Slayer Goes To Church

The Batallion - Head Up High

It's been a minute since this album dropped, but believe you me that I was trollin the nets for a leak. I can't tell you how stoked on this band I am. But like any good band, a few listens wouldn't do and I needed time to mull it over.

First off, how is it that everyone and their mother has heard of similar sounding bands like Inepsy (I mean Canada, really?), but every time I mention The Batallion I'm met with blank stares? Here's a Norwegian band that despite their credentials, seem to slide in under the radar and get almost no attention. You got guys from Old Funeral (!), Taake, and Borknagar among others. Now if you haven't heard all those bands, you need to go back to school and do your homework! This is a real super group if there ever was one. Born and bred black metalers, they've totally abandoned the scene (which gets stale by the minute) and traded in their chips for a more pure heavy metal Motorhead-worshipping sound. There are few bands who are able to recapture this sound without sounding like a cheesy caricature or totally disposable and redundant.

The thing you gotta love about super groups is their propensity to not give a fuck-all about what anyone thinks. They've been through the mill and have seen some shit. The fact that these veterans are still standing is a thing in of itself and a good super group knows not to devolve into a wank-fest circle jerk. Enter Head Up High's first track "Watch My Step"- the official middle finger in your face. It sets the tone for the whole album with a "Bang your head or get the fuck outta the way!" They know it's a sophomore album and people usually sweat that kinda thing, but they seem to not give a fuck about what anyone thinks. I like that in a band. I can't say this album's as good as their instant classic of a debut Stronghold Of Men, but it's definitely up there and there's something new I hear on each listen so far. Check them both out and decide for yourself.

Click Image for DL.

The Nightmare Begins: An N.G.N.V Mixtape

I've been trying to figure out a way to get this fucking thing posted for like 2 goddamn weeks. Itunes is the digital equivalent of friggin AIDS man. Anyways, HERE IT IS KIDS! THE FIRST EDTION OF THE NGNV COLLECTIVE HIVE MIND MIX TAPE EXTRAORDINAIRE!

That's right, this right here contains what we all think is a pretty decent representation of our (the current authors) musical tastes/stylings/loves/etc. Since the intro and a few posts last week, you've been getting an idea of what's to come. Well, here's another building block. It's all over the damn place but it's a fun one.

Anyways, the premise was, each contributor gets 3-5 songs to introduce their tastes. This is what we all came up with. Click the filed called NGNV.m3u to get it in the right order.

I'm stoked about this.

Gehennah - Hardrocker

A million bazillion moons ago, Metal Thom Skvld gave me an album by this band called Gehennah. Gehennah, with an H. Not with no H, like Gehenna. I'm glad we went over that. I summarily was super stoked to listen to it, then never did. Because I am a jackass. Well, a few weeks ago I rediscovered this album and put it on for shits and giggles. It made me shit, and giggle. This crap is fucking awesome.

Gehennah is straight up Thommetal (new term), aka raw, punk rooted black thrash that's as much Motörhead as Mayhem. Apparently this album came out in 1995 but it's blowing my mind right the fuck now. You can really see where the new crop of Bone Awl/new Darkthrone/Sarke type bands are drawing from with this RawBlackHikingMetalPunksRevival movement going on.

I don't feel like writing more because I'm headbanging right now. Listen to Gehennah fuckers. They're german or something and rad.

Concussion - Dried Blood EP

From the ashes of the Bones Brigade and the fabled Haunted Castle and out of the beardmetaled pits of north Brooklyn comes CONCUSSION with their 1st EP. Right, now with all the stupid blogwritingbullshit out of the way, this is Brooklyn's very own, homegrown thrash legion... made up almost entirely of dudes from boston. Bones, Blake, Matt, and Hugo are doing something very few people these days even dare to attempt. Playing badass, balls to the fucking wall thrash, without any retarded, kitschy, neo-thrasher, throwback idiocy. In this band you will find no Gama Bomb patches, you will find no perfectly scuffed white Reebok hitops, you will find no acid-washed spermannihilating nuthugging jeans, and you will find absolutely no bullshit when it comes to raw metal talent. Yes that's right, I just admitted my asshole friends' band is one of the best metal bands player for player in Brooklyn. That's embarassing but fuck it, it's true.

The Dried Blood EP, recorded by Will from Orchid up in Massachusetts is 5 massive chunks of unapologetic, unrelenting thrash. While you can tell these hesher assholes have done their due time sitting around drinking heavily, playing ookiecookie to a soundtrack of Mandatory Suicide and Bonded by Blood, there is something distinctively non-throwback about this shit. The production is 100% modern (but not overproduced or fucking sterile like many these days), the riffing/writing definitely shows notable hardcore influence (especially in the strained vocals) with some heavy pantera jams thrown in just for shits and giggles.

