Trick R' Treat

Trick R' Treat
Directed By: Michael Dougherty
Rating: 3 out of 4 Pentagrams
Reviewed By: Jeff Deth

Not to be confused with the 80's film of the same name staring Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne, this is a completely different film. For those of you fiending for some Halloween slasher goodness, look no further. Deep into this season I've watched several bad slashers recently and this happens to be one of the diamonds in the rough.

Trick R' Treat is an anthology of 4 stories loosely tied together by a wicked little kid in a burlap mask. The stories all appear to be taking place in the same town on the same night, Halloween. Anthologies can really suck at times. Anyone remember Body Bags? The difference here is that the same filmmaker is directing everything. There is no disconnect between the parts. In fact they are tightly woven together for the most part. What is most enjoyable about this is the fact that we get a bunch of different staples of the horror genre mixed together. There's a vampire, werewolves, kids running around in costumes, teenagers having sex, ghosts, a psycho neighbor, and the tiny tot miniature murderer.

Stylistically, I loved this movie. The visual landscape has been carefully and lovingly crafted. The colors, tones and the set design really stand out. I was particularly in awe of the second segment, The School Bus Massacre Revisited.

The effects and gore do not disappoint. There are some really gruesome violence consistently throughout the film. There are some weak moments here and there that seemed forced, but this was an overwhelmingly fun and spirited tribute to the holiday.

I typically stick with tried and true classics leading up to and on Halloween but if you're willing to chance it on any newly made film, this is the one. Sure to become a cult-classic that will become a part of the classic Halloween line-up.

Megadeth

Megadeth
Endgame (2009)
Roadrunner Records
Rating: 4 out of 4 Pentagrams
Reviewed by: Jeff Deth

For all long time fans of Megadeth, this is truly the record you’ve been waiting for. United Abominations certainly gave hint to how good Dave Mustaine’s songwriting can still be but Endgame takes it to a whole new level. This is a complete return to the form of Rust in Peace/Countdown to Extinction. Every single track shreds. There’s not a single misstep. Its seems as if Mustaine pulled together touches of his best work spanning over his whole catalog to create this record. The first track Dialectic Chaos is an instrumental nod to the first track from So far, So Good, So What and 1,320 is a lightning speed track that sounds right off the Killing is My Business… album. It’s truly amazing to hear all these eras mashed together and still sound completely fresh and relevant today.

The riffs on every track are incredible. The solos that get put down are as energetic and inspired as anything recorded by any of the previous Megadeth lineups. The addition of lead guitarist Chris Broderick must certainly have put some wind in the sails for Mustaine. I feel like Broderick is the best fit in this band since Marty Friedman. His chops are just mind-blowing.

As indulgent as the musicianship is, the songs are still very compact and to the point. Endgame also has very sharp and pointed lyrics, political at times but also personal in classic Mustaine style. Every element showcases classic Megadeth. Mustaine is making a very bold statement with this record. At his age there’s no explanation as to how he can be writing music as aggressive and fast as he is. Endgame blows away just about everything I’ve heard in the past few years by contemporary metal bands. This is just a case of the veterans showing everybody how metal is supposed to be done.

If I were ranking the Megadeth catalog, Endgame would be 4th on my list out of the 12. While it doesn’t quite top Rust in Peace, Peace Sells… or Countdown, it closely follows. To be able to come back after all these years and create music of this caliber is very impressive. The band clearly has assessed their strongest attributes and what their fans have loved about them. It’s refreshing to have a band give the fans what they want while staying true to themselves. All the miscues and experiments are over. This is classic Megadeth speed metal!

Slumber Party Massacre II

Slumber Party Massacre II (1987)

Directed by: Deborah Brock

Rating: 1 out of 4 Pentagrams

Reviewed by: Jeff Deth 

I was looking for a brainless 80’s slasher to get things going this Halloween season and Slumber Party Massacre II seemed right on the money. Walking down the aisles at Family Video the box art jumped out at me bringing back childhood memories. I gleefully snatched it up.

