Reviews: Lurid State "Dissenter"

By: Garviel Loken

Beginning with an ominous dirge and warnings of martial law, the new effort from Lurid State quickly proceeds to wire and detonate a dirty bomb of modern metal with blast pressure that gives you no choice but to nod your head. Make no mistake about the tag "modern," this isn't another bland and mediocre whatevercore record by a fifth rate clone band, but a great example of what happens when a band takes the elements of this subgenre and creates something solid.

Reviews: Lago "Marianas"

By: Garviel Loken

Where the paths of old school death metal and modern death metal intersect in the hottest part of the infernal regions, you will find the hyrbid creature known as Lago. This is no conjecture or idle speculation, but established fact. Not convinced? Well, sit your heretical ass down and listen to the "Marianas EP" for proof.

Driving Force: Craig Artz (Gridlokt, A Fall To Break, Xenocode Studio)

By: Salvia Hex

In this installment of Driving Force, we sit down and talk with Craig Artz, the main man and driving force behind numerous Tucson bands like Gridlokt, A Fall To Break, Answer To None and Xenocide Digital Recordings.

Craig has been ensconced in the Tucson music scene for the better part of 15 years now. He spent many of these years as the creative and motivational force behind Gridlokt, a band that toured extensively throughout the western states and opened shows for some heavy hitters in the industry like Superjoint Rutual and Devildriver. Gridlokt recently got back together for a reunion show this January, proving once again that they can sell out any venue they're booked, and that they haven't lost a beat in their time off.

Reviews: Seas Will Rise "Disease Is Our Refrain"

By: Garviel Loken

When you mix up and ingest too many kinds of hard liquor, you can find yourself praying for death the next morning as you suffer the consequences of your debauchery. This too applies to some albums, where bands fail to write good songs and try to cram in disproportional amounts of stylistic changes into the mix. This creates a quantity over quality scenario and what you get is a jumbled up piece of crap that leaves the listener feeling cheated and wanting to throw the music onto the ash heap of history. Thankfully, Seas Will Rise avoids this pitfall by a very wide margin on their new album, "Disease is Our Refrain".

Upcoming Shows: April/May/June 2012

As usual, there are tons of great shows coming through Arizona this spring. Make sure you get out of the house and hit one of these shows. Being there is the best kind of support!

The great shows all kick off with the ethereal Alcest at The Rogue in Phoenix on April 16th.

Stand With Fists is doing an underground glow show at The Runway in Tucson on April 19th. This show is being done in concordance with an industrial artist, so expect the unexpected.

Then of course that weekend is every stoner's favorite holiday. As such, there are plenty of 420 themed shows to go around. First up is Lethal Dosage's 420 Fest at The Rock in Tucson on April 20th.

Reviews: Rituals "Rituals"

By: Salvia Hex

Our Moon is steadily moving away from planet Earth. Every year it gets an inch or two farther away from us. At some point in the distant future it will completely escape the gravitational bonds of Earth and will slip away into the cold reaches of our solar system, tumbling out of even the sun's grasp in the heliosphere, until it breaks through the stagnation zone that encompasses our galaxy, fading away in the frigid emptiness of the the universe at large.

Science will tell you that this is because the Earth is so much larger than the Moon, that over the ages the Earth has slowly locked the Moon into it's orbit through it's greater size and gravity, and because of the tidal forces created by these two stellar masses, the Earth is now actually pushing the Moon farther from us through tidal bulges that form as the Moon crosses over the oceans as we slumber.

Science is wrong.

The real reason is Rituals.

Driving Force: Wayne Rudell (Powered Wig Machine)

By: Walter Kovacs

After a small hiatus, Driving Force is back. For this installation of Driving Force, we have an interview with undoubtedly one of the best band out of southeastern Arizona, Powered Wig Machine.

Their infectious blend of hard stoner-rock with a heavy metal chaser is habit forming. Some describe their music as being a fluid mix of Clutch, Queens Of The Stone Age, and Kyuss. If I had to compare them to a mixed drink, I would say that they would be akin to something like a Sazarac, big flavor with a strong powerful kick, a little spice and flair, and a whole lot of satisfying smoothness.