DRUNK MONDAY


...The Drink of choice



First Shot Of The Night


...More shots


...a lot of fuckin' beer pong

Hilarity Ensues:





...more drinking


"Dude, she's got nice boobs"
"Thats my brother!!!"
- posted by Casey @ 10:42 PM

 
Alright, complaint time. I have had my occasional mini-rants over the last few months but I haven’t had a nice good ol’ K.O.D. explosion in a while. Lucky for your amusement I woke up with a serious case of “WHO THE FUCK PISSED IN MY COFFEE!?!?!?!?” today (could have been the fact that I was awakened not once but TWICE by my dad and some mortgage guy, and neither of them were making any attempts of being discrete)

I predict a nice mix of blind rage, and poetic-melancholy…with a nice pinch of humor for the remainder of this “update”, so strap yourself in and clench your teeth…HERE WE GO

I guess I’ll start with some minor annoyances that have been really biting at the back of my neck for a while now. First of all, old guys who drive huge pickup trucks piss me off! Unless these people are hauling major loads of heavy materials around its time to downgrade from the V8 to a nice V4, there is no god damn reason why I need to be stuck behind some 80 year old in a fucking F-350 going 20 miles an hour because he can’t see over the fucking wheel of a vehicle that could keep his pace-maker running for eternity off one hit of the gas, and to minimize damages if they accidentally run through a farmers market….because you know how Fultonswegonians love our farmers markets, that shits worse than crack up here.

This one has been pissing me off since the ice storm back in April: I had to work for 2 days of this ordeal, and the thing that we sold the most of at our store were gasoline and scratch off lotto tickets, now if people were putting gas into canisters and doing something constructive with it I could see the point, but these people were just gassing up their cars. What happened to food and clean water being the necessity? I think it really says something about our culture when the thought process has shifted form “Protect the land, keep the family healthy and clean” to “Screw this, I’m driving as far away as I can and gambling all of my money away so I don’t have to deal with reality!”

Anyone who knows me, knows that I can be…and quite frankly, I usually am a complete prick when it comes to music. However, on the rare occasion I do converse in a civil manner I am often reminded of why I am such a music-nazi. One of the big reminders is the musical taste of the whigger…99% of the time when I say that my tastes usually can’t be monitored on a billboard chart the first thing out of their ignorant mouth is “Man, chicks don’t listen to that shit!!!” Hmmm., last time I checked (man-boobs aside) I wasn’t a “chick”. The fact that these walking wastes of perfectly good dog food let their dicks decide what music they listen to is one of the biggest insults, one of the biggest slaps to the face I can imagine. It was to my knowledge that music was a very personal thing, something to enrich my life, and something to enjoy. I honestly can’t think of anything more to say because even thinking about the last ignoramus that said that to me is causing a brain fog. I will just say that thankfully this has not happened in a while, mostly because my current friends are all intelligent, wonderful people who know how to appreciate music, and have passion for it…regardless of genre I respect that.

I have come to a realization I have always suspected in the back of my mind, but I now know this for a fact. New York is killing me, slowly but surely it is sucking the life out of me. Yes, I’m sure it would be different if I was in NYC, but I honestly consider the city more a part of Jersey that New York. I look out the window, no matter where I am, and all I see is a gray landscape with the occasional joyless face in which I see the same frustration, even if it is only in small amounts. On the rare nights that I can see the stars I look to them, almost like I’m asking for someone, anyone to wake me up and get me out of here. This is not a simple case of growing annoyed with a never changing background. I have changed that background before. Most people in that situation would become homesick, on the contrary…when I left for those few months, anyplace I went felt more like home than this place has ever felt. To clarify…my house, my family, my friends, I love and would never give up, it is the land itself and the atmosphere here that is draining me. I would never wish anyone an existence in this place as long as I have, and to anyone who has always lived here and never left, I pray you never leave and have something to compare it to. Ignorance is truly bliss in that circumstance. I know now that it doesn’t matter what I do with my life, as long as it isn’t in New York, I will be happy. Of course, knowing this is kind of a source of strength, and a target to shoot for, so in that regards I am thankful for the hopelessness of this place.



- posted by Casey @ 10:12 PM

 
The time has come...the end of another year, and a ton of awesome metal has been showered upon us once again. This my friends...is the top metal albums, dvds, tours and moments of 2003! Huzzah!

Introduction:
2003 was deffinetly a great year for the classic metal of Power/Speed, and Traditional. Normally it agitates me to no end when I see lists with only this kind of metal. Actually it works both ways because I also get pissed when people only list the more extreme genres. When will people realise the full diversity metal has to offer? Once you do it eliminates the need to listen to anything else if you really wanted to.
Regardless, Power Metal was the true champion this year. I wanted to put more of it into this list, but I also wanted it to stay well rounded. Not using one genre alone, not having all major label releases, or incredibly underground material. Now we begin!