I knew what I was getting myself into and hoped only for some bloody laughs not horrific genius. The liner notes described the plot as a cross between Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Nightmare on Elm Street. Hhhhmmmm. Way to set the bar guys. This cheese fest exists squarely in Sleepaway Camp territory, no better.

But like I said, if that’s what you’re looking for you won’t be disappointed. People should just be more up-front about what they actual have to offer. I for one would not be off put in the least if they just told me, “This here is a gory teensploitation tit’s and ass slasher!”

There are scenes in this movie that are just flat out embarrassing to watch for everyone involved with the making of it. No one goes unscathed. The first half of the story is a ridiculous high school melodrama focusing on Courtney and her girlfriends who jam together in a garage band after school decked out in the worst 80’s fashion trends every created.

Not having seen the original film I was somewhat at a loss concerning the back-story of these characters. Most of the holes get filled in through dream sequence flashbacks. Apparently Courtney’s sister is locked away in a nuthouse after surviving the first film. Big sis keeps trying to give her spooky warnings about not having sex with the dude she’s in love with. But those dreams are flooded over by dreams of her going all the way with Matt the hunky lover-boy.

Warnings go unheeded, and the girls spend the weekend in a vacant house in the hills, getting hammered on champagne and eating corn dogs. Dudes show up to make things all hot and sexy, but I’m just glad the body count is going up.

Aside from the unbearable corniness of the story and acting, there are some great death’s to make this a worth wild slasher. The killer, or the “driller-Killer”, is a grease-monkey guitar player with an Ax that puts W.A.S.P. to shame. The custom guitar has a huge drill attached to the head making it a shredding instrument of death. 

I have no idea whether this guy is real, alive, dead or even human. It’s not really explained, he just appears and starts drilling holes in people. I wasn’t interested in logic at that point, I just wanted those annoying idiots to die!

I was fairly happy with the last 20 minutes of the movie, as it contained the only hints of a true horror film. The thing that throws it all off and prevents it from having any real balls is the awful soundtrack of goofy 80’s rock tunes which relentlessly undermine every effort to scare the audience. Driller Killer even breaks out into Rocky Horror song and dance for Chris-sake!

Bottom-line: Slumber Party Massacre II is mostly a joke of a film, a complete mockery of serious horror. On the other hand taken as an extremely campy slasher/comedy, it ain’t half bad. And I’m just trying to play nice here. I give everyone the benefit of doubt and enjoyed what little there was to enjoy, because hey, it was my Friday night.

Evil Ed

Evil Ed (1997)
Directed by: Anders Jacobsson
Rating: 3 out of 4 Pentagrams
Reviewed by: Jeff Deth

I have to start off saying, I've always wanted to rent this flick due to the head-splitting cover art. It took a while but I finally got around to it. And I'm glad I did. In an obvious homage to Evil Dead, Evil Ed, does it's best to offer outrageous violence with plenty of laughs along the way. I felt a strong Bad Taste (Peter Jackson) vibe interlaced into this film as well. Both of these influences are a good thing for this little Swedish film. Director, Anders Jacobsson stretches his dollar impressively well, getting great quality from his special effects department. I was most impressed with the monster characters which pop-up from Ed's sick and deranged mind.

Ed, goes nuts after editing one too many ultra-violent horror films. After being hired by a low-life movie producer of the hit series Loose Limbs, Ed is sent off to a big empty house immersed in film. Working all alone, Ed quickly transforms from straight-laced nerd into raging homicidal maniac. He percives everyone around him to be a demon trying to kill him. So, basically anyone making the mistake of showing up at the house is in trouble. He eventually gets locked up in the nuthouse where it would seem he rampage was over. Not a chance. Ed lights up the loony bin with an even greater barrage of carnage.

Evil Ed, if not totally original, is mostly great fun. There are some definite limitations in acting talent, but that is made up for in campiness and self-abasing humor. Wearing it's influences on it's sleeve, this is a film that knows it's not to be taken seriously.

