Title By: Tim Wolfenbarger HOLY SHIT!!! Great to be back from the dead and kickin' here. Be sure to check out my killer SPEEDEALER interview here. Played DOOMED TO GRIND III fest in Denver, CO with my band DRUNKEN MASTERS. Two days. Twenty some bands. Saw ODORUIN, BLACK MARKET FETUS, CATHETER, IRONKIND, ABERANT (my faves of the show with their WxHxNx style thrash) + tons more. Can't even say all the FUN! I had with buds Conan from IRONKIND and Jeffe from CATHETER (cult of Jeffe!). TRUE BROTHERS! Also caught MAIDEN, DIO, + MOTORHEAD in Dallas with Mr. Jon Gross and Tanya + Brian of AMBASSADOR BILL. 666! Congratulations to Miss Lorianne Meade who gave birth to Alic Loree Meade on September 30th, 2003! We love you, baby! Shout out to Miss Ash Moore for bein' a sweetie! CHEERS!!!!!!! JUNE 20, 2003 TOP 5 SONGS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE ---------------------------------------------------------- So, I'm sittin' here watchin' VH-1's top 100 greatest/most important whatever songs of the past 25 years (1978? Why?? It should be called VH-1's arbitrary list of pop shit we're still trying to milk.) where they have such dynamically named rock star scum like Art Alexakis and John Rzeznick list their five most important songs that changed my life like THE CLASH and THE REPLACEMENTS and HUSKER DU. Fucking DIE!!! DIE YUPPIE ROCK LIAR!!!! DIE!!! Um, sorry. And I thought "SWEET FLIPPIN" FUCKING JEEZUS FUCKEDY DOO!!! DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A LOAD OF HORSE SHIT, uh, I mean FUN! LET'S DO IT MOTHER FUCKER! Everybody loves stupid little lists and shit like this. So, here it is. Gaze in awe and fuck Melissa Etheridge. 5. NEUROSIS, "Souls at Zero"--This came out at a time when thrash, death, and punk started to seem kinda' one-dimensional to me. NEUROSIS saved me with their use of orchestration, samples, tribal beats, flutes and strings, and concepts other than the devil and serial murder. The album "Souls at Zero" is NEUROSIS' metal record and a bridge 'tween their early hardcore records ("Pain of Mind" and "Word as Law") and their later industrial/psychedelic metal forays ("Enemy of the Sun" and "Through Silver in Blood"). My favorite band of the 90's. A classic album everyone should have and an awesome tune. 4. SAINT VITUS, "Born Too Late"--An honest anthem for the disaffected metal head in the 80's living in a world he never made. Wino's soulful vox + Dave Chandler's ripping guitar are the perfect match in this perfect song. SAINT VITUS were the only mother fuckers doin' this shit in the 80's (least in America). Years before trendy stoner rock shit-- DOOM METAL!! "Born Too Late" the song and the album are VITUS at the height of their powers! Bow, posers! 3. CANNIBAL CORPSE "Hammer Smashed Face"--Death Metal for the 90's! This shit was fresh! It seemed dangerous and CANNIBAL CORPSE were banned and censored everywhere. Their stuff was hard to find (for a couple of seconds) + it was fucking extreme! Nowadays it's passe' with Black Metal and techno grind and shit but back then this was it, man! Imagine, Chris Barnes as fresh. Now he does shit with ICE-T. Suck. 2.GG ALLIN + ANTiSEEN "Violence Now (Assasinate the President)"--Ah, good ol' GG. How can you not love the strung out, misogynistic shit covered teddy bear that was the man GG ALLIN? Problem was that GG's music was often played by substandard punk non-musicians and recorded in a trash can. Here GG's teamed up with an honest to god badass band in ANTiSEEN. What a great teaming of Jeff Clayton and GG! GG getting in touch with his southern side! From the open marching rhythm to the chanted "VIOLENCE" at the end this