Five Finger Death Punch Enters Billboard Charts at Number Three

American Capitalist, the new album from Five Finger Death Punch, entered the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart at number three. The album, which has enjoyed strong radio support with its lead single, "Under and Over It," sold almost 91,000 units in its first week. Capitalist was an even stronger debut than FFDP's last album, War Is The Answer, when that album opened at number seven on the charts and sold about 40,000, in October 2009. Kevin Churko co-wrote and produced the new album at his Hideout studio in Las Vegas.

The band's upcoming tour in support of American Capitalist is said to be very entertaining and worth the price of admission, even to the most discriminating of metal fans.

Final Austria Show - Malibu

What became Austria's final performance of their Southern California tour, took place at a private party in the exclusive section of Malibu Colony, in Malibu, CA (down the block from Paris Hilton's and a few doors up from Sting's). True, people who saw the band at House of Blues the prior Wednesday were more than happy to see the band again, which added to the color and enthusiasm of the show, but those who knew little of Austria leading up to their sea-side performance, absolutely loved them. The band's set was broken up into two parts and wowed the mostly non-Spanish speaking audience so fiercely that the band was practically forced to play a short third set later in the afternoon, which consisted mostly of songs in English and covers. The real jewel of the event, however, came well into the night and after most of the audience had gone home, when Lautaro Gonzalez de Cap and Martin Rougier performed as an impromptu duo with Martin at the resident's piano. The 'set' consisted of Austria originals and some popular covers in Spanish. Maybe a dozen people were in the room. While the group's tour was heavily documented (the footage is currently being edited), Martin and Lautaro's piano/vocal performance was not. Truly special and truly a treat.

So when are Austria coming back? They hope to return early next year...and sooner, if the opportunity arises.

Austria Returns to The Stardust Lounge - 9/16

Austria's first show was at The Stardust, Sept. 2, in Downey. The band was scheduled to go on at midnight that night, but didn't go on until 1am. Many people had left the club by then, but the those that hung in there, were treated to a great set.

The second show was different. First, the band went on before midnight which helped retain a larger audience. Second, some of those that saw the band at the 9/2 show, came back to see them again.

The band played a short, but condensed set and with a bit of swagger, including Martin Rougier (keyboards) performing part of his repertoire on the stand-up mic, before returning to his usual position behind the 'boards. To help fuel the fire, some fans even shouted out requests - and those requests were honored.

Next show: Malibu, Sept. 17

Austria Takes On San Diego at The Office Bar - Sept. 11

While it was a somber day for most of the United States, Austria soldiered on by driving down to San Diego to play a popular club called The Office Bar, in the section of North Park. After a pre-show meal, the guys left their mark by banging out an explosive set that turned many heads in the room (including the bartenders'). While the The Office has been known as a place to gather to watch their beloved San Diego Chargers, the club should now be re-named "Austria's Office Bar."

Next up: Austria's show 9/16, in Downey.

Austria's Long Beach Show - Sept. 9

This was a great show, not only because of the performance, but the attendance. People had this look in their eyes that said, "Wow, so this is what good music in Spanish sounds like!" The expression on their faces was similar to many who approached the merch. table at various shows and inquired about the band. One woman quipped, "I don't even speak Spanish and I like this band!" It was a good thing the band had several pens on hand, because they signed a lot of autographs that day.

More on the Austria/So Cal Tour

I was probably too ambitious when I set out to blog about the Austria dates, day by day. Now that the guys have returned to Argentina and things have settled down a little, I plan to report on each of the rest of the shows.

The show following Irvine was September 7 at The Juke Joint, in Anaheim, . Booked by Christian Mejia of Intoroq, the band performed a very tight set that, by now, included their signature opener, España, written and sung by Martin Rougier. Some industry came to the gig and a handful of fellow Argentineans also attended the performance.

Next show - Long Beach.