Our chat with Christopher “Atomic Thrasher” continues on our third installment of the Bonesaw Podcast. We talk about our respective bands Insinnerator and Zamboni, Nintendo’s blockbuster franchise “The Legend of Zelda” and the music industry among other awesome topics.
Check out Insinnerator HERE.
Check out Zamboni HERE.
Listen to our previous podcasts HERE.
From the primal concrete sledges of Brooklyn, New York comes the legendary “Life of Agony.”
Formed in 1989, the sludge infested hardcore band was formed and shortly landed a deal with Roadrunner Records, releasing classic album after classic album, starting with 1993’s “River Runs Red.”
“River Runs Red” would be the bands best selling album and is widely acclaimed to be their best work. Mina (then Keith) Caputo’s emotional pain being painted onto the albums lyrical canvas, contorting the music of guitarists Alan Robert and Joey Z. (ex- Carnivore) and drummer Sal Abruscato (ex- Type O Negative, A Pale Horse Named Death) into a masterpiece. “River Runs Red” would be re-released five times by four different labels (three times on Roadrunner) and was performed in its entirety by Life of Agony in 2009 and 2010.
“River Runs Red” would be followed by “Ugly” in 1995 and would take a darker tone than “River Runs Red,” bearing a broader spectrum of the psyche and how much more it could be bent following further depression. Loss of identity and fear would take a major focal point lyrically and would be blended with even more crushing rhythms than “Ugly’s” predecessor.
Life after “Ugly” would change for the band. Abruscato left after touring for the album and was replaced by Dan Richardson (ex- Pro-Pain, ex- Crumbsuckers), who played drums on 1997’s “Soul Searching Sun,” the more commercial album of Life of Agony’s career. Shortly after the release, Caputo would leave the band with Ugly Kid Joe Whitfield Crane fulfilling his duties on tour. The band would then split up for the first time in 1999.
After three years, Life of Agony would reform with the original lineup, performing sold out one-off shows that later lead to a full-fledged reunion – complete with a spot on Dave Mustaine’s (Megadeth) inagural “Gigantour” and the release of their final album, 2005’s “Broken Valley.”
2011 would mark yet another change for Life of Agony. After 20 years of life as a man, Caputo slowly began transitioning into a woman. Her announcement was initially met with mixed responses, but eventually blossomed into a plethora of support. Musically, there were not many sparks for new material. Abruscato would form “A Pale Horse Named Death” later that year
Life of Agony would choose to dissolve again in 2012, as they would rarely tour and did not plan on releasing any new material. They would reform again in 2014 playing several European festivals.
On February 13, it was announced that Life of Agony will be playing at The Wick in Brooklyn, New York on May 1 and 2.
On the May 11, 2000 episode of WWE Smackdown!, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon delivered one of the greatest promos in the history of professional wrestling.
Relating to an angle involving Chris Jericho on the May 8 edition of Raw, McMahon berated the WWE Universe; calling them overweight losers in the most scathing way possible.
“You scrimp and you save and you work yourselves half to death and still, you can’t afford what you really want,” McMahon said. “You look into the mirror and you look at yourselves and you say “look at the cellulite hanging from my hips and my buttocks. That’s not fair.” And the men won’t even come close (to looking in the mirror).”
Commentator Jerry “The King” Lawler provided excellent comic relief for the segment, chiming in with McMahon’s every insult with brilliant timing.
McMahon perfected his promo with other scenarios people experience daily, such as being cut in line and losing a parking space to aggressive people, reiterating that “life isn’t fair” after every scalding statement.
McMahon would then go on to tell the audience that they have “inferior DNA” before delivering one of his most famous lines to end the segment.
“Life sucks, and then you die.”
McMahon’s promo is one of the best because it hits everyone in the chest like a shotgun blast. There isn’t a single human being on earth that hasn’t had a moment where they haven’t said “It’s not fair.” People experience “life isn’t fair” moments on a daily basis whether it involves being cut in line, losing a parking space, or just plain having a bad day. McMahon’s brilliant combination of psychology, mic skills, and charisma are what make the “Mr. McMahon” character one of the greatest villains in history.