is true punk rock!!! Eat it up! Mmm, southern cookin'!! Shortly after GG passed on. Poor GG. 3.SLAYER, "Hell Awaits"-- I first heard this glorious ode to hell in art class in high school. It was played for me by some kid from New York named "Mosh" (whatever that means). "Oh, my god! Satan's coming out of the stereo! BRA-BRA-BLAAUGG!" And I went into a fit of uncontrollable headbanging. This song single handedly slaughtered METALLICA + invented death metal. And they were evil, man! Perfected even further with "Reign In Blood" of course. Thrash becomes death right here for all to see. That's it. Honorable mentions- "Suffer the Children" by NAPALM DEATH and "We Gotta Know" by CRO-MAGS and probably somethin' by DRI but I couldn't decide which one. Hell, these are just my favorites. Perhaps, yours are different. But then again, who cares? I'm tired of writing and Melissa Etheridge still sucks. "And I'll never be like you..." AUG 1st, 2003 OLD SEVEN-INCH DAY ----------------------- Got drunk today + was goin' thru my 7"s. Listened to a lot of stuff I got + never got around to listenin' to or just felt like hearin' again. Already jammed THE CULT "Electric" and SPEEDEALER "Here Comes Death" on CD while cleaning house. Here's the fuzzy warbles I listened to while I got drunk. HELIOS CREED--Somethin' on Man's Ruin. Old Amphetamine Reptile band. Fuckin' cool psych heavy guitar shit. AMORPHIS--Old Relapse s/t. Given to me. Aren't they on a major label now? Death metal from 92'. Eh. LANA DAGALES--s/t hardcore thrash from California from a couple of years ago. This is crushing badass shit. It'll kill ya. DEAD EMPTY--"Tattooed Women" 7"...Wasn't able to listen to this cos' it has the big hole. Pity. Killer song. Punk. A drunken favorite. INITIAL DETONATION--"So Selleth the Shepherd, So Buyuth the Flock" EP...Old buds! Like NAUSEA if they were from Missouri. Great cover art + killer poster. One of the best off Sensual Underground Ministries Records(R.I.P.) from Tulsa. This still kick my ass. HUMAN DECAY--More NAUSEA style meeting old NEUROSIS maybe. From Pennsylvania + has fucks that went on to the in-fucking-sane mathmetal/thrash band CREATION IS CRUCIFIXION. FRACAS--"4 song record"...Band from California with a couple of choice records. Punk rock with a bit of a MISFITS edge, mainly the vocals. Very cool. They kick ass live, yo. BLACK MARKET FETUS/CATHETER--Somethin' to get me hyped for DOOMED TO GRIND III fest in Denver, Colorado. Both these fuckin' bands will be there! BxMxFx are from Iowa. KILL! CATHETER from Denver. GRIND! Both will slaughter yer' ass with their stompin'/slashin'/ slaying grind attacks! I had a good time drinkin' and listenin' to my records! I'm down to my last beer though so I gotsta go! Cheers! SPEEDEALER INTERVIEW WITH JEFF HIRSHBERG (vocals, guitar) by TIM WOLFENBARGER AUG 12, 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------- THRASH!-Hey, how's it goin? Thanks for the interview. JEFF-Thanks for taking the time to write out the questions and do the interview. THRASH!-How long has SPEEDEALER been goin' now? JEFF- We've been in existence since 1992. THRASH!-You had a different singer, Dave, way back. What happened to him? JEFF- Yes we did, unfortunately he developed a healthy taste for heroin and we subsequently "let him go." He's doing great these days and we still call him a good friend. THRASH!-Seems like you guys get heavier with every album... JEFF- Well, what ever place we are at musically when we write an album... that's what comes out. It's never a planned or pre-conceived idea. THRASH!