spinelanguage

BLOGGING FOR METAL FANS WITH A BACKBONE

Battle Royale: Arsis – Starve For the Devil vs. We Are the Nightmare

Arsis (via MySpace)

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.

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March 15, 2010 Posted by Chris Catharsis | Reviews | , , , , , , , , , , , , , | No Comments Yet

Video Game Soundtrack Review: Brutal Legend

Brutal Legend (via TeamXbox.com)

Brutal Legend (via TeamXbox.com)

Damn, I’m really scraping the bottom of the topic barrel with this one.  Don’t I have anything better to review?

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August 10, 2009 Posted by Chris Catharsis | Reviews | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Song Review: Slayer – Hate Worldwide

Fake World Painted Blood Album Cover (via CastleGeekSkull.BlogSpot.com)

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”?

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August 3, 2009 Posted by Chris Catharsis | Reviews | , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Demo Review: Metallica – The Presidio Album

St. Anger Comic (via Photobucket)

St. Anger Comic (via Photobucket)

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.

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July 20, 2009 Posted by Chris Catharsis | Reviews | , , , , , | 1 Comment

CD Review: Job For a Cowboy – Ruination

Ruination (via ChannelZeroEnt.com)

Ruination (via ChannelZeroEnt.com)

IN ONE SENTENCE

Job For a Cowboy finally don’t embarrass themselves.

TRACK-BY-TRACK

  1. “Unfurling a Darkened Gospel” – Starts off with some fast riffage and drumming.  It’s -

Wait…why the fuck am I reviewing a Job For a Cowboy album?!

WTF Monkey (via UGO.com)

WTF Monkey (via UGO.com)

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July 14, 2009 Posted by Chris Catharsis | Reviews | , , , , , , , , | No Comments Yet

Song Review: Megadeth – “Headcrusher”

Headcrusher (via Roadrunner Records)

Headcrusher (via Roadrunner Records)

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:

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July 7, 2009 Posted by Chris Catharsis | Reviews | , , , , , , | 1 Comment

CD Review: Haunted Shores – Following Ivy

Following Ivy (via MySpace)
Following Ivy (via MySpace)

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.

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June 22, 2009 Posted by Chris Catharsis | Reviews | , , , , , , , | No Comments Yet

Movie Review: Anvil – The Story of Anvil

Anvil: The Story of Anvil (via WordPress)

Anvil: The Story of Anvil (via WordPress)

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.

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June 7, 2009 Posted by Chris Catharsis | Reviews | , , , , , , | No Comments Yet

CD Review: Dream Theater – Black Clouds & Silver Linings

Black Clouds & Silver Linings (via WordPress)

Black Clouds & Silver Linings (via WordPress)

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.

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June 5, 2009 Posted by Chris Catharsis | Reviews | , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

CD Review: Heaven & Hell – The Devil You Know

The Devil You Know (via WordPress)

The Devil You Know (via WordPress)

IN ONE SENTENCE

Black Sabbath isn’t coming back, but fuck it – nobody cares!

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June 2, 2009 Posted by Chris Catharsis | Reviews | , , , , , , , , , | No Comments Yet