Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Black Dahlia Murder Majesty DVD



I'm aware that the Black Dahlia Murder 'Majesty,' DVD came out back in May, but I only had the opportunity to see some of it last night. Instead of watching the live set (I've seen them before) we decided to watch the documentary, which gave a glimpse into the life of Black Dahlia Murder on the road.



The beginning of the documentary painted a rather boring picture of the band, who almost seemingly never changed their daily routine, which included: eating food, smoking weed, and peeing in bottles in the car. But as the video continued Black Dahlias Murder's antics on tour began to feel homely, as if that's what you would be doing if you went on tour with your friends. The video also delves into the lives of their tour managers, Metalblade execs, sound guys, etc. showing that there is much more to what their fans get to see every night.

Highlights include: The Gorilla suit, a roller blader almost falling, Black Dahlia Murder bong, Jagermeister, and the fucking bassist long boarding in just about every city under the sun. Oh yeah, the music is good, too!

Below is my personal favorite Black Dahlia Murder song 'Elder Misanthropy,' live.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Approaching Tours Update

*Both bands talked about below will play together in Cincinnati, Ohio 8/9/09

OK, so I'm settled back into my New apartment in Brooklyn, but am in Ohio for a couple days for personal reasons. Anyways there are a few things I want to tell you guys about.

First of all, my friend Tyler is in a sick ass raw punk/d-beat band based in New York City called, Perdition, which is set to embark on its "Death In The Midwest," tour. Be sure to go to their show, buy their merch, and drink a beer with them!


Perdition - 4/18/09 @ RETOX by Matt Mcgrath

PERDITION "DEATH IN THE MIDWEST" AUGUST TOUR 2009

8/3-Brooklyn- @ Rock Star Bar- w/ Brainkiller, Dawn of Humans, Thriller
8/5-Boston, MA- @ TBA- w/ Lotus Fucker +
8/6- New Brunswick, NJ- @ America - w/ TBA
8/7- Philadelphia, PA - @ The Shore House - w/ Nightfall, Hate and War+
8/8- York, PA - @ TBA - w/ TBA
8/9- Cincinnati, OH - @ Blue Rock Tavern- w/ Masakari, Mad Minds +
8/10-Columbus, OH- @ Legion of Doom- w/ Painkiller, Nukkehammer +
8/11-Cleveland, OH-@ Now That's Class- w/ hipster bands
8/12-Chicago, IL-@ Sludges- w/ White Rose, Corpse Gas +
8/13 Madison, WI- @ Subvert City- w/ White Rose, Pyroklast, Securicor
8/14- Minneapolis, MN- @ Distortion Days AFTERPARTY- w/ Nerveskade
8/15-Minneapolis- DISTORTION DAYS FEST @ Bedlam Theatre- w/ Misery, Anguish, Question, SSR, Nerveskade, Detonate +
8/16- nursing hangovers
8/17- Indianapolis, IN- @ TBA- w/ Thrashington DC (FR), Killin' It! +
8/18- camping
8/19- Lexington, KY- @ The Boiler Room- w/ Total Abuse, Asadashi +
8/20-?
8/21- Richmond, VA- @ TBA - w/ TBA
8/22- partying at best friends day
8/23- Baltimore, MD- @TBA basement - w/ TBA

Secondly, my friends from Cleveland, Masakari (think His Hero is Gone) are going on an east coast tour this August, too. Be sure to check them out, buy their new 7", or their tape, or a t-shirt. Masakari tour dates are listed below.


Masakari @ Now That's Class. '08

Masakari

7/30 8:00 Trumbullplex w/ Rid The World Detroit, Michigan
8/1 3:00 ABC No Rio w/ Witch Hunt, Stations,Intifada/Liberate! NYC
8/2 8:00P The Thrash Can w/ Weight of the World South Burlington, Vermont
8/3 8:00P Whitney House w/ Oil Tanker Hartford, Connecticut
8/4 8:00P Roboto w/ Swallowed Up, Drought and Heartless Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
8/5 8:00P NEED HELP Baltimore, Maryland
8/6 9:00P NARA Richmond, Virginia
8/7 6:00P The Belly Of The Beast w/ Mad Minds and RTW, Parkersburg, West Virginia
8/8 8:00P 15th House w/ Mad Minds Columbus, Ohio
8/9 8:00P Blue Rock Tavern w/ Mad Minds & Perdition (18+) Cincinnati, Ohio
8/10 8:00P The Boiler Room w/ Mad Minds Lexington, Kentucky
8/11 8:00P 1624 N. Harrison St. w/ Mad Minds Indianapolis, Indiana
8/12 8:00P GARFIELD HOUSE w/ Protestant, Mad Minds, and Preying Hands Milwaukee,WI
8/13 7:00P Rancho Huevos w/ Mad Minds and Preying Hands Chicago, Illinois
8/14 8:00P Tower 2012 w/ Mad Minds, Start Suckin’, and Heath Deadger Cleveland, Ohio

Friday, July 17, 2009

New Stereofiend logo




Thanks to my friend, Steve Chike's artistic ability, Stereofiend now has a working logo! Check it out and tell me what you think!

Chike plays guitar in the Cleveland band 'Fear Me,' be sure to stop by their site, http://www.myspace.com/fmfists and give them a listen.



Fear Me. Live. Photo: JL Photography

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Thursday- Common Existence Review (old)

*This is a review I wrote for The New School Free Press back In February. I'll be kind of busy for the next couple days moving. Be back soon.
<3 Stephen


Thursday-Common Existence
(Epitaph Records)
Release Date: February 17, 2009
By: Stephen Tompkins

Thursday's split CD with Japanese Screamo legends, Envy, was easily one of DIY music's most highly anticipated releases in 2008. It saw Thursday drawing inspiration from Envy's unmatched landscape of sound and fusing that with a raw ‘90s hardcore influence. In many ways the split had to be successful—especially since Kill the House Lights (2007) received about as much critical buzz as Shaquille O'Neal's Shaq-Fu: Da Return.


Envy. Live.

Thursday's forthcoming full-length, Common Existence, available February 17 on Epitaph Records, is proof that its last couple trips to the recording studio have been a period of discovering what does and doesn't work for its sound.

The opening track (and definite highlight), "Resuscitation of a Dead Man," immediately draws the listener in with its melodic and often chaotic vocals set to dizzying riffs, creating a vibe of unexpected sound exploration. "Last Call" and "Friends in the Armed Forces" serve as driving post-hardcore anthems and could perhaps be featured as singles in the future. "Circuits of Fever" features a slow drone build-up but takes off in uncharted territory, waning into a field of ambiance filled riffs channeling Explosions in Sky's scope and fragile Robert Smith-like vocals.

In a recent interview with Spin.com, Thursday's singer Geoff Rickly said: "The record …in a lot of ways is the first time that I've looked at all the big life events that happen from a more adult perspective."

Which may explain why in, "You Were the Cancer" he sings, "In your blood there is a sad, sad song/Bleeding through your nervous system/It's killing you but it's bringing me along/You were the cancer in my life."

Thursday fans rejoice: if the band's new approach to writing lyrics and the moniker of the opening track are any indications of the future of this outfit — than perhaps there is no fear of a common existence among the 99 cent bin.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

New Slayer Album coming this summer!



It has been three years since the release of Christ Illusion, and I'm happy to announce that later this summer Slayer will release it's tenth studio album, World Painted Blood. I know someone who couldn't give a fuck (cough, Shane West, cough.) I don't have an exact date for the release of the new album, but on the bands website, Slayer.net, it says, "late this summer."


Slayer circa 1988.

I'm more excited for this album than I was for God Hates Us All and for Christ Illusion, because I had a chance to hear the single-release "Psychopathy Red," a song about a Russian serial killer, back in March or April, and it sounds like straight '80s thrashing SLAYER!

Kerry King said, "I think this one has a little bit of everything — more so than anything we've done since Seasons. So I would imagine people are gonna compare it to that one."

Confirmed tracks (thus far)

"Psychopathy Red"
"Beauty Through Order"
"Unit 731"
"Playing with Dolls"
"Public Display of Dismemberment"
"Americon"
"World Painted Blood"[1]
"Snuff"
"Hate Worldwide"

So, look out for the new album and be sure to check Slayer out on their Mayhem tour this summer(unfortunately they aren't playing NYC.)

July 31, 2009 Blossom Music Center, Cleveland, OH

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Have you heard? Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse- Dark Night of the Soul



By: Stephen Tompkins

The album reviewed below was almost canned by EMI. It is available almost everywhere on the internet!

