vBoogieman Rock and Metal News

Playing to a somewhat smaller audience than they probably deserve, Finnish folk metal pioneers Amorphis take to the stage amongst a sea of dry ice and launch into a performance designed to please both hardcore fans and newcomers alike. Looking surprisingly tanned for a group of Finns, the band appear to be in good health and push plenty of energy into the songs, vocalist Tomi Joutsen in particular becoming a blur of flailing dreads and pumping fists. Hitting Black Winter Day and other classic material from their groundbreaking late-nineties period, the group throw in enough new material to showcase their current sound, ably bridging a gap between their two incarnations.

Following Devin Townsend – or Devin Town Send as the big screen captioning would have it – is no easy task but thankfully Fear Factory are blessed with a stellar sound that makes their material sound positively apocalyptic. While their Sonisphere set was a sometimes embarrassing spectacle due to fraility of Burton’s clean vocals, their appearance here today is infinitely more convincing, and the decision to end the set on with a handful of numbers from their career best Demanufacture means that thing end on a high.

Annihilator – Live at Masters of Rock
2010 SPV/Steamhammer
Ray Van Horn, Jr.

Welcome back, SPV!!!

Live documents are, for all intents and purposes, contract fillers. Yes, a true fan of an artist is going to want all the bootlegs and official live documents available…well, just because.

Some metal bands ride the live train harder than others, i.e. Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Ronnie James Dio, yet people are going to buy live recordings out of loyalty, but also because some bands are meant for the stage as much as they’re meant for the recording studio. Particularly in the video realm, you can nearly charge what you want if you’re that damned good onstage.

Had Jeff Waters kept his cool in the early years of Annihilator, there’s no telling how huge they might’ve become. They were on a hell of a roll in the beginning with Alice in Hell and Never Neverland. Of course, if you speak with Waters today (and this writer has twice, enjoying both conversations immensely), you’ll find a gentle guy who keeps the past to his back and veers towards an uncertain but optimistic future. It’s to the point Annihilator is coming forth with a new self-titled album later this month, a maneuver suggestive of a rebirthing process.

Fans and critics have torched the poor guy more than necessary in the 2000s, even if the 2007 Metal album was largely praised by the community. Criteria for a Black Widow, Carnival Diabolos, All for You and Schizo Deluxe have their share of rejecters as much as fans, yet the proof positive for Waters and particularly his saddle rider Dave Padden is past lessons are aced and Annihilator is as much a band today as they were in late eighties/early nineties.

Live at Masters of Rock is a combo DVD and CD pack, which is really the way to go in the modern age of music marketing. Used to be each were sold individually, but this is a hip trend which gives the buyer the best of both of worlds, particularly since the CD in this package doesn’t cheat by ommitting songs due to space constraints.

Expect a heavy lean of Alice in Hell and Never Neverland on this set as they dominate more than half of Live at Masters of Rock. What you’re craving is all there: “Fun Palace,” “Phantasmagoria,” “Wicked Mystic,” “I Am in Command,” “W.T.Y.D.” and of course Annihilator’s lauded masterpeice “Never Neverland.” Fielded vocally by Waters and Dave Padden, you really won’t miss Randy Rampage on “Alice in Hell,” no disrespect to the brother, who did leave an iconic imprint upon the entire Alice in Hell album. Annihilator’s back catalog is played deftly and Padden nails a smidge of Rampage’s falsetto shrieks on “Alice in Hell” without going over-the-top. Waters plucks a high-tweaked note to assist Padden on those choruses anyway, so the effect is right there.

Dave Padden’s been such a trusty helmsman for quite some time in Annihilator, and whether or not you like All for You, some of his most inventive and alluring chops are all over that album. Here on Live at Masters of Rock Padden also plays rhythm and shares solos with Waters and they’re magic together. Bassist Dave Sheldon and drummer Ryan Ahoff keep a tight rhythm themselves and you’ll marvel how relaxed Jeff Waters is because of the competence surrounding him.

Performed in the Czech Republic at the 2008 Masters of Rock festival, Annihilator pounds a sweaty set including “Shallow Grave” from Carnival Diabolos, the title tracks “Set the World On Fire” and “King of the Kill,” plus “Operation Annihilation” and “Clown Parade” from Metal.

By now most people are off Jeff Waters’ back about the past, which is fabulous, because he remains of the scene’s most charismatic-sounding guitarists (and he whips out a Tron-esque red neon guitar to further tantalize his audience) and Annihilator is playing like they have something to prove. Revolving doors or no, Waters and Padden are brothers in arms and Annihilator freaking rawks.

Rating: ****

Champagne Suicide made Hell’s Kitchen and Alphabet City their stomping grounds for the better part of the early nineties.

ARMAGEDON, one of the most recognizable Polish death metal acts of the early Nineties, will release its new album, “Death Then Nothing”, outside the band’s home country on May 17 via Mystic Production.

Heathen – The Evolution of Chaos
2010 Mascot Records
Ray Van Horn, Jr.

Okay, ya’ll can quit shouting “HEATHEN!” up at Lee Altus during Exodus gigs…he’s heard you and he’s managed to bring in-and-out vocalist David White back for another good ol’ thrash party, Bay-style. Though the remainder of the lineup comprising today’s Heathen weren’t around during the band’s brief run for the metal gold on 1987′s Breaking the Silence, (though drummer Darren Minter did hook up with the group in ’88) nobody told today’s Heathenairres they couldn’t make a difference.

Minus Heathen’s set of covers and re-recordings from 2004, Recovered, which was released following a last-minute corralling for the Chuck Schuldiner/Chuck Billy benefit concert Thrash of the Titans, the classic speed metallers had remained dormant since the early nineties. Their last proper full-length, Victims of Deception was once thought to be their epithet.

As eighties thrash legends have collectively risen in response to an inbred generation of speed revivalists, the original guard are stepping on the gas once again just to keep up with their younger counterparts. Remember when thrash metal groups suddenly slowed down in the nineties after Metallica scored huge with The Black Album? Exactly the reverse is occurring at the tail end of the first decade in the new millennium. The bpms are jacked once again as the pupils are invigorating the professors to dust off their manuals and throw down a thrash course proper. Old Mustangs such as Megadeth, Slayer, Testament, Overkill, Destruction, Exodus and Kreator are proving there’s serious horsepower left in the tanks. Chickeerunners beware…

Unfortunately for Heathen, their day in the spotlight was far too brief and relegated upon the unlikely success of their revved and chunky cover of Sweet’s “Set Me Free.” Given most people until lately were familiar only with this remake courtesy of video play on VH-1 Classic’s Metal Mania, it’s probably been as much of a burden to Lee Altus as it is a grace Heathen’s “Set Me Free” hit.

Only the diehards remember to yell out “Goblin’s Blade,” “Death by Hanging” and “World’s End” at shows where Altus can be found. Yet there’s something new for Heathen’s faithful to demand from Lee either at an Exodus gig or with Heathen once they ultimately get on the road themselves. 2010 brings the Heathen cause back to the scene with The Evolution of Chaos, and if you thought Testament’s The Formation of Damnation was a restoration of metal honor, look the hell on out here…

Altus and his current Heathen posse (which also includes bassist Jon Torres and tag guitarist Kragen Lum) make the most of their moment on The Evolution of Chaos, which means they do overstay their welcome in a few spots given the majority of the songs surpass the six and seven-minute mark. However, one cannot understate the vibrant energy level sifting out of this album.

Like Overkill’s thrash-happy Ironbound, The Evolution of Chaos proves Altus and his Heathen trademark can take their listeners through exhaustive volleys of speed with professional exactitude. If the Grammy committee actually knew what they were doing, “Control by Chaos” would be a gimme nominee. Absolutely one of the finest-recorded metal songs of the year, “Control by Chaos” is a seven-minute epic filled with velocity, steady piston pops on the breaks and outrageous guitar solos from Altus, Lum and Exodus’ Gary Holt. The final minute of the song is poignant and beautiful and it bolsters into a breathtaking double-hammer stamp filled with grandiose notes amidst Heathen’s fading whirlwinds. Stunning…

The Evolution of Chaos does hit many mid-tempo glides throughout, yet there’s no denying this is one fast and hard hour of power. “Bloodkult,” “Dying Season,” “Silent Nothingness,” “Undone” and “Arrows of Agony” are all stocked with tremendous muscle, banging acceleration and ear-tickling fretwork. Even with “Undone” riding mostly at slower tempos despite some thrashy interludes, Altus and Lum lavish this cut with solos so tasteful and elegant they make the Dragonforce dudes seem spend-hardy.

One of the conversation pieces of The Evolution of Chaos is undoubtedly going to be “No Stone Unturned” due to its Metallica tributizing. Rather than a full-on rip, “No Stone Unturned” is a ten-minute-plus toast to Metallica’s glory years–and the Bay Area scene’s by attrition. In some ways “No Stone Unturned” is Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets rolled into one snug portrait. Frighteningly similar to “For Whom the Bell Tolls” during the intro (albeit with plenty of subtle differences), “No Stone Unturned” chugs on a primary set of riffs and freestyle bass slaps from Sadus’ Steve DiGiorgio. The solo sections are pure Heathen yet undeniably Hammett-esque. Remember Kirk Hammett provided Heathen some input on “World’s End.” As “No Stone Unturned” builds a head of steam, a ghostly instrumental section with full kindred to “Orion” splices the main body of the song to a picked-up tempo adjustment complete with pasty-sounding bass rolls from Darren Minter. Amazingly “No Stone Unturned” works because of its blatancy. It’s a love-letter to old school Metallica as it is everyone who played the Cow Palace back in the day.

“A Hero’s Welcome” in another mini-epic written on behalf of the United States military. It’s a fine bit of work until the hammy narrative interlude turns a grateful pat on the shoulders into a pulp comic panel.

