Louisville, Kentucky’s Coliseum have grown exponentially over the course of three full length efforts, with the band’s latest EP, Parasites, showcasing a marked wealth of progression and maturity; an intriguing taste of what’s to come from this talented trio. Indeed, the sound of Parasites is surprisingly full, considering Coliseum utilize the old school power trio formula of guitar/vocals, bass and drums, with frontman/axeman Ryan Patterson coming up with tons of interesting guitar effects and tones to create this thick, almost psychedelic atmosphere.
“The Fiery Eye” showcases this in spades, expertly melding far-out guitar textures and subtle percussive elements to lead right into the barreling track “Ghost of God.” While Parasites may not possess the excess aggression of the Relapse released No Salvation-apart from the blistering jam “The Big Baby”-the direction in which Coliseum is heading towards provides plenty of stylistic twists and turns along the way.
If anything, Parasites evokes specifically heavy memories of 90s indie and post-hardcore, with the overall feel achieving something akin to Big Black’s Songs About Fucking…although perhaps not as sleazy. Regardless, the attack here on Parasites is heavy and engaging; a satisfying turn of events for a band clearly onto great and powerful things. Respect.
Right in time for Halloween the mysterious GHOUL is at it once again, throwing down a mighty slab (or with mp3′s shall I say an impressive aural ectoplasmic resonance) of horror inspired thrash. Although the bands identities are (sort of ) shrouded in mystery I assure you their musical pedigree speaks jams for itself. This eleven song masterpiece of blood and guts will have you banging your head and throwing the horns so much and so hard you will be offering yourself up as a sacrifice to them. Just one look at the awesome cover art and you know you need to bow down!
From the opening salvo of the instrumental “The Lunatic Hour” these henchman of hell blast thrash anthem after bloody anthem through your face like a pitch fork. Plenty evil and sick sounding, this is no ordinary neo-thrash, tight pants bunch of wussies. This is metal for men, preferably zombies or at least creepy grease-monkey dudes like Billy Bob Thornton in U-Turn. Although the music is inspired by thrash, it is not merely thrash either. The vocals are more akin to the gore-infused early days of death metal and the performances by each member are admirable. “Off With Their Heads” has the classy tongue in cheek tone of great horror and tremendous snarling vocal illness. Front man/bassist Cremator sounds eerily like and early John Tardy except more evil and holding bloody kitchen knives. Drummer Fermentor has terrific chops and his double kick work is highlighted by the analog-style sound of classic production values. Lead vocals are chipped in throughout the album by Fermentor and Digestor too. Bonus points! “Destructor” is another groovy, killer song. Great, classic riffs that would make Gary Holt pee himself lash out at your ears. There are some terrific leads on this album by Digestor and in general the axe-manship is as high as you’d expect. “Death In The Swamp” is a curious little ditty of death. It starts off fairly standard as thrash by way of THE CRAMPS. The track is short, but there is an awe-inspiring harmony guitar part in the middle to latch onto. When Digestor and Dissector start shredding together, look out! “The Mark of Voodoo” gives new meaning to the phrase cutting guitars. Crazy riffs descend upon you like a hatchet and of course a song about voodoo is gonna have some tribal drums jamming out. “Brain Jerk” offers as much thrashy goodness than an early EXODUS album and again has the horropunk/metal vibe to the back beat. Great song writing by the mutants here. More demented lyrical themes abound on the aptly titled “Blood Feast”. The speed and power of the riffs are just amazing here. “Morning of the Mezmetron” re-animates Cliff Burton’s wah and distortion drenched tone like a zombie and rocks out with epic greatness. The title track is next with more splatter-punk vibes and deathly gang vo-kills. I almost wanted to dance around to this song when I heard it and then I remembered I don’t dance, so I just head banged some more in my seat. “tooth and Claw” is yet another sick track with crazy changes and a fine sing-a-long chorus. Closing out the affair with “Metallicus Ex Mortis” the track is as hilarious as it is evil. GHOUL certainly have dibs on the most fun album of the year performed by murderous mutants from Creepsylvania. That goes a long way in my book.
