Most Popular
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An ancient Apollo statue landed in Cleveland and touched off an international outcry
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Joe Cimperman hopes to tear down his former hero, Dennis Kucinich
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Beat Down
Cleveland teachers swap stories of school violence.
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Everybody Hates Mike
The peril of coaching an icon.
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Secret Valentines Notes from C-Town Celebs
Our I-Team uncovered the private love letters of Cleveland's biggest names. You'll be shocked by what we discovered.
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$100 Bounty on That Kid (19)
Copley-Fairlawn finds a way to keep the impostors out.
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At Indie-Rock Singles Night in Cleveland, an event for hipsters lacks one key ingredient: Hipsters (14)
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Dennis Kucinich’s brave talk about working and fighting — from the safety of the officer’s tent (10)
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Beat Down (3)
Cleveland teachers swap stories of school violence.
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Sour Notes (434)
Underneath its glossy exterior, the Cleveland Orchestra has a dark side. His name is William Preucil.
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Crazy Talk
Miranda Lambert is a lot like any other girl with a soft spot for guns and setting exes on fire.
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The Bravery's New World
New-wave revivalists discover the power of three-chord guitar rock.
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Beer, BBQ, industry schmoozing: Rounding up SXSW 2008’s local delegates
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Keep on Truckin'
Jason Isbell finds life after the Drive-By Truckers.
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It took them 10 years, but the Sadies finally craft a country-rock classic
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Carl Monday’s back, and he’s not better than ever, which makes us sad
08:14AM 03/10/08 -
A gentle proposal to Cleveland sports fans: Quit bitching and enjoy it
07:29AM 03/10/08 -
In Minnesota, smoking ban no match for local thespians. Why didn’t we think of that?!
07:01AM 03/10/08 -
Joyce Banjac may be Myers University's best hope
05:29AM 03/10/08 -
Akron mom embezzles $12,000 from PTA
05:21AM 03/10/08
What we are writing about
- Black Sabbath
- Bob Dylan
- classic rock
- Cleveland art
- Cleveland dining hotspots
- Cleveland theater
- family films
- foodie media
- Get religion!
- great video games
- hip-hop
- indie pop
- indie rock
- jazz
- legal eagles
- Metal
- murder & mayhem
- must-see movies
- Neil Young
- Ohio City
- political clap-trap
- Punk
- R&B
- racism
- read your music
- Singer-Songwriter
- sporting life
- urban crime
- weird theater
- white-collar baddies
Recent Articles By Keith Gribbins
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Circa Survive
With Ours and the Dear Hunter. Sunday, November 25, at the Agora Ballroom.
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Cedar Valley Settlers Celebration & Music Festival
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Cleveland Americana Festival
Featuring the Tabloid Twangers, California Speedbag, the Silvertones, Hayshaker Jones, Miss Firecracker, Bobby Lanphier, Bill Crompton, and the Cleveland Country Band. Sunday, September 2, at Parish Hall, Ohio City.
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Houseguest
With the Royal Bangs and We the They. Friday, August 10, at the Lime Spider, Akron.
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Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
With Jesse Malin. Monday, August 6, at House of Blues.
National Features
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Houston Press
"It Was Like an Armageddon Movie"
For days after Hurricane Rita, a Texas prison was hell on earth.
By Chris Vogel -
SF Weekly
The Candidate
Our columnist knows Ralph Nader's running mate all too well.
By Matt Smith -
The Pitch
How Not To Be a Rap Star
First of all, lay off the Ecstasy.
By Nadia Pflaum -
Village Voice
Project Runaway
What becomes a gossip columnist most?
By Michael Musto
Rue
With Insurrect, Hell's Information, and Cheap Tragedies. Thursday, January 3, at the Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights.
By Keith Gribbins
Published: January 2, 2008
Legend has it, if you put your ear to the pavement on certain nights, you can actually feel the sludge metal played by Akron's Rue vibrating through the streets. These loud rock heavies have been storming concert clubs since 2003, blasting their groove-infused ogre metal to discerning degenerates across the country. They initially unchained their fury on a self-titled CD that paid tribute to the godfather of all stoner-metal groups. "We wanted that Black Sabbath kind of vibe, so we recorded and mixed in seven hours and 45 minutes," says guitarist Mike Burns. "Black Sabbath's self-titled debut was cut in eight hours. Our first album was very loud, very sick, and to the point."
These days, Rue falls somewhere between Mastodon's sludge and the Melvins' grunge. Singer Jeff Fahl breathes fire into songs like "The Locust" and "Born With Frostbite." And each cut unloads like fist-in-the-air chin music, striking listeners with blasts of sonic excess. "You Say One Thing" — from the band's split CD with Portland, Oregon's Aldebaran — chugs along like a train in the distance before Burns lays down a sharp funk riff and drummer Greg Cook machine-guns his beats. Then Fahl growls a "motherfucker" or two to drive it all home. "Some shows can be very violent — people going crazy, throwing things into a giant mosh pit," says Burns. "Sometimes gigs are laid back. You never know what you're going to get, except that we always give 150 percent. And we are always very loud."
