Holy Grail - The Troc - May 3rd!

HOLY GRAIL - The Trocadero - May 3rd, 2011

This should be one hell of a show! Holy Grail will be playing the balcony at The Troc, and admission is only $10! So unless you're a starving artist, I think you should be able to make it, have a damn good time, and enjoy some awesome power/thrash metal!

Click here to check out the poster on DeviantArt!

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I sketched out the poster idea about a week before I decided to work on a finish. It wasn't a very developed concept; a woman with snakes. I always like trying to add more and more to a piece like that, and I decided to do an ode to Leviathan.

At the same time, I was looking more and more at the work of my contemporaries, especially Godmachine. His work is consistently amazing, and I wanted to try something in the style he did that seems to be, in fact, the modern illustration style (my opinion, and nothing more). That said, my apologies if its too close!

I'm pretty happy with the result. I worked on it originally as a t-shirt design that I was going to turn into a poster, but I kept running into the same problem; I didn't like how colorful it was, especially on the poster. The original has a LOT of green, and on a whim I decided to make everything red. It worked great for the poster, and so you have this.

A lot of blood, sweat, and annoyance went into this piece. The woman's head was a nightmare to draw, and it's my biggest weakness. I love drawing women's heads, but I suck at drawing them looking up. I think I got it this time. :)

Metal Radio in Philadelphia: BACK WITH A F@$KING VENGEANCE!!!!

Thank you, thank you!

Mark Skull Pirate Radio has only been back on the air for a month, but what a month its been!!! After only 30 days, MSPR has done the following:

Nearly 600 Streams Launched!
Gone from 18th to 5th Highest EXTREME METAL STATION!
Rocketed from 6278 to 1666(!) in Overall Rankings!!
AND AN ASTOUNDING 751 TOTAL LISTENING HOURS!!!

WORLD DOMINATION, THY NAME IS MARK SKULL PIRATE RADIO!

So make sure you listen to the station, vote for songs, and bang your head like there's no tomorrow, because Mark Skull Pirate Radio, Philadelphia's Best and ONLY Metal and Punk Radio station, is BACK WITH A VENGEANCE!!!!

Most importantly, thanks to all the AWESOME listeners of the station as well! Without you, there is no Mark Skull Pirate Radio! It may sound odd, but the truth of the matter is, this station exists for YOU. Having this station is to get great metal music to the masses, and introducing people to new bands and sounds they may otherwise not hear. How many radio stations are daring to mix Metallica's "One" with Devin Townsend's "Namtase"?

To listen to Mark Skull Pirate Radio, all you need is a computer, an iPhone, or a Windows Mobile device (Yep, we're on the go!)! So come on! Turn on the station and have one hell of a good time! We're always on, and we're always looking for more people to enjoy the melodies!

Look for more new music as the days and weeks come by, and as always, send in your requests (and donations!!)! We have a few events coming up, so please make sure you listen closely! :D

Philadelphia's First, and Only, Metal and Punk Radio Station is Back!

Mark Skull Pirate Radio returns after a long absence!

February 19th, 2010 - Philadelphia. After nearly 6 months of being gone, MARK SKULL PIRATE RADIO is back on the air!

Run by one-time mayoral candidate Larry West, Mark Skull Pirate Radio (MSPR) will celebrate its return with a 4-hour long live radio show at 7PM EST on February 19th, 2010, that will feature the latest and greatest in heavy metal and punk! BUT WAIT! You say that heavy metal isn't cool or hip? That punk is dead? That metal and punk were "something you used to do", maybe before you thought it got "stale"? WELL, WE'RE GONNA PROVE YOU WRONG!

Tune into the Mark Skull Show on MPSR at 7PM EST for the latest and greatest from bands such as Megadeth, Slayer, Devin Townsend, Overkill, Otep, Kreator, Ministry, NOFX, and more bands than you could shake stick at! No, really. If you tried to shake a stick at these bands, they'd beat the crap out of you.

So, I'm sending out this press release in the hopes that you'll post this on your blog, maybe even the entire thing. Why? You may think your readers don't listen to that music, but who knows, maybe they do, or maybe they'll listen to this show thinking it would be "ironic". In the end, they will be converted to the church of HEAVY METAL.

What's my proof? What's my story?

