Not So Happy With...

I wanted to put together a list of stuff that I really am not happy with.  They are going to be groups that I've either used to listen to but have stopped because they have consistently released bad releases, or are on their way down that road.  Or groups that have just released a new one that I'm not really particularly happy with.  I listen to a really wide range of metal from thrash, nu-metal, death, prog, speed, grunge, black, pretty much anything that catches my ear in the metal world I'll give it a listen.  Some things stick, and some things just go in one ear and out the other.  So hear is a list of stuff that I'm not happy with at all, and I'll give a little backing as to why, but here we go.  This is really my first negative post. 

1.  Static-X - Cult of Static - 2009

     Static-X - Cannibal - 2007

Static-X used get me pumped.  When Wisconsin Death Trip came out I remember just getting lost in Wayne's cool voice and his industrial, techno metal vibe he had going.  I really didn't know where to put them, and that was cool to me.  Lately though ever since their Cannibal release I felt that they were losing their touch that they had in the beginning.  I was a big fan of their first 3 efforts, but they have really lost it for me on these last few releases.  Cult of Static was their 6th studio release that came out in 2009, and I thought the guitar was very flat and shallow sounding.  It lacked his intensity and sounded much more mainstream, or popish.  There are only a few catchy licks on this album.  The album pretty much kept a failing drive throughout the whole record for me.  So for me they may be a band that I will stop getting unless they redeem themselves and bring back the life if Static-X that I miss.  I'm sure they can. 

2. Korn - Remember Who You Are - 2010

    Korn - Korn - 2007

    Korn - See You On The Other Side - 2005

Korn has been a band that I've listened to pretty much since their start.  I got into them right before their Life Is Peachy release.  They really had this great groove and anger behind the music that I really was soaking up.  Ever since their See You On the Other Side release in 2005 though they have really lost that big distorted angry sound for me.  They really have gone more mainstream and brought in a lot more hip hop, or techno styles.  I'm all for meshing the style when you're doing a nu-metal album and these guys seemed to do it well in the past but they have really lost their touch.  Their Remember Who You Are release this past year was supposed to be a revisit to the past but keeping it fresh.  Kind of like Metallica's Death Magnetic.  While having some old school sounds thrown in there, and a little of the angry crying.  The crying although sounded very prosthetic and just really for a commercial aspect.  Unlike the original stuff which you really felt his pain inside when he would scream and sound like a crying child haha.  They fell way short for me of releasing a solid record completely.  After a couple listens I was not amused at all and just shelved it, and haven't taken it out since. These guys have really went down the drain for me, and it saddens me to say that, but its true. 

3. Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe 2 - 2010

I have mad respect for one Mr. Rob Zombie.  He is truelly a Renaissance man of horror.  His films are great and done very well.  I've listened to his music since his Astro-Creep 2000 release as White Zombie.  That album is by far one of my favorite metal albums.  When he broke away from WZ and started his own thing with Hellbilly Deluxe I was scared at first, but man was the album excellent.  I can still jam that album today and get the ride that I did when I first heard it.  Demonoid Phenomenon is my favorite jam.  Although I really respect him his last few musical efforts have had major short comings for me.  Educated Horses had some good licks, and still had a semi solid sound to it.  I could hear the decline though for me.  Now Hellbilly Deluxe 2 came way way short.  If you're going to do an album and name it the second of something so great it has to be just as good or even better.  That was not the case in HD2.  His voice was pretty shallow and does not have the carnal rage that Hellbilly Deluxe has.  I don't like senseless cursing much anymore, but if its dominated by a great album I'll tolerate it, but his "Rock mother f*&%#r rock", line that he says quite a bit gets very redundant and unnecessary.  I was very let down by this release and have shelved it along with the Korn album and probably won't be taking it out any time soon.  I heard somewhere that this may be his last musical effort.  I'm not a 100% percent on that, but if this is his last he really didn't go out with a bang and that's just sad. 

