Entrails "Obliteration" Review

I admit that I wrote this review a while ago, in close conjunction with the release of the album, and realized that I completely neglected to post it. Late might be better than never, so enjoy and give it a listen if you haven't already.

Track Listing:

1. No Cross Left Unturned
2. Epitome Of Death
3. Beyond The Flesh
4. The Grotesque
5. Obliterate
6. Skulls
7. Midnight Coffin
8. Bonestorm
9. Abyss Of Corpses
10. Re-Animation Of The Dead 

The ominous bells of ‘No Cross Left Unturned’ set the tone for a great death metal album. Every track on “Obliteration” exemplifies a modern take on the classic Swedish death sound. There is no straying away from the murderous and horror-flavored themes on this album, which is exactly what I love about Entrails. It’s undeniably catchy, which isn’t necessarily a phrase that can be associated with death metal (and which I’m reluctant to do, since it’s usually associated with radio-friendly, pop-ish junk). But to this death metal fan, the choruses are such that I feel like growling along with each one and headbanging in between. ‘Epitome Of Death’ and ‘Bonestorm’ are perfect examples of this. ‘Midnight Coffin’ may very well be my pick as one of the top tracks from the album due to the ominous atmosphere induced in the intro which then breaks into something more horrific. There is a nice blend of slower-paced and more upbeat tempos within “Obliteration”, providing a respite and a bit of an adrenaline rush at the right times. 

Furthermore, this is an album that makes me unknowingly break speed limits while cruising on the highway. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the tempo and forget to glance at the speedometer, headbanging the entire trip. (Perhaps not objective, but I find this as a way in which I often judge albums). A word to the wise: keep your eyes out for police or speed traps if you listen to “Obliteration” in your vehicle. Unless you have the cash to fork over for speeding tickets. 

I struggle to find a weak point within “Obliteration”. It may be a bit more polished than some of the previous Entrails albums, but this is to be expected with progression over the years. “Obliteration” still contains enough of that rawness that it can get away with being slightly more polished as the roots of the band are still obvious and remain strong. It’s no secret that I have immensely enjoyed each album that Entrails has released to date, and this one is no exception. While I doubt “Obliteration” will become my favorite album by these Swedes, it will definitely be in contention for my favorite album this year. 

Vampire Interview, courtesy of Towards The Inevitable

http://towardstheinevitable.com/vampire-interview-2015/

For anyone who is interested in Vampire, I dare say that this interview is a must-read. Published today by the site Towards The Inevitable, it is an insightful piece chalked full of interesting perspectives. While it doesn't speak much about the self-titled album released last year, it does go into depth about several of the other projects that Vampire has and is working on.

The band is set to release a mini-LP entitled 'Cimmerian Shade', which was previously unknown to me. The interview provides background and information regarding the release of this LP, which will only be available on vinyl and as a digital download for the time being. (Personally, I'm hoping for a CD release at some point as I am not a fan of digital downloads and I'm not really a vinyl collector either).

I appreciate the discussion of the video for "The Fen", a track from the self-titled release. It truly is a brilliant piece of work, drawing on so many dark, psychological factors. Borrowing directly from vocalist Hand Of Doom, the video is distinctly Scandinavian and creates an interesting discussion within the interview. There are some unique and intelligent insights in this interview and it's worth checking out.

New Tracks: Children of Bodom & Kataklysm

In anticipation of the release of 'I Worship Chaos', Children of Bodom have released a track entitled "Morrigan". After a return to a more pleasing direction with 'Halo Of Blood', I can honestly say that I am truly excited to hear new Bodom material again. 'Halo of Blood' was a definite step in a direction that I liked, with a bit of return to the roots for COB. "Morrigan" suggests that the band is again ready to put out an album that appeals to the old-school Bodom fan. Upon first listen, I wasn't sure that I liked the keyboards but after hearing the song through decent speakers, my opinion has changed. Whether you agree or not, I get a bit of a 'Hatebreeder' / 'Follow The Reaper' era vibe from this song.

'I Worship Chaos' is due out at the beginning of October.

