Last Monday: Metallica - The Thing That Should Not Be

     Time for another Metallica Monday for your much belated post not for yesterday (I'm writing this on Tuesday, January 12th, spoiler alert!) but a week ago yesterday. This Monday we're going to go predictably classic and take a cut from arguably the best Metallica record, Master of Puppets.

     "The Thing That Should Not Be" is one of several Metallica songs to take inspiration from Lovecraft and the Cthulu mythos, with "Thing" having its origins with those fish-faced fuckers from Innsmouth. Musically, it's got that great big stompy main riff running roughshod throughout the track, with a little Hammett leadwork in there towards the end, of course. There's faster stuff on Puppets, but this one's got great atmosphere, and its place on the album is perfect, slowing things down a little without sacrificing a thing in terms of heaviness. Put this one on and pledge your devotion to the ancient ones.

Monday: Metallica - Disposable Heroes

     While it is technically Wednesday out here in meatspace, it was only a short time ago Monday, which means that just a few brief days ago would have been an appropriate time to yearn for the period indulgence that is Metallica Monday. So here you go kids!

     Your Metallica Monday song this evening is the band's classic "Disposable Heroes" from 1986's high water mark Master of Puppets, because it's simply too good a song for me not to have featured yet. Let it be a light to you in dark places (that only play Metallica songs written since 1990), and let it remind you that, whatever else should happen in the rest of Metallica's career, they were indeed once great.

Sunday: Stone Sour - Creeping Death

     Did you hear the one about Stone Sour becoming a cover band? Only it's no joke -- more anecdote, or fact even. Yes, Corey and Company have put together an interesting set of covers for the first of three EPs surely intended to give Stone Sour fans something to chew on until Slipknot's current album cycle wraps up.

     The EP in question is called Meanwhile in Burbank... and the interesting set list in question draws cuts from the catalogues of Alice in Chains, Judas Priest, Kiss, Metallica, and Black Sabbath. Maybe not the strangest, most diverse mix in the world, but a decently respectable one nonetheless. For your Sunday song, however, there can really only be one candidate.

     "Creeping Death" has been one of my favourite Metallica songs for years (as a historically-minded metalhead, what's not to like about a biblical metal song?) so for this past Sunday I'm going to suggest you check out the new Stone Sour version. It's not light years different or anything, but at the same time I think the guys managed to not fuck it up, which is worth a listen in itself.

Tuesday: Misery Signals - The Shallows

     OK, we took a break for a long-overdue Metallica Monday, but let's go back to the 'core well for one more metalcore-y song before we move on to other matters. This one's from the latest album by one of my favourites bands, and calling it just metalcore is selling it oh so short. Isn't it about time to head back to the studio by now boys?

     Your Tuesday metalcore track is "The Shallows", from 2013's Absent Light, a study in angular grooves and ever-evolving energy. Absent Light may not have hooked me as deep as the band's earlier work right when it came out, but it grows on me with every listen. Give "The Shallows" a shot and let it grow on you too.

Monday: Metallica - Blackened

     As you may have noticed, it's Monday again, and that means we need to rock out a Monday song before the clock runs out on this often-shittiest day of the week. It's been a while since I've done a Metallica Monday, so I think it's probably about time I rectified that.

     Now, I know (and have no doubt said before) that it's kinda cool nowadays to rag on Metallica, and sure, they have earned their share of derision and ridicule for a number of very valid reasons. But all that poking of fun can distract us from all the great material the guys actually have put out over the years. Like your Monday song, for example, or the album from which it hails.

     Say what you will about Lars and the mix, ...And Justice For All is still one of Metallica's best records, and it opens, as it should, with a bang. "Blackened" might sound a little thin, mix-wise, but the song that fades in with that opening volume swell is still undeniably big and badass-sounding. Go retro with this one.

Sunday: 36 Crazyfists - Also Am I

     Do you remember a couple of weeks ago when I posted about Alaskan metalcore band 36 Crazyfists and how they're still carrying the torch of rock-solid metalcore? It's like the guys in the band were listening or something, because in the intervening two weeks the band released some new music for the first time since 2010's Collisions and Castaways.

