Get the Chills with Joel RL Phelps

Hmmm...we weren't sure how to start this one. We plowed through a few draft intros, one about our love for marshmallow hamburgers, another a wintery ode to Sensitive Duty, but nothing was workin'. So we've figured, fuck it, we're just gonna lay it out there for ya: Joel RL Phelps and his Downer Trio are goddamn amazing. Just terrific and heartbreaking and utterly genius. We've long championed the wailing pipes of Sr Phelps and both his solo records and his early work with Duty-faves Silkworm have kept us company for the past twelve-odd years. There's something about this cat that makes us feel all kinds of ways about all kinds of stuff and never fails to put a brooding introspection into our hearts and souls. In fact, we're pretty sure we like Joel and co. so much that even if we had every concert and every radio performance and fifteen years of demo tapes and warm-up covers it still wouldn't be enough Phelps. And you know, now that we think about it, there's a good chance we've listened to this guy nearly every day for the past five years, and maybe as much as a third of every day for the past ten.

Sure, none of you will probably ever feel the same way about anything (and that's probably good), but if this truly is the sad and beautiful world we think it is we hope lots of folks out there will easily spot the brilliance of JRLPDT. We especially hopin' you're one of 'em. So this weekend, while you're composin' up your most clever Halloween disguise or waiting for your special lady to sexify her most mundane of costume ideas, we say you take a few minutes and dig yourself some Joel. And, hey, feel free to start right here with the Downer Trio's 2005 performance of Silkworm's excellent '94 tune "Pilot."

What The Hell Am I Lookin' At?

Holy shit. Thanks to Deadspin givin' us this YouTube gem.

Man That Was Bad, Bad-Ass!

So we're pretty sure the greatest moment in Heavy Duty's history (at least until we see Priest on their "Nostradamus" tour with Pops) is happening next Wednesday night when the Duty Disciples head out to the Showbox to witness the almighty Turbofuckingnegro!!!

Okay, so if ya don't know by now, the we'll give you one more shot at it. In a sea of shit bands all clamoring to be bestowed with the label "Heavy Duty," Turbonegro makes an argument that no other band should even be considered for that title as long as the Norwegian DeathPunk masters roam the earth. We've already got a solid crüe of nine heading out to the show, if we gots any stragglers, get with the fuckin' program. This is what you'll be missing:


So in honour of the heaviest, dutiest band on earth coming to the Emerald City, we've made TRBNGR the band fo yo weekend! Blast some Ass Cobra while Googlin' for wigs! Ha!

Perfect for Them Chilly Willies

By which we mean, "Holy shit, it's fall and that Cheeseburger record ain't cutting it." Now that we thinking 'bout fishing our jackets off the closet floor we're in the mood for some of that dark and brooding that'll make us think about stuff and wanna watch our exhalations. Fortunately for the Heavy Duty we tracked down Wolves in the Throne Room, a Southern Lord-acquired trio of farm-living eco-metallers. We thought their last record was a top-notch execution of furious black metal screechin' and minor key post-metal groovin', but we're really digging this new one that sounds even more like a Fjord-ian Neurosis. We loves them fifteen minute tunes about equinoxes and those tribal bridges with the echoed rasps in the background. And we really love how these cats live only an hour away! Hopefully that'll mean more opening slots on this winter's creepiest tours!

We Are The Album Cover

You know what our favorite part of buying a new CD is? The 45 minutes it takes to open the goddamn packaging? No? Convincing ourselves this time we're gonna talk to that cute girl that we're pretty sure smiled at us when we bought Easy Tiger? Close. The best part is that fresh "crinkle" noise the disc makes the first time you take it out of the case. Aaaaaaahh.

Well, apparently Radiohead hates that sound and hates us too because they're trying to eliminate the need for physical media. And they want us to price it? Holy shit, there's gotta be a Yakov Smirnoff joke in there somewhere. Sure, we'll download In Rainbows next week, but that doesn't mean we're happy about it.

The Heavy Duty editorial staff has spent countless hours drinkin' and arguing over our stance on the end of physical media and the rise of digital downloading as means to acquire new music. And we're still not really sure. We've got an iPod, we use eMusic, but we still love listenin' to cd's in our car or through our hi-fi stereo system.

We just can't get rid of that romantic idea that the music is somehow better and more legit on a phyical disc. Sure, we end up sounding a lot like old-school LP asshats who miss that scratchy warmth of vinyl and staring at the Houses Of The Holy album cover and its many steps and columns. But we like music more than you do, so this is the kinda shit we're gotta worry about.