Weekly Recap: Feb. 7-Feb. 13

This week started off pretty busy. Monday was a very busy day at work. But then, the week completely fell off a cliff and I had very little to do the rest of the week. It's Valentine's Day tomorrow, a holiday I have not cared much for historically. However, this will be the first V-Day since my fiancee and I moved in together. It will be a pretty special one.

I picked up albums from Overkill, Charred Walls of the Damned, Einherjer, and Landmine Marathon this week. I also bought the Terrorizer issue looking back on the last decade. I'll probably have a follow-up post about that.

In metal news this week, where it was a busy week:
-Bassist David Ellefson allegedly rejoined Megadeth. Ellefson was a constant member of the band until around 2002. He and Dave Mustaine then had a falling out and there was a dispute over ownership rights to the Megadeth name, with Mustaine eventually coming out on top. It's a lot more complicated than this brief synopsis though. It's good to have Ellefson back in Megadeth, but there is some question whether he is back to stay.

-Guitarist Jesper Stromblad left In Flames. A founding member of the Swedish melodeath masters, his leaving results in a big hole in the band. He has been in and out of rehab for awhile and decided for personal reasons to leave. Good luck Jesper.

-Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider has announced a sequel to his regrettable horror move Strangeland. The soundtrack was the only good thing about the original. I plan to look at it later on. The original was about a man, played by Snider, who was a strong advocate of body art and kidnapped young girls and tattooed and pierced them in awful ways as a means of torture. I think. I can't really remember, it didn't leave a lasting impression on me.

-We had new albums from Overkill and Fear Factory at my local music store. There were a lot more than that, but that's all my store is carrying. I bought Overkill. Fear Factory has let me down several times in the past so I am holding off until I see some more opinions on it.

-Lair of the Minotaur announced a new album. Can't wait for that as they are one of my favorite newer bands.

-Holy shit there are some good concerts coming to Nebraska in the next few months. Overkill will be in Lincoln with Vader, God Dethroned, Evile, Warbringer, and Woe of Tyrants. It's on a damn Monday night though so I have to figure out how to work that out. Also Mastodon will be in Omaha in May with Baroness, Valient Thorr, and Between the Buried and Me. I wouldn't mind seeing that one depending on how busy we are that weekend, although I am not a huge fan of any of the bands. Mastodon is pretty good and I haven't heard enough Baroness or Valient Thorr to form an opinion. I don't care for BTBAM.

The list:
Abominator: Damnation's Prophecy
Amorphis: Tuonela
Angel Witch: Angel Witch
Arkona: Ot Serdtsa K Nebu
Averse Sefira: Tetragrammatical Astygmata
Behemoth: Zos Kia Cultus (Here and Beyond)
Blind Guardian: Nightfall in Middle Earth
Blood of Kingu: De Occulta Philosophia
Dark Tranquillity: Character
Deicide: The Stench of Redemption
Destroyer 666: Defiance
Destruktor: Nailed
Destruktor: Nuclear Desecration
Dissection: Reinkaos
Evile: Infected Nations
Fear Factory: Obsolete
Gospel of the Horns: A Call to Arms
Graveworm: Collateral Defect
In Flames: Clayman
Insomnium: Above the Weeping World
Into Eternity: The Scattering of Ashes
Kalmah: They Will Return
Kamelot: The Black Halo
Lacuna Coil: Comalies
Lich King: Toxic Zombie Onslaught
Maniac Butcher: Cerna Krev
Mantic Ritual: Executioner
Master's Hammer: Ritual
Melechesh: Emissaries
Merciless Death: Realm of Terror
Metal Church: Metal Church
Metallica: Garage Inc.
Militia: Released
Mors Principium Est: Liberation=Termination
Nativity in Black: A Tribute to Black Sabbath
Nativity in Black Vol. II: A Tribute to Black Sabbath
Negura Bunget: Om
Nile: In Their Darkened Shrines
Novembers Doom: The Novella Reservoir
Nox: Ixaxaar
Omen: Battle Cry
Opeth: Damnation
Opeth: Still Life
Overkill: Ironbound
Pantera: Far Beyond Driven
Razor: Violent Restitution
Reverend Bizarre: II-Crush the Insects
Root: Madness of the Graves
Sarcolytic: Thee Arcane Progeny
Savatage: Hall of the Mountain King
Saxorior: Volkerschlacht
Scar Symmetry: Pitch Black Progress
Sepultura: Roots
Sigh: Hangman's Hymn-Musikalische Exequien
Skeletonwitch: Beyond the Permafrost
Skeletonwitch: Breathing the Fire
Slayer: God Hates Us AllSonata Arctica: Unia
Stratovarius: Polaris
Symphony X: The Odyssey
Tribute to Black Sabbath: Eternal Masters
Type O Negative: The Origin of the Feces
Warth: Hateful Speed
Wintersun: Wintersun