UPDATE: OCTOBER CONCERTS

I see a decent number of shows, and I prefer to just go and enjoy the experience, as opposed to taking notes, unless it’s for an assignment. I usually drink a few beers and take shitty pictures on my camera phone. Here’s my round-up of October concert experiences.

Sky Picnic, playing the transcendental "Fjord."

October 5th - Rocktober at The Paper Box

Blue & Gold at the Paper Box.

This was part of the Rocktober one-day festival, featuring music ranging from psych rock and hip hop to metalcore. It was a strange but fascinating event, with unfortunately low attendance for the first several hours, which I guess should be expected for a show that lasts 12 hours or so. 

It's a shame though, because to me the highlights of the event came within the first hour I was there, when Sky Picnic transported the room into an alternate dimension filled with purple fog, majestic waterfalls, and shimmering psychedelic rock.

Blue & Gold also delivered an awesome set of soulful, loud electric blues rock, including a groovy cover of The Clash’s “Do I Stay Or Do I Go.” I took a brief detour to Pumps for some happy hour beers (and  to watch pretty gals pole dancing) and returned to finish the event by watching the heavier bands play outside in the patio area. It was a cool venue, with colorful graffiti covering the walls, and the crowd was certainly passionate. I was severely bruised and sore after the moshing outbreaks at this show.

Watain: Appropriately blood red.

 October 8th - Watain/In Solitude/Tribulation at Irving Plaza

The albums by all 3 of these bands are on my top 50 of the year, so I was definitely looking forward to this, and each band delivered. Tribulation’s set was disappointingly short, but hopefully their awesome performance will inspire more people to give The Formulas of Death a listen. Watain played with intensity in front of an impressive set, and spat animal blood on my metal vest within 20 seconds of starting. Thanks to Century Media for giving me a VIP pass for this so I could lounge by myself in the fancy balcony.

Jayke Orvis & the Broken Band

October 17th - Nashville Pussy/Jayke Orvis & the Broken Band at The Bell House

My first time at this venue, and it was unfortunately a small crowd for a middle of the week show. That didn’t stop Jayke Orvis & the Broken Band from charming the crowd with dark bluegrass and country-fried murder ballads . I purchased a CD for my folks, and burned a copy for myself, with Orvis’ blessing, of course. Also, check out James Hunnicut's Angel Witch shirt in that photo. Unfortunately I didn't get to shake his hand after the show, but awesome taste, sir.

They got the Pussy, we got the time, baby.

As for Nashville Pussy: They are flat-out the best live band I’ve ever seen. Seen them four times now, including shows with reverend Horton Heat and Motorhead, and it's plain unfair to expect other bands to match their ferocity, balls-and-racks-out punk attitude, and effortless sense of junkyard cool. I will pay to see them play any time they come to New York. 

Mount Salem bewitching Brooklyn.

Ruyter Suys just celebrated her 45th birthday, and there’s no better place in the world than standing in front of her as she swigs whiskey and shreds. She's up there in my upper-echelon of rock superheroes, and any stiff-backed guitarist going through the motions should turn to her for inspiration.

October 21st - Mount Salem at Saint Vitus

Noisem, teaching an AP class in headbanging.

Thanks to my friends at Metal Blade, I was able to go congratulate Mount Salem in person on their recent signing to the label. Endless is supremely heavy and catchy, and despite getting over a cold, Emily’s vocals were even better in person.I bought a shirt (of their album's beautiful cover, on an awesomely comfortable gray jersey T-shirt) If you haven’t checked out their debut album, do so right now, this band has a really bright future.

October 24th - Skeletonwitch/Noisem/Black Dahlia Murder at the Knitting Factory

Chance Garnette, unleashing vocal serpents.

My first time seeing Noisem, one of metal’s rising stars from A389 Recordings, and you can see what the fuss is all about. While they can still work on stage presence and showmanship, the music was tight and nasty. I was able to watch them with a couple of the dudes from Howl (love that band, too), and we all discussed the gaping chasm between where the members of Noisem are musically at their age, and the garbage we were all recording at 15-18.  

Skeletonwitch is one of the most humble, dedicated touring bands out there, in any genre. The last several bands I’ve seen from Prosthetic Records have all displayed positive energy, charisma, and a sincere appreciation for the audience. Awesome to see the ‘Witch having so much success with Serpents Unleashed.

Oh yeah, and Mister Growl is now on Facebook, so come check out the page over here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mister-Growl/455217237932170

DECIBEL MAGAZINE: ISSUE #109

G’morning, brainiacs. After a brief shipping delay due to damaged Godflesh Flexi-disks, issue #109 of Decibel Magazine is out on shelves. It’s another great chapter, with an entertaining Call & Response column with Ghoul’s Digestor as well as features covering Skeletonwitch, Doomriders (whose new album I review), and Morbid Angel. Here are the pieces I wrote for the magazine this time around:

Page 26: Ulcerate - Vermis profile. I exchanged e-mails with Jamie Saint Merat, founding drummer of New Zealand’s extreme metal conquerors Ulcerate. We discussed tyranny, Latin translations, and how his geographic isolation has impacted their music. Although it didn’t make the profile, he was also refreshingly honest about how their band name doesn’t seem to capture the sound they’ve developed since their high school days of gore metal.

