EXCITE SATAN vol. 2

Club Goodman (Akihabara, Tokyo) was promising a night of music not very appreciated by the Cpt. yesterday. But we had no dances of death, sabbatical rituals or satanic fires, nor any black metal assault... (you now, I hate that)! Indeed the expectations for SURVIVE were superbly met and the venue turned out very exciting, with a party delivering a flood of freaky good metal.

BASSAIUM opened for all (they were the promoters of the night). Death M. band from Tokyo that lately released their 2nd full lenght after a leap of 6 year. I'll tell you: death metal has never been on my list and probably it never will (except a few acts pending toward technical death/thrash), but I found their live performance great: great presence on stage, great technique and a lot of energy. I wouldn't be able to tag them by resemblance to other bands... death m. sounds pretty much all the same to me... But it was cool!

SHADY GLIMPSE followed on, opening the way to the thrash session. Young band from Shizuoka, with two albums at their back. Very enjoyable. A modern thrash with a very rich rythmic session, slow-downs and speed-ups, melodic inserts and a serious singing! I really regret I finished by messing up the camera settings during their show, ending distracted by that and missing the chance to shot them a bit more and to listen to them as I should.

KINGS EVIL carried on the duty kicking everybody's ass! Awesome thrash metal act. Founder members are from Sapporo, but the band is Tokyo based now. Reminiscenses from Destructions, Slayer, Kreator; former Metallica fast grinding technique; imposing and powerfull presence on stage. Not one single step, note, sillable out of place or redundant. Pretty much Slayer-like in their attitude... of which they also offered us a cover. Check out their site (one of the few with an English version!) and learn something about doing metal around here. Liked them very much! Guess I'll keep following them.

SURVIVE... Hell yeah! I went for them, you know! What an Aawesome show! As I mentioned on the blog's posting, they play a very modern thrash/MDM, influenced by many more styles. One single thread unify them all: power! I believe this was their first appearance on stage after the end of the tour in support of their new CD, the fifth full lenght. A flawless performance: ramming percussions, ripping singing, nuclear shredding... And great energy and spirit.

HEAVEN IN HER ARMS closed the night with three very long and intriguing tracks. Atmosphearic dark stage, without lights and just a couple of white neon scatered on the floor.
Astonishing quality of sound. Those guys must be sound fanatic (we waited a good half an hour for their appearance), because the result was really impressive. The tunes were not properly bread for the Cpt. theets (metal core/stoner with doom influences... Circle Takes The Square may be an appropriate comparison) and the singer voice sounded absolutely unhearable from the pit (I mean it... no voice!). Nonetheless they left me with the curiosity and the wish to give them and their music one more try, because they have great... huge technique and talent.

No throphys or goodies this time. Actually I badly wanted to meet Survive after the show and greet them, but had to give up and rush out. Indeed you smoky suckers have this damn habit of filling your fu*king lungs with smoke at gigs in lve houses... But you have to learn there is people like the Cpt. who terribly hate THAT smoke of yours... actually can't really stand it)! Well, I don't know what happened... low conditioning or what, but I ended by breathing in so much of it that toward the end of the show I really felt bad. Thought I was about to fainth there! Somehow I resisted until the end, but as music went off, I packed my rags and run out! I'm still blowing shit, now while typing!

But be sure i'll get them next time!

Japanese booty

While in Italy, I got several requests concerning it, so let be it so: Jappish thread as long as it goes. Incidentally port's waves left on the shore a nice box of treasures this morning. Probably dropped by some oriental ship...

SURVIVE-Nothing left on my Path (2008)

Absolutely unknown to me 'till this morning. The band apparently was formed in 1998 in Kashiwa (Chiba Prefecture) and at present can boast 1 EP and 5 full enght albums (including this one) on its list of accolades. It is labelled as Thrash/Death Metal/Metalcore and you can really find a little bit of all those styles inside. Yet, the blend turns out in a quite original product, very modern and enjoyable to anybody. Good production, excellent sound and well-balanced turnover between harsh/clean vocals, slow/fast tempos, melodic/thrash-death grindings are the highlights you can find through all the 10 tracks of this album. Singing is kept a bit in the back (things I like very much) leaving to schizofrenic drummings and arpeggios the hammering down of the bulk of the tunes. Melody does exist within the lines (otherwise you wouldn't find it here!), but it is pierced inside this metallic slab with much parsimony and - most importantly- very carefully. Not too much, not too little, not where you would expect... I use "groovy" very much, but if there was a sound to be chosen to express it, this bands music would probably be one of my suggestions. Rip away a good deal of melody from DISTURBED, inject some acid in his singer voice, filter the American sound a bit and you get a nice approximation of it. "15 minutes Fall" and "What matter is waiting" are tracks to try absolutely! (For dumb people: hit the cover!)

And you know what? Dudes are playing just this week-end at GOODMAN Club (Akihabara, Tokyo) with Bassianum, Kings Evil, Shaddy Glimpse, Heaven in her arms and I really think I'll go checking them out!

Riding the waves again...

