Metal

Record #978: Metallica – Master of Puppets (1986)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

Alright, this one might demand some explanation.

I have a general dislike of Metallica. I have not been quiet about this opinion. I have said often and loudly that they are one of the most overrated bands ever. People often will retort, “the first four records though,” to which I usually respond, “first three, and even then.”

And yeah, there were plenty of better metal bands around the time that deserved the success Metallica got (Iron Maiden, Slayer, Death, to name a few).

But overrated doesn’t necessarily mean bad.

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Record #934: Candlemass – Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (1986)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

As they say, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in a metal record store in Stockholm’s old town, you buy one of the most important records Sweden’s considerable metal scene.

I had been meaning to buy a copy of Candlemass’s legendary debut for a while now anyway. But when I discovered that they’re from Upplands Väsby, the Stockholm suburb where my brother-in-law’s family lives and was hosting us—it felt like destiny.

Epicus Doomicus Metallicus isn’t the first doom metal record—Black Sabbath deserves credit for that over a decade previously (a point that the clerk at Sound Pollution and I made at the same time). But this record was the first to give it a name, and established a pretty sizable portion of its aesthetic.

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Record #929: MØL – Diorama (2021)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

I’m not sure exactly who it was that drew such rigid lines around metal. While pioneers like Sabbath and Maiden were wide open to other influences, somewhere along the lines, metal shored itself up and went to war with other music. It’s not just softer styles either—metal fans and hardcore fans often come to blows with one another. Even subgenres within metal itself have split into warring factions.

But there is a growing movement in heavy music in the last decade or so to lay down the purity tests and elitism and infuse a wider range of influences into their work. One of the most exciting acts in this realm that I’ve discovered is the Danish quintet MØL. While they might lazily be tossed under the blackgaze umbrella for lack of better categorization, there’s a lot more going on here than Alcest worship.

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Record #886: Astronoid – Radiant Bloom (2022)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald / 1 Comment

I have a working theory that in any piece of music, most lay listeners primarily hear the vocals. The strongest case for this idea was at Furnace Fest ’21, where the “dream-thrash” band Astronoid, a band known for their blistering riffs, fiery solos, and blastbeats galore were booked on the stage reserved for the quieter bands.

But even so, Radiant Bloom might stand to challenge even those listeners, as Astronoid offers up the most brutal instrumental performance of their career.

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Record #874: Mastodon – Leviathan (2004)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

To say that my relationship with metal has been complicated is a bit of an understatement. Even though heavy bands like Zao led me to care about music in the first place, I abandoned metal and hardcore in college. It wasn’t until Deafheaven released Sunbather that I started to dip my toes back in, before diving headlong into bands like Alcest, Isis, Lantlos, and Baroness.

What started as a love of music that subverts metal archetypes grew into a more sincere appreciation for the genre as a whole. Even still, I’ve found it difficult to swallow most of the more mainstream acts.

There is one massive exception to this though, and that is Mastodon, who has consistently proven themselves to be one of the most important metal bands of the last two decades. Their second album, Leviathan, was practically a coup, storming the gates of heavy metal and erecting their own flag over the fortress. It’s a massive tour-de-force, combining the fury of old school thrash with the cerebral acrobatics of prog metal and an almost cinematic sense of composition—all while singing about Moby Dick. 

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Record #864: Fen – The Malediction Fields (2009)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald / 1 Comment

Of all the variables in the careful calculus I use to decide what records to buy, Opportunity is perhaps the one with the most gravity. True, I often hunt with laser-focused intentions. But other times, a record will simply present itself to me in an opportunity that I cannot resist.

For instance: I had heard London blackgazers Fen before purchasing this record—how could I not? They pop up in the “Fans also like” section of just about all of my favorite metal bands. If I’m honest though, none of my preemptive listens compelled me to track down any copies.

But then, while foraging through the shelves of Amoeba Records in San Francisco, I found a copy of their debut full-length for an agreeable price. And I couldn’t have been more thrilled. Listening to the album in one earbud as I continued to browse, I was taken by the sweeping post black metal epics which affirmed my decision to buy over and over again.

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Record #861: Heriot – Profound Morality (2022)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

In feudal England, a heriot was a tribute paid to the lord of the land when a serf passed away. It was an undeniably oppressive practice, robbing poor families now bereft for the benefit of the already wealthy tyrant of the land. The heavy outfit Heriot from the UK practices a similar form of oppression, but in the form of their sonics.

One of my go-to phrases in describing music is “oppressively heavy.” But when I first heard Heriot, I realized that I have not known what it means to be so heavy that it’s oppressive. This is the kind of sonic density that squeezes your skull, that crushes your bones. It’s the sort of heaviness that dominates your attention and ceases the existence of all else.

Profound Morality, their debut, is only eighteen minutes long, but it leaves an impact crater far larger than its physical size, thanks to its unrelenting mixture of metalcore, industrial, post metal, old school hardcore, and even some glimmers of nu-metal.

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Record #774: Lantlôs – Agape (2011)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

The very first time I heard Melting Sun was a revelation. From the very first listen, it captured me in a way that very few records have. That record changed the way I thought about heaviness as a sonic element, especially as a guitarist.

When I went back to the albums before it, though, I found them to be abrasive and unappealing, traditional black metal that lacked any of the atmospheric and melodic sensibilities that drew me to Melting Sun in the first place.

But then I gave Agape a deeper listen. Much to my delight, everything I loved about the record that followed it is still here—just with some sharper edges.

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Record #767: BIG|BRAVE – Vital (2021)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald / 1 Comment

For someone who is as heavily into glacial, sludgy, female-fronted metal as I am, it might come as a shock to hear that I never heard about Big Brave until a couple months ago when I found myself with an advanced copy of their newest album to review. But within seconds of the opening track “Abating the Incarnation of Matter,” I was already on their site ordering this record. Immediately after I finished the review, I tracked down a copy of their earlier album A Gaze Among Them.

All that to say. This record is great.

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Record #763: Black Sabbath – Sabotage (1975)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald
Black Sabbath Sabotage vinyl review

Over the last few years, I’ve been making a concerted effort to give Black Sabbath their due. After all, few other bands have such a dominating influence across an entire class of genre. Hundreds of bands are still trading their souls to make music as heavy as their First Six.

Sabotage is the final of this sextet, and I realize now that I’ve mistakenly believed it to be the first step in a downward trend. And while it may not be as untouchable as Master of Reality or Paranoid, it’s maybe the most adventurous of the First Six—and still just as heavy.

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