4. Marilyn Manson - The High End of Low - 2009

Marilyn Manson is another character that I really respect.  He has taken a lot of crap from critics, and parents.  I mean yes some of his antics are extreme and should only be allowed to the children that can really truelly understand his satanic insanity.  Which does start with the partents teaching their kids what he is doing.  Right or wrong is totally up to them, but wasn't David Bowie, Elton John, or even The Beatles conisdered unacceptable by the same types who used to tear down their kids posters in their rooms, and say turn that devil music off right now.  Those guys now are acclaimed world wide as music innovators in their own lights, and have changed the many many faces of music for all of us today.  He is just trying to do his thing and do it the best he can.  His last few releases have been progressively getting worse though, and his The High End of Low really didn't do it for me at all.  There weren't anything spectacular on this record really at all.  His dominating attitude and crazy presence really wasn't there.I really hope he picks it back up and gives us another Antichrist Superstar soon or he will also be one that I will be forced to stop buying. 

5. Staind - The Illusion of Progress - 2009

Staind was one of the bands in my youth that I really connected with.  Aaron Lewis's vocals really pulled me into this band.  I went to see them live and really loved them.  I absolutely wore out their first two records.  After Break the Cycle though you could here the change in direction they were going.  They were heading down a softer road.  Which is fine with me by all means, but please give us old school fans some of that needed classic sounds.  They had a real raw low tuned bang that was really fresh and sounded new on their first two records.  I remember listening to Break the Cycle and loving every song on that album.  There was a mixture of soft melodies, and heavy punching distortion also.  On The Illusion of Progress though you can really hear them trying new avenues with their music, and while being a good idea they come up empty handed for me.  They even have a country hooked song on this record that I really was not digging at all.  I know that Aaron Lewis has a wide range of tastes and comes from a country kind of environment, but it really just through me way way off to hear that on a Staind record.  Aaron Lewis has since gone on to do a solo country project which to me goes to show his overall separation from Staind.  I really hope that Staind revitalizes themselves in the future and brings back their original sound. 

   Now I'm going to give you guys a list of bands that I used to listen to in the past, but have stopped either because of what they have turned their band into, or the musical direction of the band, or I just am grown out of.  Not to say that all of their material has been sub par but now their stuff really is so I've either just stopped getting their stuff, or even have sold their cd's. 

Sevendust

Killswitch Engage

Ill Nino - Ever Since they left Roadrunner nothing has really done it for me from them. 

Linkin Park

Papa Roach

Fuel

Limp Bizket - I've really grown out of LBs style.  I'm into a little more intelligent stuff now sorry.

Drowning Pool

Smile Empty Soul

Orgy

Audioslave - the originals of both sides are so much better than this super group.  (Sorry my opinion)

30 Seconds To Mars

Our Lady Peace

Offspring

Green Day

Sum 41 - Chuck was an excellent album, but after that nothing really caught my ear. 

Disturbed

P.O.D

Kid Rock - In my opinion the only good release was Devil Without A Cause which was his debut

Kittie

Powerman 5000 - Tell recently I didn't know the lead singer is Rob Zombie's younger brother.

Dope

   So there you have.  The bands that have really let me down.  Now you may like some of these and that's fine.  I still like material from all of these artists, but they really have distanced themselves from my tastes and I hope that maybe they will come back into my likings again some day.  I still hold high regards for a lot of these artists and really hope they do come back to me soon.  So here it is my first negative post.  I'll do more on stuff that i really just can't get into at all.  Like this new age techno metal crap.  Attack Attack, or Abandon All Ships are just horrible.  While having a few brief moments where they are kicking ass.  They poppy techno dancing crap just doesn't do it for me.  That's my classic roots coming out in me, but while thinking some of it is acceptable is my new age likings. 

New Blood In the Dirt 2

   I've been picking up quite a few new cds lately and some are from bands that are new to me.  Not to say that I haven't heard of these guys before, but just now have gotten the chance to check them out.  Like I said before a band is new to me if I've only been listening to them for a year or so.  Some of the groups are older still and have been around for a while.  So here are a few of the new ones I'm really digging right now that are kickin major but. 

The Acacia Strain

This is just funny.  Seeing the polar opposites on both sides of the spectrum.  Geeky white guys who can't possibly listen to bone crushing metal, and gangster black rapers who also can't possibly listen to metal.  Pretty funny.  The gangsters are on stage trying to panimime the instruments and do a WONDERFUL job of it.  (Sarcasm) :)

August Burns Red



Bison B.C.