Kataklysm have always proven that they are one of Canadian death metal's heavyweights. Set to release 'Of Ghosts and Gods' in a few short weeks, the band has released a few tracks to garner the appetite of metal heads. Kataklysm manages to remain heavy with just the perfect amount of melody. "The Black Sheep" provides some relative mellowness, while "Soul Destroyer" feels a bit more aggressive. "Thy Serpent's Tongue" has also been released as a preview to the new album. This is another album that I personally look forward to this year.

Losing The Pawn Shop

A Serious Blow To The Metal Community

Intimate music venues have dropping off the map at much too fast of a rate in Edmonton lately. The Pawnshop, my favorite venue in the city, has succumbed to the same fate. I’m actually saddened to see it go. The venue was a fantastic place to catch a metal band. It was the go-to place to see a metal show, supporting local talent and brining in international players. With the metal scene growing exponentially in the Edmonton area in the last several years, its disappointing to see a venue that continuously hosted some of the best close its doors.

The Pawnshop was located centrally. After several venues closing on the west end, it was one of the closest for those of us living west of the city to travel to. While I’m personally not a big fan of Whyte Avenue, especially on weekends, it was an easy location to access. The laid back atmosphere was welcomed. There were no questionable dress code reinforcements and everyone felt at home, yet staff were responsible in ejecting or denying re-entry to those who deserved it. The staff themselves were great, being attentive and yet not overbearing. The same cannot be said for other venues. It is a real shame that high rental fees forced The Pawnshop to close. I do take this explanation as a valid reason as the rent on Whyte Ave is ridiculously high. Even with its crooked toilets and bathroom stall doors that haven’t closed properly in the last five years, I will miss this venue. 

Some of the best, most intimate shows I have attended have been at the Pawnshop. While it was a small venue, it never felt claustrophobic. The ability to go outside, and be able to easily re-enter seems to be a growing rarity. The Pawnshop offered this. They didn’t try to wrangle people into ridiculously crowded smoke pits and they made it easy for those who wanted fresh air or a quick break from the excitement to do so. 

Shows scheduled for the Pawnshop are set to move to the Union Hall. Like many others, I have few good things to say about the Union. While the building may have worked as a nightclub, it fails to work well for live performances. Some serious renovations would have to take place to achieve this. Apparently the staff from the Pawnshop will also be relocating to the Union. Hopefully they can teach the current Union staff a few things about good service and building good relationships with concert-goers. The best I can say about the Union until this point is that shows have been “just okay”. I’ve had some downright awful experiences there, from it being impossible to find a good vantage point if you are unfortunate enough to not be one of the first through the doors, to some ridiculous and discriminatory dress code reinforcements, to a lot of warm beer and inattentive bartenders, to downright rude staff and total disorganization. Especially now that the Pawnshop has ceased to exist, I truly hope that the Union can make some serious improvements. 

In all honesty, the closure of the Pawnshop has cast a bit of gloom on the metal community surrounding this city. From my standpoint, if a show was at the Pawnshop that I wanted to see, I wouldn’t think twice about attending. If a show was at either Starlite Room or the Union Hall, I would have to seriously consider whether I wanted the accompanying hassles that always seem to come with either of those venues. At least Starlite provides an atmosphere were you can comfortably see the stage from almost anywhere in the room. And it still has a central location for those who travel from the outskirts of the city, or from outside the city. BUT we needed more venues (not less) like the Pawnshop; the attitude was superb and the support for the artists playing the venue was apparently excellent. It was a bit of a gem in this grimy city and it will definitely be missed. 

For another personal lament about the Pawnshop:

http://www.danazukphotography.com/blog/2015/6/29/saying-goodbye-to-the-pawn-shop

For a few news articles regarding the closure:

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Edmonton+loses+another+music+venue+with+closure+Pawn+Shop/11163560/story.html

http://www.gigcity.ca/2015/06/25/pawnshop-closing-gigs-move-to-union-hall/

Farmageddon Open Air 2015 : My Thoughts

The following will be a summary of my thoughts regarding Farmageddon Open Air 2015. I felt as though I should leave the reviews up to the professionals this time. Honestly, I didn’t take in the festival to the extent I felt that I should have in order to write a ‘review’. The last month of my life has been hectic, resulting in a feeling of exhaustion before I even made it to Farmageddon. Certainly not the best precursor to a weekend of beer and metal. I’m still recovering from the cold I caught over the weekend. Discombobulated thoughts, and some misguided advice follow: 

