Pelican - Ataraxia/Taraxis

Who knew that Chicago is a hotbed of interesting new metal? Well, NOW you know!Stoner Metal has an appeal that's a bit inexplicable. That's not to say there's no reason I should like it, not at all. In fact, there's something almost comforting in allowing it to carry you along its lumbering groove much like a good buzz (however you may get yours). 

What I find most fascinating about listening to good stoner metal is the imagery it conjures. There's always a very clear mood that it sets for me, like a soundtrack to a movie that's writing itself in my mind as I listen to it; I'm always intrigued by what my mind's eye conjures for me with each instrumental session.

In the case of Pelican's Ataraxia/Taraxis, I am whisked away to a science fiction western where cowboys roam an alien landscape. Okay, maybe I'm crazy, but as it concerns this Chicago quartet, Pelican has wisely eschewed the pigeon-holing that can come from having a singer. The focus is on the music and the mood that it sets.

The Bottom Line: Call it stoner, sludge, or post metal, but you can't deny there's some good heavy and atmospheric grooves all over their latest EP, from the industrial Tangerine Dream opener, Ataraxia, to the dobro-flavored cadence of Taraxis, this is 18+ minutes of trippy jams for a lazy Sunday of gettin' your mind right, dig?

Tracks to Enjoy While You Break In A New Vaporizer: Ataraxia, Lathe Biosas, Taraxis

- Genghis is intrigued by the Ploom Pax...

Hungarian Rhapsody - Queen (Live in Budapest)

It seems like there have been alot of Queen releases over the past year or so, and that is a good thing.  Apparently the boys (May and Taylor) have been scouring through the archives to put out new product.  The latest release is a concert film from the last tour they did, with Freddie Mercury.  The show was shot in Hungary, right after their legendary performance at Live Aid, back in 1986 on the A Kind of Magic tour.  Unfortunately, I was never able to catch the band back in the day, so footage like this is priceless to me.

Hungarian Rhapsody shows the band in top form, ripping through the classics.  The  band was on fire that night and this performance re-affirms why they are such an iconic band.  The package comes with a DVD and 2 CD's.  As one would expect, there are more tracks on the CD's than made it on the DVD, but I'm sure it was a space issue.  Also as a bonus, there is a short documentary included, which features footage from the band from that tour.  The only thing that I found a little disappointing about the film, was the insertion of footage of the band, on their days off, within the flow of the concert.  The archived film footage was cool, but it interrupted the flow of this amazing concert.  Other than that, no complaints.  Queen fans this is a Must!

Bottom Line: One of the last live preformances of the band featuring the late great Freddie Mercury.  A solid show from one of the greatest rock bands ever.

-Ragman is still pissed that he never caught the band back in the day.

Twisted Sister - A Twisted X-Mas - Live in Las Vegas

Originally only available in the Bars to the Stars box set; now A Twisted Christmas - Live in Las Vegas can be yours, by itself, in the CD and DVD format.  Twisted Sister released their metal'd up versions of Christmas classics 6 years ago, and have been heavy-ing up the holidays ever since.  Since the inception of this idea, the band has been making it a tradition to perform around the NY area to spread their form of holiday cheer.  After the success of those shows, the band took their Merriment to Las Vegas for metal Christmas, that fans will not soon forget.  

The band was firing on all cylinders that night, and sound as good as they did back in the day.  The show is Christmas themed, as one would guess, with Dee Snider in full Santa gear.  The set list is a mix of Christmas tunes as well as some classic TS.  The show was filmed well and looks great.  The only problem with the DVD, is the fans seemed pretty lame.  Can't believe people could be sitting down watching this killer show.  Maybe they should of filmed this in Houston, I'm just sayin...  The audio on the CD's is clear and gives you a sense of being at the show.  It was as entertaining watching as well as listening to the CD in the car.  This will be a new holiday tradition in the Ragman household.

Bottom Line: TS showing that they can rock the holidays better than anyone else.  A nice mix of classics and Christmas tunes.  The band sound and look so great, it makes you yearn for some new material.  Maybe, one day.

-Ragman is thinking Santa never looked so scary.

Merry Christmas and HORNS UP!

Like Santa wouldn't be a total shredder if he wanted to play guitar...On behalf of the staff here at The Right To Rock world headquarters in Houston, Texas, I want to wish all of you the happiest of holidays and hope you get to spend time with those you love.

And if you get to do that with a dose of heavy metal and/or good beer then cheers to ya!

With any luck, maybe you got Sir Christopher Lee's awesome album of metal Christmas songs...

- Genghis is considering a glass of egg nog...

Kill Ritual - The Serpentine Ritual

Now *this* is the kind of metal I'm looking for. Rags calls it meat and potatoes, I just call it METAL.Former Imagika members Steven Rice and Wayne DeVecchi were dead set on making an original straight ahead metal band, and found a similar intent in former Eldritch guitarist Roberto Proietti, and former Dark Angel bassist Danyael Williams. The result is Kill Ritual and their impressive debut album, The Serpentine Ritual.

Generally speaking, this is what Ragman would call "meat and potatoes metal", in that it's straight ahead heavy metal, not swinging too far into any particular subgenre. It's not symphonic, but it is satisfyingly dramatic. It's not progressive, but it's got more sophistication than, say, Motörhead. It's not power metal, but it does have moments of gothic bombasticity. Basically, this is the kind of thing you were headbanging to in the late 80s when metal ruled the airwaves with an iron fist.

Vocalist Josh Gibson really tops the sound of the band off with a classic metal voice, usually coming off like a cross between Bon Scott and Vince Neil. You can just picture this band rocking the shit out of clubs all over the place. BONUS: Andy La Rocque plays guest solo on Coat of Blood. Score!

The Bottom Line: This is good old-fashioned heavy metal at its finest, wreathed in smoke, smelling of beer and whiskey, and making it impossible to keep your head from banging and your leg from moving. Swagger, damn you!

Tracks To Make You Consider Getting a Pair of Leather Pants: The Serpentine Ritual, Ambush, Old School Thrasher, and Coat of Blood

- Genghis is an old school thrasher (and he wants metal tonight)...