Instrumental Videos Page

Be sure to check out the Instrumental Videos page here on MetalDirect, for some insane metal musicians tearin’ it up.

August Burns Red Metal-ifys Xmas Again

Some of you might be familiar with August Burns Red‘s Christmas song, “Carol of the Bells” cover. Well they’ve done it again with “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”. Just click their name in this post to listen at their Myspace!

Top 10 Albums of ’09

NoiseCreep.com recently posted their Top 10 Albums of 2009 list. Despite “The Great Misdirect” being listed last, haha MetalDirect has decided to post it. Here it is:

Mastodon — ‘Crack the Skye’

In just over 50 minutes, this Georgia based quartet managed to hone in all of their wild songwriting ideas into a seamless yet complicated album that brings to mind Pink Floyd circa ‘Live in Pompeii’ and Neurosis in their ‘Through Silver in Blood’ days. Not only do Brett Hinds and Bill Kelliher deal out some of the most enthralling riffs of their career, even the subtle nuances they thread together thrust off your speakers with vigor. ‘Crack the Skye’ is the kind of statement that should be taken in its entirety and not chopped up by tracks on a mix CD.

If the word ‘cinematic’ could ever be used to describe an artist’s music, Mastodon would definitely deserve it. Everything from the aforementioned dual guitar work to Brann Dailor (drums) and Troy Sanders’s (bass) elaborate rhythm patterns are pushed through with wide-eyed vision and ambition. The proverbial cherry on top would be the vocal hooks Mastodon squeeze into crevices found in the heavily layered arrangements. It’s nothing short of magic to be able to make something so melodically memorable out of something so complex and daring.

Suffocation — ‘Blood Oath’

For many metal fiends, Suffocation has been living in the shadow of ‘Effigy of the Forgotten’ for most of their career. The band’s 1991 debut album helped set the bar for American death metal and spawned an army of copy cat bands. Though they’ve made great records since then, especially 1995′s ‘Pierced from Within,’ the material was often and unfairly compared to their first album. ‘Blood Oath’ ended all that. The faster side of the Long Island, NY band’s playing instincts are in full display throughout the album but it’s the slower stuff is where things get truly gnarly. By holding back the tempos, some of Suffocation’s most devastating characteristics.

Guitarists Terrance Hobbs and Guy Marchais interweave their labyrinthine riffs like death metal alchemists and the slower sections highlight them even better than the breakneck speed runs do. All in all, ‘Blood Oath’ delivers on the promise of their earlier work and it marks the beginning of what will undoubtedly be another riveting chapter in an already inspired career.

Behemoth — ‘Evangelion’

The Behemoth that recorded the 1993 ‘And the Forests Dream Eternally’ EP is a distant black metal memory. If you played 2009′s ‘Evangelion’ back to back with it, you might even think they are 2 completely different bands. Where their origins lay in the primitive black metal sound that was the rage throughout Europe in the early 90s, style wise ‘Evangelion’ finds the Polish combo swinging for the fences. Lead by vocalist/guitarist Adam ‘Nergal’ Darski, Behemoth possesses what many of their peers lack; the songwriting smarts to back up their proficient playing skills. Songs like ‘Daimonos’ and ‘Ov Fire and the Void’ are relentless speed assaults but they’re always tempered with memorable guitar melodies and world class arrangements.

‘Evangelion’ is an uncompromising declaration of force and unflinching confidence. Nergal usually gets the lion’s share of attention from the press but Behemoth has another star in their ranks that people need to start noticing. Zbigniew Robert Promiński aka Inferno has quietly become one of metal’s most exciting musicians. On ‘Evangelion’ his dizzying foot and tom work is awe-inspiring and Behemoth’s music deserves nothing less.

Coalesce — ‘Ox’

It has been a decade since their last full length release yet Coalesce sound like the same basement show nihilists we first went batty over all those years ago. ‘Ox’ is a mean bastard of an album. No matter what style they choose to deliver their aural blitz in, the Kansas City band do it all with technician-like precision. The daily grind of adult life has seemed to do Coalesce’s music good. Jes Steineger’s guitars and Sean Ingram’s vocal barrages sound more pissed off than they’ve ever been before. ‘Ox’ is a must own release for anyone who likes their post hardcore on the heavier side of the spectrum. Think of the chaos of Dillinger Escape Plan anchored by the push and pull rhythmic pulse of Shellac. Don’t deny yourself this listening experience.

