Song of the Day: Sylosis - Empyreal

    We're going to stay metal with today's song, while at the same time harkening back to the most recent What You Should Be Listening To post. In honour of some camping I did over the weekend, and just in case you didn't check them out when I told you to the first time, today's song is "Empyreal" by Sylosis. This one's for you, Nick.

Song of the Day: Metallica - Battery

    Guten tag, everyone. Today I felt it would be nice to finally have some metal in the Song of the Day. In keeping with yesterday's summery theme, I've picked another good song to turn up loud with some good friends and good brews, and it also just so happens to be an album opener so that you can conveniently just put this song on and then let it ride. Tasty.

    The song of the day today is mother fucking "Battery" by Metallica. Horns up, bottoms up, friends.

Song of the Day: The Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock

     Day 3 here, with a bit of a palate-cleanser for those of you who aren't the biggest Rush fans. When I was in high school, and even in university, this song always felt like summer (this album, really, but especially with the kick-off from this song), and since I'm off for some camping with the gang this evening, what better way to give a summer excursion a good kick-off?

     Your song of the day today is "Cherub Rock" by The Smashing Pumpkins. Where ever you might be today, put it on, crank it up, and enjoy some summer.*

* Unless you're in a different hemisphere. If you're in, say Australia, happy winter guys! Crank some Pumpkins anyways.

Song of the Day: Rush - Tom Sawyer

     Song of the Day, day 2, and today's going to be kind of a sequel to yesterday (you'll get it in a second). I am indeed Canadian, and since I didn't start Song of the Day until after Canada Day, today's going to be a Canada Day song. But unlike yesterday's "4th of July" for the 4th of July, I know of no songs about or entitled Canada Day, metal or otherwise, so it's going to have to just be a song by a Canadian band. Now I know some of you are going to decry my choice, largely because of Geddy Lee's voice, but I don't care.

     Today's song is "Tom Sawyer" by Rush. Yeah, it's not the most metal song, but even if you don't like Geddy you can't deny the incredible musicianship regularly displayed by all three members of the prog-tastic entity that is Rush. So Happy (belated) Canada Day everyone, and enjoy.

Song of the Day: Soundgarden - 4th of July

     Today I'm going to start something a little different. As you've probably noticed, it can take me a long time to write one of these here Loud Noises posts, depending on what's going on in my life at any given time, and what it is I'm writing about. But sometimes I just want to make a quick post so that you, dear reader, will have something to brighten up (and maybe metal up) your day. Sure, I started Loud Noises as a soapbox for me to express my thoughts and opinions about cool music, metal and otherwise, but I also started Loud Noises so that I would have the chance to turn other people -- you, for example -- on to the music I'm passionate about. To that end, today is the first day of Song of the Day*, a feature of Loud Noises in which I'm going to to recommend one new song each and every day for one year. Yup. A lofty goal? Or a trivial undertaking? I don't know, but I'm going to try it out and see how it fits.

     To start things off, I've got something sort of inspired by yesterday being Independence Day for our neighbours to the south. So even though I'm not an American, your song of the day for the fifth of July is Soundgarden's "4th of July". It's a really cool song off of 1994's Superunknown, and it's also one that I think is maybe a little underrated, even among Soundgarden fans. So have a listen, and I'll see you tomorrow.

* Yes, it's not the best name. I know. Suggestions?

Free Randy Blythe!

     Seriously, Czech Republic. What the fuck?

     So I'm traversing the internet the other day, minding my own business, when scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed I see a post from Darkest Hour sending their love out to Lamb of God and Company in the wake of vocalist Randy Blythe's arrest for manslaughter (!) in the Czech Republic.

     Say what?

     I've got a few other posts in the works, but all of that has to go on the back burner for a second because I would tremendously fucking remiss if I didn't comment on what has to be one of the biggest stories in metal right now.

     First off, the facts as far as I know them, with credit and thanks for the info going to the good people over at Metal Sucks (here's the link I've been following, in case you'd rather read it from someone other than me). The situation stands thus: Lamb of God was in the Czech Republic this week, specifically in Prague for a show, when Randy Blythe was arrested on charges of manslaughter connected to a concert in May of 2010. At this concert, a fan apparently leapt on stage (repeatedly, according to a statement from Lamb of God's publicist) and became engaged in some kind of physical altercation with Randy, which ended with Randy pushing the fan off the stage and back into the crowd where he hit his head. This fan later died from his injuries. Randy was taken into custody on either Wednesday or Thursday, but was released on bail yesterday (June 30), and will be in Prague until at least tomorrow (July 2).

