Florida death metallers Morbid Angel have released a new video for their track “Existo Vulgoré.” The song is taken from the band’s latest album, Illud Divinum Insanus, released last year. The band will also be releasing a remixed version of the album on February 28. Let us know what you think in the comments.
]]>Let’s also take this moment to recognize the photographers, credited below each photo, who risk life and lens to go in the pit and capture the mayhem as it happens. For those about to shoot, we salute you!
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This past weekend saw the 20th anniversary of Guns N’ Roses landmark Use Your Illusion albums. But 1991 was also the year that many other landmark releases in hard rock and metal came out, including Metallica’s “Black Album,” Nirvana’s Nevermind, Ozzy Osbourne’s No More Tears, and many, many more. Below, we want you to weigh in and tell us what the best heavy release of 1991 was. Horns up!
Metalocalypse Now!
Revolver‘s Mayhem Fest 2011 issue, featuring an apocalyptic cover painting by Metalocalypse artist Antonio Canobbio, is out on newsstands today, as well as available online here.
If the world’s going to end next year, 2012!!!, Mayhem is the tour to go to this summer. Disturbed, Godsmack, Megadeth, Machine Head, Trivium, In Flames, Suicide Silence, Unearth, All Shall Perish, and the rest of the lineup tell you why–and ruminate on whether the end times are, in fact, nigh.
The issue includes a free Black Veil Brides sticker (see below), as well as a BVB poster and a poster of this issue’s Hottest Chick in Hard Rock, Syd Duran of Valora!
The magazine also features stories on:
Purchase a limited-edition Mayhem Fest 2011 poster featuring artwork from the cover of this issue online here or at the Revolver tent on Mayhem this summer!
Brandon Geist
Editor in Chief
Strapping Young Lad, Strapping Young Lad
“We’re featuring former Strapping Young Lad main maniac Devin Townsend on the ‘Favorite Shit’ page in our issue out July 5, and shit, the photo shoot and interview came up hilarious. So hilarious that the piece inspired me to go back to this, my favorite SYL album. A great record and a great band live.”
Dead Letter Circus, This is the Warning
“Cool album from a cool Australian band that Sumerian Records is putting out stateside in July. Their music falls somewhere between the weirdo, proggy, experi-mental realms of Tool, Muse, and the Mars Volta. That kind of shit generally gets on my nerves pretty quickly, but there are some solid, catchy songs here.”
Morbid Angel, Illud Divinum Insanus
“Still jamming this album, which is finally out in a couple weeks. I. Am. Morbid.”
Kory Grow
Senior Editor
Dark Castle, Surrender to All Life Beyond Form
“This growly sludge-metal duo gets really out their on this, their second full-length, and for the most part the experiments work. I especially like the piano and other effects on ‘Learning to Unlearn.’ In fact, the only real turn-off on this album is hackish song titles like ‘Learning to Unearn.’ (Two more terrible song titles: ‘I Hear Wind’ and ‘To Hide Is to Die.’ Nope, nope, nope.)”
Nekromantheon, Divinity of Death
“This Norwegian thrash crew shares members with the equally notable death-metal group Obliteration. Divinity of Death, their first full-length, recalls American thrash like Exodus and early Anthrax more than Euro thrash greats like Destruction and Sodom—but the growly vocals are undeniably European. Definitely worth your time.”
Black Sabbath, Born Again
“My favorite band of all time is Ozzy-era Black Sabbath—hands down. As such, I’ve always been pretty hot and cold about their other eras. I’ve tried getting into Born Again, which features Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan on vocals, a few times over the years, after all it’s the last studio album to feature the original lineup (minus Ozzy). After listening to the WhoCares—the supergroup featuring Gillan and Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi—so many times over the past week, I’ve come back to this and found a lot about it I like. ‘Disturbing the Priest’ and especially ‘Zero the Hero’ are great songs. I even like the ‘ballad,’ ‘Keep It Warm.’ I still have a hard time calling them Sabbath, but now I can see why musicians ranging from Cannibal Corpse to Lars Ulrich can call this album a classic. You just have to overlook the clichéd album cover and exceptionally bad sound mix—two things Gillan has always complained about with this record. I’m hoping when the deluxe version comes out on May 30 that it sounds better.”
