SLOGAN

BEYOND THE BANDS. BEYOND THE VENUE. BEYOND THE MUSIC. THIS BLOG BRINGS FORTH ALL THAT IS METAL.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Airwalk Skull Sandals

Heavy Metal Fashion has evolved over the years. The standard issued uniform of the Metal Military has always been a plain black t-shirt, size XL, with a bands logo/album cover on it, jeans (blue or black), and boots/sneakers. As time progressed, the uniform has been joined by a number of other articles of clothing, like longsleeve black shirts, baseball shirts, workshirts, military fatigues, military jackets, military camouflage cargo shorts, dragonfly dress shirts (if you choose the correct one), hoodies and so forth. The reason for the additional types of clothing, many. For starters, Metal fans are from all over the world. From the Scandinavians who have to deal with cold weather all the time, to the jungles of South America where the heat can kill just by a degree or 2, to the fans from Major cities like New York City where a hoodie can come in handy running away from cops.

Than there's the whole concept of visiting another place where a change of seasonal clothing comes into the picture.


Thanks to festivals like Wacken Open Air, where you can jump into a pool to cool yourself off, or Metalheads Mission Festival, where it is the only Metal Festival that takes place in front of an ocean, or 70,000 Tons of Metal, Heavy Metals Navy, where you are in the middle of the ocean drinking and headbanging yourself to death, and stage diving off the rails and right into a sharks mouth, the Metalheads dress code has once again needed a change to adapt to the conditions of a beach landing, and that's where these sandals come into to the picture.


I managed to find these at Payless and at the clearance price of $6(66) dollars brand new. The sandals are sporting skulls which give it a place in the aforementioned Metal tropical paradises, and the best part is they are as comfortable as you can get.


Airwalk spared no empty space with these sandals as the bottoms have a skull looking right back at you, in case you happen to hit the Jager Bombs and American Cocktails a bit too hard and let the world know you need to sleep after stumbling on one of the bar stools.

Read more ...

Bic Skull Lighter

Metal fans are known for their use of the element known as fire. From lighting a bud, to lighting pyros on stage, to setting a tent on fire in one of the many European Metal Festivals, to the church arsons of Scandinavia, to Beavis infamous and epic battle cry " FIRE! FIRE!! FIRE!!!", to band members setting themselves on fire intentionally and/or accidentally, fire will always be a staple of Heavy Metal.

Of course, it's one thing to set something on fire, but to do it with a simple lighter doesn't seem "right".


Pretty boring?



This is where the folks of Bic come into the picture with their line of fancy lighters they released in mid 2011.

There were other designs from this line that was available, but those were disqualified since they consisted of Japanese Koi Fish tattoos and other similar popular tattoos "normal" people get these days. The lighter with the Skull design is the chosen one to represent Heavy Metal in its pyromaniac glory, and I couldn't ask for more.


Lighting this candle has gone from a simple lighted flame to an all out inferno consuming a headbangers mane. Can someone say match head?

Burn, baby, burn.



Got five of them since I want to have them for as long as I can, and they make for a great group picture.
Read more ...

Rock The Gulp Tour '09 Guitars

Back in 2009, 7-Eleven had a promotion called Rock The Gulp, and while I have completely forgotten what the promotion was for, something very awesome came out of it:
With this, I can command thee to enjoy carbonated, syrupy, and sugary drinks with the soul of a Viking. Or, if you really want to push the boundaries of Heavy Metal, fill with Meade or Beer.

The guitars came with a ice funnel, in case your beverage needed a Scandinavian cool down.


To say this was a major find is a
n understatement. One day before going to work to fill my tank (as in my stomach) I stumbled upon them at the local 7-Eleven, and I bought 4 of each color. 2 have been passed along to my best bud, Stefan (from Radio Gehacktes fame), and his lovely wife Astrid in the Metal Capital of the world, Germany. The remaining guitars are still in my possession, awaiting more who are worthy of receiving such a gift from the Metal Gods.

The guitars are a work of art, and are based on the Gibson SG models. For the type of promotional item it is, a lot of detail went into it, and at $10 each, a definite value.


The guitars came with stickers to decorate them, and as you can see from one of the stickers, it definitely had the Spinal Tap spirit very loud.


Final Verdict: Very little to gripe about, the only negative was the stickers with the hands, keep the DAMN THUMB IN! IT’S NOT I LOVE YOU, IT’S HEAVY F’N METAL!6!6!6! And they didn’t make any black guitars. Other than that, a very cool cup to have around in case your in the mood for some long air guitaring and need the occasional refreshment to cool you down \m/

Read more ...

Valhalla Rising...

I welcome you all to Channel 13, a blog dedicated to all things Metal. Now, bare in mind when I say "all things Metal", I mean outside the norm. The norm is usually Metal album reviews, concert reviews, interviews, and while this will take a back seat to the true purpose of this blog, that's not to say they will not be a part of it, just a support band level to the blog.

Enjoy the blog, and let me know what you think \m/
Read more ...