Arc & Stones - Self-Titled EP

Every generation thinks it has discovered something new and different.  What was blues became rock 'n roll.  What was rock 'n roll became rock.  What was rock became classic rock then became new wave then alternative rock with plenty of little steps in between.  The genre categories have become so sliced and diced that you might as well say each band that has its own sound is a genre sub-category.  Yet, every band's sound is rooted in the past.  There is no Steve Vai without Jimi Hendrix.  There is no Jimi Hendrix without Bo Diddley.  There is no Bo Diddley without Muddy Waters.  There is no Muddy Waters without Robert Johnson. So, when four early twenty year old guys from Brooklyn, New York in a group named Arc & Stones, call themselves an "alternative rock band" with a "new progressive sound," I take the description with a grain of salt.  I mark such hype up to naivete and youthful enthusiasm. 

Sure enough my cynicism was validated as I listened to their first and only release, a five track self-titled extended play.  Arc & Stones does not provide a "new progressive sound," it provides some of the greatest sounding classic hard rock anthems and ballads I've heard since the late 1980's.  This is quite an amazing feat when you consider that not one of the band members was even alive when their sound was at its popularity peak.  For this young "alternative band" it might just prove to be a great place to start a rock music career.

The first track on the EP, "Silence",  is anything but quiet. Singer Dan Pellarin (he is also known to pick up a guitar or pick at the keyboards) has the vocal chops of an early Steven Tyler.  They drip with sweet rock emotion.  He just brings it, not just on "Silence", but on all five cuts on the EP. Lead guitarist Ben Cramer ably negotiates the quiet and loud blues-based pleas while bassist Eddy Bayes and drummer Joe Doino pound out the rhythm.  The remaining four tracks, in order, "Say Goodbye", "Let Me Down", "She's Mine" and "Rise", follow a similar curve with slowly building tensions that burst into raucous anthems and ballads of gargantuan proportions.

Significant credit for Arc & Stones' recorded sound must go to a non-band member, Jeremy Griffith, who produced the recordings.  His guiding midas touch is best displayed on "Let Me Down",  with its vocal hooks that build until a choir envelops the listener.   Don't get the idea that this band is all production.  These guys jointly write song lyrics. The classic hard rock throwbacks thrown down do not sound dated. Despite it not being a new sound, this rock music sound is timeless. 

- Old School

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COLDSTEEL Releases Title Track Off Forthcoming EP America Idle

Breaking a 20-year silence, NYC underground thrashers COLDSTEEL have released the title track off of their forthcoming EP, America Idle, as a digital single. The song is now available for purchase through Amazon.com, CD Baby and iTunes.  COLDSTEEL vocalist Troy Norr had this to say about the track, "'America Idle' is a song written by the people for the people and has a close tie in to the anguish experienced by many people in current day society." America Idle will be released on February 20th through Stormspell Records. The EP will be available as a digital download through iTunes, Amazon.com, CD Baby and other online music retailers. The CD version and 12" Vinyl LP (Limited to 1,000 units) will be available through Stormspell Records, www.coldsteelny.com, and CD Baby. A 12" Vinyl Picture Disc (Limited to 200 units) will also be available exclusively throughwww.coldsteelny.com. Conceptually, America Idle expresses current societal anxiety and proclaims an anthem to rouse the unbreakable spirit of America.     On the live performance front, COLDSTEEL's first show in 20 years will be on April 9th as direct support for UDO at Revolution & Bar Music Hall in Amityville, NY. Advance tickets can be purchased at  coldsteelny.com/merchandise.  Direct purchase links for "America Idle" digital single: Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/America-Idle/dp/B00AQKQ1PC/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1358821968&sr=8-16&keywords=america+idle Cdbaby.com: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/coldsteel33   "Grab this release whether you are an American fearing for your country's future or whether you are an old fan waiting years for a sign or plainly you wish to listen to something made by veteran hands." - Metal Temple "Five tracks that are filled to the brim with meaty guitar tones, solos, grooves and just sheer power." - With Guitars

Metal Messiah Radio recently interviewed vocalist Troy Norr (also of KING DIAMOND tribute band THEM) and premiered America Idle in its entirety. Check out the podcast here. Norr also spoke to AOL Noisecreep's Carlos Ramirez last year about the long awaited return ofCOLDSTEEL. Read the interview at this location.  For a full band bio, visit www.coldsteelny.com/biography.  www.coldsteelny.com www.facebook.com/coldsteelny  twitter.com/coldsteelny  www.stormspell.com

Revenge of the Quick Ripple Bursts - The Stoned Out Edition: Featuring Monobrow, Snail, and Firelord

Grab your bong, turn on the black light.  Gather the boys.  We got some riffmania for you.

 Monobrow - Bennington Triangle Blues

My bias:  I'm not a real fan of instrumental rock.  I tend to cling to melodies and hooks, and those are usually conveyed in lyrics, not musical passages.  I'm even less a fan of instrumental doom/stoner because the plodding nature of doom riffs gets real repetitive without the singing.  Monobrow are making me re-think that strategy.

Bennington Triangle Blues is the second album from this instrumental stoner/doom three-piece and it is one monolithic achievement of swirling, fuzz-laden heaviosity.  Forget lyrics, these guys mix in enough dynamic time changes, blistering guitar, and chest-crushing riffs to make the album obliterate all my reservations.  Side one alone, through it's three songs "Starship Holodecks & Chicken Soup," "This is Herman Nelson" and Stone High in Transit" create an aural journey of stellar seeking exploration.  Paul Slater may just be stoner rock's first true guitar hero, whipping through riffs and effect laden melodic passages with ease before tearing into some true doomed out shredding.  With any three-piece, especially an instrumental band, the bass and drums have to be amazingly tight to carry the extra weight of awareness, and Brian Ahopelto and Sam Beydoun are as tight and locked in as a sealed rocket door.

A killer album of mood and atmosphere and sonic exploration of acrid haze and distant galaxies.  Definitely worth checking out. 

Snail - Terminus

I dig what Snail are doing.  Take the foundation of stoner groove, but play with it.  Toss in some 80's metal drive, some 90's grunge, some retro-2000 psychedelia, smother the whole concocton with a layer of doom, let ferment, then unleash upon an unsuspecting public.  Nice formula.

Apparently Snail have quite a history that spans back almost 2 decades.  I know not of this, nor their last release, Blood.  All I know is that Terminus is bludgeoning my skull right now, particularly the retro-riffy pure rock of "Galaxy's Lament" with it's staggering riffing and just too-sweet melody.  "Recurision" is an onslaught of post-Ozzy bliss, while songs like "Matchbook" come on heavy and slow as tar before mixing it up (1:36 in) with a perfect breakdown to 6 impeccable piano notes.  "Hippy Crack" tears it up with a grunge ferocity while never losing it's heavy fuzz or groove, while "Burn the Flesh" is a certified, 5 star heavy psych freak out.

