50 Albums From 2014 That You Need To Hear (Part 1A of 5)

Ok, so I'm a metalhead, not a mathhead. On Friday I started this 5 part column naming the 50 albums you need to hear from 2014 by only naming 5 albums. If you're a little smarter than me you'll realize that math doesn't add up. So here I am writing part 1A to give you the next 5 that should have been in part 1.

[BLACK/PROG/FOLK] AGALLOCH - THE SERPENT AND THE SPHERE

Agalloch is band with a storied history whom people have high expectations for and Agalloch never misses the mark and this is no exception. The Faustian Echoes EP last year was much more "Black" than usual Agalloch music and I myself wondered if this album would go in that direction but they've actually embraced their progressive tendencies more than ever.

[DOOM] VESTAL CLARET - THE CULT OF VESTAL CLARET

Riffs upon riffs upon riffs under the vocals of man of many great bands, Phil Swanson. The best classic Doom album of the year and I'm sure it'll remain that way.

[BLACK/DOOM] PREDATORY LIGHT - DEMO MMXIV

Sometimes lurching, always atmospheric metal that blasts you in all the right places. Sometimes this kind of stuff tends to feel never ending but I just want this 2 song 17 minute demo to keep going. With memorable riffs, atmospherics and a production job the fits the music, I can't wait for a full length.

 

[HEAVY/SPEED] BLACK MAGIC - WIZARD'S SPELL

This is just solid Heavy Metal that has gone under the radar. For some reason I haven't seen much promotion of them from their awesome label, High Roller Records. Think Show No Mercy era Slayer. Also contains their demo which is a little more in the tradition of first wave Black Metal. Might be my favorite album of the year so far.

[BLACK/SLUDGE] LORD MANTIS - DEATH MASK

Music every bit as off putting and filthy as the transgendered zombie on the cover of the album. Filthy guitars, filthy, rippiing vocals. Their debut Pervertor made my top 5 when it came out and I'm fairly certain this one will end up there too.

Tour Announcement - Judas Priest 2014 Fall Tour

LOTD! Antichrist Demoncore

Today's LOTD! brought to you by Prof. Fork Tongue. 
See his best of the first half list below!

Professor Fork Tongue returns!

50 Albums From 2014 That You Need To Hear (Pt. 1 of 5)

Well, here we are halfway through 2014 and here I am once again expounding my metalness upon the masses. It's been a solid , if not spectacular year for new music. Obviously being a list of 50, not everything is going to blow your socks off but that isn't my aim. Precious few of these will maintain my attention throughout the year but all are worth a lesson by any metalhead looking for a diamond in the rough.

 [DEATH] ACID WITCH/NUNSLAUGHTER - SPOOKY (SPLIT EP)

This is what I want out of Acid Witch. Massive Death/Doom riffs and pronounced, spooky keyboards. The vocals are also better here. Not sure if there's a new vocalists or he's just mixed better but I hope the new Acid Witch LP sounds like this. As far as Nunslaughter goes, I've never given them much of a shot but that changed after hearing this EP. I'll go a little more in depth about Nunslaughter at a later date but needless to say I loved it.

 [HARDCORE/BLACK/CRUST] YOUNG AND IN THE WAY - WHEN LIFE COMES TO DEATH

Young and In The Way are a band I've had an eye on for a couple years and I feel like they came into their own on this one. The hybridization of Hardcore, Black Metal and Crust has become something of an underground trend but YITH are the best of the bunch. If you want raw and aggressive, this is the album for you.

[SLUDGE] EYEHATEGOD - EYEHATEGOD

Eyehategod's classic albums are about as grimy as it gets. You feel like you need a shower after listening. They're like an episode of Intervention set to southern sludge metal. While every bit as filthy as past albums, something seems a bit more mature. I guess that will happen when you don't put out an album in 14 years. In this case maturity does not mean boring as this is right up there with their best work.

