Extreme Metal Recommendations

Hey guys what's up? If you've ever wondered what Death Metal is, well you're in luck, because I'm about to tell you. I've compiled a few CDs that you all should check out.

These are some of the best and longest running Death Metal bands in the world. If you're getting ready to kickstart your collection, then I don't think there's any better place to start than here.

So if you're not faint of heart (or stomach for that matter) then check out these bands, and prepare for an introduction to the heaviest, fastest, and most brutal genre in music... DEATH METAL!
\m/ >_<\m/

Favorite Bands

Hey guys, Zach here. I just wanted to take some time to talk about some of my favorite bands. There's a lot of bands that I like, but there's a few that just stand out to me that have become major influences in my life.

1. Fear Factory: This band, I can say now at this point, is one of the few bands that I can't really get sick of. And they're also one of the ones that I like most of the material from, which is a rare instance amongst the many bands that I listen to. Fear Factory has been one of the most influential bands in the metal scene. Singer Burton C. Bell is arguably the first vocalist to blend harsh, gutteral vocals with clean singing. This is a feat that hadn't been done before Fear Factory. Aside from that, they are one the heaviest bands that I have ever heard. The guitars, provided courtesy by Dino Cazares, are some of the catchiest that have ever graced my ears. Fear Factory have undergone internal hardships, including a falling out between Bell and Cazares that resulted in Cazares leaving the band. He returned in 2009, reuniting with Bell, then recording a new album in 2010 called "Mechanize." Fear Factory have finished up recording their new album, "The Industrialist," and will release it in early June of this year.

2. Slipknot: A lot of people love this band, and a lot of people hate them. Either way, I don't think that anyone in their right mind could possibly deny that this 9 piece onslaught of Metal mayhem can put on one of the best (if not this best) live show in the world, and that they're visually stunning. Personally, this was the band that got me into Metal music. When I was 12-years-old, I thought they were the coolest thing that I ever saw. The masks, the crazy live shows, and the overally heaviness and brutality of the music just appealed to me. Ask some of my old friends, and they'll tell you that I was more or less "obsessed" with this band. Slipknot really introduced me to the world of Metal, and so on that note, I can say that they still are one of my all-time favorite bands.

3. Mushroomhead: Like Slipknot, this guys also are visually stunning with their use of masks, costumes, and all sorts of stage props. However, history tells us that Mushroomhead actually came before Slipknot, so in turn it's caused this whole rift-raft over the issue of mask-wearing. Even to me, this is a little ridiculous, but regardless Mushroomhead has remained one of my top bands. They're music is really unique; not a whole lot of bands sound like them. Also, they're more personable with their fans. The first time I got to see them, I got to meet their guitarist at Applebee's in Salt Lake City. That was the first time that I was acquainted to one of my 'idols,' so then, as one could imagine, I was way stoked. Mushroomhead's music and stage presence is a real treat to me, and I look forward to hearing and seeing more of it in the future.

4. Cannibal Corpse: This band has got to be the most brutal bands I have ever heard in my life! Talk about a band that gives a huge middle finger to decency and the status-quo. For the sake of this post (which I'm doing for school) I can't share too many of the particulars of what I mean when I say that these guys are 'brutal.' Cannibal Corpse is one of the pioneers in the Death Metal scene, and one of the longest running, highest selling Death Metal acts in the world. They've released 11 studio albums, 1 E.P., and several DVDs in the course of they're 25 year career. I was first acquainted with this band when I saw them in the first Ace Ventura movie. Yeah, that's right, Cannibal Corpse was the band playing in that movie. I was only a kid when I first saw them, but I knew I liked the music. The only thing I wasn't sure about was the vocals; the deep, low, 'cookie-monster' style singing was really weird to me back then, but boy have things changed since then! I just thought that I needed to give this band props for really introducing me to the sound of Death Metal, one of my favorite genres in Metal. I also have to give them props for sticking with what they do, and really enjoying it, even after all this time. If you're brave enough to check them out, be my guest, just don't judge me...please?

