Anvil - Live Photos from 'Hope in Hell' Release Party @ Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY 5-30-13

"Anvil have more integrity than your favorite five bands combined...Hope in Hell could have been released at any time between 1978 and the present day. It's a very simple, and time-tested formula: in-your-face riffs, screaming leads, great lyrics — pure, uncompromised metal". - Mickey Melchiondo (aka Dean Ween)


It seems somewhat hard to believe that some of the bands that are just now getting commercial recognition have been playing the circuit for over 30 (Anvil) to 40 (Pentagram) years.

Anvil released their 15th disc, Hope in Hell (The End Records), on May 28th and held their record release party two nights later at the Knitting Factory. The new disc is a scorcher and - for all the hardcore Anvil fans out there - there is a limited edition digipak pressing with two bonus tracks ("Hard Wired" and "Fire at Will") and a limited-edition 2LP 180-gram orange vinyl pressing which also includes the same two bonus tracks. For Hope in Hell,  the band once again tapped producer Bob Marlette (Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper) who continues to do an excellent job of capturing the band's live sound in the studio.  The band has also had a lineup change as Sal Italiano (who used to be in A.J. Pero's 1980's side-project Cities) is now on bass and he is a great fit.

One of the things I've always loved about Anvil is that, in addition to having great musical chops, the band always looks like they are having fun and doing something they love (...which is a great counterpoint to those lead guitarists who look painfully constipated every time they take a solo).  Energy like this is contagious though I didn't expect the mini-pit to break out when it did.

 Anvil is off on a European tour next month and, in talking with Robb after the show, the band plans on coming back through the States in the fall.

Anvil 2013 Summer Hope in Hell Tour
7/27/13  - U.K Ebbw Vale - Steelhouse Festival
7/28/13  - U.K Glasgow - Cathouse
7/29/13  - U.K Manchester - Academy 3
7/30/13  - U.K London - Garage
8/01/13  - Germany Cologne - Underground
8/02/13  - Germany Wacken - Wacken Festival
8/03/13  - Holland Haarlem - Patronaat
8/04/13  - Belgium Lokeren - Lokerse Feesten Festival
8/06/13  - Switzerland Zurich - Plaza
8/07/13  - Germany Lichtenfels - Paunchy Cats
8/08/13  - Germany Saarbruecken - Garage
8/10/13  - Sweden Gävle - Getaway Festival

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Krokus Signs to The End Records and Announces 'Dirty Dynamite' Due Out March 5th

STREAM: Krokus - "Dirty Dynamite"

I'm always a bit intrigued when I come across a metal band who has been around for almost 40 years and I really have no clue what they have done outside of covers of the Guess Who's "American Woman" and Alice Cooper's "Schools Out". While I remember critics panning the band as an AC/DC rip-off, the title track from this new disc is a blues-rock number that sounds closer to the (London) Quireboys than AC/DC.

For almost 40 years now, Krokus has stood for high-quality, honest-to-goodness, hand-made power rock. No other Swiss rock band sells albums and its back catalogue worldwide like Krokus. The band has already sold over 14 million records, toured the world, and received gold and platinum discs in the USA and Canada. The milestones in their rock career are dotted around the world: from Australia and the USA to Mexico, Russia, Japan, and China.

But it hasn't all been one long high: death, sickness, and internal strife have pushed the band to the brink of collapse. The story of Krokus is like no other. Dotted with highs and lows, sell-out stadium concerts and sweaty club gigs, these five musketeers of rock have outlasted trends and survived treacherous US managers, tough splits, bad deals, shady lawyers, drugs, awful fast food, endless bus trips, disco, grunge, grotesque record companies, and double-dealing advisers. (Too late guys - 'The Story of Anvil' has already been made)

Today they are back in their classic line-up plus Mandy Meyer (who briefly replaced Steve Howe in Asia) and are stronger than ever on their new album, Dirty Dynamite. The band spent a whole two years working on the new album under the watchful eye of Chris Von Rohr. "We didn't spend all that time on golf courses or tennis courts. No, we just wanted to make our best album yet, the magnum opus of the new Krokus era," says the hit producer. Guitarist Mark Kohler has this to add: "This is not just another Krokus album. I think we have definitely passed another rock milestone with this record."

