this one

Hey everybody! Well, summer is finally over and fall is now upon us. Sweet, I get to break out the fall metal wardrobe! I hope everybody had a great time at louder than life. I know I did. What a show! Wow. Yes it was only one festival, but at least I got to see one BIG Festival show this year thanks to Danny Wimmer and Co (see Full Review Below) . I saw Shinedown not long ago, but it wasn't the same! DWP no doubt saved this year by having the balls to continue on with the show! I love that!

These are definitely some weird times we are living in, and I don't like it one bit. In normal times I would've probably seen and reviewed about 20 or 30 shows this year already. But other than that, it hasn't been a bad time at all. I've had a good time regardless, finally jamming again/

There hasn't really been too much going on locally except for maybe a few shows here and there. I went to see the Stones Tribute again at Billiards, Two Pump Chump at Khalil's, and Theatre Of Crue again at Street Grubs N' Hops, but I haven't done much else. I have not got out to see MG's Prime Time Café yet, or The Enchanted Forest, but I would like to soon! I just don't have a lot of time anymore with the band, my column, and all this mandatory overtime I've been working for the last seven months. It's tough, but I can hang! If I can work all day long and then go to louder than life, I'm a pretty bad MFer! I was fucked up the next day, but I did it! Aye aye aye.

Some funny shit did happen at Louder Than Life though. I was at the bathrooms, waiting for my buddy to come out, when my extremelynarcissist, alcoholic ex-girlfriend comes up to me all drunk n' bloated looking, complementing me left and right on losing the weight, and basically kissing ass trying to smooth things over- acting as though she never cheated on me or played her sick/abusive narcissist games. One word - Psh!

I took extreme pleasure in letting her know exactly how I felt, by refusing to converse and ultimately walking off right in the middle of her talking. I was already having a great time that day, but that shit made it exquisite! Usually I'm not shitty like this, but sometimes in life you meet really horrible people that fully deserve karma just like this. It took a while for her mask to crumble, but I now fully 100% see why her ex wanted to keep her son away from her. He was right. They all were!

Honestly, I had never dated a narcissist before so this whacked out insane behavior threw me for a loop, for a minute. A loop that I had to get myself out of, for my pride and for the sake of my own sanity. The good news is that I had the strength and willpower to do just that, and go No Contact (despite repeated attempts to contact me), and since then I have studied extensively on the subject, and I can say I am pretty much an expert on Narcissism now. I urge any of you dealing with this Personality Disorder, to cut ties immediately and flat out run! For there is no happy or successful endings with these remorseless people devoid of shame. It's a one way dead end road leading off into a bottomless pit of misery. Save yourself as I have done. You are worth more. And you DO have the strength!

Well, that's it for me this month! Sorry I don't have more, but it's still Covid o'rama around here, and there still isn't a lot happening. No new music to promote, no new videos, not much of anything. And I have an earache like a MFer and it freaking hurts, so I'm cutting this shit short. Honestly, I'm just waiting on Christmas break, so I can do something cool outtatown. I need another break! Gatlinburg ain't cuttin' it! Who knows where I will end up! You know me and my vacations.

In the meantime, come and see me play! Saturday, October 30, the Deadmans Ball at Louisville Billiards! A Big Halloween Bash with Native Sons, The Dirty Dollz and my band Year Of The Gun! It's also Sandy Beitlers Bday Bash!

Dress up, it should be a good time! I'm sure more bands will be added soon, so look up and follow Year Of The Gun on Facebook for more info as it nears showtime! I've plugged you bastages for decades, so you should definitely return the favor and give me some love dammit.

Eddy needs love too. Peace beetchez.

The Metal Grapevine

Louder Than Life 2021 Review:

Well, another year of LTL is in the books, and I must say, I had a great time! Everyone had a great time, and was happy to be out and enjoying life once more. You could see it on everyones faces. It was like being in prison for a year and a half, and suddenly you get to go home to a party with all your friends and family. Yes, life is good.

