jhan6120

So . . . Tarja ROCKED the Fillmore at Irving Plaza, NYC, last night, April 29. By far the best show I’ve seen this year. What a pleasure it is to witness a REAL singer perform. It’s amazing to hear a trained mezzo soprano soar over an ear-splitting band. Not to disrespect other singers, but come on, this is Tarja - the FIRST of the great female symphonic metal vocalists. To see a legend like her perform live – in top shape no less – is one of the events of the year. And Doug Wimbish on bass... Read Full Story

I posted this video for the sole reason that it's one of the best live metal videos I've ever seen. Mastodon rules. Read Full Story

Bands: Danizg Dimmu Borgir Moonspell Winds of Plague Skeletonwitch What can I say about the Blackest of the Black Tour, except that Skeletonwitch pretty much blew everyone away? I thank the black gods that I showed up nice and early to catch their twenty minute set. Otherwise, the evening would have been a complete blow-out. I WILL catch them the next time they come around. Bank on it. As for the rest: Winds of Plague proved that they have a few more tours ahead of them to hone their live... Read Full Story

After two long years of being out of town or screwed over ticket-wise whenever Opeth came around, I finally got the chance to see them at Nokia Theater last night in NYC. I must say that from the bottom of my blackened soul it was worth the wait. My first live experience with Opeth was at Gigantour, 2006, when I realized that I would much rather have seen Opeth play a longer set than sit through another mammoth hour and a half of Lamb of God. Since the majority of Opeth’s tracks are seven... Read Full Story

Normally I try to present a fairly positive voice on this blog no matter what I write about. But with the new Metallica album out, I have to sound off on the negative. A few weeks ago, the NY Times had a huge cover story in their Sunday arts section about Metallica. Of course, being a long-time metal fan, and being altogether sick of reading about credit woes and failing banks, I had to read the entire thing. About halfway through the article, I felt this gnawing pain that I always feel when... Read Full Story

On August 9th, 2008, in what is inarguably one of the worst sounding arenas on the east coast, I had the privilege to witness the Metal Masters Tour. The Crowd The happiest bunch of regular, hard working people I’ve seen in a long, long time. Beer, beer and more beer flowed. Many horns were raised. Even security and concession stand workers were in high spirits. Fathers and sons banged heads together in a Super bowl of metal. It was a beautiful thing, kind of like listening to a tag-team... Read Full Story

Everyone else has reviewed it, so I might as well. Heavy Metal in Baghdad , produced and directed by Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi and presented by VBS.TV’s Vice Films, is an extremely vital document for everyone to see – not just metal fans. If you ever took your freedom of cultural expression for granted, you won’t after seeing this film. H.M.I.B. features the Iraqi metal band Acrassicauda (Latin for ‘black scorpion’) in war-torn Baghdad from the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 to the... Read Full Story

Rise of the Goddess What to make of the rise of female-fronted metal bands? Are women finally come of age in a world of metal? Has the feminine come full circle, reborn from the warrior’s mouth in a symphony of triumph? What invisible hand re-writes the epic that I’ve lived for so long? Where do these lace-clad, head banging, soul-bearing women come from, and what does their presence mean for all of us? First, let us skip over the meatalhead habit of taking sides. Many of you, particularly... Read Full Story

In this well-curated exhibit, Daniel Guzmán and Steven Shearer work in a variety of mediums to present their views of identity, adolescence, rock culture and death. Metal Heads of all varieties are sure to enjoy the inside references of a familiar culture, while at the same experiencing the subjective filter of two prominent artists with very specific viewpoints. Highlights: Guzmán: Interesting interplay of current events, cultural idols, sin and salvation. Guzmán is influenced by comic books... Read Full Story

Awesome show, incredible tour, great lineup. Don’t miss it! I’m going to make this brief because it’s early and I’m not firing on all cylinders yet. Plus, by the time I really wake up, I’ll have forgotten everything. Guess that comes with age. Whitechapel: Missed ‘em because I got caught up in something at work. Sorry. Psycroptic: Caught the last five minutes. Decent, hard working, technical death metal band. Apparently the sound man was doing something else during their set, because it was... Read Full Story