Best Tours of 2003:
3. Nuclear Assault - Live Again
- I had the pleasure of seeing this band in Dan's new home of Rochester, in a cramped little club. It was quite an experience. After all these years these guys still clearly love what they do. Plus, they have one of the craziest frontmen I have ever seen. He set up the mic stand in the middle of a raging mosh pit, played guitar and sang while he was laying on the floor (the mic had come loose and he couldn't pick it up because he was playing at the time) and he gave me the mic for almost 2 whole songs! (we'll Ignore the fact that i only knew the lyrics to one of them :P )

2. Overkill - Killbox 13 Tour
- Overkill is a rotating member of my "Top 3 Bands" listand has been for a long time. Again, i saw this show in a shitty, run-down bar in Rochester and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life! This was also my little brother;'s first concert ever. I got the living shit kicked out of me at this show and I loved every minute of it! Plus getting to meet Blitz was awesome. The crowd was great, the band was on fire, the atmosphere was sweaty, and angry...fucking metal!!!!!

1. Iron Maiden, Dio, Motorhead
- Maiden toured this year...this means that Iron 'FUCKING' Maiden played in public multiple times. As the greatest band of all time...they win! Throw in Dio and Motorhead and you have one of the best classic metal tours ever. we'll see if Priest can top this in 2004.


Biggest Disapointment of 2003:
3. Children of Bodom only playing 5 songs on their first US Tour
- I drove 2 1/2 hors to see these guys! I had seen every band on that tour at least once before except them. And they only play for 20 minutes? Thats wrong! And the crowd was very vocal bout it that night. The fact that they were amazing for the 5 songs made it even worse. Truly a case of musical-blue balls.

2. The cancellation of the Metal Gods, US Tour
- The line up: Halford, Testament, Primal Fear, Immortal, Carnal Forge, Amon Amarth, Behemoth, and Painmuseum. They were coming to Rochester...I already had my ticket. Less then a week before the gig. CANCELLED!!!! Not just the show we were having, but the entire tour because of some behind the scenes, financial mix-up. And the factor that makes it get added to this list? A few months after the tour was cancelled the black metal band Immortal called it quits and broke up. After a truly legendary career worthy of the name "Immortal" they were gone...andmy one chance to see them...GONE!!!

1. Matt Barlow leaves Iced Earth to pursue a career in law enforcement.
- My favorite singer in metal has abbandoned us. Worse than that, he has lost his feeling for music. What else is there to say? This sucks almost as bad as Iced Earth;s new album.

Best Live Album:
3. Sodom - One Night In Bangkok


2. Kreator - Live Kreation


1. Blind Guardian - Live


The big 3 of German Thrash all released live albums this year, sadly I did not get a chance to listen to Destruction's because I just couldn't find the damn thing!!! Fucking Japanese release only bullshit. Although maybe its good I didn't hear it, lol...The ones I did hear were godly, and as you saw placed in my top 3. Had I not seen BG live in 2002 I probobly would have placed Kreator higher, but I know what a BG show is like, and there truly is NOTHING like it in this world, and this double album captures it to near perfection.

Best DVD:
3. Black Label Society - Bruised , Boozed and Broken Boned


2. Kreator - Revisioned Glory


1. Primal Fear - The History of Fear


If it weren't for the overwhelming amount of Outcast and Cause For Conflict material on Kreator's DVD they would have won. The production was the best, and Kreator is in my top 3 favorite bands. Also, the fact that they used footage from several shows was mildly annoying. PF was amazing...2 full (kick ass) shows, extras including a cover of You've Got Another thing Coming witht he dude from hammerfall helping on vocals, and a Wacken 1999 interview...plus a audio cd with the Wacken 2001 show on it! Beautiful package. Likewise with BLS, great live performance, shitloads of extras, and even sample tracks from every one of Zakk;s albums in the discography section.

And now....the top 10 Best Albums of 2003:

10. Tie between:
Grave Digger - Reingold (Power/Speed)


1349 - Liberation (Black Metal)


9. Monstrosity - Rise To Power (Brutal Death)


8. Paragon - The Dark Legacy (Speed Metal)]


7. Vital Remains - Dechristianize (Brutal Death)


6. Apocalyptica - Reflections (Symphonic/Instrumental Metal)


5. Iron Maiden - Dance of Death (Greatest Band Ever, this album will be seen as classic in the years to come)


4. Cage - Darker Than Black (Power/Traditional)


3. Nightrage - Sweet Vengence (Melodic Death)


2. Tierra Santa - Indomable (Traditional Metal...and not a single word in English)


1. Dungeon - A Rise To Power (Power/Speed)

The Aussies win this year. A Rise To Power is easily one of the best albums I;ve heard in the last few years...not just 2003. The riffs, the lead work, the vocals, everything reminds me so much of the classic material that Helloween and Running Wild were putting out in the late 80's early 90's. They truly know where their roots are and show this proudly.

Predictions for 2004
2004 Is going to be a year of Thrash. Already Exodus is about to pounce on us with Tempo of the damned, an album I have had the pleasure to listen to, and have already claimed it the best thrash album of the last 10 years. Kreator has been writing new material, Violence is set to return, as is Death Angel, Dark Angel, and testament. 2K4 is going to be a year for old schooler headbangers to bust out the bullet belts and denim vests. Hail and Kill!!!!
- posted by Casey @ 10:56 PM