMZXTc0

Oh...Here ya go...crap homemade vid, but you can get the idea.

5EpzfekWzRA

[Crucifax Autumn]

Same song in English:

5WxxAcTCA18

[Crucifax Autumn]

One more:

CgTkPkFllQ0

[Leroy Lizard]

I found this video of Almora, which sounds pretty good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAvHYAxGLcs&feature=related

[Crucifax Autumn]

Yep...That's a good one...I posted it too! lol

[Crucifax Autumn]

Contrary to popular belief, female metal around the world doesn't start with Nightwish and end with Lacuna Coil.

[Leroy Lizard]

deleted

[Leroy Lizard]

U.S. bands suck at heavy metal.

The best are from Finland. Check out Turisas Live.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgYtXHqx_xU

[Crucifax Autumn]

Some metal chicks like their metal more...uh...metal!

mZM-d2qD15E

n9AcG0glVu4

lol...A bit much for me, but they are damned popular worldwide.

[Crucifax Autumn]

U.S. bands suck at heavy metal.

The best are from Finland. Check out Turisas Live.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgYtXHqx_xU


Yep...I've got Battle Metal. Good stuff.

[Leroy Lizard]

Netta Skoggs from Turisas. She's a world-class player. One of the best in Europe, so I hear.

http://www.lassepihlajamaa.fi/kuvat/netta_skog.jpg

[Crucifax Autumn]

And Finland is Metal friggin heaven...Even metal singers win on their version of Idol for Christ's sake.

[Leroy Lizard]

Man, I thought the chick from OTEP was rough.

[Crucifax Autumn]

LOL...Yeah, no kidding. Hard to believe that voice comes out of this:

http://image.blog.bitcomet.com/postpic/20080118/2919702_rwubvc080118165921.jpg

[Leroy Lizard]

Remember Type O' Negative? They were the closest I had ever heard to Black Sabbath.

Okay, I have heard them all. Arch Enemy' guitar solo was Bananarama's "Cruel Summer." Ha ha! I love it!

[Crucifax Autumn]

lmao...That's pretty funny.

[Leroy Lizard]

What is it about the U.S. that just wusses our heavy metal bands? We just can't do it. All we have to show for ourselves in rock is Bruce Springsteen, the Eagles, and John Mellencamp. And they suck. Their amplifiers don't go to 11.

[Crucifax Autumn]

No clue. The only American metal bands I really listen to much anymore are the progressive metal bands and even they are all more popular everywhere else in the world.

[Leroy Lizard]

Contrary to popular belief, female metal around the world doesn't start with Nightwish and end with Lacuna Coil.

And they're probably my least favorite bands. Well, they're better than U.S. bands.

Let's see... Amorphis and Katatonia are pretty strong.

Check out U.D.O. This guy sounds like Bon Scott having his gonads squeezed. But he has the psychotic thing going.

Is the chick topless?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpB_5fRq730&feature=PlayList&p=C5082DB6AEF2CAD5&index=73

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qmicN86KAxQ/RijKowsQMuI/AAAAAAAAAIA/_sJPVuwMfDY/s320/udo.jpg

[Crucifax Autumn]

And if you want close to Sabbath, check this out:

OepF3FIbFp4

9uepXHJla3w

_j7R0JRtA98

[Leroy Lizard]

Are you into bagpipes? One of the best bands for the pipes is Eluveitie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iijKLHCQw5o&feature=PlayList&p=C5082DB6AEF2CAD5&index=74

In Extremo too, if you like German folk metal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksfWmJsQg4A

[Crucifax Autumn]

And they're probably my least favorite bands. Well, they're better than U.S. bands.

Let's see... Amorphis and Katatonia are pretty strong.

Check out U.D.O. This guy sounds like Bon Scott having his gonads squeezed. But he has the psychotic thing going.

Is the chick topless?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpB_5fRq730&feature=PlayList&p=C5082DB6AEF2CAD5&index=73

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qmicN86KAxQ/RijKowsQMuI/AAAAAAAAAIA/_sJPVuwMfDY/s320/udo.jpg

Udo has been a genius since Accept days. Amorphis is one of my favorite bands from their death-prog on Tales of the Thousand LAkes to present. Skyforger is one of the best albums of 2009.

[Crucifax Autumn]

And yeah..looks topless to me. I see that a ton in European vids.

[Leroy Lizard]

The U.S. does have Tool. Can't forget them.

That first band sounds like they are playing a cover of Iron Man. Pretty good. Canadian.

[Leroy Lizard]

You've been at this longer than I have. I'm fairly new to the Eurometal scene.

I'm turning in.

[Crucifax Autumn]

The U.S. does have Tool. Can't forget them.


And there you have it...Tool is prog. So is almost every other decent band in the US, my faves being Fates Warning and Dream Theater.

[Crucifax Autumn]

That Electric Sleep song actually got traded around all the file sharing sites as an unreleased Sabbath song for years.

[Leroy Lizard]

How could we have forgotten the two giants??

