Full stream of Vreid - Welcome Farewell

Vreid, the Norwegian black and roll band that arose from the ashes of Windr in 2004, have a new record, Welcome Farewell, set for North American release March 5, 2013. Their blend of black metal, punky thrash and straightforward rock and roll combined with captivating song writing and lyrics puts them into my "what's not to like?" category. I can put on any one of their albums and listen from start to finish without wanting to skip a song. I only hope a North American tour accompanies this release.

A recent press release about Vreid's new recording describes the work this way:

Notorious for their well-researched, historically-inspired lyrics, the band’s third and fourth offerings, I Krig and Milorg, were both concept albums based around the liberation work in Norway during World War II. Liberation was also the keyword on VREID’s last offering, V, but placed in a broader historical/philosophic perspective. The lyrics on Welcome Farewell describe a lifecycle through a series of short stories, seen from an existential point of view and, inspired by Hváll’s own local community with its nature, architecture and historical artists such as Arne Garborg and Otto Valstad, are more personal than ever before.

The members of Vried are Hváll - Bass; Sture - Vocals/Guitar; Strom - Guitar and Steingrim - Drums.

www.vreid.no
www.facebook.com/vreidofficial?fref=ts
www.indierecordings.us

You can listen to a full stream of the new album here: 

Countdown to MDF X: (27) Morbid Saint

UPDATED WITH COMMENTS FROM THE BAND

The recently reunited Morbid Saint plays Saturday night, May 26 at the 2012 Maryland Deathfest. The group is a member of the "old guard" of death metal bands that formed in the early to mid 1980s in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. They are Milwaukee Metalfest veterans.

The group broke up in the mid 1990s and went their separate ways. But in 2010, guitarist Jay Visser and a couple of the other original members got back together.  Morbid Saint has been getting back on track and has started playing shows across the US and plans an appearance at the Keep It True festival in Germany next year. The band reports, "We do not have any shows in the States confirmed after the Maryland Death Fest, but are planning to tour next fall, no other (tours) have been confirmed at this time." Along with Visser, the current lineup includes Pat Lind on vocals, Bob Zabel on bass, Kevin Koski on guitars, and Randy Walls on drums.

They may be a little older and and paunchier, but Morbid Saint sounds and relevant and powerful as they did back in the day. As one of the groups that helped define the sound of death metal and thrash, their older songs sound as fresh as any you might hear from bands like Autopsy or Cannibal Corpse. Their performances still burst with frenetic energy and Visser still hides behind curtains of long curly locks. The band says to expect "songs off of Spectrum of Death, and Destruction System."

In terms of merch, Morbid Saint say they will have "shirts, hoodies, can coolers, and a few copies of our Thrashaholic 3-disc set due to be released in May."

The members of Morbid Saint say, "We appreciate the overwhelming interest, and support we have been receiving since returning to the scene. For the fans of Spectrum of Death.......THIS SET IS FOR YOU!!!"

Enjoy three videos: one from the Milwaukee Metalfest III (1989), one from December 2011, and a studio song from their first full-length recording.

Countdown to MDF X: (35) Looking For An Answer

I will avoid the obvious puns that one could make from the name of this band, Looking For An Answer, and just tell you that they kick some major blast-beat butt.  This five-piece from Madrid, Spain includes members Iñaki (Vocals), Félix (Guitar), Makoko (Guitar), Ramón (Bass), and Moya (Drums).

The group's most recent record, Eterno Treblinka, which you can download here for $10, has everything: death growls, thrashy drums, super cool guitar riffs and memorable, circle-pit inducing melodies.

Looking For An Answer, founded in 1999, does not monkey around with extended solos, 10-minute long tracks or sound sampling. Do you want some break-neck-speed death metal in the vein of Cannibal Corpse, only maybe a little younger, cuter and skinnier? Here it is, in Spanish. Now, shut the fuck up and mosh!

Looking For An Answer plays Saturday afternoon, May 26, at the 2012 Maryland Deathfest.

Countdown to MDF X: (37) October 31

Get your "invisible oranges" ready. Underground legends October 31 play true, uncompromising, epic heavy metal in the vein of more well known acts such as  Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, but with a decidedly thrashy flavor. They perform mid-day on Saturday, May 26 at the Maryland Deathfest.