Page 86: Blood Red Throne - Blood Red Throne review. I really enjoyed this Norwegian death metal album, even if the score seems unspectacular. It was a lot of fun, leading me to quip about Richard Simmons and my childhood dream of being a seven-foot tall baseball player. I recommend this album to those who embrace the less technical side of death metal and don’t mind flashes of metalcore. I gave it 7/10.

Page 88: Doomriders - Grand Blood review. I dig these guys from Beantown, and proudly wear one of their shirts often (let’s face it, their Grim Reaper “D” logo can brawl with anyone else’s logo and win a heavyweight belt). I handed this review to Decibel a week before seeing them play with Red Fang, and after hearing the songs performed live I likely would have changed this score to an 8. That’s not entirely fair, since the album should stand on its own --which it solidly does-- but sometimes songs don’t make as much sense until you see them screamed in person, or accompanied by the synchronized headbanging of a front-row of Brooklynites. I also gave this 7/10.

I have three more pieces in next month’s issue, so more on that in a few weeks. This ssue should be on shelves now if you’re still one of those weirdos who ventures into the world and stores and stuff to buy things. Just order stuff online like the rest of us Morlocks.

Go over here to subscribe to Decibel Magazine. At $29.95 for a whole year this is one of the biggest bargains out there. The writing staff is fantastic, the editors are awesome, and the design is sleek and filled with trippy illustrations. Definitely worth your money:  http://store.decibelmagazine.com/collections/subscriptions-renewals

REVIEW: VAPORIZER - S/T

In a world where genres are hacked to pieces and stitched back together with hyphens I can easily say that Vaporizer are heavy metal. If you go hunting for sub-genres you will find them, but this is honest metal raised on meat, potatoes, and the wackiest of tobaccy.

Born in (the blackest forests surrounding) Burlington, VT, this quintet has vowed to “worship the weed god” and “party forever,” as their Facebook page reiterates multiple times. This is no trivial quest and lives have been dedicated to far less. The songs on their six track EP are crafted from an immortal love for the deity of reefer, a romance frowned upon in some (or most) states. I mean, who says you can’t love the dried version of a plant? I heard a lady was trying her damnedest to legally marry a roller coaster in Pennsylvania, and I can even appreciate the romance in that.

But this undying Peter Parker-esque adoration for Mary Jane has not at all softened the tales of treacherous woodlands and lethal creatures catalogued on their album. These songs pummel you into the battlefield soil and heal you with just enough melody to build your strength and trample you again. Songs like “Horn of the Narwhal” and “Beast With two Backs” feel like they could put you in a headlock so tight they could pop your tiny little noggin straight off your spine, but they might just give you a noogie and offer you a toke. The songs have muscle and momentum, they gallop into battle and don’t stop to enjoy the scenery. They enchant listeners with equal shares of melodic grandeur, neck-breaking groove and gut-punching ferocity with a true sense of purpose: Rocking you so hard you spill your Switchback Ale all over yourself.

Vocalist Dan Davidson sounds like an ancient warlock driven to the precipice of insanity. His range is impressive, from the gnarliest grunts to raspy shrieks that offer hints of Chance Garnette’s best work with Skeletonwitch. If you didn’t fear a narwhal before, Mr. Davidson will make you shit your britches when the beast appears in their song. I also need to say this band’s merch is gorgeously drawn by their talented drummer, Eli Wood. As a drummer and illustrator, though not nearly as skilled, I couldn’t let that plug squirm away from me. As for the guitars: They cut through cannon smoke and deliver massive hooks that you’ll hum hours after the battle ends. These guys have the chops and ingenuity to write no-nonsense metal anthems that feel totally effortless, when they’re anything but. These songs may not change your life, but they will give you a totally awesome buzz.

In the end, Vaporizer feel absolutely sincere while still playing with a smile on their faces, they’re aggressive without projecting menace. I was lucky enough to catch Vaporizer playing with Vektor recently at Saint Vitus, my absolute favorite haunt in the NYC area. They were playing on Valentine’s Day and while I don’t celebrate this holiday my girlfriend did accompany me for her very first metal show. Even she, who grimaces at the growls and screams of most extreme music acts, came away looking to endorse Vaporizer’s music. I guess if I was forced at sabre-point to pick a genre for Vaporizer it would be Gateway Metal. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Go listen to Vaporizer immediately at: http://vaporizer.bandcamp.com/
And learn more about these crazy gents at: http://www.vaporizermetal.com/