WIZARD STOMP

TRVE

It's nice to see metal bands acting like metal bands again.

HEAVY METAL IN MORDOR

AG bros, Huntress, just dropped their new music video yesterday. I believe the word you are looking for is "epic."

Well that's pretty cool, I guess.

New Ghoul video made by Ezra and Aesop Dekker (who are also responsible for the Crud Wizard and Cosmic Hearse blogs).



I get poisoned at 1:15

100 PINTS OF LAGER

Before Spinal Tap there was... BAD NEWS, a joke NWOBHM band from the minds of several of the folks from cult British TV comedy "The Young Ones." That should be enough to send most people scrambling feverishly onto Youtube searching for any scraps of footage they can cram in their eye- and earholes. There were two episodes of BBC series "Comic Strip" devoted to the band, who basically sound like Motorhead with a lobotomy (i.e., I actually kind of like their songs even though they're supposed to suck), one in 1983 and another in 1988. They recorded an album with Brian May and played a bunch of gigs during their lifetime, including a date at Donington from which footage for their second "Comic Strip" appearance was culled.

I don't know if I can say Bad News is funnier than Spinal Tap (though I guess the first Bad News show was broadcast before Tap hit theaters if that counts for anything), but there's really no way out of comparing the two "bands." I will go on record that this is some hilarious stuff that the Archers' Guild nation better get into quick.

PS: Youtube won't let me post the original "Comic Strip" show on here, but it's on the site if you wanna have a laff.

SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION

Archers' Guild Records is proud to (finally) present our first (last?) release, Solar Hits! That's right- your favorite psychedlic glam metal freak rock band, Glitter Wizard, has finally released a full-length.

Preview/buy a digital copy here or purchase it on vinyl here.

WAKING UP WITH METAL

HEAVY METAL GALLAGHER

When it comes to music videos, these dudes are at the top of their game.





And just in case you've been living under a rock:

BLACK METAL MONDAY: BLACK METAL BATHROOM READING

What's more cult than reading a black metal-packed fanzine by candlelight while blasting a copy of the accompanying 12" of rehearsal-room deathrash from Norwegian legends Morbid? Why, taking an evil dump at the same time!

Yes, it's black metal bathroom reading time, with the latest (and according to the zine's introduction, possibly final) issue of Slayer Magazine, one of the longest-running publications to claw its way out of the bowels of the metal underground. Slayer XX is an incredible read, put together by Metalion, a long-time Norwegian metal maniac. First published in 1986, it's most famous for its early 90s issues, which documented the spectacular emergence of his country's groundbreaking black metal movement.

Issues of Slayer have become increasingly sporadic, released basically whenever Metalion feels like it rather than on a set schedule (issue 19 was published in 2004!), but issue XX makes up for the long wait by being more of a book than a fanzine. It's hardbound, with glossy, thick pages and professional print quality. However, despite the stunning presentation (including some awesome graphic design from Watain frontman Erik Danielsson) the writing style is totally in the style of a fanzine, with the editor interjecting his opinion and of course his unique sense of humor into each feature. The layout for many features is in the old-school cut and paste style -- you can even see razor marks on the pages.

This down and dirty approach befits the bands featured -- you will find no slick mainstream garbage here. There are interviews and articles about Watain, Destroyer 666, Pagan Altar, Sadus, Nifelheim, Funeral Mist, Whiplash, Sunn O))), Grotesque, Kreator and many more, including remembrances of dead black/death metal pioneers Quorthon of Bathory and Jon Nodtveidt of Dissection. The quality of the interviews is generally top-notch, with the bands really taking the questions seriously, something that you don't really find in some zines. Since Metalion is a die-hard death/black metal fanatic with roots stretching back to the very beginnings of the extreme metal movement, he garners a lot more respect for his subjects than some snot-nosed kid making fly-by-night zine in his bedroom. To top it all off, a 12" record of unreleased Morbid material from the mid-80s is included with each copy, Morbid of course being the first band of legendary black metal suicide Dead of Mayhem.

All in all, Slayer XX will keep your eyes glued to its pages while your ass is glued to the toilet seat for many, many BMs to come. Two plungers up!!!

(Apparently this is sold out from the publisher but poke around in distros in the coming weeks and you will probably will be able to find it -- 2,000 were printed so they should be around)

BLACK MASSES!!!

