SLAM Issue 17 - Synthetic Human Pictures

Dear Reader,
Here’s something you might not
know about me: I’m a fan of mass
transportation. Not for environmental reasons, mind you. I just happen
to like the idea of a cheap form of
transit that gets you where you want
to go in a reasonable amount of time.
Owning a car is a royal pain in the ass
and so impersonal. The only people
you communicate with when driving
a car is anyone you just happen to
be taking along with you. On a bus,
however, you get a little microcosm
of society and meet fascinating individuals. Sometimes I’ll just spend
a day riding the buses without a real
destination in mind, just meeting
people and observing them as they
go through their daily routine.
But there are flaws with the Valley
Metro here in Phoenix. I had always
considered it efficient and capable,
if a bit inconvenient on weekends. I
was not prepared, however, for what
I would experience on my recent adventures using the Chicago Transit
Authority.
First of all, let me say that light rail
is one of the most fantastic modes
of travel available anywhere. If you’re
unaware, Valley Metro is in the process of implementing a rail system to
connect Mesa and Tempe with downtown and some of the more northern
regions along the Squaw Peak Parkway (you’ll never get me to call it anything else, you pandering politicos)
which should have segments operating as early as 2008. If you’ve never
taken a mass transit train before, you
simply don’t know what you’re missing. Fast, efficient and inexpensive.
I was able to travel from suburbs to
downtown and back, only having to
stop once every five to ten minutes
for less time than an average stoplight and paying fewer than two dollars. You can’t even manage to pay
for the gas to cover that amount of
ground, let alone your car payment
and insurance costs, and it was just
as fast as if I had driven.
Primarily, Phoenix relies on bus
transportation. One of the major
advantages we have lies in being
a planned city. We all know how to
get pretty much anywhere on the
basis of the grid network of streets
and this makes our bus system fairly
easy to follow. Even so, they can be
a bit of a pain, especially late nights
and weekends, when buses cease
running their full routes, or worse,
stop running their routes altogether.
Trains can easily operate twenty-four
hours a day, seven days a week, as
they consume a far less expensive
form of energy. In addition, as more
people begin riding the trains, more
demand will open up for bus operation to extend its services into further
areas of the city, eliminating many of
the difficulties those of us who are
unable or choose not to drive have in
getting from one place to another.
The city is finally making an effort to make transportation possible
for everyone, and I have to applaud
them for that. The days when it was
nigh impossible to live productively
here without having a car of your
own may soon be a thing of the
past. But it needs our help to happen. Are you tired of feeding exorbitant amounts of money into your gas
tank? Terrified that some psycho is
going cut you off and send you and
your family sailing off the road in a
fiery ball of crumpled metal? Do you
just like getting so drunk that people
worry for your safety as you head out
into the night? Get on a freakin’ bus,
people.
The more of us that ride, the better
it is for everyone.
Sincerely,
Conrad H. Zimmerman
Editor, SLAM Magazine
SLAM 1
This was the first time I have ever
interviewed a band after they played.
I got to sit down with the guys from
Heroes for Ghosts after an amazing
set at the Real Bar on July 30th and
pick their brains about their own music, what makes them do it. I even got
a little info on a possible future Pappas fest. That’s the event that singer
Briggs has helped to put together for
the last two years with all proceeds
going to help under privileged children here in the valley at the Thomas
J. Pappas school.
Heroes for Ghosts is:
Briggs – Vocals
Bovard – Guitar/Back-up vocals
Beemer – Guitar/Back-up vocals
Joe- Bass
Eric – Drums
How long has Heroes for Ghosts
been together?
Bovard: We’ve been together in
different variations for 7 or 8 years.
As far as this line up only about 6 or
7 months. This is the real deal right
here, this is it.
2 SLAM
How did you guys get together?
Bovard: Except for Briggs, the four
of us grew up together. We tried the
band different ways, playing different instruments. Then we found this
is what works. Then, we went thru a
couple of singers. The guys we had
been working with for about a year
quit, so we immediately posted out a
vocalist wanted add. I guess Keddah
broke up just within a few days of
each other. He (Briggs) found our add
on…
Beemer: Luckily.