     Let me preface the following by saying that if Randy is guilty of something, he should be held accountable. Money, fame, being from a different country, even being the lead singer for an internationally renowned metal band --  none of these things should protect a person from culpability for their actions, especially if those actions are illegal, or worse, lead to the injury or death of another person. As much as I love Lamb of God, if authorities in Prague have evidence that can prove Randy  responsible for this fan's death, then unfortunately Randy should be made to face the music*.

     That said, there are a few things about this story/situation that give rise to my reaction from above (serisouly Czech Republic, what the fuck?), the first of which being the timing of the whole thing. I admit my complete ignorance of Czech laws, meaning I have no idea whether or not there might be some sort of statute of limitations on a crime like manslaughter, but I would think that if there was any evidence at all to suggest Randy's being more than superficially responsible, it would not take two years to bring charges against him. I realize police investigations don't happen overnight, and that various forms of evidence take time to assemble and analyze, but come on. This incident  occurred at a show, presumably in full view of hundreds or even thousands of witnesses, with footage from the show supposedly being up on Youtube, and yet it would seem that authorities have needed two years to build enough of a case again Randy?

     Again, I profess legal ignorance; maybe the wheels of justice simply turn slowly. But the fact that this happened at a metal show brings me to my second point: this happened at a metal show. Metal shows are inherently dangerous. Hell,  any concert where people are crammed together, hot and sweaty, possibly crowdsurfing, possibly with a few beers in them, can get a little rowdy, and as a result attendance at any big concert, not just a metal show, can carry with it a certain level of bodily risk. Now take into account the fact that metal can be an aggressive, high energy style of music, and you have a situation in which any reasonable-minded person realizes there is at least the potential for injury. Anyone who tells you otherwise has clearly never been to a metal show.

     To say that you take your life in your own hands when you attend a metal show would of course be overly dramatic, but there is a kernel of truth there. You as an autonomous attendee do have a measure of control over your own safety at a concert. If you don't want to risk being dropped (or having your wallet, shoes, etc, stolen...), you don't go crowdsurfing. Simple. If you don't want to get slammed by that scary-looking guy in the circle pit, you hang back more toward the edge of the crowd. And if you aren't prepared to jump off the stage and into the crowd, or be "helped" off by security, with all the ensuing risks to your safety that leaving a stage in such a manner entails, you don't fucking climb onstage in the first place. Again, simple, no?

     But let's leave that responsibility on the part of the fan aside for now and move to the other thing I want to comment on, the responsibility Randy and the other guys in Lamb of God have for their safety. Every metal fan worth his or her salt knows that on December 8, 2004, Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed by a fan at a Damageplan show in Columbus, Ohio. Now I'm not saying this Czech fan had any ill intentions whatsoever, or that he even had the appearance of having any, but then I wasn't there. I don't know how threatened Randy or anyone else felt or didn't feel, and while it is terrible that this situation ended with the death of the fan, I would like to think that if Randy, or any member of any band, felt threatened by a fan, they should have at least some recourse to defend themselves other than politely asking said fan to vacate the stage in a timely fashion. This seems like a case where this recourse, maybe a shove and a "back the fuck up, buddy" might simply have led to the accidental death of the fan in question, which I suppose is why these are charges of manslaughter and not murder. I guess from where I sit there's just something not quite right about looking to assign blame for a tragic accident at an inherently (somewhat) dangerous recreational event more than two years after the fact

     OK, rant over. I'll close by saying that I just hope this situation gets resolved quickly and fairly. If Randy is guilty of something, he should be held responsible, and if he's not, let him get back on the fucking road already.

     And now back to your regularly scheduled programming.








* I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself.