The mysterious GHOUL has been killing audiences nightly while opening for GWAR.
In our continuing coverage of Halloween horror in the metal world, Speedwolf bassist Jake Kauffman took some time out from his band’s Maiden ‘n Motorhead worshiping duties to contact Metal Army HQ with his top five fright flicks! Enjoy!
5- The Monster Squad: “The Goonies…but with monsters.”
4- Maniac: “Mommy problems solved with a knife to the throat!!!”
3- Punishment Park: “P.O.V. hunt of the human kind!!!!”
2- A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors: “Laurence Fishburne was born to play Max, not Morpheus.”
1- Basket Case 2: “Best horror sequel of all time.”
Special thanks to Nathan Birk, Jake and Speedwolf. Ride With Deathwill be released November 22nd on Hell’s Headbangers!
Arriving equipped with some seriously heavy riffage and the devouring, ravenous vokills of frontman Jeff Fahl, Ohio’s sludge overlords Rue are ready to kill here on Thorns, their sophomore effort for Shifty Records.
Having only released the Heart Held By Demons EP in 2008 and a split with Aldebaran four years prior, Thorns is actually the band’s first full length release of new material since their self titled debut way back in 2003. While eight years is a mighty long time to follow up an inaugural effort, Rue has taken their time and made the wait worth fans’ while, however, vomiting forth thirteen tracks of rusty razor riffs and possessed, growling diatribes courtesy of Fahl.
The band’s imaginative arrangements and the varied tempos of skinsman Greg Cook hold this beast back from bursting at the seams, simultaneously cooking up dastardly ideas for a sludge genre which all too often is content with rehashing the past. Instead, Rue kicks out jams which sound just at home on a stage next to Eyehategod or Iron Monkey (R.I.P.) as it would performing at Gilman St. to a bunch of crusties.
In other words, Rue kick ass and take names, not letting anything get in the way between them and total sonic destruction. Recommended.
To paraphrase King Diamond and Glenn Danzig…”It’s Halloween!” Blood Horror and Metal and Metal Army HQ decided to track down a number of extreme metal artists to get their take on some of their absolute favorite fright flicks. Our first victim…er, ‘guest’ is Fyrnd of German black metal act Fyrnask. Enjoy! \m/G.
1. El Topo (dir: Alejandro Jodorowski)
“This is not a ‘horror’ movie, but nevertheless a disturbing one, which I really recommend. The Holy Mountain, also made by Jodorowsky, is splendid. If you like experimental stuff, these two are highly recommended, in my point of view.”
“Raw and disturbing in its pictures and very sophisticated. It deals with existentialism and is built up after a neardeath experience by the author.”
3. Eraserhead (Dir: David Lynch)
“Lynch at its best. This movie is quite known for a good reason. It’s nightmare-ish atmosphere, but also the experimental touch of the movie is unique.”
4. Salo: Or the 120 Days of Sodom (Dir: Pier Pasolini)
“Based on De Sades infamous work and working with disturbing imagery and brutal violence. Also a good one in this genre, I would say.”
5. Irreversible (Dir: Gaspar Noe)
“A provocative, experimental and certainly no ‘easy watching’ movie. I think this movie works also on different levels and last but not least the narration of the story is well made and unusual.”
Special thanks to Nathan Birk, Fyrnd and Temple of Torturous Records!
MEGADETH have been keeping up a hellacious schedule the last few years. Riding high on the successes of relentless world tours, pumping out several albums in a row, The Rust In Peace 20th Anniversary Tour, a live DVD, the massive Big 4 shows and all that it goes with. One started thinking that all of this began to take its toll on the veteran thrash out fit this summer. Front man Dave Mustaine was injured for the last third of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival and nearly pulled out of the New York Big Four show in September when Dave’s doctor advised him against playing with severe neck and arm injuries. Dave’s epitaph has been written many times and he is still here, kicking ass. Much like Mustaine’s entire career, the band has been driven by the need to excel professionally and musically. I worried if the time constraints on making the new MEGADETH album (according to drummer Shawn Drover when I interviewed him over the summer) would affect the quality. Shawn said no in spite of being the shortest time in the studio ever. Two months seems like an awful short time for my favorite Virgo perfectionist to make a new album, but everyone around the band echoed the same sentiment that it came out awesome. Still, I remained skeptical when I learned that some of the songs were demos and already released tracks from past albums, perhaps in a bid to save time. Then again my head told my metal heart that MEGADETH is MEGADETH and they do not compromise, ever.
