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By Korgüll The Destroyer - Metal for Supper - The Afternoon Edition - 05/10/2005

If you are looking for a band that recaptures -- or simply mimics -- the glory days of Black Sabbath, don’t bother with GZR. One might be inclined to expect that founding member and Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler’s project to be a rehash of times past, but this album is actually quite modern.

This is fairly straight-up heavy metal, no fancy sub-genre to stick it into. Album opener “Misfit” is a simple, catchy, fast-paced song to bang your head to. Even then, it isn’t that fast. Most of the songs move at about a Metallica ballad-esque pace, which is fine since the faster songs tend to be the weaker ones. Tracks like “Pardon My Depression” and “I Believe” are the most interesting and engaging, while “Pull the Strings” and “Dogs of Whore” provide some catchier songs for the record. The emotion is pretty well-delivered throughout the album, and although it never gets really intense, they do all sound quite genuine.

After having listened to the album a few times, even the parts that were annoying initially have become less so. The rapping on “Prisoner 103” is rather grating at first, but eventually becomes tolerable thanks to the chorus of said song. The electronic-like female vocals at the start of “Pseudocide” are also quite irritating, but not nearly as much as the chorus that follows. Luckily, this is the shortest song on the album and is easily either skipped or ignored. These few unpleasant moments don’t detract too much from the whole thing, fortunately.

Butler certainly won’t have a hand in redefining music with this project of his, but that would be expecting far too much anyway. GZR is a band that is aware of the musical climate that it exists in, and is not a sad or embarrassing attempt to recapture or rehash glory days long since past. Not perfect, and hardly groundbreaking, Ohmwork is still a decent and enjoyable album. While I wouldn’t encourage you all to run out and buy the album right now, I don’t believe it deserves to be brushed aside without a second thought.

[Tune in to Metal For Supper every Thursdays 2pm - 4pm]

By Marc Wiltshire - The Humpday Buffet - 04/20/05

A swarm of teenagers were roaming the Spectrum on April 20th to see one of the legions of Southern California’s ska-punk scene. If you’re not familiar with Reel Big Fish, then I’d like to know which cave you’ve been living in for the past eight years. In 1997, following the commercial success of their musical peers No Doubt and Sublime, Reel Big Fish broke through with their song “Sell Out”, which became an MTV favourite. Since then, they have maintained a constant style of ska mixed with punk and reggae, but their trademark is and always has been their juvenile and hyperkinetic behaviour on stage.

Whether you’re a Reel Big Fish fan or not, it’s hard to argue against their live performances. They charged up the Spectrum on with their high-energy and fun-loving music; it felt more like a college party than a concert, because more often than not, concerts are somewhat too formal. This may seem odd, but think about it in the sense that big venues don’t often carry the same intimacy as smaller venues, unless the band accentuates that vibe, and Reel Big Fish did just that. I personally just love when a band speaks to an audience and shares that moment with them, instead of only among themselves and occasionally saying “hello, how are you doing, this is this song…applause!”. Now don’t get me wrong, it isn’t the chit-chat that makes a great show, but I must say that it adds to the personal feel of the show, and makes the audience feel like they are partying with these guys as opposed to simply gawking at them. It also helps to see that the band members aren’t arrogant, or are so over-the-top arrogant to that you just laugh at them for being so conceited. That’s Reel Big Fish for you.

They started the show off with a classic fast-paced tune, bringing a lot of energy onto the stage and into the crowd and kept on going at that level throughout the show. It was one of the few times I went to see a concert by myself, and what surprised me was that I didn’t feel alone. Originally their music was designed for frat parties, and that’s kind of what it felt like. It was thoroughly entertaining to see these guys live, especially after watching Baseketball and laughing at their appearances in that movie. They continued to rock out with several new songs as well as classics from their older albums. The chemistry within the band made for great coordination, but I felt their songs eventually melded into one or two similar-sounding ones. Maybe I just haven’t listened to their music enough to tell the songs apart, but it seems repetitive at one point. Although this may have been the case for part of the show, I was delighted to hear them close with my favourite song -- although it’s a cover -- “Take On Me”. What was great was that they played it even better than I would have expected it. It left me satisfied enough to want to party some more afterwards, which is always sexy. All in all, it was a fun show to see. Their music is somewhat eclectic and it’s certainly great party music, but I wouldn’t get very far lighting a candle and listening to the lyrics in search of deeper meaning. It is perfectly suitable for a good party, just like their show was to me.