I had heard rumors that it was going to be cancelled, but thank god, that did not happen. Danny Wimmer and Co pulled it off, and I give them a two thumbs up for the effort in keeping things alive. I had to work Thursday, so I didn't get to the show till 5 P.M right on the nose, just in time to see Anthrax! I was hurrying and stressing like a MFer to get there in time to see one of my childhood faves in action. After battling traffic and a boss who kept us late that day, I finally made it there right as Anthrax hit the stage! I had heard that singer Joey Belladonna (who once called my house for a telephone interview, and was truly a sweet humble guy. Imagine your idol calling your house to talk to you!) wasn't sounding that good of late, and that was why my friend wasn't that interested in seeing them that much. I knew it was BS from the get-go! Anthrax hit the stage like a tsunami!

The first song is the classic barnburner "Caught In A Mosh," then "Got The Time," "Madhouse," "I Am The Law," "Antisocial" and "Indians.' The band was tight AF! And the guitar leads were ripping like never before since the departure of Dan Spitz, thanks to new guitarist Jonathan Donais, formerly of Shadows Fall. I did not even know he was in the band! I still thought Rob Caggiano was still on lead! I am happy to report that he is not! Rob's a great guitarist mind you, but I think Jon fits in much better. But hey, that's just me! A guitarist who has opened for many national acts! So I know my shit!

So, yeah, the leads were off the hook oldschool, Joey's vocals were the best in years, and I've seen them a lot, even once hanging out onstage with Black Frank while they played at Bogart's. A riot almost happened that night because someone threw a lighter and hit Charlie Benante in the nose mid-song)! Great times and memories with Anthrax! It's great to see them still busting head after all these years. Those fellas sure don't act like some old fogies, or sound like it either. In Fact, they impressed a lot of people (I saw it on peoples faces and talked to several for their opinion. I do that a lot! I like to convey what the general consensus is), and surely gained a bunch of new younger fans with this fine performance!

Anthrax is alive and well. They are like Clint Eastwood's character in Gran Torino. Old and battleworn, but will still fuck you up bad! Great show guys! And you picked the perfect mofo in Jon Donais! Dawg was killin' it! Honestly, I loved Shadows Fall and Jon's guitar playing, but that singer was doo doo, so that killed it for me. Now a missing piece to the Anthrax guitar puzzle has been found. Scott, Joey, Frank, Charlie, keep this guy!

Beartooth came on next, and they were good, but it really did nothing for me. It sounds like every other newer metal band on the planet. They played an okay set of decent material, the last three were the best. The little instrumental piece at the end was cool with the drum part and all. Seems like they haven't decided if they want to be brutal, punk, or poppy. Catchy choruses, chunky guitars, and decent groove, though! There is definitely talent there, but to an old grump like me, it left me kinda flat. Were they deserving of this timespot? I don't think so. I wouldn't have wanted to follow Anthrax! I went to get some dinner during the middle part of their set. I worked all day, I was hangry!

Cypress Hill was fun.

So, I\'m not used to this kinda show, but in the end it was a fun little dealio designed for the stoner in everyone. The sounds were huge! The sound system this night was off the chain! Loud and clear as ever! The bass was bumpin\', and the drums playing along with everything really made it a cool show! That drummer for Cypress Hill, Eric Bobo, was off the chain! He was playing salsa and carribean sounding stuff on his way cool drum solo backed by DJ Muggs throwing the sounds his way. He went off! He showed what was up in the skills department. I like how he mixed several drum styles into one stoners delight performance. I always thought the vocals of Cypress Hill were whiney and kinda odd, but it works. They rapped and hip hopped their way through a fun filled journey through California hiphop history. Their vocal delivery and timing was flawless. I don\'t know nothing about that music, but it was still fun, and it was different for me! I loved it! I didn\'t think I would like it because I am a guitarist and I love instrument playing, but the vocals, DJ's, drummer, and that monster bass pumping action made it enjoyable fo sho. My buddy filled me in on some song titles, thank god! They played "Roll It Up, Light It Up," Smoke It Up, that 'Hits From The Bong," "Insane In The Brain" and "Jump Around." And boy did the kids jump around. It was great seeing everyone happy, including me. Thanks to LTL I got to see something I usually don't see, and I liked it. The smell of weed in the crowd was also off the chain. Some of that shit smelled like a skunk's vagina, with a yeast infection! I bet five miles away mofos outside were smelling weed during the time Cypress hill played. The stoners sure loved Cypress Hill, too. I bet the food sales doubled after their set!