That minor complaint aside, The Evolution of Chaos manages the impossible, which is to one, prove a lone remaining founder can put together a terrific album, and two, to outdo a cult classic album which deserved better treatment in its day. The Evolution of Chaos means business and both Altus and David White sound hungrier than they’ve ever been. Also aided by cameos from Terry Lauderdale, Rob Dukes from Exodus and Jon Allen of Sadus, Heathen 2.0 is a rousing bray from the Bay. Mandatory listening.

Rating: ****

Thrash metal in its original incarnation was nurtured in three central hubs during the eighties. The American Bay Area receives credit for officially kicking off speed metal, while Germany kicked things up a notch on the brutality scale. Let us not forget in our examination of thrash’s roots, the U.S. east coast, particularly New York and New Jersey where some of the genre’s legends were birthed such as Overkill, Carnivore and Anthrax.

Whiplash were speed kings in their own right. One of Roadrunner Records’ earliest signed prodigies, Whiplash rose to prominence with their 1987 thrash classic Ticket to Mayhem. Of course, prior to their expanded recognition, Whiplash issued the indispensible Power and Pain in 1985, an album treasured by veteran thrash hounds.

Unfortunately, the momentum Whiplash gained for themselves fleeted in 1989 and ’90 after the releasing Insult to Injury in the midst of a quickly-dying metal scene. It naturally led to a lengthy split-up, despite efforts to revive themselves sporadically through the nineties.

Following the passing of original bassist Tony Bono in 2002, Whiplash might’ve remained forever sealed up, yet this year co-founder Tony Portaro and fan-esteemed drummer Joe Cangelosi have revved up the engines once again along with new bassist Richi Day.

Whiplash 2009 is set on both speed and mid-tempo on their latest album Unborn Again. However, the group will tell you, don’t let the album’s diversity be the gauge of their blitzkrieging live set. Bearing the name Whiplash comes with a certain obligation towards velocity, as Tony Portaro and Joe Cangelosi relayed to The Metal Minute…

MM: Obviously we last saw Whiplash outside of various live gigs over recent years with the Thrashback album from ’98. You guys are back this year with Unborn Again and you’re in pretty damn good form! I also have one of the bottles from your recently-released Whiplash brand hot sauce, “The Last Nail in the Coffin…”

JC: That’s the weak one, man! The middle one’s my favorite, that green sauce. The hot, hot one is “Power and Pain.” Whew! I have a cold and I just did a tablespoon of it. I actually feel better! (laughs)

MM: (laughs) I just cleared my sinuses out with some wasabi about 15 minutes ago! Well, fill in the gaps of all recent doings in Whiplash from both of your perspectives…

JC: Oy, where to begin?

TP: I went to NYU not long ago and I went for audio production with Pro Tools and I went for music marketing, then I opened up my studio Concrete Island. I worked on some songs for myself and then Joe gave me a call and said this is the time to do it, let’s get back together and do something. We knew we would give it 110% so that’s what we did. We spent 17 weeks writing new material. Everything on Unborn Again is brand new; there’s nothing from the past.

JC: It’s not that all of a sudden we were seeing things happen in the metal scene again, as in ‘Oh, let’s go and do this shit!’ We were going to reform around 2002, just before Tony Bono died. After that happened, we weren’t going to just jump back in and do it. So years went by and you have to step back from the whole situation, really. It was just too weird, man. I was in Germany with Kreator for a couple years and then I came back home. It was a great experience in Kreator. I got to see a lot of stuff, man. They do a lot of heavy touring, and Frank “Blackfire” Gosdzik, their guitarist at the time–he was in the band for like, eight years–he’s our good friend. We met him during the 1988 Sodomania tour, which was Whiplash and Sodom. In fact, Frank’s on this new record doing a couple of leads! He also came up at played a few songs with us at Wacken.

TP: That’s right!

JC: We have really close ties with Germany! So then I was doing various fusion bands and playing some jazz stuff. It was right about last year when I said, ‘You know what? Let’s see if we can do this again,’ because that was always my dream, to get back in the band after we disbanded in 1990-91. So we got back together and just started writing new material and that was it. It sometimes feels like we never stopped! We just came back from Columbia and that was mind-blowing! I’m still shocked from it all. We got sick; all three of us are sick. We caught something before we even left the U.S. I think it’s the altitude, man. I think it’s like 8,000 feet! Plus the air on those plans is just re-circulated.

TP: Exactly.

JC: Let me tell you, though; those Columbian thrashers are sick! Really sick man. They’re on fire over there; they really live!

TP: We–our management–were talking to a couple of different promoters and it looks like we may be going to Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru.

JC: I know we’ve got some fans down there. There’s something about those hot countries that just love heavy metal!

TP: There was no security at this last show in Columbia and we were mobbed with fans asking us to sign autographs and take pictures. I went to sleep the past two nights and all I heard is “Last picture, Tony! Last picture!”

JG: (laughs)

TG: We love interacting with our fans, no matter what, even if it’s on our Whiplash USA MySpace site or whatever. Every time we end the show, we just go right out into the crowd and mingle with the people. We give them everything we possibly can.

