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Contents Vandaia November 2014 8 ALBUM REVIEWS Son Little "Things I Forgot" (Future Soul) Rancid "...Honor Is All We Know" (Punk) Straight Jacket Legends "Lemon Tea Party" (Pop Punk) Lagwagon "Hang" (Punk (lock)

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Single Mothers "Negative Qualities" (Punk) Riot V "Unleash The Fire" (Hard Rock/Metal) Skelator "King of Fear" (Epic Heavy/Speed Metal) Giant Squid "Minoans" (Progressive/Metal)

20 REVIEWS & LIVE MUSIC Album Cover Feature - Lagwagon "Hang" Lynam Pays Homage to the Sunset Strip "Swedish Metal Onslaught: Sabaton and Amon Amarth Crush Calgary" Sabaton and Amon Amarth Photo Highlights Carnival of Death Photo Highlights Losing My Mine With The Pixies Beach House Heats Up Calgary

48 INTERVIEW Venue Owner Vern Nickerson #footheroom Keeping an Underground Venue Alive 54 COVER INTERVIEW - Sabaton "Behind the Scenes with the Metal War Historians, Sabaton" Interview with Joakim Broden & Hannes Van Dahl "Sabaton is quite possible the next biggest thing on the global metal stage. They've opened for Iron Maiden, toured relentlessly over the last 7 or years and are one of the most prominent bands on the Nuclear Blast roster. David Khan caught up with the band before they hit the stage to talk about their music, touring and more"

66 Festival Diary: Housecore Horror Film Festival & Horror & Heavy Metal Fest 2014 Housecore Horror Film Festival was quite the success last year and has gained special attention from the metal world. This was to be the festivals second edition, and it was to be bigger than ever

Carnival of Death Tour 2014

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"Behind the Scenes with the Metal War Historians, Sabaton"

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Front Cover Design By Erin Torrance

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Son Little "Things I Forgor(Future Soul) www.facebook.com/SonLittieMusic Review By Dustin Griffin - 5/5 Dragons Aaron Livingston has been cranking out quality soulful rhythm and blues for years now. Both under his own name and as one half of Icebird, the defunct roots project he struck up with multitalented musician RJD2.

Here Livingston again strikes out on his own, making the moniker Son Little. And while the blues has always been a major component of his vocal makeup, it seems to be on more prominent display here than ever before.

SON LITTLE Ehino o r go t

Livingston got his first big break providing vocals to the 2004 Roots hit 'Guns Are Drawn.' And while he hasn't really stopped or even slowed down in the interim, his debut EP as Son Little, 'Things I Forgot' contains all the things that make for the start of a great and prosperous career.

Leading off with the danceable folky blues thumper 'The River', the song features a plethora of instruments that do what instruments should always do in service of a voice such as Livingston's: augment it.

The EP's standout track 'Your Love Will Blow Me Away' begins with the kind of R&B crooning that, if you didn't know better, you'd think came right out of the 50's. A sharp, lumbering beat manages to add a little funk to the song without ever detracting from the main melody. There's also some beautiful BB King-like guitar squealing floating around in the back somewhere. `Cross My Heart', with its Trent Reznor meets The Roots backbeat, clashing beautifully with Livingston's gospel soaked vocal hook sounds like a radio hit in waiting. And all of it buffering the ethereal gang of voices bouncing around in the back there somewhere. It's a pretty impressive little song.

As a bonus, the EP also contains an R]D2 remix of the song which doesn't sound dramatically different, but does put an emphasis on drum sounds, including an especially cool sounding snare rim. `Joy' pairs some gothic sounding organ with a moaning, desperate cry for help in the vocals. It's a haunting, gorgeous song with very refined sentiments on happiness, or the lack thereof. Lyrics like "and you haunt me like a dove, then disappear in smoke" are examples of the kind of desperate poeticism that runs throughout the album. And 'Alice' is another rocky rhythm and blues number that sounds like the kind of revivalism being churned out by the likes of The James Hunter Six and 313 McPherson. Which is some damn fine company to be in.

There really isn't a lot to 'Things I Forgot.' Which isn't a knock. The sets minimalism serves its concept and I've no doubt this was Livingston's intended effect from the outset.

The songs are all beautifully rendered rumination's on love, loneliness and the pursuit of inner peace. All delivered with a deep gut level melody and carried through on Livingston's very exciting soulful vocal rasp. `Things I Forgot' is one of the best releases of the year and I truly hope Livingston continues on with this particular incarnation of his musical identity. I would love to see a full length Son Little record to follow.

08 vandalamagazine.Com - November 2014

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Rancid "...Honor Is All We Know"(Punk) www.rancidrancid.com Review By Dustin Griffin - 5/5 Dragons When Let The Dominos Fall came out, I have to admit I was disappointed by it. Rancid hadn't released a record in six years and anticipation for new material was high.

But I don't think that album was the triumphant return we were waiting for. It sounded like the band, for the first time in their impressive career, was treading water.

They sounded tired. Tim in particular sounded weary.

His delivery was often somewhere between a sigh and shrug. There was nothing grabbing about the music and the production sounded a little flat.

But then the members went off and did their own things.

Tim Armstrong became his alter ego Tim Timebomb and released literally hundreds of songs under the title Tim Timebomb & Friends. When he wasn't doing that he was working on the Transplants third record, Lars Frederiksen fully embraced his Oil roots and put much of his effort into his classic era street punk band The Old Firm Casuals.

Matt Freeman got busy for a while with his psychobilly project Devil's Brigade.

And Branden Steineckert seemed to emerge himself in his Utah soccer league.

And maybe that's what it took. Maybe the boys needed to go off and do their own thing because, judging from the breath of fresh punk rock air that is Honor Is All We Know, the boys are 'back where they belong' and sounding more energized and on point than they have in years.

Honor Is All We Know kind of came out of nowhere. There had been rumblings of a new Rancid record for years, but no confirmations or teasers from the studio or possible release dates. Just rumour. Then all of a sudden we had a track list, and cover art, and a release date just weeks away. Then, in a marketing idea that was both smart and exciting, we had a video. The video featured the band playing three new jams off the album: 'Collision Course', an absolute rip roaring punk rock freight train that sounds like Rancid (2000); `Evil's My Friend, a hyper ska ripper with a very Out Come The Wolves-esque guitar line and a haunting and cool organ break; and 'Honor Is All We Know'; a Tim Timebomb song that sounds the same as the original, but as rerecord by Rancid, meaning more tight, sharp and exciting.

With those three barn stormers leading the way, Honor Is All We Know could now be firmly placed within the 'maximum hype' category.

And the rest of the record does not disappoint. It's filled with Rancid's street spun tales of friends, family and coming up in the East Bay on tracks like 'In The Streets' and 'Now We're Through With You'. But there are also rave up's like 'Raise Your Fist', 'A Power Inside' and the cool breeze ska swing of 'Everybody's Sufferin', which are rebellion focused calls to action.

The dark dance bop of 'Already Dead' and 'Grave Digger' feature horror punk at its finest.

While 'Back Where I Belong' is the record's most obvious and straightforward track, with a chorus of "I've been gone way too long and I'm back where I belong." Indeed.

Honor Is All We Know just feels right. It feels like the Rancid we know and love. And 10 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2014

Album Remiews. listening to it, you're reminded why Rancid has been one of the biggest and most influential punk bands on the planet since the mid-90's. The music is sharp and heavy, fast and exciting. Tim and Lars sound like they're having the time of their lives. Matty and Branden are in fine form. And punk isn't dead. The last gang in town is back and they sound better than ever.

And the rest of the record does not disappoint. It's filled with Rancid's street spun tales of friends, family and coming up in the East Bay on tracks like 'In The Streets' and 'Now We're Through With You'. But there are also rave up's like 'Raise Your Fist', 'A Power Inside' and the cool breeze ska swing of 'Everybody's Sufferin', which are rebellion focused calls to action.

The dark dance bop of 'Already Dead' and 'Grave Digger' feature horror punk at its finest.

While 'Back Where I Belong' is the record's most obvious and straightforward track, with a chorus of "I've been gone way too long and I'm back where I belong." Indeed.

Straight Jacket Legends "Lemon Tea Party" Pop Punk) www.straightjacketlegends.bandcamp.com Review By Alex Slakva 3.8/5 Dragons Straight outta Scotland, Straight Jacket Legends bring an unlikely, yet refreshing flavour to the pop-punk genre. Those familiar with the genre staples will find that their upcoming November 11 release 'Lemon Party' delivers both in title and content.

Immediately, the biggest take away from the six tracks that make up 'Lemon Party' is that this band's ambitions lie beyond replicating American acts like Blink 182, or more recently Man Overboard. Instead, Straight Jacket Legends combine the genre subject matters popularized by those (and similar) acts and combine it with a certain orchestral sound, both instrumentally and the 2 styles of the 2 vocalists' singing. Tracks like Alibi, Sofia, & Night Time particularly seem to be written with heavy consideration for their lyrical hooks and concert hall sing-along. Particularly the thematically serious and piano heavy ballad, Night Time, which seems like a tactically-poppy payload aimed at UK charts. The remaining tracks, Paul Shakes, She's out of line are definitely more conventional pop-punk pieces leaving the broke-musician & party-rebel anthem, Call Vic, somewhere in the stylistic middle.

It would be a bad lie to say that even a single track off this EP isn't catchy, but the latter mentioned, straight forward tracks, come off a bit vapid compared to, say Sofia. It's not that Paul Shakes or Call Vic aren't fun songs, it's just that it has been done before and the overall 'sound' of this EP is more engrained in pop, not punk. For my money, however, I'd put all my chips on She's Out Of Line as the single that will draw in the most fans (which is likely why it now has its own music video). This track sounds like Bloodhound Gang, but with pop punk choruses. Perhaps it is a bit unreasonable to pick the most niche song on the record as the best, but it is very boyish, original and fun and those are definitely characteristics that represent this band the best.

If their 2015 debut album manages to trim the fat a little bit, or perhaps add texture where texture is needed, it will definitely be hit from either community.

November 2014 - VaridalaMagazine.Corn 11

Lagwagon"Hang"(Punk Rock) www.Lagwagon.com Review By Dustin Griffin - 4.5/5 Dragons Birds, planes, light fixtures, framed show flyers, boogers after you go swimming, Spiderman and of course bees. All are things that hang. Well now you can add the latest Lagwagon album to that list.

Hang is Lagwagon's eighth full length studio album and their first in nine years. Hang is a comeback, Hang is a reminder, Hang is a riff heavy beast.

So here's the deal. This is a throwback album, way back, back to the beginning. In content, this album is bosom buddies with Duh and Trashed. Both albums which constantly and gleeful blurred the line between punk and metal is such a carefree and easy manor that I doubt the band even meant to do so or cared much that it happened.