Like it's predecessors, Evil Ed sets a goofy tone, going for the blood and guts jugular. An easy and enjoyable film to watch, although not a classic worthy of dozens of viewings. Possibly a cult-classic. I would be interested to see more films by Jacobsson, but as of yet this was the only credit for him I can find. Bummer.

Sanctions... Sweet hardcore.

This band is very fun, good old hardcore with some melodic elements. Grip this up. You will like it. It's more exciting then this little blurb. Do you like "Ghost Limb"? You will like this.

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Evil metallic hardcores...

This band is great, and right now it's what I am digging aside from some other stuff I will upp here soon. But until then, get this... Its some great metallic hardcore and none of that two stepping bull. It's very good and very angry. You will love this... I do...

As you can see I am lazy and this band speaks for itself, just get it... Just do it... NAO...


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Future-Kill

Future-Kill (1985)

Directed by: Ronald W. Moore

Rating: 2 out of 4 Pentagrams

Reviewed by: Jeff Deth

With a bizarre blend of street punks, toxic poisoning and fraternity humor, Future-Kill comes up Troma-esque. I had a hard time following this flick, as it’s a mish-mash of moods and ideas. Maybe I was just tired when I watched it? The plot contains two distinct settings that I haven’t seen put together before and I’m not sure they should be put together. It’s really a tale of two cities. The first being an Animal House inspired college town filled with a bunch of moronic frat boys partying their brains out and pulling gags on a rival frat. On the other side of town is a deteriorated inner-city gangland of anarchist punks protesting nuclear waste that turns people into mutant psychopaths. As it turns out they are all posers to the one truly fucked-up mutant, “Splatter”. Splatter has been mutated into a new-wave killing machine and he’s pissed.

The other mutants in his gang wish he would mellow out on the violence. They see themselves as a non-violent protest organization. Splatter enjoys killing at random.

Worlds collide when the frat boys decide to venture into the city to kidnap a mutant as a prank. Well, they F-up big time when the come across Splatter who kills the president of the fraternity. Splatter’s number one rival, “Eddie Pain” who is of the non-violent faction of mutants doesn’t like this one bit. This becomes an opportune moment for Splatter to take him out as well, pinning it on the frats.

With their car destroyed the kids flee deep into the city while the mutant army is sicked on their ass. This opens the movie up into a Warriors like running and hiding chase with punks battling frats along the way.

This was not the movie I expected. In trying to be many things, the script fails at being much of anything. It ends up just a jumbled mess of ideas that worked separately as other movies.

There are a few cool kills but nothing special. The budget provides no room for many quality effects. Not to mention the fact the production is horrible, the sound is bad and the costuming while inventive is a bit amateurish.

This is simply a misstep of the mid-eighties when everyone was trying to make the next Road Warrior or Toxic Avenger. The major downfall is the failed comedy involved. They clearly could have focused on just making a bad-ass violent sci-fi movie.  

The awesome cover art by H.R. Giger is the only inspiring thing to come of this project despite casting two stars from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. They don’t do themselves any justice here. Had this movie contained a sliver of the evilness displayed by the cover art, this movie would have been sweet. 

INSTED

Insted

What We Believe (1990)

Epitaph Records

Rating: 3 out of 4 Pentagrams

Reviewed by: Jeff Deth 

Insted was one of the few bands on the Epitaph label in 89/90, a few years before it became the hot indie-punk phenomenon. Unfortunately the band didn’t stay together long enough to join lablemates Pennywise and NOFX on a rise to underground fame. I remember feeling pretty cool when I first found the CD in the mid-nineties due to the fact that they were on the label and yet unknown  to my friends.

On their sole release, “What We Believe”, Insted proves themselves to be a very sharp and competent hardcore band. This album is a last stand for the second-wave of a straight-edge movement, which lost steam in the 90’s decade. The sound is similar in style to Gorilla Biscuits but with a shot of 7 Seconds skate punk. Equal parts of both coasts, fast and heavy. They are a wave of passion and strength. Showcasing fight songs about staying true to yourself, living straight and celebrating youth, there is not a moment of pessimism to be found. This is a very positive band, dedicated to their scene and what it means to live hardcore.

