Metal Map of Europe

Browsing around on Google sometimes turns up interesting results for the curious among us... Also when finding the page http://www.metalmap.org/ .

Here you can find an entire overview of which countries brought forth which bands and which genres of metal the bands are. There is also an option to filter tje information you're looking for to which type of metal, or if you want information on e-zines, record labels and so on...

Clicking on a band name will directly take you to the official website, which is also a really cool feature of this Metal Map of Europe site.

To conclude, this site is nice to spend some time on, for the people who look for information on bands and metal.

The tall singer and the o-neg's

Good... Well.. From progressive black metal we now turn a page onto what was called Goth metal, with the singer who actually had the fangs to give it all a gothic, vampiric feel... The band I'm talking about is of course Type O Negative, and in special one of my all time favorite singers, Peter Steele.

I first got to know Type O Negative through a remix version of one of their songs Blood & Fire, which was on the Mortal Kombat soundtrack. This version is called the Out Of The Ashes Mix. I loved Peter Steele's voice so I dug in a little further.

Type O Negative started out in a band I haven't heard anything from unfortunately, called Northern Lights, to later change the name to Fallout. They played classic rock covers at first but then changed their style to original gothic-style rock. After several band members left Peter Steele founded thrash metal band Carnivore, but... This band went on hiatus after the second album got released.

The band members that joined later led to another name change to Repulsion, and Sub-Zero, but after they found that name had already been taken, they decided to call the band Type O Negative after the "o" negative tattoo's for subzero which they already had.


To be honest their first album I didn't think to be all that spectacular. What I did like was the Black Sabbath cover of Paranoid on Origin Of The Feces. Steele made this sound darker than Ozzy ever could.


And then... On to bigger and better things... The albums Bloody Kisses and October Rust came which contained the songs I truly love of Type O Negative. These songs are for Bloody Kisses "Blood & Fire", "Christian Woman" and "Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All)", "Suspended In Dusk".

October Rust.... "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend", "Love You To Death"Cinnamon Girl, Green Man, Wolf Moon, "Red Water (Christmas Mourning)", "Die With Me" and "Haunted".

In World Coming Down there were of course the songs "All Hallows Eve", "White Slavery", "Everything Dies", "Creepy Green Light" which made it to my all time favorites. Of the Life Is Killing Me album I only know "I Don't Wanna Be Me" and of the album Dead Again the songs "Tripping a Blind Man", "September Sun", "Halloween in Heaven" ...

Then.... on April 14th, 2010, came the news we didn't expect to hear...

" It is with great sadness that we inform you that Type O Negative front man, bassist, and our band mate, Peter Steele passed away last night of what appears to be heart failure. Ironically Peter had been enjoying a long period of sobriety and improved health and was imminently due to begin writing and recording new music for our follow up to "Dead Again" released in 2007.

The official cause of death has yet to be determined pending autopsy results. The funeral services will be private and memorial services will be announced at a future date. We’d like to share our thoughts and those of Peter’s family below. We are truly saddened to lose our friend and appreciate the tremendous outpouring today from around the world.
Sincerely,
Josh, Kenny and Johnny "

No matter what, Peter Steele's voice is still wonderful and his persona, known for his vampiric affect, towering stature of 6'8" (203 cm) tall, which gave him a famously menacing stage appearance, rich bass-baritone vocals, and a dark, often self-deprecating sense of humor will be missed.

According to Wikipedia, in a November 2010 interview with Rock Hard magazine, Johnny Kelly and Kenny Hickey confirmed that following Steele's death, Type O Negative had definitely split-up.

On a recent album, Lacuna Coil made a song called My Spirit, which is dedicated to Peter Steele, with a similar bass line as Peter Steele's sound, because they were fans of the band. Vocalist Ferro said, “He was a big friend of ours because we toured together and have been friends for many years and the night we knew he’d died, Marco (bass player) wrote all the music that night, so it was a very spontaneous tribute to our friend.”

Should you want to buy Type O Negative you can find their music everywhere online, including Large.nl and Amazon.

