Dream Death: Never Thought Life Could Be So Damn Evil
In the annals of forgotten, unappreciated, worthy pioneers, Pittsburgh sludge lords Dream Death loom large. I took some heat after Sound of the Beast came out for naming their sole New Renaissance LP, Journey...
From the Rat’s Mouth: Overkill/Thrash History DVD
Original Overkill drummer/mastermind Rat Skates has produced a great DVD memoir, Born in the Basement, that pretty much sums up the completely nuts energy and inspiration of the early thrash scene in America. True...
Goatlord: What Happens in Vegas…
Before the odd ultra-sludgy LP with the electronic drums and long before Darkthrone paid tribute with its Goatlord CD, Goatlord were dirgy and shoddy underlings on the Las Vegas metal scene along with Papsmear,...
Victory for Fallen Wiccan Soldiers
This Memorial Day will be a good one for the families of 11 deceased Wiccan soldiers. After a long and embarrassing fight, the US Dept. of Veteran Affairs has added the pentacle to the...
Legal Threats Against MetalTabs.com
Sucky news for the advancement of metal guitar playing -- the user-generated vault of wisdom MetalTabs.com has taken down all of its tabs in the wake of a harrassing letter from the NMPA, National...
Deathly Blast
Appearing at the Milwaukee Metalfest in 1990, Obituary nearly obliterated half the death metal fans in the world with some jerry-rigged stage pyro. The big KABOOM! happens about 50 seconds into this clip.
As Monte...
Samhain: Speedy Delivery from Denmark
Samhain were the dark children of Mercyful Fate, Celtic Frost, Master, and the entire experience of the demo-trading universe. The band was comprised of tape-trading fanatics and scenesters -- guitarist Henk Leviathan edited Blackthorn...
Oink-less Pork on Your Plate?
Welcome to the science fiction world of future sausage...the amusing illustration above comes from a story I just wrote for Popular Mechanics about lab-grown meat. Examine the full specimen here.
1ST LISTEN: Shining, V: Halmstad (8/10)
The litany of abusive, nasty Swedish black metal continues. In the two years since the near-masterpiece IV: The Eerie Cold, Shining has provoked the world by glorifying suicide, dramatically faking the death of their...
Insaniac: If the Straightjacket fits…
Hailing from the same New Jersey gutters that spawned Overkill, Blessed Death, Hades and then Blood Feast, Insaniac were mid-80s thrash nuts with an ambitious agenda. This demo kicks off with an 8-minute examination...
Immortal @ Inferno 2007
A true Easter resurrection! Here's Immortal last Good Friday night in Oslo doing "Unholy Forces of Evil" complete with hair fan, dangerous flameburst and witch-vogue dancing -- all courtesy of mysterious videographer BM Frettchen....
Holy Truck!
Japanese Dekotura -- "decorated truck" -- culture proves the Decepticons won the war. Now you can move into a new neighborhood in a vehicle that looks like Bolt Thrower smashing through a Vegas casino....
Porn Orchard: Savor Forbidden Fruit
Not exactly brutal thrashing madness, Porn Orchard were an Athens, GA, hardcore band marching under the Black Flag banner, with great lyrics about social malfunctions, religion, and sex. This demo was a classic in...
Brian Walsby’s Got You Pegged
Comic artist Brian Walsby could be the Jack T. Chick of American hardcore punk and the shaggy tendrils that came out of it -- except instead of dropping tiny religious comic books preaching hellfire...
"Motörhead" Puppets
Is this supposed to be the Orgasmatron-era line-up doing "Ace of Spades"?
Thanks to Tim from 310!
THE RODS – Cortland, NY 2005 Reunion
Long-overdue evidence here of the ear-shattering Winter 2005 hometown reunion gig by The Rods, featuring Ronnie Dio's cousin Rock Feinstein on guitar and vocals, Overkill/Anthrax producer Carl Canedy on drums, and molecular biologist/satin jacket...
Tony Iommi Signed My ’73 Gibson SG Special
I had a chance to have Tony Iommi, grand wizard of the horned Gibson, sign my battered SG last year, but I passed. I didn't want to blow a chance to uncover the secrets...
Incinerator: Hot Hot Heat
Global warming and 100-degree weather in the city this summer doesn't seem so bad compared to being incinerated and cremated for an eternity in the imaginations of these deathly Italian thrashers. The cover art...
Holy Terror: Lords of All Terror and Plagues
Here's a sure sign of a rescue mission -- when I popped this cassette from its case, the label flew off the tape with a puff of dried glue dust. I'm surprised that this...
Anvil Bitch: Worst…Band…Name…Ever…
I know that's not exactly a raging recommendation, but for a time it seemed every banger on the block except me was shaking their head to this greasy batch of Philly cheesesteaks. But c'mon...
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ROOTS Checks out the NWOBHM Class of 1981 | on SiriusXM
1981's genre-defining heavy metal records by Saxon, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Holocaust, Tank, Venom, Raven, Motörhead, Girlschool, and more
