CHUCK NORRIS EXPERIMENT hail from Gothenburg, Sweden, go by their adopted names - Chuck Daniels (lead guitar), Chuck Van Horn (drums), Dr, Chuck Ransom (vocals), Chuck The Ripper (guitar) and Chuck Dakota (bass) - and play sweet punk ‘n’ roll. The band formed in 2004 after ex-lead guitarist Chuck Rooster met the real Chuck Norris in an L.A. club and, in his excitement, told him he played in the as-yet-inexistent group called CHUCK NORRIS EXPERIENCE - or so the story goes. According to a different story, the name is a tribute to the legendary American blues guitarist Charles “Chuck” Norris, who recorded his live album, ‘Los Angeles Flash’, in band's hometown in 1980. As stated in the third story, their debut came together within the span of a mere ten rehearsals, was recorded live with no overdubs allowed, and was released in 2005. Three albums later, ‘Volume Voltage’ (2006), ‘And The Rest Will Follow’ (2007), ‘The Return Of Rock’N’Roll’ (2008), CHUCK NORRIS EXPERIMENT is richer for two new bloodthirsty band members and has its new red-hot uniforms ready for show (and the makeup kit screaming for action). Listen to their new album ‘Dead Central’ here (SoundCloud). ‘Dead Central’ is set for release November 12th, 2010 (12. 11. 2010) via I Hate Records and Evil Wheel Records.
Watch the video for ‘Psycho Man’, featuring Texas Terri as the biker chick, below. The song comes off ‘Dead Central’; the video was made by Glibb.
When a band names itself דעת and its guitarist's and founder's name could be your neighbor's you should take notice, dear visitor, heh. DAATH, Atlanta, Georgia-based quintet's fourth self-titled album is being released upon this world today. Released through Century Media Records, the album was produced by Mark Lewis and the group's guitarist Eyal Levi. Three new songs, ‘Indestructible Overdose’, ‘Double Tap Suicide’ and ‘N.A.T.G.O.D.’, can be played via players available below. Eyal Levi had the following to say about the new album: “In retrospect, I will say that more sacrifice was put into this record than anything I’ve ever been involved in. The content is extremely dark, distraught, and completely honest. The timing is appropriate as well considering how lacking music has been in the creative department for the last year or two. I'm not hinting that we are going to become some pop culture phenomenon. We have no interest in that. As long as someone completely hates it, loves it or is moved in anyway be it positive or negative, our job is done. We have no interest in middle ground. You would have to be deaf to not hear that.”
“The self-titled ‘Dååth’ represents a step forward by means of a step backward, since it sees the Atlanta, Georgia-based quintet cautiously flirting with the symphonic, electronic, and industrial elements that so dominated its first two efforts, after virtually abandoning them on [their] third album. Caution is the operative word, however, because these elements rarely exceed the role of embellishments on what are otherwise some of the most brutal quasi-black metal assaults of DAATH's career (see ‘Destruction/Restoration’, ‘Exit Plan’, ‘Accelerant’ etc.) and, in the case of bipolar opener ‘Genocidal Maniac’ almost comical in moving from ‘Lick My Love Pump’ [SPINAL TAP] territory to gratuitous violence with troubling ease. In essence, this state of affairs is another reminder that now it’s the guitar-wielding duo of Eyal Levi and Emil Werstler (whose superlative lead work remains a must-hear proposition in its own right) running the DAATH show, instead of the band's original Kabbalah-inspired keyboard player and chief composer, Mike Kameron,” [commented the release Eduardo Rivadavia, AllMusic – more here]
DAATH was formed in 2003 by childhood friends guitarist Eyal Levi, vocalist and keyboardist Mike Kameron and vocalst Sean Farber. Perfecting their unique blend of death, thrash, and black metal with symphonic and electronic elements, DAATH self-released their debut album, ‘Futility’, in 2004. Their second full-length, 2007's ‘The Hinderers’, was released through Roadrunner Records. Produced by James Murphy, the ambitious album's lyrics were based on the Kabbalistic concept of an inverted “Tree Of Life”, with each of the thirteen songs representing one of the points on the tree.
