Music Reviews

HateSphere - The Killing (SPV, 2005)

Rating: 10/10

Does anyone miss the classic metal thrashing mad days that were run by bands like SEPULTURA, ANTHRAX, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and KREATOR?  Denmark's HATESPHERE sure do, and The Killing EP proves just that.

 HATESPHERE are not a band to overlook, as they are going to be the new emerging band of today that will demand Thrash Metal to keep having pulses in it's seemingly drying out heart and spirit. Four songs only make up The Killing EP, but this is simply to give the listeners a taste of what's to come on their upcoming full effort, which will be released later on in the fall of 2005. "Murderous Intent", "You're The Enemy" and "The Will Of God" are some of the most aggressive yet technically efficient metal songs that anyone could hear from today, and the forthcoming full length effort from these Danish lads will be worth purchasing and blasting very loudly. HATESPHERE simply have it all: solid vocals, a dual Rhythm and Lead guitar attack with chunky riffs, appropriate Bass lines and very skillfully perfectly solid, technical and fast drumming. 

It's funny that SUICIDAL TENDENCIES were mentioned earlier, because HATESPHERE manages to pull off a cover that Mike Muir and Mike Clark would be proud of; HATESPHERE manage to give a very fresh odor to "Trip Of The Brain", and notions like this are what will make HATESPHERE a force to be reckoned with in the metal underground. HATESPHERE consists of Jacob Bredahl (Vocals), Anders Gyldenohr (Drums), Mikael Ehlert (Bass) and the dual Guitar attack of Henrik Bastrup Jacobsen and Peter Lyse Hansen. These guys could easily fill in the void left in 1994 by DEMOLITION HAMMER, or even put METALLICA to shame. - Dave Larmore

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Aarni – Bathos (Firedoom Music, 2005) 

Rating: 3/10

The first song title is in some language that uses the Cyrillic alphabet and is a noodly pointless guitar intro. The second song is called “Squaring The Circle” and plays at about 70 beats per minute while some “singer” drones along on top of it with all the emotion of a Speak & Spell on Demerol. At 6:00 in, the avid listener will find the worst guitar solo imaginable. The third song is called “Quinotaurus (12 Stars In Sight)” and sucks. In fact, this whole fucking album sucks.  This is horrible. This band has no business owning instruments, least of all that flute that pops up every three minutes.  Even the CD cover sucks­there are big mushrooms and trees and shit.  My 3-year-old nephew painted this after we watched Alice In Wonderland one day. Fuck, the band even misspells their name twice on the disc, both times as “Aardi.” This sounds like MR. BUNGLE’s retarded kid brothers playing SISTERS OF MERCY and AMORPHIS and JETHRO TULL covers, all at the same time.  I only gave it a 3 because it takes balls to suck this badly. – JW - JW

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Aphotic/Dusk - To Find New Darkness/The Slumber (Cursed Productions, 2005)
 
Rating: 9/10
 
Green Bay's APHOTIC team up with the long defunct DUSK to conjunctively offer up both a previously unearthed blast from the past and a brief look on what is to come with To Find New Darkness/The Slumber. To Find New Darkness EP is APHOTIC's fifth and self-financed studio offering, while The Slumber is DUSK's last recorded material. The general rundown is that APHOTIC rose from the ashes of the long disintegrated DUSK ... 60% of it anyway.
 
APHOTIC contains DUSK members Steve (Guitar/Drums), Keith (Guitar/Keyboards) and Chad (Vocals/Bass), and they offer a blend of sophisticated and decipherable doom death metal. Even a slight DARKTHRONE influence can be heard when listening to Chad's vocal work, especially on "All We Have Is This..". The instrumentality of the music tends to remain at a mid tempo pace, in that it is not too slow and yet it is not too fast. APHOTIC are comfortable with churning out melodic riffs, solid bass work, skilled drumming and decipherable death grunting to create a likeable enough package that's worth listening to. APHOTIC remain a band with no other options than to self-finance their recordings due to not having a record contract, but their offerings are mainly distributed through Flood The Earth and Cursed Productions.
 