Crowbar

I know I know.  Crowbar has been around since the early 90's, but only until now have I been able to get into them, and I'll say with their new one Sever the Wicked Hand I don't know how I ever lived without these guys.  Check em out you won't be sorry. 

The Dillinger Escape Plan

Can you say pure adrenaline, and speed frenzy.  These guys are pretty intense the whole way through.

Electric Wizard

If Sabbath had a devil spawn child with lets see Deep Purple, and Blue Cheer.  Electric Wizard would be that baby.  These guys are doom, stoner, sludge metal with a retro 70's vibe.  There is no one else like Electric Wizard. 

Enslaved

Heaven Shall Burn

HowL

Kingdom of Sorrow

I'd have to say that I was very hesitant to get into this band.  I don't like Kirk Windstein's counter part on this project very much.  Not a big Hatebreed fan, but man I like the mesh of the vocal styles and they really perfected the sound on their new one.  Check it out I was very surprised.

Kylesa

You guys already know what I think of this group.  Really great stuff.

Miss May I

Now I'm not into this modern young metal scene so much, but these guys are very good.  YOUNG guys that can really tear it up.  I think these guys have a good future.  Now some of the others in this genre, not so much. 

The Ocean

I love their 2010 efforts.  Double concept albums.  Their most conceptual efforts and they do them very well.

The Sword

So there are some more of my new finds.  I am really into the stoner, drone stuff right now so the groups like Howl, Electric Wizard, Kylesa, The Ocean, and The Sword are some my faves right now.  So hopefully you get turned on to one of these groups.  I recommend The Ocean, or Kylesa, but that's just me.  So until next time stay hard, stay heavy. 

2011 And So It Begins... First Buy of 2011

   Ok well I've been compiling a list of CDs that I want to get for 2011, and the list is quite long.  I couldn't really decide what I wanted to get first, well most of all I wanted to wait to get any until DevilDriver's beast comes out in the later part of this month, but come on I just couldn't wait that long.  I'll have to say my first one wasn't very high on my list to be honest it was more towards the bottom.  Well lets just say I totally underestimated this album.  I picked up crowbar's - Sever the Wicked Hand.  It's a great deep low tuned sludgy crunch like Crowbar does best.  These guys really bring a great intensity and visceral presence to the drone, or sludge metal.  Whatever you want to label these guys they do it well none the less.  The album is basically about ridding yourself of anything negative or evil in your life.  Weather it be drugs, alcohol, porn, weight, relationships.  Anything that feeds the evil in all of us, purge it from yourself and start fresh.  That's kind of what I took from listening to Kirk Windstein, the mastermind behind all of Crowbar's sonic ear bleeding masterpieces.  I won't do a complete review of the album, but its a really great hard, heavy hitting, album the whole way through.  With a few clean tone licks spun in there a few times.  So this year I have started off with a real bang.  I hope to keep it going with more great ones.  I'm really looking forward to the DevilDriver album.  I haven't listened to any of the sample tracks or anything because I want to soak it all up for the first time with the whole albums experience.  That's the way to really get the real feeling of a record anyway.  Not listening to sample tracks or stuff from youtube.  I mean those tools are great, but if its an album that I have high hope for I don't do that for them.  That album I have really really high hopes.  I was happy with Pray For Villains.  It was definitely different from their previous material, but I like change.  means you're thinking outside the box, and that's a good thing for any musician.  So we will see what Dez has in store for us this time.  I hope it really kicks their past stuff down a peg or two and shines as their best yet, but we will see.

   

  If you go to wikipedia they have a pretty extensive list of stuff coming out this year, and bands that are in the studio, or just albums in production.  Which doesn't necessarily mean that they will be releasing it this year but they are working on new material none the less.  So hopefully this year if not soon.  Here is a list of the stuff that I'm looking forward to. 

