ABORT™ Magazine

Canada’s Counter Culture

Issue 7
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief: E.S. Day
Senior Editor: Grimm Culhane
Hip-Hop Editor: Dave “Corvid” McCallum
Art Director/Layout: Christina Thiele
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4 HEADPHONICA
DENIED
5AUDIOTOPSY
6 ABORTISTS
16 BEHIND THE BOARDS
18 INKSPLOITATION
21TO THE POINT WITH KRS-ONE
22TALES FROM THE EASTSIDE
26 21 & UNDER W/ SCARY EIRE
28 OUT & ABORT
36 DIZZEE RASCAL vs. EL-P
40 MELVINS INTERVIEW
44 SHOOTING GALLERY
58 21 & UNDER W/ ZION I
REVIEWS
LIVE REVIEWS
60
CD
84
DVD
94
FILM
100
BOOK
102
 Our monthly chart compiled from the
blood, sweat & fears of our staff.
1. Unleash – Soulfly (Roadrunner)
2. Wild Thing – Peaches w/Tone Loc (Delicious Vinyl)
3. Half The Truth – The Royal Court of China
(A&M)
4. Soul Clap – Showbiz & A.G. (PayDay)
5. Kick You In The Face – MX Machine (Rest-
less)
6. Belfry – Lone Justice (UMG)
7. The Wrath of Kane - Big Daddy Kane (Cold
Chillin’)
8. Blue Rascal(Dizzee vs. New Order) – Dizzee
Rascal(Bootleg)
9. High Grade – Capelton (Greensleeves)
10. Crash, Bang, Wallop – Raven (Neat)

ABORT’S latest list of

interview requests, and
the people who told us to
go fuck ourselves

Erykah
Badu: Ironically Erykah’s ego is
as big as her head, considering we couldn’t even
a proper reply nor denial from Management, she
leaves us no choice but to throw her in our hall of
shame.

Our current record holder now makes

his fourth appearance in DENIED! We
stopped blaming the herb and are now
convinced that it is his horrific semi-
new reality show and hanging with those
Bollywood babes, that’s keeping him from gracing
our pages. Fuck it, we give up.
4 PHOTO BY Paul Michalowski
 Bison - Earthbound
We Take An Album and Dissect It Track By Track. The Results can sometimes be… well, messy.
Recent Metal Blade acquirees Bison (whose self produced Earthbound kicks supreme ass), consists of members
formerly belonging to S.T.R.E.E.T.S. and lesser known Pequod. Now known as Bison B.C. (for legal reasons ac-
cording to lead singer James Farwell), their Metal Blade debut Quiet Earth will be released on September 30th,
2008. Produced by Jesse Gander (3 Inches of Blood, Subhumans, Mass Grave, S.T.R.E.E.T.S.), you know that
shit’s gonna rock!

1. Stokasaurus
Head nodding opener that sets the pace for the rest of the album. The build-up is seemingly endless here as
guitars trade riffs, opening a wide expanse that could take this song in any direction. When the vocals join the fray
they only add to the culminating effectiveness of this track.

2. Wartime
The sludge immediately hits the fan on this one. Simply put, this “is” Wartime set to the beat of something more
powerful than a bunch of boring field ordinances. Pure aggression and riff mastery rolled into one fucking great
song!

3. Dark Skies Above

Heavy as fuck from the get go, ending up all sludgy and fuzzed out, just like your head after too many “girly” drinks.
Unlike your drinking habits however, Bison keep things well under control, showcasing their song writing prowess
with slick time changes and no bullshit.

4. The Curse
Long ago in days of yore they used to write songs like this. When a wizard with white hair holds a town hostage,
what else can one do besides play bottom heavy melodic phrase to the coming apocalypse? Nuff sed.

5. Cancer Rat
Bass and drums fade in on what is easily the best song on this album. Once the rest of the band kicks it into gear
the onslaught truly takes ahold of the listener and does not let go. The impressive number of riffs they cram into
this song is only surpassed by Bison’s ability to fit them together effortlessly. Easily their masterpiece... so far.

6. Earthbound
The power of Bison comes out swinging in this the title
track. Catchy, heavy as fuck and put together with both
skill and inherent musical understanding which gives
Bison a definite distinction over any and all other Stoner
Metal bands.

www.myspace.com/bisoneastvan
By Grimm Culhane
 ABORTIST

RANK AND FILE

JEFF HAMADA

6
www.jeffhamada.com
vancouver, bc

7
 ABORTIST

RANK AND FILE

rheanna fancypants

www.rheannafancypants.com
vancouver, bc

8
 ABORTIST

RANK AND FILE

bruno daniel

10
WHO: Bruno Macedo
WHAT: Male 25
WHERE: Portugal
WHY: I Like Photo Manipulation, Mixed
Media, Photography and several themes
including opposites as Fantasy and Dark

11
 ABORTIST

RANK AND FILE

N O M I C H I
WHO: Nomi Chi

WHERE: Vancouver BC, Canada. The FALL Tattooing! Shameless plug - www.
thefalltattooing.com

WHAT: I’m a tattoo artist and illustrator. I get a jolly out of custom tattoo
work, but for the most part I draw, paint, and eat a lot of bacon.

WHY: Because I want to be like all the cool kids.

WHEN: Book appointments now! nomi@thefalltattooing.com

12
www.thefalltattooing.com - I work here
www.nomi-chi.com - My website
wormw00d.livejournal.com - My artblog

13
 ABORTIST

RANK AND FILE

D O E S
san paulo, brazil

14
with ben kaplan
The year is 2000 and a younger Ben Kaplan jumps on a jet to Vancouver to work on the
new Mudvanye record. He was never to return. Working alongside his partner in crime
Garth Richardson, he catapulted his talents over the music industry’s castle walls, to
rescue the bands in distress and save the world’s ears from heading to the Gallows.

Speaking of which, Ben and Garth are currently producing the new Gallows record as we
speak… just though we’d mention it.

Ben’s impressive client list includes: Kittie, Chevelle, Sarah McLaughlin, Shakira, Hedley,
Project 86, Oliver Black, Atreyu, and Free Flow to name a few.

16
E.S. Day: As a producer, any urge to ever sampling
electronica or Rap drumbeats to use with a metal/rock
tracks, I mean, are you open to that?
BK: Well these days it blends together anyway like
that, I really try to do “Live” anyway, I really don’t rely
on loops and samples as much, depending on the
record, I’ll use them as icing on the cake.
E.S. Day: Upcoming acts on the client list who you are
predicting will come out on top based on songwriting
(with your help of course)
BK: Sherry St. Germain and Ninjaspy
E.S. Day: Mixing – Fave piece of equip. that is now
obsolete?
BK: I wouldn’t say obsolete but if I had to choose, I
would say the Echoplex tape delay, I pretty much use
it on everything you wouldn’t expect
E.S. Day: Is this something that’s not used anymore
or…
BK: No, people were using it…it was just one of those
things, you know, it was noisy and dirty and you had
to fuck around with it a bit. Because it’s so dirty and
shitty sounding, it sounds amazing. So yes, that is one
of my favorites.
E.S. Day: I find it strange that people use computer
technology today to make things sound like the equip-
ment that they no longer use because they have
computer technology
BK: Yes… but (laughs)
E.S. Day: Given today’s technology, what album or
track would you now like to go back and re-record?
BK: You mean anybody or something I did?
E.S Day: Well, anybody or just something you that if it
had been ten years ago “I would have done… this or
that”
BK: Well I (laughs), I like to go back and redo every-
thing! (laughs). Specifically? I don’t know, but it’s one
of those things, I could work on the same record forev-
er you know what I mean? You can always use more
time, plus you get more experience
E.S. Day: - Artists that you have never had to chance
to do a record with?
BK: I would have to say Muse. I just love what they
are doing; I like that marriage of electronic and hard
rock. I just love what they’re doing, it’s wicked. Also,
Some of the tones they do and some the sounds they
get.
E.S. Day: Best starter gear (inexpensive) for up and
coming producers, I’m old school (laughs)
BK: I still have two Atari 1040’s! (laughs) and the
things were like huge, with an 8MHz processor, and
if you wanted to do anything you had to put in one of
those little floppy disks. Nevertheless, right now it is
really about whatever you’re comfortable with. Further
than, that you have to have a really good microphone
and a good pre-amp.
E.S Day: Fave vocal mic for you right now?
BK: believe it or not, a Rode Classic tube mic which is
not horrendously expensive, it’s fun because we have
all these other good mikes (Shure) 87’s, 67’s, and it
depends on bottom row does work on certain vocal-
ists.
E.S. Day: Yeah.
BK: But as I said I have been doing more Soul and
R&B., and it has been working for that, but for a
screamer, I’d probably use more like an Shure SM-7
E.S. Day: Can a young group approach Ben Kaplan,
if they save their pennies? can Ben Kaplan be afford-
able to the right artist?.
BK: Yes. Usually bands ask “How much you cost?”
I say, “How much you got?’ (laughs), but most of the
time its bands saying: “We want a two-sided double
record with a bonus disc and we’ve got a thousand
bucks” realistically, I mean the more time have, the
better you can make it. Now with the way things are,
bands are recording four and five songs and the days
of the album are almost obsolete, what with iTunes
and CD Baby, but on the flip side of that, some are
into the “Album” now and because of that, it is just
more of a concept album now, kind of like Ninjaspy,
the segues and the flows in between I mean, I still
love that [listening to a whole record].
E.S. Day: Well as far as “concept albums” I wish I
could say the same for the new Judas Priest album
“Nostradamus” I wish somebody could have predicted
that fucking disaster!
BK: (laughs)
E.S. Day: “360 Deals” how much has this changed the
producers’ role now?
BK: Well I mean labels are pretty into doing that right
now right. Bands, not so much all the time, they are
just starting to catch on right now, I mean it’s basi-
cally the label gets a cut of everything, merch, touring,
publishing…everything.
E.S. Day: Items you cant live without in the studio
(besides the obvious)
BK: Um.. Coffee… (Garth Richardson enters and an-
nounces “Porn”)
E.S. Day: Did Garth just say “Porn”? (laughs)
BK: (Laughs) umm coffee, oh – cigarettes and I have
a new little addiction to the Food Network
E.S. Day: No way, me too! I like the guy who does
“License to Grill” when he smokes the food with the
apple wood.
BK: Yeah
E.S. Day: Well its “Top Ten Recipes with Ben Kaplan”
everyone!
BK: (laughs )
E.S. Day: Thanks for your time Ben
BK: Thank you
Ben Kaplan is currently residing at The Farm Studios
in Vancouver BC
www.thefarmstudios.com 17
18 photos by Jordana Meilleur
WITH

19
to the point
with KRS-ONE
A
fter the Blastmaster’s inspiring
address at the Canadian Music
Week conference at the Royal York
Hotel in Toronto, ABORT Magazine had
the honour of sharing a few words with the
Teacher.
Corvid : So, about the art of MCing - I
had the privilege of speaking with Brother
J of the X Clan a few months ago and he
was speaking about Men of Science gath-
ering together... you mentioned the Logos
in there - the power of the word,
KRS ONE : Yes.
Corvid : new and you also said that back
in the day there where five real MC’s, and
from that it’s gone on to become a million.
Do you see the art of MCing in the Hip
Hop culture as something specifically new
in the timeline of human existence or is
this the resurgence of something that, at a
deeper level existed in all human cultures ?
KRS ONE : Nothing is new under the
sun, but the way in which newness is ex-
pressed, or should I say the way in which
oldness is expressed, is always new. The
world has never seen Hip Hop before,
but it has! One of the books I’m putting
out this year is called “The Gospel of Hip
Hop”, on Powerhouse Publishers. One of
the things we argue in there, which I didn’t
photo by Kalmplex Seen
get into here, is the difference between a
Hip Hop historian, and a historian.
In addition, a historian is someone who
documents people, places, things in physi-
cal time and space. You know, meaning
also... go deeper - I’m black. Therefore, if
I’m looking for my history, I’m supposed
to go straight to Africa - that’s normal.
Now Hip Hop’s historian says, “I have a
Omni history” - I have an Asian history, A
European history, Native American history.
Why? Because I’m not defining myself
by colour, skin, race, landmass... dates on
a calendar. I am defining myself by ideas.
Meaning - Hip Hop is an idea, it’s not
physical...it’s not a physical thing. You
can’t... there’s nothing... you can’t drink
something and become Hip Hop. Hip Hop
is a shared idea. Therefore, the Hip Hop
historian is not documenting people - he
or she is documenting the movement of an
idea. So, when you read Napoleon...there’s
a book out - “Napoleon in Egypt”, and it
talks about Napoleon -as a graffiti writer!...
yeah.
Corvid : How so, how so?
KRS-ONE : When, in his travels, Napo-
leon made it uhh.it was law. It was like,
part of the military strategy , to write your
name... everywhere you go.
Corvid : On the monuments?
KRS-ONE : On the monuments. He wrote
on the sarcophaguses of the Pharoahs.
They have documentation where Napoleon
and his soldiers go into the pyramids, and
they say - quote - “graffiti the pyramids”.
Now this is Hip Hop’s history... this is not
Black history, this is not white history, this
is not Asian history. This is... Hip Hop’s
history leads us to Napoleon.
Hip Hop’s history... Ronald Reagan,
President Ronald Reagan...was a DJ!
Yeah, he played in 1934, WOC, Davenport
Iowa. President Ronald Reagan. His name
was Dutch...DJ Dutch. So, the Hip Hop
historian is not interested in colour, skin,
landmass - that’s called history. But Hip
Hop’s history is a Omnihistory. Every-
body’s history is my history. Everybody! I
could find myself in anybody’s history - as
Hip Hop...
But NOW, as an African American I’m
stuck on that BULLSHIT (laughs)
Corvid: Thanks Kris
KRS-ONE : Thank you
Special Thanks to Brent Smith and Eric
Alper
21
 (kind of) a talk with Stephane Dion
E.S.Day: I was going to ask you right off the bat in regards
to the 2010 Olympics, and possibly the B.C government’s
involvement in helping with the homeless out there,
when it comes too. Right now, they are kicking a lot of
people out of some of the low income housing which
is already ridden with bed bugs, cockroaches etc...
a high addiction rate and HIV rate, do you think
maybe Sam Sullivan and the government in
Vancouver is not doing a good job at taking care
of these people? Moreover, if not - for the simple
fact; to make room for tourists?

Stephane Dion: I will not comment on Provincial

politics. What I will say though, is that I am com-
mitted, if I become Prime Minister, I am confident
Canadians will give me the opportunity, to
have a government focusing on the fight
against poverty and helping people
to get out of poverty. Our goal is
to decrease poverty in Canada by
one-third and half for children. This
will include a strong effort for social
housing.

E.S.Day: That’s fine, but I was

probably targeting more of the
people that live in the Downtown
Eastside, who seem to have a
little bit harder. Because its more
of a targeted area. Its a high
concentration of addiction
and HIV. The largest HIV
rate in

22
North America...did you recently see the Dan
Rather report on www.HD.net.? And he cornered Mr. Sul-
livan, kind of boxed him in. But I don’t blame him, he is the
media. We however are trying to get some answers, more from
people higher up in the Government and wondering what they
might be able to do. Do you think you would be able to give a
nudge? I know you say not provincially...

Stephane Dion: You know, if it’s to fight poverty...I will be a

strong partner.

E.S. Day: Specifically in the downtown Eastside?

Stephane Dion: Yes, yes, specifically in the Downtown

Eastside.
E.S.Day: Your views on them kicking [the already poor]
out of the bad hotels to renovate I’m not being a shit
disturber, so to speak. Pardon my French (laughs)

Stephane Dion: (Laughs) No no, I just want to say

that I am proud of the strong colleagues that I have
in Birtish Columbia, who are fighting to be sure that
Social housing and the fight against poverty will be
very effective in your Province. When you have a
champion like Hedy Fry for instance it’s a great
help.

E.S. Day: Stephane Dion; thank you.

By E.S. Day

photo by Chris Webber 23

 photos by Scott Alexander

24
photos by Chris Webber 25
21 &
under
with ...

I
reland’s original Celtic Funk Warriors SCARY EIRE , have always
stayed true to their roots and the gents decided to give ABORT’s
Dave “Corvid “McCallum a quick break down on the groups status
and how they run things in the land of the Shamrock. Just don’t make
any Leprechaun jokes
ABORT: what was the reason given by Island records for drop- songs that finally became ‘The Scary Era’ album were recorded
ping Scary Eire in 1993 and shelving the “Scary Era” recordings? after a decision was already made to drop the band. I would put it
was it in any way related to your politics and the situation in down to bad timing all-round.
Ireland at the time?
Mek: Island never gave us a reason, they didn’t have to, they just
RíRá: There’s been umpteen stories floating around about that drop you and that’s it. Maybe they wanted an album full of paddy-
situation, none of which were ever clear or confirmed to us. I re- whackery. Ya know, drunken gob-shites throwin’ bottles at the
ally don’t tink it was anything to do with politics. The first album we Brits and singin ‘Danny Boy’. Either way it doesn’t matter, there
recorded for Island was not the best by our own admission. The were some good laughs along the way.

ABORT: “Scary Era” captures what has been called “the spirit of
pre-Celtic Tiger Ireland”, in what ways has the economic/political
climate changed in Ireland since the mid 90’s and how has this
affected your outlook and music?
RíRá: The economical state of the country is far wealthier now,
but your ordinary working class are no better off, probably worse
off now. When we spoke about the dole q’s there were 180,000
people unemployed. It decreased steadily for years but now it’s
risen again to over 200,000 and counting. The Celtic tiger is just
a smoke screen for people traveling here from other countries;
it’s kind of like a Darby O’Gill script. Peace and crocks of gold for
all.
Mek: Irish dole q’s in the 80s/90s were hilarious. fellas would
be comin’ in wearin’ work boots and overalls..ya know - park-
ing the work van around the corner and rubbin the paint off their
hands before they queue up for the unemployment benefits.
The only thing that really changed is that nowadays there’s less
of a heroin problem, every fucker is snortin’ cocaine instead. To
answer your question though, the change in economical/political
climate hasn’t affected me at all - musically or otherwise. Same
shite - different decade.
ABORT: You make a point of incorporating traditional Irish music
into Old School Hip Hop beats, do you draw a direct connection
between your lyricism and the Irish poetic tradition? Any favourite
Irish writers/poets/singers ?
Mek : For me it seemed natural, we came from a mostly
reggae/b-boy background but there was a wealth of traditional
Irish music, that had never been sampled. Me and Sloosh would
regularly scratch up tracks by Moving Hearts, Davy Spillane,
Oisin etc..
If you get past the diddley-eye sing-along stuff, there’s some
fuckin great traditional fusion out there.
RíRá: Using traditional with hip hop wasn’t intentional, it’s just
something your surrounded by in Ireland. Traditional music is part
of what we are. It’s obviously gonna surface if your into music of
any form, or at least it should unless you’ve grown up in the Bono
bubble. As far as writing, people will always try and make com-
parisons to other Irish writers. Nothing wrong with that, I mean
this country has produced the best of authors, poets, playwrights.
If I can write words somewhere between Flan Ó’Brien and Shane
MaGowan’s thoughts then I’ll be doing something right.
ABORT Between separating mid 90’s and reforming in ‘07, what
projects have the members of Scary Eire pursued in the interim?
RíRá: After ScaryÉire I moved to London and recorded with
some top musicians, mainly in the reggae field. I hooked up with
a producer called Adrian Sherwood who has been involved in
the reggae scene in the U.K. since forever really. It was a great
experience and exercise to be involved in. I love reggae as much
if not more than hip hop so the cross over was natural. I also
recorded a lot of solo stuff, some still in the making.
Mek : When the band imploded I hit the bottle hard for a while. It
was a lonely kinda time. One minute you’re the talk of the town,
signing autographs, next minute you’re sat on yer arse watching
daytime telly, eating beans on toast. But ya get over it and I was
fortunate to have good people around me. I did some remix work
for Ian Brown, Rodney P, Glen Hansard and I released some
mixtapes and gigged regularly.
Sloosh: I took a sound engineering course and traveled around
Ireland with bands doing back-lining. I’m currently in the process
of opening Irelands first brothel for leprechauns. It’s the little tings
that count.
Mr.Browne: What?
5. How would you describe the current state of Hip Hop in Ireland
? Are there any artists that we should be looking out for?
Mr.Browne: It’s good and bad. I wouldn’t listen to much of it but
there’s a few heads doing it right.
RíRá: I don’t listen to much hip hop from anywhere now, it’s 99%
muck. There’s alot of talent in Ireland but it’s pretty much low-key.
The best of what I’ve heard would be Urban Intelligence, Collie,
The Infomatics, Correkt minds, Exile Eye, Alias Irish.
Mek : Like most countries, its hard to find the gems amongst all
the internet shite now. Every fucker you meet is a rapper or pro-
ducer. there’s no ‘fans’ anymore. There’s a bunch of dudes from
Cork called the Rubber Bandits who are funny gits.. rappin about
toblerones and drugs and that kinda crap.
6. You are clearly aficionados of the sacred herb, what is the
state of cannabis culture in Ireland today ?
RíRá: The country’s swamped with weed right now, it’s great but
I can’t get a bit of hash anywhere?
Mr.Browne: The country’s swamped with rotten weed ya mean?
Rotten weed and poxy hash.
Mek : I dont smoke that much, it makes me listen to Jah Shaka
albums for hours on end when I should be making my own.
Sloosh: Pot.
7. With the emergence of Grime style Hip Hop in the UK, has this
sound penetrated much into the Irish scene ?
RíRá: We’ve always got a taste of the UK sound here but it never
really took off, not that it even took off much in England. We’ve
had the Jungle ting, Garage, then Grime,and now Dubstep’s
the flavour. I like some of it but like everyting else there’s only a
handful of top tunes, the rest are shallow.
8. Any thoughts on the current state of Northern Ireland and the
coalition government ? (my family lives just outside of Belfast)
RíRá: No.
Sloosh: I hope it all works out. Seriously.
Mek : I deejayed at the Belfast City Breakers 25th anniversary a
while back and it was class.
9. Are you influenced by the Gaelic Revival ? Any dope MC’s
spitting “as Gaelge”?
RíRá: I’ve only ever heard one fella rap in Gaelic, a fella called
MC Mupéad from Galway I think? It sounded fuckin brilliant. If
only we understood what he was saying? but more of it I say.
Mek : Same here, that’s the only guy I’ve heard chatting with the
Irish language.
ABORT: What are your future plans re: recording and touring ?
Will we be seeing you in Canada anytime soon?
Mek : I’m graftin’ away on some projects with Bionic M.C.
(London posse) and Ian Brown. There’s never much point makin
plans with Scary Eire ‘cos things either happen or they don’t.
Nobody has control of it.. Its like a big drunken robot and there
just happens to be 4 fellas hanging on to its wobbly feet.
RíRá: New times. New tings. Nuff said.
http://www.myspace.com/scareyeire 27
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 EL-P
Brian: I pick up on a lot of S
ences and literary reference
Philip K. Dick was actually in

vs.
wrote Blade Runner, it was k
amine fuelled winter...so I w
about the role of science fict
The ABORT Interview of literature in your lyrics?

El-P: I don’t really care abou

you know, I don’t really care
and lasers and aliens and a

Dizzee: Stop lyin’, you were

aliens and shit for like half a

El-P: But it doesn’t influence

Dizzee: Oh right, yeah yeah

El-P: I’m just saying, like...fo

ing about writers like Philip K
Orwell is the exaggeration o
writing about the future, they
what’s happening now and t
ridiculously exaggerated me
something and open up the,
the curtain of some of the re
ing around us right now. An
the mistake of thinking it’s a
I mean, I respect anyone wh
perspective and can cut thro
bullshit...

Dizzee: It’s like Futurama in

the future but they can only
based on what’s happening

Currently sitting on top of the UK charts Dizzee Ras- El-P: Exactly. And that’s inte
shit flipped my wig when I w
cal and Def Jux’s own EL-P gave ABORT’s Dave writer, I’m kinda like that.
and Brian the one-two punch on touring on drugs, Dave: So, next question is f
writing on drugs and Science Fiction… “Hardback Industry” you say
to be enjoyed while on drugs. a label that “isn’t fulla pricks
Definitive Jux?

Dizzee: I get on very well, p

I’ve done at any other label,
out. Like, I used to hang ou
sell quite a bit, at XL...but th
more like crew I’d hang arou
choice! (LOL) No, me and E

Dave: So how’s the relations

and Dirtee Stank?

Dizzee: It’s not even like tha

ness terms, it’s not even like
people, we just get on, it’s ju
innit?

