STATIUS « Hollywood Metal

February 22, 2010

Hollywood Metal Episode 83 (Oct-31-2009)

Saturday Oct 31st 2009: Dan and Emilio from LA metal band BLOODSTEEL stopped by along with Victoria for my “un-halloween” halloween party. Listen to the first mic segment and you’ll understand. Ok music for the show was heavily influenced by a Finnish metal withdrawal. So WINTERSUN, INSOMNIUM, ENSIFERUM and newcomers BARANDUIN were all featured. The first three you should be very familiar with if you are reading this but hopefully you come away liking BARANDUIN too. They only have an Demo/EP out but it is one of the best I have ever heard in the battle metal genre, you’d think this band has been around for years. STATIUS “Storm Bracing” was played at the request of Emilio and normally I have a policy of not playing the same song more than once on the program but that rule is negated if the band has actually been a guest on the show before. (read: local band) That, and the fact that the song kicks ass. SVARTBY was selected because I wanted to show Dan a great band from his homeland of Russia. If you are into FINNTROLL you will definitely like SVARTBY. They bring that heavy folk, forest party sound. This selection “Vinterkvall” (“Winter Evening’) is slightly more melancholy than the others on the new album, but it’s still a good representation of the quality on display here. I am particularly glad we played LOST HORIZON today because in double checking the set list I realized that I had forgot to record a previous playing of this band. So I went back and listened to old eps and found the mistake. Turns out episode 64 featured “Sworn in the Metal Wind”. Anyway, great band great song.. end of story. BLIND GUARDIAN is a major influence on BLOODSTEEL so it was only fitting that we ended the show with “Born in a Mourning Hall.” As soon as BLOODSTEEL has some decent recordings I will feature them on the show. Dan and Emilio are excellent guitarist so that stuff should be awesome.

Filed under: Showlog — Tags: BARANDUIN, BLIND GUARDIAN, BLOODSTEEL, Brendan Biryla, ENSIFERUM, Hollywood Metal, INSOMNIUM, LOST HORIZON, STATIUS, SVARTBY, WINTERSUN — Brendan Biryla @ 5:57 pm

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Hollywood Metal Episode 74 (Aug-22-2009)

Hollywood Metal Episode 74 (audio)

Friday Aug 22nd 2009: Our good friends STATIUS were back on Hollywood Metal today to talk about their newly pressed EP and the LA metal scene. I’ll be writing a column for MetalAsFuck.net for September so I was very much looking forward to talking with these guys about their experiences so far. If you are not familiar with STATIUS please get their EP (www.myspace.com/statius) and check out the youtube video I have of them (www.youtube.com/hollywoodmetalradio) They put on a killer show and I expect they will be very successful in the metal world. We played 4 of their songs today, “Obsession with the Stars” “Forest Kin” “The Transformation” and “Stormbracing” The conversation was great, in lieu of recapping everything here I’m just going to advise that you listen to the show. In addition to the the STATIUS songs I played several other great bands. SHADOWS ENTWINED in the great progressive power metal band from the LA area. I’m hoping to get these guys on the show before I see them when they open for PAGAN’S MIND and STRATOVARIUS at the Key Club in October. “NIghtmares Made Flesh” showcases the great musicianship and vocal quality of this band. I think with slightly better production quality these guys to elevate to the top of this genre. HAMMER HORDE from Ohio is a good viking metal band and probably a real band of North American vikings. They have the talent and the look, that’s for sure. There is some really catch rhythms and lead guitar lines in “Pierced By Odin’s Spear.” KILLING TOUCH is the new project of Michelle Luppi, one of the most formidable power metal vocalist in the world. If you have not heard this guys pipes you will be amazed. This track is not as impressive as his work with VISION DIVINE’s “La Vita Fugge” but it’s certainly leagues better than a lot of other prog/power metal bands. KILLING TOUCH just released a concept album based on a Steven King novel called “The Dead Zone” It’s got some good guitar work to go along with the insane vocals. I’m still obsessed with TYR’s latest album called 2009 By the Light of the Northern Star. So I chose to play “Ride” for STATIUS because they opened for them just prior to this release. Hopefully TYR will be coming back to town soon to promote this new album. EQUILIBRIUM is a favorite band of mine and Lane’s and basically everyone I know including Nick Vidman, guitarist in STATIUS. He picked Widar’s Hallen and there was no refute from anyone in the room. He also picked OLD MAN’S CHILD “The Soul Receiver” and again their were no complaints against some of the finest Norwegian black metal in existence today. STATIUS is a great band and an even better show live… They are opening for EDGUY Sept 29th at the Key Club in Hollywood. Be metal and come out to the show!

Filed under: Showlog — Tags: Brendan Biryla, EQUILIBRIUM, HAMMER HORDE, Hollywood Metal, KILLING TOUCH, Nick Vidman, OLD MAN'S CHILD, Ronny Lee Marks, SHADOWS ENTWINED, STATIUS, TYR — Brendan Biryla @ 5:03 pm

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Hollywood Metal Episode 63 (Apr-25-2009)

Hollywood Metal Episode 63 (audio)

Saturday April 25th 2009: Ronny, Nick, Wyatt, Sean and Jed of STATIUS were studio along with Mircea, the notorious “Statius bear.” STATIUS is the best LA band I’ve heard since moving here about 2 years ago. STATIUS is an epic pagan, melodic black metal band with some incredible musicians and kick ass stage presence.. oh I know.. I was there at the Knitting Factory when they stole the show. I’m not going to go into a lot of detail about the individual song on the show log because the show dialog says it all. These guys are an unbelievable asset to the epic metal genre and I don’t expect them to have any trouble finding a label and distribution. Also played on the show was BLACKGUARD “Cinder” a band well documented on the program and one I’m ecstatic about seeing on May 17th. DARK MOOR from Spain is one of my favorite power metal bands. You either like power metal or you don’t because there is absolutely nothing that can be criticized about this band and music. The production is perfect the licks are rocking and the vocals by Elisa C Martin are best in breed. I was shown a music video recently from a band called BORNHOLM from Hungary. The music video was good but the dark heavy riffs were even better. I like this song because of its simplicity. They found a riff that works and rock it for 60 minutes with only minor variations. In a world that is often over complicated by technology and effects, I find it very refreshing to hear songs that are good based on notes alone. Listen to the show to learn more about STATIUS and be sure to see them live at the dates listed on their myspace page:www.myspace.com/statius

Filed under: Showlog — Tags: BLACKGUARD, BORNHOLM, Brendan Biryla, DARKMOOR, Hollywood Metal, Ronny Lee Marks, STATIUS — Brendan Biryla @ 4:12 pm

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