MM: Whiplash, along with other bands of the New York-New Jersey region like Cro Mags, Hades, Overkill, Anthrax, Carnivore, The Accused and Murphy’s Law, you guys collectively answered back to the Bay Area thrash scene during the eighties, except there was more hardcore and punk on the east coast. From your memories, what was so unique in having this kind of scene?

TP: I got out of Berkeley College of Music in’ 79 and ’80. That’s when I started writing music. I loved the San Francisco Bay Area thrash music that came out back then. I think we had a combination of what I heard out there and when Whiplash did its first show at RuthieOs Inn in Berkeley, California, which is the home of Exodus and Metallica. We never played live before Power and Pain was out; we recorded the album, released it and played at Ruthie’s with Possessed and Death Angel. That was a big influence on us too, even though we already had Power and Pain out. I think it was the combination of the San Francisco Bay Area thrash scene and the theory and technique I learned in Berkeley. Being on the east coast, it gave us a unique sound the Bay Area sound didn’t have, yet it did kind of contribute to the east coast thrash style. That’s something which kept us really unique.

JC: I remember going to L’Amours in Brooklyn, where I’m from, and going to see Whiplash. I was just blown away, man. It did have a hardcore edge and the cool thing about being in New York at the time is that CBGB’s, L’Amours and all the local clubs started to have crossover shows for the first time where you’ve got DRI playing with Slayer, all these crazy mixtures of metal and punk. Plus everybody was getting along. It was a great scene, man.

TP: Back in the mid-eighties, L’Amours was our home away from home. We were the house band there. Anytime somebody would cancel, they’d call us right away and we were like, ‘Yeah, we’ll definitely do it!’ We’d jump on these pretty big name gigs. We must’ve played like 13 shows, I think, back then at L’Amours only. We also played CBGB’s many times and the coolest thing of that was all of those hardcore bands like Agnostic Front, Cro Mags, Harley’s War, we just fit right in. At the time, we were the Jersey boys and they took us right under their wings even though we were thrash metal and they were punk. It was so cool how they just accepted us and made us a part of the whole scene back then. It was really awesome.

JC: I guess everybody just realized it wasn’t much of a difference, you know? I remember seeing for the first time skinheads hanging out with metalheads in the mosh pit together. Nobody was getting hurt and everyone was helping each other off the ground, man. It was a cool community and it was a good-feeling time. It was a very special time even though I was just a little kid. I remember it like it was yesterday.

MM: I think Unborn Again sort of bridges this year to ’87 and your Ticket to Mayhem album mostly because of the artwork and the carnival skit in the beginning bridges the two a bit, albeit the sound is not wholly the same. Considering Whiplash has four albums in-between these two, do you feel they’re interrelated in any way?

TP: Definitely, without a doubt.

JC: Yeah, I think so. I was on both of those, of course, though I left after Insult to Injury. We didn’t try to plan on bringing some of Ticket to Mayhem to now. We wrote new material and it doesn’t really sound like Ticket to Mayhem. I don’t know what I think it sounds like other than it sounds like Whiplash, man! It’s a different incarnation.

TP: You know, I hear through the grapevine and from all of the Whiplash followers that Power and Pain was the most popular Whiplash album. That’s the reason why we didn’t have a different singer come in for Unborn Again. We wanted to give the people what they wanted and even though my voice never really appealed to my tastes, I just never found the person to do what I heard in my head. That’s why I sang on Power and Pain and Ticket to Mayhem.

JC: I also think before me and Tony fully committed to doing another Whiplash record the biggest thing on the table was that he was going to have to do the vocals. I wanted to get back to that point where Whiplash was a trio from when I was in the band the first time. When we did Insult to Injury, we got Glenn (Hansen) in there and the whole dynamic changed. I always wanted to just be a three piece. Last year it was just great to get together and start writing material and hear Tony sing again. Tony’s vocals are now killer, live, man!

TP: When we wrote this album, I didn’t have a real grip on my voice at that time, because we weren’t rehearsing or playing any live shows. I don’t want to say I could do better now, but what Joe said is actually the case; if you see us live, you notice my vocals are back to where they were back then. We had to start rehearsing for the live show for me to get a grip on how I used to work my voice back then. Now I’m there again, and we have plans to do another album—in fact, we plan to start writing new material within the next four weeks. I’m more excited about that.

JC: It was a great experience and you’ve got to believe me when I tell you–I’ll put my word on it–Whiplash live right now at this point in time is one of the most exciting, brutal bands you’ll ever see! Tight, fast, down your throat, man. I’d put Tony’s vocals now up to when I was in the band during the eighties, easy! People complain about some of the tempos on this new record, like it wasn’t as fast as they wanted it to be, but you know, I don’t really care what people think! We did what we did, but live, when we put that shit on the table, man…there’s no denying it.

MM: I have no complaints about the tempo changes on Unborn Again. You have the thrashers like “Feeding Frenzy” and “Float Face Down,” then you have the bipolar opposites of straight rockers like “Hook in Mouth” and “Parade of Two Legs.” I would imagine there does come a point in time as a band where just full-on thrash the entire ride gets a little monotonous, maybe?

