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Posts By xbezerkerx

0 IN DEFENCE/TOXIC HOLOCAUST TOUR COVERAGE DAY 10-12

November 27, 2013
by xbezerkerx
· On Tour

11-23-13 Lakewood – Cleveland, Ohio
11-24-13 Rock Star Pro Arena – Dayton, Ohio
11-25-13 Magic Stick – Detroit, Michigan

This update is going to be relatively short and sweet. Tour mode has really started to set in, and we’ve been bouncing from one club to another at a head-spinning rate. I write this from the floor of one of the various good-Samaritan houses we’ve been fortunate enough to sleep at, and after the last couple of days, we could really use a good nights sleep.

We played Lakewood in Cleveland, Ohio on the 23^rd, and had the pleasure of seeing Nuklear Hellfrostand Vindicator play—both amazing bands compromised of amazing dudes. Andy from Nuklear Hellfrost put us up for the night, and after a reasonably epic party with our brothers in Ramming Speed, we woke up early to head towards Dayton, Ohio.

We got to the venue in Dayton, and all three bands loaded in at the same time… to discover that our ‘venue’ was also a professional wrestling arena. Immediately to the right of the stage is a full-sized wrestling ring, complete with ropes and turnbuckles, and our combined excitement was palpable throughout the night.

In Defence went on after the two badass local openers, Sub-X and Fleshwar, were done performing. After a healthy dose of Ben Crew’s usual banter, he called out a pro wrestler, Dave Crist of The Irish Airborne, challenging him to prove that pro wrestling was more powerful than The Force from ‘Star Wars’. Dave came up and shoved Ben into the crowd, to which Ben retaliated with a shoulder-bump of his own. Dave suddenly dropped low and side-kicked Ben right in the face, knocking his sunglasses off and sending him sprawling to the ground, seemingly unconscious. Just when it seemed as though Ben wouldn’t get up, he raised his hand in an imitation of Darth Vader’s Force Grip, and Dave’s hands flew to his throat, eyes bulging. People started realizing around that time that the whole confrontation was staged, but right up until the moment of telekinetic battle, people were ready to jump in and intervene (and Ben certainly did not fake getting kicked in the face).

After resounding sets by Ramming Speed and Toxic Holocaust—and subsequent autograph-signing and merchandise peddling by the bands—the fans filed out, and we went back out to the main room to discover that the wrestling ring had been uncovered, and the lights above it were on. Kevin Alter and Ben Crew immediately jumped in and started giving each other bumps, and moments later Dave Crist rolled into the ring, ready to show us how pro wrestling is done.

(Joel Grind at Rock Star Pro Arena)

I handed my camera off to Tony Hoff and jumped into the ring, and for the next half-an-hour we all received a bunch of bodyslams and submissions via Dave Crist. He is an incredible wrestler, and was able to back-flip (Moonsault), elbow drop, et cetera onto us multiple times… all without grievously injuring anyone. I took a few hard slams, and Kevin took a flying elbow drop from the top rope that left him writhing and crumpled in the middle of the ring. Ben Crew showed an amazing proficiency for the moves Dave was teaching him, and Dave even let him perform a few bodyslams and inverted drops onto him before the night was through. All of this was caught on film, and the video will be up on the In Defence facebook page within the next week. It was an amazing night, and we left the venue in very high spirits.

After a combined Toxic Holocaust/Ramming Speed/In Defence/Sub-X after-party, we headed to Detroit on the morning of the 25^th. The venue, Magic Stick, is a sleek venue with a full-sized bowling alley in the basement and a large, spacious concert room upstairs. The place quickly filled up with over one hundred paying customers, and shortly after 7 PM Hellmouth and From Hell took the stage. This was one of the best shows of the tour as far as crowd participation goes, and during the performances of In Defence, Toxic Holocaust, and Ramming Speed, people were going absolutely crazy: circle pitting, crowd-surfing, and moshing like mad.

Throughout the show I was able to eat a ton of incredible food, drink some fine beers in the back room, witness Joel Grind’s pre-show warm-up of hip-thrusts and sexy dancing (sorry, Joel, I had to), and set up a portable audio unit owned by Nick Rage of Toxic Holocaust, to dub over the live videos I’ve been recording of their performances. We loaded our gear down the treacherous three flights of stairs after the show, then drove to the aforementioned good-Samaritan’s house to relax—or, in Phil Gnaast’s case, rip a phone book in half and light his farts on fire (Phil is probably one of the coolest fucking dudes I’ve ever met).

