fbpx
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Legal Notices
Lagniappe Mobile
  • News
    • Cover Story
    • Latest
    • Serial Stories
    • Bay Briefs
    • Community News
    • Open Documents
    • e-Edition
  • Baldwin
  • Commentary
    • Damn the Torpedoes
    • Hidden Agenda
    • Beltway Beat
    • The Real Deal
    • Weather Things
    • The Gadfly
    • Letters to the Editor
  • Cuisine
    • The Dish
    • Word of Mouth
    • Beer and Loathing
    • Cuisine Directory
  • Arts
    • Artifice
    • Art Gallery
    • The Reel World
    • Calendar
  • Music
    • Music Feature
    • Music Briefs
    • Music Listings
    • Submissions
  • Sports
    • The Score
    • The Starting Line-Up
    • From Behind The Mic
    • Upon Further Review
  • Style
    • Media Frenzy
    • Mobile Magnified
    • Horoscopes
    • Master Gardeners
    • Style Feature
  • Lagnia-POD

Select Page

Metal supergroup emerges from underground

Posted by Stephen Centanni | Jun 9, 2021 | Music Feature | 0 |

Photo | Courtesy of Rotting World

Band: Rotting World, D.R.E.A.D., Sun N Eye
Date: Saturday, June 12 at 8 p.m.
Venue: Alabama Music Box, 12 S. Conception St., alabamamusicbox.com
Tickets: $10 at the door

 

 The new-school metal scene should prepare for a nuclear blast from the underground scene’s past and present. A special evening at the Alabama Music Box will begin with the father/son metal duo Sun N Eye featuring Arthur Alexander (Sucking Diction) and his son, Andre Alexander. Next, Azalea City metal behemoths D.R.E.A.D. will infiltrate the state with a dose of thrash goodness. 

The lineup’s headliner, Rotting World, will herald the birth of a supergroup featuring members from two of the metal scene’s most memorable outfits. Rotting World pools the talents of ’90s metal notables Mutant Speed and Third World Citizen. The band’s lineup features Mutant Speed members/brothers vocalist Joe Gaston (also of Dark Con of Man) and drummer Sam Gaston, as well as guitarist Brad Huddleston. With time spent in both bands, bassist Drew Korbe completes this project. Lagniappe’s Steve Centanni infiltrated a Rotting World practice for a look into a metal project that many locals have been craving.

 

Steve Centanni: So, where did the band name come from?

Drew Korbe: It’s a combination of the two bands that we were in, which were Third World Citizen and Mutant Speed. Originally, we were going to be Mutant Citizen. Some of us didn’t like that. We beat some stuff back and forth. We took the “Rotting” from the rotting squirrel, which was one of the Mutant Speed logos. The “World” comes from Third World Citizen.

 

Centanni: Many of the songs you’ll be playing still resonate with locals. What do you think it is about this music that has given it permanence?

Joe Gaston: I think part of it is the memories attached with them. Back when Mutant Speed and Third World Citizen were playing heavily in the ’90s, people were coming to the shows to get out of the house, socialize with some friends and hear some good music. For some people, it brings back those memories. I also think that this is a style of music that people still enjoy. Personally, I’ve seen a resurgence of metal in the last decade or so. I think that’s kind of helped in creating the interest in this.

 

Centanni: I’ve always said that out of all the genres in the local underground, metal has always been present, especially these days. How would you compare the modern metal scenes to the one y’all came up in during the ’90s?

Sam Gaston: When we were playing there were plenty of all-ages venues. Teenagers could get out and come to shows. Now, you don’t have that demographic anymore. It has to be older people. So, it’s hard to refresh the fans, because there’s nowhere to come see us.

Brad Huddleston: There’s a lot more metal bands now too, with a lot of variety. You’ve got death, grind and groove metal. Mutant Speed was around for 13 years or so. Can any band of any genre say that as far as metal bands? Third World Citizen was around for five years.

J. Gaston: I would tip my hat to D.R.E.A.D. They’ve helped keep the scene alive.

 

Centanni: What’s it been like preparing for this show?

Korbe: There’s been a lot of dust to knock off.

Huddleston: I haven’t played this fast in 30 years, since I played Metallica covers in the early ’90s. I’ve been busting my ass every day since Drew called me that first day in January. Since then, I’ve been working towards this show to get my chops up. By the time the show gets around here, it’ll be alright.

 

Centanni: What’s the setlist going to be like?

J. Gaston: We weren’t going to call it Mutant Speed, because it’s not the original members of Mutant Speed. Since we’ve got three guys from Mutant Speed and two guys from Third World Citizen, we’re digging up songs from both bands. We’re going to be playing really early Mutant Speed stuff. We’re going to be playing songs that Brad and Drew wanted to do from Third World Citizen. We’re even going to go into the Soulcore album. For this show, we’re going to do at least one new song and one cover from Black Sabbath, but the rest of it will be the old-school Mutant Speed and Third World Citizen songs.

