another week, andother metal show...god amn, I'm having a great fucking summer, lol


Iced Earth, Beyond The Embrace, and Trivium

- posted by Casey @ 11:07 AM

 
Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles Six Pack Weekend II

I made the trip to Cleveland last weekend and spent 3 days of non stop metal there. Here is the review:

http://www.metal-rules.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=1742
- posted by Casey @ 4:54 PM

 
"This next one is about rough sex...and by that, I mean a blowtorch in a vagina."



Tonight I made my return to the metal scene. Since November I have been to hardcore and hard rock shows and even indie rock shows. I have seen Life of Agony, Apartment 26, and Flaw...twice. I have seen Guster...twice...in a row. I have seen countless, worthless fucking local hardcore bands. None of those felt right, yes...in their own way they were all fun, and served their purpose of getting me out and experiencing new things and hanging out with close friends. However, none of these have had the impact that a metal show has on me.
Tonight I made the trip out to Rochester, literally a block away from where I last saw Guster in a small bar that recently opened called the Steel Music Hall, let me just say that this was my kind of place, kind of a more upscale Penny Arcade or Lost Horizon. By "Upscale" I mean that it isnt necessary to get rabies shots if you accidently fall on the ground.
The first band on stage was, local, Downdriven. as soon as I saw them take the stage I had flashbacks from when they had opened for Overkill last September and I began to taste bile, as I knew we were in for a half hour of worthless mallcore. The most frusterating thing about this band is that they actually doi have potential...but whenever they show said potential it is always ruined quickly by a *chug chug* riff that i can play in my sleep, or a breakdown that would get Korn kids hot in the pants. Not to mention the fact that their singer usually thinks that the drummer is his audience and promtly faces that direction for the entire set, all of this on top of having a horrible scream (I did better when i was in 11th grade and listening to Slipknot) and the charisma/stage presence/showmanship of a can of clam chowder that is missing its label.
Next we got a double dose of the Relapse records support crew. I can't remember the name of the second band to play, they really weren't that good, but the guys in the band were cool and had a good sense of humor. They were at least fun to watch in between songs and their drummer was a madman...which is a good thing because all I could fucking hear were drums! The guitar was completely drowned out (note to musicians: If your drummer is playing heavy double-bass blast beats...you DON'T play a fucking Strat with single coils!) and the bass wasn't really worth listening to. The little bit of the guitar I was able to hear made the band sound like a Grind band...this doesn't suprise me at a show in Upstate NY.
Next was Uphill Battle, they were alright, deffinetly not my kind of band. Standard metalcore/grind band who has listened to At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul one too many times. They still managed to pull off some decent riffs and the tripple vocalist set up worked well for them. Their drummer was damn good, but I could tell that somehting was up because when I heard double bass sometimes I only saw one foot moving...but I can deal with that, besides...the man deserves credit because he pulled a double set, playing with Uphill Battle and Exhumed. The guitarists were talented to say the least and really had me headbanging a couple times, but not enough to where I would buy an album. I really hate to stereotype people, but the members of this band were obviously a mixed bag of hardcore kids and metalheads and yo can tell exactly who was who just from how they looked and moved on stage. I won't go into details, but my notions were confirmed, these books had very accurate covers.
Finally Exhumed hit the stage...Matt seemed pretty anxious because Uphill Battle were still taking their equipment down and he was already up there starting his soundcheck. For those that don't know...he also plays in a thrash band called Dekapitator, this has confused me in the past because Exhumed is death metal ala Carcass from the the Necrotocism era...thats not an easy jump. after seeing and meeting this guy though I came to the conclusion "this guy is old school as hell" and all confusion was put to rest by his black and white Converse Hi-Tops :-P I really couldn't tell you the set list that followed, it was all just a blur of brilliance. I have been a fan of Exhumed for a long time, but their albums do absolutely no justice to their live shows. Its a rare treat that i get to see a death metal band that plays with this much passion and enjoyment. As a guitar guy, the riffage displayed by these guys was absolutely punishing. The band as a whole was flawless in sound and in performance, they used every damn inch of that stage...from climbing onto the monitors to do solos, or kicking a foot onto the bass drum, the showmanship here was incredible. The music itself made me feel right at home, at the last 4 shows i had been to I jave jumped around and ran into peole, and stood there bopping back and forth, but tonight I thrashed like I was born to....destroying my neck has never felt so refreshing. Being away from the metal scene for these past few months has really made me realise how much of a metalhead I am, and this show tonight reminded me why I'm a metalhead. It would be a great injustice to the band to try and explin with words the music tonight, as it defies all description, just check them out on your own and you'll see what I mean.

Oh...something cool also happened tonight, I asked Matt about a new Dekapitator album (they haven't released anything since their 1999 debut) and he said "By the end of the year" FUCK YES!!!!


- posted by Casey @ 11:25 PM

 
So I tore the shit out of Entertainment Weekly in a recent E-Mail I sent them in regards to their Probot review. I'm usually against such petty acts, but they deserved this one:

Ok, please oh please don't review any metal albums in EW. I just read your review (or rather blurb) about Probot and am pretty sickened. Normally I love EW and can't stand all the whining I see people do, so I guess you can call me a hypocrite here.
"...the result is more amusing than menacing" sticks out like a sore thumb in reference to Mr. Kilmester's vocal performance. I'm sorry, but when was Lemmy EVER menacing as a vocalist. As a person, deffinetly, on stage, absolutely. However his vocals have never been about scaring or intimidation. Go and listen to Ace of Spades (the album...not the song) and try to argue that Motorhead was ever supposed to be menacing and/or frightening.
"Other songs, with demonic-frog vocals"...stick to your Beyonce and these marketed bastards that rule the top 40. Leave vocals that actually have character to the underground where it belongs, and prospers. Metal clearly isn't for everyone, and EW leaving it out of your review section more or less has made me (as a metalhead) respect the magazine more than other publications who think that they are clever for calling shrink-wrapped aggression like Korn and Linkin Park metal (that sacred label should never be applied to such garbage BTW)
Also one major flaw in this "review" was the fact that the vocals were the only thing really comented on, clearly Mr. Browne doesn't realise in a market saturated with drum loops, and over produced beats, that there is more to music that lyrics and vocals. Metal, since its conception upon Toni Iommi's freboard, has always been musically driven as opposed to vocaly. The voice is almost its own instrument as opposed to the vehicle in which a message is delivered, melding with the music, creating emotion instead of trying to provoke it.
On a side note...I rememebr a few issues back when you did a feature on The Darkness. Iron Maiden's success was refered to in past tense. Yeap...debuting their 2003 album Dance of Death at #18 on the charts in the US, No 1 in Italy, Sweden, Finland, Greece, Czech Republic. No 2 in UK, Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia. No 3 in France, Spain, Norway, Poland, Hungary, Argentina, Austria. No 4 in Japan, Portugal, Belgium, Iceland. No 5 in Canada. No 10 in Denmark. No 11 in Holland. And No 12 in Austrailia deffiently means that they are a band of the past. We'll ignore the fact that in 2001 they headlined the Rock In Rio festival, and played in front of a crowd of 200,000 strong who were screaming along with Bruce Dickinson's soaring vocals. also their Grammy Nomination for 2000's Brave New World must have meant nothing especially considering they were shoulder to shoulder with modern successes like Slipknot and Deftones. Yeap...deffinetly a band of the past.

I'm sorry about all that, I really do enjoy my EW subscription, but please...stick to what you know, if you want to start reviewing/commenting on metal...get someone who actually knows the scene today, and its past. Thanks.
- posted by Casey @ 8:08 PM

 
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