Tour is metal melting pot

The News Review:

- Tour is metal melting pot
- The good news: a review of Behemoth’s Evangelion
- Exclusive Interview: Discussing Precious Metal with Decibel …
- New Recordings

Tour is metal melting pot
Akron Beacon Journal
”But for many fans metal is not just their favorite music to listen to it also speaks to and informs their lives. They are part of a global community of headbangers. n Friday the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival will stop at Blossom Music Center bringing with it a mix of new and old metal bands and a variety of metal subgenres. Metal has generally been considered masculine and adolescent and for much of its history it has been derided by critics nonfans and conservative and religious groups for its embracing and some would say glorification of the ugly side of human existence. Before the rise of gangsta rap any conservative group looking for a musical target could easily set its ideological cross hairs on metal. Bands such as Metallica and Disturbed sell millions of records and sell out arenas.

The good news: a review of Behemoth’s Evangelion
Examiner.com
The word “epic” is tossed around too much these days but nowhere is it more apt than in describing Behemoth’s colossal sound. Rousing opener “Daimonos” hammers out its chorus in a frenzy while the the mid-tempo barrage “v Fire and the Void” could cause earthquakes at the right volume. The essence of Behemoth is an approach to death metal with layers; complexity and unconventional song structures are the elements that keep the music fresh without stepping too far into the technical arena of bands like Decapitated and bscura. This is perhaps best exemplified by “Alas Lord Is Upon Me” which crescendos into a mid-paced riff and explodes into an uptempo storm at the end. Likewise the engaging guitar harmonies on “The Seed ov I” demonstrate an aptitude for crafting something mighty and memorable. Not every track can hold its own immense weight but even when sharp songwriting wanes Evangelion is still pleasing if only for its aural impact. Perhaps not reaching the heights of The Apostasy or Zos Kia Cultus (Here and Beyond) Behemoth’s latest outting is nevertheless a satisfying addition to Poland’s DM legacy.

Exclusive Interview: Discussing Precious Metal with Decibel …
Examiner.com
I think that we’re definitely conscious of trying to make it a decent overview of the whole extreme metal underground. I think the reason you see a concentration of scenes as the years go on is because the book is arranged chronologically. So you’re going to see a period of the early nineties with a lot of essential death metal releases and then by the time you are into the late nineties and into the early part of this decade there really aren’t a lot of “essential” death metal records anymore. There are a lot of good records but there aren’t any super genre-defining records being released. What you have are different genres that are going through their glory days. The truth is the late nineties was the boom for metallic hardcore and metalcore bands. They were making the definitive albums for that genre during that period:.
Related from Pvandv: Exclusive Podcast Interview: Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero

New Recordings
Philadelphia Inquirer
and grandson of the rambling man. For all of the country cool his lineage should evoke Hank Williams III plays it odd and hot taking on the depressed tension of his forebears as well as their addictions literary and literal. While those obsessions have yielded elegant traditional country songs and honky-tonkers wistful in their execution there’s a darker side to Hank III – the hard-core death-metal one he’s long put forth in concert as Assjack. Finally committed to recording such a fantastic morass Assjack’s debut goes beyond Williams’ hellbilly ruckus to find his sludgy frenzy furthered. It had to – Hank III wrote and performed this shebang alone. That gives focus to Assjack’s tunes of menace abhorrence and heartache as if he’s on a solitary mission to Hades. The violent "Chokin’ Gesture" and "Cut Throat" are short and not-so-sweet songs filled with curt contempt and gut-shot screams never to be confused with C&W’s good ol’ boy hoots ‘n’ hollers.