Metal-R.US

Mike Portnoy Leaves Dream Theater

About2Crash — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:32:32 GMT

Wednesday September 8th 2010

I am about to write something I never imagined I'd ever write:

After 25 years, I have decided to leave Dream Theater....the band I founded, led and truly loved for a quarter of a century.

To many people this will come as a complete shock, and will also likely be misunderstood by some, but please believe me that it is not a hasty decision...it is something I have struggled with for the last year or so....

After having had such amazing experiences playing with Hail, Transatlantic and Avenged Sevenfold this past year, I have sadly come to the conclusion that I have recently had more fun and better personal relations with these other projects than I have for a while now in Dream Theater...

Please don't misinterpret me, I love the DT guys dearly and have a long history, friendship and bond that runs incredibly deep with them...it's just that I think we are in serious need of a little break...

Dream Theater was always my baby...and I nurtured that baby every single day and waking moment of my life since 1985...24/7, 365...never taking time off from DT's never-ending responsibilites (even when the band was "off" between cycles)...working overtime and way beyond the call of duty that most sane people ever would do for a band...

But I've come to the conclusion that the DT machine was starting to burn me out...and I really needed a break from the band in order to save my relationship with the other members and keep my DT spirit hungry and inspired.

We have been on an endless write/record/tour cycle for almost 20 years now (of which I have overseen EVERY aspect without a break) and while a few months apart from each other here & there over the years has been much needed and helpful, I honestly hoped the band could simply agree with me to taking a bit of a "hiatus" to recharge our batteries and "save me from ourselves"...

Sadly, in discussing this with the guys, they determined they do not share my feelings and have decided to continue without me rather than take a breather...I even offered to do some occasional work throughout 2011 against my initial wishes, but it was not to be...

While it truly hurts for me to even think of a Dream Theater without Mike Portnoy (hell, my father named the band!!), I do not want to stand in their way...so I have decided to sacrifice myself and simply leave the band so as to not hold them back against their wishes....

Strangely enough, I just read an interview that I recently did that asked me about the future of DT and I talked about "always following your heart and being true to yourself"...sadly I must say that at this particular moment, my heart is not with Dream Theater...and I would simply be "going through the motions", and would honestly NOT be true to myself if I stayed for the sake of obligation without taking the break I felt I needed.

I wish the guys the best and hope the music and legacy we created together is enjoyed by fans for decades to come...I am proud of every album we made, every song we wrote and every show we played....

I'm sorry to all the disappointed DT fans around the world...I really tried to salvage the situation and make it work...I honestly just wanted a break (not a split)...but happiness cannot be forced, it needs to come from within....

You DT fans are the greatest fans in the world and as you all know, I have always busted my ass for you guys and I hope that you will stay with me on my future musical journey, wherever it may lead me....(and as you all know my work ethic, there will surely be no shortage of future MP projects!)

Sadly...

Your fearless ex-leader and drummer,

MP

Blind Guardian Will Tour N. America

Amok — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:01:13 GMT

German power metallers BLIND GUARDIAN will embark on the North American leg of the "Sacred Worlds And Songs Divine 2010 World Tour" in the fall. The trek, which is scheduled to kick off on November 19 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and conclude on December 22 in West Springfield, Virginia, will feature support from California's HOLY GRAIL and Florida's SEVEN KINGDOMS.

Commented BLIND GUARDIAN lead vocalist Hansi K�rsch: "Christmas will be a little earlier this year, 'cause the GUARDIAN is coming to town in November and December!

"The band is really excited to announce this upcoming tour. Finally we will get the chance to preach our Sacred Words and play our Songs Divine somewhere near your neighborhood.

"We have prepared a nice package of music and bands for our Northern American followers. Our friends from HOLY GRAIL and SEVEN KINGDOMS will join us on this glorious mission and will have their part in these magical nights to come. Both bands are underground now, but I can feel that the future is theirs. They really carry the spirit of a new American power metal generation.

"Touring the U.S. and Canada does always means a tremendous amount of fun, so we are really anxious to see if the people in Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, and Albuquerque � where we have not played before � can scream as loud as their brothers and sisters in New York , Quebec, Toronto, or Hollywood. We'll soon find out when we meet you at the edge of time.

