SLAYER Stole My Soul (and my hearing)...

Greetings MetalMortals,
I saw Slayer/Marilyn Manson last night at Allstate Arena in Chicago...S-L-A-Y-E-R!!! I have seen Slayer on Ozzfest before, but to see them as a headliner at an indoor venue could kill a fucking person! Kerry King & Company blew my fucking ears out. It was SO LOUD you could feel your chest thumping from the bass (at a concerning pulse) and it was moving the hair on my arms (yeah I have hairy arms...fuck you too).

Manson put on a good show and the highlight of his set was the closer The Beautiful People (there was even a mosh pit for for this one!). I gotta tell ya, the Slayer/Manson combo was a weird one...a lot of the Slayer fans were yelling out "show's over" when Slayer left the stage and otherwise displayed hostility toward Manson (and anything else non-Slayer). Manson didn't talk to the crowd at all and gave no warning of his last song and didn't do an encore. Not really my style, but whatever (apparently the Goths like this kind of treatment?). He was making an "artistic statement" I guess. Don't get me wrong...I dig some Manson here and there but I'm more of a Pantera/Ozzy/Megadeth/BLS/Down kind of dude.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE SHOW: South of Heaven...that song is just sick. It starts out with the cross illuminated on the wall of amps as the lead riff rips. Then the riff drops down and gets really heavy and the cross flips upside down...madness ensues.

MOST DISTURBING SIGHTING: While there were tons of Metal Hotties running around at the show (thank you Marilyn Manson), I did see some seriously disturbing shit as well. The most disturbing (and just wrong) sighting was a dude with a tattoo of "ARYAN PRIDE" across his collarbones and the "SS" insignia on his lower back. There is just no place for that kind of crap in the metal community today man. He'll probably be back in jail soon...

MOST SURPRISING: Who knew Marilyn Manson fans were serious potheads? I figured to smell a little herbage during the Slayer set, but it was a 420 marathon during the Manson set. Fire it up!

BIGGEST DOWNER: No beverages allowed on the floor/pit area. That is definitely NOT metal at all.

TECHNICAL ECSTASY MOMENT(S): Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman dueling guitar solos in almost every song. Technical chaos from the founding guitarists of Slayer at FULL volume...this is the kind of shit that makes you question if there really is a God? Pure Evil.

Here is a little taste of the Slayer magic (not from this tour...couldn't find a good clip from this tour. If you have one send it!)

Until next time...horns up!

Ozzfest 2007 Rocks Tinley Park, IL!

Greetings MetalMortals!
It has been much too long since we have connected on Tommy Knocker's Heavy Metal Cavern my brothers. I have attended a few concerts here and there that I haven't posted anything about (Stone Sour at House of Blues in Chicago a few months ago for example...which kicked ass by the way). I also saw Heaven & Hell with Ronnie James Dio in Chicago at Allstate Arena fairly recently as well. I'm a HUGE Ozzyhead and have totally ignored Dio until The Dio Years came out and I saw him live. Dio is the MAN! One of the Godfathers of Metal and he has some serious pipes....a must see.

But, now...OZZFEST 2007 came and kicked my ass! I had to put up a post with pics that I took at the show. PS: All my pics are from the 2nd Stage cuz this fool got a little trigger happy.


BIGGEST SURPRISE: Ozzy didn't play Iron Man or Flying High Again. WTF?! He played a great set list, but I was a little bummed out about these two being left off.

WEIRDEST SHIT THAT I SAW: A band called ChthoniC from Taiwan. Those were some weird motherfuckers. A little 135-pound Taiwanese dude prattling/growling on about Taiwan's independence from China or some shit and growling to hold the Taiwanese flag up high (someone had one in the crowd) is some weirdness for the Midwest man! It's all good, but it scored right up there on the weirdness chart. There was dude playing some kind of "stick popping out of a box" with a violin bow....now that shit was weird AND it scared me a bit.

