GSX - "Manifest" CD Review

I really like this CD! Most CDs get rotated out of my CD player after a couple plays and end up on the shelf until a later month. "Manifest" has yet to leave my CD player and I have played it start-to-finish a number of times these past few weeks. I am partial to raw, angry rock and this CD captures the intensity of GSX's live performance. This is an impressive debut CD and there isn't a bad track on the disc.

Standout tracks are Too Far , which is currently getting some play on New York's Q104 radio station and I Got What I Came For. All eight tracks from the disc are also streaming on GSX's website. What I really enjoy about this disc is that the band really meshes. Sarah Greenwood has a killer voice, that goes from a whisper to a roar, but her voice doesn't overshadow top-notch guitar, bass and drum work. Manifest is available on GSX's website for $10 postpaid and I strongly recommend picking it up.

GSX is playing the Medusa Festival at CBGB on September 7th. There is a great lineup this night (GSX, Mahavatar, Lourds and others) so for a $10 ticket -- this is a "must see" show.

Ice-T and Body Count @ Knitting Factory, August 5, 2006

After being gone for more than a decade, Ice-T & Body Count returned with a vengeance. In looking at the band's tour schedule, the Knitting Factory show appears to have been the only US date and the band is now on a brief tour of Europe. I had a chance to speak with one of the Body Count crew after the show and he mentioned that because of Ice's Law & Order committments, the tour had to be kept short.

I last saw Body Count when they played the old 9:30 Club in DC in 1994. Ice continues to be one of the most compelling frontmen to rock the mic and Ernie C. is an amazing guitarist. Ernie is the only holdover fron the original Body Count as a number of former band mambers have passed on. The current band consists of Ice-T, Ernie C., drummer OT, bassist Vincent Price and rhythm guitarist Bendrix. The only thing that has really changed in the 12 years since I saw the band is the crowd. Twelve years ago, the DC show drew a hardcore-rap crowd and the opening band was Ice's "homeboys from South Central". As Ice has gotten a bit more mainstream acceptance, he seems to be drawing from a wider audience segment. While on one hand, the element of danger added to the show 12 years ago, Body Count is still a top-notch live act that kept the crowd moving the whole night.

The set ranged from crowd favorites like KKK Bitch , Cop Killer and There Goes the Neighborhood to new material from Body Count's new CD that was well received. Body Count left the stage after playing a killer version of Hey Joe as a tribute to Jimi Hendrix. Body Count recently signed with Escapi Music and their new CD Murder 4 Hire was released in the US on August 1st. I liked what I heard of the new material and will have to pick up the new CD sometime in the near-term future.

I have a couple additional pictures of Body Count, along with pictures of the opening acts Mahavatar and Dirty Rig posted to Flickr.

There is a really amusing interview with Ice-T on Conan O'Brien posted on YouTube. Who knew that Tupperware was O.G.?

Dirty Rig @ Knitting Factory, August 5, 2006

Dirty Rig was second on the bill this night and went on before Body Count. Like Mahavatar, Dirty Rig's live show has gotten stronger over the years. I had seen Dirty Rig a number of times at The Continental with original lead singer Ed Sebastian but this was the first I had seen them with Korey Clarke (x-Warrior Soul) on vocals. The band seems to have toned down some of their southern-fried influences and are now playing more straight-ahead hard rock with a strong funk/boogie influence. I would compare their sound to a cross between mid-70s Aerosmith and the funk rock of some of the bands that appeared in the early 90s like White Trash and Lucy Brown.

If you are a fan of this style of music, Dirty Rig is well worth seeing. The band has two dates in the area before going off the England.

Aug 31 2006 8:30P The CRAZY DONKEY Farmingdale, NY

Sep 1 2006 11:00P DINGBATZ Clifton, NJ

I have more pictures of the band on Flickr, along with some pictures of opener Mahavatar. It is hard to mention Korey Clarke without mentioning Warrior Soul. Warrior Soul fans will be excited to know Esacapi Music has reissued all five of the Warrior Soul CDs which have been out of print for years. (See the Escapi Music press release below)

ESCAPI TO RE-RELEASE ALL 5 WARRIOR SOUL GEMS FROM THE ‘90s
New York, NY (February 27, 2006)—Escapi Records will re-release all five albums from the acclaimed band Warrior Soul. On March 14, Escapi will re-release the band’s 1990 Last Decade Dead Century debut, the 1991 Drugs God & The New Republic followup, and 1992’s Salutations From The Ghetto Nation. Then, on April 4, Warrior Soul’s groundbreaking fourth album, Chill Pill (originally released in 1993) and Space Age Playboys (originally released in 1995) will be re-released. All tracks on all albums will be remixed and remastered.

New York, NY (February 27, 2006)—Escapi Records will re-release all five albums from the acclaimed band Warrior Soul. On March 14, Escapi will re-release the band’s 1990 Last Decade Dead Century debut, the 1991 Drugs God & The New Republic followup, and 1992’s Salutations From The Ghetto Nation. Then, on April 4, Warrior Soul’s groundbreaking fourth album, Chill Pill (originally released in 1993) and Space Age Playboys (originally released in 1995) will be re-released. All tracks on all albums will be remixed and remastered.

The constant in all five albums is frontman Kory Clarke. It’s Clarke’s vision that permeates the proceedings: from the trippy Doors-influenced debut to some of the more punk-oriented and heavy metal material. Clarke was a man on a mission. He had something to say. Drenched in angry politics, Clarke used his podium as a soapbox to expose what he saw as major social inequities, yet he did it in such a profound and poetic way that it never came off preachy. Taken as a whole, the five records show an incredible arc…there’s a basic continuity that blossoms from one record to the next in a spiraling orgy of sound that, in its five-year tenure, was criminally overlooked and underrated.

Much of what Clarke warned about on these records has come to pass…and more. But he’s not gloating. In fact, he was hoping that wouldn’t be the case. For right now, Clarke is thinking of doing some shows featuring this material with former Warrior Soul members, outside of his new band Dirty Rig.

Escapi Records has been making waves of late. UK’s hard rockers, Tokyo Dragons, had its Give Me The Fear debut released last October by Escapi; and rapper/actor Ice-T’s heavy metal band, Body Count, had its Live In L.A. DVD released last November by the label.

2006 is a perfect time to revisit the glory that was Warrior Soul. The times today almost demand it.

Mahavatar @ Knitting Factory, August 5, 2006 (NYC Metal)

I haven't seen Mahavatar since L'Amour closed a few years ago. The band's live show has gotten significantly stronger over the past few years. It was always tough to get a real sense for the sound and abilities of some of the opening acts at L'Amour as they seemed to book about 5 acts in front of the headliner and give each of the openers about 20 minutes to play.


If you are a fan of Nightwish, you are sure to like Mahavatar. Their sound is very goth-oriented and borders on doom, but the tempos never get quite that slow. Mahavatar's sound extends beyond "traditional" metal and incorporates a number of world/ethnic elements. Their sound might be better compared to that of a female fronted Moonspell.

Obviously, Mahavatar is gaining a national reputation as they just announced that they signed with Escapi Music and their new CD is due to be released in the US on August 15th.

From the band's website:

NEW LABEL - NEW ALBUM - NEW DRUMMER!!

Greetings Mahavatarians!

Yes, we know we've been silent for far too long, so now it's we fill you in on what we've been up to...

First off, Mahavatar are very excited to announce that we are now signed to Escapi Music from Sweden. We are very proud to be apart of the Escapi family and look forward to a great future in music revolution.

I have a few more pictures of the band posted to Flickr and I will try to get my picture of Dirty Rig and Ice-T & Body Count posted over the next couple days.