Vader / Decrepit Birth / Warbringer / The Amenta / Augury / Lazarus AD / Ossification / Arkaik

November 27th, The Mainstage, Ramona, CA.
My first time hitting this venue after our prior joint sent the promoter packing to hell's hole. That being said Ramona is an easier drive than San Marcos and the venue isn't too bad. Just... country and the beer is overpriced. Fukk 6 bucks a beer.
Anyhow in true Xul fashion we skipped the opening acts and their retrostuffs. I know it brings kids out to see their friends play, but I'm not their friends, so fukk off until you have some original music to offer me. Because I don't have the time to listen to you imitating your heroes badly.
The best part of the night was clearly our approach to the venue, where we got to watch Warbringer get beat up by some locals that ran off shouting their crew name into the night. Apparently it was a couple members of Warbringer and the merch guy from Arkaik. I only wish they would have screamed out "ONSLAUGHT, YOU WIMPS!" at Warbringer, but hey, I take what I can get.
We entered to the last couple of songs by Augury... Who seemed to have quite a buzz about them before arriving... I don't see it, progressive, sure, technical, sure... But nothing special and their vocalist smiles way too fukking much. You can't play death and black metal while you look like you want to hug every member of the crowd for showing up. I could see the guy smiling and ordering blueberry pancakes later on that night with pretty much the same expression as he has when playing and doing vocals. At least it was only a couple of songs worth until The Amenta came out. You loyal readers know damn well Xul supports The Amenta, and they didn't disappoint, really being the only non parking lot brawl event I dug. A 5 song set of mechanized death / black in which most people stared in confusion, not knowing what the fukk was hitting them. Eventually the wimps got into it, by force as their vocalist jumped into the crowd to whip them into a frenzy himself. I furiously headbanged up front to set the example of what these grind nerds need to be paying attention to as they're definitely on the rise. Warbringer came on next whining about being jumped and how tough they were to still be playing Would have been better if their arms had been broken. Dull happy thrash that would have been as stale 20 years ago as it is today. Predictable Gaybay thrash riffs with no heart. I sat on a table and yawned while watching kids smile up a storm at each other. BARRAFALSE! Decrepit Birth's vocalist came out to announce they wouldn't be playing because they kicked out a member of the band and sounding like some wrestling promoter announced they will be back for the Summer Laughter tour. I hope to be out of the Country by then. But hey, he was nice enough to sell "All merch tonight is on sale at cost because we feel so bad!" If they charged for it period, it was too much. Vader took the stage and while undoubtedly they are a good band live, I couldn't help but be bored... After all these years you can definitely see them just going through the motions. My guess it they keep their hair in their faces so the crowd doesn't watch them yawn. I remember them years ago having much more impact live, but hey, they're old now... Legends? Sure...Thankfully for them there are so few bands nipping at their heels to take their spot. Though I suppose Belphegor took their role of "Opening for every tour in the US" spot... Previously held by Goatwhore for a bit. All in all an average night, The Amenta definitely being the highlight, I just wish I had some drugs for this.
Thanks to Xulborg_Dreaden for the camera and pics.

Vultyr

Azaghal's side band, which pretty much had all the Azaghal guys anyhow, a similar sound and style... But there was something different in Vultyr, that more thrash infused feel? The feeling that if they were driving on a mountain road they may careen off the side reaching for a bottle of whiskey under the seat at any given moment? Whatever it was, there was something there that just tended to stick with you... Insanely catchy and violent, if not a bit predictable.. They were an incredibly solid project. Xul supports.

WE ARE THE FUTURE

Vorak

It's a rare gift to be awesome at being terrible. Whether comical intentionally or not Vorak was around long enough to release 2 albums full of everything wrong with programmed material in black metal. His vocals sounding like he was a member of the Zerg, his programmed piano arpeggios were awesomely over-pompous and his weedwhacker guitars would make Ildjarn cringe. This oddly enough fits into the cyber black metal world, but this would be that cousin the family would rather forget. Naturally this makes it entertaining as hell in Xul's eyes.

DESTRUKTIVE KOMMANDOH

Dernière Volonté

Now here is an interesting one for you loyal Xulborgs. A delving into the world of Martial industrial / Military pop... A genre overlooked by most for whatever reasons. At heart the music is triumphant, catchy and march heavy. But it also transports you into the spirit of the times. So many artists in this genre become a bit cliched and focus on the axis side of things. Which gives that unmistakable feel for German aesthetics and attitude, pre 1945 anyhow...
The interesting aspect of Derniere Volonte is that they are French, and you can feel it in their music. More seductive in the structure of the pop melodies and sensibilities, you inevitably end up whistling or humming this music for days... Yet underlying there is also an incredible sadness, the depression of your Nation being occupied or the feeling of dread as you see the enemy's armored divisions looming on the horizon. The earlier work especially focuses more on that depressive angle, while the latter day pushed up the triumphant pop songs.
While not sounding like a normal Xul offering this definitely has its place in the Xuliverse. Pour yourself a glass of something for a light buzz, set some dim light and throw this on. They'll likely be one of the most refreshing listens you have in some time.

Le Poison

Goatlord

Early and ugly hybrid of stuff, a band that influenced a lot of later black metal bands for its primitive style, horrible production and utterly awesome atmosphere. One of those bands more famous for just having been forgotten for the most part than anything else. Thus garnering reissues and tons of praise. Though they do carry the distinction of being the most kult band of all time from Nevada.

BLACK STINKING FOG

Axis of Advance

For all the greatness that is metal it has become quite an obvious problem that in this current golden age there are too many filler bands and not enough killer ones.
Undoubtedly fans and bands are to blame for this even more so than labels just looking to fill a niche and line their pockets out of whatever fans are willing to part their cash with. Musicians come from scenes, see their friends getting signed up so in true monkey see monkey do fashion they jump on to do the same. The late 80s with thrash, the early 90s with death , the late 90s with black, the early 00s with melodeath and anyone doing metalcore / deathcore / tech death whatever the fukk they call it this week done today. Either way, count on your hand the amount of innovators in ratio to the amount of imitators. You're going to have a pyramid scheme of metal bands there. Especially now that EVERY band has come back to avoid working their day jobs, it just becomes too much. Bands that were stale back when they existed to begin with coming back to proclaim themselves legends... But as in mythology so goes metal, not every legend is a good one.
Axis of Advance are one of those bands that came from a camp of musicians that did other bands (Sacramentary Abolishment, Conqueror, etc.) , then split up one project or another and focused their efforts on this beast of a band... Lasted for 3 full lengths (a proper amount of time for a career) and then called it a day to focus on new horizons. An incredible fusion of styles and chaos they were on to something special. Now they're gone and left in their wake is no one to take a throne which never existed to begin with. A band that thankfully flew under the radar of the average metal fan while buzzing over their heads. But Xul has no radar, Xul sees all and if worthy Xul reveals you. Behold one of Canada's best exports.

SUBMIT AND OBEY

Candiru

One of the more interesting industrial / metal hybrids to come out, Candiru were a schizophrenic delight. While being influenced by a great deal of their forefathers in sound, they themselves never really got the ball rolling. They produced a couple of 7"s, an LP and a second LP that never saw the light of day... Xul gives the first and second (unreleased) album to you now. Don't expect club beats or easy listening feedback dirges. Candiru were impossible to peg down for their sound, but there was some insanity lurking in there. Something not quite right. Unsettling... You definitely wouldn't leave your kids with them for long.

I'LL FIX YOU

Disciples of Mockery

Incantation is one the greatest death metal bands of all time. Especially that early phase of their first 2 albums. Well, there was a split in the band and 3 of the members went on to form Disciples of Mockery. Who pretty much sound like Incantation only with a little more of a doom feel. Just as lethal if not moreso at times, DoM were true death metal. No fukking melodies or happy screams to smile with. Just pure punishment as death metal is supposed to be.

ROTTING IMMACULATE

Antiseen

Punk Rock is another genre of music that like metal has had its own lurid history full of twists, turns, genre splits, genre offshoots, crossovers, drama, murders, suicides, drugs and all the fun stuff that its preferred cousin for incest has gone through. Both are a form of social protest, with each having their later generations destroy the original meaning and message of the the genres they claim to hail from. Metal's darkness gave way to songs about breaking up with your girlfriend. Punk's social satire gave way to breaking up with your girlfriend. Both lay in ruins as a result. But that under current keeps flowing. The ultimate Fukk You practices of GG Allin and his ilk spewed forth Antiseen. Southern Fried Punk with a heapin' helpin' of white trash food staples.. Rock and roll, fried chicken, rasslin', tractor pulls and sitting around on the porch drinking beer and farting out songs dedicated to promoting their lifestyle. They've also been doing it for longer than most fans of punk and metal have been alive. Still awesome, still ugly and still ready to put a swamp mud encrusted boot in your ass for even daring to suggest a Toyota truck is better than a 77 Chevy Stepside.

RUIN YOUR GROOVE

Bastard Priest

So ya like Swedish death metal do ya? Do you know your Sunlight from your Fredman? Why At The Gates needs to be thrown into the Lake of Fire for crimes against metal? Why Bloodbath is worthless? Why Dismember has carried the torch for Sweden's death metal legacy? Yeah, I'll bet you do... If you're one of the idiots that calls Bastard Priest "death punk" then you need to go back to school. This is tried and true old school worshiping death metal. One of the most effective demos in years and finally a ray of hope for Sweden in the wake of their melodeath atrocities.

FROM BEYOND!!!

Lustre

Ambient Black Metal from Sweden.

The new Demo 'Neath The Black Veil' could be said to carry with it some early Manes charm when it comes to the thickness of the sound, slow paced Black Metal hovers around behind synths and steady drums, if you think back to Summoning's Nightshade Forests guitar sound, this is somewhat similar in the part it plays on 'Night Spirit', even some of the synth work can be compared to Summoning in its delivery.

Even though this band has nothing to do with the world beyond our sky, it certainly carries with it an astral atmosphere, thus shall be labled within the Xul genre of Nebula Black Metal.

Night Spirit

Neath The Black Veil Demo

Burning Witch-Crippled Lucifer

Here is presented one of the most gut wrenching and painful sludge-doom groups for your consumption on America's most gluttonous of days. While most are off to fuel the monster that is the capitalist machine, showing the world one media mechanized feeding frenzy after another that America can outshine the world in total unabashed sin and simultaneously proving that the US will bring the downfall of the human race in it's pursuit of Roman level lusts. Xul showcases what will be one of the soundtracks to humanities downfall. Tortured vocals leveled with a funeral paced band that were pieced together from the ashes of Thorr's Hammer. Xul included the reissued version of this album as it contained extra material not featured on the first and is in Xul's opinion a better release.

Disk I

Disk II

Aosoth

These are not my words.

" Aosoth's Ashes of Angels is another release upon the prolific Agonia Records, and it follows the band's self-titled debut in 2008. This band is not really one for melody, so if you seek anything aside from the most grinding, filthy black metal, you will not find a safe harbor here. The band crosses their fiery paths with a mix of blasting excess ("Embrace and Enlightenment", "Summon the Dead", "Banished") and slower, mid-paced rhythms ("Communion Through Pain") where they let the hostility breathe. The atmosphere of this record is abrasive and violent, hailing you from the gutters and unwashed crawlspaces of the universe. Often the band will slow down the pace even further, and this produces some of more memorable tracks, like the creepy "Teaching/Erasing" and the Satanic victory of "Cries Out the Heaven". This is also one of the few bands to themselves in "Inner War"...well, not themselves exactly, but Antaeus, also fronted by the vocalist MkM (many former Aosoth members were also in Antaeus). It's one of the stronger tracks on the album.

Ashes of Angels is no revelation, but it's abusive enough to appeal to fans of the harsher side of European black metal. It's noisy and unforgiving, but dynamic enough to remain interesting, in particular through the slower material. "

I just think it's worth a listen considering it's Antaeus related.

Ashes of Angels

What the Xulim are thankful for...

Nihilus_Xul is thankful for Iran, North Korea, Pakistani insurgencies and the illegal arms market.
Nuclear Winter is going to be one hell of a party.


Namru_Xul is thankful for cheap beer, cheap food and really cheap big broads.


Kermadec_Xul is thankful he hasn't been thrown out of a fukking airlock


Thulsa_Xul is thankful for this and this alone.

Tractus_Xul is thankful for nothing.

Algol_Xul is thankful for Jim Beam on sale and spousal abuse.

Belum_Xul is thankful for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and the global economy having an influence on the price of hookers.

Global Warming is a good thing.

