Heavy Rotation: Fellas of the Belly (Aug. 22)

Bellions! How have you been? It's been too long, eh? I agree. I wish I could say that we were out touring the country getting the hottest interviews and checking out the gnarliest shows music has to offer, but that would be lying. Honestly, we are just lazy. More effort was put into downing courage juice and smoking cancer sticks than anything else. It's true: we suck. Well, unless you were hanging out with us, in which case you were a lucky bastard, since we know how to rock the party into the 15th dimension. At any rate, we are back. And this time I mean it (probably). So turn up the volume on the Slayer album you're probably not listening to right now and get ready for the Rotation!

[Spleen editor's note: Fuck yeah, numbskulls. Turn up those Tommy and the Slayers records!!]

The Hellion:
01. The Misfits - "Static Age"
02. Aus Rotten - "Not One Single Fucking Hit"
03. Angelic Upstarts - "Teenage Warning"
04. Hot Water Music - "Forever and Counting"
05. Sworn In - "Sworn In"
06. Cursed - "III: Architects of Troubled Sleep"
07. Suicide Note - "Empty Rooms"
08. Small Arms Dealer - "Patron Saint of Disappointment"
09. On the Might of Princes - "Sirens"
10. Gaza - "I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die"

Spleen Latifa:
01. Off With Their Heads - "From the Bottom"
02. Celebrity Murders - "Time to Kill Space"
03. Bruce Banner - "I've Had it with Humanity"
04. Jon Cougar Concentration Camp - "'Til Niagara Falls..."
05. Graf Orlock - "Destination Time Yesterday"
06. Screeching Weasel - "Anthem for a New Tomorrow"
07. Heavy Heavy Low Low - "Turtle Nipple and the Toxic Shock"
08. The Curse - "The Curse EP"
09. Lords - "Swords"
10. Teengenerate - "Get Action"

Heavy Rotation: Fellas of the Belly (June 19)

Alright. I know we've been gone for quite some time. We apologize. I mean, it's not our fault that we were out of the country studying the newest way to mass produce hydrogen-fueled cars. Okay, that was a lie. I shouldn't lie to you. But in all honesty, sometimes shit comes up. But we are back and ready to bring the rock you all have been desperately missing. Am I right? I know I am. So to start the glorious return off, let's get to the Heavy Rotation!

The Hellion:
01. Joan of Arc - Boo Human
02. Bad Brains - Bad Brains
03. Gorgoroth - Destroyer
04. Morbid Angel - Blessed are the Sick
05. Ion Dissonance - Minus the Herd
06. The National Acrobat - For All Practical Purposes is Dead
07. Between the Buried and Me - Between the Buried and Me
08. The Dropscience - Dies Tonight
09. Shikari - 1999-2003
10. Jeniferever - Choose a Bright Morning

Spleen Latifa:
01. iwrestledabearonce - iwrestledabearonce EP
02. Spazz - Sweatin' to the Oldies
03. Plow United - The Dustbin of History
04. The Drips - The Drips
05. Kungfu Rick - Motivation to Abuse
06. Screeching Weasel - My Brain Hurts
07. Crimpshrine - Duct Tape Soup
08. Black Army Jacket - Closed Casket
09. Off With Their Heads - Hospitals
10. Assfactor 4 - Sports LP

[Spleen's Editor Note: When the fuck did we hit 13,000 and some views?? .... Awesometown.]

Heavy Rotation: Fellas of the Belly (Apr. 18)

........ annnnnnnnnnnd we're back in Rotation!

We here at the Belly Full of Sorry would like to extend our deepest gnarpologies to thee and thine for leaving you in the lurch for a quite a spell. Sorry you probably had to spin the last Rotation ad nauseam, biting your fingertips into a bloody pulp of anxiety, worrying your hair out that another one might not show up knocking at your door again, and you'd have no idea what you should be listening to... but have no fear, bearfights... The shit is back. And this time it's sticking to the tile.

