In mid December, Metallica – drunk on the euphoria building for their 30th-anniversary celebrations, or scampering to mitigate the damage caused by Lulu – made the unusual decision to sell some demos on iTunes.

As the Garage Days releases have shown, the band aren’t afraid to show warts, but the decision to release (which also arrived on CD in January) the Beyond Magnetic EP was a curious one. First, the four leftovers – from 2008’s Death Magnetic – were originally given to fanclub members, which was on par with Metallica’s relationship with its official supporters. Each was then played on separate nights of the San Francisco-rooted anniversary showcase – an event populated entirely by fanclub members.

Delivering them to general music consumers, however, is a change in course. Over the years, Metallica have jealously guarded sketches and outtakes of songs that were eventually intended for release (note their conspicuous absence from the world of expanded reissues and boxsets), a tactic in keeping with their highly manicured and rigid image maintenance from no videos, to the iconic one, to the “Black Album,” explosion, Load-era. You could argue that it all fell apart with the Some Kind Of Monster debacle, and they’d prefer you averted your eyes from their personal failures to their musical ones.

*The announcement of guitarist Tony Iommi’s battle with lymphoma strikes a number of chords – mostly saddening, given the proximity to Ronnie James Dio’s death from stomach cancer. On business terms, it’s a blow to the planned Black Sabbath reunion, which was fought for tooth-and-nail by Sharon Osbourne as she struggles to boost Ozzy’s image post-Heaven And Hell’s success. It also renders Iommi’s own, recently published autobiography, Iron Man (Da Capo), pretty incomplete. Though not quite symbolic of Sabbath’s vengeful outcast, the phrase “iron man” typically denotes someone with superhuman endurance. Struggling to contain several dozen (not always chronological, sometimes repetitive) “chapters,” each about four to five pages long, Iommi’s memoir instead recalls someone who runs distance events by sprinting and stopping every couple-hundred feet. Short on narrative but long on uncanny detail, Iron Man (subtitled: My Journey Through Heaven And Hell With Black Sabbath) will satisfy Sab fans looking for a coffeetable book, but frustrate people seeking a more thoughtful, historical counterpoint to the frenzied I Am Ozzy. Iommi has stories to spare – he’s dealt with abusive parents, disfigurement, marital strife, severe addiction, and, of course, Mr. Osbourne – but his dry, anecdotal approach is better suited to snippets than 416 pages.

*No sooner did we coax Trevor de Brauw into submitting for “Caught In A Mosh”’s collection of best-of-2011 top-fives, do Pelican announce a new EP and tour. The jaunt will mostly canvas Europe, but Ataraxia/Taraxis (Southern Lord, April 10th) breaks a two-year recording gap. The four-song set was also tracked in a quartet of different studios, and they stuck to Chicago-band protocol by doing some of the work with Sanford Parker.

*Supergroups are de rigeur in our incestuous, local circles, and Beak are no exception. Consisting of former Timeout Drawer members Chris Eichenseer and Jason Goldberg as well as Engine Studios co-founder Andy Bosnak and frontman Jon Slusher (who’s also sat in Timeout), the quartet had no trouble deciding where to record their debut. Though Beak demur when being categorized as metal, it’s difficult to fathom lumping Eyrie (Someoddpilot, April 3rd) anywhere else. True, elements of post rock, hardcore, and prog intermingle (and hello Micromoog bass!), but the opening minute of “Angry Mother Of Bones” pushes a pretty fierce interpretation of black metal. They open for Anvil on the 23rd at Reggies.

*On the 28th, Corrosion Of Conformity’s Animosity-era lineup drops a self-titled album via Candlelight. For those of us who met C.O.C. in Pepper Keenan’s Sabbath-drenched ’90s heyday and later learned they were a hardcore punk band when they started, 1985’s Animosity was a girder-solid melding of the two, and its masterful balance has been faithfully replicated on the new album. They hit Double Door on March 7th with Torche, Valient Thorr, and A Storm Of Light.

*As we lead up to the Republican nomination, all this chatter about when life actually begins and the dominos of court cases that led to Roe v Wade got us thinking: when’s Dying Fetus playing again? Not for nearly two months: March 26th at Mojoes. The Marlboro-bred death titans proclaim a “return to roots” for the upcoming Reign Supreme, which Relapse hasn’t yet handed a release date. In a sign of the impending apocalypse, their tour kicks off at the South By Southwest Music Conference in Austin.

Trevor Fisher is taking some time off.

– Steve Forstneger

Like Hulk Hogan, I am a real American. That means, first and foremost, I fight for the rights of every man. It also means I use geographically specific release dates for my year-ending top five. Hence Ghost’s Opus Eponymous inclusion even though everyone who is anyone heard the record in late 2010, given its European release was October of that year. Not being just anyone, though, I didn’t discover the album until its January 2011 North American issuance, which is how I justify its selection. That and the fact it’s some of the catchiest damn Satan worship ever.

As for the rest of my picks? Mastodon did it again with The Hunter. Superchrist is one of the underground’s finest, and Burn Again captures the Chicago group at its best . . . live. Weedeater gets better and better every album, and Acid Witch is as fun as it is heavy. And as heavy as it is stoned.

That said, here’s 2011’s finest heavy albums as chosen by people whose opinions you may or may not respect.

Trevor Fisher, “Caught In A Mosh”
1. Mastodon The Hunter (Reprise)
2. Ghost Opus Eponymous (Metal Blade)
3. Superchrist Burn Again (self-released)
4. Weedeater Jason . . . The Dragon (Southern Lord)
5. Acid Witch Stoned (Hells Headbangers)

ALSO VERY GOOD:
Opeth Heritage (Roadrunner)
Anthrax Worship Music (Megaforce)
High Sprits Another Night (self-released)
American Heritage Sedentary (Translation Loss)
Midnight Satanic Royalty (Hells Headbangers)

Steve Forstneger, Illinois Entertainer
1. KEN Mode Venerable (Profound Lore)
2. American Heritage Sedentary (Translation Loss)
3. Yob Atma (Profound Lore)
4. Wolves In The Throne Room Celestial Lineage (Southern Lord)
5. Mastodon The Hunter (Reprise)

Chris Lotesto, Ion Vein
1. Anthrax Worship Music (Megaforce)
2. Mastodon The Hunter (Reprise)
3. Symphony X Iconoclast (Nuclear Blast)
4. Machine Head Unto The Locust (Roadrunner)
5. Novembers Doom Aphotic (The End)

Jeff Wilson, Wolvhammer
1. The Atlas Moth An Ache For The Distance (Profound Lore)
2. Mournful Congregation Book Of Kings (20 Buck Spin)
3. 40 Watt Sun The Inside Room (Metal Blade)
4. Leviathan True Traitor True Whore (Profound Lore)
5. Loss Despond (Profound Lore)

Neil Wonnell, Neil Wonnell’s Metalmouth
1. Diamond Plate Generation Why? (Earache)
2. Saxon Call To Arms (UDR)
3. Smash Potater Zom-Beez demo (self-released)
4. Evile Five Serpent’s Teeth (Earache)
5. Degradation Juggernaut (self-released)

Brian Elza, Czar
Trap Them Darker Handcraft (Prosthetic)
Disma Towards The Megalith (Profound Lore)
Wolves Like Us Late Love (Prosthetic)
Dark Castle Surrender To All Life Beyond Form (Profound Lore)
Weekend Nachos Worthless (Relapse)

Igz Kincaid, Hessler
1. Skull Fist Head Of The Pack (NoiseArt)
2. Iron Maiden From Fear To Eternity: The Best Of 1990 – 2010 (EMI)
3. U.D.O. Rev-Raptor (AFM)
4. Firewölfe Firewölfe (Rubicon)
5. Anthrax Worship Music (Megaforce)

Rodney Pawlak, Chicago Metal Factory
1. Macabre Grim Scary Tales (Willowtip)
2. Cianide Gods Of Death (Hells Headbangers)
3. Novembers Doom Aphotic (The End)
4. Bloodiest Descent (Relapse)
5. The Atlas Moth An Ache For The Distance (Profound Lore)

Jon Necromancer, Bones
1. Autopsy Macabre Eternal (Peaceville)
2. High Sprits Another Night (self-released)
3. Necros Christos Doom Of The Occult (Red General)
4. Cianide Gods Of Death (Hells Headbangers)
5. Wolvhammer Obsidian Plains (Profound Lore)

Chris Avgerin, Heaving Mass
1. American Heritage Sedentary (Translation Loss)
2. KEN Mode Venerable (Profound Lore)
3. Maveth Breath Of An Abomination (Nuclear Winter)
4. Mastodon The Hunter (Reprise)
5. The Swan King Eyes Like Knives (Seventh Rule)

Trevor de Brauw, Pelican
1. Young Widows In And Out of Youth And Lightness (Temporary Residence)
2. Tombs Path Of Totality (Relapse)
3. KEN Mode Venerable (Profound Lore)
4. Cave In White Silence (Hydra Head)
5. Craft Void (Southern Lord)

Trevor Fisher’s taking the month off, so, in his tradition of picking greatest-hits bits of his column, the IE staff has selected its “Caught In A Mosh” favorites since its 2007 debut. Punctuating the chronology are his top-5 records from each year, which will then be capped by his best-of-’11 next month.

Metallica vs. Megadeth, July 2007
Kill ‘Em All vs. Killing Is My Business . . . And Business Is Good: This pairing is hardly fair to Dave Mustaine. He co-wrote half Kill ‘Em All’s songs, so not only does he lose this battle of debut records, he loses to his own songs.

Beatallica, August 2007
Mosh: Any ideas for another metal/pop act bash up?
James Lennfield: Barry Manowar.
M: You’ve obviously already given this some thought.
JL: Can you imagine Barry Manilow with a big honkin’ sphere and a loin cloth? But Beatallica is Beatallica. It’s not like if the catalogs run dry, then we would move onto something else. Then you’re kind of, it kind of cheapens the original.

Best Of 2007
1. Down Over The Under (ILG)
2. High On Fire Death Is This Communion (Relapse)
3. Skeletonwitch Beyond The Permafrost (Prosthetic)
4. Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster II (Ferret)
5. Superchrist Headbanger (Rock Saviour)

Nachtmystium, February 2008
Mosh: What is Nachtmystium’s current relationship to the black metal scene?
Blake Judd: You mean the scene we came from? The super-underground, über-cult shit? Those people don’t like us anymore. But you know what? Those people, that’s a revolving door of people that are 18 to 22-years old. I was one of those people. I was a fuckin’ super-hardliner; I didn’t listen to anything that wasn’t made on a 4-track. But you evolve and start listening to more [music].

M: Have you outgrown it?
B.J.: Yeah. That kind of music, especially that angle of it, attracts people who are uncomfortable with themselves. I was one of those people: a teenager. The attitude is still there, it’s just all these insecure idiots trying to uphold this “I’m an elitist! Arrr! I’m at my mom’s house!”

Reptoids, March 2008
Turns out Reptoids were a lot more interested in working with [producer Matt] Bayles than Bayles was working with Reptoids.

“I e-mailed them a few times and nobody ever responded to me,” Melissa Koehl says with a hint of embarrassment.

“They’re like, ‘Reptoids? More like Repturds,’ Karen Binor quips. Sanford Parker may not have technically been the first, but Binor and Koehl have no doubts he was the right (“He made it sound so heavy,” Binor emphasizes) choice. Now they’ve found their producer, Reptoids need to find their niche in the local scene.

“We don’t fit in anywhere,” Binor only half-jokingly complains.

Metalocalypse, June 2008
Mosh: You’ll occasionally hear people say “Metalocalypse” is insulting metal fans. But you seem to truly have a love for the genre.
Brendon Small: I don’t buy that at all. I think that’s kind of bullshit. I don’t think they’re really watching the show if that’s what they think. Basically our show is about celebrity-ism. About how the last 10 years it’s been all about celebrities, and we’re showing five people who can hardly function.
M: And they just happen to be a metal band, right?
BS: Yeah. They’re nearly autistic, like most celebrities are. They can’t do things by themselves. The show gets to be about metal.

Best Of 2008
1. Nachtmystium Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. 1 (Century)
2. Grand Magus Iron Will (Rise Above)
3. Testament The Formation Of Damnation (Nuclear Blast)
4. TYR Land (Napalm)
5. Lair Of The Minotaur War Metal Battle Master (Southern Lord)

TYR, March 2009
Mosh: What about lyrics? How do you decide if you’re going to do a song in English or Faroese?
Heri Joensen: That’s an issue for me, that I’m not quite so comfortable with. It’s very difficult for me to write a lyric in Faroese that I’m satisfied with. It’s much easier in English because I’m used to hearing heavy metal in English, and it sounds much more natural to me.

M: I would have thought the opposite, but that makes sense.
H.J.: Yeah, there’s no famous heavy metal band that sings in Faroese so there’s no way for that to sound natural.

Primordial, May 2009
Mosh: I’ve read a few interviews lately with the band, and it doesn’t seem you are too fond of “Pagan metal.”
Alan A. Nemtheanga: Yep. Completely. Ninety-odd percent of it, possibly even more, is rubbish – one small step up in retardation from power metal. Happy, jokey, jolly, frivolous, meaningless dross for gaming nerds. There are some worthy bands of course . . . Moonsorrow, Temnozor, Drudkh, Negura Bunget, Vrani Volosa, Ereb Altor off the top of my head. Most of these new pirate/beer-drinking/ muscle-bound mythical-warrior/troll bands have more to do with Hammerfall than Bathory, for example. Of course, I have many friends who play in these bands, and they respect and find my stance amusing, but Primordial has really nothing to do with this scene despite obviously having some parallels and helping to forge it. If people want escapism, romanticism, and five-minute festival workouts to clash alehorns to, then fair enough, but that boat left me well behind, thankfully.

Master, July 2009
Mosh: What was it like coming up in the early-to-mid-’80s Chicago metal scene?
Paul Speckmann: This was the bomb. I remember auditioning some semi-famous drummer back in the day at his practice room at some old factory and getting to see Blackfoot supporting Def Leppard in seats set up in front of the first row at the Aragon because he worked security there. The guy sucked, and we only tried twice to rehearse with the fool. Anyway, there was a real friendship between the bands during this period. It wasn’t unusual to see the guys from Trouble or Zoetrope in the audience at the shows we played at the Whale and other places around the city. I went to see these bands over and over again in the day. I still laugh when I think about that legend [Zoetrope/Trouble drummer] Barry Stern, the first time meeting him in line at a Motorhead concert. He had the biggest afro I had ever seen, with a small cowboy hat on top of it!

Skeletonwitch, November 2009
Mosh: You hear so many stories about how Glenn Danzig treats opening bands.
Scott Hedrick: I really, really admire the guy. The second day of the tour we’re hanging out in our dressing room getting wasted, partying, carrying on and shit. He finished his set, Danzig comes back into his dressing room, which is right next to ours. We didn’t know this, but he’s like “Who the fuck is in there being ridiculous?” And his security told him it’s Skeletonwitch. So dudes from our band are hanging out in the room, and all the sudden the door gets kicked in and Glenn Danzig is like, “What the fuck is so funny in here?!” It was dead silence for five, 10 seconds or whatever. After the silence, we’re all shitting our pants thinking we’re going home, and he’s like “What’s up? I’m Glenn,” and shakes everybody’s hand and gives us a heavy metal pep talk.

Best Of 2009
1. Mastodon Crack The Skye (Reprise)
2. Harbinger Doom On You (Planet Metal)
3. Slayer World Painted Blood (American)
4. Novembers Doom Into Night’s Requiem Infernal (The End)
5. Funeral Mist Maranatha (Ajna Offensive)

Darkthrone, April 2010
Mosh: I noticed Devastation (from Chicago) is a Top Friend on Darkthrone’s Myspace page. What does that band mean to you?
Fenriz: In 1987, I started tape trading. I got in touch with Nicke Andersson (Entombed, Hellacopters) and many others of course, but the great thing is that he had all these great U.S.A. demos and bands to share, and Devastation just floored me. It was so tight, the snare rolls were so fine, mmmmm-hmm, that band was a-rockin’! I played it to the guys of Darkthrone and Valhall too, of course, and traded it onwards to others . . . and I never stopped liking that tape, throughout the ’90s as well and the ’00s . . . almost 20 years.

Chris Black, November 2010
Mosh: How difficult is juggling three bands and a record label?
CB: I also collect penguin figurines and enjoy long walks on the beach. There are moments when I am overwhelmed, but for the most part it all comes naturally to me. I don’t manage boredom nearly as well.
M: If tomorrow you had to give up all but one . . .
CB: . . . I’d stick to collecting penguin figurines.

Best Of 2010
1. Nachtmystium Addicts: Black Meddle Pt. II (Century)
2. Dawnbringer Nucleus (Profound Lore)
3. The Ocean Heliocentric (Metal Blade)
4. Barn Burner Bangers (Metal Blade)
5. Armour Armour (Hells Headbangers)

I’m tired of writing introductions. It’s harder than you think. The Q&A portion is all done and ready to roll, but I still have to come up with some sort of synopsis of the who, what, when, why, and where the interview even exists. Basically, despite all I’ve done for you jerks in the last four years, I still have to convince you what I’ve got in any particular month is worth your time.

It’s stressful. So this month I contracted the shit out, interviewing Cianide guitarist/founding member Scott Carroll, whose band just released the crushing Gods Of Death, and got Cardiac Arrest guitarist Tom Knizner and Bones (and ex-Usurper) bassist/frontman Jon Necromancer to explain why you should care. Cardiac Arrest, Bones, and the iconic Johnny Vomit open for Cianide at Empty Bottle November 26th, in what is sure to be among the true ragers of the year.
Wait, did I just write an intro to the intro?

Tom Knizner: What else is there to be said? Throughout my time in the Chicago metal scene, Cianide have been an influence, friends, and brothers of metal. You have to give credit where credit is due. Many Chicago metal bands have given up, quit, tried other music, jumped trends, returned to metal now that it is cool, etc. Not Cianide. They have always done what they have done and continue to do so without any apologies or regrets. They are true Chicago metal! They continue to be an influence and set the bar high . . . Metal Never Bends!
Jon Necromancer: Cianide? I mean, they’re lifers man. Twenty-plus years ain’t easy. Especially when you’re just hammering out in the basement year after year. No touring, scene posturing, fashion, or trends. Just straight up blue-collar metal. And a great group of drunken ballbusters. The show should be fuckin’ sick.

Mosh: I’d ask you some sophisticated question about how the recording technique and plan on Gods Of Death differ from Hell’s Rebirth, but I assume Cianide took the exact same approach for this new album as it has for the five before it.
Scott Carroll: Well, yes and no I guess. This one took us ages to record, as we just couldn’t get it done. A lot of personal shit went down, and our general getting-old laziness set in pretty hard on this one. We really took our time to get our exact sound as we have in our basement practice room. We achieved it for the most part, but alas, it could always be a bit better and a bit heavier to my ears. We do shit pretty standard when recording. Andy [Kuizin] plays all the drums to a click-track only. He doesn’t even need a guitar scratch. Fucker remembers all the riffs/parts in his head like some mad Polish drum scientist – pretty cool to watch actually. Mike [Perun, bassist/vocalist] and I then record our slop on top of it and then the vocals. Pretty basic shit I guess. Turned out cool and we’re pretty damn happy with it. It’s dirty, ugly, and totally death metal the way we like it.

M: There’s a lot to be said about consistency, right?
SC: I’d say more about knowing who you are as a band and fucking love what you play is more the deal with us. We don’t settle on every riff idea we have and crap out songs at a NASCAR pace, ya know what I mean? The three of us want the same thing in the end: a song or album that we can always look back and be proud of. I dig everything we’ve ever done. If we didn’t, we would’ve packed it in years ago, man. The fire still burns, man, maybe not as bright and high as before, but for sure hotter and more menacing!