     The latest 36 Crazyfists record Time and Trauma isn't due out until next year, but the album's first single "Also Am I" should go a long way towards keeping Crazyfist fans satisfied until then. Built around a handful of meaty riffs and a hooky chorus, "Also Am I" sounds like it could be a track from the band's heyday, but not in that "band trying to recapture its golden years" kind of way.

     36 Crazyfists sound like they've just been quietly doing their do all these years, regardless of trends. Whether or not you dig their jams is of course a matter of personal taste, but there's something to be said for a band that continues to adhere to the musical principles of its youth (as opposed to one that leaves said principles for a while before attempting to retrace its steps *cough* Metallica *cough*).

Monday: Beatallica - A Garage Dayz Nite

     It's Tuesday already, and I'm still playing a little catch-up, so it's actually time for a Monday post. It's been a bit, so I've decided to have another go at Metallica Mondays... sort of.

     How can I "sort of" do a Metallica Monday post? Well, picture the old, "you-got-your-peanut-butter-in-my-chocolate-no-you-got-your-chocolate-in-my-peanut-butter" thing, only replace "peanut butter" with "Metallica" and "chocolate" with "The Beatles". The resulting Reeses cup of awesomeness, and subject of today's post, is Beatallica.

     I first heard Beatallica way back in the day, after the release of their first EP A Garage Dayz Nite. As you can hopefully infer from that title, Beatallica is a ridiculous mash-up of Metallica songs and Beatles songs, with musical and lyrical cues coming from either or both. Sure, it's jokey and silly, but it's also pretty well done. Think Weird Al-levels of quality and you'll have an idea of how seriously these guys take their strange brand of alchemy.

     I'm going to start you off where I started, with the title track "A Garage Dayz Nite" from the aforementioned 2001 EP, because it will give you an instant feel for what Beatallica sounds like in a way that my descriptive powers never could. What you do with the knowledge that such a bizarre amalgamation exists is up to you.

Sunday: Revocation - Across Forests and Fjords

     Speaking of Revocation, it's been a bit since I last featured a track by the masters of modern thrash, so it's about time I pushed the boys from Boston on you once more.

     Tonight I've decided to pick instrumental track "Across Forests and Fjords" from the band's 2009 sophomore disc Existence is Futile in an effort to show just one way in which these guys could well have what it takes to be inheritors Metallica's thrash crown -- namely, that "Across Forests and Fjords" could sit alongside any of Metallica's great instrumental tracks.

     Tall claim, you say? Maybe, but I genuinely believe these dudes can do it. With another album on the way as early as this fall, Revocation is definitely another of those bands you need to know if you don't already, so give "Across Forests and Fjords" a spin and start from there.

Septicflesh - Prototype

     I've never been a particularly huge fan of symphonic metal of any stripe. Metallica's S&M is one of the only such record's I've ever really dug, and let's face it, it's not exactly the most "metal" of "symphonic metal" records. But the latest offering from Greek symphonic death metal band Septicflesh might go a long way towards changing my mind on this subgenre.

     "Prototype" is at least the second track to be released from the upcoming Titan, and it's thoroughly epic as well as being shot through with orchestral (and even what sounds like some choral elements too!) elements, all without sounding cheesy or cartoony. Big, driving riffs mix brooding melodies with jagged dissonance to end up with something that reminds me of Gojira, if Gojira were tastefully flavoured with strings and horns.

     I still don't know that I'm going to be listening to a lot of Nightwish or Sonata Arctica in the near future, but I'll definitely be checking out some more Septicflesh. If any of the above sounds cool to you, I suggest you do the same.

Album of the Week: Sylosis - Conclusion of an Age

     Alt-rock not doing it for you, Monday-wise? I know Cake might not be enough to help you get over the demise of the weekend, so I've decided to get back to this blog's roots with this week's album. Hopefully some 'shredding from Readin' will be just what the doctor ordered to set your week up right.

     Long-time readers will by now be pretty familiar with my love for British thrash titans Sylosis, but just in case you're late to the party, let me try and sum things up as succinctly as I can. Think Metallica if they never lost their edge. Think Revocation from across the pond. Basically, think classic thrash mentality meets modern metal technicality.