[BLACK] FUNEREAL PRESENCE - THE ARCHER TAKES AIM

A Negative Plane side project has much to live up to. While Funereal Presence keeps that Negative Plane vibe with the keyboards and riff style, this is still much more straight forward Black Metal. It does throw some curve balls at you though and they all fit perfectly. The songs are a bit long winded with 3 of the 4 going 10 minutes plus but this is still my favorite Black Metal album this year. A little trimming and this could have been a classic.

[DEATH] INNSMOUTH - CONSUMED BY ELDER SIGN

Think Bolthrower doing songs based on Lovecraft rather than war. Need I say more?

Stay tuned Monday for Part 2...

"ME"TAL 101 with Standup Comic Brian Beaudoin

  Over the years I've noticed that comedy and heavy metal have a lot in common. Great acts can mesmerize with the stories they tell either in song or joke. Both perform in front of audiences looking for the momentary escape from the mundane routine of the daily grind. Like a great riff, a punchline can tear the roof off a packed house and like a sour note, the crowd can come to a hush on a mistimed one liner.

  Fortunately, I've had the opportunity to see some of the best of both worlds. For me seeing Dave Chappelle in a small venue in Northampton Mass is right up there with the first time I saw Metallica or Slayer in a huge stadium. 

  Earlier this year, I found myself at the Comedy Connection in East Providence, RI. Former WWE star and NY Times Best Seller, Mick Foley was the headlining performer. The night was full of fun story telling but what really stood out was the opening performance by Brian Beaudoin. In front of a packed crowd of rowdy wrestling fans, Mr. Beaudoin absolutely "killed" it. Brian fearlessly cut up the room of  "pencil neck geeks" and left many folks holding their sides with his brand of "stoner comedy".

  So it's no wonder, that this week's "ME"TAL 101 guest is the man himself, Brian Beaudoin. A stand up comedian who's toured all over the states and is one of the best young comics in the country. It was a privelege to pick his brain about his craft and get his honest thoughts on the latest trend in comedy podcasting. Enjoy and follow the links below our interview to find out more about Brian and when he'll be on stage in your neck of the woods.

HMT: Brian, you're into all sorts of music. Mick Foley has Tori Amos, what's the one band or song you listen to before you hit the stage?

BB: It ranges and varies a lot depending on my mood and who I'm with, but if I had to pick one ..NOTORIOUS BIG... Nothing gets me ready to perform quite like Biggie

HMT: You've opened for guys like Steve O and Mick Foley who do more of a joke and story telling style? How do you feel about the spoken word guys(Henry Rollins, Scott Ian, Corey Taylor)?

BB: It's definitely different, and does belong in a stand up setting, but do I consider it traditional stand up comedy? Not really, Not in a sense that these guys are going around finding jokes in everyday life to perform and use to crush an audience for an hour, I look at it more of a one man play than anything else, some parts are sad, some hilarious. I don't hate it, I do enjoy it, it's a different style and it does compliment stand up very well, so I think it's a good thing all around.

HMT: Podcasts seem to have opened a lot of doors for veteran comics like Marc Maron and Joe Rogan. Do you think its created more opportunities for younger guys like yourself?

BB: No, I hate this new podcast movement that's going on, I've seen guys try to use it like a get rich quick scheme, Any schmuck with a recorder can have a podcast... Shit even I had my own podcast for a while ( talking in circles ) .. I mean it does help with on air skills, but providing opportunity, NO. It's a wet dream and comics should get opportunity by what they do on stage and not because they talk into a computer so 30 people can download it.

HMT: You're a comic from Rhode Island but you are not a Rhode Island comic. You're stand up is not the stereotypical one liners involving the word quahog or the name "Buddy Cianci". What's the worst Rhode Island joke you've ever heard?

BB: I've heard so many terrible terrible Rhode Island jokes the thought of it alone makes me sick.

HMT: Cheech or Chong? 

