Midnight – Satanic Royalty (Hells Headbangers). How does Motorhead get any dirtier? They become Midnight.

Invection – Facet of Abberation (Stormspell). Great band and tough as hell in a Slayer kind of way.

MC5 – High Time (Rhino). It came out a long time ago. Do you love them?

Reign of Vengeance beanie. I left it on the bus, but got it back. It’s a miracle of Christ.

Lacuna Coil – Dark Adrenaline (Century Media). Never used to care about this band. The new album changed that big time.

Anatomia / Absconder – Audible Assault (HPGD Productions) – Meet two of my new favorite bands. And Anatomia’s opiate-induced, doomed and crawling cover of Judas Priest’s “Turbo Lover?” Forget about it!

Anatomia / Grudge / Coffins – Doomed to Death, Damned in Hell (Obliteration) – So I had to seek out more material with the Anatomia name attached. Japenese of the doomed. Just friggin’ bad ass.

Nocturnal Torment – They Come at Night (Deathgasm). I can’t list this here or write anything about it since ClawHammer PR is promoting the release. What’s that? I already did? Fuck!

King – Forged by Satan’s Doctrine (Deathgasm). See above. Ah shit!

Blood Mortized – Bestial (Chaos). Oops, I did it again. Seriously, it’s a freakin’ playlist. What am I supposed to do? Pretend I wasn’t listening to it?

’77 – High Decibel (Listenable). Yeah, above…christ!

Satanika – Metal Possessed (Iron Shield). Dirty, gnarly ass, pussed filled thrash, the kind of stuff that Hells Headbangers would release. There was some stuff toward the end with cleaner vocals, but I was involved in some meaningless activity at the time or listening to some meaningless blather from some meaningless individual on the meaningless street.

Scorpions – Comeblack (Sony Legacy). Pointless.

Anti-Flag – The General Strike (Sideone Dummy). Heard about this band for years, but never heard an album until now. Impressed and surprised at how much I’m digging it. Definitely channeling The Clash (70s stuff) at various monents across the album.

Atkins / May Project – Serpents Kiss (Gonzo). Atkins sang for Judas Priest about 150 years ago, May is an accomplished guitarist and well known in “Christian” music or metal (or some shit) circles and busts out some damn fine licks here. The result is a pretty darn good traditional metal album.

Christian Mistress – Possession (Relapse). Outstanding! Traditional, old school, NWOBHM, whatever….super well done, super well written, super righteous!

Strikemaster – Vicious Nightmare (Metalhit). Vicious Mexican thrash metal with a hellacious gutiar tone. Good stuff.

Root – Heritage of Satan (Agonia). Lots of cool ideas within a black metal context, even if it gets a little too all all-over-the-place at times. Czech black metal ya know.

Aspyhx – Deathhammer (Century Media). Love the band, love the album title, and love the music on this bad boy. Really effing good, rivaling the classic stuff; that’s right, you read it here.

UFO – Seven Deadly (SPV). An early working title was The Last of the Bone Riders. Seriously. Great album; they do no wrong. Bigger riffs and some heavier material to go with the bluesy fare too.

Aborted – Global Flatline (Century Media). Best Aborted in years. Sven still kills it too.

Lamb of God – Resolution (Epic). Reliable. Wrath is better.

Burial Ritual – Exterminating the Masses (Self Released). So far, so good.

Rammstein – Made in Germany: 1995-2011. German band. You heard of ‘em?

Blotted Science – The Animation of Entomology (Eclectic Electic). Awesome instrumentalists! No, wait…brilliant freakin’ instrumentalists!

Meshuggah – Koloss (Nuclear Blast). Watch out! Meshuggah just got more aggressive. And guess what? The tuning ain’t all lower than your sub basement on this one.

That’s it. There is more, but I’m done with it. Must fight burnout…must get more coffee. Must stave off extinction. Goodbye.

If you don’t know about The Stooges, then it’s time to do some research and learn about the primitive blueprint for punk, the precursor to primal musical minimalism, and an integral part of a late 60s/early 70s hugely influential rock ‘n roll scrapyard in Detroit that also spawned the likes of the MC5, Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes, and Alice Cooper. One way to do it would be to pick up a book by Brett Callwood entitled The Stooges: Head On – A Journey Through the Michigan Underground. And I’m not just saying that because the North American edition of the book (following the original British edition) is brought to you by Wayne State University Press, the publishing house of my esteemed Detroit alma mater. Well, maybe just a teeny tiny bit, but still…

While it is true that several books have been written about the band and even more about its iconic, enigmatic front man Iggy Pop since The Stooges released their self-titled debut in 1969, the difference with Head On is that British author Brett Callwood gives no more focus to Iggy Pop than he does to any other musician involved with The Stooges.  Callwood didn’t take the easy route by making his observations from across the Atlantic in England either. He actually visited Ann Arbor, Michigan (the actual Stooges home base) and Detroit, soaked it all in and chatted with musicians, fans, club owners, industry folk, and damn near anyone that had anything to do with The Stooges and that fertile Motown scene. I mean shit, Callwood – who also authored MC5: Sonically Speaking: A Tale of Revolution and Rock ‘n’ Roll – even ended up moving to Metro Detroit and made it his home.

In other words, Callwood gets Detroit in ways that most people from outside the area never will. It is/was a City of underdogs, hard scrabble survivors, and chips on shoulders bigger than the sculpture of Joe Louis’ fist that sits outside Detroit City Hall; of cold beer, freezing winters, and more square footage of bowling alleys than anywhere in the nation. It is the birthplace of the labor movement, a case study in the economic devastation that is sure to follow a one-dimensional economic base (the auto industry), and a City that lost 800,000 people from its peak of 1.7 million in the mid-1950s. Detroit is also a City of revolutionaries, militants, proud renegades, talented musicians, independent artists, and a type of person for which West Coast image-consciousness, East Coast pretension, and soft underbellies are anathema. And all of it pours out of the real life characters examined by Callwood in this eminently readable and penetrating document of Motor City rock history.

Between an enthusiastic Foreword by Alice Cooper about The Stooges and a short, though no less interesting, Glenn Danzig Afterword is a story informed by insightful interviews and inclusive of just enough detail by Callwood to paint an accurate historical picture without resorting to factoid overload. The author doesn’t just tell the story of the making of 1969 self-titled Stooges debut, 1970s Fun House, and 1973’s Iggy & The Stooges’ Raw Power, and then rush through an encapsulation of the 21^st Century reunion. He sets the stage with portraits of the Detroit area personalities that had a hand in the creation of scene and music and allows the story to unfold naturally, following the careers of core members Scott and Ron Asheton and, to a lesser extent, Iggy Pop (mainly one chapter) years after The Stooges had become inactive and before this century’s reformation. Callwood skillfully weaves together referential material, interviews, and his own opinions in a way that is thorough, seamlessly flowing, and anything but verbose. He paints a detailed picture of the only place in the world that could produce music so universally praised and reviled.

After a thorough examination of the period defined by The Stooges self-titled debut and Fun House Callwood addresses 1973 Iggy & The Stooges album Raw Power, which saw Ron Asheton move to bass to make room for the flashier style of guitarist James Williamson. As Callwood notes in a manner most astute, the music of the David Bowie mixed Raw Power may have been defined by more conventional song structures, but sure as hell wasn’t anything resembling standard hard rock.

Callwood then takes us through a story of complex situations, emotional fragility, and egos big and small. Under David Bowie’s tutelage Iggy Pop’s star would rise, while the Asheton brothers continued to fight the good fight and keep that rock ‘n roll train steaming down the tracks with mixed results. Though Destroy All Monsters and to lesser extent Dark Carnival (both featuring another enigmatic Detroit figure in vocalist Niagara) would push boundaries and offer the world a more eclectic brand of Detroit ruckus, success was measured largely by an adoring underground community.

The author’s telling of the events surrounding and the personalities involved in the 21^st Century Stooges reunion/reformation (preceded by J Mascis and Mike Watt enlisting the Asheton brothers to introduce a new generation to The Stooge) is masterful.  Watt’s commentary in particular offers keen insight. Callwood superbly captures the raw emotion and rather complicated psychology involved in the triumphant tours, the release of a somewhat polarizing new Stooges album in The Weirdness, and the sorrow felt around the world with the passing of Ron Asheton on January 6, 2009.

If you know nothing about The Stooges and are interested in learning about some of the most influential heavy music ever recorded, then I would strongly advise you to start with Head On: A Journey through the Michigan Underground. Awareness and/or general knowledge of Iggy Pop’s career doesn’t come close to making you informed. That’s why Callwood had to write the book. It’s also why you should read it. – Scott Alisoglu

http://wsupress.wayne.edu/books/1212/Stooges

Check out a song from each of the four Stooges albums here:

The Stooges “I Wanna Be Your Dog” (The Stooges, 1969)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJIqnXTqg8I

The Stooges “TV Eye” (Fun House, 1970)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SD-uF8uisA&feature=related

Iggy & The Stooges “Search and Destroy” (Raw Power, 1973)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDNzQ3CXspU&feature=related

The Stooges “My Idea of Fun” (The Weirdness, 2007)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDw6fpdPbSI

1. Fleshgod Apocalypse – Agony.
2. Entrails - The Tomb Awaits.
3. Kverlertak - s/t
4. Light Bearer - Lapsus
5. Vildhjarta – Masstaden
6. Wolves In The Throne Room - Celestial Lineage
7. Ulcerate- The Destroyers of All
8. Disma- Towards the Megalith
9. Life in Your Way – Kingdoms
10. Obscura - Omnivium
11. Deafheaven - Roads to Judah
12. Insomnium – One for Sorrow.
13. Origin - Entity
14. Loss- Despond
15. Mitochondrion - Parasignosis
16. Anomalous - Ohmnivalent
17. Hull - Beyond the Lightless Sky
18. Obsequiae - Suspended in the Brume of Eos
19. Primordial -Redemption at the Puritan’s Hand
20. Mournful Congregation - The Book of Kings
21. All Pigs Must Die - God is War
22. Alestorm – Back Through Time.
23. The Living Fields - Running Out of Daylight
24. Morne- Asylum
25. Sleeping Giant – Kingdom Days in an Evil Age

Albums that I heard in 2011, that would have been sure fire for 2010: Journal - Unlorja, Rhino - Weight of Coronation

Sorry guys, you got bumped by a ridiculously good late year flurry of releases and discoveries: Anaal Nathrakh- Passion, Fen - Epoch, Ana Kefr - (II) The Burial Tree, Dekadent - Venera : Trial & Tribulation.

Sorry guys, I Didn’t Get the Hype: 40 Watt Sun – The Inside Room, Absu -Abzu, Vektor – Outer Isolation, Revocation – Chaos of  Forms.

Sorry guys,  I didn’t have enough time to get to know you properly, but I’m pretty sure you were awesome: Unexpect – Fables of the Lost Empire, Tombs -The Path of Totality , Vale of Pnath – The Prodigal Empire , Killing the Dream – Lucky Me, Flourishing – The Sum of All Fossils,  Saille- Irreversible Decay.

Album I had to find a spot for and at least mention somewhere: Ever Forthright – S/T.
Best Vinyl release: Dead in the Dirt - Fear 7″
Best Re-issues: Augury - Concealed, Uncanny - MCMXCI-MCMXCIV
Best Self Released CD (and best fucking cover art)- Vore - Gravehammer
Best Demo - Hessian Crucible - Morbidity
Best comeback: Autopsy - Macabre Eternal
Best EP- Corpsessed – The Dagger & The Chalice
Biggest surprise: Jungle Rot – Kill On Command
Best labels: Dark Descent/ Southern Lord/Profound Lore
Worst albums: Morbid Angel - Illud Divunum Insanus, Denial Fiend- Horror Holocaust.
Best album everyone hated because of the artist, not the actual music: - Liturgy - Aesthetica

Best Songs: Fleshgod Apocalypse “The Betrayal” and “The Violation”, Light Bearer “Primen Movens”, Augury “Lair of Purity”, Alestorm ” I am a Cider Drinker”, Hessian Crucible “Shame Spiral”, Ulcerate “Cold Becoming”, Kverlertak “Utrid Die Svake”, Subrosa “House Carpenter”, Turisas “Hunting Pirates” and “Venetoi! Presino!” , The Living Fields “Glacial Movements” and “Perseverance”, Woods of Ypres “By the Time You Read This” and “I Was Buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery”, Liturgy “Tragic Laurel” and “Returner”, All Pigs Must Die “Death Dealer”, Dekadent “Day of Solace”, Illdisposed “The Taste of You”, August Burns Red “Carpe Diem”, Century “Painting Leprosy”, Vrani Vlossa “Rising Red”, Anaal Nathrakh “Drug Fucking Abomination”, Deafheaven “Tunnel of Trees”, Morne “Volition”, Rose Funeral “Malignant Amour”, Primordial “Mouth of Judas”, Ulcerate “Cold Becoming”, Hull “Earth From Water”, Lock Up “Stigmartyr”, Svartsot “Farsoten Kom”,Hands “Northern Lights”, Monsterworks “Everything You Believe is a Lie”, Thousand Year War ‘Spartacus”, Taake “Myr”, Loss - “Cut Up Depressed and Alone”, Skyrim Theme.

I’m a huge fan of the seminal recordings of both guitarists, especially those on which Brother Wayne played, As such, it was with great enthusiasm that I agreed to shed some figurative ink on the little buggers in exchange for the privilege of adding them to my fireplace mantle along with the likes of Alice Cooper, Lemmy Kilmister, and Iron Maiden’s Eddie, amongst other various and sundry heavy metal and rock ‘n roll items.  My particular Riffing Collectibles are hand numbered 24 and 166 for James and Wayne, respectively, on a cool box that also includes a biographical sketch of each guitarist.

So what’s the big deal about Wayne Kramer and James Williamson? Allow me to get you up to speed. Brother Wayne Kramer lit it up like the 4^th of July on 1969’s MC5 debut album Kick Out the Jams, considered one of the greatest live albums of all time (and rightly so), as well as on subsequent studio albums Back in the USA (1970) and High Time (1971). The Detroit quintet was politically militant to a rabid extent, involved with the likes of manager John Sinclair’s White Panther Party (a radical organization established to support the Black Panther Party) and raising hell at events like the riotous 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.  Well, “Brother” Wayne, as late vocalist Rob Tyner called him during one of many magical moments on Kick out the Jams, and his partner in crime (in more ways than one) the late Fred “Sonic” Smith were tossing out ferocious riffs and scorching solos like they were Molotov cocktails at a violent Vietnam war protest. After spending time in federal prison and dabbling in various other activities, musical and otherwise, Wayne went out to release some damn solid solo albums, his debut The Hard Stuff hands down the best of the bunch. To quote from the biography on the box, “As the teenaged founder of Detroit’s legendary MC5, Wayne has been credited with leading musical movements as far reaching as high-energy sci-fi rock and roll in a mind meld with free jazz, to resisting recognition as the primary progenitor of not only punk rock,  but also heavy metal and grunge.”

