February 28, 2008
POLISH TRANSLATION AVAILABLE: Choosing Death is now available in a Polish translation from Kagra publishing. The book was translated by Bart Donarski, contributor to well known Polish magazine Mystic Art, DJ of the longest running metal radio show in Poland, “Thrashing Madness,” and editor of the major Polish internet portal.
October 10, 2007
DISCOGRAPHY UPDATE: A few weeks ago, Kagra, the publishers of the Polish translation of Choosing Death, which will be released later this year, astutely noticed that the “Essential Discography” of Choosing Death abruptly concluded at 2003. So they kindly asked me to check my calendar and fill in the brutal blanks. Here’s the updated essential discography that covers 2004 through 2007:
2004:
Arsis – A Celebration of Guilt – Willowtip
Behemoth – Demigod – Century Media
Nasum – Shift – Relapse
Necrophagist – Epitaph - Relapse
Pig Destroyer – Terrifyer - Relapse
Various Artists – Choosing Death: The Original Soundtrack – Relapse
2005:
Akercoke - Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone – Earache
Arsis – A Diamond for Disease – Willowtip
Hate Eternal – I, Monarch – Earache
Napalm Death – The Code is Red… Long Live the Code – Century Media
Neuraxis - Trilateral Progression – Willowtip
Nihilist – Nihilist 87-89 – Candlelight
Nile – Annihilation of the Wicked – Relapse
Watchmaker - Erased From the Memory of Man – Willowtip
Withered – Memento Mori – Lifeforce2006:
Cretin – Freakery – Relapse
Death Breath – Stinking Up the Night – Black Lodge
Napalm Death – Smear Campaign – Century Media
Nasum – Grind Finale – Relapse
Repugnant - Epitome of Darkness - Soulseller2007:
Death Breath – Let it Stink EP – Black Lodge
Evocation – Tales from the Tomb - Cyclone Temple
Pig Destroyer – Phantom Limb – Relapse
Portal – Outre – Profound Lore
Obliteration - Perpetual Decay – Peaceville
May 29, 2007
VOICES FROM THE DARKSIDE INTERVIEW: Legendary underground metal zine Voices from the Darkside has just posted a 29-question interview with yours truly conducted by old school death metalhead Thomas Ehrmann. You’ll be pretty sick of me if you actually make it to the end of this. Check it out here.
March 18, 2007
LA MURDERFEST SIGNING: I’ll be at the third annual Los Angeles Muderfest, this weekend (Saturday March 24th & Sunday March 25th at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood CA), which also happens to be sponsored by Decibel Magazine , signing copies of Choosing Death and giving away tons of free Decibel swag. Drop by and say hello, but be sure not to miss an unbelievable line-up, including Repulsion, Pig Destroyer, Obituary, Atheist, Brutal Truth, Insanity, Cretin, Genghis Tron and TONS more!
December 16, 2006
CHOOSING DEATH: THE HOODIE!: Looking to stay warm this winter, but don’t want to sacrifice your public appreciation for the history of death metal? Now you can do both! LIKE, the publishers of the Finnish translation of Choosing Death, have made available these two-sided Choosing Death hoodies. Price is 35 euros. Click here to order!
November 22, 2006
CHOOSING DEATH COMMERCIAL: When I probably should have been doing something productive at work, I stumbled upon this short television commercial for the Finnish version of Choosing Death. The audio is REALLY quiet, (and it is in Finnish so I guess it doesn't really matter for one-language speaking dunderheads like me) but it's still pretty cool.
Check it out:
August 17, 2006
MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL REVIEW: This Choosing Death review comes courtesy of the legendary Maximum Rocknroll zine. It was first published about a year-and-a-half ago, but it took me almost that long to transcribe it! Seriously though, I was so proud of this when I first read it. Many thanks to the author Elliot Lang and the MRR editors. Please check it out here.
August 11, 2006
NEW REVIEW: An nice review of Choosing Death past been posted on the Theme Park Experience blog. Check it out here.
July 3, 2006
NEW INTERVIEW: An interview I recently did with a Wilkes-Barre (my homies, yo) based media company/design firm called 1120 Studios is now online. Check it out here.
June 21, 2006
NAPALM DEATH’S SMEAR CAMPAIGN STUDIO REPORT: Late last month I dropped by Wales to visit grindcore legends Napalm Death in the studio. OK, I didn’t “drop by” so much as travel several thousand miles from Philadelphia by plane, train, and Landrover with my girlfriend Amy to get there. Anyway, upon our arrival, vocalist Barney Greenway and producer Russ Russell were kind enough to play me eight selections from Napalm’s forthcoming album Smear Campaign. So how is it? Well, if you liked the previous three Napalm studio albums, then this will melt your face off. There are a few blasters, a couple Swans-influenced tracks (think “Morale” only way better) where Barney abandons his classic Kam Lee wipeouts in favor of more traditional clean vocals—don’t worry, it sounds awesome. Elsewhere, there’s a couple other tunes that really incorporate more of the dissonant, angular guitar breaks featured on Diatribes, albeit presented in the post new millennium Napalm musical context (i.e. fucking vicious). Barney also aired the track to which The Gathering frontwoman Anneke van Giersbergen is contributing vocals. Although they weren’t yet in the mix, the music oozes total Morbid Tales-era Frost creepiness. So don’t expect her normal smiley, pretty-flowers hippie vibe on the final version. And although these weren’t final mixes, the record sounded absolutely massive (this also may have something to do with the fact that Russ was blasting the tracks on 11 through the Foel Studio control room’s sound system). Either way, it ruled.
After the listening session, bassist Shane Embury, Barney and I sat down for some interviews (watch for the in-depth feature in the October issue of Decibel), when former Unseen Terror, ex-Heresy guitarist and all around awesome dude Mitch Dickinson paid us a surprise visit. I should also mention that former Carcass bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker and his incredibly tolerant girlfriend Kirsty had given a ride from Liverpool, so Foel was instantly awash with UK grind royalty.
We made plans for a proper night out in the village of Welshpool with Barney (the designated man of good deeds) chauffeuring everyone (which also included Napalm guitarist Mitch Harris) between the village, the studio and our hotel. Some memorable portions of the evening: Amy, Jeff, Kirsty and I not finding anywhere in the village that would serve us food at 8:45 on a Saturday night, forcing us to eat sandwiches (they actually weren’t bad) and Mars bars at a nearby gas station. Mitch Harris and Mitch Dickinson regaling us with always entertaining Mick Harris stories. Dodging various critters on the back country roads. And unloading a very cheery crew (pictured here) back at Foel at the night’s end.
Photo caption: L – R: Barney Greenway, Mitch Harris, Mitch Dickinson, me, Jeff Walker
Photo by Amy Gallick
June 13, 2006
SITE RELAUNCH: Those of you who are returning visitors to this site will notice something different — it no longer sucks! So welcome to the all-new and improved choosingdeath.com. Hopefully you’ll find plenty of new stuff to read (the reviews and interviews pages), look at (the photos section) or surf over to (the links, duh). But even if you don’t, you’ll definitely enjoy the sleek new design and navigation courtesy of webmaster JR — be sure to check out his site The Visceral Industry should you want him to design a site for you!
But please check back here frequently, too. I’ve committed to updating the site much more regularly. Enjoy! —Albert
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