Wasabi Ghost

Lidl are pretty good at running these 'flavours of the world' weeks, and despite their Mexican week consisting mainly of chilli con carne and Fajitas, this weeks Asian one has had some decent goodies filling the shelves, including these Wasabi Nuts that I grabbed for 99p. Wasabi isn't much used in foods in the UK and being a fan of hotter grub, I had to try some. Bloody nice they were too, very moreish, much more so than boring old Pringles (never did understand the fuss over those anyway).
I recommend the Cassava Crackers too. Oh and Coconut water. Its fast become a sober favourite. Just make sure you chill the tins, I imagine warm coconut water tasting none to good.

The Fatal Feast

Mosh!

Now granted, that is a rather ominous headline for a blog that deals a lot with food *Laughs Out Loud* but don't go ringing for the blokes with stomach pumps just yet! (Hope these iron innards of mine have more metal than that...Metal, see what I did there)? Nope, the Fatal Feast here has been whipped up by those dirty (in a good way) lads from Virginia. And a delicious, melodic sonic meal it is too.
It is Municipal Wastes fifth album (released 2012), and fans will know by now exactly what to expect from the party thrashers ~
crunchy odes to booze, mutants and lyrics which I would best describe as 'comic world'. Seriously, if ever the Wasters get bored of
shredding guitars, I suggest they create a comic book. It would be ace. (And if you ever read this blog chaps, you can thank me later).

The band are heavily influenced by Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, Exodus and other 80's thrash, and this album has elements of all of those. I grew up loving this music; drinking to it, skating to it, even loving to it (ooer!) and it warms the cockles of my metallic heart to know it isn't on its scuffed knees just yet. Like we used to say back then, thrash or die!
I knew there was something special about Municipal Waste when I first heard 'Headbanger Face/Rip' in 2007. It had that heavy groove with energetic, crunchy chorus so beloved of early S.O.D and Suicidal Tendencies. If you are looking for the spirit of thrash metal circa 1985 ~ these Wasters are your bag of alien space barf!

The Fatal Feast tastes f**king delicious! A fitting last dance for death row punks the world over. From the speedy New Dead Masters to the brilliantly psychotic You're Cut Off (check out the awesome video), this is getting plenty of play at the moment. And you wanna know something? Im greedy, and I love metal with an anarchistic, punch-yer-face vibe, so I'll be needing seconds of this thrashy feast! Play it again mutie.

Feast Rating 4/5

The Fatal Feast (Nuclear Blast Records)

Waste in Space (Main Title)
Repossession
New Dead Masters
Unholy Abductor
Idiot Check
Covered in Sick/The Barfer
You're Cut Off
Authority Complex
Standards and Practices
Crushing Chest Wound
The Monster With 21 Faces
Jesus Freaks
The Fatal Feast
12 Step Program
Death Tax
Residential Disaster

Intermission Satan

Newsted's Heroic Dose

Former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted has a new album coming out on August 6th called "Heavy Metal Music" (fine title there Jase) and here I present thee a track from it, 'Heroic Dose'. Me? I love it! It has a wonderfully melodious thunder vibe, very reminiscent of old school metal. And that my dear moshers is very f**king good indeed!

Thrashaholic!

Fans of old school thrash metal should (this instant) check out the brilliant Gama Bomb, who are described on their Facebook page as "Ireland's premier speed thrash band". Hell yes! Ive been a thrash metal fan since it began and to see bands like Gama Bomb and Municipal Waste popping up to shred the stage is quite a f**king buzz. They first came to the attention of my studded earholes in 2009 when Metal Hammer included copies of their album,"Tales from the Grave in Space" with their magazine. Indeed its the first album ever to be released FREE by a signed band. Kudos to them. It rocks most awesomely too!
When you read song titles like "Last Ninjas Unite" and "Escape from Scarecrow Mountain", you know something special is lurking in the metallic forest, waiting for the chance to assault your senses like a sonic werewolf. This is the type of band that deserves success and praise, not the pre packaged, miming oiks that litter those foul talent shows on a Saturday evening. Its all bout music and imagination, a fairly potent mix when dressed in skull branded guitars and denim jeans.

Gama Bomb's new album "The Terror Tapes" is out April 19 (EU), 22 (UK), May 7 (US) on AFM records!

Halo Of Blood trailer

Spiffing little trailer from Children Of Bodom released today. "Halo Of Blood" is due on June 7 on Nuclear Blast.

*Update May 20th and the band release title track, Halo Of Blood. Banging tune too, enjoy!

Game Of Metal

How awesome is this??

Serious Sounds

Crank it up!!

This is the wonderfully LOUD Aiwa music system my father bought me on my 24th birthday (maybe not 24th exactly but I certainly had it around birthdays 24 ~ 26.) It was f**king awesome! 5 disc CD tray to play 5 albums without changing discs, double cassette player, snazzy graphic equaliser plus it played vinyl (which was handy as most of my treasured albums back then were on vinyl.)

Municipal Waste: New Great Vid!

"You're Cut Off" the brilliant new animated video from Virginian thrashers Municipal Waste. New album "The Fatal Feast" is out now! A truly kick ass band!

Dimension Hatross

A metalhead earlier

Ever heard of Canadian band Voivod? Well you should because they made an album in 1988 called Dimension Hatross which is f**king killer! After hearing the awesome Tribal Convictions on the metal chart slot of the Chart Show in the eighties, I went straight to Swansea HMV and got a copy of the album. True story. What an album, every track is a blend of metal, techno, thrash and pounding bad ass bass lines. It still more than holds up today and indeed pi$$es on a lot of newer stuff by a heavy mile.
I never read many rave reviews back in the day and a few metalheads have never heard of the album. For f**king shame! You NEED Dimension Hatross in your life! Its a straight up 11/10 5 star record.

Track listing
Prologue
1. Experiment
2. Tribal Convictions
3. Chaosmöngers
4. Technocratic Manipulators

Epilogue
5. Macrosolutions to Megaproblems
6. Brain Scan
7. Psychic Vacuum
8. Cosmic Drama
9. Batman (Theme to the 1960s Batman show)

Wiki wrongly states that Batman only appears on the CD version, and doesn't feature on the cassette/vinyl recordings. Bullshit! Or my cassette is ultra rare because its on mine.

Do yourselves a favour and check 'em out here!

First Four

An epic beginning...

First off, nobody but NOBODY will ever remember their first music download or MP3 like we older headbangers remember our first album on cassette/vinyl. Its just not going to happen. There is a 'romance' about those music formats that newer ways of listening to music just cannot touch. A case of technology creating, but also killing.
Ive been in love with heavy metal since the first time I heard it way baaaack in 1981. And the first albums I ever bought (after many pleas to my mother for more pocket money) you can see right there in the above picture. Those are the actual cassettes too, bought in WHSmiths of all places.

Iron Maiden ~ Iron Maiden
Kiss ~ Destroyer
Ozzy Osbourne ~ Bark At The Moon
AC/DC ~ High Voltage

Now before any eagle eyed moshers comment on the Ozzy cassette, yes that is the Talk Of The Devil album in the photograph because sadly due to a house move I lost my Bark At The Moon vinyl *Sad F**king Face* I also lost the So Tired EP too, as well as a bunch of Misfits & Samhain coloured vinyls so I was extra bastard gutted.
With the sheer fistbanging quality in this quartet of albums its little wonder I have remained a Metalhead ever since, and my pedigree in the music is f**king FLAWLESS!! See you at the pit \m/