ireland

I recently watched Flashdance for the first time. It is one of the greatest movies I have ever seen. Even though it is not very good, it is great. Never mind its two-dimensional characters, formulaic arc (a straight line), or that it would spawn Save the Last Dance with the addition of hip-hop and jungle […]

The recession seems not to have affected Metal Blade. In the first half of this year, the label had 29 releases, compared to 23 and 19 in the first halves of 2008 and 2007, respectively. Partnerships with Ironclad (label of Unearth’s Trevor Phipps), Blackmarket Activities (label of The Red Chord’s Guy Kozowyk), and Rise Above […]

by Cosmo Lee Having seen Watain live tonight – an enjoyable but predictable experience – and listening to Altar of Plagues right now, I’m convinced that black metal’s balance of power has tipped away from Scandinavia. There’s no resulting epicenter – the Internet is leveling regional idiosyncrasies with the force of a trillion downloads – […]

Fight Amp At Pitchfork, I’ve reviewed Fight Amp, a ’90s AmRep throwback whom I suspect has a Danzig fetish. The recording is tough; the guy-girl vocals are tougher. At All Music Guide, I’ve reviewed Avenger of Blood (German thrash from Las Vegas), Barbara (artful Israeli sickness), Bilk (Croatian drum ‘n’ bass ‘n’ rock), Brutus (Caesar-slaying […]