Right after the four fresh slabs that APHOTIC has to offer to the listener, along comes The Slumber EP from the long-defunct DUSK, a 1997 offering that previously went unreleased. However, the trio that is APHOTIC well remembers their time previously spent in DUSK, thus being nice enough to release it in conjunction with To Find New Darkness. DUSK is much more heavier, faster and cutthroat than APHOTIC, but the similarities are still there between the two bands. DUSK were a sophisticated slab of doom death metal just like APHOTIC are now, only the vocals were for the most part indecipherable and APHOTIC are what would happen if the other two members of DUSK went on Prozac. The drum work on The Slumber is much superior, as Shimron is a much more prolific and solid drummer than Steve. When listening to The Slumber, one may either think that APHOTIC are a much more melodic and mature approach, or that DUSK is sadly missed... and that The Slumber may be one of the modern lost would-be classics in the heavy metal underground. APHOTIC are indeed a good band, and they should equally be applauded for being generous enough to unearth the last of DUSK as they should be for their own efforts. Here's hoping that APHOTIC finally get picked up by a label and start generating more revenue. - Dave Larmore

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Asguard – Wikka (This Dark Reign, 2005) 

Rating: 7/10

From the opening riffs of the instrumental title track, you know this is a band steeped in the tradition of classic metal.  That track alone references ACCEPT, JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN…  All the classics of Euro-metal are here…
 
ASGUARD blend those influences in with the modern European bands like BEHEMOTH or IN FLAMES to create a nice mixture of old and current. Black metal growls, harmony guitar lines, the occasional blast beat… It’s not a new concept, and at times, Wikka is very derivative of the melodic thrash and black metal scenes.  Also, the band needs a little work in the songwriting department.  Some of the songs meander around, running through riff after riff without really coming together, but when they do, it’s a very enjoyable listen. Just check out “Master Of Everything” and tell me that it’s not a perfect Dave Murray or Andy LaRocque-style guitar tune. There’s also a cover of JUDAS PRIEST’s “Leather Rebel.”
 
One slight downside to this record is that This Dark Reign botched the album art, and so the track numbers are off here and there. Also, there are six unlabeled bonus tracks on the CD, and I have no idea what they might be. They sound like demos. Whatever they are, they don’t detract from the rest of the record, and it’s more for your money, I guess.- JW

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Beecher – Breaking The Fourth Wall (Earache, 2005) 

Rating: 6/10

I remember when Earache was the pinnacle of all great extreme metal. NAPALM DEATH… BOLT THROWER… ENTOMBED… AT THE GATES… CARCASS … I’ll always have a soft spot for the mighty Earache because of that, no matter how many shit records they’ve released since then…
 
BEECHER is a metallic hardcore group, a la THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER or NORMA JEAN or any band on Victory Records. I like BLACK DAHLIA MURDER’s Unhallowed record, but overall, the whole genre isn’t my thing.  This is a reissue of BEECHER’s debut disc, with a BBC session and one bonus track tacked on.  There are some bits here and there that show true metal promise­some of the riffs are pretty crushing, although not as melodic as the BLACK DAHLIA MURDER stuff.  My major complaint is that this whole scene is saturated beyond belief, and this band does very little to rise above the sea of sound-alike CONVERGE wannabes out there.
 
If you like metallic hardcore bands like the ones I mentioned or like POISON THE WELL or ALL THAT REMAINS, then check this out. Honestly, I’m over the whole scene, and I’m signing off to go listen to the first five bands that I mentioned at the beginning of this review. - JW

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Belef – Infection Purification (Candlelight, 2005)

Rating: 7/10

The album cover for Infection Purification cracks my shit up.  A bunch of zombie-looking fascist types are branding a pentagram into the ass of a naked blonde chick.  How can you beat that?  In fact, the album cover is probably the best part of the whole record.
 
BELEF are a French band, sharing a few members with the brilliantly named IMPERIAL SODOMY. Contrary to the stereotype that all Frenchmen are sissies in berets, BELEF crank out a brutal and ugly form of blackened death that reminds me of bands like ANGELCORPSE and DARK FUNERAL, except sloppier.  This is raw primal thrashy black metal­no synthesizers, no orchestras, no gothic overtones with chanting monks and eerie female vocals. (Luckily, Candlelight is successful enough to afford these guys a budget that allows them to get a good quality sound and not that vacuum cleaner guitar tone that underground black metal favors.) There’s a hidden track, too, if you care.
 