5. Six Feet Under: Former Cannibal Corpse singer, Chris Barnes, formed this project during the last years that he was in Cannibal. I like these guys because amidst all the new 'Technical Death Metal' that everyone thinks that they need to play in order to be considered talented, Six Feet Under have stuck with their formula of classic, simple, yet punishing brand of Death Metal. They got groove, which is what I look for in Metal most of the time. It's not to say that I don't enjoy technical music, of course I do. But when it all comes down to it, I just want to hear some good, catchy, and heavy guitar riffs. This is why SFU has worked their way into this list; they got the guns, and are one of my favorite Death Metal bands of all time.

I realize that I already mentioned some of these bands in my first post, but I just wanted to get the chance to talk about why I like them. If I had more time, I would go through many more of my favorites.

Unfortunately, I don't have time to do so, but I think that this is a pretty solid list.

Check out these bands, plus many more at http://www.facebook.com/.

Music Pirates--I Hope Your Ship Sinks

And I sincerly do. People who pirate music off the internet, that is, steal the artists work are people that irk me to no end. I'm not sure if it's ignorance of what they're doing, or if they know and they just want to get something for free. In either case, it's wrong, and it trickles down and effects a lot more than what most people realize.

I'm very hard pressed to find a CD in stock at a music store these days. Sometimes, I have to download what I'm looking for. This doesn't make me a hypocrite, because I'm doing it the right way. I am an iTunes user, and have dowloaded music on occasion. And yes, I have to admit that I have downloaded a single song from an album when I should have done the whole thing, but at least I paid for it.

And I also need to confess that there was a time when I downloaded music illegally. I used to use Limewire to get what I wanted, and in hindsight I have now learned that that's wrong. Since my knowledge of the music world has matured ten-fold, I now do things the way they should be done.

Now that I have admitted my guilt, I'll now turn the tide back on the main issue: music pirates. Let me put this into perspective for you with hazarding a question in your direction. Do you honestly think that what you're doing is any different than walking into a music store, grabbing a CD of the shelf, and walking right out the front door with it? Without paying for it?

Well, I got news for you--it's not! If I asked that question to random people on the street, I would assume the answer would be no, that they would never do that. And yet I could probably ask them if they download music online for free, and I would almost guarantee you that the answer would be most definately yes.

It's no wonder then, how music retailers like FYE (whom I am most depressed to see fleeting away) are going out of business. There's no competition. Physical retailers can't keep up with the growing popularity of online retailers.

It's simply way too convenient for people to sit in the comfort of their own homes, and get an instant download of their favorite songs or albums. People want things now. Not here in 20 minutes, not in a week, now. It takes time for people to get off their butts, get in the car, drive to the record store, find and purchase the album, and drive back home. Yeah, sorry for the inconvenience.

I'm also sorry that you would have to actually pay 10 or 12 dollars to actually attain the album that you want. Sorry that you would actually be supporting the artist, who worked tirelessly to produce that album that you love so dearly. Sorry that you would have to help the artist keep their job so they can continue to make music that you love and want to hear.

I could've clouded this post up with a bunch of statistics about the downhill trend of record store sales and the upward trend of downloading to support my point. But what would be the point? I've read articles like that before, and obviously, the numbers aren't registering with people.

They are with people like me, who believe that people should pay for their entertainment so that entertainment can be allowed to endure. But the rest of population, isn't getting it.

This post was more for me to get my feelings out about the issue. People who know me, know that I take music very very serious, and I'll be damned if I see the day that record stores go out of business--although that day seems to be poking it's head up over the horizon.

Until that day comes, I will do my part to support the artists for all the hard work they do, especially the underground artists who need it most. And I would hope that the few that read this post, will have their eyes opened with what I've so clearly spelled out, and hopefully rally a few troops in the fight to save artists and record stores alike.

