Last night, I only had the time to watch Sonic Youth jam on a more abrasive version of “Sacred Trickster” for their glorious new album The Eternal (review probably pending) on the Late Show with David Letterman before I hit the hay. However, for those who have been paying attention, this week has certainly been a good one for fans of the mid-90s alternative rock scene, as Conan O’Brien hosted an appearance from Rancid last nightand Jimmy Kimmel featured a reunion performance from Blink 182 consisting of only classic songs from their back catalog on Tuesday. Since I was too sleepy to watch it all, I’ve rounded up all the videos for you to watch here this afternoon. We begin with the best:
As Mayhem brought Blackened Fest to St. Paul, MN on June 9, 20009, the vibe was unexpectedly and unfortunately even more somber than one would have hoped for the return of some of Norwegian black metal’s reigning elite. After already suffering the crippling blow of a late visa-related cancellation from Marduk before the tour began, the rest of the lineup except for Mayhem (Cephalic Carnage, Cattle Decapitation, and Withered) were forced to cut the trek short the night before St. Paul due to a variety of complications described by Justina V. over at Metal Injecction. Whether or not Justina’s indictment of Mayhem’s responsibility for the festival’s implosion is accurate or not, I certainly can understand her resentment as a fellow Metal Injection reporter (based in MPLS) and someone who was on the opening band’s guestlists that never arrived. To put it shortly, it was a huge bummer to be greeted with the cancellation announcement sign as I walked in, and it made me skeptical I’d even enjoy what was now becoming an expensive evening for me (although, I must say, the ticket price was actually slashed to 1/2 the original cost for those who bought advanced tickets, and refunds and free Absu tickets for next week were being offered to attendees – the venue was graciously being overly apologetic for the unfortunate circumstances).
While performances from Cattle Decap, Cephalic Carnage, Withered, and Marduk would never occur, Mayhem pushed on against the odds and advice of financial experts, carrying the torch of blackness alone on the last dates of a now-solo headlining tour. Playing to a crowd of devoted Twin Cities extreme metal faithful, Mayhem’s blistering, theatrical black metal and a collection of local bands that adequately replaced the openers who were dismissed eventually won over the dejected.
Chris Deline, my pal from CultureBully, has already posted an excellent review that breaks down the action for the show set-by-set, so I invite you to check out his recap and live videos to see exactly how the entire night panned out.
For my part, every opening act that played brought something unique to the table, just as I had originally expected heading into the night. Deterioration‘s two-instrument aural assault was the most eye-opening physical display of death-grind talent I’ve seen all year, while Grand Demise of Civilization‘s straight-forward black metal offered one of the most spectacularly ceremonious performances you’re likely to see from a band of any kind in this region. To top it all off, the classic campy metal humor of deathgore lifers in Anal Blast helped to lighten the mood considerably before Mayhem finally took control of the room.
By the time Mayhem hit the stage, the crowd was primed and ready to unleash under their dizzying spell of disgusting black metal. As Necrobutcher, Hellhammer, and the guitar duo of Morfeus and Silmaeth blasted out the storm, Attila Csihar hung his rope mockingly above the thrashing mass of a darkness in front of him, taunting the pulsing mosh pit with an oppressive arm and repeatedly ridiculing the disgraces of humanity. The stage set up was grizzly and overbearing, as well; however, one such as myself couldn’t help being sucked sucked in by this chaotic display from such a legendary and influential band beneath the dazzling lights at Station 4 in the much the same way that many people are by shocking horror films. Until the end, Mayhem never ceased to shock and impress my blackened heart after so many years throughout the lenght of their performance; when it’s said and done, they put together a show well-worth the ticket price and surely were appreciated by everyone who they stuck it out and played for (despite their inevitable financial loss).
