Upcoming Shows

First and foremost, I must unveil the glory that is the Despise The World 2013 lineup. This is so good it has to be fattening.  The astronomically talented Fields Of Elysium from Santa Fe, New Mexico bring on the Jazzcore/Tech-Death with a vengeance. Admiron is some kind of unholy beast wrought from the forges of Thrash, Industrial, and Metalcore. Rings Of Saturn are painstakingly intricate, alarmingly fast Tech-Death group, also known as the innovaters of "Aliencore." They recently came out on top of the Summer Slaughter tour vote, but more on that later. Meanwhile, Jungle Rot is releasing a new album, Terror Regime, available the day of this show! Speaking of new albums, the recently re-animated Exhumed   has been relatively dormant until the 2011 release of All Guts No Glory, which you may recognize as a fuckin amazing EP.  Headling is another heavy-weight beast of the Death-Metal industry, Suffocation. This legendary group has been playing kickass death metal since '88, a year when Glam rock was prevalent and good tunes were scarce. 

This is an all-ages show, but since the venue is Hooligans Nightclub, we big-kids get to drink ourselves silly. (I assume the "No Alcohol" means don't show up already drunk.) Tickets are a mere $22 and can be purchased at  Music-go-round, The Zone smokeshop in Albuqurque, or The Concrete Jungle smokeshop in Santa Fe. This is a monstrously big show, so doors open at the ungodly hour of 4 PM. And if you manage to emerge from the wreckage of the concert in one piece, there's a 21+ afterparty featuring Incide, Unleash The Baboon, Carrion Kind, and End to End. Fuck yeah!

So let's say that the day after that show, you survived your mosh-induced injuries, you survived your whiplash, you survived the raging afterparty, and the subsequent hangover just makes you want to go to another show. Well, you lucky dog, Ghost comes to town immediately after the Despise The World tour! Doesn't that just make you jolly as a roger?

Tickets must be purchased in advance, and you can do that here.  Doors open at 8 PM. All ages. No drugs, no alcohol.

Mayhem is coming, oh yes it is. I'm pretty stoked for approximately half of the line-up, and the other half simply isn't my cup of tea. Let's play a fun game and see if you can guess which is which.   

               Edgefest  gets an honorable mention. This music event is sponsored by 104.1 The Edge, the Alternative/Grunge radio station of Albuqurque. The line up isn't really "Metal." I even hesitate to call any of those bands "Hard Rock".  But they're all decent groups, and if you needed something to do in Albuqurque on May 5th, well, here ya go.

Th-th-that's all, folks.

Rise From The Ashes Of Disbelief

I'm not a slacker. To the contrary, I got two jobs, and therefore have very little time to write on my precious, precious blog. Also, I don't even own my own computer. And typing entire articles on a smart-phone is a pain in the ass. Enough of my excuses, let's talk abut Metal.



First of all, I'm going to throw a tantrum because I should be at this show as we speak. But my job  kept me overtime, I missed the train to Albuqurque, and I'm fucked out of seeing the sickest line-up I've ever known to play a Monday night. Hardcore punk, black metal, and thrash all in the same night? All ages? But since it's at a bar, old guys like me get to drink anyway? All that and more, but I'm missing it. I hate working retail. I would burn candles to every god I know just to attend this concert. Alas, the stars are not in my favor.

But let's look on the bright side...



 

Awww yeah. I only paid $12 to see Municipal Waste, one of the most prolilfic badass legends of old-school Speed Metal. They sound good on record, but DAMN. They put on one hell of a live performance. If you're into Thrash, Punk, or anything in between, Municipal Waste will in fact fuck you up.  Not to mention the local bands, each of which is amazing in their own right. Torn Between Worlds is notorious for their lethal mosh-pits and insidious musical style. They have remained active since the early 90's, when they were known as Insight, and they've been laying waste to New Mexican eardrums ever since. Carrion Kind is aptly named, since they are basically a superband,  Comprised of former members of local favorites such as Grinkai, Cassovita, and The Seventh Circle. So the name evokes images of vultures thriving off the remains of what once was. Oh yeah, and I think they're also paying homage to the only album released by Disincarnate.

 

 

Those circle pits were off da hook. And I was drunk too!

 

And last night wasn't too bad either...

 

 

 

I may be missing out on The Casualties, Goatwhore, and Havoc today, and that's totally lame. But yesterday marked the second year in a row that I went to a Metal show on Easter Sunday, so I think that's going to be my new annual tradition. Unleash The Baboon is Bass-Heavy, uber-rhythmic Groove Metal in the vein of Skinless or Athiest. Rumors abound about an upcoming album, which I can't wait to get my grubby little hands on. Iconocaust is Denver-based Thrash band with a relentless brutality belied within melodic compositions and occasional clean vocals. They have gained a cult-following in their ever-expanding fanbase, and their new EP, Excidium De Gratia, is available for purchase here.   And headlining was the phenomenal band known as Futilitarian, who transitioned seamlessly from their Thrash/Death beginnings into a more ambient instrumental style. Usually, I prefer Metal with the vocals intact, but Futilitarian has achieved a level of heaviness that most bands can only aspire toward. This is not "Post-Metal" or some shit. This is straight up, in your face, offensively loud and stupidly brutal, true Metal. In a lineup comprised entirely of badasses, Futilitarian deserved their spot as the headliners.

 

 

Much like taking the walk of shame after having a one-night-stand at a Co-ed college, I'm having a hard time bringing this to a graceful conclusion. C'est la vie, mon amie... Au revoir.