The Return Of GOD: Megadeth – Live At Roseland Ballroom November 10th 2004

Posted on March 24, 2019September 29, 2020 by Mike

I realized that it’s been a long time since I wrote about my concert history, the last time I wrote anything was about my trip to Ozzfest ’04 featuring headliners Slayer, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath…with Rob Halford on vocals. Click here if you never read it:

https://metalheadconfessions.com/2016/06/30/possibly-the-best-ozzfest-lineup-ever-ozzfest-2004-august-26th-2004/

But that left one more concert for that year and it was one I NEVER thought I’d see. Seriously. Never.

A year earlier, Thrash Metal pioneer Dave Mustaine, who had quit Megadeth – his own band – and retired from music over an arm injury, had announced he was coming out of retirement. He’d even gotten himself a brand new endorsement deal with ESP Guitars…which I’d wonder from time to time after that if that was yet another blatant attempt to feel validated by his ex Metallica bandmates, as James Hetfield had been endorsed by them since 1988 and by the way still is. He had announced plans to remix and remaster the entire Megadeth catalogue, which he had actually started in 2001 when he remixed and remastered the band’s 1985 debut Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good…which really did give the record a fresh pair of raw, drug addled BALLS. Dave also mentioned the idea of recording a solo record that while he’d never tour for, he’d probably perform a small handful of club shows. Or so he thought.

About a year later Mustaine started posting snippets of new recordings and to say the least, they did sound promising. Very promising. This was also following the news that he managed to get former Megadeth guitarist lead guitarist Chris Poland to play on this new record…which was now a Megadeth record by name only due to contractual obligations with his publishing company. Let’s speed this up: he teased us with the release of three songs that sounded fucking great. Later in the year he released The System Has Failed, featuring those three songs as the opening three tracks. After that it’s such a fucking shitfest. From a musician’s standpoint the guitar tones were so fucking WEAK due to Mustaine playing an old Marshall Plexi, which is NOT the appropriate amp to play his style of music to begin with. Second of all, I understood that this was recorded as a solo record before Mustaine was forced to make it a Megadeth record, so I expected to hear a musical departure of sorts. But this whole album minus the first three songs was just lame. Oh, and if you’re reading this and you happen to be one of the jackasses that proclaimed that The System Has Failed was the “best album since Rust In Peace!”, you should jump in front of an 18 wheeler yesterday. Thanks.

Around the time of the album’s release Dave appeared on Friday Night Rocks with Eddie Trunk to discuss everything that was happening from the album’s release to his MAJOR fallout with co-founder/bassist David Ellefson to Ellefson, Marty Freidman and Nick Menza – the classic Rust In Peace lineup – all refusing to join him on this comeback tour. But when he gave Eddie the list of tour dates he said the New York City on November 10th was a possibility (he couldn’t remember for sure at the time) I knew to save the date. Yeah the “comeback” record was weak but this allegedly was going to be the last time Dave Mustaine went on the road under the Megadeth banner so I didn’t give a shit. I had worshiped this guy since high school and some of my own guitar technique were taken from him. There was NO WAY I was missing this.

Tickets were pretty cheap at $36 each so I bought tickets for the guys in my band at the time: Idrees and Chad (who never paid me back). Our newest addition to the band, our drummer Chris, met us there with his girlfriend Shari and her sister Marissa, who was actually the music director of my college radio station at the time, along with her boyfriend Vin. Marissa claimed to be a big Megadeth fan but as she’d admit to later on, she was nothing more than a poser. I loved her to death – and she also had a great pair of titties! – but don’t call yourself a big fan of ANY band if you only have two albums from that band.

We arrived at the now-defunct Roseland Ballroom, close to the Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan, looking so 80’s it was hilarious, myself wearing a leather jacket with my denim vest over it and leather gloves with my dog chain that I still have. I had already learned that I’d rather wear just a plain, black shirt instead of any band shirt in order to avoid random losers interrogating me on love of said band and telling me stories I could honestly give two shits about. As we all walked in, the opening band, Exodus were playing. This was weird to see only because they had JUST released a new album, Tempo Of The Damned, only for longtime vocalist Steve “Zetro” Sousa to quit shortly after. So who was singing for him? Steev from Skinlab…who was doing way too much to try to look like Phil Anselmo circa 1996, between the undershave haircut (Idrees called it the Vagina Haircut), the leather cuffs, the short sleeve flannel shirt, the green cargo shorts and his tendency to always bend down to scream…which by the way Phil stole from Henry Rollins.

In between bands, as Megadeth were next, Idrees was approached by this muscular, 16 year old kid with glasses, who apparently met him in a pit during an Overkill show at the also now-defunct B.B. King’s. After they shared a few words the boy turned to me and said he knew me too. I was very confused; between his physique and the glasses I was sure he had to have mistaken me for someone else, until he reminded me that he met me at my former music store were I was still taking lessons at the time, and that he had approached me when he heard me playing the Megadeth song “Sweating Bullets” on an acoustic guitar. That was two years earlier and I had not seen him in that long a time so the fact that he remembered me was impressive. Nonetheless we were both stoked to see each other. We’d wind up hanging out together almost frequently for the next four years after this night but that almost didn’t happen and here’s why!

The lights went out, the crowds lost their shit as Ice T’s “Shut Up, Be Happy” began blaring through the speakers…

One by one, the current touring lineup Mustaine put together for this tour start to walk out on stage: drummer Shawn Drover, ex-Iced Earth bassist James MacDonough, guitarist Glen Drover. There’s wall of sick looking Marshall cabinets on the stage with a drum kit that looks a LOT like something Nick Menza would’ve played. After a minute of two…you could hear the sounds of another guitar playing the beginning of “Set The World Afire” from 1988’s So Far, So Good…So What!. That’s when Dave Mustaine finally walked out on stage, chugging away on his guitar. At that moment I felt a foot come out of nowhere, kicking me right in the fucking nose, making me bleed. Then the entire crowd were to become one gigantic mosh pit, meaning Rob and I, as quickly as we were reunited, were being forcefully pushed apart. We tried to grab on to each other but this crowd was understandably way too violent to try and overcome unless I really wanted broken bones to go with the bloody nose.

