What is death metal?

Death metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that emerged in the early 1980s. It is characterized by its extreme brutality and aggressive musicianship, often featuring fast and complex guitar work, blast beat drumming, and guttural growling or screaming vocals. Lyrically, death metal often focuses on dark and violent themes, such as death, disease, and macabre.

The genre is known for its intense and abrasive sound and has a dedicated and passionate fanbase. Some of the most famous death metal bands include Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, and Obituary.

The origin of death metal as a musical genre is a matter of some debate among fans and musicologists, but one of the earliest and most influential bands in the genre is widely considered to be Possessed. Formed in 1983 in the San Francisco Bay Area, Possessed is considered by many to be the first death metal band and their 1985 album “Seven Churches” is considered a classic of the genre. The band’s extreme and aggressive sound, combined with satanic and occult-themed lyrics, set the stage for the development of death metal in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

LAMB OF GOD’s New Album Omens

Richmond, Virginia’s LAMB OF GOD have dropped the official lyric video for the brand new song “Nevermore“, from the band’s upcoming album, “Omens“, which arrives on October 7 via Epic Records.

Densely muscular, soaked in unnerving spite, with a pessimistic eye toward inner struggles and global affairs alike, “Omens” is a furious entry in the LAMB OF GOD catalog, perhaps the band’s angriest album yet.

Omens

“The world is crazy and keeps changing. ‘Omens‘ is a reaction to the state of the world,” explains vocalist D. Randall Blythe. “It’s a very pissed-off record.” He pauses for emphasis. “It is extremely pissed off.”

“Omens” is also LAMB OF GOD‘s most diverse affair. The band tracked with longtime collaborator Josh Wilbur (KORN, MEGADETH) live in the room together at Henson Recording Studios (formerly A&M Studios) in Los Angeles, California, a location that birthed classics from THE DOORS, PINK FLOYD, RAMONES, and SOUNDGARDEN, among others.

“The inner workings of the band have never been better,” explains guitarist Mark Morton. “You can hear it in ‘Omens‘. You can see it in our performances, and if you’re around us for five minutes, you can feel it.”

The “Omens” album pre-order is live now at Lamb-Of-God.com, boasting several exclusive items, including a signed colored vinyl variant, shirt, hoodie, and signed CDs with an alternate color cover. All physical CD and vinyl releases will include a free access code to watch the live stream viewing of “The Making Of Omens” documentary, which will premiere the week of the album release.

LAMB OF GOD “Omens” track listing:

01. Nevermore
02. Vanishing
03. To The Grave
04. Ditch
05. Omens
06. Gomorrah
07. Ill Designs
08. Grayscale
09. Denial Mechanism
10. September Song

LAMB OF GOD will support “Omens” with a massive Live Nation-produced U.S. headlining tour featuring special guests KILLSWITCH ENGAGE on all dates. Different legs will also see support from BARONESS, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, SPIRITBOX, ANIMALS AS LEADERS as well as SUICIDE SILENCE and FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY. The tour kicks off September 9 in Brooklyn and runs through October 20. Tickets go on sale starting Friday, June 10 at 10 a.m. local time on lamb-of-god.com.

Lamb of God’s Nevermore

Slipknots “We Are Not Your Kind” Has Released

Slipknot

 

Slipknot have released their sixth album, We Are Not Your Kind, which follows 2013’s .5: The Gray Chapter and sees the band coming closer than ever before to having made a concept record.

The 14-track title was preceded by the singles ““Unsainted,” “Solway Firth” and “Birth of the Cruel” and arrives amid the band’s Slipknot Roadshow North American tour.

You can listen to the album in full via Apple Music

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Slipknot

Corey Taylor Reveals Lyrical Themes for Next SLIPKNOT Album

Slipknot is in the midst of recording their new album, with the anticipated release sometime this summer.

With that, it’s pretty surprising that Taylor is making himself available for interviews. Last week, he spoke about how he prefers working with producer Greg Fidelman over a big name like Rick Rubin, and this week, he spoke with Music Week about the lyrical inspirations for the new album.

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Metallics

Cliff Burton vs Jason Newsted

Metallica fans often obsess over bass: whether it’s the greatness of Cliff Burton’s playing, the absence of any audible bass playing on …And Justice for All, the rest of the Jason Newsted era and the following era, which featured his successor, Robert Trujillo. In a new interview, producer Flemming Rasmussen went in-depth about the recording process with the thrash legends and discussed working with both Burton and Newsted.

 

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Release Day Roundup – 6/8/18

Each month, we always seem to come to the same conclusion when it comes to our  Editors’ Picks  column: Friday release days open the floodgates and unleash a seemingly endless stream of quality new music. But while some of our Editors and Contributors sit down gleefully each week to dive into this newly stocked treasure trove, others find themselves drawing a blank at the end of the month due to the breakneck pace needed to keep up to date with what’s been released.

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