Song: "Queen"
Artist: the Melvins
Album: Stoner Witch (1994)

This'll hold you over.

Because you haven't heard it before and it totally wouldn't be expected of me or the blog.

Strangely, the second week in, school is already trying to kill me. Not sure if it's a conspiracy or just a delusion based on the previous three months of laziness.

Song: "Uprising"
Artist: Muse
Album: The Resistance (2009)

This, too.

Test your knowledge of the band, or music in general, by watching the video. It's funny in a sad sort of way.

The first part of the interview is the best part.

Someone translate.

[65] High on Fire, Converge, Mastodon, Metalocalypse (2009)

In short, High On Fire deserved to be on a higher spot than the others regardless of the politics involved.

In shorter, what a waste of $50.

I got there at 6:05-6:10 and the line was all the way around the block and almost to the end of the next block. It was almost entirely guys.

I got inside with one minute to spare.

It's about that time, much to my dismay and irritation because it's offensively fucking early and just had to be today, of all days. I had a pill in me on the way but it had worn off. I was prepped to take another one at some point, but apparently High On Fire live is very drum-heavy... So I was massaged. Ladies are missing out.

They sounded pretty great. Even when they got into material I didn't know, it sounded good. The bass/foot drums were shaking in my throat, which was weird. Crowd was decent considering that they were first. People responded well; I didn't feel like I was the only one there who'd heard them before.

They played 35 minutes. I think around seven songs. They started with "Turk", but my brain has died so the rest is gone.

I wish I would have seen them two years ago when I first picked up Death Is This Communion.

...

Converge. Well. What's to say. They started with "Dark Horse" but the sound was fucking terrible. They played too long, and most of the songs sounded approximately the same as the previous: two minutes of hyper stoner metal, five minutes hardcore, two minutes stoner metal, five minutes hardcore. Eventually the overall sound from the speakers improved, but no thanks. Not won over.

One thing that was REALLY entertaining during their set was the drummer. He looked like a possessed person talking to himself or chewing or going "ba ba ba" or something. I don't know if he was singing along or kept time by "chewing" or what, but woah... Expression central, over there.

........

And then Mastodon hit the stage. The room at this point is so fucking crowded that there's no hope for a view. I decide to stand back so I can at least see everyone, but it kills the sound quality a bit for me.

Still.

They started with, gasp-fucking-o, the entire album they recently released. Most god damn boring hour of my life next to Korn and Boris. When they finished "Oblivion" and "Divinations" I was praying in my head, god, god no, please no... don't be. And here it came. The whole, fucking, thing.

Towards the end I was thinking there could be no redemption. It's like they want me to hate them. I do not fucking understand how AMAZING their first show I saw them at was, yet every time since has been utter crap.

They took a little break and came back and played something old. "The Wolf Is Loose", maybe, I can't remember now. The energy of the room changed slightly, but not really enough to offset the progressive homosexual that came before.

A song or two later, I swore to god I heard the open to "Mother Puncher". No, really... REALLY? I mean, the worst fucking set on earth, punctuated by their best song? URGH. GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME.

And they closed with, get this... and I'm like standing not even ten feet away from THE Joe Preston at this moment... they closed with "The Bit". BY THE MELVINS. NO BAD DOG.

ALKJFOIERULKSJD WHY?

At least they did a nice, authentic cover.

Fuck Metalocalypse. I left.

Mastodon is like an inattentive ex you broke up with who won't stop calling and leaving messages about their love.

Assholes.

Going to cry myself to sleep tonight and think about the good ol' times. Come back soon, Matt Pike.

Song: "Eyebone"
Artist: Black Elk
Album: Black Elk (2006)

I'm still pissed off and frustrated with existence. I wish Black Elk was today.

"What's my NAAAAME?!"
And then you shit your pants?

This song is to the musical palette as birthday cake is to one's diet. Completely unnecessary but the first couple of bites are great.

30 second clip (that says a lot): here.

Let's try this. It's a meme that's been going around for years to shit on the bands you listen to most (like on last.fm). I'm feeling annoyed. Why not.

Using my overall top list...

Monster Magnet
Last album kind of sucks and there's been a steady decline in listening/playback quality over the years in general. I'm glad I started with Powertrip because otherwise I'd probably feel really fucking ripped off.

Kyuss
Simultaneously overrated and completely obscure. I'm pissed off when people use Kyuss as some kind of end-all be-all, but I'm just as pissed off that nobody I know in real life has actually ever heard of Kyuss. The MTVH1 generation sucks. So does the so-called stoner rock community.

Tool
Lasted for years as my favorite band, then 10,000 Days came out... also known as Lateralus v2. Too short, unfocused as a record, and somehow they've become predictable aside from water/mother themes. Here's hoping they take a new, fresh(?!?!) direction with whatever they do next.

