southernmetalreporter

Well, unfortunately I will be out of commission on here until Sunday, The state says i have a debt I need to repay to society this weekend(don’task and i wont bore you with the story). I don’t like repaying debts to society and i don’t like having my time taken away from me but what the hell can you do sometimes. If there are any regular readers out there(surely there is at least 1!!) I’ll be back Sunday sometime so keep a look out for a new post then. In the mean time please cruise on over to my good buds sites and give them a holler and say hello…hit these links up for me and tell the Southern Metal Reporter sent ya!

TOXIC FUZZ    Romantic Destructo    Bluecollar Suicide     Skullkin     Deka Records

This has already been all over the web circulating on a lot of the Metal sites but I’m going to post up here for those that are interested and might have missed it. Blood Has Been Shed,the former band of Killswitch Engage vocalist Howard Jones and KSE drummer Justin”i now have the greatest beard in metal” Foley might be back. The band has more or less been put on the back burner since the pair joined KSE. They had promised that the band would not go by the way side and while Blood Has Been Shed has never officially been broken up, they haven’t done much of anything since those 2 joined KSE. Blood Has Been Shed guitarist Corey Unger says that he is pretty far into the writing of a new album. He says there will be a pretty good mix of people involved on the album including original members. While this definitely means that Jones and Foley will involved on some level it also kind of sounds like they wont be full features on the album either which really kind of sucks because Jones is a killer vocalist and Foley is a crazy good drummer but with Killswitch on the verge of releasing a new album and already being booked on the Music As A Weapon Tour and strongly rumored to be joining the main stage for this summers RockStar Mayhem Fest, it doesn’t even look like it would possible for them to be real active with another project. I will still be curious to hear it regardless of all that, Blood Has Been Shed has some solid music and i am definitely willing to give something new a good listen. Keep the eyes and the ears open for more news on this later on if you are a fan. I am sure there are more than a few glad to hear this.

Just as a little update on a previous post. Killswitch Engage has now apparently been added to the main stage on the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Fest.Right now it is out there as a strong rumor that can not yet be confirmed by the band due to some sort of legal thing with them being on the spring time Music As A Weapon Tour, but it looks like it will be them even though the latest addition is listed as special guest with no name. This is a good thing. Slayer, Marilyn Manson,KSE and blughhhh Bullet For My Valentine. There are at least 3 good bands on that stage now and the side stages are loaded up full with metal goodness. You can scroll down my main page to the other post for full tour dates.

Long time thrashers and members of what is considered the big 4(Metallica,Megadeth,Slayer and Anthrax)from the early 80’s thrash scene are set to put out their first new studio album in 6 years and their very first with new vocalist Dan Nelson. I hope this guy is good because John Bush still belongs in this band in mind and has left a very big hole for anyone to fill.  The new album is going to be titled Worship Music. Strange name but I am sure it will be good as Anthrax has never actually put out anything that can really be considered not good.Album is set for release on Megaforce Records sometime in June and everything I have read indicates that they will also be setting out on a full world tour to support the record,certainly sounds good to me since I have been trying and wanting to see these guys in person for many years now.Musicians and bands always claim that their latest work is their best and heaviest work they have put out and early reports on this album are no different, i wish we didn’t have to wait until June to find out for sure.If by chance you are an Anthrax fan from way back, something to make you feel old is this fact:2009 marks 25 years since Anthrax released their first album “Fist Full Of Metal”.Hows that for looking back in time and trying to figure out where it all went.

Just cruising around checking out my daily sites and i hit up my favorite,Metalsucks and they had the scoop on the great “who is Slayer going to tour with this summer?” mystery. The answer is……Marilyn Manson. They will be co-headlining the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Fest this year. Should be a good show even though i was kinda hoping for the Suicide Silence rumors to be true. The only other main stage act announced so far is stupid Bullet For My Valentine(Booooo!!!). Second stages are looking tho be great though. Announced acts for the second stages are God Forbid,Trivium,Cannibal Corpse,The Black Dahlia Murder,Behemoth,Job For A Cowboy,Whitechapel and All That Remains. That is a nice set of bands. So far the announced dates are as posted below and i will keep on the look out for any further info on this. Looks to be a pretty good day of music. I generally hate the big sponsor named music fests but Rockstar looks to understand how to put on a good show and make a good drink(Rockstar all the way,truck driver tested,truck driver approved!) so I will likely try and hit up the Atlanta date this year. Maybe i will see you there. That’s about all i have on that but check out the dates below and see if it is Rock Star is bringing the mayhem anywhere near you this year.

Jul. 10 - Sacramento, CA
Jul. 11 - San Francisco, CA
Jul. 12 - San Bernardino, CA
Jul. 14 - Seattle, WA
Jul. 17 - Phoenix, AZ
Jul. 18 - Albuquerque, NM
Jul. 19 - Denver, CO
Jul. 21 - Kansas City
Jul. 22 - St. Louis, MO
Jul. 24 - Atlanta, GA
Jul. 25 - Indianapolis, IN
Jul. 26 - Chicago, IL
Jul. 28 - Toronto, ON
Jul. 29 - Scranton, PA
Jul. 31 - Cleveland, OH
Aug. 01 - Pittsburgh, PA
Aug. 02 - Detroit, MI
Aug. 04 - Boston, MA
Aug. 06 - Virginia Beach, VA
Aug. 07 - Camden, NJ
Aug. 08 - Hartford, CT
Aug. 09 - Washington, DC
Aug. 11 - Tampa, FL
Aug. 12 - West Palm Beach, FL
Aug. 14 - Dallas, TX
Aug. 15 - Houston, TX
Aug. 16 - San Antonio, TX

Click here. I just check for ticket registration and the link for tickets was up. It went down for a bit but looks to be back up now. I put in for mine. Go put in for yours before they are gone. Free Mastodon and Neurosis and High On Fire and Pig Destroyer people!!! Go check and see if that link is still up and get yours now!

Ok, so the best named festival ever has been announced. The Metal Up Your Ass Festival. You read that correctly so no need to ask. Crazy names aside this thing does have a pretty nice lineup so far. A lot of the same bands from the California Metal Fest are hitting this one up as well but this time they will be doing it for all you crazy cats in Ft. Worth Texas at The Ridglea Theatre on March 21st. It will cost you $35 in advance and $40 at the door day of. These bands will be there. Carcass,Suffocation,Samael,Suicide Silence,Arsis,Whitechapel,Psycroptic,Veil of Maya and Decrepit Birth. The more I read that list, the more i realize how much metal you really will have up your ass if you attend. And something else i just noticed, the poster for California Metal Fest and the Poster for this deal both have the same picture. Must be the same people behind it as it also has the same record label sponsors. Whoever is behind it certainly knows how to put on a show. Anyway, there you have it if you want it,Metal Up Your Ass!

I actually thought the guy was maybe a year or 2 older than 54, he is certainly looking older these days, but today is in fact the 54th birthday of the guitar slinging extraordinaire Eddie Van Halen.Van Halen was one of my very first musical interests way back. I was singing along to Jump and trying to play along on a broom way back before i even hit kindergarten and was always fascinated by the little angel smoking a cigarette on the front of the 1984 album when my dad brought it home so Eddie has been filling my ears with rock and roll goodness for about as long as i have been listening to music. While someone may want to send Eddie a package of good personality and people skills for his birthday,you certainly wont have to send him any skills.Even though he has mostly squandered away the last decade or so not putting out music and being a grouchy recluse,Eddie is certainly still one of the finest rock guitarists we have on the planet and it will be a good day when he decides to actually get along with someone besides his brother and son and actually put out some new music. I guess we will just have to deal with what we have been given for the foreseeable future, good thing its good stuff though. Even though you are stingy with your music and don’t get along well with others, on this day i salute you,Happy Birthday EVH.(yeah, like he is going to ever read this!)

News always gets a little slower on the weekends so today i am going to keep national news off of here and use this opportunity to throw something new at you. Bluecollar Suicide. This is another dose of what Tennessee has to offer the world and this is a good one.Bluecollar is a good ole’ pummeling does of hard driving, southern rock tinged bluesy hard rock. It’s more on the hard rock side of metal but i don’t care because good tunes is good tunes. I am listening to their tunes on Myspace again right now and I am completely impressed not only with the songs,musicianship and overall song writing but the production on these tracks are out of this world for an un-signed local gigging band, two big thumbs up on that. These are definitely not 4 track machine and a mic garage recordings. I normally push stuff on here that is way over the top metal compared to what these guys do but if you enjoy driving grooving hard rock you will love this stuff. They have good recordings, solid powerful vocals, super strong guitar playing and a hard driving solid rhythm section with all the groove you need so I don’t see what’s not to like if you like rock music. I linked to their Myspace page up above and I really think you should go check out the tunes(i recommend starting with Dirt Inside of Me) and see if they have any shows booked up that you can make it out to. Support the un-signed guys and open your ears to something new. Hit that page up and tell them Southern Metal Reporter sent ya.

