Web Video Sandwich: Legends of June

Greetings all! I hope you're hungry for one heavy sandwich today. Again, sorry for those of you who wait with baited breath for me or Richard to post something, but when you think about it....shouldn't you be doing something more productive anyway?

Time for updates: I've decided to enter Script Frenzy for the month of April. The idea is that you spend the month of April to write a 100 page script. There's no prizes or anything, but it will force me to write. I can never work without a deadline. In fact, that's when I do my best work. Plus there's plenty of people who are participating in it so it will be a good chance for me to meet other writers. Even if they are amateurs like myself; the more I'm around it, the better my work will come out. That's been true for me even back in the ol' college days, my best work is always a reflection of those around me working as well. I'll keep you posted with that. Here's the link to Script Frenzy

For those of you on Facebook and happen to my friend on Facebook, I started doing that 30 Day Song Challenge. I won't waste my time with the rules but I'm having fun. Probably because many of my other friends decided to join with me on that game. My favorite way of interacting with my buddies is sitting around pontificating about each others' taste in music/movies/politics whathaveyou. What else if Facebook good for.

And speaking of blowhards: Boruff and I recorded the upcoming Film Concussion Podcast and it's a doozey of an episode. Stay tuned for more information on that.




Today's post will be a reflection of my childlike excitement for the upcoming month of June. I'll have THREE amazing shows in the NYC area and wouldn't ya know it, they sandwich themselves quite nicely. If you ever seen any of these bands listed or just a huge fan, then this explanation will be redundant to you. But for those who have not seen the light, allow me to give you some idea of what is going to be involved.

Let's do this in chronological order:

Starting with the Melvins. Recently, they announced two shows in Brooklyn. June 6th, they'll be playing the albums Lysol, Eggnog, and Houdini and then the very next day on June 7th, they'll be playing Bullhead and Stoner Witch. I decided to go to the first night. Partially because I'm barely familiar with Bullhead or Stoner Witch but mainly because Lysol and Houdini are two out of my three favorite Melvins albums. The last time I saw the Melvins was my first time seeing them back in 2009 during the 25th Anniversary of Houdini. So this will be a fine sequel.

I consider Lysol to be their best album. And by *best*, I mean it's the album that sets this band apart from other bands. It separates classics from legendary. You really need to hear the album all the way through. If you haven't, do so. Turn off the lights. Before you realize 7 minutes of your life has just been squeezed out of you by the crushing, slow and heavy riff of King Buzzo, the song gets new life by the head-smashing rhythm of Dale Crovers toms. And he hits those fucking things hard.

By the time Hung Bunny turns into Roman Bird Dog, it will be worth the trip. The whole album flows like this. Fantastic. I hope I feel it in my guts. I'm sure I will.

So for the video segment, here's an old video of a Melvins show back in 1992 with the mighty Joe Preston on bass. Fuck yeah!


Melvins - Hung Bunny/Roman Bird Dog from 1992



Earth is finally coming back to NYC. I've been waiting over a year to see this band ever since they opened for Sunn O))). This band is the roadmap I've used to find my way to this evolutionary step of my musical taste ever since I heard the first chord progression on Pentastar: In the Style of Demons album. Earth has been talked about on this blog before, but for the laymen out there, they are the drone kings. But, in reality, there's only one king. Dylan Carlson uses harmony in his distortion in ways that trap reality and enhance it that is rivaled by very few in the music world. Sometimes beautiful, some times scary, and always awesome.

Although I do long for those halcyon days of Phase 3: Thrones and Dominions and Pentastar when he was using that distortion pedal with a lot more reverb in the 90's, Earth has changed gears for the new millennium. And they don't show any signs of looking back. Which is good for them. They're more simple, direct and specific. But to the laymen, infinitely more tedious unless you're in to this sort of thing. Which, without a doubt, I am.