El-P: We’ve basically been

of strangeness on this bus,
36 photos by Brian Williams
Science Fiction refer- me...that I will never live down. One incredibly ern Style Hip Hop like Three Six Mafia, Master P
es in your music... drunken night that we won’t talk about...eventu- and that around 1999...
n Vancouver when he ally it just got to the point where I couldn’t defend
kind of an amphet- myself anymore and I just became hamburger El-P: I think that if you’re a Hip Hop producer,
was just wondering meat. I became the meat the Rocky hangs in his most producers have a huge record collection,
tion and other forms freezer to train basically... and you’re just constantly listening to other types
of music to see what you can steal from them. I
Dizzee: Whereas, the piece of meat didn’t have mean, I was only Hip Hop as a kid, then when I
ut Science Fiction, a choice, this guy kinda put himself up for it. started to become a producer, I remembered that
e about spaceships my father had all these old records. I mean, he
all that.... Brian: What do you think of the role of psychoac- wasn’t around, but he left a lot of records. And
tive substances in making music, Hip Hop specifi- I can’t understand motherfuckers...it’s like no
e just talkin’ about cally? matter how many records they have they keep
an hour. making the same beat over and over. To me it’s
El-P: I don’t believe in making music, uh, high... like, Hip Hop is the ultimate blending and clus-
e my music terfuck of all this shit, like it’s our job to just take
Dizzee: I fucking do ! it and rape it all and turn it into something fucked
h... up and beautiful, so that’s what I do.
El-P: I mean, like, I’ve done it. At this point in my
or me, what’s interest- life, I might smoke a little weed on occasion... Dave: So, America in some ways sets the
K. Dick and George standard internationally as far as Hip Hop is
of reality...they’re not Dizzee: He’s more than capable of doing it with- concerned. In the same way as Rock and Roll
y’re writing about out it, he don’t need it. started in the U.S. and was followed by the
they’re just using “British Invasion”, do you see that as your music
etaphors to explain El-P: I also just never really had fun combining breaks through to a North American audience
, you know... pull back what I do, with my high. I’ve loved drugs through- more artists are coming over from the UK and be-
eality that’s happen- out my life, and I’ve done so many drugs - to ing successful in the US?
nd I think people make good effect and to horrible effect...and I’ve just
about Science Fiction, never really combined the two. Me saying I don’t Dizzee: Well the thing with the Rock thing...it
ho has an interesting belive in it doesn’t mean that I have some sort of might be the race issue, but white people have
ough the lies and the political reason or even some sort of intelligent sort of got it together more over in England. So
reason. Just, when I’m losing my mind on some to be able to do that kind of shit in the first place,
mushrooms, I’m not really capable of sitting down black people as a community, especially right
nnit? It’s based on to make some joints. now...we’re not in the greatest space as far as
base it in the future organization and doing shit on a big business
now. Dizzee: You know, there was always weed level. Black people over here, although they’ve
around in my situation as far as making music. had their rough times...it’s massive, it’s a billion
eresting to me...that On Pirate radio there was always shit being dollar industry here. Ain’t that kind of industry at
was a kid...and as a passed around, so you might as well get in on home yet, it’s a small place and there’s only a
it...I’ve been smoking since I was like twelve or few people like me cuttin’ through like, just on the
whatever, but I’m more of a social smoker, I don’t whims of knowing different types of music and
for Dizzee. On really go out and buy weed unless I’m on holiday. knowing how to cut in and out of that.
y that you need to find On this album, I did use MDMA a few times, and
s”, how are things on I’ve never made music on MDMA before... Dave: How did the collaboration with Bun B and
UGK come about?
El-P: Which joints?
probably better than Dizzee: I met Bun at SxSW like years ago, when
, like we actually hang Dizzee: No, magic...you put a dab on your finger I first started coming to America. I just kinda kept
ut with Richard Rus- and then on your tongue... the link from then, so, when they were mak-
his guy, he seems like ing their last album, I was making “Maths and
und....if I didn’t have a El-P: No, which songs? English”. So, they had a track called “2 types of
El-P are cool. Bitches”, and they asked me to be on that. I had
Dizzee: Oh, “Bubbles”. Sometimes I listen to one I’d written with the beat on it, and I asked
ship between Def Jux music taking drugs and all that, but it’s not a Bun to be on that, and I asked Pimp as well, and
major part of the creative process. I’m not too it kinda ran from there...it was one of the last
creative on drugs, unless I’m making the beats. things Pimp C did.
at...on paper, in busi-
e that. We’re just two Brian: Just wondering about the influence of dif- Dave: Thanks Guys
ust doing it’s thing ferent kinds of music on your own work?

Dizzee: Punk rock, Heavy Metal...gospel, my

through a variety Mom listened to a lot of soul gospel, drum n bass,
mainly because of garage,...someone introduced me to the South- Dave McCallum and Brian Williams, Seattle WA
37
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 Grimm: This soun
old.
Buzzo: Aaaaaaahh
I’m a bad judge of
having been the g
difficult for me to s

Grimm: Someone
years, I have to sa
think it ranks up as
guys have done u
Buzzo: Thank you
That’s very nice of

Grimm: You used

on (A) Senile Anim
Buzzo: Yes, surpr
Grimm: With Cod
Big Business.
Buzzo: Yes, as ba
Senile Animal we
another record.
Grimm: Oh you sti
noble of you.
Buzzo: That’s very

Grimm: Yes (laugh

albums with these
band member situ
Buzzo: Let’s hope
start doing tons of
other crazy shit th

photo by Erin Broadley

happen.

Grimm: Right, and

again.
Buzzo: Might be.
Bootsy Collins.
Grimm: Excellent
about a month and
Buzzo: Wow, did
with us?
Grimm: No he neg
Buzzo: (Laughs) I
ABORT Magazine’s Grimm Culhane caught up with King Buzzo yet.
of the Melvins just prior to their American Summer 2008 Tour Grimm: You proba
him, maybe start p
(with Big Business). The boys discuss the new album Nude With the tour maybe?
Buzzo: We’re gon
Boots, their mutual hatred of Courtney Love, collaberations both gonna start a Red
here and in Hell as well as hair tips and fishing with dynamite. called the Red Ho
gonna be the bass
Rock and roll may be a lifestyle choice, but according to King gonna be the lead
Buzzo, mass murder still has its strong points. a record of all Chil
Junkie. Like it?

Grimm: How are you today King,
or should I call you Mr. Buzzo?
King Buzzo: Whatever, call me
Buzzo, you can call me King.
Grimm: I appreciate that, thank
you.
Buzzo: Hey no problem.
Grimm: Now the new Melvins
album, Nude With Boots…
40
are you happy with this release?
Buzzo: I’m very happy with it. It
smells like what it sounds like.
Grimm: Is this a natural progres-
sion for (A) Senile Animal?
Buzzo: It’s a very unnatural pro-
gression.
Grimm: So you go from (A) Senile Grimm: (Laughs) T
Animal to Nude With Boots? be out on Ipecac I
Buzzo: Yes, it’s reverse entropy. Buzzo: Me on guit
(A) Senile Animal wasn’t as good lins on bass and N
and this is better. Red Hot Jalapeno
Grimm: Ok. Funky Junkie.
Buzzo: But, (A) Senile Animal was
good, but not as good.
nds more like the Melvins of
hh, I don’t know about that.
f that kind of stuff. You know,
guy who wrote most of it, it’s
say.
e who’s been a fan for 25
ay it’s quite an achievement. I
s high as anything else you
up to this point for sure.
u, I’d like to think so as well.
f you, I appreciate that.
d the same line-up as you did
mal.
risingly enough.
dy Willis and Jared Warren from
adly as they played on (A)
still used them yet again for
ill asked them back, that’s very
y nice of me.
hs) So now that you have two
e gentlemen, has the Melvins
uation stabilized at this point?
e so. God only knows. They
f blow and doing all kinds of
hen God only knows what’ll
d then its time to move on yet
Bootsy Collins, we have to get
t, I spoke with Bootsy Collins
d a half ago…
he mention he was gonna play
glected to mention that actually.
I don’t think he knows about it
ably should get in contact with
practicing soon, at least after
nna have him, me and Dale are
d Hot Chili Peppers cover band
ot Jalapeno Poppers. He’s
s player and Neil Hamburger’s
d singer. We’re gonna put out
li Peppers covers called Funky
That’s good, I like it. And that’ll
I’d imagine?
tar, Dale on drums, Bootsy Col-
Neil Hamburger singing. The
o Poppers new album called
Grimm: We’ll be looking forward to that one for
sure.
Buzzo: It’ll be great (laughs). We don’t have to
write new songs, the Chili Peppers already wrote
them for us.
Grimm: That’s pretty handy, I like it. What dif-
fered between recording Nude With Boots and
(A) Senile Animal?
Buzzo: Those guys weren’t as scared of me on
this one. They kinda realized I was a blow hard
and weren’t worried at all.
Grimm: And how is Ipecac treating you guys?
Buzzo: Oh they’re always great. Always caus-
ing trouble when they’re not freebasing.
Grimm: Try and get them in between sessions
kind of thing?
Buzzo: That’s right, you can get them at the end
of the month, when they’re out of money, awake
as opposed to comatose. They usually go on
these benders that last a week, then they sleep
for about a week.
Grimm: So you wanna get them when they just
come out of hibernation?
Buzzo: Well they’re kinda grumpy right out of
hibernation. A little while after that you can talk to
them, kinda get some answers out of them, but
you know… how do you know when a junkie’s
lying?
Grimm: His lips are moving.
Buzzo: Exactly, when they open their mouths.
Grimm: (Laughs)
Buzzo: Same as Courtney Love. (laughs).
Grimm: (Laughs) Nice. So no love lost there
with Courtney Love I can imagine?
Buzzo: There was none to begin with.
Grimm: I can understand that having met her
myself…
Buzzo: What would the good part be?
Grimm: Probably when we parted ways, they
went East and we went West and we were on a
bill with them and Show Business Giants.
Buzzo: Never heard of them.
Grimm: How about NoMeansNo?
Buzzo: Oh yeah, I always heard that they have
a severe distrust of Americans as a result of the
gun situation down here.
Grimm: That does sound feasible, yeah.
Buzzo: What are they afraid of?
Grimm: Getting shot probably.
Buzzo: (Laughs) Well I’ve lived here my whole
life, so far so good.
Grimm: Well that’s good to hear.
Buzzo: I’ve never even been shot at.
Grimm: That’s probably a good thing too.
Buzzo: Probably should have been shot at on a
number of occasions, but it’s never happened.
Grimm: Just too fast?
Buzzo: Yeah.
Grimm: (Laughs)
Buzzo: A lot of people think that people like me
should just be jailed just for walking around on
the street.
Grimm: Wow
Buzzo: Makes no sense to me, I’m an easy-
going, easy to get along with, nice guy.
Grimm: You seem to be, yeah. Maybe you
should apply for Canadian citizenship?
Buzzo: Nah, I can’t see doing that. You guys
have too harsh of winters up there. I live in Cali-
fornia, I’m a pussy now. 20 years down here in
the hot sun, I ain’t gonna be moving up into the
rust belt, no way. I’d die, I’d whither up and die,
you know?
Grimm: (Laughs)
Buzzo: I’m melting… Who’da thought an insig-
nificant amount of water would have melted me.
I noticed whenever we’re up in Canada there’s
always a severe amount of advertisements on
TV for snow mobiles.
Grimm: Right, yeah, and snow blowers.
Buzzo: I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of those
down here, no need. Plenty of advertisements
for methadone clinics though down here and the
Hollywood methadone clinic actually has a valet.
Grimm: (Laughs)
Buzzo: (Laughs)
Grimm: That makes sense actually.
Buzzo: It does, totally.
Grimm: Do you have any insight as to what’s
wrong with popular music these days?
Buzzo: When was it right? That begs the ques-
tion that at some point it was right. Like the Alice
Cooper quote of “we’re pounding a stake through
the heart of the peace and love generation”
Grimm: (Laughs) And is that what the Melvins
are doing as well?
Buzzo: Yeah, I have little or no interest in that
kind of “hippy-dom.” I mean some of the music
is “ok” but God, the main band for all the hippies
was the Grateful Dead and you listen to that shit
it sounds like fucking Poco, you know?
Grimm: (Laughs) Yeah right, good call.
Buzzo: Fuck that. How does Blue Cheer fit in?
Where did Hendrix fit into that? Where do The
Who fit in?
Grimm: Well these are bands who’ve pushed
the boundaries at one time or other. I would
have to say the Melvins fit into that quite nicely.
Buzzo: Ah that’s very nice of you. We’re driving
a stake through the heart of something. (laughs)
Grimm: Keep pounding away Buzzo, please.
Buzzo: Hey, watch the filthy mouth.
Grimm: (Laughs)
Buzzo: (Laughs)
Grimm: You’ve done a lot of collaborations in
the last while.
continued
41
 Buzzo: We’ve done a number of them,
yes.
Grimm: Is there any band in particular
that you’d like to collaborate with but you
haven’t yet?
Buzzo: The one I always say is that I
would love to resurrect Jimi Hendrix and
Judy Garland and do a record with both
of those together. Wouldn’t that be great?
Grimm: Yeah, with Judy on guitar and
Jimi singing?
Buzzo: Judy can sing. We’d have to put
Jimi on guitar, maybe even bass.
Grimm: Sure, sure.
Buzzo: Fuck yeah. Him and Judy Gar-
land, it’s a match made in Hell.
Grimm: (Laughs)
Buzzo: Cuz that’s where they’re burning
right now. Both of their junkie carcasses
are burning down there right now. Well…
purgatory if you believe in the Catholic
thing.
Grimm: They had to abolish purga-
tory, that’s unfortunate. If you wait long
enough you’ll be collaborating with them
soon enough I’d say.
Buzzo: In Hell?
Grimm: In Hell, yeah.
42
Buzzo: Yeah.
Grimm: I hope to be there.
Buzzo: Only the good go to Hell, that’s it.
Grimm: What are the chances of the
Melvins showing up on a Big Business
album? Buzzo: We’re shoe horned in.
Buzzo: None in the near future cuz they
just got done recording their new one.
(laughs) I don’t know, it’s never been
talked about.
Grimm: Are there any more live video
releases coming up, something along the
lines of “Salad of a Thousand Delights”?
Buzzo: Not for the Melvins. We’ve got
the Fantomas/Melvins Big Band DVD
coming out in August, big live show that
we did in England, it came out really cool.
I don’t know when we’ll ever be able to do
that again, but…
Grimm: Any more Fantomas releases?
Buzzo: No, nothing to speak of at the
moment. We are going to be playing live
at the end of the year at the “All Tomor-
row’s Parties.” The Melvins and Mike
Patton are curating “All Tomorrow’s Par-
ties” a weekend in December in England
and Fantomas will be playing at that
and then maybe doing some of our own
shows after that.
Grimm: Still in pretty tight with Mike Pat-
ton?
Grimm: Is there enough room for both of
you and all that hair?
Buzzo: There’s never enough room for
everybody. Bigger is always better.
Grimm: (Laughs)
Buzzo: If you’re in a car wreck do you
want to be in a small car or a big car?
Grimm: Depending on how much hair is
involved I guess.
Buzzo: Well hair doesn’t take up much
room, it’s compactable.
Grimm: I read recently that you actually
use wax on your hair.
Buzzo: Wax… I never heard that one, no.
I don’t know what I would use it for.
Grimm: That’s curious to me too because
wax would actually weigh it down.
Buzzo: Yeah, I don’t use wax on it, I don’t
do nothing to it.
Grimm: No? You just dry it, it’s natural?
Buzzo: I don’t dry it, I just let it dry on its
own. I don’t do anything to it, it’s a filthy
rat’s nest.
Grimm: Now I gotta ask you Buzzo, with
the US federal elections looming do you
think it’s a good idea to vote or does that
only provoke them?
Buzzo: Voting’s always a good idea. I
think it’s fun. I think it’s a good idea for
people to make their own political deci-
sions and look to much higher sources
than entertainers for those beliefs, that’s
always a good idea. I tend to think,
especially in the rock world, people don’t
think about it enough… not at all. As a
matter of fact musicians don’t really do
any of that. I’ve said this a million times
before, but you have to remember, be it
actors or musicians, they’re whore mon-
gering drug addicts. Do you really want
whore mongering drug addicts deciding,
or people who listen to whore mongering
drug addicts deciding how the country
should be run? “Rock the Vote?” These
people can’t even pick out a good band to
listen to.
Grimm: (Laughs)
Buzzo: They don’t even have good musi-
cal taste, gimme a break. Just go back to
getting drunk. Some of them are smarter
than others, but by and large they’re the
laziest people in the world and they’re
whore mongering drug addicts, you
know? (laughs)
Grimm: (Laughs)
Buzzo: Its true, all the stories that you’ve
heard about all those kinds of things, it’s
all true. Absolutely 100% true, if not way
worse. Present company excluded of
course, but I’m as rare as hen’s teeth.
Grimm: After this tour what can Melvins
fans expect from you guys?
Buzzo: I’m gonna kill myself. I’m gonna
take a bunch of people with me too.
Grimm: A mass murder suicide?
Buzzo: Yes. I don’t want to be a serial
killer, I wanna be a mass murderer. Mass
murderer is way cooler. A year long mass
murder spree.
Grimm: Going from city to city, who’s go-
ing to open for you?
Buzzo: I have no idea. Being in a band
would be a great place for a serial killer.
Constantly moving, no rhyme nor reason
to it. We play Vancouver, kill somebody.
We play down in Bellingham, kill some-
body. Kill somebody in Seattle, Mazola,
they’d never figure it out, the jurisdictions
are all mixed. Canadians and Americans
would never figure it out.
Grimm: Well you’d better get on that right
away before someone steals that idea.
Buzzo: I think they probably already
have.
Grimm: Yeah they may have, that’s a
good point.
Buzzo: Or a bunch of dynamite, that’d
work too.
Grimm: We use that for fishing actually.
Buzzo: Yeah! Some of those people do
that down here too. Fishing sticks they
call them?
Grimm: Fishing sticks, that’s it. (Laughs)
Buzzo: Magic fishing sticks. (laughs)
Grimm: Well Buzzo I certainly appreciate
your time today.
Buzzo: Thank you. I’m glad that you’re
taking such an interest in us, thank you
so much.
 a l l e r y
t i n g g
s ho o

44 PHOTOS BY AJANI CHARLES

45
46
PHOTOS BY AJANI CHARLES 47
48
PHOTOS BY CHRIS WEBBER 49
50 PHOTOS BY JEFFREY CHAN TIN
PHOTOS BY JORDANA HOVIS 51
52 PHOTOS BY JORDANA MEILLEUR
53
54 PHOTOS BY SCOTT ALEXANDER
55
56 PHOTOS BY SARAH HAMILTON
Photos courtesy Horse-The Band © 2008 Horse-The Band 57
21 &
under
with ...
ZION I
Amalia: We’re live with Zion I in the heart of
East Vancouver, we’ve got emcee Zion and
Amplive: how’s it going, guys?
Zion I: Whassup.
Zumbi: Can i say something here real quick?
I actually changed my name now, so it’s
Zumbi.
Amalia: Yeah, Baba Zumbi, right? I thought
you were still going by both names...
Zumbi: Yeah i mess with it, but just for the
new album trying to push myself a little bit,
lyrically and creatively, just wanted to change
it up for myself a little bit.
Amalia: Okay, so henceforth we’ll refer to you
as Zumbi...
So let’s talk about your experience coming
through Vancouver.
Amplive: We’ve been through Vancouver a
lot, this is, like, our sixth time and each time
it’s just off the hook, we’ve got much respect
for Vancouver.
Zumbi: It’s just a dope city, man. We’ve trav-
eled a lot and this is one of those cities that’s
real fresh, it has a vibe that reminds me a lot
of San Francisco because the geography is
so beautiful, the people are so cool and the
crowd comes out and supports.
Amalia: Do you feel that there’s support for
the hip-hop scene here in Vancouver?
Amplive: I know there’s support for our music,
I definitely feel that people have high energy
and appreciate what we do.
Zumbi: The music industry’s changing,
there’s a shift. You guys have always had
a hip-hop scene, but hip-hop scenes aren’t
as big anywhere anymore...it’s like right now
people are going back in the trenches, think-
ing of some new stuff, it’ll come back.
Amplive: It’s kind of worldwide, in 98/99
it kind of peaked then it went down, and
then came commercial hip-hop and now it’s
moved onto electro stuff. I think the scene
always goes through these waves and people
like us, who’ve been doing it a long time,
just stay true to what we do and try to make
good music and just ride the wave. You can’t
always be on top.
Amalia: When I was researching your music,
I noticed that people call your lyrics spiritual
and your beats futuristic. Do you agree with
that?
Zumbi: Yeah, I mean, I try to be a spiritual
cat because it helps me stay grounded and
I feel better about myself when I am, so not
everything I do is like that but i try to have a
root. We talk about what we want to do with
our music, and i know this cat (motions to
amp) is a visionary with his music because
he gets bored of shit hella quick so he’s al-
ways grabbing from all this different stuff and
it just starts to meld. Over the years man,
it has been a blessing that we can create
this sound and we both have our steez and
together we make Zion I. We just make music
for change.
Amalia: How do futuristic and spiritual work
together, is there a difference?
Amplive: we just do what we feel, we do
what we see and we just add what we’re
feeling at the time to it. Sometimes it’s
just straight-ahead hip-hop, sometimes it’s
pushing it, so it just goes all over the place.
Zumbi: Can I add to that? I think the future
and the spiritualism thing, I don’t know if
they definitely necessarily go together, but
i think where we’re at in the world right
now and all the stuff that’s going on is very
globalized. When something shifts in one
country and 20 other countries feel it, we’re
gonna have to move forward in the future
to be more spiritual. I think that’s what’s
futuristic about it, that as a collective body,
a humanity, we have to be more conscious
of each other that we are a species on
the planet and we share the planet with
everything else.
Amalia: Amplive, I find it interesting that
you’ve been doing a lot of work within the
mainstream: beats for America’s Next Top
Model, Sports Center, Sony Playstation,
Akon, the chick from the Pussycat Dolls...
what’s it like to work in the corporate
world?
Amplive: Some of that was actually Zion
I music that got placed, we’ve got people
who are interested in our stuff who are in
those type of places. To me, this is a job. I
love making music but I also make a living
off it so those cheques and that type of
stuff is good becasue we get a chance to do what we love and it gets put on a massive scale.

Amalia: Do you find that at all contradictory to some of the anti-materialistic themes that come up in your music?

Amplive: Honestly, I don’t think we necessarily have anti-materialistic themes. I would be a hypocrite if I said I didn’t want to drive a tight-ass
Mercedes or something like that. But I’m gonna buy property and take care of other shit before I do something like that. I just think that in
this world you gotta have balances and we’re not one of those groups that’s gonna go extreme either way, we’re human beings. We make a
living off this but we also wanna be responsible to our community.

Amalia: How do words translate into social change?

Amplive: Words are power, especially when you’re on a larger platform where you can reach multiple people at one time, you know, so I think
that if you’re somebody who has something positive to say, something that can have a big influence I think you can bring on a lot of social
change. History has proven that.

Zumbi. And I think words are like seeds, since we all learn through verbal communication since we were children. It’s kind of instinctual in
who we are. I also come from the background where we do music, which is vibration, and everything vibrates in the universe, so i feel like
when you make music people tune up spiritually and emotionally to what you’re doing or you tune to what they’re doing and you absorb
some kind of experience, and the words are like seeds or ideas. For me, KRS-One, Public Enemy, all these cats in the late eighties early
nineties, they really opened me up to explore who I was as an African American which was good for me in my development. You pass an
idea on and it keeps getting passed and soon everybody is kind of like, I’m feeling that. If you don’t say nothing, if nobody ever speaks up,
and the way the government is rolling right now you gotta speak up before shit gets locked down and we can’t anymore, that’s how i feel. At
least back home.

Amalia: Do you run into roadblocks because you are speaking up? Are people trying to stand in your way?

Amplive: It’s hard to get radio play sometimes, right now being conscious and speaking like that isn’t the trendiest thing. People are still
broke and when they listen to music, they just wanna have a good time so you’re sort of competing with the economy and what’s going on
right now. When people hear music in the clubs they don’t always wanna hear how bad things are. Right now it’s hard to fight with that so
you gotta spoon-feed people in different types of ways.

Zumbi: I don’t think it holds us back though. If opens us up, we can perform at juvenile halls, talk to youngsters, do benefits, we try to service
the community with what we do and that’s the door that’s opened for us. We can do shows in Oakland, California where a lot of cats can’t do
shows because it’s too rowdy, but we don’t bring out that kind of crowd, those cats don’t really mess with us.

Amplive: We can do stuff that’s considered conscious but overall people are just moving to the music. We get criticized for that but we also
get love for that.