Anyways, I'm sick of tooting these retards' horn for them, they're all too busy tooting each others horns most of the time anyways. Just get the fucking album.

Back in the Day...

MLP who I do Endless Blockades with just sent me a link to this unreal Flickr set. Check this shit out:

EDIT: NO LINKING IMAGES. DAMNIT. See the link below

Amazing Pictures

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

Sacred Reich - Surf Nicaragua E.P. + The American Way

During my break from NGNV I did something I've never done before, hope to do many times in the future, and recommend that everyone do at some point in their lives. A few weeks ago a crew of 7 and I headed down to the pacific coast of Nicaragua to surf for a week. We stayed in a town called San Juan del Sur and surfed/hung all over the SDJS area. I've never been to Central America or even a Spanish speaking country before in my entire life so it was a welcome change to get the fuck outta Dodge and into the good shit. For those of you who don't know, Nica is one of the poorest countries in Central America and has been involved in a slow burning civil war for a while now (don't know dates, bust out wikipedia if you're that concerned) so it tends to be a little off the beaten path for most travelers. We landed in Managua and got the fuck outta there as fast as we could in order to spend the rest of the week in one of the chillest, most gorgeous, gnarliest places I've ever set foot. Long story short, the waves were solid but small, we didn't get shot up by bandidos, it's mad poor down there, San Juan del Sur is full of gringos and tourists, and Nica has some of the most awesome country I've ever seen.

Now you're probably saying to yourself, "Nice story dipshit, get to the fucking part where I give a shit." My answer, "Fuck you, I'll do as I damn well please and if you don't like it you can choke." Moving right along, before I went on the trip, a friend of mine sent me an EP that is now in my official "crucial" file. Thanks to surfing, Sacred Reich is now a staple of my shred jams diet and should be for you.

Not getting in to too much detail, Sacred Reich was definitely one of the underrated gems of the 80's thrash movement. Fast as shit, kinda sloppy at times, political, aggro shit. "Surf Nicaragua" was released a little after their 1st album and "The American Way" is considered by many to be their finest hour. I can definitely say that fucking neo-thrasher owe these sick fucks a great debt. Now if only they could keep it real like SR did.

Sacred Reich - Surf Nicaragua E.P.
Sacred Reich - The American Way

Skeletonwitch - Breathing the Fire

To atone for my lack of new jam postage, today I will not only provide you with Vitus/Saviours goodness, but I will also, for no additional fees or agreements, give to you two of NGNV's most awaited heavy hitters of the last year. The first is none other than Skeletonwitch's Breathing the Fire. Although I haven't really written much about them since Scion in like March or something, long time readers know that I fall under the "I stand for thrashing black sorcery" camp. Skeletonwitch are, first and foremost, fucking awesome musicians. The dudes have mercilessly sledgehammered out their own niche in the metalworld by throwing classic thrash with modern black metal in a way that doesn't come off as fucking cheesy camp crap (...well not all the time...) and it doesn't come off as lame, underchopped not-quite-thrash-not-quite-black-not-quite-good garbage. Secondly, these dudes put on one of the most killer live shows around. It's like a wall of be-haired thrashing meat, relentlessly bearing down upon you with the fury of over a combined century of life lived in Ohio. Pretty fucking heavy man.

Anyways, "Beyond the Permafrost" was on pretty heavy rotation when I first found it, but after a while the thin production kinda fell out of favor. It wasn't for lack of killer songs or anything, just the album didn't really translate just how fucking heavy these guys get on stage. Thankfully, Breathing the Fire takes care of that shit with... uh... aplomb. I guess... Basically, it sounds fucking great, the songs thrash like a motherfucker, Chance's vox have that great 90's black wail, the guitar riffs have me fiending like Rush for oxy, and the songs never really lose their balls. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely stand out's among the crowd but as a whole, this album makes for a great listen. Grab this shit and feel the demonic black shredpocalypse.

The Accüsed - The Curse Of Martha Splatterhead

Sticking with the theme of new albums by formerly amazing bands that are good but not mindblowing, here's the new one from the Accüsed. "The Curse of Martha Splatterhead" (seeing a theme here?) features original guitarist Tom Niemeyer and a bunch of other PNW rockers (none original) playing the same brand of crossover thrash you've come to expect, just with better production and a glaring lack of Blaine Cook/Fart on vocals. The riffs are pretty solid, the songs definitely get a nod, and everything is pretty good. It's just not "Return of" or "More Fun" nawh'mean? Anyways, I enjoyed it. Wasn't mindblown but definitely didn't ruin my day.

CLICK THE LINK FOR THE JAMS

Toxic Holocaust/Atakke/Battletorn/Howl @ Europa. Sept 6th, 2009

Atakke @ Europa. Sept 6th, 2009 from Jack Crank on Vimeo.

666 by Toxic Holocaust @ Europa. Sept 6th, 2009 from Jack Crank on Vimeo.

