Archive for the ‘Frontpage Feature’ Category

Sauna Open Air―held just a few minute walk away from the central of Tampere-city, Finland―had the pleasure to start off my music summer this year, even though the weather was anything but summer-y. The line-up has often relied on heavy metal and hard rock, with a strong sense of 80s in the mix. It’s like Sweden Rock Festival, but quarter of the size. There’s also a huge local component to the festival, with small, medium and big Finnish bands getting a ton of airtime. As a cherry on top, the festival also seems to cater to a theme; offering something different and/or something ‘new’. This year the ingredient was metalcore. Without further a due, let’s reminisce!

Blabbermouth reports that if you’re a drummer who appreciates the old greats (Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath and Motörhead), there might be a gig for you. Primordial have parted ways with drummer Simon O’Laoghaire after a show in Athens, Greece (on June 5th, 2010) that singer Alan “Nemtheanga” Averill refers to as the “worst show in 20 years”.

Says Alan: “We need someone who is determined, committed to their craft, stepping up to the plate of touring and playing big festivals. Previous experience would, of course, be preferable. No half measures, no glass-is-half-empty attitudes. Someone who will bring their style and energy to the band and, of course, a fucking killer drummer. Nothing less.”

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Soilwork hasn’t kept much of noise as of late. The band’s previous album, Sworn to a Great Divide, divided the audience into two; some claiming it to be a fresh album for the band, whereas others were not as polite in their views. The Panic Broadcast is the band’s first new musical output in three years. Read TeethoftheDivine.com’s review to find out if it was worth the wait.

Norwegian symphonic black metal band DIMMU BORGIR proudly announce their collaboration with Norwegian composer and Berklee College of Music summa cum laude alumnus Gaute Storaas in addition to the 51 members of KORK (the Norwegian Radio Orchestra) and the 38-member Schola Cantorum Choir for their as-yet-untitled new album. To date, over 101 musicians have lent […]

Since power metal extraordinaire, Tobias Sammet, has kept it busy and published two Avantasia albums at the same time, we’re following his example by publishing not one, but two, Avantasia reviews! See what Teeth of the Divine’s Fred Phillips had to say about Angel of Babylon and The Wicked Symphony. German power metal for the win? We recommend you start the reading adventure with the review of Angel of Babylon.

You folks in the metal-know might’ve heard of a little band called Skeletonwitch out of Athens, Ohio. And chances are, if you’ve seen a metal tour in the past four years, you’ve seen them blow up on stage, inciting madness and mayhem in metal fans the world over. Their latest, “Breathing the Fire,” was met with acclaim and landed a spot on the Billboard charts. And, as would befit a group of excellent metal players, they happen to be excellent metal dudes. In my fifth overall interview with the band, I stood outside the Rock in Tucson, Arizona with guitarist Scott Hedrick, with cameo appearances from brothers Nate and Chance Garnett, as well as Derrick “Mullet Chad” Nau, who explains what it really means to be crushed beyond dust.

Resurrected death metal unit Pestilence are poised to descend upon the land of the free and home of the brave for a month-long spree of mind-bending tech death mayhem — a tour also featuring Vital Remains, Warbringer, Enfold Darkness and Sacrificial Slaughter ― beginning with a stop at this year’s Maryland Deathfest. This will mark the band’s first appearance Stateside in over 16 years. Pestilence mastermind Patrick Mameli recently chatted with Teeth of the Divine about the new lineup, getting back into the groove of things, and, even though we tried to confuse him and didn’t do our research, he trampled our puny questions like a true champ.

Today metal has lost one of its most beloved icons: Ronnie James Dio. Known from his solo efforts, Black Sabbath, Rainbow and Heaven & Hell, the heavy metal vocalist (who was born on July 10th, 1942) was lost to stomach cancer at the age of 67.

Ronnie James Dio’s death was confirmed by his wife, Wendy Dio, on his official website earlier today:

“Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever.”

We here at Teeth of the Divine give our most warmest salute to the man, the legend, and pass on our deepest condolences to his family and friends, may He rest in peace.

