The Black Dahlia Murder - Black Valor

     Today's song comes once again from time spent with my brother, and I promise that this time it's a tad more metal than As I Lay Dying. You see, we were driving, and today's band happened to come up on the 'ol Shufflatron, causing my brother to chuckle, shake his head, and say "blastbeats, eh?". Yes, my figurative son. Blastbeats.

     Your song today is "Black Valor", the opening track from 2009's Deflorate by The Black Dahlia Murder. I know I'm a bit of a latecomer to the TBDM party, but Deflorate is the album that cemented my love for this band and what they do. And that includes blastbeats. Everblack is nearing two years old now, so perhaps wishing for some new Black Dahlia Murder wouldn't be a complete waste, but for the time being we'll just have to jam some of this quality old shit. Go.

Sunday Night Mega Post Fun Time

     This certainly does seem to be a shit time of year as far as my keeping on track with Loud Noises goes, doesn't it? But rather than spinning some yarns about the tag team of work life and personal life conspiring against me to prevent other shit getting done, let's just knuckle down and get caught up, shall we?

     First off, a song for Friday. We're going to go with something a little under the radar, a little less well-known perhaps than some of the stuff I post about, but something that's still tasty all the same. I've posted about British band Visions before, but their techy 2011 disc Home is too cool to only acknowledge just once. They've had a couple of hurdles thrown at them, including their current search for a new drummer, but I'm hoping that their chops and a little bit of perseverance and elbow grease can see them through. Check out "Machines" for some idea of the kind of chops I'm talking about.

     Next is Saturday. We're going deathier for Saturday with a track by one of my favourites, The Black Dahlia Murder. Sometimes, immediately after the release of a band's new record, you can't wait for their next album because the new one didn't impress, and sometimes you can't wait for that next album because this new one kicked so much ass you're still thirsty for more. The Black Dahlia Murder definitely fall into the latter category, and their last couple of records (Deflorate, Ritual, Everblack) have kicked ass and left me thinking "why couldn't this be a double album or something?" Listen to "Necropolis" from 2009's Deflorate and see if you get the same feeling.

     Finally, it's Sunday song time, and for today we're going with the spastic energy of Exotic Animal Petting Zoo. The song is "A) Translations" from the band's 2008 debut LP I Have Made My Bed in Darkness. They too leave me wanting more, even though their second LP Tree of Tongues only came out in 2012. Just like with Visions above, I hope line-up changes don't wreck Exotic Animal Petting Zoo's momentum.

Song of the Day: The Black Dahlia Murder - I Will Return

     I was driving around today and The Black Dahlia Murder came up on shuffle, and it occurred to me that it's been a while since I've written about them, and that there might be a handful of metal fans among you who aren't converts yet. So bam! Song of the day it is!

The United Nations of Metal

    I’ve got something kinda fun planned for this time out. Or at least I think it’s fun. Maybe I’m just a big dork. Anyways, some set-up: I recently got thinking about how insular we metal fans can be. I mean, we do listen to a pretty niche genre of music. Even your most mainstream modern metal bands, your Lamb of Gods (Lambs of God?), your Killswitch Engages, your Slipknots (OK, maybe Slipknot is a bad example...), even bands like these aren’t getting top 40 radio play, or appearing on People magazine, or even being followed by douchebags from TMZ. Even the biggest fish in the metal pond are seldom caught by the nets of mainstream popular culture. (How’s that for a metaphor?)