You know Danger Mouse as half of Gnarls Barkley,or the guy who made Jay-Z's Grey Album, and you may have heard of Sparklehorse (I'm unfamiliar with the latter, myself)a U.K. electro band featuring, Mark Linkous, and Scott Minor. Well, Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse hooked up with about every recording artist under the sun(jk... rowling)and produced one sick album,Dark Night of the Soul. I'm not kidding, this album has something for everyone! Including cameos from David Lynch!

You've got the album opener "Revenge," featuring The Flaming Lips. "Little Girl," featuring Julian Casablancas (The Strokes) and his song is every bit Strokes meets hip-hop. This one even has a dose of punk and post-punk, the former being "Pain," featuring Iggy Pop and the latter being "Angel's Harp," featuring Black Francis(trust me, I probably hate calling him that more than you hate reading me call him that, but that's how he is credited on the album!) talking about plucking his Angel's harp all day! The cameo from The Shins' James Mercer is much appreciated on "Insane Lullaby." It's too hard for me to pick a favorite song on the album, because they are all good in their own way, you just have to check it out for yourself!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Regina Spektor-Far CD Review



Regina Spektor-Far
Release date: June 23, 2009
Label: Sire

Reviewed by: Stephen Tompkins

Far, is the Fifth studio album, and third major-label-release from Singer-songwriter Regina Spektor, who emerged from the anti-folk scene prominent in New York City’s East Village with her debut major-label-record, 2004’s Soviet Kitsch. Far, was released June 23, 2009.

Far, is comprised of 13 songs, and sees Spektor switching between solemn-toned ballads and poppy piano diddys, with almost every other song. The solemn-tone comes full-force in “Blue Lips,” where she croons, “Blue, the most human color/ Blue lips, blue veins/Blue, the color of our planet/From far, far away.”
The piano diddys come into play in such songs as “The Calculation,” but namely, “Folding Chair,” where she proves that piano parts don’t have to be extremely intricate to be appreciated (trust me, she could write an intricate piece if she wanted, she attended Manhattan School of Music and studied classical piano.)

In “Folding Chair,” she makes sarcastic and funny comments like “Let’s get a silver bullet trailer and have a baby boy/I’ll safety-pin his clothes all cool and you’ll grafitti up his toys, which channels the playfulness of found in Begin To Hope’s “That Time.”

“Dance Anthem of the ‘80s,” is just that, it comes loaded with quirky ‘80s-esque beats, and the lyrics are just as ridiculous, “There's a meat market down the street/The boys and the girls watch each other eat/You are so sweet, so sweet/Dancing and moving to that beat, that beat.”

With Spektor’s ability to write playful and serious songs, and successfully meld them on the same album, it should come as no surprise to anyone, that she has come as far as she has.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Why isn't Michael Jackson answering my phone calls?!




I'll start off by saying this: I'm not one of those people who is going to sit here and claim that I was the biggest Michael Jackson fan (you know who you are), because I wasn't! I remember liking some of his music/dance moves as a kid (yes, I can moonwalk), I own a first pressing of 'Thriller,' on vinyl, I learned 'Beat It,' on guitar when I was 13, and I am able to see that he was obviously a very talented musician/dancer, but I think it's fucked up that since Jackson's death, everyone is suddenly emerging as a "closet," MJ fan! For instance, I was on Grooveshark.com (a better music site than Pandora, in my opinion) the other day, and when I clicked the popular button, nothing but Michael Jackson songs came up. I've been going to that site long enough to say that I never once saw any of his songs in the popular list until his untimely death. That's all I'm saying!




I remember a couple years ago I entered a contest for Rolling Stone, and it had hopeful music journalists come up with a famous musician to interview and to ask them a few questions, and I chose Michael Jackson, and these are the two questions I can remember hoping to ask!

1. Have you ever considered actually moonwalking on the moon?

2. With the recent allegations against you in the case of touching young boys, would you ever consider making a Children's album?

Anyways, people are skeptical about Michael Jackson's death, because in the video above, which is shot only two days before he died and in preparation for his upcoming This Is It! conerts, Jackson seems to be moving flawlessly, with the energy he is known for having. Whereas Randy Philips says MJ was frail and listless upon his death. I'm just curious if anyone thinks there was foul play involved in MJ's death? Or if anyone even cares?