"Of course, we have to arrange some time in between playing and traveling for some Christmas gift shopping. I am sure I will find plenty of cool 'Star Wars' action figures and I am already aware of some great Christmas shops near Washington where I will be able to get some great atypical Christmas tree ornaments.

"Strange worlds we are living in: The funniest ones sometimes have been produced in Germany, where you can't get them in stores, so the U.S./Canada trip definitely pays off.

�As for books: Last time we ended up in Portland for a day, and whether I'll make it to Powell's (City of) Books, you never know. :-) All in all, I have far too many books which I have not yet read, but I am constantly working on it. Since I am getting older and the saying is: 'The older you get, the less sleep you need,' I am very optimistic I will manage to read them all when the nights are getting shorter."

Confirmed North American dates for the "Sacred Worlds And Songs Divine Tour" are as follows:

Nov. 19 - The Trocadero - Philadelphia, PA
Nov. 20 - Nokia Theatre - New York, NY
Nov. 21 - The Palladium - Worcester, MA
Nov. 23 - Metropolis - Montreal, QC - Canada
Nov. 25 - Theatre Capitole - Quebec City, QC - Canada
Nov. 26 - Kool Haus - Toronto, ON - Canada
Nov. 27 - Royal Oak Music Theatre - Royal Oak, MI
Nov. 29 - Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL
Nov. 30 - The Cabooze - Minneapolis, MN
Dec. 01 - The Garrick Centre - Winnipeg, MB - Canada
Dec. 03 - MacEwan Hall Ballroom - Calgary, AB - Canada
Dec. 04 - The Starlite Room - Edmonton, AB - Canada
Dec. 06 - Showbox at The Market - Seattle, WA
Dec. 08 - The Regency Ballroom - San Francisco, CA
Dec. 09 - Henry Fonda Theatre / The Music Box - Los Angeles, CA
Dec. 10 - Marquee Theatre - Tempe, AZ
Dec. 11 - Sunshine Theater - Albuquerque, NM
Dec. 12 - Bluebird Theater - Denver, CO
Dec. 14 - Trees - Dallas, TX
Dec. 15 - Scout Bar - Houston, TX
Dec. 17 - The Orange Peel - Asheville, NC
Dec. 18 - The State Theatre - St. Petersburg, FL (Florida Power Fest)
Dec. 19 - The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
Dec. 21 - Lincoln Theatre - Raleigh, NC
Dec. 22 - Jaxx - W. Springfield, VA

Internet Costs

Amok — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:20:55 GMT

How much do you pay for the internet? Comcast cable company over here raised their prices to over 70.00 a month for cable inernet. Of course that means I'll cancel the internet unless they drop that ridiculous garbage. I was wondering what others are paying.

Try out gig Vorstin Hilversum, feat. Epica

herrieman — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 19:16:50 GMT

Try out gig Vorstin, September 3rd, featuring Epica

Dutch region �t Gooi has a (in)famous reputation for metal. To be honest, it�s hardly known that there actually is a metal scene in �t Gooi outside of �t Gooi. Why, I don�t know. Back in the nineties some bands played there that became quite notorious or famous afterwards. I remember a poster with the old Cannibal Corpse logo, the band played in Bussum of all places. Bussum, Hilversum, Zeist, Houten, the villages / cities all had an incredibly smelly, dark joint where the obscurest of bands were: Immortal, Dissection, Hypocrisy, Destr�yer 666, Mayhem, Altar and more. I have worked in Hilversum and frowned when I discovered the old Cannibal logo between fluffy expensive restaurants, too-big-car-attendants, no-use-art-galleries, Gloria-Gaynor-perfumes and other horseshit. Nowadays there�s at least the Tsunami-fest, but I don�t know if there has been an update to the festival lately. Hilversum had the infamous dung heap Tagrijn and I remember it well. Loads of stories, but not interesting but to those involved. Culture is going through a roller coaster in Holland, old venues torn down and new ones built (mentioned before, Effenaar, Patronaat, Metropool, Atak�), Vorstin (simply translated: queen) is the successor of Tagrijn, same place, totally different outlook. Tagrijn was an ancient sanatorium and a squatters paradise; punk rock and all, Vorstin is modern. I have no pictures of Tagrijn, but see below what it became. Uhgg. [I still have exceeded my photo limit, so it seems, sorry bout not posting the picture then]

