Results tagged “heavymetal”

Phillyist's quick-picks for your evening agenda.

Phillyist's quick-picks for your evening agenda.

...but VHS still did.

You would think that the godfathers of thrash metal would be intimidating figures to talk to. When Phillyist had the opportunity to sit down with Slayer (MySpace) bassist/vocalist/co-founder Tom Araya, that's exactly what we thought. Boy, were we wrong. Sitting with Araya was sitting with a sage of heavy metal, a gentle spirit with a vast musical background who just happens to front the greatest thrash metal band the world has ever seen. It was pretty damn incredible.

To the guy who just posted a bunch of shoddy-quality videos from a 1987 Iron Maiden concert in Philly on YouTube, you made this Phillyist's day.

The Sword (MySpace) is not your little brother's heavy metal. The becomes clear about ten seconds into "The Sundering," the instrumental opening track of The Sword's recent album, . There is no funk or hip-hop influence, no lyrics about feeling like a social outcast, and no compromise in The Sword's music. No, this is good old, back-to-roots, retro metal. Like other Phillyist favorite Avenged Sevenfold, The Sword is bucking the "nu metal" trend to bring back guitar-fueled metal with lyrics ripped from sci-fi and fantasy literature, Norse mythology, and occult writing.

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

Are you having a rough week at work? Thinking about playing hookie Friday, but for some reason can't? Do you just that when you get out of work tomorrow, you're gonna be in a worked up, somewhat angry mood? Well you're in luck, because tomorrow night the Rockstar Taste of Chaos tour hits the Tweeter Susquehana Bank Center. And with a lineup headed by Avenged Sevenfold and including Atreyu, Bullet for My Valentine, blessthefall, and Idiot Pilot, the show should be a great outlet for all that pent-up aggression.

Visions of sugar plums not giving you your terror fix? Head out to the Troc tonight at 9:30 for the DVD release extravaganza of Unholy Sideshow, a local independent horror movie from West Philth Productions.

Heavy metal is a musical genre that has gone through a lot of ups and downs in popularity and quality over the years. But it's a genre we've always had a fondness for, and so we're quite happy to see it making yet another one of its many comebacks. This time one of the filthy hard rock zombies helping yank the corpse of metal out of its very unquiet grave is Mastodon (MySpace). They've been together making music since the late '90s/early '00s, but they only just released their first major label album - their third and most recent disc - September of last year. It's called Blood Mountain, and besides featuring cameos from such musical greats as Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme and Mars Volta frontman Cedric Bixler, it's full of Mastodon's patented brand of lengthy, thrashing, doomy, complex, psychedelic, progressive metal. In other words, it's real good, rocking stuff, and we like it. And we hear their live show is even better, so check them out when they attack the Electric Factory this Friday, along with Against Me! and Cursive.

A steaming hot pile of our favorite things from around the internets.

Man, are we going to an awesome show tonight. Wolfmother's in town, people. They're playing the Electric Factory with like-sounding "retro-rock" act Dead Meadow and indie pop rock outfit Silversun Pickups. We're putting "retro-rock" in quotes because these bands aren't just retreads; they're starting with some old sounds, yes, but they're making them fresh and new.

What do you think of when you hear the word "Genesis?" A book of the Bible? A planet forbidden? Or a cheesy '80s and '90s pop group fronted by Phil Collins? If so, there's a whole other Genesis just waiting for you to discover. In the early '70s, the band Genesis was fronted by Peter Gabriel, and was writing and performing incredible, epic, complex, theatrical, beautifully orchestrated, metal-style progressive rock story-songs. Genesis in that form sadly no longer exists (although Tony Banks, Michael Rutherford, and Phil Collins are announcing officially at a press conference on November 7th that they're getting back together and going on tour next year; here's hoping there are some Philly dates - and that they play some of their '70s stuff), but we do have their old albums to listen to (classics like Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway), and for the live experience, we have The Musical Box.

Friday night I took in what I'd like to call an experimental indie rock show in what I'd like to call the "crypt" of the First Unitarian Church (actually, it's just the basement). The evening began with a performance by a two-piece band called Ching Chong Song. We weren't even aware this group was on the bill, and so were pleasantly surprised in more ways than one. It's hard to describe exactly what they sound like; the only band that really comes to mind is Red Krayola - yes, they're that weird. Lead singer Julia LaMendola performed some fascinating vocal gymnastics - lilting, whispering, and growling out songs about death, the afterlife, and masturbaters - all while Daniel Gower accompanied her on keyboard and backing vocals. Oh, and did I mention LaMendola also played the saw? She even joked about doing a lengthy saw solo, although thankfully she did not make good on that threat; one can stand only just so much saw playing.

If Wolfmother is the triumphant, vibrant rebirth of '70s heavy metal (and they certainly are, may the Gods of metal bless 'em; by all means pick up their new self-titled full-length, which is fantastic), then The Clientele are the triumphant, vibrant rebirth of '60s Brit-pop, served with a large side of thoughtful sadness to make it bittersweet. And happily, they're invading Philly tonight (the First Unitarian Church, to be exact) along with Great Lakes and Shai Halperin from the Capitol Years (check the R5 Productions site for song samples and more details on the show).

We're just going to jump right in to Elite -ist today. It's not that we don't love writing pithy introductions -- it's just that our headline has to do with our first post. And we wouldn't want to distract you.

A tall, icy glass of our favorite internet junk, just for you.

If horse racing is the sport of kings, then surely bowling is the sport of the working man (and woman!), which is why Phillyist was delighted to see the new Lucky Strike Lanes open up on Chestnut Street near Broad. Here, we thought, is our chance to hang out with friends, wear some smelly shoes that belong to who-knows who, drink cheap beer, eat bad nachos made with unnaturally Florescent cheese product, make the person closest to us explain again how to score a strike if someone gets it after getting a spare in the final frame, and every so often get up up to throw a heavy metal sphere down the lane only to watch it land in the gutter. Again. (Or you could try to hit the pins; we understand some people prefer that.) Ultimately - a laid back, casual night out where everyone can be themselves and not worry about their footwear or overall fashion.

What's interesting on TV this week.

Philly Roller Girls

Last night's show at the TLA was a sojurn through our personal musical history. Opening act People in Planes, a rock band from Wales, put Phillyist in mind of the grunge bands we never warmed to in the 90s (see: Pearl Jam, Nirvana) and how they might have sounded had then been influenced by the pseudo-metal bands of the 80s we were far too fond of. They were harder rocking than hair bands (see: Poison) but not quite heavy metal (see: Motorhead) A wailing vocal here, a power chord there, and the occasional interesting drum riff...but all-in-all uninspired.

How would you describe the typical Jethro Tull fan? Well, middle-aged, for one. Phillyist has been able to drink legally for several years now, but we were still probably the youngest fan in the audience . The Rolling Stones wish that they were still so sharp.

To the guy at the gym who doesn't shelve his weights: