The Asound - Wolves Will Feed - Debut Video

Pre-Order this album now, ships the week of Nov 16th

We are damn proud to be working with The Asound out of western North Carolina. These fellas bring the heaviness with their riffage and pounding rhythms. Having shared stages with Eyehategod, Lo Pan, Black Cobra, The Accused A.D., Bask, Today Is The Day, The Obsessed, Ringworm and many more, take stock in them as a band that will be heard far and wide after their brand new album, Impalement Arts starts to seep under every crevice.

Heavy Metal Cruise of the Caribbean

The "Independence of the Seas" set sail from Florida for the loudest sea cruise in the Caribbean. Some 60 bands are to play on board for 3,000 music fans who'll spend five days and nights dancing on the pool deck. 

The organizers, "70,000 TONS OF METAL," claim it to be the original and biggest heavy metal sea cruise. The first such music festival on a cruise ship took place in 2011.

This year will feature acts like the legendary bands Anthrax and Overkill as well as Uli Jon Roth, the former Scorpions guitarist.

From Port Everglades, the cruise head to Labadee, on the island of Haiti, and back again. The cruise lasts four days, from February 2-6.

Myanmar Heavy Metal Crashes into the Open

Half a century of repressive military rule virtually silenced Myanmar’s heavy metal scene, but a growing coterie of die-hard metal-heads say the aggressive, rasping music gives them a unique release in a nation still struggling to come to terms with its own dark history

A young head banger displays his tattoos last month at a heavy metal gig in Yangon.

Moshing and sweating, the crowd of headbangers scream their angst into the sultry Yangon night, a rare glimpse of a defiant musical subculture now crashing into the open — though sex, drugs and religion remain off the song sheet.

Half a century of repressive military rule virtually silenced Myanmar’s heavy metal scene and today its musicians are still shunned by most people in the conservative Buddhist country.

But a growing coterie of die-hard metal-heads say the aggressive, rasping music gives them a unique release in a nation still struggling to come to terms with its own dark history.

“Listening to metal is the fucking best feeling. It is like freedom, it’s good for the soul,” 21-year-old mobile phone repairman Thaw Di Yoo told AFP at a recent gig.

“It’s different from other music, that’s why I am only a fan of metal,” he said, showing a tattoo depicting the logo of his local heroes — Nightmare Metal Band — on his arm.

Testament Return to the Heavy Metal Music Scene in Solid Form

When legends release new material, it can be quite disappointing. For instance, when Metallica released Load, most heavy #metal fans were let down immensely. The crunch was gone, the complexity was all but absent, and years of over touring had taken a toll on singer James Hetfield much sooner than his age would suggest. While the mighty Met have managed to redeem themselves since then, thankfully #Testament has yet to release a slab of sub par material, and thankfully their newest, “#Brotherhood of the Snake” keeps that tradition in tact. If anything, with guitarist Eric Peterson at the songwriting helm, they may have just released the most exciting metal album of the year, if not of their career.

Custom Studded Denim & Leather Guitar Strap

The guitar strap is made out of 8 oz. leather that is tanned and softened to be an easily worn for hours upon end. The strap has screw holes cut out for a variety of mounting options and adjusts from 46" inches to 65" inches. If you are looking for a specific length, just let us know upon checkout and we can get the strap set up to your exact specs for a perfect right out of the shipping box.

For this guitar strap we use vintage black denim as the fabric, which is then glued and stitched to the heavyweight leather strap.

The guitar strap is 2.5" inches wide at full width and then tapers on both ends.

Check out this strap and more on our Etsy Store

Rusty Knuckles triple row studded Denim & Leather guitar strap

Rusty Knuckles triple row studded Denim & Leather guitar strap

Rusty Knuckles triple row studded Denim & Leather guitar strap

Details on our custom guitar with acid etched aluminum pick guard

Details on our custom guitar with acid etched aluminum pick guard

Heavy Metal Finds a Home in Botswana

A 27-year-old man nicknamed Cybok is a heavy-metal fan from the southern African nation of Botswana. Photographer Pep Bonet documented the metal subculture there in December. "I started listening to heavy metal in 2008," Cybok told Bonet. "I liked the way the metalheads dressed and behaved, so I started associating myself with them and I became a rocker."

Pep Bonet started documenting the rock 'n' roll scene in 2008. He photographed the British band Motorhead, spending years on the road with legendary singer Lemmy Kilmister.

But soon he discovered there were heavy-metal lovers in a different part of the world.

Heavy Metal Music Growing Everywhere

Metal guitarist and Wilmington resident Chris Elliot of the band Omeni.

COLUMBUS — When iconic heavy metal singer Rob Halford of Judas Priest took the stage last Monday night and performed with new wave Japanese heavy metal band Babymetal, many fans in the tradition-soaked genre were surprised.
 But Bowling Green State University anthropologist and pop culture professor Dr. Jeremy Wallach said the collaboration didn’t surprise him at all.
Heavy metal music isn’t just growing in popularity in the U.S., it is growing in worldwide appeal, he says. And with that international growth comes a shift in what defines heavy metal music.
The historic pairing of “old and new” music didn’t surprise Xenia native Chris Elliot of Wilmington or music blogger Jonathan Williams of Washington Court House, either.

The Ultimate 80s Rock Documentary 'Heavy Metal Parking Lot' Will Never Die

We are now exactly as far removed in time from the 1986 release of Heavy Metal Parking Lot as its sleeveless truants and zebra-print daytrippers were from Elvis Presley's gyrations on The Milton Berle Show. In other words, the world's greatest 16-minute documentary about Judas Priest fandom currently stands at the precise midpoint—almost to the day—of the filmed history of rock 'n' roll.

HMPL is one of the VHS era's unassailable cult classics, although it's hard to know what that term means since the creation of YouTube and the evergreen availability of nearly everything. The thrill of discovering a copy in a friend's tape collection or at a rare DC-area screening is gone. That the film continues to reward viewers in its freely available .MP4 incarnation is a testament to its weird goodness, its good weirdness, and the unscripted enthusiasm of its stars: a Chaucerian succession of hilarious caterwauling youths. It's hard to imagine a less cynical group of people. The underage beer-guzzling is as quaint today as the lines of pristine Mustangs and Firebirds or the public displays of devotion to Judas Priest, a devotion that remained unshaken and sincere even after the definitive anti-hagiography that was 1984's This Is Spinal Tap.

Heavy Metal Parking Lot from Jeff Krulik on Vimeo.

An Old Style Skeleton Key Atlas Padlock Equals New Kinds Of Cool

Old Style Padlock Equals New Kinds Of Cool

Old technology can sometimes get lost in the busy nature of how fast we are living our lives. This is where an old idea can resonate like no other though. The replica Atlas padlock has a vintage feel but is all modern with its heavy features and skeleton key lock mechanism.

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.