BEST BAND: O-Z-Z-Y!....O-Z-Z-Y!....O-Z-Z-Y!....O-Z-Z-Y! My boy Zakk Wylde was wearing some crazy black kilt thing, but he rocked it as usual. Ozzy's opening song Bark at the Moon below (from Chicago).


BEST GUITAR SOLO: Zakk Wylde....have a listen. Called my home answering machine from my cell phone at the show and recorded it! [insert link to audio here -- coming soon!]

BEST MOSH PIT: 2nd Stage during Hatebreed. It was a HUGE fucking pit brothers! This pit got to moving pretty fast. Getting trampled from behind was a thought running through the ole skully on this one.


HOTTEST LEAD SINGER?!: Yup, the "Gwen Stefani" of heavy metal is emerging on the scene. In This Moment's lead singer Maria was definitely the hottest lead singer to grace the stages at Ozzfest 2007 (or any Ozzfest for that matter). Below is a ridiculously shitty picture that I took at the show. I have also included a clip from YouTube for a better view of the goings on from another stop on the tour.


A few more random Ozzfest 2007 pics that I took...








Ozzy's video intro...

Corsican Rise - Unsigned Band Update

Greetings,
These are the dudes that I posted YouTube videos of a few months back. They have a MySpace page now. They have some original tunes posted and some Pantera covers. Enjoy...

http://www.myspace.com/corsicanrise

Dave Mustaine the Showman (at last)!

Greetings MetalMortals,
Gigantour rocks! Dave Mustaine & Megadeth put on an awesome show at Congress Theatre in Chicago on September 22, 2006. I have seen Megadeth many times, but never like this. I was in total shock. Usually, Dave & Megadeth just stand in their respective positions and headbang away. No talking to the crowd at all. But, Mustaine has taken it upon himself to put on a little more of a show with Megadeth headlining Gigantour. (I guess opening for Motley Crue a few years back, didn't put them in the best of moods to chat with the crowd.)

Anyway, Dave chatted it up just enough between songs to keep the crowd with him and the whole band was really active during the set. Jumping around throwing out some guitar picks, etc. It was great to see Mustaine having a bit of fun up there for a change.

I busted out of work to get to the show as soon as I could, but I missed a lot of the opening bands. I got there just in time for the 4 headliners: Arch Enemy, Opeth, Lamb of God and Megadeth.

I'm not a huge fan of Arch Enemy, but the lead singer (blond chick) put on a great show. Big time stage presence. To see someone that looks like she does growl instead of sing is something you have to see to believe.

Opeth is incredible. I loved their performance. I had heard a few of their songs before the concert and I knew they had a good mix of heavy metal and stoner rock. The live performance was perfect. Opeth definitely had the best sound/tone of the night (a lot of the other bands had the bass turned up way too high). I am exploring the rest of Opeth's catalog on Yahoo Music now. They have a ton of great music out there. Check out these Swedes, you will like it.

I think this was the second time I have seen Lamb of God live. I believe I saw them opening for Slipknot a couple of years ago, but I honestly can't remember. I didn't really know who Lamb of God was at the time! I know, that's pretty sad.

Lamb of God rocked. The guitar playing was super tight. I kind of got sick of the lead singer talking about the new album coming out and all that usual bullshit. I kind of have a bad opinion of the guy after watching the Killadelphia DVD. You know, the one where Mark Morton (guitar) beats his ass while they are on the tour bus and Randy is wearing a kilt. Lamb of God rocks, but the lead singer doesn't exactly remind me of a bad ass front man, like Phil Anselmo (Pantera/Down/Superjoint Ritual).

One last point. You've got to see shows at the Congress Theatre in Chicago if you haven't yet. It's small enough to get up close to the stage without getting killed and big enough to be exciting. Capacity is about 3,000.

Best part of the Gigantour 2006 experience? I scalped my ticket right outside the venue for $20. It was a $50 ticket (plus the fascist Ticketmaster fees). I bought it from some 40 year old alcoholic dude. I am not exaggerating here. This guy reeked of Jim Beam and was kind of dirty. But, he was very cool and I hung out with him a bit inside the show. (I shit you not, he asked for a "sip" of my beer. I said...um...no dude.)

Ok, that's it. I'll stop now.

Until next time, keep the rubber-side down.
Later,
TommyKnocker

Ozzfest 2006 at Alpine Valley!

Greetings MetalMortals!
It's that time of year again O' my Brothers. Ozzfest 2006 edition! I caught up with Ozzy & Co. at the Alpine Valley venue in East Troy, WI. Overall, the lineup for 2006 was weak. I give it a 6 out of 10 vs. previous years. That being said, it was still a great time and I wouldn't have missed it. These were the highlights:

1) Avenged Sevenfold performing Walk.
I have never really listened to Avenged Sevenfold, except for every time I play Madden 2006, and that my brothers, is plenty for me. However, I must give credit where it's due. Avenged Sevenfold kicked some serious ass with their cover of Pantera's Walk. Tommy Knocker is a HUGE Pantera fan and I went nuts when I heard the opening riff. Then I proceeded to have a one-man mosh pit on the lawn with my infamous wicked jack-o-lantern mask on.

2) Black Label Society. What more needs to be said? Zakk & the Doom Crew kicked ass as always. If you have never seen BLS in concert, then you need to go and see them. They always do a great show.

3) Ozzy Osbourne. Ozzy headlined the 2nd Stage, so he was out front and center at about 4:00pm. It was weird to see him in the daylight. He only played for about 50 minutes, which was a bit of a downer. Suicide Solution was the highlight for me with Zakk channeling Randy Rhoads for the solo. The rain started to pour toward the end of Ozzy's set and it was welcomed by all (temperature was 90+).

It would have been nice to remember more about the Hatebreed set, but I was struggling with the effects of the cold ones and rolled ones that were consumed during the tailgate at that point.

Disturbed was ok. I like some of their songs, but not anything to write home about. Disturbed kind of seems like "corporate" heavy metal to me.

I never thought this day would come, but I left before Ozzfest was offically over. Right before the closing act System of A Down started their set, I headed for the parking lot. System of A Down has a couple of mildly interesting songs, but for the most part they belong on Lollapalooza or some other weak ass tour. System of A Down is not metal and the lead singer doesn't really sing (ever).













Final thought....Ozzy, get back on the Main Stage and headline this thing man! That's it brothers. I'm out. I will report from BLS concert in Chicago in November, but will probably have some new posts before that!
Later,
Tommy Knocker

How to Survive a Heavy Metal Concert

How to Survive a Heavy Metal Concert
by TommyKnocker
March 2006

Chicago, IL -- What? You thought “Heavy Metal” was dead? Try telling that to the 500,000 people that attended the 10th annual Ozzfest last summer or Slipknot’s “maggots” (as the group’s fans are known) who sold out the group’s 2005 tour. I dare you.

Since MTV reduced its rotation to consist exclusively of rappers sporting bling-bling and barely legal teens with belly button rings, heavy metal has had a much lower profile than rap and pop. However, heavy metal CD sales are still strong at approximately 70 million annually, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Lamb of God’s 2005 DVD, Killadelphia, went gold in just nine weeks.

Heavy metal is not only a form of music, but a way of life for many of its fans. So, before you start looking for the next heavy metal act coming to your town, I have some straightforward advice for you.

I sat down with a few heavy metal newbies and a few battle-tested concert veterans. The result was the following list which will empower you to not only survive a live show, but tap into the raw power of heavy metal at its source.

Listen to the CD before the show. The audio quality at live shows is inherently rawer than the studio album. If you are not familiar with the band’s songs, you could be in for a long night. The volume is on 12 and the vocals won’t sound the same, but if you have heard the song before you will hear it more clearly.

If you are planning on singing/screaming/shouting/growling along, knowing some of the words also helps. “It gives you a sense of what to expect,” says Viral, a 24-year-old financial analyst and recent heavy metal convert. “When you hear it live, it’s that much more intense.”

