November Shit

7 weeks until Bethany Lyn Leslie is due. I expect her to come early, though. The wife and I bought a house for the first time ever and are in the process of moving in (slowly). 11/15 brings my 31st birthday which is badass and the wife got me this for it:



















It's 18 x 18 and rules.

My band, The Last Van Zant is playing our final two shows of the year at Ground Zero (11/09 w/the Dwarves & 12/16 w/Noxious & Throttlerod). Supermegaheavyloud show is coming to the Milestone on 01/29: High On Fire with Big Business, The Bronx and Buried Inside. That's fucking ridiculous.

Records you need to wrap your little metal head around: Baroness "Two", Rumplestiltskin Grinder "Buried In The Front Yard", Municipal Waste "Hazardous Mutation", Exodus "Shovel Headed Kill Machine", Withered "Momento Mori", and the new Confessor.

Shit

Update On Shit:

Everything's trucking along in my little metal world. The wife and baby are progressing nicely (2nd doctor visit was smooth) and the little one's organs are supposedly developed already. This shit is bizarre. I went to a couple of local rock and metal shows in town (and area) recently: Eyehategod / Buried Inside / Last Van Zant at Ground Zero - BURIED INSIDE is the fucking shit. If you like metal and Isis you'll love'em. Dixie Witch / Throttlerod / Calus at Ground Zero - DW's new material is the real deal and they've finally nailed it. Last Van Zant / Insidious Demise at Gottrocks. - Metal in Greenville with a good turnout. Who knew?!? Noxious at the Handlebar - What?!! and Insidious Demise at the Handlebar - Yeah, I was late, but DEATH METAL at the HANDLEBAR. It must continue. More venues doing the heavy only increases the scene. Fuck you and have a good day.

Current records worth a shit:

Dwight Yoakam - Blame The Vain
The Holy Mountain - Entrails
Buried Inside - Chronoclast
Pig Destroyer - Entire Discography
Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion

Shows worth a shit (to me) coming through:

07/07 Drag The River - Milestone - Charlotte
07/09 Gods OF Mars - FREE CONCERT AT EARSHOT 4pm
7/12 Sounds Of The Underground Tour (Clutch, GWAR, Lamb Of God, High On Fire etc) - HiFi Buys Amphitheatre - Atlanta, GA
07/23 CORROSION OF CONFORMITY / FU MANCHU / ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY / SUPAGROUP / JUGGERNAUT AT GROUNDZERO!!!!!!
07/28 Harvey Milk / Torche - 40 Watt - Athens, GA
09/29 Baroness / The Bite - Green Eggs - Asheville
07/29 Pelican / Big Business - Tremont Music Hall - Charlotte, NC
07/29 Harvey Milk / Dove - The Earl - Atlanta, GA
07/30 Pelican / Big Business - Drunken Unicorn - Atlanta, GA
08/04 Necrophagia / Typhus / Krotalus - Ground Zero - Spartanburg
08/05 Malevolent Creation / Origin / Animosity - Ground Zero - Spartanburg
08/06 Burns Out Bright / The Disease - Ground Zero - Spartanburg, SC
08/12 ANTiSEEN / Hammerlock / The Dead Kings - Milestone - Charlotte
08/13 Crisis - Ground Zero - Spartanburg
08/25 Planes Mistaken For Stars / Smoke Or Fire - Milestone - Charlotte
09/02 Withered - Ground Zero - Spartanburg
09/05 Soilent Green / Into The Moat / Ap Erfect Murder / Watch Them Die - Milestone - Charlotte

News, Shows, Parenthood, and uh.....Death to False Metal

Let's see....news: the wife and I found out we're having a kid. Got the news on mother's day and we went to the doctor yesterday and the projected date is January 10th 2006. Way cool. As soon as I can scan it I'll throw the picture for all to view.