Also, aside from shows, I haven't seen a person out in the real world wearing a Tool shirt since 2002. What the fuck gives with that, people? I'm pretty sure they still have a market at Hot Topic.

sHEAVY
He said he was going to send it a month ago. Come on, man! I need something to wear to YOB!

Queens of the Stone Age
Start another side-project, asshole. Also, their fans are some of the most over-enthused brainless dildos on earth.

Nine Inch Nails
Every album since The Fragile = 65-80% garbage. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Thank god for the break. Let's hope the addition of a woman in his life doesn't up that figure.

Melvins
Needs to tour and do more as THE Melvins, not Big Melvins.

Black Cobra
Lyrics?!

Eagles of Death Metal
Creepy old men. More stupid fans.

Tomahawk
NEVER TOURED FOR ANONYMOUS WHYYYY.

Placebo
Too: british, gay, clean, whiny.

Fiona Apple
Well? What now?

Marilyn Manson
Has become laughable. Finally toured here and, just prior to arriving here, put out a ridiculous "blog" post about threatening to kill someone for writing crap about them. Yeah. Okay. You're officially an idiot. Glad I saved my $50.

The White Stripes
Overrated.

Mastodon
The last album is pure crap. Time has not aided my feelings about these guys at all.

The Gossip
Incredibly pretentious. Go back to your roots. Also, Beth doesn't sound nearly as good live as she does on record.

Big Business
The last album sounds only a tiny portion as good as it sounded live the first time they played the songs. Let's stick with reliable production, mmk?

Fu Manchu
Why yes, every song does sound the same.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Nothing good to say anymore.

Gojira
Why the fuck did you tour here with a bunch of shitty bands yet you're playing with Zoroaster or even fucking Metallica on the other coast?! !!!!

...

This was strangely therapeutic.

I should hire an uninvolved musically-aware astrologer to do historical investigations on my blog.

Theriouthsly.

2008, full moon in Aries/Libra: I post Black Elk's "She Pulled Machete".

2009, full moon in Aries/Libra: I post Black Elk's "Eyebone".

I wonder if it works in reverse?

2008, full moon with Sun in Aries, Moon in Libra: Black Cobra "El Equis".

2009, full moon with Sun in Aries, Moon in Libra: Behemoth "The Sermon To The Hypocrites" and a song I haven't listened to since.

Close themes, most of the songs sound about the same, but no go.

Still odd because the song choices are random.

Song: "Disciple"
Artist: Slayer
Album: God Hates Us All (2001)

Has Slayer ever toured with Ministry at all? Some lyrical themes and some of the same sounds are familiar.

In other news, it's hard not to like this song.

Something tells me that the new Converge leaked but I'm just not sure.

On my feed list it went like this:

18 hrs ago - B-Media
17 hrs ago - The Worried Well
3 hrs ago - Angry Chairs
2 hrs ago - Screw Deathcore
1 hr ago - Lucid Media

Well, anyone else? Anyone at the Swamp feel like being apart of the hip blog crowd today? Yeah?

Speaking of whores, you should check out Mindgrinder tonight. They have more content than I do lately.

arrrgh.

the black cobra CD only sounds slightly better than the rips.

why, bc, why?

whoever put together the cd tags put them as "mainstream metal", though. ha-ha.

Let's do one of these quickie reviews for a band I don't even care for, shall we?

Converge. Let's see. I was introduced to Converge because of an old friend who didn't make it through the screening process. At the time I didn't get it at all. Granted, they rarely sent me in the right direction with music and didn't seem to understand the concept of a "bridge" so it's no wonder.

I made an effort again later, still didn't care, but I could sort of see some redeeming pieces. I'm pretty sure I'm never going to like "cored" metal, though.

And then there was "Dark Horse"... which was recent. Fairly decent, that song. Definitely closer to what I've been listening to anyway. I decided I was going to give them another try.

And here I am.

Second song, "Reap What You Sow". This was played the other night. Sounded like nothing. Hm. I think if I had an excess of energy/angst these days, I could tolerate hearing this often. The middle of the song is more "metal", thrashy, and it's okay... but it's got crap on both sides.

I've heard a shitty rip of "Axe To Fall" already. This sounds like an epileptic seizure. They should send this song to play as torture to prisoners of war.

"Effigy" has an okay start. I can't help but hear/see that word and think about Nine Inch Nails. These vocals are getting on my nerves. I wonder how much better this would sound without vocals.

"Worms Will Feed". Yeah, I was thinking worms, too. Well, a barrel of maggots. Slow, semi-doomy, then with the same vocals as before. Oh boy. Can't wait to hear what screamy mcdrownmeplease has to say in the next song. Holy crap, there's some almost natural singing in this one. I heard an english word! After the last ten minutes, this is kind of boring. Hm, the ending is effective. Affective?