A vast multi-textured journey through the stratus of metal from eons past til now.  

Firelord - The Burning E.P.

This isn't a new one, but definitely worth talking about.  Firelord are another power trio, this time hailing from Italy.  And let me tell you the emphasis here is on the word power.  These guys use bulldozers and all sorts of heavy equipment to move earth and mountain under the mass of their riffs.  5 songs here, the last being a slaying cover of Earthride's "Fighting-Devil's Inside You."

Like the best of stoner rock, this one is laced with the PCP of doom bludgeoning, and amped up with the crystal meth of fierce riffing and a heady groove.  Way fuzzed out riffs come from all angles and merge into one TCA haze of burning intensity.

I'd easily put these guys up on the same shelf of the other leaders of stoner riffery from the undergound, like Borracho.  Not as much dynamic shifting as SuperGiant, not nearly as much modern metal influence as Snail, and not not as bluesy as Hong Faux, Firelord like their stoner rock straight up, Sabbath-inspired and growled out with honesty and ferocity.  I could listen to a track like "Riding with the Death" forever.  Definitely check it out.

--Racer

The Outer Vibe - Hoka Hey

 



As Ogden Nash wrote, “Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.”  He was really onto something.  Both are made up of sugars and mass marketed.  One is pure syrupy sweetness and the other is adulterated and potentially noxious.  Either in excess will play havoc with your health.  Both, when consumed in moderation, can be very satisfying.  There are even treats that try to mix the two, like cherry chocolate Bourbon bonbons or Mescal lollipops with encapsulated agave worm. Yum!

I like the occasional sweet, liquor-filled confection and/or shot of whiskey.   I won’t deny it.  In fact, on festive and non-festive occasions I’ve been known to combine all three.  Depending on which hard candies, cordials and liquor you choose your taste buds can have a party while your circulatory system cranks up the beat.  It is fun but overindulgence can come with a price - weight gain, skin problems, diabetes, habit or addiction.  So, I don’t think it is a real good idea to live on a diet of the stuff. It is similar with the sour stuff.  Eat too much of it and it is sure to rot your teeth.

Yet, I have to hand it to the band The Outer Vibe. Their Michigan-based variety of sweet and sour alternative pop rock provides a suitable substitute for gastronomic overindulgence.  You get some of the sweetness but without all of the calories and some of the sourness without ruining tooth enamel. The band is comprised of vocalist Sean Zee, guitarist Nick Hosford, trumpeter and keyboard player Lisa Kacos, bassist Andrew Dornoff and drummer Jeff Brems  To add some fun this working road band dons a variety of clothing reminiscent of 1980’s Glam.  Hoka Hey is The Outer Vibe’s fourth album.  The album name is also the name of the second cut on the album.  Hoka Hey was the battle cry of the Teton Lakota and means “it’s a beautiful day to die.”

Don’t let the threat of sugar pop stop you from listening to this nine track album.  The tune “Motor Heart” is the epitome of the sugary genre but is perfectly performed, and the album gets even better thereafter with less candy coating. “Hoka Hey” may start with treacle but in no time at all turns into an awesome alternative rock anthem.  The track “Move” straddles the lines between hip-hop, soul, funk, R&B and electronica, and is as genre bending as the band’s dress can be gender bending. The tune “Break-Out” mixes electronica, soul and alternative rock to provide a little bit of grit with all the classic Coke.  

One of my favorite tracks on the album is “Crossroads of Desire.”  It starts with a rhythmic African chorale (a little like Paul Simon’s “Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes”) while Zee’s vocals carry on until the entire piece turns into a tasty, high energy, hard driving classic rocker.  “Princess of Sin” is also a sonic wonder - a full-on blues-powered alternative classic rock crossover track, complete with sexual double entendre.  What more could an indie band ask for?

Well, how about a little crossover country classic rock ballad?  That is what The Other Vibe delivers with “Reset My Heart”.  The band provides its most hip hop pop alternative tune with “Whatever You Like” which features the modern highly processed pop vocals that have become all the rage of mass media pop stars.  The final cut on the album is a reprise of “Crossroads of Desire” titled the “(Dirt Road Version).” This time, however, there is no African chorale.  The sound is stripped down and the rhythm and instrumentation take on the feel of an Indian raga that morphs into an old classic rock piece.

I think what The Outer Vibe has done is rather novel, exciting and a whole lot of fun.  They have provided some substance to pop.  Theirs is more like an old fashioned sundae - a little vanilla, a bit of chocolate, a dollop of fudge, a pool of syrup and a pillow of fluff, topped off by a cherry cordial.   Tasty stuff that will get your blood racing but won’t add inches to your waistline.

- Old School ` 

The Gates Of Slumber - The Awakening (Reissue)

Finally waveriders! This great album, the full-length debut of The Gates Of Slumber, was originally released by Final Chapter in 2004. Unfortunatley the label soon went under and this amazing piece of music has long since been out of print. But now Abyss Records is doing the world a huge favour and service by reissuing it with a bonus track and a different cover. Although the Ken Kelly-made new cover was actually used by Iron Kodex when they released The Awakening on vinyl a few years back.

Resurrection From The Underworld initiates this journey through prosecution, terror, execution and death...you know like life in general. This instrumental piece brings purgatory to mind, if there is such a place and leads quickly to the title track The Awakening(Interpolating The Wrath Of The Undead). Even though this track isn't very fast it's heavy, incredibly heavy and the band pummels me into the ground as evil arises. Karl Simon's voice has a beautiful desperation and urgency that completes the band's music perfectly.

The third chapter in this horror narrative is The Judge and evil rears it's ugly head even more in the disguise of a remorseless judge. And you can feel that when the band launches in to the song. Like someone on the verge of breaking down The Gates Of Slumber weaves back and forth in tempo creating feelings of despair and hopelessness. Karl's guitar playing is impeccable while Jason McCash's thunderous bass again pummels me into the ground with drummer Chuck Brown heaping even more misery on me....fantastic!!!

The Jury is an elongation of The Judge but the band ups the tempo a little bit, not too much because this is doom after all. And they are a tad more elaborate and steps out of the box in certain parts jamming out while the riffing is bone crushing.

Whereas The Jury and The Judge are extensions of each other the same goes for the next two tracks, Broken On The Wheel and The Executioner. Both are the fastest songs on the album and they lean more towards traditional heavy metal but of course the lyrics keeps it doomy indeed. In this two-part segment you see your life flashing before your eyes as all kinds of horror and torture are forced upon you until the axeman finally steps up and relieves you from your misery.

Blessed Pathway To Celestial Kingdom is the beginning of the end. Mainly a thing between Jason and Chuck this instrumental piece to me is when you die and your soul leaves on it's journey to wherever it goes when the body dies. It is slow and captivating, almost soothing and very beautiful. The Burial picks up right where Blessed Pathway To Celestial Kingdom left off and ends the original release. And it couldn't be more fitting than being laid to rest after such a brutal passing. The band brings down the tempo to just about funeral doom which further enhances one's passing.

The bonus track is called The Cloaked Figure and was intended to be on The Awakening but the band excluded in order for a rework of it. When it came time for that drummer Chuck Brown had left The Gates Of Slumber and the song was left unused. When Abyss Records approached them for this reissue the band decided that The Cloaked Figure should be brought back in it's original form.

Dear waveriders, yours truly was blessed enough to get my hands of an original copy of The Awakening before it sold out. Still I think it's great it's available again because more people should own this album. Although it was their first official release The Gates Of Slumber set the bar high for coming albums which they have managed to emulate and surpass each time but that's a different story. This as a stand-alone album is fantastic and since it was their debut that makes it even more better. Great stuff indeed!

--Swedebeast

Mos Generator and Saint Vitus Announce European Tour Dates

Saint Vitus and Ripple Label artist, Mos Generator, will be embarking on a European tour this coming March, presented by Metal Hammer and Terrorizer. A complete list of updated dates for the run can be found in the tour poster below.

Altar Of Oblivion - Grand Gestures Of Defiance

Don't you love it when you get your hands on an album without any preconceived ideas at all. You have no idea what it's going to sound like and the band is of course completely unknown to you. Then the second the album starts to spin you're totally sold. Grand Gesture Of Defiance by Altar Of Oblivion from Denmark, is such an album. We're talking doom and heavy metal and I absolutely love it!

Like most bands with an air of doom in their music write about fear, despair and desolation and Altar Of Oblivion are no different. The twist that separates them from the others is that they utilize war for their narratives instead of the more traditional occult and fear-of-god themes most doom bands have. And veering off like that definitely works to their advantage. Also the symbiosys between doom and heavy metal clearly sets them apart. The music is mainly kept at a mid-tempo level throughout  which brings out the horrors of war perfectly. There's no need for machine-gun speed as the band searches for the human aspect of being stuck in a raging battle. You're cold, alone, miserable and immensely unsure if you will be alive 5 minutes from now.

Grand Gesture Of Defiance is a short affair that some people might snub their noses at but I think it's perfect. These Danes clearly knows the deal and go for substances instead of filler material that would bring the album down. Keeping it at just under 36 minutes all the horrors they portray are kept close at hand, never straying from the subject and subsequently my attention stays focused on the album. Apart from this, the impeccable musicianship is another factor that makes Grand Gesture Of Defiance great. From the solid backbone of C. Nörgaard and Thomas Wesley Antonsen on bass guitar and drums respectively to the fantastic guitar work courtesy of Allan B. Larsen and Martin Meyer Mendelssohn Sparvath they play the best soundtrack possible about the atrocities of war. The level of fear and horror they bring with their music is beyond words.

Let's not forget the excellent singer Mik Mentor. The desperation and anguish in his voice is ideal for these songs and he is the last piece in the jigsaw puzzle that makes Grand Gesture Of Defiance such a great album. And the interplay between the music and Mentor's voice brings out the spirit and atmosphere in such a way that I feel I'm out there on a WWII battlefield fighting for my life. Although the song that truly displays the strongest emotional aspect is the acoustic instrumental The Smoke-Filled Room. After three vocal tracks the softness and calmness of this song simply floors me. Being the middle track and completely different from the others makes it even more haunting. To me I believe it comes down to a feeling of peace while dying but of course I don't know if that's what the band strives for. That's what the song means to me though and regardless how I perceive it, it is beautiful!

Being such a standout album all songs are great but there are always one or two pieces that are above the rest. I've already mentioned one, The Smoke-Filled Room, the other being The Graveyard Of Broken Dreams. All the things that Altar Of Oblivion represent on Grand Gesture Of Defiance are included in this song. So if you are unsure about them, which you shouldn't be wave rider, this is the song you should check out first. At the same time you won't do yourself or the band any justice listening to only one song...be brave and take in the whole album because you will love it!

--Swedebeast

Brett Walker - Nevertheless

This album review hit me by surprise. I was expected a whole lot of melody and hum drum love song approaches. Maybe some catchy chorus to get me through. I placed the head phones on and sat back. Instantly the effect of the guitar driven vocals flooded my ears and It sounded good. Real good. The kind of good solid aor rock that should be played on all the top stations. Brett walker  is a true American gem of a songrwriter. His approach to melody and texture makes the songs pop. You don't walk away from a listen to this guy bored. He rocks.

 "Hard to find an easy way" one of the best tracks on the cd and the opener. Such a great melody line underneath the chorus. Shades of Mr. Big and Bon Jovi shine through here.  "Never gave Roses", and " Quicksand" are also some really outstanding tracks. Bio speaks of Bryan adams influences and I can hear that but its so much more. This is power singing not the gravelly, springsteen-wanna-be growl of Adams.

Some killer guitar work on "Midnight Angel". I'm hearing def leppard and damn yankees sprinkled in the grooves of this track. Very close to the hair rock anthems of yesteryear. Nice. Very nice.

"No Fire Without You", and "Bad Time For Goodbye" are very well done songs that seem to breathe on their own. You know the moment when your listening to a song and you think you have heard it before or it reminds you of something or...someone.

 Brett  walker delivers more hard hitting aor rock than Dominoes Pizza on game night.
This is a great cd. Simply put, it captures you.


 Draws you in.

 Places your mind in a tension free space.

7 horns up

--MetalRising

Desolate Shrine – The Sanctum Of Human Darkness

You awaken and find yourself adjusting to a grey haze that fills your field of vision, without any variability in shade.  You feel an ominous, unnamed weight upon you, not a physical weight, but the weight of the evil and darkness that humankind is capable of.  You hear distant screams, shrieks, howls, from unknown sources.  They sound human, but only if humans are being subjected to acts that defy description.  As you explore the room in which you find yourself, it appears to be a shrine of sorts.  But what manner of madman has assembled this shrine?  All around you are images and souvenirs of the worst types of human behavior.  Serial killers, mass murderers, acts of genocide, all are portrayed in various tableaux that seem reverential.  Scenes and devices of torture fill the room.  You look at some of these devices and even wonder how they work, what exactly they do, and then decide it's probably better not to know.  All of this appears to be holy to whoever has brought this together.  You stumble upon a book, it almost appears to be a hymnal, with 8 songs describing acts of atrocity.  And suddenly you see it, inscribed in an archway above a door that you have just noticed.  You are in the Sanctum of Human Darkness.

