News, Music and Product Reviews
Click on the links to see some killer vids.
Into Eternity - Timeless Winter
Into Eternity - Spiralling Into Depression, Live
Into Eternity - Severe Emotional Distress, Live
Into Eternity - Beginning of the End, Live
Himsa - Unleash Carnage
Napalm Death - Silence is Deafening
Paradise Lost - Praise Lamented Shade
Sentenced - May Today Become the Day, Live
Napalm Death F.E.T.O. Shirt
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Napalm Death Logo - Smear Campaign Zipper Hoodie
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BEHEMOTH Signs North American and European Deals With METAL BLADE
RECORDS (1/11/2008)
Metal Blade Records has inked a North American deal, as well as a
European deal, with BEHEMOTH.
Behemoth
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Behemoth And the Forests Dream Eternally (IMPORT)
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Behemoth Grom (IMPORT) Shirt
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Behemoth Symbol Triple Wide Cuff Watch
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KATAKLYSM Guitarist To Appear At NAMM (1/11/2008)
KATAKLYSM guitarist Jean-François Dagenais will make an appearance at
NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants), which is being held from
January 17 to January 20 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim,
California. Although no signing sessions are planned, Dagenais will be
hanging at the Washburn Guitars and Randall booths on January 18.
Purchase Kataklysm shirts
Kataklysm Serenity in Fire Shirt
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SODOM, ENTOMBED Confirmed For Germany’s WALPURGIS METAL DAYS VIII
(1/11/2008)
SODOM, ENTOMBED and NAGLFAR are among the confirmed bands for the
Walpurgis Metal Days VIII festival, set to take place May 2-3 in
Hauzenberg, Germany.
Purchase Entombed shirts
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Purchase Sodom shirts
Sodom In the Sign of Evil Shirt
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Sodom Witching Metal Shirt
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Sodom The Terminator Shirt
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CANNIBAL CORPSE Hoping To Enter Studio In September (1/11/2008)
CANNIBAL CORPSE bassist Alex Webster has issued the following update:
“In CANNIBAL news, we have started writing, and things are coming along
well. We are hoping to enter the studio in September of this year, so
that would mean our next album will be released sometime in 2009.”
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DIO’s CRAIG GOLDY To Tour With BUDGIE (1/10/2008)
DIO’s Craig Goldy will tour with Welsh hard rock legends BUDGIE as a
guest guitarist. The dates featuring Goldy are as follows:
UK tour dates:
Jan. 31 - Cox’s Yard, Stratford-upon-Avon
Feb. 02 - The Milkwoodjam, Swansea
Feb. 07 - The Boardwalk , Sheffield
Australian tour dates:
Feb. 16 - The Tivoli, Brisbane
Feb. 19 - Metro Theatre, Sydney
Feb. 20 - The Forum, Melbourne
Feb. 21 - The Gov, Adelaide
Feb. 23 - The Capital, Perth
Purchase Dio shirts
Dio Last in Line LS Shirt
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Heaven and Hell Cross Shirt
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Heaven and Hell Hells Angels Shirt
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GORGOROTH Bassist Schedules NAMM Appearance (1/10/2008)
King ov Hell (real name: Tom Cato Visnes), bassist/composer of
GORGOROTH, SAHG, I, JOTUNSPOR, will travel to the Los Angeles area next
week for several relevant matters concerning GORGOROTH, his partnership
with Peavey and Coffin Case and his upcoming band with Rob Caggiano
(ANTHRAX). During his visit he will make an appearance at the Peavey
booth at the NAMM convention in Anaheim along with other artists on the
Peavey roster. King will be appearing on Friday, January 18 at 5 p.m.
THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER Is ZUNE’s ‘Ignition’ And ‘On The Road’ Artist In
January (1/10/2008)
Metal Blade Records act THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER is both Zune’s
“Ignition” artist and “On the Road” artist for the month of January.
Purchase Black Dahlia Murder shirts
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ZAKK WYLDE Schedules Montreal In-Store Appearance (1/9/2008)
Guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) will take part
in a signing session at Steve’s Music in Montreal on Tuesday, January 15
at 3:00 p.m. According to a poster advertising the event, “Zakk will
sign anything bought within one week from Steve’s Music store.”
