Inverted Umlaut

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You can watch The Body’s NYC show and now you can download a bootleg of the St. Stephen’s set from D.C. (Photos of the beautiful sanctuary + an interview here.)

charredresistors:

Live, in the Sanctuary of St. Stephens. Echos everywhere. Mic’s quit a bit better than most shows. It sounded / sounds amazing.

Braveyoung - post-rock like later Isis. Perfect for a giant church.

The Body w/ the Assembly Of Light Choir - The Body with a 13 person all-women choir, with half the set being just the choir.  Again, perfect for a church.  There are very little vocals from singer of The Body (but you can hear them) because he has no mic.  He’s screaming over the onslaught of noise that The Body makes.

Ilsa - The guitars and base sound like they are 100ft tall stacks, the drums sound like they were played in a cave, and the singer sounds like the mere act of being in a church is torturous.

Watch the sludgy doom-metal duo The Body perform with a 24-piece female choir in concert, then download it from NPR Music.

People of Washington, D.C., go see The Body level St. Stephens church with a choir June 24! Braveyoung (new to me) and local death-doom band Ilsa open.

DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST (192kpbs MP3)

* In which our host reveals his Christian metal roots with a face-off inspired by a Decibel jab: Scrolls of the Megilloth vs. Towards the Megalith.
* Surrealist noise-rock duo The Body is currently on tour with a 25-piece female choir. This is awesome. D.C., do not miss the St. Stephens show on 6/24!
* Is it possible for black metal to swing? Peste Noire thinks so!
* Plus music from Big Business, Ilsa, Pharaoh and more. See full playlist below.

BIG BUSINESS “Always Never Know When to Quit,” Quadruple Single [Gold Metal]
KHANN “Heroic Dosage,” Erode [Black Market Activities]
XIBALBA “We Deserve to Die,” Madre Mia Gracias Por Los Dias [Southern Lord/A389]
—
SOURVEIN “Nomadic,” Black Fang [Candlelight]
YOB “Prepare the Ground,” Atma [Profound Lore]
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ILSA “Titan Arum,” split w/ Hooded Menace [Contagion Relasing]
THE BODY “Even Saints Knew Their Hour of Failure and Loss,” All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood [At A Loss]
CHRISSAKES ” Granby,” split w/ The Convocation [One Percent Press]
HARM’S WAY “Timing,” Isolation [Closed Casket Activities]
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BARN BURNER “Gate Creeper,” Bangers II: Scum of the Earth [Metal Blade]
RHAPSODY OF FIRE “Tornado,” From Chaos to Eternity [Nuclear Blast]
PHAROAH “Reflection and the Inevitable Future,” Ten Years [Cruz Del Sur]
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MORTIFICATION “Necromanicide,” Scrolls of the Megilloth [Nuclear Blast]
DISMA “Spectral Domination,” Towards the Megalith [Profound Lore]
KALOPSIA “Death Starts the Horror,” Death Starts the Horror [Bandcamp]
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BOOK OF BLACK EARTH “Irritating Spectre,” The Cold Testament [Prosthetic]
PESTE NOIRE “Casse, Pêches, Fractures et Traditions,” L’Ordure à l’État Pur [Transcendental Creations]

(Incidental music)
ELLEN FULLMAN, Through Glass Panes [Important]

photo credit: Library of Congress via Flickr | See All Podcasts

Providence, R.I. sludge/noise-rock duo The Body (my #3 album of 2010) are about to head out on tour. Looks like I’ll miss the band’s closest D.C. gig in Baltimore (#sadface), so I’ll just bang my head to this well-shot Tulsa concert instead.

[Crustcake]

DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST (192kpbs MP3)

(Click “Read More” below to see the Top 25 Metal Albums of 2010)

In 2010, more metal bands sounded like seafood plates: Blackened death, blackened post-hardcore, blackened crust. Not that I’m complaining. The more smart cross-pollination, the better, as far as I’m concerned. The key word here is “smart,” though. When Woe pummels a melodic progression like a Hum-ming Black Wizard, it’s a thoughtful, yet still ass-kicking moment.