"Wishing Well". Immediate thought on the title: princesses. Nice intro. Getting better. And now we're Motorhead. Oh, no, no way, now we're a perversion of something else. Stupid vocals. The drum/beat is okay... a little overwhelming on first sample, though. The high guitar is reminding me of Saviours. The song keeps changing, though.

"Damages". So far sounds like a jam. Hm, weird guitar-ish effect happening there... Has fair moments but it feels unfocused.

"Losing Battle". I'm hungry. Am I done yet? Crap, there's more.

"Dead Beat". It sounds like it's alive to me. Maybe it's a recording from the past. I'll have to be stoned to finish that thought. No thanks.

"Cutter". Immediately nice. Then goes dumb. This is typical Converge behavior.

"Slave Driver". Ah, one that moves fairly naturally, less dickery than the previous. Almost "dance"-able.

"Cruel Bloom". That sounds like a type of STD. What's this, Masters of Reality? This song is not like the others.

"Wretched World". Again, wtf? Is this another band?

I don't think there's hope for conver-sion for me. Oh well. At least a couple of their songs are listenable. I think I'll stick with those.

Song: "Turk, Taylor, and Jones"
Artist: Kowloon Walled City
Album: Turk Street (2008)

This stupid band has been stuck in my head all fucking day. Jerks.

I'm not sure if I'm going to make it to their show here on the 10th, though I've been wanting to see them again in fresher circumstances. Here's hoping they make some decent money from their current tour and album release so they wander back this way again soon.

Song: "Christmas On Earth"
Artist: Vibravoid
Album: Distortions (2009)

This song sounds like its album title. ... Distorted.

This particular song sounds like White Hills. The rest is more Monster Magnet after a crack bender, or any one of those psychedelic/"head" bands.

And it sounds like the myspace/youtube version of the song is a little different, so you'll need to find this one as per the actual album...

PS. Title immediately made me cringe, then I connected it with Zillagord, and life was good again.

Apparently Saviours has been added onto the Fall Into Darkness YOB day.

$12 for earaches to last a lifetime. You'll be like, yeah, I was there. Or, actually, you'll be, like, WHAT? You'll have to speak up, I lost my hearing the same day I lost my patience for hairy white guys with lots of tattoos.

I have had caffeine today.

Song: "Reap What You Sow"
Artist: Converge
Album: Axe To Fall (2009)

This is me erasing those vocals in my head.

This is also my first post in days. I have shit-all to say or share. I recall feeling about like this, this time last year. I wouldn't be surprised if I felt the same way in 2006 and 2007... so perhaps it's an annual transit thing (Sun conjunct my Saturn & Pluto). Maybe I could write about that. ... Too late.

Sargent House currently has two bulk sales, one being 4 Vinyl Records for $40. I can't comment on every choice, but if you don't have Enter or Station by Russian Circles, or Red Fang's self-titled, I recommend taking them up on this offer.

You can always just buy four Red Fang CDs, too. One for you, one for your best friend, one for your current facebook/myspace/okcupid/amazon.com reviewer crush, and one to put in the fireproof safe just in case the stoner brownies result in the oven not getting shut off, again. Srsly.

To the people who occasionally message me, who seem like they might be nice, thoughtful people due to their musical tastes... but then talk to me and answer WHY DO YOU THINK questions with WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT answers...

...and for those people who I speak to otherwise, who think HOW ARE YOU means I need to hear all about WHAT they are doing...

...and for those people who ask for help or advice online but then refuse to hear what anyone else thinks because, clearly, they knew everything to begin with but were just testing others' ability to agree with their mystery thoughts on the matter...

This is you:

Song: "Shitlist"
Artist: L7
Album: Bricks Are Heavy (1992)

Oh L7, you make'a me the happy. If it weren't for your warm lady voice and low bass & drum, I'd fear I hated all women singers-groups ever. Nope.

I still think I should do a video for "Shitlist". Hate, even as representation, however, is exhausting.

I found proof of my lies, you guys. I'm going through old texts and I find this in a letter:

*VBS* I have a smile on my face for about 8 reasons... HERE GOES!
1- Its Snowing!!!! *VBS*
2- It's nice and warm in here...
3- I went shopping today and got that all over with... we didn’t just look... we bought *VBS*
4- I now officially have my own stereo system that works reeeeeaaally well *VBS*
5- I have 3 new CDs (just the thought makes me happy...)
6- Gravity Kills... GOOD one...
7- Monster Magnet... as in SPACE LORD and powertrip... VERY GOOD...
8- *VBS* Tool, Undertow... *VBS* All the good stuff... some I haven’t heard though... hehehehe... tomorrow is gonna be a blast... literally *LOL*
9- My mom bought herself something too... a CD and some snowtires... good...
10- I'm going over my limit of 8 happy things! *LOL*
11- Something arrived today.... hehehee.... Take a guess...
12- *VBS* just because its Winter Vacation!
13- I can keep going... but I'll stop before I get totally carried away.