Thanks to a gritty, but beautiful female voice, top-notch guitars and eclectic drum and bass work, Bay Area rockers Attik Door’s new album “Never in Agreement” is simply awesome.
Their sound is easily described as a Mad Scientist’s concoction of awesome alternative rock. Part DeVinyls, with some Disturbed, a nice-sized chunk of No Doubt and a side of Fly Leaf, as well as some Red Hot Chili Peppers, Attik Door have a sound that changes from song to song, but it’s always catchy. There’s not a bad song on the album, even if they share a consistent theme of borrowing things from more established bands. But in their defense, not many bands can emulate the elements of such a wide array of talent.
Because of that, Attik Door will immediately catch your ears.
There’s no way around it- lead vocalist Liana Tovmasyan is a treat. It would be easy to call her a younger sounding Gwen Stefani, but she’s so much more. With the accent appearing in some of her work and her pure grit, she’s not the cute punker Stefani is. She’s the type of rocker that’ll outdrink you and slap you in the face before winning you back over with her smile. Ballsy, but smooth, she’s got a ton of depth and heart. In every song she brings something different to the table, from “California,” where she sounds like the new female voice of RHCP, to “The Front,” which could easily be a track on No Doubt’s “Tragic Kingdom.” “Cosmos” is another song that’ll sound familiar, as the opening guitar riff is super similar to Flyleaf’s “All Around Me,” but with a more Stefani-esque vocalization, it has a unique feel to it.
By the end of the album, it’s apparent that Toymasyan is super versatile. She can rap rock, she can wail, she can tantalize like a siren off the Greek Coast. She’s a star in the making.
It also helps that she has a wonderful backing band behind her. Obviously a bar/cover band at one point in their careers, guitarists Alex Shrayber and Tim Shulepov have a polish that defines each song. They’re are definitely the types of guys that grew up on mid-late ‘90s alternative and metal. Their seamless play just screams it. The same goes for bassist and Margarita Grabarova and drummer Igor Boyko, who possess the speed and skill to make a song extra ballsy or groovy. On “Bleed,” the drum and bass work maintains such a consistent speed throughout that you can’t deny their skill. Driving the song from start to finish, you’ll want to put the bass boost up so you can hear it even closer.
At the same time, the familiarity sounds the band consistently experiments with comes with a caveat. The riffs and vocals work off of established and successful tones and sounds. They don’t stretch the medium and as a result, you can say that Attik Door aren’t challenging themselves to create something as new as they could. Rather than redefine, they are masters of the rehash. However, Lady Gaga has made millions of dollars doing the same thin with pop music, so what’s wrong with Attik Door doing the same thing?
Either way you try and spin it, Attik Door’s “Never in Agreement” is the type of album you can leave on repeat for hours at a time. Thanks to an accessible assortment of tunes and a wonderful vocalist with plenty of talent behind her, “Never in Agreement” is one of the best indie rock albums of 2015.
You can also read Patrick Hickey Jr.’s review here and more at Reviewfix.com.
Sunday night, the WWE Universe saw Roman Reigns defeat Daniel Bryan in a clinic, Bray Wyatt call out The Undertaker, Stng and Triple H confirming a Wrestlemania match and Rusev dominating John Cena. Here are our thoughts on Fastlane overall.
The event for the most part was solid although some of the finishes were awkward (Goldust vs. Stardust, Dean Ambrose vs. Wade Barrett) due to some clumsy officiating.
Randy Orton’s return was much needed as it gave Fastlane the much needed jump start to pump the crowd for the rest of the evening. Orton RKOing everyone in sight was a great touch that people sorely missed. Ziggler and Rollins told a great story in the ring with all the big men playing their babyface and hell personas well, ending with a clever heel finish no one saw coming.
Cesaro and Tyson Kidd taking the Tag Team titles from The Usos was a pleasant surprise as the story was built to look like The Usos would come out on top as they usually do. Hopefully a promising run will follow for the new team as they delivered some solid in-ring action with the flying Samoans. With the way things went on Raw, this angle is definitely not over.
