“About Last Night” Show Reports: BLOOD CEREMONY & GRAVEYARD – Portland, Oregon 1/31/12

BLOOD CEREMONY

I had never been to either venue before in my life. When I arrive the stamp guy gives me static over which wrist he prefers to mark. It doesn’t matter, I’m only here to see Blood Ceremony. Not a lot of people here for the opening act but those who came out are showing their support. Radio rock ballads with Mercyful Fate lyrics and I need a beer. We’re only allowed to drink at the back of the auditorium. Is this the ice cream social? It doesn’t matter, I’ve got all the time in the world. After I finish my tall boys of Rainier I cross the threshold in anticipation for Blood Ceremony, who I actually never had the pleasure of seeing live before. Look around the half empty room and get the impression that I might be alone in my pursuit of doom flute majesty. I proceed toward the stage as some really rad audio over the house speakers sets up the young Canadian four piece perfectly. Lights dim and things get real. Vocalist, flutist and organist Alia steps to the mic and I can’t not hang on every syllable but when she goes for that flute all bets are off. That flute sends me. It’s so commanding the way that she plays it on tracks like “The Rare Lord”, “Oliver Haddo” and “Return To Forever”. After the ceremony commences the room starts to fill in some more and it becomes apparent that I’m no longer the only person having a great time and showing it. It must be tough for dudes who really want to appear masculine to have to sit through something as beautiful and moving as Blood Ceremony and not be able rock out. Their loss. You’ll never look tough wearing a Ghost t-shirt so just quit flexin’. The ceremony is in full swing and incredibly tight jamming together considering they have a newer rhythm section than they had on their first self-titled album. Sean and Andrew have a real nice “old guitarist/new drummer” thing going for them and it works very well. New bassist Lucas plucks away merrily at his four strings like a fiddling forrest imp in a Magic card painting the whole time and I really love all the open-ended parts where they slow things down and open the songs up for some motherfucking flute! At this point the effects of the hash have been somewhat overshadowed by the high of the live musical experience. On wax they’re an aural feast but if you love that then you really haven’t lived until you see Blood Ceremony live. They mostly played material from their latest album, Living With The Ancients, which happened to rank pretty nicely on my best of list from last year. I love that Blood Ceremony aren’t afraid to reach back in time and pull from their influences in such a pure and honest fashion without coming off like just another two-bit Coven rip off band. There are too many of those floating around out there today but this lot are definitely adding something fresh and exciting to that pedigree. Blood Ceremony are a band that might come off a little obvious on a record but are actually quite surprising and dare I say… ceremonious in the flesh.

I like Ghost from Sweden. Ghost is fun, especially when I saw them finish up last year’s death fest in Maryland. Graveyard are a another Swedish band that I’ve actually been digging on longer and harder than Ghost. Since Portland got hit with the Swedish Invasion on the same exact night I had to make this decision a while ago and it was a very easy choice. As soon as the ceremony ended I booked it out of there to catch Graveyard across town. Luckily Portland is a small town.

GRAVEYARD

So apparently Graveyard hold some heavy clout with the hipsters? That’s cool ’cause the outside of this gig is crawling with babes and I’m all kinds of plastered. Wow this place is fancy. Modern, chic, swanky and earthy being the best four adjectives I can muster to describe it. It isn’t my vibe at all but it’s very inviting and I feel right at home. Judging by the direction that the frantic heavy blues jamming is coming from I guess that the show must be downstairs so I follow the sounds toward the staircase and low and behold there’s another stamp guy here to worry about my wrists for me. Only this guy is way higher than the previous sentry, “Nah man, it’s sold out. I’m sorry.” FUCK. Throw him a look like I might be able to make him some kind of Burnt Offerings if he would let me through, no dice. It would’ve been too good to be true. Lick my wounds and step outside to see if I can get an American Spirit off one of these Whole Foods girls and only after I stepped back out did I realize just how packed the joint really was. My friends are just arriving to the show and I tell them it’s sold out so they decide to bail and invite me to a party back in the neighborhood. Something keeps me from skipping out to that party, just yet anyway… Of course! This place is packed! Not a lot of bands I care about ever come through here… “I’m getting in this place.” my New York City mind tells me as I proceed past the front door toward the courtyard with the raging flame pit. Hipsters abound and I don’t see any other leather jackets so I probably stick out like Tony I.’s stubby finger. Walked far enough away from the door now that I’m confident enough to hop the torso high, faux lincoln log fence set up and into the courtyard of skinny smokers in expensive scarves. Rapidly approaching the side entrance into the bar and another stamp guy cuts me off half way to check my pulse. This one is dead sober but not too fast on his toes. I show him the stamp I got at the other venue and he doesn’t give it a second thought. So far I’ve learned that no two stamp guys are alike but I’m not home free yet. I’ve still got to get downstairs past the first stamp guy but he was pretty ripped too so I have a fair shot… Didn’t even notice me. I’m in for real now. Downstairs was a pretty surreal sight. Packed shoulder to shoulder with a lot more attractive people than were in attend the other venue and all for four Swedes playing some obscure, seriously dark and bluesy heavy psych rock. Here’s one thing I love about hip bars – Pabst in bottles. Since I snuck in I figured I should at least size up the merch booth situation out of support for a band that’s given me the fuel for countless hours of good times over the past few years. Impeccable timing when just as I empty my bottle Graveyard start taking the stage, which was draped in old psychedelic looking carpets and tapestries not to mention the lava lamp imagery projecting behind the band for the duration of their set. An old Fred Gwynne-with-a-lot-of-white-hair looking dude mans the light controls and I’m on autopilot at this point. I smell buds and can’t locate them but that’s okay because Graveyard look like they’re having just as great a time as I am! They sound loud as hell and fuzzy as shit! They ripped through most of their latest album, Hisingen Blues, which made a serious splash last year for it’s balls deep approach to playing the blues. Fast, hard yes but they know how to take things slow without weighing things down or beating you over the head in the slightest. Like real blues, the lyrical content is all pretty dark with these guys which is something I verily respect seeing as how they could probably quite easily go be another radio ballad type band and play to way larger spaces than this dank but classy watering hole which is a serious hybrid of a mid-60′s Ken Adam set and the gentlemen’s club in Twin Peaks. I give the hipsters a lot of credit, I enjoyed this crowd’s reaction to the music just a tiny bit more than the seemingly divisive “love it or hate it” vibe I picked up from the Ghost crowd. Then again maybe that’s because there were a lot more people in that smaller space so it seemed like there was more crowd participation. Only thing I know for sure is that I’m having a killer time! After Graveyard encore with “Satan’s Finest” and a couple others I rush the bar which is so busy I don’t even get charged for my beer. I acquire a cigarette, new friends are made. I rule at Tuesday nights.

Blood Ceremony @ myspace

Graveyard @ facebook

For live updates from the front lines follow Graveyarns @ twitter

2011 Year End List

ALBUMS

10. Graveyard – Hisingen Blues (Nuclear Blast)

9.  Krallice – Diotima (Profound Lore)

8. Alaric – Alaric (20 Buck Spin)

7. Cianide -  Gods Of Death (Hells Headbangers)

6. Arkham Witch – On Crom’s Mountain (Barbarian Wrath)

5. Blood Ceremony – Living With The Ancients (Rise Above)

4. Yob – Atma (Profound Lore)

3. Autopsy – Macabre Eternal (Peaceville)

2. The Gates Of Slumber – The Wretch (Rise Above)

1. Ice Dragon – The Sorrowful Sun (self-released)

EPs

Fistula – Loser 12″

Hooded Menace/Ilsa split

Conan vs Slomatics split

Bongripper – Sex Tape/Snuff Film 7″

Rawhide – Branded To Kill 7″

Pilgrim/Ice Dragon split – Visage of Astaroth

Anal Cunt – Wearing Out Our Welcome

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Absu, Amebix, Antediluvian, Cannabis Corpse, Craft, Deceased, Devil, Earth, Lord Vicar, Loss, Mournful Congregation, Pentagram, Ramesses, Serpent Venom, The Wounded Kings, Windhand

BEST NEW LABEL

Grindcore Karaoke

BEST MIXTAPES

From A Wizard’s Lyre

Codpiece And Steel

SWEET REISSUES

Death – Human (CD)

Executioner – Anthology (CD)

Candlemass – Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (CD)

KILLER SHOWS

Cathedral, Inquisition @ MDF, Baltimore, MD

Pentagram @ NYC

Victims @ Brick, NJ

Thou @ New Brunswick, NJ

Premonition 13 @ Fall Into Darkness, Portland, OR

Cathedral

RADICAL BOOKS

Metalion: The Slayer Mag Diaries

H.P. Lovecraft’s Dagon, graphic novel adaptation

AWESOME BEERS I TRIED [sponsored by scourgeofdrunkenness.tumblr.com]

Punctured By Corpses (Porches)

Monster Mash (Lompoc)

The Black And Blue (half Blue Moon, half Guinness)

GREAT MOVIE

Conan The Barbarian (2011) – Midnight showing.

