Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, or All Hallows Eve to everyone!!!  We actually have some birthdays today as well.  Mikkey Dee the drummer for Motorhead for the last 15 years or so turns 45.  He also played with King Diamond back in the day, and King Diamond is just Halloween-ish in general.  Also Mitch Harris of Napalm Death turns 39 for the second time.

Some music to blast in preparation for Halloween

Not only TGIF, but since Halloween falls on a Saturday we also get a legitimate 2 nights of living it up without having to wake up in the morning.  ...unless you are one of those poor bastards who works on Saturday and Sunday.  So to help get in the spirit today I made a playlist of songs that seemed to me to be both good rock and metal songs, and also Halloween-ish.  A bunch of the songs are pretty obvious (Helloween's 'Halloween' and Alice Cooper), but note the first song which is a Manson  cover of "This is Halloween' from Nightmare before Christmas, and the last 3 songs which are an epic tale of pre-christian England delivered from none more creepy- Sunn O))) .

NY Concert Listings!

A few new shows added, nothing major.  Something that is nice is that Whiplash is playing a free gig (everyone loves free) at Fontanas on Nov. 5th.  Those shows usually include some free booze, but no promises on that.  Also Seventh Void, Acey Slade, Skeletonwhitch and Black Anvil dates added.  Lots of shows tomorrow night for Halloween..... enjoy!

OCTOBER

10/30 - Brann Dailor (drums for Mastodon) for a Scheduled Signing @ Sam Ash (Times Square)

-*10/30 - Mastodon, Dethklok, High On Fire, and Converge @ Hammerstein Ballroom (Manhattan)
-10/30 - Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, U2 and METALLICA @ MSG - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Show (YUCK!!!) (Manhattan)

-10/30 - VLADAPALOOZA @ Freddy's Backroom (Brooklyn)

-10/30 - Punk Rock/Metal Karaoke @ Fontanas (Manhattan)

-10/30 - Chiller Theater Expo @ The Hilton (Parsippany, NJ)

-10/30 - SIGNING Zakk Wyde @ Sam Ash (Times Square)

-10/30 - Skid Row @ Northern Lights (Clifton, NJ)

-10/30 - Slayer Listening Party for World Painted Blood @ Duffs (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
-10/30 - Ray West and Pillow Theory @ The Delancey (Manhattan)

-10/31 - *Misfits @ BB Kings (Time Square, Manhattan)

-10/31 - Senses Fail, A Skylit Drive, Closure In Moscow and Fact @ Starland Ballroom (Sayreville, NJ)

-10/31 - Malkuth, Liturgy, Mount Eerie and Tara Jane O'Neil @ The Market Hotel (Brooklyn)

*-10/31 - Private Black Label Society show @ Hard Rock Cafe (Manhattan)
-10/31 - Acey Slade and the Dark Party @ Don Hills (Manhattan)

NOVEMBER

-11/01 - Powerman 5000's Halloween Bash with PM5K (duh), Westgate, All Should Fade, Avenida, Glass Midnight, Betrayus, and Shadows of Dawn@Starland Ballroom (Sayreville, NJ)

-11/01 - Dysrhythmia, STATS, and The Smother Party @ Union Pool (Brooklyn)

*-11/01 - Murder Junkies @ The Rift (Port Jefferson, Long Island)
*-11/03 - Toxic Holocaust, Trap Them and Skeletonwitch @ Crazy Donkey (Farmingdale, L.I.)

-11/03 - Powerman 5000 @ Blender Theater (Manhattan)

-11/05 - Tesla @ Westbury Music Fair (Westbury, Long Island)

-11/05 - Trivium and Chimaira @ Irving Plaza (Manhattan)

-11/05 - Whiplash @ Fonatanas (Manhattan)

-11/05 - Machine Head @ The Crazy Donkey (Farmingdale, Long Island)

-11/05 - Andrew WK @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple (Brooklyn)
-11/05 - Core Device and Life Of Agony @ Starland Ballroom (Sayreville, NJ)

-11/06 - Heathenfest with Eluveitie, Bephelgor, Alestorm, Kivimetsan, Druidi and Vreid @ Gramercy Theater (Manhattan)

-11/06 - John Corabi with Blackout (some Scorpions tribute) @ Dingbatz (Clifton, NJ)
-11/06 - Zandelle, Moth Eater and the Judas Syndrome @ Ace of Clubs (Manhattan)

-11/07 - Undivided @ Duffs (Brooklyn)

-11/08 - Wolfmother @ Terminal 5 (Manhattan)

-11/10 - Joe Perry Project @ Irving Plaza (Manhattan)

*-11/11 -Dir En Grey @ Gramercy Theater (Manhattan)

-11/12 - Papa Roach @ Nokia Theater (Times Square, NY)

-11/13 - AFI @ Roseland Ballroom (Manhattan)
-11/13 - Saints of Pain, Hung, and Knives Everywhere @ Ace of Clubs (Manhattan)

-11/13 - All That Remains, Lacuna Coil, Maylene and the Sons of Disaster and Taking Dawn @ Starland Ballroom (Sayreville, NJ)

11/13 - Liturgy, Malkuth, Krallice, and Orphan @ Union Pool (Brooklyn)

*-11/13 -Dir En Grey @ Gramercy Theater (Manhattan)

-11/13 - Krallice, Malkuth, and Liturgy @ Union Pool (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