Bovard: Yeah, luckily.
Beemer: It was like winning the lottery, but you don’t get money.
Bovard: So where did you see it, on
collective underground right?
Briggs: Yeah.
Bovard: So I guess the way we
worded it kinda spoke to you right?
Briggs: Yeah. I showed up over
there and just asked them to play. I
was just like thank god there’s a fucking band playing this music.
Beemer: Thank god there’s a guy
who wants to sing over this shit.
Musically you have a very differ-
ent style. How would you describe your sound?
Beemer: Pink Floyd meets Tool
meets Mars Volta meets every fuckin’
70’s band ever.
What are the lyrics about?
Bovard: Anything from drugs to war
to love to hate. It’s all there. Were not
really a doom and gloom band. Most
of our songs have an optimistic positive outlook. As far as the album we’re
almost finished with, I wrote the lyrics.
A lot of it is kind of a personal story
about my drug addled journey thru a
couple years. I kinda lost myself for a
little while, then re-finding myself and
discovering who I really am. We write
about how shitty the radio is, a lot of
stuff.
I noticed when you guys are on
stage you look like you’re in a
different place. What’s going
thru your heads when you’re on
stage?
Beemer: I’m basically focusing on
what I’m playing and the ideas I’m try-
ing to get out thru my guitar. I’m also
trying to present myself so I don’t
look like a douche bag on stage.
Eric: I’d have to say when I play, it’s
kind of a big word but I’d say a bit
cathartic. I’m like a real laid back guy
all the time.
Bovard: Were all pretty laid back
and quiet, so I don’t think people
expect what we do on stage. When
I invite co-workers they’re all kinda
shocked by how I am on stage. I
definitely feed off the other guys in
the band and the
energy of the crowd.
I chug energy drinks
and just try to go as
nuts as possible.
Beemer: Vodka
and Red Bull.
Bovard: Isle of Essence for sure.
Rising Conviction,.
Beemer: Mini-Bosses.
Briggs: Fred Green.
Beemer: Deaf Panda
Bovard: Page the Village Idiot.
Beemer: Hollywood Alley is the
place for local music.
What are you influenced by?
Beemer: Anything original. Anything
that you can’t define the sound by
Do you have
any shows
coming up in
the near future?
Who’s your favorite superhero?
Bovard: Superman’s a pussy.
Beemer: Power
man dude! He was
black, he wore a
chain belt and he
wore a shirt that
was torn down the
chest. How cool is
that?!
Joe: The Punisher
when he stabs that
dude from under the mouth.
Bovard: It’s gotta be handy-man.
(from the old TV show in Living Color)
What do you think about music
that’s played on the radio today?
Bovard: I hate it. I don’t listen to the
radio unless I don’t have a CD player.
Beemer: I listen to the radio and
it’s all catchy but most of it sounds
like other bands that come out at the
same time. For example The Killers,
Muse, Bravery.
Joe: I like 103.1 because they play at
least 8 Phil Collins songs every day.
And there’s never any commercials.
Beemer: All I listen to is classic
rock, 100.7.
Who are some of your favorite
local bands?
something for somebody like kids is a
feeling that you can’t buy. It’s good to
do something important in life once in
a while I think. Knowing you can give
a fat check to a non-government run
company who helps small children.
We hope to raise a shit load of money
for ‘em. Were gonna try to resurrect
Hayden Square (for Pappas 3).
Joe: Don’t forget Lincoln, Lennon,
they all were murdered.
Briggs: That’s all right.
Joe: People that tried to give back.
Beemer: It’s
better to die out
than fade away
dude.
Bovard: August
25th at the Paper
Heart, September
10th at The Sets,
Briggs: Hopefully have the
Pappas show in
October.
Beemer: Maybe
it’ll be a CD release maybe not.
any other band. I’d say anything and
everything, a sitar player, hip-hop,
Snoop Dogg, anything like that.
Briggs: For me it’s more about a
bad ass show. I want to have an experience at a show. I don’t really care
about showing up to see a bunch of
guys play instruments. I wanna experience the shit.
Bovard: Don’t forget Slayer! Fucking
Slayer man!
Joe: Reign in Blood!