But it’s all metal, dammit. It’s the one genre besides opera that can exist in two planes of culture: borderline pretentious, yet beautiful high-art (your Opeths and Deathspell Omegas) and party-hard, dead brain cells low-art (your Municipal Wastes and Kvelertaks). And then there are the brilliant ones that straddle both (your Nachtmystiums). And it’s still hated anyway.

2010 was a great year for metal. Hell, any year is great for metal. What are you doing? Living under a rock?

The podcast above only features audio from the top 15 metal albums of 2010 (forgive the first two minutes of blown-out audio — I cleaned it up the best I could in post-production), but after the jump, I’ve included my top 25 metal albums of the year. DON’T MISS ‘EM.

25. Cauchemar, La Vierge Noire [Nuclear War Now!]

24. Celeste, Morte(s) Nee(s) [Denovali]

23. Bastard Priest, Under The Hammer of Destruction [Blood Harvest]

22. Julie Christmas, The Bad Wife [Rising Pulse]

21. Blood Cult, We are the Cult of the Plains [Moribund Cult]

20. Undergang, Indhentet af Døden [Me Saco Un Ojo]

19. Wrnlrd, Death Drive EP [FSS]

18. Christian Mistress, Agony & Opium [20 Buck Spin]

17. Coffinworm, When All Became None [Profound Lore]

16. Ehnahre, Taming the Cannibals [Crucial Blast]

15. Slough Feg, The Animal Spirits [Profound Lore]

14. Wormrot, Abuse [Earache]

13. Triptykon, Eparistera Daimones [Century Media]

12. Sailors With Wax Wings, Sailors With Wax Wings [Angel Oven]

11. Salome, Terminal [Profound Lore]

10. Ihsahn, After [Candlelight] 

9. Woe, Quietly, Undramatically [Candlelight]

8. Locrian, The Crystal World [Utech] and Territories [Small Doses]

7. Thou, Summit [Gilead Media]

6. Drunkdriver, Self Titled LP [self-released]

5. Ludicra, The Tenant [Profound Lore]

4. Deathspell Omega, Paracletus [Season of Mist]

3. The Body, All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood [At A Loss]

2. Harvey Milk, A Small Turn of Human Kindness [Hydrahead]

1. Agalloch, Marrow of the Spirit [Profound Lore]

——————

Podcast Playlist

SLOUGH FEG “Free Market Barbarian,” The Animal Spirits [Profound Lore]
WORMROT “Freedom to Act,” Abuse [Earache]
TRIPTYKON “A Thousand Lies,” Eparistera Daimones [Century Media]
—-
SAILORS WITH WAX WINGS “If I Should Cast Off This Tattered Coat,” Sailors With Wax Wings [Angel Oven]
SALOME “The Witness,” Terminal [Profound Lore]
—-
IHSAHN “Frozen Lakes on Mars,” After [Century Media]
WOE “Quietly, Undramatically,” Quietly, Undramatically [Century Media]
—-
LOCRIAN “Elevations and Depths,” The Crystal World [Utech]
—-
THOU “By Endurance We Conquer,” Summit [Gilead Media]
DRUNKDRIVER “Half Mast,” Self Titled LP [self-released]
—-
LUDICRA “The Tenant,” The Tenant [Profound Lore]
DEATHSPELL OMEGA “Phosphene,” Paracletus [Season of Mist]
—-
THE BODY “A Curse,” All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood [At A Loss]
HARVEY MILK “I Just Want to Go Home,” A Small Turn of Human Kindness [Hydrahead]
—-
AGALLOCH “Ghosts of the Midwinter Fires,” Marrow of the Spirit [Profound Lore]

(Incidental music)
JEFRE CANTU-LEDESMA, Love is a Stream [Type]

photo credit: Library of Congress via Flickr