Photo by Fred Pessaro
Texas metal has a tendency to stick together. Hatred Surge and Mammoth Grinder are preparing a 12" split through Cyclopean Records (release date Feb. 14th) and will be touring together this coming May. This release will be the first to feature Hatred Surge with new vocalist Rahi of Texas grind legends Insect Warfare. Cyclopean has the record streaming at their bandcamp (and guess what, it's awesome).
Read more for the tour dates.
Mammoth Grinder, Hatred Surge, Innumerable Forms, Miasmal 2011 tourMay 17th Austin,TX
May 18th Denton,TX
May 19th St Louis,MO
May 20th Chicago,IL
May 21st Cleveland,OH
May 22nd TBA
May 23rd Boston,MA
May 24th Brooklyn,NY at the Acheron
May 25th Philadelphia,PA at the Barbary
May 26th Maryland Death Fest
May 27th Maryland Death Fest
May 28th Maryland Death Fest
May 29th Maryland Death Fest
May 30th Richmond,VA at Strange Matter
May 31st Atlanta,GA at Wonder Root
June 1st New Orleans,LA at Siberia
June 2nd Chaos in Tejas
June 3rd Chaos in Tejas
June 4th Chaos in Tejas
January 31, 2011
HATRED SURGE AND MAMMOTH GRINDER TO RELEASE SPLIT 12" AND TOUR
MORE DESTRUCTION/DESTROYER 666 DATES ANNOUNCED
Contributing to the sweet tour overkill that will sweep 2011, German agonizers Destruction and Australia-by-way-of-Holland warriors Destroyer 666 have filled in some of the gasps for their upcoming North American tour. Houston, Cleveland, Oakland, and more have been added to the itinerary. Destruction will also head down to Puerto Rico, though Destroyer 666 will not be present for that date or the Baltimore show. We can't tell you why, but we do speculate that putting K.K. Warslut near a rum factory or tons of crusties are probably not good ideas.
While you check out the dates after the jump, ponder this: is the Destruction picture above more rediculous than this old picture of fellow Krauts Sodom?
Destruction/Destroyer 666 2011 Tour04/26 - RICKSHAW THEATRE – VANCOUVER, B.C. – CANADA
* No Destroyer 666
04/27 - STUDIO SEVEN - SEATTLE, WA
04/29 - OAKLAND METRO OPERAHOUSE – OAKLAND, CA
04/30 - THE BOARDWALK - ORANGEVALE, CA
05/01 - BRICK BY BRICK - SAN DIEGO, CA
05/03 - ORIENTAL THEATER - DENVER, CO
05/05 - REGGIE'S ROCK CLUB - CHICAGO, IL
05/06 - PEABODY'S - CLEVELAND, OH
05/07 - HARPO'S - DETROIT, MI
05/08 - MAVERICK'S BAR - OTTAWA, ON - CANADA
05/09 - FOUFOUNES ELECTRIQUES - MONTREAL, ON - CANADA
05/10 - BOURBON ST. BALLROOM - BALTIMORE, MD*
05/11 - B.B. KINGS - NEW YORK, NY
05/13 - JAXX - SPRINGFIELD, VA
05/14 - RESPUESTA – SANTURCE, PUERTO RICO*
05/16 - THE RAIL - FORT WORTH, TX
05/17 - MUG SHOTS - AUSTIN, TX
05/18 - NUMBERS - HOUSTON, TX
05/20 - GALAXY THEATRE - SANTA ANA, CA
05/21 - ANGEL’S – YUCAIPA, CA
05/22 - KEY CLUB - WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA
Destruction - "Bestial Invasion"
Destroyer 666 - "Lone Wolf Winter"
NPR STREAMING EARTH'S ANGELS OF DARKNESS, DEMONS OF LIGHT I
It may not hit stores until February 7th, but you can listen to the new Earth album, Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I stream over at sudden metal fans NPR. While the record continues in the vein of their output since Hex, with a very vast character, it has a less desolate Western feel. As noted before, Lori Goldston joins the band on cello and Karl Blau joins on bass. This news may not apply to you if you're all "Whatever fools, I got a press stream a month ago" or "Eat it suckers, I got this off of Rapidshare" or you're lame and don't like Earth. For the rest of you, get on it. Who knows, maybe Dylan Carlson will get an interview with Tavis Smiley?
Check out the cover and tracklisting below.
1. Old Black
2. Father Midnight
3. Descent To The Zenith
4. Hell’s Winter
5. Angels of Darknes, Demons of Light I
January 28, 2011
PLANNING FOR BURIAL GET SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA (ATLANTIC CITY, TOO)
If you happen to be in or near Philadelphia or Atlantic City this weekend, ambient/metal outfit Planning for Burial, who we're huge fans of, will be doing a couple shows. Their first show will be on Friday at The Olive Garden in Philly (though the band insists it's not THAT Olive Garden) with Sacajaweeda, The Black Magic Family Band, and Lonesummer, the latter of whom released a split with PFB just a few months ago. Saturday, they'll take a gamble at Atlantic City at The Boneyard with Bubonic Bear, Deathbeds, Sadgiqacea, The Gloom Beam. According to Music Ruins Lives, Planning for Burial will have a CD on sale exclusively at these shows, featuring two new songs. Get it before it's on Rapidshare. The very last copies of the aforementioned Planning for Burial/Lonesummer split will also be available at these shows.
More details below.
Friday January 28th 2011
The Olive Garden
1714 Tasker St.
Philadelphia PA
$3 - $5
7PM
with: Sacajaweeda, The Black Magic Family Band, Lonesummer
Saturday January 29th 2011
The Boneyard
20 S. Virginia Ave.
Atlantic City NJ
$5
6PM
21+
with: Bubonic Bear, Deathbeds, Sadgiqacea, The Gloom Beam
January 27, 2011
FRESHLY BAKED: FISTER
by Chase Macabre (STL)
In "Freshly Baked," we feature promising young bands or bands that are otherwise lacking the attention we think they deserve.
Fister's records available for download here
Fister are a stoner/doom band from St. Louis, Mo., my current city of residence. The band puts on a crazy loud live show, full of upside-down crosses and guitar faces. The band is pretty funny, too. Check out their bio to see for yourself.
I had the chance to speak with Fister's bassist and vocalist Kenny Snarzyk about humor in metal, recording live, sweet gear and nerding out. Check out the interview after the jump.
Crustcake: Where exactly are y'all from?
Kenny Snarzyk: St. Louis, Missouri. [Our drummer] Kirk [Gatterer] lives out in the woods somewhere though.
Crustcake: Who is in Fister, and how did the band initially come together?
Snarzyk: Marcus [Newstead, guitarist] and I used to be roommates at the infamous 3424 house. We used to crank our amps up at 5 a.m. and piss off the neighbors.
Crustcake: How did y'all come up with the name Fister? Who's idea was it?
Snarzyk: Again, at 3424. (At) 5 a.m., we would crank the amps and yelled "Fisterrrrrrr" a lot. It was our alter ego we would go into when we were drunk and on drugs. We recorded our demo this way, originally planning to just shit out some songs out of boredom. Eventually we decided that we should play a few shows. We called Kirk and there you have it.
Crustcake: I imagine those neighbors are sleeping well now that you've moved! That genesis makes a lot of sense, considering your band feels comfortable being funny on stage and on record. Y'all began playing in more of a jocular manner, jamming on riffs and having fun. The idea of metal being "fun" isn't prevalent except with bands that are concerned with riffs (i.e. a lot of the NOLA bands like Eyehategod, haarp.) Would you identify with that?
Snarzyk: Yeah. Maybe it's a stoner thing, I dont know. I heard Mike Williams is sober now. And he seems to have a pretty good sense of humor.
Crustcake: I totally dig the tongue-in-cheek jokes your band directs at occult/satanic bands. The whole "Bronsonic Invocation" story in the bio is very funny. Given that so few metal bands insert humor into their lyrics, personas and the few that do are often lame. Your band isn't lame at all. Do you think there a disconnect between metal and humor? And if so, how does Fister overcome that?