The first track “Sudden Death” was leaked a few months ago and sounded impressive then, but more so now. The song is very much in the vein of recent Deth albums, full of shredding solos,tight arrangements, fast tempos and fine singing from Mustaine. The chorus has a very Countdown to Extinction catchy feel to it. I actually predicted a year ago that the band might eschew overt complexity on their next record for finer song-craft. I loved Endgame, but I felt it leaned to heavily on technical playing. “Public Enemy #1” which is about Osama Bin Laden, has also been a recent staple of the bands’ live shows. It kind of sounds a bit like “Hanger 18” in a way and is another catchy track. One of the upgrades in the sound of the band is the return of David “Junior” Ellefson to the fold. No disrespect to other guys who have held the job, but it just doesn’t sound true without Junior on bass and backing vocals. “Who’s Life (Is It Anyway?)” was the first really new track that I heard and was impressed with its urgency and originality. It has an old-school thrash and NWOBHM kind of vibe to it that I love with more cool solos from Mustaine and Chris Broderick. “We The People” is in the tradition of the the band that gave the world “Peace Sells….But Who’s Buying” and “Foreclosure of A Dream”. Of course Dave Mustaine in1986 was a lot less conservative and the this new song calls out American politicians in general, not one party. Drover really puts his stamp on this record as a top flight drummer and the right choice of player behind the kit for this band. Broderick again proves to be one of the finest axe-slingers in the game and reels off blistering lead after lead. Plus he has to keep up with Mustaine, who chips in a strong solo of his own. “Guns, Drugs, and Money” is another political jab aimed at the Mexican drug war. The pre-chorus has a great main riff, but I could care less for the pontificating nature of the lyrics. “Never Dead” is another song that was released early for a video game and is the thrashiest song on the album in the vein of the Rust In Peace album. This is the track that bears the most friuit from the bands experience playing that legendary album live for a year straight.
I’m not sure if it has to do specifically with choosing producer Johnny K (known for records by STAIND and DISTURBED), but every song on Thirteen has a cool sing-a-long chorus made for live performances. “New World Order” is another thoughtful song about the affairs of state and another stylistically typical Deth track. The rhythm section of Drover and Ellefson are particularly awesome here. This song also contains great gang vocals and several memorable leads. “Fast Lane” is exactly that; an uptempo jam. There is some awesome Mustaine right and left hand technique stuff here that knocked me out, as usual. The guy still has it where it counts. “Black Swan” originally appeared as a bonus track on United Abominations. The song has definitely been upgraded in its new form, but it is essentially the same tune with new and better playing on it. Although I love the song, I do feel like it is a bit of a re-tread at this point. “Wrekker” is a slick and heavy track in line with the bands’ most commercial leanings until the chorus kicks in. “Millennium of the Blind” apparently comes from a left-over demo from the Countdown-era and wound up released as a bonus track from Youthanasia. Starting off like a ballad and grounding down in to a metal/rock song it is the least compelling song on the album. However, some terrific lead playing redeems it before its over. Another left over track, “Deadly Nightshade” is about one of Mustaine’s favorite topics: Mrs. Wrong with whom he has a lot of experience with. Once again the signature Ellefson bass depth and tone reigns supreme, standing tall. Closing out the album and perhaps a wistful recap of their entire career, “13” has the dramatic weight Mustaine thrives on. Building up slowly like a geyser, the song rocks before long and has some fine down picked, chugging riffs that fans come to expect. Overall the album is solid and even great in some places, but I do feel as if the revamped tracks diminish the overall quality when compared to the last few albums by the group.