Eric: Anything that doesn’t try to fit
convention inspires.
Joe: Unconventional.
Briggs, you’re basically the
mastermind behind the last two
Pappas Fest shows. What made
you want to do it?
Briggs: I kinda believe that anything
you give to the universe you’ll get
back. The feeling you get for doing
Any final words or Plugs?
Beemer: Heroesforghosts.net motherfuckers!
Bovard: Myspace.com
Carl: Somebody had to drop the
myspace name.
Bovard: We gotta say thanks to the
fans. We have fans that have been at
every show. All the inaugural members of the band.
Briggs: All the friends.
Beemer: The edge and their openmindedness. It’s surprising that there
is a radio station out there that’s like
“Hey what’s out there?” instead of
“Hey, what can these record companies pay us?”
Bovard: We definitely have to say
Gadger and Castro have given us a
good amount of support. And the
album we’re recording now is at Tall
Cat Productions.
SLAM 3
By Carl Jenkins
I
first met Scotty about two years ago
at a show at Chasers. His band at
the time as well as BLDG5 and Dependency were playing. It was my first
time seeing any of these bands and
my first experience of seeing Scotty.
While he was on stage I didn’t think
much about how he might be off stage.
After he left the stage he proceeded
to be up front in the audience for every band that played. He even wore
a pair of oversize panties on his head
that the singer from Dependency, Kelli,
threw into the crowd. I figured he was
just supporting the bands that played
that night. Soon after I noticed him at
several shows, whether he was playing or not. There were a couple times
while show hopping that he was at the
same two or three shows that I had
been running between in an evening If
he didn’t know the band, he was still
up front supporting them. That was
when I learned he was more than just
a musician; he was a fan of the scene.
Scotty has been involved with the
scene here for 17 years, and got involved after trying out for his brother’s
band. He’s been here for all the ups
and downs. From the opening of clubs
to the last night those same clubs shut
their doors. He has probably forgotten
more from the scene than most of us
will ever get to see. In his years with
the scene Scotty has done it all, from
being in bands such as Canvas, Zara,
and most recently a stint with Shades
of Silver. “Playing on stage was so fun
and addicting I had to keep doing it!”
he says.
4 SLAM
Out of all the shows that Scotty has
been to, he says the one that sticks
out the most in his mind is the birthday
show for Kevin from BLDG5 in 2004.
That’s the one I mentioned above
with the big panties incident. Another
memory he highlights is show hopping
back in March between Chasers for
Rising Conviction and Element a440
and the Clubhouse for The Dames and
Autumn’s End.
With all of Scotty’s wisdom I had
to ask him what he felt was the biggest issue in the scene right now. “It’s
difficult for bands to find and keep an
audience now a days because there
are so many other bands out there
and competition is fierce.” He plainly
stated. “I have seen some bands that
have a prima donna attitude and take
their audience for granted. You can’t
do that if you want to survive. Showing some love to the people who enjoy
your music is important.” I don’t think I
could have said it better.
For any of you may be reading this
for the first time or that have thought
about getting involved in the scene,
Scotty has some great advice for you.
“Take some time and soak it up and
be open to what you hear because
there are so many different bands
and genres,” he suggests. “When
you find what bands you like, be devoted to them and see as many of their
shows as you can. Be sure to check
out other bands, too. It’s good to network and be involved with the scene
as much as possible.” Among the
bands that Scotty recommends are
BLDG5 (punk/rock), Rising Convic-
tion (Rock), The Dames (Punk), Slaves
For Scores (Metal), Element a440 (Industrial), Eroticide (Industrial), Detox
(Metal), My Doll (Punk), Autumn’s End
(Metal), Sixstitch (Metal), Psychostick
(Rock/Metal), Crack Money (Rap),
Toxic Knowledge (Rock), Ikonoklast
(Industrial), Hardwire (Industrial), and
Surlying (Punk). This is by no means a
complete list, just the ones that came
to mind. As you can tell by the list he
has some very wide tastes in music,
and our scene has something to offer
for everyone.