Amalia: Zumbi, I wanna talk about your higher self and your overt use of
religious and spiritual lyrics in a mainly secular society. You guys are ac-
cepted, people are totally down with that shit, why do you think that is?

Zumbi: I dunno, I personally feel some kind of spiritual hunger. I’m not
Buddha...on our first record ten years ago I was meditating all the time,
I’m a different person now but I still have those core values and I was
raised to appreciate god and praise god. I feel that I love hip-hop, I’m
a complete fan of it but a lot of times cats aren’t saying shit that i can
really relate to in my life, like I can’t relate to cats with a Rolls Royce and
twenty-nine hoes, I don’t live like that. I relate to cats that got lyrics that
talk about life, reflection, and stuff like that. I just try to be who I am.
When we started making music we chose the name Zion I because we
were both going through a spiritual experience and getting closer to god,
we chose it to keep us on point and to do this music is a blessing and
we want to give back to people somehow. We could make a song about
some stupid shit and a whole bunch more people would like us, but then
we’d be compromising who we are...i wanna keep the blessings flowing
so I’d rather just do what i feel in my heart and say what i think is the truth.

Amplive: And once again, we’re humans. We like girls, we like nice stuff,
we like to live great (Zumbi interrupts: We like to party and kick it hard.)
It’s a balance and it’s hard as an artist because people always hold you
so much to this bubble but they don’t also realize that after you get off that
stage you’re also living life. On this new album, we have songs for every-
thing: party songs, songs about what’s going on in the world with gas and
how George Bush is fucking everything up, we got songs about girls, how
beautiful they are. It’s all over the place because that’s us.

Amalia: And the new album is The Takeover, coming out in September,
right?

Zumbi: That’s right.

Amalia: Thanks guys, we’ll see you on your tour for The Takeover later
this year, right?

Zion I: For sure.

By Amalia Nickel
59
 Blowfly w/ ANTiSEEN like you…” – fucking brilliant!

Thursday, May 22, 2008 Finishing the last third of the set mask off,
The Biltmore Cabaret - Vancouver, BC Blowfly managed to maintain hypeness
throughout, doing an encore in street clothes
Opener ANTiSEEN failed to impress, even with a medley of off colour lyrics to popular
after 25 years of Old-School punk grind and songs, like “Rhinestone Black Dick” instead of
ten hours at the border. Looking more like “Rhinestone Cowboy.”
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s reanimated corpses than
the Ramones, they pounded out mindless and The visionary intensity of his lyrics, the sublimity
predictable riffs with idiotic redneck lyrics like “I’m of his performance and the singular focus of
a wifebeater!” – cool man, I bet she’s your cousin his content are what make Blowfly the greatest
too! MC alive. Maybe not… but he is the first black
President!
As for the inimitable Blowfly, they truly broke
the mold on this motherfucker – 69 years old, By Dave “Corvid” McCallum
decked out in his sequin bedazzled bodysuit
and cowl with two chubby but hot
cheerleaders shaking it to his dirty
old man flow. With Norwood Fisher of
Fishbone on bass thumping out the Old
School funk, the spectacle was in full
effect.

The sight of a near seventy year old

singing songs like “Pussy Wasn’t Made
for Drugs”, “Suck it ‘Till You’re Satisfied”
and neo-covers like “It’s a Faggot’s
World” (“James Brown would kill me for
that…”) may sound cringingly bizarre,
but really it’s just all about breaking down
audience inhibitions – like the classic
routine where he takes a girl in the
audience by the hand and croons “last
night I fucked someone who looked just
Photo by Grimm Culhane
60
The Warlocks w/
The Black Angels
Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Photo by Jordana Meilleur

Richard’s on Richards - Vancouver, BC.

It was a full on smoke show down at

Richard’s Tuesday night with screeching
guitars replacing screeching tires during
the set of L.A.’s own purveyors of neo-
psychedelia, The Warlocks. Presently on
tour with The Black Angels, The Warlocks
may have stripped down to a five piece (or
maybe so much damn smoke obscured
the sixth member), but their sound is still
as full and mind blowing as ever.
Simple progressions built on the power
of three guitars accompanied by the
trebly vocals of Bobby Hecksher made
for a hypnotic wall of sound. Consisting
of songs from their latest album Heavy
Deavy Skull Lover as well as material from
previous releases, The Warlocks set of low
frequency drone seemed laid back and
calculated at first, growing and building in
momentum as they played and culminating
to a cacophonic finish. Their very tasty live
show was only hampered by too much
smoke machine fodder, yet it did make
concentrating on the music alone a whole
lot easier.
the constant drone of neo-psychedelia
and filling in the gaps with solid solo
work. Drawn out drone, spacey solos and
driving beats (plus more smoke than band
for most of their set), made for a nice
contrast to the current over-the-top metal
sound that seems to be purveying modern
psychedelia.
Influences from such notables as
Spaceman 3 and Loop were evident in their
set, making it easy for onlookers to just
close their eyes and drift along. If music
were syrup, this would pour in your ears
like warm molasses, settle on your brain
like an electric blanket and take you places
you’d never expected to go, even without
the aid of certain “herbal” enhancements.

The Warlocks effortlessly recreated that

late 80’s shoe gazing sound, mixing it with By Grimm “Drone Junkie” Culhane
61
Judas Priest with By Grimm “Seizure” Culhane

Testament
Thursday, July 24, 2008
GM Place - Vancouver

It was a tasty lesson in old school Metal

Thursday night at GM Place as Judas Priest and
Testament gave the hearing impaired something
to truly rejoice about. Looking their age, but still
sounding the rage, both bands kept the less than
capacity crowd cheering with impressive sets of
material both old and new.

Testament hit the stage promptly at 7:30pm

and featured songs from their latest album The
Formation of Damnation as well as a wealth of
older material (especially tracks from 1988’s The
New Order). Lead singer Chuck Billy was in fine
form, swinging and air guitaring his sawed off
mic stand with all the deftness of the late Freddy
Mercury. Guitarists Alex Skolnick and Eric
Peterson both sounded great, trading riffs and
wowing onlookers. Lead guitarists just love those
drum risers. What better place could there be to
pose and fling your hair as you bend the shit out
of your whammy bar? Theirs was solid set, tight
and technically sound with enough conniption
inducing strobe lights to satisfy all your seizure
needs.

Sporting the almost identical stage set as they

did on their 1982 Screaming for Vengeance
tour, Judas Priest did not disappoint the black
clad masses assembled for this visage. Like a
glam rock Nostradamus clad in a silver sequined
robe, Rob Halford emerged straight up from the
stage with a curious silver trident in hand hiding
his face for the entirety of the first song (called
“Dawn Of Creation“). Once that familiar Halford
falsetto kicked in the place all but lost it. All band
members were definitely on point this evening,
but it was Halford, roaming the stage as the
black and silver sorcerer who really demanded
the crowd’s attention.

A feast for both eyes and ears, Testament and

Judas Priest easily proved that with the right
seasoning Metal remains tasty as fuck.
Photos by Scott Alexander
Ozzy Osbourne’s
Monsters of Rock
Festival
Saturday, July 26, 2008
McMahon Stadium, Calgary AB
Much to the chagrin of the elderly residents
of the neighbourhood, Ozzy Ozzbourne’s
Monsters of Rock festival landed at Calgary’s
McMahon Stadium on July 26. Featuring
eleven bands on one
outdoor stage, the
festival provided a
varied, but always loud
cross-section of metal
bands.
The festival was a
tribute to heavy music
of all incarnations.
Thankfully, the bands
were engaging enough
to keep the crowd from revolting over the
epic lines formed around the single outdoor
beer tent. If you can manage to watch three
separate bands from the beer line without
going insane, it’s a good indication that the
bands in question are doing a damn good job.
Though every band put on a great show,
Cavalera Conspiracy were easily one of the
day’s highlights. The Cavalera brothers’ tribal
thrash still sounds fresh and unique, and the
band’s unbridled energy and enthusiasm
placed them at the forefront of the pack.
Likewise, Hatebreed deserve respect for
managing to energize the entire stadium,
from the floor to the bleachers, despite the
pouring rain that threatened their set. A lesser
band could have lost the crowd’s attention to
the terrible weather,
but Hatebreed pulled
through and kept
everyone engaged.
On the opposite end of the spectrum,
unfortunately, was Serj Tankian. Though his
set was technically sound, it suffered largely
because of its time slot. Wedged in between
Hatebreed and Judas Priest, Tankian’s solo
material did little to keep the crowd’s energy
level high. While the set would have likely
fared better on its own, it seemed rather
underpowered when seen along with the day’s
other acts.
Judas Priest delivered the festival’s most
theatrical set, complete with multiple costume
changes for Rob Halford and
a drum riser that concealed
a motorcycle. Their classic
tracks easily pumped up the
Photo by Mike Boldt
crowd, but the band played well
enough that even the tracks
from “Nostradamus” managed to
sound lively.
When Ozzy finally took the
stage, however, it was clear why
he was the headlining act. Bouncing around
like a madman, Osbourne commanded the
crowd with ease, showcasing a set with no
shortage of classics. His unbridled energy may
have actually been detrimental to the crowd, as
he repeatedly sprayed them down with a hose
despite the cold weather. Maybe pneumonia
isn’t so bad when it’s delivered with a maniacal
grin?
Though Calgary noise bylaws forced the
festival to finish early, it was clear that the
crowd would have been happy to stick around
for another ten hours. If the organizers manage
to add some extra beer tents on their next visit,
they may very well create the perfect festival.
By Calder Fertig
 Pemberton Festival
July 25-27, 2008
Pemberton, BC
The fields that just this past weekend were host
to over 120 musical acts on four stages, 40,000
fans in various states of inebriation and several
temporary ‘tent cities’ lay quiet now, while the
task of cleaning up the mess left behind is just
beginning.
The first annual Pemberton Music Festival
recently wrapped up to rave reviews from
performers and not so rave reviews from those
of us who had to drive back. Motorists crawled
at a snails pace along the sea to sky highway all
weekend, heading to and from the festival site in
the middle of a seemingly deserted town 15km
north of Whistler, BC. Concert goers were faced
with hay covered dust fields closely resembling
the desolate wastelands of Las Vegas, with
nothing but the mountains to remind you that you
hadn’t left BC. Despite the festival being a fuse lit
at both ends, there was still much fun to be had.
Day One:
Stuck in traffic for the first acts of the day, Interpol
hit the stage upon our arrival. A bit of a lack-luster
performance though, with just enough pizzazz
to keep fans on their feet and cheering. Interpol
bassist Carlos D. figured a dry, hay covered field
would be a good place to butt out his cigarettes
from on stage. Thankfully that spark didn’t ignite…
much like their music.
Heading over to the Bacardi B-live stage for
Chromeo, the Bacardi tent was the preferred
venue for a large chunk of the crowd. The lineup
stretched half way across the festival grounds
with many choosing to stay in the cool tent
letting hypnotic beats lull them into a trance while
enjoying seven dollar cocktails. Chromeo may
have just used Pemberton to warm up for their
next two months on the festival circuit, but their
performance lacked nothing and drew one of the
biggest crowds of all three days.
64
The drunken frenzy of the first night came to a
crescendo as Trent and the rest of Nine Inch
Nails hit the stage with an impressive lightshow
backed with a set list chock full of fan favorites.
Trent, clearly on his 15th cup of coffee, bounced
from one side of the stage to another, screaming
almost as loud as the fans. Nine Inch Nails left
without performing an encore, leaving fans a little
disappointed
At this point those wise enough to have arranged
a cabin to stay in were spared the task of
shambling back to the tent city with the rest of the
zombies.
Day Two:
Sam Roberts and his band started the day off at
the main stage. The bearded singer put on a great
show, with a powerful stage presence, but paled
in comparison to that of the Flaming Lips later in
the day.
Gord Downie came on stage with a black jacket
which was promptly torn off after the first song,
seizures ripping through his body, he jolted
and jumped all over stage, kicking wildly and
attempting to ride his mic stand before breaking
it, and jumping off stage to give the base of the
stand to one lucky fan… which wasn’t nearly as
weird as crouching down in front of one of the
cameramen and stroking his head while singing,
wiping his sweaty tissue all over his face.
Not to be outdone, Wayne Coyne, eccentric
front man of The Flaming Lips sent out enough
Teletubbies to choke a donkey before inflating a
giant bubble, climbing in and rolling himself over
the crowd, all sorts of weird sounds emanating
from his bands instruments. A crash and a bang
on the gong as confetti exploded from two canons
on either side of the stage sent yellow and orange
paper into the mountains more than 300 meters
away.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers stole this day,
with a first rate light show to rival that of Nine Inch
Nails and the powerful stage presence of the fifty-
seven year old Tom Petty himself.
The crowd erupted louder than at any other single
time to sing along to “Freefallin” and cheered
Tom and the band off before they ran back to the
stage to play a three song encore, starting out
with “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” then a phenomenal
long version of Van Morrison’s 1964 “Gloria,”
with a little Petty twist to it, and finishing with
“American Girl.”
A quick check on MSTRKRFT in the Bacardi
tent and there wasn’t much room to stand with
thousands of people jumping up and down and
screaming themselves hoarse.
Day Three:
Rain. Thankfully.
(rehab style), to noticeable guitar riffs from
Aerosmith. Guess they had Guitar Hero Aerosmith
at the hotel in Whistler.
Chris Martin and his band Coldplay finished the
festival to a split crowd, the Coldplay fans, and the
drunk Coldplay fans. Chris was quoted as saying
“Thank you for letting us play while you walk to
your cars.”
Despite a shit-load of people calling this a gong
show, the only real problems were the lack of
suitable roads to the small town of Pemberton, the
inept volunteers on the first day, and gates A and
D, the only gates confiscating alcohol.

The dust died down enough to not be a bother for By Sofia Beth Dixon
most of the day, until the crowd summoned more

Photo by Scott Alexander

dust storms by jumping along to bland rockers
Death Cab For Cutie, who’s stage presence
bordered on coma-inducing.

Funk rocker/rapper Pharrell Williams and

N*E*R*D* gave the crowd a much needed boost
of adrenaline, inviting no fewer than a dozen
ladies to the stage, and a single guy with a blow-
up blue guitar to finish out the rhythm section,
which arrived late due to unrealistic traffic coming
up from Whistler.

Pharrell urged the crowd to storm the stage if they

cut him off, or asked him to stop before his set
was done, much to the chagrin of the security in
the pit. Thankfully, Jay-Z and Coldplay agreed to
be pushed back, and crisis was averted.

Half an hour before Jay-Z was scheduled to play,

a single helicopter landed not far from the festival
grounds, so rumors were flying that Jay-Z and
Beyonce had just arrived.

Jay-Z wouldn’t be joined by anyone today, much

to the disappointment of
the crowd, but threw down
some solid tunes, with some
recognizable samples from
artists like Amy Winehouse
EL-P w/Dizzee Rascal
and Busdriver
Monday May 19, 2008
Neumos, Seattle
Busdriver must take his job very seriously as the
opening act for the current Definitive Jux tour,
because within about twenty minutes he had
moved a seemingly unenthusiastic crowd (less
styley than in Vancouver, but funny to see that
they are just as apathetic…) into near moshpit
frenzy with his furious quadruple time attack,
and his man backing his very grimey beats with
live and spontaneous key pounding on an MPC.
Busdriver’s on some seriously original shit (as is
any rapper who appears on stage in a They Might
Be Giants shirt…) - using two mics at once for
strange echo effects and spitting more words in a
set than some MC’s spit in a whole career.
Dizzee Rascal plays to festival crowds of over 30
000 people in Europe, and after opening for the
Red Hot Chili Peppers on their recent US tour, it’s
cool that he would still play at a grimey club like
Neumos to a crowd of not over 150 people. With
the Dirtee Stank emblem of steaming shit covered
in flies displayed proudly behind them, Dizzee’s
DJ warmed the crowd up with a display of UK
styles, mixing garage, grime and old classics like
“Wait a Minute Mr. Postman” into a blitzkrieg of
elecronic mash-up. When Dizzee took the stage,
he announced that “when I’m through, you all are
gonna know my name!”, launching into the metal
guitar driven “Just a Rascal” to wild response.
The set drew mostly from Dizzee’s first album “Boy
in Da Corner” and his recent “Maths and English”,
with classics like “I Love You” and “Stand Up Tall”
alternating with newer bangers like “Where’s Da
G’s?” and “Paranoid”. When the ride cymbal and
distorted guitars of “Sirens” kicked in, the effect
live through a sound system was absolutely
crushing, heavier than 90% of today’s metal and
ending with the audience screaming out “I break
the law, I will never change!!!”. It still seems as
though the North American audience doesn’t quite
feel or understand the beat structure of grime,
as the dancing was more frenetic to the familiar
66
timings of “Bubbles” and “Flex” than to the slow/
fast double-time of tracks like “Stop Dat”.
As for the El-Producto himself, he offered a
stripped down version of the show we were graced
with last year in Vancouver at the Plaza Club -
just him, his hype-man and DJ Mr. Dibbs tearing
through a set that included Company Flow classics
like “Definitive”, fan favourites from Fantastic
Damage like “Deep Space 9mm” and “Stepfather
Factory”, and new material from “I’ll Sleep When
You’re Dead” like “Smithereens”. It’s as though
after exercising his musical aptitudes in so many
styles of production in the last few years, he has
rediscovered his love of Hip Hop performance,
and he came across more as the hungry battle
MC B-Boy of “Funcrusher” days than the tortured
artist of “ISWYD”. Mr. Dibbs outdid himself with
his original, electro-scratch sonics, and freaked
the audience out during his DJ routine by drawing
sounds from a theramin planted in a baby-doll
head. Despite the density of El-P’s productions,
the sound was crystal clear, and his crisp
enunciation and booming delivery left hardly a line
of his sprawling, space age lyrics unheard.
The triple threat of Busdriver, Dizzee Rascal and
El-P left the audience sweaty and stupefied, dazed
by the experience of artists with such complete
control over their sound and performance. If they
had chosen to come to Vancouver, they could
have packed the Commodore and left a massive
bootprint on our collective ass. Alas, it was
America, and the only difference between this and
a Vancity crowd was the distinct lack of chronic to
be had…
By Dave “Corvid” McCallum
Photo by Brian Williams

Photo by Chris Webber
Keep 6ix, Joose,
Os12 and Hellnback
Monday, July 21, 2008
Monday Night Live at the Lamplighter -
Vancouver, BC.
Keep 6ix kicked it off with a slammin’ set of
heavy gutter beats and hustle raps. Their
rugged lyricism and gangster hyphy beats
primed the audience for yet another night of
what has become a VanCity Hip Hop institution.
After the first track, Keep 6ix had all heads
turned stageward steadily nodding to the beat.
Killawatt crew member Joose, fresh from
some dope shows in the Kootenays, was
accompanied on the decks by the subtle and
tasteful styles of DJ L’Oqenz (as
in Eloquence), all the way from
the T-Dot. Warming the crowd to
his flexible, laid back yet intense
flow, Joose started with a call
and response, then dropped
his “Education” verse acapella.
Fellow Killawatt member Lamar
Ashe stepped up to back him
on “Too Many Gangsters,” a
cautionary song about the life of
violence that seemed to resonate
in a scene that too often glorifies
it. Conscious and intelligent, gritty
and street all at once, Joose kept
the crowd hyped.
Os12 has been working hard in
the Vancouver Hip Hop scene
(and elsewhere) for years, and
the result is “The Demonslayer”
- an MC prepared to face all
obstacles to come through hard
and slay demons and wack MC’s everywhere.
His initial freestyle was five minutes of fury with
the focus, meaning and clarity of a carving - all
inspired by the technical glitches that conspired
to ruin his set. His written tracks dropped
indigenous knowledge, righteous rage and party
raps over mostly Westcoast gangster beats,
with a commanding stage presence and self-
effacing humour.
Hellnback of Team Rezofficial, whose video
for “Lonely” is in top ten circulation on Rap
City, represented for the hardcore gangster
element ferociously. His fierce flow and massive
presence upped the ante for intensity, and
left the audience stunned like deer in the
headlights.
By Dave “Corvid” McCallum
DJ Kool Herc
Friday, May 23, 2008
Club Shine - Vancouver, BC
The man known as the Father of Hip Hop and
born Clive Campbell in Kingston, Jamaica, Kool
Herc entered the club without fanfare shortly
before his set, in the humble yet dignified manner
of an elder statesman of the culture he is credited
with originating. After briefly introducing himself
and exhorting the crowd to “just have fun” in his
inimitable Bronx accent, he launched into a near
two hour set that spanned the entire history of Hip
Hop - from it’s origins in the hard breaks on James
Brown records, through dub and reggae and into
the current era of pop/party rap music.
The mixing may be primitive in it’s truly Old School
simplicity, and it’s obvious that Herc’s break
juggling was probably never the smoothest, but the
first portion of the set represented Hip Hop in it’s
most elemental form - recalling a time when Herc
and his crew would jack power from lampposts to
throw down the hardest sounds available in order
to counteract the twin evils of gang violence and
disco music. Herc had the bass up to a punishing
eleven, which made the transition from hard funk to
classic 70’s reggae sounds perfectly chest rattling.
With his frequent shout-outs to the dancers and
rough and ready skills on the decks, he made clear
the Jamaican dancehall origins of his technique
and vibe.
When moving into the present, Herc’s choice of
tracks was less than satisfying, with an unfortunate
predilection for radio friendly club bangers from
the Akon School of Pitch Correction. Perhaps
it’s because he didn’t want to represent for the
violence predominant in modern Hip Hop, but to
my mind songs about “making love in this club” do
more damage to my sanity than gangsta rap ever
could.
Kool Herc was never known for producing original
music of his own, but for organizing and instigating
parties which are still legendary today. The fact that
he is still making a career touring and performing
DJ sets is a testament to the fact that he can
still rock a party well into his 50’s - while I may
not have been feeling all of his track selections,
the vast majority of the audience were happily
sweating and grinding away a great Friday night.
Respect due, and not just for his past
achievements - Kool Herc still rocks the house! To
the beat Y’all!
By Dave “Corvid” McCallum
Photo by Joose
68
Diamond D.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Monday Night Live at the Lamplighter

It was still light outside when legendary

producer/DJ/Emcee Diamond D began
his early show at the Lamplighter. One
might expect that the presence whose
production credits include Mos Def, A
Tribe Called Quest and The Pharcyde
would be hardly contained inside a small
club, but the entire set was surprisingly
low-key. Ticket holders came and went
without even realizing that Diamond D
had hit the stage: he stood behind his
turntables and did not get on the mic.

Photo by Sarah Hamilton

Diamond D’s classic production style
includes mostly simple loops and
heavy breaks, so listening to him spin
his creations was a treat. It is rather
unfortunate that he avoided the mic
because he paved the way for producer/
rappers with his self-produced debut
Stunts Blunts and Hip-Hop in 1992.
Since then he has continued to build
his reputation in both arenas, winning a
Grammy for The Fugees The Score in
1996.

Diamond D’s set may not have been

very hype, but he is a pioneer of hip-hop
production and Vancouver should feel
lucky to have had him at all.

By Amalia Nickel
 Rock the Bells years younger. From over a decade of classics
to new joints off of “The Grind Date”, De La

Festival had the audience in the palms of their hands,

finishing with “Rock Co. Kane Flow”.
Sunday, July 20th, 2008
Arrow Hall, Mississauga, Ontario The Mighty Mos Def seemed a little less
mighty in his unfocused and rather lackluster
Kidz in the Hall seemed unfaded by the task of performance. Dwelling too long on old Reggae
opening this edition of Hip Hop Master Class. tracks, spitting almost half heartedly, it was
They rocked their styles to the fullest to an rather disappointing from an artist capable
indifferent, “Screwface City” crowd. Next up, of so much more. Time to stop acting and
Supernatural get back to
blazed MCing.
through
cascades of Rakim opened
freestyle, on with “Guess
topics from Who’s Back”,
the audience but plagued by
and back sound issues
screen he harangued
visuals. His the soundman
virtuosity and even
is truly threatened
deserving of to leave at
legendary one point.
status. Awe inspiring
as it was to
Cool Kids see Rakim,
rocked a when Redman
short set of and Method Man took the stage it was
their hipster rap. Decent in it’s own way but pandemonium. Their high octane set left
not overwhelming, given the context. Murs the audience sweating and bewildered. Nas
managed to win over a difficult crowd by finally arrived with DJ Green Lantern, and his
taking requests from the audience and doing charisma and nearly visible aura more than
double duty as his DJ had been detained at the made up for his occasional fumbles and lack of
border. breath.