To reach this goal, no expense was spared; the band booked into the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London. Krokus went back to their roots, back to where it all began with the Stones, the Beatles, the Free, the Who, and the Bluesbreakers; back to where the band headlined concerts in the Hammersmith Odeon, celebrating their first international success. "The atmosphere there is very special, and we wanted to make the most of that," says singer Marc Storace. Guitarist Fernando von Arb is quick to add: "With Dirty Dynamite, we have recorded the urgently needed, dirty kind of rock that no one plays in this country."



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Fear (Lee Ving) - 'The Fear Record' CD Review (The End Records)

Well...I've done a side-by-side comparison between The Fear Record and Fear's - The Record (the 1991 Slash/London CD version) and here is how the two compare.

To start with the obvious differences, the Slash/London contain the single "Fuck Christmas", which was recorded during the sessions for The Record but wasn't issued until after the record was released. The Fear Record contains re-recorded versions of all fourteen tracks that were originally on The Record but most of the tracks run a few seconds longer than the original versions (though there is nothing noticeable added, so not a big deal). What is somewhat strange is that the tracks have been re-ordered on The Fear Record but there doesn't seem to be a discernible reason for this.

Here is what is different about the music...the sound of the The Fear Record is noticeably louder and a lot more 'dense' instrumentation has been added. The Record has a clean sound but there isn't much of a bottom end where there is a big bottom end on this new disc. What is also very noticeable is that original guitarist Philo Cramer's clean, angular guitar lines have been replaced by more metallic riffs and the drums on this new disc aren't quite as crisp sounding as the original recording. Lee Ving's voice has held up well over the years and the vocals are pretty comparable between the two recordings.

What this disc reminds me of is The Meatmen's 1988 'farewell' album We're the Meatmen...And You Still Suck!!! where these 'later period' guitarist Stuart Casson added a much more metallic edge to the music than the studio discs with his predecessor Brian Baker. All-in-all, The Fear Record isn't a bad disc - it just isn't different enough for anyone to want to go out and replace their copy of The Record.

Check out the 2012 lineup of Fear and you will get a sense for what the differences on The Fear Record sound like.



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Fear (Lee Ving) Re-Records "The Record" - Out Nov. 6th on The End Records

Generally when bands re-record an album from their back catalog, it seems that it is either to screw former members out of royalties (Kiss) or reclaim control of the songs from the record company (Suzanne Vega, Squeeze). I'm not sure what side of the fence the re-recording of Fear's 1982 full-length debut, The Record, falls on but it just doesn't sound like a good idea. Lee Ving is the only holdover from the The Record lineup so this sort of feels like a sham (or a scam). Can anyone image John or Harley trying to re-record Age of Quarrel with a pick-up lineup?

Anyway...The Fear Record (as the new disc is called) contains a re-ordered version of the original disc's fourteen tracks. There was a version of "I Don't Care About You" from the new disc on Soundcloud which doesn't seem to be available anymore. After listening to this track - my thought was that it didn't add anything to the original recording (it isn't like updated production techniques are going to bring out hidden nuances in Fear's music) and the song seemed to be missing a little bit of the edge that the original disc had.

Check out Fear performing "I Don't Care About You" on Saturday Night Live, from Halloween 1981.


Fear - I Don't Care About You Live On SNL 10.31.81 by stogref

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Anvil - Live Photos from Maryland Death Fest, Baltimore, MD 5-26-12

In one sense, Anvil reminds me of doom-metal pioneers Trouble. Both bands have been around since the 70's, a significant number of well-know musicians cite them as influences but the 'average' music fan hasn't heard of either group. Below, Lars Ulrich does a nice job of describing Anvil's arrival on the metal scene in the early 80's.



After coming close to fading into obscurity, Anvil rocketed back into the public eye with the documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008). The band has been playing a number of high-profile festival shows over the last few years which, most recently, include a set at Maryland Death Fest 2012.











Anvil signed to The End Records in late 2010 and the label released Juggernaut of Justice (their 14th studio album) about a year ago. As a lot of Anvil's records have gone out of print over the years, The End Records has recently re-released four of Anvil's long out-of-print discs: Plugged In Permanent, Speed of Sound, Absolutely No Alternative and Plenty of Power (all originally released late 90's/early '00 on the German label, Massacre Records).



