James, Research & Data Whiz

Weekend Roundup: Combating Digital Piracy in 2012

2005 version of the "piracy kills music" logo

“Widespread piracy is the biggest factor undermining the growth of
the digital music business.”  - IFPI Digital Music Report 2012

Things may finally be looking up for the music industry.  IFPI, or the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, has recently released its 2012 Digital Music Report.  This year’s report, making the ninth so far, has an optimistic outlook for a number of reasons.  Perhaps the most significant update is the development and implementation of new measures to stamp out digital piracy.  Frances Moore, the chief executive of the IFPI, writes in the report:

“We are undoubtedly making important progress in changing this environment, dealing with both peer-to-peer (P2P) and other forms of digital piracy. In the US, music and film companies have agreed with ISPs a new copyright alert system. In France, the Hadopi law has been successfully implemented and research shows it is accepted and having an impact on consumer behaviour. . .

. . .South Korea, a pioneer of anti-piracy legislation which has required an effective role from ISPs in stopping infringement, is seeing continued market health. New Zealand implemented a new graduated responselaw in 2011 and surveys show it is already affecting consumer behaviour positively. In Europe, a series of successful court actionsrequired ISPs to block access to The Pirate Bay, prompting substantial reductions in users of that service.In 2011, we made significant progress with these intermediaries. A ground-breaking three-way collaboration betweenpayment providers, IFPI and the City of London Police has helped cut funding to 62 illegal websites. That is a positive model that can be extended to new forms of piracy in the future.”

Moore also highlighted the need for cooperation from search engines such as Google:

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2011 DC/MD/VA Metal Recap / Looking to 2012

It’s that time of year again, when metal fans do battle over the “best” albums of 2011 across the Internet.  Even though I plan on entering the fray with my own list soon, for now I decided to compile a list of new releases from the area, as well as highlight some of the most exciting metal news for the DMV area.

Major New Releases in 2011 from DC/MD/VA

Animals as Leaders – Weightless (November 8, 2011)

Even though junk like Nickelback and Korn are still topping hard rock charts, a glimmer of hope for heavy music exists with Animals as Leaders. The instrumental ‘djent‘ band masterminded by Tosin Abasi saw their second release move 6,120 units since its debut, and recently has moved 11,129 units cumulatively. Even though I don’t much care for instrumental metal or djent, its nice to see a band that’s not hard rock, christian metalcore, or deathcore move some albums. Animals As Leaders is signed to Prosthetic Records, who have released their debut and sophomore albums.  Head over to their Facebook and check ‘em out.

Cannabis Corpse – Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise (July 12, 2011)

Cannabis Corpse is a death metal act from Richmond, VA whose music clearly displays their extreme love of two things: weed and old school death metal.  The album is rife with tributes to old classics such as Morbid Angel and Deicide.  The music video for Gateways to Inhalation is a “metal party” video, and one of my favorite videos this year. Cannabis Corpse’s latest was released via Tankcrimes.  Check out their video below.

Darkest Hour – The Human Romance (February 22, 2011)

Not really my thing, but I saw them at Summer Slaughter this summer and could see why Darkest Hour has so many fans, they do put on a great show for what they are.  If you like metalcore and are from the area, you probably already have this album / know everything about this band.  The Human Romance was Darkest Hour’s first release for E1 music, after having been with Victory Records for 10 years.

Dying Fetus – History Repeats Itself (July 19, 2011)

So this isn’t an album but it was one of the recordings I got the most excited about in 2011.  Dying Fetus is one of my favorite bands of all time, and this was a nice release to tide me over until they finally release their next album (see more on that further down).  This EP featured one short new track, and covers of Napalm Death, Bolt Thrower, Cannibal Corpse, and Dehumanized. The EP was released via Relapse Records.

Magrudergrind – Crusher (March 28, 2011)

This isn’t an LP either, just another EP.  Magrudergrind is a sick grindcore outfit from Washington DC.  I only just started listening to Magrudergrind this year, after hearing their self-titled sophomore LP.  That album had been engineered by Kurt Ballou of Converge fame and mastered by Scott Hull of Pig Destroyer.  That alone was enough for me to check them out.  I’m not sure who worked on this album (besides Magrudergrind obviously), but its another six blistering tracks of grindcore.  The EP was released via Bones Brigade Records and also Scion A/V.

Anticipating Upcoming Releases:

Some of the area’s staple acts are preparing new albums for 2012. It was revealed way back in July by Metal Injection that Pig Destroyer has a new drummer, Adam Jarvis.  If that name sounds familiar, it should, because he is the current (insanely awesome) drummer of Misery Index, another DMV local (and another of my favorite bands).  Adam Jarvis is crazy sick with the drums, and this was announced way back in July so I hope a new Pig Destroyer record is well under way.  The last thing they released was their departure-from-grind EP, Natasha.

Municipal Waste, the thrash/punk outfit from Richmond, VA also announced today via their Facebook that they have completed work on their fifth album, which will be called “The Fatal Feast”.  I love Municipal Waste – their sound reminds me of Reign In Blood-era Slayer only without the cheesy Satanic vibe and replaced with an equally cheesy party vibe.  Also this album is gonna be out on Nuclear Blast, their past three albums were out on Earache. Municipal Waste’s albums have all been very solid, so I don’t expect this one to disappoint.