Watch a live concert DVD. If you have never been to a heavy metal show, you must watch a DVD to see exactly what you are getting into. Pantera’s 3 Vulgar Videos from Hell DVD, which includes all of the band’s previously released footage, is excellent research material. This DVD is probably the best way to see how intense a heavy metal concert can get and help you determine if you have the balls to show up.

Do not dress for a Dave Matthews concert. A black concert t-shirt is the standard uniform for heavy metal shows. A collared shirt that you would wear to work on casual Friday or that your Grandma gave you for Christmas will probably get you killed. Wear jeans, and not the designer $100 pair of jeans that your girlfriend likes or the stone-washed ones that you wore to a Poison reunion concert.

“I definitely felt out of place. I wore a polo shirt and designer jeans,” said heavy metal rookie and information technology consultant, Shay, 24, regarding his baptism at a Black Label Society concert.

“I eventually bought a concert t-shirt [at a 1996 White Zombie concert] and wished I hadn’t waited as long as I did. It’s just part of the dress code,” said Brian, a 28-year-old home remodeler and seasoned metal fan. “Cargo shorts and combat boots are good too.”

Show respect. You will be surrounded by hardcore fans. Some of these people live and die with the group that is onstage. So, be careful before you start hurling insults within ear shot of your fellow fans.

Don’t forget about the opening acts either. While some of the time they will be horrible, a large portion of the crowd will be there specifically to see the opening acts as opposed to the headliner. So keep your eyes open and your mouth shut, got it?

Don’t be afraid. “I think there’s a stigma with heavy metal concerts. Most people associate it with tattooed bikers, mosh pits, mohawks and violence,” said Rao. “I think that this scares certain people.”

When asked why most people would never go to a heavy metal concert, Vikram, a 31-year-old consultant and Iron Maiden fan, offered “It’s the myth that heavy metal is for rednecks.”

Just keep an eye out for the guy you saw in the parking lot drinking Jack Daniel’s out of the bottle.

Do not bring your girlfriend. Especially if you are new to the heavy metal scene. You will have enough work to do keeping yourself out of danger, let alone watching over someone else. Describing the crowd at Ozzfest, Hoge saw, “A bunch of intoxicated people. Crowd confusion in the sense that you can lose people.” So, only bring your girlfriend if you want to lose her.

Don’t get too close to the stage in-between sets. After the first opening band, you may be getting comfortable with the heavy metal environment. Maybe you want to get closer to the stage for the headliner. Don’t do it (if you have watched the Pantera DVD and think you can hang, then ignore this rule.)

As you move closer to the stage, you are entering an area that will host the mosh pit and a collection of individuals that have no concept of personal space. “[The environment] changed considerably when [Ozzy] started to play. It was as if the crowd was preparing all day for Ozzy Osbourne. It happened so fast,” said ‘Whitey’, 33, an Ozzfest 2005 survivor and Sepultura fan.

Have an open mind. “I enjoyed the [Black Label Society concert in Chicago]. It was an eye opening experience. I mostly have gone to rap concerts. I definitely walked in thinking I wasn’t going to enjoy it,” said Patel.

Expect the unexpected. “The crowd was throwing chunks of sod into the air. I don't mean just a few people either, it was hundreds or thousands of people throwing sod! It was surreal!” said Whitey, commenting on Ozzfest 2005 at the South Florida Fairgrounds. “I think a heavy metal concert always has an unknown.”

In the spirit of full disclosure, some of these sod-throwers were tasered by Florida’s finest. So, don’t get too inspired, ok?

You can also see some strange things tailgating before and after the show. A few years ago at Ozzfest in Wisconsin, my brother and I were grilling burgers and dogs while downing a few (dozen) cold ones and listening to some Ozzy tunes. This 40-year-old dude wearing a black t-shirt with an alien on it and camouflage pants walks up to us and asks “can I feed one of those hot dogs to my dog?” Next thing we know, the guy’s dog is jumping into the air and snatching the hot dog out of his mouth! Rock n’ roll!

