Wolf Eyes @ The Hook, Brooklyn, NY Oct. 6, 2006

Wolf Eyes is one of those bands that has to be seen live to appreciate the full sonic instensity of their show. I read a music review a number of years ago where the reviewer used the phrase "this is one band that the majority of your friends won't understand." This phrase certainly applies to Wolf Eyes. On stage, Wolf Eyes has the anger of M. Gira and the early-80's Swans and has a sound that ranges somewhere between Throbbing Gristle, the acid-jazz freakout of the 1970-71 Stooges and a cement truck.

Wolf Eyes played about an hour set and it was nice to see a band with this much energy and intensity. I enjoyed the bands prior to Wolf Eyes but knob twirlers aren't much to watch. It was interesting to note that the crowd had thinned out by the end of Wolf Eyes' set. I wonder if the crowd was expecting something closer to Nirvana given that Wolf Eyes is currently signed to Sub*Pop.

The new Wolf Eyes' release Human Animal came out about a week ago on Sub*Pop. I haven't picked it up yet (so no opinions yet) but am very interested in doing so.


Wolf Eyes @ The Hook, Brooklyn Oct. 6, 2006 


Wolf Eyes @ The Hook, Brooklyn, NY Oct. 6, 2006 


Wolf Eyes @ The Hook, Brooklyn, NY Oct. 6, 2006 

Thurston Moore/Prurient & John Wiese @ The Hook, Brooklyn, NY Oct. 6, 2006

Thurston Moore and Prurient followed by John Wiese played short sets prior to Wolf Eyes taking the stage. Both acts played experimental noise/grind in the style of Throbbing Gristle and Sunn O))) which seemed to captivate the crowd. The Hook seemed to be at its fullest during these bands' sets and the crowd appeared to have thinned out by the end of Wolf Eyes' set.


Thurston Moore/Prurient @ The Hook, Brooklyn, NY Oct 6, 2006 


Thurston Moore/Prurient @ The Hook, Brooklyn, NY Oct 6, 2006 


John Wiese @ The Hook, Brooklyn, NY Oct. 6, 2006 

Mortiis - The Smell of Rain (Era 2) CD Review

Mortiis' transition from "Era 1" to "Era 2" was pretty radical. With this release, Mortiis abandons the dark ambiant soundscapes of his previous releases and has shifted to writing dark-edged synth-pop. Twenty years ago, this style of music would have been called "new wave" and this CD brings back the early 80's sounds of Depeche Mode, Bauhaus and New Order. Mortiis' songwriting has also matured and the songs have a much fuller sound now that Mortiis has expanded to a full band. Along with all the other changes, this is the first release where Mortiis sings (on all tracks, no less) and it is interesting to note that Mortiis' singing is similar to that of Peter Murphy.

Standout tracks are Parasite God, You Put A Hex on Me and Smell the Witch. All three of these tracks are solid, synth-based rock tunes. I am also partial to the mournful and downbeat Everyone Leaves. I have read some reviews on Amazon where purchasers/fans were upset that Mortiis changed his sound but it seems a bit silly to expect every release to sound like Stargate. I also recently read an interesting interview with Mortiis where he describes his change in sound as "It was just time to move on. I was sick to death of the shit I used to do."

This is a great rock CD that beats the majority of nu-rock/metal songs on the radio today. I hope this finds the audience it deserves.

Religious Knives Live @ The Hook, Brooklyn Oct. 6, 2006

I had only loosely heard of Religious Knives prior to seeing them open for Wolf Eyes at The Hook in Brooklyn on Saturday. I was really impressed and their very short set left me wanting more. The band has an ambient/drone sound and, over the course of the one piece they played, they built a compelling soundscape. I would compare Religious Knives' sound to the exploratory side of Sonic Youth or Throbbing Gristle.

I found Reglious Knives' discography online and it is interesting to note that the majority of their recordings are for labels affiliated with or run by Wolf Eyes' members.