The band pulled out the classics on after another, starting with “Afire” and kicking right into “Skin ‘O’ My Teeth” into “Wake Up Dead”, which is when shit REALLY got out of hand. Then again, if you know ANYTHING about Megadeth I shouldn’t have to tell you that “Wake Up Dead” is essentially that one song meant just for moshing once the band gets into that middle riff after Dave’s first solo. And that was immediately followed by “In My Darkest Hour”. The band were really able to hold there own, although I always thought Shawn Drover was the least dynamic drummer in Megadeth’s entire history. Mustaine, however was surprising. He’d retired because he couldn’t even move his arm thanks to this bizarre injury he acquired and more than two years later he’s absolutely ripping it up as if nothing happened to him! It honestly made me and probably a few others rather suspicious as to the actual severity of his injury. But that’s a story for another time.

Here’s the setlist:

Set The World Afire

Skin ‘O’ My Teeth

Wake Up Dead

In My Darkest Hour

Something That I’m Not

Angry Again

Of Mice And Men

Reckoning Day

A Tout Le Monde

Die Dead Enough

Tornado Of Souls

Kick The Chair

Hangar 18

Sweating Bullets

Symphony Of Destruction

Back In The Day (featuring Exodus near the end of the song)

Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying?

Encore:

Holy Wars…The Punishment Due

At the end of the set, and after the band walked off the stage, Dave Mustaine walked back on for second. “Thank you…for believing in me!”, he yelled out, before walking off for good. As I said earlier, this was allegedly going to be the last time he toured not just under the Megadeth banner, but at all. This would go on for another several months, and on to his first ever attempt at a festival gig, which I did go to. But that’s for another article.

I no longer remember much about what happened after I left the building with my band, but I can only assume I bumped into Rob again and I’m sure we had to have finally exchanges numbers, either outside the building or on the ferry heading home. He’d tag along with Idrees and I to see Megadeth in New Jersey two years later. What I do remember, however, was driving not home, but to my Dad’s house after I was dropped off by ferry. It was almost 2am; I knew that it’d be way easier to sleep there than home, where my jackass brother and mother were most likely fighting even that late at night. I totally skipped my Astronomy class the following afternoon, having woken up around the time the class had just started, I think. No regerts. None. But my radio show was that afternoon so I did have to head to campus whether I like it or not. The show’s opener that afternoon?

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Operation Domination – live at The Studio At Webster Hall August 31st, 2016

Posted on September 2, 2016September 18, 2016 by Mike

Funny isn’t it? Just one night after I published a scathing piece on why I basically would like to see New York City burn to the ground…I’m back in New York City. But at least it was for something awesome; I was there to see Angel Vivaldi and Firewind/Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Gus G on their Operation Domination Tour at The Studio At Webster Hall. Angel is on the heels of re-releasing his 2010, EP The Speed Of Dark, with it’s tracks being completely re-recorded with his current band, and Gus recently released his latest solo album, I Am The Fire, a more straight forward album compared to what he does with Firewind. Also, I guess he needs to keep himself busy until Ozzy comes calling to do his next excuse of an album. Hey, just maybe Ozzy will actually let Gus write material for it this time. That’s a maybe. If you follow me on facebook then you already know how I feel about Ozzy’s plans to record after Black Sabbath’s last show. But if you don’t…I’d rather Ozzy just call it a day, he hasn’t made anything meaningful in decades and the ONLY reason I even bought Black Rain in 2007 was because Zakk Wylde wrote eight of the album’s ten tracks. So Ozzy…if you ever see this…you were great when I saw you with Sabbath at the Garden. Do yourself a big favor and just go on a high note like Tony Iommi is doing.

Webster Hall is right around the corner from the 111 year old art store that’s being forced to close so the Marriot can make it into a hotel aimed at millennials. So yeah I did go check it out before I went inside. Someone was talking to the owner, who clearly looked distressed. Then again his family ran the place for three generations.

There are two rooms in Webster Hall: The Marlin Room, which is the main room for popular acts, stupid raves and 80’s prom bullshit and, once upon a time, WWF Shotgun Saturday Night. Let’s see who remembers that one! And then there’s The Studio, which is essentially a small bar with a good size stage. Gus and Angel were to play The Studio…I guess the guys running Webster Hall decided that some shitty rave was more important that a fucking YouTube sensation and Ozzy’s guitarist, right?

Angel went on stage and just blew everybody the fuck away.

Showoff!

Alex fuckin’ Bent!

I actually met Alex when he was opening up for Crowbar with Battlecross last year at Saint Vitus In Brooklyn. Really cool kid…incredible drummer. On this tour he’s actually doing double duty, playing with both Angel and Gus. Here’s a picture I took of us outside Saint Vitus last year.

I wanted to talk to him and praise the hell out of him but before the show ended I found myself bailing out early because my knees were in excruciating pain – having flat feet is a real bitch.

Angel’s Setlist

An Angel’s Poem On A Grave

An Erisian Autumn

._ _ _ _

A Mercurian Summer

. . . . _

Acid Reign

Guitar Solo

Sea Of Heartbreak

Crystal Planet (Joe Satriani Cover)

A Martian Winter

Gus G? Loud as fuck! So loud that a few songs into his set I had no choice but to go to the back, where my girlfriend was…because she already knew better. Oh yeah, the guy’s an incredible player, real easy to see why he got the gig with Ozzy. His whole band – which included Alex and Jake, Angel’s bassist, sounded fan-fucking-tastic. But I had one complaint:

Dude…you don’t have to play “Crazy Train” just because you’re in Ozzy’s band bro. Hell, most people there for you were actually Firewind fans.

In fact the band did play two Firewind songs d I have to say I was kind of impressed. I hate Power Metal with a passion but Gus’s playing was so muscular – very similar to Zakk – that it gave the songs some BALLS.

As I said before…I left after the “Crazy Train” cover because my knee were in pain. But I know for a fact that I missed Angel join Gus on stage for what was probably a really sick jam out.

Gus’s Setlist

Burn

Brand New Revolution

Vengeance (instrumental)

Eyes Wide Open

Come Hell Or High Water

World On Fire (Firewind)

The Quest

Terrified

Redemption

I Am The Fire

Crazy Train (Ozzy)

Fire And The Fury (Firewind)

G.O.T

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R.I.P. New York City…or Why I’m Glad I Got Out!

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Mike

This is actually going to be full article based on a random thought I wrote about just last year, regarding the decline of New York City’s diversity and character because let’s face it…it’s just gotten worse and will continue to do so.