I was fortunate enough to listen to Joel Grind discuss his personal views on the music industry, his rise throughout the years from a DIY metal-punk living in Delaware, self-recording and self-releasing all of his music, to a professional musician, traveling the world and having his albums available throughout the globe. It was truly humbling and inspiring to hear about his journey, and as an amateur musician myself, it certainly inspired me to work harder and accept nothing less than the goals I have set for myself and the bands I am incorporated in (heyInvidiosus, Aetheric, Enter the Worms, Grind Fuck Railroad… I miss you guys, and you’d better be ready to get to work when I return).

wrestling video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mgirdLs9_U

phonebook video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVl-Ss66TYU

phil armpit farts video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_0lasufiQo

We’re on our way to Reggie’s in Chicago tonight, and already I am dreading the end of this tour. I’ve learned a lot, met a ton of amazing people, and I’ve been fortunate enough to hang out with some of my favorite musicians and bands for days on end. I truly wish it would never end, and I’ve been thinking a lot about the necessary steps to continue (or at least incorporate, as often as possible) this lifestyle of traveling and performing in different places every night. Thank you all for reading, and I promise my next update will contain more awesome anecdotes about Ben Crew tumbling off stage during his performances, or Blake from Ramming Speed’s stories about puking fathers in Detroit, Michigan—seriously, I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. Thanks to Nefarious Realm and Profane Existence for posting these updates, and I hope to metaphorically ‘see’ all of you again soon. Cheers, everyone.

-Matthias Joyce
www.facebook.com/matthiasjoyce

0 IN DEFENCE/TOXIC HOLOCAUST TOUR COVERAGE DAY 9

November 27, 2013
by xbezerkerx
· On Tour

11-22-13
Richmond, Virginia – Kingdom
Municipal Waste, Toxic Holocaust, Ramming Speed, In Defence, Unsacred

As I type this, we are traveling from Virginia to Ohio, and it’s snowing like fucking crazy… I have not missed the Midwest whatsoever. Last night we were in Richmond, Virginia, as direct support for Municipal Waste… what an insane night. My hand is busted from an ill-fated stage-dive while holding a video camera (still worth it), and I’m exhausted from lack of sleep and this damned cold I caught a few days ago. Needless to say, I’ll keep this short and sweet.

We got to Richmond around 4 PM yesterday, loaded our gear into Kingdom (fucking awesome venue, by the way), and immediately went to the 3^rd floor to locate our designated cases of beer and water. I ran intoLandphil from Municipal Waste up there, and we wandered down into the alley to drink beers and listen to KISS in the Ramming Speed bus. Landphil told us stories about traveling through Europe and crazy dudes who blink each eye independently, and after an hour or so we went back into the venue to catch the first band, Unsacred—catchy blackened thrash with elements of death metal.

In Defence went on next, and absolutely destroyed the place. The venue is expansive, with an upper balcony that looks down on the stage and main level, and from there I was able to film and photograph their entire set, complete with epic circle-pits and excellent crowd participation. Ramming Speed was amazing as per usual, and Toxic Holocaust fucking slayed—they are definitely one of those bands that performs exponentially better in larger environments, and seeing them perform in front of the 100+ people who had packed into the venue was incredible. The moshing and circle-pits didn’t stop the entire set, and everyone was energetic and ready for Municipal Waste to play.

Municipal Waste went on around 10 PM, and holy hell did they bring the place down. I haven’t seen such a large, consistent mosh pit in years, and there were a few pretty nasty fistfights between the “I’m not content to mosh, I need to throw punches and kick people in the face” dudes, and the regular thrash-heads who just want to mosh and have a good time. They played for the better part of an hour, and Kevin Alter, Ben Crew and I all took turns stage diving (hence the busted hand as I type this). As their last note was struck, people flocked to the stage to high five and shake hands with the band, and I went upstairs to recuperate and gather our merch together.

We loaded out shortly after the show was over, then headed to a corner bar (I forget the name, which speaks volumes to the quality of their beer.) The guys from M.W. came out and had a few drinks with us, along with the guys from Toxic Holocaust, Ramming Speed, and several other unexpected appearances—the drummer from GWAR showed up for awhile, and a member (who shall remain nameless) of Ghoul hung out with us as well. I talked with Tony Foresta of M.W. for a bit, sang along to crappy Metallica songs with Ramming Speed and Toxic Holocaust (holy fuck, Phil is hilarious,) and we partied reasonably hard before heading to our designated hotel for the night.

We saw some dude clad in an Oreo Cookie jacket trying to pick a fight with another guy in the parking lot outside, and waited for the scuffle to break up before leaving. Matt Sexton was kind enough to provide us with a free hotel room for the night, and we all crashed out immediately after flopping down inside our room.

