New/newish bands worth your time

1) Demona - Chile via Montreal 'bangers & speed ragers with really great vocals. Admittedly, I rarely discover newer Metal bands that I'm 100% into on YouTube. YET early this spring I stumbled across their name after checking out a bunch of stuff on HeavyMetaller1978's incredible list of clips of HM/NWOBHM rarities. More on point, Demona are led by Tanza on vocals and guitar. Although, I believe she did all the instruments on her earlier releases. She has a really great guitar tone and lead playing that reaches back to a variety of sounds (hell, some "metal through time" acts I've barely even heard! But definitely check out their site for more info on Poltergeist, Wardance [Germany] and the REAL Warrant). Interestingly, Tanza's a second generation metaller as her father Mauricio "Jackie" was in the Vina del Mar thrash acts Distorsion and D.O.D. The latter band released a demo in 1989. Other than Metal-Archives, information seems to be hard to find on this band.

Demona's "The Assassin" - conjures up everything from Iron Angel to early Kreator (in the riffs) to Sentinel Beast to Destruction in the solos. Yet there's something very punk the way Tanza sings - very raw and straight ahead. Yet there's many wild changes that again conjure everything that's great with '85-'86 Speed Metal. I love how she throws in a very Germanic thrash style emphasis on the end of phrases:  "No one knows what's go-ing ONNNN!" Add to this the phonetic parts "Thee Ass-azz-siiin! which makes like an early Metallica slogan of the Young Metal Attack. Lastly they just released their excellent debut LP, Metal Through The Time which you can get from Germany's Heavy Forces Records.

  

2) Acid Evil - One woman possessed Thrashin' Black Metal Attack from Quito, Ecuador. I had been schooled a bit on Ecuadorian Metal via KZSU DJ Your Imaginary's friend visit there a few years ago. On his trip he scored me a CD-R comp of local Metal/Punk/HC bands from the national museum (erg, I forget the name of the comp and it's likely in the dark catacombs of my collection at the mo', but trust me, it's good!). Acid Evil's recording is pretty raw to the point you can hear her changing chords that are in the mix too often (and weirdly sound like a cat sneeze after awhile) down the neck but that adds to the charm. I would be curious how she would sound with a slightly better recording. That aside, "Baphomets Command" is fierce and challenges me enough to seek out more. The second version of this is a lot clearer (yet still quite raw and uncompromising) If you're dismissing this as "just another Destruction rip off" you're brain's er, cracked. At the 2:35 mark she pulls off the always impressive "fast now faster" bit.

Their myspace  features 2 more songs "Toxic Mind" that has yet another Goblin sample along with a great build up in the chorus and a neat mix of repetition and variation in the riffing."Noctrum Polaris" is feels a bit longer and uses a similar formula as "Toxic Mind" but in the chorus does a "1 riff/pull back" approach. Then they layer a bunch more notes immediately after. You can get the (very limited) split tape between Acid Evil and Demona was available on their site but check their Facebook for further updates/availability.

3) Heavy Cross - Not to be confused with the Georgian band of the same name or this Black Metal/Punk band. Anyway, THIS Heavy (as in fuckin' traditional/Heavy Metal) Cross will be soon releasing (on 31st of May)  their debut 7" on Hells Headbangers. The A-side."Street Wolf" is an fantastic, classic FWOSHM styled number that doesn't come off obvious and clunky like say, Priestess or some shit. The flip, "Red Light Woman" is a sleazy (but not stupid)* mix of 70's Alice Cooper, a lost Brats (Denmark) demo and NWOBHM acts like Nightime Flyer.  Sure these riffs/solos have been done before but it's the spirit of the thing that makes it stand out. Dig it: http://hellsheadbangers.bandcamp.com/album/street-wolf

* sleazy (but not stupid) = Venom's "Poison", Mercyful Fate's "Nuns Have No Fun", Nasty Savage's "XXX" and "Dungeon of Pleasure". Sleazy AND stupid = Motley Crue, Posin', Steel Panther

4) Gouge - Yet another upcoming release by Hells Headbanger's. Dirty, filthy Death/Grind with a strong Repulsion/Master/Slaughter (Canada, of course!) influence. Punishing riffs and wild, wailing solos from outta nowhere. Lately, I've not been nutsy about "regressive Death/Grind Metal" but this hits all the right spots and has all the right amount of grit, grime and gnarl. It was hard to find other info on them other than this but go forth or forever pose!  http://hellsheadbangers.bandcamp.com/album/doomed-to-death

Corpse Paint - An Illustrated History

      Well an almost history. C'mon look at Kevin Sullivan circa: 1983!