Releases:
Hive Mind & Religious Knives (CDr 3") Chondritic Sound 2005
RK3 (2xCassette) Heavy Tapes 2005
Untitled (CDr) Chondritic Sound 2005
Bind Them / Electricity And Air (LP) No Fun Productions 2006
Blackbird / Wax & Flesh (7") Heavy Tapes 2006
In Brooklyn After Dark (Cassette) American Tapes 2006
The Train / I Know You Rider (CDr) Heavy Tapes 2006
Untitled (7") AA Records 2006

I have some additional pictures of the band posted to Flickr and I will get pictures of the other bands that played the show added to this site over the next few days.

Mortiis - Era 1 CD Reviews

Mortiis is a tough act to keep up with as he radically changes his sound every few releases. Mortiis signed to Earache in 1999 and this started Era 1. After three releases, Era 2 started in 2001 with the release of The Smell of Rain. Era 2 lasted for three years and this one release. Mortiis' latest release The Grudge (2005) started Era 3. Era 1 is typified by lush, ambient musical soundscapes with little or no vocals. With Era 2, Mortiis became a band. On The Smell of Rain, Mortiis (the man) took up lead vocals and his musical direction shifted to what is described as "darkwave". With Era 3, Mortiis' sound went purely industrial.


Født Til Å Herske was Mortiis' first release after leaving Emperor. Originally independently released in 1993, Earche issued this release worldwide in 1999 and has just issued a remastered edition that includes new liner notes and the original artwork. Mortiis describes his early music as "dark dungeon music" (which was also the name of the pre-Earache independent label that he ran) which is a good description of his first two releases. The release features two 25 minute compositions that highlight and build upon Mortiis' skills on the synthesizer. The music is slow,solemn and dark and, with active listening, will draw you in.

This is a perfect CD to listen to late at night.

As much as I like Mortiis' first CD, Crypt of the Wizard never held my attention. This CD is a compilation of five independently released 12"s that Mortiis released prior to signing with Earache. Like Født Til Å Herske, the music on this CD is dark and ambient and is performed almost entirely by Mortiis (the man). There are 10 tracks on this release and the shorter running time of each track (as compared to Født Til Å Herske) detracts from the overall CD in that the music never has time to build and none of the tracks really stand out. Also, with the music coming from five separate releases, the CD as a whole sounds somewhat inconsistent and it comes across as the compilation that it is.

This isn't a bad release -- it just isn't memorable

Stargate more than compensates for the shortcomings of its predecessor. This release is rich, atmospheric and really should be listened to from beginning to end. The production is top-notch and the songs draw the listener into a world that is to be sensed, felt and imagined. This world isn't the dark dungeon of Mortiis' first release, but rather a medieval world where magic still exists and anything is possible. The use of non-traditional (especially for a metal CD) orchestral instruments along with Cradle of Filth's Sarah Jezebel Diva's operatic singing highlight the strength of these songs and the entire release.

Mortiis cuts across musical genres with this release and should reach a wide audience if they give him a chance. Highly recommended!

Here is a link to a review of Mortiis' Era 3 release The Grudge along with a link to pictures and a recap of Mortiis' show with The Genitorturers at CBGB last month.

Penelope Houston Pale Green Girl CD Review

On Penelope Houston's 2004 release, she returns to her neo-folk roots. This isn't the acoustic music of her early 90's releases but is closer to the sound of the Byrds or Kinks 60's-era jangle pop. While it is radical departure from 1999's Tongue, which was an Avengers-style rock album, Penelope and multi-instrumentalist Pat Johnson successfully carry off this change in direction. This release has 10 new songs and closes with a cover of John Cale's Buffalo Ballet.

This release is positioned as the soundtrack to a non-existant film The Pale Green Girl and there is a continual dark undercurrent beneath the pretty pop songs. The CD opens with the bright and upbeat song Take My Hand where Houston assures a lover that "..it'll be all right, Nothing's going to change the way that I feel" but goes from there into Hole, a very pointed song about addiction. The remainder of the CD continues to explore bleak themes and the dark aspects of relationships. John Cale's Buffalo Ballet, a tale of greed and exploitation, is a very fitting closing track for this release. Houston's website describes this CD as "dark cinematic tales of lust, arson, and murder".

This is a great CD which should appeal to fans of Penelope's earlier solo work, 60's garage-pop fans along with fans of artists like Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin and John Cale.

This CD is available directly from Penelope's website, Amazon and other major retailers.

Penelope just finished a tour with the reunited Avengers. I have pictures and a recap of the show at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ here.

