What's coming up?

I was watching Fast Times at Ridgemont High the other day after not having seen it for years. It's still good although the two characters above are of course the highlight of the film. It's also a decent flick for hard rock/metal references. Van Halen, Zeppelin, Ozzy, Cheap Trick and Blue Oyster Cult all get mentioned plus you can spot Zeppelin and Van Halen shirts in a few scenes. Anyways this week I hope to have the following out

Reviews of...
The Underwater-Forces
Joetown-Pills and Ammo
Whitechapel-This is exile
Extreme-Saudades de rock
Netherbird-The Ghost Collector
and maybe one more

Interviews with...
Ann Bolyn
The Dead End Kidz

and possibly a Clash of the album covers.

Have a good Labor Day and a great week!

Dragonforce-Ultra Beatdown

Roadrunner
2008


I approached the new Dragonforce album trying hard to be objective and went into it with an open mind. Several plays later I emerged, a little worse for wear yet very much sure that I had not misjudged this band on their previous albums. This is speed for the sake of speed and if it was thrash or death metal then is might work out in the end a little better. However this is power metal and they slop out some soulless riffs that lack any real depth. Unfortunately that's not the end, no they bring out the theatrical vocals that are thick on the ham and although have a definite range the larynx ripping pace robs them of any real emotion or richness that might have been present. The keyboards just help to make the overall feel even fluffier than it already is, if that is actually possible. Don't get me wrong, I love power metal and that's exactly why I felt unsatisfied by this album. Power metal in general thrives on soaring riffs, multiple pace changes and oftentimes powerful vocals. Dragonforce thrive on the gimmick of being over the top yet they sadly just appear to be light weights at best and at the worst they seem to be a bad joke. I was trying very hard to dig deep and get into what they were doing here. Yet that wasn't possible because they are not that, deep everything they have is just on the surface and it all revolves around rather thin layers of flash. The eight tracks here are in keeping with the band's previous outputs although they may show just a little more control. Unfortunately, I think there are enough fans out there who will buy into this candy-coated, smirking style of hollow power metal and keep fueling Dragonforce's efforts for a few more years to come.

Interview with Post Mortem

The first time I heard Post Mortem was back in 1986 on their Coroner's Office album. Right away I thought that they were odd and crazy. After interviewing vocalist John McCarthy and guitarist John Alexander it sounds like some things never change. Enjoy.

MM-First the big news is that Coroner’s Office and The Missing Link are going to be released on one CD by New Renaissance. The original release has been delayed, so why the delay and do you have an idea of when it will be released?

John McCarthy: EVERY RECORD COMPANY DELAYS EVERYTHING. IT'S A PAIN IN THE ASS YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH.
John Alexander: New Ren is probably just trying to stagger the releases a little.

MM- Are the albums being re-mastered? Are there any bonus tracks and what can we expect in the booklet?
John Alexander: There are some alternate edits of 3 songs. I have no idea what will be in the booklet, this is something new ren is doing.
John McCarthy: THERE ARE LINER NOTES, SOME PICTURES. THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN TOLD.

MM- Now you list your definitive band line-up as being solidified in 1985 which is three years after you formed. Was it difficult keeping a stable line-up those first few years and if so then why?
John Alexander: The line up that plays on most of the LPS etc came together in 85.
John McCarthy: PEOPLE LOSE INTEREST. THEY JOIN A BAND TO GET GIRLS, THEY THINK THEY'RE GOING TO BE RICH IN 2 WEEKS. THERE ARE MANY FACTORS.

MM-How did you get signed to New Renaissance records? Did you have any other offers back then if so then from what labels?
John Alexander: We sent them a tape we did and I guess they liked it. Metal Blade was also interested, but, we recieved no concrete offer. So, we took the first contract that arrived in the mail and were done with it. After all, we were in high school!!
John McCarthy: LIKE JOHN SAID, BEING YOUNG, WE WERE NOT VERY WISE TO RECORD CONTRACTS. YOU COME HOME FROM SCHOOL ONE DAY & THERE'S ONE ON JOHN'S DINNER TABLE. SO, WE SIGNED THE DAMN THING.



MM-Now “Festival of fun” was recorded in 1989. Was the first it saw the light of day on the 1994 version from Red Light? If so then why was that?
John Alexander: 2 LP versions came out in 89. The record was recorded for a big label (not New Ren) and they hated it, dropped us, and refused to put it out. So, we did.
John McCarthy: CIRCUS BEARS.
MM-Who was the label that you originally recorded "Festival of fun" for?
John McCarthy-ZANZIBAR, OUT OF PITTSBURGH.THEY CLAIMED TO HAVE BIGTIME DIST., SINCE THE 2 LABEL HEADS HAD WORKED FOR VEE-JAY,WHO PUT OUT THE BEATLES & NUMEROUS BLUES & R&B ACTS

MM- What’s you favorite album that your band did and why?
John McCarthy: FESTIVAL OF FUN.
John Alexander: I like bits and pieces from them all, musically my fav is the "Ring Around the Rectum" EP. My best playing is on that record.

MM-Why did you break up in 1994?
John Alexander: We broke up?
John McCarthy: WE NEVER REALLY BROKE UP, IT WAS JUST THINGS WERE FALLING APART.
John Alexander: I guess you could say things were put on hold in 94 for many reasons.

MM-What have you and the other band members been doing since then?
John Alexander: Cooking, cleaning, working, paying bills, taking showers on a semi-regular basis.
John McCarthy: I WENT INSANE FOR AWHILE, BUT NOW I'M OKAY.
John Alexander: I play/played in some projects http://www. myspace. com/banddread and
http://www.myspace.com/ernestborgninebos





MM-What were some of the first albums that you really got into?
John Alexander: Volume 4, well, really all Black Sabbath with Ozzy. Oh and the Bay City Rollers "Rollin'" if you wanna go way back to when I was a little kid.
John McCarthy: SLY & THE FAMILY STONE-STAND, JIMI HENDRIX-ALL, THE BEATLES, THE ROLLING STONES, BLACK SABBATH, CAPTAIN BEEFHEART.......CHRIST, THIS COULD FILL A BOOK.

MM-What was the Boston metal/punk rock scene like in the 1980’s and early 1990’s?
John Alexander: hmmmm
John McCarthy: WE DID'NT CARE.
John Alexander: The scene was not something I was interested in.

MM-What’s the scene in Boston like these days?
John Alexander: No idea
John McCarthy: I'M LOST ON THAT ONE.

MM-What are some of your more memorable shows with Post Mortem?
John McCarthy: THE ONES WHERE PEOPLE EITHER REALLY HATED US, OR FOR SOME REASON, REALLY LIKED US.
John Alexander: Opening for Cannibal Corpse and playing an instrumental acoustic set. People hated us and wanted to kill us, you could really see the anger, it was great. Best show by far. Well, getting attacked on stage in Detriot was also great. They threw bottles at us and some people rushed the stage and took my guitar and started to beat me with it. That was almost as good as the Cannibal Corpse show.
John McCarthy: I REALLY LOVED BEER BOTTLES, SPIT, ICE, TABLES......BEING ATTACKED.....FOND MEMORIES.
John Alexander: yeah, I just loved when people hated us. I could not get into playing to a crowd that liked us.
John McCarthy: WE WANTED TO KILL THEM ALL. SO THE FEELINGS WERE MUTUAL.
John Alexander: I think I wanted them to try and fight us or something, but, most people spoke tall games and then did nothing.
John McCarthy: EXACTLY.
John Alexander: Thankfully, I am mellow now.

MM-Do you have any regrets in your musical career?
John Alexander: No
John McCarthy: JUST ONE. WE NEVER GOT TO RECORD WITH DESI ARNEZ.
John Alexander: yeah, that did suck and we came sooo close too
John McCarthy: IT DRIVES ME TO TEARS......



MM-What kind of music are you listening to these days?
John Alexander: The kind that uses instruments? Miley Cyrus, Cianide, and Aly and A.J.
John McCarthy: ALL THINGS THAT SATAN CONDONES.
John Alexander: satan keeps his shit tight
John McCarthy: WELL, I DO HAVE A SOFT SPOT FOR AA BARBERSHOP QUINTETS.


MM-Pick the band from each of the following pairs that you prefer and tell why you picked each band.
Wargasm or Meliah Rage
John McCarthy: THE BEE GEES.
John Alexander: Are these Jim Nabors cover bands?
John McCarthy: ONLY ON WEEKENDS.
John Alexander: How does a Meliah Rage anyhow? Sounds painful. or do you mean mariah carey?
John McCarthy: I'VE SEEN THIS "MARIAH RAGE", VERY PAINFUL.

At War or Medieval
John Alexander: I pick both
John McCarthy: DITTO.

St. Vitus or Pentagram
John Alexander: St. Vitus
John McCarthy: SAINT VITUS, BUT I LOVE PENTAGRAM TOO.

Megadeth or Slayer
John McCarthy: NEITHER.
John Alexander: Slayer, but, they owe us. I think I am gonna write a song called Slayer....

Is there anything else that you like to say about your band of your music?
John Alexander: Just say no
John McCarthy: AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
John Alexander: Were your horns up while keeping it brutal?
John McCarthy: THEY ARE ALWAYS UP, WHICH CAUSES PROBLEMS IN PUBLIC. I HAVE TO HAVE SPECIAL HATS MADE DUE TO MY CONDITION. IT'S VERY COSTLY.
John Alexander: Damn...

http://www.myspace.com/postmortem

Plan 9-Man Made Monster

Nickel and Dime
2008



Plan 9 originally formed in San Francisco around 1997 as a one shot, one time Misfits tribute band. Now they have gone from being a tribute band to being full fledged act, well sort of. When you call yourself Plan 9 plus dress and sound like the Misfits then inevitably you are going to be compared to the Misfits. That's a tough standard to live up to because they did a lot of things so well despite lack of playing skills and decent production values. In fact those last items actually turned out to be part of the charm. Plan 9 aim for the sound and spirit of the Misfits with tracks such as "War of the worlds" and "Black dragon". The style is most similar to "Walk among us" material although a few of the faster tracks lean more towards the sound Earth A.D. One of the main things I learned from listening to this CD is that the Misfits' music is rather easy to simulate. However I also learned that Glenn Danzig's vocals (at their prime) are not as easy to copy. Vocalist Aaron Fuller shoots for Danzig's style and he does okay, but his lack of a real bit makes this feel a bit pale. They cover "Teenagers from Mars" and "We bite" in one selection that turns out alright. Yet their version of "We bite" had me realizing how ridiculously simple the music was yet Danzig attacked his part like a mad dog and turned it into a great song. Plan 9 lack that kind of energy, however they sound more comfortable on their original tracks. This is a fair enough tribute in it's own right and despite the credits it still is basically a tribute album. Ultimately it's fine, but after a few songs I just felt the urge to stop it and put the Misfits on instead.

Interview with Steel Assassin

Steel Assassin hail from the Boston area and formed back in 1980 as a cover band. They broke up in 1985, but reformed a few years with a 4/5 original line-up and now have released a CD called “War of the eight saints”. I recently got to interview bass player Phil Grasso and guitarist Mike Mooney to find out more.

MM-Who are your musical influences?
Mike: I have a lot of influences but if I had to just name a few and say they're the reason I picked up a guitar in the first place it would be in no particular order Ritchie Blackmore, Ace Frehley and Brian May. I know that's diverse but in the 70's growing up, these guys just made my hair stand on end and I decided THAT'S what I wanna do. Musically my favorite band is still Rush for all their diverse subject matter and the intelligence of the song writing. The thing that makes SA work is that all 5 of us have completely different listening preferences and it's that small portion where we all overlap that creates our sound, whether it be unique or not, it seems to work for us still.

MM-So this band actually formed in 1980, but didn’t officially become Steel Assassin until 1983.
What kind of covers were you playing? What brought about the name change and the change in musical direction towards doing originals?
Mike: The progression towards writing our own songs was only natural, that's what every musician aspires to I think. We were playing just about every NWOBHM band you can think of, Saxon, Raven, Accept, Priest, AC DC, Maiden, Tygers of Pan Tang, etc. We were originally called Assassin but we and others thought the name a bit generic so we decided to add the Steel to sort of make sure there was no mistake in what they were about to hear or see.



MM-You broke up in 1985. Why did you break up back then?
Mike-There were many reasons, some the same old stuff, but we were being managed at the time by some folks that had major label contacts and were really pushing us to write radio material. That didn't bode well with us and though we were diluted and somewhat misdirected, it eventually got the best of us. Once it was clear that we were going to have trouble getting "signed"(the big term of the day back then), a few members got frustrated and decided to move on. We've all remained truly the best of friends all these years though.

MM-Did you ever get much interest from any record labels back during your first run?
Mike: The interest we got was minimal from major labels, we did have some offers from indies, but our management at the time kept pushing for something bigger....regrets? maybe a few. ha ha

MM-Did everyone stay in music or not? If so then what did everyone go to?
Mike: Pretty much we all stayed playing in one way or another, although we each branched out into other careers and families. Kevin and I actually had a great Thin Lizzy tribute band going for a few years in which we were able to play in Dublin, Ireland for the annual Vibe for Philo which we were very proud of.

MM-Now you did a brief reunion in 1988. What that just a show or did you work on any material at that time?
Phil: "Don't know anything about that. The band did get another singer and bassist after Doni and I left. I think that lasted about a year. Maybe in '86 the band and Doni got back together around '86. They asked if I was interested in rejoining, and I declined. Our friend Ed Keeke from SPLIT IMAGE joined on bass. It lasted one show, and then it broke up for good, until our reformation in 2005.
MM-The 1988 reunion was mentioned in the paragraph on the back of your CD.
Phil-I think that reunion was in '86, because I used the "reunion band" to do an instrumental tape of some S.A. songs that I put my vocal on, and that was '86. '88 was when I was doing my AQUITAINE band, and Mike and Ed was in that band, so the reunion must have been before then.



MM-When and why did you guys decide to reform the band?
Mike: It actually started at a cookout in my backyard, Phil asked me and Kevin if he could get some label interest would we be interested in giving it a try. We were so intrigued at the prospect of getting together and writing all new metal that we truly just could not resist.

