andrew rotten

Chikara

2009-09-04T10:30:32Z

So I happen to see a poster for this taped on the coca cola machine at work last night. Literally the next street over from where I live too. :-D

http://www.chikarapro.com/springfield.shtml

Any Masshole from this area who claims to be a wrestling fan should be there!

Top albums of 2008

2009-01-01T11:09:28Z

Welcome to 2009! Now that 08 is over, let's list my overdue albums of LAST year. This will be determined by the number of plays from the ipod.

15. Scar Symmetry - Holographic Universe
With Christian being replaced by TWO vocalists, lets hope they can keep the momentum.

14. Abigail Williams - In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns.
Definite surpriser and much better then the EP. It also helps that Trym from Emperor plays drums on most of this.

13. Toxic Holocaust - An Overdose of Death

12. Moonspell - Night Eternal

11. Origin - Antithesis

10. Ihsahn -Angl

9. Testament - Formation of Damnation
Took long enough. And unlike Chinese Democracy, it was not only worth the wait but was better then I expected.

8. Brain Drill - Apocalyptic Feasting

7. Amon Amarth - Twilight of the Thunder God

6. Cradle of Filth - Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder
Their best since Damnation and a Day.

5. Cavalera Conspiracy - Inflikted

4. Dismember - S/T

3. Death Angel - Killing Season

2. Grave - Dominion VIII

1. Unleashed - Hammer Battalion

Hopes for 2009

New Nevermore?

Kreator - Hordes of Chaos

Cannibal Corpse!!

Iced Earth and Into Eternity 10/15/08

2008-10-17T00:46:43Z

Even though my birthday was Saturday, last night would be what I considered to be part one of my 'celebration'. And what better then seeing one of my favorite bands with their rightful singer back where he belongs?

Palladium was pretty packed for it being a Wednesday night in October. I recall seeing Cannibal Corpse on a Monday night and only like 150 at most being there.

Tim Roth wasn't on their tour, because according to Stu during their set, he was having a baby. "No, his wife isn't pregnant. He's going to be giving birth through his dick!" They had this kid from a band I've never heard of called Blessed By a Broken Heart fillinf in and he surprisingly did a good job. Last time I saw them last march, their sound was so terrible you couldn't even hear the snare drum at all, just the hi-hat and bass drums until their second to last song. Stu did a good job filling in for Tim's vocal harmonies as well. Was tempted to buy their Fuck Cancer t-shirt but I'm going to be seeing Dimmu Borgir and Moonspell Friday, so I settled on just an Iced Earth one. They did my favorite song Splintered Visions this time, so that is always a plus. :-)

Iced Earth hit the stage around 10 and simply destroyed. Destroyed my hearing that is. I wasn't even on the floor in front and my ears are ringing worse then after a Manowar show. My only true complaints really are that Burnt Offerings got shafted and that Barlow's voice could've been higher in the mix. They did I believe were 18 songs for a 90 minute set.

Not surprisingly Something Wicked This Way Comes got the most attention with 5 songs. They did a few of the Ripper songs, which happened to be the few from that brief era that I liked :-).

Shirt that I bought:

WWE Raw/Smackdown/ECW Supershow - July 19, 2008

2008-07-21T18:30:09Z

WWE came back to Springfield, this time on a Saturday night instead of a Sunday afternoon for a house show the night before The Great American Bash. Instead of going alone, I managed to get my co-worker Dan to come, even though he only knew of a handful of the guys who were advertised.

After finding our seats (which had a better view then we expected) and buying some overpriced beer and a Triple H t-shirt, we were told right off the bat by Tony Chimmel that John Cena couldn't make it, so the main event was changed to CM Punk vs Batista for the World Heavyweight Title instead of the original one consisting of Cena and Batista vs JBL and Big Show, with us 'choosing the stipulation', only one of which I can remember which was NO DQ. Most of the matches were 'previews' of last night's ppv.

For $22, I'd say it was worth it. One of the better house shows I've been to in the last few years and I managed to tell Mike Knox that he looked like an Orangutan during his match.

The card (to the best of my knowledge):

1. Evan Bourne vs Mike Knox
Evan got a bigger reaction then I expected, which was nice. Nothing eventful but I got to see Sydal in person. Can't complain.
Winner: Evan Bourne with the Shooting Star Press. Wasn't that move supposedly banned?

2. 4-Way Tag Match from GAB for the WWE Tag Team Titles
Winners: Miz and Boob Man. Finlay laid out Jesse and Fetus with the shilelagh afterwards.

