Death metal and war go hand in hand, and Of Frost And War is a concept album about the Eastern front battles of World War II. Hail Of Bullets plays old school death metal that's straightforward and crushing. They do a nice job of changing up tempos so the album doesn't sound like one long song. The lyrics are interesting, and if you read them you might learn something about history.

Martin van Drunen's vocals are an acquired taste. They are raspy and a bit higher pitched than the usual death metal vocals. They take a while to get used to, but his emotional style is perfect for the album's subject matter. Of Frost And War is old school death metal at its finest.

Read the complete Hail Of Bullets - Of Frost And War Review

(CD cover courtesy Metal Blade Records)

The latest CD from the Austrian symphonic metal band Edenbridge is My Earth Dream. They’ve had some lineup changes since their last album, including new drummer Max Pointner and new live guitarist Dominik Sebastian. The band’s guitarist/keyboardist Langvall fills us in on the band’s latest, whether they plan to play in the U.S., his musical beginnings and several other topics.

Chad Bowar: How has the band’s sound progressed from The Grand Design to My Earth Dream?
Langvall: A big change is the use of 7-string guitars. We tuned them down a half step to Bb to be able to use the Bb keys which sound much more melancholy and in the end heavier. This was a good decision, because due to the low guitars they blend much better with the frequencies of the orchestra, so you don´t always have to make a decision which one should be louder. During the songwriting I tried to keep one thing in mind: not to overdo the orchestral thing. So you will find parts where you find the riffs only with just drums and bass and when the rochestra comes in it sounds huge. This is bringing in a lot of diversification into the sound.

And you must not forget that in the end every song had between 100 and 200 tracks to mix. To come back to the orchestra, this was the most time consuming process in arranging. Sometimes you find yourself sitting a couple of hours for just 8 bars to orchestrate until everything is to your liking, but in the end it´s just the result that matters and this is overwhelming.

Read the complete Edenbridge Interview

Instead of being a traveling festival as in years past, Ozzfest returns in 2008 with a one day event in Dallas, Texas on Saturday, August 9th. Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica will headline this year's Ozzfest.

The event will feature three stages, and will take place at Pizza Hut Park in Dallas. In addition to Ozzy Osbourne's only summer concert appearance and Metallica's first time ever on Ozzfest, the main stage performers include Serj Tankien (System Of A Down), Jonathan Davis (Korn), Cavalera Conspiracy, Shadows Fall, Apocalyptica and In This Moment. Also scheduled on the main stage is a special all-star tribute to slain Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott.

Second stage acts include Sevendust, Devildriver, Kingdom of Sorrow, Soilent Green, Witchcraft and Goatwhore.

The Texas (third) stage—“an homage to the “many great metal bands that come from Texas,” says Sharon Osbourne--features The Sword, Drowning Pool and Rigor Mortis.

“Ozzy just finished an 11-month world tour so I think he deserves a summer off,” Sharon says about this year’s one-day Ozzfest. “We’re going to be a stadium destination festival for now--we have gone past doing the sheds every summer. We’ve given everyone else the blueprint and we have to keep evolving Ozzfest. This is just the beginning; AEG Live and I have a lot of new ideas for Ozzfest.”

Tickets for this year’s Ozzfest will go on sale Saturday, May 31.

Anthology, as you'd expect from the title, is a collection spanning Burzum's career. There are nine tracks on the CD, including one song from his 1992 self title debut, one from the 1993 EP Aske, two from 1993's Det Som Engang Var, one from 1994's Hvis Lyset Tar Oss and two from 1996's Filosofem. Vikernes recorded and released two albums while in prison, and one track apiece from 1997's Dauði Baldrs and 1999's Hliðskjálf are also included.

It's interesting to hear the evolution from primal and raw black metal to more nuanced and complex compositions featuring ambient sounds and a plethora of different instruments. Anthology is sequenced chronlogically, so you are able to hear how Burzum's sound evolves over time. Arguments can be made on whether different songs should have been picked from some of the albums, but Anthology is a pretty decent representation of a seminal black metal artist.

Read the complete Burzum - Anthology Review

(CD cover courtesy Candlelight Records)

From time to time I let you know about some metal writing from other sites or magazines that caught my eye. Reviews, interviews, commentary, doesn't matter what it is, as long as it relates to metal and it's good I'll pass along the links to you. Here's the latest batch:

Remember Iann Robinson? He was the metal guy on MTV a few years back. He's written for several different places over the years, and is now doing his thing for None Louder. I really enjoy reading him because he knows his stuff and is brutally honest. He's not afraid to rip a band to shreds. Here are a couple of his recent reviews, one positive and one negative:
Burzum - Anthology
Burning Skies - Greed, Filth, Abuse, Corruption

Another site not afraid to pull any punches is MetalSucks. Their combination of metal knowledge, humor and fearlessness always makes a good read. Here are a couple recent interesting posts from them:
God Forbid's Dallas Coyle On Artistic Expression
On Metal Production

Ray Van Horn's The Metal Minute has timely reviews, news and interviews. I really enjoyed his post The Zen Of The Monster Ballad.