Mark Skull Pirate Radio was create in June of 2005 out of frustration that the Philadelphia music scene did not have ONE DECENT ROCK OR METAL STATION! Try loving the music, and not having anything or anyone to connect with! Being alone with your CD's, not really being able to get an idea what's out there! Yeah, there's MySpace and Pandora, but hell, it's not REAL RADIO! Well, MSPR changed that! Within a year, we were the #1 extreme metal station on Live365, and we seek to be there again!

A Mark Skull Live Show is full of tasteless jokes, cursing, rants, caffeine-fueled brutality, stories, and great music! It has been heard as far away as Belfast, Ireland, and beyond! It will kick your ass and make you want more! IT WILL INCRIMINATE ITS HOST SO HE CAN NEVER RUN FOR PUBLIC OFFICE AGAIN! HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!

.....I see I may have gone too far.

Just listen to the station.

http://www.morisecomics.com/markskullpirateradio
http://www.live365.com/stations/luvataciousskull

Arch Enemy, Exodus, and Arsis - THE RISE OF EVIL!

Arch Enemy, Exodus, AND Arsis are coming to Philadelphia on January 21st to The TLA! Tickets range between $16 and $20, and starts at 8PM!

Feel free to download this poster, make copies, and just spread the word about this show!

Get your tickets either at the box office or online.


--- Now, on that note, I want to take some time to do something I do almost as well as I draw and design: Complain about crap that's pissing me off!

My blog, Angry, Young, and Poor, has become a sort-of defacto newsource for major metal shows in Philly and Larry West Productions has done all we (well, I) can do to help in the effort of supporting metal in Philly. To that end, I am disappointed that a majority of blogs that devote time and effort to posting about shows and concerts RARELY post about metal, and only then to either do it ironically or to make fun of it. Granted, this is not a flat-out truth, nor is it true of every blog out there in Philly. That said, it is still frustrating seeing some annoying hipster band that acts as background music get more press than, say, a national long-standing group that comes around and actually challenges its listeners to think and be active.

To that end, I am going to encourage my local partners in Philly Concert Blogging to step up to the cause of promoting MORE acts in this city!

Now, some may scoff at certain blogs about this idea. To that end, I would like to point out that you simply never know who's really is into metal and willing to come out to a show. Its shocking going out around town and talking to people about concerts who are clean-cut and in suits, and hearing how annoyed they are that they missed seeing Municipal Waste come to town because no one told them!

My goal, as both an artist, musician, and just someone who fucking LOVES metal, has been, and will be, to make sure national acts and even LOCAL acts (Just contact me! I'm looking at you, Ray-Gradys!) get the word out and as much press and exposure as possible! But I can't do it alone. I've drawn, designed, printed, and handed out all the flyers you've seen posted all by myself, and its a lot for one guy to handle.

If you want more metal and punk acts to come to Philly and NOT Allentown or Atlantic City, then you MUST support toe metal scene HERE! THAT'S what its going to take, and THAT'S how we keep getting bigger and better shows!

Support the cause and stay true to your metal and punk roots!

IN FLAMES - The Trocadero, October 4th 7PM

IN FLAMES is playing The Trocadero October 4th at 7PM. They will be joined by Between the Buried and Me, 3 Inches of Blood, and The Faceless.

Download and hand out your own flyer HERE.

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Interested in what went into making this? Read the full story here, but here's a snippet:

Behind the screaming demoness is a symbol. Now, those familiar with In Flames will see something familiar yet strange. In Flames has adopted a few symbols over the years, and there was a sort of tribal one used back in 2006 for Come Clarity. I decided to take the idea and make it my own. In this case, it involved turning it into the symbol of chaos as well.

There's some writing on the original piece, but I had to take it off the smaller versions of the posters because it didn't read well. I was listening to "A Sense of Purpose" while penciling it in and one lyric in particular came to mind: " Feel this up your conviction!" To me, though, it sounded like "Feel the Realness of Your Convictions!", thus the name of the piece. The lyric is from the song "I'm the Highway".

Interested? Make sure you check it out on my blog!

Kreator & Exodus Last Night At The Troc: One Of My Top 5 Shows!

Last night was nothing short of amazing!

I got to the venue at 5:30PM, 30 minutes before the show. The Trocadero normally doesn't allow lines to form until 30 minutes before a show, and I thought since the show wasn't sold out, I would be fine. WRONG! About 80 screaming metal heads were already there, and to me, that was a good sign! By the times the doors opened, the line was around the block, everyone was psyched about having a good time, and I was ready for Kreator!

