Show’s I’ll Be Attending This Summer

Posted on July 9, 2016 by Mike

Anaka live at Black Bear Bar, Brooklyn, NY, July 16th, 2016

On the heels of celebrating more than 15 years together Brooklyn’s own Anaka will be playing Black Bear Bar in Brooklyn this coming Saturday. Also on the bill are Proxima Control, The Last Alliance, and The Crimson Collective. And I’ll be posting a few videos of the show on my YouTube page.

One Foot In The Grave Tour f/ Carcass, Ghoul, Crowbar, and Night Demon live at Gramercy Theater, New York, NY, August 4th, 2016

I’m a little disturbed by the title of this tour just because I’m not really sure if this means Carcass are breaking up again or not. If so, it was awesome of them to release one more album, Surgical Steel, back in 2013. That was probably the album of the year for me. If not then that’s fine too! I just entered Metal Injection’s contest to win free tickets to the Gramercy show, and I’ll find out in two days if I won. I’m afraid I don’t know much about Ghoul or Night Demon…yet, but I’m definitely filming Carcass and Crowbar for sure. Haven’t seen Crowbar since that night last June where I nearly died about three times because that so-called moshpit turned into a barwide fist fight! So it’ll be interesting to see what happens this time, especially since hearing that ex-bassist Todd Strange came back to the band after sixteen years away.

This Is Hardcore Fest Day 2 f/Nails, Iron Reagan and Ringworm live at The Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA, August 5, 2016

Let’s face it, I’m not really a hardcore fan and the only reason I want to go to this is to see the three bands mentioned above. Of course there are a shitload of other bands on the bill but those are three I give a shit about the most. I’ve heard Electric Sleep and they can blow me. The others I haven’t heard. When I imagine how Nails’ set is going to unfold I pretty much see a moshpit so brutal it outdoes the barwide fistfight I went through last June when I saw Crowbar in Brooklyn. They are brutal as fuck, and their disgusting new album is getting a LOT of buzz, more so than even the band itself probably expected.

I’m also looking very much forward to Iron Reagan because their lead singer is Tony from Municipal Waste. Waste actually knew me personally for the better part of a year between 2006 and 2007 but that’s a story for another time. Here’s one of my favorite songs from Iron Reagan!

I last saw Ringworm opening up for Goatwhore in Broooklyn just a week after nearly dying at the Crowbar gig. I actually filmed them twice because when I tried to film them some jackass in the pit threw another guy elbow first right into my ribs. That hurt so bad. After my better second attempt at filming them I was pushed against the wall twice tailbone first. Here’s that second video now!

Operation Domination Tour with Angel Vivaldi and Gus G live at Webster Hall, New York, NY, August 31st, 2016

I was just told about this by my girlfriend a few days ago and it was immediately decided that we are going. The YouTube sensation is obviously showing no signs of slowing down at all and here’s the proof. It’s not everyday an internet darling gets to play with Ozzy’s current guitarist!

This is going to fucking rule!

As I said before I’ll be filming all the shows I go to and you’ll be able to find them on my YouTube page. If you’re reading this and plan on being at any of these shows l free to contact me, maybe we can hang. I’m also on Facebook. Click here to like my page and get quicker notifications on new blog posts.

Confessions Of An Angry Metalhead

Nails – You Will Never Be One Of Us

Posted on June 25, 2016 by Mike

After probably over 100 listens in the past week since I got this in the mail I still can’t find the words to describe how I feel about Nails’ Nuclear Blast debut, You Will Never Be One Of Us. Why? Because all I want to do is jump someone from behind and literally BEAT THAT PERSON TO A BLOODY DEATH AND SET THE FUCKING CORPSE ON FIRE!!!! This record is the combination of the band’s last two albums, resulting in an album that brings out literally EVERY single negative emotion I can think of. This has got to be the ugliest, most vile, disgusting, violent, hate-filled album I’ve ever heard in my entire life – and I loved every single second of it!

It kicks right off with the title track, which starts off exactly like in the music video, with members of Neurosis, Youth Code and Baroness saying “You Will Never Be One Of Us”, before the bands kicks in…in one big explosion of rage. Unless you haven’t seen the video for the title track since it came out back in April, you’ve already heard vocalist/guitarist Todd Jones’ brand new hate filled approach to vocals. It’s not the high pitched scream of Abandon All Life, and it’s not the yelling of Unsilent Death either. It’s the type of angry, slobbering, vile (I think I’m going to use that word a few more times here) noise you make when you’re fighting some asshole.

You FEEL Todd’s hate at the scene that he gave his life to when he barks “Fuck your trends/fuck your friends/fuck your groupies”. That song and the album as a whole are about those who give their all to the lifestyle and those who are only in it for the money and the fame that doesn’t really come with this kind of music. It’s all about being REAL and that’s what makes this album what it is.

Tracks that follow the opener, such as the vitriol drenched “Friend To All” and “Life Is A Death Sentence” (and he’s not wrong there!) continue the musical beatdown. If you never knew who Nails were until this record came out last week you should know now that you will never be allowed to catch your breath when listening to any of their shit. One of my favorite tracks on here is “Savage Intolerance”, which also happens to be the second song the band made a video for. It sounds like Grindcore for most of the song…all 1:46 of it…until the mid-section kicks in. During that section you hear Taylor Young’s doublebass along with a very metallic, dissonant guitar harmony line that makes me feel like everything I know is crashing down all around me and there is no time at all to save myself.

The final track, “They Come Crawling Back”, is the longest track on here, clocking in a just over eight minutes. Much like in “Savage Intolerance”, the band seem to branch out of the Grindcore/D-Beat sound more and more, because this song is a lot sludgier than anything they ever did. It reminds me of “Suum Clique”, the closing track to Abandon All Life, with the deliberately slower tempo. Come to think about it, the slightly faster chorus reminds me of a much rawer Crowbar, only Todd Jones is barking violently into the mic instead of Kirk Windstein’s sandpaper wails.

It’s hard to believe Nails could top Abandon All Life but they did. At just over 21 minutes it’s all substances and no bullshit, just like their previous two records. But the biggest difference with You Will Never Be One Of Us is that, thanks to producer/Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou, Nails is in a position most bands like them will never know and that’s the ability to appeal to not just one crowd. There are elements of Metal, Grindcore and, true to Todd’s past in Terror, Hardcore. It’s only June but I’m already calling this the Album Of The fucking Year!

Feel No Pain – First God Of The Earth

Posted on June 25, 2016June 25, 2016 by Mike

So, when I was recently contacted by Feel No Pain from Madrid, Spain about reviewing their new four track demo, First God Of The Earth, they described it as Metallica-meets-Sepultura. But, after repeated listens, I’m afraid that’s not really the case because some of Sepultura’s classic shit borderlines on Death Metal and most of the material here is far too melodic. Metallica-meets-Iron Maiden? Much more like it – and there’s nothing wrong with that, by the way.

The instrumental “Mass For The Ancient One” opens up the demo. I have to admit now that I was never really a fan of instrumentals being used to open up anything, especially a demo where you’re trying to introduce yourselves to the world. As far as I’m concerned it’s a minute or so wasted that you cold use to let people hear the songs. Having said that, the track itself does sound very ominous in a classical way. I can almost envision that beast on the cover slowly arising from the waters, ready to raise hell.

The demo’s title track comes right in with nothing but double bass. Guitarists David and Hector come right behind with very Maiden sounding harmonies. I really like the sound of Cesar’s snare drum here! I hope he can maintain this sound if the band every does a professional recording. I’m almost positive the lyrics have something to do with that beast on the cover. Maybe I was right about the intro resembling it coming out to raise hell? It makes me think that if I were in this band, what I would have done was connect “Mass For The Ancient One” to this song as one track. No time would be wasted then!

“Cry Of The Undead” begins as nice old-school thrasher with tightly muted fast picking that would make even Hetfield proud. It breaks down in time for David to start singing about a zombie, stuck between wanting to die and wanting to find someone just like him, until he finds that he’s not alone at all. You’ll definitely hear the Maiden influence as the song ends in a very “To Tame A Land” fashion, just not as epic.

“Sky Burial”, probably the best track here, comes charging right in at the gate! This is actually a great way to close the demo up. It’s a good mix of Maiden’s melodicism and Iced Earth’s tight arrangements. If I were any of the members of this band I’d want to stick to this for a bit – and I haven’t been a fan of Iced Earth in years.