“ ‘The Hinderers’ largely succeeds solely on its aforementioned musical merits [“meshing ample symphonic and electronic elements into an otherwise archetypal death metal sound”], providing equally satisfying physical catharsis for the head-banging faithful, as it does cerebral stimulation for those who actually care about all of this thematic mucky-muck,” [commented Eduardo Rivadavia, AllMusic – more here]:
DAATH's third album would be the group's first without vocalist and keyboardist Mike Kameron, whose replacement was found in Sean Zatorsky. ‘The Concealers’ was released in 2009 through Century Media Records:
TRIPTYKON, avant-garde extreme metal proposition orchestrated by heavy metal legend Tom Gabriel Warrior (Thomas Gabriel Fischer) of CELTIC FROST and HELLHAMMER fame, has released new video for the title-track ‘Shatter’, taken from their new five-track EP. EP is to be released on October 25th, 2010 (25. 10. 2010) in Europe and on October 26th, 2010 in North America via Century Media Records. Video, based on a concept devised by Warrior which combines the imagery of occult metal with the somber aesthetics of 1920s-era silent movies, was filmed and directed by Philip Hirsch of Film-M.
EP ‘Shatter’ was produced by Warrior himself. Track listing is as follows: ‘Shatter’ , ‘I Am the Twilight’ , ‘Cruxifixus’ , ‘Circle of the Tyrants’ (Live) and ‘Dethroned Emperor’ (Live). Tracks 4 and 5 are cover versions of CELTIC FROST songs, recorded live during TRIPTYKON's headliner performance at the Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, The Netherlands in April, 2010. ‘Dethroned Emperor’ features guest lead vocals by “Nocturno Culto” (Ted Skjellum, singer for DARKTHRONE).
TRYPTIKON features: Thomas Gabriel Fischer – vocals & guitar, V. Santura (DARK FORTRESS) – guitar & vocals, Norman Lonhard (FEAR MY THOUGHTS) – drums and Vanja Slajh – bass.
Blackened doom outfit WITHERED's third album, ‘Dualitas’, is due out on October 26th, 2010 (26. 10. 2010) via Prosthetic Records. ‘Dualitas’ was produced by KYLESA's member Philip Cope; with album artwork created by Paul Romano.
WITHERED was formed by guitarists & singers Chris Freeman and Mike Thompson in Atlanta (Georgia, USA) in 2003 and “exists to explore the darker aspects of human existence and deliver it to the masses while exemplifying unbridled truths about human nature. From the exploration of coping with tragedy to theoretical philosophical approaches, WITHERED continues to push their boundaries of perception into a realm of solitude and raw introspective discovery,” according to the press release. They also play good music. In 2005 they got signed by Lifeforce Records and released its debut album ‘Memento Mori’. Bassist Greg Hess left the band and was replaced by Mike Longoria and drummer Beau Brandon filled vacancy left by Wes Kever. WITHERED signed to Prosthetic Records in 2008 and released their second album, ‘Foile Circulaire’, that same year. Music critic William Ruhlmann (AllMusic) reviewed it thusly: “The two guitars provide majestic midtempo riffs on such songs as ‘Gnosis Unveils’ and ‘Purification of Ignorance’ although the band also manages some typical speed metal pummeling elsewhere. The CD booklet provides a lyric sheet that reveals abstract Biblical reflections on doom and gloom, and those sentiments would be unknown otherwise, since the howled vocals are utterly indiscernible in the mix. [Heh] What matters here are those guitars, creating forceful music that carries a meaning of its own.”
German black metal outfit DARK FORTRESS has just released video for the title-track ‘Ylem’, taken from their latest album released back in January 2010 via Century Media. The idea behind the song and the clip is very specific and was eloquently explained by vocalist [known as] Morean: “The title track of our last album is a spell summoning the death of the universe in an accelerated “big crunch”. The end of all living matter in the universe is inevitable, and in this invocation the sorcerer is a witness to this inevitable cosmic disaster. The clip is set in an atmosphere of desertion, with no more signs of civilization, after the exponentially growing sun has scorched away all traces of life. As a last refuge, going underground offers the only shelter that is left, where the protagonist willingly surrenders to destruction and embraces his own end in a vision evoking both the distant past and distant future of our planet.”
