Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thunder God CD Review

Amon Amarth are back with a powerful new album, Twilight Of The Thunder God. The bands 7th studio album was recorded at Fascination Street Studio in Örebro, Sweden, and was produced by Jen Borgen. The album features Johan Hegg on vocals, Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg on guitars, Ted Lundström on bass and Fredrik Andersson on drums. the album also features a few high profile guests including Lars Göran Petrov of Entombed doing some vocals on the track "Guardians of Asgaard", Roope Latvala of Children of Bodom adding some guitars on the title track and Apocalyptica adding some cellos on "Live for the Kill".

This yet another solid release for Amon Amarth, with 10 tracks of pure metal glory. Twilight Of The Thunder God, the title track, and the first song on the CD, is a great start for this record, with all the classic Amon Amarth style we've come to know and love. If you couldn't guess, they're still pushing the viking themes, which is great. They day they stop doing that is the day we'll mourn the loss of Amon Amarth, but if this album is any indication of the bands end, it's not for a very long time.

Highlights for me include Guardians of Asgard, Varyags of Miklagaard, The Hero, Live for the Kill and Embrace The Endless Ocean. The album also came with a live DVD that contains footage of the bands entire Summer Breeze 2007 show, which included a set of 13 songs, including Valhall Awaits Me, Asator, The Pursuit of Vikings, Fate Of Norns, and so forth. A great addition to an already awesome package.

The production on this album is really good, an improvement even on With Oden On our Side. The guitars are nice and heavy, and everything is in good balance with each other and sounds great. Jens has really outdone himself this time around. If you're a fan, or haven't heard this band before, get this album and give it a good listen, because it's bloody great! Worth it even just for the live DVD.

Twilight Of The Thunder God is now out through Metal Blade.

CD Review: Sword Toward Self - Dissolution Mantras

Sword Toward Self hail from the innards of one of Australia's best cities, Sydney. The band features Dan Nahum (Ironwood, Bleakwood) on drums, Phil Brown (Ironwood) on guitars & vocal duties and Henry Lauer (Ironwood, Intorment Black) on bass. The band takes influences from such artists as Meshuggah, Emperor, Pestilence, Axis of Advance and Suffocation to produce an epic EP titled Dissolution Mantras.

The EP comes in at just under 17 minutes, and is pure metal glory! Full of solid riffs, epic solos and precise drumming, this is a great start for Sword Toward Self. The first track, which is named Sword Toward Self, is a great example of the awesomeness this band is capable of. The first half is a covenant of awesome riffs and melodies, and it then take an unexpected, although not necessarily bad, turn and continues into a nice acoustic section with clean singing vocals and a bass solo, which all fit together quite nicely.
The bass is great to hear, since it's doing more than just play root notes. The inclusions of the mini solo in the self titles track was a great showcase of the talent that Henry posesses. Even on the faster, tromo picked parts you can hear the bass play every note along with the guitar.

The other two songs, Regress/Regret and Iridescent Wings of the Ungods, continue with the heaviness at more epic levels with more kickarse riffs and awe inspiring fills. This is definitely an great CD to headbang to, and an excellent start for Sword Toward Self. the musicianship on this EP really grabs you to the point where you can tell that these guys have been playing for a long time, and take their music seriously.

Do yourself a favour and give these guys a listen, buy the CD from them, it's definitely worth it. Check them out at these following sites:
http://www.myspace.com/swordtowardself
http://www.swordtowardself.com.au

Review: Opeth Live In Sydney 6-9-08

Well, they did it again. Opeth sold out an entire tour across Australia, and, yet again, held their largest headlining show in Sydney, again, with a rumored number of around 3400 tickets sold for this event. A pretty awesome feat for a metal band in a country rarely recognized for it's huge dedication to music.
The day was cold and wet, but that didn't stop people from lining up outside the venue starting at around midday (with doors to open at 7pm). I arrived with my party at around 2:30 and met a few people and had a good ol' chat while waiting for the doors to open at 7pm.

