Bonded Through Hate - "Doomsday : The Rise Of Valhalla"

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  Bonded Through Hate are a completely brutal death metal fueled 4 piece from Southington,CT. Their 5 song EP "Doomsday : The Rise Of Valhalla" was produced at Ear One Studios, whose past production endeavors include the likes of 100 Demons and 25 Ta Life amongst others. Fans of old school CT death metallers Tyrant Trooper, will be pleased to see guitarist Ron Kuzcuk and drummer Justin Lanteri back doing what they do best, and with the addition of vocalist Allyn Lopes and bassist Aaron Spring, this deadly combo brings forth slamming death metal with a classic hardcore groove, as evident in all 5 tracks on "Doomsday...". After a 20 second growling/screaming vocal intro reminiscent of the beginning of Slayer's classic "Hell Awaits", the brutality kicks in immediately with opening track "Killing Is My Name". This band is all about the riff. From it's furious, almost black metal paced verse, to it's groud shaking, crunchy chorus, the listener is then relentlessly pounded with a thumping breakdown that recalls early Machine Head(before the whole Nu-metal thing) and Crowbar at their absolute heaviest. "Doomsday : The Rise Of Valhalla", the EP namesake track is served up next with a slew of old school riffs that invoke the spirits of Barnes-era Cannibal Corpse and melt with the thick meaty riffs of Dismember in the chorus and bridge pieces. Plus, how can you NOT love a death metal song based around viking lore?! Guitarist Ron really taps into the classic "Buzzsaw" guitar tone, made famous by classic swedish bands like Entombed, Hypocrisy and the aforementioned Dismember. The bass really stands out in this recording and helps truly give these songs that extra sledgehammer-like pound, and puts the ultimate exclamation on the remarkable drumming showcased here. And lets not forget the frontman, who's range goes from a deep Glenn Benton-like growl, to a burning black metal blaze. When the vocal highs and lows are mixed here on this disk, and the band are blasting away in the back, you'd be hard pressed to find a tighter, more deadly band. "Alone In Flames" chugs along at a frenzied pace with break-neck speed, and only relents to make way to a pounding break at the midway mark for the band to show off their true hardcore roots. Think Suffocation meets Internal Bleeding for this track, tons of brutality with a huge helping of slam. "To Live Or Die" starts off ferociously, then gives way to a break sizzling with unadulterated Nola sludge. Bonded Through Hate make it sound effortless to transition from death metal insanity, to rugged hardcore riffery. "BTK" brings the slab of heaviness to an end, and if your a serial killer afficionado like myself, you are in for a treat here. A sample from the BTK movie where Kane Hodder(who more famously has made his name slaughtering tons of drunken, horn-dog teens as Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th series) plays the part of psycho maniac Dennis Rader aka the BTK(Bind, Torture, Kill) killer. The creepy sample ends and the listener is mauled with pure death metal riff-mania in the traditional style. For 4 minutes and 10 seconds the band pushes and pulls their musical momentum with a barrage of music that runs the gamut from thrash to death to hardcore. To think that this 5 song EP is just the beginning of what we can expect from Bonded Through Hate is quite the notion, all this reviewer can do is wait with anxiousness for the follow up. Keep up with the band at www.facebook.com/bondedthroughhate you can purchase copies of this CD and t-shirts as well directly from the band, and you can also buy this CD direct from http://www.amazon.com/. Give this band a "Like", spread their links around and add "Doomsday : The Rise Of Valhalla" to your collection immediately, I can guarantee you'll spin this disk to death!!! You can hear cuts from this disk every Thursday from 7pm to 10pm EST at http://www.brutalexistenceradio.com/.

Grim Legion - "Unholy Resurrection"

Grim Legion are a 3-piece old school death metal band from New Jersey. When I say old school, I mean it in the truest sense as this band was an originator in the tri-state area, blazing venues in the late 80's and early 90's. Grim Legion took a long hiatus until last year when they reformed, cleaned off the rust and recorded the 5-song EP "Unholy Resurrection" which I am reviewing for you now. "Through Godless Eyes" kicks this disk off with thick, doom-laden riffery then jumps into high gear with a tremolo driven verse and a deep, sludgy vocal growl that only a veteran to this style could effortlessly pull off. A huge, catchy open chorus and some ripping leads thrown into the mix here make this song one hell of a rager. "Necromajesty" is served up next, and this song drips with "Scream Bloody Gore"-era Death influence. Short and to the point, this 2:21 track will have you going back for more with it's frantic pace and speedy riffing. "Alien Predators" really shows off how tight the rythmn section of this band is. The thick wall of bass and drums here are massive and the Autopsy influence in this band especially rears it's rotten head here, with it's chunky, death/doom verses and choruses. "Dark Ritual" shows a little more of the bands melodic side, but dont get it wrong, just because there are some guitar harmonies and melodies doesnt mean this track lacks ferocity at all. This track brings to mind early Dismember in parts and shows the listener that Grim Legion arent just a one trick pony. "Eternal Torment" brings this EP to a close. Here Grim Legion give off more of a Thrash/Punk vibe, until we are hit by the doom fueled bridge and have our faces melted with screaming guitar leads. At just over 15 minutes in length, this 5 song disk wont leave your stereo once you throw it in, Grim Legion definitely leave you anxiously awaiting for another release, and if there's one this this band doesnt do, it's bore the listener with old hat and repitition. In a day and age where kids think death metal bands are supposed to look like emo kids and play nauseating break-downs every other measure, Grim Legion are back in the nick of time to show the youngins how it's really supposed to be done, the traditional way...the RIGHT way! Grim Legion prove with "Unholy Resurrection" that they are back with a vengeance, and this revived 3-piece are hellbent on injecting the local scene with some old school flavor and style. Fans of early Death, Autopsy, Dismember and Mausoleum will be loyal followers to the Grim Legion. You can find the band at www.facebook.com/grimlegion and email them at grimlegion666@hotmail.com the guys are working on a brand new full length album which should be available very soon, so keep your decaying ear to the ground for that! Until then you can hear cuts from this EP every Thursday evening from 7pm to 10pm EST at http://www.brutalexistenceradio.com/

Rooms Of Ruin - "...All Is Ended"

Rooms Of Ruin are a 4 piece, southern fried sludge metal monster from Middletown,NY. The entire 3 piece of the previously reviewed industrial metal band Cabal 34 make up the base foundation of this band. Bassist/vocalist Ken Faggio, Drummer Annie Terror and guitarist Dave Mayer are joined by lead guitarist Steve Levin to form Rooms Of Ruin and churn out 11 doom-laden dirges with their full length debut "...All Is Ended". A touch of the Cabal 34 sound is found here, mainly in the vocals of course, and Cabal 34 are known to dip some of their riffs in Mississippi swamp water, but Rooms Of Ruin is a different beast all together and is absolutely soaked in Nola sludge under a thick layer of smoky stoner riffery. "Whore Of The Winds" kicks this full length off, thick as a cinder block and rife with Down-meets-Cathedral riffs that stomp through the speakers relentlessly. "Mindspear" trudges along like a rusty wheel with it's gloomy passages and face melting guitar solo's. There's an almost "Dirt" era Alice In Chains vibe here, just with lower tuning and a more sinister vocal approach. "Path Of The Beam" kicks the pace back up a bit but keeps that down and dirty N'awlins feeling going. The riffs in this song are pure Sabbath worship and sound as if they could have been harvested from the same field that Down grew their riffs for their debut album. "A Touch Of The Strange" with it's ominous guitar licks would make Tony Iommi proud, THIS is what I think of when I say the words "Doom Metal", unforgettable riffs transition into each other very smoothly here, this song definitely has the classic vibe, nothing sounds over-thought or forced in this song or on the entire album in general. "Gods Drink Blood" is my personal fave on this disk, although I truly love the whole disk front to back, but if I were to personally showcase one song to get people into this band and album it'd be this kick ass tune. It's got the extra slow, tarry riffs you crave with every classic doom band, but there's also the more uptempo stoner pieces(more akin to the likes of Kyuss and Dio-era Black Sabbath) to help push and pull the overall mood of this dark anthem. "Language Of The Unformed", boasts an almost thrash like verse and chorus. I hear a bit more of the Cabal 34 sound here, but c'mon thats to be expected, especially in a tune such as this with is quicker, fist pumping pace. The bridges bring the pace back down with and almost death/doom feel via Mausoleum or Autopsy. "Rooms Of Ruin" brings this album to a close. An almost 7 minute epic that creeps along at a chunky, morbid pace. Tasty, straight up brutal verse and chorus passages dig their way into your brain and dont leave once you've been exposed to them. All in all what we have here is a dark, raw offering of brutally heavy, sludgy doom metal, not many doom-mongers in the local or national scene are offering up the low and slow metal onslaught like Rooms Of Ruin. Given the right push and support I dont see why Rooms Of Ruin couldnt be touring with bands like High On Fire or Sourvein and playing festivals like Stoner Hands Of Doom. Find this band on facebook at : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rooms-Of-Ruin/213219968748214 to keep up with their show schedule and inquire how to buy a copy of their awesome debut "...All Is Ended". You can hear cuts from this disk every monday night on The Shroud at www.brutalexistenceradio.com