JC: We have so many thrash songs in our repertoire live to the point you’re hearing about 85% all thrash tunes, so it’s good to mix it up. We like to have fun playing chunky, mid-tempo songs just as much. We’re so fast live it’s nice to have a few other types of songs in-between!

TP: One of my favorite bands of all-time is Trouble, and I hear a lot of their influence on our grooving or songs of that nature.

JC: Trouble rules, man.

TP: We had the pleasure to hang with them at Wacken too. We played on Friday night and they hung out with us backstage drinking our beer, and they returned the favor the following Saturday! Saturday we were drinking their beer!

JC: Yeah! Awesome guys.

MM: I want to talk about the album cover for Unborn Again. I’m especially curious about the wide range of characters at the ticket booth and what their stories are from your perspectives. The other thing I’d like to know is, with the way this medium is starting to shift towards digital download albums, do you feel it’ll kill off artistic and cool album covers like this one?

JC: We wanted a big, bold, colorful and crazy cover like we used to have in the old days, and we definitely got it!

TP: I remember on the first draft of the cover there wasn’t a mixture of different ethnics, so we told the artist, ‘Listen, you’ve got to mix it up a little,’ and that’s when he came back with. We had so much input on this album cover.

JC: Yeah, we had everything to do with this album cover, in fact! The cover pretty much represents us. In the top right corner of the CD is the parachute jump from Coney Island. What we thought on the first draft was there were all similar-looking people, so we needed to have some ethnic people here! This is a multicultural world we’re living in, man! So we changed that and we changed a whole bunch of stuff on it. Ed Repka did a great job on it. You’ve got the Insult to Injury guy with a broken leg still, then you’ve got the Ticket to Mayhem guy in the first car of the rollercoaster. Then you’ve the ticket taker who’s the Power and Pain guy. The guy next to the Insult to Injury guy, if you ask me, he looks like Bela Lugosi! He’s putting his hand over that black kid’s head and I was wondering what the hell is he doing there? I figured it out, man; he’s measuring him for height on the ride! I think the people in the rollercoaster are actually real people. I hope nobody spots themselves there! This whole album cover is like Where’s Waldo.

It seems like they’re printing a lot of vinyl these days. Someone’s talking about putting this one out on vinyl and I really hope they do. There was also talk about a picture disc, which would be awesome!

TP: I can give you something that I didn’t even tell Joe yet…

JC: Oh, no! (laughs)

TP: I came up with an awesome idea for the DVD that’s going to be coming out, 25 Years of Thrash. I was thinking of including those characters in-between cuts of live stuff on the DVD, maybe even have famous thrash band and heavy metal people come dressed up as those characters, you know, theatrical-looking.

JC: (laughs) That’s sick!

TP: It’s something we’d have to sit down and discuss.

JC: Who’d be the Power and Pain guy, Rob Halford?

TP: (laughs)

JC: Maybe Pete Townsend!

MM: (laughs) How about Udo Dirkschneider?

TP: I’m thinking about incorporating maybe four or five other bands and include some live performances of them inside the DVD too, as well as Whiplash.

MM: Sheesh, this project sounds time-invested and yet I can’t believe you guys are already talking about the next album right after Unborn Again drops…

JC: In the old days we took a long time to put stuff together, but now while our chops are here… We’re really tight now, man; we are a completely live band. Now we’re going into the studio with this machine…it’s going to be dangerous.

TP: We started in late June or July and there were a few delays from the record company’s side of things and just organizing the schedule with Harris Johns, who co-produced this with us. It seemed the vibe was where you could put a definite line between three different sections of the year where it was writing for probably three months and then the whole recording process was another third of that time and then rehearsing for and doing the live shows was another third of the year. Now we’ve come full-swing and we’re ready to start writing again and start the whole process over.

JC: We’re having more fun now, man, than we ever did. We’re comfortable and making the best of it. We’re having a good time out there.

Copyright (c) 2009 Ray Van Horn, Jr. / The Metal Minute

Almost no one brings up the term “nu metal” any longer. In the metalverse, said phrase is enough to provoke a high-stakes mosh to the death. Most of the bands who rose up briefly in the late nineties under this banner are no longer with us, or many of the few remainders simply have no puzzle pieces left with which to stay relevant.

Not so with Static-X, who continue to ride their disco-thrash train ride into the ears of many fans. Powerman 5000, who lit up the charts in 1995 with their sci-fi-themed cyber metal blastoff Tonight the Stars Revolt, have lingered around for their devout fans, noticebly drifting away from the cosmos and into more grounded pure punk pastures as of 2003′s Transform and more so 2006′s Destroy What You Enjoy.

This year, however, Spider and his shred team jump back into the electro rocket for their latest pulse-tripping adventure, Somewhere On the Other Side of Nowhere. The title would indicate this album is a sequel to Tonight the Stars Revolt, and without a doubt, Powerman 5000′s latest bumps and grinds on a constant electro-rock swerve. Opening with creepy Carpenter-esque synth dives, the new joint yields some of the most addicting choruses the band has yet produced, while their stage act today ushers back some of the old sci-fi theatrics Powerman made their name upon.

