Post #6 Concert Photos

Post #5 - Metal Alliance Tour Invades Lawrence

On Sunday, April 15th, the 2012 Metal Alliance Tour featuring Devildriver, The Faceless, Job For A Cowboy, Dying Fetus, 3 Inches of Blood, Impending Doom and Wretched makes a stop in Lawrence, KS at the Granada Theater. This is one of the year's most loaded tour packages so don't miss out. For details and ticket information, visit www.metalalliance.com.



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Post #4 - Lamb Of God's New Year's Resolution

Champions of modern American death metal, LAMB OF GOD’s newest release, “Resolution” sees the band once again grabbing their fans by the throat. Granted, they haven’t taken too many steps outside of the box that “Ashes Of The Wake” built, but why should they? This is a band that wielded their weapon of choice long ago and has been able to consistently bash the crap out of everyone in sight with it ever since. Even the band’s detractors have to give them some credit for that. What’s more important is that their fans are going to thoroughly enjoy this album.

“Resolution” is exactly what you would expect from LAMB OF GOD; give or take a little depending on your attention to detail. For the most part, this is an album with few surprises. However, when they do extend their grasp, the end result is quite head-turning. Opener “Straight For The Sun” is a slow and sludgey monster that serves as a bulldozer, clearing the path for the rest of the album. “The Number Six” is arguably the biggest step in the progressive direction that LOG has ever taken. Sonically and structurally, this song is miles from the band’s Southern-fried standard and sticks out as one of the album’s best moments. Bonus points for bassist John Campbell for stepping out from behind the curtain with his brief, but badass walking bass solo.  The multi-faceted and almost bi-polar “King Me” intertwines spacey psychedelia and epic melodies with LOG’s familiar groove. One of the album’s darkest offering, “Insurrection” is another tune that sees the band exploring new territory; particularly Blythe who brings a welcome, chilling element to the table on this song. “Terminally Unique” attempts to capture a similar vibe, but doesn’t quite hit the bullseye. “Visitation,” however, is able to straddle the fence and comes across as one of the disc’s most complete tunes.

The majority of “Resolution” is LAMB OF GOD doing what LAMB OF GOD does best. Willie Adler and Mark Morton go wild on riff-driven ragers like “Desolation” and “Guilty.” “The Undertow” and “Ghost Walking” serve up more Southern groove than you can shake a dinged-up Flying-V at and drummer Chris Adler can take credit for fueling every one of these fires with his percussive mastery. Sure, these songs a nestled nicely in the comfort zone, especially “Ghost Walking,” given its comparability to “Redneck,” but it’s not like the band is serving up turds here either.     

As a whole, there is little about “Resolution” to bitch about. Each of these fourteen songs has something to offer and are all delivered with LOG’s expected level of energy and skill. It was cool to hear the band take a few chances and the fact those risks paid off so well sweetened the deal that much more. Even the safest moments on this album only saw the band going to their own well, instead of just plopping out some generic, paint-by-numbers crap designed to please the masses. I won’t call “Resolution” the apex of LAMB OF GOD’s career, but it sure in the hell proves these boys still mean business.    – Ryan Ogle

Post #3 - Prong Returns With Carved Into Stone

In the late 80’s a band emerged from NYC’s underground and changed the metal world in a big way. Led by guitarist/vocalist Tommy Victor’s angst-fueled snarl and forward-thinking riffing, Prong became a source of inspirations for the like of Pantera, Korn, Fear Factory and many others acts who went on to become household names. Prong’s early 90’s releases, Beg To Differ, Prove You Wrong and the breakthrough Cleansing are still regarded as untouchable classics. After Cleansing, the band seemed to fade from the spotlight and Victor’s involvement with Ministry and Danzig overshadowed a pair of 2K releases that went largely unnoticed. With Carved In Stone, Prong will go unheard no longer.

Backed by bassist Tony Campos [Static X] and drummer Alexei Rodriguez [3 Inches of Blood], the riff-monster that is Tommy Victor roars back onto the scene with an album that not only serves as a pummeling reminder of the band’s past, but also re-solidifies Prong as one of metal’s most creative forces. From the blistering “fuck-you” to anyone who would question Prong’s return that is “Eternal Heat,” to re-visitations of the band’s pioneering early days like “Revenge Served Cold” and “Subtract,” Carved Into Stone encompasses everything that Prong has ever been or will be. Where many “comeback” albums are little more than attempts to capitalize on one’s laurels, Prong has returned to push the envelope farther than they ever have. 

