"This is a rock and roll takeover..."

I Want to Watch Emmure Suck its Dick...

2012-02-09T20:24:00.003-05:00

It of course referring to this new Meshuggah track! And of course the dick sucking referring to this.

iamaleak by gregoriev_suckalotsky

Not the best thing Meshuggah has ever done, but to fret about such a thing would to forget that it's fucking Meshuggah.

This only makes me want to hear more.

I Interviewed Legs from Every Time I Die Today...

2012-02-02T21:42:00.000-05:00

Much more on this later...

Footage From That He Is Legend Show I Could Have Gone Too...

2012-02-02T21:34:00.001-05:00

As it does in these days, footage has emerged from one of the two He Is Legend shows that took place recently in North Carolina. I had plans to go to the show in Chapel Hill last Friday, but after I learned that the showtime was 9:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m, that there was no way I could reserve tickets, and I had waited too long to try and crash on a friend's (who has a totally rad nu-grass band by the way) couch, I decided against going.

Now I kind of feel like an idiot...

I'm so glad the dudes are back.

Averman Announce Studio Time and Show's

2012-01-19T22:57:00.000-05:00

Averman's facebook page was alight with information about recording time booked in Hampton, VA and a show at The Jewish Mother with Hostage Calm and I am the Avalanche.

Oh, You're A Fan of Playlists Are You?

2012-01-19T13:25:00.001-05:00

So check it out. Scott Vener was the music supervisor on Entourage, How to Make it in America, and the new 90210. Now I'm not a fan of two of those shows, but if you've watched any of those shows, then your most likely in agreement with me that the music is usually pretty outstanding. Vener (AKA Broke Mogul) has created a Share My Playlist filled with 528 tracks.
Say what you want to about the shows, but anyone who puts Commodores, Tom Tom Club, Massive Attack, Bright Eyes, and UGK on one playlist can be my friend. Not to mention all the artists that you have yet to discover thrown into the mix. It plays through Spotify and Rdio, and will be running through my speakers the rest of the afternoon. Do yourself a favor and check it out here.

This Could Seriously Make Your Day

2012-01-19T10:42:00.003-05:00

Just in Case you Forgot...

2012-01-19T09:58:00.002-05:00

The Devil Wears Prada, Every Time I Die, Letlive., Oh, Sleeper month long tour

2012-01-18T08:54:00.001-05:00

Man...

Every Time I Die are not fucking around with this years tour circuit. After announcing late last night / early this morning that they'll be on tour with the aforementioned bands, it appears that with warped, and their run with Stray From the Path, they're booked till late August.
I guess they're having to cancel their one German tour date in Hanover...sorry Germans....
While I've never really gotten into The Devil Wears Prada, and I honestly have a hard to believing that Oh, Sleeper are still around; Letlive. is a seriously awesome band that is worth checking out. I've been giving a decent amount (though not enough) of spins to Fake History and have been really impressed with how they manage to sound original in todays over-saturated, blended-to-a-fault-perhaps-more-often-than-not world of heavy music. Thanks to Absolutepunk for the heads up on the tour. Dates and videos for ETID and Letlive. below!
3/9 @ The Castle Theatre - Bloomington, IL
3/10 @ The Intersection - Grand Rapids, MI
3/11 @ People's Court - Des Moines, IA
3/14 @ Knitting Factory Concert House - Reno, NV
3/15 @ Hard Rock Cafe - Las Vegas, NV
3/16 @ The Glass House - Pomona, CA
3/17 @ Rialto Theatre - Tucson, AZ
3/18 @ TOP DECK - Farmington, NM
3/20 @ Emo's East - Austin, TX
3/21 @ Cain's Ballroom - Tulsa, OK
3/23 @ Rocketown - Nashville, TN
3/24 @ House of Blues - North Myrtle Beach, SC
3/25 @ Lincoln Theater - Raleigh, NC
3/27 @ The Norva - Norfolk, VA
3/28 @ Crocodile Rock - Allentown, PA
3/30 @ Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel - Providence, RI
3/31 @ The Town Ballroom - Buffalo, NY
4/1 @ Egyptian Room, Murat Center - Indianapolis, IN

Averman Is Back

2012-01-16T21:48:00.000-05:00

This picture was taken on January 5th 2012 at The Camel in Richmond, Virginia. What you might find surprising is that it's not at a Terror or Harms Way, or Nails show. It was Virginia Beach pop punk hero's Averman's first show back since their hiatus December 23rd 2010. I can't do a review of the show, since the venue filled to capacity before I could get to Richmond, but this picture should really tell the story.
Reports I got from those in attendance said that Averman recieved a more rousing crowd response than Tigers Jaw or headliners Balance and Composure.
Though the band hasn't announced any plans formally, don't make the mistake of sleeping on Averman this time around. Get familiar here, or on Spotify.

Arthur Ross Drops the Groovy as Fuck "Unstable Love"

2012-01-16T15:34:00.005-05:00

Until Michael Angelakos gets off his ass and finishes the new Passion Pit, do yourself a favor and rock out to Arthur Ross' groovy as shit dance/dream pop anthem "Unstable Love".

Taking a big left turn from his earlier work, Ross seems to have really found a comfortable pocket for himself in the world of electronic music. His work under the Oral Genocide moniker certainly showed promise (check out tracks "Ayhnyoung" and "Night Terrors"), but lacked the focus of his newer work. "Unstable Love" shows a newly inspired Ross playing towards a much friendlier accessible sound, and absolutely nailing it. "Unstable Love" is built around a bouncing bass line, warmed by a some lo-fi fuzz, paced by some charmingly simple drum samples, and flourishes with with Ross' high pitch vocal samples. It's pretty everything you love about pop music.

