San Diego's Bloodbath: Ashen Earth

Let's be real.  Life in San Diego can be stressful and make you uptight.  There is simply no better solution to this problem than banging your head against your wall, desk, or neighbor to the vicious beats of heart-pounding death metal.  Personally, a well-rounded playlist of Bloodbath, Entombed, Decapitated, and Cannibal Corpse is healthier for my soul than chicken soup.  And when I later discovered that local members of Ashen Earth live and breathe this playlist through original compositions, I couldn't say no to listening to their self-titled debut album.

As depressing as the San Diego metal scene is becoming, it is bands like Ashen Earth that give me hope that the scene will truly, hopefully sooner rather than later, arise from its ashes.  The album does not so much focus on technicality as it does power, the absolute key to a successful death metal piece in my strong opinion.  A perfect example would be the song "When Stars Die;" the infectious groove-laden intro trips the listener out of the comfort zone and immediately picks up into a vigorous down-tuned melodies that is sadistically pleasurable to the ears.  The ambient breakdown toward the end is accompanied by Behemoth-like vocals and gradually cuts out one of the coolest San Diego metal songs I've ever heard.  The day this band encounters a famous producer, all he's got to do is amp up that bass guitar so that songs like "Oculos Ad Veritatem" and "Blind to the End" can get the listener's undivided attention, and this band would be on the way to becoming Immolation Junior!

"Caress the Flesh," "Equations of Power and Pain," and "Vigil of the Woods" are all stand-out tracks as well, and I am definitely proud of the mark that this band is making on San Diego.  It won't go unappreciated for long.

For fans of:
Behemoth, Bloodbath, Cannibal Corpse, Decapitated

Members:

Jeff Meredith-Vocals
David Cox-Guitars
Pat Sissom-Guitars
Bryant Furman-Bass
John Cordes-Drums

Links:

http://www.reverbnation.com/ashenearth

http://www.youtube.com/ashenearthofficial

https://twitter.com/ashenearth

http://www.myspace.com/ashenearth

http://ashenearth.tumblr.com

http://ashenearthofficial.blogspot.com

Prince Forever: Remembering Michael Prince of Purple Church

Six months ago, the hearts of the San Diego metal community were more than crushed to hear about the untimely passing of Michael Prince Johnson.  Whether you grinded rails with him at the skate park, or banged your head to his vivacious drumming performances with the blackened glam rebels of Purple Church, or got shit-faced and blasted Mercyful Fate while speeding down the highway, every experience with Prince was guaranteed to be precious and unforgettable.  Prince was nothing less than a valuable companion, a whiskey-bent and hellbound party animal, and a lovable, soulful human being.

I personally met Michael Prince for the first time at the Whiskey a Go-Go in Hollywood, just before Purple Church was slated to open for Swedish glam band Crashdiet.  His hair spiked high, chains rattling around his hips, and proudly boasting a Marduk shirt, Prince was so kind in introducing himself and quick to ask if I wanted to come get drinks with them at the nearby liquor store.  After watching them rock the Whiskey (even before the shitty sound guy ruined the last half of their set), I was so impressed by the band's energy and couldn't wait to meet them all again.  I'll never forget that Prince exclaimed: "Fuck yeah babe, let's party!"  It sounded a little too friendly at first, but when you get to know him, you begin to see  that that's just how Prince rolls: he's welcoming, friendly, and ready to rock out with anyone who's ready to party.  The band later graced themselves into the independent UCSD radio station to do some late night promotions for a local show they were heading, and I'll never forget how well they all interacted together, obnoxious but hilarious, both on-air and off.  The world misses you, Prince.  Go show Dio and Jeff Hanneman what a goddamn legend you are.

Please join us in remembrance of Michael Prince by rocking out with the SD Metal Community at the Boar Crossin on February 2.  Purple Church will be playing a tribute show with Sean Elg of Nihilist ready to fill in some big shoes.  Come down a beer, sing with us, and let's show Prince that he taught us well in the art of partying.

Welcome to LSD!

From all of us at SDMetal.com: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This is Karila, your friendly female staff member here to showcase to you our New Year's Resolution: vamp up SDMetal.com and get going with new interviews, reviews, and the renovation of our LSD (local San Diego) metal page!  We tried the latter out last year, and it was a great success, so we will be keeping it.  BUT we will be updating our local San Diego metal band info on this blog rather than on the website. However, you will still be able to access this information via sdmetal.com.  I will be constantly updating this blog with new SD (and OC) local acts, tour gigs, pics, new albums, and other cool promotions.  

I have always been a firm believer in the supporting the hard working underground scene...it's the only way to keep metal alive for centuries to come!  Cheers to the most metal New Year imaginable! \m/

~Karila

PS no, you TOTALLY can't tell that I'm TOTALLY excited for the new Behemoth album that's coming out in ONE FREAKING MONTH! \m/