Category Archives: Other Reviews

Attraction Review – Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum (Thal bei Graz, Austria)

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You want to know what is best in life? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to visit the Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum in Austria!

Rating1

Arnies_Life_ThalIf you’re a fan of Heavy Metal, you’re probably a fan of the one and only Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger too. Also known as the Austrian Oak, the Styrian Oak, The Governator or simply Arnie, he is unquestionably the greatest action movie actor of all time, the most successful bodybuilder in history and, of course, a hero for millions of people all over the world. Movies like The Terminator (I, II and III), Predator, Last Action Hero, Conan the Barbarian, The Expendables II, among others, are either an inspiration for many heavy music bands such as Austrian Death Machine, with awesome songs like Get To The Choppa and I Need Your Clothes, Your Boots, and Your Motorcycle, or their soundtracks are full of powerful Heavy Metal/Hard Rock tunes like AC/DC’s Big Gun, Megadeth’s Angry Again and, of course, one of Guns N’ Roses’ greatest hits, the awesome You Could Be Mine. Who doesn’t love when Arnold stares at Axl Rose, grins and walks off in the official video for this song?

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“I’m a cybernetic organism. Living tissue over a metal endoskeleton.”

That’s why the third (and last) installment of my recent trip to Europe will be dedicated to reviewing one of the coolest museums in the world, and by far my favorite one of all: the Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum (or Arnie’s Life) in Thal bei Graz is not just a regular museum with some of Arnold’s old stuff and memorabilia, but a place where you can live his life and truly breathe all his accomplishments as a Hollywood star, his work as a the Governor of California and his exceptional achievements in bodybuilding. And the location of the museum was not chosen in vain, as it’s the actual house where Arnold grew up and spent a great part of his life, including his childhood and adolescence, and where he started his path to glory in the world of bodybuilding. Moreover, the overall quality of this amazing collection of documents, awards, props and everything else you can imagine about his bodybuilding, acting, political and personal life is enhanced by all the beauty and peace of the sorroundings of Thal. Arnold himself said many times how all the nature and peace in Thal inspired him to be a protector of the environment, especially during his years as “The Governator”.

In regards to the museum itself, I would say the top must-see items available are everything related to his role as the T-800 terminator, including his totally awesome Harley-Davidson from Terminator II, all his bodybuilding equipment (which by the way are all original from when he started working out), and many documents and other items related to his years as a politician. In addition, things like the sword used by the mighty Conan, the jacket and gun used by Sheriff Ray Owens and the costume used by Mr. Freeze make the whole experience even more fun, and of course, the Arnold statue at the entrance of the museum, just outside the front door, is truly inspirational for anyone, even if you have never been a fan of Arnie.

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“Conan, what is best in life?”

Finally, although many people say the museum is located in the city of Graz, it’s not that easy to get there from the city centre, especially walking. Arnie’s Life is actually located in the city of Thal, which is about 20 minutes from downtown Graz if you’re driving. I went there by car and used my GPS, typing in the museum’s postal code (8051) instead of the city name as it wasn’t finding Thal in the list of cities, and that worked perfectly. However, if you’re backpacking and travelling by train or bus only, there are some options available by public transportation from Graz which you can see HERE.

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“The best activities for your health are pumping and humping.”

To sum up, instead of “getting to the choppa”, get to Arnie’s Life and enjoy all your moments there: it’s such a pleasant and entertaining environment you won’t even notice time quickly passing by. In a world where pretty much all blockbuster movies are pure garbage and the actors and actresses have zero charisma, it’s good to “go back in time” and admire the history of a man that has always helped change the world for better, no matter what he does. I just loved the museum, and when I left it the only sentence I could think of was, of course, I’LL BE BACK!

Opening hours
Monday to Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm (last entrance: 4:30 pm)

From June 1, 2014 on: every Saturday and Sunday guided tours through the museum (start: 11 am, 3 pm)

Admission charge
Adults: € 6,50
Concessions*: € 5,00
Children from 5 to 14 years / school groups: € 3,00
Regular guided tour: € 10,00 (unique for a group)
Audioguide (German or English): € 2,00

* Valid for groups of 10 or over, children up to age 15, teens, students up to age 27, senior citizens over 65 or on presentation of a valid pensioners´ ID, challenged people, military and community service conscripts, unemployed persons.

