I like LoG. Was listening to Ashes of the Wake in the car yesterday, and it still sounds very strong. Although their albums keep falling just short of brilliant...I'm hoping Sacrament is the one.

I'll be listening closely to the new one. I agree, they seem close to delivering something great. I just have not heard anything close to it yet. I'm betting against them. I hope they prove me wrong.

I was more than pleased to see them pull out Leper Messiah and Damage, Inc. back in 2004.

Orion would be great to hear, what with the cool bass bits and Hetfield's solo...as would Disposable Heroes, that one is rarely performed.

Phah, US residents only.

Also, I got this new album by Ghoul called "Splatterthrash". It's kind of good. I hear Ride the Lightning riffs all throughout, but it's pretty cool. Has anyone else heard this stuff?

XM has been playing a few cuts from a band called Bludgeon which sound pretty good. Anyone have this one?

Hey there you lords of metal. I just bought a ticket to see the Sword play next month and I was wondering if anybody knows anything about the opening acts:
Saviours
Those Peabodys

IRON MAIDEN will release their 14th studio album in September via EMI and Kerrang!/BW&BK scribe Dom Lawson was among the first to hear the new material.

Titled A Matter Of Life And Death, the album was recorded at Sarm West Studios in London with producer Kevin Shirley, who also worked on the last two Maiden albums, 2000’s Brave New World and 2003’s Dance Of Death.

Clocking in at a colossal 72 minutes, the album boasts ten tracks, all but three of which are over 6 minutes in length. The album will be preceded by a single, ‘The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg’, which will be released in mid August.

Dom reports that this is easily the strongest album Iron Maiden have produced since their ‘80s heyday. It is also by far the heaviest thing the band have ever recorded. Full of experimentation and unexpected detours into intense and atmospheric territory, it’s a complex and powerful set of songs that touch upon some dark subjects, most notably the horrors of war, the impact of religious fundamentalism and the threat of nuclear destruction.

The full tracklisting for A Matter Of Life And Death is as follows: ‘Different World’, ‘These Colours Don’t Run’, ‘Brighter Than A Thousand Suns’, ‘The Pilgrim’, ‘The Longest Day’, ‘Out Of The Shadows’, ‘The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg’, ‘For The Greater Good Of God’, ‘Lord Of Light’, ‘The Legacy’.

Dom spoke to frontman Bruce Dickinson and bassist/founder member Steve Harris about the new songs and how Iron Maiden have special plans for their forthcoming European tour that kicks off on November 9th in Denmark and hits the UK in December.

“At the moment we’re thinking about playing the whole album live, back-to-back,” Dickinson reveals. “When you’ve got an album this good, it’s really important that you do something bold. If we can go out and do a whole album of brand new material, I think that we can give ourselves a pat on the back. Everyone will have heard the album upfront, and the songs will really come to life. I think it could be extraordinary.”

“Brave New World and Dance Of Death were both good records,” he continues. “But they weren’t anywhere near as good as this one! This one is Dance Of Death without the effort. This whole album feels effortless. It’s like driving a big gas-guzzling motor car. You just put your foot down and there’s limitless power under the bonnet.”

“Yeah, it’s been unbelievable,” agrees Steve Harris. “We booked the studio for three months, and we finished the whole thing in two! I think the preparation was good. We didn’t have the rows we usually have! (laughs) We really focused on each song and it was a very positive experience.”

Among the highlights of the new album are the opening track, ‘Different World’. The shortest song on the album at a mere four minutes, it’s a classic, storming Maiden opener with an instantly memorable chorus and soaring guitar harmonies.

“It wasn’t intentional when we sat down and wrote it, but as soon as it was finished we thought ‘Thin Lizzy!’” laughs Steve Harris. “It’s a tribute to them, in a way. Obviously it sounds like Maiden, but it just conjured up that Thin Lizzy vibe.”

The second track on the album, ‘These Colours Don’t Run’, is a brooding, dramatic rumination on the plight of being a soldier in a war zone and sets the tone for the dark epics that follow it.

