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When not on the road playing brutal death metal, Jungle Rot bassist Jimmy Genenz and guitarist Geoff Bub work as bartenders. With that in mind, we asked the two to share with us some of their weirdest and heaviest drink concoctions in a new column called Mixing It Up With Jungle Rot.
Genenz and Bub are back with the second installment of Mixing It Up as they pair tasty cocktails with some of their favorite music videos. Currently on tour with Suffocation, Jungle Rot continues to slay audiences across the U.S. and playing favorites from their new album Terror Regime. Try your hand at making these tasty concoctions and let us know what you think.
JUNGLE ROT JUICE
2 oz. Jose Cuervo Gold Tequila
2 oz. Midori
4 oz. Sour Mix

Everyone knows what goes down in the Jungle and it all has to start somewhere… Try our ultimate classic cocktail that is a must have for any and all occasions,JUNGLE ROT JUICE. It’s quite tart and delivers a shiver. I like tart and bitter drinks so this one was a no-brainer. Combine 2 oz. of Cuervo Gold, 2 oz. of Midori, and 4 oz. of Sour Mix in a shaker and shake VERY well, pour into pint glass filled with ice and serve with a Lime garnish. The ladies will love this just as much as the men. Tasty and easy to make!
What better video to watch other than our title track “Terror Regime”?

Read more »
When not on the road playing brutal death metal, Jungle Rot bassist Jimmy Genenz and guitarist Geoff Bub work as bartenders. With that in mind, we asked the two to share with us some of their weirdest and heaviest drink concoctions in a new column called Mixing It Up With Jungle Rot.
Genenz kicks things off with four recipes that perfectly compliment Jungle Rot’s new album,
Terror Regime. And don’t forget to check out the band on the road with Suffocation and Exhumed starting next week.
DIABLO ROJO
1 oz. Jaegermeister
1 oz. Peach Schnapps
1 oz. Cranberry Juice

This drink got its name from the nickname that the cooks in our kitchen at work have called me for a few years now. DIABLO ROJO or “red devil” I guess because of my awesome gingerness.
Basically it’s a Redheaded Slut, mix 1 oz. Jaegermeister, 1 oz. Peach Schnapps and 1oz. Cranberry Juice in a shaker and pour into rocks glass. Get your groove on. Read more »
Having recently released their debut album Recurring Themes, Imminent Sonic Destruction will have the chance to open for Swedish prog rock titans Pain Of Salavation during a North American tour this May. In this special guest blog, keyboardist Pete Hopersberger recalls how the Detroit based group scored the chance to do this tour and how crowd funding online has helped make it possible.
Born inside an active volcano, Imminent Sonic Destruction began life forged by heat and molten rock. Ok, not really, but it sounds AWESOME. Anyway, it was a way to start this blog about how we got the opportunity to tour North America with Pain Of Salvation. It’s actually a story that started years ago, before Imminent Sonic Destruction was even a gleam in the eye of Tony Piccoli (ISD founding father, philanthropist and short-form featurette). Our bassist, Bryan Paxton, has gone on an annual pilgrimage to the ProgPower festival in Atlanta for several years. Bryan is a force of nature and a hell of a guy, so he made friends easily in Atlanta. One of those friends was Milton from Intromental Management & Booking. Fast forward a few years and a few hundred beers, and Bryan is now playing bass in ISD and recording our first album, Recurring Themes, under the guidance of producer Roy Z (Bruce Dickinson, Halford, Sepultura). Not by himself, of course. I mean, he IS only the bass player. He really had the easiest part. Seriously. And bass usually gets mixed out in the end anyway, so what’s the point? BUT I DIGRESS. Where was I? Oh right, the tour. Read more »

Readers of Metal Insider will know that Metal Blade president Brian Slagel is an avid hockey fan. But even we were surprised when he announced earlier this week via Facebook that he had officially become part of the ownership team of minor league hockey team the Trenton Titans. We reached out to Slagel to see if he would discuss how he became involved with the team. Here’s what he had to say.
Ok metal is by far my passion, but I also do love the sport of hockey. I know this is pretty common knowledge these days especially if you follow me on Twitter (brianslagel btw). That love of hockey has transitioned into business a couple of times in my life so far. In 2000, I was part owner of the Lake Charles Ice Pirates of the then WPHL. That was quite a story, but I will save that for another time. I still am a shareholder in the Central Hockey League and the company that builds small arenas connected with that league.
