To Contribute

Welcome to the Outrage! blog.

You'll find all of our published articles on here, as well as the occasional music that will also be uploaded.

If you have something to contribute an article, a review, whatever. Or if you just want to send us over at Outrage! some hate mail then shoot us a letter at
outragezine@gmail.com we check it often, and will get back to you quickly.

Thanks,
Outrage! Team

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

New Article/We Are Daming Our Society

We Are Damning Our Society
Paul

What exactly is the purpose behind the gross amount of money we as human beings spend on entertainment? Why do these entertainment stars make so much money? And perhaps the most important question is this - why do these entertainers make more money than our teachers?

American football players make an average of roughly $1,400,000 US each year. British soccer players make an average of $1,177,000 US. Even high school coaches manage to make an average of $73,000 US. The average high school teacher, on the other hand, makes only $42,000 US each year.

Am I the only one who sees a problem with this?

Something about this isn’t right. Teachers are the people who give up their own time and money (since teachers are grossly undersupplied and are often forced to buy supplies with their own money) to educate our children. These people are raising the next generation of scientists, geneticists, mathematicians, writers, authors, composers, and playwrights. The children these teachers raise will go on to find the cure for cancer and AIDS, achieve heights of technology never before imagined, and will eventually discover a way to help us as a race transcend our own existence.

And yet you people would rather toss your money at people who are willing to entertain you for 30 minutes at a time.

Without teachers, we would have hardly any way to pass on information (for without teachers, who would have instructed us on how to use the internet?) Without teachers, we would all still be sitting in caves, scavenging for our lives (for without teachers, who would have instructed us on how to settle, to grow and harvest food instead of roaming?) A world without our teachers would be a world very different from the one we live in today.

Yet when money becomes tight in a city, where do those in power turn to for the first budget cuts? School systems. Every year, more and more teachers are losing their jobs due to budget costs, cramming more children into each classroom and reducing the amount of time and energy a teacher can spend with each child. Certain activities are often cut out entirely, with fine arts programs being the first to go (God forbid we lose our physical education classes before our fine arts classes!) Teacher pay is often sacrificed before politicians will even dare to think about cutting their own paychecks. And people wonder why teachers hate their jobs.

Despite all this, these teachers come to class every day - to classes where they are ridiculed relentlessly by youths, where they are under appreciated by the head faculty, where they are bombarded with complaints and compromises by parents - to pass along the knowledge to children that will one day mold them into greatness.

So why do we still pay these people so little, barely beans, to put up with all this crap, while sports stars and actors live the high life for doing nothing more than being able to play a game?

I think it’s time we get our priorities in order. If we don’t our society will be forever damned to mediocrity, and we will never become what we truly have the potential to be.

New Article/Help! The Ice Is Falling!

Help! The Ice Is Falling!
By Morgan

According to major news sources, Al Gore, and National Geographic the world is warming to a point that is very beyond the norm, and this is causing enormous amounts of ice to break off from the main parts of the antarctic shelf, which in turn causes the ice on the mainland to melt as well. This is interesting considering the fact that rising water temperatures (largely caused by volcanic activity) are causing ice to melt from the bottom up, not rising atmospheric temperatures, what's also interesting to note is that, while it is reported to the average citizen that very large chunks are coming off the Antarctic peninsula, but what they don't report is the fact that the ice chunks that fall off very rarely only account for roughly 2% of all total ice on the continent, as well that it won't cause anything significant because the ice has already displaced all the water it is going to, melted or not. They also fail to note that in recent years we've had some of the coldest winters ever (people are still reeling from the heating bills!), and the falling snow easily replaces what is lost at the sea on the main land mass. Ice has been cooling and accumulating since the early 1970s. According to Michael S. Coffman, Ph.D, only 2.67% of the Wilkin's ice shelf and only .01% of the entire Antarctic continent, despite the media coverage of it using such powerful words as "collapse", and "explosion". Joseph D'Aleo former director of meteorology at the Weather Channel, and executive director of Icecap.us compared it to "an icicle falling from a snow and ice covered roof".

What else is interesting to note is that for every scientist that favored the IPCC conclusions in any way 792 scientists signed the petition saying that there is not any conclusive evidence for catastrophic man-made global warming. And for every Ph.D who believed it there were 1,800 who signed the petition.

New Article/Scratching The Surface

Scratching The Surface
By Eric

Trivium, Korn, Slipknot, Killswitch Engage, Bullet For My Valentine. Each is a band that has achieved Immense commercial success as a "Heavy Metal" act. We've all heard them. And for all of you who liked them, it was probably your first introduction to Metal too. I'm willing to guess you went out and bought a bunch of their CDs, probably a good bit of their merchandise, and maybe even went to a show.