A live band took the stage, and Fatlip, Imani,
Slimkid and Bootie Brown appeared to remind
us all why The Pharcyde are a classic group
still relevant today. Opening with “Pharcyde”,
they tore through tracks like “Drop” and “Ya
Mama”, each one a unique and engaging
performer.
De La Soul are a group who seem to age
without ever getting old, and the energy they
threw into their set made them all seem fifteen
70
Q-Tip also was backed by a band, and joined
by Mos Def on the opener “Feva”. After a
few solo tracks, Phife joined Tip for “Bugging
Out”, and a host of other Tribe classics.
The audience literally lost their shit at the
intensity of seeing Q-Tip, Phife, Jarobi and Ali
Shaheed together on stage again, and this was
definitely the culmination of a night of Hip Hop
greatness.
Photo and text by Ajani Charles
RZA as Bobby Wu catalogue and his own Bobby Digital
tracks, and hyping the release of his new

Digital feat. Stone “DigiSnacks” album, which drops on July 1

2008. Despite consuming a whole bottle of

Mecca wine and the better part of a forty-pounder

Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Richards on Richards, Vancouver BC
After whetting the crowd’s appetite with a
dope DJ set of Wu Tang classics, Stone
Mecca took the stage in all their glory to tear
through a passionate set of “Futuresoul”,
reminiscent of Parliament/Funkadelic,
complete with congas, keys, pummeling
bass and rotating vocals from four different
singers. Initially the audience seemed
surprised at the shift from down-tempo
Hip Hop to more upbeat funk and soul, but
transformed into a sweltering dance floor
after the third song or so by the brilliantly
intense tunes and smoking hot vocals (and
vocalists…).
of vodka on stage, (and God knows how
many blunts backstage), he remained
focused and energized, his characteristically
slurred delivery belying his unmatched
prowess as an MC god.
“If you ain’t having a good time then you’re
wasting your time!”– the theme of the
evening and the essence of life according to
Bobby Digital. RZA showed a side of himself
that surprised many in the audience - some
of whom joined him onstage toward the end
of the set to shake their drunken asses – a
hype live rapper whose band tears through
funk, soul and Hip Hop like few others can.
Peace to the Gods and the Earths.

By Dave “Corvid ” McCallum

When Bobby Digital took the stage with
mic in one hand and wine bottle in the Photo by Scott Alexander
other, Stone Mecca immediately shifted
into an immaculately thudding Wu Tang
groove, played with sample-like precision
and uncannily faithful to the 36 Chambers
sound, so much so that at times I nearly
forgot that this was a live band running
through classics like “C.R.E.A.M.” and
“Reunited”. Rarely have I heard musicians
who can lock into solid Hip Hop like Stone
Mecca, and RZA’s production style lends
itself well to live bass, drums and keys.

RZA’s flow was solid throughout, rarely

faltering or relying on his hypeman to
finish his lines, competently working the
crowd into a frenzy with a two hour set of
material drawn equally from the classic
 Terror, The Warriors, CDC went up next, and plowed through
sophisticated breakdowns and blistering beats,
Death Before cajoling the crowd ceaselessly to pick up their
feet. But something had happened to the energy,
Dishonor, CDC, perhaps a symptom of feeble Vancouverite
laziness syndrome. They practically spoon-fed
Trapped Under Ice hype to the people. Props to them for trying, but
there efforts were futile, for they knew not the
Wednesday, July 30, 2008 mysterious and unconquerable demon that is
The Sweatshop - Vancouver, BC. often Vancouver music viewers.

There are few instances in history when many Death Before Dishonor was fucking intense. All
voices become one. Rarely will you see shows voices were heard on “Count Me In”, a gang
with so much heart and camaraderie. Terror scream-along so good, people who had never
returned with a line-up so anti-arena rock that heard it could chime in, and did. People hurled
those who have only seen them otherwise would themselves across the front of the stage so
marvel. This is where they began and it is where wildly it’s possible they thought they could fly. It
they will always be the most real. is possible they did…for a second. The intensity
only went up and the gravity down from there.
The night started early, and the crowd was still
sparse when Trapped Under Ice took the stage, The Warriors waged their campaign of good hard
but they played like it was their only show ever. time’s right through the thin walls of the venue.
They had huge heart, you could see it in their Their lead vocalist was refreshingly diverse, and
unassuming and again all voices became
humble fervor. one in the final chanting of
In between the “War Is Hell.”
barrage of heavy
chordage they Terror was more intense
featured a lead than I have ever witnessed
guitarist who them before. “More stage
shredded like dives! More stage dives!”
Kerry King, just could be called the quote
a hint of the of the evening. The pit was
metal that seems mayhem as scene kids
to permeate, and newcomers became
beautifully, much enmeshed, surprisingly,
of today’s hard without incident. The
core. They played whole crowd shared
like every word lead vocal duty for the
was sacred, breakdown in “Keep
but gladly gave Your Mouth Shut,” and
up the mic to somehow ego managed
anyone, including not to get the better of
members of other most people that night.
bands, who knew Perhaps it had something
the words. The to do with Scott Vogel’s
line between the humble words… “I am not
stage and the in a rock band. I am not
crowd disappears cool. I don’t care how big
here, and music or good your band is. All
is nothing without I care about is right here.
the people that This is fucking beautiful.”
hear and feel it.
By .ninjoelspy.
72 Photos by Jorda
 The Jolts CD did manage to maintain
a fresh sound in spite
Release Party of varied and numerous

w/ The High comparisons. Their

haunting keyboards,
School Girls + sweet vocals and catchy

The Parallels tunes will definitely carry

these boys a long way.
June 13, 2008
The Cobalt - Vancouver, BC The Jolts hit the stage
and proceeded to tear the
Friday the 13th may be unlucky Cobalt a new asshole (not
for some, but not if you’re a fan that there was anything
of The Jolts. Celebrating the wrong with the old one).
release of their latest album With more energy than
Haute Voltage last Friday at the an editor-in-chief working
Cobalt (with friends The High on his 2nd pot of coffee of
School Girls and The Parallels), the day, Joey Blitzkrieg,
this was a night of surf/retro/ Dr. Dylan Danger, Lector
punk rock bliss. Kurrentz and Matt Von
Dander showed the
The High School Girls shot the hometown audience
curl first, playing sweet surf exactly why they are one
instrumentals the likes of which of the most exciting live
you don’t hear enough of these acts presently playing in
days. Clad in a white blazer, Vancouver. Riding on the
sporting a bitchin’ pompadour strength of their latest slab Haute Voltage, The
and with toothpick firmly in mouth, lead guitarist Jolts and their swaggering, sneering and searing
James “Guitar Owner” Elwood displayed some live set gave new meaning to the term “holy fuck!”
expert chops for all the “hodads,” “landsharks” New songs like “DXM,” “Hey, Alright!” and “Bloody
and “surf bunnies” in attendance. Backed by the Eye Socket” sounded right at home with their
frenetic energy of second guitarist Ben “Guitar earlier material (especially live, where The Jolts
Aficionado” Fussell and solid drumming from truly excel) and show these boys have what it
Tony Dallas, The High School Girls went “off the takes to be the next big thing.
Richter” with classic surf covers of “Walk Don’t
Run” and “Misirlou,” as well as plenty of original If you haven’t caught The Jolts live yet I suggest
material. Even with no bass player The High you run, don’t walk, to their next show, you won’t
School Girls still sounded locked in, maxed out regret it. In the mean time, grab yourself a copy of
and ripping. Haute Voltage, put on some coffee and prepare
yourself for The Jolts.
The Jam was up next… or at least they sure
sounded like The Jam. Actually it was Vancouver’s
The Parallels and their very retro sounding set. By Grimm “Wipe Out” Culhane
Flashbacks to the 2nd British Invasion were
evident as they played songs reminiscent of The
Clash, Squeeze and
Elvis Costello (and even
older bands like The
Kinks). This four piece

ana Meilleur

Zion I,
featuring
Emotionz,
Main
Offenders
and Manik
Monday, June 30, 2008
The Lamplighter, Vancouver
BC
Emotionz, Main Offenders
and Manik 1derful kicked
the night off with a fine selection of sets
showcasing some of the best of Vancity’s
underground talent. All of them have been at
it for more than a minute, and it’s good to see
the progression of their skills, with Manik’s
voice sounding more gravelly and mature while
kicking a dope, more self-reflexive freestyle.
Oakland’s own Zion I’s entire set seemed
to revolve around the persistent one-two
handclap that AmpLive laid down on his MPC,
with MC’s Zion and guest hypeman Mikah 9
dropping intensely passionate, positive yet
blazing lyrics over increasingly complex beats
played live by Amp.
With accompanying visuals on multiple flat-
screens and Zion’s scorching delivery gaining
speed and hypeness steadily through the set,
the effect was seriously elevating. Their- reality
focused and spiritually minded lyrics drew
the mind into higher regions of overstanding
while AmpLive’s electro sounding beats (more
reminiscent of Southern crunk than Westcoast)
got asses shaking and fists pounding. With
74
Photo by Amalia Nickel
tracks running the gamut from ‘97’s “Enter
the Woods” EP to the ’07 “Street Legends”
mixtape, they presented a thorough world view
and musical platform influenced by Oakland’s
original finest – the Black Panther party,
Rastafarianism and a spiritual understanding
of life.
Zion kicked things into high gear by
announcing that they had been “spending
time in the lab”, and then dropping one of the
quickest freestyles I have ever heard – jaw
dropping flow with seriously visual content, a
rare combination indeed.
Zion I proved that “conscious” and “positive”
are not necessarily dirty words in Hip Hop – it’s
a matter of focus and intensity with the beats
to back it up, that separate the righteous from
the wack. Zion I have reached the heights,
but rather than looking down on the crowd
they seek to bring them up to a higher level of
being.
By Dave “Corvid ” McCallum
Pidgeon John and to the Show,” and let the crowd know exactly
what they were in for, to “have fun in a major

Luckyjam way.” The styles of his dance beats made

June 23, 2008
Monday Night Live: Hip-Hop at the
Lamplighter - Vancouver, BC.
Monday Night Live continued to bring hip-
hop communities together with intimate
performances by Living Legends’ Luckyiam
and Quannum Records’ Pidgeon John. The
stylistic differences in Lucky’s matter-of-
fact storytelling and Pidgeon John’s twisted
charisma made for a unique combination.
an excursion through the eras, musical
interludes introduced as 1969, 1979 and so
on. In true Pidgeon John fashion, songs were
broken up with stories and jokes, the artist
leading by example by having a lot of fun in
his performance. The usual hype songs like
“Freaks! Freaks!” and “Do the Pidgeon” were
balanced with darker intimations in “Life Goes
On” and “Emily.” Pidgeon John’s uninhibited
energy caused his set to gain a rather
uncommon depth both musically and in the
content of the stories he told.

“It’s poetry, but it’s not a poetry reading” One can hardly ask for more on a Monday
declared Luckyiam as he took the small night in East Vancouver.
stage at the Lamplighter. He immersed the
crowd in lightning fast flows and made it
look easy; the crowd unabashedly beamed By Amalia Nickel
at him as he connected to the eager fans in
the front. There were some new songs with
the old favorites; It’s Time to
Get Lucky is the new album
out soon, and the title track
featured shrill melodies and
layered rhythms, the narrative
relatable: “Your family/ No
Plan B.” Through his entire
set, crisp beats accompanied
memorable tracks like “Play
This” and “The Best I Can”
while Lucky sang, rapped,
rapped faster, and sang some
more.

Pidgeon John opened his set

with the inevitable “Welcome

Photo by Chris Webber

 Venetian Snares
w/ Guests
Friday, June 6, 2008
The Fall - Vancouver, BC

If they aren’t piercing it through you,

inking it on you or cutting it off you
they’re blasting it through you down
at The Fall these days. A sweaty
Friday night of Venetian Snares
drum’n’bass/drillcore with a myriad
of guests was a perfect example,
and the buzz generated beforehand
made this one impossible to miss.
Guests including The Square Root
of Evil, Taal Mala, Colby Sparks,
Hunter Green and The Goblin

Photo by Grimm Culhane

Queen (some of whom even got
to play), and close to 200 of The
Fall’s best friends, it was a packed
and humid house of beat hungry
electronic enthusiasts.

Altering perception is much easier to

accomplish when music is involved,
which is exactly what Aaron Funk
(Venetian Snares) seems to be
intent on doing. Celebrated by the
late John Peel for his inventiveness,
the soundtrack for a higher level of music
Funk’s elaborate time signatures and rapid,
aficionado, music both challenging and
almost frantic beats give him a distinct,
exhilarating at the same time.
intense sound. Your body can’t help but be
moved by his music even if its challenging For those of you who have experienced a
to finding the groove amidst the onslaught of live battlefield or had your chest repeatedly
sound. thumped by recoil during an ammunitions
test, Venetian Snare’s set would have had
Although intense and almost riotously
a distinct familiarity to it. For the uninitiated,
aggressive, it was nice to be a part of
suffice it to say that destructive and
an audience definitely into the sounds of
constructive forces can have a lot in common,
Venetian Snares, respecting each other’s
yet be worlds apart when it comes to delivery.
space and not slamming into each other.
Not only did Venetian Snares deliver, he blew
Things did get out of hand, but not out of
the fucking doors of perception clean off the
control. Altered perceptions are only violent
place.
by choice and much more useful when used
for personal growth. Venetian Snares, along
with a very few other artists, are composing By Grimm “Aldous” Culhane
76
Imaginations heavily complemented by raw talent… it’s always
surprising to come across an emcee who can

Treetrunk Reunion actually sing.

Monday, June 9, 2008
The Lamplighter – Vancouver
Last Monday night at the Lamplighter marked
the gathering of no less than eight local acts on
the independent Vancouver label Imaginations
Treetrunk. The Imaginations Treetrunk
Reunion Show did not disappoint in content
or tone: it certainly was a reunion, like a family
gathering if your crazy drunken grandmother
wore booty shorts.
Ending the night were Chadio and Azrael, later
joined by Shay and Cons to form Dance Dance
Revolution, whose enjoyable set reflected the
tone of the entire night. A lovely dance party was
had by all, on and off the stage, while Shay stole
the show with her charismatic style and wickedly
fast flows. A good-clean-fun kind of rowdiness
ensued to send the crowd home in true family
reunion style.

An unexpected bonus was hometown hero Text and Photo by Amalia Nickel
Josh Martinez’s performance and video shoot.
A young veteran of the underground scene,
Martinez effortlessly had the crowd eating out of
his hand. Something of a scene-stealer, it was
unfortunate that Billy Botox and Mars G had
to follow in his wake with comparatively drab
performances.

Things started to pick up again with The

Groundbreakers’ formidable contrast of
staccato and smooth vocals and old school
vibes. G-Boxx hit the spot with some intricate
beatboxing while Attikus rhymed real nice.

Main Offenders kept it simple with concise,

conscious rhymes and bare-bones beats. Amid
old-school cuts they brought local issues to
the table, incorporating political, social and
environmental ideas into their high-energy
presentation and had the crowd vehemently
chanting “slum city” by the second song.

The lyrically limber Tapwater were followed

by crowd favorite Kaboom. His comic energy
and uncontained self-assurance set the stage
for sick rhymes of multiple speeds, styles and
rhythms. His irresistible stage presence was
Edgefest 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Downsview Park - Toronto, ON.
Edgefest is normally held in Molson Park, in Barrie
Ontario. Its ideal location of 45 minutes north of
Toronto does little to dissuade the locals from
showing up in droves. Unfortunately, the property
adjoining the park, the gigantic Molson brewery
itself, was shut down for being Canada’s largest
clandestine marijuana grow-op (complete with
workers quarters, lounge and common areas… oh,
and all the dope you can smoke!).
Two stages awaited in excess of twenty thousand
people, who were in desperate need of a diversion
from the fact that they just shelled out $80 bucks to
get in. The proceedings were plagued by lengthy
delays throughout the day and night. None more
lengthy, however, than the 35 minute wait after
Sam Roberts until the Stone Temple Pilots (no
doubt some kind of dope malfunction).
Stage two was reserved for lesser known bands
like The Flatliners (the headliners), Hostage Life,
The Coast and on and on. Mostly forgettable,
except for Modernboys Moderngirls, who for their
20 minute set pumped out 80’s style new wave,
clad in “The 20 minute workout-meets-Blondie”
style outfits. A fine effort indeed, considering there
were only 50 or so people watching at the time.
Stage One’s last four bands were The Bravery,
Sam Roberts Band, Stone Temple Pilots and
headliners Linkin Park. The Bravery put on a brave
show indeed, for as soon as they appeared the
heavens opened up and monsoon rains turned the
grounds to a giant mud-pit (much to the delight of
otherwise pissed-off mosh-pitters). Sam Roberts
still cant afford razors, but at least he can put on
a respectable show. Not exactly alternative, but
the audience preferred it compared to the silence
between bands.
After Sam Roberts finished the rains subsided
somewhat and the drenched fans streamed
towards the beer gardens area. By 2pm the line-up
had reached at least 250 people. Those who
78
had no desire to be sober had to wait at least 2 to
3 HOURS just to get their hands on a maximum
of 2 piss-warm cups of draught beer. Nothing like
waiting for beer in a mud-field under the rain and
broiled alive in 40 degree Celsius weather only
to by corralled like cattle to a feeding trough on a
uneven fenced-in zoo-like area! .
After what seemed like forever, amazingly enough
the Stone Temple Pilots managed to find their way
from their tour bus to the stage. Thank god for
the GPS! The sound man must have been in the
employ of STP, because it was way louder than
before, but then again, who could remember? And
hey, what’s with the moving scarecrow onstage?
Oh, wait, sorry, it’s actually Scott Weiland doing his
best impersonation of someone respectable.
By the time Linkin Park went onstage the beer
sales had been mysteriously extinguished, fueling
the wrath of many. Sober times indeed, as if on
cue Linkin Park came out with a whimper, playing
a lame version of Breaking the Habit and other
equally sleepy-time crap with one-third of their line-
up on stage.
All in all, it was a trial run for this location which
proved to be an easily accessible one, with public
transit right there and major highway access
nearby. Under slightly different circumstances
it would have been amazing. It should be done
again, but this time consult the Weather Channel,
get more
beer
gardens
and have
heavier
bands.
Maybe
this would
put some
Photo by Jeffery Chan Tin
more
Edge in
Edgefest.
By Jimmy
Lynch
Reverend Horton Heat and a few decibels louder, their set sure was fun
to watch.

w/ Nashville Pussy When the irreverent Reverend took the stage

Thursday, June 26, 2008 for some “country-fed punkabilly” a respectful
Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC. hush fell over the crowd the likes of which you’d
probably hear in a church, synagogue or any
There ain’t nothin’ more pleasing to a man than place of worship. Nah, I’m just jerking your rosary,
a trusty hound dog, an ice cold beer and a big ol’ the place went fucking ballistic! Reverend Horton
plate of Southern fried rock! Although my hound Heat has been extolling the virtues of good times,
dog couldn’t get into the Commodore on Thursday good friends and good beer for neigh on 20 years
night, The Reverend Horton now with no sign of
Heat and Nashville Pussy slowing down.
supplied enough shit
kicking distraction to make With his signature orange
me forget my troubles for Gretch slung across his
a while. Ice cold beer sure shoulder and backed by
helped too. band members Jimbo
Wallace on stand-up
All the way from Atlanta, bass and drummer Paul
Georgia and swinging hair Simmons supplying the
instead of fists, Nashville blessed beats, Reverend
Pussy beat the crap out Heat commenced to
of the audience with their preach songful sermons
hard driving, hook laden of love, life and liquor.
and right from the crotch Like preaching to the
RAWK! Long hair, bending choir, the boys went
at the knees and flailing on through their set with
an instrument like a crazy song after song of crowd
person seems awful easy pleasing hits, all the while
when you’re mashed up keeping the frenzied
against some stranger in audience just this
the pit, but boy howdy that side of spontaneously
shit’s gotta be a challenge, combusting.
especially with all that
damned hair to contend with. If hell doesn’t want you and heaven is full, I’d just
as soon stay right here if I were you, especially
Lead guitarist Ruyter Suys made her presence with shows like this to bide your time and blow
known by swaggering and tossing her hair like your mind. Myself, I just gotta figure out how I’m
she owned the place. Two seconds into the first gonna get my trusty hound dog in next time.
song and she did! With hubby Blaine Cartwright
revved up on guitar and vocals, Karen Cuda
supplying the buxom basslines and Jeremy Text and Photo by Grimm “Shit Kicking” Culhane
Thompson swinging sticks like there’s no
tomorrow, Nashville Pussy commenced on ripping
through their set like a
hound dog rips through an
ornery possum. Although
considerably less bloody

Boris w/ Liar of the
Minotaur and Torche
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Richard’s on Richards - Vancouver, BC
Drone metal is quickly becoming a genre to be
reckoned with as evidenced by Wednesday night’s
gig at Richard’s on Richards. Along with Liar
of the Minotaur and Torche, Japan’s favourite
psychedelic “Droners of Doom” Boris made a
much welcome return to Vancouver, extolling the
virtues of Japan’s second best export (after sake),
loud music.
Chicago’s Lair of the Minotaur got the evening
going with a blistering set of heavy fucking metal.
These “War Metal Battle Masters” (which is also
the name of their latest release) shredded
80
through their set like field artillery leveling an
Afghani village. With song titles like “Horde
of Undead Vengeance,” “Assassins of the
Cursed Mist” and “Slaughter the Bestial
Legion” you can pretty much guarantee these
boys won’t be playing your niece’s sixth
birthday party, unless she already has five
piercings and a tattoo of Satan on her… uh…
self.
An amazing set from Miami based Torche
was up next. This four piece displayed some
of the most relentless rock you’re ever likely
to experience. Drummer Rick Smith beat the
absolute fuck out of his kit while the rest of
the band (Steve Brooks on guitar and vocals,
Juan Montoya on guitar and Jonathan Nuñez
on bass), executed some of the most unique
songs this reviewer has heard in a long damn
time. Pere Ubu on way too much speed with
a mix of Keith Moon and John Bonham on
drums. Check these guys out, phenomenal!
If your ears hadn’t been ripped from your head
by this point, Boris climbed on stage to finish
the job. Takeshi, Wata and Atsuo were joined
this night by touring guitarist Michio and after
a lengthy “sound re-check” (what with 2 dozen
or so pedals to plug in) they tore into their set
like a Sumo tears into his first meal of the day.
Touring on the strength of their 17th studio
album (which Atsuo calls “a pop record”), Boris
played a myriad of songs off previous albums
Heavy Rocks, Pink and Akuma no Uta as well as
plenty of new material from their latest disc Smile.
Loud, furious and unrelenting, there’s something
about drone metal coming at you in Japanese
that gives it an extra edge. Whether it’s Wata’s
tasty guitar riffs, Atsuo’s insanity on the drum kit or
Takeshi’s multi-talented work on vocals and his two
necked bass/guitar, (with no lesser credit going to
Michio), Boris has that edge and it’s razor sharp.
Two days after this gig my ears were still ringing.
Fucking brilliant!
By Grimm “Hebi-Metaru” Culhane
Snoop Dogg w/
Warzone and Westurn
Union
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC.
Openers Warzone and Westurn Union provided
an adequate set of hype Westcoast gangsta flows
to warm up the rather lethargically stoned crowd
to moderately warm response. Obviously this was
just another Thursday night for many club goers
who were clearly there only for the main event.
Mistah Fab’s flow on his written tracks was again
merely satisfactory Westcoast thuggishness,
but when he dropped a solid five minutes plus
freestyle his skills shone as brightly as the
platinum and diamonds hanging from his neck.
Effortless Old School cadences dropped in perfect
syncopation on topics ranging from, well… women
to money, but delivered with such finesse and with
such a strong downbeat that his a cappella voice
alone was enough to move the crowd to bumping.
After an overly long wait filled with vapid club
tracks and bright lights flooding the dance
floor, Snoop, Warren G, Nate Dogg (et al.)
took the stage to the expected fanfare. After
seeing Snoop’s performance at GM place last
year featuring band, dancers and assorted
shenanigans, this evening’s middle aged sausage
fest on stage really failed to impress. Snoop
drawled his verses laconically throughout, and the
requisite hits like “Gin and Juice” were delivered
like classic rock tracks whose time has passed.
Even the crowd seemed only moderately amused,
indulging to the fullest in the booze and trees,
perhaps to convince themselves that it was better
than it actually was rather than wilding out and
shaking it. Despite some seriously chest rattling
bass reverberations, the beats themselves sound
dated and the rappers skills are more as showmen
than as lyricists.
Still, it’s the big Dee Oh double Gee and his
aura of greatness that surrounds him regardless
(more purple than Rick James’ reputedly orange
glow). The cocky ease with which he handles the
stage (and the foot long blunt) is the hallmark of
his fame, and for those that came to worship at
the feet of Snoop, all his shortcomings are easily
forgiven.
By Dave “Corvid” McCallum
 Food4Music w/ Nylithia, Magnus Rising, Re-
Entry and Flood of Fire
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Pub 340 - Vancouver, BC.