Purchase Black Label Society shirts
Black Label Society Cross Shirt
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Black Label Society Burning Cross Shirt
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Black Label Society Crest Shirt
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Black Label Society Doom Crew Zipper Hoodie
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TWIGGY RAMIREZ Rejoins MARILYN MANSON (1/9/2008)
Bassist Twiggy Ramirez (real name: Jeordie White) has rejoined MARILYN
MANSON for the group’s upcoming North American tour.
Purchase Marilyn Manson shirts and posters
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Marilyn Manson Against the Wall Shirt
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Fans Trying To Get DIMEBAG Statue Erected In Dallas (1/8/2008)
According to Revolver magazine, two PANTERA fans, Houston’s Joey Riordan
and Toronto’s Mangra, are trying to get a commemorative “Dimebag”
Darrell Abbott statue erected in his hometown in Dallas. As inspiration,
they cite existing monuments to Jimi Hendrix (in Seattle), Elvis Presley
(in Memphis), and THIN LIZZY frontman Phil Lynott (Dublin, Ireland).
“Getting Dimebag Darrell a statue in Dallas matters,” Riordan tells
Revolver. “That was, his memory will live on.”
Purchase Pantera shirts and merchandise
Pantera Dont Mess With Me Shirt
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Pantera Metal Skull Shirt
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Pantera Hesher Dream Shirt
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Hellyeah Flame and Rust Shirt
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Pantera Dimebag Darrell Tribute Triple Wide Cuff Watch
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SHADOWS FALL, Ex-NEVERMORE Members To Appear At KRANK AMPS Booth At NAMM
(1/8/2008)
Krank Amps has announced the artist signings and demonstrations for its
booth at next week’s 2008 Winter NAMM show. Appearing on Friday, January
18 at 1:00 p.m. will be Guitar Hero video game guitarist Marcus
Henderson with other special guests who perform on the Guitar Hero
games, and at 2:00 p.m. ex-NEVERMORE/TESTAMENT guitarist Steve Smyth
will perform songs from his new instrumental CD, “The EssenEss Project”.
Purchase Nevermore shirts
Nevermore Enemies of Reality Shirt
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Nevermore This Godless Endeavor Shirt
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Nevermore This Godless Endeavor CD
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Nevermore Logo Tour Shirt
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Purchase Shadows Fall shirts
Shadows Fall Of One Blood Shirt
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Shadows Fall The Art of Balance Shirt
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Shadows Fall Ram Star Shirt
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Shadows Fall Fall Skull Shirt
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Shadows Fall Skull Shirt
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Shadows Fall Grenade Shirt
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MOTÖRHEAD Mainman’s THE HEAD CAT Schedules West Coast Dates (1/8/2008)
THE HEAD CAT, the psychobilly side-project of MOTÖRHEAD mainman Lemmy
Kilmister which also features STRAY CATS’ Slim Jim Phantom on
drums/percussion and Danny B. Harvey (ROCKATS, 13 CATS, LONESOME SPURS)
on guitar, has scheduled the following dates:
Jan. 09 - Vixen - Reno, NV
Jan. 10 - The Independent - San Francisco, CA
Jan. 11 - El Corazón - Seattle, WA
Jan. 12 - Dantes - Portland, OR
Feb. 01 - Viejas Casino - San Diego, CA
Purchase Motorhead shirts
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MASTODON To Support NEUROSIS In Brooklyn (1/8/2008)
MASTODON has been confirmed as the opening act for long-running Oakland,
California-based industrial/alternative/metal pioneers NEUROSIS at the
Brooklyn Masonic Temple in Brooklyn, New York on January 24 and January
25.
Purchase Mastodon shirts
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MEGADETH: New Guitarist Rumors Heat Up (1/7/2008)
MEGADETH is rumored to have tapped Chris Broderick (NEVERMORE, JAG
PANZER) as the replacement for lead guitarist Glen Drover.
Purchase Megadeth shirts
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SAXON Cancels Glasgow Appearance (1/7/2008)
SAXON have issued the following update:
“Unfortunately we can’t make it to the Rock Radio anniversary in
Glasgow, Scotland because the band is writing the new album and Biff
[Byford; vocals] has a serious, serious cold. We thank you for your
understanding!”
