Defenders of the Hate

Indefinite Hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Morgan) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:01:00 +0000

You may have noticed our activity grinding to a complete hault. Come back when it's not dead around here. We don't know when that will be, but when the time comes, you'll know. Just listen to the force, and when you sense a great power emanating from the dark side, you'll know we have returned. If you aren't a Jedi, then go talk to Yoda, he'll let you know when it happens.

Happy Birthday Brad

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Morgan) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 14:11:00 +0000

We figured you'd appreciate Pepper Potts more than our typical Rockso birthday pic. At least we hope you do, because it's the closest thing to a present you're getting.

- The Defenders

And If You Can't Tell

noreply@blogger.com (Bradley Garwood) — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 20:35:00 +0000

We're taking December off. Seems like with all the snow falling, time to be spent with family, and decorations to be hung, the Defenders will have to dedicate all of their time to being cynical bastards.

But look forward to a year's worth of album reviews coming at the beginning of the year, and a whole lot more from your favorite four.

\n/

noreply@blogger.com (Bradley Garwood) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 12:55:00 +0000

merry christmas or whatever.

Bradley's Most Underrated Metal Bands

noreply@blogger.com (Bradley Garwood) — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 14:00:00 +0000

So before I unveil my top five, I wanted to first share a few words on what I considered to be both "underrated", and the process I went through in order to arrive to this conclusion. Since I realize music reviewing and band listing is a subjective art without much degree of science: I figured it would be best to talk a little beforehand.

But, feel free to skip all of this, read the top five without my context, and share a top five list of your own.

So I first took a harsh evaluation of what it meant to be truly underrated. Quality relative to the amount of attention something receives. What music is out there that doesn't get enough love?

Because truly there is a difference between underground, underrated, and just plain awful. Some brands really do deserve to remain hidden for lack of quality. And some bands just don't have what it takes to make it big, that's a fact.

So I came up with the thought that each of these bands needed a respectable body of work, to weed out the one-hit wonders, and to whittle the list down into something more concentrated.

Secondly, a decent amount of time spent in the community. No band can suddenly enter the genre with one album and be hailed as underrated. There is too much room for cross-over fans, and non-metal variables. I'm talking metal bands, and metal bands only.

Community also meant taking a consensus through other sources on what bands were considered underrated. I'll be the first to tell you that "favorite" and "good" are often greatly separated. Nobody wants to hear a bunch of shitty bands I think are great.

Lastly (and most important) these bands all have to cross the threshold of being both good in accordance to my personal taste in heavy metal, as well as what I consider to be good in the broader sense. Each of these bands must make good music: not entertaining, not gimmicky, but good. It's as simple as that.

5. Demons & Wizards

As a perfect first example, Demons & Wizards is a band that never receives enough credit relative to the talent and level of performance they offer. It's no secret that we're pretty huge D&Ws fans here at DOTH, and frankly, I think it's a shame that more people aren't.

But I say this because I don't think enough people seem to realize that you're truly getting the best of two worlds with a band like this. People tend to forget that you can still have a super-group in only two people. Especially when one of them is a master vocalist like Hansi Kürsch, and a guitar god like Jon Shaffer.

Seriously, it's like a fucking dream come true for metalheads. The kind of hair-brained super group you cook up on your all-night drive back home from Cleveland. And not only have these two made your dreams come true, but put out two flawless albums as proof they're deserving of your praises. And deserving they are.

4. Mouth of the Architect

MotA arrived onto the scene in 2004 and haven't given up since. But it's anyone's fault who hasn't given at least one of their records a spin. Because with these guys, one is all it takes.

And clocking in at the youngest of all my underrated bands, it's easy to assume that these guys have a whole career ahead of them to gain the notoriety they deserve. One would think. But having followed these guys for their last handful of recordings, nobody can see this band for what they really are: a future Hall-of-Famer.

Every time I mention the future of this band citing a new release, MotA hasn't failed to not only deliver in their performance, but find a way to top themselves each and every time I put an album to my ears. Frankly, I'm ready for them to burst into the conscientious of every metalhead with a brain.

3. Overkill

How Overkill ever slipped through the cracks of metal's general public I'll never know. But we all have fond memories our of favorite Overkill albums. But as I look around to a band that just released a killer recording in their newest Ironbound.

So why didn't we wake up to rioting in the streets over how fantastic this album was? Perhaps it's just chalked up to an aging band releasing their final goodbyes, but I see this in a different light.

What truly makes in this instance a band such as Overkill underrated is the experience they've brought to the table. Take Ironbound. Put it next to any thrash album in the last few years, and you'll desperately being searching for any semblance of history or experience. You just can't get that aged-to-perfection sound anymore. And for that, we all should be sacrificing out finest crops.

2. Bolt Thrower

Bolt Thrower is that hoodie you can always count on to keep you warm. Bolt Thrower is that favorite pair of shoes that just won't wear down, and Bolt Thrower is the dog that's happy to greet you every time you walk into the door.

Also that dog is a tank.

But the fact that Bolt Thrower's sound, integrity and gift to heavy metal is so under-thanked by all of us is a shame to which we should all atone for daily. So little does a band come along and grace us with the ability to place in our hands album after album with the kind of imagery and brutality these guys conjure up.

Just imagine the bands we listen to today. Our Gojiras, our Lamb of Gods, our Dethkloks having a career as bountiful and successful as Bolt Thrower has: yet none of the community rising to acknowledge the fact that they've served and satisfied us for as long as we've been hungry for their sound. Bolt Thrower, thank you.

1. Sodom

Sodom has always been the unsung heroes of classic thrash metal. And their roots spread to what would later develop as black metal, and even reached as far as death metal. But with such an amazing discography, and a seemingly unanimous love from the metal community, where did these guys fall short?

The fact that I don't see Sodom's work in more places is a testament to how underrated I think they are, because frankly, I think they deserve it. To be the golden standard to which all other albums are rated. To which all other bands longevity is measured against. For which all playlists are not complete without. To be fucking everywhere.

But yet, we rarely see bands toast Sodom the way credit is given to Metallica or Slayer. Yet at the root of so many bands, have Sodom nourished that seed, that they've worked themselves into a unique place in metal. To be in every fold and corner of metal, to be heard by all and hated by none: yet appreciated so little for what they've done to progress the music.

Ladies and gentlemen, Sodom is metal's most underrated band.

noreply@blogger.com (Bradley Garwood) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 14:00:00 +0000

You may not want to accept it yet, but it's already starting to near the end of the year. And while 2010 has been... decent, the Defenders are always looking forward to make sure we can be ahead of the game, and bring you the heaviest of metal.

Which means that in just a few short months, comes our annual album reviews of the year's best and worst. And to make sure we don't leave anything out, send us the albums you most want to make sure we review. For this year, or next.

Send It In!

Thanks readers, and keep on thrashin'

Happy Birthday Jake!

noreply@blogger.com (Bradley Garwood) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 02:37:00 +0000

Happy Birthday Jake

May your dreams come true, and your wang stay in women.

-The Defenders

A Metalhead's Trip to Nashville

noreply@blogger.com (Bradley Garwood) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 23:53:00 +0000

(This post is written by Defender Bradley, and does not represent the thoughts of the entire staff, nor the views or attitudes of Defenders of the Hate as a whole)

With a cooler packed to the brim with Snapple and Mountain Dew, I set off on a journey to Nashville, Tennessee.

I guess I should somehow preface this post a little with some details. First off, I love country music. Bluegrass specifically, but I'm in in the rare category of metalheads who don't instantly cringe at the sound of a good Bocephus jam or Bill Monroe yodel. (Bill Monrodel?) Secondly, I was in Nashville for just a few short days. Hardly enough time to truly experience any city, but long enough to soak up a fair amount of culture.

Nashville Neon
Originally uploaded by Aerinea

But I didn't have to even enter the city limits to start being bombarded with the elements of the Nashville music scene. No matter which way you turned the radio dial, country music was there. In every corner of the city, you could see guitar shaped signs and pink neon brightly displaying you to the city's best live music.

