Arsis – Starve For The Devil (2010)

I’m really excited to hear the new album from these guys.  Their last one, We Are The Nightmare, is may #1 pick for 2008.  I still listen to it regularly.  I love Arsis.  I have from the first time I laid ears on them.

They’ve uploaded a track from the upcoming album Starve For The Devil called Beyond Forlorn.  Pretty good song.  I’m really stoked that Mike Van Dyne is back in the band.  He’s a great drummer.  He’s got a different style than Darren Cesca, but I think he fits well with Jim Malone.  Those dudes have done a lot together.

I can already predict what my #1 of 2010 is going to be, especially since I hate most all newer metal bands.

Tracklist for the latest album:

1. “Forced to Rock”
2. “A March for the Sick”
3. “From Soulless to Shattered (Art in Dying)”
4. “Beyond Forlorn” – 4:01
5. “The Ten of Swords”
6. “Closer to Cold”
7. “Sick Perfection”
8. “Half Past Corpse O’Clock”
9. “Escape Artist”
10. “Sable Rising”

Limited edition additional bonus tracks

1. “A Pound of Flesh (For the Hell of It)”
2. “The Lake” (King Diamond cover)

C’mon…Hafd Past Corpse O’Clock is one of the greatest song titles ever!

Buzzard – Churp!!! (1993)

Here’s another rarity for you fine readers out there.  Buzzard’s debut album Churp!!! on Hellhound Records.

I remember back in the early 90s going to see these guys at Kings Head Inn (RIP) on Hampton Blvd in Norfolk, VA.  A buddy of mine said, “Dude you have to see this band.  They are insane.  Their drummer is phenomenal and he’s only got one leg!”  So I went.  I was completely floored by everything that this band was doing.  They were tight.  They were erratic.  They were brilliant.  They were ugly.  Dudes that looked like street urchin gutter punks with beards and dreads.  Never got close enough to see if they smelled badly.  Didn’t matter.  They were a machine.  A force to be reckoned with.  I went to see them whenever I knew that they had a show.  With that original era of the band I think I saw them 4 or 5 times within a year or 2.  Every time I was blown away.  Never really tried to speak to the guys as they all pretty much looked like they didn’t wan to be spoken to.

Buzzard was on Hellhound Records which was primarily a doom metal label…but Buzzard was anything but a doom band.  They mixed metal with jazz, punk, Miles Davis, Zappa, Yes, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever…

Their live show was pretty mind-numbing.  Odd times signatures, stops and starts, no real cues given to each other.  They all knew what they had to do and when.  At that time they consisted of Patrick Walsh (Guitars), AJ Long (Vocals), John Finney (Horns), Andy Brown (Bass) and Joey Rudacil (Drums).  Just insane I tell you.

Several years later I am hanging out with some friends and see Patrick Walsh from Buzzard come in the bar I was in.  I was there with his sister and didn’t realize that they were related.  Buzzard was reformed at this point as a 3-piece with Kevin Anderson on bass and Mark Henry on Drums.  Patrick and I quickly connected and started hanging out a lot.  Ultimately he became one of my best friends.  Brilliant guy.  Phenomenal guitarist.  Helluva a nice guy.  We jammed together briefly with Joey Rudacil and Todd Owens.  It only lasted about 3 or 4 practices but it was fun.  I ended up in another band with Joey a few months later and had a blast but we could never secure a singer.

Anyway, I was working the door at the Taphouse in Norfolk and Buzzard was scheduled to play their first show in 7 years.  I was fortunate enough to get to sit in on several of their practices and was blown away even more by how much their sound had progressed.  It went from the Mahavishnu-esque psychojazz to a math metal thing like Watchtower on meth. people came from up and down the east coast for this show and the place was over capacity with a line of people out the door and wrapped around the building trying to get in.  It was an incredible show.  They have done some subsequent shows but I think the last one may have been in 2007.  It’s time for more!

I keep praying that they put out a new record with the newer songs on it.  They recorded a 2nd album several years ago that never really saw the light of day.  You can listen to some of it on their website.

