Entertainment Earth

10/27/2019

Chiller Theatre: October 2019

Yesterday, October 26, 2019, my friends (Alan and Freddie) and I took another trip down to New Jersey for another edition of the best convention in the universe: Chiller Theatre! This Chiller had an insanely awesome guest list. It was stacked with cool celebs that we couldn't wait to meet. The result was one of the most fun and best Chillers ever (which honest to God is saying a lot!).

The first celeb that I went up was the beautiful Jordan Ladd. I had passed up on meeting her before, but that was no longer gonna happen! The star of Death Proof, Cabin Fever, Club Dread, and Grace was so friendly in person! She actually left her table and just started talking to us. She is a wonderfully sweet and down to earth beauty.
Next up were the gorgeous twins from Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Camilla and Carey More. They were the people I was most excited to meet, being as they were my biggest Friday crushes growing up. I told them that I had huge, huge crushes on them as a kid. To which they said, "Aww!" They still look great!
Another person that I was super pumped in meeting was the absolutely beautiful Kassie DePavia of Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn fame. This still stunning actress (and Horror Crush on this site) was amazing in person! She was so sweet and friendly, as she talked to my friend Freddie and I for a bit. She has a southern drawl which despite living in New York City has not left her. I found it added even more to her natural charm. I told that she made my day, as I had such a crush on her as a kid. Meeting her was a one of the very top highlights of the con!
The last person, that I went up, on my own, was the stunningly beautiful Cynthia Gibb. I been a fan of hers forever, and yes, that means childhood crush. The star of Death Warrant, Jack's Back, and more is still breathtakingly gorgeous! She was all smiles and sweet, as I told her how much I loved Jack's Back (a very underrated horror/ thriller) and her interview on the Scream Factory Blu-ray. She thanked me and said she didn't remember doing the interview. That was a funny and cool highlight!
The next couple of stars I met, when they let us all join them in my friend Freddie's (the man of fine wrestling taste with the awesome AEW wrestling tee) pics:

Larry B. Scott of Revenge of the Nerds (there was a big reunion of that comedy classic) who was one of the coolest and nicest celebs of the entire show. This fellow New Yorker was a blast to talk to.
Bobbie Mannix is the amazing costume designer for the cult masterpiece The Warriors (for which there was an almost definitive reunion for going at the con!). She is such a wonderfully talented and sweet lady!
Timothy Busfield another one of the stars from Revenge of the Nerds, who was also extremely nice and friendly.
At some point later in the day, there was a fucking bomb scare that someone called in, apparently. They evacuated the hotel, so we headed out for dinner. After that we came back and all was back to normal and hours were extended.

Freddie went up to horror legend and all around goddess Cassandra Peterson, AKA Elvira! She is an ageless beauty with the sarcastic sense of humor that makes her so awesome! I must say that I was the happiest dude ever, as I had finally met Elvira (yet, another childhood crush)!
After that wen went up to Scott Ian and Charlie Benante of one of my utmost favorite bands ever, thrash metal gods and one of the Big Four: Anthrax! This led to other biggest highlight for me: Scott Ian being like we have met before right? I was so flattered that he remembered me from the time that I covered his and Keith Buckley's book reading at Saint Vitus. I mentioned that was were we had indeed met before. Seriously, you can't beat one of the founding members of one of your most favorite bands ever remembering you!
We, of course, hung at the party for a little while, where we had more fun! The Dead Elvi rocked the house, as they always do!


There was also some kick ass cosplay. Here are some of my favorites:
 My friend Maria always such awesome cosplays!



 This King Diamond fucking ruled!!!
Devil horns with motherfucking Satan!

Here is the swag that I got:
- I bought a copy of Screem magazine which won me a free copy of The Human Monster starring Bela Lugosi on Blu-ray
- the Amityville the Cursed Collection from Vinegar Syndrome (at their booth, of course): which comes with The Amityville Horror: The Evil Escapes, Amityville 1992: It's About Time (my favorite from these), Amityville: A New Generation, and Amityville: The Dollhouse (the only one I have not seen from this batch from the franchise).
And, here are the autographs:
- Camilla and Carey More
- and, Kassie DePavia, who signed my old Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn DVD (which was signed ages ago by Bruce Campbell, himself):

And, so ends another AWESOME edition of Chiller! Until April (which already can't fucking wait for), that is when we shall return!

3/06/2017

15 Thrash Metal Albums That You Need In Your Collection

My latest article from Monkeys Fighting Robots, where I choose the 15 Thrash Metal Albums That You Need In Your Collection. Please read it here: http://www.monkeysfightingrobots.com/15-thrash-metal-albums-need-collection/

12/30/2016

The 20 Best Hard Rock & Metal Albums of 2016 part 2, 10-1

10. Avenged Sevenfold- The Stage- Released with no advertising and as a completed surprise to both media and fans, Avenged Sevenfold's The Stage sold far less than the band's previous releases. Which is a shame because this album is a bold and exciting move for the band. Going for a more progressive sound, the songs are long and technically amazing. This isn't as great as Nightmare, but it still ranks among their finest work. It certainly is their most risk taking work. Songs like "God Damn" rank among my favorite songs of theirs, and the closer, "Exist" is the most epic tune they have ever written.