Haggard and Fields of the Nephilim?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDiyzyKY5n4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSTlxHXfPMI

[Crucifax Autumn]

We've forgotten hundreds! lol

[yermom]

Remember Type O' Negative? They were the closest I had ever heard to Black Sabbath.

Okay, I have heard them all. Arch Enemy' guitar solo was Bananarama's "Cruel Summer." Ha ha! I love it!

Type O Negative's "Summer Breeze" was pretty awesome

i saw them when i saw Ozzy/Black Sabbath and it was pretty underwhelming. i liked the studio stuff i heard though. not sure i'd compare them to Sabbath

and as for American metal, no love for Pantera?

[AggieTool]

Type O Negative's "Summer Breeze" was pretty awesome

i saw them when i saw Ozzy/Black Sabbath and it was pretty underwhelming. i liked the studio stuff i heard though. not sure i'd compare them to Sabbath

and as for American metal, no love for Pantera?

R.I.P. Dime.

[SteelClip49]

European metal chicks...hmmmm. I like Metal now :)

[Leroy Lizard]

Then you will need to see this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouZQ7rgAq-I

Pantera's good, btw

[Crucifax Autumn]

Yeah, but Pantera's been gone for like 15 years and started off with 3 albums as a hair metal band.

[yermom]

not quite

but still :(

[Crucifax Autumn]

I rounded up.

[Crucifax Autumn]

Just ran across these guys from Jersey today...So there is still some non-wimpy American Metal that's not prog, though it is technical:

LvWDFGuBD_Y

[Crucifax Autumn]

And don't forget Iced Earth...Florida Metal. There's also Cynic and Atheist from Florida playing technical-progressive death metal. Not to mention that former Savatage vocalist Jon Oliva has Jon Oliva's Pain putting out pretty heavy, yet melodic metal.

I'm sure I'll think of more, but the main thing to notice here is all those bands are HUGE everywhere but here at home! lol

[Crucifax Autumn]

Cynic

5q4gDd153HM

jlx_1fUtd6A

Odb60Nsg83A

[Leroy Lizard]

Not a fan of Iced Earth. They sound too much like Dragonforce. I'll check out Cynic.

[Crucifax Autumn]

Atheist

sNWhqyaLOJk

9RxboNhQzPE

9vh7KOlWrHk

[Crucifax Autumn]

Not a fan of Iced Earth. They sound too much like Dragonforce. I'll check out Cynic.

Except that Iced Earth has been around since '89 and is less german power metal and more Iron Maiden sounding.

jM4CDLmDx_Y

Obligatory 9-11 reactions from a band that had a singer quit to join Homeland Security:

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-o6xrSyhVhc

And the guy that quit:

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QukSKEZHzB0

DfosrjAaSRk

T3vBu4LTIlA

I wish crowds here acted like that!

[Crucifax Autumn]

Novembers Doom, Pagan-Black Metal from Chicago..Around for 20 years now.

cfR4OIDuvPc

[Crucifax Autumn]

We've got female fronted metal here too. Luna Mortis from Wisconsin:

QTKgsSUrEfc

[soonerinkaty]

How have I missed this thread? 3 Inches of Blood anyone??

[soonerinkaty]

And tell me you have listened to Arsis. If not, start now. Thats pretty good un-pussified American metal.

And don't crucify me for this, but I really like The Red Chord...

[Crucifax Autumn]

Heh...I currently have 104 bands in my music folder that start with A. Guess I'm gonna have to go up to 105.

[soonerinkaty]

So you feelin' it? Arsis is pretty fuggin pimp.

[Leroy Lizard]

I've been a fan of November's Doom for awhile, but hadn't heard Cynic. Quite impressive. Not sure I care for Luna Mortis, though.

Crucifax, familiar with Etched in Red?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEFOsmTwRtw

Here's a pretty cool group I found today. Ironklad. More hardcore punk than anything else. But loud as Hell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7EFy7rsB_M

Me likee Arsis.

Is it me, or are these metal musicians getting damned good on the instruments?

[StoopTroup]

It is amazing that if someone plays an instrument and they practice a lot....they get really good at it.

For a long time I thought it was a gift from the Gods for some folks.

Spartcus has helped me clear that misconception up.

He was really good with an axe.

http://www.stallonezone.com/zone/2009/z072609spartacus_blood.jpg

[bluedogok]

Udo has been a genius since Accept days
I saw Accept and Krokus at the LNC in 1985, we were on the end of the fourth row and the speakers were about 20 feet from us, needless to stay I could not hear out of my right ear for awhile after that. It was the loudest concert that I had ever been to, the closest to that was seeing Motley Crue (w/ John Corabi) at the club that used to be Quicksilvers (NW 10th & MacArthur, i think it was called The Roxy at the time), I think they played at the same volume they played at the Myriad. We used to play Restless & Wild, Balls to the Wall and Metal Heart quite a bit at Sound Warehouse...when we could.