M: One thing that is a little more noticeable on Gods Of Death is your guitar tone. It’s always been sick and super recognizable, but it’s filthy disgusting this time. Do you have secrets of the trade or is it just a happy accident?
SC: No secrets . . . just always keep it simple. Used a Marshall JCM2000 DSL 100-watt head and standard Marshall 1960a cab, miked up with two SM 57s. A 1994 Gibson Les Paul Studio for one side and my 1993 Gibson SG for the other. No distortion pedal was used, as I like to get the sound and power from the amp itself. I did use a cheap Boss EQ pedal for a bit more gain. “Less is more” is my way.

M: What do you tune down to, anyway?
SC: We tune to Deathstrike!

M: I know you get asked this question every interview, probably, but the band’s history is interesting in that in more than 20 years, this is only its sixth full-length. Care to explain?
SC: We’re normal metal guys with normal lives, i.e. we work and have mortgages, bills, kids, wives, etc. In other words, the band is not the numero uno in our day-to-day life. We jam once a week and let off steam from all the bullshit that we have to deal with on a daily basis. So, putting out records every year just to have “product” is not what we’re all about. We’re three great friends who share the unusual hobby of playing heavy-as-fuck death metal. The way we see it, our records could come out in any given year and it will still sound exactly the same. So why bother with what the rest of the “musician” way of thinking is. I could care less, and actually think we’re quite productive!

M: How’s things with your new label, Hells Headbangers?
SC: Well, they are by far my favorite label, so being with them is a perfect match. They have the same ethos we have: they’re honest and die-hard metallers and have no time for bullshit. Chase [Horval, label owner] and HHR have been nothing short of brilliant for us. The most professional and honest label we’ve ever been a part of.

M: In your mind, is there a definitive, or recognizable, “Chicago death metal” sound/vibe?
SC: This seems to be the big question this year, and there’s really no direct answer for it. In my eyes we’re a very working-class city, and the bands here reflect that kind of feeling. Just go to show and see . . . not many bands around here are all about “making it” or whatever. Just a lot of Midwest people playing some good honest heavy shit, ya know?

M: Who were some of the bands locally that Cianide drew influence from and/or admired when the band formed?
SC: Oh man, well Master/Deathstrike are fucking gods to us! I could go on forever, as old Chicago metal is some of the best stuff ever! Macabre are fucking genius, and the only band older than us who never gave up once! So great. As for others, let’s just name some of the greats for all the Illinois Entertainer people who may remember: War Cry (when [Paul] Spekmann was in ‘em), Thrust, Mayhem Inc, Paradoxx, the godly Slauter Xstroyes, Devastation, Terminal Death, Metal Onslaught, Natas, Aftermath, Splattered Animal, Witch Slayer, Trouble, Tattoo, Damien Thorne, Sindrome, Znowhite, Masada, the awesome Enforcer who are now back and heavier than ever, Funeral Bitch, Funeral Nation, Abomination, Genocide, Battalion, Maelstrom, and possibly the best, fucking Zoetrope, who are fucking legends and should be remembered as such. If it wasn’t for them, I truly believe Chicago wouldn’t have the great metal it had/has. They are one of the most underrated bands in metal. Chicago metal rules . . . diverse, heavy, and honest-as-fuck.

M: Are there newer, younger Chicago bands Cianide digs or sees some of the same spirit in?
SC: Cardiac Arrest comes to mind instantly. They are Chicago to the bone: heavy, pure, and hard-working. Hessler are fucking awesome too; they killed me when I saw ‘em. Kommandant [is] fucking killer! Bones are crushing, and everyone should check them out. Cult Of Daath’s new demo kills. Nachtmystium still continue to blow me away . . . just a few I’ve been diggin’ on, I guess.

M: This Empty Bottle show is going to be a complete ripper from start to finish. How did it come together?
SC: We’ve wanted to do a show with the legendary Johnny Vomit for years and years now but, we just couldn’t get our shit together enough and do it. So, the time was right. We have a new album, and I was talking to John at some show and we decided to just fucking do it already. We picked the bands and it’s gonna be awesome. No rockstar bullshit – all bands will get the same treatment and the money will be divided equally. It’s something we wanted to do forever! Be there and rage!

M: What’s the one, most basic, most essential, easiest piece of advice you would give young bands on longevity.
SC: Fuck the trends. Always.

– Trevor Fisher

There’s an old saying that goes “It’s better to have an unpopular opinion that’s popular than vice versa.” Actually, that’s not a saying at all. I’m not even sure it makes sense. It’s either cosmic or idiotic. I made it up while listening to Grand Magus (Iron Will!), drinking coffee, and writing this column one early Sunday morning (woken by a call from my credit-card company about some dildo lord making $2 vending-machine purchases in Pennsylvania with my digits). I needed an intro, and that manufactured adage possibly proves a point about this month’s interview: You may not agree with Eddie Trunk’s opinion but you like and respect him enough to listen.

And Trunk, the host of VH1 Classic’s “That Metal Show” and SiriusXM Radio’s “Eddie Trunk Live,” isn’t egotistical enough to claim his new – and first – book, Eddie Trunk’s Essential Hard Rock And Heavy Metal (Abrams Image), is gospel. The title uses “Essential Hard Rock And Heavy Metal,” but, as Trunk tells us, the key, actually, is the “Eddie Trunk’s” part.

“It’s my list, and to me [the bands] were important as a fan and personally. I’m not telling anyone this is the bible of rock. It’s my personal take,” Trunk told “Caught In A Mosh” via e-mail.

That kind of honesty gets Trunk off the hook for the Billy fuckin’ Squier selection. Plus, Essential is a fantastic book to look at. Thirty-five bands get full chapters (filled with great concert photography by Ron Akiyama), and another 27 get a paragraph in the “More Essential” section. Trunk’s writing isn’t all that strong, but his enthusiasm is. Plus, he has an array of colorful stories about bands like Motorhead, Judas Priest (Rob Halford wrote the foreword), Rush, and Deep Purple from years and years of covering them for radio and television. If he didn’t have those rich stories, this would just be another list. And, as this columnist can attest, any ol’ asshole can make a list.

Mosh: How long did you work on this book before it was ready for publication?
Eddie Trunk: It was a much longer process than I thought. The text and revisions took a long time and then all the work my publisher put in on design, layout, photos, etc. I’d say it was easily a year. The process was easier because one person did almost all the photos, my good friend Ron Akiyama. He gave a personal connection to me and the book, so that was a big plus. I’m used to radio being so immediate, but it seemed like forever with a book.

M: How long did it take simply to come up with your definitive list of 35? Were there any particularly tough choices or ones that you went back and forth on?
ET: So tough! The bands in the back of the book that just get quick mentions were full chapters, but they had to be cut for space. In the end the book has my name on it, so I went with 35 key bands I either personally love or had great stories with and felt they made a contribution. I have always loved hard rock and metal, so you get Anthrax and Slayer, and Bon Jovi and Billy Squier. I’ve always been about that in everything I have done. The playlists were also edited, which was tough. I intentionally left out big hits. I mean I don’t think I need to tell [Guns 'N Roses] fans about “Welcome To The Jungle” at this point.

M: Was it tougher to come up with a definitive list of bands, or an “Eddie’s Playlist” of songs for those bands?
ET: List of bands. There are tons of bands I like not in this book. Maybe a sequel one day? But this was what I wanted to feature that I thought shaped these scenes and me as a rock and metal fan. The playlists are just a tiny sample and the amount of songs had to fit in the space allowed. I hope people know the playlists are only a guide to maybe expose lesser-known songs from the bands and they are not in any order. Tons more songs I love from these bands, but again, space was an issue.

M: Is it fair to say you’re partial to Dio-era Black Sabbath?
ET: For sure. I talk about in that chapter that my introduction to that band came in 1980, and my first album was Heaven And Hell. So that was so special to me. But of course I love and respect the Ozzy stuff now as well. But the Dio era was where I discovered them while in high school.

M: Ronnie James Dio was obviously a cherished friend of yours and plays a big role in this book, as the frontman for three featured bands (Sabbath, Rainbow, and Dio). Do you have an all-time favorite R.J.D. story?
ET: Ronnie was a dear friend and it was a tremendous honor to have been asked to host his memorial when he passed. There are a ton of stories, and the book is also dedicated to him. His chapter was tough because I wrote it before he died, then had to rewrite it after coming back from the services in [Los Angeles]. I remember most of the personal stuff: just hanging out, talking music, sports. In 2006, I was in England for a VH1 Classic shoot to cover the reunion. Ronnie and I were at the same hotel and checked in the same time. He talked me into not going to my room to sleep and having a drink at the pub. That led to hours of drinks, amazing stories, times I will never forget. I also remember that night the Giants were on Monday Night Football. We were both Giants fans and the game starts at like 3 a.m. in the [United Kingdom]. He made it up to give me a full report the next day. Just an amazing man and obviously a great talent as well.

M: In your Megadeth chapter, you touch on the whole situation with Metallica being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. In your mind, should Dave Mustaine have been inducted with them?
ET: I think Dave played a huge and important role in the evolution of Metallica, but I agree with him not having been inducted with them. I don’t agree with much about the Hall but do think the original band is always thought of as the guys on the first album. If you get into earlier stuff it can then get real sticky and complicated. Should all the other pre-Kill ‘Em All guys also been inducted? Metallica invited all the early guys in the band, and that was a class move to acknowledge them, but where do you draw the line? If Rush ever gets in John Rutsey should be acknowledged, but that’s a case of the first-album lineup not considered the classic lineup. It’s all subjective, I suppose. Where was Dio with Sabbath?

M: Skid Row are probably the most “modern,” chronologically, of the bands included, too. Has there really not been an essential band to come out since 1989?
ET: Essential? I don’t know. Certainly bands that have come out since 1989 I do like. I mean, again: it’s all personal. To someone younger, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, etc. may be essential. It all depends upon your view and when you grew up.

M: It would be an unpopular choice, of course, but wouldn’t Nirvana technically be an essential hard-rock band?
ET: Sure. I mean they are looked upon as the band that ruined many of the groups I have in my book. Not intentionally of course, but I think everyone knows what I mean. That being said, they were a game changer and started a whole new direction in the ’90s for better or worse. I deal with earlier stuff, when I grew up, and [grunge] just did not mean the same to me. Love Soundgarden, Soul Asylum, and some others though, and Foo Fighters are great.

M: Top 5 essentials of your existing 35 essential list and why? Ready? Go!
ET: Again, it is personal, so the bands that had the most impact on me as a kid: Kiss, UFO, Judas Priest, Aerosmith, Rush.

MOSH-WORTHY: High Spirits Another Night In The City (self-released); Anthrax Worship Music (Nuclear Blast); Chthonic Takasago Army (Spinefarm); Leprous Bilateral (Insideout); Opeth Heritage (Roadrunner).

– Trevor Fisher

Remember last month when I conducted an interview with myself? Pretty awesome, yeah? To defend myself against accusations of narcissism, though, my reasoning for that column needs clarification: The originally planned feature with Swedish band Ghost never materialized.

It was way too late to land something else, so I did my own interview and sold it as celebrating this column’s four-year anniversary. I’m not full of myself. I’m not an egomaniac. Actually, I’m quite humble. That said, I’m an incredible Super Shoot player. Also, I’m right nine times out of 10 guessing which junkies on “Intervention” will stay clean and which will go back to the crack rock. Ask my wife. It’s uncanny.

Things went down to the wire again this month with Ghost. Apparently Papa Emeritus, the group’s frontman, was vacationing or something. It had been nearly a month since I shipped an e-mail of questions to the band, I hadn’t heard a peep, and was literally at the computer brainstorming new topics when a message titled “Ghost Responds!” appeared in my inbox. It was from one of the band’s five Nameless Ghouls (two guitarists, a bassist, keyboardist, and drummer) and even had “Nameless Ghoul” in the “from” line!

Heavy on mystery, intrigue, and theatrics (Papa Emeritus paints his face like a skull and dresses like the Pope if the Pope dressed like King Diamond, and the Nameless Ghouls conceal their identities with masks and robes), Ghost gets written off by some as campy and ironic. Some obviously haven’t really listened to Opus Eponymous, released late last year in Europe by Rise Above and early this year in North America by Metal Blade. It’s a truly unique record for modern-day hard rock/heavy metal: super catchy, super melodic, super riffy, and super Satanic. Next month the group embarks on its first Stateside tour. (Ghost’s debut was in May at Maryland Deathfest; it played two days later in New York City), during which it will support Enslaved. The tour stops at Bottom Lounge October 2nd. Tour cancelled.Hail, Satan.

Mosh: What are the band’s beginnings? To a lot of people, Ghost sort of came from nowhere.
Nameless Ghoul: We decided very early on that since the concept of the band was going to be extremely conceptual and very straightforward theologically, we had to exclude some of the elementary public baby steps that most bands are forced to go through; meaning that we didn’t do gigs before we had a large part of the theatric and ritualistic parts ready. Also, in order to be able to take a few big leaps quickly, we had to have some sort of release out before we made our live debut. Therefore, we made our first live performance after the release of Opus Eponymous – which in turn made everything happen very quickly from a public point of view, but the project had been two years in the making before being announced.
M: Where and when was Opus Eponymous recorded and what were the events surrounding its creation?
NG: Since there were very few people who knew about the band at all at the time, the recordings felt very playful and creative without much expectation from the outside world.
M: What inspires the band and how does it then create?
NG: Artistically we are very inspired by films, literature, music, and art. Lyrically, the inspiration comes from the beyond.
M: What were your expectations for your American debut at Maryland Deathfest, and what was the reality? Did you find American fans willing to accept “the views and goals of the Ghost ministry”?
NG: Those two concerts that we did in the beginning of the summer felt victorious for us. We did not really know what to expect from those shows beforehand, but we were certainly overwhelmed by the response we got – especially in New York City, where the crowd sang our lyrics louder than our singer. Pretty intense moment, for which we are utterly thankful for. As is Satan, of course.
M: Is North America ready for a full-fledged Ghost tour? Is our country (and northern neighbor) truly prepared?
NG: We are about to find out, but given that the tour that we are about to do is a supporting tour, you have to bear in mind that we are supposed to perform a slightly shorter set than we usually do, and we cannot really bring some of the production props that we have been using in Europe lately. Although we are definitely going to use our slot to give the spectators their money’s worth (albeit that we are not headlining). What we are trying to say is that you can expect even more from us in the future, when we come back for another round.
M: Do you expect any negative reaction to your use of Catholic imagery? We Americans love some Jesus Christ!
NG: With regards to the medial interest in the band, our progress will of course potentially be attracting the spite of the Christian movements at some point, but so far we have not really been exposed to any rallies outside our shows. When we played a show in Stockholm, there was a parcel anonymously delivered to the band backstage, containing Bibles (holy ones). Does that count?
M: It’s interesting the term “black metal” is used to describe Ghost, even by the band itself, when stylistically Ghost sounds nothing like, say, Darkthrone or Emperor. Is this an example of message, not music?
NG: Even though this term has been used frequently in the context of our promotional campaign, we do not really put much weight on the tag. We refrain from confessing to any scene. We are something else.
M: What does “black metal” mean to you?
NG: Personally, it means music and imagery that is transparently breathing a Satanic content.
M: Ghost is also described – in its bio – as “sexually pulsating heavy rock music.” That might be one of the greatest descriptions ever for a band, but what does it have to do with black metal?
NG: Again, we differentiate slightly between the lyrical content and actual music. However, a lot of those bands that are usually mentioned as the forefathers of the black-metal genre, could easily be referred to as sexually pulsating heavy rock music: Black Sabbath and Mercyful Fate, to name a few.
M: Could the concept of Ghost have been as effective had fans known the names, faces, and DOBs of all the members from the get go?
NG: Probably not. However, we feel that the anonymity aspect of the band has been totally blown out of proportion. The idea of being anonymous was to put the aesthetic sides of the band first, and although most people seem to concentrate on what we are doing, way too many are hysterically putting focus on who we are and completely [ignoring] our music, which of course wasn’t the point.
M: What does the future hold for Ghost? Will the band be around for the fall of mankind?
NG: A lot of touring and traveling. And when we aren’t on the road, most time will be spent in the studio preparing our second album. As for the fall of mankind – we are already in the midst of it.

MOSH-WORTHY: An Autumn For Crippled Children Everything (ATFM); Wolves In The Throne Room Celestial Lineage (Southern Lord); Discharge Dissent & War Is Hell reissues (Candlelight); Cianide Gods Of Death (Hells Headbangers); In Solitude The World.The Flesh.The Devil (Metal Blade).

– Trevor Fisher

I forgot, and I’m sorry. June was this column’s four-year anniversary, but like a horrible, drunk, stoned lazy, fatfuck of a father, I forgot my own child’s birthday and didn’t even realize it until two months later.

Sorry, kid. I just got busy, you know? It doesn’t mean Daddy doesn’t love you, little “Caught In A Mosh.” It just means that sometimes when he should be celebrating your fourth year in print he gets the chance to talk to Chris Reifert about Autopsy’s reunion, instead. That’s fucking killer stuff, Son. You understand, right? I know, I know. I could have done something last month to make up for it. But St. Martin’s Press sent me Enter Night to read, and I thought it would be awesome to have Mick Wall give the dirt on Metallica.

And sometimes Dad loses track of time ’cause he’s watching Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus, starring Deborah Gibson and Lorenzo Lamas. Or Mega Piranha starring Tiffany. Or Mega Python Vs. Gatoroid starring Deborah Gibson and Tiffany. Deborah Gibson and Tiffany! Anyway, this month is all about you. And me. What better way to celebrate your milestone than to interview me, the man who created you and is responsible for your triumphant rise to power?

Now, fetch me a beer, boy!

Mosh: Did you think “Caught In A Mosh” would still be around in four years when you started the column in 2007?
Mosh: Next question. I’ve always wanted to say that in a meaningful context. Using it as the reply to the very first question is even sweeter.

M: Do you remember any titles kicked around other than “Caught In A Mosh”?
M: No. I remember really wanting to have a Megadeth title or lyric, though. The dude from Pitchfork [Brandon Stosuy] used a Slayer title ["Show No Mercy"], so that was out. I probably kicked around Metallica themes, but because of my loyalty to Megadeth would have never pulled the trigger. [Oddly, the author's monthly Des Moines/Chicago metal showcase, "Metal Up Your Tap," is a riff on a Metallica T-shirt – Ed.] Looking back, “Skin O’ My Teeth” would have been perfect. Or anything other than “Caught In A Mosh,” which is obviously an Anthrax song, a band I never cared a lot about.

M: Who was your favorite interview?
M: Did you just ask that because it’s an obvious question to ask bands? “What’s your favorite of all the albums you’ve recorded?” Are you patronizing me? I feel like I’m being patronized.

M: Not at all. Just thought it was a fair question, given all the interviews you’ve done.
M: O.K. Tough question, though. There are quite a few favorites. “Metalacolypse” creator/performer/songwriter Brendon Small was fun. He was supposed to do the interview in character as Pickles, Skwisgaar, and Nathan Explosion, but had a cold or something. Or he was just tired of doing those voices for every asshole who asked. I don’t blame him. Chuck Billy from Testament was awesome. Decibel Editor Albert Mudrian was a good interview, and even though it was via e-mail, Alan A. Nemtheanga from Primordial was very enthusiastic. Just to say I interviewed Fenriz from Darkthrone is a nice feather in the cap. Same goes for Chris Reifert and Autopsy. Mike Muir was probably my favorite, though. I had no idea what to expect from him, and he does have a bit of a reputation, obviously, but he was so fucking cool. I met him at the Chicago show right after that, and he was just as cool in person. He actually stood on the floor of House Of Blues after ST’s set and signed autographs and took pictures for every last person who asked.

