International Metal

 05/25/2008 01:20:24  ♥ written by vu ()

Headhunter - Parasite of Society Discography [1990] Parody of Life [1992] A Bizarre Gardening Accident [1994] Rebirth [2008] Parasite Of Society

In an effort to help out Soup, who is getting a ton of stuff from me, I've picked out a few metal bands to review - mostly because of their international appeal.

As you know, metal is huge everywhere, so here are a few from different countries:

Headbangers, rejoice, Germany's Headhunter is back after 13 years with the release of Parasite Of Society, out in Germany a few days ago on May 23^rd. US fans will have to wait until the official release date of June 10^th, from Candlight Records.

Listening to the album, it sounds as if this power/thrash metal band never really left the 90's, which is just fine for fans of this band. Believe me, just doing brief research on this band, I came across so many blog entries from fans who were absolutely were looking forward to this album for so many years. From my understanding, this new album is more "power" than previous efforts.

Headhunter - 18 and Life

Headhunter

1 comment

Also, this really suprises me, but their songs are sung in English, not German. I did enjoy their storytelling songs, particularly "18 and Life", which tells the story of poor Ricky who joined the army (as it turns out, this is a Skid Row cover song, see comments below).

They also show off their headbanging badge too, of course, doing such songs as "Parasite Of Society" and "Doomsday for the Prayer" (singer Schmier seems to be channeling Axl Rose here).

The newly reformed trio will make a special appearance at Wacken Open Air Festival on August 1^st. Parasite of Society is available now in Germany, early June for US.

Dantesco - Aguila de Sangre Dantesco Discography [Jul 2004] Dantesco (demo) [May 2005] De La Mano De La Muerte [Apr 2008] Pagano

Puerto Rico's most famous metal band is undoutably Dantesco. As their name suggests, "Dantesque", I believe they're named after the poet, Dante from Florence, Italy, who wrote The Divine Comedy. They've just released Pagano on April 24^th on Cruz Del Sur Music (I would link to their website, except google seems to think that this website "may harm your computer").

I like the weird horn at the beginning of "Aguila de Sangre" (Eagle of Blood), and the song has a nice epic feel, being about seven minutes long. Plus check out the guitar shredding in the middle of the song.

Since all the songs are in Spanish, I couldn't really tell you too much about the meaning of the song, but I reckon if you like doom metal, this might be right up your alley.

By the way, interestingly enough, there is a song called "De La Mano De La Muerte" (Of the Hand of Death), which should've appeared on their debut album of the same name... but somehow is on this second album. Listening to it, the song really doesn't belong on their release - mostly because this is a (quieter) acoustic song, whose only purpose seems to be a nice break between the other heavier songs.

Currently, the band is planning on playing a few dates, mostly in the Florida area, although the venues are still to be determined:

07/10/08 Jacksonville, Florida
07/11/08 Orlando, Florida
07/12/08 Miami, Florida
07/13/08 Tampa, Florida

If you're going to pick up Pagano, check out that there is a Limited Edition Slipcase version that includes an embroidered patch that was released April 11^th prior to their appearance at the Up the Hammers Greek Festival.

Teräsbetoni - Missä miehet ratsastaa

Finland's Teräsbetoni have been in the news lately. Their third album Myrskyntuoja reached the top 40, mostly based on their amazing music video for "Missä Miehet Ratsastaa" (Where All The Men Ride Forth) for Eurovision 2008. The video is about these norsemen/vikings who found themselves in the modern age, where they find themselves becoming a metal band... it looks more like a wonderful movie rather than a music video (well, that is at the beginning of the video...)

Maybe Christopher or someone in the UK can let me know if Teräsbetoni's been eliminated yet.

I got a press release that also mention that lead singer, J Ahola, is preparing Northern Kings' album Reborn for a June 16^th release. From the description, they're a rock operatic supergroup comprising of four heavy metal singers.

Looking at the track listing, it seems they're all cover songs, the most interesting covers includes "Creep" (Radiohead), "We Don't Need Another Hero" (Tina Turner) and "In The Air Tonight" (Phil Collins).

Links: official-headhunter.com myspace.com metalhordes.com myspace.com/dantescoepico terasbetoni.com

Soup wrote: Sun, May 25, 2008 at 2:25 AM

Actually, you'd be surprised. It's not uncommon for metal bands from non-English speaking countries to sing in English because it makes it easier for them to get their music out to English speaking countries, who tend to be really enthusiastic about metal. Bands that don't do that tend to have trouble "making it" in the UK and the US. But a few examples off the top of my head: Emperor (Norway), Mayhem (Norway), Running Wild (Germany), Sepultura (Brazil), and literally countless others.

I totally want to hear a metal band covering Tina Turner. That sounds awesome.

Skid Row - 18 & Life

crankypants wrote: Sun, May 25, 2008 at 11:16 AM

Didn't Skid Row or one of those late 80s/early 90s bands have a song called 18 & Life?

Yup

Ricky didn't join the army in that one though....