*-11/14 - Dir En Grey @ Gramercy Theater (Manhattan)
*-11/14 - Skeletonwitch and Black Anvil @ Union Pool (Brooklyn)

-*11/14 - Metallica with Volbeat @ MSG (Manhattan)

*-11/15 - Metallica with Volbeat @ MSG (Manhattan)

-11/15 - Shrinebuilder, Rwake, and Liturgy @ Le Poisson Rouge (Manhattan)

-11/17 - Vader @ Blender Theater (Manhattan)
-11/18 - A Storm Of Light (Record Release Party) with Biclops @ Ace of Clubs (Manhattan)
-11/18 - Black Tusk and Javelina @ The Charleston (Brooklyn)

*-11/20 - Baroness @ Bowery Ballroom (Manhattan)
-11/21 - Seventh Void @ Trash Bar (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
-11/23 - Melt Banana @Bowery Ballroom (Manhattan)

-11/27 - Saosin with P.O.S, and Eye Alaska @ Starland Ballroom (Sayreville, NJ)

-11/28 - Core Device and Life of Agony @ Starland Ballroom (Sayreville, NJ)

DECEMBER

*-12/01 - Rob Zombie @ Hammerstein Ballroom (Manhattan)

-12/02 - Pelican, with Black Cobra and Disappear @ Highline Ballroom (Manhattan)
-12/03 - Cable and Goes Cube (FREE) @ Fontanas (Manhattan)

-12/04 - Insane Clown Posse (yes, I know that I literally include every band on this list) @ Starland Ballroom (Sayreville, NJ)

-12/04 - Dillinger escape Plan @ Crazy Donkey (Farmingdale, Long Island)

-12/05 - Paganfest with Ensiferum, Hypocrisy, Ex Deo, and Swashbuckle @ Irving Plaza (Manhattan)

-12/06 - Twisted Sister with Lillian Axe (I think) @ Nokia Theater (Times Square)
12/09 - Municipal Waste, Cauldron, Phobia and Brutal Truth @ Gramercy Theater (Manhattan)

-12/11 - Trans Siberian Orchestra @ Nassau Coliseum (Long Island)
-12/13 - Job For A Cowboy, The Red Chord, and GWAR @ Irving Plaza (Manhattan)

*-12/16 - Marduk, Nachtmystium, Mantic Ritual and Black Anvil @ Blender Theater (Manhattan)
-12/18 - Hatebreed with Cannibal Corpse, Unearth, Born Of Osiris and Hate Eternal @ Nokia Theater (Times Square, NYC)

*-12/26 - Danzig @ Starland Ballroom (Sayreville, NJ)
-12/26 - Inside Hollow @ Ace Of Clubs (Manhattan)

-12/27 - Zebra @ BB Kings (Manhattan)

JANUARY

-01/15 - Anvil @ Irving Plaza (Manhattan)

-01/16 - D.R.I @ Starland Ballroom (Sayreville, NJ)

-01/18 - Nile, Abigail Wiliams @ Blender Theater (Manhattan)

-01/22 - Arch Enemy, Exodus @ Nokia (Manhattan)

-01/29 - Epica @ Blender Theater (Manhattan)

Time to up the metal to 11

I feel the need to metal-up my blog a little bit.  The last few posts have been about an American Idol contestant (granted a very rock one), and my Band of The Week was Richie Kotzen who is more blues rock than hard rock.  
Today I present you with a playlist of music by Satanists, in honor of Anton Laveys death, which was 12 years ago today.  Kinda sad that he died just 2 days before Halloween.....

This playlist was actually a lot harder to come up with than you would think.  I wanted to include metal bands that had actual links to Satanism, not just a few songs that mention the guy.  So, King Diamond was the obvious choice since he is so vocal about his beliefs.  Marilyn Manson of course has worked with teh Church of Satan, Marduk still claims their message is Satan, and early Gorgoroth, seemed to be fairly legit as well.  Deicide's Glen Benton won't shut the fuck up about Satan and his love for him, but something tells me this guy is all tongue in cheek.
As for Venom, I included them simply because so many people took them seriously even when they didn't.As far as bands accused of Satanism- the list is endless. Black Sabbath, Motley Crue, Judas Priest, Slayer, KISS (remember them being called Knights In Satans Service) and just about anyone else in metal... Tipper Gore even tried to claim Twisted Sister were Satanists!  Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page might have had a fascination with Aleister Crowley, but LZ is in no way a Satanic band. 

Daily Metal

Recently I have been on a glam rock kick thanks to a very special Mr. Adam Lambert .  His album, For Your Entertainment, is due out on Nov. 23rd, but the album cover was just released for the world to see.  TOTAL.GLAM.ROCK.  I really hope the music matches the image.  

(the whole outerspace androgynousness totally reminded me of the late great Jobriath)

Anyway for today's daily dose of metal, I thought I would make a glam rock playlist for ya.  This music really played off of the early metal artists like Quiet Riot, Alice Cooper, & KISS, and later bands like WASP, Motley Crue and Poison, so it's all intertwined.  And may I add, that the reason I even know who Adam Lambert is from Chris Caffery  (Savatage/Trans Siberian Orchestra) raving about him to me.  Chris was right!