The support act was self acclaimed goth/metal act Virgin Black from Adelaide, who didn't really seem to go down too well with most of the crowd. Like Opeth, they were diverse in style with a heavy/not-so-heavy moments, but they lacked something in between. Their intro needs a bit of working on. The crowd pretty much laughed at the track they had playing as the band entered the stage. They were interesting but couldn't keep my interest for long. Perhaps if I knew their stuff better. For Opeth's one and only support, I think they could have found a better local band.

Opeth were next, of coarse, and it couldn't have come (and gone) any quicker. They were tight as ever, I didn't even notice the lack of Peter! Fredrik did a great job, as did Axe. The whole evening was just an abundance of awesome. They opened with a Watershed track, Heir Apparent, and later they played The Lotus Eater which was flawless, as expected, and it sounded great live.
I'm still unsure if this year's set list was better than the one played in 2006. Both have their strong points. Combined, they'd make the best Opeth show ever, almost. This night's set also included Serenity Painted Death, The Night And The Silent Water, Master's Apprentices, Deliverance, and the one song that got me into Opeth in the first place, The Drapery Falls, amongst many other of coarse. The addition of Demon of The Fall was a highlight for me since we missed out on that song last tour.
During Bleak Mikael's amp decided it had enough, so while the tech crew were sorting that out, the audience got treated to a drum solo (which Axe decided to do to cover Mike's ass), a bass solo, guitar solo and keyboard solo! A nice little treat despite the abrupt end to the song, which was continued anyway. See below for a video!

The venue, Big Top in Luna Park, was okay, same one as their sold out '06 tour. The sound from where I was (front row to the left of stage) wasnt so good, but I expected that since there was no balance and I was right in front of the bass speakers, but everything was still understandable and it came with a great view all through the show. It's an interesting setting for a metal gig though, right in the heart of an amusement park, but it is a popular choice for a lot of bands that come out these days.

All in all, it was a great night, Opeth were every bit as amazing as I would have expected, and I'm sure most of the crowd would agree with me there.

Here is the set list from my memory. Possibly not entirely correct in order, but close.

Heir Apparent
Master's Apprentices
The Baying Of The Hounds
Serenity Painted Death
To Rid The Disease
The Lotus Eater
Bleak (5 min intermission with solos all around)
The Night And The Silent Water
Deliverance
Demon Of The Fall
-----------------
The Drapery Falls

Ironwood - Debut EP Review

Ironwood are a self acclaimed progressive folk metal band from Sydney, Australia. I picked up a copy of their debut self-titled EP featuring the three songs Yggr, The Tree and Song Of The Danes. This 24 minute EP is a great starting point for Ironwood, with Yggr starting out on a softer note, with rain and thunder sounds under some clean guitar (is it more metal of me to actually have listened to this during a real storm here too? I sh!t you not) and progressing into some nice aggressive metal. It's sometimes a hard thing to go from soft to heavy so smoothly, but these guys have the transition working perfectly, and with the sound they have it makes it a very enjoyable listen.
Track two, The Tree is a wonderful 'ballad' so to speak, since it is all clean instruments. Although the next song, Song Of The Danes, returns to the aggressive heavy sound of the previous song in full force. But this song is not without it's softer moments aswell, with a nice break about 2 mins in. This song includes the most awesome solo you'll hear on this cd, although I can't help but think it was too short.

The vocals themselves are something I haven't heard much before, and in relation to the music, it's f!cking awesome. The bass guitar does more than play root notes here aswell, I can actually hear some technicality within the rhythm section. Something that more bassists should do way more often. It has a sort-of Steve Harris galloping sound to it, and although this band doesn't sound much like Iron Maiden, it does kind of remind me of them (which is a good thing). But, if you're after full-on comparisons here, you're not going to get any. I honestly can't think of any other band I've heard that sounds like them. A feat very little accomplished in the metal scene these days.

