Muknal: EP

Although modest in length, clocking in under 20 minutes, this EP released by Muknal in 2012 is a real gem for fans of underground black and death metal. The first track, Cruciation, is chock full of tremolo riffs and wicked pick sliding. These caustic musical elements, juxtaposed over  atmospheric and haunting vocals, results in an expansive and dissonant soundscape. The shifts in tempo and key are natural and flow well, but it makes it difficult to tell when one song ends and the next begins. The musical style is defined by an aura of eerie tension and unease. Although the lyrics are delivered in an indicipherable growl, the songs invoke a sense of awe, wonder, and fear of the unknown. 

The band derives their name from the Actun Tunichil Muknal caves in Belize, an ancient site rich in human remains and artifacts, suggesting a history of ritual sacrifice. The album art is clearly also inspired by these caves. I'm no artist, but I know some bitchin' contrast of positive and negative space when I see it. The soft glowing orbs in and around the cavern resemble stars, superimposing  earthly rock formations with the vastness of the celestial. The cover art reflects the music: A paradox of aesthetic sophistication with raw, primal forces of nature. 

From a technical point of view, the production quality is decent, and the musicianship rivals many other black metal bands. There are no clean vocals or sweeping orchestral arrangements to differentiate them from the rest of the blackened death metal crowd.  Weirdly enough, their lack of novelty actually IS a novelty. If you like your metal TRVE, heavy, and purely dark, this will scratch your itch. Three stars out of five. 

Shade Empire: Omega Arcane

Shade Empire, a symphonic black metal band from Finland,  are clearly influenced by  the likes of  Dimmu Borgir. However,  I believe Shade Empire surpasses their role models in technical prowess and emotional impact. Omega Arcane is a complicated yet cohesive album, the kind you can hear a hundred times and notice some new detail with each listen. 

Omega Arcane maintains a  precarious balance between melodic ambiance and raw heaviness. The album is simultaneously atmospheric and grotesque. The sound walls are multi-layered and complex, but the long tracks and slow tempos prevent it from being overwhelming. Intricate piano melodies emulate the baroque masters. The epic grandeur of the orchestral compositions  are complemented by acoustic guitars, bringing it all back down to earth. The drumming is inconspicuous but nevertheless provides a rhythmic backbone to the melodies.

The vocals are predominantly black metal screams, but there are occasional female cleans, notably in my favorite track, Disembodiment. The orchestral elements are at their peak in Disembodiment, which opens with suspenseful yet understated violins. The intro to this song is tantalizingly subtle, slowly blossoming into an intense black metal style. Several other songs feature atmospheric chorals in the background. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the album, although I'm used to faster tempos, faster songs, and shorter records. However, symphonic black metal is a niche  genre for those who can appreciate lengthy, nuanced, and epic music. All things considered, Shade Empire are skilled musicians and Omega Arcane is a testament to their abilities. Four stars out of five.

Inquisition: Ominous Doctrines Of The Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm

Ominous Doctrines Of The Perpetual Macrocosm, the 2010 release by atmospheric black metal titans Inquisition, is a transcendent yet subversive delve into the realms beyond human comprehension. Like Wolves In The Throne Room, their musical style overwhelms the listener with subtlety.  Eerie soundscapes of dissonant guitars and jarring vocals make a sensory experience as intimidating as space itself.  The ambient growls are more fitting for the lyrical content of infinite, eternal  vastness, whereas the leads fall flat and frankly, sound like the work of an ameteur. However, this is only a technical point of view. Personally, I think the album hangs together by virtue of it's own authenticity, including the low-quality sound recording.

 The appeal of Inquisition is the raw nature of the music. This is very ambient, auditory stream-of-consciousness. Even the lead vocals, while unappealing at first, were an aquired taste that ultimately proved to be integral to the whole. This is an album that strives to embody the colossal, the celestial, and the mystical, and succeeds to do so, despite the modest budget. As I've mentioned, they couldn't afford to sell out even if they wanted to. The lack of polished artifice is actually what made the album so inviting to me. Everything from the album art to the production quality is a testament to the band's dedication to keep their integrity to their roots. Admittedly, the occasional sound clips were rather distracting, but otherwise, it was an enjoyably unrefined LP.  Three stars out of five.

