Metal Reviews

I might be going to see Katatonia, Swallow The Sun, and Orphaned Land tomorrow night!

Either that, or some ukelele covers of Neutral Milk Hotel

Either way, I'm gonna be seeing something tomorrow night.

I'd go for the less gay one. Unfortunately, that seems hard to do.

That seems like the easiest choice ever.

Well, the Katatonia concert is quite a ways away, and I have no idea where the hell it is. Some people at the school do, though, so I'll see if I can hook up with them to get there and back.

If not, then I'll go see some Neutral Milk Hotel covers.

I'd much rather see Katatonia, but I'll be happy either way.

Metallica Uk are playing in my town in 3 weeks. Only £10 a ticket, must be worth checking out.

I'll take an Orphaned Land shirt, I am a large thank you.

+1

They're pretty good, they don't go any further forward than the black album either which is always good.


Going to see Beholder tonight. Don't know much about them, some sort of power/thrash act? Should be good, right?

I couldn't find out where the hell to go to get to the Katatonia show, so it's off to the Neutral Uke Hotel concert for me!

I'm going through concert withdrawals.

May go to that Katatonia/Swallow the Sun. I haven't really listened to either of those bands much recently, but I have a bunch of friends going, and I can always drink.

Also, might go see Raven with Wastelander and Shitfucker on the 19th.

I need more options, however.

Are Hellbastard any good? I could go see them sometime soon-ish.

Also in February, I'll probably try and go see a Finntroll, Ensiferum, Moonsorrow, Barren Earth, Swallow the Sun, and (!) Rotten Sound show. That'll be a weird one.

La Dispute at the end of November!!!

If you like crusty old punk/thrash, certainly. John Peel was into them and that's a good sign

OMG ARCTURUS ARE REUNITING TO PLAY AT PROG POWER FEST 2011, WHOMEVER IS GOING NEEDS TO RECORD LIVE FOOTAGE ASAP!!!

I do believe I like crusty old punk/thrash.

Also they're playing with Jucifer and Shitfucker, so I'm probably going to go.

Well, I actually did see Orphaned Land/Katatonia last night as I am in Toronto for a week on training.

Swallow the Sun really can't compete with either of those bands, live anyhow. Their songs aren't good enough. I cheered but I was kind of meh inside. I probably would have benefited from listening to them beforehand.

Orphaned Land, on the other hand, was a hard act to follow. Kobi Farhi has an amazing voice, very clear and accurate, and Yossi Sassi Sa'aron is an animated presence onstage. Their unique melodies work very well in a live setting, plenty to sing along with and lose yourself. Headbanging moments not so much, but they do exist periodically. Kobi could probably learn a bit more stage banter, but what he did sufficed. Very fun band.

Katatonia was initially disappointing as they launched into several melancholy numbers that were a stark contrast to Orphaned Land. Neither band was very adept at working the crowd, but Katatonia even less so. However, as they started playing more from Viva Emptiness and The Great Cold Distance, things began to warm up. By the end of their set, you had nearly forgotten about Orphaned Land as you hypnotically swayed back and forth with those around you. They purposely kept their volume down, which made for some very very clear and amazing sound.

Overall, a great show.

I had the same experience at graspop (admittedly, not the best place to see Katatonia). It took a while to set the mood but eventually I forgot everything around me. I find their music so soothing.

Any word on the vocalist?

Could've went to see Valient Thorr and Howl if I didn't have a paper due tomorrow. I hadn't heard either of these bands actually. Did I miss much?

Napalm Death, Immolation and Macabre are touring together through Europe. And they're coming to Belgium!

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