Enslaved - RIITTIIR (2012)

What can be said about this band that has already been able to withstand the test of time as they've been in the black metal scene for so long? As I've written before, Axioma Ethica Odini, the 11th studio album, released in 2010, was a difference from what they have done before, with the risk of being labeled 'not true black metal', but now the Norwegians have proven yet again that they are here and are still here to stay.

RIITTIIR is somewhat more melodic than Axioma Ethica Odini was, but this does not make the album less fantastic. Enslaved released their newest studio album called RIITTIIR in September 2012.

Enslaved originally produced very dark and raw black metal, but the past few years the band has started walking down the path of the more progressive side. The more progressive path has brought forth the albums   Isa, Ruun and Vertebrae, before releasing Axioma Ethica Odini, and also the EP's The Sleeping Gods and Thorn have proven that black metal can blend into the more progressive styles with added ambient-like parts and still sound awesome. This new album is clearly yet another step forward in this same direction.

It yet again combines the awesome deep grunts of Grutle Kjellson with the clean and awesome sound of Herbrand Larsen, to give the listener another awesome experience.

The name RIITTIIR is not just something random, it is a re-shaped version of the word 'Ritual' or 'Rite', as they explain in an interview I found on Darkview.be:

What does ‘Riitiir’, the name of your new album stand for?
Ivar: It is a re-shaped version of the word “Ritual” or “Rite”. It was a natural step for us to deal with the rituals of man at the point we had reached conceptually with our albums – we have dealt with the runes as a mystical language, we have dealt with specific runes and their associated powers, we have dealt with flesh/mind-borders, we have dealt with the philosophy of ethics, and the psychology of moral. The next dark house along the path was the Rituals that we humans utilize to see change through. We wanted to re-shape the word itself in order to make the concept truly universal – it is neither Norwegian, English or anything else – but still it contains the core of the word so that people know what it is about.   


An impression of what the new album sounds like can be found here, with the music video of Thoughts Like Hammers.

                 

Aside of all this wonderful news I've found that Enslaved will be coming to The Netherlands again, on tour for this newest album. They will be in Amstelveen on March 24th, and I'll surely be there to cheer them on :)


Should you be interested to buy this album, you can do so at for example Nuclearblast.de or Large.nl, or any local record store that sells black metal/progressive metal.

Imaginaerum by NIGHTWISH - Theatrical Trailer

Keenan’s diversity : The story of A Perfect Circle and Tool (Puscifer too)

As you undoubtedly already noticed by now my metal taste varies from the symphonic, to the black, to mellower rock/metal, to basically anything I find appealing and inspires me in any form whatsoever.

A friend of mine who was working with me for a few years tried to get me familiarized with Tool but for some reason I was not interested in it as I was more into the symphonic Goth metal scene at first. He did tell me about a few songs and I made a mental note to check it out sometime. He also told me about the singer, Maynard James Keenan.

As time progressed and my search for new bands I like continued, I would sometimes grasp the somewhat lighter, more rock-like scene as well. I started getting into A Perfect Circle, which is somewhat like alternative rock, alternative metal, after my brother played the song Pet. It was not before long that I realized the song Pet had somewhat similar lyrics to one of the songs my former colleague told me about, which was called Counting Bodies Like Sheep (To The Rhythm Of The War Drums). This opened the door for me to listen to more of A Perfect Circle. I found the album [i]Thirteenth Step[/i] and loved it instantly. Out of A Perfect Circle the songs which still get to me are Weak And Powerless, The Noose, Pet, Blue, The Outsider and Gravity.

I then listened to a few of Tool songs, which include the same singer, and loved those too. Tool can be somewhat defined as alternative metal, art rock, progressive metal, progressive rock. My favourite Tool songs: 10,000 Days, Wings For Marie, 46&2, The Grudge, Parabol, Ticks & Leeches, Lateralus, Right In Two, Sober, Schism..

A song of the band Deftones features Maynard in it, and is called The Passenger. The mix of the two voices makes this song really worthwhile as well.

I then remembered my former colleague once talking about a song called Rev 22:20 and looked it up. It is from a band called Puscifer, which can be classified as ambient, comedy rock, experimental, post-industrial, trip hop, yet another of Maynard’s projects. I loved that song Rev 22:20 too, which featured on the Underworld soundtrack. I have yet to listen to the rest of Puscifer’s CD’s but I reckon as I loved all of Tool and all of A Perfect Circle, Puscifer will fit into this picture just fine.