Josh Bernstein
Creative Director
Captain Beefheart, Safe as Milk
“This album is not as revered as Trout Mask Replica, but it’s way more accessible and catchy. ‘Sure ‘Nuff ‘n Yes I Do,’ and ‘Call on Me’ are killer tunes and this is some of the heaviest bass playing pre-Geezer Butler that is out there. (Jerry Handley on bass!)”
Jeff Beck Group, Truth
“Not as well known as the Hendrix/Clapton/Page three-headed guitar monster, Beck in my opinion is even better. Proof of that is on his post-Yardbird’s 1968 debut of the Jeff Beck Group. Released at the same time as Led Zeppelin, this record is just as hard-hitting and legendary in my eyes (ears?) and this is some of the heaviest bass playing pre-Geezer Butler that is out there. (Ronnie Wood on bass!)”
Blue Cheer, Vincebus Eruptum
“Cream might have been the first power trio, but these Bay-area acid freaks played even faster and louder. This album is super short on songs, but long on power. Even if this just contained their balls-to-the-walls cover of Eddie Cochran’s ‘Summertime Blues,’ heavy music would never be the same. This is some of the heaviest bass playing pre-Geezer Butler that is out there. (Dickie Peterson on bass!)”
Jimmy Hubbard
Photography Director
Lock Up, Necropolis Transparent
“Grind, grind, grind and a little bit evil grind, too. I was never a big fan of the previous Lock Up records–not even sure why? The band features duders from At The Gates, Napalm Death, and Cradle of Filth. I mean, Napalm Death know how to grind and At The Gates were one of the best bands ever… So, yeah, this records grinds hard.”
Trap Them, Darker Handcraft
“I seriously have not been able to stop listening to this record ever since it came out in March (or in our case over here, since we got our hands on it in February). Pissed and catchy, a little Entombed, a touch of Dismember, a dab of Black Flag, and a hint of Converge, really just some well-written metal songs. One of the best records in 2011 in my opinion.”
Dissection, Reinkaos
“I love this record. I know fans were kind of bummed when it came out, but to me, this record is the black-metal Black Album. Jon Nödtveidt’s swan song, this record sounds like a well-calculated and well-written masterpiece. Really sounds like Jon poured all he had left into this album and everything was considered. I come back to this record all the time.”
Brandon Geist
Editor in Chief
Quicksand, Slip
“One of my favorite albums ever, Slip is pretty much always in my listening rotation. Come on, Walter Schreifels, forget Rivals Schools and get these guys back together!”
Morbid Angel, Illus Divinum Insanus
“Still rocking the new Morbid Angel, which is out June 7, and still enjoying it—even the almost audaciously dumb techno-industrial numbers like ‘Destructos Vs the Earth-Attack.’ ‘I Am Morbid’ might be my favorite song of the year so far.”
Decapitated, Carnival Is Forever
“The Polish death metallers have finally returned with a new album—out on July 12—their first since the tragic van accident that severely injured then-vocalist Covan and killed drummer Vitek. Nothing on here is as catchy, focused, and undeniably awesome as ‘Spheres of Madness,’ but there are plenty of the band’s signature twisty tech riffs, manic polyrhythms, and general brutality. Good to have you back, guys.”
Kory Grow
Senior Editor
WhoCares, “Out of My Mind”/“Holy Water”
“New music by a supergroup consisting of Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan, Jason Newsted formerly of Metallica, and Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain, among others? Count me in! I’ve been listening to the clips since they leaked, and I now have the full songs and can’t stop listening to them. They were written by Iommi and definitely sound more like his solo album than anything he’s done with Sabbath or Heaven & Hell. Gillan sounds great, too. Best part of it all is, proceeds from the tracks go to rebuilding a music school in Armenia.”
Marduk, Iron Dawn EP
“After Marduk’s ridiculously disappointing 2007 album, Rom 5:12, the Swedish black-metal group got my attention again on 2009’s Wormwood. The new EP, containing three songs that apparently don’t relate to the concept the band have for the next album, due in 2012, has the same aggression as Wormwood—and it’s even produced a little better (guitarist Evil sounds evil again)—but vocalist Mortuus’s gurgle-voice is noticeably more off-putting now that you can hear it better.”
Endstille, Infektion 1813
“This German black-metal group has never innovated much, and they don’t create anything new on this, their seventh full-length, which comes out Tuesday. What they do well, however, is create a tense, dark, unpleasant mood that occasionally complements my day. The guitar tone reminds me of prime-era Dissection, and frontman Zingultus’s pained screams, specifically on ‘The Deepest Place on Earth,’ remind me of the frustrated complaints Peter Steele yelped out in Carnviore. For a bad time, call these guys.”