RIP

Where were you when Seth Putnam died?

Where were you when Kevin Mahoney died?

Where were you when Henrik Frykman died?

Where were you when Phil Vane died?

Where were you when David Gold died?

MOST ANTICIPATED OF 2012

Saint Vitus – Lillie: F-65

Cathedral – The Last Spire (RIP)

Candlemass – TBA (RIP)

Pallbearer – Sorrow And Extinction

Pilgrim – Misery Wizard

MARYLAND “DOOM FEST”

SABBATH REUNION

CRUCIAL CRUST – “Doom Over Dublin”

RAWHIDE – BRANDED FOR LIFE (2011)

Sweden is a country, much like Japan, that really appreciates American culture. This is especially true where music is concerned. Bands like Entombed and At The Gates took death metal to new horizons by pushing the boundaries of the genre. Entombed especially, how they managed this and still reverted their sound back to a more classic rock and roll approach signifies their willingness to push genre boundaries and understanding of what makes good rock and roll. In this way Rawhide are pushing the boundaries of punk with their new EP Branded For Life. In the vein of such other brutal Scandinavian punk rock heavyweights as Hellacopters and Turbonegro, Rawhide carve out a niche with their blackened sensibilities and  relentless rock riffs.

The Branded For Life 7″ EP will be out soon and is available for stream and digital download here from Patac Records. 

JAM OF THE SUMMER: Bolder Damn – “Dead Meat”

Bolder Damn were a hard rock/heavy psych outfit which formed during the fabled summer of ’69 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They played a brand of rock very similar to the folk inspired stuff of the 60′s yet with a psychedelic twist all their own. Bolder Damn fit right in alongside groups like Blue Cheer and Cream and they set the stage for 70′s era bands like Sir Lord Baltimore and the MC5 to emerge. Some of the tempo change ups toward the end of the track presage what doom metal bands like Witchfinder General and Cathedral would come to adopt generations later as the very signatures of their sound. ”Dead Meat” takes up most of the B side on their only album Mourning, which was recorded in just 4 short hours and pressed in limited quantities for distribution to local fans. Sadly, just as major record companies were beginning to show an interest in the budding and experimental group the band’s founding members John Anderson and Ron Reffett were drafted into Vietnam, which lead to the band’s demise. Mourning has since been reissued more than once on Rockadelic/Void records.

Enjoy this obscured piece of Rock and Roll history as we send off our current summer season and draft in the autumn.

Q&A With Karl Simon Of The Gates Of Slumber On Music & Robert E. Howard

The Gates Of Slumber are a band from Indiana formed in 1998 by singer/guitarist Karl Simon. Since the early 2000′s they have been known for pushing their unique brand of sword and sorcery tinged doom on underground metal listeners. Anyone who reads this site knows that I am pretty damn well obsessed with sword and sorcery fiction myself and this is a very special post because it harkens back to one of the earliest posts I did way back when I first started this site. These guys are easily one of my favorite bands. Initially, what drew me to them is that they tend to draw particular inspiration from the work of my favorite author, Robert E. Howard (1906-1936). After listening to their records I became quite impressed with just how good their sound is. Their latest album The Wretch has just been released via Rise Above Records in Europe and Metal Blade here in the States. Recently, Karl was cool enough to answer some questions I had about their music, from inspiration to distribution.

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Left to right: bassist Jason McCash, drummer "Cool" Clyde Paradis, singer/guitarist Karl Simon

Wes Cueto: When did you first discover Robert Howard’s work and how was this discovery made? Paperbacks, comics, etc.?

Karl Simon: To be honest it was the ’82 film that I saw first, then the Savage Sword Of Conan comics… and then the old paperback series that featured Howard’s writing along with the work of Lin Carter and L. Sprague De Camp.