Listening to this release from Desolate Shrine will certainly put you in the mindset above.  Human darkness is cataloged and described, and you can almost detect a sense of religiosity to it.  After all, we have the "good" religions, and look at all of the atrocities that have been committed in the name of religion over the centuries.  There is nothing to be feared more than a true believer, who has bought into their belief system so much that they will do anything, will justify anything, in the name of what they believe in.  Murder, torture, rape, pillage, plunder, wipe out entire races of people, enslave them, treat them as a sub species.  All of this has been done in the name of religion, in the name of belief.  It is still done today.  We look the other way many times, because they believe in a religion, and religion is good, right?  We look the other way until it is too late, until fanaticism has turned to action, and action has created death and destruction.

With "Sanctum Of Human Darkness", Desolate Shrine show us these things.  Song titles are apt descriptors for this darkness.  "The Chalice of Flesh and Bone: The Eminence of Chaos", "Demon Heart: The Desolate One", "Pillars of Salvation: The Drowned Prince", are just a few, and some of the better ones.  This is music that will drag you into the darkness, if you require force, or take you there willingly if you are of a mind to drift into it complacently.  However you get there, you will know darkness when you arrive.  The mood of this album is palpable from the first few notes of the first track.  You know what you are in for almost immediately and for almost an hour you are aurally assaulted with hymns of darkness.  If you need it categorized, it moves between black and death metal, seamlessly and flawlessly.  There are some great atonal moments.  If you listen with headphones you are rewarded with all sorts of things in the mix, things that although you hear them, you are not quite sure what they are.  Was that a guitar or a scream?  Primarily this is music that is black and bleak.  Forget genres, this is music of feeling and atmosphere.

I'm not sure what it says about me, and I really don't care, but I love this music.  I can listen to this all day long, every day.  Too often we seem to think that life can only be light or darkness, good or evil, beautiful or ugly.  And we let the world, we let so-called societal norms tell us what these things are.  But if we free our minds, if we think for ourselves, if we allow ourselves to recognize and define what is beautiful, what is worthy of our attention, then many more possibilities exist.  This music has a beauty all its own and we shouldn't shun things simply because the norm tells us that it is underground, that it is out of the mainstream, so therefore it should be ignored.  Yet it is here, just like the human darkness described in this release, and we ignore it at our peril.

 - ODIN

Ripple Field Trip - Lord Huron

Look sideways and avert your eyes away from the stage at your run of the mill smallish SRO concert venue, and what do you typically get a glimpse of?  Maybe a pile of shattered Budweiser bottles oozing in the corner; or an intriguingly spattered wall with hastily affixed posters advertising the next gig; or some ashtray-laden poker tables with rickety chairs offered for those souls not quite hardy enough to stand for a few hours.  Well, not at the recent First Friday show at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum you didn't, gloriously headlined by KCRW faves and local rising stars Lord Huron.  That's because the show took place before an enthusiastic crowd in a well-appointed display room richly imbued with dark woods and endowed with enough stuffed mammals behind glass to shake a drumstick at.

So if your eyes wandered away from the stage, either during Wildcat! Wildcat!'s thoroughly capable opening set or Lord Huron's spirited run-through of such standouts from their recent acclaimed Lonesome Dreams cd as "She Lit A Fire", "I will Be Back One day", and "The Man Who Lives Forever", you'd come face to face with a coyote poised to devour a sumptuous rabbit carcass or a herd of deer looking like they're staring into the oncoming glare of a well-endowed Hummer.  But what might seem at first like a bit of an odd milieu for the hipster set to roll out the red carpet for one of Southern California's own proved to be fabulously fresh and satisfying, as patrons segued seamlessly from wandering the museum's display halls and patronized a smattering of gourmet food trucks outside the colorfully lit exterior of the museum while the musical entertainment unfolded in the main hall.


Lord Huron is the brainchild of Michigan-born Ben Schneider, who impressively played all the instruments on the band’s first two EPs, 2010’s Into the Sun and Mighty.   Schneider recruited a few Michigan-born long-time friends to play on Lonesome Dreams, and the band’s folk-infused, multirhythmic sound melded beautifully with lush harmonies, both on the more uptempo tracks mentioned above and the beautifully meditative, harmonica-inflected “Ghost on the Shore”, perhaps the highlight of the entire evening.  By the time the veterans of 2011’s Lollapalooza and SWSX festival closed with a moving and eminently crowd-pleasing rendition of "Auld Lang Syne", it was clear whoever dreamed of pairing innovative, high quality music with the hallowed halls of wooly behemoths is truly on to something special.  Plus, anything that gets the people into a museum can't be all bad.

--Rhythm Slayer

Triumph - Allied Forces

Oh yeah, this is definitely a trip down memory lane indeed, all you waveriders! My brother, Thomas, got me hooked on these guys - as with so many other bands in my formative years - the day he brought home their Never Surrender LP. That album is fantastic but pales in comparison to it's predecessor Allied Forces. So buckle up folks...a hot time in this city tonight is upon you!

It never falters. To this day whenever I put on Allied Forces and Fool For Your Love rips this album to life my teenage years collide with my current old ass and I headbang relentlessly. And as in my formative years I grab my imaginary Gibson and go to town on the invisible fretboard pretending to be the guitar hero I will never be...like Rik Emmett. Still and I just turned 41 so I guess in some ways I will never grow up which I is good I suppose. Because the moment you stop being a kid at heart and start feeling your age you wither away. So being "into" metal and heavy rock is my fountain of youth, as soon as aches and pains appear I just put on an album like Allied Forces and I feel great for days. What need is there for pharmaceuticals when you have Triumph?

Alright, alright I'm straying from the subject but indulge me if you will dear waverider. This is after all a trip down memory lane up. As I mentioned earlier Fool For Your Love gets the album going with a slight southern rock feel for a few seconds but it quickly changes into a mid-tempo rocker once drummer Gil Moore starts to sing. Lyrically it's basically a love song but where the love goes wrong. Perfect album opener with some amazing riffing.

Second song out is the beautiful Magic Power, the first to feature Rik Emmett on vocals (Rik and Gil share the lead vocal duties). It tells the tale of young people struggling to make things work while having the whole world at their disposal...and music is what helps them on their way. Great song!

Third on the list is the short instrumental intro Air Raid. Sounding like it was taken from an arcade game it leads straight into the stomping title track Allied Forces.  A call-to-arms to all rockers this rocker simply annihilates. Rik Emmett is on top of things as always with some very smart and deft guitar playing. Gil Moore sings his heart out while keeping the beat behind the drums and Mike Levine's bass playing is impeccable.
The last song on side A is Hot Time(In This City Tonight) a fantastic homage to 50's music, think Chuck Berry, and Rik's wicked guitar playing peels the paint of the walls.