Cabal 34 - "Cryptocracy"

Cabal 34 are a 3 piece industrial metal band from Middletown,NY. Here they serve up their raw and gritty album from 2011 "Cryptocracy". This 13 song offering is full of chunky riffs, sludgy bass and pulsating, hypnotic rythmns that call to mind classic Ministry. Album opener "Dead As Dreams" boasts a punky/thrash vibe with an infectious chorus and riffs that would give goose bumps to Prong's Tommy Victor. "Parabellum" has a very anthemic feel with it's fist pumping verse and chorus and it's chaotic, neck snapping bridge. The great thing about this band is they dont flood their songs with needless loops and fills, while there are a decent share of movie quotes and clips and such, it actually adds to the musical atmosphere and doesnt feel forced in order to cover up any lack of musicianship. Cabal 34 are industrial metal without the "mechanical" feeling, the band keep it very raw and organic and original. Lyrically this album is themed around politicians and the corrupt government and all the lies we are spoon fed in the media every day much as was the case in their debut 2007's "Age Of Poison Thought". "Slow Acting Poison" lyrically deals with the environment around us and chemical issues we've been dealing with in our food and in the air around us. "Rex-84" with it's droning verse riff and punk fuelled chorus, brings to light how we are being raised as fear mongers and the media uses terror as a weapon against us to keep us sheltered by "big brother". "Children Of God" focuses on the religion fueled war and killings in the middle east. Vocal clips of middle eastern vocals swirl into the mix here and fit perfectly with this songs thumping tribal rythmns and pulsating guitar licks. "Cryptocracy" the album's title track is my personal fave here. I personally love when an album's title track really kicks my ass, it makes me like all the other tunes even more as I feel the title track makes the ultimate statement about the album as a whole. The spacy, mesmerizing verse with it's eerie guitar fills give way to a brutal chorus and a pounding outro containing more thought provoking clips themed around government conspiracy. The absolutely raging "Anno Lucis" closes this album out with it's throbbing stoner metal riffery that calls to mind "Deliverance" era Corrosion Of Conformity. Completely infectious and undeniably catchy, this song plods along for just over 9 minutes, but I can guarantee you'll not only want to hear this track again, but you'll need another listen to the full disk as well. Cabal 34 put forth an A+ effort here not just because of the incredibly catchy and well crafted songwriting contained in the 13 tracks that make up "Cryptocracy", but because of their originality factor. There is no other band bashing out the headbanging goodness in the Hudson Valley of NY in the style that Cabal 34 is doing it. This band definitely has their influences, but they take the ball and run with their own flavor in a very refreshing way. Do yourself a favor and check out this great band on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cabal-34-band/172136586138434 and you can email them at CabalThirtyFour@yahoo.com and keep up with their upcoming shows and buy yourself a copy of "Cryptocracy" and their debut "Age Of Poison Thought". You can hear cuts from this album Thursday nights on Up From The Underground at www.brutalexistenceradio.com the internet's #1 station for heavy metal!!!

Castrofate - "Systematic Suicide"