Frank e-mailed me when Tagrijn was torn down and he e-mailed me when Vorstin would be opened, and Epica would be the baptism-ritual! Cool! I ordered a ticket when I could afford it. I soon found out Bianca B (see
http://www.metal-r.us/forums/concert...l-belgium.html
) was to enter too [later I heard she�s a free lance photographer too, like inner_demons and has known several bands and band members for ages]. As I really like her, I never mind meeting her ;) . We would eat at Frank�s place, thank you Mirjam for delicious meat loaf.

As Frank wasn�t really well, we decided I would drive Cas and Frank there and go home afterwards (whenever we used to go to Tilburg I usually slept at Frank�s). We parked the car and moved in. We were asked if we could share tips to improve the quite new building, we soon found out some stuff that needed replacing even before the first band had their sound check� blue TL lights near the bathrooms, as if we weren�t welcome there, very steep stairs (imagine going down drunk, accidents bound to happen) and the routing is a mess. The Grand Caf� inside served drinks in glass, the rest was plastic, they shouldn�t be mixed. All venue plastic, everybody clear and happy. We toasted on Frank�s improvements at work *insert insider joke about a concrete mixer* but the Heineken was tasteless but as I would be the driver I did not mind. Cas said he wouldn�t taste the difference if he had enough to drink. Bianca was found soon and so was the first band. Epica usually brings decent support acts, but not all of them are worth mentioning. This one, Ex Libris, is worth it. Their goth / female fronted metal is clearly influenced by both Pink Floyd and Strapping Young Lad, but the singer is a bit shallow. If she can improve her reach they�ll do fine, her stage appearance shows self confidence.

After a short break, being thrown out of the Grand Caf� and hardly being allowed back in, Epica was ready for it. But as the first smoke machine hissed, the slow whoop was put into action. Nice to know the fire alarm works, including the instructions to leave the building in six languages, but we came to see some metal! And metal, that�s exactly what Epica does. They see the humour in the fire alarm and start off with Samadhi and Resign to Surrender (off the new record, later I got the set list from their lights engineer. Thank you). The band faces some unwilling stage monitors but are so professional now they don�t bother too long and play on. The set list:
- Samadhi
- Resign to Surrender
- Sensorium
- Mother of Light (hey, they haven�t played this tune in a long time!)
- Unleashed (clearly a band favourite, I love this track too, first serious pit of the new venue)
- Martyr of the Free World
- Cry for the Moon
- Tides of Time (only keyboard and vocals, a bit too lovely for me)
- Blank Infinity (Bianca urges me to get into the pit, but what do I do in 20-second-pits? RAGE ON!!)
- The Obsessive Devotion
- Design Your Universe (first encore)
- Kingdom of Heaven
- The Divine Conspiracy (not on the set list, the band is not willing to go yet)
- The Phantom Agony (see The Divine C.)

This band will get far, I think. They deliver the goods tight, not too loud and the band improves every album. Simone Simons must be mentioned here, she does a whole lot of effort to reach even the highest and longest notes. This way every show is a little different than the previous one and that�s a fact to be happy about. At least, Frank, Cas, Bianca and me are. The boys smoke their last cigs in a blue-TL-lit smoke booth and Bianca talks to guitarist Yves Huts only to find out she missed her last train. No worries, Vleuten isn�t that far from Hilversum so I offer to bring her home. Little did I know she hardly knew where she lived herself, as she only moved in three weeks ago and the lighting isn�t even functioning in the street. An hour or so later she recognizes a street and there she is. I get a drink and move on. I am home at 2 AM, but I don�t mind. Again I have seen one of my favourite bands, met friends and seen a village I had never been to. Fine. If the crew of Vorstin listens to our advice this could be a nice place to see a band and have a beer.

Epica will embark on a North American tour in November and December. I want to read somebody else�s Epica review for a change!