The bill last night was as follows:

• Warbringer
• Belphegor
• Exodus
• Kreator

If your into metal, and by that, if you still LISTEN AND FOLLOW metal, by no doubt you understand that is an amazing line-up, the likes of which you pray for. Warbringer, delivering old-school thrash with a modern twist, along with black metal legends Belphegor... playing aside two of the greatest thrash metal bands of all time Exodus AND Kreator?

Warbringer started off the show with a thunderous roar, brining as much energy and determination, as well as incredible songs and riffs, as if they were headlining! I've only heard about this band from all my metalhead friends, and it was an honor, and a treat, to watch them live. Belphegore... I will admit, never heard their stuff, either. It was great to do so, though! They have a very smart, very indepth musical ability and style, something that I think buying an album would really give me depth on.

Exodus. Holy shit, what can I say about these guys?! The original band that screamed "DEATH TO POSERS!" and meant it with every ounce of their body, they have always been a mixture of pure "fuck you!" and having a good time. Many bands claim it, these guys have actually done it! They have songs that can pratically bleed with statements that will make people on both sides of the political isle uneasy ("O say can you fucking see/ The missles fall like rain" - "Scar Spangled Banner") and ("Your saviors a killer, you die for Allah /You are all children of a worthless god"). There is always a party attituide, a-la "Toxic Waltz" which, seriously, if you can't find yourself moshing to that song at LEAST a little bit live with 1000 other screaming metalheads... you suck and don't go to metal shows, and the band is amazing!

Rob Dukes (who I refer to as "Rob "Daisy" Dukes, only because it's the easiest way to remember the last name. I guess Rob "Put Up Your" Dukes works fine, too) was the absolute showman; riling up the crowd and supporting his beloved New York Rangers, while guitarist Jack Gibson from California loves The Philadelphia Flyers! Hell, he even put on a Flyers Jersey for "Toxic Waltz"! For me, a little treat was the fact that Jack Gibson was playing the same exact guitar as me, a ESP DV8! I got lucky and got a guitar pick he actually used, and it's the same as me! SWEET!

Kreator. KREATOR! It was nothing short of great! Led Zepplins "In the Light" was used to basically warm up the crowd before they went on, and they opened with the skull-shattering title track off their new album, "Hordes of Chaos"! The rest of the set was peppered with choice tracks such as "Coma of Souls", "People of the Lie", and "Phobia". Miland 'Mille' Petrozza worked the crowd fairly well, and it was hilarious hearing him mention a question that was asked of him if he was serious when he told the crowd to "kill each other?" His reply? "Well, I told them that it was all just a metaphor, that really we're all about peace and harmony." The crowd went dead silent and I kinda smiled as I got what he was saying. "I have to tell you something.... I LIED! For this next song I want you TO KILL EACH OTHER!!!!!!!!!"

After slamming to "Enemy of God" and "Destroy what Detroys You", the rest of the night was great. Excellent shredding, showmanship...

In the end, I got to remember why I love going to metal shows and just why, exactly, The Trocadero is such a great place for a metal show; Because, unlike some places, the people who go to these shows are actually fans of the music and the bands there! They aren't there to be "seen", they aren't there because they think it's "ironic"; no, there is a sort of brotherhood and a good natured feeling that has been with this place since every show I've gone to there since 2003 when I was 18.

Last night was the type of show that comes once in a great while. It wasn't entirely about the incredible bands, the excellent performances.. the fans and friends are the cherry on the sundae at a metal show, and frankly, I want more.

I'll be posting more shows soon, and trust me when I say this: It's going to get GOOD!


Here is the set list for Kreator:

Edit this setlist | More Kreator setlists

Photo thanks to Workhardpr!

Before I Go: Kreator "Hordes of Chaos"

Kreator with Exodus

Trocadero

Philadelphia, PA
Thu, Apr 9, 2009 06:00 PM

SOURCE: The Troc!

FINAL WARNING! Kreator and Exodus in Philly Tomorrow Night! Why You Must Go!

If your into metal, you need to go see Kreator and Exodus tomorrow night at The Trocadero. I'm not kidding around.