Basically, this EP works as an introduction to the band, a great intorduction that is. after listening to it all through, I can't wait for more. The production isn't that of 'professional' quality, and by that I mean it's not over-produced, which is no bother for me. Everything was still understandable and sounded great to my ears. The nordic themes give it some extra credit points for me aswell, as it's a subject I enjoy thoroughly (enter epic lightning bolt here). Basically, this is a band that everyone should give a listen at some point, I hear very good things about their live show aswell. Other reviews that I have read only act as support to my statements that this band is destined for something good in the near future.

Check them out now! And keep an eye out for an album sometime soon.
http://www.myspace.com/ironwoodband

http://www.ironwoodsound.com.au

Collections

Here is a list of both my Opeth and Katatonia collections. I'll be updating periodically with pictures of the collections in their entirety and close-ups of anything requested. Enjoy!
Added to the end is a list of some other rarities I may have scored, aswell as what I am after.


Opeth
Orchid UK Original (No logo)
Orchid Thai PROMO CD
Orchid Displeased LP
Orchid DLP Pic Disc
Orchid Purple DLP
Orchid Cassette
Orchid Candlelight Tin
Morningrise UK Original (No logo)
Morningrise Re-release
Morningrise 2006 Japan
Morningrise Cassette
Morningrise Candlelight Tin
Morningrise DLP Pic Disc
Morningrise DLP Pic Disc TEST PRESS (1 of 5)
Morningrise 2008 Grey Vinyl
My Arms Your Hearse UK Original (No logo, stickered)
My Arms Your Hearse USA Original
My Arms Your Hearse Candlelight Tin
My Arms Your Hearse Cassette
My Arms Your Hearse DLP Pic Disc
My Arms Your Hearse 2008 Blue vinyl
Still Life Original Peaceville
Still Life Slipcase CD
Still Life PROMO CD
Still Life re-release digi
Still Life 2008 2cd edition
Still Life Cassette
Still Life Original DLP
Still Life Re-Release DLP (601/2000)
Blackwater Park PROMO
Blackwater Park Kotch Blue PROMO CD (Signed by Mike and Mendez)
Blackwater Park CD UK
Blackwater Park CD Aus
Blackwater Park LTD 2cd
Blackwater Park digi
Blackwater Park Legacy Edition
Blackwater Park Legacy Edition PROMO
Blackwater Park cassette
Blackwater Park 2008 180grm Vinyl
Still Day Beneath The Sun 7" Vinyl Black
Still Day Beneath The Sun 7" Vinyl Grey
Deliverance PROMO CD
Deliverance Aus Cd
Deliverance UK Cd signed
Deliverance Kotch/MFN
Deliverance Music For Nations digi
Deliverance Metal Mind digi
Deliverance 2008 180grm
Deliverance Pic Disc
Damnation CD
Damnation Metal Mind digi
Damnation PROMO CD
Damnation 1st edition vinyl
Damnation 2008 180grm Kotch/MFN DLP
Damnation Cassette
Lamentations DVD
Ghost Reveries 1st release CD
Ghost Reveries 2cd digi (AUS release)
Ghost Reveries 2cd digi (US release)
Ghost Reveries DLP
Ghost Reveries Cassette
Ghost Reveries slimline case acetate promo
Selections from Ghost Reveries Promo (signed by 4 band members)
The Roundhouse Tapes Cd
The Roundhouse Tapes Japanese Cd
The Roundhouse Tapes DVD PAL
The Roundhouse Tapes DVD Jewel case NTSC
The Roundhouse Tapes 2cd promo with case
The Roundhouse Tapes 2cd promo in plastic sleeves
The Candlelight Years
Collectors Edition slipcase 5CD box
Watershed CD
Watershed LTD 2cd
Watershed DLP w/cd
Watershed radio sampler w/fully signed booklet
Porcelain Heart promo (Signed by Fred, Per, Mike & Mendez)
Mellotron Heart promo (Signed by Fred, Per, Mike & Mendez)
Burden Promo Signed by Fred & Per
Live at th Royal Albert Hall 3LP 2DVD Box
Heritage Collector's Edition CD
The Devil's Orchard (Signed by Mike, Mendez and Fred)