And there you have it...Tool is prog. So is almost every other decent band in the US, my faves being Fates Warning and Dream Theater.
I saw them both play at the same club as the Crue during the Awake/Inside Out tour. Dream Theater is one of my favorites.


Yeah, but Pantera's been gone for like 15 years and started off with 3 albums as a hair metal band.
I saw them when I lived in Dallas, I had no idea who they were but some of the others in my apartments asked if I wanted to go a filming of a "local band" video and show, it was the original Walk video shoot at The Basement.

[Crucifax Autumn]

I saw Accept and Krokus at the LNC in 1985, we were on the end of the fourth row and the speakers were about 20 feet from us, needless to stay I could not hear out of my right ear for awhile after that. It was the loudest concert that I had ever been to, the closest to that was seeing Motley Crue (w/ John Corabi) at the club that used to be Quicksilvers (NW 10th & MacArthur, i think it was called The Roxy at the time), I think they played at the same volume they played at the Myriad. We used to play Restless & Wild, Balls to the Wall and Metal Heart quite a bit at Sound Warehouse...when we could.


I saw them both play at the same club as the Crue during the Awake/Inside Out tour. Dream Theater is one of my favorites.


I saw them when I lived in Dallas, I had no idea who they were but some of the others in my apartments asked if I wanted to go a filming of a "local band" video and show, it was the original Walk video shoot at The Basement.

Good to see so many people around here with excellent taste in metal.


I've been a fan of November's Doom for awhile, but hadn't heard Cynic. Quite impressive. Not sure I care for Luna Mortis, though.

Crucifax, familiar with Etched in Red?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEFOsmTwRtw

Here's a pretty cool group I found today. Ironklad. More hardcore punk than anything else. But loud as Hell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7EFy7rsB_M


Is it me, or are these metal musicians getting damned good on the instruments?

Honestly, it's been that way for awhile and yeah, they are. And no, I haven't heard either one of those yet. I'll add them to my "check it out list with Arsis.


So you feelin' it? Arsis is pretty fuggin pimp.

Haven't had a chance to listen yet, but I will.

[Crucifax Autumn]

It is amazing that if someone plays an instrument and they practice a lot....they get really good at it.

For a long time I thought it was a gift from the Gods for some folks.

Spartcus has helped me clear that misconception up.

He was really good with an axe.

http://www.stallonezone.com/zone/2009/z072609spartacus_blood.jpg

Metal DOES come from the gods...Just listen to half of Manowar's catalog and they'll tell you repeatedly.

This is both really cool, and illustrates that point...in addition to what I've been saying about the worldwide appeal of metal:

NXGBnHbFHns

NSFW due to lots of MF-bombs! lol

Same thing from Monsters of Rock in Brazil with another lucky dude, minus the intro, and better sound:

srhGMxOWviw

So there you have it...Moscow to Brazil and metalheads all over the world slinging axes for the gods!!!!!! :D

[soonerinkaty]

So, anyone like Dillinger Escape Plan?

[Leroy Lizard]

I found a video of a song titled "Milk Lizard." Obviously this band was formed to mock my good name, which I resent.

In all seriousness, I checked them out. A little too noisy and unpolished for me.

[Crucifax Autumn]

So, anyone like Dillinger Escape Plan?

I'm with Leroy that they are a bit too noisy, but if you listen real close their "math metal" approach is NOT unpolished. Brash yes, but they are very technically proficient players doing some pretty complex instrumental acrobatics. So I respect them and their talent, but can't listen to them.

[King Crimson]

don't know if it's the same math metal, but wtf is "math rock"?

i like the band slint and they are always referred to as inventing "math rock". slint and squirrel bait.

[Crucifax Autumn]

Wikipedia defines it like this:


Math rock is a rhythmically complex, guitar-based style of experimental rock music that emerged in the late 1980s. It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (including irregular stopping and starting), angular melodies, and dissonant chords.

And yeah, math metal is the same, just noisier.

[Crucifax Autumn]

Prog Archives calls it an extension of post rock and goes on to say:


Math Rock is a genre that emerged in the late 80's and that was influenced by both the intricacies of progressive and avant-garde rock - King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Henry Cow - and 20th century composers such as Steve Reich and John Cage. The music is characterized by complex structures, angular melodies and constant abrupt changes in tempo and time signature. The name Math Rock is a term that grew out of the Chicago scene and the artists working with engineer Steve Albini in an effort to describe the new style.

The basic building blocks of Math Rock can be traced back to the late 60's and 70's where Progressive Rock artists were making more elaborate compositions than the standard rock bands and were experimenting with song structures. Early Avant-garde groups like Massacre, and artists such as Captain Beefheart and John Zorn were highly influential to Math Rock bands and traces of their music can still be heard throughout the genre. Another big influence to the Math Rock approach was Slint with their album "Spiderland" which showcased many techniques that Math Rock bands will follow in the future. Punk also had significant impact on the sound of Math Rock bands. Other notable influences are: Post-Rock, Heavy Metal, and Jazz.

