GAMA BOMB “Citizen Brain”

GAMA BOMB “Citizen Brain” – (I was sketchy about this band at first due to the retardedly silly cover art with a monster that looks like a cross between Dr. Octopus and Mysterio gone amok. Since when do thrash bands have silly artwork? You never saw Exodus, Tankard, Atrophy, Annihilator or Whiplash put out records with silly cover art. Maybe Lawnmower Deth and Xentrix, but that was about it. But decided to give the Gama Bomb a chance since they are on Earache and glad I did cause they thrash something fierce. Like a cross between Hallows Eve and label-mates Municipal Waste and Bonded by Blood they do thrash the proper way, whilst also referencing Onslaught, Tankard, Sodom and Exodus both musically and lyrically. They also have a song, “OCP”, which is about the greatest movie ever, “Robocop”, where all the lyrics are just lines from the movie, though they omit “Dead or alive you’re coming with me”, “Well I guess we can be friends after all … Richard” and the immortal “I’ll buy that for a dollar”. They also have a song called “In the Court of General Zod” about a REAL comic book movie, “Superman II”, which is sick and a song about the classic video game “Space Invaders” called … “Space Invaders”. Genius as heck! All the songs thrash, so hard to pick a favorite, but the ones that thrash with the most thrashing power are “Final Fight”, “OCP”, “Hammer Slammer”, “Sentenced to Thrash” and my favoritist – “Hell Trucker”. The bonus DVD features silly behind the scenes footage of the band being silly, where they talk of beer and needles and godly bands like Exodus and Metal Church, whilst sporting some killer Sodom and Acid Reign shirts. Now there’s a band that needs their catalog reissued, Acid Reign… some snippets of live footage and a brilliant take on politics is offered, where one dude basically says something like, “Politicians are not trustworthy cause they do politics instead of peopletics.” Napalm Death could not have said it better. They end things up with a metallized snippet of the Chet Atkins classic “Yakety Axe”, so I expect a collaboration with Mark Knopfler ASAP. Check this out, as Gama Bomb thrash as thrashers should thrash…)

DEATH ANGEL “Sonic German Beatdown – Live in Germany”

DEATH ANGEL “Sonic German Beatdown – Live in Germany” – (Finally, a DVD from the thrash gods! This features two full concerts shot in Germany, from 2007 and 2008. The set from 2007 was released on cd under the same name and the track-listing is the same, except now you get to see it raining at the Rock Hard Festival. They run through the classics – “Seemingly Endless Time”, “Mistress of Pain” and “3rd Floor” as well stuff from “The Art of Dying” album, like “Thrown to the Wolves”, “5 Steps to Freedom” and “Thicker Than Blood” before finishing things off with “Bored” and “Kill as One”. The set from 2008 was recorded in Adelsheim and here they play everything off the “Killing Season” album except for “The Noose”, plus a few classics and a couple surprises. The track-listing on the back of the DVD is all wrong, which is a bit frustrating, but happily that means they played more songs than listed, so more bang for your gun. They also give a shout-out to Mercenary, which was cool. They do “Seemingly Endless Time” “3rd Floor”, “Mistress of Pain”, and “Kill as One”, whilst “Sonic Beatdown” and “Buried Alive” be the highlights from the new album. As for the surprises – they throw in “Evil Priest”(!!!) early in the set, which was completely unexpected, as was the encore of “The Ultra-Violence” and “Thrashers” before they closed things out with “Thrown to the Wolves”. Odd that there are no interviews or silly behind the scenes footage, but you do get the promo-clips for “Thicker than Blood” and “Dethroned”. Death Angel delivered on both shows and cannot wait for their next album, which should promise to be a thrashterpiece. Definitely worth picking up…)

EARLY MAN “Death Potion”

EARLY MAN “Death Potion” – (this album should have came out last year, but it is here now, so all is well. Five years since the debut “Closing In” and two since the EP “Beware the Circling Fin,” Early Man has picked up where the EP left off. The doom days are gone and now they are a retro speed thrash outfit that is basically Angel Witch with a bit of Exciter thrown in. heck, there is so much Angel Witch worship on this disc that I had to go back and crank up my Angel Witch discs, which rule, but that may backfire on them cause people may say “let’s drink a case and listen to Early Man” and the other peoples could say “Why not drink a case and just crank up some Angel Witch?” what the heck, though, this rocks! Stand-outs are “Someone Elses Nightmare”, “Nine Riders” and “Unseen Tormentor”, though my favorites are the opener “Death Potion” and the closing track “Six Mothers of the War God”. “Six Mothers of the War God” kills and is up there with “War Eagle” as Early Man’s bestest song ever. And there just aren’t enough Angel Witch worshippers out there, so “Death Potion” is the perfect antidote to hold us over until Angel Witch gets back on track)

BROOKS & DUNN “CMT PICK”

