Bewitched- Diabolical Death Mass

 In 1996/1997, I was a freshman in college and deeply drawn in Black Metal but I have to admit I had become a little tired of it. Especially at that time, Black metal had actually become pretty popular and already started to morph away from what I loved about it. In just a few years, I would rediscover the black flame but, in that moment, I was ready for something else.

Luckily, I was apparently not the only one. As right after Nifelheim's debut a new class of bands began to rise. They were loosely classed as "retro-thrash" but really what they were doing was combining 80's first wave black and thrash with the darker sensibility of modern black metal. I fell hard for these bands and still listen regularly to them to this day. These bands included: Nocturnal Breed. Gehennah, Absu's Third Storm of Cythraul(still my favorite Absu record) and, yes, Bewitched. 

Bewitched started out being pretty unoriginal(the first track on the first record basically uses and inverts the song Evil by Mercyful Fate) and then grew to be kind of campy silly fun. I loved them anyway. They remained one of my favorite of those bands until Spiritual Warfare. So when I heard they were releasing a new record I immediately preordered it. I admit to some trepidation since most of those bands have either disappeared or don't sound nearly as good as they used to but here we are. So does the new record recapture the black flame? Well, let's find out.

I have to say that I think Diabolical Death Mass is their best record. Gone is the campiness of times past and replaced with a razor sharp focus. Vargher is in fine form. The ughs and punctuated high-pitched screams are all still there, as well as the Motorhead/Venom riffing but the difference is any amount of camp or goodnatured goofiness is gone. This record is bathed in black candle light and makes no bones about it. The themes are still satanic in nature but gone is any silliness. The lyrics are more focused and lacking the horror movie schlock of the lyrics in earlier records.

Beginning with an intro that appears to have an infant sacrificed in a ceremony to the title track all the way through Vicious and Wild, this record proves deadly serious and violent in it intent. Oh, it still inspires fist banging and headbanging but its more dark, deadly and razor sharp. Good and heavy with no side smirking in the delivery.

As I said this is the best Bewitched album and its a delight to get such a focused and heavy record 30 years after a band's debut. You should definitely check it out and , like me, plan to check out this reinvigorated Bewitched on tour. Hightlights: Diabolical Death Mass, By Satan Enslaved and Vicious and Wild. Its a great record from beginning to end, though. 

Hello

 I know its been a bit since I posted anything.

This is because of several family issues (good and bad) that have cropped  up since the beginning of May. Don't worry I still have more reviews coming. 

A new review should be posted by Friday.

Also if you're interested in post-industrial/ambient music check out my other project:

https://germtheory2.bandcamp.com/

Part of the reason for my tardiness is working on music for this project.

Thank you for reading and I should be back soon.
 

Live Report: Acid Bath, Crowbar, EYEHATEGOD and Whores

 I meant to write this up last weekend but life got in the way. Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. Just had a busy week.


So Acid Bath... Well, I've been a fan since randomly picking up "When the Kite String Pops" in 1994. That year was my biggest leap into extreme metal as it also represents about the time I got deeply into Black Metal as well. I never got the chance to see them in their prime. I was very glad to hear they were playing some shows and hoped for a local gig here. And sure enough, I was blessed with a stacked show.

But could Acid Bath 2026 live up to the hype? Let's find out.


Whores- Look this just isn't my thing. They really just sound like Helmet to me. It's noise rock. If you like Helmet, you'll probably like these guys. Live they were fun. You could tell they were having a good time. The bassist spent the whole time bouncing around the stage. And they were incredibly happy to be playing for us. They put on a great show so if noise rock is your thing you should definitely check them out.

EYEHATEGOD- I've seen these New Orleans gents a few times and they never disappoint. Same was true hear. The drummer pounded out doom grooves and the bassist held down that low end. Jimmy slammed into bluesy down tuned riff after riff. And Mike caterwauled his broken heart out about all sorts of horrific things. They truly captured their essence in this show and gave a great and angry performance. Always a recommend from me.

Crowbar- Probably the most accessible of the southern sludge bands.  Crowbar got up and plowed through a handful of songs reveling in the slow feedback drenched riffs. Hearing them live, I get why they were the first of these bands to get popular. Even though I'm not really familiar with them there were a number of songs I could sing along with. And Kirk sounded great especially since he had some sort of upper respiratory infection at the time of the show. Anyway they definitely put on a solid show. And even ended with my favorite song, "All I Had (I Gave)". 

