BEASTMILK

I've been meaning to write about this odd band for a while but, of course, I slept on it. Fenriz of Darkthrone featured these guys in his blog a few weeks ago but they were so good to my ears that I just had to put them here, for whatever it's worth. I just ordered their cassette tape just now which I highly recommend you doing. Basically, there's no accurate way for me to describe them. Imagine Samhain (a favorite of mine!) mixed in with the classic post-punk sounds of Joy Division and Killing Joke, but in a super gritty manner. Listen closely for some not-so-obvious influences... Oh, and can you ask for more reverb? The spirit of the late-70's and early-80's lives on through BEASTMILK!

THE PIST

Here's a band that was tipped on to me last night by Weibs of the Metal Inquisition Radio Show/Natur. Whilst discussing hardcore and punk bands, he mentioned THE PIST: a band I'm surprised I never listened to! Early-Eighties British punk/hardcore "piss off" attitude played by a bunch of old East Coast dudes. They formed in '92 and only lasted four years, with only one full-length, Ideas Are Bulletproof, to their name. If Kill Your Idols, Poison Idea, Negative Approach and early Bad Religion mean anything to you, this is a band to listen to.

Supreme Brutality, part VI - FROM ASHES RISE

Okay! It's been a long time coming and I think now that we're only 3 days away, I'll pack the shit outta this feature starting now. Anyway, the biggest surprise (aside from Sodom canceling) is the addition of reactivated melo-crusters FROM ASHES RISE! I've been a fan ever since I got their amazing split 12" with Victims a while back. Imagine Tragedy playing a more melodic and less nihilistic brand of hardcore. Don't worry, FAR are just as pissed off. It's great to see them close out the fest... I just hope everyone will have enough energy left!

Here are some clips of them playing in Montreal a few weeks ago. In HD, of course.

BEAST

"What the fuck?" That was the first thing that came to my mind when I first heard BEAST from Sweden. To put it in a nutshell, these guys have a hard-edged garage punk rock sound. Imagine Germany's Dean Dirg with a more "Swedish heavy metal" touch, if you will. Not sure if they have any releases out (yet) but it appears they have shirts already. Check them out for a good, fun listen!

WITCH HUNT

WITCH HUNT has been a band that I've been listening to for quite some time now. They play really aggressive and catchy punk, and they go from really melodic to really fast (like Bad Religion) or both at the same time. I also hear a lot of influences from indie rock and 80's post-punk/new wave. The dual female/male vocals aren't cheesy like many of the modern metal bands (ugh!), which is such a breath of fresh air. But yeah, these guys/gals are fast as hell! Check out their split with Sweden's To What End?, which is the record that got me into them.

Garage Days at Lucky 13 Bar

Here's something I don't see very often here in New York City...

My friend Mike from Inhuman has been DJ-ing at Lucky 13 Bar in Park Slope, Brooklyn every Wednesday night as part of the Garage Days event. He spins the best old-school hardcore, death metal, heavy metal, punk, etc. and Johny of Brooklyn-based Candiria will be tending the bar. Next week's installment will feature the go-go dancers that Lucky 13's famous for so I suggest you attend this!

I know all of you have a Facebook. Click here for more information!

What happened?

Maybe I was born too late.

Mandatory Suicide

Listen up, you demons: the legendary crust punk band from Finland, RIISTETYT, is playing an early show at ABC no Rio in the Lower East Side. Check out the flyer below.



The Rockstar Bar in Brooklyn will have the late show. Why not go to both?

Great ABSCESS/AUTOPSY Interview

MetalKult posted an awesome interview with Chris Reifert and Danny Corralles of fuckin' AUTOPSY and ABSCESS. I won't say any more so click here to read for yourself!

THE ICEMEN

Here's the latest band that is blowing my mind right outta my fucking head: New York City's THE ICEMEN! This band formed in the early 80's around the same time the New York hardcore scene is starting to roll but didn't release anything until 1992 with their only EP, R.I.P. Obviously, this cult status means they are simply amazing.

I heard of these guys when connecting various NYHC people together. One of my favorite drummers, Mackie Jayson from Cro-Mags and Madball, played with these guys and I've heard a few songs by them a while ago. Last night I was lurking in Generation Records with some friends before the Ace Frehley show and I stumbled upon the band's second official release, The Iceman/It'll Be Your Grave 7" single.

This single pretty much has everything I love about hardcore punk and metal. It's quite evident from the first few measures of "The Iceman" that these guys, rounded out by guitarist/vocalist Marco Abularach and bassist Noah Evans, worship heavily at the altar of Motörhead. Add Mackie's signature power-drumming style and you have some totally crushing crossover. "It'll Be Your Grave" has some serious Bad Brains feeling and this dates back before Cro-Mags(!)... no shit.

I seriously can't stop listening to this. I'm pretty happy that it came with a download card. This is 4 and a half minutes of solid fucking gold!!

Supreme Brutality, part IV - D.R.I.

Because I'm feeling a bit punk/hardcore this weekend. Here are the fathers of crossover: D.R.I.









I don't care what anyone says - their later shit is awesome, too!

Supreme Brutality, part III - WOLFBRIGADE

We're gonna take a detour today and touch upon one of the greatest crust/hardcore punk bands out there: Wolfbrigade. These Swedes aren't your typical crust punks, as they have very metallic tendencies (think Iron Maiden), which mainly include lots of guitar melodies and such. Actually, I would say these guys are a much more aggressive Bad Religion! Personally, they're one of my favorites and I'm extremely happy to be seeing them among all of the other pristine bands on the bill. Anyway, here's a few Wolfbrigade vids to get you stoked.

Supreme Brutality, part II - SODOM

Here's the second installment to Supreme Brutality, the MDF special: fuckin' SODOM!







And of course...

New DARKTHRONE Track

Leave it to fuckin' Darkthrone to back up their beliefs with amazing songs!!!

According to the latest update on the Darkthrone blog, Fenriz has mentioned that a brand new track, entitled "Eyes Burst At Dawn", is now available. You can find the link via his blog above.

What can I say about this? It's awesome, of course! It's a bit different from the last 2 albums, F.O.A.D. and Dark Thrones And Black Flags in that it's much more traditional heavy metal in the sense of guitar melodies and the last riff - which sounds quite triumphant. I mean, I can get all pretentious and technical (not really, which is why I'd be pretentious) by making up all of these adjectives to describe how much I like the song... but I won't. Listen to it and we can discuss it.

Their new album, Circle The Wagons, can NOT come any sooner! All info for it can be found through the link on Darkthrone's blog.



*****

Be sure to check out Banished Force who Fenriz mentioned! I'm listening to them now and I must say, these guys must like Forbidden quite a whole lot. I never would have guessed that they're from Germany. Well done, kiddos!