Tag Archives: Guido Rants

Periodic Table of Metal

Somebody shared the above image on my Facebook news feed today and I think it’s pretty cool. I can’t give you a source right now, but feel free to let me know where this picture came from and I’ll update this article with the source.

Either way, it’s a pretty sweet idea and nicely done. If you’re into metal and chemistry, this should give you wet dreams. Click the above image to see the full picture.

SOPA – We asked for opinions

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is a very controversial subject. We found that out when we asked 20 musicians, 3 artists, 1 band manager and 1 PR agent for their opinion on the matter, and only 6 of them finally sent us a statement.

We do understand that some people don’t want to comment on the bill though. Not everyone is going to understand and agree with what these people think. They are musicians after all, not average internet users. So their opinion on the matter might split their fanbase into two camps, and we can definitely understand why they don’t want to risk that.

With that being said, with this article we’re trying to give those people a chance to speak on the matter, since they would be affected by it in different ways than most people. Five musicians (including one who is also the director of an independent record label), one artist and finally the writers of this website speak out on the Stop Online Piracy Act and piracy in general right after the jump.

Now, why would our opinion really matter? Dose of Metal and other similar music blogs rely heavily on Youtube and PR agencies distributing music for promotion purposes through one-click hosts. Without that, this site would barely be able to exist in its current form.

Musicians and other artists would face an even bigger challenge, if this bill went through. Just think of all the internet promotion they couldn’t count on anymore.

Keep all that in mind when you’re reading the rest of this story after the jump.

Slamming Beatdown Death live… wait what?

I’m a Death Metal guy. Everybody who knows me, knows that I love Death Metal. I’m mainly into classic Death, but also enjoy quite a few Melodic, Brutal, Progressive and Blackened Death Metal bands, and in some cases even Deathgrind. I’m saying that to let you know that I’m open-minded when it comes to Death Metal. I even thought I knew quite a bit about the genre but I have never heard of Slamming Beatdown Death before.

So now I’m posting a live performance of Begging For Incest. I’ll be honest, I’m partly posting this because their vocalist Meik is a buddy of mine. But I’m mainly posting this because of how fascinating I find it that this actually appeals to me. It goes exactly against what I usually enjoy. It’s simple, it pretty much only consists of breakdowns and the vocals are mainly pig squeals.

It’s similiar to my fascination with Mortician. Dumbed down, braindead but fun Death Metal. Don’t watch it if you’re expecting something technical and challenging. If you’re able to turn off your brain and just want to have a good time with some really heavy music, watch the video above.

Thursday Dose: This Is Turin

Writing for Dose of Metal gave me the opportunity to check out bands, I probably wouldn’t have heard of otherwise. Of all the great bands I got to check out, one stood out.

In May of last year, I reviewed Condate Records’ Split Roast sampler. The review didn’t go over well with some of the bands included on the sampler, but it never really bothered me what people thought about my writing. You just have to take it with a grain of salt, when a band, that you wrote negatively about, criticizes your work.

One band included on the Split Roast sampler was Colonel Blast. They got the best rating from me, with a 4-and-a-half skull rating for their two songs included. I really wanted to get their debut album next to review. I wrote to Condate Records, I wrote to their PR agency and I wrote to the band, to no success. It may be speculation on my part, but I felt like they didn’t want to cooperate with us, because of my negative reviews of some of their fellow bands.

Here is the catch, I’m a stubborn motherfucker. If you don’t give me your album for review purposes, I’ll just buy it and then review it. Obviously, as a reviewer for a metal blog, you can’t buy each and every album you want to review. You’d be broke within weeks. I bought Colonel Blast’s For The Greater Good anyhow and gave it a 5 skull review.

Following that review, the band apologized to me for not sending me their album and thanked me for the review. Maybe I was wrong, and the band simply overlooked my inquiry by mistake. To leave it all behind, I offered them an interview. I wanted to do a joint interview with their previous singer Matt Bolton and their current singer Darryl Jones. I never got an answer and was finally fed up with their unprofessionalism.

It’s pretty simple. I don’t have to write about your band. If I like your band, I’m writing about it to make other people, who read our site, check out your band. To me that’s a very positive thing. If I like your band, write positively about it and you simply don’t want to cooperate with me… well… fuck you. There’s not a better way to put it. If you don’t want the promotion, I won’t force it upon you.

More than half a year later, I find out about This Is Turin. This Is Turin is Darryl Jones’ original band, and guess what. I like them. So, even after the two dumps Colonel Blast took on us, I’m again swallowing my pride and going out of my way to write about their singer’s work. This time I’m not doing it because I think they deserve the promotion. I’m doing it because this is what Dose of Metal is designed to do; write about good music.

This Is Turin certainly do play great music and I’d like our readers to listen to them. After all, this should be about the appreciation of music, and not personal feelings towards their creators. I just want you, the readers, to understand that it wasn’t an easy decision for me to write about This Is Turin. But I want you to check them out either way. You can do that on Soundcloud or simply click the play button below. While you do that, I will keep on questioning my decision to write about them.

Death ’til Death – Day 7: Obituary

Our Death Metal week is coming to an end. With six bands already having been covered over the course of the past six days, some Death Metalheads might have been missing Obituary. I did not forget about this Florida Death Metal giant, and saved the last spot for them.

Obituary was formed, under the name of Executioner (and shortly after that Xecutioner), in 1984. The name-change to Obituary came in 1988, after they released four demos — with one interestingly named Metal Up Your Ass, the original title for Metallica’s debut album Kill ‘Em All. Their first three albums; Slowly We Rot, Cause Of Death and The End Complete; are considered not only Death Metal classics but pioneering works of the scene.

In 1997, the band had grown tired of touring and decided to split up. During their downtime, Allen West, Obituary lead guitarist, famously spend his time playing with Six Feet Under. Their drummer, and brother of vocalist John Tardy, Donald Tardy played with Andrew W.K., including playing on W.K.’s hit album I Get Wet.

The band reformed in 2003, and released three albums since. Obituary still stay true to their roots with their newer material. With their impressive catalogue, they have proved again and again that they’re one of the most important bands of the genre. They have achieved legendary status a long time ago and should never be missed when Death Metal is being discussed.

Obituary – Cause Of Death

Death ’til Death introduction – Day 1: Death – Day 2: Possessed – Day 3: Morbid Angel
Day 4: Cannibal Corpse – Day 5: Nile – Day 6: Hypocrisy – Day 7: Obituary