Hell yeah, dudes! Back on deck!
Best wishes to all!
While warming up the cannons for new boarding activities on the tunes of the new HIBRIA's awesome Skulls Collector, here for you a piece of schedule to stay tuned on:

17/ 1 CRESCENDO Live House (Kutchijouji, Tokyo): LOUD&PROUD 新年会 〜HEAVY METAL SESSION〜
[Mastermind / HELLHOUND / Balflare / BLASDEAD / LONGINUS / DUEL / BRUNET BULL / KNIGHTS OF ROUND / Faint in Pain / UNTRAD / INSPIRE / UNCHAIN / ARCADIA / Bleed Out / KARMA SCORE / Virus Garage / GUILTYS LAW / BREED OF DARKNESS / Dark Legacy / Original Sin / DRAGONLANCE / Team Kinya / ex-RocketQueen / ASSERTION / ANCIENT MYTH / ASTRAL FORCE / KILLING FROST / HERITAGE / ex-BRIGADE / Over Ride]

Guess the there won't be public: since the house will be filled up only with players!

Weight anchor, hoist the sails...

That's right dudes!
Last post from the Port for this year! Tomorrow morning I'll leave to carry on my "Italian Job".

A f*cking awesome Christmas
and
a really metallic new year

to you all world-wide headbanging-heavy-assed Port supporters.

It's has been just few months since we've started this page, but now that I'm writing the hit counters marks 4850 hits. Not bad for a not-crammy-(not South American)-download-site! Thanks a lot! It doesn't mean absolutely nothing! Indeed we are keepin'it up for just fun... But thanks! We appreciate it! Keep on sailing with us!

Ready for boarding?

Sailors...!
One of the last posts of the year!
As a matter of fact in two days the wood-legged Cpt. will be sailing out of the Port, headed for the Mediterranean Sea to go raising some Christmas hell back home, riding the coasts for panettone, salami, cheese and sausages! Hell yeah! Some serious food, finally! But, I am leaving in your sock by the fireplace a very very fine piece of music! Perfect for your Christmas. No, don't worry: it's not another crappy Metal Xmass compilaton...

NORTHERN KINGS-Rethroned (2008)

They are back, with style! The four fattest-asses singers of Finland: Jarkko Ahola from the Manowar inspired Teräsbetoni, Tony Kakko from the masters of the progressive/power crossed domain in Sonata Arctica, Juha-Pekka Leppäluto the velvet voice of Charon and Marco Hietala who reigns over both Tarot and Nightwish. It's a lot of singers for one single album! And they have transformed here '80s best pop/rock into overwhelming metal masterpieces of astonishing proportions. This Rethroned is really remarkable: the arrangements are clever, keeping a nod to the source material but taking it beyond its boundaries, twisting it into something completely different in tone and style. Musicianship is top-notch: thundering drums, dazzling guitars and layers upon layers of synth. "Epic" is not a suggestion, it's a given for nearly every song. Soundtracks you could say! And they span from pieces such as Depeche Mode's "Strangelove" to '80s classics like "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovy. Even songs you would never imagine to fall under the sword of this genre, like Frank Sinatra's "My Way", are thrown to these howling wolves of metal. And the results are fantastic! Indeed I really love this "My Way cover"! Believe me, you'll have a great time with this disc! Grab it fast!

My Gosh!

I can not refrain from putting up this one!
I almost pissed in my pants...! Too funny!
(Actually I don't know if to feel ashamed for METAL... or to be happy... Certainly it is insanely hilarious... I mean... look at the people... At Judas Priest gig it was the same!)

Need to catch up a bit!

Yes, dudes, Cpt. really need it!
A couple of days ago I came across these two very nice products and I really wondered why and how I didn't happen to know them earlier... (you can bash me)!

SEX MACHINEGUNS-Cameron (2008)

Dudes from Kagoshima, apparently active since 1997, with about ten full-lenght and an horde of singles, DVD and EP... as the Japanese market requires. I have to admit I knew them by name, but their "visual key" attitude... (expensive clothing, make-up, etc.), much appreciated by the market here, never attracted me (traditional metal is poor). The impression was that of one of the many marketing product on the scene... But I was quite wrong!!
Men! They are talented! They play a very energetic and modern power/speed metal with many interesting variations. The singing by Mr. Anchang is mostly done in Japanese - maybe not much appealing to the many of you - but the everchanging range of his vocalic output is impressive and provide a very enjoyable listening (dude has something lovely evile in its scream). Typical Japanese overprecise technical skill is present in every bit of the record, percussions and rythmic sessions as well. Yet, majestic shredding & fast grinding never fall into already heard progressive escalations or over-cheesy melodie, but it kicks you in the face every time you need it! Groovy stuff!



Freaky guitar session:

AKIRA KAJIYAMA & TAKENORI SHIMOYAMA-Into the Deep (2008)

Out on the marked this June, I've not been able to get much info. Actually I just discovered they played it live on July, not fr from the Port... a real shame I din't know that! Well, certainly both of them are big asses around here: Takenori Shimoyama is virtuoso vocalist already singer of Saber Tiger and Double Dealer, while Akira Kajiyama is a kind of guitar legend in the Japanese hard rock/heavy scene, been working on many solo projects and co-production with many musicians (one in particular Joe Lynn Turner). Comparisons with Double Dealer sound & singing are immediate. Yet this product is more lively and energetic. Despite being 100% Japanese, it gives a feeling of internationality and labelling would prove to be difficult: none of the traditional would suits it completely. It certainly appeals to the lovers of professional (read not-freaky virtuosism) guitar performances: in fact, you get plenty of it... an ubiquitous guitar sound, in many forms... all you can imagine: shreds, arpeggios, melodic as well distorted, solos... But they are masterfully blendend into into tracks (regardless of their speed) virtually without discontinuities. Gift of the friendship with J. L. Turner...? Maybe. A very very fine and well-balanced work. Production also is top-of-the-scale. It certainly provides a very enjoyable listening experience.