Spring Break
MADE OF METAL: Metal smites summer stupor
by Daniel D. Snyder
Associate Editor
Arts | 9/2/08
Posted online at 5:51 PM EST on 9/1/08
/ Last updated at 12:11 AM EST on 9/1/08
Welcome back ye faithful. If you are reading this, I bid you kudos. You have successfully evaded the evil machinations of your enemies for yet another summer. Now, fortify yourself with the blood of your kill. We have much to discuss.
Though the lethargy of the summer heat tries its best to suppress the banging of heads, metalheads welcome the warm months, the endless tours and sweaty European festivals they bring. Though I was confined largely to the Waltham area (no Wacken Festival for me), my summer was nonetheless chock-full of more heavy metal than Harry Whittington's (look him up) face. I discovered killer new bands and even managed to see a few on my own.
My two favorite finds for the summer fall on two drastically different ends of the metal spectrum: the grimy, lo-fi dungeons of black metal and the bombastic, cheesy sounds of folk-power thrash. The first of these two, Chicago's Nachtmystium, I checked out after years of hearing their name whispered in mossy caves and was blown away on impact. Evidently, Nachtmystium began as a standard raw black metal project in the vein of Darkthrone (all treble, no bass, simple beats, shrieked vocals) but over time began to incorporate elements of psychedelia into their sound. Their most successful marriage of these elements, 2006's Instinct: Decay, was the barb that hooked me by the heart. Its opening track, "A Seed for Suffering," is worth the price of admission alone, complete with tortured vocals, driving black metal rhythms and even a fuzzed out, echoing solo. Though their most recent effort, Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. 1, is a little too heavy on the experimentation, forsaking their black metal roots, Nachtmystium's back catalogue is more than worth a listen.
My second summer romance, Finland's Kiuas, I stumbled upon more by accident. One night, alone in the halls of my impregnable mountain fortress, I stumbled across one of their live performances on the Internet and became instantly enamored with their incredible energy and intoxicating blends of the thrash and power metal genres. While most power metal lacks the heft and brutality necessary to engage me musically, Kiuas incorporates enough thrashy Viking-pagan bombast to give their clean vocal-led assault the necessary oomph. I have since picked up two of their three albums, debut The Spirit of Ukko and the most recent The New Dark Age, and can wholeheartedly recommend them to fans of all musical persuasions. As for the coming months, all my attention is fixed on the upcoming release from Amon Amarth (some of you may remember last year's feature on their live show, complete with the half-page photo of a flaming Viking), Twilight of The Thundergod. Advance tracks posted on their Web site sound like raging beasts. Hopes are high.
Though the lethargy of the summer heat tries its best to suppress the banging of heads, metalheads welcome the warm months, the endless tours and sweaty European festivals they bring. Though I was confined largely to the Waltham area (no Wacken Festival for me), my summer was nonetheless chock-full of more heavy metal than Harry Whittington's (look him up) face. I discovered killer new bands and even managed to see a few on my own.
My two favorite finds for the summer fall on two drastically different ends of the metal spectrum: the grimy, lo-fi dungeons of black metal and the bombastic, cheesy sounds of folk-power thrash. The first of these two, Chicago's Nachtmystium, I checked out after years of hearing their name whispered in mossy caves and was blown away on impact. Evidently, Nachtmystium began as a standard raw black metal project in the vein of Darkthrone (all treble, no bass, simple beats, shrieked vocals) but over time began to incorporate elements of psychedelia into their sound. Their most successful marriage of these elements, 2006's Instinct: Decay, was the barb that hooked me by the heart. Its opening track, "A Seed for Suffering," is worth the price of admission alone, complete with tortured vocals, driving black metal rhythms and even a fuzzed out, echoing solo. Though their most recent effort, Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. 1, is a little too heavy on the experimentation, forsaking their black metal roots, Nachtmystium's back catalogue is more than worth a listen.
My second summer romance, Finland's Kiuas, I stumbled upon more by accident. One night, alone in the halls of my impregnable mountain fortress, I stumbled across one of their live performances on the Internet and became instantly enamored with their incredible energy and intoxicating blends of the thrash and power metal genres. While most power metal lacks the heft and brutality necessary to engage me musically, Kiuas incorporates enough thrashy Viking-pagan bombast to give their clean vocal-led assault the necessary oomph. I have since picked up two of their three albums, debut The Spirit of Ukko and the most recent The New Dark Age, and can wholeheartedly recommend them to fans of all musical persuasions. As for the coming months, all my attention is fixed on the upcoming release from Amon Amarth (some of you may remember last year's feature on their live show, complete with the half-page photo of a flaming Viking), Twilight of The Thundergod. Advance tracks posted on their Web site sound like raging beasts. Hopes are high.
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