Snarzyk: Bands that take themselves too seriously are assholes. That's all there is to it. Metal is funny in general, but it's only OK to poke fun at it if you are serious about metal, like these shitstain "metal" kids that think it's cute to crab walk and throw metal horns for fashion and folly. That's not cool. Metal is something I hold very sacred. Just because we overuse pentagrams and inverted crosses, worship Charles Bronson, and often have goofy lyrics doesn't mean we aren't serious about playing metal. We just take a tongue-in-cheek approach to it.
Crustcake: I totally agree with this. I had written a review of Cephalic Carnage's newest record a few months back where I argued the record was good while being humorous because Cephalic seem to truly love metal. They had an inside knowledge and were making fun of themselves just as much as they were common death metal and black metal subject matter. What then do you think of bands like Burzum or Watain, who take their beliefs very seriously and whose music seems like a vehicle to express those beliefs?
Snarzyk: Burzum and Watain can do no wrong. They are exceptions. Seriously. I love black metal, and while it is probably the easiest genre to spoof on, for some reason, the idea of a humorous black metal band sounds incredibly lame to me. So I guess black metal gets a pass. I'm sure it's because black metal already has a theatrical show. You don't need to have a variety act at a black metal show.
Crustcake: I'm a gear-head myself. I totally nerded out when y'all played with Eyehategod this past summer. The Sunn amps and cabs sounded huge at that show. Unlike punk music and other styles that do not emphasize tone, doom bands (like Sunn O))) ) can be characterized as "amp worship" and their tone is central to the bands sound. Is that at all true of Fister? In what ways do you think your tone influences your music and maybe the entire doomy, sludgy "slow music" style in general?
Snarzyk: We are the same way. I have about five amps right now. I'm often selling or trading gear to get new gear. Marcus just dropped some serious cash on a 100-watt plexi clone from Stonecutter (one of the guys in Züül's boutique company). In the same breath, I'm kind of sick of being one of those "sunn gear bands." we dialed back our wall of cabinets to a mere handful of cabinets live, and took off all of our faceplates so people don't know what we are playing through.
Crustcake: Yeah, the wall of cabinets thing has been done. Gear is one of the first things I look for when I see a band live. It's probably just because I am a big gear nerd and a big nerd in general. I think this is particularly true of people who care a lot about metal too. Metal has a huge history that is rooted in fantasy and it is also very empowering. Would you say your initial draw to metal was because of a nerdy proclivity?
Snarzyk: My initial draw to music in general was actually Def Leppard Pyromania. Then came Metallica, Megadeth and all those thrash bands from the '80s. It wasn't until around 1991 when I started getting into death metal that the big nerd factor fell into play, i.e. buying tapes that had really evil looking artwork just based on the fantasy art.
Crustcake: Also, could you indulge my inner gear nerd. You already mentioned one of Marcus' amps, but what gear are you and Marcus playing right now: amps, cabs, guitars, and any neat pedals?
Snarzyk: I couldn't tell you all of his pedals. I know he has a holy grail of some sort. He runs his Stonecutter through a Mesa 4x12 and my Earth 4x12. I dialed back my pedals to just a tuner. I play through a Sunn Beta Bass and a Beta 2x15 and an Earth 2x15 live mostly.
Crustcake: You just finished tracking a few records at Firebrand Studio in St. Louis. Describe that process. Did you do most of the tracking live or individually? Are there any producers or studios you'd like to record in the future?
Snarzyk: We went in one day and tracked seven songs live in a room. Marcus went back in and did a few guitar overdubs and then we did vocals. The whole tracking process took about ten hours and we got songs for our Bronsonic record and a 12-inch split we are doing with The Lion's Daughter. We left all of our fuck ups on the record and went for the raw approach. I prefer tracking live. I like guitars to bleed into drum mics. Engineers probably hate us.
Crustcake: Ya'll seem to play a lot with the bands on your St. Louis based label, I Hate Punk Rock Records, and with those hosted on Pissfork.net, is this just happenstance, or because of the shortage of good STL heavy bands, or is the seeming brotherhood real?
Snarzyk: Well, for one, we have no label to speak of. I put out tapes with my little project (pissfork) Hands Up Records is releasing our 12" split with The Lion's Daughter, who are a killer band by the way. There have been talks of a 7" split with The Fuck Off And Dies that Mike at [I Hate Punk Rock Records] has expressed some interest in releasing, but no label has confined us yet. As far as playing with these bands, yes, the reason is there are very few bands of worth in this city, the music scene is crawling out, but the music scene is pretty slow here.
Crustcake: What's your favorite show/tour story and worst (or funniest) show/tour story?
Snarzyk: Probably the Eyehategod/Nachtmystium show. I was so incredibly under the influence that I nearly passed out during Eyehategod's set. Our drummer carried me out to puke all over myself and a few others. Apparently I went back in and fought my way to the front of the stage again, only to repeat the process.
Crustcake: What's your opinion of the greater St. Louis heavy music scene today? Getting better, worse, stagnating?
Snarzyk: It's definitely gotten better and is starting to show some promise, Harkonin, The Lion's Daughter, ((Thorlock)) and Everything Went Black are all killer bands that are worth checking out. There are a few others as well but I didn't come here to plug everyones band in St. Louis.
Crustcake: What's next on the horizon for Fister?
Snarzyk: Ah, ome records, and we've got a show with Buzzov*en and Cough coming up that we are pretty stoked about. I have a lot of cassettes I plan on releasing in 2011 (Harkonin, Lion's Daughter, Black Dwarf, ((Thorlock)), Rectification) Bronsonic is out now limited to 30 copies and it's up for free download at Pissfork.net.
Fister - "Man on the Silver Mountain/Santabbath"
Fister - "Santabbath (BRONSONIC PREVIEW)"
January 26, 2011
LIVE REVIEW: TRAP THEM
Photo by Samantha Marble. See her whole photo set from this show at Brooklyn Vegan's post.
Trap Them
When: Saturday, January 15, 2011
Where: Cake Shop, Manhattan, NY
With: Black Anvil, All Pigs Must Die, Psychic Limb
by theseseans & ill? ya! (NYC)
After our last venture into Brooklyn's dirty underbelly, Ill? ya! and I decided to take in some of Manhattan's filthy offerings. Ill? ya! was late again/had troubles at the door, but it's my fault that these dual reviews haven't happened more often.
theseseans: Sucks that you couldn't get right in! I've said over and over how good Psychic Limb are, but this time, they actually had good sound. Their live show was as intense as usual, but I could really hear the guitar, the bass and Brian's vocals this time. It was nice. They recently recorded a full length, played it start to finish at this show and I am incredibly pumped to hear it. Word is obviously spreading, too -- a local grind band opening an early show? Going on at 5:50 p.m.? Believe me when I tell you there were more people in attendance for Psychic Limb's set than Black Anvil's.
All Pigs Must Die were interesting. Featuring Ben Koller (drums, Converge) and Kevin Barker (vocals, The Hope Conspiracy), they preformed at an expected level of excellence. I can't say that their material really impressed me -- hardcore with more metal in it than actual hardcore -- but that's due to personal taste rather than a comment on their quality. They had my head bobbing and I was excited and happy to have caught their set. There just seemed to be something missing from them.
You were able to get in right as Black Anvil were going on. What did you think?
ill? ya!: I came in right as they started. You know, I'll be honest, I've never been a big fan of them live and especially not tonight. The guitar was just completely buried under the drums and vocals and the songs clung together. There were very few hooks or riffs to latch on to, not a lot of stage presence and I don't know their songs well enough for them not to bleed together. I think on record they command a lot more attention than in a live setting.
theseseans: I completely agree with you about them on record compared to live. I have constant mixed feelings about them live, but I differ from you in a few areas. I know that the guitar player is a mountain of a man who never moves, but I feel like Paul is constantly rocking, all the time and consistently gives a good performance with good stage presence. Their drummer is also always visibly into the set. I like a lot of their material, too, and so at the start of their sets I am all pumped up. But every single time that I see them, I'm bored by the end of their set. I've only seen them three times I think. So this show was when I actually realized that this was becoming a trend. Perhaps their sets are just too long?