WC: Awesome, I believe that’s the same paperback series that features the work of Frank Frazetta on each cover! It was the current ongoing comic series from Dark Horse which first turned my attention to Howard and Conan, then I started collecting the paperbacks. Frank Frazetta is inescapably connected to Howard and also seems to have influenced your work. From the artists you choose for your album covers to the song “Death Dealer” based on the famous character featured in 6 of his paintings. How did you first become aware of Frazetta? How large of an impact has his legacy had on you, both personally and creatively? Any other fine artists that you admire?

KS: Frazetta was a big influence on me, but sadly I’m mostly a stick man kind of artist. I wished that I could illustrate like he did. I remember growing up with his art in the house, my dad was a big fan. I also enjoy Rackham’s stuff a lot. As well as Brugel, Bosch. You know… the usual suspects for a heavy metal kid.

"Victorious" by Frank Frazetta (1928-2010)

WC: Very cool. You’ve written songs based on certain Howard tales. The Kull yarn The Shadow Kingdom was adapted in 2008 as the title track for your third album Conqueror. Also, the Solomon Kane tale The Castle Of The Devil was adapted for the song of the same name on your latest album, The Wretch. Which are your other favorites of the original Kull, Solomon Kane and even Bran Mak Morn yarns?

KS: I like The Mirrors Of Tuzun Thune a lot, Red Shadows and The Moon of Skulls. I never really read a lot of Bran Mak Morn to be honest, but Worms Of The Earth was excellent.

WC: I also enjoy The Mirrors Of Tuzun Thune and Red Shadows very much. Rattle Of Bones and Men Of The Shadows are pretty cool as well. From hearing your song “The Dark Valley Suite” I can see that you guys enjoy Howard’s poetry, as the lyrics for the second movement in the suite are lifted from Howard’s poem Lines Written In The Realization That I Must Die but have you gotten into any of Howard’s western, horror or detective fiction at all?

“Really, Conan was Howard’s best… Steve Costigan was really good too, though.” – Karl Simon

Agreed. Although I haven’t read any of the exploits of sailor Steve Costigan yet, I do enjoy the case files of Howard’s detective character Steve Harrison… “Descent Into Madness” is a song that is obviously laced with references to the work of H.P. Lovecraft. Do you have other favorite authors who’s work has influenced your own? Obvious or not so obvious?

Lovecraft obviously, Stoker, Shelly, Moorcock… all of them have had some touch on the lyrics at one point or another. I also like Burroughs, but I’ve never done a song about one of his characters.

Cool! A Tarzan or a Barsoom based track would very awesome to a guy like me… The track “Ice Worm” is based on the L. Sprague DeCamp Conan story Lair Of The Ice Worm. Are there any other authors who wrote within the scope of Howard’s material whose work, in novels or comics, you feel was either on par with Howard or simply captured his visions most purely?

I like Lair Of The Ice Worm a lot, and I think De Camp did a pretty good job of getting the character of Conan, Robert Jordan has had some pretty mixed results… a couple of his stories really nailed it.

Howard's "The People Of The Black Circle" 1977 edition edited by Karl Edward Wagner. Jacket painting by Ken Kelly, used by The Gates Of Slumber as the cover art for their first album, The Awakening (2004). Poor photography by Wes Cueto.

Yeah, De Camp is pretty on point with his Conan stuff. My favorite author to work with Howard’s material is Karl Edward Wagner, who wrote a great sequel to Worms Of The Earth entitled Legion From The Shadows… All this fantasy talk brings me to Ronnie James Dio (1942-2010) who also seems to have made a large impact on the band’s sound from your clean vocal style to the bombastic structure that many of your tracks take. You even covered “Egypt (The Chains Are On)” for a tribute EP following his death last year. How did you first get into Dio and how has his music influenced yours?

Dio appeared on my radar with his first two solo records and the Heaven And Hell album. Later, I was turned on to Mob Rules, which is my favorite of the three Sab records he did.  Dio was a hero, but I take very little direct influence from him, vocally. While he was a master singer, I actually still like the Ozzy records more, at least this week. I think the Rainbow stuff he did was fucking amazing, in a real way I think he was better suited to them than he was with Sabbath. I think he and Blackmore just worked so good together.