Considering all that smiling and that this letter was to a boy, my guess is that my period arrived.

Nah, it was probably a package.

So my first of-age CDs were Gravity Kills, Powertrip, and Undertow.

And the date? December 21, 1998.

I loves me some dates. I'd break out the ephemeris right now, but the thing is... the online one is broken and I'm too lazy otherwise.

This is priceless.

You should have heard my mom in the store/place... hehe... I kinda blushed and made up some story.
"Whats this? 'Parental advisory Explicit content'?????" I told her "Yeah... well... they all got that stuff... its not that bad.. come on... *blushing*" *L* Then she looked at the coverart... *cough* "Who sings this?" Uh... Tool... see look at the top... hehe... see?
"Yeah... *reads and turns it over to the back... looks at it... looks up at me* Hmm..."
Heheh... yeah.... "*goes to the next CD... its clean... next CD...turns it over... picture of 3 symbols and fire* Hmm...*looks at me*" Hehhee... nice huh? *L*
*L* It was funny... I kinda turned red and made up a little story. GOOD thing she wasnt wearing her glass... god... her reaction would have been... "PRISON SEX??!?!!" *LOL*
I gotta be careful... hehe... every CD has cuss words on it, so I cant turn it up too loud while she's home. And if she comes in the room... I gotta turn it off.
Oh... and another thing. I cant have her looking through my Undertow CD. Its got pretty pictures.... *LOL*

That's weird thinking back to how I might have actually cared what my mom thought about things. This was only about a month before the shit hit the fan... and we pretty much entirely stopped getting along.

And it's weird to look at this, see all this laughing and smiling (which I'm sure was mostly authentic, even though exaggerated), and to know how things went... with me, with the music, with that boy, with my mom, with "life".

All things lost, I'm still listening to Monster Magnet.

Song: "Bird Signs"
Artist: Subarachnoid Space
Album: Eight Bells (2009)

My last SubSpace writing completely sucked in terms of quality. Here's a better one. You ready?

This is really good.

Yep!

Have you bought Anonymous yet?

How about Mirrored?

Before I get on to a lengthy self-review post, this crap happened while I was sleeping:

GRAVITY KILLS IS WORKING ON NEW MUSIC. I was so fucking talking about Gravity Kills with you guys the other day. COINCIDENCE?! ... Yes. But, sweet! Let's hope those ten or so years have treated them well, and they won't be like a lame "with_teeth" comeback.

More familiar to the rest of you...

OMG SALVADOR IS OPENING FOR FU MANCHU. Yesterday the promoter was asking for suggestions, and that was going to be my second suggestion. While writing the email, it suddenly occurred to me that Red Fang is much greater than the two other opening bands and thus does not deserve to be the first "local opener" for them, and I've suggested Salvador to open shows before, so... enh. He knows. So, YAY! for Salvador.

And this bit of news made me both grimace and LOL:

Apparently in some fantasy world where Wolfmother gets credit over a band that has 16+ years history and a serious name in stoner rock/metal, Sheavy MIGHT open for a Wolfmother show.

Seeing as how they're both late 60s-70s metal clones, just of a different decade re-representation, it might make sense... but... It's god damn Wolfmother. REALLY?

That said, I am going to live review their new album as soon as I have the patience and right amount of time for it. Wolfmother, I mean. Obviously I'm going to have six Sheavy posts right after their new album comes out. It's not even mastered yet, so... it'll be a while for that.

I may also review that one split by that Tad guy and that one No-chay band. It should be here in a couple of days. This is highly dependent on how I'll feel in a few days, so we'll see.

but yeah. (snickers) Every time I rise, I see you fallin', said Salvador to Sheavy.

EDIT! EDIT EDIT EDIT!:
The Fu Manchu show dropped both ASG and It's Casual. Now the openers are Salvador and NETHER REGIONS. POSSIBLE BEST SHOW OF THE YEAR.

Song: "Spanish Werewolves"
Artist: Nether Regions
Album: demo? (2009)

I'm going to have to attach a laminated address travel tag to my pants so I get home safely from this one: Nether Regions is opening for FU MANCHU! here on Friday. !!!!!1~

I hate to be so enthusiastic when you all know I have no enthusiasm but I had caffeine today and this is AWESOME news.

As I said before, Nether Regions were really good live last month. I hope Dante's and the Fu crowd treats them well.

Oh, and Salvador(!!!!111!1`) is opening for them, too.

I am going to cover two birds with one stone here and mini "live" review both Priestess' Prior To The Fire and Wolfmother's Cosmic Egg in the same entry, at the same time.

I have heard "Lady Killer" by Priestess so far and that's it. Everything else is brand new to me.

History: I love/like a few Priestess tracks, and the rest are kind of boring. I initially thought Wolfmother was interesting and their popularity made them quickly not interesting at all, made worse by realizing how fucking annoying they are. I suppose if I were 10 or 15 years old, or still had that mindset, I might like them better. This is probably what we're gonna get from this review, folks.

