Oathbreaker-Eros|Anteros ALBUM REVIEW

Metal and hardcore have been successful and productive allies ever since the first half of the ‘80s when bands like Metallica and Slayer began injecting punk-like speed and ferocity into their signature brand of heavy rock. The “crossover” of metal and hardcore has since bared many delicious fruits including D.R.I., Cro-Mags, The Accused, and more recently the violently aggressive Converge and the very popular Hatebreed. And while some metal fans want there to be a considerable distance between metal and hardcore (a “like one and hate the other” mentality) it cannot be denied how tightly intertwined the genres have become, especially since the oft-maligned metalcore subgenre has become so accepted and widespread over the last decade or so. However, if the decidedly whiny clean vocals and copious breakdowns of metalcore aren’t your style, then you have some more-than-decent options at your disposal, and the Belgian black metal/hardcore crossover band Oathbreaker and their latest album Eros|Anteros is well worth taking a look at.

Yung Lean-Unknown Death 2002 ALBUM REVIEW

Swedish teen rapper (as well as self-identified “sadboy”) Yung Lean’s debut album is puzzling to say the least, and it’s honestly hard to tell if it’s good or if it’s really, really bad. You would be contemplating this as well if your first exposure to the kid was the mind-bogglingly bizarre music video for the song “Hurt” which features a barrage of imagery that’s heavy on the Pokémon, Nintendo, and Arizona iced tea, of all things. He’s an enigmatic and polarizing figure in today’s hip-hop scene who will certainly attract haters like crazy, and it’s difficult to determine if he is a joke (which would be wonderful) or if he’s 100% serious (which would be even more wonderful), but for the sake of this review we will take Yung Lean and his music as seriously as possible. Welcome to Unknown Death.

Fail Friday: Falling in Reverse-Fashionably Late ALBUM REVIEW

This is the first time I'm attempting something this brave: I'm going to listen to an awful postcore album front to back and review it as I listen. Today, I'll listen to Falling in Reverse's latest album Fashionably Late

Poem: True 'Til Death

Hi guys. I recently made the decision to be straightedge, not to fit in with anything, but because I believe that it is the right choice for me. I have never been attracted to all the hedonism and excess exhibited by people in my age group (late teens-early twenties) who place so much importance on partying every friday, saturday, and sunday night. It's not for me. I don't need these toxins in my body for the sake of doing what all these other people consider to be "fun". Here's a poem I wrote about my decision.

Youtube Tuesdays: The Dumbest Argument

I have a new upload for all you guys! Basically, the whole argument that people in one particular category have NO RIGHT to make opinions about people in another category is absurd, and if you perpetuate that argument, you're being an intolerant cunt (as I say in this video.) Anyway, watch, comment, and subscribe!

Short Story 1

 Alright everyone! I recently wrote a short story and I hope you all enjoy it. Here it is:

Playlist Thursdays! 1

A new segment that I'll try to have up every week is Playlist Thursday, where I set my iPod to shuffle and give my two cents on the first 15-25 songs that pop up (depending on how much time I have). So here we go!

Metallica-Through the Never MOVIE REVIEW

So, I saw Through the Never yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised, however, I have a few complaints. Watch the above vid of me rambling about it and tell me what you think below. Keep it heavy guys!

KVLTWALTER NOW ON YOUTUBE!

 

 Yes! I am now on youtube! Because of all school, work, and volunteer work I'm doing, it's become very difficult to keep uploading articles and lengthy album reviews to this page :( until I have more free time (probably in December at this rate) I'll be doing vlogs on youtube. Just search Anthony Showalter, and you'll find me, then feel free to rate, comment, and subscribe! Here's a few others that I've done:

Yes, I finally watched the atrocity that is "Forced Gender Reassignment" Here's my reaction :)

I've kinda re-discovered video games as of late. I used to play a lot before I started high school, but once that started I gradually began drifting away from that particular passtime. Anyway, I'm a Nintendo loyal and here's what I have to say about their current systems and games

Here's one addressing a question someone asked me recently regarding metal music. I hope you find it insightful.

