Randy Lives On

Hello fellow metalheads,

It has been forever since I updated this blog and to get back into writing, I have started up a new blog called "The Heavy Metal Review," over on Wordpress.

I figured I would start fresh and clean to keep up with a new format mainly focusing on CD reviews and the occasional commentary on upcoming albums (and The Metal Show is currently no more). If you have been following this blog and think you might be interested in hearing what I have to say, give the blog a look, and feel free to follow it if you like what you see.

Right now there isn't much to look at, but I hope to get some reviews up and running on the site in the next few days.

Thanks for your support over the years,

Eric aka Randy former host of The Metal Show on 89.7 KRUI in Iowa City.

P.S. Have you guys heard the new Meshuggah songs yet? I assume you all have, but as a reminder of the new album being released on Tuesday, here is "Do Not Look Down," from the upcoming album, Koloss.

Chimaira slows down time in "Year of the Snake"

Chimaira's new song "Year of the Snake" just may be the most groovin' metal track I have heard all year. However, the video could have used some more work, because it uses so many slow-mo effects it hurts the brain.

Maybe they should have just used the slow-mo effect for the breakdown about 3/4 in and went full speed the rest of the way? You be the judge.

Oh, and The Age of Hell will be rattlin' skulls everywhere on August 16 courtesy of eOne Music.

Another Day, More New Music: Opeth's 'The Devil's Orchard'

The first (and only) time I saw Opeth live - on Gigantour 2 - I thought it was interesting how different this band was from anyone else playing that night, and the crowd reactions the group received as well.

There were obviously the fans loving every minute of the show, but then there were those people who looked bored out of their minds during many of the songs, some of which could run into the 10+ minute mark.

I have always been somewhere in the middle with Opeth, enjoying a lot of the group's music, but feeling like there was something missing to really grab my attention.

Don't get me wrong, Blackwater Park is a masterpiece, however, it can be hard to listen to Mikael Åkerfeldt's ever-shifting clean-to-growling vocals, alongside an insanely high level of musicianship that leans dangerously close to sensory overload for long periods of time.

In fact, every album after this started to feel like more of the same (just take a listen to 2008's Watershed). My favorite Opeth album of the more modern era would have to Damnation, featuring all-clean vocals and mellower tracks.



The whole record was a breath of fresh air from the band's regular format and one of the best albums of that year (2003) and the decade.

With the new track released today, "The Devil's Orchard", it feels like Opeth is taking the melodicism of Damnation and combining it with the aggression of its back catalog (without the use of death vocals). And man does it sound killer.

Have a listen below. This is one of those tracks you can just get lost in and not even realize six minutes just went by (not sure if the actual album version will be any longer).

Heritage will be released via Roadrunner Records on September 16.

Mastodon's 'Black Tongue'

Hello fellow fans and metalheads,

It has been awhile since I have even thought about updating this metal blog. And I figured a good way to attempt to get back into it is with some brand new music from Mastodon!

This ripping track, called "Black Tongue", comes off the group's upcoming album The Hunter which is due out in stores and on the interwebs September 27 through Reprise Records.

Check out the new song below. I hope to start reviewing albums again and tune up my chops on this here blog in the weeks to come.

Where in the world is Randy?

So, I have been slacking on this whole writing about metal thing. There are a few instances in my life (besides being metal), that have kept me away for much of the month, and I hope to get back into things here soon. Maybe that should be my metal New Year's resolution!

Before the New Year I do hope to post a year end list and maybe even write about a few other recent topics. As always, thanks for following me over the years/checking back in every now and again.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Headbanging New Year!

Zakk Wylde battles the Overlord

I don't think I can even begin to explain/analyze this video tonight, so just watch it on your own below.

System of a Down reunited

System of a Down have been apart for around five years now and now the band is reuniting for some festival gigs overseas.

The big question is, will the band also get together to record a new album and will it be any good? Mesmerize was the last album released by the band I enjoyed throughout. Hypnotize didn't really impress me songwise and continued to feature too much of Daron Malakian's vocals.

Hopefully if the band gets back in the studio, Daron gets off his egotistical high horse and sticks to writing songs and backing vocals, while Serj takes over the lead work. Then I will show some interest.

I do enjoy plenty of System of a Down's back catalog, so since the is a music blog after all, I'll post a few right here.

Oh, and I'll be more interested when Faith No More announces a US reunion tour (although it would be even cooler with Jim Martin, they should at least bring him back for an encore at a few shows, a la Kiss Unplugged, and have both guitarists jamming out).

Metallica to begin writing new album in 2011?

If Lars Ulrich has anything to say about it, the band will begin writing music sometime in 2011. However, knowing the pace of Metallica, we likely won't see a new album until at least 2012 (if that).

Death Magnetic is surprisingly well written, so lets hope all these Big Four shows have reignited the flame and the band delivers at least one more album to remember them by. I haven't listened to Death Magnetic for awhile, so here's a refresher.

*Video removed, will try and put up a new one here shortly.

Manowar is at it again

Ever wonder what it sounds like to put gasoline on your balls and light it? Neither have I...

But according to bassist Joey DeMaio, that is the sound of the new Manowar album, Hammer of the Gods.

