It Ain't Hard People!

Sent by Ninja Zak.

How I'm Feeling Today

Ceremony - Rohnert Park

I've never been a huge Ceremony fan. It's not that I don't like them or that they're not good or anything, it's just one of those bands that's kinda hovered around the periphery of my listening. I definitely won't turn them off if they're on and I'm always pleasantly surprised at how good they are when they show up on shuffle, it's just I rarely go straight for Ceremony when I'm putting something on at home. The Rohnert Park LP is fast changing all of that.

It's been a good long fucking while since I put on an album that needed no second listen, no time spent pondering, and no second guessing. This is a great. punk. record. period. Ceremony moved from their darker, harder brand of hardcore I associated them with to a straight up, orange county style, modern day HC classic. It's fast, it's snotty, it's unmistakably punk rock and it's awesome. Think Black Flag/Circle Jerks, Poison Idea, Negative Approach. It just sounds like 1982 man. So good, so pissed, and yet so refreshingly "American." I guess that after a long ass stretch of Japanese and Swedish Doom/D-beat a little good old fashioned US Hardcore is just doing it for me.

This album has some long term playability. In the words of my friend, "It made me like punk again," and nothing makes me happier than only having to tag "punk" and "hardcore" at the bottom for this post.

Buzzov*en - To a Frown/Sore/...At A Loss + Boat Show

Buzzov*en - Sore

Buzzov*en - ... At A Loss

In the world of sludge there are technically a ton of bands, but when it comes to SLUDGE and it's foundation, there are only two. Eyehategod... and Buzzov*en.

Sludge can sort of be defined as the disgusting, even more anti-social, down-syndromey bastardbaby of hardcore and doom metal. For anyone who listens to hardcore, the thought of crossing a genre that values speed with a genre that values plodding slowness should raise an eyebrow. Well, if you're on as much fucking smack as the guys in Buzzov*en were, this cross doesn't really raise shit much less an eyebrow. In fact, it's probably the only kind of speed you can muster besides the crank you just bought off that biker.

Buzzov*en basically sounds like all the drug-addicted, shit-filled, depressed, violent hate in the world bottled up and slowed to an irrepressible crawl. There's no stopping it, just submit. After over a decade, their first three full lengths are still some of the most, brutal, depressing, heavy music ever committed to tape. Feedback, a layer of creeped out movie samples about violence, and distorted riffs under screamgrowled vocals pretty much sum up the sound that defined a movement.

Start with To A Frown, move to Sore, and end with ...At a Loss. Then buy your tickets. Thanks to Dozer at the Acheron/Crust Massacre Gig for the tip off on this one. It's going to be messy.

NOTE: MY TO A FROWN IS ALL FUCKED UP AND NOT RIGHT, IF ANYONE HAS A COMPLETE VERSION THAT'S NOT SCRATCHED AS HELL PLEASE SEND IT? OH YEAH ALSO ALBUM ART IN A DECENT DIGITAL SIZE WOULD BE RAD...

Dystopia - "Human=Garbage" & "The Aftermath"

Music can have the incredible ability to influence the emotions of the listener. It can induce joy, sadness, fear, courage, and just about any other feeling you can think of. Take Slayer for instance. Nothing on earth will get you fucking lifted to skate or surf or get in to a fight with a cop like Slayer. Or perhaps you're more of a lover and less of a fighter and throwing on some R.Kelly is more your steez. That's cool, it'll get gnob greased.

Knowing this about music. Some states have passed laws saying that providing already depressed people with the music of Dystopia can get you charged with criminally negligent homicide. It's true. I read it somewhere.

Seriously. This is possibly the heaviest, most depressing, truly fucking grimmest sludge band in the history of the genre. For fucks sake, just look at the fucking title. HUMAN=GARBAGE. Never has there been a more apt title for an album, because at about 2:43 into this album you already feel like true breathing, walking shit. It's fucking awesome.

God I love this fucking band. Talk about some fuckers who need to get back together.

