Recent Concerts: Reliving The Memories

Have I mentioned that it's a pain in the ass to type up reviews on a smart phone? It warrants repeating, regardless. This sucks. But on the bright side, I've been so swamped with awesome metal shows that my ears are still ringing. Anyway, here's what went down recently:

 

Much like Dante was unable to express the beauty of heaven in his Paradiso, despite the fact that he's a fuckin' famous poet, I can not articulate how sick this show was. Exhumed and Jungle Rot autographed my back-issue of Decibel magazine, and they put on one hell of a show too. Other than Fields Of Elysium, I have not seen any of these bands live before. The only way I can describe it is like getting hit by a Semi-truck and experiencing a spontaneous orgasm upon impact.

So basically, check the tour dates for Despise The World 2013 and book tickets in advance. It will hit your neck of the woods before you know it. Hey, if you're lucky, maybe you'll even get an after-party like we did in Albuqurque.

The very next day was the 9th Annual Music Night at the Museum of International Folk Art. It doesn't have a flyer, because I guess gallery artists find them too uncouth. Well, I did start a museum-mosh-pit for the 2nd year in a row, and that is VERY couth. I also drank tons of their fancy-pants sparkling cranberry juice and made some obscene crayon drawings. Did I mention the whole thing was to raise awareness of AIDS/HIV? It was a good night. 

I digress... There were only 2 bands that rocked hard enough for my memory to even retain their existence. They are Sun Plexus and On Believer. Sun Plexus is a female fronted alternative rock band. Basically, think Sublime meets The Pixies. And god-damn, can that guitarist make his instrument wail. Although I did love their music, we all know my heart lies elsewhere, in heavier territory...

On Believer is a Metalcore group comprised entirely of high-schoolers. It's not what you think. They are a lot better than some whiney Bullet For My Valentine cover band. In fact, I'm impressed that such young kids have so much talent. Don't get me wrong, there is definitely room for improvement. But if they sound this decent so early on in the game, I can't wait to see them realize their full potential in the near future.

 

The very next day was Dungeonfest, which I  was unable to attend. Chances are, if you're reading my blog, you didn't see it either, and that makes me feel better for some reason. 

Actually, no it doesn't. We both missed a pretty sick line-up. Regicide is old-school grind metal, Carrion Kind is thrashy death metal, Savage Wizdom is traditional heavy metal in the vein of NWOBHM, and Blinddryve is like Nu-Metal. 

In my defense, who the hell wakes up on 4/20 before 2 PM? No-one I know, that's for sure. 

Now to reduce my thoughts to a simple numeric value for each respective event: 

Despise The World Tour obviously gets five stars:

 

 The 9th Annual Music Showcase gets 3:

 And I get a frowny face for being a slacker and not even getting off my ass to see Dungeonfest.

Even More Last-Minute Updates

 

Danzig is coming! How did this manage to slip my mind?! 

 Just in case you can't make it to Albuqurque for that show, fear not, Santa Fe has it' s own shindig going on the same day. This flyer is a hot mess, so allow me to translate for you:  It's taking place at the Locker Room sports bar, located at 2841 Cerrillos Road. The Metal bands include Blinddryve, Savage Wizdom, Carrion Kind, and Regicide. The other musicians performing are Midlife Crisis, Sublmnl Rnsns, Jovan Dante Griego, and Jah Branch. This event is sponsored by all the little logos along the borders. 

 

There have been changes to the line-up of this show. Monostereo opens things up with electro-indie instrumental. Then Distances will perform their signature style of heavy-hitting Instru-Metal. Next up is Feud Of Temptation, who I have yet to photo-shop onto the flyer.  (Smart-phone, remember?)  Headlining is the obscenely talented Michael Lee Ostrander, who shall shred your ears out. Other than that, same place, same time. 

See you there!

Last Minute Update

Holy shit! You know what sucks? When you love a certain band to death, and they would be the perfect puzzle piece to complete an amazing line-up, and then they instantaneously break the hell up. Rest in pieces, Obelisk. I miss you already. However, being a trooper, I decided that the proverbial and literal show must go on. Behold my mediocre photoshop skills:

 

You know the drill. Tell your friends, arrange an afterparty, support your local scene and bring your damn skateboard. Now about the line-up:

Michael Lee Ostrander is what Joe Satriani would sound like if he had a dark acid trip. This is not your typical shredder: His musical style is simultaneously morbid and psychedelic. With an axe, amp, and FX in his arsenal, he's gonna make a pre-emptive strike on your eardrums. 

Monostereo is another solo force to be reckoned with. His Indie/Electronic compositions have very strong influences of David Gilmore, so expect some Pink Floyd-esque moments of musical genius. Heavy Metal this is not, but the music is well written and professionally executed. 

Some other third band will be there too, but my standards are high, so expect absolutely no shmucks at this show. 

...See you there, mere mortals. 

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.



 



 

 

 

 

 

Rings Of Saturn: Dingir

In a rare moment of sobriety, I decided to take on the beast known as Rings Of Saturn. This Aliencore group transcended the underground scene to become a Death Metal phenomenon, notorious for their painstakingly intricate compositions, ludicrously loud sound, and all around fucked up state of being.

Despite many complications, Rings Of Saturn have released a stream of their new full length album, Dingir. Although it greatly resembles their debut album, Embryonic Anamoly, the band has clearly refined their already superb virtuosity. On the plus side, that means that they have retained the same musical style that attracted fans in the first place. But on the other hand, I can't tell one track from the next. Although the composition is immaculate and the musical skills are extraordinary, the songs are virtually indistinguishable from each other. Mayhaps that's just because I listened to Dingir once, and my eardrums have been in a state of recovery ever since.

It's a must-listen if you like technical compositions, Death Metal, aliens, or music that sounds like a Super Nintendo game on speed. Imagine the band Viraemia getting abducted by astro-zombies.
My only complaint is that the songs are so technical that I can't differentiate them, but that's just the nature of the beast. If I was getting mauled to death by a Hydra, the least of my worries would be which head is which. It would still be brutally badass.

                           Yep, pretty much. Let's just give them five stars outta five.

Two For One

 Due to another Hunter S. Thompson-esque binge on everything, I forsook my stupid blog for a trip to Europe. The circumstances, being out of my control, led me not to Metal meccas such as Sweden or Norway, but to the city of lights. 26 Rue Des Lombards of Paris, France boasts Black Dog, the typical bar appealing to rich socialites who want to be rockers for a night. It's the kind of place that named itself after a song to inadvertently ride the coat-tails of the band who made said song. It's also the kind of place that charges six fucking Euros for a Rum & Coke that's mostly Coke. In their defense, the music was pretty good. The playlist includes Amon Amarth, Cradle Of Filth, Arch Enemy, and other bands who play Metal of the melodic, catchy sort to please the unwashed masses. I ventured here for the sole purpose of getting laid by a hot French Metalhead, but alas, this is not a good place to meet people. The bar is full of pre-established cliques, so if you come alone, alone you shall stay. This is a place to bring your (wealthy) friends and socialize. Seriously, six fucking Euros for a mixed drink?! It wouldn't be so bad if it was at least a normal sized drink, but it was in a fancy-pants, post-mod,  tiny little glass. I guess that's classy and chic to drink from glassware that appears to be manufactured for dolls. Fuck that.

So much for the "classy" Metal bar. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have Cantada II, a bar far more easy, cheesy, and all around sleazy. It doesn't even call itself a bar; it calls itself a cabaret. The naked ladies were pretty cool, but I was more psyched about the fact that I could actually afford to get drunk here. Absinthe is about four Euros for the cheap stuff, and by the time I finished drinking it, I was too smashed to remember how much the wine costs. The atmosphere is far superior as well. It looks like the scene from an early Queensryche music video, with plastic skeletons everywhere, creepy lighting, melting candles on old iron chandeliers... This is a stark contrast to the modernist decor of the Black Dog, which I found pretentious and forced. On the other hand, Cantada is just another bar full of cliques, so you're still never gonna get laid.

I end this review with the drunken afterthought that The Louvre would be a kickass venue for a Symphonic Metal show. Everything gets four stars.