UK's Bluetones Cancel Shows at the Mercury Lounge

U.K.'s Bluetones were scheduled to kickoff their US first tour in ten years tomorrow night at the Mercury Lounge. I was planning on catching the show as I was a big fan of their debut CD Expecting to Fly. It appears that the band's 6-date US tour has abruptly been canceled.

The following was posted on the band's website earlier tonight:

It is with great regret that The Bluetones are forced to announce the post-ponement of their planned shows in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto, Sydney and Melbourne.

The band were looking forward to playing these shows but due to circumstances over which we have had no control, are not in a position to fulfil these commitments.

Due to legal reasons it cannot be discussed here the exact nature of what has caused the cancellations, but rest assured the picture will be made clear for everybody as soon we have the full facts in front of us.

Again, I can only stress that this was not a decision that was taken by the band, so much as made for, and unbeknownst to, us.

I cannot properly express the heartbreak all of this is causing us, and apoligize sincerely for any dis-appointment felt by people who have already purchased tickets for these shows. We will try to re-schedule as soon as possible, although that is probably small consolation right now.

As it stands we may well be able to play the scheduled gig in Japan, we are trying to salvage that this week, but if there is any change there will be immediate notification.

I'm so sorry to everyone, but we intend to bounce right back from this and get out to the cities we have so looked forward to playing for the best part of this year, as soon as possible.

We feel like we've been kicked in the teeth....love Mark. x x x

Mortiis - The Grudge CD Review

This is great industrial/electronica rock CD. I know this CD shocked many of the Stargate-era Mortiis fans but this is a good CD -- it is just radically different from the Era 1 or Era 2 releases. While Mortiis has unique take on the industrial genre, this CD would be comparable to early Nine Inch Nails or Genitorturers.

There are a lot of good, solid songs on this CD and the use of a female singer on a few tracks likens comparisons to vocal tradeoffs between Rozz Williams and Gitane Demone in the early Christian Death lineup. Production on this CD is atmospheric and full which adds to the strong song writing. Recommended tracks are Decadent & Desperate, Gibber and The Grudge ; all of which are great industrial metal songs. I also really liked Twist the Knife which is a gothic-influenced moody and desperate piece. The final song on the CD, Asthma is an instrumental track that shows that Mortiis has not made a complete break with the past. I am very interested to see where Mortiis goes with Era 3.

For industrial music fans, this is a great CD and well worth owning. For old-time Mortiis fans, this is a radical break with the past. You probably should listen to a track or two before buying.

I was fortunately to see Mortiis and the Genitorturers at CBGB in September. Here is a link to some pictures and a recap of the show.

Mortiis Live @ CBGB, NYC 9/20/06
Mortiis Live @ CBGB, NYC 9/20/06

Chicago Doom Pioneer Trouble CDs to be Reissued by Escapi

Escapi Music will be reissuing two classic albums from Chicago doom pioneers TROUBLE. Both Psalm 9 (1984) and The Skull (1985), scheduled to be released on October 24th, have been digitally remastered and feature bonus DVD's containing exclusive live performances and rare photo's with liner notes. Both of these releases have been out of print for years so many thanks to Escapi for re-releasing them and not forcing fans to pay eBay prices.

Here is a review of the original releases from Trouble's website.

Trouble - Trouble
(Metal Blade '84)
And so it was born, the thickest, most tortuous chords in metal, sobbing cataclysmic riffs that shook the ground from six feet under, sent drowned and bloated with Love from Master Of Reality and Vol 4 through the mediums that comprise Chicago's legendary Trouble. Trouble the debut (also known as Psalm 9) is one hell-bent slab of Christian vindictiveness, God portrayed as destructor of all things evil, of which there are a multitude infesting this record. One part despairing religious cleansing, one part ecstatic Christian suicide, Trouble is a resolute steamroll over souls, kicking into battering ram overture for chuggers like Assassin and the eminently precious Bastards Will Pay, but mostly enveloping a flagellated mankind in waves of meltatious wattage, so bent on communicating with nothing human, pummeling with the most desperate and subconscious of Iommi-inspired cries for help as Eric Wagner variously croaks and harangues sinners into the bright flames of God's forgiveness. Truly something alone in loud contemplation of itself.
Rating 9

