At Midnight I'll Possess Your Corpse

Not much to report this week but next week I'll be starting a new personal challenge.  A series of video/images set to music.  Basically, I'll be attempting to create a piece of music or underscore for something visual. This will happen alongside my current projects, of course.  Things are moving swiftly, at last.  I'm not yet sure where I'll get all the visuals.  Maybe I'll ask for submissions?  Either way, it will be fun for me to try out some different ideas with no expectations and possibly enjoyable for others.  We'll find out together.  Or not. 

I'll possess your corpse.

Vampire rules.

Beyond the Sixth Seal record

Finished To The Death last week. Stoked for those guys. Now, on to the next thing.  Unraveller is nearing it's completion; Beyond the Sixth Seal is about 80% finished with a new record.  We have 8 songs.  A new death metal project is taking form as well.  Some ugly stuff, I'm excited about it.  More about that later.  Got to get back to work, check out this cool synth piece from one of my favorite composers, Matt Creamer aka Norrin_Radd.

Monday, June 6, 2016

Nothing special, just some casual riffs. #casualmonday

A video posted by Mike McKenzie (@stomachearth) on Jun 6, 2016 at 8:28am PDT

Well, I'm bouncing the final mix for To The Death right now.  It's a mighty slab of foul death metal.  Definitely looking forward to seeing these guys play this stuff live sometime.  I didn't post anything last week because I was in the thick of it and just lost track of time.  Maybe you noticed, maybe you didn't.  I'm guessing you didn't.  There's a lot of musicians out there who want you to pay attention to them and with so much information flying at your face all the time, it's nice to take a break.  But if you're reading this, thanks for looking at my garbage!  There's plenty more on the way.

Now, it's time for me to finish up the next Unraveller, which will be called Horror of Humanity.  It's often difficult for me to finish projects like this or Stomach Earth.  I just want to keep refining them, fixing them, changing them.  But that is a fruitless task.  It's easy to find things you want to change, especially as time passes.  Your tastes might shift a bit and maybe in a month you'll prefer slightly different guitar tones or different panning.  Or even different songs altogether.  I often leave the studio after recording and think of something I'd like to change.  For me, it's important to set a time that I'm going to be completely done and can no longer make any changes.  When that day comes, it's done, regardless of how far into I am.  The collection of songs ends up being kind of a snapshot of a particular time.  Kind of like a time capsule.  Sometimes, I listen to old records I've done and think, "why would I ever write that riff?" or something like that.  I'll never write those riffs again(hopefully), so it's important that they happened when they did.  So, I'm giving myself until June 20th to finish that record.  This public statement holds me accountable.  I'm pretty happy with the songs and if you liked the last one, I think you will be too.  Oh yeah, here's a great dog picture from the internet.

Hand Necromancy

This playthrough of Floating Through the Vein is a little sloppy, but it's helping my hand recover. @daddarioandco strings & shirts! #theredchord

A video posted by Mike McKenzie (@stomachearth) on May 23, 2016 at 3:05pm PDT

Not much to report this week.  I'm wrapping up the To The Death mix, recovering my hand dexterity and putting the finishing touches on the Unraveller record.  More fun stuff on the way. Check out this sloppy video of me playing Floating Through the Vein.  The pic is from The Thing - an awesome event put on by Thirst Boston.  Bartenders from all over the city come together to make awesome cocktails.  It ruled!

Hideous Riff Therapy

Hideous riffing helps the hands. #inhumanist

A video posted by Mike McKenzie (@stomachearth) on May 16, 2016 at 8:43am PDT

My hand is starting to get back to normal.  I've been taking it slow but I can play a lot of the usual stuff with minimal pain.

We finish vocal tracking for the To The Death record tomorrow.  If you're into Dismember, Dissection, Disfear or just really filthy death metal I think you'll like their stuff.  I find myself singing Hellmouth often.

Not a lot to report until this is finished.  Everyone is playing the new Doom...I haven't had a chance to play anything lately but I can't wait to check it out.  Have a great week!

Finger Damage Inc.

A little physical therapy for my recently mashed index finger.

A video posted by Mike McKenzie (@stomachearth) on May 9, 2016 at 1:55pm PDT

For the last few weeks I've been easing back into playing guitar.  I smashed my index finger on my right hand on a table, causing the middle joint to bend completely the opposite way.  I didn't actually break or fracture anything but my finger was an unusable breakfast sausage for a few weeks.  It's only now starting to feel somewhat normal.  As a lefty guitar player, it hasn't been ideal.  But I'm getting back into it.

We start tracking vocals for the To The Death record this week.  Jonny Fay did a great job tracking everything else.  He's an incredibly thorough engineer (and person) so I'm ultra-prepared to mix this thing.  I'm really looking forward to working on this record; the band did a great job with the songs.  Real mean old school death metal.

