First appeared - January 31/04
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I guess I’ll start my first article for Virus with an introduction. I’m Bobby. I publish a ‘zine called Paranoize that has been running for 11 years now, and I don’t intend to quit anytime soon. I also occasionally book metal/grindcore/hardcore shows at Dixie Taverne here in New Orleans. Loud, noisy music is my life, and I feel that it is my calling to spread the word about bands that put a smile on my ugly face. With my column in Virus, I’m going to feature interviews with New Orleans, Louisiana hardcore/metal/grindcore/etc. bands, show reviews and pretty much promote the scene here. This first article is a New Orleans scene report. Here we go... Bands: Apartment 213 play straight thrash metal. No pretentious genre-jumping or hardass posturing. They just jam. A 5 song demo is available through the band. Black Mountain have a drummer and 2 bassists, one of which puts the bass down to clog when he’s not singing. They play heavy down-tuned rock. They don’t have anything recorded yet as far as I know. Cancer Patient play doom-y metal with hardcore undertones along the lines of Rwake and Damad/Kylesa. They have a 4 song demo, but no internet contact as far as I know. 2423 Annunciation St. New Orleans, LA 70130 Catholicon are from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and play a mixture of black and death metal. They have an upcoming full length coming out on Baphomet Records. Collapsar are ex-members of Icepick Revival (who had a 3 song ep out on At A Loss Records) from Lafayette, Louisiana. They play technical, spacey instrumentals. They have a 3 song demo available. sensoryoverloadbj@yahoo.com Die Rotzz play snotty, energetic punk rock. they have 2 demos available and a few split 7”s in the works. Dulac Swade play fast hardcore with vocals that are sometimes melodic, other times yelled. They have a 7”, a split cd with Spickle, and several compilation tracks(on Rat Town Records and Paranoize ‘Zine)available. Encompass And Stalemate hail from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and combine hardcore, punk and sludge to create a style all their own. They have a full length cd titled “Abrogator” through Fishfur Records available through the band. A second full length, “pan: traum/trulos”, has been recorded and is being shopped to labels. Eyehategod are pioneers of the sludge movement. They’ve been around over 10 years and have 5 full-length albums, and a split 7” with Soilent Green available. They have been inactive for awhile while guitarist Jimmy Bower has been doing stints with Down, C.O.C., and Superjoint Ritual, but rumor has it that they’re going to be jamming again soon. Face First play fast punk and have a 7” out on Rat Town Records and a split 7” with Hawg Jaw on Meconium Records. The Faeries, play fast thrashy punk along the lines of In/Humanity and Guyana Punch Line. They have an upcoming full length on Yr Screaming Youth Records. Goatwhore play blackened death metal and have 2 full lengths on Rotten Records and a split 7” with Epoch Of Unlight on Bloated Goat Records. Hawg Jaw play a fine mix of sludge and hardcore. They’ve have a full length titled “Believe Nothing” and a split 7” with Manchurian Candidates both on Deep Six Records, a split 7” with Face First on Meconium Records, and an upcoming full length titled “Send Out The Dogs” on Throne Records in Spain. Low Drag plays metal with hardcore overtones. They have been compared to Quicksand and Unsane. Mangina is an experience... Musically, they play fast punk/metal. Their stage show involves 3 guys in corpse paint and capes, (one being the vocalist who wears these short shorts that were once white, but haven’t been washed since the birth of the band about a year ago, a bearded drummer in regular street clothes, fake blood, (which sometimes gets mixed with the vocalists real blood when he falls onto the broken glass) and whatever else gets flung around. They'll have a 7” available soon. Minus Infinity play aggressive thrash metal along the lines of At The Gates and Darkest Hour. They have a few new demo songs available on their website. Outlaw