I’m about ready to fall asleep again—this sickness, for the thousandth time, be damned—so I’ll wrap this up for the time being. Check out the In Defence band page, or my personal Facebook page, for more ridiculous photos and videos from the last couple of days. Thanks for reading; I’ll update again within the next day or two. Cheers,

-Matthias Joyce

for more photos, videos, etc: www.facebook.com/matthiasjoyce

0 IN DEFENCE/TOXIC HOLOCAUST TOUR COVERAGE DAY 8

November 25, 2013
by xbezerkerx
· On Tour

11-20-13
Newark, Delaware – Mojo’s
Toxic Holocaust, Ramming Speed, In Defence, Traitor, Bad Coke

Right now Blake Charlton from Ramming Speed is playing Mario Kart on SNES next to me while Jonahand Kallen sew their pants together… Ramming Speed is fucking awesome. Last night was absolutely the craziest night of tour so far—I don’t even know where to start

We got to Mojo’s in Newark, Delaware around 5 PM, and immediately upon getting out of the van Kevin Alter jumped into a dumpster and started pawing through some of the thawed, expired food within. He picked out some kind of pot pie with an expiration date of November, 2000, and moments later Ben Crew had cracked it open and taken a bite—only to promptly spew it all back out in a violent bout of dry-heaving. Blake appropriately followed suite by eating several crab cakes that were at least 5 years old, which to our amazement he managed to chew up without barfing.

James Claypool and I went to a co-op next door and got some delicious vegan sandwiches, and after that we went back to the venue to sit around and bullshit with Ramming Speed and Toxic Holocaust. The local bands performed, and both were pretty sweet—Bad Coke laid down some crusty, pissed-off power violence, andTraitor delivered a crossover blend of melodic, progressive thrash.

In Defence took the stage next, and as always, Ben Crew turned a regular show into an insane mosh-party, complete with dudes choking each other out in the pit, an exorbitant amount of Delaware jokes, a failed high-kick attempt (Ben held his hand up and someone attempted to Crane-kick it Karate Kid style, only to promptly flip backwards and eat shit), and a bunch of other insane antics. Ben threw the mic at me at one point, and I did a few lines from ‘The Police are Fucking Rad’ while he picked up some hardcore dancer and threw him into the crowd. Their set ended with Ben shouting “thank you, New Jersey,” and I had to rush back to the merch table to sell loads of shirts and vinyl to their eager fans.

Ramming Speed was amazing as usual, and Ben and Jimmy moshed around in the pit with helium balloons attached to their belts. Ramming Speed is a damn good band at getting the crowd involved no matter what, and their vocalist Pete Gallagher’s energy on stage is palpable and infectious.

Things really started to get crazy once Toxic Holocaust took the stage—they played razor-tight, and their stage presence is consistently demanding and powerful. I had spoken to Joel Grind before the show about doing guest vocals for ‘Nuke the Cross,’ and after the first verse of the song I jumped up on stage and grabbed Phil’s microphone. I did the 2^nd and 3^rd verse of the song, and got picked up to crowd surf almost immediately during the 2nd chorus. Being up there with Joel, Phil, and Nick was honestly a personal highlight in my career as a metal vocalist, and even though I was sick with a sore throat and shaky with beer-fueled adrenaline, I did the lines pretty well, and left the stage feeling impossibly excited and euphoric.

After the show, things started to come off the rails. Ben Crew, who rarely—if ever—drinks alcohol, drankan entire bottle of Apple Pucker in under 30 seconds. He ran around high-fiving people for a few minutes, drank some lady’s Jack and Coke out of her hand (and was swiftly kicked in the balls hard enough to drop him to the floor), then calmly walked outside, opened the front door to the venue, and puked EVERYWHERE. I stood around filming him barfing for about thirty seconds before nearly puking myself from the sound/visual of him spewing Shrimp Po’ Boy all over the sidewalk. He handled it like a champion, and was sturdy-footed enough to help us load out minutes later. Ben is one of the nicest, most knowledgeable dudes I’ve ever met, but man is he a crazy motherfucker sometimes.

In Defence and Ramming Speed traveled to Baltimore, Maryland around 1 AM, and partied at the house of Jane Vincent from Curse before falling asleep in heap on her floor at 4 AM. I am going to sign off now, and work on some of these ridiculous videos of Ben chugging Apple Pucker and Blake eating stale crab cakes, but I will update again soon. As always, thanks for reading.

