25 Bucks and a Bottle of Wine...

Contents Under Pressure. The third Pro-Pain album kicks off right where the previous slab of awesome, The Truth Hurts, ended. According to my friend Bob, I'm the only human being left in the United States that listens to/buys Pro-Pain records, but I digress. I also disagree, but we are a rare breed for sure.

I've spoken about my unapologetic love for Pro-Pain at length over the years on this blog (at least I think I have) and I will continue to do so. Everyone needs a band that delivers exactly what you expect every single time out. Some have Motorhead. Some have Slayer. Others have Hatebreed. I have Pro-Pain. This isn't a knock at them in any way. There is definite variance from record to record. Some (Round 6) are pure punk/hardcore adrenaline, while others are more epic Euro-metal (Age of Tyranny). The common ground is always the tight riffage/songwriting and harsh vocals of Gary Meskill. Dude is slightly irritated.

I arrived a bit late to the Pro-Pain party (probably around 1997 or so), but quickly caught up and have supported them with every single release since, which has been quite a lot. They average a record about once every 14-18 months, which absolutely rules.

Their newest album, Absolute Power, is honestly one of their best. At the very least, it's their best since 2004's Fistful of Hate. Sonically, it's some of the best shit they've ever done. Aggressive as fuck, driving, rhythmic, groove-laden (something they seemed to have perfected immediately, thanks to their love and obvious influence of East Coast rap) and most of all, smart. A Pro-Pain song never overstays its welcome. Their album Act of God, only gave us two riffs per song (three on the title track, I believe), yet unless you sat there and analyzed each song (as I have dorkishly done), you'd never know. It's the old Ramones trick, perfected.

They almost never tour the states, even though they're from New York and live in Florida. Their bread is buttered in Europe. I'm hoping for a return to our shores in 2011, as I've never seen them live...One of the last remaining bands I absolutely love that I've yet to see (looking at you, Tom "$150 tickets" Petty).

Pick up the new Pro-Pain and support my Motorhead. Hey, at the very least, they probably have way less VD than Lemmy...and that's something to be proud of!

"Unrestrained" (new jam, live 2010)


"In For The Kill" (video, from the "Act of God" LP)

So Much New Junk. So much.

Well, it's clearly been a long fucking time since I've updated this blog. So much has happened since my last update, I don't even know where to begin. So instead of going on and on about shit that only I care about, I want to talk about some new jams that making living extremely pleasurable these days:

- Slayer-World Painted Blood
If you don't like Slayer, you have no business listening to, reading about or discussing anything that even remotely comes across as metal. This is the best Slayer album since Diabolus and possibly since Seasons in the Abyss (www.slayer.net)
- Katatonia-Night Is The New Day
Best unheard of band of the last ten years. Why this group isn't as big as Opeth or Porcupine Tree is beyond me. Better songs, better hooks, more mass appeal. Could be their best effort yet (www.nightisthenewday.com)
- Converge-Axe To Fall
Another stellar album from start to finish. Just as brutal as No Heroes and perhaps more diverse (www.convergecult.com)
- Kowloon Walled City-Gambling On The Richter Scale
Like Unsane, Helmet, Crowbar, Jesus Lizard, Tad and The Melvins? I thought you might. Think about all of this, summed up in one band...then add 10 times the heavy. Oh, and they write songs, not just sludgy riff after riff. This is killer shit from SF. (www.inthewalledcity.com)
- Matthew Good- Vancouver
The follow-up to Hospital Music blows it out of the water. Heartfelt and honest, like he always is. An homage to his city, one that he loves and despises. Great stuff (www.matthewgood.org)
- Living Colour- The Chair in the Doorway
Like Sly and the Family Stone...But with balls. Big balls. Truck nut style (www.livingcolour.net)

Also jamming on new releases from: Armed For Apocalypse, Fight Amp, Russian Circles, Doomriders, Om, Saviours, Baroness, Thrice, Long Distance Calling, Ghost Brigade and more.

What a great year for music.

Converge "Axe To Fall":

Katatonia The Day and Then The Shade":

Top Hat Time with Hatesphere!

I know I've been gone for a minute...Life is busy and time is always short it seems.

So I've been digging on the brand new Hatesphere album, "To The Nines"...Who cares that 4/5ths of the original lineup is gone, or that 4/5ths of the lineup from the last record is gone. This is brutally heavy and groovy metallic hardcore with low-hanging balls. This is for fans of Pantera, Lamb of God, Slayer, Sepultura and to some extent, Hatebreed and Terror, except without the shitty adolescent "Say It To My Face" hardcore chants.

Check this band out. I haven't been able to see them live just yet, as their popularity is less than none here in the states. Hey, at least they have proper distribution this time!

To The Nines is out now on Napalm/SPV Records in both regular CD and deluxe CD digipak versions (w/3 bonus tracks).

"Drinking With The King of The Dead" (from 2007's Serpent Smiles and Killer Eyes):

"500 Dead People" Live in Germany:

My Favorite Yiddish Band

When I was growing up, my Great Grandmother would always say people were "meshugganah", which I assumed meant crazy/insane/etc. I'm not sure if her pronunciation was right or the condensed one is, but either way, I love me some Meshuggah. I first heard of/saw them in 1998 in Jacksonville, FL, opening up for Sick of it All and Slayer at Club 5. I thought they were decent, but the sound was muddy and the bill was so weird (SOIA and Slayer???) that they really never clicked with me. Both guitarists in my band loved them but I just wasn't ready for the awesome poly-rhythms and such just yet, I guess.

Over the years, I've grown to love this band and the fact that they get better and stronger with every album is not exactly hurting these dudes. Their latest LP, obZen, is a brilliant mixture of literally every component that makes Meshuggah great. It's fast, slow, driving, brutal, complex, simple, heavy as fuck, and mind-bending. Even if you don't dig the razor-mouthed vocals, the music is any music students' dream and nightmare at the same time.

So, Meshuggah came up on channel 910 (Metal) last night and I tried so desperately to sell my wife on how awesome Meshuggah is. She didn't bite. Maybe she knows it's so good, it would make her save face to not agree. That must be it.

Cheers to my Swedish, yet somewhat Yiddish friends!

"Shed"

"Bleed" (One of those songs that's so good it hurts)

Slayer is the new Billy Corgan

...And not just because Corgan and Slayer axeman Kerry King share the same haircare products. Yesterday marked the release of the "Special Edition" of Slayer's 2006 Dave Lombardo comeback, Christ Illusion. New packaging, fancy pants artwork, ONE new song. That's it. Oh yeah, one alternate version which replaces the song in its original form from the '06 release. There's also a bonus DVD, which is basically a trailer for their upcoming Unhold Alliance Tour DVD.

Did I mention Christ Illusion isn't very good. Yeah, forgot about that, did we Slayer? I've been a fan for years and this was easily the most disappointing LP I can remember from them, including 1995's punk covers album, Undisputed Attitude (which included the original "Gemini"), which kills.

Hearing a near 50 year old Tom Araya scream out "HAIL SATAN" really makes me want to inflict harm upon myself. Is it heavy? Of course, but heavy doesn't mean good. Plenty of bands are as heavy as a two-ton bag of shit...And sound like it to boot.

So, in the time-honored tradition of sticking it to your fans at retail, thanks Slayer. You now officially join the distinguished ranks of other buttholes, like Billy Corgan and Usher. Oh, and for some reason (maybe Rick Rubin's neglect of getting his American ad Def American catalogs completely up to date), no Slayer release past 1986 is available on iTunes. The nice thing to do would have been to release the "new" unreleased track as an Digital release or as a fan club gift to people that already bought your fucking album.

Vintage Slayer: