Ian Christe's Blog, page 51
September 2, 2016
TOUCH AND GO/WE GOT POWER!’s Keith Morris Ventures Out with New Autobiography
Keith Morris, early singer of Black Flag, longtime frontman of Los Angeles brute-rock legends Circle Jerks, and current-day outspoken and extremely vocal vocalistofOff! and Flag, has stepped up his writing habit after penning two essays for Bazillion Points books (Touch and Go and We Got Power!). This week sees the hardcover release of his full-length debutMy Damage: The Story of a Punk Rock Survivor.
Morris celebrated with a pre-release signing over the weekend at L.A.’s Skylight Books. We G...
September 1, 2016
SUB POP USA: Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks, etc. Can Bite It—Sub Pop Named Best Place to Work
Congratulations to the winningest losers at Sub Pop Records! Amidst local competition on the titanic order of Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks, and Archie McPhee, Seattle Weekly’s 2016 “Best of Seattle” reader’s poll issue has named Sub Pop Records the city’s “Best Place to Work.”
The Weekly cites Sub Pop’s company culture of constant wisecracking; free-roaming dogs in the office; and perks on the order of annual employee trips to locales such as Costa Rica and New Zealand.
The music matters mos...
MEAN DEVIATION: ProgPower USA Poised to Wash, Rinse, and Blow Minds
Rabid readers of MEAN DEVIATION: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal rejoice! ProgPower USA XVII rests fully amped and aimed high at the outer regions of consciousness in anticipation of the festival’s September 7 launch. Once again, our planet’s premiere practitioners of progressive rock and power metal will converge on Center Stage Atlanta in Georgia for four nights of mind-expanding music, futuristic medieval mayhem, and all-around cosmic communion.
In addition to the arr...
The Swedish Death Metal Band of the Week Is REGURGITATE
Never to be confused with Regurgitate from Avesta—who raucously rage in their own right—the Stockholm-based Regurgitate is a powerhouse/clearinghouse of Swedish death metal talents blasting savage grindcore under the towering tutelage of vocalist Rikard “Rugge” Janssen. Since forming in 1990, Regurgiate’s rotating lineup has recruited drummer Peter Stärvind of Entombed and Merciless, as well as members of Afflicted, Crematory, Dawn, and General Surgery, among other brutish battalions.
Allowin...
August 28, 2016
Bloody Roots of Analog Synths in Metal on Sirius XM
BLOODY ROOTS OF ANALOGSYNTHSIN METAL
Week of August 27, 2016
Sat 8/27, 6PM ET
Sun 8/28, 1PM ET
Mon 8/29, 9AM ET
Tues 8/30, 4PM ET
Thurs 9/1, 9PM ET
This week no stiff digital synthesizers shall be allowed! …but mindbending old school analogsynthsare welcome as Ian Christe (“Sound of the Beast”/Bazillion Points) explores the ominous drones, piercing squelches, and shimmering waves of circuitry with tracks by Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Sigh, Amorphis, Ufommamut, Zemial, Hammers of Misfortune, Ihsa...
August 25, 2016
NYHC: Sick of It All’s XXXth Anniversary Tour Stomps Europe, U.S., Mexico, Down Under
New York hardcore veterans Sick of It All have returned from storming the British Isles by way of a one-off date at the Off Limits Festival in Mexico. They’ve spent the summer slamming abattle-hardened but always energetic and affirmative path through Ireland, Scotland, and England, in preparation for a deeper turn through Europe (with Wisdom in Chains and Crowned Kings), the U.S. (with Comeback Kid and Friend or Foe), and Australia (with the Refused and High Tension).
The occasion is the ba...
August 24, 2016
MERCILESS Is the Swedish Death Metal Band of the Week
Storming forth from the small town of Strängnäs in 1986, Merciless proved to be not only one of Sweden’s earliest and most rip-roaringly original death metal cabals, but, according to Swedish Death Metal author Daniel Ekeroth, “one of the best bands Sweden has produced.”
Thrash fans and devotees of Germany’s Sodom in particular, Merciless formed with Erik Wallin on guitar and vocals, Fredrik Karlén on bass, and Stefan Carlsson on drums. The trio proved potent enough to prompt Norwegian black...
August 23, 2016
WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?: Laina Dawes Interviews Skin of Skunk Anansie for FADER
Riding high with onAnarchytechture, the industrial/punk/metal/futurist modern rock band’s first album in four years, Skunk Anansie is slated to storm the main stage at AFROPUNK BROOKLYNon Sunday, August 28.
Fierce frontwoman Skin leads the charge, of course,after sitting down last week with Laina Dawes, author of What Are You Doing Here?: A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal.
Among the topics covered duringthe pair’s FADER chat are the passion of the band after twenty20 years to...
MURDER IN THE FRONT ROW: Book Photos and Coauthor Brian Lew at Heart of New Spotify-Produced Early Metallica Doc
After Lars Ulrich (that guy’s everywhere!), the first face to appear on camera in Spotify’s new Metallica: The Early Years documentary series belongs to Brian Lew, one of a handful of Metallica’s original fans and the coauthor of MURDER IN THE FRONT ROW: Shots From the Bay Thrash Metal Epicenter.
The four-part doc tells the tale of the band’s pimply origins with testimony by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Metal Blade’s Brian Slagel, early days guru K.J. Doughton, and other key pla...
August 21, 2016
Bloody Roots of Metal in 1991: Beyond the Black Album on Sirius XM
BLOODY ROOTS OF METAL IN1991: BEYOND THE BLACK ALBUM
Week of August 20, 2016
Sat 8/20, 6PM ET
Sun 8/21, 1PM ET
Mon 8/22, 9AM ET
Tues 8/23, 4PM ET
Thurs 8/25, 9PM ET
On Demand at SiriusXM.com
Twenty-five years ago this month, Metallica released its self-titled “Black Album,” a fundamentally different record for them and now one of the most successful rock records of all time. But as Metallica made its pivot, what else was going on in the world of heavy metal? Host Ian Christe (“Sound of the Be...
