Rolling Metal Thread 2010

BTW, Metal Haven in Chicago is still open, not sure for how long. Still selling inventory at 15% off as far as I know, and new releases full price. I might head there today after having lunch at Kuma's.

srsly weak varg interview at haunting the chapel. why bother if all yr gonna get/run is varg self-mythologizing and backhandedly denying/dodging his general horribleness?

Because he's an ilx lurker! Best Band Varg Vikernes Is Currently Listening to?

Burzum-inspired poll on my MSN blog.

Why WASP canceled their NYC gig last night:

*****

An unfortunate incident arose this evening at The Gramercy Theater in NYC that we need to let you know about. It prevented W.A.S.P. from performing this show, and caused us to disappoint many of our NY fans and friends. About 50 VIP tickets were sold to about 50 different fans for $50.00 apiece, twice the normal ticket price for this show. It turned out that part of that VIP ticket price included a meet and greet with W.A.S.P. These tickets were sold to these 50 or so fans without W.A.S.P. having any knowledge of this, let alone agreeing to this. Upon learning of this late in the afternoon of the show day, W.A.S.P. insisted that the promoter of this venue, who sold these VIP tickets to these fans, return the V.I.P. portion of those tickets back to the fans. This meant that the promoter would have had to give each of those VIP ticket holders a refund of $25.00 of each ticket. W.A.S.P. demanded that this $25.00 be returned to each of these ticket holders in cash prior to the meet and greet, which W.A.S.P was still going to do. The promoter refused. W.A.S.P. then informed the promoter unless these monies were refunded to these fans, in cash, that the band would not perform the show. Again, the promoter refused and W.A.S.P. canceled the show.

We are saddened that it had to result in the cancellation of our performance for this evening, but we believe this unfortunate situation amounts to nothing more than our fans being ripped off. We have never changed a fan for an autograph and WILL NEVER charge any fans for an autograph.

To all the fans that came to the show and were turned away, please accept our sincerest apologies. W.A.S.P. CANNOT and WILL NOT ever stand by and watch or be involved in their fans being ripped off... EVER.
Thank you.

Blackie Lawless

*****

It took me about 15 seconds to come up with a better solution - do the meet & greet, have a roadie take everyone's name and address or email address, and have the promoter send them all a check or a Paypal payment or something.

I just can't believe anyone would pay $25 to see W.A.S.P.

yeah, that's a case where shit clearly must've devolved into people yelling.
there's no reasonable way to refund these people in cash. also, how did the band not know about a meet and greet until afternoon of the show? shouldn't the tour manager be on top of checking the venue websites?

That sale started nearly a year ago. I thought it meant they were closing soon, but they are still refreshing inventory with new releases. Pickings are scattered, but I have had good luck with hard rock and metal, such as High On Fire, Baroness, Minsk and Kylesa. Double CDs and special editions, however, are more than full priced.

Shows how often I'm in that area. Like I said, didn't even know there was that store left. Yeah, the 2-disc sets are ridiculously priced. They had a couple of The Fall reissue special editions, but they were like $27.99 and $31.99 respectively.

the "which W.A.S.P. was still going to do part" is a little suspect. I know that being volunteered to do a meet-n-greet & learning about it late is the sort of thing that, to a person on tour, would arrive as a "don't fuck with my routine, I go crazy when people fuck with my routine" thing - you'd need to be pretty zenned out to go "wait, I'm meeting a bunch of people & signing shit & saying 'hi' between soundcheck & the show instead of chilling @ dinner? oh, ok, cool" -- most performers I know aren't able to adapt to last-minute change-of-plans like that, and you can't let people force you into changing plans on the fly or people will just sign you up for shit all the damn time knowing that you'll buckle

shouldn't the tour manager be on top of checking the venue websites?