Hellfest 2014

For three days a year, the sleepy little town of Clisson in the French countryside is completely invaded by metalheads from all over the world. This is Hellfest, a metal festival that exploded from obscure beginnings to a world renowned event. This was my first time attending, but definitely not the last. My perception of music, society, and even time itself is irreversibly altered. Here's why:

1. The Stages

The mainstages were reserved for the likes of Slayer, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, and Sepultura. Admittedly, some of the bands (even headliners) were past their prime. As much as I hate the phrase "washed up", you can't be something you're not. Aerosmith was disappointing, even when heard from a distance.  I didn't even give Black Sabbath or the remains of Slayer a chance to break my heart. However, the main stages redeemed themselves with Iron Maiden, Sepultura,  and Behemoth, but more on that later.

The Altar and The Temple were adjacent stages which featured various subgenres, from metalcore like Soilwork, to the symphonic brutality of Septic Flesh, to the folk metal stylings of Eluveitie. I was impressed with most bands who performed there, excepting Opeth, who failed to live up to my already low standards. The one song that I enjoy, The Devil's Orchard, was the first on the butcher's block. Like the Misfits show, the audience was densely packed with die-hard fans who stay loyal to their favorite bands, even when they suck.

The Warzone was an apt title for the punk/grind/hardcore stage. The moshers were berserk, and the music was unrefined, unpretentious, heavy shit. This was the kind of refreshingly honest hellhole that you visit with like-minded psychos who want to punch each other in the face and get sand in crevasses you didn't even know you had. It was fucking amazing. The sole disappointment was The Misfits' set. Like Opeth, this show was overcrowded with fans like myself who were trying desperately, albeit in vain, to enjoy the show.

The Valley tended to showcase doom, sludge and stoner metal.  The occasional deviation from these genres included acts like Godflesh, Clutch,  and Phil Anselmo And The Illegals (who blew my mind, by the way.) For the most part, however, this is the stage that hosted Electric Wizard, Spirit Caravan, Dozer, Kylesa, and other deliciously slow, heavy, yet ethereal bands. Even if you missed a set, you could still enjoy the smoke billowing out from within the performance space.  It was almost like headbanging in a bong.

2. The Bands:

Eluveitie was hands-down the best performance I've ever seen. Not that their theatrics were especially impressive (typical flashing lights and headbanging on stage), but the overall sensory experience was sublime. Every salty-sweet aroma of sweat, beer, and blood, every infinitesmal visual nuance, and every tactical sensation of hair swinging and bodies slamming was absolutely magnificent.  Their set featured the first wall-of-death I saw at Hellfest, and the only one in which I participated. Those were the sweatiest dudes ever, and few of them were fully clothed. At the risk of sounding nasty, that was one slippery pit. That was also my first time to be thrown over the rails while crowd surfing. Words cannot describe my confused euphoria.This was the kind of show in which the mob-mentality prevails and the collective is greater than the sum of its parts. I strongly believe that everyone who walked out of the tent after the performance (including the band members themselves) left with more than they had when they entered.

But enough of that esoteric nonsense. Behemoth kicked my ass. I was close enough to the stage that getting set on fire was a legitimate concern. Sadly, however, I wasn't close enough to touch Nergal and gain his powers. I pop up occasionally in the official video, but ultimately I was just another voice screaming in unison and a pair of devil horns lost in the crowd. When the set was over and the crowd dispersed, I saw one unfortunate individual bleeding profusely from the head. He was only one of many. Yeah, it was THAT good.