Side B opens up with Fight The Good Fight which is one of the longer songs on the album. The band speaks of making the right choices in life and doing the right thing, regardless the cost. Tough it out and you will be better for it. Musically the band changes slightly from here on leading into a more progressive field as Fight The Good Fight is more technical and subtle.

Their progressive leanings continue with Ordinary Man. Although it starts out with a choir before slowly moving onto a semi-acoutic segue, the song eventually explodes turning into a predecessor of thrash metal...seriously! Emmett is shredding and riffing like there's no tomorrow putting ANY accomplished thrash metal guitarist to shame. Moore and Levine follow suit and this is an absolute corker of a song...definitely my favourite on a great album.

Second last song on Allied Forces is Petite Etude which even further enhances Emmett's traits as an all-round guitar virtuoso of the highest order. This is a short, acoustic classical piece akin to what any of the classical masters would have composed...except Rik wrote it.

Triumph rounds off the album with Say Goodbye, a break-up song if there ever was one. Musically it's a return to the more straight-forward rock of side A although it's more mid-tempo with a heavy reliance on slide and lap steel guitars.

Overall Allied Forces is a fantastic album that touches on many various rock styles. Still the band manage elegantly to keep the music and the structure cohesive, engaging and simply crushing. The musicianship is out of this world and I have already spoken a lot about Rik Emmett but let's not forget about Gil Moore and Mike Levine. Gil is a tight, technical good rock drummer which is extremely apparent since he handles a lot of the lead vocals...while drumming. That is quite an accomplishment. And apart from being a solid bass player Mike plays all the synths, organs and pianos on this album. And this muscial ability is not only for the studio, they did the same live...just like their fellow Canadians Rush. Must be something in the water up there in Canada!

Swedebeast

ETERNAL REST Announce Album Release and Tour Dates

Australian death metallers Eternal Rest will release their debut album, Prophetic on April 16 in North America via Deepsend Records. The band has also confirmed several tour dates for 2013, including a Winter Aussie tour, a Spring New Zealand tour and have just been added to the Extreme Death Fest Vol. I Japanese tour with ORIGIN.

Recorded and mixed by Joe Haley of Psycroptic, Australia's ETERNAL REST have crafted a beast of a debut album with Prophetic. Equal parts crushing and ferocious, while maintaining a level of musicianship that should be applauded in a scene that's been saturated with technical overdoses and slow-plodding nightmares.

Pre-Order has begun for ETERNAL REST Prophetic at this location. Pre-Orders will ship well before the scheduled release date. Be the first to hear this great new Australian death metal band.

The album's title track is streaming at the link below:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEw7XPS1P6g




Prophetic Launch Tour
Jan 18 - Strike Club - Adelaide, Australia
Jan 19 - Cornucopia Hotel - Wallaroo Plain, Australia
Jan 20 - Cavern Club - Adelaide, Australia
Jan 25 - Crowbar 18+ - Brisbane, Australia
Jan 26 - Norville Hotel 18+ - Toowoomba, Australia
Feb 08 - Gasometer Hotel - Melbourne, Australia
Feb 09 - Ha'Penny Bridge - Frankston, Australia
Feb 16 - Venom Club - Sydney, Australia

New Zealand Tour w/ SINATE
Mar 21 - The Creek - Timaru, New Zealand
Mar 22 - Refuel - Dunedin, New Zealand
Mar 23 - Bourbon Street - Christchurch, New Zealand
Mar 24 - Zebedee's - Christchurch, New Zealand
April 20 - Metal Heart Festival @ Mansfield Tavern w/ Portal, 4arm -  Brisbane, Australia

Extreme Death Feast Vol. I Japanese Tour
w/ ORIGIN, MORS PRINCIPIUM EST, AEON & BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA
2013年7月2日（火） 仙台 Flying Son (July 2nd - Sendai Flying Son)
2013年7月3日（水） 今池 3star (July 3rd - Imaike 3 star)
2013年7月4日（木） 福岡 graf (July 4th - Fukuoka graf)
2013年7月5日（金） 心斎橋 Pangea (July 5th - Shinsaibashi Pangea)
2013年7月6日（土） 静岡 Sunash (July 6th - Shizuoka Sunash)
2013年7月7日（日） 新宿 WildSide (July 7th - Shinjuku Wildside)

Eternal Rest are a death metal act from Brisbane, Australia. Their powerful energy must be seen to be believed. This young band is surging forward with momentum and are set to have a bright future.

Eternal Rest have played with many national and international artists such as Unearth (USA), The Black Dahlia Murder (USA), Warbringer (USA), Guttermouth (USA), Ulcerate (NZ), Sybreed (Switzerland), Alchemist and many more.

The band just finished recording their debut full length which will be available early 2013 through Deepsend Records. The album was recorded and mixed by Joe Haley (Psycroptic).


Josh Robinson - Vocals
Mick Hunter - Drums
Jake Kaiser - Guitars
Chris Clark - Guitars
Jannico Kelk - Bass

Three from Drug Front Records - featuring Born Loose, Two Man Advantage, and The Stags

I'm seriously behind in my Rippling, especially new releases. So what better way to start the year off with three new killers from Brooklyn's Drug Front Records.

Born Loose - s/t

Born Loose is a 4 piece firecracker fronted by ex Candy Snatcher Larry May. I had the pleasure of getting my ears blown out by them over the summer and was really looking forward to this album. Fans of the Lazy Cowgirls will go for this band big time. Every song rocks hard and most of them are fast. Even the slower ones like "China Bus Express" and "Folds Of The Flesh" still rock with a strong New York Dolls influence. With a band name like Born Loose it's obvious that the Dolls & the Heartbreakers are a huge influence. My personal faves are the ones that have a lot of screaming like "Heart Attack" and "Step Up To The Plate (Be A Runaway)." The rude lyrics of "Sugar Pussy" show a low maturity level that I also approve of. The rhythm section of Shane Konen (bass) and Eric Robel (drums) are extremely tight and make fiery guitarist Suke work even harder. If you have a large collection of Sympathy For The Record Industry 7" singles that you've played to death, here's your new favorite band. Vinyl comes with a lyric sheet and a copy of the CD as a bonus.

