Bair Grills… Hemlock Is Blind by Paradox Black

Connecticut has known literally countless heavy metal musicians. From the internationally recognized to the tough-break busts, the local legends and the unsung greats, the multitaskers in ten different projects and the lifers who spend decades in the same group…. For the third-smallest state in the Union, it seems like there is a nearly infinite supply… Continue reading Bair Grills… Hemlock Is Blind by Paradox Black

Quarantine Music, Part 2: The AltCtrlToob Edition ft. Heilung, Ghost Cult, Murder Castle, and GimpAlisous

Going on Week Six of COVID-19 closures here in AltCtrl-Ville….  Maybe folks need something new to watch on Youtube??  Check out these videos! First up, Danish pagan collective Heilung released their first-ever music video yesterday, for the song “Norupo.”  (I checked, all the other videos on their Youtube channel are live performances or album teasers.) … Continue reading Quarantine Music, Part 2: The AltCtrlToob Edition ft. Heilung, Ghost Cult, Murder Castle, and GimpAlisous

Album Review: Murder Castle, The Black Widow

The Connecticut metal scene never says die, even if occasional posts in local community groups by certain individuals try to say it’s already dead and buried. True things have changed over time as venues close and musicians ‘grow up,’ but nothing is over in the Constitution State. For proof, look no further than The Black… Continue reading Album Review: Murder Castle, The Black Widow

Bair Grills… Serotonin Syndrome; Also, A Glimpse Into Bill Klopfer’s Coffers

Over a year ago, I was asked to review a new release called Heretic’s Fork by Murder Castle. Now if you hadn’t heard, we at Alternative Control adhere to a strict code of conduct that avoids conflicts of interest. I was tasked with that journalistic endeavor by our esteemed editor because I had no prior… Continue reading Bair Grills… Serotonin Syndrome; Also, A Glimpse Into Bill Klopfer’s Coffers

Held Tightly In Your Hands – The CD vs. MP3 Census.

  On the surface, it appears that there has never been a better time to be an independent musician than within the last decade. A crumbling, non-evolving music business model was taken hostage by Napster and then metaphorically sold to iTunes around 2002, MTV changed their programming outlook to such a point that the new… Continue reading Held Tightly In Your Hands – The CD vs. MP3 Census.

Bair Grills… Heretic’s Fork by Murder Castle

I was recently tasked with the pleasure of writing up local metal project Murder Castle. Instantly, I imagined an 8-bit NES cartridge, with a cartoon mad scientist cackling wildly, next to a Jessica Rabbit-inspired seductress, holding a dopey sleuth by the tie, with the eponymous estate looming in the background, gloomily lit by a flash… Continue reading Bair Grills… Heretic’s Fork by Murder Castle