Reign in Blonde [noun; plural] - Two tall, blonde chicks who bring the metal. We're not know-it-alls, and we don't report the news. This is our blog where we simply discuss what's on our brutal minds. Bon Appetit.
Lately, it seems like the album that everyone has some sort of opinion on is Nachtmystium’s Addicts: Black Meddle Pt. 2. So I’m gonna go right on ahead and tell y’all what I think about it. WHADDAYASAAAAY??? ::crowd roars:: …..right, anyway…
Addicts is definitely receiving an outpouring of both love and hate. Moreso than any other album that’s come out this year. I’ve noticed that certain *kinds* of people just so happen to be on the “nay” side. Those folks include hipster/elitist metal types, SLAAAAAAAAAAYERRR!!!! meatheads , and KVLT KIDZ. Basically, pretty much any person that I don’t usually agree with when it comes to music, anyway. (I mean that as no offense. I’m just sayin’.) And who likes it? Well….me! And thankfully, most of the people I roll with do too. Seriously. My friends and I are broin’ out it to this jam.
I wouldn’t consider myself a huge black metal fan. I think 90% of it sounds pretty much the same, not to mention all the croaking. But many take this stuff really seriously, and that’s cool…so I usually just step back and let people do they thaaang. Then an album like Addicts comes along, which doesn’t sound a whole lot like any other black metal album I’ve ever heard, because it’s basically the most non-“metal” black metal album there is. Over the past few weeks or so I’ve been lovingly referring to this record as “Joy Division black metal.” Nachtmystium frontman Blake Judd took some influences outside of the metal sphere (in the “hipster” indie world) and created something that’s definitely a bit more forward thinking than most grim folk make. It’s a black metal album with a post-punk sensibility. So it’s not the sort of thing that’s gonna make you wanna punch someone in the face or scream bloody murder, but it *will* make you wanna dance. The first time I listened to Addicts, I realized around track 5 that I was dancing. That’s when I decided to give it a gold star.
So, I can understand why Addicts is not necessarily accepted by the Hellhammer crew. But as someone who considers herself a very “unmetal” metal fan, I’m behind this 100%. The track “No Funeral” is above, and I’d definitely say it’s the dance jam of the summer.
Many of you already know that I’m not into bashing bands that are already made fun of too much. I enjoy the Juggalo stuff because at least those kids are consistently bringing us new material to chuckle at. But bands like Nickelback, Limp Bizkit, Attack Attack! or Brokencyde (who are obviously not rock’s “finest”) are constantly ragged on. I mean, we get it…they suck. Can we move on now? Nope. Many continue to beat that dead horse, with no end in sight. Hope that’s fun for y’all.
Anyway, I’m definitely a fan of anyone who’s willing to step up and voice the minority opinion on something. This time it’s Damian “Pink Eyes” Abraham, the jolly frontman of hipster hardcore jam Fucked Up. Having admitted he was equally repulsed as the rest of his when he first heard/saw crunkcore sensation Brokencyde, Pink Eyes revealed to Exclaim! TV that he actually had some degree of respect for the band. Claiming they were “the most DIY band today,” Pink Eyes gives a nod of approval to how Brokencyde break down all of their own gear and even profit share with their crew. Now, I’ve never been in a touring band or anything, but I’m guessing this is something not a lot of people do. Word up, BC13. Way to keep it crunk, and considerate.
No one’s saying they’re musical gods, but if you’re going to still bust on them…at least now you know they “suck” on their own merits, and not under some corporate machine. Amirite?
At any rate, from the interview above, they seem like decent enough dudes. I probably wouldn’t trust them with my daughter or anything, but they ain’t hurtin’ nobody.
It still feels weird to say it, but… I SAW FAITH NO MORE. Not even just that…I SAW FAITH NO MORE THREE TIMES.. A feat some might call crazy and obsessive, but the fact of the matter is that in terms of Faith No More fans, I am amongst the younger of the bunch. Angel Dust came out when I was seven, if that gives you any idea. So, I never even heard of them until towards the very end of their first run. I figured I’d never see them in a million years, but then I flipped a shit when rumors started spreading that they were reuniting back at the very end of 2008. (Yes, it was THAT long ago when all this started.) They played in London and the Download Festival that following June, and it was one big agonizing waiting game watching them schedule more dates all over Europe, South America, Australia and wherever the fuck else before they finally revealed they were doing US dates. I wanted to go to the San Francisco shows in April, but they were smack dab in the middle of the week, and uhhh….I have this thing called a JOB, so it really wasn’t going to work. But then the unthinkable happened: July 5th at the Williamsburg Waterfront. I got my ticket the second the presale opened. But then the EVEN MORE unthinkable happened: two more dates. One more at the Williamsburg Waterfront on July 2nd, and one in Philadelphia on July 3rd. Three show all right here in the Northeast. Two of which I did not even have to leave the city I live in to get to. I knew I had to go to all of them. This was never going to happen again.