NIN releases a bootleg that is legal

AWESOME news here.  Back in August Nine Inch Nails  played a bunch of live shows in NYC.  I caught one of the larger shows at Terminal 5, but the show that everyone ended up making a big stink over was the smaller one at Webster Hall where they played The Downward Spiral in it's entirety.  FUCK- I wish I was at that show.  Well, for those of us who missed that, there is some good news.  Apparently a bunch of fan videos have been released, clipped together, and edited to fit smoothly enough that the whole concert can be viewed online in full.  Better yet, the fans that took the video must have been loaded because it seems like they all had High Def video cameras.
CLICK HERE to download the video, burn it to dvd, or steam the full playlist on youtube.   Here is a video of the first song, 'Mr. Self Destruct':  

Tuesday's Metal Releases

3 - Revisions (Metal Blade)
36 Crazyfists - Underneath A Northern Sky DVD (Ferret)
The Abominable Iron Sloth – Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Heaviness (Blackmarket Activities)
Agathodaimon - Phoenix (E1)
Atreyu - Congregation Of The Damned (Hollywood)
Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect (Victory)
Bride - Tsar Bomba (Retroactive)
Dir En Grey - Average Blasphemy DVD (The End)
Graveworm - Diabolical Figures (E1)

Band Of the Week - Richie Kotzen!!

A little bit back I raved over the greatness of Richie Kotzen so it seems fitting to have him highlighted as the band of the week.  Richie is a triple threat- great songwriter, badass guitarist and his voice is insanely good.  Because he's got a really soulful and powerful sound its hard to remember that he was at one point the fill-in guitarist in Poison and in Mr. Big.  His music sounds in no way like either of those bands.

More black metal movie news

A little bit back I blogged and posted the trailer of the new black metal documentary Until The Light Takes Us.  Technically, the doc. has been out for a long time, but it really hadn't hit the NY area yet.  Starting on November 11th this changes thanks to the Cinema Village theater (Manhattan).  I'm not  sure how long the run will last, but my guess is that it will stick around till the end of the year.  

Documentaries like this always appeal to the small audience of people that already like the music and genre.  And, judging from what I have seen of it so far, black metal fans most likely wont learn anything they don't already know, and the non-fans will probably not bother seeing a documentary that is so specific to certain tiny scene.  Sorry for the wordiness of that.  I must have been listening to Varg Vikernes speak for too long.

Frost speaks out

What do Satyricon, 1349 and Ov Hell all have in common?  Their drummer - Frost.  Just like most Scando black metal musicians Frost is in multiple bands to pay rent fully explore his artistic visions.  Here's a new interview with him.  Note his hot homeless man beard.  I like!

When falsetto meets falsetto

American Idol winner Adam Lambert  may not be metal, but he is a cherubic little glam rock angel with an insane vocal range.  Plus, he's got rave reviews from Slash and Brian May, so bitch please, I am not the only one who is a certified Glambert asshole.  Anyway, his album debuts in November and the hype around it is already pretty intense.  But- no one really knows what to expect.  Will he stick with his rock roots or go the American Idol-pop-music way?
Well, you can exhale!  (I know every metal head is dying with anticipation).  Three songs from his album have been released to some media outlets and the reviews are good.  Here is the kicker- JUSTIN HAWKINS FROM THE DARKNESS /HOT LEG wrote and plays guitar on one of the tracks- "Music Again".  I am so fucking excited for this that I could crap my pants.  The second this shit is leaked I am breaking the law and posting it here for you all to enjoy.  

NY Concert Listings!

Alert for tonight- one of the only metal CMJ showcases is  tonight at Fontantas featuring Black Anvil!
...also there is so much going on 10/30 that your head might explod

OCTOBER

*-10/23 - Black Anvil, Misery Index, Salome @ Fontanas (Manhattan)
-10/23 - Lenny Kravitz @ Wellmont Theatre (Manhattan)
*-10/24 - Eyehategod, Pig Destroyer, and Strong Intention @ The Temptress (Boat Cruise) (Manhattan)
-10/24 - Queensryche with Lita Ford joining in on some songs (not a separate set) @ Bergen PAC (Englewood, NJ)
-10/24 - White Knuckle Battery @ Duffs (Brooklyn)
-10/25 - Celestia, Bone Awl, Agrath @ Public Assembly
*-10/25 - Satyricon, Bleeding Through, and Toxic H0locaust @ Irving Plaza (Manhattan)
-10/25 - Thurdsay @ Bowery Ballroom (Manhattan)
*-10/26 - EYEHATEGOD, Howl, Tombs, Unearthly Trance, Strong Intention @ Club Europa (Greenpoint, Brooklyn)
-Headsnatcher, Hallux, Unmen, Battletorn @Public Assembly (Brooklyn)

Gaahl/King update

A new band was announced today - Ov Hell . Well, it seems like this band spawned from the break up of God Seed  that happened when Gaahl announced his departure from metal.  Seeing as God Seed (which is just the new name for King and Gaahl's version of Gorgoroth) was King's main focus, then it makes sense for him to seek out another band.  King has been in so many bands at this point that I can hardly keep count- God Seed, Gorgoroth, Jotunspor, I, Sahg, Audrey Horne.... anything else I forgot?
  
Anyway, this is what King had to say: 

"The first Ov HELL release will contain music I've worked on in my Gorgoroth and God Seed years. It's been a little hell to actually see this music form into aband, so the name of the band is quite suitable. Through the first song I got from Shagrath I knew that he would be the perfect man to join forces with.  He has strong individual qualities and a strong will to power. I am very positive that when we finish up this album it will be an album that won't sound like anything we have done before, and with a quality that won't stand back from anything presented in black metal earlier!"