Purchase Saxon shirts
_____
DEATH ANGEL: New Song Posted Online (1/7/2008)
A brand new DEATH ANGEL song, entitled “Sonic Beatdown”, has been posted
on the group’s MySpace page
track comes off the group’s new album, “Killing Season”, which is
scheduled for release on February 26, 2008 via Nuclear Blast Records.
Purchase Death Angel shirts
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Heavy, bass driving, guitar sparking the rails and with jackhammer kick drum, the journey begins as vocalist T-Kay’s death wail sucks you into the black hole of sound that is C-Fiction. Just as the Germanic tribes camped along the Rhine to eventually sack the Roman Empire, C-Fiction stands ready to conquer the metal world from its home base in Dusseldorf, Germany.
The city has a rich eclectic culture associated with the likes of Paul Klee, Heinrich Heine, Felix Mendelssohn, and the bands Kraftwerk and Warlock. So there are high standards for any band that strives to gain prominence there.
The band retains a bit of the 90s industrial influence, combines it with a heavy dose of unrelenting Meshuggah style percussive aggression, sprinkles in a small dose of keyboard for ambiance and piston fire guitar riffs in unique compositional structure that builds more like a novel than a formulaic song. There is no reliance on a heavy and soft dynamic to create tension, rather the bands remains heavy throughout, building momentum like a steamroller, then shifting to a weighted rollerball with mind boggling tempo changes.
But perhaps what makes C-Fiction stick out above the rest of the metal bands from Europe is the dynamic vocal energy of T-Kay. Summoning you along like a demonic rail conductor on a twisted ride of headbanging fury, T-Kay at once curdles the blood with his screams, then suddenly breaks into a harmony that pushes and pulls and breaks the mind from the hypnotic bass and drums. His bantering, vocal melody and harmony are quite remarkable when considering the brute power behind him.
Each of the songs available on their promo CD are reminiscent of some of the top metal acts today, from the heavy and complex Domination Tribute which reminded me of Pantera, to the Pay the Price which recalls the early days of Iron Maiden with its progressive structure that is somewhat rare in Metal these days, to the Thing That I Do that includes so many different twists of vocal and musical turns that it could safely fall into any number of musical categories.
You can read an interview with them here
Check out C-Fiction on MySpace and get hooked on their CD Energy of Sound.
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DIMMU BORGIR, MAYHEM Nominated For Norwegian ‘Spellemann’ Award
DIMMU BORGIR, MAYHEM, RED HARVEST and AUDREY HORNE have been nominated in the “Metal” category at the 36th annual Spellemann awards (the Norwegian equivalent to the Grammy Awards). The largest and oldest Norwegian music awards show will be held Saturday, February 2 at the Spektrum in Oslo, Norway and will be broadcast live on the Norwegian channel TV2.
The nominees in the “Metal” category are as follows:
AUDREY HORNE - “Le Fol” (Indie Recordings)
DIMMU BORGIR - “In Sorte Diaboli” (Nuclear Blast)
MAYHEM - “Ordo Ad Chao” (Season Of Mist)
RED HARVEST - “A Greater Darkness” (Season Of Mist)
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SAXON Confirmed For Spain’s ATARFE VEGA ROCK FestivalSAXON have been confirmed for the rescheduled Atarfe Vega Rock festival, which will now take place March 7-8, 2008 at Coliseo Ciudad Atarfe in Atarfe, Granada, Spain.
CRADLE OF FILTH: ‘The Foetus Of A New Day Kicking’ Available For Streaming
Roadrunner Records is streaming the CRADLE OF FILTH song “The Foetus Of
A New Day Kicking”. You can view it at http://media.roadrunnerworld.com/CradleOfFilth/CradleofFilth-TheFoetusofaNewDayKicking.wma
The track comes off the forthcoming “Thornography
- Harder Darker Faster” special-edition MVI (Music Video Interactive),
which is set to be released in the U.S. on February 5 (one day earlier
internationally).
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DEATH ANGEL Schedules NAMM Signing Session
Rob Cavestany, Ted Aguilar and Dennis Pepa of DEATH ANGEL will take part in a signing session at this year’s NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) convention. The signing will take place at the Anaheim Convention Center in California, on Saturday January 19 from 2 to 3 p.m. at the EMG booth (booth #4850). This will correspond with a signing alongside NEVERMORE guitarist Jeff Loomis.