One more reason to hit the California Metal Fest on March 28th has just been given. Mighty thrashers Exodus have been confirmed. I would love to see Exodus and would attend just for them if i live in or near Anaheim. Not to much to add to that, just thought i would let ya know because that is a pretty big addition to the show. 

Again, I was roaming around the net and ran across some new tour dates over at Lambgoat. Converge are doing a few shows before they hole up in the studio for their new album. Dates are down below and they will be joined by Ceremony,Coliseum,Rise and Fall and Pulling Teeth and it looks like the last date will be shared with Genghis Tron and that is a show i would like to see but i can’t. That sucks for me but maybe you are from that area. If you are, get out and see them.

3/23 Allston, MA @ ICC Church
3/24 Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place
3/25 Cleveland, OH @ TBA
3/26 Lemoyne, PA @ Championship
3/27 Brooklyn, NY @ Europa
3/28 Richmond, VA @ United Blood Festival
3/29 Philadelphia, PA @ The First Unitarian Church w/ Genghis Tron

I was just roaming around Blabbermouth and ran across a headline that may just make my cruddy week and crappy month a little better. It was a headline indicating that the rumors and possibilities are very strong that Slayer will be taking Suicide Silence out with them for a summer tour this year. If you are into these two bands i really don’t need to say anything to stress how ridiculous that tour would be so i will just leave it at that. It isn’t official yet but it’s on the table and rumored to have strong truth to it. Slayer,Suicide Silence and bands to be named later as if they needed more.Needless to say i will follow this story and update on this as soon as anything else surfaces.

I recently reported on the free rock show coming up in Atlanta Georgia, The Scion Rock Fest. This show just got way better. The original lineup of bands has been updated and added to and this show is now officially stacked. It was already a stellar lineup but it is now officially insane and i cant believe they are giving the tickets away for free. The bands added to the show are Converge, Pig Destroyer,Septic Flesh,Coalesce,Trash Talk, Evil Army,Us Christmas,Gaylord, and Apocalyptic Visions. Again I stress to you this show is free and is being headlined by Mastodon, High On Fire and Neurosis and many other good bands. The ones i listed above are just the newly added bands. Tickets will be up for grabs starting at 9 a.m. on January 28th and the show will be taking place exactly a month later on February 28th. there will be a limited number of tickets as The Masquerade is not a huge place and this also means that if you get tickets you had better plan on getting there early well before the doors open up. You can find any additional information at the official Scion Rock Fest web site.

Some new Romantic Destructo news for today,I’m telling you people to get on board with these guys. I plan to drill them in your head. Ok, that sounds a little to pushy, but I am going to do my part in selling this band and getting you to buy in as new fans. But onto the heart of the issue. Romantic Destructoposted up the latest in whats going on with them on Myspace today. They are still getting geared up for the studio and the release of their first full length with DEKA Records, while getting things in line for that they are keeping warmed up with some live shows and they have posted a new date. They will be playing February 8th at Loudhouse Coffee in Greenbrier Tennessee. The show is listed on the Loudhouse Myspace as opening up at 6pm. The show will feature Romantic Destructo along with Precore,Sunlit Ether,The Asendicate,and Manifested Demise. There is no reason this should not be a good show and i encourage anyone within shouting distance to hit this up and enjoy some new stuff. Romantic Destructo also posted up a picture of what their first t-shirt is going to look like. That big picture at the top of this entry is said shirt. Want one? I Do. Believe i will have to pick one of those up when they get them done. Well that’s the latest from those guys. Keep posted and I will bring it to you as i get it and have you all informed and ready to go when that new album is done.

For any of you readers, if I have any, that live in California,the California Metalfest is looking strong. Looks like some pretty heavy hitters have signed up and there are supposed to be more on the way. California Metalfest will be taking place on March 28th at The Grove in Anaheim California Nuclear Blast,Century Media and Metal Blade records are all sponsors of this even so a good lineup is really to be expected. Some of the participants of this years show include Carcass,Suffocation,Samael,The Faceless,my personal favorites Whitechapel,Arsis,Decrepit Birth,Veil of Maya and Psycroptic and more to be announced sometime soon. Pretty big lineup and already worth getting tickets and they still have more to come. Makes me wish I could live in California for a few days since we don’t get much of anything like that here in good ole Tennessee. If you live in California and you like the metal, you cant get much more bang for the buck than this for a day so get on over there and hang out with your….out and rock out with your….out. You fill in the blanks