Metal Tuesday

First, i want to acknowledge that yes we're in a lot of trouble right now, but i don't have anything to say about the market/bailout/stupid-politics that hasn't already been said. So on to a topic which is heavy in a different way:

Today is METAL TUESDAY!! \m/ New releases from no less than THREE of my bands!

	Trivium - Shogun One of my white-tag bands; i've been eagerly awaiting this album for a *long* time!
	Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thunder Gods Viking death metal titans from Norway (i'm seeing them in concert this Friday!).
	Bleeding Through - Declaration The newest addition to my world, thanks to their awesome live show last week.

So i usually just order from Amazon or CM Distro, but since this is a special occasion (and we wants them now!) i decided to just hit a local Best Buy on my way to work.

I have to say, the Best Buy in Champaign is vastly superior. I've gone there on plenty of Tuesdays looking for a new album, and they'd always have a huge table covered with all of the new releases. Stacks of shiny new cds and dvds nicely lined up for easy browsing; you could march in, snag what you're looking for within 10 seconds, and be on your way.

The Best Buy here? Had no such table. Even worse, my cds were neither on the regular cd racks nor the "New Releases!" endcap (did i mention that Best Buy Champaign stocked both of those locations in addition to the big table?). I finally found a shelving cart tucked away in one of aisles and managed to dig through and eventually find what i wanted.

On the plus side, the cashier didn't ask for my phone number nor offer me 6 free issues of Sports Illustrated.

Cranked up the first few tracks of Trivium in the car and absorbed the rest at work...MAN it's a great album! Even better than "The Crusade", i think. I'm really digging the new Amon Amarth as well. I'm inclined to agree with the reviews i've read which mention that you're not likely to find any surprises on an Amon Amarth album, but they're so good at what they do that it doesn't matter. I think each album has sounded even richer and catchier than the previous one, and they've even started throwing in some nice guitar solos. Also for this album they invited guest musicians for several of the tracks, including Apocalyptica (heavy metal cello players).

I'm saving Bleeding Through for the drive home.

\m/