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Spiritual Beggars - "Mantra III" CD Review (The End Records)

Spiritual Beggars’ third disc Mantra III (1998) is a well-crafted halfway point between the psychedelia of Another Way to Shine (1996) and the hard rock/grunge of Ad Astra (2000). For this release, I think the closest point of comparison is The Battle Rages On- era Deep Purple as the addition of prominent organ / mellotron from newcomer Per Wiberg adds a “Jon Lord” feel to the songs. Adding to the Deep Purple comparison, vocalist Spice utilized a gruff “Ian Astubry” vocal style on Another Way to Shine but leans more toward clean bluesy leads this time out which sound similar to Ian Gillan.

The disc starts out on an off-beat note with “Superbossanova” which is an instrumental bossa nova piece (as if it would be something else given the name of the track) before kicking into “Homage to the Betrayed”, which is a hard rock number built around a riff-based groove and a big bottom end. This track is fairly indicative of the overall sound of the disc as it has more energy and drive than Another Way to Shine and there are shades of the arena rock (“Homage to the Betrayed”, “Land of Prozac”) that took full form on Ad Astra. Breaking up the core sound of the disc, in addition to the opening track, is “Inside Charmer”, which starts with a bossa nova intro before going into a Rod Evans style 60’s psychedelic stoner track. The band really hits their groove on the numbers that sounds as though they could have come from Deep Purple’s catalogue. Tracks like “Euphoria” and “Sad Queen Boogie” make me shocked that I never heard this disc at the time it was originally released. The band even pulls off an extended Deep Purple-like instrumental jam on the track “Mushroom Tea Girl” and doesn’t let the track sag at any point over its 8+ minute running time.



The original issue of this disc was 12 tracks (54 minutes) but addition of three bonus tracks to this reissue takes the running time to 70 minutes. “The Band is Playing” is a Southern boogie number, “Redwood Blues” is a guitar-based blues grind and the disc closes with an alternative mix of "Euphoria".

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Spiritual Beggars - "Another Way to Shine" CD Review (The End Records)

I probably would have found Spiritual Beggars’ second disc, Another Way to Shine (1996), more satisfying if I hadn’t recently reviewed the band’s fourth disc, Ad Astra (2000). As compared to the hard-rock/grunge of Ad Astra, Another Way to Shine is more of a psychedelic outing that doesn’t have the same pummeling intensity of this later release. The difference in the sound between these two albums is somewhat akin to comparing Alice in Chain’s debut album to the arena-grunge of later period Soundgarden.

The music on Another Way to Shine wears its 70’s roots with pride - the disc opens with “Magik Spell” which kicks off with a cowbell intro before jumping into the band’s blend of groove metal and Southern boogie and this sound caries throughout the disc. This is a guitar-rock album and most of the tracks are built around Michael Arnott’s psychedelic leads and vocalist Spice’s blues-metal vocals. The core sound of most of the songs is similar but each number branches out with different flourishes and leads. Some examples are the heavy reverb on Spice’s vocals on “Misty Valley” and bass and drum groove on “Entering into Peace” but the jam-oriented, groove metal foundation of the songs makes this a disc to nod off to rather than jump into the pit. There are some exceptions though as “Picking from the Box” and “Entering into Peace” have the fist-pumping, driving urgency that made Ad Astra a smash. The one dud track is “Past the Sound of Whispers”, which sinks under the weight of its hippy-dippy mysticism.





Earlier this month, Spiritual Beggars announced that they are "busy in the studio...writing new riffs and coming up with new songs"

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Spiritual Beggars - "Ad Astra" CD Review (Music for Nations)

As part of an extensive reissue campaign, The End Records is bringing back into print UK metal label Music for Nations’ back catalogue. One of the many gems in the catalogue is the Spiritual Beggars albums with original vocalist Christian "Spice" Sjöstrand. For anyone not familiar with Spiritual Beggars, the band is led by former Carcass / Arch Enemy guitarist Michael Arnott and they play groove-oriented stoner rock that bares more than a passing resemblance to bands like Soundgarden and Corrosion of Conformity.