Critics will say that there’s nothing new and original here, and they’d be right-- BELEF certainly aren’t rewriting the rulebook on black metal, and the songs drag on.  The shortest song on the record is 5:23, and the longest is 8:17, and there’s certainly no reason for that… The band really needs to work on making their blasphemies a little more concise. Honestly, this record isn’t horrible, but it isn’t great by any means. When I first listened to it, I liked it a lot more, but that’s because I listened to it after I listened to AARNI, so it sounded like The Dark Side Of The Moon by comparison. - JW

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Bruce Dickinson - Tyranny of Souls (Sanctuary, 2005)
 
Rating: 9/10
 
By no means is Tyranny of Souls a Chemical Wedding or an Accident Of Birth, but do not let that discourage even the casual BRUCE DICKINSON fan from giving Tyranny of Souls a spin, because repetitive and lack thereof progression from record to record is not necessary in order to make an artist's catalogue worthy of a listen. With ROY Z by his side, BRUCE DICKINSON has managed to produce yet another slab of pure well-constructed Heavy Metal, and the slab is smoking! The seven-year itch within Chemical Wedding was worth the wait, but Tyranny of Souls should not be expected to resemble the previous effort. The vocals on Tyranny of Souls are the best that BRUCE DICKINSON has done since the Chemical Wedding, and the vocals obliterate the last IRON MAIDEN effort (Dance Of Death). As a matter of fact, one could go on record as stating that BRUCE DICKINSON sounds as though he actually cares on Tyranny of Souls.
 
To prove the theory, the artwork is the first bit of evidence. The cover is a depiction of the very depths of Hell itself with a demon having a grotesque demon face on the demon's stomach laid out on a dark rock, and the cliché "hell, fire and brimstone" surrounding the demon with the album title etched in white ribbons beneath the demon. The inside of the booklet is splattered with dragons, dungeon and religious iconography beside each patch of lyrics, and the pages of the booklet are numbered in roman numerals. The back cover of the booklet depicts the duo that were responsible for Tyranny of Souls, Roy Z and Dickinson himself holding a globe depicting hell in his left hand. The back cover in the CD tray depicts two sinners being thrown in to the flame-infested mouth of a dragon. Indeed Dickinson managed to insure that the artwork is as good as the artwork from Chemical Wedding.
 
Concerning the music itself? It's what a listener would expect from BRUCE DICKINSON: epic, heavy and conceptual. Not only that, but Roy Z and his Guitar tone shines on the album as he is the sole Guitarist, which hurts the album slightly. It is sad listening and knowing that Adrian Smith was void from Tyranny of Souls to provide more heavier and meatier riffs, but Roy Z does a good job of handing the rhythm and lead guitars on the album. The opening riffs to the songs "Devil On A Hog", "Abduction", "Soul Intruders" and "Power Of The Sun" hook in the listener. The album begins with an intro dubbed "Mars Within", which has a peculiar effect/sampling followed by a brief doom riff progression, that follows into "Abduction". The sole acoustic number, "Navigate The Seas Of The Sun", is a mellow composition showcasing Dickinson's vocal ability backed by Roy Z's acoustic picking.
 
This is conceptual, complicated and intelligently composed heavy metal that is very much needed in a time where most of the music heard nowadays resembles one another instrumentally, and in a time where metal vocalists that incorporate actual singing are few and far between. The album may take a few listens in order to grab a hold of the listener fully, but it will. Adrian Smith would have contributed a dual lead guitar attack similar to the Chemical Wedding, but as previously stressed, this is no Chemical Wedding. This is Tyranny of Souls, and this is an album that Roy Z shines through. The musicians whom participated in the recording of this record include David Moreno on drums, Maestro Mistheria on keyboards, and three different Bass players for different songs: Roy Z, Ray Burke and Juan Perez. - Dave Larmore

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Coffins - Mortuary In Darkness (Razorback, 2005)

Rating: 8/10

Just when you think you've heard all Razorback has to offer (and, though you may have an inkling of what to expect, it is still a bucket of fun), they go and pull something like COFFINS out of their asses. Imagine, IMPETIGO and AUTOPSY mashed together with the painfully slow sludge of bands like EVOKEN or WINTER, and spike it with a heavy dose of CELTIC FROST, and you have Japan's COFFINS, the latest jewel in the crown that is the Razorback Records roster. This is bass-heavy, nasty, down-tuned death metal that is as appalling as it is appealing. If you are a fan of any of the aforementioned bands and like putrid death metal with attitude and balls, get Mortuary In Darkness... it is sure to please. - Al Kikuras