9. Testament- Brotherhood of the Snake- The absolute finest album Testament have put out since Formation of Damnation, Brotherhood of the Snake is a monster of a thrash album. A full throttle thrasher, this is Testament destroying all in their path. While, many older bands kind of just rely on their laurels, these guys are still giving it their all, which just happens to be filled with fury and speed.






8. The Pretty Reckless- Who You Selling For- The third release from The Pretty Reckless is a great album with wonderful mix of various styles, influences, and songs. This is the hard rock album of the year, for sure. Some songs rock with a headbanging groove, others with a real blues feel, and, yet others are beautiful ballads. The blusey "Take Me Down" is one of my favorite singles of the year, one that I cannot stop listening! Whatever the song may sound like, they are all united by Taylor Momsen's voice which as beautiful as is.



7. Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas- Mariner- The sleeper hit of the year, Mariner, is an album that exceeded my expectations and delivered one of the most beautiful, complex, and unforgettable music experiences of 2016. This collaboration between Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas will go down in history as one of the greatest, and most original, between artists in the history of metal music. My full review: http://themastergio.blogspot.com/2016/03/cult-of-luna-and-julie-chirstmas.html

6. Anthrax- For All Kings- Filled with a classic metal sound and their thrash speed For All Kings, has Anthrax showing that they still are masters of the style of metal that they play. This one will have you banging your head at a continuous, breakneck pace, throwing up the horns, signing along, and wanting to mosh straight into the pit. The way a great thrash metal album should make you feel! Oh, and "Breathing Lightning" is a modern metal classic!





5. Amon Amarth- Jomsviking- This is straight up THE best album the melodic death metal masters Amon Amarth have put out since With Odin in Our Blood. I've liked a lot of the albums that made post that classic, but none of them ever fully pleased in the way that one had. And, then comes this masterpiece. It reinvigorated my love for the band and never fails to get me pumped up. With its soaring guitars and vocals that sign of awesome and violent viking tales, its the type of metal album that you'll wanna sling a few beers to as you headbang and sign along. And, one more thing, that cover fucking rules!

3. Abbath- Abbath- This is the most fun black metal album ever made. I know that sounds like an odd thing to say, but it really is. Featuring great hooks, driving music, and the right amount of a cold and distant feel, this album has the former Immortal frontman take the best of the sounds from the last couple of albums from his former band and expands on it. By doing so he has birthed the greatest black and roll album of all time. It might inspire a lot of the opposite feelings associated with black metal, but who cares? This is one of my most played albums of 2016!
 

3. Killswitch Engage- Incarnate- Here is an album that yet again proves that Killswitch Engage are light-years ahead of the bands they inspired. They are without a shadow of a doubt the greatest metalcore band, ever. And, this is the best metalcore album of the year. Heavy and melodic with Jesse Leech's amazing vocals giving much heart to the band's excellent and powerful lyrics. Songs like "Alone I Stand", "Cut Me Loose" and "Hate By Design" have some of my personal favorite lyrics of 2016, which I think is pretty much a trademark of KsE. 
 

2. Metallica- Hardwired... To Self-Destruct- I very much liked Death Magnetic, but this album blows it away. It is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best Metallica album since ...And Justice For All. And, no this album does not match those first four albums, but hardly any album in this world does. What this album does do is rock and thrash hard. Speed metal lovers will love the title track and the destined to be modern classic "Spit Out The Bone". While other songs like "Atlas Rise" and "Now That We're Dead" pummel and pound the listener. In fact, the later is not just my favorite track of the album, it might be my favorite of the year. Note the words, might be. Anyway, there is some melodic heaviness with songs like "Moth Into Flame". Shit, they even have a song that mentions my lord and master Cthulhu in "Dream No More"! What the fuck more could you ask for?

1. Meshuggah- The Violent Sleep of Reason- This pummeling, driving, merciless, yet intricate and fury filled monster is the album of the year. Meshuggah have delivered a rage creature incarnate in The Violent Sleep of Reason. From the opening track of "Clockworks" to the closer in the form of "Into Decay" this album just beats you into submission till it kills you, then pummels your corpse until nothing is left. Songs like "MonstroCity" are destined to be classics in their sets. It serves as a shining example of how even the best of the bands that Meshuggah has birthed cannot hang with their brutal forefathers. This is truly the Violent aural masterpiece without equal of 2016.



The 20 Best Hard Rock & Metal Albums of 2016 part 1, 20-11

5/12/2016

Keith Buckley and Scott Ian Book Reading at St. Vitus, Brooklyn, NY 5/11/16

Last night, May 11, 2016, I got to attend a Keith Buckley and Scott Ian book reading at Saint Vitus, as press. I had a great time, as both of them are cool as fucking hell!