Feel No Pain sounds like a hungry band. No doubt about it. If there’s anything I’d change it’s the vocals for sure. There’s nothing wrong with singing but I feel like these lyrics need to be sung with more attitude. Much more. In this modern metal world I think it’s important that if you’re going to play traditional style you should at least give it a modern edge in order to reach out to more people. That’s why I liked Testament’s 2008 comeback, The Formation Of Damnation. It had all the elements of those early Alex Skolnick/Lou Clemente-era albums, but the difference was that Paul Bostaph’s doublebass licks locked in with Eric Peterson’s rhythm guitars gave the songs an edge Lou could never give them.

Here’s the video to “First God Of The Earth” their bandcamp, and facebook pages:

http://feelnopainmetal.bandcamp.com/releases

Feel No Pain

New Training Videos!, New Nails!

Posted on June 12, 2016June 24, 2016 by Mike

New Training Videos!

I restarted training at the gym last Sunday and so far things are going far better than expected. I’m still doing 5/3/1 but I’m more focused on conditioning this time so each time I train I’ll just do two exercises and then it’s off to the bike I go since the gym won’t get another prowler until management begins renovations near summer’s end. Lame.

I did just release two videos I was able to make on last week’s Overhead Press day and today’s Squat day and you can check them out below:

Explanations of each workout can be found in their entirety in the description boxes of each video.

I’m already eyeing my next meet and it’ll most likely be RPS’s Autumn Apocolypse in November, same hotel in Newark as the Jersey Rumble back in May. I’m just hoping that by that time I’ll at least have my Squat and Deadlift in the 300’s and 400’s, respectively. In fact, my friend Steve, who works at my gym told me he’d take me to the other gym he trains in, East Coast-West Coast in Carlsadt, in July. I heard about this gym and in fact someone I met at my first meet posted up a video of himself training there. This gym just looks so fucking badass. It’s like Skiba’s in Carteret but bigger. Here, just look at the gallery pictures:

http://eastweststrength.com/facility/nggallery/page/1

Note that some pictures will be of their California location.

I also am in the middle of recording two new original tracks and re-recording the first one I uploaded since I can do better with it. I should be done, hopefully by the end of this week. Be sure to subscribe to my channel to get updates on them.

Oh! And here’s some of the shit that motivated me during my first week back in the gym:

New Nails!

Speaking of my Spotify playlist, in which you’ll see two tracks from Nails…anybody here as psyched up for this new fucking album as I am?? I’m most likely going to do a review on it after a few hundred listens or whenever I’m ready to get it out of my car, or so long as it doesn’t cause me to get into an accident because it makes me drive too fast…whichever comes first.

And if you aren’t as ready as I am check out their video for “Savage Intolerance” here!

The FYE by my apartment better have this come Friday. I’d like to go see them in Philly on August 5th, I’ll just make sure I’m in the back of the room so I don’t die. I have a feeling it’ll be even more brutal than when I went to see Crowbar last year for sure.

One Last Thing

I made a small post about this last night but I’m looking for underground bands to review. If you’re reading this and you know of any extreme bands (death, black, grindcore, sludge, crusty sounding) that you feel should get looked at let me know in either the comment section below or private message me.

Looking For Underground Bands to Review!

Posted on June 12, 2016June 12, 2016 by Mike

I want to start reviewing EPs, albums and demos from new and upcoming metal bands for my blog. I’ve reviewed CDs in the past for my college radio station and have even conducted interviews for my old show including L.A. band Cerberus (I’m mentioned in the thank you credits of their 2007 release Dispute The Truth, great album!)and ex-Venom guitarist Mykus; I want to start doing that again and just maybe help out some real good bands. Are you out there?

If you are reading this and know of any good underground bands worth listening to or are in a band and want me to check you guys out hit me up! I’m looking for anyone playing Death Metal(especially the really brutal shit!), Black Metal (nothing symphonic or with any keyboards please!), Thrash, Sludge, Grindcore or anything with a crust influence. Bottom line: I want it Extreme.

I’ll also need whatever links you can give me so I can use them to promote the bands, should I choose to review them.

Hope to hear from you!

All Aboard The Asshole Train!