-How was workin' with Newsted? Did he encourage the heavy riffage on "Second Sight"? JEFF-Working with Jason was an interesting experience to say the least. All the tunes were written well before we ever met up with him, and part of the reason he wanted to produce us was that he didn't think any of the songs needed tinkering with. And to be honest, we wouldn't have let him anyway. THRASH!-Tell me about the new record and how was it workin' with Jeff Pinkus (BUTTHOLE SURFERS)?! JEFF-The new record has elements of all of our previous discs, so there's something in there for everyone, we hope. Pinkus is a hell of a guy, a great friend, and has nothing but the utmost respect from us. Working with him was as easy and as natural as it gets. It's entitled, "Bleed" and it comes out September 17th on Dead Teenager Records. THRASH!-I think Texas metal/punk bands from way back have had a certain sound and vibe. Everybody from BIG BOYS and POISON 13 to AGONY COLUMN and DEAD HORSE. I think you've got that too. JEFF-Thanks for the compliment, that's quite some company you've lumped us in with, and I'm not sure, well I know we don't, deserve it... but thanks none the same. THRASH!-What you been listenin' to? JEFF-I've been listening to Kabalevsky's chamber and piano music a lot these days, as well as old Stones, Jeff Beck, and some Cheap Trick. THRASH!-Thanks again for the interview. I'll catch you the next time you're in town. JEFF-My pleasure, thank you for the interview. See you on the 14th. REVIEWS AND SHIT ----------------------- FREE PRESS DEATH SHIP zine--THE FREE PRESS DEATH SHIP is an amazing zine run by the tough but smart Violet Jones. FREE PRESS DEATH SHIP champions the printed word + is anti-computer, anti-censorship, and anti-ISBN (internat'l standard book number). Educational and a work of freakin' art. Loads of zine reviews. Every issue I get of this is a treat. Issue three here has articles on mail art and Ret Marut aka B. Traven. Great old pirate pics/graphics set the grim briney mood. Violet would surely hate me reviewin' this here on the net. THE DEATH SHIP is free but run on donations so send em' at least $5 for a subscription (I still send 'em what I can when I can). You won't be sorry. Ahoy, motherfucks! VIOLET JONES POBOX 55336 Hayward, CA 94545 FILM GEEK zine--Fucking cult!!! Mr. Alan Fare's labor of love is a long time favorite of mine. Always a fun + interesting read. Up to issue #9 now. Tons of trash and cult movie reviews (as well as zine + book reviews) to keep ya droolin'. Articles from different contributors each issue. I'll bet ya number ten is out by the time you read this. A must have. Alan loves mail so send him a buck or two. FILM GEEK ZINE POBOX 501113 Tulsa, OK 74150-1113 REAGAN NATIONAL CRASH DIET "Sucktastic!" double 7"--Chicago's RNCD come correct again with this classy dbl seven-inch. A follow up to their killer "Administration" CD. Male + female vox. Melodic punk without bein pop-punk. White vinyl and silk screened cover for bonus points. "Pretender" is one of the coolest tunes I've heard in a while. This record is choice. Old style punk + sweet presentation make this a nice little chunk of wax for the collection. ROOSTERCOW POBOX 578174 CHICAGO, IL 60657 roostercow.com REAGAN NATIONAL CRASH DIET/ DECIBATORS split 7"--DECIBATORS play some cool blues punk + REAGAN NAT'L CRASH DIET offer up a quickie in their old punk style. One song by each. No lyrics, info, or pics of the band. A pretty cool punk rock split though. If made to pick go for the "Sucktastic!" dbl seven. ROOSTERCOW POBOX 578174 CHICAGO, IL 60657 roostercow.com RELAPSE CONTAMINATED 5.0 comp. double CD--Oh, hell yeah. This here is a MUST HAVE! 45 select tracks by forty-five heavy ass bands. Whatta