What You Should Be Listening To - Sylosis

    Hey everybody, today we’re going to be talking about What You Should Be Listening To. Now, I realize that everything I post about is in this vein, namely stuff I think is cool and I’m trying to turn people onto. But your average post might be a list, with a particular theme, that offers a variety of suggestions for things to possibly check out, whereas WYSBLT* will focus on a specific band and/or album that you should have a go at if you want to continue calling yourself a fan of the heavy metal music. This is the shit that I, in my humble opinion, think you NEED to hear. This is what you should be listening to. Like how I brought that back around? Additionally, as a concession to those of you who might say that the amount of metal featured thus far in this purportedly metal blog has been somewhat less than satisfactory, I’ve chosen something nice and heavy for today: Sylosis, some thrash from across the pond.

    Affectionately dubbed Shredding from Reading* by friends and fans, Sylosis have been one of my favourite bands for a couple of years now in large part because they do such a good job straddling the line between the beautiful and the bestial, an oft-contested border in modern metal. The guys in Sylosis (and more specifically guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter Josh Middleton) have melodic sensibilities that rival more mainstream stateside acts like Killswitch Engage and Darkest Hour, but they’re fast, heavy, and thrashy enough to stand alongside old school Metallica. In fact, I might even label them with something snappy like ‘Metallica for the New Millennium’.  If I were writing cover copy for a metal magazine, and looking for something sensational. Which I’m not.

    I singled Josh Middleton out in the paragraph above because he’s kinda the driving force in the band, and I think he has a big future in metal. Through two EPs, two full lengths, and now a third record that seems to be nearing completion (look ‘em up on Facebook for the latest news on their band page), Josh has remained an awesome guitar player in both rhythm and lead capacities and a great riff and song writer even as he’s taken on lead vocal duties as well, starting with last year’s Edge of the Earth. I think my favourite part of Josh’s approach to metal (and therefore Sylosis’ approach, really) is what you might call ‘wisdom’, or perhaps ‘discretion’. Or maybe just ‘good taste’. As a guitarist he knows when to shred your face off and when to rein it in. In the same way, as a songwriter he knows when a song needs to be fast as fuck, or heavy as fuck, and when something different is required. In every lineup they’ve had, Sylosis has been a tight and talented band whose musicianship is in service of their songs, and not the other way around. It makes for some tasty metal that is brutal and fast, but not to the point of monotony. It’s melodic and beautiful without sounding wimpy or watered down. It’s technical and complex without being showy or inaccessible. It’s fucking Sylosis people, and it’s what you should be listening to.

Tracks to check out:
- The Bereaved - this one’s off of their very first EP, but it’s still one of my favourite Sylosis songs. It remains a perfect showcase of what the band is capable of, going from melodic and downtempo to hundred mile-an-hour thrash and back again at the drop of a hat, and containing a pair of brief guitar solos that run the gamut of Josh’s playing in a few measures of a single song. Definitely start here.
- Oath of Silence - this song is worth checking out if only because Sylosis recorded it twice: once on their first EP and then again for their first full length. This can be an interesting proposition for a band, not to record, say, a live version of a song but rather a new studio version, and one that can end well or disastrously. In this case, however, everything works out, and the 2008 update shows both how strong the song was to begin with and how the band has changed in two years. Either version kicks ass, but if you intend to do both, for god’s sake start with the Casting Shadows version before moving on to the Conclusion of an Age version. Don’t mess with the space-time continuum.
- Teras - an epic thrash track that has it all: a badass main riff that gallops relentlessly through the song accompanied by machine-precise double-kick thunder, bleak lyrics delivered with ferocity, and some fiery leads coming out of the choruses that culminate in an intense-if-too-short solo. It also has an actual music video, so it’s about as good a track as any to sample from Conclusion of an Age.
- Empyreal (pt. 1) - this was the first single off of the band’s most recent release, Edge of the Earth, and should give you a good taste of what the band’s current incarnation is all about. It’s also a perfect example of the double duty Josh now does as both lead guitarist and lead vocalist. And to cap things off, it’s another song with an actual video, giving your eyes a little something to do while your ears have sweet, sweet, heavy metal love made to them.

    As always, head over to youtube (or Facebook, Myspace, the band’s official site...it’s up to you, really) and have a listen to these or any other Sylosis tunes and leave a comment below to let me know what you think. Between their back catalogue, live videos, and teaser material for their apparently upcoming third album, you should have enough Sylosis to keep you busy until next time, so you’d better get to it. Later skaters.











* Yeah, it’s a shit acronym. Shut up.
** for all you non-anglophiles, the place name Reading in England rhymes with the word “shredding”. Look it up!