Priestess - 1. Lady Killer
It took a bit to settle in my mind, but I have decided that I like it. The quick guitar is pretty familiar to every single fucking band in the stoner through thrash genres. Vaguely reminds me of "Christ Hunt" by Saviours, since that's what I've liked a lot of lately.

Priestess - 2. Raccoon Eyes
I don't like that raccoon has two consecutive double letters. And I'm waiting for a beat. I wonder if this guy is popular with the ladies with a voice like that. Yep, no like-ah.

Priestess - 11. Trapped In Space & Time
Already sounds like it's gonna be good, despite being generic. This song is reminding me of recent Black Cobra even though saying that is against my religion. (Oops I accidentally had random on.)

Priestess - 3. The Firebird
heh. Well, I guess it's possible for this guy to sing without being too annoying. What's with the raspiness? Did you smoke before you recorded this? You been hanging out with Buckcherry?

Wolfmother - 1. California Queen
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club x QOTSA =. Oh, there goes the voice. Screeeeech. Hm, the stompy rolling sound is actually nice. What the hell kind of breakdown is this in the front of your album? Am I getting paid for this blog yet? Smells like fog on the horizon.

Wolfmother - 2. New Moon Rising
Irrelevant intro. Now with the non-"voice" voice. Masters of Reality. Who produced this?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Moulder

LOL. He said "wo-mon" again.

Anyway, this is like elevator music for a metal themed department store.

Wolfmother - 3. White Feather
Fucking shit. (skips)

Priestess - 4. Murphy's Law
I know, life is hard little Priestess, but you're gonna be okay.

Priestess - 5. The Gem
Another familiar sort of song, though now I don't know who. Long-ass intro. And then it picks up to something. Hmm? (waits) I wonder now if they've been on tour with Saviours for real. ... Gonna say it's not bad, just kind of mediocre.

Ooh, Ren will like this:
http://www.last.fm/music/Priestess/+similar?page=5

Wolfmother - 4. Sundial
Nice start. Reminds me of some hair metal band I can't identify. Oh, dur! Guns N Roses. HEH.

Wolfmother - 5. In The Morning
Yeah, that's just what I want to imagine: Wolfmother, in the morning. (vomit) Oh christ, it's a gentle song. Should have figured. cuz nothing lasts forever, even cold November Rain... HOLY SHIT. SAME OPENING 1st/2nd LINE LYRICS! Is this a joke? WTF! I can't believe it... WHY WOULD YOU RIP OFF GNR.

Wolfmother - 6. 10,000 Feet
Please god don't be a Tool/HOF rip off. ... Phew, we're safe for now. Oh shit, I know this one, too. What's this one, the symphony era of every lame popular metal band during the 90s?

Wolfmother - 7. Cosmic Egg
A sped up ZZ Top. Seriously can't do anything by yourself, can you? Next.

ZZ Top - Gimme All Your Lovin
I haven't heard this in ages.

Now I'm reading shit about how Wolfmother and Slash collaborated on "a song". Hm. Hard to say where.

Wolfmother - 8. Far Away
WTF. Now you're ripping off fucking AN AMERICAN TAIL! MY FUCKING GOD WHY. lol at the ice cream truck music.

Priestess - 6. Communicating Via Eyes
Holy shit, hippies. Then it turns into a "real" song. This sounds great after five Wolfmother songs. No wonder the general public has low standards.

Priestess - 7. Lunar
This is rockin'... and now it's not.... and now it is... and now it's not. Familiar to the sludge brand of stoner metal without getting too deep. "hey ey ey ey eh" is a crappy lyric, however.

Priestess - 8. It Baffles The Mind
I'm expecting something Spinal Tap here, and.... Oh okay, you're going to be serious. Sounds like it's fun to sing, though. Hey, decent music, too. I'm sure I'll be returning to this one.

And it baffles my mind that I'm going to finish the Wolfmother recording now.

Wolfmother - 9. Pilgrim
(sigh) Back on their personal stereotype. Can see it ending up on the radio if it isn't there already.

Wolfmother - 10. In The Castle
Back to GNR impression. No I would not, at least not with you. I think I'm suffering stockholm syndrome at this point, however, since the song itself isn't that bad.

Wolfmother - 11. Phoenix
Wow, now they're doing something from Kyuss family. Uh, Brant Bjork? With a shitty vocalist, of course. Thank god that didn't continue. That would really hurt my soul to think that Wolfmother was getting more attention than fucking Brant Bjork, as he's still putting out albums. :(

Wolfmother - 12. Violence of the Sun
This song is currently how I feel about life listening to this crap.

Priestess - 9. Sideways Attack
I think I heard this before, actually. Pretty energizing. But... You're a what?