Ad Astra was the band’s fourth disc (originally released in 2000) and it brought the band significant recognition overseas as they played some high profile European festivals and toured with bands like Iron Maiden, Queens of the Stone Age and Monster Magnet. The disc starts strong with the bluesy, hard rock track “Left Brain Ambassadors” and this song should have cracked American radio wide open. While Spiritual Beggars didn’t break out in America, they did catch the ear of Greg Anderson at Southern Lord who released the song “It’s Over”, which was only on the Japanese pressing of Ad Astra, as part of the label’s 7” of Doom series.

Aside for the slow-burning intro to the disc’s final track, “Mantra“, the music on this disc is consistent throughout. The band build up a full “wall of sound” over which they add clean guitar solos (check out the solo on “Sedated”), chugging riffs and psychedelic keys over a big bottom-end that borders on grunge at times and Christian "Spice" Sjöstrand sings with a gruff voice that is part “Ben Ward” and one “Jim Morrison / Ian Astbury”. While there is a sonic similarity running between the songs, songs like “Left Brain Ambassadors”, “Save Your Soul”, “Angel of Betrayal” and “Wonderful World” should have been break-out FM-Radio hits.



Spiritual Beggars have just announced that they are "busy in the studio...writing new riffs and coming up with new songs"

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Witchery - "Symphony for the Devil" CD Review (The End Records)

The UK-based Music for Nations label put out some pretty cool indie-metal releases in the 80’s and 90’s and its artist roster included Metallica, Godflesh, Trouble and Warrior Soul. The label shuttered in 2004 after which many of its titles become hard to find but The End Records recently secured a deal to re-release over 50 of the label’s titles. Physical copies of the first twelve titles were released on Jan. 31st.

The first title that I picked up off this new stack of releases is the third release by blackened Swedish thrash band Witchery, Symphony for the Devil (originally released in 2001). At the time, Witchery consisted of x-Satanic Slaughter members Jensen (guitar), Richard Corpse (guitar) and Toxine (vocals); x-Opeth drummer Martin” Axe” Axenrot and Sharlee D’Angelo (Arch Enemy, Mercyful Fate) on bass. As Witchery has had some long periods on inactivity, band-leader Jensen is probably best known as guitarist for The Haunted and he pulled double-duty on the 2001 US tour for this disc when Witchery opened for The Haunted.



Witchery’s music is similar to The Haunted with its melodic thrash guitar riffs being a focal point of both bands’ sound. Where the bands diverge is that Witchery’s sound is more old-school thrash (with some death metal leanings) than the “Gothenburg metal" of The Haunted. Witchery also appears to be “less serious” than The Haunted as, in addition to the band’s animated skeleton mascot, “Ben Wrangle”, Witchery’s lyrical themes deal with murder, death and other occult-themes and the band uses plays on words as both song and album titles: "Symphony for the Devil", "Hearse of the Pharaohs", etc . Vocalist Toxine sings with a hoarse and evil rasp (and only stays with a ‘pure’ death metal growl on “Storm”) so most of the melodies come from the interplay of Richard Corpse expressive solos and Jensen’s thrashing riffs.

There is a mix of styles on this disc which are all built around the band’s riff-oriented thrash core and the fourteen tracks on Symphony for the Devil include two instrumentals and two covers from the first Satanic Slaughter album (which were bonus tracks on some pressings of the original release of this disc). In an interview with Metal Rules, Jensen described the band’s creative process as a “’We don't give a shit’ mentality. We play exactly what we want; Black/Thrash/Heavy or even Death metal songs.” Special guest on the disc include Johan Larsson (Séance vocalist) and Hank Sherman, guitarist for Mercyful Fate.

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Hull Plays CMJ Tee Pee Showcase at Union Pool on Friday, Oct. 21st

DOWNLOAD: Hull - "Beyond the Lightless Sky" (hosted on Pitchfork.com)

Brooklyn three-guitar led sludge rock collective Hull will play the Tee Pee Records CMJ showcase this Friday, October 21 at Union Pool in Brooklyn. Also appearing on the show will be Naam, The Fucking Wrath, ELKS, Mirror Queen and Unstoppable Death Machines. Tickets are $8.