There were a few people that Scotty
wanted to be sure to mention for all
that they do for our scene. “I would
like to salute Kayla and Crystal from
Euphoric Productions, Jason from
Chaser’s, Sid from Jughead’s, Chantal Static, collectiveunderground.com
and azpunk.com for their contributions to the local music scene. I know
there are others I might have missed
and I salute you too, but most of all, I
give respect to all the bands that keep
it real and bust their ass to keep the
scene going.”
So now that you know a little more
about Scotty, make sure you introduce
your self to him and hang out up front
with him at the next show you see him
at. After all, the fun is at the front of the
stage as he’ll tell you.
I personally want to thank Scotty for
taking the time to talk with me as well
as for being such a huge supporter
and fan of the scene.
Rockabilly Madness @ Rogue West
By: Jerriann Thacker
Just west of the corner of 35th Ave
and Northern, sandwiched between
Christian ministries in an antiquated
strip mall, lies the Rogue West. A
shining example of a dive, the RW
has funky red lights, an old school
jukebox, and an atmosphere so
laidback that the barback chatted
us up for advice on her hair. Scottsdale, this ain’t. On this particular Saturday night, the music was
courtesy of the Toomstoners, a
punk-tinged rockabilly outfit that I’d
had the fortune of viewing before.
Having arrived early to score
good seats, I was unaware of the
crowd to expect. But what I found
delighted me; it was probably the
most diverse group of people I’ve
seen under one roof since my arrival in Phoenix. Cowboys hats and
halter tops, death metal shirts and
pompadours, dreadlocks and overalls,
there wasn’t one fashion genre without representation that evening. But
what was so supremely cool was the
anticipation in the air; we were all there
for one reason: to bob our heads, clap
our hands, or tap our toes to some incredible music.
After some time setting up, the
Toomstoners came to life, only to find
their mike wasn’t working properly.
But carry on they did, busting out a
bluesy, instrumental number incorporating one of my favorite musical accompaniments, the maracas. Once
the vocals came through, they let
loose with a roar. Quickly standing
out was the lightning fast handiwork
of drummer Notah, also a member of
Smut Muffin and the Dropouts. His
display of skills is second only to his
energetic stage presence. With wildly
flailing arms and an even wilder shaking head, I was given to compare him
to Animal from the Muppets. When I
spoke to him later he confirmed my
theory, stating “When the music starts
everything goes black and I wake up
to everyone patting me on the back.”
Equally impressive were the heady,
sex-drenched guitar licks from lead
strummer Fred “Pete” Bridges and the
raucous vocals of singer Gary Ammon.
The set altogether was so dirty
and raw that I sympathized when
Ammon had to take a break from
screaming through “Bettie Page”
to wipe his face with a towel. I too,
felt sweaty and unclean and I was
only observing. What I found so
cool about the Toomstoners’ is the
complete lack of pretension coupled with such energy. Most bands
I’ve seen are content to make their
way through a show just playing
their strings and nodding their head
all the time standing in one place.
Not the ‘Stoners, however, they’re
jumping, pacing, flailing, shaking,
they’re acting out the boisterous,
heart-pumping music they so obviously believe in. It was a helluva show,
great tunes and hot, sweaty fun.
For those of you who want to sample the ‘Stoners stuff, they already
have one CD, Coldwater Flat and are
working on another entitled, Phantom
57. Or you can see them the way they
were intended, live at one of their next
shows.
SLAM 5
6 SLAM
By Sydney Kania
A new generation of musicians has begun to emerge in the valley, beginning
with an exuberant 14 year-old by the
name of Morgan Evans.
Morgan’s one-man-band,
entitled Morgan’s Magic
Book Bus, is a fusion of
electro, indie, and comedy. Using the music program Reason 3.0, objects
that can be smashed to
make noise, and sometimes by circuit bending
old children’s toys, Morgan
creates music on his Powerbook G4 laptop. In place
of singsong lyrics is hilarious commentary by either
Morgan himself or clips from
various television shows and
movies. His performances
are always crowd-pleasing to
say the least. Morgan involves
his audience in each show, whether
it be talking directly to an individual
person or running wildly through the
crowd. He’ll often bring toys and gadgets onstage to play with or smash,
which always gets everyone laughing
and clapping.
“My music is loud, ‘dancey’…and kind
of a joke,” Morgan explains. “I just love
being on stage because I get to make
a fool out of myself. I don’t take it too
seriously.” His musical influences include Y.a.c.h.t., The Moog Cookbook,
Bobby Birdman, and Dat Politics. “I
played guitar for two years, and I kind
of figured that was going nowhere.
I started to make music on the computer. Later I got a synth, and started
getting more into it, mostly because it
was more fun.”
Although his act may be
solid now, a few months ago, Morgan
admits that it was much more difficult
to go on stage, “I used to just click
shuffle. I never thought about the show
beforehand, I just went out and started
dancing. I tried to
cause he is just going to be a freshman, Morgan replied, “I just have this
vision of people sitting around booking bands and going ‘OH WOW A 14
YEAR OLD. HE IS OFF DAH HOOK’.”
It’s safe to say that Morgan obviously
feels no discrimination. He’s even
played with some pretty well known
acts, such as Andrew Jackson Jihad,
Audio Airport, Dat Politics, Robot Ate
Me, Black Feet, Drew Danbury, and
many more.
Other than his one man band, Morgan has been working on the Summer
Soda Experience, a soda tasting challenge that he assigned to himself to try
as many uncommon types
of soda as possible. “The
soda pre-show went down
last night. It consisted
of 34 different rare soda
pops and lots of tummy
aches. We are expecting
over 64 sodas in the final
tasting, and it’s happening throughout the last
week of summer,” he
said.
To check Morgan’s Magic Book Bus out, find out
about upcoming shows,
or just hear more about
the Summer
just wing it. It was really bad because I
messed up a lot and it was hard to find
the songs I wanted. Now I have a play
list set up; I learned my lesson.”
Thanks to plenty of his own advertisement on www.azmusicforums.com,
MySpace, and LiveJournal, Morgan
is becoming widely known throughout
the Phoenix area. His humor and ideas
that are far beyond his years reels them
in, while his baby-faced appearance
keeps them there. As Morgan once
declared at one of his shows, “I am
made of sugar, rainbows, and glass! I
am delicate!”
However, because of his age, it may
be assumed that he is treated with
less respect than his older counterparts. When asked how he felt about
perhaps being treated differently be-
Soda
Experience, go
to www.
totally
morgan
.com.
Morgan
Evans;
setting out
to prove that
age is no barrier
in the things you
can achieve.
The Willow House
149 W. McDowell Road in Phoenix. (602) 252-0272.
Review by Sydney Kania
As you walk up the steps of the Willow
House Coffee Shop around 7:30 PM on
a Monday night, it’s easy to tell that it
is truly a unique place. Immediately you
are greeted by its enthusiastic employees, as well as its friendly, sometimes
eccentric, customers. The walls of the
shop are brightly painted in greens, oranges, reds, and yellows, which make
for a warm and welcoming atmosphere.
The walls are adorned with art, jewelry,
toys, and other such trinkets that are the
creations of talented local artists. The
coffee at the Willow House is one of a
kind, so grabbing a cup of it while there
is definitely a must.
Open Mic Night at the Willow House is
always an abundant pool of creative energy and entertainment, and has been
since the coffee house opened in the
1980s. It now takes place every Monday night from 8 to 11 PM. During this
three hour block, Dave Gironda takes
the coffee shop’s assemblage through
a list of many of the valley’s most interesting and up-and-coming new artists.
Dave sets out a yellow notepad on a
coffee table near him, and encourages
patrons of the Willow House to come
8 SLAM
and sign up to play. The list is open to
anyone, and if you want to play but are
without an instrument, it’s almost assured that someone there will offer to
let you borrow his or hers. As long as
the noise level doesn’t get too high,
anybody is welcome to participate and
bring along whatever instruments they
would like. Some people chose to play
original songs, improvise, or simply play
covers of songs that everyone can enjoy.
Performers cover songs by bands from
Modest Mouse, Radiohead, and Weezer
to Led Zepplin and the Counting Crows.
Occasionally someone will get up on the
stool in front of the Willow crowd and
just start strumming a guitar and singing, leaving the audience intrigued by the
ease with which a song was just created
before their eyes. Original, never before
heard songs are also a way for performers to showcase their musical dexterity.