MM-Vocalist John Falzone is new to the band. Where did you meet him and what does he add to your sound?
Phil: "We've known John for a while. He was in TRIPHAMMER back in the day. It was Rich (Spillberg) who suggested John to the band. And the rest is history...

MM-Are all the songs on “War of the eight saints” brand new? If so then how do the new songs compare with the material you were playing back in the 1980’s?
Phil: "All the songs with the exception of "Barabbas" were written during the Reformation period in 2005.



MM-What has been the response to the album so far?
Phil: " Great!"
Mike: Myself I've been truly humbled at all the great responses we've had to the album, it has totally exceeded my expectations and become something we're all VERY proud of. By the way, wait until you hear the next one.

MM-Since Steel Assassin didn’t exist for like twenty years, do you think that a lot of people outside of your home area remember the band?
Phil: "It was acutally the people from our area that forgot about us. Everywhere else they remembered us, which took us all by pleasant surprise!!"

MM-What was the Boston metal scene like back in 1980’s? Who were some of the other top club bands back them?
Phil: "Better than it is now, but it still wasn't as good as RI, CT, NY. The clubs we played with some sort of regularity back then was Celebrations at The Kenmore Club, Paradise, Channel, Salem Theater.

MM-What is the metal club scene like in your area these days?
Phil: "Still better in RI, CT, and NY", at least for our style of Trad. Power Metal. Death, Hard Core, and that type is doing well here from what I hear."

MM-What are some of your favorite albums of 2008 so far?
Phil: "I don't follow the Metal scene too closely to be honest. I can tell you the newer bands that I really like are DREAM EVIL, FIREWIND, CIRCLE 2 CIRCLE and KAMELOT. I listen to more of the old stuff, although I don't listen to too many other bands when I'm busy writing for STEEL ASSASSIN."

http://www.myspace.com/steelassassin

Malamute-Breath deeply, horse

Acerbic Noise Development
2008

You know how something can sound good on paper or in theory, but then it just doesn't come through in the end? Malamute from Hattiesburg Mississippi are on what my opinion is one the best independent heavy music labels around (AND). The actual sound on this album contains punk rock, metal and various other heavy and melodic tones swirled around a rather liquid, non-structured type of format. The vocals are quirky yet coherent and the effort and enthusiasm are just bursting out as this band seems to go for the everything, but the kitchen sink approach. Now to me that sounds like it would be a fantastic album. So why am I wrinkling my forehead as I write this review? Well, despite including all of the above I just couldn't get completely into this album. Indeed Malamute loaded their bags with their wares and then dumped them out on this recording. They are not lacking angles or ideas, but they are lacking an edge or a hook or something that would really make this album engaging. I thought that after one play and that feeling loomed over me after three more plays of the CD. The wild and sometimes frantic stance they take had me interested, but they just seem to lack enough depth to really finish the deal. It's like wanting to dive into the water, but you know it's not deep enough to dive into so instead you end up staying on the edge just kind of kicking your feet in the shallow part. Perhaps my opinion is influenced by the fact that other artists on this label (The Devil and the sea, El Chupa Cobras and Ganon) have released outstanding albums this year and maybe I was expecting more. Altogether this is a somewhat likeable album, but it's from a standout and they need some work to really become a memorable band.

http://www.myspace.com/malamuteband

Black Stone Cherry-Folklore and Superstition

Roadrunner
2008



Kentucky based Black Stone Cherry return with that all important sophomore release. What I enjoyed about their 2006 debut was the strong, gritty vocals and the fact that a number of the main riffs often sounded like a cross between Metallica and southern rock plus they ripped. What I didn't like about that album was that these guys would start begin a track strong and then have problems sustaining the energy level throughout the entire song. Well, apparently they decided not to pick up directly where they off on the first album because the style here heads off in a slightly different direction. First off it's not as heavy and many of the killer main riffs are gone and instead we get a more steady approach. Instead of Metallica there is a bit more Led Zeppelin scattered throughout. At first my thoughts were "oh, these guys went mellow over the course of one album" and although I miss the heavier approach a little they do perhaps run a more well-oiled machine here. Tracks like "Blind Man" and "Soulcreek" have Black Stone Cherry pulling off a nice balancing act while sustaining the momentum throughout with a fair amount of style. What they lack in hard hitting punches they make up for with some degree of emotion and soul. Those are not traits they were able to deliver all that often on their debut. The vocals might even be more effective this time around as there is a bit more more focus on building a real feel in the song and they take their time a little more. Still there are moments where it just feels a bit too accessible for my liking because on a few tracks they seem to just kind of glide through without much edge or change in moods. My final thoughts are that it's different from the debut and it took some time for me to adjust to the change in their style. I still think they could use a bit more of hard hitting spirit from the first album. However, they have managed to be far better at maintaining my interest throughout an entire song and that's a worthy skill that may serve them for a longer period of time. What I really hope for is that down the road we they go in to record album number three that they bring the bring the control and spirit of this album together with the fire and energy of the debut.

www.myspace.com/blackstonecherry

Orange Sky-Dat iz voodoo

Star City
2008

Orange Sky hail from Port of Spain, Trinidad and have opened for the likes of Skid Row, Hatebreed and Yngwie Malmsteen. This is primarily late 80's/early 90's influenced metal with tinges of hard rock and flashes of reggae thrown in on occasion. The first things that I noticed about this album was the fine production as the guitar often has a very rich sound to it. Orange Sky make a decent effort at varying the pace and pulling in different, styles, sounds and influences. I can hear some Scorpions, Guns and Roses and on a few tracks even some "And justice for all" era Metallica riffs crunching in there. The effort and the ability to take some risks are certainly here, but the knowledge of really building up excitement and their energy level are a bit more inconsistent. The end result is something of a mixed bad although it falls a little above average. Tracks like "Dark Room" and "Roses" come on and you just know that these guys have a firm grasp on where they taking these songs and just gallop forward taking you along. Other tracks like "Rainbows" and "Is there anybody there?" seem a bit more awkward primarily towards the middle of the track. There are several songs where they start out in fine form, but then try to change things up with that parts just tend to bog down the flow instead of making it more diverse. They have a decent grip on heavy parts, but not so much on melodic parts and sometimes transition between different parts seems a little rocky as well. The playing skill is generally high and that's giant plus, but their ideas and writing are not as stable. I think that there is enough here to build upon so hopefully they keep working at it.

Anima-The Daily Grind

Metal Blade
2008


Anima hail from Germany and all of the members are in their late teens. I am not sure that either of those items has a real impact on their music or not, but whatever the case this band has proven that they are capable knocking out seriously hard-hitting progressive death metal. Granted it actually took about three tracks for them to warm up because at first they storm on and just cruise at one speed which is a like a blur and they don’t really slowdown or pause enough to really put any kind of inflection into their music. However after a while they settle in, take charge and began to vary the pace in music and vocals. The older style of thrash comes in and out and the sounds become much more defined. All of a sudden they are beginning to sound comfortable, focused and they begin to build songs rather just roar through them. Now if only the vocals were a little more defined at a consistent rate then they would be even better. Still they showed a good share potential and more than that they showed a fair share of control which I think is very important in the style of music.


http://www.myspace.com/animamusic666

Held Under/Discovery-Anthology

Stormspell
2008

This band from Preston, Washington began as Discovery as was formed by the Stevens brothers Michael (vocals) and guitarist Patrick. They formed in 1983 and plugged along recording demos and an EP, but didn't get signed. In the early 90's they changed the band name to Dorian Gray and had changed a few members as well. They were set to record, but decided to go with "Held Under" as the band name since they learned that there were other acts using the name "Dorian Gray". They recorded another demo and could still not get signed, but plugged along some more into the 1990's before disbanding. Okay, now I need to close the book on this history lesson since I have given you the background. That will also free me up to get at the important matter, which is what is the music like? This is a two disc set with the first disc being the Held Under material which was recorded in 1991, 1995 and 1997. They follow a style of early power metal similar to Leatherwolf and Fifth Angel. They obviously were strongly influenced by classic metal acts like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and the Scorpions, but they also have a definite touch of early progressive metal bands mixed as well. The Held Under disc has the bands more complicated and balanced songs plus the production is better. These guys were tight and knew how to manipulate their music with equal amounts of control and finesse. The vocals compliment the music with a broad enough range, but were a little low in the mix on several tracks. The Discovery disc finds the band playing a style that's in the same ball park, but certainly more basic and little more loose in the structure. You can still certainly hear the potential and the talent even if the production isn't always spectacular. My only real complaint on this set is that I think I would have enjoyed it more if it were in chronological order with the Discovery disc coming first and Held Under second. That way you could hear the musical growth like it happened, but of course I can listen to it in that order now if I want to. I had never heard of this band before and don't know if their failure to get signed was due to the crowded market or that they just got overlooked. However the bottom line is that they were talented and they knocked out and fortunately for us they recorded these 29 tracks between 1986 and 1997 so they we can now enjoy them.

http://www.myspace.com/heldunderseattle

War of Ages interview

Heavy metal/hardcore act War of Ages have been going it at for some time. They recently released their latest effort "Arise and Conquer" on Facedown records. I had the pleasure of interviewing vocalist Leroy to learn more about this band and their new album

Hello, tell us a little about the history of your band?
Steve, our lead Guitarist, and I started WOA in 2003. A friend of mine mentioned one day Steve was looking for someone to jam with. I asked Steve, that day, if we could get together that night. We wrote our first song in about an hour at our first practice. The rest is history haha!

Who are some of your musical influences?
It’s different for every member in our band. Steve, Branon, and Tj hold down the metal side of things with bands like Soildwork, In Flames, Iron Maiden, old Metallica, and Behemoth to name a few. Alex and I hold down the hardcore end of things with bands like Earth Crisis, xDisciplex a.d., Shockwave, Buried Alive, and Hatebreed.

Tell us a little about your new album “Arise and Conquer”.
This album is an artistic collaboration of every struggle we’ve been through individually. We’ve just expressed this in different ways, both musically and lyrically.

What are some of your favorite tracks on the new album and why?
Each track acts as a reflection of something I’ve gone through in my life and to be honest I don’t have a favorite track this time around I like all of them. Every member of WOA feels the same way I do.
Instead I’ll explain one track that I find most important. The first song on the album is called “All Consuming Fire”. This title is referring to the power of the one and only living God. We’ve all felt pain before and during those times we might even feel helpless. God is All-Powerful and he’ll never leave our side. We just need to have faith in His Son Jesus Christ.

How did the writing and recording go? Did you approach this album any differently than on previous albums?
We approached this album way different than our previous albums. Every album we’ve released in the past we wrote under a microscope. By microscope I mean in our minds what would be consider as “culturally acceptable” without allowing ourselves to stray to far away from truth. In other words what would sell better! Sometimes we allow our human nature to take over what our hearts are telling us do. It makes me angry that we’d allow fear to creep in to something that’s supposed to be so passionate. “Arise and Conquer” is straight to the point both musically and lyrically. This album is exactly what we wanted to say and play!! As far as recording goes we had both a producer and a large amount of time, which were two elements that were non-existent in the previous albums.

Let’s say someone had never heard your music before and could only afford one album then which one would you recommend and why?
“ARISE AND CONQUER” ALL THE WAY! If you want to know what War of Ages is all about both musically and lyrically than “Arise and Conquer” is your jam.

You seem very passionate about your music and the messages in your lyrics. Is it difficult to deliver that kind of energy and spirit night after night?
If I said no then I’d be lying. The truth is touring most of the year along with playing shows almost every night is very taxing on our souls. What it all comes down to is passion. God gave us these gifts and talents and he can take them away just as fast as they’ve been given. Right now the passion to use our talents as WOA is flowing, so as a gift to God we play for Him.



Would you call yourself a Christian band? Do you think labels like that are necessary for music or not?
Yes, we call ourselves a Christian band. It’s our human nature to name and labels things. We’ve been doing it since the dawn of time. I wish this wasn’t the case in the music realm, but I feel identity gives people a sense of security. If I were wrong you wouldn’t be asking me this question, because no one would care. You see?

How do you keep yourselves motivated and on track?
Well it depends, are we talking musically or spiritually? Both are equally important and run parallel with each other. War of Ages shares one common goal between each of its members and that’s to serve God with all our hearts. We have daily devotionals to keep ourselves motivated and on track. Our devotions lead us to many discussions, which is very important for relationships. Our lines of communication are always open with each other. If there’s a problem we address it quickly and in a loving way. We’re very close and would do anything for each other. Everything falls into place for us musically because we work very hard as a team for our goal.

In what ways has this band changed since you first started out?
In the beginning we were young kids in a band trying to play music in order to gain the respect of fans. Now we’re men in a band playing praise and worship for our father in heaven.

In what areas would you like to progress or improve at?
I’d like to improve Spiritually. I realize now that God put me here to help save lives and share His life story in my own way. He carried me through every obstacle in my life. It’s time for me to give back what He deserves and that’s Worship!

What have you not done in you music career that you still hope to accomplish?
I stopped caring about goals musically a long time ago. But if I had to list one I’d like to us scan over 100,000 records.



What have been some of your most memorable shows so far?
I’d have to say any one of the Fests we play each year. Tons of kids come out to support us each year. It’s an amazing experience to say the least.

What should someone who comes to see you live expect?
A heavy and energetic live show!

What do you think are some of the best albums of 2008 so far?
I’ll list my top 5 starting with my favorite:
1.) As I lay dying- An Ocean Between Us
2.) Take It Back- Can’t Fight The Robots
3.) Thieves and Liars- When Dreams Become Reality
4.) Austrian Death Machine- Total Brutal
5.) The Glorious Unseen- Tonight The Stars Speak

What are some of the best things about the metal/hardcore scene in general these days?
I like how much it’s grown over the years. The opportunity to see your favorite band in your hometown is far greater then it used to be. There’s far more opportunities for bands than before.



What are some of the worst things about the metal/hardcore scene in general these days?
The metal and hardcore scene is way over saturated with bands. Touring is much harder then it used to be. Gas prices are higher than ever before and money for touring is spread way to thin across the board. To many bands and too many tours--there just are’t enough kids or money.

