by Kim Kelly

Tom Warrior at Gramercy Theater (more here)

Thomas Gabriel Fischer - Tom G. Warrior to you - is one of extreme metal's truly legendary figures. He is the definition of a lifer. From the first primal screams of Hellhammer through the incredibly influential and ever-tumultuous Celtic Frost to his latest endeavour, the darkly cathartic Triptykon, the man has spent well over half his life creating, appreciating, and inspiring metal, and his fans love him dearly for it. However, as he was quick to remind your humble narrator, Tom is still a mere mortal, made up of the same flesh and blood and heartache as you, me, and the legions of metalheads the world over that call him their hero. He has had his doubts, his failures, and his own demons to fight, but has risen above to offer us yet another chance at redemption.

Our interview took place in a cramped office backstage at New York City's cavernous Gramercy Theatre. As paint-streaked members of 1349 wandered by and the dull roar of excited fans outside filtered through the door, Tom offered up an deeply personal and intensely honest look at his new band, his past, and himself. It was an honor and a great pleasure to speak with him, and I hope you enjoy delving into this admittedly gargantuan account. Only one question remains...are you morbid?

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Continue reading "The Emperor's Shattered Throne: A Conversation with Tom G. Warrior (of Hellhammer, Celtic Frost & Triptykon)"

by BBG

Only Death is Real is the extensive history of Thomas Gabriel "Warrior" Fischer, Eric Martin Ain, Hellhammer and early Celtic Frost:

[Only Death Is Real] combines hundreds of unseen early Hellhammer and Celtic Frost photos with a vast treasure trove of artwork and memorabilia. A substantial written component by Fischer details his upbringing on the outskirts of Zurich, Switzerland, and the hardships and triumphs he faced bringing the visions of his groundbreaking bands Hellhammer and eventually Celtic Frost to reality.

Without question Only Death Is Real goes farther than any other source in exploring the origins of underground heavy metal.... the written chapters combine Tom Fischer's often shocking stories with lengthy quotes from Martin Eric Ain and the other main Hellhammer members, explaining in intimately human terms how extreme metal was born.

For a fan of any of those bands it's a killer look (in photo and verbal history) into the mind of the band. It also details the pre-Hellhammer days and Tom Warrior's early band Grave Hill.

Though I can't really confirm that the name of Tom Warrior's band was their inspiration, I do know that the current band named Gravehill (one word), from the bleak stretches of California, toil in some of the same murky waters as Hellhammer. The old-school death metal team are on the road with Cardiac Arrest and HOD, and will team up with Philadelphia's Gorephobia for an NYC show at Fontana's on July 13th. They hit Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ one day earlier.

Cardica Arrest's Haven For The Insane impacts on June 8th on Ibex Moon. Gravehill's Rites Of The Pentagram is out NOW via the same label.

Full Gravehill dates and some videos are below...

Continue reading "Gravehill touring (dates) - not to be confused w/ Grave Hill (whose Tom Warrior is the author & subject of a new book) "

by Black Bubblegum

The black metal star, with the star of classic cinema such as Ghost Rider, Next, Knowing, and Captain Corelli's Mandolin.

In 1987, actor Nicolas Cage was "Raising Arizona." Three years later, he began raising future underground black-metal singer Weston "Arcane" Cage....

Weston tells BostonHerald.com. "I have a dark maniacal side and sometimes I want to decimate every person in the room. But I also want to enlighten. We have a variety of different fans and get different reactions."

He adds... "I come from a lineage of great artists," he said. "I just want to contribute to my genre and honor my family."- [Boston Herald via Blabbermouth]

That "undergound black metal band" is Eyes of Noctum, whose debut album, Inceptum was recorded by Fredrik Nordström (Dimmu Borgir) and features Hellhammer (!?!?!?!) (Mayhem, Satyricon, Dimmu Borgir) and Snowy Shaw (King Diamond, Therion, Mercyful Fate). Eyes of Noctum play two nights in NYC starting tonight (7/17), and though I wouldn't necessarily recommend this band, they are playing with the mighty Malkuth at Studio @ Webster Hall and then again on July 20th (Mon) at Europa with the also awesome Villains and Bezoar. Advance tickets for tonight are here while tickets for Europa are here.

Snowy Shaw rwas recently interviewed by SickDrummer.com where he spoke on his current projects as well as his time with Eyes of Noctum:

SDM: Tell us about your relationship with Fredrik Nordstrom. Do you ever do studio sessions for him?

Snowy: Fredrik and I are great friends, and occasionally I do sessions for him or in his studio.

Most recently was last summer for a band I think is called Eyes of Noctum with Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage's son as the leader/singer. Fredrik just called me one night, asking me to attend in the studio as some sort of coach for this poor young LA drummer who simply couldn't get it down, so after having wasted several days, Fredrik as the producer just had to take charge of the procedure and get things moving. I got there the next morning thinking I'd be coaching the guy, then understand they expect me to do ghost drumming, then the next day I'd be listed as the drummer. I'm a very quick learner, and although I don't consider myself a very good black metal drummer (since I hit the drums very very hard, playing that ultra fast gets tricky), but I did my best to please them with all their wishes and requests, and I nailed it all in a few days time, and everybody was happy.

Tour dates below...

Continue reading "Nicolas Cage's son's black metal band (is in NYC) (tour dates)"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Disfear - "Get It Off" from "Live The Storm", out 1/22 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Lair Of The Minotaur - "Horde of Undead Vengeance" from "War Battle Metal Master" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rwake - Leviticus from "Voices Of Omens" (MP3)

A Storm Of Light

How do you top what will surely be one of the greatest metal shows of the year? Try adding A Storm Of Light - the new project from Josh Graham (recently ex- Red Sparowes, Battle Of Mice, Neurosis visuals)! Graham, Domenic Seita (ex-Asea), and Pete Angevine (Satanized) will open the January 25th date @ the Brooklyn Masonic Temple (now sold out), but not before playing Union Pool on Jan 20th with Ghastly City Sleep & Titan. Stream their new track, "Mass" from their upcoming LP "And We Wept The Black Ocean Within" @ MySpace. (and look for my interview with Josh coming very soon!)

D-Beat fiesta up in this mutha! Swedish D-Beat badasses Disfear will release their new crusher-of-an-album, "Live The Storm" on 1/22 via Relapse. Produced by Kurt Ballou (Converge, et al.), the album features the first go around by ex-Entombed axeman Uffe Cederlund.... Download "Get It Off" above!

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Continue reading "This Week In METAL (1/18/08)"