Audio Drome

The White Stripes? The Black Keys? Death From Above 1979?

Earthworms compared to Black Cobra.

Yep, for our rotten, blood-drenched dollar bill$, there is simply no two-piece more gloriously murky, grave and fatally venomous than San Francisco, California’s unholy alliance between guitarist/vocalist Jason Landrian and drummer Rafael Martinez, which plummeted to all-new depths on its recently released fourth full-length, Invernal (out now from Southern Lord Records).

This shadowy clip for Invernal‘s “The Crimson Blade” saw the band team up with director Greg Downing and shoot for three days with absolutely no money to tell the sordid tale of a man who “resorts to cannibalism in a post-apocalyptic world.” So frenzied were the proceedings, actor Landon Bates (who plays the unraveling protagonist) accidentally cut himself multiple times, meaning that black blood you see spilling from his wounds is deadly real. For his art, he has suffered….and we’re proud to premiere the withering fruit of that suffering in this Rue Morgue exclusive of Black Cobra’s “The Crimson Blade.”

Let it drip…

In an update to one of our Entrails in RM#125, Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe has finally been released from a prison in Prague, Czech Republic, after posting $400,000 US bail, and is returning to the United States. The singer – who was arrested in connection with the 2010 concert death of an audience member who hit his head on the floor and later died from his injuries after being thrown from the stage by Blythe and one of the venue’s security members – has been detained for several weeks after Lamb of God returned to Prague for a show on June 27, reportedly unaware of the charges pending against Blythe.

Though the band previously cancelled its summer co-headlining tour with Dethklok due to Blythe’s incarceration, a press release issued today announced that they will perform at Slipknot’s inaugural Knotfest event August 17 in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and August 18 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Many lunar phases ago, it was Dawn of the Dead that was easily my favourite entry in Romero’s famed trilogy and Day of the Dead my least. With age, however (and with it the hope that I might soon begin accruing Old Man Strength, the innate ability all the silverbacks in your family possess that consistently enables them to win arm wrestles, fix cars, beat you at pool and drink you under the table despite being in the November of their years), that list has flipped around. Day is far and away the Romero film that, for me, has appreciated the most in its vintage.

Which is why I couldn’t help myself when it came to choosing a track from Neon Rain’s …of the Dead, a three-disc collection of noise, drone and industrial music devoted to Uncle George’s flesh-tearing triptych. Something about the plodding “Hunters & the Preys” from the “A Day” disc gave me that same panicky feeling that I get watching Rhodes and co. wasting away in their claustrophobic underground bunker. Listen for yourself.

Soundtrack Release Tally + The Exorcist is headed for the stage.

Montreal “sloppy pop” band Parlovr has thrown out a grisly curveball with its new video for “Holding Onto Something.” It starts off slow…well, in fact the whole thing is slow…but give it a chance. The cinematography and practical effects are worth the price of admission, which, considering it’s posted on here for free, isn’t gonna turn your pockets inside out, just your eyeballs.

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Toronto Undead
Independent
Being fashionably late to a metal show isn’t metal because real metal isn’t fashionable. I’ve previously extolled the virtues of catching the opening bands on multi-act bills. Of all the groups, they have the most to prove, and with roughly 25 minutes to win your interest, they tend to play their balls off. Toronto metal vets NitemarE did just that when they opened for thrash legends Destruction here last month.

[RM contributor Paul Counelis howls the praises of "Monster Mash" in the latest installment of Monster Kid Corner.]

At first glance, it might seem strange to dedicate an entire column to what is easily the most popular genre-related song ever recorded. Horror fans the world over are well aware of the significant impact of “Monster Mash.” However, this song is still converting kids to the fantastic world of monsters; my three-year-old daughter’s favorite book is a pop-out Hallmark type that plays the song when you push the colorful buttons along the side.

[We bring you Part 2 of globetrotting metal addict Aaron von Lupton's filth-riddled diary of his excursion to Baltimore, Maryland, for Deathfest X.]

Day 2
Waking up and not feeling too good, Perry and I headed out for some of that magic hangover cure: Thai food! Feeling a bit better, we headed back down to Sonar knowing we were going to have to take it easier today. Did I mention Baltimore is fucking hot? Last year was brutal but this year was like living in a sauna while soaking in hot sauce. With the humidity, it was well over 40 degrees Celsius (approximately 104 degrees Fahrenheit) for most of the day.

[Once again, heavy metal whipping boy Aaron von Lupton travelled to war-torn Baltimore for Maryland Deathfest X and (barely) lived to tell the tale...this is Part One.]

If a horror journalist goes to a metal fest and never writes about it, did it really happen? Probably. But that’s exactly what happened last year at Maryland Deathfest 2011 – America’s biggest metal party – when former RM intern Perry Thomson and yours von truly headed down to Baltimore to check out three days of crust, grind. death, black, and doom metal, including horror-specific acts such as Acid Witch, Bloodfreak and Hooded Menace. Not wanting to make the same mistake twice, I once again packed up my black T-shirts and broke for Baltimore with every intention this time of reporting on the debauchery that would surely ensue.

This month’s new Hymns From the House of Horror track is now up! Click here to collect your free download of an epic, exclusive-to-RM song called “Amaranth” from stoner rock sweethearts Windhand. Burn one if ya got one…

And remember, we do this every month. Check out the full review of Windhand’s self-titled album (which you can stream in full here) in the June issue of RM#123, but the only place you’ll find “Amaranth” is in the loving cyber-tentacles of rue-morgue.com.