For a fleeting moment, I actually thought Nashville could live up to the reputation it had in my head. A music loving, BBQ crazed hotbed of country action. For the first day, I loved it.

But the flashing lights and open doors were only the skin-deep, superficial details of this city. As I trolled down the street of the main drag, I found myself accosted by each business attempting to outdo the their neighbours with fake kitsch and distressed media. Each boot store and money-hungry country music shrine seemed to further cheapen the genre of country. It got to the point around my fifteenth street chalk-board and busker combo that I realized this city is making music look bad.

You can stop reading if I'm getting preachy, but all my years of music snobbery and metalheadedness have taught me to hold music to a very high standard. To keep it in a very sacred place,

Batman Headquarters
Originally uploaded by
Jennifer Polson Photography

and to treat it with a near impossible high standard of respect and tradition.

Why? Because with thousands and thousands of artists making music every day, a fair amount will actually be worth it.

But Nashville was littered with the worst kind of musicians. The worst, bottom of the barrel performances you can possibly imagine. These surpass any nightclub opener you've seen, or amateur punk band sweating it out in a garage. I mean Nashville's full of the kinda bands doin' it for all the wrong reasons. The kind of bands with the aspirations of achieving the kind of iTunes fame you and I would see as soulless.

I guess I can condense my point into something more simple. Where I'm from -and I don't mean physically- music doesn't happen for the sake of having music. It's not enough to have a man with a guitar in the corner to push more burgers. It's morality reprehensible to do what Nashville has done, and encompass so sacred of a tradition in a city-sized gift shop of dirt and false advertising. For any music fan, this place was truly appalling.

Like Hank Williams III said,

"Well I used to think that country was out of Nashville, Tennessee,
I don't think that country's here 'cause they killed it ya see"

Playing Fast (Sucks Ass)

noreply@blogger.com (Garrett Wilson) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 21:00:00 +0000

Speed, defined as the magnitude of a velocity in physics or to hasten the movement of an object. In the world of metal though it stands playing really fucking fast where all tendons of your body has become severed. It is a rather simple concept in metal; guitars (whether electric or bass) play 32nd or the deadly 64th open, palm-muted notes in a distorted fashion and drums breaking the limit of endurance by matching the speed of the guitars in utility with the cymbals and snares. In some ways bands want to get technical and defy the laws of music theory.

What's the purpose of speed though? Is there such an art as music where everything consist of "speed picking" (technically termed alternating picking) on the same flat notes over a course of 3 bars of music? Punk got it right with the "do-it-yourself" mentality but in a musical sense it sucks ass. If you look at Sid Vicious, he did a lot of "speed". And wouldn't you know it, he turned out to suck ass as a bassist to one of the most extolled figures in the punk movements.

Figuratively, look into our generation of metal where we see highly talented and classically trained guitarist and even bassists. At first, you don't realize the abnormal technique they put into their sound and composition that you can't help to practice into guitar, bass, etc. However, as a metal fan, it sucks ass that you can go as far as speed picking or nothing else. Other generic yet difficult techniques such as sweeping arpeggios, tremolo picking (at top speed), and the ever flowing legatos require only speed of the fingers to pull off.

Being a guitarist myself I can only say I know how to pull off most of these techniques but in reality its only how quick and agile you can be with them. Looking at how people approach it however they come with the mentality of "if we play fast enough people will love us". Playing fast though leads to sloppy technique. Playing fast leads to unoriginal sound. Playing fast in general makes you suck even more in an attempt to be famous in metal.

In the end, playing fast might sound exhilarating but from a trained ear and professional it only sucks ass even more.

High on Fire at Southgate House

noreply@blogger.com (Bradley Garwood) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:00:00 +0000

I've said it once, and I'll say it again. The Southgate House is Cincinnati's best venue for seeing bands live. I think I can speak for all of the Defenders when I say it's intimacy and history combine to make it the city's finest. The staff is nothing but friendly, and having seen all types of shows there (not just metal!) I can personally guarantee that it's a great place to spend the evening.

And that night's show was no exception. High on Fire headlining a tour with Kylesa and Torche: finally putting HoF where they belong, the top of the bill. Now the Defenders have managed to catch High on Fire a few times live now, never with disappointment. But seeing as how it had always been in a supporting spot, it was fantastic to finally see this band grab the highest honors of the night.

So with a horrible storm in the air, Defenders Garrett, Andrew and Bradley (myself) set out on our journey. And for what might have been the first time since DOTH's inception, everything went as smoothly as it could go. Before long we were in the ballroom killing time before the openers came on.

Kylesa

Bradley
This particular show was one of few where I knew each band playing, and had a comfortable auditory knowledge of how each band sounded. Subsequently, Kylesa was one of the bands that drew me to this show. I liked their albums, they were alright, so I wanted a chance to see them live.

François Carl Duguay - Kylesa
Originally uploaded by François Carl Duguay

And for an opening act, they were great. Within minutes they had the crowd bobbing heads and smiling at each other. Nobody was going nuts yet, but it's to be expected when your sound quality is shit, and you're only playing a 30ish minute set.

But they did well considering. The moments when each member (save their frontwoman) would take out drum sticks and play a beat meant moments of up four drummers: two up from their usual two. Trade-offs from their guitar section made for awesome solos, and the screams of their singers added a perfect touch.

My only criticism however, was their lack of excitement. The band was playing loud, and playing well, but lacked much in the way of stage presence. I realize they were coming at an audience cold, but to ever seem them fill a larger bill than 3rd, they're gonna need some extra fire-power.

Garrett
Kylesa was definitely a nice start for this tour. They didn't back off from for a moment and kept bringing the sludge. However, considering they won Best Extreme Metal Band by Decibel I didn't see much "extreme" out of them. Some sections of their performance seemed dry and mellow. There was a lot of sludge but not enough movement to give them a point for stage presence. A few of the fans got their heads moving but not enough to send the place into chaos.

The objective of my attention though that brought in my favor for Kylesa was two factors, the two drummer and the MILF frontwoman. I was focused on seeing how good the first act was going to be but I didn't realized that they had a second drummer until the end of their third song. The syncopated beats and dueling frenzy of each drummer made it more intriguing to watch them. I don't know if having an additional drummer was an objective to place more bass into their sound but my face was already turning into a primordial ooze by the last song.

My impression on the band though was made by the frontwoman of Kylesa. I know the "side-man" did well with his vocals which were like shrieks from the sound of it. The frontwoman though had more tenacity and vigor than the males which gives her brownie points. Another honorable mention was her playing style. The tapping done by her early in their set was impressive and definitely broke the mold of standard sludge metal sound.

Overall, Kylesa brought the essential makings of a sludge metal band despite the lack of excitement.

Andrew
These guys really impressed me. I'd heard their records and wasn't too impressed, and I really thought the idea of twin drummers basically mimicking each other's beats was really more a novelty than anything. However, when you see them live it's really powerful. Like Brad mentioned, when you've got four people slamming on toms with full force doing a tribal breakdown, it's really sick. What really stood out was the frontwoman's techniques; specifically, she was tapping licks all night. I've only rarely seen a tapped riff, but she pulled it off nicely. That, and as I told the others, she looks like a really hot MILF, but before she's achieved MILF-status. Like, she will eventually she'll be an awesome MILF, given like 15 years.

Torche

Bradley
Torche, however, was a different story entirely. The nicest thing I have ever been able to muster about this band was a kind shrug and the instance that "at least they're no Harvey Milk". And unfortunately for them, my little theory was proven right after seeing them live.

Torche @ Les Eurockéennes
de Belfort 2009
Originally uploaded by andytrax

Again, I'm trying to take into account their place in the bill: but that just about cancels out for me how little I liked their album. I mean, it wasn't bad, but it's a real show-killer to squeeze a band like this in between two great performances. After all, I felt like Torche was more sludge rock than anything.

But backwards from the normal, their set seemed to move the quickest compared to most I've seen. Usually the higher the distaste for a band, the longer they drone on. But their short songs and quick changes still kept my interest.