In the way of digression, I periodically think back to those old Corrosion of Conformity shirts from the 1991 Blind tour that stated in big white letters on the back “Free Dope and Fucking in the Streets.” Where do you think the inspiration for that statement originated?  You may recall Pepper Keenan sporting an MC5 shirt with some frequency in fact. I’m still pissed at myself for not buying one of these when I saw COC (with Rollins Band) on that same tour in Pontiac, Michigan. Last I looked they were selling for around $200 on e-Bay.

Moving on to Mr. Williamson, James is best known as the guitarist that played on the third Stooges release Raw Power (1973). That was the album that saw The Stooges become Iggy & The Stooges, owing to Pop’s ascendance as a world class Wildman who was taken under the wing (sort of) of one David Bowie.  In any case, Williamson brought a wide open, more traditional in a sense (though absolutely savage) style of guitar playing that contrasted with the primal, less-is-more approach of Ron Asheton on the self-titled debut and Fun House. In fact, Ron would move to bass guitar to make room Williamson. In any event, Raw Power made a tremendous impact on what would become punk rock, as well as heavy metal. The album is considered one on which the songwriting style become more conventionally structured, but was far more extreme than much of what was being released at the time. Williamson also played on Iggy Pop’s Kill City album (1974).

Musicians like Slash (Gun N’ Roses), Lemmy (Motorhead), and Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine) have all praised Raw Power as being enormously influential. James Williamson would later join the reformed Stooges for world touring purposes after the passing of Ron Asheton in 2009.  Last I heard the jury was still out on whether there will be second Iggy & The Stooges album with Williamson. We’ll see.

So there you have it, folks. I’ve never written about bobble heads or action figures of any kind until now. I rather enjoyed it. If you’re interested in acquiring these fine products, then please click on one or both of the following links.

http://mvdb2b.com/s/WayneKramerGuitarGodsFigureNumberedLimitedEdition/GRTGODS102

http://mvdb2b.com/s/JamesWilliamsonGuitarGodsFigureNumberedLimitedEdition/GRTGODS103

Michael Romeo: Oh yeah, it’s all good.

How did your last American and European tours go over?

With these tours, we wanted to do a lot of the Paradise Lost material and, you know, I mean, we tried to pull out a couple older songs that we had, and, you know, get a little mix.  We didn’t want to do too many new songs just because no one [had] heard the material, but I think we tried to, we rehearsed like four songs we tried to get into the set, and you know, we would play maybe two on a certain night and then maybe a different two.  We kind of mixed it up a little.  You know, on the new record, there’s some longer songs, and we do some more complex songs, but then there’s a lot of just, like, you know, straight and to-the-point kind of songs, you know?  A lot of shorter songs, it’s just like with a good riff and a good hook and, you know, that kind of thing.

So we pretty much gravitated to doing those, because we figured, you know, at first listen, they’re probably pretty easy to grasp.  We didn’t want to do anything too crazy, and when we started the tour in Europe, you know, we tried a couple, and it seemed that the songs “End of Innocence” and “Dehumanized” were the ones that always went over, you know, really good.  And I was probably the one guy who was like, you know, ‘Aww man, I hope this goes over, it’s gonna be so different just playing these songs cold when no one’s heard the album.’  And you know, I was a little concerned about it, but the first couple nights, man, you know, we’re playing and the reaction was really good.  The response was really good.  And then with YouTube and everything else, the next couple shows, you know, people are singing words and know the lyrics, and they know what part’s coming up, so yeah, that was great to see.  I think with the songs we picked, it worked out well.  And then once the record [was] out, the fans were more familiar with the material and we could bust out some of the different songs on the record. It was definitely cool trying to get some of these new songs in there and see how they went over.

I’m glad to hear that; I figured that would probably be the case.  So let’s discuss Iconoclast, which came out in June.  While all Symphony X albums are expertly composed in my opinion, you guys have gone above and beyond this time in creating probably I would say the best album of your career compositionally and musically.  All the classic Symphony X elements are still there, but this one’s a little more…

Modern.

Yes, exactly.  It’s a little more modern.  It’s not a continuation of Paradise Lost; it’s a progression from it, but it’s a little more direct than some of your earlier stuff.

You know, I totally agree.  I totally agree.  It’s like, yeah, everything that you said, that’s definitely, I think with the last couple records, me being a guitar player, I think a lot more of the stuff I grew up with is kind of coming out; you know, kind of getting back to my roots.  I mean, I grew up with Sabbath and Priest and Maiden, and you know, all the classic metal stuff, so I think around the time of The Odyssey now, it’s just kind of getting back to that stuff and letting that come out more in the music.  So I think, especially Paradise Lost too, it’s definitely way more guitar driven, and it’s a little heavier, a little more aggressive, and the new album, same thing.  It’s like you said, it has elements of everything, you know.  There is a lot of the heavier stuff, and you know, there’s some progressive elements and some symphonic elements, but with this one, it was really about the songs. You know, everybody knows we can play, yeah, we can do this, we can do that, but you know, this is now at the point where its’ like, you know, we’ll put the track up and we’ll demo it, we’ll listen back, and it’s like, you know, does this song kick ass?  Is it keeping our interest?  You know, I mean, is it doing something?  And that’s where we’re at now, I think, it’s just trying to have a good variety of songs, and each song, you know, really getting in there and tweaking it and keeping it interesting.  And also with this record, too, you know, every record we try to do something a little different or try to find some underlying theme or something, and usually it starts with the music.

With The Odyssey, I remember us talking about maybe getting back to more guitar-driven kind of riffs but still have that epic thing, you know, or these orchestral things, and so, like The Odyssey is very epic and that kind of thing.  And then Paradise Lost, just by working with the Milton poem, you know, getting that heaven and hell, that ‘universe is evil’ [theme], the music is a little darker, the riffs were a little more dark and any kind of orchestral elements were a little more ominous, you know, the male choirs and things.  So I mean, I think each album has its own kind of personality.  And with this one, we decided to with this more man versus machine thing, or a technology kind of idea, and it kind of started with the music.  A lot of the early material was similar to Paradise Lost or The Odyssey, you know, the big riffs and some big choruses.  But it kind of came about, I think I had maybe four songs pretty much written early on, and you know, it was kind of typical of maybe Paradise Lost kind of sound, and I was just hanging out in my studio one day and listening to a bunch of different stuff, just kind of cleaning up or whatever the hell I was doing, and I kind of noticed some cool things in some soundtrack music I kind of was listening to.  And I think it was from the movie 300 and The Matrix too.  And especially with the 300, man, some electric guitars in there, it’s pretty gritty, man, it’s pretty mean.  And there is a lot of this modern kind of synth textures and these very distorted percussion elements and stuff, and that kind of got the wheels turning.  I started to think, yeah, we could do may be more of a mechanical kind of an idea.  So the next day, I came up with some of these original song ideas and just tried experimenting with some different textures and different things, you know, some maybe grittier guitar layering or some kind of really mechanical synth playing underneath the music.  And then it started to come, everything started to flow from there.  I thought it was pretty cool.  It was like, yeah, it sounds us, but there’s definitely more of a fresh, cool element, you know?

And that’s pretty much how this whole album all came into play.  And then from there, it was  just like, okay, let’s go with this, let’s do it.

I was going to ask you how difficult it was to work that mechanized sound into the music, but obviously it just came naturally to you.

Yeah, and I mean, it’s subtle too.  You know, I don’t want to say industrial or throw out any kind of terms, because it’s not really that; it’s still us.  It’s still Symphony X, but we used maybe subtle little textures and the whole vibe of the record has that thing and it’s something we never really did before, so we were all pretty excited too.  We could have some fun with this, you know, we could really do something different.  And just, you know, the songs progressed as we were writing and recording; we were always adding things to the music and just trying to build this record.  It was definitely a lot of fun, definitely cool.  And I think, yeah, this is what I think of the record, without question: I think every song, you know, usually on past records there’s a song or two that’s like, ‘yeah, that’s not my favorite,’ but with this record, I mean, just by the fact that we do it at my studio so I’m there 24-7 for a year, listening to this stuff, I found myself not really getting sick of it.  Every song, it was like to me, wow, that’s solid.  These songs are freaking solid.  So yeah, we’re definitely happy with this one.

One thing that I noticed when I was listening to Iconoclast, and I’ve been a Symphony X fan for about 10 years now, it was pretty exciting to hear all these little nuances, little pieces from the past albums, which is always cool for the fans to hear.  You guys have done this in the past to some extent, but it’s incredible, especially with this album, to see how much history you’ve woven into the songs, yet every song is still original.

That’s totally a cool observation, because there is some parts that maybe are reminiscent of, maybe a section from “The Accolade” from the third record.  And in the past, we might have put that idea aside, or thought it’s a little bit too much like that, but this one, it was like, we can do it.  We can have some of these different elements from all the things we’ve done, but just by incorporating some of these different sounds and making it up to date, it still sounds new.  And I think the fans who kind of are familiar, they get it.  They’re like, ‘Oh wow, it’s kind of like this but it’s not.’  Yeah, that’s definitely something we noticed too.  I think that’s just kind of letting the music happen.  If it was a section that maybe sounded like something we’ve done earlier, not exactly a copy or anything like that, but maybe had a feel of certain things, it’s like, you know, whatever, it’s us.  Let this happen and we’ll just make it cool.  We’ll make this record.

So let me ask you this.  Was the album in any way inspired by “Church of the Machine” from Twilight in Olympus?

Not really, but that was an idea for maybe the record title.  That definitely came up.  As soon as we started talking, as soon as this whole machine kind of thing came up, yeah, I mean, we were like, ‘Oh yeah, Church of the Machine, maybe that we could be the record, or maybe we could do part two’ or something like that.  But we’re like, ahh, let’s just keep it all new.  Let’s just let it be its own thing.  But yes, it’s funny that you said that, because that was out there.  That was definitely discussed a little bit.

The first time I looked through the song lyrics and I saw “Bastards of the Machine,” I wondered if that was connected.  I had to ask.

Yeah, like I said, we looked at “Church of the Machine” and thought maybe we could do that or a part two or something, but just by the nature of the whole machine thing, it’s out there, but this album is its own thing.

That’s cool.  You have “The Accolade,” which was from The Divine Wings of Tragedy, and then on The Odyssey you had “The Accolade II,” and then on this one, you’ve got “When All is Lost,” which has got some of the same elements.  Is that meant to be part of a series or just its own entity?

I think “When All is Lost,” I mean, we had so much heavy material for this record that we thought just to balance it out a little bit, to kind of have a song that was along the lines of “The Accolade,” or something a little bit more piano against the guitar, maybe a little bit more proggy, but still trying to get a really big chorus and a very full kind of sound and incorporating a little bit of some of these things we’re talking about with the production.  But yeah, I think all the records kind of always have that one or two songs that are kind of like that, and I think it kind of breaks the album up.  It kind of gives the album a little more direction.  You try to break it up and have a  song like that.

Going back to the, I hesitate to use the word theme, but the theme of Iconoclast, what are your feelings about this digital age that we’re living in?  How does that affect Symphony X and your processes, yourself as a musician?

Well, when we kind of started talking about doing this whole machine thing, man versus machine, it all started with the music.  So I think really, most of the ideas start from there.  I think doing the writing, for me, it’s like once you kind of find that thing that you think you can work with, that gives you a little bit of inspiration, and you kind of have a goal and a direction.  That really is one of the most important parts.  And then the lyrics, of course, you do the best to work in the confines of that idea or theme, which is equal.  It’s more about what you can do with the music, and you know, just kind of getting inspired.  We weren’t really thinking too crazy about any kind of method or taking it too serious or anything, just more creative ideas, you know, what can we do lyrically?  Musically, yeah, once that was set and incorporating some of those textures and things, then that was a no-brainer, man.  It just came out.  And with the lyrics, it was like pretty much anything we can find that feels like technology or machine or man, there was just so much we could do that we thought would be cool.  The song “Iconoclast” is definitely maybe more of a sci-fi or futuristic man versus machine war or battle, you know, that kind of song.  “Children of a Faceless God” kind of looks at how we worship our devices, you know, how fast these kids can text now, and how everybody interacts socially through their machines, and just kind of making observations like that.  And I mean, we thought there was a lot of different avenues to take for that.  But for us, you were saying, you know, how does it affect us, I mean, for me, we couldn’t really do a record like this one without some of this technology.  I mean, all these orchestral sections and texturing, it’s all software, and all the recording stuff nowadays too, it’s all computer-based.  It’s definitely an important part of the music production process, so yeah, it’s like anything.  There’s good things and bad things, you know?  The internet and piracy, it’s like, yeah, it’s definitely a bad thing, but at the same time, you know, being able to be creative with almost no limitations is, for me, it’s great.  And some of the software out there now is just so friggin’ state of the art.  I’m always trying to keep my studio up to date with all the latest gadgets and software.  I always try to make the orchestra sound as realistic as possible and the choirs, and all these textures, it’s kind of cool and modern.  You know, there’s just so much to do.  There are so many different things, it’s definitely a lot of fun.  And that’s a positive with this whole technology thing.  Like I said, there’s always good and bad things about everything.

Yep, it’s a blessing and it’s a curse sometimes.

Yep.

I’m going to shift gears a little bit and ask you some non-important, non-album questions.  What are you listening to these days?

Oh, man, so much.  Usually when I’m just kind of at home hanging out, I’ll listen to random stuff.  I have so much, so many different kinds of music in my player, but it’s all this stuff I grew up with: the old Sabbath, and Priest and old Ozzy, Randy Rhoads, god, so much shit.  Pantera, a lot of classical music.  I listen to so many different things.  I like a lot of film music, you know.  Jeez, there’s just so much.  So I can’t even narrow it down, because I just have so much stuff and I love it all.  But usually I go back the stuff that man, that’s close to me.  The stuff that got me, like guitar playing, the old classic metal stuff.

Right on.  And here’s my last and completely silly question: how difficult is it to be in a band with two other guys who have the same first name?

[Laughs]  It actually is easy, because we have little waves of, you know, I’ve always just been Mike.  And then Pinnella has always been P, just P.  And LePond is just LePond, so it’s easy, you know?

[Laughs]  That works.

Everybody, they just know.  Everybody around us knows the deal so there’s never any confusion.  It’s like, ‘Hey, what’s up P?’  So we know they’re talking to Pinnella.  So that’s just the way that it is; it’s never an issue.

I always wondered that.  Like I said, I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me.  I got to see you guys once, back in 2003, you played in Omaha at this weird place called the Ranch Bowl.

Oh god, I don’t remember.

Well, it was a very, very odd place.  They had a bowling alley in the same venue.

Oh, wait, were we with Devin Townsend?

Yeah, with Devin Townsend.

I do remember that place.  Yeah, that was kind of unusual [laughs].

It was unusual, but I’m glad I got to see you guys and meet you all afterwards.  Hopefully I can meet up with you again sometime.

Oh definitely.  We’ll be back in the States.  We’ll be around.  Hopefully we’ll see you.

Right on.  Thanks again.

Thank you.

www.symphonyx.com
www.nuclearblast.de

Well, how about one of each of the following fine FDA Rekotz CDs:

Dead – Hardnaked…But DEAD!