Although there are Math Rock bands in different countries around the world, most reside in the United States, the Midwest in particular, and tend to be divided by regions: Pittsburgh bands (Don Caballero, Six Horse) Chicago bands (Shellac, U.S. Maple), Ohio bands (Keelhaul, Craw) Louisville bands (June 44, Rodan, The For Carnation, Crain), and San Diego bands (Drive Like Jehu, Tristeza) among others on both coasts. Japan was also an important country in the Math Rock genre with bands like Ruins and Zeni Geva.

[King Crimson]

irregular starting and stopping. there's got to be a toilet and or chile verde joke there somewhere.

[King Crimson]

that's interesting about Albini. Albini's Shellac is pretty cool. Slint getting no love in the Louisville scene. Kinghorse is another pretty cool band out of Louisville. they only put out one record (heavily influenced by Bad Brains and the Misfits)....but it was a rocker.

huge Beefheart fan.

[Crucifax Autumn]

Might explain why you enjoy a band that is influenced, though perhaps indirectly, by Beefheart and the others.

[King Crimson]

Might explain why you enjoy a band that is influenced, though perhaps indirectly, by Beefheart and the others.

i guess, not sure i see that way re: math rock. not sure it's all so seamless in terms of influences, really.

if you asked me why i like the Captain and why i like Slint....the answers are different. Captain is a kind of force against the standardization of the everything (including time and music) and slint rocks. Nosferatu man is pretty heavy.

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[King Crimson]

interesting post from youtube comments:

From 0:05 it's in 5/4.

This goes on until 1:05 when it switches to 6/4.

At 1:30 it goes back into 5/4, going back into the 6/4 chorus at 2:17.

At 2:49 it goes into standard 4/4.

At 3:13 it hits 5/4 again and stays so until 3:45 and it returns to 4/4.

At 4:36 the song hits 6/4 again and remains so until the end of the song.

[Crucifax Autumn]

Those early 70s prog and proggish bands really did open up a lot of things that weren't previously seen in rock music and did lay the foundation for others to experiment with different sounds and structures to this day though.

[Crucifax Autumn]

interesting post from youtube comments:

From 0:05 it's in 5/4.

This goes on until 1:05 when it switches to 6/4.

At 1:30 it goes back into 5/4, going back into the 6/4 chorus at 2:17.

At 2:49 it goes into standard 4/4.

At 3:13 it hits 5/4 again and stays so until 3:45 and it returns to 4/4.

At 4:36 the song hits 6/4 again and remains so until the end of the song.

See, I love the frequent time changes in music as well as the use of non-standard times.

[Leroy Lizard]

I'm with Leroy that they are a bit too noisy, but if you listen real close their "math metal" approach is NOT unpolished. Brash yes, but they are very technically proficient players doing some pretty complex instrumental acrobatics. So I respect them and their talent, but can't listen to them.

I think the vocals drown out much of the interesting instrumental work.

I have some of the same feelings about much of King Crimson's work. My friends listened to it religiously, but I just couldn't sit still through it. They were fantastic musicians, no doubt. I appreciate their skill. I just couldn't listen to a lot of their stuff.

I feel the same about jazz. Everyone else raves. I can't stand it.

[Crucifax Autumn]

To me jazz exists for the sole purpose of influencing a bunch of the bands I like! lol

[King Crimson]

despite my handle, i'm not always a huge fan of Fripp. he's got some great stuff, but his playing can get pretty tedious.

[StoopTroup]

Tony Randall is disgusted by your statements.

[King Crimson]

if it weren't for Coltrane and Miles i would have never made it through the 90's.

[StoopTroup]

if it weren't for Coltrane and Miles i would have never made it through the 90's.

What about Howlin' Wolf?

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There's a little ike and Tina in there too I think.

[Crucifax Autumn]

despite my handle, i'm not always a huge fan of Fripp. he's got some great stuff, but his playing can get pretty tedious.

Yeah, I can only take King Crimson in small doses, but I really enjoy the small doses.

[King Crimson]

What about Howlin' Wolf?

John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed, and Muddy. i like the Wolf, killing floor is absolutely sublime....but he's down the list for me.

edit: Lightnin' Hopkins is up there, too.

[Leroy Lizard]

despite my handle, i'm not always a huge fan of Fripp. he's got some great stuff, but his playing can get pretty tedious.

But his guitar screeching is wonderful on Peter Gabriel's and David Bowie's albums. The only one better at screeching is Marc Moreland from Wall of Voodoo.

[soonerinkaty]

So, I'm fairly certain none of you have ever heard of this band, they are not even well known in their native France. Digest and enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZONy30qnAE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wObMEzx4sJA&feature=related

Sorry, i don't know how to embed.

[StoopTroup]

I remember when screeching was all the rage.

[Crucifax Autumn]

So, I'm fairly certain none of you have ever heard of this band, they are not even well known in their native France. Digest and enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZONy30qnAE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wObMEzx4sJA&feature=related

Sorry, i don't know how to embed.