The Metal Minute caught up with Spider in the middle of Powerman 5000′s latest road haunt…

The Metal Minute: When I last spoke with you it was for the Destroy What You Enjoy album and you guys had gone for the street punk vibe on the album and even the live show had that punk juice to it. You head back to the electro groove of Tonight the Stars Revolt on Somewhere On the Other Side of Nowhere, except I would say this one’s far more polished. It’s pure finesse. What felt right in your mind to go back to the cyber metal feel for this album?

Spider: Sometimes you just do something you love it and you’re all into it but then you have to move away from it. When you mention Destroy What You Enjoy, that was purely sort of me getting something out of me. I always described that album as the album I should’ve made when I was 15 but never did, you know? It’s interesting, and I’ve told this story before, but it’s so true; I went to the 2009 ComiCon and I just started getting really excited to be there. It inspired me just to be there and be surrounded by all of that nonsense. It kind of just re-sparked all that stuff for me, all the stuff that I love, all the stuff I loved growing up, and so many thing that inspired the band. It got me really enthused to go back to that sound. It felt right again. I never do it just to do it. For a couple years I got a lot of input from fans, like, “When are you going to go back to that sci-fi thing?” or “When are you going to do the electronics?” For whatever reason, I just didn’t feel like doing it but now it feels right again and natural, so for the first time in awhile I think what I’m doing is exactly what the fans want, you know?

This album is a lot of fun and people seem to like it. I’m used to the opposite reaction. Whenever we put a record out, I think the instinct of most fans is to not be into it and then slowly grow into it. For this album, it’s been quite the opposite. The initial reaction has been so positive. I wonder if we did something incredibly right or incredibly wrong, I’m not really sure what it is! (laughs) It’s good, man. In fact, it’s too easy!

MM: This whole album has more hooks than Vegas after dinnertime, man!

Spider: (laughs)

MM: It seems to me there’s more bands focusing on the technical proficiency aspect of songwriting versus establishing actual groove. Do you think that’s maybe a problem with today’s bands in-general?

Spider: I love big, hooky music, man. My thought is when you come see the band live and you’re maybe not familiar with the tracks, say you’re a new fan checking it out, that by the end of the songs it’s good if you’re kind of getting it. You’re able to sing along by the last chorus. I like that vibe. I like big sing-a-longs, choruses that are empowering. I think music–in particular rock ‘n roll–should be an empowering experience, not just a passive listen.

I don’t think it’s a problem with these bands, but it’s just not what I’m into. I never started making music to be a proficient musician. I would never consider myself an actual musician; I wouldn’t even consider myself really a singer, you know? I grew up listening to punk rock and hip hop and it was more about an attitude and energy for me. Even beyond that, it’s about communicating an idea, and so you can be the greatest singer in the world or the best guitar player in the world, but if you can’t communicate an idea, then it’s really sort of worthless. For me, it’s more about that. I sneak in my lyrical references or subtle things that I think are cool and clever, but the bottom line is, I think the foundation should be something that is physical and something you can grab onto quickly, you know what I mean? That’s rock ‘n roll. It shouldn’t be a challenge.

MM: I was reading some behind-the-scenes notes about getting this album officially prepped and ready for distribution and it seemed like that was much an event as the album itself! It appears there were some songs which leaked out early at different times. Tell us about what insanity might’ve prevailed prior to the album’s release.

Spider: Well, we didn’t really have a plan for this album, quite honestly. We were about to head out on tour last year and we hadn’t put out any new music in awhile, so we only had what I consider a demo version of “Supervillian” which we’d put out on MySpace to kind of test the waters. We got such a great response that it fueled the fire and we got lots of messages about it and even a couple of radio stations started to spin it from that version. It lit the fire to make a record, though we hadn’t officially made plans to start recording an album. We kind of hustled to get that going, so while we’re in the middle of trying to make the record, we were trying to figure out how we’re going to put this thing out. There’s just not as many options these days, you know, the idea of putting out a physical record these days…it’ll soon be obsolete. There was a lot of playing catch-up with the tunes, so finally we walked in with this thing called Mighty Loud to Fontana Distribution, which is a part of Universal and we kind of maintained our own distribution system. It’s a weird time to be putting out records.

It’s unfortunate in this day of people not buying full albums and grabbing a handful of songs from iTunes. It’s kind of a drag, because I’ve always loved those albums that were sequenced with weird segues and interludes. Unfortunately people look at that now as “Oh, that’s not a real song, I don’t need that!” but for me, it sets the tone for the whole listen. It really puts you in a place and a vibe. For me, sometimes those 30 second intros and interludes are equally as important as the songs.

There many amazing new things with technology that impacts what we do and in the way we make records. You can essentially make an album in your bedroom if you want to distribute it to the world the next day, but that said, there’s a lot of difficulty in the parameters in putting out music; it’s become so narrow. Radio playlists are so small these days and maybe that’s why you can find records, but they don’t sell catalog items anymore. The places that you go to sell or market music have become so limited and it’s become difficult. Sure, the internet’s there, but it’s so incredibly huge and broad that it’s very difficult to gain traction there. It’s a tricky puzzle to figure out, but we’ve almost come to terms with it. The idea of an album is really just to hopefully get people to come out to the shows and be interested in the band. You don’t really think about selling music anymore.