Goregast - Desechos Humanos

Revolting - In Grisly Rapture

Necromorph - Grinding Black Zero

Strychnos - Undead Unsouls Unbound

Death Toll 80K - Harsh Realities

And what do you have to do to get into this raffle extravaganza? Simply sign the form below!

CONTEST HAS ENDED

* * *

DISCLAIMER: Three winners will be picked randomly. The winners will be notified personally via email. Your personal details will only be used to deliver the CDs to you and will not be shared with 3rd parties. Neither Teeth of the Divine or FDA Rekotz take any responsibility over packages lost or stolen in the mail. Teeth of the Divine staff members are not eligible. Contest ends when there’s no form to fill or submit. The form will be removed at some point during December 19th, 2011.

* * *

 CONTEST HAS CLOSED

* * *

DISCLAIMER: Two winners will be picked randomly. The winners will be notified personally via email. Your personal details will only be used to deliver the CDs to you and will not be shared with 3rd parties. Neither Teeth of the Divine or Listenable Records take any responsibility over packages lost or stolen in the mail. Teeth of the Divine staff members are not eligible. Contest ends when there’s no form to fill or submit. The form will be removed at some point during November 7th, 2011.

* * *

CONTEST HAS ENDED!

* * *

DISCLAIMER: Two winners will be picked randomly. The winners will be notified personally via email. Your personal details will only be used to deliver the CDs to you and will not be shared with 3rd parties. Neither Teeth of the Divine or Hello Wendy PR take any responsibility over packages lost or stolen in the mail. Teeth of the Divine staff members are not eligible. Contest ends when there’s no form to fill or submit. The form will be removed at some point during October 16th, 2011. *) If you’ve chosen to opt-in for more information about classic Universal artists, only your email address will be used to deliver that information. 

Without further a due, let’s get it ON!

FRIDAY

Mikko K (MK): I’m not a morning person, I’ll tell you that. Even if I can get myself up and operate. I don’t like over-the-top heat either, so waking up on a Friday morning, I decided early that I’d be aiming to catch Forbidden officially open the festival on the main stage. Luckily, Teeth of the Divine’s new Santa’s helper, Matti Manner, informed me that he’d be at the festival grounds early. I was in no rush.

Matti M (MM): Even though I was the first of us to reach Tuska’s newly appointed area my trip was not without some complications, and not wanting to go into boring details, I can say I arrived later than I was supposed to. Nevertheless, Mikko was still lazying it up anyway. Yet, as things were as they were and as Tuska 2011 was the first time for me to attend a festival with an ‘at work’ state of mind, I had no time to get myself adjusted to the new area other than to hurry around the factory pipes and barracks that surrounded my way to the second EMP stage.

I managed to squeeze into the almost empty photo pit in a nick of time. While the Black Breath was a completely new acquaintance for me, a close friend of mine—who is more in the know on these up and coming American bands—had thrown around a few good words about the band, so this made me somewhat curious. Never underestimate the power of word to mouth. I rarely doubt few of my like-minded friend’s judgment and advice, and I didn’t have to suffer for my trust this time either.

Black Breath put on a good show, full of energy and filled with jamming thrash/punk sounds with shades of death metal popping up here and there; I was definitely hearing a combination of sorts where old Entombed meets new Darkthrone. Being one of the first acts of the day, and on the second stage, there seemed to be quite a few technical difficulties, but despite the glitches the festival started out on a positive note. Maybe I will go out and pick up Black Breath‘s debut album Heavy Breathing when time and funds allow.

At the same time, on the third stage, The Inferno tent, Finnish melodic death metallers Ominium Gatherum were serving up notes of aggression. Their name pops up every now and then, but I’ve never paid any special attention to them. Others must have, as they had a much bigger audience than Black Breath. I wasn’t served with a cup of tea, but the audience ate it up.

Mikko: When Tuska was held at Kaisaniemi (Park), all you had to do is find yourself a way to the Helsinki train station—located in the center of Helsinki—and walk a couple of hundred meters to the metal mecca. Now, things were slightly more complicated but not by much. One only had to take a metro to the festival area, walk a few hundred meters and bam!, you were in. The new location didn’t pose a problem.

Matti: When the EMP stage went silent, I looked at my clock and saw that there were fifteen minutes to spare before action flared up on the main stage. So before rendezvousing with Mikko for Forbidden, I headed back into the club stage where a two-headed monster called Cause For Effect were grinding on. The fourth, Club, stage was inside of an old factory building, called Kattilahalli (Kettle Hall). From the inside it was shaped like a church, a wide dark space divided with two rows of element columns that held the ceiling in place. An intimate setting.

As for Cause For Effect, they’re a duo comprised of two men: Ari on drums and Tuomo growling with a bass on his shoulders. Having seen them live a few times before, I knew what was to be expected from them. For those readers in the un-know, I can say that they are very minimalistic and very entertaining. Playing songs that average under a minute, they play a riffing mixture of jazz, grind, punk and metal with a smirk in the corner of their lips. They fit well on the Club stage and filled the industrial hall with a good amount of listeners.

After few songs however, I hauled my corpse to the Radio Rock main stage to find the already tired looking face of Mikko, who started to ramble about his last night’s odyssey of trying to find some bar that was not there, and his failures at being a social butterfly at some social gathering. After we had caught up with decent amount of shit talk and rejoicing, we double teamed on Forbidden.

Mikko: I arrived to the party right before Forbidden‘s set and caught up with Matti, all dressed up for some front line war journalism. Come to think of it, Tuska seems to favor thrash bands as main stage openers, but I’m not gonna back that up with any hard, cold evidence — aside from stating that Testament did it last year.

Remembering Teeth of the Divine’s Fred Phillips talking good things about Forbidden‘s latest album, I raised my expectations a few notches — even if my personal connection with the band stems almost exclusively out of blasting the shit out of Twisted into Form album. Quite surprisingly, that exact album was given very little attention within the set. The meat comprised of Forbidden Evil and the latest comeback album, Omega Wave. The band did its best to shake the sandman’s dust out of the audience’s eyes, but the technical issues with the mix hindered the experience quite a bit.

• MM: The first thing I noticed was that the band looked old and that they had lived a hard life before climbing onto the stage.
• MK: I suppose twenty-odd years kind of does that to you.
• MM: But for a group of older gentlemen, their playing certainly wasn’t half bad.
• MK: And the cover of Dio’s “Children of the Sea” was somewhat surprising.
• MM: Too bad the rest of the stuff seemed to lack punchlines…
• MK: That’s because they had forgotten about having Twisted into Form in their discography. As curios as Forbidden are to me, and I love me some  ‘80s/’90s thrash, I have to say I was left a tad cold too. But it was good to see Steve Smyth back on stage!

Matti: As a result of a coin toss between two bands that I had no real opinion about before hand, Mikko took EMP stage and Bulldozer while I headed into Inferno stage towards Hell. Good God! If Forbidden had given a nod to Dio earlier, Hell actually raised Dio’s corpse from the grave and enslaved his spirit to do their bidding as a bass player!

To be honest, the whole band actually looked somewhat half dead — even without the make up and gloomy get-up. From what I saw, these geezers could play and write catchy sounding songs that had a throwback effect to classic bands like Judas Priest. Combined with the occultist outfits and dark lyrics, there were evil forces at play…

While everything seemed to be in place and well thought out, I just could not dig it. By the second song I was annoyed by David Bower and his over-the-top theatrics. His faces and other gestures, along with the overflowing lyrical content per one song and banters—written beforehand—between them got to my nerves. The large audience was enjoying it though and a decent part of them could also sing along the choruses. Five songs in and I could not take it anymore, I took my chances and left to see Bulldozer.

• MK: On a side note out of nowhere… Andy Sneap, producer extraordinaire, was manning the guitar.

Mikko: You might have realized it from my Sauna Open Air coverage, but I’m really out of touch with a ton of classic bands—big and small. Thus, Bulldozer took me by quite a surprise with their good-spirited, irony-filled thrash-y spectacle that saw old school heavy metal and songs dedicated to porn stars, A.C. Milan and social networks. I wouldn’t have minded hearing even more ranting from the mainman A.C. Wild, who addressed the audience from a bloody podium dressed up as Anton LaVey.

• MM : Yeah, one look at the stage and seeing Emperor Ming [from Flash Gordon] preach, with a rough English accent, about Italy’s fucked up politics, I was already laughing my ass off.
• MK : And?
• MM : I became an instant fan. Too bad I missed the first half of the set due to Hell.

Mikko: I hate to be a hater, but as an overall experience, Arch Enemy are uninteresting and part of the reason falls to Angela Gossow. She’s a good front(wo)man, a certified performer on stage, but her growls are somewhat grating. The other reason is that despite some good parts here and there (for example, with the solos and leads), the songs have a hard time staying interesting. Angela was complaining about the heat on stage and at that point, I think the weather was bouncing between 85 and 90 Fahrenheit, so it was easy to relate to her agony.

• MM: Well, at least the heat made Angela lose that thick leather jacket of hers.
• MK: And why was that so important?
• MM: I got mildly aroused. That`s why.

Mikko: Grave was celebrating Into the Grave‘s 20th birthday by playing nothing but the album, from start to finish on the third stage. It took a while for the audience to get a hang of what was happening, but not soon after, the center formed a circle and the pit got into gear. While Ola Lindgren helmed with a positive attitude, it was Tobias Christiansson that seemed to own the stage. As for the performance… all Grave through and through.

Matti: Electric Wizard did not hit me the way I expected. I really don’t know if it was because the time and place were not favorable—or what—but I didn’t get much out of the band’s set. Perhaps Tuska’s former, more organic surrounding in Kaisaniemi would have made a difference but Electric Wizard failed to resonate with me this time around.

• MK: From what I saw, I agree. For reason or another, there was a clear lull between Forbidden and At The Gates; the audience seemed slightly disoriented and Electric Wizard suffered because of it. They had a good buzz going on, despite the sun, but the setting left it all a tad disconnected.

Mikko: Being an originator of sorts isn’t always just pure gravy as, in all honesty, I’ve often been more interested in the bands that At The Gates has inspired, rather than shout my full-blown devotion to the original gangsters. Thus, just like Arch Enemy moments earlier, I had a lot of problems trying to stay focused during At The Gates‘ main stage appearance—the only thing keeping my eyes fixed on the stage was the Swedish Tasmanian devil, vocal powerhouse Tomas Lindberg who gave his all through sweat, spit and a wide smile.

After half a set, still uninspired, I decided it was time for me to fill my body, mind and soul with some fluids and enjoy the general mood—even if things were just starting warm up—before catching Oranssi Pazuzu. Playing inside, the Finnish experimental black metal psychedelia received an ardent treatment, leaving the audience to drone off into a new world. Thanks to the session at the photo pit, I didn’t quite reach the peace and calm to fully appreciate what was unfolding in front of me, but I’ll definitely have to catch the band again.

Matti: Michael Amott and Sharlee D’Angelo made their second gig of the day with Spiritual Beggars taking Inferno stage—only an hour after they were done with Arch Enemy‘s set. Way back when I first listened to the band’s Ad Astra and On Fire records I got a weird love/hate relationship with the band’s music; they have some cool tracks and some that I would say are over-the-top cheesy. But live, they surely put on a solid performance. In fact, I have to admit that I enjoyed it all the while I felt my chest hair grow thicker and thicker, along every passing macho-mojo-hard rock-stoner song they blasted.

While I had jolly-good time seeing and hearing the Beggars perform live, I also felt torn between their gig and the other one going outside. One can say that I have been raised in a barrel, for it wasn’t until last year’s masterful Absolute Dissent album that I got into Killing Joke, forcing me to travel back in time to fill some dark spots in my life. So, I left half way through the Beggars’ set to see, what I consider to have been the best gig of the day hands down.

Mikko: Seeing Killing Joke on the second stage was a bit of a letdown; they deserved the larger stage and a larger role, seeing how they pretty much provided Friday’s highlight. Old men still rocking strong, even through some technical difficulties. Aside from their ’80s hits, I’ve never been that exposed to the band’s extensive discography but this one show made me a convert in an instant; from what I understood the material was bouncing between old and new but it all went together beautifully. Enlightening! Frontman Jaz Coleman chanted about Norway’s tragedy on stage, a move that went past the audience, as no one had any idea what had happened in the outside world at the time.

As I said, witnessing the band live was more than inspiring and eye opening. First of all, you had Jaz Coleman performing very, very visually. In fact, I’d say if I’d have to think about his possible heir, I’d say Primordial‘s Alan Averill would be a strong contender. I can’t say what Alan thinks of Killing Joke, but there are plenty of similarities in their performances and mannerisms that it’s almost scary. Not surprisingly, I’d also believe Rammstein‘s Till Lindemann has seen KJ live a few times. Strong, strong charisma! Aside from Jaz, you also have Geordie Walker on guitar and Martin Glover on bass, elegantly playing through the crushing songs as if it was nothing; the two men leave quite a few, headbanging technical string artists to shame with their somewhat casual act. I’m not sure if Paul Ferguson was on stage as well, drumming away, as the three men in front really had me mesmerized.

• MM: Ferguson was not there. There was a much younger guy on the drums, who seemed to get the job done quite nicely. I agree with the statement that they should have been on the main stage, headlining Friday or any other day for that matter. Another thing I have to add is that Jaz, in his black jumpsuit, melting facepaint and robotic movements looked like a sinister arch villain from some old James Bond movie. Really good stuff.
• MK: I just have to repeat myself and say, that the following band, namely Morbid Angel, was pop music compared to Killing Joke.

Mikko: So how about Friday’s headliner, Morbid Angel, then? The band caused quite a bit of Internet ruckus with its latest album Illud Divinum Insanus. As adamant as the band was in defending the album’s new sounds, they sure as fuck didn’t seem that confident in it on stage; they played only a few tracks and even those were the more purer death metal tunes (“Existo Vulgoré”, “Nevermore”) aside from “I am Morbid”, of course.

I say bullshit and I say it loudly: BULLSHIT! Personally, “Radikult” is the most entertaining track on the new album and they denied me from the pleasure of hearing it live. It’s a monumental song that defines a watershed moment in metal history. I was ready to be extrrrrrreme, I was ready to go all Cornholio by screaming KILLAAAARRRRRRAADIKULT. But no! DENIED! Talk about getting morbidly blue balled.

Instead, most of the set was pure fan service with songs like “God of Emptiness”, “Maze of Torment” and “Fall from Grace” to name but a few; perfect for those into the old stuff but as I’ve grown to be somewhat indifferent about it all…cast pearls before swine. All served with a tight enough performance. Vincent seemed to be into it, carrying a commanding voice, Tim Yeung looked and sounded like he was a good fit and Trey Azagthoth didn’t move at all — aside from his hands. Seeing the close ups of his hands on the jumbotron was quite something, as the sexual overtones to his playing were more than evident. Dude must have found his penis at a very young age.

Friday didn’t end there though, as returning to the HQ through the Helsinki’s train station, I came across the world’s shittiest Michael Jackson impersonator. Not only did he not look anything like Michael, he couldn’t dance nor sing worth shit either. But what he lacked in skills, he apparently compensated it with balls by not letting anyone’s reaction come between his dream to perform. I salute thee, even if you sucked ass through a straw.