Contact info & location
Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum
Linakstraße 9
A – 8051 Thal, Austria
+43 (0) 316 571 947
http://www.arnieslife.com/

 

Beverage Review – AC/DC Premium Lager Beer

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Australian Hard Rock icons are back in “beer”, although not as good as expected.

Rating7

IMG_1641For the sake of heavy music, Australian Hard Rock gods AC/DC are not going to retire as many websites and newspapers like the National Post and Billboard said a few weeks ago. Those were only false rumors promptly denied by the band itself, which means we can keep enjoying AC/DC’s unparalleled music legacy without worrying (at least for now) about the band breaking up. However, just as many other huge heavy music icons in the world, such as Iron Maiden, Motörhead, KISS, among others, Angus Young & Co. are investing in other sources of income or alternatives for the gigantic tumble all physical album sales and even part of digital sales have been suffering in the past decade due to illegal downloads.

Thus, one of the most explored markets by all of those bands, including AC/DC, is the alcoholic beverage industry, and among the AC/DC beverages we have the AC/DC Premium Lager Beer. The band’s motto for their beer is “Australian Rock meets German beer”, and according to their website, “If you wanna rock hard, you need the right beer. AC/DC, the infamous Hardrock Legends from down under, have been delivering true rock for the last 40 years. Now they give their name for true pint-sized Australian taste as well.” In addition, the information AC/DC provides about their beer is that “AC/DC Premium Lager Beer is 568mL of true German Premium Lager with mouthwatering 5.0% alc. This lager fires up your tongue like TNT, comes with a great beer-loving taste and is brewed in accordance with the Rock`n Roll manifesto of 1973 and the German purity law of 1516.”

The only problem is that, besides those powerful words and the beauty of the can, nothing else really stands out when you actually taste the beer. It’s just an average golden color beer with a tiny white head that doesn’t last for too long, and a not very exciting malt taste with hints of grassy hops. The aroma of corn and grains is not bad, but it’s not as good as many other lagers in the market, and also the beer tends to become too watery after a while if you don’t drink it fast. I know this happens with many other beers, but believe me, with the AC/DC one this “process” is extremely fast, and if you are a head lover you’ll probably hate this beer.

One thing that really bothered me after drinking the AC/DC beer was the unpleasant bitterness in the aftertaste. I enjoy drinking all types of beer, including some very bitter ones once in a while, but if the beer leaves that strong bitter taste after you’re done with it, then it’s an issue for me. I’m not sure why they called a beer that leaves such an unpleasant taste in your mouth a “German premium lager”, because I’ve never tasted a premium beer with that negative characteristic. And that’s what will probably disappoint all AC/DC diehard fans the most: the fact that a beer that’s being sold as “Australian Rock” with “German beer” feels more like a rip-off marketing strategy than something natural and honest. How can it be German if it’s brewed in France? I’m far from being a beer connoiseur, but that disparity between countries doesn’t make much sense to me.

IMG_1644Anyway, if you’re still interested in trying it, the AC/DC beer is available in Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Germany, Luxembourg, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and probably in some other countries not listed, like Australia, Italy and France. By the way, why is it not listed as available in their home country (Australia) and in the country of production (France)? There’s either something missing from their official website, or their distribution strategy is one of the weirdest and most incomplete things I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

You can go to their “Dealer” section on the official website and search for a dealer where you can buy some AC/DC beer, and if you live in Canada it’s available at The Beer Store, just browse by location to find the nearest store to where you live, and you can also check the list of all other beers available in each store.

To sum up, although we’re talking about one of the biggest Rock N’ Roll bands in the history of mankind, their beer is just average and worth just a single try, nothing more than that. If I were you, as a Heavy Metal fan, I would go for a Trooper Beer, which is a lot more tasty and well-crafted than the AC/DC one, and the price is not that much higher. Unfortunately, the AC/DC Premium Lager will not shake you all night long. At least not in a good way.