Megadeth — ‘Endgame’

More than 25 years into his career, Dave Mustaine shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, ‘Endgame,’ Megadeth’s twelfth studio album, is one of the best things the guitarist/vocalist has ever done. With a career as heralded as Mustaine’s, that’s saying a whole lot. The album showcases the veteran musician more focused than he has in recent years. In particular, his riff writing prowess has been reawakened. When you hear ‘Endgame’ tracks like ‘Dialectic Chaos’ and ‘Bodies,’ you’re reminded of the days before ‘Risk’ and MD.45 tarnished Mustaine’s reputation. Let’s hope that he keeps the riffs coming as hard and heavy on Megadeth’s next release.

Converge — ‘Axe to Fall’

Outside of Motörhead, Converge are one of the few bands that everyone from metalheads, to punks and hipsters can agree on. That’s because everything they do they do with complete authenticity and heart. They started out as a more traditional hardcore band but they’ve since mutated into something way more interesting. Although Converge don’t try to reinvent themselves again on ‘Axe to Fall,’ that doesn’t mean they don’t take some risks with their sound. The final 2 songs, ‘Cruel Bloom’ and ‘Wretched World,’ even finds Jacob Bannon relinquishing his vocal duties to Neurosis frontman Steve Von Till and Genghis Tron’s Mookie Singerman respectively.

The rest of the stuff on ‘Axe to Fall’ is less daring but no less captivating. Kurt Ballou’s dissonant guitar work and production is economic yet meaty while Ben Koller’s drum performance is the best playing we’ve heard from him yet. There’s no telling what direction Converge will take their sound in on their future records but whatever they do, we’ll be right behind them lapping it all up.

Alice in Chains — ‘Black Gives Way to Blue’

They took a massive chance replacing Layne Staley and Alice in Chains knew it. The late singer’s blend of hard rock grit and swampy soul vocals helped set the group into a class all by themselves. After years of silence, Jerry Cantrell, Sean Kinney, and Mike Inez, resurrected Alice in Chains with new vocalist Willian DuVall and hit the road playing their beloved albeit short catalog along with new songs.

‘Black Gives Way to Blue’ is the reformed band’s first album together and it’s a big middle finger to all of the naysayers who questioned AIC’s decision to continue without Staley. ‘Check My Brain’ and ‘Private Hell’ wouldn’t have sounded out of place on their landmark ‘Dirt’ album while the restrained title track would have been a fine addition to the ‘Sap’ and ‘Jar of Flies’ EPs. DuVall’s vocals also impress, revealing a tender yet weighty power to them that isn’t too far off what Staley did so well. This is the comeback story of the year.

Swallow the Sun — ‘New Moon’

On Swallow the Sun’s ‘New Moon’ album, gorgeous and melancholic melodies live side by side with anguished doom metal. Mikko Kotamäki’s dejected vocal style and Markus Jämsen’s guitar lines are direct descendants of the ornate crush of ‘Gothic’ era Paradise Lost. But it’s Aleksi Munter’s heartsick keyboard melodies that glue the disparate influences together. There wasn’t a better doom album released in 2009.

Immortal — ‘All Shall Fall’

‘All Shall Fall’ is an impeccable union of old and new school black metal. The sons of Northern darkness came back after a long hiatus and proved that the time away didn’t make them soft. Immortal came equipped with the familiar ingredients that fans have come to know and love from the band. There are plenty of blast beats and sandpaper kissed vocal runs for us to take in and songs like ‘Hordes to War’ don’t screw around with Immortal’s blueprint. Even when they divert from their style a bit, like they do on the epic ‘Unearthly Kingdon,’ they push it through with their signature touch all over it.

Between the Buried and Me — ‘The Great Misdirect’

In Between the Buried and Me’s musical world, parameters don’t exist. The North Carolina five-piece revels in stylistic disarray like no other group and they’ve made a career out of it. When you throw on a BTBAM album on, you know to expect the unexpected and on ‘The Great Misdirect’ the boys don’t let anyone down. They do take on traditional verse-chorus-verse structures from time to time but even when they do, they jostle in shorter outbreaks of bedlam, reminding us why they are the best at what they do.

