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By Brian McLean
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Hard Time Radio
Thrashin’ Alan and his staff at KNON 89.3’s Hard Time Radio has been delivering a weekly dose of much needed metal for over a decade. The gratitude of Dallas/Fort Worth listeners has been over whelming and appreciated by station management. Recently the Thursday night show was extended two hours - now from 8 PM to 12 AM. That allows Alan to expand his show more into the local realm, as well as keeping the successful formula that has made Hard Time Radio a Thursday night metal staple for those who need it.
Joe’s Garage Tribute Night
Don’t forget the Joe’s Garage Tribute night to be held May 22 – 24 at Fort Worth’s Rock Star Sports Bar. Bands scheduled include Solitude Aeturnus, Puncture, Pump’n Ethyl, Gruesome Fate, Dark Alliance, Blood Of The Sun, Hell Goat, Mitra, Violent Intentions and Texas Metal Alliance. (See Rockstar’s ad on p. 12). Admission is only Five Measly Dollars!
Name Change
And speaking of Texas Metal Alliance, the band has changed their name to War Beast. The band entered a studio on April 10 to begin recording its debut album for a late 2009 release via Philip Anselmo’s (Down/Pantera) Housecore Records.
Releases
Relapse Records will release what could be the last VoiVod album, Infini, in the U.S. on June 23… Brazil’s Ravenland‘s...and A Crow Brings Me Back, will be released in Brazil in the next few weeks by Free Mind Records… John and Donald Tardy of Obituary fame have pieced together a project titled Bloodline. It features guitar work by Ralph Santolla (Obituary/Death/Deicide), guitarist Jerry Tidwell, solo work from 19-year-old John Lee and long time friend Scott Johnson… Brazilian heavy metal band Das Reich recently released their new EP, Sounds From The End of The World… Texan black metal cult Bahimiron is currently working on a new album for Moribound…
Susperia has confirmed release of their fifth, full-length album, Attitude, via Candlelight Records. It’ll be out May 18 in Europe and May 19 in the US and Canada… Legendary New York death pioneers Suffocation will release Blood Oath in Europe on July 3 and in North America on July 14. … Exodus is currently putting together a DVD containing the band’s 2008 performance at Germany’s Wacken Open Air festival, a 90-minute documentary, about 30 minutes of bonus footage and all of the group’s promotional videos. The set will consist of two DVDs plus an audio CD of the Wacken performance. A release is expected in August.
Tours
Testament is at the Ridglea Theater on Thursday, June 4… Marduk will play three Texas dates in late May on the Blackenedfest Tour - in Houston, San Antonio and El Paso. Unfortunately, there’s no Dallas date … Seven Witches slays the Rock Star Sports Bar on July 26…
Studio News
Nile enters Mana Recording in Tampa, Florida, on June 8, to work on their forthcoming second Nuclear Blast album. Neil Kernon will be producer and Erik Rutan the engineer…. Norway’s Immortal has begun recording their new record…
Band News
EX DEO, the new Roman themed band featuring Maurizio Iacono of Kataklysm, has just announced a complete list of guest appearances on their debut record, Romulus. Nergal of Behemoth will appear on “Storm the Gates of Alesia” singing a very famous quote from Julius Caesar. Karl Sanders (Nile) added a ripping solo on “The Final War (The Battle of Actium)” which deals with Anthony and Cleopatra’s defiance of Octivian in Egypt. Finally Obsidian C. (Keep of Kalessin) lends a majestic and beautifully melodic solo on “Cruor Nostri Abbas.”… Drummer Steve Bolognese of Canada’s Into Eternity has been invited to teach at the Word Percussion Festival at Berklee College of Music for the third year straight…
Label stuff
Nuclear Blast has joined forces with Team Redux Beverages (Brawndo & Cocaine Energy drinks) / Brawndo Honda for the 2009 AMA Supercross and Motocross season… Nuclear Blast has signed Poland’s legendary Vader to a worldwide deal…
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Chad Gray of Mudvayne - You wanna take me home?
Photo: Travis Tutwiler
Destruction’s Schmier
Photo: Travis Tutwiler
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Amon Amarth, Goat Whore, Skeleton Witch, Lazarus A.D.- The Granada Theater, 4/16/09
The winds that carried the ships of this metal tour brought along the dark and violent history of their metal traditions. Lazarus A.D. brought the pain from their debut The Onslaught to open for artists such as Skeleton Witch- whose abrasive black metal knew no bounds - and Goat Whore, which just released Carving out the Eyes of God.