Hang feels more deliberate. It feels like a release, or an explosion. This is about as far from Joey Cape's solo stuff as you can get. It feels as if, for his slice of the songwriting pie, every time Joey wanted to write a heavy song, he pushed it into some deep dark place within himself and concentrated instead on the easy grooves and silky melodies of late. But that shit has to come out sometime, those anvils have to drop, and on Hang you can feel the f*cking thud.

The album starts off in much the same way as both Double Plaidinum and Blaze: with a melon collie acoustic jam, this time a downright depressing tale of sorrow and loss. Where it differs from those former mentions is that it never takes off into a punk rock slammer. It's just a minute long acoustic intro that sets the dark tone the album is to follow throughout.

The second song however, makes up for it by hitting the drums hard and fast with the words 'f*ck this' introducing the listener to Lagwagon 2014: angry, bold and heavy.

The songs 'Made of Broken Parts' and `The Cog in the Machine' are riff destroyers that sound like the accumulation of the best parts of Duh and Trashed processed and syphoned into a couple of body slammers mush pits the world over will appreciate when the band takes them on the road.

'Poison in the Well' follows in the footsteps of Resolve: a great deal of anger, melody and music prowess.

'Obsolete Absolute' is the most interesting song on Hang as it's a punk rock opus that clocks in at a whopping seven minutes (which is like 45 minutes in punk time). That in and of itself is ambitious when most punk songs strain after the two and a half minute mark. The song itself is fantastic. A commentary on a bunch of stuff I'm not smart enough to figure out, but I sure do like those skittering, crunchy guitars and that hyperactive drum beat. On an album already chock full of a great deal of imagination and ideas, this feels and sounds like the concerto. vandalaMagazine.Com - November 2014

Album Reviews.

Elsewhere, 'One More Song' slows things down again for an intro before blossoming into the most recognizable Lagwagon-y song on the album. This song could have come off any of the last half dozen of the band's albums, but with acoustic guitars at the beginning and a funky piano break in the middle. In other words, my wet dream.

The song 'Drag' recalls the song 'Choke' from Double Plaidinum. 'Choke' is one of my favorite Lagwagon songs and 'Drag' is a nice bedfellow, with that perfect mix of heavy music and melodic hooks that by now is becoming the trademark sound of Hang.

Finally, album closer 'In Your Wake' does an interesting thing by becoming a sequel to the album's kick off acoustic number. Which makes me wonder if the entire record is actually a concept album. A punk rock Tommy perhaps. Something to think about.

Hang, like a clingy girlfriend, is an album that demands you spend some time with it. One or two spins just isn't sufficient, or fair. There are layers here. There are ideas and musical depth that will reveal more with every listen. It also isn't an album you can just pluck a track or two from and be on your way. It's best experienced from beginning to end, straight through. Well, you can do what you want, but my advice is to treat it like a DIED. You can skip around and pick and choose whatever chapter you like, but you're not really watching the movie then, are you?

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Single Mothers "Negative Qualities"(Punk) www.singlemothersgang.com Review By Alex Slakva - 4.2/5 Dragons Let's talk about the second most ambiguous music genre (after EDM, of course): punk, For the sake of brevity, let's be broad. It is not secret that the most recent, relevant punk acts tend to take cues from the happy-go-lucky Pixies, or subscribe to one of the several sects in the church of latter day Violent Pacification, such as thrash cross over or power violence. It is seldom that a band manages to do a decent job going back to the roots of social satire and boyish anarchism that made me and generations before fall in love with punk. This is definitely the refreshing vibe that Single Mothers give off on Negative Qualities.

What immediately sets Ontario rockers apart from their competitors is that Negative Qualities is an album driven by clarity of the lyrics and attitude of the vocal delivery from Andrew Thompson. In a sentence, it's as if he's channeling Henry Rollins and Keith Buckley and if you are a embittered moleskin scribbler who owns a microphone, there is a great probability that you will dig this album.

If the previous sentence doesn't make sense, Marbles is an excellent track to dig into, "I don't care about your first intentions/ I don't care about your type writer ribbon/ I don't care these punctuations" just reeks of self righteous angst that anyone who was once a teenager relate to. The most savoury part is that the following verse "I'm a hypocrite and I'm okay with it" implies being of the song's self awareness which goes back to the aforementioned theme of satire. 'Half Lit' is another Black Flag-esque 4/4 rifting into an apathetic ballad about drug abuse and being blacked in the basement, which will strike a chord with many and be the causation for spanking and circle-pits, 'Crooks' is while excellent, is a curious toe outside of the established line. It almost sounds like it could have been a Distillers track if they had a male vocalist), I think is a cool deviation from the first half of the album. It and 'Patricide' give off a foreshadowing that Single Mothers is definitely capable of more than the first half of the album hints at.

For the unconvinced, look at the post rock, Title Fight-like track 'Keta mine'. This is another lyrical tranquilizer that will make show goers down beers and raise fists.

It is absolutely difficult to declare a single best track as 'Overdose', 'Marbles', 'Blood Pressure' and even 'Money' are really on point. It is likely there is a minority that will say the days of 3-4 piece punk bands attempting to replicate the simple musicianship 80's/90's song -writing are long gone.

Negative Qualities is the undeniable proof that they are wrong. Single Mothers reunited a few years ago and signed to Dine Alone records in 2013, so they (hopefully) have the resources to tap into the potential they hint at, on this album.

Watch out for these guys in the upcoming year.

16 vandalaMagazine.Com - November 2014

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Album eviews. Jeff 13Laoks Riot V "Unleash The Fire" (Hard Rock/Metal) www.facebook.cona/riotrockcity - 4.5/5 Dragons

Don't look now! What can I possibly say about Riot that hasn't already been said? Easily the most instantly-memorable record I've heard in 2014. Only took one listen: I've got the choruses and at least one riff from all twelve (I) of the tracks on this album lodged forever in my memory. Todd Michael Hall (who fronted Jack Starr's band) is the fifth frontman to step behind the mic with this legendary group and his sky-high caterwaul is perfectly suited for the slick and sharpened brand of power metal that Riot has been cultivating for decades now. The guitar work of Mike Flyntz and newcomer Nick Lee is fine needlework, darting and weaving and drawn taught in dazzling patterns. The songs tread that fine line of self-awareness, managing to drop a few coy reminders to earlier glories without slipping into the black hole of deja vu. A rare feat for any band with a couple albums under its belt, and this is Riot's FIFTEENTH. Trust me: they just don't make 'em like this anymore.

Skelator "King of Fear" (Epic Heavy/Speed Metal) www.facebook.coni/TrueSkelator - 4/5 Dragons

Here is a band who've in the trenches dodging bullets, shrapnel and fatal lineup changes since 1998. This is probably Skelator's most testicular release yet, eschewing the pomp and grandeur of 2012's Agents of Power for a more song-focused approach that relies on simple, well-wrought catchiness. It's a straight-up, blue-collared love letter to all the things that make heavy metal so...

Heavy Metal, from bird-of-prey screams to • guitarmony leads and driving rhythm sections.

Rah Davis does not suck at bass, adding OF FEA,Rj delectable counterpoint to "Stronger Than Steel" and 'Sword of the Dawn." Founder Jason Conde-Houston is a crystal-clear version of the late Midnight, of Crimson Glory) excelling on songs about cutting up bad guys with swords, which is most of them. Guaranteed cure for wallet chains, fedoras, neckbeards and Phil Ansemlo.

18 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2014

Giant Squid "Minoans" (Progressive/Metal) www.facebook.comigiantsquidband/info - 4/5 Dragons Black seas of infinity. Tales of human tragedy.

Rumble of distant mountains, coming alive with fire and wrath. All this -- and more! -- with the latest album from your new favorite Marine Biologist Metal group. The cello works great here, a slow mournful groan alongside the cries of bronze-age men and women, see "Sixty Foot Waves." Tinkly keyboards with all sorts of bells and whistles, sounds like how temple incense smells. Guitars splitting the earth asunder, bass undulating, kick drum as heartbeat of the ocean.

Listen to the climax of "Thera" and tell me that ain't the sound of tectonic forces grinding into place. One of those full album experiences best used as soundtrack to hashish worship and heavy literature whilst contemplating the demise of empires both young and old. Deep enough to drown in.

WENTY YEARS IN THE TRENCHES

Lagwagon "Hang" (www.Lagwagon.com) Review By Dustin Griffin

There are a bevy of ideas and concepts going on the cover of Hang, all of them open to a number of subjective interpretations.

On the one hand, it's an album called Hang. The cover features bees, which hang in the air, and a noose, which is used to hang people. Nothing too cryptic or hard to figure out going on there.

On the other, it could be an environmental message. A warning that we're killing this planet. It could also be an illustration to reference the danger bees are in, facing their extinction at our hands. The bees representing themselves, the noose, made by our hands, representing us killing them. Hanging them for crimes they didn't commit (apart from their stingers instilling fear in us and causing many of us to dance around with our arms waving like weirdos when they fly into view).

Hang is a ballsy, in your face cover. In a way it looks purposely designed to curry controversy (the cover was unveiled, somewhat insensitively in my opinion, just days after the shocking suicide of Robin Williams). It also represents, to me, a Lagwagon we haven't seen much of before. Gone is the tongue in cheek, silly/funny covers and attitude that Lagwagon have been known for in the past (with the exception of Resolve, which was also a very serious record dealing with very serious themes). The same can be said of the music. This is heavy, dark material. Pissed off sounding, even. But I don't deride them for it. If anything it gives people something to think and talk about in regards to the band. It gives the band a sharper angle and a rougher image. They may make funny records again, who knows. Who cares really, as long as the music is good and the covers are as well thought out and interesting as this one.

20 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2014

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Lime â‚ŹToverageg L Angele% aDifornia Lynam Pays Homage to theSunsetMip Photos and Article By Joe Dolan (joedolanpr.com) Young and strong, two words that aptly describe the experience that is Lynam on stage. Looking something to the tone of Motley Crue circa 1984 with the sound of all things hard rock from the decade of decadence, Lynam came off their 2014 Summer Tour leaving a refreshing taste in the mouths of concertgoers across the United States. This included taking the stage alongside artists including Kix, Jake E. Lee, Queensryche and even Kid Rock. Can more than a handful of modern hard rock artists stand up to that sort of comparison? Well ...not in America, and these boys hail from the backwoods of Birmingham, Alabama!

So many times today people hear a band and say, "If you close your eyes, it's like being there again!" What this writer is telling you is, don't close your eyes.

Lynam is the real deal for hard rock fanatics! The band has been at it for more than a decade, but the fire is really catching on in 2014 and the media can't say enough to celebrate the look, the sound and the raw power the band is offering the club circuit. Yes, it's that good.