Why, you ask, do I think this is so vital? Why the hell would I try and push everyone to go to this show? Because I am sick and fucking tired of local blogs and media treating metal shows like nothing! I am sick and tired of seeing shitty indie rock bands sell out places like nothing! I am sick and tired of blogs not even mentioning great metal shows in their articles! I am sick and tired of seeing ads for THE TROC without these metal bands coming to town! THE GOD DAMN TROC isn't even advertising these metal shows!

So if you've got $25, and you want to see two of the GREATEST METAL BANDS OF ALL TIME tear up a fairly intimate club on a Thursday night, get to this show! Buy a ticket for yourself, buy one for your friend... I want this show sold out because I want to send a message that, god damn it, METAL IS ALIVE IN PHILLY!

Again: Kreator and Exodus at The Trocadero, Thursday April 9, 2009. Doors open at 6PM and show starts at 6:30PM. And, for you who don't want to go early and see the openers, Exodus should come on around 8:30PM.

In case your not sure, here is Kreator and Exodus:

New Anthrax Singer To Have Signing Session... Why?

Anthrax. I fucking love Anthrax!

I got into them in 2002 and the short version of why they're my favorite is that they cured me of any love and respect I had for hair metal. Why? Because Joey Belladonna was every bit as talented as the guys singing in Whitesnake and Cinderella (and the Bullet Boys, still one of my favorite bands), but with intelligent lyrics about sanity, Nazi's, and being alive in a world that seems out to get you. I speak of "Spreading the Disease", my first Anthrax album and one of the best I've ever heard. I've seen them twice and own all their albums, even Volume 8.

So, my credentials in check, this is the dumbest thing I've heard in a while.

I feel sorry for Dan Nelson. He's the new singer for Anthrax and, from what I've heard, he's nothing short of amazing. I look forward to the new album and hearing him on a proper studio track and album with the band (all I've heard so far are bootlegs), but a signing session? Sign what?

His only credentials thus far were singing in a band about 10 people heard of, and there isn't much to go on. He doesn't have much of a history, no one knows where this could go... I think it's a kinda foolish and short-sighted. If it was him with, say, Scott Ian or another member of Anthrax, I would go in a heartbeat! As it stands... sorry, Dan, good luck! Try again after the album comes out.


For those interested, check out the info here:

ANTHRAX frontman Dan Nelson will take part in a signing session at Looney Tunes in West Babylon, New York on "Record Store Day" (Saturday, April 18). The event will begin at 3:00 p.m.

The details are as follows:

Looney Tunes
31 Brookvale Ave.
West Babylon, NY 11704
(631) 587-7722

Thanks to Blabbermouth.net for the story, and mp3.com for the photo.

What Is The Futrue of Shadows Fall?

"We haven't been dropped from Atlantic Records!"

Ever since the release of 2007's "Threads of Life", the major-label debut of Shadows Fall, one of the modern "Big 4" of the metal movement, rumors have spread that Shadows Fall was dropped from Atlantic Records. This was spurred by both poor reviews of the album and the fact that, since it's April 2007 release, it has sold only 100,000 copies! Compare that to 2004's "The War Within" on Century Media, which has sold over 300,000 to date and... well, it's safe to say that "Threads of Life" was a commercial flop.

I wrote a review about 6 months after it came out since I wanted to have a more objective review since... well, it's always a bad sign when you don't want to review something as soon as you get it, isn't it?

The album cover looks just about as rushed as the album sounds, like Atlantic Records demanded them to write the album as fast as possible and release it quickly to cash in on their fame. This isn't a new practice in the music world, of course, and Anthrax's "State of Euphoria" from 1988 is a testament of what happens when a great band is rushed to release an album. Scott Ian has even disowned it.

Since then, Shadows Fall went on a tour in 2007, but was mostly quiet for most of 2008, with no real notable tour I can recall. The name is starting to fade from the lips of the metal community, and as a fan of the band, I'm stuck asking... "Where are they headed to now?"

Despite what the band calls a "rumor", Roadrunner Records Europe HAS dropped Shadows Fall, and because of how poorly the album is doing, their relationship with Atlantic Records is on shaky ground. No offense meant to the band (I've met them and they're good folks), but it's a PR statement in order to keep the faithful happy. A major record label doesn't shell out a ton of cash to have a band not do well. This album got great promotion, so it's safe to say that the next one is going to have to slay, or we're going to be stuck with 5 "live albums".

Shadows Fall are playing a free show tonight and are releasing a new album this year.