Staind came on and did well. Duh! That *** Aaron Lewis is retarded good! He sounded great, but I think he sounded better at the last LTL. That night he was in rare form and stole the show. This night he was merely good. No complaints at all though, as he cranked out hit after hit, as all the women in the crowd got all worked up over this guy. Yes, he is an amazing performer, and writes great – and beautiful – love songs. The band was tight, and guitar tones were good, the bass was pumping for their several bass intros they use! So many good hits it's not even funny! They played – "Eyes Wide Open," "Fade," "Right Here," "Outside," "So Far Away," ""For You," "It's Been Awhile" and ended the night with a blistering offering of "Mudshovel."

I could see this band countless times and not get bored, and have! There's just something about a beautiful song that really has meaning, and you can tell that from just hearing the vocals and the emotion in his voice. It's special.

Not everyone can write great song after great song. But Aaron Lewis can, and he has done very well for himself as a musician. My hats off to you, brother. You always perform well, and your music is appealing to many folks in all walks of life. I love Anthrax and Slayer, but I still like and respect Aaron's mellower tuneage. Great set!

Korn! Don\'t kill me, but I've never been a big Korn fan. I know I know.

Blasphemy! Yeah,`yeah,` yeah. I do like their music and some of their songs, it's not like I hate them or anything, I just wasn't into them as much as everyone else I reckon. Love them or not, there is no denying the energy, tone, and pounding grooves that come with seeing pro's like this in action. That bass tone is sick AF! Fieldy has his own bass tone that I love. Those Eden amps are badass. I thought of buying one just because of Fieldy's tone! It's crushing! The guitar attack of Munky was nu metal to the core with those downtuned monster riffs. He has his own style, that's for sure! Melodic and heavy all at once.

Jonathan Davis is quite the frontman as he worked his way through a long, tiring set. He looked good. He was thinner it seems. And he tried like hell to do the best vocals that he could. He did a fine job! I admire vocalists that try to reproduce their vocals exactly like the CD. As far as I can tell, he was one of those vocalists, for it was very, very close! Impressive!

I also like the way he does the bagpipes thing. That was always cool. The kids really love Korn, so they were very active during their set, crowdsurfing and all. The band played "Falling Away From Me," "Cold," "Shoots And Ladders," "Clown," " You'll Never find Me," "Coming Undone," "Freak On A Leash," "Twist," "A.D.I.D.A.S" and last but not least, "Blind." – My faves of the set was "Shoots And Ladders" and "A.D.I.D.A.S." A crushing set from a darn good and revolutionary band that started a genre. Powerful and thunderously groovin'.

By this time, I was wore out, physically and mentally. Thank god it rained for days before this show, so that kept the dust at bay this fine day. We fans got lucky! I wasn't filthy this time when I got home! But, when we were walking to my car after the show, I stepped into a hole in a field, and it kinda messed me up a bit. And no, I was not drunk! I only drank about 5 or 6 beers, all day!

Anyways, my left leg muscle was strained or something. That hurt when I got home! So unfortunately I was unable to attend Friday or Saturday. Yes, I missed Metallica, Killswitch and Gojira. It sucked, but I had to rest that leg for the day I was looking forward to the most, Sunday!

Sunday came around and my leg was feeling much better, thank god! So we headed up to the show and got there right about the time when The Hu went on.

The Hu is a mongolian metal band that uses Mongolian instrumentation, and a vocal style pretty much unknown to most folks here. I'm weird and know all about it. I can actually do some Mongolian Throat Singing! I used to piss off my ex when I did it, so I sang that shit often! I can't really describe this bands music other than to say it sounds epic, and very strange, and cool! I loved it! I have been wanting to see them for a few years now, and now I have! Those instruments they were playing looked crazy expensive, and were adorned with jewels and stones, and jems, and they sound awesome! I don't know what it is, but I've been into odd instruments these last few years and hearing that stuff is so cool! These ancient Chinese folk instruments echo throughout the ages, and the war cries, and chants are almost hypnotizing/entrancing. I know not the songs except for two titles, which were "Wolf Totem" and the Metallica cover "Sad But True." Bringing this act to LTL was a great idea! Different, and extremely cool to hear other culture's music redone this way. Awesome!

Pennywise and Skillet came on, both were decent bands, but neither did anything for me, so we walked around a bit and checked out the sights.

Seether came on and tore it up. I can't say enough about this band from South Africa. Such wonderful musicians, and very nice guys to boot. I had the pleasure of meeting them a few times, and you couldn't met any nicer people. No ego. No holier than thou attitudes. Just good folk.

Plus they always sound fantastic! I've never heard them sound bad. They write great songs like Staind does, too. Shaun Morgan blew his amp up halfway through the set, and he was upset at that (I blew mine up too not long ago. It sucks!) and complained that he wouldn't have awesome guitar tone now. But it sounded pretty good to me when they hooked the backup amp up, and it wasn't that much of a difference, in my opinion. Guitarists do get used to that signature sound though, and using a different amp creates doubt, for sure, so I get it! But the vocals sounded great, the guitars were good, the drums and bass were fat, they let loose and put on one hell of a set! It's been awhile since I had seen them. They played "Let You Down," "Fine Again," "Country Song," "Rise above This," "Bruised and Bloodied," "Wasteland," "Dangerous," "Fake It" and ended the set with their biggest hit "Remedy."

Shaun Morgans voice is almost as good as Aaron Lewis's. I'm glad Seether was playing this night. It made for an interesting mixture of different styles all compiled into one badass show. Great addition.

Breaking Benjamin replaced Mudvayne. I really wanted to see Mudvayne! I was bummed when I heard they canceled. Breaking Benjamin is good, but I've seen them a lot, and I heard he was a douche nugget. They do play well, and have some decent songs that they played like "Dark," "I Will Not Bow," "Never Again," "Breath," "Blow Me Away," "So Cold," "Polyamorous," "Angel's Fall," "Failure," "Torn In Two" and of course "The Diary Of Jane." My faves were "Diary" and "I Will Not Bow."

Benjamin may be a douche nugget, but he can sing well, and he writes good tunes. He sounded good this night as he made the most of this last minute, badass show that makes Kentucky history. His rhythm guitarist even sang a song or two (he did well), and should get credit for giving Benjamin a little rest on the ol' vocal cords. I like the clean tones of the guitars that BB uses so much. Very clear and the effects are beautiful! The crowd didn't seem to mind that BB was there instead of Mudvayne, but the heavier music lovers were no doubt not to happy about it. Like I said, I've seen them a lot, and heard a lot about dude, so I'm really not a huge fan, but they are a good band, and deserved this shot. I was ready for Priest, to be honest.

Judas "fucking" Priest. This made my whole weekend. First having to work thursday, then seeing the last MFer I ever wanted to see, and then pulling a muscle later that Thursday night, all led up to this!

Judas Priest is my favorite band of all time. It's not even close. I first saw them in 1979 opening for KISS, my very first rock band I ever saw! People have sorta wrote them off as old lame-o's, but on that sunday night, Louisville got a historic lesson in what heavy metal is all about! Sadly, founding guitarists Glen Tipton and K.K. Downing are no longer with the band (K.K. should be!) but they have the very capable Ritchie Faulkner and Andy Sneap on guitar duties now. Let's face it, it's very hard to replace two guys who invented the double-guitar, heavy metal attack. Yes, they fucking invented it!

Glen Tipton and K.K. Downing are the Jedi masters, and these young whippersnappers they have now are the young Jedi padawans learning the ways of the Force. And they are off to a damn good start! It was a double-guitar attack from hell. Shredding that left jaws on the gravel ground. The young Jedi's did themselves proud, even Glen and K.K. would say so. It was no techincal classic creator like Glen, or no whammy bar heaven by K.K., but it was still freaking awesome. The band played a set of blistering heavy tracks, and left out all the cheesy radio hits this time, which made me very happy. I have never seen them do that! It was great! I never really liked the radio hits because Priest always had so much better music than those few cornball commercial tracks. They played "One Shot At Glory," "You've Got Another Thing Coming," "Freewheel Burning," "The Green Manalishi," "Turbo Lover," "Hell Patrol," "The Sentinel," "Victim Of Changes," "Hell Bent For Leather" and "Painkiller." Rob's highs were incredible. How did he pull those notes off the way he did? I thought he would skip them, or go down an octave or two, but he didn't cheat. He nailed it! Rob was in fine form this night, and the fans were very impressed. Even younger folk were like "what the hell!" My faves were "The Sentinel," "Victim Of Changes" and "Painkiller." Indeed, after the show the internet was flooded with how great J.P. sounded, and the metal lesson they gave all these younger bands. "This is how you do it!" The shredding leads, the unreal drums of Scott Travis, the bassgod Ian Hill, and the soaring vocals of the living legend Rob Halford. He may be old, but he still has it. He sounded the best I've heard in years. Unfortunately, guitarist Ritchie Faulkner had a heart attack onstage right after "Painkiller," so I hear, and had to have immediate heart surgery. Thank god he is now okay and recovering. Get well soon brother! Ritchie is a great guitarist, and great fit to replace K.K., and that is very hard for me to say being a huge K.K. fan, so that is a huge compliment coming from me. Priest destroyed at LTL, and I thank DWP for giving these guys the chance to shine in my hometown once again! Truly awesome! And Kirk Hammet of Metallica joined JP onstage for "The Green Manalishi," which was cool!

Metallica! The final band of this killer festival. I have been a fan since Ride The Lightning! I saw Cliff Burton play with them at Cardinal stadium in ‘86! We go way back!

I've seen them numerous times. They ripped into a long-ass set of classics such as "Hardwired," "The Four Horsemen," "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)," then they played the whole Black Albumin entirety, songs like "Nothing Else Matters," Through The Never," "The Unforgiven," "Sad But True" and "Enter Sandman." For an encore, they played ""Blackened" and "Creeping Death." – They sounded good. James' vocals are James' vocals. He does a decent job for what he does. You gotta figure he is also playing some really hard shit to play, so I cut him some slack on that. I couldn't do it! Playing shit that fast, with muted picking, and singing at the same time?

Shit, he is a badass! Kirk was killing it on guitar as usual. I do have one complaint. What the hell was up with Lar's drum sound? It sounded like crappola. You could barely hear it! And he was playing all soft and ladylike.

It was like an eight-year-old girl was playing drums and trying not to wake up the folks! With the badass guitar and bass going full on strong, the drums were left kinda flat and weak if you ask me. I dunno. That shit should have been pounding! It's Metallica! Not Journey! But after hearing Judas Priest's drums, and Halford's vocals, Metallica fell a little short on these old ears. I'm not a fan of the Black album. There's a few good songs, but to me Metallica is Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets! It was a good set, and a good time though, and I was happy to be a part of all of it, and to be there covering the event as usual. An amazing time. I just wish I could have seen Friday and Saturday's show, but a pulled leg muscle kept me away. Sucked! I missed the Machine Gun Kelly fiasco. That would have been epic! Some funny shit indeed, but he deserved it. Lil' punkass beeyatch.

Thanks again to Danny Wimmer and their wonderful staff for making this happen in my hometown. You guys will always have my support and the support of Louisville Music News! It was about time someone did this here. And it worked out for everybody involved, except maybe MGK.

See you next year! Iron Maiden please!

Hairball Coming to Louisville:

This internationally touring tribute band is supposed to be one of the best in the world, so we will finally see what all the commotion is about! They are finally coming here, and I'll be reviewing/photographing the shit. This sounds like a lot of fun. And we get to see one of Hairball's newest members, Louisville native Dave Moody, in action doing some AC/DC. Congrats to Dave. What an accomplishment. I'll see all of you hair rockers there in full Eighties attire! Wyld Ryde will be opening the show.

