Metal As Art Tour - Spokane, WA (1/27/2010)

Despite many bumps in the road, the Metal as Art tour made it to the Cretin Hop in Spokane, WA. After a dinner of hot pockets and ketchup, the bands took the stage.

Local openers were Odyssey. They played 3 or 4 of their spacey prog-metal jams. A very solid set with surprisingly good sound for such a small venue.

The Binary Code from New Jersey was next. They brought a fast tempo with technical riffing. The riffs were the spotlight mixed in with a couple slow pieces off their Metal Sucks sponsored album.

The highlight of the show was Boston's Revocation. Last year's album, Existence is Futile (stream), should probably be on my year end list. They play an aggressive form of thrash metal that bludgeons you without getting monotonous. Quick time changes and unique leads keep you enthralled. They do not shy away from humor either, with song titles like "None Shall Be Spared (All Shall Be Speared)" and "Exhumed Identity". The guys from the Binary Code matched their onstage energy, getting up front in the tiny space to support their tour mates.

Headliners Hypno5e from France were the Art in the tour. They mixed their riffs and growled vocals with spoken word samples. The Binary Code once again provided support for their tour mates when others seemed confused about what to do.

Revocation - "Dismantle the Dictator" (MP3)

2009's Best Music (Metal Edition)

1) Skeletonwitch - Breathing the Fire
2) Doomriders - Darkness Come Alive
3) Baroness - Blue Record
4) Kylesa - Static Tensions ("Said and Done")
5) Mastodon - Crack the Skye
6) Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Agorapocalypse Now (stream)
7) Slayer - World Painted Blood

2009's Best Music

1) The Maldives - Listen to the Thunder (stream)
2) Port O'Brien - Threadbare ("My Will Is Good")
3) The Decemberists - Hazards of Love
4) Joel Smith - The Filibuster
5) The Thermals - Now We Can See
6) David Bazan - Curse Your Branches
7) Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
8) Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
9) Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
10) Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

Review: Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

2009 just got here, and the biggest record of the year may have already arrived. Merriweather Post Pavilion is the latest outing from Baltimore wierdos Animal Collective. It's already getting rave reviews from the major outlets. The album doesn't officially come out until January 20th. The vinyl version was made available last week. Is it all hype? If you want to decide for yourself, you can stream the entire album online now.

The album opens with the lush "In the Flowers" which gives way to "My Girls". "My Girls" is a sparse electronic piece that draws you in with its vocal harmonies and pounding drum beats. It's my favorite song off the album. "Summertime Clothes" is a rollicking, bouncy summertime song as the title suggests. "Guys Eyes" is a big song in every sense of the word. The album closer is the first song to be released from the album. "Brother Sport" is an even bigger song and a great way to close the album. Are there bad songs on the album? Not really. There are songs that don't grab me like the others, but I could grow to love them just as much as the others. "Daily Routine" and "No More Runnin" just didn't grab me.

The one thing I've found to be true of all the Animal Collective albums I've heard, is that it takes more than one listen. The songs can seem simple, but on the fiftieth listen you may hear something you never heard before. Even after that, you either love them or hate them and couple more listens can change that. Is this album really as good as everyone seems to think it is? Maybe, but I probably won't know until 6 months from now when it clicks together. I could write a review then and give a completely different score.

Highs: "My Girls", "Summertime Clothes", "Guys Eyes"
Lows: "Daily Routine", "No More Runnin"

Rating: 8.0

2008's Best Music (Metal Edition)

Since I discovered most of these albums through other year end lists, this is a little late. These are the metal albums I enjoyed that were released in 2008. It's harder to find good metal albums, and I'm sure I missed a few this year.

1) The Sword - Gods of the Earth (Stream)
2) Nachtmystium - Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. 1 (Stream)
3) Torche - Meanderthal ("Healer" MP3)
4) Gojira - The Way of All Flesh

Boxset Mayhem

2 huge boxsets have recently gone on sale.

Mastodon Boxset

*3 Studio Albums (Remission, Leviathan, Blood Mountain)
*1 EP (Lifesblood)
*1 Compilation (Call of the Mastodon)
*1 Previously Unreleased Concert (Relapse Contamination Festival 2003)
*3 Cover Songs
*1 Slipmat
*1 Sticker Pack
/11oo copies

Price: $225 + Shipping


Nada Surf Boxset 1994-2008

*5 Studio Albums (High/Low, The Proximity Effect, Let Go, The Weight Is a Gift, Lucky)
*1 7" Single (The Plan/Telescope)
*1 24-Page Full-Color Booklet
/1000 copies

Price: $100 + Shipping

Mastodon boxset seems a little expensive. Their website claims that there are "9 LP's in the set", which obviously means 9 discs not albums. That is $25 per disc. The Nada Surf boxset is a little more affordable and probably worth picking up if you are really into the band.