Recap written by Randy Smith, aka MetalWulf

Disclaimer: I would like to note that at no point in my life have I ever taken part in anything that resembled "Roller Boogie", and have never had anything remotely resembling an afro. I hated Solid Gold, and thought Deney Terrio was a pussy. Thank you very much... Due to the fact that next week's edition of The Metallic Onslaught is going to be pre-recorded, we celebrated Christmas on the show last night. In fact, I had it on good faith that a visit from Satan Claus was imminent. C'mon, do you honestly think the guy wouldn't eventually show up, after being discussed on the show for who knows how long? More on that in a bit!

There was another episode of Stryper denial on my part, as Joe passed along news that he'd seen one of their posters at a local thrift shop. Honestly, not interested, but I can say that until I'm blue in the face, and I'll still got ragged on for actually going to see them live way back when. Trust me, I'm well aware that I'll never be able to live that down. Still, in the interest of making a dart board, I may just invest in that damned poster, anyway...

Metallica had dropped a new 4-song EP earlier in the week called Beyond Magnetic. In a nutshell, they're all songs that didn't quite make the cut for the Death Magnetic album. After hearing "Rebel Of Babylon"  played last night, I can kind of understand why these songs were put on the backburner. I mean, the song wasn't terrible, but it didn't exactly floor me, either. It's honestly been many years since I can honestly say that I've been floored by anything Metallica has done...
Ironically, the newest Megadeth disc HAS floored me. Kinda says something, doesn't it?

Had Dramagod in the studio this evening, as well as Dave from Spater. Dramagod were on hand to promote an upcoming benefit festival for autism awareness called Pick Up The Pieces, being held this Saturday at KEGS Canalside in Jordan Elbridge. The event begins at 1:00 p.m. and runs through 2:00 a.m., and features a number of great bands from around the Finger Lakes Region. Among the bands scheduled to play, in addition to Dramagod, are Lowkey, Amerikan Primitive, Hunter Allen Murray, When Everything Fails, Smite, Just A Memory, Avigal, Just A Peace, and more. Dave was on hand to promote Metal Night at the Sons Of Italy in Geneva, a show that not only saw Spater play with Lowkey and Dawn Of The Apocalypse, but also saw Spater do a short tribute set of AC/DC classics. Rick, Josh, and myself were on hand to help intoduce the bands, and video footage is forthcoming. Had some crazy and unexpected moments, particularly during D.O.T.A.'s set, as they'd found themselves without a singer just hours before this event was to take place. There was some discussion of a couple shows that some of us had attended during the week, particularly Amon Amarth and Kittie. Both shows were great in their own ways. Amon Amarth are just epicly awewome. Honestly, before this show, I liked most of what I'd heard by them anyway, but didn't own any of their albums. After seeing their performance at Water Street Music Hall, I'll be rectifying that in the coming months. Definitely a must-see if you're into their style of epic, mythoology-inspired death metal. I've honestly gotta say that it's been a long damned time since I've heard a crowd so excited for a performance, and showing that excitement in such a loud manner! Kittie flat out slayed at The Lost Horizon. These girls are all business, do NOT underestimate their ability to bludgeon your eardrums to the point of surrender. I'm going out on a limb at the moment and saying that "We Are The Lamb" is probably one of the most crushingly heavy songs I've heard all year. Check them out if they come to your town! I'd also like to give major shout-outs to the opening bands for this show. A very diverse line-up, featuring Dirge Within, a killer thrash outfit called Diamond Plate, along with three local bands, Capricorn Black, Armed With Valor, and Tirade. Made for a varied assortment of styles, and that's never a bad thing! Some video clips from both shows are up on my YouTube page (metalwulff). You'll find Amon Amarth and Kittie, as well as Diamond Plate, Capricorn Black, and Armed With Valor. Feel free to check 'em out!

So, moving on to the crazier moments of the evening... I have vague memories of Jeffie putting me out with chloroform, and when I came to I'd sprouted fur, claws, fangs, a snout, you name it, it was there. Needless to say, I freaked. I mean, the whole Wulfie thing, to begin with, was just a fun gimmick that Jeffie ruined by revealing that I wasn't really a werewolf. Well, evidence at the time of my awakening indicated that he'd somehow made me a werewolf for real, and I flipped out. Never really wanted that, Jeffie... So, of course, carnage was unleashed upon Jeffie, as well as Josh, who got caught up in the mayhem along with Tim Binder, who's been visiting the show over the past couple of weeks. But, once the show was over and I got calmed down a bit, I realized that Jeffie had just glued the old Wulfie mask to my face, along with the gloves. A painful process getting all that stuff off, to be honest. Thankfully I was able to keep the majority of my skin intact as I removed these things. Can't imagine how I would have explained it at my job... Yep, what was thought to be the return of Wulfie seems to have just been a clever little trick orchestrated by Jeffie. Of course, I hadn't said anything at the time about the results of some recent blood work I'd had done as part of my yearly check-up... Jeffie, Jeffie, Jeffie, what have you done to me?