If you prefer your toasts drinking from a horn, there’s no doubt that the Viking-themed metal band Amon Amarth (Tumba, Sweden) stole the show. Performing tracks such as “The Guardians of Asgard” from newest album Twilight of the Thunder God, their manner of presentation showed there’s no comparison to other metal bands on the road. Vocalist “The Blond Giant, Johan Hegg” immediately took control of the stage with his presence, and the band executed their melodic ingenuity without flaw. Visit www.amonamarth.com for tour dates and more album info. VALHALL AWAITS! (Nathan Brooks)
Mudvayne - Palladium Ballroom, 3/28/09
In This Moment set the tone for the evening and got the Dallas crowd fired up with an even mix of songs from The Dream and Beautiful Tragedy. Vocalist Maria Brink got her wish of fans “high-fiving” her, as crowd surfers made their way to the stage.
Florida’s Nonpoint was up next and kept the energy pumped with “What A Day” and closing song, ”Bullet With A Name.” That one brought out Drowning Pool drummer Mike Luce to lend his pipes.
But the night belonged to Mudvayne, as they offered up a set consisting mainly of older songs like “1,” “Nothing To Gain” and “Silenced.” Chad Gray (vocals) came out dressed like a wounded red teddy bear and asked the crowd, “You wanna take me home don’t you?” Of course the best response for Chad and bandmates came during “Dig,” as the crowd went totally berserk. (Travis Tutwiler)
Destruction - Lola’s Sixth Street, 3/30/09
Lola’s had its foundation tested by some brutal metal. Pittsburgh’s Mantic Ritual got the party started with some classic thrash from their debut CD, Execution, as well as a cover of Venom’s “Black Metal.” Brazil’s black metal export wasted no time laying waste to the crowd with pulverizing tracks like “Combustion Eternal” and “Vengeance Rising.”
German metal gods Destruction finally hit the stage and delivered a brutal beatdown. Mike’s killer riffs and Marc’s thunderous drums complemented Schmier’s powerful vocals and banshee wails. With a career spanning 25 years, the band offered up songs like “Nailed To The Cross,” “Mad Butcher,” “Life Without Sense” and “Metal Discharge.” After only four songs, the sound went out and the crowd was treated to a ten-minute impromptu drum solo, as Marc showed off his skills. Schmier introduced “Total Desaster” as the first song the band ever wrote back in “1902 or something like that.” What a perfect end to a brutal evening. (Travis Tutwiler)
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The Kris Norris Projekt - Icons Of The Illogical, Magna Carta
Best known as lead guitarist in his former band, Darkest Hours, Kris Norris shines on his first solo release. Lament, Requiem, Threnody has plenty of emotion and shredding with a little mix of acoustic. Kris shows a nice little run on the intro to “The Hegelian Principle,” which features some of the disc’s best melody lines and solo runs. The solo really stands out on “Palindrome,” a mid-tempo rocker that’s played over an acoustic melody and blends well. Although most tracks are instrumental, Kris enlists help from Randy Blythe (vocals) of Lamb Of God. You can hear his familiar scowl on the crushing “Ghostly Shell Removal” and “Remaining Foolish.” If you love guitars, Icons Of The Illogical serves them up in heavy doses. Just check out the shred-tastic “The Brotherhood Of Melancholy” and “A Shift In Normalcy.”
 (Travis Tutwiler)
HateSphere - To The Nines, Napalm Records
To The Nines comes out fast and furious as the title track is in your face like a sledgehammer. “Aurora” is just as relentless with vocalist Jonathan Albrechtsen delivering his menacing screams and demonic growls over the smoldering riffs of guitarist Peter “Pepe” Hansen and Jakob Nyholm. The thrashing “Cloaked In Shit” is brutally infectious with pounding rhythm supplied by Mixen Lindberg (bass) and Dennis Buhl (drums). HateSphere offers up a catchy groove on “Clarity,” but brings it to a slow-pounding chorus to keep things heavy. “Oceans Of Blood” and “In The Trenches” find the band thrashing like they do best with plenty of manic drums and rapid-fire riffs that go straight for the jugular. To The Nines is a fierce collection of songs done the way metal should be.
(Travis Tutwiler)
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