why zorn don't consider bands(and their side projects) like:ATROX(monika edvarsen),SOLEFALD,CRYPTOPSY,PECCATUM,THE PROVENANCE,DARTH VEGAS,SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM,CEPHALIC CARNAGE,MESHUGGAH etc....? i think that i am tired of all this called post rock-post metal
I'm nothing of a metal fan generally speaking, but I've heard good things about Cryptopsy. What makes for a good starter? I don't know how Kaya Dot sounds, but I can't see Meshuggah fitting in Tzadik (not that I think Yuka Honda's album fitted either!)
Cryptopsy are OK, you should listen to "Whisper Supremacy" to get an idea of what they're about. But I wouldn't necessarily recommend them as one of today's more interesting metal bands. What I would recommend, though, are on the one hand technical bands that REALLY kick ass like the almighty Meshuggah, Mastodon and Burnt By The Sun. You will not believe the power of Mastodon's drummer. I've seen them live, and I was floored. They had people following them around Europe to watch each and every gig they did. Get their "Remission" album, easily the best metal release of 2002. On the other hand, there are the doom-oriented bands like Sunn O))) and Khanate that are really interesting. I just picked up the new Khanate album "Things Viral" yesterday, and this really is the next step in extreme metal. I also totally love "white1" by Sunn O))), released earlier this year. As always, there's a lot happening in the black metal universe, too. The new album by the US (!) black metal band Demoncy, "Empire of the Fallen Angel", is really good. Also, Enslaved released yet another very good album this year, "Below the Lights". It has a very strong early 70s prog-rock feel, especially when the mellotrons rear their head. Another superb album is "Sphynx" by the Mesopotamia-influenced Melechesh. Lots of Arabic touches here, and an overall recommendable effort. They are propelled forward by the drummer of Absu, by the way. Most interesting of all, though, is "The Ichneumon Method" by UK outfit Axis of Perdition. Citing Lovecraft, Philip K. Dick, Ramsey Campbell, and "true black metal" as their main influences, they have shattered the boundaries of black metal by incorporating techno/industrial influences, and by using a drum machine the way it should be used - by having it play rhythms that no human is capable of. Their album is compared to Anaal Nathrakk, who, sadly, I haven't heard yet. What is most striking about Axis of Perdition is the complete extremetiy of the album. Where Khanate is extreme by virtue of their slowness, Axis are extreme due to the sheer sensory overload the album presents. In this sense, they are closer to Merzbow sometimes than to what is generally perceived as metal. One reviewer says that Axis's music is "non-Euclidean", and that pretty much sums up their intensity. I am curious to hear the new album by Mithras, "Worlds Beyond the Veil". It gets 10/10 in Terrorizer magazine (I've never seen that happen before), and the reviewer says it is as important a release as Slayer's "Reign in Blood" and Metallica's "Master of Puppets" or Morbid Angel's "Altars of Madness" were back in the days. Sadly, the album hasn't been released in Holland yet, so I've had no chance to hear it. As Mithras appear to present "traditional" death metal, I am very curious to hear why every review I've read so far seems to think this is one of the best metal albums of all time. None of these bands fit into the Tzadik roster. Tzadik should stay as far away as possible from metal, in my opinion. Frankco