It started out as an album full of death metal songs with speed and aggression. Then Chris had the brilliant idea to keep half of those death metal songs and add some groovier songs in the vein of the early SIX FEET UNDER material.
My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way has lent his voice to the new single by one of our favorite current death metal bands, Frozen Soul. It's called 'No Place of Warmth' and it's off the band's just-announced new album of the same name, which arrives May 8 via Century Media. The song sounds like classic Frozen Soul, and when Gerard comes in, he shows off a vicious scream that's very different from what he does in MCR.
The irony of this column is that most metal that interests us is bound to remain underground to the general music-listening public. Even large metal labels release records that are as likely to chart (or break containment, which is the preferred term these days) as I am likely to grow a third foot. Yes, metal is definitely big, but few acts that push the envelope are likely to be one of those "big" bands.
Novelty and innovation were both in stock as death metal had only been around for less than a decade, black metal - as it came to be recognized - was still fresh, progressive metal was bleeding into extreme metal, and the heavy metal old guard had taken a backseat, clearing way for newer acts. Metallica, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, and even Slayer had all either pivoted away from their original sounds, swapped band members enough to disrupt their creation processes, or both.
