2010 Best Heavy Metal CDs
A better evaluation of a year's best releases is done a few years later, as the passage of time generally provides a clearer perspective, but as of right now, 2010 was a very good year for heavy metal. Several of the releases on our top 20 you'll see on many other lists, but others may surprise you. Not sure if that means we're idiots or visionaries, but in the end we're just metal fans with opinions, like everyone else.
More Best of 2010
Chad's Heavy Metal Blog
Agalloch Concert Review
Monday January 3, 2011
Without question, Marrow Of The Spirit by Agalloch is one of the top metal releases of 2010, and has appeared on numerous "Best of the Year" lists, including our own (I rated the album at a near perfect 4.5/5). Couple the release of this stellar album with the fact that Agalloch hardly ever tour, and you have the makings of a "must see" concert when Agalloch recently embarked on a small tour of venues up and down the West Coast. The Los Angeles date of the tour landed on a rainy night on the solstice at The Proud Bird, a venue not exactly known for metal concerts (The Proud Bird is a banquet hall/restaurant about 250 feet away from the runways of LAX).Given that there has been a dearth of concerts in Los Angeles recently, just about every serious metalhead in the area showed up for Agalloch's appearance, as The Proud Bird rapidly filled up in anticipation of the performance.
Read the complete Agalloch Concert Review
(photo courtesy Dave Schalek/About.com)
The Chariot Interview
Friday December 31, 2010
The latest CD from The Chariot is Long Live. It's the Georgia Christian metalcore band's fourth full-length, and was produced by the band's long-time collaborator Matt Goldman. Vocalist Josh Scogin fills us in on the new CD, their tour plans, the effect of their music on fans and other subjects.Chad Bowar: How has the band's sound progressed from that album to Long Live?
Josh Scogin: Hopefully every record progresses from the last. I mean as we grow and learn more about each other and life in general, I think it is always evolving.
What inspired your lyrics for this one?
These were very impulsive from other records. I wrote every song's lyrics in about a week. So there are plenty of ties that connect all the songs together.
Read the complete The Chariot Interview
(photo courtesy Good Fight Entertainment)
Malevolent Creation Tour Dates
Wednesday December 29, 2010
Florida based death metal legends Malevolent Creation will be headlining the United Hate Across America Tour kicking off in February 2011. Their latest CD Invidious Dominion was released in August. Joining them will be Full Blown Chaos, The Absence, Havok and Beyond Terror Beyond Grace.
Malevolent Creation Tour Dates:
Feb 11 Tampa, FL @ Brass Mug (Malevolent Creation/The Absence only )
Feb 12 Raleigh, NC @ Volume 11
Feb 13 Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
Feb 14 Virginia Beach, VA @ Buddha's Place
Feb 15 Stamford, CT @ Warehouse 66
Feb 16 Albany, NY @ Bogie's
Feb 17 Trenton, NJ @ Championship Bar & Grill
Feb 18 Buffalo, NY @ Evening Star
Feb 19 Detroit, MI @ Harpo's
Feb 20 Steger, IL @ Hole In The Wall
Feb 22 Chicago, IL @ Reggies
Feb 23 St Paul, MN @ Station 4
Feb 24 Madison, WI @ The Annex
Feb 25 St Louis, MO @ Fubar
Feb 26 Kansas City, MO @ Riot Room
Feb 27 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater
Feb 28 Salt Lake City, UT @ Club Vegas
March 1 Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven
March 2 Portland, OR @ Branx
March 4 San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick
March 5 Las Vegas, NV @ Cheyenne Saloon
March 6 Tempe, AZ @ The Clubhouse
March 8 Dallas, TX @ Reno's Chop Shop
March 9 Austin, TX @ Emo's
March 10 Shreveport, LA @ Riverside Warehouse
March 11 Orlando, FL @ The Haven (Malevolent Creation/Full Blown Chaos/The Absence only)
Tour Dates For Other Heavy Metal Artists
(photo courtesy Nuclear Blast Records)
5 Questions with Calm Hatchery
Tuesday December 28, 2010
5 Questions With... is your chance to get to know a new or up-and-coming metal band. Calm Hatchery hails from Poland, and just released their latest CD Sacrilege Of Humanity. Guitarist Huzar introduces us to his band.
