Song Of the Day - V

Enslaved got my vote for best Black Metal album with Axioma Ethica Odini and also won the award.
From that album, here is the beautiful Ethica Odini. The band had a contest for the best fan video for this song and this was the winning video.

Enslaved - Ethica Odini

Song Of the Day - IV

I already talked about Alcest here, in my chronicle about France.
Today I place here another song from the 2010 album Écailles de Lune because it won the best Post-Metal/Avantgarde Metal album in MS Awards 2010 (and got my vote).

Alcest - Écailles De Lune (part I)

Song Of the Day - III

Another MS Award of 2010 where I hit the jackpot was in the debut album category. Barren Earth with Curse Of The Red River (for me also the best Melodic Death / Gothemburg Metal album of the year) won the award, but I'm not sure if a new band composed of musicians with years of career should be allowed to participate in this award. For a debut album, is an extremely mature and solid release from the Finnish band.

Barren Earth - Curse of the Red River

Matt Barlow leaves Iced Earth (again)

Iced Earth vocalist Matt Barlow has decided to leave the band again after the summer festivals, due to conflicts between the full agenda of the band with several concerts and tours and his family life.

Matt was with the band from 1992 until 2003, when he left for about the same reasons. Then he returned in 2007, when they assumed the band would do less tours.

But the fact that the record labels take the giant share of the records income, forces bands, in order to survive, to do as much concerts as they possibly can, which led to Barlow leaving Iced Earth again after the summer.

The band is now looking for a new singer, as it is unlikely that Tim Owens, that replaced him the first time he quit, is available to return to the band, after the way he was fired when Barlow decided he wanted to return in 2007.

Song Of the Day - II

The Core genres of Metal are not really for me, and don't expect much of those genres here in the blog, but today I open an exception for Heaven Shall Burn.
After listening to all the nominees to the Hardcore / Metalcore / Deathcore award in MS Awards 2010, I ended up voting for them (they won, by the way), because it was the more acceptable sound for my taste, by far, and because of this fantastic video (I voted for it in the Best Video category, but it didn't won)

Heaven Shall Burn - Combat

Song of the Day - I

For me, a cover has to be a challenge. The band doing it must take the chance and leave its area of comfort, and take the risk of doing their impression of a song very different from what they usually do.

Metal bands doing covers of other Metal bands, is not for me. So I was a bit disappointed that this great cover didn't won the Best Cover Song category at the MS Awards 2010.

The Foreshadowing - Russians

Metal Storm Awards 2010 - Winners announced

After one month of open votes between their members, the Metal Storm portal announced the winners for the Metal Storm Awards 2010.
You can check the winners here.

I voted in all categories, but it seems that in some genres my taste differ from the majority of the voters. :)
See here my votes:

Best albums by genre

Alternative Metal: Imicus - Animal Factory

Black Metal: Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini (won the award)

Death Metal: Demiurg - Slakthus Gamleby

Doom Metal: Mourning Lenore - Loosely Bounded Infinities

Extreme Doom Metal: Ankhagram - Where Are You Now

Gothic Metal: Soulgrind - The Tuoni Pathway

Grindcore: Landmine Marathon - Sovereign Descent

Hard Rock: Human Temple - Murder Of Crows

Hardcore / Metalcore / Deathcore: Heaven Shall Burn - Invictus (won the award)

Heavy Metal: Volbeat - Beyond Hell / Above Heaven

Industrial Metal: Unheilig - Grosse Freiheit

Melodeath/Gothenburg Metal: Barren Earth - Curse Of The Red River

Pagan/Viking/Folk Metal: Equilibrium - ReKreatur

Post-Metal/Avantgarde Metal: Alcest - Écailles De Lune (won the award)

Power Metal: Rhapsody Of Fire - The Frozen Tears Of Angels

Progressive Metal: Haken - Aquarius

Sludge/Stoner Metal: High On Fire - Snakes For The Divine (won the award)

Symphonic Metal: Ansoticca - Rise

Thrash Metal: Overkill - Ironbound

Other awards

Clandestine Cut Of The Year: Catuvolcus - Terres De Sang

The Best Cover Song: The Foreshadowing - Russians (Sting cover)

The Best Debut Album: Barren Earth - Curse Of The Red River (won the award)

The Best DVD: Amorphis - Forging The Land Of Thousand Lakes

The Best Video: Heaven Shall Burn - Combat

The Biggest Letdown: Wintersun - Time (for not being released yet) (won the award)

The Biggest Surprise: Gwydion - Horn Triskelion