This has been a really strong tour. I mean, there are some nights that are a little funky, but it’s like any tour. Over the years I’ve always noticed there’s usually one or two out of every ten that are kind of funky, but it’s been a blast out here and the best part about this tour is we’re playing a bunch of new stuff and the new material is going over as good–if not better–than the old stuff. It’s really encouraging to have people be as excited about hearing “Supervillian” as they are “When Worlds Collide” or “Bombshell.”

MM: “V is for Vampire” is pretty addictive with that crazy chorus. I’m not going to read into this song too seriously, but for me it could be a straightforward new wave dance rock number for Nosferatu or it be looked upon as a hip-shooting swipe at society’s mortal parasites. Which seems more appropriate to you?

Spider: I think you sort of hit it on the head on both levels. That’s something I try to do with the lyrics; if you want to dig deeper, there’s always tons of social commentary in the stuff I write. Yet on the surface level, it could just be a big, dumb song. I like it when things function like that. Because we have the science fiction tone to what we do, that’s what great science fiction is. It’s just a fun ride with robots and spaceships, but good science fiction always has tons of social commentary, and they’re able to get away with commenting on things in society because they would mask it in these fantastical things. I’ve always liked that about this genre. I think that’s kind of what we as Powerman 5000 do in a weird way.

I’ve also thought of myself as something like a cheerleader for the misfits of the world. That’s what this band kind of attracts. You can go over to YouTube and see what people edit to a Powerman song; it’s some pretty weird stuff! They’ll use animation or people crashing their cars. It’s a weird, eclectic mix of the misfits of the world. Our song “Do Your Thing” is like an affirmation of being weird.

MM: You guys just cut a video for “Supervillian” with Robert Hall–and I thought Laid to Rest was a badass film–plus I believe you had Brandon Trost, the cinemaphotographer of this year’s Halloween II on board? You probably had to have felt like a big kid with big toys in that respect, eh? Also, what supervillian would you feel is deserving of his or her own feature film, since the comic book movie is all the rage these days?

Spider: Yeah, we brought along all of our friends. Making videos is always like being a kid. I love it. Some bands don’t like to make videos, but I love making videos. It’s just really fun. You just come up with some ridiculous ideas and you make them happen, you know? The days of making million dollar videos are gone, but you can still do a lot and have fun with it. People are asking me “What should we expect from the video?” Well, lots of lasers, explosions, you know, the usual stuff! (laughs)

Regarding super villains, the one thing I can say that really got screwed up… A lot of these comic book films are great. I mean, the first couple Spidermans were great, and I thought Iron Man was amazing, but the thing that really bummed me out were maybe these Fantastic Four movies. One of the great villains of all-time was Doctor Doom, whom I reference in the song “Supervillian.” I thought they completely fucked that character up. The Fantastic Four movies were kind of too kiddie-friendly, which is fine, but that villain is so great in the comics and he has such a cool look. I think the films completely screwed that up, so if they’re ever going to go back and try it again, if they would make a Doctor Doom movie, it would be awesome, but they’d have to learn how to do it right.

Copyright 2009 Ray Van Horn, Jr. / The Metal Minute

One of the most notable bands to break out of the Southern Florida music scene in the late Nineties, NONPOINT will be release an acoustic digital EP, “Cut The Chord”, on December 8 via their own 954 Records in partnership with Rocket Science Ventures / RED / Sony.

Alrightee, folks, let’s see what chaos ensues this Wednesday, eh?

Usual chaos at home with wifey and I both recovering from injuries. Poor lass crashed down a flight of steps and twisted her ankle, then tripped on her crutches and bent my arm back when I caught her. Always sucks when you’re parents to a little one and both busted up, but I’d say our determination has given us the juice to conquer this quickly, so on to the next round of shit!

Last night I enjoyed the pleasure of conversing with Tyler Mane, aka Michael Myers of Rob Zombie’s current two Halloween flicks and other film credits such as X-Men, Punisher and Troy, not to mention he’s a former WCW pro wrassler from the early nineties you might’ve remembered as Nitro.

So you take your pleasure with the pain as Paul Stanley does in “Room Service” and you keep movin’ and groovin’. That being said, let’s cut the chatter this week and sling out the playlists and see if we can all play nicely in the sandbox, k?

Whiplash – Unborn Again
Shrinebuilder – s/t
The Few Against Many – SOT
Ahab – The Divinity of Oceans
Halloween II (Rob Zombie) original soundtrack
Dag Nasty – Can I Say / Wig Out at Denkos
Dag Nasty – Field Day
Dag Nasty – Minority of One
Government Issue – You
Deep Purple – Stormbringer
Ride – Nowhere
My Bloody Valentine – Loveless
Joe Jackson – I’m the Man
Joe Jackson – Look Sharp
Diablo Swing Orchestra – Sing Along Songs for the Damned and Delirious
Foreigner – Can’t Slow Down
Guilt Machine – On This Perfect Day
Demilitia – s/t

Photo by Jan Schwarzkamp

Absinthe is now legal in the United States as the choice elixir of Edgar Allen Poe has immediately become the new rage of the underground as well as those in the mainstream with the duckets to purchase the stuff. Take a hit of absinthe and you’re likely to feel yourself plummeted to a quick blur where the sounds of chaos are symphonic and the tangible world becomes a bit more free-floated.

