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News From The Pit

News From The Pit
By Laura Spaulding

Hey Pit People, read on for shows, news and more!

April 1 - BYRCC House - Undying, Skycamefalling, Cast from Eden and Crestfallen. Show time is 6 p. m. - $6 .

April 1 - Bar Louisville - E-Flat, Tha Rukus and one additional band to be announced.

April 5 - Twice Told Coffeehouse - Check out Cozmic Cowboy - formerly known as Mudshine. Two bucks will get you in and this is an all-ages' show. The band also has a 4-song EP on M. O. D. records, available at ear X-tacy and Root & Roll.

Speaking of Twice Told Coffeehouse, they're having shows there almost every night, featuring various styles of music. They have good coffee and tasty food to boot, so check `em out.

April 6 - Phoenix Hill Tavern - "The Original Rock Showcase," featuring Factor IX, Aqua Jones, Luther and Sen. It's an 8 p. m. show.

Early notice for the May Original Rock Showcase - Friday, May 11, it'll be Planet, Voodoo Machine, Cooler and Suckerpunch.

April 6 - The Crunch Zone - Lifetap, Cooler, Screaming Through December and Voodoo Machine.

April 6 - Tek World - One With Misery, MSD, After All and Silent Agony.

April 7 - The Crunch Zone - Supafuzz, Adaptor, The Simple and Screaming Through December.

April 7 - Tek World - Deathgasm Records' Abominant (Check out their CD Ungodly), Fleshtized, Thorns Of The Carrion and Necropolis Records' Bloodstained Dusk.

April 7 - Louisville Gardens - Godsmack, Staind, Cold and Systematic.

_April 13 - Tek World - Execrate and 4 Stack. April 13 - "Friday The 13 Massacre" at The Crunch Zone. Bands on the bill are - Luther, Faceplant, The 13th Level and False.

FYI - Eddy Metal is now booking shows at The Crunch Zone. The club has a new, larger stage and a great PA system. Bands - here is another place to play at - so to book a show, contact Eddy at EddyMetal1@aol. com or (502) 367-2080.

April 14 - Tek World - Coronach, The Revenants, Incursion 502 and Embodiment.

April 20 - Live At Mom's - Cozmic Cowboy - 7 p. m. - all-ages show. Go to www. Live At Moms. com for more info.

April 20 - The Crunch Zone - Aqua Jones, Evil Engine #9, Tha Rukus and Twist.

April 20 - Tek World - CD Release Party for Sen's second CD -Designed Hatred. Other bands on the bill are Life Of Decay, One with Misery and MSD. The new CD will also be available at ear X-tacy, Better Days and Ground Zero.

April 21 - Tek World - Intak and Twist.

April 21 - The Crunch Zone - Leaves, Kavehill, Cutleaf and Tornacade (formerly Contortion).

April 21 - Willow Lake Tavern - The 13th Level and Suckerpunch - 8 p. m.

April 27 - The Crunch Zone - Cornbread Mafia, Outspoken and Cooler.

April 28 - The Crunch Zone - Kavehill, E - Flat and Suckerpunch.

April 28 - Tek World - Point Of Anger, Faceplant, The 13th Level and False.

April 30 - Vince Neil of Motley Crue at the Belvedere. This should be one of the better pre-Derby shows . Bet ya he'll do "Shout At The Devil. " This show will bring back memories for a lot of us I'm sure!

Here are some road trips that you should definitely check out -

April 11 - Relapse Records' Dying Fetus and Skinless, Gorguts at Top Cats in Cincy.

Corrosion Of Conformity has a handful of shows planned when they will be recording for a live video and possibly a live CD. The dates are: April 16 - Huntington, West Virginia, Empire Club; April 17, Columbus, Ohio Newport Music Hall; April 19, Cleveland, Ohio, Odeon and April 20, Detroit Mi., Harpo's.

If you saw them here at Headliners in February, then you know they put on a damn good show, so pack up the car and hit the road!

_

_ Here are some new CDs to be on the lookout for: Nation - Sepultura - released March 20 on Victory Records. Blood For Blood and Buried Alive both have new CDs coming out on April 24. Also, Digimortal from Fear Factory is set for release on the 24th.

