I picked up the new Iron Maiden this week. I can confidently say that this is the best Maiden release in years! I picked up one of the Maiden Canada re-issues too (Fear of the Dark) too. I will pick up some of the others over the next few weeks. I'd also like to point out that if I did a year-end top ten, then Opeth and Katatonia would probably be tied for #1 at this point. Both Damnation and Viva Emptiness are amazing.
| Band | Album |
|---|---|
| Opeth | Damnation |
| Vintersorg | Tales from the Spiral Generator |
| Sirenia | At Sixes and Sevens |
| Katatonia | Viva Emptiness |
| Blinded By Faith | Under an Occult Sun |
| Paradise Lost | Symbol of Life |
And many thanks once again go out to Jenn for donating some compilation CD's to the station. Especially the Knuckletracks XIII.
Btw, I'm working on creating a SUBMISSIONS page for bands who want to send CD's to the show. In the interim, it will suffice to emphasize that materials submitted for Tapping the Ether should be sent to CFRC-FM, not to me personally. That way your CD will be eligible to chart, and will nestle snugly in CFRC's CD library to be discovered by some future metalhead long after I'm gone.
Labels who want to send me stuff for review (I do a little freelance writing on the side) should e-mail me. I just wanted to make clear that the two things are completely seperate--I don't use my show to solicit freebies (partly because I'm not allowed to *g*, partly because it doesn't feel right).
And further to that...
For those bands, labels and 'zines that would like to contact the show or the station, I will be posting the relevant information soon. I'm also trying to put together a flyer for the show that I can send to some of the smaller labels and try and get some material from them (just a reminder that the station--and therefore my show--are not for profit). Hopefully it will work.
Finally, I'm starting to put some Metal links here. For the most part, all band links are the Official ones. This will probably change later, but to start with I felt I needed some guidelines for choosing sites, and this was the simplest method to adopt.
| Amorphis | I honestly though they couldn't top Elegy, but they did:) | |
| Anathema | Haven't heard any newer stuff, unfortunately. Great looking page though | |
| Annihilator | Great Canadian band, even if they never send me anything:) | |
| Arch Enemy | Heard these guys for the first time this summer and was blown away | |
| At The Gates | Sadly missed. Slaughter of the Soul was monumental | |
| Lizzy Borden | I've been a fan for just about forever. | |
| Candlemass | The All Fathers of Doom metal. | |
| Covenant | Okay, so they're called The Kovenant now. They still kick. | |
| Crematory | I preferred them when they sang in English, but a great band nonetheless | |
| Dark Tranquility | Projector was arguably the best CD of 1999. | |
| Bruce Dickinson | He's back with Maiden, but his solo stuff still rules:) | |
| Dimmu Borgir | I a recent convert to this band. But they do impress me | |
| Emperor | Possibly THE band of 1999. A fantastic page | |
| Fates Warning | One of the best prog/metal bands around | |
| Goddess of Desire | Not to everyone's taste, though I like 'em. I'd love to see them live. | |
| Iced Earth | Great Band. Great Site! | |
| Infernal Majesty | A really great bunch of guys. Hiya Kenny!! | |
| In Flames | Glad to see these guys finally get some recognition | |
| Iron Maiden | One of the few true legends of Metal. Up the Hammers! | |
| Left Hand Solution | I am very impressed with this young band. Check out "Fevered" | |
| Liege Lord | The mighty Liege Lord are back!! Check out this great site | |
| Mental Home | Another very promising young band, this time from the former Soviet Union. | |
| Obliveon | One of my favourite Canadian bands | |
| Peccatum | Not much there yet, but looks promising | |
| Doro Pesch | Glad to hear she's still around. Been a fan for years | |
| Razor | Another great Canadian band:) | |
| Solitude Aeturnus | Great Doom band. Adagio was awesome. |
| Century Media | I love these guys!! Tons of great bands and they've been supporting the show for years. Thank you!! |
| Nuclear Blast (USA) | Another label that's been very supportive over the years and has a lot of fantastic bands. |
| Nuclear Blast (Germany) | The German home of Nuclear Blast. Nicely designed site:) |
| Metal Blade | At one time the only metal label worth a damn, and still one of the best |