Then again, you don’t really need that powerful swill to produce the aforementioned effects in music so motivated and driven from efforts past it becomes the high. Though you can spot Kylesa tugging on absinthe on their MySpace page, their current album Static Tensions is derived of nerve-scraping boom, destructive punk tempos and raw blades of electric fuzz, all assisting the underlying hallucinogenic and psychedelic tones twittering beneath the cranial-punched aggression.

Guitarist/vocalist Laura Pleasants, along with shotgun runner Phillip Cope, are remnants of the Kylesa which officially began in 2001 with Cope and late bassist Brian Duke, both former members of the nineties grindcore band Damad. The Savannah-based Kylesa has grown to refine their sludge-o-matic din over the past seven years to include a second drummer as well as capturing the severity of their heat-rich, moss and kudzu-choked environment. Static Tensions, as stated in a review here at The Metal Minute, has been a moment in the making and those coming to Kylesa’s cause are unlikely to leave the experience unscarred.

As they begin a road jaunt in support of Static Tensions, The Metal Minute caught up with Laura Pleasants for a quick look behind-the-scenes of Kylesa’s exemplary new album.

The Metal Minute: Suffice it to say, Kylesa has had to suffer a good bit of adversity with a couple of departures plus the unfortunate passing of Brian Duke. Kylesa has always been a bricks-heavy band, but your latest album Static Tensions bears its namesake with some of the angriest riffage I’ve heard this year. Without meaning to be maudlin, would you say you have used this album to exorcise some demons?

Laura Pleasants: All of our albums seem to serve that purpose. I think Phillip and I have a lot of personal demons in addition to having gone through some hardships within the band.

MM: I’ve been to Savannah and Tybee Island before, plus a trek over to Atlanta and as there’s been a lot of hungry metal blazing out of Georgia the past few years, what do you feel contributes to the collectively louder than hell sound of your mutual bands?

LP: The smothering heat? The oppressive nature of the South? I ‘m not really sure. People seem to ask that question a lot but I couldn’t give you a definitive answer. I know Phillip has been around for a long time. He and his old band Damad used to do shows with Brent and Troy’s (Hinds and Sanders, respectively, Mastodon) old band Four Hour Fogger. The guys in Withered have been around a while, too. Heavy music has been around in the south for a long time; EyeHateGod and Buzzoven attracted me early on. I think it’s just recently been getting more attention due to Mastodon’s success.

MM: More than likely, though there’s no denying all of your bands pack a mean, distinctive wallop. One of Static Tensions’ best assets is the dual drumming from Eric (Hernandez) and Carl (McGinley) that was touched on with your previous album Time Will Fuse Its Worth. This time around, I think the tag-team drumming lends monster presence to Static Tensions similar to the way Nine Inch Nails and Pigface utilized them. For your purposes, how important was it for Kylesa to capitalize on this aspect of your sound?

LP: It was very important. It was hard to hear the double drums on the last record and it was something we had only begun to experiment with with in terms of songwriting. I think we recorded Time Will Fuse Its Worth only a few months after getting with the two drummers, so there was lots of room to grow as far as what we could do with them. There was more of a blueprint this time around as to how to record the drums. We’re also a pretty rhythm-heavy band, and the double drummers emphasize that a good deal.

MM: I dislike the term “post punk” and “post metal” since they present double standards in wording as both styles are well alive and kicking these days. Still, I can hear all sorts of varied punk modes on “Scapegoat,” “Unknowing Awareness” and the Fugazi feel of “Almost Lost.” First, what do you measure as the ultimate punk album and secondly, what stands in your mind as the best-felt punk vibe on Static Tensions?

LP: That’s a tough question! There are several ultimate punk records, I think. I would likely have to go with Black Flag, probably My War. It’s super-pissed with Greg Ginn wielding an axe of anarchy. They weren’t scared to experiment and break away from molds. T hat, to me, is punk as fuck. I think the punkest moment on Static Tensions is “Scapegoat”.

MM: Take us to the “American tension neighborhood” Kylesa lives in as of “Nature’s Predators” and describe what we might expect to see as relates to Static Tensions, much less your entire path as a band.

LP: We used to all live together in one big house. Phillip and his girlfriend live there now and the neighborhood itself is pretty good, but Savannah is incredibly spotty. One or two blocks in the wrong direction and you will find yourself very unwelcome. There’s lots of poverty, lots of violence, and a lot of ignorance and indifference. Our surroundings are hard to ignore as they are in many ways a part of us. So we write about them. Kylesa is very much about the human condition.

Copyright 2009 Ray Van Horn, Jr. / The Metal Minute