I'm really glad that there is such a focus on harder metal in Scandanavia. Without that focus, we wouldn't have great bands like Keep of Kalessin. All is not well though, the former front-man for the band was fired from the band after going on a spirit-quest in the African jungle.... For three months... Issues aside, I honestly prefer the new vocalist more than the old one. To each their own though, I'm just glad that they continued making quality music. You can find their music on these sites: Nuclear Blast Records - Amazon Music - Apple iTunes - Google Play Music - Spotify
Thoughts: Like I said above, I really like the new vocalist (who's actually the founding member responsible for guitars, keyboards, bass as well!) and the inclusion of sampling a movie quote is rather interesting -- I listen a lot of music that samples arcane movies/shows/etc and its generally hit and miss -- and they nailed it in this song. The powerful and consistent guitar was another plus in this song for me. Keep of Kalessin is a Death Metal band, so you can expect a sound consistent with the genre -- vocals are no exception -- but I really enjoyed their healthy variation of pitch and tone that kept things fresh and kept me guessing while I was listening.
The name that evokes fear in old, stodgy conservatives planet-wide -- Cannibal Corpse has drawn controversy for its brutal lyrics and equally brutal musical style. If you want aggressive, angry, and powerful lyrics and sound, Cannibal Corpse is your best bet. Sure, you could find some angrier screamo band that might match the intensity you're looking for, but CC does it best -- the lyrics are intelligible, their instruments are well paired, no one sound overpowers another, and they're a far cry from being labeled as 'noise'. Talent aside, their reputation is a stellar one:
- Banned from touring in Australia and people looking to purchase their music must be over 18
- Accused of "undermining the national character of the United States" and there was an attempt to coerce their music label into dumping them (along with 20 other bands)
- Their first three albums were banned in Germany and they couldn't perform any songs from those albums while touring until 2006 because a random teacher threw a fit about their band shirts.
- Russian Orthodox Christians successfully cancelled six of eight tour destinations in Russia in 2014, which of course led to rioting fans and threats of arrest against the band by the Russian Police.
In the situation of CC, I don't imagine that they're too bummed about cancellations/controversy, after all, "there's no such thing as bad publicity". It would be a different case if someone like Bono were banned from touring or selling albums, as CC clearly goes for "shock value" in their recordings and tours. You can find their newest album on these sites: Metal Blade Records - Amazon Music- Apple Itunes - Google Play Music - Spotify
Thoughts: I'm really not a fan of the lyrics, but I do enjoy the overall sound and would love to see them play live some day, I'll just have to be sure to remember to wear my steel-toed boots that day. I really prefer their newer albums, their older songs have that "tinny heavy metal" sound to them that could either be an artifact of the original recordings, or just part of their sound. That being said, the remasters of their older albums are much more tolerable. I know remastering is an abomination and clutters up songs and attempts to cram as much sound into as many possible audio channels as possible, but in the case of the available older recordings, I honestly can't stand the tinny sound to them.
I can't understand any of the lyrics save for when they shout the title of the song in a few places throughout it, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it. Deathchain is a Finnish group that started off as a band called "Winterwolf" (real creative, huh?) in 1997 but didn't put out their first album until 2000. They switched their name to Deathchain after two albums and briefly back again for a release in '09, but haven't put out anything new since 2013. Here's to hoping they put out more great music soon!
Thoughts: Powerful drums and deep growling in unison are a perfect opener for the song - perfect "angry gym music" to get you pumped to pump iron. Be sure to check out their album art and band name/logo, the St. Peter's cross for the "T" in their name works well with the font they chose. "Stele ov the Vultures" on their titular album was the only song of theirs that I could remotely understand the lyrics to, so you might not appreciate this band if understanding lyrics is extremely important to you -- but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give them a shot anyways.