Angizia

Amok — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:42:10 GMT

And now for something completely different. Finntroll, take notes and get back to your darker, um, roots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfnaJwzcwjk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlU7PszUHNQ&feature=related

Headbangers Haven

Fenrir — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 09:47:19 GMT

Forum Name: Headbangers Haven
Forum Link: Headbangers Haven
Description: A music forum specialising in Rock, metal and punk, Other genres also discussed. Big, friendly forum, All are welcome.
How many members and posts: 40,836 Posts by 476 Members
Additional Info: 7 years old!

New Deathspell Omega album

Jack Luminous — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 17:55:04 GMT

According to their new label, Season of Mist, Deathspell Omega will be releasing their new album Paraclete on November 28. This thing might destroy every thing else from 2010.

Cream

About2Crash — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:26:33 GMT

Cream are one of those bands that you think of as "grandpa rock" because they are primarily a blues band, but if you see here, the shredding that clapton does is gnarly as hell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OLK_HSyy1U

Napalm Death w Dying Fetus. Adelaide - 2 Sept 2010

Wigg — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:13:51 GMT

I came straight from work to the venue quite early to hang out with some mates who were waiting to get some stuff signed by Napalm Death. Sure enough Shane and Danny came round and hands were shaken. Eventually Barney joined them and we had a quick word and some photos were had. Apparently the next album will come out some time �after we write it.� Good to know.

But my mates were still missing the signature of one member of the band, the one who I was most interested in meeting, and even after the first shitty support act (who can DIAF. I didn�t even bother getting out of the cold for fear of hearing their shitty breakdowns), and Dying Fetus�s full set, Mitch was nowhere to be found.

When he did arrive he was in a daze and walked in with a bunch of regular punters through the regular doors and had a tough time with the door list lady explaining that he�s come here to play some music. We grabbed a quick word with him as he moseyed through to do soundcheck 5 mins before they were to play, and he said the reason he was running late was because �I was watching X Factor.�

Facepalm death.

Anyway, Dying Fetus happened. I�ve seen them before and it�s the same issues again. Solid technique, solid presence, solid riffs, but the way the riffs are put together and the way songs feel much longer than they are kill it for me. That said, it�s better live than on album, as you can see them going diddly-diddly-diddly, and you really feel it when they throw down those groove riffs. They were alright to fill the time and didn�t outstay their welcome, playing Homicidal Retribution and Pissing in the Mainstream so there was some shit I recognised. I reckon they sold more merch than Napalm Death too but god knows why.

Then the above meeting of Mitch Harris happened etc. He made a beeline from our conversation to the stage and tuned up, played one riff, then attempted to leave, going the wrong way and opening a fire exit that put all the security staff on alert, and made me laugh.

Not long after, Napalm Death started their shitstorm. Barney was a completely different person once he was on stage, as if he went into console and enabled grindmode. Mitch shrieked upwards into the mike like Lemmy, but it much shorter than the Kilmeister that it could easily have been because the mike stand doesn�t get that low. The filthy bass from Shane came from an offstage rig, which I remember him doing last time, and his scalp which hides amidst those curls caught the light perfectly.

It was a good selection of songs, and I think the songs get shorter as it gets to the middle of the set. In fact, those five or so <1:00 songs I think have been there in the set, in that order for probably a decade or so. It�s always good to hear You Suffer. I guess my favourite track of the night was Silence is Deafening because for some reason The Code is Red, Long Live The Code is my favourite album of theirs but they have never disappointed me, and that�s my consensus of last night�s show as well. Awesome.

Strong-Arm
Unchallenged Hate
Suffer the Children
Silence Is Deafening
Life and Limb
Diktat
When All is Said And Done
It's A M.A.N.S. World!
From Enslavement to Obliteration
On The Brink of Extinction
Scum
Life?
The Kill
Deceiver
You Suffer
Mass Appeal Madness
Nazi Punks Fuck Off
Persona Non Grata
Smear Campaign
Time Waits for No Slave
Siege of Power

Crimson Glory

Erik — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:48:59 GMT

Bought Transcendence at a used CD store for $5. Dude, I can't believe I never really looked into this band. They reminds me of Sanctuary but, cooler.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHOsKlB8Ln8

William Shakespeare

About2Crash — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:42:11 GMT

I am surprised I never made a thread about the most prolific writer of the English language.