Trouble - The Skull
(Metal Blade '85)
Trouble come pounding back with a record destined to become their thickest, most dream-like and drowsy of a catalogue marked by brilliance from day one. The Skull is almost the eccentric crazy relative, slipping into a lethargic thrash through shuddering fatigue. Still a marvelous nightmare to behold, there's something overly loose and panic-stricken about this record, an unease which takes over a dirge like The Wish (clocking in at 11:35) and the masochistic title track, making the listener thirst for a roaring headbang. Strange, but I think the illness lies in the drum sound and general percussive performance which is overly busy at times. Of the formidable Trouble repertoire, The Skull will forever reign as the most buried and lost unto itself, most inwardly cancerous, maybe the most frightening.
Rating 8

Escapi Music have also bought the worldwide rights to TROUBLE's forthcoming album, Simple Mind Condition which is due out February 2007. This will be the bands first studio album since 1995's Plastic Green Head. According to Blabbermouth.net, the group's current lineup includes vocalist Eric Wagner, guitarists Rick Wartell and Bruce Franklin, drummer Jeff Olson and bassist Chuck Robinson (formerly of THIS TORTURED SOUL) and the new release will be produced by Vinny Wojno (KREATOR, MACHINE HEAD).

A TROUBLE DVD, Live In Stockholm will follow with a release date scheduled for early 2007.

Body Count (Ice-T) "Live In LA" DVD Review & "Murder 4 Hire" CD Review

Body Count's strength has always been their live show. While the band has had some great cuts across their three (now four) CDs -- each CD as a whole has been somewhat inconsistent. This DVD delivers a great performance by Body Count and the band draws upon the best songs in their catalog. Filmed late last year at the Troubadour in Hollywood, Ice and the band blister through 17 songs in a memorial concert dedicated to recently deceased rhythym guitarist D-Roc.


What is nice about this DVD is both the camera angles and the sound. Multiple camera angles are used (but not overproduced ala MTV) so you really get the feeling of what a Body Count show is like. There are also a lot of great closeups that highlight the talent of the various band members. I continue to believe that guitarist Ernie C is one of the best guitarists in rock, rap or metal. Ernie does a killer solo at the end of Evil Dick that blows away many of today's alleged guitar "heroes". The sound on this disc is top-notch and helps recreate the experience of a Body Count concert as it appears to be coming straight off the PA. The only downside of the PA feed is that the crowd is not mic'd so when Ice does some call and repsonse, you can't hear the audience. This is a minor issue though and it doesn't detract from a really great performance by Body Count.

This is a great disc and well worth picking up.

Body Count has been inactive for almost 8 years but they resurfaced about a year ago and started playing live again. Their first CD since 1997's Violent Demise was released this past August. Murder 4 Hire is a good CD, unfortunately it is not a great CD. There are some excellent tracks on this CD which are destined to be crowd pleasers and staples of the band's live show but the CD as a whole is very inconsistent.


What is odd about this CD is that the production differs between the first half and the second half of the CD. The first half of the CD (Tracks 1 - 5) mixes Ice's voice so much louder than the band that this, might as well be a solo CD. These tracks sound nothing like what you would expect from Body Count. These aren't bad songs -- just very, very different from the previous three Body Count CDs. Of these tracks, I particularly like End Game. With its focus on the war in Iraq, it is quite relevant to today and now.

This CD really gets going with Track 6 - an instrumental tribute to D-Roc. From there, the remaining tracks are all (soon-to-be) classic Body Count. Murder 4 Hire (written by D-Roc) is a great track and really should have been the lead off song on this disc. Down In The Bayou, which is written in the same vein as KKK Bitch, showcases Ice's ferocious wit and humour. The last track, Mr. C's Theme, showcases the mighty talents of Ernie C.

I really like this CD but will likely skip over the first five tracks on repeated plays. Long-time fans should give this CD a chance.

Body Count only did two US shows in support of the Murder 4 Hire and I consider myself fortunate to have caught the show at the Knitting Factory. Here is a link to some pictures and a recap of the show. I also have some additional pictures from the show on Flickr.

Milo's Syndicate & Shat - CBGB, NYC 9/20/06

Milo's Syndicate took the stage first at CBGB last Wednesday. I hadn't seen them before but have to admire a band that can give it their all when there is only about 12 people in the club. I'd describe their music as melodic hardcore with a political slant.