-Matthias Joyce

for more updates, photos, videos, et cetera: www.facebook.com/matthiasjoyce

0 IN DEFENCE/TOXIC HOLOCAUST TOUR COVERAGE DAY 7

November 25, 2013
by xbezerkerx
· On Tour

11-19-13
Middleton, New York – Sounds Asylum
Toxic Holocaust, Ramming Speed, In Defence

Here’s a brief recap on last night’s show in Birmingham, Vermont: it was fucking awesome. Definitely the best show of tour thus far—all the bands were really happy with their performances, the sound was great, and the crowd was exceptional. Free food, a gritty little green room in the basement, and all the craft beer we could drink (well, almost); it was one of those nights where everything goes off without a hitch, and we left Nectar’s in high spirits.

It was the first night where all three of the touring bands stayed at the same house, with Boston’s Led to the Grave joining us as well. Toxic Holocaust, In Defence, andRamming Speed all got to our gracious hosts house at the same time, and we immediately started playing horrible Metallica videos and drinking cheap beer.

Kevin Alter assumed his Macho-Man alter ego after downing a dozen beers (if you know Kevin, you know what I’m talking about) and wasted no time in pro-wrestling the fuck out of some dude who was hitting him with a Slim Jim. Joel Grind, Phil Gnaast and I took turns playing songs from horrible bands—Texas Hippie Coalition, Attack Attack, and ‘Load’-era Metallica were all given a spin—and the night quickly turned to a drunken dude-fest… all while half the members from our respective bands attempted to sleep in an adjacent room. Sorry, guys.

I threw myself into the van around 4 AM after realizing there was no way in hell I’d be able to sleep with all the partying going on, and then proceeded to freeze, cough, and snivel my ass off through a few hours of semi-consciousness. We hit the road at 9 AM and I was first to drive, and to my surprise I actually felt much better once I got behind the wheel. I navigated us through the beautiful Vermont countryside, passing mountainous regions, lakeside villages, Amish buggies, and sprawling hills and forests

We arrived in Middleton around 3 PM, and went straight from the venue to ROCK FANTASY, the coolest record-store/pinball arcade/smoke shop I have ever seen. The touring bands were set to do a ‘meet and greet’, and they were understandably a bit apprehensive, but upon arrival we learned that said ‘meet and greet’ was really just an opportunity for us to drink PBR, eat pizza, and play pinball to our hearts content. Hanging out in that back room, shooting pinball and drinking beer, was definitely one of my personal highlights for this tour—bullshitting with the guys from Toxic Holocaust and Ramming Speed, hearing about their exploits and travels overseas, and witnessing fans approach them for autographs on magazines they’d appeared in: Decibel Magazine (Toxic Holocaust) and Terrorizer(Ramming Speed). We even got photographed by a photographer that has worked with Death, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Led Zeppelin, and Overkill, which was quite the honor.

The show at Sounds Asylum went over reasonably well, albeit with a smaller crowd than we’ve grown accustomed to. I did guest vocals for In Defence again (and this time I didn’t fuck my lines up), Ben Crew got people to stand on ego boxes in the middle of the floor and attempt to throw each other off, and some hardcore dancer smashed me in the throat with a spinning backfist during Toxic Holocaust’s set. After word we slammed a few beers outside, packed up our things, and hit the road back to Philadelphia (for the 3^rd night in the last week!) to rest up for tomorrows gig in Newark, Delaware.

I have a veritable ton of live video, photos, and random bits of drunken debauchery to upload, so I’d better get to it before I pass out. Thank you for reading, and I promise that these updates will only continue to get better as this tour progresses—we’ve reached the point already where all the bands are getting along easily, and we get into some crazy shit when we’re all together. Until next time,

-Matthias Joyce
for more updates, photos, videos, etc visit www.facebook.com/matthiasjoyce

0 IN DEFENCE/TOXIC HOLOCAUST TOUR COVERAGE DAY 5+6

November 25, 2013
by xbezerkerx
· On Tour

11-17-13
Providence, Rhode Island – Dusk
Toxic Holocaust, Ramming Speed, In Defence, Venomizer
11-18-13
Burlington, Vermont – Nectar’s
Toxic Holocaust, Ramming Speed, In Defence, Led to the Grave

I am writing this from behind the merch table at Nectar’s in Burlington, Vermont. I’ve already acquired my first tour illness, and I’m attempting to wash it away with Magic Hat beer and copious amounts of gravy-laden French Fries… I’ll update the results of this makeshift remedy later on.

Last night we played in Providence, Rhode Island, at a bad-ass upscale venue calledDusk. It was right in the middle of a sketchy industrial district, but the turnout was great and the crowd ate up our tour package (cue Beavis and Butthead laughter).