Churp!!! is one of the toughest releases of Hellhound’s to find nowadays.  I fortunately have 2 copies that I cherish.  The album is an incredible piece of music…of art…an experience.  AJ’s vocals are simply incredible.  If you download this, please listen to the album as a whole.  Don’t skip any of the 16 tracks.  You’d be doing yourself a great disservice.

Download it here.

Tracks:

1.	Cyclops	02:28
2.	Shadows Without Substance	03:03
3.	The Fellowship (varieties)	04:45
4.	The Given/Grinding Wheel (including, but not limited to the following)	08:38
5.	Ear To The Ground	03:44
6.	His Descent	01:35
7.	Carpetbaggers	05:13
8.	Fluorescent Orange Bag O’Goodness	02:09
9.	Thirteen o’clock (frumpy smokes a fattie)	05:21
10.	Escape From The Island Of Misfit Toys	06:01
11.	The Secret Doctrine According To Simon	03:36
12.	Grand Poo-Bah	00:48
13.	The Return Of Frumpy And The Scrubby Jazz Hippies	01:55
14.	Musica d’Apocryphonica (no. I adagio)	00:48
15.	Savage Paisley Vortex (part I)	00:59
16.	Savage Paisley Vortex (pert II) The Ritual Dance And Initiation Of Chicky Boy	07:01

Check out the vids from back in the day…

Leviathan

So, it looks as if Leviathan (Colorado progressive metal band) is doing a reunion show in January 2010.  Too bad they couldn’t have waited a few months else I would have made my way up there to see the show.  But Colorado in the middle of the winter?  No thanks.  Hell, I am already too cold here in central Texas!

Back in 1997 I went to LA to visit with Century Media and metal Blade Records as I was buying most of my stock from them when I had Acacia Music online in the late 80s.  It was a blast out there and the folks at both labels were absolutely incredible.  One great experience was going to the “office” of Century Media.  At that time they were still a small label in the USA.  Their office was an old Victorian looking 2-story house with an 8′ privacy fence around it.  Not very office-looking.  But it kept their overhead low and it was perfect for their needs.  My rep with CM, John Schultz (where are you, dude?) took me out to their warehouse in South Central LA (Hawthorne).  I just walked through the rows of CDs and merch drooling.  I brought back 200 CDs.  Many for my personal collection but most of them to sell on the website and on eBay.

One of the bands I got a hold of on the trip was Leviathan.  They had the first EP and their first 2 full-length CDs in stock so I grabbed one of each.  At the time I was a little more into prog metal than I am now and this stuff surely satisfied my tastes in the genre.

My favorite of the 3 is Riddles, Questions, Poetry and Outrage.  Such a fine album.  All 3 of these are way out of print so I’ll post them for your downloading pleasure.  Yes, I know they did a follow-up to the Riddles album, but I didn’t care for it.

Enjoy.

Leviathan (EP)

Deepest Secrets Beneath

Riddles, Questions, Poetry and Outrage

Bullet (Sweden)

Jason McMaster turned me on to these kids from Sweden a week or so ago and I just ordered the CD.  If you’re into AC/DC, Krokus, Accept etc, this is the band for you.

http://www.myspace.com/bulletsweden

Eyefear – Edge Of Existence (1996)

Wow.  It’s not very often that I put a CD in to rip that iTunes doesn’t recognize, but this is one of them.  I really am quite shocked.

This is another band that Kelz turned me on to through one of his many compilation tapes.  Eyefear hail from Australia and surprisingly enough they are still together, not that I really care now.  This is the definitive album by them.

It was the opening track, Of Blind Faith,  that he had on there and it is just one of those almost perfect songs, albeit the intro is a bit lengthy.  The album has some elements of prog and traditional metal.  It’s not the tightest of albums but it all just seems to work.  Sort of like the Vis Vires album I reviewed a while back.  Not perfect, but done well enough to leave a lasting impression.

The vocals really do it for me.  Too bad he only lasted for one album.  Lots of good vocal harmonies throughout.  There are some tasty guitar solos on here as well.  I think one of the guitarists was a fan of Andy LaRocque as I hear a few ripped off hooks…not that there’s anything wrong with that.  None of the songs really pick up speed that much besides the title track.  No matter, it’s worth hearing.