Beer details
Category: Imported
Attributes: Light
Type: Lager
Country: France
Brewer: Brasserie Licorne Sas
Alcohol Content (ABV): 5.0%
Price: CAD$ 2.25 (1 × Can 500 ml)

Album Review – Syndrome / Colourful Cows EP (2013)

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An interesting and totally experimental alternative outside the world of Heavy Metal.

Rating5

Colourful CowsWhenever you want to have a “break” from all the intensity of Heavy Metal (if that’s humanly possible), an interesting alternative is the EP Colourful Cows, launched in 2013 by Israeli/English Electro-Rock Alternative band Syndrome. Formed in 2010 and based in Israel and London, UK, this independent band adds a lot of different elements and experimental techniques to their regular instruments, generating a unique sonority that will certainly please fans of alternative music.

According to the band, the EP tells the first part of a story about the “Colourful Cows”, a metaphor to our life and society, and their music is totally designed based on virtual and real instruments mixed together, live sampling, programmed synthesizing and new live performance methods. All this “technical” explanation might not make a lot of sense for anyone who’s not connected to this world of electronic/experimental music. However, after listening to the entire EP, you’ll be able to better understand their proposal.

The first track of the EP, Exhibition Trial, works as a welcome card to what the band can offer us: it’s a very experimental song, with heavy keyboards and some moments that make me feel I’m inside a “psycho circus”. It’s a good start that will make you want to listen more of Syndrome’s music. The following song, Change, is a song full of special electronic effects and samples that also has an interesting intro with a female voice saying we have to shoot “them” in the head in order to kill them. Are they referring to zombies, or maybe to real living human beings as per the original idea of the album? Even being a huge fan of zombies, I choose the second option without a shadow of a doubt.

SyndromeThen come Open The Gate, a ballad with several elements that remind me of what artists like David Bowie usually present in their compositions, and L.Q.C, a more Rock N’ Roll and by far the heaviest song in Colourful Cows, which nice solos mixed with strong synths and drumming made it my favorite of all.

Colourful Cows has three more tracks that are completely different from one another: Exhibition Trial II is an instrumental ballad based on a calm and smooth piano; Get My Words is another crazy music voyage, full of synths and with a curious synthesized guitar solo; and the outro Colourful Cows is totally experimental and as odd as it can be.

The music in Colourful Cows is so “weird” that I didn’t know where to add this review, if in the 2013 New Releases or in the 2014 New Releases. Well, guess what? Neither category was selected, first because the EP was released back in August 2013 (a long, long time ago), and second because it’s not Heavy Metal at all, so it couldn’t be added to any of those categories anyway. That’s why it ended up here in the middle of the Other Reviews, which might sound weird, but remember that’s what Syndrome are and enjoy doing after all.

Last but not least, if you’re a musician interested in knowing more about how Syndrome creates their music, go to their technical webpage called Insight, which displays video clips demonstrating their technology and methods.

Best moments of the album: Exhibition Trial, Change and L.Q.C.

Worst moments of the album: Open the Gate.

Released in 2013 Independent

Track listing
1. Exhibition Trial 3:29
2. Change 3:09
3. Open The Gate 3:12
4. L.Q.C 4:18
5. Exhibition Trial II 3:00
6. Get My Words 3:59
7. Colourful Cows 1:23

Band members
Eric Shlomi – vocals
Amo – guitar & synth
Kiki Kalifa – guitar
Shaltiel Elul – synth & conductor
Gil Zissu – bass guitar
Dima Shchukin – soundman

Website Review – Metal Travel Guide

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Worldwide Rock and Heavy Metal Location Guide.

Rating4

mtgIf you’re visiting a different city, province or country for the holidays, or if you’re already booking all your flights, trains and hotels for your vacations next summer, you might want to add to your trip some good Heavy Metal, right? Why not having a beer or two (or three, or four…) at a Metal pub, maybe watching a cover band or an original new band playing, instead of going to the same boring restaurants and pubs everyone goes during holidays?

An excellent source of information in terms of pubs, venues and some festivals is the Metal Travel Guide, a pretty straight forward website that lists many different Rock and Metal locations all around the world, divided by continents, countries and cities, and where users can review the locations and rate them on a scale from 0 to 5 (similar to what I use in my reviews). This is what they have on their homepage explaining what MTG is:

“The Metal Travel Guide (MTG) is the internets largest and longest running worldwide directory of places for rock music and heavy metal music fans.

