Metal Reviews

It's pretty pointless trying to stuff bands into a neat little genre, it's too hard these days when everything is a blend of 3 or 4 different distinct influences.

In conclusion: I love Dragonlord

I got a promotion copy (yes, legal, an actual cd) of Black Wings of Destiny today and it's great IMO. I have not heard Rapture so for me this was a pleasent suprise.
It sounds a little like.... Dimmu Borgir actually.

NICE! I'd forgotten about this coming out!!

I didn't enjoy BM, but, upon learning of bands that embodied pretty much what Gast considered BM (yeah, he first got me sampling the good stuff.), I became enthralled with the genre, and thusly feel like I've gotten past the lousy exterior BM has developed over the years, and really found the core. But, the core isn't norsecore, so I'm pretty sure there's a difference between BM and sucky BM, which might as WELL be nailed with some tacky nickname by the people who have disdain for it. I mean, right?

Travis Smith once agains provides some killer artwork for a metal band (I love this guy)!!

That's awesome!!!!

Seriously, I'd say this is the best cover artwork I've seen all year!

Travis Smith is unreal! He's so good! He's a true artist, it's not all digital manipulation, you know? I have the following with his artwork:

Age Of Silence - Acceleration
Anathema - A Fine Day To Exit
Anathema - A Natural Disaster
A Triggering Myth - Forgiving Eden
Beyond The Embrace - Insect Song
Beseech - Black Emotions
Beseech - Souls Highway
CJSS - Kings Of The World
Dead Soul Tribe - A Murder Of Crows
Dead Soul Tribe - The January Tree
Dead Soul Tribe - Dead Soul Tribe
Death - The Sound Of Persaverance
Death Machine - Death Machine
Demons & Wizards - Demons & Wizards
Demons & Wizards - Touched By The Crimson King
Devin Townsend - Terria
Devin Townsend - Accelerated Evolution
Diabolical Masquerade - Death's Design
Dragonlord - Rapture
For My Pain - Fallen
Iced Earth - Something Wicked This Way Comes
Iced Earth - Horror Show
Iced Earth - Dark Genesis (Box Set)
Iced Earth - Alive In Athens
Identity 6: Century Media Sampler
Identity 7: Century Media Sampler
Identity 8: Century Media Sampler
Katatonia - Tonight's Decision
Katatonia - Last Fair Deal Gone Down
Katatonia - Viva Emptiness
Living Sacrifice - Conceived In Fire
Nevermore - Dreaming Neon Black
Nevermore - Enemies of Reality
Nevermore - Dead Heart In A Dead World
Opeth - Ghost Reveries
Overkill - Killbox 13
Overkill - Necroshine
Power Symphony - Lightbringer
Redemption - Redemption
Skinlab - Revolting Room
Skinlab - Bound, Gagged And Blindfolded
Skinlab - Eyesore (EP)
Skinlab - Disembody: The New Flesh
Soilwork - Natural Born Chaos
Solitude Aeturnus - Adagio
Soul Embraced - This Is My Blood
Strapping Young Lad - Strapping Young Lad
Subterranean Masquerade - Temporary Psychotic State (EP)
Subterranean Masquerade - Suspended Animation Dreams
Symphorce - Twice Second
The Defaced - Karma In Black
The Eternal - Sleep Of Reason
Twelfth Gate - Summoning
Winds - Reflection Of The I
Winds - Imaginary Direction Of Time

Ridiculous! If he does the artwork, it's a good bet the music is good.

He's my new hero.

Me? Or Trav?

Travis. Sorry, dude, but I'm a sucker for someone who can create art like that. (Though it makes me look at my own portfolio and cry.)

I knew that, I was just kidding (in case anyone thought I was pathetic or whatever, hahaha). Anyway, I'm pretty snazzy with Photoshop, but some of what Travis does just baffles me! I have no idea how he does it. Have you seen the new Subterranean Masquerade artwork? It's killer, and so different from what you'd expect him to do!

They're certainly something. It looks like watercolor and pen and ink, done on regular paper (probably watercolor paper, in fact ) and notebook paper.

Yeah, it looks simple how he created it, but it's definitely different for him! And when you know how to draw, it's really hard to draw like a kid! Hahaha. I've tried, it takes a lot of patience to actually make it look like a kid who can't draw did it.

Very true. They remind me of Don Herzfeldt's stuff a little, in terms of feel and atmosphere.

Picked up the Dragonlord CD today. I haven't listened to it all yet, only to track 7, but holy fuck has it been good so far!! What do you guys think of it?

I love it. Very epic and evil-feeling.

You know what it reminds me of? Old school Amorphis meets Strapping Young Lad without the industrial feel. It's much better than the first CD, which kicked ass in its own right!

I'm probably going to get jumped all over for this one, but the first thing that comes to my mind is that this is what Cradle of Filth wishes it was, especially on Damnation and a Day.

I also agree that this one is much better than Rapture.

I've not heard anything by Cradle Of Filth that I've liked. The dude's voice irks me. In fact, I don't really like black metal in general, some bands do it for me, though, Dragonlord being one of them.

If this one is better than Rapture then it's fuckin' amazing, cause that one was really really cool. Me wants now!