Anthrax

Throughout their infamous 20 year career, the mighty ANTHRAX has always prided themselves on being a band of the people, for the people and by the people. This being said and with 2004 being an election year, ANTHRAX have taken that ideal one step further with their upcoming release, THE GREATER OF TWO EVILS, an all out assault on their history with each song being voted on by their fans via the Internet.

Recorded “live” in the studio over the course of two days, THE GREATER OF TWO EVILS stands out, as guitarist Scott Ian puts it, “As a raw, balls out, and in your face representation of how brutal this band is, was, and will always be.”

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American Headcharge

When the name of your band is American Headcharge , and your album cover for debut release The War Of Art depicts a black-eyed Uncle Sam pointing a gun at the listener, you’ve got to excuse people for assuming you might have a political slant. But according to bassist/guitarist/all-around-American Headcharge -musical force Chad Hanks, that’s just the problem.

“There’s absolutely no tie in at all,” Hanks says of his band and politics. A logical question though, especially in light of the recent terrorist attacks on America, and Headcharge’s ironically appropriate Uncle Sam imagery. “That imagery is the funniest part of the whole thing. It’s like Andy Kaufman shit! It has nothing to do with anything, it was just great imagery, especially considering that we’ve got American in our name.

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Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath, the original four horsemen of the metal apocalypse, charged their reunited forces across foreign soil earlier this year, saving their triumphant return to America for a winter tour kicking off in Phoenix on New Year’s Eve. Working up to the live run, bassist Geezer Butler, guitarist Tony Iommi, fabled frontman Ozzy Osbourne, and drummer Bill Ward issued Reunion, a double live CD that smokes with the haunting Sabbath dirges and staunch, dark music of heavy metal’s most influential outfit. As Butler and Iommi indicated in a late October interview while doing press in New York City, the CD is just the tip of the iceberg.

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Black Label Society

There’s nothing subtle about Zakk Wylde. He’s the guitar demon that laid the sinister soundtrack to Ozzy Osbourne’s No Rest for the Wicked and No More Tears, breathing insanity into “Crazy Babies,” ripping through “Demon Alcohol” and raising hell on earth with “Tattooed Dancer.” He wore his Southern pride on his sleeve with Pride & Glory, enjoying fleeting success with the project, but not completely satisfying his hunger to rock with reckless abandonment. From there he split songwriting time between Osbourne’s Ozzmosis album and Guns N’ Roses, in the process, recording his solo-acoustic Book of Shadows, an album that made for an interesting sidebar for the shredding metal phenom, but only intensified his desire to raise Caine with six-string, Sabbath-inspired salutations.

When writing with GN’R seemed a dead-end road, Wylde had a revelation—he’d sing the songs himself, give them his own voice, and create a band that fulfilled his vision of rock’s most brutal attributes. He dubbed the band Black Label Society

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The Beastie Boys - Mix Master Mike

November might be cold in Wisconsin, but just before Talib Kweli’s set at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, I had the chance to speak to one of the hottest DJs in the game. He’s the DJ for the headlining Beastie Boys and one of the founding members of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, but this 34 year-old California native waxes about music, life on the road and the like.

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Ministry

Maximum Ink’s first cover story! Paul Gargano interviews Ministry’s Paul Barker…

Ministry was never intended for the faint at heart, but for even the most faithful Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker fans, Filth Pig seems to be, well, exceptionally filthy. Ministry’s long-awaited sixth studio release digs deep for the duo, taking artistic turns that previous efforts couldn’t hint at. Whether it’s the musical presence of mandolin, harmonica and pedal steel guitar, the surprising lack of samples, or the more personal tone of the lyrics, evolution has crashed head-on with music’s missing links. With all other side projects on hold, Ministry bassist, programmer and sometime-vocalist Paul Barker offers a closer look at the dynamics of, and dirt behind, Filth Pig.

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The Burden Brothers

I ran into the Burden Brothers completely on accident at this year’s South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. Their crowd was as big as their sound and I was totally impressed with the songwriting, performance and energy they put out. They played together like a pro sports team, well honed. I spoke with Cory Rozzoni who left Madison to relocate in Dallas.

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