On October 15th, Lynam opened the first of four show dates with Greek guitar wizard Gus G. (Ozzy, Firewind) as Gus took his show into the Southwest region of the U. Front man Jacob Bunton was a feature on the latest CD Gus offered fans; co-writing and singing on the lead track titled I Am The Fire. Supporting Gus for the short leg of his 2014 tour, Lynam plugged back in after closing out their summer schedule and kicked things up a notch to play the Whisky A Go-Go in Hollywood, Vamp'd Vegas, the Ramona Mainstage and Club Red in Arizona.

In review, the Whisky had a good crowd for a Wednesday night. While there were many more than a handful of fans there for the headline performance, a mass of faithful offered servitude by crowding the floor to get close to the band as they ripped through 45 minutes of original songs that literally pay homage to the forefathers of their genre. With crunching distortion and ear kicking rhythms, the band was reminiscent of the glam slam era that made the Sunset Strip the hotspot to attend in the nineteen eighties. With blazing guitar solos that blew back the crowds wigs, the new pro-stage lighting system on the ceiling of the venue and a legendary stage sound that the Whisky is known for, Lynam looked every bit the arena rockers they were on stage at Rocklahoma for the audience in attendance.

The band hinted about some of the upcoming surprises they have for fans, but insiders know one of the many includes working with singer Cabbie Rae on her forthcoming works. Bunton is writing with her for the music that will ultimately define the direction her career is taking off in. Keep an ear out for that.

As for Lynam, your best to catch the band on their official Facebook page, but hear the musicby visiting their current official website at www.lynammusic.blogspot.com. Links to their social media can be found on the homepage.

More photos on the next page.

24 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2014

26 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2014

Lynam Live on The Sunset Strip Photos Courtesy of Joe Dolan - tatow.joedolanpr.com

November 2014 - VandalaMagazine.Com 27

"Swedis Metal Onslaught: Sabaton and Amon Amarth @Ma Calgary"

By David Than On October 4th Calgary was ablaze with a full-speed, melodic metal onslaught of Europe's finest (with one US band paying homage to the style). Never did I think I'd be at a posh venue like Flames Central watching long-haired, bearded veterans of metal dishing out face-melting riffs in rapid succession. Yes, I'm talking about the experience that was seeing Amon Amarth live with the likes of Skeletonwitch and Sabaton.

Skeletonwitch kicked off the night at around 9:15 with their blend of high-speed densely chorded guitar riffs with spitting, raspy vocals on top. The experience was akin to eating a maple-bacon dish where two very different flavours are blended together in a way that is confusing to the senses at first but then sinks in as something palatable. Many of the Calgarian horde out that night were specifically there to see Skeletonwitch. Hundreds of t-shirts were worn that blatantly boasted the words SKELETONWITCH with some macabre artistry abound. Skeletonwitch played a 45 minute set of non-stop onslaught before politely surrendering to a troop of Swedes.

Sabaton stormed the stage like a panzer battalion and kicked it off with one of their strongest numbers, Ghost Division. Joakim was moving back and forth pumping his fist with coordinated body motions. The crowd could not help but join in and try to sing along (whether they knew the words or not!). Sabaton stuck mostly to their well-known and loved older numbers with only two tracks off the new record thrown in. I was loving the Western-vibe in "To Hell and Back" and so were the other founded Calgarians who were getting a rare taste of perfectly-executed-sing-along metal. That's right, every Sabaton song played was a singable anthem that left everyone feeling like they could fearlessly sing at the top of their lungs. Though most of the song themes dealt with war, death and pain, Sabaton managed to end on a very light-hearted note by closing with "Metal Crue"; a track that seamlessly works about a hundred classic metal band names into a power metal track.

My only complaint about these guys is that they didn't play for 6 more hours!

Before Amon Amarth hit the stage, I only had one thought in my head: "Twilight of the Thunder Gods". They managed to tease me all night with relentless, pummelings of tracks off of Deceiver of the Gods, Surtur Rising, With Oden on Our Side and a few off TINlight of the Thunder Gods - but the title track was missing! That's because Johan Hegg knew he had the crowd wrapped around his giant viking-sized finger. They were going to make the crowd mosh themselves into the abyss for two hours straight. It was not possible that a crowd would have energy left, but like a great frontman, Johan left the most desired song to the end so that the crowd would unexpectedly find a mysterious second wind. I'm pretty sure the security at Flames Central were mighty nervous seeing the way the crowd pummel each other in the mosh pit. Surprisingly, no body parts were left behind! The reason for such unusual outpour of ferocity can be attributed to Amon Amarth's insanely fast drumming matched with a band that kept up with razor-sharp accuracy delivering a very high calibre of devastating onslaught.

This was one of those nights where I left the venue completely disoriented with ears ringing for the next week. I knew I had just witnessed one of the best possible metal spectacles on tour these days and loved every second of it. Overall, the brutality of Skeletonwitch and Amon Amarth worked well with the epic, anthem-like qualities of Sabaton. The word 'masterful' comes to mind in seeing the latter two bands. Skeletonwitch was great, but Sabaton and Amon Amarth deliver world-class metal and Calgary either knew it or else learned it that night...

Photo From Vancouver BC Show on the next page and Interview with Sabaton on page 54 28 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2014

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November 2014 - VandalaMagazine.Com 41

Losing My Mind With The Pixies

By Darian Magee There's classic rock - and then there's The Pixie. A household name since the 90's, it seems this Boston born band is here to stay.

Although I was too young to remember their breakup (and subsequent reunion), many of my formative years were spent obsessing over their albums. Heck, I even liked Indie Cindy. Whether they were dominating my junior high party playlists or forcing an ugly 'turn down your music' confrontation with my parents, the Pixies have been a great source of constant soundtrack to my life. The only milestone of theirs I was privy to suffer through was the departure of their bassist but it looks like Paz Lenchantinhas sufficiently filled the Kim Deal shaped hole in my heart. You can probably imagine my excitement when the "ACCREDIDATION ACCEPTANCE" email showed up in my inbox a day before the event and my face when I joyfully cancelled all my plans. No sarcasm here, they're just that great.

Ensuring a strong beginning with Gouge Away, the four gleefully played through half their repertoire and left me breathless start to finish. If they played anything else, I probably would have been forced to settle down and build a home in the crowded venue and the sick part is, I would have enjoyed it. Not known for their audience interaction, Calgary's performance wasn't exactly ground breaking in that sense. But despite feeling quite ignored, I found myself enamored with the faces behind the albums I've come to know and love. By the time River Euphrates came around, I was in too big of a trance to care. The crowd did manage to surprise me, though. When the group's most famous track Where Is My Mind began playing, actual lighters came out and I quickly shoved my android app down in shame. One thing is certain - the Pixies haven't lost their magic and alternative rock is alive and well. Fingers crossed these legends stay active for years to come.

The Pixies Online www.pixiesmusic.com and www.facebook.cornipixiesofficial 42 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2014

RISE IN THE WAKE TOUR

OCT 16 = BURNSTOWN, ON = NEAT

NOV 17 - GRAND PRAIRIE, AB - BETTER THAN TREWS

OCT 1 7 -

NOV 20 • EDMONTON, AB- UNION HALL

URNSTOWN, ON -NEAT

OCT 18 - MONTREAL, QC - PETITE CAMPUS

NOV 21 - CALGARY, AB - TWINES CENTRAL

OCT 23 = OTTAWA. ON = VALVE RICZ3

NOV 22 - LETHBRIDGE, AB = AVERAGE JOE'S

OCT 2S = PETERBOROUGH, ON THE VENUE

NOV 24 - CAMPBELL RIVER. BC - TIDEMARK THEATRE*

OCT 29 = QUEBEC CITT, QC LE CERC LE

NOV 2S NANA' m 0, BC • PORT THEATRE

OCT 38 = BiNC S lord, ON -THE GRAND TREATnr*

NOV 26 - vI CT OR1A, BC - SVGARN1G/ITCLUTI

NOV 01 BROCKVILLE, ON = BROCKVILLE ARTS CENTRE fq

NOV 29 - VANCOUVER, BC - COMMADORE BALLROOM

NOV OHS - RED DEER, AD -BED DEER MEMORIAL CENTRE*

DEC 1 = xminooPs, BC - CACTUS FACIES

NOV 07 - SLAVE L.

DEC 2 = MEDICINE HAT, AR - =maxima mem al Nem-vier icconite

AR -CONTERENCE CENTRE

NOV *a - BANIT, AR WILD WW1

DEC 3 -REGINA, SK CA3ar0 =atm

NOV 10 - WINNIPEG, MB - BURTON CUMMINGS THEATRE

DEC 5 - TKUNDE R BAT, ON - CROCKS

NOV 11 - BRANDON, MB - THE 40 AT TRAILS WEST INN

DEC 11 - TORONTO, ON - MILSSEY HALL*

NOV 14 SASKAT 00N. SK OR/MANS EVENT CENTRE

DEC 13 -SUDBURY, ON .SUDBURY EVENTS CENTRE

Nov Is - PRINCE ALBERT, SK = ART HAUSER CENTRE

DEC 31 - KALITAX, NS = CASINO NOVA SCOTIA

*ACOUSTIC 4k ELECTRIC SETS homentilsicco.com

thetrewsmusic.com

@the t revils

#RiseInTheWake

Beach House Heats/LUp Calgary

By Darian Magee Maryland's finest, Beach House first entered the music scene in 2004 with their Pitchfork acclaimed single "Apple Orchard". Known for their cosmic vibrations and somber melodies, the band first came into the spotlight with their self-titled album released in 2006. Since then, they've produced 3 more albums and a baker's dozen of singles, having embarked on an impressive amount of tours since their creation.

Fortunately, I was able to see one this month.

Baltimore's Beach House sure made this writer feel like she was living in a `Teen Dream' after heating up Calgary's fall air this September. Playing at the packed Republik Nightclub, fans found themselves enchanted by Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand's sold out show. For such a small venue, the visuals were phenomenal and after the first chord of "Master of None" struck, I already found myself begging for more. Although not very engaging, the two maintained a stage presence unmatched by any artist of their genre.

Presenting an aura of angelic mystique, the band made up for their lack of movement with Legrand's extraordinary vocals. Intense yet temperate, Scally's crooning acoustics were complemented perfectly by the French born singer.

Listeners were lulled into reverie right til the end, treated to a variety of fan favourites like "Luzulr, "Other People" and "Zebra". None however, could compare to their last few songs when the dreamy duo were joined by opening acts Sky Skjelset and Steve Strohmeier. Despite their short time together, the combined power of the four was astronomical and made for an outstanding encore.