Here is the actual message from DeMaio taken from a recent official video message:

"A couple of people were wanting to know what's going on with the new album, 'Hammer Of The Gods'. Well, the truth is this: [original MANOWAR drummer] Donnie Hamzik is officially back in the band, and that changed everything for us. So all the songs that were written have been completely fucking thrown out, completely ditched — gone, never to be heard from again. The writing has changed because Donnie's back in the band and he's burning like a mad motherfucking demon on drums. So this album is gonna basically sound like I told you before — like somebody put gasoline on your fucking balls and lit it. So it'll be worth the fucking wait, 'cause when it comes, it's coming back."

Ouch. Sounds painful and like the album wouldn't be very pleasant to the ears, but say what you will, Manowar still delivers metal to its fans, even if the group is overly cheesy at times. That's just part of the charm.

The Misfits are true punk

Out of all the great classic punk bands, in my mind, The Misfits still stand at the top of them all. I can't say there is much timeliness to this post - I just haven't been able to write much in awhile and have been listening to this album lately. A total classic!

Enjoy and look out for more updates soon.

Everyday is Halloween

It seems fitting to put up a Type O Negative song to celebrate the darkest of holidays, especially since it's the first Halloween since frontman/bassist Peter Steele's death. Rock on and Happy Halloween!

GWAR releases 'Zombies, March' video in time for Halloween

GWAR, zombies, pillow fights, what more could you want in a music video?

Helloween asks 'Are You Metal?"

When Helloween released Unarmed - Best of 25th Anniversary (full of acoustic/symphonic re-recordings of the band's classic songs), I started to lose hope for the upcoming album 7 Sinners.

The whole album was very unnecessary and should have just been packaged as a greatest hits to celebrate the occasion in my mind. Then I heard "Are You Metal?.

This is a monster of a song, full of heavy guitar riffs reminiscent of something found on Dream Theater's "The Glass Prison" mixed with the melodicism you would expect from Andi Deris-era (and most era) Helloween.

It was like the band knew it had to pull out all the stops and deliver a piece of music that could not only satisfy power metal fans, but fans of modern metal as well.

Let's hope the album (set to be released on Halloween, but more likely the Tuesday after the holiday), is equally awesome.

Municipal Waste brings the noise (and humor) with 'Wolves of Chernobyl' video

I've talked plenty about how much I love Municipal Waste's music in the past. I also love the band's creative low-budget music videos, such as the one recently released for "Wolves of Chernobyl" off the thrashterpiece, Massive Agressive.

Grab a brew, watch the video and have a laugh!

Hail of Bullets gives a wartime history lesson in 'Operation Z' and Triptykon hides in the shadows

Hail of Bullets new song, "Operation Z" tells of the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan. It's old school death metal and not bad at all. Check out the video below and if you like the track, On Divine Winds is in stores now.



UPDATE: And here's a double-dose of metal, this one is a video from Triptykon, it's very interesting visually, and the music is good too.

Oh Revolver... you've done it again!

You may have seen the cover of Revolver's latest (and newly named), "The Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock" issue floating around the Internet (apparently there aren't enough "hot chicks" in metal to keep it going).

If not, the magazine features model-turned-hard-rock frontgirl (she's only 17), Taylor Momsen in a steamy Zombie-fightin'-burlesque style outfit.

Tons of blogs have already offered commentary on this cover, and I have to agree, Revolver has hit a new low (even if this girl chooses to dress like a stripper and her parents don't care). Sure, Momsen has a right to do what she wants, but at what point did Revolver decide it needed to flaunt a minor on its magazine to sell copies? Couldn't they at least have picked an of-age-spokeswoman?

Valient Thorr = Metal AC/DC with beards?

Valient Thorr is another one of those bands I never really could get into. But this song isn't bad and the video has sort of a Twisted Sister vibe. So I figured I would put it up to help the partying begin on this beautiful Friday.

I also heard the group puts on one big drunken party live, much like AC/DC, but with more booze and members that are hairier/less in shape.

In Flames and Trivium to enter the studio

In Flames and Trivium both recently announced they will be entering the studio to record new material in the next few days/months. In Flames is now at a loss of longtime member Jesper Stromblad (due to recovery from alcoholism) and Trivium has a new drummer, while retaining the other members.

A pair the two bands in this post, because it seems both are faced with creating career defining albums (or at least damn good ones) to remain relevant in today's metal scene.

I've enjoyed the material In Flames has put out as of late (even though I know many old school In Flames fans have not) and look forward to seeing what the guys will come up with next. However, Jesper was kind of the one strand of validity left in the band among old school fans. The band is going to have to pull out the "big guns," to get the longtime fans to take notice. Then again, the newer fans might not even know Jesper is gone...

Sorry about the lack of updates!

I have been Sorry sliding my fans out of metal commentary and news ,
and for that, I am sorry.

Hey loyal followers and random metal heads,

You may have noticed I have once again fallen behind on updating the blog. I've been working and applying for other jobs at the same time, which is essentially like having two jobs, on top of trying to keep healthy, work out, and just live life, so I have been slacking here, even though I also love to write, especially about metal!

I have some things bookmarked I would like to make posts about and my goal is to get some new content up by Thursday. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget about the blog!

Thanks,

Randy

P.S. Here is a cool new metal video from Dark Fortress to hold you over.

Skeletonwitch's new music video has cute fuzzy animals and bloodthirsty zombies

I'm short on time right now, but I think this video speaks for itself. Enjoy!