M: Any particularly bad ones?
M: As in bad interviews? Like they were jerk offs?

M: Yeah.
M: Honestly, no. There were certainly ones that were more difficult. Recently, for example, Mick Wall took his sweet-ass time plus some to send back his e-mail responses. He also replied with all capital letters, completely defeating the purpose of e-mail interviews, which is to avoid transcriptions. Chris Black of Dawnbringer agreed to an interview, then declined after reading the questions, protesting the amount of “scene” stuff. I pleaded my case, though, and convinced him to change his mind. I think Nucleus is easily one of the best heavy-metal records of the last five years, so it would have been disappointing, to say the least, for that to fall through. I expected Kyle Shutt from The Sword to be a knob, just because I had heard a lot of stories about those guys, but he was very cool, actually.

M: So was the Suicidal Tendencies column your favorite?
M: My favorite column never got printed. I wrote, what I think to be, a really good column earlier this year about a goat I met named Leonard Baphomet Obscurum Uphorbenoth who reviewed some songs with me. We listened to some Testament, Havok, Weedeater, Enthroned, and just riffed, you know? I honestly thought it was one of the best “Mosh” columns ever and was super stoked for people to read it. Unfortunately, IE editor-in-jerk Steve Forstneger thought it was awful. So awful, he actually paid me not to run it. It was the only time in four years “Caught In A Mosh” wasn’t in IE. This month might be the second, though. Not sure Forstneger is going to see the humor in you interviewing me, who is actually yourself.

M: But the piece that was supposed to run fell through at the last minute!
M: Hey pal, you don’t have to defend yourself to me. I know how shit goes, man. All I’m saying is, Forstneger has lost his sense of humor over the years. So who knows if he’s going to laugh his ass off at this or send you an e-mail demanding to know “What the hell is this” and bitching about how it has nothing to do with music. The guy doesn’t like Super Troopers for shit’s sake.

M: Fuck. All right, well, did you ever see the goat again?
M: Yes, but my wife sees him way more than me. Like, once a week actually. What the hell is that all about, anyway? Whatever. Yeah, he’s always asking when it’s running. I think he wants to read it outloud, chant-like, while he sacrifices a virgin or something. I just keep telling him it’s going to run in IE’s next “Metal Issue,” so that buys me a lot of time.

MOSH-WORTHY: Totimoshi Avenger (At A Loss); Fair To Midland Arrows & Anchors (E1); Devin Townsend Project Deconstruct (Inside Out); Exhumed All Guts, No Glory (Relapse); Gentlemans Pistols At Her Majesty’s Pleasure (Metal Blade/Rise Above).

MOSH-WORTHY . . . LIVE: Uriah Heep (8/11; Mojoes, Joliet); High Spirits (8/20 and 8/21: Reggies and Glenwood Ave. Arts Fest) Toxic Holocaust and Holy Grail (8/25; Reggies); Droids Attack and Lo-Pan (8/26; Red Line Tap); Enslaved and Ghost (9/2; Bottom Lounge).

– Trevor Fisher

In Use Your Illusion II’s “Get In The Ring,” Axl Rose called out a number of rock journalists and editors, but famously referred to Mick Wall as the “punk in the press who wants to start shit by printing lies instead of the things we say.” There was also some stuff about bitches with silicone injections, yeast infections, and rippin’ off the fuckin’ kids.

“Mosh” refers to Wall as the guy who penned an awesome and addictive Metallica biography called Enter Night (St. Martin’s Press). It’s human nature to approach “unauthorized” biographies with skepticism because, honestly, they usually suck. Enter Night does no sucking. Wall (whose journalism resume includes work for Mojo, Kerrang!, and Classic Rock and books include Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, and Ozzy Osbourne bios) knocks it outta the park with Enter Night, and, as he says below, it likely would have suffered by earning Metallica’s official endorsement. That classification would have ultimately given James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich’s egos final say on allegations like Hetfield’s subtle – and not-so-subtle – racism, the possibility Cliff Burton’s death saved Ulrich’s job, and the unceremonious way Metallica dumped those who helped build their career.

In an unrelated, related note, Metallica have recorded studio album with Lou Reed. The two played together in 2009 at the 25th Anniversary Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame shows in New York, and apparently are under the assumption it was so magical they should do an entire record together. “Mosh” does not assume this.

Mosh: How and when did you decide to write Enter Night?

Mick Wall: I was looking around for what to do as my next book after my Led Zeppelin biography (When Giants Walked The Earth), looking for a really good story that might equal or at least come close to that of Zep, when I thought of Metallica. It just clicked. Like Zep, there had never been a really literary biography on the band, nothing I would enjoy reading, so it seemed perfect. Lots of highs and lows and weird inbetweens. For me, it’s not really about the music, it’s always about the story, and the story of Metallica is a terrific tale.

M: Do you remember your first official Metallica interview? What were the circumstances surrounding it?

MW: I had met and hung out with Lars long before I formally interviewed or wrote about the band. That was in 1985 when I went to Copenhagen to be in the studio with them while they were making Master Of Puppets. Snow outside, snow inside, if you get me. And a lot of grass needing cutting.

M: You obviously had a boatload of interviews to draw from, but did you approach the band about participating in the book?

MW: Yes. I made it my first job to let them know what I was doing and to invite them to participate if they wished. Lars was up for it, James wasn’t. The main thing, I wasn’t interested in making this in any way official, so they would not have had any say in the outcome or have been allowed to alter the manuscript. They also want to do their own no-holds-barred book one day but weren’t ready for that yet. I look forward to it. Knowing how scrupulous and shrewd they are, I know it will be fascinating.

M: Obviously you are a fan, but you also maintain an unbiased perspective that allows you to be critical of Metallica. Have you received any feedback from the band?

MW: I am not a fan and did not write this book as a fan or even for the fans. I wrote it for people that like to read literary biographies and enjoy rock and roll outlaw stories. I do admire Metallica’s music very much, but as I said, it’s the story I’m primarily interested in. I spoke with Lars on the phone a few weeks ago, and he was very complimentary about the book, which shows you the measure of the man as the book certainly pulls no punches.

M: Dave Mustaine’s influence on Metallica is disputed in heavy-metal circles and a topic brought up in Enter Night. Some say he played a significant role in shaping the band. Others claim he was just a loudmouth too willing to take credit. What’s your take?

MW: He was both. Without him, no them. Without them, no him. The openly sad part is that Dave has never gotten over being kicked out of the band. He should realize it was the making of both him and them. They could not have carried on together and been as successful and Metallica and Megadeth eventually became.

M: What about his ousting? Was it really about drinking, or was it more about egos?

MW: It was about drinks, drugs, fights, and the fact that Dave was so out of control. All of which made him a great guitar player and character onstage but a royal pain-in-the-ass off it.

M: Your book also shines light on how poorly Jason Newsted was treated during his 14-year tenure. How did he last as long as he did?

MW: My guess? Money. Why else put up with such bullshit? That’s not to denigrate him. Most of us do much more degrading work for far less pay. Jason remained honorable throughout his career, and I respect that very much.

M: Was Newsted simply a victim of the circumstances, replacing Cliff Burton, or was there more to Metallica never “accepting” him. Would anyone hired to replace Cliff have been in the same boat?

MW: Jason was an accidental victim. They went from Godhead Cliff to fanboy Jason. They just didn’t have respect for him, and without he had no chance. It wouldn’t have been the same for everyone. If Joey Vera from Armored Saint had taken the job, I’m sure things would have been different.

M: An interesting question you often present is, simplified, What would Cliff have said? So, in your opinion, had Cliff lived, would the history/discography of Metallica be different?

MW: Everything would have been different. How though, no one knows, though as the book shows, Cliff and James were actually talking about replacing Lars as drummer just before Cliff’s death. So the whole story could have been very different. Or maybe they would have stayed together and made more albums like Master Of Puppets, but that’s doubtful, too. Cliff had even broader musical tastes than any of them, from Kate Bush to R.E.M. and Stanley Clarke. It’s the big what if.

M: I’d like to rattle off a couple items in Metallica history and have you provide insight into what – good, bad, or ugly – they meant to the band’s legacy: “Black Album.”

MW: Everyone loves a hit. This is the album they will always be remembered for. Did they sell out in making it? Of course! That’s the whole idea if you want to be the biggest rock stars in the world. But it’s not like they won “American Idol.” They wrote their own story and had the guts and talent to make it happen.

M: Napster.

MW: Big mistake, still living it down, but at least they can now joke about it. What never gets mentioned is how nearly all other bands and the entire music industry were on their side and how right they were to fear the impact of the Net on the old 20th century model of the record business, now officially extinct. No one is ever going to sell 100 million records again like Metallica did.

M: Load and its corresponding image overhaul.

MW: Brave, inspired, self-indulgent, doomed to failure, but one of the reasons Metallica are now bigger and more important than Slayer, Anthrax, etc. Their closest rivals are now U2, AC/DC, The Stones, etc.

M: Some Kind Of Monster documentary.

MW: Another brave move. But also very shrewd. It was made 12 months after “The Osbournes” was such a huge and game-changing hit. Did Lars take that onboard when he agreed for the movie to be “warts-and-all?” You fucking betcha.

M: St. Anger.

MW: Their best album since Load, one of the all-time great truth albums, up there with Berlin by Lou Reed, Tonight’s The Night by Neil Young, and Saved by Bob Dylan. The fact that so many people still get worked up over it, angry, confused, hurt, says a lot. Much better than Death Magnetic.

M: On the spot: Name your favorite and least-favorite Metallica records and explain why.

MW: Favorite – Master because even the band say it’s their best. It is. Least favorite – Reload, [it is] what it is, leftovers from Load.

MOSH-WORTHY: Orange Goblin Box Set (Rise Above); Barn Burner Bangers II: Scum Of The Earth (Metal Blade); Pharaoh Ten Years (Cruz Del Sur); Death Human deluxe edition (Relapse); Soundtrack Afterparty Massacre (Ibex Moon).

– Trevor Fisher

For various reasons (some sensible, some stupid), metalheads are skeptical of reunions. Especially wary are death-metal fanatics, who just can’t seem to decide whether they love or hate the current comeback trend. It was lame-as-fuck, apparently, when Carcass (disbanded in 1995) toured in 2008 but awesome that Exhumed (hiatus since 2005) is back. (Exhumed plays July 23rd at Central Illinois Metalfest in Urbana, by the way.)

Not sure what the company line is on Autopsy, but it shouldn’t be anything less than sheer delight because the Bay Area band is a true original of its genre. Chris Reifert (who, it should always be noted, played drums on Death’s debut, Scream Bloody Gore), Danny Coralles, and Eric Cutler (Autopsy’s constant members since forming in 1987) didn’t invent death metal, or even the extra-splattered version it mastered, but its sound was unlike anyone else’s. That said, on its first full-length in 16 years, Autopsy (joined by new bassist Joe Trevisano) still sounds unlike anyone else. Macabre Eternal (Peaceville) is a mix of the group’s two phases during its initial – and limited – run: the raw thrash/grind of its late-’80s material and the moody, almost-doomy vibe of the ’90s stuff.

Reifert, Autopsy’s drummer and vocalist, was kind enough to answer a slew of e-mailed questions, spelling out his band’s burial and exhumation.

Mosh: Can you explain the who/what/when/why/where of Autopsy reuniting?

Chris Reifert: The Who: Eric Cutler, Danny Coralles, Joe Trevisano, and myself.

The What: The weird gravebeast that is Autopsy.

The Why: ‘Cause after 15 years of saying we’d never do it again, we still retain the right to change our minds. Haha!

The Where: Right here on our own stomping grounds with rehearsals in Oakland, California, though our first gig since reactivation was at Maryland Death Fest in 2010.

M: I’ll go out on a limb and say it wasn’t coincidence [Reifert and Coralles' post-Autopsy outfit] Abscess was pronounced dead the same day Autopsy was resurrected.

CR: I’ll crawl out onto that same limb with you and say the two events were indeed tied together, buCR: I’ll crawl out onto that same limb with you and say the two events were indeed tied together, but not exclusively. The original plan was to keep Abscess going and do a few things with Autopsy, but when Clint Bower left Abscess we had to split the band up, which resulted in the door swinging wide open for Autopsy to commit to a full time death-metal mission.

M: Was ending Abscess, a band you spent 15 years doing, a hard decision?

CR: It was the only logical decision since Clint was such an integral part of the band chemistry. Much like you have to have Eric Cutler for it to be Autopsy, you have to have Clint for Abscess to be Abscess. We tried to talk him out of leaving, but he had made up his mind and wanted to break away from the band and focus on his personal life. We have nothing but respect for Clint and wish him only the best. So out of that same respect, we decided to fold the band and call it quits.

M: All these years later, what do you think was/were the main reason(s) for Autopsy’s breakup in ‘95?

CR: Mainly the last U.S. tour we did was the deal killer. It was long, grueling, and took the fun out of what we were doing. When it was over we knew the band couldn’t go on any longer, so we decided to leave things on a strong note and record [Shitfun] and do a final gig, which we did.

M: Talk about the first “reunion,” as it were, which was recording new material for the 2009 Severed Survival reissue. It was only two tracks, but it obviously laid some groundwork?

CR: Those two songs were strictly meant to be a special treat for the Severed Survival 20th-anniversary reissue and nothing more. It seems they really kicked interest in the band into an all-time high, though, and next thing you know we’re getting a whole new wave of offers to do live appearances and stuff.

M: Was it easy to get back into “Autopsy” mode? You and Danny had obviously been playing together in Abscess, but how long had it been since you had jammed with Eric?

CR: It had been since the last gig in ‘95 that we’d last jammed with Eric, but when we all got in the same room and started kicking out the death-metal ugliness together, we were instantly transported into Autopsy mode. It’s what happens when our weird personalities blend together or something, I guess.

M: Was last year’s The Tomb Within EP recorded with the knowledge Autopsy would also do a full-length? If so, why not just use those five songs and jump straight into a new album instead? It was only about eight months between, after all.

CR: We had been on a songwriting bender and couldn’t stop writing, like the handle on the faucet had broken off. Haha! So in a short amount of time we had amassed quite the pile of songs to deal with, which turned out to be more than one album could contain, so the choice to split it up a bit seemed to make sense.

M: Thanks, by the way, for not copping out and loading up Macabre Eternal with Tomb Within songs.

CR: No problem. Haha! We definitely try to avoid recycling things. After all, the reason for getting the band back together had nothing to do with reliving the past or anything. Honoring the past is one thing, but keeping the blood from stagnating is another.

M: Was Joe Trevisano an obvious choice for bassist?

CR: Oh, yeah. Danny and I had already been working with Joe since 1998, so the choice was up to him, and Eric as well. It was an easy decision for all involved, so no worries on that one.

M: What does Autopsy have against bass players, anyway?

CR: You’d have to ask Joe about that. Maybe if you persuade him thoroughly enough, he’ll enlighten you on the intensive hazing rituals that are involved in being an Autopsy bass player. Seems he passed like a metal warrior, just don’t ask him about the rusty barbed wire and leeches.

M: Based on your own expectations for the album, how did Macabre Eternal turn out?

CR: It came out like the disturbingly dark 12-headed mutant that it was supposed to. We definitely had a clear vision of what we wanted of it, and it was just a matter of sticking to that vision.

M: What’s your reaction when someone tosses out “legendary” or “iconic” to describe Autopsy?

CR: Flattering, indeed. Too bad “sexy” isn’t in there as well, but then again, have you seen us? Haha!

M: Has the band’s comeback given you added perspective on how important Autopsy was to death metal?

CR: That’s for other people to discuss, I think. We were and still are too busy making sure the band is what it ought to be, which takes up all of our concentration. I can tell you we are taking this very seriously as far as how we handle things, which includes working hard in the rehearsal room. The last thing we wanted to do was disappoint people after such a long wait.

M: Festival dates have been confirmed, but any chance of a U.S. tour?

CR: Unless we want to make this completely unenjoyable again, we are not going to do any full-length tours. Shit, even if we wanted to it just wouldn’t be possible. However, we will be turning up here and there for some various live appearances. It’s still great to get out there and spread the death-metal gospel of horror and see all the sickos who keep this band in their rotten hearts!

MOSH-WORTHY: Primordial Redemption At The Puritan’s Hand (Metal Blade); Marduk Iron Dawn EP (Regain); Weekend Nachos Worthless (Relapse); Annal Nathrakh Passion (Candlelight); U.D.O. Rev-Raptor (AFM).

– Trevor Fisher

Alehorn Of Power is back. Promoter Greg Spalding took last year off for a number of reasons, including the hectic schedule of his own band, Bible Of The Devil. He admits, though, much of Alehorn’s 2010 shelving was the fact a solid start-to-finish lineup never materialized. “I am a fan of quality,” he says, “and if it’s something that I know could potentially suck, I won’t do it. I don’t need to contribute to more bad shows, there are plenty of them already.

“Every band needs to bring down the house,” he continues. “How many shows have you been to where there’s five or six bands and all of them suck but the one you want to see? It gets real old, and you shouldn’t have to make the audience suffer like that.”

People won’t suffer, and bands won’t suck on June 6th at Alehorn Of Power V. Not possible with a roster of Orange Goblin, Nachtmystium, Bible Of The Devil, Solace, Buried At Sea (first show since 2004), and Zuul. Besides being the festival’s first year back, it’s also its return to Double Door, which hosted the first three Alehorns before losing it to Cobra Lounge in 2009 (Slough Feg, Hammers Of Misfortune, Bible Of The Devil, Ludicra, Superchrist, and Argus). Securing Orange Goblin was obviously Spalding’s (he does most the heavy lifting of Alehorn’s lineup, but also collects advice from “trusted rock folks” and his BOTD bandmates) main goal. Once the U.K.’s stoner icon was confirmed, the other pieces fell into place, he says.

Alehorn’s triumphant return got me thinking about Chicago Powerfest, which, like AOP, was a no-go last year. So “Mosh” hit up Chris Lotesto (the C in CRJ Productions, the team that books Powerfest) and received good and bad news. The bad is that Powerfest may not happen this year, either — it’s still up in the air. The good is Lotesto, who plays guitar in Ion Vein, insists Powerfest isn’t dead. CRJ is regrouping (the closing of Pearl Room, Powerfest’s longtime venue, sent things into a tailspin), rebuilding, and re-strategizing. A gaggle of notable acts, including Tad Morose, Agent Steel, Atheist, Testament, Novembers Doom, and Iced Earth played Chicago Powerfest during its seven-year run (2000, 2004-2009). Look for updates and announcements at Chicagopowerfest.com.

RANDOM VIOLENCE: This is how Megadeth’s 12 studio albums rank, best to worst. I won’t entertain dissenting opinions.