Castrofate is an old school stlyed thrash band from NY who recently released their 4th album "Systematic Suicide". Past albums "ihuman" and "Cataclysmic Insanity" are pure gems, but Castrofate are way heavier, louder and tighter on this newest release. This band and album is thrash for the old school Metallica fan, if your looking for militant style riffing and songwriting comparable to the classic "Master Of Puppets" and "...And Justice For All" albums then Castrofate's "Systematic Suicide" is definitely an album begging to become part of your music library. Album openers "Revelation (Truth Be Told)" and the title track are pure ragers chock full of awesome riffery that pulsate with pure adrenaline and invoke images of classic circle pits. "Trapped Inside" is a slower dirge reminiscent of a mix between Black Sabbath with it's doom laden aura and also calls to mind classic Testament tunes like "The Ballad" and "The Legacy" with it's melodic chord progressions. "Tempted By Flesh" kicks back in with that killer thrash vibe, tons of upbeat riffs and a catchy chorus to snap your neck to! Vocalist/frontman Dan has an uncanny knack to come up with unforgettable riffs and face melting lead guitar runs, while vocally re-kindling the fire stoked by James Hetfield in his prime glory. "Hypocrite" and "Thunderclap" seethe with intensity and the riffs flow smoothly into each other. Castrofate prove on this album that they can write well crafted, catchy songs almost effortlessly and most importanly they hone a certain vibe on this disk, these songs sound like they are very fun to play from a musicians stand point, I can almost picture the band smiling while laying these tracks down because they know they have some bad-ass gems here! The intense thrash fueled insanity of "Deus Ex Machina" is unparralelled, I cant even begin to imagine how many guitar picks the guys must have melted through while playing this tune. At 3:40 an unbelievable viking styled piece kicks in that will have you raising your fists in the air and ready to go berserk on the next hipster you see with barbaric fury! "Behind Our Eyes" is the albums ballad of sorts, starting off with melancholic acoustic guitar, then kicking into slow but heavy verses and choruses and a very emotional lead guitar section. That "Master/Justice" Metallica era influence comes back in the tune "Cleansing The Earth" with it's super tight and angry verses and a chorus riff that sounds like it would tie a knot in your fretting fingers and beak the wrist on your picking hand. "Mortal Coil" has an early 80's NWOBHM vibe, think Judas Priest meets a thrash fueled Iron Maiden, this is a track for the leather clad, beer swilling Metal purist if I do say so myself. The bridge is very anthemic, I picture fists and devil horns pumping in the air while the riffs burn through the speakers and the guitar solo here would raise the eyebrows of K.K. Downing and Adrian Smith for sure! The 7:31 "Fear Of The End" plods along with a mid paced shuffle and overflows with guitar harmonies and an unforgettable chorus, this song almost reminds me of Metallica's "Wherever I may Roam" because of the way it's constructed and because of the epic old school metal vibe it provides the listener with. There's alot of heart and soul in tis entire album, but within this track especially and this just may be my favorite Castrofate song overall personally. The band close out this stellar disk with "The Enemy Within", a faster, louder track with lots of punch and lots of thrash fueled riffing. The circle pit riff at 3:08 is infectious, I guarantee you'll revisit this track frequently! The bottom line is Castrofate knocked it out of the park with "Systematic Suicide". Not only do I respect this band because of their awesome music, but I also envy their work ethic. Castrofate promote themselves harder than most bands I know, they work extremely hard to reach new fans, they have a HUGE internet presence, they promote their shows relentlessly and they make their CD's and merch very affordable, they obviously care way more about getting themselves heard and making a name for themselves than making a quick buck, if there's one thing you cant call these guys, it's lazy. Do yourself a favor, if your a thrash fan, you love old school Metallica and Testament, and your sick of the same old same that new bands are shoving down your throats, grab a copy of "Systematic Suicide" by Castrofate. You can find the band on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CASTROFATE and you can also view professionally shot video's for "Revelation (Truth Be Told)" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTQ3CgjyPsY and a pro video for the title track "Systematic Suicide" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKgWC1IH4ww as well. You can hear cuts from Castrofate every Thursday night on Up From The Underground from 7pm to 10pm EST at www.brutalexistenceradio.com.

Interview with Dave "Gravy" Felton of Mushroomhead/Kriadiaz

Kriadiaz, pronounced (Cree-uh-dee-yaz) is a new band put together by former Mushroomhead guitarist Dave "Gravy" Felton. This is a brutal metal outfit who's influence drips with southern sludge metal in the vein of Pantera, Crowbar and Down. The 13 song offering is rife with catchy riffs that would make Dimebag proud. Earth shaking bass lines, pounding drums and vocals that call to mind Phillip Anselmo in his prime. Stand out tracks include : "Blood Line" with it's bluesy acoustic intro that kicks straight into a blistering verse, chorus, bridge that reminds the listener of something from the Vulgar Display Of Power album. "Feed The Rats", "Long Time Gone" and "Soul Chaser" plod along with chunky riffs and face melting guitar solo's. If "Ten Lives Lived" doesnt invoke images of insane mosh pits with it's stomping riffs then you need to check your pulse. "Torch The Earth" rages along at a mid-pace with fist clenching rythms and a bluesy solo piece that calls to mind a heavy metal Lynyrd Skynyrd. "Stoner Funeral" is a doom-fueled instrumental that will chill the spine and get the heads of every metal purist nodding in tempo. If your sick of breakdown riddled music, and all the Meshuggah wannabe's crowding the scene right now, then Kriadiaz will be a breath of much needed fresh air you will surely enjoy. I had the pleasure of chatting with former Mushroomhead/current Kriadiaz guitarist Dave "Gravy" Felton to get the scoop on this awesome new band and some insight on his former band as well. Enjoy this interview!!!



