To state the obvious, we here at WKNC love music. A lot. We also love live music. A lot. Most, if not all, of us attend many concerts and music festivals each year. What follows are lists of some of WKNC’s deejays’ favorite shows of the year. They range from national to local acts, regular shows to festivals. Some (myself included) went to so many it was hard to narrow it down to five, so we listed ten. Some lists are in numerical order, others are not. Caribou, Future Islands, and the inaugural Hopscotch Music Festival were some of the most common favorites, among dozens of other acts. Check it out:

Synthesiser Patel (Daytime/Afterhours)

- Chromeo/A-Trak/Kid Sister/Theophilus London @ Congress Theater (Chicago)

- The National/Owen Pallett @ Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

- Metric @ Lollapalooza

- of Montreal @ Cat’s Cradle

- Born Ruffians/Winter Gloves @ Local 506

DJ Mensch (Daytime)

1. The National @ Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

2. Minus The Bear @ Lincoln Theatre

3. Max Indian @ Hopscotch Music Festival

4. Broken Social Scene @ Hopscotch Music Festival

5. The Rosebuds @ Hopscotch Music Festival

May Day (Daytime)

1. Broken Social Scene @ Hopscotch Music Festival

2. Camera Obscura @ Duke Gardens

3. Surfer Blood @ Cat’s Cradle

4. Yeasayer/Javelin @ Cat’s Cradle

5. OK  Go @ Lincoln Theatre

DJ Mollypop (Daytime)

1. Paul McCartney @ Sprint Center (Kansas City)

2. The Weepies @ Lincoln Theatre

3. Phoenix @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre

4. Crooked Still @ Casbah

5. The New Pornographers/Dodos/The Duchess and the Duke @ Memorial Hall (UNC-CH)

The Noobhammer (Chainsaw)

1. Scale The Summit/Devin Townsend Project/Cynic/Between the Buried and Me @ The Fillmore Charlotte

2. Sons of Liberty/Iced Earth @ 9:30 Club (Washington, D.C.)

3. Powerglove/Firewind @ Volume 11

4. Valient Thorr/Between the Buried and Me/Mastodon @ Lincoln Theatre

5. Boris @ Cat’s Cradle

Iris G (Daytime)

- Mumford & Sons @ 9:30 Club (Washington, D.C.)

- Ratatat @ MeetFactory (Prague)

Audity (Daytime)

- Active Child @ Hopscotch Music Festival

- Cassis Orange @ Duke Coffeehouse

- Veelee @ Duke Coffeehouse

- Old Bricks @ Kings

- Deerhunter @ Cat’s Cradle

Sarahnade (Daytime/Post Rock Block)

1. Trans-Siberian Orchestra @ RBC Center

2. Local Natives/The Union Line @ The Grey Eagle (Asheville)

3. Phoenix @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre

4. The New Pornographers/Dodos/The Duchess and the Duke @ Memorial Hall (UNC-CH)

5. The Temper Trap/The Kissaway Trail @ Cat’s Cradle

6. This Machine Kills Cancer benefit

DJ Ones (Daytime)

1. Phoenix @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre

2. The New Pornographers @ Memorial Hall (UNC-CH)

3. Broken Social Scene @ Hopscotch Music Festival

4. The Big Pink @ Cat’s Cradle

5. Sharon Van Etten @ Hopscotch Music Festival

DJ Hammerhead (Chainsaw)

1. Municipal Waste/Double Negative/Zeus @ The Milestone (Charlotte)

2. Overkill/Forbidden/Gama Bomb/Evile/Bonded By Blood @ Volume 11

3. D.R.I./Final Curse @ Amos’ Southend (Charlotte)

4. Nemesis/Chainsawdamy/Avalon Steel @ Tremont Music Hall (Charlotte)

5. Exmortus/Vektor/Final Curse @ Charlotte’s Underground (Charlotte)

The Blog Lady (Blog Editor/Staff Photographer)

1. The Avett Brothers @ Asheville Civic Center Arena

2. Lost In The Trees @ Cat’s Cradle

3. Mandolin Orange @ Troika Music Festival

4. The Rosebuds @ Hopscotch Music Festival

5. Chatham County Line @ Troika Music Festival

DJ Vice (Daytime)

