Hallowed Be This Band

Throwback Thursday!

For this TBT, we're going back to Iron Maiden's Powerslave tour for a performance from Long Beach Arena. In this video, the legendary heavy metal pioneers are performing their monster of a song, Hallowed Be They Name, often regarded as the most deeply philosophical song by the band. This song tells the story of a prisoner on his way to be hanged, reflecting on his faith in God as he is being led to his inevitable death. Is this truly the end? Is He really there? Why has He abandoned me? Bruce Dickinson's operatic singing style makes this song a true "epic," and in this performance you will see why this band has been named the greatest live band ever by many sources.

F*** The Corpse

Keep Your Eye On Them!

Band: Walking Corpse Syndrome

Formed: 2006

Origin: Missoula, Montana, United States

Genre(s): Dark Metal, Melodic Death Metal

Sounds like: ???

Releases: One full-length album; second album in progress

Why you should check them out: Walking Corpse Syndrome is one of the rare bands that can truly be called "unique". Their music blends the organized chaos of melodic death metal with the atmosphere of Tool. The band is one of a kind in the sense that they utilize two drummers playing the same patterns in perfect sync to create a thick sound. It admittedly doesn't do much for the studio songs, but live it is both a spectacle and creates a much thicker sound than just one. The songs are more mid-tempo than most melodeath, but the result is a brooding and dark atmosphere. The band's vocals consist of either death growls or black metal-esque shrieks, and are delivered with a speed and cadence that is almost reminiscent of rapping. The band uses many unconventional elements in their songs, which makes them difficult to put into any definitive genre, and nearly impossible to compare to any other bands. Just this year they have opened for major bands such as Otep, Soulfly, and Decapitated, and have received limited, but strong acclaim for their music and live performances. They've been around for a while, but if recent events are any indication, they will be climbing the metal ladder quickly. Give them the support they need, they are a truly unique band with great potential to become a major force in metal.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/walking.corpse.syndrome

Bandcamp: https://corpsewalker.bandcamp.com/

Videos: 

"Walking Sacrifice Official Video"

Announcement from the Depths of Hell

Readers of The Foundry, I promised in the first post of this blog that I would cover all the bases and keep everyone happy, and I am making good on that promise. Ladies and gentleman, boy and girls, dogs and cats, it gives me great pleasure to introduce the newest member of The Foundry's crew, Dez! Dez is a good friend of mine; he's an ancient demon from Hell who has been living among humans for several hundred years. Once you get past the demon thing, he's actually a pretty normal dude. Some of his antics take a bit of getting used to though, like how when he's bored he'll possess you and make you hit yourself going "Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself!" He also belches and farts fire, which I gotta admit is pretty cool, but I digress. Dez is a big fan of music. More specifically, he really likes extreme music. He just NEVER shuts up about it, so I'm giving him his own weakly feature, "Dez's Dungeon," where he can vent all he wants about his extreme metal. He will be talking about the heaviest of the heavy, the blackest of the black, and all things brutal and goretastic. Just don't insult him if you disagree with his opinions, because he can possess you through your computer. Trust me, he's done it to me. Beginning this Friday, The Foundry will have its weekly "Dez's Dungeon" feature where Dez will spill whatever is on his mind in the world of extreme metal, and you know he'll be honest. Just don't take some of the stuff he says too personally. He is an ancient demon after all.

(Insert Pun About Getting Slashed)

New Release Review

Band: Slash ft. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators

Album: World On Fire

Release Date: September 10, 2014

Genre(s): Hard Rock

My Review: Having played with bands such as Guns n Roses and Velvet Revolver, and influenced multiple generations of aspiring guitar players, Slash certainly has the established credibility of a living legend. Now that he's hooked up with vocal god Myles Kennedy, and the rest of their band, he's showing that he still has loads of gas in his musical tank. World on Fire is another very solid release in the guitar hero's catalog. Having listened to the album in its entirety, the thing most apparent is the consistency of the song quality. No song on the album strikes me as "great" or "bad," but every song is solid. It's hard to pick out a favorite because nothing stands out as spectacular, but I can't see myself skipping any songs on future listens. The musicianship doesn't stand out as spectacular either, but it does stand out as a near-flawless complement to Myles Kennedy's angelic voice. Everyone who knows who Myles Kennedy is knows that he is one of the greatest singers in rock today, and maybe even all time, but somehow the musicianship in the band elevates his voice even more, and vice versa. The sum in this case really is better than its parts.

In Conclusion: 'World On Fire' by Slash ft. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators is a solid album that does not stand out as great, but will certainly keep just about any rock fan satisfied.

The Foundry's Score: 7.5/10

Bottom Line: You will enjoy this album. 

Buy the album on iTunes or the Amazon Music Store.

Hostile Machine Takeover

The Essentials Collection

Band: Fear Factory

Album: Demanufacture

Year: 1995

Genre(s): Industrial metal, Extreme metal

Why You Need This Album: Some bands have been labeled by critics and fans as "pioneers," even though they weren't truly innovators in music. Fear Factory are not one of those bands. They broke ground in the early 90s with their debut album, 1992's "Soul Of A New Machine," being the first album to blend harsh and clean vocals, a style which has since been adopted by many metal bands. It was also the first album to blend metal with electronic elements, creating the genre of industrial metal. This album, Soul Of A New Machine's follow-up, is by far the band's crowning achievement, and a quintessential 90s metal album.

This is a concept album inspired by the hit movie, The Terminator, and tells the story of a man living in a country with a government controlled by machines, with each song being a chapter in his life. The story kicks off with the title track, with a blistering drum and guitar passage that still to this day is one of the heaviest song intros ever, and Burton C. Bells growls throughout fill the song with raw anger. The album then leads into "Self Bias Resistor," with yet another machine gun-like intro with Dino Cazeras's rapid palm-muted guitar and Ray Herrera's blistering speed and precision on drums creating a devastating sonic assault. The song also gives the listener a taste of frontman Bell's porcelain smooth clean vocals in the choruses, showing his immense vocal versatility. Another noteworthy song is the album's fifth track, "New Breed," which opens with a bass drop that could punch a hole in your chest if you weren't braced for it. The song is significantly shorter than the rest of the songs on the album, but despite the length, it manages to pack a more brutal punch than most other songs on there. The ninth track, "H-K (Hunter Killer)" is yet another slamming song with an intro describing a man on shooting spree from the perspective of a news reporter live on the scene. The eleventh and final song on the album, "A Therapy For Pain," is an eerie song laced with Bell's mournful singing that creates a creepy atmosphere with creepy lyrics to boot. This spine-tingler of a song is a perfect ending to a sensational album filled with vivid imagery which paints a picture that allows the listener to see all the events of the album playing out in their head. A true masterpiece of an album that every metal fan should own.