The Last Van Zant recording turned out killer. Steve at the Jam Room dialed in fucking cool sounds. He's highly recommended from the LVZ camp. If anybody wants to check out a couple of tunes hit up myspace. We've entitled the EP "We Fucking Hate You". It's 8 songs, 15 minutes long. Riff, riff, drum, drum, and no bullshit.

Cool shows coming through:

05/26 Unsane / Blackfire Revelation - Tremont (Casbah) Charlotte NC
06/06 DOOMRIDERS (Converge bassist Nate's side project) opening for Daughters - Ground Zero Spartanburg
06/08 EYEHATEGOD / Buried Inside / Byzantine / The Last Van Zant / Krotalus - Ground Zero Spartanburg
06/10 Dixie Witch / Throttlerod / Calus - Ground Zero Spartanburg SC
06/11 Horse Thief / Holy Mountain - Milestone Charlotte NC
06/19 M.O.D. - Milestone Charlotte NC
06/30 Origin / Lust Of Decay - Ground Zero Spartanburg SC
07/23 Corrosion Of Conformity / Fu Manchu / Alabama Thunderpussy / TBA - Ground Zero Spartanburg


My picks for June (reviews coming soon):



Nile "Annihilation Of The Wicked"



Unsane "Blood Run"



Aborted "Archaic Abbatoir"


Torche "Torche"

New Records / Picks For May

Lost of stuff going on: The Benefit Meageshow for Jim Michow was a great success, thanks to all came, played, and donated. My band The Last Van Zant is recording on Sunday, April 24 at the Jam Room in Columbia. That studio has birthed badassness from Throttlerod, Damad, Stretch Armstrong, Kylesa, DeathValley Driver, the Queers, Antischism, In/Humanity, Baroness and tons more. Speaking of Baroness, that's a killer new band any one who is a fan of heavy music should check out. They're kind of like a gritty, crusty Mastodon (you know techy metal) Here's a review from Hellridemusic.com:

With a mere three songs, Savannah's Baroness manages to outshine nearly all of their contemporaries. In 18 minutes, they cover more ground than most bands do in their entire careers.

Baroness' strength is its difficulty to be pigeonholed. The vocals are rather sparse, but when used, the screams are annunciated well enough so that the lyrics are rather clear. Their sound is lavishly textured and relies on crushing breakdowns interspersed with guitar harmonies to die for. They meander between genre and style as effortlessly as they do time changes, never sounding forced and without going too far out; someplace where the listener cannot or does not want to follow.

First is essential--get in on the ground floor.

Unfortunately, we don't have this Cd at Earshot, their distribution is changing and I'm working on getting their new one, when comes out. In the meantime, get it here.

My new picks for May (two new, two from April - which I didn't post)



UNSANE "Blood Run"
Thank fucking God (or Satan, whoever) UNSANE is back recording stuff. No one can touch them and their noisy, trashy hard rock. They don't change or break new ground with each record, they just bury you some more. UNSANE is touring through the area too: 05/25 - The Earl - Atlanta, GA and 05/26 - Tremont (Casbah) - Charlotte, NC.




Buzzo*ven "Welcome To Violence"
I completely missed Buzzo-ven when they were around. They were the most dangerous, explosive, fuck it here's a better description (from Alternative Tentacles): Buzzoven exploded onto the early 90s d.i.y. scene in a whirlwind of sharp metallic chops over sludgy punk, heavy feedback, and truly awe-inspiring live shows that dragged the audience into the dark places of the band's dementia. Simultaneously self-destructive and musically innovative, Buzzoven is one of the seminal bands of the underground loud music scene of the time, alongside bands like Born Against, Rorschach, and Man Is The Bastard. "Welcome to Violence" collects the band's early Allied Records recordings, the "To A Frown" full-length, and the EPs "Wound" and "Unwilling to Explain." Hatred, pain, anger, violence, addiction and depression boiled over in both the lyrics and the music, and were ignited by the band's legendary live performances. Walking a tightrope between precision and pure mayhem, the very explosiveness that made Buzzoven so crucial was what caused their instability.