Matti: After parting ways, I went out to have few beers with a couple of friends. While Mikko got to enjoy fake Jacko’s moonstalk, I had my own encounter with a Sexy Sax Man rip-off. Unfortunately, the impostor lacked the mullet. And sexiness. He had the right tune though, and the somewhat uneventful night ended up with me waiting at the train station’s bus terminal, listening to the sweet sounds of “Careless Whisper” played by some creepy Romanian dude in a deep v-collar. Gotta love me some after midnight sax.

• MK: Maybe you should have George Michael-ed him up a bit so the night wouldn’t have been so uneventful…
• MM: Ow, such a low blow. Maybe things would have ended up different should he have played “Desperate Cry” instead.

Mikko: The first day at the new place wasn’t without its issues. It seemed like quite a few bands were suffering from sound or mixing issues, and especially the bands on the main stage suffered from an echo bouncing back from the buildings. Overall, it took quite a while to adjust to the new setting and even the audience seemed a bit lost, dazed and confused at times. Things got better as the festival progressed.

Perhaps the biggest gripe that festival goers had concerned the drinking policy. Previous years, people could bring their own alcohol to the premise, enjoy the liquids whilst sitting under the shadows of trees and watch bands perform. Despite certain concessions, doing that was much harder this year. Even though one could go in and out of the festival area as pleased, the inside area had major troubles offering good enough spots to set shop and camp. People enjoying the music at the alcohol-filled areas had troubles following bands on stage. Plus, the beverages were expensive.

• Call me Captain Planet all you want, but what I did not get was the fuckstick idiotism involved in throwing the squirt-sized free Coke cans to the ground in spots where there was a Coke labeled trashcan two fucking feet away. Learn how to flush! This kind of small shit annoys the hell out of me when the effort is not that fucking big. Anyways, free tip to Tuska organisers:. Get more trash cans near the big stages, it might help the after hours cleaning lady.

That’s three grinding albums of death and darkness that would make even Billy Mays diabolical. So tuck in your shirt, put on a tie and make sure you fill out the form below to participate in our (and UW Records‘) giveaway raffle extravaganza. Remember, that’s three CDs to two randomly picked winners. Giveaway closes on September 18th 2011. Have fun at work!

* * *

!!! CONTEST IS NOW OFFICIALLY OVER !!!

* * *

DISCLAIMER: Two winners will be picked randomly. The winners will be notified personally via email. Your personal details will only be used to deliver the CDs to you and will not be shared with 3rd parties. Neither Teeth of the Divine or UW Records take any responsibility over packages lost or stolen in the mail. Teeth of the Divine staff members are not eligible. Contest ends when there’s no form to fill or submit. The form will be removed at some point during September 18th, 2011.

Vanlade

It’s possible that the promoters expected a better turnout for legendary thrashers Forbidden, and the fact that the show started early and on a Monday certainly didn’t help. But the lack of people inside The Beaumont made it seem hollowed out. Openers and local true metal lads Vanlade began playing to literally no one…at least none in front of the decently large stage and the barrier erected (that’s right, I said erected) in front of it. A solid minute or two of playing changed that, however, as the young dudes busted out the right riffs, charisma and talent to draw people forward. Vanlade even got a nod of approval from Steve Smyth (Forbidden), who came out from backstage to watch the band before darting back into the darkness.

Colorado thrash-mongers Havok were next to hit the stage, still to an embarrassment of a crowd, but that was no matter to them. These guys rip Kansas City to shreds every time they play here, regardless of how many people show up to watch them, and their opening slot for Forbidden was no different. Their crunchy, high intensity set included some of the band’s early material in addition to the killer Destruction-meets¬-Metallica stuff from recently released Time is Up. “D.O.A.” in particular, a massive headbanger of a tune with an insane “Angel of Death” scream from David Sanchez, was a highlight. Havok did an excellent job of inciting the little audience — so much so, in fact, that they should have probably been pushed back in the lineup. Just an opinion.

Revocation

With more people trickling in the door, White Wizzard began their set. Now, there have been all sorts of nasty things said over the internet about this band and their ever-revolving lineup, especially in regards to vocalists. Here’s my comment to this: who gives a fuck? The vocalist is not the group’s end-all-be-all (unless, of course, it’s a one-man project, which would just be silly). Fucking Van Halen did just fine with both Roth and Hagar, and nobody died over it. (It should be noted that while it’s my opinion that Roth was superior to Hagar, each person is entitled to his or her own tastes. Also, in no way am I comparing White Wizzard to Van Halen, merely stating an example.) Anyway, Michael Gremio, formerly of Cellador, did vocal duties for WW in Kansas City, and he did a stand-up job. He breezed through sugary-sweet tunes like “Celestina” and “High Speed GTO,” the latter of which is probably the only White Wizzard song anybody will remember five years from now. Regardless of the band’s kitsch and overall squeaky-clean sound, they’re hellaciously good musicians and that should be respected.

On to Revocation, the immediate openers to Forbidden. These guys are insanely talented, and while they garnered the most crowd reaction up to that point in the show’s timeline (all 35 people or so who were in attendance), they didn’t do it for me. To me, their positioning in the lineup was odd, considering the thrash of Havok and traditional metal of White Wizzard would have been better suited for the prime spot in front of the headliners. But I digress. They played extremely modern, progressive tech death, and as previously mentioned, they’re talented and played their tunes precisely. But it felt a bit too mechanized and heartless. Their emotive moments were fleeting and everything ended up sounding like a wall of noise.

And finally, the moment that most people inside of The Beaumont Club had been waiting for all night — Forbidden took the stage. They immediately ripped into “Forsaken At the Gates” (if memory serves me correctly) from Omega Wave. Craig Locicero and Steve Smyth viciously tore through newbies and old stuff alike, including “Twisted Into Form.” Vocalist Russ Anderson wailed. At some point, members from the night’s previous bands carried a birthday cake onstage for Locicero, who was celebrating his birthday the day of the show. Toward the end of the set, Forbidden did a killer cover of Black Sabbath’s “Children of the Sea” in honor of Ronnie James Dio and closed out the night with a rousing and much needed “Chalice of Blood.”

While it’s sad to see such a great show shunned by so many in such a large city, there’s also something exciting and very personal about being close enough to a band as energetic as Forbidden or Havok to feel their sweat. And though the Kansas City crowd was small, its passion for thrash was evident that night.

When I was finally able to drag my lazy ass to the festival grounds―held just next to the center of Tampere―it soon became clear that the organizers had learned from past years, as everything seemed to run smoothly. Security checks were quick and painless and there were no queues anywhere, and despite the fact that the layout had remained almost same from last year, I didn’t run into any bottlenecks either. The only complaint I can muster was the fact that there were only two spots to fill your empty water bottles but that too got fixed by the third day, as more faucets were introduced.

Finns being Finns. Sauna built on top of a raft. I think I counted three or four of these, some acting out as boats too.

As the line-up indicates, Sauna Open Air fills a special niché within summer’s many festivals. For example, Tuska Festival (to be held later this month) caters towards a much more varied metal crowd, whereas Sauna is more for the nostalgic metal crowd; to those who grew up listening to many of the legendary metal heroes of the ‘80s (or to those who picked up such acts from their parents).

THURSDAY – June 9th

I arrived to the scene just as Moonsorrow were half way through their five song set. The band’s live presence seemed to have a bit more routine than back in 2002 when I last saw them with Turisas (who’d be performing the following day). As much as I dig the band on disc, I only got slightly aroused and that was solely because they decided to play “Kylän päässä”. As the band began to finish their set with “Kuolleiden maa”, I took my leave for Helloween.

Don’t shoot the messenger, but I’ve never been a fan of the band and every time I’ve given them a chance, I’ve wondered what the big deal was. Then again, Teutonic power metal rarely does nor did anything for me anyway. Aside from Avantasia’s debut. Nonetheless, feeling the burden of history and with an open mind, I gave the band a shot to impress. I still wasn’t feeling Helloween. The band appeared to be more than happy on stage, and watching Michael Weikath’s over-the-top elegant guitar playing was somewhat amusing. Yet, everything seemed a tad too safe. As the band complained about how they usually didn’t have time to play many of the hit songs, due to the song lengths clashing against their set’s length, they’d found a way to do a few of ‘em, namely “Keeper of the Seven Keys”/”The King for a 1000 Years”/”Halloween”, in a medley format. Then again, they could have played a few songs more had they gotten rid of the overlong and excessive crowd chant moments.

Sascha Gerstner wailing…with guitar.

I’ve never been fond of Omnium Gatherum and have always thrown them somewhere in the generic melodic death metal bin. Ex-singer Antti Filppu didn’t help their case either. New (from 2006 and onwards) vocalist Jukka Pelkonen, on the other hand, seemed far more able as I was proven, to my surprise, by their performance on the second stage. Besides putting out an entertaining show, they even seemed to have a couple of good songs―mainly from their latest album―to go with it all. Guess they earned themselves another chance. The show was energetic enough and a bit of novelty was had, as they crowned touring guitarist Joonas Koto permanently to the band. Drinks and manly hugs were shared before they went onto mosh some more.

Omnium Gatherum rocks on

Finally, the time was ready for Ozzy Osbourne to take the stage. First time seeing the legend, my expectations honestly weren’t that high. Indeed, the whole gig felt a bit more like watching a special episode of a reality TV show rather than a full blown metal gig. Perverse, I know. It’s clear that years have taken a toll on the man’s voice. At times, it was rather grating and cumbersome but Ozzy did make up for it with his somewhat light spirited stage presence. I’m not gonna compare how new guitarist Gus G performed against Zakk Wylde, but his solo section felt tired and clichéd. On the other hand, Tommy Clufetos drum solo―whilst nothing new―actually was somewhat entertaining. Ozzy himself felt a bit like a funny old geezer―and I’m saying that with utmost respect―who rightfully so, refuses to grow up and take things too seriously. Watching the man accidentally spray himself with a hose (shooting foam of all things) put a light smile on my face, even if the constant “I love you all” shouts he let through his pipes were a tad too much. Then again, perhaps he really did. All in all, it’s really hard to complain hearing classic songs from the source in a live setting.

Find the celebrity

And thus, the first day of Sauna Open Air ended to the sounds of “Paranoid”. Personally, it could have ended slightly sooner as my lower back was killing me ― clearly, I’m not a man of iron (“Iron Man”, get it? Uh!) So wounded I dragged my limping corpse back to the batcave to rest and prepare myself for future ordeals. The day might have been slightly slow and cautious, but the party was only just starting.

FRIDAY - June 10th

Waking up in my own sweat (and no, it’s not a codename for piss), it was clear that the weather had picked up a few extra degress over the night. Sure, it’s heartwarming when the world is nice and sunny, but it has a demoralizing effect when you have to actually ‘work’. Filling myself with ailments, it was clear I was to miss Rytmihäiriö’s set. Yet, those who like crossover bands that combine punk, metal and hardcore, among other things, should probably check the somewhat legendary Gambina-sponsored band out.

I probably should dig Turisas but for some reason they’ve never quite clicked with me ― yet, there’s no denying the band’s entertaining live shows; it’s clear they write songs with performances in mind. Since last seeing the band, in 2002, vocalist Nygård had improved tremendously as a singer and with his antics, but considering they had just finished the first part of their tour (three months or so in The States) in support of their new album, Stand Up and Fight, that’s to be expected. The crowd seemed pleased to dance to the singer’s command as he rampaged all over the stage with mean looks in his eyes. The most interesting part of the gig for me was when they played Manowar’s “Kings of Metal” a bit, only switching the band’s name in the lyrics.

Hurrah!

Viikate is probably another band that does not say a thing to anyone outside Finland. Yet, over here they bathe in plenty enough fame. The four piece plays melodic metal/rock with a nostalgic―if not contemporary folkish―vibe. A bit of a Southern-influence, but not quite. The band is also known for its dry humor and to play into that role, they had managed to gain access to pyrotechnics: “When the music doesn’t stand on its own, rely on other elements”. Mainman Kaarle, who looks a bit like James Hetfield’s Scandinavian brother, is a charismatic fellow.

Viikate fired up!

A bit too much so, as some years ago I was sitting in a bar with a friend of mine, when two 40-something year old gals came to our table to shoot shit. For some odd reason. Perhaps they wanted our young, ripe bodies. None the less, we complied, made conversation (as you only can at the end of a night out) and shook heads when one of them talked about her teenage kids. At some point, Kaarle sits to the neighboring table, minding his own business but still, with telepathy and pure skills of Awesome (that I call relative fame) he snatched the ladies from us. Not that we were going anywhere anyway… but I’m slightly trailing away here, so let us use this as a bridge to hype Doro.

Holy shit! 47-years old―or should I say young―and still kicking ass. Definitely one of the positive surprises at Sauna Open Air. The woman seemed happy to be on stage and her band performed admirably in keeping her up there as a metal goddess. Besides still having the looks, she still had a powerful voice to go with it too; “We Are the Metalheads” for sure.

Anyway, I skipped a few bands. Cavalera Conspiracy is and was the closest I’ve ever been to a Sepultura concert. Being the ‘90s metal kid that I am, I enjoyed the set ― even it was far from mind blowing. Unlike their 1991 performance at Giants of Rock festival. I still kick myself for missing that, even if I only found the band a year or two later… and I was under 10 in ‘91. But that’s hardly an excuse!

Max seemed slightly weary on stage, standing still most of the show but the brothers―with the help from Marc Rizzo (guitar) and Johny Chow (bass)―did get the audience into the festival’s most violent state of mind. The group was able to muster up a respectable circle pit, which combined with the hot weather, did leave a bit of destruction behind. There were a few casualties that the security guys and medical staff had to carry away. Don’t know if they got slammed hard or just passed out from exhaustion. Or both. Naturally, it helps when you throw in some older Sepultura to the mix.

Marc Rizzo moshing it up.

Max’s stepson, Richie appeared on stage for “Black Ark” to handle a portion of the vocal duties. The dude seemed to have a decent growl, even if his guest appearance became nothing more than a mere curiosity. It also got me thinking about a possible TV sitcom based on the setting. You know, a kid lives with his step dad who is a big rock star and has access to shitloads of weed, while the real dad works at some deadend job trying to lead a respectable life and earn his son’s admiration. Ed O’Neil should play that guy and I heard Charlie Sheen is outta job too…I’m losing it again but let’s just blame the sun before I dwell into flashbacks about NAM (true story, don’t ask).

None the less. I enjoyed it all. As much as I could anyway, as in the end, the gig didn’t provide me with the euphoria that I desperately cried for. Perhaps an indoor setting would have improved the show a ton ―you know, by making it more intimate and stuff.  It also has to do with the fact that Cavalera Conspiracy‘s own material isn’t that interesting to me. Truth be told, I wouldn’t have minded one bit if it had been Soulfly on stage, as they’ve got the better songs.

