Long Time Comin

Hey,

Hope all you "Desolate Rage Heads" are doing well. We've finally completed the mastering process for the new album, and I must say I'm pretty happy with the final product. We basically have two mastered versions to choose from, one version is a little bit more bright in sound while it still hasn't lost its bottom heaviness, and the other version is a little bit more beefy while it still has enough highs to keep it sounding crisp.
It will be difficult to make our final decision on which of the two mastering versions we will stick with because they both sound killer, but at the same time it should be easy due to the fact that the difference between the two is subtle and at the end of the day I don't think we can really go wrong with either of them.
All in all this whole album has been a good experience, and I want to thank Christian once again for doing such a great job from start to finish, and for putting up with DR really says something about his character:)
We as Desolate Rage are looking forward to releasing this album, and after all we have been through with this whole recording process can't wait for our songs to be heard once again.

Until next time,
Marco

Metal Heads Unite! Or Don’t?

Good day to all,

I have been chewing over a certain issue for sometime now and I feel the need to vent about it. It has to do with Metal music and its fans. It would be hard to find another genre of music that has fans this passionate about the bands they like and music styles and yet having udder disdain for others in the same genres. Metal is a unique form of music which has sprouted out into many sub genres. My beef with all of this comes from the lack of support for certain sub genres from other sub genres. Example: Black metal supporters hate Death Metal supporters who them selves hate Hardcore supporters etc, etc. None of the Sub genres seem to get along for some strange ass reason? Even though they all came from the same origins? It was once a tight knit community that came together out of mutual respect for each other due to the fact that no one else understood us except us! Somewhere down the road battle lines have been drawn and a full blown civil war has broken out. Has Metal’s diversity caused all this? Too many different styles have bread too many different opinions as to which style is better? Or is it simply “hey you wear corpse paint and I don’t so fuck off”? This is hard to pin point. I have tried for years to figure it out without a definite answer. What the Metal community needs to realize is...we are not strong enough on our own to keep the scene alive and thriving. We really have to, (with out sounding too preachy) come together damn it. 

See I play bass for a “Thrash Metal” band. That did not stop me from going to see a really good “Death Metal” show a few months ago. Two really good local bands and the headliner from Montreal. To my shock and dismay I could not believe how bad the turn out was. There might have been 20 people in the whole club. A great line up and only 20 people for fuck-sakes! The following night had a Hip Hop show at the same venue which was sold out. WTF!

So you see, 
With all the sub genres of metal and all the great bands that have come from this, we are left with a huge divide in the fan base. One that has all but killed the once thriving scene in this city. Instead of 200 people per local show we have 20. This kind of divide is killing the scene. Local acts are barely making gas money and the clubs can hardly pay their staff. This fact has made it really tough for clubs to book metal shows and rightfully so. No one likes losing money and I get that. Larger acts like Lamb of God had two sold out shows in as many days in Toronto. So there are enough fans in the scene to keep things going but only for huge established bands. I suppose there were a lot of out of towners helping to fill the venue that would not come to see local acts. I get that too. But the local scene is just a huge ass mess at the moment. Me thinks it has to do with the sub genre divide. I could be wrong but doubt it. In any case I say “Metal heads unite or don’t” it’s up to all of us to keep this shit going. Who gives a fuck if you wear make up, have long hair, wear tight jeans, dress in black, sing really high or sound like a dying pig! Who gives a fuck if you play 300 BPM, have 5 min long guitar solos or no solos at all. Who gives a fuck? I know I don’t!
Rant over.

Jeff

Desolate Rage

I'm Just a Dreamer

Hello to all,

It's been an interesting couple of weeks. Jorge and I went to see Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage opened up for them as did Testament. Killswitch was nothing special, the music was repetitive and predictable and their ballerina dancing sure didn't help the cause, but the stage presence was average at best. Testament on the other hand, was nothing short of awesome. Testament in my opinion was heavy as fuck and were spot on with their playing and performance. But I noticed that both bands had a weak sound coming out of the drums, especially the snare. Lamb of God played as I hoped they would, I felt as if I was listening to their album as they hit every note, we're not lacking that aggression by any means, and had the best sound out of the three bands by far!
I must say, it was wicked to be at the show with my homie as it was the first time we had went to see a concert since he was given the green light after his chemo treatment and we were back to the good old days in a way.
Speaking of the good old days, Desolate Rage is working on hitting the stage again as our recording is complete, we are concentrating on a live set and really want to go on a good run with the shows again. It will be interesting to see how we feel when we hit that first note of that first show, but I think it won't be long until we feel right at home again:)
I can't speak for the boys but as for myself, being at the Lamb of God show made me realize that I still want to aim high and still want to dream of doing what I love to do for a living,  and maybe one day go on tour and play the music that I love.

Till next time,
Marco

10 Years Gone!!!

What's Up Ragers!!

I think I had what alcoholics call "a moment of clarity" this week so I figured I would share.

We've been around since Sept. 2003 (formally as CONDEMNED) and have released an EP (CONDEMNED), a Full Length (NEMESIS), and recorded another 4 songs "LIVE"IN HELL (Live off the floor demo) that will be on EVOLUTION'S MISTAKE.  A total of 28 songs since 2005 (some of those songs go further back though). I took some time this week to listen to everything we've recorded over the last 10 years and really try to be open-minded and listen to all the material as a fan and not as a member of the band (so as to try and not be critical about things). I've got to say that as a music fan I am happily impressed/proud at how we as a band have evolved over the years (no pun intended).          

You're probably saying:  "WHERE ARE YOU GOING WITH THIS JORGE?"

Well I guess what I'm trying to get at is that when we're close to things we never really get to appreciate them for what they truly are. The music we've recorded over 10 years is a glimpse into everything we've been through from cradle to the grave (not yet bitches....but me getting cancer was some scary shit for sure). I always find myself being so critical of the things I do (or don't do) that I never get to appreciate what it is I'm doing and (if I do say so myself) how good it actually is. I recognize that we're not the best band in the world...far from it....but for fuck-sakes we're good at what we do and what we do is a coalescing of 4 crazy minds with various musical tastes, and what you get is DESOLATE RAGE plain and simple!!

The story gets old quick when you don't take credit for the things you have done and/or are always being critical....The way I look at it is...since we've been CONDEMNED / DESOLATE RAGE we are the only band that is still the same lineup since we've started and that boys & girls is a huge thing for us to be proud of!! 
We've had a lot of help along the way and the support from all of you through thick and thin has been amazing and we truly appreciate it! 

THIS IS A CALL TO ARMS...TO HAVE OUR VOICE HEARD!

DESOLATE RAGE