Local entertainment company Food4Music, who bring attention to independent bands through charity
fundraising (especially for the food bank), presented two nights of Vancouver’s best up and coming
bands last Friday and Saturday nights at Pub 340. ABORT Magazine was proud to attend Saturday
night’s show with a non-perishable desire for good music… and a non-perishable jar of peanut butter
for the food bank.

Show starters Nylithia

(with big hair and big
energy) got the place
sweating immediately.
This hometown four
piece possessed
the proverbial “wall
of sound” and put it
too good use as they
blasted out some
impressive experimental
thrash metal. It takes
more than blazing
solos, decent songs
and visual presence
to make a band truly
impressive though as
Nylithia proved in their
all too short set.

“You can’t stop the pit,”

said lead singer Aaron
Hawkins of Magnus
Rising as they readied
to play next, and he
was right. Their latent
heavy sludge sound,
chest thumping bass
and finely tuned solo
work had bodies flying
everywhere. With new

82
drummer Kevin Wesley in tow and Aaron’s vocals on point this night, (along with bass player Matt
Snow and guitarist Roger Cranford supplying the systematic string slaughter), Magnus Rising happily
(and loudly) supplied the soundtrack to the alpha-chimp work-out taking place around them. Stopping
this pit would have been like stopping a tsunami with a beach blanket.

Performing their own brand of progressive math-Metal, Coquitlam five piece Re-Entry were up next,
dropping some deep syncopated beats, heavy and melodic chord changes and enough foul language
to make my fucking truckdriving granny blush. Numerous short genre-splicing chord changes tended
to destroy the groove of some songs, but when the band kicked in with power chords they fucking
rocked!

The final band of the night, Flood of Fire, gave the crowd even more of what they came for. Sounding
like a dozen recognizable bands
rolled into one tight machine
(think Monster Maiden), Flood
of Fire does maintain a unique
sound through duel guitars and
solid drumming. Alex Domijan
possess a decent voice as well
as bass playing chops making
him a stand out front man. The
Pink Floyd sounding interludes
in some of their songs worked
very well book-ended between
power riffs and some heavy
King Kong attracting drumming.

A bit of this, a bit of that, but

most notable was the sound
that seems to be rising from
the usual steaming pile of
Vancouver shit. All four of these
bands, as unique as they are,
exemplified that sound and will
hopefully continue to carry us
through the next great wave of
local metal.

By Grimm “Non-Perishable”
Culhane
CD REVIEWS
Misery Signals
Controller
Ferret Music
Misery Signals destroys contrived, whiny,
angry for trendiness sake “Metal” bands
with their newest release Controller.
Straight from a place of passion, anger,
aggression and sincerity, this album is a
straight up blast of heartfelt, heavy fuck-
ing metal.
Although Misery Signals was originally
formed in 2002, their current vocal-
ist Karl Schubach joined the ranks just
before the band was set to record their
previous album Mirrors (2006). In such a
relatively short period of time the band’s
overall sound has evolved into a much
heavier, concise new breed of technical
hardcore that hits like a sledgehammer
to the face. While the heaviness and ag-
gression seems to have been achieved in
large part by Karl’s powerful, hard-hitting
vocal style, the other members have defi-
nitely put a focus on aggression as well.
In regards to outside influence, the boys
had enlisted the help of Devin Townsend
as producer. His creative and boundary-
pushing insights have certainly helped to
develop their sound on this record.
The second track, titled “Weight of the
World”, opens with a machine-gun-like,
rapid-fire riff courtesy of Ryan Morgan
(guitar), Stu Ross (guitar) and Kyle
Johnson (bass). This track seems to take
on the mentality of destroy the audience
in under three minutes and leave them
wondering what the fuck hit them. With
some very brilliant and varying rhythms
instigated by Branden Morgan (drums),
“Weight of the World” is both a perfect
song to mosh to as well as a great ex-
ample of flawless musicianship.
As a matter of fact, Controller is front
to back a very listenable and infectious
demonstration of what can be achieved
musically and lyrically when the mem-
bers of Misery Signals put their hearts
and souls into a project. Set to hit the
shelves July 22, 2008, Controller will
definitely set Misery Signals apart from
the masses and into the ears of metal
heads everywhere.
By Alxs Ness
84
Sound and Fury
Self-Titled
Rebel Youth
Shit-kicking, in your face, AC/DC
style Canadian rock and roll, the
Sound and Fury boys have some
chantable choruses that showcase ex-
actly what they’ve grown up on: old
school rock. No copy/paste formula
here folks, just straight-ahead, from
the heart and downright nasty. The
sound and fury of Sound and Fury
sounds nothing like a typical Cana-
dian act and maybe it’s a good thing.
They’ve been fortunate enough to
be given the right to tour the States,
including festival appearances at
Warped tour and more, that also sees
the gents arriving here in town with
Airbourne. Hopefully the West Coast
will be enlightened by the east again,
and these boozy blues-hounds will
deliver the goods in their own right.
All songs (music and lyrics) writ-
ten by lead vocalist Luke Metcalf.
Production credits are also awarded
to this gent as it seems like he’s the
brainchild of the whole thing. Hope-
fully that doesn’t keep the rest of the
band from looking like hired guns.
There is nothing exceptionally
original here, but certainly a bit of a
catchy, energetic and younger take,
on the traditional “Local Bar Metal”
sound, certainly worthy of getting a
stamp of approval.
The perfect companion to a basement
kegger and may well be the sound-
track for a new breed of denim and
leather clad aficionado.
By E.S. Day
My Cluttered Handbag
Eyeliner Damage
Murse Records
Lesser known Emo pioneers My Cluttered
Handbag return to form with their third nod to
banality entitled Eyeliner Damage, the follow
up to their staggeringly un-popular, yet equally
abysmal Chicks Stole My Pants. For a band
that continually sucks balls (and have for their
entire career), My Cluttered Handbag show no
signs of ever being taken seriously and keep
pumping out albums like blood seeping from a
gaping self inflicted wound.
Lead singer Mopey Felo-De-Se is in rare form
here, whining and simpering his way through
some of the most forgettable tracks you’re ever
likely to avoid. The bass sounds “phoned-in,”
which, coincidentally, it was, played over the
phone from bass player Sad Tragic’s room in
the legendary McLean Psychiatric Hospital.
Guitarist Sonny Daze R. Painful performed his
immediately regrettable riffs while suspended
by the neck from the rafters of his parent’s
basement. This slowed recording time down
considerably as he repeatedly passed out and
needed to be cut down and revived between
takes. Asked why he preferred to record this
way Painful replied, “I’m a perfectionist and
if it weren’t for all these damn people around I
could get it done right!”
In response to the complete lack of drumming
on the album, lead singer Mopey was heard to
mumble, “our drummer’s girlfriend accidental-
ly cut his bangs and he (Dreary Failure) hasn’t
been seen since. We would replace him, but
everyone who showed up with their Mum and
tried out couldn’t pout with real conviction the
way Dreary could.”
After the exceedingly wretched performance of
their seminal “concept” album Killing Your-
self… With Friends (with guests Ian Curtis (Joy
Division), Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) and Michael
Hutchence (INXS) who were posthumously
channeled by psychic Madame Jizorka on her
sousaphone), record executives considered
pulling it from store shelves and free download
sites until it was pointed out to them that the
record had never actually been released.
If emptying the contents of your stomach or
finding creative ways to cut yourself are on
your daily agenda, nothing will be more accom-
modating than a good dose of Eyeliner Damage
to go with it.
By Grimm “Prevaricative” Culhane
Withered
Folie Circulaire
Prosthetic Records
If you can envision a soundtrack befitting
a soul’s slow descent into madness, With-
ered’s Folie Circulaire would be about as
close as you can get. Even the title, when
translated reads circular insanity (if taken
literally); this term alludes to bipolar dis-
order and manic depression. Whether or
not Withered intended this relation of the
terms and their meanings to this album,
there’s definitely a dominant feeling of
torment and suffering woven into each
song.
With dynamics ranging from sludgy, dis-
tortion consumed riffs to intricate, fast-
changing rhythms Folie Circulaire keeps
the listener on their toes. A great example
of varied and contrasting elements tightly
bound together can be found on the track
“Dichotomy of Exile”. This song starts
off slow and deliberate with a guitar-only
intro (Chris Freeman and Mike Thomp-
son), but quickly accelerates when the
bass (Mike Longoria) and drums (Beau
Brandon) kick in. There are some really
impressive rhythms and flourishes thrown
in as well, courtesy of Brandon. One of
the most disconcerting elements of this
track however, is found in the mixture of
ruthlessly executed demon growls with
mournful, wailing screams. Vocalists
Freeman and Thompson definitely cre-
ate a dark and unsettling tone with their
individual voices giving rise to a call and
response type feeling in this track.
As far as classifying Withered into a par-
ticular genre or style, good luck. These
guys seem to have a concentrated focus
on mood and progression/regression in
their tracks and not so much a preoccupa-
tion with fitting into a particular brand of
metal. Props to them! Along with the fact
that this album contains some wicked art-
work by Paul Romano, Folie Circulaire
is definitely a must have for those who
enjoy becoming completely engrossed in
the music that they listen to.
By Alxs Ness
Opio
Vulture’s Wisdom, Volume One
Hiero Imperium
Souls of Mischief emcee Opio releases
Vulture’s Wisdom, Volume One as the
first of three solo projects coming up this
year. This lyrically-focused album, pro-
duced by Oakland-based The Architect, is
short, sweet and stripped down to the rap
basics: uncomplicated beats and poetic
rhymes.
The first single, “Stop the Press,” is car-
ried by deep electronic sounds layered
and repeated while Opio reminisces about
the good old days of hip-hop: “I come
from an era where you might get charged
at/ For rapping on stage and you look like
a mallrat”. Opio’s off-handed commen-
taries do not come across as the bragging
of a cocky young rapper but rather as the
wisdom of an experienced veteran.
He does indulge in the typical self-hype
of rap though, and takes the expected
jabs at hip-hop culture. From materialis-
tic priorities -“of course you wanna get
with me, I live in a mansion”- to failed
attempts at originality- “plus you just
a succubus who’s taking all my con-
cepts”- Opio is unafraid to play the critic.
Although the album is largely void of
skits and other such filler, each and every
song opens with a redundant announce-
ment; “you are listening to limited edition
volume one Vulture’s Wisdom, be on the
look-out for volume 2…” Yeah, we get it.
Fifteen years after ’93 Til Infinity Opio
has become a living classic: his style has
changed little since the early 90s yet has
not become outdated. As a whole, there
is nothing exceptionally exciting about
Vulture’s Wisdom, Volume One but the
beats are solid, the flows tight and the
words wise.
By Amalia Nickel
Straight Line Stitch
When Skies Wash Ashore
Koch Records
For whatever reason, metal is a male-dom-
inated genre; while there are some kick ass
female-fronted metal bands out there, they
are few and far between. In a way, the fact
that metal isn’t saturated with female scream-
ers allows them to stand out. Sometimes this
happens in a negative way where they stand
out due to the sheer novelty (unfortunately) of
a woman screaming, but sometimes they stand
out because the front-person is genuinely tal-
ented and can kick ass just as hard as any guy.
This is the case with Knoxville, Tennessee’s
Straight Line Stitch. With their newest release
When Skies Wash Ashore set to hit shelves
August 19th, 2008, SLS are set to leave their
mark on the metal scene once again.
What makes this album unique is the dynam-
ics involved with each song. Although the
use of melodic vocals and rock-influenced
choruses may not appeal to those only inter-
ested in straight screaming/growling vocals,
you can’t ignore the fact that Alexis Brown is
able to both scream and sing extremely well.
On top of that, the music itself creates a nice
blend of skull-fucking heavy shit and quieter
more introspective parts. Overall each song
explores aggression together with beauty and
melody. The boys, Seth (guitar), Pat (guitar),
Jason (bass) and Patrick (drums) supply a
heavy, steadfast foundation while Alexis shifts
from vocal chord shredding screams to strong
melodies and back again.
One standout track is titled “World Made
Flesh.” This one is easily the most intense
song on the album. It starts off with a pretty
chill introduction, quickly leading into a
savage verse that has you head banging from
beginning to end. Seth and Pat certainly
composed some crazy riffs for this track and
picked the ideal times to break them out.
Other highlights include some crafty drum-
ming, a solid chorus and a mood-setting guitar
solo near the last half of the song.
Having performed with heavy hitters such
as Slayer, Mastodon, Killswitch Engage and
Napalm Death, Straight Line Stitch are no
strangers to playing live and holding their
own. They are definitely a band to watch out
for. Also, be sure to check out the video for
“Black Veil” and keep your eyes peeled for
the soon-to-be-released video for “Taste of
Ashes”, featuring Hatebreed vocalist Jamey
Jasta. One word: HOT.
By Alxs Ness
85
 Hammerfall
Masterpieces
Nuclear Blast
Hammerfall’s latest release Masterpieces
is an eighteen track compilation of metal
cover songs. Since these tracks are all
taken from a selection of both obscure
and well known bands from the 1970s
and 1980s, this album is definitely going
to be of interest to all the power metal/
hard rock/epic metal aficionados out
there. The one strange thing about it,
however, is that Hammerfall had previ-
ously released all of these songs except
the last three (“Flight of the Warrior”,
“Youth Gone Wild” and “Aphasia”)
on various albums from 1997-2005. In
effect, Masterpieces is a greatest hits of
cover tunes. Well, that bit of strangeness
aside; it is a great album and definitely a
valuable metal almanac for those of you
who weren’t yet born when these songs
were originally recorded.
This album has two very strong effects.
First, it definitely works to showcase
Hammerfall’s talent as musicians.
Joacim (vocals), Anders (drums), Oscar
(guitars), Stefan (guitars) and Fredrik
(bass) definitely deserve some props for
the fact that they chose eighteen tracks
from many different styles of metal and
managed to maintain the original feel of
each song. That’s not to say that these are
bare-bones covers though; the talent and
style of Hammerfall does shine through.
The upgrade in sound quality from the
original “old-school” recordings is also a
nice touch. The second positive effect, is
that Masterpieces pays homage to many
of the fore-fathers and mothers (check
out Chastain’s original version of “Angel
of Mercy”) of metal. While a few of the
bands such as Judas Priest, Twisted Sister
and Helloween are well known, many of
the others have since faded into obscu-
rity and would’ve probably remained
unknown if it wasn’t for an album such as
this. That being said, it’s definitely worth
your while to check out the original ver-
sions of each song; the ones you can find
anyway…
CD REVIEWS
By Alxs Ness
86
Neuraxis
The Thin Line Between
Prosthetic Records
Neuraxis, based out of Montreal, QC are one of those metal
bands that make you proud to be Canadian. These guys have
successfully created a unique sound that merges both melodic
and technical aspects of metal without sacrificing aggression
or composition. Having been at the task of creating music and
performing live for over fourteen years, they definitely have
both down to a science. Their newest release, The Thin Line
Between, hits shelves July 22, 2008 and it is definitely worth
picking up! Do yourself a favor and buy the actual CD as it
contains some excellent artwork by renowned artist Dennis
Sibeijn (Chimaira, NIN, Job for a Cowboy, etc…).
The album begins with “Darkness Prevails.” This track does
not waste any time to get to the meat and potatoes aspect of
Neuraxis; impeccable technical skill by Rob Milley (guitar),
Will Seghers (guitar), Tommy McKinnon (drums) and Yan
Thiel (Bass), as well as vocals (Alex Leblanc) that kick you
straight in the throat. At times it is Leblanc’s relentless vocal
style that helps to keep the overall sound brutal and dark. One
cool detail that was not overlooked in the design of the CD
book is the inclusion of the lyrics. Although Alex’s vocals are
discernible and clear on their own, it’s nice to have the print for
reference; these lyrics are extremely well written.
The self-titled track is an eight minute behemoth. It starts off
like a kamikaze freight train on a journey to hell, with mo-
ments of building and releasing tension the whole way through.
There’s also an eerie cool-down moment near the last half of
the song that seriously shows off McKinnon’s flawless double-
kicks. One aspect of this album that is almost immediately
perceptible is the way that each song flows into the next while
still remaining individual and distinct. There isn’t one bad track
to be found anywhere. Also, the sound quality is amazing.
The Thin Line Between is definitely an accomplishment that
Neuraxis should be proud of! They’re certainly working hard to
spread the word; these guys just recently completed a cross-
Canada tour with Fuck the Facts and Gross Misconduct. If you
happened to miss those shows, you have a chance to redeem
yourself as they are on the Summer Slaughter Tour Canada
line-up, alongside Necrophagist, Dying Fetus, Beneath the
Massacre, Into Eternity, Whitechapel, Veil of Maya, Divinity
and Common Grave. Their live-show contains the same quality
musicianship and vocals found on the album but with the added
bonus of the intense energy that can only be experienced in a
live setting.
By Alxs Ness

Ancestors
Neptune With Fire
North Atlantic Sound
Slaves to the riff take heed, the debut
album from L.A.’s Ancestors entitled
Neptune With Fire is here and it wants
your soul. Of course you’ll gladly give
it over when you hear this riff laden
psychedelic opus and its multi-layered,
thick, progressive doom, culled straight
from the seventies and blasted through
every essence of your being.
Conceptual in its construction, this
immersive aural experience consists
of two tracks (clocking in at 16:41 and
21:39 respectively) which meander
from one riff to the next with fluid
grace and effortless timing. Opening
track “Orcus’ Avarice” has an initial
jam feel to it, but plays out like a road
“trip” through your subconscious,
while title track “Neptune With Fire”
takes the listener on the cosmic journey
of a mythical character and the trials
and tribulations inherent in that jour-
ney. Each of these tracks plays out like
multiple songs meshed together with
instrumental interludes, reminiscent of
stoner doom bands like Sleep, Green
Milk From the Planet Orange and Sons
of Otis.
Although elements of doom metal
are present in Neptune With Fire, this
album is not predominantly “doom”
in nature. By fusing styles and genres,
Ancestors owe more “props” to Pink
Floyd than Black Sabbath, with their
organ and vocal work giving this al-
bum a modern classic feel. Add to that
some of the most intricate and sweep-
ing guitar and bass work, “textural
incarnations” and drumming second to
none and this one album holds more
power and grace than most artists
scrape together in a whole career.
With sludge factors set on high, Nep-
tune With Fire takes the pure enjoy-
ment of riff soaked nods to the past and
breaths new life into a genre set adrift
by speed and repetition.
By Grimm “Bongwater” Culhane
The Acacia Strain
Continent
Prosthetic Records
The Acacia Strain’s fourth studio release
Continent is by far one of the heaviest al-
bums to be released this summer. You’re
going to be hard pressed to find another
album or band for that matter, that is
as angry lyrically or that creates such a
sludgy, low sound even during ferocious,
fast-paced riffs. This shit is seriously
intense!
The intro track “Skynet” starts off with
a pretty basic riff but as soon as Vincent
kicks in with his soul-darkening vocals,
the whole thing turns into a mind-fuck;
Kevin (drums) drops the tempo and DL
(guitar) and Jack (Bass) follow suit,
creating a sound suggestive of a giant
industrial machine slowly grinding to a
halt. Then, just when you’re accustomed
to the deliberate, brutally slow riff, DL
comes in like a bat out of hell (so sorry
for the Meatloaf reference) and the ma-
chine starts turning once again. “Skynet”
is definitely among the best songs on the
album.
Overall, Continent plays solid and deadly
the entire way through. Some nice touch-
es include the melodic guitar parts sewn
into the low-down and dirty riffs. These
little shreds of melody affect the tone
of songs such as “Cthulhu” and “JFC”
because they come across subtle amongst
the dominant heavy riffs. Another nice
touch is the variation in vocal style found
on the track “Baby Buster.” Vincent
chose the perfect track to switch it up on,
as it offers a nice break in the somewhat
repetitive low vocal style that’s found on
95% of this album. No slight intended,
he’s a stellar vocalist, but the tone is basi-
cally the same the entire way through and
it’s nice to have something unexpected
tossed in their just to keep everybody on
their toes.
Continent is set to hit the shelves August
19, 2008. Be sure to make a pilgrimage to
your local metal “record” shop and pick
up a hard-copy of this album. See you in
the pit, motherfuckers!
By Alxs Ness
Gnarls Barkley
The Odd Couple
Downtown Music/Atlantic Records
Gnarls Barkley, the geniuses behind
2006’s brilliant St. Elsewhere, return
with their sophomore album The Odd
Couple… and there was much rejoicing!
Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo Green have
taken all the elements that made their ini-
tial release such a success (including the
film projector sound at the beginning and
end of the album), turned them slightly
on their ear and have produced an album
of comparable if not superior quality. A
bit more sombre than their debut, The
Odd Couple plays out like the perfect B-
side to St. Elsewhere, even if record sales
don’t back up that fact.
Its sad to think that great bands like
Gnarls Barkley are being driven out of
existence by the fans themselves who use
peer to peer networking and bit torrents
to download albums rather than spend
good money on good music. Cee-Lo him-
self (in a recent interview with HIPHOP
DX) expressed the desire to do one more
album under this current moniker so not
to be “summed up” by Gnarls Barkley
(a similar sentiment he expressed about
Goodie Mob).
Sixty’s Go-Go beats, Cee-Lo’s distinct
vocals, deeper self reflective lyrics and
Danger Mouse’s superior production
sensibilities put The Odd Couple far
above most rival discs in both sound and
song quality. I defy anyone to try “not” to
move when “Run (I’m A Natural Disas-
ter)” starts playing or not picture mini-
skirts, long hair and go-go boots when
“Whatever” or “Surprise” blast out.
More serious songs like “Charity Case”
and “No Time Soon” compel the listener
to actually “listen” to the lyrics as Cee-Lo
seeks self redemption through self reflec-
tion, something we all can relate to even
if its something we fail to do or recognize
in ourselves.
Consummate song writers through and
through, Gnarls Barkley do not disap-
point with The Odd Couple. Even though
its sombre tone may turn some listeners
off, there’s definitely enough here to keep
serious music listeners more than satis-
fied.
By Grimm “Natural Disaster” Culhane
87

NIM VIND
The Fashion of Fear
Nv Music
David Bowie goes disco Danzig and
gets pummeled by a lolly-gaggle of
70’s punks and a flock of seagulls. True
story. These boys have got this musical
situation dialed. Every game is played
here. They rock the wheedly-wheedly on
“Outsiders”. They blow out melodies that
pit Cindy Lauper against the Crash Test
Dummies, and fisticuffs are unavoidable.
The clash that occurs sets off infectious
sparks that will light your ass on fire and
make you dance all the way to the pro-
verbial well into which you will plummet
in an attempt to douse the flame, only to
find yourself hopelessly stranded with
little Timmy in a dank, dark and dirty
dungeon. Nim Vind may have sent you
there, but they will bring you back with
uplifting buckets of blistering classic
punk guitars infused with incomprehen-
sible cacophony (please refer to “The
Fashion of Fear” 0:55 – 1:01; brilliant)
and reverberating retro rippage.
Then, just when you think you’ve got it
all figured out, you stumble over “The
Bitter End”, an acoustic ballad that
features gang whistling and all the old
west wonder of a black, star speckled
sky. Then Kooper Kain kicks in his two
bits with two electro-iconic collab-bonus
tracks to take your trip out to lunch in the
halls of flamboyantly dressed radioac-
tive monks. The Fashion of Fear is a dark
marriage of music that should be cel-
ebrated by all sun-fearing citizens, which
is all of us. Make no mistake; the sun
will one day consume us should we be so
lucky to survive as a species for another
few billion years (This is not likely.)
In the meantime let us enjoy the mythical
musings of a few foresighted individuals,
the meticulously mopped up blood trio
that is NIM VIND.
By ninjoelspy
88
Cradle To Grave
Texas Medicine
Year of The Sun
Southern Fried, shit-kicker metal…
Canadian style. Board-monger Devin
Townsend (Lamb of God , GWAR, Strap-
ping Young Lad) has once again managed
to envelope the intensity of the local lads
in Cradle To Grave as they churn out an
opus that is nothing short of brilliant
Produced by the “Grimmer Twins,” un-
like Mick and “Keef” these two have an
obvious musical bond that supersedes a
majority of (Canadian) songwriting duos
out there. Power to them.
Transplanted from Montreal, guitarist
Denis Barthe has an irreverent and sim-
plistic edge on the standard guitar lick,
and given his long time history in the
metal scene there is certainly no lack of
enthusiasm. The vocal styling’s of Greg
Cavanagh are prominent and procure
the ears of any true metalhead, from the
get-go.
Track s like the punk edged “Fuck It Up”
and “Broken God” make for a lovely
Sunday afternoon with thy headphones
securely placed on ones head. Any one
over the age of 30 or who grew up listen-
ing to real NWOBHM mixed with a
little Molly Hatchet may find themselves
engaging in a tremulous head nod for
weeks to come.
Let the ear bleeding commence.
By E.S. Day
N.E.R.D.
Seeing Sounds
UMG
Synesthesia is both a physiological and
poetical concept; it implies the cross-
ing of the senses, like numbers being
perceived as inherently colored or as the
case may be, seeing sounds. Although
listening to the rock and hip-hop fusion
of N.E.R.D’s latest album may be confus-
ing to the senses, there is little lyrical
quality to inspire sensory appreciation of
any kind.
The Neptunes (N.E.R.D. members Phar-
rell Williams and Chad Hugo) may be
one of the tightest production teams of
this era: Britney Spears, Nelly and Justin
Timberlake all coasted to number one
status with Neptunes beats. Along with
Shay Haley, the trio’s first two albums,
In Search Of… and Fly or Die both were
progressive in their attempts to fuse
genres and even in the fact that all of the
members learned instruments to play on
the second album. Seeing Sounds is dis-
appointingly different in its sameness and
contains few new ideas or styles.
The album is catchy if nothing else; the
characteristic synth lines, snares and
chanted or falsetto hooks are all present.
Pharrell’s voice is interesting to listen to
and its imperfections give character to
words that are candidly unpoetic. “Love
Bomb” is sappy and soulful, “Don’t need
another love song, we need a love bomb,”
while “You Know What” has an eight-
ies pop beat and an unapologetic sexual
agenda: “Nobody made me cum like
you, I just roll over…” There’s a cocaine
critique along with horn samples (Every-
body Nose) and relationship talk along
with outrageous guitar solos (It’s Over).
Seeing Sounds has a familiar feel to it; it
does little to distinguish itself from previ-
ous N.E.R.D. efforts but at the same is
fun to listen to for that very reason.
By Amalia Nickel

