Chaosweaver

Shade Empire – Poetry of the Ill-minded Review

Shade Empire – Poetry of the Ill-minded Review

“From Judas’ selling out the Son of God for a mere 30 pieces of silver, to Julius Caesar meeting his sticky end at the hands of several disgruntled Roman senators, and his own nephew, Brutus. History is rife with tales of betrayal. The Finns are back in town and Poetry of the Ill-minded is set for release just next week. What connection can the esteemed Shade Empire possibly have with these horrific accounts of betrayal?” Music gets very personal.

Kuolemanlaakso – Tulijoutsen Review

Kuolemanlaakso – Tulijoutsen Review

“The majesty and grandeur of the Finnish wilderness has been source material for a veritable fuckload of metal bands over the years, with Amorphis and Korpiklaani, being the better known examples. Those untamed forests and pristine lakes apparently beckoned to the folks in Kuolemanlaakso as well, since their sophomore album is a loose conceptual piece focused on the Finnish countryside and the national folklore that featured it so prominently.” Nature-themed doom death from Finland seems like an easy sell. Are you buying?

Madam X’s Top Ten(ish) of 2013

Madam X’s Top Ten(ish) of 2013

“Wow, what a year! A large portion of 2013 has had me working my ass off in preparation for my stint out at sea with 70,000 Tons of Pure Fucking METAL! I’ve tried to curtail my excitement, but fuck it, this is huge – Carcass, Septicflesh, Finntroll, Overkill… what more could a girl ask for?” As Madam X shamelessly drops free plugs for a certain novelty cruise line, she also delivers her best albums of the year. That lady can multi-task!

Things You Might have Missed 2013: Kuolemanlaakso – Musta Aurinko Nousee

Things You Might have Missed 2013: Kuolemanlaakso – Musta Aurinko Nousee

“Since all my “Things You Might Have Missed” this year came from the doom genre, I thought I’d shake things up with… some doom/death! Yes I know, not a very big shake up, but worthwhile metal is worthwhile. Anywho, Kuolemanlaakso is a Finnish doom/death act with an insanely complicated name, composed of members from Swallow the Sun and Chaosweaver and they rock a rather simple, but very effective style of death/doom that somehow remains accessible.” This is a release Steel Druhm was supposed to review last month, but he was too overworked (he’s essentially an indentured servant with an iPod and a keyboard). Since he liked this quite a bit, he wanted to be sure you didn’t miss it and feel remorse later. You can thank him with beer.

Shade Empire – Omega Arcane Review

Shade Empire – Omega Arcane Review

“When you hail from Finland, a country teaming with metal giants (cast your mind along the lines of Finntroll, Amorphis and Ghost Brigade to name but a few), you have two choices: Option 1, you up your game, you mature as a band and you write epic tracks. Option 2, you keep on keeping on, you join the unknown masses and you sink into obscurity. On this their fourth release and a solid five years in the making, Shade Empire went with option 1.” Madam X is big on lists, notations and options, so find out where she ranks the new Shade Empire in her arcane filing system. She’s like Conan the Librarian.