MTG is a continuously growing database of bars, venues, clubs, events & shops from across the globe, added and reviewed by people like you!”

mtg01By reading the reviews you can have a good idea of the places, if they’re still open, the prices, type of music etc. For example, take a look at the MTG page for the rock pub called ROCK & NUBBE, located in Lisbon, Portugal: it has its full address, opening hours, phone number, Facebook page, and a couple of reviews saying it’s a nice option for any day of the week. Some locations even have a picture to make it easier for travelers to identify them as soon as they get there.

Of course I haven’t been to most of the locations listed on MTG. however, I can talk about the ones located in São Paulo, Brazil as I used to live there and have a beer at all those places at least once a month, like Blackmore Rock Bar and Manifesto Bar, where by the way I saw Blaze Bayley playing live twice. Those two pubs are awesome for Friday and Saturday nights, always with a good selection of tribute bands from a variety of Metal giants such as Iron Maiden, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Pantera, Slayer, Judas Priest, Nightwish, among others. Another place I would recommend from the list is Galeria do Rock, a huge Rock and Metal shopping mall located in the heart of the city, offering all kinds of Metal stuff and memorabilia. The only issue with this one is that the neighborhood is extremely dangerous, but if you go with some friends during daylight that’s fine.

mtg02The page for the Canadian pubs and venues unfortunately doesn’t seem to be updated regularly, with very few options and almost no reviews, especially in Toronto (Montreal is a little better, with a lot more places and reviews added). What a shame for such a big and beautiful country, where Rock and Metal have always been part of its history. Without any doubt, the best selection of Rock and Metal pubs can be found in the page dedicated to Europe, of course. It’s an almost perfect source for metalheads that are backpacking around the Old Continent during the summer.

You can also visit their Facebook Page, where there are lots of headbangers from all continents discussing about good Rock N’ Roll and Heavy Metal pubs and parties to go when you’re visiting a different city or country, and also keep updated with new additions to the website by following their official Twitter.

In summary, I recommend you take a look at all options from MTG before packing your bags. Because travelling can be awesome, but travelling with Heavy Metal is a true celebration of awesomeness.

Accessories Review – Iron Maiden 2014 Calendar

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Don’t remember what day is today? Iron Maiden can help you.

Rating2

Iron Maiden calendar 2014_frontNext year will be my third consecutive year  using the Iron Maiden official calendar. I know that new technologies are pretty cool and that we don’t need almost all types of paper stuff anymore, especially with all the apps we have in our smartphones, but nothing beats an awesome calendar like this one from Iron Maiden. Moreover, as I had two previous versions of it, I guess I have enough “expertise” to review the 2014 one.

First of all, the 2012 calendar was terrific and by far my favorite one, mainly because it was all designed based on the event T-shirts from The Final Frontier World Tour. Each month represented a different country, region or event, providing us some kind of “journey around the world in 12 months”, making the final result really above and beyond. Then came the 2013 calendar (which I’m still using, of course), but this time it was not that good, albeit containing some nice images from event T-shirts mixed with pictures of the band playing live during the Maiden England North American Tour 2012.

Now with the 2014 calendar Iron Maiden go back to almost the same concept as for 2012, with each month representing an event T-shirt from their Maiden England Tour 2013, except for the month of May which is dedicated to their Trooper Beer. I enjoyed a lot the new calendar focusing again on Eddie, especially the months of February (Scandinavia), July (USA) and December (Brazil), and the fact that they left the live pictures as a secondary part of the whole product.

Published by Danilo Promotions Limited, the quality of the material used in the calendar is extremely good and resistant to falls (mine fell off the wall a couple of times and they’re all good) and even to water. Regarding the size, it’s about the same as any regular calendar (42.4 x 29.8 x 1 cm), and its weight is only 299 g.