Acid Bath- So, finally, the moment came. I was ridiculously excited. So how did this older version hold up? Pretty damn good. First Dax sounded great. He still has this great ability to make even out of tune singing sound good. He stood there in sunglasses barely moving and talking to the audience but somehow radiating everything that Acid Bath is; A Southern Gothic Psychedelic Black Nightmare. Lemmy once used that phrase to describe his time in Hawkwind but I think its far more appropriate here. There was a screen behind them that the other bands used to show their names but with Acid Bath it became a screen that perfectly reflected the music.  Dark visuals collided with twisting bright colors perfectly accentuating the songs and the performances. They played pretty much every song I could hope for them to play. This is definitly a show worth taking in. The only thing that wasn't great was Sammy and his cringy banter. It was out of place and felt really weird in this performance with this band.  I know they said there are no plans to record new music but there's a side of me that would be interested to hear what they would come up with 30 years later. Either way, we got a piece of American metal history and a great show to boot. 

So thank you for reading. Should have a couple of reviews up this coming week. Still banging along on this blog thing. Thanks for hanging out and bang the head that doesn't bang!

Live Report: Helloween and Beast in Black- Helloween 40th Anniversary tour

 So I have been a fan of Helloween for 35 years. I first picked up a best of in 1991. I loved all the songs and just kept listening. I still love their catalog and revisit it often to this day. 

I have, however, never seen them live. So when they announced last year that they were coming around, I knew I had to go. What I got was a mixed bag of sorts but all in all it was a fun night.

Beast In Black- What the fuck did I just hear? Honestly, I can't imagine worse music in my life. It's like combining hard rock with the worst of the Euro techno stuff that got popular in the late 90's. Basically imagine that "Barbie Girl" song done as  a metal cover but much, much worse. Imagine if "Eye  of the Tiger" sucked. That's the kind of music we're talking about here. But what do I know. There were several people who seemed to enjoy it. But as far as my girl and I... well, we were basically passing notes mocking them the whole time.  As far as their performance? Well, it was fine. They definitely had a good time and they capably played to and with the audience. So, if you're a fan of the band, I bet you'll enjoy it. Why you're reading this blog I can't imagine, though. 

Helloween- And finally the pumpkins arrive. A seven member band is a lot and I imagine a lot can get lost in the shuffle. Did the pumpkins pull it out? Were they good? Quite frankly, absolutely! It was one of the best shows I've ever seen. They had a electronic backdrop that changed with each song and had moving images on it. Each and every member looked like they were having the time of their lives. With three guitars, they could lean into the twin guitar thing but still have the rhythm playing. This actually made the songs feel heavier. The drums and bass held the rhythm down admirably and that drummer is one of the few that got a drum solo and truly deserved it. The vocal duties were perfectly balanced with Andi, Michael and Kai each singing songs from their specific era of the band except on some of the best known songs like "Halloween" and "Eagle Fly Free" where they would trade off. And speaking of vocals, all three sounded amazing! I really felt  like I was 14 again listening to the older stuff. Unfortunately curfew laws made them cut "Keeper of the Seven Keys" down to just the last verse after "Eagle Fly Free" but otherwise it was a great night and I left with a sore neck and a hoarse throat from yelling all the lyrics along with the band.

Either way, Helloween is a band firing on all cylinders. If this tour comes to your town I fully recommend it. Well, except Beast In Black. Maybe get a few drinks at the bar then take in a fantastic show.  

Locus Noir- Shadow Sun

 Hey, ain't you lucky! Two posts in one day. Amazing!

So, one style that I have always had a very love/hate relationship with is Gothic Metal. I love Type O Negative and some other bands but the style seemed, in the 2000's, to morph into what I call "Sad Bastard Metal" (to paraphrase Nick Cave). It lost what made it darkly triumphant and just became people whining about stuff and I've never been a huge fan of that. 

So here comes Locus Noir. This is a band that comes from the singer, Ben DMN, of Sybreed... who I know almost nothing about with the exception that they made some waves 10-15 years ago. The lead singer formed this project to reclaim the "spirit of 90's Gothic Metal". Well, I AM a fan of 90's Gothic Metal so let's see if he succeeded.

Actually I would say so. Locus Noir released two singles, one with Ben Christo (for those of you playing the home game, the guitarist of Sisters of Mercy). I rather enjoyed both songs. I played them pretty often. But listening to the record those are probably the weakest songs. The album bounces with keyboard driven darkness over metal guitars and clashing drums.  Ben's voice definitely has that low tone you want in a good Gothic singer but his voice has texture and character all its own. The keyboards set the right atmosphere and the guitars chug enough to remind the listener they are listening to a metal album. Even the Lady Gaga, "Marry the Night", works well and sets the pace for triumph in darkness as opposed to crying about stuff all the time. There are themes of tragedy, of course. They are just dealt with in a manner of more defiance than sadness, which I prefer. All in all an effort I have already revisited a few times since it was released in February. 