8-Album Mind: All Killer Queen, No Filler Punk!

The Plasmatics - Put Your Love In Me: Love Songs for the Apocalypse ♠♠♠♠
Punk-O-Rama 6 ♠♠♠♠
Queen - Sheer Heart Attack ♠♠♠♠♠
Queen - A Night at the Opera ♠♠♠♠♠
Queen - A Day at the Races ♠♠♠♠♠
Punkzilla - The Compilation ♠♠♠♠♠
Queen - Live Killers ♠♠♠
The Plasmatics - Maggots: The Record ♠♠♠♠
The Plasmatics - Final Days: Anthems for the Apocalypse ♠♠♠♠♠

My absolute for The Plasmatics and Wendy O. Williams aside, I'll save my thoughts on their discography for later.

Queen. My god, I can't believe I considered selling these albums! "Sheer Heart Attack" is a classic album, notably for basically creating thrash metal with "Stone Cold Crazy". The way the tracks simply roll by as if it's one large piece of music, culminating in "The Lap of the Gods"... orgasmic. Simply orgasmic.

"A Night at the Opera" should easily become required listening for ANYONE with a taste in music whatsoever! The seamless blend of genres, from metal to hard rock to opera to almost everything in between... this album is simply perfect, not one imperfection in sight, and just going from "Death on Two Legs" to "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" cracks me up! "Day at the Races" is a decent listen. It falls in the shadow of the monolith that is "Night at the Opera", but still works incredibly well. Lets be honest, here; if you reached the top, your not going to duplicate it the next time around.

Also, yeah, "Live Killers"... that was actually one of the first albums I ever bought in my life, possibly one of my first 100 CD's (I've bought, owned, and sold off a total of over 1100 so far, although that's a bit of an estimate. A good one since I own nearly 1000 right now) when I was 14 in 1999. I was never thrilled with the album but, with time, I've basically got used to it. Queens right about the production, it really falls short. Really, I think if the surviving members of Queen simply went back to the master tapes and remixed and remastered it the result would be a million times better. Damn it, take a cue from Dave Mustaine!

Punkzilla and Punk-O-Rama 6 are really good comps of punk songs, both of them simply just being able to bring about some really great artists and really great songs. Punkzilla actually has material from AFI before they, lets face it, sold out their horror-punk style for commerical succcess. They also have material from The Offspring's S/T disc. Punk-O-Rama has a damn good line-up and, really, it's hard to pick any one band or track since they all seem to kick so much ass!

Finally, the Plasmatics. God-damn these comps are good! "Put Your Love in Me" and "Final Days: Anthems For the Apocalypse" are released under The Plasmatics name, but it can be reasonably argued that these are more Wendy O. Willams comps than anything else. After Coup d'Etat, The Plasmatics, for all intents and purposes, broke-up. The story actually is conflicting; the word from Wendy O and Rod Swanson, Rod being the man who created the band, stated constantly that they simply renamed the band. That, despite the fact that only Wes Beech the bassist and T.C. Tolliver from the Coup sessions as the drummer remained. By the time Maggots: The Record arrived, only Wendy and Wes remained and, really, it was just Wendy being a solo artist using the Plasmatics name. That's another day and another argument.

"Put Your Love in Me" is, in essence, what "Fuck You!!! And Loing It: A Wendy O. Willams Retrospective" should have been instead; Not released under the Plasmatics name but under Wendy's. A little over half of the 11 songs are Wendy's solo-work and the stand out tracks really are from her solo-career. The fact that it starts out with the incredibe song, "Fuck that Booty", just simply makes this a damn good comp.

Meanwhile, "Final Days" is THE defineative Plasmatics comp. It features THE best tracks by The Plasmatics group, from the "New Hope" to "Maggots". These really are the best of the best tracks, and I'm certian that a few of them, such as "Opus in Cm7", were never released before. Throwing in a Wendy O, track from her "thrash" rap-metal album (which actually pre-dates Anthrax's "I'm The Man", depending mainly on who you ask) "Lies", an incredible song that sounds more and more like something recorded today and may had inspired Frank Miller's story line about a "fake president" in The Dark Night Strikes Back, right down to Regan himself!

FIANLLY, Maggots: The Record. I don't have enough room or time to just explain this one, so look for a full review later. It is simply brilliant and stand-out track from this thrash metal opera are "Destoryers", "Propogators", and "Finale".