Josh Bernstein
Creative Director
Danzig, Danzig
“It’s funny how you start listening to a record as a joke and then end up not only liking it, but falling in love with it. Case in point, Glenn Danzig. When I first heard that the dude from the Misfits had his own band, I was very excited, but thought the artwork, videos, and Jim Morrison impressions were a goof. Happily, the joke was on me.”
Stiff Little Fingers, Inflammable Material
“The Scottish Clash never got their due, but this disc rocks socks from start to finish. ‘Barbed-Wire Love’ and ‘Alternative Ulster’ are great tracks, and ‘Suspect Device’ is just as mean and gnarly as anything on the first Sex Pistols record.”
Volture, Shocking Its Prey
“I’ve been digging the new project Volture, which is a great side project from Municipal Waste’s Ryan Waste. What the Waste did to salute and honor crossover, Volture does that for the NWOBHM in spades. Check ‘em out!”
Josh Hart
Web Producer
Russian Circles, Geneva
“I have a weird habit of listening to new albums once or twice and then shelving them for a year before I come back to them and listen to them for months on end. This is one of those. I’m hoping now that Explosions in the Sky have a Top 20 album, these guys will get their dues as well.”
Skinny Puppy, Too Dark Park
“The best industrial album (not involving Trent Reznor) ever.”
Novembers Doom, Aphotic
I, like a lot of fans, was skeptical after Into Night’s Requiem Infernal saw the band trying everything they could not to be labeled as doom metal. Thankfully, this is a strong return to form. Check out the track ‘What Could Have Been,’ featuring ex-Gathering vocalist Anneke Van Giersbergen.”
Stephen Goggi
Art Director
Face to Face, Big Choice
“I’m going to see these duders with a bunch of friends from back in the day who I haven’t seen in a while. Trying to relive high school.”
Converge, Petitioning an Empty Sky
“Still my favorite Converge album. Give me sing-alongs and finger points in a song and I am a happy camper.”
Junip, Fields
“I’m down with Jose Gonzalez, so I’m down with this.”
Jimmy Hubbard
Photography Director
Agoraphobic Nosebleed/Despise You, And On And On… split EP
“Man, I love Agoraphobic Nosebleed! Last years Agorapocalypse was easily one of my favorite albums of 2010! This has a bit more of the classic power violence you expect from ANB and it destroys. I love listening to Scott Hull riff out. He is a total riff master. The Despise You stuff is great as well, their first material in 10 years.”
Decapitated, Carnival Is Forever
“Man, I have been waiting to hear the new record from Poland’s Decapitated ever since I heard they had entered the studio with a new lineup. After the untimely passing of drum powerhouse Witold ‘Vitek’ Kieltyka, I was curious to hear what guitarist (and Vitek’s brother) Waclaw ‘Vogg’ Kieltyka was going to come out with. Man, it’s great! Easily the most complicated and mature Decapitated music I have heard! Great stuff, more hardcore, less death, and just plain awesome!”
The Austerity Program, Black Madonna
“I love this band! A lot like a modern Big Black and a very snide Godflesh, awesome heavy bass and angular guitar backed by a Boss DR660 drum machine. 2007’s Black Madonna is a record I played a lot when it came out, and I have been listening to it nonstop this week for some reason…”
Brandon Geist
Editor in Chief
Morbid Angel, Illud Divinum Insanus
“It doesn’t come out til June 7, but, dude, the new Morbid Angel album, their first with original vocalist David Vincent in 16 years, is fucking awesome—and wacky as all shit. There are classic-sounding church-burners like ’10 More Dead’ and ‘Nevermore,’ but then there are also stripped-down, almost nu-metally chant-alongs like the totally badass ‘I Am Morbid’ and Rob Zombie-ish industrial-metal stompers like ‘Radikult.’ You gotta hear it to believe it.”
Sixx:A.M., This Is Gonna Hurt
“I was pretty much hooked on Sixx:A.M.’s hit single, ‘Life is Beautiful,’ as soon as I heard it back in 2007. It’s just too damn catchy. And this new album is full of similarly hooky, hard-rock anthems that have already been stuck in my head for weeks just from hearing them in demo version. In particular, the title track and ‘Live Forever,’ which has a soaring chorus worthy of Muse, are pretty much irresistible.”
