Greeting and salutations. I love this time of year, when the leaves are changing and falling, the weather is cooling down (yes, I do like cold weather), and the holidays are just around the corner. In addition, this is also a great time of the year in music. As the summer concert season ends, bands who want to continue touring start booking winter tours at smaller venues. As much as I love outdoor festivals with huge crowds and big line-ups, the indoor venues typically add another dimension to a show that I really enjoy.
So what’s going on at The Music Pill? Well, lots. I originally intended on this being focused on both recent/upcoming concerts AND recent/upcoming albums that have been released, but there was just too much, so I had to focus in on just the concerts. Here’s an update for the month of November.
I went to a killer death metal show earlier this month to see Animals as Leaders and Between the Buried and Me. It was really an incredible show, and while I wont repeat everything about BtBaM (click here to read the blog), I did want to say that Animals as Leaders completely blew me a way. Want to talk about a unique sound? Try a three piece metal band, with an incredible drummer, and two guitarists playing 8-string guitars. All instrumental (no vocals), and no bass. I recently checked out their latest album, and I can’t think of a better album to put on while writing, say, a Verification Protocol (/smiles as he points at the BCI folks).
I’m also really enjoying Mastodon‘s new album The Hunter (dropped on Sept 26th) that I’m listening to in preparation for a concert tomorrow (11/17). I agree with reviews that say that it’s a bit more melodic than their most recent previous stuff, so it’s sort of right up my alley. I’ve given it a run-through, and initial impressions are good, but I will reserve my comments until I spend some more time on it. Regardless, very much looking forward to getting back to the Egyptian Room to check out the show – look for more on that this weekend.
Finally, we’ve booked Five Finger Death Punch in December, and I’m already scouting for shows in January and February. A lot of good bands have planned winter tours so far, and rest assured that I’m tracking all these tours closely. Tons of possibilities, but so far I’m attempting to see Trivium tour their amazing album from 2011 entitled In Waves. In addition, metalcore giants August Burns Red, who will be touring with fellow metalcore band Texas in July, are a must-catch for me this spring.
In closing, I had to share this video. If you know anything about me, please understand how insanely, incredibly, and ridiculously excited this video clip makes me. For so many reasons. Click the link for updates on Stone Sour and Slipknot directly from the man himself.