Dark night of the scarecrow

One Saturday night in the fall of 1981 I was watching TV with my family and a made for TV film called "Dark night of the scarecrow" came on. The plot involved Bubba (Larry Drake of Darkman and Dr. Giggles) being accused of hurting a young girl. A group of good ol' boys lead by Otis Hazelrig (Charles Durning) quickly grab up their guns and hunting dogs and head off in hot pursuit after Bubba. They eventually chase him to a field where they realize he is hiding in the scarecrow's clothes. Birds fly up suddenly and shots ring out as the four "hunters" let loose over twenty bullets into Bubba in their form of mob justice. Only minutes later they are informed that it was actually a dog that hurt the girl and Bubba actually saved her. Quick thinking Hazelrig plants a pitchfork in Bubba's dead hands and the four men are found innocent as they claim self defense. Bubba's mother and the prosecuting attorney both have words with the four killers, but Hazelrig and his friends shrug it off and go on to celebrate at the local bar. The mood changes when a scarecrow begins to appear in the fields of the four men and one by one they meet sticky ends in "farm accidents" until leading to a final chase with Hazelrig in a pumpkin littered corn field. It's unclear who is getting revenge until the very end of the film. This film made a huge impression on me back then. It's a film that revolves around suspense and is actually scare without much good. All of the acting is strong with Charles Durning's despicable Hazelrig being the top stand-out. I remember the next Monday in school that the main topic of discussion amongst sixth grade boys was "did you see that horror movie with the scarecrow?". It was probably another 15 years until I saw it again in the 90's on cable and again it was just as good as I remembered it. In recent years bootlegged DVD copies made the go around and rumors of an official DVD release came and went with no results until this year. In September the kind people at VCI finally put this film out on DVD complete with an audio commentary with the makers of the films and the original TV commercial. Definitely the most anticipated horror DVD release of 2010 for me and it's just as good as I remember it being almost thirty years ago.

What's coming up?

Hope to review Saw 3D and a horror movie before the end of tomorrow. Next week I'll review the latest from Helloween plus two others as well as Clash of the album covers, Marcie Free interview and details on the contest to name a new feature.


***Have a great week!

Omotai-Peace through fear

Self-produced
2010

This EP from Houston's Omotai is a collection of five songs and comes in just over 12 minutes in length. That's a relatively short time, but this band manages to push plenty of ides and sounds into that time period. The style is a combination of post-metal wildness with some heavy grind style barrages, some progressive passages and just a general dose of noise and energy. The first track had adjusting the sound on my stereo because the vocals were very low. I am not sure if that was intentional or not, but it was slightly distracting. The opener as a whole didn't grab. It had some moments, but just as it started to interest me it was over. The rest of the album fares much better because they give you plenty of meat in their sound right from the start. Don't expect a definite focus in the sound though, but just sit back and prepare be bombarded by the quick changing assault that will overtake you. The ideas are intriguing, but you have to really concentrate because the band quickly moved forward to the next idea. My only complaint on the album as a whole was that I felt that the band had the skill and creativity to stretch the songs out even more. I think they and the listeners would benefit from that the next time around. Needless to say I would to see what they could do on a full length effort. My expectations would be high based on what I heard here.



http://www.myspace.com/omotai

Adrenacide-War begs no mercy

Slaney
2010

Our metal history tells us that crossover was a mixture of metal and punk. Primarily thrash and hardcore coming together. This phase hit it's peak around 85-88 and started out soon after. Like all styles from the 80's someone somewhere liked it enough to try and re-create it. The UK Adrenacide. have been around since 2003 and have to date knocked out six full length releases, an EP, a demo and a couple of songs on some compilations. They very much love 80's crossover and thrash and attempt to re-create it. Now I have heard some of this band's releases before and have to right away say that "War begs no mercy" is a huge improvement over what I have heard from these guys in the past. The albums I have heard before were likable to an extent, but rough and one-dimensional on numerous tracks. The production this time around is far superior although there is a song or two where the vocals could have come up slightly in the mix. The main aspect is the music. There are far more tempo changes and just a greater feeling of confidence all through most of the material. They copy their idols as they sound like a mix of DRI, Anthrax and others. The lyrcis are not very deep as they normally focus on beer, violence and thrashing around. However, there is a definite feeling that they are finally coming into their own to an extent as well as far as the music goes. Whether this change is due to practice, experience or whatever I don't know. I do know that Adrenacide have gone from being whose albums are worth hearing once to a band who I want heard repeatedly. Hats off to a fine effort.