Beach House Online www.beachhousebaltimore.com www.facebookacom / beach house ww.twitter.comibeaccchhoussse www.beachhouse2012.tumblr.com 44 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2014

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Sept13- Clearwater, MB@HarvestMoonFestival

22 - St Louis • MO

Sept 30 - Regina , SK @ The Exchange Oct 1 - Saskatoon , SK @ The Capitol - Edmonton , AB @ Pawn Shop Oct

24 - Guelph , ON @ 25 - Ottawa , ON Co Maverick's 27 - Kingston , ON @ Clark Hall Pub

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28 - London , ON @ Calf the Office

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- Red Deer , AB @ Bo's Bar 4

- Calgary , AB ()

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- Kelowna , BC @ The Habitat

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9 - Victoria , BC @ Lucky Bar 10 - Seattle , WA @ Chop Suey 11 - Vancouver , BC e Imperial *

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Oct 12 - Portland t OR @ Doug Fir Lounge * Oct 15 - San Francisco , CA @ The Independent * Oct 16 - Los Angeles CA @ El Rey Theatre * Oct 17 - San Diego , CA @ The Cosbah * Oct 18 - San Diego , CA @ The Cosbah * Oct

19

- Phoenix , AZ

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29 - Toronto , ON @ Lee's Palace 30 - Montreal , QC @ La Sala Rossa 31 - Quebec , QC @ Le Pantoum 6 - Burlington , VT @ Higher Ground 7 - Burlington , VT e Higher Ground 9 - Boston MA @ Paradise 11 - Philadelphia , PA e Boot 4% Saddle 13 - Columbus , Old@ Rumba Cafe 14 - Chicago , IL @ The Beat Kitchen 15 - Minneapolis , MN @ 7th Street Entry

Pub Rock

* with Rubblebucket

with Close Talker I with The Etwins

ELECTRIC YOUTH NORTH AMERICAN TOUR 2014 11/03 LOS ANGELES, CA V THE ROXY 11/04 SAN FRANCISCO. CA GREAT AMERICAN MUSIC HALL 11/06 SEATTLE, WA ef, THE CROCODILE 11/07 VICTORIA, BC f..t, VIC TORIA EVENT CENTRE 11/08 VANCOUVER, BC @ IMPERIAL 11/12 NEW YORK, NY A:v MUSIC HALL OF WILL1AMS8URG 11/13 WASHINGTON, D.C. @ BLACK CAT 11/14 PHILADELPHIA, PA ,.61 DISTRICT 1 9NE 11/15 BOSTON, MA BRIGHTON mUS1C HALL 11/18 TORONTO, ON THE FIOXION

AVAILABLE 09.30.2014 ON COiLP/DIGITAL

12/3 HOPMONK SEBASTOPOL, CA 11/6 EMPIRE CONTROL ROOM AUSTIN, TX 2/ ARCATA THEATRE ARCATA, CA 11/7 COLLEGE ST. BARCADE SPRINGFIELD MO 1 4 12/5 1015 FOLSOM SAN FRANCISCO, CA 11/8 RIOT ROOM KANSAS CITY, MO 12/6 THE ATRIUM SANTA CRUZ, CA 11/20 THE LOFT MINNEAPOLIS, MN 12/11 LEVELS NIGHT CLUB STATE COLLEGE, PA 11/21 MIRAMAR THEATRE MILWAUKEE, WI 1/30 THE CONCOURSE KNOXVILLE. TN 11/25 REVERB READING, PA 1/31 THE IRIS ATLANTA, OA

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#foothenofom Keeping an inderiground Venue Alive

By Matt Bacon It's an idea that seems almost to serendipitous to come true. It's the sort of things movies are based off of. It's #footheroom. Vern Nickerson opened up his own venue, The Room, with a buddy 4 years ago and since then it's become his passion. He's been able to book big bands from around the globe and has become a centerpiece of his scene. But money is running out and he is desperately searching for a solution to what seems like The Room's inevitable closure. His solution? #footheroorn a plea to Dave Groh!, a man who in his words "Gets it," to play the room. Can it happen? It seems almost too crazy to imagine, but with a lot of Internet attention being directed at #footheroom it seems like it might just come off...

How's life Vern?

Vern; Well if it wasn't for the fact that you need money to pay for everything life would be awesome.

So what's your solution been for that?

Well I don't exactly have the solution. We have what we're hoping to be an attention-getter. As a venue The Room is struggling to get itself out to an audience and the reason for that is financial. Mostly financial at least. Bands that play in our venue from all over the world love us. They love the way we treat them and how we run our shows.

That in and of itself means a lot. Getting the word out there is a little bit harder without money. Even simple things like getting a street team together for flyers takes money. The old fashioned ways aren't the way people are working right now. The bands are relying way too much on the internet. Not that you shouldn't rely on it to some extent because this campaigning we're doing right now is relying heavily on the internet. But when it comes to local bands promoting their shows, I wonder if the internet is actually making it more difficult than it might have been back in the day What makes you say that?

Vern: Social interaction used to be you'd go out, hang out with some friends, shoot the breeze, talk, and see bands. People would say "Hey Brian what are you doing this Friday?

You should go to a show!" People would be there from when the time started to roughly when the show ended. They'd see a bunch of bands and that was the way it was.

Now with the internet age... kids show up for one band. I see it at my venue all the time.

The most popular band on any given show plays to the most people. People show up five minutes before they go on stage, sometimes five minutes after they've been on stage. To me that's a shame. I think the biggest difference in the last twenty years is the question that gets asked. The question used to be "What time does the show start" and the question now is "What time do you play?" I think that's a huge problem. I think people would benefit from seeing new bands.

Talk to me about #footheroom then?

Vern: If it works it's a genius plan that I actually didn't come up with! We've been struggling. The room has been struggling big time. I owe a lot of money out to a lot of different people. My landlord, I owe him the most. We came to a realization that we can't continue on this path. We can't continue to not make enough money to even pay the rent.

So we talked about having a final show. We had a date set and everything, we said our Christmas show is going to be our last show and that's it. I talked to one of my friends in a band from Danbury, Connecticut, I Within I. He said "Do you want to close the room" and I said "Of course not" and he said "So don't close!" I said "It's not that simple" and 48 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2014

he said "What do you need to stay open" so I replied "We need attention, we need the Foo Fighters to come to the room" Then after another conversation he posted #footheroom and I liked it. Instead of just letting it die I said to myself its too important. A lot of people own businesses and they do well, fail, or just get by. It matters to you in the financial sense. But for me, it isn't necessarily about the financial situation. If I really wanted a venue that made huge financial waves I wouldn't have opened an all ages venue. You stand to make less money. Having no bar means you're going to make less money. To me if it's about the money then it's the wrong decision. But it isn't about the money. I'm invested in it, my wife's invested in it. I have a 10 year old daughter. In conversation we mentioned this to her and she was upset as can be. It's a thing I didn't expect. I didn't expect that reaction. It matters.

We have kids who play in our place as well as bands coming from all over the world. To me it's best when we have a band from Australia playing on a night where some kids are making their debut on a stage and they're 12-14 years old. It makes that show even better. We had a band do their first ever show opening up for Psychostick in our place. The kids looked up Psychostick they didn't even know who it was, but they wanted to play on a certain date and I needed a band who could sell tickets. They played first it wasn't like they played right before them. They contacted me though and said "Are you sure we're good enough to play before Psychostick?" And I said, "You know what, yes. Everybody's good enough to play with everybody else." Anybody who criticizes us for putting bands out there who are too new or too green, they don't remember what that was like! My first band was terrible, and you're supposed to be terrible! You're supposed to go out, practice like crazy, and suck! Then you get better and join better bands. I feel like that's happened with me. My bands have progressively gotten better. That's what you want! I see kids play in my venue, I see them grow up. I see kids come in, play their first ever gig onstage with lights and sound in my venue. Now they're going to college.

I tell this story all the time. There's a band called Ispacewalksometimes. If you look them up, they're on iTunes, the most talented kids you'll ever meet. They're really good. But the first time they played they were tight but the stage wasn't home for them yet. The next time it was way better. Then the next time they were absolutely amazing on stage. They were always good musically. They went from being a band who was talented who just kind of stood there to being rockstars. I'm close friends with them now. Two of those kids have scholarships to Berklee! They don't give them away to kids who are okay at playing, you gotta be good! That's a sense of pride, it was neat!

What you're getting at, is that the magic of The Room is that it reflects the spirit of underground independent music...

Vern: Damn right it is! I think the underground scene when you watch a movie about it is a certain thing. You watch the movie CBGB and there's a lot of stuff in that movie that was absolutely true. I'm sure there was stuff that was made for the movie to make it good but a lot of it was true. If it wasn't for that guy who made CBGB's maybe we wouldn't have Talking Heads, maybe we wouldn't have Blondie or the Police! Maybe we still would but who knows what realm they would have made it too. You have to have people who believe in you and who want to see you succeed. You see a lot of these kids and some of them are just stars in the making.

I like being on the ground level. Like I said, I've been criticized in the past for putting young and less established bands on stage with big bands. I find that a ridiculous notion.

We all got to start somewhere and saying that you're not worthy of a show to me shows a shallowness. I'm not a fan of that. I try not to treat one band any better than any other band. I try not to treat one musician above any others. I try to make sure that the atmosphere in our venue is one of support.

November 2014 - VaridalaMagazine.Com 49

eeag an Umcla roun o Venue A ive That's kind of beautiful. If you could have a couple of sentences to deliver straight to Dave Grohl what would you say?

Vern: If he's standing right in front of me I'd probably have a hard time talking because this campaign that's going on right nownâ–ş... the most beautiful things have been said by others. If I'm going to make the plea though, it's because I think he gets it. I think that's the most important thing. There's a lot of different ways you can look at music but I don't there are enough people that truly get it. That truly understand that the spot that they are in life matters to other people. You look at the Foo Fighters, it wasn't Dave's first band, it wasn't even his first famous band. But the day N irvana ended and he decided to record the Foo Fighter record, that was the moment that changed a lot of other people's lives too.

You probably have no clue how many 12-14 year old kids I come in contact with who say their biggest influences are the Foo Fighters. There's a song writing quality that those guys have that goes past just the songs you hear.

That's my thing in life. When I describe myself when I have to say what I am as a person, I hope I'm a good dad and a good person, but I describe myself as a songwriter. That's the label that I'd rather be stuck with. I don't care about being a musician I care about being a songwriter and I think Dave is there. Watch every hall of fame induction from the last 7-8 years. He's totally there, he gets it. Every time the camera goes to Dave Grohl it doesn't matter who's on the stage, Dave gets invested in the conversation. There's a couple videos on our webpage theroomct.com I linked a couple videos on the bottom. One is Dave's SXSW speech that he gave. It's kind of a long speech but you're never bored listening to it because he's an engaging person. Its the single most... #footheroom thing I have ever seen in my life. I hear that and I say to myself "He gets it" You say, "What would you say to Dave Grohl" and I say "Come do this because you get it" We need something to happen for us and if it's Dave Grohl coming to the room or whether it's bringing the band down and playing a show or just putting a piece of cardboard in front of the drum kit that says #footheroom. Even if they don't play The Room but they see it up there they're going to say "What the hell is that" and they're going to find out about it. It's just something I've been thinking about obviously. I've been doing a lot of work on it...