And so, I did go to all of them. So now I invite you to read all about how I spent my Independence Day weekend with my favorite band in the entire world. I don’t really feel much like writing a long, drawn out essay on each show, so a lot of this will be whatever random thoughts popped in my head throughout each evening. Ready? Let’s begin:
Sure, I might be a little biased, but I’m not the kinda girl to bullshit. You may not have heard of Empyreon, but I suggest jumping on board with them now so you can say you were one of the cool ones that listened to them way back then. Straight out of Brooklyn, they’re not only some of the coolest, nicest guys ever (especially that kickass drummer *big doofy smile and a wink*) but they KICK ASS AND TAKE NAMES. Check out their just released vid for the title track from their album and decide for yourself, but I’m pretty sure you won’t be disappointed. If you are… get out.
Ever find yourself on the internet? In a place you didn’t expect to be? (If not, try googling your name and see if what comes up is actually you. If nothing, get out more) I was originally scheduled to see 6 or 7 Phish shows this summer, but thanks to my new job and hence, new work schedule, I had to bail on all but one. That one was Canandaigua, NY just last week.
We know it’s not exactly my idea of a good time, but all in all it wasn’t THAT bad. I’ll give it to the hippies, they make for some EPIC people watching, and the fact that we had real seats as opposed to the lawn was clutch. But I digress. Behold, “bundangbear” the hippies answer to Jose Mangin. I guess.
At about the 1:57 mark you can catch myself (with the flower in my hair. Gay, I know), The Beardo (in orange) and a couple of our friends quickly walking past the freakshow to our right. Enjoy?
-Julia
P.S. On another weird music note, I had a dream last night that I went to see Kittie and they opened the second half of the show with a cover of Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry”. What does it mean?
Thanks to our buds over at The Number of the Blog, today I stumbled across A Lovely Day for Bloodshed. GroverXIII pretty much summed it all up, but being the “women in metal” fan that I am I needed to add my own commentary.
Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot to write about. I like the idea, but frankly they just kinda suck. They have potential (I guess) but some serious music lessons are in order. That especially goes for the drummer. Listening to “15 ways to die” is like a total time signature clusterfuck to my ears. As in, WTF is wrong with that rhythm? Where is the beat?
ALSO, WHEN is the hairstyle of parting your hair at the EAR to make bangs and two drastically different hair colors gonna die? That goes for men and women alike. FOR REAL. And snakebites? You look like a retard. All of you.
But here’s the real skinny though on why this all kinda sucks. The only good thing about this band is that they clearly are trying to just be a deathcore band, and NOT an all-female deathcore band. There’s this double-edged sword in this little genre of ours, where whether you’re amazing or amazingly sucktastic, being a female will overshadow everything else. Even us. I genuinely think that a lot of us aren’t thinking of this fact when we are trying to be our most brutal, knowledgable, respectable selves, but it kind of overrides everything. Like a giant boil on Lemmy’s neck, the only thing you can do is try your best to just ignore it. Just a fact of life I suppose… Carry on ladies, and practice practice practice.
The time has finally come. I will be seeing Faith No More not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES this weekend. The adventure starts tonight at the Williamsburg Waterfront. Tomorrow, I’ll be making my way down to the city of brotherly love for round 2 at The Mann Center in Philadelphia. (It looks very large and majestic from the pictures. I’m especially excited for this one!) I have July 4th off. (Happy Berfday, ‘Merica.) And I’ll be wrapping things up back at the Williamsburg Waterfront on Monday. I’m like one of those psycho Phish fans, except I smell better.
If you’re attending any of these shows, feel free to hit me up. I’ll probably be drunk and won’t remember you anyway. (SRSLY) If not, you can follow my livetweets on Twitter: @reigninblonde
I’ll try to recollect as much as possible for a legit recap next week.
When I saw my The Number Of The Blog brother groverXIII doing this piece for the month of May I figured I could do my very best to bring to light and issue that is a very large problem with today’s heavy metal scene, lack of knowledge of the past. When trying to enlighten some fellow metal heads whether it be on a Metalsucks post, The Number Of The Blog, or a concert venue, the newer age of fans seem at a loss for things that happened in the 70’s, 80’s, hell even the 60’s which was the impetus for all the original heavy metal bands.
You really wonder in this day and age of the internet and Wikipedia, How don’t people know this shit? The first time I listen to something I say to myself “I wonder where this came from.” So then I look it up, and problem solved. I have found countless bands either new or old and have come away from it a much more educated fan. But let me go over several different genres and time periods and discuss the influence for the benefits of some neophytes.
I’ve noticed something lately. A lot of album covers for female-fronted bands that have come out semi-recently seem to do this whole “innocent creature in an evil environment” sort of thing. It’s like they really want us to “awwwww” them or something…? Whatever.
Above is In This Moment’s A Star-Crossed Wasteland. See more below:
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