Monthly Archives: January 2017

Dr. Shrinker – Contorted Dioramic Palette (2015)

Posted on January 28, 2017 by Old Disgruntled Bastard

“The Doctor is in” Back in the ’90s, the American Midwest was home to some of the most individualistic death metal in the underground. DIY in aesthetic and genuinely creative as a spill over from that spirit of independence, bands … Continue reading →

Posted in Death Metal | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

What is reverse-discrimination?

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Old Disgruntled Bastard

The idea of reverse-discrimination is widely criticized as a non-starter but any idea that has mob approval behind it or against it deserves to be looked at closely. I am a brown man from a country with plenty of colonial baggage; … Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughts | Tagged , | 3 Comments

A thought on counterpoint: works with black metal, not so much with death metal

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Old Disgruntled Bastard

Counterpoint in music is two or more competing voices in the same general musical space. Counterpoint is not the simple parallel harmonies practiced by the likes of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest; these are essentially the same sequence of notes, … Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughts, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Daemoniac – Spawn Of The Fallen (2017)

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Old Disgruntled Bastard

Daemoniac from Italy release a galvanizing, no-bullshit death metal debut in Spawn Of The Fallen. An album that initially seems marred by atrocious production on the cymbals gradually works its way in by strength of character and composition; midway through, all … Continue reading →

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Underground extreme metal should have always stayed lo-fi

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Old Disgruntled Bastard

While hearing the early Nuclear Death recordings today morning, I couldn’t help thinking that underground death metal and black metal should have always remained lo-fidelity in presentation and production. That Nuclear Death specialized in somewhat sloppy, grindcore-fused death metal may lead one … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

What do we want from black metal?

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Old Disgruntled Bastard

It’s a question to which I have no conclusive answer. What makes it more perplexing is that the other branches of metal, namely traditional heavy metal and death metal, face no such indecisiveness. Traditional heavy metal revolves around the song … Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughts, Uncategorized | Tagged | 2 Comments