SonOfOdin goes "all in" for Black Metal History Month with four albums comprising the various subsections of the black metal genre. In the epic blackened folk section, it's the Scottish band Saor. In the blackened death section, it's Australian solo project The Furor. The indie act, Theosophy, provides a Russian interpretation. Finally, Heavy Metal Valhalla looks at black metal's Norwegian roots with a classic Darkthrone album. How will guest host Rock-Lobster Johnson respond?

More Rock-Lob:

* 2017 Dead In Decatur Film Festival Kickstarter (Apr 15–May 25, 2017)

* Dead In Decatur Podcast Network

* YouTube: Zachary Tindell

* YouTube: Tabletop Magi

Pre-Show Bullshittery

* SonOfOdin goads Rock-Lob into a game of "Norwegian Black Metal Band or Norwegian Dessert?"

New Releases:

Saor : Guardians (2016)

Saor is the brainchild of Andy Marshall, allowing him to explore lengthy, Celtic-infused blackened soundscapes that feature themes and instruments from Scottish history.

Get this album: Bandcamp • Amazon.com • iTunes • Spotify

The Furor : Cavalries of the Occult (2017)

First and foremost a drummer, Austrailian Louis "Disaster" Rando started The Furor as a (primarily) solo blackened death/thrash project to explore avenues he isn't able to perform with his other bands.

Get this album: Bandcamp • Amazon.com • iTunes

Local/Indie Band:

SonOfOdin flies solo this month, opting for new albums chosen by the folks in the Facebook Group. To that end, he looks at the newest albums from American thrashers Testament and Swedish melodeath pioneers Dark Tranquillity. The indie segment features Irish black metal from Aeternum Vale. Finally, Heavy Metal Valhalla looks at one of Dave Lombardo's side projects, Grip Inc.

New Releases:

Testament : Brotherhood of the Snake (2016)

Formed back in 1983, Testament is an American thrash metal band from California and consists of vocalist Chuck Billy, guitarists Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick, bassist Steve DiGiorgio, and drummer Gene Hoglan. After 34 years, the band is still producing aggressive music.

Get this album: Amazon.com • iTunes • CD Universe • Spotify

Dark Tranquillity : Atoma (2016)

When someone says "melodic death metal" the Gothenburg scene is usually the first to come to mind. Dark Tranquillity is one of the pioneers in this style, and their sound's twenty-year evolution is instantly recognizable to most fans of the subgenre.

Get this album: Amazon.com • iTunes • CD Universe • Spotify

Local/Indie Band:

Aeternum Vale : Ashes of Memory (2016)

Aeturnum Vale are a melodic black metal band from Ireland. With one full album released in 2013, the band are back with an EP to close out 2016.

Get this album: Email the Band     Info: Facebo...

SonOfOdin is joined by Thrashbrowns to discuss the newest Metallica album and the debut from supergroup Serpentine Dominion. With our appetites whetted, it's time to dive into the delectable offerings of the Food Metal project. Finally, SonOfOdin gets schooling in East Coast thrash with Overkill's fourth album.

More Thrashbrowns:

* East Idaho News Columns

* Twitter

New Releases:

Metallica : Hardwired... To Self-Destruct (2016)

What really needs said about Metallica at this point? One of the "Big Four" foundational thrash acts, the band's recent output has been heavily divisive. Is Hardwired the album fans have been waiting for?

Get this album: Amazon.com • iTunes • CD Universe • Spotify

Serpentine Dominion : Serpentine Dominion (2016)

What do you get when you take one of the forefathers of modern American metal and one of the best drummers said era has to offer, and put them in a band with death metal's most iconic vocalist? Let's find out...

Get this album: Amazon.com • iTunes • CD Universe • Spotify

Local/Indie Band:

James Perry : Food Metal (2016)

When multi-instrumentalist James Perry was between bands, he got the idea to record a metal album purely about food. While originally intended to be a musical excercise, the final product surpassed Perry's expectations, and he released it on the world.

Get this album: Bandcamp     Info: Website •

The Fat Kid returns to the show, only to have SonOfOdin bludgeon him with Skálmöld's newest release. The conversation takes a nerdy bent with Lordi's monster antics and indie artist Unearthed Elf's Dungeons & Dragons metal. Finally, SonOfOdin gets nostalgic and looks back to a time when Blackie Lawless was the Glam Demon from Hell™ on W.A.S.P.'s second album.