I'm also willing to guess the first time you told another "Metalhead" about it, they called you something along the lines of a poser. Want to know why? Because, those bands aren't really Metal. They're all Mainstream bands who only have a very vague Metal influence. (Unless we're talking about Trivium, Killswitch Engage, or Bullet For My Valentine, but more on them later) This means that they aren't Metal. Take Korn or Slipknot for example. Both are "Nu-Metal", which takes influence from Metal, Alternative Rock, and Rap. But you don't see Rap fans running around praising Korn for being a good rap act. That's because having an influence of something (and in the case of the Metal aspect, a small one) isn't just enough to classify you as that genre of music.

"But Eric, what about Trivium, their like super hardcore Thrash!?!?!?" No, not by a long shot. Trivium, Killswitch Engage, Bullet for My Valentine, and many other bands like Job For A Cowboy are what is called "Metalcore." Basically, it means that what we have is a Punk band doing a horrible impersonation of their Favorite Metal bands, and Trivium is a perfect example. Their song "Anthem" uses a riff that seems a bit too similar to Meagadeth's "Skin O' My Teeth" to be a coincidence. You might say "You Fag, they grew up Listening to Metallica/Meagadeth/whoever, of course they'll sound like them." Well you know what? Metallica grew up listening to Diamond Head, but when I listen to them I don't hear something that sounds exactly like what Diamond Head has written. There is a difference from taking influence and blatantly copying the riff that someone else wrote. Taking influence would imply that you liked what say, Metallica had done, so your wrote something that, although Fast and Heavy, was still distinctly your own music.

At this point, you probably think All this article is about is bashing these bands. Well, it's actually to encourage you to go check out the bands other than just the ones MTV thinks are good looking enough to put on the air. You know why Trivium steals riffs from bands like Metallica and Megadeth and At The Gates? (Other than having no creative ability) Because those bands are Good. (Or great, depending on who you ask) Maybe instead of being annoyed by everyone making fun of you for liking Trivium, why not try looking up At The Gates, and see why Trivium thought they were so cool. Or look up Metallica and other Thrash bands. There is so much more to Heavy Metal than a bunch of Sell outs ripping off better bands. If you have trouble finding a New band to look at, as a friend or Relative who knows more about the Genre. No Metal friends? Ask me or any other internet people with a legitimate Grasp on the Genre. If you'll stop bothering us about bands we don't like, we'd be more than happy to give you some recommendations. No internet? Then try some of the CDs we review. I'm sure you'll find something you like, since Metal is one of the most varied forms of music there is. But above all, I want to encourage you to go out and think for yourself musically. If after you've listened to many underground bands
and you still like Korn or Trivium, that's perfectly alright, and if you don't that's fine too. It's only annoying because so many people choose to simply to believe whatever MTV or VH1 throws at them and call anyone else wrong, whether they are or not. (Metal isn't the only Genre victim to this,
sadly. My sympathies to Punk Fans,) don’t let the media tell you who to like. Think for yourself, form your own opinions. Most of all, don't just lie back and let yourself be another poser when you could just as easily be more educated, and probably find more music you like too.

New Article/Death to False Metal

Death to False Metal
By David

What is nu-metal? Why does every one who listens to nu-metal get hated for it? Ok well today I am going to be teaching you precisely what Nu-metal is and to why so many people who listen to heavy metal hate it.

Before we begin I am going to describe what nu-metal is. Now the meaning of this genre of music; this musical genre that has come to the scene in the mid 1990s, it was influenced by grunge and alt. rock with funk, hip hop and various heavy metal genres, such as groove metal and industrial metal. Now most of the time nu-metal songs use rhythmic, syncopated riffs played on distorted electric guitars with strings detuned to lower pitches to create dark and “scary” sounds. In Nu-metal you will usually never find I a guitar solo, as well the nu-metal genre is known for its repetition.

You can thank Korn, who are more or less the band that started the whole dark sound with the repetitive beat. You may also thank Producer Ross Robinson the so called Godfather of nu-metal. In the genre you will hear aggressive vocals that range from melodic melody to shouting and screaming to rapping much of the time combining the styles. Distortion and other post-production effects are often added to vocals in the nu-metal genre. Unlike real metal the guitar goes with the mood of the song as if it was on its period (editor’s note: haha, holy crap). Speed is all nu-metal really brings to the table if you’re going to talk about it metal-wise. With in most nu-metal bands there is a turn table, for additional rhythmic instrumentation. As a personal observation, I sometimes get confused when I listen to certain nu-metal. I swear, it says it’s a new song!

What is it about this music? Well for one thing it has to be noted that “Nu-Metal” literally translates to “not metal”; think “Nu-salt” which is a special salt for people who cannot have sodium, looks, smells, tastes just like salt but is sodium free. Same principle. In truth Nu-Metal can be described as alt. rock with metal influences (alt. metal is not a genre, children). Just because something has metal influences does not make it metal, funny enough people never describe Nu-metal as rap, funk, or grunge. What is it about this music that is so despised in metal circles? For one thing it’s not metal, and therefore should not be called metal; for another thing most people who seriously listen to metal think it as mediocre. This is really for you to decide, as the listener it is your job to find a style of music that speaks to you. If Nu-Metal happens to be that music then listen to it.
Nu-Metal Bands (trust me; there are more, like ¾ of the bands on myspace):
KoRn
P.O.D
Limp Bizkit
Linkin Park
Disturbed
Drowning Pool
Mudvayne
System of a Down
Mushroomhead

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Anarchy!




Here's some music:
Skaven/Dystopia Split [Crust Punk/Sludge Metal]
Schifosi Discography [Crust Punk]
Skitsystem- Evoke [Crust Punk]
Arson Anthem [Crust Punk/Sludge]
Electric Wizard- Dopethrone [Stoner Doom/Sludge]
EyeHateGod Discography [Sludge Metal]
Weedeater Discography [Sludge/Stoner Doom]
Buzzardstein Demo [Sludge/Doom Metal]
Rwake Discography [Sludge/Doom Metal]

A lot of Crust Punk and Sludge metal. Most of it was uploaded by me, you're welcome.
Doom the fuck on!

Friday, November 7, 2008

Senator Daniel Akaka



Senator Daniel Akaka has served the state of Hawaii since the 1970s, he is the first senator of Hawaiian ancestry, and the only member of the senate that is Chinese-American. In my lifetime I've seen Daniel Akaka elected and re-elected many times (despite the fact that he's obviously blowing it) simply out of respect for his position (I'm serious). Daniel Akaka has constantly attempted to pass the Akaka Bill that tries to get Native Hawaiians the same rights as Native American on top of the rights they receive for being of Hawaiian decent. He's been elected amongst America's Five Worst Senators, the article calling him "master of the minor resolution and the bill that dies in committee". He's been a staunch supporter of the democratic party, and has done little more than trying to pass the Akaka Bill.

With a little bit of history on Hawaii's everlasting senator, we can look at what his stance on the environment is. He's been a strong advocate for clean oceans (like most people from the Islands) and has made the point that the protection of the environment isn't a new thing to the islands and its inhabitants, the debate has been going on for nearly 30 years when increased carbon dioxide levels were first detected by Mauna Loa observatory. Senator Akaka has been a constant supporter of technological advancements for the control of green house gases, and has been an ardent supporter of bills that will enable to advancement of alternative energy and the limiting of greenhouse gases.

Senator Akaka has seen most activism towards the islands attempting to combat (with the assistance of Governor Lingle) invasive species, cleaning of debris in the oceans and shores, and helping to preserve the coral reefs. In 2006 he participated in the proclamation ceremony of the NWHI marine sanctuary with President George W. Bush. Akaka has been a strong advocate for the expansion and protection of forests and our national parks, the Senator has had a strong voting record to help our national parks, and has been named a friend of the national parks by the National Park Service.

Daniel Akaka Wiki
Enviro-Issues

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Anthem of Dissent



Dissent-
1. Disagreement with the ideas, doctrines, decrees, etc. of a political party, government or religion.
2. An act of disagreeing with, or deviating from, the views and opinions of those holding authority.

Fascism-
A political regime based on strong centralized government, suppressing through violence any criticism or opposition of the regime, and exalting nation, state, or religion above the individual; A system of strong autocracy or oligarchy.

Anarchy-
Anarchism; the political theory that a community is best organized by the voluntary cooperation of individuals, rather than by government, which is regarded as being coercive by nature.

Dissent is an integral part of a working and free society. Respecting authority and respecting ideals is only appropriate when it does not lead to fanaticism. The ability of dissent is the most important freedom we have, as Thomas Jefferson once said "dissent is the highest form of patriotism", this is to say that disagreeing with the government and questioning it is more patriotic than blindly following it. Through dissent we keep our government accountable, and through the necessary dissent we inspire others to take up arms against social and political injustice.

