bates motel dylan bradley – credit: www.aetv.com

Even though Norma’s desperate desire to move seemed to have faded by the end of “Underwater,” I’m sure we’ll hear more about it as the only option to save her and Norman’s lives. And I’m sure we’ll hear Norman protest some more. Also, I’m betting that if Norma tells Dylan about her predicament, he won’t admit to having the money, but he will offer to go after Jake in some capacity – he is the thug with a heart of gold, after all.

If Dylan does decide to deceive Norma, it shouldn’t come as a surprise since deception seems to be the modus operandi: the real estate agent deceived Norma; Dylan deceived Gil by bringing Bradley to her dad’s office; Bradley deceived Norman (sort of); Miss Watson suggested Norman deceive his mother; and the list could go on and on. It is interesting to note that the least deceitful character, apart from Emma, is Norman. While he is given to bouts of rage, he tends to wear his heart on his sleeve. And when he doesn’t put his emotions on display, he writes about them.

What he writes is about a man on fire from the inside. As Miss Watson informs us, Norman has an old soul and understands that we’re not meant to be happy. Norman claims that he doesn’t know where this inspiration came from, but I think we all know that it’s the more evil of the two personalities Norman has. The man on fire is surely evil Norman burning to get out, to express himself, to take over fully. And if evil Norman were present while Miss Watson helped Norman edit his story, I hope that evil Norman would have kissed his teacher.

Is it me, or does Norman have an unnatural ability to attract women? Even his own mother wants to sleep with him! That may be a stretch, but their closeness is disturbing. I can understand Norma not wanting to sleep in her own bed after Shelby’s corpse showed up in her room, and I can understand wanting to sleep in Norman’s bed with him, but the intimacy with which it was done was, well, post-coital.

For me, “Underwater” was a lukewarm bath at best; not much happened and it certainly didn’t lead to any Season Finale excitement. The most exciting thing, if you can call it exciting, was the development between Dylan and Bradley, which is only going to lead to a jealous rage from Norman.

Let’s hope the finale is something special.

Rock Hard \m/

The Haunting of Helena will be released in select theaters on June 21, 2013. It will be available on Cable VOD in partnership with Tribeca Films and for digital streaming on June 18, 2013.

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hellfest site plan

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The latest to come to my attention is Orchid‘s The Mouths of Madness, which is streaming in its entirety over at CVLT Nation.

The Mouths of Madness went on sale May 14th, so streaming it now is the perfect thing to do if you’re unsure about purchasing it. I have a feeling once you hear it though, you’re gonna want this. You’ll for sure appreciate how masterfully this young band handles the classic doom genre; the album is full of monstrous riffs, haunting vocals, insane lyrics, and wicked hooks. The album was mastered by Richard Whittaker and vocals were tracked at engineer Will Storkson’s home studio.

The Mouths of Madness track listing:

01. Mouths of Madness
02. Marching Dogs of War
03. Silent One
04. Nomad
05. Mountains of Steel
06. Leaving It All Behind
07. Loving Hand of God
08. Wizard of War
09. See You on the Other Side

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Friday night party music at its finest. Dark Tranquillity is this week’s featured artist on Yell! Magazine’s Full Concert Series (perhaps spurned on by the upcoming release of Construct).

Without a doubt, this band is one of the best melodic death metal bands out there (although, the more recent stuff flirts with progressive melodic death metal). Formed in 1989 in Gothenberg, Sweden, Dark Tranquillity released its first album, Skydancer, in 1993. Yeah, that was 20 fucking 20 years ago, and In Flames‘ Anders Fridén was Dark Tranquillity’s vocalist on that album. Shortly after that album’s release, Anders left and founding member Mikael Stanne has held the mic since.

Dark Tranquillity has continued to evolve musically through the years, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are perhaps one of the most underrated bands in their genre. This Live in Milan video will undoubtedly convince you of that.

Whether or not you’re anxiously anticipated the release of Dark Tranquillity’s 10th studio effort, Construct, you need to check out this live show as the band promotes their 2007 album, Fiction - it absolutely rules.

Dark Tranquillity – Live in Milan Setlist:

1. The Treason Wall
2. The New Build
3. Focus Shift
4. The Lesser Faith
5. The Wonders At Your Feet
6. Lost To Apathy
7. Free Card
8. Inside The Particle Storm
9. Nothing To No One
10. Edenspring
11. Insanity’s Crescendo
12. Lethe
13. Dreamlore Degenerate
14. Misery’s Crown
15. Therein
16. My Negation
17. Yesterworld/Punish My Heaven
18. The Mundane And The Magic
19. Final Resistance
20. Terminus

Rock Hard \m/

tim lambesis

Obviously, Deputy District Attorney Claudia Grasso will likely argue for the bail amount to be maintained, but further details about the case could potentially be revealed as each side presents arguments.

Lambesis’ band, As I Lay Dying, were to tour with Killswitch Engage this summer, but in light of the current situation, that’s not gonna happen. In As I Lay Dying’s absence, KSE has announced that Official Darkest Hour and The Word Alive will join them on the Disarm the Descent 2013 US TOUR.

Rock Hard \m/

photo by Kmeron | Baroness Hit The Road In North America

UPDATE (May 16th) – Baroness have added the following tour dates to those listed below:

New Yellow & Green tour dates:
August 5 Columbus, OH – A&R Music Bar
August 7 Rochester, NY – Club @ Walter Street
August 9 Toronto, ON – Mod Club
August 11 Boston, MA – Royale
August 13 Providence, RI – Met Café
August 14 New York, NY – Irving Plaza
August 17 Champaign, IL – The Highdive
August 18 Columbia, MO – Mojo’s
August 20 Colorado Springs, CO – Black Sheep
August 21 Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
August 23 Phoenix, AZ – Club Red
August 25 San Diego, CA – The Casbah
August 27 Tucson, AZ – The Rock
August 28 Las Vegas NV – Backstage Bar
August 30 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
September 2 Seattle, WA – Bumbershoot
September 4 Vancouver, BC – Venue

“It’s hard to find the words to express how excited we are to announce this tour,” explained guitar player Pete Adams. “Seven months ago, who knew when it would be or even if we could get back on the road. But here we are, picking right back up where we left off. A heartfelt thanks to everyone’s unconditional love and support for us through, let’s hope, the hardest time this band will ever see. We told you we’d be back, so let’s do this thing!”

“The hardest time this band will ever see” refers to Baroness’ bus plunging off a viaduct near Bath, England, which left band members and tour crew with a variety of severe injuries. Presumably, as a result of the accident, drummer Allen Blickle and bass player Matt Maggioni will not be touring with the band. Baizley has confirmed that the pair’s departure is “not sensational” and “do[es] not come with hard feelings.” Baizley went on to add that the band has already found two musicians, Nick Jost (bass) and Sebastian Thomson (drums), “who can approach our music with passion and vitality.”

Yellow & Green tour dates:

May 24 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
May 25 Baltimore, MD – Ram’s Head Live
May 26 Norfolk, VA – Jewish Mother
May 28 Charleston, SC – The Music Farm
May 29 Atlanta, GA – Center Stage
May 31 Dallas, TX – Trees
June 1 Austin, TX – Chaos in Tejas (Mohawk)
June 2 Houston, TX – Free Press Summer Festival
June 4 Lawrence, KS – Granada Theatre
June 5 St. Louis, MO – The Firebird
June 8 Grand Rapids, MI – The Pyramid Scheme
June 9 Madison, WI – The Majestic Theatre
June 11 Indianapolis, IN – Deluxe @ Old National Centre
June 12 Cincinnati, OH – Taft Ballroom
June 14 Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Small’s
June 15 Huntington, WV – V Club
June 13-16 Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo (performance date to be announced soon)
August 10–11 Montreal, QC – Heavy MTL (performance date to be announced soon)