BB: CHONG 

HMT: Metal music like comedy gets broken down into genres all of the time. If someone appointed you ambassador of comedy and allowed you to come with a new genre nobody has come up with, what would it be?

BB:  I don't know man.... I'm too high and that questions way to intense to think about.

"I'm too high"

HMT: I love Family Guy, I hate Seth McFarlane. Two part question. What do we have to do make Brian Beaudoin the guy America first thinks of when we hear Rhode Island and comedy? Do you have access to a talking dog?

BB: All dogs talk when you're high, and as long as people come out to shows, watch videos, and continue to support and follow me on my comedy journey that's more than I could ever ask for.

Some notable Brian Beaudoin accolades

* ABC’s ….Body of Proof

* N.E.S.N’s 1st and Goals

* Comcast Cable on demand

* Winner of the 2011 Jokers Wild Next Biggest Thing Competition

* Voted Rhode Island’s BEST COMIC OF 2010—Through the Providence Phoenix Readers Poll

* Winner of the 2010 Rhode Island Comic Throwdown

* Voted Rhode Island’s BEST COMIC OF 2009–Through the Providence Phoenix Readers Poll

Check out Brian's Social Network links for videos and comedy dates

Twitter: @BeaudoinBrian
Official Brian Beaudoin Facebook

Official Brian Beaudoin Youtube Channel

LOTD! Possessor's Electric Hell

Ultra Review - Abramis Brama

 ABRAMIS BRAMA: Enkel Biljett

ABRAMIS BRAMA: Swedish for Rock Stars

            (I made that up – really don’t know what the band’s name means.)  My introduction to Abramis Brama was through the “Smakar Sӧndag” (tastes like Sunday) album.  After the initial distraction of “they’re singing in Swedish…sounds funny”, I realized I was listening to aggressive, awesome rock.  This is guitar driven rock with insanely tight bass and drums.  The band covers so much ground musically while simply tearing it up at all times.  When nobody is around you can catch me singing words I don’t understand when Smakar Sӧndag is playing – the tunes are totally catchy.  Abramis Brama had an impressive discography before this as it turns out, including a couple of albums recorded in English.  While all the band’s older material is of high quality, it seems that Abramis Brama is like a fine wine, improving with age.  2014’s “Enkel Biljett” (one-way ticket) is finally out, and does not disappoint.  It gives you some of what you expected to hear after the last album, while continuing to expand the band’s repertoire of rock ideas and sounds.  Check out the title track and see what a classic bass sound Dennis has, and how synchronized P-O and Fredrik are on guitar and drums.  There are eight other tunes on the album, each offering something the previous one did not.  If there were rock music Olympics, Sweden would have the highest medal count, and Abramis Brama might be the band that would make it onto your box of Wheaties.  If there’s a tune you don’t like on this album, I’d encourage you to listen to it again. 

Check out

“Enkel Biljett”         http://youtu.be/-_KFa_LHUmI

                 

Abramis Brama is:

Dennis Berg: Bass

P-O Andersson: Guitar

Ulf Torkelsson: Vocals

Fredrik Liefendahl: Drums

LOTD! Two New Split EPs by Dropdead

LOTD! OMEGA SUN's Early Morning (All is Nothing)

Tour Announcement - King Diamond's North American Tour

LOTD! Seprevation

**NEW COLUMN**Opinion-(H)ated

The curtains open and a man enters my office dressed from head to toe in a full luchador outfit. He's carrying an old school boom box and a corn cob impaled on a stick. He announces with great vibrato that his name is TIJUANA BOB and as he walks towards my desk he proclaims:

"I've come here to do TWO things...
1. Finish this ragged piece of corn on the cob.
2. Drop the big leg on Heavy Metal."
(...finishes corn...drops cob on my rug)

"& I am all out of corn!"

My office will never be the same.

