23 October 2006
Firstly, a big “Thank You” to everyone who turned up to our Friday the 13th spectacular at the Barleycorn recently. For a Friday the 13th nothing too spooky happened. The guitarist from Waters Edge broke a string early in their set but this seemed to be the extent of the “superstition factor”.
A big thanks to the guys from Konvikted Souls for inviting us to be a part of it all.
Friday Oct. 20 I headed into the Green Room to catch Tailbone and Dreadnaught. Two local bands that I would highly recommend checking out. Crowd numbers were down a bit from what I expected but both bands put on tight terrific sets.
Saturday Oct. 21 Alex and I were again at the Green Room. This time to check out the Swedish all-girl group Crucified Barbara. The first band I caught was the Sebasrockets. I have seen these guys a couple of times before and have enjoyed them every time. Sleazy, slightly glam and very rock and roll. Next up were Mustang. I hadn’t seen these guys before and still don’t really know anything about them. It was raw, down and dirty rock and roll with a hint more “Metal” and I will definitely catch them again if I get the chance. I have been reading heaps about Crucified Barbara in the local press recently with lots of comparisons to Motorhead and after seeing them live I can understand why. These girls delivered some serious metal-edged rock and roll with a healthy dose of attitude. A cover of Kiss’ Shout it out Loud was well received and the fact that they finished off the night with a rousing rendition of Motorhead’s Killed by Death pretty much sealed the deal for me. A great live band that I highly recommend to everyone the next time they come to Australia. By the way girls, good luck on your UK tour supporting the legendary Motorhead and I hope you enjoy your MEDUSA CD’s.
Friday November 10th will see us returning to Dream nightclub for our first time at their new “TNT” night. I’m not sure who we’re on with yet but keep your eyes on the gig guide and we’ll let you know as soon as we do. MEDUSA will be hitting the stage around 11:30 pm for what is sure to be an arse-kicking good night. Hope to see you there.
For anybody interested, I will once again be making the trek up to Canberra for the LAST EVER Metal 4 the Brain on Saturday November 4th. 14 straight hours of glorious Australian Heavy Metal and just a few cool bevies!! Too much of a good thing still ain’t enough. See you there; you can buy me a Brew!
Until next time…
Stay Metal, Stay MEDUSA.
Wez
9 October 2006
Hey Metalheadz,
First up, we would like to thank everyone who came out to our gig at Switch last month. You guys are awesome! Thanks especially to Will and Steph and the rest of the staff at Switch for making our first gig at Switch run so smoothly, thanks to Darren for the killer mix and to Ahbrutahl for sharing the bill.
Ahh, the joys of live gigs. All the fun, behind the scenes stuff you guys hopefully never get to see. Due to a car accident a week before the Switch gig I was forced to squeeze all of my bass gear into a very small hire car. Arriving at the gig I discovered that the on/off switch of my amplifier had been damaged. Hooray! An hour and a half till show time and I’m removing the cover off my amp, this looks like fun. After several unsuccessful attempts to repair the switch, and a nice jolt of 240 volts up my arm for touching something I shouldn’t have while the amp was still plugged in, Nat suggested cutting the switch out of the loop and hard-wiring the amp. Success! Sound-check proceeds and the gig goes off without further drama.
Saturday September 23rd saw Nat, Alex and myself at the Corner Hotel for Atrocity and Leaves’ Eyes. Not knowing anything about Atrocity I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had been told that they were full-on Death Metal, but I found them to be just a touch heavier than “Classic-Old-School” with splashes of Thrash and Death Metal. I’m not sure who was enjoying it more, the crowd or the band; they just couldn’t keep the smiles off their faces. Leaves’ Eyes were up next. These guys are in a similar vein to Nightwish or Within Temptation (Female-fronted, operatic style vocals) but with a style all their own. I thoroughly enjoyed the performances of both bands and it was an added bonus that they came out after the gig and signed CD’s, posters etc. until the very early hours of the morning. As a fan it makes you feel appreciated and I wish more bands did this kind of thing. Honorable mention to supports, Antonamasia and Chalice for flying the local Metal flag high.