So that's what I have so far! I hope you guys like it.

Free Verse Poem 2

Hello everyone! Here's another poem for you to enjoy. This one came out a lot better and more poetic than the last one, so I hope you like it given that this is, like, my third or fourth poem.


They approach hungrily like sharks to helpless minnows.

The smiles on their smug faces radiate anticipation

I sheepishly look downward, the logo emblazoned on my chest

A mess of lines more like a spider’s web than words

“Faggot” they say.

“Where’d you get that ugly rag?”

My reserve of defense bankrupt and empty, cobwebs forming, rot impending

“I bought it” I utter, aggression absent and elsewhere

Barely a pause before the can of sugary liquid renders the logo a sticky, putrid mess

Forced laughter thrown on top, obscuring

Soon, Wolves in the Throne Room are buried like the famished dogs they are

  

Thanks for reading! New poems will be posted every Sunday or Monday.

Earl Sweatshirt-Doris ALBUM REVIEW

 

(So, I wrote this review for Sputnik music several weeks ago but never posted it here! Oops. Anyway, here it is)

Out of all the young, suburban LA rappers that make up the seemingly ubiquitous Odd Future collective, the teenaged Earl Sweatshirt rises above his peers with his complex rhyme schemes and considerable lyrical prowess that separates him from other OF members that seem content with rapping about bankrolls (Hodgy Beats), bitches (Hodgy Beats again), the miraculous powers of weed (Domo Genesis) and other obviously cliché rap topics that are tired and worn out at this point in hip-hop’s history. Earl’s year-long absence after the release of his acclaimed EARL mixtape garnered considerable of hype for the then-mysterious MC, and after his triumphant return on the track “Oldie” in 2012, expectations for Sweatshirt reached astronomical heights and demand for another album was feverish. At last, Odd Future fans can finally uncurl themselves from the fetal position in which they are scratching at their open sores and drooling all over themselves and finally get their fix of a new Earl Sweatshirt album, Doris.

What Makes a Metalhead?

 

Ya'know, I have a friend who often refers to himself as a "metal guy" who has "a great taste in music", and if he were to spawn a son, he would also have a great taste in music due to his father. Being a so-called "metal guy", I once went to his house to plug my iPod into his computer to add music to my digital library, thinking I would find some decent stuff (and I actually did) but I was disappointed to find mainly two things: metalcore and deathcore.

Free Verse Poem 1

So, I'm taking a creative writing class in college and I thought my poems and narratives would be a good way to keep this blog active during this semester. Album reviews will still pop up every now and then, but my full attention needs to be on school and work :( Anyway, here's my first free-verse poem which turned out alright considering I've never really wrote poetry before. Enjoy.

I sheepishly walk among others in the outside world, paranoid of all the disapproving eyes that seem to burn holes through my faded, makeshift Morbid Angel shirt; morose, ugly, and target of ridicule.  

Severed from a self-made confinement of sounds frighteningly violent, shockingly dissonant, brimming equally with rage and darkness. A world far scarier is horribly close, separate to mine only by a wall uncomfortably thin. A world that can consume my being like an unrelenting black hole. A world only of disapproval and persecution.

I venture through the brightness wary of all. The drive of morbid curiosity too strong, the need for change too high. Yet, I long for the cell of my own creation. Cannot metallic salvation take me home? 

There you go! More poems and narratives will show up on this page throughout this semester and hopefully I can get back to covering music soon. Keep it heavy \m/

Xibalba, Impale Thy Neighbor, and More: SHOW REVIEW

 (This was originally written for school and has been posted here. Enjoy)