1. Benji Hughes/The Old Ceremony @ Cat’s Cradle

2. Passion Pit @ The Fillmore Charlotte

3. The Avett Brothers @ Asheville Civic Center Arena

Just John (Daytime)

1. Caribou/Phantogram @ Governor’s Island (New York City)

2. Beach House @ Cat’s Cradle

3. Every Future Islands show

4. Joanna Newsom @ Carolina Theatre

5. Ponytail @ Siren Music Festival

The Cosmic Cowboy (The Church of Bluegrass and the Truer Sound)

1. John Prine @ Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival

2. Joanna Newsom @ The National (Richmond) and Variety Playhouse (Atlanta)

3. Cedric Watson and the Bijou Creole/Red Stick Ramblers @ Reynolds Industries Theater (Duke)

4. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy @ Borque’s Social Club (Scot, LA)

5. Charlie Louvin @ Borque’s Social Club (Scot, LA)

DJ Elly May (Daytime)

1. Delta Spirit @ Cat’s Cradle

2. The Rosebuds/Megafaun @ The Pour House

3. Holy Ghost Tent Revival @ The Pour House

4. Minus The Bear @ Lincoln Theatre

5. Turbo Fruits @ Local 506

Lucretia (Chainsaw)

1. Eyehategod/Nachtmystium/Withered/Haarp/Stripmines @ Volume 11

2. Kreator/Voivod/Nachtmystium @ Jaxx (West Springfield, VA)

3. Slang/World Burns To Death/Devour/Stripmines @ Slims

4. Immolation/Vader/Abigail Williams/Lecherous Nocturne @ Volume 11

5. High On Fire/Torche/Kylesa @ Cat’s Cradle

6. Atakke/Parasytic/Devour @ Slims

7. Pentagram/Cough/The Gates of Slumber/Windham @ The Hat Factory (Richmond)

8. Alice In Chains @ Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

9. Hate Eternal/Cannabis Corpse/Malebolgia @ Volume 11

10. Glass Casket/Wrath & Rapture/Malebolgia @ Johnny & Junes (Winston-Salem)

Agent Orange (Daytime)

1. Broken Social Scene @ Hopscotch Music Festival

2. Yeasayer/Javelin @ Cat’s Cradle

3. Caribou/Toro Y Moi @ Cat’s Cradle

4. Annuals/The Light Pines @ Tir Na Nog

5. Ra Ra Riot/Givers @ Cat’s Cradle

Riff Raff (Daytime)

- Hopscotch Music Festival

- Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros @ Cat’s Cradle

- Veelee/Lonnie Walker/Future Islands @ Kings

- Beach House/Washed Out @ Cat’s Cradle

- Ludacris @ Reynolds Coliseum

DJ Kligz (Daytime/Local Lunch)

1. Hopscotch Music Festival

2. Future Islands/Lonnie Walker/Veelee/NAPS @ Kings

3. Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival

4. Beach House @ Cat’s Cradle

5. Caribou/Veelee @ Cat’s Cradle

Chuck (Daytime)

1. LCD Soundsystem @ Pitchfork Music Festival

2. Massive Attack/Jonsi @ MoogFest

3. The National @ Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

4. Wilco @ Durham Performing Arts Center

5. Caltrop/US Christmas/The Curtains of Night @ Nightlight

6. Titus Andronicus/Spider Bags @ Local 506

7. Deerhunter/Schooner @ Cat’s Cradle

8. Deakin @ Hopscotch Music Festival

9. GWAR @ Lincoln Theatre

10. These Are Powers/Lemonade/MNDR @ The Pinhook

What were your favorite shows and/or music festivals of the year?

Noobhammer here again with another discussion of the table that is round. This week I have four topics to touch with the mighty Excalibur. Two of those topics are reviews of concerts I have been to recently—Boris and Cynic; the other two topics are album reviews. One, for me at least, is the long awaited Blind Guardian album At The Edge of Time, and the new Iron Maiden album, The Final Frontier. However, due to the length of these subjects, I will be dividing it into 3 segments, which will span this entire week, so look for the other two later this week.  So once again, let us delve deep into my brain, which is littered with Magic: The Gathering cards, D20s, and of course dragons I wish I could train and ride. First, I’m going to give you guys a look at the least power-metal item in this entry, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t powerful. This is of course Boris at the Cat’s Cradle.