Garrett
Torche made me despise the fact that I was standing for them. They were loud but I seriously considered taking a nap from their performance. The formula to their sound, in my own theory, was too much rock than it was sludge. But this wasn't a bad thing because it seemed to work in their presence. They definitely had more energy than Kylesa but my energy was being drained from this performance and it wasn't from moving around but standing there.

The frontman was a dickhead in my opinion. Spontaneously shredding in the middle of a song and not even sounding good made me hate this band even more. The guitars also overlapped the drums from their sound and that was saying a lot. I'm was not very fond of this band and don't wish to see again anytime soon.

Andrew
Unlike Brad, I found Torche's set to be insufferably long. They seemed to be a cross between happy hardcore (a genre of electronic music) and actual hardcore, dropped to C-Standard tuning. Their lead singer liked to show off his ability to "shred", despite this being neither a Van Halen concert not a particularly good fit for the band. Regardless, Brad hit it on the head- these

Save Now

guys are really more sludge rock than metal.

High on Fire

Bradley
This show as progressing at a quick speed, because High on Fire rolled out pretty quickly. And managing to find a spot front-row center, I tucked my hood into the back of my shirt in case the first few chords sent people into a moshing panic. And I think I was right to do so, considering it only took a song or two to get people going.

High on Fire //
Hammerstein Ballroom
Originally uploaded by ryan muir

And after a tad bit of moshing, and a bow to the nose (of which I'm still feeling) I found my way up to the front right on the stage. I got some good views of frontman Matt Pike and his shreds before getting moshed over to the bass-side of the show. Happily, I spent the rest of the performance under four strings.

But High on Fire was good. As good as they've ever been, and with all the excitement and energy you would imagine they'd have. Pike somehow pulls out amazing guitar work considering he's producing enough sweat to kill a man, and probably more drunk than any two people you know combined. But the stage presence is there, along with the terrifying bass, deafening drum work and brutal solos like Snakes for the Divine.

High on Fire never ceases to be exciting.

Garrett
I don't know if anyone remembers my review of HoF at the Dethklok tour with Mastodon and *shutters* converge. Sadly, HoF had a very limited amount of time for their set and felt disappointing due to sound and technical issues. Plus, I saw the horrors of a fan on 10 million different drugs and bleeding from the mouth.

Nevertheless, this HoF performance was well executed and left a good impression on me. Luckily, I called the first song being Frost Hammer and my wish was granted. Southgate was finally releasing the energy and excitement they needed. After stretching my legs out from the moshing and getting rib checked I placed myself close enough to the center stage (Brad had the best view out of them all) and enjoy the festivities of Matt Pike and company.

The sound was definitely more audible this time around and I could actually hear a bass line for the first time in the ages. Props to the roadies and sound crew for this one. Of course, Matt Pike did what Matt Pike does best, ripping out the chords and the "woddle woddle woddle woop". Don't ask why I put that last part there.

I must give a big honorable mention to Jeff Mattz for his bass work with the band. He really stood out as a new staple to High on Fire. The bass breaks in between songs was very good and almost too technical for a sludge band.

In the end, I was very contented with the setlist and the overall peformance. Even though they didn't play "Devilution" :(

Andrew

I can happily say that the first time I saw High on Fire, the "Wall of Sound" was more like a "Novelty-Spring-Loaded-Boxing-Glove-Filled-With-Depleted-Uranium of Sound". It was physically painful to even exist within 70 feet of the band, and that is not an exaggeration. This time, their sound was significantly better mixed, yet they were still just as loud. I always love getting to see Matt Pike shred, because of his unusual 9-string that, in short, makes all his solos very thick and chorus-y. His riffs were spot on, and he did just enough showboating to make it fun, without making himself look like a hyperactive 5 year-old. Crushing (and audible!) bass, punishing drums- I could actually feel my eardrums vibrating inside my skull. That, folks, is how you're supposed to play sludge.

High on Fire (w/ Torche & Kylesa)

noreply@blogger.com (Bradley Garwood) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Well loyal readers, it's time for the Defenders to pile into a car and drive off to another live performance by one of our favorites, High on Fire. If you haven't gotten a chance to catch them, or maybe you're already a fan: then don't miss them at the historic Southgate House in Newport, KY.

7:30pm doors / 8:30pm show
$15 ADV / $18 DOS
All Ages

It's a great band (with good openers!) playing a great venue, so join us!

(Literally, hit us up on Twitter or Facebook if you'd like to say hello)

Seeing Your Heroes Live (Sucks Ass)

noreply@blogger.com (Bradley Garwood) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Now, they say you should never meet your heroes.

They're right.

I should rephrase that, considering that "they" also said that eggs are bad for you, cellphones cause brain cancer, the economy would be alright, and masturbating will make you go blind.

But if you ask me (and for the sake of this argument you did) they are in this rare instance, correct.

Now I've gotten to mark several of those untouchable bands off of my list. You know the ones, they got you hooked on metal in the first place. They were all you listened to, and you still own that shirt of theirs you got at Hot Topic when you were in middle School.

Meeting your Heroes!
Originally uploaded by PW74

Megadeth, check. Buckethead, check. Weedeater, that's a check. So with a good variety of some of my most coveted artists in the bank, I can make the conclusion that no artist can ever live up to the expectations you can build up for them in your head.

And I know that some of our readers, hell, even the other Defenders would and will disagree with this opinion.

But using the knowledge that I've gathered from seeing music live, I'm left stroking that small patch of hair under my chin I call a beard wondering "what if?". What if I had seen Type O Negative when Peter Steele still possessed a living host. Would the band mean as much to me now that he's passed? And if I had seem them and they had blown me away? What then would a spin of October Rust bring to my ears having had the experience of seeing them physically perform.

But inversely, what if a band is disappointing.

But as "they" say, if you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him. Because even after the bootlegs, and the Pitchfork reviews, and the live-tweets of what's going on, and the YouTubes, and the great coverage by your favorite sites: the seeing of a band live is an unreplicable experience. And some bands, like the Buddha, just aren't worth crushing your perception of what they stand for, just for one magical night of moshing and auditory bliss.

It's a well known fact that any band can go one way or the other. It doesn't matter how big of a fan you are for something, it always has the capacity to be disappointing, which is what truly sucks ass. Sure, if you want to all "glass is half-full", then I suppose everything has the capacity to be better than expected. But seriously, name the last time that happened.

Fuck that, it's easier to just hate everything all the time.

Artist Watch 22: Obscura

noreply@blogger.com (Garrett Wilson) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 01:00:00 +0000

Artist watch is a way to introduce, re-introduce, or heap shit tons of deserved praise upon artists you may or may not have already heard of. If you're in the mood for something new, or just want to dust off a classic, stay with the Defenders of the Hate!

Artist: Obscura
Genres: Technical Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Jazz Fusion
Members: Steffen Kummerer, Christian Muenzner, Jeroen Paul Thesseling, Hannes Grossmann

Associated and Similar Acts: Necrophagist, Pestilence, Nocturnus, Gorguts, Cynic, Death (Human era)

What's Going Down: Their second album, Cosmogenesis, received high praise for their tonality and complex riff combination. Finished their tour with Cannibal Corpse and currently touring the European leg of the tour to support their album. The next studio effort, Omnivium, is expected to be out by 2011, but

Supergroups in death metal are a rarity these days but this combo seems to be legitimate. Obscura is formed under a vast criteria of technical goodness and music theory. In terms of profession, their level can't seem to be matched. Obscura consist of Steffen Kummerer (former Malevolent Creation vocalist/guitarist), Christian Muenzner (former Necrophagist lead), Jeroen Paul Thesseling (1992-1994 member of Pestilence) and Hanness Grossman (also former Necrophagist member).

Majority of these musicians are known for their arcane knowledge of music theory and composition. Jeroen plays a fretless 5-string bass and practice micro-tonality before joining Obscura. He's the driving power behind the production and sound quality of Obscura. He's noted for his jazz fusion influence of playing style which can be heard in their new album and instrumentals that seem to be hard to pull off for just a guitar junkie. The ambient feel of the group is very spacious and hollow but the reflective feeling of a breakdown and legato becomes more than a technique and sound.

