It’s been interesting reviewing a few of my best of the year introductions over the last four years. Hilariously, I always presented the prospect that it “can’t get much worse than this!” How wrong I was each year! The year started well enough for me as I traveled through Georgia and Hungary, though I should…
Three Hunters: The Three Albums that Brought Me Back to Metal
Around Summer 2004, I started a three-year “hiatus” from metal. The reason I put hiatus in scare quotes is that I didn’t swear metal off completely. I still listened to metal but not as much and I didn’t really listen to any new albums coming out. I vividly remember not listening to any metal during…
Metal in the Time of Quarantine 3
Well, here we are — almost seven months after I wrote the first edition of Metal in the Time of Quarantine. On some days, it seems like the last seven months have lasted a full decade. While reflecting back on my personal and professional life in the last six months, I feel like I’ve been…
Music in Isolation: What Local Musicians and DJs are Listening to in Quarantine
While us metal fans are simply missing out on going to shows and the community that is built into and around that ritual, the loss of revenue to local venues, staff, and musicians is already devastating music scenes across the country and the individuals involved with said music scenes.For the time being, we’re stuck with…
Metal in the Time of Quarantine 2
First, an announcement: we at Malicious Intent have decided to move our radio show to Twitch for the foreseeable future. You can stream us every Sunday evening from 7 – 9 p.m. CDT at Malicious Metal Twitch. Song requests can be made on our Facebook page in the comments of the weekly posts about the…
Metal in the Time of Quarantine 1
With the shutting down of clubs and bars across the country because of fears of COVID-19, fans of metal are left wondering how to connect with their community. Clubs and bars are our most commonly shared community spaces, and without them, we are left in isolation.The only appropriate question we can ask each (through internet-mediated…
Judge Dredd’s Dreaded Top 10 of the 2010s
I think it’s odd how easily we can be obsessed with a band, but then, after a year or two (or less), we barely listen to them. This also happens with entire styles of music as our listening habits shift over time. This phenomenon has happened to me multiple times over the course of my…
Judge Dredd’s Dreaded Top 10 of the 2000s
I recently stumbled upon a list I made of my favorite metal albums from 2000-2009 that I sent Malicious Intent co-conspirator Vlad The Impaler back in 2009. Honestly, it’s a little bizarre looking at this now. A lot of these I still consider very formative albums for my metal listening tastes, and I still have…
Interviews with The Old Ones: DJ Nietch
This one was a little different. Arguably the first “real” Malicious Intent DJ was Nietch. There was one before him, but by all accounts, he wasn’t very trve. Here Nietch evokes the early history of Malicious Intent in the form of ancient lore. The Bible of Malicious Intent Book Two: The Era of Nietch As…
Interviews with The Great Old Ones: DJ Wulf
I forgot to post these and a few other special interviews for KJHK’s 40th Anniversary from about 5 years ago. Now, Malicious Intent has been on the air for approximately 25 years! This is the second one in the series. Who are you (real name and metal name) and what do you do now (occupation…
Interviews with The Great Old Ones: DJ Frankenstein
I forgot to post these and a few other special interviews for KJHK’s 40th Anniversary from about 5 years ago. Now, Malicious Intent has been on the air for approximately 25 years! This will be the first one of a series. Who are you (real name and Metal name) and what do you do now…
Judge Dredd’s Dreaded Top 10 of 2019
credit: Mike Teal Greetings. I’m Judge Dredd. I practice law. Metal law, that is. In fact, metal IS the law as far as I’m concerned. Below, you will find my favorite albums of 2019. These are the albums that tickled my pickle the most this year. While I’ll the wax poetic about the last decade…
20 Years of Chaos and Confusion
I’ve been listening to metal for over 20 years now. From first hearing “One” by Metallica on the radio to my cousin introducing me to Overkill and Sepultura to the obsessive internet digging to find the next undiscovered underground gem – it’s been quite the journey. Recently, I’ve noticed that the 20th anniversaries of several…
The State of Metal 2018: Judge Dredd’s Dreaded Top 10
I have thought about this often and watching this presentation only confirmed that, as metalheads, I think many of us might be naturally predisposed towards pessimism (I’m fairly optimistic when it comes to my own personal trajectory, but not when it comes to our collective future). Our choice of music expresses the ills of the…
The State of Metal 2017: Judge Dredd’s Dreaded Top 10
Another year, another annual post by yours truly! I keep looking back at the running list that I’ve kept since January of this year of albums that I’ve enjoyed and said, “I can’t believe that came out this year!” This year has felt long perhaps, but it also feels like I was living a completely…
The State of Metal 2016: Judge Dredd’s Dreaded Top 10
Phew, 2016! I mean, right?! Listen, bad shit happens all of the time, every year. I think people are making a bigger deal about 2016 than is really necessary or justified. Some people really just like posting on Facebook when celebrities die or when shitheads get elected to be leaders because they (the FB posters)…
The State of Metal 2015: Judge Dredd’s Dreaded Top 10
I will preface this by saying this is probably the most curmudgeony end-of-the-year write up that I have ever done. Fitting that it’s also the end of the first year of my 3rd decade on this hell called Earth and I’m quickly approaching 20 years of listening to Metal. So, just the natural course of…
In The Beginning…There Was METAL
The following is the retelling of the early days of Malicious Intent on KJHK re-imagined as mythical lore, and was provided by previous MI DJ, Nietch. The Bible of Malicious Intent Book Two: The Era of Nietch As told by the scribe Witgen VERSE 1: It was a dark time in the land of Jayhawks….