1. Rust In Peace

2. Peace Sells . . . But Who’s Buying?

3. Killing Is My Business . . . And Business Is Good

4. Countdown To Extinction

5. Youthanasia

6. So Far, So Good . . . So What! (a.k.a. the third in the “ellipses trilogy”)

7. Cryptic Writings

8. The System Has Failed

9. United Abominations

10. Risk

11. The World Needs A Hero

12. Endgame

HE AIN’T HEAVY, BROTHER: Recently, at my day job (weird I don’t making a living off this column, right?), my fellow employees and I were asked to jot down our biggest pet peeves and give the slip of paper to the supervisor. He then stood at the front of the room and read them out loud while we tried to match complaint to complainer. It was actually fun. Plus, now I know exactly how to annoy the daylights out of my colleagues. Anyway, point is, my thing that annoys me more than any other thing in the whole wide world has already changed since that day, and it’s because of “Caught In A Mosh.” I’m sick of being tricked into listening to records like Earth’s Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light 1 (Southern Lord) and True Widow’s High As The Highest Heavens And From The Center To The Circumference Of The Earth (Kemado) under the assumption they are “heavy.” No. Not in any way, shape, or form. If the album titles don’t spill the beans, Earth and True Widow play shockingly pretentious, artsy-fartsy, shoe-gazing, post-boredtotears rock. Fine. Whatever. I’m O.K. with this music existing. The point isn’t to dispute whether acts like Earth and True Widow are good, it’s to dispute whether they’re heavy. Not metal, mind you. “Caught In A Mosh” is technically a heavy-music column, and I listen to every single album sent based on the fact the person who sent it knows and respects the word heavy as it pertains to music. Eye of the beholder, you say? Not here, Buster. In this column, heavy means one fucking thing: HEAVY. Earth and True Widow ain’t heavy, dude.

BUY AMERICAN: Heard the new American Heritage record, Sedentary (Translation Loss)? If not, you’re listening to the wrong shit ’cause this thing is a terror. Straight up. I interviewed guitarist/frontman Adam Norden — for IE’s first-ever Metal Issue! — in 2006 after American Heritage released Millenarain, but I can’t say I was sold on his band. To me, American Heritage was one of those good-at-what-it-does-but-not-my-thing groups. I love riffs as much as the next metalhead, but 200 per song is just exhausting. Plus, you couldn’t understand a GD thing Norden sang/said/scream-ed/yelled, something he joked about during our interview by offering anyone able to transcribe “Piss Engine” the opportunity to write the lyrics to an American Heritage track. No idea if anybody took Norden up on it, but five years later I’ve been proven very wrong about American Heritage because Sedentary is a monster album, one of the best so far this year. (That’s only the first time I’ve said that in 2011, thank you.) Bassist-less during recording (Erik Bocek joined afterward), the 11 songs are four-stringed by the likes of Sanford Parker, Botchy Vaquez (Sweet Cobra), Rafa Martinez (Black Cobra), and Bill Keliher (Mastodon), to name a few. Keliher also rips off a guitar solo and screams “eat my fuck” on “Fetal Attraction” and is therefore credited in the liner notes as bass, guitar, and fuck eating. What Norden (the band is completed by Bocek, guitarist Scott Shellhammer, and drummer Mike Duffy) is doing nowadays with American Heritage isn’t so unlike his work in Heaving Mass, come to think of it. That band has a three-song self-titled EP out, and if you’re down with the Heritage, you’ll likely enjoy the Mass, too.

RECENT RELEASES AND ONE SENTENCE ABOUT THEM: Nunslaughter Demoslaughter (Hells Headbangers): Nunslaughter deserve nothing but respect, however, these are truly some of the worst-recorded demos ever . . . Believer Transhuman (Metal Blade): But Gabriel was so good! . . . Cruachan Blood On The Black Robe (Candlelight): Irish, but not the new Primordial . . . Pentagram Last Rites (Metal Blade): No comment.

MOSH WORTHY: Indian Guiltless (Relapse); Acid Witch Stoned (Hells Headbangers); Dripping Slits Short Skirts & Long Nights (Thinker Thought); Tyr The Lay Of Thrym (Napalm); Agoraphobic Nosebleed/Despise You And On And On . . . split (Relapse).

MOSH WORTHY . . . LIVE: Holy Grail (5/7; Subterranean); Rammstein (5/10; Allstate Arena); Novembers Doom, Kommandant (5/13; Reggie’s); Reptoids, Chapstik (5/28; Red Line Tap); Marduk, Black Anvil (5/31; Reggie’s).

– Trevor Fisher

I have a love-hate relationship with Relapse Records. On one hand, the label never, ever, ever sends me music. Never. Ever. And I’ve asked. Many times.

On the other hand, Relapse is like an adorable puppy that shits all over the living-room floor: it’s hard to stay mad. How can I hold a grudge against the label that introduced me to Mastodon and High On Fire? The list of Relapse alumni reads like a royal charter: Deceased, Repulsion, Incantation, Neurosis, to name a few. And Toxic Holocaust, Disfear, Voivod, and the freshly reunited Zeke call the Pennsylvanian label home nowdays. So yeah, Relapse knows its shit.

And right now, when it comes to heavy music, Chicago is the shit. That’s not meant to be all, like, “Our scene is better than yours,” but I’ll kiss yer ass if it ain’t. Relapse is damnwell aware, too, which explains its Windy City shopping spree in the past few years. First was Minsk (technically Peoria, but Chicago has claimed the band as its own), then Circle Of Animals, now Bloodiest and Indian, both of which signed last year. Bloodiest, whose seven members come from metal (Yakuza) and non (Atombombpock-etknife) backgrounds, struck first March 29th with Descent; Indian’s Guiltless arrives April 12th. The two team up for a dual record-release show April 9th at Subterranean, so “Mosh” shipped questions to both bands, never figuring Indian bassist Ron DeFries and Bloodiest guitarist Eric Chaleff would drunkenly hammer ‘em out at Logan Square’s The Burlington. Assume it was drunken, because DeFries saying “Oh, snap!” in any other circumstance is unimaginable.

Mosh: Is it really sheer coincidence Indian and Bloodiest signed to Relapse within six months of each other and will release their label debuts within two weeks? Sounds too good to be true.
Eric Chaleff: Yes, sheer coincidence. I hear the word around the Relapse office is Chicago is sort of the mecca for metal.

M: I assume the decision for a dual record-release show wasn’t a difficult one.
Ron Defires: Bingo.

M: In all honesty, what about Relapse appealed to your bands?
EC: They’re the biggest indie label any of us could hope to be on. Plus they have put out countless records that are so influential to all of us. How wouldn’t we want to be a part of that?

M: In 50 words or less, describe the other band.
EC: Well, Indian [is] my favorite Chicago band. [They're] disgusting and completely hopeless as musicians.
RD: Gypsy hair drone and best band I’ve never played in.
EC: Never will.
RD: Oh, snap!

M: Eric, you’re on the spot: Bloodiest, metal or not? This is technically a “heavy-music,” not heavy-metal, column, so it’s O.K. to say no.
EC: Yes and more. Our influences range all across the board; each of us brings a different style to the table. I feel a big success of the band is focusing those styles to a cohesive end. Darkness is the end goal.

M: Ron, Guiltless (like past Indian releases) is a completely hostile, antisocial-sounding album. That’s 100-percent compliment, but I would (and have) absolutely avoid talking to any of Indian’s members if I was standing next to them at a show. Are you guys as unfriendly as your music suggests?
RD: We’re the nicest guys I know. The music is what it is, that’s just what comes out. Buy us beers and we’ll be your best friend.

M: What are the pros and cons (there must be something) about being a heavy band from Chicago?
EC: I really can’t think of any cons. We have a really strong-knit community; we all hang out together, drink together. I mean we are writing this from a bar right now.
RD: Really all pro on my end as well. Playing shows in the winter sucks, but you’re smack in the middle of the country, so touring either coast is pretty easy. And we all jam together so that rules. (That’s my Circle Of Animals plug.)

M: Who are some of the other local acts you guys are into, and what makes them stand out in your minds?
EC & RD: Chicago bands that rule: Sweet Cobra, Bloodyminded, Anatomy Of Habit, The Swan King, Follows, Circle Of Animals, Yakuza, Electric Hawk, Minsk, Killer Moon, Ga’an, Locrian, Head Of Skulls, Howler.

M: Ron, Indian has nearly doubled in size since its last release. What did the addition of Sean Patton and Will Lindsay mean to Guiltless? How did you guys hook up with Will, anyway?
RD: Sean has been around since the beginning and currently co-owns Emperor [Cabs]. We met Will while on tour with Middian; he was playing bass for them and somehow just knew that he was gonna be our second guitar player. This lineup slays.

M: Of course, five members is nothing, right Eric? Can seven people in one band ever be a pain in the ass?
EC: Not so much a pain in the ass as just a scheduling nightmare. All of us are a part of other projects or have real intense jobs. Everyone really contributes. It’s actually kinda sweet.

METAL MARKET 2: If you were a penis or vagina and let a little snow and minor blizzard conditions keep you from the inaugural Chicago Metal Market back in December, redemption arrives Sunday, April 17th from noon to 3 p.m. Rogers Park’s Red Line Tap (home of my monthly Metal Up Your Tap series, in full disclosure) again hosts a gathering of metal-dealing merchants (CDs, vinyl, T-shirts, DVDs, collectibles, and artwork). An I.D. proving you’re 21-years of age or older gets you in the door (7006 N. Glenwood), and a dollar buys a Bud Light.

R.I.P. EPITOMITE: With little fanfare or explanation, Epitomite Productions founder Von Young announced last month he was ceasing operations. The Champaign, Illinois-based label/distribution released albums by Cardiac Arrest, Veneficum, Impetigo, and Young’s own Lividity among others. Attempting to purge stock, all Epitomite releases are $2 for CDs with cases and $1 for those without. Distro is priced to move as well: $3 per CD. Check Epitomite.com for what’s left.

MOSH-WORTHY: American Heritage Sedentary (Translation Loss); Arriver Tsushima (self-released); Motorhead The World Is Yours (UDR); Red Fang Murder The Mountains (Relapse); Primordial Storm Before Calm reissue (Metal Blade).

MOSH-WORTHY . . . LIVE: Rush (United Center; 4/12); Amon Amarth (Bottom Lounge; 4/14); Slough Feg, Bible Of The Devil (Quencher’s; 4/28) Hookers, Superchrist (Red Line Tap: 4/30); Destruction, Heathen (Reggie’s; 5/5).

– Trevor Fisher

There’s very little to complain about when it comes to being a headbanger in Chicago. There are good-to-great shows every week of the year, metal-catering venues across the city, and a metric ton of homegrown talent.

But maybe, if I had to choose one thing to complain about, it’s that the wealth of awesome local bands is so great it’s too easy for smaller, but-still-equally-awesome acts to go unnoticed. I could name five to 10 absolutely killer Chicago bands that can’t draw more than 20 to 25 people a show — others struggle to pull more than 15. Some of this, of course, is the bands’ own doings. Bad promotion, poor choices, laziness, and shitty attitudes (hipsters and beardos aren’t the reason people don’t show up to your gigs, so shut the fuck up) will be the downfall of any band, no matter how good.

Others fight the good fight, but need breaks. Hay Perro, for instance, is unknown to most of you right now, but you’d be doing yourself an enormous favor by changing that and listening to the scorching Eastern Ideas Of Death. Recorded late last year, it’s guitarist/vocalist Christopher Grubbs, drummer Emily Agosto, guitarist Brian Gonas, and bassist Dan Agosto’s first full-length (a split 7-inch with Venom Lords and two EPs complete the catalog) and is the absolute essence of the sound Hay Perro has crafted during its five-year existence: intricate heavy-metal — dual-guitar harmonies everywhere — played with madcap punk-rock ferocity.

Grubbs, trapped at home after Snowfuckingpolalypse shut down the city, connected with “Caught In A Mosh” via e-mail and talked influences, drunks, Sanford Parker, and dating his bassist’s sister. Hay Perro hosts its official record-release show at Quenchers on March 11th.

Mosh: Hay Perro is just a little too punk to be metal and vice versa. So who are the punks and who are the metalheads in the band?
Christopher Grubbs: I’m not sure it breaks down all that cleanly. Everyone’s kind of into everything. Although, now that I think about it, Brian probably has a few more punk records than I do.
M: That said, Eastern Ideas Of Death is closer to being a “metal album” than the Summer Of Destruction EP. Agree? If so, why? Did you intentionally set out to make a “more metal” record?
CG: Agree. It’s the direction we’ve been going in since the band began. It was frankly easier to start off playing punk, but I’ve found writing from a more metal direction has been more creatively rewarding. It just seems like you can do a lot more with it.
M: What are some of the specific influences from both genres?
CG: Well, there’s harmonized guitar riffs all over the record so obviously Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest, stuff like that. I find Voivod pretty inspiring, and some of their shit (i.e. Killing Technology) has a pretty punk feel at times. As far as straight-up punk goes, it’s hard to get specific. There’s probably some Turbonegro in there somewhere, if that counts. I feel like I’m more influenced by the mishmash of shit in my head than any one particular band.
M: What side of the aisle, audience wise, has been more accepting of the band?
CG: I guess we do pretty O.K. with both. The sort of metal folks who are into us tend to be into some punk rock anyway, I would say.
M: What song on Eastern Ideas best represents Hay Perro’s punk/hardcore influence, and what song best represents its metal influence?
CG: “He’s From Norway” is probably the most punk-sounding track. In retrospect I feel like it channels the Misfits’ “Death Comes Ripping.” Probably that’s not a terrible thing. Most metal influenced? “Eastern Ideas Of Death” kind of blends together everything I love about metal, I’d say. It has a lot of riffs, some rhythmic variation, almost like a Wishbone Ash kind of epic, prog vibe in the middle, and there’s some doomy heaviness in there too. There’s even some singing, as opposed to my usual shout. And I love how the ending came together. We put in a lot of guitar overdubs and some subtle keyboards just underneath, which really brought up the intensity.
M: What the hell is “He’s From Norway” all about, anyway?
CG: Heh. There’s not much to read into there. I have this friend who’s this sort of insane force of nature when he’s drunk, and I had this vision of him as this sort of Norse god wreaking cosmic havoc. So, that. Or it’s a nuanced exploration of life’s ephemerality, I don’t know.
M: What’s Hay Perro’s songwriting process? Was it the same for this record as the other releases?
CG: Basically I’ll write a song and bring it into practice and we’ll work it out. Sometimes I’ll write half a song, and the way the band sounds playing it will help me finish it. I don’t think there’s a single song that sounds exactly the way I intended it originally, and I think that’s a good thing. When they’re done they’re more our songs than my songs.
M: You guys recorded with Sanford Parker at Semaphore again, right?
CG: A good portion of it, yeah. There were some time issues, and our bass player Dan is an engineer also, so we finished the rest ourselves. Dan mixed and mastered as well and did a fantastic job. We’re excited for people to hear it.
M: What makes Sanford such a great choice for heavy bands?
CG: He just has tons of experience, and he’s super easy to work with. I think he has an intuitive understanding of what heavy bands are trying to achieve, and he’s able to bring that out. The way he recorded the drums was effective in particular. I know Emily was really happy with how her kit sounded.
M: Was Hay Perro one of the last bands to record at Semaphore before it closed? If so, that’s a bit of history to have in the pocket, right?
CG: You know, I hadn’t thought about that, but you’re right.
M: There’s an interesting dynamic going on in the band in that there is both a boyfriend/girlfriend and sister/brother. What are the pros and cons of such a setup?
CG: Probably it seems weird, but it works for us. Emily gets sick of our shit sometimes. She usually ends up driving the van after shows because everyone else is wasted. But honestly I feel pretty fortunate to be in a band that works as harmoniously as ours does. You hear a lot of times that bands end up hating each other as time goes on and thankfully that has not happened to us.
M: Could you ask Emily, who is harder to be in a band with, your brother or boyfriend?
CG: “Neither,” she says. A diplomatic answer.

MOSH-WORTHY . . . LIVE: Weedeater, Bible Of The Devil, Reptoids (Abbey; 3/1); Sweet Cobra, American Heritage (Beat Kitchen, 3/4); Master, Lightning Swords Of Death (Reggie’s, 3/11); Dawnbringer (Red Line Tap, 3/26); Agalloch (Reggie’s, 3/27).

MOSH-WORTHY: Reptoids Invasion EP (self-released); Ghost Opus Eponymous (Metal Blade); Weedeater Jason . . . The Dragon (Southern Lord); Wino Adrift (AFM); Macabre Grim Scary Tales (Willowtip).

– Trevor Fisher

What a strange year for picking a top-five list. This is the first time I’ve ever had so much trouble choosing my number one, for starters. Usually there is a hands-down favorite and the real fight is duked out for the fifth and final spot.

Not this time. I literally just decided on my number one and only did so because I had to. Column was due. Otherwise I probably would have just continued to swap Dawnbringer and Nachtmystium back and forth every few days until the January 2012 “Caught In A Mosh” was due. But after that choice and The Ocean (that one was easy), I could hardly come up with two more. That’s not to say my five picks aren’t deserving, only that every year I struggle to narrow 10 or 12 selections to five, so simply being relieved to make it to five is a different sort of feeling.

Maybe I just wasn’t listening to the right things. If so, I wasn’t the only one because more than one person declined an invitation to participate having been unimpressed with enough records to field an all-2010 roster.

There’s also the fact there was hardly any overlap among lists this time. Last year, for instance, Mastodon’s Crack The Skye was recognized on 50 percent of the submissions. Nachtmystium’s Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. I wasn’t as chosen in 2008, but four (of 13) folks found it worthy of top-five attention. Thirteen submissions again this year, but only album, Addicts: Black Meddle Pt. II, shows up more than twice. And it’s “only” on three lists. Weird.

What’s it mean? I just provide the data. You interpret it. Have a good 2011.

Trevor Fisher, “Caught In A Mosh”
1. Nachtmystium Addicts: Black Meddle Pt. II (Century Media)
2. Dawnbringer Nucleus (Profound Lore)
3. The Ocean Heliocentric (Metal Blade)
4. Barn Burner Bangers (Metal Blade)
5. Armour Armour (Hells Headbangers)

TOP 5 DISAPPOINTING
1. Ronnie James Dio — R.I.P.
2. Iron Maiden The Final Frontier (Sony)
3. The Ocean Anthropocentric (Metal Blade)
4. Down Diary Of A Mad Band DVD (ILG)
5. Kylesa Spiral Shadow (Season Of Mist)

James Genenz, Jungle Rot/Reign Inferno
1. Ghost Opus Eponymous (Rise Above)
2. Black Breath Heavy Breathing (Southern Lord)
3. Anathema We’re Here Because We’re Here (Kscope)
4. The Body All The Waters Of The Earth Turn To Blood (At A Loss)
5. Whirling Faceless Phenomena (Eisenwald)

Miles Raymer, Chicago Reader
1. Darkthrone Circle The Wagons (Peaceville)
2. Cough Ritual Abuse (Relapse)
3. Arts Vault Of Heaven (Youth Attack)
4. Twilight Monument To Time End (Southern Lord)
5. Withered Dualitas (Prosthetic)

Steve Forstneger, Illinois Entertainer
1. Beneath The Massacre Marée Noir (Prosthetic)
2. Drunken Bastards Horns Of The Wasted (Hells Headbangers)
3. Nachtmystium Addicts: Black Meddle Pt. II (Century Media)
4. October File Our Souls To You (Candlelight)
5. Enthroned Pentagrammaton (Regain)

Adam Scott, Cardiac Arrest
1. Lifeless Beyond The Threshold Of Death (Ibex Moon)
2. Immolation Majesty And Decay (Nuclear Blast)
3. Grave Burial Ground (Regain)
4. Iron Maiden The Final Frontier (Sony) 
5. Maax Six Pack Witchcraft (Abyss)

Patrick Buckley, Devastation
1. Behemoth Evangelia Heretika (Metal Blade)
2. The Crown Doomsday King (Century Media)
3. Down Diary Of A Mad Band (ILG)
4. Doomshine The Piper At The Gates Of Doom (Indie Europe/Zoom)
5. Horn Of The Rhino Weight Of Coronation (Doomentia)

James Staffel, Yakuza
1. Killing Joke Absolute Dissent (Spinefarm)
2. Knut Wonder (Dig) (Hydra Head)
3. East Of The Wall Ressentiment (Translation Loss)
4. Cephalic Carnage Misled By Certainty (Relapse)
5. Mouth Of The Architect The Violence Beneath (Translation Loss)

Mark Sugar, Trials
1. Ludicra The Tenant (Profound Lore)
2. Arsis Starve For The Devil (Nuclear Blast)
3. Ihsahn After (Candlelight)
4. Misery Index Heirs To Thievery (Relapse)
5. Overkill Ironbound (E1)

Will Lindsay, Indian/Nachtmystium
1. Bloodyminded Magnetism reissue (Bloodlust)
2. Swans My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky (Young God)
3. Earth A Bureaucratic Desire For Extra Capsular Extraction (Southern Lord)
4. Twilight Monument To Time End (Southern Lord)
5. Locrian Territories (Bloodlust)

Jerome Marshall, Kastasyde
1. Nachtmystium Addicts: Black Meddle Pt. II (Century Media)
2. Yakuza Of Seismic Consequence (Profound Lore)
3. Decrepit Birth Polarity (Nuclear Blast)
4. Misery Index Heirs To Thievery (Relapse)
5. Enslaved Axioma Ethica Odini (Nuclear Blast)

Mark Hoffmann, Bible Of The Devil
1. Slough Feg The Animal Spirits (Profound Lore)
2. Broken Teeth Viva La Rock Fantastico (Perris)
3. Zuul Out Of Time (Planet Metal)
4. High On Fire Snakes For The Divine (E1)
5. Grinderman Grinderman 2 (Anti)

Scott Hoffman, High Spirits/Dawnbringer
1. Ihsahn After (Candlelight)
2. Divinity The Singularity(Candlelight)
3. Enforcer Diamonds (Heavy Artillery)
4. Enslaved Axioma Ethica Odini (Nuclear Blast)
5. Dimmu Borgir Abrahadabra (Nuclear Blast)

Dan Sullivan/Rob Sullivan
Dan MacAdam/Joe Kaplan, Arriver
1. Harvey MilkA Small Turn Of Human Kindness (Hydra Head)
2. Circle Rautatie (Aquarius)
3. Rabid Rabbit Suicide Song (self-released)
4. Trap Them Filth Rations (Southern Lord)
5. Nachtmystium Addicts: Black Meddle Pt. II (Century Media)

It’s that time of year. The days are shorter. The weather is colder (it’s actually, like, 60 degrees out as I write this, so . . . ). And your neighbors have that really goddamn obnoxious wreath on their door.