From the moment I walked through the doors of Cat’s Cradle and took up my usual spot at the front-center of the stage, I knew that I was about to witness something special. The stage was giving off a vibe as the Sunn (O))) amps stood there gleaming in light, lowly humming, barely audible over the talking of the crowd. Soon the lights dimmed, darkening the stage, and the opening band took the stage. For the life of me, I can’t remember their name. Maybe at the old age of 22, my memory is finally starting to fade from me, but what I can remember is that they put on a great show. Two guys  from the Czech Republic just rocking out, enjoying their tour.

As soon as they finished playing, no one moved from their spots as the lights came back up, and the stage techs feverishly worked to set up Boris’ drum kit and tune their instruments. The tension inside of me started to build as the workers one by one left the stage, the last one blinking a flashlight towards the back of the venue, signaling that they were ready. Almost instantly the lights dimmed, and the crowd rose as one in a roar of excitement as fog began to cover the stage. The members of Boris walked through the clouds, like the Japanese monsters they are. As they took their positions on the stage, I felt my excitement begin to boil over as I watched with anticipation.

Suddenly from out of nowhere, I felt as if I had been struck by a 747. After the initial wave of shock had passed over me, I realized that feeling was the first note of Boris playing. A low, driving hum, echoing from amps signaled the start of my journey. The high guitars notes slowly crescendoed, mixing with the bass to form a haunting melody that stirs the deepest recesses of your soul. I didn’t have time to even comprehend what was happening as Takeshia began to wail mournfully into the mike, his voice barely audible over the drone of guitars and drumming.

My mind was lost in a trance as they band continued to play. I couldn’t believe what was happening in front of me. There are only five instances I can think of in which I have been truly blown away, and left speechless by a band: Isis, Jesu, Pelican, Nine Inch Nails, and now, Boris. I have listened to many of their studio albums, Smile and Pink being two of my favorites, but they never prepared me for the live show. Not even the live albums prepared me enough for the audio onslaught against my ears and even my soul. Watching them live had me rooted to the spot, my mouth agape in wonder at the beauty and chaos in front of me. The guitars washed over one another, forming melodies within their layers.

Even their faster paced songs didn’t cause the crowd to break into a ruckus and mosh. We banged our heads, but we couldn’t move from where we were standing. Boris seemed to have cast a spell over everyone in the venue. As they played through all their songs, not once did I lose focus, become distracted, or even wish for them to end. In fact, I wanted them to continue playing well into the night. It wasn’t until they finished playing the Black Sabbath-esque “1970″ and said goodnight to us all that the spell was broken. I looked around in confusion, like so many others around me, trying to explain what I had just witnessed. When I turned back to the stage, the band had left as mysteriously as they came. Luckily I got to meet them after the show and talk to them, but when asked about the seemingly magical and entrancing effect of their show, all I got from them was a smile.

-Noobhammer

Presenting our ticket giveaways for the week of August 2:

On August 7, we have tickets to Here We Go Magic at Cat’s Cradle and Los Lobos at The NC Museum of Art;

On August 10, we have tickets to Hearts & Daggers at Slim’s;

and if you’re a fan of Chainsaw Rock, we have tickets to Cynic at Cat’s Cradle on August 9.

That’s all we got this week. Stay tuned for these giveaways and more only on WKNC 88.1

Cynic will release a new EP titled Re-Traced on May 18 that I and I know many other prog fans have been looking forward to. Ever since the release of Traced In Air, we the fans have been eagerly awaiting to see what these masterminds have planned for us. While the EP will not consist of new work, it will have four of the best songs re-imagined by the band, as well as one new track. I got to hear this one track live, and I instantly fell in love with it. The song was “Wheels Within Wheels”, and it is an epic spiraling song of beauty with guitars and drums woven together to make a tapestry you can lose yourself in. Cynic only seems to be getting better with each album, and they are turning out to be one of the most creative bands to tour and release music. They constantly evolve and don’t let the idea of genre force them to write music they don’t want to. I cannot wait for this EP to come out, and I certainly cannot wait for the new full length to come out. Let us just hope we don’t have to wait another 15 years  for a new album. I have included  at the bottom, fan footage taken of their new song. I apologize for the sound quality, but thanks to MetalInjection.com for having a good version, because apparently mine is to big of a file size.