Other Opeth bits:
Fredrik Åkesson pick (2)
Fredrik Åkesson pick Dunlop Ultex logo
Watershed booklet SIGNED (framed with poster)
Ghost Reveries Booklet SIGNED
Still Life shirt
Old logo shirt
'06 tour shirt
band pic shirt
'08 watershed shirt (Stockholm stamp on back)
Opeth logo zip hoodie
MAYH zip Hoodie
4 assorted badges
metal pin
metal pendant
Deliverance poster
Large Orange text Watershed Tour poster for Sydney show
Die cut Watershed Australian Tour poster
Ghost Reveries UK poster


Katatonia
Jhva Elohim Meth MCD
Jhva Elohim Meth Blue Vinyl
Jhva Elohim Meth split cassette with Hades
Dance Of December Souls Peaceville Re-Issue digi
Dance Of December Souls Black Lodge re-issue digi
Dance Of December Souls Black Lodge Jewel
Dance Of December Souls Mystic Empire Digi
Dance Of December Souls Cassette
For Funerals to Come purple logo cd
For Funerals to Come cassette
For Funerals to Come Pic Disc
Brave Murder Day Avantgarde original
Brave Murder Day / For Funerals to Come CM
Brave Murder Day / For Funerals to Come PROMO
Brave Murder Day digi
Brave Murder Day cassette
Brave Murder Day LTD pic disc
Sounds of Decay
Saw You Drown LTD Blue Vinyl
Saw You Drown MCD
Discouraged Ones 1st edition CD
Discouraged Ones / Brave Murder Day 2cd
Discouraged Ones Avantgarde
Discouraged Ones 2006( ?) Peaceville Digipack
Tonight's Decision slipcase CD
Tonight's Decision Digi re-release
Tonight's Decision 2008 vinyl
Tonight's Decision 2008 vinyl
Tonight's Decision cassette
Tonight's Music single
Teargas EP
Last Fair Deal Gone Down 2001 Digi (folds out to form a +)
Last Fair Deal Gone Down 2004 Digi re-release
Last Fair Deal Gone Down 2008 vinyl
Viva Emptiness original CD
Viva Emptiness re-release digi
Brave Yester Days 2cd digi
Brave Yester Days 2cd jewel
Black Sessions box
December Songs 2LP
December Songs LTD Tin
The Great Gold Distance slipcase
The Great Gold Distance slipcase
The Great Gold Distance 2cd edition
The Great Gold Distance box set
The Great Gold Distance promo
The Great Gold Distance 2LP Red Vinyl
The Great Gold Distance 2LP Red Vinyl
My Twin Single
My Twin Single
My Twin Promo DVD
Deliberation Single
July Single
Live Consternation
Night is the New Day (Swedish Edition)
Night is the New Day Jewel Case (+ Signed booklet)
Night is the New Day full album promo
Night is the New Day - Day & Then the Shade 2 track UK promo Signed by Daniel & Sodomizer
Night is the New Day - Forsaker 2 track UK promo
The Longest Year MCD
The Longest Year full promo
The Longest Year 2 track promo

Old Russian Flexi Bootlegs:
Tomb of Insomnia
In Silence Enshrined
Without God
12
Murder
Teargas
This Punishment
Gone

Katatonia bits:
Brave Murder Day shirt
My Twin shirt
Signed Night is the New Day promo postcard


Related:
Bloodbath:
Breeding Death promo
Breeding Death CD (original?)
Breeding Death 12" Pic Disc
Breeding Death re-issue gate-fold vinyl. Black with etched side.
Resurrection Through Carnage promo
Resurrection Through Carnage CD (original?)
Resurrection Through Carnage LTD pic disc
Resurrection Through Carnage / Breeding Death CD
Nightmares Made Flesh 2008 Century Media
Nightmares Made Flesh promo
Unblessing the Purity CD
Unblessing the Purity LP
Wacken Carnage Digi CD/DVD
The Fathomless Mastery CD
The Fathomless Mastery LP
Mock The Cross T-Shirt

Diabolical Masquerade - Ravendusk In My Heart
Diabolical Masquerade - Ravendusk In My Heart Blue LP Signed with signed postcard
Diabolical Masquerade - The Phantom Lodge
Diabolical Masquerade - Deaths Design (signed by Anders)
October Tide - The Grey Dawn digi
October Tide - Rain Without End re-release PROMO

ISAHN - Angl 2LP Test Press

Ayreon - The Human Equation Box
Ayreon - 01011001 2CD promo
Ayreon - 01011001 2CD + DVD ltd
Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
Edge of Sanity - Crimson cassette
Candlemass 20th Anniversary Live DVD
Roadrunner United

Hard drive
Sörskogen - Mopordett i Grottan
Steel - Heavy Metal Machine (3 songs)
5gb of Opeth bootlegs

Other goodies:
Unleashed Shadows In The Deep cassette Signed
Drumstick signed by Tomas Haake (Meshuggah)


Wish List:
Opeth:
Morningrise OOP Vinyl
My Arms Your Hearse Promo (PRIORITY)
Blackwater Park OOP Vinyl
Damnation OOP Vinyl
Deliverance Single
And whatever else is missing.

Katatonia:
Dance Of December Souls Vinyl
Brave Murder Day Purple Vinyl
Discouraged Ones Vinyl
Kaatonia/Primordial split
Any other OOP CD and Vinyl that I don't have.

Bloodbath:
Nightmares Made Flesh CD and Vinyl
Resurrection Through Carnage colour vinyl
The Fathomless Mastery promo

October Tide - Rain Without End
Steel Heavy Metal Machine 7"

Unleashed - Hammer Batallion

Since their formation in 1989 by front-man, vocalist and bassist Johnny Hedlund, Swedish death metal band Unleashed have released 9 albums and one EP in total, ranging in different styles of death metal.
Since then they've come a long way in their 19 year history, after a hiatus in 1997, lasting until 2001, when they announced their return returned with the epic album Hells Unleashed (released in 1992), and then since, some of their best material was recorded and released in form of another 3 albums, the latest of which being Hammer Battalion, released in June of this year (2008, for those who have forgotten).

This album marks a high point in the career of Unleashed within the metal ranks, continuing their themes of pre-christian worlds and viking mythology, amongst others. This band is not afraid to 'talk' about some of the most controversial topics in the world today, most notably their extreme anti-christian themes, present throughout pretty much all albums, with songs from the early days such as "I Am God" from their 1993 album Across The Open Sea which boasts the lyrics "I am God, I kill people just for pleasure", amongst other, possibly more graphic subjects included in the package. Basically, they say what they want to say, and aren't afraid of saying it.
Hammer Battalion opens with such theme, in the song "The Greatest of All Lies", which speaks of 'the passion of the christ', with the themes continuing into the next song "Long Before Winters Call". " Your Children Will Burn" being the title of the third track, in which serves as a warning of the consequences of blind faith. It's obvious now that Unleashed don't care for what they'd call organized religion, blind faith and so forth, which is, on some sence what the band is all about - voicing against what they believe to be false.

Unleashed certainly are influenced by Nordic and viking culture, aswell as battle themes present in songs such as "This Day Belongs To Me", which represents a soldier in battle calling to Odin to set him free and "Warriors of Midgard". This war theme is also a constantly used topic throughout Unleashed's history as a band. Their albums also feature songs about political matters, mass genocide (see "Triumph of Genocide" on the Midvinterblot album), partying hard and... The lord of The Rings.