Contest coming soon

I need your help naming a new feature that will start in January so I am going to run a contest starting November 1st to give everyone a chance to contribute their ideas. There will be a prize for the winner of course. So on the 1st I'll post more details and you can starte entering then. So get your brains ready, stop by here between the 1st and the 15th for details and enter.

Battle of the bands

It is...


Pantera

vs.


Prong


***Which band do you prefer?

Clash of the album covers

Here you go.


Gwar-Hell-o

vs.


Impaler-Rise of the mutants


***Which cover do you prefer?

Unruly Child-Worlds Collide

Frontiers

2010

I am not always a huge fan of AOR, but if done I can certainly get into. In recent years there have a few releases of this style that hit me just right. The newest from Unruly Child certainly falls into that category. The line-up from the band's 1992 debut has returned for this release. If anything they are even tighter then they were almost twenty years. I must have admit that I have been a fan of vocalist Marcie Free (King Kobra, Signal) for a long time, but was skeptical as to if her voice was still. I should not have let those doubts cross my mind because she can still belt it out. Just a fantastic display of range and how to create moods with every line. The band as a whole approaches this album like it has been months rather years since they recorded together. If anything this is the smoothest and most focused album to come from this band. I often felt that their other albums had high points, but also contained songs where the band seemed to be searching for a direction. On "Worlds Collide" they are completely in control as they sweep their way through some fantastic melodic hard rock/AOR. Many of the songs have choruses that you will stick in your mind right away. I do wish that they knocked out maybe one more rocker type song, but still this is a must hear for fans of the style.

What's coming up?

I hope to review the new Unruly Child and a horror movie DVD in the next two days.
Then next week will include reviews of the new Helloween, Omotai-Peace through fear, SAW 3D soundtrack, Battle of the bands, Clash of the album covers and maybe a topic on metal and Halloween together.
My horror movie watching from this past week includes-
Invasion of the body snatchers
The Howling
Isle of the dead
Scream of fear



***Have a great week!

Atlantean Kodex-The golden bough

Cruz Del Sur
2010


This band has been at it for some time knocking out a couple of EPs, a split release and even live release before now releasing their first full length album. They seem to be getting the term "epic metal" slapped on them. I can see that in some ways due to the length of the tracks and the storytelling element that is present in many of their songs. At their root these guys are a traditional or classic style metal band not far off from the likes of Manilla Road and Omen. Now they do branch out their sound more and pull upon power and even doom metal, but at the heart of their material is solid 1980's style metal. It took me a few plays to really warm up to this album because they go by their own pace and it takes some real patience and attention on the part of the listener to observe to truly soak in all that Atlantean Kodex are creating. This is a truly a journey complete with curves, twists, mountains and valleys swirling with sound as they create a a truly multi-textured musical landscape. Now with any album of this style it's bound to hit a few bumps. Indeed there were a few moments where I was left feeling cold or dry because the band went on a bit too long. Still this is largely and effort with a great deal of heart and soul behind it.

