Rob Zombie Album Review

Rob Zombie – Hellbilly Deluxe 2

Loud & Proud, 2010

8/10

The latest album from Rob Zombie is finally out after a delay due to changing record companies right before the original release date in 2009. Hellbilly Deluxe 2 doesn’t match the excitement of the first Hellbilly Deluxe record, but it’s still an interesting album. A sequel album will inevitably be compared to the original, and so Hellbilly Deluxe 2 is forced to live up to expectations while avoiding the trap of becoming a knock-off. The album succeeds in carving out its own identity, but it’s not quite as exciting as previous Rob Zombie records. That’s not to say this is a bad album, just one that takes getting used to with a few listens. “Sick Bubblegum” and “What?” are two songs that immediately take hold with their addictive melodies. “Death And Destiny Inside The Dream Factory” and “Jesus Frankenstein” are the other songs that are closest to what you would expect from Rob Zombie. The rest of the album is a bit of a departure from the high-intensity rock of previous work. “Werewolf, Baby!” flirts with Southern-style rock with its slide guitar work, “What?” makes heavy use of an organ, “The Man Who Laughs” incorporates strings. Studio tricks are kept to minimum, and the result is guitar-based album in which the heavy, sludgy feel of a White Zombie album is gone. Hellbilly Deluxe 2 really deserves time to grow and appreciate. My initial reaction was lukewarm and dismissive, but I began to “get it” after the third or fourth time through. Rob Zombie really has done an impressive job of developing his sound and not rehashing past work. I’m not sure how much radio will embrace this, but those who have followed Zombie’s rise over the years should find a lot to appreciate on Hellbilly Deluxe 2. Rob Zombie has once again proven himself to be one of the most interesting and innovative metal artists.

Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper have area co-headlining dates as part of the Gruesome Twosome Tour. Both bands will first be appearing at Mayo Civic Center Arena in Rochester on Tuesday, May 11, then at DECC Arena in Duluth on Wednesday, May 12.

John 5, guitarist for Rob Zombie, will be signing copies of his latest solo CD The Art Of Malice at the 4540 Maine Ave. S.E. location of Best Buy in Rochester before the show at 5:30.

Rush Documentary Screening In Minneapolis

SwordLord Productions and the Riverview Theatre will present a special theatrical screening of the acclaimed Rush documentary entitled Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage at the Riverview Theatre in Minneapolis on Thursday, June 10. Co-directed by Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn, who also directed Metal: A Headbanger's Journey and Iron Maiden: Flight 666, the film shows an unseen side to the Canadian progressive rock band and recounts their decades-long career. McFadyen and Dunn received a $25,000 award on May 1 for Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage being selected by attendees of the Tribeca Film Festival for the festival's 2010 Heineken Audience Award. A review of the film by Variety magazine praises Rush and the directors for a documentary that "should delight devotees and intrigue nonbelievers as it moves to theatrical play." Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage will be shown in select theaters before its June 26 television debut on VH1 and VH1 Classic. The official movie trailer can be viewed below.

Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage will be shown on Thursday, June 10 at the Riverview Theatre in Minneapolis, 3800 42rd Ave. S.

Rush appears on the concert stage at the Minnesota State Fair on Friday, August 27, where they will perform the Moving Pictures album in its entirety.

Revocation Album Review

Revocation – Existence Is Futile

Relapse, 2009

9/10

The recent retro-thrash movement has spawned a multitude of bands that harken back to the classic Bay Area sound that can be entertaining at times, but mostly leave me disappointed at the lack of originality. Leave it to Boston’s Revocation to answer the call and finally release a thrash album that is innovative and compelling. Existence Is Futile perfectly strikes that delicate balance in twisting a well-worn style into something unique. “Enter The Hall” isn’t some thoughtful, acoustic introduction. The instrumental opens the album with serious, pummeling riffs before a vicious growl leads “Pestilence Reigns” into a drum clinic by Phil Dubois. Other exceptional tracks are “The Brain Scramblers”, “Dismantle The Dictator”, “Anthem Of The Betrayed”, and “The Tragedy of Modern Ages”. There’s absolutely no filler present on the album, and it holds up well when played through in its entirety. Four of the eleven songs are instrumentals but one doesn’t even notice this as the songs blaze by. Revocation draws in enough influences across the span of the album to avoid the one-dimensional sound of peers such as Evile and Warbringer. The shared vocals of bassist Anthony Buda and guitarist David Davidson are more akin to a death metal or hardcore band, and this also helps to bring a unique identity to the band. What has me most impressed is that elements of the songs have a shade of familiarity to them, but to the band’s credit it is difficult to say that their sound becomes an imitation of other bands. It also amazes me that just three individuals can create such a forceful sound. Revocation is far ahead of the competition in the race to be the new kings of thrash. Look no further for an innovative take on this well-worn style.