October 31 has weathered numerous line up changes since its inception in 1995 in Northern Virginia. It's founding member and vocalist King Fowley suffered a stroke and experienced a lengthy recovery. Still the group has perserved, simply because of their love for this traditional brand of heavy metal. They have established a reputation as a crowd pleaser based on memorable, riff-driven melodies and Fowley's powerful vocals. Their sound remains constant in the face of many metal subgenre trends.

The current line up, as far as I could confirm, includes Jim Hunter (bass), Jason Tedder (guitar), King Fowley (vocals), Dave Castillo (drums), and Brian Williams (guitar), who is the group's other original founder. Their most recent recording was an album called No Survivors, which was released in 2005. I have included a track from that album, as well as one from their 2000 recording, Meet Thy Maker. Enjoy!

Danish 'Artillery' finally landing on US shores

The Danish thrash metal pioneers, Artillery, will be coming to the US for the very first time in their three-decades-long career this summer to play just a couple of shows. One of those stops will be at the Maryland Deathfest. Via email, I interviewed one of the group's founding members, guitarist Michael Stützer. Together with his brother, Morten, they launched this European mainstay of thrash in 1982.

Michael is probably one of the friendliest and most enthusiastic rockers you are ever going to encounter. Don't be surprised if you see him headbanging along with everyone else in the crowd either before or after Artillery plays on Friday, May 25. From his replies that follow, it is evident he loves what he does.

Michael Stutzer

Artillery has been around for so long! What is the key to your longevity and resilience despite changes?

We love playing this kind of music. You know when you stand on the stage and feel the response from those die-hard thrashers, you are still being motivated so much so you overcome all troubles. We feel so grateful for this support through almost 30 years and are looking forward to hitting the USA for the first time ever.

What genres of music do you listen to?

We listen to a lot of music including blues and 70´s rock, but basically metal and hard rock like everything from Jethro Tull to Slayer. Bands like Black Sabbath, Exodus etc. are on my record player almost every day. I have a collection of around 3000 CDs. And none of them are downloaded.

I was surprised to learn that you had not toured the US (or anywhere in North or South America, for that matter.) Is that correct? And why not? What do you plan to do while you are in US? I see you have a show at Saint Vitus. What else is planned?

We are only playing the Maryland Deathfest and one show at Saint Vitus Bar in New York, then we are moving on to play South America with (German thrash metal band) Exumer. We tried for many years to come to the US, but it never really worked for us until now. But it´s never too late, and hopefully we will come back soon to play Texas, California and some of the other great places in the USA in the nearest future. We will stay in America between the 24th to the 28th of May, so I hope we will see a lot both in Maryland and New York.

Tell me about the metal scene in Denmark. What styles are popular now?

The most popular band in the "metal genre" at the moment is Volbeat. Bands like Mercenary, Hatesphere, King Diamond and newcomers in thrash like Impalers are also getting attention these days. Even old bands like Pretty Maids still have a lot of fans, but in my opinion the best metal act is still the defunct Mercyful Fate. As for Artillery, we are gaining more and more attention back home, which is great.

Are the Danes really the happiest people on the planet? 

I think Denmark is a very good land to live in. We really don't have those big problems and mostly people care for each other and help where it's needed. Denmark is a very small land with only 5 million people so it makes it easier to have a good security net. So maybe that’s why!

You are scheduled to play Barge to Hell. Have you ever played a musical cruise before? Have you ever gone on a cruise at all? What do you expect?

Yes, we played the Sweden Rock Cruise in 2009, and it was one of the highlights in our career so far. So we are looking forward to sail in the ocean between Florida and Nassau in good weather with all the other bands and the headbangers. Also the food I have heard is totally delicious. So we expect five great days away from the cold weather in Denmark!


What sort of merchandise will you have available for sale at the Maryland Deathfest?

We hope that we can have all our merchandise with us, T-shirts from all our albums, CDs, etc. You can check out our merch here or on our Facebook site.


Is there anything special that you think people ought to know about Artillery?

Yes, we really are so excited to see how the American thrashers are gonna react to our music. We will promise that we will deliver it 100%!

_______

Thank you Michael! See you at MDF X!

Countdown to MDF X: (38) Infernal Stronghold

Philadelphia's Infernal Stronghold delivers unadulterated blackened thrash that neither apologizes for its no-holds-barred sound or blasphemous lyrical content. Founded in 2002, Infernal Stronghold somehow seems to have crawled out of the  same hellish void that spawned bands like Mayhem, Darkthrone and Bathory.

With songs like "Your Soul Stinks Like Shit" and "Crashing Trucks Into Churches," there really is no question what you are getting into with Infernal Stronghold. Expect to hear some of the most extreme, punk influenced black metal that you will ever hear produced on American soil.

As described on their Facebook page, members of Infernal Stronghold include Gunslut: Baltic battery (that is, drums); Eddie Chainsaw: the voice. guitars; Abolish Yourself: guitars, Richie Rabid: ravishing Carpathia (that is, bass).

The most recent recordings from Infernal Stronghold were released in 2011 and include a 7" split with Pizza Hi Five, which you can check out on Bandcamp here.



There also exists a 7" split that Infernal Stronghold sold only at shows when they were on tour with Absu. Their last full-length recording, Godless Noise, came out in 2009. Both of the songs posted below can be found on Godless Noise.

Make sure you arrive early on Saturday, May 26 if you want to check out Infernal Stronghold at the Maryland Deathfest.

Countdown to MDF X: (39) Bloody Phoenix

UPDATE: Forgot to mention that this band Bloody Phoenix is also looking for a practice space on May 24-25 before their appearance at the Maryland Deathfest. If you can help, contact Jerry Flores at bloodyphoenix@sbcglobal.net and put BLOODY PHOENIX in the subject line.

Remember punk rock? Bloody Phoenix does. This grindcore, punk, ensemble hails from Los Angeles, California. They have been churning out screaming chunks of punk-flavored goodness since the fall of 2001. Their songs are long enough to get the mosh pit going but short enough to make sure no one gets killed.

Bloody Phoenix might be the band The Ramones would have become, had they taken the left hand path. There is no denying the punk rock roots in a song such as "Marching Into A Bottomless Well," but the eerie vibe and death growl vocals reveal the true motivations here. Some reviewers describe this band as thrash core. That's an interesting term. They just seem like balls-out punk rock to me. In researching this article, I really liked the 20-track album Death to Everyone from 2010.

Members include Jerry Flores (guitars), Michael Karubin (drums), Vito Tagliente (bass), and Molly Scarpine (vocals). Saira Huff from Question/RØSENKØPF/x-Detestation will be contributing guest vocals.

In an email, Flores said much of their setlist will come from Death to Everyone.

"Songs will vary... Mostly from our Death To Everyone LP as well as our split 7" with Question and some new songs made for a 4-way split LP that will be coming out later this year. Possibly a couple of older songs sprinkled here and there," Flores wrote.

As for the merch available from the band during the festival, Flores said to expect the usual. "Shirts, CDs, some vinyl, and possibly some pint glasses," he said. Wait a minute... PINT GLASSES? WANT!!
So prepare for a raucous start to a long, long list of bands crushing through Saturday at the 2012 Maryland Deathfest. Get there by noon, as Bloody Phoenix takes the stage first. 

Remembering Anthrax, Testament and Death Angel (sigh)

Currently, I am ahead in my Maryland Deathfest band profile postings by a few days. Also I want to wait to see if Jerry Flores from Bloody Phoenix will reply to my email. So, I thought I would take a moment to share something fun I made last fall.

For my fiancé's birthday, we traveled to The Fillmore in Silver Spring, Maryland. The venue is lovely and beautiful (and expensive).  We caught the first leg of the Anthrax, Testament, Death Angel show on November 6, 2011. It was a fantastic show and among the best concerts we saw last year.

To celebrate this great event, I headed over to Animoto.com and made a little commemorative slideshow from some photos and film I took. Animoto is great fun if you don't know how to make videos. If you sort of know what sort of shots you are looking for in advance, it works out pretty well, which I think that this project did.

