southernmetalreporter

So I decided to not be lazy today and actually post something and I believe I did find something worthwhile to pass on. Just remembered  a few minutes ago that the new Lamb Of God album “Wrath” came out today and I cruised over to their Myspace page to see whats happening with them today and turns out they have the new album streaming on their page today. That’s a good bonus for everyone. I really looking forward to picking this record up when i get my ten dollars in hand but this will definitely do until i get that chance and since it sounds like it is really good it will be good encouragement for me to actually get off my duff and get it in my hands. In case you are a little slow and have trouble locating web pages HERE is their page. get on over there and take a listen, sounds great to me so far.

I’m back again. Sorry about being so lazy. The long weekend got me then some God forsaken scratch throat headache disease side lined me pretty bad yesterday. Enough about that though. Today i will share with you 2 bands that I am pretty sure you probably don’t know and you definitely need to know. I am going to start with Birmingham Alabama’s own Nymphotomy . Why this band has not been grabbed up by a label or booked for some big tours is beyond me. This is one of the most face pummeling bands i have had the pleasure to listen to. I cant fully classify them as straight death metal but that fit pretty close to that category in a lot of ways though. They also have a lot of progressive/tech metal influenced shining out as well. It doesn’t really matter what you classify them as because whatever it is that they do, they are doing it very well and you are doing your self an extreme injustice to your own ears if you don’t hit that Myspace link and check them out.

Band number 2 is another middle Tennessee band that while i have been aware of their name I have only recently gotten a chance to hear them and I wish i had come across them sooner and I cant wait to see them live. The band is Error 51 . After watching some videos of these guys it is very apparent they love to give a real show and not just stand up there and stare at you. The whole band decks out in full black light reactive makeup and garb and load the stage area up with plenty of black lights and various other things to give a real visual show to go with the music. Kinda reminds me of Crossbreed but with way better music. Check this video“5 Across The Eyes” to get a feel for what they are all about. They are a little more straight ahead grooving metal than the last band. Quite differing in styles but both bands deserve a little extra attention. Go check them out!

Ok, I’m back. I was lazy over the long weekend but I’m back now for the 3 of you that care. So this made the rounds a few days ago but I am just now posting it, I am sure there are more than a few of you that might not know. Disturbed has actually managed to put together what is amounting to a pretty damn good metal tour. I think they are trying to hard to boost their own metal credibility and it is going to result in them getting their asses handed to them every night but who cares, it looks like a pretty solid cast of supporting characters. As i posted up before Disturbed will be joined on the main stage by Killswitch Engage,Chimaira and Lacuna Coil and now the second stage has been announced and it is being headed up by Suicide Silence along with Bury Your Dead,Crooked X,Born Of Osiris, After The Burial and a recently re-formed and reunited Spineshank. Spineshank should fit right in with the Disturbed sound and crowd but the entire rest of this lineup is pretty much on a whole different planet style wise and scene wise.No matter what I think about Disturbed, they have certainly used their mainstream power for the overall good of metal as this will be a near sellout show at every date and give these supporting bands some very well deserved exposure. I give this tour 2 thumbs up.

Well everyone, it’s that time of year when a lot of people will start wondering what kind of lineup Ozzfest is going to have and where or when the big yearly metal circus will come to your town. Well wait no longer because I have the names and dates and everything you need to know for Ozzfest 2009. Ok……I guess I am actually lying through my teeth because it has been announced that there is not going to be an OZZFEST this year. No bands, no dates no fest at all, not even one off 2 day dates like last year. The reasons given are that Ozzy is in the studio recording the follow up to his last album Black Rain and does not want to do any touring at all until he has a new album recorded and out on the shelves. Those could be valid reasons but I think a reason that is even more valid is the fact that Ozzfest has struggled the last few time out and an even bigger reason is that almost every known band that would probably be on Ozzfest is already committed to some other big travelling festival with the biggest being the Rock Star Energy Mayhem Fest. Summer Slaughter and Disturbed’s Music as a weapon has snatched up quite a few of the bigger players as well and then you have Lamb of God going out in support of their new album with a couple of heavy hitters so i would think all of those things are playing a bigger part than Ozzy being in the studio but that’s just my guess. I have a feeling that there may not be any more Ozzfest’s at all anymore and Rockstar Mayhem Fest will be the big summer tour from here on out.

2009 is most definitely stacking up to be one of the finest years ever for recorded and live metal. Seems everyday I will cruise around the net and see another ridiculously good tour posted up. Today was no different. Scrolling through Lambgoat I saw the headlines for a new Amon Amarth North American Tour and they are being supported by some serious face smashers. Amon Amarth are taking Goatwhore,Skeletonwitch and Lazarus A.D. out with them on this tour that so far has 18 confirmed dates starting on April 11th. Nice to see Amon Amarth bringing the sounds of Viking Power back over to the states and nice to see they have great taste in support bands. See below for the dates that are announced so far.

/11 Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater
4/12 Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
4/14 St. Louis, MO @ Pops
4/15 Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom
4/16 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
4/17 San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit
4/18 Houston, TX @ Meridian
4/20 Louisville, KY @ Headliners
4/21 Cleveland, OH @ Peabody’s
4/22 Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
4/23 Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls
4/24 Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
4/25 Hartford, CT @ Webster Theatre
4/26 Baltimore, MD @ Sonar
4/28 Norfolk, VA @ The NorVA
4/29 Raleigh, NC @ Volume 11
4/30 Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
5/1 Orlando, FL @ Club Firestone

Good news today, Heaven and Hell (the DIO fronted version of Black Sabbath) have announced that they do indeed have an album of all new material ready to come out. The album is going to be put out on Rhino Records and will be entitled “The Devil You Know”. The release date has been set for April 28. Since rejoining with Ronnie James Dio the band has been operating under the name Heaven and Hell as opposed to Black Sabbath. The members say they more or less went with this name instead just so fans know what they are getting and don’t expect to hear the full back catalog of Ozzy era sabbath tunes.Myself, i cant wait to hear this new stuff. For some old guys they can really still get it done and for a guy that is quickly staring 70 years of living in the face, Dio can still belt out a tune better than most vocalists a third of his age. a Lot of people have been waiting for a long time for a new Sabbath Album and now they dont have to wait anymore, its just going to be Dio fronted Sabbath and that just isn’t a bad thing at all!

Click HERE Now! God Forbid has posted their new album Earthsblood up for a free stream on their Myspace page. I am going to listen to it myself tonight. Be one of the first to hear it, get on over there.

Any of you that have followed my stupid blog at all or have visited and scrolled through the archives will see i have several posts about a band from around my way called Romantic Destructo. I am trying to help get some eyes and ears pointed in their direction and help them out in any way i can. They recently signed up with DEKA Records and are set to start recording their first full length in March. It’s hard to make it in the music business these days and these guys are getting a nice head start from DEKA and I would like to see them get a little bit of success out of what they have in front of them so here are a few updates and a couple of reminders about them. First, please go hit their Myspace page HERE and drop a line and say hi if you have a few minutes, tell them Southern Metal Reporter sent ya. They have one recorded song (Be Real Or Be Gone) posted up that you can listen to to get a feel for them and they just added 2 rough pre-production demo recordings. These 2 last things are rough and you really have to crank the volume up but they also have a pretty decent quality live show video of one of those songs posted up HEREand i recommend checking that out. And last but not least, if you are in the Tennessee area They have a show coming up this weekend on February 13th at the Atomic Rocket Lounge in Columbia Tennessee. They will be sharing the stage with The Opposed,Manifested Demise and Seven Thunders Spoke. Should Be a good one. Starts at 7 p.m. and is all ages. Go check out something new today. You gotta remember that everyband out there that you like now was new at one time and needed all the eyes and ears they could get just like these guys. Don”t be scared. Go take a listen or watch that video.

Fresh off of their latest release “Time Waits For No Slave” Napalm Death are getting ready to hit the road for their North American tour in support of the new album. This tour will start the second week of April and run through mid May and is carrying along one of the most random sets of support acts ever. Calling it random is not to say its not a nice lineup but it’s just a very odd combination of bands and styles you would not see outside of a festival event. The supporting cast is made up of brutal grooving death metallers Kataklysm,death thrashers Toxic Holocaust,black metallers and a personal favorite of mine, Abigail Williamsand death/punk/everything metallers Trap Them. Sounds like a pretty interesting show to me and they have a pretty nice set of dates for this tour that are starting on the east coast and working all the way to the left coast with a few stops in between up north in different parts of Canada. Dates are listed below and i recommend hitting one up if you are close by to one of the cities. I saw Napalm Death a couple years back and those guys can still bring it and they love the fans that still get out to see them after all these years and give it all they have up on the stage and the under card is full of young guns that are sure to keep it high energy. Get on out and support that scene!

4/10 Philadelphia, PA
4/11 New York, NY
4/12 Springfield, VA
4/13 Cincinnati, OH
4/14 Cleveland, OH
4/15 Rochester, NY
4/17 Worcester, MA
4/18 Wilmington, DE
4/19 Sayreville, NJ
4/21 Virginia Beach, VA
4/22 Raleigh, NC
4/23 Spartanburg, SC
4/24 Atlanta, GA
4/25 New Orleans, LA
4/26 Austin, TX
4/27 Houston, TX
4/28 San Antonio, TX
4/29 Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
4/30 Albuquerque, NM
5/1 Phoenix, AZ
5/2 San Diego, CA
5/3 Los Angeles, CA
5/4 San Francisco, CA
5/5 Portland, OR
5/6 Seattle, WA
5/7 Vancouver, BC
5/8 Calgary, AB
5/9 Edmonton, AB
5/10 Regina, SK
5/11 Winnipeg, MB
5/12 Minneapolis, MN
5/13 Chicago, IL
5/14 Detroit, MI
5/15 Toronto, ON
5/16 Montreal, QC
5/17 Quebec City, QC

I was just breezing through some stuff on the Relapse Records site and noticed that ultra grindcore kings Agoraphobic Nosebleed have completed a new album(Agorapocalypse) and are gearing up for the release. The date set as of now is April 14th for North America and April 20th everywhere else. This is the first album with new vocalist Kat,the rest of the band is rounded out by Scott Hull, J.Randall and Richard Johnson. The album was recorded by Scott Hull in his own Visceral Sound Studios. If you are a grindcore fan and not familiar with Agoraphobic Nosebleed I urge you to get off your tail and check them out, they are the real deal when it comes to this genre of music.

Highly regarded New Jersey metallers Burnt By The Sun are busy making their way back into your ears. They recently got busy in the studio to start recording their new Relapse Records release “Heart of Darkness”. The band has already posted up a new demo called F-Unit on their Myspace page and it is a destroyer, I cant wait to hear the final album version along with the rest of the new tunes. Burnt By The Sun have not released anything full length from the studio since 2003’s “The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good”. No official release date has been announced yet but since they are still in the process of finishing the album up it will probably be late spring at the earliest and most likely early summer. Keep on the look out, this is a great often overlooked band.

In what looks to be the year of all years for metal fests and big metal tours yet another multi day fest of brutal fun has been announced. The Central Illinois Metal Fest has been scheduled for July 31st and August 1st in Urbana Illinois at The Canopy Club. Tickets are set at $60 for 2 day passes in advance and $70 for 2 day passes day of show and prices for single days will be given out later on down the road. According to what i read on Lambgoat there are still some headliners to be confirmed later on but it looks like the big get as of now is Goatwhore. Very good live show out of that band. i was lucky enough to see them a couple years back and they are very strong and will probably have new material this time out as well. As i said before, it looks like more bands are expected but the list so far is as follows:

Goatwhore
Master
Putrid Pile
Rottenness
Goreaphobia
Malignancy
Disfigured
Fuck The Facts
Secret Of The Seven Thunders
Necrotic Disgorgement
Rumplestiltskin Grinder
Sikfuk
Blasphemer
Pathology
Dreaming Dead
Ezra
Human Filleted

Whats up everybody? I am back, should have been back Sunday, didn’t get to it, was just plain flat out to lazy yesterday,but today i get up and see some news I like! If any of you are familiar with the big Bonnaroo festival that has been a national music festival phenomenon the last few years here in Tennessee then you might wanna try and hit it up this year. Nice mix of good metal to go with all the other eclectic mixes of music. Last year we got Metallica and Mastodon, this year we get Nine Inch Nails and Down! i couldn’t be more excited about this. I live about 25 minutes from the concert site so its basically right in my back yard as far as concerts go. It really is a cool experience to see bands like that play in front of the large amount of people that show up at this thing. I can only imagine Nine Inch Nails will have one killer show to see up on that massive huge main stage at night out in the open air. Also, if you are open to other types of music which i hope you are we have other big acts in the way of Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band and The Beastie Boys and i am sure there are some Mars Volta Fans and Phish fans out there. It’s a great festival with lots of stages and lots of things to do, they have comedy tents and all kinds of art shows and weird exhibition shows its and all around great time in a small town. This show brings more people to town that the town has residents. It was a real oddity seeing Metallica and Chris Rock in front of 70,000 people in little Manchester Tennessee last year. Anyway, check this out. It’s 4 days worth of camping and music and all kinds of different fun. Tickets are probably a lot to swallow for a lot of people in this economy but it is a great time if you can afford to get to it.The festival will be held June 11-14 this year. Check out the full lineup and tickets here. Time slots are not set yet but it wont be to much longer to find out who plays on what day.