And Shagrath:

“ With both of our demanding music careers and other projects, timing was not on our side. After last years inferno festival, King and I yet again joined forces to brainstorm our need to collaborate our passion for dark art. Over the course of the past year, King sent me demo ideas that were so inspiring it made me put my skeptic feelings aside. I wasn't sure if I wanted to have another Black Metal project but my unquenchable thirst to explore my darkest beast, launched the birth Ov HELL. The majestic Ov HELL has become a band that reflects our roots, raw, ugly, arrogantly blasphemous with uncompromising truth from two influential Norwegian musicians needing to express our primitive side, straight out Ov HELL.”

Also, there are a couple songs already uploaded to the bands myspace page - "Devil's Harlot" and”Ghosting”.  I actually think I like it more than the Godseed stuff.
Studio Line-up:

Shagrath - vocals
King  - bass
Ice Dale - guitar
Frost - drums
Teloch – guitar

Baroness destroys Marduk when it comes to album sales

Saw the 69 Eyes last night- I should have a review and some photos posted in the next few days. 

Anyway, today is Nick Oliveri's birthday.... that dude from Queens Of The Stone Age and Mondo Generator.  Also the numbers are in for Baroness and Marduk's album sales so far.  Baroness sold 4,700 copies in it's first week, which landed them at 117.  Marduk sold a thrilling 650. Ouch!

Tuesday's Metal Releases

Belphegor - Walpurgis Rites Hexenwahn (Nuclear Blast)
Converge - Axe To Fall (Epitaph)
Fu Manchu - Signs Of Infinite Power (Century Media)
Gwen Stacy - A Dialogue (Solid State)
Incite - The Slaughter (I Scream)
Morbid Angel - Blessed Are The Sick Re-Release (Earache)
Naam - Naam (Tee Pee)
Portal - Swarth (Profound Lore)

Band Of The Week - Skitliv!!

Maniac - the former singer of Mayhem, has got a new band to to act Maniacal in - Skitliv .  The band's not new new, but they are his main focus and he's actually sticking with it.  Anyway, Skitliv's new album Skandinavisk Misantropi hits the store in Europe today, but you wont see it in my Tuesday Album Releases blog posts until November 17th.  Bull crap!   Anyway, here is a sample of what us Americans can expect to hear in November.  Skitliv is doomy black metal, but very abstract and boarding on noise.  The new stuff sounds just as eerie, but definitely less confusing.

Metal loves Abba

In honor of seeing Mamma Mia on Broadway today, I would like to honor the surprisingly large amount of links between the band Abba and metal.   Well, first off there is the London based metal Abba cover band, Abbatoir .  They really aren't great at all, but I could see it being pretty fun if you are really drunk it's live. Here's 'Voulez Vous' live:Also, back in 2001 Metal Blade Records released a compilation album that was various metal bands covering Abba.  I actually own this cd (god knows why) because its awesome.

The songs on that album were all the biggies for Abba, but the bands were pretty obscure.  I would say Tad Morose and Therion were probably the biggest names on that album, so you can take that as you will.

The list of covers really does go on forever (Doro Pesch, Black Ingvars, The Black Sweden, Harem Scarem, The Rasmus and honestly so many more ) but the best one I have found is Yngwie Malmsteen's cover of 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight'.  Mr. M made a few changes to some lyrics, but it's basically the same on that end.  As for the melody itself, it's still the same melody but its made METAL!!!!  It's powerful and heavy, and all that shit.  If you want to get technical than you will noticed Yngeiw plays an arpeggiated version of the main theme & added guitar solos in the instrumental bridge (how could he not?!). 

Anyway, this is the piste de résistance of this stupid awesome Abba post, so enjoy: 

Kiss' first week album sales revealed

KISS 's first album in 11 years, Sonic Boom has been out for a week and the chart positions have been revealed!
Apparently, the are doing pretty damn well. 
First-week chart positions:

Norway: #2

Sweden: 2

Czech Republic: #3

Germany: #4

Austria: #6

Finland: #7

Switzerland: #12

Holland: #3

Italy: #14

U.K.: #24

France: #31

Spain: #32

Belgium: #57

Despite the fact that Belgium hates KISS, they still managed to sell 108,000 copies in the United States alone in the first week of being released. AND, that's actually the band's highest-charting LP ever.   It's a sign of the times that sales like this can get you ranked second on the charts.  The last KISS album they put out, Pyscho Circus in 1998, sold 110,000 copies in the first week, and barely made the 3rd spot.  Not to mention back in the early 90's the first few spots were saved for bands that could sell 300,000+ in their first weeks.
The crazy part of this is that I went to check out who was number one.  My guess was going to be Barbara Streisand, but NO, its some Canadian lounge guy named Michael Buble who has the coveted 1 spot.  Lounge music?  Really?  Babs is actually 4th, and the 3rd spot is Toby Keith.  I actually love Toby Keith.

NY Concert Listings!

It's friday, so time to update that list of shows.....
New shows from Anvil, EYEHATEGOD, Papa Roach, Toxic Holocaust, AFI, Joe Perry Project, Thursday, Arch Enemy and more.   Tons of Liturgy NYC shows have been added.
ALSO - Big deal for all those Richie Blackmore fan's is that his weird medieval band, Blackmore's Night, will be having a show at Irving Plaza 10/29.

