Hour of 13 release new song for friend, Jason McCash

On Saturday, April 6th 2014, it was officially announced that Jason McCash, bassist for The Gates of Slumber, had unexpectedly passed away. Though the group had already disbanded in 2013, his death can be assumed to have marked the decided end of their career, owing to McCash’s close friendship with former frontman and vocalist Karl Simon.

 

Following on from the news, which has shaken various people within the doom metal community such as Hampshire trio Witchsorrow and esteemed writer and PR person Kim Kelly, the band Hour of 13 temporarily returned with a new song to mark Jason’s passing.

 

Though reverted to its roots as a one-man band, as founder Chad Davis performed all instruments and lyrics by himself, Hour of 13 released the song, ‘Upon Black Wings We Die’, in memory of their deceased friend and fellow musician.

 

However, in response to youtube questions regarding the possible resurrection of Hour of 13, Davis had confirmed that this is the final piece of music from his project.

 

Late, But Worth the Wait (or, Some Surprise albums of 2013)

Greetings, my metal brothers and sisters; I hope that you’re all well, and that your yule/Christmas/what have you was fun, and that you had a much better New Year’s Day than I did. Word of advice: always check the expiry date.

Nonetheless, it wouldn’t do to simply forego a “goodbye 2013” post on Me(n)tal-Meltdown (even in February), before carrying on with the rest of the new year. While it is certainly tempting to write about musical highs (Carcass, definitely) and lows (the last Crystal Viper, this time), it’s far more rewarding to focus on but a few  – yes, a few – unexpected gems of the year that caught me by surprise.

Let’s do this alphabetically, shall we?

An interesting situation

The Good

-Cirith Ungol re-issues! Huzzah!

-Grand Magus are coming back to the UK in March

-Atlantean Kodex and Barren Earth are making more material!.. er, not together, of course. That would be awkward, lest it be a side project that works

-More from Forbidden and Overkill

The Bad

-Me(n)tal-Meltdown is likely going to be on temporary hiatus until mid-February. Why? Because I’ve got some packing to do, before I head out for a month abroad. In the meantime, I’ve got a couple of posts queued up to air before the 14th. So stay tuned!

Love;

K. Ann Sulaiman