[Tune in to The Humpday Buffet Wednesdays noon to 2pm]

By DCU - No Sleep Til Bedtime - 05/27/05

Being south of the border, and early for the Maryland Death Fest, also brought the perk of being able to check out a local show the night before. And what a show it was to be, Baltimore’s own Swarm of the Lotus, The Blackfire Revelation, Pig Destroyer, and New York noise rock legends Unsane, so we set out through what would be a harrowing journey through the city. After seemingly being lost for 45 minutes through some incredibly questionable areas of Baltimore (where asking directions with a random pedestrian did not seem the wisest of decisions), we finally found our way to the Ottobar. Sadly Swarm of the Lotus had already performed by this time (along with BARS and Dactyl), which was disappointing as their 2004 release When White Becomes Black was one of my favorite records of last year. At least solace can be taken in the fact that their signing to Abacus Records and their upcoming new album release will no doubt mean more extensive touring.

Opening up the show for me was the New Orleans duo The Blackfire Revelation. Last month I heard the band’s Gold and Guns on 51 EP, and was kind of taken aback. While not earth shattering, the EP came at a perfect time for me as the sludgy blues styled hard rock was definitely refreshing in comparison with what I was currently listening to. They opened up the show with “Battle Hymn” an energetic stop-start rock song that was truly the high point of their set. From this point on everything went down hill as they just were not able to retain the energy and groove. Most of the audience was elated when they announced the end of their set, as what initially was an interesting dynamic of a performing duo (à la DFA1979), turned into a sound that was just too stripped down to accept as something meaningful and first rate.

Next up was one of my favorite bands of recent year, Pig Destroyer, with what seemed to be a welcome but strange billing for the band. The three piece (guitar, drums, and vocals, no bass) rifled through an intense set and while being out of place from The Blackfire Revelation and Unsane they made a strong impression on everyone present. Singer JR Hayes offered up a foray of shrieks and screaming that gives PxDx part of their distinctive sound, while the guitar and drums (a duo done right) created the intense wall of sound that completed the onslaught. While the crowd wasn’t generally too aggressive (except for a small group of assholes linking arms and clothes-lining people in a group of three), the extreme and disturbing nature of the music seemed to be collectively acknowledged by all. The high point in the set was the track ‘thumbsucker’ off their recent release Terrifyer, with a stealthy and grooving guitar riff that just seemed to cause the room to vibrate.

Closing off the night were acclaimed noise rock kings Unsane, back with their reunion album and tour. While I was familiar with the band’s major successful songs in the past, I never considered myself a fan until hearing their recent release Blood Run. Musically their set was flawless, casting a spell on the crowd. The room was so incredibly hot and humid and this just added to the heaviness of their sound as they rocked through several tracks at a time. The raw vocals complemented with thick bass lines and sharp guitar tone demonstrated their style of intensity through simplicity. Playing songs new and old, the trio has not missed a beat and showcased exactly why even after 15 years, and a hiatus, they are still completely pertinent to the modern rock and metal scenes.

By T BONE - Beer O'Clock - 06/13/05

“It is Monday night, don’t you guys have jobs to go to in morning?” says the bass player for Atomic Bitchwax over the mic. And the 100 people who were at Foufounes on Monday night responded with an overwhelming “yes”, but we didn’t give a fuck if we have to. The gesture was done with beer in the air with much hollering. Yes, we all came here to feel the serpents of rock play. I actually didn’t really know them until the show other than by name. The K-man from Beyond THAT Grave Yard III called it the American version of the Illuminati. He continued by telling me to mix some Stevie Ray Vaughn and you’ll have Atomic Bitchwax. He simply finished off by being straightforward: “Dude, they’re fucking heavy!”. OK, OK, that was worth conning my way out of work to drink some beers on the patio and have a few smokes. At 8PM, I was at Foufounes sipping wine and feeling fine.