Valient Thorr
Immortalizer
Volcom Entertainment
Enough about the 70’s already! Oh sure, they
were great in their own mixed up, bell bottom,
mood ring, sexual revolution kind of way, but
who can forget the Energy Crisis, Richard
Nixon, Kent State and all the trappings of the
“Me” decade? Its time to move on people!
Take your contraceptive pills, join a hippy
commune and don’t forget your cocaine at
the disco may not be the type of advice your
mother gives you now a days, but she proba-
bly wasn’t first in line for Led Zeppelin tickets
either… or was she?
Fortunately trends are like visitors to a Ne-
vada brothel, they come and they go. Judge
for yourself the importance of the 70’s and
you’ll always come back to one single surviv-
ing significance, the music. With the rash of
70’s sounding bands out there today its hard to
separate the influences from the rip-offs. Give
me the choice of a modern “throw back” who
can actually “throw down” and I’ll give you
the name of one band, Valient Thorr.
Stranded on Earth because Walt Disney stole
their time machine 21 years earlier, Eidan,
Voiden and Lucian Thorr, along with Dr.
Professor Nitewolf Strangees and Valient
Himself, continue doing what they do best,
and that’s kicking supreme ass! The boys
outdo themselves on this their fourth album,
Immortalizer, by packing this baby with more
vintage, hard, stoner, psychedelic mayhem
than ever!
The illegitimate children of Alice Cooper
sounding “Tomorrow Police,” the Ted Nugent
cross-bow to the chops of “Parable of Dae-
dalus,” the Steve Miller when he shuts the
fuck up sound of “Vernal Equinox;” the list
of comparisons could go on and on, but screw
that noise; this disc is pure Valient Thorr
through and through.
Considering my mood ring remains a consis-
tent black in colour (so I know it still works)
and judging from Valient Thorr’s latest slab
of righteousness, perhaps the 70’s weren’t all
that shitty after all.
CD REVIEWS
By Grimm “Thorr” Culhane
The Jolts
Haute Voltage
Haute Voltage Records
If, like many of our readers, you are a fan of The
Jolts, then you have been waiting for this moment
for a long time. The moment of having Haute Volt-
age running through your veins. Let me tell you,
it’s worth the wait.
The Jolts come at you with eleven hot tracks of
blasting rock ‘n roll that’ll make you want to shake
your ass. The album is chock full of fire breathing
guitar leads that will burn down small villages,
lyrics that’ll make girls cry, and pounding drums
played with two murderous sticks. These songs are
going to make you want to pop pills, drive fast and
beat the piss out of anyone who get’s in your way.
The opening track “Hey, Alright” is an epically
catchy tune, while “An Electric Testimonial” is a
fast furious song with a great sing-a-long chorus.
Now, if this isn’t enough for you there is a piano
solo on “The Bar Again.” A fucking piano solo!
It’s played by that guy with the stumps for legs
and little half sized arms that can be found on the
corner of Georgia and Granville at Christmas time.
Ok, I don’t think he played it, but wouldn’t that be
cool?
The boys have re-recorded “Bloody Eye Socket,”
which was originally featured on The Jinx EP, and
they’ve beefed it up with an extra lead guitar lick
that is magical. It’s amazing what a few different
notes can do.
The final track on the album is quite the finisher.
“Why Do You Do Me (Like You Do)?” has catchy
“whoa’s” that will get stuck in your head as you
make your way to the grocery store to bring home
some eggs and milk for the Missis. When you
show up with a copy of Haute Voltage for her
instead, she’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Now we are only halfway through 2008 but I will
make the bold statement of saying that this could
very well be the punk album of the year…and
probably next year too.
By Denis Malle
89
 D-Sisive
The Book
Urbnet Records
D’s come a long way since Popped,
where DJ Serious unleashed his hilari-
ously comic disdain for early 2000’s re-
cord industry types. His distinctive T-dot
whiteboy cadence has gone from funny
to serious in response to some real shit
dropping in his life - namely the death of
first his mother then father. The darkness
and melancholy introspection caused by
these experiences has D-Sisive opening
The Book with “Intro (the story of an
artist)” - a paean to unappreciated artists
growing old.
“Brian Wilson” bumps a bit harder, but
continues the theme of self-indulgent
depression with lines like “I wish that I
was younger”. “Ambulance,” features
Tom Waits on a typically husky, growl-
ing chorus and D rhyming over crazy
janky guitars and percussion reminiscent
of Waits’ Bone Machine. It’s interesting
for a Hip Hop track, but not particularly
effective.
D’s in better form on “ThisIsWhatIt-
SoundsLikeWhenWhiteBoysListenTo-
HopHop,” dropping his usually sarcastic
and humorous lines over a funky guitar
loop, breaking down and satirizing ste-
reotypes in a self deprecating way. “Up”
is his attempt to rise out of the wreckage
and seek inspiration in positivity.
Art may be the best form of therapy, but
that doesn’t mean that therapy always
produces great art. The Book is so
saturated with D-Sisive’s self-pity and
palpable despair that it is something
of a difficult listen, one which doesn’t
necessarily lead to a cathartic experience.
Lacking the qualities of humour, sarcasm
and vivd imagery that marked his earlier
work, The Book comes off too much as
an album made for the artist’s own satis-
faction, without elevating his experiences
to an everyman’s perspective that others
can relate too. It shows a great deal of
potential in D-Sisive as an artist matur-
ing beyond the limitations of his earlier
sound and style, but as a work in itself it
feels patchy, and too relentlessly focussed
on D’s own misfortune to come up with
any truly profound insights.
Better luck next time…
By Dave “Corvid” McCallum
90
The New Odds
Cheerleader
Pheromone Recordings
I really wanted to love this album. I’ve
always wanted these guys to be great.
I fondly recall watching The Dawn Patrol
at The Roxy before they hit it as The
Odds. They were the best cover band -
ever. Their time as The Odds provided a
few highlights that won some of my stu-
dent loan money. And I’m glad they’ve
made good - just check their Wikipedia
entry.
Their new album as The New Odds - a
moniker that makes me smirk, thinking
about Spinal Tap incarnation ‘The New
Originals’ - starts off well, but apart from
a few tracks never really rises.
Right out of the gate they knock you
back with “Cloud Full of Rocks” - which
rocks and reflects too much of my past…
I’ve dated that woman, it seems. The
inertia flows straight through “Write it
in Lightning,” but by the time the third
track (the IMHO misguided single) “My
Happy Place” comes along, it’s all start-
ing to sound like Toad the Wet Sprocket
& The Northern Pikes at their un-inspired
worst, and I’m not paying any attention
anymore.
“Jumper” pulls me back in, but it’s a
long wait with only some occasional wit
(the purile lyric “look at the piece of tail
on the mermaid girl” leaps out) to lift
it anywhere above the same songs they
were writing in the early 90s… and why
wouldn’t I rather listen to “Wendy Under
the Stars” or “Heterosexual Man” instead
- they at least have nostalgia value.
To be fair, I think I’m more disappointed
that I’m disappointed than genuinely
disappointed.
Sigh.
Perhaps their greatest feat was always
destined to be a wicked live version of
Radar Love in a bar packed with Univer-
sity students on Granville.
By Kennedy Goodkey
CD REVIEWS
The Offspring
Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
Sony/BMG
It is damning with faint praise to say that
Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace is the best
album The Offspring have produced in a
decade.
Here is a band that has consistently
appeared to record the same material re-
peatedly since their break out album, the
record breaking Smash in 1994. Can they
really be blamed? They do their unmis-
takable mix of skate-punk, post-grunge &
ska with (ahem) virtuosity. The conse-
quent range of their cannon doesn’t leave
a lot of scope for differentiation between
the ‘good’ and the ‘bad,’ resulting in a
long period of stale releases. Did “Hit
That” really manage to go anywhere that
“Original Prankster” didn’t? Likewise
from “Original Prankster” back to “Pretty
Fly”? For year’s their best output was
covers of The Police and The Ramones.
So what makes R&G, R&F a return to
form for a band whose biggest liability
has been their lack of ability to extend
beyond their established formula? More
than anything, Dexter Holland’s lyrics
have finally grown up. Once upon a time,
his sarcastic insight was part of the hall-
mark that lifted The Offspring above the
pack. How many mid 20s guys didn’t feel
like they had shamefully shared the same
girl-friend depicted in “Self-esteem”? But
from there, though the wit remained, the
content didn’t do much to mature… until
now.
This is an Offspring album for former
punk-rock kids who are now raising their
own kids - who live in defiance of their
parent’s version of outrage. This is a nos-
talgic sounding album for a generation,
now approaching forty who are following
the 2008 election with trepidation, who
are still angered by the world they’ve
inherited and frustrated at their limited
ability to set it right after all these years.
Thank god it’s fun to listen to The Off-
spring again. How refreshing.
By Kennedy Goodkey
Tanya Morgan
The Bridge EP
IM Culture
Tanya Morgan may be a pretty silly name
for a rap trio, but this is some dope shit
that’s been making heads turn since their
Moonlighting debut drew praise from
XXL, The Source, and made Questlove’s
2006 top ten list. Comprised of Cincin-
nati duo Ilwill (Donwill and Ilyas), and
Brooklyn MC/Producer Von Pea, Tanya
Morgan compare favourably to the “True
School” sounds of Little Brother, heav-
ily influenced by the positive vibes and
everyman realism of De La Soul and A
Tribe Called Quest.
The Bridge Ep is intended to serve as a
bridge between the trio’s former work
and the upcoming full-length release
of “Brooklynati” It also references the
file sharing techniques used to create
Moonlighting when the group still oc-
cupied different cities. Saturated with
compressed soul samples, and featuring
the distinctively syncopated stylings of
three highly skilled MC’s, this EP is like
a satisfying snack that’s wholesome but
spicy, each element carefully arranged to
be savoured by Hip Hop connoisseurs.
Track one The Bridge feat. Elucid rocks
over a catchy Hammond Organ sample
with shuffling percussion and brilliant,
behind the beat flows laying out the
blueprints for this meeting of minds.
Filthier Interlude AKA “Place” calls to
mind Mr. Hood-era KMD, with a 60’s
R+B sample and MC’s rocking to a faster
pace. Bonus track How Low with produc-
tion by Mysterious Productions bumps an
80’s electro beat that should appeal to all
the scarf wearing club kids, but with lazy
rhymes and a mediocre chorus (”how low
can you go?”), hopefully this is just an
experimental diversion.
Mostly though, this is an enjoyable al-
bum, and Tanya Morgan definitely sound
better when talking about real life than
when trying to make club bangers. With
a wide range of styles and a focus on
cultivating an original sound and iden-
tity, expect to hear great things from this
dedicated trio.
By Dave “Corvid” McCallum
Elephant Man
Let’s Get Physical
Bad Boy Records
At least you know what you’re in for
with the cover - a red haired Elephant
Man with the requisite bling (watch,
rings and Jesus piece…) acting the part
of personal trainer for three gold bikinied
dancehall queens. Executive produced by
none other than P. Diddy, this is clearly
El-Man’s attempt to break through into a
larger North American audience.
The first two tracks tread familiar
dancehall ground. “Drop Dead” rocks
double time and “Dem Nah Ready” kicks
the typical misogyny over the classic
“whoomp whoomp” - adequate tracks
that establish the over-amped tempos and
larger than life attitude that characterize
the genre. “Feel the Stream” (featuring
Chris Brown) and “Throw Your Hands
Up” (featuring Rihanna) shift the vibe to
sugary teen pop mixed with Elephant’s
perverted flow, Rihanna’s hook is the
more radio friendly of the two.
Wyclef and Diddy step in on the slower,
more roots-based “Five-O,” a welcome
diversion that attests to Elephant’s gang-
ster status. Swizz Beatz track on “Jump”
is an almost unbearably basic series of
sounds that slam without any concept of
swing or groove, one of the worst beats I
have heard in ages. Even Busta Rhymes
and Shaggy can’t enliven a deadbeat
wanna be banger like “The Way We
Roll.” It’s as though they’ve all become
way too comfortable in these beats and
don’t even try to come up with exciting
flows.
Whereas in North America, it often seems
as though “street” or “gangsta” MC’s
have the better flows while “conscious”
artists usually don’t. Maybe in Jamaica
the opposite principle is in effect - for
all their fanatical fundamentalist beliefs,
no-one can say that Sizzla and Capleton
don’t have unique and inventive styles.
With all the high-profile collabs, Elephant
Man is clearly shooting for a larger,
Hip-Hop/Pop audience, but as much as
I love dancehall in it’s purest forms, this
album is just too basic and uninteresting
to break through.
By Dave “Corvid” McCallum
Magnus Rising
Counting the Numbers
Independent
Born in 2002, like many an act before
them (via bored musicians answering
posters precariously strewn throughout
the city), St. John, Newfoundland’s
power metal quartet, Magnus Rising have
since relocated to the growing musical
hotbed that is Vancouver.
Deciding to gruelingly trudge along in
their musical conquest after a fire de-
stroyed the majority of their equipment,
Magnus Rising deliver straight ahead
power metal, slower than similar acts in
the genre, but ferociously energetic none-
theless, passion dripping from every note.
Their debut full-length, recorded at Fac-
tory and produced by Doug Mix, kicks
off with an almost seven minute metal
opus bequeathed with the album’s title,
Counting the Numbers.
“Whoever said ‘we only really die once’
never really lived,” proclaims a heart
wrenching ballad, “From the Ashes,” in
which guitars whine and the music seems
to bleed. But in very metal way. Fuck
you.
Amongst the standout tracks: the ex-
tremely danceable thrasher “Shallow
End,” the groove laden “Crisis” and the
involuntary headbanger “Evidence In
Safety.”
Showing extreme versatility, the melodic
album weaves its way from torturous
ballads to blistering hair-swinging romps
and is undeniably sincere.
By Kristina Mameli
91
 Mad Shadow
Whitechapel Mad Shadow
This Is Exile Everlast
Love, War and the Independent
Metal Blade Mad Shadow’s self-t
Fuck Yea! Ghost of Whitey Ford
Martyr Inc/Sony debut is a ten track fl
Pure gut stomping, eardrum flattening mindfuck: kind of guitar driven,
This Is Exile, Whitechapel’s second full-length Undoubtedly, one of his best releases to
date, Everlast once again displays his hard-rock sounds tha
release. Seriously, these people have only been Sabbath, Led Zeppel
together a mere two years and they have already magnetic skills on both the mic (see this
Usinger?) and the guitar. Of course we helped to originate ba
created an album that plays solid and engaging 70’s. For those who s
the entire way through. From the first to the last, are referring to him spitting rhymes more
than singing, as he is best known for drix, The Doors, Zep
these tracks grab your attention like the rotted that new music was b
flesh, skeletal grip of a vengeful corpse risen dropping verses alongside Ice-T, House
of Pain and currently with his former same heart and passio
from the dead…. Or something along those the day, check out thi
lines. band mates in the Super-group La Coka
Nostra (including Ill Bill and Necro). band. Every song on
The opening track “Father of Lies” sets the nal, full of heavy gro
pace; no intro, no easing into it-fuck that-this Almost from out of nowhere he has resur-
faced with the Love, War and the Ghost style guitar solos, and
song is all about brutal riffs, drums that don’t let vocals that will have
up and vocals that alternate between extremely of Whitey Ford platter with his unique
stamp of backwoods blues influence, you’re caught in som
low, guttural growls and harsh, piercing demon inducing acid flashba
screams. That’s actually one of the immediately craftily combining rock and hip-hop.
Soulful and honest, this is what enables Mad Shadow consist
noticeable traits of This Is Exile; their vocalist (vocals), Danny Svei
Phil Bozeman is not only very versatile in his his natural ability to churn out a decent
hit track. Mcdonald (drums) an
screams, but even during his lowest vocals, you (bass). Originally for
can still make out what he’s saying, at least for Especially when you turnout a impec-
cable version of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Sveinson (acclaimed
the most part. Another thing you’ll notice right who’s been playing g
away is the low, impenetrable wall of sound cre- Prison Blues,” plop it on top of Cypress
Hill’s “Insane In The Brain” and you ally since the age of 1
ated by Ben Savage (guitar), Alex Wade (guitar), moves beyond the hy
Zach Householder (guitar), Gabe Crisp (bass) my friend are prepared to start drinking
heavily. Danny (now 15) and
and Kevin Lane (drums). the exceptional talen
Yea, that’s right; the boys from Knoxville, Ten- Everlast’s own Martyr Inc. imprint has
more than likely given him the freedom young, up and comin
nessee are a six-piece. They’ve managed to pull like “White Lies,” “R
off what many bands attempt and fail miserably to write how he sees fit, not to mention
a proper direction. This will more than “Mad Shadow” soun
at; to incorporate three guitars and yet maintain a seasoned band of o
a clean sound that evolves and changes swiftly likely give the public an in depth under-
standing of him. In our recent interview roll veterans, not that
without ever sounding muddied or overdone. guys who have only
Throw Gabe and Kevin into the mix and you with Everlast in Issue 7, he talks about
doing little mash-ups here and there and barely over a year.
have an extremely dense yet unpredictable com- While they definitely
bination that is sure to make you shit your pants is now currently engaged in studio work
once again, with Soul Assassin # 1 - DJ classic, signature sou
and that is just the recorded version; imagine moments where thing
what these guys are like live. Muggs.
The Grammy winning singer songwriter familiar. For example
If you live in the States or Canada you will have in the song “Living i
a chance to catch Whitechapel on the Summer and multi–talented musician should be
able to keep his head well above water you swear Jim Morri
Slaughter tour. Be sure to visit their merch table grabbed the mic. Not
while you’re at it and pick up a copy of This Is with this album, from his legion of loyal
fans and hopefully some new ones. too much, Erik Olufs
Exile. You definitely won’t regret it!! vocalist whose unwa
By E.S. Day soulful voice is alrea
By Alxs Ness that would make man
vocalists more than j
There are times, how

CD REVIEWS
like he may be chann
ert Plant just a little t
all criticisms aside its
guys are staying true
they love and are not
it for the sake of selli
it up boys!

By Alxs Ness
92
 Melvins Judas Priest
Nude With Boots Nostradamus
Ipecac Records Epic/SonyBMG
titled, full-length Kings of cerebral chaos-core (a.k.a the Bobby H. & The JP’s have gone and done
flashback into the Melvins) return to familiar “clothing op- the improbable: a 2-disc concept album.
, blues-influenced, tional” stomping grounds with their latest As you know, concept albums are for
at bands like Black release Nude With Boots. Sporting the musicians who cannot write a regular
lin and AC/DC same lineup as their previous album (A) album, thus blanketing the foul stench of
ack in the 60’s and Senile Animal (including Jared Warren un-originality and blatant laziness in the
still listen to Hen- and Coady Willis of Big Business), Nude songwriting department.
ppelin, etc and wish With Boots allows King Buzzo and Dale It seems Glen, K.K. and the rest of the
being made with the Crover to prove, beyond a shadow of a tribe have done the un-doable. They have
on like it was back in fucking doubt, that 20+ years into their set themselves up with a weak attempt
is young, B.C based amazing musical career, they still remain at drumming up enough sales to garner a
this album is origi- one of the most dynamic and unique call from every talent buyer in every mar-
oove riffs, old-school bands in existence. ket in North America, even before wav-
d raunchy blues style Bottom scraping bass, duel drums-a- ing a white flag at the European Festival
you feeling like gogo, guitars up to twelve (fuck eleven!) Producers for any and every available
me sort of time-travel and Buzzo’s stereophonic vocals will slot known to man and metal in 2008.
ack. pierce right to the very core of your jelly Ironically the Lita Ford track “Run With
ts of Erik Olufson spine, leaving you a puddle of goo large The $” was playing in the background
inson (guitars), Josh enough to piss your roommates off when after my third attempt at reviewing this
nd Tyler Lindgrin they attempt to stumble around you all monstrosity of a metal mess. Running
rmed around Danny hung-over the next morning. I mean this with it is exactly what they are doing and
d guitar prodigy shit is tight! I don’t expect to hear from Judas Priest
guitar profession- Like its predecessor, Nude With Boots for awhile after the touring season dies
10), Mad Shadow highlights the might and majesty that are down… along with the publics respect.
ype surrounding the Melvin’s trademarks. Eleven songs After throwing my copy of Nostradamus
truly encompasses of heavy fucking grooves that take the into our CD donation box (which we give
nt and skill of all four cookie cutter childishness of today’s to underprivileged kids in Vancouver), it
ng musicians. Tracks popular music, kick it square in the balls was decided that that was the right thing
Reflections” and and send it home to Mum with a note tell- to do and something good has to come
nd like the product of ing her to “STOP BREEDING!” out of this. Even the diehards are com-
old-school rock and Fitting Nude With Boots into the library plaining and hocking their CDs to put the
t of a group of young of Melvin’s recordings is no easy task. money behind some overpriced concert
been together just First there’s the sonic ramblings of “Dog tickets.
Island,” which would be just at home on Like one giant song that doesn’t know
y have established a Bullhead as it is here. Then there’s “Dies where its going, there is nothing even
und, there are some Iraea” (a famous thirteenth century Latin remotely close to the shivering up the
gs sound a little too hymn), which sounds like Ennio Mor- spine you can still find after a listen to
e, there’s a section ricone after too much mescaline. “Suicide “Exciter” from Stained Class, or the title
in the Past” where In Progress” is about as accessible as the track from Painkiller with Scott Travis
ison just broke in and Melvins get here, rivaling anything on going balls out. There’s not even a radio
t to harp on the guy Stoner Witch as far as pure discombobu- friendly track like half of British Steel to
son is a phenomenal lation and songwriting mayhem goes. complain about. It’s just that simple. This
avering, powerful yet Finally, the title track “Nude With Boots” release can only be summed up as the
ady at such a quality shows the boys in all their demented only legit reason to hit the road without
ny experienced rock glory, with two minutes of instrumental looking like you need to hit the road.
just a little envious. wanking before the vocals even kick in. Too bad Nostradamus did not predict that
wever when it seems Pumping them out faster than a barefoot as well.
neling his inner Rob- Catholic mother these days, the Melvins
too much. Anyways, have put together yet another disc worthy By E.S. Day
s great that these of your feeble pop encrusted eardrums.
e to the music that With the imminent release of Nude With
t trying to bastardize Boots only one question remains, are you
ing ‘records’. Keep worthy of the Melvins?