I had stopped listening to A Perfect Circle and Tool for some time when I rolled into the Black Metal scene, however sometimes I roll back into it, as I have done a few months ago. The songs still have the same impact for me.

Most recent rumours are Tool is working on a new album, to be released sometime this year. For A Perfect Circle new album ideas were first frozen until in 2010 a Twitter message appeared indicating that there might be a new album release in the future as well. I can’t wait to hear more from this singer, who definitely has a talent for diversity in all of his projects.

I''m really curious about what the future will bring for both bands and in the meantime I will check out Puscifer as well :)

Sing for me....

In addition to what Nightwish brought me, the voice of what Nightwish was before Annette Olzon came into the picture, the voice of an angel, still allures me.

The operatic voice of Tarja Turunen is something that still gives me goosebumps, no matter if I listen to her voice in Nightwish or on her solo albums.

Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen Cabuli,born on 17 August 1977, is a full lyric soprano and has a vocal range of three octaves. She represented Nightwish from 1995 until 2005, until the band fired her as a singer. While she was in Nightwish, she participated in a project of Beto Vazquez for Infinity. After this she launched her solo career and released Henkäys Ikuisuudesta (2006), which was a Christmas CD, My Winter Storm (2007), What Lies Beneath (2010). She is currently working on a new album, which will be released somewhere in 2013.

She came to The Netherlands for the first time since she started her solo career, which

happened on 25 February 2012 at the Effenaar in Eindhoven. She was very energetic and happy to be there, and put up quite a show. It was certainly worth travelling to Eindhoven for. :)

Almost all of her songs have an emotional link for me, but the ones I love most: The Reign, Oasis, Our Great Divide, Ciaran's Well, Anteroom Of Death, Until My Last Breath, I Feel Immortal, Rivers Of Lust, Dark Star, The Archive Of Lost Dreams, Crimson Deep, mostly because it brings out the emotions in her voice...

Here's a song which will be featured on her upcoming album:

I can't wait to her the new songs :)

Ever dream of me....

Now, to make some sort of transition from black metal into the other metal which defines me I will have to go back to the roots... To where it all started in my metal experience...

Quite some time ago when I first got familiar with metal, which was round 7 years ago, my first and foremost link with metal was with the one band I stayed with over the years.. The one band that made me familiar with imagery, with poetry.... The one band I always come back to whenever my mood set changes and I need to, reset and get back to my roots... The music and lyrics I grew with as person and also as a poet... I'm talking about Nightwish.

When first I fell for Nightwish, as I described before, was with a gothic metal compilation CD. Out of all the songs and bands on there I kept going back to "Ever Dream". The song just had everything I liked... An opera voice, the deep lyrics with a poet's touch, the melodic goth metal style...

Out of the old Nightwish line up I loved all of it. The singer, Tarja Turunen, whose voice just brings goosebumps to the very core of me. The male singer, Marco Hietala, whose sound and bass really rock Nightwish. The guitarist Emppu Vuorinen with his incredible riffs ans solo's and the drummer, Jukka Nevalainen who is just so totally awesome. But the one person aside of the female voice in this band I have the biggest affinity with, is Tuomas Holopainen.

His view of the world, the imagery he uses in his lyrics still gets to me, even after those years...

"All I ever craved were the two dreams I shared with you. One I now have, will the other one ever dream remain. For yours I truly wish to be."

In November 2004 I got to meet them and get their autographs at the signing session at the Fame in Amsterdam. At that point I was just rolling into the Nightwish fan I am now.

I still remember that signing session. Emppu and Jukka were being very funny and laughing, Tarja was being her pretty self and Tuomas was drawn back... Closed off to the world, sunken into his own thoughts and probably thinking of something he wanted to write. I got Tarja and Tuomas to pose with me for this picture ;)

As the years passed issues within the band let them to break ties with Tarja and look for a new singer in Annette Olzon. Her input in the band is different as it led them to stray from the operatic sound and go for a bit more mainstream like style. In my opinion, even though the lyrics and music are still all Nightwish is, was, and will be to me, the voice of Annette is too different. Nevertheless, I still like the album Dark Passion Play and I'm looking forward to more of their work...