however: no. there oughtn't be any reason to. everything that's expected of a band is right there in the contract. the TM calls the venue a day or two before rolling into town to say "it's so-and-so from W.A.S.P., just checking on the tech rider" etc but keeping up on what the venues are saying on their sites isn't really on the menu

guys I don't post here much but the lady responsible for the following work is releasing again this year - just a heads-up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxu0Xx0DVwk

the song 'dirty glow' is just as good, also not on youtube aside from a live version

however: no. there oughtn't be any reason to.
as a guy who's long been working on the venue side, that's right in principle but not always in practice; i had artists who had committed to doing stuff on contract who knew nothing about the meet/greet or whatever and cases where artists threw massive fits about not having their cristal on ice when that was never on the rider. if a tour manager takes the time to just see what the venue is offering on their website, it puts the artist in the same position as the public so they're less likely to run into these kind of roadblocks.
i don't know gramercy or wasp well enough to know who dropped the ball here but the fact that the band couldn't come to some sort of arrangement with the venue on the afternoon of a scheduled show strikes me as a strike against them... John, have you ever walked away from a show night-of because of treatment from a venue? I understand that you don't want to get railroaded but for something as relatively small as this...

John, have you ever walked away from a show night-of because of treatment from a venue?

No, I haven't. Have really wanted to once or twice, but I feel a pretty intense sense of obligation to people who show up to see me do my thing. But in re: checking the website - this lies with the venue/promoter imo. Whatever he's putting up should be sent, prior to advertising, to the manager/TM/label for OK. That makes a lot more sense than "artists should be sure to look up the website of the club they're playing to make sure they're not being misrepresented," doesn't it?

that said, I don't do meet & greet & am v. sympathetic to WASP here, I need near-total isolation for several hours before I do my thing & anybody who can't understand that is my damn enemy

john, i'm totally in agreement with you that the artist/rep/manager shouldn't HAVE to do advance screening of the way the show is represented by the venue, but considering how minor a task it is and the number of problems it avoids I don't see why you wouldn't. The realpolitik of it is just sensible.

and incidentally, considering how long you've been doing your thing, i really respect the fact that you've never walked on a show. short of somebody flat out not paying you, it hardly ever seems professional to screw your fans. there's always a way to compromise and then you can take the matter to court/avoid the venue/badmouth them on the internet/whatever, but at 8.30 when there's people lining up to see you, why you wanna walk?

why just walk when you can incite a riot imo

xpost thanks man I take a lot of pride in working hard for the people who like what I do & the places that're kind enuf to have me!

nobody checks websites though, the contract is binding - it'd be like calling into your day job every morning to make sure the dress code hadn't changed! sure, a crazy boss might do that, but you enter into a contract assuming that chaos & unpredictability isn't on the menu

"you enter into a contract assuming chaos and unpredictability isn't on the menu"
you must play at different places than i'm familiar with

yeah but honestly it's really pretty easy to not say "what if the band did a meet n greet? I know, we'll advertise one and when they get here we'll tell 'em, they won't mind, right?'

whole subject is making me irritable because the people who work with me have better items on their agenda than "check the website of every venue on this month-long tour at least once a day because you never do know whether people will decide there's going to also be a puppet show & a lecture after the show & advertise accordingly"

yeah, i hear you. ounce of prevention is all i'm saying.
in any case, with the WASP show it sounds like everybody behaved badly or somebody was misinformed.

WASP are kind of notorious for being jerks, though.

I just can't believe anyone would pay $25 to see W.A.S.P.

I would! Really.

That cancellation was a dick move. I think Blackie pulls this shit a lot, I'm always reading about sudden cancellations, either cos he's in a pissy mood or some dumb reason like the stage can't support his elaborate 12-ton mike stand.

Bruce from Yakuza just emailed me their new album...checking it out now. Reviewed their second album for The Wire and have been a fan ever since. This one definitely ups the energy level more than the last two, and the mix is clearer too. Liking it a lot so far.

Their best to date, for sure.

Where'd you get it? And do you have a track listing? I got it straight from Bruce Lamont and the files weren't labeled.