Global Warming can only mean that we will have more Polar Bears in our zoos in future years once their natural habitat is gone, giving you the perfect problem solver.

Problem? Fix it!

Xul Feedback

Nordlicht

Black Metal from Nimosh who runs runs Kunsthall Productions with Wroth/Wintherr from Darkspace/Paysage d'Hiver.

So, you can expect something similar in sound here.

Although started in 1996 this 'band' only produced one album that never saw the dark of space until 2002, which is brought to you here. Cold stuff to be expected from a Kunsthall offering.

Nebelmeer

Melencolia Estatica

Surprisingly this is a band that is lead by a female.

Climaxia is her name, and she has total control over both Guitars and Bass, there is no other member involved that gets in the way of these things, which I found interesting.

What does a stupid Italian kunt know about Black Metal? Curious I was, as I'm sure some of you will also be.

Musically speaking, Letum is a bass driven album, and if you gave it enough thought, you'd say that the bass leadership is actually quite good, probably better than her cooking as I'm sure she only knows how to boil pasta from a packet.

The style can be put under Depressive Black Metal, but with Letum, there is a little more there, I wouldn't go and say that DSBM is the ideal genre to give this band, although granted, the lyrical side of things does rest in that realm.

Here are both albums for you to look into.

Melencolia Estatica

Letum

The One

Second album by this Greek band, which I believe relocated to the UK.

Straight forward but rather good Black Metal, at times it would appear they borrow some riffs from the later day Maniac Butcher skroll of "how to create killer-femme-abusing-guitar-passages", which when done properly, is never ever a bad thing. This is moody and dark, breezing past your ears like a Jet-Fighter made from lava.

I, Master

Hate Forest - Dead But Dreaming

New compilation bringing to us three unreleased studio tracks plus four live tracks.

It's Hate Forest, it's new material, it's worth downloading.

Dead But Dreaming

Sonic Violence

An old UK industrial / metal hybrid here from the UK that didn't sound like Godflesh. One of the earlier bands signed to Peaceville that took all of their skill and channeled it into a long and rewarding career of two whole albums. This being the better of them and actually a pretty decent listen as a change of pace. Not an essential listen, but a curiosity.


TRANSGETYOURFIXION

Mitochondrion

Blackened death metal usually takes a couple of different schools. One being melodic and Dissection influenced melodeath at heart. Which basically fails to offer any feeling of blackness or death. Thus being not ironically titled, but absolutely irrelevant. Then there is the real blackened death metal. Bands as comfortable with Order From Chaos and Incantation as they are Blasphemy and Beherit. The chaos of music meant to be devoured as a whole, not as a single. These are the bands that become kult and thus ignored by the average metal fans that demand perfect musicianship and clear production. Mitochondrion doesn't fukk around. They hit you again and again and leave you there used, beaten and lying in an alley. They took the money out of your wallet and walked back into the bar to get another beer on your dime.

DESCENT

Niden Div 187

DO YOU WANT.... TOTAL WAR? YES YOU WANT... TOTAL WAR. Thus you need Niden Div 187... Basically the Dawn guys huffing Zyklon-B. The sound of war manifesting itself into life and breathing the petroleum and gunpowder in with the vigor of a hippie in the country air. Drums like machine guns, guitars like razor wire barricades... This is what you need for your daily fix. That or lock and load, a lot of neighborhoods need some live ammo entertainment.

JUDGMENT DAY IS DAWNING

Il Balletto di Bronzo - YS

I could never say enough about this release. Some hold it to be the greatest prog album ever recorded. At the very least, you would have to be a mongoloid to not agree that it is one of the best to ever come from the Italian scene. It is one of those albums that is 100% perfection from start to finish. A dark cornucopia of seering acid laced guitar, swirling mist infused green colored electronics, and heavy rhythms so complex your mind wont know what to do. and in all likelyhood, you wont be able to understand it with one listen. This can be a tough album to get into. There is nothing catchy here. No repeating melodies for you to latch on to. Just an ever progressing psychedelic tapestry. Allow this album to fully sink in over many listens. You will discover that you're listening to something truly unique and amazing. Break out the blotter acid, it's time to experience greatness.

YS

Blizzard - Pure Filth & Mayhem

Because sometimes Xuligans just want to drink beer and wreck their bionic necks.