Jaymz : The production on the Kriadiz album is awesome. Where did you record?
Dave : We recorded it locally with our boy in Cleveland in his basement. He mic'd everything up and we just went for it.

Jaymz : How long did the recording process take for this Kriadiaz album?
Dave : It's taken a while because we've been recording on and off while I was touring with Mushroomhead. It's been spaced out about a year and a half. With my Mushroomhead schedule and all the other guys in Kriadiaz work schedules, it was hard to get a consistent ammount of time. Plus being able to get time with the producer as he has stuff going on too. But not being on a label there was no pressure to force an album out which was cool so we could take our time and get it done right. Everything's come out really well and I just picked up the final master copy today and have been driving around for a couple hours listening to it. It will be on itunes evenutally. Also you can order it from my personal Facebook page, or from the Kriadiaz page. There's also some live audio and video up on there too. Everybody in the band is super cool, I've known these guys for years. We have a blast on the road, doing shows. Any big success or not, it doesn't matter. At this stage in the game I just want to have a good time and jam.


Jaymz : I have to ask the burning question. Why did you split from Mushroomhead?
Dave : Well honestly I haven't even gotten a straight answer. I was kicked out in an email. And I haven't even spoken to my brother(Mushroomhead drummer Skinny) yet.
So I haven't spoken to him, and this was like the third week in January that I was told I had to leave. Jeff, and I were in a band called Hatrix, and then we started Mushroomhead off that. We were kind of based off of Mr. Bungle, which was an early Mike Patton band. They wore jumpsuits and halloween masks. There was Mr. Bungle, then Mushroomhead then Slipknot, and then that whole controversy with Slipknot which started before I was a member of Mushroomhead. As far as that whole Slipknot thing, I don't give a shit about that, and I have no beef with those dudes at all.
The Mushroomhead thing, most of the material, I ended up writing. But that wasn't the intent when I first joined the band. I ended up doing the majority of the writing. I mean the music, I suck at lyrics.
I joined right when the band signed with Universal. We were touring for the XX album. So when we started working on the XIII album
I would have 4 or 5 tune ideas and we came off the road and the band was scheduled to go into the studio 2 weeks later. At that time certain dudes weren't contributing. For years that's how it's been. We were on a major label, on a world stage. I didn't want to go out there and sound half assed. I didn't claim ownership of the band but I considered myself a legitimate member for what I contributed. For me it wasn't
a job. It was something I cared about and it was part mine. I don't care who started it and who was in the band longer than me. I didn't consider it a job, so I didn't see that I could be "Fired" from it.
Also I don't drink or smoke or any of that shit so that might be part of the problem. They can do whatever they want on their own time, but when it holds up progress I have a problem with it.


Jaymz : How did Kriadiaz form and how did you guys meet/get together?
Dave : I've know these guys for a long time. I started it as an outlet to get out what I couldnt get out before. In Mushroomhead I was sort of on a leash. I wasn't playing to my full potential.
Also have you heard of the band 216? It was a band featuring myself with J-Mann and Skinny of Mushroomhead. In Mushroomhead the guys got wrapped up in side projects. But why would you take (what 216 was) and throw it on the back burner? I wanted to keep going, and I wanted to keep making music. So for people to get stuck up because they have a certain level of success is stupid to me. I got tired of waiting to make another 216 record. To me it felt like someone had something personal against me. So I had to start this new project. I've never wanted anything but to take things as far as they can go and succeed. Part of the reason I got booted from Mushroomhead was that my opinions were just too much for some people to handle.