So it all started just two nights ago, when I came across this article:

http://ny.curbed.com/2016/8/12/12452636/target-east-village-opening-date

Wait…what the fuck? A new, two floor Target in the East Village? With a 30-year lease on the building?! First off, I’m a bit biased here because I used to work at Target but…ew! Also…why? Why Target and why in the East Fucking Village?? Then, I reminded myself of exactly why: money talk$.

I wrote a year ago that many of the places I used to know were going away at a pretty steady pace, especially at my old haunts, specifically St. Mark’s Place, which I had said was at least hanging on a thread so long as Sounds was still around, even if it was open just three days a week by that point, if anything for the sake of posture. Whoops! Not too long after I wrote that piece Sounds finally did close down for good, signaling THE end of the more culturally diverse St. Mark’s Place I used to know once and for all. Why? Because who the fuck can afford these fucking rent hikes? Oh wait…chain stores can!

Oh, I can go on and on about when I first noticed this change, and how it changed the entire landscape of Manhattan alone – don’t even get me started with Brooklyn! But instead I’m going to rant about who we can all blame for this and if you live or used to live anywhere in New York City (like me) you already know why: yuppies and especially hipsters. The hipsters started fucking everything up when they came to Williamsburg, Brooklyn from whatever bumfuck towns/states they grew up in during the late 90’s/early 2000’s with their daddys’ checkbooks in search of somewhere cheap as hell. In just a few years time a once extremely dangerous part of Brooklyn now had hipster themed bars and vintage record shops on almost every street corner. And not only that, rent was now fucking sky high. I was an intern for a music marketing firm in Manhattan in 2007 and a considerable portion of the hipster fuckheads I worked with lived in “Billyburg”. The only way they could be living there was if their parents were paying the rent because I can tell you right now they sure as fuck weren’t making even remotely decent salaries at this particular firm. I’d look for apartments in Brooklyn on craigslist and some of these prices were retarded. $2000 for a studio off of Bedford Ave? Really? But if you want to know how I truly feel about hipsters just watch this amazing clip from The Gentlemen’s Rant. Skip to the 1:50 mark for my favorite part!

This was just the beginning, of course. Soon, the resulting trickle down effect happened: Manhattan followed suit. The hipsters lived in Williamsburg in order to be as close to Manhattan as possible so before anyone knew it any area near the Williamsburg Bridge, especially the Lower East Side, started changing at that steady paced I mentioned before to cater to these motherfuckers. The trickle down effect here? Long standing Mom and Pop stores began to close shop to be replaced by some really strange fucking things.

This also spread, of course, throughout most of Manhattan, not just the Lower East Side. Old buildings were being knocked down to make room for high rise condos that I know I sure can’t afford. Here’s a quick story. My dad’s been in real estate since 2005, having gotten his real estate license from NYU in 1988, and he was responsible for one of these buildings in the Lower East Side being knocked down in 2007. He told me that while on site a girl came up to him asking him to please sign her petition to stop these developers from knocking the building down, obviously having no idea she was talking to the very person behind the whole thing. Oops!

To some of you reading this I risk coming off as yelling at yuppies and hipsters to get off my lawn like a bitter old man. You’d be wrong. Yeah, I hate yuppies and REALLY hate hipsters. But my big problem is that because of them, and more specifically about their lack of history, having not grown up in the city like I did, they appear to truly lack any appreciation for the charm New York City once had. It was once such a diverse city. I don’t just mean for the reputation of it’s many areas – not just the parts I mentioned – but because you could go into any street corner and find something completely random and enjoyable. Hell, twelve years ago I could just turn to W 48th St in the tourist trap that is Times Square and I’d just happen to find the once infamous Music Row. You’re reading correctly, there was once an entire block of just music instrument stores. Several Sam Ash buildings, each one dedicated to specific instruments, Rudy’s, the world famous Manny’s Music, just to name a few.

Oh, here’s my favorite. A 111 year old art supply store right around the corner from Webster Hall is being forced out of business because the building was sold to some jerkoff who plans to make the building into a hotel geared toward…millennials?? What the fuck does that require exactly that a piece of HISTORY is being forced to close down for this? Someone please tell me. What exactly makes millennials so fucking special? Is it the computer thing?? Since the age range for millennials is between 1982 and 2002 I guess I’d be considered a millennial on paper, being that I was born in 1984. But I’m no millennial because just about anyone born in the 80’s knew how to survive without cellphones and computers. Ask the kids today when they last experienced a fleeting, random moment. You’d probably hear crickets for a long time because that’s how often their heads are down at their smartphones they honestly have NO BUSINESS carrying around at twelve years old.

So here’s my main point to all of this. Gentrification my ass! If I wanted to go to an outdoor strip mall I’d go to probably any other city…or an outdoor strip mall. I used to live in a city that had a very special charm to it, one that was different, one with so much diversity and excitement, one with character. These were the things that made it The Greatest City In The World, because it’s not that anymore, not when I see Subway restaurants on nearly every street corner and increasingly more homeless people on the streets because they were evicted for their inability to pay their rents. If you’re reading this and are as disgusted with what’s become of it all like I was, do yourself a favor and get out while you still can…like I did, because it’s no longer just the East Village that’s dead – all of New York City is!

There are times now where I drive on Route 3 E and if I catch it around sunset I get a gorgeous view of the city from afar. But every time come across this brilliant view I sadly can’t help but always think to myself the same thing over and over again: “New York City…beautiful to look at…ugly to live in…”

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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

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.

Corrosion of Conformity live at Gramercy Theatre 12/4/15

Posted on December 13, 2015June 11, 2016 by Mike

This was a last minute thing for me. I totally wasn’t expecting to go to this because I had somewhere to be the next day but all I can tell you was it was so fucking worth it. I was amazed I was even able to get tickets because according to my girlfriend the show was very close to selling out, which did surprise me just a bit. I mean, Pepper Keenan hasn’t done shit with Corrosion of Conformity in a decade and the band went on without him for a few years as a three piece hardcore band for the first time since their 1985 album Animosity.