OCTOBER

-10/16 - The Horrors @ Williamsburg Hall of Music (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
-10/16 - Saint Vitus @ Europa (Brooklyn)
-10/16 - Liturgy, House of Ladosha, and the Dirty Projecors @ The Bell House - part of the New Yorker Festival (Brooklyn)
-10/16 - God Dethroned, Abigail Williams, Augury, Woe of Tyrants @ Blender Theater (Manhattan)
*-10/16-10/18 - NJ DEATHFEST featuring Phlegm, Mortican, Womb, Incantation, Gorephobia, Evoken and more @ Hartleys (North Arlington, NJ) on the 16th then @ Dingbatz (Clifton, NJ) on the 17th and 18th
-10/17 - God Dethroned @ Blender Theater (Manhattan)
-10/17 - Vader @ Blender Theater (Manhattan)
-10/17 - Revolting Cocks @ Irving Plaza (Manhattan)

-10/17 - Swear On Your Life, Dead Superstar and Panzie @ Crash Mansion (Manhattan)
-*10/18 - Moonspell, Book of Black Earth, Samael, and Secrets of the Moon @ BB Kings (Time Square, Manhattan)

Eddie Van Halen on Two And A Half Men.... not that good.

Remember how earlier I posted  about Eddie Van Halen making a guest appearance on the tv show Two And A Half Men?   Well, I finally found a clip of the video, courtesy of EVH's myspace page.  He actually looks really good and healthy in the clip.  Glad to see him not looking like a cancer ridden skeleton.    

It's not funny though.  This show looks stupid.

As the Anthrax Turns

I was so sad when all the drama with Anthrax was over.  Well, I am glad to announce that it is still lingering on- Dan Nelson gave an interview with Classic Rock magazine and gave some really golden quotes.  The interviewer was a real pussy, though and never asked about the dumping rumor.  That is why he should have done the interview with me.

Classic Rock: Let's start with the claim from Anthrax that they had to cancel some shows earlier this year, because you told them you were seriously ill.

Dan Nelson: Not true. I never said anything like that. The band decided to pull those dates, and then tried to blame me. I was ready to play the summer shows in Europe and do the Slipknot tour in America after that.

Classic Rock: Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian says that you quit the band, and they accepted your resignation. Is that what happened?

Dan Nelson: I did not quit Anthrax. They fired me, and I only found out about it on the internet. [This is worse than texting, but who knows which side of the sotry is true.  Not me, I'll tell ya that.]

Classic Rock: Why did they do that? Was there an obvious problem between you and the rest of the band?

Dan Nelson: Not that I was aware of. [Except for that time I shat on the upperdeck of the toilet on the bus...?  Was that rumor true?  If so, hilarious.] I thought things were going really well. A lot of people commented that this was the best Anthrax lineup they'd ever seen. Scott himself said I was the best singer he'd worked with — bar none. So, I don't know what was in their minds. I haven't spoken to any of them since July anyway.

Classic Rock: How do you feel now about the band?

Dan Nelson: Look, I'm not at all bitter, and I hold no grudges. It's their band and they have a right to do whatever they want. I genuinely wish them nothing but success.  They're family men who made a career decision, and I hope ANTHRAX gone on to great things. I feel what they now have to do is get back with John Bush — it's the best option for them.

Classic Rock: What happens to Worship Music, the album you recorded with them? Will it ever come out?

Dan Nelson: I don't know. I hope so, because I really [want to get paid] think it's a strong record. But nothing can happen with it without my permission. I co-wrote all the songs on it, mostly with Charlie.

Classic Rock: You've now moved on, and have a new project with Testament drummer Paul Bostaph. How did that come about?
Dan Nelson: Paul saw me playing with Anthrax in Amsterdam earlier in the year, and when he heard I was free, he contacted me [because I am that awesome]. We met up, and things have gone from there.

Classic Rock: What's the style of the band?

Dan Nelson: It's thrashy and heavy, so will appeal to Anthrax and Testament fans. But has the groove and brutality of Pantera, and is also very melodic.  The guitarist is a kid from the Bay Area named Jeremy Epp, who's an unknown, but sensational.  People are gonna love him. We're currently auditioning bassists, [I hear Dave Ellefson needs work] and once we have the right person in place, we'll get ourselves a name, demo some songs and take it from there. 

Tuesday's Metal Releases

Baroness - Blue Record (Relapse)

Bowling For Soup - Sorry For Partyin' (Jive)
The Destro - Harmony Of Dischord (Metal Blade)

Destruction - The Curse Of The AntiChrist (AFM Records)
Dismember - Under Blood Red Skies LIVE DVD (Regain)

Edgend - A New Identity (Nightmare)
Future's End - Memoir Of A Broken Man (Nightmare)
Grave Robber - Inner Sanctum (Retroactive)
House Of Lords - Cartesian Dream (Frontier)

King Diamond - Graveyard Re-Release (Metal Blade)
King Diamond - The Spider's Lullaby Re-Release (Metal Blade)
Leaves Eyes - Njord (Napalm)
Lye By Mistake - Fea Jur (Blackmarket Activities)
Lynch Mob - Smoke And Mirrors (Frontiers)
Marduk - Wormwood (Regain)
Narnia - Course Of A Generation (Nightmare)
Otep - Live Confrontation LIVE DVD (Koch)

Skeletonwitch - Breathing The Fire (Prosthetic)
Skyfire - Esoteric (Pivotal)
Theatre Of Tragedy - Forever Is The World (AFM)
Those Who Lie Beneath - An Awakening (Rise)
Ultimatum - Lex Metalis (Retroactive)

Yngwie Malmsteen - Live In Korea LIVE DVD (Rising Force)

THOUGHTS:  Not a shabby week for metal!  There are no superstar chart toppers here, but a bunch of legitimately good bands.   Going down the list, I have to start with Baroness.  One of the most interesting and best metal bands out today.  It's really amazing that I am not a bigger fan of them than I am.  They are sludge metal if ya gotta pick a genre, but Dillinger and Mastodon fans will like 'em.   Up next - The Destro.  When I first heard them I went apeshit over what I heard and named them my Band Of The Week.  The Destro in a nutshell: young classic-thrash revival sounding band that doesn't suck.

Marduk's Wormwood hardly feels new by now- there has been a lot of hype around this album.  In general, I like the album....a lot.  It does sound a bit like Funeral Mist.

Skeletonwitch are badass, but nothing new.  Doing the thrash/death metal hybrid thing.  Nothing brilliant, but fun nonetheless.  I'd check it out if you like that sound.

It's great to see a new Lynch Mob album out.  I didnt expect that to happen, although it does make sense seeing as Lynch hasn't been with Dokken since 1997.  Damn.  The album sounds good, relativetely outdated but good.  Tommy Aldridge on drums sounds great with Lynch's guitar.

Nothing else too special to mention, but any releases by King Diamond are a must-by for newbie metal fans.  House of Lords if just interesting to see release new music.  Remember them?  They used to be that band Guiffria, fronted by Greg Guiffria.  Well, Guiffria morphed into House Of Lords when James Christian took over as frontman.  The band is still very average.  Interesting sidenote- they were on Gene Simmons record label.

Band Of The Week - Red Chord!!

Dun dun dunnnnnn- the new band of the week is pretty damn well known already, but what the hell- Red Chord!  It's a Masshole band that is usually described as grindcore.  I am going to say that they are more death metal though.  Yup.  They aren't my favorite band in the world, but they are solid and definitely deserve a listen to.  The whole death + grind scene is not my thing, but Red Chord does stand out.

KISS and Michael Monroe last night

Saw KISS last night, I will have a review and pictures by the end of this week.  All I can say to sum it up was that Paul Stanley would not shut the fuck up.  No two songs were played in a row without a Stanley soliloquy sandwiched in between.   Annoying, but the show was still a massive spectacle and fun.  I do wanna say though that I saw a bunch of 'celebs'.  First person was MICHAEL MONROE just right prior to the show.  My friends actually noticed him first walking down the street in Times Square on his way to see MSG for the KISS show.  Obviously I ran after him like an 13 year old Asian school girl and freaked out.  Words can not express my excitement.

Then at the actual venue I saw Mark Wiess having some trouble getting in through the media entrance.  He was asking for Doc McGhee (KISS/Bon Jovi/Motley Crue manager), who I was hoping badly to spot.  No luck.   However, I did see Lenny Kravitz and some dude with a fro sneak by.  After the show I WAS BLESSED BY THE BABY JESUS and saw MICHAEL MONROE  again, and approached him this time like one of those middle aged uber-superfan men that approach guys in bands they met once like they're Best Friends FOREVER, and asked if he liked the KISS show.  Of course he said yes and was polite and angelic and perfect.  He was also with Sami Yaffa who was in Hanoi Rock with Michael for a bit, and also in newer versions of the NY Dolls.    Last but not least I caught a glimpse of the 7 foot tall Jesse Camp.  I hope everyone remembers him.  He was an MTv VJ for two months before getting the boot for being a crack head (or just acting as such), and was in the completely useless band, Jesse Camp and The 8th Street Kidz.  He is great, and did I mention tallllll?

All That Remains and Shadows Fall fight over the ladies

Ahhhh, hahahha.  This is so stupid and trivial that it's actually very funny.  Drama Queens Phil Labonte (All That Remains) and Brian Fair (Shadows Fall) had a 'twitter-fight' today.  Apparently Brian hit on Phil's girlfriend, Jorie (what the heck kinda name is that??)

Phil Labonte's Twitter username = philthatremains
Brian Fair's Twitter username = brianshadfall
Jorie Salyers' Twitter username = stupadgurl  (nice name)

Phil Labonte: Sweet, Brian from shadows fall was trying to fuck my girlfriend tonight. Thanks to Ivan from 5FDP [FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH] for sticking up for me. So much 4 home <3>Brian Fair: Some people need to get their shit together. Learn before you speak.


Brian Fair: @philthatremains you couldnt be more wrong

Phil Labonte: @brianshadfall I hope WE are ALL wrong and it was just a HUGE stupid misunderstanding.

Brian Fair: @philthatremains learn to think before you speak i cant baby sit everyone

Phil Labonte: @brianshadfall the last thing in the world that I need is YOU to babysit me. I'm on the "outside" of the drama. Your the one who's accused.

Brian Fair: save the drama for your mama.

Phil Labonte: And I'll RT I hope we are ALL wrong and this is one HUGE misunderstanding.