FAGGOTCRUSHER

The End 666 - The Ultra Violence

Warning: Not for faggots, Muslims, females, Spaniards, rugby players, ravers, blacks, or wimps.

Sometimes you come across a band so stupid and simplistic that they carve themselves a little niche in your artificial heart. A somewhat unique blasting blend of thrash and black metal, while at the same time being the most generic stupid music you could ever imagine. Don't expect some sort of homosexual RHCP cover band like Death Angel here. Give this album a try and let The End 666 be your French Connection.

GREAT SATAN vs. ARABS

Pestilential Shadows

Another band of the Nazxul camp. Still firmly rooted in the black metal world (just look at the picture). Only the interesting spin with Pestilential Shadows is that they sound more like early Nazxul... Imagine them taking the Totem album and running off in that direction more. Instead of realizing the amazing power or Vow of Vengeance and their epic as fukk transitions to be found on Iconoclast. This is the uglier side of them.


TOTEMIC

Solstafir

When you take an interesting black metal band with no scene connections to taint them. Give them a few years to figure themselves out. Let them add influence after influence outside of the usual bm fare. Keep adding, keep developing, move on, march on... stop, reflect, rock the fukk out. Solstafir developed into a monster of a band as a result. Progressive in their approach, everything from indie to goth to stoner rock and more added to the mix. Catchy as hell, stuck in your head for days songs introspective... The kind of band you can get high with and go somewhere in your mind. You'll hear a bit of everything with them, but nothing like them. Flying under the radar of most metal fans due to not fitting in any specific genres, they are none the less one of the most interesting bands going today. Plus kudos for the Fields of the Nephilim inspired spaghetti western look. Masterpiece of Bitterness and Kold are where you want to start, then look back at their youth.

LOVE IS THE DEVIL

AN

This is pretty standard, but Xul understands this albums message.

NUKE'EM

Municipal Waste, Off With Their Heads, Phobia, Cauldron

November 15th, The Casbah, San Diego.

Like I'd go to this shit? They wanted 15 bucks to get into this, so I decided I'd be better off taking that 15 bucks and buying some cheap beer over the weekend while spending a Wednesday night jerking off to questionable age porn and later watching downloaded wrestling pay per views.
Without even being there I can tell you exactly what happened.
Cauldron opened up and no one was there.
Phobia played to a near empty house and smelled like hippies.
Off With Their Heads? Off of the Stage.
Municipal Waste takes the stage, a bunch of short haired nimrods with vests on and PBRs in hand headbang passively while smiling up a storm. Dave Witte drums in back and rethinks his life. No one in the crowd except for the 3 guys that are at the bar and trying to pick up on the trashy skanks that came in to work the crowd for drinks remembers who Human Remains are.

I think this pretty much sums up most MW shows. BARRAFALSE!!!

The Xulborg Domestic Model - 767

The perfect role model

Skinny Puppy

Industrial culture has run a parallel to metal for its duration. Its own rules, its own underground, its own level of complete abandonment of human morality while pushing the boundaries of taste. While metal stuck to blue collar aesthetics and horror movie influenced shock value, industrial was defining horror and pushing its limits. Industrial was the pool so much of metal drank from for its new influences. The cold rhythmic sound of steel clanking on steel producing death itself in its factories. The soundtrack to end of the world destruction constructing. Where metal was content to speak of Satan and mythological terrors, industrial spoke of the horrors of daily life in laboratories and factories. The perversion of the human creature in robotic voices. Future speak and Orwellian sensibilities. Oil, ash, pollution, concrete, nuclear waste, bombed out cities and the buildings of today as the ruins of tomorrow. No forests, no utopian futures, no peace. Just the end result of man's own self assured destruction.
Skinny Puppy are the bards of the apocalypse. Through their long career they have explored, influenced and become legends of music. They've influenced so many artists it's almost impossible to even think of a world without them. The perverted mirror of man's design refracting images from their twisted chambers... The image you see is not the image you started with, but the image far more honest than what you were to begin with.
Listen to it all, absorb it all ravenously, pray to whatever God you find solace in. This is terror incarnate. This is Skinny Puppy...


YOUR BLACK HEART MAKES ME SICK

ATTENTION

Urgehal - Ikonoklast

New album by these Norwegian rapists. Much like Goatcraft I am let down by the cover artwork, what ever happened to photos of band members abusing women?

