Only someone as side-splitting funny as Ricky Gervais could successfully take a podcast – a purely audible phenomenon – and take it seamlessly to TV. The HBO show takes the comic’s wildly successful podcasts – which set records for the amount of downloads it racked up in 2007 – and brings them to life via Hanna Barbera-style cartoons. The show revolves around Gervais, his longtime collaborator Stephen Merchant (who helped…
“Revelation on the Radio” is an absolute epic track in the vein of Styx or Queens of the Stone Age. While rooted firmly in the rock genre, listeners can hear equal amounts of metal (Fear Factory) and even punk (Jello Biafra) present in Steele’s first cut. “Via Satellite” provides listeners with a tremendous amount of energy, as Steele’s vocals drive into listeners with all of the allure of a Tubronegro…
The two-man Black Metal outfit known as HAT (Norwegian for Hatred) are releasing the follow-up to last year’s acclaimed The Demise Of Mankind this month on Abyss Records. Entitled Vortex Of Death, the band’s second full-length release promises to deliver the same razor-sharp aural nihilism as its predecessor. Visit www.officialabyssrecords.com for HAT music and merchandise. SargeantJohn Sargeant, writing on NeuFutur as Sargeant, is the founder and editor-in-chief of NeuFutur Magazine,…
It takes a lot to get me to want to work out some mornings. While I can usually get out to the gym and turn in a pretty solid workout, there needs to be that little added bit to really allow me to turn in intense workouts. All American EFX understands this, and has created a pre-workout supplement called K-OTIC. K-OTIC is a perfect storm of punch and low-price; the…
At a smidge under $100 (currently on sale at BrooksRunning.com ), the Brooks Launch comes forward with a tremendous amount of features at a cheap price. The lightness of the shoes is of primary importance, meaning that runners with these shoes are not saddled with clunky or otherwise badly-designed shoes. Related to the weight has to be the balance in the shoe’s design. The Brooks Launch, despite having a much…
Since hurricane Katrina ravaged the gulf coast in late August of 2005, Steven Stubblefield has been working on a new Starlings, TN record. “That storm was like a bad acid trip,” Stubblefield says. “It lasted as nearly as long too. It was eight hours of chaos that left years destruction in its wake.” With more than $10,000 worth of damage to his home from Katrina, Stubblefield spent the next three…
Let me state up front that this review is not meant to be ironic in anyway and while sarcasm is the major form of communication for anyone between 12 and 25, I’m in my late 30’s so am (almost) capable of going more than 15 minutes without a single snarky retort. OK, I’m just as cynical as your average tween, but I’ve at least lived long enough to justify the…
The All-American Rejects and Magic Bullet Records have teamed up to issue 10 very special copies of the AAR album “When the World Comes Down” with all proceeds benefitting Charity: Water! This organization works to directly fund sustainable water solutions in areas of the planet with the greatest need. It’s surprising to learn that one in eight people on earth currently do not have access to clean, safe drinking water,…
You may (or may not) notice the catalog number on this is Sheath016, while our most recent release was actually Sheath025. Well, here’s the story behind this release: the catalog number for this one was actually assigned about two years ago, when we were beginning work on the early-mid teen catalog numbers. The original band that was supposed to be on this 7″ needed a second band to do a…
Many critics have opined that Lloyd’s “New Quartet”, with Jason Moran, Reuben Rogers and Eric Harland may be the best of all his groups. The quartet’s previous release in this line-up, the live-recorded Rabo de Nube, met with across-the-board approval and was voted #1 album of the year in both the Critics and Readers Polls of JazzTimes. The Quartet has toured extensively since the September release of Mirror both in…
Deborah Voigt has been wowing critics and fans alike with her turn as Puccini’s quintessential New World heroine in the Metropolitan Opera’s centenary staging of La fanciulla del West (The Girl of the Golden West). The New Year soon brings another anniversary production, when Voigt embodies Puccini’s Gold Rush girl again at Lyric Opera of Chicago (Jan 22 – Feb 21). Of a December Met performance as the pistol-packing, poker-playing…
Venezuelan blackened death metal act NOCTIS IMPERIUM have recently released a video for the song “Unus In Nihil” from their Abyss Records debut Nihil. Nihil was released in August of 2010 and is currently available through Abyss Records and features Nick Barker (ex-DIMMU BORGIR, ex-CRADLE OF FILTH, et al.) on drums. For more information, please visit: www.myspace.com/noctisimperium or www.officialabyssrecords.com “Unus In Nihil” video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThvJAp1PaqE SargeantJohn Sargeant, writing on NeuFutur as…
Hard to believe, but 1971 was not a good year for Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and David Bowie, three of the most influential rockers to come out of that decade. The doc Sacred Triangle does a decent job of telling the story of how the trio of rockers nearly fizzled out at the beginning of the decade and how all managed to collaborate in various forms leading to great (and…
Few know this, but I try to work out every day. I was lucky enough to catch an episode of Circus during its original airing on PBS, and was hooked. This 3-DVD set captures the entirety of the series, with a MSRP ($35) that allows viewers to cheaply get their 6 hour fix. While the allure of going to a circus has declined for many with the advent of life-like…
Humorist David Sedaris manages to fill in the animal characters in his latest collection of short stories with more color and facets than many fiction writers devote to their human characters. Despite being a series of short stories being told by animals, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk is actually pretty much what you’ve come to expect from Sedaris, via his New Yorker essays, NPR stories and collection of autobiographical writings. Filled with…
Rounding out what has been an unprecedented year in the band’s decade of existence, FLATFOOT 56 are gearing up to once again hit the road, adding some weight to a few of the season’s best tickets. First, Flatfoot will join with STREET DOGS for the fifth annual “Wreck The Halls” tour. The eight-night run begins Dec 8th, 2010 in Houston, TX, and includes an already sold out show in Boston,…
Two Gallants was one of my favorite bands of the last decade. Stick them up alongside Lucero and Latterman, and you’d have a hell of a concert. For whatever reason, Tyson (Vogel) from the band has attempted to have lightening hit twice. This is because ey has just released “Devotionals”, a full-length from a side project of the same name. The disc begins with “Toil and Joy”, a track that…
For the life of me, I cannot think of too many bands from the New Orleans area. I can think of even less in the way of bands that really project so much of the New Orleans sound as Haarp. From “The Filth”’s first track, “The Rise, The Fall” all the way out to the later reaches of the album (in missives like “Minutia” and “The Fall, The Rise”), there…
There are a number of individuals that make their bread and butter playing music that do not really excite me. While this list may include some of rock’s greatest axe men (and women), suffice it to say that Eric Johnson is not one of those individuals. Most casual fans will know Johnson for 1990’s “Cliffs of Dover”, but the simple truth is that ey has had a tremendous career. Up…
It has been a few years since the last Spice Girls reunion, so it only makes sense that each of the constituent members have to find a way to make their bread and butter. What makes the most sense out of these ventures has to be what Mel B is doing. Riding on the crazy of Dance Dance Revolution types of games, ey has put eir name on “Get Fit”,…