_ Did anyone read the separate interviews with the members of Metallica in Playboy? Seems there was a lot of bashing of each other going on! I figured part of Jason Newstead's departure had to do with Lars' mouth. Anyway, they won't be looking for a new bass player until at least April, when they start recording their new record.

Again, rumors of possible replacements are: Mike Inez (Alice In Chains), Les Claypool (Primus) and Mike Dean (Corrosion Of Conformity).

Speaking of C. O. C. - While no official post has been made, it pretty much looks like drummer / founding member Reed Mullin will not be returning to the band. Mullin did not join the band on their recent tour due to back surgery that he had in November. Jimmy Bower from EyeHateGod / Down / Crowbar filled in. `

However, there's more to it than Mullins' chronic back problems. Seems he was not too happy with the band's latest release, America's Volume Dealer, as he felt it was going in a more southern rock direction. There was a feature story in the February 19 issue of the band's hometown paper, The Raleigh Observer, where Mullin openly said "C. O. C. used to be like the burliest, meanest guy on the block. It's got no teeth anymore, like Raleigh Hatchet. It's become all the things I didn't want it to be. I'd want C. O. C. to be a lot heavier, more adventurous lyrically and musically. "I'd have to agree that the new record is not as heavy as, say, 1991's Blind, but it's still got bite to it.

As of now - no final word on this dilemma. More news as I hear it.

The full Ozzfest lineup has been announced - Main Stage: Black Sabbath, Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, Papa Roach, Linkin Park and Crazytown. Second and Third Stages: Disturbed, Mudvayne, Cold, Taproot, Union Underground, Nonpoint, Black Label Society, Hatebreed, Systematic, American Head Change, Pure Rubbish, Drowning Pool, Boy Hits Car, Godhead, Otep and Beautiful Creatures.

This year's tour will be the first year that the fest will have a pit. For each show, 500-1000 passes will be sold for "The Purgatory Pit. " The pit passes will be sold exclusively at Ozzfest. com.

Also, bands on the main stage will not start until around 6 p. m. , which means you'll have more time to catch the bands on the second and third stages.

The Ozzfest shows closest to Pit People from the `Ville are: June 8, Chicago, Illinois, The World Amphitheater; June 12, Indianapolis, Indiana, Verizon Music Amphitheater; June 18, St. Louis, Mo. , Riverport Amphitheater and July 26, Columbus, Ohio, Polaris Amphitheater.

For more info - go to www. ozzfest. com

The Ozzfest may have a run for their money this summer, as Pantera is planning a metal fest of their own kind. Bands confirmed to play the as-yet-untitled tour will be Pantera, Slayer, Morbid Angel and Static X. Two other bands will probably be added to this line up. Check Pantera's official website for more info. Bet your butt that the entire floors of these gigs will a pit!

Local band Assisting Sorrow is working on new material and has a whole new line-up. They will be entering the recording studio soon.

The new Point Of Anger CD, Lex Talionis, is available at Ear X - Tacy and Tek World.

The Orgy / Spineshank / Alien Ant Farm show in March at Jillian's was cancelled due to Orgy guitarist Amir Derak's severe case of mononucleosis. There are plans to reschedule the show in the next couple of months.

Hope you all have checked out VH1's "The Rock Show" on Friday nights at midnight. It's the closest thing that I've seen to "Headbanger's Ball" since MTV cancelled that show. It's usually hosted by Anthrax's Scott Ian, but there have been some special guest hosts, including Pantera in March. The show features news, interviews and metal videos, and even some classics such as "Aces High" by Iron Maiden. If you're home on a Friday night, check this show out - it's groovy!

Look for the Motley Crue autobiography in May. The book is titled The Dirt and is written by the band members. Should be a pretty juicy read!

Make sure you pick up a copy of Ballbuster - The Official Underground Hard Music Report - Hard 6.

This 'zine is full .- and I mean full - of news, interviews and CD reviews of all styles of metal. It covers all that is heavy, even bands from Romania and other far-away places. Grab a cold one and settle in your favorite chair for some serious metal reading.

Quickie CD Reviews

Rating scale 1 - 5 skulls - 5 means it rawks!!!

__Brujerizmo (Roadrunner Records)

Brujeria

Brujeria is said to have members of Fear Factory, Napalm Death, Cradle Of Filth, Dimmu Borgir and others, but no one knows for sure. It was started as a side project of Fear Factory's Dino Cazares several years back and that's about as much information that the band gives, preferring to surround themselves with an air of secrecy.

The thing is, all you really need to know about Brujeria is that it's totally brutal - that's an understatement!

The CD has 13 songs of crushing metal and growling vocals, done in Spanish. If you have aggressions that need to be released, lock yourself in a room and blast this CD. It'll clear your head!

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The Mad Taxpayers (Independent Release

The Mad Taxpayers)

Southern Indiana band The Mad Taxpayers seem to take a humorous approach to making music, with quirky lyrics such as "The midnight road gets shorter and shorter / like the old blank tape in my old recorder / Well my old-time tunnel vision's getting shorter and shorter," from the tune "O. K" and "rolling chair, walking cane I just can't make a dime / Another shot of nookie will keep you feeling fine" from "Senile. "

The heavy rock sound that comes across is like a mix of The Butthole Surfers and the Meat Puppets. My picks of the songs are "That's Not Funny," "Senile" and "Crosseyed Willie. "

The Mad Taxpayers show that you can make good music without taking yourself too seriously. And having a good time is what it's all about, right?

___1/2

__Ball One Strike Two Doubleplay - A Hard Salute (Sinbad Recordings)

Various Artists

This CD is like the BallBuster Magazine brought to us by David LaDuke - it is overflowing, with over 140 minutes of hard music. The CD features former members of Dio, Accept, Talas, the Four Horsemen, Mortification and more. There is a mix of different sounds of heaviness - everything from death to progressive metal. It's all covered here!

There is a lot of ground to cover on this disk, but the ones that really stand out are `Trinity" by Prototype - it has the feel of Fates Warning, with a cool mix of acoustic and electric guitar, good vocals; I especially like "Ego" from Hard Boiled -this tune is goth / death / techno and industrial all rolled into one. Hard Boiled sounds like The Cure, Type O Negative and Morbid Angel thrown in a bowl and stirred together to make a very eccentric sound. I'm diggin' this tune!

If you want a variety of metal - pick up Ball One Strike Two.

___1/2_

Intak (Independent Release)

Intak

Louisville-based Intak (pronounced "En - take") mixes a bit of everything into their sound - metal, rap and hardcore. This is a common trend in today's music, but Intak does it better than most.

The first two tunes on the CD, "With Me" and "Thoughtless," are heavy and in your face, but I think the band takes too much influence from Rage Against The Machine here, especially on the vocals.

It gets better, though. The band really shows what they can do on the tune "Notebook," which proves singer Nathan Strange can rap and sing well. The next tune, "Out On You." really stands out. It starts out slow and dark, then kicks you in the face with intensity.

The band has a lot of energy and thought provoking lyrics. With the right exposure, Intak could follow in the footsteps of another local band, Flaw, so remember the name - you just might see it on a future Ozzfest line up.

Check out the band's web site - www.intak.cc.

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___Headtrip To Nowhere (Columbia Records)

Flybanger

I reviewed the Flybanger EP Outlived back in December. It was good stuff and the new CD Headtrip To Nowhere shows there's more where that came from.

Although not really a new band, Flybanger has the hunger that a lot of bands start out with, but which most lose within a few years. Not here - this band captures that rawness yet has a tight, powerful sound that reveals their experience.

All twelve tunes on this disc are amazing, but my main picks are: "Cavalry," "Blind World," "Haul," "This Is Bliss," "Pull" and "Company. " The latter tune really demonstrates the talents of each band member. Ultra heavy!

Following recent tours with Clutch and C. O. C., Puya and Sepultura, Flybanger promises to just get better and better. Watch out for them in 2001 - they're going to be huge! No disrespect to Ozzy - but these guys should be on this year's Ozzfest line up without a doubt!

_____

Whew! That's all for me this month. Thanks to everyone for sending in show dates, etc.

More next time around!

Email me at pitnews@yahho. com

See ya in the pit!