Realistically, what do you think the chances are for this to work out?

Vern: I don't know. When we started this thing I thought the chances were extremely thin. I was hoping to get some notice, get somebody to say something. I got some responses from radio stations, news outlets and online media. I've gotten contacts from a few people in bands that are not Foo Fighter status but are up there. Some of the people that have contacted me have said "Don't quit doing this, it's a great idea" I've got a guy in a band who doesn't want his identity revealed, but who told a friend of mine that he's going to try and push for us. I've got another friend who knows somebody who works at Letterman's studio and he's going to try to do something this week. It's just a matter of timing. I don't know what the Foo Fighters have to do this week. I know that they're playing on Letterman all week, other than that I don't know what they're doing. Look at their schedule and they're not playing anything officially until the 25th. That doesn't mean they're not doing anything underground or unofficial or have stuff with their TV show but...We'll see what happens!

Read the open letter Vern wrote, upcoming events and find out more on The Room at www.facebook.comiTheRoomCT www.theroomct.com 50 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2014

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Comer Imtetiview. Sabatom Sabaton is quite possible the next biggest thing on the global metal stage. They've opened for Iron Maiden, toured relentlessly over the last 7 or 8 years and are one of the most prominent bands on the Nuclear Blast roster. The band began in Falun, Sweden in 1999.

They started off writing more fantasy-based lyrics but quickly switched gear and began basing their inspiration off of historical warfare) most-notably) World War II. Their combination of mid-tempo anthem-like power metal with simple but clever song writing has been an effective formula for delivering their message loud and clear. I caught up with the band for an interview on October 4th before they played their second gig ever in Calgary, Alberta.

How's the tour been so far?

Joakim Broden: So far, so good. Lots of fun, though we expected more hostility from the hardcore black metal heads.

With Sabaton they can't help but smile... Or get scared with all the kicking on stage.

Hannes Van Dahl: Both. Make them laugh and then get scared.

Most of the magazine's readers have the Internet and can Google the meaning of the word 'Sabatore. But I'd like to hear what the name `a baton' means to you.

Hannes Van Dahl: It's a piece of medieval armor that protects a knight's foot dating from 16th century Europe. Its also used in modern day by woodchoppers.

You guys were more fantasy-based in the early years but have since turned into more of a modern historical-based metal band, is that true?

Joakim Broden: Yeah, we found out there were already enough metal bands singing about drinking beer, f*ckng women and killing dragons.

Haha! Is there a good story to go with how the band went from being signed to an indie label like Underground Symphony to being one of the forerunner bands on Nuclear Blast?

Joakim Braden: Well I guess there's not much of a sexy story there. Though it did teach us quite a lot because we kept getting screwed over and over. The Italian label released our demo "Fist for Fight" which was a collection of our early demo tapes. They were supposed to release the album 'Metalizer' in 2001/2002 and we never saw it. Every time we contacted Underground Symphony, who I think were high on pasta, they kept making excuses "oh oh oh, it's a heat wave in Italy" or "Oh my sister is getting married, we gotta wait". At that point we got tired of waiting and we financed the album "Primo Victoria" ourselves in 2004. Recorded it on our own and had a complete album. We went to Sound Pollution, an indie distributor in Stockholm, and could start working with a strong presence already in Scandinavia.

When I hear the name Sabaton I think "Heavy Metal War Historians". You guys tell a lot of stories about triumph, good vs. evil without judging. Is this what you guys are going for?

Hannes Van Dahl: I wouldn't say it's only triumph though. There's a lot of stories, like our latest album for instance, that focuses on the individual and not the whole nation. So I think the spread is pretty wide.

Joakim Broden: To be honest, there are enough heroes in history that are being forgotten these days, so why make up new ones?

56 Vandalafriagazine.Corn - November 2014

Joakim Broden tearing up the mic in Vancouver, British Columbia

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Cchmer Imteroiew? Sabatom Joakim Broden: To be honest, there are enough heroes in history that are being forgotten these days, so why make up new ones?

Yeah, totally! What's the main inspiration behind these themes?

Joakim Broden: It could be anything! Of course on Carolus Rex we did our (Sweden's) own without any external help. But Coat of Arms or Heroes were stories we would have never heard about if not for our fans. It could be an email or a book on tour where someone pointed us in the right direction. We did do the research ourselves. We did write the lyrics but the idea of what to write about came about from the fans.

I remember at the last Calgary show I was talking to a guy who served in the Canadian military. He didn't normally listen to metal but he said he was drawn to Sabaton because you guys told stories he could relate to. Do you find you get a lot of fans outside of the metal community because of that?

Joakim Broden: Yeah outside of metal it seems to be mostly in Armed Forces, law enforcement and for some strange reason... fitness centers!

Hahaha. I can't wait to see the Sabaton Aerobics Routine to get popularized!

Hannes Van Dahl: There's a spinning class! We did a show at a spinning class on the bikes.

Amazing! Who was dying at the end of that show?

Joakim Broder'. Everyone except for us. We were in good shape doing it To be honest, I wouldn't want to be the drummer or the bass player's ass. Because sitting there and playing sucks. You're supposed to stand up for the hard parts but they are stuck sitting down.

Hannes Van Dahl: The guitarist had the resistance on the pedals too light. He couldn't keep the tempo with the song because the pedals were going too fast.

Must have been awesome Joakim Broden: Haha, not really.

Well, must have been awesome for the YouTube community at least. Let's talk Heroes, I'm loving all the tracks, been listening to the album back-to-back. Love the Metallica cover! One song that sticks out for me is the track "To Hell and Back". Can you explain how you went with a direction for this one?

Joakim Broden: When I started writing this song, I always had this idea it would be fun to mix heavy metal with spaghetti western soundtrack music. You know, The Good, the Bad, The Ugly; Fist Full of Dollars; For a Few Dollars More. I told the guys and everyone told me I was stupid - It can't be done. And you know, telling me it can't be done is one efficient way to get me to do it! It's also nice to write and push my own envelope. Make it sound 'Sabaton' but there's also something different in there. It's a very fine line to walk: Take it too far and it doesn't sound like Sabaton, don't take it far enough and it sounds like everything else we've done before.

Speaking of new tracks, The Ballad of Bull is pretty much a straight up piano ballad. I don't think I've ever heard you guys do anything like this before.

Joakim Broden: This is something we discussed, all of us. On Carolus Rex, A Lifetime of War suffered from not slowing down enough. That was one of the drawbacks of Carolus Rex. From start to finish it's coaxed out - there's no breathing pause in the middle where things slow down a bit. That's when we talked about the song "Ballad of Bull". We didn't have any pre-production for it, just an idea with a vocal melody and a piano. So we said: "Let's start out recording the drums and see what happens!".

Hannes Van Dahl: There was a lot of discussion about that arrangement. We recorded 60 VandalaMagazine.Corn - November 2014

Iiiiteriview With

rodem & HaRroes Van Dahl

several different drum parts. Some started full-in, others were more mellow and that was the conclusion we came to.

Joakim Broden: That was the biggest surprise for me on the album. All the other ones had pre-production and we knew what the end result was going to be. This one we had no idea and it turned out different anyways!

Can you elaborate on the writing process for this album? It is very stand-apart from Carolus Rex - the guitars are shiny while maintaining that anthem-like nature.

Joakim Broden: This one is less symphonic and more straight-on metal than Carolus Rex. The writing process is pretty much the same. I've always been the one writing most of the music. But now, Man of War I wrote with Hannes. Usually it's me and Thobbe who write the lyrics. From that point of view, not much has changed. But it was way more fun to record this album. Its the first with the new line-up and everyone actually wanted to be there.

The production is killer on this one. Fitting your vocal style, hearing the words with big guitars and epic choirs is awesome. Every album seems to benefit from better and better production. How do you manage to find the right team to bring this sound out?

Joakim Broden: That's Peter Tagtgren! Usually known from Hypocrisy and Pain. He's done Children of Bodom, Dimmu Borgir and Exodus.

Do you have to travel far to work with him?

Joakim Broden: 45 minutes! hahaha. Which is another reason we work with him. He's been a good friend for ten years.

Right on! But we can't forget the live Sabaton experience. How do you manage to fit in lighthearted songs with the more serious ones?

Joakim Broden: I don't know, it's a paradox. Sometimes we are singing about half a million people dying while cheering "Come on you guys!". Which is a little bit messed up, I agree. I think it came slowly and surely over the years. I think everyone starts off nervous not knowing what to do. Then I start talking about what the songs are about between songs, which I still do sometimes, but I realize at a certain point I started making jokes. That was more effective in a live situation. And also who wants to go to a heavy metal show on a Saturday night and think "oh... half a million people died there and then another bunch died there." It started out with us having fun with each other - the songs are the same but the crowd is always different. So if we have fun with each other and we have more fun with the crowd we will have more genuine fun overall.

Do you ever consult historians when you are writing an album?

Joakim Broden: Not for most albums but we did for Carolus Rex. Swedish Empire history is more obscure. This happened in the sixteen and seventeen hundreds. There's no video material or eye witness accounts. The regular soldiers couldn't read or write so we are just left with the officers' accounts where the facts vary a lot. In that case we had a history professor helping us. Not writing for us but pointing us to the right books based on what the scientific community believes are the most accurate books. When it comes to World War II we can sort out the biggest facts ourselves. In general, if it's a mistake or correct it's usually due to what source you're reading. Even from an allied point of view, you have different reports from Americans and British departments on how many people died. Then you read the Russian accounts and you get a totally different number!

Do you guys have any surprises for where Sabaton might go next?

Joakim Broden: We can do anything as long as it deals with military history. We have a thousand ideas but we don't know where we will end up exactly. Take a guy like Napoleon. It's common knowledge what happened in France and in some parts of Europe November 2014 - VaridalaMagazine.Com 61

Copar Intereview? Sabatca but in the rest of the world people pretty much just know about Waterloo. ThereTs a lot more, he starts out as a soldier with a fall from grace, leader of the revolution and then when we works his way up the ranks he says "ahhh it's better to be the emperor". Him, Alexander the Great - there's an insane amount of amazing people to write about.

Vocally speaking, you have a very powerful voice that is the signature of Sabaton. How long did it take to develop that voice?

Joakim Broden: Still working on it, but long enough to kill three mics a show!

What's after tour? what's next for Sabaton? You guys heading to the moon?

Hannes Van Dahl: Yeah, how did you know? We didn't announce that yet. This is the beginning so far. This is an 11-week tour, 3 weeks in South America then in Poland, Go back home for a couple days, do our cruise and then it's our European second leg. After that we will do some pre-production and then Christmas and we will hit the road again.

Is the transition to tour life tough?

