Concert Review: Metal Church/3 Inches of Blood

This past Tuesday evening I attended a concert which presented two local acts, which I had seen before, one up and coming act I was completely unfamiliar with, and one act from the eighties staging a comeback. That last act I am vaguely familiar with, I remember friends playing their tapes many years ago, I liked it, but never got around to getting any myself.

I arrived at the club around 7:10 pm, the doors opened twenty minutes latter and the first act hit the stage at around 8:00 to the small crowd. The gathering crowd was rather small, maybe 75-80 people total. It was, after all, a Tuesday evening with work and travel coming the next day in preparation for Thanksgiving.

The first act to perform was a metal act called Assault. I had seen these guys once before, and like the last time, they put on a good show. They brought forth their destruction for about a half hour. Their lead singer is another in a long line of screamers, but he sounded a lot better than you r typical local screamer. Backed by a twin guitar assault, no pun intended, they have a full heavy sound with heavy skull crushing riffs and some speedy solos. This performance was better than the last time I had seen them, I would definitely look for these guys again.

Shortly after Assault left the stage, the next act took their place. This time the stage was being prowled by NYC mainstays Thrash Ratchet. I have been a witness to their show a few times in the past, and they aren't really big label material, but the performance is always fun. They remind me of a low rent Pantera, they have the energy and a similar style, but don't have the ability of a Dimebag Darrel or Phil Anselmo. Their lead singer has a decent scream, as he prowls the stage, strikes a metal pose and delivers a line. I don't know if I'd go searching these guys out, but I'd look forward to their show if they were on the bill with someone else I was interested in.

Next up is up and coming thrash act, out of Canada, 3 Inches of Blood. I was completely unfamiliar with them coming into this set, and I was very curious to see what brand of metal they would impose on an unsuspecting listener. Before we get to their performance, there was something else I noticed. The crowd in the pit, and around where I was standing, was beginning to grow, the closer it got to 3 Inches hitting the stage, people slowly filed in and made their way into the pit. It wasn't packed by any stretch, but there was a noticeable difference. When the band came on, the crowd got loud, chanting their name and instantly getting into the music. Apparently, they have been developing quite a following, now would the music stand up to me? The band has six members, two singers, two guitars, bass, and drums. When I saw two singers, I was thinking it would be similar to Mushroomhead, with one singer and one screamer, not the case here, both were screamers. The both had a distinctive growl, playing well off of each other. The guitars were fast, skull crushing, yet oddly melodic. The drumming was brutal, minimal kit existing of 4 drums, and I believe, 3 cymbals, but that was all he needed. The rhythms were very primal in their feel, heavy, and very, very loud. The band came together in a cacophony of noise. They were good, not at the top of my metal charts, but I liked the sound. It was very medieval in feel, I'm not quite sure how to describe it, but medieval sounds about right. They were on for about a half hour before relinquishing the stage. Then the crowd began to dissipate. I am looking forward to hearing what they sound like on CD. See photos from the set here.

The main even took the stage around 10:30, the mighty Metal Church. I admit, I am very unfamiliar with their music outside of memories of friends playing their tapes, and me liking it. They have recently released a new album, The Weight of the World, and are now touring in support of it. They are not featuring the original lineup, only the drummer and one of the guitar players, but that didn't detract from their show. They played a mix of songs from their early albums with a healthy dose of new tracks. I have to say, I loved the show. They may be a product of the eighties, but they were not part of the hair metal scene, their sound leads more towards the real metal acts of the time, Metallica, Megadeth, Testament. They are not quite as heavy as those other acts, but the music is definitely not for anyone expecting Poison. They played for about 90 minutes, giving their all on stage. The guitars were fast and furious, heavy riffs, solos, all backed by a solid rhythm section, and led by strong vocals. I picked up their latest album, and it is a good listen. This is a band I will have to dig up some more albums from.

Overall it was a very good metal show mixing old and new styles. All of these bands are worth checking out if you get the chance.

New Releases for 11/26/04

This week's new releases actually opened this past Wednesday, but I didn't realize it until Wednesday evening, so I was unable to get a post prepared. SO, I decided to just post it on the regularly scheduled day. Here goes:

DVD Review: Garfield Holiday Celebrations

It wouldn't be the holiday's without the Garfield specials. I don't remember when it was that I first saw these shows, but I always looked forward to them each year. This DVD collects the Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas specials all in one place. Now I don't have to sit through commercials, plus I can watch them whenever I want without having to wait for the holiday's to role around each year.

Movie Review: The Polar Express

The trailers started popping up for this months ago, heralding the arrival of a potential holiday classic. Now that the film is out, I think that the word "potential" can be dropped. This is destined to be a film that pops up year after year on people's lists for holiday viewing. It is not perfect by any stretch, but it is a wonderful fantasy for the whole family. It is nice to see a film that is as magical as it is spellbinding.