You can find the 2014 calendar at the Iron Maiden official webshop, at Amazon.ca or at any regular store in your city for about 15 Canadian dollars. I bought mine at one of the Calendar Club stores at the Toronto Eaton Centre, and the cost was about two dollars more expensive than online. However, remember there’s still the shipping to be added to the final price if you decide to buy it online on Iron Maiden’s US Official Merchandise or on their UK Official Shop.

Anyway, the calendar is worth every penny, and it’s a very nice way to remember all those important international dates, all UK, US and Canada holidays, as well as the birthday of each band member. In my opinion, it’s an excellent Christmas gift for that Maidenmaniac friend you have at school or work, and even for your brother if he behaves himself and promises not to touch your Heavy Metal LP or CD collection again without your permission.

Not only that, you can use your calendar for one of those famous “calendar countdowns” we see in so many movies and TV series for a very special day in your life. How about using it for a countdown to that Maiden England Tour 2014 concert in Europe you’re attending during your summer vacation, for Wacken Open Air, Bloodstock Open Air, Summer Breeze, Tuska Open Air, Heavy MTL or any other crazy Heavy Metal festivals all over the world?

Oh yeah, you can use it as a reminder for your spouse or partner’s birthday too. Just please be careful not to “hurt” Eddie’s feelings by adding “things” like flowers and glitter to your calendar.

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App Review – Heavy Metal Encyclopedia

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Excellent app if you are searching for more information about a specific Heavy Metal band, album or genre, or even browsing for something completely new.

Rating3

unnamedAs I’ve already mentioned a couple of times here and many other times in real life, if you really love Heavy Metal you MUST ignore MTV, Much Music or any other music channel available in Canada or anywhere else. What we see on TV is not real music, and not even close to what Heavy Metal really is, despite one or another band that reaches stardom like Iron Maiden or Metallica. But then again, what they show on TV from those bands is usually their worst material.

When I was a kid/teenager, I used to “hunt” for some new bands and musicians at a special place in São Paulo (Brazil) called Galeria do Rock, where I discovered bands such as Grave Digger, Running Wild, Stratovarius, Cannibal Corpse, Children of Bodom, Axel Rudi Pell, among many others. However, nowadays that place seems a bit useless with all the apps and information we can get with our computers and smartphones. That’s why I want to focus today on a not-so-new free app created to increase your knowledge of heavy music, called Heavy Metal Encyclopedia or simply HME.

screen568x568The name says everything: it’s an online encyclopedia specifically designed for Heavy Metal and Hard Rock, which means you will not find any crap like Lady Gaga or Backstreet Boys there. There are several different types of search and filters you can apply when using the app, for instance you can filter by the year the albums were launched, or by music genre such as Viking Metal, Metalcore, Classical and Brutal Death Metal.  My favorite filter is by country, mainly because I believe this is the most fun when searching for something unique or completely out of the mainstream. Did you know Andorra has 3 Metal bands? What about Uruguay with 98 bands, South Korea with 175 or Oman with only one band called Arabia, which surprisingly plays Black Metal?

Or maybe you want to be a little bit more conservative and start with an already famous band. Let’s get for example our friends from the Big 4, Anthrax: with the HME app, you can read about their history, check all their discography including classic albums like Among the Living or their most recent release Worship Music, as well as check some info from many related bands like Exodus, Kreator, Sodom, Slayer, Nuclear Assault etc. And if you have the Spotify app installed in your smartphone or tablet, you can also listen to many Anthrax tunes or music from almost all of the other bands available.

screen568x568 (1)I’m not sure how often new information is added to this app, or if anything new is being added there anymore. For example, I couldn’t find some of the 2013 releases like Trivium’s Vengeance Falls or Helloween’s Straight Out of Hell. Maybe the app has been abandoned, who knows. One more thing, I just don’t understand why bands like Queen, AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Steel Panther and Aerosmith are not available in the app. One might say it’s due to their music style, but why then others such as Motley Crüe, Poison and Deep Purple are there?

Finally, it’s also possible to share the info you discovered/found through Facebook, Twitter, AirDrop, message or email, and you can even use it together with the other app I reviewed here, Songza, to expand your horizons in the world of Heavy Metal by browsing for unconventional bands on HME and then searching for that band’s material on Songza. The options are limitless, unless of course the app is no longer active/being updated, then we can limit everything until 2011/12.

