Metalblog

It’s time to start the Metalblog’s 2008 end of year awards. The first award goes to the Metalblog’s favorite unsigned band of 2008. The unsigned band award is open to any bands that are unsigned, but due to geography, this will most likely always go to a metal band from the UK since these are the unsigned bands I get a chance to see live.

First, the runners up for Best Unsigned Band 2008:

Seregon

I caught this Bristal based band a couple of times in 2008 and they never failed to deliver the goods with their Sepultera-styled thrash metal. If I see that Seregon is opening a show, it’s worth the effort to make sure I get there early enough to catch their set. Check out Seregon at www.myspace.com/seregonuk.

Mutant

Mutant started the year by appearing on Earache record’s Thrashing Like A Maniac compilation.  Mutant write great thrash metal songs and if they played more gigs or ever got around to recording their much delayed EP could have walked away with this award. Mutant can be heard at www.myspace.com/mutantmetal.

And the Winner of the Metalblog 2008 Unsigned Band of the Year is…

H.O.D. (Hospital of Death)

H.O.D. (Hospital of Death) formed in 1994 and played one gig. In 2006 they got back together and the heavy metal world is a better place for it.

H.O.D. released Beer, Bitches, Blood in January 2008 as a zip file to pass around to friends. Since then they’ve “play(ed) festivals, play(ed) with a ton of UK and international thrash and true metal bands, distributed hundreds of T-shirts around the globe and as we stand for this year, Beer Bitches Blood has currenlty totted up as a distribution of 30,000!”

Beer, Bitches, Blood is available as a free download or for a miniscule sum, that probably doesn’t even cover the cost of a blank CD and postage, the band will send you a real physical CD copy.

And unlike most everything else available for free, H.O.D.’s Beer, Bitches, Blood doesn’t suck. Full of great riffs and great humor, the £1 I spent for a CD copy of Beer, Bitches, Blood is the best quid I spent in all of 2008.

Recording of the follow up album starts on January 19th and the Metalblog looks forward to hearing more from H.O.D. in 2009. Stay up to date with H.O.D. and find out how to get a copy of Beer, Bitches, Blood at www.myspace.com/hospitalofdeath.

There appears to be a serious lack of good original heavy metal Christmas songs. There are plenty of good rock Christmas songs, and the last couple of years has seen good heavy metal Christmas releases from Twisted Sister and this year’s various artists recording We Wish You A Metal Christmas and a Headbanging New Year.

But both of those releases relied on heavy metal reworkings of already established Christmas songs. When it comes to original heavy metal Christmas songs there is only one song that comes to mind - King Diamond’s “No Presents For Christmas”.

“No Presents For Christmas” was the first release from singer King Diamond and his band, also named King Diamond, after the singer left pioneering black metal band Mercyful Fate. While “No Presents For Christmas” is not exactly the jolliest of Christmas songs, it was still a big departure from the satanic themes King Diamond sang about in Mercyful Fate. But even though the themes may not have been as dark as in Mercyful Fate, King Diamond’s music was still as heavy as ever.

Unfortunately King Diamond did not make a video for the “No Presents For Christmas” single. There are some live versions on YouTube, but the sound quality is not that great. I’m not a fan of static videos, but the song is the important thing and the sound quality is good. Enjoy and have a Merry Christmas!

The Metalblog has been quiet for the last few days. I wish I could say it’s because I’ve been too busy partying to post, but the truth is I’ve caught some kind of killer virus. Well, maybe not a killer, but it has knocked me on my ass for the last few days.

I went to see thrash metal band Destruction on Tuesday night at the Underworld in London. The band were great, but I wasn’t. I left the show early and nearly crashed the car on the way home because I was feeling so rough. I’ll post more about what I did catch of the gig in the next couple of days.

Until then I’ll let my favorite crossover thrash metal band Suicidal Tendencies let you know how I feel with “I Feel Like Shit…Deja Vu”

Heavy metal has had it’s share of odd firings over the years.

Guitarist Dave Mustaine was fired by Metallica when the band packed up his things in New York, drove him to the Greyhound bus station, and bought him a ticket back home to Los Angeles. 

Quit Riot singer Kevin DuBrow was fired in Hawaii when the rest of the band changed to an earlier flight and left him behind on the island.

And in Italy, the guitarist from the heavy metal band Soul Cry was stabbed about 50 times, mainly in his head and back, by the band’s singer and bassist after playing poorly at a rehersal.

Fifty times! I think I would have got the message after the first time the knife plunged into my back that I was probably no longer wanted in the band. Certainly by the second or third.

A word of advice for all heavy metal musicians - go watch The Apprentice. Nothing says “You’re Fired” like pointing and saying…”You’re Fired”.

And you don’t get arrested for it either.

Despite reports that hard economic times are meant to be good for the heavy metal music market, there is evidence of poor ticket sales and dwindling attendances for more than one heavy metal tour. 

Schmeir, bassist and lead singer for thrash metal band Destruction, who are currently on the road for their D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N. - 25 Years Of Total Destruction tour, posted the following statement on the band’s official forum last week:

“As the tour is going pretty bad, those will maybe be some of the last European club shows in a long time. Too bad but the market is dictating that I guess.”

Since posting the comment, Destruction have played shows to reportedly disappointing crowds in Dublin, Ireland and Leeds and Dudley in the UK. The Metalblog will be at Destruction’s show tomorrow night in London. Hopefully the numbers at that gig will make up for the poor turn outs around the rest of the UK.

It’s not only the smaller tours that are feeling the pinch. Concerts in Birmingham, Glasgow, Stockholm and Manchester on the Unholy Alliance III tour that ran through October and November and featured Slayer, Trivium, Mastoden, and Amon Amarth, had to be moved to smaller venues.

