BlackShore is a Black Metal band from Lübeck, Germany. The band was formed in 2007 by Hades and Blizzard and has released three albums (Railway to BlackShore, Legion and Terror) and two EPs. Terror – their latest album – was released in November 2013 via Black Skull Records. I briefly spoke to Hades about Terror’s cover artwork.
Trap Them is a Grind-/Hardcore band from Louisville & Seattle, USA. The band was formed in 2001 and released 5 EPs & splits and 4 studio albums to this day. Their latest album Blissfucker came out on June 10, 2014 via Prosthetic Records. Trap Them is well known for their combination of Hardcore influences like Black Flag and Tragedy with the Death Metal sound of Dismember or Entombed.
Ringworm is a hardcore band from Cleveland, Ohio, that was formed in 1991.They released several demos and splits via Lost and Found Records, Deathwish Inc and Stillborn Records, while their last four albums were released on Victory Records. In 2013, the band announced they had signed with Relapse Records. The result is an outstanding album called Hammer of the Witch.
Gorguts is a Technical Death Metal band from Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The band was formed in 1989 and was part of the first wave of Death Metal with its debut Considered Dead from 1991 (for which Chris Barnes – then Cannibal Corpse, now Six Feet Under – did a few backing vocals) and their 1998 Masterpiece Obscura. The’ve released 5 studio albums to date with Colored Sands being the latest – released this year via Season of Mist.
The Algorithm is a music project of the French musician Rémi Gallego, combining elements of Progressive Metal with electronic music, of which the UK Metal Hammer said it was “one of the most insanely exciting bands around”. Gallego chose the band name to highlight the music’s complexity and its electronic nature in general (source). The logo design, that perfectly reflects the modern take on the musical genres The Algorithm is based on, was made by Jens Schellhase, a German designer from Cologne. The symmetry and sharp lettering reminds of the Metal genre while the slightly shifted complementary colors of the logo – creating a pseudo-3D-effect – represent the modern electronic influences.
2013 has been a great year for Metal so far. So I thought this would be a good time for a small recap of this year’s Metal albums. Based on the cover artworks of all 2013 releases by five of the biggest record companies (Metal Blade Records, Relapse Records, Nuclear Blast Records, Century Media Records and Roadrunner Records) here’s a nice and simple statistical overview for the Data Metal Nerd in you.
Orphaned Land is a Progressive Metal band from Israel formed in 1991. They combine Progressive, Doom and Death Metal as well as Middle-Eastern folk music and Arabic traditions in a form of Oriental Metal. Their latest album All Is One, released in 2013, can best be described with one of their statements: “People should be judged by their hearts and inner sincerity, not their religious beliefs.” No wonder there even was an online petition in 2012 for them to be awarded with the Nobel Price for their commitment to bring people from different nations and religions together. In a Metal world where religion tends to be just an element for easy provocation and PR it’s important that bands like Orphaned Land exist. Their message is positive, rational and humanistic.