Dead Rhetoric.com Week in Review: March 30 to April 5, 2014
Saturday, 5th April 2014
The announcement of the 2014 installment of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem festival indicates that summer is right around the corner, which for us living in the Northeast or Midwest portions of the United States, is hard to fathom. (Let’s not forget about our Canadian friends, too.) Predictably, the lineup is of the subpar variety, so much so that we won’t be making plans for coverage, although it’s a guarantee the fest will have no problem with media requests. But to the matter at hand: Spring has sprung, our friends over in Europe are gearing up for festival season, and the calendar continues to roll on… – David E. Gehlke
General housekeeping
Our March 2014 album of the month: Morbus Chron’s excellent Sweven.
Features
Heralded Finnish black metal Sargeist have a new album, Feeding the Crawling Shadows. Here to discuss was mainman Shatraug.
More black metal, this time of the American variety with West Virginia’s Helgardh.
Australian thrashers Truth Corroded have been gradually moving up the ranks. Their new Saviours Slain was the topic of choice when bassist Greg Shaw caught up with DR.
Reviews
Emerging Italian death metallers Hour of Penance do their thing on the well-received Regicide.
Former Exodus throat Steve “Zetro” Souza is on his second Hatriot album in as many years with Dawn of the New Centurion.
Yet another death metal comeback, this time in the form of Massacre’s Back From Beyond.
Ifing’s Against this Weald is forest-y black metal of the highest order.
The inclusion of two members of Blind Guardian gives Sinbreed’s Shadows some much-needed publicity, but not much else.
Harakiri for the Sky establish themselves as a post-black metal band to watch for with Aokiagahara.
Capable of “stripping the paint off one’s walls,” The Drip make a quick impact with their A Presentation of Gruesome Poetics.
The mysterious lot that is Dead in the Manger have a gem on their hands with Transience.
Former Killswitch Engage singer Howard Jones returns with Devil You Know, whose The Beauty of Destruction debut is quite solid.
Their name might be difficult to pronounce, but Schammash provide a bounty of challenging atmospheric BM moments via Contradiction.
The news in ten
1. Mastodon reveals new album title.
2. Michael Kiske on the “evils” of evil in metal.
3. Anathema to release Distant Satellites in June.
4. Sirenia resigns with Napalm Records.
5. Eyehategod streams a new jam, “Robitussin and Rejection.”
6. Accept to release Blind Rage in July.
7. Massacre streams their new album in full.
8. Sworn Enemy also streams a new song, “Hard Way.”
9. Within Temptation to embark on North American tour this fall.
10. Meshuggah to celebrate their 25th anniversary with a run of tour dates in North America.
