That Agoraphobic Nosebleed/Despise You split is burning up all over the internet. Not only is it one of our most popular streams yet (GO LISTEN TO IT NOW!!!), but we've gotten a lot of entries in our contest to win a vinyl copy of it. Alas, we've got to pick a winner sooner or later, so today is the last day to enter! You've got until 11:59 PM EST to email crustcakecontests@gmail.com with the subject ANB/DY and answer this question:
Who is being sampled in the beginning of the ANB song "Hungry Homeless Handjob," from Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope?
Go forth, 'cakers!
April 29, 2011
AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED/DESPISE YOU SPLIT CONTEST ENDS TODAY!
DAMN RIGHT THE BODY ARE TOURING AGAIN
The Body, the Providence duo that shoots first, asks questions later, and does not call 911, are hitting the road yet again for a short run of dates in the Midwest, Northeast, and Canada. Clearly, their acts of destruction in Austin were mere warmups, and they're hungry to decimate more cities. Survivors of these gigs, of which I've been twice, say they'd do it again despite reporting near-toxic levels of O))) compounds. Don't say we didn't warn you.
Also of note, At a Loss Records will reissue the band's excellent 2010 record, All the Waters of Earth Turn to Blood, later this year as a 2XLP. The release will be limited to 1100 copies, come in black and colored versions (but what colors? Time for an office pool...), and come in a deluxe gatefold with embossed heavy stock individual inner sleeves. The vinyl will also contain a digital download card. Tasty apocalyptic doom in a tasty package.
Click below for the dates.
The Body May Tour 20115/12/2011 Geno's - Portland, ME
The Body - "Song of Sarin, The Brave" Live at SXSW 2011
5/13/2011 Casa Del Popolo - Montreal, QC @ Mountain Of Might Festival
5/14/2011 Artel - Kingston, ON
5/15/2011 Parts And Labour - Toronto, ON
5/16/2011 Magic Stick - Detroit, MI
5/17/2011 Now That's Class - Cleveland, OH
5/18/2011 The Union Bar And Grill - Athens, OH
5/19/2011 Bug Jar - Rochester, NY
5/20/2011 Embassy Vinyl - Scranton, PA
5/26/2011 The Met - Pawtucket, RI w/ Mission Of Burma
MASAKARI TOURING WITH NEW SOUTHERN LORD MATES ALPINIST
Cleveland combo Masakari had their way with us at SXSW, and they're about to make the rest of the country their bitch too come August. This time, they'll be joined by Germans Alpinist, yet another acquisition in Southern Lord's "We Do Fast Stuff Too" division. If you went crazy for Maskari's metallic, melodic hardcore like we did (and in fact, still are), Alpinist will certainly be in your frequent rotation as well. Both of the band's records, Lichtlærm and Minus Mensch, were previously released only on vinyl, but for those of you without record players and/or Ebay accounts, SL is rereleasing the albums on CD May 22. Some of the California shows on this joint will be put on by The Power of the Riff, who put on the aforementioned "Masakari owns Crustcake in Austin" gig. More news on those shows as it comes. Summer's shaping up to be fantastic, isn't it?
Will you be moshing? Find out where the tour's going below. Masakari will also be hitting the road soon with Rise and Fall - refresh yourself on those shows too by clicking below.
Masakari/Alpinist Summer Tour 2011August 5th - Cleveland, OH @ Now That's Class
Masakari/Rise and Fall Tour 2011
August 6th - Pittsburgh, PA @ The Helter Shelter w/ Full of Hell and Old Accusers
August 7th - Chicago, IL w/ Weekend Nachos and Protestant
August 8th - Denver, CO @ The Blast-O-Mat
August 9th - Somewhere in AZ (NEED HELP)
August 10th - Las Vegas, NV @ Yayo Taco
August 11th - San Diego, CA @ The Ruby Room
August 12th - Fullerton, CA @ Riff Haus Studio
August 13th - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echoplex - Power of the Riff
August 14th - Oakland, CA @ TBA
August 15th - San Fransisco, CA @ TBA Power of the Riff
August 16th - Portland, OR @ TBA
August 17th - Seattle, WA @ Numeos - Power of the Riff
August 18th - Olympia, WA @ TBA
August 19th - Spokane, WA @ The Hop Turn (MATINEE SHOW)
August 20th - Fargo, ND @ New Direction
August 21st - Minneapolis, MN @ The Rat Hole w/ Enabler and Mares of Thrace
August 22nd - Appleton, WI @ BFG
August 23rd - Milwaukee, WI @ TBA w/ Protestant5/8 Providence, RI @ Club Hell
Masakari Live at The Gomorrah, Cleveland, OH 9/17/10
5/9 Albany, NY @ Bogies
5/10 Garden City, NY @ Ethical Humanist Society
5/11 Baltimore, MD @ CCAS
5/12 Richmond, VA @ Warehouse
5/13 Philadelphia, PA @ Broad Street Ministry
5/14 New York, NY @ ABC No Rio (3pm Show)
5/14 New York, NY @ Public Assembly (9pm Show)
Alpinist Live at Elba Squat, Warsaw, Poland 9/8/10
April 27, 2011
SLOUGH FEG ROCKIN'-AND-A-ROLLIN' THE MIDWEST THIS WEEK
If you haven't seen Bay Area heavy metallers Slough Feg live yet, we must ask politely: WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!? Shame, shame, shame you haven't witnessed one of the best live bands in any damn genre of music. The quartet, led by metal lifer and philosophy professor Mike Scalzi, ooze so much twin lead majesty that even Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson would rock out with envy. Folks in Chicago, Michigan, or Indiana this week will be glad to know they'll be doing a crucial trio of shows. If we had to pick one to highlight, though, it would be their appearance at Saturday's Dark Lord Day at 3 Floyds Brewery in Muenster, IN. Not only will be there lots of great music in additon to Slough Feg - Sweet Cobra, Lair of the Minotaur, and Bible of the Devil will also play - but it's the one time of year you can acquire a bottle of 3 Floyds' Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout. Legend has it Dark Lord one of the best beers in the world, and if you managed to get a bottle for us, we might make it worth your while (wink, wink). Even if you can't snag a bottle, 3 Floyds' Alpha King and Gumballhead beers are excellent compliments to Slough Feg and headbanging 365 days a year.
