Japanese wrestling legend The Great Muta
Continue reading
Professional Wrestling ist Krieg
Continue reading
Tag Archives: USA
Continue reading
Corrosion of Conformity – s/t (Candlelight, 2012)
I first discovered Corrosion of Conformity during the mid-’90s Pepper Keenan (guitar/vocals) era; by then, they had fully traded in the crossover thrash of 1985′s Animosity album in favor of the swaggering, metallic southern rock of Deliverance and Wiseblood. That’s the COC I had come to know and love over the years, so I was admittedly apprehensive upon hearing that the band had reconvened without Keenan at the helm to record their first new material since 2005′s underrated In the Arms of God. Would they abandon the smoked-out stoner-isms that had made COC so near and dear to my heart in favor of revisiting the crossover days of yore? Would Keenan’s absense leave an unfillable hole in their sound?
Continue reading
Aksumite – The Gleam of Wetted Lips (Colloquial Sound Recordings, 2011)
Michigan’s Aksumite are named after the Aksumite Empire, an African nation which existed from 100 – 940 AD. They were among the first major empires to convert to Christianity and the land it once occupied (now Ethiopia) is allegedly the final resting place of the biblical Ark of the Covenant. Too bad then that there’s nothing pious whatsoever about the blood-curdling racket the duo (comprised of drummer/bassist Blood and guitarist/vocalist Cult, according to Metal Archives) whip up on The Gleam of Wetted Lips, their debut effort for up-and-coming cassette label Colloquial Sound Recordings.
Continue reading
Leviathan – True Traitor, True Whore (Profound Lore, 2011)
Utterly embarrassed as I am to admit it, I’m no stranger to bouts of misogyny. Prior to meeting my phenomenal wife, my romantic dealings with the opposite sex were, to put it mildly, less than stellar (I’m sure this surprises no one). From my first “real” girlfriend breaking my heart over a decade ago, to the woman I let repeatedly grind my soul to dust my senior year of college, to countless instances of rejection and other assorted shittiness that would take ages to properly recount, I had been left with a bad taste in my mouth and a fuckload of bitterness before a raven-haired goddess rescued me from the rut I was in. As a result, I treated the few women that dared to try to get close to me like complete shit (this was totally undeserved and my petty way of getting back at the fairer sex as a whole, I reckon) and was generally distrustful and disrespectful towards any woman who wasn’t a blood relative or counted among my inner circle.
Continue reading
Sutekh Hexen – Larvae (Handmade Birds, 2012)
Somewhere between raw black metal, dark ambient and experimental noise lies San Francisco’s Sutekh Hexen. Their second full length album, Larvae is a hellish yet ethereal sounding affair that’s relentlessly, unendingly dark; permanent fucking midnight. I’m not talking about the Earth being covered in eternal blackness here, I’m talking about the dark night of the soul, the abyss within. It is outsider music designed to take you on a journey to the darkest recesses of inner space, a crepuscular womb of crumbling distortion.
Continue reading
All Tomorrow’s Funerals: Autopsy’s maggot-ridden motherload unleashed.
I don’t typically do “news bit” type posts, but you guys know how much I fucking love Autopsy. So, when the kind blokes at Fresno Media contacted me regarding the band’s latest release, I just couldn’t resist letting THKD readers know about it right away.
The legendary California death metallers have been pretty much unstoppable since rising from the grave in 2009, releasing an EP, a full length album and a demos collection, in addition to playing just about every metal fest known to man. Now, with the help of longtime label Peaceville Records, the band has gathered all of their hard to find and out-of-print EP material on one convenient piece of gore-drenched plastic (or two slabs of wax) with All Tomorrow’s Funerals. Loaded with twenty-two cuts of the quartet’s patented brand of filthy, smoked-out death metal, the disc/DLP contains Retribution for the Dead, Fiend for Blood and The Tomb Within, as well as the Horrific Obsession single. You’re probably already thinking that’s a whole lotta Autopsy, but the band sweetens the fetid pot with four brand new songs, giving fans an additional EP’s worth of material on top of everything else. The new tunes are exactly what you’d expect from Autopsy, and just might be the ugliest, most morbidly heavy music they’ve recorded since reuniting. Here’s the title track below, just in case you need further convincing.
All Tomorrow’s Funerals is out now (officially released on 02/28/12), and is available directly from Peaceville or down your local shoppe. Check out my brother from another mother Dave Schalek’s review of the compilation for all the pertinent info.
Additionally, our pals over at Invisible Oranges are giving away two copies of the album, one on vinyl and one on CD. The contest ends on 03/07/12, so get your worthless ass over there and enter to win.
After you’ve entered to win a copy of the album (or gone out and bought the damn thing), swing back over to THKD and check out the two interviews I’ve conducted w/ Autopsy drummer/vocalist Chris Reifert here and here. I also reviewed The Tomb Within, which is included in this release, here.
THKD First Listen: Wylve / The Rain in Endless Fall
Last month, I covered a demo tape from an excellent raw black metal band known as Blut Der Nacht. Not long after, I was contacted by Mike, the owner of BDN’s label, Fallen Empire Records. Mike told me that BDN also had a couple of side projects up their sleeves that he was planning on releasing. Needless to say, I was eager to hear what else these musicians were capable of, so I waited patiently for any scrap of information regarding these projects.
Continue reading
Pallbearer – Sorrow and Extinction (Profound Lore, 2012)
I first became aware of Pallbearer after hearing singer/guitarist Brett Campbell’s stunning guest vocal turn on Loss’ Despond. I quickly discovered that there was quite a buzz surrounding the Arkansas-bred quartet, based on the strength of a three song demo (which is available as a free download on the band’s bandcamp page), not to mention the fact that they too had signed with the mighty Profound Lore. But as fond as I was of Mr. Campbell’s contribution to Despond, I decided to steer clear of said buzz, purposefully not listening to the demo or any preview tracks prior to hearing Sorrow and Extinction in full. You see, in this day and age, bands rarely live up to their hype, and I feared that if I gave in to the buzz, I’d only be setting myself up for disappointment when I finally had the album in hand. Continue reading
Behold! The Monolith – Defender, Redeemist (self-released, 2012)
I’ve always been fascinated by power trios. It surely has something to do with my love of all things raw and stripped down, since it doesn’t get any more stripped down than tres hombres against the world, brandishing only electric instruments and bad attitudes. The power trio is the bare minimum of musicians needed to produce a full and complete sound within a rock or metal format (although I’m sure there are plenty of duos who would beg to differ… eh, fuck ‘em); it’s all about maximizing the minimal, and I’ve often found that power trios are inherently heavier and more powerful-sounding than these bands that feel the need to have three guitarists, two vocalists, four drummers, a percussionist, a keyboardist, a DJ, an acrobat, a lion tamer, etc… just listen to Motorhead, Venom, High on Fire or Hellhammer and you’ll catch my drift.
Continue reading
DVD Review: Eyehategod – Live (2011)
Eyehategod has long been one of my absolute favorite bands, yet thanks to living in the asshole of the Midwest for all of my natural life (six months in California doesn’t count), I’ve never had the chance to experience their down-tuned Sabbath-ian scuzz-sludge live. Luckily, the band released their first ever live DVD (simply titled Live) late last year, and I think I can safely say it’s the next best thing witnessing the crawling chaos that is Eyehategod in person.
Continue reading