Deicide - To Hell With God

DevilDriver - Beast

Darkest Hour - The Human Romance

Amon Amarth - Surtur Rising

Children of Bodom - Reckless Relentless Forever

Arch Enemy - Khaos Legions

In Flames - Sounds of a Playground Fading

Sodom - In War and Pieces

Cavalera Conspiracy - Blunt Force Trauma

Devin Townsend - Ghost

Lazarus A.D. - Black Rivers Flow

Sirenia - The Enigma of  Life

Stratovarious - Elysium

Ghost - Opus Eponymous

Sixx A.M. - This Is Going To Hurt

Mastodon - Live at the Aragon

Protest the Hero - Scurrilous

Becoming the Archetype - Celestial Completion

Winds of Plague - Against the World

  Now I may not get all of these, or I may get this many and more.  I also get stuff from the past as well through out the year so sometimes some of these get left behind, but its the real important ones that I don't let slip through the mass of stuff I still need to get.  Like for instance in 2010 I got a lot of CDs and I still didn't get Dark Tranquility - We Are the Void, Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy, Agalloch - Marrow of the Spirit, Kataklysm - heaven's Venom, Eluveitie - Everything Remains as it Never Was, and Triptykon - Eparistera Daimones.  I still want to get those guys so it may push some of these back.  Its a never ending thing that I will forever be going through.  I know I know how do I deal with all this stress man.  hahaha.  The music gets me through, and my family. 

   Now here is a list of bands that are still working on new material.  Some have titles already for their works, and some are just in the studio working and aren't to that point yet.  None of these lists are complete.  These are just the ones that I am looking forward to hearing from.  If you want the full list go to wikipedia and type in 2011 in heavy metal music and the cool article about this year will come up.  It gives bands that reformed this year, and broke up, news, the list of stuff coming out this year, and the works in progress.  Some of the info may not be 100% accurate but its a good base to see who's been busy and go check it out officially for yourself on their own personal page to get the real skinny.

Alice In Chains

Anthrax

Arch Enemy - Chaos Legions

August Burns Red

Austrian Death Machine - Keep it Brutal

Between the Buried & Me

Bison B.C.

Bleeding Through

Blackfield - Welcome to My DNA

Candlemass

Cannibal Corpse

Chimaira

Converge

Alice Cooper - The Night Shift

Cradle of Filth - Midnight In the the Labrynth

Cynic

Down - 5

Dream Theater

Every Time I Die

The Faceless

Fear Factory

Five Finger Death Punch

Goatwhore

Gojira

Gorgoroth

The Haunted - Unseen

Iced Earth

Judas Priest

KISS

Korn

Kreator

Lamb of God

Jeff Loomis

Machine Head

Marilyn Manson

Mastodon

Megadeth

Meshuggah

Metallica

Napalm Death

Nightwish

Obituary

OPETH

Primus

Rammstein

Riverside

Rush

Satyricon

Seether

Sepultura

Shadows Fall

Spineshank

Tool

Devin Townsend

Trivium

Unearth

Vader

Voivod

White Wizzard

Wizard. 

So there it is.  I know its long but hey just goes to show metal is a movin and the ground is a shaking.  We will break the earth with our metal mania and won't stop there.  LOOK TO THE SKY... DOMINATE, DESTROY, REBUILD.  Ha if you're a true metal fan you'll know where I kind of made that up from.  It resembles an album title along the same lines of what I just said but not exactly.  So can you tell me?  Until next time.  Stay hard, stay heavy

Reading No Way...

   I know, I know reading sucks right.  Especially for heavy metal fans who like me just want to listen and soak it all up that way.  If I ever do read something it 98% of the time has something to do with music in some way.  Revolver magazine is really the only thing that I consistently read cause come on that mag is every metal fans essential reading material.  Although Revolver is great there are some great books out there that are really interesting as well.  I've been picking them up here and there cause either they one, have great pictures, two are short and to the point, three have great pictures oh wait, four are very informative and educational, and five just are cool to have on the shelf with the rest of my music books.  So I wanted to put a post together of some great reading material for any heavy metal fan out there.  Some of the books are like encyclopedias of metal which in my opinion will be incomplete for sure but usually those kind of books have great pictures, and generally do cover a vast amount of the metal out there so its ok to be missing a few.  Some are very interesting to read about a certain genre, or time period in metal, and some are bios.  None the less these are great reads and will help you guys get a more full mind of what it is to be a true metal fan.  So read up but only this stuff.  Nothing else I command you to fallow my words.  Everything else is useless.  Ha

