New shit out today from Lamb of God, God Forbid and the Gorilla Pimp himself, Project Pat. Buy it. Buy it. Buy it...Support American Metal and the best that Memphis has to offer. Seriously, Project Pat is fucking rad. Check out Mista Don't Play. That record is a classic.
Cave In is so awesome. I think their efforts from Creative Eclipses and on are their best (especially Jupiter and Perfect Pitch Black), but that's not to say that Beyond Hypothermia and the groundbreaking Until Your Heart Stops aren't killer records. There are some metal/hardcore gems in there. Yes, this predates the abomination that metalcore has become. I guess we have Cave In and Zao to thank.
Why is it that us Jews love the Christian Metal and Hardcore? Is it that they're screaming their gospel at us? Is it that Jesus IS really awesome? I tend to think that it's the pent up sexual frustration they hold inside. No pre-marital sex, no drugs, no sex, no temple, no sex...I get it. The question is, why aren't they angrier?
The Dillinger Escape Plan is awesome. They have been awesome since their inception and first EP some 11 years ago. I do prefer their more recent output as compared to their earlier releases with Dmitri on vocals, but it all rules. 2007's "Ire Works" is a brilliant masterpiece, as was it's predecessor "Miss Machine". As the band grows (a similar yet more spastic path than Candiria), they keep their mathcore elements, but infuse stronger song structure and vocal harmonies/dynamics. Plus, they do a killer cover of Justin's "Like I Love You".
If you are a fan of all things Cave In, then Adam McGrath's Clouds needs no introduction. They are a fucking brilliant Boston group that combines elements of Black Flag, The Melvins and gritty rock n' roll and makes many an ass shake. Two records in (plus a killer little EP with a Guided By Voices cover) and a pending 12" (in the form of a bonus LP with the vinyl release of Clouds album #2, "We Are Above You")of b-sides coming, Clouds is now more than a mere side-project.
I first discovered Snapcase in 1993, when my band tried to cover some tracks off their debut full-length, Lookinglasself. They got better and we broke up. Such is life. 
Holy balls, Amon Amarth can bring it live. They completely annihilated San Francisco this past Friday and it took me until now to recover. They were joined by The Absence, the hillarious comedy routine of Belphegor (oh wait, they're serious...Wow) and the folk metal dorkiness of Ensiferum (which was actually very cool). They could've had Slayer open for them nd it wouldn't have made a bit of difference. They fucking killed it. The bearded Vikings played 5 tracks off their shiny new opus, Twilight of the Thunder God, and variety of deep cuts and fan favorites such as "Death In Fire", "Fate of Norns" and the epic "Valhall Awaits Me", which could have slayed an army with it's heaviness. 
Ligeia is not a great band. Not even a particularly good band. They did make a catchy and decent Every Time I Die rip-off album in the form of their sophomore LP, "Bad News" though. It's catchy as a motherfucker. The lyrics deal with chicks, booze, booze, no money, chicks, dude parts, whiskey and women all up on dude parts...and while not 19th Century English Literature, it's pretty damn entertaining. What can I say: I'm an English Major who loves dick and fart jokes. 
Not that much to say about this week's TT entry, other than how many villages they've pillaged, men without beards they've killed, and how fucking awesome they are. Amon Amarth are serious about their Viking heritage and they have the galloping death thrash to play the perfect soundtrack to the imagery of the lyrics. I mean, you can basically smell these dudes through the music.
So while every other blog on the face of this ill-fated planet is debating whether the two new officially leaked Metallica tracks are any good (they are kinda, sorta, maybe, who cares?), I got inspired by the fine fellows at MetalSucks.net to listen to some Chimaira and get me out of the current funk I'm in (thanks Chris Cornell, you sack fondler). There's a tangent I'll go off on tomorrow.
Anyone that knows me knows that I have a borderline-obsessive love for all things from Alaska, including beardrock, moose and 36 Crazyfists. The latter is one of the only bands that I can think of that I never tire of, ever (consisting only of bands that started post 1990's...and not including the band as they were before moving to Portland and signing with Roadrunner). Four amazing records. Four grizzly, nice dudes. Songs that make me feel like the Maxell guy whilist listening. "A Snow Capped Romance" is probably my favorite LP by them (today), but I'm choosing to show love to their new opus, "The Tide and It's Takers", a beastly motherfucker of an album. As it currently stands, my #1 Album of the Year candidate at this point (tied with Cult of Luna's "Eternal Kingdom". Yes, this will be a tough one people...).
I spent a nice portion of my day today listening to Converge. You should too. They are punk as fuck. Everyone seems to hate on their 2004 release, "You Fail Me", but the truth is that record really HAD to be made. After a career-defining "Jane Doe", they had nowhere else to go but way off the map and shake everything up right quick. This record redefined the band as a creative force and a band not afraid to take chances then 13 years into their career, a milestone for any band, let alone a hardcore group. 
I don't think there's a better example than a swift kick in the nuts than Virginia's Lamb of God. These motherfuckers are intense. The music is precise to the point of perfection, yet that never gets in the way of the groove or emotion of the song. It's not robotic and soul-less like Joe Satriani or Steve Vai. 
I'm on vacation so forgive the two-day lateness. I've been trying to show my brother some ball-rattling tunes but still think it's too soon to introduce him to Mastodon. Perhaps the heaviest prog-type band to ever exist (Opeth, we'll get to your awesomeness soon enough), they are the only band that people who love Yes and Sonic Youth both listen to. For some reason, the Pitchfork crowd loves this shit. Maybe they just love the clothes or maybe it's just that they know the metal guys in the crowd will eat their skulls if they don't pretend to enjoy the band. Whatever.
I'm on the road tomorrow, so here's your weekly nut-kick a bit early. Since I'm going to Seattle, why not talk about Alice In Chains. Seriously, why not?! When people call them Grunge, I want to choke a bitch. Why is Motley Crue and Poison considered Metal, yet Alice is "grunge". Um, no. Alice is METAL. They were the most haunting, depressed, beautiful band and made people from 80's rock and 90's alt scenes really come together (as much as they could) and rock simultaneously.
I promise, this will not be vulgar. Testicular more or less means balls-to-the-wall rock n' roll in my book and damn it all, I want a theme day every week. Crappy rock stations have Two For Tuesday. I have Testicular Tuesday. Each week, I will feature a song (or three) that spends most of its time kicking people in the nuts...So its new position here at Stupid and Unkind wont be much different. I plan to get some MP3's up pretty soon of some rare and out of print stuff, so please send requests and check back often.