“That song was an effort to put a human face on people who go out and fight wars,” says Dickinson. “They call it ‘peacekeeping’, but these people put themselves in harm’s way, and whether or not you agree with the reasons why they’re doing it, they’re just doing their job. Some of the new songs are quite angry. It’s just the times we’re living in. We’ve got global fundamentalism, state-sponsored terrorism, dirty bombs, global warming and everything else. I think this is our response to all of that.”

‘Brighter Than A Thousand Suns’ is arguably the heaviest track on the new album, and one with heavy subject matter to match.

“It’s about the atomic bomb,” says Dickinson. “The scientist that saw the first bomb go off said it was brighter than a thousand suns. The idea that human beings could bring about their own total destruction totally changed the way people thought.”

Finally, the first single from the new album, ‘The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg’, is an intricate seven-minute epic that starts with a creepy, ominous intro before erupting into a crushing, almost Led Zeppelin-esque riff and a powerful, emotive chorus. More obtuse lyrically than most of the album, it’s a curious, challenging choice for a single.

“It’s very different for us,” admits Harris. “It’s very riffy. The intro has an almost nursery rhyme eeriness. Sometimes you try to create a mood and sometimes it’s just <>. Everyone’s going to ask who Benjamin Breeg is, but you’ll just have to find out for yourself!”

Understandably, Steve Harris is extremely proud of the new record, particularly since it seems likely to be hailed as one of Maiden’s best. The band are currently as popular as they’ve ever been, so does he think Maiden can keep going indefinitely?

“Five years ago we were thinking about possibly retiring at this point, but now we’re at this stage there’s no way! Why should we?” he grins. “I don’t know why, but I always had it in my head that we’d do fifteen studio albums, so we’ve got at least one more to go!”

Phah, US residents only.

And pardon me if this is overly cynical, but isn't every Maiden album since 2000 heralded as the "best since their 80s heyday"?

Dickinson's albums with Roy Z are just too balls-out for me to want more modern Maiden. Am I missing out?

I also just picked up a copy of Dillinger Escape Plan's Under the Running Board EP. Wow. That's some seriously weird shit. I feel all off kilter like after hearing it. But after two listens, I think I like it. There's something pleasantly unsettling about it all. Time will tell. . .

I also just picked up a copy of Dillinger Escape Plan's Under the Running Board EP. Wow. That's some seriously weird shit. I feel all off kilter like after hearing it. But after two listens, I think I like it. There's something pleasantly unsettling about it all. Time will tell. . .

But yeah, 'The Mullet Burden' is my 'Angel Of Death'.

A godlike EP, I maintain that the band has sounded nowhere near this good since, which is a shame. If you want 'off-kilter', though, their debut full-length, Calculating Infinity (the self-titled is neither full in length nor worth mentioning) is where to go. Song strength is not as high, but it's impeccably produced, technical beyond technical and has one track where the drummer eternally blows my mind with live drum'n'bass rhythms.

The Dillinger Escape Plan's debut album Calculating Infinity was one of those metal debuts that fans gravitated to, declaring it an instant classic. Indeed, their distinctive version of "math metal", with its extremely complex arrangements, jazz-like cadences and strong hardcore/grind influence, was performed with such virtuosity, that it was astonishing on a technical level, but as great as the music was, it sounded robotic, chilly almost. The band's Irony is a Dead Scene EP, recorded with guest vocalist Mike Patton, was a step in the right direction, but it wasn't until their highly anticipated new album, Miss Machine, was released this past summer, that their experimentation reached an even higher, much more accessible level. Of course, the more narrow-minded metal fans were all over this release, lamely accusing The Dillinger Escape Plan of "selling out", but as experience in metal music has taught me, the records that polarize the fans so much are very often the ones that are worth hearing.