Currently listening to the Streets of Rage soundtrack. Yuzo Koshiro rules!

To The Death, Reindeer City & mixing

May is getting busy.  I'll be finishing up the mix for the Unraveller record and taking on another project I'm excited about; I'll be mixing the To The Death record.  To The Death is the brainchild of Brendan Roche (Beyond the Sixth Seal, Deadlights), Justin Chappell (ex-Beyond the Sixth Seal), Bill Ford (The Epidemic, Death Fart, Shit Machine) and Graham Landers, the man behind Deepsend Records.  I recorded their demo years ago on an 8-track but this time tracking was done by Jonny Fay.  He recently moved Backyard Studios to a new location and he's getting some great sounds.  I'll be tracking Graham's vocals as well.

An Unraveller preview will be up soon.  I had a little detour from that while I scored a short film for Reindeer City, a new production company.  More info on the piece will be announced in the coming months.  If you're in the Boston area, you'll be able to attend a screening as well.  I did sound design for a previous RC piece, which you can view here: ODD DUCKS

Oh yeah, that's a pic from the first Ladder Up An Ass show outside Nassau Coliseum on the 2008 Rockstar Energy Mayhem Tour.  You thought it was over - it's not over - I came back - I brought my ladder!  Still have that dragon mask.  It sits on a bookshelf in our dining room.

Now playing: Blut Aus Nord - The Work Which Transforms God

- Mike

2016: Unraveller, distractions and a million bands

Hey dudes.  So the other day I realized I've been working on the next Unraveller record on and off since 2014.  Weird how that happens.  I had been a bit distracted with other projects and life events.  Nightkin had one setback after another while trying to finish up Oath of Elucidation.  Lost recordings, impromptu camping trips and other silliness but the digital version is finally out there with vinyl on the way. We're all very happy with the end result. Chris Johnson did a great job with the mix.  The Red Chord played Japan and Texas.  I worked on songs for a new band called Weird Strength with my good friend Chris Bevilacqua. Greg Weeks and Chris Johnson joined Weird Strength.  I joined Greg's band Deadlights, on bass.  Somewhere along the way, Mike Wohlberg and I started talking about the project again.  His concept art for this record was accompanied by some amazing story ideas.  That reignited my fervor for it and I jumped back in.  So we are in the final stretch as I start mixing the record this week.  We'll have an actual release date very soon.  Thanks for being patient.  If you are.  You might not be patient, like me.  Or maybe you don't care about Unraveller at all and that's ok too.

- Mike

New Unraveller preview

Hey everyone. I'm getting ready to play some shows in Japan with The Red Chord this weekend.  Pump Up the Volume Fest at Club Citta Kawasaki on Saturday and Antiknock in Shinjuku with Infernal Revulsion, Edge of Spirit, Isolate and bilo'u on Sunday.  Info here:

Pump Up the Volume Fest 2014

The Red Chord at Antiknock - Shinjuku

Also I've uploaded a preview of a new Unraveller track from the upcoming EP. Check it out HERE

More of everything soon.

-Mike

The Red Chord in Japan 2014

The Red Chord will be heading back to Japan this November to play Pump Up the Volume Fest.  Strife, Unbroken, Expire, Loyal To the Grave, Infernal Revulsion, Endzwreck and Edge of Spirit are playing with more to be confirmed.  We're excited...it's been a while.  Here's a video of us hanging out with a big yellow dog back when we went there with Between the Buried and Me in 2010.

GUNFACE.COM

Gunface.com lives. Here you will find news and information about my work, bands I'm playing with and other musical and non-musical things. This is a general hub for my presence on the internet and in the world. This site is still a work in progress. I'll attempt to keep it as up to date as possible. Next up, Unraveller 2.

New post for an old link:

 Unraveller - Kinship Synthesis

Summer Slaughter 2010

Hopefully no volcanoes will get in the way of this one.

Japan 2010

Our Japan tour sandwiched in between the US and Euro headliners.

03/19 (Fri) Osaka @KING COBRA
w/ WATER WEED, FEAR AND LOATHING IN LASVEGAS
TICKET: ADV 3500 YEN / DOOR 4000 YEN
OPEN: 18:00 / START: 18:30
VENUE INFO: KING COBRA TEL <06-6211-2875> / <090-5462-2550> MAIL URL
SHOW/TICKET INFO: ALLIANCE TRAX MAIL

03/20 (Sat) Nagoya @ZION
w/ EACH OF THE DAYS, LOST COMMITMENT, THE DARKNESS OF LUCIFER
TICKET: ADV 3500 YEN / DOOR 4000 YEN
OPEN: 17:00 / START: 17:30
VENUE INFO: ZION TEL <052-339-2331> MAIL URL
TICKET INFO: ALLIANCE TRAX MAIL

