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Metal of Disorder

Read More Riot Fest 2012 The GWAR Fans are easy to spot after the afternoon sun has cooked the pink stain of fake blood into their faces and t-shirts ....

LEGACY OF DISORDER
legacyofdisorder.com

New Zealand's heavy metal band Legacy of Disorder is currently on tour in North America in support of their latest album, Last Man Standing.

They are also hitting a few dates with GWAR, DevilDriver & Cancer Bats, as part of their Fate or Chaos tour. They hit Minneapolis at First Avenue on November 18th. NOTE: THIS IS AN ALL-AGES SHOW AND SET STARTS AT 5PM.

Tour dates below:

11/12: Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theater
11/14: Edmonton, AB @ Edmonton Events Centre
11/15: Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Hall Ballroom
11/16: Saskatoon, SK @ Odeon Events Centre
11/17: Winnipeg, MB @ The Garrick Center
11/18: Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
11/19: Joliet, IL @ Mojoes
11/20: Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection
11/21: Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
11/23: Detroit, MI @ Harpo’s
11/24: Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy
11/25: Reading, PA @ Reverb
11/26: Millvale, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theater

VISION OF DISORDER
facebook.com/VisionOfDisorder

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, metal band Vision of Disorder is donating all proceeds from their Brooklyn show to the Red Cross.

Vision of Disorder (VOD) explained, "Our hearts go out to those severely affected by this tragic incident. Being from Long Island, Hurricane Sandy has (quite literally) hit home for us… we felt donating the proceeds from the Brooklyn show was a no-brainer."

Picking Up Change: Hardcore For Hurricane Relief

11/24/2012 Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY
Doors open at 7:30pm

w/ VISION OF DISORDER, Primitive Weapons, Yuppicide, Swarm of Arrows

Vision of Disorder's The Cursed Remain Cursed is the first album in over a decade, was released in September on Candlelight Records.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Godsmack/Five Finger Death Punch/Drowning Pool at Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St Paul (10/19/10)

It was a mini-Ozzfest last Sunday at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in Saint Paul. Headlining was Godsmack, but from seeing all the various Godsmack or Five Finger Death Punch or Drowning Pool T-shirts and jerseys, I would say that all three were headlining.

I'll start with the band that started the metal mania party: Drowning Pool. Chatting with two Drowning Pool fans, they tell me that this band's been around for ages. That their original singer (Dave Williams) died on tour. The singer was temporarily filled by Jason Jones, but this recent show was the first time that the two fans will finally see the band with ex-Soil singer Ryan McCombs as lead singer of Drowning Pool.

From what I can tell, McCombs did a great job filling in the shoes of Dave Williams, but understandably most of the songs on their setlist is from the recent self-titled album, starting with "37 Stitches". However, for their finale, they did an oldie, "Bodies", from Sinner. For that last song, McCombs did a bold move and climbed over the barrier and sang in the crowd.

There was a long setup time for Five Finger Death Punch, but as soon as the Drowning Pool backdrop was replaced by the 5FDP logo, the crowd went wild. You can tell who the Five Finger fans were (hint: they had mohawks or wore skelley masks), and just feeling the buzz, and you were in for a great show. And they did not disappoint, from the custom mic stand (the mic was a chrome hand holding a gun) to the hydraulic drummer lift (for the drum solo, the kit was sent up about seven feet in the air).

Before Godsmack took the stage, we were shown what basically was a commercial for singer Sully Erna's debut solo album. It sure look like he's gone acoustic/organic with his solo stuff, which makes sense, since he probably has a ton of songs that just won't fit into the alternative metal sound of Godsmack.

We were also shown another movie intro before the band took stage, this time it was a little more interesting. They were basically a historical clips of anti-metal in the news. From suicides to accusations to metal equals evil. But you know what ? Metal is still here, and it's bigger than ever. At least that's the point the intro was trying to make.