Iron Maiden was another exceptional show. Bruce Dickinson's voice can project as loud as ever, and there's nothing like seeing Eddie in person. The setlist included classic favorites such as Aces High, The Number Of The Beast, Run To The Hills, The Trooper, and Fear Of The Dark. My only complaint is that there were no deep cuts: I would kill to see a live performance of Rime Of The Ancient Mariner, or at least Montsegur.

   Derrik Green of Sepultura is another astounding vocalist. He doesn't even have to do the whole "growl from the lungs" thing like the rest of us; that's just his normal voice. He could say something innocous like "Pleased to meet you" and you would think you're conversing with a demon. His effortlessly deep growls, accompanied by Death Metal riffs and Sepultura's signature drumbeats and bass-lines, augured for one hell of a concert.

Septic Flesh was almost too perfect. With only minor discrepancies, their live show was virtually identical to their studio recordings. Although they obviously used pre-recorded symphonic samples, I was nearly suspicious that the whole show was lip synced.  But then again, with symphonic metal as well-composed as theirs, perhaps there is simply no room for improvisation, not even during live concerts. Every single note, rest, melody, and harmony, had to be precise. So hopefully they didn't mime the whole thing, and they just happen to put on an incredible show. Plus, Spiros Antoniou is a bodacious babe, so I would probably forgive them anyway.


Traveling all the way from California to play at Hellfest, House Of Broken Promises was a spectacle to behold. Loud, tribal, almost primitive drumbeats carried most of the songs forward, while the riffs and vocals were more forgettable. That's not to say that the music was bad: The melodies were very catchy and chock full of hooks, but it didn't stand out from the hundreds of similar bands. Despite these shortcomings, they were still a great band to see on stage, and the crowd went fucking nuts for them.


I saw many more bands, but the main ones really worth mentioning are Soilwork, 1349, and Phil Anselmo and the Illegals. I only caught the last handful of Soilwork, but even those few minutes were enough to distinguish them as an exceptional live band. Their unbridled energy is contagious, and everyone in the audience was moving. 1349 was delightfully evil, and Phil Anselmo still sounds on top of his game. I only caught snatches of  Death and Nile,  but Death wasn't playing their heaviest and I really had to pee during Nile. I also missed Skid Row, Carcass, Dark Angel, and Ulcerate, but I'm sure they were all incredible. Megadeth and Iced Earth were M.I.A, probably because both bands are fronted by douchebags. Otherwise, the rest of the bands made delightful background noise while I stood in lines for various necessities such as food, beer, and wine.

3. The People

Needless to say, many people went to Hellfest dressed in costume. Amongst many other beloved characters, I saw Batman, The Joker, some dinosaurs, an old dude in a thong, several glam rock skanks, and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I even saw Spongebob Squarepants stagediving. Otherwise, most of us were wearing our usual uniforms of denim and leather. Everyone was clad in Doc Marten's, Converse, camouflage,  studded belts, fishnets, and Slayer or Iron Maiden T-shirts. I especially enjoyed it when hot people took off their shirts, oh yeah, baby, oh yeah.

Speaking of hot people, I wonder what happened to that gorgeous French metalhead who I almost seduced. I like to think that he was intimidated because he thought I was out of his league, but it's far more likely that my stench fended him off. Stupid, sexy Leo. Call me.

I also met this crazy stoner who is obsessed with wolves, and a cool Portuguese guy who is obsessed with whiskey. I hung out with miscellaneous circles of nice people, and I felt comfortable with just about everyone there. This was very unlike the American concerts I'm used to attending, wherein you can get attacked by a raging tweaker or junkie at any given moment. No actual fights broke out, no females felt threatened or unsafe, and everyone pretty much just partied in good spirits and saved the violence for the pit.

Even the bands aknowledged the  almost tangible sense of comraderie that we all felt. Frontmen would make such  announcements as "This is dedicated to each and every single one of you", "Metal is not only the best music on the planet, but we're also a family" or "We all sing this next song together."  Everyone knew that we were surrounded by our own kind, and it was pretty damn satisfying. Even as a stranger in a strange land, I had never felt so accepted for who I am.