Hull will kick off a long-awaited, near month-long U.S. tour on Wednesday in support of their monolithic Beyond The Lightless Sky full-length released via The End Records last week. The band will be joined by The F*cking Wrath on select dates. See updated tour schedule below.

Called "...a concept album for the ages" by Metal Army America, Beyond The Lightless Sky features guest appearances by vocalist Jarboe, keys/ambiance by Fade Kainer (Batillus/Jarboe/Inswarm ) and is raising the eye brows of fans and critics alike for its delicate balance of staggering heaviness and poetic grace. Exclaim hailed the band saying: "Hull have made something immense and nimble, ponderous and powerful," while CMJ noted
of the guitar sound in particular, "They're downright elegant at times, a fantastic contrast to the otherwise intense soundscape." The Obelisk called the band "crushingly heavy in a cerebral sense," adding that "Hull have come into their own and not only join the ranks of forward-thinking American metallers, but position themselves at the front of the pack with a few moments of unabashed, unashamed modern metal," and The Village Voice (NYC) commended the band's seamless versatility: "[Beyond The Lightless Sky] veers between motorcycle-revving D-beat, bog-trawling doom, sinister black metal, Neurosis drum-offs and hypnotic passages that gnash like a venom-dripping cousin to the final Isis album."



Hull Fall 2011 Tour:
10/19/2011 Valentines Downstairs – Albany, NY*
10/21/2011 Union Pool - Brooklyn, NY (HULL at 11:00pm!)
10/22/2011 Mojo 13 – Wilmington, DE
10/23/2011 Golden West Cafe – Baltimore, MD *
10/24/2011 Strange Matter – Richmond, VA *
10/25/2011 Milestone – Charlotte, NC *
10/26/2011 Drunken Unicorn – Atlanta, GA *
10/27/2011 Wormhole – Savannah, GA *
10/28/2011 The Snooze – West Palm Beach, FL *
11/01/2011 Siberia – New Orleans, LA *
11/02/2011 Brian Street Tavern – Dallas, TX *
11/03/2011 Red 7 FFF Kickoff Party – Austin, TX *
11/04/2011 Bash Riprocks – Lubbock, TX *
11/05/2011 The Open Source Project – Phoenix, AZ *
11/06/2011 Que Sara – Long Beach, CA *
11/07/2011 Vacation Vinyl (early show) – Los Angeles, CA
11/07/2011 Mountain Bar (late show) – Los Angeles, CA
11/08/2011 Hemlock Tavern – San Francisco, CA
11/10/2011 Highline – Seattle, WA
11/11/2011 Plan B – Portland, OR
11/14/2011 Bar Deluxe – Salt Lake City, UT
11/15/2011 Old Curtis Street – Denver, CO
11/17/2011 Downtown – Little Rock, AR
11/19/2011 Nightlight – Chapel Hill, NC
11/20/2011 Johhny Brendas – Philadelphia, PA
* w/ The F*cking Wrath

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Hull: Beyond-The-Scenes Footage of the "Beyond the Lightless Sky" Video Posted

DOWNLOAD: Hull - "Fire Vein" (hosted on VillageVoice.com)

Metal Injection is currently hosting an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the creation of Hull's upcoming "Beyond The Lightless Sky" video, the title track from the band's new full-length. Set for North American release on October 11, 2011 via The End Records, the follow-up to the band's critically-acclaimed Sole Lord debut was co-produced by Brett Romnes and mixed by Billy Anderson (Sleep, Neurosis, Melvins, et al).



Hailing from the streets of Brooklyn, New York, Hull has yet again emerged with a creation to outlive the ages with latest saga, Beyond The Lightless Sky. Digging further into the past, the Mayan epic takes the listener through a division of two brothers and the struggles that they are faced with. One finds salvation amongst the stars and the wisdom of a stranger, while the other is mesmerized with the bloodthirsty belief of sacrifice and self mutilation. In silence lies a realm that exists outside the plane of fear.

Beyond The Lightless Sky features guest appearances by vocalist Jarboe, keys/ambiance by Fade Kainer (Batillus/Jarboe/Inswarm ) and cello by Joe Merolla with artwork by Tamara Waite-Santibanez. Pre-order Beyond The Lightless Sky HERE.

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