Zyklon has officially called it a day.  The blackened/death metal band that consisted of two former Emperor members is no more. Guitarist Samoth has released the following statement:

"After taking an official break over two years ago, it has now become the reality that Zyklon is no longer a functional band, and thus the decision is made to formally split up the band, instead of just letting it descend into nothingness." 

As a final release from the band, Candlelight Records will later this year put out a boxed set, entitled The Storm Manifesto, including all three full-length albums with various bonus material.  Zyklon played its final show in Tokyo, Japan on September 28th, 2007.

 

All members of Zyklon are still active on various fronts.  Samoth is currently in the studio working on the debut album for his new project, The Wretched End.  Destructhor is still touring with Morbid Angel, and is still planning to complete a new Myrkskog album with Secthdamon.  Trym is mainly working in his tattoo shop, but is scheduled to appear in a new music project soon.

No, I don't think this means Emperor is reforming.  I hope that all the guys know that their legacy should remain untarnished as they went out the right way, in a final burst of glory.

        

The new High On Fire album entitled Snakes For the Divine will be released on Febuary 23rd.  This will be their fifth album and the first since 2007's excellent Death Is This Communion.  I expect it to be as killer as the rest of their stuff, so I am really looking forward to hearing it.

Here is the track listing:

1. Snakes for the Divine
2. Frost Hammer
3. Bastard Samurai
4. Ghost Neck
5. Fire, Flood & Plague
6. How Dark We Pray
7. Holy Flames of the Fire Spitter
8. Mystery of Helm

        

2009 was a strong year for metal.  In my opinion, veteran groups seemed to dominate with solid albums.  The top three are very close and it took me awhile to decide which album truly was the best release of 2009.  Here they are...my picks for the top five metal albums of 2009:

1.)  Cannibal Corpse - Evisceration Plague

I loved their previous album Kill.  As a fan since their first release, I thought these guys put out their masterpiece with that one.  It was easily one of their best records in every aspect.  Well, they surpassed Kill with Evisceration Plague.  The title track is a creeping riff-fest that devours entire city blocks one at a time.  The production is amazing and the guitars are beyond heavy.  Everyone is on top of their game with this one.  I can't think of any band this far into their career that has ever put out two of their best releases back to back like Cannibal Corpse has.  The bar is set extremely high for their next one.  Good luck and I can't wait.

2.)  Nile - Those Whom the Gods Detest

As soon as you hit play on this album it rips your head off.  Opening with one of the best Nile songs ever, Those Whom the Gods Detest is a monster.  The chops are incredible and the songwriting has a groove to it that hasn't  been seen much by these guys previously.  This cements the legacy they have created for themselves and solidifies them as the best death metal band of the last decade.







3.)  Mastodon - Crack the Skye

Obviously not as heavy as the first two bands on this list, Mastodon is still pretty heavy.  Heavy enough to be included on my list.  This band continues to evolve and amaze me.  They get better with every record they put out and seem to push themselves out of a comfort zone that appears on their previous work, which is something a lot of metal bands don't do.







4.)  Heaven and Hell  - The Devil You Know

While the band themselves go by the name "Heaven and Hell" to me they are and always will be Black Sabbath.  The Mob Rules era line up is back together and still proving why they ARE metal.  Great record and a worthy successor to the criminally underrated Dehumanizer from 1992.  "Bible Black" is pure classic Sabbath.  I wish these guys would have gotten along better in the 80's so we could have more stuff like this rather than the "Sabbath" albums that were really Iommi solo records.  Get well soon Ronnie!!!







5.Old Man's Child - Slaves of the World

Galder's side "band" continues to impress me.  Much better stuff than his day job with Dimmu Borgir.  The playing is always great and the songs are catchy and well written, especially for black metal.


And there you have it...my top 5 and must have albums of 2009.  Feel free to share your top picks for 2009.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
Honorable mentions go to:
Katatonia - Night Is the New Day
Hypocrisy - A Taste of Extreme Divinity
Vader - Necropolis
Dying Fetus - Descend into Depravity
Suffocation - Blood Oath

        

It is close to Christmas so my attention has been elsewhere.  I have chained myself to the computer to make sure I get this post written.   One thing that has caught my eye is that Steve Asheim' s other band, Order of Ennead, has finished recording their second album.  The album is called An Examination of Being and will be out sometime in April.  Their previous album was good and I think Steve is an underrated drummer in death metal.  He is only one of the originaters in the field and his work in Deicide speaks for itself.  Speaking of Deicide, I want a new album this year!!  Do you hear me Benton!!!  New Record!!!!

