with a buzz in his ears mr. mammoth listens endlessly: children of the unicorn

when forces out of your control collude and create a band that combines an appreciation for sensitive and poignant artwork, intuitive understanding of humor, and top-notch shtick metal, the best thing for you to do, really, is just turn up the volume. also, have you seen anything half as cool as that tattoo in the past six to eight months? if you have, i'm totally jealous, cuz this tattoo is the mothereffing bomb.

that amazing arm belongs (collectively) to children of the unicorn, a band of self-described "old jaded guys" who remember the intense emotional and kickass power of guitar solos, and are re-spreading the gospel of metal, ironically titled song by ironically titled song. children of the unicorn rock so hard that you can't help but laugh, flick your bic, and unironically raise your hand in the ancient salute of potbellied kiss fans everywhere.

i saw children of the unicorn at highline ballroom a couple weeks ago, and was totally stunned by their set. they performed with a respectable seriousness, considering their outlandish m.o., and had the crowd rocking in no time flat (i think it was due to "night shark"). virtually every children of the unicorn song is the same (something frontman phil costello alluded to with his near-identical song introductions), but they never got stale, mostly because each was better than the last. "night shark" destroyed us, but then there was "icicle dagger" and "rock n' roll (sweet sweet rock n' roll)," and, best of all, "the fire in your pants." these are songs your high school band should have played, if they hadn't been trying so hard to be all mature and score, funny rock songs that run on pure endorphins.

one reason children of the unicorn are so good at what they do is because they have what amounts to an enviable joke-metal pedigree, if you care about such things. costello, drummer joel frost, and cowbellist (yup, you read that right) szuf daddy are also in tragedy, "the tri-state area's # 1 metal tribute to the bee gees," and guitarist dave hill is a noted comedian & metalhead (and wields a mighty mighty axe). outside of children of the unicorn, szuf daddy goes by the name jake szufnarowski, and is the head of rocks off entertainment. i was excited to see children of the unicorn because of the village voice article about szufnarowski, but their description didn't live up to the band's explosive live show.

children of the unicorn play piano's on april 24. tragedy is going to sxsw, so all y'all who will be there, go check 'em out!