The local music scene in Arizona is
slowly being pulled back together,
thanks to the efforts of places like the
Willow House. However, it is still in need
of great repair. Even the smallest show
of recognition to local musicians helps
to remind people that the scene can
be as fun and entertaining as it once
was. To find out about local or out of
state bands playing in Arizona, visit
www.azmusicforums.com.
By Carl Jenkins
I’ve always been a big fan of Joe’s Grotto.
The sound is always good, the beers always
cold, and the place just has a nice feel to it
like a club should. Tonight Joe
gave us a night of Punk, Metal,
Alternative, and Rock that will
not be soon forgotten. The other
thing I really like about Joe’s is
that, no matter who plays, there
is pretty much always a decent
crowd in the place.
This was only the second or third time I
have gotten to see Terror in the Aisles, but
they have definitely been doing their homework. Don’t get me wrong, I liked them the
first time I saw them. But they have gotten
Closing the night brought
Greenhaven out. I haven’t seen
these guys in a few months and
was impressed to see them now.
Granted, it seemed as though a
couple of the members may have
had a few too many Heinekens
before hitting the stage, but it
didn’t affect their playing one
bit. Next time someone asks you
what stoner rock should sound
like, take ‘em to a Greenhaven
show. The singer kept the crowd
excited and moving through their
set as the band chugged on
behind him, sounding a bit like
Clutch meets Stuck Mojo. At one
point the singer was double fisting Heinekens on stage.
The Dames opened up the
night with perfection. You’ve
heard me rave about The Dames
here before, and here it is again.
If you haven’t gotten out and
seen these three punk rock girls
yet, do your self a favor and go
see them soon. In the time that
I have been watching them they
have only gotten better and their
stage performance continues to
excel at every show, in no small
part to Drea who hardly ever
stops moving.
Breakfast in Tokyo is a band
out of L.A. that came out for the
show, and added the alternative to the night. They sounded
a lot like bands such as Radiohead. The singer took the stage and had
everyone’s attention with his dance moves,
which took him all over the stage when he
wasn’t singing.
ing pace with the drummer. The vocalist
tops it all off with a good stage presence
and a powerful voice. Desert metal at its
best.
much better. The two guitarists have the
chunk down, making metal riffs like Sepultura or good old Machinehead. You can’t
ignore the angry-looking bass player who
pounds nonstop through each song, keep-
I really enjoyed seeing a show
with so many different styles and
so much diversity in it. It was
nice to see all the bands out their
supporting each other and what
was being done. The crowd was
receptive to all the bands and
seemed to enjoy the mix up as
much as I did. There were members from several great bands there, including Autumn’s End, (Sic) Monic, Soul Driver,
Motive, and a few others. More shows with
this kind of diversity and variance could be
just what we need.
SLAM 9
Featuring: The Iris, Army of
member ever missed a note.
Robots, Hardwire, The Strand
Army of Robots was a definite
change to the night. I assumed that
they would be more industrial, but
they had more of a radio friendly
sound, very few electronics and a
fairly mellow groove. I would almost
By Carl Jenkins
Chaser’s has to be one of my
favorite local clubs these days. They
are getting some
great shows lately,
and tonight was no
exception. Despite
all of the other events
around town, the club
was still filled to over
half capacity by the
end of the night.
The Iris came up
with a very interesting
intro, the singer being
on stage with just the
sampler playing and
him doing very soft,
almost gothic vocals.
Each member slowly
took the stage as
the song continued,
adding a new level to
the sound each time,
building into what was about to come.
The sound of The Iris is something
like a cross between Skinny Puppy
and Fields of the Nephelem, Gothic
with an Industrial undertone.
The Iris has a certain amount of
comfort ability on stage that many
bands don’t show all the time. The
guitarist and singer had their own
little two-man pit going on stage the
whole time. The singer hit the ground
twice, the last time with both of them
landing on one of the monitors on the
stage. With all the onstage violence
and falling, it didn’t seem like either
10 SLAM
call it pop. There wasn’t much movement on stage but the band seemed
to enjoy themselves as well as the
crowd. Army of Robots is a very
talented band that has been around
for some time. Although their style
has changed a little over the years,
they are still enjoyable.