While many straight-edge bands came off heavy-handed and belligerent, Insted says what they have to say while not necessarily excluding anyone. As one song puts it, there are “No Rules”.

I find this to be an invigorating listen with every listen. Although they wear their influences heavily, there is enough individuality in their mix to keep things interesting. What I think most of when I listen to this record is the promise of a young band and what else they might have done had they carried on.  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOGAN!

from Butcher Cassidy! KEEP IT METAL!

Etacarinae... Metal & Punk...

A star was photographed in it's dying... A rare event caught on camera... This band named themselves after said star. This band is awesome and contains members of old bands who have consistently blew me away... This is no different. Get this.

Grip it up, GET INTO IT!

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Bereaved... Metal as ****... (the pic is not them... It just made me laugh real hard)

Bereaved is a technically impressive Metal act, and the drummer is tight in my opinion. Now I am not gonna say that these guys are anything but "Metal", because invariably, someone out there will be like... "These guys are not black metal, they are progressive black tech metal..." And then once again I will be reminded of how far we have fallen from loving music to "loving" music. Enjoy it? Yes? Then who gives a **** what it is? It's not like it's racist if you call it something else....



But for reals, this band is fun... I enjoy. I enjoy much. Metal is good, Bereaved is good.


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The New Barbarians

The New Barbarians

Directd by Enzo G. castellari

Rating: 3 out of 4 Pentagrams

Reviewed by: Jeff Deth

I’m predisposed with a strong fondness for post-apocalyptic themed sci-fi movies. So, I’m willing to cast aside judgment on issues of acting quality or believable costuming. In fact the more corny the acting and the more ridiculous the outfits the better. It’s what I’ve come to expect and appreciate from the slew of Road Warrior knockoffs that were produced throughout the 1980’s. Italy was a leading proponent of such flicks and The New Barbarians was one of them.

Director Enzo G. castellari is now famous for having directed the original Inglorious Bastards. I first became aware of him for directing 1990: The Bronx Warriors and Escape from the Bronx. As with a slew of other Italian directors of the era he aspired to copy successful American films for the Italian market with a much smaller budget.

The New Barbarians filmed in 1982 comes off the heels of 1981’s The Road Warrior and clearly draws inspiration from it. Mainly thematically not so much in terms of plot. The New Barbarians creates it’s own post nuclear war conditions in which a gang of death worshipers calling themselves the Templars seek to wipeout the remaining survivors completely.

The gang prowls the terrain on dirt bikes and war modified dune buggies rigged with drills, machine guns and spinning blades. The plot centers on a grizzled hero Scorpion and his young boy who attempt to thwart the evil plans of the Templar squad. The little kid is a jr. badass who picks off people by slingshoting explosives into their face. Scorpion rides around in his tricked out muscle car with machine guns spraying down the enemy.

Fred Williamson, a favorite cast in these type of films, plays another lone soldier Nadir, who doesn’t want so much to do good as much as he wants to get right in the middle of a fight. Don’t imagine there’s much else to do in a wasteland. His weapon of choice is a bow for slinging exploding arrows. The play this hilarious pimp music every time he’s making his way on screen.

Of course there’s a female who is rescued by Scorpion and needs to be further protected if he plans on making her his woman. That sets up most of the drama. There is a ton of high-speed chases and battles that take place.

This film is definitely over-the-top and cheesy but it’s so much fun it’s of no concern. There’s plenty of senseless violence and interesting characters to keep you entertained. If you are a fan of violent futuristic sci-fi, The New Barbarians won’t disappoint. But be forewarned that this is not The Terminator here, just a cheap low-budget shlockfest.

