Uncensored Lair of the Minotaur Video Available Now!

by Wayne Graham

Remind me, dear reader, what is your opinion of Lair of the Minotaur?

Okay. Good. How about videos with decapitations, naked vampire chicks, and gore to beat the band?

I see. That's what I thought.

Perhaps it would behoove you to drop what you're doing and check out the new Uncensored Cut of Lair of the Minotaur's "War Metal Battle Master" video.

Click here for carnage.

Hook of the Day - Alice in Chains "Angry Chair"

by Wayne Graham

I sure do love some good harmonizing. Seems like a lot of the bands I listen to let the guitar players handle the sweet harmonies (Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy, At the Gates, etc.) but from time to time, you'll find a great band that knows how to use vocal harmonies for maximum impact, and it sounds sooooo good. We're working on our reviews for the new album of one such band---their name starts with a "T" and ends with a "orche"---but in the meantime, please enjoy one of the best bands to ever employ great vocal harmonies...Alice in Chains. From 1992's classic grunge epic Dirt, here's "Angry Chair"

Hook of the Day - The Ramones "Do You Wanna Dance"

by Wayne Graham

Many thanks to my buddy Rob, who after reading yesterday's post about t-shirts, brought to my attention another great band who has such an iconic logo, you wouldn't have been able to NOT wear the shirt to the gig...The Ramones.

So, for the first time, we're taking a request for a Hook of the Day. For Rob, here's the Ramones-- live in London in 1977--with "Do You Wanna Dance."

Hey! Ho! Let's go!

In Defense of.....Wearing a Band's T-Shirt to the Same Band's Show

by Wayne Graham

I can't keep quiet about this any longer. I'm not sure when it started, but, at some point, it became conventional wisdom that going to a show wearing the t-shirt of the band you're going to see is not cool. I first became aware of this concept when a character made the claim in the Animal House wish-I-was PCU, that to "be that guy" is not good. First of all, one shouldn't place too much stock in anything that is said in a movie starring David Spade, even if Jeremy Piven, Jon Favreau, and George Clinton are in it, too. Secondly, WHAT'S WRONG WITH BEING THAT GUY???

For one thing, there are some bands who have merch that BEGS to be worn at their shows. Off the top of my head, I think of the Grateful Dead, KISS, and Iron Maiden. These are all bands who have (or have had) very distinctive merchandising concepts, and who are also known for rabid fans, which means there shouldn't be anything wrong with presenting oneself as part of the Deadheads, KISS Army, or, um, Maidenfans. To do that, you gotta fly the flag...on your chest. Case closed. Where else am I going to wear my Maiden shirt? Work? Grandma's House? No! When Maiden rolls around Chicago in June, I'm wearing my goddamn Iron Maiden 2005 tour shirt, son! And I won't be alone!

Now, when it comes to bands without a subculture, or a cool logo, or a mascot....it's harder to defend. I'm a little more bashful about wearing my Queens of the Stone Age shirt to the QOTSA gig, because, in that situation, I'll look like a weird, stalkerish fan club/street team type or something to people who are being judgemental instead of enjoying the show. So, I guess I'll wear my Queens shirt to the Converge show, and since Baroness is opening for them, I'll save my Baroness shirt for when I see Mastodon and save my Mastodon for...I dunno, something else, and now I've had to actually plan when I'm going to wear which shirt to which show, thereby adding a degree of pain-in-the-assedness to something that is, at its core, all about letting it all hang out and having a good-ass time. And, really, is THAT cool??? And if so, is it that much more cool than just grabbing whatever damn shirt you want, throwing it on, and meeting up with your buddies for whatever pre-show festivities you may enjoy? Do I really have to plan every second of my life to look un-lame to Zak Penn and Adam Leff?

Who are Zak Penn and Adam Leff, you might ask? Why, they're the guys who wrote PCU, of course! Yet, you had to ask me who they were! If THEY were cool, would you have to ask me who they are? You wanna know what else these guys wrote? Zak Penn also wrote Elektra. Yes, that Elektra. Adam Leff is even better...BioDome, bitches. Boy, are these guys the birth of the cool, or what?

