Thursday, October 16, 2014
Exodus and Slayer Play The Wellmont Theater in Mont Clair, NJ on 11/29 / Hatriot - 'Dawn of the New Centurion' CD Review (Massacre Records)
What many people may not know is that Zetro is pulling double-duty as he is also the vocalist of Hatriot, a Bay-area thrash band which includes Zetro’s two sons in the lineup. Earlier this year, Hatriot released its sophomore disc, Dawn of the New Centurion, on Massacre Records.
This disc is exactly what you would expect from Zetro and crew – nine tracks (50 minutes) of hard-hitting, heavy thrash. This disc starts off with "From My Cold Dead Hands" which opens with Charleton Heston’s speech to the NRA and follows this with a slow build that will get a crowd into the pit waiting for the explosion. Hatriot doesn’t disappoint as the thrash kicks in with Zetro’s sneering, spat vocals, cross-over guitar riffs that straddle the border between speed metal and thrash and a gang vocal chorus. Across this disc, the music is punctuated by surprisingly clean production which emphasizes Hatriot’s sonic attack and, lyrically, Hatriot are pissed off about the state of the world, the hypocrisy of organized religion (check out the scathing 7+ minute “Silence in the House of the Lord”), etc. and aren’t afraid to call out the abuses that they see. The band even calls to free Pussy Riot at the end of “Superkillafragsadisticactsaresoatrocious”.
The band doesn’t stray far from their crossover thrash core, but Dawn of the New Centurion contains some complex variations on this core. “The Fear Within”, which is 7+ minutes long, is a hard rock/power metal number with a bit of doom metal thrown into the mix. This track starts with a slow burning opening and features clean, melodic guitar lines. This song then brings on gang vocals in an almost call-and-response counterpoint to Zetro’s vocals, slows radically toward the end for an introspective moment before picking back up for a boot stomping finish. “World Funeral” is a schizophrenic metal number with an aggressive gang vocal opening and some shredding riffs.
Links:
Hatriot
Posted by Mike at 8:04 PM
Labels: CD Review, Exodus, Hatriot, Slayer, Steve 'Zetro' Souza, Wellmont Theater
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Sacred Reich - 'Live at Wacken' CD/DVD Review (Metal Blade)
STREAM: Sacred Reich - "Surf Nicaragua" (From Live at Wacken)
Sacred Reich’s last studio disc, Heal, came out in 1996 and AllMusic called the disc the “finest Sacred Reich offering of the '90s, if not their entire career”. Unfortunately, like a lot of bands of that era – Sacred Reich seemed to get lost in the grunge-induced major label feeding frenzy (the band recorded Independent for Hollywood Records) and the post-grunge collapse. When asked about the band’s post-reunion set list and future plans, vocalist/bassist Phil Rind said in a interview with Lords of Metal “We will focus on the older songs. We don’t have any new material, so sorry, no new songs. Hopefully we won’t suck! (laughs)…We have all moved forward from the band days and Sacred Reich is not the priority it once was. I really don’t see a new record in the future.”
To Phil’s point, the set list from Live at Wacken comes primarily from the band’s first three discs – Ignorance (1987), "Surf Nicaragua" EP (1988) and The American Way (1990). The band sounds in great form at this show and sound like they are enjoying themselves. Phil gives a shout-out to thank the fans for their support and to Destruction, who were also on the bill at Wacken in 2007 and had played with Sacred Reich on their first trip to Europe. Highlights of the show are guitarist Wiley Arnett's shredding guitar work, the slow burning "Who's To Blame", "War Pigs" - where the audience sings the first verse and the blistering show finale "Surf Nicaragua".
Live At Wacken track listing:
01. The American Way (from The American Way)
02. Administrative Decisions (from Ignorance)
03. One Nation (from "Surf Nicaragua" EP)
04. Love… Hate (from The American Way)
05. Ignorance (from Ignorance)
06. Crimes Against Humanity (from The American Way)
07. Who's To Blame (from The American Way)
08. State Of Emergency (from The American Way)
09. War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover) (from "Surf Nicaragua" EP)
10. Independent (from Independent)
11. Death Squad (from Ignorance)
12. Surf Nicaragua (from "Surf Nicaragua" EP)
For anyone looking to catch up on Sacred Reich’s back catalogue, Metal Blade Europe issued Sacred Reich’s first two discs as a 3CD set entitled Surf Ignorance, which includes bonus tracks (including a cover of Judas Priest’s “Rapid Fire”, with Rob Halford on vocals). American Way was reissued on Displeased Records a few years back and this reissue also has bonus tracks.