Highlights: Shadow Sun, She Haunts the Night and Death, that Elusive Mistress. While these are the best songs on the record the whole thing is worth the price of admission even the two bonus tracks (one of which is the cover I mentioned). So go on and check them out especially if you're a fan of Type O Negative, early Moonspell and Dreadful Shadows. 

Live Report: Weedeater and Conan.

 So I dd not, in fact, get that review out. Oh, well, that's life. But Anyway we move forward.


I haven't been to a small club show in forever. We're taking pre- Covid. This is mostly for logistics reasons and has nothing to do with the virus. 


Well, I heard Weedeater was coming around and we all know I love my Southern sludge, so off my girl and I went to see this massive bill of 4 bands. Pretty good value for the ticket price. 

Ah, but were they any good? That is a great question, dear reader, so let's get into it. 


Bigfoot- I have never heard of these guys in my life. Apparently they've been around for over a decade and I find it hard to believe I have NEVER crossed paths with 'em but here we are. I was skeptical because I've heard them referred to as a "stoner rock" band and, I'll be honest, most modern stoner rock bores me to tears. Well, I shouldn't have worried. These guys kicked serious ass. Their music was loud and wild. The lead singer looked a little like Charles Manson and gave off a threatening and yet charismatic aura. You couldn't help following him and his antics. The music is definitely heavy southern tinged hard rock and they were a lot of fun live. Even working in a medley of "Bang Your Head(Metal Health)" and "Peaches" [Yes, the song by the Presidents of the United States of America] that completely worked. This was a great way to start off the evening and one of the better openers I've ever seen. 

Telekentic Yeti- So when I said I don't really like stoner rock, I'm talking about bands like Telekinetic Yeti. These guys are great musicians but I get pretty bored with the same Hawkwind-isms over and over and every song being about pot. I grew up on the beginnings of stoner rock (I.e Monster Magnet, Kyuss, etc.) and they didn't make getting high their entire personality. But I digress. Live they weren't bad. The lead singer wasn't the most charismatic but he ably fronted the band. The drummer did do something interesting by positioning his drum kit to the side so you could see his whole body. He was pretty fun to watch. Musically they were best when they locked into a heavy groove which didn't happen nearly enough. Look, if you like this style of music you could do a lot worse than checking out Telekinetic Yeti live.

Conan- So ,I have to be honest, I've never got the appeal of Conan. Yes, I love doom and sludge and, on paper, they would seem to be up my alley but there's just something missing. I call Conan "Adult Swim" metal. It feels pretty irony- heavy rather than sincere and I'm never sure if they're just pulling some massive Andy Kaufman- style joke on metalheads. But,hey, what do I know? I went ahead and gave them a shot as I've never seen them live before. Maybe they could convince me of their worth? Yeah, that wasn't in the cards. Their set was one of the most boring sets I've ever witnessed.  I mean they were slow and heavy and all but the guitarist had set up his rig in such a way that you couldn't hear what was happening and the guitar was just constantly feedbacking even through the songs. No riffs were audible and it made his attempt to play a solo laughable. To be fair, No one else really seemed to care since a large mosh pit (???) opened up in the crowd. Also the band had no charisma at all and they felt like they were each playing a different show.   It was just very bland in my opinion. Also moshing to Conan is crazy work, as the kids these days say. 

Weedeater- This is my second time seeing Weedeater as I saw them in the 2000's at a small club show. They were very good again. They were successfully low and heavy but I somehow heard and felt every riff (maybe Conan should take note). Dixie was hilarious as he was squinting and vibrating like a lunatic. He opened to show by saying "We are Weedeater from Wilmington, NC; welcome to band practice." You knew what you were getting into; They played their great cover of "Give Me Back My bullets" as well which the crowd screamed over the band. The guitarist and the drummer also ably interacted with the audience but the real star was Dixie with his twitching, jumping around and wild bass playing. It was a lot of fun that, rightly, started up a huge mosh pit. Weedeater is a great band that I suggest seeing live often as well as listen to all their records. If they tour near you, go check them out.

Honestly, Bigfoot was the best live band out of the four and I look forward to seeing them again the most. Anyway, thank you reading and I'll be back with another record review in the next few days.

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men...

 Welp, no second review this week. I got pretty sick and am still recovering.


I'm pretty sure you'll get 2 reviews Next Week, with one coming out Monday. 

Thanks for reading and stay tuned more is definitely coming from this little blog.