Jorie Salyers: Kinda bummed. Phils pissed ab last night. I guess I should be too, as I was the target, but I'm just trying not to lose everything atm

Jorie Salyers: @brianshadfall No drama! So we'll let everything lie. I did tell phil all you said, so you're aware. No need for ME to lie to him.

Dumb, dumb, duuuuuumb.  I am going with Brian on this one, though.  I like Shadows Fall more personally.

RIP and Happy Birthday all in one update

RIP to John Entwistle, the Who guitarist who would have been 65 if he was still around. Also, its John Lennons birthday, who although he is not metal, is just a big fucking deal.  And he died before I was born, so technically I could be him reincarnated....or Elvis, but it's not Elvis' birthday so we won't talk about that.
It's also the mother of metals' bday - Ms. Sharon Osbourne. And believe it or not todays youngest birthday goes out to Al Jourgensen who is 58 going on 98.

NY Concert Listings!

New shows from Queensryche, Lita Ford, Slayer listening parties..... got me?
New shows posted from the 69 Eyes, too.

OCTOBER

-10/09 - UFO with Rahway, Infernophobic and Mean Venus @ Starland Ballroom (Sayreville, NJ)
-10/09 - KISS @ Nassau Coliseum (Long Island)
-10/09 - 3 Inches of Blood @ Knitting Factory (Manhattan)
-10/09 - Clutch, Wino, Revolution Mother @ Irving Plaza (Manhattan)
-10/10 - Clutch, Wino, Revolution Mother @ Irving Plaza (Manhattan)
-*10/10 - UFO @ BB Kings (Time Square, Manhattan)
-10/10 - KISS @ MSG (Manhattan)
*-10/10 - AFI and The Gallows @ Starland Ballroom (Sayreville, NJ)
-10/11 - Placebo @ Terminal 5 (Manhattan)
-10/11 - Five Finger Death Punch, Shadows Fall and Otep @ Starland Ballroom (Sayreville, NJ)
*-10/12 - FREE!! Storm Of Light (record release party) with Biclops and Naked Heroes @ Ace Of Clubs (Manhattan)
-10/13 - Ian Anderson @ Beacon Theater (Manhattan)
*-10/15 - Them Crooked Vultures @ Roseland Ballroom (Manhattan)
-10/16 - The Horrors @ Williamsburg Hall of Music (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

Slayer listening party

Ahhh, it was just announced that there will be a Slayer listening party held Oct 30th at Duffs bar in Brooklyn for their upcoming album World Painted Blood.   You get to listen to the album before most people, get drunk, and have the potential to win some free autographed Decibel magazines (the Slayer issue obviously).   The album comes out Nov. 3 so its not really that early of a preview.

Also, thats the same night as Mastodon/Dethklok/High Of Fire/Converge play Roseland.   That is a much betttttttter night.

Steel Panther releases old shit... over again.

Well, since I just posted a Danger Kitty Metal Shop Metal Skool Steel Panther video in the yesterday's metal releases post, I figured I would talk about them.  I am seeing it all over Blabbermouth and Metal Injection today that they have a "new" video out for their "new" song, 'Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)'.  First off, the original version of this song was released on the album Hole Patrol in 2003, back when the band was still called Metal Shop.  As they gained some popularity eventually they got sued for using that name, so quickly changed themselves to Metal Skool and re-issued the cd again under that band name in 2005.   So, now that this song was once again released (now on Steel Panther's Feel The Steel) it's technically the 3 time in almost 7 years that this same song has been released by the same band under different names.  At least their love for fat girls seems really sincere.

BUT, here's the thing.  Stop saying that the release of this video is news.   The video is not even somewhat new!  It's a re-release of the original video, with some SLIGHT musical changes.  I couldn't see any differences in the actual video itself.  Check it out here and tell me if lead singer Ralph Saenz or Michael Starr or whatever the fuck he is calling himself these days doesn't look younger and better than his fat botox face looks in my most recent post of an actual new video.  The proof is in his pudding-face, folks!

Bonus Steel Panther fact for the 5 of you who care: at just before 30 seconds into the video the hot brunette chick sitting at the bar is pornstar, Jasmin St. Claire.    
Bonus Jasmin St. Claire fact for the 2 of you who care:  She's currently boning dating the keyboardist (Mustis) of Dimmu Borgir.

Tuesday's Metal Releases

Ancestors - Of Sound Mind (Tee Pee)
Arch Enemy - Root Of All Evil (Century Media)
The Atlas Moth - A Glorified Piece Of Blue Sky (Candlelight)
Axxis - Utopia (AFM)
Blessthefall - Witness (Fearless)
Fear Factory - Hatefiles Re-Release (Metal Mind)
Horse The Band - Desperate Living (Vagrant)
Immortal - All Shall Fall (Nuclear Blast)

Joe Perry - Have Guitar, Will Travel (Roman Records)

KISS - Sonic Boom (Zoom)

Lita Ford - Wicked Wonderland 
Paradise Lost - Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us (Century Media)
Raunchy - Confusion Bay Re-Release (Metal Mind)
Raunchy - Velvet Noise Re-Release (Metal Mind)
Redemption - Snowfall On Judgment Day (Inside Out)
Secrets Of The Moon - Privilegivm (Lupus Lounge)

The Sign Of The Southern Cross - Of Mountains And Moonshine (Season Of Mist)
Steel Panther - Feel The Steel (Republic)
U.D.O. - Dominator (AFM)
Ventana - American Survival Guide Vol. 1 (Trustkill)