What else to say? More of the same from Urgehal. More of the same from this years Big-Gun releases. Having said that, this is probably top of the pile. I've heard this all before mind you, and you have too most likely. There's only one "Ikonoklast" worth your time this year, and it doesn't use K's.

Whatever

GWAR / Job For A Cowboy / The Red Chord

Gwar, live in San Diego. November 15th 2009 at the House of Blues. This isn't a picture from it because I don't bother taking cameras into these things. So I just plunder the work of others for a reference pic above. Anyhow, doors opened at 6:30, which meant I wasn't showing up til 9 and hopefully missing the opening bands. Unfortunately I walked in for the last two songs of Job For a Cowboy and got some gay STD just from hearing their breakdown laden useless attempt at death metal. They seem proud to be from Phoenix, Arizona, which they announced as often as they could... A typical song going something like this.. "Pointless screaming and semi blast, breakdown... breakdown, more breakdowns, "WE'RE JFAC AND WE'RE FROM PHOENIX, ARIZONA, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHOWING UP TO SEE US AND I HOPE ALL YOU BLONDE, THIN, CIRCUMCISED, DISEASE FREE TEENAGE BOYS COME SEE US AFTER THE SHOW FOR SOME HANDS ON AUTOGRAPH SESSIONS!", breakdown, breakdown, blast, breakdown , song over. Repeat.

Then the wait, that agonizing wait as GWAR sits backstage while the roadies set up. Kids kept walking by me nervously as I kept farting out the prior night's dinner of kraut and sausage. I began realizing, that being the 4th time seeing Gwar, it was the first time seeing them sober.
But those are the breaks and driving around downtown San Diego with a face full of gwar juice and a blood alcohol content over .08 is a difficult thing to explain your way out of when you get pulled over by the fuzz for soliciting snaggle toothed crackheads for discount rim jobs. Xul don't deal with lock up.
A lot of young'ns were at the gig, which I suppose is a healthy thing, as their disposable income is probably what keeps most bands going these days. I sure as hell didn't pay for my ticket, so some people had to. Some came by offering me a piece of gum which was obviously LSD laden. I've had my experience with Gwar and hallucinogens, highly recommended, but that wasn't my buzz tonight. Some fellow old fukk summed it all up perfectly. "Gwar is metal's version of the Rocky Horror Picture Show", bravo.

They opened up with a 10 min video spoofing a band rise and fall documentary, the usual nonsense. Crack, perversion and murder.. the stuff dreams are made of. Then the music kicks in, and for the life of me I can't remember what the fukk the song list was. They bring out a pretty killer assortment of murder victims though, including the return of Cardinal Syn, who I hadn't seen live. A gray faced Michael Jackson came out for a baby raping session before getting his face ripped off. Zog came out as a homeless guy squeegeeing Oderus before getting torn apart. Obama got his head ripped off, again. The music live is more focused on the crowd, less of their silliness from the mid era and more to the headbanging tunes. Some of the old classics like Maggots and Have You Seen Me? are still in rotation, along with show closer Sick of You. A few tunes were pimping the new album, of course. Some others from the more recent ones that I still can't recognize for shit because I am one of those fair weather fans that loved their early days, disappeared during their mid era and have come back around for these days even though I have the discography plundered and don't listen to it as much as I should because blah blah blah blah. This was a nice and violent crowd... kids came running out of there with real and fake blood mixed, girls were picked up and thrown all over the place.. Security had looks of disbelief and rethinking their career choices as one crowd surfing kid after another was thrown at them. Really though, how do you sum Gwar live up? Either you see them and understand what the big deal is all about, or you don't and stick to nitpicking from afar. Oderus himself pretty much made the best points for it... "25 YEARS OF GWAR, NOW THINK ABOUT HOW MANY BANDS HAVE COME AND SUCKED SINCE THEN!" "THERE ARE ONLY 3 BANDS THAT RULE, GWAR, SLAYER AND MOTORHEAD" "METALLICA... WHAT THE FUKK HAPPENED?! NO, SERIOUSLY... WHAT THE FUKK HAPPENED?!".

Big thanks to Brian at www.sdmetal.org for hooking me up with the free tickets.