You are correct on that one, hadn't heard them until now. The music sounds good, but like all growl vocals I'd have to listen for awhile to see if they grow on me. My favorite growls ever were on Amorphis' Tales From the Thousand Lakes.

[soonerinkaty]

I dont care for the growls here much, but the musicianship is awesome.

[Crucifax Autumn]

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The third entry from the bottom of this page explains how to embed a youtube vid:

http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/misc.php?do=bbcode

[Crucifax Autumn]

I can't let this thread get a page longer without the majesty of Dream Theater:

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[soonerinkaty]

I always thought Opeth kinda owned Dream Theater. No hate towards DT at all.

[Crucifax Autumn]

I like 'em both and they are pretty good buds and respect each other enormously. Apparently Portnoy wants to due a project with Akerfeldt at some point too.

Side note, Opeth had a song on the TV show Criminal Minds awhile back. I freaked that something like that made American television.

Dream Theater has done a lot to promote Opeth though like including them on the Progressive Nation tours and also Portnoy always includes their stuff in his best of the year lists. He does great for the prog and prog metal scene in general though as far as making some lesser known bands more known.

[Crucifax Autumn]

Here ya go:


Opeth frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt has confirmed reports that he is planning on collaborating with Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson and Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy on an as-yet-unnamed new project.

"We've been talking the three of us," Mikael said in a recent interview with Tony of KASC The Blaze 1260 AM (the campus radio station at Arizona State University). "It started with me and Steve. Once we first met, which was like six years ago or something, we've been talking about doing something, like writing together. And since he worked with [Opeth as a producer] for a couple of albums, we got that whole collaboration thing put on hold because we were already working together. With him in the studio, it was a very creative relationship that we had, but we've never really written music together, so that's still... I'm 100 percent [sure] that that's going to happen. And Portnoy... Porcupine Tree toured with Dream Theater and he wanted to be involved. I used to be a massive Dream Theater fan I'm still a fan of them and he's a really nice guy, good drummer, so that's cool. And we're looking at some other people, maybe to involve some guests. I think we're gonna start slow it's not gonna be something blown out of proportion, it's just gonna be for the sake of our love of music. I think we're gonna do a song that Steve wrote for the 'In Absentia' album that didn't make it, which is a massively fantastic song. That's what we're gonna record first, I think, unless the band comes around and they record it as a Porcupine Tree song, but I'd love to record that song with him and then just write some stuff. And I don't know what it's gonna be like. It's just talk right now. [But] I'm sure it's going to happen."


In a recent interview with Drummer's Digest, Portnoy has the following to say about the above-mentioned project: "I've been a fan of [Opeth's] for years, and we've become friends the last couple of years. He and I and Steven Wilson have talked about doing something together. Hopefully some time soon we'll be able to coordinate our schedules and make it happen. I think me and Steven want to make it heavy, and I think Mikael wants to, uh, not be heavy. Because me and Steven want to do stuff that we can't do with Porcupine Tree and Dream Theater, and get to some really heavy stuff. And I think that Mikael wants to get away from the heavy stuff because he does that all the time with Opeth, so who knows. Maybe we'll meet somewhere in the middle. I think it'll be great. I mean, I've had great experiences collaborating with other people, especially people who are the kind of leaders of their bands. That was kind of what Transatlantic was about, since Neal Morse and Roine Stolt are kind of the leaders of their bands, you know. It was a great creative environment, and I think a similar chemistry would happen with Steven and Mikael."



That would be incredible having those 3 brilliant musicians together.

[bluedogok]

Dream Theater has done a lot to promote Opeth though like including them on the Progressive Nation tours and also Portnoy always includes their stuff in his best of the year lists. He does great for the prog and prog metal scene in general though as far as making some lesser known bands more known.
I had no idea who Fates Warning was before I saw them open for Dream Theater, after seeing that show I became a fan and have quite a few of their CD's.

When traveling I like to go to (traditional) record stores and see the different things they carry, I picked up some Fates Warning stuff at Newbury Comics in Boston (http://www.newburycomics.com/rel/v2_home.php?storenr=103&deptnr=129) that I had not seen anywhere else, even here in Austin where we probably have more of the traditional type record stores than any other city of our size.

Portnoy does a bunch of side projects, lately he has been filling in on the studio work of Avenged Sevenfold after the death of their drummer in December.
Roadrunner Records - Dream Theater Drummer Checks in From the Studio with Avenged Sevenfold (http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/news/Dream-Theater-Drummer-Checks-in-From-the-Studio-with-Avenged-Sevenfold-20995.aspx)

[Leroy Lizard]

Amorphis belongs in the underappreciated category. They are as good as anyone else out there.

[Crucifax Autumn]

Here's a video interview series with the 2:

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/video/Opeth--Mike-Portnoy--Mike-Akerfeldt-Meet---Part-1-2005.aspx

[Crucifax Autumn]

I had no idea who Fates Warning was before I saw them open for Dream Theater, after seeing that show I became a fan and have quite a few of their CD's.