And the Metalblog has already reported that the Preist Feast tour featuring Judas Priest, Megadeth, and Testament, had to move to a smaller venue in Manchester and cancel the show in Nottingham. The Nottigham ticket holders were offered two tickets for every previously ordered ticket to either Birmingham or Sheffield, which must also be selling slower than hoped for to be able to accomodate the 2 for 1 deal.

The only heavy band that looks to be beating the recession is AC/DC. Not only have they sold out all of their already announced arena European tour dates for next year, but they also added stadium tour dates for next summer.

The Oxford Academy has listed a headlining concert by the thrash metal band Testament on February 19th, 2009.

There has yet to be confirmation of the gig on Testament’s official website, but tickets are already being sold and the show is on the Oxford Academy’s website. Testament will be in the UK at the time as part of the Priest Feast tour with headliners Judas Priest and fellow thrashers Megadeth.

The originally scheduled Priest Feast tour date in Nottingham on February 18th was cancelled last week. The cancellation has left a two day gap in the Priest Feast touring schedule between the Manchester show on the 17th and the Cardiff gig on the 20th. The revised UK dates can be seen in this Metalblog post.

Will Testament take advantage of the extra day off to play their own headlining show for the UK thrash metal fans? The Metalblog sure hopes so. Fingers crossed this gig goes ahead.

Priest Feast tour dates featuring Judas Priest, Megadeth, and Testament, for the rest of Europe can still be found in this Metalblog post.

It’s hard to believe it’s been four years since the shocking shooting death of “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott.

For those who don’t know what happened, the former Pantera guitarist was killed when a gunman jumped on the stage during a concert by Dimebag Darrell’s band Damageplan at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio and shot Dimebag. The shooter was himself shot dead on stage by a policeman.

I remember the metal community going into shock as news spread of one of the most fucked up incidents in heavy metal history.

But enough about Dimebag Darrell’s death. Today the Metalblog wants to remember him for what he did while he was living. We’ll drink some beers and spin Pantera’s Cowboys From Hell and Vulgar Display of Power along with some of the Anthrax songs from Stomp 442, Volume 8: The Threat Is Real,  and We’ve Come For You All that Dimebag played lead on.

It’s one of those Anthrax songs Darrell played on that the Metalblog will leave you with to remember a guitarist dear to our hearts. After listening to “Inside Out”, we suggest you go find some Pantera or Damageplan to listen to as well and raise your glasses in remembering Dimebag.

R.I.P. Dimebag Darrell Abbott (August 20,1966 - December 8, 2004) 

Motley Crue singer Vince Neil has finally issued a statement regarding the cancellation of his European solo tour.

At the top of his website vinceneil.net, the following statement now appears:

Vince Neil’s European tour has been cancelled due to the promoter’s breach of contract.

“I regret not being able to come over to Europe at this time due to circumstances beyond my control,”
said Neil. “I hope to be able to visit next year for a more extensive tour.”

So there it is, the statement the Metalblog complained about the lack of yesterday. Vince even used the “circustances beyond my control” that the Metalblog suggested.

Like we said yesterday, tours get cancelled all the time for one reason or another. As a fan, I would expect the artist to at least acknowledge a tour has been cancelled and hopefully give a reason why.

Or better yet, do everything possible to give the fans a show. I know of other bands that have continued with a tour despite getting dicked around by promoters. 

You dick around the fans enough, regardless of whose fault it is, eventually they will lose interest. This is the second European tour that Vince Neil has cancelled in the past couple of years. People don’t forget being let down, especially when it happens more than once.

I wonder how many Motley Crue fans will not bother buying tickets the next time Vince Neil announces a solo tour figuring that too will be cancelled.

Vince Neil, lead singer for Motley Crue, has cancelled his scheduled European tour the day before the tour was due to start.

Tours and gigs get cancelled all the time in the world of heavy metal, though Vince Neil seems to do it more often than most when it comes to touring Europe. The worst thing about the tour cancellation is that there has been absolutely no word from Vince.

That’s right, no word. No announcement the tour was cancelled, no statement about how sorry he is to disappoint his European fans, no “due to circumstances beyond our control”, nothing.

What a dickhead. 

If it wasn’t for a statement released by opening band Fatal Smile, nobody would even know the tour had been cancelled.

In happier Vince Neil news, his “other” band Motley Crue were nominated last night for the Best Hard Rock Performance Grammy Award for Saints of Los Angeles. 

A word of advice to the Grammy Award show organizers: Don’t bother inviting Vince Neil to the ceremony. He won’t show up.

Legendary heavy metal band Judas Priest has had to change some dates on the UK leg of their 2009 Priest Feast tour with thrash metal bands Megadeth and Testament.

The Metalblog gave tour dates for Priest Feast last week. The Nottingham Arena show scheduled for February 18th has been cancelled.  Existing ticket holders are being offered a pair of tickets to either Sheffield Arena on February 13 or Birmingham LG Arena on February 14.

Another change to Judas Priest’s UK schedule is the show originally scheduled for the Manchester Arena on February 17th has changed to the Apollo Theatre. Standing tickets are valid for the same date for this new Priest Feast show, but seated tickets will need to be exchanged at point of purchase.

The revised Priest Feast tour dates for the UK featuring Judas Priest, Megadeth, and Testament:

Feb. 13 - Sheffield, UK - Arena
Feb. 14 - Birmingham, UK - LG Arena
Feb. 16 - Glasgow, UK - SECC Hall 4
Feb. 17 - Manchester, UK - Apollo
Feb. 20 - Cardiff, UK - International Arena
Feb. 21 - Wembley, UK - Arena