That’s an interesting point, I totally get what you’re saying. Like, Dio and Blackmore were a little more on the classical/50′s rock side of things than the heavy blues oriented psych patterns of Iommi… I noticed that your albums feature the initials C.O.T.D. somewhere on the packaging. Could you explain what this means and how it originated?

Ah, the Circle of True Doom. What can be said of this clan of blackened bastards? It’s kind of like in the Super Friends, you had the Legion of Doom, right? Well we used to give them wedgies and take their lunch money. You know, put Solomon Grundy in the corner and laugh as he tried to find his way out.

Hahahaha! … You guys have worked in the fantasy aesthetic exceedingly well, however there are many songs you’ve done of equal, if not better quality that are more introspective and about real life, even political issues. Such as “Children Of Satan” about the genocide in Darfur, “Eyes Of The Liar” about false people and on your new album The Wretch you have the tracks “Iron And Fire” about the mad Roman emperor Nero, “Day Of Farewell” about facing suicide and “The Scovrge Ov Drvnkeness” about the ills of drinking. As an artist, do you ever find these poles wrestling within yourself? The urge to write a good fantasy based jam versus the need to express your own personal issues with the world? Or does it all come as naturally as the finished product would suggest?

Really, we just follow our guts when it comes to lyrics. We started doing fantasy stuff right from the start, but kind of got into the Sword and Sorcery thing with Suffer No Guilt. I think we did some really cool stuff with those kinds of lyrics over the last few records. But I’d started to feel trapped in that milieu… some of the stuff on Hymns Of Blood And Thunder was really kind of forced, I felt in retrospect. [Bassist] Jason [McCash] and I, he actually pretty much splits the writing with me, kind of decided to just get away from all that stuff.  It was actually a big weight off my shoulders.

Nice. The result is really great and just speaks for itself, so as an artist I think you totally made the right decisions. I have to say though, as a really big fan of the band the only complaint I have is that your albums are exceedingly difficult to get. I’ve been waiting for The Wretch since last fall and only recently have I seen the LP available in local shops. I feel being that you guys are from Indiana, I shouldn’t have to spend all kinds of extra money and wait forever on shipping a record from Europe. Also, I hear rumors that The Awakening and Suffer No Guilt albums are in the works to be reissued at some point in the future. I really can’t wait for that because currently they’re only available on itunes and a few months after I purchased The Awakening on itunes my computer crashed and since I neglected to back the album up, I’ve lost my purchase. I think this speaks volumes to the importance of having physical copies, LPs not just CDs, available to your US fans through US distribution channels. Can you offer your thoughts on this matter? Why are things the way they are with your European vs. US distribution?

Well, we are carried by Metal Blade records here in the US, so any shop that carries a Metal Blade CD (any shop with a metal section) should be able to get it for you in a matter of days. In fact that’s the best way – it gets the numbers up and when it comes time to book tours and the like those numbers are looked at. Conqueror is available here in the US on Profound Lore, so any shop that carries any of his [Chris Bruni, owner/operator of Profound Lore] releases should be able to get ours. The previous records were both on European labels and are both, sadly, out of print. I mean some things are just going to go out of print, you know? I don’t expect our split with The Dream is Dead will be re-issued anytime soon… but the albums, they should be available… that’s why we put them on iTunes ourselves! So people could get them if they wanted them. But we all know they are available for pirated download, so really they were never out of circulation.  

As far as vinyl goes the imprint of our first three records was all done by Iron Kodex, who have folded, and those were gone in a matter of days! It’s kind of one of the downfalls of having worked with 4 different labels, 5 if you count “The lost EP/LP” Like A Plague Upon The Land! Ideally the goal would be to get all of these records on one label so they could re-press them at will and they’d be available forever. But that’s not the way of the world. And really, with regards to our distribution here vs. in Europe it’s a double edged sword: Hymns… and The Wretch are pretty easy to get over there, (and really should be here as well… you might have to order through a shop but you can get them) but in Europe Conqueror was kind of a non-starter. I think that I Hate records had gone cold on us and just kind of let it go so to speak.

Interesting, thanks for clearing that up! I read somewhere Karl, where you said you were quite unhappy with your vocal performance on the Conqueror album and I can’t understand why because Conqueror is one of my all-time favorites! The Wretch is an equally great album which expands on the sorrows expressed in many tracks you’ve done in the past but with a refinement and poise not before heard on your previous works. What is it specifically about the Conqueror vocals that displeases you? And what steps have you taken to avoid such disappointment on The Wretch?

I’m actually not thrilled with the vocals on Hymns… either. Basically, I’m the kind of singer I am. The vocals on Conqueror and Hymns… are really pitchy when it comes to hitting the high notes.  I’m no Dio or Dickenson. I sing more like Ozzy or Wino… I sing like me. Basically I was pushing to try and break away from the inevitable comparisons that have been made between me and Wino or Christof Lindersson. On The Wretch I just said ‘fuck it’. And went to just do the vocals in the most natural way possible. If someone thinks I’m biting off Wino or whatever they can blow me, you know? In the future I intend to do what I just did. After all this time I can’t be bothered with this idea of trying to be something that I’m not. You can all it resting on laurels or whatever. I call it making the music I want to make; the music that feels most natural to me.

Cool man. You do great stuff and I don’t personally agree with you about the vocals on Hymns… either. I actually feel that your vocals really shined on that album and tracks like “Beneath The Eye Of Mars” and “The Mist In The Mourning” are a real testament to that. It also shows in your new album just how great that instinct to do what feels most natural can turn out! So finally, I was just curious about what is it that you look for in new authors that attempt to write within the sword and sorcery fantasy milieu that Howard created?

I don’t, they are too PC for my tastes, that or they go and try to scandalize their audience which is even worse than being PC! I think that style is pretty much dead, which is why Howard got his resurgence of popularity: people want honesty and truth even from pulp fiction.

Absolutely. Well put. Thanks again, Karl!

Thank you Wes!  Remember to read your Wordsworth!

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I urge everyone who has read this to please go out and get The Wretch and other titles by The Gates Of Slumber. Any fan of tried and true heavy metal music would not be let down and any fan of Robert E. Howard should be able to appreciate their music, regardless if you’re a metalhead or not. To learn more about Robert E. Howard and his work and legacy please visit The Robert E. Howard Foundation.

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7″ Review – “I Don’t Need Society”

Alaric – Self-Titled
Buried In Hell, 2010

Two extremely solid cuts from these west coast death rock newcomers who take their name from the first King of the Visigoths who was the very first to sack Rome and which feature former members of UK Subs, Noothgrush, Dead & Gone and more. Only 500 copies pressed of this one: 400 black, 100 white. The A side features a track called “Animal” which is, in my interpretation, an explicit denouncement of modern day’s civilized society and how much we have lost as a species. Lyrically, being driven on buses to school and work are compared to slow trips to hell. Musically, it’s a fast post-punk basher with a lot of energy and emotion squeezed into each breath and note. On the B side is a slower more complex jam entitled “Shadow of Life” that leaves a lot more open for interpretation lyrically and is musically one of the most complex punk songs I’ve heard in recent years. Lots of great somewhat apocalyptic and almost cyberpunk imagery provided through the lyrics as well as examinations of the cycle of human betrayal. Alaric exhibit a lot of promise and I can’t wait to see where this band goes in the future. At just over 10 minutes this 7″ is very moving and poignant for anyone who enjoys this type of punk rock. Think Christian Death, Amebix, Joy Division, et al. Not to mention this record comes with a free digital download as well as a fold out poster featuring some beautiful art by Rita Okusako.

Photograph and review by Wes Cueto

7″ Review – “Hear His Distant Scream”

Saint Vitus – “Saint Vitus” b/w “Born Too Late”