Jaymz : Listening to this Kriadiaz album, I clearly hear influences from Pantera, Crowbar and Down. Lots of groovy southern sludge metal going on. Was that your main influence on this album?
Dave : Well I'm definitely into those bands for sure. But I also come from that era that those guys come from. The late 70s, early 80s was a great era in music. Black Sabbath, Queen, Led Zeppelin. If it sounds like Pantera, Crowbar, ect. that's great! Those are some of my favorite bands. I don't hve to try to write like that. It just naturally comes out that way Ive had people tell me that Mushroomhead is a cross between Faith no more and Pantera, so that influence has always been there. Ive always been influenced by guitar players that have that "fire" in their playing. Technicality is great, but there's something about the style that certain people have that just does it for me. Even if youre not into blues, Stevie Ray Vaughn is one of my favorite artists. His put his heart and soul into every performance. Dimebag was like that too. Those elements made me what I am.


Jaymz : Your guitar sound on this Kriadiaz album is really thick and brutal. What gear did you use on the recording?
Dave : I've had an Ibanez deal for a long time now, but I havent talked to them since ive been out of Mushroomhead. I have a bunch of Ibanez RG 7 strings. Those are basically the guitars I've been using The stock models, but slightly customized with pickups that I like. The amps are Randall Titans. I had a deal with Randall a few yrs back and I'm still using them and touring with them for the past 7, 8 years. I haven't had any problems with those things. I was using marshall 800s but I got tired of changing the tubes every year. I have these Randalls and i didn't like them that much at first, but I monkeyed around with them, and I've
been using them ever since. I also use a Yngwie Malmsteen overdrive pedal with a noise supressor attached to it. The only other thing I throw into the mix is a wah pedal for some solos. My setup is really as simple as you can get. Organic is the perfect word to describe it.


Jaymz : Are there any immediate touring plans for Kriadiaz?
Dave : The Summer is basically booked up. There's no label deal or distribution thing yet. I'm just in the local phase with everything working back from the ground up. I just want to try to get a distribution deal at the moment. I have a couple agents I've talked to about touring, and they're ready to book something whenever I want. The problem is that the other guys have "real" jobs, so it's not like theyre going to quit their jobs so we can tour. I'd like to see if we could get a small deal, maybe get on a festival. Just something worthwhile for everyone to do. You need that big push to get the exposure. I believe that if you have something genuine and honest, people are gonna latch on to it. Ive heard tons of good feedback locally and such, but that only goes so far. I'm grateful for that, but getting to that next level and getting fans to rally behind you isn't the easiest thing. We've been playing out for the past couple of years, but kind of under the radar. I'm not using the Mushroomhead thing to try and get fans that way. The last thing I want to do is confuse fans with yet another Mushroomhead related project. But fans are loyal and they want to support. I cant get over the fact that 216 sold 10,000 albums in Cleveland alone and was playing huge, packed shows to 500-600 people a night. I don't know why people would want to put that on the back burner. It's like having a winning lottery ticket in front of you and not cashing it in, being like "I'll wait till tomorrow".


Jaymz : How do you feel about the current state of the Metal scene in general?
Dave : That's a good question because I don't really know. It's weird. It seems like these metal trends come and go fast. A few bands do really good, then another band comes out that sounds like them. Metal is a strange animal. It's like super popular for the most part, but its hard to get people to rally around certain bands, until they get to a certain level. It's constantly transitioning. I know as far as the Cleveland scene, for me, I'm starting from scratch. I have friends helping me book shows, but I'm basically nobody at the moment. There's a shit ton of underground bands that nobody knows about in the Cleveland scene. It would be cool if people would branch out a little bit, and not only like and listen to what they're comfortable with.


Jaymz : Are there any new bands out that your digging and listening to?
Dave : I like that band Volbeat. They're pretty heavy and remind me alot of Life Of Agony which I also loved, especially River Runs Red. I listen to Volbeat on XM radio and it's refreshing to hear those guys. They're heavy and it's really cool. That band Kyng stands out too. I hear them on XM as well. Those guys are pretty cool. I heard some amazing death metal band that I cant remember their name at the moment on XM the other day. The drummers in those bands always blow me away. Death metal drummers play with such finesse and grace. You see these rock drummers like Tommy Lee, they're just bashing it out, but death metal drummers like Gene Hoglan look so relaxed playing a million miles an hour, it's crazy.


Jaymz : Do you have any advice for young, upstarting musicians looking to start a band and get involved in the Metal scene?
Dave : Yea, don't do it! LOL! Go to school! Get a real job! Because 25 yrs down the road you'll be like "I followed my dream, and I'm still the broke dude I was 25 yrs ago!" No, seriously, keep playing and keep moving forward. I love what I do, I'm not on a national level anymore, but I still dig it. If you're in it to be in a competition or to try to sell an image you're in it for the wrong reason. If you're having fun doing it, then do it.