You’ve all read about Hardwire
here before, and here they are again.
Hardwire is a very talented Industrial band similar to Ministry with a
little Front Line Assembly thrown in.
These guys always put on a great
show and the crowds always love
‘em. If you haven’t seen Hardwire
yet, not only are you missing out, now
is the time. They will have a drummer joining them soon, and with him,
a whole new level to the Hardwire
sound. Make sure to pick up their new
CD, entitled Keyboard Cowboy.
I personally
haven’t seen The
Strand in quite
some time (over
a year) and it was
good to see them
again. They played
several of the old
favorites and even
gave us a couple of
new ones. There
was mention of a
new album some
day as well, so keep
and ear out for that.
The stage show from
The Strand wasn’t
quite as elaborate as
I recall from some
of their older shows
but they did a hell
of a job. They played some older
sing-along favorites such as “Chicks
Suck/Guys Suck” and treated us to
an encore of “Momma Said Knock
You Out,” Strand style.
It was nice to see a night of almost
all industrial, and despite the few other events going on that same night,
the crowd turn out was surprisingly
good. Everyone seemed to be having
a great time and the front of the stage
was packed until the end. The type of
crowd every show should have.
BloOD Haven Religious Suffocation
Think of Blood Haven and think
Black Metal. From the high vocals
to the growls, the thrashing guitars
and blast beats, that is Blood Haven. On their new release Religious
Suffocation, you can tell they mean
to show what evil is. I really wanted
to like this album when I picked it
up, being a fan of Black Metal, but
it just seemed a little to by the book
for me. There was nothing that really grabbed me or held my attention in any way. Everything seemed
as though it was put together for
the sake of being considered black
metal.
The songs on Religious Suffocation are all about humanity, the
darker side of life and, of course,
Satan. Unfortunately the recording doesn’t live up to what it could
have been. The vocals are all a little
low and you can’t make out much
of the bass on the album. The cymbals all seem to have a metallic
sound where it just doesn’t seem
right. Not to say that the music is
bad, but it seems as though the mix
is just a little rough where most albums in this genre are pretty much
razor sharp.
Despite its drawbacks, if you are
a fan of standard black metal, fast,
growled and screaming, you still
should pick up Religious Suffocation by Blood Haven. You will not
be disappointed.
Split the Enemy Hope in Distance
The first time I heard Split the Enemy was on The Local Spotlight (98
KUPD) and couldn’t believe it when
the DJ said that they were all still in
high school. Their drummer is only
13 or 14! I went out and bought the
CD the within the week, knowing I
had to hear more.
Hope in Distance opens with a
riff that sounds like it belongs on an
old Machine Head album such as
The More Things Change: heavy,
low and crushing. The whole album
pretty much keeps that pace going,
showing that metal must still be cool.
The drummer has some great talent,
setting the pace for power. There is a
little new-school metal sound in the
music of Split the Enemy, showing
that they are most likely influenced by
bands like Disturbed and Mudvayne.
12 SLAM
By Carl Jenkins
Nothing on the album is super technical, but sometimes it doesn’t need
to be, it just has to be good. The new
hardcore kids will dig songs such as
“Land of Serenity” or the title track,
both of which sound like they would
fit perfect on an Atreyu album.
The production on Hope in Distance, although good, leaves a little
to be desired. There are some parts
where the guitars sound a bit too
thin, or the drums don’t quite have
the force that you know they should.
The vocals on the album seem to be
a little too clean and far above everything else. But for a first release by a
group of young metal fans, Split the
Enemy has done well and I look for
ward to hearing more from them in
the future.
By Carl Jenkins
Metal Devastation 2
8/6 Cheap Sex, Career Soldiers,
Muggers,Rotten Youth, IDK
8/13 Resist The Embrace, Mokshya, Ghost of America, Sixshooter, Addison Wesley
8/6 ETTS, Deadeyedstare, Burn
Victim, Terrorism, Schlitzkrieg,
Mercitron, Saphead, Carrion,
Warfair?