LRSFEST:

Saturday, October 2 at the Brown Forman Amphitheater in Waterfront Park – featuring Winger, Plush, Americandream Machine, Anemic Royalty, Native Sons, City Awake, Runaway Souls, Amongst Vultures, Scrooge Mandela and Skipping Stone. Comics! And all manner of entertainment. Check it out. Support original music!

Mountains of Metal:

This sounds like a rockin' good country metal show! Located at 420 Urban Rd in London Kentucky on Saturday October 2. Bands to play are Kyarn, Stormtoker, Eulogy In Blood, Joe Grudge, The human tragedy, Black Star Rising, Eternal Burial, Nekrowinter, Cursed Imagery, Music and others! Music starts at 12 P.M. Be there! I wish I was playing this!

Musician Of The Month for October is Bassist Jimmy Payne of central KY's Sunset Blonde:

Be sure to check out his feature this month!

Upcoming Shows

21rst Amendment Tavern

Saturday, October 30 – Sick Little Things and Stolen Prayer.

Air Devils Inn

Friday, October 8 – Untold Rellik.

Friday, October 15 – The Sky Below and Chris Williams.

Friday, October 29 – Luther, Jim Harrelson and The Crosswalks.

AJ's Place (Glasgow KY)

Saturday, October 23 – 3DR.

Barrel Room (Shelbyville KY)

Friday, October 22 – Untold Rellik.

Baxter's

Friday, October 29 – The Swerve.

Captains Quarters

Sunday, October 3 – Freddy and The Cruegers.

Derby City Gaming

Friday, October 15 – The Swerve

Diamonds St Matthews

Saturday, October 30 – Some Kind Of Saint.

Diamond Concert Hall

Friday, October 1 – Cold.

Thursday, October 7 – Attila w/ Jynx and Dead Crown.

Wednesday, October 13 – Local H.

Tuesday, October 19 – Imperial Triumphant w/Pyrrhon.

Wednesday, October 20 – Raven w/Blood and Steel.

Monday, October 25 – The Last Ten Seconds Of Life w/ Filth.

Tuesday, October 26 – Dying Fetus, Terror and Brand Of Sacrifice.

Saturday, October 30 – Kleavr X Tantrum.

Tuesday, November 16 – The Brummies.

Headliners Music Hall

Thursday, October 28 – Runaway Souls.

Wednesday, November 24 – Thunderstruck and Wyld Ryde.

Highlands Tap Room

Monday, October 18 – Mothrog and Church Girls.

Joe\'s Older Than Dirt

Saturday, October 2 – SoundstationAlpha

Log Still Distillery (Gethsemane KY)

Saturday, October 9 – Better Than Ezra and Shovelhead.

Louisville Billiards

Friday, October 1 – Gravel Switch and Zeroking (WV)

Saturday, October 2 – Skipping Stone.

Saturday, October 30 – The Deadman's Ball/Sandy Beitler's Bday, Bash – Native Sons, Year Of The Gun and The Dirty Dollz. Costume Party! 6 P.M.

Malabu Pub and Grill (Lexington KY)

Friday, October 29 – Graveyard Romeos.

Mercury Ballroom

Friday, November 12 – Sebastian Bach.

MG's Primetime Cafe

Saturday, October 16 – Saliva w/ Flaw, Hostile Victim, Sister Killcycle, Mr Lugosi, 3DR and The Everyday, Losers.

Sunday, October 24 – 3DR, Scream At The Sky and Darker Than Fiction.

Friday, October 29 – Hidden Foundation, Skipping Stone and Tin Zelkova.

Old Forester's Paristown Hall

Friday, December 17 – Hairball w/ Wyld Ryde. –

Rocktoberfest (2000 Figg Store Rd, Shelbyville KY)

Friday, and Saturday, October 1 and 2 – Flashdrive, 3DR, Dylan Bean, Slokill, The Hoodlums, Falling Tree Way, Badtrain and Devil Be My Judge. Music at noon! BYOB! Free!

Street Grubs N' Hops

Saturday, October 30 – Theatre Of Crue.

Tin Roof

Thursday, October 14 – Dusty Bo and The Contraband, Matt Mann, Hillbilly Herald.

Zanzabar

Tuesday, October 26 – District 97 w/ Grackle.

>