   Ok so there you have it.  I've read or looked at all of these books.  Most of them I own still, or have at one point owned but sold for one reason or another.  Probably to get more Cd's, but these books are all very interesting to read.  To Soak up all the metal info out there still would take ages and ages to do, but these books will give you a great place to start reading up on it.  You can be the biggest heavy metal fan, but if you really don't pick up a book about it you really won't get the true full history of whatever you are listening to.  Wikipedia is another great tool.  It has a page on pretty much every essential metal band and gives a pretty good source for info on them.  From history, starts and finishes of albums, time lines of events with the bands, discographies, and band member bios.  Like I said earlier some are more for the pictures like the Metallica book.  That one is pretty much all pictures, but man there are some pretty cool pictures from quite possibly the biggest heavy metal band of all time.  Some are more informative as to be like a history of whatever it may pertain to like The Complete History of Heavy Metal.  That book is really great.  I still have that book and won't get rid of that one.  It cronicalizes the biggest events and things in heavy metal starting with Black Sabbath's birth to the sonic world of music.  Black Sabbath are the starters of heavy metal hands down, and anyone who argues that point hasn't read a heavy metal book.  They pretty much all start with Sabbath.  Some are bios like the Motley Crue, the Marilyn Manson, the Slayer, the Lemmy, and the Dave Mustaine bio.  I'm not a big fan of Motley Crue by any means, but that book is pretty interesting to read, cause they have accomplished, and done a lot of crazy things in their career.  To bad they play wussy hair metal.  That's metal for my sister, if I had a one.  Give me Slayer, Metallica, or Maiden any day.  Lords of Chaos is another great genre defining book.  That book scares me as to how brutal and sick death metal, and black metal are.  It starts form the start of those genres and shows you the big events in the realm of the heaviest kind of metal out there by far.  From the Devil worship, and spike armor wearing guys.  To the painted faces, and blood.  Sometimes all of those wrapped into one band.  Even though I don't really agree with the extreme antics of this genre they have created a lot of heavy metal musics essential tunes and have turned it into what death, and black metal are today.  Also the heavy metal cook book.  Wow now that book is just freakin cool.  Pick is up and eat like a real metal fan, and eat only whats in this book, otherwise it will make you less of a metal fan to eat anything else.  Ha no not really but still a great book.  So guys pick up a book and start reading.  Again only this though no substitutions.  I command you to now.  Ha.  So until next time stay hard, stay heavy.

Another Break From the Regular - New Toy

So I know it's been a while since I've posted.  I know I'm sorry, but I got a new toy and I've been playing with it hard-core.  I can't put it down.  It's an Ipod touch.  I know what you're saying man just an Ipod, but to me this is a big deal.  Its not everyday that I get to just dish out 400 bucks for something.  I got the 64 gig one because I have like 50 some gigs of music on my itunes, and that's all from my CD collection.  So I wanted to have enough space to put the majority of it on there if not all of it with enough space for all the other things like aps, pics, vids, and movies.  I have to say its pretty cool.  I like how I can watch my Netflix stuff on it whenever I'm around wi-fi, and surf the net.  I can literally do my blog if I really wanted to from my ipod touch.  That's pretty cool.  Of course I wouldn't because that would be pretty hard cause I usually have like three or four pages open when I do my blogs for the pics, and vids, and other stuff that I put on there.  It would just be kind of hard for me to do it from my ipod.  But man let me tell you it feels awsome to have all my music on there.  Going to this from a 16gig where I was like really just putting my essential bare minimum on there to everything.  I mean on shuffle it will go to Neil Young, Metallica, Adema, Kiss, Foo Fighters, Opeth, Danzig, Zeppelin, Ozzy, Jimi Hendrix, to Meshuggah.  I have a pretty wide range of likes and its nice to hear them all whenever I want wherever I want cause yes I take it everywhere I go.  I got a pretty good case for it as well.  Its an otter case which are pretty much the best cases out there.  I don't want anything happening to it.  I'm pretty protective of the things I buy, and I take care of them also.  I've learned the hard way with stuff in the past that I've bought and its broke on my cause I was careless or stupid with it.  Not this time though.  So the Ipod is awsome and I'm loving it.  I'll do an actual post soon I've got to get back into the groove of it.  So I gotta come up with some new ideas.  I have an idea to do lets see the musicians that past away last year page, a Dio exclusive page, an evolution of the guitar page, some more reviews of 2010's and some more essential ones, and maybe a whats to come in 2011.  This year is going to be pretty good.  We've got DevilDriver, Opeth are in the studio and plan to release on this year AWSOME, In Flames as well AWSOME, Crowbar, the new Deicide, and many more.  So this year shows some great potential for being another great year for heavy metal.  So until next time stay hard, stay heavy.