Keith is the front-man of Every Time I Die and The Damned Things (a super-band that Scott is also in) and was the first to read. He read from his novel Scale: A Novel. It was quite entertaining and sounds like it is a very cool book about a musician. He did admit, later on, that parts of the book are inspired by real life, not surprisingly.

Then it was Scott's turn to come and do a little bit of reading/ talking of his own. The last time I saw the legendary rhythm guitarist of one of The Big Four of thrash metal, Anthrax, was at a book reading tour of his autobiography I'm the Man back in 2014. He said that he had done so many of these book readings and this was gonna be shorter, so he opted for something a little different. So, first he told some condensed stories.


But, he also gave a sneak peak into his next book with a little more added extra. This led to some great stuff involving Al Jougensen of Ministry, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, and Steven Spielberg! The later involves a great moment where the Ministry front-man told Spielberg that he thought he and his band were gonna be in a movie called AI, Anal Intrusion, not Artificial Intelligence as it was actually known. I would tell you more, but hey, you had to be there. Still, I figured I would share that much, cause it somehow mixes metal, porn, and Spielberg, and just felt perfect for this site!
They, of course, did a Q&A afterwards. The event actually ran over time. But, who is gonna complain with two legends as awesome as these two?! It was a fun, funny, and informative night, capped off by me finally buying the book and getting it signed, along with my copy of The Big 4 blu-ray (which had already been signed by fellow Anthrax member Frank Bello at NYCC some years back). Anyway, I can't wait to start reading Scott's book.
 

1/12/2015

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 15: 20-11

We are getting down to very best!! Here are the first half of the top 20 heavy metal album covers of all time!!

20. AC/DC- Highway to Hell- The fifth international release by these Aussie hard rockers is a classic of the highest order. It would be the last one that they recorded with their late, great signer Bon Scott and is my favorite album with him, as well as my second favorite of the band over all. It's iconic cover featuring the band is undoubtedly one of the greatest covers in all of hard rock.






19. Emperor- In the Nightside Eclipse- This is the first studio release by these masters of true Norwegian black metal. It is one of the absolute greatest and most influential in the history of black metal. The beautiful and creepy cover art was drawn by Kristian "Necrolord WÃ¥hlin. It depicts orcs going to Minas Morgul, a city from J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth.






18. Danzig- Thrall: Demonsweatlive- The cover to this highly successful Danzig EP is done by Simon Bisley and has the feel of something out of a Conan story. The use of swords, boobs, muscles, and the Danzig skull depicted in such stunning art makes it probably the best looking cover on an EP ever!







17. Celtic Frost- To Mega Therion- The second album by the Swiss extreme metal band has an amazing and blasphemous cover by H.R. Giger named Satan I. The title is Greek for the "great beast" and is one of the truly great and most influential albums in all of extreme metal, having inspired many a death and black metal band.







16. Metallica- Master of Puppets- The third studio album by thrash gods Metallica is, IMHO, the single greatest metal album EVER. The classic cover was designed by Metallica and Peter Mensch and was painted by Don Brautigam. In it a graveyard is manipulated by a puppet master seen only by his hands.







15. Anthrax- Spreading the Disease- The second studio album by NY thrashers Anthrax was the first to have Joey Belladonna on vocals and Frank Bello on bass. The cover of a metal looking dude being looked on by guys in hazmat suits is perhaps the band's most popular cover. It is also happens to be their best looking one.







14. Cradle of Filth- The Principle of Evil Made Flesh- The debut by these black metallars has a cover that has everything I could ask for: hot lesbian vampire babes and blood! It is a stock image from founder of horror company Redemption, Nigel Wongrove's portfolio.








13. Entombed- Left Hand Path- This phenomenal debut from the Swedish death metal masters is incredibly influential and important to the sub-genre. The cover which features a tombstone, slime, a desolate, creepy place, and monster in hiding, is pure death metal!!








12. Cannibal Corpse- Butchered at Birth- The third studio album by this death metal act is one of it's most controversial. The graphic cover of a zombie literally eating out a tied and butchered female corpse is the stuff that will piss off anyone with a closed mind. Offensive and truly awesome this one really sums up the band at this time period perfectly!






11. Megadeath- Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?- The second album by theses thrashers is one of their finest. The cover in which their mascot Vic Rattlehead is selling the decrypt and bombarded United Nations building is a genuinely classic metal image. It's done by Ed Repka and so perfectly captures the title track and the political nature of the band.


The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 14: 30-21

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 13: 40-31

 The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 12: 50-41

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 11: 60-51

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 10: 70-61

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 9: 80-71

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 8: 90-81 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 7: 110-101 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 6: 120-111 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 5: 130-121

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 4: 140-131 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 3: 150-141

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 2: 160-151

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 1: 175-16