Christmas. The holidays. December. Whatthefuckever. I’m not religious, don’t celebrate all the birth-of-Jesus stuff (I actually had to Wiki “Christmas” to make ensure that was even the reason Christmas is celebrated), and consider the holiday season more than mildly irritating. Old women use this time of year as an excuse to wear louder, uglier clothes than they already do. Literally everywhere smells like that horrible holiday-mix potpourri shit. Children at the shopping mall become even more obnoxious than children usually are at the shopping mall. And their parents become temporarily retarded: standing in the middle of fucking aisles like zombies while their kids run amok and litter the floor with Cheetos.

But to be a little less artificial and a bit more gracious, Christmas does make me contemplative. I get a little mushy on Christmas day when it occurs to me I have people in my life who care for me enough to spend their hard-earned coin so I can have a Blu-Ray copy of Night Of The Creeps. Know what else? I also have people in my life whom I care for enough to buy a 10-piece casserole-dish set. I’m thankful for my friends and family and for the fact my wife and I have a roof over our heads and can afford to get some JB Alberto’s pizza now and again. A lot of folks have it pretty terrible. I don’t take things for granted.

This sort of touchy-feely, deep thinking – coupled with the fact my November “Caught In A Mosh” deadline had come and gone – got me thinking about what, heavy-metal wise, I am grateful for in 2010.

The Hard Stuff: Music writers, critics, journalists, hacks (whatever you want to call us) get a lot of music pushed our way. In this, the era of digital promotional/review copies, labels and PR firms can swamp a hard drive in just a few weeks. You liked that one death-metal album we put out six months ago? How about 40 more very, very similar records? They don’t care. Ain’t costing them shit to e-mail a download link. That’s why there’s a soft spot in my heart for Hells Headbangers: It still mails physical review copies! The Ohio-based label cranks out three to four releases each month, and I’m always excited to hear them. Good, bad, or between, HH releases rarely sound like the same 20 downloads I just finished and are always genuine, at the very least. Hells Headbangers’ dedication to crusty, grimy, rudimentary thrash, death, and black metal has been rewarded with exclusive rights to releases from Nunslaughter and Deceased among others. An in-house roster that includes Vomitor, Drunken Bastards, Armour, and Perversor is pretty all right, too.

Vinyl: All music fans who still crave physical product should be grateful for vinyl as it’s probably single-handedly keeping your favorite mom-and-pop record store open. See for yourself the next time you’re out by comparing the number of people browsing CDs to that of the of the LP-perusing population. I only dove into vinyl a few years ago, and it has made record shopping fun again. In a day and age where Best Buy stocks two-and-a-half puny aisles worth of CDs, music shopping in a broad, major-outlet sense is hardly an option. Vinyl, though, is about the thrilling hunt. Sifting through row after row of nothing is never frustrating because the next flip of the thumb can uncover a gem you might never see again. Does the “warmth” of vinyl result in a better auditory experience? I don’t fucking know. But I do know that as I write this paragraph an original Megaforce Kill ‘Em All LP is on the turntable, and it’s a far more satisfying listen than the Elektra CD three feet away.

The Man In Black: Initially this seems kinda like I have a crush on a man, but fact is I’m married to a woman. A woman who knows if I were gay it would totally be for Joey DeMaio. Or Sebastian Bach circa Slave To The Grind. Or Tom Brady. Chris Black is merely the man responsible for so much of my stereo time this year. The 32-year-old Chicagoan was featured in this column last month, but even that wasn’t enough space to fully explain his value. He simply doesn’t bother with heavy metal worse than really good. The bands he plays in (Superchrist, Pharaoh, High Spirits, Dawnbringer) alone make him worthy of attention, but he also runs his own label, Planet Metal – responsible for awesome shit like Wastelander’s Wardrive, Harbinger’s Doom On Your, and Kommandant’s Stormlegion. If that wasn’t enough, he also produced and penned lyrics for Nachtmystium’s Addicts: Black Meddle Part II, maybe my favorite record of 2010. If it isn’t Dawnbringer’s Nucleus.

Reg Head: In the last four months of this year alone, Reggie’s Rock Club hosted Incantation, Watain, Forbidden, Des-troyer 666, Enthroned, Nachtmystium, Crowbar, Goatwhore, and Paul Di’Anno. D.R.I., Rotting Christ, and Gamma Ray are already scheduled for early ‘11. The Chinatown venue has become Chicago’s default stop for mid-sized underground metal acts – those too small for theaters but too big for bars. Three years ago, half these bands would have played the Pearl Room in Mokena, but that place went tits up last summer, funneling everything back into the city and mostly to State Street. MP Productions deserves credit for booking the talent, but without a capable and creditable place to put said talent, it doesn’t matter. Reggie’s doesn’t do anything extraordinary by any means. Management and staff simply don’t go out of their way to treat patrons poorly. Beer is reasonably priced ($3 earns a Busch Light), restrooms are adequate and clean, and the security staff doesn’t treat the mosh pit like a UFC pay-per-view. It ain’t rocket science to keep us happy, and Reggie’s figured that out. 

BRET MICHAELS WASN’T FREE: Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil is on “Skating With The Stars.” Make up your own fat, drunk, and/or washed-up joke here. I’m too lazy.

METALHEAD MARKET: A collection of local metal merchants will unite at Red Line Tap on December 12th to push their wares. (Full disclosure: I book my monthly Metal Up Your Tap series and drink a good amount of beer at Red Line.) Metal Haven, Utterly Somber, Death Dealer, and the aforementioned Planet Metal will hawk CDs, vinyl, and shirts at the event, dubbed the “Chicago Metal Market.” Admission is nothing (RLT is a bar, so being 21 or older is required), beers are $1, time is noon to 5 p.m., and the address is 7006 N. Glenwood.

MOSH-WORTHY: Sargeist Let The Devil In (Moribund); Holy Grail Crisis In Utopia (Prosthetic); Nadiwrath Nihilistic Stench (Moribund); Sweet Cobra Mercy (Blackmarket Activities); Amorphis Magic & Mayhem – Tales From The Early Years (Nuclear Blast)

– Trevor Fisher

You’re forgiven if you live in Green River, Wyoming, and don’t know the name Chris Black (above, left). If you call yourself a Chicagoan and consider yourself a headbanger, but aren’t, however, familiar with his 15 years in metal, then you’re a failure.

Don’t take it too hard – there are many like you. Somehow (partially by his own devices), Black has remained relatively unknown to the heavy-metal community he serves, even here. So allow me: Black, 32, fronts beer-metal derelicts Superchrist and NWOBHM-worshipping High Spirits; drums in U.S. power-metal titans Pharaoh; is the “man in the shadows” for Nachtmystium (wrote nearly all the lyrics on Assassins and Addicts and has producing, engineering, and performing credits back to 2004’s Demise); and operates Planet Metal, his own distro/label with a fuckin’ A roster that includes Kommandant, Zuul, and Wastelander. (Full disclosure: My monthly Metal Up Your Tap series hosts a Planet Metal showcase November 27th at Red Line Tap).

“He’s proven to be an excellent producer and lyricist for this band over the last few years,” Nachtmystium’s Blake Judd says. “His knack for placements and catchy choruses is unmatched by anyone I’ve ever worked with, and I feel very fortunate to have had his expertise available to Nachtmystium over the last seven years.”

Shit. I didn’t even mention the reason he’s featured in this month’s column: Dawnbringer. It’s Black’s longest-running project, started while a Pennsylvanian teenager in the mid-’90s. Ironically, it’s also his least-known. Nucleus (Profound Lore), Dawnbringer’s newest and fourth full-length, will change that, though. Actually, it already has. The album (where traditional and extreme metal unite in nine slabs of triumphant fist-in-the-air glory) has earned Black and his Dawnbringer cohorts – guitarists Scott Hoffman, Bill Palko, Matt Johnsen, and Scott Haskitt; Black handles drum/bass/vocals – write ups in prestigious outlets like Decibel, Chicago Reader, and Stereogum to name a few.

If we’re lucky, Black and co. might even play a couple shows in 2011 (there have been two in the band’s history, the last in 1998), though good luck getting him to confirm or elaborate on the subject – or, as you’ll read, getting him to elaborate on any subject.

Mosh: There are certainly elements that carry over, but there has never been much musical continuity from one Dawnbringer record to the next. Nucleus, though, sounds like a completely different band altogether, sometimes even from one song to the next – “All I See” to “Old Wizard.” How and why?
Chris Black: I disagree. For example, the song “No Answer” [2006's In Sickness And In Dreams] incorporates many elements from both of the songs you mentioned. Our musical continuity becomes more and more clear to me with each album. Our aesthetics haven’t changed at all: heavy metal growing out of grief toward the light. But, it’s important to me to remember that I’m in probably the worst possible position for objectivity.
M: Obviously vocals-wise, it’s night and day. Is that a result of you being more comfortable singing, or simply just the direction you wanted to go?
CB: It’s both. Plus it keeps me honest on the lyrics.
M: Explain how a Dawnbringer record comes to life. You obviously write everything, but when do the other members start to contribute?
CB: Scott Hoffman has always been my sounding board for the design of an album. The overall concepts and controls that will define the process have to be workshopped in certain ways. Plus, I’m writing with these musicians in mind, so in a sense the entire process is collaborative.
M: This is the first Dawnbringer record done in a true, or “professional,” studio setting, correct? Why now and why Sanford Parker?
CB: It was a necessity to record in bedrooms and closets, not a choice. Profound Lore could afford a better situation, so naturally we took advantage of that. Sanford has a good disposition and is a great technician, and he knows by now what to expect from me. Plus, he and Profound Lore already had some experience working together.
M: How and when did Profound Lore come into play?
CB: Profound Lore contacted me sometime during the Addicts sessions, which were in January. I knew them by reputation, and I assume they knew a thing or two about my background.
M: How have your contributions to Nachtmystium gone so unnoticed? Do you prefer it that way?
CB: I don’t know what I prefer, but I guess people are too lazy to read the credits.
M: Explain, if you will, your role in/with that band.
CB: Well, just like everything else around Nachtmystium, it changes. For Addicts you could say I managed the hanging of flesh onto skeletons.
M: Has Nachtmystium’s success surprised you?
CB: Yes, but not because I don’t think they deserve it.
M: How difficult is juggling three bands (four if you count Nachtmystium) and a record label? You must have exceptional planning and organization skills.
CB: I also collect penguin figurines and enjoy long walks on the beach. There are moments when I am overwhelmed, but for the most part it all comes naturally to me, because it has always been this way. I don’t manage boredom nearly as well.
M: What does next year look like?
CB: Nothing is certain except for staying at home until spring. Everyone recorded this year, so the trick will be to sustain some momentum without burning out.
M: Of all your projects, does one bring you more satisfaction than the others? If tomorrow you had to give up all but one, could you choose?
CB: I’d stick to collecting penguin figurines.

CONGRATS: Chicago took another step toward heavy-metal world domination last month when Earache announced the signing of Diamond Plate. The suburban, teenage, thrash threesome will release their full-length debut for the legendary label (responsible for early Carcass, Entombed, and Napalm Death releases) next year. Hail!

HOW CAN I LAUGH TOMORROW WHEN I CAN’T HEAR NEW MUSIC TODAY: I don’t get it. Back in November 2008, Mike Muir told me a new Suicidal Tendencies record would be released in early ‘09. Here we are, a loogey spat from 2011, and still nothing. What’s mind-boggling is how much effort Muir and his own Suicidal Records have put into stuff that isn’t a new LP. There was the Year Of The Cycos Infectious Grooves/ Suicidal/Cyco Miko/No Mercy compilation, the dismal Live At The Olympic Auditorium (from 2005) DVD, and the double disc (!) Infectious Grooves/Cyco Miko Funk It Up & Punk It Up: Live In France ‘95. Now there’s No Mercy Fool!/The Suicidal Family, a collection of re-recorded Join The Army and No Mercy (guitarist Mike Clark’s ’80s speed-metal group) tunes. If I understand how things work, Suicidal Tendencies had to go into a studio and spend a significant chunk of time re-recording this stuff, so . . . dedicate that time to a new album instead! Why get excited about a new ST record anyway, you wonder? “Come Alive.” It’s a new-ish track snuck onto this album, and it’s a ripper. Not to say No Mercy Fool!/The Suicidal Family is worthless by any means. It’s fun to hear the current lineup burn through these old cuts (the Brunner brothers rhythm section is sick), but most importantly it gives ST a reason tour! Their last Chicago gig (December ‘08) was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, so you bet yer ass I’m looking forward to November 17th at Metro. I’ll skip openers Hed fucking P.E., though.

MOSH WORTHY: Trials Witness To The Downfall (TBA); Drunken Bastards Horns Of The Wasted (Hells Headbangers); Autopsy The Tomb Within EP (Peaceville); Killing Joke Absolute Dissent (Spinefarm); Helloween 7 Sinners (The End).

– Trevor Fisher

Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell love black metal. More accurately, Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell are obsessed with black metal. The couple spent significant time at Aquarius Records in San Francisco where friend and co-owner Andee Connors recognized the couple’s bias toward lo-fi music and suggested they check out black metal. Hesitation turned into curiosity and then immersion. Soon, they were snatching up everything they could get their hands on. Everything.

“We listened to Darkthrone first and were shocked and loved it,” Aites says, calling from his and Ewell’s new hometown of Williamsburg, New York. “As soon as we got into it we basically bought anything there was to buy.”

But it was the one thing they couldn’t find that eventually convinced them to pack their shit, move to Norway for two years, and make Until The Light Takes Us, a film that pulls back the curtain on black metal and provides an intimate look at the genre, culture, dogma, and lifestyle. The documentary includes interviews with members of Immortal, Gylve “Fenriz” Nagell (Darkthrone), Bård G. “Faust” Eithun (Emperor), Jan Axel “Hellhammer” Blomberg (Mayhem), and the infamous Varg Grishnackh (Burzum, Mayhem), who, at the time, was still imprisoned for murder and arson. 

“We thought there had to be a movie about this black metal stuff, ’cause we just assumed there would be – that this would already be a documentary,” Aites says. “There really wasn’t one. The genesis point of it was just trying to find the movie we wanted to see and being unable to.”

Factory 25 released Until The Light Takes Us on DVD (including a limited-edition version with tons of extra interview footage) late last month.

Mosh: When did you and Audrey decide to move to Norway?
Aaron Aites: We knew it early on. There was never really a question that we were going to have to move there for a period of time in order to make the kind of movie we wanted. We wanted it to be in-depth and sort of from the inside looking out instead of from the outside looking in. So we knew almost immediately that in order to make the kind of movie we wanted to make we’d have to uproot ourselves and live there.

M: Was it difficult to gain the trust of some of these bands?
AA: It varied. Every one of them was different. The two main ones in the movie are Gylve and Varg. Gylve sorta, especially at the time, had a reputation for not being very forthcoming. But we met him and got along great immediately. We have the same taste in music, even beyond black metal, and he was really into it from the word go, basically. He agreed to do the project the first time we met him and also said under no circumstances would he ever watch the film, so to feel free to film whatever we needed to and put whatever we needed to on screen and not worry about it. Varg, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. It was very difficult to get him to participate. It started out where I’d have to write him letters in prison. We were already over there, and basically there was no way we were going to make the movie without Gylve and Varg. That was the first thing we determined when we decided to see about making the film, that it would only be worth doing if you had those two, both, in it. You have them in it, or you have other people talking about them, and that wouldn’t make for a very interesting movie. We were over there shooting with Gylve a couple months before Varg even agreed to meet with me. He was basically just sending me letters saying “No. I won’t do it. Even if you’d make the movie exactly as I myself would make it.” Those were really hard letters to get. But he’d usually end them with a question, so there’d be some reason to write back, and eventually he agreed to meet with me. When we actually sat down and met, and I was able to really explain to him what we’re going to do with the movie and what the concept of the movie and show him written out on paper what the plan was, he was very eager to do it. They both really threw themselves into it, which was great. I think you can tell in the interviews that they’re really engaged and forthcoming. I’m proud of the movie, and I feel like if you watch it then you get a really good idea what both of them are like. I honestly feel their depiction onscreen is very true to how they are.

M: Varg carries himself so well, and with such confidence, you sort of buy into his craziness. Like, “Oh yeah, maybe that church did deserve to get burnt down.”
AA: I know what you mean. We did a test screening of the film, not for metal fans, for film people. It was early on when we were editing the film. So I’m asking people questions afterwards, and as a joke I asked, “So who here is now in favor of burning down churches?” I expected to get a laugh, but instead got half the audience raising their hands.

M: He certainly has the gift of persuasion.
AA: I think he does, and I think it’s kind of a shame because maybe if circumstances would have been different, I honestly feel he had the potential to do a lot of great things, actually.

M: What interview, scene, or segment was your favorite part of the movie? It seems like everything you did with Gylve was fun.
AA: I guess I would say the best part was meeting him and becoming friends with him. But several of the shoots were really . . . the closing scene in the film where it’s [an] art opening in Milan and Frost [Satyricon] is setting fire to the gallery? That was a trip. I was bungie-corded to the celling with a gas mask shooting it from above. The audience that was there, I didn’t know how they were going to react. It really surprised me the way they did react, because even more so than I think you can tell from watching the film, he really was setting fire to the walls of that place. I expected the people there to be less calm, but they all seemed to have this idea that, “Oh, this is really well planned out. I’m sure it’s all safe.” That was a really bizarre, memorable shoot, obviously. I’ve never really been part of a shoot like that where the inside of the room you’re shooting is on fire.

