DIRGE WITHIN: “THERE WILL BE BLOOD”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Apr 052012
 

 

(DemiGodRaven has turned into a reviewing machine. I want whatever he’s on. Here’s his third review in as many days — and the subject is the forthcoming release from Dirge Within.)

Dirge Within are one of those bands whose rise is seemingly unexplainable. Any question of where these Chicago-based metalcore warriors came from is met entirely with a response of, “Uh…well…uhm”, and then nothing. They just seemed to appear one day and had an AWESOME VIDEO FILLED WITH SAWDUST, SAND, AND EXPLOSIONS, and then there was silence. The group’s previous release, Force Fed Lies, did them well enough to justify a second disc, but the main thing that’s difficult to understand is the overarching question of…why?

Since I have buried myself in all things -core lately, I figured I’d give these guys another shot, and boy, let me tell you. If you thought Silent Civilian’s second album Ghost Stories was a disappointment, then what you need to do is take this disc and pretend that it’s the followup to Silent Civilian’s first release. For those not in the know, Silent Civilian was a metalcore offshoot of Spineshank, with the lead singer on guitar and vocals, and I came to find out that their debut was actually pretty goddamn solid. The only problem was that their followup was like their debut again, and they quickly fell to the wayside in favor of a reunited Spineshank.

I know this sounds like one hell of a wild-ass tangent, but just bear with me here, because I will be goddamned if Dirge Within’s There Will Be Blood doesn’t sound like, and is on par with, Silent Civilian’s debut release — a solid if not guilty-pleasure piece of metalcore. Continue reading »

2012 METAL IN THE FORGE (PART 3)

 Forthcoming Albums  10 Responses »
Mar 022012
 

For a change, I actually remembered on the second day of the new month that that the preceding month had ended; usually takes longer than that. My creditors would be happy, except I think their bills need to age a while longer. But yes, February is history — and that means its time to post our usual monthly round-up of news about forthcoming albums. Today’s list is a little more comprehensive than the half-assed job I did at the end of January, which means it’s about three-quarters assed. One of these days it will be fully assed.

Here’s how this round-up usually works: In these METAL IN THE FORGE posts, I collect news blurbs and press releases I’ve seen over the last month about forthcoming new albums from bands we know and like at NCS (including occasional updates about releases we’ve included in previous installments of this series), or from bands that look interesting, even though we don’t know their music yet. In this series, I cut and paste those announcements and compile them in alphabetical order.

Remember — THIS ISN’T A CUMULATIVE LIST. If I found out about a new forthcoming album earlier than the last 30 days, I probably wrote about it in previous installments of this series. So, be sure to check the Category link called “Forthcoming Albums” on the right side of this page to see forecasted releases we reported earlier.

Having said all that, please feel free to leave Comments and tell all of us (me and your fellow readers) what I missed when I put this list together, because I’m abso-fucking-lutely certain that I missed all sorts of shit. So let us know about albums on the way that  you’re stoked about, even if you don’t see them here! Continue reading »

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE (NIGHTRAGE, DIRGE WITHIN, AND LANDMINE MARATHON)

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  17 Responses »
Aug 092011
 

Well, that’s what people say. In my experience, they usually say it when they’re trying to calm you down after you’ve been exposed to something you really aren’t interested in or maybe dislike intensely. But, taken literally, it’s true. Variety IS the spice of life, or at least one of them. Along with oregano.

That saying popped into my head when I took a short break from my fucking day job, which is currently wearing me down to a stump, and found the following three pieces of music, two of which are brand new releases by Nightrage and Dirge Within and the third of which is a recent live video of Landmine Marathon kickin sumasss.

NIGHTRAGE

Nightrage will be releasing their fifth album, Insidious, via Lifeforce Records on September 27 (one day earlier internationally). To whet appetites for that release, the band have made the title track available for streaming on their facebook page. It features the band’s former vocalist Tomas Lindberg (At the Gates, The Crown, Lock Up). That was enough to make me listen, though the interesting album art by Gustavo Sazes helped, too.

The song is quite nice, too, with an unexpected acoustic outro. Lindberg is in good voice on this headbanging thrasher, which is to say naaaasty. I’m all in favor of your visiting the Nightrage facebook page, but it happens you’ll also find the song stream after the jump. Continue reading »

THANKSGIVING EVE METAL (Trivium, Chimaira, Whitechapel, and Dirge Within visit Seattle)

 Concert Reviews  No Responses »
Nov 262009
 

Turkey image

Happy Thanksgiving to all you hornheads out there who are indulging in that quitessential American tradition: surfing the web before, during, or after your Thanksgiving feedbag.  And here’s hoping that your Thanksgiving food will be something that was once alive, as opposed to a dozen Twinkies and a six-pack of PBR.

Yes, it’s a national holiday but No Clean Singing is open for business, because we’re here to serve you.

Last night was Thanksgiving Eve. (That doesn’t roll off the tongue quite like Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve, does it?).  And our buds over at Seattle’s Showbox in the Market decided to host a night of live metal to commemorate the occasion — the “Into the Mouth of Hell We Tour” show, making its first stop back in the U.S. after a series of dates in Canada. The NCS triumvirate were all in attendance, and here are some notes from Nov 25, 2009, at The Showbox: Continue reading »