The next afternoon (with nowhere near enough sleep!) found me standing in a very long queue in the freezing cold wind and pouring rain waiting for Zakk Wylde to arrive at Gallins guitars for his in-store appearance. Three cold, wet hours later and the doors were locked leaving a couple of hundred disappointed people with nothing to show for a very unpleasant afternoon out in the weather. A big thank you to Zakk who stayed an hour longer than scheduled in an attempt to get everybody through but I personally found this a very badly organized event.
That night, Nat and I headed off to join around 2000 other SDMF’s at the Palace to see Zakk and the boys carve it up. Zakk Wylde live is definitely something worth checking out. Concrete Jungle, Fire It Up, Bleed For Me and my personal favorite Funeral Bell were all delivered in fine style: Large and Loud. When they slowed it down a bit in the middle with a keyboard interlude, songs like Last Goodbye and In This River (dedicated to Dimebag Darrell as always) were raw emotion delivered with heartfelt honesty. This gig was definitely a highlight for me so far this year.
Saturday September 30th saw me heading down to St. Kilda pier to lay our good friend, Jeff Rule, to rest. Jeff’s sister, Tracy, had decided that St. Kilda was Jeff’s spiritual home and thought that it should also be his final resting place. So, in glorious sunshine, not quite fitting such a somber occasion, we said our goodbye’s and scattered Jeff’s ashes into the bay. The remainder of the afternoon was spent sitting in the sun drinking beer and telling/listening to stories and tales of our departed brother Jeff. I think it’s how he would have wanted it.
Friday October 13th will see MEDUSA returning to the Barleycorn Hotel for a gig with Konvikted Souls. Being Friday the 13th, the night will have a superstition/horror theme, so bring your black cats, a ladder to walk under or just your hockey mask and chainsaw. It all kicks off about 8pm with a $5 cover charge and MEDUSA will be tearing up the stage around 9pm. Hope to see you there.
In other news, we have finally got our MySpace page up and running. It’s fairly basic at the moment but we’ll see what we can put together in the coming months. Check it out and join the friends list at: www.myspace.com/medusarules.
Until next time may your beers be cold and your Metal Heavy!
Stay Metal, Stay MEDUSA.
Wez
29 August 2006
Hey Metalheadz,
Well gang, how good is it to be into Metal at the moment? Awesome gigs recently from Queensryche and Kreator and we’ve still got Danzig, Sebastian Bach, Fear Factory and Devil Driver, Dark Tranquillity, Nevermore, Leave’s Eyes and Atrocity, Black Label Society, Cannibal Corpse, Yngwie Malmsteen, and the Gigantour (featuring: Megadeth, Soulfly, Arch Enemy etc.) to look forward too. An absolutely top year for Australian metal as far as touring international bands is concerned.
On a more localized note, MEDUSA will be bringing our no-holds-barred, balls-to-the-wall riff-fest to SWITCH (Caseys nightclub 660a South Railway Parade, Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn.) on Saturday September 9th. This will be our first time at SWITCH so come on down and check it out. We begin shattering ear drums and instruments from 9pm so make sure you get there early. Also appearing will be Ahbrutahl.
Thanks to everyone who came out to our recent gigs at Dream and Musicland and making them Kick arse. Thanks to Mindroom, Hammaraxx and Mortification for all the great music. Congratulations to Mortification also for the successful launch of their “Erasing the Goblin” CD.
In other news, our ex-guitarist Greg has the website for his new project, Medicine Jar, up and running. Check it out at: www.medicinejar.com.au
Til next time…
Stay Metal, Stay MEDUSA.
Wez
10 July 2006
Hey Metalheadz,
Firstly, thanks to everyone that showed up to the last Heavy Thursday night at the Ferntree Gully Hotel. I think we sent the place off in fine style. Thanks to Jack Mollyneux and the staff at the FTG for putting a great bunch of nights together and we’re sorry to see it come to an end.
Secondly, we’ve just been given a very short notice gig on Saturday July 15th at Dream Nightclub, 229 Queensberry St. Carlton. MEDUSA will be hitting the stage around 10:30pm. Also on the night will be Mindroom playing covers by Dio, Purple, Sabbath, Q’ryche, Whitesnake, Steel Dragon etc. We apologize for the extremely short notice but we would love to see you all there rocking out.
