Wait a Second... This Isn't Metal!?

While most of my posts are metal related, there will be a few ones that focus on something different. This is one of those posts.  Today I will focus on Indie Rock or post Hardcore as it's sometimes called.  The first post Hardcore band I was exposed to is These Arms Are Snakes. 

Chris Common - Drums

Brian Cook - Bass guitar, pump organ, guitar, MicroKORG

Ryan Frederiksen - guitar, MicroKORG, didgeridoo

Steve Snere - vocals, KAOSS pad

TAAS was formed in 2002 and featured former members of Botch and Kill Sadie.  The band became famous for their intense live shows where vocalist Steve Snere would gyrate around stage violently and would also get in the crowd and dance along. Before calling it quits, they released 3 studio albums and 1 EP.  

2003 - This Is Meant To Hurt You EP

2004 - Oxeneers or the Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go Home

2006 - Easter

2008 - Tail Swallower and Dove

They wrote some interesting songs with odd lyrical content, such as an entire song about teeth (Your Pearly Whites) and a song about going crazy and eating your own body (Horse Girl).  At first they weren't received very well at concerts because the label they were on (Jade Tree Records) didn't support them very well and so they left them for Suicide Squeeze Records, which they then praised for all the support they were getting.  

 

Listen here: These Arms Are Snakes

Recently there has been a group that has caught my attention.  Sainthood Reps is from Long Island, New York and are on Tooth and Nail Records.  Their debut album is titled ''Monoculture''.

Members: Francesco Montesanto

                 Derrick Sherman

                 Jani Zubkovs

                 Bradley Cordaro

If these guys sound like Brand New it should be no surprise since the lead singer is also a part of that band.  This album was made during the downtime for Brand New.  I mentioned These Arms Are Snakes earlier because I compare these guys to them, but you can also sense a bit of Nirvana in their tone. This is done intentionally since the members of Sainthood Reps grew up listening to grunge and indie bands. After listening to ''Monoculture'' you feel like this album should have been released in the mid-90's when this style of music was really gaining ground, and maybe it should have. Or maybe its perfect timing to show people that there is still great music out there and excellent songwriting (such as the tune ''Hunter'' and the end song ''Widow'').  Keep an eye out for this group, they are going to last for a long time.

Listen here: Sainthood Reps tunes

Brand New Albums

Summer is winding down and that means there are more quality music releases headed your way.  2011 has already seen some great music releases such as ''Leveler'' from August Burns Red; ''My Devil In Your Eyes'' by The Color Morale; ''Conviction'' by The Crimson Armada; ''Omens'' by A Hill To Die Upon; ''Dissimulation'' by Hope For The Dying; ''The Oculus'' by Inevitable End; ''Omnivium'' by Obscura; ''The War Within Us'' by Onward To Olympas; ''The Great Campaign Of Sabotage'' by Overcome; ''Thegodmachine'' by Phinehas; ''Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites'' by Skrillex and ''Darkness In The Light'' by Unearth.  So what other releases should you look forward to?  Check the photos below.

                                             Wolves in the Throne Room - Celestial Lineage

                              We Came As Romans - Understanding What We've Grown To Be

                         Side note: This is my current front runner for Album Artwork of the Year            

       A Plea For Purging is still in the studio writing the follow-up to ''The Marriage of Heaven and Hell''.  Currently it is titled ''The Life and Death of A Plea For Purging''.

              Beneath the Massacre is currently in the studio working on the follow-up to ''Maree Noire''.

                                            Just released artwork for ''Vindication'' by Dagon.

                                                         Hundredth returns with ''Let Go''

                Impending Doom is currently in the studio for the follow-up to ''There Will Be Violence''.

                                  Brazillian metallers Krig will release their debut DVD in September.

                                          Oh, Sleeper is back with ''Children of Fire'' in September

                    The Blue Letter is rumored to be working on new material, but that hasn't been confirmed.

  The Devil Wears Prada continues to push metal forward when ''Dead Throne'' is released in September.