CLICK THE IMAGES FOR D/L's

Weedeater, Black Tusk, Gates of Slumber, and Struck By Lighting @ Webster Hall. April 10th, 2010

I haven't posted in a long time. Basically because all I listen to is Weedeater. When that's all I listen to, I don't feel like it's necessary to repeat myself every day. Having just seen Weedeater, Black Tusk, Gates of Slumber, and Struck By Lightning at Webster Hall last weekend, I was forcefully reminded of the fact that yeah, maybe I do need to repeat myself.

WEEDEATER IS THE FUCKING SHIT. PERIOD. END OF STORY.

I am proud to report, yet again, that Dave, Keko, and Shep are still, entirely unfuckwittable. They are, undeniably, one of the heaviest, most reliably fucking awesome doom bands in the history of the Earth and nobody praise them enough.

Anyways, now that the WE cocksuck sesh is over, let's get down to the real biz.

The night opened up with this band "Struck By Lightning" who I'd never heard of but was totally blown away by. I showed up half way through the set to a lead singer in a his hero is gone shirt, blasting crusty doom, and good times already underway. Apparently one of the dudes in that band is formerly of Mouth of the Architect, all well and good, but SbL fucking destroys. Expect big things from these guys. I'm fucking stoked that Metal is getting more and more punk every day. Also, their drummer fucking kills it. Check out THEIR MYSPACE. Their live recorded shit is a lot more tech than it sounds like live but it's still awesome. I can taste notes of Disfear, HHIG, old school Baroness, classic Swedish Death Metal, and a buncha other good shit in here.

After SbL, Gates of Slumber, looking more than a little like a marauding viking hoard, took to the stage with their vengeful old school doom sounds. Like St. Vitus? Go buy a GoS album. Now. These large, hirsuit barbarians from the midwest play a brand of Doom rarely seen or heard done properly these days. Classic, Sabbath worshipping, Wino copping, old school no bullshit slow ass, riff driven heavy metal. I just recently got into these guys but I feel like they'll be around for a while to come. They're headed to Europe for the upcoming festival season over there and you can bet your ass that they're gonna fit right in with the bekutted, longhaired Hessians over there. I still have massive fucking neck pain from when they busted out "Blood and Thunder." Hesh on.

Finally, Black Tusk was the last "opener." I use quotation marks around the word opener because I feel like that term is slightly less than fitting for a band that the entire audience is going ballistic for. I'd heard some BT before and always though they were pretty good. I never really paid too much attention (probably because I was listening to Bongzilla or something) before, but after this show, my eyes (and ears) are wide fucking open to the greatness of this band. Black Tusk did something that I haven't seen a doom band do in ages. The put the goofy fucking rock star shit back into metal, and it totally rules. These dudes are possibly one of the most fun shows I've seen in ages. Fucking awesome. Jumping around, ripping shit up, headbanging, crossing the fucking guitars, wailing, all of it. No shame, no mercy, all metal. If you get a chance to see these guys, especially in a kinda small venue, be there. It's totally worth it.

Which brings us to Weedeater. Yeah, there's just nothing you can say about their set besides:

1) It fucking rules.
2) It's fucking mindblowing that these dudes are still alive.

The thing about a lot of sludgier bands is that live they tend to speed shit up. WE does the opposite. The slowly strangle the last drops of life out of every fucking note they hit. They crank the fucking volume to earsplitting levels, the bash drums harder than anyone else out there, and you could pave a fucking highway with Dave's voice. Just watch the videos and try to ignore the fact that I gave more of a shit about going nuts than holding the camera steady. Sorry bout that, it's fucking Weedeater.

CLICK THE PIC OF DIXIE FOR A LINK TO THE FLICKR PAGE.

Weedeater - God Luck and Good Speed @ Webster Hall. 4/10/10 www.nogodsnovegetables.com from Jack Crank on Vimeo.