Granted his corpse-painted-ness was more under the radar than the Road Warriors or Demolition (the WWF's Road Warriors rip off). Also, you can buy the above Francesca Bunny Williams' print from Wonderleague in the UK. Wonderleague also has a good collection of "yes, they REALLY made these" trading cards.

METALSPLOITATION! - Part 2 - Svesnka Svart Metal

Sometimes when you randomly search for "satan" on YouTube you get this:

Part I:



File under worst pick up lines of all time:
"Did you know the drummer from Marduk spat blood on me once ?"

och parte II:

Ladies & Gentlemen put your hands together for Norway's funnyman, Fenriz!

I wasn't too sure about Darkthrone and 2nd wave Black Metal when I first delved into it (circa: 1995-98). At first I couldn't get my head around all those cascading, raw riffs. It sounded "too raw". Oddly enough it was the same thing I said about Bathory - whose music I grew to appreciate much more in the late 90's. The first Darkthrone I heard was on a Moonfog Records comp. "Crusade From The North". Once again the words "too raw" came to my mind.

Also, their putting "Norsk Arisk Black Metal (Norwegian Aryan Black Metal)" and some anti-Jewish statement on back of Trasilvanian Hunger
& working with the avowed racist Varg Vikernes didn't help much. Then in the inside of next album, "Panzerfaust" all that made things a little more clear: "Darkthrone is certainly not a Nazi band nor a political band, those of you who still might think so, you can lick Mother Mary's asshole in eternity." Eternity? Anyway, This shows at least their own the same blasphemous, anti-religious path that Black Metal is built upon. (That plus grim vocals & loads of great riffs!)

Flash forward a few years, and Fenriz & co are dropping Seinfeld & South Park references and making mention of artists as varied as M83, Gal Costa, Monika Kruse, Tangerine Dream to World Burns To Death (whose vocalist, Jack Control, Fenriz is friends with). Fenriz despite being in a world renounded Black Metal band still works at the post office sorting mail and most likely sending mix tapes & CD-Rs to his friends when the boss isn't looking. "He who dies with the most music wins" sez Herr Nagel.

Here is Fenriz in top form:



I can tell you background music in the first part is the 70's pomp rock band, Angel. Tho' I'd LOVE to know what t-shirt Fenriz is wearing.

Next up is a really cool feature from Norway's Channel 2 (only about 4-5 channels on regular TV and yet one's got Darkthrone, koolig!")


Finally, this clip is from the re-issue of Darkthrone's Black Metal debut, "A Blaze In The Northern Sky". It feature Fenriz and his partner in crime, Nocturno Culto. Shot in simple black & white in their jam space/cabin, it has the look of a Bergman movie. That is a Bergman movie filmed in the shadow of the horns.

We Play eBay Black Metal Exclusively!

I wonder who the ultra-collector nerds that are going to pay for this shit

A ton of historical artifacts of the Norwegian and Swedish Black Metal scene being sold by Morgan Hakonsson of Marduk:

"amongst other things i will be listing.

LETTERS FROM DEAD
LETTERS FROM EURONYMOUS(INCLUDING ONE BLOODSTAINED....THAT CONTAINED PART OF deads SKULL AND TWO SHOTGUN PELLETS)(ofcourse the fragment is NOT for sale !) DEAD DRAWINGS.(INCLUDING THE ORIGINAL "DISSECTION DEMO" ONE used on THE GREIF PROPHECY) BURZUM,,DEBUT CD...WITH NO BARCODE!(ONLY 500 PRESSED) WITH THE PACKAGE HANDWRITTEN BY EURONYMOUS."


What? No skull fragments? That's not KVLT! I'd demand my money back.

Transilvanian Hunger wasn't about processed chicken parts

Who do I blame for this?

Admittedly it's sort of funny but soooo many kinds of wrong. It's even worse than the "Black Metal fashion" event they had last year in France.

I haven’t had KFC since 1995. The only things I really liked about them as a kid was:
1) It was a lot of food and would last a long time
2) If my mom got a big bucket of it, I would use the bucket for some indoor b-ball action. Then I would throw on the radio playing Van Halen or Uriah Heep’s “On The Rebound” and get all Larry Bird sinking (and missing) 3's and trying to dunk like Darryl Dawkins.
Although, their mashed potatoes and gravy always tasted like someone had ashed out their cigarettes in it. How sick and grim.

I know some of you might say the genre of Black Metal itself might be to blame for this overwrought and "silly" imagery. While, there still are plenty of "war paint/corpse painted" bands around (ever search Metal Archives?) but really this kind of stuff was an old joke in Norway over 10 years ago and the 'net at least 6 years ago. Even Metalocalypse's has practically run this kind of humor into the ground. Sorry, but I've been joking about metal since 1984 but I also LISTEN to it. Big difference. Grrr...I've been listening to Darkthrone all night, so this might've had an effect on this entry.