Priestess - 10. We Ride Tonight
Bulls, cars, horses, each other? ... And this song actually has a "riding" sort of beat. It, of course, changes. Could have just kept going with the flow, there, you know.

Wolfmother - 13. Back Round
A Fu Manchu for retarded people with a parrot for a singer. What's new?

Wolfmother made me want to kick a small animal like usual. Here are bands you should listen to INSTEAD OF Wolfmother and still gain the same overall results: every other band in the history of the universe.

Priestess is, for the most part, forgettable but they still put out better music than the vast majority of popular artists, and thus you should get this here album if you're inclined.

In conclusion, buy Black Cobra - Chronomega with your money instead.

I'm gonna go listen to the new Alice In Chains and cry now.

Check out HUANSOAHN's new blog: Useless Fucking Bullshit.

Can't say I know most of the artists, but I love the idea. I may need to do something like this with concert tickets and band shirts... Shit, now I have "ideas".

Live album review of Baroness' Blue Record - GO!

1. Yeah whatever.

2. I haven't really understood the Mastodon / Baroness connection. Probably because I started listening to Mastodon around 2006 and didn't pick up Baroness til probably late 2007 after I'd gotten over the majority of the Mastodon infatuation. With at least a year, maybe two year separation between them in my history, to me they seem like separate entities entirely. This song makes that connection make sense, however.

Song's not too bad, might actually be listening to it in the future. Ending - the hell?

3. Crap, I can already tell this one's going to be good, too. ... I like the beat of the song as far as the drums go. Kind of too much to take in at once at times, though. This record's starting to smell like tequila... Wonder if they have the same producer as some other band I know.

4. lol. Not expected. Hm, none of those bands I thought of are related to this one by production. I was actually picturing a venue, and a particular person in relation to the venue is actually related to the producer. Maybe just a weird psychic guess. It does feel sort of like a lot of other bands I've been listening to in recent years with the "moist" bass sound.

Well that ended sort of abrupt.

5. Not sure what to say about this one... Kind of repetitive 'concept' but like an instrumental track, not annoying. Once again seeing the Mastodon relation I wasn't seeing before. Obviously crackey Mastodon.

6. Church music. This is a lot better than Wolfmother, though (duh). What's this pause here? The ambiance. Clearly these guys are "sensitive". I fear Russian Circles is gonna pop out now. Here comes the high plucky guitar! And it's getting louder......

7. Heh, pretty close. ..... The heck is with the psychedelic vibratory guitar all of a sudden? .... and now a fuzzy guitar bit. JIMMAY! This no-guitar piece right here is where he sets his gee-turr on fire. Hm, this isn't epic at all.

8. What do people have against V's. Yuck, I hate when I can hear the strings click and whine back in songs. ...RUN, TO, THE, HILLLLSSS.... No, I guess not. This is getting really annoying. And even more so. Fuck.

9. Okay I'm cool with you guys getting to the point now. Massive jackoffery located in this direction - half price to 15 year old Dream Theater fans!

10. Sounds southern, sort of.

11. (waits) Baroness' "we appeal to girls, too" song per the album, I guess. 2:30 - finally the song changes! OMG WORDS. I thought it was going to be all instrumental. I'm not sure these "hardass" vocals fit this song. And it's over.

12. Last one and only three minutes. Hey, this sounds familiar. Must be a clip out of that other Bullshit song. Sounds like a damn lullaby. No words yet? Nope! None. It's funny that I just listened to this whole thing and I haven't even listened to Mastodon's new one all of the way through yet.

And that's it.

This album smelled like sweet hard liquor something awful. Pretty powerful overall sound, really nice and clear music. Accessible. Not too far down into "fag metal" even when approaching it with a few of these tracks, but still pretty easy on the ears. I can see why it's getting praise.

In conclusion,

Song: "Polar Bear"
Artist: Puscifer
Album: C is for (insert sophomoric genitalia reference here) (2009)

Puscifer has a new single. It's apparently on the radio. It sounds safe, too. Nice and mellow. Gotta say I like it.

Hey: this album comes out November 10th.

Fan-created videos of "Mr. Self Destruct" and "Piggy"! Looks like there's more coming!

Obviously they had a recorder in the room, but it sounds and looks really nice, considering. Way better than I was expecting.

Almost cried. Fuck you, New York!

Song: "Dulcinea"
Artist: Isis
Album: In The Absence Of Truth (2006)

Annual overdose-on-Isis time again. It must be because they were one of my first artists here. I've been listening to that song a lot. (It could also be because of all of the damn rain and gloominess lately.)

Looking for that post, I discovered that I haven't posted another Isis track since those first ones. What the shit? So here you go.

As much as I pick on Isis and Isis clones, this song is pretty fucking amazing. Definitely a grower, so if you're not a fan of sitting still and listening to a song that's the length of 2-3 average songs, give it some time. The early middle and very end bits will reach your brain at some point.

PS. Tool.