For 2012 the time is set for a new project that Nightwish is involved in. There will be a cd and a movie.... Imaginarium... Currently the band is recording the album and arranging things for the movie.

Imaginarium is a music fantasy - film based on the forthcoming Nightwish album of the same title and its 13 songs.

The protagonist of the film is a songwriter with an otherworldly imagination. He is an old man who still thinks he`s a young boy. While asleep he travels into his distant past where his dreams of old come back to him mixed to the young boy`s world of fantasy and music.

In his dreams the old man fights to find the memories most important to him.

There will be an Imaginarium world tour which kicks off in Los Angeles in January 2012. More news can be found here.

Update:
22. August 2011

Imaginarium will be released already at the end of this year!
More info about the schedule, track list and first single release coming up in a few weeks. Stay tuned!

My black metal moods... Shining

One of the bands that I’ve listened to since I got familiar with black metal is a band that openly promotes self harm and suicide in every possible way. Hell, they even handed out razor blades at one of their previous concerts. This band is surrounded by strangeness and controversy... Shining is next on my list of topics to discuss.

Okay so this band is a bit different from what I've described here before.... This band incorporates doom metal elements in their music. Their music contains depressive undertones, which include personal and suicide-themed lyrics. It also shows during the performances and in the last - uncensored - video of Shining where Kvarforth likes to mutilate himself while he's performing. The lyrics are often in Swedish, which gives an eerie feel to the tracks.

I got to know this band through the albums Klagopsalmer and Halmstad and also familiarized myself with the older releases. My all time favorite Shining tracks are Ohm (Sommar Mit Siv), Neka Morgondagen, Fullständigt Jävla Död Inuti, Krossade Drömmar Och Brutna Löften (which is an instrumental track), Attiosextusenfyrahundra (which was derived from Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata),The Eerie Cold, Plågoande O'Helga Plågoande.

Then it was time for Shining to record new stuff.... In the meantime I saw Shining perform live in De Kade in Zaandam in March, and I was impressed. Kvarforth didn't do incredibly weird stuff on stage, even though he did put out some cigarettes on his bare chest every now and then. What can I say, the guy is into pain... Whatever his drive is, the music in my opinion is awesome.

Quote from Wiki :

"Musically, Shining went from more or less straight black metal with doom influences on their earlier work to a more progressive extreme metal sound with extensive use of clean guitars, guitar solos, different vocal styles and often tempo shifts and odd time signatures. Some webzines called them the "Opeth of black metal". "

The new album Född Förlorare was released around a month ago, and it's a bit different from the previous releases. Sometimes there's a poppy tone to Född Förlorare, but the message is clear nonetheless. It's again full of darkness and despair.

Whatever it was that drew me to Shining in the first place is still there: the insane singer, the great guitar solo's, the darkness and despair in the lyrics ... It's one of their best albums in my opinion... And whenever they come 'round to The Netherlands again, I will surely go see them again !

My black metal moods... Enslaved

Before introducing you to this band - which is one of my black metal favorites - let me quickly tell you that I've only been familiarized with the black metal genre for 8 months now and therefore I am still discovering things with each passing day...

Within black metal there's a lot of diversity in styles. For instance...

Take a black metal/progressive metal band, which has come into existence 20 years ago, with an excellent live performance, continuously changing styles, evolving and experimenting with each new release. This is Enslaved for ya.

I got acquainted with Enslaved through the 2010 album Axioma Ethica Odini which really blew my mind. I loved all the tracks of this album right away. Now black metal fans will tell you that this Enslaved album is not 'true' black metal, but it doesn't sound less spectacular because of that. On the contrary.

I then set my sights on finding the other albums, and listened to them. Out of the older tracks a few stand out and are just simply unforgettable. And I don't mean that song. Among those unforgettable Enslaved tracks are Wotan, As Fire Swept Clean The Earth, Slaget I Skogen Brotenfor, Path To Vanir, The Watcher, which are my favorites. There are some albums and EP's that I haven't heard yet, which I am still curious about.