Milo's Syndicate @ CBGB, NYC 9/20/06









Shat was a different story...imagine a dirty joke that might have been vaguely funny the first time you heard it but now the person won't stop repeating it. Dean Wormer (from Animal House) said "Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son". Obviously no one told Shat.

Take a look at the pictures -- Nothing more needs to be said.

Shat @ CBGB, Opening for Mortiis and Genitorturers

Mortiis Live @ CBGB, NYC Sept. 20, 2006

Mortiis, a Norwegian industrial metal band formed and fronted by Emporer's original bassist, opened for the Genitorturers on Wednesday. Mortiis' style has changed significantly over the years and they have moved away from the synthesizer heavy goth-rock that dominated their last CD. The band's sound is now entirely in the industrial genre and I would compare their current sound to mid-period Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Skinny Puppy or early Genitorturers. I haven't heard Mortiis' most current release The Grudge, which was released last year on Earache but, as I didn't recognize any material from Stargate, I would assume that most of his 50 minutes set came from this new release.

The front room in CBGB really filled in when Mortiis took the stage and I heard a number of people talking that they were there just to see Mortiis. Mortiis (the man) proved that he has a great voice for industrial music and his band is top-notch, playing complex and intricate music that extends beyond the reach of the run-of-the-mill industrial bands. I "rate" most bands by how quickly I would see them again (if ever) and I would make a point of seeing Mortiis next time he comes through town.

What is really interesting is that Mortiis' CD The Grudge has been selected by the Norwegian Culture Council to be made available for listening to the public in all the libraries in Norway for free. The Norwegian Culture Council selects a few recordings each year which best reflect and promote Norwegian Music and Culture, and this year selected Mortiis' The Grudge.


Mortiis @ CBGB, NYC Sept. 20, 2006 



Mortiis @ CBGB, NYC Sept. 20, 2006 

Genitorturers Live @ CBGB, NYC Sept. 20, 2006

As CBGB grinds to a close, The Genitorturers played to a small but enthusiastic crowd on Wednesday night. Even though there were four bands on the bill, the front room didn't fill in until Mortis took the stage. The Genitorturers took the stage just after 11PM and played for just over an hour. The band kept the crowd moving throughout their set and ended with a rousing version of Public Enemy.

Evil D/David Vincent (from Morbid Angel) is an amazing bass player and the band as a whole have gotten a lot tighter musically over the last few years. Wednesday, their set featured none of the elaborate S&M/sex scenes that defined the band's early shows and the emphasis seemed to be much more of the music and Alice Cooper style theater.

The band is winding up their Tortured Souls 2006 tour and has two more remaining dates:



SEPT 23- MASQUERADE- ATLANTA, GA

SEPT 24- MARTINIS MUSIC HALL- JACKSONVILLE, FL


As an amusing aside, on The Genitorturers' Sin City tour (1998), they played a late show at the 9:30 Club in Washington, following an early show by Suzanne Vega. I was at both shows and thought I was the only one who could possible like both Suzanne Vega and The Genitorturers. I ran into Suzanne Vega after I had moved to New York and mentioned this to her. She told me I was wrong; her bass player stayed for The Genitorturers too.

I'll get my pictures of Mortis and the two opening bands posted sometime over the weekend and I have uploaded my remaining Genitorturers pictures to Flickr.

The Avengers @ Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ 9/9/06

The Avengers returned to the East Coast for the first time since a CMJ show @ Life in 1999. The band's lineup hasn't changed much since their last visit. Original members Penelope and Greg still have Joel Reader (x-Mr.T Experience) on bass and the newest member is Luis Illades (x-Pansy Division) on drums. The show was short (50 minutes) but memorable.

During their existance in the late-70's, The Avengers recorded one full length LP and one EP which are both now sadly out of print (and my understanding is that the band doesn't own rights to either). The band's self-titled LP has been bootlegged numerous times and isn't that difficult to find on eBay. With no other source for studio versions of these tracks, the bootleg is probably as good as it gets. There are two CDs of live and demo tracks that are currently in print: Died For Your Sins and The American In Me . The brunt of these recordings are by the original band but there are some reunion scAvengers tracks on Died for Your Sins. Both of these releases are well worth picking up though the sound quality can get spotty on some of the live tracks.