All Droned Out

  I wanted to take some time and do a post on my favorite genre right now.  This drone, stoner, sludge, grungy metal.  Its got so many names but its basically great stuff.  There are a lot of really good bands in this genre and I wanted to shine some light on these guys.  Maybe you'll like one or two and get in to them as well.  Some of them are heavier than the others, some are more progressive, and some are softer with more melodic hooks.  None the less they all have great vibes that I think any metal fan can appreciate so here they are.  There are probably a lot more in this genre that are good these are just the ones that I'm in to right now.

Electric Wizard

Electric Wizard are the starters of stoner metal in my opinion.  There are others like Sleep, or Kyuss but none of them are doing like Electric Wizard.  They are from  Dorset, England, and had their first studio release in 1995.  They have been kicking it strong ever since, and have released some essential stoner, drone metal releases since than.  There are a few albums that were said to be the landmarks of this genre and they are great albums none the less so I recommend checking out Electric Wizard for sure.  They have 7 studio releases to date.  I recommend   Electric Wizard, Come My Fanatics..., and Dopethrone.  These are by far their best efforts. 

Electric Wizard - 1995                                                  Come My Fanatics... - 1997

Dopethrone - 2000                                                                               Let Us Prey - 2002

We Live - 2004                                                            Witchcult Today - 2007

Black Masses - 2010

Mastodon



Mastodon are a progressive drone metal band from Atlanta, Georgia.  They formed in 1999.  They incorporate a lot of progressive elements into their very aggressive guitar, and vocal presence.  They have released four studio albums since their inception, and have progressively gotten better on each record.  Every record explores something new from sounds, technique, to concepts.  They are very conceptual which is fine with me.  I like having to read and learn about what a band is talking about in their music.  I've known about these guys since their Laviathan release in 2004 which was a really great album.  I highly recommend them if you like very spastic articulate drumming, and fast crunchy guitar work.  Their vocals are spread out throughout the entire band almost.  So in any one song you may hear three different vocalists singing.  Which is great cause that just adds more texture to works.  So give them a listen you won't be sorry

Remission - 2002                                                         Leviathan - 2004



Blood Mountain - 2006                                                Crack the Skye - 2009

High on Fire

High on Fire stems from Matt Pike.  The mastermind behind the stoner metal band Sleep in the 90's.  With their staple in the stoner metal genre in the nineties as Sleep its only natural that High on Fire would have a huge foot in it now, and that's no under statement.  High on Fire have released some great metal albums since their start in 1998.  They have released five studio albums and really are bringing a great needed crunch to heavy metal.  I highly recommend getting Snakes For the Divine.  The whole album is top notch from start to finish.  If you like lets see a mix between Motorhead, and Mastodon you'll love High on Fire because that's exactly what they are really. 

The Art of Self Defence - 2000                                                            Surrounded By Theives - 2002

Blessed Black Wings - 2005                                         Death is This Communion - 2007

Snakes For the Divine - 2010



Kylesa

I discovered Kylesa not but maybe a few months ago and really was thinking how could I have missed these guys.  They were formed in 2001 from Savannah, Georgia.  Their stuff is really innovative and rich with a sound scape that surpasses the majority of the bands in the drone, sludge, stoner stuff.  They incorporate a lot of psychedelic, ambient, elements, with this heavy chug.  The drums are another thing that really sets them apart as well.  They have two drummers with full sets.  It adds a major ambient drumming sound that frequently pans from right to left when listening to them.  They are a lot of fun to listen to on head phones.  Sometimes I listen to them with just one headphone in and really soak up where the sounds are coming from.  They are really a headphone record band.  These guys do their craft well and I wouldn't be without them on my ipod from this day forth.  They have five studio records so far, and their 2010's Spiral Shadow is by far their best one.  I highly recommend picking it up.