Cynic-\”Wheels Within Wheels\”

Picture: heavy-power metal holocaust by ~redalakchiri on deviantART

It is a GREAT time to be a metal head. There are so many new albums coming out this year, as well as concerts touring the US.

Out of all the years I have been a metal head, the 08-09 year has been one of the best. I have seen Symphony X playing with Into Eternity and Epica. I have watched Iced Earth play with Into Eternity. I have seen Suffocation. I have seen the almighty Carcass play with Suffocation, Aborted, and 1349. I have seen the black metallers Watain. I will be seeing Soilwork with Darkane and Swallow The Sun. Soon I will see Kreator with Exodus, as well as Dragonforce with Cynic. I have never seen so many great concerts coming through. I didn’t get a chance to go see At The Gates with Darkest Hour, but they toured as well.

The only thing better than concerts this year was albums. There were so many great albums released in 08-09.

Alestorm-Captain Morgan’s Revenge
Avantasia-The Scarecrow
Ayreon-01011001
Ghenghis Tron-Board Up The House
Death Angel-Killing Season
Boris-Smile
Meshuggah-oBzen
Zimmer’s Hole-When You Were Shouting At The Devil…
Korpiklaani-Korven Kuningas
The Sword-Gods of the Earth
Arsis-We Are The Nightmare
Belphegor-Bondage Goat Zombie
Dominici-O3:A Trilogy, Part 3
Kalmah-For The Revolution
Warrel Dane-Praises To The War Machine
Deicide-Til Death Do Us Part
Testament-The Damnation of Formation
Moonspell-Night Eternal
Cryptopsy-The Unspoken King
Kataklysm-Prevail
Ihsahn-angL
Opeth-Watershed
Pyramaze-Immortal
Sabaton-The Art of War
Norma Jean-The Anti Mother
The Human Abstract-Midheaven
Dragonforce-Ultrabeatdown
Into Eternity-The Incurable Tragedy
Iced Earth-The Crucible of Man
Amon Amarth-Twilight of the Thunder God
Swallow The Sun-Plague of Butterflies
Evergrey-Torn
Battlelore-The Last Alliance
Psycroptic-Ob(Servant)
Jeff Loomis-Zero Order Phase
Bloodbath-The Fathomless Mastery
Unearth-The March
Darkthrone-Dark Thrones and Black Flags
Darkane-Demonic Art
Cradle of Filth-Godspeed on the Devil’s Thunder
The Faceless-Planetary Duality
Cynic-Traced in Air

And that is all 2008. 2009 looks to be as good, if not even better.

Grave Digger-Ballads of a Hangman
Iron Fire-To The Grave
Kreator-Hordes of Chaos
Saxon-Into The Labyrinth
Cattle Decapitation-The Harvest Floor
Rumpelstiltskin Grinder-Living for Death, Destroying the Rest
Sepultura-A-lex
Napalm Death-Time Waits For No Slave
Vision Divine-9 Degrees West of the Moon
Cannibal Corpse-Evisceration Plague
Luna Mortis-The Absence
God Forbid-Earthsblood
Obscura-Cosmogenesis
Hammerfall-No Sacrifice, No Victory
Suidakra-Crógacht
Absu-Absu
Buried Inside-Spoils of Failure
My Dying Bride-For Lies I Sire
Mastodon-Crack The Skye
Wolves In The Throneroom-Black Cascade

It’s a good time to love metal my friends.

Keep The Horns Rising Brothers and Sisters
-Noobhammer

Greetings metal community, the Noobhammer here with my top ten albums which smashed the gates with a hammer full of steel.

10. Trenches-The Tide Will Swallow Us Whole

This album was a complete shocker for me. Yet from the instant I popped in the cd, I knew I had something special. This cd combines the heaviness of Isis with the melody and intensity of Haste The Day.  This cd mixes these two elements perfectly into an album that doesn’t disappoint and will continually surprise you and have you listening to it again.

9. Arsis-We Are The Nightmare

This album blew me away with its sheer technicality and intensity. Arsis have always been one of those bands that just shock you with their skills on their respective instruments. This cd is no exception. With a step above United In Regret production wise, Arsis shows us what they can do when they flex their muscles and release that Virginian Death Metal machine.