Song Idea

Hey guys! I just did a post not too long before this one, but I just wanted to let you guys know about some stuff that I've been working on. I've been trying my hardest to come up with some good death metal songs--or even just some riffs. It's been hard, but I got one song done, actually quite some time ago, but I just wanted to share it with you all. I titled the song "Your Last Lie," which may be subject to change, because now I don't think the song is quite what I want it to sound like anymore.

To me, this song sounds like it may be more like a Metal-Core type of song, as opposed to a Death Metal sounding tune. I've been trying to rework it a little to sound more in the vain of something like Suffocation. But for some reason, I can't make it sound really cool.

I don't know who will read this post, but hopefully it's someone who's more skilled in the art of Death Metal than I am. Maybe I'm just overthinking it, I don't know, but any help or opinions would be of great value.

Here's what I got, sorry about the quality:

My Gear

Hey guys! Zach here, and I just wanted to take some time to run through my rig a little bit. It's pretty simple, nothing too fancy, but it's been some of the best sounding equipment that I've used so far.

First off, my guitar. This is my B.C. Rich Deluxe Series Warlock, and as you can see it's very Metal. I'm not quite sure of all the specifications but I could take a stab at it. I'm assuming that it's a 25.5 " scale length, with a neck-thru construction, meaning that the body and neck of the guitar are fused together to be one piece. The wood materials are probably different for them though. I think the body may be Mahogany, but I could be wrong, and the neck might might be maple--not really sure. The fretboard is most definately Ebony though, which just adds to the quality and the beauty of the instrument. It's got 24 frets with diamond inlays and white binding on the neck. For the pickups, there's just a B.C. Rich Humbucker in the neck position, and I replaced the bridge humbucker with a Dimarzio D-Sonic pickup, so now it has a lot more crunch to it. The bridge is adjustable, nothing real fancy there, but it makes it great for restringing and tuning--two of the most frustrating things about playing guitar. Then it's got 2 volume knobs, a tone nob, and a 3-way toggle switch. That's all topped off by a glossy black finish on the body, neck and headstock, and the headstock is the "Widow" style that B.C. Rich is known for.

Now for my amp, it's a Line 6 Spider 2 112, so pretty old school now at this point. It doesn't have any of those fancy presets or anything built into it like the newer Spider 3 and 4 models do. It's pretty simple. I got my Drive, Bass, Treble, Channel Volume, Master Volume, and Reverb knobs. Then it's got 12 different amp settings on it, 2 different sounds for each selection designated as Red and Green: Clean, Twang, Blues, Crunch, Metal, and Insane. The Red Insane position is pretty weird sounding, but I've found a use for it from time to time. I mostly just stay with the Green Metal position because it's got the heaviest crunch to it. Then the amp has a Line 6 Pod installed into it, which is just an effects pedal that they make, but they were kind enough to just put it in the amp so I didn't have to buy one separate. Basically the Pod has effects like a Chorus Flanger, Phaser, and Tremolo for all of those 'spacey' other-worldly type of tones, then it's got several Delay settings on it, which just carry a note out in a repetitive manner. It's all just there to spice up your music, and I've definately used them many different times, so it's been a good little amp.

I also got a foot pedal hookup for the amp, which just stores all of my amp settings in the pedal, so with a tap of the foot, I can switch between channels quickly. The pedal also has a volume control, so I can get that 'fade-in' and 'fade-out' type of effect that you hear in a lot of songs. Then it's also got a Wah pedal built in to it, which for those who don't know, makes a 'wah-wah' type of sound when you press up and down on it.

Then for picks, strings, and the such, I just use Dunlop 1 mm picks. They're good picks; not too thick but not too thin. For stings, I usually just use Ernie Ball Not Even Slinkys. I can't remember exactly what each string gauge is, but I know the low E string is a 56 gauge, so it's pretty thick. I need heavier gauge strings for all those low tunings I use, like C, B, and B-flat.

Well, that's about it for what I use. I would like to get some new gear, but once again the money issue deters me from doing that. Oh well, this is some great gear, and I would recommend any of it to anyone. \m/

Guitar, Amp, Pedal, Headphones, and Cables

Check out B.C. Rich guitars at www.bcrich.com