I thought Black Anvil were good, but they certainly weren't the reason I was there. As the sole black metal contingent at a hardcore show, they were out of place, and the crowd reflected that. The cake shop was almost full for Psychic Limb, the opener, and was less than half full when Black Anvil played. Everyone came back for Trap Them, so it was clear that audience wasn't interested.
ill? ya!: Trap Them were a blast though! The opposite of Black Anvil for me; short, accessible songs, tons of energy. I don't know their stuff at all, but by the third song, I was up at the front, throwing 'bows. The crowd was good, too -- lots of energy, but no 'dancing'. What the fuck happened to the lead singer though? Looked like the guy had a smashed-in nose, missing teeth and was bleeding all over the place.
theseseans: I heard he got his face busted open the night before too! Trap Them have so much energy. Definitely check out their records, really good. You summed up their set pretty well, but there were some quirky things that I wanted to touch on. Mainly, one of the past times that I've seen them (four times with three different drummers) their old drummer, Michael Justinian, had really bad stomach cramps "due to Mexican food he eat right before the show" and this time Chris (Maggio, current drummer) was also in visible pain with cramps. Kinda weird. Not nearly as weird as when Chris stopped their set to pee in the corner. This was amazing and hilarious for tons of reasons. You know that dude NEVER gets "stage fright." It was also really cool that Andy from Every Time I Die played with them. He didn't really add that much to their sound (as was seen when they did a one-song encore as a four piece), but as someone who really liked ETID 5 to 7 years ago, it was fun to see him up there (and playing some heavy stuff ... again).
All in all, I thought this show was a really big success. While Black Anvil were out of place, I thought they added a nice change of pace to the show. It was great that Psychic Limb opened and that the local band got such a great turn out.
ill? ya!: Oh yeah -- a ton of fun, despite the Cake Shop's weird decision that the venue was at capacity (it was maybe half-full compared to the unforgettable Burnt by the Sun show). Really angry that I missed Psychic Limb though, those guys never disappoint.
CRUSTY CLIP OF THE WEEK: BIG FOUR EDITION
Every single Wednesday without fail, your hosts post a suitably stale video clip that we think needs to be revisited. Click here for more Crusty Clips. Got a clip you think we should post? Send it to crustcake@gmail.com.
by Andrew Wilhelm (TX)
In case you didn't hear, 20 years of feuds and raw nerves have been set aside: The Big 4 have reunited for a one-shot, April 23 show in Indio, Calif. That's it. No tour, no thrash, no burn. Don't feel like shelling out for the trip? Us neither. So don't waste your money. Watch the bands in their prime* instead with your Crusty Crew.
Metallica - "For Whom the Bell Tolls" Live in Seattle 1989
Megadeth - "In My Darkest Hour" Live 1992
Slayer - "Mandatory Suicide" Live in London 1989
Anthrax - "Metal Thrashing Mad"
*Actually, Slayer still rule.
HYDRA HEAD RELEASE LATEST HARVEY MILK LP; PBS(!) DEBUTS SWEET HARVEY MILK LIVE VIDEO
My favorite blues doomsmen Harvey Milk see their latest stellar album (one of thesesean's favorites of last year) get the vinyl treatment. The LP drops today over at the Hydra Head shop.
The band was also recently featured on the Emmy-winning live music program We Have Signal. The PBS program is a series of live video recordings featuring "new and innovative bands from around the state, the country and even the world" filmed at the BottleTree Cafe in Birmingham, Ala.
In addition to Harvey Milk, the live series has also featured Coliseum, Melt Banana and Young Widows. Check out the series on Vimeo here and the Harvey Milk set after the jump.
THE CARRIER DROP NEW RECORD, EMBARK ON TOUR
Last week, Deathwish Inc.'s The Carrier dropped their newest collection of introspective hardcore anthems Blind To What Is Right. After bringing the mosh to Europe earlier this month, The Carrier are hitting US and Canadian highways hard with Bitter End and Ringworm on select dates. Have you heard the record? Let us know what you think in the comments and check out the tour dates after the jump.
THE CARRIER "BLIND TO WHAT IS RIGHT" US AND CANADIAN TOUR03/12: Albany, NY @ Bogies
03/13 Buffalo, NY @ Sugar City
03/14 Lansing, MI @ Mac's w/ Bitter End
03/15 Toronto, ON @ Hardluck Bar w/ Bitter End
03/16 Cleveland, OH @ Now Thats Class w/ Bitter End
03/18 Long Island, NY @ TBA
03/19 New Haven, CT @ Lillys Pad
03/20 Holyoke, MA @ Waterfront Tavern
03/30 Kingston, ON @ Time To Laugh w/ Comeback Kid, Title Fight
03/31 Toronto, ON @ Mod Club w/ Comeback Kid, Title Fight
04/01 Ottawa, ON @ Maverick's Bar w/ Comeback Kid, Title Fight
04/02 Montreal, QC @ Les Foufounes Electriques w/ Comeback Kid, Title Fight
04/03 Quebec City, QC @ La Cercle w/ Comeback Kid, Title Fight
January 25, 2011
IMMOLATION, THE BODY, AND MORE ADDED TO SCION ROCK FEST
Man, we are so mad those RSVPs are full.
The final lineup has been released for Scion Rock Fest, scheduled to take place in Pomona, CA on March 5. Added are NYDM gods Immolation, British black/grind outfit Anaal Nathrakh, avant-doom duo The Body, San Francisco black metal warlocks Dispirit, hazy doomers Dark Castle, and big-amp stoner doom group Cough. Nothing major, just a few of our favorite groups ever. Now just get Grill 'Em All to set up their truck, and we'll be gravy baby. With this, Maryland Deathfest, and Chaos in Tejas, festivals are in full bloom this year.
If you've forgotten the rest of the lineup, refresh yourself after jump. Videos, too!
Morbid Angel
Obituary
Death Angel
Municipal Waste
Immolation
Agalloch
Integrity
Bastard Noise
Atheist
Floor
The Body
Anaal Nathrakh
Black Breath
Nails
Primate
Dispirit
Kvelertak
Crom
Wormrot
Necrite
Woe
Fuck The Facts
Cough
Dark Castle
Bonded By Blood
Christian Mistress
Immolation - "Father, You're Not a Father" Live in Amsterdam 2003
The Body Live at The Acheron, NYC, 9/16/10
Dispirit - "III"
Dark Castle - "Awake in Sleep"
Anaal Nathrakh - "More Fire Than Blood"
Cough - "Mind Collapse" Live at Now That's Class, Cleveland, 12/10/10
MARDUK ANNOUNCE SHORT U.S. TOUR WITH AURA NOIR, BLACK ANVIL, MORE
Long-time Swedish black metal blasters Marduk have announced a short string of tour dates, beginning with Maryland Deathfest on May 27 and ending on June 3 at the Williamsburg Hall in Brooklyn. Acting as support this time around are Norwegian black-thrashers Aura Noir, New York black metal bruisers Black Anvil, Texas death-thrashers HOD and Canada's Panzerfaust.
In other dark, endless news (yeah, I did that), we hear word of a special 20th-anniversary Marduk box set slated for a third- or fourth-quarter 2011 release. We'll keep you posted.
Tour dates after the jump.
Marduk North American Tour 2011:
w/ Aura Noir, Black Anvil, Panzerfaust, HOD5/27/2011 Maryland Deathfest - Baltimore, MD (MARDUK, Aura Noir only)
Marduk - "Steel Inferno"
5/29/2011 Cafe Campus - Montreal, QC @ Cafe Campus
5/30/2011 Wreck Room - Toronto, ON @ Wreck Room
5/31/2011 Reggie's Rock Club - Chicago, IL @ Reggie's Rock Club
6/01/2011 I-Rock Nightclub - Detroit, MI @ I-Rock Nightclub
6/02/2011 Peabody's - Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's
6/03/2011 Williamsburg Music Hall - Brooklyn, NY
January 21, 2011
KRALLICE RELEASES SONG, 'THE CLEARING'
We know you've been waiting for it, and now some new Krallice is here! Stereogum released "The Clearing" earlier this week and it is a scorcher. The 12-minute song confirms everything I've seen written about the new material so far. Heavier, stranger, more "self-realized," blah, blah, blah. It's good. Check it out and let us know if you still think this record is going to be worth the wait!
METALSUCKS RELEASES 'NYC SUCKS - VOL. 1'
And the verdict is ... not bad! The album is a collection of tracks from local NYC bands and covers a whole slew of genres, from hardcore to doom. It's awesome to see local bands promoted this way, even if the quality of the tracks isn't completely consistent. I've seen at least half of these bands live and now have a few more on my list to track down.
