For me, listening to a new metal album is a comforting experience. When I turn it on, I can pretty much guess at what I’m going to hear. I’ve been listening to this music for so long, that I feel like I’ve heard it all. For me, almost everything the genre offers seems like a… Continue reading Surgical Precision – A Review of Carcass’ Surgical Steel
Tag: metal
The Bair Truth: ORCumentary on Killing Goblins, Defying Record Labels, and Re-Reading Everything
Some time ago, I had the distinct pleasure of reviewing ORCumentary’s most recent release, Orcs 1 Goblins 0. I love metal. I love medieval fantasy. And I love when an artist can take their craft seriously but have fun at the same time. This stuff is pure gold, a dragon’s hoard of songs about vanquishing… Continue reading The Bair Truth: ORCumentary on Killing Goblins, Defying Record Labels, and Re-Reading Everything
Review of Drifting Toward The Edge Of The Earth by When The Deadbolt Breaks
Some bands instantly make sense. The album spins, notes pour out of speakers, and the listener’s brain captures the signal, converting it to something it can process. As a voracious consumer of music I have a tendency to compare everything I hear to something I’ve already been exposed to as a point of reference. There… Continue reading Review of Drifting Toward The Edge Of The Earth by When The Deadbolt Breaks
Bair Grills… Serotonin Syndrome; Also, A Glimpse Into Bill Klopfer’s Coffers
Over a year ago, I was asked to review a new release called Heretic’s Fork by Murder Castle. Now if you hadn’t heard, we at Alternative Control adhere to a strict code of conduct that avoids conflicts of interest. I was tasked with that journalistic endeavor by our esteemed editor because I had no prior… Continue reading Bair Grills… Serotonin Syndrome; Also, A Glimpse Into Bill Klopfer’s Coffers
Mindsnap is Back!
Two years ago, Alternative Control described Mindsnap Music’s Metal-Rock Mania as “fun, free, and flowing with cheap beer,” a relaxed bi-weekly event that welcomed bands from many genres. But shortly after we wrote that article, the bar that hosted the event closed down and the all the metal-mania was put on hold… Until now. Christian… Continue reading Mindsnap is Back!
Bair Grills Nightbitch
It makes you want to throw your clothing aside and writhe in the entangled mass of a thousand slaves’ living flesh. It makes you want to bathe in lukewarm bacon grease. It makes you want to consume an inhuman amount of red wine, whiskey, tequila, then finish with a dark, flavorful stout, before driving on… Continue reading Bair Grills Nightbitch
Working Together: The Drummers Weigh In
A reader posed an interesting question to Alternative Control last week: what should the role of successful, established bands be in guiding younger bands that are coming onto the scene? And honestly, I didn’t know how to answer. First, what makes a band “successful” or “established”? Success for my own bands means that our friends… Continue reading Working Together: The Drummers Weigh In