I have more pictures of both The Avengers, along with opening band The Plus Ones posted to Flickr.


Original Avenger's guitarist Greg Ingraham  


Penelope Houston - The Avengers, Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ 9/9/06  


Penelope & Greg - The Avengers, Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ 9/9/06  

The Plus Ones @ Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ 9/9/06

I love Maxwell's but hate driving through Hoboken, especially on a weekend night, so this had to be a very special show to get me to drive across the river and hunt for parking. Just to see Penelope Houston and Greg Ingraham play together again was well worth the trip but The Plus Ones were also a lot of fun. Half of The Plus Ones are the new rhythm section for The Avengers.

The Plus Ones have been around since the late 90's and now feature Joel Reader, Luis Illades, John Speranza, and Luke Powell with Joel being the only original member. Both Joel and Luis are now doing double-duty and playing with The Avengers. The band is currently touring behind their second full-length cd Oh Me Of Little Faith, Right Now and their sound is similar to that of the Plimsouls, Paul Collin's Beat and other early 80's power pop bands.

The Avengers tour is now over and The Plus Ones are now touring their way back to the West Coast starting with a show tonight in Brooklyn at the Trash Bar. Now that I have blown through my upload quota on my main Flickr account, I will upload my remaining pictures to my alternate Flickr account in the next day or so and will also try and get my Avengers pictures posted.

Remaining tour dates are:

Sep 14 2006 8:00P BALTIMORE, MD - Sonar Baltimore, MD

Sep 15 2006 6:00P MT. VERNON, OH - Escape Zone (early show) Mt. Vernon, OH

Sep 16 2006 8:00P DETROIT, MI - Modern Exchange Southgate, MI

Sep 17 2006 8:00P DAYTON, OH - Nite Owl Dayton, OH

Sep 19 2006 9:00P CHICAGO, IL - The Note Chicago, IL

Sep 20 2006 8:00P GALESBURG, IL - Knox College Galesburg, IL

Sep 21 2006 9:00P OMAHA, NE - Sokol Underground w/ Nada Surf Omaha, NE

Sep 22 2006 8:00P EMPORIA, KS - Josie's Emporia, KS

Sep 23 2006 7:00P DENVER, CO - Bluebird Theater w/ MC Chris Denver, CO

Sep 26 2006 8:00P ALBUQUERQUE, NM - Burt's Tiki Lounge Albuquerque, NM

Sep 27 2006 12:00P ALBUQUERQUE, NM - University of New Mexico campus (noontime show) Albuquerque, NM

Sep 28 2006 12:00P TUCSON, AZ @ University of Arizona (noontime show) Tucson, AZ

Sep 29 2006 8:00P PHOENIX, AZ - Modified Arts Phoenix, AZ

Sep 30 2006 8:00P SAN DIEGO, CA - San Diego Sports Club San Diego, CA

Oct 1 2006 8:00P MORENO VALLEY, CA - Cheers Moreno Valley, CA

Oct 2 2006 11:00P LOS ANGELES, CA - TBA Los Angeles, CA

Dirty Rig - "Rock Did It" CD/DVD Review

I lost track of Korey Clarke and Warrior Soul after the 1993 release Chill Pill so it is a bit of a surprise to hear Korey has traded his political and apocalyptic vision for booze and broads. As I get a bit older too, I have come to the realization that Korey has probably made the right choice. I did a bit of research on Korey since listening to this CD and now realize that this CD is probably not that far of a jumping off point from the final Warrior Soul CD and Korey's later band, both named "Space Age Playboys".

Perhaps I am the only one who didn't realize the revolution was over.

I had this CD on in the car after after a long day at work and really enjoyed its simplicity. Dirty Rig doesn't strive for deep and meaningful music (like the early Warrior Soul CDs) -- this is just straight-ahead rock n' roll. I don't think the people I work with would appreciate songs like Drunk Again with lyrics like "Read the warning on my forehead dude - It says instant asshole just add booze" but it is great driving music when you are trying to get back through the Holland Tunnel during rush hour.