Down, NOLA
“Wow, how bummed I am about missing Down’s recent NYC show? Phil Anselmo gets his head sliced open by Pepper Keenan’s guitar during their second song and ends up performing the whole show with blood-streaming down his face, GG Allin-style. Bad. Ass. (I hear that after the show Phil was told he needed to get staples but refused them.) Relistening to Down’s classic debut album is small consolation for missing the gory epicness, but holy crap, does it still crush. ‘Hail the Leaf’!”
Kory Grow
Senior Editor
Bathory, Blood Fire Death
“Every few months I come back to this album and it always blows me away—a Viking metal classic, through and through. My favorite track is ‘Dies Irae.’”
Morbid Angel, Illud Divinum Insanus
“That’s right. I’ve heard it. Some of it will absolutely knock your socks off. And the song with the Celtic Frost referencing title—’I Am Morbid’—is a reverent nod to extreme metal’s forefathers.”
Sister, “Bullshit & Backstabbing”
“We premiered this track by the Swedish sleaze metallers earlier this week, and I gotta say—I can’t get it out of my head. It reminds me of ’80s Swedish glam metallers Shotgun Messiah right before they became an industrial-metal group.”
Josh Bernstein
Creative Director
Municipal Waste, Hazardous Mutation
“From ‘Bangover’ to ‘Guilty Of Being Tight,’ Virginia’s Municipal Waste, lay waste to 15 thrash-crossover classics here. Fast, aggressive, precise, and actually fun. With a cover painted by Ed Repka, how can you lose?”
Sex Pistols, The Great Rock & Roll Swindle
“After getting to meet the coolest Sex Pistol ever at the Golden Gods (hint: not Johnny or Sid), I had to dig out my old Great Rock & Roll Swindle album and check out some of the deeper cuts. For a band that only released one real album, this collection of B-sides, demos, covers, and oddball disco and classical versions of their hits is truly insane and should find a home in anyone’s music library.”
FEAR, The Record
“Their first, their best. Lee Ving still sounds dangerous, insane, racist, and frankly one of the best and most compelling frontmen ever. I can see why the SNL execs freaked out in 1981 and banned them for life…”
Josh Hart
Web Producer
Explosions in the Sky, Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
“It’s amazing in this age of short attention spans that a band that routinely writes 8-10 minute long instrumentals could have a Top 20 album, just over a month after a headlining show at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall. ‘Trembling Hands’ and ‘Be Careful, Creature’ are favorites.”
Atomic Rooster, Atomic Rooster
“Progressive (don’t let that word scare you off) rock from the early ’70s featuring members of the Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Later releases may have been heavier, but the first album will probably always be my favorite.”
Eisbrecher, Eisbrecher
“Those unfamiliar with the German industrial music scene (what, are you living under a rock?) might be surprised to know there are actually quite a few bands in the Rammstein vein floating around Deutschland. There are definitely more than a few copycat albums that will send you running for your copy of Mutter, but Eisbrecher’s self-titled effort ain’t half bad, even by Rammstein standards.”
Jimmy Hubbard
Photography Director
A Storm Of Light, As The Valley of Death Becomes Us, Our Silver Memories Fade
“Fourth record from A Storm of Light and easily my favorite. After three great records, it sounds like these guys really figured out their own sound and it’s a lot different than I was expecting. Still has a lot of the Neurosis, Isis vibe, but kind of has a cool industrial thing going on. These guys touring with Tombs is going to make an awesome bill.”
Indian, Guiltless
“Another awesome band from Chicago and another awesome sounding album produced by Sanford Parker (Nachtmystium, Minsk, Buried at Sea). Great, brutal doomy metal, great organic sounding record. Band also features Will Lindsay of Wolves in the Throne Room and Nachtmystium.”
The Black Dahlia Murder, Ritual
“I have been listening to a lot of Black Dahlia Murder recently, mostly because we just finished an awesome feature on them. (Wait ’til the next issue!) But, yep, as I expected, this record is great! Sounds like BDM, with a bit more black metal influences, sounds like someone has been listening to a little Deathspell Omega….”
Brandon Geist
Editor in Chief
Type O Negative, World Coming Down
“Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of Pete Steele’s shocking death. So I’ve been listening to this, one of his band Type O Negative’s best, doomiest, and most under-appreciated albums. Rest in peace, Pete. Love you to death.”
Morbid Angel, Domination
“In anticipation of the forthcoming new album from the greatest Floridian death-metal band of them all (IMHO), their first since reuniting with classic vocalist David Vincent, I dusted off my favorite Morbid Angel record, Domination. Some fans aren’t into the industrial touches and the slower tempos, but as far as I’m concerned, all of these just make the band sound that much more evil. ‘Caesar’s Palace,’ in particular, simply destroys.”
A Pale Horse Named Death, And Hell Will Follow Me
“I have to be honest: I’m still stuck on this album, Week 3 and counting. And as long as the NYC weather continues being this unseasonably cold and gray, I suspect I’ll stick with it.”
Kory Grow
Senior Editor
Anthrax, Spreading the Disease
“I was cleaning out my shower last weekend, and I cranked this while doing so. Probably my favorite Anthrax record, personally, Spreading the Disease has great thrashers like ‘Madhouse’ and ‘Aftershock’ that inspire extra cleanness.”
Molested, Blod-Draum
“A Norwegian death-metal classic from the mid ’90s. Aside from being one of the heaviest death-metal bands, they used unusual instruments like the mouth harp and violin. It topped my list of True Norwegian Death Metal from a couple of years ago, and I still listen to it often.”
Duff McKagan’s Loaded, The Taking
“Easily the strongest Loaded record so far, The Taking has been in steady rotation on my iPod since I got the promo. It doesn’t sound like any of Duff’s other bands—Guns N’ Roses or Velvet Revolver—but has lots of cool hooks and even a few Alice in Chains–like vocal parts.”
Josh Bernstein
Creative Director
Whitesnake, Slide It In
“David Coverdale’s whirlwind tour of the Revolver offices this week had me digging back into the Whitesnake catalog to enjoy some classics. ‘Slow An’ Easy’ is like a lost track of Zepplin’s Presence.”
Guns N’ Roses, The Spaghetti Incident?
“I don’t care what people say, I love this record and the covers literally match my own personal list of favorite songs. Good to hear Duff sing a few tracks, too. Maybe he’ll dust off one of these tunes at the 2011 Revolver Golden Gods?”
Sleigh Bells, Treats
“OK, so this album isn’t necessarily metal, but it’s written and produced by a guy from Poison the Well. And it also might be the best and most refreshing album I’ve heard in this past year. It really sounds fucking huge.”
Josh Hart
Web Producer
Iggy Pop, A Million in Prizes: The Anthology
“What a fucking range on this guy. Iggy was someone who was always ahead of the times (until the ’80s when he was trying to play catch-up, but we’re not going to talk about those dark times right now), from setting the stage for punk rock to producing wildly experimental albums with David Bowie in Berlin. This anthology had to be two discs and 40-plus songs to even come close to providing a good portrait of Iggy’s storied career.”
Opeth, Blackwater Park
“Is it time for new Opeth now? How about now? Now? What about now? Like a hyperactive child in the backseat of a car on the way to Disney World, I’m getting pretty impatient waiting for Mikael Åkerfeldt to lay another slab of heavy on us. Blackwater Park will have to get me through to the fall, when Opeth’s new album is expected out”
Pain of Salvation, Scarsick
“This is such a weird album, you can’t help but love it. The first two tracks sounds like really heavy additions to The Real Thing-era Faith No More’s catalog.”
Stephen Goggi
Art Director
Piebald, If It Weren’t for Venetian Blinds It Would Be Curtains for Us All
“It’s not funny like ‘HaHa’…”
Metallica, Ride the Lightening
“‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ will always remind me of high school wrestling matches.”
Q + Not U, Power
“They were one of my favorite bands and they always put on good shows. This is a great album.”
Cody Thomas
Editorial Intern
Between the Buried and Me, The Great Misdirect
“I’m covering New England Metal Fest this weekend, so I had to crank BTBAM to prepare. I honestly think this is their best album. Each song is so distinctly awesome in it’s own way. I’m pumped for their set on Day 3 of the fest.”
Opeth, Deliverance
“Day 1 was yesterday, and the lineup was 95 percent metalcore bands, which means I heard a lot of breakdowns. About 10 straight hours of them. I had to put on some prog to put all the metalcore back into perspective. Deliverance is dark, brutal, and gorgeous all at the same time.”
Neurosis, Given to the Rising
“I don’t think I need to say much to justify listening to Neurosis. It’s crazy how they pumped out classic after classic, including this, their latest.”