Edmonton Kick-Off Show

• Körperlose Stimme played an excellent set. This was their first show I have been able to catch, but am definitely hoping to see them again. The kick-off was also the first time the band has played live since vocalist Verteidigung was pregnant. I was certainly impressed.
• Ironstorm, with Farmageddon founder Tyson Travnik on drums, also played a solid set. I believe the last time I saw this band, they had a different vocalist (although I could be wrong on this point).
• Anyone who has followed this blog knows that I thoroughly enjoy BLËED. Although the album release was pushed back to a later date, BLËED still delivered with all the ferocity one can expect from this band. After returning from the Wacken Metal Battle Final in Toronto, it was disappointing to see that barely anyone hung around to watch. 
• I enjoyed the wonderfully sticky, slightly off-color ‘murder babies’ and all of the jokes that came with them. I’m glad I was one of the few who stayed to watch.

Farmageddon

• The weather turned out to the be the sore point of the weekend. I was optimistic that a forecast of rain might materialize into rain showers, or very little rain, but that wasn’t the case. At least, not for Saturday and most of Sunday. 
• I wish I would have managed to get my gazebo tarped. At least it would have provided respite from the rain in between sets. Mesh isn’t the best water deterrent. 
• Mesh also does not stand up to grease fires on a camp stove. (Although I was not the one who created the grease fire...)
• Friday night, and the camp set-up quickly turned into an utterly hilarious beer fest. 
• The camping and stage areas were significantly different from 2014. This year, the camping area was clearly distinguishable from the stage area. While I preferred last year’s set up, I understand that it would not have been possible to have the same set-up again.
• AGLC rules making the stage area a no-smoking zone, free from outside alcohol, sucked. Again, from the perspective of the organizers, it was an understandable necessity. 
• Idolatry played a good set of pure black metal on Friday evening, bringing the darkness with them. 
• I once again managed to miss most of Villainizer between eating donairs and deciding I was drunk enough that I should probably find my tent before it disappeared into the vast sea of tents. Another lesson reinforced: a donair cannot be eaten while drunk without making a massive mess. Which you will not notice until the next morning.
• Apparently you cannot leave beer unguarded outside your tent, even if it clearly is inside your cooler, or inside your gazebo. The beer goblins will strike. 
• Unlike some others, I was lucky enough to stay warm and dry while inside my tent. That, combined with a bit of social anxiety and a general attitude of unfounded irritation probably explained why I spent most of Saturday evening hiding in my tent. 
• I did not end up watching a single full set on Saturday. Which was a disappointment, especially considering I didn’t even venture out to watch Incantation, whom I was really looking forward to. At least they sounded good from inside my tent. 
• The weather made me seriously consider buying some good hunting/outfitting rain gear. I have decided this will be my next major purchase in order to make a rainy festival experience more enjoyable. 
• I should have dug my camera out to capture some of the moments, but I didn’t. 
• The donair truck, while a bit overpriced, was awesome. The fish and chips truck was fantastic. I really enjoyed being able to get a fresh, warm meal that I didn’t have to cook, and that did not consist of burgers or hot dogs. 
• Seagulls, seagulls and more seagulls on Sunday morning. I woke up to the sound of bird shit bombarding my tent. Which is more funny than it should be, considering it always seems to be my vehicle or tent that gets shit on by birds. At least the seagulls didn’t get me. 
• Aggression was phenomenal, inciting enough headbanging to make my neck sore for the next several days. While I had heard of these Canadian thrash pioneers, I hadn’t given them much of a listen. They played one of the most energetic, enjoyable sets I’ve seen recently. 
• Grim Reaper closed the festival on Sunday evening, and what an amazing choice to close a festival. The Brits played to a crowd who enjoyed every moment, and they certainly seemed to feed off the energy themselves. Steve Grimmet cracked a few hilarious jokes throughout the night. The cover of Dio’s ‘Don’t Talk To Strangers’ might go down as one of the most heartfelt, almost-magical, tribute moments I’ve ever witnessed at any concert or festival. 
• The attendance seemed to be double, or more, of what it was last year. While the vast majority of people were incredibly well behaved, I hope continued growth doesn’t attract the kind of people that detract from the enjoyment of the festival for those of us who manage to have fun without being idiots. 

