Boston MA’s instrumental horror synth rock masters, Wolfmen of Mars, have had a hell of a year for releases. Back in May we got the fantastic Gamisu (which is now available on transparent green vinyl). Then in July they released a sick split album with The Mangled Dead. Now just in time for Halloween comes the six track witchy psych-out ass shaker, The Witch, The Goat, and The Malevolent Spirit. Inspired by the synth sounds from 1970s and 1980s horror films, the band mixes that influence with heavy grooves.
Cauldron’s fourth album, In Ruin, will unload on January 8 of next year from The End Records, but to tide you over, the band has released the album’s first single “No Return/In Ruin,” an infectious head banger that demands heavy rotation.
Cauldron was formed by front man Jason Decay after his previous band, Goat Horn, broke up in 2005. After an indie EP, the band signed with Earache, where they released three albums and another EP.
If you’re unfamiliar with Cauldron and a fan of old school metal, then you’re in for a treat; their music is melodic, whiplash-inducing, and hard to ignore. Cauldron harkens back to straight up solid 1980s metal, but they still maintain a very contemporary feel (they’re not merely a throwback act!). Want proof, check the YouTube clip above!
Tour Dates (subject to change):
Jan 05 Gramercy Theatre New York, NY
Jan 06 The Backstage at Championship Bar Trenton, NJ
Jan 07 Trickshots Clifton Park, NY
Jan 08 The Webster Underground Hartford, CT
Jan 09 Palladium Upstairs Worcester, MA
Jan 10 Foufounes Montreal, QC
Jan 11 Salle Multi Quebec City, QC
Jan 12 RITUAL Ottawa, Canada
Jan 13 Hard Luck Toronto, Canada
Jan 14 The APK London, Canada
Jan 15 Montage Music Hall Rochester, NY
Jan 16 The Agora Ballroom Cleveland, OH
Jan 17 The Altar Bar Pittsburgh, PA
Jan 18 Ace Of Cups Columbus, OH
Jan 20 The Token Lounge Westland, MI
Jan 21 Fubar St Louis, MO
Jan 22 The Tree Joliet, IL
Jan 23 The Metal Grill Cudahy, WI
Jan 24 Triple Rock Social Club Minneapolis, MN
Jan 25 Zoo Cabaret Winnipeg, MB
Jan 27 Nite Owl Calgary, AB
Jan 28 The Starlite Room Edmonton, Canada
Jan 30 Rickshaw Theatre Vancouver, Canada
Jan 31 Studio Seven Seattle, WA
Feb 01 Hawthorne Theatre Portland, OR
Feb 02 Thee Parkside San Francisco, CA
Feb 03 Whisky A Go Go West Hollywood, CA
Feb 04 Brick By Brick San Diego, CA
Feb 05 Club Red Theaters Mesa, AZ
Feb 06 LVCS Las Vegas, NV
Feb 08 In The Venue Salt Lake City, UT
Feb 09 Bluebird Theater Denver, CO
Feb 10 Aftershock Kansas City, KS
Feb 11 Red 7 Austin, TX
Feb 12 210 Kapone’s Live San Antonio, TX
Feb 13 Scout Bar Houston, TX
Feb 14 Trees Dallas, TX
Feb 15 Siberia Nola New Orleans, LA
Feb 16 The Orpheum Tampa, FL
Feb 17 The Haven Orlando, FL
Feb 18 Masquerade Atlanta, GA
Feb 19 Expo Five Louisville, KY
Feb 20 Canal Club Richmond, VA
Patti Smith’s new memoir, M Train, is coming out on October 6. It will continue the journey through her life that she began with her previous book, Just Kids, which focused on her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Just Kids is a moving book that I couldn’t put it down. I encourage everyone to pick it up.