When I think of Corrosion as a band I can’t help but think of that swinger couple that lets it get out hand for far longer than usual. Mike Dean left the band after 1987’s Technocracy EP and didn’t come back until the year before the band made 1994’s Deliverance. Reed Mullin left after 2000’s America’s Volume Dealer, only to come back in 2010, just in time for him, Woody Weatherman and Mike to go back out as a three piece. And then there’s Pepper. Oh, Pepper…this guy is without a doubt THE biggest WHORE in this relationship. After the band’s last studio album with him, 2005’s In The Arms of God, he basically ditched his jilted lovers for Down along with ex-Pantera singer and childhood friend Phil Anselmo so he could jerk off to slugde metal on record. Together they made one GREAT comeback album, followed by two not so great EPs.

But in this swinging relationship, man do things swing in both directions because this year Pepper finally returned, seemingly getting it all out of his system and here we are. They recently signed a new deal with Nuclear Blast Records and they plan to make a new record next year. And judging by the assault on my ears a few nights ago I’m convinced the wait will be worth it.

After I bought my tickets I went out for a bit, but upon going back to the building I found Mike Dean outside the building having a cigarette. Drugs are bad, mmmkay? Because this motherfucker, as amazing a bassist as he is, looks like Doc Brown on meth. I went up to him to introduce myself. He shook my hand and even said hi but, with his looking around at everything but me, I figured he just wanted to be left alone so I let him be.

I sat on the ground for a few minutes when Pepper came out for a cigarette. He had cowboy boots on with his worn leather jacket. His face? Aged like a motherfucker, but then again, if I was childhood friends with someone like Phil Anselmo I’d age badly myself! I said “what’s up bro?” to him and he was about to shake my hand before we were rudely interrupted by these two tramps who bragged to Pepper that “we came ALL the way from New Jersey just to see you!”. Oooh wow, you came from across the fucking Hudson River??!!?!?! WOW!!!! Did you swim across the river? Because THAT would’ve been impressive!

While these two fuckheads where doing their thing Pepper quickly turned to shake my hand before something else happened. We shared some small talk, nothing major, nothing long. I asked him if bitches annoy you like that often, “Sometimes…”, he said in his Louisiana drawl. I then asked him if he was enjoying playing out with the guys again. “Yeah man, I’m having a blast.”, he said before being warned by this drunken Brooklyn buffoon waiting on line to hide his beer in his jacket because the NYPD are hardasses with nothing better to do. As much as I thought the buffoon was annoying with his drunken bellowing about seeing Savatage while high I couldn’t help but echo back his warning to Pepper.

After my girlfriend arrived we went on line and were able to grab a seat to the right of the mixing board. On tonight’s bill alongside Corrosion were Mothership, Saviours and Brent Bjork and The Low Desert Punk Band. I also declared this night the Orange Amplifiers Apocalypse. What’s with stoner bands and their fixation on Orange Amps? Did they not get the memo that the only reason Tony Iommi used an Orange Amp in that televised German performance on Beat-Club was because it belonged to the TV studio? Not too long after I noticed Jimmy and Peter Pallis of Anaka up front we were taken by surprise by this sudden fucking screeching amp feedback. As my ears were getting fucked up the projection screen on stage went up and there was Mothership.

Now…I’m still not sure a week later how I feel about this band. There is no doubt in mind of their musical direction: not too heavy, aggressive enough. There’s no question in my mind that Kelley Juett played his fucking ass off throughout Mothership’s entire set. Very good guitar player with a very good amp tone as well. I wasn’t too surprised to hear them play Led Zeppelin’s “heartbreaker”. I felt like something was missing though. What exactly? Not sure…maybe it’s sounded to early 70’s hard rockfish for my tastes. I don’t hate Mothership…just not sure what to think.

Next up was Saviours.

Geez…Austin Barber and Kelley Juett sure do look alike! The guy sitting next me and I were sure that it was the same guy in two bands. Aside for that this band to me are what Mothership maybe should’ve been. They were definitely edgier, heavier, more badass solos, more badass riffing, more badass everything while keeping it in a sludge/stoner context. Imagine a mix of High on Fire if Matt Pike hired a second guitarist and they played Iron Maiden style harmonies.

Brent Bjork and The Low Desert Punk Band should go into a room with the surviving members of The Grateful Dead, suck each other off and then go kill themselves in a suicide pact with all of them shooting themselves in the fucking mouth.

This is exactly why I HATE jam bands so fucking much. Stupid name: check. Unnecessarily long jams: check. Shitty songs to be jamming out to: check. But forget all that for a second. What the fuck are they doing on a bill with bands they sound nothing like??

They finally showed us mercy but getting the fuck off the stage around 10pm. The real fun began a half an hour later:

The last time I saw Corrosion of Conformity over ten years ago opening up for Motorhead they sounded damn good; but on this night they sounded absolutely fucking brutal. They all came off as completely re-energized – especially Pepper. His voice was real strong here, full of energy, as if he really was happy to be back with the guys. I was so pumped! After “Broken Man” they went right into “Paranoid Opioid” and I dare say this time around it sounded better than the album version. They broke into a lot of tracks spanning their entire Pepper-era run between 1991 and 2005, including “Vote With A Bullet”, my girlfriend’s personal favorite, as well as “Albatross”, which Pepper personally dedicated to Mothership. Why? “Because they owe me a lot of money.”, he declared on the mic.

Before the show ended for good Pepper said he was dedicating the last song to the Eagles of Death Metal as a result of the Paris attacks where a few of their own crew members were killed in the Bataclan while the band was on stage. Scary shit. The song? “Clean My Wounds”. Gee Pepper, thanks for showing me that I’ve been playing the riff wrong all these years. Fucker. After the guitar solo the band broke it down into a reggae groove that lasted nearly ten minutes and showed off how great a bassist Mike Dean really is. Reed Mullin? Absolutely underrated as a drummer, he truly has come such a long way in thirty years. After nearly ten minutes the band jumped right back into the song’s original groove before calling it a night.

This was an absolutely brutal, incredible show and I’m happy to say that it did in fact sell out half way into the night. I’ll be first in line to buy their new CD when it comes out. This is my last concert for the year until Black Sabbath in February unless I get tickets to see Lamb of God in January with support from Power Trip and Anthrax.