Posted on June 3, 2016 by Mike

So, if you know anything at all about old school jazz, big band or Dixieland, you just might be familiar with a song called “Take The A Train”. Here’s the legendary Duke Ellington featuring Beverly in 1943, telling you all about the quickest way to get to Harlem!

Guess what? Fuck Harlem. Fuck Harlem back then and fuck Harlem now, especially now for the gentrification! But more than that, fuck the A train – or as I like to call it – the Asshole train!

So, what makes me call the A train what I call it? I’ll tell ya! So, before I moved to New Jersey at the end of August 2015, I’d take an express bus into Manhattan. From there I’d take either the 4 or 5 express trains to get to my job in the heart of Carribean Brooklyn, Crown Heights. If I remember anything about that ride the clientele totally changed the closer we got to Brooklyn and beyond, since I’d have to get off at Franklin Ave and then transfer to the Shuttle from there to get to my job. Crowding wasn’t that big of a deal; of course, it’d get a bit more packed as I’d head back toward Manhattan to go home on the bus. Needless to say I didn’t really feel like I was on my way home until I was on that bus.

After I moved to Jersey everything obviously changed and I needed to find a new route. Oh, I did all right. The train needed? That much sung about and once glorified A train. When I began using my new route to get to work I left so early that the train seemed to arrive exactly when I got to the platform. Convenient, right? Well, things do change.

I started leaving for work a little latter because I was struggling to get up in the morning and suddenly the train was becoming more and more unreliable for time. And every time I do catch it, it is ALWAYS jam packed with people literally FORCING THEMSELVES ON TO THE TRAIN regardless of how full it is. There have been times were I’d straight up wait for another train or take the C train because these people are some dumb motherfuckers!

Ever since taking this train I’ve come across some of THE dumbest, rudest motherfuckers I’ve ever seen on ANY train. I’ve been on the underground septa trains in Philly and even those people didn’t crush each other to get on the train! Oh, and did I mention that some of these people are so fucking rude?

Just yesterday, I was on my way to Port Authority on the train. Someone comes on the train at 34th St, a stop away from mine. I was playing Angry Birds Pop on my phone, a tad bent over as most of us tend to be when this ghetto looking loser had the balls to tell me:

“Yo, lean back, you’re in my way!”

“I don’t know who you think you’re talking to like that but say ‘excuse me’ and just maybe I’ll do it!”

“Alright, excuse me”

“Good! And look at that – here’s my stop. Have a good day!”

What the fuck does this asshole think I am, a fucking Fat Joe song?? And just today, like most days when I’m headed home, no matter how many times the conductor tried to close the doors at certain stops, more and more people were seriously forcing themselves into the train, making it extremely difficult for ANYONE to get out. Very safe, right? It was about a few months into my time on the A that I knew what I was really on: The Asshole train.

See, I’m sure things were very different in 1939, the year that fucking song was written, but times change of course and sadly it did so for the worse. Forget the fact that I already hate New York City as a whole and most of the jerkoffs that live in it in general, but the fucking trains are the absolute worst – especially the Asshole Train. What I’m very much looking forward to in a just a matter of weeks is two months away from feeling like a can of sardines, away from junkies, that one jackass kid that always wants to sell candy so he can buy more candy and do something positive – “anybody wanna BUY!” – the stragglers that seemingly wait until the last minute to get on the train as the doors are closing, making anyone feel trapped. That day isn’t coming soon enough. For the rest of you? All aboard the Asshole Train and remember: “Stand clear of the closing doors, please!” But I already know you motherfuckers won’t. Suck it.

RPS Jersey Rumble May 21st, 2016

Posted on May 28, 2016 by Mike

So here we are, May 21st has come and gone and I still haven’t even unpacked my bag days later. I should though. Whatever. It was a hell of time…I just don’t know if my girlfriend or my father will come to one of these again just because of how long this meet was!

We arrived at the Ramada Plaza Hotel around 10:30ish, a good half an hour ahead of schedule for weigh-ins. Having weighed in at 181 that morning I made sure to eat a nice big breakfast of four scrambled eggs, flank steak, an English muffin and grape flavored juiced aminos so I could make my weight class, which was 198 and when I weighed myself again before leaving I was 184. So I’m ok, right? Well, I guess all the cardio I was doing up until a week before this must’ve clearly put my metabolism into overdrive because when I was weighed in by Gene Rychlak’s mother-in law I weighed in at 182.8, having apparently dropped nearly two pounds during the ride, putting her in a panic in the event that I placed and would have to get weighed again. But I assured her I was going to eat more and she was relieved…not that it mattered much because I knew I wasn’t placing in anything.

