Merch Madness 40% Off Sale Starts At Midnight

Get in on it, while the gettin' is good. Merch Madness is here this weekend and we are getting rid of old stock to make way for the new goods. Click on the store button above and use the promo code merch2013.

Merch Madness sale from March 1st to the 4th

Seen Too Many Sugar Skulls, Here Is The Best

Damn is it cool to see something that leaves your jaw flapping in the wind. This Dia De La Muertos mask by Shane Martin is a true work of art. The precision in the design of found objects alludes to a very analytical mind that we are looking forward to seeing plenty more work from.

Check out Shane Martin's work on Deviant Art

Dia De La Muertos Sugar Skull by Brian Martin made out of emtal

Awesome detail on the welds

The brazing added just the right amount of color

One of the coolest metal skulls we have ever seen

Carolina Still - Album Cover Process Video

Filming yourself while working on a project can be quite the challenge. Trying to find the best way to mount a camera and also select angles to shoot from is a lesson in patience. For our latest process video, we are damn proud of how the new album cover turned out for Carolina Still. It is a complete departure from our normal illustration style and felt quite refreshing to shift gears. This album will go on pre-sale in mid to late March.

Finished illustration for album cover

Detail on the old farm house

Illustration for back of album

Work bench is cluttered with paints but album cover is done

Tattoo Your Motorcycle With Custom Engraving

Ever since we saw the bike built by Bryan Fuller on Cafe Racer TV on Discovery channel, we have been hunting down good photos of the bike. Solid details is what we were after and finally those cool images have arrived in a large scale. Luckily we found them by chance over on Totem's site. If ya haven't seen his work with spray paint, we know you will be a fan for sure now.

Fuller Hot Rods and Customs

The devil is in the details

The bike as a great stance in the process of being built

Fork tubes are full of details

Really dig the bare metal finish

New swingarm and mono shock add a great touch

More detail on the left fork

Engraving on this bike is top notch in the style department.

The Mind Of A Mad Collector Is A Terrible Thing To Taste

The mind of a mad collector is a terrible thing to taste. Or wait a minute, maybe we are just mixing up a new show name and an old Ministry album. Either way we saw this post and it got us thinking about vinyl albums and albums to which we might listen to just shortly.

Check out the original post on Pitchfork

"As shown in Jack White's recent statement on his Record Store Day Ambassador position, his enthusiasm for spreading truth about vinyl knows no bounds. On Thursday, White appeared on the brand new VH1 show "For What It's Worth", discussing the "Triple Decker Record" format he invented in 2010. (The 12" has got a hidden 7" single inside; you must crack the 12" to hear the 7".)

Set at Third Man Records' Nashville headquarters, this was the debut episode of the show, which is hosted by Dell'Abate and Jon Hein (both from "The Howard Stern Show") and explores the value of memorabilia and "the mind of 'The Collector'."

Check out the full episode, and watch Jack White's 2010 clip explaining the Triple Deck format:"

For What It's Worth
Get More: Jack White, For What It's Worth

Will Amazing Radio Become The David That Topples Goliath?

Technology is a friend to us all. It has made our lives easier in so many facets. One of the biggest areas that we enjoy the most is access to an unprecedented amount of music world wide. Without youtube our days of enjoying new videos would come to a grinding halt. 

There is change afoot and especially in the way we listen to music. Terrestrial radio is full of crappy playlists that only appeal to folks who want to hear pop hits. Real music enthusiasts have to focus their energy on finding new stations online or seeking out new bands far and wide. There is a company in England called Amazing Radio and they are making quite the headway into becoming a new type of Muzak, but far more compelling.

Find out more on Amazing Radio

Link to original post on cnet.com

"CEOs of digital music startups often strive for diplomacy when it comes to talking about the major powers that control most of the world's music. Not Paul Campbell. 

"Simon Cowell is Satan, and the major labels have become antique dealers," says Campbell, a 53-year-old former BBC TV and radio producer turned entrepreneur. "We don't touch the labels and never shall. The key is to cut yourself free from the labels." 