Concluding our coverage at Station 4, I’ve got my own video from Mayhem’s set as well as some pretty vivid photographic evidence from the night. The media continues below:
As you can see by the video above, Mr. Peter Parker caught up with Stef at this year’s Soundset Festival in Shakopee, MN. It’s a good sized interview clocking in at just around eight minutes long, and the interview runs the gamut as far as topics are concerned. P.O.S. talks about the cup trick that his friend Allegra taught him on the track “Optimist” and how long he had been waiting to base a track around that sound. Another issue he addresses is how he likes to make albums that no one else has ever heard before. Great interview from Mr. Peter Parker, follow me after the jump for the Toki Wright video. Continue reading →
Sadly enough, Royce’s new album Street Hop has been pushed back until September to make way for the new Slaughterhouse album. According to the article I read at 2DopeBoyz, all of the cats from Slaughterhouse will be dropping digital EP’s, you can get Royce’s on July 7th. Follow me after the jump for the tracklisting. Continue reading →
If there are any of you out there have twitter and follow the real Detroit Hip-Hop Heads, you will know that there was a huge buzz surrounding hipster emcee Charles Hamilton. At one point it appeared as though he was going to give James Yancey (J Dilla) the executive producer credit on his new album The Perfect Life.
What occurred next was a wicked whirlwind of fury from the Detroit scene, outraged that Charles would do something so fucking stupid. Detroit ambassador House Shoes, as well as everyone from the Detroit scene attacked Chuckie’s dumb ass right away. Sonic then tried to claim that he was going to give the money to the “J Dilla Music Foundation” which, doesn’t exist. Chuckie also tried to say that he was close to the Yancey Family, and when House Shoes called Ma Dukes she said she had never heard of Charles Hamilton. As of right now Hamilton has pulled James’ name off of the album (which was a smart move) and will probably be visiting the city of Detroit.
To be honest this kid seems like a wack dude, and I don’t think there is any chance that he would be spitting over Dilla’s treats even if Dilla knew him. After this whole debacle I would be surprised if Chuckie can make a good name for himself in the game, they say any publicity is good publicity I have a feeling that saying doesn’t stick here.
To leave you for tonight, here’s another funny video for you guys to watch:
As many of you know, Toki Wright released his debut LP on Rhymesayers Entertainment this last Tuesday. He was gracious enough to drop his first single entitled “The Feeling” which features Brother Ali. Big Bad Brother Ali also produced the beat on this track, which I may add is fire. Both emcees spit 16 some nice bars, and leave me wanting to hear more. Make sure you go out and buy Toki’s album A Different Mirror out on Rhymesayers now.
Download: Toki Wright, “The Feeling” (Feat. & Prod. By Brother Ali)
So it finally feels like summer. It’s 80 degrees, it’s sunny, everything is green… and this little thing called baseball has found it’s way into my life today. Mind Inversion’s collective alma mater is the questionable establishment of La Crescent High School, home to none other than the Lancers.
So it’s my day off, and the baseball team has somehow made their way to the State Tournament here in St. Cloud. So I figure why not go out and enjoy this beyond beautiful day with a couple friends as I watch my former friends take to the field. So the game goes very well, we win 2-1 in a thriller and move onto the winners bracket of the tournament and to a game later this very same day. And as I write this in between the games, I’m recalling why I love baseball oh so very much. It’s a beautiful sport. Not only due to the weather, but to the game as well. It takes precision, thought, manipulation, passion. I geek out about sports, so excuse me for this worthless post, but I felt like sharing my love of the game with everyone else. And hey Timmy, Go Cubs! (just for good measure)
Here’s the latest video off of Stef’s most recent album Never Better. “Goodbye” is one of my favorite tracks on the album, and this video is very good just like the last two have been. I can’t wait to see what other 3 tracks are that he makes videos for, as he said that he was going to shoot six videos for the album. If you are still sleeping on Never Better, there is no hope left for you.
(Mayhem)
(Mayhem)
So it finally feels like summer. It’s 80 degrees, it’s sunny, everything is green… and this little thing called baseball has found it’s way into my life today. Mind Inversion’s collective alma mater is the questionable establishment of La Crescent High School, home to none other than the Lancers.
MIND INVERSION 