SCARY STUFF: It’s October. Halloween is in October. Halloween is metal. To celebrate, I asked a few folks to name their favorite horror flick of all time, back it up in just a few sentences, and pick a second-placer.

King Fowley, Deceased: Phantasm – From its claustrophobic setting to its odd family “bonding” to its great evil character in The Tall Man! The soundtrack is perfection. And its got that weird ’70s look to it. It just freaks me out. The ultimate odd/weird/scary dream! Runner Up: The Exorcist.

Rev. JR Preston, Bloodcult: The Bride Of Frankenstein – Made in the ’30s and still holds up today, great story and fantastic special effects. It is celluloid perfection. Runner up: A tie between original Halloween and the Japanese flick Tomie.

Chris Avgerin, Blood Of The Tyrant/Heaving Mass: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – I remember seeing this film at a sleepover when I was about 10-years old. I had to go home I was so scared. Insanely uncomfortable scenes (that seem to never end) coupled with grainy footage, odd clangs and rumbles used as a “soundtrack,” and a feeling of realism (as opposed to fantasy) make this the most terrifying horror movie I’ve ever seen.

MOSH-WORTHY LIVE: Nachtmystium (Reggie’s, 10/2); High On Fire, Kylesa, Torche (Metro, 10/10); Triptykon, Yakuza (Bottom Lounge, 10/16); The Sword (Metro, 10/23); Cealed Kasket (Reggie’s, 10/30).

– Trevor Fisher

Here’s the thing about digital voice recorders: the “record” button must be pressed in order to record something.

Actually, there are voice-activated options, but I don’t trust ‘em. There’s too much at risk when conducting an interview to trust a tiny-ass sound sensor inside a tiny-ass digital record to kick on and off when it hears voices. Huh-uh, girlfriend. If that tiny-ass thing inside the other tiny-ass thing doesn’t work, you have no interview, and, therefore, no story. Your time – plus that of the interviewee – is wasted, and you have to tell the editor you’re a dumb-ass piece of shit who can’t remember to push a button.

Luckily, I only forgot to record half my interview with The Sword guitarist Kyle Shutt. Unluckily, it was most of the talk about his band’s new – third overall – full length, Warp Riders (Kemado). Luckily, the rest of the interview is still very interesting. Unluckily (not for The Sword, though), Warp Riders is absolutely killer and the Austin, Texas-based quartet’s (Shutt, guitarist/vocalist JD Cronise, bassist Bryan Richie, and drummer Trivett Wingo) best effort yet, so having that particular conversation for this column would have been nice.

But I don’t. Sorry, O.K.? You might be perfect, but I’m not. Now, who wants to read about touring with Metallica?! The Sword are at Metro October 23rd.

Mosh: I read your story about meeting Lars Ulrich while on tour with Trivium, so I won’t make you rehash, but one question: How did The Sword end up touring with Trivium?
Kyle Shutt: That’s a really good question. We’re really not the kind of band that listens to much new metal, I guess you’d call it. That was ‘06, I think. It was right in the middle of the Age Of Winters tour, and we got a call from our booking agent. We had the summer off, and he’s like, “Hey, there’s this band Trivium, it’s a six-week tour, and you can get direct support.” It was pretty decent money for the kind of band we were at the time, and [sighs] . . . we hadn’t heard them before. We were like, “We need a tour, it’s pretty good money, and they’re suppose to be the new band that’s sorta old-school, right?” So we get in the van and are driving to Orlando, and somebody puts on the CD that our booking agent sent us and we were like, “Oh, no. What have we gotten ourselves into?” It was something to watch every night. That band . . . I hate to talk bad shit on people, but Jesus Christ. Talk about playing shows where all the kids are 14-years old and sleep on the barricade in front of you while you play. It did some good for us, but all in all I wish I had my six weeks back. [Laughs]

M: Did you find the Metallica fanbase to be more or less accepting than you expected?
KS: A lot more accepting, to tell you the truth. I’ve heard opening for Slayer can be rough ’cause they only want to see Slayer, and it was like that to a certain extent in the United States. The arenas here are so big and they have malls in them and bars and shit, and people go hang out until Metallica goes on. Sometimes you end up playing a 15,000-seat arena and there’s 3,000 people watching you, and it feels empty. But sometimes you get in there [and go] on to a full house. Honestly, it’s hit or miss with those big shows. But we got nothing but positive feedback, and if there was anything else I really haven’t heard it.

M: How did you get on with the other support bands?
KS: Really well, actually. Down was awesome because we actually partied with Pepper Keenan a couple times. We heard Phil Anselmo was a fan, and he was. He was a total riot to hang out with. It was just ridiculous. The shit that comes out of that guy’s mouth is golden. That guy was sayin’ shit that I . . . I couldn’t believe. [Laughs]. He wrapped himself in this huge flag that’s got pot leaves all over it. He’s in front of a sold-out crowd, and he’s like [in a remarkably good Anselmo voice], “Marijuana smoke. All day. Every day.” You hang out with him, and you just, whew. He’s a funny, funny guy. Lamb Of God did a bunch of shows, and we’ve been friends with them for years. They took us to Japan back in the day. You know honestly, the reason we have a record deal is because of Lamb Of God in a way, so we owe them a lot. And they’re a class act. They’re some really great dudes to hang out with. Machine Head, I used to listen to them when I was a kid. I remember going to see Pantera when I was like 14, and they were the opening band. It was cool to be able to hang out with those dudes. It was a trip.

M: You guys have been in three editions of “Guitar Hero” . . .
KS: Four! Count ‘em! Four!

M: Really?
KS: We did “Guitar Hero 2,” “Guitar Hero Metallica,” “Guitar Hero Smash Hits” . . .

M: Ohhh . . . “Smash Hits.”
KS: “Smash Hits” is actually pretty cool because we recorded “Freya” for them. So it’s a special version you can’t get on Age Of Winters or anything like that. So it’s actually kind worth it for super-nerd fans to track down that version of “Freya.” It’s recorded at the same studio we did Gods Of The Earth in. We just went in there one day and recorded “Freya” and a couple Kiss covers.

M: Do you play “Guitar Hero”?
KS: No. I mean, I did when “Guitar Hero 2″ came out. They sent us all some copies, and I played it and went “O.K. I did that.” I’ve played the Metallica one.

M: That has to be a bit surreal because that game sells zillions of copies.
KS: I kinda feel like the house band at this point. You look at the back of those games, and it’s like, Thin Lizzy, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, and then Sword. Whoa! What are we doing on there?! It’s a trip. Honestly, it’s about as close to mainstream exposure bands like us can get nowadays. When “Guitar Hero 2″ came out, that was in October, I think, of ‘06, and before Christmas it had already sold a million copies. And the kids have to play your song to get to the next part of the game. It’s ingenious.

M: “Metal revival” is a term often used in conjunction with The Sword. Thoughts?
KS: “Metal revival.” I don’t know. I don’t think too hard about words [laughs] and their meanings. I hate to talk big on us or whatever, but we just play riffs like bands used to play. We sing instead of scream. We’re trying to just rock like Thin Lizzy used to, you know? Just write some fuckin’ songs for the metalheads out there, ’cause there’s not that much metal like that anymore coming out these days.

M: Can you tune out talk like “hipster metal” and “ironic”? It has to be frustrating.
KS: It was years ago, but I’ve accomplished so much more than anything I ever thought I would with this band, so honestly every day is a gift to me. It they want to say we’re some hipster, piece-of-crap band, then you know what? Start your own awesome band and take over the world. See how far you fucking get. I don’t have time for people’s negative attitudes.

MOSH-WORTHY: Iron Thrones The Wretched Sun (self-released), Dave Mustaine with Joe Layden, Mustaine (It Books), Invasion Orchestrated Kill Maneuver (Rotting Corpse), Riot God Riot God (Metalville), Dawnbringer Nucleus (Profound Lore).

– Trevor Fisher

So I paid $18 to see The Big Four broadcast in June. The idea of going to the movies to watch a metal concert was a bit strange and spending nearly $20 to do so was plain dumb, but I had to. My gut tells me this thing eventually comes to The States (Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo agrees; read my interview with him this issue), but there’s also the possibility it won’t. What if Metallica puss out? If you were James Hetfield or Lars Ulrich, would you risk getting blown offstage by Slayer every night (exactly what happened in Bulgaria)? Would you want to face the fact, night after night, you aren’t the best Big Four band, just the most popular?

Hence why I sat in a stuffy Evanston theater (Cinemark is obviously trying to save some bucks by decreasing A/C frequency), eating popcorn (with M&M’s mixed in!), drinking iced tea (work the next morning; no caffeine after 7 p.m.), and watching heavy metal.

It was a strange scene. Lucky for you, I packed my notebook. Below are the kind of observations you can only get from a credited, highly regarded member of the music press.

• Not one person yelled SLAYEEER all night. Unacceptable.

• Joey Belladonna literally has not changed his hair style since 1984. Are we supposed to be excited about his return to Anthrax? A whopping four years after his last one?

• Dave Mustaine looks worn out and beaten down. Haggard. His face, to quote “Seinfeld,” looks like an old catcher’s mitt. Fell off the wagon? Doubtful. Endgame would be much better if that were the case.
• How in the world does Kirk Hammett fit into pants that tight?
• Why in the world does Kirk Hammett wear pants that tight?
• Very few people in Evanston like heavy metal, apparently.
• Lars Ulrich is a douchebag.
• Mustaine sounded fucking lousy.
• At least Dave Ellefson is back. Wonder if he considered asking the soundman to turn Mustaine’s vocals down in his monitors.
• Jeff Hanneman hates you.

Now some Big Four-themed lists. Who doesn’t love lists of shit, right?

BIG FOUR BEST FOUR
1. Megadeth Rust In Peace
2. Metallica Kill ‘Em All
3. Slayer Reign In Blood
4. Megadeth Peace Sells . . . But Who’s Buying?

BIG FOUR WORST FOUR
1. Metallica St. Anger
2. Megadeth Endgame
3. Megadeth Risk
4. Metallica Reload

BIG FOUR UNDERRATED FOUR
1. Anthrax The Sound Of White Noise
2. Megadeth Youthanasia
3. Slayer God Hates Us All
4. Slayer Diabolus In Musica

HIGH ON HIGH ON FIRE: I finally own Blessed Black Wings and Death Is This Communion on vinyl. Very excited. Yes, they are reissues. No, I don’t give a shit. All three High On Fire Relapse albums (Blessed Black, Communion, and Surrounded By Thieves) are available again on wax. Each is a double-LP packaged in a special “gatefold LP Stoughton ‘tip on’ jacket.” I have absolutely no idea what that means, but shit looks real sharp. Sounds real sharp, too, of course. Various color options are available depending on which pressing you snag, but beware: Only 1,500 copies of Thieves were pressed . . . You’re an idiot if you missed HOF at Lincoln Hall back in April. They killed. Luckily, our society gives idiots second chances. Matt Pike, Jeff Matz, and Des Kensel will plunder Chicago again in October, this time as part of Riot Fest. The punk-centric festival branches out more and more each year, and besides HOF, the 2010 version also includes Corrosion Of Conformity (albeit the original, hardcore, three-piece lineup of Mike Dean, Reed Mullin, and Woody Weatherman). An official schedule wasn’t available as of press time, but Riot Fest goes down October 6th through 10th. Check www.riotfest.org.

OUR CITY IS BETTER THAN YOURS: It’s been proven: Chicago heavy metal is the most awesome heavy metal in this country. Forbes — where I go for all my headbanging headlines — recently compiled a list of the best musical cities based on 10 specific genres. The mag interrogated a bunch of expert types (journalists, producers, musicians, etc.), and they confirmed what Chicago heshers already knew: We rule, boners.

MOSH-WORTHY: Shadowgarden Ashen (Napalm); Witchery Witch Krieg (Century Media); Early Man Death Potion (The End); Hammers Of Misfortune The Bastard/The August Engine/The Locust Years/Fields/Church Of Broken Glass (Metal Blade); Aaron Aites, Audrey Ewell Until The Light Takes Us DVD (Factory 25).

MOSH-WORTHY LIVE: Torche, Yakuza Arkestra (Wicker Park Fest 8/1); Drug Honkey (Empty Bottle; 8/1); Slayer, Megadeth, Testament (UIC Pavilion, 8/20); Bible Of The Devil (Glenwood Arts Festival, 8/21); Enthroned, Destroyer 666, Cardiac Arrest (Reggie’s, 8/25).

– Trevor Fisher

Experimentation is great in heavy metal. New sounds, new techniques, new styles . . . if done right and with the band’s roots in mind, results can be great. Even spectacular. (Read the Nachtmystium review in this month’s “Spins.”)

But sometimes it’s just as great to get the “same old same old” from a band. Cardiac Arrest don’t experiment. They don’t tweak. They don’t indulge. They don’t overreach. They play death metal. Death. Fucking. Metal.

It’s a style that, like every musical style, has changed during the years — for better and worse. Doesn’t matter to guitarist/ frontman Adam Scott, bassist David Holland, drummer Jim Deabenderfer, and guitarist/vocalist Tom Knizner, though, because they’ve apparently more or less ignored everything after Autopsy released Severed Survival in 1989 and by doing so have become one of the unique groups in modern-day death metal. So the Chicago (South Siiide!!) group’s new album, Haven For The Insane, isn’t noteworthy because it’s light years beyond 2006’s Morgue Mutilations or 2008’s Cadaverous Presence; it’s noteworthy because it’s the 13-year-old band’s first widespread, international exposure, thanks to a new partnership with Ibex Moon (Archeron, Incantation, Asphyx). And if I can be biased (and it’s my goddamn column), I couldn’t be happier. Adam, Tom, David, and Jim are four of the best, most loyal, most dedicated dudes in metal. Any opportunities and accolades received as a result of Haven and signing to Ibex Moon aren’t only deserved, they’re overdue.

The band (a must-see live act) perform at Nite Cap July 9th; July 23rd at the Central Illinois Metalfest in Urbana; and August 25th at Reggie’s. Deabenderfer recently talked us through the last few years.

Mosh: What’s been the biggest advantage, so far, being on Ibex Moon?

Jim Deabenderfer: I would say there is a certain type of support that John [McEntee, Ibex founder) is able to provide that others won't. For example, Clawhammer PR, the company that works Ibex Moon, we work with them directly now in addition to anything the label is doing. So we don't do our own press releases anymore. We're able to funnel some of the press through them and Ibex. The biggest, most obvious difference aside from the support we're seeing and the fact we don't have to do as much work, is the amount of reviews, just the quantity of reviews for Haven before it even came out, versus the total for Cadaverous ever. It's not because the record is that much better; it's not because [former label] Epitomite didn’t send them out. I think the reputation of [Ibex Moon] precedes itself. We’ve definitely experienced people saying, “Well, it’s on Ibex, so I gotta get it.”

M: Walk me through the timeline for Haven.

JD: Usually we have one or two song structures left over from the previous record, and once we finish the summer festival cycle we start writing. So this would have been 2008. We had written a few songs right around the time Cadaverous came out and then continued writing through the end of 2008. “Haunted Remnants” is the one oddball song. That was actually the first song we wrote with Tom when he joined in ‘06. It was actually on a compilation prior, but we felt the song fit on [Haven]. We felt we had a lot riding on this record, so we were a bit more stressed out. So when it came time to do mixing we took some time off. And when it came time to [finishing mixing] we took our time ’cause we didn’t have a deal and weren’t under the gun. Then we got busy as we always do in the summer, and finished the mix right after the summer. Mastering was done in October, and right around that time was when John started to express interest.

M: So is it weird to support songs on tour that are well more than a year old now?

JD: Oh yeah. We talk about it all the time. We actually discussed playing some of the brand-new material, but you have to consider a concertgoer’s perspective where yeah, they want to hear new stuff, but a lot of people are going to be hearing Cardiac for the first time. So on this tour we’re doing just one song off of [Morgue Mutilations], one song off of Cadaverous, and everything else is off of Haven ’cause that’s the one we think people will know most.

M: Was the bonus DVD the label’s idea?

JD: John wanted to put something out. I’ve always wanted to do some video stuff, and I’ve been sitting on footage for years on certain things. The idea came from John, and we talked about a couple different ways to go with it. The guys were kind of wary at first, because they didn’t want it to be stupid. Once they saw what could be done they were more open to it, and we are already excited about doing one for the next CD. I think in underground death metal, especially, you see bonus DVDs and kinda go, “Ehhhh.” We wanted to really step up the production value, at least from the standpoint of presentation to the point where, yeah it’s bonus and a freebie, but just because of that doesn’t mean it has to be substandard. I wanted something that can be a discount DVD, a $10 DVD, by itself. I wanted something that would stand alone.

M: The tour name Campaign For Death Metal Purity has been the subject of some conversation. What exactly does it mean?

JD: The press release is pretty over the top, but it’s all in good fun and tongue-in-cheek. It’s meant to be that way ’cause that’s where death metal was way back. A lot of the feedback we’re getting is from some of the younger people who don’t understand some of the joke of it. On one hand we take this music seriously, and all of us come from the background of the older style of death metal — which was before you take sweep picking, which is a lead [guitar] technique, and used it for riffs. I love some of those bands, but some of them take it way too far where the song structures are so ridiculous there is nothing to latch onto. Death metal — the way it was originally conceived — was a raw, in-your-face, aggressive thing, not “mommy look how fast I can play with my calculator.” So basically it’s just a call to arms to anyone who never turned their back on that style. It’s trying to remind people about what the style is about. It has nothing to do with any particular bands, it’s just that there’s certain people out there, for whatever reason, who aren’t listening to the right stuff [laughs].

QUICKLY: Two of Chicago’s finest have new material ready to be unleashed. Kommandant’s five-song EP Kontakt (Planet Metal) comes out this month. I haven’t heard it, but have a sneaking suspicion, being Kommandant and Planet Metal, that it rules. 2008’s Stormlegion was, to borrow a line from former IE scribe Mike Meyer, like listening to a chopper crash. It’s a ferocious record that’s even more so live. Kommandant are one of the most intense live sets around . . . definitely not for the faint of heart. Or people scared by giant knives.

Deadnight frontman/guitarist Mike G. recently gave me a sampler with two new, ripping songs, “Wardogs” and “Riders Of The Black Winds,” both now available on Myspace. The blackened thrashers are currently searching for and negotiating with labels interested in releasing the Riders Of The Black Winds EP and “Storm Of Sorrow” 7-inch. Hopefully both will be out this year with a new full-length in 2011 . . . Whichever label puts out Deadnight should also scoop up Nethervoid. The pig-head toting, Bible-burning Iowa City outfit was supposed to release a 7-inch of “Become Bone” and “Torch The Temple” (the latter can be heard on Myspace) earlier this year, but the label went tits up, leaving two glorious slabs of blasphemous black metal homeless. If you catch the band live (do it) ask guitarist Visigoth — Iowan for Adam — for the CD version, which is spray-painted black and wrapped in a Bible page.

MOSH-WORTHY:
Perversor Demon Metal (Hells Headbangers)
The Ocean Heliocentric (Metal Blade)
High Spirits “Running Home” b/w “Let’s Rock” 7-inch (self-released)
Enemy Of The Sun Caedium (The End)
Armour Armour (Hells Headbangers)

– Trevor Fisher

Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise, the true north strong and free!
From far and wide, O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, fuckin’ a.