The stand out tracks for me? East of the Wall, Tiger Flowers, Castevet, Meek is Murder, Wizardry and Pyrrhon. Download the album here, though, and judge for yourself. So what do you guys think? What bands did you discover? Which songs did you love/hate?
Full track listing after the fold. And remember, Volume 2 comes out on Feb. 22!
Volume 1:1. East of the Wall, “The Ladder”
2. Made out of Babies, “Invisible Ink”
3. Tiger Flowers, “Cuts”
4. Black Anvil, “The Evil of All Roots”
5. Naam, “Frosted Tread”
6. Batillus, “The Children of the Night Make Their Music”
7. Meek is Murder, “Sundowners” (demo)
8. The Binary Code, “Encircled”
9. Castevet, “Stones”
10. Hung, “Desert of Sad”
11. Wizardry, “The Falconer”
12. Pyrrhon, “King of All Tears”
13. Mutant Supremacy, “Epitaph”
14. Incendiary, “Victory in Defeat”
Volume 2: (Feb. 22)1. Wetnurse
2. Tombs
3. Moth Eater
4. Hull
5. The Austerity Program
6. Defeatist
7. Goes Cube
8. Krallice
9. Empyreon
10. Abacinate
11. ikillya
12. Atakke
13. The Ghost in Black and White
HELMET. CROWBAR. SAINT VITUS. ON TOUR. TOGETHER. FOR REAL.
The title pretty much says it all. The only excuse to miss this tour is if you live really far away -- like, Alaska far. The rest of you have no excuse. If 2011 is already making us drool this much, with this tour and so many other badass ones, we can cope with the whole "the world will end in 2012" thing.
I'll shut up and let you check out the rest of the dates.
Metalliance Tour with Helmet, Crowbar, Saint VitusMar. 17 - Dallas, TX - Southside Music Hall
Mar. 18 - Austin, TX - Dirty Dog / SXSW
Mar. 19 - New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks
Mar. 20 - St Petersburg, FL - State Theater
Mar. 21 - Orlando, FL - Firestone Live
Mar. 22 - Greensboro, NC - Greene Street
Mar. 23 - Springfield, VA - Jaxx
Mar. 24 - Worcester, MA - Palladium
Mar. 25 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza
Mar. 26 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody's
Mar. 27 - Joliet, IL - Mojoe's
Mar. 29 - Denver, CO - The Summit
Mar. 31 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
Apr. 01 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
Apr. 03 - San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine
Apr. 05 - Hollywood, CA - House Of Blues
Helmet - "In The Meantime" (They'll be playing this whole album live)
Saint Vitus - "I Bleed Black"
Crowbar - "All I Had I Gave"
AGALLOCH ANNOUNCE EASTERN U.S. TOUR
A while back, I commented that 2010 was going to be the year of Ludicra, and despite a certain Norwegian black metal band dropping the ball, they still were one of the most critically lauded groups of the year. 2011 could be the year of Agalloch, who Aesop Dekker also plays drums for. They've developed a cult fan-base over the past decade, and just in the last year or so, they've garnered a great deal of attention. With such momentum going for them, Agalloch have announced a series of dates in the Eastern U.S. with Worm Ouroboros, yet another group Dekker plays with. Some of these cities they've never played before; hopefully, everything will come out great for artist and audience.
Enough fanboy speak, click below for dates.
Agalloch/Worm Ouroboros Tour 201103/05 - Pomona, CA @ Scion Rock Fest w/ Morbid Angel, Floor, Black Breath, Nails, and many more (no Worm Ouroboros)
03/17 – Austin, TX @ Barbarella Patio (as part of the Nanotear Showcase at SXSW)
03/18 – New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks w/ Daniel Menche
03/19 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl w/ Loss
03/20 – Raleigh, NC @ King’s Barcade
03/21 – Baltimore, MD @ The Sonar
03/22 – New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge
03/23 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East w/ Vindensang and Musk Ox
03/24 – Montreal, QC @ Cafe Campus
03/25 – London, ON @ The Music Hall
03/26 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
03/27 – Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s Rock Club w/ Locrian
January 20, 2011
NEW ARCHON ALBUM OUT, AVAILABLE ONLINE
Up-and-coming NYC doom band Archon (featuring members of Agnosis and Alkahest) recently put out a new album -- Ruins at Dusk -- which is now available for purchase from Hellride Music. While firmly grounded in slow, massive doom, the album breaks out of the mold by incorporating more traditional stoner rock elements and a vicious dual male/female vocal attack. Check it out and read more for a peak at Dusk's album art.
Archon - The Ruins At Dusk
ENSLAVED TRIBUTE ALBUM COMING SOON
Whatever you may have thought of the last Enslaved album (it only barely missed my top 10), there's no denying these progressive black metal vikings' place in the pantheon of Norse metal gods. And, finally, they will be getting an offering, just in time for their 20-year anniversary.
French label Pictonian Records is releasing an "official tribute album" called Önd - A Tribute, with 20 covers by a variety of European bands. So far, the list of confirmed artists includes:VREID (Norway)
Excited? Apprehensive?
ODEM ARCARUM (Germany)
ASMODEE (France)
DORDEDUH (Romania)
ISLAND (Germany)
REVERENCE (France)
SAEL (France)
January 19, 2011
THE CRUSTCAST: EPISODE 5
Listen: The Crustcast [MP3]
We're back! This episode of the crustcast reels in the podcast after our incredibly explosive fourth episode. This time, it's just us writers. We've chopped the time down to a manageable 38 minutes and we're here to take a look back at some of our favorite records, bands and shows from 2010. But it's not just us talking about what we thought was collectively cool. We argue over the validity of whether Agalloch is actually a good band, champion the Deftones as doom's most popular band and then talk about our feelings.
To subscribe to the crustcast through your favorite feed, go here.
Songs included in order of appearance:
The Body - "A Curse"
Type O Negative - "Everything Dies"
Nachtmystium - "Blood Trance Fusion"
Twilight - "Red Fields"
Kylesa - "Don't Look Back"
High On Fire - "Snakes For The Divine"
Triptykon - "A Thousand Lies"
Agalloch - "Ghosts Of The Midwinter Fires"
Vasaeleth - "Curse Seeping Through Flesh"
Decrepit Birth - "Metatron"
Deftones - "You've Seen The Butcher"
Pig Destroyer - "Intro/Pretty In Casts"
Let us know what you think of the changes in editing (music played under conversation/shorter episode length/lack of "special" guest) as well as any other comments, suggestions, gripes, critiques, bitching, shit-talking, crank-yanking and tom-foolery you may have -- so we can tell you how you're wrong, etc. in the comments. See you again much sooner.
Special thanks to Jess Blumensheid for helping Sean edit this.
CRUSTY CLIP OF THE WEEK: SHADOWS FALL 'DESTROYER OF SENSES
Every single Wednesday without fail, your hosts post a suitably stale video clip that we think needs to be revisited. Click here for more Crusty Clips. Got a clip you think we should post? Send it to crustcake@gmail.com.
by Andrew Wilhelm (TX)
Sometimes, heinous things go down behind the scenes here at Crustcake. Recently, Van said to me over GChat that he is making an "oldschool" metalcore mixtape. Yes, I'm serious. A mixtape full of Ozzfest second-stage circa 2004-2006's top shelf. The bastard offspring of Converge. The stuff Jamey Jasta pimped on the new Headbanger's Ball.
A Fist in the Face of God, you won't be on top of the mixtape game for long!
After this went down, I knew I had to put up Shadows Fall's video for "Destroyer of Senses" as our Crusty Clip of the Week. Shadows Fall represented a key step in my evolution of metal tastes: I was just getting into melodic death and metalcore. Look, I didn't come out of the womb listening to Hellhammer and Master! Shadows Fall, At The Gates, In Flames, Lamb of God -- at Ball High School in Galveston, Texas, I was the most metal kid on the block. The best pre-college summer was the Sthress Tour in 2004, at the dank Engine Room in Houston, with Shadows Fall, As I Lay Dying, Himsa, and Remembering Never. Now, 2011 Andy would look at that line-up and go "Wow, that's fucking lame!" and put his MP3 player on Teitanblood, but back then, it was a teenage dream. Somehow, I think if Fenriz knew this, he never would have agreed to answer my questions.