we got here? Classic tracks from reissues by BROKEN BONES, PENTAGRAM, CRYPTIC SLAUGHTER, + REPULSION as well as current killers from the likes of EXHUMED, RED HARVEST, AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED, EASTWEST BLAST TEST, MORTICIAN, BONGZILLA, NEUROSIS, MASTODON, HIGH ON FIRE, DILLENGER ESCAPE PLAN, DISFEAR (fuckin' rulin' song), and just tons more, mother fucker! I swear you can't beat it. Only like $8 for a double CD. Worth it alone for the REPULSION and PENTAGRAM tracks. Quantities are probably limited but you shouldn't have much trouble tracking this down. RELAPSE PO Box 2060 Upper Darby, PA 19082 relapse.com THE HANGMEN "We've got blood on the toes of our boots" CD--Snazzy digipack produced by Acetate's ubiquitous Rick Ballard. Ah, this is a live record. Tight + precise hard blues rock. I like that slide. Vox kinda remind me of Mark Arm. Stand out tracks-- "Walking in the Woods," "My Way," "Downtown." I think it was a fine idea for these fucks to do a live record. Captures their feel well. My problem is that they seem a bit laid back. They miss the over the top frenzy reached by suckas like the HOOKERS or ELECTRIC FRANKENSTEIN. Other than that- pretty classy. Don't think I'd drop $15 on it though but I'm a cheap ass. ACETATE 2020 Broadway 2nd floor Santa Monica, CA 90404 acetate.com ACETATE RECORDS L.A.SHAKEDOWN 2003 comp. double CD--As it says on the cover-- "2 CD set of PUNK, ROCK, + Broken Blues" which pretty well covers it. 38 bands with 38 songs. High lights include ORIGINAL SINNERS (Exene's new band), NASHVILLE PUSSY (Grammy nominees! whoo.), NEBULA (what're they doin' here?), ANTiSEEN (fuck yeah), DRAGONS, DWARVES, LAZY COWGIRLS, CANDY SNATCHERS, STITCHES, TEXAS TERRI (my lil' trick baby), SUPERBEES and on + on. I ain't big bad garage daddy but this has got some great heavy hitters and perennial punk favorites so it's a big winner. Sure to get lots of spins. Reminds me of somethin' that'd be bumpin' at the Green Door. More black sugar for the hyperstimulated and shit. ACETATE 2020 Broadway 2nd floor Santa Monica, CA 90404 acetate.com MOCKINGBIRD LANE 2003 Demo CD--Well, the cats from this band told me that they'd have me beaten up by 14 year old girls if I didn't give this a good review so surely I'm tempted to pan this but... First two tracks are an electric and acoustic version of the song "Taken Under." Both sound totally like LOU REED + surprisingly the acoustic version is superior due to both treatment and recording. Then we got a cover of the MISFITS "She" as well as two MISFITS-esque originals "I...Vampire" and "Wolfshead" So, I'd say that this is like the MISFITS with LOU REED singing which ain't bad even if it is a bit trite. My main complaint is the guitar tone which sounds like a crappy peavey. Yet, I get a feeling of authenticity + these guys seem to have a lot of heart so I'd like to catch 'em live. MOCKINGBIRD LANE POBOX 3084, Shawnee, OK 74802 SINCEBYMAN "We Sing the Body Electric" CD--Cutting edge stuff I say. Almost mathmetal. Almost. Tricked out h.c. Great production sure adds to the different tricky guitar and vocal bits that jump out. Cool intricate stuff. I could see this band getting a big following. Hey and no real wimp parts to ruin it. The last song "Parole en Liberta" really rocks out with the mathmetal bits + is probably the best song here along with "Light Fuse Get Away". Over 'fore I knew it which is a good thing. I'll jam this one again. REVELATION I-DEFY "The lessons of lie's brutality becomes guides to action" CD—Great title. Solid post modern hardcore with very slight emo influences that are easy to ignore. I was scared that these