Here is something that is awesome, so enjoy!   Laser Lobotomy by Blotted Science.  Sick players.  Enough said!

        

The Masters of Swedish Deviant Audio are releasing a live dvd/cd entitled Alive on February 9th in the U.S.  Original title, huh?  I will let it go because it is the amazing Meshuggah.  The artwork is killer, as it is a takeoff on the movie Alien which is awesome. 

Here is the track listing so you can start bitching ahead of time on which of your favorite songs they left off.  I will start it off.  No obZen!?!?

CD

1. Perpetual Black Second (Tokyo)
2. Electric Red
3. Rational Gaze
4. Pravus
5. Lethargica
6. Combustion
7. Straws Pulled At Random
8. New Millenium Cyanide Christ
9. Stengah
10. The Mouth Licking What You’ve Bled
11. Humiliative
12. Bleed

DVD

1. Begin
2. Perpetual Black Second (Tokyo)
3. Twenty Two Hours
4. Pravus (Tokyo)
5. Dissemination
6. Bleed (NYC)
7. Ritual
8. New Millenium Cyanide Christ (Montreal)
9. Cleanse
10. Stengah (Montreal)
11. The Mouth Licking What You’ve Bled (Montreal)
12. Machine
13. Electric Red (Tokyo)
14. Solidarius
15. Rational Gaze (Tokyo)
16. Moment
17. Lethargica (Toronto)
18. Communicate
19. Combustion (Toronto)
20. Humiliative (Montreal)
21. Infinitum
22. Straws Pulled At Random (Toronto)
23. End

DVD Bonus Features

1. “Bleed” Music Video
2. The Making Of “Bleed”
3. Micha Guitar Tour
4. Tomas Drum Tour

        

Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal and Grindcore by Albert Mudrian has been out in the U.S. since about 2003.  If you are a true fan of either DM or Grind then hopefully you have read it.  If not, go get it and learn your history.  I am pretty well versed in death metal, but there were still some things I did not know.  While Grind had to grow on me, I found its evolution pretty interesting and this book made me even more interested in it.  I just recently got it out again and am reading it for the fourth time, as it is very entertaining and reminds me of the days when these bands first came out. 

This music was so different and created such extreme reactions in people that people in the industry and record execs at the time did not know how to handle it.  This book also contains a lot of cool pictures.  A variation on the infamous Obituary "hanging"  photo is included, which is probably the most killer promo pic of all time.  Highlights for me include; various Carcass members discussing the making of their controversial Swansong album, the origin of the blast beat, and Glenn Benton's way of introducing Deicide's, then known as Amon, demo to Roadrunner.  The book is now being released in Spanish with a way cooler cover than the English version, so go pick it up and learn something.

        

Carcass is a band that immediately grabs your attention.  The early days had sick album covers, crazy medical song titles and lyrics, and a sound that floored you on first listen.  You either hated or loved this band.  They were extreme in the ultimate sense.  

I remember the first time I saw a Carcass tape...9th grade, Business class.  A skater kid leans over and asks me if I've ever heard of Carcass before.  I said "no" and then he proceeded to hand me the tape.  HOLY SHIT!!!  The cover had real pictures of body parts and dead people.  He then tells me that they are medical students and they play in a band for fun...which turned out was an untrue rumor.  This album is Reek of Putrefaction, the very first Carcass album.  Upon taking it home and first listening to it, I was totally turned off by the horrible production.  There were some cool riffs, but overall it was unimpressive.  About a year later Carcass has a new album out.  I read some positive reviews, but kept passing on it...having not forgotten my first impressions of Reek of Putrefaction. 

Finally, Symphonies of Sickness crosses my path after being goaded into listening to it by some friends.  As soon as I saw the cover and the song titles I told them it was going to be the same shit as the first one.  Wrong...totally wrong.  The band that made Symphonies of Sickness was a death metal machine.  The production was clear, so you could pick out the individual instruments.  The guitars sounded awesome and the songs were not two and a half minutes of shit.  It was like everyone in this band learned how to play.  Jeff Walker's bass is killer, Bill Steer big time improved as a guitarist and Ken Owen started playing double bass.  The pitch shifted  vocals are not overdone and the whole thing is just brutal as hell.  My favorite track is "Ruptured in Purulence".  Awesome drum intro and when the bass kicks in the whole thing is as heavy as heavy can get.  This was the last record with the band as a trio.  Micheal Amott would join the band halfway through the tour and stay on for two albums. 