What are your favorite metalcore memories? What should Van put on his mixtape? Let us know in the comments!
January 18, 2011
SMOKE OUT BUZZOV*EN , WEEDEATER ON THE ROAD
Dixie Dave Collins has a busy 2011 ahead of him. His principal group, Weedeater, has a new record, Jason... The Dragon, coming out on March 15 through Southern Lord. Only they could get away with naming an album that -- it's weird a dragon would be named Jason, but then again, it's a dragon that'll roast your ass extra crispy. They'll be going out on tour to support it with ASG and Zoroaster, including an appearance at SXSW, but not before Buzzov*en, the other group Dixie raises hell with, does a short tour with Relapse's Electric Wizard wannabees Cough (though Van likes 'em fine). Make sure you give Dixie back his bullets, but don't let him shoot himself in the foot with them.
All dates below.
Weedeater Tour 201102/18/11 Soapbox, Wilmington NC^
^ with ASG
02/19/11 Casbah @ Tremont, Charlotte NC^
02/20/11 Casbah, Durham NC^
02/21/11 Strange Matter, Richmond VA^
02/22/11 Sonar, Baltimore MD^
02/23/11 Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia PA^
02/24/11 Santos Party House, New York NY^
02/25/11 The Met, Pawtucket RI^
02/26/11 Mohawk Place, Buffalo NY^^
02/27/11 Wreck Room, Toronto ON^^
02/28/11 Magic Stick, Detroit MI^^
03/01/11 Abbey Pub, Chicago IL^^
03/02/11 Triple Rock, Minneapolis MN^^
03/03/11 Jackpot, Lawrence KS^^
03/04/11 3 Kings Tavern, Denver CO^^
03/05/11 Burt's Tiki Lounge, Salt Lake City UT^^
03/06/11 Shredder, Boise ID^^
03/07/11 Funhouse, Seattle WA^^
03/08/11 Rotture, Portland OR^^
03/11/11 Thee Parkside, San Francisco CA^^
03/12/11 Ruby Room, San Diego CA^^
03/13/11 Echoplex, Los Angeles CA^^
03/15/11 Launchpad, Albuquerque NM^^
03/18/11 SXSW @ Dirty Dog, Austin TX
03/19/11 Korova, San Antonio TX^^
03/20/11 Siberia, New Orleans LA^^
03/22/11 Orpheum, Tampa FL^^
03/23/11 Backbooth, Orlando FL^^
03/24/11 The Earl, Atlanta GA^^
03/25/11 Ground Zero, Spartanburg SC^^
03/26/11 The Jinx, Savannah GA^^
^^ with Zoroaster
Buzzov*en February 2011 Tour2/04/2011 Ground Zero - Spartanburg, SC w/ Cough
Weedeater - "For Evan's Sake/Give Me Back My Bullets" Live at Emo's, Austin, TX 5/27/07
2/05/2011 The Jinx - Savannah, GA w/ Cough
2/07/2011 Siberia - New Orleans, LA w/ Cough
2/08/2011 Walters on Washington - Houston, TX w/ Cough
2/09/2011 Trees - Dallas, TX w/ Cough
2/10/2011 Downtown Music - Little Rock, AR w/ Cough
2/11/2011 Hi Tone - Memphis, TN w/ Cough
2/13/2011 Southgate House - Newport, KY w/ Cough
2/15/2011 Canal Club - Richmond, VA w/ Cough
2/16/2011 Casbah - Durham, NC w/ Cough
Buzzov*en - Live at Public Assembly, NYC, NY 9/30/10
January 17, 2011
SEVENTH RULE GOT FREE ALBUMS FOR YOU ON BANDCAMP
Thinking about torrenting Millions' Gather Scatter or Wetnurse's Invisible City? Their label, Chicago's Seventh Rule Recordings (who recently signed our boys Batillus), has a better alternative for you. They've set up a Bandcamp page (which is like Myspace minus shitty web design, Rupert Murdoch's grubby fingerprints, and a merry-go-round of pedos) featuring selected releases from the labels, including Lord Mantis' Spawning The Nephilim, Indian's Slights and Abuse/The Sycophant, the aforemnetioned Millions and Wetnurse albums, and more for free streaming and downloading. And according to the label's blog, the first 200 downloads of each album will be free, after which a "choose your price" scale will be initiated. Streams will always be free. Best of all, the sound quality of these releases is supurb, whether you chose MP3, FLAC, Ogg vorbis, AAC, OR ALAC. Pretty fucking sweet.
Freeload and feel good about it!
TRAGEDY, HOODED MENACE, TONS MORE CONFIRMED FOR CHAOS IN TEJAS
BrooklynVegan whipped us a hot stack of awesome metal/punk-cakes (Crustcakes?! *ba dumsh*) this morning by releasing a huge list of more confirmed bands for this year's Chaos in Tejas festival. Now, we were pretty much already on board when Autopsy was confirmed (and according to BV, it'll be their ONLY U.S. show), so they could have added 3oh!3, The Strokes, and Billy fucking Ocean, and we'd still cry "Best Fest Ever!" Luckily, the dudes who book Chaos have much higher standards, and they've added, among many others, Finland doom lords Hooded Menace, Van's favorite band Tragedy, Torche side project Shitstorm, San Francisco death metallers Acephalix, and Toronto prog-punks Fucked Up. As mentioned before, the fest will take place June 2-5.
It's going to be an amazing weekend, and you know for sure Van and Andy will be tearing it up in the ATX. We'll see just how many Lone Stars, D-beats, and breakfast tacos our bodies can take.
Full lineup after the jump.
Acephalix
Allo Darlin' (England)
Asta Kask (Sweden)
Autopsy (only U.S. show of 2011)
Bone Sickness
Ceremony
Crazy Spirit
Curren$y
D-Clone (japan)
Dillinger Four
Doom (England)
Double Negative
Extortion (Australia)
Free Spirit
F.Y.P. (reunion)
Fucked Up (Canada)
Hooded Menace (Finland)
Innumerable Forms
Isterismo (japan)
Katey Red
Kieltolaki (Finland)
Kriegshog (Japan...last show ever)
Larm (Holland..1st U.S. show ever)
Lower Dens
Low Threat Profile (ex Spazz/No Comment)
the Marked Men
Miasmal (sweden)
Milk Music
Nerveskade
Night Birds
Nukkehammer
Omar Souleyman (Syria)
Oneohtrix Point Never
Origin of M (japan)
Perdition
Rampage
Reigning Sound
Rival Mob
Seein Red (Holland)
See You In Hell (Czech)
Shitstorm
the Slowmotions (Japan)
Spazm 151
the Spits
Teargas (Australia)
This is My Fist
Tragedy
Undergang (Denmark)
Unbroken
Universal Order of Armageddon
Urban Blight (Canada)
Veins (only show ever...)
Vile Gash
White Fence (members of Darker My Love)
Xibalba (Mexico)
Youth Of Today (reunion)
January 14, 2011
CRUSTCAKE PICKS - NEW CAKE IN THE OVEN: HAARP - THE FILTH
by Chase Macabre (STL) 
While it's utterly disappointing for defending Super Bowl champs the New Orleans Saints to have been defeated by a terrible Seattle Seahawks last Saturday, NOLA at least has their sludge metal bands to hang their hat on. With new records from Arson Anthem and Crowbar and much-anticipated new stuff from Eyehategod and Down in the future, those in the swamp lands can rest assured NOLA is still the champ of something. That's all without mentioning one record that many didn't notice during last month's onslaught of year-end lists and playoff runs that truly deserves the 4th-seed and not just a Wild Card spot. That record is haarp's The Filth.
The Filth was released on Nov. 23 by Phil Anselmo's Housecore Records and it's a ground-and-pound bruiser. The record is like an ever flexing bicep where each subsequent song gets heavier and more intense than the one preceding it. The low tones of the guitar sticking to the first few frets is unrelenting in its crush and that non-stop crushing is part of what makes The Filth such a strong record.
Well, they've got a great running game
haarp follow the older tradition of having a suffocating defense and ramming the ball down your throat on offense. haarp isn't a band of big plays. Their drives -- and their songs -- are long endeavors that drain 8 and 9 minutes off the clock and leave the opponent, and your brain, fatigued. Each song and riff seems patiently constructed. Nothing is hurried including vocalist Shane Emmon's screams which are held out as long as possible. Even when the band picks up the tempo, they plod along waiting to lower their shoulders to truck the listener with the next breakdown.