I became a big fan in my senior year of high school after playing Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing.

I have also done Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, and A Comedy of Errors.

Currently, I am taking a class on the history of Shakespeare on stage as well as film whereas last semester I took a class solely based on the text. Most people have read Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet in required reading for school. Two of his best tragedies in my opinion. The way that the words flow in and out of each other is remarkable to me even to this day. I plan on doing Shakespeare for as long and as often as I can.

Unfortunately, too many people are exposed wrong ie in an English class. Shakespeare was never meant to be read, the same reason why you would never want to read the script to Casablanca over watching it. Almost every day, something that you hear or say will have some sort of connection to his writing. The influence on the English language is incredible.

Anyone have opinions about the bard?

Your Metal Listening Preference

Amok — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:59:15 GMT

In your car? Headphones? Puter speakers? Home system? Ya gotta absorb the Metal somehow.

?

Become a hit record

Dennis — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:12:23 GMT

Nope, not a typo, you can actually become your own hit record after this life.

And Vinyly Presses Your Ashes Into Vinyl When You Die

Telesma

N00bs — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:02:50 GMT

Pretty damn good psychedelic/progressive band from my backyard. Never heard of them before today but i really dig it. Pretty chill music but very good and flowing.

Telesma on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

Cephalic Carnage

N00bs — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:39:31 GMT

Man, i am in total love with their new album. Bassist Nick Schendzielos is phenomenal on here. Listen to Ohrwurm. Even got some sax in there for Crash.

Cephalic Carnage on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

Sister Sin

tobbli — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:12:21 GMT

I�ve been following this Gothenborg band from a very early demo-music stage, and recently they released their Second album called True Sound Of The Underground. As a longtime fan the album was therefore mine to Review.

So have anyone here on mru been listening to Sister Sin, and if so what is your opinion about them?

I myself liked their more rough sound in their early demo songs and thing that they moved a little at the wrong direction whit their debut album(Switchblade serenades). But whit this album they are starting to move back to the demo soud again.

It realy is a great record and I strongly recomend you to check them out!

Hello

tobbli — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:59:41 GMT

Hello everyone, Have been looking for a good metal comunity for some time now. This seems to be just what I was looking for. :P

Maybe should say something about myself...

I live in sweden, studying tourism. I follow almost every sport known to man and I party whenever I find some free time and money in my pocket.

I write reviews for Nyaskivor.se and I listen to mainly rock and metal, but also alot of other music. Everything thats not hip-hop, rap or techno.

So thats me. :D

Elsrock, feat. Napalm Death, Lizzy Borden, Pestilence

herrieman — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:36:10 GMT

Elsrock, local football club terrain, Rijssen, August 28th

The most discussed Dutch festival is here to happen again. Why discussed? It takes place in the bible belt of Holland, many Christians in the village seem to think blasphemy, child abuse, animal abuse, debauchery and other excesses will come to town with the heavy metal bands performing. I doubt that, so I support this festival, this is my second visit to the festival (see http://www.metal-r.us/forums/concert...gust-25-a.html ). This year I thought the villagers had been sleeping when the permits were handed out as Hypocrisy is not really a birds-and-flower band and Dream Evil was about to make their return to the festival (last year: Sodom, ACtion in DC). A line up with Pestilence, Hail of Bullets and Lizzy Borden was enough reason for me to go, Tom said yes about a month ago.

Like mentioned in the Macabre concert review, I found out Eva would like to join us. During the week we had a lot of e-mail contact, she at first thought we�d go by train, but as she found out herself� that�s nearly impossible (three busses, 4 trains, taxi needed, it would take nearly five hours! And how do you return?). She offered to arrange a camping nearby, but looking at the weather forecast I made a list of hotels and cab companies nearby. I would have loved to see the farm my friend Henric built, but he had other plans. Bummer. As a joke, all of us wore our (new) Macabre shirts.