Joakim Broden: It used to be when we started doing it. We started doing it for real in 2005/2006. Sometime around 2008/2009 it became hard for me to go from being Joakim from Sabaton to my private life at home. It wasn't schizophrenic but it took some time to get used it. After that, private Joakim and Sabaton Joakim Linda merged.

Hannes Van Dahl: But it's also important when you are at home to be private as well and go under the radar.

Joakim Broden: You get enough of big cities and action. So when you get home you need a place to wind down and relax.

Great. That's all my questions. Thanks for your time Anything more to say?

Joakim Broden: Ice hockey. $0/04t$ you for that!

Sabaton is currently on tour till February with a few breaks in between so be sure you find a date close to you.

Grab Sabatons latest album "Heros" and more on the band along with details on show dates online at the following links: www.sabaton.net www.twitter.comisabaton www.youtube.comisabaton More photos of Sabaton Live In Vancouver, BC On Page 30

62 VandaiaMagazine.Corn - November 2014

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2111.14 GER MANNHEIM - ALTE SEILEREI 23.11.14 GER STUTTGART - LISA/ LONGHORN 24.11.14 FRA PARIS - LE BATACLAN 25.11.14 FRA LYON - LE TR ANSBORDEUR 26.11.14 FRA TOULOUSE - BIKINI 28.11.14 FRA STRASBOURG - LA LAITERIE 29.11.14 FRA LILLE - LE SPLENDID 30.1114 GBR BRISTOL - ACADEMY * 01.12.14 GBR BOURNEMOUTH - ACADEMY * 02.12.14 GBR NOTTINGHAM - ROCK CITY * 04.12.14 GBR MANCHESTER - RITZ * 05.12.14 IRL DUBLIN - ACADEMY * 06.1214 GBR BELFAST - LIMELIGHT * 07.12.14 GBR GLASGOW - ABC * 09.12.14 GBR NEWCASTLE - ACADEMY * 10.12.14 GBR LEEDS - ACADEMY * 11.1214_ GBR WOLVERHAMPTON - WULFRUN HALL * 1212114 GBR OXFORD ACADEMY * 1312.14 GBR LONDON - SHEPHERD'S BUSH EMPIRE *

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TICKET HOTLINE: +49 (0) 4827 / 999 666 66 - WWW.METALTIX.COM • WWW.SAXON747.COM IETALTIX

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Horror & Heavy MeV! Felt 2014 Article By Matt Bacon

Housecore Horror Film Festival was quite the success last year. Phil Anselmo curated the event immediately and garnering it special attention from the metal world. This was to be the festivals second edition, and it was poised to be bigger than ever. Four days of metal thrashing fun, Housecore proved to be quite the success. However I hope we never forget the man behind this incredible and almost mythical event, Corey Mitchell, sadly deceased mere hours after the festival wrapped up. The only redemption being that he drew his last breaths in the throes of a truly great triumph.

Day 1 - The Adventure Begins My plane was set to take off just before noon, which meant that given Philadelphia's shitty public transport I would need to be in the train by eight in the morning. Groggy and bleary I hopped on board, desperately hoping that I wouldn't miss my flight and that I wouldn't forget my bag, or do something else generally stupid. It may sound silly, but regular readers may have noticed, I'm not a particularly bright individual, and for a dumb college student these make up many of my early morning concerns.

I get to the airport and things seem to go off without incident. I hop on my flight and laugh, I'm going to f*cking Texas! This promised to be a great weekend ahead, some of my favorite bands would be playing, I had a ton of friends going to the festival, a lot of people I wanted to meet, and dozens of bands I desperately wanted to see. Simply put, it seemed like nothing could go wrong. As I landed in Dallas for the change-over things got amped up another level, I bumped into another festival goer, Kerch from Washington D. His three foot long beard and shaven head immediately told me he must be on his way to worship at the same altar as I, we quickly bonded, both excited for the magic to come.

We all piled into my buddy Mike's truck and made our way over to the Dirty Dog Bar where the festivities were set to begin. After a great Mexican dinner (I think I ate only Mexican food for the entire weekend) we walked into the bar, started slamming brews and bumping into old friends. On stage Critical Assembly raged, their unique brand of hardcore tinged modern metal getting the crowd into a tizzy. I didn't see enough of their set to properly cover it, but I can definitely say that they have some cool ideas and are definitely a band I'm going to want to check out more in the future.

In between sets I turned around and bumped into Chuck Loesch, one of the dudes behind the Metalsucks podcast. This was just the first of many big time metal names who the festival attracted. I bumped into important media people from all over the country, and even a photographer for Canada. For someone like me this was almost as exciting as the bands, here we all were at the heart of the action, preparing to watch some of the best bands in the world get up and prove that they deserve a spot in one of America's fastest rising festivals.

The first band whose full set I got to watch was the almighty Witchburn, a stoner metal band from Seattle. With crushing riffs and a glorious stage presence these guys are a lot of fun to watch. 3C and Misha, bassist and guitarist respectively have long dreadlocks that swing all over the stage, adding to the chaos. Meanwhile, the bands vocalist is, in a word, a badass. Emphasizing the biker image her voice is powerful and soars over top of the sound.

She does a wonderful job of executing anthemic lines and keeping the fans excited and into the music. A special highlight of the band was their Rainbow/Judas Priest matchup which 66 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2014

left me with my jaw on the floor. These guys know what they want to do and how to do it, there is no stopping them anytime soon.

After Witchburns set, I went out back to hang out with my buddy Marzi Montazeri who plays both with Phil Anselmo & The Illegals as well as his band Heavy As Texas. As always, the Iranian's infectious personality got me smiling and ready to rage. By this point drinks were being passed out more heavily and more and more musicians started showing up. I managed to bump into Steve Taylor (Also from The Illegals as well as the current iteration of Superjoint) and some other good metal folk. I could already tell this was going to be a great weekend, the mix of friends old and new led to a congenial atmosphere that I think few would soon forget. This is what heavy metal should be all about, good times with good people, and as we got ready for Heavy As Texas to go on, this reflected what we all felt.

Heavy As Texas came on, and played some very fun hard rock that featured a heavy 70's psych rock vibe. Asides from a personal highlight when Marzi gave me a shout out, I think that the moments that the band got heaviest they were best. At times I might even go so far as to say that they reminded me of Pantera. Yet, that being said, there were a few more 'jam' oriented moments where we saw Marzi showing off some of his finest guitar playing.

One particular highlight was a jam on the Led Zeppelin classic Dazed and Confused which saw Marzi delivering an exciting and fun solo that proved this song still has a lot to be taken out of it. This show was a highlight of the weekend for me and suggested great things to come. Marzi gets it and I think this band will go far.

The night started to wind down after Hobbs Angel of Death came on and played an extended set. Frankly, they're not really my cup of tea, and I don't know what they are on about. Yet I still had a good time hanging out with different media folks and musicians. I started to form a group of friends who I would see around the festival grounds for the rest of the weekend. As we drove to my buddy's place where I would be staying that night I could only think to myself that things were only going to get better. After all, this is what festivals are all about!

November 2014 - VandalaMagazine.Com 67

Day 2 SubRosa and The Glory of Mr. Blythe I wake up with no hangover, things are already off to a great start! After breakfast at a local Mexican restaurant it was time to head over to the festival. I knew that Friday and Saturday were going to be important days for interviews and I planned on getting as many in as I could before musicians got burnt out and frustrated with the oodles of interviews I'm sure they would have to give. While I missed Evil United because I was interviewing Dead Earth Politics. I got to the venue just before Origin started, and after the initial round of hello's and how are you's it was time to watch the tech death lords do their thing.

For a band playing early in the afternoon it was pretty impressive to see how much energy the band brought to the table. Before the show multiple friends told me how excited they were to watch the bands incredibly talented bassist, Mike Flores. The bands vocalist Jason Keyser was a veritable dynamo of energy, goading the crowd into starting up a pit and even diving in to get things going on his own at one point. To be able to deliver that kind of show under nearly ninety degree heat with the sun beating down on you is no mean feat. It proves that Origin will stop at nothing to give the best show they can and guarantee that any fan of heavy music will have a good time. I may not have been much of an Origin fan before they started, but I have rapidly become obsessed with their output!

Brian Posehn was the next to perform. Now, I had never been to a live comedy show before (I had no desire to go see French-language comedy when I lived in France) so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Posehn seemed to be on top of his game though, dishing out jokes about metal and serial killers for his entire set. He did an especially good job of pointing out some of the particular quirks of the festival saying things like "Only here would you have people who can claim to have a favorite serial killer." Anselmo could be clearly seen laughing his head off from the side of the stage. My only thought in response to that is that it must have been surreal for Posehn to see a man he's loved since childhood bent over at what he had to say. In the end, sure Posehn might not be a metal musician, but his set was far more entertaining than some bands I saw this weekend. If I'm going to hear anyone talk about a five year olds balls, I want it to be Posehn because this man understands what makes metal dudes and dudettes laugh (along with normal people I suppose) and that allows him to stand as a veritable lord of his medium.

One of the bands I had most anticipated at the festival was Cattle Decapitation and they did not disappoint. With more than forty minutes of deathgrind terror these guys ripped my face off and left me simply in awe. I think the highlight of the record was when the band played Pig Born, the world premier of a new track. Despite having not done much for the last year, these guys played an incredible set and it proved to me that they deserve their place in the pantheon of death metal gods. Travis Ryan brings it with incredible zeal, I've seen him play before with Nader Sadek, but this was completely different compared to this.

Live, Cattle Decapitation are a veritable machine, there is no stopping the almighty attack of this band and if you're not careful they're going to rip your f*cking head off.

By the time Cattle Decap wrapped up I needed some time to back off and do some interviews. I went off to the media area, which asides from being rather hectic, was a lot of fun, and not just because of the free beer. I got the chance to talk to KEN Mode and they proved to be extremely interesting. Given my dream of making some sort of living off of metal, talking to the accountant brothers who make up this band was pretty interesting.

Around this time my good friends in SubRosa showed up too and we all started to get together and shoot the shit. I went over to Family Dollar (Part of the appeal of Housecore is that a lot of cheap stores are easily accessible from the venue) and bumped into Rebecca Vernon from the band. There is something oddly surreal about meeting one of your favorite vocalists in the world in a cut rate convenience store, almost as surreal as going to a panel on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre with them which is exactly what we did next.

68 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2014

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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre reunion panel was actually really well done and made me wish I'd seen the movie more recently. It's pretty surreal to be standing in a room looking at a bunch of old dudes on stage and realize that one of them is Leatherface.