It seems that providing low end for Seattles The West has sparked Ross back to life, and I for one, couldn't be happier. Check out "Unstable Love" right here.

Maintenance Ya'll

2012-01-12T15:13:00.003-05:00

I got really tired of looking at the old design. Now that I'm using this thing again, I felt like I should try and update it a little bit. Expect copious changes.

System of A Down / Dillinger Escape Plan New Zealand Show

2012-01-12T14:44:00.001-05:00

According to a post from Ben Weinman's Facebook page, Dillinger Escape Plan are supporting the long-time-gone System of A Down at a show in New Zealand.
Though this is a pretty interesting line up because both bands are such innovative acts, I imagine their fanbase doesn't have much overlap anymore. I know very few people who heard System of A Down on the radio and then made the long journey toward DEP fandom. Either way, this will certainly be a pretty awesome show for those kiwis.

Memory Tapes Remix

2012-01-12T11:11:00.001-05:00

My friend James over at SoundGuide has remixed "Bicycle" by Memory Tapes. The result is much more sunny and pool friendly version of the original. Check it out here.

Just Thought You Should Know About... So Many Ways

2012-01-11T13:45:00.002-05:00

Shred happy easy core.

Boogie down ya'll.

Who Hit the Holy Shit Switch?!

2012-01-09T23:29:00.001-05:00

So, when I left my hotel earlier to attend to my afternoon meetings, I talked about a new big pink album. I had planned to come back and talk about how Meshuggah had also announced that they would be releasing a new album. Great news.

I come back to my hotel room and

At The Drive In and Refused reunion,

You fuckin serious right now?

If people thought 2011 was the year of reunions, I think 2012 is already giving it a run for its's money. We'll have had American Nightmare, Refused, and At The Drive In reunion shows within 6 months of each other. Not to mention The Ghost Inside has a huge announcement that they're teasing for tomorrow as well. Hold on to your butts.

Stream the new The Big Pink album

2012-01-09T14:51:00.000-05:00

Huzza! There's been lots of pretty exciting news released in the last couple of days, chiefly among them for me is an NME stream of The Big Pink's new album Future This. Check it out here.

More on this and other stories later.

The Front Bottoms

2012-01-06T10:24:00.000-05:00

As long as we're talking about two man bands, I still prefer The Gay Blades, but these dudes are pretty fun.

Words of Advice

2012-01-05T09:38:00.001-05:00

If you people aren't listening to Into It. Over It. yet, you're just being real big idiots....

Don't judge it by the name. I expected it to be some poorly done pop punk as well. Seriously, just go listen to Proper.

Whats that?

You don't have Spotify yet...?

Come on folks...

New Converge Album Titled

2012-01-03T14:13:00.000-05:00

Two in one day! The PRP has picked up on a tidbit from Decibel magazine saying that Converge have titled their soon to be recorded album All We Love We Leave Behind. Now we've just got to sit back and wait....

Every Time I Die announce "Ex-Lives" and release video for "Underwater Bimbos from Outerspace", I soil myself

2012-01-03T13:46:00.000-05:00

Every Time I Die have revealed that their new album will be called Ex-Lives. They have also released a video for "Underwater Bimbos From Outerspace" which can be viewed below.

You can also view the numerous pre-order packages available for the album by checking out www.ex-lives.com

I'm also happy to announce an interview that I'll be conducting with drummer Ryan "Legs" Leger in the very near future. Leave any questions you would like asked in the comments section below.

Ex-Lives gets released March 6th on Epitaph.

News Websites Confirm What I've Known for Months; New He Is Legend in 2012

2011-12-29T22:33:00.001-05:00

I travel for work. About nine months out of the year I traverse the great states of North and South Carolina. While this can be a frustrating and tiring venture, overall it's not a bad part of the gig. Every now and then though; an opportunity arises as a result of travel that really makes up for the bullshit that is the bi-product of multi-week travel. One such occasion was a couple of months ago in Wilmington, NC...
I found myself (very much on purpose) at the Satellite Bar and Lounge where my bartender was none other than Mr. Schuylar Croom: lead singer of He Is Legend. After spending a couple hours at the bar and working my way through a number of Ska Brewings Modus Hoperandi (at the recomendation of Mr. Croom himself) I finally had the courage to tell him what a huge He Is Legend fan I was. I was reticent to mention the band at all. I wasn't sure if it was something Schuylar was trying to leave in his past. Fortunately, his response was appreciative and gracious. After my great revealing Schuylar revealed two interesting pieces of information...firstly, the band would be playing a show at Satellite bar on Halloween night, and secondly...that they were writing again.
Imagine my booze fueled excitement! I was privy to first hand information that one of my favorite bands was getting back together and writing music. As much as I wanted to scribe my excitement over all the digital canvas available; I felt it would be a tremendous abuse to the fragile and tenuous relationship between bartender and bartended....

Anyway...

According to every heavy music site ever, you now know that He Is Legend is recording and will be releasing an album in 2012. And all followed with a great "Huzzah"!

Catch two He Is Legend shows this January here and here. Come get sweaty with me on the 27th!

New Say Anything Track "Burn A Miracle"

2011-12-19T13:51:00.004-05:00

Hey folks!

Jam this new Say Anything track off their upcoming Anarchy, My Dear thanks to Spin.