The last line isn’t actually in “O Canada,” our Northern Neighbors’ national anthem, but it should be. After all, the country has provided a lot of listening pleasure this year with Barn Burner and Bison B.C. Both awesome, awesome bands, right? Fuckin’ a. I’ll start one of those online petitions. Those seem to get shit done.

I knew Bison from Quiet Earth, its 2008 Metal Blade debut, but the group stole my heart by nearly blasting the doors off Lincoln Hall back in April opening for High On Fire. That sweaty, boozy, deafening full-contact set doomed Priestess (also Canadian) and Black Cobra, the two bands appointed the hopeless task of filling the sandwich between Bison and HOF.

If Bison’s country mates/labelmates/ mate mates in Barn Burner are just almost as good live, anyone at Ronny’s June 16th (with Chicago hesher king Raise The Red Lantern) is in for an old-fashioned face-melting. If it’s almost as good as BB’s full-length debut, Bangers (released in Canada a year ago by New Romance For Kids and nationally in February by Metal Blade), Ronny’s staff better re-secure its roof. Bangers is a monster of an album — steamy Sabbath riffing, crusty C.O.C. (a comparison completely shot down in this very interview) groove, and murky Mastodon aura — fully complemented by a cold beer and/or chumming bowl.

“Mosh” recently rang Montreal and got BB frontman/guitarist Kevin Keegan out of work for 30 minutes to talk rock. Welcome, Kev.

Mosh: Talk about the Montreal scene. Was it friendly to metal and hard rock? Obviously Priestess is a Montreal band as well.
Kevin Keegan: There’s very few bands like that. Priestess is obviously the one, sort of tentacle metal/rock sort of band. There are a few others, but it’s really a small scene. Montreal is kinda of known for its — as far as metal goes — ridiculously technical death metal. Some of the all-time champions come from here. As far as the middle-of-the-road metal stuff like ours, the more sort of rooted-in-classic-metal, there’s not too many bands. But it’s funny, we all know each other. We all go to each other’s shows. It’s always the same familiar faces that really get stoked on each other’s bands.

M: So when you guys were playing in and around Montreal, what sorts of bands did you play with?
KK: For awhile there, we were just trying to get shows wherever we could, so we’d end up on really random bills with hardcore bands and with, more like bar-rock sort of bands. It was a mish-mash, and you sort of have to expect that. You can’t always play with bands that are in the same vein, and sometimes it works better if you don’t. It’s all sort of, really random. Now, we’re at a point where we can cultivate our own shows and build the shows around us.

M: Weird that you and Bison both ended up on Metal Blade.
KK: Yeah, it was kind of a weird coincidence. In a way I think [Bison B.C.] had something to do with it because us being on tour with them. Inevitably the label finds out about us because we’re doing so many shows with a band on their label.

M: Barn Burner, Bison, and Priestess get tagged as “stoner metal” and “stoner rock.” Some bands hate it, but Barn Burner seems to embrace it.
KK: Yeah, I mean, we never set out to be pinned down that way, but people sort of have. I wasn’t about to be like “No man, you can’t label us.” Every band tries to do that. “Our sound is indescribable.” No it’s not, it’s totally describable. We’re guilty as charged. We listen to piles of old metal and new metal and classic rock. If people peg us as stoner metal, all right. If you want to throw us somewhere, I prefer that over boogie rock or something like that that we’ve been called. “Stoner metal” sounds a bit more menacing. I’m not about to fight that, but at the same time people will be like, “Oh, it’s another Sabbath-worship band,” and then stoner metal becomes sort of negative and generic.

M: Let’s throw a few names out there, and you say what, if any, influence they’ve had on Barn Burner: Sabbath.
KK: Yeah, I mean, that one for sure. The whole [publicity] bio thing, what you see, any influence that was dropped was the label’s doing. That’s kinda bit me in the ass in a way ’cause everybody sort of mentions, like, Fu Manchu and Thin Lizzy. Both those bands are rad, but I have one Fu Manchu album that I just recently got because people were pegging us as Fu Manchu [laughs].

M: I had them on the list to ask about, actually.
KK: Yeah, the label said something like “the three-headed love child of Iron Maiden, Fu Manchu, and Thin Lizzy,” and now people will say in reviews, “the self-proclaimed three-headed love child.” No! We didn’t say that [laughs]. We’re not saying any bands we sound like. O.K., yeah, when someone says Sabbath, yeah of course. Maiden? Yeah, of course. There’s also heaps of contemporary stuff. I listen to tons of death metal that makes its way in there. The whole Fu Manchu thing totally bugs me though. It’s like, “No, I’ve never listened to those guys.”

M: It’s funny you bought a record after being compared to them.
KK: For sure. I was like, “Maybe I should check these guys out.”

M: What about Corrosion Of Conformity?
KK: That’s another one. C.O.C. I only remember from when I was super young, when I first got into Megadeth and Metallica. This was when I was 11 or 12. I haven’t listened to them since [laughs]. We get the C.O.C. thing, too, and I’m like “Fuck, I should probably check them out.”

M: Last question. Barn Burner: one word or two?
KK: Two words! It is two words. It drives me crazy, too. You’re picking up on all the shit that drives me nuts, and I love it.

M: You guys should make a shirt with the band logo on the front and “Two fucking words!” on the back.
KK: To clarify! And have another shirt that says “We Don’t Listen To Fu Manchu!”

CONGRATS: Cardiac Arrest — The South Side death-metal stalwart recently got some much-deserved attention when it signed with Ibex Moon (Incantation, Acheron, Asphyx), which releases Haven For The Insane June 8th. If you can’t wait that long, Cardiac will host a listening party for the record when it guest DJs at Exit June 6th. It will also be part of the Campaign For Death Metal Purity Tour with labelmates HOD and Gravehill stops at Nite Cap July 9th . . . Bible Of The Devil — What happens when two of this writer’s favorite things in the world, beer and Bible Of The Devil, are combined? Devil’s Handshake, a new American Pale Ale by 3 Floyds, the Munster, Indiana brewery responsible for Dark Lord Day. Bible now has a beer named after it. Brewtal. The band celebrates the official release June 2nd at Quenchers with Broken Teeth (featuring Jason McMaster of Dangerous Toys/Watchtower/Ignitor) and The Vibrolas.

MOSH WORTHY . . . LIVE: Yakuza record release (Beat Kitchen, 6/5); Macabre, Jungle Rot (Bada Brew, 6/12); Eyehategod (Empty Bottle, 6/19-6/20); Melvins (Double Door, 6/25); High Spirits, Chapstik (Red Line Tap, 6/26).

– Trevor Fisher

Almost. Truth is, June is this column’s official birthday, but — lucky you — I’ve decided to celebrate early.

Why? Necessity. In a five-day span last month my wife had a colectomy, my father suffered a minor heart attack, and my sister — getting ready to visit Dad — tripped, conked her coconut, lost consciousness, and ended up in the emergency room.

Needless to say, such a flurry of bodily harm left precious little time for writing. I know. I know. I should have been on the ball enough to file my text with Illinois Entertainer before the wife’s scheduled colon-yanking. But I wasn’t.

Luckily, my editor is a caring, understanding, roguishly handsome gentleman who understands shit fucking happens. And because of shit fucking happening, you’re getting a highlight reel of quotes this month. Coining it a celebration of the column’s first three years — a “Caught In A Mosh” greatest-hits compilation, if you will — makes me feel a lot better, though.

Two quick bits first. First, fuck Lollapalooza. Another year with absolutely no metal acts. (Say Wolfmother. I dare ya.) Tool played last year? Better than nothin’, but that’s metal for people who don’t like metal. Would it kill the dicks at C3 Presents to book one honest-to-goodness heavy-metal band? Would the profit be totally wiped out if Skeletonwitch was on the bill instead of My Dear Disco? Maybe throw Nachtmystium in the mix? Might as well, it couldn’t be any more confusing to longtime followers than Addicts: Black Meddle Pt. II. Which brings us to my second bit: People are going to flip the fuck out when they hear this record, out via Century Media on June 8th. You aren’t prepared. Believe me. Witnessing the reaction on both sides of the fence — love and hate — will be fun.

June 2009 — “Metalocalypse” co-creator Brendan Small discusses the best part of the show’s success: “The coolest thing about the entire show, though, I think, is the whole guitar thing. Just the fact there’s an endorsement deal from Gibson. I’m just a big Gibson geek; Line 6, Krank Amps, just getting to talk to these guys. Just cool shit like that. It’s one of those things where I don’t think I’d give a fuck about any endorsement. There have been some people come to us with like, ‘How about a shampoo endorsement?’ I don’t give a fuck about shampoo. But guitars? Those I like to use. Guitars are cool. Pedals are cool. Amps are cool any day of the week. I’m sure we could get a lot of money from doing a big McDonald’s crossover. Who knows? Maybe someday they’ll put up an offer we can’t refuse. But right now, I’d never want to do it. But, money can talk me out of anything. So how about that for artistic integrity? Or as Nathan Explosion said, not to quote myself, ‘Though I do not believe this is the right thing to do artistically, I do, however, believe that this is the right thing to do financially.’”

April 2010 — Darkthrone drummer Fenriz on “That ’70s Show” character Red: “What, you think his son is cooler? NO ONE is cooler than Red, plus he’s a hard-ass, and I prefer that to URKEL.”

August 2007 — “Mosh” asks Beatallica guitarist/singer Jaymz Lennfield if he has any other pop/metal bash-up-band ideas: “Barry Manowar.”

September 2010 — Decibel editor-in-chief Albert Mudrian explains why some bands won’t participate in his magazine’s “Hall Of Fame” feature: “Sometimes you don’t get any reason at all. They just say no. Like Refused just aptly says no. Neurosis say no, but they’re very polite. It’s generally you don’t get a reason. I guess the oddest thing is that pact the ex-Helmet members have. They all got together, or at least John Stanier I think was kind of the architect of that. We had Henry Bogdan and the other guitar player [Peter Mengede], and one of them had committed to doing the interview before John Stanier stepped in and fucking shut him down! I don’t know what went on in that Helmet lineup. I would assume it’s something not good. I would assume someone feels they were wronged in a serious way, and I’m guessing that guy was John Stanier. Whatever. We’ve tried. It’s nice, though because now I don’t have to pretend like I give a shit about Battles [laughs].”

March 2008 — Reptoids guitarist/vocalist Karen Binor on trying, unsuccessfully, to hire music producer Matt Bayles and his staff: “They’re like ‘Reptoids? More like Repturds.’”

February 2008 — Nachtmystium frontman Blake Judd admits outgrowing black metal’s hardline mentality: “That kind of music, especially that angle of it, attracts people who are uncomfortable with themselves. I was one of those people — a teenager. The attitude is still there, it’s just all these insecure idiots trying to uphold this ‘I’m an elitist, arrr, I’m at my mom’s house.’ Fuck you, dude. Go get a fucking job. Drive a Lexus when you’re 20, and then you’re an elitist. Fuck off. I chuckle at black metal. I don’t chuckle at it all, but I chuckle at that mentality. And I laugh at myself five years ago when I was that guy.”

December 2008 — Suicidal Tendencies’ Mike Muir talks about the band’s yet-to-be-released new record: “There’s a lot of stuff that no one’s listened to, and that’s cool with me because you do music because you love it. You do a record because there’s a purpose and a reason, and I think that when people hear the record I think there will be a lot of people who are the same as every [album] — a lot of people who are really excited and a lot of people really bummed out. I think a lot of people will be bummed out for the right reason: because it’s Suicidal and it’s a lot better than the bands they like.

May 2009 — Primordial frontman Alan A. Nemtheanga (pictured) offers his opinion on the designation “folk metal”: “I think I hate this term even more than ‘pagan metal.’ This brings to mind cringe-worthingly bad bands from Italy, Germany, or Spain singing about Vikings using the same tired, boring chords and notations we’ve all heard a million times before. Just because you put an accordion in there and wear old shirts you bought from the medieval market doesn’t make it interesting, and doesn’t mean you can get away with thudding along on the same barre chord underneath while you drop in variations on the opening notes of [Finntroll's] ‘Trollhammeren’ over the top. Get a life, find out about your own area, your own culture, your own indigenous instruments and songs. Stop stealing things from Scandinavia. Listen to Hammerheart by Bathory, and learn from the master.”

MOSH-WORTHY: Cathedral The Guessing Game (Nuclear Blast); Bison B.C. Dark Ages (Metal Blade); Reptoids v3.0 demo; Borknagar, Universal (Indie Recordings); Semen Datura Einsamkeit (ATMF).

MOSH-WORTHY . . . LIVE: Metal Haven farewell show with (Kommandant/High Spirits/The Chasm at Reggie’s, 5/1); Tyr/Earthen Grave/Urn (Bottom Lounge, 5/4); Killing Joke (Empty Bottle, 5/28-29); Blood Of The Tyrant (Exit, 5/30); Entombed/Sweet Cobra (Reggie’s, 6/5).

– Trevor Fisher

Darkthrone drummer/vocalist Fenriz dislikes phone interviews. “Caught In A Mosh” columnist Trevor Fisher dislikes e-mail interviews. Who caved in order for Darkthrone to be featured in this month’s column?

Me, of course. It’s fucking Darkthrone. I would have done this shit with two tin cans and a string (still telephone communication?). Few “Mosh” readers — with the exception of my mom and dad — need any background on this band. For those who do: Dudes (Fenriz and guitarist/vocalist Nocturno Culto for 16 of the group’s 22 years) were one of the main reasons The Second Wave Of Black Metal even earned official designation. So instead of me talking about Darkthrone, I’ll let Fenriz, who took some time on a grim, frostbitten March day (I assume/hope every day in Norway is grim and frostbitten) to answer “Mosh” questions about the band’s newest — 14th — record, Circle The Wagons (Peaceville) and listen to some Steely Dan, apparently. Aja, to be exact.

FYI: I felt applying the “Associated Press Stylebook” to Fenriz’s replies would sacrifice emphasis and mood, so the only editing was for spelling or clarification purposes — hence all the capped letters Fenriz enjoys. Also, check Illinoisenter-tainer.com for the full Darkthrone interview.

Mosh: I read an interview a few months back in which you or Nocturno said Circle The Wagons wouldn’t have any black-metal elements. Was that a “goal” you set for yourselves when writing, or a reaction to the material after it was recorded?

Fenriz: Not really. We don’t have any plans, THE THRONE (haha) runs on coincidence. Another proof of that is the first two songs session-recorded for this album had two bass drums. Not until after that I thought, “What would be the best for my new songs and what would be the least typical ’90s thing to do? Ah, to use only one bass drum.” So it’s not really totalitarian this here project, although there are always exceptions.

M: Many Darkthrone fans (and us know-it-all writers) view The Cult Is Alive as the point where Darkthrone “crossed over” from black metal to the more speed metal/crust-punk sound employed now. Is that a fair assessment?

F: Well, I know MY crust period was mainly ‘98 to 2005; then it was more and more old metal and [New Wave Of British Heavy Metal]. BUT in Darkthrone I had made mostly whatever I wanted since 2002, but as Ted [Skjellum, a.k.a. Nocturno] came up with the splendid idea of buying a portable studio for us, then we both knew that our sound would get more DUSTY, more like ZEBULON MACAHAN (which our entire album is dedicated to). NECROHELL, TOO, MADE US DO IT! Nah, but it sure as hell triggered us to go all SPEEDWAY on y’all and make some FREESTYLE METAL at least.

M: Where does Circle The Wagons fall?

F: Heavy metal/speed metal NWOBHM-punk. In other words, OLD-TIMER METAL! Ted made four songs, and I made five. [The power of Steely Dan overpowers Fenriz.] WHOA GREAT DRUMMING BY STEVE GADD ON THE TITLE TRACK, Aja. The album starts with one of mine, and then it’s every other all through the album. Very DEMOcratic, haha. His songs [are] within the 1970 to 1989 scope while my songs are almost purely 1979 to 1985 style.

M: Care to explain the album title? When you say “it’s a message to the invaders of our metal domain,” are you talking about specific bands? Specific movements of metal music? Trends?

F: Yes, all studio “experimentation” on metal, even from ZZ Top ’80s (Although I like Eliminator and Afterburner IN SPITE of the sound!) until Release From Agony with Destruction to our own Soulside Journey album — where we learnt from our mistake — to all those who use click drums or any modern instant-gratification sound on their albums where the instruments just sound “powerful,” not like REAL instruments. I’ve been on that warpath since I was a spring chicken, no reason to suddenly quit. Main thing, of course, being the typical drum sound of overground ’80s and then the entire scene almost in the ’90s. But on their last album, even Kiss understood that dry, ’70s sound on drums is best for our music styles. I rest my case. But guess what, who are the slowest in the universe to GET IT, to quit the horrible click drums? Yes, “extreme metallers.” I’ve always hated that term anyway, or, it wasn’t for me. As far as I’m concerned we play MODERATE METAL WITH UGLY VOCALS.

M: I noticed Devastation (from Chicago) is a Top Friend on Darkthrone’s Myspace page. What does that band mean to you?

F: Well, I can tell ya that. In 1987, I started tape trading. I got in touch with Nicke Andersson (Nihilist, Entombed, Hella-copters, Death Breath, etc.) and many others of course, but the great thing is that he had all these great U.S.A. demos and bands to share, and Devastation just floored me. It was so tight, the snare rolls were so fine, mmmmm-hmm, that band was a-rockin’! I played it to the guys of Darkthrone and Valhall too, of course, and traded it onwards to others . . . and I never stopped liking that tape, throughout the ’90s as well and the ’00s . . . almost 20 years. And then I got in touch with them, ‘cuz what happened? The ’80s had little info, the ’90s I wasn’t interested in info, and then as the ’00s passed I finally got a computer, and then suddenly there was info on tapes that I had been into since the ’80s. Anyway, the music on it is a mix of thrash and death, very good vocals, and on one song he drrrrrraaaaaws out the words just like Dead from Morbid/ Mayhem would do, so it was the first time I heard vocal phonetics/way of singing words like that. Very interesting.

M: While on the subject of Myspace, I’d regret not mentioning your fanfuckingtastic Band Of The Week blog. How do you discover bands? Digging around on your own? Suggestions from others? Bands sending you music?

F: ALL OF THE ABOVE, the same way one got into music in the ’80s tape-trader scene a bit as well. I am not part of the usual PROMO CIRCLE (all people in press often get the same promos), this brainwashes them with how metal supposedly sounds without hearing all the resisting bands of the underground. So I don’t get any big band promos, I don’t really get promos as I don’t want stuff. I have too much. But I want SOME and then I contact those bands directly for a trade or whatnot. I don’t have an official address. That’s how you end up getting the OV HELL promo, hahahahahahaha. What a joke.

M: Last Myspace question: Why is Red, from “That ’70s Show,” a hero?

F: What, you think his son is cooler? NO ONE is cooler than Red, plus he’s a hard-ass, and I prefer that to URKEL. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!

OUT NOW: Helloween fans, don’t say this column didn’t warn you about Unarmed (The End). When this CD arrived I thought “Awesome! A best-of collection to celebrate the band’s 25th anniversary. I don’t own very many Helloween records, so this is great!” It isn’t great. Not at all. A few minutes in I had to check the press info sent by the label ’cause this sure as shit isn’t the “A Tale That Wasn’t Right” I know. Listen, I get it. Helloween doesn’t have casual fans. You either love the group or think anyone who does is a giant fucking nerd and, therefore, throwing together a plain ol’ 12-song greatest-hits collection is a waste. But 70-piece orchestras? Gregorian choirs? Sure, if any metal act is suited for a symphonic makeover, it’s Helloween, but these cheesedick arrangements sap the power from songs like “Dr. Stein” and “Eagle Fly Free.” They sap the power! From the band that perfected power metal! More power!

