Aside from hearing a couple songs off A Celebration of Guilt way back when and skimming through a few more in later years, I’ve never had a close and meaningful relationship with Arsis. I missed the memo that gave pretty much everyone and their grandmother an excuse to jack off to We Are the Nightmare two years ago – but I’m really not upset about that. At all. Why? Because Starve For the Devil is just as good, if not better. Yes, in my hardly humble opinion, the very album which will one day be credited with ushering in the inevitable (and surely lamentable) crossover of 80’s hair metal and 00’s extreme subgenres is more-or-less on par with or superior to We Are the Nightmare. I am perfectly comfortable saying that – and let me explain why, track-by-track.
Fake "World Painted Blood" Album Cover (via CastleGeekSkull.BlogSpot.com)
When I heard “Psycopathy Red” for the first time last year, I thought Slayer was finally back on the right track. It was all aggression, all speed, no nu metal experimentation, but sadly, they didn’t get rid of Tom Araya’s 7-year-old-girl-who-just-scraped-her-knee banshee wailing. Not perfect, but acceptable. Now, almost a year later, we finally get another song from the worst titled Slayer album ever (there’s nothing gramatically or colloquially correct about World Painted Blood, it sounds like the name of a middle school Slayer tribute band at the talent show; fucking terrible). So, what do I have to say about “Hate Worldwide”?
You may be wondering what the fuck The Presidio Album is, but if you’ve seen Some Kind of Monster (the documentary) or know anything about the recording sessions for St. Anger, you’ll know that the Presidio is the army barrack-turned-makeshift (or makeshit, rather) studio where Bob Rock and the gang first tried to strike the final nail in Metallica’s coffin. Had James not gone to rehab, an event which indirectly forced the band to relocate to a real recording studio, something like The Presidio Album might have been what we got in 2003 instead of St. Anger.
Now granted – this isn’t really an “album”, but more of a collection of unreleased/rarely heard riffs made to look like an album (a deceiving as fuck move, by the way). Essentially, some guy just put it together and gave names to 9 tracks; I don’t know if some of the names are official in any way, shape, or form. The songs aren’t complete at all, and more often than not they’re just ripped mash-ups of documentary film footage that honestly don’t make any sense together. It’s a load of fuck right from the get-go.
Well folks, we were supposed to get it at 11 a.m. today, but since the Megadeth fan club got it before midnight, some kind soul took it upon themselves to post “Headcrusher” on YouTube. Without further ado, here it is:
This post marks the first time a band has actually approached me for a review. I’m going to be as honest as possible with my opinion, but much more respectful than usual. Roll with the fucking changes.
IN ONE SENTENCE
Solid melancholy metalcore for fans of the genre, but not much in the way of surprises for the rest of us.
Well, I finally saw it – the documentary everyone and their grandma has been talking about. To be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. Some of the trailers led me to believe that the band would be presented like a cheap Spinal Tap knock-off. Interestingly enough, a lot of the people who are hearing about this movie think it actually is a comedy a la Spinal Tap. They’re in for a surprise.
Note: envoy_red left a comment that rightfully corrected my criticism of “The Shattered Fortress.”Refer to this page if you aren’t an avid DT fan and want to know why they keep recycling riffs. Still, the post will remain as written because that’s how I felt at the time and I want to preserve that.
IN ONE SENTENCE
Better than the last three DT albums, but that’s not saying much.
This is a blog about metal – and all the stuff that can go wrong with it. As one of the few genres (in my opinion) that can simultaneously unite and divide people so violently, metal itself has become a battleground of inbred enemies. We are constantly fighting amongst each other over which bands are better and which ones are posers, and sometimes the gray area in the middle becomes so dense that you don’t know what’s safe to tell people you listen to and what isn’t. Blabbermouth has shown us how frustrating that can be.
However, I’m not out to change the world. This passionate dialogue of “fuck you’s” and “[insert band name here] isn’t metal”, while divisive, is one of the defining features of the music by which we swear. It is the human element in the equation that makes metal different from everything else. We now live in a world where if you make someone cry over the internet you can be charged with hate speech. Nothing quells free speech more than hurt feelings and litigation (the latter has an edge on the former in terms of influence), and that is a big problem. What’s the solution?
My dad likes to say “suck it up” – but I prefer “get a spine”. Don’t walk around slouching over like a drooling imbecile taking so much pity on yourself that you’ll punish others for your own low self-esteem. Instead, embrace the power of being human and learn to let words stay words and feelings stay feelings. That’s the point of this blog. Metal fans aren’t a bunch of whiny children begging for apologies and compensation; we’re strong-willed, intelligent people who can withstand anything. We embrace music built on the concept of having a backbone. Shouldn’t we talk like we have one?
My plan is to take risks and always stay humorous, even if some of the things I say contradict previous things I’ve said. Since I don’t take this seriously, you shouldn’t take me and my immediate opinions seriously. The point is to have fun! Don’t jump all over me because I take a jab at your favorite band, because in the next post I might back them up!
I also hope to feature a lot of exclusive interviews with bands and CD reviews, so if you’re in a band and you want to be reviewed/interviewed, let me know! I’m much more respectful with those things than what I post in “General Buffoonery,” so I won’t be taking jabs at you. Just let me know through my MySpace page.