Weekly Shuffle

Ok by now this weekly installment need little introduction, so it's time for me to hit shuffle mode on ,y iPod and review whatever pops up ...

"the Way We Used to Be " by Chelsea Wolfe, This was in my top ten albums of 2013 and since It came out in October but I had to wait around to buy it off iTunes after getting a gift card Becuase I'm just that broke. Lighter in tone than Apokalypsis but more mournful...I'm going to see her tonight so I already listened to this album all the way through. It's a perfect soundtrack to this overcast morning.

"Pulse/surreal" by Lantlos, I know it's hard to keep up with all the side projects Alcest's main man has, this one is darker and harder than any Alcest and might be my favorite song he has ever written, as it has a ram like swagger to it an do have felt like this song sounds back when I did drugs. Neige also has more conviction in his growls on this one, and his cleans don't sound like a pansy either.

"Dwarfstar" by Rasputina, I'm not sure if these gals have popped up on here before, I'm a big fan though, from outside appearences you might not guess it since I'm burly and look more like a Godflesh fan, but I'm a goth from ways back so they touch on those sensibilities, this one is on the weird side almost steam punk in feel, at least more steam punk than what they try to pass off as steam punk rock at dragon-con.

"Strike of the beast" by Exodus, oh good I was starting to feel like a pussy without any in your face metal in the first five yet. "Bonded by Blood" is a classic album, Exodus deserves more credit as they put out some of the best thrash in the eighties, I know it's heresy but " Pleasures of the flesh " is my favorite Exodus album but I have tons of respect for this one.

"Chaos Apparition" by Disma, If you like death metal and you don't own this album you are a poseur unless you go get it now, this is some of the best post "Blessed are the Sick" death metal to have come out in the past ten years and aside from the 80s Tampa stuff I can generally take it or leave as a genre. But these guys are dark and dirty with crushing delivery this albums so dense it sounds great every time I listen.

"Dead Oceans" by Ulcerate ...my iPod is trying to tel something, another great death metal band who new New Zealand could bring it like this , they steer clear of the boring snare patterns I don't like and this drummer is a sick machine so I don't think he could play something boring if he tried, though he doesn't do groove much and these guys can be dizzying with their prowess.

"Cover the days Like a Tidal Wave." by And you will know us by a trail of our dead. I gave these guys as hot because I know the drummer plays with Forget Cassettes, they are indie rock that packs a more sonic punch and does less of the jangling thing you don't like. They hit heavy dynamic but further from metal than say Swans.

"A Looming Resonance" by Wolves in the Throne Room, While I like these guys they tend to work better as back ground music because they wander into their songs and most are over twelve minutes. So if I am riding around town notmy go to metal. I like the female vocals on this one and think when they incorporate clean vocals it does more service to their style than screamed vocals which they fall into Darkthrone worship and the blasting ounces like every thing else.

"the Black Hundred" by Primoridal Another band that when they default to screaming its a cop out, I think the gruff cleaner vocals are more authentic to their sound, when accented by growls it works but they have such a unique and epic sound why spoil it by descending into everything else, so there's some Bathory worship going on at time but I'm fine with that."Redemption at the Puritans" hand might not be their best album but it is a damn good one and I'm looking forward to their next , they make the difference between being a pagan metal and a folk metal band pretty clear to me.