METAL BLADE SIGNS A COUPLE OF WINNERS
Thursday, July 9th, 2009 at 3:33pm by Vince Neilstein
Is it just for me or has Metal Blade been signing bands left and right? I guess in today’s climate of people not paying for music, the more the merrier, right?
Here are a couple of recent Metal Blade signees that I’m really digging at the moment:
Eryn Non Dae: When will lazy journalists stop comparing all French metal bands to Gojira? Oh, wait… oops. But seriously, the other day I read a review of Hacride in Decibel in which the reviewer compared them sonically to Gojira (false) and then said the record may be just as good as The Way of All Flesh (also false — but it is good). Are we even listening to the same band? If not for sharing a home country, these comparisons would never be made; the two bands share very little other than being French, being metal, and being awesome. ANYWAY, Eryn Non Dae are also from France, are also metal, and are also awesome. They do not sound like Gojira (or Hacride); they sound a whole lot more like Meshuggah drums and vocals-wise, with some real different guitar playing in the form of added dissonance and chaotic, frenetic Dillinger-esque passages. They’re pretty f’n cool; if you like the proggy weirdo metal shit I usually recommend, you’re gonna like this. Check ‘em out.
Istapp: The press release announcing Istapp’s signing to Metal Blade has a collective quote from these three Swedes that sums up pretty much everything you need to know about the band:
“We are proud to announce that we have conquered Metal Blade Records. The war against the sun will now proceed with an even stronger force. Our upcoming album “Blekinge” will hit the earth hard. Prepare yourself for the final avalanche!”
Alright, I can get down with that! Istapp play black metal that doesn’t sound like it was recorded inside Varg’s asshole and is actually weirdly catchy. It’s like halfway between Enslaved and 1349 (pre-Revelations of the Black Flame). Curious to hear how this holds up over a full-length release; we’ll find out soon enough.
-VN
Speaking of French metal, might I suggest Trepalium? They toured with Gojira at one point (or something), and are an amazing death/groove/progressive metal band.
I recommended them once. I never got a reply.
metal blade is the only label in which i actually follow what bands they sign based on their amazing track record.
I wholeheartedly approve is Istapp; the other black metal band they just signed, Valkyrja, is even better!
*of Istapp, rather.
Don’t new bands realize that some part of the band sounds like another? The vocalist from Eryn Non Dae might as well be Jens Kidman because he sounds EXACTLY LIKE HIM. Pathetic. Is anyone else tired of all these terrible Meshuggah ripoffs? When do we get to start killing them off systematically?
How about we kill off all Slayer, Iron Maiden, Carcass, Black Sabbath and At The Gates rip off bands too? That way there won’t be any metal bands left at all, then all will be well.
Go Istapp!
I like wars against suns.
that wise-ass sun has been strutting around for too long.
Sitting up there all arrogant, i cant even look at it
its a reference to most religions, most notably christianity.
dude way to kill a joke
Ha!
Istapp is actually pretty good they have the recently departed vocalist from Spawn Of Possession check out Koldens Union that was a great record.
I lived in Blekinge, Sweden for a while and didn’t hear any local metal bands but Istapp sounds pretty alright.
Dave B says:
July 9, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Don’t new bands realize that some part of the band sounds like another? The vocalist from Eryn Non Dae might as well be Jens Kidman because he sounds EXACTLY LIKE HIM. Pathetic. Is anyone else tired of all these terrible Meshuggah ripoffs? When do we get to start killing them off systematically?
They are a Meshuggah ripoff are they? Try listening to all of “Hydra Lernaia” first, because they are a lot more personal and evolved this time around.
The vocalist IS a complete ripoff. I wasn’t referencing the rest of the band. Considering Meshuggah is one of my favorite bands of all the times I’m not sure how much of his singing I’ll be able to stomach on “Hydra”. But what the fuck else am I doing….
im bummed that the singer of spawn of possession quit to do Istapp full time :(