     OK, that might not be the most succinct description, or the most descriptive, but maybe it's giving you just enough of an urge to check these guys out (assuming you don't already dig 'em). Their entire catalogue is good, but this week I'm recommending their debut LP Conclusion of an Age. They've upped the ante on every one of the their recordings, but for my money they've yet to come up with something that's better start to finish, end to end, than Conclusion of an Age. So have a listen (or five) and then come back and tell me what you think.

Metallica - Lords of Summer

     It's Monday, and for better or for worse I have cause to do another Metallica Monday. The cause? A demo version of a new Metallica song, that's what. I'm still not quite sure what to think about it, so you're going to have to come to your own conclusions.

      Metallica debuted "Lords of Summer" live maybe a week or so ago, and then had the good sense to provide a better-quality demo version a few days later. The track is reminiscent of the band's material for Death Magnetic, in the sense that it feels like it's trying to be reminiscent of Golden Age Metallica.

     But faster and longer songs/riffs do not a classic Metallica song make, and the band's latest attempt at recapturing some of the fire of their youth ends up coming off a little repetitive and artificially convoluted. If you haven't heard it yet, have a listen to the new song "Lords of Summer" and see if you think the boys are still masters of their metal domain.

Thursday: Revocation - Spastic

     I know Revocation's killer self-titled LP only came out last year, but I'm already ready for new material -- and not in a "palate cleanser" kind of way. No, I really dig Revocation, and I just can't wait to hear what the guys come out with next.

     Revocation's work in general, and Revocation in particular, is chock full of riffs that are singable while still heavy as fuck. I can't count the number of times I've found myself humming something from a Revocation song even when I'm not listening to anything. Today's song features just such a riff.

     The main riff to "Spastic" is appropriately weird and dissonant-sounding, but I defy you to listen to the song a couple of times without it getting stuck in your head. "Spastic" is also an instrumental track in the vein of the best from the first few Metallica albums, late-in-the-running-order displays of technical prowess like "The Call of Ktulu" and "Orion". Revocation has definitely taken up the thrash torch.

Monday: Sylosis - From the Edge of the Earth

     I've said before, and I'll say again, that Sylosis ought to be considered the modern Metallica. Today, I'm going with one of the best Metallica songs Metallica never wrote.

     Your song this evening is "From the Edge of the Earth", the closing track from 2011's Edge of the Earth. I'm really hoping that the downtime caused by last year's unfortunate bus crash gives the boys in Sylosis some time to write some new material, but for now we'll have to be content with epic riffing and shredding from the band's back catalogue. Sigh.

Metallica - Trapped Under Ice

     The last couple of days here in southeastern Ontario have been jam packed with shitty weather, namely freezing rain that's covered virtually everything in a good half-inch to an inch of ice. In addition to leaving me more or less housebound all day today, due to the icy roads that I literally watched neighbourhood kids skating on earlier, it brings back memories of the mammoth ice storm of 1998 that hammered southern Ontario and Quebec and the northeastern United States, when you could just walk outside and hear trees cracking and snapping all around you. It's not nearly that bad this time, but still the same vibe.

     In honour, or perhaps defiance, of the weather, your song tonight is Metallica's "Trapped Under Ice" from 1984's Ride the Lightning because that's how I feel right about now. If you're in the same boat, stay safe, and maybe take some pictures. Ice does crazy things sometimes.

As I Lay Dying - Confined

     I mentioned playing some Metallica back in the day in yesterday's big mega-post, and today we're going to go with another song we really used to dig when I was an undergrad.

     Your song today is "Confined" from As I Lay Dying's 2005 disc Shadows Are Security, a pretty solid metalcore song if you ask me. I've discovered a lot of new music since this album came out, especially since I started writing this blog, much of which has taken me beyond the rather limiting metalcore formula of As I Lay Dying. But I can't deny them their place in my musical history, and I won't deny that there are a bunch of As I Lay Dying songs that I still enjoy, like "Confined". So hate on, haters, while I and anyone who cares to join me will be rocking out like it's eight to ten years ago.

