Tag Archives: Dying Fetus

Out Last Month: Mouth of the Serpent – Manifest

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Mouth of the Serpent – Manifest (10 January 2012, Swimming with Sharks Records)

Good afternoon, Valley of Steel reader.  Or depending on where you live (or when you come across this post), good morning or good evening. If whatever time of day it happens to be is perhaps not so good for you, just bear with me, it’ll get better.  I’m going to introduce some more music to you, and I’ve got a feeling pretty soon everything will be just fine.

For starters, just look at that cover art up there!  Now that’s some cool shit, huh?  It was created by Tony Koehl, who has been responsible for quite a few other album covers (check out this gallery), probably the most high-profile of which was Black Dahlia Murder‘s 2009 album Deflorate (as seen here).

Anyway, back to this present work of art.  People say you shouldn’t judge what’s inside
a book or album or whatever, just based on the cover.  Good advice, but not very practical in real life — after all, isn’t that why there is a cover in the first place?  To give you an idea what you will expect from the contents, and to get you started in your decision whether you think you will like it or not?

Well in this case, the artwork definitely catches your eye, and that odd juxtaposition of themes could possibly confuse the viewer, but in a way that should leave you feeling curious about what lies within.  ARE you curious, Dear Reader?  I can’t quite tell what that giant swamp monster thing is doing, but it might be inhaling a tree — definitely it looks like it’s causing some sort of massive destruction.  The creature itself looks pretty grim and brutal, like you might expect to find on the cover of some pretty brutal death metal, right?  Then in the background, the scene is all outer-spacey and there’s like a transdimensional portal or something, exactly the sort of imagery that would be well-suited to some experimental tech-death music, wouldn’t you say?

I think you can probably guess what this is leading up to, and you’d be right: the material found on Manifest, the recently-released EP by Los Angeles’ Mouth of the Serpent, turns out to be an interesting amalgamation of all of the above — and much more!

 

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Out Today: Wykked Wytch – The Ultimate Deception

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Wykked Wytch – The Ultimate Deception (14 February 2012, Goomba Music)

Happy Valentine’s Day, readers! Hugs and kisses and hearts and flowers, and all that. I don’t know if they have anything like this wherever you live, but here, February 14th is supposed to be some sort of commemoration for the martyred Roman-Catholic Saint Valentinus (although various accounts differ as to which particular saint named Valentinus or Valentine the day is named for, or even whether he was actually a real person in the first place), but of course in typical fashion, any links to a religious observence that originally existed have long since gone out the window (just like Easter turned into a day for little kids to get fat eating bunnies made out of chocolate), and nowadays it’s mostly just a time where people are expected to spend a bunch of money on cards and candy or fancy dinners for their significant others. At least, if they want to keep that person as a significant other.

So, in keeping with this tradition, I’ve got a lovely Valentines Day gift for you, Dear Reader. It’s a heart-shaped box filled with dulcet melodies and harmonious sonnets; love songs with lyrics so beautiful you might just be moved to tears.

Yeah, fuck all that. Actually what I’ve got for you is a review of a record being released today on Goomba Music, called The Ultimate Deception, which is the fifth album by Floridian extreme metal band Wykked Wytch — whose core is as black as the crispy, charred remains of a martyr who’d been burnt at the stake.

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Upcoming Shows: GWAR, Dying Fetus, Behemoth

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Well, folks, here’s a pretty cool surprise that showed up in my inbox this weekend. I get updates at least once a week from Pittsburgh-based promoters Opus One Productions, but since they deal in events that range literally all across the musical spectrum, the majority of the information they contain usually is not of any interest to me. This time, however, the update pertains exclusively to metal shows, and (as you can tell from that headline) it includes some pretty huge names in the metal world, all coming to Pittsburgh!

All three shows — a co-headline of Dying Fetus and The Faceless in early March, GWAR on Saint Patrick’s Day, and Behemoth in mid-April — are taking place at Mr. Small’s Theatre in Millvale (just a few miles northeast of the city on Rt. 28). If you haven’t been there before, I’d highly recommend catching a show there. It has been converted from an old church, and has a lot of the original architectural features including a real high cathedral ceiling; I don’t know if that’s the reason why, but in any case, the place has pretty great acoustics. Plus, it’s got a pretty intimate feel to it (only holds a few hundred people) but at the same time it’s big enough that you usually don’t feel too claustrophobic (for all-ages or 18+ shows, there is a wooden half-wall barrier that separates the bar from the rest of the floor area; I usually end up hanging out behind here, since you can get a great view of the stage but it’s usually not too crowded).

After the jump, catch all the details of the events. If you aren’t local to Pittsburgh, take heart in knowing that all of these great bands are currently touring the U.S.; check out their Facebook pages or websites (most of which are linked in the information below) to find the full tourdates and see if there is also a show in your area. If you live outside the U.S., then piss off! You surely have awesome tours and festivals in your area all the time! Let me savor the thought of having these few visit my city, this time.

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