New Every Time I Die Song

2011-12-18T17:35:00.002-05:00

A new ETID song has made its way on to the internet! After posting their set list from their annual hometown Buffalo Christmas show on the groups Tumblr blog, I checked youtube for a video...

Sounding nothing like "Underwater Bimbos From Outerspace", or anything else the band has done before, this new track shifts my speculation for just what sort of ETID specific sound we can expect from the yet untitled new album. If I had to place the tracks in a sonic era, this newest one sounds like it would be more at home on The Big Dirty, while "Underwater Bimbos" skews very Hot Damn! to me.
Though conjecture is fun, I'll be very interested to hear some official high quality versions of these songs. Here's hoping the band (or perhaps Epitaph) don't keep the lid on details like album title, track listing and album art too much longer.

Every Time I Die / Stray From The Path / Terror Tour

2011-12-14T16:13:00.004-05:00

Well this shit is gonna be awesome.

In case you were wondering what Every Time I Die will be doing for the majority of next year, the answer (unsurprisingly) is touring. It was announced today that they'll not only being playing Warped Tour, but will also be doing a Feb-March run of mostly Northwestern / Canadian dates with Stray From The Path, Terror, and Former Theives.
I saw Terror at Alley Katz a number of years ago; it was the most stagedived show I've ever seen. If you check my scrobbles for the last couple of months you'll see that I've been jocking Stray From the Path very damn hard for awhile now. Every Time I Die of course is my favorite band; making it very unfortunate that this boner inducing line up is coming nowhere near me. The combined forces of these three bands could yield a tour filled with righteous head stomps. Do yourself a favor and hit up one of these shows if you can.

Check the dates here.

Austrian Christmas: Very Likely Way More Metal Than Your Christmas

2011-12-13T11:55:00.004-05:00

You know what they do for Christmas in Austria? Dress up like demons and scare the fuck out of children. Courtesy of Devour.

This shit looks like a bunch of extras making their way to a Meshuggah video shoot.

Randy Blythe Posts Very Lengthy Article on the Common Assholes Use of the Internet.

2011-12-13T10:41:00.003-05:00

Randy Blythe has updated his Tumblr blog with a very lengthy (about 7,050 words (making it about 4 short of The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber (for those of you who measure in Hemingways))).

While the topic is fairly well worn territory, Blythe most likely (I haven't had a chance to read it yet) puts a fairly interesting spin on the topic, and it would seem reveals a interesting bit of insider information into the history of Lamb of God.

Blythe has always been one of my favorite vocalists and frontmen. His vocal versatility, and engaging, poignant and well delivered lyrics (which help make up the word cloud you see at the top of this page) have always been a major part of my enjoyment of Lamb of God. Randy's ventures into social media (his Twitter account here) have been a very awesome insight into one of metals premier vocalists. I highly reccomend following along.

I Can't Stop....

2011-12-12T14:12:00.001-05:00

Listening to this song....

New Unearth Album Titled

2011-04-15T15:24:00.002-04:00

According to @unearthofficial, the new Unearth album will be titled "Darkness in the light". \

Bitchin.

We'll see if it can challenge my favorite Unearth album "III: In the Eyes of Fire", for the title of "Most Bitchinist Unearth Album".

Underrated/Unnoticed Albums of 2009

2009-12-23T06:46:00.002-05:00

I'm pretty sure no one who I intended to read this blog reads it anymore...I guess that mostly my fault. Either way...

I've decided to post a couple albums that I thought were unfairly ignored/under appreciated or generally unnoticed in all of the "Best of 2000's" lists. The three that really hit the top of my head today were

1. Every Time I Die - Hot Damn

2. The Acacia Strain - The Dead Walk

3. Spitfire - Cult Fiction

People who like bands that sound like these bands that didn't list these bands are missing the fuck out.

Also, to every who is finding this blog through Google by searching for "Throwdown Deathless"... in case you haven't heard it yet, Throwdown turned into Godsmack and that new album sucks.

Bastards...

Dashboard New Found Glory Split

2009-10-02T14:41:00.004-04:00

So, it might seem kind of high school of me to be so excited about, but Dashboard Confessional and New Found Glory are doing a 7'' split together. This might come out of left field and steal album of the year depending on what both groups do with each others songs.
Hopefully Chris has enough good sense to simplify the NFG songs to just accoustic; since I'm not sure that slower more thoughtful versions of NFG songs will play out that well.

Easy Tigers In Denim

2009-09-16T00:53:00.003-04:00

Doing Shit like this proves almost unequivicably that Every Time I Die is the greatest band on the fucking planet.

Riding a motorcycle with Keith Buckley through California, going to see an ETID show, and then partying at a KOfuckingA? Seriously?

Stream the new Shadows Fall Album

2009-09-13T14:45:00.002-04:00

Shadows Fall's new album Retribution hits stores on Tuesday (along with a bunch of other pretty awesome stuff), and from what I've heard so far it's pretty solid. I bought The War Within a couple of years ago and probably didn't give it as much credit as it should have gotten; but Retribution sounds so far like it's going to be one of the better albums from one of the genres oldest groups.

Feel free to check it out for yourself cuz the whole thing is streaming on myspace.

Apocalypse Please

2009-09-08T20:38:00.003-04:00

This is not only hilarious, but decidely metal as well.

IT HASN'T LEAKED YET

2009-09-08T14:57:00.001-04:00

Raise your hand if you aren't here looking for a leaked copy of the new Throwdown album.