Revocation will be appearing at The Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis on Saturday, May 8 as direct support to Cattle Decapitation. Additional support will come from Enfold Darkness.

Klank - January 17, 1998, Kansas City, MO

Here's another ultra-rare, uncirculated live show! This one comes from industrial metal powerhouse Klank, led by guitarist/vocalist Daren "Klank" Diolosa. Prior to forming Klank, Daren played guitar for the legendary Circle Of Dust. Quite simply, Klank's Still Suffering album, and Circle Of Dust's Brainchild and self-titled (the re-recorded 1995 version) albums are among the best industrial metal albums ever recorded! Klank has their first album of all new material in over ten years coming out later this year entitled Urban Warfare. A reworked version of their 1999 album Numb called Numb...Reborn (with a couple new tracks) was just released, and some live shows are in the works.

To gear up for all of this long-awaited activity, I digitized a VHS-C recording of Klank from the Still Suffering tour in Kansas City. This was recorded on January 17, 1998 at Yahweh Cappuccino in Kansas City, MO. The show actually took place in a cramped church basement with no stage and only stand-mounted lighting. Therefore, the video is a bit dark but the sound is fantastic. I remember it being a dark, snowy night and I had trouble finding the church. I arrived just as the show got underway, so the recording cuts into the first song, "Fall". Based on Daren's comments after "Scarified", "Leave" was not played. It's unclear if "Animosity" was played, but in any event the band performs nearly the entire Still Suffering album. This is the only known full-length live recording of Klank known to exist!!

I've also included below a flyer for a Circle Of Dust show in 1995 in Kansas City that I was lucky enough to catch. Man, what a show! Circle Of Dust were just absolutely crushing live, and they played a lot of my favorites such as "Dissolved", "Self Inflict", and "Onenemy". I wish I had a recording of that show.

Check out a couple songs from the recording and download the text file below. The text file contains links to download both the video (mov, H.264, 640 x 480) and audio (mp3@320 kbps or flac) files of the show. Enjoy!

Klank - 1998-01-17, Kansas City, MO, Yahweh Cappuccino

1. Fall

2. Deceived

3. Time

4. Burning

5. Downside

6. Disease

7. Scarified

8. Woodensoul

Click to watch Klank perform "Downside".

Click to watch Klank perform "Time".

Click to watch Klank perform "Burning".

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=B1329Z6P

As always, if you want to share the link, please link to this blog post rather than linking to the text file. Thanks!

Cro-Mags To Play Two Shows In Minneapolis

Twin Cities Hardcore will host legendary hardcore band Cro-Mags for their first shows in The Cities in over 20 years on July 10 and 11 at The Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis. Unfortunately, Cro-Mags never seem to get the full respect they deserve as inventors of what we now know as metalcore. The lineup of Cro-Mags has always fluctuated, and different have claimed ownership of the band name. It appears that the version of Cro-Mags scheduled to play is the one led by vocalist John Joseph McGeown and drummer Mackie Jayson.
Here's some pictures from a Cro-Mags show from San Diego at Canes on February 20, 2000, featuring Harley Flanagan on bass and vocals and Kevin "Parris" Mayhew on guitar. I saw the band again in 2000 or 2001 in Baltimore, and Parris was again gone from the band at that point.

Click photo to see more pictures of Cro-Mags (15).

Breaking Benjamin Album Review

Breaking Benjamin – Dear Agony

Hollywood, 2009

6/10

Breaking Benjamin peddles the sort of heavy, radio-friendly rock that’s hard not to like. Sure, there will always be those who detest this style of metal, but it’s hard to dispute the band’s success. Stylistically Breaking Benjamin reminds me a lot of Staind, both for their use of somber themes and in the variety of songs they are capable of writing. “Crawl”, “Fade Away”, and “Lights Out” show off a quite heavy side full of solid down-tuned riffs. To the other extreme are the depressive-sounding ballads “Give Me A Sign” and “Anthem Of The Angels”. The rest of album is chock-full of slow and mid-tempo melodic tunes that retain enough meat to avoid sounding bland. For the most part the album is enjoyable and easy to listen to, but a couple weak tracks slip in – “I Will Not Bow” deserving dishonorable mention for its annoying chorus. Hold on for the end of the album, because two of the best songs, “Dear Agony” and “Without Out”, are sequenced in the last three tracks. Despite a relatively low mark of 6, I actually really enjoy Dear Agony. I just can’t bring myself to heap lavish praises on a band that sounds like so many others. The bottom line is that if you like bands like Staind, Sevendust, and Soil you can’t go wrong with adding Breaking Benjamin to your collection. People that don’t like this sort of made-for-radio rock won’t be convinced, however.

