Good month for metal
 

Testament - The Formation of Damnation: Skolnick is back and it sounds like classic Testament all over again, but I still like 'The Gathering' the best.

Children of Bodom - Blooddrunk: STOOOOOPID title. First song, 'Hellhounds on my tail" is killer. The rest are good to decent. Better than the last album.

Firewind - The Premonition: Greek metal! Let the '300' jokes begin. This one is more consistent than the last album. "Circle of Life" is the best track.

In Flames - A Sense of Purpose: Old time fans will complain again. But it's not bad. Certainly not 'Colony' but not bad.

So, anyone else like these guys?

http://www.norcalblogs.com/post_scri...of%20Nerds.jpg
Sweet!

I like the Bodom more than the In Flames. In Flames put on the better show, though.

I'd suggest people check out the new Origin album if your into what's consitered 'extreme death metal'

Didn't the new Death Angel come out this month too?

I was pretty disappointed with In Flames.

I have CoB but haven't had a chance to spin it yet.

I cannot wait for the Testament - I've been a fan since The New Order was released.

Don't forget about the remaster Special Edition of Opeth - Still Life!

I'm excited about the Testament, and didn't even realize they'd released a special edition of Still Life. I'm going to have to pick that one up.

I've got the first two Firewind albums, and they are great!

I haven't picked up any of their stuff since the original singer was let go (turned out working from two different continents was difficult - go figure).

I'll pick up the rest of their catalog before too long, though. Great band.

Will definitely be picking up the new Testament ASAP. Have listened to the new In Flames a couple times now, and it isn't really doing much for me.

As far as Children of Bodom goes... I know people really dig this stuff, and I've tried NUMEROUS times to get into it. Generally, I like their sound, but once every damn song breaks out into a cheesy 80's sounding keyboard solo, and have to turn it off. Ugh!

New Testament is going to be killer. When's that out again, the 29th?

Children of Bodom: Blooddrunk is ok, but it's obvious these guys are running out of riffs. A lot of it sounds similar to past efforts, with only a couple of tracks somewhat standing out.

Opeth: Still Life remaster is one I'd like to get, but without any new bonus tracks, and with the current release still sounding good, I might lag on picking this one up for a while. Although it would help to get me that much more pumped for Watershed.

I've never liked In Flames.

I want to check out the new Origin album. I liked their last effort.

Not sure if this would sweeten the deal for you, but there's a DVD with a 5.1 mix in this release.

Testament
and
Children of Bodom

\m/

That does help, although I'm typically one of those "movies are for home, music is for the car" kind of people, so I probably wouldn't get a ton of mileage out of it. Still, good to know.

For those into metalcore, Unearth has a new dvd out. Great performance.

Also, in 2 months we have new opeth.

What i found amusing about this, is that my favorite song track 3 "Lobotomy" is the only song on the album that wasn't written by Alexi. It was written by someone named Kim Gross.

Wait, did somebody say new Death Angel?! Must investigate further...

As a long time fan of Testament, this whole Skolnick thing snuck up on me, very nice surprise for a hibernating fan. I hope for a return to the Practice what you Preach days.

For all Opeth fans on here, check out TheOmegaOrder.com for a sweet exclusive on this. I ordered the Deluxe Edition which includes: the special edition CD/DVD version of the album, the vinyl release (which has a bonus track), a poster, an autographed booklet and a free CD (which contains something called "Mellotron Heart". Not sure if it's Opeth or something else). All for $40.99. Not bad at all.

Another easier URL for the above is www.theendrecords.com.

I've got my CD/DVD set on order with them.

I hear a clip of "Lotus Eater" and it sounds awesome.

Also had a chance to spin the Still Life remaster, and it is a marked improvement over the previous Peaceville digipak release.

Kim Gross was in Synergy with Alexi (I think they dated or were married). She was also in the band Ancient and briefly played keyboards for Dimmu Borgir way back in the day.

For me, CoB has been a disappointment since Hatecrew Deathtoll and In Flames since Reroute to Remain. But anything before those albums, for me, is where it's at.

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/5258/cobcj6.jpg

The guy on the right doesn't look like he belongs in a metal band.

Are you saying that metalheads are so shallow that looks matter?

well that and the whole Keytar. I have no prob with metal bands that use keyboards.

Theres also a new Walls of Jericho EP on the 29th which i am very interested in hearing, as its much slower and accousticly based then most of their stuff. And I'm a big fan of "No Saving Me" from their last album. They also apparently did a cover of "house of the rising sun"

I'm trying to not be biased about that release.

Walls Of Jericho is one of my favorite hardcore bands and have been for a long time now. Don't know how I feel about Corey Taylor (Slipknot/Stone Sour) helming the controls for the production of the new EP.

Definitely a good month for metal....

Origin: Antithesis
Soilent Green: Inevitable Collapse In The Presence Of Conviction
Arsis: We Are The Nightmare
The Sword: Gods of The Earth
Cephalic Carnage: Conforming To Abnormality (Re-release)

well, they do have a full length that is supposed to come out in the fall, so i don't think they're abandoning the hardcore stuff just yet. As long as they don't go in the way of Eighteen Visions and Atreyu (making simpler more radio friendly music to sell to a mass audience), i'll be more then happy.