By Grimm “Electroretard” Culhane

93
DVD REVIEWS
Earache “My
Eye”
Various Artists
MVD Visual
Earache’s re-release
of their 1999 music video compila-
tion My Eye could not have come at
a better time. With so many newer
metal bands around it’s nice to take a
look at some old school heavy hitters
who have had a major influence on
them. It is also a pretty smart move
on Earache’s part considering that
many of these artists have been dis-
banded for over a decade and some
of this material is considered rare.
Favorably, My Eye offers diversity
in band styles and video content.
Despite the differences, the 90’s
vibe runs strong the entire way
through; repetitive, straightforward
riffs, industrial influences, Dr. Marten
boots and low-budget video produc-
tion. The only disclaimer I would offer
before viewing this compilation is not
to expect anything more then what
it claims to be: a collection of music
videos from the 90’s. That is to say,
there aren’t any special features or
reworkings to be found on this one.
Arguably, the “low-budget” feel of
the DVD stays true to the times and
allows the videos and songs to stand
on their own.
For those of us who grew up in the
nineties, this compilation offers some
pretty intense flash-backs. Some
highlights include Godflesh’s “Crush
My Soul” and At the Gates’ “Blinded
by Fear.” “Crush my Soul” starts the
compilation with scenes of roosters
being prepped for a cockfight. The
intensity of these scenes permeates
through the entire video and helps
to increase the intensity of the track
itself. “Blinded by Fear,” in hindsight,
seems like a strong precursor to
where metal has gone within this
decade. Plus, who does not love see-
ing a woman grinding a power tool on
her cod piece…seriously…
By Alxs Ness
94
(hed) p.e.
The D.I.Y. Guys Fan of the
Suburban Noize
Dead
With the East Coast being
Directed by Nicolas
the predominate ruler of all things Rap-
Garreau
MVD Visual
core, the crew at L.A. based Suburban
Fans of the Living
Noize Records have certainly found a
Dead series rejoice! Although this
way to keep the genre alive with a visual-
hour long “documentary” by George A.
ly debauched compilation of live concert
Romero enthusiast Nicolas Garreau
footage from crossover kings (hed) p.e.
plays out like a French tourist video,
Captured live from Hollywood’s Key
there is enough content and interesting
Club, we are treated to 13 tracks that
“behind the Dead” stories here to satisfy
clearly shows their surroundings and why
all perambulatory postmortem puritans.
and how the ultimate mash up of Metal,
Garreau travels all the way from France
Punk Hip-Hop and Hardcore have come
with his trusty video camera to visit film-
together into a melting pot of aggressive
ing locations in the Pennsylvania coun-
and rebellious sub-genres.
tryside where the legendary cult classic
Tracks from their current Insomnia album
Living Dead series was shot. Meeting
are showcased, plus Singer/MC, activ-
original cast members at the Pittsburgh
ist and blunt-blazing ogre Jared sports a
Comic-Con and asking sophomoric
ghastly coat of face paint, coupled with
questions in broken English is done one
his angry verses and the bands more
better with visits to shooting locations as
than competent ability to pound out the
well as hands on training with original
old school beats, they throw in an Rob
props from the Living Dead movies.
Zombie Clone on the “1’s & 2’s” and we
A definite find for the comic book mind-
have one hell of a visual ride
ed, marvel as Nicolas and a large group
Could do without the “skits” mind you,
of “Dead” enthusiasts are taken on a
may appeal to some, but if album skits
guided tour of the basement featured in
drive you nuts a DVD version may have
Night of the Living Dead. Ooo and awe
you fast forwarding to the meat of the
as your faithful narrator and videogra-
matter. Still worth purchasing for the live
pher roams through the Monroeville Ma
footage and the bonus cuts.
featured in Dawn of the Dead. Bust off
It’s a masochistic mash-up of L.A.
the top of your head and spray blood
Hip-Hop Gangsters Vs. NYC Hardcore
everywhere as bus load after bus load
punks, with a slight nod the dark side…
of people who still live with their parents
and it feels just right
roam the military base where soldiers
and scientists hid out the zombie apoca
Tracklisting:
lypse in Day of the Dead. Its all here, in
1. Madhouse
glorious… colour?
2. Not Ded Yet
Save yourself the cost of a stay in a
3. Game Over
Pittsburgh hostel and a potential nasty
4. Peer Pressure
death when the dead roam the Pennsyl
5. Sophia
vania countryside once again by enjoy-
6. The Truth
ing this video in the comfort of your own
7. RTO
home. Although there is no actual foot-
8. Niteclub In Bali
age from the Living Dead films them-
9. Get Em Up
selves, this is still a decent companion
10. War On The Middle Class*
to Mr. Romero’s masterworks even if Mr
11. Ordo Ab Chao*
Garreau’s English is hard to understand
12. Bloodfire*
at times.
13. Real Talk
(Instrumental From DIY Guys DVD)
*Previously Unreleased
By Grimm “Dead Looking” Culhane
By E.S. Day
 Lamb of God
Walk With Me In Hell
Epic/SonyBMG
Lamb of God’s newest DVD release, Walk
with Me in Hell is a straightforward, gritty portrayal of
the band after Sacrament (their newest CD released in
2006). This double-disc set contains two feature length
documentaries as well as a complete performance from
the 2006 Download Festival.
Both discs delve into the mannerisms and personalities
of Randy, Chris, Willie, John and Mark and the contri-
butions that each member makes to the group. In true
Lamb of God fashion, the world is let in to see the many
setbacks that were encountered on tour as well as the
personal issues that they had to face while trying to work
y together. What makes Walk With Me In Hell a standout
against similar band documentaries, besides the incred-
e ible live footage, is that you get a strong sense of the
- reality of life in this band, as opposed to hyped up drama.
In addition, the editing and production of the DVD itself is
professionally done. Much effort has been put in by the
band and staff to give this DVD a professional, film-like
feel.
e Disc one reveals the grueling, two-year touring regimen
s that L.O.G undertook in support of Sacrament. Crossing
the world three times over, we are given a behind the
scenes look at the blood, sweat and tears necessary to
make a tour go smoothly (or not, in some cases). From
p the excitement and adrenaline of the Unholy Alliance,
Megadeth and Ozzfest shows, to their not-so-exciting
n experience with the Heaven and Hell tour, it is a roller
coaster ride the whole way through and not a detail is
spared. As well, we get to see the lengths in which the
all boys must sometimes go in order to entertain themselves
while on the road; some of this shit is downright hilarious!
The second disc starts off with a look at the writing pro-
s cess for Sacrament. In the beginning stages we’re able to
witness ideas and riffs slowly coming together. For musi-
a- cians, the opportunity to see how some of these killer
songs take shape is really interesting. Once the songs
are basically formed, the camera then takes us into the
studio for the pre-production sessions with Machine (who
also produced Ashes of the Wake). Watching Machine
- work with each member and sometimes seeing them
battle it out (not literally) over certain ideas is really cool.
n then watch Black and Gold, and watch it again.
All in all Walk With Me in Hell is very entertaining and
easy to watch. Whether you’re a die-hard L.O.G fan or
just enjoy observing some crazy guys doing some crazy
r. shit, this DVD set is definitely a must have for any metal-
d head. .
By Alxs Ness
Black and Gold
Directed by Rick Rowley
Big Noise Films
For all the strugglers and sufferers of
whatever origin, this film is an inspira-
tional kick in the ass to rise up and unify in the face
of oppression. This is the story of the Latin Kings
- who in 1994 made the transformation from NYC’s
largest street gang, into the Latin King and Queen
Nation - a revolutionary socialist organization dedi-
cated to uplifting community and influenced by the
Black Panthers and the Young Lords.
Through interviews with members and spokespeo-
ple like King Tone and Puerto Rican revolutionary
Richie Perez, the word is made flesh - the story of
the marginalized Latin community in the US and
the government approved program of self -destruc-
tion through gang violence and internal conflict.
Most surprising is the local priest who, embracing
the King and Queen Nation and casting it in a Bibli-
cal perspective references Jesus - “who lived in the
ghetto just as you all do for thirty years, and when
he took his Nation downtown…they killed him in
three weeks!”.
When minority people are engaged in a lethal
struggle for survival that keeps them from mani-
festing their own destiny, Uncle Sam is A-OK, but
when the same community rallies around social-
ist principles and restructures for autonomy, you
know he’s bringing in the big guns - and thus the
Nation was subjected to one of the biggest round-
ups in American “history” - over ninety Latin Kings
were arrested on various trumped up charges, with
founder King Blood given one of the most outra-
geous sentences ever - life with no parole, with a
minimum of 45 years solitary confinement !
What is truly inspiring to me is that the Nation is
one of the most visibly multi-racial communities I’ve
seen, with Kings and Queens ranging from black
to white to Hispanic to Asian looking (by American
visual race categorization standards anyway), with
the common bond of language, community and cul-
ture that bonds them as family and separates them
from Anglo America’s self-righteous insanity.
If you want to hear inspired and inspiring words
from youth and elders in a community that has
more to say and more depth of feeling than can be
put in the dirty language of the English overlords,
Ultimately it’s all about Amor del Rei - King’s Love,
the meaning of which is obvious in the eyes of all
the King’s - men who have faced death, oppres-
sion, and destruction both internal and external,
and have used it to become something so much
greater.
By Dave “Corvid” McCallum
95
Heaven and Hell
Live From Radio City Music Hall
2007
Rhino Records
Once upon a time (between the
years of 1968 and 1979) there
was a little band called Black Sabbath, and it was
good. During this time fairies wore boots behind
the wall of sleep while sweet leaf was enjoyed un-
der the sun and every day came and went. A hole
in the sky developed (due to the thrill of it all), and
megalomania became a symptom of the universe.
A rock ‘n roll doctor was called in amidst cries of
“you won’t change me,” but the shockwave was too
great and a hard road became almost impassible,
leaving the band to lament their situation at the
cross roads between heaven and hell. Although
never say die was on everyone’s lips, the end
seemed imminent.
Fortunately an impish gnome by the name of Ron-
nie James Dio came along (between the years
of 1979 and 1982) and breathed new life into the
band by successfully conjuring the children of the
sea from the wishing well and convincing all that
to die young was not an option. Although only two
albums were produced during this time, legions of
loyal fans were transfixed by their voodoo and all
doubt was removed from the minds of fools as to
the fact that the mob still rules!
Fast forward to 2007 and the Rhino Records DVD
release of Heaven and Hell - Live from Radio City
Music Hall. Like a step back in time through the
shadow of the wind, Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iom-
mi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice, re-assemble
(as Heaven and Hell) at New York’s most famous
theatre and collectively recreate some of the most
memorable musical moments in Sabbath history.
Falling off the edge of the world never sounded
(nor looked) so good, for this is one of the most
impressive concert videos you’re ever likely to see.
Doubtlessly, the Devil cried under the sign of the
Southern cross as he watched these neon knights
go through their iconic paces, defying all naysayers
and afore mentioned fools for whom lonely is the
“only” word.
Fans, roadies and band members themselves get
a chance to turn up the night in some informa-
tive, poignant and down right hilarious short films
included in the DVD bonus material. As one ardent
and almost rabid fan (aka Lady Evil) succinctly
puts it. “we can all relate to evil.” With evil looking
and sounding this good, truer words have never
been spoken.
By Grimm Culhane
96
Onyx
15 Years of Videos, History
and Violence
MVD Visual
The original hardcore of Fredro Starr, Sonny Seeza, Big
DS and Stick Fingaz bears little resemblance to this blinged
out era of fake gangster posturing and materialistic excess,
recalling a time of boots, fatigues, blunts and gats with nary
a diamond in sight - the only gems being the lyrics screamed
from the scorched throats of rappers whose every syllable
counts. A time when hardcore meant both Metal and Hip
Hop, and fans of both could “Slam” to the sounds of Onyx
and Biohazrd.
This retrospective DVD features seventeen videos, with
bonus commentary by Fredro and Sticky letting us know that
those were real guns and real bottles breaking over Sticky’s
head (and which of the video vixens they bagged…). The
bonus documentary “Underground Funk” features a lot of real
blunts, cameos from a very young Ja Rule, Biggie, Nas and
others, and enough behind the scenes footage to give a real
feel for the Queensbridge way of life in all it’s rugged, back-
woods flavoured beauty. These guys came up from the hood
for real - financing their early videos themselves and rolling in
“real deep…no extras”, carefully tailoring a sound and image
of relentless intensity.
Later videos like “React” featuring Still Livin’, X-1 and a
young 50 Cent, and “The Worst” featuring the Wu Tang Clan
get more creative and entertaining with the plotlines and
stunts, and “Broke Willies” pushes the silliness a little too far
with the Onyx crew all pimped out 70’s style. At least they
admit to not liking it themselves in the commentary.
Onyx represent a movement in Hip Hop that is street, and yet
in their own words “conscious” - conscious of the realities of
ghetto life and willing to portray it honestly in their lyrics. The
video shoot footage proves that they had mad respect in the
streets, and the fact that they refused to cater to the tastes of
their time has both kept them from mainstream success and
secured them a place in the underground pantheon. I mean,
can you imagine “Throw Ya Gunz” dropping in ‘08? People
are in a coma these days, it’s probably the syzzurp.
Bonus Materials:
* Photo Gallery
* Slam karaoke
* Soul Train Awards footage
* Optional audio commentary on all seventeen Onyx music
videos.
* Exclusive behind the scenes documentary showcasing 15
years of insanity, live performances, music video shoots,
interviews, studio sessions, personal moments and freestyles
www.onyxdomain.com
By Dave “Corvid” McCallum