Very rarely am I compelled to spend money to go to a show, even if it’s a band I actually care about to a modest-to-high degree. In fact, it was mainly because of this out-of-class assignment that finally got me to get out of my house and go to this show in the first place, even though the venue (The Epicentre) is located only 15 minutes away from my house on bicycle. Furthermore, out of the several bands on the bill, only two of them I actually wanted to see; my buddy’s “beatdown hardcore” band Impale Thy Neighbor, and Pamona’s sludgecore band Xibalba (who also fit under the beatdown banner.) And if we’re being honest, the live metal/hardcore show is really a flawed proposition to begin with (which I've mentioned here before). Metal bands are almost always better in the studio (to say the least) and most metal bands I've seen live, while somewhat enjoyable, just don't deliver their best. Regardless, this out-of-class assignment gave me an excuse to emerge from my hermit den and attempt to have a good time being a scrawny, bespectacled metal nerd surrounded by beefy straightedge hardcore dudes who could kick me across the parking lot for wearing the “wrong” band’s shirt, which I was.

Lycus-Tempest ALBUM REVIEW

A favorite genre among aspiring metal musicians who don’t have the technical ability to properly execute a perfect 64^th note harmonized run in 11/8 time, doom metal can be relatively easy to play, but not necessarily easy to listen to. The listener must first get past the fact that doom metal is rife with ten-plus minute dirges played at tempos so frustratingly slow that they seem to impede time. There are no shout-along choruses like in power metal or catchy riffs like in thrash, and this is particularly true for funeral doom, one of the main dervishes of the greater doom style that we have available for our dark listening enjoyment. Pioneered by European bands such as Esoteric and Thergothon in the 1990s, the microgenre has since spawned several acolytes who specialize in crafting the least commercial-friendly music imaginable, all played at (what feels like) 4 beats per minute. When done well, funeral doom can make for a compelling listen to those who are conditioned to the more extreme side of the metal spectrum, and one of the latest artists to emerge from this style is Oakland’s Lycus.

Limp Bizkit-"Ready to Go" TRACK REVIEW

Still better than Coal Chamber.

Yung Lean-"Hurt" TRACK REVEW

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Earl Sweatshirt-"Hive" TRACK REVIEW

Earl's hotly anticipated studio album Doris is finally going to be released upon the world on August 20th and Kvltwalter is awaiting its arrival. Sure, I have to wait a whole month, but it's not that unfortunate now that we have three official singles to rock out to until the time comes. All of them are fantastic, and his latest "Hive" is no different. This may even be the best out of the three, and after "Whoa", that's really saying something.

The Black Dahlia Murder-Everblack ALBUM REVIEW

When it comes to consistency in metal, Michigan metal crew The Black Dahlia Murder is one band that’s always been worth paying attention to, even worth buying in to. Over the course of six albums, the band has refused to compromise on their signature and unmistakable brand of melodious death metal, producing music where its purpose and conviction is undeniable. On their most recent album, Everblack, BDM sounds tighter and more focused than ever before doing what they have proven to be most adept a doing. Unfortunately, “doing what they’re most adept at doing” also entails the total avoidance of throwing any surprises at the listener.

Future-"Missing": Worst Song Ever?

Until we come to a time where we will face a Lil Wayne/Drake/2 Chainz/Future/Wocka Flocka/Gucci Mane/Rick Ro$$/Lil B/Soulja Boy/New Boyz collaboration album (that might bring about the apocalypse) we'll all just have to suffer through each "artist" and their material individually. One of those rappers, the artistically worthless entity who for some reason goes by the name of Future, released a song called "Missing" a few months ago and it baffles me how anyone could consider this guy a viable rapper in the industry. It is simply one of the worst songs I have ever heard on par with songs from any of the other rappers I just mentioned, and I don't know exactly what to say about it.

Straying from the path and why it's good

The picture above is of the band Deafheaven (whose album Sunbather I reviewed here) and they have recently been convicted of a major crime, a crime punishable by a lifetime of ridicule and being mocked relentlessly. What did they do wrong? What kind of heinous crime was committed on their part to justify punishing them with such a sentence?

They fused black metal with post-hardcore.