While Obscura fall into a similar vein of technical death metal in the likes of their cousins, Necrophagist, they're not afraid to bring out the jazz. "Orbital Elements" is a fine example of this. Constructing a fluid motion of arpeggios and finger tapping runs each track is as vibrant as the next. The galactic or "out of this world" theme of the album resembles a familiar enlightenment with bands such as Cynic who strive to perfect the nature of tonality.

In a particular sense, Cosmogenesis sounds almost dead-on to Death's breakthrough magnum ops, Human. Why do would I say this about one of my favorite bands? Its the evolution and progression of the songs. The development of intricate rhythms and groove sections set in and break away from traditional metal compositions with the typical chorus-verse form of song writing. Human definitely changed how death metal was to be mapped out for the next generation and Obscura is this generation.

However, after listening to the entire disc you can't help but compare Cosmogenesis to Necrophagist's process of writing. By all means, Obscura is NOT a Necrophagist clone. Does Obscura share the same rhythms or writing? Sure it does. You have to take in the fact that Christian Muenzer was once a member of Necrophagist and contributed to the latest album, Epitaph. Aside from all this, Obscura has a rising future to behold and word of their genius writing will soon reflect on the masses.

October Sucks Ass II: The Second Sucking

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Morgan) — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 19:30:00 +0000

It's that time of year again. The time when we, the Defenders, get to piss and moan like incessant twits about what we don't like about what's going on in the metal community and quite possibly blow things out of proportion and make ourselves look like whiny douchebags who are making a big deal out of nothing. So, you know, nothing too out of the usual.

If we don't say something this month that angers you to the core of your being then that just means we weren't trying hard enough.

Artist Watch: 21: Bongripper

noreply@blogger.com (Bradley Garwood) — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Associated and Similar Acts: Ramesses, Weedeater, Sons of Otis
What's Going Down: The release of their newest album, Satan Worshipping Doom on August 13th.

It was five years ago in a little town called Chicago when the group Bongripper first started making music. And it was only the short time of one year before they published a recording that was brilliant in its simplicity. It was one track. It was 79 minutes. It was a fucking masterpiece, known as The Great Barrier Reefer.

But Bongripper didn't stop there. 2007 marked the release of two new pieces of work for the band: the first being their sophomore record, the ten track Hippie Killer. Then came Heroin, the band's dip into the already-familiar world of noise-drone. Fittingly, a rare 25 editions were made with a complete box-set of shooting-up materials.

By 2008, the band had recorded a fourth piece of work entitled Hate Ashbury, a personal favorite and epic drone-doom-noise beast. Then came Satan Worshipping Doom in 2010, which incited the birthing of demons, and boiling of oceans, and the slaying of angels across the heavens.

It's some heavy fucking shit.

But Bongripper is a unique band, capable of builds equivalent to the post-rock elite, tantalizing your ears with all manner of heavy. Their balance of different brands of drone means each metalhead can find their perfect blend on one recording or the other. That each piece of music reflects a different signature not meant for mass production.

And what's so fascinating about the 'rip, is their ability for you to lose yourself in a complete meltdown. You're in the middle of a smokey sludge furnace, with the uneasy feeling that something beautiful is clawing its way out. But of all my experience with this band, I've only one workable cure: to push your brain as close to your speakers as possible.

But if you really want the good stuff, get your hands on the highly underrated Bongripper and Winters in Osaka split entitled Meat Ditch. It's one of metal's best kept secretes.

Doin’ It For the Glory

noreply@blogger.com (Bradley Garwood) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 13:00:00 +0000

First off, I'm not gonna name names.

But anyone familiar with the rapidshare and mediafire crowd knows the kind of post I'm talking about. It happens at random times of the year, with no sense of connection to the weather, economy or social climate. It happens on every site that offers free albums, and it's the bane of my blogging existence. That's right, I'm talking about comment posts.

But, let me back up.

So, we all know the internet is used to download free music. If you've somehow deluded yourself into thinking it doesn't happen, I'm here to tell you it does. And no matter what side of the argument you take, the only thing we can agree on is that it happens. And frankly, you'd be surprised just how easy it's become. Gone are the days of obscure one-track-at-a-time'n it on Limewire, or sweatin' it out on Napster on your 56k.

I'm saying that there are websites - blogs, that offer albums for free in a well organized and neat manner, and published in the same format as any other blog. They post Hotfire links as though it's just a throw-away Wiki, with seemingly no forethought to legalities or intellectual property. And once you're looking for them, they're everywhere.

So let me give you a little experiment to prove my point. Take an album. Any album. Take the one I'm listening to right now for example, the album "How I Got Over" by the Roots. Now type that album's name into google with "blogspot" tacked onto the end.

What's your first result?

But my rant isn't about how readily available music is to anyone with an internet connection, it's about an inevitable post that happens on each and every one of these kind of sites. And without exception.

What it boils down to, is that the author of the blog is working to provide music for free to his readers. Whether or not you see that as stealing isn't the point, but the fact that the author feels an entitlement to be thanked for their work - which is the subject of the post I'm talking about. The need to be thanked for an author's work. The demanding for validation of a blogger's effort. And you're probably realizing by now that this has residences beyond fileshare sites, to all blogs.

But where does this sense of entitlement come from when you're in the business of illegally redistributing music. Why, does every site eventually dip into the mentality that I, the reader, owe them a thank you for what they're doing?

I even got into a forum flame war because of this issue, and it breaks down to a simple difference in opinion. Well, maybe it's a difference in interpretation. Because these posts come in all shapes in sizes, with all levels of passive-aggression and lucidity. But as a blogger myself, I simply can't empathize with these writers. (if that's what you want to call them) Because after all, isn't the feeling of a job well down a reward and thank-you in-and-of-itself?

I'm supposed to comment a thank-you for you providing me content and opinion that I didn't ask for. Because that's truly what it is: unsolicited data at which I'm privy too, because of your undiscriminating policies. I can understand this views of authors in the instance of password-protected forums and members-only private trackers. Or if I even requested this service. But these bloggers are holding a double standard of seeking out new members without any mention of their new readers needing to offer any services in return. Thusly, when these writers are angry at their reader's lack of thank-yous, they're left dumbfounded at why.

They're giving with expectation.

But was it not kindergarten or our first Christmas that we learned that a gift should be given for the sake of... giving? Correct me if I'm wrong but the idea of handing somebody a gift with the expectation of something in return defeats of the purpose of giving in the first place. If you give, it's because you want to, not because you're looking for something in return.

Sure, I can get down on my readers any time I want. I might already have. But the fact of the matter is that they don't owe me anything. The reason that I'm providing content to them free of charge is of my own volition. Perhaps if getting something in return is your ultimate goal in writing, you should have charged me for a membership. Or at least a contract of your expectations.

But not to burn my own bridge, that doesn't mean I don't want reader comments. And I always want reader comments. However I, nor any other blogger who publishes content under the guise of being "free" is entitled to author comments. As much as I want them, it's only up to provide an avenue, content, and an environment for communication.

I'm not going to pat you on the back for doing your job. After all, you volunteered for it.

Greatest Mosh Anthems

noreply@blogger.com (Bradley Garwood) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 13:00:00 +0000

I saw on Defender Garrett's Facebook, a survey about the five greatest thrash anthems. Now, we'll try to avoid the typical format of diagnosing what would constitute a "best" song, or what would even constitute an "anthem". For once, I think we can just give our answers without putting each under a microscope.

Jake

I tried to avoid the songs that I knew every other blog would've said (The typical Metallica/Slayer/Megadeth superhits.)

The Fight Song by Marilyn Manson

In oder to be compelled to mosh, a metalhead has to be in the right state of mind. The Fight Song does a great job of this with a musically bombastic chorus and lyrics throughout about society's tendency to toss those aside who don't fit into the bullshit hedgenomy that's been established within its walls that are sumed up perfectly in the chorus.

