Pentagram

"Welcome to the black T-shirt festival," Aaron Deal, the drummer of Salome very fittingly laughed out to the crowd after the band's first song. Throw in wizard beards and pot tits on guys, and you have defined the crowd of Planet Caravan Festival in an accurate, yet wonderful way...

Planet Caravan Festival has come and gone. A rare festival to take place in the U.S. -- let alone in the quiet Asheville, N.C. -- for the sheer fact that the lineup itself was a pure celebration of all children and grandchildren born from the forefather of stoner rock, and boasting such acts as Pentagram, Yob and Wino...

Victory Records is reissuing previous Darkest Hour releases 'So Sedated, So Secure' and 'Hidden Hands of Sadist Nation.' It's a common record label tactic, which either delights fans with collector mentalities, or infuriates those who feel snookered when they have to buy the same album twice for the extra odds and sods and bells and whistles...

The madmen behind America's biggest heavy metal party, Maryland Deathfest, have recently announced that the reunited Gorguts have confirmed an appearance at this year's festival. In addition, the following bands have recently been confirmed for MDF 2010, including Possessed, Asphyx (Netherlands), Necrophobic (Sweden), Sadistic Intent and the Chasm...

Something was different about Batillus Aug. 21, when they transformed Brooklyn's Union Pool back bar into a swampy house of doom. I had seen them before. They were one of the openers at a Show No Mercy doom showcase, which included Ocean and Salome...

So, we were at a show last week, and noticed something strange. See, we realize it's uncouth to wear a band shirt to that same band's concert. It's like wearing an 'I Love New York' shirt in Times Square. We see dudes all the time when we go to shows wearing shirts with the logos of bands on the bill, and it almost always inspires a smart-ass remark...

Yesterday, more than a billion sets of eyes watched as a packed Staples Center bid a final farewell to the King of Pop. Let's hope that, starting today, the world begins to move on from Jackson's premature passing, because the truth is, people die everyday...