New Releases:

Lordi : Monstereophonic (Theaterror vs. Demonarchy) (2016)

Lordi are a Finnish band who play a melodic hard rock/metal hybrid. Heavily influenced by KISS and GWAR, Lordi are known for wearing monster costumes and using horror elements and pyrotechnics in their concerts and music videos.

Get this album: Amazon.com • iTunes • CD Universe • Spotify

Skálmöld : Vögguvísur Yggdrasils (2016)

Translating to "Age of Sword", Iceland's Skàlmöld play a heavier style of Scandinavian folk metal, incorporating elements of death and black metal along with multi-dimensional arrangements to add new interest to a sometimes stale genre.

Get this album: Amazon.com • iTunes • CD Universe • Spotify

Local/Indie Band:

Unearthed Elf : Into the Catacomb Abyss (2016)

Unearthed Elf is a one-man side project by Keith D. (Arctic Sleep) from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Calling his sound "epic fantasy power doom metal," the Elf conjures power metal imagery over an epic doom musical style.

Get this album: Bandcamp • Amazon.com •

The show is temporarily retitled "The Siblings of Metal" this month as SonOfOdin is joined by the Mighty English Valkyrie, Explodey Jo! We talk new albums from Sodom and Tarja Turunen, along with an up-and-coming Indian death metal act called Darkrypt. Jo schools SonOfOdin on his ignorance of one of the Peaceville Three with Anathema's second album.

News Items

* Bolt Thrower Disbands After Kiddie Kearns's Death

* Fabio Lione Splits With Rhapsody Of Fire

Links Jo Recomments

* Myrath

* Fathoming Heavy Podcast

New Releases:

Sodom : Decision Day (2016)

One of the "Big Four" of the Teutonic thrash scene, Sodom was formed in 1981 by Tom Angelripper. Their early works heavily influenced the black and death metal scenes of the day, and the group shows few signs of slowing down 35 years later.

Get this album: Amazon.com • iTunes • CD Universe • Spotify

Tarja : The Shadow Self (2016)

Tarja Turunen is a three-octave soprano and was the frontwoman of Finnish symphonic powerhouse Nightwish until her dismissal in 2005. Since then, she has focused primarily on her solo efforts which range from neoclassical opera to symphonic metal.

Get this album: Amazon.com • iTunes • CD Universe • Spotify

Local/Indie Band:

Darkrypt : Delirious Excursion (2016)

Despite their old-school Scandinavian influences,

Rock-Lobster Johnson pinch-hits this month to discuss new albums from Sabaton, Darkher, and the Vivaldi Metal Project. SonOfOdin takes things into the gutter with deathgrind act Full Frontal Face Fuckers before gushing like a fangirl over Liv Kristine and her first band, Theatre of Tragedy.

More Rock-Lob:

* 2017 Dead In Decatur Film Festival Kickstarter (Apr 15–May 25, 2017)

* Dead In Decatur Podcast Network

* YouTube: Zachary Tindell

* YouTube: Tabletop Magi

New Releases:

Sabaton : The Last Stand (2016)

Swedish power metal band Sabaton writes songs based on war and historical battles.

Get this album: Amazon.com • iTunes • CD Universe • Spotify

Darkher : Realms (2016)

Darkher is a one-woman doom metal project by Englishwoman Jayn H. Wissenberg featuring haunting and somber crooning over Iommi-evoking riffs.

Get this album: Amazon.com • iTunes • CD Universe • Spotify

Vivaldi Metal Project : The Four Seasons (2016)

The Vivaldi Metal Project was created by Italian keyboard player, composer, and producer Mistheria. The project is a symphonic metal opera based on Antonio Vivaldi's concerti The Four Seasons and features more than 130 international artists, orchestra, a string quartet, and three choirs.

Get this album:

Life throws a wrench into the episode's format, but nothing can stop the metal! The show features discussion on new albums from Oracles and Be'lakor, two very different takes on the melodic death metal subgenre. Also, there is an advance EP listen from an odd black metal/hardcore hybrid called Calligram. Finally, a case is made for System of a Down's inclusion into Heavy Metal Valhalla.