German power metal pioneers Gamma Ray, founded by former Helloween’er Kai Hansen, have been in existence just as long as the giggling gal who eagerly whips out her ID at the bar for the first time. And just as the 21st birthday is a milestone in the life of a young American adult, it’s also a milestone for Gamma Ray’s members, who have undoubtedly seen themselves grow from young bucks into elder statesmen of the heavy metal world since the creation of Heading for Tomorrow in 1989. Drummer Dan Zimmermann, member since 1997, spoke to this Teeth scribe from his hotel room in Mexico on an off-date from the band’s world tour promoting To the Metal!, the awesome foursome’s first full-length since 2007’s Land of the Free II.

Katon W. DePena is an intense individual. As the driving force behind one of Thrash Metal’s most tenacious and long-standing bands Hirax, he lives and breathes Heavy Metal music and culture. Aggressively DIY, he has taken Hirax to places other bands can only dream of going. Their latest album El Rostro De La Muerte is yet another scorcher in the Hirax catalog and the band plays to it’s loyal fans every single chance it gets. I had the privilege of a few minutes of his time recently and here is what he had to say.

Teeth of the Divine and The Sequence of Prime are teaming up to give you the chance to be devoured by the project’s newest album, VIRION! Read the review and take part in the contest: We’re giving out three copies of the album for free, so Christmas might come early for you… if you survive.

We had the opportunity to talk with Biohazard’s main man, hardcore-extraordinaire, Evan Seinfeld. And oh boy, has he kept busy. Not only is Biohazard in the process of putting out a new album, Seinfeld himself is still preaching hardcore on film with some of the hottest chicks in all adult entertainment. Unfortunately our discussion with Evan was shadowed by the sudden death of his good friend, icon and a fellow Brooklynite, Peter Steele. But ultimately, as it became evident with talking to Evan, life will triumph. No doubt about it. Plus, we present you pussies with the largest collection of Not Safe for Work links in Teeth of the Divine’s history.

After going through 2006 and 2004, we’ve arrived back in time to the year 2005. Chronology has no place in time travel… and we need to fix our De Lorean. Anyway, not only did 2005 saw Youtube come alive, certain bands achieved massive and well deserved breakthroughs as well. Primordial finally saw limelight with The Gathering Wilderness and Nevermore was up on everyone’s lips with This Godless Endeavor. Most importantly. what were YOUR favorites from 2005?

According to the SMNnews.com, Knac.com and Fuse TV’s Mistress Juliya, Peter Steele, aged 48, has died from a heart failure. TYPE O NEGATIVE’s bassist, Kenny Hickey, has been said to have confirmed the passing to Juliya, who broke the news on Twitter earlier today.

Peter Steele, born Petrus T. Ratajczyk on January 4, 1962, was no stranger to death (nor lowbrow humor). The Brooklyn native caused murmur in 2005 when TYPE O NEGATIVE’s website was graced with an image of a tombstone, bearing Peter’s name.

TYPE O NEGATIVE released seven full-lengths. The band found great success with their 1993 album BLOODY KISSES. Major international mainstream success came in the form of 1996’s OCTOBER RUST album. The single “My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend” graced music channels and video charts everywhere. Peter Steele was also known for his thrash crossover outfit Carnivore.

Update: It appears that this time around, it’s no joke. Josh Silver, TYPE O NEGATIVE’s keyboardist has confirmed Peter Steele’s death to Blabbermouth.net. We here at Teethofthedivine.com would like to pass our condolences to Peter’s family and friends. May he carry on through his music.

Continuing our series of ‘old shit’ here at Teeth of the Divine, we present you with the best heavy metal albums of 2004. Boo-yah! From what we can remember, as it’s been five or six years already, is that the list was conducted on our forum and all the posters, staff members and other mental patients were invited to voice their favorites. The albums were then given points based on how many times, and how soon they were mentioned. Or something like that. None the less, the result represents a collective mind. Thus, we call it official. But, most importantly, how does your Top 2004 list compare to ours today?