Kylesa "To Walk A Middle Course"
I'm pictures guy, not a words guy, so I'll rip off another review (from stonerrock.com): Kylesa return after 2004’s “whet the appetite” No Ending/A 100⁰ Heat Index EP with their full length, To Walk a Middle Course. The elements that made their EP so good are not only still intact, but also show substantial growth. To Walk a Middle Course expands on the sound displayed on the No Ending EP, putting the band with contemporaries like Rwake, Dove, and Mastodon. They’ve got complicated, mathy moments, where they abruptly shift directions mid song, and repeat listens show that there’s significantly more going on than your standard verse-chorus-verse template. But Kylesa also know that the most effective approach is the simplest one. So while songs like “In Memory,” “Motion and Presence,” and “Bottom Line” may be jammed with about face moments, they never stop being direct. Besides, with three singers, there’s more than enough going on with Kylesa. You’ve got an early Mike Muir signin’ shout, a John Connelly (Nuclear Assault) screech, and a hardcore bark. The styles go back and forth, occasionally merging together into one angry din. Those familiar with their prior work will undoubtedly be impressed with To Walk a Middle Course. Those looking for something beyond the standard, run of the mill metal will feel the same.



Lair Of The Minotaur "Carnage"
Brutal, Show No Mercy-era Slayer, Celtic Frost, praise Hell metal. Primal, evil, one of the best records of the year.

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Still on my list, and you need to check out:
Behemoth "Demigod" - Brutal Viking death metal. Makes me excited about about extreme music again.
Cursed "II" - The only band from Canada worth a shit. Pure Death & Roll.
Discharge "Hear Nothing..." - The original.
DropDead - 1st album. I need to buy this. My brother burned me a copy of it. RULES. I've been under a fucking rock when it come to this kind of stuff.
DeathValley Driver - "Standing Tall Before The Wagon" - I'm getting some of these for the store asap. Total metal rock from Columbia SC. This shit is like a South Carolina Scissorfight with a "Fuck You" attitude.

Bunch of stuff

1. I finally finished and sent off the artwork for the Atlanta band, Artimus Pyledriver's debut CD on Buzzville (Belgium). You can check it out, if you want, and see their tourdates with Hank III at Hellride Music .

2. Relapse Recording Artists Alabama Thunderpussy & RPG at Ground Zero tonight (03/22). The show is going to rule. And My band, The Last Van Zant is opening along with Calus from Anderson. Rock fest kiddies. Bring your drinkin' boots, you're going to need them.

3. I love Behemoth. It's the best death metal I've heard in a while and they along with Aborted have thrown me back into the genre. Love it, love it, love it.

It's a short post, but I'm trying to hit this spot more. \m/ & Celtic Frost rules.

March picks and shit going on....

Things are a little more normal around here now but it's still crazy busy. The momentum from Christmas is still carrying us. That and preparations for the new store (more on that to come).

I've been into a lot more heavy punk stuff of late, stuff like Behind Enemy Lines, Baroness, Cursed, His Hero Is Gone, Discharge, etc. Jonah Jenkins (ex singer of Milligram, Miltown, and ONLY LIVING WITNESS) has an awesome new group call Septic Youth Command - www.myspace.com/septicyouthcommand also check out Bury The Needle, another great Boston band - www.myspace.com/burytheneedle

Gotta run - here are the picks for March


High On Fire "Blessed Black Wings" - Straight up metal they way it should be done. Matt Pike's Venom and Celtic Frost worship slammed together with "Show No Mercy" era Slayer. I used to think High On Fire's records were muddy, boring crapfests, but I worship this record.




Axehandle "Axehandle" - Three Alabama Thunderpussy members in a bloodthirsty band about killing. Two drummers and a guitarist. My description does it no justice. Listen to "Face Down" at www.smallstone.com on their jukebox.


Cursed "II" - RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Iron & Wine "Woman King" - Sam Beam's most developed music to date. The addition of bass, electric guitars and violins is perfect.