For me, Patti has been such a strong source of inspiration for so long. Every time I listen to her debut, Horses, I’m struck by how timeless it is. Released at the end of 1975, about two months before the Ramones released their debut album, there is a quality to its sound that doesn’t scream any era, but simply sounds like Patti Smith music. The build up to the chorus on “Gloria” still makes my hair stand on end. I’d call it one of the best moments of any rock song on any album ever produced.
So with Patti Smith’s new book around the corner and 2015 being the 40th anniversary of Horses, I thought I’d make a mix tape of her top 20 songs for the uninitiated to download right now. I chose from across all eras and offer them in particular order. For the bold, I’d say just buy Horses and then each album in order of release, but I recognize that people buy music differently these days. So, here’s the Patti Smith mix tape track listing I’d make for you, if ya know, we were friends or dating or something…
In honor of Italian horror master Dario Argento’s 75th birthday this week, I wanted to take a look back at one my favorites of his films, Deep Red a.k.a. Profondo Rosso from 1975.
Sometimes you just don’t need to re-invent the wheel. For example: thrash metal, which pretty much got it right the first time and hasn’t done a hell of a lot of evolving since the early 1980s. Sure, some thrash bands progressed and started playing different types of music, but as far as I can tell, thrash metal has stubbornly dug its heels into the ground and stayed true to itself. It’s the bastard son of hardcore and metal, epitomized by bands like Suicidal Tendencies and DRI.
In the tradition of those great bands comes Montreal’s Dealer who recorded their debut EP earlier this year. Don’t Worry I Got You Man contains five tracks of unadulterated metal that is as fun as it is brutal. Even the album art calls to mind old school Suicidal Tendencies.
The album kicks off with “House Wins” and for a minute, you don’t know if it’s 2015 or 1985. The vocalist has a screechy yowl which fits the tunes well and is a nice reprieve from the Cookie Monster vocals a lot of bands are (over)using these days. You’ll definitely hear shades of Exodus, but Dealer has a more confrontational, frenetic, punk approach. The third track, “Game of Death,” might be my favorite of their songs. It’s a pummeling two and a half-minute pit classic if I’ve ever heard one. The longest track on the EP clocks in at less than four minutes; all five tunes fly past in a blur of belligerence and head banging.
The members of Dealer are true students in the art of thrash. Don’t Worry I Got You Man is a nice taste of their sound and I hope to hear much more from them in the future.
Don’t Worry I Got You Man was released on August 15. You can name your own price to download the EP on Bandcamp. Follow @BlackoutPR on Twitter for more information.
I was ready for The Sword’s High Country and was initially excited when I heard the first single, “High Country.” While there’s still a lot to appreciate about the album as a whole, I found the overall experience a bit of a let down.
Probably every town has some awesome band the rest of the world will never see. These days, thanks to the Internet it’s easier for some Oklahoma punk band to reach listeners in Japan, but back in 1980, forget it. Victims, perhaps, of the glut of metal bands from all over Europe and the UK, Acid fell through the cracks. There wasn’t a huge metal scene in their native Belgium when they formed, and little in the way of avenues out of the country. So they formed their own record label, Giant, and between 1980 and 1985, when they broke up, released three solid albums.
Chicago’s ¡Vamos! have released their debut full-length album, Spiderbait. It’s a raw, passionate, hook-filled, garage-punk slab of rock brilliance. This trio creates a big noise that may remind the listener of Teenage Fanclub by way of The Stooges without necessarily sounding like either band. They also remind me a fair bit of another great Midwest punk band, Columbus, OH’s Grafton.
TwoMorrows Publishing is awesome. These dedicated fans began publishing magazines about comics in the mid-’90s, such as the authoritative series Jack Kirby Collector as well as Comic Book Artist and Alter Ego. They have also published books and DVDs, further preserving the far reaches of comics’ history.
I was late discovering The Sword. I came across their album Warp Riders at the library last year and checked it out based solely on the fact that there were tracks called “The Chronomancer I” and “The Chronomancer II.” Since I like a little sci-fi with my metal, I gave them a chance and just fell in love with the band’s brand of classic stoner metal.
