I first became aware of Pallbearer after hearing singer/guitarist Brett Campbell’s stunning guest vocal turn on Loss’ Despond. I quickly discovered that there was quite a buzz surrounding the Arkansas-bred quartet, based on the strength of a three song demo (which is available as a free download on the band’s bandcamp page), not to mention the fact that they too had signed with the mighty Profound Lore. But as fond as I was of Mr. Campbell’s contribution to Despond, I decided to steer clear of said buzz, purposefully not listening to the demo or any preview tracks prior to hearing Sorrow and Extinction in full. You see, in this day and age, bands rarely live up to their hype, and I feared that if I gave in to the buzz, I’d only be setting myself up for disappointment when I finally had the album in hand. Read more »
Archive for doom
Behold! The Monolith – Defender, Redeemist (self-released, 2012)
Posted in death metal, doom, hard rock, heavy metal, Metal, Music, Reviews, rock, sludge, stoner rock with tags Behold! The Monolith, California, death metal, doom, hard rock, heavy metal, Los Angeles, Metal, Music, Reviews, rock, sludge, stoner rock, USA on 01/25/2012 by THKD
I’ve always been fascinated by power trios. It surely has something to do with my love of all things raw and stripped down, since it doesn’t get any more stripped down than tres hombres against the world, brandishing only electric instruments and bad attitudes. The power trio is the bare minimum of musicians needed to produce a full and complete sound within a rock or metal format (although I’m sure there are plenty of duos who would beg to differ… eh, fuck ‘em); it’s all about maximizing the minimal, and I’ve often found that power trios are inherently heavier and more powerful-sounding than these bands that feel the need to have three guitarists, two vocalists, four drummers, a percussionist, a keyboardist, a DJ, an acrobat, a lion tamer, etc… just listen to Motorhead, Venom, High on Fire or Hellhammer and you’ll catch my drift.
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THKD’S NUCLEAR NEW YEAR’S EVIL GIVEAWAY!
Posted in black metal, contests, death metal, doom, giveaways, grindcore, hard rock, hardcore, heavy metal, Metal, Music, rock, sludge, stoner rock, thrash, traditional metal with tags 2011, 2012, black metal, contests, death metal, doom, giveaways, grindcore, hard rock, heavy metal, Metal, rock, thrash on 01/01/2012 by THKD
Thanks to you, the loyal readers, 2011 was the best year ever for That’s How Kids Die. I can’t believe the great response the blog has gotten over the course of the last year, and I’m honored that so many of you are willing to take time out of your days and nights to read my incoherent ramblings on all things heavy metal.
So, in the spirit of giving something back to you, the readers, and to kick off another year of THKD with a bang, I am proud to announce our first ever giveaway!
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THKD’s Top 10 Metal Albums of 2011
Posted in black metal, death metal, doom, drone, grindcore, hard rock, hardcore, heavy metal, industrial, Metal, Music, reissues, Reviews, rock, Satan, sludge, stoner rock, thrash, traditional metal, USBM with tags Metal, Nuclear Blast, black metal, death metal, Black Market Activities, Metal Blade, thrash, doom, Vader, Today is the Day, Burzum, Music, Maruta, Willowtip, SunnO))), heavy metal, Profound Lore, Century Media, Disma, 20 Buck Spin, Southern Lord, drone, The Ash Eaters, Fiends at Feast, Pentagram, Antediluvian, Deafheaven, Relapse, Hell, Exhumed, Passive Aggressive, Byelobog, Azarath, Uncanny, Opeth, Blut Aus Nord, Roadrunner, Witching Hour, The Lurking Corpses, Wolvhammer, Mournful Congregation, Deathwish, Debemur Morti, Conqueror, Katatonia, Best Metal Albums of 2011, Nuclear War Now!, Dark Descent on 12/23/2011 by THKD
WARNING: The following year end rant contains numerous piss poor attempts at humor and a healthy dose of cynicism. Reader discretion and a grain of salt are advised. THKD cannot be held responsible for anyone suffering from a severe case of butt-hurt as a result of exposure to this rant. Thank you for your support.