As the festival started around noon, I knew we�d have to drive early, so the birthday party the night before was a short one, especially after ending it in a big brawl with Maarten�s dad. What the hell I did wrong, I still don�t know, but it hurt. A short night without a proper sleep followed, but I awoke in time to get Tom coffee and pick Eva up. It wasn�t a three hour drive at all, so we came to camping De Biesterij and had all the time in the world. Eva told the owner she had e-mailed him, but he replied: �I am sorry folks, my camping disappeared under the rain. You�d better go to the neighbours camping, that one is located higher�. As we knocked on the door at camping Witte Zand, a huge grin came to us, the owner was called Herman too. Herman said the neighbour camping wasn�t flooded at all, shrugged his shoulders and accepted us no questions asked. Yeah, the neighbour was one of the former protesters AGAINST the festival. We could raise our tents at dry ground and opened up some Hertog Jans. We were 300 meters from the festival area, but walking to the festival site we needed our ponchos badly. The organizers did place a tent over the stage and the audience, but as it had rained for several days, they had replaced the top layer with wood chips it was still possible to walk in the tent. But as the rain kept falling the path to the bar was drenched.

First band today was Toxocara. Toxocara had been added to the bill as Dew-Scented had to cancel their appearance and they did well. It was tighter and even more blunt than the last time I saw them. Cool. Turned out, we missed the first band after all: State:Chaos (never heard of) but The Lucifer Principle was up next! They did what they do best: screw up an audience! The set list was nearly the same as last week, but shorter:
- Pitch Black Dawn
- Born in Bloodshed
- Soul Saviour Throat Cut
- Death Resort
- Graveyard Avenue
- Into Decay
- Burn!
Another killer show is added to the list� nice pit, great sound again. Later on I met Earik and Thomas, Earik thanked me several times for the support I give them, but why? As they keep making cool music and are able to keep as tight and energetic as they�ve shown so far, it�s not that hard for me to support them. Earik told me he (or the band) had something up his (/their) sleeve but did not tell whether that�s shows, tours or new material, I wait�

The beers (Grolsch of course) kept flowing harder than the rain, so I decided to eat before Hail of Bullets would hit the stage (or else I think I would have passed out :lol: ). And Hail of Bullets DID HIT! My goodness, this band is heavier than a steam roller gone berserk. I have not written down any of the song titles (I am sure I heard Stalingrad, Advancing Once More and Berlin), I kept banging like a maniac and I sure wasn�t alone! On their myspace at least one new song is placed: Operation Z (I remember Martin announcing the new song and the release in October) HAIL OF BULLETS -new album out in October! on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads This �Operation Z� is a killer track! I think I will review the album when it�s released, and I think I already have a hunch which album will be my Album of the Year�

I was glad I had eaten something before the HoB show, but now there would be� Dream Evil, but no need for more food (�). I had no interest in them the first time, they haven�t changed much, so I started to stroll the festival and on the road back to the tent I met Germans wanting explanation of Elsrock and Groningers who asked why I had forgotten my FC cap? I must be getting drunk, a stroll is nice. And it stopped raining for about an hour. Of course I had to be back in time for Onslaught. They did an cross of old and new material and band and crowd went nuts (Killing Peace, Metal Forces, Power From Hell et cetera).

Lizzy Borden was up next. I had heard some wild stories about the stage performance of the band and that they were the loudest of the hair era? I expected somethink like WASP gone thrash, but all I heard was some American rock with a slight touch of metal. The Grim Reaper with female angels and demons on stage were nice to look at, but no titties, no chainsaws, no axes� what the hell? Most memorable part was the RJ Dio tribute Long Live Rock�n�Roll but as I run short on coins I started looking for my debit card. Found none. Damned, I have too much pockets, but no card. I had already forgotten there still was a band on stage, did they actually bring naked girls? Tom offered me to repay some of the money he borrowed this morning (slight problem with his pass too, I guess) so at least I could start drinking in stead of worrying about money or Eva (we looked in each others eyes several times, my brain went on top speed)� What I needed was a nice, blunt pit but Agnostic Front were up next. I have seen them 4, 5 times, nice hardcore, but I detest the vocals. Screw the vocals, this is a fierce pit growing more and more. I handed my camera and glasses to Eva and off I went for about twenty minutes in a row (featuring ever greens like Gotta Go and Crucified). Exhausted and happy I started to look for Eva/my glasses but found my former flat buddy Bram. I had not seen in him in 15 or so years, but his voice and his face hasn�t changed one bit so this was actually a nice chat.