Jaymz : Who are some of the bands you've had the most fun touring with?
Dave : There's been several awesome bands I've had fun on the road with. Weve toured with Lamd Of God, Shadows Fall, Avenged Sevenfold. We've had fun with all of those guys. The Lamb Of God guys, we bonded with them a lot. They're just fun, cool dudes. No gimmick at all. They just get up there and do their thing. I would love to be in their shoes, just getting to be myself, bring the metal, and throw down. I'm all about the honesty. When it came to Mushroomhead, I loved it for what it was, but sometimes it was just beating a dead horse in a way. I just wanted to take it a little farther. But I loved it for what it was. I felt gifted to be in that postion, to just tour and make records for a living. It's sort of like hitting the lottery in a way. We toured with Dope several times. Theres a lot of ridiculous things going on with those cats. Lots of debauchery. (haha) I don't know if you've seen those Mushroomhead Vol. 1 and 2 dvd's. A lot of it was my footage. I did a lot of editing on those dvd's. There's a ton of really funny and cool stuff that didn't make it. I have all the tapes. Every now and then I hook it up and show it to some people. The Dope guys were just crazy. Lotta fun with those dudes.


Jaymz : If there was one band in music history, currently going or defunct, who would you want to jam with most?
Dave : There's several. I'd like to jam with the remaining Pantera dudes. I would love that, to jam with Vinnie Paul and co. would be amazing. Also double trouble, Stevie Ray Vaughan's band. Dude there's a million, Yngwie Malmsteen, he'd make me look like a chump, he'd put me to shame, but I'd love to jam with him. I don't have an ego, It's just music. It's supposed to be fun. I'd like to jam with the Queen guys, i know this is all far fetched but I'd love to jam with them. I dig the White Stripes, some of the stuff Jack White does. He's a badass. He's got that bluesy style. He's got a similar style to me. That would be really fun. I always get envious when I'm watching the Palladia channel, all concerts nonstop. One of the coolest things I've seen, was The Foo Fighters are in an arena and they're covering Zeppelin with John Paul Jones. Dave Grohl is a basher. I like him playing drums more than playing guitar and singing. He's a rocker. It's all good. I'd jam with that dude! I'd love to just collaborate with anybody. I'd like to have enough credibility to be able to do it.

Dave : As far as the Mushroomhead thing goes, My sound never seemed to come across the right way, and I didn't really write 100 percent. I wasn't myself in the
writing all the time.I had about 80-90 percent to do with writing everything on those records. If it doesn't sound like me, I'm just
throwing in a differnt style on there. I have played keyboards and bass on almost every Mushroomhead record. We would sit down, I would just make up keyboard things on the spot. I know some music theory, so I can figure things out on piano. Half the stuff on Savior Sorrow album was scratch tracks. If you listen to Save Us you can hear the guitar part is the same notes as the keyboard part on Embrace The Ending, and the lyrics on Embrace are left over lyrics from Save Us. On the last record i was asked to play a bunch of keyboards, and i was like no, I'm not doing someone else's job for free.
Not to bash anything, but that was one of my points. We have this killer studio, Why are these albums lacking the tightness you can hear on Pantera and Crowbar albums? The master of the new Kriadiaz is just cleaner and more in check. Doing it at a home studio we pushed it to the limit with the sound. We recorded with just a tower, monitor, and a keyboard. AS long as you can pop it in, and it kicks you in the balls, that's all I care about. 216 was heavy too, but we spent a ton of money recording in a big studio, but it just doesn't have the same characteristics. Quality isn't always what's important. The characteristics of the music has to come across. "Cowboys From Hell" and the Crowbar albums prove that. When the songs are good and the production is done right, you can't go wrong.


Jaymz : Whats in the immediate future for Kriadiaz
Dave : We're trying to branch out as much as we can. We're playing in NJ in August.
We're playing Philadelphia the day before that. Champs is the name of the place in NJ.
We're playing with Stygeon. They toured with Mushroomhead, That's how I have a contact with them.

Dave : As far as the Mushroomhead controversy with me leaving is concerned...Are you guys
really gonna kick me out because I hurt your feelings with the truth? We're in our 40's. If you don't have thick skin by now and you don't know your place by now, go see a psychiatrist.
And for everyone wondering about all the personell changes in the lineup. Maybe the problem isn't with the guys who have been kicked out, maybe the problem is with the guys that are still there.


