switzerland

by Chris Rowella It’s impossible to surf the Internet this time of year without running into “best of” lists. As I get older, their appeal has waned. With releases growing exponentially each year, listing favorites has become a pain in the ass. I find myself returning to records that have transcended annual rankings to become […]

No Halloween would be complete without, er, Helloween. Here’s an artifact from that band’s checkered past. It may be the first ever usage of the term “death metal.” In 1984, death metal hadn’t been invented yet, so instead we get artwork of a cannibal corpse eating guts that look like caramel apples — a Halloween […]

http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/rTlBua7mfao&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0 The honeymoon is over for Barack Obama. Many are questioning the effectiveness of a President elected on virtually messianic terms. I believe he is doing the best he can under difficult conditions. A hole eight years deep cannot be fixed in one. But grumbling has begun. Where are the jobs and the change that […]

Ooh! The Roadburn Festival has chosen Tom G. Warrior as its curator for 2010. By all accounts, this year’s Neurosis-curated event was a hit, so Warrior’s work is cut out for him. He will select 16 bands for the festival. His pals 1349 (reviewed here) will likely make the cut. Perhaps so will Valborg, an […]