Eva�s personal favourite of the day was up next, Pestilence! Would they be given a welcome like on Neurotic Deathfest or like the one on Maryland Deathfest? I hoped the latter, and at least the set list gave no reason NOT to like it, jump around [not easy for Eva, she�s got some severe hernia for some time now], bang, shout, but mainly: PIT!!!
- Devouring Frenzy
- Horror Detox
- Chemo Therapy
- The Process of Suffocation
- Hate Suicide
- Resurrection Macabre
- one song I missed
- Out of the Body
Somehow I expected/imagined Patrick Mameli and Martin van Drunen together on stage (as both men had Enschede as home town and that�s not far away), but I think that�s wishful thinking. In the end, the first time I ever saw Pestilence, Mameli wasn�t even there (he was in the hospital) and the other times were during the Testimony of the Ancients tour so Van Drunen was already long gone. Clearly, Mameli isn�t here just to please some grey fans in scorched Slayer shirts, but he�s here to show he has a great band, some great musicians surrounding him. Cheers to that, these guys will never turn out to be like Status Quo (who ever heard of an album AFTER Roll over Lay Down? :lol: ). Anyway, Martin van Drunen talked about new material from Hail of Bullets, faster and more haunting than Of Frost and War, lyrically inspired by the war between Japan and the Allies in the Pacific.

I was getting drunk and distraught, and for the worse of it� Napalm Death was on next. I surely wished they had swapped place on the bill with Hypocrisy, as I knew I wouldn�t last that long any more. Uhggg, what a brainless noise. It took three �songs� to recognize a bit (Life, later Suffer the Children) and I had had it. Women, booze, bands, they could equally go to hell for my part. I lay down after sweeping out the water (I had forgotten to push the ground layer inside the tent) and fell asleep. Tom awoke me about half an hour later, he had seen Hypocrisy and he had seen me attempt to get closer to Eva, what I obviously failed.

Most of the camping guests awoke around 7.30 AM, as a silly Hayabusa-rider could not contain himself and even let his engine go dead. Damned, I would have liked to sleep longer, as I knew breakfast would be served from 9 AM. But a great breakfast it was. Herman is a great host, nice stories (including the neighbours LOL), hot strong coffee and ham and cheese sandwiches near a nice fire. I even recognized some die hard Waldrock visitors. Tom was in desperate need for Javaanse Jongens, I had agreed with my colleague Tecle to visit him, so we went away soon. Tecle and his wife spoilt us! Thank you my friend! Eva decided we could empty her fridge, but I already had a heavy headache and probably more on my head. I brought Tom home around 9 PM, needed a shave and a shower and tried to sleep. I couldn�t. I had too much on my mind, work, Friday, music, Eva, what I done to her and more. At 2 PM I e-mailed her to show I was sorry and finally fell asleep. I overslept about three hours. My boss angry, I had missed the team meeting and my office is a mess. I had to leave early to block my debit card but I found it� in the wallet I left in my rucksack. I felt like a cow too close to a gorge.

Conclusion: these three days were an emotional roller coaster, mostly self-inflicted. Fear, distraught, sorry, excitement, drinking, hangover, disappointment, joy, rain, shine, road, friends, colleagues.. this was too much. My work starts to decline when I freak out too much. Even after three years, my head still cannot stand the extremity of feelings I inflict on myself. Damned. I even missed the band I was so eager to see, Hypocrisy! But at least I have seen some great bands and joined a few nice pits. And� I made my apologies to Eva and she accepted them. But the beginning love is over.

Get in the Pit III - submission thread

Marsallah — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:12:26 GMT

Alright, I am back from my vacation. Hope yours was as good as mine (or better) and that you can hardly wait for another song tournament to start :D

For GitP III there are no special restrictions as regards submissions. This time there's more time to choose your favorite songs as I want to sustain the Friday-Friday submission/voting period - you can submit till Friday Sep 10th!

