July 2011


Mattel's Monster High video game "Ghoul Spirit" is now available for pre-order on GameStop's website. This game will take you the gamer into the world that is Monster High. Allowing you to create your own ghoulish character being anything you could image it to be and roam the halls of Monster High itself. This game will be only available for the Nintendo consoles, Wii, DS, and DSI. Expect this gaming experience to drop October 11th!


As all of you know or for those who don't know Mattel's Monster High line has boomed since its debut in 2010. Since then various lines such as it's Dawn of the Dance and Gloom Beach have been sold separately since these hit the toy shelves but this year saw these two come together in a new fashion since with their package deals that includes exclusive dolls added to the original set.

Gloom Beach 5-Pack
Take the Gloom Beach line this introduced us to Frankie, Draculaura, Cleo, Clawdeen, and Jackson but this time around it brought forth Ghoulia and likely next will be Lagoona? The first set of five dolls were sold separately and while the Dawn of the Dance line was also sold individually until this year. The new 3-pack includes Frankie, Clawdeen, and Draculaura! While the other newbie Dawn of the Dancers, Deuce Gorgon, Lagoona Blue, and Ghoulia Yelps have debuted but surely a package deal to include the entire series in this line will maybe pop-up? Only time will tell for sure.

Dawn of the Dance 3-Pack
Another new line to hit the shelves is the Classroom assortment which takes Frankie, Ghoulia and Lagoona and places them into their favorite subject in school will this line also be seeing its own package deal in the future? It is a possibility. Speaking of schooling the fearleading 3-pack is also in the mists so that's just another package deal to add to the mix.

Classroom Assorted
Fearleading 3-Pack
Now another possibility package deal is the new Dead Tired line. This series brings the ghouls to a sleepy state having them dressed in the nighttime attire. Will Mattel bring forth a brand new package deal with all of the Dead Tired dolls in one big pack? It is very likely by the looks of it.

Dead Tired Assorted
It appears that more possible packs will be in the works so for all of you Monster High fans who have already brought these separately nothing you can do except beg your parents to buy you these brand new sets because more and more exclusives will likely pop-up.


Goatwhore is hard at work on the follow up to their most successful album to date, Carving Out The Eyes Of God. Once they wrap up recording with Erik Rutan at Mana Studios, they will immediately hit the road for headlining shows starting in Tampa, FL. From there, they will join the Exhumed tour presented by Hails and Horns, MetalSucks and MetalInjection. Support on the tour comes from Cephalic Carnage and Havok. The tour stars in Gallup, NM on October 26th.

Bassist James Harvey adds, "It has been a while since we toured with our friends in Exhumed and Cephalic Carnage. We are looking forward to having some chaos injected nights of wicked metal with them all. Things are going great in the studio with Rutan. He's a master and definitely brings out the best in us!"

Stay tuned to Goatwhore and Metal Blade's web pages for video updates from the band while they record the new album!

Goatwhore experienced a meteoric rise in 2010. Their song Apocalyptic Havoc appeared on the soundtrack for Splatterhouse, a video game released for Xbox 360 and PS3 by Namco Bandai, the video for the same song was used in an episode of Last Call with Carson Daly, they toured as part of Ozzfest 2010, and they also toured with Watain, The Black Dahlia Murder and more. Carving Out the Eyes of God, released at the tail end of 2009, was met with praise from fans and critics alike and hailed as one of the best metal albums of the year. Carving Out the Eyes of God broke the Billboard Top 200 chart coming in at #190! In addition to hitting the Top 200 Chart, Carving Out the Eyes of God also debuted on the Billboard Hard Music chart at #33, the Billboard Top New Artist (Heatseekers) Albums chart at #16, and the Billboard Top Independent Albums chart at #34. GOATWHORE also carved out a spot for themselves on Canada's charts coming in at #48 on Independent chart and #79 on the Hard Chart.

TOUR DATES:

