Holy Grail’s monster frontman James-Paul Luna takes the time to chat with us about metal, Pokemon Go incidents and more in this killer podcast.
Tag Archives: Heavy Metal
Bonesaw Podcast – Episode 40: Spellcaster
For our next musical guests we have Tyler Loney, Bryce R. VanHoosen and Gabe Franco from Portland, Ore. Speed Metallers Spellcaster. Join us as they talk Spellcaster and share some amazing stories.
Metal Church at the Chance
After having a fun time seeing Children of Bodom a few weeks back, my next planned show at The Chance was none other than thrash titans Metal Church.
After getting my wipers fixed and buying a ticket from opening act Dark After Dawn, I went to pick up my friend Jay who was really excited to see them as their 1984 self-titled debut is one of his top albums. After 45 mins of blasting Demolition Hammer (another ridiculous thrash band) we made it to The Chance. We walked inside, met up with our friend Ray and the first band was just about to begin.
Dark After Dawn
First on were Goshen, NY’s Dark After Dawn. I had bought the ticket for this show off of vocalist/guitarist Maruf. They played a pretty heavy style of thrash metal. For a small local band they were pretty good and made for a fun warm up. After their set Jay left to the Nuddy Bar next door to get food – purposely skipping the next two bands as he had a hunch they would suck.
Christian Gisondi Music
Taking their name from their lead singer, next on were the local prog rock band Christian Gisondi Music. This band was awful. The members were all good players, but the music was all ruined by Gisondi’s obnoxious voice. Before the set he mentioned loving Metal Church saying “They are the only band to have a self-titled song on a self-titled album (Really, you never heard of Iron Maiden or Black Sabbath?).” Ray and I started to notice Jay made a smart move as the next band wasn’t much better.
Painmask
Painmask are a “tough guy” hardcore band from Kingston, NY. As people who aren’t into that sub genre, Ray and I weren’t impressed. Every cliche’ of this style was present in their sound and it made for a cringe worthy experience. Jay came in along with my old teacher/All Out War singer Mike Score towards the end of their set from a night of dinner and headbanging to classics by Celtic Frost and Carnivore on the jukebox at Nuddy’s.
Hatchet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=204faAtoI-Y
Both Jay and I were really curious about Hatchet as we both heard of them and knew they were the band on tour with Metal Church. When it comes to new thrash bands I can be picky (and Jay even pickier) so it was all just a matter of checking them out. Hatchet really impressed both of us and pretty much everyone else there. They had a pretty cool thrash sound with melodeath-esque guitar work. The vocals sounded a lot like Schimer of Destruction which is always a plus. In short, Hatchet washed the bad taste of the last two bands right out of my mouth.
Metal Church
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBHVQBNnGuk
After all those openers it was time for the nights main band, Metal Church. The whole crowd was curious to whether they will play much off their first two albums (the 1984 self-titled and 1986’s “The Dark”) as they had the singer who joined after the third (1989’s “Blessing in Disguise”).
For some reason most of the songs Metal Church played were from the Mike Howe era. The only David Wayne era songs played were “Start the Fire,” “Beyond the Black” and “Watch the Children Play.” I found this weird because a) I saw their third singer Ronnie Monroe do a solo set in Kingston five years ago where played plenty of tracks from the first album, yet the full band is ignoring it and b) Seeing as their self-titled song is their most famous one, why skip it?
Having said that, they sounded great and we had a fun time seeing them. After their set we left to return to reality once more.
A Labor of L’Amour: DJ Alex Kayne On His Upcoming Book & Bensonhurst In Its Heavy Metal Heyday
Often hailed by its following as “The Rock Capital of Brooklyn,” L’Amour was a staple of hard rock/heavy metal acts of the 1980s and 1990s.
Some of the genres most legendary bands (such as the “big four” of Thrash Metal: Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax) got their break in the tiny club that oftentimes felt like an arena. Memories, bonds, and acts of debauchery occurred on a nightly basis in the Bensonhurst venue. The club’s promoters were also notoriously fair when it came to booking, giving any band a chance to play on Brooklyn’s biggest stage – which made it so prominent for keeping the scene alive and a staple for establishing the developing New York Hardcore scene in the early 90’s.
L’Amour first opened as a disco club on a rather desolate stretch of 63rd Street in 1978 and transformed into a rock venue in 1981. Over the next two decades, its popularity skyrocketed and three somewhat short-lived sister locations were spawned in Queens, Long Island, and Staten Island. Throughout the 1990s and into the early aughts the original club would remain active before finally closing its doors in 2004. Usually at the helm of the Bensonhurst club, was DJ Alex Kayne, who is widely considered New York’s first-ever heavy metal DJ.
To read the full story on Bensonhurst Bean, click here.
Bonesaw Podcast – Episode 26: Condition Critical & Lich King’s Mike Dreher
Thrashing to a stereo near you we have thrash metal bassist Mike Dreher of Condition Critical and Lich King. On this rad podcast, we discuss Lich King’s recent European tour, Condition Critical’s new album plans and a whole lot more – featuring a CC cover of Demolition Hammer’s “.44 Caliber Brain Surgery.”
Band of the Week: Black Sabbath
Besides giving birth to Heavy Metal, Black Sabbath is one of the few bands that have conquered the world and still managed to stay on top for over 40 years.
Forming under the name “Polka Tulk” before becoming “Earth,” (and eventually Sabbath) the band formed in 1968 due to a flyer singer Ozzy Osbourne put out in a local music shop. In his book “Iron Man,” the bands legendary guitarist Tony Iommi (who had gone to school with Osbourne) says that although Osbourne wasn’t a very good singer, he had his own PA system – which in those days was hard to come by.
Its hard to believe something so extraordinary started due to settling over some gear.
Along with world renown bass player and drummer Terrence “Geezer” Butler and Bill Ward, the original lineup would release their classic self titled first full length in 1970 and would continue to dominate the world with record after record for eight years.
Shortly after the tour for 1978’s “Never Say Die,” Osbourne would be fired and would soon begin his solo career, launching himself to new heights and becoming the icon we know him as today. Replacing him would be then-“Rainbow” front man Ronnie James Dio. The lineup known as “Heaven and Hell” (featuring Vinny Appice on drums) would release four albums over the course of their careers, with decades between their last two albums.
Other lineups would persist during the 80’s and 90’s with Ian Gillian of “Deep Purple” fame and other singers. The only focal member would be Iommi until the early to mid 2000’s, when both the original and “Heaven and Hell” lineups would reunite for tours and albums before Dio’s death in 2010.
2013 would spark “13,” the first Sabbath album with the original lineup (sans Ward, who was replaced with Tommy Clufetos due to health, legal and management issues) followed by a world tour.
It was announced in September of 2014 that the band have made plans to enter the studio in 2015 for a final album and a farewell tour.
Never say “Die” indeed.
Attik Door: “Never in Agreement” Review
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.
The Bonesaw 