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GIGANTOUR Lineup Officially Announced
MEGADETH has now officially revealed the lineup for this year’s North American edition of Gigantour, which will kick off mid-April and run through the end of May. Joining MEGADETH on the bill will be IN FLAMES, CHILDREN OF BODOM, JOB FOR A COWBOY and HIGH ON FIRE.
Commented MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine: “The breaking news is we are going to have five bands this year, instead of eight. The decision to drop it down from eight bands to five was based on timing, set lengths, stage sizes, unions, and most importantly allowing ‘us’ - the musicians - to deliver to ‘you’ - the fans - the best shows we can.”
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In Flames Soundtrack to Your Escape CD
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NILE’s KARL SANDERS To Offer Guitar Lessons During U.S. Tour
NILE mainman Karl Sanders will be offering guitar lessons during the band’s spring 2008 U.S. tour. Lessons will include, but will not
necessarily be limited to:
* Extreme metal guitar techniques
* Melodic guitar application within a death metal context
* Warm-up routines, and
* Chops-building exercises
Sessions are intended for intermediate-to-advanced students. Lessons will be conducted at the show venues in the cities along the routed dates of the NILE tour, on a first-come first-served basis. The the cost of lessons is $100 per hour. There will be a maximum of four students per day to insure that every student gets personal attention and a quality learning experience.
Most students will be invited to stay to watch NILE’s soundcheck after
the lesson, and all students will be put on the guest list for the show.
Nile Annihilation of the Wicked Shirt
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Nile Logo Triple Wide Cuff Watch
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CATTLE DECAPITATION Announces New Drummer
CATTLE DECAPITATION have issued the following update:
“We’re pleased to inform everyone that David McGraw (ex-SLEEP TERROR) is our new drummer! Things went great with him on the Death By Decibels tour and we will commence writing our next album with him starting next month! Our creative juices are beginning to flow like crazy and we’ve vowed to create the most ridiculous and insane record yet! We hope to hit the road again in summer in preparation for the recording process!
“Australian fans can look forward to seeing us in the later part of 2008! Plans are already being put together for our first Australian tour!!! We also hope to hit South America, Mexico and Europe as well sometime in 2008, but for now, writing is our main priority! See you fuckers soon!!!
“We will be doing regional shows between February and summer while hard
at work writing!”
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IN FLAMES, MAYHEM Confirmed For Germany’s WITH FULL FORCE Festival
IN FLAMES, MINISTRY, MAYHEM, STUCK MOJO and DARK FUNERAL are among the
confirmed bands for the With Full Force festival, set to take place July
4-6, 2008 at Flugplatz Roitzschjora in Löbnitz, Germany.
BEHEMOTH Confirmed For Holland’s NEUROTIC DEATHFEST
BEHEMOTH have been confirmed for the Neurotic Deathfest 2008, set to
take place May 30-31 at club 013 in Tilburg, Netherlands.
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The year 2008 is already seeing the rise of the front woman in metal. Angela Gossow of Arch Enemy set a high standard with the recent release of Rise of the Tyrant, but there are many ladies of metal who are kicking some serious balls. Here are six high priestesses who will tie you up and bend you over. Many thanks to all of the bands who send me requests. I could never have been turned on to your music and your message unless you had reached out.
Angela Gossow
The reigning queen of metal. One of the best voices in the business, and with Rise of the Tyrant extends her lyrical boundaries well beyond the standard death metal fare.
Otep
Otep is not only one of the most talented metal singers, she is also one of America’s top poets. A highly creative lady who paints as well. A real inspiration no matter what gender you are. You can always count on insightful and original expression from her.
Mary Magdalan-
A naturally talented lyricist and vocalist. Fueled by a tortured past, she found an outlet in music and words. Backed by a young but veteran band her music will be vibrating in your soul, and giving you the courage to face your own demons.
Genitorturers
This Tampa based band fronted by knockout Gen is reminiscent of Wendy O and the Plasmatics, but the band is far superior. It’s just very hard to concentrate on the musicianship when Gen is the frontwoman. Nonetheless, the music is very accomplished metal with nice hooks and grooves.