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Dam – Purity: The Darwinian Paradox (Candlelight, 2005)

Rating: 8/10

DAM sounds like a whole bunch of killer metal bands rolled up into one.  There are hints of the progressive side of DEATH; the vocals touch on AT THE GATES; the music shreds with the precision of HATE ETERNAL, the melodicism of DARK TRANQUILLITY, and the epic scope of EMPEROR, albeit without the symphonic tendencies; the lyrics, at least based on what I can understand, have the literate qualities of NAPALM DEATH. DAM takes all these influences and mixes them up into something that doesn’t sound exactly like any one of them.
 
Opening track “Spiritual Void” comes blasting out of the chute with some great riffs, and the fourth track “Come To Dust” absolutely kills.  The intro riff to “Fortunes Of Need” has drums and buzzsaw guitar locked together so tightly that it sounds like a horde of angry bumblebees. The coolest thing about the record is that there are three guitarists, and no self-indulgent wheedle-doodle guitar solos. Aside from the silly band name, which apparently stems from the Hebrew and Arabic word for “blood,” I can’t find any fault with this record.  Cool stuff. - JW

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Demonic Mortuary - Thirst For Fucking Carnage (Rusty Axe, 2005)

Rating: 8.5/10

Ahh, this brings me back. If you've read more than one of my reviews, you have probably heard me wax on about the old days of the underground, back in the mid to late 1980s and early 1990s when Unchain the Underground was a print 'zine. I still have boxes of demos on cassette. Home made, photocopied covers on second rate cassette tapes. Those were the glory days, before CDRs, before everyone had CD burner and a home studio. DEMONIC MORTUARY is, for all intents and purposes, a throw back to those days. From the construction-paper cover, the crude drawing and logo, the production that sounds like it was recorded on a boom box... this is the ancient underground brought back to life. Sure, it is on a CDR, but there isn't even a label on the fucker, and while it is annoying that half the time I put it in, I have to flip it over to the right side, I can't bring myself to mark it up.

The music, likewise, is a throwback to the days of raw, primitive thrash, when the guys could kind of play, but didn't really care. They just bashed their instruments, making a hell of a ruckus and recording it for the rest of the world to hear. This stuff sounds like prototypical death metal: when thrash moved a little too far into brutal territory to be pure thrash anymore, before the fuckers REALLY got nasty and guttural. Like a big, sloppy pizza covered in onions, sausage, bacon, meatball and hot peppers... it's a mess, but damn is it satisfying. There are some great riffs, some catchy passages, very raw screamed vocals, noisy but thick production, lots of bass, and just enough mindless brutality combined with solid songwriting to make Thirst For Fucking Carnage a repeatedly entertaining listen.

Rusty Axe Records, you have my ears, and I can't wait to hear what you put out next. - Al Kikuras

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Eternal - Satanic Templars Of The Dark Age (Sinister Sounds, 2005) http://www.sinistersounds.ca/
 
Rating: 6.5/10
 
With a collection of 4 songs seemingly serving as an introduction to what lies ahead, France's ETERNAL are briefly helping to preserve the style of Brutal Death Metal. The Satanic Templars Of The Dark Age EP was recorded back in the winter of 2003 and was picked up by Canadian label SINISTER SOUNDS INC. shortly thereafter. With an album cover (by Lise Daulin) resembling early SLAYER (Reign In Blood) and DEATH (Individual Thought Patterns) offerings, Satanic Templars Of The Dark Age is a true grit Brutal Death Metal album that does not really offer too much out of the ordinary from the genre, as sad as it is to say. Be not mistaken, this is by no means a bad EP, but a listener is bound to conclude that they have heard something similar to this before. ETERNAL do not necessarily stick out in the genre of Brutal Death Metal, but fans of the genre will nonetheless embrace ETERNAL for the entire duration of the 20 minutes that Satanic Templars Of The Dark Age lasts.
 
The members of ETERNAL all have extreme metal experience well under their belts, as they have done time in other Black and Death metal bands. Matth (Vocals) handled Bass duties in CRYSTALIUM, Thib (Bass) and Xav (Drums) play in HYSTERIA, and Xav additionally plays for HIMINBJORG. Satanic Templars Of The Dark Age was produced by Ludovic Tournier (HATE SUPREMECY, CRYSTALIUM) at the L'Autre Studio. Give Satanic Templars Of The Dark Age a listen only if you experience orgasms and pleasure over a mixture of gutter-gurgling mutilation of the voice box, lightning fast pulsating drum work and down tuned stomping Lead and Rhythm guitar work. - Dave Larmore

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Evolotto - Smile (Sin Klub Entertainment, 2005)
 
Rating: 8/10
 
With yet another pure rock effort made available by the umbrella that is Sin Klub Entertainment, "Smile" is the latest offering from Ohio's EVOLOTTO in the form of a 5 song EP. The 9-year veterans already have two albums under their belts, and Smile is a short but sweet effort that leaves more to be desired.
 
The music can be compared to artists such as CLUTCH, THE MELVINS and TOOL, which should give the reader a good idea of what to expect from these guys. The EP opens up with "The Nebbish King", which gives the listener a good idea of what they are in store for.  However, the stand out track on Smile is "Crazy Starfucker", which contains the strongest riff on the album, but maintains the mid-tempo pace throughout the song, along with Guitar effects here and there throughout the song.
 
Those who like THE MELVINS and TOOL should especially give EVOLOTTO a moment of their time. EVOLOTTO contains within their ranks Ben Bomlitz handling Drums, Chris Sobb providing the Guitar riffs and Matt Meyers maintaining the rhythm of the Bass. All three members handle the vocal department. - Dave Larmore

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Gargantula – Infinitasm (Southern Lord, 2005) 

Rating: 7.5/10

I’m a big fan of the Southern Lord roster because I’m a depressed, morose son of a bitch who likes to hear other such people make really depressing, morose, harsh, bleak, evil-sounding music. Now that I have that out of the way, that brings us to GARGANTULA, a new group whose debut full-length Infinitasm will be distributed by Southern Lord records in the near future. (Until then, the record is available direct from the band at their personal website listed above.)
 
GARGANTULA are modern doom/thrash, with the best comparisons I can draw being CATHEDRAL or HIGH ON FIRE.  (Perhaps coincidentally, GARGANTULA and HIGH ON FIRE share a producer, Billy Anderson, who’s also helmed records by SLEEP and SICK OF IT ALL.) Vocalist Clifford has the classic post-Lee Dorrian doom vocal style.  Drummer Chris Gonzalez and guitarist Bill Blair thrash away, with Blair flipping from doom riffs to intricate solos and harmony parts with ease. The addition of keyboards here and there really works to add a bit of flair to the proceedings, and thankfully the band doesn’t overuse them.
 
GARGANTULA really strikes hardest when it slows down, like on the melancholy midtempo of “Angelically Dusted,” and the wonderfully titled “Flytard” has some kick-ass riffs.  Infinitasm is a great starting point for a talented band of doom metal upstarts, and if you like anything that used to come out on Man’s Ruin back in the day, you’ll like this. - JW

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Grand Magus - Wolf's Return (Rise Above, 2005)
 
Rating: 8.5/10
 
With their third album, Stockholm's GRAND MAGUS break the mold of Doom Rock that they were previously conformed to with their previous efforts; Wolf's Return have evolved into a full-on classic Heavy Metal assault while still holding on to their Doom roots. With heavy Guitar riffs, steady mid-paced tempos and (gasp!) actual singing, GRAND MAGUS are a band to behold, who embody the sheer purity and morals of true Heavy Metal. They possess a classic tone and approach that BLACK SABBATH laid the very foundations for down almost four decades ago. To perhaps go out on a limb here, GRAND MAGUS are the fresher and younger version of BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, only much more sober and with much better singing.
 
GRAND MAGUS churn out their tales of personal vengeance and ancient Scandinavian mythology in a little over 38 minutes with 11 tracks, mixing classic Heavy Metal and Doom riffing with melody and much stronger drumming. The album opens with the solid drumming leading into the single "Kingslayer", which keeps a mid-fast tempo and is definitely something that will get the listener moving, one way or another. "Blood Oath" is similar to "Kingslayer", in that it maintains a mid-fast tempo and will get the listener moving, and having an immediate hooking riff to begin the song helps as well. Other songs worthy of notation and listening recommendation are "Repay In Kind", "Light Hater" and the title track.
 