I own 2 copies of this CD.  One of them I got from Sentinel Steel Records and I think the other I janked off of eBay.

Download it here and enjoy.

Agressor – Say Your Prayers (1996)

Here’s a good one from the vaults that most metalheads probably haven’t heard…but should.  Agressor was a NY band that apparently had been around since the 1980s but really only got decent recognition when their debut full length album, Say Your Prayers, was released in 1996.  Kelz turned me on to these guys on a compilation tape that he had made for me.  After hearing it I immediately called Sentinel Steel Records and ordered it from Denis.

The best description is to call these guys a poor man’s Overkill because the singer could fill in for Blitz and I doubt anyone would notice the difference.  Say Your Prayers certainly has a feel of Overkill’s Feel the Fire and Taking Over, but of course not quite as good…and a decade late.  That being said I have always loved this CD.

These guys apparently changed their name to Magus Beast in 2002 and I don’t think they ever released anything else.

If you dig Overkill’s early sound, then certainly download this and you won’t be disappointed.

DC4 and Warrior – 11/7/09 – Whisky A-Go-Go

When I was still in high school there was this dude that everyone called Big Bill.  He was the other metalhead in the Catholic school that I was stuck in for 4 years.  That dude and I were the best of friends, inseparable for the 2 years he went there and for the few years after we graduated.  We traded a lot of music over those years and he really turned me on to quite a bit of metal that I probably wouldn’t have heard.  I’m thankful for those years.  As mentioned previously, Bill turned me on to Odin.  I in turn “discovered” Warrior.  Both Odin’s debut and Warrior’s debut stayed in heavy rotation throughout the late 80s.  Both of them still get played quite often around here.

Earlier this year during the South By Southwest Festival in Austin, TX I had the pure pleasure of playing tour guide, roadie, chauffeur etc for LA’s DC4.  This band is comprised of Jeff Duncan (Odin, Armored Saint), Shawn Duncan (Odin), Matt Duncan (Odin) and Rowan Robertson (DIO).  They were the coolest dudes and we had a blast for the few days they were here.  Shawn and I have been in contact on and off for a few years and I was glad to offer them assistance while they were in my wonderful city.

I saw a few months ago where DC4 was playing with Warrior at the famous Whisky in Hollywood.  It was a weekend show and I decided that I might as well go.  Why not?  I totally dig DC4’s music and of course I love Warrior.  Shawn was gracious enough to open his home to me for the quick weekend trip.

I hadn’t been to LA since 1997 and had a blast.  I was looking to move there and even had 2 job offers from the 2 biggest metal labels in the area.  Unfortunately with 2 days left on my trip, I received a call from my Mom saying that my Dad had cancer again and that I needed to get back home.  Unfortunately Pops died a few months later and my thought of moving to LA went away as I figured I needed to stick around town.  I ended up sticking around until 2006!

I took Friday off from work to get ready for my 2PM flight.  I got to LA (Burbank) around 5PM Cali time and grabbed my rental car and headed north to Monrovia.  The sun had already gone down and I didn’t get to see any of the scenery on the drive.  With traffic I got to Shawn’s around 6:30.  After hanging out for a bit and waiting for his significant other to get home from work, we ll went to downtown Monrovia for sushi.  I swear it was some of the best I have ever had.  We went back to the house, jibber jabbered for a while then I hit the sack.  I was beat from the trip.

The next morning I went up the street to get some Diet Mt Dew.  When I walked out of the 7-11 all I saw was a mountain…literally…a mountain.  It was gorgeous with the sun shining on it.   Shawn and I ran some errands and I got to see and remember how beautiful California can be.  We went by the Santa Anita Raceway.  It was busy there for the Breeder’s Cup.  I only saw the outside of the place but it was gorgeous.

After returning back to the house, we got the drums packed up and loaded into his truck.  He had a wedding to attend that afternoon and I offered my services to get his gear to the Whisky.  It was a gorgeous drive into Hollywood and I saw many familiar sites from my last trip there.  Rolling up on the Whisky I got parking right out front and got the gear loaded in.  It was a bit brutal as I had to lug it upstairs.  Damn!  No worries, got it done.

