Both Queensryches have released new material. Both are claiming to get back to their metal roots. Wasn’t that what all the fighting was about? Anyway…

Who’s the better Queensryche? Let’s take a listen.

Queensryche: Redemption

Up first is Queensryche with imposter Geoff Tate, Todd LaTorre. Were you expecting the whip-snap riffs of the Michael Wilton of yore? Forget it. What we have here is stale riffing, lame dual guitar harmonies, and unnecessarily speedy guitar solos. Monster drummer Scott Rockenfield does his best to infuse life into the tune with some of his nice beats and fills.

But it’s not enough.

No. Especially when you have to suffer through the wretched vocals of Midnight/Tate clone Todd LaTorre. Why the hell would I want to hear someone copying Geoff Tate? Ugh. Worse than that though; the pitch correction is fucking atrocious! Geez. The guy must have the chops to get a good take, why the Will I Am autotune?

And the chorus. Ugh, a lifeless, pitch perfect, copy/pasted, grating melody. Even worse than the drab verse and clunky prechorus. Blech.

Queensryche: Cold

Up next it’s Geoff Tate’s Queensryche, affectionately called Tateryche. Tateryche perhaps sounds even less like the old QR than the other Queensryche, but “Cold” is the better song.

Yes the riffing is pretty standard, the drumming is nothing special, and damn that guitar solo sounds out of place, but Tateryche has something the other Ryche doesn’t, Tate!

Tate’s melodies blow the crap out LaTorre’s stodgy phrases. And Tate can deliver a song. Tate is a legend for a reason. Maybe he spits on his band mates and tries to punch them, insults his audience, and is generally unlikable, but the son of bitch can sing! The fucker sings from the heart. He’s an original. He’s a classic. No wannabe can recreate his impassioned vocals.

Round #1 goes to Tateryche.

Pallbearer was up next and was noticeably heavier.  Their guitars were fuzzed out with the low end cranked; and damn that bass was loud and rumbling!  Pallbearer played tracks from their well-received debut album Sorrow and Extinction; and one new track which was really great.  The problem with a doom band as bottom heavy as them is that sometimes the riffs get lost in the rumble and the songs start sounding a bit alike.  It was an enjoyable performance but I think their quality material comes off a bit better on record.

Enslaved closed the show next.  This was my fourth time seeing the Norwegian metal gods and as usual, they did not disappoint.  In fact they were goddam awesome.   I was pretty underwhelmed with their latest record RITTIR, but the songs they did from it live sounded tremendous; especially Roots of the Mountain which blew the crap out of the recorded version and blew away the audience.  Everything they played sounded awesome from the dynamic later stuff like Ruun, to the early stuff like Fenris from Frost, to the cover of Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song.  It was cool to hear rarely played Convoys to Nothingness from Monumension alongside staples like As Fire Swept Clean the Earth.  Unfortunately, the leads from Ice Dale were buried in the mix and guitarist Ivar Bjørnson had a few technical problems; but this couldn’t stop Enslaved from delivering the goods and proving yet again they are the most consistently excellent band in metal today.

Blurry pic of Grutle at the Troubadour

Top Heavy Metal and Hard Rock of 2012

Ahab – The Giant

The Giant is Ahab’s third release and it’s so damn heavy I can’t even lift the CD. Bad jokes aside, everyone is raving about Pallbearer this year as the big doom metal release but in my book Ahab exceeds any other doom band or any metal band for that matter this year. Their prior two albums established their style of nautical death/doom, based on Melville’s Moby Dick and the inspiration for Moby Dick, the wreck of the whale ship Essex. With The Giant however, they have sailed beyond their prior records. They have moved past solely using death metal vocals to great effect. The record starts off slow and pensive with Daniel Droste’s melancholy clean vocals and acoustic guitars. This somber mood lasts for over four minutes setting up a massive crushing blow when the heavy guitars and monstrous death growls kick in. Drove’s death vocals evoke images of a giant with their markedly deep guttural bellows. This masterful use of dynamics and over the top heaviness alone is not what makes The Giant so successful. Ahab displays master song craft on The Giant. Drove’s melodic sense is impeccable both in the vocals and guitars. The bleak atmosphere evoked through growled melodic vocal passages, desolate acoustic guitars and Phrygian melodies coupled with the titanic heaviness make this a punishing musical journey. And I haven’t even mentioned the lyrics! The Giant is a concept album based on the writings of Edgar Allen Poe and the music and words mesh perfectly creating a unique blend of Ahab’s established nautical doom and Poe’s dreary horror.