Hammer Battalion is a solid addition to the Unleashed discography, with all their trademarks, and more! The album promises pure death metal, no compromise, and delivers! As Johnny says in an interview regarding new material, "We feel very strongly that Hammer Battalion is likely our best album so far, so we don't see new material opting towards a major change. We don't want to walk away from Hammer Battalion's concept, at least not a lot."

Hammer Battalion is now available through SPV records. I recommend you getting yourself a copy.

http://www.myspace.com/666unleashed

unleashed.se

The One Insane:


Midvinterblot live:

Watershed, A Second View

Ahh, so, We all saw it coming, a new album from Opeth, and it's what all Opeth fans have been waiting for since Ghost Revries was played out (but not worn out). As most people probably already know, Watershed is the title of the new album, and is the first one to feature the drumming of Martin "Axe" Axenrot (Bloodbath, Satanic Slaughter, Witchery), and the epic guitaring of Fredrik Åkesson (Krux, Talisman), and of course features noise from Per Wiberg, Martin Mendez and the one and only Mikael Åkerfeldt.
As to be expected the album was leaked to all a few weeks before the release date, which is always a shame. I find it ruin the experience of cracking open a newly bought album, an flicking through the booklet as I hear the album for the first time. Almost feels like christmas, especially when it's a band as awesome as Opeth, and an album as good as this one!

At first fans didn't seem all too happy about the different sound, those that 'acquired' it started talking about things that were wrong with it. The criticism started with the live recording of Heir Apparent, which I saw the day it was out, and as expected, it boosted my excitement for the album more than you could imagine. Of course it was the bands first live show since Peter's departure, so you can't really blame the band if they weren't playing 100% on a brand new song, while on a boat out at sea with a lead singer who apparently suffers from a bit of sea sickness.
The sound on the video wasn't the best, but what I heard within that recording was just amazing. and now that I finally have the CD, I must say the album is precisely what I was looking for.

The opener, Coil, is a short, clean/acoustic number featuring the vocals of Nathalie Lorichs alongside Mikael. This also marks the first time for a guest vocalist to be featured on an Opeth record, and yes, I do know that Steven Wilson has done vocals on previous albums, but nothing as 'solo' as this. Already we can tell this is going to be a completely different Opeth album, but in a very good way, to be sure. As coil Coil bids farewell, an epic introduction to Heir Apparent sounds.
This song sounds so different on the record if you compare it to the live recording that surfaced in April. Those who decided to judge the album from that alone are truly fools. Again this album follows the same old Opeth rule, with the mixture of clean and heavy sections, but, as I'm sure many people will argue, it's not the same as the other records! Sure, they follow the same methods in pretty much all of their albums, but there's always a new twist added to make it somewhat different to the previous albums. I could go into a futile attempt to explain all the differences between albums, but this isn't a review of all their albums, just this one.
This alum certainly features a lot of different, experimental endings. Heir Apparent finished with an interesting medium to high pitch feedback sound, while irritating to some, it does add to 'dramatic effect'.

The Lotus Eater, has itself a rather interesting beginning. Basically Mike singing along with some of pers playing, before going straight into heavy guitars and blast beats. Now that's what I'm talking about! Continuing the traditional Opeth-ness with a mixture of growls and clean singing, brutal heavy metal and a very mellow middle section. What I thought was a nice touch was something I never really thought I'd hear in a Opeth record, but it reminded me a LOT of camel, so I suppose it's feasible. Towards the 6 minute mark there's a rather proggy keyboard interlude which sounds remarkable like something you'd expect to hear on a 70s prog record. Certainly a different twist for a record such as this. The ending again being different, loads of speaking with keyboards and screeching violins. Interesting.