Get the free HME app
App Store | Google Play

App Review – Songza

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A very useful app for music lovers to enjoy anywhere, anytime.

Rating4

songzaSongza is one of those things/apps that make me believe there’s still hope in a world full of all types of useless garbage. In my opinion, any app that doesn’t add some value to your real life, or even worse, that provides the user a very fake or biased impression of life, should be banished from the planet. Fortunately, Songza is a very simple idea that can make your day a lot better, no matter what you’re doing: it’s a totally free music streaming service that recommends various playlists based on time of day, mood or activity, and you can also browse for playlists that contain specific artists, bands, music style or genre etc. Their slogan is “Good music makes good times”, and I agree 100% with them.

According to their website, Songza’s playlists are made by an expert team of music critics, DJs, musicians, and musicologists. However, there are many playlists created by users, which can be a lot more interesting as we music fans know what our friends want to listen to, right?

Songza (1)I’ve already created a playlist called Workout of the Beast, which includes 66 Heavy Metal songs from bands like Slayer, Cradle of Filth, Exodus, Arch Enemy, Primal Fear, among others, to be used as a soundtrack for those days at the gym when you need some extra energy in your workout. If you have some free time, give it a try and let me know if you enjoyed it (and if it helped you achieve that one more rep at the gym).

My favorite playlists so far are the ones below, which I’ve been listening non-stop for the past few weeks:

Reign in Blood

Death Metal

Hard Rock, Hard Bod

Hair Metal

Thrash Metal Shred

Today’s Titans of Metal

songza_articleOf course there’s a lot of crap in Songza (it’s not an exclusive heavy music app), and sometimes even the playlists you select might have one or two “surprises” that would make you want to shut Songza down and never open it again. Besides, there’s a limit of how many times you can skip the songs from a playlist if you’re not a premium user. I don’t consider these to be huge issues with this app, especially due to its strengths: there are no listening limits, it’s a light app that works well in any device, you can use it in your mobile devices, laptop or desktop, and you can have some fun creating your own playlists for the other users to enjoy (you cannot listen to your own playlists, though).

Another important detail is that as you keep “liking” or “unliking” the songs from different playlists, Songza will start recommending you different options, enhancing your experience with the app and making it a very useful tool in any moment of your real life. Just watch out to not select by mistake any playlists that might contain some disgusting shit like Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga, and you’ll enjoy Songza as much as I do.

Get the free Songza app
App Store | Google Play | Windows Store | BlackBerry World | SONOS | Amazon Appstore for Android

Book Review – The Bloody Reign of Slayer

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The heaviest band in the world deserved a better biography than this.

Rating5

the bloody reign of slayerNext week I’ll see one of my favorite bands of all time, Slayer, kickin’ ass again live here in Toronto, and in order to get ready to it how about reading their biography, called The Bloody Reign of Slayer? I have the Brazilian Portuguese version of it (“O Reino Sangrento do Slayer”), which has an “extra” introductory chapter from a guy called Tor Tauil (from the Brazilian horror punk band Zumbis do Espaço) who says something that cannot be more true: if you don’t have any of the Slayer albums, you don’t deserve to live. However, the book is not that good.

The English version of the book, published by Omnibus Press, has 320 pages and is basically divided by album: each chapter is dedicated to the years of the band following the release of their albums, for example, chapter SOUTH OF HEAVEN goes from 1988 to 1989 and chapter DIVINE INTERVENTION goes from 1995 to 1997. It goes like this until 2008 and makes some predictions about the future of the band; there’s nothing about World Painted Blood or the death of Jeff Hanneman, of course. Moreover, each chapter focus more on the songs or the meaning of the songs from each album, which is something we can get in any album review, instead of trying to show us a different angle of the band that no one knows about.

Bloody_Reign_Slayer_BackThe first chapter is about the beginnings of the band, explaining where each member was born, how their lives were before forming Slayer, their musical influences etc. It’s good information for any Heavy Metal fan, although nothing really special or unique is told unless you had no idea Tom Araya was born in Chile and Dave Lombardo in Cuba. By the way, that’s the main issue I found with the book, the fact that it has a lot of information and details about the albums and tours, but it lacks depth in terms of the “secrets” of the band.

