An Evening With Tool

     Bands who tour behind an album released four years prior do it for one of three reasons: they’re in denial that their heyday has passed, they put out one of the best records of their career, or they have a strong fan base. Bands who tour behind a stellar album, take a break, and then resume touring again as if that record as new is quite rare. When Tool released 10,000 Days back in 2006, the record sold over 500,000 its first week. Touring took them through the fall of 2007 then saw the guys taking the following year off. 2009 had Tool appearing on a summer mini-tour of the U.S. and festivals like Lollapalooza. This brings us up to the current mini-tour that just finished in Los Angeles with two sold-out shows at the Nokia Theater. I witnessed both nights but the final night of the tour is the one I’ll be speaking of.

Isis At The Troubadour - Final Los Angeles Date

     
     Isis recently announced that they will no longer be continuing as a band.  More can be found on that here.  I was fortunate enough to scoop up a ticket to their last performance in LA at the sold out Troubadour.  Normally I don't go to shows by myself but there was no way in hell I was about to miss this.

R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio

    
     It has now been confirmed by Wendy Dio, wife of Ronnie James Dio, that Ronnie has lost his battle with cancer.  Metal has suffered a great loss with the passing of Ronnie.  You can bet Ronnie is teaching little headbangers in the afterlife how to do a proper metal horns salute.  Thanks for the music and legacy you left us.  Your spirit lives on Ronnie.

Straight Through the Heart

     Respectable sources are now reporting that legendary Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Elf, and Dio frontman Ronnie James Dio has lost his fight to stomach cancer.  I've been trying to swallow this for about an hour now and although nothing is 100% confirmed from the Dio camp, you can bet this rumor is true.  Metal has lost one of the greatest frontmen of all time.  To even begin to describe his impact on heavy metal and even pop culture requires much more space than I have time to write at this time.  Dio was one of the nicest guys in metal that you will ever meet and to think that he lost a battle in his life is staggering.  The man may have only been 5'4" but he had the heart that lasted for miles.  Dio will be greatly missed but his raw prowess will forever be felt.  Thank you Dio for your contributions to metal.

Please, No Flash Photography Allowed

    
     You ever go to a concert and see the asshole in front of you doing this?  How about multiple assholes with their cameras and camera phones being held up to record the show?  It's a bit distracting isn't it?  In this day and age with technology the way it is, the concert you just witnessed has the potential to be uploaded and online by the time you get home.  Bootleg footage of a concert you couldn't attend is no longer a rare commodity when venues allow phones and cameras into shows.  This is going to sound a bit communist and completely old-fashioned but I wish venues would act like movie theaters do and not allow for either to enter the doors. 

Not Cracked on the Skye

    

     The Mastodon/Between the Buried and Me/Baroness/Valient Thorr tour rolled through Pomona last night and I was anxious for this show, being that it had been four years since I last saw Mastodon and BTBAM.  Mastodon was on the "Unholy Alliance Tour" with Slayer and BTBAM was playing Ozzfest in 2006, neither of which allowed for a long set.  Between the Buried and Me flat out is amazing live and definitely a band that is to be experienced but what's weighing on my head now is Mastodon.  Since 2006, the band has blown up with their last two releases, Blood Mountain and 2009's critically acclaimed Crack the Skye.    Mastodon is more popular now than ever before and with that comes a price. 

Ozzfest Prediction #2 - As I Lay Dying

     The Powerless Rise comes out May 11, with the month of May booked up for headlining dates.  They just played the Golden Gods Awards (aires in May on VH1 Classic) and they're no stranger to the big touring festivals like Ozzfest.  As I Lay Dying has posted a sample of a new song called "Beyond Our Suffering" here.

1st Ozzfest Prediction - Mudvayne

     The first guess in a series of Ozzfest band predictions is Mudvayne.  These guys are no strangers to this tour, they recently released a new record and haven't toured behind it yet.  As of today, they have no tour dates posted and I would be suprised if they weren't on the bill this year. 

Just for fun, remember when they looked like this...

                                          

Then they went to this...                                             

Now I think they look something like this...