The common criticism people have about the band is that try to do too much within the space of a song but unlike most of the other acts in the admittedly overcrowded scene they are often lumped into, BTBAM’s kitchen sink songwriting approach fits them perfectly. When it comes down to it, there’s no genre tag that encompasses everything the group is about. How about we start calling them, ‘Steve Vai meets Cynic without the robotic vocal effects core,’ or something like that?

The Red Chord Video Interview

Check out this recent interview with The Red Chord front man Guy Kozowyk:

BEHEMOTH North American Tour

In case you haven’t heard yet, Behemoth will be back in the Americas to wreck shit. Check out the press release form Metal Blade Records.

Behemoth announces Evangelia Amerika tour presented by Revolver in association with Affliction and ESP Guitars!

The mighty Behemoth will once again be returning to North American soil in 2010! This is their first tour in the region since their massively successful summer with the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Fest. Following Mayhem, Behemoth’s Evangelion reached enormous heights, coming in at #56 on the Billboard Top 200, #61 on Canada’s Top 200, and three weeks straight at #1 in Poland before being certified gold in their home country.

The fans have spoken and Behemoth’s return to North America will be a triumphant conquest presented by Revolver Magazine in association with Affliction, ESP Guitars and with on-line media partners KillerTours.com and VampireFreaks.com. Supporting Behemoth on the Evangelia Amerika tour will be Septic Flesh from Greece and Shining from Sweden.

Tickets will go on sale beginning on November 20th with a November 19th pre-sale through Artist Arena here: https://tix.artistarena.com/behemoth/

BEHEMOTH
Evangelia Amerika tour presented by Revolver
In association w/ Affliction and ESP Guitars
Tour w/ Septic Flesh, Shining
w/ specials guests TBA on select dates
01/07 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of the Living Arts
01/08 W. Springfield, VA Jaxx
01/09 Raleigh, NC Volume 11
01/10 Atlanta, GA Masquerade
01/11 Tampa, FL State Theatre
01/13 Austin, TX Emo’s
01/15 Tucson, AZ The Rock
01/16 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues
01/17 San Francisco, CA Slims
01/18 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theater
01/19 Seattle, WA El Corazon
01/21 Calgary, AB Republik
01/22 Edmonton, AB The Starlite Room
01/23 Regina, SK The District
01/24 Winnipeg, MB WECC
01/25 St. Paul, MN Station 4
01/26 Chicago, IL House of Blues
01/27 Cleveland, OH Peabody’s
01/28 Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Smalls
01/30 New York, NY Gramercy Theatre

As I Lay Dying’s Tim Lambesis Interviewed

As I Lay Dying‘s Tim Lambesis was interviewed recently by some d00sher in a suit. Here it is folks, enjoy:

As I Lay Dying Interview

Johnny Orlando, Jr. www.metaljohnny.com | MySpace Video

SLAYER and MEGADETH

Sayer and Megadeth. That’s right. Both legends on tour in the new year. Check out the dates and promo video below!

January 2010
18 – Seattle, WA – WaMu Theatre
19 – Portland, OR – Memorial Coliseum
21 – Daly City, CA – Cow Palace
22 – Long Beach, CA – Long Beach Arena
23 – Phoenix, AZ – Dodge Theatre
25 – Denver, CO – Magness Arena
26 – Albuquerque, NM – Tingley Coliseum
27 – El Paso, TX – El Paso Coliseum
29 – Houston, TX – Verizon Wireless
31 – Nashville, TN – Municipal Auditorium

February 2010
1 – Duluth, GA – Gwinnett Arena
2 – Louisville, KY – Broadbent Arena
4 – Saint Paul, MN – The Roy Wilkins Auditorium
5 – Chicago, IL – University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion
6 – Detroit, MI – Cobo Arena
9 – Wallingford, CT – Chevrolet Theatre
11 – East Rutherford, NJ – Izod Center
13 – Camden, NJ – Susquehanna Center
14 – Lowell, MA – Tsongas Arena
16 – Quebec City, Quebec – Pavilion de la Jeunesse
18 – London, Ontario – John Labatt Centre
19 – Toronto, Ontario – Air Canada Centre
20 – Montreal, Quebec – Bell Centre
22 – Moncton, New Brunswick – Moncton Coliseum
23 – Halifax, Nova Scotia – Metro Centre