I wouldn't say they have a high-flying offense, but they can throw the ball
Occasionally though, haarp does shoot for the end zone. Guitarist Grant Tom's fiddling is reserved through most of the record, but when he lets it fly, like the solo on "The Blue Chamber Painted Red," and "Peerless" our defenses are left without a man covering deep. The band also uses dynamic shifts in volume on "A New Reign" that surprise in a similar way and provide just enough respite that the ensuing heaviness is like being buried beneath a dog-pile of four 335lbs linemen.
The best offense is an overwhelming defense, covered in Eye Black corpsepaint
Vocalist Shaun Emmon has to be the most understandable doom screamers ever which makes his approach all the more terrifying. Seeming him perform live Emmon is all smiles, but on record he's like the Steel Curtain, the Purple People Eaters and Lawrence Taylor wrapped into one overpowering voice. Before the ball is snapped he's shouting only at you. The listener is the quarterback and Emmon is unhinging his jaw to swallow you whole. The vocals are central in The Filth's mixing. They're louder than the rest of the instruments like Emmon is in your brain, growling your very thoughts.
The Filth is constant helmet to helmet contact. A repeated blow to the head but there are no substitutions or concussion tests to pass before being put out on the field for another pummeling.
BURZUM TO RELEASE THE FALLEN IN MARCH
Admist all the hubub about Scion Fest and black metal beers and yadda yadda yadda, the news of Burzum releasing a new record definitely comes from out of left field.
According to Plastic Head, the name of the new album is The Fallen, and it is set for release on March 7 through Byelobog Productions, who also put out Burzum's last record, Belus. Plastic Head also released this statement from Burzum mastermind and shit-stirrer Varg Vikernes:Musically FALLEN is like a cross between BELUS and something new, inspired more by the debut album and DET SOM ENGANG VAR than by HVIS LYSET TAR OSS or FILOSOFEM. The sound is more dynamic – we mastered the album as if it was classical music – and I was more experimental than I was on BELUS in all respects. Lyric wise it is similar to the debut album, in the way that it is more personal and focuses on existential issues, but the mythological undertone known from BELUS is still there. I have also included some ambient tracks – a short introduction and a longer conclusion.
Belus, without a doubt, made an impact in the metal community here, and Crustcake was no exception. Van placed it in his Top 10, and despite not really getting into it, Andy put it as an honorable mention for getting PC types' panties in a wad. We're interested in hearing not only Vikernes' musical direction of The Fallen, but also the reaction it will create.
Tracklist for The FallenI. Fra Verdenstreet
II. Jeg faller
III. Valen
IV. Vanvidd
V. Enhver til Sitt
VI. Budstikken
VII. Til Hel og tilbake igjen 
DON'T THROW ANY BEADS AT EYEHATEGOD
New Orleans' masters of fear and loathing, Eyehategod, are coming for your sanity again in February. First, they head to Seattle's El Corazón on February 5th to put amphetamines in everyone's coffee. Take note, Northwesteners, this will be their only show in the region! When the clock strikes midnight, it'll be the birthdays of Axl Rose, Bob Marley, and Ronald Reagan - make like Kayne and have a toast to the douchebags (Rose and co., not Eyehategod). Then they head to the Northeast for a string of dates with Misery Index, Magrudergrind, Black Anvil and Strong Intention. They close it off with their annual Mardi Gras show in New Orleans at Siberia with none other than Phobia supporting. Can you imagine Mardi Gras with Eyehategod? That's a public intoxication arrest waiting to happen.
Eyehategod's itinerary, as well as dates for Mike IX's hardcore side project Arson Anthem, can be viewed after the jump.
Eyehategod February 2011 TourFeb. 05 - El Corazón - Seattle, WA w/ Bison B.C., Samothrace, Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth and Owen Hart
Arson Anthem/haarp/Warbeast
Feb. 16 - JBs - Philadelphia, PA w/ Misery Index, Black Anvil and Strong Intention
Feb. 17 - Sonar - Baltimore, MD w/ Misery Index, Magrudergrind, Cough, Surroundings and Strong Intention
Feb. 18 - Europa - Brooklyn, NY w/ Misery Index, Magrudergrind, Strong Intention and Mutilation Rites
Feb. 19 - Lucien's Entertainment Complex - Syracuse, NY w/ Misery Index
Feb. 20 - Lidos - Boston, MA w/ Misery Index, Magrudergrind, Panzerbastard, Livver and Fast Death
Feb. 21 - Daniel St. - Milford, CT w/ Misery Index, Black Anvil and Nightbitch
Feb. 25 - Siberia - New Orleans, LA w/ Phobia and Venomous MaximusJAN 25 - Spartanburg, SC @ Ground Zero
JAN 26 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
JAN 27 - New Orleans, LA @ The Hangar
JAN 28 - Fort Worth, TX @ Rail Club
JAN 29 - Fayetteville, AR @ Drifters
Jan 30 - Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
CRUSTCAKE PICKS: NYC SHOWS IN JANUARY
by ill? ya! (NYC)
January is almost half-over and still so much sonic battery left - not a bad way to start 2011. Between the Castevet, Liturgy and Trap Them shows, this Friday is going to be a pretty tough call - hold off on the Union Pool show though and go to the Cake Shop on Saturday instead, where Crustcake favorites Psychic Limb will kick things off. [Publisher's Note: Fuck it, go to both!]
Tons more great shows in the following weeks, but I'm especially looking forward to The Body, Humanity Falls, Rosetta and Mutilation Rites. If you haven't seen them before, be sure to check out Radiation Blackbody as well - 2/3 of Defeatist, these guys unleash some intense, dissonant, instrumental mayhem.
Dates after the jump...did I miss anything?
Crustcake Picks: NYC January Shows1/14 - Lake of Blood / Falls of Rauros / Seidr / Castevet @ Acheron
1/14 – Liturgy / Controlled Bleeding / Cellular Chaos / PAK / Diablo @ Silent Barn
1/14 – Trap Them / Black Anvil / All Pigs Must Die @ Union Pool
1/15 – Trap Them / Black Anvil / All Pigs Must Die / Psychic Limb @ Cake Shop
1/21 - Universal Order of Armageddon @ Cake Shop
1/21 - Descender / Margin Walker / Pile / Suspects / Your Skull My Closet @ Charleston
1/22 - Universal Order of Armageddon / The Body / Orphan @ Death by Audio
1/23 - The Love Below / Pharoah @ Acheron
1/23 - Cannabis Corpse / Mutant Supremacy @ Union Pool
1/24 - Iwo Jima Medkit / Ready Aim Fired / Painted Rust / Humanity Falls (album release show) @ Lit Lounge
1/26 – Fall of Anther Year / Radiation Blackbody / Xaddax / Vaz @ Bruar Falls
1/26 - Kylesa / Rosetta / Fight Amp / East of the Wall @ Santos
1/27 - Mutilation Rites / Sarcous / Nightlore / Belus @ Acheron
1/27 - Liturgy / Naam / Arms / Your Youth @ Union Pool
1/28 - Phantom Glue / Castavet / Defeatist / Xaddax @ Acheron
1/30 - Volture / Cauldron / Natur @ Union Pool
January 13, 2011
OFFICIAL SCION ROCK FEST LINEUP ANNOUNCED
Yesterday, we told you that Morbid Angel were set to headline the 2011 edition of the Scion Rock Fest. In addition, we told you bands we heard through the grapevine were playing, but weren't confirmed. Turns out those rumors were true, and thankfully, there's more great metal that's been added to the fest. In fact, we can't fit all the bands in our label section! That's just how good it looks.
Entry is free with RSVP, which you can do tomorrow here. Click below for the updated lineup -- Scion says there's more to come.