When Godsmack took the stage, I quickly realized that music and video plays a huge role in their performance. Each song was accompanied by a specific video, so I'm assuming they cannot go off their setlist randomly without the OK from the video guy. They started their set off with "Cryin' Like a Bitch", their lead single from their third consecutive #1 Billboard album, The Oracle. It was followed by "Straight Out Of Line" and "Awake" and then a long, long, very epic instrumental song (sorry I'm not a major Godsmack fan that I would know what the song was called).

My personal favorite was their performance for "Love-Hate-Sex-Pain", which featured some suggestive videos while they hit the chorus.

Based on the high production of these artist's elaborate stage sets and an excellent bill (all three bands can easily headline) and if you like at least one of these three bands, I'd say you're getting your money's worth. Below are some photographs and tour dates.

♥ Drowning Pool

♥ Five Finger Death Punch

♥ Godsmack

10/22/10 Freaker's Ball @ Verizon, Dallas, TX 10/23/10 Buzzfest @ Woodland+ Houston, TX 10/24/10 Bell County Expo Center, Belton, TX 10/26/10 Santa Ana Star Center^ Rio Rancho, NM 10/27/10 1st Bank Center* Broomfield, CO 10/29/10 The Joint* Las Vegas, NV 11/01/10 Fox Theater* Oakland, CA		10/30/10 Memorial Coliseum @ State Fair* AZ 11/02/10 Arco Arena* Sacramento, CA 11/04/10 Nokia Theatre* Los Angeles, CA * with Drowning Pool & Five Finger Death Punch + with Seether & Papa Roach ^ with Papa Roach

vu () ♥ drowningpool.com ♥ fivefingerdeathpunch.com ♥ godsmack.com

Danzig at the Trocadero in Philadelphia 6/19/10

 

On June 19^th, my friend, Sarah, and I celebrated our beloved Glenn Danzig’s birthday a little early – with him!  She drove down from Rhode Island and whisked me away to Philadelphia to see our pretend boyfriend on tour.  Unfortunately, traffic and beautification delayed our arrival, so we missed both Gorgeous Frankenstein and Seventh Void.  Still, we made it just in time to stand around in sweaty darkness for a good twenty minutes before shadows and gloomy sounds alerted us to his arrival.  When the light came on, I admit that I squealed.  But, I wasn’t the only one.  Sarah, for her part, made sure to kill the 12-year-old girl in me by saying: “Whoa, he looks old.”  All I could see was bare-chested, video-Danzig.  Sort of.

 

 

 

Danzig - On A Wicked Night

Danzig

 

For about an hour and a half, the band expertly played songs from every Danzig album.  I believe that he introduced three new ones.  I can only remember Hammer of the Gods and On a Wicked Night, which were pretty good choices.  Twist of Cain, Her Black Wings, Thirteen, my super-favorite How the Gods Kill, and a blur of other songs ended in Mother.  At this point, Sarah and I gave up her comfort and my wussiness and walked through the now-sluggish, sausage fest of a pit to get to the front.  The encore consisted of the appropriate Dirty Black Summer and Am I Demon.  My hair was pulled, my glasses got foggy, sweat burned my eyes, and men’s awful muskiness enveloped both of us.  Why had I waited so long??!  (Maybe because guys aren’t always willing to give up their spot even if it means a soft, short, less smelly cushion.  So, why risk punches to the head?)

 

 

 

As I said, the band sounded great.  The only bit of oddness was Tommy Victor’s constant hand gesturing.  (Does he act like this when fronting Prong??)  Admittedly, motioning to the crowd so that they can be louder is not weird.  BUT, when he couples it with the He-Da-(Satanic)-Man-style pointing at Danzig, it becomes all sorts of distracting things.  (You got the job, dude.  Cut it out!)  Meanwhile, bassist Steve Zing was rocking his locks and intensely posing.  Drummer Johnny Kelly had a calm demeanor and huge, welcoming smile. And, Danzig… Oh my sweet, sweet Danzig kept swinging his mic, pulling out the devil horns, gnashing his teeth, congenially talking to the crowd, throwing lots of bottles of water to the dehydrated fans, and being his perfectly bohunk-y self.  All of this, he did while delivering near-record-quality vocals.  The man can definitely sing live. I’ve heard people knock his live performances, but he doesn’t disappoint.  At the end, he thanked us and wished us a safe return home.  Sarah thought that his politeness calls his evil into question.  I think that it’s evil with a smile.

