Babbling 'bout Bloodbath

Other than one album I listened to for an upcoming review on FMA, I've noticed that for the past week or so the only record I want to listen to has been Resurrection Through Carnage by Bloodbath. It's not a new album to me, in fact it was one of my first death metal cds from back when I lived in Las Vegas and my best friend and I were exploring the uncharted waters of extreme metal together. He stopped accompanying me in my journeys to the dark realm some time ago, but occasionally we still talk about some of the bands we discovered together. Anyway, despite how many times I've played that album over the years, I find it always makes me feel a little nostalgic. Maybe that feeling is part of why I keep coming back to it, though if that were all I was searching for I could as easily find it in any number of other releases (Aren't you Dead Yet? by Carnal Forge, for example, which I bought the same day). No, I think I keep coming back to that album because it just flat out kicks ass. The vocals are absolutely perfect, since Mikael Åkerfeldt has an uncanny knack for remaining intelligible while delivering his demonic growls. The buzzsaw guitar couldn't be buzzier, the riffs are crunchy and awesome, and above all the entire thing is shockingly catchy. It might be a sign that I'm mentally ill, but I can't help getting into it and gleefully singing along with "I examine your death as I stab overhead. Your body cracks and I BATHE IN BLOOD" and other similarly charming lines.

I guess I'm not really getting at anything with this post. Mostly I've just been playing that album a ton recently and I felt like talking about metal a bit, so it was naturally going to be the first thing that came to mind. I do want to get back to writing some reviews, and I've got a sort-of checklist of albums I want to cover at some point, but I've just been too busy lately and my living/computer-ing situation at present is not terribly conducive to going through as much new music as I'd like. I'll be back in Athens in less than a month, so hopefully I'll be able to get back into a rhythm then. In the mean time I might do a couple reviews, but I'm not making any promises.

Oh, and about that review on Full Metal Attorney, I'll post a link when it goes up (I'm told it will probably be posted tomorrow).

Inner Blast

My review of the EP by Inner Blast is up on Full Metal Attorney.

I've listened to some bits of other new stuff recently, but not a full album. I started a new short-term job that is taking up most of my time, so I probably won't post too much over the next few weeks. I might get a few reviews in if I have the time, though.

Mystagog Guest Review

My newest guest review just went up on Full Metal Attorney. It was on a Hungarian black metal group called Mystagog, and you can find it here. 

House-sitting and More Guest Reviews

My parents are having their 30th anniversary soon, and they're celebrating with a 10-day trip to Ireland. They left yesterday, and landed last night. I'm particularly happy for my mom, since she's wanted to go to Ireland her whole life. She's a pretty solid candidate for least selfish person alive, so I'm glad she's finally getting something she really wants. While that's happening, I'm here helping babysit the house.

I'm also writing a couple more guest reviews this week for Full Metal Attorney, so I'll post a note when those go up on his blog. As for reviews here, I don't have anything lined up at the moment but I'm on the hunt, so I'll probably get one up in the next few days.

Finally, I'm going to scrap the "reviews and corrections" feature I've been trying out recently, at least for now. I haven't been writing as many reviews as I'd intended, so it just doesn't feel necessary unless I increase my output.