The Lewis Show

Also appearing, Janine and Mike. And friends. We think.

I saw and retweeted this earlier, but I figured it was worth its own post. After all, penguins love the metal. H/T @apeshit

Everyone else is getting a head start on the holiday season. So will I! Slayer!!!

You know I'm not going to pass up an opportunity to catch Swedish Metal whenever it hits Richmond. Soilwork came into town to play some new material and we could not pass this show up. In an ideal world, all great shows like this will be on a Saturday, but one of the great perks about living in Richmond is being able to catch great stuff like this at any time. The new album is called The Panic Broadcast , I like it, everything they put out is great and worth checking out. What I wasn't expecting was some good, old fashioned music discovery. Apparently, I've been under a rock these past few months or years and haven't heard about any of the bands playing before Soilwork, but I was both surprised and even blown away. Death Angel, thrash, I'll let this clip of them playing in Wacken in 2004 speak loudly for itself. Tour Flyer Now that I've shown more videos in one month than MTV will all year, I figured I'd throw in one more from the headliners. ...

I figured for posterity events of last week deserved a better post than just a few crappy pictures from my cell phone. Mayhem Fest came to Virginia Beach last Wednesday. Janine and I were very fortunate to land some tickets for these sweaty festivities thanks to our good friends! So I figured with five of us going, (Sam, Jessi, Ben, Janine, and I), I should do what any heavy metal ringleader should do, rent a mini van. This actually worked very well back in 2002 when I had to carry a large crowd to see a show in northern Virginia. We got to Virginia Beach about an hour into the show, sweated, stood, sat, rinsed and repeated all the way to the last performance of the night. I quickly realized the top bands of my day are all pretty much the same as they were in 2006 when I last saw most of these bands. I'm very happy for these bands, but I was reminded I need to really try to keep discovering new acts. It felt like even more of a throwback to see the top two head...

Hatebreed preforming, way over there... Shadows Fall aka I'm really far away aka walking ads for sunblock. Rob Zombie brought the pyro! Korn brought the nostalgia. They've been doing this a lifetime!

Alright, I don't just like Opeth , they're one of my top three favorite bands. This is why: Opeth - Bleak (live)

I forgot! So to punish myself I'm subjecting myself to this kazoo cover of Metallica's "Enter Sandman". Serves me right...

This is not how I wanted to start my metal blog, by posting of the sudden passing of stars in the genre. Earlier this year, Peter Steele died suddenly from heart failure, my last post I mentioned Dio, now news from Iowa reports Slipknot bassist, Paul Gray was found dead in a Des Moines hotel room. Again, I have nothing to say or add, just thinking of family and friends. I figure it's always fitting to showcase some of the chaos he helped to start. Thanks, Paul, for the fun memories. Slipknot - The Blister Exists

Ronnie James Dio passed away earlier today at 67. He was a vital pioneer in metal and hard rock. I can say nothing for this moment other than condolences to his family and may his music live on. Dio - Rainbow in the Dark

No, I'm not floating another idea for my blog, there's just a few things I want to share, so here goes. Janine and I were discussing attending the Mayhem tour next month in DC. We very well could be going and that would be mind blowing. The link to the band lineup is here , I posted about it months ago not thinking I was going. The video above is new stuff from Slipknot, tour headliners. It'll be fun to get back to seeing some shows again. There's so much going on here, but I'm so busy at home, I never have time to go see anything. Also, who knew that twenty five years ago, Metallica released Kill Em All and launched them to rock stardom? Twenty five years ago! What do you get for something like that, a headbangers silver anniversary edition record? Talk about making me feel grandfatherly! Here's some really older than Moses footage of them playing. Shh, that's Dave Mustaine at guitar.

TMNT (Thanks, Sam) Thor!

Last year was the first in a while that I didn't attend the legendary Ozzfest. I was mostly too scared the element attending a free show would not be a good one. I heard it went off OK overall, but this year's announcement isn't even finalized when I hear about Mayhem Fest . This is a pretty complete lineup, they're actually playing two dates in Virginia, one of them being a Sunday, which is great, and well I'm just excited. Here's the line up. This looks like a LOT of fun! Slipknot Disturbed Dragonforce Mastodon Machinehead Airbourne Five Finger Death Punch Walls of Jericho The Red Chord Underoath Black Tide Suicide Silence 36 Crazyfists

These are mostly rumors, but soon I'm sure I'll be posting this year's Ozzfest line up. I'm really hoping they play in a venue in this state this year. Last year was the first year not going and it was a definite void. This is a pretty interesting line up. STP is not a metal band, but they will draw a huge crowd. Filter reuniting kind of gives things a 90's nu metal feel to it. This should be interesting as it develops: OZZY OSBOURNE STONE TEMPLE PILOTS SERJ TANKIAN KILLSWITCH ENGAGE CAVALERA CONSPIRACY BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE FILTER THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME TESTAMENT FAIR TO MIDLAND …more rumors TBA

I have to get back into my old pre holiday routine and fast! I was off today (see prior, oh, 2 or 3 posts) so that's 3 weeks in a row where I've had some kind of extended weekend. I think things will be getting back to normal just in time for all the babies to be born. I do feel productive, though. I got Janine's car nice and clean after I trashed it on our trip. That's a very nice feeling of accomplishment. I love driving her car. I just really wish I could "pimp" it out, you know, put nice wheels on it, put a flames down the sides, maybe one of those large carburetors (you know, the ones that go over the hood). I mean she does drive a PT Cruiser, I think she should do it up right, 1950's hot rod style! I am nervous about this weekend, the Seahawks are coming to town to play the GB Packers. They played a heck of a game in the second half against the surging Redskins late week, so I'm hoping for blizzard conditions this weekend for sure. Will this be t...

Sam contacted me earlier and said he wants to come visit us in March to see Clutch in concert. So I figured I'd show off some Clutch live from Sounds of the Underground. I've always been fond of this Maryland outfit, I can't wait to see them live.

White Zombie was scary. I have to admit it's one of the most intense concerts I had been to. It was also a lot of fun. Here's the video for Welcome to Planet Mother F.....r!

I was just debating on who to put in for Metal Monday when I found out that the lead singer for Quiet Riot, Kevin DuBrow was found dead in his Las Vegas home this morning. So in tribute to a ground breaking band, (despite my opinions on them breaking ground by doing covers), this Metal Monday is dedicated to his memory. RIP.

Metal Monday this week features a live clip from Slayer at Download Festival in London back in 2005 (I think). The crowds at that show are always massive and amazing. I'll highlight some live footage from other big festivals too, like Wacken Open Air, etc. This is Slayer's signature song and when I saw them live a song that just made their fans go completely nuts. Reigning Blood. Everyone has heard and knows this famous riff from master axeman, Kerry King.