Lastly, MEDUSA will also be supporting MORTIFICATION at their CD launch on Saturday July 29th. The night will be kicking off around 9pm at Music Land 1359 Sydney Rd. Fawkner. MEDUSA will hit the stage around 9pm, then the Mort boyz and Hammaraxx will be finishing the night up. It should be a great night chock full of loud, proud Metal madness. BE THERE!
Stay Metal, Stay MEDUSA.
Wez
30 May 2006
Well, what a fun couple of weeks in Metal. Firstly, the mighty Queensryche have announced that they are touring in July and they will be performing “Operation: Mindcrime I and II” in their entirety. I still remember the first time I heard “Mindcrime” and how blown away I was and now, after only 20 years (give or take a bit!) I will get to see it all done live…very cool! I have a copy of “Mindcrime II” but I haven’t found the time to give it a spin yet. July is coming pretty quick so I’d better extract the digit!
Once again Saturday night and too many options all at once! Alex and I did the best we could and gave it a red-hot-shake. First up we headed into the re-formatted SWITCH: resurrection to check out Five Star Prison Cell and Dreadnaught. What a great start to the night. Unfortunately, due to my running late (as usual!) I missed the start of Five Star, but I did catch the couple of new tracks they tried out and thought they were excellent. I haven’t seen Dreadnaught in what seems like forever but it was great to see they haven’t lost their touch. Riff-n-roll heaven! Sadly we didn’t get to see all of the Dreaders set as we had to blast over to the Tote. Hawthorn to Collingwood in ten minutes flat!! Alex actually beat me, but he drives a sports car so stuff him!
Just in time to catch the last song by Praetorian with their new line-up. Terrific to see them continuing on and I was quite impressed by the little bit I saw. Next up were the legendary, Heavy Metal Hall of Famers: Mortal Sin. Nothing like a Saturday night in a hot, sweaty, pub with a top band delivering the shit. In amongst classics like “Lebanon” and “I am Immortal”, they chucked in a couple of new songs. I didn’t catch the names of them all but I bought the new single “Out of the Darkness” and it was one that I really liked. All too soon it was over and I was on my way home with “Mayhemic Destruction” ringing in my ears. Great night out.
Meanwhile, MEDUSA will be kicking a bit of arse at the Ferntree Gully Hotel on Thursday June 22nd. This will sadly be the last of the FTG’s Hard Rock original music Thursdays so come on down and we’ll send it out with a BANG! Once again we will be teamed up with Ahbrutahl and we will be hitting the stage at 9pm sharp. With a little bit of luck (this just means I have to get my shit together!!) we might even have a new song or two in the set. Be there, drink, beer, have fun, Rock out! Till next time…
Stay Metal,
Wez
3 May 2006
Hey Metalheadz,
Well, isn’t it always the way! A bunch of great gigs all on the one weekend. Sadly I couldn’t get to them all.
Saturday night saw me checking out some new blood and a couple of old favorites at the Arthouse. Lycanthia had traveled down from Sydney and were well worth a look. Dark and atmospheric with male/female vocals, keyboards and no Metal band are complete without a violin. Hey, something different never hurts and the violin really added to the atmospheric stuff.
Next up were the Eternal, fresh off the back of national tours with HIM and Opeth. I’ve seen these guys a couple of times in the past couple of years and they have always impressed, but I think after all their recent touring they have moved up another level.
Finishing the night off in fine style was Praetorian. I’ve seen these guys a few times over the years and we recently performed together at the Jeff Rule memorial gig at the Corner hotel. Sadly this was our friend Ian’s last gig with Praetorian. He is moving to Brisbane shortly and I would like to take this opportunity to wish him all the best and safe traveling. ‘Till next time…
Support your local Metal bands,
Wez
9 April 2006
Hey Metalheadz,
Well, what can I say? Nine Great bands for $10 and all for a truly worthy cause and somehow, I think every metal head in town showed up! Awesome!