But I'm not a slave to a god that doesn't exist!
But I'm not a slave to a world that doesn't give a shit!

Into the Pit by Testament

just like Anthrax's "Caught in a Mosh" or Metallica's "Whiplash", this is a song for moshing about moshing. However, as far as I know, James Hetfield nor any of Antrax's singers have ever fended off testicular cancer that formed around their fucking heart. So if you were wondering what seperates this song from the other songs, it's that.

Contractor by Lamb of God

To be honest I was pretty torn about listing this song or Black Label or Redneck since all of them are basically tailor made for moshing. I suppose this tune was able to eek past the other two because of the punch-your-balls-off breakdown in the middle that's "guaran-fucking-teed" to get any crowd going in the highest of high caliber frenzies.

Garrett

Riot of Violence by Kreator

Why doesn't Jurgen Reil sing more often Kreator albums? This legendary thrash attack comes from the landmark album, Pleasure to Kill, and is fueled with the agonizing matter of metal. With a song like this who can't agree that this is a definite term for moshing. The intro riff might as well become the signature of Mille Petrozza's lasting legacy in the German thrash scene with respectable icons, Sodom and Destruction. The song's underscore and prismatic anger shines in every metalhead's imagination belting out double bass beats and razor wired rhythms that chokes the breath out of every man (or woman).

However, the feral and rabid beast in everyone leaps out of their skins from the hint of this song's frenzied speed. The ravaged and tortured vocals of Jurgen Reil along with his precision on the kit is a testament to every metal drummer's bloodied dedication to the band. You can't contain yourself when this hymn of the damned breaches your ears and awakens the darkened side of humanity in your blood and fling yourself into a mosh pit of potential corpses. Hopefully, you're not sending them out in a body bag.

Caught in a Mosh by Anthrax

You can place this song very high in the list of memorable thrash anthems and one of the most underrated bands in metal that were almost undistinguished. Not only does this song self-describes the nature of a typical concert mosh pit but the habitual infamy placed in a metalhead's society. The falsetto of Joey Belldonna sounds like a wailing banshee in ravaged pain and grief. The frenzied rhythms and testosterone fueled shouts brings the anthem into full force. Scott Ian's eccentric riffs and Charlie Bentante's rapid and droned drum rolls create a lasting friendship of music composition for the legacy of Anthrax.

Mother Puncher by Mastodon

Greatest song about punching mothers from the genre of "whalecore". Not literally. The early Mastodon were primative at best but the feral nature of Remission couldn't be overlooked by the metal community. The chaotic art of Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher is purely inhuman and sophisticated. The intro riff starts off as a slow and chunky groove until it is transformed into a string breaking attack in harmonized leads and machine chugging drum rolls and breaks.

Bradley

Peace Sells by Megadeth

I'm pretty sure this has to be on the top of everyone's list for iconic metal songs. It's a classic, and it's a fucking classic for a reason. (thrash classic... thrassic?) Though the entire song is not meant to be thrashed to, it conjures up mental imagery of guys climbing on chicken wire, and aggression-inducing lyrics to get juiced up to before the final climax of the song near the end. Which to me, is the point of the mosh: as a physical manifestation of anger toward the man.

Plus, it's got a good amount of fan-interaction available: which is always nice. And let me tell 'ya, if you're not ready to go fucking nuts in a pit at this song's ending solo, you know nothing sir, you know nothing.

Andrew

Stealing the obvious one here, but Caught in a Mosh by Anthrax. Pretty self-explanatory.

Rumors of War by High on Fire
The second verse starts with the drummer breaking out blast beats and Matt Pike screaming at the top of his lungs. There is so much win in this song that words don't do it justice.

Brütal Legend: A Positive Portrayal

noreply@blogger.com (Bradley Garwood) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Heavy metal fans know how rare it is for our subculture to break out into the mainstream, while still holding on to its integrity. Sure, bands like DragonForce made it pretty big with the 18 to 35s, and most people enjoy a good Sabbath album. But similarly to Metalocalypse, when people who don't commonly listen to heavy metal pick up something deep from within out clutches, we have to hold our breath that it accurately represents the culture, and most importantly the music.

So in with the one-year anniversary of the game's release approaching in October, I thought it'd be fitting for me to finally get my ass in gear and play through it.

Now I won't try and cover the mechanics of the game. I like Tim Schafer too much to give you and unbiased review. Plus I can't not look at this game as a metalhead: so it's impossible for me to convince you it was good or bad. If you liked it, you played it. If you didn't like it, you stopped playing it. I like to think it's that easy.

But what I will talk about is how well this game portrayed the metal community, and just how good'a job it did not running things into the ground. And that's truly what this game did: it didn't fuck anything up.

And in today's world, I think that's about as best as you can hope for. Because when I sat down to start this review, I drew up a short list of all the ways this game could have gone wrong. Most importantly the soundtrack. Now with a soundtrack of only 107 songs, the first hurdle for the game developers was successfully navigated.

Now bear with me on this one. Keep in mind first the object of a video game. At its core, it's a creation by developers to make money. It's a product, that's sold to people, to make capital. So to fulfill the most basic function, this game needs to appeal to the widest amount of consumers as possible. Thusly, every aspect of this game should fall under the scrutiny of appealing to the widest amount of possible consumers.

So the problem is that if the music playlist is too specific and obscure, you lose more of the common consumer as they are not avid heavy metal listeners. Pick too many generic metal songs, you're burning out the metalheads that buy the game, your specific target audience. Though I consider the 107 song playlist too bland, consider the soundtrack as representing the genre to the general public, not us metalheads.

Not a bad representation, eh?

So that establishes right off-the-bat that the creators of the game as trying to strike a balance between metalheads and the general populous of metal-unfamiliar consumers. So we move on to the characters and reach the same conclusion. Too obscure, and you're alienating one group. Too bland, and you're burning the bridge of the very target audience you're trying to most please - who will most positively review your game. And again, this game delivered.

But what's so integral to the mixture of this game, is also the ability to down-play certain stereotypes into workable elements of the game. I use the example of the headbangers found throughout the game, that serve to help Eddie Rigg's cause.

While hilarious, these characters quickly establish a metal-community stereotype. And I do mean quickly. So much in fact, it's the main action of the characters. Whenever they attack, defend, or destroy, they do it through headbanging. But as we all know, that can get very old, very fast if relied on to heavily.

So the game Brütal Legend has taken on the task of balancing out elements of the game to not create one action that's too heavily drawn upon. The headbangers are classic, but you don't use them for everything. They say different things, and they eventually even change appearance. I can't imagine how quickly I'd have been done playing this game if nothing had ever changed.

Which I think is a great way for this game to accurately and positively portray heavy metal. Because frankly, we all don't just headbang every second of every day. We crawl out from under our rocks and go to shows, we meet new people, we constantly learn instruments and make new music, and we're always looking for ways to add new changes to the genre. We, like the characters in elements of the game, should adapt as time passes.

So now you have a well-balanced, modular game. It works hard to keep from running itself into the ground, and pleases both the larger-scale metal community, and fans of video gaming: regardless of metal aptitude. The finishing touches of the game would be to wrap up the game play in the final make-or-break category: artwork.

With a genre so easily dissected as heavy metal, one could make the obvious assumptions about approaching a game like this. Paint the sky black, put trolls everywhere and break each mission into a "sludge zone", a "gothic zone" and a "hair zone". (And to a certain extent there is, it's just not that obvious)

But Brütal Legend took the high ground on this point too. Without the simple devices of breaking up the genres into major plot points, this game focuses its attention on providing the player with an overall experience, rather than a basic RPG map with a sprinkle of metal. The terrain, the clothing, the hair, the weapons, cars, even down to the intro (a personal favorite) are a fantastic amalgamation of what all of heavy metal is, not just popular and prominent details.

It's just a relief to see a video game's artwork display the game in a light that shows off the creator's influences, without just ripping off the origins. Most of the icons and characters in the game leave me saying "I know where that idea came from", without the feeling it's an exact clone of a band's logo or a specific character. It's the portrayal of whole ideas, not of specific details.

