When we were young, we once saw an advertisement for a concert featuring Slayer, Venom and Exodus at the disco club Studio 54 in New York City. At the time we thought this was the heaviest, most insane metal bill ever conceived. Of course, that was 1985, and since then band after band have redefined the very definition of heavy, Since then, we've seen Possessed rip it up with Dark Angel, and we've watched Napalm Death, Carcass and Morbid Angel tear it up together on an Earache showcase, not to mention Deicide sharing a bill with, Obituary, Malevolent Creation and Cannibal Corpse. Read more...

Atlanta black/death metal band, Withered, formed in 2003 and have duked it out in the club scene for almost five years. They released their first full-length, Memento Mori, in 2005 and their follow-up, Folie Circulaire came out yesterday. To celebrate, singer and guitarist Mike Thompson wrote us a guest blog about how to help lost, wandering music fans see the light.

After perusing many metal sites, band pages and magazines, I realized how ridiculously huge and widespread the world of “metal” really is nowadays. Not that this is really a revelation for me, but more of a reminder -- especially when considering how rapidly things have grown just over the last few years. Read more...