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While I find the video for this exceptional song incredibly boring, the band seems to be pretty happy about it:

“After the introspective ‘For Broken Words’ and the uptempo riffing of ‘The Science of Noise,’ it’s time to showcase the more anthemic aspects of the new album with the song ‘Uniformity.’ In contrast to the more experimental promo videos we made last year, we wanted the ‘Uniformity’ clip to be an intimate and genuine performance video. Nothing but the music itself and the band members playing in the rehearsal room. For this, we hired renowned director Patric Ullaeus, and we’re very happy to share the result with you. Stand up and be counted!”

If you’d like to check out more from Dark Tranquillity’s Construct, check out the following:

“For Broken Words”

“The Science Of Noise”

Dark Tranquillity Construct track-listing:

1. For Broken Words
2. The Science Of Noise
3. Uniformity
4. The Silence In Between
5. Apathetic
6. What Only You Know
7. Endtime Hearts
8. State Of Trust
9. Weight Of The End
10. None Becoming
11. Immemorial
12. Photon Dreams

Dark Tranquillity live:

6.1.2013–Germany, Geiselwind–Beastival Festival
6.7.2013–United Arab Emirates, Dubai–Rock Fest
6.28.2013–Czech Republic, Spalene Porici–Basinfire Festival
7.11.2013–Germany, Neukirchen Vluyn–Dong Open Air
7.12.2013–Germany, Ballenstedt–RockHarz Festival
8.23.2013–Germany, Wörrstedt–Neuborn Open Air
1.27.2014–USA, Miami–70000 Tons Of Metal

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As with the original film, there will be a contest to find the 26th director for the ABCs of Death Part 2. So, if you missed last time, here’s your second shot at starting your film legacy.

The ABCs of Death Part 2 is expected to hit next summer.

From the press release:

The sequel’s new roster includes Goya Award winner Álex de la Iglesia (THE LAST CIRCUS, DAY OF THE BEAST); ROOM 237 mastermind Rodney Ascher; Academy Award-nominated animator Bill Plympton; Filipino icon – and Director’s Fortnight inductee – Erik Matti (ON THE JOB, MAGIC TEMPLE); and the founder of Nigerian “Nollywood” cinema Lancelot Imasuen.

Additional confirmed filmmakers include Lithuania’s Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper (VANISHING WAVES), Japan’s arthouse provocateur Sion Sono (COLD FISH, SUICIDE CLUB), SPLICE and CUBE’s Vincenzo Natali, indie horror icon Larry Fessenden (THE LAST WINTER, HABIT), THE COLLECTION’s Marcus Dunstan, France’s Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (INSIDE, LIVID), E.L. Katz (director of the SXSW breakout hit CHEAP THRILLS), twin auteurs Jen and Sylvia Soska (AMERICAN MARY, DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK), Israel’s Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado (RABIES, BIG BAD WOLVES), A LONELY PLACE TO DIE’s Julian Gilbey, Brazil’s most controversial filmmaker Dennison Ramalho (NINJAS and LOVE FOR MOTHER ONLY), THE LEGEND OF BEAVER DAM and the upcoming STAGEFRIGHT’s Jerome Sable, and animator Robert Morgan – creator of the BAFTA Award nominated short BOBBY YEAH.

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from dusk till dawn – Credit: Echo Bridge Home Entertainment

Obviously, Rodriguez has a creative interest in the adaptation, but the rest of the details are not known. For example, there’s no word if Tarantino or Clooney would be involved, and to that end, we don’t even know if Tom Savini or his Sex Machine will be a part of the production. We can only hope. Even if Savini is onboard in an FX capacity, wouldn’t it be great to have him and From Dusk Till Dawn pitted against his protege Gregory Nicotero and The Walking Dead?

El Rey isn’t expected to launch until December 2013, but we’ll keep you posted as this story develops.

Rock Hard \m/