So clearly I have nothing but nice things to say for this game. It's well put-together in terms of all the important categories that would make or break this game for metalheads and gamers alike. And while personal preferences for things like gameplay and storytelling may place this game in a different place for you: I say that it's a positive and shinning example of what we stand for. Simply put, this game's fucking metal.

Happy Birthday Garrett!

noreply@blogger.com (Bradley Garwood) — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Here's to another year of great posts, great friendship, and brutally dismembering a few hipsters.

-The Defenders

Decyphering Metal Genres

noreply@blogger.com (Bradley Garwood) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:00:00 +0000

by Bradley G

When we first started this blog, a few of the defenders took a stab at the deciphering of the various genres we fit most bands into. And though I can't promise to deliver with the same brevity or well-referenced manner, I can help you strap on a pair of goggles that help you see metal like I do.

(As an added bonus, I've included some of my favorite bands from each genre as examples)

Airbourne, Wacken 2009, originally uploaded by El Negro Vikingo

Heavy Metal is, well, let's fucking call it what it is. It's a large, all-consuming umbrella term for anything older than thirty years, or anything that wasn't fast enough to be considered thrash, slow enough to be called doom, or shiny enough to be labeled hair metal. Heavy metal is all things tuned a half-step lower than your average rock 'n' roll: with a few less lines about ex-girlfriends.

Basically what you have in anything labeled heavy metal, is a genre purgatory. Bands sit in limbo until a better title is found for their sound, no matter how obscure of a branding it is. Hell, I've seen bands tagged "blackedend elk-influenced nature metal" before, so the excuse that your band "doesn't really fit" into a mainstream category is bullshit. Trust me, sooner or later, someone'll make something up.

Some favorites include: Iron Maiden, Saxon and Holy Grail

Thrash Metal is anything played behind chicken wire, in a pale-blue light while you spill your proverbial guts* all over the stage with your views on nuclear proliferation. The roots of thrash go wide and deep, as it's a pretty standard and appreciated genre by casual and hardcore fans alike.

*Leave the literal spilling of guts for Black Metal

But thrash tends to lend itself to being a gateway genre for heavy metal listeners. Almost as if every metalhead starts on thrash, identifies with a big four member, and takes off into a path of obscurity from the more mainstream of metal. Like myself, I majored in thrash. I burned up Megadeth albums, and spun Anthrax records ad nauseum, until I found a more refined taste in the sludgier corners. Sure, I can appreciate a '92 Tapping the Vein, or an '87 Zombie Attack. But I just don't carry the same thirst as I once did.

Some favorites include: Sabbat, ~~Pantera~~Exhorder, Carnivore

Charlotte Wessels (Delain)
Originally uploaded by
Volga (Víctor Roces)

Power Metal is, and will always remain the most fun genre of all metal to listen to. Afterall, where else can you go to find such a hilarious blending of D&D, hammer-ons and clean vocals? What might be most funny about this group of bands as well, is the level of serious each band takes itself. With an almost night-and-day contrast, you can always find a band as serious about the subject matter as you are.

But it's also important to remember the difference between American and British power metal. It's a shinning example that within every genre, lies a treasure-chest of a bazillion more sub-genres. It gets as symphonic as you want to go, until eventually you wake up one morning to realize you're listening to the Final Fantasy soundtrack.

Some favorites include: Demons & Wizards, Avantasia, Kamelot

Groove Metal is a weird genre, ill-fitting most of the bands it houses, and encompassing a displeasing attempt at making thrash metal. I also consider this to be the spawning pool for the biggest assholes in the community. Take a guitar, tune it down and crowd the e-string and you've got a groove metal band. So I think it's fitting that every asshole I run into on the streets proudly displays his Devil Driver or Pantera shirt.

I suppose it's because of how similar to nu-metal groove can be. If you like Disturbed and Linkin Park, then it's pretty easy to dig Damageplan and Machine Head. But ladies and gents, if I've offended a favorite band of yours, don't make the mistake of confusing "good" with "enjoyable".

Some favorites include: Lamb of God, Soulfly, White Zombie

Doom Metal is a personal favorite of mine, both for the slow crushing waves of sound, and that it's home to some seriously underrated musicans and sub-genres. And for anyone that's seen a good doom band live, it just goes to show what a fantastic collection doom is. It's heavy as fuck, it's classic and modern, fun to see live, it's gothic, it's fantasy, and it's one of the defining genres that's made metal great.

Now mind you, doom isn't the every down 'back that some genres are. You can't turn to doom for every kind of emotion (and be weary of those who do), because I understand the importance of needing speed in your sound. But with the wide range doom offers, I rarely see the need to venture out of the crushing abyss that is d00m.

Some favorites include: Candlemass, Type O Negative, OM

Bongzilla
Originally uploaded by
sabeth718

Sludge Metal, roughly translated from its latin base means an aged crust, or a displeasing taste for man's senses. And with a rough and unpolished exterior, sludge can be a frightening experience. It's meant to be played at a deafening volume, in a hazy smog of weed, cough syrup and broken bass guitars. Frankly, if you're looking for something with complicated musicianship and coherent compelling lyrics, you can turn right-the-fuck-around and go back to doom.

And to build sludge, bands have taken metal in a new lens and stripped away the useless formalities that slow other genres down. You don't need all of those expensive pick-ups and correctly functioning amps. You don't need laser lights. You need four strings and a drink in your hand. Sludge metal is the workin' man's music.

And for those of you who say it doesn't sound good. That's the point.

Some favorites include: Weedeater, Dad They Broke Me, Bongzilla

Black Metal has always carried with it one defining feature for me. And though I know nothing about, neither how to play, judge or categorize, it's as simple as the drumming that can make or break a black metal band for me. As in most areas of metal, my pre-conceived notions of what should be get the best of reviews: and if the music doesn't make me feel like I'm running through the forests of Norway during a full-mooned snowstorm while legions of demons chase after me, then I don't call it black metal

But back to my original point, it's all in the fucking drumming. And knowing nothing about drumming, it's a very superficial process for me to say whether or not I like black metal recording. Does it sound like an out-of-place machine gun? Fuck that, I'll just listen to post-rock.

On the plus side, I have to give these guys credit for taking it to the next extreme. I mean, they party hard. Like, violently homicidal, vehemently anti-American, church-burning, glass of wine from the skull of a Christian missionary hard. And you know, you just have to sit back and admire people like that.

Some favorites include: Nortt, Carpathian Forest, Amesoeurs

Hair Metal hair metal hair metal. What happened to hair metal that made me not like you? Was it your high-pitched voices? Was it your skin-tight animal print hair-sprayed cocaine lifestyle? Who's to say what went wrong with hair metal, all I know is that it's the anti-sludge. Sure, it's still metal, and you have to give it some appreciation for pushing the envelope. But the guitars are just too highly tuned for me to find a gem worth polishing. That ship sailed twenty years ago.

Hey though, these guys have never taken themselves as seriously as the thrashers or black metal knights. I mean, getting laid and gettin' high was all these guys wanted to do, and that's all they ever wrote about. I suppose when I think about it, the simplicity of hair metal is something to be greatly respected.

Some favorites include: Sweet, Great White, White Wizzard

Michael Amott - Guitar God
Originally uploaded by
Pixeleye Interactive
Dirk Behlau

Death Metal is the second-most fun genre to listen to. The ever-expanding list of sub-genres gives death metal constant competition to top itself in brutality and face-melting musicianship. But what truly makes this genre hilarious, is that the more brutal a band tries to become, the less and less serious it can be taken.

Seriously, just read a Dying Fetus tracklist.

Gone are the Venom days when music could truly inspire fear and terror into the eyes of the general public. Today, with such widespread desensitivity to brutality, the only thing that can save death metal bands are talented players, and wicked pits. And trust me, death metal fans make the best pits.

Some favorites include: Bolt Thrower, Bloodbath, Dethklok

Thanks for reading, tune in next time when I take a run through some none-metal genres like country, psychobilly and grunge. And as always, feel free to leave some words.