Valdur-Raven god amognst us

2010

For years most of the notable black metal bands in the last decade have come from the other side of the Atlantic. However there have been a few stand-outs coming from our shores in recent years. Based on their latest effort California's Valdur could be added to that list of up and coming bands. I could easily say that they avoid being predictable and manage a great deal of control over all that they do. That's all true, but it doesn't quite do them justice. They manage the pace and know to slow their steamroller down and when to burst foward. Yet they avoid falling into the trap of just being a one-dimensional blast of noise. They build the heaviness into frenzied levels, but it never gets out of hand and it never goes in one direction for too long. They always manage to slow it down on bring it into an interesting passage. Still all of these changes help build the songs up. Actually the album largely gets better as it goes along. I am not sure that it needed three instumentals as they only serve to slow down the momentum. Still this is a fine outing from a band who are building their own identity with this effort.

Clash of the album covers

Here you go.


M.O.D.-Surfin' M.O.D.

Vs.


Sacred Reich-Surf Nicaragua

***Which cover do you prefer?

What's coming up?

I've been watching lots of horror movies in honor of the upcoming holiday. This past week I've watched Frankenstein must be destroyed, John Carpenter's The thing, Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter, Kingdom of the spiders, The last man on earth and The Monster Squad. I of course plan on watching more this week. As far as this site goes I still owe reviews of the new Valdur and a horror movie. I also hope to have out reviews of the latest from Unruly Child and Atlantean Kotex plus Clash of the album covers.

***So watch some football, get outside some too, watch some horror movies at night and enjoythe weekend!

Lightning swords of death-The extra dimensional wound

Metal Blade
2010

Lightning swords of death have knocked out a full length and a split album before this album which is their first with Metal Blade. Sometimes a band name is just a name, but other times it can be representitive of a band's style. The act falls into that second category for sure. This band sure doesn't in believe in a lot of build-up or varying passages, but instead they fire off a blistering brand of blackened thrash. They manage to to be raw and powerful without pausing or hesitating one iota. So if you like a steamroller style then you are in for treat. The title track and Ventor of the black beast are my favorites as they tie in some thick doom pieces in. These are probably the catchiest tracks on the album as well. The only problem with this release is that most of the songs are merely good, but not great and they likely are not anything you have not heard before. I love their energy and their focus, but there isn't quite enough to make me think they are one of the absolute best in their genre. Still worth checking out though.

Clash of the album covers

Here are some horror themed album covers. It is...


Gama Bomb-Tales from the grave in space


vs.


Toxic Holacaust-Hell on earth


***Which cover do you prefer?

Let the games begin

December is not far and that means the top 25 albums of 2010 list. Which means I actually begin listening to contenders now in order to narrow them down and have it done in two months. I stay open to end of the year releases that be worthy of adding in, but now I am making a stack of possibilities and I'll be playing some back to back for comparison. It's also a fun, but often tough process.

Interview with Skull Hammer

I first heard Skull Hammer a few years ago on their "Fear the truth" EP and was certainly impressed, but their new album"Pay it blood" floored me right away. Now I had the pleasure to talk vocalist/guitarist Steve "Ace" McArdle about the band and their new album.



MM-Tell us some about the history of your band.
Ace-I started the band a few years ago, with 2 different members and dedicated the band to creating original, true heavy metal. I haven't strayed from that concept.


MM-You have a new out called "Pay it in blood". Tell us some about it.
Ace- The new CD is is our 1st full-length and features new members Dan Kowal on drums and Glen Reed on bass.

MM-What are some your favorite songs off of the new album and tell us what you like about them.
Ace-Some favorites are I Defy (powerful anthem), the title track (fast with strong chorus)
Balls to the Bone (heavy and intriquite riff)

MM-It has a great cover. Who is the artist?
Ace-cover art by J.P. Fournier (also did Dragonforce, Epica, Immortal etc.)

MM-You have had some line-up changes since the "Fear the truth" EP. Tell us about how those changes happened and the new members came to join the band.
Ace-As the band started taking off, the original members were realizing how much time & effort goes into a band like this and were getting disillusioned with the responsability.

MM-Were all of the songs on "Pay it in blood' written with the current line-up or did any of the writing begin before the line-up changes?
Ace- Most were written with the current line-up, but Blasphemy and Gladiator were written back with my old band Lethal Fury.

MM-The new album seems to be far more of a thrash focus where as "Fear the truth" was more of a cross between thrash and classic style metal. Do you agree with that or not? If so was the style change intentional or just a natural progression?
Ace- Yes the new CD is "thrashier" than the 1st, it was just a natural progression. Dan is a very strong metal drummer and gives the band a much more powerful feel.



MM-Why should people buy "Pay it in blood"?
Ace- Because it is a quality recording that kicks ass and features 10 all-new songs that all sound cohesive, yet unique. Plus, we could use the money...and the cover rocks!

MM-What bands have you shared a stage with so far?
Ace- Ravage, Razormaze, Rattlehead, Devastator, Lizzy Borden, Empire Shall Fall, lots more...

MM-What have been some of your more memorable shows so far?
Ace- Lansing, Mi was a really good show. so was Metal Up Your Tap in Chicago.



MM-What's the music scene like in your area?
Ace- Good, there is as strong metal community in the local area.

MM-If you could pick only three albums to listen to for the next month then what would you choose?
Ace- Slayer- Reign In Blood, UFO-Strangers in the Night, Agent Steel- Skeptics Apocalypse

MM-Any unknown bands in your area that you want to mention?
Ace- Lich King kicks ass -they're not really "unknown" though, they are pretty well known. New band we played with that was cool was manic repressive.


MM-What are thoughts about the current state of metal. Is it getting better, worse or about the same as it was years ago? Why?
Ace- Metal seems to be having a good resurgance lately. I know we will get lumped in with the new breed of thrash bands which is cool, even though I've been writing these songs for a long time. I think things are pretty healthy these days given the state of the economy, etc.

MM-What are some of the best albums that you have heard so far in 2010?
Ace- Just picked up the latest from "Headhunter" I love Destruction & Schmier -always get their CD's. Orden Ogans' CD is cool, and I like Black Future by Vektor another band we played with.

MM-Pick the band you prefer from each of the following pairs.
Ace-
Manowar or Running Wild
Running Wild - I love pirate metal -what can I say?

Megadeth or Metallica
Megadeth - No one tops Mustaine.

Exodus or Overkill
Overkill - but Exodus is just as great (ok that's a tie)

Judas Priest or Motorhead
Lemmy is one of my hero's, but I've been listening to Priest longer.....

MM-Is there anything else that you want to tell us about your band, your music or anything else?
Ace- I hope that everyone that reads this checks out our new CD "Pay it in Blood" we worked hard on this album and are very proud of it. Check out tracks on our myspace page or we should have www.skullhammer.net updated soon.
Thanks to Mark and everyone who supports the metal. Steve "Ace"


http://www.myspace.com/skullhammertheband

Clash of the album covers

Two more to choose from.


Helstar-Nosferatu

vs.


Savatage-Sirens

***Which cover do you pefer?

The Atlas Moth-The One Amongst The Weed Fields

2010

Cover albums are not always my favorite format, but at least Atlas Moth offer theirs as an EP. First up is "Five to one" by the Doors. Choosing to cover the Doors is typical these days, but fortunately Atlas Moth dig deeper in their rendition. The vocals are growling and the build is slow and raw like a huge mechanical beast rising from a long sleep. Not at all a version that's easy to get into the first time. It's a grower, but it's power is in the fact that the band took the time to adapt it to their sound. Next up is "California Dreamin" by the The Mamas & The Papas. If I had heard this a few months I would have been impressed. I say this because just recently I heard a cover of this song by a band called Mississippi Bones. Mississippi Bones slowed it down and heavied it up with a kick in the gut type vibe. Atlas Moth do a similar interpretation and it's good, but much of the surprise factor wasn't there for me because another band beat them to the punch. "Fearless" by Pink Floyd is my favorite cover here in huge part because the Atlas Moth sound very comfortable tackling it. Their knack for building textures comes into play on this track. Last up is a cover of "Golden" by Failure. This is the least interesting cover because they follow the original very closely, but add virtually nothing of themselves to it. All in all a decent covers album.

