It was the summer of 1988, and Slayer were in the midst of their World Sacrifice Tour in support of their latest release, South of Heaven. On the 31st of August, the tour came to New York City’s Felt Forum, the small theater adjacent to Madison Square Garden—and mayhem ensued.
Toward the end of the main set, during “Ghosts of War,” the overly enthusiastic crowd began tearing up seat cushions and hurling them in all directions, many of them reaching the stage. As the danger level escalated, the band made a quick retreat to the backstage area. The seat cushions continued flying throughout the arena, and after a few minutes frontman Tom Araya came out and gave the crowd a piece of his mind.
“You guys came here to have a good time, and you’re blowin’ it, big time! Why don’t you give us a break? We can probably never play here again.”
Immediately following Araya’s rant, the band launched into the final song of the night, “Angel of Death,” while continuing to dodge the dangerous projectiles.
This following bootleg video shows all of Araya’s tongue lashing as well as “Angel of Death.” And Slayer never did play the Felt Forum again. (more…)
On August 21, 2007, when South Carolina’s Nile played an Ozzfest one-off date at BB King’s, in support of their new album Ithyphallic (Nuclear Blast), we invited guitarist/vocalists Karl Sanders and Dallas Toler-Wade to stop by MetalKult’s Manhattan headquarters for an in-depth Q&A and riff lesson.
The two technical death metal shredders accepted, and, axes in hand, stopped by our New York offices to demonstrate the key elements of their style, and show how to play Nile classics like “Barra Edinazzu,” “Howling of the Jinn,” “Black Seeds of Vengeance” and more!
When MetalKult heard avant-garde noise/metal act Oxbow was tapped as an opening act on several dates of Isis’ 10th Anniversary tour, we had an idea: send Oxbow singer/fighter/author Eugene Robinson a handheld camera and get him to document the events.
After a few disclaimers (namely, “I might just get drunk, fall down, break the camera…and then sell the broken camera to a crack dealer.”) Robinson generously agreed and the deal was sealed.
The footage was edited into a two-part Oxbow Tour Diary, which documents Eugene and his band—Niko Wenner (guitar), Dan Adams (bass) and Greg Davis (drums)—as they support Isis on November 1ndash;4 in New York City, Philadelphia and Cambridge, MA.
MetalKult would like to give many thanks to Eugene, and we encourage you to check out Oxbow’s latest record, The Narcotic Story, out now on Hydra Head Records.
Earache announces the release of an explosive collection of tracks from the growing legion of New-School Thrash Crossover bands, set to appear instores in UK and Europe on 21 January 2008 February 5th in USA.
The compilation entitled Thrashing Like A Maniac brings together the very best of the new crop of bands who are revelling in re-awakening the long lost genre, and building on the work of the past thrash masters. It will surely please old and new fans of the genre alike, if razor-sharp riffs, blistering drum speeds and shredding guitar solos are what you crave.
For many of the acts this collection brings together their very first recordings. Bands include Earache’s Evile and Bonded By Blood, plus the debut of recent Earache signees, Irish Thrashers Gama Bomb, as well as the leaders of the current thrash-pack—Municipal Waste. Hand-picked tracks from Dekapitator, Warbringer, Fueled By Fire, Toxic Holocaust, SSS, Mutant, Brasil’s Violator, Merciless Death, UK’s Deadfall, Lazarus, Send More Paramedics and Sweden’s Decadence also appear.
Thrashing Like A Maniac comes at a time where thrash is once again making its mark on the world of heavy metal. Featuring bands drawing on old school thrash’s no-frills aggression and injecting a healthy dosage of energy and fun back into the scene.
Thrashing Like A Maniac is released on CD and Vinyl LP, both formats also come with a bonus FREE 24 page Xeroxed B/W zine entitled Speed Merchants which contains exclusive interviews with all the bands featured.
On November 8, 2007, MetalKult and a roomful of metal fans at the BB Kings venue in New York had were on hand to witness the Norwegian metal act Enslaved deliver an impassioned and brutal set.
In the video below, see the progressive black metallers perform “Fusion of Sense and Earth” from Enslaved’s 2006 full-length Ruun: (more…)
On August 21, 2007, when South Carolina’s Nile played an Ozzfest one-off date at BB King’s, in support of their new album Ithyphallic (Nuclear Blast), we invited guitarist/vocalists Karl Sanders and Dallas Toler-Wade to stop by MetalKult’s Manhattan headquarters for an in-depth Q&A and riff lesson.
The two technical death metal shredders accepted, and, stopped by our New York offices to discuss their exotic gear, Egyptian themes and why they believe Nile’s music is more important than their image.
Relapse Records has announced the signing of Jamey Jasta and Kirk Windstein’s KINGDOM OF SORROW.
