Monthly Archives: July 2012

Bair Grills… Heretic’s Fork by Murder Castle

Posted by on July 26, 2012 2 comments

I was recently tasked with the pleasure of writing up local metal project Murder Castle. Instantly, I imagined an 8-bit NES cartridge, with a cartoon mad scientist cackling wildly, next to a Jessica Rabbit-inspired seductress, holding a dopey sleuth by the tie, with the eponymous estate looming in the background, gloomily lit by a flash of lightning. After first listening to the debut album Heretic’s Fork and then enjoying a conversation with vocalist and songwriter Bill Klopfer, my mark missed by miles. While acts like the beloved Nasty Disaster and Manowar have engaged us with a self-aware, tongue-in-cheek rendition of the absurdities of metal, that is not what’s going on here. This music is all of the evil and none of the frivolity you could take from its plainly-stated name. In Bill’s own words, “This album is about torture at its peak!” Read more »

Bethel: The Greatest Town on Earth!

Posted by on July 23, 2012 1 comment

A commemorative statue of PT Barnum, Bethel's most famous resident.

 

Sometimes a friendship or an experience is healing to the soul, and sometimes healing comes from a place.  For me, that place was Bethel, Connecticut.  At 30 years old, I found myself breaking off a bad relationship and imagining that I would live out the rest of my days as a spinster throwing cats at people.  I needed a place of my own and saw an ad for a studio on Grassy Plain Street in Bethel.  It was here that I reconnected with myself while discovering the picturesque neighborhood surrounding me.  The charming New England town of Bethel, which means “house of God”, is about 60 miles from New York City and has over 18,000 residents.  I’ve compiled a list of some fun things that make Bethel the greatest town on earth!  Read more »

Supermarket Showdown: Fairway Stamford vs. Shippan Grade A

Posted by on July 23, 2012 1 comment

 

In a way, I’m comparing apples and oranges, or organic apples and papayas. Fairway – “A Market Like No Other” – is known for its organic produce, crazy cheese section and being a foodie paradise. Grade A/Shop Rite in Shippan is known for… I dunno, having a pharmacy, a Goya aisle and being the only place in Stamford where you’ll see people paying with WIC cards next to people dripping in diamonds and fur. Actually, sometimes there’s some overlap there. Read more »

CT Metal Scene: Where’s the Brotherhood?

Posted by on July 17, 2012 2 comments

By Agrippa

Originally published in Metal Cyndicate and Agrippa: Thought Manifest, 2011.

As a long time metal fan and musician I’ve only actually been an active member of the local metal scene in Connecticut as a performer since 2009, when the only way to get Agrippa93 our 1st show was to create it myself. The venue was an old discount movie theater that I rented out with my own cash inviting along 3 other bands for the night. I had absolutely no previous experience as a show promoter and less in the live scene as a performing band. Doing your first show is like losing your virginity: It was an awkward mess and you’re just glad to be done with it. Read more »

Tired Wings, Unflappable: A Pending Invasion from the Big Rotten Apple

Posted by on July 17, 2012 5 comments

Five years ago, Charles Canedo and Luis Cambero were the rhythm section for a promising 6-piece metal project out of Brooklyn. Canedo carried himself with the confidence and presentation of a frontman despite playing bass, crowded alongside two guitarists and a vocalist. Cambero flavored the straight-up thrash with progressive elements and infectious rhythm from behind his imposing kit. It would be their shared frustrations with the direction the band was going in (or lack of direction, if you were to ask them) that lead to the side project that would very quickly become their primary musical devotion.

Tired Wings was founded on the principle of enjoying the music you make. They compose whiskey-soaked, herb-smoked hard rock, slathered in a Southern sauce. Assuming sole song-writing duties and taking up vocals, guitar, and bass on their recordings, Canedo flourishes as the brains of the outfit. His natural role as frontman couldn’t have come more easily to him; he assumes the stage name Rev. Mongoose and employs a gritty vocal tone to croon about smoking and drinking and his love for rock & roll. Read more »

Maelstrom: Metal Never Dies, It Just Grows Up and Has Kids

Posted by on July 14, 2012 No comments

In the late 80s and early 90s, a young Long Island band named Maelstrom made waves in the northeast with their unique blend of thrash and power metal.  Inevitably, though, members went off to college, started families, and cut their hair, and Maelstrom joined the graveyard that so many good bands end up in.

But over twenty years later, Maelstrom has risen from the dead.

Inspired by an online review of their original cassette demo, founding members Gary Vosganian and Joey Lodes reformed the band as a studio project and put out the EP It Was Predestined in 2008.  This release gained great reviews from Blabbermouth and Metal Insider, and got Maelstrom named as one of the Best Unsigned Bands of 2008 by UK metal magazine Terrorizer. Alternative Control had the opportunity to interview Vosganian, Maelstrom’s vocalist, about the band’s reincarnation and plans for a 2012 full length album.  Enjoy! Read more »

Interview with Kevin Keegan of Barn Burner

Posted by on July 13, 2012 2 comments
Barn Burner

Barn Burner (Photo by Nick Oaks, courtesy of Metal Blade Records.)

 

Over a decade into the new millennium, there are few young bands that embody the sweaty, beer-soaked essence of old rock and roll – and one of those bands is Barn Burner.  If Phil Lynott was born twenty-five years ago in Canada, this might be the band he started.  Barn Burner is kicking off a tour with Skeletonwitch today, and Alternative Control had the opportunity to interview singer and guitarist Kevin Keegan via email earlier this week.  Here’s what he had to say about the band’s music and plans for the future… Read more »