Hallowed Ground

Hallowed Ground (2007)

Directed by: David Benullo

Rating: 1.5 out of 4 Pentagrams

Reviewed by: Jeff Deth

It’s hard to write an inspired review of the film Hallowed Ground. I didn’t ragefully hate it but I certainly didn’t like it. It’s basically blah when it comes right down to it.

The town of Hope is haunted, ooooowwwwww…

The scarecrow slasher subgenre has never been successfully done more than a couple of times but that doesn’t stop people from pulling it out of the gimmick bag for yet another go. And understand something, I wanted to enjoy this film; I hoped they could catch me off guard and do something that didn’t completely suck. I wanted them to succeed as much as they did. So we both end up losers.

The script is utterly contrived and predictable from the onset. A real, Children of the Corn, small hick town gone crazy cult killers deal. Some really distraught tough girl comes into town and bumps into a terribly phony tabloid journalist and together they go out into the cornfields to investigate the hundred-year-old murder of a religious nut-job priest. The cult-priest is just now due back from the dead via a reincarnation by way of childbirth. The grungified gen-x girl, Liz, is prophesized as the chosen one to carry the holy child. Just as soon as one of the backwards redneck yokels can deposit their seed in her. The priest materializes in the form of a scarecrow assembled from nothing but old bum clothes and hay. As soon as he drops down off of a crucifix he starts going to work with a pitchfork.

After the reporter and the town sheriff are killed the Priest somehow body jumps from the straw man into the Sheriff. At that point I completely lost interest. I don’t know what this film wanted to be and I don’t think the writer/director did either. It tries to cover a lot of ground in 83 flimsy minutes and never creates an identity of it’s own.

The main problem I have really boils down to the killer. The only thing that was mildly Fun to look at was the scarecrow when he comes out killing. The second he’s out of the picture things are totally lame. They were pretty damn lame when he was there to begin with.

Not all the acting was god-awful and the picture quality doesn’t look bad at all but every other aspect of the movie is a drag. Absolutely nothing you haven’t seen a bazillion times in better movies. On the other hand, it wasn’t so unbearable that I’m Spitting on my computer screen as I write this.

Presumably you would have something better to do with your 83 minutes than watch Hallowed Ground. I could have continued reading ‘Salems Lot on paperback. but something about watching a bad straight to DVD horror film is simply a part of my make-up. Part of my DNA. It’s in the very fiber of my being. Therefore, I need Hallowed Ground as much as it needs me. We’re in this together. For better or worse…  We need each other.

Hotbild... (one sentence update)

Here is some Swedish crustcore for you... Brutal, fast, and just what you need on most days.


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Double header - Hardcore / Hardcore

If you like stuff on Bridge Nine, like reaching forward or the likes... You will like the first band, "Only fumes and corpses". Sounds like crust as **** kind of name, but... Good old hardcore, and fun too.


DOWNLOWED


The second band is "Hark! it's a crawling tar tar." Strange name, great band. These guys have been in bands before some, hardcore / crusty stuff and some metal. These guys are from Indonesia and really really fun, and sometimes strange, in the best way possible. Love'em.

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I gotta work soon, so... get this **** nao.

Rock N Roll D-Beat Mayhem!

If you liked Black Panda, you will like this... I am busy-ish being a waitress or some ****, so... This is a quickie. Its some more Rock and Roll fueled D-beat, this **** kills... Just get it, be hurt that it was a quick post, I've got to pander to old people to get that money....

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Scalps

Scalps (1983)

Directed by: Fred Olen Ray

Rating: 2.25 out of 4 Pentagrams

Reviewed By: Jeff Deth

Scalps is the story of a group of college archeology students who venture out into the desert searching for ancient Native American artifacts. Of course it all goes horribly wrong. Once their professor backs out on joining them at the last minute, the kids head out on the road planning for a weekend of drinking and fornication.

Normally that would have been great, but without him the bumbling teens unknowingly trespass onto haunted Indian burial grounds. But it’s not as if they weren’t warned. After all, the creepy town derelict at the gas station told them all about the scalpings, etc. going on in the Black Tree area where they were headed. But of course they were too busy buying their beer and planning to get laid to give a damn.

In a sense this film is derivative and formulaic. It reminded me of The Hills Have Eyes but with a Friday The 13^th cast of horny couples. Not that that’s a terrible thing. I give the film credit for introducing a new spin on an otherwise typical slasher story.

I expected the acting to be horrible given the low-budget. I was surprised and fairly satisfied with the believability of most of the characters under the circumstances. The budget was low but they did plenty of things right with it. The soundtrack was really good, setting a dark vibe throughout. I found the cinematography to be engaging at times as well, with some interesting shots being attempted. One aspect I could have done without was the dog-faced mask on one of the killers. Clearly it’s a mask and it doesn’t help that it was shot straight on in full light. They might have gotten away with it if they had heavily shadowed him.  On the other hand, the killings showed some quality special effects with some slashed throat and decapitation action. There is one full-on scalp that takes place but for a film called “scalps” you would have expected more.

I really like the idea of Native American ghosts haunting the desert as the basis for a film. Scalps, does an ok job of executing it but it could have been better somehow. I’m not going to put it down too hard because over-all it works and did more things right than wrong on balance.  If you’re a fan of the early work of Wes Craven you will probably appreciate Scalps. Or, you could just as easily find it to be a poor man's knock off all the same. 

Splatter Farm

Splatter Farm (1987)
Directed By: Mark Polonia, John Polonia, and Todd Smith
Camp Motion Pictures DVD
Rating: 1.5 out of 4 Pentagrams
Reviewed By: Jeff Deth

I’ve been brave enough to give Camp Motion Pictures another try, although I’m still recovering from the anguish of Woodchipper Massacre.

Expectations where low from the onset to avoid any emotional crash as the result of viewing. I simply placed the disc into the player and braced myself for the worst.
And that was certainly the smart thing to do but even still, I had braced for bad, not
insest rape, necrophilia and rape of the anal sort.

This was an incredibly uncomfortable film to watch. If you have a girlfriend, do not subject her to this vile offense. Unless she is extremely demented and tortured, in which case she may enjoy it.

The directing and staring twin brothers (Mark Polonia, John Polonia) play Allen and Joseph, two unbearably annoying twits paying a visit to their perverted sicko Aunt Lacey. Lacey, who is old enough to be their grandmother lives with the cannibalistic corpse fucker, Jeremy. Jeremy is responsible for tending to the farm and it’s animal inhabitants. Aside from that, he hovers around in the barn chopping up bodies and having sex with them.

The brothers, although extremely dim, begin to sense that auntie and her helping hand have got some weird stuff going on. It was only a matter of time before Jeremy is seen
defiling body parts and auntie can’t control her 60 year-old sexual appetite for young boys. Young boys she happens to be related to. Things spiral out of control and Jeremy gets to killing.

The acting is horrendous and stiff throughout. Although Jeremy is actually believable as a twisted backwoods freak as he doesn’t actually have to deliver many lines. The production is pure VHS quality. I will give it up to them in regards to special effects. Sure, they had no money but that didn’t hold them back. There was a definite effort put forth to create some actual “splatter” as promised. Everything looks fake and cheap but they tried and they manage to pull off some pretty disgusting stuff.

If this film intends to make the viewer feel sick and awkward, I believe it was a success. I can’t say it succeeded on many other fronts though. I was certainly taken off guard with all the sex-crime on display. There’s some shocking scenes without a doubt. Splatter Farm was a lot better than I prepared myself for but still not good enough to ever watch again as long as I live.

Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival

Mayhem Festival Featuring: Slayer, Marylin Manson, Killswitch Engage, Trivium, Cannibal Corpse, Behemoth, All That Remains, Black Dahlia Murder, Mushroomhead, White Chapel, God Forbid
Reviewed by: Jeff Deth
Rating: 3.75 out of 4 Pentagrams


No Gigantour, no Sounds of the Underground, no Ozzfest. I even had hope last years Metal Masters would come back. No such luck. With no other great metal package tours coming around this year, Rockstar Energy Drinks Mayhem Festival was my summer concert priority.

