“I’m running out of compliments to pay them.”
— Payton Manning following the Colts 20-3 lost to the Patriots on Sunday.
Today’s column is brought to you by the last CKY album, “Infiltrate Destroy Rebuild.” I saw these guys open for Guns N’ Roses on the ill-fated “Chinese Democracy” tour in 2002. I was almost as psyched to check out CKY as I was to finally see GnR (lite).
As a side note, I had tickets to see the Guns N’ Metallica tour back in ’92 … but the fates conspired against me … Axl was initially sick and the re-scheduled tour came to town after I had left the country. My cousins went in my place as the tickets were non-refundable. Dammit! This was when James Hetfield was only singing in Metallica after the pyro-mishap and, it turns out, Axl’s voice was still shot at the show and the crowd left early in disappointment.
Fast forward more than 10 years (a decade!), and I’m sitting in the Fleet Center in Boston waiting over two hours for Axl and co. to take the stage. Seriously, CKY rocked the house, and I couldn’t have been less interested in Mix Master Mike. In fact, during the DJ set I left the arena. There was almost a two hour wait between him and the GnR set and, at one point, venue staff were pulled off the floor in anticipation of a riot. A good portion of the audience left in disgust, but when the band finally took the stage, it was a great show (rumor was Axl was watching the Raiders game backstage and didn’t want to miss anything!). I left during the encore just because it was so late at that point, but I got to see/hear “Madagascar,” “The Blues” and “Chinese Democracy.” Man, I really wish that disc would come out … the stuff I heard sounded great. Time will tell (I am a patient man…).
So, last week I mentioned an indie band I had gotten a hold of, Gyrn. Turns out, the band has been making music for a while now (some of you may actually know of them). Personally, I’d never heard of the group, but at a Christmas party a couple of weeks ago, a guy I met was wicked into the band, and actually gave me the disc to check out for myself (“I’m all about spreading the underground,” he said). So, it took me a while, but when I listened I liked what I heard. The sound is a little dated (the disc came out in 2000), but sounds ahead of its time in relation to the release date: a lot of sludgy, up-tempo, thunderous one moment and groove-oriented the next metal, almost in the vein of Diecast or Killswitch or something like that.
I’m not sure what the band is up to at the moment. The group’s official Web site now links to an ad company, and a search on Google doesn’t bring much up (the band shows up on a bunch of metal-related talk boards and such). The groups only full-length (?) album, “Our New Earth,” is available over at Amazon and CDuniverse. (I understand the group did a couple of demos and EPs.) “Our New Earth” is a good album and worth checking out.
Speaking of bands that came out with one or two awesome albums and then sort of disappeared, anyone out there not listening to Kilgore (also known as Kilgore Smudge) should be. The band put out two solid albums (one under each name) before calling it a day … I believe for monetary reasons. Still, the music left behind is solid metal and definitely worth a listen. The vocals are pretty raw and murky, comparable (I guess) to Corrosion of Conformity or something out of the New York hardcore scene (indeed, many people call the band a hardcore outfit, though I disagree).
The above album, “Search for Reason,” is the album I would highly recommend, though the band’s “Blue Collar Solitude” is a more unrefined offering.
Another couple of bands worth mentioning (in context of this discussion) are Pist.on and Caroline Spine. Pist.on put out two pretty good albums in the late 90s, “Number One” and “Sell.Out.” The front man was a huge guy with a pretty distinct vocal delivery, intense and moody; the bassist was a woman (I only mention this as she did the backing vocals and added a nice dimension to the band’s sound). There band’s sound was instantly recognizable, the guitars were tuned really low and the overall sound was very murky and distorted.