Life in the pit

You don’t hear old Anthrax frontman Joey Belladonna complain though, as he was able to enjoy Cavalera brothers’ slippery seconds on the second stage. The crowd was pumped up for more thrashing and Joey wasn’t going to be the person to deny them of that pleasure. He and his merry band played a shiiiietloads of Anthrax songs. Not only that, the man paid his respects to Dio by performing “Heaven and Hell” and doing an acoustic rendition of “Man on the Silver Mountain”. Belladonna, still sporting an awesome ‘80s hair-do, seemed to be in a great mood, feeling talkative and cracking wide smiles. Definitely worthy of the warm response he got from the audience.

Mr. Belladonna, ladies and gentlemen.

The story doesn’t end there though. Verifiable legend tells that not only did he also do an extra gig at an after show in a local bar, he and his band also did it again the next day. On a really small stage. That’s quite something in an age where rockstars and celebrities-just-because are still trying to act like they’re the most important people on the planet.

Speaking of which, I’ve got no problem with celebrities raising awareness, but if you’re an artist who has hundreds of millions in the bank or buried in stock and blood diamonds (and then some), why don’t you donate a good portion of that to save a nation first before you ask your poor fans to do the same? Those golden grills in your mouth? Shit could have saved an entire village! That castle by the lake that you only visit once a year? Or how about that limited run sports car that goes with your child labor, designer branded purse ― both which you got just because it’s Saturday and you were bored after netting a seven digit number from a 15-minute cover shoot? Nah. That’s money well spent you hypocritical piece of shit!

Generic cynicism (that has nothing to do with Joey) put aside, let us return to the sauna’s steams as next up was Doro…but we already covered her, so here’s another picture of her in the sake of continuity.

Still looking good.

Last year, super-cover-band Hail! took the stage and this year that role fell upon Dio’s Disciples. What surprised me was the fact that Tim “Ripper” Owens was at helm , again, most of the set. Can’t say I’m sorry, though, as the dude is an awesome singer and has the skills to grab an audience by the balls. Not that he needed to do so, as Dio’s tracks are sure to do just that anyway. Toby Jepson, unknown to me but of Little Angels fame, also took some of the vocal duties.

Another surprise came with the fact that James LoMenzo was manning the bass guitar again too ― and again, I’ve got nothing against that as the dude’s an absolute beast with his instrument. The rest of the band was pretty much what was remaining of Ronnie’s last touring line-up; Simon Wright (drums), Craig Goldy (guitar) and Scott Warren (keys). Some might argue that the band somehow goes against Ronnie’s legacy, but I don’t see it. Sure, no one can replace Dio and I don’t see anyone trying to, but the group did the man justice and the crowd appreciated the fact. I think I mentioned it about last year’s gig too, but Tim really needs to get a few original bands going.

James LoMenzo rocking it up!

Saxon came in last and truth to be told, I personally didn’t get too much out of their set even if everything seemed to be in proper, working condition as far the band goes. For reason or another, I never got around listening to the band, so watching the guys rock the stage left me a tad cold. I know. I’m a bad person.  On the other hand, I really didn’t feel like their performance was too explosive either and the unbalanced soundpolicy didn’t help. Thus, halfway through their set, I decided to call it a day as I wasn’t feeling it at all. This made me miss their duet with Doro on “Denim and Leather”. But that’s life. You choose, you snooze, you lose.

Except I didn’t feel the burn of loss at all, as once I got back to the base of operations, there was cold beer waiting for me and I got to sleep like a baby.

SATURDAY – June 11th

The sleep continued through the sets from Anthriel, Battle Beast and Tarot, who performed last year as well. Supposedly Tarot’s second singer, Tommi Salmela had been somewhat tired on stage. Turns out he was suffering from a heatstroke and based on hearsay, he had to check in to a hospital for a check up later on.

Blake was winding down their lightly stoner-influenced set, so it was up to Queensrýche to wake me up. Unfortunately they didn’t. Aside from Geoff Tate marching about in a modern-mafioso outfit, the rest of the band seemed somewhat dead on stage. The band’s set list didn’t help either, even if things picked up slightly towards the end ― thanks to the older songs. 

Instead, it came down to Mokoma to finally start my engines. Being one of Finland’s most popular metal bands, it was odd to see them on the second stage but that didn’t stop the band from putting on a good show. Whilst I’m not too big of a fan of the band’s latest album, Sydänjuuret, the song material worked relatively well live. Albeit, it helps to inspire when you’ve got a full line-up of guys rocking out for 45-minutes with no holds barred (unlike, *cough*Rÿche*cough*). Surprisingly the band’s breakthrough-album Kurimus was completely ignored from the set. Indeed, the few ‘slower’ songs, like “Kuu saa valtansa auringolta”, “Tästä on hyvä jatkaa” and “Hei, hei heinäkuu”―despite adding some breathing room to the set―could have and should have been dropped from the set to maximize room for the beating. It’s also clear that all the vigorous touring is paying dividends, as the band has gotten its routine up to a frightening standard. Makes me wonder what would a ‘bad’ Mokoma gig be like.

Another huge surprise for me was how massive Accept sounded on the main stage. The band has been flying under the radar for years to me so the current quality of the band was definitely one of the festival’s bigger surprises ― to the point I had to seek out last year’s Blood of the Nations CD. The new songs worked just as good as all the legendary ones. Mark Tornillo’s performance left little to desire and the guy filled his frontman spot admirably. Didn’t miss Udo Dirkschneider at all. The rest of the band (minus Hermann Frank who was on sick leave) was feeling active as well, everyone, including the audience, was having a blast despite the burning weather. I also have to commend guitarist Wolf Hoffman for being a man of many faces, even if he does look like Bruce Willis. Come to think of it, perhaps the man’s a bit of an action star; when you’ve got a man who knows his shit, missing a second guitarist isn’t that big of a problem.

Peter Batles, Wolf Hoffman

“You know how there needs to be some bad bands to make us appreciate the good ones” educated Sparzanza frontman Fredrik Weileby. Surely, he wasn’t talking about his own group, even if in my opinion, he was. Since I don’t listen to the radio that much, I’ve been completely oblivious to the Swedish ‘next big thing’ (of mainstream rock radio) band but apparently they’ve gotten a shitloads (don’t know, don’t listen) of airtime on Finland’s biggest rock channel, Radio Rock. Doesn’t surprise me as the band is like a very light, totally uninspired version of, say, Disturbed or something, except with completely forgettable tracks and without the hint of personality. Typical pop-driven hard rock/metal, everything just screams generic here. Yet, the crowd gathered in front of the stage was eating it all up, moist and willing, so what do I know? The band did, however, employ a tactic I can’t remember seeing yet. They had some male groupie with them, bouncing in the photo pit, facing the audience, trying to rile up the crowd and help the mass to react properly amd sing the proper line. You live and learn. Weileby also pulled many easy ‘sucking off the audience’ moves with his in between banter, mentioning how Finland beat Sweden at the hockey world championships (6-1, den glider in!) and how the women and beer was better this side of the gulf. Or something like that, as I was mentally elsewhere during the first four songs and physically elsewhere after the fourth or fifth. Indifferent.

Sparzanza reaching for the skies!

As the day was getting slightly cooler towards the evening, it was finally time for Judas Priest’s concluding show. Some sources had advertised the Epitapth-tour as a farewell tour, which, according to metal god Rob Halford, it isn’t. They might step off the stage in the near future, but most likely they will continue recording and doing new music.

A living Legend

The huge Epitaph-banner that hid the stage fell down and “Rapid Fire” fired up Priest’s set after “Battle Hymn” acting up as an intro (along with “War Pigs”). What was to follow was a 2-hour, 15-minute metal show with a capital S ― featuring many of the band’s ageless and immortal classics along with some newer songs. Surprisingly clear-cut hits like “Screaming for Vengeance” and “A Touch of Evil” were missing from the mix, but apparently you can’t have it all. The stage set was entertaining in itself as well, with changing back banners, lasers and pyrotechnics. Rob Halford also drove a Harley on stage, sporting the legendary leather cap, even if the effect was lessened by the fact that years ago Manowar brought four ― ha! Still, a Harley is a Harley and when you add Rob Halford on top of it, in leather, it just screams of heavy metal imagery. Tom of Finland would be proud and rightfully so.

Set list being as of follows:

Battle Hymn / Rapid Fire / Metal Gods / Heading Out to the Highway / Judas Rising / Starbreaker / Victim of Changes / Never Satisfied / Diamonds & Rust (Joan Baez cover) / Dawn of Creation / Prophecy / Night Crawler / Turbo Lover / Beyond the Realms of Death / The Sentinel / Blood Red Skies / The Green Manalishi (with the Two-Pronged Crown) [Fleetwood Mac cover] / Breaking the Law and Painkiller. The Hellion/Electric Eye / Hell Bent for Leather / You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ / Living After Midnight made up the encores.

Rob Halford seemed to be in a good condition for his age and he appeared to change outfits in between every song. No lie, the man seems to love to dress up. Glenn Tipton was, well Glenn Tipton. Ian Hill seemed to disappear into the stage set up, basically never moving from his spot and Scott Travis felt like he was having some issues with his drum playing. The biggest news to me this year was how Jeff Loomis and Van Williams left Nevermore. To some, it was K.K Downing dropping out of Priest. The guitar player had been replaced by relatively unknown Richie Faulkner ― who seemed more than able and a suitable fit in his tight, leather-y outfit. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was able to spark a bit of more vigor to the well-oiled, classic metal machine. Had Ripper still been in the premise, would have been interesting to know if he could have made the stage too…

Not only did Finland beat Sweden in hockey, Finland also received an extra track from Priest to the set list. “Living After Midnight”, despite the sun being still up high (summer, Finland, go figure) was the perfect closure to Judas Priest’s huge set, and to the whole festival. The crowd―huge in numbers―had gotten what it wanted. The band had gotten what they wanted. And so had I. And so did the other bands as I witnessed quite a few ‘celebrities’ gazing through Priest’s performance mesmerized.

Priest has quite a few fans, it seems.

In conclusion, for the nostalgic and ‘80s metal fans, Sauna Open Air fills up the need nicely. Three days of old school metal, with a few surprises. Personally, I wouldn’t have minded a few more acts being brought from Sweden Rock Festival (a much bigger festival held at the same time. In Sweden.) For example, I’d gotten a boner if acts like GWAR (still evading Finland, fuck!), Overkill and Destruction had appeared on stage.  They could have also flown in Down.

Yet, since I’m not the exact target audience, it’s hard to be bitchy about the lineup. I got more than I bargained for, even if a few of the bands suffered from my own personal ignorance and bad taste.  What can you say? I’m an asshole. On the other hand, the lineup gave a decent history lesson; it gave me a rundown on what I’ve been missing and what I’m still going to miss on purpose. The festival itself ran painlessly smoothly, it’s held at a very convenient location at a convenient time, so in the end, I exited the battlefield content with the aim of returning, again, next year even if my favorites aren’t playing. Sauna Open Air is, quite simply, a good kickstart to the summer.

At first glance, the three-day itinerary can be a bit overwhelming.I mean, you are talking about nearly forty bands each day! With a starting time of 9 a.m. and the last band exiting the stage around 3 a.m., there is some serious music watching going on. We quickly found that you need to just cut the schedule down day-by-day. If you try to plan your entire weekend, your head would simply explode. Even using this tactic, I still crammed twenty two bands into the first day. With two ‘main-stages’, the Terrorizer tent, and the Rock Hard tent, there was sure to be something for everyone nearly every second of the day. Here is what I set as my schedule for the first day:

11:00am-Valient Thorr
11:40-Suicide Silence
12:15-Malevolent Creation/In Solitude
1:00-Dwarves
2:35-Dagoba
3:25-Krisiun
4:20-Maximum The Hormone
5:15-Eyehategod/Primordial
6:10 The Exploited
7:00-Down/Vader
8:00-Mushuggah
9:05-Belphegor/Iggy and the Stooges
10:10-Morbid Angel/Clutch
11:15-Possessed/Melvins
1:10-Mayhem/In Flames

Yeah, as you can see, Hellfest isn’t afraid to mix it up! That is one of the reasons I was so drawn to this festival. Nobody is presenting anything quite like what these crazy Frenchmen are putting together. Highlights of the first day had to include finally seeing Possessed! Been a fan since I picked up a cassette copy of Beyond The Gates at a Fred Meyers out in Roseburg, Oregon when I was a teenager and have loved them every since! Granted Jeff Becerra is the only original member, they still delivered a incredible set. Belphegor also put on a very entertaining collection of only the blackest of black metal, that had the Rock Hard tent frothing for more. Much talk has been made ofthe new Morbid Angel record, but on this night they did smoking versions of “Chapel Of Ghouls”, ”Rapture”and “Angel Of Disease” and aside from “I AM Morbid” and “Existo Vulgore”, didn’t even attempt to break any of the more experimental material. All-in-all, the first night was a amazing, if not compeltely overwhelming day/night of music and much was learned on what to do and not-do for the following day.

Arrived back at the hotel around 3:30, got up at 7, ate a massive breakfast of delicious French pasteries, fruits,cheeses and coffee… lots and lots of coffee! Loaded on to the bus at 9 and arrived at the festival at 9:30. One of the most important things learned from day 1: PACE YOURSELF! My legs were two wobbly logs of jello by the end of the night! After observing the tendencies of the crowd, there is nothing wrong with just kicking back, find a nice shaded area to enjoy the show. The weather was picture perfect. ’60s everyday and the location provided ample shaded areas and a massive food court, with a abundant amount of benches. I took more time to meet and visit with fellow concert-goers and met many friends that I hope to remain in contact with. It only took a day to realize this was much more than a concert. It was more like a gigantic family reunion, with 115 of the best house bands you could ever imagine! Much more drinking, eating and socializing made the second day more relaxed and I found my pace to help make the following two days that much more enjoyalbe.

Schedule for Day 2:
10:00-Headcharger
11:10-Total Fucking Destruction
11:45-Whiplash
12:20-Angel Witch/Severe Torture
1:00-Mekong Delta
2:00-Hammerfall/Hail Of Bullets
3:25-Exumed
4:15-Municipal Waste
5:05-Thin Lizzy/Skyforger
6:05Destruction
7:00-1349
7:55-Sodom
9:00Septic Flesh/D.R.I.
9:50-Kreator
11:15-Bolt Thrower
1:00-Coroner/Bad Brains

YES!! This was what it was all about! Thrash, Thrash and more Thrash! Nothing beats the glorious sounds of German thrash and on this day, thrash reigned supreme! I could narrow it down for highlights, but c’mon! LOOK AT THAT LINEUP! This day was absolutely perfect from start to finish. Along with that amazing Stage 2 lineup of Whiplash, Mekong Delta, Destruction, Sodom, Kreator and Coroner, I was also introduced to Total Fucking Destruction (Brutal Truth drummer, Richard Hoek handles drums and vocals) totally floored me with their energetic brand of grind and finally getting to see death metal legends, Bolt Thrower demolished the Rock Hard tent during their bombastic assault of your senses was a fitting set-up for Coroner! What a night. I have a hard time believing I will ever be able to top this night. The only thing that could have made this over-the-top magical, would have been if Tankard would have been somewhere on the bill, but I will more than happily take this lineup!

Back to the hotel by 4, up at 7 and out the door by 9, a loaded crepe in one hand and a steaming cup of java in the other: Day 3, here we come!Day 3 began as a rather light day on the schedule, turned out to be a final day filled with a ton of pleasent surprises.

