Heavy Street

Heavy Street is known for its cheese factor, but I’d like to think we do have our limits on this site. I woke up Saturday morning, and Poison’s Behind The Music VH1 special was on. Man, was it cringe worthy shit. I lasted about 10 minutes before I had to change the channel.

Like any other metalhead, I like the odd Poison song or two. They normally get cranked in my car (with the windows rolled up of course). You know their are dudes out there wearing their Brutal Truth, and Entombed shirts who know the lyrics to “Talk Dirty To Me”, but will take that secret to their graves. So yeah, the odd Poison song here and there is ok, but most of it is just rancid cheese.

I do also admit to seeing the band live in 1989 in Calgary at the Saddledome. The only reason I went, was because Tesla was opening up, and I loved that band. “Modern Day Cowboy”?….damn straight!!!  I stuck around for Poison, and did my first “meh” at the tender age of sixteen.

Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah!….if you wanna hear an annoying narrator talk about the band like they were such an integral part of the hard rock world. Or if you’re looking to delve more deeply into the complex relationship between Bret and CC, then this show will be right up your alley. All hail the bandanna, wig, and the most politically charged lyrics this side of Rage Against The Machine.

My love for all that is Entombed still holds strong to this day. I first witnessed them live seventeen years ago at the Town Pump (R.I.P.) in Vancouver. They were touring the US and Canada in support of their Wolverine Blues album. It was my first death metal show ever, and I was hooked for life.

I started getting into death metal pretty hard around the early 90′s, but had not heard anything like what these Swedish lads were dishing out. The sound was death metal, but it was so much more. Entombed had actual songs, with lots of groove, and not just blast beats for the sake of em’. My favorite Entombed album is still to this day Left Hand Path. It holds up twenty years later, and can give the new bands coming out a lesson on how to do it right. Left Hand Path is probably one of the best album on the whole Earache catalogue.

L-G Petrov and the boys have not done too much touring the last few years in the US, but they are at the tail end of an eight date East Coast tour. Here are the dates remaining:

June 4th Detroit, Michigan Blondie’s

June 5th Chicago, Illinois Reggie Rock Club

June 6th Milwaukee, Wisconsin Rave

Blame it on Southern Lord Records for unleashing the hell that is Black Breath. These Seattle trouble makers spit out a sound so enraptured in late 80′s thrash and early 90′s Swedish death, it makes me want to pull out my Entombed Left Hand Path Tour 1990 longsleeve out of the closet and get thrashin’!