Carved Into Stone will be out on April 24tth via Long Branch Records. Ahead of the album's release, Prong will hit the road with NOLA sludgemasters Crowbar for a series of dates this April. Tour dates are as follows:


4/5: Dallas, TX @ Trees
4/6: Houston, TX @ Scout Bar
4/8: El Paso, TX @ House of Rock
4/11: Hollywood, CA @ The Whisky
4/13: Gallup, NM @ Slopshot Billiards
4/14: Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater
4/16: St. Louis, MO @ Fubar
4/17: St. Paul, MN @ Station 4
4/18: Cleveland, OH @ Peabody’s
4/19: Louisville, KY @ Phoenix Hill Tavern
4/20: Chicago, IL @ Cobra Lounge
4/21: Detroit, MI @ Harpo’s

Post #2 - Overkill Enters The Electric Age

On March 27^th, long-running American thrash metal pioneers OVERKILL will once again set the metal world afire with the release of The Electric Age. The follow up their 2010 brick-breaking return to glory Ironbound, The Electric Age is a furious attack on the eardrums that encompasses the very essence of this band’s three decade career. Elements of their debut, Feel The Fire, the breakthrough Years of Decay (an album considered by many to be the epitome of 80’s thrash) and the untouchable mid-90’s W.F.O., smash skull first into the modern muscle the band flexed on recent efforts Immortalis and Ironbound for an end result that promises to blow speakers and break necks. 

Never known for showing restraint where sonic output is concerned, OVERKILL plays the bull in your china shop as they run rampant across the ten tracks that make up The Electric Age. Opener “Come And Get It” dares you to just that with an arsenal of crunch-laden riffs and metallic fury. The guitar duo of Dave Linsk and Derek Trailer combine malevolence and melody while cramming the likes “Drop The Hammer Down” (which boasts some of the most impressive lead work on any of OVERKILL’s sixteen albums), “Wish You Were Dead” and “Old Wounds, New Scars” down the throats of their hungry fanbase. Founding member, bassist and main songwriter, DD Verni reigns in this chaotic, yet catchy swirl with his patented rubbery and grumbling bass tone.

At the center of it all is the infamous and immediately recognizable snarl of frontman Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth. For a man that has recovered from a stroke, beaten cancer and belted out more enraged screams than anyone should, he can still deliver like nobody else. With his ability to turn a verse into an unforgettable mantra that will echo among the halls of Valhalla for an eternity, Blitz’s presence makes a good album great and a great album classic. The swarm of up and comers out there would be smart to study this singer.

With a title that serves as an homage to the brave new world that has sprung up around this old dog’s porch, OVERKILL, who’s first recorded output came in the form of hand-dubbed cassettes, continues to bulldoze their way through a music industry that bears no resemblance whatsoever to the one in which they started. Fearless and stronger than all, OVERKILL grabs The Electric Age by the jugular and refuses to let go.  

Post #1 - Why, Metallica, Why?

Metallica.

Mere mention of the band’s name is enough to elicit a whirlwind of conversation amongst metal fans of all generations. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Metallica knows how to get people talking, and that’s exactly what they did on February 7^th, 2012 when they announced the Orion Music + More Festival (the name taken from the song “Orion” off the band’s now classic “Master of Puppets album), set for June 23^rd & 24^th in Atlantic City, NJ. Looking back at the last handful of live dates the band announced – the “Big Four” shows with Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth and the quartet of 30^th Anniversary dates in San Fransisco late last year – a two day festival headlined by Metallica should be reason to celebrate. Then they announced the lineup…

Continuing the game of tug-o-war they started playing with the heatstrings of longtime fans with the release of the  overly-artsy “Lulu” collaboration with famed noise rocker Lou Reed, an album which couldn’t find appreciation from fans or critics, Metallica dug their claws even deeper into the flesh of the indie-rock scene by announcing a list of supporting acts that sent texts of “WTF” screaming across Verizon and Sprint’s collective networks. While the overfuzzed, stoner metal vibe of Texas’ The Sword (who once toured with Metallica), hipster black metal act Liturgy and the commercially-polished Avenged Sevenfold fall in line with Metallica’s “Metal Up Your Ass” motto, the inclusion of acts such as Modest Mouse, Cage The Elephant, Arctic Monkeys, Gary Clark Jr. and garage rock legend Roky Erickson left many among the metal community scratching their heads in disbelief. Not to take away from the talents of any of the aforementioned artists, but the announcement has many feeling that Metallica has once again turned their backs on loyal fans in an attempt to cash in on current trends and is eeriely reminicent of their descion to feature 2003’s flavor of the week bands like Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park on the cash-grab that was the Summer Sanitarium tour. 

Objectively speaking, this festival could be seen as a way for Metallica to further spread their artistic wings and diversify the fanbases of all involved. Or it could be that a 30 year career has afforded the band the luxury of changing their game as they see fit. It could even be that Metallica is trying to cram a bit of culture down our throats. Whatever the case, the timing is horrible. The success the band enjoyed by returning to their roots should have been enough proof that their battle-tested thrash metal stylings remains close to the hearts of millions and has sank its hooks into multiple generations. The main question here is why abandon what their fans have been pining for yet again? I guess the answer can be found by looking back and remembering that this was a band that sued teenagers for millions in the Napster controversy and needed a therapist in the studio to complete an album. At least they’re keeping us all talking.