      The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza is doing the finishing touches on ''Danza 4'' which follows.... wait for it..... ''Danza 3''.

So now that you have a sample of what is to come, what releases have you excited for the rest of 2011?
Feel free to share your comments and also post some albums I may have missed.    Metal Shall Prevail

Metal Releases in 2010

2010 turned out to be a great year for metal releases, as evidenced by the following albums:

January 19th - Onward to Olympas ''This World is Not My Home''

January 22nd - Diamoth ''Apocalyptic Anthems''

January 26th - Living Sacrifice ''The Infinite Order''

March 3rd - Mantric ''The Descent''

March 9th - Demon Hunter ''The World is a Thorn''

March 23rd - The Dillinger Escape Plan ''Option Paralysis'' and Wrench in the Works ''Decrease/Increase''

March 30th - A Hope For Home ''Realis''

April 13th - War Of Ages ''Eternal'' and Woe of Tyrants ''Threnody''

April 16th - Periphery Self-Titled

May 11th - As I Lay Dying ''The Powerless Rise''

May 17th - Wintersoul ''Frozen Storm Apocalypse''

May 18th - To Speak Of Wolves ''Myself < Letting Go''

May 25th - As Hell Retreats ''Revival''

May 31st - Slechtvalk ''A Forlorn Throne''

June 8th - MyChildren MyBride ''Lost Boy''

June 15th - In Fear and Faith ''Imperial''

June 22nd - This or the Apocalypse ''Haunt What's Left''

July 6th - The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza ''Danza 3: The Series of Unfortunate Events''  Corpus Christi ''A Feast For Crows''

July 20th - Impending Doom ''There Will Be Violence''

July 26th - 36 Crazyfists ''Collisions and Castaways''

August 3rd - In the Midst of Lions ''The Heart of Man''

August 17th - The Burial ''The Winepress''

August 24th - The Devil Wears Prada ''Zombie'' EP

August 31st - The Contortionist ''Exoplanet''

September 14th - Beneath the Massacre ''Maree Noire'' EP

October 29th - Nephesh ''Hated By This World'' EP

November 9th - Underoath ''Disambiguation''

November 23rd - The Chariot ''Long Live''
 As They Sleep ''Dynasty''

December 7th - Flyleaf ''Remember To Live'' EP
 I The Breather ''These Are My Sins''

Release dates not known at this time for the following:  Deus Invictus ''Staged in Awaiting''
Krig ''Narcissistic Mechanism''
Coram Deo ''Death is Dead''
Enshrouding ''Arise New Army''
Hundredth ''When Will We Surrender''
Letter to the Exiles ''The Shadow Line''

If you know the release dates for the above albums, please post them.  Thank you.
Metal Shall Prevail

Theme of my Blog

Some people out there have a casual interest in music.  They will listen to whatever is on the radio at work or in their car, or maybe they have a few albums in their collection and that is where their interest in music stops.  Then there are people like me.  Album release dates are treated as days more important than others, concerts are an opportunity to meet-and-greet with bands (along with buying merchandise to support the scene), and opportunities to start enjoying new music is like getting sprayed with freezing water on a hot and humid day... its refreshing.   So what exactly is this blog all about? It's about sharing my love for music that is, for the most part, Christian based.  It's all about having others discover bands that only a select few even know about.  In fact, I believe I am just like those pro athletes that comprise the 1% of all people that turn pro.  Why is that?  Because the music I will be talking about and showing to you is only known by 1% of the population.  Now this is my assumption, mind you. In areas outside of the United States, this music may be more relevant and more widespread. But from within America, the Christian metal music market just isn't that large even though it has seen some growth in the past 5 years or so. It's also about going on somewhat of a musical journey.  Yes most of the journey is Christian metal based, but there are other groups that don't really fall into the Christian category that still deserve to get mentioned.  So as you go on this journey of discovery, keep your mind open and maybe my passion will become your new passion.