3. Bikini contest with Kelly Kelly, Layla, Lena (?), Jillian, Natalya and Maryse
I got myself another beer during this but I remember screaming that Jillian was the greatest singer ever but apparently no one agreed with me because she got Jumped by Natalya and it ended with a "cat fight! Cat Fight!" into the back.

4. Mark Henry vs Tommy Dreamer for the ECW title.
Mark Henry and Tony Atlas wouldn't shut up and we got to listen to Mizzark and Dreamer call each other fat for what seemed like 10 minutes and Dreamer tell us that Springfield was more hardcore then the current champ. Rather boring match to be honest with Henry getting the win. I kept yelling at Mark Henry that he better not bring the ring and asked him if he wanted another cheeseburger.
Winner: Mark Henry with the fat splash.

5. Khali and Umaga vs Big Show and Triple H.
Khali is fucking HUGE in person, making Trips look small in comparison. Entertaining match surprisingly, ending with Trips hitting the pedigree on Khali. Show told Trips that he wants a title shot afterwards.
Winners: Triple H and Big Show.

Intermission. I missed part of the next match while waiting in line for another beer and a pizza.

6. Kofi Kingston vs Paul Burchill for the IC Title.
Crowd was a bit quiet for this one. I think Sydal got a bigger pop then Kofi tbh. Crowd was a bit too silent for Burchill though :-(. Pretty good match with Kofi winning. The 10 year old girls in front of me were screaming like my sister at a New Kids on the Block concert.

7. MVP and Shelton Benjamin vs The Hardys.
Match of the night easily. MVP and Shelton played tug of war with Matt's shirt before the bell and threw it into the crowd, with Matt and Jeff doing the same to MVP's but the guy who caught it threw it back, so it got thrown to the other side and the same happened. Third time was a charm though.

8. CM Punk vs Batista for the World Heavyweight Title. No DQ.
This one managed to last 15 minutes, though apart from a few chair shots and such, it didn't feel like a No DQ. Finish came with Punk getting the clean pin with the GTS when Batista tried going for the Batista Bomb.
An angry Batista told Punk he wouldn't get lucky the next night and gave him a Batista Bomb. Aside from Triple H, that got the biggest pop, but I think that had more to do with everybody being shocked by him being there.

Triple H shirt that I bought:

Top 10 Albums of All Time

2008-07-05T05:28:28Z

To say my Fourth of July was uneventful would be an understatement, with the most eventful thing being my trip to Subway for dinner. Here's my favorite albums for anybody interested.

1. Death - Human. Death's best album, hands down.
2. Behemoth - Satanica
3. Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane.
4. Sanctuary - Into the Mirror Black
5. Nevermore - Politics of Ecstasy
6. Death - Symbolic
7. Queensryche - Rage For Order
8. Dimmu Borgir - Enthrone Darkness Triumphant
9. Iron Maiden - Powerslave
10. Candlemass - Nightfall

Honorable Mentions:
Death - Spiritual Healing. Can you tell Death is my favorite band?
Arch Enemy - Burning Bridges
Black Sabbath - Sabotage. Paranoid is about as overrated as British Steel.

Yours?

About Damn Time!

2008-06-18T12:20:30Z

As happy as I am the Celtics have finally won their 17th championship, I look o so forward to ticketing all of our NBA champions t-shirts tonight. Too bad I had to miss the damn game because of work :-(.

Before I forget...

FUCK YOU KOBE! :-p

New Judas Priest = turbo 2008 except songs about Turbo Lovers and not needing any Parental Guidance are replaced with "I Am Nostradamus." Least it's nowhere near as bad as Point of Entry.

andrewrotten @ 2008-03-14T18:24:00

2008-03-14T22:24:57Z

LONDON (Reuters) - It is the one moment every man wants to get right -- and which London floor-fitter Lefkos Hajji could hardly have got more wrong.

ADVERTISEMENT

The luckless 28 year-old's dreams of giving his sweetheart, Leanne, 26, the ultimate proposal have literally vanished into thin air.

Hajji, of Hackney, east London, had concealed a $12,000 engagement ring inside a helium balloon. The idea was that she would pop the balloon as he popped the question.

But as he left the shop, a gust of wind pulled the balloon from his hand and he watched the ring -- and quite possibly the affections of his girlfriend -- sailing away over the rooftops.

"I couldn't believe it," he told The Sun newspaper.

"I just watched as it went further and further into the air.

"I felt like such a plonker. It cost a fortune and I knew my girlfriend would kill me."

Hajji spent two hours in his car trying to chase and find the balloon, without success.

"I thought I would give Leanne a pin so I could literally pop the question," he said.