Nikki Bella succeeded in defending her Divas Championship against Paige which was the right way to go. Paige needs to pull off the big win at Wrestlemania for the true payoff.
Goldust and Stardust put on a solid encounter relying heavily on psychology. The match had an old look to it as it was slow paced with short bursts of action thrown in. The finish however, was very awkward as the referee not only hesitated the final count but may not have actually hit the three before he called the match. If Fastlane was the warm-up, Wrestlemania had better contain round two for the Dust brothers.
Dean Ambrose and Wade Barrett also had a decent showdown built around psychology, but it too suffered an odd finish due to officiating. While the disqualification rule was accurate, no five count was given by the referee which may have had many scratching their heads. Ambrose stealing the Intercontinental title was a nice touch and a slick reference to Stone Cold and The Rock’s 1997/1998 feud over the coveted championship. The Fatal Four Way (teased on Raw) would be a great addition to the title hunt scenario.
Rusev asserted dominance and brute force in his victory over John Cena in his United States Championship defense. Cena sold well for Rusev and made him look like a million bucks. The two told a great story though it was slightly soured with the low blow. It looked like there would be more to Lana’s involvement but the right man went over in this case. Cena defeating Rusev at Wrestlemania would not damage the Bulgarian Brute because its purpose would be to give the crowd one of the many “feel good moments” Wrestlemania is known for.
Before we get to Bryan and Reigns, there were two excellent segments between Bray Wyatt, Sting and Triple H.
Wyatt mimicking The Undertaker’s classic entrance was perfect and completely unexpected. Having The Eater of Worlds deliver the best promo of his career in the casket was one of the smartest things WWE could have done to build this angle. Wyatt is on the road to a bright future with WWE if they continue to push him as a supernatural monster. Having said that, Wyatt should not defeat Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Leave the one in 21-1 alone.
Triple H cut a scathing promo on Sting, shooting on how WCW did because of people like him. This needed to be a worked shoot and it definitely was as H dug his proverbial claws into the soul of Sting, who watched with fire in his eyes. Just as it looked that the Cerebral Assassin would annihilate Sting with his trusty sledgehammer, The Vigilante had him dead to rights with the baseball bat. Utilizing his master’s degree in (in-ring) psychology, Sting issued his challenge without words in what was surely one of the finest moments in WWE history.
Finally, the main event.
Reigns and Bryan delivered a stunning performance that had the WWE Universe on the edge of their seats for the entire ride. The finish was unpredictable as the tide could have turned either way on the contenders. Bryan looks more and more like Shawn Michaels every time he laces up those boots. Reigns was pushed to the limit and looked great in what was easily the best match of his career so far. The right man won the battle with a good, clean win. Reigns will challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania 31, and we can’t wait.
In lieu of the traditional “Elimination Chamber” pay-per-view, WWE has decided to change the game this year with a new event titled “WWE Fastlane.” While fans will not get an Elimination Chamber match this February, they will get what looks to be a stacked card for the inaugural event on the Road to Wrestlemania. Here are our predictions for each match.
Intercontinental Championship Match: Wade Barrett (c) vs. Dean Ambrose – This looks exciting. The feud has been built up in an old school way centering more around promos and less around beat downs. The psychology of the match should be fun and the ability of both men is going to make it awesome. Ambrose is better when he’s on the chase (and we’d like a long term program between these two) and that’s why we believe Barrett is keeping his title.
Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos (c) vs. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd – Another match that could be promising with enough time. Kidd is finally on a pay-per-view again and Cesaro can work well with anyone. While the Usos have the gold, there is also the sub angle involving Jimmy and Kidd’s significant others – Naomi and Nattie. Expect the ladies to get into a scuffle, leading to the Usos retaining.
Goldust vs. Stardust – A normal match that should have been given more time to blossom into a fireball for ‘Mania rather than rushed for Fastlane. In the time they are given, the Rhodes brothers will put on a clinic; but they probably won’t be given the minimum 20 minutes they deserve. Hopefully this will be part of a series of matches, with Stardust’s arm raised at the end of their first cosmic clash.
Ryback, Erick Rowan and Dolph Ziggler vs. Kane, Big Show and Seth Rollins – Expect a few high spots from Rollins and Ziggler to get this Chevy where it has to go, but for the most part this will be a standard Six Man Tag that we will see again on Raw or Smackdown at some point in the near future. It’ll be good, but The Authority will prevail following a dirty finish involving J&J Security.
United States Championship Match: Rusev (c) vs. John Cena – If this what Rusev has been built up for in the year he has been on the main roster, he can’t lose now. Rusev must crush Cena at Fastlane for his legacy to mean anything in the near future. The two should have a somewhat lengthy feud, but if the Russian sympathizer is finally going to be pinned or submitted by Cena, it has to be at Wrestlemania. Judging by the booking of Cena in these angles, the match will either end in a disqualification or Rusev will play dirty for a victory. We’re expecting the former with Rusev going postal on the Cenation leader.
Divas Championship Match: Nikki Bella (c) w/Brie Bella vs. Paige – Paige desperately needs to regain and continue to re-shape the Divas division, but not just yet. Nikki Bella is playing the mean girl role well and can put on a good match to boot. The five to 10 minutes we see will be decent with Nikki coming out with the win. Paige needs the big win at ‘Mania for this feud to get the payoff the Divas angles rarely see.
No. 1 Contendership for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan – This is for all the marbles. We’re going to see some highlights in these men’s careers in this one. It’s also the one that’s too close to call. Will WWE go with what has been rumored as “the original plan” or will the WWE Universe’s voice be acknowledged for the second year in a row? The angle alone has quelled a lot of the backlash from the Royal Rumble (we personally love that it’s been explored) and for the WWE to address the situation so well makes us not mind which way this could go. It would be great to see Bryan go all the way again, but Reigns will probably meet WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar at the Granddaddy of ’em All.
Warframe is a cooperative free-to-play third person shooter/RPG with the feel of an old-school dungeon crawler.
The game takes place in the far future where the Solar System is overrun with several different races vying for power. You play as a Tenno, essentially the last remnants of humanity that use different armors (aptly named warframes) to do battle with the warlike Grineer – the technologically advanced Corpus, and the biological Infestation. After being awakened by a woman known as Lotus from a cryogenic sleep, you find yourself struggling to regain your lost power while trying to survive the war-torn solar system.
The main objective of Warframe is to get loot (a lot of it) and level it up. Missions are designed with maximum re-playability in mind, with no two levels being exactly the same. Warframe uses a procedure generated level design based on various tile sets, much like the dungeons of Diablo or Path of Exile. This is good because you will be playing the same levels a lot. Certain rare resources are best acquired by fighting specific bosses, leading to many replays of specific boss battles in order to farm said resources. While it is possible to buy new weapons, Warframes, keys and other items for real money, it’s not required. Pretty much everything in the game can be unlocked by grinding, save for cosmetic upgrades and more inventory slots.
Coop multiplayer is really where the fun is at in Warframe. Up to four players can fight together in a variety of different mission types from straight-up exterminations to spy missions that require some twitch-based puzzle skills. Players can also form clans and build “dojos”, which are essentially giant space stations for clan members to meet. In the dojo, clan members can duel, trade items, research various items and weapons, or just hang out. Other than dueling, players can also enter PVP areas and fight in teams against other clans.
Movement in Warframe is perhaps one of the best aspects of the game. Your Tenno can run, jump, climb up walls, slide, and perform various other ninja maneuvers. The wall running and jumping isn’t just for show, as many levels require some platforming to advance. The combat is also extremely fluid; switching from ranged to melee is very streamlined, and there are many different weapons to choose from. Each weapon (as well as your warframe) can be leveled up and modded to make them more powerful. Mods can also be combined in different ways to make weapons even more devastating than normal.