Kylesa - 2002                                                                                      To Walk a Middle Course - 2005

Time Will Fuse Its Worth - 2006                                   Static Tensions - 2009

Spiral Shadow - 2010

Bison B.C.

Bison B.C is fairly new to the game but show great promise.  Their 2010 release Dark Ages is a great metal record.  It shows their potential for heavy greatness.  It is one of the better records of 2010, and I recommend giving them a listen.  They have released three records since 2007, but I feel they have it in them to keep going for a good while and keep giving us good crunchy metal. 

Earthbound - 2007                                                       Quiet Earth - 2008

Dark Ages - 2010



The Sword

The Sword are from Austin which is cool so I checked them.  I was hesitant at first because the alternative sense is very big here and I was just assuming they were going to sound like all the other bands here in Austin.  Boy was I wrong.  These guys have a real classic groove that I am really digging.  They sound like a cross between Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Blue Cheer.  These guys rock, and I'm liking it.  Their 2010 release Warp Riders is a really great record.  From sound, to vocals, to concepts.  Its really a solid groovy album.  They are fairly new to the scene, but like Bison B.C. show some great potential. 

Age of Winters - 2006                                                                         Gods of the Earth - 2008

Warp Riders - 2010

HowL

HowL are a heavier take on the drone metal.  They definitely have a darker side to them, with their lyrics, and vocal style.  Its in your face loud and heavy.  They are fairly new also, but I'm really digging their 2010's Full of Hell.  The artwork on the album is great as well.  The cover is just metal all the way.  So if you in to heavier crunch, and a darker lyric I recommend checking this band out.  They just released their debut this past year so they are pretty fresh. 

 Full of Hell - 2010

Isis

Isis is considered a jazz fusion group.  They were formed in Boston in 1997, but moved to California.  I think they have elements of a lot of different vibes to their intoxicating sound.  These guys really incorporate many different instruments, and have a huge plethera of music on every album.  They are no longer together,  for they decided to end it after their last tour this past year, but their music still remains strong as a solid experimental metal band.  They are really fun to listen to on headphones as well, as there will be many different sounds and things going on throughout the records .  Give em a listen, and you won't be sorry. 

Celestial - 2000                                                            Oceanic - 2002

Panopticon - 2004                                                        In the Absence of Truth - 2006

Wavering Radiant - 2009



Baroness

Baroness are another great drone, sludge, progressive metal band from Savannah, Georgia.  They are really good and duel harmony guitars, while adding a heavy crunch to their metal.  They albums have a wide range of distortions, and vocal patterns.  They are very poetic, and majestic at times.  Their albums are both concept albums which seems to be a common thing in the drone metal world.  Their 2009 release The Blue Record is their most experimental effort so far.  With heavy aggressive guitar work, to an ambient progressive feel, and soft acoustic melodies that this album really gives you a well fit metal album with a little of everything on it.

Red Album - 2007                                                     Blue Record - 2009

The Ocean

The Ocean are from Berlin, Germany and they are an experimental metal band.  The are pretty progressive, and have a classic presence as well which I much appreciate as well.  The sound pallet that this band achieves is very interesting, and full of texture.  The artwork to their albums look like just fun conceptual art.  I like their vibe a lot.  They are another headphone record.  Listening to them with one headphone is interesting because the way they put their material together is fun to hear one thing on one side and than listen to it again and listen to it on the other, and hear a bunch of things that you missed.  Put them together and there are wondrous amounts of texture and color to the music. 

Fluxion - 2004                                                                 Aeolian - 2006

Precambrian - 2007                                                      Heliocentric - 2010

Anthropocentric - 2010

So there you go the 10 bands that I am really digging right now in this genre of metal.  All of them have similarities, and things that set them apart from the others.  I really think that this genre has great promise for being around for a long time.  The classic vibes that a lot of these bands incorporate I feel are being sifted out in most of modern metal today which is such a shame, but that's just me.  I love classic metal and feel that these guys really pay homage to a lot of it while keeping it fresh and new.  So I hope you found at least one of these bands interesting enough to check out on your own.  So until next time stay hard, stay heavy.