03/21 (Sun) Kanagawa Yokohama @CLUB LIZARD
w/ BILO'U, ARISE IN STABILITY, ARBUS
TICKET: ADV 3500 YEN / DOOR 4000 YEN
OPEN: 17:00 / START: 17:30
VENUE INFO: CLUB LIZARD TEL <045-663-4755> MAIL URL
SHOW/TICKET INFO: ALLIANCE TRAX MAIL
TICKET INFO: LAWSON TICKET L-CODE <74679>

03/22 (Mon) Tokyo Kichijoji @CLUB SEATA
w/ INFERNAL REVULSION, GENESIS
TICKET: ADV 3500 YEN / DOOR 4000 YEN
OPEN: 17:30 / START: 18:00
VENUE INFO: CLUB SEATA TEL <0422-29-0061> MAIL URL
SHOW/TICKET INFO: ALLIANCE TRAX MAIL
LAWSON TICKET: L-CODE <75482>

Euro co-headlining tour 2010

The Red Chord is co-headlining in Europe w/ Aborted & Rotten Sound. We're pumped, get pumped with us!

Machines Of Grind - 3-bands co-headline tour
(the bands will rotate every night)

ABORTED
ROTTEN SOUND
THE RED CHORD

+ Opener:
THOSE WHO LIE BENEATH

presented by Rock Hard, Legacy, Fuze, Metal News,, Allschools

16.04.10 Denmark Copenhagen @ Pumpehuset
17.04.10 Germany Essen @ Turock
23.04.10 France Evreux @ Abordage
24.04.10 France Nantes @ Le Ferrailleur
25.04.10 Spain Durango @ Plateruena
26.04.10 Spain Madrid @ Ritmo & Compas
27.04.10 Spain Barcelona @ Apolo 2
28.04.10 France Luynes / Marseille @ Le Korigan
29.04.10 Day Off
30.04.10 Holland Tilburg @ Neurotic Death Fest
01.05.10 Germany Leisnig @ Revolution Fest Open Air
02.05.10 Czech Rep Brno @ Faval
03.05.10 Germany München @ Feierwerk
04.05.10 Austria Vienna @ Arena
05.05.10 Slovenia Ljubljana @ Gala Hala
06.05.10 Italy Lonato Del Garda (Brescia) @ Olden Live Club
07.05.10 Switzerland Zizers @ Eventstage
08.05.10 Belgium Durbuy @ Durbuy Rock Fest

TERRORIZER TOUR-TURE

3-bands co-headline tour
the bands will rotate every night

ABORTED
ROTTEN SOUND
THE RED CHORD

+ Opener:
THOSE WHO LIE BENEATH

presented by Terrorizer

18.04.10 UK London @ Underworld
19.04.10 UK Birmingham @ O2 Academy 3
20.04.10 UK Newcastle upon Tyne @ O2 Academy 2
21.04.10 UK Leeds @ Rios
22.04.10 UK Plymouth @ White Rabbit

Burgers, bowling, bouillabaisse...

The Red Chord is co-headlining with MyChildren MyBride in Feb/March. It's a US tour, mainly the southern half. We'll be playing some obscure places on this one. Cities we've never played before as well as some we haven't played in years. Come out and support! More info here: Metal Blade press release

Also, I ate some delicious bouillabaisse the other day. And some phenomenal sushi at this place: Asahi

Myspace/Facebook pages for All Rivers

We now have Facebook and Myspace pages for All Rivers. Check them out here:

MYSPACE

FACEBOOK

At this point, there are many pieces of songs and ideas floating around. I have Erica's songs following me around all day and I find myself singing them even when people are talking to me. Soon, we'll move forward and get some stuff recorded. For now, there is an instrumental demo of one of our tunes.

I'm a bit obsessed with Blut Aus Nord and Krzysztof Penderecki lately. Here's a video with some of Blut Aus Nord's music:

Progress, time off, holidays...

So now that I have a bit of time off, work on the All Rivers project will resume. We had our first writing session in a while last night. I've been away on the Gwar/JFAC tour since September. But the song with the working title, "River Reunion" has advanced to level 3.02b. Excerpts are becoming songs and songs are becoming universes. Erica has a means to record music now, which should expedite our riffing. 5 skeletons of songs are taking shape. We are excited.

I'll be working on music for Stomach Earth finally...people have been asking me about this for a while. I know it has been very slow to materialize. There is a link in the Projects section.

The picture above is from Cheeburger Cheeburger in Denver. Guy and I are hanging on their wall of victory for eating 20 oz burgers.

Happy Holidays!
Mike

Review - Fed Through the Teeth Machine

Blabbermouth gave us an awesome review. Check it out here:

Fed Through the Teeth Machine review

Beyond the Sixth Seal review

It's about 2 years too late...but someone posted a review of our 2007 release, "The Resurrection of Everything Tough." Check it out here:

Beyond the Sixth Seal review