08/25 The Brass Mug Tampa, FL
08/26 Alabama Music Box Mobile, AL
08/27 Head on the Door Montgomery, AL
09/09 Siberia New Orleans, LA
09/10 The City Club of Houma Houma, LA
09/16 Coasters Ft. Walton Beach, FL
09/17 The Handlebar Pensacola, FL
Tour w/ Exhumed, Cephalic Carnage, Havok
10/26 Gallup, NM The Juggernaut *no Goatwhore
10/27 Amarillo, TX Sorority House *no Goatwhore
10/28 Oklahoma City, OK The Conservatory
10/29 St Louis, MO FuBar
10/30 Chicago, IL Reggie's Rock Club
10/31 Detroit I-Rock Nightclub
11/01 Columbus, OH Alrosa Villa
11/02 Rochester, NY Montage Music Hall
11/03 Toronto, ON Wreck Room
11/04 Montreal, QC Les Foufounes Electriques
11/05 Trois-Rivieres, QC Rock Cafe Le Stage
11/06 Quebec City, QC L'Agitee
11/08 Worcester, MA Palladium
11/09 Brooklyn, NY Europa
11/10 Trenton, NJ Championship
11/11 Wilmington, DE Mojo 13
11/12 Baltimore, MD Sonar
11/13 Charlotte, NC The Casbah at Tremont Music Hall
11/14 Atlanta, GA Masquerade
11/15 Tampa, FL Brass Mug
11/16 Tallahassee, FL Engine Room
11/17 New Orleans, LA Siberia
11/18 San Antonio, TX Korova / "Goregrowler's Ball" w/ Suffocation
11/19 TBA *no Goatwhore
11/20 Flagstaff, AZ @ Orpheum Theatre *no Goatwhore


Bury Your Dead debuts their new video for "Slaughterhouse Five". The song is off their upcoming album Mosh 'N' Roll via Mediaskare Records due out this Tuesday August 2nd. The band will be wrapping up the Over The Limit II Tour this Tuesday. Shortly after the group will be heading overseas for a European/UK tour with support from For The Fallen Dreams, and Betrayal.


TOUR DATES:

08/05 Wiesbaden, GER – Schlachthof
08/06 Leisnig, GER – Suck ‘N’ Summer
08/07 Dessau, GER – The Beat
08/08 Hamburg, GER – Hafenklang
08/09 Berlin, GER – Magnet
08/10 Wien, AUT – Viper Room
08/11 Augsburg, GER – Kantine
08/12 Comacchio, ITA – Voodoo Club
08/13 Stuttgart, GER – Juha West
08/14 Ieper, BEL – Ieperfest
08/15 Birmingham, UK – HMV Institute
08/16 Manchester, UK – Academy 3
08/17 Glasgow, UK – Ivory Blacks
08/18 London, UK – Underworld
08/19 Trier, GER – Exhaus
08/20 Kassel, GER – Hot Spot
08/21 Dublin, IRE – The Good Bits


Mattel's Monster High line debuted last summer and since has grown into an infamous popularity ranging from appeal, toys, and electronics, among other various accessories. This year at the annual San Diego Comic Con Mattel's Monster High returned just as it premiered last year and this time it more items are in the works to be released.

Last year Monster High had its first line of fashion packs with its school spirit scream uniforms, this year it has a club line which includes, Ghoulia Yelp's Comic Book Club, Draculaura's Newspaper Club, Clawdeen's Entrepreneur's Club, and Abbey's Snowboarding Club, all to be available this fall.

Abbey Bominable and Draculaura School Club Fashion Packs
Clawdeen Wolf and Ghoulia Yelps School Club Fashion Packs
Aside from these releases Mattel is currently running a contest which allows fans from all over the world to vote while Comic Con is in effect, on which of the three characters will be made the new student of Monster High, they are as follows; Scarah Screams the daughter of the Banshee, the Headless Headmistress Bloodgood, or the Daughter of the Arachne which is a half human half spider girl based on its Greco-Roman mythology. Other characters who have already been introduced and made into doll forms includes Spectra Vondergeist, Abbey Bominable, Clawd Wolf, Howleen Wolf, Nefera De Nile, Manny Taur, Purresephone and Meowlody and their leading feline Toralei Stripe and Cleo De Nile’s sister Nefera De Nile will become available just in time for the holiday season.

Scarah Screams
Headless Headmistress Bloodgood
 Daughter of the Arachne
Toralei Stripe and Cleo De Nile’s sister Nefera De Nile
Among other new characters is a male vampire character by the name of Bram Devein. Aside from these characters there are also some other lines that are a continuation of its original line, Skull Shores looks to be the 5-pack Gloom Beach line that includes Ghoulia Yelps and all of the other female ghouls but does not include Jackson Jekyll, this set will be sold only at Target as an exclusive set. Luna High which sounds to be some type of play set will be later released.

Monster High Gloom Beach 5-Pack at Target Locations Only
Moving along Monster High doesn’t just stop at its toy line but the electronics department is doing quite well too. This October THQ will be releasing a video game titled Monster High: Ghoul Spirit trailer for the game can be seen here, while the game itself sets you up with you being the new ghoul at school and you can interact with the various ghouls already in attendance. This game will only be available for the Nintendo gaming consoles Wii, DS, and DSI. Other than that other electronics includes iPod, iPads, and laptop cases, along with cameras, video cameras, USB, plus much more.

Nintendo Wii Video Game
Nintendo DS/DSI Video Game
So expect the unexpected when it comes to all things and everything Monster High!

Ronnie Radke what can be said about him that has been said already? Well let’s recap shall we not. He was the former singer of Escape The Fate who got their start to rockstar stardom because of Radke. But as things kept falling to pieces with the band and him the band had to cut him loose. Due to these circumstances and others due to Radke’s actions he found himself behind bars. Though while he was in prison he spent his time thinking but also writing new material which would later become his brand new project, Falling In Reverse.

After paying his debts in the big house he was let loose to do his own bidding if you will, and got together band mates Nason Schoeffler (bass/vocals), Jacky Vincent (guitar), Derek Jones (guitar/vocals), and Scott Gee (drums). So the five some got together got to writing and took what Radke had written and got to work on putting together what would be the band’s debut full-length “The Drug In Me Is You”. But that’s not all the band got done they also got signed to record label Epitaph, who formerly roistered Escape The Fate who are now on Interscope’s bill.

 So the band got signed, got an album underway now what are the ending results? Well with Escape The Fate long and gone in Radke’s eyes and self being Falling In Reverse’s debut full-length proves to be quite promising to say the least. With such songs as “Raised By Wolves”, "I'm Not A Vampire", "Good Girls Bad Guys", and "Pick Up The Phone", these tunes alone set up the scene that these guys are aiming to direct. For instance “I’m Not A Vampire”, mocks at vampire society having the guitars being straight forward with riffs occurring here and there, the vocals being clear and focused; Radke interacting very upbeat at times.

“Good Girls Bad Guys”, and “Pick Up The Phone”, counter one another having the same source of guitar riffs with matching drum beats Radke’s vocal tones remaining clear yet he puts in a more in-your-face attitude approach. “Don’t Mess with Ouija Boards” consists of a lot of screaming attics while “Sink or Swim” has this same presents expect not as much. “Caught Like A Fly”, becomes the ballad tune offering here and presents a very mellow yet soft centered piano solo towards the mid-end of the song then breaks away returning to its soft yet hard rock.

In the long run Falling In Reverse has delivered quite an impressive record and will surely become the next big thing in 2011 and it is clear as day to say that these guys are the next Escape The Fate.


The Summer Slaughter Tour is in its fourth year run and this time it's bigger and better than ever. The House of Blues of the infamous Sunset Strip of Hollywood, California played hostess for the tour’s first night having such acts as Within the Ruins, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Oceano, As Blood Runs Black, Powerglove, Dying Fetus, Six Feet Under, Darkest Hour, and back to back headliners, Whitechapel and The Black Dahlia Murder. This night would be the house of hell and for all things purely and truly EVIL.

Within the Ruin’s raw talent of tech and metal had created an infamous sound of personality that only, they can withstand to take on. For instance their live presents alone mastered their talents of breakdowns, riffs, and tempo beats that easily made them “loud, energetic, interesting and fresh” throughout their entire set. The crowd on the other hand looked upon them with energy but held back quite a bit.

WITHIN THE RUINS:






Runner's up were Fleshgod Apocalypse whose Italian technical death metal influence got them signed with Nuclear Blast Records and have unleashed their second full-length "Agony" and from their appearance and attire these guys are not to be dealt with first hand. For when these guys take center stage their fine dressed look does fool you once the thunderous guitar riffs with pedaling drum tactics intertwine with one another to create a sound of music so possessive yet so powerful it's unbearable to want to even have a listen.

FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE:






Next up was Oceano an act that as the one before them was one not to be dealt with, for frontman Adam Warren clearly states "This is not god's house tonight this is the house of the devil and yes he does exist" as they broke out into their many songs off their two various releases; "Depths" (2009) and "Contagion" (2010). The crowd’s reaction with their performance reckoned some minds and bones as people jumped up and down and pushed people left and right getting everybody hyped up for what was next.

OCEANO:








As Blood Runs Black what has not been said about these guys since the start of their career? Well quite a bit actually these guys have faced band member changes since day one of formation and now they have managed to come to a closing point in which they are satisfied with the ending results. Frontman Soink Garcia and guitarist Dan Surgarman (Follow Your Failure - who is on hiatus) have taken over in As Blood Runs Black and in the long run there couldn't be anybody better. As such As Blood Runs Black's performance was really what awoken the crowd getting everyone energized and up on their feet literally..... People were crowd surfing everywhere you looked. Not familiar with crowd surfing well its where you get tossed atop a crowd of people and thrown or carried towards the stage, landing in the arms of the handy security guards of course. Sonik on the other hand really took over the show in this case and hoped off the stage and right into the crowd from time to time spitting and singing right into the many faces that grasped what he was singing about and really dug his attitude and passion that he was putting in and has made what As Blood Runs Black who they are today.

AS BLOOD RUNS BLACK:







Now that four bands were down and out for the night it was time for a half-time show? Yes indeed a half-time show was performed by powerhouse metal group, Powerglove who believe it or not are known for playing metal versions of classic video game theme songs, taking their name after the Powr Glove which was a NES controller accessory. Either way these guys had quite a creative set-up going for them, the foursome had cut-outs set up one was of a man eating plant while the individual members themselves dressed up in their warrior attire. Percussionist Bassil Silver coming with a backpack type of gear that had flags attached one saying "Power" and the other "Glove" while frontman/bassist Nick Avila had a purple warrior getup that was laughable. Guitarist's Alex Berkson and Chris Marchiel presented their own attire which was shoulder armor with spikes. Now when it came down to their musical abilities they did quite an impressive job playing such video game themes as "Gotta Catch Em All", the classic but original theme to Pokemon which everyone went nuts for, singing every lyric and moshing right to the beat. While another infamous tune that everyone was well aware of was "Mario Minor", which is in short "Do the Mario" and again everybody amongst the crowd of on lookers went nuts tearing the whole floor of people up pushing and shoving like no tomorrow it was intense yet fun to watch.

POWERGLOVE:







Once half-time was said and done with, the tour got brutally heavier as the night dwelled on bringing out three some death metallers Dying Fetus who's classic death metal material got everyone headbanging every second while the rest were being beaten up by crowd surfers if not mosh pitters. Their set consisted of such songs as "One Shot, One Kill", "Homicidal Retribution", and "Your Treachery Will Die With You" which really kept the crowd entertained and energized to say the least.

DYING FETUS:





After they were done, an act that rarely ever makes it to the U.S. let alone touring managed to make it out this time around and they are so called Six Feet Under. An act whose been around for a mere 18 years and counting, their formation being fronted by Chris Barnes who formerly was fronting Cannibal Corpse way back when but after some band mishaps and changes he left and created this project, that to this day still dominates the masses. Speaking of Cannibal Corpse while though he is no longer involved in the band Barnes still managed to preserve his past identity with them having done not just one but two Cannibal Corpse covers this night. "Stripped, Raped and Strangled" was the first Cannibal Corpse cover and Barnes wowed the crowd with this cover getting everybody pleading for more and more was just what happened. Songs such as; "Revenged of the Zombie" "Seed of Filth", and Human Target", classic Six Feet Under material that diehard fans just went crazy over having them conclude their set-up with the second Cannibal Corpse tune in the mix, "Hammer Smashed Face". All in all Six Feet Under may not be around much but once they are they clearly indicate that they are here and they mean business.

SIX FEET UNDER:













Last but definitely not least were melodic death metallers Darkest Hour which 16-year career span cease to amaze the band and fans alike have managed to complete their latest and seventh release to date, "The Human Romance", that brought them to be signed onto E1 Music being taken away from their previous label Victory Records who they were with for five solid years, came out did their thing but did not impressive much of the audience as it seemed. Their performance tactics were used and merely tossed aside getting people into the beat of their tone of music but didn’t quite bring the beat having their musical fall flat above all the rest.
Rounding off the night were two headliners not one but two.

DARKEST HOUR:







First headliner was Whitechapel whose released three studio albums, five music videos and is currently signed to Metal Blade Records while they do have the material behind them do they got the guts to make it happen? Indeed yes they do but when it comes down to it their performance is raw and edgy at times having a repeat every now and then that their material waves just get sucked in and drown out the whole feel of the music. The crowd’s anticipation on the other hand was excitement all around having various cheers and shouts being heard from all over the four walled room, each person more enthralled than the last.

WHITECHAPEL:







Now the end had come and the tour for the night was done because headliners known only as The Black Dahlia Murder were here to fuck shit up! Frontman Trevor Stmad, came onto the stage ready to pounce on each and every person watching while the rest of the band filled in from behind and they broke the sound barrier pretty much, "A Vulgar Picture", "Miasma", "Blood In The Ink", "Nocturnal", "Statutory Ape", the list was comprised of 15 songs that never seemed to quit. The crowd was drenched in sweat having some take off their clothes in which Trevor caught a hold of a bra that was tossed upon the stage and he gladly just draped it atop his bald head and kept singing to the music.

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER:







In short this year’s rendition of The Summer Slaughter Tour was indeed their best yet and surely one that they will not want to forget or even possible compare to once the next year comes about.