New Releases:

Oracles : Miserycorde (2016)

Essentially the band System Divide with a new female singer, Oracles is a Belgian group whose music emcompasses beauty-and-beast vocals, melodic death metal, metalcore, and other hybrid styles.

Get this album: : Bandcamp • Amazon.com • iTunes • CD Universe • Spotify

Be'lakor : Vessels (2016)

Taking its name from Warhammer Fantasy, Be'lakor are an Australian melodic death metal band with lyrics centered around nature, mythology, and paganism.

Get this album: Amazon.com • iTunes • CD Universe • Spotify

Local/Indie Band:

Calligram : Demimonde (2016)

Calligram are a five-piece black metal/hardcore band based in London, England, but comprising members from England, Brazil, Italy, and France. Balancing two seemingly disparate genres sounds daunting, but Calligram find a unique connection between the bleakness and the brutality.

Get this Album: Bandcamp • Amazon.com     Info: Facebook

Heavy Metal Valhalla:

System of a Down : Steal This Album!

SonOfOdin sits down with Rock-Lobster Johnson to discuss new albums from Bat and Winterhorde. The indie segment showcases some Grecian power metal with The Silent Rage, and Rock-Lob inducts a second Iron Maiden album into Heavy Metal Valhalla.

More Rock-Lob:

* 2017 Dead In Decatur Film Festival Kickstarter (Apr 15–May 25, 2017)

* Dead In Decatur Podcast Network

* YouTube: Zachary Tindell

* YouTube: Tabletop Magi

News Items/Links:

* Iron Maiden Releases Free Mobile Game: [iOS • Android]

* El Goro's Patreon (The least I could do is a free plug.)

New Releases:

Bat : Wings of Chains (2016)

Bat is a blackened crossover "supergroup" (of sorts) comprised of Ryan Waste and Nick Poulos from Municipal Waste and Felix Griffin, formerly of D.R.I.

Get this album: Bandcamp • Amazon.com • iTunes • CD Universe • Spotify

Winterhorde : Maestro (2016)

Winterhorde are a melodic black metal act from Israel. What they lack in release frequency they make up for with musical complexity.

Get this album: Amazon.com • iTunes •

El Goro has ridden off to the land of TWORP, so SonOfOdin enlists The Fat Kid to review new albums from Iron Savior and Texas Hippie Coalition. SonOfOdin challenges TFK with indie act Slugdge, and TFK responds with making a case for Lordi's entry into Metal Valhalla.

New Releases:

Iron Savior : Titancraft (2016)

Iron Savior is a German band formed in 1996 by multi-instrumentalist Piet Sielck and former members of Helloween and Blind Guardian. The band blends power metal with a high-concept science fiction story.

Get this album: Amazon.com • CD Universe • iTunes • Spotify

Texas Hippie Coalition : Dark Side of Black (2016)

Hailing from a small town in Texas, THC plays a Southern-fried style of groove metal they call "red dirt metal" which is heavily influenced by performers like Molly Hatchet, Waylon Jennings, Pantera, and ZZ Top.

Get this album: Amazon.com • CD Universe • iTunes • Spotify

Local/Indie Band:

Slugdge : Dim & Slimeridden Kingdoms (2015)

Slugdge are a UK duo whose music is a constantly-mutating blend of extreme styles, including elements of sludge, death, doom, progressive, black, and thrash metal.

Get this album: Bandcamp     Info: Facebook

Heavy Metal Valhalla:

Lordi : The Arockalypse (2006)

Lordi are a Finnish band who play a melodic hard rock/metal hybrid.

SonOfOdin is in a female-fronted doom metal mood this month with new fuzzed-out trippiness from Purson and Psychedelic Witchcraft followed by more traditional doom metal from Worship of Keres.

Albums:

Purson : Desire's Magic Theatre (2016)

Purson are a psychedelic occult rock band from England founded by Rosalie Cunningham after she disbanded Ipso Facto. Cunningham describes the sound as "vaudeville carny psych".

Get this album: Amazon.com • CD Universe • iTunes • Spotify

Psychedelic Witchcraft : The Vision (2016)

Psychedelic Witchcraft are a four-piece psychedelic occult rock band from Italy fronted by Virginia Monti.

Get this album: Amazon.com • iTunes • Spotify

Bonus Song:

Worship of Keres : Book 1  [Bandcamp • Amazon.com • iTunes • Spotify]