Proof Metallica Still Kicks Ass

Put this in your pipe and smoke it!

Dream Evil Unleashes "Into the Night" in January

Randy here, wishing all of you metal heads a happy Thanksgiving weekend! Figured I'd chime in with this update that Dream Evil's new album Into the Night will be released on January 25, 2010.

The band always delivers on the power metal goodness. Have a safe and rockin' weekend!

P.S. New song, "Bang Your Head" available now on the band's official MySpace.

Pray to the Metal Gods for Ronnie James Dio!

Today, it was announced that metal god Ronnie James Dio has been diagnosed with stomach cancer (thankfully it is in its early stages).

No matter what kind of metal you are into, I think we can all agree that this man has done more for heavy metal than just about any other. At age 67, his pipes are still in top shape, and he never puts on a bad show.

Send your prayers to the metal gods that Dio recovers from this terrible disease. It's going to be a tough fight, but I think he can pull through and maybe even show us how to rock once more!

Overkill: The Hardest Working Band in Metal?

Overkill is probably one of the most overlooked thrash bands that are still around today.

Sure Testament and others may have never gotten the spotlight they deserved, but Overkill got even less. (Maybe it's because of the fact that Bobby 'Blitz' Ellsworth sometimes resembles a banshee when singing, but hey, just like Geddy Lee once you get into it, it just fits).

To this day the band puts out a new album what feels like every other year (or sooner) and usually the end result is better than what the old school bands take 6 years to make!

Overkill will continue its thrash domination with the release Ironbound, coming out on February 9, 2010.

Also for any listeners in my home state of Iowa, a road trip may be in order for the upcoming show in Chicago.

April 09 - Chicago, IL @ The Metro

While you are waiting, check out a video of one of my favorite Overkill tunes, "Necroshine"!

The Softer Side of Zakk Wylde - "Sold My Soul"

There was once a time when Zakk Wylde was not a booze-slamming, beard-growing, biker dude that always talked about drinking and banging in interviews.

Yes, Wylde once had a very sensitive side, which is showcased on the brilliant Book of Shadows album. Especially on one of my favorite acoustic tracks ever recorded, called "Sold My Soul".

Even if you don't like the Wylde of today, this song and video prove why he is revered as a guitar God. And he actually has a mean set of pipes (or at least had) - the vocal performance on this song is haunting.



"Sold My Soul"



Also check out a young Wylde rockin' the solo to the same song:

Dream Theater lays on the cheese with "Wither"

Actually, I kind of like the song and the video is fitting, but c'mon you have so many other rockin' tunes on Black Clouds and Silver Linings! From a marketing standpoint of course, this is the shortest song on the album and good for radio play, so not a bad idea.

Not that Dream Theater gets played on the hit radio stations that often anyways. Check out the video below:

Why did I never get into Heathen?

Lee Atlus does some great work now with Exodus, but for some reason I never paid much attention to Heathen. Occasionally I do denjoy their tunes whenever I take some time to seek em' out.



Heathen will be releasing a new CD entitled "The Evolution of Chaos" in March of 2010. I'll be looking forward to checking it out!

Billy Milano Cameo #2: "United Forces" with Municipal Waste

Not sure why he did the same song as he did with Lamb of God a few weeks back, but this is a quality video, so I figured I would post it.

American Carnage: Late Update, But Still Badass!

If you actually haven't heard yet, Slayer, Megadeth and Metallica are teaming up to bring you the American Carnage tour. The best part? For a limited time tickets will be only $10! How's that for a deal?!

Closest date to Iowa City? Feb. 05 - UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL

Other select dates you may want to travel to below:

Feb. 04 - Roy Wilkins Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN*
Feb. 06 - Cobo Arena, Detroit, MI*

* Tickets sold through Ticketmaster

Zakk Wylde to cover Suicide Note Pt. 1

This is kind of old news, but cool nonetheless. Guitarist Zakk Wylde will be covering "Suicide Note Pt. 1" off Pantera's underrated album The Great Southern Trendkill.

I think the song will fit Zakk's style well and seeing as Wylde had a near death experience himself (although not from heroin), maybe it will add some personal emotion in the song.

Here is the current list of bands that are recording cover songs for the Metal Hammer tribute album (for the 5th anniversary of Dimebagg's tragic onstage death).

* MACHINE HEAD - "Fucking Hostile"
* CHIMAIRA - "Slaughtered"
* EVILE - "Cemetery Gates"
* THROWDOWN - [to be announced]
* ZAKK WYLDE - "Suicide Note Pt. 1"



Check out this cool "demasked" intro version I found:

Buckethead's New Signature Gibson Geetar!

