Upcoming Shows *UPDATED*

Talk about too good to be true! I would burn candles to every God I know just to see Summer Slaughter. That line up is beyond sick.

 

Meanwhile, Metal U-Night will be presenting East Bound And Death tour at Malarky's in Albuqurque on the 17th, featuring local bands Defleshment and Fallen Prophets. 

Don't miss Four Corners Metal Festival in Farmington, NM. Over 15 bands will be playing all day long, and it's an all ages event. 

 Hating Nate (formerly known as HN-88) are calling it quits after countless years of providing Santa Fe with some much needed Punk. They will be joined by locals Almost A Lie and Rockin' Rascals from Denver. 

Speaking of bands calling it quits, I hope you didn't miss As In We's swan song at the Santa Fe Bandstand on 07/15/14. That was one hell of a show. They are splitting up indefinitely, but who knows? Besides, at least you can check them out on Bandcamp, Reverbnation, or their official website.

Santa Fe Bandstand is an ongoing event, and you can check out the schedule here. This is not necessarily Metal, but a diverse array of genres and plenty of Rock n' Roll. 

Last but not least, The Santa Fe Reporter will be hosting the annual Best Of Santa Fe Block Party at the Railyard this Saturday. The top 3 bands voted by readers will be performing, so there's a pretty good chance that we'll be seeing some heavy fuckin' Metal. Even if not, it's a good excuse to grab a drink at 2nd Street Brewery. See you there, my friends.

*UPDATE* 

This is going to be Oscillation's final show, at least for the time being. In other words, yet another band is breaking up indefinitely. Frankly, I'm starting to lose count.  Let's make this last show a good one, with support from Torn Between Worlds, Carrion Kind, and 3 Weeks Later.

Upcoming Shows

I love being 21. Nothing is better than getting smashed and listening to awesome, insane, loud music. For instance...

              If that's not your thing, slightly more marketable/mainstream music is coming to the Sunshine Theater on the 30th.

  

                                     Or, you can check this out, and Scream It Like You Mean It. AAAAHHHH!!

This Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! Joe Angel Productions presents Destroy It All Tour, featuring Epiphany, Carry Your Ghost, and some other crazy Metal bands. Doors open at 7 PM, cost is $7, location is the Gasworks.

Tomorrow, Warehouse 21 is hosting an all-ages show featuring HN-88, as well as up-and-coming band The Regulars. I've never heard of any of the other bands, but since I know the aformentioned artists are both Pop-Punk, I'll assume the whole line-up is similar. Besides, their flyer is an elephant in a suit. Anyway, doors open at seven, the cost is  $5, and no drugs or violence.

The fuck is with the deficit of flyers? Well, I guess I'll just tell you beautiful people all you need to know, sans visual aid. Sorry.

July 10th, HN-88 will be playing again, only this time at a bar. The Underground at Evangelos is a pretty cool venue, and the alcohol helps too. To the best of my knowledge, HN-88 will be the only band performing that night, and shows tend to cost $5, doors tend to open at 7 PM.

Saturday, July 14th, awesome Punk band Dead On Point Five is making their comeback at Hooligans Nightclub. Also playing will be Michael Lee Ostrander(think Joe Satriani on acid) and Skulldron (Think Iron Maiden on some dank weed).  Show starts at 7, I have no idea what the cover charge is but $5 is still a good bet.

Th-th-that's all, folks.

Pre-emptive Strike

My 21st birthday rapidly approacheth. As such, I have made an educated guess that I will be incapacitated for approximately a week thereafter. So this one post will have to last you a while, which is unfortunate because it obviously sucks.  I would post flyers for upcoming shows, but my computer is acting infuriatingly slow, so you will be content to read about whatever Metal-esque thing pops into my head.

For starters, the ridiculously talented Savage Wizdom are currently in the process of creating a new album. They were cool enough to give me a sneak peek of the new material, and I have to say, it totally rocks. It still has the traditional Power Metal vibe of their previous album, No Time For Mercy, but has been refined to be a little heavier. As soon as I aquire a functional camera, I can present you, dear reader, with video evidence of their musical prowess. The closest comparison I can make, musically speaking, is to Helloween: It's basically traditional Heavy Metal, but faster and somewhat Thrash-y. On the down side, all this time in the studio means less time on the stage. They are making themselves scarce for concerts, but rumors abound about a possible show at El Rey Theater in the near future. As soon as these rumors are confirmed or denied, I'll update it.


HN-88 have just released their new album as well, which is available for download. You have to pay for it this time, because their first album, This Is Not The End, was something they just handed out  to everyone for free. They were trying to spread the love of music or something. Damn dirty hippies.
Xmortis has a new bassist, Soul To Rest has broken up, and Grinkai is M.I.A. Therefore, I have nothing interesting to tell you. I have writers block like a beast. However, in my own defense, I know I'm not the only one. Let's just blame it on the paparazzi and call it a day.

Band Review: HN-88

I have a secret love for Pop- Punk. Laugh all you want, but I am still a badass Metalhead, despite my adoration for cutesy music. Besides, HN-88 are actually pretty freaking boss. Never mind that their name is random numbers and letters in the vein of Blink 182 or Sum 41. These guys write songs with the same subject matter as Metal... the Apocalypse, drug use, murder, sex,  and (if you count Metalcore as "Metal"), a combination of the latter two. Despite the intense themes, they sound catchy and upbeat. This is the kind of music that reduces a rocker girl such as myself into little more than just another coquettish, high-pitched groupie. It's not my fault they're dreamy. Stop yelling at me.

...Wait, ok, maybe they're not that dreamy. Was I really sloshed at the last show or was the stage lighting deceptively flattering? I guess we'll never know. But despite their delightfully hilarious physical appearance, they sound really good. Besides, now with this picture in my grasp, I have some leverage for future blackmail purposes. And another item in my "Stuff To Look At High" folder.

In all seriousness, these guys are great if you have nostalgia for the 90's and old-school MTV. Back in my day, this is the kind of stuff that rocker dudes would play to impress their girlfriends. And as a chick, I have to admit, this makes us go wild. Metal will always be my favorite genre... Nay, my favorite THING EVER....  But the hottest guys in it are the fictional band Dethklok. Even other Metalheads admit, we're kind of nasty. But HN-88 is totally adorable, despite all the evidence to the contrary, I.E that cheesy photo that I insisted on posting here because it's funny.

See? They're cute, they're talented, AND they make girls laugh. These stupid assholes are basically my kryptonite. I honestly think they deserve five stars, but I resent them for interfering with my Metalhead image, so I'll only give them four.

...Ah, fuck it. Here's the other one. Those guys earned it. Those bastards...

Visit them on their very own website!

A Blessing With A Curse

I was kind of bummed out because my posts are half-assed and lame, so I was worried about what to write today. Then I realized I could just post more flyers and call it a day.

Tonight W21 is hosting the annual Get Awesome Fest, aptly titled because it's FREE and features tons of bands from different genres. I don't recognize any Metal bands in the line up. However, I know that HN-88 is a flashback to 90's Pop-Punk, and that we Santa Fe girls go wild for them. Think what Green Day or Sum 41 would be like if they had more personality. State Of The Mingo is outta-this-world Hip Hop. If you've never experienced  an astronaut rapping, this is kind of a must-see. My favorite album of theirs is the fabulously titled Revenge Of The Synth. These Charming Cobras are ridiculously catchy Punk, somewhat Surf-Rock in their style. Mono Stereo is still a mystery to me. They are "Indie",whatever the fuck that means. And I don't know anything about the remaining bands either. Hey, it's a free show, what's the worst that can happen?

If you're in stupid Albuqurque this Sunday, check out the awesome Punk show at the Gasworks. I don't know any of these bands except for Domestic Violence, self-proclaimed Super Punk Rock, which sounds about right. Their reverbnation doesn't quite do them justice, as their stage presence is, quite frankly, phenomenal. For lack of a better description, I would compare them to Rancid but with a hot chick as the lead singer. That's not even mentioning the other 3 bands who are playing, and it's only $5. This is an all-ages show, so don't fuck it up by getting swilly at the venue. You can drink yourself to sleep when it's over.

Another Gasworks show, eh? This one is on Sunday, July 1st. This Is Hell has shared the stage with the likes of Unearth and Within The Ruins, so they are obviously a force to be reckoned with.The Greenery describe themselves as "sexy dudes making sketchy music." Yeah, that's accurate enough. Ecophagy is a bunch of teenagers wreaking havoc on your sense of hearing. I usually don't like chaotic Hardcore, but I have to admit that these dudes are pretty awesome.  Xerxes is kind of mysterious.

This one is on my 21st birthday, so it's my gift to myself. Only $4 to see A.P.D?! That's nothing short of scandalous.  Not to mention four other amazing Punk bands. That's less than a dollar per act. Take, for instance, Doomed To Exist. They've been described as everything from Grimecore to Crust to Thrash. Regardless of the genre, they are fucking amazing. Duke City Bombers are pretty crazy. They're basically old school "Oi! Oi! Oi!" Punk rock. There are approximately infinity Punk bands called Intoxicated, so I'm not sure which one this actually is. Bad Engrish is yet another Colorado Punk band. And unlike most shows, this one will most likely involve heavy drinking. See you there, my loves.  

Monster Bash

Once more, I must apologize for my hiatus from writing, though in my defense, this particular digression was fueled by neither drugs nor laziness. Instead, I got my ass kicked in a mosh pit, and have been in recovery ever since. I'm mostly intact, sans a few teeth and higher brain functions, but otherwise alive and well. Let's take a flashback to that infamous night, the legendary Monster Bash of Warehouse 21.

The Advocates were mass-appealing funky rock in the vein of Rage Against The Machine. They played with enough charisma and talent to make most local rock bands envious, a feat even more impressive when you consider this was their first live show. On the other hand, being unknown, they didn't have a large audience, yet those who were present will probably become loyal fans.

    Next on the bill were local legends Grinkai, infamous Death Metallers who boast both brutality and musicianship. Although their music is of an abrasive, barn-burning variety, the distorted riffs hint toward some kind of catchy melody. The band has gained notoriety in the local scene for their unique brand of marketable psychosis. There's no one else like them, for better or for worse.And as usual, I loved every second of it.

    HN-88 claims to be kid-friendly, but they're really Blink 182 in disguise. Yet it is a thin veil, and I have come to expect innuendos, graphic violence, and other teenage shenanigans I know and love from 90's Pop-Punk. So they're not kid-friendly so much as a magnet for rebellious teenage girls, or burnt out Metalheads filling the void with guilty pleasures (such as myself).  It was like Vans Warped Tour all over again.

     Finally, Savage Wizdom took the stage. If you don't know who they are, either read more of my shit, move to Santa Fe, or download all their songs. It's worth it, trust me. It was during this last set that the pits got even more rowdy. I'm not entirely sure what happened, but I'm pretty sure people got knocked out cold and had to be rescued by their friends. On my end of the deal, I got a bloody nose, a few bruises, and though I can technically eat solid stuff, it hurts like hell. Guess I'll just have to consume liquids... *glug glug glug*

So, ultimately, there was Funk, Death Metal, Pop-Punk, and traditional Heavy Metal all in one night, not to mention hot chicks, booze, and grievous injuries. Hell yeah, can't wait 'til next year! Four stars outta five!