 

 

Delayed by Summer Session, Cristina

International Metal

Headhunter - Parasite of Society Discography [1990] Parody of Life [1992] A Bizarre Gardening Accident [1994] Rebirth [2008] Parasite Of Society

In an effort to help out Soup, who is getting a ton of stuff from me, I've picked out a few metal bands to review - mostly because of their international appeal.

As you know, metal is huge everywhere, so here are a few from different countries:

Headbangers, rejoice, Germany's Headhunter is back after 13 years with the release of Parasite Of Society, out in Germany a few days ago on May 23^rd. US fans will have to wait until the official release date of June 10^th, from Candlight Records.

Listening to the album, it sounds as if this power/thrash metal band never really left the 90's, which is just fine for fans of this band. Believe me, just doing brief research on this band, I came across so many blog entries from fans who were absolutely were looking forward to this album for so many years. From my understanding, this new album is more "power" than previous efforts.

 

 

Headhunter - 18 and Life

Headhunter

Also, this really suprises me, but their songs are sung in English, not German. I did enjoy their storytelling songs, particularly "18 and Life", which tells the story of poor Ricky who joined the army (as it turns out, this is a Skid Row cover song, see comments below).

They also show off their headbanging badge too, of course, doing such songs as "Parasite Of Society" and "Doomsday for the Prayer" (singer Schmier seems to be channeling Axl Rose here).

The newly reformed trio will make a special appearance at Wacken Open Air Festival on August 1^st. Parasite of Society is available now in Germany, early June for US.

Dantesco - Aguila de Sangre Dantesco Discography [Jul 2004] Dantesco (demo) [May 2005] De La Mano De La Muerte   [Apr 2008] Pagano

Puerto Rico's most famous metal band is undoutably Dantesco. As their name suggests, "Dantesque", I believe they're named after the poet, Dante from Florence, Italy, who wrote The Divine Comedy. They've just released Pagano on April 24^th on Cruz Del Sur Music (I would link to their website, except google seems to think that this website "may harm your computer").

I like the weird horn at the beginning of "Aguila de Sangre" (Eagle of Blood), and the song has a nice epic feel, being about seven minutes long. Plus check out the guitar shredding in the middle of the song.

Since all the songs are in Spanish, I couldn't really tell you too much about the meaning of the song, but I reckon if you like doom metal, this might be right up your alley.

By the way, interestingly enough, there is a song called "De La Mano De La Muerte" (Of the Hand of Death), which should've appeared on their debut album of the same name... but somehow is on this second album. Listening to it, the song really doesn't belong on their release - mostly because this is a (quieter) acoustic song, whose only purpose seems to be a nice break between the other heavier songs.

Currently, the band is planning on playing a few dates, mostly in the Florida area, although the venues are still to be determined:

07/10/08 Jacksonville, Florida
07/11/08 Orlando, Florida
07/12/08 Miami, Florida
07/13/08 Tampa, Florida

 

If you're going to pick up Pagano, check out that there is a Limited Edition Slipcase version that includes an embroidered patch that was released April 11^th prior to their appearance at the Up the Hammers Greek Festival.

 

 

Teräsbetoni - Missä miehet ratsastaa

Finland's Teräsbetoni have been in the news lately. Their third album Myrskyntuoja reached the top 40, mostly based on their amazing music video for "Missä Miehet Ratsastaa" (Where All The Men Ride Forth) for Eurovision 2008. The video is about these norsemen/vikings who found themselves in the modern age, where they find themselves becoming a metal band... it looks more like a wonderful movie rather than a music video (well, that is at the beginning of the video...)