Abigail Lives! King Diamond live at Playstation Theater 11/20/15

Posted on November 27, 2015November 30, 2015 by Mike

It was an eerie night on that 7th day of July in 1777…alright it was more like last Friday in Manhattan and I was actually going to see King Diamond. On this tour he’ll play a few classics before playing in its entirety Abigail, the album that made King a metal GOD. Thanks again Courtenay! So I went to pick her up at her job and off we went to PlayStation Theater in Times Square, where we were searched twice, including being patted down because of the ISIS attacks on Paris…as well as ISIS claiming Times Square was next. Oh, and if you live in NYC and really thought they’d do it you’re dumb. It’s too big and too obvious. I think they’d hit a much more low key area.

We got there long before the doors even opened and sat because she hurt her calf just walking to meet me and my knees were in exquisite pain from squatting 210 for 6 reps without my compression gear on. So more than an hour passed before people stared coming in and man, this show got stereotypical real quick. I saw a lot of Mexicans walking in and you just knew they were there to see Exodus, the opening band. There’s always been a connection between Mexicans and thrash or even some death metal. I can’t explain but if you’ve ever gone to a thrash show you know what I’m talking about. I saw dudes coming in with bandanas on with unbent baseball caps over them and 2nd generation Exodus and Slayer t-shirts. It never fails…ever.

Sitting a few seats next to us were the stereotypical awkward/not so good looking couples who are bonded by that one little thing…their love for metal. Awww. Then someone said something to me that had me looking. “You notice how many morbidly obese guys are here?” Oh yeah, it was real bad. I’m totally convinced that it’s the result of years of devotion to Dungeons and Dragons, staying indoors all day and playing online video games with thirteen year old boys and eating like shit their entire lives. You know these motherfuckers came out of the woodwork just for this and then ran back home to their video games. I’m not the best looking guy out there but I’m sure I was maybe one of the most in shape guys in the whole fucking building at that moment. Ladies and gents – another metal concert stereotype. Don’t ever be that guy.

So around 8pm Exodus were getting ready to hit the stage. Their entrance music? “Piano Man” by Billy Joel. Once Exodus came on they opened with a track off their new album Blood In Blood Out. My biggest problem with this band forever will always be Sousa’s vocals. I said it in my last blog but canning Rob Dukes was THE dumbest thing they could’ve done. Dukes gave Exodus much needed new life with his intense screams and barks. I even bought an Exodus album for the first time! Forget that they way the canned him was pretty scummy it was just a bad artistic call. The are so fucking heavy that Sousa’s nasal delivery just sounds so fucking dated.

Aside from that they played great. But why did Gary Holt look so different here? What a sec…..that’s not Gary! Where is he?? I texted my friend Maureen, who was waiting in line to get searched, if she knew anything. I had no idea that he was not going to be there because of Slayer commitments. It seems crazy at first, Exodus hit a goldmine, opening for King Diamond and having three additional dates added in New York City alone because the initial date sold out so fast. But then again, Gary’s now in Slayer as well as Exodus and probably making much more money in one show alone. Good for him. So who was his replacement on this tour with King? It’s Heathen guitarist Kragen Lum, who did a damn good job playing Gary’s parts.

Exodus played for not even an hour. Zetro did his expected nod to L’Amour’s to get the older fans to jizz all over themselves, and they did. The hit their signature tune, “Toxic Waltz”, right in the middle of the set. The dudes in the pit went apeshit. It was a decent show. I don’t hate Exodus and I never really did. But Zetro just annoys me to no end. He is to the west coast what Blitz from Overkill is to the east coast – really annoying!

After a little waiting period, the curtain opened. Then…this happened….

I have to admit, I was a bit worried. Over the last several years he suffered a herniated disc and most recently heart surgery. I saw a clip of him with members of Mercyful Fate playing with Metallica on their 30th anniversary show in 2011 and he wasn’t that good. But that was then, because as soon as he wailed out “GRANDMAAAAAAAA!!!!” all my fears were gone. Holy shit he was amazing. His band were spot on. Andy LaRocque’s solos? Total. Fucking. Jizzfest. He can solo all day and I’ll never get bored. The stage? Two staircases with a balcony with two inverted crucifixes and a pentagram behind it. So eighties, so amazing.

After “Welcome Home” the band kicked right into “Sleepless Nights”, my personal favorite from King. It’s so different from the rest of his material up to that particular album for me, I guess because of the chord structuring and the emotion that’s actually in that song. Yeah I know that Conspiracy is a concept album like everything else from Abigail on; but every time he shrieks out that line “Killing The PAAAAIIIINNNN!!!!!” it always hits me and now here I was hearing it live and my response was no different here. They broke into “Halloween” after that and then two Mercyful Fate tunes, “Evil” and “Melissa”.

I have to admit I’m one of the many people would’ve never known “Evil” or ANYTHING related to Mercyful Fate or King Diamond if I never bought Metallica’s Garage Inc. So when King shrieked “I was born in a cemetery….” I immediately heard Hetfield singing it in my head. At the end of “Melissa” King says in a raspy voice “I think Melissa’s still with us…”, before slowly walking up the steps, them limping. Then, as he reached the top, the pentagram, crucifixes and band logo on the side of the stage descended. Then shit went DOWN!!!!!

I had to get the first two songs recorded. “Arrival” is such a dark and ominous song, foreshadowing the rest of this creepy ass story about a pregnant woman whose baby is possessed by the spirit of Abigail, the illegitimate, stillborn child who was mummified by Count La’Fey. Hearing every single track was intense. The band were spot on. King’s voice was much better than I would’ve ever expected. I should also note that while most aging bands will tune lower so the singer can handle the songs, King played EVERYTHING in their proper tunings. Not bad for a guy who’s sixty years old. And there’s one more thing I need to point out. My girlfriend pointed out King’s makeup, which looked NOTHING like his usual look, inverted crucifixes all over his face. This time it actually looked a lot more like his classic look from the 80’s, you know, the one Gene Simmons tried to sue him over in the late nineties like an asshole. Hey Gene, fuck you!

As the show came to an end with “The Black Horsemen” King yelled out to the crowd “Thank you so, so much New York!”, and rightfully so. Only in New York City could one show turn into four and it was easy to tell he was moved by it all. He’s lucky to be alive and I’m sure he knows it. After the band finished up “Insanity” from King’s album The Eye, could be heard through the PA speakers. It served to me as one last reminder of how talented a songwriter King really is. He’s extremely underrated and deserves much more credit than he gets, even after Metallica exposed him to the world seventeen years ago. I’m pretty sure King stayed on stage for five extra minutes even after the rest of the band walked off just to high five the fans, soaking it all in. This type of thing doesn’t happen to him in the states often and I know it had to have felt amazing at that moment. He’d go on to play two more shows in the next two nights and I’m sure the results were the same.