And now of course,  I must extend a special thank you to the good friends who took me out to the show to begin with. I couldn't ask for better partners in crime, and I can't wait to see you all next year. You know who you are. You gave me the best week of my life, and for that, I am sincerely grateful. I hope you enjoyed my company as much as I enjoyed yours.

To everyone else: May these writings convince you to join me for Hellfest 2015, and Clisson, France will be our stomping ground once again.

Upcoming Shows: Part 2

This idea of posting flyers for shows throughout the country was so great in theory. In practice, it's a pain in the ass to scour the internet for Death Metal concerts in the Bible Belt. Then again, "treat others how you want to be treated." If I was a headbanger stranded in the middle of a conservative hell-hole, I would want someone to tell me when Goatwhore comes to town, too. Here's part 2, covering the Deep South and beyond. 

Deep South

I'm sure some crazy Deliverance-esque shenanigans go down at a Deep South venue called The Plughouse. Yikes.  

The Plughouse is on this flyer too. Wait, look at that background. Is that the same  river from Deliverance?! If you hear banjos, fucking run. 

Who wouldn't love a line-up this sexy? The tour dates are as follows: 

5/10 - Tampa, FL - The Orpheum

5/11 - Miami, FL - Churchill’s

5/12 - Jacksonville, FL - Roc Bar

5/13 - Gainesville, FL - The Atlantic

5/14 - Pensacola, FL - Vinyl Music Hall*

5/15 - New Orleans, LA - Hangar 13*

Northeast:

My geography is a little rusty, so I'm not sure if Connecticut is considered part of the Northeast or the East Coast. I'm not even sure if I spelled Connecticut correctly. 

We all love Tech-Death. This sweet line up takes the stage at the Palladium Upstairs in Worcester, MA.  June 3rd at 6 pm.  Tickets are $15. Also, check out that fuckin' background on the flyer. I could stare at that bleak landscape for hours on end. 

East Coast:

I have nothing funny or clever to say about this flyer. Sorry. 

This is quite obviously a Stoner Metal show. The venue, called The Pinch, is located  at 3548 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20010. 

Wait, it's a Stoner Metal show in Washington DC?! Personally, I'd be really paranoid about the Secret Service or the Illuminati or some other creepy government agency busting me for being toasted at a concert. But don't let that ruin your good time or anything. 

Lock up yo daughters, lock up yo wives. I'm coming to Maryland. 

Alaska:

I couldn't find any recent flyers for Alaska, but there is this cool contest.  Seriously, how could I not find any flyers for a cold, harsh region that's pitch black 80% of the time?! Alaska is like the Norway of the Western hemisphere. 

Hawaii: 

Oh no, Hawaii. Not you too. There wasn't much to find except this Guns n' Roses tribute happening tonight. Dying Fetus did just play at Hawaiian Brian's Showroom in Oahu, but that was on May 2nd. I wish I told you in time.  If I could change the past, I would. 

Whoo boy, what a hell ride. I hope I don't get any more crazy ideas. What will I think of next, posting flyers for INTERNATIONAL shows?!

Hmm... 

Upcoming Shows: Nationwide Edition

I'm going to try something new: Instead of focusing on New Mexico's local shows, I'm going to post flyers for shows throughout the country. Simply scroll down until you see your region, then check out what shows are coming to a bar/warehouse/slum near you. The U.S.A is a pretty big place, so this will be broken up into two parts: Part 1 will focus on the West and it's various sub-regions, and Part 2 will tackle the rest. You ready? Me neither. Let's do this.

West Coast:

Ghoul is fuckin' ace. The rest of the line up is pretty good too, but let's face it. Most of us would pay the $30  just to see Ghoul. 

So-Cal goes old-school. This show is happening in Ponoma, CA. Having never been there, I can't give you directions. I hope it's literally in a Glass House. 

Southwest: 

Holy crap, that's alot of bands in one day. I'm proud to say that Defleshment hails from my home state of New Mexico, and they have even been interviewed by Native Entertainment magazine. They will be sharing the stage with tons of talented bands at the Rocky Point Cantina in Tempe, Arizona.  Brutal Fest is happening this Saturday, so get your tickets before they sell out!

Speaking of Arizona, that's the place that Anomaly calls home. They will be playing at Warehouse 21, Santa Fe's only all-ages venue. I thought that this show was tomorrow, but since it's currently 2 A.M, I guess it's technically tonight!!

Later on, in the fine month of June, Warehouse 21 once again hosts an epic Metal show. Scalafrea from Colorado is one hell of a band, and Eat A Helicopter is Experimental DeathCore. Basically, if you come, expect some insane mosh pits. Not to mention the rest of the line up, which is comprised entirely of shredders.

This one is in Albuqurque's own Hooligans nightclub. Once again, the line up is pretty righteous, but I have a feeling that Torn Between Worlds will be the band that draws a crowd like moths to a flame. 

Torture Victim is releasing their new album! It's about damn time, too. Not for the faint of heart, lest you have a faint heart attack. 

Northwest:

This beast of a concert will take place in Studio Seven of Seattle, Washington. Fun Fact: Seattle is also home to the brilliant Stoner-Metal group Serial Hawk!

Midwest:

Goat Entertainment presents Shawn Whitaker at The What's Up Lounge in Mankato, Minnesota. I wish I could post more flyers in this region, but it took me about an hour just to find this gem. 

Wow, this is harder than I thought. And I'm not even half-way done! Iron-clad deals suck. Stay tuned for Part 2: Eastern America.  

New Albums Of 2013

Hey dear readers, I bet all four of you love "Blackened Thrash Hardcore Punk with a touch of Death." That is how Torture Victim describes themselves, and it pretty much hits the nail on the head. Their music boasts lightning fast riffs with a combination of clean and dirty vocals. I could only find the lyrics for two songs, which appear to be the usual Death Metal canon of genocide, mortality, gore, and legions of the undead. However, most of their songs feature vocals clean enough to discern, and the subject matter remains the same morbid stuff that nightmares are made of.

So basically, it's a nice flashback to old-school Crossover Thrash. If you enjoy Municipal Waste or Suicidal Tendencies, you'll get a kick out of Torture Victim. They are releasing a new LP, aptly titled Of Darkness And Power. The tracklisting is as follows:


1.Draugar
2.The Deciever
3.Weapon Zero
 4.Zombie
5.Suffer Agony
6.Human Debris
7.Embraced by Baphomet
8.Dormant Evil
 9.Black Portals Of Madness
10.Fatal Wonds

Check out some of the new songs, as well as some old tracks from their first LP, available on Reverbnation and Facebook. Or even better, come to the Release Show on May 11th at Launchpad. Admission is only $8, and the CD is only $10! Sweet deal.

In other news, local Heavy Metal rockers Savage Wizdom are also releasing a new CD in the near future. The production is still in the works, but from the sneak peek I got, I can tell you to set your expectations sky high. This is gonna be tight. Savage Wizdom is one of the few modern bands who play traditional Heavy Metal, the genre that started it all. If you bang your head to 80's NWOBHM such as Iron Maiden, Angel Dust, and Diamondhead, put Savage Wizdom on your list.

Speaking of NWOBHM legends, I hear they have a certain somebody on guest vocals... I'm sworn to secrecy for the time being, so I guess I'll just light this cigarrette aBLAZE and drink some BAILEY'S...

Haha, I'm such a bitch.

Cheryl And Dante's Bogus Journey

For those of you who don't know, I recently had an existential crisis of beastly proportions. My dilemna was this: Is Metal essential to my nature, or is my obsession with the genre accidental, as Aristotle would say? It seemed bleak. After all, the genre has not always existed, therefore it could not possibly be the defining characteristic of any personality. I refuse to accept this. What am I, if not a Metalhead? Do I even have an essence, or just changeable characteristics? I was doubting the very nature of my being, and the conclusions were as fucked up as the questions. My experience was eerily identical to Dante's descent into hell: "Midway upon the journey of our life, I found myself within a forest dark, For the straightforward pathway had been lost." [Inferno, Canto I]  Fortunately, Dante survived his trials like a trooper, thus inspiring me to face my own demons. Dante and I embarked on a figurative sojourn, one that actually made sense after a few margaritas and this bottle of pills I found.

    In the wise words of Dio, Evil is great subject matter. Metalheads all over the world have always been aware of this fact, and of course Dante was the original hesher. We adorn our album covers and lyrics with monsters, corpses, scenes of gore and debauchery. So what could possibly be cooler than Hell itself? Turns out that Hell is interesting, but it's Hell for a reason. There's no fucking music. Even the corny image of angels strumming harps is indicative of inherent superiority to the Inferno. Sure, demon-torture and poetic justice can pique my curiosity, but the Inferno is still the obnoxious Black Metal of afterlives.

     If Hell is the Black Metal of afterlives, then Purgatory is the Prog Metal. It has its moments of awesomeness, and the general idea is to make some sort of progression (duh). But it's not necessarily how I want to spend eternity. Again, I was reminded of my identity crisis. Think about your favorite Prog Rock song. It's pretty good, right? You might even put it on repeat and listen to it for a really long time. But even my favorite jams get tedious after about an hour of hitting the replay button. So if you would get sick of the best music after an hour, how could you possibly endure an eternity of mediocrity? When I admit the possibility that I would ever hate Queensryche, I am clearly not a very good Metalhead. My love of Metal, as I feared, may be an Aristotelian accident. Son of a bitch.

That brings us into Heaven. So far we got Black Metal and Prog Rock, and now what subgenre is Paradise? Dante's psychedelic account of Heaven is reminiscent of the trippy-ass melodic style that characterises bands such as Children Of Bodom... So, I dunno, let's just call it Thrash. Now, we all know that Thrash Metal is anything but boring, yet for some reason no-one is all that intrigued by Heaven. We are more interested in the punishment of the wicked than in the rewards of virtue. I know evil is a great subject, but that's still a little twisted. At any rate, Dante's description of Heaven diminishes the hierarchal structure that had prevailed in both the Inferno and in Purgatory. In Paradise, the self is no longer defined by the position of the soul. I still don't know if I could interpret that in my favor or not.

When describing the human encounter with the divine, Dante insists that "Least and greatest alike gaze into that mirror." [Paradiso, Canto XV] This suggests that there are still personalites, some better and some worse, but they are all doing the same thing. Heaven is not devoid of structure, but it is more of a spectrum than a stage system. At any rate, the self is separated from the ego. My self is my essence, but my ego is the part of me that hates Queensryche after 8 hours of Operation: Mindcrime. When gazing into the mirror, the self you see reflected there is more commensurable with all the other souls in Heaven. You may still be a sentient being, in and of yourself, but you are like a mini-me of the entirety. In otherwords, it's like headbanging in sync with all the other Metalheads at the Amon Amarth concert.

The divinity which individuals experience in paradise is one that necessitates sacrifice. Those who enjoy eternal bliss must be absorbed in something, and dissociate from themselves. Just as an individual can get lost in a favorite song, so can an individual get lost in heaven. Such a person would relinquish all sense of time to get absorbed in the music for as long as it lasts. However, since heaven is eternal, it would be tantamount to losing the self in a neverending song. The reason that people on earth get annoyed when their favorite song is played for 60 consecutive minutes, is that they don’t love it enough. The obnoxiousness of such an experience is internal, not intrinsic in the music. However, the self remains sentient in heaven, and the ego takes a secondary role, thus rendering boredom and annoyance obsolete. Paradise, therefore, embodies a song you would love enough to spend eternity lost in it... Somewhere lost in time, if you will.

Anyway, I still don't know who the hell I am, but at least it turns out that Heaven is tantamount to eternal Metal. But you already knew that, didn't you?