Ozzfest

    
     The Rockstar Mayhem Festival lineup was announced a while ago but yet Ozzfest still has yet to announce theirs.  It was confirmed the festival will resume this year after taking 2009 off.  How many of you even realized it wasn't around last year?  With Mayhem taking over the reigns as the new heavy metal festival I don't see Ozzfest as being a necessity anymore, especially considering this year's Mayhem lineup.  In the past couple of years Mayhem has had a good balance of commercial and underground bands to attract a good portion of the metal community.  This year I doubt your underground fans will be coming out of the woodwork for Mayhem which raises the question:  Will Ozzfest opt for a more underground roster and try to lure all the fans the Mayhem bands won't attract?  Will they go back to their roots and book good bands or will they stay commercial and try to book whoever they can get? 

Deaf-Toned?

     So as many of you know, the Deftones have a new record coming out called Diamond Eyes May 18 on Reprise Records.  Most of you that know this are also super stoked to hear new material from the hard rock/metal genre innovators.  The title track from that record has surfaced and you can check it out here. 

Kiss Of The Century

     Century has posted their version of Seal's "Kiss From A Rose" on their MySpace and it's always good to hear metal bands that don't take themselves too seriously.  This is pretty much what you would expect a Century cover to sound like and the song doesn't differ too much from the original but this is still a fun cover to hear a couple times.  The Pennsylvania natives are hard at work on a follow up to 2008's critically acclaimed Black Ocean.  No title or release date has been confirmed.

http://www.myspace.com/century

A Wet Dream of Maiden

     The news is in, Iron Maiden's tour this summer will see Dream Theater and a rumored Coheed & Cambria opening.  In so many ways the combo of Maiden and DT makes sense to me.  Both bands have had a devoted following for years who continue to buy every album.  To find either band opening is a rare feat because both groups give you your moneys worth.  I could go on but the main point being here is that Iron Fucking Maiden are coming back across the pond.  No word yet on whether Coheed is on board but this adds to the logical factor of this tour if this is true.  Coheed is the type of band that can tour will a wide range of artists and still somehow fit in but this should feel pretty comfortable for them.  "The Final Frontier" tour will see Maiden playing hits from their storied career along with new tracks from their upcoming album The Final Frontier.  The album is due out late this summer.  Tour dates are below.

70,000 Tons of Metal Cruise To Sink On Own Mistake

    

     Ok, maybe it won't but combining heavy metal bands with a cruise is either the dumbest fucking thing I've heard or pure genius.  If you haven't heard yet, there is a metal festival called 70,000 Tons of Metal booked on board of a cruise ship.  The trip lasts four days and takes you from Miami, Florida to Cozumel, Mexico and back.  The ship plays host to 40 bands including:  Amon Amarth, Epica, Finntroll, Moonspell, Raven, Saxon, Sodom, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Trouble, Uli John Roth, and Witchburner.  Tickets start at $666 not including taxes ($249) or booze on the boat.  Kicking off next January should give metalheads enough time to save right?

American Defloration Tour This Saturday

     This is show number two this Saturday and really it's a no brainer as to which one you should go to.  This is real, non-scene metal for half the ticket price and four bands instead of three.  The Black Dahlia Murder, Obscura, Augury, and Hatesphere will be tearing up The Roxy and I'm guessing this will sell out so don't wait until the day of the show to get your ticket.  You should already know what BDM sounds like so I'll only describe the other three bands.

Killswitch Engage, The Devil Wears Prada, and Dark Tranquility This Saturday

    
     There are two metal shows this Saturday in LA.  This one features Killswitch Engage, The Devil Wears Prada, and Dark Tranquility at the Wiltern.  I'm sure most of the people attending this show have no idea who Dark Tranquility is.  Everyone knows what to expect from KSE, both musically and from their live set.  This time around Howard Jones is out and Phil Labonte from All That Remains has stepped in for vocals.  This show might be alright to check out if the other one going on this same night wasn't so badass.  Get there early to check out Dark Tranquility and avoid some of the scene kids.

Round One, Machine Head vs. San Diego

     Machine Head vocalist/guitarist Rob Flynn told a U. K. radio station that the city of San Diego has been fired for basically having fans who suck.  Apparently they pretty much just sit and watch and don't go fucking crazy like most metal shows do.  Flynn says the band has no intention of playing there again and here's where I think he fucked up. 

Mona Lisa's Never Seemed So Angry

     It's not breaking news anymore that the Dillinger Escape Plan is putting out a new record this year called Option Paralysis.  What is new is that they will be premiering a video for the track "Farewell, Mona Lisa" March 1 at 4 pm EST at http://www.justin.tv/.  The track has been available online for a few weeks now and based on this song, it sounds like the band is back on track to releasing another face smashing record.  There are some melodic singing parts in this song and it looks like the band will start incorporating a few singing parts in their songs.  The band's last release, Ire Works, featured a lot more mainstream type of songs (for Dillinger at least) and took away from some of the furiosity of the record.  Even a subpar DEP record beats most bands' best efforts so I'm still looking forward to this.  The video trailer for "Farewell, Mona Lisa" can be viewed below.  Pick up Option Paralysis on March 23 and go kick a kitten.   

