Random Thought #3 - I was walking a dog today and I called for it like so, "Dinky! (clap clap)"...it then dawned on me how bizarre it would sound if there was no dog around.
Starting tomorrow, I will listen to nothing but metal for a week straight. No rap, indie rock, Jonah, or Bjork. No Miles Davis with coffee, it will now be Mastodon with my coffee. No Iron & Wine to put me to sleep, now it's Isis that'll be putting me to sleep. Crazy? Maybe, but now is the time to recommend metal bands to me while I'm on this Metal-binge.
I never really met a real metalhead until I met my friend Death Metal Jim. Death Metal Jim would've made a lot more friends back in '87 than the year 1999. This guy had long red hair, skinny ripped up jeans and usually a large Death Metal band t-shirt (Morbid Angel, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, etc). Jim would randomly rant about how Metallica sold out, how Slipknot is pussy music, and how he was going to start a tattoo/death metal gift shop when he got out of college. I never fully appreciated his individuality until I watched the documentary, Metal: A Headbangers Journey. In this movie, I found myself reminiscing the days of listening to Seasons of the Abyss, old Type O Negative, and Sepultura. I remembered how much I loved cranking Skinless and Lamb of God in my car when I was in the mood for driving like a psycho. What's great about this movie is that it's not only for metal fans; it's for those who aren't familiar with the culture and origin of metal. It doesn't leave anything out; from Death Metal to Thrash Metal, from the sexuality of metal to the misunderstanding of metal fans. The movie makes a point that metal draws influences from classical music and blues. Some won't walk away metal fans, but many will respect and understand those who love the music.
I, myself am a casual metal fan. I have been to Ozzfest and have been to my fair share of metal shows. I even caught Pantera a few years before Dimebag Darrell passed away. Over the years I have been picky with my metal, due to the fact that metal itself is reaching a point where creativity is lacking. However, all is not lost. Some bands have displayed their originality and are not lumping themselves into the metalcore genre, which has commercialized a genre of music made to give the finger to commercialization. I have posted some songs from metal/hardcore bands that have given me hope that metal is not dead; it's an undying genre of music that will stand the test of time. Also I have posted the trailer for the movie. Death Metal Jim would be proud…
glassJaw - El Mark from the single, Cosmopolitan Bloodloss out now!
Russian Circles - Carpe form the album Enter out now!
Black Dahila Murder - What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse from the album Nocturnal out now!
Behold...The Arctopus - Alcoholocaust from the album Nano-Nucleonic Cyborg Summoning out now!
The Dillinger Escape Plan - Unretorified from the album Miss Machine out now!
High on Fire - Devilution from the album Blessed Black Wings out now!
Skinless - Execution of Reason from the album Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead out now!
Genghis Tron - Chapels from the album Dead Mountain Mouth out now!
Yakuza - Cancer of Industry from the album Samsara out now!
My taste in hardcore has always been pretty picky. I don't like bands that seem to rip off other artists sound and try to come off tough and asshole-ish. I also don't enjoy when these hardcore bands try to impose hypocritical views on their listeners (ex. straight-edge, satanism, etc). Some hardcore band's sound gets old fast and they run out of things to offer. Throwdown are one of those bands that have lost it. Due to a seemingly obvious obsession with Pantera and breakdowns, Throwdown has strayed away from their original hard-hitting barrage of traditional hardcore reminiscent of early Terror and Hatebreed and traded it for this kind of low grade metal-core sound that is tired and somewhat boring. Hardcore is about community and Throwdown has shown their older followers where they stand.
Although, despite the fact that the album 'Haymaker' is the band's first hint at their downward spiral, it has been featured in one of the funniest videos I've ever seen. Watch as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles rip it up in this hilarious overdub from the song, Intro. "What's up Motherfuckers! Lets tear this motherfucker up!"
no Throwdown mp3. Trustkill is a greedy record company, so they won't let their artists download samples of their artists. (sigh)