Without dissent think of where we could be, racism, sexism, all of those social injustices suffered in the past would still be alive and kicking. Direct action is the single most important thing I think any of us can be a part of, rather than simply electing officials to remedy our ills, we must take action against whatever injustice we might perceive. Anarchy vs. Fascism is a common theme in literary works, but very few people take the ideology seriously. Anarchy is not what most people see it as nowadays, it is not some idiotic symbol that skate rats* cling to in an attempt to see 1) intellectual and 2) "punx". Anarchy is often perceived as "chaos" or "destruction", but in actuality it is the most humanistic political ideology that I can possibly think of. It puts the responsibility of governing in the hands of the common people, and through common voluntary cooperation peace and a common good is achieved.

I have included a link to a demo of North Carolina crust punk/sludge metal band Choke Their Rivers With Our Dead. It was formed in the early 2000's by members of several Carolina hardcore punk bands. This is a one time album from a great band, and yet another example of how Crust Punk features some of the best female vocals in the genre.
Choke Their Rivers With Our Dead

*- A skate rat is someone who attempts to be a part of the skater culture, through wearing ridiculous amounts of skater brands, and carrying around an expensive skateboard which is never actually ridden. To a skate rat and skateboard is a fashion accessory, they are completely oblivious to the actual culture surrounding it.

Punk

Since this is a punk style zine you should know a little something about Punk:

Punk was a music movement that started in the 70's with multiple reasons and causes. There was an American British and even Australian Punk movement. Proto-punk bands such as Iggy Pop and the Stooges, the Motor City 5, and the Velvet Underground were influential in setting the stage for taking the risks bands like The Ramones, The Dictators, The New York Dolls, and Blondie did.

The British movement supposedly was started by one of the following: The ecnomic disaster that occured in the mid seventies, and the youth's lack of patience with the british government. A movement made out of boredom by Johnny Rotten, lead singer of the Sex Pistols.

This Movement caused the creation for most genres of music today, it's even represented in the roots of such types as hip hop, rap, pop, modern rock, goth, electro, two-tone. It did not create these genres, but it certainly kicked down the door for them.

Many like to characterize this genre with Power chords only and simple drum beats. These People are complete and utter idiots and should be regarded as imbecils. They more than likely know nothing about music in the first place, or are just that type of idiot that doesn't understand other types of music can be good, and that music, like other things, is all about opinion. Punk has had it's fair share of complicated guitar solos, insane drumming performances, all while keeping a melody, which most " jam bands" sorely lack, along with talent and lyrical prowess. Many of the early punk bands did utilize simple chords and beats, but like all types of music, it branched out and has many styles, from simple to complex, traditional to exotic, it all has to do with where you're looking.




Punk was more than just a Music movement though, It was also a fucking cuture that defined an entire generation. The point of the culture was like the music, be yourself and disregard the angry emotions it may stir up. No longer a real culture, only a burned image with the values behind it lost, you can see it in stores such as Hot Topic. People No longer understand it was always about being yourself and not being anyone's shadow.

For more info on Punk culture and music click here.

We Are The Future


The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.
-Malcolm X

We are the youth of America, whether you're republican, democrat, white, black, rich or poor you can agree that action speaks louder than words. We are the future of the country, no matter what your parents or your teachers tell you, you have a voice. It may be weak now, but through active participation and objective study your voice can grow strong. Do NOT let anyone tell you that your opinion doesn't matter, because your voice will decide the fate of all of those detractors in the very near future.
You may sit back and think there is nothing for you to do. This is false, pic up a pen and write it, pick up a mic and speak it, your frustration and anger is shared. We have the abilities required, up until now we've been led, it is your duty as a member of the world to take an active approach. Get ANGRY, work out your own salvation through fear and trembling. It doesn't matter who you are, your ideas are eternal, your movement is forever. Take your outrage and turn it into creation, take your frustration and turn it into activism, take it all and push it towards the change that YOU want.
What do petty differences matter? Punk or metal, scene or goth, cat or dog. It doesn't make a difference when you are confronted with the weight of it all, by joining together and learning, use their oppression as a weapon against them. We are louder than you might think.

Outrage!



My friends and I live in Hawaii. It is a very left state, not that this is a bad thing, but to get all the information you have to understand this. We are all very disturbed by the apparent lack of political awareness and apathy toward our country and our world. We decided to make an independent zine under the name Outrage! to pay homage to the punk rock of the 1970s and the activism and awareness of the youth at the time. The youth of Hawaii don't care how the country is run, they don't care what's going on with the mainland, they don't care who our president is, so in effort to raise awareness we started this zine, written and printed, xeroxed and distributed.


Image courtesy of Mitch Clem @ NN2S