Artist Watch: 20: Tankard

noreply@blogger.com (Bradley Garwood) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Associated and Similar Acts: Sodom, Destruction, Exhumer
What's Going Down: A steady stream of tours and shows. (I think, their website's in German)

Tankard isn't new to the metal scene. And frankly, it might just be too late for you if you're just now hearing about them on DotH. But I suppose even if you haven't, it's never too late to start headbanging to some truly awesome thrash metal.

What?

Having formed as the self-proclaimed Kings of Beers, Tankard was founded by classmates (that's how we started!) all living in Germany. Drawing inspiration from anything with an alcohol content, Tankard worked hard to grow out of the classroom gigs they played, before eventually inking a deal with Noise Records in the early 80s.

From there, the band continuously worked hard to build fans, and publish more work to a now-impressive discography of underrated and often times hilarious thrash metal. Tankard can show you the side of thrash that happens when you loosen your tie, get shitfaced drunk and play some great tunes. If you're a fan of drinking, of thrash metal, or just great music, maybe it's time to blow the dust off your old Chemical Invasion record.

And remember, die with a beer in your hand!

RE: Bradley Gets Old

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Thompson) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Brad posted recently his own standalone post about seeing Iron Maiden, and some of the perhaps pitfalls of the show, namely the audience. He made some solid points (or proints, but who's counting?), chiefly talking about how many in attendance seemed to be looking for a concert, any concert, to see, for the sole excuse of being drunk in public with some loud music playing and people's general direction to drunkenly stammer in.

(That, folks, was a run-on sentence. I apologize.)

I agree, to a certain extent, but that really comes with the metal territory. We provide cheap concerts, packed with people, and make getting publicly hammered a very easy feat. Even our most expensive concerts are festivals, usually peaking around $100 a day, and are lined with every alcohol-included drink stand known to mankind. We sort of bring it on ourselves, to be honest.

That's not the point I came here to make, though. That represents only a small part of the metal audience, by my calculation. Most of the people I saw at No Fear last year (with the clear exception of the guy who fell off the balcony into the audience below) were there to see Lamb of God, As I Lay Dying, etc. They were there to mosh, there to chant, there to throw up the horns, and above all, to see a favored band play live and support them. Much of the audience consisted of teens and 20's, people who grew up listening to Randy Blythe scream.

By my estimation, the oldest metal band I had seen until Iron Maiden was Megadeth, way back in 2008 (before the Defenders began this little blog.) Even that show was packed with teens, as a lot of the underbill was filled with newer bands (Children of Bodom, In Flames, Job for a Cowboy, and High on Fire). Upon reading Brad's post, and remembering the crowd at the concert, something stuck out; the math fit too perfectly for this not to be the case.

We weren't seeing people looking for a concert; we were seeing ourselves, 20 or 30 years from now.

Given the eclectic nature of the four of us, perhaps not a spitting image of ourselves, but the underlying concept is the same. We were seeing Maiden fans- original Maiden fans- lining up for a band that they grew up listening to. They were seeing a band that perhaps they hadn't seen live since they were our age- which would make sense, because many of them did have children with them. Infants, toddlers, children, tweens, teens, 20-somethings, 30 year olds with families, 40 year olds with careers, credit card debt, and male pattern baldness, nearly-seniors with children our age. EVERY age group was present. In fact, for the first time in metal history, we have now three generations actively listening to this music. We have the old guard, still spinning their Rainbow and Blue Cheer vinyls, the now aging teens of the 80's and 90's, reliving the glory days of thrash and NWOBHM as their favorites make furious comebacks, and we have the young guns (like ourselves), for whom there is so much diverse metal out that it's hard to not find something you enjoy. We were even seeing parents taking their still-innocent kids out to what was likely their first metal show, introducing them to the music they loved as kids.

Bradley says we were witnessing a sorry state of metal; I say we bore witness to something truly special- a quantifiable measure of metal's lasting legacy.

That said, I fucking hate drunks. Nothing metal about losing control of basic bodily functions, people.

Pound Our Askhole

noreply@blogger.com (Bradley Garwood) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Hey readers, did you know there's a way to ask the Defenders anything you want answered? Did you know you can submit questions from the comfort of your internet, at home while you're naked, greased up with cooking oil and trolling through /y/? Did you know you can do this all anonymously?

You did?

Well, here's the link

Bradley Gets Old

noreply@blogger.com (Bradley Garwood) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:00:00 +0000

I give our readers permission to skip this. It's pretty self-indulgent and boring. I mean, I didn't add pictures.

I tried pretty hard not to be the guy at the concert with his arms folded, cursing the new sound of a once-great metal titan who's graced used with a touring attempt to make money.

SO, with Maiden doing their part to not fall victim to the aforementioned problems of so many other ~~metal~~ bands, it was up to me to hold up my end of the bargain. To diligently sift through the bad, and focus on the good. The good of course being that we're seeing Iron Maiden. Thee Iron Maiden.

But during the set change it's hard not to make some pretty glaring observations about a show like this. I'm coming off a diet of sweaty nightclubs and poorly-lit venues doused in similar-aged, black-clad long haired freaks. Certainly not the festival of drunken forty-year olds, skanky cougars and babies that it was.

Literal babies.

That kinda thing can really take your focus down when seeing a metal show. Here you have in your head this expectation of the kind of people who see a metal performance, but when you don't put enough focus on when and where, your pre-conceived notions of what to expect fly right out of the window, and you're standing next to a man trying to relive his concert days of yore. It rattled me, a lot.

And arguably so, especially when you've based your tastes and musical pedigree on what's purposely going to put you only in the same venue as people exactly alike you. That comes with a good set of bads, and that comes with a set of goods.

But I couldn't help but feel the same way I do at baseball games and at Super Bowl parties. Like I could have placed my hand in front of the majority of people's eyes around me, and without the aid of the visual element, but still retaining in the auditory, could NOT have told me what band is playing.

Just a sea of people looking for a concert, they don't care who, they don't care when, they want loud music and beer. And not just, but awful, awful cheap beer. I realize how much of a asshole elitist this makes me sound like, especially to those who legitimately had a great time, but it was the girl (venue sponsored) selling glow-sticks and roses that kinda pushed me over the edge.

Perhaps it's me. I'm willing to even put money down that it's me. That I could enjoy, nay, sink money and a four-hour drive into something that's casually appreciated by a few well meaning dads, some children at their first concert and a venue just looking to make a profit. I understand the appeal, I really do, but it sinks into my stomach, and more-so into my ears when I think of such a wide spectrum of people enjoying what I consider to be my genre.

Should music not appeal to such a large audience?

I've battled with this problem for years, and it could land me a front-page column on Pitchfork for how anti-mainstream I am. I could be an indie god for the way I judge bands, but metal brings with it a community of people that I can't shrug. A community of people that I wouldn't trade for the world. But at what point is it justified for me to draw a line in the sand? At what point do I as a listener turn to another human being and say "no, you're not metal".

And fuck, if that corporate mom or twelve year old kid bring from Maiden the same thing I do, a sense of community, and an admiration and respect for good musicianship, then I have even less of a right to put my ears above theirs. They have the same right to the airwaves as we, as I, as anyone does.

So I'm left in a zone of half-hipster, half critic, have self-important asshole who doesn't take into account the relative change in music. Maiden's getting older. Their metal isn't my metal, and that packs a whole different set of relative social meaning. When you grew up with Maiden being the loudest, hardest thing on the planet, it's hard to grow away from that.

The idea I leave myself with stems from many conversations I've had with family. Simply, I'm not getting any younger, and neither are the bands I listen to. Which means Sissy Spacek and Sunn O))) will someday be laughable. Some day Lamb of God and Ramesses won't be the envelope pushers, but'll make the new generation giggle. Walls of death as tacky as lighters in the air, and mosh pits a joke.

I could have swore I had ten more years in me before I felt old. This fucking sucks.