Last, but certainly not least, thank you to everyone who put in an unimaginable amount of hard work to make Farmageddon possible. It is much appreciated to have an event of this calibre so close to home. 

Unleashed - 'Dawn Of The Nine' Review

Dawn Of The Nine:

1. A New Day Will Rise
2. They Came To Die
3. Defenders Of Midgard
4. Where Is Your God Now?
5. The Bolt Thrower
6. Let The Hammer Fly
7. Where Churches Once Burned
8. Land Of The Thousand Lakes
9. Dawn Of The Nine
10. Welcome The Son Of Thor!

Having finally found the time to sit down and listen to ‘Dawn of The Nine’ track by track in its entirety, I recommend that any death metal fan do the same. Unleashed certainly aren’t rewriting the book on the genre, but they are demonstrating why they continue to be a band at the forefront of the stripped down, old school, Swedish death sound. 

‘Dawn Of The Nine’ is the twelfth studio album from these masters. It doesn’t experiment with new directions, it doesn’t attempt to be more “mainstream” friendly, it doesn’t attempt to reach out to a new segment of fans like so many other bands I’ve loved have attempted to do in recent years. Instead, it continues to embrace what myself (and doubtlessly others) find appealing about the band. ‘Dawn Of The Nine’ is simple in a pure, unadulterated fashion that makes me want to drink beer, bang my fist on the table and headbang along. 

Johnny Hedlund’s vocals are menacingly distinct, snarling yet understandable. This album makes you feel like joining the viking hordes and fighting battles alongside them, burning churches and crushing the White Christ. The slower segments, which I was not fond of on the first couple listens, have grown on me and enhance the atmosphere woven throughout the album. Delving into the story, it’s antagonistic, as evidenced by tracks such as “Where Is Your God Now” and “Where Churches Once Burned”. Songs like these are relevant in so many different ways, and so many different interpretations. The outro to “Where Churches Once Burned” creates a gloomy atmosphere, enabling one to imagine the silence and calm of a coming dawn after watching flames lick a darkened sky. 

Speaking of a reawakening of Thor, and the rise of a mighty (mythologically) based return of Viking values, ‘Dawn Of The Nine’ does not disappoint on the promise of continuing where ‘Odalheim’ left off. It proves that Unleashed is still hungry, still uncompromising and still an exemplary choice when it comes to viking/pagan influenced death metal. 

My favorite tracks: Where Churches Once Burned, The Bolt Thrower, Dawn Of The Nine, Where Is Your God Now?

3 Inches of Blood Parts Ways

Seeing this post this afternoon, I couldn't help but feel a little sadness:

Unfortunately this is not the sort of news you were wanting to hear but here goes.
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It is now that we come to announce that 3 Inches of Blood has decided to part ways.
Naturally, people will have questions as to why we have collectively made this decision. While our reasons are personal, just know we are all still good friends, but it is just time to move on. 

All of us will continue to pursue musical projects, so refer to our social media pages to keep up with that. 

We are eternally thankful to our fans, friends and family that have stuck by us through thick and thin and always believed in us. You are the reason this band got anywhere and kept us going. We'd also like to thank our musical peers and former 3 Inches of Blood members for all your love and support over the years.

We'd like to put one last stamp on the band's career and end it in grand style. Our final performance will be in our hometown of Vancouver, BC, Canada on Saturday, November 7, 2015 at the fabulous Commodore Ballroom. We're pleased to say that, Fire Up the Blades-era bassist, Nick Cates will be playing the show with us. As well, we intend to deliver other special surprises that will make this a night to remember. Tickets go on sale this Friday, June 5 and you will be able to get them here http://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/11004EBD8E6467B9

3 Inches of Blood has been one of those bands that, time and time again, have managed to bring an amazing amount of energy to their live shows. No matter the venue, or the size of the crowd. This band has always represented good times, beer, and fantastic live music for me. (Not to mention some pretty damn good albums).  As one of the most down to earth, hardworking bands out there, it saddens me a little to know that these Canadian metallers will not be continuing as 3 Inches of Blood. While it is understandable that things change, it is still a little disappointing to know that I won't be able to look forward to seeing this band come through town in the future.