Mississippi Bones-s/t

Self-produced
2010

Despite the band name these guys actually hail from Ohio. It's also just two guys making all this racket with Dusty Donley handling guitars, bass and programming while Jared Collins takes care of vocals and programming. This disc is a combination of stoner rock, grunge and just plain rock with some southern fried twang around the edges. So think like Cult, Soundgarden and Black Sabbath coming together for a wild ride. This is a fun, fuzzed out collection of songs that take seconds to get into. On one hand they sound so on and everything just falls into place automatically. On the other hand they hold to that spontaneous spark that makes it sound like a couple of guys jamming away in a basement one evening. Whatever the case they know how to pull everything together. The riffs are basic, but these guys know how to convey emotion with ease. Whether it's head bobbin rockers and thick chugging songs this band manages to sound genuine through and through. That's the kind of spirit that's all too rare in music, but Mississippi Bones manage to capture it and honesty in one's music goes along ways. My only real complaint on this band is that I didn't hear about them sooner. Certainly worth checking out.

http://www.myspace.com/mississippibones

What's coming up?

I'll two more CD reviews and a horror movie review out this week. Next week I'll aim for three reviews and two Clash of the album covers at least.

Battle of the bands

Here is a big one, it is...



Black Sabbath

vs.



Led Zeppelin

***Which band do you prefer?

Mutilated Messiah-Total Fucking Slaughter

Slaney
2010

This Irish band has been around for seven years and have previously knocked out a pair of demos and been on a split album, but this marks their full length debut. Now my first reaction to the album title was "okay, these guys think they are going to be shocking". Instead much of the lyrics sound like a 14 boy had a bad day and quickly scribbled down the first names and topics they thought would get a reaction from "adults". Okay the lyrics are juvenile. Beyond that I expected this album to be death metal of the noisy variety, but that's not totally true. The vocals are mainly old style/early 90's death style with plenty of grunts and growls. The music is the surprise because although there is a strong death influence they also reach back to the 1980's and there's even some hints of doom worked into the onslaught. This trio obviously spent some hours listening to early Sodom, Hellhammer, pre-Into the Pandemonium Celtic Frost and maybe even the mighty, but all too overlooked Post Mortem. Despite the lack of creativity with their lyrics and a somewhat heavy handed approach overall, this band still manages plenty of moments where they pull together mountains of ripping riffs that vary from skull bashing death to spine rattling thrash to blood-curdling doom. For the most part they handle all of the styles with with skill and enthusiasm. It's in the music where this band really succeeds because they capture the spirit of the early days of death metal. They could stand to tighten up around the edges and broaden their topics for sure, but this album has plenty to offer.

Clash of the album covers

Here you go.


Skeletonwitch-Beyond the permafrost

vs.


Witch-s/t


***Which cover do you prefer?

Dragons Cave-Elektro Motion

Self-produced
2010

Dragon's Cave is a project for Italian guitarist Steve Angarthal who also assumes the vocal duties this time around. This is pure European style melodic metal that's heavy on the guitar solos. To their advantage the timing is spot on, the melodies are ever present and the production is smooth as silk. The solos and fretwork are plentiful of course, but Angarthal manages enough control and skill to work the shredding into the songs for the most part. There are some bits that are too self-indulgent, but I expected that. Overall there is a feeling that even more the involved guitar pathways on this album work towards building up the songs rather than just being their own focus. Mainly the writing and playing is tight and lively enough to maintain my interest. The vocals are not always on because there are spots where the lack of range shows up, but overall not bad. My biggest complaint was that I kept hoping for some real outbursts of energy and there a few sparks, but in many ways the mood stays too cool for me to really get totally excited about. I admire the skill displayed here, but didn't totally get the feeling that the emotional level was as high as the skill level. On a technical level there is much to offer, but not so much beyond that. That's something that may come with time, but emotion is harder to bring across than skill. Dragon's Cave put a great deal into skill more than anything else.