Schedule for Day 3:
10:55-Zuul FX/ Impureza
11:30-Turisas
12:50-Atheist
1:40-Arkona/Firewind
2:30-Orpahend Land
3:50-Ghost
5:Cavalera Conspiracy/Grave
6:20-Grand Magus
7:10-Morgoth
8:05-Doro
9:00Judas Priest/Korpiklaani
10:10-Electric Wizard
11:25-Dark Tranquility/Hawkwind
1:00-Opeth/Kyuss Lives!

What started out to be a day to hit the ‘Extreme Market’ (anything and everything metal-related, they had it!), ended up being a memorable conclusion to a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Impureza set the tone for the day, with their blend of Mexican flamenco/death metal(?), really enjoyed their set. Arkona was another band I had discovered while checking out bands that were going to be appearing at Hellfest and instantly fell in love with their epic blend of Russian pagan metal. Fronted by Masha Scream, the crowd was already well aware of these guys, because they went batshit nuts as soon as their intro music began! Amazing show, hopefully some day they will make it to the States. Ghost was the hot new band of the day and they delivered like veteran pros. A nice blend of eery theatrics and mid-paced chug-a-luggery, they brought the spirit of Mercyful Fate out loud and aroud. Well worth all the hype they are getting. Grand Magus, Doro, Morgoth and Priest all were at the top of their games and the crowds didn’t heitate to roar their approval. Once again, this was a lineup that just left your jaw dragging on the floor.

It will be fun to see what the masterminds of this memorable festival have in store for us next year, but I am sure they will not disappoint! In the meantime, I have a full year to polish up on my French! CHEERS!!

Motörhead – Overkill (Bronze). Lemmy and Metallica performing “Damage Case” at one point on the aforementioned DVD sent me running for it.

Impetigo – Live Total Zombie Gore Holocaust (Epitomite). Rivers of gore! Rivers of gore!

Rush – 2112 (Mercury). A masterpiece…period!

The Haunted – Unseen (Century Media). Dolving, you magnificent bastard! Oh wait, that’s the Patton quote….wrong context.

Angel Witch – Angel Witch (Bronze). “You’re an Angel Witch, you’re an Angel Witch!” That’s the chorus to the eponymous title track and it is quite catchy. I bet you were thinking I was going to drop some NWOBHM history on you about how Angel Witch is one of the less recognized, yet just as important, bands of the movement and how the 1980 debut album from these British boys is an underground classic, didn’t you? Bummer, eh?

Witchfinder General – Death Penalty (Heavy Metal). “Who’s coming to get you / I’m coming to take you away / Find you guilty witch woman / ‘Cos I am the Witchfinder General.” That’s the chorus to the eponymous track from Witchfinder General’s 1982 debut album and it is quite catchy. Have you seen the album cover? Naughty, naughty stuff. Are you familiar with Catholic guilt?

Vomitory – Mortis Opus VIII (Metal Blade). Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to have your faced ripped right off the bone? Listen to this album and you’ll have your answer.

Believer – Transhuman (Metal Blade). In the high stakes game of metal journalism, it is an insider’s trick of the trade to listen one more time to the album from the band that you are hours away from interviewing. It’s complicated.

Thornspawn – Blood of the Holy, Taint Thy Steel Goddamn Texas heat! Please allow me to emphasize “goddamn,” “Texas,” and “heat.” You’re free to go.

Entrenched – Preemptive Strike (Self-Released). Two dudes: Sean Fitzpatrick (guitars, bass, vocals) and Charles Snyder (drums and vocals). One guest dude: Mike Mullins (guitar solos on five tracks). One impressive self-released album of war-themed death metal in the vein of Invasion, Bolt Thrower, and Hail of Bullets. This one was a pleasant surprise.

Twisted Sister – “Shoot ‘em Down” & “You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll.” – A couple of MP3s here from the good ‘ole pre-Stay Hungry days. It never got any better than this.

Thrasher Death – Slaver (I Hate). Raw, bloody, filthy, and stinking of beer and vomit, this 16-track compilation from the mid/late 80s Polish underground thrashers is righteous. The sound ain’t pretty, but it gets the job done, and the songwriting is pretty damn solid, reminding of pre-death thrash in all its fetid glory.  I give it two severed thumbs up. I Hate Records have been on a roll this past year.

Testament – The Formation of Damnation (Nuclear Blast).  The funny thing about this album is that for as much as I – like so many others – were stoked to see finally see its release and then praised its content is that I have to be in a certain mood for it, except for the trio of opening cuts: “For the Glory of…,” “More than Meets the Eyes,” and “The Evil Has Landed.” All three, including the instrumental intro, are best served as a single meal. That and the fact that “The Evil has Landed” is one of the best songs Testament has ever recorded. On the whole, I will always choose The Gathering, Demonic, and Low (in that order) over any other Testament albums. And I love ‘em all.

Iggy & The Stooges – Raw Power Live: In the Hands of the Fans (MVD Audio) The Stooges were a very important band, folks. Those first three albums still kill. So does this vinyl live document of a reunited Iggy & The Stooges playing Raw Power in its entirety. Guitarist Ron Asheton died of a heart attack in 2009 and I’m still bummed about it. May he rest in peace. James Williamson (guitarist on 1973’s Raw Power) performs on this album.

Vintersorg – Jordpuls (Napalm) I’m always appreciative of and thoroughly enjoy this band’s folk/prog metal beauty-and-the-beast thing and Jorpuls is no exception. But unless I’m  reviewing an album I rarely listen to Vintersorg.

Monumental Torment – Element of Chaos (Soulflesh Collector). Two Russian guys, an Arizona throat, and a pizza place. It’s a new sitcom and a very good tech-death album.

Hate Eternal – Phoenix Amongst the Ashes (Metal Blade). Wear a cup and wait for the kicking.

Pentagram – First Daze Here (Relapse). Vintage 70s rock and, yes, doom (before it was really called doom) in a secondary sense. Great stuff.

Pentagram – Last Rites (Metal Blade). Bobby Liebling is really that phoenix amongst the ashes about which Hate Eternal is talking, regardless of whether they realize it. Vintage and 70s-oriented as well, but harder rockin’ and doomed up with Victor Griffin’s monumentally heavy riffing. It too is great stuff.

The Company Band – The Company Band (Restricted). The best damn album on which Neil Fallon has ever sung. Sorry Clutch fans (yeah, I like ‘em too, so calm down), but this is one of the catchiest and totally rockin’ albums of the first decade of the 21^st Century.

Anaal Nathrakh – Passion (Season of Mist). Nasty, noisy, and led by a teacher that begins every class by scraping his fingernails across the chalkboard. Wake up, kids!

W.A.S.P. – “The Torture Never Stops.” – It popped into my head for no apparent reason, so I wrote it down. That’s it.

Grand Magus – Hammer of the North (Roadrunner). This is classic heavy metal with light shades of doom and it doesn’t get much better. Dig it.

Zerstörer – Panzerfaust Justice (Ashen Productions). Damn solid and relatively varied black metal. That’s all I feel like writing about it at the moment.

Red Fang – Murder the Mountains (Relapse) – Probably won’t get near the attention it should as a hooky slab of stoner-ish hard rock.

Agnostic Front – My Life My Way (Nuclear Blast). Miret speaks the truth. He always does.

Rotten Sound – Cursed (Relapse) – Bruised, battered, and bloody, but not always at 120 miles per hour. That’s the difference. Get it?

Hour of 13 – The Ritualist (Eyes Like Snow). Another repeat from the previous list, this album gives me a sense of calm every time I drop the needle on it.

Obscura – Ominivum (Relapse). Have I told you how much I’m enjoying this one?

Graveyard – Hisingen Blues (Nuclear Blast). They bring the rock, baby!

VYGR – Hypersleep (Creator-Destructor) Any time “post”-anything is used in describing an album, I usually move on to the next one. But I rather enjoyed this one, probably because it packs a riff-heavy punch.

Benighted – Asylum Cave (Season of Mist). These Frenchmen are just fucking insane and it translates so well to the brutal ‘n memorable music they perform.

If I have to think too much about what to write for this closing paragraph, then the whole absurd purpose of this column (it’s a column, isn’t it?) might as well be flushed right down the toilet, sent through the sewer pipes to the wastewater treatment plant, cleaned of its impurities, and discharged back into the river. Are you with me out there?

With a massive low end production, Angerpath’s 37-minute debut isn’t going to wow anyone with technicality or speed, but steady low ends rumbles and grooves that aren’t groundbreaking musically, but at times can be literally. Forgotten World isn’t about fancy shredding or complex time changes, its  about bludgeoning  mid-pace grooves and a few blast beats with deep throaty vocals. From the opening march of “Forbidden Voice For All” Angerpath‘s goal is apparent as the assault begins in ernest with essentially a template for the rest of the album, featuring some huge lopes and steady, pummeling rhythm section,  that’s unpretentious, solid death metal. The rest of the album basically follows suite with tracks balancing massive riffs like “Closed in a Small Thought” and the epic “Hopes”  with more urgent but still relatively restrained blasts like ‘The Darkest Moment” and the title track (after a little forced atmospherics).

Admittedly by the time closer “Every Little Word”, rounds things out, you’ve heard everything Angerpath has to offer, and the deep spoken words are a bit hokey, but I have to admit whenever one of their tracks pops on on shuffle on my Ipod, my neck starts to snap instantly, and the price was right for a new band to me.  It’s just simple, burly death metal goodness that has me keeping an eye on the band for a hopeful future release and Angerpath wont be forgotten as a Polish, no name death metal one hit wonder.

Trap Them – Darker Handcraft (Prosthetic). Another one that remains on the list. I needed a good teeth-rattling and it sounds even better on vinyl.

Destruction – Day of Reckoning (Nuclear Blast). Yep, it’s still on here. By the way, the cover of Dio’s “Stand up and Shout” rules.

Dukatalon – Saved by Fear (Relapse) – This ain’t no Gaza Strip conflict. This is Israeli sludge!

Boston – Don’t Look Back (Epic). I don’t own this album, but it was Jodi’s birthday, so back off! Long story.

Kreator – Enemy of God (SPV). I own this CD. Same story.

16 – Zoloft Smile (At a Loss).  Same long story. Nobody cared but me, so I put in something else.

Death – Leprosy & Spiritual Healing (Combat). Birthday girls are so demanding.

Acid Witch – Stoned (Hells Headbangers).  Holy shit, have you heard the story?  Dude needs a cough drop.

Mercyful Fate – Don’t Break the Oath (Roadrunner/Megaforce). Loud vinyl; ridiculously loud. Part of the same never ending story.

Rush – All the World’s a Stage (Mercury). Double vinyl. I remember nothing else from that part of the evening.

Hour of 13 – The Ritualist (Eyes Like Snow). Yes, vinyl. See Rush entry above.

Iron Maiden – Killers (Sanctuary). My introduction to Iron Maiden. No album sounded like this back in the day and even the imitators can’t quite get it right. I can still hear the shouts of “Wrathchild!” that accompanied raised fists on that fateful evening that you’ve heard so little about. Di’Anno over Dickinson in a first-round knockout. Dry your tears.

Hirax – El Rostro De La Muerte (Deep Six) – Thrash with teeth, big bared teeth. Cherish the story and tell nobody else.

Infinitum Obscure – Sub Atris Caelis (Deathgasm) – Remember that story I told you nothing about?

Unleashed – Where No Life Dwells/And the Laughter Has Died (Century Media) – A diminutive Mexican metal chick prone to ordering pizza and hot wings for breakfast requested some of that “old Unleashed.” Request fulfilled and the story still untold.

Autopsy – Macabre Eternal (Peaceville). Poop and innards? Death and disease! Vinyl first too!

Corpsefucking Art – Splatter Deluxe (Forever Underground) – 2002 release from zany Italian sewer chewers. Point.Click.Puke.

Beyond Fatal – The Demon Eulogy (Forever Underground). Hey, another 2002 brutal death release! Cool, eh? Well, not that kind of brutal death; more in the traditional USDM style from the Pennsylvania murder squad.

Hallow’s Eve – “Lethal Tendencies” (Metal Blade). From Death & Insanity. An all time, underappreciated classic.  You can’t touch this.

Paganizer – Deadbanger/Promoting Total Death/Dead Unburied/Warlust (Forever Underground) – Everybody Loves Rogga! Premieres tonight on NBC, 9:00 p.m. EST/8:00 p.m. CST.

Intervalle Bizzare/Malignancy – Frailty of the Human Condition (Shindy Productions) – This album came up in my interview with Brutally Deceased’s Tomáš Halama who I found out was a member of the now defunct Intervalle Bizzare, a band I’d not thought about in years. As such, it seemed an opportune time to revisit the split. Back in olden times (2001) we called an album like this “brutal.”

Ares Kingdom – Incendiary (Nuclear War Now). Diehard vinyl edition. Big ass bang for the buck. Lordly.

Mhorgl – Antinomian (Execution Kollective) – Australia rarely disappoints when it comes to extreme metal that’s just a little bit different from anything else you’ve heard. Enter Mhorgl and an album in Antinomian that blasts and slashes, yet does so with discordant flourishes and short detours into the strange that give it a measure of distinction. Worth it for the cover of “Mr. Crowley” alone; it is not what you’d expect.

Lecherous Gaze – Lecherous Gaze (Tee Pee). This four-song EP friggin’ rules; no two ways about it. Vintage hot rockin’ falling somewhere around vintage Molly Hatchet, Thin Lizzy, and classic era Ted Nugent. Great songs and blazing guitar work. Ok, that cover art makes me uncomfortable.

How much are you getting paid for passing “GO” in the game of Monopoly these days? Is Boardwalk still worth a sore ass? Galifianakis was right about Bukowski being right. Don’t question; just go.

My Dying Bride
Like Gods of the Sun
(Peaceville, 1996)

To encapsulate My Dying Bride‘s transition one must understand their history. In brief, they were part of England’s genre creating ‘trinity of doom’ that included My Dying Bride, Anathema and Paradise Lost. Strangely enough, perhaps, all three eventually mellowed out and became softer versions of their former selves — though MDB would be the only one to truly return to their original sound later in their career. And so when MDB delivered a (comparatively speaking) rather wimpy, gothic and fully clean vocalled effort in 1993′s The Angel and the Dark River, fans were taken aback but it was heralded as successful transitional album due to its beautifully melancholic hues and at the time, adventurous change.

And so the band followed that album up with essentially a very similar album. And frankly in retrospect, being released between The Angel and the Dark River and the universally panned 34.788% Complete, put Like Gods of the Sun in a sort of limbo and seemingly inconsequential in the bands storied legacy. It’s the album that My Dying Bride fans sort of forgot about after the train wreck of 34.788% Complete and the band’s subsequent, attention getting return to death metal roots with Light at the End of the World.