Vulgar Display Of Autobiography

The news coming out today keeps getting better.  It's now being reported that Philip Anselmo is working on an autobiography.  I think the biggest question on most people's minds is how much he is going to include on the break up of Pantera and Dime's death.  Something I found interesting appeared a few years ago in some magazine I read.  Phil went into a semi-detailed description of why he could hardly move on stage due to his back trouble.  He was on all kinds of pain killers that basically numbed the shit out of him just so he could perform.  I'm hoping this book will be very thorough from Far Beyond Driven through Down getting back together.  There's about a 10 year period in his life that I find fascinating and Phil is a straight shooter so don't be surprised if this book comes out as thick as a dictionary.

Scream For Me Long Beach!

Iron Maiden is about to make an announcement next Thursday (March 4) week regarding their North American touring plans for 2010.  This is about as huge as it gets.  In addition to that, the band has recently finished recording their 15th studio album.  The energy these guys still have is incredible and if you pass on seeing them on this tour then do me a favor and just punch youself in the nuts repeatedly.  That would be easier to deal with than dealing with the thought of missing Iron Fucking Maiden!

Golden...God This Award Doesn't Matter

    
     The second annual Golden Gods Awards is set to take place once again in Los Angeles.  While most metal fans and industry folk are all excited about finally having a heavy metal awards program, I could give two shits.  Now before I get criticized let it be known that I strongly oppose all awards shows/programs.  I do think that anything publicizing heavy metal can't be all bad in the grand scheme of things.  Even the Grammys having a heavy metal catagory isn't terrible either, even though it is a joke.  Metal is the best form of music and the most therapeutic way of self-expression from any genre of music, period.  There is no other form of musical entertainment that has a more rabid fan base and loyal supporters than heavy metal.  While I can win any argument over that claim, I'm here to talk about awards shows so that's what I'll do.

Norma Jean, Normal Genes?

     When Norma Jean was first breaking onto the scene, I'll admit that I really dug them.  Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child helped set up the template for metalcore.  "Memphis will be Laid to Waste" is arguably their most famous song to date and definitely still a staple in their live set.  O God, The Aftermath took a more mathcore approach and this is when I took notice of the band.  Suddenly, they were more intense and vocalist Cory Brandan sounded like he punch a baby for looking at him.  I listen to this album today and it's still devestating.  Redeemer was a step once again in a new direction for the band.  A little more melodic but still a solid effort.  Where the band started losing me was with their last record, The Anti-Mother.   

Traditional Heavy Metal To Return In 2010

     With the current metal trend as it is, bands that have vocalists who can actually sing are a scarce commodity over recent years.  I'm not saying they're not out there because they are, they just aren't that popular in comparison to a deathcore band.  Anybody can do breakdowns or blasts with practice but not everyone can write a song.  I mean WRITE a song, shit that sticks in your head for days.  That has been missing from metal for a good while now and I don't think this absence is due to a lack of talent but more of a forgotten gift.  They're are so many metal fans that think singing in metal is for pussies or 80's metal.  Let's get one thing straight, you won't find anyone with half of a brain calling Iron Maiden pussies because Bruce Dickinson has pipes.  Metal is the most accessible it's ever been thanks to technology and whatever type of metal you're into you can find online. 

Is Fear Factory Still Relevant?

The title explains everything.  Do people still give a shit about Fear Factory?  Regardless of the lineup or who the real Fear Factory name belongs to or how influential they used to be, do they matter in 2010?

Overkill - Ironbound Review

     Not many bands last 15 years, let alone 15 albums. Overkill is not one of those many bands. Ironbound marks the 15th album these east coast thrashers have released and boy does it “kill.” I highly doubt Slayer, Megadeth, Kreator, and Overkill all got together and said fuck it, let’s all release mind blowing, no bullshit thrash records like we used to do, but it sure seems that way. With Exodus working on a follow up to The Atrocity Exhibition, we just need that mysterious new Anthrax disc to see the light of day and I’m pretty sure all the stars will align…or something like that.

