TUNGSTEN Mainman On Post-Hurricane Katrina Scene: 'It Was Like Going To A Funeral'

Vocalist/guitarist Al Hodge of the long-running Chalmette, Louisiana-based metallers TUNGSTEN has issued the following update:

"It's been three months since Hurricane Katrina destroyed the Gulf Coast and turned our hometown of Chalmette, Louisiana into the lost city of Atlantis. We got between 10-12 feet of water in our homes. I've been back twice to see what was salvageable and it wasn't much. It was like going to a funeral, man. There was sludge, mold and mildew on everything. To see the place we called home, where we grew up and lived our entire lives, look like a war zone, was just heart-breaking. My place, along with Mark Talamo's house [where] we stored all of the recording gear that we built up over the years, has been destroyed. Most of the recordings that we have done over the years have been lost too. It's like being erased.

"Our families and friends are scattered through the U.S. and Europe and it's been a hard time adjusting to our new lives. Little by little we've been getting our lives and helping our families get their lives back together, too. It's been a challenge, but that is what life is all about: moving forward through adversity. We are not the only ones to go through this and we are lucky to be alive.

"I've relocated to Houston, Texas, where this town has welcomed me with open arms and I cannot thank the people of Texas enough. True Southern hospitality at its best. Mark and his family have relocated to the Madisonville area of Louisiana to start over again. We've talked about the future of the band and we will try to record another record, when the time comes. For now, though, we are just taking it day by day getting our lives back in order.

"My guitars were so fucked up, all I could do was smash them like Pete Townsend (THE WHO) to get the frustrations of losing everything out of my system."

Check out pictures of Al's post-Hurricane Katrina home at this location.