Cleveland's Cloud Nothings have arrived with Attack on Memory. There was no doubt this album would be my pick for this first month of 2012. It's inevitable that I miss out on a band at Fun Fun Fun fest every year and it seems 2011 was no exception. I had no...
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“Lu-ci-feeeeeer!” The ceremony started at 10:30pm on a bone chilling night at Denver’s Marquis Theater. The 8th of 13 ‘dates of doom’ for Sweden’s enigmatic retro-metallers brought with it all the elements that are now expected from this young, hyped group of nameless ghouls. Fronted by Papa Emeritus, a skeletal figure in red and...
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Work travel has made for a stunted start to a new year of music for ILSUDH2, but Brian H is here with the year’s first metal review! Machine Head is one of those bands that have been through some ups and downs over the years. After obliterating the metal world with their debut album...
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Metal, in all of its forms, played a huge part in the 2011 musical landscape. In fact, it wouldn’t be going too far to say that extreme music in general made up a majority of the highlights in a year that provided too few. Extreme music brings with it an extreme (and extremely opinionated...
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I was kidding myself thinking I could come home from a week in Austin and find the time to write a detailed review of Fun Fun Fun this year. I am buried in lists, work, e-mails and filthy laundry. But somehow I keep finding myself on youtube, reliving my favorite moments of the weekend. ...
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Oh Sunday, Fun Fun Fun Day, I gotta admit it was a little hard to get started. After enduring some 20 hours of festival living (aka eating and drinking dust and watching live music), and endless nites of violent, half-naked emcees (B L A C K I E), blackgaze chaos (Deafheaven) and horsecore (Dead...
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As if threes days and nites of triple fun wasn’t enough, the time police tacked on an extra hour last night. First it was 1:45am and then it was 12:45am. That hour was very unnecessary and highly detrimental to my well being. I blame that hour for how I feel this morning. Luckily, I...
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Fun Fun Fun managed the transition from Waterloo Park to the much larger Auditorium Shores without losing what made it special in the first place. While the short walk between stages (and scenes) became somewhat of a hike, this really gave more room for those spaces in between and removed the noise battle that...
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Those hoping for a death metal show when Opeth came through Denver last week were sorely disappointed, but those who were familiar with the new album and aware of the progressive setlist were treated to a perfectly balanced rock show by some of the most talented musicians to come from Sweden. As the snow...
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Absu -Abzu (Candlelight, 2011) This is the sixth album from the Texas-based blackened thrash metal band led by Proscriptor McGovern. Having been around for over 20 years now, my first introduction to this band was their opening slot for Immortal back in February. As impressive as it was to see McGovern croak out intense...
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40 Watt Sun – The Inside Room (Metal Blade, 2011) Doom metal love ballads? I don’t know if they really exist, but Patrick Walker and his latest doom trio, 40 Watt Sun, do their best to make them so. Don’t get me wrong, this is a traditional doom album with slabs upon slabs of...
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