Is there anything else that you would like to say about your band or your music or anything else?
STAY STRONG!

www.myspace.com/warofages

Trigger the bloodshed-Purgation

Metal Blade/Rising Records
2008

Variety is the spice of life. Have you ever that one? Sure you have, but I am not sure that UK death metal act Trigger the bloodshed are very familiar with it. If they are then they obviously didn’t take it to heart when writing and recording their full length debut. We are given a platter of seventeen (!) tracks of blazing, lighting fast, growling death metal. It actually seemed longer than 17 songs at times and other times it just felt like one big song that went on forever. It was a bit like being on a Merry Go Round that’s going too fast for too long. I get a left with a headache and a sense that this ride went nowhere. They just seem to grab their instruments and hammer away with very little thought pace changes, altering tones or building any type of structure. Now don’t get me wrong, they hit on some decent tones and even squeeze out a few nice bone jarring bursts of thrash. Yet most of that was and far between because too often they seemed so focused on just getting into one mode and just grinding it out until, stop and then do the next track the same way. A few of the later songs were a bit more spread out in style, but by then it was hard to really care that much. I just can’t imagine a lot of people wanting to listen this thing over and over because once was enough for me.

Clash of the album covers

I think that I had this one in mind for some time, but just now got around to it. So we have....



Judas Priest-Sin after Sin

vs.



Led Zeppelin-Physical Graffiti

***So which cover do you prefer?

Spread Eagle-s/t

1990/2006/2008
Lovember


The debut from New York's Spread Eagle was originally released back in 1990, then it was re-issued in 2006 and when I saw being distributed again in September so I decided to get a copy to check it out. I remember seeing a few half-page ads for it in the metal magazines back in 1990. I don't know if I read negative reviews or if I just couldn't find it at my local record stores back, but for whatever reason I never got around to hearing it back then. In more recent years I began to see a lot of very positive reviews on it so I decided to check it out and see what all of the fuss was about. "Broken City" comes bursting on with more guitar changes in the first thirty seconds than many of their peers had in a whole four minute song. The groove is undeniable as they just ride this one out of the gate and hang on as it bucks and kicks all the way. Tracks like "Back on the bitch" and "Switchblade Serenade" are a bit more typical of the times, but just active enough to rise up and stand out. My two biggest complaints about hard rock back then and in general would be that they settle for bland rhythm sections and that the guitarists either can't or won't just rip loose on the rhythms enough. The rhythm section of Rob Deluca on bass and Tommi Gallo on drums are certainly well above the average and not afraid to step up and be heard. Guitarist Paul Di Bartolo is a monster just peeling off riff after riff with plenty of skill and precision with everything focused towards making the songs stronger as a whole. Vocalist Ray West is right in there screaming all the way and leading the charge. As a whole they remind me some of Skid Row, but more groove oriented and maybe a bit more versatile. Should Spread Eagle have been big? I wouldn't say that necessarily, but they probably should have gotten more notice than they did. Yet it was a crowded time with so many acts being signed at one point, it was inevitable that not everyone was going to emerge successful and sometimes it was just luck of the draw or having your single or video hit at the right time. However Spread Eagle debut stands out as an example of enjoyable hard rock of the time and it has aged rather well to boot.

What's coming up?

It's difficult to believe that we are almost 2/3 of the way through 2008. It's been a pretty good year, but last year a lot of the best albums came out in the last third of the year. Could that happen in 2008 as well? Let's see, Metallica's album is coming out next month and some people seemed hyped on that. AC/DC's new one is due in October, but I can't see that be anything other than rather ordinary and the same old thing. Other than those, I don't know. Guns and Roses could release their album, but I don't think that's likely until we start hearing some statements from their label and/or their management. Plus who really cares at this point? The best album of the last third of the year might likely come more unexpected sources as that's already happened throughout 2008 thus far.

This week I hope to have out the following.



Reviews of...
Trigger the bloodshed-Purgation
Anima-The daily grind
Spead Eagle (re-issue)
Malamute-Breathe deeply, horse
Held Under/Discovery-Anthology
Orange Sky-Dat iz voodoo


Interviews with....
War of ages
Steel Assassin


and maybe a Clash of the album covers as well.



Have a great week!

Lesser of two evils

The year 1991 saw an outpouring of hard rock releases, most were on major labels and many of them had little or no impact as the days for this style of limp, thin music were numbered. There were good bands who didn't get their due, but there were plenty more weak and generic acts as well who were just fortunate that labels were signing them based on image rather than talent. So that brings us to this match up between Baton Rouge and Wild Horses (not the UK band, but rather the U.S. one). I seem to remember Baton Rouge getting a fair amount of mentions back then in the metal mags of the day. Not just fluffy nonsense like Metal Edge either, I think they got some notice from RIP as well. Wild Horses got less notice as I just barely remember hearing about them. Yet they had more connections with two former Kingdom Come members (drummer Kottak and guitarist Steier), Dokken bass player Jeff Pilson is listed as having played bass although I don't know to what extent and former King Kobra vocalist Johnnie Edwards was originally in this band until he had the opportunity to jump ship to front Foreigner. In the end neither act made much of an impression in the crowded and dying poofy haired hard rock scene of 1991. Yet both get a chance to earn a slight amount of respect (or at least not lose) as they square off in the arena of forgettable hard rock acts, so let's get ready to rummmmmmmble! It is.....


Baton Rouge-Lights out on the playground

vs.


Wild Horses-Bareback



Vocals

So it's Kelly Keeling for Baton Rouge against John Levesque for Wild Horses. Keeling went on to sing for a lot of different acts and his range his fine, but he just really lacks personality. He's going through the motions and he's doing enough to be steady yet it's very dull. Levesque might be the best thing about Wild Horses. He sounds something like Sammy Hagar on several occasions and manages to liven up a few songs that would have died otherwise. He's never really completely on fire yet he does manage to remain fairly consistent.

Point to Wild Horses

Guitars

It's Lance Bulen and Tony Palmucci for Baton Rouge taking on Rick Steier and John Levesque for Wild Horses. Bulen and Palmucci run through a rather routine delivery of hard rock/AOR licks with all the passion and feeling of someone tying their shoes. Not that this put them below standards for this style in the early 1990's. Their tones are alright and they try to put some blues rock tinges in there, but it's all rather watered down and they sound rather reluctant about put any edge into the playing. Steier and Levesque play a rather routine sound as well, but the excitement level and the tone is adequate enough. They don't know much about conveying any soul either, but they have a fair handle on pacing and they kept my interest.


Point to Wild Horses


Rhtyhm section

For Baton Rouge it's Scott Bender on bass and drummer Corky McClellan squaring off against Wild Horses' drummer James Kottak and bassist Chris Lester (and as I noted above Jeff Pilson is listed as having played bass as well). If the guitarists had a difficult time standing out then this contest was even tougher. As with most hard rock bands of the times, the rhythm sections here just kind of exist in a rather stale state, chugging along in the backgroundin a state of minimal existance. There really wasn't a whole lot here to distinguish any of these guys from the other. I could just close my eyes and pick at random, but it seems like the drum sound of McClellan stuck with me a little more after the albums were over or maybe I was just amused that his first name war Corky. So...

Point to Baton Rouge



Originality/Production

As for originality, Baton Rouge are kind of like a cross between Whitesnake and Bon Jovi only scaled down quite a bit. Wild Horses are more like Hagar era Van Halen at best and at worse sort of like Warrant. So neither band would get their pictures placed in the dictionary under the definition for "originality". Both bands were on divisions of Atlantic so production was decent enough on both, but definitely sharper on Wild Horses.

Point to Wild Horses



Who rocks more?

I save this category for last because I know it will likely be the toughest to figure out because if these bands rocked to begin with then they wouldn't be chosen for Lesser of two evils in the first place. However this one was a little easier to determine than some of the bozo battles in the past. Baton Rouge struggle to put together a solid minute of real rocking music during this whole album. They hurt themselves even more by feeling the need to squeeze in some keyboards that should have had a label that said "please use by 12/31/1987" on them. Wild Horses aren't knocking it out of the park either and they were also kind of dated for 1991, yet they do string together some parts for long enough to be alright in this department.


Point to Wild Horses

Wild Horses win a not too tough competition by the final score of 4-1. I am sure the Baton Rouge fans (all three of them) will now proceed to swarm me with such criticisms as "U suk, Baton Rouge roxx!" or "you're just mean, critical and don't like fun music".



Anyways, I made it through another segment and somehow soldiered on through these CDs all in the name truth, justice and producing a daily blog post.

Billy Idol Giveaway

I might be a little late on this or maybe it's never too late to try and win free stuff. I have a copy of Billy Idol's Idolize Yourself CD and a litho of the album artwork to give away to one lucky person. Just go up to the contact section in the upper lefthand part of my blog and send me an e-mail. Just put "Billy Idol giveaway" in the subject or the body of the e-mail and include an e-mail address where I can contact you if you should win. I'll draw a winner next Wednesday.
Good luck!

Clash of the album covers

Here are your choices.




Dream Theater-Images and Words

vs.



Testament-Souls of black

***So which cover do you prefer?

Cream Pie-Dirty Job

Self-produced
2008

So far 2008 has been a good year for heavy metal, but not as impressive for hard rock. I have heard some good demos, but not a whole lot of really iinteresting full-length albums. However Italy's Cream Pie seem to have done enough to really earn some notice on their this their debut album. European bands summoning up 1980's Sunset Strip style glam is nothing new these days as bands seem to be popping up constantly. Cream Pie obviously recognized the fact that genuine hooks and a solid rock backbone go a long ways. So while some bands may be throwing a great deal into their image, these guys dug their heels in deep and obviously practiced their chops enough to construct some head bobbing tunes. The sound is overall more of a mix between old and new as I hear acts like Motley Crue, Faster Pussycat and early LA Guns, but also there are glimpses of bands like Crashdiet and Vains of Jenna as well. If you listen hard enough there is a slight punk rock edge lurking down underneath the surface on a few songs. The vocals are raw and maybe a little like Taime Down at times. They are slightly heavier than a number of younger hard rock bands trying to put their feet in the door these days. The sound is a bit more like the grittier glam of the mid-1980's than it is like the fluffier more radio friendly glam of say 1989-1991. There are a few songs that get a little bogged down by repetitive riffs and lack of movement, but the majority of the material plugs along with enough attitude. Cream Pie have many to work up a collection of songs that proves they can hang with the better young hard rock bands of today.

http://www.myspace.com/creampieblue

Iced Earth-The Crucible of man: Something wicked part 2

SPV
2008

No strangers to line-up changes, Iced Earth now bring back vocalist Matt Barlow to replace Tim Owens. That change alone stirred up some interest in this release and the results are pleasing enough. Nothing fancy here and not a great deal that’s unexpected, but rather it’s another good round of true to form epic style power metal. Admittedly it took me a couple of plays to really warm up to this album as a whole. I think much of it was due to the fact it does take this album a few songs to really get started. The first few tracks are largely pulled along by Barlow’s vocals and the music is decent, but perhaps more subtle than it needed to be. However, the album does pick up and once it catches fire they run with it. The music is all that you would expect with heavy, well defined chugging guitars with Jon Schaffer easily leading the way. The music is far more on the mark than the last couple of efforts plus Barlow just has the personality and chemistry with this band that Tim Owens quite honestly lacked. Here they take their time, focus in and concentrate on what made this band click in the first place and that’s why it works. Now “The Crucible of man” is more of a comfortable kind of album than it is a real barnstormer, but it’s the kind of familiar album that will have me playing it repeatedly for the next few weeks at least.

http://www.myspace.com/icedearth

Cathedral-The carnival bizarre (Earache Classic re-issue)

Earache
1995/2008

I remember being curious about Cathedral when they popped in the early 1990’s. I liked the tone on albums like “The forest of Equilibrium” and “The Ethereal Mirror”, but they always seem to wander around without enough structure to really make them that interesting. Heavy sludge is all and well and good, but Cathedral seem to be drowning in it rather than being able to manipulate their sound. However by “The Carnival Bizarre” they seemed to be realizing the need for some real direction and they kept the same rich tones they had been doing for several years and plugged them into a much tighter format which is a whole lot easier to take. Maybe this wasn’t their original vision, but the flow on this album was steady and interesting. This change in approach was a far cry from the almost unbearable crawl of their earlier releases. Lee Dorian’s vocals were a bit more level and actually more effective here because they compliment the music instead of just kind of floating around. The Sabbath influence was more recognizable here, but Cathedral were making their own path to some extent with a pitch that was very much doom yet different as well. This album sounds as intriguing now as it did 13 years ago and holds up rather nicely. This re-issue also includes a DVD which has “Our God has landed” which includes 8 promo clips and five songs from a show in 1992 of “The gods of Grind tour”.

Blackberry Smoke-New Honky Tonk Bootlegs

Self-produced
2008

Georgia’s southern rock outfit Blackberry Smoke reached back into their roots, leaned back and churned out some whiskey and sweat soaked honky tonk with a whole of grit on these six tracks. They have composed some dirty and sad, twangy ramblings that will immediately soak into you. The best thing about this album and this style is how they pull and twist the absolute maximum ounce of emotion out of every note, beat and word. They now the meaning and the importance of inflection in the vocals and they have truly mastered patience in the music. The approach is from a style oh around the 1970’s and much further back. Yet they don’t stop there as they add their own boot heeled stamp by punch in finger bending southern rock solos that help make the total sound thick as molasses. Blackberry Smoke have poured out an album that just has all these little touches that lead to a very genuine sound that obviously came right from their heart and you easily identify that they love this style and wanted to create a complete package. Indeed they did, this isn’t always my favorite style yet this album is just spot on in so many ways. My favorite track is likely “Livin Hell” (and we get both a clean and dirty version) due to the matter of fact way in which they talk about misery yet you feel even more alive for having heard this song. Definitely an album that’s worth checking out.

http://www.myspace.com/blackberrysmoke

Impiety-Dominator

2008
Pulverized


Singapore’s Impiety have been around since the early 1990’s and have put out quite a few releases over the years. This EP contains “Black Vomit” which is a Sarcofago cover plus several originals. What we have is a noisy and dizzy display of death metal with some thrash bursts worming their way in every now and then. There’s a whole lot constant double bass smashing through and some guttural vocals chanting on about Satan and other such topics. The guitar actually tends to get lost in the steady stream of assault on ears and I think that is a slight production shortcoming. The overall is actually somewhat dimensional and actually a bit of a throwback to early-mid 1990’s death metal. The vocals are probably not as aggressive as they were hoping and they are terribly consistent. When they really hit is when slow the pace down some and shoot in some thrash guitar licks. Not only do these parts stand out as the best bits here, but they actually sound more comfortable during these parts then they do during the chaotic whirlwind approach that dominates most of the running time. There are a few moments of interest and a great deal of material you have likely heard before many times over.

Falconer-Among Beggars and thieves

Metal Blade
2008



Falconer return for their sixth album "Among beggars and thieves" which has a theme that revolves around misery, poverty and hard times in their home country of Sweden during medieval times. In my book, power metal is one of the sub genres of metal where it's difficult to stand out these days. That's just because so much has already been done and you get some moderately skilled bands who don't really stand out because they just can't or aren't bringing anything new to the table. Falconer do an admirable job of setting themselves apart and they succeed to an extent. They blend in chants, female accompaniments and a few brief passages of renaissance music that help to give it a folk-metal feel. I am not sure those parts add a huge amount to the overall sounds, but they help to pull in your attention and change the pace which does add some texture to the songs. The other aspect that may set Falconer apart is that they seem to have a stronger grasp in how to make use of their classic metal influences. All too often power metal acts soar off on big streaming melodies forgetting about any real "power" or "metal" in the traditional sense. Falconer have a decent knack for knowing when to fly off on a blazing riff yet they also know when to reel it all back in and crunch out some real metal as well. The result is a more balanced sound than many of their peers and it's also what helps keep them as interesting as they are. Now there are still times where Falconer fall into the trap of playing some rather typical power metal and the theatrical vocals can be a bit much at times yet for the majority of the time they really have this album rolling along in their favor.

Steel Assassin-War of the eight saints

Sentinel Steel
2007

I was going through various Myspace pages back in the beginning of summer an stumbled upon this band. The band name sounded very familiar then I was enlightened to the fact that they were on Metal Massacre 6 back in 1984. That would be were I knew them from as I heard most of those compilations back in the 1980's. They actually formed as a cover band back in 1980, but broke up in 1985 after failing to secure a record deal. However fast forward two decades and in 2005 the band reformed with a 4/5 original line-up, added a new vocalist and begun work on their debut which would be released 27 years after the band first formed. Talk about better late than never, this is pure denim and leather, hard hitting mid-1980's style metal. Steel Assassin have grinded out a seriously monstrous assault very much influenced by the likes of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Armored Saint and Dio. They even combine some of the influences in the same track and bring some ideas of their own in the form of oftentimes rapid pace changes and twists. The lyrics are of the fantasy/mythology camp and it works just fine here. We get eleven songs with six of them going over six minutes including the closing title track which is just a crushing epic that clocks in at over ten minutes. It's a shame these guys didn't get signed back around 84-85 because I would have loved this back, but I love it now too. Steel Assassin work and maneuver as they create some finely crafted songs that are strong on melodies and backed by a blistering array of hooks and ripping guitars. Not a whole lot of new ideas here, but just a tremendous stampede of killer metal.

http://www.myspace.com/steelassassin

Interview with Michale Graves

Vocalist Michale Graves is probably best known as having been the vocalist for the second version of the Misfits. Since then he has played with Gotham Road and has done solo albums. I recently interviewed him to find out more about his past and what he is currently up to.

Hello, what are you currently working on?

I am currently working on a new release called "ILLUSIONS LIVE/VIRRETA PARK". It is a live album with 5 brand new studio recordings that were put together while I was in Romania working on a film I am in called "Perkins 14". I will also be appearing on a new show on FUSE called "The Daily Grind" right before I leave for the fall tour in Sept.

What kind of music are you listening to these days?
I've been listening to old blues...Leadbelly, Robert Johnson....some old 80's rock I got on my ipod, Nirvana, The Police, Living End, Dredg, Bob Dylan.

Let's go back to when you tried out for the Misfits in 1995. How did prepare for the audition and what was the audition like? Did you think you had the gig right away or did you have to wait to find out?
I prepared myself by learning the songs inside and out and just singing the tunes best I could. It was a long while and and even longer process for me to find out that I got the part so to speak. It really wasn't until Halloween night when we played at "Coney Island High"after that I was sort of ...kind of ...sure I was in.

So you went from a small band to being in the Misfits, on a major label and playing big shows in like two years or less. How fast were things going for you at that stage?
Lightening quick.

What was the most difficult thing about adjusting to being in the Misfits?
All of the new relationships. I had only known these guys for maybe a year or so and then all of a sudden we're traveling the world and living on buses and tiny European hotel rooms and hostels. I was the youngest of the bunch...these guys were all 10 years older then me...I was just a kid.

What were some of your favorite moments while in the Misfits?
We accomplished so much together...my favorite moments are the memories of us laughing together. We really did have a lot of fun together.

What was the writing process like with them? Did you get to have much input?
I got to have a lot of input. I wrote a great deal of the compositions that are Misfits songs, that's a fact. It was clear and still is that I am the strongest writer of the bunch without a doubt...but everyone back then would record there ideas and songs on tape and hand them out...the songs that stuck we worked on and kept.



Why did that particular line-up break-up?
Because there was nobody around that was mutually respected and trusted by all four of us...and that had the ability to step in and manage all of the different personalities and dynamics that were happening. Everyone one of us had our grievances and they were all relevant .... no one spoke up when it was time to speak up.
I left because I felt I wasn't being respected and looked after the way I should've been after contributing so much. I was always shuffled to the back. If I didn't like the way things were...I could go home...so I did.
I knew that without me it would come apart and be so totally different that it would prove my point.

Then you went from being in a fairly big band to kind of having to start over again. How difficult was that and did you jump right back into music or did you take some off first?
I got right back on the horse. It was difficult because I was and I did have to start over and couldn't springboard off of my accomplishment and work I did with the Misfits because no credit was ever given to me specifically which it should have been.

Then you were in Gotham Road, how was that band different than being in the Misfits?
For all of the obvious reasons. I was now the oldest guy with the most experience leading a bunch of guys just starting out. It was different, too because of the mind set we had. It was just a bunch of guys making real good music together.

Is your current set list a mix of solo material, Gotham Road and Misfits' songs or what?
It is a mix of all of material from my entire career

Under the "Influences" section of your Myspace page you have a quote from "Some anonymous fool out there". The quote is too long to write here, but it's criticizing you. Where was this originally posted and why do you have it on your Myspace page?
I think someone sent that to me or posted it somewhere. I put it up because it was just such a fine example of the disdain some people have for me and it made all of us that work here with me laugh. Its pretty funny, I think.


Which of your post-Misfits albums are you most proud of and why?
I'm proud of all of them equally for different reasons. Each one of them has such an amazing story behind them and took such effort from so many people...I am proud of all of them.

What would be your advice to young people just getting into the music business?
Learn your craft. Learn how to do it yourself. Learn how the music business was, and is now, and how and why it is changing. Do something that is yours and no one elses...contribute to the world somehow through your efforts, educate yourself or learn how to do something .....that you like to do..... that will help you pay your bills. Practice, practice, practice.

What have you yet to accomplish in your music career that you hope to achieve at some point?
I would like to win a Grammy someday.

Is there anything else that you would like to say about your music or anything else?
I wrote some music on my last album with Damien Echols who is a death row inmate in Arkansas, He is one of the West Memphis Three in jail for crimes they did not and could not have committed. In September these guys are going back to court for the last time...it is Damien's last appeal for his life. Please go to www.wm3.org and find out more about this case and why its important and relevant to our generation and how you can get involved. Free The West Memphis Three!


http://www.myspace.com/gravesmichale

New songs from Villain

I checked out and wrote about some demo tracks by South Carolina's Villain very early this year.

http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2008/01/check-out-villain.html



Well, they have some new songs and I went over and checked them out at the band's Myspace page. I must say that they have made great progress judging by the new songs. Villain crank out very much a mid-80's hard rock/metal sound with lots of squealing guitars and a real sharp edge. I hear some Motley Crue, early Ozzy, Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot and a few others. The guitar is still the best part of the band with a definite Randy Rhoads influence , but I can hear the rhythm section much more this time around and they are solid enough. The vocals are far more consistent in both skill and sound quality plus I now get a better sense that everyone in the band is on the same page musically. Perhaps the sound would benefit from a little more energy from the vocals, but that may just come in time with more experience. Their previous songs sounded like a band still trying to get things together and figure out a direction. Now they sound like they have the line-up and direction they need and they cranked out some solid demo tracks that show their progress. So hop over an check them out.



http://www.myspace.com/villainrules

Star Wars-The Clone Wars soundtrack

Sony
2008

This CD made me remember the days back in the early 1980's when I was just getting into music and didn't have the funds to purchase much of anything. Back then my prime source for music was the public library because I didn't drive yet, my parents went there and of course it was free to check items out. Of course I repeatedly checked out the few hard rock releases they had from the likes of Def Leppard, KISS, AC/DC and a few others. However I was a big fan of sci-fi and fantasy as well so I grabbed up various movie soundtracks including those from Star Trek, James Bond, Indiana Jones and Star Wars films. So I remember sitting back on my bed listening to these soundtracks and oftentimes closing my eyes and letting the images of various characters come into my as they were summoned from the various tones of each selection. I can't say that I have listened to a huge amount of soundtracks over the years, but I have watched many movies. The first Star Wars film really set the standard made an impact as far as soundtracks go because it contained a defining theme where we only have to hear a few notes and images of huge spaceships and immense laser battles fill your mind's eye. John Williams certainly knew what he was doing while creating music that was going to be one of a handful movies themes that have an instant and long lasting impact. So I think that right away a certain standard was set for all films sailing under the Star Wars banner. At this point we get long time die-hard fans, those under the spell of nostalgia and a whole younger generation of Star Wars fans all having various level of interest in the new film. The Clone Wars soundtrack contains 32 entries and like most soundtracks there are high points and there are fillers. The music was composed and conducted by Kevin Kliner and performed by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. There are definite moments where I can close my eyes and try to visualize what activities might be taking place and there are others that are a bit more tedious to endure. The tracks contained range from dazzling down to bland. For the most part it's decent, but it certainly has it's share of mediocre tracks that just kind of take up time and space. Not something I could listen to at any given time, but possibly a disc that would stick in when I wanted some moderately active background music.

Wild Machine

Demo
2008

Wild Machine hail from Athens, Greece and originally formed way back in 2000 as War Machine (taken from the KISS song of the same name). They went through various line-up changes and eventually a name change as well. This three track demo by this hard rock/glam outfit was recorded live in the studio. My initial impression is that sounds like late 70’s AC/DC as funneled through 80’s acts like Krokus, Motley Crue, Guns and Roses with maybe a dash of early Skid Row tossed in for good measure. The music is basic, but revolves around strong grooves and a real sense that the band is in the driver’s seat. Yes, I have heard this style many times before yet where Wild Machine really excels is in how they take charge of the pace and twist it to their strengths. Many bands playing this same of music just charge forth, peak early and then clock in three and a half or so minutes and stop. Wild Machine head off in that direction, but instead of falling into being repetitive they actually even get more interesting several minutes in as they add as they change up the pace or save their most interesting guitar parts towards the end. The rip roaring solos and strong push at the end of each song gave me the sense that they had a lot of ideas and just really knew keep the songs pounding and keep their pulse going strong to the finish. The vocals were rough and gritty which was a perfect union for the music. Really the only problem I had with this demo was the production on the vocals. I had to go jump through three CD players and twist and flick numerous switches to get to a point where I could really hear the vocals fairly well. That’s a shame because they are very much a big part of this band’s appeal. Still they took rather standard ideas and beefed them up with a commendable execution and a nice degree of style.

http://www.myspace.com/wildmachine

What's coming up?

It's been a fairly average week and I have been plugging away at trying to keep up with reviews and everything. Here is what I hope to have out this week.

Reviews of...
Wild Machine-demo
Daylight Dies-Lost to the living
Steel Assassin-War of the eight saints
Blackberry Smoke-New Honky Tonk Bootlegs
Iced Earth-The crucible of man
Cream Pie-Dirty Job
Star Wars-The Clone Wars soundtrack (okay, it's not metal, but I received a copy so I am reviewing it)

Interview with...
Michale Graves
***This is the only interview I currently have in, but I have several out so I'll post another if one comes in this week.

plus...
Clash of the album covers

***Have a great week.

Year end project starts now

For the fourth year in a row I will be doing my top ten hard rock/metal albums of twenty years ago which means 1988. Here is the process...

August-I pick 20-25 releases from 1988 that I think have a chance of making my top ten.

August to October-I listen to all the CDs and narrow them down to 10.

November-I work out the rankings as to where each album places in the top ten.

December-On December 1st I reveal number 10 and then continue doing the countdown at a pace of one a day until number one is revealed on December 10th. Immediately after that I also do awards for the top five album covers, bottom five albums covers, most improved band and of course the Golden Turd Award. If you are not familiar with the Golden Turd then just wait until December because I always give a brief explanation before I award this great honor to a band.

Why do I do this project? It allows me to re-examine older albums and I always find an album or two that I underrated and some that I overrated plus it's fun.

So I have already started picking CDs and listening to a few as well. I need to start early because also in December I am going to do my awards for 2008 which I will expand to a top 25 albums because I have heard so much and I will do top five for re-releases and a top five demos. So let me know if you have any questions or suggestions and I hope you will enjoy the lists once December rolls around.