Anathema – Weather Systems

Took me a while but I am finally an Anathema fan. They showed up on my radar when Anathema’s principal songwriter Danny Cavanagh performed and recorded an acoustic show with Anneke van Giersbergen. They performed Anathema’s “A Natural Disaster” and it was stunning. I bought their two latest albums, both are fantastic. Weather Systems is more airy and depressing than We’re Here Because We’re Here which is somehow more uplifting. A somber atmosphere pervades most of the album. The last song, “Internal Landscapes”, especially brings me to tears. It begins with a man recounting a near death experience, but when it reaches the song proper and Lee Douglas sings “Goodbye my friend, Love will never end” I nearly lose it every time, overwhelmed with thoughts of my recently departed friend Michael Grant. Regardless of your own personal experiences however, I think the emotional impact of Weather Systems is undeniable.

Royal thunder – CVI

Royal Thunder shows us how to work within an established style and still sound fresh and compelling. This quartet from Atlanta packs a huge emotional wallop with their debut album CVI, a barnburner tearing it up with ass kicking hard rock and roll. All four of them adeptly use their instruments to maximum effect with no wasted notes, overplaying, or showiness. As you as you hear the first few bars of their music you feel it. Pretty magical. Most immediately affecting is the voice of lead singer Mlny Parsonz; she sings with the passion and torment of a wounded soul. The captivating arrangements of these lengthy songs elevated the impact of Parsonz’s voice to stratospheric levels of passion. Fantastic.

Rush – Clockwork Angels

After a long series of mediocre to poor releases Rush has returned with a gem. This one has more than just solid musicianship. This one has it all. Excellent lyrics, great vocal melodies, superb guitar solos, exciting arrangements. Every song on Clockwork Angels works. And it’s a concept album, hearkening back to Hemispheres with some groovy scifi lyrics and meaty riffs. Yep. Rush is back.

Dysrhythmia – Test of Submission

Dysrhythmia is another band that’s been around for years and hasn’t hit my radar until recently. They are an instrumental band out of Philadelphia PA. They’ve been tagged as avant-garde, progressive, with elements of jazz. I see them a part of the Voivodian wave of metal currently experiencing a small level of popularity in the scene; bands such as Ulcerate, Portal, and Castvet. More recently Dysrhythmia recruited Colin Marston on bass, a prominent producer/bassist in this scene; he’s worked with Castevet, Krallice, and Gorguts. With these comparisons you are probably expecting a jumble of helter skelter, disharmonic riffs in odd time signatures, and that’s pretty much correct, but Dysrhythmia achieved compositional success with these wild elements; the songs have purpose. They are notably devoid of lead guitar wankery and any kind of technical displays for the sake of ego. The arrangements are structured such that the odd riffs become memorable. The tunes have a mysterious quality. You almost feel like you’re uncovering some strange criminal plot. Or maybe travelling to a far reaching galaxy populated by a race of silicon robots or underwater world teeming with scampering trilobites. Dysrhythmia’s music conjures up all sorts of imagery; it’s a record that will provide hours of new discoveries.

That’s my five favorites for 2012. There are a few that are pretty good that either haven’t totally sunken in or will never really compel me, Pallbearer, Graveyard, and High on Fire come to mind. Unfortunately this list is missing Enslaved, that brings me to my Disappointment of the Year.

Disappointment of the Year

Enslaved – Riitiir

I have absolutely loved the recent output of Enslaved, even Vertebrae which many did not like. Riitiir, which has been universally lauded by the metal press, falls way short of normal Enslaved excellence. I bought the record but hardly ever find myself wanting to spin it. There are many moments of brilliance on Riitiir, but only a couple of the songs really shine from start to finish; these are the opener “Thoughts Like Hammers” and the closer ”Forsaken”. The rest of it is a series of hit and miss riffs, the bane of the album. Ivar just missed the boat this time around. And Grutle’s vocals seem a bit tame as well. Herbrand’s melodies are generally great although familiar sounding at times; moreover some of the production on his vocals sounds a bit clumsy to my ears. Riitiir is a good album, Enslaved is too talented to produce anything worthless, but Riitiir is a low point.

See you in for the best metal albums of 2013.

The King appears to be fully recovered from triple fucking bypass surgery, yes! HAIL THE KING!

And here’s an old interview with King that’s pretty interesting. Right after he left Mercyful Fate…

Slayer has put their name on a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, calling it Reign In Blood Red.  Did you guys forget who the hell you are?  Remember… Show No Mercy, Hell Awaits, War Ensemble, Hallowed Point, etc.   Do these song titles bring to mind the complex unique wood flavors and strong fruit aroma of a freshly decanted glass of Cabernet Sauvignon?  Is this what you sip when blasting South of Heaven at max volume? Perhaps served with some exquisite sliced Brie?