Amon Amarth-Deceiver of the Gods ALBUM REVIEW

Must we apply a genre tag to every single little dervish that pops up in metal music? Apparently we must, as is evident from the two dozen or so metal genres and subgenres that have been created over the last four decades that fans use to categorize their favorite bands, whether the bands themselves approve of them or not. Some of the more, uh, interesting genre tags that have been concocted by fans include death-grind, powerviolence, death-doom, djent, blackened death metal and, of course, progressive/sludge/post-hardcore/tribal/ambient (the genre that Neurosis fits under according to metal-archives.com) and I can only wonder what people are going to call the new Altar of Plagues album with its black metal-meets-Godflesh sound. However, there are a blessed few bands out there in the metal world that defy categorization and fly above the stigma associated with certain sub-genres. Sweden’s Amon Amarth is one such band.

Nicki Minaj. Not That Bad?

Hating on what's popular is a staple among music fans and has been for time immemorial. Whether it be '30s swing fans hating the rise of be-bop or old-school metalheads ragging on modern metalcore, what is deemed popular at any given time is going to be polarizing and probably will be for as long as music continues to exist. And how can it not be? Anything that's subjective (like music) will produce lovers as well as haters because there is no one way to view the art, and that's just the way it is by default, so keep that in mind the next time you want to start a war with that one guy who doesn't love ICP as much as you do.

"Revivalist" Bands: Cool or Lame?

So, have any of you fine people ever heard of a British post-punk band called Savages? You haven't? Well, let me tell you all about 'em! They are a group of punky-looking girls who take great influence from early '80s post-punk and goth rock bands such as Joy Division, Bauhaus, U2, and vocally, Souxie and the Banshees. So, what do they sound like? Well...a mixture of all of those bands plus Souxie and the Banshees. Everything even down to the guitar and bass tones are copied

BADBADNOTGOOD-"Hedron" TRACK REVIEW

Thanks to a friend of mine who goes by the very epic name of Matias, I have become enamored with the Canadian trio of hip-hop loving jazz deviants called BADBADNOTGOOD. Their irreverent approach to jazz has struck a chord with me, and their innovations should leave modern jazz musicians who are still playing “Giant Steps” and “Take the Fucking A-Train” obsolete. Jazz purists be damned! BBNG is ushering in a new wave of jazz for young people who would otherwise avoid the hell out of their grandparent’s Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman records.

BASBADNOTGOOD-BBNG 2 ALBUM REVIEW

For quite some time now, there, unfortunately, haven’t been many big splashes in the jazz music pond worth noting. In fact, after the height of fusion’s popularity in the early to mid ‘70s, jazz started to fade in importance and esteem, save for prominent ‘70s and ‘80s artists like Pat Metheny, Weather Report, and Wynton Marsalis. Since smooth jazz is more commercial pop music than anything else, we’re left with many “true” jazz artists producing music that has flown pretty much under the radar over the last couple decades at least. Thank God, then, for a fine group of Canadian kids named BADBADNOTGOOD, a band that offers a fusion of hip-hop, jazz, and other influences that are hard to pin down to impressive effect.

CLASSICS: Nachtmystium-Addicts: Black Meddle Part II ALBUM REVIEW

Up until fairly recently, American black metal was rarely ever taken too seriously and was seen as a novelty by some, especially those who fall under the “black metal elitist” category who won’t accept anything that comes from anywhere else but Scandinavia. American bands that donned corpsepaint and leather armor and imitated Norwegian low-fi production styles were seen more as unfunny parodies of black metal and not as groups of earnest musicians, and by looking at silly photos of Leviathan, Xasthur, and Absu that ape early Darkthrone album covers, it’s not hard to understand why. It finally took some bands that were brave enough to opt out of that decade-old image and take black metal into new stylistic territories for critics and fans to start paying attention to what the Americans were doing with great interest. By no means has this pleased everybody; the stigmatized “hipster” tag gets placed on many of these bands, and even veterans of American black metal like Wrest of Leviathan have derided them for not being “satanic” (“Don’t call it black metal then.” He said about Wolves in the Throne Room and Liturgy in an interview with Decibel.) But the development of black metal since the Americans have taken over has been an exciting evolution of sorts, and who knows where the genre will end up next.