Didn't think so.

Auto Tune The News

2009-09-02T15:04:00.004-04:00

The "Auto Tune the News" segments are almost the very definition of making the best of a bad situation. And as much as T-Pain is largely responsible for the advent of one of the most criminally overused aspects of modern technology, I do appreciate the fact that he has such a good sense of humor about the whole thing. All of that said, this bit is fucking hilarious; especially since it refers back to episode 4's ( I think) global warming song (the "very thin ice" part).

New Say Anything Video

2009-09-01T16:57:00.002-04:00

Say Anything - Hate Everyone

Here is the just released music video for the first single of Say Anything's upcoming S/T album. Somehow I've managed to avoid hearing the song until just now; which is completely unfortunate considering how awesome it is. It reminds me of "Somebody Hates Me" by Reel Big Fish for a number of reasons (fun, upbeat song, about hating people).

This makes me really excited for the rest of the album, and excited to hear how instead of stretching good ideas to fit on two discs, they might have combined good ideas to fit them on one disc.

Concerning Absence

2009-09-01T00:29:00.003-04:00

So,

If you're still holding strong and actually reading this thing...thanks! I was away working at camp from May 15th to August 21st and didn't really have much time or material to update with.

Anyway, assuming anyone reads this thing regularly enough to be concerned. Consider the blog back up and in action.

I might also draw your attention to two blogs that will be up and coming soon. Both chronicling the visits of two witty, handsome, humorous and slightly overweight fellows as they trek to the land down under (one of them is me). The other one is my good friend and summer counterpart Will Slater, in case your interested you can find his blog here. Mine will be up soon.

Best,

Watson

They're on sale...

2009-08-11T21:40:00.001-04:00

Check this out.

Every Time I Die Release Title of New Album

2009-05-14T15:05:00.005-04:00

I'm about to break it wide open. The new Every Time I Die album is called 'New Junk Aesthetic". Get pumped.

And So I Watch You From Afar

2009-05-06T22:23:00.006-04:00

I think that the way NME describes them is pretty spot on ("The sound of someone crashing an oil tanker through Sigur Ros' ice float"). But because I'm not going to let myself get beaten by NME, I'll say that if The Mars Volta were from the UK and replaced their rambunctios, esoteric sound with a much more spirited, epic and as cheesy as it might sound majestic one, you would find And So I Watch You From Afar.

This band is coming. This band is important. Don't say you weren't warned. Click here to listen to "A Little Solidarity Goes A Long Way".

Stoked

2009-05-06T15:48:00.000-04:00

About this.

New Every Time I Die Track Names

2009-05-06T14:48:00.001-04:00

Check out this article at Rock Sound for as much of an update about the ETID as anyone has.

Reviewed: Hot and Rumors of Hot

2009-05-05T22:39:00.010-04:00

I've made many empty promises about reviewing albums. But I never made a promise about reviewing the hot sauce that came with my pre-order of The Chariot's new album Wars and Rumors of Wars...so here's the review.
My first tasting of the sauce came yesterday during lunch at Virginia BBQ, where a put a number of healthy dollops on my sandwhich. Not being a huge fan of hotsauce I wasn't quite sure if I was getting in over my head, but I'm pleased to report that while it is in fact hot, it's not what I would call stupid hot.
Hot sauce, like a couple of other things can get to a point where it exceeds it's own functional and practical purpose, and ventures into the realm of the unnecesarily extreme. Hot sauce that requires a waiver to either purchase or eat is parodic and idiotic. Big ups to The Chariot for making a hot sauce that made me sweat, but didn't stick around so long that I didn't care to eat anything for the rest of the day. Quite the opposite in fact, I had more for dinner.
Verdict: While it started rumors of wars in my intestines a couple of hours later, and though it isn't the most flavorful of sauces, Hot and Rumors of Hot is all and all a pretty spectacular sauce that was completely worth the purchase. Though I half expected the novelty of the purchase to outweigh its functionality, it was definately a worthwhile purchase.

The Chariot "Daggers" Video

2009-04-28T23:04:00.003-04:00

I know I'm a little late on this, but I just saw the video and decided that you all should see it.
The Chariot - Daggers

I'm super pumped about the new album andthe associated hot sauce. May 5th is going to be epic.

Best. Post. Ever.

2009-04-28T22:56:00.002-04:00

Found in the news post about Slayer and Megadeth announcing a tour together.

everytimeicry 4/27/2009 3:40:54 PM
*stops showering for 3 months before the show, go to show, sweat until soaked, become the guy that keeps bumping into you*

TRUTH.

The Acacia Strain, Evergreen Terrace, Cruel Hand tour

2009-04-28T22:41:00.002-04:00

From lambgoat:

The Acacia Strain, Evergreen Terrace, Unholy, and Cruel Hand will hit the road together this summer for a two-week tour. Here's the latest:

7/17 Doylestown, PA @ Doylestown Moose Lodge
7/18 Wilmington, DE @ Harmony Grange
7/19 West Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
7/21 Mt. Clemens, MI @ Hayloft
7/22 Evansville, IN @ Boney Junes
7/23 Iowa City, IA @ The Picador
7/25 Fort Wayne, IN @ Sunset Hall
7/26 Toledo, OH @ Headliner's
7/27 Erie, PA @ Forward Hall
7/28 Albany, NY @ Northern Lights
7/29 Burlington, VT @ TBA
7/30 Manchester, NH @ Rockos
7/31 Bucksport, ME @ The Kave
8/1 Hartford, CT @ Webster Theater

Go see one of these shows if you get the chance.

