In the wake of the untimely and sad passing of Jeff Hanneman; the question begs to be asked as to what is the future of SLAYER? And for that matter; what is the future of the Big Four of American Thrash? I find it interesting and disturbing that out of all the surviving original SLAYER members; that only estranged drummer, Dave Lombardo, has made any public comments. I hope that Tom and Kerry will have something to say on the matter soon. I also hope that they will have e...
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Louisiana’s sons of Blackened Death Groove – Goatwhore, tore through a blistering 1 hour set at Fitzgerald’s last night. My girlfriend and I got to meet and chat with Mr. Sammy Duet (guitar/vocals) at the bar before he hit the stage. Sammy was super nice, humble, and soft spoken. I’ve met and talked to Ben Falgoust (lead vocals) before and he was also hella-cool. Really great guys. It was quite a strange bill of bands last night. Most of the other bands were a cheesy blen...
My younger brother wrote this really great piece. Read and enjoy! Yet another SXSW under our belts, and I always enjoy myself thoroughly despite the post-festival hangover. Not only does the festival provide me the opportunity to see some great music, but it gives me the chance to hang with my brother. Yes indeed, that means experiencing some in-your-face METAL. Growing up with Aamir, I’ve always enjoyed the heavier side of things when it comes to music. I wouldn’t cal...
While I was in Istanbul, Turkey last month I had the opportunity to see a local Metal band called Murder King. They were super tight, talented, energetic, and fuckin heavy. My brother, my cousin, and I saw them play at a local club called DoRock on the Saturday night before Sonisphere Istanbul. The crowd was friendly, joyous, and jazzed to be there. The guys played a mixed set of original material and various cover songs that were all executed with flawless precision. I urge everyone to check th...
As some of you may know, Mr. Dane is the enigmatic front-man of Power-metal masters Nevermore and used to front Sanctuary in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Warrel enlisted the musical proficiency of Peter Wichers (guitars/basses) and Dirk Verbeuren (drums); both of Soilwork fame to assist him with his solo effort. Matt Wicklund (ex-Himsa) also lends guitar duties. The Gothenburg element is quite evident due to the assistance of Wichers and Verbeuren. For all the “Prog-Metal&rdqu...
So I just had to write a review on one of my favorite albums of all time...“Unlimited” by Norway’s SUSPERIA. The band was formed in 1998 by Tjodalv, the original drummer for Dimmu Borgir. Tjodalv and his guitar playing buddy Cyrus would bring SUSPERIA to fruition. What we have here is a brilliant mixture of varied Metal textures. There’s hints of Black, Death, Thrash, and even some good ‘ol Classic Metal. Memnoch provides some amazing six string bass wizardry ...
Greetings from the Land of 'Geek kids. Today would normally be Tax Day, but since Washington, D.C. is closed down for Emancipation Day (?) you've got until Monday to "render unto Caesar." Until then, why don't you let us take your mind off all that with some links and cheesecake. This week's selection is the very rare double dip. True, we've been featuring two pictures of our weekly selections for some time now, but today, for only the second time ever, we'll be featuring two ...
It's Friday of SXSW. Day 2 for Jibbies, Day 3 for Loond. After roughly 24 hours of Small Stone immersion, its time for....well, more rock and metal! We stroll up on Dirty Dog's Bar and are instantly deflated. The line goes into the street and nearly out of sight. Fortunately, all the good mojo built up from a lifetime of devotion to metal once again comes to bear as a voice booms from nowhere in particular: "Chris Smith!" It comes from Brother-of-Metal and current Austinite C...
Small Stone Recordings, one of the most righteous record labels on this earth, hosts a showcase for its bands each year at South by Southwest. Loond got there nice and early, established contact with label-head Scott Hamilton and did a quick interview with the vocally inimitable Jeff Martin of Lo-Pan. Jibbies showed up just a little bit later and had his SXSW door luck remain undented. The person before him gets "doors aren't open yet." The doorman looks at Jibbies and says, "w...
Good afternoon kids. I have a confession to make. I am on a drug. It's called Charlie Sheen. It's not available. If you try it once, you will die. Your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body. I probably took more than anybody could survive. ... I was bangin' seven-gram rocks and finishing them because that's how I roll, because I have one speed, one gear. ... I'm different. I have a different constitution, I have a different brain, I have a differen...