Pallbearer: Foundations of Burden (2014)

Another example of trying, thinking the failure is on my part. Pallbearer put out one of the greatest rock albums of all time (IMHO) with 2017’s Heartless; I still contend “I Saw the End” has one of the truly great metal solos of the 2000s, and both “Dancing in Madness” and the title track show the breadth of the band’s sonic vision. But nothing else truly connected with me, despite owning the original Foundations of Burden on CD as well as all the band’s follow-ups on vinyl. When the 2025 remix came out last year, I made a decision to take one last plunge: maybe the new mix would win me over? Let’s get into it after the jump, and maybe talk about efforts like this in the process.

ChrisJanuary 9, 2026January 9, 2026Leave a comment

The 9C Files, Vinyl

The 9C Files: Kryptograf’s Kryptonomicon

Shocking, I know: the stoner rock guy fell hard for the new album by Scandinavian retro rockers Kryptograf. What can I say? I’m an easy mark, one made easier by the fact that since their 2020 self-titled debut the group have been churning out an intoxicating brew of stoner rock and doom in the vein of classic Black Sabbath mixed with more modern sensibilities – think Witchcraft in their heyday. And had Kryptograf stayed the course with album number three, the wonderfully titled Kryptonomicon, I would have been content. But rather than stayed glued to a proven formula, there are enough tweaks here that I came away even more impressed with how the band can absorb influences and spit them out in a cohesive whole uniquely their own.

ChrisDecember 28, 2025December 28, 2025Leave a comment

The 9C Files, Vinyl

The 9C Files: Mean Mistreater’s Do Or Die

There’s an alternate reality, a shadow world if you will, where Mean Mistreater, the Austin, TX metal upstarts came out in the late 80s, and after months of hard work delivered their sophomore album Do or Die to the label. The response from some cigar-chomping exec with dollar signs in his eyes (I’m thinking specifically of this image) would leer and hand them a dictionary-sized pile of notes, probably starting with things like “the drums are too busy”, “why is it so fast?” and – perhaps most horrifying – “can you make it more, you know…sexy?” Thank god we don’t live in that shadow world, and thank god Mean Mistreater are here not changing a damn thing from their fantastic debut, giving us a ripping storm of a heavy metal record, all bite to accompany its massive bark.

ChrisDecember 21, 2025December 29, 2025Leave a comment

Megadeth: Endgame (2009)

I guess this is how the story ends, to quote a song title from Endgame, the 12th album from thrash metal legends Megadeth? If true, and the forthcoming album and tour is to be Dave Mustaine’s last (under that moniker, at least), it’s good to see him not only leaving on his own terms, but with a body of work that — while it may include a few stinkers — contains more than enough killer albums to justify calling the “legend” tag and anchor their standing in the Big 4 of Thrash forever. And in Consuming the Tangible fashion, rather than mark the occasion with a bona-fide classic, I wanted to put the spotlight in Endgame, which doesn’t get nearly the praise it deserves as a top-tier Megadeth release.

ChrisAugust 15, 2025August 15, 2025Leave a comment

Black Sabbath: Steel City Blues (1978)

First off: Rest in Peace, Ozzy Osbourne. You can argue until you’re blue in the face the face, but in the end there is no argument: the man was the personification of heavy metal. No one sounded like him, and no one lived the metal life quite like he did. Even as a doddering family man on reality TV, he still managed to embody spirit and fire that ignited an entire movement more than 50 years ago on February 13th, 1970 when the first Black Sabbath album enveloped the world in its darkened wings. After a night spinning all my favorite records from the man, it was inevitable I would get an entry in today, but I wanted to write about something different, so let’s look at the end of an era. Steel City Blues was recorded live in Pittsburgh in 1978, just as they were recording Never Say Die! A year later he’d be fired, but listening to this live broadcast all I hear is a band still capable of fire and passion.

ChrisJuly 23, 2025August 3, 2025Leave a comment

Vinyl

Metallica: Load (1996)

Here’s my dirty secret: until a few days ago not only did I not own a physical copy of Load, the sixth album from arguably my favorite heavy metal band of all time Metallica, but…I had never even listened to the album in its entirety. I knew the singles, wasn’t overly impressed, but that’s only part of the reason. By 1996 I had shifted into other genres and tastes, and both Load and Reload were albums I assumed I would get to in time, but never did (I still haven’t listened to all of Reload). On the event of the band getting their remastered deluxe set ready for next week, I decided now was the time and grabbed the vinyl, just as I did every other remaster the band have released to date. It was the perfect way to grab these on vinyl for the first time, and so far the remasters have all been superb. Since my copy of Load arrived a week early, I finally sat down and listened to the entire album.

Guess what? I’ve got thoughts (long post ahead).

ChrisJune 9, 2025Leave a comment

Consuming the Tangible

We are what we consume

Tag: heavy metal