Does anyone out there remember the delicate art of the made-for-T.V.-movie?
Back in the 70s and 80s, the tube was full of these weird ‘n wonderful special events, starring everyone from major, A-list Hollywood types to the no-name obscurities you’re likely to find starring in any number of low budget indie flicks.
One of the main differences between these old school teleplays and today’s B-movie scripts were the amount of psychedelic drugs going ’round, and how they were used to concoct some of the craziest, silliest, most over the top, I-can’t-believe-they-got-away-with-that-on-T.V. moments. Let us not forget that Stephen King’s classic Salem’s Lot was also a made for T.V. movie, far before cable and the networks began shooting their own epic miniseries of his work, such as the awesome version of The Stand which aired back in the 90s.
One of the more reserved and old school made-for-T.V. flicks to come out of the early 80s was 1981′s Dark Night of the Scarecrow, directed by Frank De Felitta with a teleplay by J.D. Feigelsen. Long considered a cult classic by astute horror fans the world over, Dark Night of the Scarecrow deals with a mentally handicapped but gentle soul named Bubba, who is tormented by the local, ignorant small townsfolk over his relationship with little MaryLee Williams.
When Bubba saves Williams from certain doom at the jaws of a violent dog attack, the kind giant is chased by an unruly mob of men-led by the delightfully mean Charles Durning-who mistakenly believe the little girl has been killed, holding Bubba to blame. The mob track down Bubba with dogs to an isolated field, where Bubba has taken refuge inside a scarecrow. Seizing a bloodthirsty opportunity, the men gun Bubba down inside the scarecrow, execution style, pumping him with over twenty rounds.
Having escape persecution due to small town politics and their community positions, Bubba’s mother vows vengeance, and it isn’t too long before the men responsible for Bubba’s death begin seeing mysterious scarecrows appear on their land, as they all begin to fall victim to mysterious accidents, one by murderous one. Despite this gruesome sounding scenario, Dark Night of the Scarecrow is notable for containing little to no gore, apart from a small handful of scenes. When these set pieces do appear, however, the effect is tremendous; a true example of the ‘less is more’ effect, with any dramatic bloodshed coming across as legitimately shocking and effective, while the rest of the film revels in sincere scares which are far above much made-for-T.V. fare, even during this heyday.
The acting here is also top notch, with genuine emotional availability from everyone involved. We feel genuinely sympathetic to Bubba’s plight, and actively grieve with his loved ones after his demise. The film’s mystery of exactly who is doing the killings is also suitably suspenseful, with no one really understanding what’s going on until the film’s final frame…and even then, we’re left to wonder.
The excellent musical score of Glenn Paxton assists this film with a beautiful, frightening and tension filled aura which, again, sounds easily suited for a feature film. All of these elements combine to make Dark Night of the Scarecrow a true Halloween classic which deserves to be rediscovered by horror fans young and old. They just don’t make ‘em like this anymore.
Dark Night of the Scarecrow is available now, reissued by VCI Entertainment!
METAL ARMY PRESENTS: Stoner metal heavies HIGH ON FIRE, with INDIAN and IT’S CASUAL at the Viper Room – November 12th in Hollywood, CA!
Next week we will be interviewing IT’S CASUAL frontman Eddie Solis, and giving away two tickets to the show on November 12th. So stay tuned! …or you’re not trve.
I have a lot of respect for what Heavy Artillery is doing for the old school, traditional and heritage metal scenes, releasing such stellar power/thrash gems as Sign of the Jackal whilst remaining unerringly true to their metallic cause. All too often, however, I see new releases from bands like Midnight Chaser and just shake my head. Arriving with faux ironic 80s cover art-which is bright, ironic and laughably terrible-Rough and Tough claims 70s inspired hard rock roots, but the depth of execution really leaves a bit to be desired, despite the points earned for taking their name from a White Spirit song.
Yikes.