After weighing in I went into the hotel ballroom were the first wave of the day, featuring the Women’s and Juniors Divisions was still running. Damn…it felt partially like a rock concert, partially like a biker convention. Loud 80’s metal was playing, a banner in the background with Ed Hunter on it, lights on the stage like an 80’s concert, tattoos everywhere, dudes with serious muscle, some women with serious muscle. You know, I have an issue with some women that choose to juice just so they can get the muscle mass they couldn’t get otherwise just because they naturally don’t carry as much muscle as men. There were a few chicks that looked awful pretty but when they began to speak their voices where pretty damn low. Also, since testosterone is supposed to help with burning fat I saw one or two chicks that legit had no titties – it was all pecs like a guy! Not that I haven’t seen this before but if I ever come out of musical retirement I’m going to write a song about chicks on juice and call it “No Titties”.

On the table in the back was a whole bunch of trophies that the winners are actually allowed to pick from, which I think is pretty cool. I’m assuming that Gene Rychlak or his designer are sick metalheads or just really into Conan The Barbarian because look at some of these trophies!

Then I saw a dude who looked like Bam Bam Bigelow back from the dead but instead of having the skull covering tattoo he had a nice, thick chain around his neck, like something you’d get at a hardware store.

Just tell me that isn’t badass – I even went up to him and told him it was badass! Turns out he works for Gene and is his Minister of Information, as well as the guy who spotted everyone during squats.

Things were a bit delayed and we didn’t really start on time, but needless to say I smoked all my squat attempts, building up to 260lbs which my girlfriend took pictures of but didn’t film. I did, however, get one red light for my second attempt at 245, most likely because I didn’t sink enough. Some people thought I did it perfectly but I know what I felt.

That 260 felt easy. The biggest relief, more so than even that, was that I had absolutely no rotator cuff problems; that was a huge concern for me going into this. Starting with my third Bench Press attempt of 160lbs, my girlfriend finally started filming. She had some issues with her old phone so she didn’t get the first two attempts. So starting with the last Bench attempt and all three deadlift attempts everything is on film.

All my attempts were real easy, easier than I thought – especially that 360lbs Deadlift. Although I have to say this: there’s nothing worse than getting psyched up for a lift and then really shitty music comes on. Republica’s “Ready To Go” came on during my first attempt and then The Scorpions came on during the 360 attempt. Fuck The Scorpions! Couldn’t I lift to “Mr. Tinkertain” like a few guys got to do? Now THAT would’ve been badass!

I went to get to the merch table to get my complimentary free shirt for competing and one of the dudes who spotted during squats told me “You need to put more weight on there, you totally smoked it.”. So will I do this again? Most likely, just a matter of when. I also don’t know if my girlfriend would go with me again or that my dad would come and see me again because I didn’t get out until nearly 11pm!

My Results:

Squat – 235, 245, 260

Bench Press – 130, 145, 160

Deadlift – 305, 330, 360

Total – 780

Check out Revolution Powerlifting Syndicate at http://www.revolutionpowerlifting.com

Final Thoughts

So, as of this writing, Nick Menza’s death has been a declared a massive heart attack brought on by heart disease. At 51 years old that makes his death the ultimate heavy metal tragedy of the year unless something far worse happens. That’s too young and while, most people are crying because the Rust In Peace-era reunion is surely not happening now, I feel far worse for his two kids.

And speaking of which, so how about that nice little damage control statement that Dave Mustaine released followed Nick’s death. They were always close right? Things happened and that’s why they didn’t get back together last year, right? Funny because there are multiple interviews were Mustaine admits that it didn’t happen simply because he didn’t want it to happen. So this benefit show he now wants to put together to help out his kids? Like I said…damage control. It’s true, isn’t it…that only the good die young?

In Memory Of Nick Menza

Posted on May 22, 2016May 23, 2016 by Mike

“TELL ME THIS ISN’T TRUE! I woke at 4 AM to hear Nick Menza passed away on 5/21 playing his drums w/Ohm at the Baked Potato.”