Bonus Country Release (None More Country than this!) Toby Keith - American Ride (Show Dog Nashville)

THOUGHTS:  Seems like this week's theme of metal releases is that you must be a equally parts obscure and shitty to put an album out today.  Is it really necessary for Raunchy to re-release 2 cds??  Ummm, no.   Trust me, I am all for the underdogs, but their are plenty of great bands that have drifter into the unknown that I would rather have re-releases.  Remember Icon, Angel and BADLANDS?!  Blue Murder should reform and put an album out, not U.D.O.   Oy!    I must say, it's nice to see Immortal put an album out after all this time.  It's been 7 years,and yea- this album doesn't exactly sound super 'Immortal-ish', but it is good and it is heavy.  Definitely not as thrashy as their past material.  Lita Ford's new album doesn't sound AT ALL like Lita Ford and features her useless yet charming husband, Jim Gillette (remember him from Nitro?).  The best song on that album is SOB which actually holds up pretty well as a new metal song.

And then of course there is KISS.  I don't want to admit it- but the KISS album aint bad at all.  We've all heard 'Modern Day Delilah' a millions times already, but the rest of the album is as good.  Damn it!  It's obviously not groundbreaking, but its fun and sounds like Dynasty era KISS, and some of the 80s stuff.  I am pretty sure Gene was blabbering away about how it is going to sound like 70's era KISS, but no.  It sounds like 80s.

Last thing- Steel Panther is just a good funny spoof band.  Enjoy a video of theirs (the kissing at the beginning is so spitty sounding and gross):

RIP to Evile's bassist, Mike Alexander

I hate RIP posts, but this one is especially sad because it just happened today, and to a young guy.  Mike Alexander, bassist for Evile died today at 32 after being rushed to a hospital feeling ill.  Judging from Mikes past this does not seem drug related, and most likely was a freak blood clot or something.  I am no doctor, but it sounded like it happened really quick.  So sad, just three weeks ago I announced Evile as band of the week.  They made a big splash with their last album and it's sad that Mike won't be around for their future.

Ozzy's book finally to come out

Ozzy Osbourne's autobiography cleverly titled I am Ozzy was released in the UK on the 1st of the month.  However, the release date for the book in the good old US of A was just announced as January 24th 2010...!  How did Sharon think this was a good idea?  Everyone who truly gives a shit will buy this online from the UK, and the rest of us in between can't even casually pick it up as a Christmas gift.  Silllllllly!  My gut says the release date gets bumped to before the holiday money spending season.

New Band of the Week - Dir En Grey!!

Dir En Grey are the Japanese angels who got me into the lovely world of J-rock.  They've been around forever and sell like a mother fucker in Asia, but they only made a dent in the US of A recently.  And unfortunately it was when the band went in the 'Hot Topic' direction that they made it internationally.  Their sound is unique- modern rock/metal/extremely theatrical and with elements of hardcore and punk.   It's gotten slightly softer musically, and the visual aspect has gotten  more elaborate, but they still are one of the most insane live acts I have ever seen.  The 12 year olds in attendance love it!

Rob Zombie hits the road

I saw Zombieland today and I am sad to report that it was horrible.  Something that isn't horrible though is the news that Rob Zombie is touring!  ....yea, this isn't exactly fresh news, but fuck off, I didnt know what else to link to that shit movie Zombieland.

Tommy's body ages, but mind stays the same.

My boyfriend Tommy Lee turns 47 today! 47 going on 15.

NY Concert Listings!

Upated NYC concert listings!!!
New shows announced for later in the year. Twisted Sister will play another Christmas show at the Nokia (that shit was so hilariously fun last year), Murder Junkies sans GG play some shows, and lots of smaller venue shows are poppin' up. Andrew WK is playing a show tonight at Cake shop. LOVE HIM .

Shows in Bold you can expect a review of, because I will be there!
Shows in Italics are FREE!!
* means a recommended show.

OCTOBER

*-10/02 - Black Anvil, Tombs, Burnt By The Sun and Bloodhorse @ Cake Shop (Manhattan)
-10/02 - In Flames, Between the Buried & Me, 3 Inches of Blood, and the Faceless @ Starland Ballroom (Sayreville, NJ)

-10/02 - Andrew WK @ Joe's Pub (Manhattan)
-10/03 - Infected Mushrooom @ Terminal 5 (Manhattan)

*-10/03 - Murder Junkies @ Hartleys (North Arlington, NJ)
*-10/03 - Dysrhythmia, So This Is The Tongue, Biclops @ Basement Show (New Brunswick, NJ)

-10/03 - Infernal Strongehold, Cannabis Corpse (Day time show) @ ABC No Rio (Manhattan)
-10/03 - Infernal Strongehold, Cannabis Corpse (Night time show) @ Charleston (Brooklyn)
- Seether and Rev. Theory @ Starland Ballroom (Sayreville, NJ)
-10/04 - (NONE MORE COUNTRY SHOW) Legendary Shack Shakers @ The Bell House (Brooklyn)
-10/04 - Castevet, Malkuth, Woe and Aluk Toledo @ Union Pool (Brooklyn)

Alice Cooper's very important PSA

Welcome to October! The countdown begins with only 30 days till Halloween.   Please listen to Alice Cooper's very importat PSA about this National Holiday.