Order feature members of Eyehategod, Hawg Jaw, Soilent Green, and The Faeries. They play sludge with a dose of hardcore. A 7” is available through Southern Lord Recordings. The Pallbearers play fast, sick punk with songs about poop, rotting babies, etc. They’re also involved in b-grade horror flicks through Terror(o)ptics. Go to the Terror(o)ptics site for Pallbearers sound clips, videos, and to purchase the cinematic masterpiece “Attack of the Cockface Killer”. rat in a bucket play intense, chaotic grindcore. Lots of time changes and screamed/growled vocals. They have a demo available and will soon be recording another. The Scripts play loud, bad ass southern punk rock. They have a demo available and will soon be recording for a 7”. Contact thescripts@rocksoffrpm.com for more info. Scrotesque play grindcore with song titles like “maggot infested vaginal milkshake”, “necropedhiliac foreplay”, and “i was molested as a child and all i got was this crappy t-shirt“. Their cd, “Once Upon The Crotch” will be available soon. SkinKrawl play intense, violent metalcore. There is a chance of getting hit by a flying body or a guitar head when they play. They have an old demo with their old line-up available, and a new one on the way. Soilent Green play a mesh of grindcore, death metal and hardcore. They’ve been around since ‘89 and have 3 albums available, one on Dwell Records, and 2 on Relapse Records. Spickle do the heavy instrumental thing. They have 2 cd's out on the defunt Berserker Records label, but can still be found in some distros. Suplecs play stoner rock. They have 2 cd's out.. one on Man's Ruin, who folded a couple of years ago, and another on This Dark Reign records. Their video for "Rock Bottom" has gotten play on MTV2 and they're about to hit the road with Clutch. Valume Nob play old school metal/hardcore crossover stuff. Kinda like Carnivore meets Agnostic Front. They have an old demo available, and a new one has been recorded recently. Now that I’ve covered the bands, I’ll get to the venues, stores, ‘zines, etc. Venues: The Banks Street Warehouse (4820 Banks Street.) is an old warehouse converted into a house/venue. All ages punk/hardcore/emo shows. Bring your own beer if you’re over 21. For more info, go to www.noladiy.org. Checkpoint Charlie has occasional metal/punk shows. They have a strict 21+ policy. Sometimes shows here are free and the band gets a percentage of the bar tab, which explains the overpriced drinks. Circle Bar (1032 St. Charles Ave.) has occasional punk shows. Weird regular crowd, and $1 cans of PBR. Dixie Taverne (3340 Canal Street) has 18+ shows and caters to the punk/metal/hardcore/etc. crowd. Cheap beer ($1 Red Dog), loud music, and dirt! I book shows here occasionally, so contact me if you’re in a grindcore/hardcore/extreme metal band and want a show here. Hi Ho Lounge (2239 St. Claude Ave.)does punk shows and underground hip hop/electronica stuff. Cheap drinks ($1 cans of Shlitz) and smelly patrons! Chances are you’ll see someone with their dog at a show here. Howlin’ Wolf (828 S. Peters St.)is a larger venue where the better known touring bands and local bands that draw a good crowd play. Very overpriced drinks and not much personality. ‘Zines: Paranoize is done by yours truly. I TRY to put this out 3 or 4 times a year, but it doesn’t always work that way. I’ve been doing this for 11 years and have 18 issues out. I cover metal, punk, hardcore, grindcore, sludge, stoner rock, and whatever else I feel is worthy, and always include a cdr featuring a live split or compilation with each issue. Quickdummies covers punk and has been running for 10 years. Apparently, they just put out is their final issue. Record Stores: The Mushroom (1037 Broadway) has a HUGE, cheap used cd section and chances are you’ll walk out of here with at least 2 or 3 cd’s. They also sell shirts, hats, “posters, etc. Rocks Off RPM (4739 Magazine St.) has loads of vinyl, t-shirts, “tobacco pipes” *wink wink nudge nudge* and cd’s. They occasionally have in-store shows there. And that’s all for now. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, recipes, remedies, etc. drop me a line at paranoize@hotmail.com |
