Godsmack - Live & Inspired Review
Instead of admiring or congratulating a band for commercial success, fans often take the opposite tack and accuse the band of "selling out." Godsmack is one of those very commercially successful hard rock/metal bands that have sold millions of CDs and can fill large arenas, but may not receive a lot of love from critics. However, their rabid fan base will be happy with Live & Inspired, Godsmack's first live CD, recorded in Detroit in 2010. It features live renditions of the most popular tracks from their first four studio albums. The second CD is four cover songs, with their version of songs from The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Joe Walsh and Metallica.
Read the complete Godsmack - Live & Inspired Review
Other Recent Heavy Metal CD Reviews:
Allegaeon - Formshifter
Dee Snider - Dee Does Broadway
Dreaming Dead - Midnightmares
Emptiness - Error
Firewind - Few Against Many
Freak Kitchen - Land Of The Freaks
Incoming Cerebral Overdrive - Le Stelle: A Voyage
Kill Devil Hill - Kill Devil Hill
Lahmia - Into The Abyss
Malice - New Breed Of Godz
Mutilation Rites - Empyrean
Saint Vitus - Lillie: F-65
Shadows Fall - Fire From The Sky
Tesseract - Perspective
(CD cover courtesy Universal Republic Records)
New Heavy Metal CD Releases: May 15, 2012
Here are the new heavy metal CD releases for this week. For the most detailed and up-to-date schedule, check out our complete Heavy Metal CD Release Date calendar.
May 15, 2012
Alaric & Atriarch - Split (20 Buck Spin)
Furze - Psych Minus Space Control (Fysisk Format)
I, Omega - The Ravenous EP (Bullet Tooth)
Lahmia - Into The Abyss (Bakerteam)
Marauder - Elegy Of Blood (Pitch Black)
Nachtvorst - Silence (Code666)
Never to Arise - Hacked to Perfection (BadGod)
Pantera - Vulgar Display Of Power Re-Release (Rhino)
Philm - Harmonic (Ipecac)
Royal Hunt - In The Heart Of The City (Best Of 1992-1999) (Scarlet)
Shadows Fall - Fire From The Sky (Razor and Tie)
Syn Ze Sase Tri - Sub Semnul Lupului (Code666)
Words Of Farewell - Immersion (AFM)
Brent Jensen - No Sleep 'Til Sudbury Book Review
Brent Jensen grew up in a small town in Canada in the '70s and '80s, and No Sleep 'Til Sudbury is a musical autobiography. It covers both Jensen's formative years as he got into hard rock and heavy metal, and also talks a lot about the music. It's an interesting combination of stories from the author's formative years along with profiles and analysis of the music he was listening to. Any metal or hard rock fan who grew up in that era will find something to relate to with this book, and you may even discover some bands from those days that you missed the first time around.
Read the complete Brent Jensen - No Sleep 'Til Sudbury Book Review
(book cover courtesy Edwards Press)
Dave's Underground Laboratory: May 14, 2012
His day job and passion is as a high school physics teacher, but Dave Schalek's obsession is extreme and underground heavy metal. Every Monday he holds class in the depths of his underground laboratory, bringing you brief reviews of the latest black, death, grind and other extreme releases. And since he is a teacher, each CD earns a grade. Under the microscope in the week's lab are Antropofagus, Kraanium, Havok, Pseudogod, Superchrist and Furze.
The underground lab is always looking for new subjects to dissect, so extreme metal labels, bands and fans, if you know of a band we should include, send me an email!
Dave's Underground Laboratory: May 14, 2012
(CD cover courtesy Candlelight Records)
5 Questions With Attention Deficit Society
5 Questions With... is your chance to get to know a new or up-and-coming band. The New York band Attention Deficit Society is working on their full-length debut CD Songs From The Manor, and a few teaser songs from that release are now available. Vocalist/guitarist Charlie Sabin introduces us to his band.
Give us a brief history of Attention Deficit Society.
ADS began as a studio project sometime in late 2009 that wound up turning into a full blown record. My original intent was just to catalog a bunch of songs I had written. We started out with three tracks and after listening to the rough mixes, really liked what we were hearing. I believe it was actually producer/engineer Tarik Solangi's idea to do an entire record. After tracking 30 something songs we all kind of looked at each other one day and said "ya think we should put something out there?" Everyone around the studio was goofing on us saying we should call it Chinese Democracy. (laughs)
But seriously, as an artist, it is always difficult to let something go and put it out there, but it was obviously time to do so. In a way I kind of understand Axl's warped way of thinking on that one. We decided to release a three song pre-release package called Songs From The Manor on I-Tunes, Amazon Mp3, And Reverbnation while we finish up the record and secure a deal.
How would you describe the style/sound of Songs From The Manor?
I would have to say modern hard rock with a touch of metal thrown in for good measure. Definitely a song oriented band with an attitude problem!
What has the response to the pre-release been like so far?
