Greetings fellow headbangers! Welcome to the third installment of Metal Asylum. It has been a pretty busy month for the metal scene.

First off, my interview with Peter Wichers, the lead guitarist of Soilwork, went up a couple of Sundays ago here on SG. To read the full interview click HERE.

Soilwork actually played a few weeks ago at The Key Club in West Hollywood. I was very interested in seeing them now that Peter has returned to the fold. Unfortunately, I only got to see a small portion of their set because I met up with my Finnish friends from doom metal band Swallow the Sun at the show and they convinced me to go drink vodka with them next door at The Rainbow Room (always a bad idea...but always a good time!) From the few songs that I did see I could tell they were really tight and the crowd seemed to love them.

Though I've not always been much of a Soilwork fan, they put out some solid albums early on in their 13+ year career (Steelbath Suicide and The Chainheart Machine). Unfortunately, later, they took the same route as other bands from the Sweden–Finland melodic scene. Bands like In Flames and Children of Bodom, along with Soilwork, were once were the leaders of this particular genre and were great innovative bands. However, these bands have stopped writing the well-crafted songs with exquisite melodies and the über technical music that would amaze, in favor of fodder that is dumbed down for the masses. In my interview with Peter, he said that for Soilwork's next album he wanted to write songs that are more in line with those classic early albums. Let’s hope that's what transpires. Perhaps the original member's return will help the band get back to their roots and with his influence they'll write the kind of intelligent, heavy, melodic music that first put them on the map.

Here's Soilwork's video for the song "Exile" from the album Sworn To A Great Divide.



Also, if you haven't checked out the Finnish Death/Doom band Swallow The Sun yet, here is their video of "Don't Fall Asleep" from their third album Hope. I’d encourage you to check out this band, Mikko Kotamäki is one of my favorite vocalists.



I caught the Týr (Faroe Islands), Suidakra (Germany) and Alestorm (Scotland) triple-threat show this month too. From you comments I know some of you are not big fans of the folk / Viking metal music, but going to a Viking Metal show is a very different experience. They have such a unique vibe. Unlike death and doom metal gigs, everyone is happy (probably because they are all extremely drunk) and soooo into the music.

It was my first time seeing Alestorm. TheyÂ’re known as one of the few "pirate metal" bands. A lot of people went dressed as pirates to this show, which to my eyes seemed a little unnecessary, but each to his or her own. The funny thing is Alestorm did not dress like pirates for the gig. They delivered a pretty entertaining performance, and received a good response from the crowd, the majority of which were dancing and singing along. More of a band to go see live rather than experience on CD, I certainly understood the appeal more after watching them perform hilarious pirate-themed songs such as "Wenches and Mead" and "Captain MorganÂ’s Revenge."

Týr on the other hand was simply amazing. They don't dress up or do anything super flashy like some of the other folk metal bands tend to, they just get up there, perform a tight set and get off stage. However, despite playing all the fan favorites, including "Regin Smiður,” “The Wild Rover” and “Hail to the Hammer,” the crowd didn't seem to respond to their set with the same enthusiasm as they did for the other two bands -- perhaps because they are not as upbeat. Anycase, in my opinion, they were the best band on that bill.

Here’s " Regin Smiður" from Týr’s Eric the Red album.



Suidakra closed out the night. Their last album Crógacht, really hit the spot for me, so it felt good to see them live again. They delivered a much stronger performance than when I last caught them at Paganfest ‘08.

Check out "Shattering Swords" by Suidakra from the album Crógacht.



The Pagan Knights Tour 2009 is wrapping up right now. It stops in New York tonight (Sunday, March 29) and Raleigh, NC tomorrow (Monday, March 30). If you are into folk/Viking/pirate metal, this is a wench-rock show you definitely shouldn't miss!

Other upcoming tours of note include:

• Paganfest II with Korpiklaani, Moonsorrow and Primordial.

• The Kreator tour, which also features Exodus, Belphegor, Warbringer and Epicurean.

Some of you have been messaging me about power metal and asking if I'm into it at all. The answer is yes -- to an extent. For the longest time I was dismissive of the genre, considering it was metal for people who played Dungeons & Dragons. But a friend of mine who is a huge power metal fan starting burning discs for me and I am starting to love it more and more. Having always been a fan of female-fronted metal bands such as Nightwish, Epica and Leave's Eyes (though I'm not placing all of those bands into the power metal category), one PM band that I am really getting into is Blind Guardian from Germany. Their stuff is so epic and frontman Hansi Kürsch's vocals are incredibly powerful and unique.

Other power metal bands worth checking out include Rhapsody (In Fire), Kamelot, Hibria, and, of course, the one and only ManOwaR – though there’s much debate as to weather the later qualify as power metal or straight-up heavy metal (I'd like to hear your opinion on this).

Continuing the "albums I'm currently listening to" segment that I started last month, here is my current play list:

Swallow The Sun – Plague of Butterflies (EP)
Isole – Silent Ruins
Blind Guardian – A Night at The Opera
Arsis – We Are The Nightmare
Kataklysm – Prevail
This Ending – Dead Harvest
Amon Amarth – Twilight Of The Thunder God
Korpiklaani – Korven Kuningas

That's it for this month. Feel free to comment below or message me and let me know what you are listening to and bands that you recommend.

Horns & Hails

Hollee