The daylong festival packed in 10 bands across three stages with tons of merch and vendor booths. I quite enjoyed the booths as most tours only come with one standard tour shirt booth. At this festival you could buy anything from CD’s to belts to smoking paraphernalia. There was plenty to do and see all-day in between bands or when you just needed a break from all that metal.

Mayhem has done a great job of bringing in the best of all worlds of metal. While they can’t showcase really underground acts they bring together fairly disparate styles.
This year you get Marylin Manson, Slayer, Killswitch Engage, Mushroomhead, Trivium, Cannibal Corpse, All That Remains, Behemoth, Black Dahlia Murder, White Chapel and God Forbid. No I’ll admit, I’m not a fan of all those bands but more than enough to justify the ticket price. Any day when you can hear both “Hammer Smashed Face” and “Angel of Death” live is day in metal heaven (or Hell). Shit, for Slayer alone it would have been worth it.

The quality of the entertainment was very high. Rockstar came with a free drink bar dispensing an endless supply of cans to rabid metal kids, keeping the pits buzzing with energy. There was a dirt bike show going on off to the side of the two outdoor stages providing an added attraction. If that wasn’t enough there was even a wrestling ring with actual matches going on in the back. Crazy. Revolver Magazine gave away free concert books with features on all the bands and a schedule breakdown of the set times.

The thing that made me the happiest out of anything was the fact that I had the opportunity to see every band perform. My concern going in was that at some point I would have to choose between seeing one band or the other. Never happened. They organized it so that the bands alternated between the two outdoor stages all afternoon. No bands ever had to play on top of each other, which was awesome. It went from extreme metal on the left stage to more “mainstream” metal on the right stage. After all the opening bands played those stages the entertainment moved down to the main stage for the headliners. A great way to do a festival. I remember Lollapalooza being at the same venue years ago and the second stage had to compete with the main stage all day long.

You pay to see all the bands not some of them. That’s the whole point and I’m glad that the organizers of this event understand that.

As for the bands themselves we have some clear highlights. Slayer absolutely and unequivocally stole the festival. You just can’t top them, I don’t care how much younger you are. If anyone was going to it would have to be Trivium but given a shortened set list, there was no comparison. They played all the expected classics that have defined them as one of the top five most important metal bands of all-time. Its just mind blowing to hear the most metal riffs ever being played one after another. They had the place going ballistic with a non-stop thrashing assault on the senses. Not to take anything away from Trivium who bested all of the opening performances. They have amazing energy on-stage and an incredible chemistry as a band. This is the band of present day metal and sure to completely take-over the scene once bands like Metallica and Slayer hang it up. They not only have the songwriting ability and records but they pass the true test of metal by out performing their peers. In terms of shear intensity and brutality, Cannibal Corpse pulled no punches on this day either. They literally killed and maimed. Behemoth and All That Remains put on fine performances as well but nothing to write home about. A band I was on the fence about, Killswitch Engage created the single most memorable moment of the day when guitarist Adam D. got the lawn to split down the middle and creating a huge hole; then had both sides charge at each other ala a kickoff during a football game. These people fucking went into each other like two colliding semi-trucks. I had never seen such a thing in all the concerts I’ve ever been to over the last 15 years. Insane. Killswitch gets grief for their goofy stage show, specifically Adam D.’s parody of the “tough metal guy.”
He screamed at the audience incessantly between songs to stop acting like a bunch of bloody pussy’s, etc. He was a little much but other than that I can’t knock the integrity of their performance. Their music is really good and they something can be said for not taking yourself to seriously.