When traveling I like to go to (traditional) record stores and see the different things they carry, I picked up some Fates Warning stuff at Newbury Comics in Boston (http://www.newburycomics.com/rel/v2_home.php?storenr=103&deptnr=129) that I had not seen anywhere else, even here in Austin where we probably have more of the traditional type record stores than any other city of our size.

Up until the last 2 albums, I'd bought all my Fates in Austin, oddly enough. Mainly at Waterloo. I've actually been into them since their very first album, which I got on vinyl at some other indie music store in Austin, can't remember for sure which.

[Leroy Lizard]

You spent money in Austin? I would rather push my car back to Norman than spend a goddamn dime in that... oh, that was Woodie Hayes.

[Crucifax Autumn]

LOL...I lived there for about 8 years and spent another 8 years near there after my family left Oklahoma, the entire time proudly sporting Sooner gear on 6th street and even on the texass campus and up and down Guadalupe. Now that I'm thinking about it that's where I got that first Fates warning, at Sound exchange on Guadalupe. It was fun pizzing off whorns daily.

[bluedogok]

Up until the last 2 albums, I'd bought all my Fates in Austin, oddly enough. Mainly at Waterloo. I've actually been into them since their very first album, which I got on vinyl at some other indie music store in Austin, can't remember for sure which.
I have seen it in Waterloo at times, I just happened to stumble across it in Boston and decided to pick it up.


LOL...I lived there for about 8 years and spent another 8 years near there after my family left Oklahoma, the entire time proudly sporting Sooner gear on 6th street and even on the texass campus and up and down Guadalupe. Now that I'm thinking about it that's where I got that first Fates warning, at Sound exchange on Guadalupe. It was fun pizzing off whorns daily.
The Sound Exchange closed right before I moved down here in 2003. I rarely get over by the campus, I know that Tower also closed a little after Sound Exchange did. The Austin Record Convention (http://www.austinrecords.com/) is a pretty big one here, much bigger than the ones that I went to in OKC years ago.

[Crucifax Autumn]

Yep, I've been to a few of those.

2003 is when I left texass so I had no idea SE closed. Kinda sad as that was the greatest place in the 80s and 90s for underground metal and punk and they ALWAYS had cool imports. I got almost every Maiden 12" single from those guys.

[bluedogok]

Here's a Portnoy interview about his iPod...

NoiseCreep.com - Dream Theater Drummer Mike Portnoy -- Your iPod Is Showing (http://www.noisecreep.com/2010/03/01/dream-theater-drummer-mike-portnoy-your-ipod-is-showing/)

[Crucifax Autumn]

Cool. That band Riverside he mentions is the cream of the crop in prog right now IMO.

That Anthrax show he mentions was also the first time he saw Fates Warning. There's video of that show floating around and I always try to spot him, to no avail. That was the tour that caused Fates to put in the Liner notes of their second album, in the thanks section, something to the effect of "and no particular thanks" to Anthrax. Portnoy was at that show to see Fates and actually contacted Jim Matheos at that time.

A few years later that contact helped DT get their first record deal and they kinda repaid the favor when Kevin Moore appeared on their album Perfect Symmetry and then when Ray Alder sang backup on the next CD Paralells. At that point they toured together for the first of many times and now they've shared members in OSI and also appeared together in Sean Malone of Cynic's Gordian Knot albums. All this helped to lead to those fantastic shows with DT, Queensryche, and Fates Warning.

On a sidenote I saw that show in Denver, Vegas, and San Diego as part of my roadtrip when I moved out here from Texas. We went north into Oklahoma first so I could see the place again before moving so far away and of course went to Norman before heading ito Kansas and then across Colorado and the Rockies into Utah, then dipped down into AZ and on to Vegas before hitting the show in San Diego and then circling back to Vegas for the 3rd show. It was the most fun I ever had moving.

[bluedogok]

This just announced....

Iron Maiden Announces "The Final Frontier" Tour With Dream Theater (http://roadcrewmag.com/issue/march-2010/article/iron-maiden-announces-the-final-frontier-tour-with-dream-theater)

DreamTheater.net - Iron Maiden & Dream Theater - North American Summer Tour! (http://www.dreamtheater.net/news_dreamtheater.php#dtmaiden)

I may have to go to the San Antonio show...

[Soonerus]

Pantera has not be gone for 15 years, more like 8...

[Soonerus]

Pantera began to suffer from mounting tensions between band members in the mid-1990s, largely due to vocalist Phil Anselmo's rampant drug abuse; in 2003, the group broke up.[7] Anselmo left the band for other projects, such as Superjoint Ritual and Down.


This report is not exactly accurate...but the dates are true...

[Crucifax Autumn]

2 of my favorite bands finally doing a full tour. That's awesome. I wish they were coming to Vegas. That would make it more realistic that I might be able to go. I will have to see whether San Bernadino or Phoenix are possible though.