Breaking Benjamin will be appearing at Target Center in Minneapolis on Monday, May 24 as direct support to Nickelback. Additional support will come from Shinedown and Sick Puppies.

Roger Waters Tickets On Sale

Numerous presale tickets to see legendary Pink Floyd guitarist Roger Waters perform The Wall in its entirety on Wednesday, October 27 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul go on sale today and tomorrow through the LiveNation website. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday, May 10 at 10 am.

Below is the ticket stub from the only time I saw Pink Floyd on their tour for A Momentary Lapse Of Reason on May 18, 1988 at the UNI-Dome on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Not a major tour stop for bands, but the UNI-Dome did host The Who, The Police, Motley Crüe, Styx, and many other bands during the 1980s. Amazingly, this show wasn't even sold out. The spectacle of a Pink Floyd show is everything you've heard it to be, so expect no less from Roger Waters.

Blackguard Album Review

Blackguard – Profugus Mortis

Sumerian, 2009

7/10

Profugus Mortis seems to have evoked mixed opinions in the metal community, but I’m on board as a believer in this powerful group from Montreal. Lazy opinions frequently compare Blackguard to Children of Bodom, but apart from insanely fast songs and a keyboardist in the band I don’t hear any resemblance. Others refer to Blackguard as folk metal – maybe they’ve only seen the band’s promotional pictures where they hold mugs and horns because this certainly sounds nothing like folk metal bands. Six of the nine songs on Profugus Mortis were previously released on 2008’s Another Round EP as Profugus Mortis. An apt description of Blackguard would be a speed metal band that incorporates keyboards with heavy, screaming vocals. If a single word had to be used to describe the album it would be intense. Every song is fast, heavy, and grabs you by the throat. The opening two tracks lead into the three best songs on the album, “Allegiance”, “I Demon”, and “The Sword”. The remainder of the album drops off a bit, but interesting arrangements and plenty of solos keep one’s attention throughout. It is fair to criticize Profugus Mortis for being a bit one-dimensional, but it could also be said that the band sticks with a clear consistent style. The biggest weakness of the album is the poor engineering sound. Vocals are too far back in the mix, and the guitars and keyboards tend to be too prominent. Nevertheless, I’m excited about the prospects and potential for Blackguard, and believe that a better-sounding sophomore album will go a long way towards establishing the band with a bright future. Blackguard continues to tour relentlessly, and live on stage is where the band demonstrates their full potential. Profugus Mortis isn’t a perfect album, but Blackguard undoubtedly is poised for great things.

Click here to view video, pictures, and a review from Blackguard’s show on February 6 with Epica, Threat Signal, Gracepoint, and Echoterra at Station 4 in St. Paul.

Blackguard will be appearing as support to Hypocrisy at Station 4 in St. Paul on Sunday, May 23. Additional support will come from Scar Symmetry, Hate, and Swashbuckle.

Blackguard returns on Saturday, September 25 to First Avenue in Minneapolis as support to Kamelot with Leaves’ Eyes.

Skid Row And Dokken Return To Town

Skid Row and Dokken were both in town recently, and now they are coming back again in June to The Bierstube in Oakdale. Skid Row plays there Friday, June 18, and Dokken will be there the next night, Saturday, June 19. Ticketmaster has a special package deal for tickets to both shows for only $25 that is only available by presale from May 3-7 on the Ticketmaster website. The password you need for this presale offer is ROCK.

Click here to see some old Skid Row concert memorabilia and my thoughts on a couple shows I saw on the Slave To The Grind and Subhuman Race tours.

Thanks For Feedback And Support!

I wanted to take a short post to thank everyone for reading Twin Cities Metal and getting in touch with me by email. I honestly had no idea what to expect, especially since I generally don't have the time to promote the blog online. So when I finally enabled a blog tracking service on April 9, I was stunned to see the numbers of people from all over the world that visit the site. I was blown away as I saw the numbers climb through the month of April. The site is attracting visitors from six continents, particularly everywhere in North America and Europe. Although the blog is centered around all things metal in the Twin Cities, I knew that the potential interest was more broad than that so I was pleased to see this is true. I also appreciate the help and goodwill of the publicists and bands that have send me notes of appreciation and have helped with securing photo passes.

After a mad month of posting in April, I needed the weekend off. I will continue to post generally on a daily basis, so bookmark me and visit frequently! Here's what to expect soon: an interview with Karnivool, a number of album reviews, including Revocation, Rob Zombie, and The Angle Obscure, some archival concert material, and a few surprises.

I'm grateful for your continued readership and support.