Fuck me! Have you heard the new Electric Wizard? It's is easily the best thing the Wizard has put out since Dopethrone. Hell, it may even be better. (I'm not gonna say it but I might be thinking it.) It's certainly not as face-crushingly brutal as Dopethrone but what it lacks in hardness, it makes up for in heaviness. We're talking serious smoke-infused grooves, baby. We're talking about grooves that make you wanna fuck a virgin on a pagan altar. Sexy.

Black Masses starts of with the title track which was a good call cuz it's one of the best songs on the album. It's a bit faster than usual but the riffs are still beefy as fuck and the vocals are almost catchy if you can believe that. I don't want to get into a long and boring song-by-song synopsis but I do want to mention that the song "Turn Off Your Mind" is fucking killer. Jus Oborn's vocals are reeeeeally good on this one. They're particularly good on the whole album, actually. But seriously, this track makes me feel like I got dosed and stepped onto the set of a 70's occultsploitation flick.

The thing that makes Black Masses better than a lot of EW's other albums (and most albums by other bands in the genre, for that matter) is that these wizards have really figured out how to keep their riffs interesting. Doom/stoner/etc. is about riffs and repetition but let's face it, a lot of it can get rather boring after a while. The trick is to change the way you play that same riff over and over again so that it doesn't sound the same. And EW have really nailed it this time around. Most of their songs don't have more than two riffs but they add enough other shit in there (wah-wahed-the-fuck-out solos, chanting, and is that a synthesizer I hear in the background?) to keep your attention for six (plus) minutes.

My only complaint is the last track, "Crypt of Drugula." It's a pretty half-assed noise drone that goes on forfuckingever but doesn't go anywhere but whatever, it's the last track so I can just turn it off and put on another album.

This album is being release on vinyl on December 21. The cheapest place I've found to pre-order it is here. If you don't give a rat's ass about vinyl you can pick it up right now at your local music store.

CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY

BEATING TUF E NUF TO THE PUNCH

Does anyone know anything about this band? Fit for Fight is one of the best metal albums ever made but I still can't find any info on them other than a) they are from Denmark and b) they recorded with Henrik Lund (who also recorded Mercyful Fate). Why are they such a mystery?

MORE METAL

...and while we're on the subject of killer metal videos, here's a couple of favorites from the past decade.

METAL KINGS

Manowar. Most people either love em or hate em. I stand firmly in the "love" camp. If this video doesn't convince you then we're never gonna agree.

Get on.

It's official: this is the greatest video ever made.

TANKED

Tank was formed in 1980 by bassist/singer Algy Ward who had previously played with both The Saints and The Damned. Clearly inspired by Motörhead, Tank were one of the most promising acts to come out of the NWOBHM scene. Filth Hounds of Hades was their first and best album and was produced by Fast Eddie Clarke (go figure). This album combines all the best parts of Motörhead with more melodic vocals. Be prepared to have your balls shredded off.

Before there was Buns of Steel...

This is what Bruce Dickison (known at the time as Bruce Bruce) was doing before he joined Maiden:



That's their drummer, Thundersticks, lifting amps and fighting security.

And here's part 2:

A Comination of Religion and Hockey

Better than it looks...

Picked up this gem at Dave's Record Shop today. Don't be fooled by it's boring-ass cover; this album is a nonstop thrashing metal party. Released in 1982 on Neat Records, Wiped Out was Raven's second release. The band (along with labelmates, Venom) helped bridge the gap between the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and thrash before moving to the States to put out some overproduced bullshit on Atlantic records.
Just looking at the track listing, you can tell that Wiped Out is gonna be great. With song titles like "Bring the Hammer Down," "Star War," and "Chainsaw" how can you go wrong? Blasting drums, screaming guitars, and Halford-influenced vocals bring the rock and don't let up until the very end. (Okay, so there's a 30 sec. acoustic guitar interlude, but no wimpy ballads!!!) Highly recommended for any fan of early metal.

CARDBOARD GUITARS

First post! I'm gonna start this shit off right with some NWOBHM. I found this documentary a few weeks back and I've been sharing it with all my friends. There's some excellent live Di'Anno-era Maiden footage in here: