New Tunes (Always) On the Way

Over the past week, I have been trying to finish up the next Castlevania track. I started writing the song about 14 months ago when I first had the idea for the album. I actually wrote the first couple of riffs when my left ring finger was still broken. I was bored, okay? You tell a guitar player he can't play for two months, and see what he does. That's right, he learns how to play power chords with his ring and middle fingers.

What I originally thought was going to be a fairly straight-forward hard rock tune turned into a 10 and a half minute monster. But the song is about killing Medusa with holy water, so try fitting that inside less than 630 seconds. Expect some video sneak peekage of that song soon. It's another 7-stringer.

Descension Rate has also been toying with a new tune, currently titled "Odd Lane," but that will most likely change once the lyrics are written. It's a riff-o-rama with some weird drum pattern changes, so we're still getting the hang of it. We should have it ready to roll by our show on September 9. We're also trying out a new ivory-tickler, since Jason decided to step down.

Now, I shall sign out with something that makes me smile. Welcome back, Cornell. We've missed you.

D-Rate Sweat Fest

Descension Rate played a last minute show at 123 Pleasant St. over the weekend with our friends in Wildman Band of Thieves. We once again proved that it is too goddamn hot on that stage to wear corpse paint for more than 5 minutes. It was still a good time, and since that was our first show in two months, we consider it a dress rehearsal for our show on September 9. We're also trying to set up a big local metal show in Morgantown, which -- if it happens -- will most likely be the live debut of Mega Beardo. Stay tuned.

"Creatures..." Teaser

I've been chipping away at my newest demo, currently titled "Creatures of the Bloodline." This will be the second track on my upcoming Castlevania-inspired album. Basically the whole thing will be based off of the first game on the NES. I'm gonna have to make a bunch of shit up for it, seeing as how the "plot" for the game is simply: Simon enters the castle. Simon kills a random assortment of bad dudes. Simon kills Dracula. The end. If you need a reference, this song is inspired by the first level of the game, from the second he waltzes through the door up until he fucks the bat up with the axe.

Here is a short video of me doing some scratch track rhythm stuff for the song. Everything you hear is a scratch track, so don't mind the vocals. Please.

Summer: The Season of Reunions

Descension Rate practiced for the first time in about a month. All things considered, it was probably the tightest practice we've ever had. Plus we may have a show next weekend at 123, which will be our first since the 3-Hole Face reunion show a couple months back.

What's that? 3-Hole Face reunion? If you need a refresher, I was the guitarist for the Morgantown industrial metal act 3-Hole Face from 2001-2004. Former bass player Rick McCauley called us up to do a one-off gig for a local music fest he was setting up called Chuckfest (to honor his sister, a cancer survivor). Frankly, I forgot how much fun it was to play in that band. Behold, proof that we are the most attractive band on the planet:

Not much has changed, has it? Oh wait, yes it has:


That's 3-Hole Face hanging out with Bile after we opened up for them in November 2002. Krztoff looks pissed because The Sound Factory in Charleston, WV couldn't handle the power that Bile required. They kept blowing fuses, so they had to cut their set after 5 songs. Bear looks happy because he's getting ready to dry-hump Terry.

And speaking of reunions, Mike and I recorded the first "Sweet Cuppin' Cakes" song in about 5 years a couple weeks ago. It was a cover of Danzig's version of "Buick McKane." Mike changed the lyrics and gave it to his wife as a wedding gift. It was super sweet (in the "ahhh.." sense, not the "AWESOME" sense). I'm gonna put together a video for it, so I'll post it at some point.

Testing This Garbage

I'm basically posting this just to make sure this pile of shit looks okay. It's one of those amazingly well-done templates provided by blogger. So consider this the first obligatory "Welcome to My Stupid Blogosphere Bullshit Webisode Center." I hate internet lingo. LOL. :)

I just worked up a demo for my Castlevania album last night. It's the first full song I have written for it so far, and I did so with my brand spanking new Schecter Omen 7-string (quite a mean fucker for the price tag). I'll finish up recording the scratch tracks and maybe post a video of me doing so.

Enough stupidity. Have fun. And in the meantime, enjoy this awesome full performance of Gojira at Festival Les Vieilles Charrues. It's a 72-minute realization that Gojira is way better than everyone you know combined.