Also announced (also via Facebook) was the album title of Dying Fetus‘ 2012 effort, which will apparently be titled “Reign Supreme”.  Dying Fetus’ 2009 (Descend into Depravity) release was their best since the classic 2000 Destroy the Opposition, and from the way Jon Gallagher (mastermind of Dying Fetus) has described the new album, it should top their last effort.  Either way I’m very excited for it.  The album will be released via Relapse Records.

Last but not least,  Lamb of God is set to release a new album called “Resolution” January 24th 2012.  I was not a fan of their past two albums, Sacrament and Wrath, but I am a huge fan of their older material.  Either way, Lamb of God has got to be the biggest act in the USA as far as metal, so its a big deal any time a new album of theirs is released.  I will definitely be scoping it out the day of release, even though their new song called “Ghost Walking” leads me to believe it will sound a lot like Wrath.  Anyway, MetalSucks premiered the new track last Monday, be sure to give it a listen!  You can already buy the track all over the place, and the new album will be released via Epic Records and Roadrunner Records.

Stay tuned for a follow-up post on these anticipations, as well as my year end list of favorite metal albums.

Good times at Comet Ping Pong

For those of you outside of Washington D.C., Comet is a great little ping-pong bar at 5037 Connecticut Ave NW .  They have ping-pong tables (duh) but what they have which is more obscured from the public is some delicious pizza, and more importantly, they host shows for local artists every once in a while.  Last weekend Alex, Nelson and I headed to Comet to check out Sorceress, Dino’s Boys, and TMV (even though they gave me a pin, for the life of me I can’t remember what it stands for! good performance though).  Unfortunately I got there late and missed the first two bands, as well as not arriving in time to have any pizza.  However, it was a nice first experience at Comet.  I liked the atmosphere, the small set-up they had for bands, and a decent selection of fair-priced beers to drink.

So, for those reasons, I will be going to Comet once again tomorrow night, this time to catch Deceased, Borracho, and Windhand.  Another local act, ILSA, was scheduled to be on the show but had to drop out unfortunately.  For ten bucks at the door tomorrow night I will be treated to one of the most infamous local metal acts – Deceased.  I had actually never heard of them until fairly recently, when King Fowley was featured in MetalSucks’ “Cooking Contaminated” metal cooking webisode series.  Apparently they were the first artist ever signed to Relapse Records’ roster.  Fun fact.  Anyway, they’ve just put out a new album for 2011 called “Surreal Overdose”, check out this track from it here:

As you can hear, thoroughly old school.  Really looking forward to checking out these old school death/thrash stalwarts.  However I am almost more excited to check out DC’s own Borracho.    They are the kind of band I prefer to listen to when I’m not listening to something laden with blast beats – a stoner/sludge metal – vintage rock outfit.  Think Sabbath, highonfire, Electric Wizard, the Sword – you get the idea.  Anyway I had only just recently heard of Borracho but am pleased to find them based in D.C. – so I’ll be sure to see more of them as time goes on.  They too have put out a new album, called “Splitting the Sky”.   Head over to Borracho’s bandcamp to get their new CD for $10.  You can also get their 7″ with an exclusive spanish version of their song “Concentric Circles” (great song, its on Splitting the Sky) from there too.  Anyway, show them some love on facebook and check in next week to hear my thoughts on the show and to see some pictures from it.  I’ll be checking out Windhand for the first time ever so I will give my thoughts on them next time.

Be sure to check out Deceased and Borracho on facebook and give them a like!

Deceased on Facebook
Borracho on Facebook

Physical albums still reign supreme in Metal

Image via Wikipedia

With metal as non-mainstream as it is, it can be extra difficult for a band with a certain niche sound to reach the audience they need to reach in order to be successful.  Things have improved with the digital age as far as getting the music out there, and music discovery services help (Pandora, Spotify, last.fm etc.). I ask, what about the die-hard fans, especially us metal fans, who want the full album experience on vinyl or CD?  What if we want that experience for a less-than-well-known band that is only just beginning their career as musicians?  Especially considering metal on a global scale (metal is in fact much more popular outside of the United States), how would an upstart band know where to export their CDs and LPs, have enough money to ship overseas, and let alone know what cities to tour for support of their release??

It might be a shocker, but metal in particular fosters a significant demand for physical albums, because inside the metal world, although the concept of a single exists, the album itself still reigns supreme.  This concept applies more loosely for popular metal bands such as super metal stars Lamb of God, Mastodon, or Children of Bodom. Bands that hold this level of success are able pick a few songs and make them into videos that act as singles. Overall the idea of an album is still venerated in the metal world.  Many albums’ format are designed with listening to the entire album start to finish in mind, (example: Domine Non Dignus from Anaal Nathrakh) with some tracks being introductions or interludes, or leading directly into another song. Metal fans also pay extra attention to the presentation of the album – the cover art and packaging. People like wicked cover art especially on physical CDs or LPs where you can hold it up and gaze into it while listening to the album, getting lost in a world of metal imagery (I know, I’ve done this many times).  In short, albums as complete works are still thriving in the metal world, and the only problem is getting those albums to the fans that want it.

Essentially, the dominant reason I signed up to work with Altavoz is that I believe we can do more for these metal artists who aren’t reaching their audiences as well as they could. Altavoz can help them figure out where to tour, where to sell their LPs for a fair price, and potentially helping others out there by having the release contribute to a non-profit of their choice.  It is more than a win-win, and I hope to see many metal artists get involved with Altavoz!

On that note, I leave you with a little Anaal Nathrakh

James

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30Mvn13um4I

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