[King Crimson]

Comfort Dental Arena in Denver. no clue what that is. probably the old Coloseum (where i saw Danzig, Dio, Soundgarden etc. in the 90's). possibly the worst name ever...minus the Jenny Craig Pavilion...

i got arrested in San Bernadino. though it was the third most serious in my series of my arrests between Denver and the Pacific Ocean interstate tour.

[Crucifax Autumn]

That might be where I saw DT/QR/FW back in 03 or 04 when I was moving to Vegas. Was it called the Colliseum back then? Sounds right, but I've only been in Denver once and for that one show. Other than that all I saw of Denver was Motel 6 and a few beer stores. Oh...Also some restaurant/bar across the parking lot from the venue if I remember right (I was pretty drunk and more than a little stoned on some hydro at the time).

[King Crimson]

what's better than drinking a half-empty, staring out at the world from the second level of a cheap motel....."this is america" type reflections.

while i was going to comment on the **** acoustics at the Denver Col....turns out the Comfort Dental thing is actually the old Fiddler's Green in the Denver Tech Center. thye've aced me on corporate name changes. it would be surreal to see Maiden there....more like a Billy Joel place for the baby boomers who like white wine and cheese.

Denver Collesuem is way cooler. dirtier. too bad. Iron Maiden in the DTC is plastic and sterile. bankers and lawyers "rock" with a micro and small-time everything. Dream Theater on a golf course.

[Crucifax Autumn]

lol...Great post!

So which one is it that I'm thinking about? I was on such a blasted rock and roll road trip that I can barely even describe the place I was. I almos want to say it had a pavillion vibe to it and felt more open than an actual enclosed venue.

[bluedogok]

Fiddler's Green Amphitheater was part of the House of Blues concert business that was sold off to Live Nation. When I saw Live/Counting Crows there is was the Coors Light Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre. I still haven't been to one at Red Rocks yet.

The Denver Coliseum (http://www.denvercoliseum.com/) is like the Fairgrounds Arena in OKC, an older venue where the stock show is held, it is just east of downtown and right next to I-70. It was the first home of the ABA Denver Rockets (now the Nuggets) before McNichols Arena was opened in 1975.


That might be where I saw DT/QR/FW back in 03 or 04 when I was moving to Vegas. Was it called the Colliseum back then? Sounds right, but I've only been in Denver once and for that one show. Other than that all I saw of Denver was Motel 6 and a few beer stores. Oh...Also some restaurant/bar across the parking lot from the venue if I remember right (I was pretty drunk and more than a little stoned on some hydro at the time).
According to the Dream Theater 2003 Tour Archive (http://www.dreamtheater.net/archive_tourdates.php?y=2003) it was at the Universal Lending or City Lights Pavilion, which is actually the parking lot of the Pepsi Center.

I may try and go to this, most of the time when they have been in the area they have been playing outdoor shows in the middle of August either at The Backyard or Verizon in Selma (north of San Antonio) when it was 100+, not my idea of enjoyment. Both of those places here are gone now, development going in their place.

[Leroy Lizard]

what's better than drinking a half-empty, staring out at the world from the second level of a cheap motel....."this is america" type reflections.

I've done that plenty and there are better things, trust me.

[Crucifax Autumn]

I may try and go to this, most of the time when they have been in the area they have been playing outdoor shows in the middle of August either at The Backyard or Verizon in Selma (north of San Antonio) when it was 100+, not my idea of enjoyment. Both of those places here are gone now, development going in their place.

Yep...I've been to Verizon to see Deep Purple, Scorps, and Dio. It was hot, but raining at that one, which was the second day in a row I'd seen that tour, the first being in Houston where it was friggin' humid and scorching.

Last time I saw maiden was at that sunken whatever amphitheater in SA and it was pretty hot and miserable too since I was an idiot trying to look cool and wore my Maiden trenchcoat outside in July! lol

[bluedogok]

Verizon closed last summer, developers bought it. So we not only lost a venue we didn't get any of the projects there either....

[Crucifax Autumn]

Speaking of all that Nothern European metal, particularly Finland:


"Promised Land of Heavy Metal", a documentary about the history and philosophy of heavy metal and how it became such a big deal in a small country called Finland, is now an HD documentary app available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. This is the first indie-film app released in the world.

"Promised Land of Heavy Metal" App costs $2 USD / £1.19 / €1.79 and it includes:

* 52-minute TV version of the film (in English)
* Photo galleries
* Digital booklet about the "Promised Land of Heavy Metal" — Finland
* Web links for those traveling or looking for information about the Finnish metal scene including: travel information, merchandise, music festivals etc.

The application is also available in a free "lite" version, which features a trailer and other information from "Promised Land of Heavy Metal" documentary.

The "Promised Land of Heavy Metal" filmmakers tell the story of Finnish metal, from its early "underground" days to the present success stories, by interviewing famous musicians — included members of HIM, NORTHER, KREATOR, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, ENTOMBED, CARCASS, KORPIKLAANI, DIMMU BORGIR and SONATA ARCTICA — experts and event organizers, a psychiatrist and a doctor of theology. The film takes the viewers literally from the graveyard to the Finnish President's palace!