Monday Music Mayhem

     At the risk of sounding like I'm making excuses (which I suppose I am... shut up...) I'm going to lay a good chunk of the blame for my apparent inability to keep to a schedule lately on my early morning starts at work. My normal day starts at five in the morning, and the combination of that ungodly hour and an average of probably only five or six solid hours of sleep beforehand, on a regular basis, is that, unless I catch up with naps or keep myself well-caffeinated, by the end of the week I often end up falling asleep well before I mean to, and before I've gotten all of the day's shit done.

     But, to paraphrase the words of House Lannister, "a bearded man always pays his debts", so once again you're getting a hat-trick post today (that's three goals in a single game, for you non-hockey types out there), covering Saturday, Sunday, and today all in one shot. So let's get started.

     For your Saturday song, I'm going to need you to close your eyes and picture the following: old-school prog-influenced death metal (think old Opethy kinda stuff) filtered through the lens of a band like Baroness, if Baroness drew its melodic sensibilities and plaintive passages more from straight forward rock and less from countrified bluegrass. Now open your eyes, and find that you're gazing at the totally badass album art for Cormorant's 2011 disc Dwellings. There's a good chance you don't know these guys, but you should, especially if the word picture I painted you above sounded at all flavourful to you. A caveat, however: only two of the seven tracks on Dwellings clock in at less than five minutes long, so first time listeners are in for some attrition. But if you give Cormorant a chance, songs like "Funambulist" will take you for a ride.

     Next up, Sunday, and I'm going to do the unthinkable and take a single track out of the context of its "greater than the sum of its parts" album. You know the kind of album I'm talking about, even if I'm not doing the best job of articulating it right now: those magical records that work perfectly as a single piece of music rather than merely a collection of separate songs. Sure, those songs are good, but put 'em together and you've got a real slice of fried gold on your hands. Such is the case with "Quittance" from the debut LP Februus by Uneven Structure, a cool tune in its own right but also a piece of a much more awesome whole. Listen to "Quittance", but by all means listen to Februus from start to finish if you haven't already. Djent has become kind of a bad word, but Uneven Structure will show you one example of how powerful that kind of a sound can be.

     And for today, Monday, we're going to do a bit of a throwback to how I used to run Mondays around here with a Metallica Monday.In particular I'm picking "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)", an old favourite of mine from way back when I was in high school and we used to attempt a few Metallica covers when jamming. Between us, we knew all the obvious ones, but we also liked to dust off this lesser-known (or lesser-liked, anyways) cut from 88's Master of Puppets, so I encourage you to dust it off too.

     Whew. Caught up. Again. Meet you back here tomorrow? Deal!

Trioscapes - Curse of the Ninth

     We're going to shift gears ever so slightly for this last evening of Instrumental Week. If I've spent the last six days trying to convince you that music doesn't need vocals to be badass, then tonight you're going to learn that instrumental music doesn't need to be metal to be "metal".

     I've espoused the great unifying properties of Trioscapes before, but then I was talking about getting your non-jazz friends into something jazzy. Now I'm talking about getting your non-instrumental friends into something that doesn't have any words to it. Trioscapes is the band for the job, and since I've already featured a couple of their songs before, tonight "Curse of the Ninth" is the song for the job.

     In metal influencing terms, jazz is the new classical. Back in the day classical music had a heavy influence on some of the greats of the genre (like Metallica, just to name one example) but now jazz is where it's at (take Between the Buried and Me, to again cite but a single instance). Why not check out the very groovy intersection of the metal, jazz, and instrumental worlds that is Trioscapes? You'll be glad you did.

Song of the Day: Revocation - Archfiend

     If, as I've often said before, Sylosis has inherited the thrash crown laid down by bands like Metallica et al., then they've done so as Britain's representative only. Boston's Revocation is most definitely  current American champion of releasing records that contain 110% of the daily recommended dose of riffs in each and every song.

Twenty Questions - Michael Ciccia from Mandroid Echostar

     As you may have seen me mention in a recent post, Loud Noises turned a year old about two weeks ago now. If you've followed the blog for any length of time, you may also have seen me mention that I've got some things in the works, simmering away in the background, that I couldn't yet unveil to the world. But none of those things has ever really amount to much more than continued simmerings. Until now.

Song of the Day: As I Lay Dying - The Darkest Nights

     I'm pretty sure I've made this clear before, but just in case some of you haven't pick up on it, I'mma spell it out for you: this is NOT a music/metal news blog.