I've seen this band live in April and they truly rocked. The setlist was mostly of the Axioma Ethica Odini album, with some older work, and it just sounded amazing.

As I am telling you about this great, diverse band I am checking out the newest Enslaved EP called The Sleeping Gods which could be downloaded for free through the website of Scion A/V. The Enslaved style has yet again undergone changes and it sounds very different in some parts, in other parts there's recognizable sounds.

The conclusion: Enslaved might be different than the 'true' black metal, the band's been around for 20 years which stands for quite a lot. Their newest EP rocks (even though it takes some getting used to). Enslaved truly rocks !

My black metal moods... Negură Bunget

This is black metal from Romania... I've seen them live as support act for Enslaved in April and I must say they were amazing. They performed with very little space on stage but managed to sound exactly as on the album. I'm talking about Negură Bunget.
The name of the band, which stands for "Dark Foggy Forest", kind of hints the topic of the lyrics. The drummer once said in a 2004 interview:

"Negură Bunget is a black fog coming from a deep dark dense forest. The name tries to picture somehow the kind of atmosphere, both musical and spiritual we'd want to create through our music. It has also an esoteric nature, standing for the inexpressible parts of our ideology. The two words are also from the Tracic substrate of the Romanian language (the oldest one, containing about 90 words) as the interest for our local history and spirituality is something of crucial importance and meaning for us as a band."

I've only listened to the Vîrstele Pamîntului album and I must say that it really struck a nerve that made me want to listen to more of this interesting band. For 'true' black metal fans it might be a bit awkward to listen to, but I consider my metal taste to be limitless and I like to tackle new stuff all the time. What you find in this album instrument wise are pipes, traditional percussion, guitars, some psychedelic elements. At one point even Indian sounds, a flute and even horns come into play in this intrinsic music. The whole album is folk parts giving way to black metal and blending together superbly.

My favorite songs on this album are by far Pãmînt and Dacia Hiperboreanã. The rest of the album lingers in the same mindset and carries you deep into the Romanian forests.

I share the same verdict to this album as posted on the review on Encyclopaedia Metallum:

"This is a great album, and Negură Bunget has sold me on their album-oriented approach to folk black metal."

I'm very much looking forward to hearing other Negură Bunget stuff!

My black metal moods... Fen

Before becoming familiar with Alghazanth, I ran into a black metal/shoegaze band in the same month, which I liked instantly. It defined itself by using other sounds in their music, unlike the 'true' black metal bands. I reviewed this for a Dutch black metal blog I was on at that time, and Fen left an impression on me that still lasts to this very day.

An expression of loss and melancholic yearning, the primary goal with Fen is to draw the listener into a windswept and desolate landscape, bereft of hope.

The Fen sound is very diverse, sometimes it reminds me of Enslaved in a way. The very quote I found on www.cackblabbath.co.uk says it all:

"When Fen’s previous album, The Malediction Fields, came out the band were heralded as “a UK rival to the throne of bands like Enslaved and Primordial”. With Epoch Fen have certainly lived up to that high praise and delivered on the promise shown by their previous release. It’s out next February and will surely feature in several top 2o lists at the end of 2011."

I've listened to various albums of Fen and I must say their style varies with each album, with each song. Even their split with De Arma is really worth checking out. Certainly a recommended band in my opinion!

My black metal moods... Alghazanth

A couple of months ago, it was February I believe, I was introduced to Alghazanth by an acquaintance of mine, one of the many black metal bands I listen to nowadays. Now when I listen to black metal, I don't consider myself known with all the technical terms like blast beats and such, I just like it if it gives me a certain feeling, inspiration for things I write. A certain form of darkness to engulf one's self in, if you will. Vinum Intus (which should mean something like Wine Within) does this for me. Typical for this black metal genre is that in my opinion it oozes desperation and suffering. This album is none different.

This album is filled with melodic black, sometimes it's accompanied by choirs and melodies and acoustic and piano parts. My favorite track of this album by far is "For Thirteen Moons". The rest of the album really makes this band interesting for me, and I will certainly check out more of their music. If you're looking for interesting black to listen to, I surely recommend this album.