 

Teräsbetoni - Missä miehet ratsastaa

Maybe Christopher or someone in the UK can let me know if Teräsbetoni's been eliminated yet.

 

I got a press release that also mention that lead singer, J Ahola, is preparing Northern Kings' album Reborn for a June 16^th release. From the description, they're a rock operatic supergroup comprising of four heavy metal singers.

Looking at the track listing, it seems they're all cover songs, the most interesting covers includes "Creep" (Radiohead), "We Don't Need Another Hero" (Tina Turner) and "In The Air Tonight" (Phil Collins).

Links: official-headhunter.com myspace.com metalhordes.com myspace.com/dantescoepico terasbetoni.com

Soup wrote: Sun, May 25, 2008 at 2:25 AM

Actually, you'd be surprised. It's not uncommon for metal bands from non-English speaking countries to sing in English because it makes it easier for them to get their music out to English speaking countries, who tend to be really enthusiastic about metal. Bands that don't do that tend to have trouble "making it" in the UK and the US. But a few examples off the top of my head: Emperor (Norway), Mayhem (Norway), Running Wild (Germany), Sepultura (Brazil), and literally countless others.

I totally want to hear a metal band covering Tina Turner. That sounds awesome.

Skid Row - 18 & Life

 

crankypants wrote: Sun, May 25, 2008 at 11:16 AM

Didn't Skid Row or one of those late 80s/early 90s bands have a song called 18 & Life?

Yup

Ricky didn't join the army in that one though....

Javelina

 

Architect

Javelina

The first thing Philadelphia's Javelina wants you to know is that their name is pronounced as if it were a Spanish word. Like “Ha-ve-lee-na.” In fact, it's printed right on the front spine of their debut CD for Translation Loss Records. A javelina is like a sort of wild pig (technically a peccary). This is actually a completely useless fact, but I found it while Googling the band to find out more information on them, and thought you'd like to know. It's also a rather appropriate name for a band that sounds like these guys.

 

The album is sludge metal, inspired by bands like Down, Motorhead, Eyehategod, and Crowbar. The band features ex-members of Lickgoldensky, Smut, and Otophobia. This is a very straightforward metal disc. This album is heavy in more of a literal sense, in that it sounds like a band made up of a bunch of large, angry dudes. The vocals basically sound like a dude who's about to smash your face in with nothing but his fist. The album typically sticks to more straightforward rhythms with more emphasis a thick, sludgy tone than on displaying the players' chops (which are definitely there).

 

The musicianship is competent. There's quite a bit of punk influence here (particularly on tracks like “Asbestos”), and even a little bit of modern “post-metal,” for lack of a less annoying term (like the sort of stuff Robotic Empire has been putting out a lot of, lately) on “Architect,” which is probably the best track on the album, but I'd say it'll appeal more to metalheads than anyone else. If you like bands with Phil Anselmo in them (e.g. Pantera, Down, Superjoint Ritual), then these guys might be right up your alley.

 

These guys are currently on tour, so if you like what you hear, go check 'em out! Their debut album is out now on Translation Loss records. More info: Official MySpace page

 

May 17 2008 8:00P The Drunken Unicorn w/ Withered Atlanta, Georgia

May 18 2008 8:00P Hell w/ Tooth, Horsefang Chapel Hill, North Carolina

May 19 2008 8:00P NARA Sushi w/ Tooth, Lord By Fire Richmond, Virginia

Jul 11 2008 8:00P Talking Head w/ Sourvein Baltimore, Maryland

Jul 12 2008 8:00P Manhattan Room w/ Sourvein Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Jul 13 2008 8:00P The Knitting Factory w/ Sourvein New York, New York

 

-Soup

Cursed III

 

Friends in the Music Business

Cursed

Cursed are a Canadian hardcore band born in 2001, including former and current members of The Swarm, Left For Dead, Shallow North Dakota, and the legendary (for their incredibly rare and equally violent live shows) Haymaker. Their new album, Cursed III, out on Goodfellow Records, is a thrash masterpiece, with a sort of “Deathwish” edge to it (which, I guess, should be kind of obvious, considering Deathwish put out their first record).