Which is exactly what Campbell has done with his company, Amazing Media, and it's why he's having such success. 

Unless you're really into new music, or live in the U.K., where Amazing Media has created quite a stir for reasons I'll get into in a moment, you've probably never heard of Amazing Media. But the way Campbell is going, that's soon likely to change. His business has piqued the interest of big Silicon Valley venture capitalists; he's in talks with major consumer Web businesses to distribute Amazing music; and he's on track to launch a radio station in the U.S. in the coming months. 

Campbell, in work mode. (Credit: Amazing Media)

In fact, what began five years ago as a simple Web site to let unknown musicians upload and sell their music has grown into a burgeoning business unlike any of the others trying to take advantage of the chaotic music industry. Amazing Media also does something else that sets it apart from the likes of Pandora, Spotify, SoundCloud, and all the rest: it makes money. 

Campbell, a professional drummer since he was a kid, began thinking about the opportunity in music back in 2005. Technology had made it supercheap to record and produce music, but it was still a monstrous challenge to get your music heard. It was an even bigger challenge to make any money from it. 

He wanted to change that. Campbell assembled a small team and, working from the top floor of a Victorian building in Newcastle, England -- the home town of Sting and The Animals -- started building Amazingtunes.com, a site where musicians could upload and sell tracks and get paid 70 percent of the price. 

That might sound like a bad deal for Campbell, certainly compared with the big labels, which typically pay musicians about 8 percent of the sale price. But his main goal was to build the catalog of music and win customers. Plus, musicians who used the site gave Amazing the rights to use their music for promotional purposes. "The idea was to be fair to the musicians," says Campbell. "And we deliberately gave margin away to attract users." 

The site launched in 2007, and the first couple of years were slow going. This was pre-Twitter -- even pre-Facebook, to some degree -- and it took a while to amass much of an audience. Gradually, though, more and more musicians joined, and competitors emerged. Amazingtunes.com gained enough traction and buzz that in 2008, Richard Branson's Virgin Media tried to take over the business for an undisclosed amount. Campbell wouldn't sell. 

Amazingtunes.com is similar to well-backed SoundCloud or BandCamp, sites that also let musicians push their music out across social networks and the Web. But Campbell takes things a step further. A few steps, actually.

AmazingRadio and AmazingTunes.com are working to create a level playing field for musicians

In 2009, he launched a commercial-free, national radio station to play 100 percent new music, a strategy that anyone in the radio industry would have told him was crazy. Campbell did this as a promotional tool to drive people to Amazingtunes.com, which would supply all the music for the station. Amazing Radio, which broadcasts on Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) and via the Internet, effectively became a 24-7 marketing channel for Amazingtunes.com. 

Campbell had no marketing budget for the station. Instead, he and his team took to the streets and got passersby to record promos. The station also had no DJs. It just played programmed tracks, like a jukebox. 

The algorithms, along with the fans, did the work. The best songs on Amazingtunes.com -- as measured by how many people listened to, purchased, and liked them (in the Facebook sense) -- bubbled up and got featured on Amazing Radio. If no one played a song, it got ignored.
Next, Campbell beefed up the station by signing on some known musicians and DJs to host regular programs. The station fuels the Web site, where people purchase songs, and vice versa. It's a powerful cycle. 

Today, Amazingtunes.com boasts music by 65,000 artists, some of whom are now signed to indie labels. Musicians, even those signed to labels, agree to give Amazing the rights to air the music for obvious reasons: they want the exposure, and it boosts their download sales. 

The mix of software and DJs has turned Amazing Radio into a powerful force in emerging music of all styles -- not just in the U.K. but also in the U.S, where people can listen via the Web or mobile apps, which, incidentally, a fan built for free. 

"I haven't met a good manager in the recent past that hasn't brought up Amazing Radio," said Daniel Glass, whose New York-based Glassnote Entertainment just signed a band called Daughter, which has been heavily promoted on Amazing Radio and that Glass expects to be big in the U.S. 

Radio row
Amazing Radio is also the source of the "stir" I mentioned at the beginning of this article. A couple of weeks ago, Campbell got into a fight with the company that broadcasts the station, over the terms of their contract. Campbell wouldn't budge, and at midnight on May 14, Amazing Radio went dark. 

Designed by a fan fighting to get Amazing Radio back on the air. (Credit: Amazing Media)

Fans weren't pleased. Campbell had taken to Twitter to announce what was happening, and within an hour, the outrage began. One fan launched an online petition, another created a Facebook page, plenty others wrote to members of Parliament and major newspapers. 

In the subsequent days, Amazing launched a new logo -- "Keep the Faith" -- that a fan designed unsolicited and sent to Campbell. The company also began selling T-shirts with the logo and is using the money as a prize for a Keep the Faith band competition it's holding next week. 

The whole thing has turned into a major publicity event for Amazing Media, with people from indie labels around the world also voicing support. It's also once again reinforced to Campbell that he's doing something people care deeply about. 

"This is not about whether we're on the radio in the U.K.," says Campbell. "It's about how musicians find an audience in the modern world." 

And how music fans find new music, which in Amazing's world means a mix of crowdsourcing, knowledgeable DJs, and algorithms -- a formula that goes beyond creating playlists of known music that you share with friends on Facebook. 

"It's nice to be able to be your own DJ," says Billy Mann, a top producer and music exec who has written songs for Pink and Jessica Simpson, "but there is a place for good taste-makers, especially in the sterile digital world we're living in." 

Muzak with an edge
Just after Campbell launched the radio station, a store owner e-mailed him asking if he could use music from Amazing in his shop as background music. That led Campbell to develop a new part of the business, called Amazing Instore. It's also the part that's financially fueling the rest of the company, which, while still small, is on track to make $3 million this year in profits. (Spotify can't claim that). 

Because most of the music on Amazing isn't bound by publishing deals, Campbell is free to license it. His only commitment is to pay the artists, who Campbell says make 120 times what they earn from having their songs streamed on Spotify, based on what some musicians who work with both Amazing and Spotify have reported to him. 

Amazing launched the store business in 2010, and Campbell quickly realized how lucrative it could be. Amazing customizes the music for each client, so what you hear in a clothing store will be different than what you hear in a restaurant. In some case, clients want ads -- maybe to promote sales going on -- and Amazing creates those as well and builds them into the sound track. 

A fan built Amazing's mobile apps for free.

This leads to three revenue streams: a license for the technology, the music, and the ads. Only the music fees get shared with the artist, and the terms vary. This new business helped the startup enough that Campbell changed the terms of Amazingtunes.com, so that the musicians get 100 percent of the price (Campbell also did this to compete with Bandcamp, which gives the artists 85 percent of sales). 

Amazing now has deals with more than 1,000 retailers and restaurant chains across the U.K., and Campbell has been meeting with chains in the states to try to crack the U.S. market. 

He's gunning hard to take on the U.S. on many fronts. He won't share details about his plans for a U.S. radio station, other than saying it will launch either in Boston, New York, San Francisco, or Los Angeles. He's brought on Ted Cohen, a pioneering digital music exec, who's been trying to cut deals with AOL, Yahoo, and others to boost the audience for emerging artists and for Amazing. So far, says Cohen, "The reaction has been unbelievably favorable." 

And Campbell is in talks with big VC firms, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Mayfield Partners, as he seeks to raise $30 million to fund expansion in the U.S. (to get this far, he raised $8 million from private investors). 

"The basic pitch is this is a bold and imaginative idea that will either fall flat or become a billion-dollar business," says Campbell, who has 26 full-time employees. "It won't be anything in the middle. We're trying to reinvent the music industry." 

That will mean adding more lines of business, and becoming more global. Already, Amazing is working with festivals across the U.K, and it's starting to put on concerts that it records and broadcasts. It plans to edge into more traditional revenue streams such as publishing, merchandise, and ticketing and will likely add its own label, even releasing albums. With the goal remaining that of bringing good musicians to the world, and helping them make a living."

Chopper Riding In Borneo

Dive into this home grown video from south western Malaysia and more specifically, Borneo. Open roads and loud engines are a universal bro down.


Ride Free II from Paul Bokhari on Vimeo.

Heavy Metal Banjo Plucked By The Devil Himself

Damn does it make our day when we find something as cool as this custom banjo made from miscellany parts. It was created by British artist Shane Martin, who just so happens to know his way around a metal shop. Have a look at more of his work on DeviantArt.com

Car parts and some guitar strings equal bad ass!

Check out this awesome neck made from valves and a bicycle gear

Is it art or an instrument? Both!

This custom banjo by Shane Martin is just flat out awesome

Sound City Was A True Oasis

Find out more about Bob Lefsetz and read his great write up below...

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"She was that kind of lady Times are hard"

Desperation and desire. The key elements to rock stardom.

And Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham had both.

"She's back in town
And she's looking around"

From Phoenix to San Francisco to Hollywood.

That's where you had to end up. You could start anywhere. But if you wanted to make it, you had to come to L.A. And what you found there surprised you. No city center. No three piece suits. Just a bunch of suburbanites just like you. And in the hallowed halls of recording studios, in the darkness, was where not only the sound of America was created, but the world. There was magic in studios. But it really didn't begin until the band plugged in and started to play.

And from the hinterlands to Sound City was a very long journey. As AC/DC once sang, it's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll.

But not anymore. Five year olds can wail on their iPads. Record in GarageBand and then their parents can implore the rest of us to buy the production on iTunes. We're inundated with dreck. And the ultimate desire is to get rich.

That used to be the byproduct. The goal was to REACH EVERYBODY!

Yup, you could be recording in an industrial park, but if you got it right people could be singing your song not only next week, but forevermore. Chances were slim. As were opportunities. So you made the most of them. You only had one shot...to change the world...and your life.

It's not about technology, but people. In the almost unwatchable last third of this movie Trent Reznor, Josh Homme and Dave Grohl create music utterly riveting. With one hand on his laptop, Trent's not worried about the tech, but the sound. It always comes down to the sound.

And the songs.

Without both, you've got nothing.

We knew what Sound City was. Because we read the credits. More than once. They were not in tiny CD type, they were big, in the center of the gatefold, on the inner sleeve. We not only knew the studios, but the guitar strings. Everything about the musicians and their music, because the music touched us, because it changed our lives.

And it hasn't been that way in a very long time.

Because everybody's not shooting high enough. They don't need it enough. There wasn't a single person in Dave Grohl's studio telling him all that new material sucked, from Stevie Nicks to Lee Ving to Paul McCartney. Looked like they were having fun, but you don't want to hear a single song ever again.

Then there's "Lithium."

Nirvana was hungry. They had to get it right. The songs didn't need to be good, they needed to be great. And some things never change. If you're still that great, everybody will know. And if not, you're in an endless circle jerk thinking that everybody cares, when they don't.

So you can skip the first few minutes. Until Dave pulls up at the studio.

And they tell the story of Buckingham Nicks and Fleetwood Mac.

Ooh, brings chills.

Mick Fleetwood is looking for a cheap studio.

And Keith Olsen pulls up the Buckingham Nicks album. Recorded there. At Sound City.

Do you know "Crying In The Night"?

Check it out here: http://bit.ly/K9jOpI

It's the best Fleetwood Mac song you've never heard. Better than anything the band has done since "Rumours." But because musicians are insane and their own worst enemies, it and the album it came from has never been released on CD. Even though the vinyl record populated baby boomers' dorm rooms back in the seventies, when they bought that first Fleetwood Mac album with Stevie and Lindsey and needed MORE!

And when the sound comes out of the speakers, you TINGLE! Because it's the essence. Music played by people who NEED IT! Buckingham and Nicks were always gonna break through, because they were never gonna give up. That's what it takes, more than talent, PERSEVERANCE! You pay your dues, you get kicked around, and if you hang around long enough you make it.

You've got to be playing so long you get lucky.

And Buckingham and Nicks do. They're picked up and rescued by Mick Fleetwood and the rest of the Mac. Look at the photos. They were so young, so skinny, so CUTE!

They were our rock stars.

Like Tom Petty and his Heartbreakers. Who were known by everybody BEFORE "Damn The Torpedoes" and "Refugee." It's not about everybody knowing your name, but a track so indelible they've got to play it again and again, that they can't forget.

And yes, these tracks were all cut on the Neve.

But they would have been hits if they were cut ANYWHERE!

Don't forget, the even bigger "Rumours" was cut up north, at the Record Plant. Studios aren't everything.

But people are.

It was a different era. We were all paying attention. And if you got it right, you were as big and rich as anybody in the world. And you only answered to yourself. THAT'S why everybody wanted to be a rock star, the FREEDOM!

And it was hard work.

But it was worth it.

But then MTV made it more about looks than music. And the Internet blew the system apart. And if you don't think this is a good thing, you're never going to make it.

We need more documentaries like this. That illustrate how it once was. It's like discovering a Dead Sea Scroll.

The arc is bad. It's two movies in one. The story of a studio and the story of a board. Great moviemakers, like great writers, know it can only be about one thing. Add too much, even if it's great on its own, and you muddy the waters, you ruin it. An expert knows sometimes you've got to leave the best things out.

But when they show what it was like back in the seventies, with the girls and the dope and the hope, all tied together by the music, you just want to crank it.

And you realize you can't make it. That it's only the special few who deserve our accolades.

And this movie features more than one.

And when the soundtrack blasts, you say THAT'S IT!

P.S. The "Sound City" movie is totally free at the above link. Not sure if that was Dave's intention or a programming glitch, but put on your headphones and ENJOY!"

Reno Divorce Reviewed By Smash Magazine

This is a rough translation below from German, which isn't exactly our every day speaking tongue so bare with us. There are a lot of great comments though, once again proving that music needs very little translation. Reno Divorce is the band that will be breaking through to big stages in 2013.

Check out Smash-Mag.com

"Reno Divorce from Denver, Colorado to bring the punk not necessarily with new sounds, but create quite a spectacular panorama with "Lover's Leap". Imagine about a mix of punk lebensbejahendem brand Blink 182, which has a relationship with the street coolness of Social Distortion is received. This is in most places pretty earthy smells of sweat, but always the right amount of pop on board. This is the title song is a wallowing matter that is also not too far from the nostalgic storytelling of Bruce Springsteen. The songs of "Lover's Leap" unite the urgency of punk rock with the narrative tradition of folk and Americana that is truly an original American version of this genre. Reno Divorce created so although nothing genuinely new or Independent, they plow through it but still fertile field. So "Sunsets" also acts more like a holding in sepia tones road movie, stylish, presented without undue haste, a song that succeeds so only a band that sits firmly in the saddle. And even such a mood number like "Time Flies When You're Having Fun" is somehow put forward leaning back, so Reno Divorce act like the adult brothers of Orange County punk scene. In the song manifests a soul quiet confidence that the individual pieces gives a solid foundation unagitated. So then does a very grown so coming saxophone in "Make Sure You're Sure" not like a foreign body, but as a welcome addition to the soundscape. What this album certainly lacks is a revolutionary component of punk music, this is not a society turned upside down. One can even state that this music is a little convenient, not the last of energy from the pieces brings out but this is what is somehow pleasing. Here the big boys, juvenile bustle and excitement must stay outside. Reno Divorce go quite so well protected on the middle of the road, and in this case must not be criticized, because the artistic execution was carried convincingly and authentically."

Reno Divorce review of Lover's Leap on Smash-Mag.com out of Germany

Carolina Still Cover Painted On Tin From Old Barn

There are materials laying everywhere that should be re-purposed. We personally think you should use whatever you can find to help tell a story. In this case I painted on old tin from a barn. This particular painting is about the family farm of Justin Casey who is the lead singer, guitar and banjo player for Carolina Still. Had a lot of ideas around what to do for the album cover, but we opted to do something very Americana and Folk Art to help convey the vibe of the album. Damn stoked to see it all come together. Will be posting our process video later in the week.

Link up with Carolina Still

Carolina Still's new album artwork for The Color Of Rust

Song titles on the back panel

Full spread of the illustration on the old tin panel from a barn

Shot of the image I painted from along with the paints and brushes

Ambassador Jack White Enlightens Us About Vinyl Albums For Record Store Day

JACK WHITE: RECORD STORE DAY 2013 AMBASSADOR from Record Store Day on Vimeo.

RecordStoreDay.com

"Years ago someone told me that 1,200 high school kids were given a survey. A question was posed to them: Have you ever been to a stand-alone record shop? The number of kids that answered "yes" was... zero.

Zero? How could that be possible? Then I got realistic and thought to myself, "Can you blame them?" How can record shops (or any shop for that matter) compete with Netflix, TiVo, video games that take months to complete, cable, texting, the Internet, etc. etc? Getting out of your chair at home to experience something in the real world has started to become a rare occurrence, and to a lot of people, an unnecessary one. Why go to a bookstore and get a real book? You can just download it. Why talk to other human beings, discuss different authors, writing styles and influences? Just click your mouse. Well here's what they'll someday learn if they have a soul; there's no romance in a mouse click. There's no beauty in sitting for hours playing video games (anyone proud of that stop reading now and post your opinion in the nearest forum). The screen of an iPhone is convenient, but it’s no comparison to a 70mm showing of a film in a gorgeous theater. The Internet is two-dimensional…helpful and entertaining, but no replacement for face-to-face interaction with a human being. But we all know all of that, right? Well, do we? Maybe we know all that, but so what?

Let's wake each other up.

The world hasn't stopped moving. Out there, people are still talking to each other face-to-face, exchanging ideas and turning each other on. Art houses are showing films, people are drinking coffee and telling tall tales, women and men are confusing each other and record stores are selling discs full of soul that you haven’t felt yet. So why do we choose to hide in our caves and settle for replication? We know better. We should at least. We need to re-educate ourselves about human interaction and the difference between downloading a track on a computer and talking to other people in person and getting turned onto music that you can hold in your hands and share with others. The size, shape, smell, texture and sound of a vinyl record; how do you explain to that teenager who doesn't know that it's a more beautiful musical experience than a mouse click? You get up off your ass, you grab them by the arm and you take them there. You put the record in their hands. You make them drop the needle on the platter. Then they'll know.

Let's wake each other up.

As Record Store Day Ambassador of 2013 I’m proud to help in any way I can to invigorate whoever will listen with the idea that there is beauty and romance in the act of visiting a record shop and getting turned on to something new that could change the way they look at the world, other people, art, and ultimately, themselves.

Let's wake each other up."

Botswana Has A Metal Scene That Can Melt Jonah Hex's Stare

"The Time to Kill is Now (Trooper), 2010" Frank Marshall. Courtesy of Rooke Gallery.

Metal does something that I don't think any other genre of music can do. The raw pounding riffs, guttural shrieks and growls, along with absolute bravado actually create a unique form of energy. Go to any metal or hardcore show and watch as the crowd almost starts to foam at the mouth, just waiting for the rhythm and riffage to start. Its primal and draws upon an internal flame that most times almost cannot be quenched to it's fullest. Fans sing the lyrics, become part of the storyline and invest vast amounts of personal time and effort studying the craft of the musicians, who create the music.

When we got an email from Dawes of the infamous punk band Black Vomit Soda, we knew we had to investigate more and find out about these righteous dudes on the other side of the earth. Seeing the great photos of some of the Botswana metal fans is inspiring and clues us in that maybe our metal scene could use a dose of adrenalin. They have something great cookin'!

View post on The Guardian UK


"In the remorseless Kalahari heat, leather is not the most obvious choice of attire. But to a dedicated band of Batswana metalheads, it's the only way to dress. The country's heavy metal scene, imported from neighbouring South Africa, may be niche but its fans are passionate about their style. Dressed from head to toe in black leather, sporting cowboy boots, hats and exaggerated props, they draw some curious looks on the dusty streets.

"People think that we are rough, evil creatures, but [metal] teaches us to be free with expression, to do things on our own," said Vulture, the vocalist of the band Overthrust. He says there is a long way to go before the genre is considered mainstream, but that audiences have grown steadily in the past decade.

 
TKB, bassist for the band Skinflint, which is based in the capital of Botswana, Gaborone, says they are becoming a more familiar sight. "The culture doesn't accept heavy metal fans, the people all look at you, but nowadays even the young boys know that this person is a metalhead."

Botswana got its first heavy metal band, Metal Orizon, in the early 1990s. The group are still writing music and performing live today.

Their drummer, Selaelo, said the dress code was an important part of the act. "[Around] 1998 the unusual rock star outfit caused a lot of curiosity among hostile members of the public. This curiosity from non-rock lovers, I would say, brought more attention to the metalheads. Now that they had more attention, the rockers took [it] a step further by acting and posing in public. It was now more of a fashion, or the 'in thing' for those who loved the subculture."

Selaelo added: "Some say our music is just noise and some perceive us as violent people … but that has not dampened our spirits. We will continue to show our worth in society and to follow our hearts for the love of metal."

'Dead Demon Rider 1, 2010'. Photograph: Frank Marshall. Courtesy of Rooke Gallery

Metal Orizon are still pursuing their dream – to be able to make a living from their music.
There's not much airplay for metal in Botswana, with only one radio show that broadcasts for 50 minutes a week on national radio. Fans keep up to date through word of mouth, swapping tapes and social networks.


Though attendance at concerts is small in comparison to the west, the scene has slowly built a steady fan base. To date, no western heavy metal act has performed in Botswana, and no Botswana metal act has performed outside the region.

Jonah Hex can't even stare down anyone this hard

The most popular band, by far, is Wrust, who have toured South Africa and played as a support act for the Brazilian heavyweights Sepultura. Wrust say they draw on western influences, with a local twist in the lyrics and delivery.

But vocalist Stux Daemon said traditional culture was harder to integrate. "You are going to try to use your surroundings to influence your music, your thoughts and your songwriting, but [Setswana culture] is not something we focus on," he said.

The images are currently on display at the Rooke Gallery in Johannesburg
• This article was amended on 11 February 2013. The first paragraph referred to the metalheads as Botswanan. The main term for the people of Botswana is Batswana. This has been corrected.

"Death, 2010" Frank Marshall. Courtesy of Rooke Gallery.

Antiseen Ate More Possum And Lived!

Think you can keep up with Antiseen? In the immortal lyrics of Judas Priest, you have another thing coming! These road dogs never tire and never cease to continue in their mission, to be one of the longest running and continually evolving punk bands in existence. The show on Friday night in Raleigh was damn great as usual and proves just how great Antiseen is live on stage.

Keep up to date with all things Antiseen.com

The classic early 90's lineup of Antiseen, reunited for two shows over the weekend

Did you decide to stay home and miss another baptism by flying blood via Jeff Clayton, one word for ya, puss!

Awesome poster created for the shows

Eat More Possum, custom washboard by Jeff Clayton

The crimson mask is omnipresent at any Antiseen show