 

Centanni: Tell me about the new one.

Huddleston: I actually wrote the riff in Third World Citizen, but I’ve stuck with it for 30-plus years now. Any guys that I’ve jammed with or tried to get something going since Third World Citizen broke up, it was one of the first songs that I taught the guys. These guys liked it, so we worked it into a song.

 

Centanni: What’s been the best part of doing this project?

Korbe: It’s been playing with these guys who I haven’t played with in forever.

Huddleston: If we were doing jazz, then it would be cool, but I’m back to my roots. I’m back to metal. I’m loving it. I’ve always admired the Gaston brothers. I was so jealous of them back in the ’90s. They always pulled a bigger crowd than I did.

S. Gaston: I was a little hesitant at first. I knew that it was going to be a big challenge for me to play the songs. I was worried that between kids and work and other music endeavors that I wouldn’t have the energy or time. After the first practice, I was like, “Yeah, I really miss playing heavy sh*t, these guys are cool as hell and this is fun.”

Korbe: I haven’t seriously played bass since Third World Citizen broke up in 2001. I played a little bass in another band. I’ve dabbled  here and there and done guitar and vocals in bands until Joe called me in December and started talking about this. This is the first time in 20 years that I’ve seriously played bass way faster than anything that I’ve done in a while.

 

Centanni: What’s the next step after this show?

J. Gaston: What I like about it is that we have a large repository of music to choose from. There’s a few towns that we know that we want to go play in. We might be willing to put enough distance between shows that we drop a few songs and choose a few different ones, depending on where we’re playing. It would be silly to put all this effort into it for just a few shows.

This page is available to our subscribers. Join us right now to get the latest local news from local reporters for local readers.

The best deal is found by clicking here. Click here right now to find out more. Check it out.

Already a member of the Lagniappe family? Sign in by clicking here

Share:

Rate:

Previous$129M Navy project arrives at Port
NextBlues standard keeps standing

About The Author

Stephen Centanni

Stephen Centanni

With the exception of two years spent at Auburn University, Steve Centanni has spent his life in Mobile County while focusing on his two passions: music and the written word. As soon as he was issued his driver’s license, Centanni began to explore the local music scene in the early ‘90s. He filled his weekend with visits classic local venues such as the Four Strong Winds Coffee House, Vincent Van Go-Go’s and Culture Shock, all of which welcomed those who had yet to reach 18. After high school, Centanni traded Mobile for Auburn to complete his B.A. in English with an emphasis on general writing. While at Auburn, he had the honor of studying under the Pulitzer-winning poet Natasha Trethewey, who served as the nation’s Poet Laureate in 2012 and 2014. After receiving his diploma, Centanni quickly moved back to Mobile and completed the University of South Alabama’s graduate program with a M.Ed. Eventually, he was tapped by the nationally distributed Volume Entertainment Magazine to serve as the magazine’s managing editor/senior writer. His time with Volume allowed him to exercise his love for both music and writing. As Volume began to fade, Lagniappe recruited Centanni as their Music Writer and later their Music Editor, where he has remained for a little over a decade. As far as his involvement in the local music scene, Centanni organized Cess Fest at the Langan Park, which was a mini-festival focused on original local music in a time when original local music was veritably taboo in Downtown Mobile. For a short time, he brought original music to Downtown Mobile as the in-house promoter for the now deceased venue Cell Block. He managed local underground powerhouse Fry Cook, until the members parted ways. Centanni has lent his bass to bands such as Keychain Pistol and The F’n A-Holes, and he toured nationally as a member of Abstract Artimus & the Torture Children. Currently, he provides vocals for the garage blues rock outfit Johnny No. Ultimately, Centanni’s experience in the local music scene as both a participant and an observer has allowed him to witness the ever-changing persona of Mobile’s enigmatic music scene, which continues to leave him with more questions than answers.

Related Posts

MOB Music Fest debuts this weekend in Mobile

MOB Music Fest debuts this weekend in Mobile

July 11, 2018

Sunny Ortiz’ hat tip to Spreadheads before Biloxi show Sunday

Sunny Ortiz’ hat tip to Spreadheads before Biloxi show Sunday

October 8, 2014

Nashville-style songwriters’ round launches in Mobile

Nashville-style songwriters’ round launches in Mobile

January 20, 2021

Bonnaroovian Code embodies industry’s benchmark festival

Bonnaroovian Code embodies industry’s benchmark festival

June 17, 2015

Recommended Stories

Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things

By Ashley Trice

Wordles can hurt us

By Rob Holbert

The Great Anvil Shoot of Laurel, Mississippi

By Andy MacDonald

ACAC steps to bat with new exhibit

By Kevin Lee

The Strays finally drop full-length album

By Stephen Centanni


  • Advertising
  • About Us
  • Contacts
  • Jobs
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Join the Sunday Brunch Newsletter

Search This Site

Browse the Archives

© Lagniappe Mobile 2022