OK, time for a quick tangent. I have been currently reading a book on Possessions and Trance in Bali. The Balinese put great importance in the trance state and is accepted in a wide range of practices from artistic to religious. The highest type of trance for the Balinese comes from the gods. However, this type of trance is usually initiated only in temple ceremonies. A temple ceremony is a sacred place where rituals and offerings are made to the gods or past ancestors in gratitude. To this end, they will often use music to induce trance and invite the gods to the ceremony. Therefore the highest type of music for the Balinese is music created by the gods and channelled through musicians in a trance. It is easy to look at all this with awe mixed with a hint of jealously for these practices. We can lament on how we have gotten so far away from it, living here in the consuming West. But I would beg to differ. Or at least I would surmise that we’re not very far off and that we are closer than we think. Brad Warner, the Zen Master and monster movie maker wrote an interesting book called Hardcore Zen. One chapter in that book was called “Why is Gene Simons not a Zen Master?”. I won’t ruin the punchline for you as Brad wrote it quite eloquently, so I will only leave you with the initial question. Can musicians be intrinsically interested in reality and express it in their playing?

So to get back to Atomic Bitchwax -- for us who are into rock n’ roll -- I will ask you another question: who hasn’t felt this trance-like state watching your favourite band? You know the feeling, although it may be different for each band; there is a smoothness, like melting honey that fills your whole being. You become loose and your body, head, or whatever you feel is moving, is dancing to the rhythm. For experienced musicians, you might get that feeling when you are playing; your mind becomes quiet and your movements are perceived as involuntary. Like Steve from the Saga once told me that it was only when he played that he felt completely free. But then why is Gene Simons not a Zen Master?

This is where we really get into our Atomic Bitchwax. The first band Steeltow were really good. It is one of those bands that would be quite amazing if they just went out and tour constantly. Good rock with strong vocals. As for Floating Widget, they were more memorable when they opened up for Alabama Thunder Pussy. Mind you, I was completely tanked and stoned at the ATP show, so maybe anything sounded good. Don’t get me wrong, Floating Widget were good with strong vocals, but there were too much rock theatrics for this type of rock show. My personal feeling is that like the first band, they haven’t had a chance to tour constantly and lose that sense of wanting to perform instead of just playing. There is no two ways about it, if you want to be in a solid rock band, you have to play all the time, and that takes balls because you’re gonna be poor.

When Atomic Bitchwax came on stage, you could tell that in their own right, they were masters. Not that Steeltow and Floating Widget were bad, it’s just that Atomic Bitchwax just completely outranks them in the amount of hours they have played as a band. It does make a huge different, especially for rock bands. They played a solid set with, blistering solos, lots of rhythm and good soul, everything sounded right and in place. Nothing seems to be forced. If you weren’t there, you should have been. At the end of it all, you sometimes find order in the chaos of a rock show. When Atomic Bitchwax was about to play their last song, a guy who looked like the Deaner from FUBAR climbed on stage. He then proceeded to bow with hand-in-fist reverence to each of the musicians. He then jumped off the stage and was carried out by a procession of people who took him to the four corner of the room like a Jesus on a cross. Atomic Bitchwax went into their last song with their fake encore, and walked off the stage. From the stage, the bassist directed himself straight to the merch table to sell some shirts and records for gas money.

Can Gene Simons be a Zen Master? Can Atomic Bitchwax be a Zen Master? Can rock n’ roll be your Zen Master? If you think that’s not possible, let me remind you that we live in a world where Michael Jackson is innocent of all charges.

[Tune into the Beer O’Clock Fridays at 8:00pm]