You can hear cuts from the Kriadiaz album every Thursday night from 7pm to 10pm EST at www.brutalexistenceradio.com and you can find Kriadiaz and keep up with them at http://www.facebook.com/kriadiaz

Open Denile - "Visions Of The Next Dimension"

It is my pleasure to review for you "Visions Of The Next Dimension", the brand new full-length release by my BXDM brothers Open Denile. Opening the disk with a 2 minute eerie keyboard melody aptly titled "Descent Into Denile", the mood is set and the listener is given an immediate boot to the throat with the opening riffs of "Vivid Degradation". This 7 and a half minute monster is filled with crushing riffs, an abundance of shredding on the keys and guitar and a great contrast of guttural growls and melodic singing. This track is the ultimate example of what Open Denile truly is as a band, super brutal, very complex and progressive, lots of tempo shifting going from almost black metal speed to big open catchy pieces and tons of melody to spare. Think if Dream Theater were to go in a more extreme direction and collaborate with Children Of Bodom during the "Hatebreeder/Hate Crew Death Roll" years and you'd get something close to what Open Denile serve up musically. "Pathogen Eradication" sears through the speakers next, full speed ahead with intricate riffing and classic black metal tremolo picking, all the while with the keys creating a dark, haunting aura in the background. The lyrics in this tune, tell a tale of armageddon and the imminent path of self destruction mankind is on par for. The crazy break that begins at 3:50 includes face-melting guitar wizardry, and even gets kind of mellow and jazzy with epic guitar vs. keyboard pieces. This is thinking mans death metal, no mindless breakdowns, endless blast beating, no blood soaked tales of murder and gore, and no satanic blasphemy for added shock value. This band is all about 1 thing, musicianship, and thats what these 4 guys serve up through this entire offering. "Perish" is next and probably my favorite track on this amazing disk. How can you NOT love a 9 minute and 27 second epic dirge about a zombie holocaust?! 9 plus minutes may seem like alot of time, and Open Denile to fill that space with a ton of music, but this track flows seemlessly. There's no "Hey look what we can do" showboating, this is well crafted, extremely heavy, and they addition of keys over this track make it beautiful. Yeah I just said a song about zombies is beautiful, and unless Open Denile write "Perish part 2" I dont think I'll ever be able to say that again. The instrumental "An Absolute Memory" kicks in next. Just when you though Open Denile may have pulled every trick from their sleeves, where the heck did THIS track come from?! Acoustic guitars, mellow jazz inspired pieces that sway back and forth effortlessly, and more keyboard vs. guitar insanity. This track is almost a welcome "Intermission" if you will, to the brutal beating that proceeded it and a great setup for the 2 ragers to follow and close this disk out. "Blessed" is next and after a nice acoustic intro, goes straight for the jugular with heaviness. This track is a little more straightforward than the others, great classic metal vibe in the verse riffing and the chorus is extra catchy with an almost In Flames sort of feeling. This track is where Open Denile shows us they dont have to be chaotic and constantly blow our minds with progression to write a great song with a real solid punch to it, although the lead key and guitar solo's will have you running to the store looking for a new face, as yours will be melted off. "Immortalized" brings this disk to a close, with lots of frantic riffing, at a feverish black metal fueled pace. Again the lyrics here really stand out, from the point of view of a man feeling crushed, and betrayed and revolting against religion. Once "Visions Of The Next Dimension" comes to a stop, you'll be hard pressed not to press that replay button and go through this extremely brutal musical journey again. As I said before, this is thinking man's death metal, and Open Denial spew forth nothing but an abundance of talent and insane levels of creativity. There is no other band in the tri-state area and New York especially, doing what Open Denile does at the level they do it. "Visions Of The Next Dimension" pleases the metal enthusiast on many levels, and if you truly love metal this disk deserves a spot in your music library. Open Denile will officially be unleashing this masterpiece on the world on Saturday, June 9th at their record release show at Arena 80-12 51st Ave. Elmhurst,NY 11377. Performing along with Open Denile will be Left In Ruins, Engraved, Fall Of The Albatross, Irony Of Chaos, I Am The Trireme, Hypoxia and Cryptodira. This is an amazing event you dont want to miss, and this is an album you cant afford not to own! Come on out, buy a copy of "Visions Of The Next Dimension" and support some of the hardest working bands in the underground! You can hear cuts from this disk and all your underground favorites every Thursday from 7pm to 10pm EST at www.brutalexistenceradio.com.