TOXIC HOLOCAUST






ATAKKE










MORE BATTLETORN & HOWL

Razor - Evil Invaders

I don't know what the fuck's up with me recently but it's seriously like Bayonne NJ 1987 up in my fucking head for the last couple of weeks. I think the hot weather combined with the not sleeping well and the way too busy at work are turning my brain in to a fucking 80's thrash-slurry. Why is this shit so addictive? What in the world makes the palm-muting, screaming, headbangingness so hard to stop listening to? Why on earth have I had Razor on repeat for 2 days?

WHERE'S MY TWO DOLLARS!

Sacrifice - The Ones I Condemn & Apocalypse Inside

I don't really watch much TV but occasionally sitting around in a bar or on one of those annoying ass fancy motherfucking moving signboards you'll catch a commercial. The most recent one of these I've seen is for this movie where people die a lot really randomly. I think it's called final destination or like final exit or something. In the ad there's 2 dudes walking across the street like all next to each other and shit and all of a sudden one of the dudes just gets plowed by a fucking bus. It's pretty sweet.

Well this album is basically the fucking bus from that ad. Hail all unholy satan this shit is awesome. Seriously, out of left fucking field comes this megaton of thrash from a band that hasn't released shit since like 1992. Coming out of the "friendliest country in the world" with a distinctly unfriendly brand of thrash, Sacrifice is one of those bands that has pretty much stayed under my radar up until a few days ago. Should have paid attention in metal school or some shit. Whatever, now that I know, I can't fucking stop listening to it. I'm not gonna go so far as to say it's better than their first two albums but there's a damn good chance it is. So, for reference I'm throwing in their 1992 classic "Apocalypse Inside" for you to compare and contrast with. Now, know before hand that you're comparing rad with sweet so you know. Enjoy and shit.

In terms of sound I'd put this squarely in the middle of "classic" thrash in terms of the riffs, the vocals, and the drumming. That being said, out of the group of classic thrashers, Sacrifice definitely has one of the more solid grasps on the effective use of the breakdown, the tempo change, and one of the tightest executions out of any band. There's definitely a minimum of slop in both of these albums but smartly they stay away from the line of staying annoyingly precise or scientifically heavy. Fuck that, it's fucking metal and it sounds as such. Shred it.

Thrash is fucking back. And the invasion is from the north motherfuckers.

CLICK THE PICS FOR D/L LINKS.

Sabbat - History Of A Time To Come

After posting basically constantly on Endless Blockades for almost 2 months, one of the constants that I see showing up on metal vests/jackets all the time is the Sabbat patch. Usually adorning the garb of the Euro-hesher, Sabbat was the UK's answer to the fact that America (fuck yeah or some shit) had totally taken over the hesh with thrash after the NWOBHM. Not allowing that to stand, Sabbat wrote some gnarly fucking classic thrash with killer riffs about creepy anti witch-burning rants and songs about the occult rituals of the satan worshipping night cults or some shit (in a very not black metal way, more of like an English watched Witchfinder General one too many times kinda way). Either way, there's a good fucking reason that Sabbat is still a favorite of the old school thrashers. Sadly, because of internal fighting they basically imploded after their 2nd album and went to hell in a fucking handbasket.

Here's their first album. It will slay you. Think like, German thrash played mid 80's style with a shit ton of slayer influence thrown in there. Sweet.

CLICK THE PIC FOR THE LINK TO THE FILE.

Aura Noir - Hades Rise

So Haunted Castle has been trying to find some inspiration for recording lately and The other day at band practice Thom Skuld threw on some set up music that fucking nailed it. Badass blackened thrash, sorta darkthroney, totally fucking evil. Turns out I've listened to them a bunch with Thom in the past when we were building this speaker cabinet. It's like a nordic supergroup of sweet hesh jams. I wouldn't call it straight early Bathory by any means (way too slow and less hectic than that) but it fucking fits the black thrash/Venom inspiried/Bathory worship/Fenriz included mold like a fucking charm. Perfect for thunderstorms, skating and beer.

CLICK THE PIC FOR THE DL link.

Anthrax - Spreading the Disease

So, because I can't stop listening to that "box set" and old shit and I don't care about new shit this week at all, here's some good old shit that Dan Bones reminded me of (when he said we, being Haunted Castle, should cover Gung Ho. Which is not something that's ever gonna happen. Sorry dude you ain't Joey Belladonna). Anyways, enough of this grisly, upsetting, crusty shit, it's summer. Time to throw on your jams and drink some brews with the buddies. Aftershock just got me through a long afternoon. This shit makes me wanna skate and whistle at chicks in the park. I know most of you have this one but it's time to revisit NY's own.

