Tragedy in Brooklyn

Here's a quick post. This is Tragedy (Ex-His Hero is Gone, Deathreat, Uranus, etc.) playing live in Brooklyn. In this video you can see myself, Jack and Brendan towards the front. I think there's one part where I get hit in the head by a stage diver.

Anyhow, Tragedy is great. They've spawned a ton of clones (as did HHIG)...yet I also think it's because they're a rip-off of Judgement, Muga, and all those other Burning Spirit bands.

Raining... Bl... whut?

Goin' Global

I just re-watched this movie and I'm super stoked on it. It's a great portrait of metal around the world. I can forgive the fact that he only traveled to 7 countries to illustrate his point- after all there's only so much info you can cram into a feature length movie. The one thing that's glaringly absent though is Sarcofago. Sure they're not as big as Sepultura, but if you're going to stop by Brazil, why not talk about one of the only bands outside of Europe that had a hand in shaping the sound of modern Black Metal?

After living in Tokyo for a while, I can say his description of the scene here is pretty spot on. Unlike in other places, metal doesn't seem to be an outlet for Japanese fans to express their anger, but more to explore an individual sense of identity. I also like Kawashima-san's [Sigh] take on the difference between 'Visual-K' and metal-- "Metal is cool." Gotta say, Sigh was pretty cool live!

Definitely worth the watch if you haven't already. There's a pretty good torrent going on over at TPB.

Los Crudos

Chris Bickel (In/Humanity, Guyana Punchline) uploaded some videos of early 90s hardcore that he shot himself. This is some early footage of Los Crudos in South Carolina. Things to note: Martin's long hair, the kids sitting at the table in the background, and the Jose Cuervo banner above their set. The sound quality is pretty decent. If for some reason you've never heard of Los Crudos, do yourself a favor and find their discography. There's also an excellent documentary floating around on latino punk in Chicago and it has Crudos' last show on it.

A Mutant of Radness

Disavowed - Perceptive Deception

Here's a slice of breakneck speed Brutal Death Metal for you all the way from the Netherlands. Yep, don't let that 'dis-' fool you, there's not a trace of d-beat to be found here. The brighter ones among you might've figured that out by the logo. I was originally going to write about how I found this album, but in doing a little fact checking I've realized that my memory of how I came across this album is totally wrong and now I'm confused. Anyways I've been practicing blast beats these days so I can really appreciate a drummer that pulverizes his kit but still retains some nuance and style. Check out the video for "Rhizome" below. They have some close-ups of those blasts, but he looks surprisingly stiff. Again I'm confused. But I guess "flying fingers" isn't the only technique for a good blast.

Click image for DL.

Acephalix

On rainy days like this, I like to listen to dismal, metallic crust. Acephalix from San Francisco is what I put on this morning, and I'm sharing it with you. Think of a darker Nausea (if that's possible) but I'm sure they're sick of that description because of the call and response female/male vocals that are throughout the album. This band also has members of Poison Idea and Deathcharge, so I'm sure those comparisons are made as well. Anyhow, you should listen to this if you're into metal, hardcore, punk, or trying to dry off after a 5 mile bike ride in a storm.

http://www.mediafire.com/?yimtjhmantu

Electric Wizard - Black Masses

I feel like we here in NY have it pretty fucking good. There's a show 7 nights a week, the chinese food is cheap and tasty, you can get just about anywhere you need without burning gas, the people are good lookin, and places to get beer are plentiful. We really only lose out on just about one fucking thing. Electric Wizard shows. GODDAMNIT MOTHERFUCKERS! IT'S THE LAST PIECE OF THE FUCKING PUZZLE!

Yes, so Electric Wizard hasn't played New York, or anywhere in the states since like 2001 or something like that, and we all live release to release to get our fucking fix while gnawing like haggard jackals at the remains of our needleworn copies of Dopethrone. It's still filling after all these years.

Anyways, when I heard that EW was putting out a new album I was pretty fucking stoked. Frankly, I wasn't super into all of Witchcult Today compared to some of the more classic albums but, as a holdover it was pretty good. When Venus in Furs off the new album Black Masses leaked, I was blown away. The Wizard has grown.

If you're looking for the next Supercoven/Return Trip put this down. If you want a rehash of Dopethrone, forget about it. Not even close. If you're looking to hear EW in the middle of a 72 hour speedfreakout then you have found your Mecca. I mean, don't get me wrong, Wizard's idea of "speed" is still about 40bpm slower than everyone else but this shit rocks. Like actually fucking drives. It's awesome. Confusing at first but once you drop your expectation of another full side of space jams, it's pretty fucking dead on.

The songs are still long, the riffs still immovably massive, the vocals spaced out and painful, and the songs never fucking boring/always heavy. Electric Wizard is still the heaviest band in the universe.

Try it on, see how it fits...

The Nightmare Begins: An N.G.N.V Mixtape

I've been trying to figure out a way to get this fucking thing posted for like 2 goddamn weeks. Itunes is the digital equivalent of friggin AIDS man. Anyways, HERE IT IS KIDS! THE FIRST EDTION OF THE NGNV COLLECTIVE HIVE MIND MIX TAPE EXTRAORDINAIRE!

That's right, this right here contains what we all think is a pretty decent representation of our (the current authors) musical tastes/stylings/loves/etc. Since the intro and a few posts last week, you've been getting an idea of what's to come. Well, here's another building block. It's all over the damn place but it's a fun one.

Anyways, the premise was, each contributor gets 3-5 songs to introduce their tastes. This is what we all came up with. Click the filed called NGNV.m3u to get it in the right order.

I'm stoked about this.

Today Is The Day - In The Eyes of God

I was listening to the new Kylesa this weekend, and it reminded me of 2 bands. Today Is The Day and Boy Sets Fire. These are my 2 favorite albums by both bands.

Today In The Day - In The Eyes of God

Boy Sets Fire - In Chrysalis