The holiday season is only a few weeks away. Before you rush off to pick up some presents, make sure to check out Exclaim!'s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide, which we will be rolling out in daily instalments this week.
For those with a more aggressive musical bent, here are some thoughtful suggestions — from some branded twerking shorts to horror history lessons — for that difficult to buy for worshipper of the dark arts.
The Exclaim! Holiday Gift Guide 2014: Gifts for the Metal Fan
Halloween: The Complete Collection (Anchor Bay) and On Set with John Carpenter
(Titan)
By Kim Gottleib-Walker
Metal is undoubtedly tied to horror movies. Now collected on Blu-Ray as Halloween: The Complete Collection, this high-definition limited deluxe edition includes 15 discs and finds Rob Zombie's recent remakes joining the original eight films, most notably a producer's cut of Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers and the original John Carpenter classic. Your Halloween fun is enhanced by coffee table book On Set with John Carpenter, which features photographs on the set of the first two films in the series alongside a few other Carpenter cuts, plus commentary from the director and others.
Bradley Zorgdrager
Asstodon shorts
The progressive heaviness of their music is dense, but the members of Mastodon like to keep their sense of humour delightfully low-brow. Shortly after frontman Brent Hinds Instagrammed a giant wood penis carving dubbed "the Mastodong," the band released a video for "The Motherload," which featured a now-infamous twerking competition. In response they released their official twerkin' Asstodon shorts. Perfect for the person in your life whose sense of humour is at Beavis and Butthead level, which, let's be real, is all of us. Heh he he. Asstodon.
Natalie Zina Walschots
Extremity Retained: Notes From the Death Metal Underground
(Handshake Inc.)
By Jason Netherton
The contributions by Misery Index's Jason Netherton to the metal scene aren't solely rooted in producing killer death metal. Recently he's backed away from the mic and reach out to other proponents of death metal. The result is Extremity Retained: Notes From the Death Metal Underground, a killer collection of stories through the dead eyes of key contributors to some of the heaviest music ever. From the road, to the studio and everywhere in between, you've never seen death metal this clearly.
Bradley Zorgdrager
Gwar Vape Flavours
It's not like anyone expects Gwar to be subtle, but this line of boutique vape flavours is so simultaneously gross and obnoxious that you can't help but applaud. Some, like "German Chocolate Beefcake," sound almost pleasant; others like "Jizmogoblin" and "Spew," seem so far from something you'd want to inhale it's mind-boggling. But if you know someone who would want to breathe in the fumes brought to you by the Scumdogs of the Universe, why not treat that special maniac to a little "Bloodbath" in their lungs.
Natalie Zina Walschots
Need more holiday gift ideas? Then check out our other sections on music, videogames, music ephemera, movies and books, as well as gifts for the "urban hipster," hip-hop fan, cineaste and folk fan in your life.
For those with a more aggressive musical bent, here are some thoughtful suggestions — from some branded twerking shorts to horror history lessons — for that difficult to buy for worshipper of the dark arts.
The Exclaim! Holiday Gift Guide 2014: Gifts for the Metal Fan
Halloween: The Complete Collection (Anchor Bay) and On Set with John Carpenter
(Titan)
By Kim Gottleib-Walker
Metal is undoubtedly tied to horror movies. Now collected on Blu-Ray as Halloween: The Complete Collection, this high-definition limited deluxe edition includes 15 discs and finds Rob Zombie's recent remakes joining the original eight films, most notably a producer's cut of Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers and the original John Carpenter classic. Your Halloween fun is enhanced by coffee table book On Set with John Carpenter, which features photographs on the set of the first two films in the series alongside a few other Carpenter cuts, plus commentary from the director and others.
Bradley Zorgdrager
Asstodon shorts
The progressive heaviness of their music is dense, but the members of Mastodon like to keep their sense of humour delightfully low-brow. Shortly after frontman Brent Hinds Instagrammed a giant wood penis carving dubbed "the Mastodong," the band released a video for "The Motherload," which featured a now-infamous twerking competition. In response they released their official twerkin' Asstodon shorts. Perfect for the person in your life whose sense of humour is at Beavis and Butthead level, which, let's be real, is all of us. Heh he he. Asstodon.
Natalie Zina Walschots
Extremity Retained: Notes From the Death Metal Underground
(Handshake Inc.)
By Jason Netherton
The contributions by Misery Index's Jason Netherton to the metal scene aren't solely rooted in producing killer death metal. Recently he's backed away from the mic and reach out to other proponents of death metal. The result is Extremity Retained: Notes From the Death Metal Underground, a killer collection of stories through the dead eyes of key contributors to some of the heaviest music ever. From the road, to the studio and everywhere in between, you've never seen death metal this clearly.
Bradley Zorgdrager
Gwar Vape Flavours
It's not like anyone expects Gwar to be subtle, but this line of boutique vape flavours is so simultaneously gross and obnoxious that you can't help but applaud. Some, like "German Chocolate Beefcake," sound almost pleasant; others like "Jizmogoblin" and "Spew," seem so far from something you'd want to inhale it's mind-boggling. But if you know someone who would want to breathe in the fumes brought to you by the Scumdogs of the Universe, why not treat that special maniac to a little "Bloodbath" in their lungs.
Natalie Zina Walschots
Need more holiday gift ideas? Then check out our other sections on music, videogames, music ephemera, movies and books, as well as gifts for the "urban hipster," hip-hop fan, cineaste and folk fan in your life.