"But I had to tell her the story -- she went absolutely mad. Now she is refusing to speak to me until I get her a new ring."

He is hoping the ring will still turn up.

"It would be amazing if someone found it," he added.

(Reporting by Peter Apps. Editing by Steve Addison)

andrewrotten @ 2008-02-07T21:01:00

2008-02-08T02:03:04Z

Appointment made. I will be getting me some new ink on Monday the 18th. Go me! O fucking yeah.

Interesting...

2008-02-06T00:35:15Z

Who You Should Vote For

John McCain: 60%
Ron Paul: 60%
Barack Obama: 47%
Hillary Clinton: 47%
Mike Huckabee: 40%
Mitt Romney: 20%

Who you agree with on the war in Iraq: Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama

Who you agree with on the economy: Mike Huckabee, John McCain and Ron Paul

Who you agree with on health care: Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Ron Paul and Mitt Romney

Who you agree with on taxes: Mike Huckabee

Who you agree with on abortion: Ron Paul

Who you agree with on gay rights: Ron Paul and John McCain

Who Should You Vote For?

At least Romney's at the bottom of that list...

andrewrotten @ 2008-01-17T18:35:00

2008-01-17T23:38:27Z

Lately I've been wanting to get some more ink done, but have been short on ideas. Until 3 days ago that is.

Hopefully I'll be able to get this little guy done within the next month. :-)

andrewrotten @ 2008-01-12T20:31:00

2008-01-13T01:59:06Z

Cheers to spending half of your pay check at the strip club. And unfortunatly, no booze were involved. I need more friends who are drinking age :-(.

January 19 at The Palladium

February 7th at the Webster Theater

I'm Baaaaack!

2008-01-04T22:33:20Z

My router died about 3 weeks ago and I was too busy to do anything about until yesterday, which would explain my absence as of late. I doubt very many people noticed anyways though, since all I mainly do these days is look at wrestling sites it seems...

Christmas was pretty good because I didn't have to go anywhere for a change. My co-worker had invited me to her house in Agawam for dinner but I wound up being too tired. The fact we had to go into work for 5 hours for ad set at 3 in the morning had me sleeping until 11 anyways. In terms of gifts, I'd say I fared out good. A list of gifts:

• 80 GB Ipod Classic
• Nightwish - Dark Passion Play cd
• Robin Williams - A Night At the Met
• CSI: NY Seasons 1 and 3
• CSI Season 7
• ROH Manhattan Mayhem II dvd and black ROH baseball cap
• Metalocalypse Season 1
• 2 Best Buy gift cards
• Chili's gift card
• $80.00 (got to love big families :-))
• Godfather DVD Collection
• Clerks X
• Madden 08
• Smackdown vs Raw 08 (CM Punk FINALLY!)

The money and gift cards were used on:

• Divine Heresy - Bleed the Fifth
• Dethklok - The Dethalbum
• South Park Seasons 9 and 10
• Death Proof and Planet Terror
• Cannibal Corpse - Vile reissue
• ROH Glory By Honor VI Nights 1 and 2

Thanksgiving, I made contact with my dad for the first time in years. Appearance wise he doesn't quite look so great, which makes me sad but he did seem happier then when I last saw him. He's on disability for his back (finally), so while he doesn't make as much money as roofing, I don't want him on a roof anytime soon.

My furniture situation for the move has been looking up. Jason and Sydney updated their bedroom set, so I've been told I can get the old dresser and desk and such. All I'd have to buy it seems is a new bed and since I don't use bed frames, that'll be one less cost. Pretty much all I'd have to bring are my PS2, cds, dvds, clothes and other electronics.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Top 10 Albums of the Year

1. Three Inches of Blood - Fire Up the Blades
2. High on Fire - Death Is This Communion
3. Arch Enemy - Rise of the Tyrant
4. Exodus - Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit A
5. Candlemass - King of the Grey Islands
6. Aeon - Rise to Dominate
7. Overkill - Immortalis
8. Skeletonwitch - Beyond the Permafrost
9. Municipal Waste - The Art of Partying
10. White Stripes - Icky Thump

Honorable Mentions:

Clutch - From Beale St To Oblivion
Scorpions - Humanity: Hour 1
Behemoth - The Apostasy

Behemoth 11-16-07

2007-11-17T23:20:17Z

As you can see from the subject, Poland's second greatest export (just behind Polish Sausage) came to Massachusetts last night as the headliner of an interesting package also featuring Job For a Cowboy, Gojira and Beneath the Massacre. While most tours tend to have at least two shitty bands on the bill, last night had only one (take a wild guess on which one it is), with their mall fans in full force. After meeting up with my fellow Kohl's employees boyfriend Jeremy, we got on the road just after 6:00.

Montreal's Beneath the Massacre was up first and I personally didn't mind them too much, even though their guitar player did not lift his head up once during the set and acted as if his feet were nailed to the stage. Some idiot hardcore dancer managed to pass out at the end of their set without his shirt intact and wearing fucking shorts in 35 degree weather. Rating: 6.5/10

France's Gojira was up next and probably surprised the hell out of anybody new to the band. Very intense and hard hitting drummer, with a singer who practically turned into the Incredible Hulk (minus the turning green and the 'You wouldn't like me when I'm angry part), they plowed through a 5-6 song set and completly blew them off the stage. Jeremy turned to me after they finished and said 'That was fucking awesome!' Rating: 8/10

Job For a Cowboy easily had the worst guitar tech I ever heard. Took him around ten minutes to get it ready and it STILL wasn't in tune. They finally took the stage a little while after with some song I don't know because quite frankly, they bore the crap out of me. *death metal growl* "We are... Job For a Cowboy!" Not like it mattered because I actually fell asleep just under ten minutes into the set. The highlight being right before I fell asleep, some random guy yelled "Get the fuck off the stage!" between the second and third songs. Jeremy mentioned that he saw that hardcore dancer from two sets earlier return to the pit, this time without incident. Rating: Who fucking cares.

I was a bit surprised that Behemoth came on last considering JFACs success here. Hell, a good number of people left the moment JFAC left the stage. Sucks to be them, because Behemoth get better and better each time I see them. Their performance at Metal Fest was one of the highlights that weekend back in April and this one managed to top that one. They played a good few songs off The Apostasy, while still managing to play a number of the old favorites too. I also happened to see a good number of the 'Nergal Please' t-shirts that they were selling walking around too. Nergal said that they would be back next year. Hopefully they come to Oregon. Rating: 9/10

"OOOPS! Sorry about that sir...

2007-10-29T11:32:46Z

A VENEZUELAN man who had been declared dead woke up in the morgue in excruciating pain after medical examiners began their autopsy.

Carlos Camejo, 33, was declared dead after a highway accident and taken to the morgue, where examiners began an autopsy only to realise something was amiss when he started bleeding. They quickly sought to stitch up the incision on his face.

"I woke up because the pain was unbearable," Mr Camejo told newspaper El Universal.

His grieving wife turned up at the morgue to identify her husband's body only to find him moved into a corridor - and alive.

Mr Camejo showed the El Universal his facial scar and a document ordering the autopsy

andrewrotten @ 2007-10-04T17:17:00

2007-10-05T00:31:16Z

Time for an actual update. October's going to be a busy month in the Rotten World, so I'm just going to leave a bunch of notes.

• Lots of good shows coming up. Municipal Waste, Skeletonwitch and Toxic Holocaust are playing in Holyoke on Sunday. Dark Funeral and Naglfar is next Saturday, with Shadows Fall and 3 Inches of Blood the next night.

• Vic's finally going through with his move to Idaho of all places on the 17th. While I think it's dumb to move there over some girl he met on myspace, whatever hopefully something possitive will come out of it for him for a change. *shrug*

• On the subject of moving, holiday hours are now here. Which means that I'll be having more money to save for my move to Oregon between now and Christmas. By February I should have more then enough saved up.

• New Down, Overkill and Skeletonwitch albums rule! Buy them you cheap fuckers! Overkill in general just flat rules.

• My birthday is in seven days. You better be getting me lots of fucking presents! :-)

Bad Things Happen When You Listen To Papa Roach

2007-09-14T19:23:13Z

The Associated Press reports: A man trying to climb a 12-foot, wrought-iron fence into a Bad Boys of Rock concert in York, Pennsylvania — featuring the bands HINDER, PAPA ROACH and BUCKCHERRY — fell onto one of the inch-thick spikes, impaling his thigh, then held on while rescuers worked to cut part of the fence away.

The man drifted in and out of consciousness as firefighters used hydraulic cutters to snap three of the spikes, but he was speaking as rescuers loaded him into an ambulance about 45 minutes later, said John Kottmyer, assistant chief of York fire and rescue service.

"He had to actually try to hold himself up there," Kottmyer said.

The man underwent surgery Wednesday night and was still hospitalized Thursday, according to David Nichols, chief of the West Manchester Township Fire Department. His identity was not released; no police charges were filed.

The fence's sharp-ended spikes rise about 8 inches above a horizontal bar, and when the man fell, one spike penetrated his leg completely. Nichols said the rescuers could not have removed the man from the fence.

"Medical protocol is you don't ... remove an impalement because it may have severed an artery or nicked an artery and it could be holding back that blood," Nichols said.

The man had a concert ticket, but officials said the group may have jumped the fence to avoid the fair's $5 entry fee. His friends jumped the fence safely.

Spread the word for this IMPORTANT cause

2007-09-01T10:19:54Z

The Absence has been posting these bulletins on myspace and I could not help but spread the word and help a worthy cause.

"FREE METAL UPGRADE! Bring your TRIVIUM shirt to an ABSENCE show and swap it out for a shirt from THE ABSENCE for free! We're touring all over America and Canada so come out, swap out that TRIVIUM shirt and show the world that you truly are metal!"

Xecutioner's Return

2007-08-30T01:20:33Z

New Obituary completly destroys! Easily one of my favorite albums to be out this year and their best since Cause of Death. Obituary mkes their best music without Allen West.

I'll definetly be blaring this one at work tonight. :-)

Tagged by Morgue_Orgy

2007-08-08T11:01:55Z

Figured I'd do this real quick before having to go to work tonight...

Seven Things Meme

1. List seven habits/quirks/facts about yourself.
2. Tag seven people to do the same.
3. Do not tag the person who tagged you or say that you tag whoever wants to do it.

1. I still own my first stuffed animal and have him hanging from my ceiling as a decoration.
2. I am VERY against children have tv AND cable in their room unless they're 18.
3. I seriously want to kill whoever decided that wearing your pants below your ass was "cool".
4. I HATE tuna fish. I refuse to be within at least 4 feet of it or anybody eating it.
5. I once wanted to bang a mermaid when I was 12, until I began wondering where the damn vagina would be if that damn fin was in fact part of the body.
6. I HATE text messaging. Sorry if I actually care about spelling simple words correctly.
7. I'm really starting to hate my job...

I'll only be able to tag a few people on account that they're the only ones who actually update:

jadedshock, soulmetal, zaktto, tigtogiba34, lolyouthinasia

Papyrus Containing the Spell to Preserve Its Possessor Against Attacks from He Who is in the Water

2007-08-02T23:19:36Z

I posted a couple of pics from Testament on myspace last week. Feel free to check them out since I am too lazy to post them on here.

www.myspace.com/andrewrotten

Stupid Relapse says they have the new Municipal Waste in stock and much to my chagrin, the damn thing is on backorder. Least they sent my Overkill and D.R.I. cds, even though the stupid UPS man left the package on my downstairs neighbor's porch instead of mine.

Speaking of Municipal Waste, they're coming to Springfield with Toxic Holocaust and Skeletonwitch. Fuck yes! It best not be 21 and up.

Testament - July 16, 2007

2007-07-17T21:14:05Z

I was exposed to Testament after seeing the video for Over the Wall on VH1's Rock Show back when I was in middle school. Fast forward 8 years and one Mr. Rotten finally got the chance to see one of his favorite bands live, and it was only 45 minutes from West Springfield.

I knew my friend and co worker Victor would like to go and that his new girfriend Sarah drives, so we were able to get her to drive us up. When we went to buy tickets, they still had VIP ones for $55 where we would get to meet the band, so after walking around to 3 different gas staions, we finally came across a damn ATM. Makes me glad I "save for a rainy day" as my mother would put it.

Doors opened at 6:30 and we left at 4 because of our little Slayer fiasco of not being able to find the venue, as well as Vic being a little worried about tickets being sold out. Map quest said it would take 47 minutes and we got there in about 40-45. So we wound up starting a line after buying our tickets and wound up being the first ones in when doors finally opened at 6:45ish.

Rawhead Rex was the first band up. I personally didn't like them but I didn't hate them either. To be honest, I was staring at the lead singer probably the entire time. For the last 3 songs, they had to have somebody hold up their bass drum because of the slippery stage.

I wound up seeing Paul Hammerskull and his friend Dylan right after that set was done, so I hung outside in the smoking area with them and a few of their friends during Skulltobogan's (sp?) set, as whille as hanging with Nick Nihilist and Metal George. Other then the fact Dylan pointed out that the singer sounded like Kermit the frog, I didn't really pay much attention to them.

Candy Striper Death Orgy were up next. Paul and Dylan were familiar with them whereas I had yet to listen to them. If you like Nuclear Assault and Overkill, then I say this band is for you. Hell, they were selling Nuclear Assault shirts for $15 at their merch table. They only had 2XL sized shirts, so they offered me one for 5 bucks off, so I accepted and figured I could have my dryer shrink it a bit. CSDO also impressed me enough to where I even bought one of their shirts. They kept trying to get everyone on the floor to start a circle pit, but only about 10 us actually did.

The main attraction was up next. I had read the previous night that Nick Barker was sent back to England when arrived, so they wound up enlisting Paul Bostaph which is aa win/win situation in itself. They opened with Eerie Inhabitants and immeadiently burst into The New Order. They did an 18 song set that included songs from every album except for Demonic but in return we got a new song set to appear on the new cd called The Afterlife. A very good mid tempo song if you ask me. during the intro, Chuck was talking about how close they were to having to cancel until Paul stepped in. My favorite songs were played (Alone in the Dark, Over the Wall, The Legacy, Electric Crown, Low and D.N.R.). The only complaint (albeit minor) was the fact that unless you knew all the songs, it was apparently harder to make out half of them from the back (where Victor and Sarah were). Some nice circle pits going on throughout the set that caused me to step out of retire for a bit and paying the price right now with my ankle with an ice packed on it for the moment so that it doesn't annoy me at work tonight.

Set list (best to my memory)

01. Eerie Inhabitants
02. The New Order
03. The Haunting
04. Electric Crown
05. Sins of Omission
06. D.N.R.
07. Three Days in Darkness
08. Practice What You Preach
09. Into The Pit
10. The Legacy
11. True Believer
12. Low
13. The Afterlife (new song)
14. Souls of Black
15. Over The Wall
16. The Preacher
17. Alone in the Dark
18. Disciples of the Watch

Paul wound up catching Bostaph's drum stick, so I offered to get it signed for him during the meet and greet but he said his dad would be there to pick him up any minute now, which turned out to be a good thing for him because we had to wait for all of the non VIPs to leave before they'd come out. Alex came out first and chatted with a few people on their way out before coming to meet us. Very nice guy who took the time to talk to everyone and had a good 5 minute convo with everbody and listening to him joke about how the place looked like somewhere the high school prom would take place. Paul Bostaph came out 10 minutes but stayed for like 10 minutes before I could get a pic with him. Greg came out and stayed out about as long as Alex did. Got his autograph and a pic with him before Chuck Billy made his grand entrance. I talked to him for a bit as well as getting a pic and autograph from him. Eric didn't come out, which was a bit disapointing at first but fuck, I met Chuck fuckin' Billy! Sarah took pics of me with Chuck, Alex and Greg on her camera phone, so hopefully I'll be getting those soon :-).

Easily one of the 3 best shows I've been to and the fact I finally got to meet the Nhilist and Hammerskull made it that much better. Thanks to Victor and Sarah for taking me, as well as for keeping an eye on my shirts and hat during the last two sets while I gave them non stop make out time. After the amount of money I spent last night, I'm waiting at least a month before I go to any future shows.

Current Playlist

2007-06-22T21:42:49Z

I don't update this thing enough. Blame it on me being lazy, as well as never having much if anything to write about.

Work last night went pretty well for a change. Not that it's horrible by any stretch but the fact managment feels that only 10 people are enough for every truck and expect everything done by 6, regardless if it's 1600 cartons or over 2000 can be a bit annoying can be a tad bit stressful. Since I'm usually the one in the truck, I invested in a small cd player a couple weeks back for inside the truck. I just need to get an extension cord that's at least 40 feet so that I'm not tortueing my co-workers TOO much :-p.

Aiden's birthday party is on Sunday. I got him a couple of TNMT shirts on my out of the store this morning since it's associate shop weekend. Probably tommorow I'll buy him a dvd to go with them since I got the shirts for under ten dollars. The problem in that will be the fact my sister spoils him when it comes to movies. So if it's been out for close to two months, chances are he has it. I'm going to see if he already has Night At the Museum but I'm not exactly looking forward to calling her to make sure he doesn't have it. She always makes it seem like it's such an inconvience whenever (the very few times I do so) I call. Maybe actually playing with your kids and spending a little more time with them instead of being on the phone with your dumb friends will change my opinion but that won't be happening anytime soon.

I'm hoping to go to Summer Slaughter on the 6th but I'll only have one day's worth of pay because of next week being inventory. I'm trying to talk Victor into having his girlfriend bring us Testament. Hopefully that goes well.

With Live Free or Die Hard coming out next week, Vic and I decided to rent the Die Hard movies. Unfortunatly, West Coast Video only had the first two. He wants me to give him a call tonight, so maybe we'll wind up watching those again and maybe ordering some pizza. If this rain ever stops today that is...