8/9 Chiodos, Still Life Project
8/12 Bloodcum, Warfair?, No Shit,
Conflict Resolution, Dolmite
1954 E. University Dr.
Tempe, AZ 85281
480) 966-5010
Chasers
8005 E Roosevelt St
Phoenix, AZ 85008
(480) 945-4985
8/6 Greenhaven, BLDG 5, Fred
Green, Detox, Evacuating Chicago
8/18 Ashes of Eden, A Few Random Drunks, Ferd, Ditty Danko
8/26 Gridlokt, PH8, Tolerant, St.
Madness, The Human Condition
The Clubhouse
1320 East Broadway Road
Tempe, AZ 85282
(480) 968-3238
8/4 Blindside, For The Record, My
Darling Murder, Affiliation, Goodbye Tomorrow
8/6 Split The Enemy, Autumn’s
End, My Ruin, Bleed the Sky
8/8 Soilent Green, A Perfect
Murder, Into The Moat, and Watch
Them Die
8/21 Toxic Narcotic, Where
Eagles Dare, Skarp, Abiotx, The
Revenge
8/23 Sixstitch, And The Hero Fails,
Bullet Train to Moscow
8/27 Worser, Princess Lady
Friend, The Necronauts, Ember
Coast, Tickertape Parade
Jughead’s
5110 E Mcdowell Rd
Phoenix, AZ 85008
(602) 225-0307
8/6 Crucio, Rez-of-War, Dither,
Koama, Downhearted, Fume
8/20 Blemish, Labor Party, The
Dames
5429 N 16th st
Phoenix, AZ
602-277-5650
The PHIX
1113 NW Grand Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85007
602-252-7449
8/4 Embrace Today, Since the
Flood, Cannae, The Banner, The
Red Death, Heroes Dead and
Gone
8/6 Bury the Fallen, Inimi
8/9 Spoonful of Vicodin, Warfair?,
Coughing Up Blood
8/11 Life in Pictures, The Worriors,
Set your Goals
8/12 Deadfall, Case of Emergency,
The Last Priority, The Clusterfux,
Social Conflict
8/13 Too Short Notice, Cellphish
The Guilty Parties
8/15 Zero to Sixty Never
8/16 Lords
8/17 Hostile Takeover, Youth attack
8/19 The Number 12 Looks Like
You, Blackout Pact, Job For A
Cowboy, We Fly Our Kites at
Night, Bluewall Audience, Anne
Frankenstein
8/25 Invocation of Nehek, Kill the
Last Hour,Above all else
The Sets
93 E. Southern ave.
480-829-1822
8/6 Aoerture, Shades of Silver,
Telefunk Ray, Cirq, Stamina
8/17 Fat Rhabit, Dusty Rhodes,
Red Lipstick Letter, Last Day,
Traitor Aspect
8/23 Society;s Ill, Unscarred,
Social Fury
8/26 Hardwire, Selfless, Deaf
Panda, Auralast, Twisted Thorn,
HeadCreep
Joe’s Grotto
13825 N. 32nd St
Phoenix, AZ
602-992-1007
8/2 Carvin Jones
8/3-8/6 Itis
8/9 Carvin Jones
8/10-13 Itis
8/16 Carvin Jones
8/19 32 Leaves, Arvins Garden,
Cede
8/25 Drunk Otis
8/26- Razer, t.i.t.a., (sic)Monic,
Autumn’s End
8/27 Hollow
Hollywood Alley
2610 W. Baseline Rd.
Mesa, AZ
480-820-7117
8/9 Gimme Danger,Blanche Davidian
8/20 12 ton sledge, 454, Tolerant
(prescott), Slip Mickey
The Paper Heart
750 NW Grand Ave.
Phoenix, AZ
602-262-2020
8/6 element a440, Hardwire, Calabrese, Skumlove
8/12 Revenant, Minus Blindfold,
The Donner Family Reunion, Forever Endeavor
8/17 8th Day, Poetic Anxiety,
Audity
8/25 Casket Life, Bodhi Tree, Heroes for Ghosts
8/31 Don’t Miss the Big, Maypop,
The Garden Arrest, Seve Vs. Evan,
Deadlocked
NAME THAT BAND: element a440
Big Fish Pub