Recently a friend of mine, Rich Lisk, who is the GM and part owner of the Trenton Titans, sent me an email. I first met Rich with Paul Conroy who used to manage Cannibal Corpse, Behemoth, Unearth and Job For A Cowboy for us. His company Good Fight had a sports division and Rich was a part of it. Paul, knowing I was a big hockey fan, he thought Rich and I would hit it off. We did and talked from time to time. In that email Rich sent, the Titans were looking for people who wanted to be part of the ownership group of the team. He was reaching out to some local people and also myself as a hockey super fan. The opportunity was interesting because Trenton is close to NYC and he really wanted myself and Metal Blade to help the team in a marketing effort. We talked and it seemed like a good fit.
So here I am part of another ownership group of a hockey team. We are just starting up and I am really looking forward to working with them. At Metal Blade we do a lot of things with social media. This I feel is a really important part of the future and we have been able to really do a lot to help our artists through these avenues. I am curious to see if we can do the same for something outside of what we normally do. Also the team really is into us helping make them the official team of heavy metal! So we are working on some really cool promotions that will help us get to that level, we hope! I will be tweeting the whole time so come join me there and come join me at a game! If you have not been to a hockey game live, it is a blast!! Plus Trenton is really easy to get to from New York City or Philly via public transportation. Come on out and support the hockey team of metal!!
Here is where to go for more info:
www.trentontitanshockey.com
Twitter: @ttitans
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trentontitanshockey
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TrentonTitansHockey?feature=watch
As the guitarist of Chicago hard rock band The Last Vegas, Adam Arling decided to share his thoughts on music streaming service Spotify. It’s an interesting look from an artist’s perspective from someone that was initially skeptical of the service. The Last Vegas’ album, Bad Decisions, is out now on Frostbyte (and streaming on Spotify).
Spotify will change music consumption forever (I’d bet $20). There will be ups and downs, negative rants, cries of how it’s not right, artists are getting ripped off, it’s the death of recorded music, but the change in the playing field is as imminent as the setting sun.
Here’s how I came to meet Spotify
The Last Vegas (my band) released our latest album Bad Decisions this past August. As with every album release, you re-vamp the website, re-package your band’s web face to the world. Our manager was gung-ho on a Spotify link prominent on the band’s updated site. Being default webmaster, I’m thinking first off ’all right, another new social media, here today-gone tomorrow service I have to waste time on. Man, wasn’t it easier before bands had websites?’ I didn’t know what this Spotify thing was.
I begrudgingly downloaded Spotify, talking shit the whole time to my roommate D’Jerk, a local Chicago R’n’R DJ, about the state of current music. Spotify installed: think of a any band or song, off the top of your head and within 10 seconds the band, and most likely a majority of band’s catalog, is instantly accessible. You can play full tracks. You don’t have to pay a dime (if you don’t mind listening to a Spotify commercial every 3-5 songs or so, which aren’t even that annoying). There’s just all this music right at your fingertips, most anything you’d want to hear from Pussy Galore to Soundgarden, for free (basically).I say: ‘D’Jerk, this is the ultimate slap-in-the-face to recording artists, and a big, rusty nail in the coffin to the music recording ‘business.’” He replies: “Really…is it?” Read more »

Haste The Day
Mark Lafay runs a technology/creative firm in Indianapolis and also a blog on the music industry and marketing. This article is reprinted from there with his permission.
From: Mike
Question: Hi, Mark. Do you have any tips on writing a band bio? I realize a professional can always be hired, but most of us musicians are poor (and some of us actually do have good writing sense). Thanks!
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I think it’s great that you are thinking about a band biography. The bio can tell a lot about a band. Writers, labels, managers, agents, all have varying opinions about band bios but I would argue, most of them find them helpful in getting to know the backstory quickly. Bios should be brief. Consider a little over a page of text or less. You don’t want it to be too short because you dont want to leave out pertinent information. At the same time, it can’t be too long because people dont want to read a book. Not too mention, LONG bios teeter on the edge of making you sound self-absorbed.
As far as format goes, there are a lot of different styles of writing and I don’t think that there is one “right” way. In my opinion, your bio should contain a little bit of info about the early days / beginnings of the band. The focus should be on recent happenings of the band and there should be a closing component that touches on where your sights are set. How you decide to compile and communicate that information is really up to you. My suggestion is that you let a little personality shine through.
Below is a copy of Haste the Day’s first Bio sheet. They had JUST signed to T&N so there was some movement but it wasn’t quite the frenzy that it became. Hopefully this gives you a little something to go on: Read more »
Mark Lafay runs a technology/creative firm in Indianapolis and also a blog, marklafay.com. This article is reprinted from there with his permission.
Ever heard of the site, SoundCloud? They claim to be the “world’s leading social sound platform where anyone can create sounds and share them everywhere. ” It’s a great site that is hyper-focused on creation and sharing of audio files. If you’re a musician, you can post songs for the masses to download, stream and share, or you can collaborate with other musicians privately.
Recently SoundCloud merged with another company called Getty Images. Getty images started out distributing images and then grew to include video clips and now with the merger w/ SoundCloud, they do audio.
Since the merger, SoundCloud now offers artists a licensing service through Getty Images network. The way licensing works is this: Getty Images will negotiate licenses for your material, on your behalf. You receive 35% of the upfront license fee + 50% of the publisher share of all residual revenue generated. Essentially it’s a non-exclusive co-publishing agreement with a bad split on the upront license fee. Read more about it here.
Be wary of the agreement though. To participate in the program, you must relinquish complete control over the manner in which your music is exploited. Read below:
Do I get to approve where and when my song can be used?
No. Your agreement with Getty Images Music allows us to license your music to any client who is willing to pay money for its use. The agreement you sign pre-clears all of your music for potential licensing. Pre-clearance is a strong selling point for our clients who are more likely to use music that causes them less hassle.
If you don’t want your art being used to sell tampons, cars, votes or adult diapers, then you may want to think long and hard about this before you sign away your rights. This is a good reminder to always read the fine print from start to finish, especially when it impacts your brand.
As you may recall, Republican Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri has been under fire for claiming that “legitimate rape” rarely results in pregnancy. While we try our best to stay out of politics, we thought it would be interesting to hear about this from the perspective of an ex-Senator – well, not an actual former senator. What we actually mean is The Ex-Senators’ frontman Dmac (formerly of Coven Of Thieves, which also featured deceased Nine Inch Nails/Ministry drummer Jeff Ward). So without further ado, here’s what Dmac had to say about Representative Akin’s controversial comments:
“Makes no difference what you say” (Motörhead’s “Ace of Spades”)
Last Sunday, Missouri U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin had a chance to keep his cards (and those of his party) close to his chest. But unlike Lemmy’s lyric in “Ace of Spades,” in the world of politics it’s all about what you say and when. Election time is so close you have to play those cards carefully. Well, Representative Akin decided one little comment couldn’t hurt and as it turns out, his comment was a “big tell” in the poker game of politics as he telegraphed the Republic Party and Tea bagger position on Abortion and Women’s rights and brought the whole thing back to the forefront of the national conversation.
With just a week to go before the Republican National convention, Akin said in a television interview on Sunday that women have biological defenses to prevent pregnancy in cases of “legitimate rape,” making legal abortion rights unnecessary. What? Which biological defenses are those?
It turns out that Akin also happens to be co-sponsor on a bill in the house with Mitt Romney’s new running mate for Vice President Paul Ryan. That bill proposes a change in the legal definition of rape to “forcible rape” to narrow access to federal funding for abortions. Critics said the measure could exempt victims of statutory rape. That means they don’t think raping a child (such as a teenage girl) qualifies for federal funding if the girl happens to become pregnant since it wouldn’t be rape anymore but “sex with a minor” or some other bullshit qualification and technicality. But not being a woman, I doubt that Akin has any idea how a 12 year old girl feels about such abuse and really isn’t qualified to redefine the term “rape” on their behalf. And isn’t that the case here in general? A bunch of fat old white guys in suits with lots of money deciding that their holier than thou, wish-making, schadenfreude sense of morality is all that matters and not whether a woman has been raped, impregnated and doesn’t want to carry the pregnancy to term?
Of course now the Republican Party is trying to distance themselves from this guy as fast as possible. Karl Rove has pulled millions of dollars in ad campaign spending from Missouri, but it’s too late. The cards have been played. Akin was close to the Romney campaign until last Sunday. Watch how fast they switch the conversation to anything else. Put the cards away and try to deal a new hand. They’ve already stepped away and Akin is getting more funding from the über Christian far-right, who aren’t far from making themselves a replica of a Taliban and having women start wrapping their faces. What century and what country is this again? Let me remind you that the law on abortion was decided years ago, as was women’s suffrage, and the Christian right wing lunatics just can’t let it go. They never have let it go and continue to base a good portion of their political platform on stirring up the same bullshit over and over again.
Don’t we have more important things to be focused on as a country? Building a renewable energy capability that can reduce our dependence on foreign oil, create jobs and reduce the deficit…..like Germany already has? How about enacting term limits and no never ending pensions for congress so that both sides of the political aisle have to get real jobs after a few terms? Maybe a jobs bill in congress that rebuilds roads across the country instead of bank bailouts? How about picking one of the other major issues in which you might actually have an impact instead of chewing on the same crap over and over causing polarization in the electorate and a never ending cycle of fighting that gets us absolutely nowhere as a country?
As Lemmy would say, “you know I’m born to lose and Gambling’s for fools.”
And so it goes with politics. Time to wake up folks.
Tonight, Ramming Speed is kicking off their North American Spring trek with Revocation and Cannabis Corpse (sponsored by our buddies Metal Sucks and Metal Injection). Before hitting the road, though, drummer Jonah was kind enough to recap the end of Ramming Speed’s Winter tour and what they’ve been up to in Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou’s Godcity studio.
My intention was to complete the last journal entry for our Winter jaunt a couple weeks after getting home, but clearly that never happened. I always appreciated a good nudge and Zach from Metal Insider was recently kind enough to jostle my cobwebbed hands into action for some sort of Springtime report.
The Ramming Speed December tour wrapped up with an acid-headed Christmas in Orlando, a certified banger in Atlanta (with punishing sets by Mangled & 1070 Scum, and an appearance by Andre 3000!), a maximum bro fest in Richmond (Humungus!) and a packed out Philly basement. Upon landing home in Boston we piled into the practice room for the rest of winter, writing and tightening new material.
Come the thaw of March, after three years of wood shedding, touring, and scheming, we entered Kurt Ballou’s famed Godcity studio. Clearly the dude doesn’t need my praises, but I will say that it’s going to be very hard for him to avoid us for the tenure of our band. I’ve never felt like Ramming Speed records quite captured the energy of our better live shows, but recording at GC affirmed to me that not only am I in a band with some of my favorite musicians, but that in the right hands we can absolutely make a product that rivals the biggest names in the game. All it required was playing the same part 500 times in a row while a voice in my headphones told me to play HARDER, surrounded by microphones worth more than I’ve made… well… probably ever. We recorded drums sans click track, triggers, re-sampling or any of that, so what you’ll eventually hear on the record is me busting my fucking ass behind the kit. It all sounds very “real”; i.e., the tempos change as I get excited or fall into grooves, and you’ll be able to hear the actual humans playing these songs… not so much the case for a lot of modern metal records. Read more »
This Saturday, March 31, That Metal Show kicks off its tenth season on VH1 Classic. Featuring appearances from members of Metallica, Iron Maiden, Disturbed, Motörhead, Pantera, Machine Head and many others, we thought it would be nice to have co-host Don Jamieson once again give us a preview of a few episodes.
My sideburns and I are so excited for the premiere of the new season this Saturday, March 31, that we decided to give you a little preview:
3/31: Lars Ulrich makes his return to our show. Love him or hate him, the guy is a true metalhead and really has a great sense of humor about himself. He tries valiantly to defend Lulu (to no avail) and talks about Metallica’s Orion Festival, where they’ll be playing Ride The Lightning in its entirety one night and Metallica (aka “The Black Album”) the next night. Also, Robb Flynn from Machine Head stops by and talks about their awesome new disc and confesses to being a skull biter. We also debut guest drummers on the show and who better to lead off with than Mike Portnoy.
4/7: Alice Cooper also makes his return and as always is the consummate gentleman and storyteller, including one about meeting Elvis and almost shooting him. Great White’s Jack Russell also stops by and breaks down the dueling Great White controversy. Scott Ian stops by to do the “Top 5 Guitar Duos” with us and Brian Tichy plays the drums AND speedbag.
4/14: The new group T&N featuring George Lynch, Jeff Pilson and Mick Brown stop by the show and mayhem ensues. Let’s just say they’re rockin’ like 3/4 of Dokken. Slash stops by to debate the “Top 5 Title Tracks” with us and Brian Tichy beats the skins again. Read more »
Posted by Metal Insider on Fri, Apr 12, 2013 at 10:12 am
Guest Blog