And with that, I will conclude with my current playlist:

Atheist - Piece of Time
Alabama Thunderpussy - Open Fire
Wolf - The Black Flame
The Police - Best of
Enslaved - Isa
Nuclear Assault - Survive

Gay Marriage Is Here To Stay.

2007-06-15T06:48:01Z

Sometimes I love living in Massachusetts. Let the protests begin! :-)

Thursday, June 14, 2007
Legislators vote to defeat same-sex marriage ban
By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff

A proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was swiftly defeated today by a joint session of the Legislature by a vote of 45 to 151, eliminating any chance of getting it on the ballot in November 2008. The measure needed at least 50 votes to advance.

The vote came without debate after House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, Senate President Therese Murray, and Governor Deval Patrick conferred this morning and concluded that they have the votes to kill the proposal. Cheers echoed in the State House when the vote was tallied.

"In Massachusetts today, the freedom to marry is secure," Patrick told reporters after the results were official.

The three leaders - along with gay rights activists - spent the last several days intensely lobbying a dozen or more state representatives and state senators who had previously supported the amendment but signaled that they were open to changing their positions.

Because fewer than 50 of the state's 200 lawmakers supported the amendment, it will not appear on the 2008 ballot, giving gay marriage advocates a major victory in their battle with social conservatives to keep same-sex marriage legal in Massachusetts.

Opponents of gay marriage face an increasingly tough battle to win legislative approval of any future petitions to appear on a statewide ballot. The next election available to them is 2012.

The Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, the group that spearheaded the court case that led to the Supreme Judicial Court's 2003 decision to legalize same-sex marriage, issued a statement praising the vote.

"We’re proud of our state today, and we applaud the legislature for showing that Massachusetts is strongly behind fairness," said Lee Swislow, executive director Advocates & Defenders. "The vote today was the triumph of time, experience, and understanding over fear and prejudice."

Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute that backed the amendment, pledged to continue fighting, but wouldn't commit to presenting another proposed amendment.

"I don't believe it's dead because the people have not had the opportunity to have their vote," Mineau told the Associated Press. "This will not go away until the citizens have their opportunity to decide what the definition of marriage is."

The proposal needed the votes of 50 legislators in two consecutive sessions to make it on the 2008 ballot as a referendum. In January, the measure passed its first convention with 62 votes, but it fell short today by 5 votes.

Joyce Durst, an opponent of same-sex marriage from Mattapan, had come the State House today to pray that the measure passed. When the amendment failed, she pulled a crumpled tissue from her pocket and began to sob.

"I'm sick," said Durst, 60. "I'm sick."

Claire Alloy-Relihan, 22, from Newton, had the opposite reaction. "I could not be happier right now," she said.

Globe correspondent April Yee contributed to this report.

Mr. Raw10's Newest Additions

2007-05-28T23:24:13Z

ROH is having a memorial day sale (25% off purchases) until tommorow morning, so I decided to treat myself to a few recent shows.

Testament is actually playing here in July. I'll take a bus up and spend the night in a hotel or some strangers house if I have to. Testament with Alex back and Nick Barker on drums is sure to fucking rule!

New England Metal and Hardcore Fest 07 Recap

2007-04-29T12:26:44Z

Most people in this neck of the woods are probably familiar with the New England Metal and Hardcore Fest that's been held in the Worcester Palladium for close to a decade now. This, they trimmed the fat a bit and shortened it to 2 days instead of the usual 3, with the 2nd day (Saturday) being nothing but Metal Blade bands to celebrate Metal Blade's 25th anniversary. Other then Lizzy Borden, Cannibal Corpse, Beyond the Embrace and Unearth, the rest of Saturday's lineup I really could not stomach.

Friday (the day yours truly went) was a diffrent story. With Dimmu Borgir headlining (with Hellhammer behind the kit nonetheless!) along with Behemoth, 3 Inches of Blood, Kataklysm and Satyricon (who fucking cancelled!!!) scheduled, it should be no surprise that I was willing to fork the cash for this year. With past years being 3 days, the actual good bands would be split up so that you would get 3-5 good bands a day while having to attempt to stomach barrages of girl pants core. This year though, the majority of shit bands was not as bad as usual.

After remembering to ask for Friday off from work, I checked my schedule last week to find that I'm working Thursday night. I work from 10 pm to 6 am, so add that with the fact I had to meet up with Mike, his girlfriend Andrea (if I remember correctly) and his 12 year old son Tyler in Ludlow for around 10:30 since Mike wanted to see Daath at 12:30, I got about 3 hours of sleep before making it down to Ludlow. After getting some Subway for lunch, we met up with Brad back at Mike's place and were off to Worcester. We arrived about 5 minutes before Daath took the stage, so we went to 'our spot' as soon as we arrived. I personally have not listened to them but they weren't too bad. Least Roadrunner's not as bad at over promoting their bands like Victory Records. 3 Inches of Blood blew them completly away though, but I'll get to their set soon.

Mike was interested in seeing All shall Perish at around 3:30 but we found out that Dimmu was going to be signing autographs at 3, so at around 2, we started a line in front of the signing table since we did not have much else to do because of the second floor being completly overcrowded. Once it was time, we were a bit disapointed that it was just Shagrath, Silenoz and Galder signing, since we wanted to meet Hellhammer. Nice guys but definelty a little on the quiet side, especially Shagrath. Galder thought it was a bit strage that we all wanted to shake his hand though. He mentioned that there might be a new Old Man's Child disc this year, which kicks ass! We went back to the car to put our signed pics and purchased merch away, while trying to come up excuses on why only half the band was signing. We eventually came to the conclusion that Hellhammer was busy with groupies and that Vortex was singing in the shower. Since the next band we wanted to see wasn't hitting the stage until 6 and we had just found out that Behemoth was going to be signing at 5, we decided to grab some dinner at Uno's after.

We got back around 5 but Behemoth were about a half an hour late. Despised Icon were just finishing up and Skinless hit the stage soon after. I wasn't a big fan of their recorded output but their live show was wound being a bit of a highlight for me.

Behemoth were definetly more talkative then Dimmu and all the members were actually there, which made it a bit better. Nergal was a bit hard to recognize at first though with his tight Johnny Cash shirt though.

After finally making it to the vendors and spending 60 dollars on cds, it was time to head back up front for Kataklysm's set. Good set but definetly too short. After opening with Like Angels (Weeping the Dark), they played Crippled and Broken, As I Slither and In Shadows and Dust. I wish they could've been able to do another song, but that was really my only complaint.

3 Inches of Blood were up next and played the best set imo at that point. Jaime Hooper's mic started going on him a little bit during Deadly Sinners though. Easily one of the more underrated newer bands out there today that's for sure.

After that, we went to the back to sit down for a bit since Walls of Jericho (Ithink) were on next. We went back to the vendors for a few minutes before Brad noticed that the balcony entrance was open now that the second stage bands had finished playing. Devildriver were halfway through their set by the time we sat down. I'm not a fan of them (I don't hate them, I just don't care) and as much as I don't like Dez, his attempts at getting rid of the karate moshing at towards the end was a bit amusing since some 14-15 year old jackass challenged him to a fight. Tyler had fallen asleep by that point.

Bury Your Dead was next and man were they fucking HORRIBLE! First off, I just can't stand that type of music but the fact that all I could hear were drums and vocals just made it worse. We went back down towards the floor during that dumb Color of Money song or whatever the name of it is, thinking it was their last song. Boy were we wrong! They asked if we wanted to hear more songs and the five of us are yelling 'Fuck No!'. Sadly, we were dorwned out by fat hardcore kids in tight jeans/shorts and even tighter t-shirts.

Behemoth took the stage at around 10 and just completly destroyed. Excellent sound and Inferno on drums was a blur most of the time. Definetly the loudest set of the night, that's for sure.

After taking nearly an hour to set up, Dimmu Borgir finally took the stage and did not disapoint. During the theird song, I was finally able to take a seat on the edge of the front wall seperating the area were in and the floor itself for the remainder of the set, which was nice since my fucking knees were killing me at the point. After playing for a little over an hour and 15 minutes, (and with a drum ssolo from Hellhammer) the night had finally come to a close at around 12:45.

We got back to Ludlow around 12:30 and from there, Brad brought me back to West Springfield, where I had managed to finally get to sleep about an hour after getting home.

All and all, I'd say this was better then the past 2 shows I went to (Dark Funeral/Enslaved and Dark Tranquility/The Haunted/Scar Symmetry/Into Eternity).

Shit that I bought:

Skeletonwitch ep
Wolf -The Black Flame (awesome band and cd btw)
Firewind - Allegiance
Behemoth - Thelema 6 and Satanica
Dimmu Borgir - For All Tid and Stormblast

Dimmu Borgir - Enthrone Darkness Triumphant shirt
Behemoth longsleeve

If anybody could direct me to something for making zip files, I'll probably upload Skeletonwitch and Wolf.