While Sacred Reich is only playing sporadic live shows, the band played a short run of shows in Europe earlier this summer as part of a brief 25th Anniversary tour. The band also has a few US shows scheduled over the next few months.
Sacred Reich Tour Dates
11/30/12 -- HOUSE OF BLUES, HOLLYWOOD CA
12/03/12 -- BARGE TO HELL, MIAMI FL
O2/23/13 -- KEY CLUB, HOLLYWOOD CA
Links:
Sacred Reich
Posted by Mike at 3:08 PM
Labels: CD Review, Metal Blade, Sacred Reich, Slayer, Thrash
Sunday, November 07, 2010
Slayer and Job For A Cowboy Announce Metal Club / Black Friday Releases
Because of Metal Club, I'm thinking about getting up and standing in the freezing cold on Black Friday to pick up some of these limited releases (as I don't have the money to pay eBay prices after the fact).
Slayer and Job For a Cowboy have announced their plans to release Metal Club exclusive pieces on Black Friday (11/26). This is a big day for Metal Club releases as it also includes Metallica's "Live at Grimey's" CD/10" and the limited "wormhole tunnel box" edition of Mastodon's Crack the Skye.
Slayer will be releasing the "World Painted Blood" 7" with a previously unreleased track, "Atrocity Vendor," as part of the special limited-edition single. Written by Kerry King, the track was recorded during the 2009 "World Painted Blood" sessions. "Atrocity Vendor" will be paired with the Tom Araya/Jeff Hanneman-penned track "World Painted Blood," and released in a clear sleeve on red vinyl (pictured above).
Arizona death metal band Job For A Cowboy will release Ruination as a limited-edition 3x10" colored (orange/red/green) vinyl/CD box set. The collection includes the band's latest Metal Blade Records release split on two separate colored 10-inch vinyl LP's, with the third LP encompassing rare and unreleased live and cover songs.
Posted by Mike at 9:28 PM
Labels: Job for a Cowboy, Metal Club, Record Store Day, Slayer
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Testament to Perform 'The Legacy' in Full on Upcoming American Carnage Tour
Earlier this week, Chuck Billy announced on KNAC that Testament will be playing the entirety of their 1987 debut LP The Legacy on the upcoming American Carnage Tour.
"We decided last night that instead of putting — because we only have a 40-minute set to pick — instead of playing a medley of songs, we decided we're going to do the entire "The Legacy" record, start to finish, in its entirety for the show. We did it last year, over in Holland, and then we did a show in London. And that show we did "The Legacy" and "The New Order" back to back, just like on the records, song after song." - Chuck Billy
For anyone who wants an early listen as to how Testament's set will sound, Testament's latest disc, Live at Eindhoven '87 (Prosthetic Records), is a great place to start. This is a live set from the band's European debut at the Dynamo Open Air Festival where the band tears through the majority of The Legacy LP.
Testament released 5 tracks from this show on a European EP (which was later issued in the US) in 1987 but this is the first time that the band's full 10-song set has been released. In addition to the longer set, the sound has been remastered and sounds significantly better than the original EP.
Here is the complete track list for the disc:
1. Disciples of the Watch
2. The Haunting
3. Apocalyptic City
4. First Strike Is Deadly
5. Burnt Offerings
6. Alex Skolnick guitar solo
7. Over The Wall
8. Do Or Die
9. Curse of the Legion of Death (C.O.T.L.O.D.)
10. Reign of Terror
For whatever reason, the American Carnage Tour is skipping NYC and the closest the tour is coming is the Izod Center in New Jersey.