Upcoming Show’s I’ll Be Attending

Posted on November 15, 2015November 17, 2015 by Mike

So here’s a short list of the next few show’s I’m going to in either New Jersey or Manhattan within the next week and again in February.

King Diamond w/ Exodus live at PlayStation Theater, New York, NY – Friday, November 20, 2015

This was very last minute. I wasn’t counting on seeing this show because this date in particular is sold out but a co-worker of my girlfriend offered her his tickets. Sucker! This is going to be amazing. I love King. She can’t stand him but is willing to go see him out of respect, knowing that there’d probably never be bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax or Slayer had it not been for Mercyful Fate, King’s pre-solo band. Being that this will be my first time seeing King, it’ll also be interesting to hear how he sounds after years away, having recovered from back AND heart surgeries. I also know I’m absolutely going to jizz myself silly when I finally hear Andy LaRoque solo his brains out for the first time ever! Not looking too forward to Exodus. I’m probably one of the few would cannot stand Souza’s voice…at all. What the fuck was Gary Holt thinking when he got rid of Rob Dukes? Was he even thinking at all?!?! You dumb fuck.

Angel Vivaldi live at Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ – Sunday, November 22, 2015

Since I last wrote about Angel Vivaldi this YouTube sensation has been on the road for the last two months, promoting his most recent album, Away With Words, Pt.1. This show will be his homecoming show, bringing that tour to an end. If you haven’t heard him yet I suggest you go to Dingbatz on the 22nd to see why he gets namedropped by peers such as Alice Cooper guitarist Nita Strauss.

Black Sabbath live at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY – Thursday, February 25, 2016

Well, here it is. And more important than that, it’s for real this time. Tony Iommi himself has gone on record saying that he finally cannot handle it anymore. It’s incredible he was able to hang on for as long as he has, all things considered. But it was going to happen eventually – I’m just grateful that their last show wasn’t an Ozzfest gig in Japan! What really got me mad was finding out after I bought the tickets that they’re playing another show at the Garden two days later – on a Saturday. But I honestly don’t mind taking a day off from work the next day – especially with the jackasses I deal with on a day to day basis! They’ll also be playing throughout the summer including dates at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ.

I just hope that Ozzy doesn’t fuck this up. The two times I tried to see Sabbath he was sick, but I’ll definitely get into those times in future blogs, trust me. I know for a fucking fact that I’m not the only one who’d LOVE for Bill Ward to be a part of this last tour. But I guess it’s up to Bill in the end; but hell, he should be a part of this, if not even for us at least for himself! I’d love to see the classic line up that started it all just once. C’mon Bill! Ozzy fucked it up for me twice – don’t you be the one to fuck it up this time!

Iron Maiden Live at Madison Square Garden July 30th, 2003

Posted on September 30, 2015February 16, 2016 by Mike

This was my second concert ever, just a few months after seeing Superjoint Ritual at L’Amour in Brooklyn just two months earlier, but this was my first ever arena concert – and goddamn what a way to start! A few months earlier my cousin Mike asked me if I wanted to see Motorhead, Dio and Iron Maiden at Madison Square Garden in July. Now…I understood Maiden and even Dio playing at the Garden. But Motorhead? Yeah they have such a loyal following but they never held the stature of Maiden in ticket or even album sales. Either way I knew it would be amazing to hear a band THAT LOUD in the Garden. So do I want to go? Um…yeah!

I don’t really remember off the top of my head what my day was like leading into heading out to my cousin’s apartment but I do remember just thinking to myself “holy shit I’m seeing Iron Fucking Maiden tonight!” I’d been a growing fan since my senior year of high school, probably being the only one in my high school that even liked Maiden, or any real metal for that matter. I had heard “The Number Of The Beast” and “Run To The Hills” but once I heard “The Trooper” on WSOU one afternoon I was sold! Then Mike called me to let me know that he’d need an extra $50 when I got to his place because he was able to upgrade our seats and we’d now be right at the second row. How the hell did do that? Well…he wouldn’t tell me. Whatever. So I got to his place in the Superjoint Ritual t-shirt I bought at their L’Amour show, green cargo shorts and my boots, gave him the $50 and to the bus we went.

We got there and the place was the best mix of scalpers and some of the sickest battle jackets I’ve ever seen. When we walked inside my old friend Joe was doing security, and he definitely came in handy later. Motorhead were already playing when Mike and I got to our seats. Come to think of it I now get mixed emotions when thinking of any Motorhead show I’ve seen, mostly because of Lemmy’s health these days. Between him and Keith Richards why the hell is it that Keith was the one that did heroin and he appears to be doing better than Lemmy? Loud? Yeah…ok. Imagine their volume…especially Lemmy’s bass…but now it’s in an arena where you’re now blasting the ears of over 20,000 people. That whole set was an explosion. And from where wee were seated we were right at Lemmy’s side to the stage – the way it should always be! And Mikey Dee’s bassdrums went right through me and my cousin like a second heartbeat. Mike was not really a Motorhead fan but at that moment he definitely got a rush from the sensation of Mikey’s bassdrums. Their set list was filled with songs ranging from their entire catalog, from their biggest songs to their least known. It was my first time hearing their Ramones tribute song, simply called “Ramones”, “Sacrifice”, “Over The Top”, which Lemmy appropriately dedicated to himself, and then I finally heard them play “Overkill”. I’d heard Metallica’s cover of it five years earlier as did everybody else in the world but to hear THEM do it was the single greatest point in the setlist. After they got off stage I almost didn’t care about Maiden!

Dio was next. They were still on tour for their most recent CD, Killing The Dragon, the title track of which they even opened up with. This was to be my first of three times seeing Ronnie James Dio in concert – all three times with my cousin Mike no less! – and my first impression of the guy made me laugh so hard. I mean I never realized how short this guy was, first off. He came out wearing this black silk outfit, I mean black pants flaring out at the bottom and this black short sleeve shirt, decorated with a glitter cross. Now don’t get me wrong, he was amazing! His voice was so powerful on this night, just a few years before being diagnosed with the stomach cancer that eventually took him from us. I still miss him so much. But I know I wasn’t the only one that night wondering if he took dance lessons from a stripper either! In fact when I began my second year in college a little over a month later THAT was what my other friends who were there and I were talking about more so than even the music! He shook his ass and swiveled his hips way too good here.