X-terra-Wolves

X-terra-Wolves
Self-produced
2003

This was actually recorded back in 2001-2002, but the writing credits extend all the way back to the late 1980’s. So we what we have here is Christian hard rock/metal that surprised me with the variety of sounds that it contained. The opener “Wake up” is a mid 80’s melodic hard rock with a strong rhythm section and the mildly rough vocals. Next up was “The sun will shine again” which came across some kind of stale pop/rock that might have jammed up the airwaves back in the late 1970’s, but it’s really the only weak track on the CD. After that it’s just a big roller coaster of different influences as we get about three tracks that sound like Poison, one kind of sounds like Twisted Sister, a couple that come near a British Steel-era Judas Priest sound plus one that musically reminded me of a cross between early Pentagram and mid-70’s Alice Cooper and more. I suppose the fact that the writing credits span a time period of 15 years has much to do with the wide variety of sound swirling around on this disc. I think that the strongest part of this disc was the rhythm section of bassist Anne Kachline and drummer Bob Kachline as they just kept solid pounding beats going and remained fairly consistent throughout. The guitars of Bill Hunt are solid and competent enough with a rich tone despite some slightly low production on a several tracks. Hunt’s vocals are mostly on track with a fair amount of range yet he certainly sounds better on the heavier tracks. The biggest shortcoming to me was that on several occasions the lyrics seem a bit jammed in like they are trying a bit too hard to squeeze everything in and the result is serious lack of any kind of flow. Still this is an album was a bit like grab bag because you never quite knew what was coming next because of the mix of sounds and largely the band handles most of the songs just fine.

Reflection-When shadows fall

Cruz Del Sur
2008

I hate it when I can't remember something, but usually there is a reason for my momentary lapses in memory such as being preoccupied or tired. Now what does my lack of memory have to do with this album or any album? Well, I set out to review this album by Greece's Reflection days ago and ended up listening to the whole disc four times. I wish I could say that it was because this album was so riveting that it pulled me back to it repeatedly, but that unfortunately was not the case. I would listen to the disc and then a little while later go to set fingers to keyboard and I would draw a blank. It was metal, I remembered that yet I just couldn't summon up enough of what went on to write a review. So by the fourth time I concentrated and I realized that the reason I couldn't recall much it's a rather forgettable album. I don't mean it's totally bad, but rather that it's all kind of plain and just lacking enough character or hooks to really make any impression. The music is kind of a cross between early progressive metal like Queensryche and Fates Warning and a little bit of 80's classic metal. The guitar tone is fine, but it's kind of drawn out and I kind of sit there with my mind starting to wonder off and I hoped they get to the point or any point soon. Sometimes they would get somewhere, but oftentimes it's just kind of there. Some powerful vocals may have been able to pull them out of the pit, but the vocals are kind of overly theatrical with mediocre range and more ham than range. I get a sense that Reflection had big ideas about constructing some grand epic tracks yet they just didn't have the skills to pull it off. So we get a rather hollow sounding release that takes a great deal of effort to make it through. Quite honestly in the end it certainly wasn't worth the effort either.

http://www.myspace.com/reflectiongr

Zebrahead-Phoenix

Icon MES
2008


Bringing many styles to the table can be fantastic providing of course that you know how to use the different sounds and can provide some time of balance. If someone had told me that a band could put together an album that includes elements of pop/punk/hard rock/rap and have it be riveting and exciting then I would have told them that they needed to come in out of the sun because it was effecting their brain. However, Zebrahead manage to encompass all of those sounds and shoot them into a frantic blend that stirs them all up and shoots out all the best parts for us to rapidly absorb. The music and vocals just bounce about relying on equal parts of strong melodies and pure energy. Zebrahead walk the balance beam between heavy and catchy and manage to stand up straight the whole way as they deliver both sounds in equal and effective amounts. Now I must admit that oftentimes a powerpop style makes me cringe because some bands who follow that style are really just watering down punk rock. Zebrahead on the other hand bring the best aspects of powerpop because slap down the smooth hooks and instantly likable choruses. That might even be enough, but they are obviously not satisfied with just one approach so we get some edgy hard rock and some rap vocals that manage to be genuine enough. There's a moment or two where they get a little repetitious, but they are near brilliant for about 95% of the album. Far better and more diverse than I was expecting as they just managed to offer up lots of ideas and then weave them together to make the whole even stronger than the parts.

Blackmore’s Night-Secret Voyage

SPV
2008

It’s another chapter in Renaissance-rock fusion style that Blackmore's Night Renaissance have become known for. There are no real surprises here for anyone familiar with this act which it’s pretty much bland ramblings with lots of syrup and very little soul. Vocalist Candice Night has a decent range and she’s not afraid to use yet at best it’s tolerable and at worst it’s fluffy and oftentimes lacking emotion. Still her vocals have more character than much of the music for the most part. Ritchie Blackmore is without a doubt in the top ten if not a top five hard rock/metal guitarists of all time. Yet that was before he became King of the gypsies I guess. Not that anything he does now could really tarnish his legacy, his prime was so rich and he was so influential that he certainly established himself years ago. That’s why he can pump this stuff out people still buy it because of his name. I hear the Renaissance part of their music although it’s a bit processed and clichéd oftentimes sounding like something you would hear the gypsies in an old Hollywood movie do. However the “rock” portion of the music is even more watered down if it really exists at all. The music is very glossy and more Ritchie Blackmore is often delegated to just popping out a few brief little runs here and there. It’s all too smooth and restrained for someone who lived for the big, riff–driven jams that he was known for in Deep Purple’s prime and the first few Rainbow albums. I think the motivation is here to create some sort of storytelling type feel, but everything about this album is just very fluffy and there just isn’t very much captivating about it. So this is one voyage that didn’t really go anywhere.

Grave Robber interview

Grave Robber are a punk rock band who are definitely influenced by the Misfits. They also dress like it's Halloween every time they step on stage and that's always a good thing. I recently got to interview vocalist Wretched to learn

Hello, tell me a little about the history of band.
Grave Robber began in 2005 as a side project of three different bands. My band broke up last year just as Grave Robber was getting signed, so this is my main focus and full time band now. We've been through far too many lineup changes in three years to bore you with here, but the current line up is: Wretched on vokills, Dr. Cadaver on bass and backing vokills, Plague on doom tubs, and Lamentor on guitar and backing vokills.

What are you currently up to?
Absolutely no good! We are trying to scare as many little girls as possible when we play, which is working out quite well I might add. Seriously, we are traveling around the midwest promoting our new disc, "Be Afraid", which is released on retroactive records.

Who are your musical influences?
The Misfits, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Gwar, Type O Negative, Danzig, Black Sabbath, Rackets and Drapes, Blitzkid, Wednesday 13, Rob Zombie, Virginia Creeper, you get the idea.

What has been the reaction to your new album so far?
"Be Afraid" has been extremely well received in Europe and Japan. It's exceeded our expectations. Reviews have been amazingly positive in The U.S., too. We only had on bad review from Maximum Rock and Roll. The review was too stupid for us to be offended, tho.

What are some of your favorite songs on your “Be Afraid” album? Why?I really can't pick a favorite because that's like trying to pick a favorite child. I love them all. It's a great feeling to be a fan of your own band.

Have you guys always worn the costumes on stage? Whose idea was that and do you think that you will always dress up on stage for this band?
Yes. It was my idea. I love theatrical bands. I love to see a band put on a show. Plus, I love Halloween and dressing up and such. It's a blast to "become" someone else on stage. Yeah, the costumes have more fans than we do! We will always do the costumes.



What do the costumes add to your show? Do you do anything else on stage like have a horror set or use any other props?
The costumes are probabaly 50% of the show. We use a bloody shovel, a blood cannon, fog machines, and sometime fire pots and other assorted surprises.

Obviously you have a horror look and horror themes in your songs. Yet you have Christian themes as well. Some people might think that these two ideas are conflicting. Is it difficult to get your spiritual message across while doing the horror look/theme at the same time?
We don't find the two themes conflicting at all. Ever read Revelation, the last book of the bible? Ever read some of the Old Testament stories of demons, divinators, and serpents. There's a lot of blood and scary things going on within those pages, y'know? It's not at all difficult to convey a spiritual message. People are smart. They know what's going on. The nice thing is that even if you disagree with our worldview, you can still completley "dig" the show.



Would you classify yourself as a Christian band? Why or why not?
Yes and no. We are all followers of Christ. No doubt about that. We are a Christian band in the sense that the band is comprised of all Christian members who play songs tha tultimately point towards Jesus Christ. However, we are not a Christian band in the traditional sense of what a Christian band is and does. We rarely play churches. We rarely play youth events. Ok, maybe we get a little more popular with youth groups around Halloween! haha! More often than not, I do say we are a Christian band, tho. I mean, Alice Cooper is a Christian. Would you classify him as a Christian artist. Sometimes I do! Brutal Planet was a masterpiece, Christian rock album. But not everything he puts out is "Christian", yet his faith peppers his life. Same with Grave Robber, except we are slightly more ministry oriented.

Who have you opened for so far? What have been some of your more memorable shows to date? Here's an alphabetical list of memorable bands we've played with: The Autumn Offering, Blitzkid, Bobaflex, CalabreseDeguello (ex-Fabulous Thunderbirds), Dope, Dr. Chud's X-Ward (ex-Misfits), Drottnar (black metal from Norway), Feast Eternal, Firstjason, The Fold, Gorgeous Frankenstein (Ex-Misfits, Blitzkid), The Independents, Mainline Riders (Ex-Huntingtons), Mensrea (Flattus Maximus of Gwar), Michale Graves (ex-Misfits), Mobile Deathcamp (ex-Gwar bassist)Murphy's Law, and Our Corpse Destroyed.

You have some interesting shows coming up it looks like. Tell us about some of them and which ones are you most looking forward to?
Oh man, we are playing some killer shows real soon. I guess I'm most excited about the Gorgeous Frankenstein show because it's with Doyle from The Misfits. The Horrorfest in Atlanta will be amazing, too.



I am assuming all or least some of you are horror movie fans. What are some of your favorites?Yeah, we all love scary, thriller, horror movies for sure. You really can't be in Grave Robber and not like scary movies, y'know? This is a really incomplete list, but off the top of my head I like Evil Dead II, Army Of Darkness, The Exorcist, Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy, Salem's Lot, Most of the Halloween movies, Most of the Friday The 13th series, Pretty much all of the Nightmare On Elm Streets, The Lost Boys, From Dusk 'Til Dawn, Night Of The Living Dead and pretty much all Romero films, Pet Cemetary, The Ring, Saw I, II III, and IV, The Hills Have Eyes, Demon Night, House on Haunted Hill (original one), Amittyville Horror, Creepshow I and II, The Gate, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre series.

Pick the band from each of the following pairs that you prefer and tell why you picked them.
Alice Cooper or KISS
Not a fair question. Next. (ok, Cooper is superior musically, so if I have to pick, it's Cooper. Still not fair, tho.)

GWAR or White Zombie
Gwar. Better show. Musically they are comparable.

Misfits or Samhain
Not fair at all. Misfits completely dominate Samhain! And I'm even a Samhain fan!

Is there anything else that you would like to say about your band or your music?If you are a Christian music hater, listen to us first before you judge us. Don't be one of those close minded people you say you can't stand! Thanx for the interview. -Wretched

www.myspace.com/graverobberpunk

Omni-Ghosts

Self-produced


2008



I always enjoy it when someone can merge two ideas that oftentimes seem very far apart. In this case it's melodies and and having a dark sound, the two ideas are often separate yet Seattle's Omni easily bring the two together in a blend that manages to bring out the best in both elements. Yet that's not all that this three piece band is doing here, rather it's just the beginning. They are a heavy, experimental, progressive band yet that description isn't completely accurate either. Am I waffling on defining this band? No, actually it's just that the music manages to be and do so much at the same time. The music is perhaps simple at times yet the tones manages to hypnotic at times with the huge depth of their sound and the way they pull so much out of each note and beat. Obviously they realize that it's not just about the notes, but also about the effect and the moods they create by sustaining each little piece and really crafting a huge sound out of simple parts and pieces. "Ghosts" is certainly an accurate title for this album because many of songs have parts that start out thin and lurking yet they suddenly become a strong presence and then routinely the music goes back and forth between the two states. They somehow manage to be in your face yet subtle as well because at first they don't appear to be doing a great deal yet it quickly soaks in that they really are doing a lot by create these bursts that go into different directions. Then once they have you hooked they just keep the onslaught of mesmerizing passages coming steady. Simply an album that works on many different levels and probably one where I will continue to discover new aspects to enjoy about it.

http://www.myspace.com/omniband

Interview with Warpath

Warpath are an old style thrash band from the UK and they recently released a powerful album called "Damnation". I recently got to interview them and find out more.

Hello, please introduce yourselves and tell us what instrument you play.
Hey Mark, my name’s Rich Goss and I front Warpath, playing rhythm guitar and main vocals.

I’m James Davenport the drummer.

Hi, I’m Pete Hawthorne and I pretend to play the lead guitars in Warpath!

Joel Jordan and I play the Bass guitar and backing vocals.

Tell us a little about your band’s history.
Rich: I formed Warpath in late 2003. We recorded a few demo tapes and played live for the following two years building our name in the UK. In December 2005 we entered Bridgerow Studio’s (Wales) to record the 5 track EP ‘Cataclysm’ which we released in January 2006, receiving positive reviews across Europe and worldwide airplay, helping to build the band’s name further in the UK and abroad. Just over a year later, James and I began to write and demo tracks for the Damnation album, with recording beginning mid-June. During this time Pete joined the band as lead guitarist, and soon after Joel on bass. The album was mixed and mastered in the USA around Christmas time, and then we shot the video for Damnation back in London, UK in January. The album and video were then released in May.



Who are your influences?
Rich: My rhythm guitar playing is influenced by Chuck Shuldiner (Death), Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) and James Hetfield (Metallica). Those guys are insane rhythm guitarists and listening to them always makes me want to improve my guitar playing. I’m also classically trained since the age of five, so I have a lot of influences there, my favourite being Paganini. I also enjoy listening to Andres Segovia’s guitar playing. Vocals…I wouldn’t say influences but my favourite vocalists have to be Matt Barlow (Iced Earth), James Hetfield on the ‘And Justice For All’ album, and Freddie Mercury.

