A BIT OF WEEKEND READING AND A NEW KILLING JOKE VIDEO

Here are three things I read yesterday that I thought were worth recommending. And because we always have to have music in our posts, I’m ending this one with a couple of videos by UK post-punk legends Killing Joke, one old one and one that just premiered yesterday.

“THE TEN MOST METAL DEATHS OF METAL MUSICIANS”

Yeah, that headline caught my eye, too. It appeared on the online music blog of The Riverfront Times, a St. Louis alternative newsweekly that’s been around since 1977. As the headline suggests, the writer (Rick Giordano) compiled stories about 10 metal musicians who died in metal ways. Here’s Rick’s introduction and disclaimer:

Death has always been one of the most dominant themes in heavy-metal music, taking a back seat maybe only to Satanism. Death, disease, murder and chaos have accompanied heavy riffs since Sabbath first began playing them back in ’68. This dark subject matter is part of what has always made metal controversial — revolting to some, but appealing to those musicians interested in facing the things we all fear. But there’s often a strange irony that comes into play when we have to realize that these musicians are also human beings, capable of falling victim to the very horrors they seem to embrace.

Disclaimer: In no way do I intend to make light of these deaths. Many of these musicians were heroes of mine and died far too early. Also, one that might seem like an obvious choice, Dimebag Darrell’s death, will not be included here. Getting shot and killed for no reason is a hip-hop way to die, not a metal one.

By looking at the photo at the top of this post, you may be able to guess who’s first on Rick Giordano’s list. To see the rest of the entries for this ghoulish list of morbid angels, go HERE.  Curious what you dudes and dudettes think of this.

And next . . .

 

(photo credit: W.B. Fontenot)

MOMS LIKE THIS ARE METAL

This is a photo of Esther Gutierrez, a housewife who lives in Los Angeles. Back in 2006, her son Carlos had just turned 18 and was was drumming in Fueled by Fire, a local thrash band primarily playing backyard shows. “Initially, they were having trouble booking club shows because they were all teenagers,” she says. “I felt for the kids and wanted to help them out.” So she took it upon herself to organize a festival.

It was held at the famed Whisky A Go Go club and was called Thrasho de Mayo, with Katon W. De Pena, vocalist of ’80s L.A. thrashers Hirax, acting as the emcee. Three of the five bands who performed that day — Fueled by Fire, Merciless Death, and Warbringer — were signed within a year, by Metal Blade, Heavy Artillery, and Century Media, respectively.

And Thrasho de Mayo has just kept on going, and growing. More than 1,000 people are expected at this year’s event — which takes place today, May 11.

The whole story — by Jason Roche at LA Weekly — is a cool read. Go HERE to find it.

And next . . .

 

“MEMBERS OF NECROPHAGIST FOUND ALIVE IN CLEVELAND; NEW RECORD PLANNED FOR 2057”

Necrophagist memes and phony joke reports about the release of their ephemeral next album are a dime a dozen. What could anyone possibly do to satirize the endless wait for new Necrophagist music that hasn’t already been done dozens of times? Well, here’s your answer, from The Tyranny of Tradition’s satirical blog:

After hearing noises that resembled 64^th notes, neighbor Charles Espejismo burst into the house next door and freed the band from their nine year captivity in the basement of a house on Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland.   According to Espejismo, he was walking back from McDonald’s, eating a Filet of Fish sandwich when he heard noises that “resembled some of that crazy stuff that was on Gorod’s last two records.”

And it goes on from there.  In questionable taste?  Well, “in questionable taste” is one of my middle names, so of course I can’t resist spreading this around.  Too soon?

Now for some music.

 

KILLING JOKE

Before I listened to metal, I listened to Killing Joke. I listened to other bands, too, but most of those are dead and gone. Killing Joke are still alive and kicking. This year they’re celebrating their 35th anniversary (!!!), and to commemorate the occasion Spinefarm is releasing The Singles Collection 1979-2012, a two-CD compilation of thirty-three singles that span the band’s career. In a limited edition, there will also be a third disc containing rarities.

One of the tracks on this new comp is “Corporate Elect”, which originally appeared on 2012’s MMXII, and yesterday marked the debut of an official video for the song. Aside from the fact that the video is a cool thing to watch, it has the distinction of being directed, edited, coloured, animated, produced, and created by Mikee W. Goodman — the former frontman of SikTh, a member of Primal Rock Rebellion (along with Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith), and now recording with new project named Outpatients.

Although Killing Joke has explored all sorts of musical styles in their 35 years of existence, the subject matter of their songs has remained pretty consistent. To make that point, I’m including their video for “Eighties” (from 1985’s Night Time) below the one for “Corporate Elect” (and also because I must have listened to “Eighties” 100 times back in the day).

That’s it for this post. As always, enjoy the rest of your fucking day.