CD of the Month
  • Mudvayne
    Mudvayne
    by Mudvayne
Inspiration
  • Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground New Edition
    Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground New Edition
    by Michael Moynihan, Didrik Soderlind
  • Retribution
    Retribution
    by Shadows Fall
  • Brutal Legend
    Brutal Legend
    Electronic Arts
Thursday
Jul052012

Deep Purple - Total Abandon: Australia '99

Actually a re-release of a previous live CD, Steve Morse helps make this recording shine.It's been about 7 years since we've had new music from Deep Purple.  The band was rejuvenated back in '96 when they enlisted guitar maestro Steve Morse to take over the axe duties.  Since he joined the band, they've released 4 studio albums as well as a slew of live records, but while the band still actively tours, it has not recorded any new tunes in a while; the latest release from the band is actually a re-release of a live recording they did back in '99 with the Mark VII line-up, featuring a show recorded in Australia in support of the Abandon record.  Originally released in a 2-disc format, the re-release has the show reduced to one disc.

Total Abandon is a good show which really shows off the talents of Morse.  This CD is a wankfest for guitarists; Morse has several moments to shine on this disc and does - check out the solo on Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming and you'll hear what I mean.  The set list is a combination of new and old material and I have to say it was refreshing hearing some of the newer material live.  The band is firing on all cylinders and sounds great.  There are a few shaky moments in the vocal department, but that is to be expected give the age of Ian Gillan.  I'm sure it gets more difficult each year to hit those high notes he did back in the day.  All in all not a bad listen. Give this one a few spins before you make judgment, because it gets better with time.

Bottom Line: Deep Purple showing that they can still do it live - well at least in '99.  The band is sounding strong with the exception of Gillan in a few areas.

- Ragman liked this one better than he thought he would...

Sunday
Jun242012

Podcast #137: Singed

If you ever find yourself wandering the Texas Hill Country and have a powerful thirst, point in the direction of Jester King Brewery and tell 'em we sent you.Do beer and metal really go together?  If so, how metal can you make a stout?  Genghis and Ragman discuss the correlation between beer and metal with a short walk on the dark side.  Then join the boys as the they get into some black metal chit-chat - whilst sipping on some strong ale from new favorite brewery Jester King - with brewmaster Jeff Stuffings as he discusses his company’s ever growing line of beers and what he jams to while brewing them.

DVD of the Show: Dimmu Borgir - The Invaluable Darkness

Beer of the Show: Thrash Metal Farmhouse Strong Ale (Jester King)
 
Appearance: 3.5
Aroma: 3.5
Palate: 2.5
Taste: 3.0
Overall: 3.5
"A Texan Belgian Strong Ale that makes you want to bang your head."
 

Featured Tracks:  Mystic Prophecy - Hollow; Dream Evil - Chasing the Dragon; Dimmu Borgir - In Death’s Embrace; Motorhead - Get Back in Line; ICS Vortex - Skoal; Absu - Abraxis Connexus; Rhope - Into the Box; Insomnium - Song of the Blackest Bird; Immortal - Norden on Fire; Vader - Cold Demons; The Sword - How Heavy This Axe

Classic of the Show King Diamond - The Black Horsemen

Genghis Pick of the Show:  Rhope - Your Peace

Ragman Pick of the Show:  Rage - Feel My Pain

Ragman apologizes for the delay on this one, but he needed to recharge the batteries...

Podcast #137: Singed

Friday
Jun222012

Dark Forest - Dawn of Infinity

Dude, do you like NWOBHM tunes? Have I got a band for you!I have gone on record as being in favor of bands that sound just like the bands they apparently idolize. I've got no problem with the likes of Barn Burner, Airbourne or Dark Forest. My only opinion on the subject at large is simply don't suck at it, and don't just regurgitate existing songs, at least try to be as original as you can considering that you're clearly influenced by other great bands. There's actually something cool about the way bands like the aforementioned pay homage to bands that can't be around forever - and may not even sound remotely like they did in their prime. It's a sort of carrying of the torch as far as I'm concerned, and more power to 'em.

In the case of Dark Forest and their 2nd full-length album, Dawn of Infinity, we've got a clear case of Iron Maiden-influenced lads who make some really enjoyable music in the venerable NWOBHM genre. Nothing to blow you away - or be ignored, if you're a fan of classic Maidenesque tunes, especially since vocalist Will Lowry-Scott clearly seems to be the lost younger brother of Bruce Dickinson ('Goose' Dickinson?).

The Bottom Line: If you're a fan of NWOBHM music and want to feel like you've stepped into a parallel dimension at some Iron Maiden soundcheck, circa 1985, this is your next purchase. Great old school tunes from some talented guys.

Songs to Plant Your Foot on a Monitor To: Hourglass, The Tor, Through the Glass Darkly, Black Delta

- Genghis is all ready to up the irons this August...

Friday
Jun082012

Allegaeon - Formshifter

Holy crap, these Rocky Mountain boys know how to play some sweet melodeath.The last I spoke of Colorado newcomers Allegaeon, I praised their first full length album, Fragments of Form and Function, as an exhilarating example of American technical melodeath, and a stunning debut for the Fort Collins quartet.  In fact, I hinted at the possibility of a sophomore jinx in light of the impressive tunes I heard back then.  So here we are about a year and a half later for a musical reckoning.  And while I can’t say they’ve topped the first album, I wouldn’t say they’ve failed either.

The new album, Formshifter, comes from a band that has audibly matured while still remaining true to their musical vision. Now, don't go off and interpret that last statement as "this album mostly sounds like the one before, so if you liked that, you'll like this". It kind of means that, but while this new music sounds great, there's a definite difference to it all in that it's less...melodic. Yeah, I know this is melodic death metal, but one of the reasons I loved the first album was because it was even more melodic, which serves as the sweetness that counters the harshness of the rhythyms and gutteral screams; the thing that makes melodeath great. Even so, it's still squarely in the genre, so I hope I'm not throwing you off. I think it's Ezra doing less clean stuff or something, I don't know.

By the way, check out the awesome classical guitar coda on Twelve (4:12). Brilliant.

The Bottom Line: One of the best American bands in the genre, thanks largely to the talents of Greg Burgess and Ryan Glisan on the twin guitar attack. It's like In Flames moved their act to the Rockies (and got back to shredding).

Songs to Ruin Your Voice To: Twelve, Secrets of the Sequence

- Genghis is itchin' to get back to some podcastin' (and dipthongin')...

Friday
Jun012012

Vacation Under Way

It's about that time again, kids. Break out the BBQ grill, and crack open a few tall, cold ones.While Ragman boards a plane for his annual European vacation, I'm working on various upgrades for the site, including a minor redesign that's in the works this summer with some new graphics and whatnot, but essentially the same features (more on that in a bit).

Also, we're working on a little something for the fans of our annual Halloween episode thanks to one of iMovie's newer features (think trailers) that we think you'll enjoy...but perhaps I've said too much.

In the mean time, I want to mention how we're ramping up to the relaunching/retooling of some of our old features:

The Metal Minute - Tracy G was cool enough to write me some theme music, and I've finally got the hang of using my equipment to manage a decent short video news show a la The Soup about the wide world of Heavy Metal. I promise it'll be every bit as funny and rewarding as the rest of our show...*crickets*

The Deck - Ragman has long been wanting to revive his mini-podcast about what he's listening to at the time of recording - and he's always listening to interesting stuff.

Beer of the Show - Mr. G was also kind enough to provide us with a new musical intro to the beer of the show segment of the Genghis & Ragman Show so look for that.

The Bottom Line: We're truly grateful for the accolades you've shown us over the years despite our inconsistency and general lack of work ethic (we blame it on the beer), and Ragman and I want to thank you for listening and we hope to soon be giving you more than ever in the way of quality entertainment* about two of life's best offerings: metal and beer!

*NOTE: Quality of entertainment is not guaranteed.

- Genghis gives all o' youse a big fat HORNS UP!