Happy Halloween

Halloween is by far my favorite holiday, and nothing makes me happier than spending it in New York City, where there's always so much to do and everyone gets really into the costumed revelry. This year's plans include a stop by the Village Halloween Parade (an annual tradition), a party ominously titled Abaddon that's set to feature live blood wrestling, and an attempt to cramp into Vice's blowout anniversary party in Williamsburg.

The party actually started last night at the co-headlined Mastodon/Dethklok show, which also featured Converge and High on Fire. We got there early enough to catch the support acts, and found dead-center, second-row balcony seats from which we could best admire the visuals and enjoy all the fumes in the room. A full review is forthcoming, but in the meantime—and in honor of all things skull-emblazed, pagan, metal and Halloween—here are some shots of Dethklok. The full collection can be seen here.

PS: Shout-out to the very much alive Chuck Biscuits.

R.I.P. Chuck Biscuits (NOT!)

[UPDATE: Bullshit has been called. Apparently this story—which spread around the Internet like wildfire yesterday—is FALSE. Chuck Biscuits is alive. Not sure to what end this hoax was created, I'm just glad one more bit of my childhood hasn't been marred by a deathly footnote. Read more about the confusion here.]

Some of my favorite teenage concert experiences involve a multitude of Danzig shows. The original lineup—guitarist John Christ, bassist Eerie Von, and drummer Chuck Biscuits—was a concise, loud and driven band; almost as if possessed by the very dark gods Glenn crooned about.

Yet even with all that combined talent, it was Biscuits' moppy blond hair, whipping wildly about as he played (his barbaric style resembled a real-life version of Animal from The Muppet Show), that remained most memorable. He pounded the skins hard and mercilessly, just as he had during his stints with D.O.A., Black Flag, Samhain, and subsequently, Social Distortion. Most fans will be surprised to know that he also played drums on several tracks for Run DMC, including the classic "Mary, Mary."

Sadly, news just broke that Biscuits, whose legal name was Charles Montgomery, lost his battle with throat cancer this past Saturday. He was only 44 years old. More info can be found here.

Rest in peace, Chuck. I'll forever cherish my memories of watching you play.


And here's a classic moment - Chuck showing off his Cerealogy degree.