Alvin Lau

2009-04-28T22:11:00.003-04:00

I had dinner with this guy tonight.

Underoath Beefs on Chiodos, Escape The Fate, and Avenged Sevenfold

2009-04-22T10:21:00.004-04:00

Tim from Underoath took some time off from loving Jesus to smack talk Avenged Sevenfold (deserved). He also talks some snark (I'm making it a noun) about Chiodos (undeserved) and Escape The Fate (deserved). Read the interview myah.

For My Birthday Plz

2009-04-22T10:20:00.000-04:00

You can get me this.

ETID + DEP = JIP

2009-04-20T23:35:00.003-04:00

Greg from Dillinger Escape Plan has written a long note railing against current governmental affairs (which can be read here). However, most pertanent to this blog is the part at the end where he mentions his guest vocals on the new Every Time I Die album. STOKED.

Throwdown "Deathless"

2009-04-20T23:18:00.002-04:00

Everyone who has been searching the internet for "Throwdown Deathless Download" and winding up on this website for the past couple of months should read this.

The feeling of dissapointment

2009-04-20T23:11:00.003-04:00

So, there's no reason a song featuring Clipse and Kanye shouldn't be awesome. But this is really mediocore. Normally I can excuse less than stellar lyrics for a solid beat, but this song doesn't really seem to have either. I hope Until The Casket Drops doesn't dissapoint. It has a lot to live up to as the follow up to Hell Hath No Fury.

New Kevin Devine

2009-04-19T22:36:00.002-04:00

So I know that the new Kevin Devine album leaked a while ago, but as I've stated before, I don't endorse illegal downloading (without the inention of buying), so I haven't listened to it until right now. Man have I been missing out. I'm starting to feel out Split the Country, Split the Street which has a much different vibe musically than Put Your Ghost To Rest, but is still clever as hell.

Either way, I'm listning to the Brother's Blood right now and even on the first listen it's fantastic. If you like the more folksy feel of Put Your Ghost to Rest then you'll definatly appreciate the style of Brother's Blood. I'm pretty sure that Kevin Devine is one of those musicians who's never going to run out of steam.

New Music

2009-04-16T11:41:00.000-04:00

Just opened up my package from Amazon.com containing Kevin Devine's Split The Country, Split The Streets and The Gaslight Anthem's The '59 Sound. It should be a very good day for music.

China White III !!!

2009-04-16T08:57:00.003-04:00

It's been announced that super badasses He Is Legend will release their new album It Hates You on June 9th...stoked.
It has also been announced that the Wilmington boys have been signed to Tragic Hero records (something tells me they weren't getting much support at SolidState, because they don't love their Jesus).

The tracklisting is:
Track Listing
01) Dicephalous
02) Party Time!
03) Everyone I Know Has Fangs
04) The Primarily Blues
05) Cult of She
06) Stranger Danger
07) Don't Touch That Dial
08) Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
09) Future's Bright Man
10) China White III
11) That's Nasty
12) Mean Shadows

And...........Win

2009-04-16T08:48:00.003-04:00

Garret from Senses Fail has written on his blog about shows being ruined (and not even being that good in the first place) by tons of lights.

Stop With The Fucking Lights...

I can’t remember when we first started encountering bands bringing light “rigs” to shows, but it sucks.

We just got off the Saints and Sinners tour which featured a very talented iPod-playing group (they were really good at hitting Play) that needed their high-school-dance lights every day or else their “show” would be fucked. The lights faced towards the crowd, so you couldn’t see the fucking retards on stage flailing around in their rainbow attire…That was annoying.

Yesterday, we were in Edmonton, AB with an opening band who spent an hour laying tons of extension cords around the venue and stage. All that just to power their shitty fucking strobe lights. I didn’t watch them play.

Whatever happened to just putting on a good show by being a good live band? Don’t get me wrong— I enjoy when a band has an actual lighting person running a professional light show to go along with what that band already does well. Those bands can also afford it (sometimes) because they did something right and enough people come to see them.

Also, stop fucking listing the guy that pushes the faders on your dimmer board as a band member. Most of you assholes aren’t even a band and lights aren’t instruments.

Running MIDI light systems are just as fucking dumb. It still results in a disco show. It gives me AIDS.

I’d like to just hear the guitar riffs …not see them as if you were an opened bag of Skittles.

I bet the commission earned in the shitty DJ section at Guitar Center, the section most people don’t even know exists, is beating out the Guitar Amp section these days.

If you think you’re boring live when you just play your instruments, then maybe it’s just cause your band sucks.

They're have been a few shows where I really would have liked to kick the plug on strobe lights (Atreyu, Underoath), and some shows that with really simple and tactful lighting, totally enhanced the performance aspect of their show (Norma Jean).

Hot and Rumors of Hot

2009-04-14T18:17:00.004-04:00

Is this a gimmick? Yes. Did I buy it anyway? Yes.

Blink-182

2009-04-14T15:36:00.001-04:00

This.

Of Legends

2009-04-14T02:28:00.004-04:00

So, This "Secret Band" pops up in an Absolutepunk news post. This demo is sick, and though it shouldn't really matter who is in the band, I don't appreciate being toyed with. Given the fact that the clue in the post is most likely "Secret", I'm led to believe its dudes from Secret Lives of the Freemasons. However the vocals (and I'm not saying this is a definate) sound a fair amount like Jon Spencer from Scarlet and Spitfire. Check out Of Legends.