MOSH-WORTHY: Lair Of The Minotaur Evil Power (Grind-House); High On Fire Snakes For The Divine (E1); Hookers, “Horror Rises From The Tombs”/”Beware The Mugger” single (Red Tornado); Arriver Simon Mann E.P. (Bec-Rec); Fireball Ministry Fireball Ministry (Restricted Release).

– Trevor Fisher

All the talk nowadays is about the big boys. Slayer, Megadeth, Testament, and Exodus are all touring together in some way, shape, or form, and rumors of a Big Four package (Dave Mustaine told Decibel magazine that Megadeth received an offer) continue to swirl. It’s easy, then, to get swept up in the hype and lose track of a band like, say, Kreator. But answer this: Who, of all the bands named and implied above, released a better record in the last three years than Kreator’s 2009 hunk of kick ass, Hordes Of Chaos (SPV)?

Certainly not Megadeth or Metallica. Exodus’ modern-day output is respectable, but nothing more, and Anthrax’s inability to put out a studio album in seven years disqualifies it from consideration. Maybe Slayer should keep Testament around once Tom Araya’s back heals, replace Megadeth with Kreator, and rip the States a new one.

Until then, Kreator has a nice little thing of its own going. The Hordes Of Chaos Part II Tour (Kreator, Voivod, Nachtmystium, Evile, and Lazarus A.D.) fucks up the Bottom Lounge Friday, March 12th. Fresh off announcing his band’s deal with Nuclear Blast, Kreator vocalist/guitarist/founder Mille Petrozza answered e-mail questions from “Caught In A Mosh” using the fewest words possible.

Mosh: The Hordes Of Chaos Part II Tour is very diverse. How much input did the band have in choosing its tourmates?

Mille Petrozza: We have input, but we also trust our management and booking agent. We all make suggestions and see who’s available.

M: Many of metal’s older generation confess lacking knowledge about younger counterparts, but judging from this tour, it isn’t the case with Kreator.

MP: The younger bands keep the scene alive! It is important to keep track on what’s happening in the underground, in my opinion.

M: Are you personally psyched about any of the bands onboard?

MP: I’m looking forward to all of the bands on the bill, but of course we have the closest relationship with Voivod, who [in 1987] were the first band that ever invited us to tour the U.S.

M: Being sons of our city, Nachtmystium is an intriguing choice for us Chicagoans. What does that group bring to the table?

MP: They seem to be a very good band with a vision. I like their music, and I’m looking forward to meeting the guys.

M: The band based part of this tour’s setlist on fan voting. Can you share any of the results? Anything particularly surprise you?

MP: We’ve had thousands of votes, and the surprising thing is that our taste is not that far off from what our fans like. There will be some songs in the set that we haven’t played in a long time.

M: Being an “elder statesman” of thrash, what are your thoughts on a possible Big Four tour?

MP: I don’t like all of the Big Four bands, so to me, big two would be enough.

M: So record sales, popularity, and critical acclaim aside, what four thrash bands should rightfully occupy a spot in the Big Four, in Mille Petrozza’s mind?

MP: Sorry man, I do not think in these categories. Any band that compares their music or their career to other bands lose a part of their integrity.

M: This being Kreator’s 25th Anniversary, and you being the founder, did you really think it would last this fucking long?

MP: Honestly, no. I live in the here and now and always have. So when I started I maybe thought about the next coming week. I never think as far ahead as 25 years. To me, time is an illusion anyway.

R.I.P. METAL HAVEN: An “Armageddon Sale” isn’t a good promotion for any record store, even one that specializes in grim, foreboding heavy metal. But the end hath arrived for Metal Haven. Save new releases, everything at 2003 W. Montrose is on sale. Discounts will increase randomly throughout March and April, and owner Mark Weglarz shuts ‘er down for good by May 1st.

“I let the [customers] dictate the closing of the store,” Weglarz explains. “As long as enough people came in to pay the bills then I would stay open. When I couldn’t pay the bills anymore, then I would close.”

Explanation? Weglarz can’t afford electricity if we can’t afford the new Destroyer 666. The Skulleted One first noticed declining numbers in 2004 and admits worrying the store wouldn’t even last the length of the three-year lease he signed when Metal Haven moved from Lakeview to its current North Center home in 2007.

Surprisingly, Weglarz isn’t bitter. Though maybe he thinks it, he never once mentions MP3s, downloading, pirating, or the motherfucking iPod. And in truth, downloading and pirating didn’t kill Metal Haven. Did they have an effect? Sure, the guy sitting at home stealing Peaceville’s entire catalog helped pound a nail into the store’s coffin, but most folks shopping at Metal Haven aren’t the kind to buy Autopsy’s Severed Survival anniversary reissue through iTunes. They wouldn’t even know how . . . and that’s meant as a compliment.

“The store is not directed at the casual fan,” Weglarz says proudly. “It’s for the die-hard fan, and what comes with die-hard fans is a loyal customer base.”

“It doesn’t take much to combine $3 cans of shitty beer with your collection of Southern Lord releases and put on a ‘Metal Night’ at some lame bar,” says Chris Black, Superchrist frontman and a former Metal Haven employee. “To open and operate a niche music retail store takes incredible persistence and dedication, not just to the music itself but to the fans. The fact that the store endured as long as it did is in turn a credit to the fans who supported it.”

For more than a decade, Metal Haven was a place honest-to-goodness heavy- metal fans could fraternize. A place where they, not we, are different. A place where you didn’t get the grow-the-fuck-up look from the Pitchfork-worshipping clerk for asking where Entombed is. A place that always had a stocked Manowar section. A place that dedicated shelf space exclusively to “brutal shit,” yet sold Celine Dion cassettes. A place you showed off like you owned the joint to out-of-town friends.

Here’s to a decade of being the most goddamned spoiled heavy-metal fans in this whole country.

Favorite Metal Haven Moments

Larry Herweg, Pelican: My favorite memory of Mark and his awesome shop is when I came in to buy records, as I often did for a time when I lived really close to the shop. He was pretty astute to what I liked — “Hey man, I got the new Decapitated, new Morbid Angel, Vader.” Then one day I asked him for Blind Guardian and Hammerfall CDs. He was stunned I was going the power-metal route! We laughed about it for a bit.

Chris Black: I have to say that April 13th, 2001 might have been the most important day in Metal Haven history. It was a fairly ordinary Friday afternoon until the Cianide guys came in on a mission. Other than acquiring some Autopsy reissues, their objective was to convince us that it was not only acceptable, but sometimes necessary, to have a few beers during business hours. If you’ve seen Cianide live, you know how persuasive they can be. We soon were seeing things their way, and the events of that April 13th marked the beginning of the fraternity atmosphere that characterizes the store to this day.

Kevin Connerty, Vicious Attack: Without question it would have to be the 6-6-2006 sale. I remember me and a friend showin’ up there, and as we were lookin’ for parking we saw this line out the door and down Belmont. Mark was dressed in a devil costume, and I tell you the sight of all those people brought me back to the days of the Rolling Stones [Records] meet-and-greets. We never did make it in to buy anything, but we waited in line for around three hours anyway, just for the hell of it.

Paul Kuhr, Novembers Doom: My favorite memory is simply coming across a CD at random that I had searched for for many years. Metal Haven was the source of underground metal. Period.

– Trevor Fisher

Sigh

It’s become an unspoken rule that we, music writers and critics, must crown such an album within the first 59 days of the new year. You can squeeze one in before the new year? Fantastic! I’m fairly sure scribes who cover any of the arts are guilty as well, but as guilty? In music, the chance to say “It’s 2010’s first great record” is the young, exposed gazelle separated from its herd, and writers are the slobbering, starving wild dogs in hiding . . . waiting. Ready.

Maybe we’re still high on the egotistical buzz of our we’re-published-so-you-should-give-a-shit “official” Best Of ‘09 lists (perfect opportunity to mention mine is in last month’s issue), or maybe ratings, lists, and disposition are so embedded in our brains that the need to dub something fucking fantastic — or fucking horrible — so quickly is just part of the career, like financial embarrassment and opportunities to discuss a famous musician’s line of BBQ/hot sauce with him.

But, as many times as you’ve fallen for this trick only to end up wasting valuable money and time on a shitty record, you still play fetch every time we fling it, don’t you? So do I, grasshoppers. So do I. Hence my interest in the new Sigh album, Scenes From Hell (The End). When I saw big, bold-face type on a certain heavy-metal site that proclaimed this to be this year’s first Chosen One (with 15 days left in 2009!), I had to hear. Great? Nah. Bizarre? Definitely. It could be — despite eight studio records in 20 years — I’ve never truly sat down and listened to the Japanese group and, therefore, wasn’t mentally prepared for the band’s violent jumble of black metal, classical, jazz, and sociopathic hatred. Some elements of Scenes From Hell, like the spaghetti-western horns of “The Summer Funeral,” are absolutely beautiful. But where there’s a beauty, Disney taught us, there’s a beast, and Sigh’s beast ain’t trying to win a beautiful, young woman’s heart. No, the beast that dwells in tracks such as “Vanitas” and “Prelude To An Oracle” will rip her body apart limb by limb, feast upon her flesh, and perform some sort of Satanic werewolf ritual with her still-beating heart. It all makes sense given vocalist/saxophonist Dr. Mikannibal’s claims of drinking cow’s blood before stripping nude for her studio takes. (Sources close to “Mosh” say Yakuza’s Bruce Lamont does the same.)

I can’t tell you what I think the Best Of 2010 . . . So Far is because I’ve yet to hear anything that convinces me it exists (plus, I fully expect High On Fire’s Snakes For The Divine — February 23rd! — to easily slay any foe with the possible exception of Nachtmystium’s Black Meddle Pt. 2), but I can tell ya what I’ve been jamming a lot just ’cause I think it’s cool: Barn Burner’s Bangers (February 16th). I was surprised — also a little pissed, because such geographical circumstances reduce opportunities for us Americans to see Barn Burner live (my hunch is they kill) — to discover the band is Canadian. They sound so damn U.-fucking-S.A. Specifically Southern U.S.A. Isn’t there enough sludgy, fuzzy Southern metal, you ask? Yes and no. There’s plenty of it, but not much done well. Bangers is. “Brohemoth,” “Holy Smokes,” “Half Past Haggard,” and everything else on the group’s 11-song Metal Blade debut are stone-cold Sabbathy grooves (guitarists Kevin Keegan and Marc Doucette riff first and ask questions later) funneled through stacks of sweaty distortion, and saturated in bong water. It ain’t Corrosion Of Conformity, but it’s the closest we’ll get while the real C.O.C. continue to deny us a follow up to 2005’s outstanding In The Arms Of God.

LUCKY YOU: I was really late turning in “Mosh” this time. Otherwise, when Chicago Metal Factory honcho and occasional IE contributor (not to mention Macabre and Saint Vitus manager) Rodney Pawlak e-mailed me January 13th (sorry Steve) and asked if I could mention the new, awesome, CMF Web site, I wouldn’t have been able to so soon. Shit’s getting interactive at Thecmf.com! Promoters, bands, clubs, etc. can now create an account and edit/submit listings as needed, plus fans get the most extensive Chicagoland heavy-music calendar around and, if they dare see the face of evil, a forum.

DVDZ NUTS IN YO MOUTH: Here’s the great thing about music DVDs: They can make you give a shit about bands you otherwise wouldn’t. How many metalheads couldn’t give a squirt less about Lamb Of God but have, in fact, found themselves mesmerized by Walk With Me In Hell? When done right, a DVD can make you a fan, even if only for a few hours. Exodus‘ Shovel Headed Tour Machine: Live At Wacken And Other Assorted Atrocities (Nuclear Blast) is that DVD, more for the Other Assorted Atrocities than the Live At Wacken, though. Technically, Atrocities covers the band’s last five years on the road, but it reminisces enough to tell the Bay Area group’s hard-knock, rather-unlucky, sometimes-drug-addled tale. Interesting how the Paul Baloff (first Exodus singer; only recorded one record) years are so often discussed yet the Zetro (second singer; frontman during Exodus’ best years) era is all but ignored. Also interesting is the significant time dedicated to the band’s 2008 show at the now-closed Pearl Room in Mokena, during which they quit performing when frontman Rob Dukes witnessed security kick out and allegedly rough up stage-diving fans . . . Every single bone in my body wants to tell you Suicidal Tendencies‘ Live At The Olympic Auditorium (Suicidal) is great, but I can’t. It hurts. I love me some ST, but this DVD doesn’t love me back, mainly because there is nothing here but 15 songs and a few minutes of Mike Muir interview footage. It’s so bare that Credits (those that roll at the end of the movie) is a selection in the main menu. And don’t get fooled by the Interviews feature; it’s the exact Muir interview from the main presentation. The band’s career — essentially beginning as skate punks and evolving into thrash titans, plus all the lineup changes, not to mention being banned from playing in Los Angeles — is a pretty deep mine to extract from. No paydirt, though. A bit insulting for fans, given how long Live At The Olympic Auditorium has been on the shelf. The footage was shot in 2005, and during the show Muir tells the audience the DVD will be out in 2006 . . . yet the copyright in the credits is 2007. Live At The Olympic was released in January. 2010. Math ain’t never been my A subject, but it appears this thing is 5-years-old, and that’s plenty of time to tack on a few legitimate extras. Makes you question the fate of the the new Suicidal record, which Muir, in 2008, told “Mosh” would be out by early ‘09.

MOSH-WORTHY: Fear Factory Mechanize (Candlelight); Ruins Front The Final Foes (Debemur Morti); Barren Earth Curse Of The Red River (Peaceville); Hiems Worship Or Die (Moribund); Thorlock Crumbling Fortress EP (Godcantsave.us).

MOSH-WORTHY . . . LIVE: Mat Arluck Memorial show/Beat Kitchen/ February 4th; D.R.I., The Muzzler, and Chicago Thrash Ensemble/Reggie’s/6th; Beatallica and Cealed Kasket/Abbey Pub/12th; Raise The Red Lantern /Bottom Lounge/19th; Paul Di’Anno/ Icarus Witch/Bible Of The Devil/ Reggie’s/25th.

– Trevor Fisher

Below are Top Five Heavy Albums Of ‘09 lists compiled from all walks of the Chicago heavy-music scene. It’s self-explanatory, so why waste intro space?

I’d rather commit the words to the memory of Sweet Cobra guitarist Mat Arluck, who succumbed to cancer November 26th at 39-years old. Sweet Cobra is a favorite of mine, but I don’t mourn his death for that reason. No, his death hurts so fucking much because he was a great dude — plain and simple. I first met Arluck in June ‘08 during an IE-assembled roundtable discussion, but got to know him much better in the months leading to his passing. During that time we somehow became heavy-metal e-pals of sorts. (I have threads 35-replies long filled with geeky shit about Mastodon, Slayer, Flotsam And Jetsam, Amon Amarth . . . even Defiance!) I always found it odd — touching, really — when, if we’d been out of touch a few days, he’d apologize. Dude was going through radiation treatment, yet was remorseful for not maintaining correspondence.

Like so many, I’ll miss Mat. Obviously I’ll miss his musical contributions, but I’ll really miss that daily e-mail. I’ll miss talking King Diamond (whom he saw live something like 10 times!) with him. I’ll miss his sense of humor, and I’ll even miss being called douchelord (the man’s arsenal of derogatory names was staggering). My sincerest condolences go out to Mat’s friends, family, and bandmates.

Trevor Fisher, Illinois Entertainer
1. Mastodon Crack The Skye (Reprise)
2. Harbinger Doom On You (Planet Metal)
3. Slayer World Painted Blood (American)
4. Novembers Doom Into Night’s Requiem Infernal (The End)
5. Funeral Mist Maranatha (Ajna Offensive)
So close: Kylesa Static Tensions (Prosthetic) and Czar Czar EP (Cracknation)
So disappointing: Megadeth Endgame (Roadrunner) and Lamb Of God Wrath (Sony)

Mark Weglarz, Metal Haven
1. Blood Tsunami Grand Feast For Vultures (Candlelight)
2. Obscura Cosmogenesis (Relapse)
3. Funeral Mist Maranatha (Ajna Offensive)
4. Arghoslent Hornets Of The Pogrom (Drakkar)
5. Target Mission Executed (Stormspell)

Jim Bresnahan, Kommandant
1. Portal Swarth (Profound Lore)
2. Blut Aus Nord Memoria Vetusta II — Dialogue With The Stars (Candlelight)
3. Arditi Omne Ensis Impera (Equilibrium)
4. Xasthur All Reflections Drained (Hydra Head)
5. Mayhem Life Eternal EP (Saturnas/ Seasons Of Mist)

Mark Miller and Justin Essenpreis, Reviewsresist.com
1. Baroness Blue Record (Relapse)
2. Skeletonwitch Breathing The Fire (Pros-thetic)
3. Scale The Summit Carving Desert Can-yons (Prosthetic)
4. Mastodon Crack The Skye (Reprise)
5. Slayer World Painted Blood (American)

Tom Knizner, Cardiac Arrest/Severed
1. Post Mortem Message From The Dead (Taboo Productions)
2. Asphyx Death . . . The Brutal Way (Century Media/Ibex Moon)
3. Gravehill Rites Of The Pentagram (Enucleation)
4. HOD Serpent (Ibex Moon)
5. Autopsy Severed Survival 20th Anniv-ersary Reissue (Peaceville)

Steve Rathbone, Lair Of The Minotaur
1. Satyricon The Age Of Nero (E1)
2. Goatwhore Carving Out The Eyes Of God (Metal Blade)
3. Beherit Engram (Fontana)
4. Obituary Darkest Day (Candlelight)
5. Destroyer 666 Defiance (Seasons Of Mist)

Bruce Lamont, Yakuza
1. Keelhaul Triumphant Return To Obscurity (Hydra Head)
2. Helen Money In Tune (Radium)
3. Nachtmystium Doomsday Derelicts EP (Battle Kommand)
4. Minsk With Echoes In Movement Of Stone (Relapse)
5. Mastodon Crack The Skye (Reprise)

Steve Forstneger, Illinois Entertainer
1. Baroness Blue Record (Relapse)
2. Novembers Doom Into Night’s Requiem Infernal (The End)
3. Grief Of War Worship (Prosthetic)
4. Mastodon Crack The Skye (Reprise)
5. Sunn Monoliths & Dimensions (Southern Lord)

Scott Davidson, Rebel Radio/Earthen Grave
1. Slayer World Painted Blood (Reprise)
2. Hatebreed Hatebreed (E1)
3. Lamb Of God Wrath (Sony)
4. Mastodon Crack The Skye (Reprise)
5. Megadeth Endgame (Roadrunner)

Renato, D.I.Y. & Conquer Promotions
1. The Gates Of Slumber Hymns Of Blood And Thunder (Rise Above/Metal Blade)
2. Asphyx Death . . . The Brutal Way (Ibex Moon/Century Media)
3. Archgoat Light Devouring Darkness (Blasphemous Underground)
4. Church Of Misery Houses Of The Unholy (Metal Blade)
5. Karl Sanders Saurian Exorcisms (The End)

Rodney Pawlak, Chicago Metal Factory
1. Municipal Waste Massive Aggressive (Earache)
2. Between The Buried And Me The Great Misdirect (Victory)
3. At War Infidel (Heavy Artillery)
4. Sleepy Sun Embrace (ATP)
5. Devin Townsend Ki (Inside Out)

Jason Novak, Czar
1. Mastodon Crack The Skye (Reprise)
2. Baroness Blue Record (Relapse)
3. Tombs Winterhours (Relapse)
4. Nile Those Whom The Gods Detest (Nuclear Blast)
5. Isis Wavering Radiant (Ipecac)