R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio

A sad day for metal indeed. After a six month battle with stomach cancer, one of the greatest heavy metal vocalists passed away on Sunday, May 16, 2010.

Performing for more than 50 years and being part of musical acts such as Heaven and Hell, Dio, Rainbow, and Elf, Ronnie James Dio had made himself one of the most respected names of heavy metal. In addition to his powerful voice, RJD popularized the "devil horns," the heavy metal salute.

Rest in peace Dio. You will be missed by metalheads and non-metalheads alike.

Race for the morning
You can hide in the sun ‘til you see the light
Oh we will pray it’s alright

Technical Difficulties

I was gonna post the new Gogol Bordello album, but Mediafire refuses to work. If I'm not able to upload stuff to Mediafire for a while, I'll probably just start posting reviews without the download links. But look on the bright side: at least I won't get any legal trouble!

Hell Yeah!

You remember that song from Scarface? The one that plays in the montage scene right after Tony kills Frank Lopez? Yea…

Ok, so it’s your typical 80s-one-hit-wonder-catchy-as-hell-synth-overdose-nobody-knows-it-even-though-it-was-in-one-of-the-greatest-movies-ever-made song, but that doesn’t stop it from being totally awesome…or totally cheesy for that matter. In fact, I’m really not sure why I love this song.

The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound (2008)

Wow, this band just screams "We're from New Jersey!" The Gaslight Anthem borrows influences from songwriters such as Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and (obviously) Bruce Springsteen and adds a 50s flair and a punk rock edge. The sound might seem unique, but I really wouldn't call it something special. However don't let that discourage you. The magic of The '59 Sound lies with the unbelievable catchiness of the songs. After only two or three listens, I could remember every single track on this album, especially songs such as "Great Expectations" and "The Patient Ferris Wheel." The Gaslight Anthem is certainly a band to watch out for, especially since their next album, American Slang, is set to be released on June 15.

1) Great Expectations
2) The '59 Sound
3) Old White Lincoln
4) High Lonesome
5) Film Noir
6) Miles Davis and the Cool
7) The Patient Ferris Wheel
8) Casanova, Baby!
9) Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
10) Meet Me by the River's Edge
11) Here's Looking At You Kid
12) The Backseat

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Operation Ivy - Energy (1990)

"All I know is that I don't know, all I know is that I don't know nothing."

Operation Ivy is regarded as one of the most important bands of the third wave of ska. Despite their extremely short career, they have certainly made their name known in the music industry. Operation Ivy created a strong foundation for the ska punk sound that would be used by and built upon by numerous bands in the 90s. After the band broke up, guitarist Tim Armstrong and bassist Matt Freeman went on to form Rancid. Operation Ivy's only album Energy was released on vinyl as a 19 song album and rerelased on CD with the Hectic EP and other tracks as a bonus.

1) Knowledge
2) Sound System
3) Jaded
4) Take Warning
5) The Crowd
6) Bombshell
7) Unity
8) Vulnerability
9) Bankshot
10) One of these Days
11) Gonna Find You
12) Bad Town
13) Smiling
14) Caution
15) Freeze Up
16) Artificial Life
17) Room Without a Window
18) Big City
19) Missionary
20) Junkie's Runnin' Dry
21) Here We Go Again
22) Hoboken
23) Yellin in my Ear
24) Sleep Long
25) Healthy Body
26) Officer
27) I Got No

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The Ocean - Heliocentric (2010)

The Ocean takes a whole new musical direction on Heliocentric. This new album is much more diverse than the previous three albums. Heliocentric ranges from soft songs featuring piano to heavy sludge tracks. Although fluXion and the second disc of Precambrian have been described as atmospheric and symphonic, both are still rather abrasive and come nowhere close to the level that Heliocentric is on. The lyrics of this album revolve around a debate between science and religion, from the perspective of science. A follow-up album, Anthropocentric, which takes the religious point of view will be released later this year.

1) Shamayim
2) Firmament
3) The First Commandment of the Luminaries
4) Ptolemy Was Wrong
5) Metaphysics of the Hangman
6) Catharsis of a Heretic
7) Swallowed by the Earth
8) Epiphany
9) The Origin of Species
10) The Origin of God

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RIP Peter Steele

In case you haven't heard yet:

Peter Steele passed away on Wednesday, April 14, 2010. Steele was best known as the frontman of the gothic doom metal band Type O Negative among other projects. Steele's voice was truly unique and one of the biggest contributors to Type O Negative's signature sound. Rest in Peace Peter, you will be missed.

Loving you was like loving the dead

Sleep - Sleep's Holy Mountain (1993)

Stoner metal at its finest. This classic album is slow, groovy, bluesy, and everything else that stoner metal should be.

1) Dragonaut
2) The Druid
3) Evil Gypsy/Solomon's Theme
4) Some Grass
5) Aquarian
6) Holy Mountain
7) Inside the Sun
8) From Beyond
9) Nain's Baptism

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Burning Witch - Crippled Lucifer (1998)

After months of intense amounts of schoolwork and not wanting to have to deal with complaints by record labels, I post my next album.

A sludge classic. Slow, heavy, dark as hell. What more could you want?

1) Warning Signs
2) Stillborn
3) History of Hell
4) Sacred Predictions
5) Country Doctor
6) Tower Place
7) Sea Hag

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Thou Shalt Suffer - Into the Woods of Belial (1997)

Thou Shalt Suffer was one of the many side projects of the Norwegian circle of second wave black metal bands. This project features Ihsahn, Samoth, and Ildjarn. Instead of the usual lo-fi black metal, Thou Shalt Suffer plays (or played I should say) a rather odd type of death metal, with extremely guttural vocals and effectively used keyboards. This compilation feature the original Into the Woods of Belial demo, the Open the Mysteries of Your Creation EP, and a rehearsal from 1991.

1) Into the Woods of Belial
2) I Seek the Path of Obscurity
3) Chimera Dimension
4) The Goat of a Thousand Young
5) Succumb to Vestigia Terrent
6) Painful Void of Time
7) Spectral Prophecy
8) Into the Woods of Belial
9) The Goat of a Thousand Young
10) Chimera Dimension
11) I Seek the Path of Obscurity (Burp Mix)
12) Obscurity Supreme

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