I woke up in Philadelphia to the smell of acrid smoke and burning food; Ben Crew has had terrible luck with cooking on this tour, such burning his shirt in an oven while trying to dry it off (at 410 degrees, for an hour) in Indiana. In this particular instance, Ben had burnt a bagel after getting it stuck in a toaster. Jeff Nicholas doused it in water to stop it from smoking, then threw it away… only for Ben to grab it out of the garbage moments later and eat it, burnt and soggy as hell.

On the way to Rhode Island, we saw an epic statue of some crazy-ass disembodied horse head, and in a field nearby was a man casually standing over the bloodied corpse of a dead deer, hands in pockets and pensively staring at the gaping wound in its side. I guess that’s New York for you.

We got to Dusk around 7:30 PM, and Jeff and I immediately hopped in Ramming Speed’s paraplegic party bus to drink beer and debate over how awful/worthwhile their rotten, fungus-filled cooler was. Venomizer opened the show, and the place instantly filled up with metalheads and thrashers.

In Defence went on 2^nd, and put on an awesome show: Ben acquired a bullet belt, and his ridiculous banter in-between songs had people laughing and cheering. I slipped on beer while moshing for them and crashed into the bar, then grabbed a mic during ‘The Police are Fucking Rad’ and did backing vocals for the song. They ended their set to the thunderous applause of the eighty-some people in attendance.

Ramming Speed went on 3^rd, and I really dug their performance—they are incredibly tight live, and their energy and passion is make that evident from the first note struck to the last. I filmed a few of their songs, and I’ll be periodically uploading footage of them (along with In Defence and Toxic Holocaust) throughout the tour. No complaints from me whenever those dudes are playing.

Toxic Holocaust played last, and once again, they fucking destroyed the place. They are just impossible not to love; they are amazing performers, their live set is perfectly chosen, and Joel Grind’s introductions to each song make it impossible not to mosh and get sucked into their music. Phil is an incredible bassist, pounding his chest and headbanging like mad while he plays, and Nick is a madman on the drums—he broke his snare at one point, ran and grabbed another one from Ramming Speed, and was playing the next song within a minutes time.

We went to the house of Nicholas Adams along with Toxic Holocaust to party after the show, and he entertained us with some badass hardcore records and stories about his experiences working at a tattoo/piercing shop. I fell asleep around 4 AM to the cacophony of Joel, Nick, and Phil all snoring in unison, and woke up at one point to Phil stepping on my arm while trying to find the bathroom—no hard feelings dude, I’m sure I’ll get you back at some point on this tour.

In Defence headed out from Providence around noon, and hit an awesome vegan bakery on the way out. I slept most of the ride—god damn this cold—and woke up when we were passing through Boston, Massachusetts. We got to the venue and immediately set to drinking craft beer and consuming dollops of rice, peppers, chicken, and salad, and as I type the local band Led to the Grave is shredding to a packed room. I need to go set up my camera gear to film Ramming Speed, In Defence, and Toxic Holocaust, but I will update again within the next day or two. Thanks for reading my Nyquil-induced ramblings, and I look forward to updating you all again soon. Cheers.

-Matthias Joyce

for more videos, photos, etc visit: www.facebook.com/matthiasjoyce

0 IN DEFENCE/TOXIC HOLOCAUST TOUR COVERAGE DAY 4

November 25, 2013
by xbezerkerx
· On Tour

11-16-13
Trenton, NJ – Backroom at The Championship Bar
Toxic Holocaust, Ramming Speed, In Defence, Paralysis, Valacar, Midnite Hellion
-Matthias Joyce

Tonight was In Defence’s first gig with Toxic Holocaust and Ramming Speed, and it was definitely a night to remember. I am exhausted from drinking, moshing, and eating, and I’ve got to write this review as quickly as I can—the last few nights I’ve been up until five or six in the morning writing these bastards, and if tomorrow night is anything like tonight, I’m going to need some extra rest and energy.

We left Philadelphia around 2 PM, and made it to The Championship Bar in Trenton, New Jersey in under an hour. We bummed around Trenton for a couple of hours, taking in some sights and enjoying the warm weather. Ben Crew and I were goofing around in a convenience store, and Ben decided to purchase a gallon of whole milk… I knew this was something sinister right off the bat, so I pulled out my camera and turned it on right as we walked out the front door. Ben told me he was going to attempt ‘The Vegan Challenge’—I have no fucking clue what ‘The Vegan Challenge’ is, and I don’t think Ben did, either)—and without preamble began to chug the entire gallon. He got about ¾ of the way through then suddenly sprayed milk everywhere, threw the carton down, and said, “fuck it, I guess I lose.”

link: Ben Crew Chugs Milk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQANZo4SVeQ&feature=youtu.be

Once we arrived back at the venue, we finally met the guys in Toxic Holocaust andRamming Speed. I talked to Nick Rage, Toxic’s drummer, about their song “Bitch” being used in the T.V. show ‘Sons of Anarchy,’ and we were able to catch the opening local acts:Paralysis & Valacar were awesome old-school thrash (played by young kids, too!), andMidnite Hellion laid down some epic, symphonic power-metal. In Defence put on their tightest performance so far on this tour, and when people weren’t moshing for some of their crazier numbers, I started up a couple of circle pits and got people ready for Toxic Holocaust and Ramming Speed.