Chronicles Of Chaos has a good interview with Deicide's Steve Asheim as they release their latest CD.

Decibel is a great metal magazine, and they post a lot of their stuff online. J. Bennett wrote an interesting piece on Children Of Bodom that was the latest issue's cover story.

And if you like podcasts, make sure to check out Talking Metal. You've probably seen their show on Fuse, but it all started as a podcast. John Ostronomy and Mark Strigl talk with a lot of different artists on the podcasts, and them talking about metal amongst themselves is also interesting.

Praises To The War Machine has some elements you'd hear on a Nevermore CD, but Dane blazes a lot of new territory as well. It's a very melodic album, sometimes bombastic and guitar heavy, other times subdued and mellower. It's a pretty straightforward album with some mainstream rock and gothic influences. Those gothic influences are most noticeable on Dane's cover of the Sisters Of Mercy song "Lucretia My Reflection."

Nevermore fans know Dane has a great voice, and that's on full display here. From deep baritone crooning to melodic singing to belting it out, he's always on point. Praises To The War Machine has some excellent songs, especially the mellower ones, and it's good to hear Dane exploring some different musical styles.

Read the complete Warrel Dane - Praises To The War Machine Review

(CD cover courtesy Century Media Records)

Every week I recommend a different metal band you might not be familiar with. Most metal fans know the major artists, but sometimes it’s nice to dig a little deeper to more underground or even unsigned bands. This week’s recommended band is Exhorder. They formed in New Orleans, Louisiana in the late ‘80s. They were a thrash metal band who played a very groove oriented style similar to groups like Pantera. They released two CDs before breaking up in 1994. The band just announced that have reunited again (they got together briefly a couple times in the early 2000s) and are working on new material. The band’s two CDs are also being re-released in July.

Genre: Thrash Metal
Comparable Artists: Pantera
Location: New Orleans, USA
MySpace Page: www.myspace.com/exhordernola

If there’s an artist you’d like to suggest to be the recommended band of the week, send me an email!

Requiem is a dark and atmsopheric album with a lot of Burzum influences. The majority of the album is a majestic and dissonant effort, with a thick layer of instruments growing into a cacophony of noise and fury. Conversely, there are many mellow and atmospheric sections that float along on a cushion of keyboards.

The vocals are buried deep in the mix. You'll hear some screams, groans and yells, but it's used to accent and reinforce the music, not as a primary focus. The emotional impact of black metal can leave one feeling unsettled, and there's some of that here, but Requiem actually has some relaxing moments, which makes it somewhat out of the ordinary for the genre.

Read the complete I Shalt Become - Requiem Review

(CD cover courtesy Moribund Records)

Boris will be touring North America beginning in June with Torche (Wolves In The Throne Room were initially booked for the tour but have since withdrawn from the venture). Boris just released the CD Smile. Torche is touring in support of their recent release Meanderthal.

Boris and Torche Tour Dates:
06/24/2008 Casbah - San Diego, CA
06/25/2008 The Clubhouse - Tempe, AZ
06/27/2008 Rubber Gloves - Denton, TX
06/28/2008 The Mohawk - Austin, TX
06/29/2008 White Rabbit - San Antonio, TX
07/01/2008 Spanish Moon - Baton Rouge, LA
07/02/2008 Common Grounds - Gainesville, FL
07/03/2008 The Social - Orlando, FL
07/05/2008 The Earl - Atlanta, GA
07/06/2008 Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC
07/08/2008 Black Cat - Washington, DC
07/09/2008 First Unitarian Church - Philadelphia, PA
07/10/2008 Webster Hall - New York, NY
07/11/2008 The Middle East - Cambridge, MA
07/12/2008 La Sala Rosa - Montreal, QC
07/13/2008 Barrymore - Ottawa, ON
07/14/2008 Lee's Palace - Toronto, ON
07/15/2008 Tralf - Buffalo, NY
07/16/2008 Grog Shop - Cleveland, OH
07/17/2008 Diesel - Pittsburgh, PA
07/18/2008 St. Andrews Hall - Detroit, MI
07/19/2008 Turner Hall - Milwaukee, WI
07/20/2008 Pitchfork Music Festival / Union Park - Chicago, IL
07/22/2008 The Waiting Room - Omaha, NE
07/23/2008 Granada Theatre - Lawrence, KS
07/25/2008 Marquis Theater - Denver, CO
07/26/2008 Urban Lounge - Salt Lake City, UT
07/29/2008 Neumo's - Seattle, WA

Throne Of The Depths is dark and majestic Viking metal. It's a diverse effort mixing raw black metal with atmospheric keyboards and acoustic folk. Drautran smoothly transitions from bleak and intense to grandiose and regal to mellow and introspective.

The vocals are also really diverse. They go from melodic singing/chanting to yells to growls to shrieks. The lyrics aren't in English, but in this genre you can't understand them anyway, so it doesn't matter if they're in German, Old Norse or Klingon. Throne Of The Depths is an impressive debut, and hopefully black metal fans won't have to wait another 8 years for the follow up.

Read the complete Drautran - Throne Of The Depths Review

(CD cover courtesy Prophecy North America)