OFWGKTA-The OF Tape Vol. 2 ALBUM REVIEW

Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (shortened to the convenient but awkward abbreviation OFWGKTA) over the last few years alone have earned themselves a substantial fanbase who adores them with the feverish devotion one would have for their firstborn child. Conversely, they’ve also garnered quite a bit of flak from critics and fans alike who knock them for their lack of street cred, uninspired lyrics on behalf of some members, and lack of perceived quality, and the criticism has indeed been harsh. While Odd Future certainly isn’t the best that hip-hop has to offer in today’s musical landscape, one cannot deny their honesty and passion for what they do. Especially if one lands within the late-teens/early-twenties age bracket that the group’s members also find themselves in, you can’t help but want to support them, be in the room with them recording, and be part of what they’re doing. Odd Future may not feature the best rappers alive by any means, but they’re seriously reminiscent of the guys that some of you probably hung out with in high school, and with that comes the group’s charm. Their realness comes with that as well, not by the collective amount of people that they’ve capped.

CLASSICS: GZA-Liquid Swords ALBUM REVIEW (redo)

Staten Island’s Wu-Tang Clan may feature enough members to field a baseball team, but it’s amazing how all of them offer a unique personality to distinguish themselves within a group that was already so uniquely aggressive and visceral, and a group who undoubtedly changed the hip-hop game. Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Cambers), the group’s mission statement, exhibited the grit and aggression of heavy metal (which the Inspectah Deck claimed they made more noise than on “Protect Ya Neck”) and displayed the realness and integrity that defines true street hip-hop. Out of what seems like 137 members and affiliates of the Wu-Tang Clan, one would think that it would be hard to stand out from the crowd, and it would be easy to become overshadowed by members who’ve garnered more hype like the very popular movie star in the group Method Man, and sometimes it is (see the Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck), but if there's one member of the Clan that shines based on skill alone - with little help from movie and television popularity - it's The GZA, aka The Genius, arguably the sharpest lyrical swordsman in the Clan and someone who truly earns his name.

Nile-At the Gate of Sethu ALBUM REVIEW

(amazing album cover, right?)

If one is in need of music that is merciless enough to damn your enemies into the darkest depths of the underworld (or possibly intense enough to bring back those who have already crossed over) then look no further than the extreme metal that is brought forth every couple of years by the kind South Carolinan boys in Nile. Torturous to listen to of one’s favorite music falls under the “Taylor Swift” category, Nile are the curators of some of the most extreme music ever created on this planet thus far. They are truly brutal, but they don’t place that quality above everything else like many modern deathcore bands, for example, that whip out their “br00tality” and wave it all over the place when, in all actuality, their music sounds a bit silly, even laughable. Nile is no-nonsense and there’s absolutely nothing funny about them, and while many will roll their eyes at their strong emphasis on ancient Egypt (the exclusive topic of their lyrics), no one should deny their tremendous level of musical integrity. At this point, Nile have become death metal Deities and dauntless defenders of the metal faith, and the world is a heavier place with them on it.

Why I Won't Review Super Collider

I have to admit, whenever a band releases an album where the general consensus is that it's "embarrassingly bad" (like Magadeth's latest Super Collider) I usually listen to at least two songs off of it, and if I agree, I avoid it. I'm not saying that I have made up my mind about the entire album based off of two or three songs, all I'm saying is that things aren't looking good at that point and I have absolutely no incentive to listen to the rest of it.

CLASSICS Down-NOLA ALBUM REVIEW

The “supergroup” is a textbook example of something that looks enticing on paper, even drool-worthy to some, but usually fails to deliver when the time comes to release a product with the intent of meeting people’s high hopes for the band. One must remember that a band that features many of one’s favorite musicians doesn’t mean that the musicians in question are accustomed to working together whatsoever. The chemistry oftentimes isn’t there for these kinds of groups, and the tremendous input might unfortunately result in a mediocre output. Heavy metal’s history is spotted with supergroups where many of them have failed to live up to their lofty expectations, and over time this has steadily lessened the expectations for supergroups entirely. Down, a band consisting of five esteemed metal musicians from New Orleans, is absolutely not one of those bands.