Volcom Entertainment Vinyl Club, 2010

Photo by Wes Cueto

Two totally solid live renditions of classic tracks by a band that can do no wrong by me. Limited to 1,000 copies [I got #785] and pressed on olive green wax, the A side features the Saint’s titular jam while the B sports a probably more well-known classic from the Wino era. Both sides were recorded live, “Born Too Late” at the Viper Room in Hollywood on 6/29/10 and “Saint Vitus” at the Palladium in Worcester, MA which actually features Dez Cadena (Misfits, Black Flag) performing guest vocals on 10/17/09. The only thing that bothers me is that whenever I hear Wino singing the Scott Reagers tracks (i.e. anything off their self-titled debut, Hallow’s Victim and Die Healing) it makes me feel a certain sense of loss because they are both very distinct vocalists, each with his own unique style and vocal pattern and I much prefer the Reagers stuff to be sung by Reagers himself. Wino is not a poor singer by any stretch of the imagination however he does not produce the same high-pitched inflection that I love from listening to Reagers. Something weird about the label on the B side of the record is that is claims “Saint Vitus” on “this side” and “Born Too Late” on “that side” but if you’re familiar with the tracks [hell you really wouldn't have to be, given the choruses] you would plainly hear that the opposite is true. Also, the 7″ claims to run at 45 rpm which is also blatantly untrue as it spins correctly at 33. Strange, I don’t know if that boils down to a grievous clerical error or an inside joke. Could really go either way.

On a sad note, this 7″ was dedicated to Peter Steele of Type O Negative as the Massachusetts show was the last time they got to see him before his tragic death that year as well as founding Saint Vitus drummer Armando Acosta who sadly died just before this record was released. They are both in better places now.

7″ Review – Hour Of 13: The Rites Of Samhain

Hour Of 13 – The Rites Of Samhain

Yersinia Pestis, 2010

On this release Hour Of 13 have perfected their strutty brand of 70′s style occult rock with the title track, “The Rites Of Samhain”. A really well crafted song not unlike those previously released [If you haven't heard them yet, think if 70's era Judas Priest were strict Satanists] by the group who appear on this 7″, the very first release by Yersinia Pestis Records, courtesy of their home label Earache. The 7″ is on perfectly clear vinyl and features some beautiful artwork and layout design by Josh McAlear of Yersinia Pestis. Inside is a fold out sheet that tells you which number out of the limited 300 you have received. Mine is number 48/300. The sheet also boasts that the 7″ was released on the very first day of Samhain MMX or 2010, for those who can’t do Roman numerals.

Photograph by Wes Cueto

My favorite aspect of this release however comes in the form of a Samhain cover on the B side. Hour Of 13 chose to cover “To Walk The Night” which was a perfect bridge as a Samhain track between that goth-punk era and what Danzig would later achieve with such tracks as “Blood and Tears” and “777″. The crooning and bass line in this ode to the night time ballad of a track are some of the most dark and weightiest you’ll hear this side of Hell.

Get your copy at – YersiniaPestis.bigcartel.com

Album Review – A Corpse Without A Bowl

Cannabis Corpse – Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise

Tankcrimes, 2011

Cover art by: Andrei Bouzikov

Cannabis Corpse is a band that I’ve ignored for the longest time. As a pothead, I tend to steer clear of anything that’s too “uber-pothead-ish” as a rule of [green] thumb. I’m not some white kid with deadlocks obsessing over Hassidic reggae. However, I do love death metal and always viewed Cannabis Corpse as simply a parody band, considering their name and song titles. That is, until I sat down and really listened to them last year before I heard any news of this new album. I was taken by surprise first that their songs are not just recreations of Cannibal Corpse tracks but actually original compositions that parody Cannibal in title alone but also by how damn good they are. This is some real roots death metal for you.

With Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise, their forth release and long over due follow up to 2008′s Tube Of The Resinated LP,  Cannabis Corpse have transcended the Cannibal parody and delved deeper into their past, poking pot themed slabs of death toward some other Florida fiends Morbid Angel and Deicide. With cuts like “Dead By Bong” and “Blaze Of Torment” Cannabis Corpse rip and crunch through each track’s under 3 minute run time and really prove that they are no mere midis of death metal but rather straight up beasters. Veteran death metal musician and producer Erik Rutan (Nile, Vital Remains) rarely produces a bad record and …Grow Lights… is far from an exception to that. It is evident on the recording that the band really benefited from having Rutan behind the boards. The breakdown part in “Lunatic Of Pot’s Creation” is guaranteed to clear the bong in one pull with no ice while the mid-tempo riffs interweave smoothly through a jam like “Sworn To The Bag.” This album is not to be missed regardless of wether or not you smoke. You don’t need to burn to appreciate the classic death metal sound of Cannabis Corpse and let’s face it – Deicide and Morbid Angel are both far more of what could be considered “joke bands” at this point.

Don’t take my word for it. Stream it here from Tankcrimes!