Posts Tagged ‘metal’

Album of the day: Lair of the Minotaur – Evil Power

Posted on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Lair of the Minotaur - Evil Power

Lovingly pinched from The Obelisk: My chief issue with destructive Chicago outfit Lair of the Minotaur has always been memorability. For each of their three albums prior to the latest, Evil Power (their first on self-release label The Grind-House Records), I’ve been psyched to get the disc, put it on, rocked the fuck out, usually woken up in a puddle of someone else’s blood not knowing where I’ve been or what I’ve done, then put the record on the shelf and completely forgotten about it. It’s happened three times now, and more if you count the Cannibal Massacre EP from 2005.

Back then they were on Southern Lord, and the hype around their brutal attack was palpable. Now people know what to expect from a Lair of the Minotaur album and dress accordingly — Kevlar, chain mail, bicycle helmets, etc. What that means is the trio, now consisting of guitarist / vocalist Steven Rathbone, bassist Nate Olp (Demiricous) and drummer Chris Wozniak, have to change things up a little bit.

Continue reading:  The Obelisk » Blog Archive » Lair of the Minotaur: Evil, Powerful, Pretty Good with Titles.
(Special thanks to JJ Koczan for the kind permission)

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Posted in 2010, Album of the Day, Roadburn Recommended | No Comments »

Album of the day: High on Fire – Snakes for the Divine

Posted on Monday, March 1st, 2010

Lovingly pinched from Pitchfork: High on Fire make burly music; that’s the only thing you can really call it. The Oakland power trio’s thundering roar isn't dumb; there’s a clear technical virtuosity on display in Matt Pike’s squiddling solos, and the songs move confidently through multiple riffs and movements without ...read more

Album of the day: Circle – Tulikoira (Reissue)

Posted on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Praise for Circle’s Tulikoira from San Francisco’s Aquarius Records:  This 2005 Circle album, out of print for a bit, is now newly reissued on CD, this time its jewel case wrapped in a spiffy slipcase, featuring some cool new artwork (and a “no posers” symbol)!
NWOFHM. That’s what it says on ...read more

Album of the day: Neurosis – Times of Grace (Reissue)

Posted on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

Lovingly pinched from BBC Music: When Oakland’s Neurosis first emerged onto California’s burgeoning hardcore punk scene back in 1985, no one could possibly have foreseen the bizarre, revolutionary trajectory that their career would subsequently take. After a couple of albums’ worth of decent but unremarkable hardcore / metal crossover, the ...read more

Album of the day: Shining – Blackjazz

Posted on Thursday, January 21st, 2010

Lovingly pinched from No Ripcord: Though “progressive” metal bands seem to be running rampant anymore, few carry the free jazz sophistication of Norway quartet, Shining, their double-dutch whirlwind of industrial cacophony and Zappa-esque musical deviation at times blurring the line between rupture and rapture. Their last album, Grindstone, demonstrated ...read more

PopMatters Picks: The Best Metal Albums of 2009

Posted on Monday, December 21st, 2009

It seems every year I say it, but this year it’s truer than ever: this was one hell of a year for metal. Sure, we had our share of high profile duds come our way (Heaven and Hell, Ensiferum, Pelican, Killswitch Engage) and more than enough popular records that had ...read more

Album of the day: Jarboe – Mahakali

Posted on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

Lovingly pinched from Brainwashed: Jarboe is an artist that is very much at the mercy of her collaborators; a strong band behind her and she flourishes but accompanied by a weaker artist she flounders. This has made for a patchy career, the dizzying power of her performances with Swans has ...read more

High on Fire reveal tentative album title: Snakes for the Divine

Posted on Thursday, November 5th, 2009

The album isn’t expected to drop until sometime in February, so things could change — but according to High on Fire frontman Matt Pike, the sludge metal trio’s forthcoming LP is tentatively titled ‘Snakes for the Divine.’ And Pike says its perhaps the most progressive offering the band’s ever churned ...read more

Album of the day: Saviours – Accelerated Living

Posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Lovingly pinched from Sonic Dice: Saviours are back. Having been crushed by the sheer noise and overwhelming power of their previous release, Into Abaddon, we were certainly looking forward to more of the same from them this time round.
Hailing from Oakland, California, they come from a place where constrictively noisome ...read more

Album of the day: The Devil’s Blood – The Time of No Time Evermore

Posted on Monday, October 19th, 2009

Lovingly pinched by Stonerrock.com: This six piece band out of Holland delivers a sophisticated and layered album that is taking the world by..a tsunami of stage blood! Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: Yes, their live show consists of smoke machines, candle sconces and a basting of ...read more

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