Craig Goldy was back on guitar, replacing Doug Aldrich who left after Killing The Dragon to join Whitesnake…yeah I was confused about that myself. Why would anyone leave ANY band for Whitesnake?? I sure wouldn’t! Craig was damn good on guitar as he played through this setlist, which Ronnie himself dubbed “Title Track Night”, even though they still brought out “Rainbow In The Dark”. So while we were obviously going to hear “Holy Diver” and “The Last In Line” at some point they band also broke into “Heaven and Hell” to close his set.

Maiden…oh, Maiden. When the time came for the band to come on the lights went out and you almost immediately heard those now-infamous lines from Vincent Price about the number of the beast. We were about halfway through it when nearly everyone in the band minus Bruce Dickinson ran on stage ready to go. I just knew he was behind that crazy ass elaborate stage they had going on, and I predicted he’d probably not show himself until the band kicked in. After Vincent Price finished speaking Dave Murray started chugging away at the beginning of “The Number of The Beast”. You heard Bruce hit that scream….still no sign of him..the next verse kicks in…there he is!! In pure Michael Jackson style he was catapulted from beneath a platform on the stage and right away began jumping down the step with the energy of someone half his age. The whole band are playing away like their lives depended on it and this motherfucker is doing Olympic style hurdles over the onstage monitors while singing and not even screwing up a single note. He was in his mid-forties at this point – show me a younger front man from this time period that could do that shit too!

Oh right – the music! It was a trip hearing THREE guitarists playing an assload of classics originally performed by just two. Right after the first song finished Bruce just yells out in his high pitched wail “THE TROOPEEEEEERRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!” and all three guitarists broke in to the song that made me a Maiden fan for good. Bruce goes away for a minute while the crowd of 20,000 hears Janick, Dave and Adrian pull off a sick three part harmony before he comes back out in an army outfit. NICE! I really wish I could find footage of this show but I can’t because they did a bunch of classics, “Die With Your Boots On”, “Revelations”, “The Clairvoyant” (not one of my favorites). Then Bruce gave a speech about how the band didn’t give a shit about record sales our how we heard their music so long as we heard it, before playing “Wildest Dreams” off of their then-forth coming CD Dance Of Death, telling everyone to take it “…and download it to all your friends!”. Oh Bruce, you funny guy, you. The show ended with the encore, “Run To The Hills”, which I really wanted to do for other reasons when the show was done. But I cane say that this was one of THE best concerts I’ve ever been to.

After the show was done Mike and I waited for my friend Joe to get out so we could go home on the ferry together. I’d love to know how the fuck we wound up walking to the train with this weird looking gay couple, one of the two guys talking to me, randomly switching subjects from why James Hetfield had to go to rehab to how his boyfriend’s family was the cause of his ulcers. Right… While on the train I saw some in shape looking guy with this nasty looking chubby chick with John Lennon’s signature tattooed on the back of her neck. Once we got off the ferry Joe drove us both home, which was a hell of a lot better than possibly taking the bus that late at night. That next morning I felt fuckin’ pumped! I woke up a lot earlier than I should’ve and hit the gym before going to work. Getting of the bus from work I recognized this chick with a John Lennon tattoo on her neck – it was the chubby chick from the train. “You were at the show last night”, I said. So we spoke for a minute until she said the words that made me think she lost her fuckin’ mind: “Motorhead SSSUCKED!” WHAT?!?! Bitch have lost your fuckin’ mind?!?!?! Oh it gets better: “Lemmy looked like he was sucking a dick the way he had his microphone positioned too!”. I have to admit, I did find that part a bit funny…but sucked?? I can happily say I haven’t seen her since!

Random Thoughts

Posted on August 18, 2015August 29, 2016 by Mike

New Trivium…and I Think I Like It…Uh Oh!

Over two weeks ago Roadrunner Records released the new music video for the title track to Trivium’s upcoming October 2nd release Silence In The Snow. The only reason I even gave it a listen was just so I can say that it sucked balls. I was a fan of them starting in 2005 when I bought Ascendancy and thought that these kids had a shitload of potential and that as they progressed their shit would get better – and it did for a while! Their next two CDs, The Crusade and Shogun were far more metal sounding and far more mature than Ascendancy and you either supported them for growing up and doing different things or you refused to grow up, understand that no band can do the same thing forever and move on. That’s exactly what happened with Trivium.

Starting with The Crusade I was hearing a lot of bitching from people: “This sucks! Ascendancy is better because it’s more metalcore!”. “Fuck these posers, trying to sound like Metallica all the time!” And by the way, you dumb motherfuckers who made those Metallica complaints…please…just…open your ears and tell me if you really think that Kirk Hammett in his prime could play any of Matt Heafy’s or Corey Bealieu’s leads – and without raping that fucking wah pedal! Tell me that Lars in his prime could handle Travis Smith’s drum patterns. Ok, so maybe Matt sounded a tad like James in the singing department but I’d rather that than just screaming to breakdowns all the time and not developing to become a better vocalist.

Then something happened. They seemingly gave into those immature fuckheads that bitched and moaned about their music because it wasn’t Ascendancy parts 2, 3, 4 and 5, and decided to please these “fans”, or so it seems, by pretty much dumbing down everything they had done before. The result? In Waves, probably the worst regression I’ve ever seen in a band. Ever hear the title track? The opening breakdown broke my heart…so metalcore…I immediately had visions of stupid kids with their hair super glued to the side doing stupid dance moves. I heard a few other tracks to try and give it a chance but I couldn’t get into it at all. Worse? Their next album was produced by none other than David Draiman. So I totally wrote Trivium off.

Then this video was released two weeks ago:

Pretty different…pretty much avant garde…but what the fuck is with Corey circle headbanging blindfolded? Is Matt just randomly bleeding? What’s with the cute Asian not being told how to properly hold a guitar? And while bleeding too? But more than that…doesn’t Matt sound a slight bit like Myles Kennedy here while singing the verses? Oh shit his singing voice is suddenly WAY better. No screaming at all…not even a bit? Ok…so the riffs are still simple as fuck…but damn are they heavy! What’s that? This was inspired by the band’s time touring with Heaven and Hell, you say? This song was originally written during the sessions for Shogun?? Score!!!!!

