Is it just me or is Metal Blade Records on something of a win streak lately with their young band signings? While certain labels to remain nameless seem to be venturing into either mainstreamy/emoy metalcore or seem content to sign the same old same old or hedge their bets all on one sub-genre, Metal Blade’s young band roster is extremely diversified and remarkably clunker free. Let’s take a look at the band’s they’ve signed in the past couple of years:

• Aeternam: Classic American death metal mixed with a more melodic, epic, and Euro — but decidedly dark — sense of melody. Check out the song “The Coronation of Seth” on their MySpace page — pure win.
• Allegaeon: Technical melodic death metal that our own Sammy O’Hagar seemed to like and that our own Bob Cock seems to LOVE.
• Bison B.C.: My favorite of the Mastodon-inspired psych/stoner/crust metal masses with a good bit of originality. Incredibly fun to watch live.
• Istapp: Frosty Immortal-style black metal that indulges in every cliche in the book (in a good way) and isn’t mired in shit production.
• Barn Burner: Up-beat, throwback stoner metal ala The Sword that’s got some real soul and actual musicality.
• Fleshwrought: Johnny Davy’s and Navene Koperweis (ex-Animosity, Animals as Leaders) new tech-death project. Quality!

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Metal Blade is nothing if not a diverse record label, and with the signing of Sweden’s Istapp (which I think is actually pronounced “iss [rhymes with piss]-tap,” contrary to what this article’s Picard facepalm-inducing headline would suggest) Metal Blade are poised to further explore the realm of dark, frosty black metal. Signed in July of last year, Istapp will unleash their debut album Blekinge upon the world in June and will presumably continue to unleash a barrage of Picard facepalm-inducing press quotes as well. Samples:

“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!”

and:

“We are confident that the piece of deadly art about to strike down on you all will be the first really true metal-album ever to be released to this world” comments the band on its upcoming release Blekinge, a dark and unrelenting black metal beast of an album set to devour the world this summer.”

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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