First off, not only is the hardcore element still present on , but its harder-edged songs topple everything on Calculating Infinity. "Panasonic Youth" is pure genius, a dizzying progressive metal composition that takes you on a two and a half minute rollercoaster ride full of wild plummets, loops, and hairpin curves, as the band sifts from one time signature to another in the blink of an eye, channeling Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai one second, jazz fusion the next, and classic grindcore immediately after that. Songs such as "The Perfect Design", "Sunshine the Werewolf", and "Van Damsel" prolong that hardcore momentum (drummer Chris Pennie is the undisputed star on these tracks), but to their credit, the band doesn't dwell on these sounds, as they (gasp!) dare to try something a little different. The key improvement is in the addition of singer Greg Puciato, who, while an excellent metalcore barker, possesses an impressive vocal range, one very similar to that of Patton, and he adds some much-needed melody to songs like "Unretrofied", "Phone Home", and the superb single "Setting Fire to Sleeping Giants", which boasts a sly Meshuggah reference during the chorus.

Probably won't have a chance to check either album out right away, not least because I want to give the EP a chance to sink in, but your take is interesting--particulary in light of this (from Sask's website, here):

Yeah, I'm a huge fan of Miss Machine. I like it when a highly technical band like DEP tries to tone down the craziness and create something just as unique, but open to more subtle sounds.

I like it. Probably the best non-Riggs cover yet. Not that that's difficult.

Yeah, I like the cover quite a lot. Good comic book feel, something a Maiden cover hasn't had in a good 20 years.

I'm not much of a metal guy, but at this point "Wolves In The Throne Room" is my record of the year, not only in metal, but in all genres.

I'm currently spinning Edguy's (how do they pronounce it, anyway--"Ed" like the name + "guy" as in dude?) King of Fools EP, which I picked up earlier this week. So. . .I liked it immediately, but wasn't paying much attention to the lyrics when, all of a sudden, this blasts through my speakers:

PARDON FUCKING ME, BUT WHO THE FUCKING FUCK IS JESUS?

Glorious. My wife and I laughed our asses off. I love power metal. ("Holy Water" has some damn fine, damn funny lyrics, as well).

On a related note: What do people think of Dragonforce? I think I saw them mentioned somewhere when I read through this whole thread, but I'm too lazy to go back and look for it...I listened to a couple of tracks on their website, and I liked the speed ("extreme power metal" indeed), but found the vocalist fairly grating.

I'm not much of a metal guy, but at this point "Wolves In The Throne Room" is my record of the year, not only in metal, but in all genres.

Eyehategod - Take as Needed For Pain

How's is Orchid? I'm still absorbing Blackwater Park (thanks for posting that one, Diesel!) and Ghost Reveries. I like both a lot, but I think I may actually prefer Blackwater Park.

That Eyehategod stuff is unreal. Some of the bluesiest metal riffs you'll ever hear.

So the new record is complete. We finished mixing a few days ago, and although we are reluctant to divulge much about it at this point, we will reveal that It’s comprised of 8 songs, a little over an hour of music. Ipecac Recordings will once again be releasing suggestion CD, and the expected release date is Halloween, Oct. 31st.

We should have dates up soon for a full US tour beginning AUG 22nd as a support for TOOL. We are also planning a full US Headlining tour for after the record comes out in November and December, so we WILL be coming to a town near you soon enough.

The LIVE 4 CD is now out of our hands and at our webstore waiting for the good people there to sort out the particulars… but anyway keep checking. If you aren't familiar with the HYDRAHEAD / ISIS webstore, they will often offer special deals with a CD and T-SHIRT and so forth and so on and we have done something similar with the LIVE 4 CD, hence the delay. It will be worth the wait, we promise. By the way, the ISIS LIVE CD series is something we do ourselves, and where the previous 3 releases consisted of complete sets, this 4th CD includes a variety of performances from 7 or 8 different shows.

We head over seas in a week, and are really looking forward to playing some shows again, as well as seeing all our friends in Holland, France, and England. We'll have some more exciting news to reveal in the coming weeks so please stay tuned.

the amazing Agalloch album

First off, NEW MASTODON:

http://myspace.com/mastodon

Do you metal guys like Witchery? I've been listening to Don't Fear The Reaper for some reason and it's boss as hell.

Yeah, more people need to check them out. RIYL: Sabbath, Melvins, Boris etc.

I just noticed for the first time the other day that the riff from the first half of "Anxiety Hangover" on Dopesick was totally ripped off by Neurosis on "The Last To Know" from Times Of Grace.