http://www.facebook.com/bornloose?fref=ts

"Step Up To The Plate (Be A Runaway)" live




Two Man Advantage - Dynasty

Even though upstate NY is a lot closer to Canada, Long Island is the butt of a lot of jokes in NYC. There are also a lot of hockey fans on Long Island. Two Man Advantage have been blasting out their brand of beer & hockey fueled punk for well over a decade. This is what happens when you crank Poison Idea tapes while there's an Islanders game on TV. NoMeansNo have the Hanson Brothers as an outlet for their hockey fixation but Two Man ups the insanity level by a few notches. Their singer dresses up like the guy from Piledriver, another great Canadian export. None of this would matter if the jams weren't solid. Dynasty is 12 kick ass punk songs with great lyrics. Opener "Rookie Season" has great Zep inspired lyrics like "it's been a long time since I scored a goal." Their live shows are notoriously rowdy and they do a good job of capturing that on this album. The music is chaotic but tight and there's lots of miscellaneous screaming. Do you really need me to explain to you what songs like "Drink The Bar Dry," "When The Ice Melts Away" and "Hosers Sing The Blues" are about? My copy came in white splattered vinyl and has a full color SOD inspired collage on the inner sleeve, CD also included.

http://www.facebook.com/TwoManAdvantagePunk

Two Man Advantage - full live show February 2012





The Stags - s/t 7" EP

This 4 track EP is short, fast and to the point. Jim sings and is backed up by a kick ass three piece female band. Two minute songs are bashed out economically with very animated lyrics. The female backing vox are great. "Rock Hotel" doesn't seem to be about any of the metal or hardcore shows I saw promoted by Chris Williamson's Rock Hotel, but that's OK. "Moving On" is not a cover of Bad Co.'s "Movin' On" but that's OK, too. It comes in a nice sleeve on white vinyl. There's a download card that gets you 3 more jams.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Stags/249104148473829

The Stags live February 2012




Another good batch of releases from Drug Front. While lots of labels are cutting corners or putting out digital only releases, label head Dean Rispler seems hell-bent on overstock. Rumor has it he auctioned off some of his rare Americade test pressings to fund his label. Go to his website and do some shopping.

--Woody

http://drugfrontrecords.com

PSYCHOSTICK Posts New Music Video “Dogs Like Socks”

 deo “Dogs Like Socks”

(L- R) – Alex “Shmalex” Dontre – Drums | Rob “Rawrb” Kersey –

We'd commented before on the madcap antics of punk/pranksters, Psychostick.  Particularly their song "Caffeine" which hit all the right chords around the Ripple Office.

 Now, the originators of humorcore, Psychostick, are proud to share with fans their latest creation ‘Dogs Like Socks’ inspired by the band’s moral support, the Siberian husky duo of Elphie and Mishka.  And after only 3 days, the video already has more than 100,000 views!

“This song answers the question, “Can you make something cute BRUTAL?” We just did this for fun. We have a recording studio, we had inspiration, so why not? Those dogs are the best… this is our tribute to them.” comments guitarist Josh “The J” Key.

Anybody with a dog should be able to relate to this heartfelt, hilarious tribute.



After completing their ‘Santa’s An Asshole Tour’ this past November/ December, Psychostick are now gearing up for their next tour in March with dates soon to be announced in support of their latest release ‘Space Vampires VS Zombie Dinosaurs in 3-D’, which is now streaming at the following location here. (http://psychostick.bandcamp.com/album/space-vampires-vs-zombie-dinosaurs-in-3-d)

Music Videos

Because Boobs! - http://youtu.be/dcYlytyuKsc

Political Bum - http://youtu.be/DNZj2RrrkfI

Beer - http://youtu.be/O-jOEAufDQ4 - over 4 million views

Girl Directions - http://youtu.be/U5_HhqcbF_0

BIO:

Most high school friends can’t even stand to look at each other once school’s out, but in the case of vocalist Rob “Rawrb” Kersey and guitarist Josh “The J” Key, they decided to spend even more time together after graduation.

Harnessing their crazy sense of humor and love of all things metal, they joined forces with drummer Alex “Shmalex” Dontre and bassist  Matty J “Moose” to create Pyschostick, a band they’ve coined as humorcore. With hilarious lyrics, heavy riffs, notorious stage antics and high-energy performances, the band has caused millions of laughs around the world and hundreds of mosh pits across the US, often simultaneously, since its birth in Phoenix, AZ in 2000.

Almost 100 percent do-it-yourself, Psychostick never strays from its signature sound, a combination of heavy music Chimaira, Machine Head and Hatebreed would be proud of and wit and humor that would make Tenacious D and Weird Al Yankovic holler with laughter.

With two full-length albums behind them – “We Couldn’t Think of a Title” and “Sandwich” – the band released their latest record, “Space Vampires VS Zombie Dinosaurs in 3D,” in 2011, following it up with a tour with Mushroomhead to add to their total count of 21 nationwide tours that have hit 47 states.

Royal Headache - S/T

Provided below is an excerpt from the completely fabricated, incredibly unofficial biography of the band Royal Headache.  While it is utterly ludicrous to believe there will be any similarities between this sensationalistic propaganda and real people or events, we at The Ripple Effect provide our sincere apologies to any affronted parties.  Hopefully the remainder of your time at the hospital passes quickly.  Now, on to our exclusive preview!


Everything came to a head after the band played the main stage of the 2008 Queen’s Jubilee.  Having an unnamed band play on the main stage was scandalous enough, but it was Her Highness’ reaction to their performance that really put the cherry on top of this fiasco.  Here’s a word to the wise for all aspiring musicians.  If you are playing someone’s party, regardless of their social station, and you see them place their hands over their ears while their face betrays physical pain…it might be a good idea to stop playing, or at the very least turn your amplifiers down.

The next morning newspapers around the country plastered similar headlines across their front pages.  ‘Unnamed band gives Queen headache’.  ‘God save the Queen from this nameless band’.  ‘The Queen does not approve: Band proves harmful to her health’.  ‘Her Royal Highness contracts a royal headache after listening to band’.  Sensing a great opportunity, an aspiring music producer named Penfold contacted the band and set up a meeting.  Once in front of the four musicians, he laid out exactly how he was going to help them take over the world with their music.

Step one would be to select a proper name.  Fortuitously, the publicity surrounding the Jubilee had already provided a suitable band moniker; Royal Headache.  It was perfect and memorable.  Step two would be to capitalize on their current notoriety.  Penfold proposed that the band put out a press release as soon as possible.  It would state that the Queen had banished them to Australia, a continent literally on the other side of the world.  When the band members correctly pointed out that this banishment was in fact a bald faced lie, Penfold pressed on explaining that it didn’t matter whether it was true or not.  The point of the exercise was simply to get the band’s new name out there in the public consciousness.  Besides he argued, Australia was lovely this time of year!

Thirty six hours later the band packed their bags and left on a red-eye flight destined for the land down under.  Much to their amazement they were met at the Sydney airport by around forty to fifty members of the press, each of whom was more than eager to interview the ‘buzz worthy’ band.  After providing minimal, direct answers to several reporters’ questions Penfold guided the band into a waiting limousine which promptly sped away.  Although the rock and roll fans living in and around Sydney might not have realized it, they were all about to fall under the spell of Royal Headache.  It was only a matter of time.