Ten years is a long time. Ten “band years” is an eternity when you’re talking about no new album, no tours, etc. Not that the members of Armored Saint haven’t kept busy. Bassist Joey Vera has become a vital part of Fates Warning as well as popping up in session positions for the likes of OSI, Chroma Key, Seven Witches and Anthrax. Singer John Bush was unceremoniously ousted from Anthrax in 2004, only to rejoin the band on stage in 2009 (his status with the band is currently up in the air). But, this isn’t about any of those bands…this is about Armored Saint. The name alone just screams Heavy Metal. The band’s last studio album, 2000’s Revelation (which was their first since 1991’s Symbol Of Salvation) was a fantastic piece of work. La Raza only continues to cement the band’s reputation as world class American Heavy Metal. I’ll let Joey Vera take it from here…

There comes a time when one has to dig through old stuff. While trying to preserve history by adding old Digital Metal reviews to our current archives, we stumbled upon a long since forgotten Top of the Year list, compiled by our staff, and it’s all the way from the year 2000 and 6. Oh my, oh my! Now, today, with hindsight by your side: what are your favorites from 2006?

On Another Breath’s The God Complex it is all about the energy. And we’re talking nuclear-powered energy on this hard rockin’ hardcore/metal gem. It is an album on which the group also takes a deeply philosophical view into questions of faith; the answers found not necessarily uplifting or especially optimistic. The Fulton, NY crew has created what is sure to be one of the year’s best and, in all likelihood, most overlooked hardcore records. Your mission then is to check it out and see what all this raving is about. Vocalist Ted Winkworth answers the questions.

Black metal’s bad boy Varg returns to the rock’n’roll scene with Belus, the first Burzum album in ten years or so — and the first since the man got out of the prison system. Read what Teeth of the Divine’s own Grimulfr has to say about the new album.

The rest of the world got this disc late 2009, those of us in North America had to wait till January 26. The limited edition contains a bonus DVD recorded Live at Peace & Love -festival on June 28, 2008 in Borlänge, Sweden. This is almost reason enough to get this album…

Ignoring the DVD releases and Best of -compilations, Armored Saint have been occupied elsewhere, unable to thrash out like they should. It’s been 10 years since their previous full-length album “Revelation” and the crowd has been left wandering in the dark, looking for the saint that is armored to set them free. This year, the band finally returns to the meat factory with their newest album “La Raza” (via Metal Blade Records). But the question remains… can they deliver? Read Shawn’s take on it.

When I first listened to Sybreed’s latest album The Pulse of Awakening, I didn’t know how I felt about the band’s Marty McFly shenanigans (read: ’80s influence). While it was different compared to their previous two albums—Slave Design and Antares—the band’s sound had still remained somewhat intact… go figure. And figure out I did as I got to interview the main man behind the controversy, lead singer Benjamin.

Bindrune Recordings and Teethofthedivine.com are teaming up to give one lucky winner a copy of Celestiial’s “Where Life Springs Eternal”. Blood of the Black Owl’s – “A Banishing Ritual”, Nechochwen’s “Azimuths to the Otherworld” and Wodensthrone’s “Loss”.

The last chapter has been written and the book of Catholicon has been closed. The Baton Rouge band, which formed in 1994, has disbanded with some members going on to form Heir to the Throne. Throughout Catholicon’s career, which includes four full-length albums and multiple demos, the unique, creative, blasphemous, and downright diabolical style of black/death metal has not only gotten better with each release, it has stood the test of time. The culmination of that improvement comes in the form of Of Ages Past, the final Catholicon album and one that features the act’s best songwriting to date within the quasi-parameters of its unconventional, yet more refined/conventional (relatively speaking, of course) this time around, brand of sonic sacrilege that chills to the bone and melts the face. The release comes with a DVD-ROM containing a veritable treasure trove of material from across the band’s career (more on that below). With that I present to you a Q&A session with Chad Kelly (a.k.a. Blasphyre) the former Catholicon member who was an integral part of the creative/professional process and who has chosen to simply let sleeping dogs lie, rather than continue on in a new incarnation (ala Heir to the Throne) of it.

I won’t blather on about how Exodus is one of the greatest thrash bands of all time or that over their last several albums they’ve proved to be better than ever at delivering violent thrash metal. We all know this and if you don’t, you better find out soon, lest you miss out on the excellence that is Exodus. Instead, we thought that an update on the band after the release of the outstanding DVD, Shovel Headed Tour Machine: Live at Wacken (and other assorted atrocities) and before The Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit B – The Human Condition drops in May. I caught up with iron man guitarist Gary Holt at his band’s Tyrants of Evil tour stop in Seattle.