A simple tale by Chris Van Allsburg has been translated to the screen by screenwriter/director Robert Zemeckis. He took the short story and stretched it out to fill a 90 minute film, and does a fine job of it. I admit, I am not terribly familiar with the story of The Polar Express, I have flipped through the book, but I couldn't tell you what it was about. I can tell you that it has some wonderful illustrations, and those images have been translated beautifully to the screen.

The film tells the tale of a young boy, who is not given a name, who is at that age where he begins to question the existence of Santa Claus. That Christmas Eve, a large train pulls up to a stop in front of his home. The boy goes out to investigate, and comes face to face with the Conductor, who informs him that he is to be a passenger on a trip to the North Pole. Of course the boy is a little wary, curiosity wins out and he is off on an adventure of a lifetime.

The trip to the Pole fills the bulk of the film. Taking us on a roller coaster ride, quite literally, and more adventure than you would have thought possible for a train ride. From the peaks and valleys they climb, to the frozen over tracks, to skiing down the roof of the train with a mysterious hobo. Friends are made, obstacles crossed, and lessons learned on a journey where time seems to have slowed to a crawl. And we cannot forget the train's destination. Once arriving at the North Pole, the friends leave the group and find themselves in another race.

I don't really want to go on describing the plot, there is so much here to be discovered upon watching it that I don't wish to give it all away. I will comment on some other aspects though. For one, the look of the film is spectacular. It looks as if the pictures from the book have leapt off the page into full motion. This leads to the animation style, this is possibly the most realistic of the computer animated films yet produced, still couldn't be confused with the real thing, but seemingly real none the less. The characters were animated with a new form of motion capture, where they actually film the actors going through the motions and then map them into the film. The animation is fluid, almost to a fault, the move almost too smooth, it is hard to replicate real movements. It all combines to give a very real look, that is just slightly off increasing the fantasy feel of the film.

I guess I should comment on the few quibbles I had with it. One was the scene, which is briefly shown in the trailer, with the dancing and singing waiters on the train. I'm not sure what it was, but it just felt out of place with the film. The other is towards the end, and I hesitate to say what it was, except to say it is an animated cameo which felt tacked in for no particularly good reason.

Back to the good, Tom Hanks helps to bring the movie to life, voicing a number of the roles including the key role of the Conductor. His star power and acting ability give credibility to the project and is put to great use. The rest of the voice acting is excellent as well, each breathing life into their animated counterparts and taking us on a wonderful journey.

Bottomline. This is a classic in the making, a wonderful tale of hope and optimism wrapped up in a fantasy tale that is exciting on it's own. This is one the whole family can enjoy.

Highly Recommended.

Pick of the Week: Seinfeld

This week's choice is a given. The long awaited release of my favorite sitcom of all time, you don't have to agree with me, Seinfeld. And not only do we get the first season, we get the second and third as well. They are split between two box sets, seasons 1 and 2 in one and season 3 in the other. As if that isn't enough, there is also a set of both of those boxes plus more stuff, like playing cards, salt and pepper shakers and a script with notes from Larry David.

CD Review: Satyricon - Volcano

Black metal has never been a strong genre for me. I've had brief encounters with it from time to time, but I never spent a lot of time with it. Therefore, I am not the most knowledgeable about it, nor am I it's biggest fan, but once in awhile an album or artist will hold my attention for a time. I have picked up a couple of black metal albums and compilations over the years. The one thing that always struck me about black metal, as opposed to other metal sub-genre's like hardcore and thrash/speed, was the presence of melody. There is a lot more melody going on in here then in other metal forms, why I could not say, but it's there. Satyricon's Volcano is no exception.

CD Review: Powerman 5000 - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Vol. 1 - Rare & Previously Unreleased '91-'96

I first heard of Powerman 5000 way back in 1997, I believe the first track I heard was "Organazized." A good song, had some funk and crunch to it. That first album, Mega!! Kung Fu Radio, had a lot of good songs, but it seemed a bit unfocused as if the band wasn't sure what direction they were heading in. The second album, Tonight the Stars Revolt, came out two years later, and was better and remains my favorite release. It had a lot more focus and was just a better all around album. They then made a new album, had some personnel changes, and the album was shelved in favor of creating yet another album. The result was something completely new called Transform. This is probably their most straight forward rock and roll album, but still distinctly PM5K, and a good listen. But enough of that history, what we have to listen to now is a collection of songs that developed during their years of touring Boston, prior to their major label debut. What we get is a look at a band developing their sound, and creating some good songs at it.