It's nice that this show is in between the sandwich because my neck will surely need a rest after the Melvins snap it off. Plus I like shows that are heavy and uber-introspective at the same time because it's rare these days. Earth is one of those bands on my "like to see before I die" list. Barring any unforeseen emergencies, I will shortly be able to cross it off my list.

This video is Earth playing one of their early songs, but updated with their new sensibilities and identity. The trombone is a nice touch too.


Earth - Ouroboros is Broken live



SLEEP. Gods of our time. Legendary riffers of the Weedian realm. What can honestly be said. I caught both shows last fall. If they'd have played a third, I'd have gone for that one. Amazing show. So much to my surprise when I found that they are returning again. Once again with Neurosis drummer Jason Roeder. Too great. I know a good deal of the readers here made it on their last tour. You can now be jealous of the return of the return of the marijuananaut.

This video will brings those who saw back to that moment when the first riff of Dopesmoker drops (y'all know what I mean), and to those who did not, this will make them wish they had.

SLEEP!!!


Sleep intro


So there you have it. Three legendary bands. One great month. I love living in NYC for this. All I'd need is Neurosis to play in June (ha!) and I'd be set and probably wouldn't wake up from the coma. Enjoy and envy me!


Command Image: Concert Command!

Doom and Drone, Sludge and Stone Part 1: Origins

Don't get me wrong, I loves me my speedy, ear bleeding metal. There is some sort of primal satisfaction I get while listening to some fast, harsh, metal. Amon Amarth makes me want to take up arms and join my fellow vikings in arms and have a Ragnorok up in someone's shit.

But for my money, I think that the Doom and Drone of Candlemass or Boris and the Sludge and Stone of Acid Bath and Pentegram are the creme de la creme of metal. So this is the first in a series of posts of why the DDSS (abbreviated for my sake) is the best kind of metal.

Let me provide a quick disclaimer: I am not a musician, I won't be breaking down the intricacies of the G major as opposed to the F Flat or whatever. I am also not a music critic, to be honest I don't understand how one becomes a music critic. I am simply a music fan, I know what I like (which is a lot.)


It is the closest kind of metal to stay true to the roots.

While there are many an argument to who is the greatest metal band of all time, there can be little argument as to the origins of metal, Black Sabbath. The British Invasion is often cited as the birth of modern rock and roll. The Who, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc. have all had profound effects on the rock and roll culture at large, yet for some reason Black Sabbath is rarely mentioned in the same breath. I never really understood that, I mean they came along at around the same time, but what they played was something darker than "I Wanna Hold You Hand," something more epic than "Can't Explain," and something more original than "Satisfaction." And that's just the bass player.

When guitarist Tony Iommi tuned his guitars down to make them looser because of an injured hand, nobody could've predicted that metal would be born. To this day, they're one of only a few bands that are metioned with any sort of reverence from accross the music spectrum (Slayer and Metallica being on that list.) Not even metal godfathers Iron Maiden are taken so seriously (Sorry Maiden heads.) I still defy anyone to name another band that has been covered by almost every metal band in existance. From Cannibal Corpse to Hed(pe) (sure they count) everyone has taken on a Black Sabbath song of some sort.

Yet of all the "different" genres of metal that grew out of the Black Sabbath seed, the metal of DDSS has remained the most true to the sound of Black Sabbath. The slow, methodical, focusing of the drop down guitars, the almost funky riffs.

Here is a standard Black Sabbath favorite amongst the DDSS elite.




I doubt you'll hear a Lamb of God song that sounds anything close to that. Now compare that to the Stoner metal icons of Sleep.



It sounds (and looks) like it could've been played at Black Sabbaths peak in the 70s, but this was made in the mid-90s, and they have inspired a whole new generation of Stoner rockers.

Now this isn't to say that all DDSS bands sound like Black Sabbath, not even close, but the bands that slow it down and pump the bass are closer to the spirit of Black Sabbath, whereas most other metal bands have gone the way of more modern day metal gods. For my money, I'll take bands that have a Master of the Sabbath sound, than a band that can strum as fast as Van Halen.