Musically speaking, the guitar abilities of Stephen Lauck are workmanlike and effective-if a bit simplistic-evoking positive memories of Saxon, Thin Lizzy and Diamond Head at times, while the vocals of Scott Attwood are a bit nasal, but succeed in a manner which is half Bob Mayo (Wargasm) and half Kevin Heybourne (Angel Witch). In more recent news, it seems as if ex-Mordred/Laaz Rockit axeman Sven Soderlund has joined the band’s ranks on second guitar, so perhaps the sophomore effort will pack a bit stronger punch.
For as it stands now, it’s the silly songs like “Cougar’d” which really bring Midnight Chaser down, sounding more like Steel Panther/Darkness styled cheese than anything forged in fire or baptized in steel. Missteps like this-combined with the one-dimensional, unimaginative direction of the songwriting-make Rough and Tough a difficult album to recommend to anyone other than those with low standards for their 70s/80s retro rock.
For over twenty years KRISIUN has been an uncompromising death metal institution. They have steadily grown from the Brazilian underground to be a force to be reckoned with all over the world. The band has put out extremely consistent albums basically every other year or so for fifteen of those twenty years and this Halloween brings the newest in The Great Execution (Century Media). Although it is the same band you know, love and head bang to, they were commuted to making the best album of their career. They might very well have succeeded upon a few listens of this brutal opus which they made in Germany with producer Andy Classen. Classen has been refereed to the band as an integral part of the process for them and this marks his third album in a row in the big chair at Stage One Studio.
From the opening strains of classical and Brazilian guitar and terrific main riffs and grooves that come crashing in on “The Will To Potency”, you hear and album that sounds unlike any other in 2011. Pure brutality and hatred rain down on the listener unencumbered by the antiseptic sheen of modern production. That is because the band went all analog this time out for a more natural and real audio quality. I have to say the results are great. The track is just classic sounding KRISUN, tight and heavy. I have always been amazed at how powerful the band is live for a trio and now they have truly captured that full on fury on an album. In an echo of the classical guitar that began the track (provided by guest guitairst Marcello Carminha) guitarist Moyses Kolesne shreds his ass off on the solo piece. Second track “Blood of Lions” is equally sick. Ferocious rhythms from Max Kolesne and powerhouse riffs kick in and the track is a deadly killer. Alex Carmago’s guttural wail is a strong as ever and the chorus of this cut should be a big hit should they choose to perform it live. The title track has some fine tribal drums to start and a stupendous thrash main riff. Max’s patented blast-beats once again defy any speed measurement and with the production the strength comes through. Far too many deathmetal drummers are light hitters these days- sacrificing power for speed. Not Max. Another sick breakdown full of licks and shreddy soloing elevates the song beyond expectations. One of the best things about this band is how they always manage to stay in their style, but every song has its own character and style. “Descending Abomination” fall more into the old-school death metal and thrash leanings of the band. “The Extremest” is an everything but the kitchen sink approach song, riff upon riff and beat upon beat. There is definitely a lot less double tracked guitars on this album too, owing to the fact that Alex can pretty much hold down the rhythm parts by himself. Perhaps the best song on the entire album is “The Sword of Orion”. In addition to being a great song it has some of the qualities never heard before in a KRISIUN song. The eight minute epic has noodley solos accent the verses, while crazy power-groove beats pummel and crush. Meanwhile the last third of the track is a blend of the harsh chaos and sweet acoustic work of Carminha again with each part playing call and response to the other. “Violentia Gladiatore” tells the story of battles in the arena and kills with its death versus thrash alternating styles. My neck hurts after headbanging too much to the insanely fast ending which was about 290 bpm. “Rise and Confront” is another lock tight song with interesting stop start riffs and a great bass line. The hardcore and blackmetal flavored “Extinção em Massa” features Max and Joao Gordo (RATOS DE PORAO) sharing lead vocals to great effect. Another epic track comes in the form of “Shadows of Betrayal” which is a song any fan can relate to. The marching, military beat will send a chill up your spine, but the balls out terror in the music and vocals will inspire you to take up arms immediately. Closing out the album is an updated version of the seminal first album song “Black Force Domain which is terrific. KRISUIN manage to stay the same by not changing to much and actually improving on their history.