In addition to its gameplay, Warframe has a rich lore and aesthetic that is unlike any other game out today. The concept of space-traveling ninjas in the far future is a very odd combination, but it works great. As you progress through the game, you learn more of the back story of each warframe, but also of each enemy type you encounter. The fact that it takes place in our own solar system (albeit well after humanity has largely gone extinct) makes for a new take on the whole post-apocalyptic/scifi genre. This isn’t a world where humanity is barely getting by in a barren wasteland. The Tenno are more of a shadow organization, barely a blip on the radar in this future where aliens rule the solar system, fighting each other for power. You are not here to “reclaim Earth” or help restart the human race in any way, but merely to survive in the chaos our solar system has fallen into.
While there are many great aspects of Warframe, it does have a few downfalls. It is still being actively developed, and so there are some crazy (often hilarious) glitches that happen occasionally. It is also extremely grindy. You can spend hours trying to get one resource without finding any. Having said that, developer Digital Extremes have really gone above and beyond to improve the game from what it once was, adding new maps, enemies, events, and greatly improving the user interface. While not perfect, it is certainly much more polished than it was a year ago, and new content (free content that is) is constantly being implemented.
Overall, while not the greatest game out today, Warframe is certainly very fun. It can get a bit tedious after a while, but if you can find some friends to play with, that definitely helps cut down the boredom caused by grinding for resources. If you are looking to play a game similar to Destiny but only have a PC, than look no further than Warframe. In many ways, Warframe does right the things that Destiny failed on, and while it may not be quite as vast as Destiny, Warframe certainly offers hours of enjoyment to any RPG/dungeon crawler fan.
In a nutshell, Mega Man X was one of the most enjoyable games of all time.
Released in Japan in 1993 and 1994 in North America, Mega Man X was Nintendo’s introduction to everybody’s favorite little blue robot on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
In addition to the unique level design, graphics and features only 32 bits could offer (at the time), Mega Man X added new levels of depth to the character and a slew of new weapons as he defeats eight robot masters and their leader in the distant future.
For one, all of your weapons were given bigger, badder upgrades when you either collected them from the capsules Dr. Light would hide, or you would gain a supercharged shot several moments into the final stage after fighting the Boba Fett inspired Vile for the second time (with a little help from X’s partner Zero).
In a post-apocalyptic world (a much grittier story than usual), X would fight Mavericks – more advanced robot masters than he was used to, as well as their leader Sigma (and his equally annoying cat). Some of the more memorable bosses and levels were Army Armadillo, Launch Octopus, and Storm Eagle; whose level soundtrack video game shredders Powerglove would cover on their “Total Pwnage” EP.
Speaking of music, Mega Man X continued the blue bomber’s tradition with one of the best soundtracks the franchise has to offer. The epic midi made you feel like the righteous man you are, embarking on an all or nothing quest for the good of mankind.
Mega Man X is a treasure for everyone, taking the platforming/beat-em-up elements that Mega Man is famous for but turning it up a notch. It’s a game that will never stop being fun no matter what new console is available or what they can do. At the end of the day, sometimes people want something simple and that’s what makes this game immortal.
Reigning from Portland, Oregon comes the ever aggressive black thrash maniacs Cemetery Lust.
Focusing their thundering riff driven lyrics on violence, sex and evil, the self proclaimed “rape thrashers” clearly don’t take themselves too seriously, showing in the high energy performances they put on.
Cemetery Lust have been active since 2009 and have gained a cult following in their local scene, providing opportunity to open for bigger underground bands as well as appearances in smaller festivals such as Portland’s 2014 Famine Fest and the 15th annual Hell’s Headbash in Cleveland, Ohio later this year.
With two full length releases under their belt (2012’s Screams of the Violated and 2014’s Orgies of Abomination) and several demos, the macabre metal troop should be storming into your speakers faster than you’ll ever live to be.
Here we are for our second episode of the Bonesaw Podcast, where my guest this time is Christopher “Atomic Thrasher” of the Texas Thrash Metal band “Insinnerator.”
In part one of this great debate, Chris and I talk all kinds of thrash about our favorite bands, why we like thrash, and a whole lot more.
Check it out and give us your thoughts in the comments section.
Like Insinnerator HERE
The Bonesaw 