That’s part of the reason I wanted to do this as the BARGAIN BIN REVIEW, rather than any number of more obvious choices. The thing is, now I’m visiting the album almost 15 years later, older, wiser and the truth is that Like Gods of the Sun features some of My Dying Bride‘s, most despondent material they ever wrote. I still have issue with the rather thin, hollow guitar tone, but for the most part the songs are actually pretty strong and violinist Martin Powell saved his best performance for last as Like Gods of the Sun was his final appearance on a My Dying Bride album. And I have to admit, 15 years ago, I was never a fan of Aaron Stainthorpe’s clean vocals, but now as I have matured (somewhat) and opened up to vocals beyond Matti Karki and Dani Filth, as well as enjoyed all the band’s last three albums, they now settle much better with me. Hell, they even resonate with me. A little.

Like Gods… was different than the band’s earlier and later releases in that it featured ten relatively short songs. There were no sprawling 10 or 12 minute songs here. The longest song is only 7½ minutes and the shortest is 4½. So the band had the leeway to write a handful of the band’s flattest tracks in their career but at the same time, hide some truly magnificent tracks. They just happen to be mired within ten songs, not six 0r seven.

For me, albums are all about first impressions, and the opening title track to this album does not set the bar very high. 1996 or 2011, it’s still one of the weaker tracks the band has ever penned and for it to be the album’s opening title track, may have been the cause for my initial hate 15 years ago. The same can be said for the likes of “Grace Unhearing” and “It Will Come”. In fact, the album’s first third is actually pretty dull, lacking any real passion or despondency, feeling like leftover tracks from The Angel and the Dark River. That changes with the album’s longest track “A Kiss to Remember” where MDB delivers a rending mix of riffs and Powell’s emotionally draining violin. On a side note, possibly influenced by 1994′s Interview with a Vampire, the mid-song bridge is darkly sensual, if not even homoerotic. With “All Swept Away” the album delivers the requisite shorter, fiercer track and this one has a surprisingly decent mid-paced riff.

The album’s last third actually delivers what have become two of my favorite My Dying Bride songs, and two of their saddest; the light/dark dichotomy “For You”, which alternates between a stern chug and a delicately haunting woeful crawl and then there’s the tear inducing, closing weepfest that is “For My Fallen Angel” — which has no guitars or drums, just synths, the violin and Stainthorpe’s painful croons. Whether it’s old age or parenthood, or maybe I completely skipped this track the first time around, it gets me *right here* (cue Mike Myers impression) and is arguably the band’s most rending moment amid lots of rending moments.

To be honest, I’m not sure where I’d rank Like Gods of the Sun in My Dying Bride’s considerable discography. Its not their best or heaviest but it’s certainly not their worst. The handful of standout tracks makes it worth revisiting and rethinking alone. Ut certainly deserves a little more respect than simply being My Dying Bride’s forgotten album.

Headrot – Gulping the Remains (Pathos). Complete discography from this early 90s USDM act. Stinking and filthy death that is – once again – along the lines of Rottrevore and Impetigo. Features the always cool artwork of Mark Riddick. Decent enough, but didn’t grab me like the Eternal Suffering collection.  “He’s Dead” is just funny with lyrics more ridiculously literal than anything Glen Benton has ever written: “Jesus died and I don’t care” and “The Bible sucks!” Skip Bradshaw of Gut Bucket fame plays drums on it, which is only notable because I like the name Gut Bucket. Also purchased as a $4.99 download from MetalHit..

Bloodthrone – Shield of Hate (Forever Underground). Purchased for the going-out-of-business price of $2.00 from the Epitome Productions distro, Shield of Hate is straight ahead, tremolo picked and blasting USBM, not unlike Thornspawn and Kult ov Azazel, though maybe not quite as viciously over the top as the former or as well written as the latter. Solid nonetheless.

Blood for Blood – Outlaw Anthems (Victory). Came out in ’02. Society-hating Boston HC with multiple tunes that hit the lyrical sweet spot and a melodic sensibility that might cause socially awkward folks to dance.

Ramallah – Kill a Celebrity (Thorp). It hasn’t left the list, even though I forgot to include it on the last installment. This one would be on my best-of-the-decade list. Rob “White Trash” Lind’s sociopolitical commentary is as truthful as it is pointed and anyone that doesn’t want to believe it is “lost in a world of fantasy,” as Triumph’s Rik Emmett sang on 1983’s Never Surrender. “I want to hide in an opium sunrise” from “Oscar Cotton” is the line currently wedged between layers of gray matter inside my skull.

Havok – Time is Up (Candlelight) – Damn right it’s still on here! This is thrash metal with teeth bared and knuckles bloodied!

Evergrey – Glorious Collision (SPV). In the early to mid part of the first decade of this 21^st Century, I was a huge Evergrey fan, but over the years I’ve lost a measure of interest. It’s been three years at least since I really spent any time with the band’s releases, but back in the day I devoured everything that I could fit between my (mouth) cheeks. So I gave Glorious Collision a spin and found that it is pretty much classic Evergrey; more so than 2008’s Torn and (especially) 2006’s Monday Morning Apocalypse. Final verdict: good album, but still not digging this stuff like I used to. Never fear; the mood will strike again.

Believer – Transhuman (Metal Blade) – First Believer album with which I’ve spent any time listening and I am thoroughly impressed. I know of the Believer reputation as one of the original (good), non-preachy Christian metal bands playing progressive thrash metal, but on the new album the spectacular, angled and knotted riffing is only occasional close to what most would define as thrash. Even then it’s stretching it. Dynamic, often unconventional arrangements with beautiful keyboard work and catchy melodies to go with an approach that is technically accomplished, yet in no way overkill. Great stuff.

Wooden Stake – Black Caped Carnivore (Sorcerer’s Pledge). Vinyl 7” limited to 500 copies that includes two new Wooden Stake tracks. I ordered it from the Razorback distro. My copy is #184.  Love the artwork and the tunes are spooky keen.

Trap Them – Darker Handcraft (Prosthetic). You put your Stockholm death metal chocolate in my U.S. hardcore peanut butter! Another band that critics seem to love to an almost uncomfortable extent, but in this case it is not without justification. Listen closely and you’ll hear the sound of Trap Them expanding their repertoire into something that is not as easily categorized as that first sentence would indicate.  Black Breath could still take ‘em in a street fight, but Darker Handcraft is the most well-rounded album of their career and a cinch for year-end lists the world over.

Inquisition – Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm (Hells Headbangers). Vinyl version, baby! Oh wait, I’d better write more so that the band name-album title-record-label line above doesn’t end up with a higher word count than the content of the entry.
Mercyful Fate – Melissa (Roadrunner/Megaforce). Pure Satanic heavy metal genius from a band I didn’t appreciate enough back in the day. That’s changed drastically over the years. “Curse of the Pharaohs” is among the hookiest tracks they’ve ever written and the 11-minute “Satan’s Fall” among the most dynamic.  What the fuck were Sherman and Denner thinking when they formed Forbidden Evil? I must have been drunk when I gave a decent review to the 2004 self-titled album or maybe it wasn’t that bad (can’t recall now), but sobered up enough to recognize 2005’s Black Empire for what it was: Rubbish.

Mercyful Fate – Don’t Break the Oath (Roadrunner/Combat) – Just obtained the 180-gram vinyl remaster to make up for my short-lived ownership of the original pressing that I purchased when it was released, a decision that still causes me great mental anguish. I won’t lie; Don’t Break the Oath scared the shit out of me as a kid. Oh great White Light Father in the Sky, forgive me for this cardinal sin.

Wormrot – Dirge (Earache) – Excellent grindcore from Singapore. Pay attention!

Kampfar – Mare (Napalm). Still pagan, still folky, and still catchy, but a glossier sheen from Peter Tagtgren sands off the grit that made Kvass such a great album.  Heimgang hinted at the direction. Fortunately, they’ve not thrown out the ugly baby with the scalding bathwater.

Brian Robertson – Diamonds and Dirt (SPV) – Remember Robertson for his work on the underrated Another Perfect Day (Motorhead) and his contribution to some great Thin Lizzy music, instead of for this bowl of tepid blues-rock soup.

Obscura – Omnivium (Relapse). Nobody balances uber cool technicality with a song-based focus like Obscura. Omnivium is their masterpiece and no tech-death album in 2011 will top it…guaranteed.

Motorjesus – Wheels of Purgatory (Big3). Ballsy hard rock with shiny Nickelback-esque choruses, though much more tolerable. Honestly, it is halfway decent, though devoid of staying power for dirt lovers.

Cannibal Corpse – Global Evisceration (Metal Blade) Another terrific Cannibal Corpse DVD that offers an insightful view into the group’s world tour supporting Evisceration Plague; 10 of the 40 countries visited are featured, interspersed with live performances from the Albuquerque and Denver shows.  Kill is a better album (one of the best, if not the best of the act’s career), but since Cannibal Corpse has never made a bad album, then it goes without saying that Global Evisceration is good as well, which is why I wrote this instead of saying it.

Ted Nugent – Double Live Gonzo (Epic) Specifically the MP3 versions of “Just what the Doctored Ordered,” “Stormtroopin’” and “Stranglehold,” all of which knock the snot out of the studio recordings. I still own the now well worn double-vinyl release. That’s right!

Stryper – The Covering (Big3) – “Fatherrrrr! Why have you forsaken me!?”

Dripping Slits – Short Skirts & Long Nights (Thinker Thought) – Stop referencing The Stooges and MC5, kids. You ain’t all that. Loud and rowdy does not in this case equate to memorable. Dripping Slits…just had to write that one more time.

Please accept my sincerest apologies for making it this far. You are not to be commended. You wouldn’t stab a horse, right? So why are you still purchasing blood diamonds through black market channels? You’re dead to me.

Verge / Blood Red Fog – Because it’s Wrong (Helvete.ru) Two trippy, grotesquely atmospheric Finnish black metal experimenters, the former with some delectable 70s fuzz tone bits; the latter notable for the dark, ugly melodies. Thoughts of the name Blood Red Fog makes me feel sticky.

Dying Fetus – Killing on Adrenaline (Relapse Reissue). Quintessential grinding, grooving, and tech-y USDM; for many the career high point because of the righteous grooves. Jason Netherton kills, Kevin Talley kills, and John Gallagher assembles the stage for the whole thing. The bass overkill on the original mix is made more tolerable with the remastering.

Dying Fetus – Purification Through Violence (Relapse Reissue). First full-length from influential D.C. area death grinders. Originally released in 1996, it marked the beginning of the ascent into groove-based and technically specked USDM that so many of the brutal slam boys have been copying.

Dying Fetus – Grotesque Impalement (Relapse Reissue). Cool EP originally put out through Blunt Force Records as a stopgap between Killing on Adrenaline and Destroy the Opposition. Demo re-recordings, sweet cover tracks, an unreleased track, a live track, and some serious musical/lyrical hilarity to go with Jason’s Netherton’s great liner notes. Buy these three reissues, come home to drop the kids off at the pool, and then go back out and by the Infatuation with Malevolence reissue. Not recommended for pretty boys or snooty Barbie Dolls.

Decrepitaph – Profane Doctrines Unburied (Razorback). Third quality affair from Incantation/Asphyx-with-twists style duo featuring mastermind Wayne “The Elekrokutioner” Sarantopolous and partner-in-sootiness Sinworm. This time the style is inclusive of a Stockholm death influence. Very consistent band; very good album.

Six Feet Under – Wake the Night! Live in Germany DVD (Metal Blade) I can hear the DM elitists bitching up a storm now. I’d say I was one of the few that enjoyed the occasional meal of SFU chops, but such a statement would be dismissive of the SFU legion of fans that are spoken of only in whispers by the USDM intelligentsia. Whatever the case, this is one hell of a live presentation of Barnes’ band of death-groove bashers. Germany loves Six Feet Under.

Wooden Stake / Blizaro – Wooden Stake / Blizaro (Razorback). – Wooden Stake: An interesting style of doom metal from Vanessa Nocera and Wayne Sarantopolous, inclusive of well written tales of horror and the macabre. Blizaro: Eclectic doom that is way fucking cool and psychedelic. John Gallo (Orodruin) commands this freighter of the stoned.

Death – Human. There was a time when I was lukewarm about Death. Not that I didn’t appreciate the contribution, but it rarely clicked for me; well, aside from Scream Bloody Gore. But the last couple of years I’ve come to enjoy Schuldiner’s work a great deal more. Human is one that took a while for folks to truly appreciate, myself included, but songs like “Flattening of Emotions,” “Suicide Machine,” and “Together as One” really pay off with repeat listens. The secret to this one is in a technicality that is obviously present, but in many ways is more subtle compared to present day tech-death and which ultimately sink the claws in deep. The lineup on Human included Paul Masvidal (guitars), Sean Reinert (drums), and Steve Digiorgio (bass). ‘Nuff said.

Deadlock – Bizaro World (Lifeforce). Only you can stop the sucking…by not buying this. What happened to this band?

Tankard – Vol(l)ume 14 (AFM). I love Tankard. I hate this album.

Grave – You’ll Never See (Century Media). Grave or Dismember? I love Dismember, but I’ve always been more of a Grave guy. I’d like to thank Erik “The-Saints-Are-Still-Better-Than-The-Packers” Thomas for reuniting me with this classic piece of stinking bludgeon.

Sarcofago – The Laws of Scourge. Anybody think else think that the picture of vocalist/guitarist Wagner Lamounier looks like he had just come back from his other job as a Stephen Pearcy impersonator in a Brazilian Ratt tribute band? The whip doesn’t help. Calm down; no disrespect, I’m well aware of this band’s enormous influence on all things bestial, deathly, blackened, and thrashy, as evidenced by the fact that it’s impossible to find a review or press release about any other even remotely blackened, thrash, deathly, or bestial Brazilian band that doesn’t namedrop Sarcofago. See Grave Desecrator above. Wait a minute…what if Sarcofago had become the official sponsor of Faygo back in the day? Sarcofaygo?

Satyricon – Rebel Extravaganza (Moonfog). When I added this one to the list a couple of weeks ago I’m sure I had some witty, informative comments to go with it, but I’ve since forgotten and moved on with my life. Calm your ass down; it’s a good album, just like all the other Satyricon releases. Sheesh!

Satyricon – Nemesis Divina (Moonfog). It’s a classic…blah, blah, blah. See above.

Master – “Jailbreak.” From 1993’s Collection of Souls (Nuclear Blast). Now that’s what I call a cover song! But now it reminds me of being hung over. Long story.

In Flames – Clayman (Nuclear Blast). I don’t care what anyone says; this is the In Flames masterpiece. The perfect balance of aggression and melody and still packs a wallop today. I’m talking to you, Jodi Michael.

In Flames – Colony (Nuclear Blast). Great album, but see above.

Havok – Time is Up (Candlelight). One of the best representatives of the resurgent thrash movement, Time is Up owes the Bay Area, but puts their own modern twist on these Exodus-esque and Slayer-slivered anthems that are arranged with skill, a whole lot of great riffs, and lacerating solos. On stage this band is one of the best I’ve seen in years, as was the case at recent show in Kansas City. Color me with socks knocked off…or something. Well done, young thrashers of Denver, Colorado.

Destruction – Day of Reckoning (Nuclear Blast). This one will easily end up one of the year’s best thrash metal albums. Placement on my 2011 year-end list is guaranteed. Sharp enough for blood flow; catchy enough for memory retention. And I was never all that big of a Destruction fan. So there!