Then came this other leaked song just this past week:

Uh oh…this sounds really good too. This musically speaking is a really good mix of old-school playing with modern edge guitar tones. Just listen to that slow part – goddamn! And Matt’s voice? Great work harmonizing with himself! Great singing altogether! I don’t know that ditching screaming altogether will work out in the end but we’ll all have to wait until October to find out for sure. But for now, not bad boys, you just might win me back as a fan – just don’t fuck it up again!

New Maiden…And I Like It!!

That shouldn’t be a surprise to any REAL metalhead worth a shit; but truth be told, I’ve been kind of disappointed with Iron Maiden for 12 years. When I was 16 Iron Maiden v4.0 was THE SHIT. Bruce and Adrian were back and they now were a six-piece with THREE guitar players since they chose to keep Janick Gers with them. That’s awfully nice of them but let’s face it – if Janick were gone tomorrow most people would cruelly show just how much happier they’d be just because it was Adrian and Dave again. I’m not one of them though. Why? Because I liked Brave New World. It was a fantastically written, thought out album. The title track alone is incredible as is the lead off single, “The Wickerman” – that track is just badass!

Three years passed and they released their next album, Dance of Death. Dude…what the fuck? I get that bands need to evole to survive and/or feel excited for years to come but this…this was just weak as FUCK and absolutely boring. The epics on it…I used their longest epic for a bathroom break during my days as a college DJ several times but man it was such a dramatic decline because their most memorable shit is the epics. It’s sad when Bruce’s next solo album, Tyranny of Souls, had WAY more balls to it than his own band’s material! Three years later we were given A Matter of Life and Death. I was officially scared and I blame producer Kevin Shirley because he encouraged the band to “loosen up”. I feel like in “loosening up” the band completely changed, they became too rock and roll for my taste. I could NEVER hate Iron Fucking Maiden, but I didn’t know that I’d ever buy their shit again and I haven’t since 2003.

Then I heard this!

Holy shit does this sound old school as FUCK! Am I listening to something from Piece of Mind??? All that’s missing here are the crazy ass guitar harmonies, but you can’t get everything. Right? But at least we know that they’ve still got it! Listen to Bruce hitting those notes! How many people pushing 60 do YOU know that can still sing as amazingly as Bruce Dickinson? I’ll wait.

Another Reminder of Changing Times

I took my girlfriend to Manhattan for her birthday this past weekend because she wanted to go to the Museum of Sex and see Funland, which is a boobie bounce house. I shit you not this does exist. Here’s the proof:

You – yes, you! – can bounce around in plastic titties for an extra $15! I’d still prefer the real thing though! But before we walked all the way there from Port Authority I really needed to eat something so we got Pizza across the street from 2 Brothers, which is doing really good at expanding their stores with $1 Pizza. The problem? One of the guys behind the counter was playing the most annoying Reggaeton you could find. Bad enough that shit is just horrid to begin with. I like a lot of different kinds of music…but…Reggaeton, like Dub Step, is to music what rape is dating, like Kobe Bryant was to the hotel employee in Colorado, just a nonstop fucking assault – but to your ears. And it just…won’t…stop. That same, annoying “beat” is pounding away worse than even house music ever could, and possibly with even more bass!! That shit was stuck in our heads for a while.

After going to the Museum of Sex and discovering that fake titty land was closed, probably for maintenance, we decided to go towards St. Marks Pl. It was during that long ass walk that my girlfriend let me know that Trash And Vaudeville were finally closing shop and relocating after forty years in that block. I was aware that they were being stubborn about ever doing it, being that they were the one piece of the old St. Mark’s that I remember that’s still standing, they weren’t going anywhere. But, like most historic places in Lower Manhattan, the pressure of increased rent was finally seeping in. And as we arrived at the block I can see why. The whole block has pretty much become yet another tourist trap: restaurants, a Barcade, Karaoke, Bongs and even a 7 Eleven. Yeah, that’s not a mistype. I first discovered St. Mark’s Pl. had a 7 Eleven in 2012. St. Mark’s Pl. and the Village as a whole used to have so much more character than THIS. And if you’re in you’re early 30’s like I am or even older you know how awesome the place used to be.

I remember getting a good chunk of my metal shirts from places in the Village that are no longer in business because of rent and because of the faggot ass hipsters that came in. I used to love hanging out on W. 8th St. I met some really amazing people there. Of course most of them were strange as fuck but some of them were fucking awesome. I bought my first leather jacket there, as well as my leather vest, which I still have, and even my first real biker watch at this place called Leather Master, which along with the comic store I used to go to and the places I used to by my clothes at, are all gone thanks to increased rent. The Mars Bar, an infamous punk rock dive bar I discovered through this crazy chick that frequented the place a lot…closed and is now Jupiter 21, a nice 12 story condo. Although I feel the beginning of the end came around the tail end of 2006 when Hilly Kristal, after years of dodging eviction, finally caved in and shut down CBGB. Even being landmarked by Mayor Bloomberg of all people couldn’t save the place, so what does that tell you??

I never bought anything from Trash and Vaudeville, I always found their clothes too extreme for my tastes. But I understand and respect the history it provides. It may be relocating to a cheaper and safer building (from what Bobby, a store employee told me), and that’s great. But in the end it just puts the final nail in the coffin of a place that began loosing it’s character a decade ago. Sure, Sounds is still there. But that place seems to me like just another generic music store, although it does have more Henry Rollins CDs than I’ve ever seen anywhere else. Around the time the Mars Bar went out of business someone spray painted on a wall “THE EAST VILLAGE IS DEAD”. Well, that person is absolutely right and it kills me to see what it’s become. My only hope now is that Bleeker St and the streets surrounding it remain the way they are for years to come. It’d be a shame to lose The Bitter End! I played there once in 2012, what an honor that was. Café Wha? is another place like that. It’s a landmark much like CGGB was but we saw how much that mattered, right? It’d also be huge blow to lose Generation Records, a record store I find to be the equivalent of Vintage Vinyl in New Jersey. It’s bad enough Bleeker Bob’s finally went under two years ago. I was there the day before they closed, the owner told me he was hoping to relocate but I still haven’t heard of that happening and I sadly am not holding my breath either.

Confessions of an Angry Metalhead

Tag: Manhattan