Just in case you were wondering where my alliances stand... I officially fell in love with the new Black Cobra album last night. So far I'm not getting the "OMG!" impression I was with the last few releases, but I can't tell if it's just that I'm not in an "OMG!" state of mind lately or if the album needed a bit more/less somewhere. No complaints, though. I'm glad I found a band that releases music, tours, etc that's on my wavelength and has zero social impact for me. No fucking hate mail about these guys. And I don't have to "connect" with anyone about it. I suppose I do know a couple of proper fans, but yeah, what's to say? "Black Cobra, man..." End convo.

Actually, I did get some disapproving comments. They were more about my narrowness than about the band. I can be rather narrow-sighted. I can only handle a few things at a time and everything else will probably be dropped in favor. In a few years I'll be humping some other band's leg...

And in actuality that conversation would be me glaring at them telling me they saw them open for Awesome Band #42 and me trying to hold back tears. WHY, WHY, WHY CAN'T IT BE, CAN IT BE MINE?

Speaking of obsession, Red Fang is currently down at Dante's filming another video. ... My face and/or likeness does not need to be crystallized in the minds of others. Also, drunk people. I have had my fill of substance abusers and addicts for a while. I'll see them with children in the room next time. That said, I'll be sure to post the video Whitey makes as soon as I see it... If not here, then probably facebook.

Another band I've liked for a while that is doing shit right now: Russian Circles. They released Empros today. It's decent, per the norm. The last song on the album actually has words in it. They're also about to tour all over the States, likely bringing along their excellent merch collection.

Russian Circles has a great designer behind their shirts. Even better: their latest shirts are fitted and match up with current fashion while still being fairly universally acceptable. Occasionally I like to wear a band shirt that isn't a tent covered in shit that would offend grandma. Gotta spice things up.

I'm sure that's more common outside of the broke-ass metal bands I normally partake... That is, shirts that look cool that aren't printed on either large square guys' shirts or ladies' cheap as fuck fabric yet somehow more expensive shirts.

In thinking about how long I've known all three of these bands, and then my most recent former obsessions before them, I just looked up Tomahawk. Guess what? A NEW ALBUM IS IN THE WORKS. I hope that's not a lie. The impact the Anonymous album had on the time it came out was nearly unrivaled in experience for me. It's part of the reason I started writing. Tomahawk was one of the main bands that led me down my path to here, why I appreciated certain heavier bands when I did. To see that little blip of news, I have to say I'm rather excited.

I wrote about Towers two weeks ago.

Since then, they've gone from 40 to 56 "likes" on Facebook. Pretty good considering their new existence and not having a standalone music player until last night. Observe!

If you need a song to focus on, I suggest "Machine". But you can download the whole thing - it's free. Bandcamp is awesome.

Also in the last two weeks, my internet juju has resulted in a post on The Obelisk. Good, too. I don't have a lick of technical music knowledge, don't write actual "reviews", and generally don't do bands justice with my breed of words-making. Plus, nobody reads my blog. The Obelisk has an actual audience and gets plenty of respect in the heavier rock and metal world. I had to send him the recommendation... and I'm happy to see he wrote them up. Go Towers.

The new Black Cobra album is streaming on Brooklyn Vegan. I'm hardly unbiased about this band. They're my most favorite band of the last four years. Naturally, I have the album pre-ordered and probably would have thought good things even if it only vaguely sounded like the Black Cobra I know. For that reason, I have to give it time to sink in to decide how I really feel underneath the premature "yay! new black cobra album!"... But, of course, it's a decent quality album and I like it so far. And hey, look at that, their songs are growing in size. Bonus Black Cobra?

The Hunter by Mastodon was recently released. I am still dealing with my initial disappointment with the album so I haven't given it another try yet. It's not bad if you approach it with a commercial mindset - they'll probably ascend a little further because of it. Being a fan of their more straightforward, less proggy metal albums, though, I feel like they're going in a similar direction as Metallica did between the 80s and 90s. Also, I wish mister emotional turmoil would stop singing. Regardless of my personal feelings, they have a show coming up here with Red Fang... Sure to be a fucking fun night for everyone.

Eight Bells, the band that formed in the ashes of SubArachnoid Space, just had their first show last night and now has music you can listen to online. Big surprise, it sounds like SubArachnoid Space. That's hardly a bad thing. Listen here: eightbells.bandcamp.com

One of my favorite pieces of news lately was hearing that Black Elk has reformed with two new members to work on new material. Well, it got better: they're doing a show here in January. Not only that, but it's with Nether Regions, Wizard Rifle, and Rabbits. I awkwardly remember missing one of Black Elk's last shows which happened to be with Nether Regions right after I learned of their greatness. Shortly after I learned that Black Elk split up, and I felt pretty stupid about missing that show with Nether Regions. It was at the East End, though, so... hard to feel too bad about it now that I know how hard it is to see in that room. Anyway, Branx should be a good spot.

The KARP documentary is now going to be screening... which means it's finished! and is available for purchase! Check the dates on the website if you want to see it before it ships out - otherwise, January 2nd!

Finally, by some chance one of my visitors in the next few days happens to live in California or southern Oregon, Witch Mountain just left on tour with Premonition 13 (Wino's new band - awesome as per usual!). If you have the time and the money, I suggest going out to see them. Dates & venues here!