Burden begins with a piano playing, before continuing into pure Opeth ballad. A very nice touch indeed, with a pretty long solo section and an ending that you will either love, laugh at or just absolutely hate. It ends with a nice acoustic Melody and solo over the top, then it decays in a way I would never have thought of. As the Melody is played, the guitar is tuned down constantly, occasionally sounding way off, but damn if it isn't interesting.


Porcelain Heart, released officially before the album as a digital single, which I personally would have preferred as a physical release, but you can't always win. This was their second song to be featured in a dodgy Roadrunner film clip. It was quite hilarious in parts, with a few moments of 'what the hell is that all about?', despite all that, it's a very decent song in the end. It features what could have been an updated or re-vamped version of The Grand Conjuration form Ghost Reveries, using the same sort of chord structure, but in a slightly more creative manner and with a nice melody over the top.

Hussain Peel is the only song to extend more than 10 minutes on this record, and it begins with a very jazzy acoustic bit which goes down nicely. They added a bunch of 'hidden' messages, within some reversed vocals. There's probably a bunch of videos on Youtube regarding the matter, and a few extensive topics on the official forum about it all. Some speculate the section around the 2 mins mark, to be a take on Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven since it mentions "My Sweet Satan", which was part of some freakish words present when one part of the song was played in reverse. But, of coarse Opeth's version differed and was intentionally done.
After some soft moment it goes into some awesomely heavy guitars, perfect for insane headbanging.

Hex Omega, begins heavy and awesome and progresses into another softer ballad, which I quite liked. There's some really creative ideas amongst this 7 minute epic masterpiece, kinda hard to explain really, but it makes a wonderful ending to this already amazing album.

Watershed is a whole new step in possibly the right direction for the band as far as popularity goes. Watershed debuted in the top 25 of the U.S. charts, number 7 in Australia and number 1 in Finland. Pretty good for a band that hardly anyone had heard about 2 years ago. They've been experiencing sold out shoes, and people going crazy just to get a taste of Opeth. About damn time too.
All up, this is an album you'll either love, or absolutely hate and wonder where they went wrong. For me, its an album that I absolutely love. It's different to the older Opeth, so it's not another remake of Blackwater Park or Still Life, which I believe their intention is with each new record. If you haven't heard this album yet, buy it as soon as possible. The bonus content in the Special Edition DVD was a Nice addition too, with a 5.1 mix of the whole album, interviews with the band, bonus songs and some jam room sessions.


And as most people probably already know Martin Mendez became a father not too long ago. Noak Mendez Artigas came into this world on the morning of June 14. Many congratulations to Martin and Sandra!

Bloodbath have released news of a new full length album to be released very soon! I took the info from their website, bloodbath.biz, and have pasted it below (with a few spaces to make it easier to read).

Here it is in full:
"Bloodbath just spent the last week at Park Studio in Stockholm where Axe (Drums) put down an (un)healthy doze of all the basic ingredients and more to get this death metal monster meal cooking in hell’s oven. We’re talking classic oldschool skinpounding, furious blastbeats, double bassdrums, all kinds of tempos and a heavy load of killer fills, yeah you name it… This time it turned out to be 11 brand new songs on the menu for the band’s still untitled third album.

So what direction does the material take this time? Well It’s definately taking off where we left with Unblessing the Purity. The material represents nothing but hateful brutality, so there’s surely a lot of speed countered with heavy groove. Riff wise, we’re playing a lot with dissonant harmonies for that feverish possessed feeling, but we also brought back the whole melodic yet haunting “bee-swarming” theme concept from the past albums to represent the classic sound, so there’s definately gonna be a good deal of variety on here which we hope to pack together in the most crushing production yet.