KHZ
Another goddess of metal is Raiana of KHZ. The band packs a walloping tension that will taze you. Raiana’s vocals have a magnificent range. She can growl with the best of the men, yet deliver a melody as well as Deborah Harry. Make sure you check out their recent release “Reality on a Finer Scale
Dreaming Dead
Elizabeth Schall created a stir with her guitar playing and vocals on the ep “Through the Eyes of Insanity” under the moniker Manslaughter. This past fall Elizabeth and bandmate Michael Caffell decided that Mansluaghter as a project had grown beyond the boundaries that they had envisioned for it and renamed the band Dreaming Dead. They are now recording a debut LP that will include the demo tunes from the Manslaughter EP as well as 4 new songs. Schall is certain to gain nationwide attention with her guitar prowess as well as her vocals. Perhaps it would be a good idea to get your hands on the Manslaughter EP if you can. It should be a collector’s item in the future.
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Here a short list of favorite bands going into the New Year. Click on the pics to go the band pages on MySpace.
Cheers!
Check Circling Crow Records out on MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/circlingcrowrecords
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Be’lakor is a quintet from
The name Be’lakor is taken from a character in the Warhammer Fantasy tabletop game, which follows a similar mythology to that of the bible in that Be’lakor, like Lucifer comes to rule the earth and legions of demons, and comes to see himself as equal to the gods. He is then banished, as Lucifer was, and stripped of his power and form. He is given access to the secret throne of domination, but can never wear the crown himself. The three songs Be’lakor shares from their self produced debut recording, The Frail Tide, on MySpace follow the theme of the Warhammer game, but the band tries to relate the theme to the world at large. The result is that the lyrical content is a symbolic statement of man’s personal relationship with himself and the world, and the macrocosmic impact of man’s collective actions.
In their song Neither Shape Nor Shadow, humanity is shown having a glimpse of understanding; the fleeting moments where the soul has an intuitive understanding, heeding a call that isn’t given by men. The result is man’s natural curiosity towards his existence. But, just as waves wash away the traces of footsteps in the sand, intuitive understanding is like an image that isn’t held for long. It gets washed away in the conceptualities and rhetoric of daily routine and interaction.
Tre ‘aste is an Italian term roughly translated as “triple jointing”. This song continues the theme of understanding the nature of existence by developing the symbology of the beginnings of time. Time and space are synonymous in science as related to the Big Bang Theory. In Taoist theory there was a cycling of chaotic energy that split into two whence all creation has since evolved. As Tre’aste relates, in this beginning of primal energy evolution the gods were born, and, like in the big bang theory, these gods are dispersed through the dark, through space and time, evolving as their own entities. Man on earth is destined to fall victim to the power of these star gods on a universal level as the black holes and the supernovas feed on planets and whole galaxies. But is also a metaphor for man’s existence on the physical plane on earth. The energy of life is such that we are in service to it. We are also in service to the society we are a part of which swallows up so much of our time and in so many ways obstructs us from intuitive understanding with its demands on our time, actions and thoughts. The price for having the energy of life is to be functioning as a human being. And just as the human body needs the life force to animate it, the life force needs the human body to give shape and form to its energy.
The Desolation of Ares, the third song offered by the band on MySpace, is a sort of denouement to the process of an earth and humanity being awakened by the fire energy of the gods, our lives embodying the various energies of the gods. Ares is the god of savage war, and is the appropriate symbol of a prevailing energy that humanity has embodied throughout its existence in contextualizing the relationships between races, religions and even two people engaging in conversation. Ares’ madness befalls mankind and they are driven to slaughter each other. Their common bonds are broken. Fear and hatred drive men to battle each other as Ares is strengthened. But with the death of men comes the death of Ares, or the energy that was embodied in him. If there are no men to serve a god he has no dominion.
As with all mythological themes, one can take a Reader’s Response approach in order relate to it in personal ways. Genius that prevails in fecundating material allows listener participation. In this way, Be’lakor’s lyrics do not come off as pretentious. They don’t demand a certain interpretation. There isn’t a system of rhetoric or a special premise one has to accept.