Ramming Speed went on around 9:30, and instantly brought the place down with their unique blend of death-thrash, combining intense grooves with stomping mosh riffs. Toxic Holocaust went on shortly thereafter, and it was absolutely my favorite performance I’ve seen of theirs: they played tight as hell, the crowd was energetic and excited, and the overall atmosphere was intimate and incredible. It’s one thing to see a band you love in a huge, sold-out venue, but it’s something else entirely to see that same band destroy a medium-sized room, then exit the stage to a rush of fans and autograph-seekers.

We stood around drinking Yuengling and bullshitting with Toxic Holocaust and Ramming Speed after the show, and the members of both those bands are really relaxed and down-to-earth. I helped Nick Rage load Toxic’s gear out, then went and shotgunned a couple beers with Ramming Speed in their handicap-bus-turned-tour-van. In Defence hit the road back to Philadelphia around 1:30 AM, and we got back to Loopy’s house around 2 AM. I would write more about how awesome tonight was, but honestly I’m wiped out and ready to drink the rest of this Hamm’s and go to bed. Tomorrow is our 2^nd day with Toxic Holocaust and Ramming Speed, and if tonight was any indicator, it will be a fucking rager. Thanks for reading, I will post again tomorrow when my wits are gathered. Stay safe, and nuke that fucking cross.

-Matthias Joyce

www.facebook.com/matthiasjoyce

0 IN DEFENCE/TOXIC HOLOCAUST TOUR COVERAGE DAY 3

November 25, 2013
by xbezerkerx
· On Tour

11-15-13
Philadelphia, PA – Lava Library/Community Center
In Defence, Propellers, Coffin Dust
-Matthias Joyce

I know that tour-mode has started to set in when I honestly have to think hard about where I woke up this morning. We didn’t get to sleep until late last night in Columbus, Ohio, and I was next on the rotation to drive this morning… I awoke feeling disoriented and mentally fogged, but managed to slap myself into consciousness with cold water and an early dosage of The Ramones and Rotten Sound.

I drove most of the morning/afternoon, and we reached Philadelphia around 8 PM. The venue In Defenceplayed at tonight is known as Lava, a volunteer-run library and community center maintained by local punks. One wall is completely lined with puzzles, albums, fiction novels, and books about anarchy—seriously, the ‘politics’ section was fucking incredible—and there was ample room for people to mosh and socialize. Behind the area where the bands were setting up was a Scooby Doo-style secret door, set flush into the wall around it and hardly visible. Instructed to enter this door, we found a small kitchen, slightly run-down but stocked with an antique cast iron stove and an entire pot of amazing vegan chili. We ate a ridiculous amount—I wasn’t even hungry, and ended up having seconds—and we thanked Rob vigorously for being such a great cook and host.

The first band to play was Coffin Dust, a wildly unique grind/death/thrash band with an insanely fast drummer and melodic, shredding riffs in the vein of Skeletonwitch or Rotten Sound. In Defence followed, and I’ve found myself subconsciously singing along to all of their songs, even as I distractedly ran around trying to film, take photos, and man the merch table during their set. Rob’s band Propellers closed the show, delivering a tasteful blend of grind and hardcore punk. People raged out throughout the night, and we left feeling satisfied and ready to relax.

After the show, we headed across the city to stay with a former In Defence guitarist, Loopy. He has one of the coolest houses I’ve ever stayed at on a tour, with a huge collection of animal bones, shark teeth, and a newly-acquired human skull, alongside framed tour riders from bands such as Metallica and Doomtree. Loopy is an incredible sound technician, who has worked with bands such as Baroness, Doomtree, and Municipal Waste. He entertained us with stories from his various travels, and reminisced on some of the early days of In Defence.