Let's face it, the people who truly believe this shit are probably people who listen to crap music made by people who sell boring face-on-the-front-tour-dates-on-the-back merchandise. For those of us who enjoy real rock music, good artwork is part and parcel of the experience. We like a good album cover, and we like a kick-ass shirt. And we're fans, goddammit. Fly the flag. Move along and mind your business, hipsters. Your draft of Last Action Hero isn't done yet. (guess who wrote THAT one?)

Myche adds:

Great post! It had to be said. I was once told by a girlfriend of a friend on the way to the Matter Of Life Or Death Maiden show that I was breaking the cardinal sin of coolness by wearing a Maiden shirt. I was pretty comfortable with my decision, so this did not phase me (and I really should have kicked her ass to curb since she had the audacity to say it when I was driving her ass to the show). I am a repeat offender. Guilty as charged. And I'll do it in the future, you can bet your ass on that. I do it at Queensryche, Y&T (where I even wore a shirt that I MADE, and the band loved, and one of the guys wanted me to make him one - and I did!) and Trouble shows. I'm flying my colors, plain and simple.

And let me throw this in: if I was worried about being cool all the time, I probably wouldn't want to be caught dead at some of the shows I go to! I love what's happened over the years. Back in the late 80's, everyone was really busy being tough and bad ass at shows. Now we're all a lot older and at some shows I get that "hey dude, you're still listening to these guys too?" vibe. And I think that is awesome. It's all about mutual respect...

I think maybe it's gotten to the point that people that wear a band's shirt to their show are not "that guy" anymore. I mean, doesn't it show confidence in yourself to go ahead and do this even though you know this claim is out there, everyone knows it?

It all comes full circle.

Or it really is uncool and I'm trying to justify myself.

Either way, I'm not going to stop...

Mark adds...

I am in such agreement with my fellow brothers of metal. I wear the shirts to the bands that I see because I support them. I was in that same car ride with QM and remember thinking how stupid that girl's comment was. I was wondering how many people gave her a thumbs up, or a kick ass shirt comment at the show? Does that sound like we're losers? Nope. Sorry. I am doing exactly what Wayne does. I save certain shows to wear certain shirts. If I have a show that I'm going to of a band that I dont really know yet or own any gear ( and it's called Gear, by the way...) It's a pretty good chance that I'm going to wear a Mastodon shirt. I own 4 for god's sake. If it's more agressive, I might wear a SlipKnot shirt. But you know what's funny? If I see someone with a SlipKnot shirt on, guess what? He's my brother. If nothing else we agree on, we agree on the 'Knot. Its a brotherhood. and I'm damn proud to carry the torch. I cant wait to bust out my button down maiden shirt for the concert. the one that cost me about 50 bucks to buy! It's EASILY my best shirt and I only bring it out on very important occasions. If people think I'm a dork for wearing it? That's not MY problem.

Hook of the Day - Baroness "Rays on Pinion (live)"

by Wayne Graham

2008 is shaping up to be an amazing year for rock lovers so far. Lots of good albums already in stores (Meshuggah, Lair of the Minotaur), on deck (Torche, The Sword), and some hopefuls on the horizon (Mastodon, Boris, Nachtymystium, Opeth, My Morning Jacket). Don't even get me started on all the great live music we have in store for us. One show we at Hooks are counting the hours until is the Converge/Genghis Tron/Red Chord/Baroness bill. We've not had the pleasure of being in the same room with Baroness yet, so we're excited to see them soon.

Thanks to Metal Injection for posting this excellent clip of 'Ness shaking it up at Don Pedros in Brooklyn. From the stunning Red Album, here's "Rays on Pinion." (head over the M.I's site here and check out another clip for "The Birthing.")

New In Flames Album Streaming Now!

by Wayne Graham

All you fans of Gothenburg melodic death metal pay attention! The new In Flames album--A Sense of Purpose--is streaming in full on the band's MySpace page!