NEURAXIS announces tour! and new members

Neuraxis, Montreal tech death veterans have announced new Canadian dates. They acquired Olivier Pinard(Vengeful) on bass and Olivier Beaudoin(ex Eternal Burden/ex Stareblind) on drums for the upcoming shows. Vocalist Alex Leblanc commented, “We started jamming with the two Oli’s and it’s been amazing so far. They are really talented and we can’t wait to assault stages with them.” Here’s the dates:

-11/28/09: Ottawa, Ontario at Cafe Deckuf w/The Last Felony, Revocation
-11/29/09: Toronto, Ontario at Wreckroom w/Revocation
-12/4/09: Trois-Rivieres, Quebec at Rock Cafe le Stage w/The Last Felony, Unfallen
-12/5/09: Rimouski, Quebec at Paradis (Rimouski Deathfest 3)
-12/11/09: Moncton, New-Brunswick at The Manhattan
-12/12/09: Halifax, Nova-Scotia at Gus Pub

PS
if you havn’t checked out Neuraxis, F*CKIN DO IT. You will be in for a treat.

Animosity’s Leo Miller speaks on breakup

As most of you have already found out, or assumed due to the lack of activity, Animosity has disbanded. Animosity is personally one of my top ten favorite bands, so this really sucks to write about. However, I have not been able to find any statements from the band members, but checking out the Blackmarket Activities label website, i found these words from Animosity front man Leo Miller:

“You have never seen us rest this long. For those of you wondering about Animosity, you are correct to have assumed that we disbanded. It has been nearly a year since all five of us were in a room (or the same state) together. In this time, we have written zero songs and played zero shows. In short, nothing happened which I mean to say plainly and clearly. We are all still alive and friends, but following our last tour we just did nothing band related. Many of us grew up in this band, and for me personally, Animosity was somehow prioritized over everything including my very own life. This band formed our communities, relationships, experiences and the lens through which we view the world. Eight years later, I look back to being 14 years old playing Animosity shows in garages and backyards and I can honestly say that our musical and experiential goals have been exceeded in ways that once seemed impossible to me. If you haven\’t gotten enough of Animosity, please rest assured that we have.

This is not to say, that everyone is gone from music. In the time since our last show, Navene finished his spectacular debut solo album called Fleshrot ? dementia/dyslexia. Navene wrote played and recorded all the music himself and features beastly vocals from Jonny Davy. Check out the project here and stay posted for album release info. Also, Navene has teamed up with Tosin Abasi and is drumming in their new band Animals As Leaders. Chase also has a new band called Son of Arelius from which you can expect a full-length album out soon. New music from Evan and Frank can be anticipated in various different forms. As for me, I moved out east to study the environment.

To Animosity fans worldwide, thank you for doing this with us, it was an awesomely epic journey. Be well!”

Anyone else wondering when the F*CK AsBloodRunsBlack is gonna come out with a new album?

As Blood Runs Black has been teasing about a new album, and FINALLY we get a date! Well… kinda… haha. ABRB’s label MediaSkare recently posted a blog about the release dates of ABRB’s new album as well as The Ghost Inside‘s new album (which MetalDirect is VERY excited for!), as well as other MediaSkare releases. Here is the post:

Mediaskare Records News Update for November 2009!
Hey everyone,

We just thought we would let everyone know a little of what to expect from the Mediaskare Records family for 2010.

We have been preparing some really awesome new releases and getting them ready for the new year. We are going to have a new Myspace layout and a new Website as well which both will be launching by the new year or possibly before 2010 comes around.

You can expect brand new releases from the following Mediaskare Records bands…

AS BLOOD RUNS BLACK (Mid 2010)
AMBUSH! (Early 2010)
BETRAYAL (Mid 2010)
BLINDWITNESS (Early 2010)
BURNING THE MASSES (Mid 2010)
ENDWELL (Mid/Late 2010)
THE GHOST INSIDE (Early 2010)
HUNDREDTH (Early 2010)
MARTYRDOM (Early 2010)
MURDER DEATH KILL (Early 2010)
SILENT CIVILIAN (Early 2010)
SOVEREIGN STRENGTH (Early 2010)
SUFFOKATE (Early 2010)
& our newest signing VOLUMES (Early 2010)

All these bands will have BRAND NEW albums released in 2010!

We will have release dates for all the bands very soon.

Please keep checking back here on the Mediaskare Myspace for more updates!

Thank you.

- Mediaskare Records Family