BROOKS & DUNN “CMT Pick” – (one of the few newer acts that actually rocked when country took a nosedive towards pop (thanks a lot Faith Hill, you carpetbagger) is Brooks & Dunn. This DVD features the episode of “Star Pads” where you get to take a peek at their mansions as well as some behind the scenes footage of the Neon Circus tour. The mansions are sweet, with Kix Brooks showing off his alligator guitar, yellow Ferrari, which he insists is the perfect farm vehicle and his 50 horse ranch. Brooks also tells a story about fishing with Dale Earnhardt and says his next door neighbor is Tim McGraw, which may have meant something … once. Ronnie Dunn has a chandelier made out of deer antlers which may be about the coolest thing ever and a moose head that he insists is bigger than the one Hank Williams, Jr. gots.he shows off the barn the road crew built and his massive collection of Russian impressionistic paintings?!? Dunn also seems to be genuinely disturbed that his daughter won’t let him shoot her pet mouse. Dunn also has the Brooks & Dunn Corn Flakes box that I wish I still had. Too bad other bands don’t have their own cereals. It would be cool to get some King Diamond cereal or Deeds of Flesh oatmeal. The behind the scenes footage features the Brooks & Dunn hot air balloon as well as a bit of Crown Royal drinking and the photo shoot for the “Hillbilly Deluxe” album. There be some funny parts, especially when one of the road crew claims that those aren’t “Oklahoma fingerprints” on his laptop. It is a bit of a letdown when Dunn says that they are not a bunch of violent rednecks, but you know that he is just joking around as they like to kid. Pretty good stuff, despite having just mere snippets of music, but they keeps it real. You can’t have C&W without a little B&D)

FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY “Improvised Electronic Device”

FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY “Improvised Electronic Device” – (The industrial gods have taken a bit of a step back with their 14th studio album. They have decided to revisit the guitar heaviness of “Millenium” (1994) and the epic-ness of “Hard-Wired” (1995) whilst throwing in the apocalyptic darkness of “Epitaph” (2001) all the while keeping the aggression of their last album “Artificial Soldier” (2006). The final product is a well-rounded mix of old and new sounds that are EXACTLY what they needed to propel them into another decade. Most of the album sounds like a more guitar-heavy updating of “Hard-Wired”, with a few songs throwing in enough guitars to bring back the metal fans who thought they had abandoned that avenue way back. All the tracks are strong, highlighted by “Hostage”, “Release”, “Laws of Deception” and “Stupidity”, the latter of which is a thrashing assault with Al Jourgenson from some band everyone forgot called Ministry on the mic. Heck, “Stupidity” is the most relevant thing he done in eons. Bestest tracks are the single “Shifting Through the Lens” and “Pressure Wave”. “Pressure Wave” devastates like the soundtrack to a hurricane smashing through a resort on a beach during tourist season. Sick stuff. FLA still keeps it real, whereas nearly everyone else has decided to gnaw, like what Skinny Puppy has devolved into. Dig it.)

THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU (1969)

THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU ( * ½ ) – Jess Franco movies are like hangovers. Despite the horrible after effects, you continue to watch them as if there will be some other end result that is somewhat pleasant, just like drinking. I have to believe (like those mad scientists who conjured up the myth of global warming) that he made more than one good movie besides “The Awful Dr. Orlof” but every other film of his I have seen has been insidious. “The Castle of Fu Manchu” from circa 1969 was the last of his Fu Manchu series and is an insufferable mishap. The usually brilliant Christopher Lee sleepwalks his way through his role as evil mastermind Fu Manchu, who this time out sinks an ocean liner and appears to want to start a new ice age or something. Of course Richard Greene is hot on his trail as Fu Manchu’s arch-nemesis, Scotland Yard detective, Neyland Smith. This film is so boring that even the explosions and fight sequences will make you yawn. At least it was rather short, but again, Franco seems more concerned with shooting the background scenery than the action sequences. At least they didn’t make a sixth one, though hard to believe they made five!)

FROM BEYOND (1986)

FROM BEYOND ( * * * ) – Sick of all this teen bopper crud. Remember back when they made horror movies for adults? Well, “From Beyond” is a great example of a horror movie for people with lesser pimples. In-between his other classics “Re-Animator” and “Dolls”, director Stuart Gordon adapted another H.P. Lovecraft story to make this cult classic from 1986. The plot has a pair of mad scientists creating a machine called the resonator that opens up the third eye and unlocks one’s sixth sense but, as it always does, also unleashes brain-eating monsters from a parallel dimension. Finally, a story that makes sense! Features hilarious dialog, great effects, a healthy does of gore and a dung load of fun. And the casting is perfect – Jeffrey Coombs and Barbara Crampton from “Re-Animator” and Kevin Foree from “Dawn of the Dead”, the REAL “Dawn of the Dead” not that remake that is gay as AIDS. And now that the unrated version has been discovered in a vault, all am well. Check it out