Here are the complete tour dates:
1/18 WaMu Theatre, Seattle, WA
1/19 Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR
1/21 Cow Palace, San Francisco, CA
1/22 Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA
1/23 Dodge Theatre, Phoenix, AZ
1/25 Magness Arena, Denver, CO
1/26 Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, NM
1/27 El Paso Coliseum, El Paso, TX
1/29 Verizon Wireless, Houston, TX
1/31 Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, TN
2/1 Gwinnett Arena, Duluth, GA
2/2 Broadbent Arena, Louisville, KY
2/4 Roy Wilkins Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN
2/5 UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL
2/6 Cobo Arena, Detroit, MI
2/9 Chevrolet Theatre, Wallingford, CT
2/11 Izod Center, East Rutherford, NJ
2/13 Susquehanna Center, Camden, NJ
2/14 Tsongas Arena, Lowell, MA
2/16 Pavillon de La Jeunesse, Quebec City, QC
2/18 John Labatt Centre, London, ON
2/19 Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
2/20 Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
2/22 Moncton Coliseum, Moncton, NB
2/23 Metro Centre, Halifax, NS
Links:
Testament's MySpace Profile
Posted by Mike at 9:08 PM
Labels: Alex Skolnick, American Carnage Tour, Chuck Billy, Clash of the Titans, Megadeth, Prosthetic Records, Slayer, Testament
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Hades Announce Forthcoming Live DVD from 1988 Show
New Jersey's Hades always seemed right on the edge of hitting it big and then they would break up (this happened twice). The band was part of the original NY/NJ thrash metal scene in the 80's and played with bands like Nuclear Assault, Danzig, Manowar, Overkill and many others.
The band isn't getting back together but they are releasing a live video from a show recorded on December 30, 1988 in Boston where the band opened for Manowar and Nuclear Assault. The DVD includes 'Behind The Metal' filmed during the recording of The Downside album. It also includes interviews with Dan Lorenzo, Alan Tecchio, Jimmy Schulman, Ed Fuhrman and Scott LePage plus old video clips, live footage and TV show appearances, as well as a video for "Frozen Planet" from Dan Lorenzo's first solo album.
There are some interviews on Hades' MySpace page (link below) where the band members are asked about this upcoming DVD.
Here is what Alan had to say:
Question: Any memories of Hades show in Boston, out on DVD soon?
Alan: I recall being very bummed out about some guys in the front row who were giving me the finger all night. The were cursing at us screaming, "You suck!" and "Get off the stage!" The upside was that I had my 'I Hate You' shirt on and at one point in the video you can see me tugging on my shirt and pointing at them. That made me feel somewhat better.
The new disc is out in November on Cruz Del Sur Music.
If you aren't familiar with Hades, check out "King In Exile" from the band's 1988 release, If At First You Don't Success.
Links:
Hades' MySpace Page
Posted by Mike at 7:51 PM
Labels: Alan Tecchio, Cruz Del Sur, Dan Lorenzo, Hades, Metal Blade, Nuclear Assault, Overkill, Slayer
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Slayer Live from Download Festival, Leicestershire, England is Being Webcast Now (12:35PM EST)
I have had Machine Head on the background while working this morning and the audio quality sounded surprisingly good for a webcast. Slayer is taking the stage within the next five or so minutes. (If you are in the US, ignore that the site says Shadows Fall is playing next. The site isn't accounting for time zone differences). Here is the URL for the webcast. It looks like Slayer is the last band to be webcast today as there is no webcast icon next to the final two acts (Marilyn Manson and Linkin Park).
The last day of the Download Festival is tomorrow and I would assume most of it will be webcast.
Posted by Mike at 12:36 PM
Labels: Download Festival, England, Leicestershire, Slayer
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Lamb of God to Perform on Conan O'Brien Show
2007 is turning into an interesting year. A few weeks ago Slayer made their national television debut and now Lamb of God will be making their television debut on the Conan O'Brien show next Friday night (Feb. 9th).
On Lamb of God's website, drummer Chris Adler is quoted as saying:
"It's exciting to think that national television has come far enough in our direction to actually let a metal band like us on the air! We are very excited for the opportunity not only for ourselves, but for the doors it will help to break down for heavy metal in general. We are flattered to be in this position, thankful to Conan and his staff for their invitation, and looking forward to proudly kicking some serious ass on National TV!!!"
2/16 Update: I have been waiting for the law suits to start ever since Google purchased YouTube. Lamb of God's performance on Conan was posted to YouTube and has now been pulled down. This is what is posted in its place:
This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by NBC Universal
Posted by Mike at 9:15 PM
Labels: Conan O'Brien, Epic Records, Lamb of God, Slayer