I would sincerely like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for turning the “Jeff Rule presents” gig last Friday night at the Corner into a night to remember. I would like to thank all the bands: Praetorian, Toecutter, the Deadly, Abrasion, Earth, Alarum, Bowelmouth and Vanishing Point for their involvement and for raising a hell of a racket. To the crew who organized everything (I know I’m gonna forget some names here…Sorry!) Kelli, George, Rick, Janelle, Mark etc. congrats on a tough job well done. Thanks also to the sound and light techs and crews who helped everything run so smoothly. Thanks to the Corner Hotel for providing the venue and refreshments. My camera was on the blink (or maybe it was the nut behind the lens!) so if any one has any photos from the night, please contact me or e-mail them to: metalheadz@medusa.au.com
For anyone interested, we raised just over $3,000 to go towards Jeff’s funeral costs. There are also whispers that this might turn into an annual event with the money raised going to worthy charities. I really hope so. Thanks again to everyone who got behind a great night.
In other news, the gig we were supposed to be doing this Thursday night (April 13) at the Palace has been postponed to a later date. Stay tuned to the gig guide for details. So, ‘til next time…
Stay Metal, Stay MEDUSA.
Wez
3 April 2006
Hey Metalheadz,
First up, thanks to everyone who came out Saturday night and made our first gig at the Bayswater Hotel a cracker. It was great to see some new faces mixed in with a few familiar ones and terrific to see a couple of faces that we haven’t seen in a while. The gig itself went really well, which is always kind of a relief first time up on a new stage. Great to see a few heads going off down the front so early in the night too.
This Friday night (April 7th) see’s us hitting the Stage at the Corner Hotel 57 Swan St. Richmond for the Jeff Rule tribute gig. As most of you will know by now Jeff was a DJ on PBS FM for about 15 years and hosted the “Red Stink of Metal” show and was the Band promoter at DV8 for a number of years. Sadly Jeff passed away in February. Jeff gave so many local bands, including us; much needed air time, gigs and any other assistance he could offer. Anyway, a bunch of us have got together to put on a tribute gig to celebrate Jeff’s memory and to raise some money to help his family cover some of the costs involved. It promises to be a truly great Heavy Metal night with some of the brightest and best Heavy bands to come out of Melbourne. Joining us on the night will be: Preatorian, Toecutter, the Deadly, Abrasion, Earth, Alarum, Bowel Mouth, and Vanishing Point. Doors are at 7pm and MEDUSA will be kicking the night off at 7:30pm sharp so be early.
Stay Metal, Stay MEDUSA.
Wez.
14 February 2006
Hey Metalheadz,
Well, it’s been a bit of a bittersweet in the MEDUSA camp this week as life once again dishes out the good with the bad.
Our first gig of the year was a cracker. After a couple of months away from the live scene we were more than ready to hit the stage again and it was great to see so many people turn up on a Thursday night for some great local Metal. Thanks to Jack and the FTG staff for putting on a great night, Ahbrutahl for finishing the night off, and thanks to everyone who turned up for going off like a rocket and joining the mailing list. Our new song “Odium” went over a treat, and for those of you who weren’t there you missed out on my improvised version of the “Rawhide” theme (sorry, in-joke).
On a more somber note, we were saddened to learn of the passing of our dear friend Jeff Rule last Tuesday (Feb.7). For anyone who doesn’t know, Jeff DJ’d the “Red Stink of Metal” show on PBS for as long as most of us can remember and took a chance on a lot of local Metal bands that couldn’t get airplay elsewhere. He also promoted bands at DV8 over the last few years. Two of my personal career highlights are when Jeff personally asked us to play live to air on PBS subscription week, and when he asked us to perform a tribute to Motorhead gig at DV8. I will also never forget one particular night at the Arthouse when Jeff was left in charge of the BBQ at a PBS fund-raiser, absolute hilarity. You had to be there. I first met Jeff when I moved to Melbourne in ’91 and over the years he was instrumental in getting MEDUSA some much needed airplay and gigs. Jeff not only took a professional interest in the bands, he took a personal interest. He cared. In an industry full of pretenders and wanna-be’s, Jeff was the real deal. He will be sorely and sadly missed. The Melbourne Metal scene has lost an icon and I’ve lost a good friend, but the memories remain.
Till next time, take care of each other.
Stay Metal, Stay MEDUSA.
Wez.