Gross Out
Directed by Bill Osco
Pipeline Productions
Written by Phillip P.
Pillsburry and directed
by Bill Osco, the 1991 film Gross
Out is a painfully low-budget story
of a disgusting family in California
who collectively get off on all that is
horrendous or offensive in any way,
shape or form. The overall premise
of this film is that a wealthy mother
challenges her three children to
make a film so disgusting that it
makes her vomit. Captivated yet?
If the idea of throwing 2 Girls 1 Cup
on a plate for dinner and serving
up Booger from Nerds for dessert
makes you hungry, then maybe this
is the film for you. Drink it down and
enjoy every last putrid drop. I had
trouble appreciating the humour due
to the fact that this film seemed to
have been created by a couple of
grade 6 drop-outs. Your eyes may
well bleed for a week after dragging
yourself through this film.
For those of you that would like your
cake without having to eat the thing
too, I’ll gladly give you a brief char-
acter description to chew on. The
mother was an overweight Elvira,
the daughter was Charles Man-
son’s failed lobotomy patient and
the two sons were the poster child
for Tourette’s and a whiner wearing
90’s fluorescent plastic shades. Oh,
and we can’t forget the guy who was
painted up to be the early 1900’s
racially stereotypical black guy. And
there I was thinking this flick was
shallow.
I’m going to keep this review short
in hopes that you’ll get my point.
Don’t buy this film. Watch it if you
are getting paid to do so. In which
case, question whether it’d be more
productive to spend 82 minutes
pondering what the owner of the
national chain of Osco Drug stores
was thinking when directing a piece
of crap like this.
By Russ Foxx
russfoxx.com
Joe Strummer
The
Future Is
Unwritten
Directed by Julien
Temple
Sony BMG
After the fact that The Clash had taken
its toll on Strummer (both through tour-
ing and recording), his heart was ulti-
mately with music and his inert ability
at touching peoples souls was some-
thing that had to be cherished after in-
dulging is this; a lengthy documentary
of the singer/songwriter’s journey.
Taken back to his childhood in which
his mother’s musical influence took
a grasp of his “unwritten future,” his
attendance at a Mexican School and
the cultural meeting of the minds are
displayed as The Clash is formed,
chopped and processed by the North
American media and manipulated
by its greed for a new and satisfying
market.
The Sex Pistols had died down and
without a doubt The Clash and Strum-
mers’ attitude had indeed arrived in
America, fed up with the mendacious
media hype that shrouded the band
themselves, Strummer had no inten-
tion of letting the same happen to him
nor The Clash with his public display of
vituperation.
Celebrity thoughts around a campfire
are interwoven throughout, and of
course, some would have been better
off being stuck on the end of a twig
and held over the open flame (Matt
Dillon, John Cusack). Martin Scorsese
pokes his head in to say hello, we
are enlightened on his other pairings
including William Burroughs, Ginsberg
et al. We’re also taken on a journey
were you see The Mescalero’s point of
entry, and of course his infamous radio
show that ended up recruiting listen-
ers in the millions which had become a
sport of turning people on to new and
odd music
A music scholar in his own right,
Strummer himself sums it up at the
very end “It’s about finding strange re-
cords and learning from them” and for
music lovers everywhere, that alone
should be the greatest lesson of all .
By E.S. Day
Dead Boys
Return Of The
Living Dead
Boys: Hallow-
een Night 1986
MVD Visual
More of what you’ve come to expect
from the people at MVD Visual with the
release of Dead Boys - Return Of The
Living Dead Boys: Halloween Night
1986. These guys at MVD just don’t
let up (and more power to them)! This
time around Dead Boys Stiv, Cheetah,
Johnny, Jeff and Jimmy get the cameras
pointed at them in a live, rare Halloween
performance from 1986 (just like the title
says, go figure). Introduced by long time
fan and friend Joey Ramone, this live set
captures the filth, fury and fascination the
Dead Boys produced in their all too short
career
Filmed at The Ritz in New York City, this
is a fitting tribute to the spectacle and tal-
ent of one of punk’s true originators. With
power riff laden tracks like “High Tension
Wire,” “Caught With The Meat In Your
Mouth” and “Sonic Reducer” (which they
play twice no less) as well as a cover of
the Stooges track “Search and Destroy,”
the Dead Boys mean business and busi-
ness is good.
Wardrobe changes, stage diving, mullet
headed bouncers strong arming cos-
tumed fans, skinny white boys singing
about “food” (aka “I Need Lunch”), its
all here in glorious punk-a-delic colour
and slam-a-riffic sound. Cheetah rips
through his solos like this is his last gig
ever while Stiv paces and addresses the
audience on topics ranging from Mama
Cass to Johnny Wadd. Although his rants
date this video, Stiv is insightful, true and
fucking hilarious not only onstage, but
in the rare 1980 TV interview included
in the bonus features as well. Check out
the super rare video for “Sonic Reducer”
too.
Banging out 17 songs in less than 50
minutes is an impressive task and the
Dead Boys make it look effortless.
Dead Boys - Return Of The Living Dead
Boys: Halloween Night 1986 is definitely
another DVD not only suited for punk
rock enthusiasts, but any self respect-
ing musician who wants to know how its
done correctly
By Grimm “Dead Boy” Culhane
97
Voivod
D-V-O-D-1
MVD Visual
Voivod’s first official
DVD features vid-
eos, live footage and
behind the scenes
material from the
original line-up period
of 1983-1991. At just over eighty
minutes, this collection showcases
Voivod’s development from sci-fi influ-
enced thrash to the neo industrial 90’s
prog rock sounds of Nothingface. It is
also in a way a tribute to the late great
Denis “Piggy” D’Amour (who passed
away in 2005 after a long battle with
cancer), whose highly unique guitar
style (half Alex Lifeson, half Kerry
King) is clearly the driving force be-
hind both their live performance and
their intricate studio work.
Voivod’s progression from straight
thrash to their 1989 cover of Syd Bar-
rett era Pink Floyd classic “Astronomy
Domine” recalls a time when heavy
music made forays into both “indus-
trial” and “alternative” sounds, when
categories were fluid and bands as
diverse as Voivod, Soundgarden, and
Faith No More could play to audienc-
es open to a wide range of sounds.
The “Astronomy Domine” video broke
huge new ground for Voivod and was
in regular rotation on Much Music.
Much of the aesthetic content of the
videos is based on the drawings
of Michel “Away” Langevin, whose
cartoonishly creepy depictions of a
world of nightmare technology and
“Ravenous Medicine” evolved from
his upbringing in the industrial town of
Longueuil, and which gave birth to the
very concept of the Voivod - a psychic
vampire lurking in the wasteland of
humanity’s soul.
Bonuses include two live demos
- 1984’s “Morgoth Invasion” and
’87’s Montreal Spectrum show, plus
behind the scenes footage - more
than enough material to satiate even
the most devout fan. Look forward to
more collections of material from the
later incarnations of Voivod, when
Eric Forrest took over vocals and four-
string for a time, and when Metallica’s
Jason Newsted stepped up to bass.
By Dave “Corvid” McCallum
98
Doomsday
(Unrated – Widescreen Ed.)
Directed by Neil Marshall
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
“Mad Max: Beyond Sherwood Forest”
Monty Python should have had a hand
in this as the Holy Grail theme is scat- Rock
tered throughout this odd assortment of Stars
blatant attempts at sweeping some plot Directed By
thievery under the screenwriters (now) filthy little carpet. Anthony Quinn
We have all the makings of a Resident Evil scenario: Set 8-Ball Prod/MVD
in the future (2035), a virus for which there is no known A real tardy and blata
cure, a copy and paste female hero Rhona Mitra, (with addicted cocaine abu
the same attitude, stance and haircut as Milla Jovovich inhabit the backwood
in the Resident Evil series) ) she too- is the only savior of New Jersey. This “
and weapons expert, surviving grotesque inhuman beat- really does no justice
ings, and all the while keeping enough energy, breath bastards as they pran
and wit to spew out a few one-liners, while in captivity. and parade themselv
She was better off being animated in Beowulf the camera for nimble
who know nothing of
Toss in some rejects from the first round of the Sigue yond their own insecu
Sigue Sputnik auditions and any surviving Plasmatic and everyone endures da
you have your villains. Mel Gibson in not in this film, but Unlike the crack addi
should have been - since it really is Mad Max but set in Vancouver, these peo
Glasgow, Scotland and an already infected, surrounding be throughly enjoying
England.. Not one to complain about the Brits and Scots, Not one to scatter up
they still somewhat pull this off better than it would camera in front of the
have been done had it been produced on U.S. soil. Bob ticipants involved are
Hoskins makes a dim-witted Father figure appearance, happy to oblige.
as does Malcolm McDowell who should have pulled out “Dangerous , hilariou
a few war tactics from the Guccione version of Caligula geous ” are the appar
just for authenticity sake if anything. of crack use accordin
cover. Too bad the dir
It could be Underworld Part. 3 minus the werewolves ing this this as in the
and Vampires, (ironically, Ms. Mitra is actually star- Bumfights, Crackwho
ring in the next installment of Underworld) but then the and more. This has a
zombie-like mutants are too fast and dodgy like in the entertainment value w
“28 Days/Weeks” series. If you need some Hollywood nor does it inform the
cheese spread on acrimoniously you can count on The insight into the realtie
Descent director Neil Marshall having copped a feel off addiction.
of Walter Hill at a drive-in, as the boys gratuitously lift the Hit up the corner Colu
chase scene (complete with souped-up post- apocalyptic ings at anytime of the
bus) from The Warriors, after they are spotted by the Vancouver if you wan
AC Turnbulls. Have 2 TV’s? Play them side by side and Just hide your camer
watch that in horror. what’s good for you.
So take it for what it may be worth. More satisfying to
watch the original five of the six films that this “borrows” By E.S. Day
from.
Doomsday indeed.
BONUS FEATURES :
• The Visual Effects of Doomsday
• Guns and Gadgets breakdown
• Commentary
• Surviving the Apocalypse: What to Wear?
• How To Use this DVD as a coaster
By E.S. Day
 Liberty in Restraint
Directed by Michael Ney and
Frank Shields
MVD Visual
Liberty in Restraint is Mi-
chael Ney and Frank Shields’
intensely informative and il-
lustrative documentary on Noel
Graydon, a photographer-turned-dungeon
master-turned-family man. This film gener-
ously depicts Noel’s personal experiences
as a professional photographer and carries
viewers alongside his journeys through
ant poke at Australia’s BDSM scene (BDSM - bond-
users who age/discipline, dominance/submission,
ds communities sado-masochism), his drug addictions and
“documentary” recovery as well as fatherhood.
e to these poor In this film viewers will learn about a world
nce around of rope artists, lapsed Catholics, pain
ves in front of sluts, adult babies, electro-torture, blood
e minded fucks and needle play. Activities such as these
addiction be- were Noel’s artistic influences and soon
ure vices that led him to put a hold on his photography in
aily order to fully indulge himself in his passion;
icts here in dungeon life. These fetishes were not only
ople seem to extremely well-represented by the artists
g themselves. involved in this film, but also showed that
pon seeing a these activities are not debilitating and
em the par- always practiced under safe, sane and
e more than consensual circumstances by experienced
professionals.
us and outra- This is an extremely resourceful film for
rent effects both the fetish novice and extremist alike.
ng to the back It not only sheds light and entails many
rector is milk- different aspects and types of bondage and
tradition of fetishes, but it also explains the positive
ores Gone Wild reasons that these fetishes exist and are
absolutely no practiced to this day. Liberty in Restraint will
whatsoever, surely delve you into depths of imagination
e viewer or give and desires that you didn’t realize existed.
es of cocaine These fetishists will show you that BDSM
should be approached as “an advanced
umbia & Hast- driving course in sex” rather than a stigmat-
e day here in ic, freaky goth thing.
nt the real deal. If you are looking to spice things up in your
ra if you know sex life or to simply learn about what else
is out there, this is a great documentary to
check out. It definitely brought light to a few
ideas that I thought looked pretty fun, now
I’m finding myself wanting to go out and
learn the art of rope tying. All in all very in-
formative as well as explicit, so be advised
that watching it with the volume turned up
may turn some heads.
More information, photos and video clips at
the official website:LibertyInRestraint.com
By Russ Foxx
Lee “Scratch” Perry in
Concert - The
Ultimate Alien
Live in Brighton, England
MVD Visual
From start to finish, this is a testa-
ment to how truly strange (if not
completely insane) Lee Perry is.
With his diminutive frame be-
decked in kingly garments and sporting a gold plated
cap (with various international currencies stuck
inside), being led to the stage by his gorgeous as-
sistant and fronting an all-white band of overly serious
European rocksteady rockstars, Scratch is clearly in
a world of his own - a world thick with paradox and
saturated with his infuriatingly wise yet totally schizo-
phrenic ramblings.
At first glance this seems like a pick-up band provided
by the venue, but after seeing them tear through
Perry’s tracks with ruthless discipline you’ll realize
he must have chosen them for more than just visual
irony, although the voluptuous twin blondes are clearly
there only for visual enhancement. Perry’s opener “I
Am a Madman” contains more esoteric logic and off
beat references than an Aesop Rock track, with one
of the best lines - “live inna de country, riding on de
donkey/ hee haw hee haw I’m a country boy.”
Scratch treads the line between juvenile humour and
darker prophetic pronouncements from his Rasta
reasoning. The clearly repressed and jaded Eurotrash
crowd are progressively moved to dancing by classics
like “Tighten Up” and are admonished to “save your
life” by not eating meat or smoking cigarettes. Some
may have trouble deciphering Perry’s garbled vocal
tone (half gargoyle/half leprechaun), and it’s often
hard to tell whether he is improvising or not.
The extra features further substantiate a diagnosis of
full-blown psychosis, especially the ads he made for
Guinness - featuring Lee cavorting in Dublin with a
statue of James Joyce, holding court in a pub with a
human brain and sitting in a bathtub in the desert. The
interview attests to his “extraterrestrial heart” as he
smokes a king sized spliff and pontificates on growing
up, music, herb and the meaning of life.
Perhaps the depth and profundity of his knowledge is
too much for his elfin frame, but Lee “Scratch” Perry’s
physical manifestation on this earth is very much out
of synch with the thought patterns of average hu-
mans. In him wisdom and insanity are one and the
Ultimate Alien confounds, confuses and inspires with
his visionary sounds and lyrics. What else would you
expect from the man who ran the infamous “Black
Ark” studio in 1970’s Jamaica, recorded Bob Marley
and the Wailers, forged the sound and style of dub,
and then burned his own studio to the ground before
throwing his mixer into a cesspool because they were
possessed by devils?
By Dave “Corvid” McCallum
99
FILM R EVIEWS
Just Buried
Directed by Chaz Thorne
Seville Pictures
Many Canadian films wear their
nationality on their sleeve to their
detriment (Bon Cop, Bad Cop I
am looking at you). This is not
to say that is shameful to be a Canadian film,
or an inherently bad thing to be proud of it, but
those that go out of their way to be recognized as
one usually do so in ways which detract from the
charms of the movie.
Just Buried is not one of those films. Writer/Direc-
tor Chaz Thorne revels in the freedom of being
a film-maker unshackled by the constraints of
Hollywood expectations and does so to great
effect, winning the best director prize at the At-
lantic Film Festival in the process. He is content
to simply allow his film to be Canadian. Attentive
eyes will identify Nove Scotia license plates and
familiar bank logos, but no self-conscious beavers,
toques, or hockey sticks.
Just Buried follows the life of Oliver Whynaught
following his inheritance of the least of two funeral
homes in ‘a town where no one is dying.’ To say
more would be to ruin 90 minutes of delightfully
and increasingly black surprises. While one scene
goes beyond the call of duty for unnecessary
gross-out effect, the comic complications of Just
Buried stack one on top of each other like stiffs in
(uh, a ‘very funny’) morgue.
As Oliver, Jay Baruchel (notably seen all ‘pink-
eyed’ in Knocked Up) is as fantastically weird a
hero as has been seen in Canadian cinema since
Don McKellar in Highway 61 and the rest of the
film is populated by a host of quirky maritime char-
acters who each walk right up to the limit of believ-
ability for admirable comic effect.
Canada needs more films like this. Go see Just
Buried and encourage Canadian film makers to
express their voices with subtlety and impunity the
same way Chaz Thorne boldly does.
By Kennedy Goodkey
100
Meditate and Destroy
Directed by Sarah Fisher
Blue Lotus Films
*PLUS* Afterparty featuring 49th
Peril, The Easy Brothers and The
Mags
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Lucky Bar - Victoria, BC.
According to author, teacher, coun-
selor and ex-reprobate Noah Levine,
Buddhism is the most punk rock thing there is. This
is a bold statement from someone who’s done time
as a teenager for drugs and violence, attempted
suicide multiple times and identifies with the “punk”
lifestyle for his sense of self. Although the prac-
tice of Buddhism is against the stream to some,
in Sarah Fisher’s new documentary Meditate and
Destroy, Noah gets the chance to discuss living a
hard, fast life, hitting rock bottom and how he found
Buddha there waiting for him.
As the best selling author of Dharma Punx: A
Memoir and Against the Stream, Noah has forged
himself quite an interesting niche, helping disen-
franchised youth and spiritual seekers by translat-
ing ancient cultural beliefs into modern spirituality.
Even if your father is an American poet, author and
teacher like Noah’s is, we must all suffer to know
what suffering is.
Presented in a “talking heads” style (with a rather
unique animated portion), director Fisher lets Noah,
his friends and colleagues and the people involved
with the Buddha Revolution tell it as it is from the
inside out. Noah’s insights into how we are condi-
tioned by consumerism to avoid spirituality and how
unwise it is to “furnish a burning house” are both
refreshing and thought provoking and make sense
of the plethora of accolades he receives throughout
the film from fans and followers.
From crack-head kid to Dharma punk, Meditate
and Destroy delves into existential conundrums
and shows that finding peace within one’s self isn’t
always easy. This film may not answer everyone’s
existential queries, but it’ll sure make you think.
by Grimm “Kismet” Culhane
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
Directed by Jon Knautz
Brookstreet Pictures
Regardless of how fucked up we
become in this life, eventually we
all have to face our demons. Some
demons are easier to deal with than
others however, but none are worse than those
faced by the title character in director Jon Knautz’s
new film, Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer.
After watching his family slaughtered by a monster
as a child, Jack Brooks (Trevor Matthews) has
grown into a bitter, resentful young plumber who
visits a shrink in hopes of coming to terms with
his anger issues. As if that weren’t challenging
enough, Jack’s high pitched girlfriend Eve (Ra-
chel Skarsten) treats him like dirt, his night-school
classmates regard him as nothing more than a
short fuse and his chemistry professor (Robert En-
glund) is more likely to reward Jack for his plumb-
ing skills than he is for his school work. What is a
poor plumber besot upon by demons left and right
likely to do? Well, in Jack’s case, slay them… and
slay them well.
Trevor Matthews as Jack Brooks is the per-
fect reluctant hero, working out his angst in the
shrink’s office as much as he does on demons
themselves. Robert Englund gives one of his best
comedic performances as the demon heart finding
(and ingesting) Professor Crowley, whose transfor-
mation into the “Prof Monster” is truly remarkable.
Another stand out role here is the ancient hard-
ware store clerk Howard, played by celebrated
Canadian actor David Fox. His slow delivery and
sleepy foreboding is both fucking creepy and fuck-
ing hilarious!
Not since Shaun of the Dead has horror/com-
edy gotten such a much-needed shot in the arm,
face, solar plexus and genitals. The first episode
of what will prove to be the next big horror fran-
chise is, in Robert Englund’s own words, “a party
movie.” With humor reminiscent of the Evil Dead
trilogy and horror much akin to Dario Argento, this
film works by remaining an unpretentious homage
to 80’s gross-out horror, a decade when they still
knew how to scare as much as they knew how to
party.
CHECK BACK FOR GRIMM CULHANE’S
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ROBERT
ENGLUND, TREVOR MATTHEWS AND
DIRECTOR JON KNAUTZ
By Grimm “Party Monster” Culhane
Expelled:
No Intelligence Allowed
Directed by Nathan Frankowski
Rampant Films
Ben Stein narrates and investigates
in director Nathan Frankowski’s self
described controversial new “satiri-
cal documentary” called Expelled: No
Intelligence Allowed. With half truths,
outlandish claims and modified quotes, this film
investigates the division between evolution and
creation in the modern scientific community and
the barriers to intelligent design being accepted as
science. In the film Ben talks to scientists, profes-
sors, psychiatrists and mathematical biologists in
the hopes of uncovering why modern science ridi-
cules and ignores the theories of intelligent design.
To the uneducated, this film is an interesting look at
the theories and divisions between Darwin’s evo-
lutionary postulations and ardent preponderants of
intelligent design. To the educated, the film’s lack
of focus and misleading use of quotes will leave
you a bit puzzled as to what exactly the filmmakers
are trying to convey with this effort.
Is there room for God, Allah, Ishvara, Yahweh
or any of the other intelligent design delineated
deities inside the classrooms and laboratories?
Certainly intelligent design has been much ma-
ligned and suppressed by the scientific community
for being “a fantasy” in their eyes (especially in
America), but as an explanation of origin and its
questioning nature of Darwinism, intelligent design
is no replacement for calculated theory.
For every argument there is a counter argument…
isn’t there? Not when educators and scientists are
being ridiculed, denied tenure and even fired for
believing there might be an “intelligent design” to
nature and that life isn’t just a random accident.
Darwin would roll in his grave if he heard quotes
from his passages misused and manipulated as
they are here.
Although I can appreciate what the film makers are
trying to do, with Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
the film makers use of such misleading, dishonest
and manipulative tactics is unforgivable and really
harms this film’s credibility.
By Grimm “Question Everything” Culhane
101
 book reviews
Rex Tabloid Prodigy
By Marlise Kast
By Danijel Zezelj
Running Press
Optimum Wounds Comics
In true tabloid style, Marlise Kast
Comic books have come a long
shares her years of experience at
way since I was a kid, sitting
Globe Magazine in her very readable
in the back seat of the family
but hardly edifying first novel Tabloid
Oldsmobile on long summer
Prodigy. Anecdotal experiences
vacations reading Spiderman
merge inorganically with personal
for the umpteenth time so’s
struggles as Cher and Demi become
not to plow my sister in the head for hogging
the backdrop for the author’s religious guilt and
all the jujubes. Once artists like Will Eisner, Bill
adrenaline addictions.
Sienkiewicz, Alan Moore and Frank Miller got their
hands on them, comic books became graphic novels The book is undoubtedly interesting, even a guilty
and migrated from the newsstands to the bookstores pleasure akin to those flashy headlines one sees at
and specialty shops, implying subjective distinctions the grocery check-out. Kast’s writing style has not
in artistic quality and more mature content between grown out of the formulaic tabloid technique, made
graphic novels and other kinds of comics. most apparent in the poor analogies; “There were
distinct levels of seniority on the tabloid pen…the rest
Croatian born cartoonist Danijel Zezelj is no
of us clung to the sides of the pocket clasp for fear of
stranger to graphic novels. For the past 20 years
sliding onto the page and smudging the ink.” That said,
he has been producing some of the most detailed
Kast’s off-handed narrative feels like a conversation
and intense stories and images you’re likely to
with a friend and the words flow easily.
experience for the likes of DC Comics/Vertigo and
Marvel Comics. His latest title, Rex, is no exception. Kast’s work with the magazine is grueling and
exciting; car chases, late nights at clubs, and multiple
Rex tells the story of Bill Orlowski, former hero
personas add some glitz to the long stake-outs and
cop who is framed for a crime he didn’t commit.
office hours. Interactions with various celebrities
After breaking out of jail, he embarks on a personal
and the consequent reflections on celebrity life add
vendetta against those who set him up. Calling
some depth to the stories and provide a little insight
himself the more ferocious and primal name of
into humanity. Kast writes, “we take a demented
Rex, our hero sets out to right the wrongs that have
satisfaction when [celebrities] fail…Globe’s cover price
befallen him, even if it means hunting down and
is an inexpensive way to feel better about ourselves.”
eliminating the most powerful man in the city.
Some of the more interesting stories include William
Dark, violent and smart, with Rex author Zezelj
Shatner’s wedding, a stint in an Egyptian prison and
creates tension by shifting from longer shots to
getting down with Bobby Brown. The process of
extreme close-ups and back again, all with stylish
tabloid journalism is broken down for the layperson,
aplomb and exceptional detail. Combining amazing
from the chase to the source-checking to the office
visual style with superlative storytelling, his detailed
politics. Some of the stigma surrounding the tabloids
and emotionally charged black and white images
is removed as Kast reveals her own guilt issues about
make each ferocious frame a truly unique work
exploiting people; celebrities and paparazzi alike are
of art. Definitely not for the timid, Rex will suck
shown to be people trying to make a living.
you in with its imagery and keep you there with its
plot, something not all graphic novels are able to Although Tabloid Prodigy is a little tacky in its writing
accomplish even half of. style, it is comprehensible for the same reason. Kast
adds a human element to the entertainment industry
A special shout must go out to Optimum Wounds
by being generous with her own feelings and honest in
Comics (operating out of Vancouver, BC.) for having
her depictions. She uses celebrity anecdotes to reflect
the courage and wisdom to print high quality black &
on what is true and false in the tabloid market and
white dark crime and horror graphic novels such as
question the boundaries of privacy. Tabloid Prodigy is
this.
to the literary canon what Globe is to journalism; easy
By Grimm “Jujube” Culhane to read, fun, but ultimately inconsequential.

By Amalia Nickel

102
Stalefish - Skateboard
Culture from the Rejects
Who Made It
By Sean Mortimer (Forward by Tony
Hawk)
Chronicle Books

Skateboards, shady friends and punk

rock are all any self-respecting twelve
year old needs. Parental units will
undoubtedly pitch a fit about how you’re “wasting your life”
on a “toy,” but don’t let this deter you and your buddies from
building ramp after shitty ramp in the back yard. Whether it’s
“going to” or “escaping from,” what “toy” can possibly take
you to where a skateboard can?

The “toy” that created a revolution, a cultural movement

and endless hours of parental angst is examined in Sean
Mortimer’s new book, Stalefish - Skateboard Culture from
the Rejects Who Made It. Sponsored skater himself in the
80’s, this former editor of SkateBoarder Magazine and co-
author of HAWK - Occupation Skateboarder and The Mutt
- How to Skateboard and not Kill Yourself (with Tony Hawk
and Rodney Mullen respectively), brings together stories and
perspectives from those who’s love of skateboarding helped
shape a cultural phenomenon unique from any other.

This fascinating look at over 50 years of skateboarding

comes right from the mouths and pens of skateboard’s elite.
Lance Mountain, Daewon Song, Stacy Peralta, Rodney
Mullen, and Richmond, BC’s own Kevin Harris are only a few
of the four-wheeled fanatics who share stories of life, ulcers
and punk rock as seen through the eyes of professional
skateboarders.

Sean Mortimer’s dedication and perseverance in collecting

these stories and photos are what really makes Stalefish
exceptional. Tracking down elusive skaters and getting them
to open up about personal victories and all too personal
defeats couldn’t have been easy, but Sean succeeds
brilliantly and brings together skateboard’s past, present and
future in this one amazing book.

Insights into the hierarchy of skate parks, crazy neighbours

setting ramps on fire and stories of fame won and lost
share equal time with a vast assortment of jaw dropping
photographs. Throw in a forward by Tony Hawk, a
skateboarding timeline, plenty of history and humour and
Stalefish - Skateboard Culture from the Rejects Who
Made It has all the makings of one classic and extremely
compulsive read.

By Grimm “Goofy Foot” Culhane

 Black Velvet
Masterpieces
Carl Baldwin & Caren Anderson
Chronicle Books
Finally. Satan taking a shit,
sweaty Elvis, Jesus posing
with a semi-truck, and Kiss
painted up to look like they
are in a marching band have
been brought together in
one publication: Black Velvet
Masterpieces.
One book that features the very best black velvet paintings
from the Velveteria Museum in Portland, Oregon.
For those of you who are too busy getting HJ’s from your
sister to know anything about Velveteria, painting on black
velvet dates back to the 1800’s in Japan. It was brought
to the US in the early 1920’s and instantly became the
underdog of the art world - many art snobs refused to even
call it art because the paintings were not done on canvas.
And so Velveteria was reduced to kitsch.
Black Velvet Masterpieces gives the history of the
paintings and presents the works so any fool can see that
black velvet painting is an art form. Aside from breaking
convention and not painting on canvas, the artists’ paintings
tell stories plus the technique and skill required to paint
some of these masterpieces is truly remarkable. But I’ll
admit that a few of the paintings are down right goofy.
Chalk this up to the fact that many artists who were painting
on black velvet would do almost anything to sell their pieces
and during war time it was mostly soldiers who were getting
regular pay cheques so it should be no surprise that many
of the velvet paintings were of war heroes, dead celebrities
and naked women.
The naked Polynesian woman motif was perfected by the
father of black velvet paintings, Edgar Leeteg. But he wasn’t
trying to sell his paintings to soldiers, he was trying to meet
women and just down right loved Polynesian women. The
book is true to black velvet’s history and includes many full
nudes of the velvet masters though sadly there are very few
Leeteg’s in the book. God only knows why, seeing as the
man did over 200 over a period of 20 years plus all of the
other paintings he did for advertising companies and for the
other greedy bastards who were lurking in Tahiti, making
butt loads of money off of his under paid efforts.
But the lack of Leeteg’s in the book can be forgiven
because the book is soft and feels good in your hands (the
cover is velvety), it’s intelligent and entertaining, in fact I
think I’ll take the book out for dinner and see what happens.
By Christina Thiele
104
The Evolution of
a Cro-Magnon
By John Joseph
PUNKHouse Books
According to Norman
Mailer, “Tough Guys Don’t
Dance.” Fortunately, for us
tough guys do write books
however and thankfully so
as N.Y.H.C. legend John
“Bloodclot” Joseph proves
with his new opus The
Evolution of a Cro-Magnon.
From hard times experienced as a kid on New
York’s unforgiving streets and foster homes right
up to his spiritual redemption, Joseph takes a no
nonsense approach to his writing, telling it like it is
and drawing the reader into his world with his gifted
story telling abilities. Garnering a degree from “the
University of the Streets” is never easy, but Joseph
presents it in a hilarious and heartfelt way that will
draw you in and keep you reading
Coping a feel during the opening act of a ’77 Black
Sabbath concert (AC/DC no less), neighbourhood
junkie invasions, serving time in jail, serving food
to the poor with the Hare Krishna’s and serving
Marines their own teeth while in the Navy, there is
very little this man has not done. “Bloodclot” also
takes the reader through a veritable who’s who of
the punk/thrash scene in the 70’s and 80’s with
style, insight and a great deal of humour.
With excerpts like sitting in a wheelchair in 70
degree heat in a Santa suit, sweating like a
pig outside a Brooklyn Hare Krishna temple
panhandling (and how to do it well), the three laws
of the street hustle (learned from junkie, street
urchin and motherfucker Mikey Debris) and just
how “punk rock” John Belushi really was (and the
riot on the set of Saturday Night Live), no one has
the unique experiences and observation that John
Joseph displays here.
Norman Mailer also once said, “Hip is the
sophistication of the wise primitive in a giant
jungle.” With The Evolution of a Cro-Magnon,
John Joseph proves that in today’s “giant jungle” he
is by far one of the hippest and wisest primitives to
ever put pen to paper.
By Grimm “The Age of Quarrel” Culhane
 BAND ID
Best Music Writing Bodhi Oser & Art Chandry
2007 Chronicle Books
Edited by Robert Christgau and A merch mongers dream
Daphne Carr come true, a young musicians
Da Capo Press postered wall of hope, the
bands, brands and logos
You know the old Frank Zappa
contained in Bodhi Oser’s
saying that “writing about music is
BAND ID has pretty much
like dancing about architecture”?
summed up how modern day
Now I know not all musicians
corporations thrive on the unique connection between the buyer
appreciate journalists equally,
and the bedazzled music loving public.
but it’s better than no-one talking
about you at all… so fuck you! From the Stones “Tongue” to indecipherable Black Metal
hieroglyphics, we are treated to a condign collection of rock, rap,
This best of collection from last year is pretty damn
metal, reggae, country and punk logos from the famous to the
entertaining. You’ll laugh insanely at the antics of Dr.
unbearable.
Weezy F. Baby acting the shrink with his mantra of
“get money, fuck bitches,” pondering the story of “the Over 1000 logos spanning over 4 decades have been mulled
Countess” of Jazz who attended Charlie Parker’s together, the book delves into the origins of classics such as
death, half caring about the trajectory of Mariah Carey’s Slayer, Wu-Tang Clan, The Grateful Dead, Spinal Tap, Led
career or Beyonce’s “politics” and even chortling at
Zeppelin, Public Enemy, AC/DC and many of the iconic
the descriptions of lifelong “Bahbra” Streisand fans
trademarks that have served more purpose on a T-shirt than on
enraptured in their extremities of fanaticism. Stand out the desk of any record label exec.
material also includes the James Brown piece he wrote
for Rolling Stone just months before his death - an Created by California artist Bodhi Oser known for his skate and
object lesson in success and insanity that takes on mythic surf work in the corporate world, he and Tacoma, WA. artist Art
dimensions - artist as living God kinda shit. Chandry, have struck gold with an incurably simplistic approach.
Big, bold and brazenly in-your-face, the genres flow from page
Actually, the piece on Israeli/Palestinian Hip Hop was the to page and no reader over 21 could possibly not connect with at
bomb (yeah, I said it…), contrasting the hate-filled sellouts
least one childhood memory in the form of one band’s identity.
in Israel with their embittered, long suffering Palestinian
counterparts and then balancing it off with the true school A coffee table book for musicians and industry folk alike, it even
Israeli’s who see through their country’s lies. This article is has a giant raised guitar pick, that one cannot help but caress for
very reminiscient of a similar scene in the new film Global hours on end.
Metal by Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen.
Oh yes, I am having sex with this book in case you are
The point is that good music writing makes even botoxed wondering, and I don’t care who knows it.
corporate shills sound interesting, even though we know
that these mutant cannibals are actually forming taste By E.S. Day
and popular opinion (hell - even whole lives) out of the
contents of their regurgitated souls, because music has
always been the most powerful force on the planet…
period!

On the other hand, upon reading this one realizes the

integrity and calibre of some of our own writers here
at ABORT is comparable, nay, even rivals that of the
corporate shills on the other side of the speaker (meaning
real journalists…), the difference being that we not only
say what we want, but that we then have to face up to the
people we said it to without a team of lawyers to back us.
(So far - ed)

In other words…a good entertaining, lite read. Good to

keep up with the journalistic Joneses (God knows there’s
a lot of them out there). American media journalism has
always been shallow and if this is the “best of” then stick

book reviews
to ABORT - we got you covered.

By Dave “Corvid” McCallum

 ABORTIST Exclusive: The Legendary Ralph Bakshi takes us back to his
childhood and gives us some dirt on Coonskin, Fritz The Cat, American Pop
and Wizards 2?

Then it’s off to The Pits of Hell with Freddy Krueger’s alter ego,
Robert Englund.

We take on Revolutionary/Rapper, Immortal Technique — ‘nuff said.

Estevan Oriol, the man behind the photos and artwork for Cypress Hill, House
of Pain, Linkin Park.

Taime Down of Faster Pussycat keeps us up to date on his latest ventures as

well a few eyeliner secrets.

Rapcore king Ill Bill gets sick on our pages and we refuse to clean it up.

Tales from The Eastside: Can Radio survive in the Eastside?

(especially at Hastings & Columbia).

Behind the Boards - Grammy winning producer Diamond D. (The Fugees,

Gang Starr, KRS-ONE) gives you up and coming producers some tips.

SHOOTING GALLERY EXCLUSIVES: HOW THE FEST WAS WON:

Mayhem Fest, Rock The Bells, Summer Slaughter Tour, The Masters of Metal,
and more!

ABORT Magazine…Because Everyone has a Dark Side.

photo by David Shankbone