Sun 5 Apr – Destruction, Krisiun, Mantic Ritual

This was a Sunday show at Volume 11, in Raleighwood, NC, so the show started earlier than usual. I had seen all the bands before, oddly enough. After the 80 mile drive, I got there in time to see local band Morose Vitality, just a great (true) death metal band. www.myspace.com/morosevitalityband

I had seen Mantic Ritual (from Pittsburgh) in January, when they opened for Rotting Christ, and they killed. Shredding speed thrash in the pure classic style, like old Whiplash or Exodus. Their new cd on Nuclear Blast is fantastic.
Thrassssssssh…

Thu 11 Sep – Carcass, Suffocation, 1349, Aborted

Volume 11 in Raleigh, NC, is now the primary venue in the area for national metal shows, now that Jester's Pub in Fayetteville has dropped out of picking up these tours. It is one of the best places to see a show, mostly because of visibility. As long as the 6 foot 6 guys are not standing right in front of you, you can get a good view from anywhere in the club. The sound system has decent mega sound. Volume 11 has some shortcomings, though, specifically the slowwww line to get…

Yes, the proverbial "Seen Live" tag, post, journal, whatever…. This is a short list of bands I've seen since 2002. I'm sure I'm forgetting some, and not listed are the many local bands that I've seen. There is a * next to bands I've seen more than once.

1349
Aborted
Aesma Daeva
Akercocke
Amorphis
ANTiSEEN *
Apotheosys
Atrocious Abnormality
Arsis *
Azrael
Behemoth
Beyond The Embrace *
Blackguard*
Bloodsoaked
Brave
Carcass
Cattle Decapitation *
Celtic Frost
Chthonic
Circle II Circle
Crematorium
Crisis
Cryptopsy
Daath
Dark Funeral
Daylight Dies *
Deceased *
Destruction*
Drawn And Quartered
Dreamscapes Of The Perverse *…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akj1zPgVBsA

I drive a 2003 Chevy S-10 4.3 V6. It's a great truck, but not so great on gas. It also has Rigor Mortis, not the corpse stiffening biochemical phenomenon, but the speed metal death from Texas.

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k42/doomthrash/Photo%20Album%201/IMG_0009-2.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k42/doomthrash/Photo%20Album%201/IMG_0013-2.jpg

As you certainly speculated, this is not a journal entry about free gas, as there is no such thing, but a lamentation on the hundred bucks I spent on gas in a week's time going to 3 shows in Raleigh, about 80 miles from here. Add that to the shit ton of money I spent on merch, as well.

I…

I've been an Emusic subscriber for 3 years. I pay by the year and my plan gets me 90 downloads a month at a fraction of the cost of Itunes or Rhapsody.

This is how I spent my 90 downloads for the month:

Draconian - Turning Season Within
An early contender for album of the year!!!! Draconian uses the female vocals even more but still remains true to their heavy death doom roots and creates a future classic.

Dark Fortress - Tales From Eternal Dusk
EXCELLENT melodic black metal.

Choronzon - Magog Agog
Industrial black metal. Great album.

Eluveitie -…

Starting with Wolves In The Throne Room in mid-October to Paradise Lost in mid-November, I went to 5 great shows in a month's time and saw a bunch of great bands. I'm practically broke from the gas prices and buying merch, but it's been awesome.

Wolves In The Throne Room are from the great Northwest and are excellent epic black metal with harsh atmosphere. They were openers for Jesu at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro (which is right next to Chapel Hill, where the University of North Carolina is located). Wolves is a 3 member band and the drummer was using…

One might see the artist name "Blackwatch" in my chart, this week, and follow the link to some electronic guy who put out some music under that name, however, I never heard of the guy.

There is a cool metal band from Raleigh, NC, that I've seen live a couple of times called BlackWatch. www.myspace.com/blackwatch

Also, you might see Dissection as one of my top artists. I think Dissection from Sweden is GREAT as hell. I think Storm Of The Light's Bane is one of the best albums ever, but, some of my tracks played are from an obscure…

Alhana is a Hungarian melodic heavy metal band. On their outstanding album Tündértánc, the female singer sings entirely in Hungarian, which does lend a quaint quality to the music. Musically, they are a bit progressive, but not overly so, and melodic but somehow still rooted in traditional metal. There are some nice solos here and there, with guitars and keys. The music is wonderfully addictive. The songs are very well written and very well musically presented. Alhana is definitely not a Nightwish clone and their music stands on its own. Tündértánc translates into Fairy Dance, and this album is very…