Spleen Latifa:
01. Whiskey Sunday - Maldecido
02. Los Crudos - Discografia
03. Backstabbers Inc. - Kamikaze Missions
04. Coliseum/Doomriders - Not of this World EP
05. This is My Fist - A History of Rats
06. Capitalist Casualties - Capitalist Casualties
07. Tragedy - Tragedy
08. Scared of Chaka - Crossing with Switchblades
09. Torche - Meanderthal
10. His Hero is Gone - Fifteen Counts of Arson

Featured Live Show: Converge / The Red Chord

4.05.2008 - Reggie's Rock Club - Chicago

Alrighty. To begin, I need to say that the lineup for this show was fucking incredible. Here's the order of gnardeath appearances:

1. Hewhocorrupts
2. Genghis Tron
3. Baroness
4. The Red Chord
5. Converge


So let's do a little play-by-play so all you readers can get a feel for the destruction. As you already saw from the lineup chart I so generously provided, Hewhocorrupts took the stage first. And of course they were fucking awesome. Pounding through their sharkbite set of grind, these fuckers ended up in their underwear by the end of the set. Unfortunately, I missed the opening songs because I was bit late. You know how it goes; gotta get some of the drinky-poos in before you head out to the venue. Side note: I was wasted by the end of this show. Anyway, these guys tore it up from what I did see.


Next up was Genghis Tron. I love these guys. If anyone remembers, I did a "Found You, Asshole" on them awhile back. Made up of three members (a guitarist, a singer, and a guy that handles all the electronics), GT puts on a pretty interesting show. With a backdrop of these creepy, tall light things that flashed along with the music, the trio brought some killer cybergrind for the crowd. They obviously played a lot off of their new album, so a lot of their set was a little slower than the non-stop blastbeats I was looking forward to. But don't fret! They were still incredible. And, they were amazingly tight. I wouldn't have been surprised if they sounded a bit sloppy because of their goofy setup, but they weren't at all. Nice job, fellas.


After GT came the sweetness that is Baroness. With the booze kicking it and the sounds of sludge/psych-metal blaring, I was pretty much in greatest place ever at this point. I want to make note that our new writer GnarHammer was rocking out harder than fuck to these guys, so you know they have to be good. Baroness actually got a chance to play for a pretty decent amount of time. Unfortunately, as is the case with most shows these days, the crowd seemed a little too young to appreciate the complexity of this quartet, so it didn't really get too jumpin' during their set. Most of these little fuckers were just standing around waiting for their moms to pick them up. This was beginning to irritate Psycho Killa, GnarHammer, and myself, and all this would come to a head as The Red Chord took the stage.


I've seen The Red Chord a few times before, and they are always fucking amazing. This was no exception. How can you not get down with their crazy-yet-still-brutal technicality? It's impossible to try and fight it, or so I thought. Remember the kids waiting for mom? Nobody moved. Literally. Nobody. While the band tried to egg the crowd on, these jackholes just stood there in defiant silence. This is when a few of your favorite Bellions went into action. While I am not one who usually thinks hardcore dancing is all that cool, something needed to be done. So we broke that out to the horror of these 15 year old bastards. As complete confusion overtook most of the crowd (Are these kids actually dancing? Mommy!), some people finally figured out that it was okay to break it down to a band that you like. I lost my hat though during this, and that is the only sad part. Oh yeah, and Psycho Killa and GnarHammer BOTH fucked up their ankles pretty bad. That sucked, too. I made it out with just cuts and bruises, but that is because I am super-human.


Converge. What can be said? They are the godfathers of hardcore. They constantly reinvent themselves and push the boundaries of extreme music. Their shows are always top shelf. As expected, they exploded once on stage and put on a pretty good show. I do have to say, however, that I think they get a little sloppier each time I see them. Maybe I am just losing my excitement, since I have seen them about 5,000 times by now. I don't know. They were great, but it was nowhere near the intensity of the first time I saw them. Or the second. Or the third, etc. Maybe it was the venue. I know the crowd had a lot to do with it, as well, but still, I felt a little let down. There was no Jake grabbing peoples' heads and screaming in their faces. In fact, there was really no crowd interaction at all. I don't even know what to think about it. I think I am just going to blame this on the crowd, but I don't know how much I am just forcing myself to think that since I love them so much. I think I just need them to play in the alley behind my apartment before I make a full-on decision.

So all in all, the show was pretty damn good. My entire party of ragers got a little wounded, and the music was great. Plus there was booze, and booze is our lifeblood. I just wish that the crowds at these shows didn't suck so bad all the fucking time. I literally think I am becoming "that guy" that sits around and thinks about how things used to be "back in the old days."

So Sick It Hurts: Unleashed - "Midvinterblot"

*Editor's Note: The following review was sent to me from a new writer who shall be worshiped under the name GnarHammer (now using Old Iron Blood). Hailing from Iceland, this sexy piece of man knows a thing or two about the metal that will have you thrashing into oblivion. Let's give him a warm welcome.*

Góðan daginn, one and all and welcome to my rant about the merits of Scandinavian metal as exemplified by Unleashed, the Lords of Viking Metal with their 2007 release: Midvinterblot. There will be NO arguing or whining about how "great" or "badass" American "metal" is in comparison because such things simply do NOT exist in the face of such UTTER sonic greatness that is Unleashed. It will be as if someone says to a meat eater that eating such fare is no better than eating fibrous vegetable slush. Complete lunacy! If you persist in your futile debate I will have no choice but to call upon Þór to smite you. No Valhalla for you, weakling!

There are few things in this Mortal world that bring happiness to a Norseman's heart besides bedding a fine wench, filling our bellies with ale in celebration of victorious triumphs over our weak enemies, breaking the skulls of said enemies, and doing so to the immortal slaying metal riffs of Unleashed. When the Valkyries themselves bang their long locks in reverence to such awe-some acoustic genocide then you know that you, pathetic weaklings as you are, should slit your wrists out of hopelessness for your so-called "metal" is nothing but the equivalent of sloppy feces. Your only hope is to give up all your ambition and pray, pray to Óðin that you may have a honorable death and not that of a peasant. All hail Óðin!!!

With such reverent lyrics as:
"Let's drink to Þór. The return of the Sun. And to our dead. Yes!
raise your horns. Hail Þór! Drink to remember our dead!
Midvinterblot!,"
the faithful legions of Pagans will start to stand and claim the pit. Watch yourselves, Christians, for we will take our revenge for your ravaging of our culture as described in SALVATION FOR MANKIND:
"YEAH, resurrect so I can vomit on the body of Christ!"
for ours is a culture that is proud and still strong as told in THE AVENGER:
"Upon this land his forefathers walked. The call from the past.
That warms his heart. Decades pass by, the changing of time.
Still there's a fire that burns inside. Óðin!...hear my call!
Óðin!...hear my call!!."
Metal and it's Lord of Lords, Death Metal, was born in the North and no imitation will stand. Eons have passed, but with such Metal Gods as Unleashed stoking the proud fires within with such war cries as:
"On the endless path of war
We may be torn or beat
but we have sworn to stand as one
In victory or defeat.

We are the immortals.
From hell we rise.
We are the immortals.
Death Metal-no compromise

Others follow the winds of change.
You came to swear allegiance.
No conformity at all.
We didn't come to reason",
we will rise in the face of our enemies and claim what's ours. All hail Óðin!!! All hail Þór!!! For Valhöll awaits! May we die in battle with our swords clenched!! All hail!!!

"The age of the commoner is over. The age of the warrior dawns!"

Here's a little video of Unleashed playing "Midvinterblot" live in Holland.

Heavy Rotation: Fellas of the Belly (March 28)

A day late, but not a dollar short... It's the new Heavy Rotation... Now with more conflict! So dig in and be merry.

Spleen Latifa:
01. F.Y.P. - Incomplete Crap
02. The Suicide File - Some Mistakes You Never Stop Paying For
03. Buzzkill - House of Bad Touch
04. Jesuseater - Step Inside My Death Ray
05. Various Artists - Deathwish Inc: Fighting Music Vol. 2
06. The Company Band - Sign Here, Here, & Here
07. Trial by Fire - Ringing in the Dawn
08. Once Nothing - First Came the Law
09. Untitled Music Project - Untitled Music Project
10. Ceremony - Scared People EP

The (Really Late*) Hellion:
01. Leatherface - "Minx"
02. Dead Kennedys - "Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables"
03. 13 & God - "13 & God"
04. Sixtoo - "Jackals and Vipers in Envy of Man"
05. N.W.A. - "Straight Outta Compton"
06. Fifteen - "Lucky"
07. War from a Harlot's Mouth - Transmetropolitan"
08. The Hope Conspiracy - "Death Knows Your Name"
09. Mice Parade - "Mice Parade"
10. Blood Brothers - "Crimes"

*Sorry I am so late. It was a shitty week.

So Sick It Hurts: Cloak/Dagger - "We Are"

I'm about to throw out a statement that might shake a few of you uninitiated to the core, so prepare yourself... Ready?... I honestly think Richmond's blitzkrieg known as Cloak/Dagger have quite possibly made one of the best records of 2007, one of the best punk/hardcore records of the last two decades... and maybe even (and time will tell) one of my favorite records of all time.

I know, I know... that's three extremely heavy statements to just throw out there about a first full-length record by a band that's still earning their stripes on the road, pounding the pavement like good American hardcore purists. BUT seriously, go pick up this 14-song bomb-blast of energy and intensity and see for yourself. These cats will rock your fucking face off, then hop in their van and leave you in a cloud of sweat and dust. Just like when I found Career Suicide, there was instant shock to my system of that refreshing original hardcore sound I missed out on cuz I was born during its heyday. And I still think I'd give my left arm to be able to be 15 or 16 in 1980.

Follow me here, this single album makes me wanna yell along to the lyrics, kick random people who walk too slow on the sidewalk, rock out air-band style like there's no tomorrow, spit in the face of every physical incarnation that exists solely to keep me in a rut or cause frustration, smash anything that resembles authority, give the finger to meaningless existence, and just flat-out dance around like a nutbag... All the things that drew me into the '80s hardcore fold so wholeheartedly. This album is pure, unbridled angst and urgency, and it should not be ignored... "They Are" definitely powerful shit.

Cloak/Dagger - "Set the Alarm", ""Runways", "Bended Knee", and "Kamikazes" (Live at The Fest 6, Gainesville, FL)

Heavy Rotation: Fellas of the Belly (March 21)

It's March motherfuckin' 21st! Just kidding, there's no need to celebrate such an arbitrary date. Oh wait, you're getting the Rotation! Celebrate, ragers!

The Hellion:
01. Witch Hunt - "...As Priorities Decay"
02. The Clash - "London Calling"
03. Unpersons - "III"
04. Zann - "Three Years in the Desert"
05. Lords - "Swords"
06. The Vandals - "Peace Thru Vandalism/When in Rome Do as the Vandals"
07. NOFX - "Punk in Drublic"
08. My Lai - "Learn, Forget, Relearn"
09. Usurp Synapse - "Disinformation Fix"
10. Fifteen - "Lucky"

Spleen Latifa:
01. A Girl A Gun A Ghost - Through the Eyes of Ahab
02. Small Brown Bike - Dead Reckoning
03. Leatherface - Mush
04. Blues - Death and Taxes EP
05. Off With Their Heads/Four Letter Word - One for the Road EP
06. Whiskey Sunday - Maldecido
07. Be Your Own Pet - Get Awkward
08. The Misfits - Evilive EP
09. Career Suicide - Attempted Suicide
10. Eternal Lord - Blessed Be this Nightmare

So Sick It Hurts: Suicide Silence - "The Cleansing"

Suicide Silence wants to destroy you. Go ahead, ask them. I bet they won't deny it. Do they achieve this? Well, if they didn't, they wouldn't be so sick they hurt, now would they?

These fellas really do bring a pretty brutal experience to the table. For that, I say nice job. I've listened to this album quite frequently lately because I have been in the mood for something punishing. I am never disappointed by letting this bad boy take care of that thirst. While there are sludgier/breakdown parts, most of the album tears through the speakers with aggression depicted through speed. It's nice because the sound of the overall music has a place outside most of the cliche shit that bands have been putting out lately. Plus, there are death vocals. I love death vocals. They make me feel good inside.

I would certainly say this album is one of the better metal records I've heard recently, so you'd be doing yourself an injustice by not checking it out. It will pretty much just bash your head in. I, for one, love having my head bashed. You may want to check out their self-titled EP as well.

Here's the official video for "The Price of Beauty." Rage on!

How 'bout an Interview, Dummy: Josh Scogin of The Chariot

So the nice gentlemen at Metal Injection allowed your friendly neighborhood Spleen Latifa to help out on another juicy little bit of awesometown. And this time it was in the form of an interview with Josh Scogin -- the man, the myth, and the legend behind the always-entertaining bruisers, The Chariot. Check out the video below for the interview the Spleen conducted for MI's site, and also click here for a handful of live clips of The Chariot and Poison the Well from the concert, as well as a shitty sound-quality interview with Chris from PTW. Oh, and don't be frightened... that is the mighty Spleen in the video, MI just made him come up with the fake commoner's name "Sean" to avoid confusion with the Bellicus Fulleron of Hellicus!

Spleen Latifa interviews Josh Scogin on Metal Injection