Long Live the King!

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Yesterday morning, the King Diamond Facebook page offered some welcome news: after more than a year away from performing (besides a brief appearance with Metallica during their anniversary festivities last month) while recovering from triple-bypass heart surgery, the renowned Danish vocalist is finally ready to return to the stage.

Normally when I read about upcoming tours and festivals, I get pretty grumpy about the fact that they are so far away from here and it just depresses me.  But in this case, I don’t care where the shows are located, I’m just happy to hear the King is healthy and able to get back out on the road again.

Read the full announcement, including video updates, after the jump.

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The “Signmeto” Unsigned Band of the Week: Necro

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Hello, and welcome to the second installment of the “Signmeto” Unsigned Band of the Week, the weekly profile of a little-known unsigned band for you to check out.  As I have said before, the material here will be of varying quality, but in every case you’ll have the opportunity to listen to whatever music the band has available at this point in their career; my hope is, maybe you’ll find something you really dig, which you might not have heard otherwise. Then, when they explode in popularity and sell a million records, you can scoff at all the bandwagon-jumpers, saying you’ve been a fan since their first demo recording or whatever.

Once again, for those who might not have been paying attention: “Signmeto” is a division of the Roadrunner Records website, where unsigned bands get the chance to upload their recordings for other users to hear and rate, as well as (hopefully) to catch the ear of a label representative (hence, “Sign Me To Roadrunner Records”). I don’t know if anyone who uses that website has ever gotten a record deal out of it, so I don’t have any idea how useful it is from that perspective. However, as a music fan, it can be a good resource for seeking out new things to listen to, and perhaps in that way it can be good for the bands as well. That is, maybe they won’t be picked up by Roadrunner, but maybe putting their songs out there will help attract some sort of attention anyway, and get a little bit of publicity for themselves. That’s how I intend to use it, at least; I’ll be digging through the Signmeto archives for some hidden gems, and then sharing them with you, dear reader.

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The “Signmeto” Unsigned Band of the Week: Golah

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Hello, and welcome to a brand new feature here on Valley of Steel! As you may have gathered from the title, this is intended to turn into a weekly profile of a little-known unsigned band for you to check out. As you might expect, the material here will be of varying quality, but in every case you’ll have the opportunity to listen to whatever music the band has available at this point in their career; my hope is, maybe you’ll find something you really dig, which you might not have heard otherwise. Then, when they explode in popularity and sell a million records, you can scoff at all the bandwagon-jumpers, saying you’ve been a fan since their first demo recording or whatever.

Now, about the rest of the title, in case you weren’t aware, “Signmeto” is a division of the Roadrunner Records website, where unsigned bands get the chance to upload their recordings for other users to hear and rate, as well as (hopefully) to catch the ear of a label representative (hence, “Sign Me to Roadrunner Records”). I don’t know if anyone who uses that website has ever gotten a record deal out of it, so I don’t have any idea how useful it is from that perspective. However, as a music fan, it can be a good resource for seeking out new things to listen to, and perhaps in that way it can be good for the bands as well. That is, maybe they won’t be picked up by Roadrunner, but maybe putting their songs out there will help attract some sort of attention anyway, and get a little bit of publicity for themselves. That’s how I intend to use it, at least; I’ll be digging through the Signmeto archives for some hidden gems, and then sharing them with you, dear reader.

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Just When We Were Starting to Get Over the Whole Morbid Angel Thing…

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Yesterday, in their newsletter, Season of Mist announced a new video for a song from Illud Divinum Insanus, the 2011 release by self-described “extreme music” band Morbid Angel:

Last November, seminal extreme metallers MORBID ANGEL shot a video clip for the song “Existo Vulgoré”, off latest album “Illud Divinum Insanus”. The video was conceptualized by the band and director Thomas Mignone (SLIPKNOT, MUDVAYNE, AVENGED SEVENFOLD) and produced through his production company Doom Incorporated. Mignone filmed the band in Tampa, Florida just prior to their departure to Europe during their recent tour.

If the band had any hopes of regaining the attention of their longtime fans, who seem to have almost universally despised this album, I don’t think the best way to do it would have been to collaborate with someone who has those particular credits on his resumé.  However, pandering to the legions of death metal fans who have supported this band for decades may be exactly what they are trying not to do.  At least, that’s the impression I get from their upcoming remix project.

One of the biggest complaints I’ve heard about this album was the fact that, even if they are trying to distance themselves from the death metal scene and branch out in a new direction (i.e. industrial/techno/whatever), fans of those particular styles are not very likely to enjoy it either, because even as those styles go, it isn’t especially well-done.  Not being a fan of that sort of thing, myself, I can’t really judge the accuracy of these comments.  Nevertheless, I can only assume that their forthcoming release of a “3-hour compilation gathering 39 remixes of songs” (done by several presumably well-known artists of the electronic music genres) will help to push the band’s image further into that new territory they seem to be seeking.  I really don’t know, but if that is their goal then I wish them well.

Getting back to the original subject, the video for “Existo Vulgoré” can be found by clicking here; and the label has also kindly offered the song as a FREE mp3 download here.  After watching, let me know what you think in the comments below.  Or if you have anything at all to say on the subject of this band and its new album or new direction, knock yourself out.

If you don’t have the album yet, but you are interested in checking it out (morbid curiosity, perhaps?), you can pick up the CD here, grab the digital download version here, or check out the huge wooden box deluxe edition here. Illud Divinium Insanus – The Remixes can be pre-ordered from the Season of Mist e-shop, here.

Dear Mr. Iommi

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Almost four years ago, I got married.  Instead of the usual “Here Comes the Bride” melody, my wife and her father walked up the aisle to this song.  It was my suggestion.  I sat at the computer and painstakingly edited a waveform of that song to loop it, just so I could be sure it was long enough, then stuck it on a CD and gave it to the DJ to play at the ceremony.

That might give you some small idea how important your music has been in my life, but nothing could truly describe the significance of its impact – both directly (through your own band’s albums) and indirectly (through the entire genres of music that trace their genesis straight back to the notes you wrote and played).

I just want to say, I’m sincerely wishing you all the best for a full and speedy recovery.  And, thank you.

The VoS Top 11 of 2011 – Published at No Clean Singing

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Hey.  You should already know this, because you should already be reading the No Clean Singing blog.  But in the event that for some reason you missed this, yesterday morning they published a list that I threw together, summing up some of the top new releases of the past year.  The list represents my eleven favorite albums that I heard, that were released in 2011 by bands I had never heard prior to last year.  I also chose to exclude albums I had already written about here at the Valley blog, because I didn’t want to bore you by just rehashing the same thing over and over again.  I hope you enjoy the list, or at least find something there you might not have heard before.  Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, either here or there.

Thanks for reading!

Happy New Year!

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Horns Up!

Happy New Year from everyone at Valley of Steel!

All the major holidays that comprise the “holiday season” have now come and gone, and life is starting to return to some sort of normalcy.  So I just wanted to throw this post out there to say hello to you, my Dear Loyal Reader, and to take a moment (as people so often do at this time of year) to look back and look ahead.

First of all, I’d like to reflect on the series of posts that were supposed to have been scheduled for the three days preceding Christmas Eve.  I screwed up, not correctly figuring out how to use the new version of the WordPress mobile app.  So unfortunately, the last two did not go live until well past Christmas.  Because they were actually published after the publication date listed, I’m not actually sure if the notifications were even sent out to those of you who are subscribed to the Valley Updates.  So in case any of these got lost in the shuffle, here is the whole three-part series on pre-Christmas doom metal:

Ever Circling Wolves – Chapter III EP review

Bell Witch – Bell Witch Demo 2011 review

(drama) – Zastor Tišine review

Moving on from there, it’s now January, and this is typically considered a time of both reflection and renewal.  In the near future, you can expect more reviews and news, but there will be some new and different things popping up as well.  For example, I’m working on a couple of interviews right now, and possibly more to come after that; a brand-new periodic feature will be premiering soon, which spotlights unsigned and relatively unknown bands; and on top of all that, I’ve got a couple things written for publication elsewhere.  Suggestions of new topics or material for reviewing are always welcomed; please contact me if you are a band/label/promoter that would like my profound insights on something you are releasing or have released; also, don’t be afraid to leave some comments on this or any of the posts you read here, as I am always interested in what you have to say as well!

As always, please feel free to hit the “Click to Follow” button to receive Valley Updates via email, and don’t forget to “like” the Facebook page to keep informed that way, too!  And don’t be shy, share the blog or the Facebook with anyone you know who likes heavy music and knows how to read.

Thanks for all your support and again, have a happy new year!

Now Available for Pre-Order: (drama) – Zastor Tišine

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(drama) – Zastor Tišine (Altsphere Production, 24 February 2012)

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Fuck me, I can’t seem to keep my eyes open.  I’ve probably had about five cups of coffee today, but still, here I sit staring at this computer screen and it keeps going out of focus.  Why does the last day of work before a break– especially a nice, long holiday weekend– always seem to drag on forever?  Not that things will get any better when I leave here; I am completely dreading the fact that later tonight, and probably much of tomorrow as well, I will have to venture out into the world of holiday shopping!  Suffering through the world’s worst drivers (they always seem to come out in hordes this time of year, don’t they?) to struggle to find a place to park; pushing through huge crowds of horribly annoying people to get the chance to spend money I can’t really afford on a bunch of crap that my family members don’t really need anyhow… it’s enough to seriously bring on an anxiety attack just thinking about it!

Of course, that’s why the past few days I have been cheering myself (and hopefully some of you out there in internet-land, as well) with great big heaps of awesomely depressive doom metal.  Today’s post will complete the trilogy I described earlier (part I | part II), as we voyage to Croatia to check out the debut LP of a band from Zagreb called (drama), which is entitled Zastor Tišine (Croatian for The Curtain [or Shroud] of Silence).

Following a 2006 demo, the band actually recorded this full-length back in 2010 and made it available through various digital outlets earlier this year.  I can’t remember, now, where I first became aware of them, but I know I heard one of their songs somewhere; I enjoyed it enough to be willing to put in the effort necessary to track down more info about the band– which was no small task!  You try Googling the word “drama” – with or without the parentheses, it makes no difference – and see how easy it is to wade through the billions of results!  (By the way, for your benefit I’ve included a list of links at the bottom of this post, so you can have a much easier time learning more about the band and keeping informed about them.  You’re welcome.) Continue reading →

Get to Know: Bell Witch (Review of Bell Witch Demo 2011)

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Bell Witch – Bell Witch Demo 2011 (3 October 2011)

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I am forwarding this to you, because otherwise I would be responding to the message directly.

And I know if I did that, I would get into a lot of trouble.

That is a direct quote from an email I wrote to my boss today, passing along a rather impolite message I had received from someone in a different department. Without going into any specifics about the situation, I think that should give you enough of an idea about how MY day has been. How about you, Dear Reader? Are you in a better mood than yesterday? Have extra days off work or school on account of the holiday this weekend? Got all your presents bought and wrapped? Paid for all of them in cash, so there won’t be any huge credit card bills to look forward to, AND managed to pay all your regular bills this month, too?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, or if you answered “yes” or if you just said “fuck off, why are you asking me so many questions” — in any case, I suspect that you could benefit from some more holiday cheer. And I don’t mean a bottle of wine (although I’m sure that couldn’t hurt, either!). No, just like I said in yesterday’s post, the best way to brighten your day, even if it’s just for a little while, is a healthy serving of some nice, bleak DOOOOOM. As I promised yesterday, I’ve got one batch coming your way today, and then another to follow tomorrow.

Our journey of discovery now takes us to the northwestern United States; specifically, to the city of Seattle, which was made famous in the 1990s as it is commonly regarded as the birthplace of the grunge movement. However, what we are seeking is something much deeper, much darker, and a whole lot slower — and we find exactly that on the recent demo recording by Seattleite duo Bell Witch, which is cleverly titled Bell Witch Demo 2011.

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Just Released: Ever Circling Wolves – Chapter III

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Ever Circling Wolves – Chapter III: In Which the Protagonist Finds Himself at the Bottom of the Ocean as well as in a Petrified Forest (December 2011, Dethroned Productions)

Well, believe it or not, Christmas is almost here. I know I can’t believe it, myself — these past several months have been so busy for me that they’ve just flown by. Often it seems that all the stuff that needs to be done exceeds the amount of time available in which to do it, which of course means there is actually less than zero time left over in which to do anything that I want to do. That sucks, and it’s made even worse by how short the days are (the only time I see a little bit of sunlight is on my way to the bus stop when I leave work in the afternoon — unless it’s raining or snowing, which is often the case). When you add all the stress and anxiety involved with the holiday season on top of everything else, it’s no wonder so many people go into a deep depression around this time. Clearly, we need something to shake off these dark feelings and bring joy and cheer back into our lives. I don’t know about you, but for me there is nothing that can turn my frown upside-down faster than some good ole DOOM METAL!!  The doomier it is, the better it makes me feel.  So I’ve scoured the world in search of something to cheer me up, and I’ve found just what the doctor ordered.  Three different doses of it, in fact, and so I will be sharing these over the next three days — just long enough to take us through Christmas eve.

The first stop on our global quest for euphoria is in Finland, where death-doom quartet Ever Circling Wolves have just released their third recording (an EP, appropriately titled Chapter III) on CD via Dethroned Productions… Continue reading →