Add in the fact that Leatherface has a kind of squeaky voice and you start to get a sense for how wonderfully weird it was. I really enjoyed learning about the process behind the movie and how beautifully DIY it was. The moderator, whose name I didn't catch, did a good job of keeping things moving, and some of the questions from the audience were really thoughtful. It's kind of awesome how easily the festival was able to mold together this almost Comic-con like vibe with a whole swathe of top notch metal bands. Though at first I was skeptical the mix was perfect and proved that if the festival is able to survive the passing of the great Corey Mitchell then it could end up being truly special.

Who will =VIM and what will be lell of them?

THE TEN CHARISM MASSACRE

Suddenly it was time for one of my personal Whai happened tue. Now the rearm pleura trate iust as read. highlights of the weekend, SubRosa. This would be my fourth time seeing the band (Yes I'm a little â&#x20AC;˘ obsessed) and I'd looked forward to it ever since ww seeing them just a month prior in New York City. For a little bit of context, the first time I saw this band was in France, I've seen them twice in New York City but I live in Philadelphia. When I say that this is my favorite band in the world and that my review of them might be a little biased I am not joking. This is a band who are, in a word, unf*ckwithable.

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The band came on, and be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect. Sure, the last time I saw them in New York was awesome, but I'd seen these guys three times since late June, maybe the honeymoon was over. Long story short, it isn't, in fact the band that might be better than ever. The performance was made bittersweet though seeing as the band almost certainly won't play live again until the spring. There set was transcendent, and only made better by the massive projection going on behind them. There was something gloriously monolithic about SubRosa's playing that night, it proved the band have something to say, no matter how many times you've seen them. This band is the real deal and I think that in the long run, that is what makes them a band people are going to remember and venerate for decades to come.

Afterwards I bumbled outside the venue, slightly in awe of what I had just seen. Hanging around backstage I suddenly bumped into my friend Steven Taylor from the Illegals. He waved me over and said "Come hang out," when Phil Anselmo is in the circle of people you'll be "hanging out" with the phrase takes on a whole new meaning. Suddenly we were all backstage watching Wizards of Gore (That is to say Rigor Mortis) do their thing. I saw only a part of their set as I missed a chunk for some interview or other but I will say this. The band live up to the hype. They're back with a vengeance and I don't think anybody is going to be able to stop them soon. It's refreshing to see a death metal band of that status back together and it gives me hope for many reunions that will hopefully come in its wake.

Andy from SubRosa and I met up to grab a beer, but upon entering the artist lounge he found some old friends, and I stumbled into none other than the great Randy Blythe. I immediately asked him for an interview, expecting to be turned down, or given at most a November 2014 - VandalaMagazine.Com 69

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FLeslimal Diary Au ti Tewas five minute blurb. Instead we sat down for half an hour and recorded an interview about books, photography, philosophy and more. Already we had met some of my wildest dreams.

Yet then Blythe invited me outside to hang out with him while he had a smoke. We proceeded to talk for another few hours with my inner fanboy progressively freaking out more and more. Here was a god, a legend, the man who had braved Czech prison for his honor, and he wanted to talk to me about his life and music. Who was I to complain? This evening was simply magical, an experience I will never forget, proving to me the eternal might and beautiful humility of this great man.

Blythe went off then to prepare for his introduction to the screening of the film As The Palaces Burn and I went into the tent to check it out. Now, I've never seen it before, but I found it to be a highly enjoyable film. Some claimed it seemed abrupt and jarring at times, yet I think that only reflected the pure and brutal reality of what happened to the band. This movie is, for me, one of the premier heavy metal movies of all time, simply because above all else it is honest. It gives us a glimpse at the rockstardorn and glory of the band before the sudden and frankly frightening fall. This movie depicts the bands greatest struggle and leaves with a message of hope and encouragement to persevere. It provided a fitting finish to my first full day at housecore and left me excited for what more was to come.

Day 3 Doom, Destruction and Decay I got to the venue early, I already knew Saturday was going to be fairly brutal for interviews, and in fact I think I might have tied my one day interview record with something like 10 interviews conducted throughout the day. Before the first band even started I had cracked a beer and gotten to talk to Spencer from Archspire. It wasn't even noon and the day was already hot. I knew that today would be punishing, but extremely rewarding, and by the time Acid Witch took the stage I was hungry for some good old doom metal.

I've been listening to Acid Witch pretty much since the first record came out, but I'd never seen them when I was living in Europe (Have they ever even played Europe?) Their set was monolithic and powerful, Acid Witch are aware of how silly they can be, and for me that's part of what makes them so appealing. Big, epic, and majestic doom metal is all well and good, but frankly, this whole scene sometimes takes itself too seriously. It's refreshing to occasionally hear songs written by guys who just love old horror movies. A highlight of the set was when the bands vocalist pulled out a plastic pumpkin, the type children carry with them to hold candy on Halloween. Any time a stoner-doom vocalist throws candy at a crowd while holding a silly pumpkin is a good time. These guys are a lot of fun to watch live, and heavy as f*ck. I'm just excited to hear how they grow and where they take their sound next, there is too much potential here for them to fade into obscurity.

Archspire took to the stage next and they played with an incredible energy. When it's that hot out and your music is that fast you have to be extremely dedicated to be able to pull off any sort of live performance, but these Canadians seemed to take it all in stride. Their music is wonderfully technical, yet it's also easy to get in too. Season of Mist have been killing it with techdeath bands this year and it was cool to see that these guys can really deliver. The bassists constant windmilling and the guitarists stage antics kept the show exciting and fun. Further adding to the magic, I noticed multiple band members sport Archspire tattoos, these guys are in it for life, they are living their dream and at this point it seems like there is no backing out.

Of course now I had to run off and do more interviews, resulting in me missing Ringworm and Decapitated. Its funny that I missed Ringworm for an interview, because that's already happened to me at multiple other festivals, I suppose such is my fate, tis indeed a weird reality that metal journalists are expected to live in. Things seemed to be getting amped up though, there was a huge sense of anticipation for Macabre and Napalm Death. I bumped nto my good friend Mitch Harris right before the Macabre show started and he was down a 72 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2014

guitar, apparently the airline had failed to send it along with his other stuff. It's this kind of thing that reminds me of how small metal really is, sure Harris may be a legend, but that doesn't make airlines care anymore about him.

Macabre took the stage and sprayed the audience with forty minutes of songs about serial killers and death. Their set was tight, and I really liked that the bands singer used a headset mic rather than one on a stand. It gave him a lot more freedom and helped to make this three piece a lot more interesting to watch. It's kind of cramâ&#x2013;ş to think that these same three guys have been making heavy music together for thirty years, over parts of four decades. It proves that metal, and friendship will never die, especially when mixed together. Another thing that made this set special for me was that it seemed like every other audience member was a significant musician. Next to me stood a couple members of SubRosa, behind me, KEN Mode. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Phil AnseImo rocking out and the drummer for Lord Mantiis watching from the side of the stage. These are the kind of things that make festivals legendary, showing us the eternal might of metal that should, and often does consume our very souls.

Napalm Death came on next and crushed it as usual. This was my third time seeing Napalm Death in just under a year, and I'm not lying when I say that the first time I saw them was simply life changing. They are as vicious as ever, and Barney still knows how to deliver vocals that are angry, political, and filled with an utterly sublimed hatred for what he refers to as 'small minded things'. While they had some issues with guitar tone and mixing, they still played a tight set and were a lot of fun to watch. Mitch's vocals seemed especially good during this set, his new freshly cut hair (Even shorter now) gives Napalm a slightly strange new look. Yet regardless of it all, they prove that anarchism and destruction will reign eternal. This is not a band to be easily underestimated or stopped, they will rage until they drop. They'll be going on tour again in January and I'm already counting down the days!

Right as Napalm Death ended I dashed over to the Masters of Metal and Horror showcase at Emo's. Moderated by the mighty Corey Mitchell this star studded panel was really interesting to watch. While it didn't have that much direction, it was really cool to get to see guys like Randy Blythe discussing horror with legends like Leatherface. The fact that I was watching with my two favorite podcast hosts, Chuck and Godless from the Meta!sucks podcast, only made the whole thing more special. At the end of the day though, this panel was incredibly unique and the kind of thing that could only possiblyâ&#x2013;ş happen at this festival.

I think with some fine tuning and adjustments to the way it's run, this could become an awesome staple to the festival, as is, it was a truly memorable experience. It's this kind of thing that makes me hopeful for what future editions will hold!

At this point there was something of a lull in the action for me at least. I needed more of a break before I watched more death metal, so I went out to dinner with Chuck and Godless.

Now this was a true honor, and speaks to the power of this festival. There was an incredibly high density of important figures in metal, from Sylvia, the red haired Australian promoter who works a day job at the University of Texas to the great Phil Anselmo. Every single one of them was friendly and made the experience memorable. For me festivals are special because they let you meet people, and Housecore perhaps does that better than any other major American metal festival I have been too.

Before I knew it was time Author and Punisher to come on. I had high hopes for this one man project, I've heard a lot of good things, and though I haven't listened to him in a while I had good memories of the music. The live show given by Author and Punisher is extremely unique and I think it was really good that he had a video projection going on behind him because his rather small set up probably couldn't have dominated a stage that large. The music is really interesting to see played live especially, because all of the instruments are totally unique to the band. My only complaint was that I wasn't sure how much of it had been prerecorded. I don't like not knowing whats live and what isn't and it was a bit November 2014 - vandalaMagazine.Com 73

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disconcerting. As a whole though, Author and Punisher provided an incredible and wholly immersive listening experience that I won't soon forget. This guy is doing something truly unique and it's a pleasure to watch him play live.

Neurosis had a tough act to follow up, but as expected they delivered with aplomb. Now, before this weekend I only had a fairly passing familiarity with Neurosis, I've heard all their records, but that's about it. Their live set totally blew me away though, proving to me that this is a doom metal band who are, in a phrase "nothin' to f*ck with Their music was incredibly heavy, and their stage presence ferocious. I hadn't realized that the bands bassist, Dave Edwardson had kept his green hair and wild stage presence. As good as the music was, they were perhaps even more fun to watch. In a genre where most of the band members just stand still Neurosis put on a bit more of a show and keep things exciting and enjoyable for everyone, regardless of musical taste. By the time they were finished I was begging for more, but anticipation was rapidly climbing for GWAR and it seemed like the crowd was about to go absolutely nuts.

GWAR absolutely blew my mind. Unfortunately I never got the chance to see them with GWAR, (What can I say, they rarely play in Europe!) but I feel like this is how Oderus would have wanted this chapter of the bands career to begin. By paying a beautiful tribute to Oderus they managed to create something that moved many fans to tears. Yet within it all they were bloody, tasteless, and quite simply glorious. Everything about their performance was perfect, there is truly an art to a GWAR show, and Blothar has mastered it. These guys know how to perform at an extremely high level and I don't think they're going anywhere but up.