Edit: I don't think it's Jon Spencer. Not because it doesn't sound like him, just because I can't imagine him singing about zombies.

New Every Time I Die Album to Feature Crunch

2009-04-12T20:13:00.001-04:00

For more awesome videos, visit the ETID youtube page.

Hatebreed's Metallica Cover

2009-04-08T21:50:00.003-04:00

Not sure how this one slipped by me but a couple of seconds of Hatebreed's cover of "Escape" by Metallica (off Ride The Lightning) can be heard in the video below.

Hatebreed's cover album For The Lions hits May 5th (along with some other sweet stuff).

This Is Important

2009-04-08T19:39:00.002-04:00

This is important. You should know about this. Given I don't know who this Alex character is; I do know that anything that involves a collaboration between Nickle Creek and New Found Glory is important; most likely to be historic, and has the potential to be totally fucking awesome. Keep an eye on this.

John Campbell Interview

2009-04-08T14:59:00.003-04:00

You can read a not very interesting or informational interview, yet still-worthy-of-your-time-because-it-relates-to-Lamb-of-God interview with John Campbell right myah.

Umbrella Academy Movie

2009-04-08T09:51:00.002-04:00

I know I usually don't do movie posts or news, but this somewhat related (and exciting). Gerard Way's comic book series Umbrella Academy is getting turned into a movie. Given the story line of the comic, the movie has a lot of potential.

Then again...

A lot of movies have lots of potential, but then end up being terrible.

The article can be found here.

Instant Inspiration: Stephen Ashbrook

2009-04-07T17:56:00.002-04:00

Telling people about this song seems like the most important thing I can do right now. There's not a good video of it on youtube, but you can hear a sample (and buy it) here.

Stream the New Conor Oberst

2009-04-07T15:11:00.003-04:00

This album snuck up on me to begin with, but now almost a month before its official release date (May 5th), you can stream the new Conor Oberst and Mystic Valley Band album Outer South, at the Merge Records website.

Update: So this is probably my wishful imagination but, the person from Omaha, Nebraska searching for Conor Oberst...

Are you there Conor?

This

2009-04-07T14:17:00.001-04:00

Join The Band(wagon)

2009-04-07T08:59:00.000-04:00

1,000 points if you get the Little Feat reference.

I set up a twitter page (yeah, yeah) hoping to keep things a little saucier on the blog. Expect favorite lyrics to be posted all day.

This is how it starts.

2009-04-03T14:51:00.001-04:00

Everyone's applauding now...but just wait.

Instant Inspiration: Mae

2009-03-27T00:06:00.004-04:00

This song delivers on a number of levels; but I think that my favorite part is the simplicity of the chorus. There are so many ways a line as simple as "I just wanna wake up in someone elses arms." can go wrong. The whole execution of this song is masterful. Not to mention I really do just want to wake up in someone elses arms.

Thin Lizzy For Rizzy

2009-03-26T01:02:00.002-04:00

I might have mentioned here before about how I'm generally not into the whole classic rock thing. Sure some bands have some pretty cool songs, but generally I'm not very impressed with the genre. That said, both Every Time I Die and Mastodon love Thin Lizzy; that should tell you something

Go To This Show

2009-03-25T20:47:00.002-04:00

Remember what I told you should happen to you if you lived in the area and didn't go to that Thursday plays Full Collapse all the way through live show? Yeah, well, same thing applies for this Ace Enders show.

Called it....

2009-03-24T16:24:00.003-04:00

http://www.epitaph.com/news/news/3178/EPITAPH_SIGNS_POPPUNK_POWERHOUSE_SET_YOUR_GOALS

I didn't make a clever link to it just so you can see what you're being linked to. We'll see how many other predictions come true.

Mutiny Is Dead?

2009-03-24T09:08:00.002-04:00

while exploring the Set Your Goals wikipedia page I noticed that under "albums" there is a entry that reads "2009: Mutiny Is Dead: Epitaph Records".
This becomes of particular interest because in a recent posting Matt closed his paragraph with "Mutiny is Dead".
Is this an early hint that they signed with Epitaph?
Who the hell else would they have signed with?

Instant Inspiration: August Burns Red

2009-03-23T00:02:00.001-04:00

Predictions

2009-03-22T23:37:00.002-04:00

My predictions for the next couple of months are as follows:

1. I will leave the Kevine Devine show at Alley Katz on May 1st with merch.

2. Set Your Goals will sign to Epitaph Records thereby giving Brett Gurewitz all three triforces.

3. Additionally, Set Your Goals new album:
a. Make me want a tattoo
b. Not leave my CD player for weeks
c. Make me remember why I love music
d. Will be forced upon anyone who I have dominion over.

4. Every Time I Die will release the best album of their career and finally get the respect and attention they deserve. This attention and acclaim will be just in time for critics to realize what I've been saying for years, that Every Time I Die is Rock and Roll.

5. The departure of Chris Norris from Darkest Hour while sad, will result in more "Hidden Hands..." era thrash and the new Darkest Hour album will completely shred.

6. More blog posts will be made.

7. I will finally strart listening to Motion City Soundtrack and kick myself for not doing so sooner.

8. I will greatly enjoy the music of Polar Bear Club.

8.

New Ace Enders Stream

2009-03-16T18:04:00.003-04:00

Sorry about the delay in news. Was building a Medical Clinic in Honduras for a week. For Reals.

Anyway,

You can stream/love/buy tommorow Ace Enders and A Million Different People's new album When I Hit The Ground on the bands Myspace.

