Music to My Ears XI
With the coming of fall, my musical tastes veer toward the metal. Not very far, mind you, but I have many fond memories of the heavy metal and autumn. Iron Maiden's "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" while walking across the Rock River bridge, Samhain on the Walkman as I stand in the yard listening to an approaching thunder storm, Megadeth's "So Far, So Good... So What?" accompanying me on long bus rides.

With the coming of fall, my musical tastes veer toward the metal. And as the weather begins to turn in Boston and the air takes on a crisp and cleanliness that heralds the approach of autumn, my ears prick up for heavier music. So I welcomed the recent email from Mike of Bloodmask, a self-described "heavy band" in Boston.

Listening to the MP3's, I can hear that they are indeed a heavy band. Even though the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival is scheduled for the spring (Why not the fall?), Bloodmask strikes me as straight-ahead festival fare: classic, relatively standard grunge metal. The guitars are chunky and repetitive. The vocals are guttural and growly. And the music is almost utterly devoid of melody, opting instead for a driving, occasionally droning intensity. I can't listen to this kind of music all the time, but today? on this fall Friday? Perfect.