After listening to this CD a few times, I can hear the comparisons to Nashville Pussy, C.O.C and Black Label Society. I saw Dirty Rig a number of times with their original singer but the addition of Korey Clarke takes their game up a notch. Korey's voice has gotten a a bit rougher since the Warrior Soul days but his rasp is perfect in fronting Dirty Rig. All-in-all, I really enjoyed and recommend this CD.

A bonus with this pressing of the CD was the addition of a seven song live DVD. I was at the Dirty Rig show last September at The Continental and number of songs on this DVD were filmed at this show. While the CD is good, the band's live show is better and this DVD captures the band at a small club in the East Village in front of an enthusiastic audience. I would recommend trying to find this double-disc pressing!

If anyone is interested, there is an interesting interview with Korey on Blabbermouth about his joining Dirty Rig.

New Dirty Rig Video on YouTube.Com

Long Island/New York City rockers Dirty Rig have just posted their new video for the track “Dogs” off their Escapi Music debut titled “Rock Did It”.



Director David Brodsky (ALL THAT REMAINS, GOD FORBID) was quoted at least a million times during the video shoot “God Damn these fuckers can drink!”.

Also Dirty Rig will embark on its first U.K. tour beginning on September 13 in Wolverhampton. Support at the shows will come from England's DISARM. The dates are as follows:

DIRTY RIG's "Boozing & Burning" U.K. tour dates:

Sep. 13 - Little Civic - Wolverhampton, UK
Sep. 14 - Jailhouse - Coventry, UK
Sep. 15 - The Tavern - Wigan, UK
Sep. 16 - Adelphi - Hull, UK
Sep. 18 - Trillions - Newcastle, UK
Sep. 19 - Music Box - Manchester, UK
Sep. 20 - Vox – Glasgow, UK
Sep. 21 - Brickyard - Carlsle, UK
Sep. 22 - Cert 18 - York, UK
Sep. 23 - Bar Monsta - London, UK

Mahavatar To Play Medusa Festival at CBGB on Thursday, September 7th

Pan-world dark metalists Mahavatar play tomorrow night's Medusa Festival at CBGB. I caught Mahavatar about a month ago opening for Ice-T and Body Count at the Knitting Factory and really enjoyed the show. Here is a link to pictures from and a review of the show. The Medusa Festival has a great lineup and tickets are cheap at $10 dollars. The full lineup can be found on the festival website. I am expecting highlights to be Mahavatar, GSX and Lourds.

I just picked up Mahavatar's Escapi Music debut From the Sun, the Rain, the Wind, the Soil and it is really a great CD. The dark metal label that I used earlier to describe the band really doesn't do them justice as their songs are much more diverse and melodic than a 'traditional' death/dark metal band. Vocalist Lizza Hasan sings with the genre-typical growl but her vocal range extends from a growl all the way to a soft croon. Raw, which is the third track on the CD really stands out because of Hasan's wide vocal range. In addition to standout vocals, the other members of the band play in a diversity of styles. The band's sounds ranges from standard thrash to hypnotic "trance" metal with a Middle Eastern feel. Other standout tracks on this disc include By The Numbers and The Time Has Come. This is a strong disc by a great local band.

In this music section of this wek's TimeOut New York, they write "don't sleep on killer local metal band Mahavatar".

Bane and Bold Opened for Gorilla Biscuits @ CBGB, Sept. 3, 2006

Bane @ CBGB, NYC Sept. 3, 2006 



Bane & Bold (with John Porcelly on guitar) opened the show for Gorilla Biscuits. Bane was first up and took the stage about 4:30PM for a 45 minute set. Bane is a great live band and has a number of CDs out on the Equal Vision label. They are starting a tour next month with Strike Anywhere, A Global Threat, and This Is Hell but no New York dates have been scheduled yet.


Bold @ CBGB, NYC Sept. 3, 2006 

Bold took the stage after Bane and really got the crowd moving. It was great to see Bold, who reunited last year, back in action after an over 10 year absence. Also last year, Revelation Records released a compilation CD last entitled The Search: 1985 - 1989 that contains all of Bold's recorded output.

There have been a lot of great pictures from the show posted over the last two days.
- Product Shop has pictures and Gorilla Biscuit's setlist
- AOL Indie Music blog has pictures, a set list and show review from the Saturday night show at BB King's