Jasta (HATEBREED, ICEPICK) and Windstein (DOWN, CROWBAR) came together some three years ago to create KINGDOM OF SORROW, and in that time put together an album’s worth of crushing American metal. Relapse will give the band’s long-awaited debut album its proper worldwide release this coming February.
Upon signing, Jasta comments: “I can’t even begin to explain how excited I am about Kingdom Of Sorrow! There’s been 2 and a half years of questions, rumors and speculation surrounding this and now we can finally move forward! We’ve signed a worldwide deal with Relapse Records!!! It’s an honor. Kirk and I could not be happier, I’ve always been a big fan of the label.”
Jasta continues: “I can’t wait for the world to hear this record. It crushes!! I pushed myself to become a better vocalist and wrote and expressed myself lyrically in a totally different way than I have before. Kirk has never sounded better! His tone is like a 747 filled with tar crashing into a lead mountain. We should press this CD on plutonium because it really is that HEAVY. It was so much fun working on this record. There was no other motive than to have fun and make a unique and different record for the both of us while keeping it heavy, mean and rockin! I think everyone is going to be really surprised!”
Windstein adds: “We’re just so happy to have this come out…finally! We had a great time putting it together and we’re just so proud of it. Its super heavy, man, it just crushes! Everyone I play it for, their jaws drop. And after three years, it feels good to know now everyone can hear it.”
The KINGDOM OF SORROW album was recorded at Planet Z Studios in Massachusetts with producer Zeuss (HATEBREED, SHADOWS FALL) and will include 11 tracks. KINGDOM OF SORROW preview tracks can be heard now via the band’s official MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/KingdomOfSorrow.
On September 20th, 2007, when Ulver vocalist Kristoffer “Garm” Rygg came to the states to promote his band’s latest release, Shadows of the Sun (The End Records), with a DJ set at Europa Night Club in Brooklyn, MetalKult seized the opportunity to sit with the frontman and talk about his band’s progressive take on Norwegian black metal.
In the interview that follows, Garm discusses Ulver’s formative years in Norway’s notorious black metal scene, his relationship with Emperor, his forays into electronic music and why he feels Ulver’s music and philosophy is as true as it’s ever been. (more…)
Finally available on DVD for the first time, New Door Records/UMe are proud to announce the eagerly awaited release of the two-disc DVD of Live After Death, the legendary recording of Maiden’s four-night stand at Long Beach Arena, California, in 1984. In the stores February 5, 2008, the release will coincide with the start of the band’s Somewhere Back in Time World Tour, during which they will recreate many of the aspects of this original and spectacular show.
Disc one contains the recording of this full 90-minute concert. Originally filmed on 35mm, the footage comes alive on DVD resulting in a visually stunning film that far outstrips the usual live video of the Eighties. The disc carries two sound options: the original concert audio specially mixed into 5.1 Surround Sound by Kevin Shirley, Maiden’s producer since 1999, plus the original stereo sound track by Martin Birch, the band’s producer from 1981 to 1993. Originally released on video in 1985, this has been largely unavailable for the past 20 years.
Disc two has Part 2 of the “History of Iron Maiden,” continuing on the Maiden story from the Early Days DVD, along with rare and unseen bonus footage in the form of Behind the Iron Curtain, Rock in Rio ‘85 and ‘Ello Texas, all in all giving a total running time of well over three hours. Also included will be photo galleries, relevant promo videos, artwork galleries, tour dates, tour program and other features which all combine to make the two-disc set a very special and utterly comprehensive treat for their fans.
Check out the disc contents and a live video of Maiden’s “The Trooper” below: (more…)
Genghis Tron have completed work on their brand new full-length album and Relapse debut, Board Up The House.
Genghis Tron recorded Board Up The House at Godcity Studios in Salem, MA with producer Kurt Ballou. The album’s artwork can be previewed HERE and the complete tracklisting is as follows: “Board Up The House”, “Endless Teeth”, “Things Don’t Look Good”, “Recursion”, “I Won’t Come Back Alive”, “City On A Hill”, “The Whips Blow Back”, “Colony Collapse”, “The Feast”, “Ergot”, and “Relief”. Board Up The House will see a February ’08 international release through Relapse.
Genghis Tron says of the album and recording process; “After well over a year of very hard work, we’re incredibly happy and relieved to announce that we’ve finally finished our second album, Board Up the House. We finished tracking and mixing at Godcity Studio (Salem, MA) in late September, but we just completed the mastering process a few days ago. The album sounds…huge. I’ll leave it at that. We’ve never been prouder. However, in lieu of spouting some self-serving hyperbole about achieving our twisted vision and/or making the best and most unique GT album to date, we’ll let the tunes speak for themselves. Keep your eyes and ears open for a preview track in the near future. “
Genghis Tron will begin touring in support of Board Up The House as early as December when they join labelmates The Dillinger Escape Plan on (more…)