Queens of the Stone Age-...Like Clockwork ALBUM REVIEW

Queens of the Stone Age - peddlers of heavy, yet totally catchy rock – fit into the category of bands that have one classic album in their discography that everything they have ever released since is always compared to. Songs for the Deaf, of course, is that one album. While some may argue that Rated R which preceded it is equally as good, Songs for the Deaf gets the edge for it's more successful marriage of thick, stoner metal guitar work with a Beatles-esque pop sensibility. It was an artistic triumph in that it could go from being mainstream and poppy (“Go With the Flow”, “Do It Again”) then all of a sudden morph into something completely unfit for commercial radio (“Six Shooter”, the title track.) It’s a compelling listen from start to finish, and should seriously be owned by everyone who gives even the slightest damn about heavy music.

High on Fire-De Vermis Mysreriis ALBUM REVIEW

As the guitarist for stoner rock legends Sleep and now the frontman for the monstrously heavy High on Fire, is it possible for Matt Pike to do any wrong? Sleep’s Holy Mountain is an undisputed classic, and everything he’s put out with High on Fire so far has been one metallic gut punch after another. All of these albums - which include Surrounded By Thieves and the excellent Death is This Communion - feature heaping amounts of drop-tuned guitar sludge, barbaric drumming, and Matt Pike’s signature gurgled vocal delivery. In our modern metal landscape polluted with so much generic breakdown-abusing deathcore, mindless displays of technicality, and autotuned Attack Attack! copycats which leave many metalheads face-palming, High on Fire is one band that can still get a thumbs up from those who are jaded and tired of the current state of metal. Basically, if you’re hungering for heavy music with no pretense or gimmicks, High on Fire is one of the first bands that should be recommended for you to check out.

Tim Lambesis Out On Bail. May Possibly Be Locked Up Again In A Few Weeks

For As I Lay Dying frontman Tim Lambesis - the screamer who finally made me like music with screaming in it many years ago - things are not looking up whatsoever. The circumstances of his arrest (going up to an undercover cop and offering him money to kill his ex-wife, which there is supposed to be audio of) makes him look very, very guilty in my eyes and in the eyes of many in the metal community. Like I mentioned in my last post on the topic, he did, in fact, plead not guilty. This means that he's actually going to present a case which I'm very eager to hear, and his next scheduled court date, according to the San Diego Reader, is June 26th 2013.

Tim was released on bail on May 30, and the thing that shocked me was that the bail was previously set at two million dollars, a very hefty amount, and he managed to make bail which made me wonder how the hell he came up with the money. To no surprise, he did not, nor did anyone else have 2 million dollars to bail him out; he actually worked with a bail bond company to pay the two million for him while he paid a premium of $160,000 which he will certainly not get back, still a hefty amount, but considerably less that two fucking million.

Unfortunately, there's still a big chance that he'll end up right back behind bars in a short time from now, but the fact that he's pleaded not guilty and has paid a large sum of money to get himself out of prison tells me that he believes in himself, that he is right, and that he is innocent. As a person who is hoping that he's innocent as well, I with the best for Tim, but I'm not going to pretend like I know how everything is going to fall into place, because there's still a lot that we don't know for certain.

Stay tuned for more on this case.

Deafheaven-Sunbather ALBUM REVIEW

My interest in USBM (United States Black Metal for the uninformed) has been relatively high ever since I became a fan of Wolves in the Throne Room and Krallice as a high schooler several years ago. These bands, who showed up during the middle of the last decade, gave my generation its own black metal bands to sacrifice cats to, as well as freed us from being limited to just those scary-looking (or silly-looking depending on how you see it) 1990s Nordic fellows for black metal enjoyment. For me, this is fantastic because of how far-removed black metal seemed to me for such a long time. While I indeed enjoyed Emperor and Immortal, there wasn't a lot to relate to other than a distaste for Christianity. With these new trailblazers within our borders, I finally feel like I can take black metal music as my own, rather than just looking at it from behind a glass at a museum.

CLASSICS: Rush-Permanent Waves ALBUM REVIEW

Besides this review of Alex Lifeson's guitar solo, I haven't talked about Rush very much on this blog, and for no good reason. Rush is a very important band for a scrawny little nerd like myself; I own every Rush album up to Exit...Stage Left (minus their self titled debut) and I even have a giant Rush poster hanging over my fucking bed. Hell, just look at this picture of me:

Death Magnetic: It Wasn't That Bad

If you haven't heard, Megadeth's new album Super Collider is going to be released soon and people have come to an agreement that it's almost as bad as their infamous 1999 album Risk. Have I personally heard either album yet? No, but the point here is to address a comment about Super Collider made by Metalsucks writer Axl Rosenberg. This is a quote from his recent review of the album:

The Appeal of Cheesy Music

Nation, I have to admit to all of you that I can be a pretty miserable person, given there is a considerable amount of shittiness happening around me. All I need to do is go on facebook and see pictures of a girl I like with another guy and BOOM! I'm miserable. These days, whenever I pass a graveyard and it seems strangely appealing to me, all I need to do is blast some Wu-Tang shit and I'll snap back into a neutral state. But it wasn't always that way. Up until recently, I would always gravitate toward songs like the one above whenever I felt like an emo pansy. I'd say this kind of 3rd-wave emo was ineffective in helping my mood at all, so why was I so attracted to it?

New Madvillain Album This Year?!

According to the fine fellows at Rhapsody, Madvillainy, the only album released by the hip-hop duo Madvillain so far (MC: DOOM, DJ: Madlib), is the greatest hip-hop album from the last decade. While I personally don't hold it to that level, and I don't even think it's the best thing DOOM has ever done (THIS is), I will admit that Madvillainy is one hell of a unique album and a feat of creativity in hip-hop. For me, it's like the Paul's Boutique of DOOM's discography; my favorite album is the one that came before it, but I have to recognize that the follow-up exists on a deeper level than its predecessor. But one thing that frustrates many hip-hop fans who drool all over this album's greatness is that it came out in 2004 and we haven't heard much from Madvillain since, minus some demo tracks released from the Stones Throw label a few years ago, so when will we hear anything new from this villainous pair?

Top 5 Reasons NOT To F*ck With The Wu-Tang Clan

Nation, I have to admit that I have a problem: I have Wu-Tang addiction. And will it subside anytime soon and allow me to take control of my life again? Maybe, maybe not. The “Shaolin Sound” produced by the RZA and the rappers who stomp all over it has become my obsession as is evident by looking at all of my school papers which are covered with the logo at the top of this post. "The Amazing Atheist" TJ Kirk said in a recent video that it's a good thing to have addictions, because if you don't, then you'll have nothing to fall back on. It's just a matter of choosing your addictions wisely. Is it wise to have become addicted to the Clan? I'd say so, because if I'm ever feeling lower than dirt I can just put on "Bring Da Ruckus", rock the fuck out, and I'll feel fine. 

Sacrificing Metal Identity? Why I Cut My Hair

For the third time now I have gone from looking like this:

to this:

Every time I've done it, I cause everyone around me to ask "why?", and every time I've done it I end up choosing to grow it out to its old length. A year and a half later and, boom! I'm a metalhead again. But this time I'm going to consider keeping my head well shorn, maybe forever. For so long it has been part of my heavy metal identity to sport this look, but recently I've been finding myself drifting away from this identity altogether.

The "La Villa Strangiato" Solo: Putting Most Guitar Solos To Shame Since 1978

(skip to 3:53)

There are just some things that I will never ever get tired of, maybe for as long as I live. Among those in that category include eggplant sandwiches, watching old episodes of Spongebob, masturbation, and, of course, listening to various versions of Alex Lifeson's "La Villa Strangiato" solo.