Greetings waveriders!  Today I bring you my much belated review of the band Royal Headache.  How belated you ask?  Well, this is an album I have been enjoying since the beginning of summer.  I’m writing this review in December.  My apologies folks.  Of course, after you hear this band’s music you may have a harder time accepting my apology.  Keeping greatness like this to oneself is criminal!  So without further ado, let’s get down to business.

I was frustrated with what I was listening to and needed a change of pace.  Regardless of the level of quality too much of one music genre in the diet is unhealthy.  In my case, it was too much dissonant metal.  I needed something that was still aggressive, but something that was also more melodic and to the point.  That something was classic punk rock, or music very similar.  To find what I wanted I travelled to the Bandcamp homepage and input the keyword ‘punk’ in their search bar.   Incredibly, I only had to sample a few other bands before happening upon Royal Headache.  What can I say?  Sometimes, fortune smiles on me. 

This band is fantastic!  They are exactly what I wanted to hear.  When I hit play on the album stream I was taken back in time.  This music sounds as if it could have been released right alongside all the classic 1970s punk albums.  In fact, the austere production on Royal Headache’s self-titled release might just fool you into thinking that this music was actually recorded around that time…in someone’s garage.  While that might normally be a detriment to the listener’s/my enjoyment, here it perfectly complements the songs as they whiz by at breakneck speeds.  Garage punk.  Brilliant!

I’ve read other reviewers compare this band’s sonic blueprint with The Buzzcocks and I completely agree with them.  However, the first band my mind leapt to in comparison was The Misfits.  No there are no camp or horror elements in the music, but I dare you to listen to the powerful vocals on this album and not hear similarities to the work of one Glenn Danzig.  The singing is infectious, melodious, and electric.  Also, the band just sounds so raw and energetic!   Frantic guitar work easily grabs hold of the listener, but it is the steamrolling rhythm section that really steals the show.   The bass player and drummer are simply stellar in my opinion.

The bottom line here is this waveriders.  If you yearn for a band that spectacularly combines the sound of early 1970s punk rock with that of a garage band look no further.  Your search has come to a successful conclusion.  One listen to songs like “Never Again”, “Girls”, “Psychotic Episode”, or album closer “Pity” will have you jumping out of your seat with joy!  Trust me people.  It happened to me.  It can happen to you.  Royal Headache.  Go!

--Penfold



 Never Again


        Girls

Maveth – Coils Of The Black Earth

In my life, music is a powerful thing.  It is an important thing.  Music is not something that just happens in the background.  I plan around music and going to see bands, hell I even plan when I am going to sit down and listen to music.  It makes sense to me that I enjoy powerful music, and powerful does not necessarily mean loud, heavy, metal, etc.  It means music that moves me and makes me feel.

So here we have, all the way from Finland, a band called Maveth.  And this is powerful music.  This is grim stuff, a little blackened death if you will, and it certainly hit me at a time in my life when it seemed suited to be the soundtrack to my current events. My world has not been pretty lately, in fact I have been dealing with some pretty grim stuff.  Maybe this is just the perfect of example of right place, right time, but this release really hit the spot with me.  Not to say that I want to wallow in the darkness, but when things around you are all black, sometimes you want some music that just fits the situation.

This is the 3rd release for this band.  This is their first full length, the previous releases being a demo and an EP.  And according to their press, they have played a ton of live shows.  It definitely shows up in the music on this release.  They are polished, in a black metal sort of way, and they sound like a band that knows what they are doing.  They are not a young band, in that they have been around for 5 years now, and it could just be that with this release, with the shows they have put behind them, that they are hitting that sweet spot for a band when it all starts to come together.

Maveth play a lot in the mid tempo sandbox, and it creates a very suffocating and brutal effect.  There are some small tempo changes but it's mostly right in the same BPM throughout the album.  You feel as though the sun is blocked out, little by little, as if the walls are closing in on you inch by inch.  By the time you work through the almost hour length of this album, your soul is blacker than it was at the beginning.  It's a little harder to find joy and happiness in life, things don't seem quite as bright.  This is what a really good death metal album will do to you and for you, and “Coils Of The Black Earth” succeeds mightily in this regard.

Sometimes you wanna sing, sometimes you wanna dance, and sometimes you just wanna revel in the fact that life can be shitty, that life can be incomprehensible, that life can tie you to the bumper of a pickup truck and drag you through gravel for a while.  If it's the former that you're after, go find a Chambers Brothers track called “Funky”.  But if, like me right now, you seek the latter, this is the shit you are looking for right here.  Roll in it like a hellhound rolling around in a field of rotting corpses. 

- ODIN

Bargain Bin Treasure - Snail - S/T 1978

For some reason, I'd been avoiding buying this album, despite finding it in my dollar bin dives nearly every week. See, when I was a neophyte dumpster diver, back in high school, this album was already a regular flip in the bins on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley.  Since Snail were a local band (sort of, they're from Santa Cruz which is loosely a part of the SF Bay Area) they've always been around the local record shops.  And Cream Records was notoriously awful at promoting rock bands, like Legs Diamond, that really should've hit a bigger audience.  Consequently, Snail made it's way from the factory's directly to the dollar bins.  A brief glint at the charts and a run of popularity in LA, then gone.

Which really is a crying shame, cause what I'm hearing right now deserved a much better fate than that.

My hesitation on buying it was from a faulty memory that they were a slick 70's pop rock band, a la Pablo Cruise or Player, and I just wasn't feeling it.  But recently digging through the underbins in the stocked-to-the-rafters Grooveyard Records, I stumbled upon it again.  And since I was in a buying mood, it found it's way into my stack.

As with many lost Bargain Bin Treasure bands, there's not a ton of info available on these guys, but as I said, they were from Santa Cruz, California, a normally laid-back, hippie-surfer town.  Jim Norris sat in the drum stool, Jack Register provided the low end, and the secret weapons were Bob O'Neil and Ken Kraft who both provided vocals and some exquisite guitar.

On one hand, it's easy to see why the band never made it.  Coming along in 1978, they weren't disco, weren't hard rocking enough, and certainly weren't punk.  Also, there's no clear single on this album.  No, in it's truest sense of the word, this is a classic '70's album oriented rock releases.  And that's about as big a compliment as it gets.  "The Joker" starts off with a bass line reminiscent of Argent's "Hold Your Head Up" but quickly we see that Snail aren't gonna sound quite like anyone else.   If you do enough research, you'll find some references to The Eagles or Firefall, but those are lazy.  At their heart, Snail were more of a rock band than Firefall and more of a jam band than The Eagles.  Sure, their music explored a rather laid back vein of '70's rock, but it only takes one listen to the extended funky yet searing guitar solo that splits the middle of "The Joker" to hear that these guys were different.  They had a country-California rock vibe to them like The Eagles, and could bring on the harmony vocals when they wanted, but simply wanted to rock more.  Perhaps Peter Frampton in his peak would be a better reference point.  Jamming, rocky, yet fiercely melodic. And at 5:08, the boys take their time to let the song breathe.