I got it from Bruni last week. I'll email you the track listing, I don't believe it's ben announced yet.

oi, saw deicide tonight, sick show! opening acts were shite, one of em was fookin' power metal over chuggy sepultura guitars...think they were called uh, fuck if i care, they sucked...i was almost sleep by the time the 'Cide came out but man they played just about every classic crowd went nuts over 'once upon the cross'...

really gittin' tired of idiot blokes at the shows tho...these morons kept beggin for deicide to play 'dead by dawn', ten minutes after they fookin' played it!

that's pretty much their "freebird" tho

xpost - new Rose Kemp? I must write her and inquire!

xpost - oi, I know, but it's like stupid fuckin' fans didn't even realize it was the third song they played, i shouted back at em 'THEY ALREADY FOOKIN' PLAYED IT' and the dude next to me nodded and said 'yea theyre dumb drunk douchebags'....mighta been a clue when the entire crowd was screaming dead by dawn during teh song that they played it...damn kids and their ecstacy and silly satanic family activities

Yeah, it's a point, I don't know how fucked you have to be to miss that song. Shit, I just listened to their first one for the first time in ten years and I remembered the lyrics to most of the songs.

The new attempt from Raven to cash in on Anvil's recent success, Walking through Fire, is really, really stupid, but really, really fun. Just total throwback poppy NWOBHM with big hooks and dumb lyrics. The vocalist has seen better days, and the production kind of sucks (which is to be expected), but there's a scrappy charm to it all. Not as good as the new Armored Saint, but Raven were never better than the Saint, even in their salad days. I am, however, looking forward to the next Armored Saint record in 2020, if their current rate of recording continues.

I'm really looking forward to hearing that Raven album, even if they haven't made a good one since 1983. Well, Life's a Bitch did have its moments. I was such a big Raven fan in the mid-80s before they lost the plot...their early discography right up to Live at the Inferno is classic.

Ha ha, yeah -- I meant to mention that you would probably love it, Adrien. I don't know if it's "good," per se, but I'm enjoying the heck out of it.

I do agree with Phil that La Raza feels very hard rock, but man, there's so much going on. I love the production -- nice and crisp, big drum hits, clear guitar lines. It's always a pleasure to hear John Bush sing, especially when he's delivering big catchy vocal hooks. Just an incredibly solid band.

La Raza is such a cool surprise. Nobody was expecting such a lazy, sunny, funky/stoner version of Armored Saint, but it works so well. Not the most innovative, but it's one of my current 2010 faves for sure.

I also want to give some props to the new Icarus Witch record, and not just because they thank me in the liner notes. Definitely one of the best of the New Wave of New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands out there. Drawing down the Moon is their creepiest record, going more for the atmospheric side of the sound. They even close with a spot on cover of "The Ripper."

Speaking of covers, I just reached the "Space Station #5" cover on the Raven record... pretty goofy stuff.

http://www.metalfairytales.com/

Told in the style of a Grimms fairytale and originally written as a heavy metal musical, ‘The Windowmaker, the Codpiece and the Sex Gods from Planet Metal', tells the story of Nestor, windowmaker to the King who’s enchanted codpiece is stolen by an evil wizard. After befriending some brave knights, the Sex Gods from Planet Metal, Nestor then embarks on a fantastic adventure to retrieve it, battling monstrous vegetables along the way and saving the Kings daughter from peril in the process.

http://www.metalfairytales.com/images/charcters_banner.jpg

Ryan Adams has made a "metal" album. You can hear a song at http://ryanada.ms/ , there's a poll that you all might find amusing to vote on.

Oh come on I want to see the progress of the vote!

haha

Yeah, I was very disappointed that you couldn't see how many people had voted, and/or how they'd voted. You can always get a vote tally from my MSN polls just by hitting "Comment" on the poll widget.

It's almost as if Ryan Adams was worried that the link might be posted on some boards and people then voted for a laugh.

Thats just a lousy song, metal or no. Yeesh.

I like ryan adams (well, Whiskeytown(own all cds), his 1st couple of solo albums and love is hell) so im not a hater, but i dont care for that song at all.

Icarus Witch are great. Do they have a new record coming out?

They do! It's called Draw down the Moon -- sorry if I didn't make that clear in my post.

Right, cheers. It only seems like five minutes since they had another album out so I was just checking. Maybe they're like The Fall of NWONWOBHM.