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Mournful Congregation – The Book of Kings (20 Buck Spin, 2011)
Posted in death metal, doom, heavy metal, Metal, Music, Reviews with tags 20 Buck Spin, Adelaide, Australia, death metal, doom, funeral doom, Metal, Mournful Congregation, Reviews, The Book of Kings, The Unspoken Hymns on 12/04/2011 by THKD
As a metal journalist and critic, I occasionally run into albums that are so fucking good that they’re confounding. No amount of hyperbole will suffice with which to convey the brilliance of their myriad layers and intricacies. Such is the case with The Book of Kings, the fourth full length from Australian funeral doom practitioners Mournful Congregation. In listening to it, I feel as if my meager skills as a wordsmith are completely incapable of describing such a masterful recording, and yet I’m still compelled to spill the digital ink in service of this great work.
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New music from The Ash Eaters.
Posted in black metal, doom, gothic rock, Metal, Music, rock, USBM with tags Angelfuck, black metal, Brown Jenkins, Cold Hearts, Death Comes Ripping, doom, gothic rock, Misfits, The Ash Eaters, The Cruel Side, USA on 11/28/2011 by THKD
The Ash Eaters have released a new two track digital EP, The Cruel Side via their bandcamp page. For those not familiar, the band is the new project of former Brown Jenkins mastermind, Umesh Amtey. Amtey is probably one of the most underrated guitarists in metal, his playing a schizophrenic locust swarm that attacks from all sides and encompasses elements of black metal, doom, gothic rock and beyond. But as abrasive as this material may appear on the surface, it is also strangely catchy, the sheets of insectoid distortion burrowing deep into the inner recesses of your mind. I’m listening to the EP for the first time as I type this; I’m already eager to listen further. Amtey doesn’t just write songs, he creates musical labyrinths for the ears to explore.
Those of you familiar with The Ash Eaters’ Cold Hearts demo (also available via bandcamp), will instantly notice a distinct progression in playing and composition (as well as the return of Amtey’s Cthulu-esque vocal assault); indeed, the beautiful thing about this music is that it is constantly progressing, changing, morphing into something beyond the confines of extreme music.
I could say a lot more, but I’d rather let the music do the talking. Go grab this now!
http://theasheaters.bandcamp.com/album/the-cruel-side-ep
I’d also highly recommend stopping by The Ash Eaters’ blog to download their cover versions of the Misfits’s “Angelfuck” and “Death Comes Ripping.”
Acid Witch – Stoned (Hells Headbangers, 2011)
Posted in death metal, doom, Metal, Music, Reviews with tags Acid Witch, Alice Cooper, An American Werewolf in London, death metal, doom, Goblin, halloween, heavy metal, Hell's Headbangers, horror, Metal, Michigan, Music, Reviews, Stoned, The MC5, The Return of the Living Dead, The Stooges, USA on 11/25/2011 by THKD
Acid Witch is a band that appeals to me on so many levels that it’s virtually impossible not to like them. On sophomore album Stoned, the Michigan monster squad’s use of horror soundtrack synths, down-tuned doom riffage, battery acid gargling vocals and Halloween decorations gone hallucinogenic artwork is irresistible, as if someone combined all of my obsessions to create one killer recording. It’s also the perfect antidote to a metal scene that’s become a little too serious for my liking of late. I mean, how many po’ faced transcendental post-black fruit-bot-core bands do we really need?
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Wolvhammer – The Obsidian Plains (Profound Lore, 2011)
Posted in black metal, heavy metal, Metal, Music, Reviews, sludge, USBM with tags black metal, doom, Metal, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Profound Lore, punk, Reviews, sludge, The Obsidian Plains, Wolvhammer on 11/09/2011 by THKD
I’ve spilled enough digital ink griping about modern metal’s overabundance of sterility and dearth of originality to fill a book in 2011, which makes it all the more satisfying when a fist in the face like Wolvhammer’s The Obsidian Plains comes along. Actually “a fist in the face” might be an understatement, because this Minnesota wrecking crew isn’t just delivering a knockout blow to candyass modern metal with their sophomore album, they’re slaughtering it with a flurry of filthy, blackened riffage and punishing rhythmic ferocity.
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Loss – Despond (Profound Lore, 2011)
Posted in death metal, doom, Metal, Music, Reviews with tags death metal, Despond, doom, Loss, Metal, Music, Nashville, Profound Lore, Reviews, Tennessee, USA on 10/19/2011 by THKD
In my mid-twenties, I would occasionally fall into deep bouts of depression. There were days in college where I felt so miserable that I wouldn’t even get out of bed. It felt like an immense buildup of pressure inside my skull, like someone had tied cinderblocks to my legs and dropped me into the ocean. Although I never once contemplated suicide during those days when the dark waters of despair lapped at my feet, I did often think about what it would be like to just curl up and die, and whether or not anyone would give a shit if I did.