Go here for more information on the band (including a nice are they/aren’t they together anymore disclaimer). I recommend the band’s second offering, “Sell.Out,” for your listening pleasure:
Finally, Caroline Spine was never really a metal band (more a solid rock outfit), that really wouldn’t be noteworthy except that the group’s front man had a great vocal delivery, extremely recognizable … in fact, I can’t even compare the sound to any other band. It was nasally at times, but almost hyper-paced, with lines literally falling over one another as they were delivered. Popular rock radio played the hell out of “Sullivan” (a song about a mother who lost all five of her sons in WWII). That seemed to be the band’s only taste of success. though it still maintains a pretty up-to-date Web site Seems the official Web site no longer exists, so check here for any information … though the site is no longer updated, there’s a good amount of information available. And check out the band’s “Monsoon” album.
..:..New notable album covers..:.. Life of Agony recently announced the title of the band’s come-back album. “Broken Valley” (view cover) will be released in May on Epic. This is one of those albums I was psyched about since I first heard the band was doing it, but it’s been talked about so much I’m starting to get impatient and bored with the whole thing (the same thing happened a couple of years ago with the Stone Sour disc). In the same vein, Paradise Lost’s next album will be self-titled (view cover) and out Feb. 21. I’ve never really been into Paradise Lost, so if someone can email me and tell me just how great this band is, maybe I’ll check this out (I’m always on the lookout for new music). And while I’m at it, the cover of the new Judas Priest album is here.
..:..Dimebag may be dead but Damageplan? Not so much so..:.. Damageplan’s manager recently told Billboard.com that although Damageplan may be finished as a touring entity, another release from the band is likely. “There were recordings the band laid down prior to Dimebag’s death that are near completion,” Paul Bassman said. “Vinnie Paul has said there will be a follow-up album down the road, as Dime would have wanted his music to be heard.” To read the whole story, head over to the Billboard site. Speaking of Damageplan, if you’re interested in reading a real in depth account of what happened the night of the shooting in Ohio, go here. It a long article, but pretty interesting nonetheless.
..:..Avenged Sevenfold ready for next album..:.. Pre-production for the next Avenged Sevenfold album has already started and the band is apparently ready to head back into the studio shortly. The release should see the light of day later this year on Warner. Avenged Sevenfold will also be a part of this year’s Warped Tour, so I assume they’ll have the recording done within the next few months (previewing new songs on the tour?). The group’s last album was an extremely solid metallic outing, so check that one out too.
..:..This is just plain fun..:.. Turns out, someone has come up with the grand idea of creating a “Slayer Barbie Doll.” I guess it’s important to point out that the person is not selling said items, simply being creative, and that non of this is connected to Mattel (you know how litigious big companies like to get). So, to see the Slayer barbie while you can, go here.
..:..Do you like your bands Filtered?..:.. Last week, I had mentioned that Adema had finally found a new vocalist to replace Mark Chavez. Well, it turns out Chavez is also busy at work with a new band … and he seems to have recruited former Filter members Geno Lenardo (guitar) and Frank Cavanagh (bass). Filter front man Richard Patrick recently referred to the “rumors” on the Filter Discussion Group and stated the new Filter line-up would stun fans. More on that as it develops I guess…
Note: This feature will be replaced by my “Mix of the Moment” (which can currently be found over at my Author’s Profile) next week. I’ll probably bounce back between the features from time to time.
Here’s some CDs I want, recently picked up or already have that I haven’t listened to nearly enough (you should check them out too):
CKY: “Infiltrate Destroy Rebuild”
Korn: “Life is Peachy”
Hydraulic Sandwich: Self-titled
Gryn: “Our New Earth”
Tokyo Rose: “Reinventing a lost art”
I did finally get to hear some of the new stuff from Black Label Society and American Head Charge this week (thanks to a fellow writer for offering to send some of that stuff my way).
BLS’s “Suicide Messiah” sounds like exactly what I was hoping for, something a little more rocking unlike the last couple of BLS albums. On the flip side, I’m not sure what to think about the new AHC track … it’s not quite as thunderous and gritty as I imagined, but I only caught the tail end of the song. I’m still excited though …
And that’s that. As always, drop me a line. Until next time, I’ll be here at Inside Pulse making sure no metal news falls through the cracks.
Take it easy…