Give us a history of Calm Hatchery.
The band was brought to life in 2002 in Bialystok by me, vocalist/guitarist Iwana and drummer Radad. At that time all of us played in a different bands, but we often met at gigs that our bands played together. We talked a lot about music, gear and somehow we decided we want to play together and that's how it started. After 6 months of playing we home-recorded our first demo. Later we were joined by vocalist Gunar and got temporary support from bassist Maar. With this lineup we played a few local gigs and assembled the whole material for El-Alamein.
In 2004 we entered the studio. Just before the session started we changed the vocalist, with Ghaez taking over for Gunar. After recording we got back to playing shows and sent our our material in search of a label. Unfortunately, misfortune stayed with the band. Ghaez left over of lack of time, and soon after Iwan did the same. After a few other member rotations that didn't really change anything, Calm Hatchery got suspended. What's more I decided to return to my hometown of Slupsk (I was just studying in Bialystok).
While in Slupsk I kept receiving good reviews for El-Alamein and decided to keep the band alive. I found a guitarist (Zombi) and bassist (Hacel), but it was hard to find a good drummer and we played just as three. Szczepan (vocals) joined later. For a short time we had Dyx playing drums with us, but wasn't what we were looking for. In the meantime an invitation to Zamczysko Festival 2006 in Malbork came so I called Radad and he agreed to play one show. When he arrived for a rehearsal we had such a good time that he decided to return to the band. He had to cross long distances for rehearsals, but we continued this way.
In 2006 we recorded a demo These Which Were. Back then we played a series of shows. However, in 2006 Radad went to England. Somehow we managed to keep the band going, but decided that it wouldn't work in the long run and Radad ultimately left the band. We started to look for a new drummer and were able to find Radek, and that's the lineup we have today.
Describe the sound/genre/influences of Sacrilege Of Humanity.
It is hard to be original these days. We are trying to work out our own style, but I think we are at the beginning of this road. Undoubtedly the most influential bands for us are Nile, Morbid Angel, Hate Eternal, Behemoth, Decapitated and Gojira, but also ambient music like Steve Roach, Suspended Memories and film music.
What has been your best or most memorable live show, and do you have any upcoming live plans?
An unforgettable and definitely the best show was our Generacja 2010 final performance in Koszalin as a support act for Vader and Napalm Death. It was after this show that Karol from Selfmadegod Records got in touch with us. The gig was awesome, we had an opportunity to play in front of 2000 people and for a support act we received a very good response. Another show that I consider one of the best was our recent performance in Ireland. It was total madness and no prisoners taken! We hope for more gigs like that.
We are invited for the Defense Festival in Krakow next February to play with bands like Asphyx, Lost Soul and Paracide. For now this is the only date we have planned, but we hope the new album will enable us to play more shows. We are waiting for offers.
What's the metal scene like in your area of Poland?
There are many good bands in Poland. Of course many people know Behemoth, Decapitated, Vader, Lost Soul, Dead Infection, Trauma. I do not like the unhealthy competition between bands. Many bands race for something, one wants to be more important than the other, being haughty is common but what meaning does it have overall? Many times I have witnessed backstage arguments over the show lineup order, local bands that don't want to open the show. That's a laugh! People need to be more humble and focus on the music itself, to make it the best. Jealousy, hate, all this buffoonery, we are trying to leave it aside and just do our thing.
Anything else you'd like to mention/promote?
I would like to greet you and and readers of this website and all the listeners of heavy independent music in the USA, Europe, Asia, Australia or anywhere in the world. We are very happy we were able to record a CD and find a label. I invite everyone to give us a listen and buy our album if you like it.
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