Morbid Angel
Obituary
Death Angel
Municipal Waste
Agalloch
Integrity
Bastard Noise
Atheist
Floor
Black Breath
Nails
Primate
Crom
Wormrot
Kvelertak
Necrite
Woe
Fuck The Facts
Bonded By Blood
Christian Mistress
JESTER KING BREWERY RELEASES 'BLACK METAL IMPERIAL STOUT'
Hot on the heels of those black metal greeting cards, black metal Christmas tree ornaments and Fantoft stave church candles, comes Austin's Jester King Brewery's Black Metal Imperial Stout, a "cruel and punishing beer fermented by the sheer force of its awesome will." At 10 percent alcohol, and boasting flavors of roast, chocolate and burnt malt, this ain't your daddy's Miller Lite, son. So far it's only available in Texas, but feel free to hit 'em up to demand this ravishing -- and tasty -- grimness in your area.
Make the jump for extra metal-and-brews-related fun.
We here at Crustcake are huge fans ov Thee Pun -- it being the lowest form of humor (and therefore its foundation. Zing!) -- and take great pleasure in creating metal-themed puns for use in all occasions. Hearing the news of Black Metal Imperial Stout's "Suds of Northern Darkness" was no exception, prompting a flurry of beer n' black metal-related groaners from all parties. They're listed below. Give us YOUR best black metal album/beer pun and we'll try to hook you up with something rad.
GWYNBLEIDD WORKING ON NEW ALBUM, TENTATIVELY CALLED ASCENDANCE
I loved Gwynbleidd's Nostalgia (BlackCurrant Music). The Polish-by-way-of-Brooklyn quartet's 2009 debut album out-Opethed the Swedish prog-death titans at their own game and, in terms of full-on, anything-goes, heavy metal kitchen-sinkery that year, it ranked right up there with Code's Resplendent Grotesque. Since then, Gwynbleidd has shared stages with such like-minded luminaries as Katatonia, Entombed and Orphaned Land, and, much to my delight, recorded their next album, tentatively titled Ascendance.
Make the jump for a statement from the band regarding Ascendance and visual evidence of Nostalgia's awesomeness. You'll see why I'm excited.
The band released this statement regarding their preparation for getting Ascendance ready:We are planning to record a 3-4-song demo of this new material, most of the music for which is ready to go! The demo will go primarily to labels we hope to attract to partner on the recording and release of the second GWYNBLEIDD full-length.
So far, the band has only one confirmed show for 2011: Feb. 4 at the Europa in Brooklyn. However, band members said they're working on a short East Coast run for the first half of the year and a few dates in Poland in August.
Gwynbleidd - "Nostalgia" 4-23-10:
And an early version of "Stormcalling" from Nostalgia, dated 12-15-06:
Check out how fucking massive drummer Adam Romanowski's kick drum is!
WORMROT FINISH NEXT ONE-WORD TITLED ALBUM, RELEASE NEW SONG
If your brain is an offending slab of concrete, then let Singapore's Wormrot be your jackhammer. The Earache Records' grind phenoms tore up the U.S. on tour last year and they plan to continue the pummeling in 2011. The band just finished a stint in the studio earlier this month to record a follow-up to Abuse by continuing their trend of one-word titles with an LP called Dirge.
Make the jump to hear a new song, "Manipulation," from Dirge as well as a statement from Wormrot frontman Arif.
Arif Rot, Wormrot's frontman, had this to say about the record:"We are definitely stoked to get this album out. We are working extra hard on this one. EXTRA FUCKING HARDER THAN ABUSE. We are currently in the rehearsal studio still writing songs and making some minor adjustments and what not. If you are digging Abuse and also from our latest split with I ABHOR, then u might dig the new album. We'll be in the studio for "DIRGE" first week of January. NEW YEAR WITH A NEW DOSAGE OF GRIND!"
This spring, don't expect a somber collection of songs about mourning and grief. DIRGE hits stores May 3rd and should be a Dies Iræ of apocalyptic proportions.
And don't forget to check out Wormrot's earnest (and hilarious) tour diary over at Invisible Oranges.
January 12, 2011
CRUSTY CLIP OF THE WEEK: SADISTIK EXEKUTION - 'AGONIZING THE DEAD' LIVE IN ROME '95
Every single Wednesday without fail, your hosts post a suitably stale video clip that we think needs to be revisited. Click here for more Crusty Clips. Got a clip you think we should post? Send it to crustcake@gmail.com.
by Andrew Wilhelm (TX)
Sadistik Exekution are sort of the Portal before Portal. Both are Australian, both have an rather unorthodox image, and both produce sounds that can be best summed up as chaotic. SE had less of an Azagthoth/modern-classical bent to them, opting for a more outwardly brutal, all-out approach. Imagine Blasphemy on a never-ending speed binge, and you've got a good idea of their sound. This is heavy metal freed of all harnesses of taste, form, and convention. Total kvlt. And strangely enough, vocalist Rok now hosts a successful fishing program on Australian TV, or so I've heard.
Below is a performance of "Agonizing the Dead," from their 1991(!) record, The Magus. There's an Absu banner on top of the stage -- that show must have been WILD. On a closing note, their guitarist, Reverend Kriss Hades, put out a solo record, Wind of Orion, of experimental black metal that is not to be missed.
As a bonus, here's a video of their bassist, Dave Slave, going off:
EARACHE ANNOUNCE LIVE RECORDING SERIES: INTO THE PIT
If you still have any iTunes gift cards left over from the holidaze, Earache Records has something for you. Announced just before the Xmas blitz, Earache launched a live recording series called Into the Pit, which features live boots of classic and modern Earache bands, including At the Gates, Napalm Death, Deicide and others.
Most of the albums include never-before-released live recordings from the bands' early days to recent festival performances. The albums are available in digital format, though only through online music pimping application iTunes. A listing of the albums released can be peeked after the jump. Head to Earache's website for more info and be sure to leave them a nice message via the iTunes ratings system.
Earache Records' "Into the Pit" live series features the following albums:Cult Of Luna - Live at the Scala
At The Gates - Live in Krakow
Mortiis - Live in London
Napalm Death - Live at Rock City
Linea 77 - Live at MTV Day
Deicide - When London Burns
The Haunted - Live in Malmö
Society 1 - Live in LA
Cathedral - Live in London
Bolt Thrower - Live War
The Berzerker - Live in London
Hate Eternal - Live in London
Deicide - Doomsday LA
Linea 77 - Live at TPO
SSS - Live in Liverpool
Evile - Live at Hammerfest
Deicide - Live in Nottingham
MORBID ANGEL TO HEADLINE SCION ROCK FEST IN POMONA, CA
We got some deets on the third edition of the Scion Rock Fest, and we know you have a hankering for deets.
What's confirmed so far is that it will be in Pomona, Calif., outside of Los Angeles, at the Fox Theater and the Glass House on March 5, according to LA Weekly. And guess who's headlining?
MORBID FUCKING ANGEL! They're already on our list of most anticipated albums and now we can add them to our most anticipated performances. Looks like someone got Trey off the interwebs long enough to play a gig.
Rumored bands, Blabbermouth speculates, are Obituary, Integrity, Agalloch, Death Angel, Municipal Waste, Atheist, and Bonded By Blood. According to the LA Weekly article, other bands will be confirmed tomorrow.
Check out a flyer below.
Morbid Angel - "Immortal Rites":
MASTER RETURN TO THE STATES
When it comes to old school death metal, nobody is more old school than Master. Paul Speckmann has been doing this thing since 198-fucking-3, as evidenced by a beard that would put most Isis fans to shame. He now resides in the Czech Republic, a country more known for wacky grind than straight-ahead metal, but he comes over to the other side of the pond every once in a while. He'll do it again in a couple months with Lightning Swords of Death and Mobile Deathcamp in tow. For the U.S. tour, Speckmann's Czech backing band will be replaced by Alex Bouks and Jim Roe of Incantation. Show some love for your elders.
All dates below.