I didn't even know Saviours had a new album coming up. Well, of course they did, but I didn't know it was so soon until the internet sky cracked open (and so it was).

Sounds like they did concentrate on new stuff at that show last month. And where the fuck did they get time to record this? They've been on a non-stop tour the last two years with every band that'd have them.

That song that I thought was a cover is called "Slave To The Hex". If you find it, listen to it. Especially with the beginning, especially with a video I've yet to work on or upload, it's pretty good.

[66] Nether Regions, Salvador, Fu Manchu (2009)

I am pretty underwhelmed by Dante's as a whole. The sound doesn't outright suck, but it isn't exactly 100%, either. Beyond that, the atmosphere of the room is odd. The fact that it was Friday for this show probably didn't help with that, as every simultaneously stupid and drunk person felt like having conversation with me. We all know how much I love that scenario.

In any case, I'm going to keep this one short. My memory is already giving out.

Nether Regions didn't sound as clear or warm as they did at the show I saw last month. The first bit of their set was still pretty striking, and it's altogether possible that they won over some people. The crowd sucked at first, but they were eventually pulled forward on command, and I noticed that the crowd warmed up to them shortly afterward.

Salvador's crowd was more unified and receptive - not sure if it was because Salvador has an existing fanbase or if the Fu Manchu kids like slower, doomier music naturally. I think Salvador started with "Shaman Of Ur" and played at least one other new song that, together, were better than I imagined they were going to be from my partial listening of them beforehand. They also tackled my wishlist - "Dahlia".

Fu Manchu was good, but somehow not as good as they were last year. I don't know if it was just that show itself or if it was my company that day. Not to toot any horns here or anything, but it must have been pretty good - I was right up in front for this. Then again, my "company" today was some drunk idiot who kept telling me what to do with my camera and some other retard who wanted to hear "Superbirds" so bad, he had to scream it every two seconds. They didn't play "Superbirds". Good.

Here's their setlist:

King Of The Road
Eatin' Dust
Bionic Astronautics
Mongoose
Hung Out To Dry
El Busta
Signs of Infinite Power
Hell On Wheels
Webfoot Witch Hat
Evil Eye
The Falcon Has Landed
Squash That Fly
Weird Beard
Saturn III
[encore:]
Godzilla

Here's hoping Scott or one of them gave Kirk some behind-the-scenes lovin' in return for his on-stage "gushing".

In conclusion, I think if I ever have a deep hole in my basement where I can dance and masturbate in mother's skin, I will specialize in the weekend bar crowd. (If I had any more cynicism I'd have a career as a professional asshole.)

Thank you and goodnight!

Song: "Pyres"
Artist: Salvador
Album: Cleansed Through Fire And Blood (2009)

I haven't posted anything from these guys in nearly a year, and only the one song is not suitable. So here you go. This one is new - brand spankin' new, in fact. This doesn't even come out til mid-November. If only for this song, I suggest you get it.

PS. BLURN!

Song: "Naked"
Artist: Peach
Album: Giving Birth To A Stone (1994)

That video is completely youtubed in quality, but still... It's something.

The title reminds me of this one time.

I was talking to a friend online, and she was telling me unimportant bullshit as we all know women do. For some reason, she was describing what was going on around her in real life, even though I had absolutely no form of reference. Apparently someone knocked on the door for her dad, and they were outside.

She noted that she saw them just outside the window. She said something like, That strange man is walking under the window now.

And I said "Is he naked?"

She replied, No, but I am. Please come and rape me. I'm so soft and impressionable.

And I said, Bitch, I don't need your herpes.

And then she cried. I could hear her sob even eight time zones away.

And it was good.

Anyway, the story ended with her LOLing herself retarded because I asked if that stranger was naked. I didn't realize it was that funny, but nevertheless... I still remember.

The song is way better than my shitty story.

Song: "Eyeless"
Artist: Slipknot
Album: Slipknot (1999)

Heyyy. I haven't posted this song yet.

I'm pretty sure I didn't care for this song at first, but it wore off on me over a few months. I suppose it inadvertently echoed what I was dealing with at the time. Some of the lyrics matched up well with my general thinking. It ended up becoming my favorite song of theirs, even well after I jumped off the bandwagon.

Ten years... Weird.

Then again, in ten years I'm going to be annoyed or embarrassed that I listened to [enter bands here] too much, so oh well.

I wrote this when I got home, but when I went to post it here, my site was completely down. Apparently there was some "network failure" beyond my host. It gave me time to work on some photos and videos, and I even went to bed earlier than usual after concerts, so hey... It was sort of a good thing.

 
[67] Sweet Cobra, Black Cobra, Pelican (2009)

I showed up with time to spare, and the room was pretty empty. While it's normally expected that people don't really show up until the bands actually start playing, I found it a little weird over the course of the night. The venue never filled. The all-ages side of the room was pretty sparse until Pelican started, and even then it seemed that the place was only half full at best.