Instant Inspiration: Darkest Hour

2009-02-27T18:41:00.004-05:00

I saw Darkest Hour for the first time at the now defunct Nancy Raygun in Richmond, VA. For many reasons it was unlike any show I'd ever seen. There's nothing I can say for this song that it can't scream for itself.

Mark Hoppus on Twitter

2009-02-27T18:29:00.004-05:00

I realize now that I never finished my epic "I love Blink-182, they changed my life, and now they are back post" but that sentance is pretty much the thesis statement of the entire article so it should suffice. All that said...
Mark Hoppus has started a Twitter account. Those interested in up to the minute updates about the impending Blink-182 album should pay close attention to this page.

Attention Rhode Island

2009-02-27T18:18:00.002-05:00

Apparently, those of you who live in or around Rhode Island will soon be the envy of Thursday fans everywhere. If you live anywhere near Rhode Island, are a fan of Thursday, and do not go to this show then you need a molten glass colonic.

Earworm vol. 2

2009-02-23T21:54:00.002-05:00

Though this song might be best listened to in an oversize sweater in front of a fire on a cold night, I would be lying to myself and everyone if I didn't post this song as an earworm. Just like "Yankee In A Chip Shop", anyone who has been in my vicinity in the office the past couple of weeks has either heard this song coming from my speakers, or has heard my sheepishly singing it's chorus on my way to the bathroom.

So right now you're thinking any number of things. "Who the fuck are the Indigo Girls?", "What does this have to do with rock and roll?"; "This asshole like the Indigo Girls?!", "OMG I LOVE the Indigo Girls!!" or You're really going to follow New Found Glory with the Indigo Girls?" The answer to 2 out of 5 of these questions is yes.
Screw the haters. Don't tell my you can't hear Max Bemis, Adam Lazzara, Ace Enders, or Chris Carraba covering this song. The Indigo Girls are the best lesbian accoustic rock band ever. Furthermore, if you like this song, try and find an Indigo Girls song that you dont like.

Fuck Your Friends...Listen To New Found Glory

2009-02-23T20:39:00.003-05:00

I remember getting off work when I was 16 and working at a car wash during the summer. I would jump into my Buick LeSabre (don't laugh, that car kicked ass), roll all the windows down and blast "My Friends Over You" all the way home. There's no one to say it without sounding cheesy, so insert cliche line about youthful freedom here:
In all honesty, it's not how I feel about New Found Glory that matters, it's how you should feel about New Found Glory that matters. I remember trying to avoid the pop-punk stigma in high school, being ashamed that I didn't like The Vandals and Dead Kennedy's as much as I "should" have; but we're grown now right? That's what I thought. And it's with this newly realized mature mindset that I say...It's okay to like pop punk.
The second most important thing I'll write in this post (never mind the first) is that New Found Glory can only be categorized as pop punk as much as any other genre creating, shaping, bending and re-igniting band can be still stuck with the label that they were originally branded with. I'm holding full on to the belief that Not Without A Fight will make you re-imagine what you though you knew about the "new" New Found Glory. Prepare to eat crow.
Check out the first single "Listen To Your Friends" right myah.
There's nothing that I can say about this song that it can't say for itself. Let New Found Glory into your life...or don't come back to my blog...seriously...it's like that.

Earworm Vol. 1

2009-02-15T23:05:00.003-05:00

I did a post on an unfortunate earworm a while back, but feel it's only fair to post on other songs that get stuck in my head too (the good ones perhaps more than the bad ones). Anyone who was around me at work today probably heard me belting the chorus of "Yankee in a chip shop" by The Matches today.

I bought Decomposer over the summer and fell in love with it, and subsequently the quirky energy of The Matches. I enjoy how genuinely unique The Matches seem. There are plenty of bands who seem to act, play or sound weird of different, just for the hell of it. Not so offbeat as to be off putting, and pulled together by a cohesive sound and feel The Matches are like a really cool and legitimate carnival act, with enough talent to make you wonder what the hell they're doing working for the carnival (or in the case of the band, why they haven't sold more albums), but still a little concerned about what would happen to you if you passed out with your shoes on at their party...

Sean Martin Leaves Hatebreed

2009-02-12T20:51:00.003-05:00

WTF. Anger has stolen my cleverness.

God Forbid Stream Earths Blood

2009-02-12T20:39:00.004-05:00

God Forbid are streaming their entire new album on their myspace page. If you plan on seeing them with Lamb of God and Children of Bodom, it would behoove you to being familiarizing yourself with their new tunes.

New Gay Blades Song

2009-02-12T20:29:00.003-05:00

Gay Blades - November Fight Song from LaundroMatinee on Vimeo.

The Blade's are channelling their inner Conor Oberst with this. Not to say it sounds like a Bright Eyes and/or Conor Oberst song, it still has that GB's swagger. This adds a third numeral to the number of known about and heard new GB's songs; hopefully they'll put out an EP or LP soon (specially since they got that Triple Crown money now).

A Little Update

2009-02-12T00:46:00.003-05:00

Okay,

Admittedly, I've been sketching out for a while now. The posts aren't as frequent, the writing not as witty, and the news not as shocking. I blame myself.

However, in an America where hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs in January, I managed to do something that they didn't...I got a job.

Hopefully your new found knowledge that I have a 9 to 5 (more like 8:30 to 5, but I'm really just splitting hairs at that point) will help explain why I've been so mysteriously absent for the past couple of weeks.