Extremely positive. We have just started reaching out to radio and magazines all over the world and the feedback has been great so far. Everyone is really psyched and ready to take it to the next level. We are doing interviews and getting added to more and more stations every day. It is exciting to know the phone is really starting to ring.
What are your upcoming live show/tour plans?
At the moment, we are still writing and recording songs for the full length record due out sometime in September 2012, so there are no tour plans right now. Once that goal is met, we will need to secure a good distribution deal and put together the live show. In the interim, I have been out doing acoustic shows to promote the record regionally here in New York.
Anything else you'd like to mention or promote?
Please go to iTunes and download the three song pre-release package. And visit/friend us at Facebook and Reverbnation.
Epica Tour Dates
Epica will be returning to North America in October for a headlining tour. The Dutch symphonic metal band released their latest CD Requiem For The Indifferent earlier this year. Other bands on the bill include Alestorm, Insomnium, System Divide and Destiny Potato.
Epica singer Simone Simons says about their new material: "It is so exciting! I love the new songs and can't wait to play them live."
Epica Tour Dates:
10/23/12 Howard Theater - Washington, D.C.
10/25/12 Trocadero - Philadelphia, PA
10/26/12 Irving Plaza - New York, NY
10/27/12 Palladium - Worcester, MA
10/29/12 Imperial - Quebec City, QC - CANADA
10/30/12 Metropolis - Montreal, QC - CANADA
10/31/12 Opera House - Toronto, ON - CANADA
11/02/12 Peabody's - Cleveland, OH
11/03/12 Altar Bar - Pittsburgh, PA
11/04/12 Mojoe's - Joliet, IL
11/05/12 Station 4 - St. Paul, MN
11/07/12 Bluebird Theater - Denver, CO
11/08/12 Complex - Salt Lake City, UT
11/10/12 Rickshaw Theater - Vancouver, B.C. - CANADA
11/11/12 El Corazon - Seattle, WA
11/12/12 Hawthorne Theater - Portland, OR
11/14/12 Regency Ballroom - San Francisco, CA
11/15/12 House of Blues - San Diego, CA
11/16/12 House of Blues - Hollywood, CA
11/17/12 Marquee Theater - Tempe, AZ
11/19/12 Trees - Dallas, TX
11/20/12 Scout Bar - Houston, TX
11/21/12 Backstage Live - San Antonio, TX
11/23/12 Headliners - Louisville, KY
11/24/12 Soundstage - Baltimore, MD
(photo courtesy Nuclear Blast Records)
Retro Recommendation: Exit 13 - Green Is Good
Every Friday I turn the blog over to Dan Marsicano for his Retro Recommendation, giving you a chance to learn about underrated and overlooked gems from metal's past. Exit-13 were an American grindcore band that got their start in the late '80s. Over the years the band's lineup included bassist Dan Lilker (Anthrax, Nuclear Assault), Dave Witte (Municipal Waste), Rich Hoak (Brutal Truth) and Relapse Records co-founder Bill Yurkiewicz. They released four full-length CDs before splitting in 1997. Exit-13's 1990 debut Green Is Good is this week's Retro Recommendation.
Retro Recommendation: Exit 13 - Green Is Good
Other Recent Retro Recommendations:
Meshuggah, Baroness and Decapitated Concert Review
Meshuggah's latest CD Koloss has been receiving rave reviews, and the band is currently on a U.S. tour with Baroness and Decapitated. We sent our left coast scribe Dave Schalek to chronicle the concert. He was pleasantly surprised by Decapitated, did not enjoy Baroness, and was extremely impressed with Meshuggah. Check out his complete review with photos from the May 5th show at the West Hollywood House Of Blues.
Meshuggah, Baroness and Decapitated Concert Review
(photo courtesy Dave Schalek/About.com)
Mpire Of Evil Interview
Former Venom members Mantas, Tony Dolan (Demolition Man) and Antton started a new band a few years ago. Mpire Of Evil's debut CD Hell To The Holy was recently released. Dolan gives us the lowdown on the band's formation, their name change, Antton's exit, memories of his time in Venom, the status of his band Atomkraft and other subjects.
Read the complete Mpire Of Evil Interview
(photo courtesy Scarlet Records)
Cattle Decapitation - Monolith Of Inhumanity Review
The California death metal band Cattle Decapitation has really hit their stride on their fifth full-length release Monolith Of Inhumanity. From crushing riffs to technical playing to hooks, Cattle Decapitation hits on all cylinders. When it comes to death metal, this album will be hard to beat in 2012.
Read the complete Cattle Decapitation - Monolith Of Inhumanity Review
Other Recent Heavy Metal CD Reviews:
Agruss - Morok
Alaric & Atriarch - Split
Arjen Lucassen - Lost In The New Real
Black Spiders - Sons Of The North
Horseback - Half Blood
Huntress - Spell Eater
Mekong Delta - Intersections
Moonspell - Alpha Noir
Philm - Harmonic
Sleep - Dopesmoker
Ufomammut - Oro: Opus Primum
(CD cover courtesy Metal Blade Records)