Many other bands and musicians are mentioned by the author Joel McIver in different chapters, especially the guys from Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and all other Thrash Metal bands that started together with Slayer, as well as new band members like Paul Bostaph, but again, they’re just part of the whole story and there’s nothing that can be considered “above and beyond” regarding the details provided. Jeff Hanneman (RIP) was the most obscure member of Slayer, so why not dedicating an entire chapter to his unconventional life? Of course the author didn’t know Jeff was going to die in 2013, but everyone knew he was not a regular musician and his personal life could add a lot more value to the book.

Reino_Sangrento_Slayer_Brazil

O Reino Sangrento do Slayer (Brazilian Portuguese version)

There are also some interesting pictures in the middle of the book and some funny quotes from each band member, and maybe these are the best moments of it. I cannot say that I wouldn’t recommend The Bloody Reign of Slayer, it’s just that if you’re a long-time fan of the band there won’t be much that you don’t know already about Tom, Kerry, Jeff and Dave in the book.

Anyway, if you’re still interested in knowing a little more about Slayer, you can find the book at Amazon.ca, or at Chapters.Indigo.ca in a Trade Paperback version or the Kobo Edition (eBook). The price is not bad, between 10 and 15 Canadian dollars, so I would say it’s worth the investment if you have some extra money and especially if you already have all Slayer albums, because their music is definitely a billion times more exciting than anything in this  good but not marvellous biography.

Collectibles Review – Iron Maiden Eddie Headknockers

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A mandatory item in the collection of any Maidenmaniac in the world.

Rating1

eddie head knockers action figure necaWhen someone becomes “obsessed” by a band or artist, he or she is capable of spending unreasonable amounts of money in any stupid garbage that has the band’s name on it. Particularly these days where the illegal downloads are responsible for huge money losses for the record companies, selling concert tickets, exclusive clothing, memorabilia and other things you cannot download became the cash cows for all types of bands, including even giants such as Iron Maiden, Metallica and KISS.

headknocker_somewhereAlthough Metallica has a more commercial approach in their music and KISS has all that magic behind their face painting and stage performance, it is Iron Maiden that has the biggest advantage in selling stuff to their fans due to their unbeatable mascot Eddie. It’s almost impossible to find a Maiden fan that doesn’t have at least one simple T-shirt with Eddie’s face on it, and some fans like me enjoy collecting the weirdest and most exclusive items available (if those items do not “damage” my bank account too much, of course), making this market even more profitable for the band.

Among all the Iron Maiden and/or Eddie stuff I’ve seen in my life, the headknockers (or bobbleheads) produced by the company NECA (National Entertainment Collectibles Association) are the most interesting and detailed, and the price around 30 Canadian Dollars make them a very accessible item for all Maidenmaniacs to add to their collections. They’re very high-quality toys, made of a material that’s way better than any other plastic bobbleheads like the ones from Funko, and they’re bigger too, reaching around 8” tall.

headknocker_trooperNECA launched five Eddie headknockers a few years ago, all extremely well-crafted. I have two of those, The Trooper (which I used in my Trooper Beer review pics, as you can see here) and The Number of the Beast, and I’m still trying to find the other three. Well, when I was in Stockholm (Sweden) this year I saw the Live After Death one at a music store downtown, but it was over 60 Euros, which is too much and my bag was already full of stuff. Regarding the other two, I’ve never seen the Piece of Mind and Somewhere in Time bobbleheads for sale anywhere yet, only some pictures on the Internet. By the way, the Somewhere in Time one seems to be the most awesome of all, followed by The Trooper. I wonder if one day they’ll create new bobbleheads for some other classic Eddies, as for example Powerslave, Phantom of the Opera and Be Quick Or Be Dead (this one would be absolutely insane with Eddie grabbing that same politician by the neck).

headknocker_deathI bought mine at the Sunrise Records located at Yonge and Dundas in Toronto, but I’m not sure if they still have any left. Anyway, you can try their online shop, and there’s always something available on Amazon.ca. And if you find any of the three I’m still searching for, please let me know, because instead of “Iron Maiden’s gonna get ya, no matter how far”,  the motto in my case is “I’m gonna get the Eddie headknockers, no matter how far!”