‘Ylem’ was described as “fearless [album]” by AllMusic critic Eduardo Rivadavia. It is the sixth studio release by DARK FORTRESS and the second to feature new vocalist Morean who explained the album thusly: “On ‘Ylem’ we explore the stylistic diversity inherent in this band deeper than ever before. There is a lot of slow, very heavy stuff going on, some truly rotten clean parts, but also insane blast beats, some orchestral darkness, and tons of killer riffs to break your neck to. It is our ambition that every song is its own world and has a strong and unmistakable identity. We exploited this ambition to the fullest here.”
DARK FORTRESS features: Morean on vocals, V. Santura on guitars, Asvargr on guitars, Seraph on drums, Draug on bass and Paymon on keyboards.
ARSON ANTHEM's upcoming debut full-length entitled ‘Insecurity Notoriety’ is set for Housecore Records-release on October 12th, 2010 (12. 10. 2010).
ARSON ANTHEM, hardcore punk band featuring an all-star lineup that includes Phil Anselmo, (PANTERA/DOWN/SUPERJOINT RITUAL) on guitar, Hank Williams III (SUPERJOINT RITUAL/ASSJACK) on drums, Mike IX Williams (OUTLAW ORDER/EYEHATEGOD) on vocals and Collin Yeo (PONYKILLER) on bass, formed in New Orleans, USA in 2006. After losing all his possessions in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, Mike Williams moved into Anselmo's spare apartment and the two spent countless hours listening to Phil's collection of early hardcore bands. As an attempt to revisit the days of “pure” hardcore, ARSON ANTHEM released their debut eight track self-titled EP in 2008. The EP, reportedly, not only harnessed the hardcore sound but also wrapped it in with a healthy dose of sludge.
Anselmo told Noisecreep about ARSON ANTHEM's humble origins: “Everyone was scrambling to get their lives back together, which left little time for making music. Equipment was gone, you know. Playing music with amps and a PA was the last thing on people's minds. Me and Mike were holed up, and EYEHATEGOD was on hold and this was before DOWN considered getting back together; we were right on the cusp of it, actually. But we did this out of pure frustration. Hank [Williams III] came down and everything gelled, and it was an awesome thing to do, so we decided to do a full-length and I am really happy about this. It’s fucking as true as it can be."
OZZY OSBOURNE's album ‘Scream – Tour Edition’ - a two-CD tour version of the album ‘Scream’, is being released in the U.S. today, October 5th, 2010, through Epic Records. The package contains the original album on the first CD, and a second CD containing seven bonus songs: ‘One More Time’ (originally a pre-order iTunes exclusive), ‘Jump The Moon’ (originally a bonus track on the Japanese release) and ‘Hand Of The Enemy’ (previously unreleased track from the ‘Scream’ sessions, and four additional live tracks recorded during the UK leg of the ‘Scream’ tour: ‘Bark At The Moon’, ‘Let Me Hear You Scream’, ‘No More Tears’ and a cover of BLACK SABBATH's ‘Fairies Wear Boots’.
AllMusic's critic James Christopher Monger describes Ozzy's latest effort as one that suffers from “a handful of songs are great and the rest are OK - curse” and continues to say that the songs that are great are great indeed : “ ‘Scream’ may not win any awards for brain cell power as far as titles go, but the 11 tracks contained within find the “Prince Of Darkness” in fine form. People who only know the metal legend from watching him mumble and baby step around his house in sunglasses and a track suit on reality television can hardly be blamed for steering away from his music, but it only takes one chorus of opener ‘Let It Die’ to suggest otherwise. Ozzy Osbourne may be more product than man these days, but for every uncomfortable TV commercial there’s a ‘Time’ or a ‘Let Me Hear You Scream’ to help remind people that the man behind the machine still has at least one hand on the wheel.”