If you did not see this  particular tour, shame upon you!  Death Angel is currently on tour with Sepultura; Testament is heading to Europe; and of course, Anthrax can be seen at the Mayhem Festivals this summer.

I don't plan to make it to any of those tours so I just watch this slideshow over and over. I know. Pathetic. Enjoy!

Countdown to MDF X: (43) Artillery

Danish thrash metal godfathers Artillery will surely open up the pit Friday night at the Maryland Deathfest. Contagious riffs, fist pumping refrains and sing-a-long choruses are what this pure high energy rock and roll band are all about.

Founded in 1982 in Denmark, the band has experienced many personnel changes and breakups  over the years. Today the core of Artillery are the brothers Morten and Michael Stützer on guitars, Carsten Nielsen on drums, vocals by Søren "Nico" Adamsen and bass by Peter Thorslund.

If you are a fan of thrash, there really is nothing about Artillery that you won't love. They should capture everyone from the very first chord. Distinct and memorable riffs, blistering solos and Søren's powerful, soaring vocals really launch Artillery into the stratosphere, even beyond more well known acts like Testament and Death Angel. Søren's vocal style approaches that of Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, but he throws in a few death growls from time to time. Lyrically, many of their songs have an anti-war or political theme.

Artillery has never played in the US before, so see them while you can. If you have never heard them, blame it on the fact that they are from Denmark. In addition to MDF X, Artillery is scheduled to play on the inaugural Barge to Hell cruise, the extreme metal cruise set for December 2012, from the inventors of 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise.

Countdown to MDF X: (55) Absu

Full disclosure: I absolutely love Absu. This quirky occult three piece has been as they proclaim "Arrogantly Executing Mythological Occult Metal Since 1991." Their music is elegantly executed, brutally badass and unrelenting. Yet every time I see a video of their drummer/vocalist Sir Proscriptor McGovern (Russ Givens) open his mouth to sing AND thrash the hell out of a drum kit, I get a warm fuzzy feeling inside. Maybe it's the guy-liner he wears or that odd metallic looking headband. I just want to say, "awwwwwe."

Hailing from Plano, Texas, the other members of Absu include Ezezu (Paul Williamson) - Voice, Bass Guitar and Mellotron; and Vis Crom (Matt Moore) - Electric and Acoustic Guitars.  Proscriptor, although not literally a founding member, is the only one left from the original line-up. At times Absu has been put on the shelf, most likely due to member upheaval. At one point, Proscriptor even auditioned for Slayer. But thankfully he persevered.

Absu's music is rich with the occult, myth and legend. They employ memorable hooks and melodies alongside black metal vocals and thrashy drumming. Lyrically, unless you are a student of the occult, their music is inscrutable. The group's most recent album, Abzu, represents the current line up, but some of my favorite songs are on their fifth recording, simply called Absu, released in 2009. That album includes a variety of member configurations.

Their energetic performances (which I have only witnessed on YouTube) should really rev up the crowd on Thursday, May 24 at the Maryland Deathfest. Originally, I only had a three-day ticket to MDF X, but the announcement that Absu replaced Desaster on this day was enough to make me go back and buy a ticket for Thursday. I cannot wait to see them live. Here are two videos because I could not pick just one.

Countdown to MDF X: (60) Extermination Angel

Maryland Deathfest X is just 60 days away. To get to know each band, I will post a short blurb and video or link to a song from each band.

Extermination Angel will be the first band to take the stage on Thursday, May 24 at Sonar.

Hailing from Baltimore, this trio consists of Shawn (on Vokillz!), The Barbarian  (on Hyperborean Guitar Bass, whatever that is) and Jimzilla (on Pitiless Cannonade ie. Drums).  In addition to belting out some pretty extreme death metal vocals, Shawn has a pretty impressive head of hair. On their Facebook page, they say they are the "holy exterminator come to cleans you of life."

Extermination Angel reports that they have a full-length recording coming out on Black Mess Recordings, which willl be available for sale at MDF. To hear more music, head over to their official page on BandCamp.

I have never seen this band live, but I think they should be a great way to brutalize the audience appropriately for the kick-off of MDFX!!!