8. Battlelore-The Last Alliance

Can you go wrong with Lord of the Rings? The answer is no, no you cannot. Battlelore has proven this by releasing their 5th full length album based off the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. They seem to gain their stride back with this release after releasing the much softer Evernight album previous to this one.

7. The Sword-Gods of the Earth

The Sword have quickly become one of the best stoner bands to ever come out. This cd is no exception. Their best work to date showcases what The Sword do best: Black Sabbathesque riffs that hook you and lyrics that just make no sense but will have you singing along nevertheless. That is what makes this album so great, their simplicity.

6. Sabaton-The Art of War

Sabaton has made a name for themselves as a power metal band that sings about wars. This album though is a album about the art of war. It has Sun Tzu’s teachings throughout it as we hear about Rommel’s Tank Division, the deaths in the trenches during WWI. This cd is just epic with its material and depth. It also has some very catchy songs that will have you banging your head.

5. Into Eternity-The Incurable Tragedy

The opening lines of this album, “The story is over”, paint the bleak outlook this album has with its concept about a patient who has cancer. This emotionally driven cd is some of the best work Into Eternity has done to date. Stu’s voice really shines on this album as well as Tim’s guitar playing. The mature growth that this band has shown over their last few albums is amazing and makes me impatient for the next album.

4. Avantasia-The Scarecrow

Tobias Sammet’s brainchild guest musician band is one of the best things to hit the metal world with it’s rock opera story and guest singers. I kept coming back to this album alot over the year due to it’s catchy songwriting and “can’t help but make you smile” lyrics. Michael Kiske, Alice Kooper, Jorn Lande, and kai Hansen all appear on this album making it a true masterpiece and hit album.

3. Pyramaze-Immortal

Pyramaze rose from ashes with the great Matt Barlow on vocals bringing out Pyramaze’s true potential and showing us what we all missed when Matt Barlow left the metal world. This cd just wakes you up and smacks you in the face with powerful lyrics and music. This is truly the year of the phoenix for most bands as they rose from the ashes into the spotlight of greatness.

2. Iced Earth-The Crucible of Man:Something Wicked Part 2

This was almost my album of the year just for its sheer genius and beauty that is contained within its walls. This album showed us what Iced Earth truly is, that no matter how many members they go through they can always release a great album. This album though brought back the prodigal son, Matt Barlow back to the folds of Iced Earth. His voice just fits so natural with John Schaffer’s guitars. This showed us the true power of Iced Earth and left us wanting more.

THIS IS IT!!! MY ALBUM OF THE YEAR!!! IT IS……

1. Cynic-Traced In Air

This is it. The big enchilada. Did you really not see this coming? I mean come on I even said that it was the year of the phoenix for most bands, and Cynic is truly a phoenix. They died in ’93 with Focus and were recently reborn with Traced In Air. They have truly made a masterpiece that many will be talking about for the next fifteen years. This album can be listened to so many times, and yet you wish that there was more. That’s how good it is. It wants you to have more and just shows what a truly masterful beauty this album is that many bands could only dream of attaining. These guys deserve the album of the year for writing a true masterpiece that goes along with A Piece of Time.

-Noobhammer

Cynic has been around for many, many years. Fifteen years to be exact, and they have not lost a single ounce of musicianship with their aging. They are still as technical as their early nineties counterparts, Death and Atheist, yet they somehow found a way to break out of that death metal mold and become something quite unique. Their second cd, Traced In Air, has turned alot of heads due to its departure from Focus in terms of brutality. Yet what they have dropped in brutality, they more than make up for with melodic and amazingly brilliant song-writing. The songs have so many layers to them, that you cannot wish to comprehend them with only one listen. With this release, Cynic have shown the world what it truly means to be a progressive metal band. All the songs on the album pick you up off your feet and carry you where you can be lost in the music, only to thrown into a tornado of organized chaos which leaves you breathless just set you back down on your feet a few moments later. This sensation may sound displeasing, but it will have you wanting to go back and listen to it over and over again. It is a short cd, which is very agonizing due to nature of the songs which just leave you wanting more. Cynic is truly a one-of-a-kind band and you should definitely pick this cd up just so it will never leave your iPod, cd player, or whatever music player you use. It is that brilliant of an album, and I hope they don’t wait another fifteen years to release another cd.

Cd Score:
[rating:5/5]

-Noobhammer