Frankenstein Will Finally Be Fed

Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie have announced they will be doing a short tour together and my reaction to this was fuck yeah!  After finding out they're only doing seven dates and only two of those are American dates, my horror music boner quickly dropped.  Deemed the "Gruesome Twosome" tour, the groups are playing mostly Canadian dates (lucky bastards) but hopefully the response will be overwhelming and they'll come to their senses for more American shows later on.  While I've never been a huge fan of Zombie's music, you cannot take away that the man puts on one hell of a live show.  Of course, he would be nowhere without Cooper, who as of 2006 (last time I saw him live) still puts on one hell of a live show himself.  The man is 62 years old and still kicking ass, good for him.

Things Looking Up For Down

Down will be releasing a DVD/CD combo entitled Diary of a Mad Band on March 23.  The package will include footage from the band touring in Europe (130 mins of live material!) and a live cd.  For pre-order information check out http://shop.relapse.com/store/product.aspx?ProductID=37395.  Currently, Down continues to work on their follow up to 2007's Down III - Over the Under and will see a 2010 release.  I am absolutely stoked for this DVD to come out because Down never disappoints live and it's finally captured on film.  You can bet I'll be picking this up.  

Crematorium Returns This Saturday!

Crematorium will be playing 2/27 at The Blvd with Reciprocal, Arkaik, Obscene Carnage, Burning at the Stake, and Deficient Creation.  If you're a fan of the recent deathcore epidemic and you aren't familiar with Crematorium then chances are you're probably too young.  These guys were doing a hybrid of death metal and hardcore in the 90's, long before there was a name for it.  Things have been picking up in the Crematorium camp and the band has been working on a new album for Prosthetic Records called "Born of Filth... Cultivated by Swine" due out in 2010.  Maybe they'll debut some new shit they've been working on?

http://www.myspace.com/crematorium

The Blvd
2631 Whittier Blvd
Boyle Heights, CA 90023
All Ages - 7:00pm - $8 - Bar w/ I.D.

Gus G. vs. Zakk Wylde

Gus G. is now Ozzy's new axe slinger replacing Zakk Wylde.  I'm not going to go back over the details of what happened there as you can check that out somewhere else if you still don't know.  I'm only interested in knowing what your thoughts are on the situation.  Will Gus be able to revitalize Ozzy's sound and career?  Obviously, Ozzy himself is a train wreck vocally but since Down to Earth musically everything has sounded like Black Label Society.  Gus G. is from Firewind who sound nothing like BLS.  Will Gus bring something fresh to the table that Randy, Jake E. Lee, and Zakk haven't done yet?


If you don't know Firewind check them out here:
http://www.myspace.com/firewind

Never Say Die Tour with Winds of Plague, Despised Icon 2/27/10

     Winds of Plague will be headlining the Never Say Die Tour which is making a stop at The Whisky on 2/27/10.  Joining them in their never ending quest to decimate the weak will be labelmates Despised Icon along with For Today, Stray From the Path, and The World We Knew.  This marks the touring debut for WoP keyboardist Alana Potocnik (no word yet as to whether she has a boob picture floating online or not).  While WoP has a lot of haters they do put on a good show.  Add Despised Icon to the mix, who are one of the better deathcore bands out there, and you have something worthwhile to do this Saturday night.  If you don't know the other bands then keep reading.

Shows in Los Angeles

I will be posting upcoming shows that will either be in LA or in the surrounding areas a week before they get here.  Some commentary will surely be added to each posting as well.  Stay tuned for the first one.

Arch Enemy/Exodus/Arsis/Mutiny Within @HoB Sunset

     The Tyrants of Evil North American Tour bulldozed the West Hollywood House of Blues on 2/9/10, wrapping up a successful run. Newcomers Mutiny Within began the chaos with their upcoming self-titled album opener "Awake". This was a rare instance where I wanted to catch every song from the opening band just out of curiosity. I had been listening to their debut for the past week and still couldn't decide if I was fully onboard for this band or not. On one hand, there's no denying these boys have talent. The group features a vocalist that's bringing back memorable melodies and singing, two guitarists who shred, a decent rhythm section, and a keyboardist. Sorry Mr. Keyboard player but unless you're playing symphonic black metal, keyboards have no place in metal. It only took the band two songs to get the crowd moving. The band is young but they do have some promise to them. Surprisingly, a decent portion of the crowd knew their songs already. Overall, I think Mutiny Within made some new fans and were a nice opener for this tour.