Iron Fist

I recently got Motorhead's 1982 album, Iron Fist. It's no Bomber, Overkill or Ace of Spades, but like the Ramones, it's all fuckin good. The title track slays and the 11 others make me want to drink heavily. Job well done, Lemmy.

True Punk & Metal

http://truepunkmetal.blogspot.com/

This blog has been one of my absolute favorites over the past year or so. I think the guy who does it has a hand in Gloom Records, a great Albany label that has put out awesome bands like Last In Line, 9 Shocks Terror, Close Call, Cut the Shit and the Prowl. Anyways, he searches his amazing record collection, uploads a record, and reminisces about it. He pulls out a lot of gems and tells great stories about growing up as a metalhead in Albany in the 80's.

Example:
"I eventually bought this only because the band thanked bong hits & brew hahs, I was baffled that this came out on the label that it did, not typical at all. Listening to this totally brings back those memories of Luke picking me up Friday after work, and us hitting all four record stores in Albany. I typically might have spent about $80 a week on records back then."

Soo good!

Hipster Metal

Yeah, that thing. The trend of the last year or so in which hip magazines and Websites cover certain heavy metal bands they deem chic and cool. Some of its first subjects were progressives like Sunn O))), Boris and Mastodon. As frustrating as it was to see a Website cover and equate Mastodon and the Hold Steady together, it was understandable because well, Mastodon's really fucking good. It makes perfect sense for someone to worship both at the alters of Mastodon and Radiohead.

In fact, the only coverage that was truly dumbfounding was that of Southern Lord and Relapse bands. There is nothing remotely accessible about Sunn O))), which is why it has always been the underground of the underground. So why the coverage? Why the mentions in Spin, Rolling Stone and Pitchfork? The hipster metal fad has always been inevitable. There' always been something bewitching (sorry) by the darkly esoteric nature of heavy metal in general. By nature, metal deals with mysterious and unnatural subjects, which are both entertaining and contemplative.

So maybe the "hipster metal" fad should be of no surprise. Even Shins fans must find metal alluring for at least a little while. Doesn't that guy from the Mountain Goats write for Decibel? Today in a write up on the new Disfear record, Pitchfork referenced Tragedy, Kylesa and Victims. They just couldn't help it, though. No one can disregard D-beat and Sabbath riffs. That's the point! The difference is that next year when we're still here, they'll have moved on to something new. Just please don't let it be disco-punk again.