James: Hmm, this is a tough question. I grew up listening to extreme metal and heavier music than the rest of the band did. Fear Factory’s drummer, Raymond Herrera, influences my drumming style, as well as Derek Roddy’s drumming in Hate Eternal and Serpants Rise, George Kollias (Nile), Tim Yeung (Devine Heresy) and Franky Costanza of French metal band Dagoba. I take influences from everything I listen to. I do like smooth jazz, classical percussion, Arabian and Egyptian tribal drumming.

Pete: For me I would say my main influences for playing started with Dave Murray from Iron Maiden. The first time I heard his lead work I was blown away by his tone and the way his solos just flow perfectly. Apart from him, I am heavily influenced by Jeff Waters (Annihilator), Glen Drover (Eidolon) and more recently Doug Aldrich who has played with Whitesnake, Dio, Lion & Hurricane to name a few.

Joel: My influences vary from a range of guitar and bass players. For bass it would have to be Cliff Burton (Metallica), David Ellefson (Megadeth), John Myung (Dream Theater) and Steve Harris (Iron Maiden). Those were the musicians that pretty much got me to pick up a bass and learn their amazing bass lines. I also appreciate a lot of vocalists including Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), Tom Ayra (Slayer) and James Hetfield (Metallica).

Tell us some about your new album “Damnation”. What has been the reaction to your new album so far?
Rich: The reviews and fans reactions so far have been phenomenal! Damnation recently won ‘Album of the Month’, has had a lot of ‘9 out of 10’s’ scores and was also recently rated in the top 5 ‘Metal Albums of 2008’, Testament’s new album being 1st on the list, and ours ranking 4th. Damnation sold out all copies in Osaka, Japan within two days of going on sale, which was great news. We were also the Number 1 Unsigned Thrash / Metal band on Myspace Top Artists for June. We’ve attracted label attention since the album’s release and our music video has been added to Scuzz TV Videos this week.

Joel: The way things are going is great! A lot of people have bought the album and love it. Fans show us a lot of support from around the world. Damnation selling out in Osaka just seemed incredible to me!

James: Crowd reactions at gigs we have played have been totally insane. There are people of all ages coming to gigs and going wild for us.

James Murphy (Obituary, Death, Testament) mastered your new album. How did you meet him? What was it like working with him?
Rich: When I was looking for someone to master the Damnation album I instantly thought of James Murphy, being a big fan of his tracks with Death and Testament and knowing of his production work. I contacted him and he agreed to work with us, which was a big honour! I was talking to him a few days ago actually about him possibly mixing the next album.

Pete: Yeah, when you hear the name James Murphy you instantly think, “Wow, this is some serious metal we’re in for.” For him to not only want to work with us means he likes our material and for someone like me who loves his work in Obituary and Disincarnate as well as the others Rich mentioned is just a metal dream come true!

What are some of your favorite albums of 2008 so far?
Rich: To be honest, I’ve been so busy I’ve hardly had any time to check out new albums this year. At some point I’ll be checking out Testament’s new album, as well as Gamma Bomb and Pitiful Reign’s.

Joel: Well most of my collection is from the 80s! But I’d say Gamma Bomb’s new album is pretty damn cool. Unfortunately, I haven’t really had the time to check out many albums this year. I did manage to get Dream Theatre’s ‘Best Hits’ which was a must because I am also a progressive fan!

James: Fury and The Flames from Hate Eternal and Prevail from Kataklysm. That’s pretty much it. Most of the other stuff I have heard is pretty much the same as albums from 2002 – 2007.

Pete: Kataklysm – ‘Prevail’ \m/

Who have you opened for? What have been some of your more memorable shows so far?
Rich: We played the first Full Thrash Assault Festival along side Evile and Pitiful Reign, which was cool. We’ve played hundreds of shows across the UK and played with many great bands. Unfortunately, we missed out on playing Bloodstock Open Air Unsigned this year, despite having the most votes. Go figure!



Have you played outside of the UK yet? If not then do you plan to anytime in the near future?
Rich: We’re currently working with booking agencies to play our first European shows later this year, with more planned for 2009. We’re also looking into the possibility of playing in Japan, as we have many Japanese fans and the album’s selling extremely well there.

There has been a great deal of thrash bands coming from different countries over the last few years. Why do you think there are so many younger bands doing a style that was so popular twenty some years ago?
Rich: Well, the whole predictable hardcore screaming and break down patterns really are becoming stale (in my opinion) and the metal scene is desperate for bands with killer riffs, fast drums, blistering solos, etc. But, I also think that it’s become trendy to play this style of music, so people are jumping on the bandwagon. You tend to see many bands that used to be a hardcore band now calling them selves ‘Thrash Metal’ which is amusing.

Pete: As much as I love thrash metal and it’s great seeing all these bands popping up, it is becoming somewhat of a, like Rich said “trend” to play fast, speedy, retro thrash, which is why I feel we stand out so much, as our musical basis is so much more solid and mature, instead of copying the latest craze.

Joel: Metal needs a fresh attack. Thrash is the one to do that! I’m sick of hardcore and screamo bands classing themselves as Thrash. Most of the music isn't even fast!

James: Seriously, how many people have seen kids on a stage having massive tantrums? It wasn’t even good to start with. All true metal fans are sick of massive labels signing these awful bands and TV is full of them. I’ve been listening to metal for years and years and I can only name a handful of bands that aren’t copying or ripping off other bands and calling it their own.



Do you think thrash bands of today are doing much different from the thrash bands of the 1980’s? If so, then how are they different?
Rich: Some are, but most aren’t sadly. The ones that do are playing with a more modern twist to it. Some are far faster than the 80’s bands. We incorporate death metal drumming techniques (kick drum patterns, blast beats, etc) into our songs to make it faster and more interesting, plus the riffs I write are fairly tricky to play rather than just standard E string tremolo picking! I think production nowadays is much better and has far more impact than before. I do think though that some of the new thrash bands are blatantly ripping off many 80’s bands. There are a few I listen to, where I don’t just think ‘That reminds me of Metallica and Testament, wicked’ or ‘Cool, you can tell they’re inspired by Exodus’, but I’ve actually found myself thinking or saying ‘What the hell…that IS a Testament riff!’

We’re extremely pleased that we’re carving out our own sound, and that reviewers are saying that we sound unique and stand out.

James: Writing the drums for Damnation was great. Rich’s face lit up when I showed him the ideas. Mixing extreme metal drumming with old school thrash made it sound awesome. We tried to avoid using a lot of blast beats because it kills the thrash feel to the tracks, everything is used at the right time and, with Rich’s input, we made the drum tracks brutal. We see a lot of the hardcore bands using blast beats that are played out of time and used all the time. It sounds terrible. I’ve noticed a lot of the thrash bands of today are going for this cartoon comic book image on their artwork; nuclear waste, gasmasks, bullet belts, etc. I’m not a fan of this. We deal with real life and things that affect everyone.

How have you guys progressed since you first started out?
Rich: Well, we started out as I think every other band starts out, recording on a tape player, writing as many songs as we could, but nowadays we’re far more selective with material. We’re far better musicians now than when we first started out, the song writing is more complex, and of course the recording quality is better.

James: When I first joined Warpath in 2006, I learnt a lot about how things work with writing and production. We don’t just slap together a few riffs, drums and call it a track; we make sure everything fits and works perfectly. When we do write a track, we spend hours trying different things out and variations that fit, making sure each note is perfect. I remember Pete recording the guitar solos for Damnation and Rich with the rhythm & vocals, hours of takes until we found the perfect ones.

In what areas do you think that you still need to improve?
Rich: For me, I’m constantly striving to improve my rhythm guitar playing and vocals. Although with vocals, you’ll never please everyone. Some people love my vocal style and some people dislike it. I just sing however I want. I refuse to sing ‘cookie monster’ vocals because I can’t stand that style; I think it’s ridiculous. I have a few new things planned for the next album though!

James: Screaming vocals in thrash aren’t cool. Thrash was never intended to sound that way. Drum wise, I will never consider myself good enough. I want to get to the level where things considered impossible are possible.

Pete: I am always trying to improve my playing in both rhythm and lead departments and push myself the best I can as a musician.



Pick the band from each of the following pair that you prefer and tell why.

Raven or Venom
Rich: I don’t like either band.

Pete: Raven…(the pack is back!)

Joel: Lay down your souls to the Gods of rock and roll! Venom wins this one. They kind of shocked everyone when they came out and that’s what’s cool about them.

Bolt Thrower or Onslaught
Rich: Bolt Thrower – Those Once Loyal kicks ass! Karl the vocalist was really complimentary about Warpath too, which was ace. I do like Onslaught as well though. I found out recently that I teach one of their guitarist Andy’s students too. He has guitar lessons from both of us.

Joel: They’re both really good bands. But I’d have to say the Bolt Thrower riffs draw me in more.

Pete: BOLT THROWER!!! (Although I love Onslaught’s 1989 ‘In Search Of Sanity’ and it is one of my favorite thrash albums, even though a lot of people dislike it. The track “Welcome To Dying” rocks!)

Testament or Exodus
Rich: Testament all the way! Exodus have wicked songs, but Chuck’s vocals win!

Joel: Testament! The songs are awesome and have some of the best guitar solos I’ve heard.

Pete: TestAmenT.

Anthrax or Slayer
Rich: Slayer without a doubt.

Joel: Slayer are a band you can let all your anger flow with. Tom Araya’s vocals impress me.

Pete: Umm neither, although if there was a gun at my head I would probably say Slayer!

Is there anything else you would like to say about your band or your music?
Rich: I’d like to thank everyone that has bought the album and our merchandise for supporting us. It’s always appreciated. Keep thrashing, and we’re looking forward to making new fans on tour!

Pete: We really appreciate everyone’s support so far and we can’t wait to meet new fans on the road. Watch out for us, as we are only going to get faster and way more technical! All the best & keep rockin’!!

http://www.myspace.com/warpathuk

Artillery-Fear of tomorrow

Metal Mind
1985/2008 Re-issue



Ahh Denmark's Artillery, a band who were in many ways ahead of the pack when they fired out their debut back in 1985. Many early thrash bands were still trying to figure out their style yet these guys had the heavy hitting, pulse pounding sound down very well. They were certainly ahead of the game when they released "Fear of tomorrow" because Artillery had cranked out a few demos before this and they obviously knew what they wanted to do. Now I was never as big on the vocals of Flemming Ronsdorf because his voice lacked some power and distinction that I think would have helped their cause. Still this was a powerful blast with tracks "The Almighty" and "Out of the sky" really laying the groundwork for heavy thrash. In many ways I think these guys slightly beyond many other acts at the time this came out. The problem was that they didn't get the notice they deserved and by 1986 so many bands were jumping into the thrash style and the whole scene was moving very quickly. Still "Fear of tomorrow" was a relatively creative release that should have shook the scene like thunder. Indeed I still believe that bands like Sodom, Kreator and perhaps even Slayer heard this album and were influenced by it. What's more that it holds up reasonably well for a 23 year old album and indeed the newer wave of thrash bands would do well to take lesson in aggression and pacing from Artillery's debut. This re-issue includes seven bonus tracks that all demo tracks from various points in the band's career. It also includes a lyric booklet that also background information on the demo tracks.

What's coming up?

Let's see this past week saw Brett Favre go to the Jets, John Edwards admitted to an affair and I am still trying to crank out reviews, interviews and occasional other topics. I hope to have out the following this week.

Interviews with...
Warpath
Grave Robber

Reviews of...
Artillery-Fear of tomorrow re-issue
Zebrahead-Phoenix
Reflection-When shadows fall
Omni-Ghosts
X-Terra-Wolves

and maybe another.

Plus either a Lesser of two evils or the Crossover post I have been hoping to get around to for the last eight months.

***Enjoy the week!

Motorhead-Motorizer

SPV
2008


A few years ago I was writing on a message board and someone mentioned buying the new Motorhead. I asked them what it was like and the answer was "it sounds like Motorhead". Indeed that did tell me a lot and Motorhead are one of those bands where you generally have a strong idea of what Lemmy and the boys are going to do. Doesn't mean that they are necessarily in a rut and if they are then it's a pretty entertaining rut to be stuck in. Anyway the new album is likely exactly what you would expect if you are at all familiar with the band as it's more dirty, grinding rock and roll with lots of grit. The opener "Runaround Man" sets the tone as it's thick as molasses sound roars on and Lemmy's growl comes pouring out as dry throated and likable as ever. We get real head bobbin', rip roarin' tracks like "Rock out" and "Buried alive" that follow a familiar pattern, but it's one that Motorhead helped invent and many other bands follow this blueprint as well. "Back on the chain" was slightly different to my ears as it follows a very choppy style, but the band quickly puts their stamp on it and turn into it a very controlled yet hard driving body shaker. Phil Campbell reaches down deep and pulls out some big almost sludge like riffs for "Heroes" and Lemmy belts it out even louder than normal as the track thunders along. The rest of the tracks fall in at various levels in between and there are not any real surprises nor are there any disappointments. It's just another chapter in the long and incredibly impressive career of a band that helped chizel out and carry on real killer metal . For Motorhead there is no hiding behind effects, complicated concepts or attempts to tie into the latest musical trends but rather it's the same old tried and true, headbangin' material that still gets the blood pumping right away. Only two things in life are certain... death and taxes, but the fact that Motorhead will put out good, pounding metal as long as Lemmy's heart is still beating isn't too far behind those other two things and it's more enjoyable to look forward to as well.

A New Dawn interview

A New Dawn hail from the Netherlands and I recently got to check in with them to find out more.




- Hello, please introduce yourselves and tell what instrument you play.
Jamila: Hello, my name is Jamila and I am one of the leading vocals. My gear is: AT wireless mic. + AT in-ear.
Elbert: My name is Elbert de Hoog. I play guitar in A New Dawn
Monica: Monica Janssen, bass guitar and raw vocal parts (grunts)

- Tell us a little about your band’s history.
In the 90’s Elbert played in a band, that he (co)wrote his first original songs with. When this band split up, he decided to record some of these songs, because he felt it would be a shame never to have recorded them at all in a proper way. This project was called A New Dawn. Elbert also recorded two cover songs, that he had played with other bands. Shortly after the demo was finished, he started playing in another band and the project was put on a shelve. Until a few years ago, he decided to record some new material under the name A New Dawn. Elbert teamed up with Sanne, who at that time was looking for a band or project. That was basically the beginning. Elbert was looking for somebody who could add some grunts to one of the songs we were recording and that’s when Monica came in the picture. After the recordings were finished, we got the idea to form a band to promote the recordings and that’s when things started for A New Dawn, basically.