Anthrax - Spreading the Disease

Bazillion Points Demo Blog/I have no fucking cred

Ok so I know I've posted about it before but fuck man, the deeper you get in to Ian Christe's demo blog the better your life gets. Like 100%. If I was a lazier sack of shit I'd basically skip out on doing this blog and link to his shit every time he posts something new. But I'm not that guy. But seriously, I've downloaded, and listened to everything on there and it's way better than anything I will ever be able to break here give or take some local touring band demo tapes and possibly that Metalian demo. Crossover, early death metal, speed, thrash, grind, you name it.

Fuck, go right now and download Beyond Possession, Infernal Death, Demonax, Pap Smear, and Noxious. Go. Now. Fucking do it.

CLICK THE PICTURE FOR A LINK! LOOK WHAT I LEARNED HOW TO DO!

Report back later.

Megadeth - Rust in Peace

After watching all 11 parts of VH1's behind the music on Megadeth over the last couple of days, I still can still say that Dave Mustaine is a fucking dickhead these days. But, I can also say that Megadeth is one of the best fucking bands in metal. Through Countdown to Extinction, they made some of the best fucking thrash known to man. Stacked up against the other 3 of the big 4, only Slayer comes off as more brutal, more unhinged, and more threatening. Everybody knows that Mustaine was/is basically one of the most fucked up individuals on earth, but fuck me if that dude didn't invent thrash guitar. Period. I guess massive drug consumption and even bigger emotional fuckups really do make for fucking killer metal. Fast as fuck, sloppy as hell, but somehow just tight enough.

I went with Rust in Peace because song for song this Album hits harder than just about any one thrash album besides maybe Reign in Blood. There's a chance that Ride the Lighting can duke it out but with Holy Wars, Tornado of Souls, Poison Was the Cure, Polaris, Hangar 18, etc. I mean fuck, I can pretty much break my neck on everything on there besides 5 magics. Even Dawn Patrol has that completely necessary threat that makes thrash as fucking crucial is it is.

I'm not sure if it was 100% oneupmanship or Mustaine generally hating/fearing the world, or just plain old posturing, but underneath all the cartoon politics this album is definitely a relevant, creepy, menacing chunk of sound. Go put this shit on and skate or something.

Megadeth - Rust in Peace

Book of Black Earth - Horoskopus

Just got word from Dav in Book of Black Earth that it's cool for me to post this album. Which is sweet 'cause this shit rules. Super hard. TJ and crew put this out last year and somehow it went kind of past my radar (maybe because I don't read metal blogs...). My boy John Prolly sent it over the other day and I've been jamming on it all weekend. Nothing old fashioned about this good old fashioned black/death/thrash band. Coming out of the Pacific NW, they definitely don't fit the post grunge doom or the crusty Todd Tragedy vibes going on. BoBE is definitely it's own beast. Emphasis on beast. They're also on tour now (missed the fuckers because they were busy showing me up by playing when Haunted Castle was playing. Fuckers. Anyways check the Book of Black Earth Myspace for dates.

Book of Black Earth - Horoskopus

The Big Scion Rock Fest Recap Review Thing Part 3 - THRASH ATTACK w/ Skeletonwitch & Toxic Holocaust

Moving in to hour three of the festival we headed upstairs to Heaven/Room1 to catch Skeletonwitch's set. I've seen the witch a couple of times now and every time they just get better and better every time. The guys in the band are some of the chillest people you will ever meet. Genuinely nice guys who play some fucking killer metal. They have a new album coming out sometime in the somewhat near future and you could tell they were amped on the new material, totally reflected in a spot on performance. Considering they weren't quite ready with most of the new material, the set was their fairly standard Beyond the Permafrost lineup with one song from the new album. I was too busy thrashing to catch the name of it but that shit ruled. Way catchy, a little less black metal than their older shit but on point. Definitely had more of a riffy catchy feel to it.

You really have to hand it to Skeletonwitch though. They totally have the stage presence thing down. Between the mirror image left/right handed guitar players, the full on greasy metal manes, and the lead singer's fucking amazing dance moves, they are just so so good on stage. NOTE: Reference picture below isn't from the Scion show.


In summation, the witch was heavy and fast, the crowd thrashed, the band sounded good, there were no visible fuck ups and people were really getting in to the vibe. Killer.

If Skeletonwitch was the sweet high school during-the-day–janitors-closet-makeout-sesh-foreplay, Toxic Holocaust was definitely the scoring-in-the-back-of-your-Volkswagen-outside-of-your-girlfriends-mom's-house-even-though-you-have-a-buttcut-and-bleachblond-hair of follow-ups. Joel and co held that shit down like a 10 ton weight with their first Bathory album black-thrash mayhem, they shredded through their set with a vengeance. Highlights included 666, Evil Never Dies, and Feedback, Blood, & Distortion. You gotta hand it to the guy, Joel definitely has his thing, that thing is metal, and he does it well. I've missed them twice before in the last couple of months, never again will I show up late to that show.