Quite an introduction. He assures me that he knows what he's talking about. So I offer him a space on this site which he graciously accepts and proceeds to pull out another piece of corn on a stick from the back pocket of his "stretchy pants"...this guy is a riot.

Beginning next week, we introduce off the wall and opinionated Metal commentary from what he calls "Parts Unknown". 

Hopefully, he'll return my "Winger" rug he just snagged on the way out.

LOTD! GODFLESH's DECLINE AND FALL EP

LOTD! TOMBS' Savage Gold

LOTD! TRAP THEM

"ME"TAL 101 Exclusive Interview with Vanessa Nocera (Howling, Wooden Stake, Scaremaker)

We're proud to bring to you a new edition of "ME"TAL 101. This week's guest is Vanessa Nocera. Vanessa fronts a number of incredible bands, co owns Razorback Records with her husband and writes for both the Vaultwraith Comic and Evilspeak Magazine. Taking that all into account, I was extremely excited to get a few moments of her time to discuss her projects and find out how she manages all of those duties. Enjoy the interview, check the links and throw up your horns high for some devastating Heavy Metal!


HMT:  Off the top of my head I can't name many metal bands that come out of Kentucky. What do you think attracted you to the metal scene? When did you start listening to metal? 

Vanessa: Metal has a big following here in Kentucky though I can’t really name too many bands from here. I was 7 years old when I discovered METALLICA and I never looked back. My entre into metal was thrash and I progressively went deeper into sub-genres as I got older. Obviously death metal and black metal were the ones that I latched onto the most considering those are my professional roots, but I’ve grown to love doom more than I used to.

HMT: I'm completely blown away by your vocals. When did you first start performing?

Vanessa: I started singing when I was 3, I picked up the guitar when I was 9, and I started my death growls when I was 11. I didn’t really perfect them though until I was 13. That’s when I started moving on from what I called punk metal (something like Babes in Toyland) to death metal. It was hard to form a band though for obvious reasons, and I never really had my chance to join a band until I was in my early 20s. My first experience playing live was with my band SLASH DEMENTIA when I moved to Chicago and we played in a TINY loft for about 30-50 people. That band later became the somewhat known black metal band WOLFHOLLOW which we recorded tons of material for. Some you can hear on my bandcamp page.

Vaultwraith panels

HMT: You've been very busy recording the last few years. How difficult is it to manage time between several different projects?

Vanessa: It’s not that hard really. I have to wait and see if who I’m in a band with is in the same groove as I am and ready to record something, haha. Basically I am frontwoman, or a part of roughly 9-10 bands, I manage other bands and I run Razorback, I write for/edit/publish Evilspeak Magazine, I was in a movie last year, I’m putting stories together for a book I’m writing, I’m writing for my own horror comic VAULTWRAITH, and I’m a full time psychology student. Time management is what I have learned to master over the years. Haha!

HMT: Razorback Records has some really great bands on their label. How important was it to release your projects through that label? 

Vanessa: I co-own and run Razorback with my husband Billy, so that may be a good reason why, haha. I’ve worked with other labels over the years and have no complaints, but I really feel that releasing my own music is rewarding and I enjoy the business aspect about it.

HMT: Aside from music what are you into? Movies, Books..etc?

Metal Merch

Vanessa: I’m definitely into movies and books. Usually horror or pertaining to horror films. My husband and I are also into horror conventions and chances are if we’re there we are set up with our Razorback / Evilspeak table selling merch.

HMT: I love your logos and artwork for your various projects. Are you hands-on when it comes to deciding the look of each album and the branding for the bands?

Vanessa: Thanks! Of course I have a lot of say so when it comes to the branding and the presentation of my music. I usually choose the artist, but sometimes one of my bandmates or my husband will suggest an artist to work with. If I can’t be hands-on when it comes to the art going into my band then I would not be happy at all. That’s a big part of it for me.

HMT: What are you plans for touring this year and are you working on anything new at this time?  