After load-in, I mulled around Sunset for a while.  I met up with an old pal of mine who had just moved back to LA.  It was awesome seeing him.  We went to the Rainbow for some pizza and I got to hang out with some of his LA crowd.  Good times.  I was in there earlier that evening for a few beers and played on Lemmy’s video game machine.  That dude has the high score on every game.  It was funny.  It was getting closer to showtime so I walked back down to the Whisky.  My dogs were tired so I just found a spot upstairs and rested for a bit until DC4 showed up to the club.  It was great seeing the dudes in the band before they went on.  I sat with Rowan and friends for a while.  He’s such a cool dude.  Great guitar player as well.  Jeff was pretty happy to see me as well.  We talked outside for quite a while.  New Armored Saint album is finished!

The opening bands for the show were all pretty awful.  Seriously.  Awful.  It was DC4’s turn to hit the stage so we got the drums down the stairs and on the riser ASAP.  shortly thereafter they started up.  Because of some rockstar BS their set got cut by about 4 songs.  Didn’t matter.  They kicked ass and the crowd was really into it.  It was a pleasure to see.

By the time that Warrior was about to hit the stage we had just finished packing the drums back up and loading th em in the truck.  I was getting really tired but wanted to catch some of Warrior’s set.  Fortunately I got to hear 3 songs, the last being my favorite from their debut, Mind Over Matter.  McCarty’s voice sound GREAT and Joe Floyd was playing very well.  I was fading fast though.  It was already 12:30 Cali time, 2:30 my time and I had been running around all day.  Shawn’s fiance was going to leave so I left with her.  Said goodbye to some of my pals there and headed back to Monrovia.  I had to be up early for my flight out as well.

All in all it was a great trip albeit brief.  After the first of the year I think I’ll make another venture out there and have a few more days to screw around.

On my flights there and back, I got to see some parts of the country that I really hadn’t seen from the air.  The Grand Canyon, Monument Valley and the beautiful deserts between Texas and California really took my breath away.  We really take for granted how pretty this place is.  I will also say that California has some of the most beautiful scenery on earth.  I will also add that LA has some of the most fake people I have ever come across.  I noticed it in 97 as well.  I also met some really great people as well.  I guess both types are everywhere.

Looking back I really am glad I didn’t end up out there although I know I would have made my way just fine.  Austin is incredible and I think we have much better looking Latinas here!

Already I am looking forward to my next trip out there.

Thin Lizzy – Are You Ready? DVD – Live 1981

I’ve had the bootleg version of this 1981 Rockpalast show for many years and am glad to see that it’s finally coming out officially.  It’s a great show.  It always made me giggle that the bootleg had Angel of Death listed as “Desaster”.  It made me giggle even more to see that the official version kept the title the same.

If you like Thin Lizzy, this is a must have.  Snowy White on guitars with Gorham.  Lots of cool tracks on here too like Memory Pain(!!!), Got To Give It Up, Hollywood, Desaster and Chinatown.  Can’t wait to get the official version in my hands.  Release date in the USA is November 10, 2009.

1. Are You Ready?
2. Genocide (The Killing Of The Buffalo)
3. Waiting For An Alibi
4. Jailbreak
5. Trouble Boys
6. Don’t Believe A Word
7. Memory Pain
8. Got To Give It Up
9. Chinatown
10. Hollywood (Down On Your Luck)
11. The Cowboy Song
12. The Boys Are Back In Town
13. Suicide
14. Black Rose (Roisin Dubh A Rock Legend)
15. Sugar Blues
16. Baby Drives Me Crazy
17. Rosalie
18. Desaster
19. Emerald

Buy it from your local indie record store or online at DeepDiscount.com.  Great prices and always free shipping.

AT WAR – Infidel – CD Review

It was 1987 when I first met and saw these guys.  I was with Big Bill and Kirshon and I think we were at the keg party on Potter’s Rd seeing Ratchet.  I saw them live shortly thereafter and was just blown away.  Pure American thrash.  They were good friends with another band from that area that I loved, O.T.T., so I got to see and hang out with these guys often.  I believe I may have only seen them live twice, which was a pity since they were local homeboys.