I'd go so far as to say that "The Joker" may be one of the great lost '70's tracks.  It simply has it all.  Great vocals and melodies, a pretty darn heavy bottom end, and enough guitar work to light up the ears of any 70's rock fan.  "Catch Me," brings on a more acoustic-vibe, but again, don't go thinking The Eagles.  This isn't sunshine-y, happy 70's fluff.  A darkness hangs over the whole affair, kinda like Pure Praire Leagues "Falling in and Out of Love," another great 70's track.  The interweaving guitar work is perfect, and with strings rising and falling in the background, the boys manage to avoid any 70's smaltz.  With that chorus, this is probably the song I would've pushed as a single if I'd been the record label. 

"Music is My Mistress" is a darkened, groovy, moody piece that is about as close as the band gets to sounding like Player, or another lost favorite, Rock Rose.  But still, they do some descending bass runs that bring on a deepened heaviness that keeps this song from ever becoming fluff.  And that guitar solo is a touch more fierce than a band like Pablo Cruise would've considered. "Childhood Dreams" wraps up side one-- it's 5:14 extended jamming and near prog-rock use of strings makes this cut the epic centerpiece of the album.  Mid tempo, but not without rock.  This song demonstrates that despite the gorgeous harmony vocals and tender melody, Snail were at their heart a rock band.  The vibe grooves along and theirs some fierce dueling guitar work.  Not metal, but not afraid to rock.

Snail went on to release a second album "Flow" which included their flirtation with the bottom of the FM charts before the band split up.  I understand that Ken Kraft is still active and works with the charity Guitars Not Guns, which is an intimate part of the Ripple.

Looking back, I'd hope he's proud of what he and his bandmates accomplished here. Snail's debut is a tasty slice of moody, introspective 70's rock that manages to be a perfect, mellow Sunday morning listen while never abandoning the rock. 

For the pop culture trivia fans, a very obscure Snail reference can be found in the old '70's Mork and Mindy television shows, where this album cover is framed and hanging by Mindy's staircase.  Perhaps the greatest exposure the band ever got.  They deserved better.

Definitely worth searching for.

--Racer

Free Stoner Rock - Introducing Annimal Machine from Mexico

Dig in.  It's heavy.  It's fuzzy.  It's free. 

Let us know what you think . . .

Ripple Road Trip: - On the road to Frederick, MD December 15 2012: Featuring Pale Divine, Nitroseed, Admiral Browning, Wrath Of Typhon,Trilogy, and Puricist

After a 10-hour drive "back home" to Maryland from Tennessee my wife Kesha and I got to spend a day and a half with some of our best friends especially Mamma D, Evil Fanny and Jaks before show time at Cafe 611 approached. Krug's used to be THE joint for doom shows in Maryland but was sadly shut down early in 2012 and Cafe 611 has taken over a lot of their business. It is a nice small venue very suitable for a gig like this although the Amy Winehouse wanna-be bartender messed up just about every drink. Oh well, at least the beer was $3 cheaper than down in Tennessee...the little things.

On to the actual show, which was held to celebrate our friend Dustin's birthday, with Puricist kicking things off. They play old school-sounding thrash with distinct hints of death metal and weren't bad at all. However, they were plagued by technical problems throughout their entire set which naturally frustrated them. Still they battled on and did good.

Next up was a fairly new Maryland trio, Trilogy, featuring Fez on bass guitar and this was the first of three bands he played with this evening, talk about a marathon runner! The band is rounded up by Jason Sheldon Barker - vocals & guitar and Tony Saunders - drums, and they got the groove going with a real nice bluesy heavy rock. And of course, the steadily increasing crowd loved it, yours truly included. Having just recorded their debut cd, which is being mixed as I write this, you could tell they wanted to play live and they simply crushed. By the way, record companies with any sense and an ear for great music should take notice and pick them up immediately....you hear?!

Third band on the bill were four hooligans from York, PA, called Wrath Of Typhon and they brought the fury to Cafe 611 alright. No-holds-barred punk-infused metal is their forte and do they deliver. A still somewhat smallish crowd banged their heads to smithereens to this apocalyptic soundtrack as the band tore the place up. I have seen them live several times before and they never fail to bring the goods but after this display they show they have grown a lot and are so tight, heavy and good. No let me rephrase that....great!

The second trio of the night to take the stage, Admiral Browning, featured the second performance by bass maestro Fez. This is his main gig in many ways since he helped form the band with Tim Otis - drums and Matt LeGrow - guitars, effects and vocals back in 2002. Even though I'm not the greatest sea urchin in the world I do love this band of pirates and I have seen them countless times throughout the years. Once-instrumetal they do write vocal songs now which has expanded and pushed them forward. The focus is still on instrumental progressive metal/doom though and that excels live. Every time I see them they have tweaked the songs slightly making every show different and....amazing!

Fifth band to hit the stage were Nitroseed from Laurel, MD, and they feature ex-members of Earthride and Wooly Mammoth. Despite having a new album out in January 2013, their first since 2006, they probably played their last show ever on this night which is a shame if true. Mainly instrumental these guys absolutely crushes on stage. Stoner rock without vocals played this well is all I need on any given day but they went on like a bulldozer on a rampage and I'm amazed that Cafe 611 hadn't vanished when they were done.

Last band out and one of my all time favourite ever, Pale Divine. This was the first time I've seen them play since the release of their excellent album Painted Windows Black and the first time with the addition of Fez on bass guitar, so my anticitpation and excitement were running very high indeed. As always with The Pales though I shouldn't have worried at all because they were absolutely amazing. One of the best songs off of Painted Windows Black started their set, the fantastic Black Coven and to see them play with Fez, who made his third appearance of the night, is nothing short of brilliant. The focus was mainly on the new album and it was a joy to hear Angel of Mercy. However they did surprise us pretty good by playing two brand new songs, Curse The Shadows and Shades of Blue and an old previously unrecorded song, Chemical Decline. All three were great and but it was especially fun to hear the brand new tracks knowing they are working on new material. Yes, that's all I can say...yes!

Unfortunately an amazing evening and an amazing homecoming weekend had to come to an end. 10 hours on the road back to our new turf in the deep South loomed and it was with great sadness my wife and I left. We did have a great time watching some great bands and seeing great old friends and hopefully we'll be back up "home" soon. A big shout out goes to Jaks and Evil Fanny who let us crash at their places; to Mamma D, Fez and Shannon Diener for making the Sunday breakfast awesome; to Doug and Joe, two of my best friends!