Weedeater - "Gimme Back My Bullets" @ Webster Hall 4/10/10. www.nogodsnovegetables.com from Jack Crank on Vimeo.

Weedeater - "Time Served" @ Webster Hall Basement. 4/10/10 www.nogodsnovegetables.com from Jack Crank on Vimeo.

Weedeater - "Monkey Junction" @ Webster Hall 4/10/10. www.nogodsnovegetables.com from Jack Crank on Vimeo.

Black Tusk @ Webster Hall. 4/10/10 www.nogodsnovegetables.com from Jack Crank on Vimeo.

Gates of Slumber @ Webster Hall 4/10/10. www.nogodsnovegetables.com from Jack Crank on Vimeo.

My Foray Into The World Of Cool Kids

Ok so just to prove that I haven't been a total waste of fucking space over the last month, I'm posting the reviews I've been doing for the Mishka Bloglin. It's basically the same shit I do here but for albums and shit that Mike and that crew ask me to check out. Here's what I've done so far with 3 more in the works.

In Memoriam - Monolith
Overkill - Iron Bound
Mnemic - Sons of the System
Alkoholizer - Drunk or Dead
Aggression - Moshpirit
Gama Bomb - Tales From The Grave In Space

Choking Victim - No Gods/No Managers & Leftöver Crack - Mediocre Generica

How in the hell I haven't posted these two is massively beyond me. I must be on the fucking rock or something. Anyways, here's the vast majority of my high school years in the form of two great albums. Choking Victim/Leftöver Crack are a group of fucked up, wonderful, NYC squatter crackheads who make some of the best ska/punk/hardcore hybrid the world has ever seen. Yes, I still love ska, fuck y'all.

This band is also possibly the most tasteless, amusing band in the world to see and has been kicked out of just about every venue in NYC for over a decade. Lets see, off the top of my head I can remember seeing them on 9/10/02 play the knit with 2 6' (possibly 7') tall paper mache twin towers that they sent a bunch of fire crackers in to. No more Knit after that. Then shortly after I remember watching them get the axe from N6th for advertising their live show with Astroland and a bunch of other bands as "featuring big dangerous pyrotechnics." Normally this wouldn't really qualify a band that obviously doesn't have any pyro from a club... unless Great White just created an inferno in some club in NH and the NYFD sees your flier and decides to shut the club down until they can bring it up to code... thus prompting a bunch of highschool skapunkhardcore kids to stand out in the street shouting along to an acapella version of crack rock steady at the cops/fd Oops.

God those shows were fun. Get this.

Choking Victim - No Gods/No Managers
Leftöver Crack - Mediocre Generica

Starting Over Suck

Since my comp crashed I haven't had any music on call to post recently. Not ignoring the world, promise.

Computer Died, Is Back Now

So my old comp's hard drive shat the bed last thursday and I haven't been able to upload shit (much to the dismay of many I'm sure...). Anyways, work lent me a new one and now I'm back up and running. Expect a flurry of posts this afternoon.

Still the Fucking Best

Know what? After all these year's the Ramones are still the greatest band that ever existed.

Party at my place 2/21

For $5 come see Torpedo with Kendra Morris (rock 'n' roll), Fake Hooker (punk rock 'n'roll), the Sleepies (pop-punk rock'n'roll played by a bunch of fucking muppets), Old Testament Heroes (like the sleepies, just smaller. So so small.) and possibly, if enough beers are consumed Haunted Castle (the worst fucking band in the known universe. Come see it just for the fucking spectacle... Seriously, this shit is like the wheelchair basketball of heavy metal.
)

Dance all night to the sounds of DJ K-Tel and possibly guests.
Drink cheap fucking beer and booze!

Use Dan Bones extraspecial stranglebation hook that he keeps above his bed! It'll be a hoot!

Just show the fuck up and bring a shit ton of people.


A friendly request.
NO FIGHTING, NO TAGGING! Other than that it's fair fucking game kids

DOORS AT 8:00 FIRST BAND AT 10/10:30