While you're at it, enjoy the video for the album's lead single, "The Mirror's Truth"



A Sense of Purpose will be in stores on April 1st from Nuclear Blast/Koch.
In Flames on MySpace [link]

Hook of the Day - Helmet "Unsung"

by Wayne Graham

We're pretty Torche-crazy around here lately as we gear up for the release of Meanderthal, due April 8th from Hydra Head Industries. On that note, it's hard to listen to Torche frontman Steve Brooks and not be reminded of Helmet's Page Hamilton, whose voice has a very similar quality.

From Helmet's classic 1992 release Meantime, here's "Unsung."

New Black Keys Album Streaming in Its Entirety on Rhapsody

by Wayne Graham

Good news for you fans of Akron, Ohio garage-blues duo The Black Keys. Rolling Stone reports that Rhapsody is streaming their new Danger Mouse-produced album Attack and Release for free, a full week before its April 1st release.

Check it out here.

Album of the Week - Lair of the Minotaur "War Metal Battle Master"

by Wayne Graham

On all of the promo materials for Lair of the Minotaur’s punishing new album War Metal Battle Master, they describe the release as “A concept album about solving conflicts with a big fucking axe.” Yyyyyyyyyyeahh that pretty much says more about what this record sounds like than anything that we’re going to tell you. WMBM is an extremely heavy record—both in terms of the club-over-the-head riffs as well as the dense sonic weight of the production (by Minsk’s Sanford Parker, with Pig Destroyer’s Scott Hull in charge of mastering).

With WMBM, Lair have perfected the art of distilling all the great elements of so many of metal’s subgenres, stripping away the problem spots that can cause those subgenres to falter or misstep, and to fuse the good stuff together into a cohesive, consistent wallop. There are blasting, growling death metal moments that grow out of riffs, as opposed to just providing a Look-Ma-No-Hands workout to attract love from the drum & guitar clinic crowd. The record has great martial-styled blast beats and throat shredding screeches that the best of Black Metal can offer, but without the theatrics or thin production. (One could go on all day about how fucking epic this thing sounds. Parker has really outdone himself on this one). Going on to fuse the dirty, sweaty riff n’ roll of High on Fire and Motorhead, the old-school darkness of Venom and Celtic Frost, and the gallop of 80’s Bay Area Thrash (especially early Slayer), the guys in Lair of the Minotaur are clearly lovers of metal in all its forms, but instead of skipping from genre to genre like so many prog know-it-alls, Lair have torn through what metal has done well before, pillaged what they need, and left the rest to burn in Hell. The songs are played with a pronounced bottom end that runs circles around what most doom metal outfits are doing these days, but the punch and focus of the arrangements keep everything moving at a nice clip. Each of the band’s members---Donald James Barraca on bass, Steven Rathbone on vox and guitar, and Chris Wozniak on drums—are all distinctive on their instruments, but they’re most impressive in how they lock in as a unit to fill as much sonic space with as much Heavy as possible.

So, yeah, what they said…….Big Fucking Axe.

The album is out today courtesy of Southern Lord Recordings. Wear a helmet.

Lair of the Minotaur on MySpace [link]

Hook of the Day - Battles "Tonto"

by Wayne Graham

Do you ever wonder if all your computers and gadgets get together and have a dance party when you're out of the room? Me too. I bet ya dollars to donuts it sounds like Battles.

From their wonderful 2007 album Mirrored, please enjoy "Tonto." Your laptop and your flatscreen are grinding against each other to this song right this second.

Hook of the Day - Big Business "Grounds for Divorce"

by Wayne Graham

A couple of years ago, I was the Double Door waiting for High on Fire to come out and lay waste to the joint, and out comes two guys--one bass player, one drummer---who called themselves Big Business. The crowd was ornery and BB had some work ahead of them......and they absolutely slayed! They had a tougher time when I caught them again opening for Tool, opening for Tool can be dangerous water...but BB played great then, too.

As you may know, these guys have also joined The Melvins as their new bass player and second drummer, so if it's good enough for Buzzo, it's plenty good for the rest of us! From a Chicago Double Door show opening for The Melvins last fall, here's "Grounds for Divorce" from their fantastic Here Come The Waterworks album. Thanks to thinkerthought for uploading!