Endorsing products by slapping your band name on them is a tacky proposition for any band.  I understand you gotta make a living, but let’s not forget you are artists and you have cultivated a certain image and attitude.  Wine is not part of that.  When Kerry King did the Jägermeister commercial I thought, well that makes sense, good fit.  But Slayer Wine?!  No.  It’s not as ridiculous as the Grave Digger shampoo that recently came out but still, it’s inappropriate and a bit silly.  Maybe Slayer need some advice on what type of products they can lend their name to that won’t seem so out of character with their legacy.  I’m here to help.

Suggested Slayer products

1. Slayer spiked dog collars
2. Slayer hunting knives
3. Slayer shotguns
4. Slayer brass knuckles
5. Slayer gauze pads
6. Slayer blood collection vials
7. Slayer claw hammers
8. Slayer radial arm saws
9. Slayer pepper spray
10. Slayer gravestones
11. Slayer crossbow bolts
12. Slayer nunchucks
13. Slayer heavy duty transport chain with clevis grab hooks
14. Slayer insect spray
15. Slayer rat traps
16. Slayer scythes
17. Slayer paper shredders
18. Slayer meat grinders
19. Slayer crane forks
20. Slayer vibro rippers
21. Slayer bow shackles
22. Slayer hydraulic crushers
23. Slayer melting furnaces
24. Slayer blow torches
25. Slayer demolition shears

I’m sure any of these fine product ideas would put money in Slayer’s pockets while maintaining their image as a vicious and aggressive thrash band that will give you a good pummeling.

German power metal legends GRAVE DIGGER release their very own 2-in-1 shampoo / shower gel

Oh just what we’ve all been waiting for. Nothing says I’m a rebel; I’m a metal head; like a bottle of Grave Digger shampoo. We’ve got heavy metal wine, heavy metal hot sauce, heavy metal urns, and now heavy metal 2-in-1 shampoo / shower gel. Jump in the shower, throw up the horns and wash your hair like a true metal warrior.

Congratulations Grave Digger, you’ve come up with a product even Gene Simmons hasn’t thought of.

For many Judas Priest fans this move was both sad and distasteful. Undoubtedly, this was the lowest point in band’s history, lower then even the blatant commercialism of the Turbo album. When you replace a member who was a major creative contributor and the lead singer, you no longer have the same band. And getting a guy who was in a Priest cover band makes the whole thing appear like a big pathetic joke.

It looks like Queesnsryche ignored this whole wretched affair in Judas Priest’s history because they are treading down the same comically tragic path. For years they have plodded on after being decimated by the departure of their main songwriter Chris DeGarmo. They haven’t produced a worthwhile album since he left. At least they could still put on a decent show though, certainly not at the level they once could, but still worthy. Now they are replacing lead singer Geoff Tate. Lead singers are hard enough to replace, but Tate, as Halford, was a main creative component of the band, not to mention one of heavy metal’s most iconic and influential singers. But there’s another component to this that makes it even more comical than Judas Priest’s tribute band singer replacement. Queensryche is replacing Geoff Tate with a singer who replaced a Tate clone in a Queesnryche clone band. A clone of a clone if you will. Or a clone once removed? Let me explain.

Todd LaTorre was (is?) the singer for Crimson Glory. He replaced their original singer Midnight and tries his darndest to sound like Midnight, basically a Midnight copy cat without the passion. Crimson Glory itself was a Queensryche clone band. When I first heard Crimson Glory’s Dragon Lady in 1986 I thought it was Queensryche. Not sounded like Queensryche, I thought it was Queensryche. Midnight was a dead ringer for Tate and their musical style was very, very similar. To their credit, Crimson Glory persevered and established a cult following. I like them; they are a good band with some great songs, just not very original. Actually extremely unoriginal, a clone.

And now the replacement singer of a clone singer is the singer for the band he was cloned from. That’s some funny shit.

And here is the Arch Matheos setlist from Keep it True:

Neurotically Wired
Midnight Serenade
The Sorceress
Stained Glass Sky
Damnation
The Apparition
Any Given Day/Strangers Like Me
Guardian
Encore:
Epitaph
Exodus

I cannot believe how great this setlist is. I wish i was there!!! They are doing another show in Connecticut. I wish i could go to that too!!!!

http://www.heavymetalpower.com/2009/03/the-pinnacle-of-heavy-metal/