CAULDRON BLACK RAM talks to Mystic Metal

biodagar — Sun, 13 May 2012 13:52:04 +0000

The very lovely, rockin’ Dea at Mystic Metal talked to Esh of Cauldron Black Ram recently.

You can see this killer interview HERE.

Note that the photographs are by one of my former photographers, Max Hale. Max is one of the few rock photographers in Australia who does not spend hours in photoshop post-gig, preferring to “get it right” the first time.

Enjoy! And thanks to Dea for her time!

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Buy my stuff!

biodagar — Sun, 13 May 2012 07:22:26 +0000

I’m selling a bunch of things on eBay. Most of them are movies, and I’m only selling them because they’re duplicates of others that we own on either DVD or Bluray.

Below is the list. CLICK HERE TO GO LOOK AT THEM!

They’re all in super condition. Without exception. Well, maybe the Axel Rudi Pell disc, which was a promo (yes, really) and is unplayed. It’s absolutely perfect.

METAL DVDS – buy these

AXEL RUDI PELL – One Night Live DVD

SEPULTURA – Chaos DVD (three hard-to-find vids on one DVD)

FILMS ON DVD - buy these

Children of Men (science fiction)

The Final Destination (horror)

Underworld (horror)

The Lost Boys (horror)

The Satanic Rites of Dracula (horror)

American Psycho (crime/thriller)

The Howling (the original Howling) (horror)

Phantasm III (horror)

The Descent (horror)

Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels (hardman comedy)

Tintin: The Mystery at Shark Lake (kids’ animation)

BEAUTY PRODUCTS – buy these

Noriko Milan Hair Enhancer x 2 (both very rare to get in Australia, especially this cheap!). I have one in burgundy and one in nutmeg.

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GUEST BLOG: Pommie Metal…Coming Soon!

Claireodactyl — Wed, 09 May 2012 21:04:37 +0000

I’ve been promising Leticia regular guest blog posts since she sold Metal As Fuck and I stopped writing for her over there, which was far too long ago now. So slapped wrists to me for not getting this up together until now!

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what I could write that would add value to an already interesting site and will keep you, her loyal readers, coming back for more!

My plan for my posts here is to do a regular post on UK bands: signed/unsigned, new/old, well known and unknown. The idea is to spread a bit of the Pommie Metal love. I’ll look at different genres of metal, try and get in some videos, pictures and interviews to give you a good overview of why this is a band to check out.

I’m currently planning my first few posts, so stay tuned for some Pommie Metal love coming soon!

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Public Holiday Rock-out: SCORPIONS

biodagar — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 03:52:29 +0000

I’m rockin’ out to the SCORPIONS. Don’t you love public holidays?

Watch this video on YouTube.

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We want original movies!

biodagar — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:15:41 +0000

For quite some time now, Hellblazer and I have been moaning about the state of Hollywood. That is, the penchant for remaking films instead of creating new ones.

They are even remaking The Exorcist. THE EXORCIST. The most perfect horror film of all time. This is blasphemy.

You can now have your own little protest against this state of affairs. Buy one of my shirts. VISIT THE STORE NOW.

I intend to own the entire range. Yes I made them but I still have to buy them!

This is pretty much what they look like (below) but there’s a whole lot more:

EDIT (9 May 2012): The designs were changed because CafePress deemed the word “fuck” to be offensive. So they used to look like the below. Now they say “Fu*k you Hollywood” instead.

NO MORE REMAKES!

Get ‘em and wear ‘em proudly!!

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Music Journalism 101: The Book

biodagar — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 03:14:53 +0000

The book version of my original Music Journalism 101 course is finally becoming a reality.

Those of you who read this blog regularly will know that I have been promising a book edition of the course for a long time. Some of those who have used the course, and found it beneficial, have been regularly requesting it, too.

Well, good news! A solid portion of the book draft is already completed, with the remainder mapped out. With luck on my side, and some solid work, we will hopefully see this project completed by the end of June 2012. But no promises on a timeline.

Since first writing the course, I have commented, written, and speculated on its various elements. The result is that the book will be fully updated and expanded to reflect my most current thinking in the field.

Interestingly, while the current course consists of approximately eleven sections, the current draft of the book is comprised of about twenty chapters.

The book edition of Music Journalism 101 will be of interest and use not only to beginning music/rock critics, but also to those already working in the field. It will cover all of the basics, but will also include sections on managing workloads, editing, and mentoring writers.

The book will also be road-tested ahead of publication, thanks to a handful of working music writers whom I respect. Some of these guys have also been users of the original course, so their perspectives will be immensely valuable.

Stay tuned for updates as the project progresses.

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[BOOK REVIEW] I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, by Tucker Max

biodagar — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 05:19:34 +0000

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It took me three goes to get into this book. The character that Tucker Max displays is quite simply horrific: he’s offensive, nasty, pure arsehole. If you’re going to read this book, you absolutely must get past your reaction to him – which in my case was very strong. It took me nearly two years to pick this book up again and give it the go that it deserves.