It was pretty exciting for me when Paul sat in with my Motorhead tribute band and sang The Hammer.  What an honor!  It’s really only been in recent years that I really got to know those guys and again, it’s a pity that I don’t live near them these days.  Paul and I have become great pals and I got to hang with him here in Austin quite a bit a few months ago when he came in for a visit.  What a blast!  He’s still a maniac.  I love it.

But I guess I am here to talk about their latest album, Infidel.  All of us have been asking those guys for years when they would get back together and do another album.  We always heard the same thing, “It’s coming.”  Sure, Paul.  It had been coming for 20 years!

But then it happened.  Boom.  At War got on Myspace.  Started posting news about recording an album with the world famous Alex Perialas.  The buzz got going and I was excited that they were really doing it.

So when the record came out, I pulled the rock star card and emailed Paul with “Where’s my copy?”  It was said facetiously as anyone who knows me knows I always buys CDs and even hate being on the guest list for a band.  Those folks aren’t playing for free, ya know?  But Paul sent me one anyway.  It was nice to see my name in the special thanks, albeit undeservedly.

So I put the album on right when it came in.  BOOM!

AT WAR!  Infidel!

Fourteen seconds of noise and then it’s Paul Arnold in your face on the opener Assassins.  Hot damn, this sounds like At War!  I’ve listened to this about 15 times now and there’s not a stinker in the bunch.  If you’ve ever liked At War, then you still will.  This really picks up where they left off 22 years ago, except with better production.

It’s difficult for a band that gets back together to record 15+ plus years after the fact and to be able to retain the level of good metal that they once had.  At War did it with this one.  To be truthful I like this one even better than their previous albums.  I really don’t think I am being biased at all.  This album kills.  It’s At Wars perfect blend of Venom, Motorhead and their own touch of thrash that really always set them a bit apart of other thrash bands of their time.

So…Nice work Paul, Shawn and Dave!  Now bring the show to Austin, you fuckers!

Visit them on Myspace.

Colin Hay – Concert Review – 101409 – Austin, TX

As noted before, I’m a huge Men At Work fan. I found out the day of this show that Colin was playing at the tiny little Cactus Cafe on the campus of UT.  This place is typically a first come, first served so I got there early.  Being the dork that I am, I brought my CD covers (previously signed by Greg Hamm) for the only 3 Men At Work albums.  I used to have some of Colin’s solo CDs but his solo work never did much for me.

I was one of the first few people there and ended up meeting a guy who had also just found out about the show.  Super nice guy, screenwriter.  We talked for quite a while before they let us in and then sat together.  The cactus only holds about 50 people and this show didn’t sell out.  Criminal!!!

Colin got on stage and instantly just started telling stories, very funny stories.  Intermingled with his storytelling he also played some music.  Truthfully I think he may have only played 8 or 9 songs, but it didn’t matter.  His stories were very engaging and absolutely hilarious, even if a bit embellished here and there.

The only Men At Work songs that he played were Down Under, Who Can It Be Now and the closer Overkill.  I admit to getting a little choked up when he played that song.  It’s always been one of those songs from one of those eras, ya know?  I would like to have heard a few others that I think would have done well acoustically, but hey, it’s not my show.

He played practically flawlessly and his voice was still powerful and stayed crisp the whole night.  He’s a solid player on guitar.  I was impressed.

After the show he said he’d come out and do a quick meet and greet.  Of course I stuck around (groupie!).  Only about 10-15 people stuck around to say hi and I just waited at the end of the line.  When he got to me, he looked at my stack of CD covers and I think it was pretty blatant that I wasn’t a fan of his almost 10 albums of solo works.  He asked who had previously signed them  and I told him about the show in Virginia Beach in 1999.  He recalled the show as “Upstairs venue?  Hot as hell?”  He nailed it.  He was very amiable and I just thanked him and told him how much those 3 albums meant to me as a kid and even now as an adult.  He thanked me, shook my hand and looked at my shirt and said, “Black Sabbath, eh?  Good on ya, mate.”  We snapped a quick foto and I shook his hand one mroe time and left.

It was very special for me.  I’d certainly go see him again.  His comedy routine is worth the price alone.  Add in his music and it’s a double bonus night!