Home Video Review – Slayer / Live Intrusion (1995)

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Are you looking for a creepy horror movie for Halloween? How about Slayer’s extremely “soft” first home video instead?

Rating2

Slayer_Live IntrusionContinuing with the countdown to Slayer live in Toronto next month, I would like to give my opinion about one of the first VHS of my life. Back in the 90’s, MTV was growing and becoming more and more important, making almost all bands care a lot more about their videos rather than their own music. Fortunately, when we talk about Slayer the words “MTV” or “commercial” are rarely used, unless we add the prefix “non” in front of them, and that’s exactly what you’ll find in their debut home video called Live Intrusion: a high quality concert, full of heavy riffs and classic songs and that has almost zero commercial appeal to regular people, but for the band’s diehard fans it’s close to perfection.

Filmed at the Mesa Amphitheater in Mesa, Arizona on March 12, 1995 during Slayer’s “Divine Intourvention” around the US, and launched later that same year (there’s also a DVD version released in 2010), Live Intrusion is pure devastation, starting with the insane duo of Raining Blood and Killing Fields until the apocalyptic ending with Chemical Warfare. In fact, before the concert actually starts the video presents us that infamous footage of a guy having his arm scarified with the word SLAYER, then adding alcohol to it and setting it on fire, which in my opinion is the best “intro” of all time to a Thrash Metal concert. If this doesn’t pump you up for the rest of the video, maybe you should press stop and start watching the new One Direction movie instead, because for me this means you’re a total pussy!

Slayer_Live Intrusion02Regarding the setlist, there are many long-forgotten songs from this concert that I would love to see slayer playing again live such as Killing Fields, Sex. Murder. Art. And 213. By the Way, I think they should reintroduce some songs from Divine Intervention, Diabolus in Musica and God Hates Us All in their current setlist, especially now that the band has Paul Bostaph back on drums, and I’m pretty sure Gary Holt would be able to play any of them easily. The fans would love to have even more power added to the mosh pits with some of the fastest songs from those albums.

One of the top moments of the entire show is when guitar/singer Robb Flynn (Machine Head) and drummer Chris Kontos (ex-Machine Head) join Slayer on stage to perform an incredibly heavy version of the song Witching Hour, from Black Metal pioneers Venom. The reaction from the crowd is absolutely insane! Speaking of which, the fans are crazy from start to finish, and instead of morons wasting their time filming the concert what we see are true metalheads screaming, bleeding and banging their heads non-stop in the middle of monstrous circle pits. Good times!

To sum up, Live Intrusion is an excellent opportunity to see Tom, Kerry, Jeff (R.I.P.) and Paul in top form executing perfectly many all-time classics from Slayer’s unparalleled career (what they do in War Ensemble and Angel of Death, for example, is beyond brutal) as well as some great unusual songs, complemented by an amazing crowd and some hilarious footage between some of the songs. So forget about pussies like Freddy Krueger, Jason or Michael Myers, and spend this Halloween enjoying some beers with your friends while watching one of the most bestial videos in the History of Heavy Metal.

Best moments of the video: Raining Blood/Killing Fields, At Dawn They Sleep, Dittohead and Witching Hour.

Worst moments of the video: Absolutely none.

Released in 1995 American Recordings

Track listing
1. Raining Blood 4:23
2. Killing Fields 3:56
3. War Ensemble 4:51
4. At Dawn They Sleep 5:03
5. Divine Intervention 5:33
6. Dittohead 2:50
7. Captor of Sin 3:21
8. 213 4:51
9. South of Heaven 4:58
10. Sex. Murder. Art.  1:50
11. Mandatory Suicide 4:03
12. Angel of Death 4:50
13. Hell Awaits 4:53
14. Witching Hour (Venom cover) 2:54
15. Chemical Warfare 5:17

Band members
Tom Araya – bass, vocals
Jeff Hanneman – guitar
Kerry King – guitar
Paul Bostaph – drums