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THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #2: Type O Negative – October Rust (Roadrunner, 1996)
Posted in doom, gothic rock, halloween, hard rock, heavy metal, Metal, Music, Reviews, rock with tags Bauhaus, Black Sabbath, Brian Wilson, doom, gothic metal, gothic rock, Metal, New York, October Rust, Pet Sounds, Peter Steele, Roadrunner, The Beatles, Tony Iommi, Type O Negative, USA on 09/24/2011 by THKD
Autumn in the Midwest is typically dark and chilly, a time of introspection. The sweltering heat and humidity of Summer dissipates, September’s cool, wet mornings and brown leaf vertigo eventually ushering in October, and with it Halloween, all cardboard skeletons and freshly carved jack-o-lanterns. Over the years, Type O Negative’s October Rust has more often than not served as my soundtrack to this drearily beautiful, eerily haunting season, and what a soundtrack it is.
I seem to remember reading interviews with dearly departed Type O frontman Peter Steele in which he proclaimed October Rust as his masterpiece, and it’s damn hard to argue with him. This is a truly excellent album, conceived by a musician who wrote as if he held The Beatles and Black Sabbath (and possibly Bauhaus) in equal regard. In actuality, the lushly layered pop sensibilities of October Rust recall the work of Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson moreso than The Beatles. If Wilson had been obsessed with death, lost love, substance abuse and folklore, this might have been the album he made instead of Pet Sounds. Indeed, there is an atmosphere of dark psychedelia lurking below October Rust‘s surface, adding yet another shade of grey haze to its funereal gloom.
From a song standpoint, the album’s highlights are many. Opening epic dirge “Love You to Death” and electro/pop/goth/metal lead-off single “My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend” are probably the two most well known tracks here, and while they’re certainly worthy of their infamy, October Rust is a veritable treasure trove of deep cuts. “Green Man” is an otherworldly ode to nature, touching upon pagan and Wiccan themes. ”Red Water (Christmas Mourning)” is a drunken carol of lost loved ones that even manages to quote “Carol of the Bells”. ”Wolf Moon” is my favorite track on October Rust, the very definition of a perfect song; it’s heavy, catchy, melodic and totally original in both concept and execution. I’m pretty sure it’s about a werewolf (or perhaps a man who thinks he’s a werewolf) performing cunnilingus on a menstruating woman (“Don’t spill a drop, dear / let me kiss the curse away / yourself in my mouth / will you leave me with your taste?”); it serves as the culmination of the morose, surreal sexuality that permeates the album. On an earlier track, the lusty “Be My Druidess”, Steele declares “I’ll do anything / to make you come” and I’ve often wondered if the two songs are related, with the “anything” in question being the bloody, lupine muff diving session detailed on “Wolf Moon”. Then again, maybe I’m just a weird pervert.
The component parts of the songs on October Rust are just as interesting as the songs themselves. The down-tuned, electric ultra-fuzz of Kenny Hickey’s guitar tone is total Tony Iommi worship, but the myriad influences at work within October Rust‘s aural confines keep it from being a mere Sabbath rip-off; it’s more like Hickey studied Iommi closely and then applied what he learned in support of Steele’s eclectic writing style, creating something totally unique in the process. Steele’s affinity for crafting great songs peaked with October Rust, and his vampiric baritone vocals are also at the height of their powers throughout the recording, securing the late frontman an eternal place among metal’s greatest and most recognizable singers and songwriters. Josh Silver’s nuanced keyboards and production work completes the album’s rich sonic tapestry, which seamlessly encompasses doom metal, gothic and psychedelic rock. If you’re wondering why I didn’t mention the drums, well… according to an interview Silver gave in 2007, the drums on October Rust are canned.
October Rust is many things. It’s Summer dying fast. It’s November coming fire. It’s the Green Man, the Wolfman and Bacchus. It’s love, death and depression. It’s booze and drugs and cigarettes and fucking. In case it hasn’t already been made abundantly clear, I’ll just come right out and say it: October Rust is a perfect metal album.
THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums
1. Celestial Season – Solar Lovers
2. Type O Negative – October Rust
