May, in the tradition of the times, is the month to hit the road. And Metal Box is no exception; while we’ll still be bringing you reviews of the latest and greatest hard rock and heavy metal released in a generally slow month, The A.V. Club’s metalhead-in-residence has decided to embark on a summer-long road trip, scaring the livestock in America’s rural heartland with the horrible meatgrinder sounds emanating from the stereo of his dozen-year-old beater. He’ll also be providing recaps of live shows he sees along his transcontinental journey, and giving advice about which summer tours deserve your attention. So hop in your ’73 AMC Javelin, put the quadraphonic version of Deep Purple’s Machine Head in your 8-track player, and join Metal Box as it starts its summer tour!
THE BRIDE WORE BUZZ. Although the Big Business merger was intended to add even more bottom-heaviness to the Melvins sound, it coincided with (on (A) Senile Animal) some of the band’s most hooky songwriting. Though it was a tremendous album, it caught some heat from those who thought the Melvins expansion signaled a decline in quality, and by the time the follow-up, Nude With Boots, was released, even the band’s staunchest defenders were starting to wonder whether the change had been a good idea. With the release of its latest, The Bride Screamed Murder (Ipecac Recordings), the band seems to be wondering what to do with itself. A marked departure from the poppier songwriting of (A) Senile Animal and the uncertain water-treading of Nude With Boots, it’s a monster slab of classic Melvins insanity, of the sort we haven’t really heard from Melvins since Maggot, its first album on Ipecac. From the clamorous opening of “The Water Glass” to a profoundly disturbed cover of the Who’s “My Generation,” this is a Melvins record that isn’t fucking around: The new crew has come in line with the sludgy, irresistible ruckus that Melvins made before their arrival, and that’s a good thing. There are little hints here and there of Flipper and Butthole Surfers, but overall, this is the Melvins being themselves, and that makes it this month’s must-own album.
AWOOOO! Although I was mostly covering the film side of the festival, I was lucky that one of the few bands I caught at this year’s South By Southwest was the Rhode Island doomster quartet Howl. Its set at Full Metal Texas was purely awesome, and it mopped up the beer-sticky Emo’s floor with the rest of the bands in attendance—a pretty awesome feat considering that it was playing alongside the likes of Naam, Born Of Osiris, and Iwrestledabearonce. At the time, I hadn’t heard Howl’s debut EP, but word had leaked out from the Skeletonwitch camp that Howl held its own against one of the most devastating live acts going during its recent East Coast stint. So I had high expectations when Howl’s first full-length, Full Of Hell (Relapse), finally arrived in my inbox. And while it didn’t duplicate the sheer brain-shoving power of the group’s SXSW gig, it’s still a terrific piece of work. Heavy, bossy doom with just enough stoner-fuzz elements to build into something much more crushing, Full Of Hell features enjoyable wacko lyrics, a super-tight songwriting structure, and a solid sound that seems like it’s coming from a much more seasoned band. And if Andrea Black doesn’t instantly become your new favorite female guitarist, you aren’t paying enough attention; her unmistakable chops and Matt Pike-style riffing alone make Howl a force to be reckoned with.
NO POCKY FOR SHARON. There’s been a lot of talk around The A.V. Club lately about the revivification of Ozzfest. But at the risk of offending the sensibilities of the father of heavy metal and his force-of-nature wife, the question these days isn’t whether Ozzfest will survive. The question is why we should care. I’ve been to three Ozzfests, and they were all enjoyable to some degree; even the one-day Dallas extravaganza in 2008 had its moments, though they mostly came on the remote side-stages from bands like Witchcraft and Goatwhore. But the truth is that Ozzfest, which once fulfilled a desperately needed function in the world of live metal, isn’t as needed as it once was. Regional metal festivals are thriving (this year’s New England Metal And Hardcore Festival was one of the best yet, with a stunning lineup ranging from Mastodon and Amon Amarth to the Red Chord, Municipal Waste, and Cattle Decapitation; and Maryland Deathfest VII—coming up later this month—is a bounty of riches, including Defeatist, Jucifer, General Surgery, Gorguts, Melechech, and Krallice, to name just a few). The Summer Slaughter tour has already confirmed some excellent bands for its July kickoff, including Veil of Maya, Cephalic Carnage, and Decaptitated. And Ozzfest’s main competitor, the Mayhem Festival, doesn’t offer much for fans of the underground, but with performers like Rob Zombie, Lamb Of God, Hatebreed, Shadows Fall, In This Moment, and (shudder) Avenged Sevenfold, they risk stealing Ozzfest’s mall-metal thunder. With such a lively festival schedule, and regional scenes able to organize on an unprecedented scale, is there any reason to keep Ozzfest going other than nostalgia?
BIBLE STORIES. Speaking of live performance, a few weeks before I set out on my summer road trip, I was able to check in at Nightrocker Live in San Antonio for a gander at the “Parched In The Western World” tour of Chicago’s Bible Of The Devil. I was less than blown away by its 2008 album Freedom Metal (Cruz Del Sur), but it’s one of those bands with enough energy and conviction to make even mediocre songs sound fantastic onstage. Its set also featured a few pretty fine-sounding new songs from an as-yet-untitled new album, and best of all, samples of Three Floyds Breweries’ “Bible Of The Devil” beer. What could be better than free beer? Well, the opening act, that’s what. On this leg of the tour, BotD was supported by the mighty Slough Feg, which delivered an absolutely searing set made up of new material (much of it drawn from the underrated Ape Uprising!) and old stuff from the Lord Weird days. Bible Of The Devil is way too much fun live for me to say its opening act blew it away, but Slough Feg at least proved that it can hold its own against any metal band any night of the week. The sooner we get a new Slough Feg album, the better.