These guys were brilliant and yet another example of what happens when big money and media get their hook into you. They start off humble enough, just another new england area metal band trying to revive a dying genre. they put out an indie album called with somber eyes to the sky and impress the hell out of a lot of people. they lose their original singer(who's voice suited them much better) and picked up a new singer who has mad stage presence. They polish there style and we have a new wave of american heavy metal. Their sophmore album is comprised of new songs and some remastered songs fromt he indie album. With brutal riffs mixed seemlessly with gorgeous classical acoustic playing. Guitar leads that will make you cream yourself by not one but two guitar demi gods. Now with experience and constant tour ing under their belt they are ready to take on an album as a cohesive band and release their first hit cd The Art of Balance, while not as brutal still quite good in all respects. A few nu-metalish vocal stylings but their melodic heavy riffs haven't gone anywhere. guess what, this one's a sucess selling 100,000 copies. Next stop more touring. they are front in line to be the best thing to happen to music this decade only to sell the fuck out to MTV and become nu-metal watered down b.s. argggghhhhh. what happened to music?
wtf, weezer and black flag get two pages of responses but this profoundly great band doesn't get any. for shame hippies. I guess south park was right, you all do hate death metal.
I love death metal, not by far as much as doom and especially black metal, but Shadows fall doesn't ring a lot of bells. Anyway... REVIVING A DYING GENRE? You've got to be joking. Metal, including death metal, is standing as strong as it ever was. Most of the huge bands from the 70s and 80s are still among us and the underground is thriving with ever-more specialised bands, labels, magazines, record traders... As despicable as nu-metal is, it's playing a key factor in introducing new people to 'the world of extreme music'. (Which doesn't mean you shouldn't bash it, in fact you have all reason to since it's crap)
death metal didn't begin until slayer in 83, there is no 70's death metal. Metal began with black sabbath so i'll give you 70's metal. but as far as the good bands still being alive and kicking you are mistaken. slayer isn't good anymore, morbid angel is one of the last remaining original death metal bands that are still worth a damn. Death metal in general will always be good because its consistant but metal as a whole has gone to hell in a handbasket.
I was indeed talking about 70's heavy metal, since in the 70's only heavy and to an extent doom metal had developed into distinctive styles of metal yet. You kind of contradict yourself twice in one paragraph: first you say that only Morbid Angel is alive that is worthwile, then you say that death metal will survive because it is consistent. Then you claim metal in general has died even though Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Saxon, Exodus, etceteral are still around drawing massive audiences. Slayer formed in 82, and technically they play thrash metal, but in the eighties a band of that intensity would be called either thrash, black or death metal, without much differentiation. Though their newer albums may not be as interesting, Slayer has become mainly a live band and on the stage they're still as good as they've ever been, and play a lot of oldies. As for death metal, Cannibal Corpse are still around, a very big band. Entombed and Dismember are still playing, and Grave has reformed. Great new bands have arisen in the nineties based mostly on Morbid Angel, bands like Nile, Hate Eternal, Incantation, Deeds of Flesh, Vader, latter-day Behemoth... Check out Relapse records and Unique Leader productions for tonnes of newer DM bands of great quality. Same as with metal in general: there is still more than plenty of really brilliant bands but they stay more hidden in the underground nowadays, and have less tendency to gain world fame, so if you don't put effort in finding new good bands, you won't find a lot. I hope you'll find a thousand more bands, death metal or otherwise, that you enjoy. (also try doom & black metal, it delicioooooooooous!! ^_^) God has decreed that sheep be hip and woolly.
Are you a fan of theirs? I sort of am although I haven't yet managed to go and see them. My sister's boyfriend Bill is in the band so I've got connections with them (althugh I've never been to liverpool and I've never met the other members), but they very rarely tour the south of England it seems.
Yeah, I just picked up their newest record, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. I saw them on Jools Holland the first time I came to the UK back in 2002, and have been hooked ever since. And they are playing Brixton in October...which is, well, no time near now, but... Ok, I'm done hijacking this thread. Back to metal talk...
Well it's close enough. I'll have to make sure Bill gets me some tickets. I'll be in Guildford then, very handy for Brixton! Scary place though, or so I'm told. Still will be a great chav-spotting opportunity!