Now you're rolling your eyes saying "This asshole's gonna spend more time talking about his renewed vigor for news reporting and quality posts isn't he?"

...Yes...I am...

However this time I have more of a reason too other than my own willingness to create a sweet blog and suck up some of my spare time. In case you didn't know, this blog was started because I

A. Couldn't have enough sweet conversations with people who liked the same type of music, so decided that starting a blog would be a good way to talk to myself and hope that people would listen.

B. Give me something to do in my free time (which was all the time since I was unemployed)

However the fruits of my (somewhat) labor have paid off, and I now can assure you (don't ask, just keep checking back) that I can offer you things that make this site a much more important stop on your daily Internet perusal list.

I won't say anything other than that, however, you should know that the "The Rock And Roll Takeover" might be a little more than a jaded fantasy. Don't you want to say you were along for the ride?

Love,

Watson

Deftones To Play Bamboozle Without Chi

2009-02-06T00:15:00.003-05:00

According to this post, Deftones are battling on despite Chi Cheng's barely improved condition. I personally though that the band (who've never seemed to concerned with deadlines, or making fans wait) would shrink away until he was fully recovered, but I'm glad to see that this isn't the case.

I hope Chi makes a complete and full recovery, but I'm glad to see Deftones are going to continue to rock rock it until such a time.

More Lamb of God Badassery

2009-02-06T00:12:00.002-05:00

Lamb of God have created the most epic prize packages in history. What a bunch of kiss ass dudes.

"He takes his record contract and wipes his ass with it."

2009-02-06T00:07:00.002-05:00

In an insanely metal/badass move, Randy Blythe is auctioning off his Grammy nomination album. All the proceeds will go toward muscular dystrophy research. You can bid right myah.

If you can tell me what the quote is from, I'll write you a personal email telling you how sweet you are.

This Is Awesome

2009-02-02T23:00:00.001-05:00

I wish I could ban him from music alltogether, but this will just have to do.

Horse The Band Sign With Vagrant

2009-02-02T22:53:00.002-05:00

Gotta say I didn't really see this coming. Though I expected a faily major indie to snatch up Horse, I have to say that Vagrant seems like an odd choice. I know that I wasn't sitting in on the negotiations, and it makes perfect sense as far as a label expansion, but I wouldn't expect them on any Vagrant tours.

New Hatebreed Teaser Track

2009-01-30T21:08:00.003-05:00

A snippet of a song off Hatebreed's new all covers album "For The Lions" can be found right myah on their myspace page.
I'm expecting big things from this album. I love Hatebreed; and part of me ( albeit a small part) really doesn't understand why Hatebreed isn't everyones favorite band. I'm expecting them to harden and hardcore up all the songs that they cover on this album (like so much August Burns Red).

New Mastodon

2009-01-29T18:19:00.002-05:00

Mastodon's new song "Divinations" is now streaming on their myspace page.

Two Tongues Album Stream

2009-01-28T00:51:00.001-05:00

Two Tounges' album is streaming on their myspace page. Definately check it out.

Instant Inspiration: Winter Solstice

2009-01-27T23:31:00.003-05:00

The relatively obscure metalcore badasses put out a great album in 2005 called The Fall of Rome. The lead track and only single from that album can viewed below:

Though the band is now defunct, several members went on to form Ghost of A Fallen Age.

If you like this song, you'll enjoy the rest of the album also. Get rocked.

FIrst Impressions of Common Existence

2009-01-27T00:08:00.003-05:00

I'm about halfway through the new Thursday album, and so far I like it much more than A City By The Light Divided. I can't make a very accurate or reliable comment on the production since I'm quietly listening to a leaked version through my plug in speakers, but I think it's an improvement (production has always been my beef with Thursday, it peaked at Full Collapse and crashed and burned on A City By The Light Divided).
I'll be excited to give this album a couple more listens, but I'm pretty sure I'm picking this one up when I gets me some money.

A Day To Remember?

2009-01-26T21:00:00.003-05:00

So remember a couple of posts ago where I talked about how awesome the new A Day To Remember is? Yeah, well... it's not really that awesome.

I tried to ignore it and really like it, but Blake from AP.net's review really made me see the light (read it here).

Though he trashes the album more than I would, his point about the listener riding the sweetness wave that the first song creates is totally true (the first song is totally kickass). If you enjoy pop/moshcore then you will enjoy this album. If you enjoy ADTR's For Those Who Have Heart then you will enjoy this album, but if you enjoy bands that progress from album to album; then this is not the album for you.

I recommend tracks 1, 4, 7, and 11 (track 11 sounds like 1/3 Blink 182, 1/3 New Found Glory and 1/3 A Day To Remember).

I'm not advocating that you download this album; after seeing ADTR live I'll always support this band. If you haven't purchased any of their albums or heard any of their music yet, buying this album will probably be a good decision for you (I'm pretty sure I'm gonna buy it just for tracks 1 and 7.)

Mastodon Artwork and Article

2009-01-26T20:56:00.002-05:00

Blabbermouth has posted the artwork and long interview (not much new information) for Mastodon's upcoming Crack The Skye.

Looks like pretty typically sweet Mastodon artwork. There is also a teaser for the first track of their new album on their official website (not really worth your time).

Lil Wayne's "Prom Queen"

2009-01-25T12:34:00.001-05:00

Stream the new track off Wayne's upcoming Rebirth album, right myah. Credit to Nah Right for the track. In case you didn't know, or couldn't tell by listning to it, Wayne's upcoming album is a "rock" album.