Why is metal a religion for so many? What are its links to Satanism and ritualistic murders? What made metal mainstream in Finland? Why does the Finnish church have metal masses? What is the future of metal, after LORDI won the Eurovision Song Contest and even the President approves? Strong opinions are offered: some see metal as the new folk music, while others detest its commercial aspect.

The film is narrated by Kimmo Kuusniemi, a filmmaker, SARCOFAGUS guitarist and a forefather of Finnish metal. Kimmo has lived in England for 16 years, and sees the current popularity of heavy metal as a strange phenomenon.

The "Promised Land of Heavy Metal" TV documentary was developed by producer Sakari Heiskanen from YLE (The Finnish Broadcasting Company).

A four-minute trailer for "Promised Land of Heavy Metal" can be viewed below.

For more information, visit www.promisedlandofmetal.com.



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[Crucifax Autumn]

And speaking of that Cynic EP:


On May 17, reunited progressive rock/metal band CYNICwill release a brand new EP entitled "Re-Traced", featuring reinterpretations of four songs from the group's critically acclaimed "Traced In Air" album as well as a previously unreleased song.

"'Re-Traced' is an experiment for us — an opportunity to turn four songs from 'Traced in Air' inside out and to share something new", comments frontman Paul Masvidal.

"In our exploration, we've created music that is part 'sci-fi prog folk,' part psychedelic rock, part minimalist restraint. These interpretations feel channeled from another galaxy.

"For the most part, the tunes reference some of our favourite musical forms and in our own curious way (electronic/ambient, jazz/fusion, drum n' bass, experimental, shoegaze). There is no vocoder, no traditionally busy CYNIC riffs that are some of our most signatures sounds, but the music retains its song structure, integral melodic sense, harmony and lyrical inspiration."

Masvidal on the new song: "It is entitled 'Wheels Within Wheels' and it is the most rock/metal tune on the EP. Mood-wise it has a melodic optimism that is a bit more transparent than in other CYNIC songs, giving it a unique and emotive color.

"We are really pleased with the performances and energy of this track. Considering this song is perhaps the closest reference to a familiar CYNIC sound, it still leaves behind many of the former trademarks and introduces a new shade of groove and dynamic.

"Progressive music has many faces, and that is always the name of the game for CYNIC: reinventing ourselves and pushing our own musical boundaries for ourselves and our fans."

"Re-Traced" track listing:

01. Space
02. Evolutionary
03. King
04. Integral
05. Wheels Within Wheels

Check out the cover artwork below.

Commented Masvidal: "The artwork on the EP takes Venosa's original song paintings from the 'Traced in Air' booklet and reinterprets them by extracting the basic outlines, almost appearing as though they are etched in wood. Travis Smith helped manifest these conceptions graphically. The idea was to have the 'tracing' of the original work in tact, so it almost morphs into a simple line drawing of the sculptural shapes found in Venosa's work. The end result appears like unearthed, archival etchings from an alien planet."

Watch a "Re-Traced" video teaser below. Also available is quality fan-filmed live footage of CYNIC performing the song "Wheels Within Wheels" on January 31, 2010 at the Trocadero in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

"Traced in Air" was released in North America on November 25, 2008 via Season of Mist. Returning from the "Focus" era for the eight-song, 35-minute effort were founding members Paul Masvidal (guitar, vocals) and Sean Reinert (drums) along with Sean Malone (bass), and joining the band in the studio was newcomer Tymon Kruidenier (guitars/growls). The band recorded the CD at a California studio with producer Warren Riker (DOWN, SANTANA).


http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/reviewpics/cynicretraced.jpg

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[Crucifax Autumn]

"12 Gauge", the new album from Finnish metallers KALMAH, entered the official chart in the band's home country at position No. 15. The CD, which which was made available in Japan on February 24, was recorded between June and August 2009 at Tico Tico studio in Kemi, Finland and was mastered at the Cutting Room in Sweden. Nine new songs and one cover version were laid down during the sessions which "went [smoothly], as always, even though this time the recordings were done in three different time periods within a half a year," according to the band.

"12 Gauge" track listing:

01. Rust Never Sleeps
02. One Of Fail
03. Bullets Are Blind
04. Swampwar
05. Better Not To Tell
06. Hook The Monster
07. Godeye
08. 12 Gauge
09. Sacramentum

The Japanese version of the CD includes a cover version of THIN LIZZY's "Cold Sweat".

Two songs — "Bullets Are Blind" and "One Of Fail" — are available for streaming on KALMAH's new MySpace page.

Regarding the new album's musical direction, lead guitarist Antti Kokko stated, "It is very KALMAH-like, but we haven't forgot to introduce new tuning here and there."

KALMAH filmed a video for the song "12 Gauge" on February 20 in the band's hometown of Pudasjärvi. The group states, "The thermometer was pretty low, -37 Celsius as we started. By the end of the day it was -27. It was freezing, but anyways we managed to pull it out."

The clip can now be viewed below.


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