One thing that especially impressed me about GWAR's performance was the addition of Vulvatron. Her piercing vocals gave the songs a distinct flavor and helped to keep things exciting and fun. Blothar nails Oderus's vocal style, but I think its Vulvatron who is going to keep the band fresh for a new generation of fans. These guys are pumping out powerful and unique tunes that give a fresh twist on old gems. With hints at new material coming out in 2015 I feel like GWAR is only just beginning to achieve their full potential. This night proved to me that these guys will never stop, and centuries from now the almighty GWAR shall reign eternal.

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As we drove home that night, laughing at the viscera that covered us, me and my buddy Mike simply reveled in the fact that GWAR had not died and would stay strong. Yet beyond that, we had passed one of the best days of our lives together, doing what we love most, going to shows and partying. Housecore managed in just a few days to create an incredibly comforting and loving atmosphere that transcended just the bonds of metal and horror. We were a group of people left fighting the world trying to find our own place in a turbulent universe that no one can truly make sense of.

Festival Comes to An End I realized on the morning of this fourth and final day that I would have been perfectly content ending my festival with GWAR and their triumphant Pet Shop Boys cover. The weekend was coming to an end, but we still had a few highlights to hit up, including the almighty Superjoint Ritual and Warbeast. The day promised to be a good one, and despite a bit of a hangover I was excited to see what the final few hours of the festival would hold.

While Saturday may have been my favorite day, there were still a lot of exciting things to look forward too!

The first band I saw was Krigblast who are a fairly standard issue death metal band.

However they played with a lot of energy, and I remember their set being passionate and strangely beautiful in the way that only death metal is. This was clearly a dream come true for many of the bands members and the fact that Randy Blythe was standing up front taking pictures of the band only made the event all the more special. Though their set was fairly short I think they won a few new fans, and I'm certainly going to be going out and checking some of their stuff on Facebook as soon as I get the time to do it!

Gasmiasma were up next, and I have much clearer memories of their performance. Asides from being fronted by the slightly infamous "Eagle-head dude" from a recent Meta!sucks Podcast they delivered a very unique band of grinding punk. The accents done on the bass lines played by Down's very own Pat Bruders helped to keep things interesting and proved to me that these guys have what it takes to truly reach the next level. With a potential deal with Housecore coming up and a few plans for tours here and there I get the sense that this was just another step for Gasmiasma. They have a unique sound and very different sensibilities, now it's just a matter of them getting the recognition that they so readily deserve.

I took a bit of a break now for some final interviews, including a cool one with King Parrot as well as another with Dave Hill. The Hill interview was particularly exciting since be seeing him in Philadelphia in just a few days, and he's been one of my favorite comedians for a long time. I think it was around this point that I talked to Corey Mitchell for the last time, his parting words being "See you around". Little did I know that I would not actually be seeing him around, and that mere hours after the magic ended tragedy would strike, but more on that later, now we have a last batch of bands to write about!

Corrections House were the penultimate band to grace the outdoor Midway Stage at Housecore and they delivered an incredibly memorable and oftentimes jarring set. Their music was powerful and profound, crushing riffs that tore me apart were complimented by drum loops and saxophone solos. What these guys are doing is incredibly unique, yet it all works under the Sabbath influenced guitar of Scott Kelly and the unholy shrieks of the legendary Mike IX. The only complaint I had was that Mike's stage presence wasn't quite up to snuff, but Corrections House don't play live all that often so that's fairly excusable. They still played some memorable music and I look forward to seeing them again.

Suddenly it was time for the almighty Superjoint Ritual, living proof that Anselmo can simply churn out legendary bands like it ain't no thong. This set was fiery and exciting, and I could tell Anselmo was glad to be back. Though the band has yet to announce any follow November 2014 - VandalaMagazine.Com 75

up shows don't be surprised if they end up doing more. It seemed like everyone was having a grand old time, the only issue now being trying to find time in all the band members busy schedules. As is though, this set will always live on in my memory, with the closing track of Superjoint Phil managed to close off a legendary part of his career and prove that he is still a force to be reckoned with. I love that after all his years in the business he still plays with the same demonic energy and still has the humility to play in the middle of the day at his own festival. This is a stand up guy who will never die, so you better prepare yourself for whatever he decides to crank out next!

The crowd then headed over to Emo's for the start of the final stage of festivities. Dead Earth Politics were about to go on and people seemed to be more pumped than ever for Danzig. I grabbed a bite to eat at a nearby deli and bumped into an old friend, once again affirming how good this festival was at bringing all sorts of metal people together. Here I was talking to a guy I hadn't written for since I was 161 but who had probably shaped my writing career more than I care to admit. Housecore is one of the premier US metal events for a reason, everyone whose anyone cares and feels the need to be there, take note metal wannabes, go to Housecore next year and meet all the contacts you could ever need!

I came in halfway through Dead Earth Politics first song. I've listened to their record and had been chatting with their singer, Devon Brown, who is quite the showman. These guys are fun to watch play live, they have a lot of energy and some unique ideas. Their distinct mix of Lamb of God with Iron Maiden is really cool to see carried out live and shows that these guys have what it takes to really succeed in a crowded scene. The band was clearly excited and it came through in their playing. Dead Earth Politics are a true pleasure to watch live and I get the impression that we are going to be hearing a lot more from them in the next few years!

One of my most anticipated bands of the weekend, KEN Mode were set to storm the stage next. Now, I'm fairly familiar with their work, but I'd never gotten the chance to see them live. Simply put, they blew me away, Jesse Matthewson has great stage presence and his growls are truly sick. Meanwhile Scott plays some wild bass, his own vocals nicely complimenting Jesse's. When Jesse climbed down into the pit for the bands last song, Never Was (which had the crowd singing along) the band reached their righteous climax. These guys are still climbing the ladder but they definitely have something special. Their music is truly unique and I'm excited to see how they continue to grow. The band still haven't been forced to get real jobs, and I get the impression they never will. So continue to feel the love and bend your knee before the might of KEN Mode.

I almost ended up skipping Warbeast to take some time to recover, but a good friend of mine managed to convince me to stick around and see what happened. I'm glad he made me stay, these guys utterly kicked ass, playing their own brand of death metal at a million miles an hour. Bodies flew as the band choked out one death metal masterpiece after another. By the time they hit their classics at the end of the set the crowd was absolutely wild. These guys have only gotten better with age and proved to me that there is no stopping a true death metal band who have the motivation to do whatever it takes to succeed. Warbeast understand what death metal is all about, and when they unleash their unholy grooves it jars the listener right back into the strange and twisted reality which we are all forced to inhabit.

The last band who I truly wanted to see at the festival was the almighty Eyehategod. I've been listening to them since I was a mere 14 year old and I was simply blown away by how heavy they were. With a nice mix of classics and new stuff, Eyehategod crushed me to a pulp. Mike IX redeemed himself and proved to me that he deserves his place in the pantheon of the great metal frontmen. His vocals were utterly sick and his headbanging brought the entire crowd into a sort of unholy motion. Here is a band who sound like people are dying and by god is it good. Eyehategod proved their years of stage experience have 76 vandalamagazine.Com - November 2014

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paid off with some of the most satisfying sludge metal I have ever had the pleasure to see live. This is definitely one for the photo album.

I decided to stay for Danzing because even though he's a colossal ass and I don't really like his Sam hain or Danzig material, Pcck it, I want a Misfits tattoo, I might as well see the guy.

I had an early flight and knew I couldn't stay for the entire set, but I definitely wanted to see some Danzig classics. While his stage presence is still strong, I feel like his voice has gotten a lot worse and can't handle a lot of the more intricate Danzig stuff. In fact, if Danzig came off his high horse and did Misfits songs not only would the audience get off more, but he would be more capable of performing them given his vocal range. As is, it was still a fairly memorable show and Danzig managed to put together something pretty special. It's always cool to see legends play live, it humanizes them and gives me a better understanding of the entire world we call rock and roll, and so, on that level, it was very much worth it.

We drove home that night with the dread of a short night ahead of us. My plan flew out at 8 and I didn't want to have a hangover in the plane. Little did we know of the tragedy to come, instead we sat in the car and reminisced, about Housecore, Hellfest, and more. This was a beautiful weekend that will always stay bright and powerful in my memory. Festivals like this one are truly magical, heavy metal at its finest, and for people who know how to do it right, pure bliss. I wish with all of my heart that those could have been the last words that I wrote about this festival, but alas it was not to be.

Day 5 Going Home and the Death of Corey Mitchell I had a busy day ahead of me, and as I got on that early morning plane I got a sense of dread so great that I couldn't bring myself to write. I hadn't checked Facebook yet, and it would be a while before I could. Instead I had the combined joy of air travel and then public transport to deal with. These are not things I take lightly, and by the time I got to school I had missed all of my classes for the day. Yet I had a meeting in a few hours with my adviser.

Right before I left to go see her I checked Facebook for a final time, and I couldn't believe November 2014 - VandalaMagazine.Com 77

my eyes. The man who I had hugged the night before and who had introduced Danzig was dead.

Corey Mitchell was a great man, and though I didn't have a lot of time to get to know him, the time I did spend with him was special. He was always extremely kind and patient, even when I was a drunk f*ckup. He understood the industry better than almost anyone I know, and he proved to me that even at high levels we can still have cool dudes running around.

The last time I saw him he was standing on stage with Phil Anselmo and Chuck Loesch, giving a final celebratory announcement about the festival and revelling in the joy of a job well done. lie had achieved something truly great and beautiful, cementing his place, not just as a crucial figure in metal, but a veritable legend, the father of the greatest festival in the Southwest.

A heart attack is a brutal way to go, especially after an event that wonderful. He left behind a family and a legion of friends across the globe and on Monday literally thousands were in shock. Here is a man who was kind and loving, with everyone he dealt with. No one would f*ck with him because he knew exactly what he was doing and could overcome any obstacle. I pray for his family and desperately am awaiting to find out how I can help them.

This is a man who deserves Valhalla, the sort of metal warrior who people are going to be talking about for years to come. So genuflect and remember the glory of this man.

Even as I write this four days on I'm tearing up and I barely knew the guy. I don't have much more to say other than that I desperately hope the show goes on. Let Housecore stand as a memorial to Mitchell and allow generations of metallers to come to learn of his legend.

This weekend was too great to make it a one time thing, I'm confident that it's going to continue to grow and get bigger and better with age. Anselmo and Mitchell had something special going and I'm excited to see how it grows. There is hope no matter what, and soon Housecore will rise again!

Housecore Horror Film Festival www.facebook.com/HousecoreHorrorFilmFestival www.housecorehorrorfilmfestival.com Our hearts go out to all of Corey Mitchell's family, friends, loved ones and fans.

Dedicated to Corey Mitchell

Mi

78 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2014

Corey Mitchell's Books can be found at Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com including his true crime books such as Dead And Buried, Hollywood Death Scenes, Murdered Innocents, Evil Eyes, Strangler, Pure Murder, and Savage Son and many more

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