I took a small break from writing this to stand outside for a moment; downtown Philadelphia is off in the distance, it’s about 50 degrees and raining, and really I couldn’t be any happier. It hasn’t even been a week since we left Minneapolis, but the anticipation to meet up with Toxic Holocaust and Ramming Speed has built steadily, and tomorrow we finally head to New Jersey to join their tour… we are all excited as hell. Thank you for anyone who has been reading these blogs: I’m trying my best to juggle photography, videography, and written documentation of the tour (along with my duties as a roadie/merch guy), and getting my method down has been an arduous process, to say the least. I’ll update again tomorrow, after our first show with TOXIC FUCKING HOLOCAUST and RAMMING (FUCKING) SPEED. Cheers, and thanks again for reading.

-Matthias Joyce

for more photos/updates/etc visit www.facebook.com/matthiasjoyce

0 IN DEFENCE/TOXIC HOLOCAUST TOUR COVERAGE DAY 2

November 17, 2013
by xbezerkerx
· On Tour

11-14-13
Columbus, OH – Café Bourbon Street
In Defence, Checkmate, Putrid Cause, Hairy Lips
-Matthias Joyce

I’m typing this from the floor of some guy name Mattard’s house while Hulk Hogan’s ‘No Holds Barred’plays on VHS in the background. As per usual, Kevin and I are the last ones awake, drinking Natural Ice and talking about vintage wrestling (this has been a prevalent theme so far on this tour). I got thrown into a pole whilst trying to mosh holding a video camera tonight, and my back is killing me. I’m going to see if I can’t set a record writing this as fast as possible—apologies in advance.

In Defence woke up this morning at The Harrison House in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and spent the morning watching Botchamania and standing over Kevin’s sleeping body holding a giant fucking medieval sword. We eventually roused him by playing Manowar loudly next to his head, and got on the road around 3 PM.

Highlights of the road to Ohio were two kids walking along the side of the road wielding crowbars, and hearing Jeff Nicholas, In Defence’s drummer, talk about some kid in his high school who was expelled from school for letting goats into the principals office to shit all over peoples transcripts…then came back on graduation day to blast Bruce Springsteen’s‘Born in the USA’ on a boombox outside the school.

We arrived at Mattard’s house around 8 PM, and immediately began poring over his extensive VHS collection. The guys from Putrid Cause came over, and we watched some Jean Claud Van Damme movie that sucked pretty badly (he didn’t slow-mo roundhouse anyone until the last 5 fucking minutes of the movie). Departing shortly after, we headed to Café Bourbon Street in Columbus, where we watched ‘The Decline of Western Civilization’ on a small tube TV at the bar and drank Black Label with some local punks. I haven’t seen that documentary in years, and it was a great precursor for the rest of the night.

Hairy Lips, a hardcore/metal crossover band, played first, followed by Putrid Cause, an awesome hardcore punk band that would’ve made G.G. Allin proud—their singer got buck naked and threw himself into the crowd, and went on about “trying not to fucking die” in-between songs. Checkmate, a female-fronted hardcore band, played second-to-last, and In Defence went on when everyone was absolutely ready to mosh and destroy the place (which they did). During In Defence’s set, I bought some cute girl a beer and talked to her for a bit, and was hitting things off fairly well… only to get sucked into a tightly-knit circle pit moments later, dropping my beer and phone in the process—better luck next time. In Defence played a few throwbacks, including ‘Call More Dudes’, and people were moshing and partying like crazy. This was definitely the most fun show on tour so far, with a great response and rad people (aside from some guy who started ripping on Star Wars, and was promptly told to shut the hell up by a disgruntled merch guy who will remain anonymous).We got back to Mattard’s place in time to watch this incredible Hulk Hogan movie, and as I type this entry, Kevin and I are discussing the virtues of being perpetually alone, avoiding morbid obesity, and imagining people you don’t like floating in space and experiencing rapid decompression. I have to wake up in about 5 hours and start off the drive to Philadelphia, so I’d best wrap this up. Only one more day ‘til we meet up with Toxic Holocaust and Ramming Speed, and we’re all getting pretty fucking excited. As always, thank you for reading my inane bullshit. -Matthias Joyce
for more photos, updates, etc: www.facebook.com/matthiasjoyce

0 The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Fighting the Big Motherfuckin’ Sad ZINE REVIEW

November 16, 2013
by xbezerkerx
· Reviews

Refreshing, honest, real, and truly relatable in all aspects were my immediate reactions post-read. Like many other people around the world, I get sad, and have been sad for a very large portion of the 22 years that I have existed. I have no problem admitting that. Recently, I have started to be proactive in my search to finding happiness, and holding on to it with every bone, muscle, finger, breath, et cetra, that I have in my body. Coming to the realization that it wouldn’t be easy, but also accepting that my quality of life would greatly improve, made the first step in this journey seemingly effortless.