Well Dave, it’s true, sadly – not to mention extremely random! Guess this serves you right for trying to low ball the guy just last year, eh?

I woke up very late today, having slept in after a very long powerlifting meet, which I’ll write about another time. My girlfriend woke up after I did when I realized we slept the entire morning and she went to her phone. “Holy shit!”, she said with the look of sheer shock on her face, and that when she showed me the Blabbermouth article:

“Former MEGADETH Drummer NICK MENZA Dies AT 51”

“WHAT?!” I proceeded to read that he had passed out on stage in Studio City, Ca last night, three songs into a set with Jazz Fusion band OHM and was pronounced dead on arrival, most likely of a heart attack. How ironic. Because a heart attack is exactly how OHM’s last drummer, David Eagle, died just a year ago. To further add to the irony for those of you who are completely unaware, OHM is fronted by ex-Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland.

A lot of musicians have been dropping like flies all year, most of them I truly could give two shits about but THIS is just a tad too random for me. And it bothers me because this guy was seriously such a great drummer. Everything he did, whether it was complicated or simple, sounded amazing because his feel was perfect. Every time.

It definitely showed on those four albums he did with Megadeth, even on Cryptic Writings, the beginning of the band’s downfall as far as I’m concerned. Listen to anything off his first two albums with them alone, Rust In Peace and Countdown To Extinction, and you’ll probably have no choice but to agree that he was probably the most athletic drummer Megadeth ever had. Gar Samuelson was jazzy, Chuck Behler was damn good too, but neither Gar or Chuck had Nick’s energy. Oh, it also helped that he had an incredible physique to go with that ability!

I wrote an article about Nick just over a year ago, not too long after I began this blog. At the time it had been revealed that both Nick and Marty Friedman were in talks with Dave Mustaine regarding rejoining the band, prompting a full-on Rust In Peace-era reunion. Problem? Mustaine wanted to pretty much low ball Nick to the point that he’d be getting pennies in plain English. Not too long before that he approached Mustaine during NAMM and Mustaine completely brushed him off – very immature for a guy that said he fired Nick from the band back in 1998 because of his immaturity. Hey Dave, so…who’s the immature one now, Mr. Born-Again Bitch?

On top of that I’ve been seeing some recent pictures of Nick in the last few hours, he was looking really good and clearly looked like he was having a lot of fun on stage too. My condolences go out to his family. Here are a few tracks to demonstrate the sheer talent of Nick Menza without resorting to “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due”.

Rest In Peace Nick Menza 1964 – 2016

Final Pre-Meet Workout Notes/First Megadeth Album Uploaded

Posted on May 16, 2016May 16, 2016 by Mike

First Megadeth Album Uploaded

So last night I got a bit bored and looked at the music on my laptop and saw that I had the first three Megadeth albums – not that remixed shit either! Although I do in fact have the remixed 2002 re-release of Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good! along with the original. So I decided to start uploading my Megadeth albums on my YouTube channel, starting with the original version of Killing. Here’s the link:

Oh sure, Mustaine did a great job when this was remixed sixteen years later. But this isn’t such a bad job considering they blew half their budget on speedballs and needed an extra four grand just to finish the record and STILL make it sound so BRUTAL!

Final Pre-Meet Workout Notes

I did my final squat workout last Thursday leading up to my Powerlifting debut next Saturday. I pulled off 245lbs for a single, although if I wasn’t preparing for a meet I know could’ve hit more reps than that.

It was good but as I was starting my working sets leading up to that single I felt the bar press on my right rotator cuff so bad that it hurt for two more days afterward. I need to work on my shoulder mobility this whole week because I’ll be squatting with a 65lb bar at this meet, which I’ve never done before, and I sure as fuck don’t feel like getting injured next weekend.

Aside from working on mobility I’m not doing any training this whole week. It was a bit weird waking up today and NOT heading to the gym. I’ll definitely plan to film my lifts on meet day as well as take as many pictures as I can. I’ll be at the Revolution Powerlifting Syndicate Jersey Rumble on Saturday, May 21st 2016 at the Ramada Inn in Newark, NJ. I’m competing in the 198lb Amateur division and my wave starts at 2:30pm, although I’ll have to be there by 11am for weigh-ins and have the rules given to me at noon.