Nevertheless, Sweet Cobra started their set shortly after 9. I've only given them a sample listen so far, so I had the general idea but not the full picture. I wasn't feeling analytical enough today, so I don't have much to say about them... They're somewhere in the realm of sludge metal, they were an effective opener, and the singer's general appearance in combination with their sound reminded me of Big Business. As far as I know, they sounded good.

Here's a photo. The guitarist was just off camera. He was standing right in front of me most of the time, so I couldn't see much of what was going on with the bassist/singer... Actually, I couldn't see him most of the time, either, since he was facing the other direction.

My camera likes blues and greens a hell of a lot more than reds...

Next up was Black Cobra. I've been wondering what their new material was going to sound like live, and it was perfect. They played an even mixture of brand new and older songs, and the set itself was pieced together just right. Hawthorne also treated their sound a little better, as I thought it might. Here's hoping they play Berbati's next.

As always, I struggle with their songs versus the names of the songs since I tend to setlist music by lyrics, and I don't have a damn clue what their lyrics are. I'm 80% sure they played "Negative Reversal", "Catalyst", "Chronosphere", "Storm Shadow", and I think possibly "Lightning In His Hand" because there was one new song that seemed to go on longer than the standard 3 minutes, but it could have been another. As for old songs, "The Saphire Falcon", probably "Below The Cusp", "Omniscient"... and I fucking give up. They played at least ten songs, and it still didn't feel like they'd been on stage long enough when they said thanks and waved.

"Chronosphere" was more awesome than I could have hoped for. I've been loving that song since my shitty review a few weeks ago. I'm glad they played it.

The few people in the very front seemed to actually have heard Black Cobra's new one even though it only just came out, and - to me - the new material blended in really, really well with the older material. Also, I was right - people did lose their shit to a couple of the quicker new songs. (Un?)Fortunately, they petered off.

And then there was Pelican. I wasn't sure I was going to stick around because they don't really fit my listening habits, but I decided to give them a proper chance. They played about an hour and fifteen minutes, almost every song 4-7+ minutes long, and they only announced "Ephemeral". The sound of the room treated them well, but aside from that they didn't really make an impact on me. I thought they might be boring, but they were alright... I just don't have much patience for their "slowly enveloping" sort of music.

All in all, a good show.

Lastly, since I had time to work on it, my only video of the night:

Since I had time to work on the Black Cobra video, I had time to clip and upload the couple of Fu Manchu videos I got. Nope, didn't record any new songs. My wrist was hurting and the two full songs were probably annoying enough.

"Mongoose":

"Evil Eye":

Oh, and like I said... my camera hates the color red so these are blurry and shit. I didn't do any video of Nether Regions or Salvador since I knew it would just be pointless, considering.

The guy who whistled needed to be strangled.

Oh, right, and while you're at it: PHOTOS!

Nether Regions & Salvador
Sweet Cobra & Black Cobra

Yeah, why take pictures of the headliner? ...In truth, they didn't come out.

Song: "Resistance"
Artist: Muse
Album: The Resistance (2009)

The beginning of this song is dull, but it speeds up and gets kind of catchy. And it seems this whole album is 1984-based... The book, naturally. The movie sucks.

Nah, I just said that cuz I'm a jerk.

In any case, you know what's awesome? Five assignments and two midterms to accomplish in two days. Here goes more procrastination!

Song: "The Sweetest Curse"
Artist: Baroness
Album: Blue Record (2009)

This thing is getting all sorts of ridiculous praise which I'm trying hard not to pay attention to. First time review aside, it seems it's actually good. It has that contrasted heavy meets light sound that I think Torche does better, and I'd still rather listen to Akimbo for the whiny yelling + heavy sound and a dose of entirely worthwhile, inspired, groovy beat, but all the same... It works.

As is apparent, I love insulting music while simultaneously praising it. Sounds like I have self esteem issues I need to work on. Ha-ha! Never! You're all a bunch of fucking losers! I love you, thanks for visiting.

PS. To the youtube person, I am actually ignorant enough to call Baroness a prog band.

Song: "Christ Hunt"
Artist: Saviours
Album: Warship (2005)

This song's lyrics: KRAH MUH LAH HAK MEGH RARGH FLUUH.

I've been listening to this a lot lately. Where did I go wrong?

Hey, you can hear words on the Crucifire version!

Song: "Storm Shadow"
Artist: Black Cobra
Album: Chronomega (2009)

I don't think I've posted this band before. Since this is my first time, I will start by saying I am far too girly to be listening to this and I have nothing worthwhile to contribute except to share it with you in hopes that you manly men can interpret it for me. Please and thanks. I'm going to get back to my Tori Amos now.

Ladies, this ^ is you. Get on this now. Three women, all "girlfriends", at their shows is bullshit. Take that birth control and leave the house for once. You can do it.