The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Fighting the Big Motherfuckin’ Sad by Adam Gnade was everything I needed to hear – or rather read – and everything I’ve ever been told (by parents, teachers, therapists, etc) in a more applicable format for myself. This zine is an anti-depression and “How-To” guide to lead you past your demons, the assholes, the dream-crushers, the “anonymous” hate mail, the obstacles, the day-to-day sadness, and most importantly, yourself.

Living a lawless life is about accepting the reality that existing is not a cakewalk for every individual. But it is also about realizing that people change, ideas change, dreams change, and learning how to adapt to these changes as well as use them as a tool in your eventual success is the most important thing you can do for yourself.

This zine may not be helpful or relatable to everyone out there who is living with depression, anxiety, or other mood disorders. And it didn’t, by any means, make my problems go away. But it made me have a lot of “A-Ha” moments, or moments where I thought to myself, “This is me. This is totally me.” I will definitely be returning to this zine when I have my own “Big Motherfuckin Sad” episodes, and probably even just for general interest purposes. (XurkelX)

http://pioneerspress.com/catalog/books/4189/

0 In Defence/Toxic Holocaust Tour Coverage Day 1

November 14, 2013
by xbezerkerx
· On Tour

Tour Journal, 11-12-13
In Defence, Gonzo Violence, “Richardson” Richardson, Minimum Wage Assassins
-Matthias Joyce

Today I left Minneapolis, MN with In Defence for a month-long tour. In 3 days we’ll be meeting up withToxic Holocaust and Ramming Speed, and continuing along the east coast to play some ridiculous shows and drink tons of beer.

I write this first passage from the living room floor of Derek Martha, gracious host and drummer for Midwest grind fucks Minimum Wage Assassins and Mass Murder Messiah. It’s four in the morning, I’ve been awake for nearly twenty-four hours straight, and we’ve just finished stuffing ourselves with Triscuits and Old Milwaukee… I think this is unequivocally the right moment to start a tour journal.

I met up with In Defence around two in the afternoon on Tuesday, November 12^th, 2013, and we spent a good hour practicing our Tetris skills packing gear and merchandise into the back of the van. Before leaving Minneapolis, we dropped a cool hundred bucks in EBT money on groceries (hope the feds aren’t reading this), and stood around awkwardly while an irate woman demanded her beet stalks back from the cashier. (“You don’t throw those away, I use those! They’re organic; I eat them!”)

We got on the road shortly thereafter, only to get stuck in traffic immediately upon leaving. Our drive to Dekalb, Illinois took all day, although this early on in the tour it was difficult to be impatient with traffic jams and roadwork. We arrived at the 7^th Street Space around 10 PM, and had all of twenty minutes to set up before In Defence went on—Gonzo Violence and “Richardson” Richardson delivered some blisteringly intense grindcore, but damn, you motherfuckers played for like seven minutes combined.

In Defence tried out some new antics for this small DIY show, and Ben Crew made sure to get his lines right about The Police—not the guys who arrest middle-school kids for bringing matches to class, the dudes who wrote the creepiest song of the 20^th century, ‘I’ll Be Watching You’—before proceeding with the rest of the set. I sold a few merch items during In Defence’s set, and while confusedly attempting to organize the money and item checklist, had the entire merch table toppled onto me during ‘Boom Box Crew.’ I think this is something I’ll get used to as the tour progresses.

Minimum Wage Assassins rounded out the bill, and Derek was kind enough to let us crash at his place after word. Following a rousing viewing of ‘Freeway,’ the rest of the band crashed out, leaving Kevin Alter, Derek and I to discuss the art of film behind Hulk Hogan’s Suburban Commando—truly one of the finest pieces of cinema ever created.

I know this entry was a bit lengthy (insert Butthead laugh here, uhuhuh), but I’ve got to start somewhere. Tomorrow we eat breakfast at Burrito Loco, then head to Fort Wayne, Indiana. We meet up with Toxic Holocaust and Ramming Speed on November 16^th in Trenton, New Jersey, and ‘excitement’ is an understatement. Thanks for reading, and for being a dorky metal-head who finds this stuff interesting—I assume if you’ve done the former, you’re probably the latter.

-Matthias Joyce

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The legendary crust classic is now available once again!

We are happy to announce our next new release

WILT – “Self Titled”

Here is a track from the upcoming LP

“Sermon for the Bootlickers”

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0 IN DEFENCE/TOXIC HOLOCAUST TOUR COVERAGE DAY 2

0 The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Fighting the Big Motherfuckin’ Sad ZINE REVIEW

0 In Defence/Toxic Holocaust Tour Coverage Day 1