Vanessa: I’ve never toured in my life. I wouldn’t object to it though. Unfortunately, none of my bands even play live at the moment. As for new work, I’ve been recording my bass and vocal tracks for the new WOODEN STAKE album, yet to be titled, which will be the band’s second full-length due out late summer/early fall.

Howling Logo

I’m also writing music for my band SCAREMAKER and our second album, as well as CAULDRON BURIAL material and a new solo project that I haven’t announced yet. Plus I’m working on Evilspeak Magazine, VAULTWRAITH horror comic, running Razorback, writing my book, and reserving tables at future horror cons. Hopefully soon I’ll have my own website so people won’t have to hunt me down on facebook to try and keep up with me, haha. 

HMT: Thank you Vanessa! Horns up!

Check out these links and hear some killer Death Metal from Razorback Records

Links:
Official Vanessa Nocera Website
http://vanessanocera.bandzoogle.com/

Official Vanessa Nocera Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/vanessanocera666
Official Vanessa Nocera Bandcamp 

vanessanocera.bandcamp.com/ 

Official Razorback Records Website
www.razorbackrecords.com/ 

Official Razorback Records bandcamp page 

bandcamp.com/tag/razorback-records
Official Vaultwraith Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/vaultwraithcomicbook‎

- Coming Soon - What's in Ray's Head? A Journey into the Playlists of a Metal Head

Every Month we'll pick the brain of a long time friend of the Heavy Metal Textbooks' Family.

This dude knows his Metal.

Coming this Friday!

COMING THIS FRIDAY! 

Exclusive Interview with Vanessa Nocera

We are proud to announce the upcoming "ME"TAL 101 Interview with Vanessa Nocera(Howling, Scaremaker, Skeletal Spectre, Wooden Stake). One of the best lead vocalists in the underground metal scene today. A prolific Heavy Metal music maker and co owner of Razorback Records.

Stay Tuned!

LOTD! Serpentine Path

LOTD! Godstopper's Children are our Future

LOTD! The Runaways - Cherry Bomb

Heavy Metal Textbooks' Grownman is still beaming from his chance encounter at Terror Con with "Rock Goddess" Lita Ford, so we've chosen for today's listen of the day a classic Runaways hit. This week we break down Rhode Island's first Horror Convention, stay tuned!

Terror Con recap coming soon!

Ultra Review - Fu Manchu's Gigantoid

FU MANCHU - Gigantoid

       Picture a black-light poster of a rock band playing in a dingy room.  The band members have long hair and denim jackets, and possibly skeleton faces (black light posters were big on skeletons in my recollection).  What that band would sound like is Fu Manchu.  If there is such a thing as the stereotypical California stoner rock band, Fu Manchu is that band.  Three to Five minute songs that catch your ear right away, and have several bad-ass sounding riffs per tune.  Their music manages to accomplish a lively, energetic vibe while actually being fairly slow and deliberate.  The vocals sound way cool, yet any guy off the street could sing any Fu Manchu tune.  The band has been putting out consistently cool music for a good twenty years now, yet some albums are more classic than others.  For me Gigantoid goes in the same category as a couple of my favorites, “The Action Is Go”, and “King Of The Road.”  There is one tune that breaks the typical Fu Manchu mold, and it’s the tune “The Last Question.”  It’s reminiscent of “Out To Sea” from the “Start the Machine” album in that it is mood music and not riff-based.  It’s so well done though that you will count it a welcome addition to the album.  One of my favorites is “Evolution Machine.”  When you pick up the album, listen to Bob’s shredding at 3:30 on Evolution Machine; it’s ultra-tasteful.  In 2014 we have not just new Fu Manchu, but classic Fu Manchu.  -Ultra

Check out "Robotic Invasion"

Members: 

Scott Hill:  Vocals, Guitar 

Brad Davis: Bass

Bob Balch: Guitar

Scott Reeder: Drums