Witches Mark - Witching Metal Ritual

Someone pinch me, because, I think I've been transported back to 1982.  That is the way I felt, when I put in the new CD from Witches Mark.  This band has a sound that hearkens back to the good ole days.  Taking inspiration from bands like, Slayer, Venom and Omen, these guys have a formula that will get you scurrying off, to find your denim jean jacket.  Witches Mark is rooted in that classic traditional metal sound, with a dark edge.  If someopne would have told me this came out in the early 80's I would have believed them, because the production and the style of the songs are very reminiscent of early 80's metal.

Witching Metal Ritual has a nice variety of rockers and thrashers, with a slew of guest appearances.  Most notably, Jason McMaster (Dangerous Toys and Broken Teeth) and Ross the Boss (Ex-Manowar) make contributions, but unfortunately that wasn't enough to make this one a stellar release.  Even though I liked the majority of the CD, I thought that it could have been better, had the prodcution been stronger.  The songs were there, but they sounded dated, due to the production.  As I stated earlier, this band's roots are in classic metal, but that doesn't mean that they have to sound, as dated as they do.  Don't get me wrong, there are some solid tunes on this record and it was a fun listen, but I just think, they could benefit more, by not sounding so dated.

Bottom Line:  A new band showing their colors, by honoring classic metal.  Tight songs that will get the blood pressure up.  A new band that sounds old.

Standout Tracks: We Die, Cauldron Born, Swarm and Glaves.

-Ragman is looking for his denim vest to model for wifey. 

Fear the Forest

Fear the Forest isn't the worst movie I have seen in awhile, but it wasn't the best either.  It is one of those movies, that after you see it, you say it was so/so.  As you might have guessed, it is a B-Movie with all of the attributes.  It has classic bad acting and poor special effects, but to add insult to injury, the monster in this flick, looks like something from Where the Wild Things Are or even worse, H.R. Puff N Stuff.  I have to admit, I was laughing out loud when they showed the monster, supposedly ripping people to shreds.  The monster looked ridiculous.

The story is about a monster like figure, that is supposed to be Big Foot, that occupies the mountains in up-state New York.  There have been many unsolved mysteries of deaths in the woods, which were blamed on Big Foot or some mysterious being.  The long and short of it, is that some 20 something's, decide to make a camping expedition in these very hills and slowly get knocked off 1 by 1.  The movie wasn't too bad, but it did drag in spots.  A little too long, if I must say.  Also, the gore factor was way too tame for me.  This was the unrated version too, so I expected more, but didn't get it.  It could have been PG-13, easy.  Other than that, it was a fun watch.

Bottom Line:  Even though the creature looked like a wild boar on steroids, this one still held my attention.  Although I was never startled, at least I got a good laugh.

-Ragman is still chuckling at the monster, in this one.  Gold, Jerry, Gold.....

MOLD - You Breathe, You Die.

Mold is about an experiment, gone terribly wrong.  In the 80's, at the height of the war on drugs, a group of military scientist were given the task, of creating something to kill off, all of the coca fields.  Well, they created a mold spore, that would attack the evil plants, but it was also toxic to humans.  As the scientists are testing their mold spores, on lab rats, a decanter breaks and infects one of the scientist's.  It goes downhill from there.  The scientist turns into a mold infected zombie, and starts attacking the rest of the group.  It is not only himself, but as the others walk into areas, where the spores have been released, they get infected as well.  I guess you can pretty much figure it out from there.

Mold was fairly entertaining, which is more than I can say about some of the other flicks I've checked out lately.  It is a B-movie, with cheap effects, but that is what makes these movies entertaining.  The challenging part, is having a storyline strong enough, to overpower the bad acting and silly effects.  Mold's storyline was good, not great, but strong enough to keep my interest.  The acting and effects were bad, but it was still a pretty fun watch.

Bottome Line: This one ain't gonna make it on Fangoria's top 10 list this year, or mine for that matter, but it will stay safe from becoming a coaster.

-Ragman thought when he sneezed, he saw some mold.  Nah, just a big bugger.

Aerosmith - Rock For the Rising Sun (BluRay)

Rock For the Rising Sun, is a concert film documenting Aerosmith's tour of Japan, after the Tsunami in 2011. Even though the band band had been told not to go, they decided to forge on to Japan.  The DVD is a mix of live and behind the scenes footage of the band, during their visit to the land of the rising sun.  The live footage was comprised from various stops on the tour, featuring an impressive set list, which includes all of their hits as well as some classics gems.  The show looks amazing and the band sounds great.  This is one of those BluRay's that gives you a sense of being in the first row.  Aerosmith doing what they do best, putting on one of the best live show in rock n roll.  This one's a keeper.

Bottom Line: Even though the band fights, in the media, like cats and dogs, they can still somehow pull it together, to put on a stellar live performance.  The band look and sound great and prove why they are still one of the greats. 

-Ragman enjoyed this DVD, more than he did their last performance in H-town.

Podcast #154: Hiatus

Our main man from Cali, Tracy G, is working on some sweet projects as always, so listen up!Call off the search parties, Genghis & Ragman have returned from their yearly sabbatical to bring you the latest in all things metal.  Join the boys as they catch up with news, share stories of awkward run-ins with their favorite artists, and deal with the mounting muffin-related issue of having Bane working in the studio with John. Also, catch up with our boy, the one and only Tracy G, who gives us a little preview of one of his many projects, The Robot Lords of Tokyo, and other cool stuff. So, pour a cold one and kick your feet up, cuz the summer's coming to a close and the lads are back in the saddle again...

DVD of the Show:  Jorn Lande - Live In Black

Beer of the Show: Matilda (Goose Island Brewery)
	Appearance: 3.5 Aroma: 3.0 Palate: 3.5 Taste: 3.5 Overall: 3.5	"Goose Island debuts on the show with a nice Belgian Strong Pale Ale that tastes amazing."

Featured Music: Paradox - Day of Judgement; Jorn Lande - We Brought The Angels Down; In The Silence - Serenity; Beatallica - She Came In Through The Bathroom Window; Robot Lords of Tokyo - Great Escape and Broken; Pearl - Mama

Classic of the Show: Raven (with Udo Dirkschneider) - Born To Be Wild

Ragman's Sponsor Pick of the Show: Kingdom Come - God Does Not Sing Our Song

Genghis' Sponsor Pick of the Show: Kamelot - Ashes to Ashes

Ragman's Pick of the Week: Stratovarius - Halcyon Days

Genghis' Pick of the Week: Coma - Don't Set Your Dogs On Me

- Genghis *finally* got around to mixing this show...

Podcast #154: Hiatus