I have focused primarily on the band’s lyrics because they are presented with a sober pertinence. Unlike so many bands’ lyrics which rarely, if ever, cover anything from a fresh angle, Be’lakor at least opens the door to a world where lyrical content contains symbol and metaphor that doesn’t seek a suspension of disbelief, isn’t childish ranting about evil, and doesn’t promote unreal pop themes. There is no silly pretentious stuff about finding god through sex, or glorifying drugs or alcohol. Be’lakor speaks a simple language to convey what good music in fact is supposed to, and that is striking the heart and emotions, and driving one’s intuition. Music is a universal language that inspires and balances us. With its tight blend of melody and harmony between bass lines, chords and vocals Be’lakor has the sound of a veteran unit that has come to a realization of the elements that make up the band, and how to best relate them in the music they perform in a way that inspires them and their audience. But they are yet in their collective youths and have not been signed to a major deal. I am told they are in discussions with a few record companies, and may in fact have a sound financial backing of a label to produce a follow up recording and put them on an extended tour.
Click here to check Be’lakor’s MySpacepage that contains songs and video
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Greg Ginn was the guitarist for perhaps the most influential hardcore punk of th 80s, Black Flag. He also started SST records which produced the Minutemen, Husker Du, and many other well know bands of the era. He was named number 99 on the Rolling Stone list of most influential guitarists. Currently, he is involved in a number of projects in the LA area and continues to produce a wide variety of music on SST as well as Cruz Records.
Ginn’s influence is like that of a great writer who isn’t immediately recognized for his brilliance in that he incorporates a wide variety of personal influences in ways which music fans aren’t used to hearing. American music fans are used to pigeon holed presentation from commercial record companies who are more intent on fads and selling sounds for consumption. For music fans used to being fed such pablum Ginn is an acquired taste.
One of my favorite songs of all time is White Hot from Black Flag’s 1985 album In My Head. By this time the American Hardcore movement had run its course. As Ginn explained in a recent interview, punk had started in New York as a movement where bands were experimenting with a lot of different sounds and the music composition would include elements of jazz, fusion, British Punk and Blues. There were no boundaries until the music started to take hold as a movement and the songs became more alike in structure and sound. By the mid 80s the skinheads and punkers who so often disrupted Black Flag’s shows were increasingly disengaged from the direction Ginn and the band were going with the music.
Though he was one of the more influential musicians of the movement, Ginn never relied on formula. Black Flag, nor any of Ginn’s projects will probably have a large appeal to many guitarists who have spent painstaking hours learning their scales. His solos tumble and crash and seem to defy the rhythm section. They defy key and harmony. His playing explores music from an integrative experience that typifies American culture in that it isn’t about fitting in, following protocol, being acceptable, playing and writing music as though he were a jukebox to play whatever the crowd shouts.
I have always heard the same thing from others when they hear Black Flag. “Oh, that’s awful.” “That sucks.” “Terrible.” It’s hard to explain why someone acquires a taste for something. People don’t acquire a taste for alcohol or cigarettes, because they are predisposed toward the act of consumption. They simply choose the product of consumption that is less disagreeable than the rest. Kids don’t start by liking the taste of alcohol or cigarettes. When I heard Black for the first time I was confused. I both liked it very much and disliked it very much.
And I had never listened to them until recently. But I inevetibly discovered them as I listen to a lot of music from all different genres. I also have played guitar for over 30 years. The funny thing is, there has always been talk as long as I can remember about “the next great wave in music.” I contend there never really is a true new wave in music, rather there are musicians who stir up a pot of bands by sounding different. When new things happen that the media and the record labels take notice of it becomes sterilized. There is just something cheap about Green Day being referred to as punk. Hell, there is a local coffee house that describes the bands that play there as “Christian Punk”. There is no end to the lunacy when a “movement” catches on.
Greg Ginn continues to be discovered by a minority of musicians who are looking for something different, to learn a new way to express themselves. Those solos that sound terrible to a shredder will inspire new ways of relating the fretboard to expression. One thing that is constant in Ginn’s playing is the level of energy. There is a raw beauty that defies rhetoric. It is a genius that isn’t recognizable in the language of speech, but is in the language of the mind and body.
Check out Greg’s latest releases and what is happening at SST.
Check out one of Greg’s projects, The Texas Corrugators on MySpace
Check out Gone, another of Greg’s projects with samples on MySpace
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Record labels and bands beware of Blastcore Records and owner Ryan Blastcore. Under no circumstances send them any of your merchandise unless they pay you first. There are numerous complaints about this outfit on MySpace. If you have been ripped off by Blastcore please go to the MySpace page and share your stories.