My Favorite Metal Albums For Different Situations and Settings
I’ll own up to it…I have a problem with complete silence. Whether I’m hanging out in my apartment, driving in my car, or working out at the gym, I always have to listen to music. The only time I DON’T feel compelled to listen to music is when I’m in the company of others.I don’t…
The State of Metal 2014: Judge Dredd’s Dreaded Top 10
As the dreaded Judge Dredd, I have to admit that I did a pretty poor job of keeping up with the Metal world this year – especially in the last few months of the year. Despite this unpardonable sin, 2014 was a pretty amazing year for me. I spent the first 8 months finishing up…
Evil Has No Boundaries…Or Maybe It Does?
Does Metal have boundaries? This is an interesting question implicitly brought up by none other than Dave Lombardo. In a recent interview, Lombardo was quoted as saying the following:…
The State of Metal 2013: Judge Dredd’s Dreaded Top 10 of 2013
Listen, I’m Judge Dredd…so, that’s what you call me – or El Dredderino if you’re not into that whole brevity thing. I have a very particular, humbug taste in Metal. If a band is only trying to sound as br00tal or as kvlt as possible, then chances are I will not like said band. I…
Sergeant D is Coming…AND WE’RE ALL ON HIS LIST
Love him or hate him, infamous Metal (and non-Metal) writer, Sergeant D, has made a valid point about the collective obsession that Metal fans have with the past. If I may summarize his point, he writes that there are far too many Metalheads who are content to listen to nothing but Metal music from the…
Assault and BA-TAH-RY!
The other day I was watching some live footage of Converge, and there was a point in the clip where Jacob Bannon’s hoodie is getting pulled on by a fan who is attempting to stage dive (around 5:40). Bannon proceeds to knee the guy in the face and then punches some other fan in the face…
Seasons in the Abyss
Well, another autumn seems to be abruptly coming to an end. Autumn always makes me feel reflective and a bit nostalgic, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. For some reason, during this autumn in particular, I happened to listen to a lot of albums and bands that remind me of specific…
Grim Brew, TRVE Brew
Ever since I started going to Metal shows at the age of 14 or 15, I’ve noticed the extent to which beer and the consumption thereof has played a part in the Metal experience. With the surge in interest of craft brews and homebrewing in the last 10 years, I’ve noticed the subtle ways in which Metal…
Insider Gnosis
Like any other Metal Nerd, I have watched countless documentaries, read tons of articles and interviews, and looked at tons of photography concerning Metal’s history, fanbase, and of course, the music and bands. What I still find interesting after all of these years of Metal Nerdom is how much more unconsciously critical I am of work…
We All Faulter
Man, the end of the year lists really take it out of me. Around November and December I usually scramble to catch up on all the Metal releases I may have missed over the course of the year. What usually happens after that is I get completely overloaded on Metal and need to take a…
The State of Metal 2012: Judge Dredd’s Dreaded Top 10
On a personal note, this was probably one of the best years of my life. I spent the first half finishing up a year teaching English abroad in Santiago, Chile. Then I spent a great summer home with my family and friends. Finally, in August, I came to South Korea to teach English for an…
Malicious Intent on the Facebooks
Sadly, none of us hosts the Malicious Intent radio show any longer (I haven’t for well over a year and a half while Mark of the Beast and Wulf haven’t for about a year, I think). In lieu of an ACTUAL radio show that we host, we have a Facebook page on which we’ll post…
Why So Serious?