- Who are your influences?
Jamila: I listen to all kinds of music, it depends on my mood. Soul, blues, rock, metal, jazz, pop and so on.
Elbert: Music-wise, my influences come mainly from the mid-80’s heavy metal with bands like Savatage Iron Maiden, Queensrÿche, Metallica. As a guitarist, I am a huge fan of Randy Rhoads, Criss Oliva, Eddie Van Halen and Brian May. Of course, there is a lot more.
Monica: All kinds of metal, but also rock, classical music, basically anything that enters my ears.

- What are you currently working on?
We just released our debut album “Falling From Grace”. Right now, we are promoting the album with our live shows, which goes pretty well, we might add. The reactions are quite overwhelming, which is a great thing. Of course, we have started working on new tunes as well. It’s like starting a new chapter on a blanc page. It’s quite exciting!

- Your MySpace page says that you once started off as side project, but have become the full-fledged metal band today. What other bands were you in and how does being in A New Dawn differ from being in those other bands?
Jamila: When I was younger I sang in a rockband called: Madieval. This band doesn’t exist anymore, but I enjoyed singing there. The last 8 years I sang background and lead in a soul/funk and disco coverband called: 2MF. We played songs like: It’s raining men, Relight my Fire, Disco Inferno. It was very fun to do and the bandmembers were very close.
Now I had to quit the band, because I couldn’t combine it anymore with A New Dawn. A coverband is great, but it would be greater to make your own music and get a fan base who really love your music. So with a lot of pain in my heart I told 2MF that I wanted to quit and I focus all my energy on A New Dawn now, and it all goes well.
Elbert: By the time A New Dawn was still a project, I played in a band called Mental Captivity. With Mental Captivity, there was one (male) singer, whereas A New Dawn works with more (female) singers. Working with more than one singer brings so much more possibilities in writing songs.
Monica: I have done a lot of different stuff, but still play in two other bands (X-Tinxion and Imp) besides A New Dawn, they differ a lot from what we do in A New Dawn.





- What are some of your favourite albums of 2008 so far?
Jamila: Like I said, I listen to a lot of different music and I really don’t have favourite albums.
Elbert: I definitely like the latest album by Judas Priest. It’s quite different from what they did before, yet so unmistakeably Judas Priest.
Monica: Depends on my mood, but I really like the Volbeat album.


- Who have you opened for? What have been some of your more memorable shows so far?
We’ve openened for After Forever, Delain, Epica, Battlelore and many others. The most memorable shows so far are the big show: with Epica in “De Kade-Zaandam” and with Epica in “De Groene Engel-Oss”. Also with After Forever and Delain. The audience was great and we’ve put on a great show. Opening for these acts often means, playing for bigger crowds, which is a great thing to do!

- What is the music scene like in your area of the Netherlands? Are there many hard rock/metal bands? Are there many clubs for local bands to play at?
Yes, the music scene counts up to 10.000’s of people who go to concerts of rock/metal bands here in The Netherlands. There are a lot of clubs where we can play like: De Baroeg, De Kade, De Groene Engel, P60, 013, De Bibelot, Escape and many others. The number of bands is huge. However, many bands do not last long. They are together for a year or so, and then they fall apart again. Playing in a band that starts out can be a tough thing. Because there are so many other bands, it’s hard to find a place to perform. You have to find a way to get noticed by venues and, of course, be persistent.

- It looks like you have a number of live dates coming up over the next few months. I noticed that you are playing an event called the Gothic and Fantasy Fair. Have you ever played at this event before and what exactly is it?
We’ve played on a Gothic and Fantasy Fair before. It’s a little bit different than concerts we play in venues like De Kade. At a fair you can come if you like Gothic and Fantasy. Gothic and Fantasy Fairs are basically fairs in bigger halls. Here you can find anything you can think of concerning Gothic and Fantasy (you can think of clothing, live role playing, interiour). During these fairs, several bands play a show. In the past we have played on some of these fairs (and in the future we will too) and they were always fun to do.

- How do you think that your band has progressed since you first started out?
We believe we are in a fasttrain right now. A New Dawn made some huge progressions since we started out and is doing really great. We only get more and more great shows.
When you start with a band, you are looking for a sound that suites the band. You look for the things that can make you special. We participated in some band-contest and used the jury-reports to see what things needed improvement and what things worked out fine for us.
We also think that we have grown in all possible ways. The music has evolved and become a bit tighter, the vocal parts have improved and we have grown as a team. A New Dawn is 6 very different people and 6 very different opinions, and writing new material seldom is an easy process, but somehow it takes the music to a higher level.

- In what areas do you think that you still need to improve?
You can always improve things in any area. Why not? We still think the best possible song is yet to be written, the best possible show is yet to be played and so on. You should never be too satisfied with what you accomplished. There is never an end to growth. The horizon isn’t something you can reach, it just keeps shifting as you move towards it.





- What are you doing that sets you apart from other bands going today?
The musical backgrounds of the various bandmembers are so different from each other, that it is basically impossible to even try to sound like any other band. We each put our own ingredient in every song and the result sounds like A New Dawn. Perhaps one thing that sets us apart is the fact that we have two, sometimes three singers instead of one lead singer that most bands use. Having more than one singer also gives us the possibility to sound live, the way we sound on CD, without the use of samples. Musically, we’re a classic heavy metal band with two guitars, bass and drums. No keyboards or samples. The harmonies and melodies come from the guitars and the vocals.
There is an old-fashioned element of twin solo’s and heavy metal and yet a very modern groove. The use of classical elements in vocal parts are often linked to gothic, but we think, because our music is so different from standard gothic, we bring something different to the scene.

- What other interests do you have besides music?
Elbert: I love watching movies and TV shows. I also like to design things on the computer. Most time is spent on making music and the things that come with that.
Monica: I like to read, write poetry, paint, but also like keeping myself busy and my body in shape. I like film, theatre, or just hang out with some friends at the pub.
Jamila: I like to go out with my friends and family, drawing and painting, watch movies and a whole bunch of other stuff.

- If you could only listen to three albums over the next month then what would you pick?
Elbert: Cool question! Let me see. “Tribute” by Ozzy Osbourne and Randy Rhoads. I remember hearing “Crazy Train” for the first time. I could not believe what I heard. Randy Rhoads was such a great guitar player and such a big example for me. The second one would probably be “A Day At The Races” by Queen. An album that holds one masterpiece after another. Beautiful arrangements, at one time subtle, then again heavy. “You Take My Breath Away” was played by A New Dawn in the very early days. A song that may look like a simple track, but it’s got such great chord progressions. Stunning. The last album would probably be “Live After Death” by Iron Maiden. Another live album, I know… What can I say… I love live albums and I love Iron Maiden. Iron Maiden were one of my main influences when I first started playing guitar. Adrian Smith is still one of my all time heroes. And perhaps (if no one looks) I might sneak “Falling From Grace” with me, because I really like that album!
Monica: Oh my god, that’s like asking me to sit still all day!!! Haha, I think I wouldn’t listen to anything, or maybe to some albums that are just released and not yet in my possession. I would like to hear the new Hollenthon album, Also the new Textures and Iced Earth.

- Is there anything else you would like to say about your band of your music?
We hope the people who read this interview care to visit our website at http://www.anewdawnband.nl/ or our MySpace at www.myspace.com/anewdawnband . Take a look at our videos to get an idea of our shows or have a listen to our songs. Hope you will enjoy! Come see us, so you can judge for yourself !!
Further we would like to thank you for this interview! You came up with some nice questions. Thank you.

The Dead-End Kidz-Unfinished Business

Self produced
2007



The Dead End Kidz (not to be confused with California punk act Dead End Kids) formed back in the mid 1990's and hail from New York. This is their second album and takes second to realize it's just pretty much pure solid hard rock with both feet firmly planted in the mid to late 1970's. That's means lots of in your face massive riffs that rely on swirling grooves and cutting heaviness. These guys were obviously raised on a diet of Ted Nugent, KISS, AC/DC, Thin Lizzy and UFO because those are the prime influences that I hear. In some ways it's slightly refreshing to hear this type of sound because these days many bands who reach back to the 70's go for the earlier part of the decade. Yet the second half of the 1970's had some great rock too and The Dead End Kidz obviously recognized that and pulled that style into their own sound which is very direct and concise. There are plenty of sing a long choruses that you will pick up on right away and likely you will be bobbing your head right away and belting out the simple anthems while you listen. There is no down time or wasted space in their music because everything just keeps pumping and pushing on. I don't think they are just a retro band either because the production and slightly different guitar tone let you know that they are putting some of their own touches on the style they love. The one real downside is that the vocals are a bit limited because they work well enough, but you can tell the range is short and a bit more versatility in that department might help some. Still this is a very steady effort and every track was enjoyable.



http://www.myspace.com/dekmusic

Zebrahead giveaway

Do you want a copy of the Zebrahead's new CD "Phoenix"? Well, then I have one to giveaway. Just go towards the upper lefthand side of my blog and there is some stuff about contacting me. Click on the word "Here" and then fill out the form and just write "Zebrahead giveaway" in the subject or the body and leave an e-mail where I can contact you should you win. I will do the drawing this Sunday and contact the winner.


Good luck!

Rosehill Drive- Moon is the new earth

Megaforce
2008

Colorado's Rose Hill have the sound of a band who know the pop hooks of more recent rock music, but their souls ultimately feed on guitar heavy classic rock. So what we ultimately receive is straight forward, blues soaked rock that bounces and plunges all over the place. It's not particularly involved, but it doesn't have to be when they have such a good handle on cranking at soaring, hook heavy tunes. There are a few moments between the cracks when you can hear that these guys are probably of an age where they were influenced some by the likes of the Black Crowes, Green Day and others yet the majority of the album shows their great love for Zeppelin, the Who and other late 60's/early 70's acts. The fuzzy, thick groove of "Trans Am" brings about thoughts of cruising on a summer evening with the radio blaring although at the moment it might be more affordable to just enjoy the song in your living room. The comfortable almost lazy smoothness of "My Light" manages to make the song seem like a familiar friend yet there is a definite air of freshness to it as well. Really there are not a whole lot of new ideas here, but there are a lot of likable and reliable formulas that make it rather easy to get into this album almost immediately. The smooth as silk vocals and the use of real honest to goodness finger-bending solos help to add to the depth of Rosehill Drive's overall sound. If there is a downside for this album it's just that it has come in a year where there are a number of other really good bands like Bigelf, Thieves and Liars, TAB the band and Shame Club who are also cranking out 70's inspired rock albums. So although very enjoyable, Rosehill Drive are not as unique as they might have been had they done this album say three or four years ago. Yet they have managed to create twelve songs of fairly, pure head boppin' rock and roll.

www.myspace.com/rosehilldrive

Clash of the album covers

Okay, it's two progressive metal albums from 1988. We have...



Crimson Glory-Transcendence

Vs.



Queensryche-Operation Mindcrime


***So which cover do you prefer?

The Seventh Power-Dominion and power

Retroactive
2008

The Seventh Power is made up of vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Bill Menchen (Final Axe), bassist Rod Reasner and drummer Robert Sweet (Stryper). So much like the debut from this Christina metal outfit we get plenty of mid-tempo, moderately heavy metal along the lines of late 80's-early 90's Ozzy. Like the debut they don't take a whole lot of chances however the guitars of Menchen are a good bit heavier on the new album as he reaches down and cranks out more than a few gems. The rhythm section is severely solid and the production has them exactly where they should be to compliment the guitar. They still don't take as many chances as I was hoping for, but there is a little more musical variation on this disc and that is much appreciated. I still very much give the impression that they could mix it up and vary the pace more if they wanted to and that would help even more. Overall the music made enough of an impression, but I had some definite issues. Menchen's vocals sounds like Ozzy... if he was singing into a cup. Now this is due to the effects that put on the vocals and that would be fine for a song or two, but it seems to be the standard here. To me this dampens the overall sound and that's a shame because the music is fairly heavy and could use some vocals that complimented that approach. The vocals were largely the same on the first album so either I question the motives of this approach or I am lead to think they chose it because Menchen's voice wasn't strong enough without effects. Now I have no idea which of those is correct, but I do know that the vocals could have been better. Still I will return to this one again just because of the music.

http://www.theseventhpower.com/theseventhpower.html

Shame Club interview

Shame Club hail from St. Louis and recently released an album called "Come on". I recently got to interview them to find out more.

Hello, please introduce the members of you band and tell what instruments you play.
Andy White - guitars
Eric Eyster - bass/ backup vox
Jon Lumley - Gtrrzz/Voxx
Ken McCray isn't here, but he's our drummist.

Tell us a little about the history of your band.
Jon: A couple of guys and I started Shame Club in May of 2000 on the premise of letting the sound develop very organically, without pushing ourselves in any one direction. No rules. It didn't take long to figure out that the simplest ideas, the most reflexive moves we could make were the only ones that sounded any good for us. We swapped out a number of players along the way. As a matter of fact I'm the last original guy. We sort of developed in a vacuum here in the Midwest that wouldn't have been possible on the coasts or in a larger city, but it certainly gave us time to hone our craft.

Who are some of your musical influences?
Andy: Deep Purple, James Gang, Aerosmith, Van Halen, Free.
Jon: Sly and the Family Stone, Guided by Voices, Zeppelin, Springsteen, Sloan, Thin Lizzy

Who came up with the band name and does it have any special meaning to you?

Jon: We stole it. It's a long, boring, plagiaristic story. Now there's some garage rock band in California using the same name. Serves us right. They're a garage band, though, which means they'll be breaking up any second now. If there's any meaning it's that shame is the great equalizer. We all have it. We should all own it.