And I’m glad I did. This book contains stories from Tucker’s torrid drunken sex life. Some of them – particularly once you are nearly halfway through the book – are absolutely hilarious. Like, laugh-out-loud hilarious. Which I did. Repeatedly. On a plane from Adelaide to Sydney. I was engrossed with the book, couldn’t stop reading sections of its dirtiest and funniest passages out to my other half and to my friends. It was so funny I was nearly in tears.

What happens to you as you read this book is that you go from despising Tucker’s attitude towards women, to laughing at the shitty, and so often funny-as-hell situations that he gets into. The way he treats women is laughable to start with. And then when he gets his come-uppances – and there are many of them, brilliantly turned on him – it’s enormously satisfying.

In the end, Tucker comes across as a pathetic, sex-addicted, empathy-less knob. His apparent knowledge of women turns into total horror when he realises that, as much as he is a player, many women trump him time and again. And that this has probably happened several times without him knowing it.

I have to admit, as much as I hate to do so, that this book got me. Once I started reading it, I devoured it. For all of Tucker’s flaws, he tells a story so, so well. The story of him shitting himself across the lobby of a motel was particularly nicely written. I was in hysterics. The drama and suspense of it was damn near perfect.

If you are going to attempt to read this book, here’s a warning: you MUST be able to appreciate a book without aligning the quality of the book with its characters. The book is great, the main character – which is the author himself – is so easy to hate.

Tucker Max is a total cunt. He is sexist, racist, discriminatory. He is blunt, revels in bastardry, drinks like a fucking idiot, exhibits himself like a spastic. He treats women – actually, he treats everyone – like shit. He is arrogant, supercilious, and completely shallow. He exhibits behaviours that are totally, utterly reprehensible.

But he does have an ability to learn, which you pick up gradually throughout the book. Thank fuck.

I Hope They Serve Beers in Hell is a good, trashy, filthy read. Once you get past the main character, you’ll have a blast. Getting past him in the first place is the hard part. And, I suppose, that’s kind of the point.

View all my reviews

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CAULDRON BLACK RAM inaugural NZ show this April

biodagar — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 04:24:12 +0000

Go to the official CBR site for more info. www.cauldronblackram.com

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[commuter review] REVERENCE – The Asthenic Ascension

biodagar — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:24:23 +0000

Lately, I’ll be honest, symphonic metal has kind of fallen by the wayside for me. So when I got into the first track of this album, the first couple of times, I was a bit hesitant. Then, waiting for the train, I had it playing in my ears with a backdrop of Aussie birds. It made the whole experience very different, much more eerie and evil. These guys are black and symphonic and experimental. The latter is important because they have presented us with an artwork deserving of close attention.

The black metal elements are all nicely handled. Kicking off into track two, and then throughout the release, the integration between the symphonic, the black, and the strangely clean, is completed with aplomb.

It’s an interesting album for a commuter. I found that it was frustrating heading to work with this accompaniment. The train was too slow for it for some reason, but kicking along at a good speed it was more satisfying.

This is, too, perhaps just my perspective, given that the trip back home (facing the weekend no less) was better. In a car, interestingly, it wasn’t so good. You have to pay attention to The Asthenic Ascension to get the most out of it. Also, and this is an important point, you get more from it in a headphones listening session. There are things going on within harmonies, samples, and general construction that you appreciate more with a closer listen.

Towards the end of track four, aptly titled Psalm IV, the screaming and sobbing woman was a lovely contrast to the fresh sea of armpits, in which I was immersed in such a normal setting as the commuter train. It did actually cause me to think that, somewhere in the world, all of us regular jackoffs are going to work while some bastard is torturing someone, probably in a scummy outpost in suburbia.

It was a sobering thought. But it was presented, dare I say it, in a mature and thought-provoking sort of way. It’s the kind of thing that metal is great at: firing people out of their normalcy and bringing something new to one’s consciousness. I doubt that other people will have the same reaction, but it was significant enough that it threw me into spinning vortices of philosophical thought.

REVERENCE have brought us an album that is excellent in and of itself. It’s a grower, too, I think. With subsequent listens, its hooks claw themselves deeper into you. Unlike some bands, whose albums grow on you over an interminable amount of time, I think that this one will grow to a point. It’s excellent but it isn’t outstanding.

I haven’t thrown this album into a shuffle either. Its tracks would be good in one, but the album deserves to be held as a freestanding piece of art.

All fans of the eerie, black, symphonic will get something out of this. And I even suggest that in a series of albums, it would be bookended quite nicely by SIGH’s early works, up to and including Scenario IV.

I’m not going to comment on how The Asthenic Ascension fits into the discography because, incredibly, I haven’t heard it. I will, though, now. I’ve been impressed enough to go and find as much as I can. And that alone is recommendation enough for this release.

REVERENCE’s The Asthenic Ascension is out on 9 April 2012.

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