A n ice cover image description on Encyclopaedia Metallum:

"Unsung Finnish black metal veterans Alghazanth have once again gone with a simplistic black/white cover image, long on metaphor, to adorn their 6th full-length Vinum Intus. It's quite striking really, from the single tree on the horizon to the turbulent well of souls, sewn out heart and beckoning grasp of the kneeling woman. It is on this image that my gaze lingered as I sought my way through the audio content..."

And about the album, in the same review:

"Vinum Intus (which I translate to something like the 'Wine Within'), is a 'pretty' album, glistening with sorrows and regrets against the overbearing rasp of front man Mikko Kotamäki, and if you give yourself able chance to lose yourself to its charms, then it's not a terrible way to spend a winter afternoon. "

Universe in a ball !!!

My metalheadness doesn't only evolve around metal in it's darkest, bleakest form, even though I can entertain myself very well with black metal or death metal... Even though people are sometimes inclined to think it is.

Whenever I feel like listening to nutty, fun music which makes me smile, and is not dark / black metal by any means whatsoever, I play any random album of this artist.

He is literally the craziest singer in the world, in a good way that is... I've seen him live in all his madness on March 16th 2011... Never in my life have I seen an artist perform with such drive, enthusiasm and passion for music as with Devin Townsend.

When I first got introduced to Devin Townsend's madness I started with the album Addicted! which I loved right away. Favorites are the title track, Universe in a ball!, Bend it like Bender!, Supercrush! and Hyperdrive!. The rest of the album is also really good but these songs really stand out in my opinion.

Then ....
Then I got familiar with this green little devil ... Ziltoid The Omniscient. This album is really a musical, unique in it's sort, telling about Ziltoid who sets out to destroy Earth after not getting the cup of coffee he wanted. Hilarious lyrics, storyline and of course Devin as Ziltoid make the craziness complete. Just listen to this album once, you'll be impressed. From what I read there will be a sequel to this Ziltoid story, I'm looking forward to it.

Recently the new Deconstruction album leaked on Youtube and I had a chance to hear it. This album yet again shows us just how crazy and goofy Devin Townsend is, with songs that have a little like 'The Mighty Masturbator' it's kinda hard to not think that. The album really sounded awesome and I can't wait for the official release.

Aside of Deconstruction there's another album, coming out simultaneously, called Ghost. I don't know if this image here is the real cover but it looks cool nonetheless.

Devin Townsend gave me a new insight to metal, that it can be fun and entertaining. I know he was in the band Strapping Young Lad before. I still have to check that out sometime. For now I'll just play some DT again...

UNIVERSE IN A BALL!!!!

Mot Fjerne Land....

Through the vastness of the sea, the vikings of the Nord and the mythologies come Leaves' Eyes. At first when I listened to this band as my brother's recommendation - I was a Nightwish fan - I found Liv Kristine's voice way too soft for my liking, so I lay it aside.

Took me a while to get into Leaves' Eyes but when I first started listening to them I was playing World Of Warcraft and that's the image I still have in my head when I hear them now. Same goes for my fiancee who also has created this image to go along with the music from Leaves' Eyes. I see the landscapes of Azeroth ^^

No seriously, Leaves' Eyes are very different in style than any other symphonic, female fronted metal band. Their songs are about vikings and mythology and simply very enchanting. I almost saw them live on 18 Nov 2009 but I got the flu in that week so I had to pass. Hope to see them live soon though.

They've just released their album Meredead which is again a totally different angle than they have gone into before, but it rocks nonetheless... It seems like they have mellowed down a bit but the typical Leaves' Eyes style is definitely there!

Tying the "Slipknot"...

My first exposure to Slipknot was an innocent one. I had known the song Vermillion for some time through my brother but never really gave much into it, that is, until I got myself Guitar Hero : Legends Of Rock. The song on there, Before I Forget, sparked my curiosity to check out more of this strange band with masks.

Now my favorite songs are still not many as I still need to listen to Slipknot more than I have already, but Before I Forget, Vermillion, Dead Memories, Duality, Child Of Burning Time, This Cold Black.
I am sure that once I check out more of Slipknot this list will get bigger :)