fucks were gonna stray into rap metal but thankfully that's not the case. Some good heavy parts. I definitely like some songs more than others. "Coward" is a cool tune. I also like "Never Break" and "Suburban Dream." This is okay but I definitely prefer the heavier songs to the ones with the spoken word parts for sure. Overall this seems pretty heartfelt. Somehow I was certain there was a hidden track on here and there is. Cool. I think ya' could do alot worse. MEDEA POBox 99055 Troy, MI 48099-9055 www.i-defy.com RYE AIRFIELD NOISE VOL 1 NEW ENGLAND MUSIC COMPILATION CD--Jeez, is that title fuckin' long enough or what? Comp I solicited from this skatepark in New England. 24 bands and I ain't heard of any of 'em. I was attracted to the word "noise" in the title. Ugh! There's a bunch of over produced happy ass pop punk metal on here. Fuckin' blech! Gems hidden in this pile of turds--NO DECEMBER (mmm, maybe), GARGANTUA SOUL (oddly soulful), READ YELLOW (sound like the HIVES), PLANESIDE (I'm on the fence here), FENWICK (wild + weird h.c. thrash with melodic fem vocals!!! Killer!) Wow, ABSOLVE sounds like MORISSEY singing with a nu- metal band. That's so fucked I don't even know what to say about it. Jesus, one band sounds exactly like AT THE DRIVE IN. Surprise (yawn). This was a free regional comp so I suppose somehow there's not that much room to complain. I guess. But remember kids, POP PUNK MUST AND WILL DIE!!! ryeairfield.com RYE AIRFIELD NOISE VOL 2 NEW ENGLAND MUSIC COMPILATION CD--Just in time for my deadline here's the follow-up to the RYE AIRFIELD VOL. 1 reviewed above. 22 different acts that I'm unfamiliar with so this is gonna be hectic to review but here goes. Of interest here--RUBIKON (cool heavy tone yet not metal), BLEED THE DREAM (well played modern hardcore with cool sampled noise), DEAD FRIEND (fine by the numbers hxcx), DIRTY WATER (heartfelt blues punk), TVS (hmmmm.), + the big winners NEVER SAY DIE (heavy real hardcore)!! Ugh, the rest of the crap on here is a potpourri of TOOL rip-offs, emo, numetal, + pop punk. Yeah, so there's some kickin' rock shit here but nothing as compelling as say FENWICK, GARGANTUA SOUL, or READ YELLOW from the first RYE AIRFIELD comp. ryeairfield.com DAG NASTY "minority of one" CD--Hey! DAG NASTY are back together featuring Brian Baker (MINOR THREAT, JUNKYARD!!). Uh, yeah. Oh, man, this sound is just not my thing. I always think of fuckin' BAD RELIGION. But I don't wanna sit here and bag on this though. They are punk legends kinda or whatever. "Bottle This" + "Throwing" + "Wasting" all stand out. The guitar leads are kinda cool for a punk rock record. GENERATION X cover "100 Punks Rule." Still this one just ain't for me. REVELATION ABSOLUTELY KOSHER "Makhen a tzimmis" label sampler CD-- Whoa, fuck, this could be trouble but I'm gonna give it an honest review. 20 bands from the A.K. roster. Anyone that knows me knows that that shoegazer shit and bands like SEBADOH are like friggin' kryptonite to me. But how 'bout I not judge a book by its cover + actually listen to dis' damn ding'. Okay first off these indie fucks that wear MANOWAR and JUDAS PRIEST shirts to be cute/ironic need a punch in the face and I think I'm the caveman motherfuck to do it! So, I'm pretty sure that GOBLIN COCK are mocking metal and if so can go ahead and fuck right off. If I'm wrong then whatever. Okay. yeah. I was correct. Shit like my ex-girlfriend would like. Fucking hell! One for the fire! absolutelykosher.com Okay, that's it for now. I'll leave you with a joke... How many metalheads does it take to screw in a light bulb? One but SLAYER can do it faster... AAARRRGGGHHHH, CHEERS!