Now you can own Buckethead's sleek white guitar. Although I think it would be cooler without the weird orange input jack, but hey, I'm no Buckethead.

Friday Night Music Vid: Suffocation- "Cataclysmic Purification"

DEATH METAL!

Nile Gets Brutal With Latest Release: "Those Whom Gods Detest"

I have to admit I never was all that into Nile, but the new album Those Whom The Gods Detest is making me reconsider. A few of the newer bands could learn a lot from Karl Sanders and company about the ways of death metal.



Nile: "Kafir!"
If you like it support the band and buy: Those Whom The Gods Detest

Dave Lombardo v. The Taxi

I enjoy me the new Slayer as much as I enjoy me some drunken hijinks. Listen to legendary drummer Dave Lombardo tell the tale of the Taxi Tackler.



Slayer: "Snuff"
If you like it support the band and buy: World Painted Blood

Saviours: Accelerate Into High Gear

Somehow I completely missed the release of the new Saviour album Accelerated Living... and it came out in October!!!

I saw this band live in Iowa City about two years back now and they put on a pretty good show.

On Accelerated Living, it sounds like the band expanded its sound from generic doom metal to a more badass style of heavy metal. Check out the song "Acid Hand" and if you like what you hear, support the band and buy the album.

Listen to "Acid Hand":

Mudvayne: The Song Remains the Same on "Scream With Me"

So now there are two new Mudvayne tunes available online. "Heard It All Before" is actually pretty badass, but the new one "Scream With Me" is a bit generic.

However it is by no means a bad tune. Still sounds like the album could be their best since the early days when the group was actually interesting. Listen below.

"Scream With Me":



"Heard It All Before":

A Very Special Edition of The Metal Show TONIGHT!

That's right, get your asses tuned in to KRUI 89.7FM from 8 to 9 p.m. tonight because on the show I will be debuting new music from Iowa's own power/thrash metal band Dark Mirror.

The band will be playing a show at House of Bricks in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday the 13th in celebration of the release of Portrait of Evil. On the following night the band will perform at the Picador, 330 E Washington St, Iowa City, Iowa.

I want to see a ton of locals going METAL THRASHING MAD at the concert!

Here is the full line-up and info:

Location: the Picador, 330 E Washington, Iowa City, Iowa, 52240
Time: Doors at 9 p.m.
Age Limit and Admission: 19+ show, $5 at the door.

DARK MIRROR- Melodic Thrash/Power Metal.
The band originated in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and currently calls Des Moines its home, although the vocalist currently lives in Waterloo. Really the band considers all of Iowa its home!

Links:
Dark Mirror's MySpace
Dark Mirror's Official Web site

Cur - Early 90's style thrash with rap elements from Cedar Rapids. Don't worry they are actually pretty cool sounding.

Link:
Cur's MySpace

Crusher of Souls - Death metal from Des Moines, Iowa.

Link:
Crusher of Soul's MySpace

Identity Crisis - Melodic, Progressive, Death Metal
High energy melodic metal from Iowa City!

Link:
Identity Crisis' MySpace

The show should be awesome, so come out and support DARK MIRROR and local Iowa metal. The band will blow you away live no matter what style of metal you listen to.

And if that wasn't enough I will be playing new music and the usual classics on the show for your listening pleasure only on KRUI 89.7 FM from 8 to 9 p.m. or streaming live on KRUI's Web site.

Metallica: Live In France

Well, this recording is probably more epic than the usual live shows the band puts on, but you have to admit the band is on fire while playing Blackened for the upcoming DVD recorded in France (Francais Pour Une Nuit).

Iron Maiden and Ronnie James Dio to Hit the Studio (Not together of course)

Iron Maiden recently announced it would be returning to the studio to work on new material for its 15th studio album.

None of the more recent releases have held my attention all that long since The Wicker Man (although I do like a lot of the newer material), so hopefully the guys spend the time to make this one count.



A close inside source has also told me that Dio guitarist Craig Goldy received a call from Dio himself about setting up a date to begin recording new Dio material, so I always look forward to that, seeing as Dio can still sing like a beast.

New Music Video Roundup: Baroness and Suicide Silence

Hmmm... the new Baroness is pretty rad, but I still don't know about that Suicide Silence.

A little too trendy for me, but at least they seem to have more energy than some of those new bands. It all starts to sound the same after awhile though.