Random Thoughts

Posted on May 9, 2016May 11, 2016 by Mike

New Album Upload

Last week I uploaded two albums on to my YouTube account, Morbid Angel’s Covenant, and Mercyful Fate’s Don’t Break The Oath. Just last night I added my all time favorite Iron Maiden album in it’s entirety, Piece Of Mind. Here’s the link:

First time I ever heard “The Trooper” on WSOU in 2001 it kicked my ass so hard. This is even MORE of what I needed in my search for ONLY the best shit because if I heard anymore shitty emo-punk or nu-metal depending on who I hung out with on that day I was going to throw myself against a barbed wire fence. I’m pretty sure I was the ONLY one in my school that had REAL taste in music. I don’t miss high school at all. As for Piece Of Mind goes, this to me is the album that, once and for all, established the blueprint to the Maiden sound. Yeah sure, they already had the epic songs before this but I feel like the great abundance of guitar harmonies on this album set the stage for nearly every band that came after them. I always felt like The Number Of The Beast is so fucking overrated. It’s really not that fantastic to me.

Powerlifting Progress

Today began my final week of training before my first meet on May 21st at the Ramada Inn in Newark, NJ. On the heavy week of 5/3/1 I hit my final PR of 320lbs. Since you’re only supposed to just hit the prescribed number of reps as you get closer to the meet I “just” hit one rep but I know I could’ve done more. This shit was TOO easy! But hey judge for yourself:

Too easy. Thanks to having nothing but C4 in my system at the time of this set I got a bit carried away and cursed at and even screamed at the bar when I was done, making my girlfriend think I was pissed. Hardly the case, but here’s some dialogue between me and her from after I finished:

Me: That was too easy!

Girlfriend: That screaming stuff is why you’d get kicked out of that other gym.

Me: Planet Fitness?

Girlfriend: Yep.

Me: Yeah? Well fuck Planet Fitness!

But seriously though, fuck Planet Fitness. Any gym that kicks a guy out of a gym for grunting while squatting 500lbs is NOT a real gym – and that’s a true story, by the way. I’ll never train in Planet Fag. I lift things up and put them down.

Here’s my entire routine for today:

Deadlift

125 x 5

155 x 5

185 x 5

255 x 5

285 x 3

320 x 1

Stationary Bike

10 minutes

50 calories burned

1.78 miles

Average HR: 115

The Ballad Of Ozzy and $haron

So I woke up this morning to the news Ozzy and Sharon are splitting, not because of drugs or alcohol. That alone is fascinating just because he drunkenly tried to kill her back in 1989. Too bad he didn’t get the job done! This time it’s because she apparently went through his cellphone and discovered numerous texts and calls to celebrity hair stylist Michelle Pugh, a woman more than two decades younger than Ozz.

I can’t say I’m too shocked. First off, if we all know anything about Ozzy we all should know he probably doesn’t even know how to operate his own phone just because he’s a dumb motherfucker. So how could he know how to delete his own history? Right? It’s one thing to just look at the phone bill when it comes in but THIS was just too easy because it’s Ozzy and he’s stupid as shit.

But more important than that, could anyone blame the guy? Look at pictures of $haron even in her youth and then look at Michelle Pugh. Hell, I’ll help you:

Look at that and tell me she’s not a cute woman. I dare you to tell me that’s NOT a major upgrade from $haron in the looks department alone. Hey, just maybe she’s even nicer than that witch. Sure, $haron may have saved Ozzy from drinking himself to oblivion after being booted out of Black Sabbath back in 1979, but it’s pretty much been documented for years that she’s a cunt. Maybe Ozzy wanted a break from $haron’s overbearing attitude. As of this writing he’s in a hotel in Beverly Hills.

But the truth is, in the end, they’ll get back together. He’s still a puppy that needs his master and she needs a source of REAL income. $haron herself recently admitted on The Talk that she caught him in bed with one of their kids’ nannies. So why didn’t she ditch him then? She said because she knew he was high as fuck at the time. So there you have it. She excused him them, she excused him when he nearly KILLED her and she’ll eventually excuse him for this, crawling back to each other in pure desperation, since neither of them know anything else at this point in their lives. So…no need to make a big thing about this.

Confessions of an Angry Metalhead

Tag: “Heavy Metal”