What was the writing and recording process like for your most recent album “Come on”?
Andy: the recording took place over the course of a year during 3 trips to the lavish Mousetrap Studios, run by their chief engineer Carl Amburn. The tracking was pretty relaxed, Carl is really good at recording and creating a good environment. Most of the writing took place at Jon's house and was painful,arguments occurred etc. but the end product is pretty killer.
Eric: Had a great time recording in Oklahoma at Carl's, totally different recording experience because of the isolation-- and really chilled out. BBQ and Frisbee throwing during downtime.....ya can't beat it. We could get a lot accomplished in a day, plus we slept in the studio.
Jon: Lots of yelling. Writing for this one was a long process, but since we really don't have any money, time is our best asset when it comes to writing. Some of the tunes happened very quickly. The music for "Transamerica" was written in real time; I literally wrote that music and recorded the first track of the demo in the time it takes to play the song. One take. That was cool and instantaneous. "Don't Feel Like Making Love" and " I just Want You To Be Free" were very quick as well. In both cases I was demonstrating the main riffs to the guys and came up with the rest of the arrangement on the spot. Other tunes were much more difficult. "Light Shines" is the product of two days of Andy and I yelling at each other. "Lurch" went through a number of rewrites before we went back to the very first version of the tune. I do most of the songwriting, but we operate under the rule that we will try any idea anyone in the band has. It takes longer, but it's always worth the extra time.

What has been the reaction to your new album so far?
Jon: Cool. Pretty gratifying. Seems like folks are pleasantly surprised by the return of rock and roll.
Andy: We're still trying to find out, reviews have been good, like, all of them. I don't know if enough people have really heard us yet to say.
Eric: Seems like some people want to pigeonhole the sound, and can't and ultimately are glad they can't (as are we). The best are the ones that say "don't call it stoner-rock, it's just rock-n-roll"

What are some of your favorite tracks on the album and why?
Andy: "How Far" - because it's awesome."Transamerica" - because it's really just these big flapping chords slapping the shit out of you, really effective and really simple. Short, sweet, just always feels good when we do it.
Eric: I like "I ain't Surprised" cuz it just gets up and goes! I also like "Transamerica" because of the dynamics and simplicity. For some reason when we play live i really enjoy playing "I don't feel like Making Love" cuz it has a stomping headbanging sort of verse riff........and "I just Want You To Be Free" because its just really layered and dynamic.
Jon: Transamerica is a blast to play. It's so quick with a ton of tight little changes and no real repeats. It surprises people I think.

You have some dates set up over the next few months. Are you playing in areas that you have never been to before? Has the price of gas limited your touring plans any?
Andy: We actually have a van that runs on tears and cigarette butts, look into it on Planet Green. com, it's saving us a bundle. For your health!
Jon: Oh you're asking about gas money now? Yeah we're fucked. What are you gonna do though? Not play? With any luck the gas prices will weed out a lot of touring bands that just really aren't that good.
Eric: Yeah we'll be hitting Denver for the first time in a few weeks.........there are people there who've listened to us since 2003/2004 and we've never met them. Gas prices suck but if we don't make our guarantees at a rock show we usually just rob the venue and booking agent, that seems to break us even. We carry buck knives.



Didn’t you release “Come on” yourselves at first and then Small Stone Picked you up and re-issued it? How did you come to get signed by Small Stone and how has that relationship gone so far?
Andy: I sent it to Scott Hamilton, he dug it and called back immediately. We signed on within the week.
Eric: Scott and Small Stone have really been supportive, we finally played SXSW.

What were some of the first albums that you really got into and why?
Andy: The Meters double disc "funky miracle" , a collection released by Charly records that cuts right to the good shit of their early days . Fucking killer, literally my favorite recordings ever recorded. Axis Bold as Love Jimi Hendrix Experience was why I started playing guitar though, age 17.
Eric: I was a die-hard KISS fan as a kid......bought Alive II in 2nd grade, and saw 'em LIVE in 1979- and a lot of that showmanship is why I started playing and love playing live today. I got into all kinds of genres growing up from the Beatles to Black Flag to Bauhaus to Boogie Down Productions and never stayed confined to any in particular, I think that's helped me be open minded creatively.

What is the music scene like in St. Louis these days?
Andy: it's pretty fuckin' sweet. There are some cool things happening right now, I live here so it's hard to compare to say, all the time spent never living in other cities.

What do you think the music scene in general these days? Is it any better or worse than it was say ten years ago?
Andy: it's fine I guess
Eric: It's changed a whole bunch in the last 10 years with the Internet and what not........15 years ago bands weren't able to make their music so readily available, let alone burn a CD of it. It might be a tad harder today because before the internet, the hard working/touring bands used to rise to the surface- and now anyone with an MP3 can setup a myspace page and start trolling for "Friends". Youtube puts anyone in the spotlight. I sound like grampa here.



Pick the band from the following pair that you prefer and tell why.

The Who or Rolling Stones
Andy: the who, because rent "The Kids Are Alright" then rent "Gimmie Shelter", I enjoy the anger more than the lips. I love both of these bands.
Eric: Thats really hard. I think i like the "fuck you" attitude of the WHO and that gives them a slight edge in my opinion.
Jon: Gotta say the Stones. The songs are unbelievable. No that the Who isn't amazing, but the Stones speak to me a little more clearly.

AC/DC or Aerosmith
Andy: AC/DC. I just fucking like them better if you're gonna make me pick
Eric: Me too. The solid riffing and back beat you just cant fuck with. Makes chicks want to get fucked up and wiggle too.
Jon: They're both incorrect ......... The correct answer is Aerosmith. At least the first five or six records. They were great once.

Mountain or Thin Lizzy
Andy: Thin Lizzy, again hard but actually , our friend Gary just passed me and Jon every Thin Lizzy album , there is so much broad hippied out weird funky shit in there, particularly on their early albums, the songs "Call the Police" off Shades of a Blue Orphanage, and "Look What the Wind Blew in " and "Return of the Farmers Son" off their first record. Totally Amazing, I find them to be a way more interesting band than Mountain. Also, Phil Lynott is the Chester Cheetah of 70s rock, and lately yes, I am really really into all the double leads but I think they do way more than people credit them for as a band and Phil Lynott as a truly genuine writer. Gary Moore's Waiting for An Alibi solo destroys me , it's soo fucking rad. That being said, Leslie West's solo on "For Yasgur's Farm "off Woodstock gets an A.
Eric: I'm going with Thin Lizzy for the sleazy Phil Lynott vocal stylings, not to mention the wicked song hooks and guitar stylings. But to be honest I'll take FREE over both of them. Call me koo koo. I'll also take Van Halen (DLR only).
Jon: .... (i) Love Leslie West's tone, and there's some killer shit on "Climbing" (Theme For an Imaginary Western in particular aside from the hits), but Andy's right. Thin Lizzy on sheer volume of work alone. More tunes = better. Also, "Sugar Blues" by Thin Lizzy is pretty righteous.

Jimi Hendrix Experience or Led Zeppelin
Andy: If one has to exist and the other not at all, Jimi Hendrix.
Eric: Again......that's really tough. I heard Led Zep before I could even speak, when my Dad used to blast "IV". My Dad also blasted Hendrix. I think I took to Hendrix first, but as I grew up I learned to appreciate the ferocious and huge Led Zep sound and insane catalog of great songs over the wicked guitar playing of Hendrix. It sorta depends on the day of the week anymore.
Jon: How dare you ask me that question?

Is there anything else that you would like to say about your band or your music?
Andy: no
Eric: Keep buying and listening to it.
Jon: Listen to it. Have a good time.

http://www.myspace.com/shameclub

Bigelf-Cheat the gallows

Custard
2008

The number of bands that sound like 70's hard rock and rock seems to have almost doubled in the last year or two. LA's Bigelf follow-up to their 2007 release "Hex" isn't exactly what I expected, but it's actually brighter and they are certainly more talented than I had figured. Many of today's bands that lean toward 70's influences tend to lean towards a stripped down sound. However the opener "Greatest show on earth" lets us all know that Bigelf embrace the grand theatrical approach of 70's act such as Queen and David Bowie. Not all of the other tracks as large in stature, but they largely continue with a heady mix that brings in both strong melodies, memorable vocals but also quirky and often times unexpected passages as well. Along with Queen and Bowie I also heard some Pink Floyd and Beatles, but then just when I thought that I heard everything they had in their trick bag they would reach down and pull out a heavy riff or melody line that reminded me of classic Sabbath or early Pentagram. In the 70's those bands were a little removed from each other style wise yet these guys bring the two sounds together as if they were always intended to work together. The songs are just rich with so many sounds and stuffed with ideas that are mostly fleshed out yet somehow it all sounds very natural. Just as important as the sound is the delivery and listening to Bigelf is probably similar to loading yourself up on cotton candy and then going on a rollercoaster because this album is like a great big hazy, self-indulgent ride that will still be in your mind long after it ends.

http://www.myspace.com/bigelf

Defiance-Product of society

Metal Mind
1989/2008



Metallica and Exodus were the first bands to emerge from what would soon be known as the Bay Area scene. Thrash was still being defined and bands were trickling out between say 83-85, then 1986 saw a rise in popularity for this high energy style of metal. By 1987-1988 bands were popping out of everywhere and the San Francisco-Oakland area had more than their share of acts hoping to be the next Metallica. One of those many bands was Defiance whose debut originally came out in 1989 on Roadrunner records. I actually had not heard this album in at least 18 years and it didn't make a huge impression on me back then. However hearing it now I realize two things about it and they are that these guys sounded a whole lot like early Testament and that this album is better than I gave it credit for in 1989. They have much of the tight chugging early Metallica/Exodus type riffs that defined many of the bands from that scene. However like Testament they alternated heavy bits with guitar parts that would break up the one dimensional approach and then go back and forth. The production is slightly stripped down and I think that helps here because I think the raw sound normally worked well with thrash. The guitar duo of Doug Harrington and Jim Adams was a very solid pair and perhaps this band's strongest feature. They weave their way back and forth with plenty of quick cuts and driving heaviness and they show slightly more technical skill than a number of players of the time. I wasn't as impressed by the vocals of Ken Elkington which were adequate, but not all that memorable. This re-issue has eight bonus tracks including several demo versions and a few live tracks. Defiance's Product of society is an album that I'm afraid that underrated a little bit when I first heard it back in 1989. I am certainly glad that Metal Mind have put it out again so I can appreciate it now.

What's coming up?

So I wake up yesterday, go to the bathroom, start the coffeee, get a bowl of cereal and go the computer to check out the blog entry I wrote the night before that was going to post on August 1st. Lo and behold it was not there so I log in to my dashboard and find a message telling me my blog has been flagged as a possible spamblog. So I put in to have it reviewed believing I had done something wrong. Only hours later did I learn that blogger was having problems, but unfortunatley the problem lasted for over a day, but now all appears to be back in order. So I can once again churn out badly written dribble about a variety of bands. I was so frazzled by the problems yesterday that I didn't plan out all that I will be reviewing this week. I do know that I will review Big Elf-Cheat the gallows some time early in the week, but the other CDs I review will just depend what I am in the mood for or what I grab first. Also I will have out ....

Interviews with...
Shame Club
A New Dawn

and probably a Clash of the album covers

***I think at some point the statement on my blog towards the upper left said something about reviews and other stuff I would be doing at my blog. Then about a year into the blog I changed it to "All about the music I love" which has been up there for about two years now. I guess that does sort of tell what I do, but it's a little dull so I chewing over some other choices. Here they are....

Fleeing from the Cylon tyranny

Speed of lightning, roar of thunder

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun

I like to conversate with those things that fall from the sky

If I were a gumdrop then I would be grape

***Okay, I didn't actually create any of those except for the last one. The second to last one was uttered by a guy I knew in college who would wake from a sleep, eyes open and start spouting off odd crap yet he never remembered saying any of it. The other three you should know and if don't then you should have been watching more TV and movies.

Danger-First Touch

Self-produced

2008





Sweden's Danger return with their fifth and certainly most accomplished demo to date. It includes six songs, but really only three new offerings. The opener "First touch" is sort of a Motley Crue by way of Crashdiet sound, it's mid-tempo sleaze glam rock. It's fairly simple and straight forward, but they have a decent break where they change things up a little and show more control than they have in the past. "Miss Money" is perhaps a little more upbeat and more along the lines of most of the other material I have heard by them. It's short and to the point, but fun enough as it's got a simple yet memorable chorus. Again it's mostly like Crashdiet with maybe a pinch of Motley Crue and a dash of Faster Pussycat. The third track "Hey You" was the one that impressed me the most and perhaps the one song here where they really made the best attempt at defining their own sound. It has strong melodies and a fairly exciting main riff as they take the music and bend it to their will this time around. Just a very solid, likable track with everyone really contributing to the overall sound. The other three tracks are "California Red", "Shove it" and "On the run". All are good songs that were released on previous demos and although they are supposed to be remixed I can't say that I hear a great of difference from the original version. However the focus here is the three new tracks and overall the band isn't going to overwhelm you, but they have certainly gotten tighter and the production is a little better. They are not going to blow your mind, but their biggest strength is that they are steady and consistent. Every song I have heard from them has at least been good so that's a major plus. I am sure that it for them to emerge from what is a fairly competitive field in their country right now, but I hope they get signed because they seem to be rowing on each demo. I would be interested to see what they can come up with when they get the chance to do a full length album.



http://www.myspace.com/bestdanger

First Day Flashback

I had already heard and enjoyed WASP's self-titled debut by the time their sophomore effort "The Last Command" was released in the fall of 1985. This one got some attention both good and bad as it came right on the heels of the whole PMRC uproar. WASP had already getting flack for their "Animal(F*ck like a beast)" single from the year before and here they were putting out an album where one song had "sex" as part of the title. Oh, my goodness what a bunch of heathens. Anyways I remember hearing this album shortly after it was released and I liked it, but still liked the debut more because I thought it was heavier. Now I actually prefer this album to the debut because the writing was a little more involved, everything was a little tighter and the songs were a bit more varied in pace. I still listen to this regularly and I think it's of WASP's best albums and one of the best metal albums of 1985. I still have memories of from the winter of 85/86 listening to this on my tiny tape player in my room and staring at the cover thinking Blackie Lawless was some kind of madman.