The Legacy Torture, necrophilia, car crashes, and of course, CANNIBALISM! Volume II of This Month in Metal started off focusing on the horrors of sociopolitical injustice, and as important as that is, sometimes you just need to eat a spleen. Therein lies the beauty of this month's hunk of meat. 30 years ago on August 17th 1990, death metal … Continue reading THIS MONTH IN METAL No. 16: Cannibal Corpse’s “Eaten Back to Life” →
The Legacy These album anniversaries just seem to line right up with the state of the world, and if it's Napam Death we're talking about, things could definitely be looking better. The godfathers of grindcore released their third full-length disaster, Harmony Corruption, 30 years ago today. Napalm Death is one of those bands that continues to … Continue reading THIS MONTH IN METAL No. 15: Napalm Death’s “Harmony Corruption” →
The Legacy TMIM works typically celebrate anniversaries in increments of five years, but this one makes a major exception. While today only marks the second year of Zeal & Ardor's sophomore album Stranger Fruit's existence, the nature of its subject is ripe for today's social and political climate. If there's one subgenre that has sprouted … Continue reading THIS MONTH IN METAL No. 14: Zeal & Ardor’s “Stranger Fruit” →
The Legacy You didn't think I was going to stop after one year, did you? Let's ring in volume II of This Month in Metal with something a little more... hypnotizing? No wait, let's not jump too far ahead in the year, but that joke will come in handy later. The word I believe I'm … Continue reading THIS MONTH IN METAL No. 13: System of a Down’s “Mezmerize” →
The Legacy "Forgive her... for she knows not what she does." I'm not catholic, but as soon as those words are oozed out at the beginning of Type O Negative's nine-minute-long Christ-fetishizing track Christian Woman, I'm ready to take communion. And if Jesus Christ did look like Peter Steele as he so claims at the … Continue reading THIS MONTH IN METAL No. 12: Rest in Power, Peter Steele →
The Legacy WELCOME BACK! If I had to identify the first album that actually scared me as a kid, it would be Slayer's thrash classic Hell Awaits, which turns 35 this March. For once it wasn't just the cover, but rather the nakedness of aggression that felt like a genuine threat. As a thirteen year-old … Continue reading THIS MONTH IN METAL No. 11: Slayer’s “Hell Awaits” →
The Legacy It all had to start somewhere. On Friday the 13th of February 1970, a prophecy was told. There were warning signs; the occult was nothing entirely new to rock at the time. Coven wailed of Satanic masses, Steppenwolf's distortion was said to sound like a motorcycle made of "heavy metal," and let's not … Continue reading THIS MONTH IN METAL No. 10: Black Sabbath’s “Black Sabbath” →
The Legacy Jesus Christ. If Kristin Hayter of sound-defying experimental music project Lingua Ignota has taught us nothing else, it's that you don't need to adhere to a category. With enough emotion and vast cultural inspiration, you can create a terrifying force of nature that can deeply move, and frankly upset anyone. Lingua Ignota's CALIGLUA was … Continue reading THIS MONTH IN METAL No. 9: Lingua Ignota’s “Caligula” →
The Legacy Music has brought icons upon icons to popular culture, but metal creates Gods. There's a certain calling to the heavier side of music that's not unlike a new type of faith. I could just be describing a cult following, but I bet every metalhead can admit that the influence was there from the … Continue reading THIS MONTH IN METAL No. 8: Rest in Power, Dimebag Darrell →
The Legacy ...And now for the chaos. Last month we looked at the burgeoning assimilation of industrial influence into the mainstream with Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine, fueled by songs of heartbreak and self pity. The second half of this industrial miniseries within TMIM flips the rusty iron switch back to the metal track of … Continue reading THIS MONTH IN METAL No. 7: Ministry’s “The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste” →