Let me recapitulate the rules (no need to read unless you're a newbie to MRU Battles):

- each member is allowed to submit 2 metal songs; 32 songs will take part in the tournament, so your 1st choice is guaranteed (unless more than 32 people submit), 2nd choices will be randomized

- make sure your songs are available at youtube (or upload them there)

- check whether your songs haven't already participated in any metal song battle already (you can search this forum)

- no cover songs (live versions are OK if you insist, but only when no studio version is available at YT)

- submission period closes Friday (10th September) around 12:00 a.m. CET (and Round 1 starts later that day)

Preferred form of submission:

Band name - song name
youtube link (without embedding)

Posting short messages other than submissions in this thread is OK, but let's keep focused and not stray OT too much.

The Crash Landing: Primus - Tales from the Punchbowl

About2Crash — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 02:10:38 GMT

Primus - Tales from the Punchbowl - 1995

Progressive Rock

What could you say about Primus that wouldn�t be redundant? The band has spent the better part of twenty years churning out a sound that is all their own. Sure, people can say that they were a nineties Zappa, a groovier King Crimson, a funkier Rush and such but in the end they can never be mistaken for another band. It always comes back to Les Claypool, Larry Lalonde, and Tim Alexander and their quirked out take on rock. It always comes back to how weird they are. Most of all, you can�t even mention the band without the words �awesome� and �bassist�.

Indeed, Colonel Claypool�s signature way of attacking the bass has nearly overshadowed the band in the past years as Primus has stuck to the touring route and opted to not write a full record for a whole decade. It�s a shame really, because Claypool has plenty of other projects and while some of them such as Les Claypool�s Flying Frog Brigade and Colonel Claypool�s Bucket of Bernie Brains have put out more than excellent records, it still always comes back to Primus. And for the most part it comes down to the albums done before Alexander�s departure. Don�t get me wrong, I love Antipop and The Brown Album, but nothing can compare to those first albums.

Suck on This is a lot of fun. Unfortunately, with all of the songs outside of Jellikit being recorded in the studio, this album is more of a novelty for me. Frizzle Fry and Sailing the Seas of Cheese were both awesome prog rock albums, that kicked some serious ass while doing the extremely hard task of stimulating both the mind and balls.

Then came Pork Soda, which is a mess. Note that this is not a bad thing. Quite the contrary, it�s a work of genius and the eerie and groggy atmosphere is completely contradicted to the absolute tightness of the musicianship.

This long winded shpeal brings me to Tales From the Punchbowl, which is the overlooked gem in the Primus canon. Despite bearing the biggest single the band ever had, it seems to fall to the wayside and lurks in the shadows whenever someone mentions cheese or pork. It�s a shame, because it is easily on par with the rest of the albums and in it�s own way has it�s advantages over the predecessors.

Gone is the drugged out lazy feeling of Pork Soda (Despite my love for that sound). In its place is a combination of all previous albums, but with a new found confidence. They realized which sounds worked for them and go for them. The singles are tighter and catchier while the freak outs transcend mere weirdness into sheer madness.

It would be easy to pick out individual songs. Everybody and their mother has already heard �Wynona�s Big Brown Beaver� a hundred times and other songs like �Mrs. Blaileen� fit right in with their unique brand of funkiness, but for the most part it is not about individual songs but the entire album as a whole. With little exception, every song digs a little bit deeper into madness from the slow churning of Glass Sandwich to the monstrous riffage of On the Tweek Again. It all culminates in the albums best song and outro, Over the Electric Grapevine, which may be the only Primus song that you could almost use the term �beautiful� to describe it. Something about it sums up the album and the band perfectly and it�s a great send off to the era.

That being said, if you don�t like Primus, then you would have known by the start that this is not the album for you. But if you are a casual fan, or just like some wacky shit without it being for the sake of it, I full fartedly recommend Tales From the Punchbowl. It may not be an album worth deeming �classic� on this site, but in my eyes it is just another addition to the long list of personal classics that the band has. Let�s just hope that Les stops dicking around with side projects and finally starts working on new material.