Drink too much and go f***ing crazy. Heavy metal is all about excess. Guitar solos that are too long, hair that is too long, fat chicks that pull up their shirts for too long.

Since they won’t let you play the guitar onstage, you don’t have enough time to grow your hair out and you don’t have tits (man tits don’t count), all you can do is drink too much, yell too loud and slap a high-five with somebody you don’t know. As Ozzy always advises at the start of his set, “Go f***ing craaaaaaazzzeeeeeeeeeee!”

When everybody is buzzed and possibly half-baked and the band’s best song comes on, there will be a lot of love in the air. Go ahead and get your mind right for the heavy metal equivalent of hugging your neighbor at church. And don’t forget to kick some ass!

When asked how a heavy metal concert is different from a jam band concert, Patel replied “The energy levels are totally different. Jam bands are more stand there and sway around. People just f***ing sit through the whole thing. That just wouldn’t happen at a heavy metal concert.”

"DimerDime" & Drummer Layin' It Down on YouTube.com

Greetings MetalMortals,
I have no idea who these two guys are, but they are kicking some ass and paying tribute to the Almighty Dimebag, Pantera and Damageplan. I found them on YouTube.com. It's a dude that looks a lot like Dimebag (DimerDime) and a drummer (Anonymous) that doesn't look anything like Vinnie Paul, but damn they sound good. Have a listen and let me know what you think (i.e., post a fuckin' comment bro). Also, I am on the lookout for any awesome Pantera tribute bands, so if you have seen a band live, put the info in a post.

Here are a couple examples of DimerDime and Drummer performing some Pantera and Damageplan tunes on YouTube.com.

PANTERA


DAMAGEPLAN


Later, TommyKnocker

Rob Zombie and John5 - Great Show in Chicago

Rob Zombie and his "new" axeman John5 pumped out their new tunes to a sell out crowd at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom on April 8, 2006. Zombie and crew are out promoting their new album "Educated Horses" which was released in late March. The show kicked ass and the capacity crowd of 4,500 got pretty loud.

John5, formerly of Marilyn Manson, performed his nightly circus trick of playing our National Anthem on lead guitar with his teeth. John5 really adds another dimension to Rob Zombie's music. I mean this guy is a REAL guitar player. Nothing against previous Zombie axemen at all, but John5 is rocking it right now.

Rob did his usual stage antics of running around like a wild man and jumping up on the front stage monitors. In a lot of ways, particularly his stage antics, Zombie reminds me a lot of Ted Nugent (no, I'm not that old, but I have cable and I saw Ted Nugent "Behind the Music" on VH1 too!). The highlight of the night was when Rob brought back the giant staggering robot during the White Zombie classic "More Human than Human" performance.

The new album "Educated Horses" is pretty good. If you like Rob Zombie and White Zombie, you will definitely like it. I personally didn't find any groundbreaking tracks on it, but on the whole, it's damn good. There isn't anything on there as good as the White Zombie track "Thunderkiss '65" for example.

Getting back to the show, Lacuna Coil opened and was disappointing. I like some of their music, but the live show was weak. I haven't seen a band stand around like that during a performance since Megadeth (I love Megadeth, but their live show is all about the music, no show to speak of).

That's it for now Metalheads. Later, TommyKnocker

BLS Rolled In and Rocked Out

BLS! BLS! BLS!
Zakk Wylde and Black Label Society rolled into Chicago back on November 13, 2005 and put on an awesome show. They played at Congress Theatre which is a pretty small venue (about 3,000 capacity) and it was so loud my ears were ringing for three days bro.

They played for a long time and put on a hell of a show. Zakk even rocked the piano for his "In This River" tribute to Dimebag. Well, I gotta be honest, this show was awhile back and I was drinking "Zakk and Dime" style, so I don't really remember much else about it man! Bottom line, anytime you can get out and see BLS, you should do it!

FYI...BLS is headlining the 2nd stage at Ozzfest 2006. One more tip for you...the BEST VENUE on OZZFEST 2006 is East Troy, WI (ALPINE VALLEY). Best tailgating and biggest crowd. SDMF brothers!

Bad Ass Axe -- Zakk Wylde Epiphone Rocks!

Greetings MetalMortals,
This is the first musical instrument review on Tommy Knocker's Heavy Metal Cavern because I haven't seen anything to get excited about since I started this blog. But, now we have a worthy instrument...the Epiphone Zakk Wylde Les Paul Custom guitar!

I purchased my mine (Buzzsaw design) in August 2005 from zzounds.com and I have been abusing it since. It sounds awesome and (like any Les Paul) just feels great holding it in my hands. It's a bit heavier than most guitars, which is a feeling that you really start to like after awhile.

Bottom line, the Epiphone version of this guitar cost me $850 (with SKG case) and is worth every penny. Why would you buy the Gibson version of this guitar which costs $3,850 when you can get the Epiphone for $850? Almost all the components are the same on both guitars (main difference being that the Epiphone is made in Korea and the Gibson is made in the USA). The Gibson also has nicer pickups, but are they worth the $3,000 price difference? If you must, buy the nicer pickups (EMG-81 and EMG-85) and put them on the Epiphone and spend the rest of the $3,000 on something worthwhile (like beer for next year or two!).

Final thoughts...
1. Don't bother trying to save $ by buying this on Ebay. I tried. In almost every auction I watched, the guitar ended up selling for at least $600 or so. I don't know about you, but I ain't dropping 6 bills on a used/potentially damaged guitar when I can get it brand spanking new for $250 more (with warranty!)
2. I bought mine online at Zzounds.com. Their customer service was excellent. I actually had to ship the guitar back because it was damaged during shipping and they sent me a new one right away (and every time I called, I actually spoke to a real live human being which was a nice touch!)
3. Get ready to rock!
4. If you work at Dean Guitars and want Tommy Knocker to review the FBD Dimebag Tribute ML....send me a free one and I'll check it out! (stop laughing and send it!)
Later,
Tommy Knocker

Slipknot 9.0: Live -- 5 Stars Maggots

Greetings MetalMortal Maggots!
As promised, I am going to give you the low down on Slipknot's latest release Slipknot 9.0: Live (released 11/1/05). iTunesIt's a 2CD, 24 track marathon of mayhem and intensity. All the tracks are live performances from around the world.

This album actually gives you the feel of being there live, right down to the album cover with the hands reaching toward the stage. For those of you that have been to a Slipknot concert, you know what I'm talking about. It's insanity. It's rage. It's an explosion of sound. It takes you to the edge.

A lot of live albums out there generally sound like shit, but not this one. Everything sounds really good on this album and the songs give you that little extra from the live performance (extra guitar fills, drum solos, Corey interacting with the crowd, crowd going nuts, public address announcers introducing the band, etc.) The absolute best song on this album is (Sic), the crowd goes off taking you there and then the band hits you with everything they've got for almost 4 minutes of chaos. 5 stars, period.
Later,
Tommy Knocker

NFL Loves Ozzy

Happy Halloween MetalMortals,
Yesterday, I attended a football contest between the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit. Why, you wonder, is Tommy Knocker writing about a football game? The answer is of course, at any NFL game across this great country of ours you will at some point during the game hear the familiar and beautiful sounds of Randy Rhoads' guitar and Ozzy's voice over the PA system.

On Sunday, we were treated to Black Sabbath's Paranoid during the first half and Ozzy's Over the Mountain during the second half. While almost anyone who knows Ozzy and Black Sabbath knows Paranoid, the Over the Mountain track from the Diary of a Madman album is one of Ozzy's best songs. The drum roll to start the song is very unique and powerful and Randy's guitar solo is one of my favorites.