 

It opens with a sound collage. “Architects of Troubled Sleep” sets the mood for the album, but honestly, on every listen after the first, I've found myself skipping it. The urgings to “Go shopping. Go back the mall. Go back to your normal lives,” are the kind of thing I'm really sick of hearing on punk records, in any context. It's just not really all that clever anymore, and I just kind of tune it out, at this point.

 

Thankfully, “Night Terrors” busts down the door with lightning fast drumming, aggressive guitars and some of the angriest vocals put to tape in recent memory. Lyrically, it sticks to the theme of dreams set forth by the first track.

 

The next track, “Magic Fingers” is an unashamedly anti-organized religion rant shouted over fast, sludgy riffing and some solid, technical drumming and some of the best lyrics on the album.

 

“Antihero Resuscitator” is thrash at its finest. And it's about where the album starts slowing down. “Friends in the Music Business” is a song about sycophants over a downtuned doomy sludge with the vocals cutting through, ending with a chant of “Don't call me; I won't call you,” shouted at the top of Chris Colohan's lungs.

 

“Into the Hive” picks up a little bit of speed, but keeps the sludge intact. The lyrics are about people who choose to live oblivious to the suffering around them by doing everything money can buy to shield themselves from having to look at it. But the speed doesn't last very long. “III” is a slow, sludgy instrumental that serves as a lead-in to “Unnecessary Person,” a sludge epic in four minutes.

 

“Hegel's Bastards” is another fast song with dystopian lyrics. It's pretty rare that you actually hear a hardcore band referencing Hegel in any way. Not so rare that you hear them reference Orwell, however.

 

“Dead Air at the Pulpit” is a rant against the people who profit off the faith of others. One of the more obvious and straightforward songs on this record (although, most of the songs here are pretty straightforward). It's another fast one, and it's over in less than two minutes.

 

The album ends with a seven-minute instrumental, “Gutters.” It ends the album in a fitting way: something that sounds like a fuzzed-out funeral dirge. It doesn't really go anywhere, but it kind of feels like that's the point.

 

All in all, Cursed III is a damn solid dystopian hardcore album by a band from whom you should expect no less. Fans of bands like Converge, Orchid, and just general gimmick-free, awesome metallic hardcore without the stupid haircuts or the tough-guy posturing will will love this.

 

Unfortunately, I kind of dropped the ball on getting this up in time for the European tour they're on right now, and by the time I realized they were on it, they were playing their last UK date. But here are the rest of the dates:

 

03-5 Lyon/France @ Warm Audio
04-5 Milan/Italy @ The Garage
05-5 Vienna/Austria @ Arena
06-5 Prague/Czech Republic @ 007
07-5 Nurnberg/Germany @ K4/Zentralcafe
08-5 Dornbirn/Austria @ Schlachthaus
09-5 Karlsruhe/Germany @ Jubez
10-5 Meerhout/Belgium @ Groezrock
11-5 Groningen/Netherlands @ Vera
12-5 Hamburg/Germany @ Hafenklang
13-5 Gothenburg/Sweden @ Sticky Fingers
14-5 Oslo/Norway @ Garage
15-5 Stockholm/Sweden @ Debaser + Disfear + Rotten Sound
16-5 Malmö/Sweden @ Debaser + Disfear + Rotten Sound
17-5 Berlin/Germany @ Cassiopeia
18-5 Mülheim/Germany @ AZ
19-5 Amsterdam @ Bitterzoet