While Wolf's Return is full of gritty heavy metal, GRAND MAGUS had the tendency to fill the record up with not one, but short instrumental compositions, which could have been developed into full-length songs. "Blodorn", "Jarnbord", "Ashes" and "Wolf's Return Part II" seemed to simply fill in the time gaps of the record, although "Wolf's Return Part II" is an acceptable closer to such a vintage Metal opus that is Wolf's Return. GRAND MAGUS has evolved from the pure doom roots they originally marched forth with, and hopefully they will continue on the path they have taken. The trio behind Wolf's Return consists of the dependable rhythm section of Fox (Bass/Backing Vocals) and Frederik (Drums) with JB of SPIRITUAL BEGGARS handling the Lead Vocals and Guitars. - Dave Larmore

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Hank Williams III - Boot #3 (2005) www.hank3.com
 
Rating: 10/10
 
Eight of the eleven tracks on Boot #3 should be very familiar to any hardcore HANK WILLIAMS III fan, because a demo version of the soon-to-be completed effort was released independently in 2003 and made available at HANK III's shows. Nothing much has changed since then, because this is still an independently release effort from a man whose recording career has been put on a mysterious halt for years by Mike Curb, and nobody truly knows the whole story. Desperate to get his music out, HANK WILLIAMS III finally finished the recording of Boot #3 over the span of time on his own, and the results are satisfying for a do-it-yourself offering. The material contained within Boot #3 is definitely what Curb Records head honcho Mike Curb doesn't want anyone to hear! If he were to nationally release the contents similar to what's found on Boot #3, then it would not only put the more radio friendly cowboy hat wearing assclowns in Levi's to shame, but it would perhaps finally usher in the new generation of pure country music that HANK WILLIAMS' grandson has been leading front and center for several years... despite the contents of this particular disc containing no country anthems whatsoever.
 
With Boot #3, HANK WILLIAMS III instead manages to unearth a sound that is more similar to... well, quite frankly, it can't be compared to another artist. HANK WILLIAMS III has a completely different vocal range and style of heavy music to offer. What would one expect? This is, after all, the solo metal project from the bassist of SUPERJOINT RITUAL being discussed here. When he's not sporting an old cowboy hat over his Hell's Angel modeled ponytail while strumming an acoustic guitar plastered with a "Fuck Curb" sticker plastered on it and moaning the blues in a vocal range similar to running buddy WAYNE HANCOCK, HANK WILLIAMS III is keeping the spirit of old school hardcore/metal alive with both SUPERJOINT RITUAL or the material on this disc, performed live under the moniker ASSJACK.
 
The songs that make up Boot #3 are mostly kept relatively short, because HANK WILLIAMS III manages to say what he needs/wants without stretching it out to anything fancy, and that's a good thing. Kicking the album off is a doom-like walking dead instrumental introduction leading into the mohawk wearing society's anthem, "Tennessee Driver". Songs preceding it, such as "Wasting Away" and "Cut Throat" still maintain the balls to the wall aggression that they did two years ago, just with a slightly better sound quality. The song "Choking Gesture" has been amended a bit since 2003, with the new version containing a Bass riff at the beginning, replacing the former sole Guitar riff opening to kick the song off. "No Regrets" sounds better than ever, and "Redneck Ride" has been improved with a Dixie guitar doodle at the beginning, much more vicious screaming in the chorus and more guitar work in the song period. The two newest songs, "Smoke The Fire" and "Doing What I Want" do not disappoint, with the riffing and structure to "Doing What I Want" being somewhat patterned after live instrumental "Brujo". The disc closes with an old instrumental from back in the day entitled "South Hoompa Jam", which has a Southern Rock feel to it and features the Harp work of JD Wilkes.
 
Overall, this is a solid, fast, heavy thrashing assault that does not let up. It is simply amazing how a pure country singer can churn out a disc like this. If one believes that they have heard all there is to hear concerning heavy music, they had better think again, because HANK WILLIAMS III is as heavy and aggressive as they come. The musicians participating on Boot #3 are the namesake handling the lead Vocals and both the Guitar and Bass work, SUPERJOINT RITUAL drummer Joe Fazzio obviously handling the Drums and HANK WILLIAMS III/ASSJACK bassist Joe Buck on backing vocals. To learn much more about HANK WILLIAMS III and to download some live music of his (Country, Hellbilly and Metal), do visit his website. - Dave Larmore

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