Symphonies of Sickness, released 20 years ago today on December 4, 1989, is a classic album and essential to any true metal collection.

        

I had to post something about RJD being diagnosed with cancer, as he has been a part of the soundtrack of my life.  The best metal singer EVER.  Yes, Halford and Geoff Tate were awesome at one time, but Dio has always been the King of Metal.  Starting with Rainbow then helping to reinvent Sabbath and on to his solo work.  How many essential metal tunes has this guy been on?  It seems like almost all of them. 

So, to the King of Metal I say, "Hurry up and get well...to a fast recovery!" - from one of your biggest fans of the past 25 years.  In honor of His Majesty following is a list I've put together of my favorite Dio fronted albums.






All three Dio era Rainbow albums are good, but I have to put Rising at the top of my list.  The line up was really solidified with the additions of Cozy Powell and Jimmy Bain.  One of my all time favorite songs is featured on here, the incredible "Stargazer".  This song is amazing and one of Dio's best performances.







The Dio era Sabbath never put out a bad record.  The 1992 "reunion" album Dehumanizer is vastly underrated largely due to paper thin production, but it all started with this one,1980's Heaven and Hell.  This album is epic and sweeping in its vision.  It has atmosphere that sucks you in and envelopes you.   Every track is killer and when played live the material soars to even greater heights. 







After leaving Sabbath RJD puts together the band Dio.  Made up of former Rainbow bassist, Jimmy Bain,  former Sabbath drummer, Vinny Appice, and ex-Sweet Savage guitarist, Vivian Campbell, the band released Holy Diver in 1983.  This album is legendary and everything about it is perfect.







I wanted to make special note of  the latest release from  the Dio era Sabbath, known as Heaven and Hell.  The Devil You Know was released in April of this year and is great.  This IS a Black Sabbath album.  It stacks up with everything else this line up did before and seemed to go under the radar a bit for whatever reason.  The tune "Bible Black" is awesome and stacks up there as one of the best songs these guys have done.  I saw them live on this tour and they did not disappoint.  Live they are awesome and Dio is far and away the better singer/frontman for Sabbath.  I have seen them with Ozzy as well and there is a night and day difference.


GET WELL SOON!!!!

        

Richard Christy, drummer on Death's final studio album The Sound of Perseverance, is releasing the debut album from his new project called CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED.  Also in the band is bass legend Steve DiGiorgio and Tim "Ripper" Owens.  It will be out February 2, 2010 on  Metal Blade Records.  It is great to see Richard Christy back in metal because he is such an amazing drummer and should be known for his drumming instead of a Howard Stern stooge.  Looking forward to checking out his new project.

        

Alright, I am back!  No updates for almost a week, but sometimes life intrudes.  First up the mighty Morbid Angel have a new record label.  Season of Mist which is from France.  The as yet untitled disc will be their ninth and should be out in early 2010.  It  will be the first release to feature bassist/vocalist, David Vincent, since 1995's very excellent Domination.  If you haven't heard the new song "Nevermore", which they have been doing live since the last tour, check it out.  Added to their live line up is the new touring guitarist, Destructhor from Zyklon.  Good fit since Zyklon was heavily influence by Morbid Angel.  No word yet if the album title will start with the letter I!




Another Tampa Death Metal great, Obituary, will release a new DVD in January 2010 titled, Live Xecution - Party.San 2008.  The footage was filmed at last year's Party.San Open Air festival, which was held August 7-9, 2008 in Bad Berka, Germany. 

Setlist is as follows:
01. Find The Arise
02. On The Floor
03. Chopped In Half
04. Turned Inside Out
05. Forces Realign
06. Insane
07. Face Your God
08. Dethroned Emperor
09. Evil Ways
10. Drop Dead
11. Contrast The Dead
12. Second Chance
13. Stand Alone
14. Slow Death
15. Slowly We Rot

I love Obituary, but some of my favorite tunes aren't on here!!!  Where is "Don't Care", "World Demise", and "The End Complete"?!  Seriously though these guys are awesome and are always a good contrast with their groove and sheer heaviness to the blast DM bands.