As any casual listener can infer, Metal bands often take themselves very seriously. Even as an avid Metal listener and musician for the last 15 years, I’ve often felt the same way. One of the first images that comes to mind when thinking of overly serious Metal musicians is the now infamous clip from Gaahl’s (of Gorgoroth) interview…
One Man Metal
Noisey, a sub-site of the uber-hipster king of irony, Vice Magazine, recently completed a surprisingly unironic video interview trilogy entitled “One Man Metal”. These videos focus on three “One Man” Black Metal projects: Leviathan, Xasthur, and Striborg. I was a little skeptical at first, but the interviewer seems like a veteran metalhead. In fact, to…
Moshing in Bangalore
(photo credited to Hindustan Times) Salon.com recently posted (OK, it was a whiiiiile ago) an article about Metal fandom in the tech-world of India. Unfortunately, the author, Jason Overdorf, follows some of the same mistakes made by other media sources with limited knowledge of the genre (Dire Straits? Metal? HAHAHA). Nonetheless, it is still a good read. The author…
The Death of the Hydra Head
While I was well immersed into the world of underground Metal by 2000, I was still naïve and impressionable in terms of my metal tastes. I obsessed over sub-standard bands like Deeds of Flesh or Thyrfing. I thought Vinnie Paul was one of the best drummers in Metal. I thought “Re-Load” wasn’t THAT bad of…
We’ll Do It Live! Fuck It!
I had a laugh recently when The Dillinger Escape Plan posted a note dating back to a gig in 2008 on their Facebook page. The note was passed to them by the management of a venue and it reads, “If they dive in the crowd with guitars or climb the truss or get anyone else…
I’M THE MAN
(Warning: gratuitous pseudo-intellectual masturbation) Something Corey Taylor of Slipknot (ugh…I know, but bear with me) said during one of those lame-o history of metal shows on VH1 struck my fancy. He said, “Metal is probably the last bastion of real rebellion, real masculinity…real, real men basically getting together and beating their chest.” If you ignore…
New Releases and Rumors
I think the latter half of this year is shaping up to be the better half of 2012 in terms of new metal releases. As I mentioned in an earlier post, sludge/noise supergroup Old Man Gloom (featuring members of Cave In, Converge, and ISIS) reconvened earlier this year to play a string of shows in…
‘Grim’ Kim Kelly’s NPR Article
Seasoned and well-respected metal writer Kim Kelly recently wrote an article for NPR. The scene is set at Maryland Death Fest while she muses on stereotypes regarding metalheads and also the way in which American Metal is differentiated from that of Europe, etc. It’s a good read! You can check it out here.
No More Mr. Nice Guy
Being that Metal is an international phenomenon that transcends race, class, gender, culture and everything else*, one might think it difficult to really pinpoint common characteristics amongst its brethren. However, there is one element that I have found to be not quite universal, but surprisingly common, is how fucking NICE everyone is. I couldn’t recover…
Attention Metal World: I’m Not A Kid
It’s time to rant, and as a note, a rant deserves to be unrevised and unedited to reflect its immediacy. I’m not sure if anyone else feels the same way I do, but to me, one of the most maddening aspects of being a fan of heavy music is the fact that I am (not…
Old Man Gloom Announce Shows
As a seasoned metal head, I have “geeked out” in an extreme fashion only a handful of times over the last couple of years. This includes “geeking out” from news items, albums, band formations/reformations, etc. One of my “geek outs” was concerning Deathspell Omega’s most recent album, “Paracletus” (2010). Another one was the announcement of…
I Just Want to Check In
I know, I know. I have been missing in action for the past couple of months or so. It’s not you, it’s me. Just the normal stuff: contemplating the eternal void, crushing posers, and conducting Satanic sacrificial rites. You would be surprised how much time all of that takes up! In the meantime, I have…
Option Paralysis: It’s Me Or The Drugs!!!