Iron Maiden Concert Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Morgan) — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 13:00:00 +0000

[Jake]The last time all four Defenders went to the same show was the fantastically billed No Fear Energy Tour with Lamb of God, As I Lay Dying, Children of Bodom, God Forbid, and Municipal Waste. That was 15 months ago, and up until July 15 there was no other bill strongly enough to bring all of us with are pretty varying tastes in metal together. Then without warning a tour came around our neck of the woods that was packed so full of epicness any one of us would be a fool not to go, and that was Iron Maiden's Final Frontier Tour.

Iron Maiden - Steve Harris
Originally uploaded by The Crow2

While the show itself was spectacular, the city in which it was located and the travel mishaps made the trek to the show less than such. You see, we're from a quaint little river town called Cincinnati, and the concert was in another little river town called Cleveland. We hate their city, they hate our, it's just how things work around these parts. So making us go there was the equivalent as far as honor goes of punching us in the dick, it's never an ok move but under the right circumstances such as reparation for past douchebaggery or just for the lolz it is forgivable. In this case the greatest band in the world was beckoning us to a city we'd rather not go to but-- they were going to play a show for us. Fair enough.

[Andrew] Holy fuck was getting there a pain in the ass. First off, it's in Cleveland, 4 hours away. Now, I'm all for a roadtrip, especially to see Maiden. But it's to Cleveland. That's like hosting Awesome Fest in the middle of Juggalotown. True story, Garrett's car got within 100 miles of the place and said "Nope. Fuck this. We're not going above 60 without me getting violent. I want to delay getting there as much as I can." (Yes, Garrett drives a talking car.)

Then we get to Cleveland and find out we overshot the venue by about 30 miles. Yay us. Backtracked to Cuyahoga Falls, we go out into the fucking boonies (past the AWESOMELY named ______'s Dinner Bucket) and get to the venue. Finally.

[Garrett] This trip was another ass rape for me. I've drove to Cleveleand SO MANY times that I feel disgusted about the whereabouts of the city. Among my trips to Cleveland, Nile, Dying Fetus and others made the trip worthwhile. But for fucking sake, I need to stay away from this city. The Ford Focus (or the Ford Fucus for those who overuse the joke to make me annoyed) decides within one quarter into the trip to violently throw a temper tantrum. Not knowing the issue with the car we sat in the festering pool of heat with the windows down. In the process, I set my car on cruise control at 60; 40 miles down the road it does it again. On the second down though I decided to pull a dumbhead move and exit my car to the left and was within inches of a semi ending my life in a Final Destination fashion. Luckily we continue the trip with no problem. While stopping at a gas station where a creepy 20s woman hits on me while I'm giving her the money. However we made it to the concert with the usual mishaps and disasters. But I wanted my bucket of dinner before.

[Bradley] Yeah, I really wanted to eat at the dinner bucket. I also wanted to get the fuck out of Cleveland as soon as possible.

Blossom Music Center, originally uploaded by Chloester.

Andrew- Dream Theater had superb sound. I say that, because they were clearly audible from the security gates. I, nor the other Defenders, can comment on anything else, because due to the aforementioned delays, we arrived just as Maiden was doing their loadout. For all we know, they just played "Pull Me Under"over the loudspeakers and Dream Theater never actually played.

As for Maiden, wow. They played mostly new material (the only things from pre-BNW I remember were Number of the Beast, Hallowed Be Thy Name, and Fear of the Dark), but we are fine with that, considering we love their recent stuff too. If you've ever seen Rock in Rio, their live DVD after BNW, it's basically that, but with new material. Full-on light show, full-on Janick insanity, full-on Bruce-running-around-the-stage-in-Ghillie-suit-pants-getting-his-nightly-5k-run-in hilarity, everything. Everything you expect from an Iron Maiden show except Run to the Hills or The Trooper. Probably my third favorite show, behind Obituary and, of course, Lamb of God.

Brad- As a quick side-note, my first attempt at reviewing Maiden is a post that you'll be able to read soon. You're free to skip it.

So, Maiden was awesome. Bruce Dickinson has got to be the Brett Favre of heavy metal, putting on just an amazing show despite his age, despite such a huge audience to appeal to, and for taking the reigns of such a classic and influential metal power. There's a lot to go wrong when you're the front man of Iron Maiden.

But they do it with class, they really do. The professionalism, the experience, it's all just a big rush of emotion to know you're now apart of something so historic. To know you're seeing Iron Maiden. Just to have the have the ticket in your hand, to know you're in same venue as Steve Harris, and to hear the get to share in that: it's something every metalhead needs to do.

But what was really the icing on the cake for this show, was seeing the smile it brought to Defender Jake's face. The beaming glow as if being a pregnant woman. The unwavering bliss it brought, and to know how special this was to Jake meant more to me than actually seeing Iron Maiden. To see a friend, and a metal peer see the band what made it all spark, it's really something special.

Yeah. I went there.

(Also, Cleveland fucking sucks, the Browns can go fuck themselves and the Tribe -despite beating the Yankees that one time- can kiss my ass)

Garrett- First time I've seen Maiden in concert and I was quite impressed to say the least. I couldn't really shake the feeling of being in the presence of a band who pioneered the NWOBHM and glorifed their fans. Breathless from the beginning and end, Iron Maiden delivered a well played show. Playing out and new content in their setlist, I was very pleased with every song and respectively enjoyed every minute of it with the Defenders.

The only moment that repulsed me was seeing a mosh at the concert. Its cool to do circle pits at a death metal concert, walls of death at thrash shows but moshing during a Maiden concert desecrates the sanctum of fans who only want to enjoy the performance. As a man who worships and embraces the moshing, I was disgusted by this display. Nevertheless, I didn't let that moment ruin the concert for me.

I was grinning from ear to ear when they played Number of the Beast during their brief break in between sets. Worth the shitty car ride and backtracking.

Jake- So I saw my favorite band live. That's always good.

Now, I'd done this shit before, and I knew what to expect. In 2008, during their last tour, the monumental Somewhere Back in Time Tour, I made the same trip to the same concert venue and was blown away in every conceivable way. I own an assortment of their live CDs and DVDs and I had played them over enough to know they put on a killer show and could probably be enjoyed live even by someone who isn't really into their material. Still, I couldn't fully prepare for the Maiden experience just by taking in the products of the best attempts to capture the sound, energy, and atmosphere of an Iron Maiden show. This time around it was different because I actually had seen them live already. Usually that would've meant there would've been some sort of drop-off there because there wouldn't be quite as much awe in store for me a 2nd time around, but in a lot of ways it was similar to the first time around; and it was similar because it was different.

You see, this tour was heavily focused on Iron Maiden's new material, whereas the previous tour was composed of all Seventh Son and earlier works (except for Fear of the Dark, cuz... why the fuck not?) this tour was filled to the brim with Brave New World and later works. The difference between the two eras is pretty significant, to the point where they might as well have been performed by two different bands (that totally kick ass), and because of that there was enough of the unfamiliar thrown into the show for me to kindle the magic of seeing them for the first time up again.

It shouldn't come as a surprised when I say I loved every second of the show. I had a blast, and more importantly I had it with my friends. The fact that most of the songs played were from recent albums didn't bother me in the slightest; in fact I welcomed that for reasons stated before and also due to the sheer fact that new Maiden kicks just as much ass as the old Maiden. And as a fan of bands straying from their usual stagnant setlist and throwing in surprise songs (Like when they threw in Moonchild during their last tour. Man, I lost my fucking shit when they played that song.).

Sure, it would've been nice if they played Run to the Hills or The Trooper, but if you really want to hear those live you can just catch them on any other tour they've ever had or ever will have.

One of the standout moments for me was during the encore at the end of Hallowed Be Thy Name, one of the songs from the classic era that's just too good not to play. All the band was up on center stage and jamming out during the last few seconds of the song. Given that they often use the song as a closer and that the amount of energy they were putting into their playing I had assumed it was they end of the show. After taking a few steps towards the front gate there was a surprise in store for me: the playing suddenly stopped and resumed with the drum beat from Running Free. "Sweet Jesus," I thought "you mean I get more?" All in all, it was a fantastic experience.

Also, my face when Ghost of the Navigator: