And that was nearly three months ago. Just didn’t have time to cover them any sooner. And I don’t really have any now either, so I’ll just dump you a pile of vids to keep you occupied. Go be a good boy – or girl – and entertain yourself with this great fuckin’ Indian music!

Vienna was shaping up to have a blast of an evening with the tour lineup that was announced. Three strong Metal acts with varying degrees of pagan leanings, all touring on recently released albums and all producing music that works great in a live atmosphere. Escape, a pub of around 200-capacity in the room downstairs itself, didn’t know what hit it. Moonsorrow and Týr were co-headliners; some may argue that they are different sounds, but, as Mitja and Ville pointed out, Pagan Metal is not governed by genre stylings but by an atmosphere, which was certainly present at this concert.

So yeah, the evening of Monday November 7^th started with a huge fuckin’ disappointment: Omnium Gatherum. Not that they didn’t play well, I just wouldn’t know. Because I fuckin’ missed them. Because I was an hour fuckin’ late at the venue, The Garage, on Highbury Corner! Why was I an hour late for the band I wanted to see that night, the band I came for in the first place? Well not because I was a sloth and looked on my watch too late before I left! It was because the Neckbreaker’s Ball tour site stated the show would kick off at 5:45 pm, while in reality the show commenced at 4:45 pm.

I just saw this over at NCS and couldn’t pass up sharing it here. On the evening of Oct. 22^nd Kvelertak, Skeletonwitch, Tombs and Psychic Limbs played a show on a small cruise boat in NYC. An A/V dude going by the name (((unartig))) captured the performances on video and has put them, along with many more, at his Vimeo page. Skeletonwitch is one of my very favorite bands so only their set is ahead here along with a music video and a track from their latest, Forever Abomination.

Yesterday marked what must have been one of the most enjoyable days in my whole fuckin’ life, I shit you not. I haven’t had such a good time in years and the smile on my face was both ridiculous and terrifying. Similarly, the ache in my upper neck muscles I’m currently experiencing is ridiculous and excruciating. All attributed to the efforts of Septic Flesh, As I Lay Dying and Amon Amarth, each in its bigger or smaller share.

Heard of Asking Alexandria? They are an English Metalcore act put together in 2008 that has since very rapidly made a name for itself. They’re a big name now in Metalcore Land and though that might not always mean anything, in this case they’ve actually got some talent going on. I realize it’s still your average Metalcore, but at least they do it right. Whatever that is exactly.

The band released its second album earlier this year, titling it Reckless & Relentless. On the album cover there’s this famous porn actress called Belladonna, sitting in a fucked up room with a fucked up TV. Anyfuck, there’s been a tour to support that album’s release and it touched Sacramento, California earlier this year. Guess what, the full set, nearly an hour of it, is on YouTube. And in pretty decent quality too. Couldn’t let that pass by unnoticed.

Got another tip from motig, our serial linkdumper. The guy manages to discover more shit fuck awesome bands every time. It’s like there’s no end to his supply of awesome.

What he came up with for today is called Diamond Plate, an Illinois-based four-pieced Thrash Metal outfit. The band formed in 2004, but only released its debut record last August. This debut is called Generation Why? and contains eleven tracks and nearly an hour worth of riff-tastic in-your-face Thrash. The recipe for such is simple: just plenty supply of quick-as-fuck riffs at raw amp settings. At that then played aggressive as a rabid hippo – apparently hippos are among the most aggressive of nature’s creatures, did you know?

What do we share with you today? Two recordings of a gig, of two songs off Generation Why? And as an added bonus we’ll also throw in a guitar lesson.

Well fuck it. Came across one that’s even better and waddayaknow, it’s also one I’ve already posted in the past. It’s Heaven Shall Burn, which I’m sure won’t be unfamiliar to most of you.

The German band formed in 1996 and when it comes to aggression, there’s not much that can even get close. Their lyrics show, and I quote Wiki, ”a militant support of anti-racism and fighting social injustice”. Another fun fact is that all of the group’s members are vegan, meaning it’s not just meat they don’t eat, but anything that stems from animals. Fine by me, leaves more beef for me to munch away. Great people these guys!

All the fuckin’ about aside, these guys lay down an excellent piece of music to which it’s just physically impossible to sit still. In fact, I dare you!

Just something I came across just now. As I Lay Dying is a real guilty pleasure of mine, mainly because of their boundless energy, classic breakdowns and catchy choruses. Moreover, they’re one of the few bands that I’ve actually taken the time for to listen to their complete repertoire (at least as it was a couple of years ago). Call me emo, call me ‘core kid, I know better.

Anyfuck, was surfing YT a bit and came across some very recent footage of their performance at one of Europe’s largest Metal festivals, Wacken Open Air in Germany. It was held from August 4 to 6, so with a bit of goodwill you may still call this ‘news’. Sound quality is pretty decent too, though you will have to up the volume a bit, it’s a bit soft.

I’ve picked out just a few of the videos available, of songs that are among their best in my holy opinion. Just note that there’s more to be head if you surf YT. Knock yourself out after the jump.

“Of all the first-time-out-of-the-country concerts you could’ve gone to, you HAD to pick Brazilian Thrash in Norway”, a friend of mine exclaimed. And while it seems an odd match-up, Oslo did seem the most logical place for legendary Thrash Metallers Sepultura to close their European tour for their latest album Kairos. Norway is renowned as one of the Metal Meccas, and a band over 20 years old must pay homage every so often to the country.