Videos available for your own judging eyes below (note that the Suicide Silence video is just a link because the video kept messing up my blog):


A Horse Called Golgotha

Baroness - 'Blue Record' Out Now!!! | MySpace Video

Suicide Silence Video:

BloodyDisgusting.com

Strange Metal Sub Genres: Arnold Schwarzenegger Metal

I just saw a post on Blabbermouth.net about a band called Schwarzenator that is releasing a self-titled EP.

This means that there are now 3 (if not more) bigger metal/punk parody bands that revolve around the legendary action hero and governor of California's fame. The strange thing is I don't mind some of the music these bands create, although ArnoCorps seems the most legit.

The new Austrian Death Machine album Double Brutal is fun to listen to while hanging out with friends, but I might be biased since I love me some Schwarzenegger movies.

And Schwarzenator is just insane.

Check out what each band has to offer below:

ArnoCorps "Total Recall":



Randy's Commentary: Traditional punk-metal with a Youtube user created highlight reel is a win in my book.

Austrian Death Machine "Who Told You You Could Eat My Cookies?":



Randy's Commentary: Jingle All the Way is one of my all-time favorite holiday classics and a smash box office hit, so this song was a no-brainer.

Schwarzenator "Conan":



Randy's Commentary: A song about Conan the Barbarian sung by a band wearing Conan O' Brien masks, what more could you ask for?

Metalocalypse Season 3 Begins Tonight!

That's right, everyone's favorite metal cartoon on Adult Swim is back and it airs at 11:30 p.m. CST. The new episodes are now a half hour long (although there will probably be commercials now), so hopefully the transition is smooth.

Season 2 started out kind of slow, but the last half was hilarious, so hopefully Brendon Small took his time for this season and continues to deliver more of the same.

UPDATE: New episode had some pretty funny moments overall, but was a little slow in parts. Looks like they are going to actually develop the story more this time around, which could be cool. I look forward to seeing how the season turns out.

Fear Factory Moves Forward, Signs to Candlelight Records

Apparently, any legal problems the current Fear Factory lineup was having with the name got cleared up because the band has signed to Candlelight Records and set a release date of February 9, 2010 for the new album Mechanized.

I actually loved the work the latter day members did on Archetype, but the guys the created Demanufacture playing alongside Gene Hoglan on drums? Goddamn!

Let's hope it's not a huge disappointment.

UPDATE: New song "Powershifter" is now available for streaming. Don't know if the band put this online themselves, if not, then it might not last long, so check it out fast!

The song has impressive drumming from Gene Hoglan's end of the deal and it's good to hear Burton sounding a bit more aggressive again. Dino definitely has some tight rhythms, but I hope he mixes it up a little more on the album, so things don't get too repetitive.

I can now say I officially look forward to hearing new shit from this lineup of Fear Factory.

Arsis Starve For the Devil

To all my fellow metal heads:

I, Randy, host of The Metal Show on KRUI 89.7FM (8-9 p.m.) have been kind of spastic in my blogging activity. So starting now I hope to get caught up and provide up-to-date news for all you all. So I begin with some Arsis news.

I remember when We Are the Nightmare came out in 2008, it rocked my CD player for awhile. So I am hoping for good things with the band's latest which comes out on February 9, 2010.

Recently the album cover and tracklist were revealed over the Internet, so check em' out below as well as one of my favorite tunes off the previous album.



Starve For The Devil track listing:

01. Forced To Rock
02. A March For The Sick
03. From Soulless To Shattered (Art In Dying)
04. Beyond Forlorn
05. The Ten Of Swords
06. Closer To Cold
07. Sick Perfection
08. Half Past Corpse O'Clock
09. Escape Artist
10. Sable Rising

Bonus tracks:

11. A Pound Of Flesh (For The Hell Of It)
12. The Lake (KING DIAMOND cover)

Also: Sorry about the sound quality on this one, but it will at least give you idea of the bands crazy riffage if you've never heard them before.

Could the new Mudvayne album actually not suck?

So Mudvayne is coming out with a new self-titled album on December 22.

Generally a self-titled album means one of two things. Either the band feels like it has made an impressive album that features a band at one with its sound or it's a cheap attempt at a cash grab.

Well I just listened to the new Mudvayne song "Heard It All Before" and I'm impressed. Looks to be the best work they've done since L.D. 50, but only time will tell.

In the meantime listen to Mudvayne back when the band was actually unique and original.

UPDATE: Blacklight album cover available for viewing.

Rob Zombie Halloween Show

Once again I managed to stop updating the blog for a week, but this time I promise you my goal is to offer at least one new piece of content each day this week (if not more!). Seeing as it's never too late to celebrate Halloween in the world of metal, here is some live video from Rob Zombie's live show!

"Sick Bubblegum" may be repetitive, but damn if it isn't catchy!