Rumor of the Week - Judas Priest, Heaven & Hell, Motorhead to Tour Later This Year?

by Wayne Graham

According to a story posted this weekend on Blabbermouth, the rumor mill is white hot with reports of a possible trek later this year featuring Judas Priest, Heaven & Hell, and Motorhead. As far as we can tell, Blabbermouth seems to have started this rumor themselves, but many Blabberbashers (who all claim to have "reliable sources") are pointing towards the buzz being correct.

A few months ago, there was chatter about a possible Judas Priest/Scorpions tour, but there's no mention of the Scorps being involved on this bill. (Though Testament is strongly believed to be a possible 4th act for the JP/H&H/MH outing)

We'll let you know if we hear anything else. Grain of salt and high hopes til then.

Hook of the Day - The Sword (playing as Zombie Eaters) "From Out of Nowhere"

by Wayne Graham

Thanks to YouTube poster BradTheProducer for uploading this clip of The Sword performing Faith No More's "From Out of Nowhere" during their FNM cover set at SXSW a couple of weeks ago. A bit fuzzy, but you get the idea.

Another new Boris video---"My Neighbor Satan"

by Wayne Graham

How did you enjoy Boris' video for "Statement" that we posted last month? Pretty good, right? Want another?

Here's "My Neighbor Satan" from their upcoming album Smile, due April 29th from Southern Lord Recordings.

Thanks to crustcake for posting!

Hook of the Day - Gojira "To Sirius"

by Wayne Graham

Things to do this weekend.

1) Watch this excellent video for "To Sirius" from Gojira's jaw-dropping From Mars to Sirius album.

2) If you don't have it already, purchase Gojira's jaw-dropping From Mars to Sirius album.

3) Cancel all of your weekend plans, hole up, and let Gojira's jaw-dropping From Mars to Sirius album wash over you.

4) Pick your jaw up off the floor and tell a friend about Gojira. Go see them live. Buy all their albums from here on out. Acknowledge that your ass belongs to them now, and feel good about it.




Gojira on MySpace [link]

MP3 Randomization: 03-20-08

Myche:
1. Forever Young - The Band
2. Jacob's Ladder - Bruce Springsteen
3. Jailbreak - Thin Lizzy
4. Marriage Chant - Greg Brown
5. Straight Thru The Heart - Y&T

Wayne:
1. Alive - Daft Punk
2. Hung, Drawn, and Quartered- High on Fire
3. Planet Boom - Motley Crue
4. Huge- Boris
5. Flaming Youth - KISS

Mark:
1. Melody Cool-Prince feat Mavis Staples
2. Talullah - Jamiroquai
3. Red, Hot and Ready - Y &T
4. Piece by piece- Slayer
5. Breathe in, breathe out- Between the Buried and Me

Hook of the Day - Strapping Young Lad "Love?"

by Wayne Graham

Devin Townsend is a freakin' mad-scientist genius. Such a pity that none of us here were able to catch Strapping Young Lad live before they called it a day. S'pose we'll just have to be content with the dense brews of precision and power on the albums. From 2005's Alien, here's "Love?"

Reminder of the day

You know who rule?

3 Inches of Blood. I listened to them as I did laundry today, and I motherfucking ATTACKED it!!!!

As you were

New Video Alert - The Sword "Fire Lances Of The Ancient Hyperzephyrians"

by Wayne Graham

Muchas gracias to the fine folks at Stereogum for posting the new video for The Sword's "Fire Lances Of The Ancient Hyperzephyrians." This is one of the best tracks from the band's outstanding new album Gods of the Earth, due on April 1st from Kemado Records.

Is Prince doing Coachella???

by Wayne Graham

And with one fell swoop, this year's Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival goes from "eh, pretty weak" to "whaaaa???? really??" According to BrooklynVegan, Prince will be added this year's festival, taking place April 25-27 at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, CA. No word yet on which day he'll perform, and no confirmation from any official sources yet. We'll keep you posted as this develops. If this is true and you can make it out this year, DO IT. Prince is one of the greatest live performers on Earth. Other performers this year include Roger Waters (performing Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety), Portishead, and Kraftwerk.

UPDATE: Yep. According to Brooklyn Vegan, the Purple One will be there.