Click this link to go the page and read all of the ripoffs this company has pulled off
Let’s either get this punk to pay up or send back the merchandise he has stolen from numerous bands.
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I am really tired of all the mind numbing ridicule about American Idol. I am sorry if your band doesn’t appeal to the same people who will buy a Barry Manilow album, but if you want them to buy your music perhaps you should ditch the references to Satan and the blood spitting, tune your guitars back up to standard tuning, cut your hair and shave, go to some singing lessons and start rehearsing Elvis tunes.
Ronnie James Dio put out some great music from the mid 70’s to the mid 80s. After that he didn’t do much of anything different. He never had an evolving style and there was always an element of pretension in his lyrics. If his guitarist left his band for a band like Def Leppard I think there is an untold trail of evidence there that speaks volumes. Craig Goldy who was one of Vivian Campbell’s replacements quit Dio soon after joining and doesn’t speak with a particular fondness of the those years he was told to feminize his look so much that he could no longer identify with it.
Why I am talking about Dio is because there is an interview I saw recently on YouTube in which he really rips into American audiences and the whole thing is so disgusting it simply is difficult to swallow.
Dio has a long history of slamming anyone and everyone who contradicts him. His interviews reveal a petty, ignorant man who contacted superstar syndrome and is resentful that that hour has ended. Watching him sit there giving his stereotypical caustic remarks while giving the occasional phony scratch of the cheek made me wish someone would slap the little fucking weasel.
He talked about how the American audiences were not loyal. That the only shows he could do in America were big arena shows with Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath. I had to laugh when he said this because I remember I lived in a shitty apartment in Grand Rapids, MI in 1997 and he was playing in a bowling alley across the street. He said that America had become a society where if you don’t sell enough pimple cream you don’t get to have a band. It had become a trendy place where you don’t have to pay your dues in order to be successful. He also went on to make the castigations of American Idol.
Now, on the surface, it isn’t difficult to agree with him. Americans are notorious for bad mouthing our fellow Americans. Anybody reading this probably makes the same observations about commercial radio, trends and fads, and music industry millionaires. But we really need to give this more thought.
Simply because there are millions of people who would rather continue to vote for their favorite corporate spokesman entertainer does not negate the fact there are literally thousands of bands across America “paying their dues” Ronnie. Just surf MySpace for a while and check out the touring that all of these bands are doing. These bands in most cases are self promoting, playing in dives and holes in the wall, being abused by crowds, living from hand to mouth, and having to scrape up their own money to put out their records. You are looking at the giant oak from two feet away and it is hiding the whole forest. For some reason you think that the one tree is the whole fucking woods.
As for loyalty in America. Listen, man. I see Dio’s touring schedule and he isn’t doing big arenas anywhere without Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath. If he somehow believes that European countries don’t have paparazzi he chooses to ignore it. England has more of those trash magazines that hold a larger percentage of their target audience than in America. Every country has their trend followers. That’s what kids do. Read Henry Rollins’ book Get in the Van for a detailed reporting of these trend followers throughout Europe. A kid in Europe who sees your show once is no more or less likely to see you the second time you come around. If you believe this please provide me factual documentation from a brain researcher that proves that somehow the neurons in the average European kid’s brain are different than in America. Or research from a sociologist that proves European audiences continue to buy a band’s records even though they never evolve as musicians.
Dio went on to whine about Barry Manilow appearing on American Idol and immediately sold a million records and that it was ridiculous because he hadn’t paid his dues. I guess I don’t understand the psychology taught at the University of Dio. Barry Manilow has been a performer for four decades. Dio may be jealous of him, but to say he hasn’t paid his dues is some of the most ill conceived rhetoric I’ve ever heard. Dio has name recognition. Perhaps he could cut his hair and put on a suit and a tie and do a duet with Janet Jackson so he can sell a million more records to the American Idol crowd. Maybe he could get Barry Manilow to go on tour with him and win some of Barry’s crossover audience.
Simply put, Ronnie, continue to put out good products and America will continue to buy them. If you don’t seem to evolve as an artist you cannot expect your audience to grow. And if you feel you have evolved as an artist get out their and pay your fucking dues like you say and prove it like 99% of American bands do.
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