I had the pleasure of listening to the new EP The Second Coming by Boston’s thrash metal enthusiasts Black Mass. They made a pretty clear indication of what I was going to expect, I just didn’t know it was going to be such high-quality. For one, the EP sounds great. The production is clear, loud… Continue reading The Grand Conjuration: A Review of Black Mass’s The Second Coming
Summer Metal Update 2013
Another summer is upon us, and with it more great local and national shows. On the first day of June, Cherry Street Station in Wallingford kicks things off with Drunk Dan’s Summer Shit Show. The Decibel Magazine Tour is rolling into Toad’s Place on 6/4, featuring Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death, Immolation, and Magrudergrind. Your favorite… Continue reading Summer Metal Update 2013
The AltCtrl Comp Album: All the Cool Kids Are Doing It
… And for some reason, so are we. Alternative Control will release Quality Control: Volume I in early summer, showcasing tracks from twenty hand-picked bands we’ve reviewed, interviewed, or enjoyed. (Okay, and a few bands that our writers are in…) Most are from Connecticut and most are metal, but we will spread our tentacles,… Continue reading The AltCtrl Comp Album: All the Cool Kids Are Doing It
Return of the 17-Year Cicadas!
From the Peabody Museum, via The Mercurial An extraordinary natural phenomenon is about to take place. This year the 17-year cicada will emerge from colonies in undisturbed forested regions in south-central Connecticut. Expect to see and hear these fascinating creatures starting at the end of May and throughout the month of June.
Awaiting the $600 Egg
When I was a kid, I lived on a farm. We had it all: horses, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, guinea hens, even a partridge! My dad was the brains and brawn behind the operation; I was, for a time, the egg collector. The chickens were my favorite animals because they were relatively… Continue reading Awaiting the $600 Egg
Surfing Hellfire Waves: A Review of Ghost’s Infestissumam
What the hell makes Ghost so appealing? The band has gathered quite an eclectic fan base in a very short span of time, so what’s the deal? The songwriting isn’t complex, the music is easy to digest and covers a lot of familiar territory, and the Satanist theme is anything but a new concept in… Continue reading Surfing Hellfire Waves: A Review of Ghost’s Infestissumam
JW’s Asian Extravaganza
Milford, Connecticut is overflowing with Asian cuisine. For such a tiny town, there’s some version of a Chinese/Japanese/Thai place every half mile, to the point where it’s starting to get weird. For this piece I’m just centering on just one immediate area: the JW-carved out range between the CT Post Mall and Milford Marketplace (Whole… Continue reading JW’s Asian Extravaganza