A true story that many of you will probably find amusing: I had no idea what a short bus was until I left New York City for college. We don’t really have a school bus system in New York because everyone was pretty much on their own to figure out how to get to school; you took the subway, the public bus, both, or you walked. Uphill both ways in 2 feet of snow, just like grandpappy. Thinking back on it now, we did have a short bus for the special ed kids in high school (and of course we made fun of them mercilessly… like that kid who always pulled his pants all the way down to his ankles at the urinal in the boys room) but I don’t think any of us knew to call it a short bus. It wasn’t until I got to college in Michigan and one of my friends was joking about the “tard car” that it all came together for me.

Anyway, credit where credit’s due: this is brilliant. This or The Apocalypse‘s guitarist put his woodworking and carpentry skills to work by motivating the entire band to convert an old short bus into a tour bus, complete with bunks, tables and benches. And they did a damn fine job. Check out the montage of them retro-fitting their short bus courtesy Metal Injection.

-VN

Just in case Ozzfest, Mayhem, Summer Slaughter, Thrash & Burn, The Cool Tour, Scream Like You Mean It, and, to a lesser extent, American Carnage weren’t enough to keep you occupied this summer (to say nothing of all the regular plain ol’ tours goin’ on), yet another big package/fest tour has been announced: the Over the Limit tour. (And, yes, I realize the above song is actually called “Push it to the Limit.” But any excuse to listen to that awesome, awesome piece of music will suffice.)

The line-up, my thoughts on that line-up, and dates are all after the jump.

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Okay, so back in October, The Acacia Strain had some new tracks on a five-way split CD with War From a Harlots Mouth, This or The Apocalypse, Aggressive Dogs and Fact. It’s called Pentagon.3, and it was only released in Japan. Two of the three songs TAS contributed to that split, “The Hills Have Eyes” and “Terminated,” will appear on the band’s forthcoming album, Wormwood. And reader Tom Frenette captured some live footage of the band performing one of those songs, “The Hills Have Eyes,” live this past Saturday night in Danbury, CT.

Sooo… this song should be new to anyone who doesn’t live in Japan and either didn’t pay for the import or illegally download the split. And, hey, even if it’s really old news to you, perhaps you’ll enjoy the footage.

Wormwood comes out July 20 on Prosthetic.

-AR

The first time I ever heard This or the Apocalypse, I wasn’t really into them. Then I found out that Chris Adler was producing their new album, Haunt What’s Left, and I was like, “Okay, well. If Chris Adler likes ‘em, I’d best give ‘em another chance.” I’m a Chris Adler fan, man. I even used his name as an example of the best seasoned veterans in metal earlier today.

Well, Mr. Adler, you and I are just going to have to agree to disagree, ’cause TOTA just released a song from Haunt, “Charmer,” and it doesn’t do anything for me. It’s not your production, fine sir; I just think the song is kinda generic. In the press release you say that song “gives me goose bumps and makes me jealous,” and I want so desperately to have goose bumps and think “Gee, Chris Adler should really be jealous of these dudes,” but I just don’t. I did get a little hungry when I was l listening to the song, but I don’t think that has anything to do with the music so much as it does that I forgot to eat lunch.

Listen to “Charmer” here and let me know what you think, gang. Haunt What’s Left comes out on Good Fight on June 22.

-AR

Djent flag-wavers and recent Sumerian Records signees Periphery are taking my advice and hitting the East Coast next month for a string of headline dates, welcome news to those of us who saw them absolutely decimate the crowd on this Summer’s hit-or-miss Thrash & Burn Tour despite an asscrack-of-dawn stage time (relatively speaking). To say that Periphery were the standout act of Thrash & Burn would be an understatement; they completely tour up a room that had to be for the most part unfamiliar with them. It was also immensely satisfying for me to finally see a band live that’s been e-famous for years.

The 9-date headline tour also features This or the Apocalypse and Roadrunner young guns Mutiny Within, starting November 8th in Richmond, VA and wrapping up November 16th in Providence, RI. If you don’t live in any of these limited markets, fear not — the band will definitely be touring a helluva lot in the coming months/years.

Full list of dates after the jump, and of course you can listen to the band on MySpace. Also check out our interview with Periphery’s Misha Mansoor and Alex Bois as well as this video of drummer Matt Halpern laying down some ridiculous grooves in the studio.

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Have you heard the good news, brother? The New England Metal and Hardcore Fest has added a third stage for younger bands with whom concert goers might be less familiar.

Looking over the list, I already know  one terrible band that will be on this stage (Oceano) and two excellent bands that will be on this stage (Brother Von Doom and The Destro), but there are a lot of names here I’m not familiar with. Thus, I am now going to listen to some of those bands via various channels (really just one channel – MySpace) and make some snap judgements. So, in no particular order:

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Like my e-comrade Vince, I too am planning to check out Canadian stoner/doom/mammal metallurgists Bison B.C. at tomorrow night’s CMJ Metal Blade/Relapse/Lifeforce showcase at Knitting Factory (Also playing: Psyopus, Tombs, This Or The Apocalypse, Left To Remain). Now if, like me, the very thought of CMJ causes you to break out in painful hives and cold sweats, the next chance for New Yorkers to see Bison B.C. will be as part of the all-day long (4pm – 4am, apparently) Beasts Of The East festival (tickets here) on November 2nd at Club Europa in Brooklyn.

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