Scheepers – Scheepers (Frontiers). I like Judas Priest. I like Primal Fear. I like Halford, except for that Made of Metal piece of poop. I like the material on this Ralf Scheeper’s solo album that sounds like any of those three bands.. Otherwise, I couldn’t care less.

Onslaught – The Sounds of Violence (AFM). Muscular thrash metal from the UK oldies. All you need to know about is one song: “Godhead.” Holy Slayer, Batman! That tune rules!

American Heritage – Sedentary (Translation Loss). Yeah, yeah, it’s good aggressive stuff that sounds like earlier Mastodon and all those other bands that are aping the sound. Yes, I realize American Heritage has been around a long time now so the comparison is not completely fair. Sorry elitists, but I still don’t care. I’m tired of it.

Call this the summation; call it the end of the road; just don’t call it late for dinner. Shouldn’t you be home watching America’s Funniest Home Tragedies? Or at least raging against Nike for exploiting all those poor Indonesian factory workers. Greed ain’t that good, asshole. Until next time… Whatever. End transmission

Violation‘s debut was produced by Hypocrisy‘s Peter Tagtgren at Abyss Studio, who also added some backing vocals.  And the sound has to be one of Tagtgren’s beefiest tones, sounding like a mix of a Sunlight Studio buzz and Hypocrisy‘s early releases. The style of the album reflects the production values as Violation seemed caught between two worlds; old school Swedish death metal and the melodic death metal explosion that was occurring when they released their debut. The moody, atmospheric synths and mid range rasps hint at more melodeath influence but some super deep croaks and rumbling mid range riffs keeps balances the material nicely between cantering melodeath of the day, and a more burly old school Stockholm tone. That balance is perfectly defined within the first two track; opener  “Dark Embrace”, a rangy varied number with a plethora of moods and second standout track “Genocide” which alternates between a gruff death metal rumble, a doomy Gorement/God Macabre lope and some bouncy synth moments. Admittedly the  presentation is a bit rough around the edges, and the synths seems a bit out of place within the thicker, more death metal guitars, but the songwriting keeps everything grounded and interesting as a rougher, burlier take on melodic death metal. Tracks like “Invocation” or “Through the Gates of Infinity” are just good songs with lots of nods to both Entombed and Dark Tranquillity and should be checked out by fans of both.

Two years later, and with a tweaked line-up, Violation released Moonlight’s Child again produced by Tagtgren but with a much more polished and cleaner tone, though still retaining a nice Stockholm undercurrent and buzz. And with the cleaner production came a cleaner, more polished and focused album, with a tighter delivery and more of an emphasis on melodic death metal. Though the guitars still had a stern mid range crunch, increased synths, less deep vocals and more cantering, melodic riffs made for an album that oozed a little more of a Gothenburg sound. But in the case of Violation, it was a good thing as Moonlight’s Child was still chock full of great melodic riffs and enamoring synths, but never being quite as ‘death metal lite’  or Iron Maiden-y as many of their solo obsessed melodeath peers. Thanks to the guitar tone and Stockholm backbone, excellent tracks like “Downfall”, “Trapped in Chaos”,  “Nightshades” and “Mortal Divinity” and have just a little more ‘oomph’ bit still have hooks abound. In all, an album and band that appears to have been completely overlooked in 2000 and frankly a band that had more talent and promise than a band like country mates Night In Gale who somehow ended up releasing 3 albums on Nuclear Blast. Violation didn’t record anything else and split up in 2005 with members going on to be in Soul Demise, Hellscape and Cryptic Wintermoon. And while Soul Demise has a similar sound, it’s unfortunate that they could not stay together and continue delivering their more menacing take on a genre  that would end up getting completely saturated with unoriginal clones. A fine win for the Bargain Bin.

The first place winner, picked randomly, will receive  a copy of Omision‘s In the Shadow of the Cross, a copy of Warfield‘s Trivmvirat MCD… AND…A Zombiefication Necrombulatory T-shirt!!!

The second randomly selected person will receive copies of both the Omision and Warfield CDs!

What do you have to do for a chance at these  sick death metal CDs and the possibility to wear that T-shirt at your next  Bah Mizvah, wedding or your own funeral?  All you need to do is to fill out the form below, include your shirt size and sacrifice a Fire Salamander at midnight on the vernal equinox. OK, you don’t have to do that last part but you need to rock out with your…uh..yeah. At least fill out the form, OK?

***

CONTEST HAS NOW ENDED. WINNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED PERSONALLY SOON.

***

***

DISCLAIMER: Two winners will be picked randomly. The winners will be notified personally via email. Your personal details will only be used to deliver the CDs to you and will not be shared with 3rd parties. Teeth of the Divine, nor Chaos Records take any responsibility over packages lost or stolen in the mail. Teeth of the Divine staff members are not eligible. Contest ends when there’s no form to fill or submit. The form will be removed at some point during March 21st, 2011

W.A.S.P. – The Last Command. Another $3 vinyl flea market purchase. Second album from the codpiece collective and inclusive of ripping rockers “Sex Drive” and “Ballcrusher.” Don’t be a d-bag and mention “Wild Child” and “Blind in Texas” as some attempt to be hip and informed. Nobody cares. See dead drunk comment above.

Vinnie Vincent Invasion – Vinnie Vincent Invasion. Old Kiss guitarist. A few good tunes, too goddamn much makeup and more treble than just about anything else you can imagine. Vinyl purchase for $3 at that same flea market.

Rush - Fly By Night. Scratched to shit. Vinyl flea market purchase for $3 gone horribly wrong.

Benedictum – Dominion. Upcoming third album from great U.S. trad-metal band. Veronica Freeman kicks all of your asses and then runs you over with that old pickup truck from Sanford and Son.

Voivod – Nothingface. Borrowed from Teeth of the Divine starlet Jodi Michael at a birthday party for a two-year old. Sounds refreshing in this year of your lord, 2011.

Scale the Summit – Monument. Borrowed from that same Jodi chick at the same event celebrating two years of existence on this toilet earth. That is, after I had given it to her, not realizing that after I reviewed new album The Collective that I really dig this band. And I usually give little in the way of a shit about instrumental acts. Go figure.

AC/DC – Flick of the Switch. Followed an overproduced For Those About to Rock (We Salute You), a lesser album than this raw, self produced, no frills bag of rawness and loud guitars. Its Lange-polished predecessor is one of my least favorite AC/DC albums.

Deicide – To Hell with God. Shocked at the sheer compact, concise, fast, brutal, blasphemous, well written and double-bass beaten box of violence. Easily the best thing they’ve done in years and, yes, it’s better than The Stench of Redemption. Kiss my ass.

Motorhead – The World is Yours. Solid Motorhead with even more of a traditional rock ‘n roll, boogie vibe, but probably my least favorite of the last decade. “Get Back in Line” and “I Know How to Die” were performed at a recent show in Kansas City.

Eternal Suffering – Recollections of Tragedy and Misery. Pathos Productions compilation purchased as a $4.99 download from MetalHit. Solid, groovy, chunky, and rubbed raw older USDM, but nothing that dented my cranium. Still deciding on a final verdict for this one.

Testament – Practice what You Preach. Borrowed from an Asian-women-obsessed hood in a sketchy neighborhood during a Superbowl Suckfest. Title track and “Perilous Nation” make me happy. That is all.

Blood for Blood – Serenity. “I fuckin’ surrender! Oh god, grant me serenity please!” Outstanding hardcore street punk and “Hanging on the Corner” never, ever gets old. Ben Affleck’s The Town actually reminded me of it; that whole Charlestown thing. Rob Lind is one of the best of all time. The guy’s vocals incite me to violence every single time.

Ramallah – Kill a Celebrity. Serenity reminded me of this one. Excellent militant, catchy hardcore that uses keyboards in places and somehow pulls it off. A big middle finger to all you vacuous flag wavers. See Rob Lind comment above.

Godflesh – Street Cleaner. Earache reissue. A classic from a band that I’ve come to appreciate far more than when I owned Pure 85 years ago and used it to torment my college roommates who thought it was the most horrendous noise they’d ever heard. Research line about Robert Deniro’s character in Taxi Driver cleaning the NYC streets of mortal scum and heroin needles.

Bullet – Heavy Metal Pirates. Please don’t insert the word “butt” between “metal” and “pirates.” This is great traditional heavy metal and hard rock with a sound that fuses AC/DC, Accept, Saxon, and Airbourne. Remember what anthems sounded like? You think too much.

Evoken/Beneath the Frozen Soil – Evoken/Beneath the Frozen Soil. Funeral doom done right. A great band and a good band (in that order), both of whom manage to keep the atmosphere dreadful and the pace crawling without causing listeners to shoot themselves in the face with that big ass gun from the Dirty Harry movies.

Hour of 13 -The Rites of Samhain. Vinyl 7” released on Yersinia Pestis Records late last year and limited to 300 copies. Title track is another gem from these old school heavy metal doomsters. The cover of Samhain’s “To Walk the Night” brings back fond memories of wearing out my November-Coming-Fire cassette. Put the crack pipe down and learn some heavy music history.

Until next time, keep your feet on the ground and keep scratching your bulbous head at the life of quiet desperation you’ve chosen to lead until dying a horrible death in a dilapidated nursing home with the words “we know you’re going to just love it here” ringing in your ears.

One of the finds that piqued my curiosity was an album called Aeon Sky by a band called Sanctus. At the time, it was a purely blind buy, mingled in with all the other Metal Blade leftovers I had stumbled across. Fate must have had its hand in play as it turned out to be quite the little gem…

Sanctus
Aeon Sky
(Metal Blade Records, 2000)

Before the likes of Abigail Williams, The Funeral Pyre and Sothis dragged the US black metal scene into the European styled,  symphonic black metal mainstream, (now mostly defunct) bands like Scholomance, Dreamscapes of the Perverse, Dragonlord, Epicurean,  Veneficum, Vesperian Sorrow and California’s Sanctus were actually treading relatively uncharted waters for US bands a decade or so ago ― long before it became trendy to do so.

Formed in 1998 under the moniker of Pantheon, but long since split-up, Aeon Sky was the band’s only album, though they released a three song demo EP called Fateshifter in 2003. Now, don’t get me wrong this album would never have competed with the big symphonic black and death metal players of 11 years ago, namely the band’s primary influences: Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, Borknagar, Arcturus, etc… and  especially when Sanctus was fronted by a singer who looks like a server at Applebees. Still, this seven song (and one intro) affair, full of lengthy, ambitious songs and lots of progressive elements with a clean crisp production certainly should have garnered more attention when it came out. One could argue that Sanctus might have been a little ahead of their time, as back in 2000, when the Europeans still dominated melodic/symphonic metal, modern metalcore was burgeoning and the US was just coming out of a saturated death metal slump.

Admittedly,the drumming isn’t great and  the songwriting is a a bit choppy with some rather messy songs intermingled with some, at times, truly excellent symphonic black metal. But you can’t question the passion and conviction these California kids brought to the table. For example opener “Empyreal” is a complete mish mash of lazy blasts and unsettled energy that makes for a bad initial impression, but with the 6-minute ‘”If We Fall…”  the bands seems to settle down and manage to inject some very nice clean and epic segments by way of female vocals  and spoken words that don’t come across as cheesy, theatrical or overtly ridden with gothic atmosphere like Cradle of Filth (though certainly a baseline comparison). Instead, it retains a clean, fresh, American sound that’s easily identifiable 11 years later. The ambitious, 8-9 minute epics “November”  and “Tired of the Pain” wipe away the slightly grimace inducing vocals for the previous track “Odyssey”. The 7-minute “Thought I Saw Your Wings” is another standout, a regal but tempered mid-paced track before “Thy Desolation”, which is a bit wet, laden with rather clean croons. The nice vinyl sounding, crackling, marching outro “Remnants” rounds out the CD, and leaves me wondering what these guys could have done if they had in fact fulfilled their four album contract with Metal Blade. Unfortunately, it seems like we’ll never know…

To be honest, it’s hard to dislike this CD or the band. They seemed like bright eyed and eager musicians that tried hard but for reason or another, didn’t grasp the attention they deserved. I guess Sanctus were like the Jamaican bobsled team and will remain a sort of lost bygone Trivial Pursuit answer…and unfortunately a bargain bin find.

But at least they have this respectable recording to remember them by.

And with these CDs costing anywhere from 99 cents to a measly $6 or $7… why not take a chance and make blind purchase, stock up on a long lost classic, or even replace a CD you had to trade or sell just to get that penile enlargement surgery?

I often wonder how some of these treasures (or trash) end up in these CD orphanages. I get why there are 135 copies of To the Extreme or St Anger in every used bin, but why would some metalhead purposely trade in his original print of Immolation’s  Dawn of Possession or Import press of Dismal Euphony’s  Soria Moria Slott ― CDs I have actually seen in a used bin?

With a job that takes me all over the state, as well as frequently to other states, my first stop is always the local CD stores, whether it be a Hastings, FYE or some back alley used CD store. I spend hours peruses the clearance bins and CD racks for some hidden metal gem, so myself and hopefully some of the other writers here will regale you of some of our best (and worst) finds.

The only requirements here are that the CDs had to have purchased at some sort of used/clearance music store, either online or retail. The albums also have to be releases that we, here at Teeth of the Divine, haven’t covered already and they also have to be more than a year older ― otherwise we’d simply do a regular review, right?

So without further ado, I present one of my very favorite (and recent) bargain fins finds:

Malignancy
Intrauterine Cannibalism
(United Guttural Records, 1999)

I had only actually first heard New York’s Malignancy on 2007′s Inhuman Grotesqueries, so upon seeing this in the local CD store used tray, I immediately grabbed it, my curiosity piqued as to how the band sounded over a decade ago on their debut, and even more curious due to mislabeled tracks in the back and the misspelling of the band’s name on the CD inner tray spine (spelled Malignacny). No spell check in 1999?

I’m pretty sure, though a somewhat revered release amid brutal death metal aficionados, Intrauterine Cannibalism was probably lost in the great death metal saturation or Nile dry humping that was occurring in 1999. But what we have here is actually a very good old school US styled semi-technical/brutal death metal record with some great songs, that’s much more simple and bludgeoning that their 2007 iteration.

Though still fully rooted in Cannibal Corpse (just listen to the opening riff of album opener” Rotten Seed”), Malignancy’s New Yawk roots bleed though with enough rough and ready slams and denim clad street toughness to give it a slight Suffocation-vibe. Throw in some truly deep guitars and vocals, and despite the water thin snare drum sound, I understand why this CD is viewed as somewhat of a classic. And personally, it’s much more raw and earthy than there long awaited follow-up. I’m pretty sure there’s no Pro Tools or digital shenanigans going on here.

The already mentioned opener “Rotten Seed” has a simply killer, classic groove and other tracks like “Intestinal Sodomy” , “Profitable Extinction”,  “Waterlogged Corpse”, “Bag” and other gloriously nineties death metal named tracks that pull no punches or push no envelopes but captured the essence of ’90s American death metal perfectly.

In all a very well spent $3.99 and a cool little find in a rural mid-Missouri CD store