King Diamond Undergoes Heart Surgery

King Diamond, one of heavy metal's most unique voices, underwent a triple bypass heart surgery about 3 weeks ago, his fiance reports.

King hasn't been in good health for some time, but this came as a shock to both myself and the metal world at large. Only in his mid-50's, it seems a bit early to be knocking at death's door so readily.

I know I speak for a legion of loyal listeners when I say that the King's work was extremely influential to me, both in musical guidance and musical playing, so I send whatever good tidings I can to him and his wife in this dark hour.

You should too, or else.

Keep an ear to the ground and a foot in the pit,

Eric

Judas Priest to Commence Farewell Tour in 2011

http://www.billboard.com/events/judas-priest-announces-farewell-tour-dates-1004133950.story?tag=hpfeed

So it's come to this.

All of the originators of heavy metal, those who have survived addictions A, B, and C, are finally headed to pasture. It had to happen eventually, though I will say that, probably because heavy metal is such a young genre, it comes as a bit of a shock. Ronnie James Dio died earlier this year, Judas Priest is finishing, and even bands like Iron Maiden, the real workhorse of the bunch, are hinting the end may be nigh. It almost seems funny, metal being obsessed generally with the various finalities of life, but the curtain call is beginning for the first wave of heavy metal.

But hey, at least we've got Ozzy "England's biggest joke" Osbourne traipsing all over the globe like some meandering jackass let loose at last from his yoke. There's hope yet.

Keep an ear to the ground and a foot in the pit,

Eric

BULLDOZER Update

It's been a busy week so far in the Eric Bryan music world, but before it's up I wanted to extend a bit of an update.

BULLDOZER MAGAZINE, the publication I've been writing for over the past month or so will be printing very soon, for the first time with my articles. There're a bunch of them, so make sure to keep up on bulldozermagazine.com.

This past Thursday I conducted an interview with Andre Olbrich, the lead guitarist from Blind Guardian. Same as last time he was very cordial, and gave good insight into what's going to be coming from the BG camp in the next few years. I'd tell you more, but really you should check it out when it comes out in print!

Killing Joke interview coming on Saturday, but until then, keep an ear to the ground and a foot in the pit!

-Eric

A few reviews...

Just a quick update here as the night comes to a close. I wanted to weigh in a little on black metal over seas, as (surprisingly) America has been putting out some stellar work as of late. With bands like Woe, Krieg, Cobalt, and to a much, much lesser extent Nachtmystium all trying their hand at reinventing that pentagram emblazoned wheel and succeeding to one degree or another, I felt those black metal fatherlands deserved some attention.

We've got both ends of the spectrum here, with France continuing to prove that they're black metal's dark horse and Finland maintaining their status as the AIDS of metal. Next week I'll focus a bit on some more interesting works, but here's a preview of what's been advancing the tinnitus in my ears:

Malhkebre-Prostration

Ballsk'rs Records, 2006

Leave it to France.

In recent years, with Norway largely stagnating outside of a few bright spots and Sweden leaning pretty heavily on Watain and the whole Necromorbus Studios crew, Europe has not been functioning as the hotbed for the devil's music that it used to be. France, however, stepped up and took that torch, furiously lighting the path for black metal's latest turn: Orthodox Satanism and discordinant, often very technical metal.

Malhkebre is definetely part of that movement, not only sharing France as a homeland, but also bands like Deathspell Omega and Merrimack as obvious points of comparison. That said, Prostration isn't a carbon copy of any particular band. More obviously aggressive than Deathspell, cleaner than Antaeus, and not as overtly atmospheric as Merrimack, Malhkebre takes a more off-the-wall approach to their songwriting, with an almost Voivod-ian sense of cyclical movement within a song. The riffs are quick and intense, make no mistake, but there is something about the slithering nature of the writing that seperates their writing from the majority.

The lyrics follow the usual for orthodox BM, generally encouraging self-mutilation and the light of the southern lord. Here is where the album suffers a bit, basking too much in the often tread and not often enough stretching to write lyrics that fit their music. Then again, much akin to Christian prayer, there is a point where you're saying the same thing over and over again anyway. A band can only ask for salvation or damnation, or whatever grey area these bands are asking for so many times before they're repeating themselves. Luckily though, the vehicle for Malhkebre's reiterations to the dark one is fresh enough to warrant more than a passing listen, and you'll need it for something as challenging as Prostration.

Anguished-Cold

Hammer of Hate 2010

I was legitimately tempted to just write “shit sandwich.”

Anguished represents the stereotype of black metal: a one person project of Scandinavian origin, obsessed with obscure notions of darkness, cold, and death, ill produced for the sake of “atmosphere,” and ultimately amateurish at best.

The lack of effort is almost astounding. Even from a minimalist black metal point of view, there is a level of unprofessionalism, a lack of effort and ultimately talent, that makes Cold not only ineffective, but also intolerable. The riffs are without force, the vocals a terrible bird screech when screamed, and a pre-teen take on emotion when sung.

This kind of stuff, this singularly lonely, frozen take on black metal, can be done. It can be done with flourish, with finesse, and simultaneously with an uglyness that kids the point across. This does none of those. Cold's merit lies merely in the fact that following it's hollowly morose title track, it ends. Not mercifully, just ending.

ALSO!

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE WEEK:

Killing Joke-Absolute Dissent

Woe-Quietly, Undramatically

Winterfylleth-The Mercian Sphere

New Model Army-Thunder and Consequence

Anger As Art-Disfigure

Yours in disgruntled ink,

Eric