There just may be something in Britain’s water supply that causes the country to produce some of the finest heavy metal bands the world has ever known. Black Sabbath, Cradle of Filth, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest…the list goes on and on. Now, 2008 is shaping up to be the year of the Valentine, as Welsh rockers Bullet For My Valentine unleash “Scream Aim Fire” on an unsuspecting public.
“Whorrorcore,” was the reply that I got from Tormentula drummer / vocalist Alice Bludgeon when I asked her to describe Tormentula’s music. I’ve wanted to do a story on Tormentula ever since their CD, Submit You Unworthy Soul, came out last summer. Not a pretty record and occasionally not easy to listen to, but nonetheless a superior record of enraged estrogen recorded for all of the world to hear and one of the best hard rock CD’s to come out of Wisconsin. So impressive is Submit Your Unworthy Soul, that the CD was stolen from my office while I was setting up this article.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from these women with faces made up better than KISS, playing music to stomp gonads to. What I did find was an intelligent and articulate woman (drummer / vocalist Alice Bludgeon) whose love for rock and roll music is as passionate as Angus Young. “I think that music should be challenging to the musician and to the listener,” said Bludgeon.
A decade ago, glam bands ruled Los Angeles. As big hair poked the ozone, the Sunset Strip resembled a drag show, and talent was judged by the quality of your groupies, not the integrity of your music.
No one was really surprised when the scene became a parody of itself, but they might be surprised if they took a look at the new breed of bands forging a path through the spoils of outdated leather and spandex. Say hello to Korn, the Deftones, and the latest heavyweights to take up prominence on the downtuned metal scene: Coal Chamber.
Frontman Dez, guitarist Meegs, bassist Rayna, and drummer Mike are a truly motley crew that have spent the better part of the last year on the road with OzzFest, Megadeth and Pantera. Along with fellow newcomers Sevendust
By all accounts, Cealed Kasket puts on one heck of a show. There are swords, beer, wenches and a self-proclaimed, 553-year-old wizard named Sarsicus, led by the ringleader and vocalist Mortal Death in an effort to entertain the youth of America. The band’s latest album, “Penetration,” was released this past July on Reckless Records.
The band will appear at Maximum Ink’s Halloween Spooktacular on October 27th, so we thought it fitting to warn…err, inform concert-goers in the Madison area just what they might expect from these medieval metal rockers. It seems that the traditional sex, drugs and rock and roll is on the menu, and Cealed Kasket knows how to deliver the goods. After sitting down to chat with Mortal Death, the best warning? Be afraid…be very afraid.
Don’t even try to lie about it, you know you’ve imagined what it would be like if a pop icon somehow found his or her way into your favorite zombie movie. You’ve imagined how they would react, would they cower in fear, or would they be the big bad, chasing down those poor innocent people to get their hands on some tasty brains?
Well, now you can find out. Later this month, catch your chance to see “The Zombeatles: All You Need Is Brains.” Who are the Zombeatles? Individually, they are Jaw Nlennon, Pall IcKartney, Gorge Harryson and Dingo Scarr. By day, they are Madison band The Gomers.
Most bands worry about making music to appease and please the masses. Not so with Decapitado. This Milwaukee trio is focusing on originality in an effort to maintain their sanity and produce high quality art. These guys are not newcomers to the music scene by any stretch. Each is currently in at least one other band outside Decapitado and each has been in several others before this as well. Bands like Fuck Face, Custom Grand, Boy Dirt Car, and Die Kruezen to mention a few.
Dan Kubinski (vocals/bass), Andy Keels (guitar) and Charles A. Mayer (drums) are Decapitado. Starting at the top, Andy fills us in about the band name. “The word decapitado appears in a newspaper clipping in the movie “Curdled.” I thought it was such a cool word. My wife said it would be a great band name. I was in three bands at that time, and this one fit the name best. The name symbolizes the world today; a lurching, twitching body, lumbering forward, unable to hear or think or see. It stands for the way too many of us live our lives.”
It seems like America has a strange obsession with zombies in the past few years. More and more zombie movies and shows are coming out, but one has to ask themselves, “Why?” Because they’re awesome! Nothing is scarier than total zombie apocalypse, where your friends and family are turned into the undead and you’re forced to kill or be killed and do what you can to survive. The Devil Wears Prada recognized this and have created a kick ass zombie game with their music in it. It’s called Zombie Slay and it’s exactly what you imagine, as they put it, “Slayin’ zombies and head banging at the same time!”
Maximum Ink: Where did you guys come up with the badass idea for the game?
The Devil Wears Prada: The band wanted to do an extension of the Zombie EP. We wanted to give our fans something different than just a re-release. We met up with ECHO interaction group and developed the idea of Zombie Slay. It is a prequel first person swipe/shoot game to the Zombie EP Comic Book.
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