The recording will now be moved to engineer David Castillo’s newbuilt studio where we’ll put down the guitars and bass over the next month while waiting for Mike (Åkerfeldt-vocals) to return from his touring in June to cut the vocals before we enter mix mode. The cover artwork will once again be handled by Dusty Peterson. The album has been set for an October 6th release, but the album title, song titles, audio teasers and the coverartwork will show up during the summer. Stay tuned. Bloodbath is here to slay, Bloodbath is here to stay!" - posted on www.Bloodbath.biz, April 16th, 2008 by Blakkheim

There you have it, new, currently un-named Bloodbath album to be released in October. What more can you want? Well, more is what the fans will be getting, finally!
The new Bloodbath - Wacken Carnage Cd/DVD is still set for release on the 19th of May, and can be pre-ordered on the Peaceville website. Bloodbath have also been confirmed to co-headline this years Party.San Metal Open Air Festival in Germany on Friday the 8th of August alongside Bolt Thrower and Obituary plus many others. This is the only Bloodbath show booked so far. Fingers crossed for more!

Links/Sources:
www.bloodbath.biz
http://www.party-san.net/openair

Immortal Blashyrkh tour, Australia 2008 - March 15th, The Metro, Sydney

What can be said about this band that hasn't been said before? They've been around for some 18 years and only just now decided to grace Australian fans with their presence, which seems to be the going trend for bands to finally realise that we're here and waiting (Iron Maiden finally realised this too). But, alas they came, we saw, then they left, but not before getting pestered by a crowd of fans at their instore signing at Utopia Records in Sydney, which was quite the experience in itself. But, to the gig.

Upon arriving there was already a sizable crowd waiting outside, and once everyone was let it they all went either to the bar, to the front of the stage or to the merch stand, which seems to be the three most interesting spots one can be before the show even starts. Local metallers Ruins were the support for the evening, and despite their lack of stage presence, they kicked arse musically. I had heard some good things about this band, and it was delivered, which is always a bonus. The band boasts members of Psycroptic and The Amenta, which are both becoming local heroes in the metal scene down under. Ruins are yet another tight act in the Australian metal scene, and I'd recommend you check them out if ever given a chance.

Of course, Immortal were up next, and the crowd was giddy with anticipation as their backdrop was revealed, out came the camera phones to get a pic, and as the crew was preparing the stage for their inevitable arrival people were either sucking up to them, or yelling for them to "hurry f**k up" (jokes, of coarse). After a good half hour or so wait, Immortal finally came out, Horgh arising triumphantly behind the kit, followed by Abbath and Apollyon running out on stage.

They played songs from all over their discography, including Solarfall, At The Heart of Winter, Damned in Black, Sons of Northern Darkness and so on, and played them all perfectly. I didn't think the night could get any better until Abbath came out mid song with a flaming torch and did a bit of fire breathing for all the Sydney fans! From second row I could feel the heat from these massive fireballs licking the ceiling. Abbath was in a comical mood this evening, having fun with the crowd in between songs, when we got too quiet he'd yell at us to make some noise, and at some point did a scat version of a Didgeridoo, which was a pretty good attempt.
After a few more songs the show was over and people spilled out onto the streets of Sydney very satisfied and jumping around with glee over the fact that they had just seen Immortal, and after an 18 year wait, you'd bloody well hope so.

The Monday after the show was time for the Immortal signing, so I made my way back into the city just for this, and I can say that it was an experience, as I already mentioned. The lineup of people didn't really start to grow until around 5 mins before the band was due to begin, but as expected it was pushed back half an hour, which wasn't too much of a big deal.

Eventually everyone was lead inside the store to line up and out came the band, Abbath, Horgh, Apollyon and Demonaz were all accompanied by cheers from the crowd. They all seemed quite happy to sit there and sign a few things for everyone, I started to think of things I should have taken with me to get signed, but alas I scored a tour poster from the shop owner and got the band to scribble on that, which was awesome. When I asked Apollyon how their stay in Sydney was, he said "It was great, today we went to the zoo". Sounds like fun!
A great way to end an even better weekend. If you ever get a chance to see Immortal, don't pass it up, they certainly give you your moneys worth. I'll definately be there when they return. I just wish I had a camera with mne on the night. Always next time though!

Mat