On the downside of things Mushroomhead performed on place of the Welsh Thrashers Bullet For My Valentine. Yawn. I’m surprised they could get booked for this gig. On the main stage no less. They were an utterly derivative imitation of Slipknot with sprinklings of industrial nonsense. I barley paid them any attention. And then there was Marylin. I expected much more from him to be honest. For being the most controversial musician of my generation, He didn’t bring anything new to the fold for this tour. Maybe it had to do with him almost going to prison the last time he visited Detroit. I just wasn’t blown away by their stage show. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t live up to the hype I had heard of. Many of the songs didn’t hold up very well for me in this setting of an outdoor arena. I hoped to hear something more from his first record. He seems to be past his prime at this point even with Twiggy back in the band. As it was I only recognized three or four of his songs. But I don’t profess to be a Manson fan at all so I may be a pour judge.

Overall this was a great day of metal that fulfilled my need for a metal festival. Comparatively it offered much more than any of the package bill tours I’ve seen before. Mayhem has their shit together.

Double Header - Crust and Metalz.

Today is Cwill and Blüdwülf... Cwill is an Epic Crust band from Switzerland, these guys are just plain awesome. Dual vocals, violin. This is the kind of "world ending" sounding crust, that I love so very much.

This is their newer album and if you can track down their release from the mid-nineties, get that as well... I might up it later?

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Now onto Blüdwülf.... This band is a well kept secret for some time but I will impart them unto you faithful people who do not read this blog.... This band is a good mix of some very fun genre's and I know for a fact Jeff will love this ****... Butcher Cassidy does not lie about good music, but rarely tells the truth about everything else... Everything about Blüdwülf is pure fun, they pretty much are what this blog is about 100%, like Ghoul is as well... Check out the song "The Horror" followed by "Full metal warrior", then proceed to listen to the whole thing, you'll love it...

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Allright guys, I am out... Grip this up and GET INTO IT!

NO TIME FOR BLOGS!

New reviews will be coming in soon. I'm in the middle of moving and working crazy hours. Be on the look out for my review of "Splatter Farm" early next week. I may even throw up a concert review as well for the upcoming Rockstar Mayhem Festival featuring Slayer. Hope whoever is out there reading is still thrashing and slashing in our absence.

Destruction

Destruction

Release from Agony (1988)

Profile Records

Rating: 3.25 Pentagrams out of 4

Reviewed by: Jeff Deth

Next to the United States, an argument could easily be made that Germany gave us some of the best thrash bands of all time. Certainly in terms of influence, German bands like Kreator, Sodom and Destruction paved the way for the next generation of extreme death and black metal genres. During the mid to late eighties Destruction was amongst the most extreme metal bands in their brutal speed thrashing attack. They made no bones about how metal they were. They literally covered themselves in bullet belts, spikes and leather. They’re almost the perfect thrash band. They don’t have songs that epitomize thrash or that could be considered essential but they are  consistently very good.

Germany had already made significant contributions to the metal scene prior to thrash but it seems that they truly had a deep connection to this violent, disillusioned and satanic offspring of punk and metal fusion. How from Lörrach, they synthesized all that was emerging in the tiny clubs of the Bay Area amazes me. More so, in relation to Slayer or Exodus. I can’t relate them in many ways to Metallica. Destruction is on the darker fringe. Flirting with Satanic imagery and chaotic horrors of the world and of the mind.

Release from Agony was the bands third full length LP from 1988. It contains everything great about this band. Blazing solo after solo matched by a charging rhythm section and the high-pitched shrieks of Bassist/ vocalist Schmier. Listen to any Black Metal song and you will hear the influence Schimer had as they seem to mimic him all the way. The way he used his voice at the time was something really unique. With the addition of a second guitarist, the solos are as frequent as they are incredible.

Each song delves into some dark and distorted facet of existence. Death, depression, political corruption, war. These are the things in life a band calling themselves Destruction can appreciate. Yes, their worldview  is pretty bleak but they express it with such intensity and speed that it gleefully catapults you straight into the fiery abyss. I’m totally blown away by the technical precision of each song. I listened to the whole album three times in a row just to take it all in. This is a great record all the way through. A perfect reflection of the German movement of thrash metal that spawned countless other bands but of which Destruction stands the tallest.