 

-Soup

 

Zodiak - Sermons

 

Sermons

Zodiak

There's not really much I can think of to say to introduce Zodiak, so I'll let them do it. Their press release compares them to Tool, Massive Attack, Pink Floyd, and Failure, among others (those are the ones I think are the best comparisons). The album was put together out of mostly improvised jams, but, according to the band's MySpace, came out more structured than initially planned. They're also set to appear on a Syd Barrett tribute compilation coming out on Dwell Records, entitled Like Black Holes in the Sky, contributing a cover of the Pink Floyd single, “See Emily Play.” Translation Loss Records will be releasing their debut album, Sermons, on May 13^th.

 

The album opener, “Excavate” opens the album with a song that combines the more melodic side of Tool with Isis-style “loud” parts. This is all pretty standard, but the track ends on a weird, spacey note, which brings it nicely to the title track, “Sermons,” which shows more of a Pink Floyd influence (Pink Floyd if a guy who sounded a little bit like Maynard James Keenan was doing the vocals). The guitars are drowned in effects, one with what sounds like possibly a space echo, and the other with tons of sustain. There's a pretty cool, kinda Floydian guitar solo in there, and it's all tied together quite nicely. It ends on a drone that abruptly cuts off.

 

The next track, “Etc.” sounds like exactly what its name implies. Like something they had no idea where to place on the album, or whether or not they should incorporate it into a song. Which is not to say it's all bad. It carries on the spacey vibe of “Sermons,” but it sounds like kind of an afterthought.

 

“Wouldn't Wait” is more of a rock song with heavy guitars and a nice reverb effect on the vocals. It's kind of cool, but doesn't seem to go much of anywhere. Not one of the album's stronger tracks, but not bad.

 

“Their God Reigns,” on the other hand, builds from a spacey drone to something that sounds like the bastard child of Isis and Pink Floyd, with the droning space rock weirdness laced between heavier sections with an awesome “pissed-off, wounded animal” quality to the vocals. This is capped off by another instrumental, “Zeroes and Ones,” which brings that space rock vibe back into the picture.

 

The next track, “Outlined,” mixes metal riffing with reverb-drenched verses. The result sounds a lot like Tool with a slightly different melodic sensibility, and ends with another droned-out space rock part.

 

The closer, “Untitled,” is surprisingly short. To be honest, this is the kind of band I would figure would end on a really epic space jam or something. Instead, it's more of a straight-ahead, rock instrumental that ends in about thirty seconds of drone.

 

I would say this is a pretty promising debut, despite its flaws. I'd recommend this for fans of Isis or Old Man Gloom, and, of course, for fans of Tool. This is a pretty solid effort at bringing the progressive rock of today back together with more classic progressive sounds. I'll look forward to hearing what these guys are doing in the future.

 

More information can be found at their official MySpace page.

-Soup

Human A.D. - Scarecrow

 

 

Human A.D. - Scarecrow

Human A.D.

I ran into Steve the other day (which is funny because I rarely go outside). I didn't really know what to say, so I was telling him some random things. Like how I almost bought Lovedrug's new album, based on the package of their CD. The package was so cool, there's horses and flowers and artsy... but I had to talk myself out of buying it because I have never heard of this band.

So, anyway, Steve's in this metal band called Human A.D. (link is pointing to myspace, as it looks like humanad.org is down). I saw them a few years ago, and I have to admit I have never gotten into metal. It's too loud for my sissy self. But if you like metal, maybe you'll appreciate this (seeing as we don't cover metal on this music blooggie at all).

My choice of music to share was easy enough, as I could not download any of their songs (this is no surprise as I have had nothing but problems with myspaz lately). The only song I could download is called "Scarecrow"... hmmm human scarecrow. According to the id3 tags, it's the fourth track from V2.0.

Bonus: Apparently they have two myspace account for sharing even more music: myspace.com/humanad2

vu