Hollywood Metal Episode 35 (audio)

August 25th 2008: Today’s show started off with some great Viking black metal from a band called LINDISFARNE. These German metallers take their name from the epic Viking raid at Lindisfarne, England in 793AD. This is a speedy song with strong vocals and black metal riffage. ASMEGIN was the next band played. This is an incredible folk metal band from Norway. More then just folk though, extreme folk, if you will, with an insane drum sequence in “Vargr i Véum.” “Thrashomatic Overdrive” isn’t the typical epic metal song name I usually go for on my show but i make an exception for melodic black metal of this caliber. CRYPTIC WINTERMOON is the culprit and as explained, this song has some kickass guitar work. THE VENGEFUL FEW is an old school metal band from New Jersey. I band caught my eye because the package they sent their cd in had a sticker that said “No cookie monster vocals” with a picture of the cookie monster himself.. and although I don’t share their sentiments regarding harsh vocals, I do apreciate some good old school new jersey bar-style metal and “Madhouse” is a great example of this. LOGIC EDGE is another band who sent me a cd this week. I think there is the founding for a great band here. The vocalist is particularly amazing and the rhythm guitar has a nice heavy sound to it as featured in “Equalized”. I think this band is missing an element I can quite pinpoint however. Perhaps some keyboards would help blend the songs or maybe another guitar. Something about the songs feels unbalanced, like a competition between vocals and instruments. DRAUGNIM from Finland is an up and coming band that released a quality demo last year in the viking metal tradition. They have a full length releasing in September that is produced by Henri Sorvali of MOONSORROW so you know it is going to be worthy of Odin. I recently discovered CLOUDSCAPE, a prog metal band from Sweden. As you might expect these guys are incredibly talented musicians and offer perfect production quality on their release. One thing you may not expect is how super ultra heavy “Mind Diary” is! FALKENBACH is one of the great viking metal bands in history. Hailing from Germany, this Icelandic born, one man band has influenced many Odin worshippers to come. “Ultima Thule” is a fine example of brutal viking metal about ‘the borders of the known world’, a boundary the vikings constantly redefined. A slight mishap in the studio produced the wrong track announcement. I meant to play FROSTMOON this week but it will have to wait until next week. As a testament to how awesome our show is… the mishap led us to GRAVELAND and “River of Tears.” The shrieks in the early moments of this song curl the blood and the guitars and drums reverberate in my viking soul. Rob Darken is the man behind this band that has been touted as Poland’s BATHORY, worthy praise for those who know the greatness of Quorthon. The song I was most excited about this week was YGGDRASIL “I Norden Rike”. This epic masterpiece has a slow steady buildup and a range of vocals on display. I have become obsessed with the lead guitar riffs during the song though. They are short sharp scales that start in the background and sail toward the forefront increasing in amplitude. I didn’t notice how awesome this song is at first but it has grown on me like the black plague it’s too bad I don’t have a history of playing the same song twice on my show.