Despite the title, this is not intended to be a post focusing on gossip. A little while ago I pointed out that Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape Plan (DEP) publicly stated that he had the trip (*wink, wink*) of a lifetime. Read Greg’s original statement here. Metal Insider recently posted an interview with Ben…
Greg Puciato: Calculating Infinity…On Drugs
We’ve all been there. You eat a little bit. You tell your friend a few minutes later, “Man, I don’t feel anything.” Your vastly more experienced friend says, “Just chill out, man. Drink some OJ or something.” Instead, you grab the bag and ingest another handful or two…and BOOM! Half an hour later, you’re wading…
Kvlt Beyond Kvlt
While meandering around on YouTube watching Wolves in the Throne Room interviews, I came upon what I believe to be representative of the unattainable “kvlt beyond kvlt”. Seeing and hearing is believing: Apparently, they’re called Goats int Throne Room (sic) and they are an actual band as evidenced by this concert footage: So trve. So…
The State of Metal 2011: Judge Dredd’s Dreaded Top 10
I read a quote somewhere on Metal Review that this wasn’t exactly a good year for great metal music, but rather a great year for good metal music, and I couldn’t agree more. However, this was THE year for United States Black Metal (USBM). Don’t believe me? How about the fact that we got releases…
Music Recommendations for the Open-Minded Metalhead
My friend once told me that he met someone at a show who only listens to Death Metal, but not just that-he only listens to Death Metal that MAKES him feel dead. Depending on how you feel about that will probably indicate how you feel about this statement: I consider myself an open-minded metalhead. In…
Most Underrated Metal Albums of the 2000s
The definition of “underrated” is one that is hard to grasp if you don’t have a pre-determined scale that you’re utilizing. In my opinion, the few albums I’ve listed here were unique for their time (and still are), and may have even been highly lauded when they first came out, but I feel like they…
Funnest Live Shows
We go to see bands live for a variety of reasons. We go see bands for the music (obviously), the musicianship, and sometimes just to have a raunchy time. Some of the following bands are bands I don’t always listen to in my free time, but I sure as hell see them live whenever they…
Finally, The Vikings Are Taking Acid!
Since its advent, one indelible element in metal has always been the musicians’ use (and abuse) of substances. Whether it be Electric Wizard’s or Sleep’s (and essentially the rest of the stoner metal/rock genre) non-stop smoke-a-thon, Iron Maiden’s legendary Herculean drinking, Sigh’s use of hallucinogenic mushrooms, or EyeHateGod’s use of…well, everything. As legendary comedian, Bill…
Most UnMetal Band Names
I think we can all agree that there are a plethora of utterly ridiculous names for metal bands: Fuck…I’m Dead, Goblin Cock, Cock and Ball Torture, Anal Cunt (R.I.P. Seth Putnam), Flagitious Idiosyncrasy in the Dilapidation, and Clotted Symmetric Sexual Organ just to name a few. Hell, there is even a Turkish band called …Aaaarrghh……
The State of Metal 2010: Judge Dredd’s Dreaded Top 10
Overall, I unfortunately don’t think this was a very strong year for metal when considering how colossal the last few years of the decade have been as far as supplying great and innovative releases. However, there is certainly hope with a number of bands releasing their debuts. Some of these debuts made my top ten…
Deathspell Omega: Les Mystères De Satan
With the release of their newest album, “Paracletus” (“Comforter” or “Holy Spirit” in Greek), Deathspell Omega has completed it’s unholy trilogy of Satanic spiritual awakening which includes albums “Si Monumentum Requires, Circumspice” (“If you seek his monument, look around you” in Latin) and “Fas-Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum” (“By Divine Law, go you Cursed, into…
Metal Nostradamus: The Shape of Metal to Come
I’ve never portrayed myself as a soothsayer, nor even as a Nostradamus impersonator, but I feel as though I have somewhat of a good prediction of what the next “big thing” in metal will be. That “next big thing” is going to be Post-Death Metal and I will tell you why. For years we have…
“Die By the Sword”: Heavy Metal, the ‘Culture of Alienation’, and Hipsters
Arguably, one element of the heavy metal subculture that has allowed it to not only survive but to thrive (albeit, with some droughts) during the several decades it has been in existence is the culture of alienation that exists within it. With some exceptions, there has been little that has changed concerning the social norms…
Judge Dredd’s Top 10 Metal Albums of All Time
I think a good way to introduce ourselves and establish all of our specific tastes in metal by providing the list of our top 10 favorite metal albums of all time and the reasons behind the choices. Although I will always be a metal fan, there are a comparatively small number of bands and albums…
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