rock
Consuming Impulse: The Pelican Burger
Photo by Carmelo Española An elegant mountain of metal meat, the Pelican Burger was yet another off-the-wall creation from Kuma’s Corner, as it brought elegant staples out of fine dining and integrated them with a burger geared more towards PBR-swilling hessians. The Pelican Burger had several layers of flavor that swirled in the palate. The […]
Motörhead - Bomber
Click to enlarge Motörhead’s Bomber turns 30 today. Incredibly, the band also put out Overkill in 1979 (see here). Bands these days take longer to write worse records. I prefer the music on Overkill, but Bomber is no slouch. The Overkill/Bomber/Ace of Spades trilogy is as fundamental to heavy music as Black Sabbath’s first six […]
Interview: Bill Steer (Firebird, Carcass)
Bill Steer’s guitar has soundtracked much of my life in the past two decades. His work in Napalm Death and Carcass helped lay the groundwork for grindcore and death metal today. Now he has a bluesy retro rock trio called Firebird, for which he sings and plays guitar. I’ve listened to their latest record, Grand […]
Thin Lizzy: A Celebration
2009 marks the 40th anniversary of the best Irish rock band of all time: Thin Lizzy. Their contributions to hard rock and heavy metal have never received the kind of praise heaped on peers like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. However, the groundwork they laid out has influenced countless acts in heavy music. Philip Parris […]
Metal Mixtape: Fenriz - Trapped Under Vice, Vol. II
Fenriz is back with another mixtape for Vice. This one is called Trapped Under Vice, Vol. II. (For Vol. I, see here). Despite the very metal cover, the contents are very not-metal. Fenriz says, “Welcome to a time travel to the rock of 1968-1978, all across the globe from Iceland to Australia.” For his full […]
Doomriders - Darkness Come Alive
Given their storied pedigree, it’s no surprise that Doomriders revel in the metal. Comprised of equal parts Converge, Disappearer, Cave In and Cast Iron Hike, the band continues the New England tradition of sharpening hardcore’s metal edge. Darkness Come Alive (Deathwish, Inc., 2009) demonstrates how impressive the band has become at molding rock and metal […]
Astronomy Domine
Today Voivod’s Nothingface turns 20. I wonder if it was a kind of Black Album for Voivod’s fans. Its prog rock was such a change from the twisted thrash of previous albums. Also, it was the band’s first major label record. Did people cry “sellout”? Having discovered Voivod with 1991’s Angel Rat and not hearing […]
Interview: Glenn Danzig
By request, here is a transcript of an interview I did with Glenn Danzig in early 2007. It was for The Lost Tracks Of Danzig, a compilation I heartily recommend. Parts of this interview appeared in a feature in Unrestrained! #35. Of all the interviews I’ve done, Danzig’s left the worst taste in my mouth. […]
Alice in Chains - Black Gives Way to Blue
Alice in Chains is the most death-obsessed band ever to crack the Top 40. More accurately, its obsession was dying, namely vocalist Layne Staley’s heroin addiction. From 1992’s Dirt to Staley’s death 10 years later, it defined the band. That something could sound so strong yet be so helpless must have been a morbid curiosity […]
Danzig - 4p
Danzig has always been too stylish to be truly evil. From the Misfits’ and Samhain’s iconic looks to his skull logo and Verotik comic book company, Danzig’s imagery makes for great t-shirts. True evil, like its antithesis (“YHWH”), should not be effable. The tidiness of its presentation doesn’t detract from Danzig’s work, though. It’s just […]
Around Our Network
