Metal blog about all things new, releases, announcements and events.
SevenKingdoms
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Abysmal Dawn new album out Feb 1, 2011
California's Abysmal Dawn just put a new track from their forthcoming CD "Leveling The Plane Of Existence",due out on Feb. 1, 2011, on the bands myspace page. Fans of the band will not be disappointed and if you are not familiar with this band you owe it to yourself to give them a listen. The newest track is called "In Service Of Time" and can be heard at Abysmal Dawn.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
The urge for a "new" classic this Christmas??? Try Opeth's Masterpiece "Blackwater Park"
This holiday season I'm rocking out to some truly classic metal. "Blackwater Park" will be 10 years old in February and in my book that makes it classic. I remember it's release like it was yesterday. I had just started to really get into Opeth about a year prior when a friend recommended "Still Life" (great disc as well) and remember the underground buzz that had started prior to the release of this masterpiece. This disc is one that any fan of metal needs to give a chance. This album is a massive fusion of progressive death metal with a hint of black metal thrown in. I could not tell you how many people that I have talked into picking up this classic album since its release in 2001 and time and time again those same people get hooked on Opeth. Blackwater Park is 8 tracks of audible ecstasy that is addictive. One listen and you'll come back for more. From the opening growl of "We enter winter once again" from "The Leper Affinity" you realize that you are indeed in for one hell of a ride. the disc flows into "Bleak" and then riffs into metal beauty. "Harvest" is the third track and is a track that will catch you by surprise. Acoustic blended metal at its finest. "The Drapery Falls" is an excellent tune that blends acoustics and heaviness into an incredibly diverse song that builds into a monster and slowly calms back down. The next track, "The Funeral Portrait" is a fan favorite and kills. Hear it to understand, that's all I'm saying. "Patterns in the Ivy" is a mellow acoustic guitar and piano driven song that is a relaxing 2 minutes to recover from the incredible music you have heard up until that point. Finally the last track "Blackwater Park" is an epic closer that brings every element of what makes Opeth unique into one final taste. Acoustics, heavy guitars, growls, groove and feeling.
Tracklist
1. The Leper Affinity
2. Bleak
3. Harvest
4. The Drapery Falls
5. Dirge For November
6. The Funeral Portrait
7. Patterns In The Ivy
8. Blackwater Park
Check it out and you will agree that "Blackwater Park" by Opeth is a "new" classic.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Long Live the King: King Diamond comes out of Open-Heart Triple-Bypass Surgery
King Diamond's wife Livia Zita has provided fans with an update and details regarding King's surgery and the days and events just prior to surgery. Fortunately, King is now at home and recovering.
Livia states, "Let me catch you all up on the past couple of weeks' happenings, because it affects many things.
"On Monday the 29th of November, King had to be transported to the nearby hospital by ambulance. After several different tests were done and the EKG machine showing abnormalities, the doctors recommended that he get a cardiac catheterization.
"Cardiac catheterization is a procedure where the doctors lead a very thin tube up from the leg and into the heart, where it injects dye into the bloodstream. Then a camera at the end of the tube takes many pictures of the heart's arteries, looking for blockages.
"After this was done, they determined that King had several heart attacks, and three of his heart's arteries were the cause: one was completely blocked, the second was 90% blocked, and the third was 65% blocked. The only solution to this was an open-heart triple-bypass surgery.
"If you are interested in the details of how this surgery is performed, please look it up online. I will only touch on the basics. The sternum (breastbone) is cut in half and pulled apart, to expose the heart. Veins are harvested from other places of the body, in King's case it was his left leg and chest wall. The person is then hooked up to a machine that practically does the job of the heart, circulating and oxygenating the blood. The heart is then stopped, and the lungs collapse (the lungs stop working since the blood is being oxygenated by the machine). The surgeon then sews the harvested veins in place, bypassing the found blockages. Once the surgery is done, the surgeon moves the ribs and breastbone back into place and wires it together. The chest is closed as well. They use an electric pulse to start the heart and a breathing machine is lead into the lungs to restart breathing.
"King's surgery took approximately seven hours. Everything went well, and King was taken to ICU for recovery. He was walking and eating solid food already two days after the operation, and he was the first one in the history of the hospital who walked on his own power from the ICU to normal care.
"10 days after the ambulance took him to the emergency room, he is at home and is recovering well. It will be a few months before he feels completely normal and is without pain.
"He would like to mention here that he's eternally grateful for the wonderful staff at Centennial Medical Center who took care of him. Dr. Kourlis, Dr. Kamili, Dr. Alang, Nurse Christie and Nurse Thomasamong many others made sure that he got the best care and attention he could ever have hoped for. They were always very nice to me, too, letting me stay overnight in the ICU after visiting hours were over.
"In light of this, he will be taking a break from music and the music business altogether until further notice. He very much wants to write new music, finish the DVDs, and go on tour, but for now, all those things are in the distant future and he's not thinking about them.
"Please understand that the KING DIAMOND band is not stopping, disbanding or anything of the sort. King's health is first priority, and when everything is going good with him, the music will resume.
"Thank you all very much for reading this and STAY HEAVY."
 |
| King Diamond |
"On Monday the 29th of November, King had to be transported to the nearby hospital by ambulance. After several different tests were done and the EKG machine showing abnormalities, the doctors recommended that he get a cardiac catheterization.
"Cardiac catheterization is a procedure where the doctors lead a very thin tube up from the leg and into the heart, where it injects dye into the bloodstream. Then a camera at the end of the tube takes many pictures of the heart's arteries, looking for blockages.
"After this was done, they determined that King had several heart attacks, and three of his heart's arteries were the cause: one was completely blocked, the second was 90% blocked, and the third was 65% blocked. The only solution to this was an open-heart triple-bypass surgery.
"If you are interested in the details of how this surgery is performed, please look it up online. I will only touch on the basics. The sternum (breastbone) is cut in half and pulled apart, to expose the heart. Veins are harvested from other places of the body, in King's case it was his left leg and chest wall. The person is then hooked up to a machine that practically does the job of the heart, circulating and oxygenating the blood. The heart is then stopped, and the lungs collapse (the lungs stop working since the blood is being oxygenated by the machine). The surgeon then sews the harvested veins in place, bypassing the found blockages. Once the surgery is done, the surgeon moves the ribs and breastbone back into place and wires it together. The chest is closed as well. They use an electric pulse to start the heart and a breathing machine is lead into the lungs to restart breathing.
"King's surgery took approximately seven hours. Everything went well, and King was taken to ICU for recovery. He was walking and eating solid food already two days after the operation, and he was the first one in the history of the hospital who walked on his own power from the ICU to normal care.
"10 days after the ambulance took him to the emergency room, he is at home and is recovering well. It will be a few months before he feels completely normal and is without pain.
"He would like to mention here that he's eternally grateful for the wonderful staff at Centennial Medical Center who took care of him. Dr. Kourlis, Dr. Kamili, Dr. Alang, Nurse Christie and Nurse Thomasamong many others made sure that he got the best care and attention he could ever have hoped for. They were always very nice to me, too, letting me stay overnight in the ICU after visiting hours were over.
"In light of this, he will be taking a break from music and the music business altogether until further notice. He very much wants to write new music, finish the DVDs, and go on tour, but for now, all those things are in the distant future and he's not thinking about them.
"Please understand that the KING DIAMOND band is not stopping, disbanding or anything of the sort. King's health is first priority, and when everything is going good with him, the music will resume.
"Thank you all very much for reading this and STAY HEAVY."
We here at Focus On Metal wish King Diamond a speedy recovery this holiday season.
There may be no presents for christmas, but material objects are worthless and meaningless. The best gifts are not tangible. I for one am truly thankful for the gift of King Diamond's music to all of us metal heads.
LONG LIVE THE KING!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Judas Priest Announce Farewell Tour
It's a sad day for metal Judas Priest have announce that after 40 years they are heading out on their farewell tour.
Throughout 2011 Priest will be embarking on the worldwide Epitaph tour.
The full set of dates are still being arranged but the following festival dates have been confirmed.
June
9 - Sweden Rock - Solvesborg, Sweden
11 - Sauna Festival - Finland
17 - Copenhell Festival - Copenhagen, Denmark
19 - Hellfest - Nantes, France
22 - Gods of Metal Festival - Milan, Italy
25 - Graspop Festival - Belgium
July
23 - High Voltage Festival - London, UK
August
5 - Wacken Open Air - Wacken, Germany
As more dates are confirmed Focus On Metal will keep you updated, so stay tuned.
Throughout 2011 Priest will be embarking on the worldwide Epitaph tour.
The full set of dates are still being arranged but the following festival dates have been confirmed.
June
9 - Sweden Rock - Solvesborg, Sweden
11 - Sauna Festival - Finland
17 - Copenhell Festival - Copenhagen, Denmark
19 - Hellfest - Nantes, France
22 - Gods of Metal Festival - Milan, Italy
25 - Graspop Festival - Belgium
July
23 - High Voltage Festival - London, UK
August
5 - Wacken Open Air - Wacken, Germany
As more dates are confirmed Focus On Metal will keep you updated, so stay tuned.
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