Southern Flame: Whiskey Metal

Southern Flame are a metal band from southern West Virginia that combine elements of doom, sludge, and thrash into their sound.  This is a review of their 2007 album Whiskey Metal.  The disc itself actually comprises two separate recording sessions with two different line-ups not unlike Napalm Death's Scum.  Tracks one through eight are the newest songs with an at that time new drummer, nine through sixteen a previously recorded album titled Alcoholocaust with the original drummer, and the final two songs bonus tracks.  The shift in quality brought about by this could be seen as a problem, but when you view all tracks after number 8 as bonus as was intended it clears that up.

Creepshow Region 2 DVD

It pains me that a film as classic as Creepshow doesn't have a special edition DVD available in the United States.  That's not to say that there isn't one available else where, it's just that for whatever reason Warner Brothers refuses to release the awesome special edition that Universal released in the region 2 markets.  I'm not sure if it's because Universal wants to charge too much for WB to get the rights or what but the fact that WB put out a bare-bones Blu-Ray of George Romero's Creepshow when this wealth of material is available makes no sense to me.  I picked this up at the 2010 Scarefest in Kentucky for around 23 bucks.  I had heard about it for a while and it really delivers on the special features front.  The film is awesome, of course, but the main attraction is the feature-length documentary on the second disc.  While Leslie Nielsen, Ted Danson, and most disappointingly Stephen King are no where to be found, the folks you expect to be here (read: the convention heads) really deliver interesting stories.  George Romero, Tom Savini, Tom Atkins, Adrienne Barbeau, and surprisingly Ed Harris all have tons of screen time recalling the making of the film.  Put together by Red Shirt pictures, the fellas behind the special editions of Night of the Creeps, The Monster Squad, The Stepfather, and numerous others, this doc is quality.  Add to this a commentary with Romero and Savini, deleted scenes and Savini's on-set footage and this really is the solid treatment a film like this deserves.
The good news here is that this is obtainable.  If you have a region 2 DVD player, or if you know how to make your player region free I highly recommend picking this up.  The easiest place I could imagine finding it is ebay, and though I don't know what you would have to pay for it, if you're a fan of the film it would be worth it.

Eyehategod/Crowbar/Black Tusk/Phobia 12/2/10

The Tremont Music Hall in Charlotte North Carolina hosted one of the heaviest shows I could imagine on December 2nd, 2010. NOLA legends Crowbar and Eyehategod are both on tour at the moment and their paths converged for one night of sludge destruction. Supporting this crusher of a dual headliner were Phobia, grindcore legends from California and Black Tusk, a sludge-esque band very much in keeping with their Georgia brothers in Mastodon, Kylesa, and Baroness.