Master/Lightning Swords of Death/Mobile Deathcamp Tour 2011Mar 2 Frederick, MD @ Krugs place
Mar 3 Baltimore,MD @ Sonar
Mar 4 BROOKLYN,NY @ Europa
Mar 5 Club Diablo, Buffalo, NY also Rochester,NY @ Montage Music Hall
Mar 6 Peekskill,NY @ POPEYES
Mar 7 Cleveland,OH @ Now Thats Class
Mar 9 Lansing,MI @ Macs
Mar 10 INDY,IN @ Melody Inn
Mar 11 CHICAGO,IL @ REGGIES
Mar 12 ST LOUIS,MO @ FUBAR
Mar 13 Lincoln,NE @ Bourbon Theater
Mar 16 Seattle,WA @ El Corazon
Mar 17 Portland,OR @ Branx
Mar 18 SF,CA @ Parkside
Mar 19 Escondido, CA @The Metaphor Cafe
Mar 20 Tempe,AZ @ Clubhouse
Mar 23 Austin,TX @ Emos
Mar 24 Ft Worth,TX. @ The Rail Club
Mar 25 SAN ANTONIO,TX @ Bonds Rock Bar
Mar 26 HOUSTON,TX @ WALTERS
Mar 30 RALEIGH,NC @ Volume 11
Apr 2 Walden, NY @ Top Notch Bar and Grill
Apr 3 Pittsburgh,PA @ 31st St Pub
January 11, 2011
WREST AKA JEF WHITEHEAD ARRESTED ON SEX ASSAULT, BATTERY CHARGES
Longstanding U.S. black metal figurehead Wrest aka Jef Whitehead (Leviathan, Lurker of Chalice, Twilight) was arrested in Chicago over the weekend on sex assault and domestic battery charges, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Whitehead, 42, was charged with criminal sexual assault and aggravated domestic battery Sunday and held on $350,000 bond after investigators said he attacked his girlfriend.
The Tribune reports that Whitehead and his 26-year-old girlfriend got into an argument about 12:30 a.m. Saturday at a home connected to a tattoo shop.
Police said he beat and choked the woman and, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, sexually assaulted her with tattoo tools.
Whitehead lives in San Francisco, but had recently been in Chicago as part of a world-wide tattooing tour.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the woman was taken to the University of Illinois Medical Center in fair to serious condition.
ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE TO PSYCH OUT THE STATES
The loudest show I've been to was not Slayer. Hell, it wasn't even The Body. It was four hippie freaks from Japan: Acid Mothers Temple. Guitarist and leader Kawabata Makoto is aptly called the "Speed Guru," though his trips are more planetary-dimensional-crossing than Earth-based widdly-widdly-widdly-wee. Seriously, there is no way he's playing that fast. Add a heap of mushrooms, Hawkwind, theremin, and '70s rock puns, and you've got yourself a hearty helping of cosmic fuckery. Along with Boris, Ghost (no, not that Ghost), LSD March, and Keiji Haino, Acid Mothers Temple have helped put Japan on the map for the finest and freakiest avant-garde, rock-based music.
Find out when they'll be touching down near you below.
Acid Mothers Temple 2011 U.S. TourWed 03/23 @ Spaceland Los Angeles CA
Thu 03/24 @ Bottom of the Hill San Francisco CA
Sat 03/26 @ Doug Fir Lounge Portland OR
Sun 03/27 @ The Wild Buffalo Bellingham WA
Mon 03/28 @ Chop Suey Seattle WA
Tue 03/29 @ Biltmore Cabaret Vancouver BC
Thu 03/31 @ Broken City Calgary AB
Fri 04/01 @ The Badlander Missoula MT
Sat 04/02 @ Urban Lounge Salt Lake City UT
Sun 04/03 @ Larimer Lounge Denver CO
Mon 04/04 @ Bourbon Theatre Lincoln NE
Tue 04/05 @ 7th Street Entry Minneapolis MN
Wed 04/06 @ Empty Bottle Chicago IL
Thu 04/07 @ The Strutt Kalamazoo MI
Fri 04/08 @ El Mocambo Toronto ON
Sat 04/09 @ Il Motore Montreal QC
Sun 04/10 @ Great Scott Allston MA
Mon 04/11 @ Daniel Street Milford CT
Tue 04/12 @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn NY
Wed 04/13 @ Johnny Brendas Philadelphia PA
Thu 04/14 @ Red Palace Washington DC
Fri 04/15 @ Ottobar Baltimore MD
Sat 04/16 @ Local 506 Chapel Hill NC
Sun 04/17 @ Pilot Light Knoxville TN
Mon 04/18 @ The Earl Atlanta GA
Tue 04/19 @ One Eyed Jacks New Orleans LA
Wed 04/20 @ Fitzgeralds Houston TX
Thu 04/21 @ The Loft Dallas TX
Fri 04/22 @ Red 7 Austin TX
Sun 04/24 @ Solar Culture Tucson AZ
Mon 04/25 @ Casbah San Diego CA
GAZA DEBUT FIRST NEW SONG SINCE HE'S STILL NOT BACK YET
One of my (and these seans') favorite currently-active troo kvlt metalcore bands, Utah's Gaza, was out braving the snow and ice to bring you their doomy hardcore tunes last November and December. One of their performances, a show presented by 1000knives & Brooklyn Vegan at Cake Shop in NYC on Nov. 21, was captured on video and included a brand-new song. Hopefully this means a follow-up to 2009's fantastic He Is Never Coming Back is imminent? Thanks to Metal Injection for posting the vid. Check out the as-yet untitled song after the jump.
To watch six more live boots of Gaza from the same show, click here.
January 7, 2011
MUTANT SUPREMACY ANNOUNCE SHORT TOUR, NEW 7"S ON THE WAY
Next week Mutant Supremacy head south to spread their demonic seed during a short tour to Georgia and back to NYC. While in Georgia the group will be stopping by Sarcophagus Studio to record with Jamie Uertz. Mutant's Sam Awry (guitar/vocals) commented:
We have a couple split 7's that we're working on, hopefully out this year. I don't want to give out all the details until it's set in stone, but for our part, it will be the first recordings with Curt on guitar, and will feature all new songs.These planned 7"s will be the first releases since their excellent debut full length Infinite Suffering.
Read more for the full set of tour dates as well Sam's full statement.
The tour ends at Union Pool on Sunday the 23rd, we'll be playing with Cannabis Corpse and fellow New York band Pyrrhon. We will be recording for a couple days at Sarcophagus Studio in Auburn. GA with Jamie Uertz, an old friend of Roberts. We have a couple split 7's that we're working on, hopefully out this year. I don't want to give out all the details until it's set in stone, but for our part, it will be the first recordings with Curt on guitar, and will feature all new songs. We also have a split with Nekrofilth coming out on Iron Bonehead, that includes never before heard recordings from about 6 months before we recorded Infinite Suffering. All of the new releases will feature the artwork of John Clue, the artist who painted the cover of Infinite Suffering.
Mutant Supremacy tour 2011
1/13 - Nashville, TN
1/14 - TBA
1/15 - Atlanta, GA
1/18 - TBA
1/19 - Savannah, GA
1/20 - Raleigh, NC w/ CANNABIS CORPSE
1/21 - Richmond, VA w/CANNABIS CORPSE
1/22 - Philadelphia, PA
1/23 - Brooklyn, NY
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MELVINS BEGIN RESIDENCY IN L.A.'S SPACELAND TONIGHT
Seeing The Melvins live is always a treat. Buzz Osbourne is heavy on the ax and witty on the mic, and Dale is a tightly wound drummer. And having two-thirds of Big Business - bassist Jared Warren and drummer Coady Willis - as a rhythm section has made the band even bigger in sound. The Melvins always keep it fresh on the setlist game too, pulling deep cuts from all their album in addition to required songs from whatever record they're touring for and "Honey Bucket." Residents of Los Angeles will have four chances to see the band at Spaceland (1717 Silver Lake Boulevard), and in keeping with Melvins tradition, no two shows will be the same.
Tonight, the Melvins will perform Colossus of Destiny, Lysol (which features two of THEIR FUCKING HEAVIEST SONGS EVER), and Eggnogg. Perhaps the heaviest set out of the four. The following Friday, the 14th, they will do a Melvins 1983 set with Crover on bass and original drummer Mike Dillard on the skins, as well as a set that will include their breakthrough record Houdini in its entirety and other songs from the Melvins' canon. This is similar to their Silver Anniversary tour they did back in May 2009. When the 21st arrives, the first set will be Melvins Lite, where they tell Big Business to scurry off and let Osborne and Crover do their thing. Warren and Willis will return later in the night to play all of Bullhead, featuring longtime fan favorite "Boris." The residency will conclude on the 28th with a regular Melvins set and a set featuring Stoner Witch played front to back.
Spread eagle like a beagle and go!
"Hung Bunny" Live in Tempe, AZ 6/2/10
"Roman Bird Dog" Live in Tempe, AZ 6/2/10
