MetalSucks

So, uh… apparently Portland, OR epic doomsters Agalloch — perennial MetalSucks favorites — have a new DVD out called The Silence of Forgotten Landscapes. The band’s official website makes no mention of it, nor does the band’s MySpace page (save an inclusion on the discography). No other metal sites seem to be reporting on it, and a Google search of “Agalloch The Silence of Forgotten Landscapes” turns up a bunch of torrent sites and, finally, a buy page on The Omega Order. Save the wise tip of MS reader Daniel Guzman, I never would’ve known about this release, Agalloch’s first into the visual realm.

Leave it up to the members of Agalloch’s Fan Page to actually provide some real info about this release:

First-ever DVD from the mighty Agalloch. The main feature of this DVD is a show recorded on March 29, 2008 in Belgium — eight tracks culled from the band’s three albums to date, totaling over 70 minutes. Features another 50 minutes of extra material, which includes about 10 minutes of original music written and performed by John Haughm. [By request of the band, $2.50 of each DVD sale will be donated to a nature preservation society that protects parts of northern Belgium and southern Holland.]

Well, what gives, dudes? There are lots of folks I know who would be interested in this release if only they knew about it. Way to completely drop the ball. The DVD’s been out for a week now and I haven’t seen a single press release or article. Maybe the DVD really sucks and they’re ashamed of it? Who knows. If any readers have the DVD, please tell us how it is in the comments.

Since neither the band or record label seem to care enough to share this information with you, we have the tracklisting and a list of bonus features after the jump, taken from the fan page.

Click to read more…

I haven’t sung the praises of Salome in awhile, so here goes: this band crushes. Everyone I know who has seen them live has just been floored with them. Guitarist Rob Moore and drummer Aaron Deal (read my interview with Mr. Deal here) play as though they’re actively attempting to use soundwaves as a weapon, and vocalist Kat… well, she goes to some other place. Like, she temporarily becomes psychotic or something. (Actually, maybe she’s always psychotic. I’ve never actually met her, but her art is pretty dark. I once considered buying a piece because I think it’s so cool, but I was afraid if women saw it on my wall, I’d never get laid again. Of course, right now I’m having trouble finding the link to the page where you can buy her art, but just take my word for it. It’s bleak.)

Now Salome have signed a deal to release their next full-length – actually, I think it’s their first full-length – through Profound Lore. That makes them label mates with Agalloch, The Gates of Slumber, Cobalt, Alceste, and some other awesome bands. In other words: it seems like a good fit.

The band is still writing said full-length, but they have a split with Thou coming out sometime soon (more details as I get them!), and I strongly encourage you to check out their EP in the meantime – or, even better, go see them live. As we reported before, they’ll hit the road in September on a tour with the equally fantastic Hull and Batillus, and will even be playing the MetalSucks co-sponsored Planet Caravan fest in North Carolina alongside Clutch, Kylesa, Burst, Wino, and a whole bunch of other great groups. Really. Go see them. It is truly a fucking experience.

Complete tour dates after the jump. If you don’t know Salome, visit them on MySpace ASAP.

Click to read more…

I’m not really sure how the entirely acoustic music peddled by Ottawa’s Musk Ox could be considered metal… but yet, somehow, it unmistakably is. Musk Ox, whose self-titled Absurdist Records debut drops January 19th, beg the age-old question of what actually defines metal. Is it distorted guitars? If you answered “yes” then you’d have to bar similar bands like Agalloch and Daylight Dies from admission to the metal pantheon, yet surely this is not something you want to do. Like those bands are wont to do, Musk Ox pluck out neo-classical melodies on their acoustic guitars augmented by rainy-day strings to create a gloomy, dark landscape of desperation and despair that just screams metal, even despite the lack of distortion, drums or words. This is the kind of metal brutal Canadian winters must be made of.

-VN

I am currently in the midst of a signing tour for my latest book, PURE MURDER. Nothing helps me keep my sanity more when I am on the road paying outrageous sums of money for gas, dealing with complete fucking morons behind the wheel, and trudging through Texas-sized traffic jams than listening to heavy metal at full volume.

Here are some quick reviews of some of the metal I cranked on my recent trip to Houston for a booksigning, and then to Huntsville for the execution of one of the killers from my book.

Click to read more…

Finland’s Omnium Gatherum, a gloomy, dark doom/death band of whom Axl and I are big fans, have posted two new full tracks from their new album The Redshift, out September 22 in Europe and October 14 in the U.S. (Candlelight). I’m tired and unable to come up with anything funny/interesting, but trust us, it’s good and you’ll like it if you like stuff like Daylight Dies and Agalloch.

-VN

Oceans of Sadness are a band who grabbed my attention based solely on their name, which despite its emo-osity beckoned me to give them a listen. The Belgium-based sextet combine elements of Scandinavian-influenced death/doom (Insomnium, Daylight Dies, Agalloch) with a more airy, ethereal, progged-out but dark sense of melody reminiscent of To-Mera meets Type O Negative. Does that make any sense at all? Didn’t think so, but neither do 99% of music descriptions.

Oceans of Sadness’ MySpace page says they have a new album coming out some time this year called The Arrogance of Ignorance but doesn’t specify a date. One track from that record, “Some Things Seem So Easy,” is posted on their MySpace. Also check out their haunting, truly wicked sounding cover of Alice in Chains’ “Them Bones” (complete with a keyboard rendition of the guitar solo). Dig it.

-VN

North Carolina’s Daylight Dies make some of the doomiest melodic death metal out there — and along with Washington’s Agalloch, make some of the music best suited for a rainy day.

No wonder it’s raining here in NYC then, because Daylight Dies have released a brand new track (I’ll be here all day, folks!) on the Candelight Records MySpace page, called “A Portrait in White.” The track comes off the new album Lost to the Living, which hits stores June 24th.

I am super fucking excited about this record! Which makes me all that much more of a sucker for not going to see Daylight Dies open for Candlemass tonight at BB King’s. Alas… someone who is going please send us a report. In the meantime at least I have this track to enjoy.

-VN

A recent comment by Kye reminded me that we really ought to write about Pacific Northwest atmospheric doomsters Agalloch. Beautifuly doomy might be one way to describe the sound of this mostly instrumental, rarely touring foursome; the best way to describe this music could be to say that this is metal that absolutely sounds like it was written by dudes who live somewhere where it rains, all the time. Think a less Death-y, darker Daylight Dies. Their 2006 release Ashes Against the Grain (The End) is a great record to blaze to on a rainy day, what with such precipitation-inspired tracks as “Fire Above, Ice Below,” “Falling Snow,” and “Not Unlike the Waves.”

Agalloch has a new record called The White EP due on Vendlus Records on that most metal of days, Feb 29, so metal it only happens once every four years. “Sowilo Rune,” a preview track recently made available on their MySpace page, interweaves acoustic guitars with pianos, whispers, samples, and the occasional airy electric lead. It’s a whole lot less heavy than their previous output, but the band assures fans they aren’t permanently altering their sound: “As with all of our EPs and limited releases, this is not necessarily a sign of things to come. We envision small releases as opportunities to experiment and try new things without the weighty demands of a full-length release. So, expect a different sound, but also expect something that sits nicely with the rest of our work.” And while the new material is certainly different, it’s absolutely in character with the rest of their work.

Pre-order The White EP at www.vendlus.com/store. This release is limited to 2000 copies.

Be sure to check out Agalloch on MySpace, where you can also hear some of their older, heavier material. Think of the new, mostly acoustic EP as music for a snowy day, perhaps.

-VN