Details on the three shows after the jump.
Slough Feg Midwest Mini-Tour 20114/28 - Quenchers Saloon, Chicago, IL w/ Wolfbait, Superchrist, Bible Of The Devil, Hookers
"The Final Gambit"
4/29 - Small's, Hamtramck, MI w/ Wolfbait, Superchrist, Bible Of The Devil, Hookers
4/30 - Dark Lord Day @ Three Floyds Brewery, Muenster, IN w/ Lair Of The Minotaur, Sweet Cobra, Ponys, Bible Of The Devil, Sybris
VELNIAS HEAD OUT EAST
If you've lived in Boulder, Colo. for any amount of time, you'll eventually need a break from the L.A. trust fund fleshsacks and the crusty hippies who dropped out of life with bong in hand. Velnias certainly do, and they'll embark on tour soon. The blackened unit will cover the Midwest (although there are no Chicago shows despite their origins in the western suburbs) and the East with the blackened essence of the Rockies - beautiful yet unforgiving. Later in May, they'll have two local gigs, one in Denver on the 25th and the other in Jesusland...er, Colorado Springs on the 27th. Let's hope Ted Haggard will be out in full force. Velnias' debut full-length Sovereign Nocturnal will be re-released on wax through Vendetta Records, and limited copies will be available at these shows.
All dates below.
Velnias 2011 DatesMay 7th @ The Hair Hole (Columbia, MO) w/ Catheter, Streetwalker and Task Force
"Sovereign Nocturnal"
May 8th @ Cranky Yellow (St. Louis, MO) w/ TBA
May 9th @ The Green Womb (Nashville, TN) w/ Yautja and TBA
May 10th @ TBA (Richmond, VA)
May 11th @ The Acheron (Brooklyn, NY) w/ Ruin Lust, Lonesummer and ITHI
May 12th @ TBA (Quebec City, QC, Canada)
May 14th @ Casa Del Popolo (Montreal, QC, Canada) w/ Monarch and Gates - Mountains Of Might Festival
May 16th @ Pike's Cottage (Hinckley, ME) w/ Falls of Rauros and Terrible Old Man
May 17th @ TBA (Philadelphia, PA)
May 18th @ 15th House (Columbus, OH) w/ TBA
May 19th @ The Vollrath Tavern (Indianapolis, IN) w/ Charnel House and TBA
May 20th @ TBA (Bloomington, IN)
May 25th @ Ron's (Denver, CO) w/ Rye Wolves, Dwellers and Black Sleep of Kali
May 27th @ The Zodiac (Colorado Springs, CO) w/ Nightbringer
April 25, 2011
CRUSTCAKE PICKS - NEW CAKE IN THE OVEN: GRIDLINK - ORPHAN
By Andrew Wilhelm (TX)
Lately, I've developed a frustrated impatience for artists who are too prolific. Some bands release more music in a span of months than most do in their entire career -- Agathocles' Metal-Archives page is terrifying. Hyperprolificity is not entirely without merit. With the short attention span of many music consumers, it's important to keep your name out there. Also, now that you don't have to wait on a label to get your music to the public, why not? At the same time, having a massive output can be intimidating for potential fans, who often can't find a starting point. More importantly, when you're constantly cranking out a large slew of releases, some half-baked ideas and failed experiments are bound to slip through. Wading through the grey to seek the gold is sometimes more trying than rewarding.
Grind wizards Gridlink do not share the release schedule of someone like Nadja or Lil' B, however. 
Their second record, Orphan (HydraHead), comes three years after their debut, Amber Grey, and in total, their recorded output is 24 minutes. The band also spans states and countries -- vocalist Jon Chang, guitarist Steve Procopio, and bassist Teddy Patterson III live in New Jersey; drummer Bryan Farjado (also of Kill the Client and Phobia) resides in Texas, and guitarist Takafumi Matsubara hails from Japan. The band probably has tons of ideas, but due to distance and other commitments, they can't get all of them to tape.
That works for them -- patience and development have paid off. Big time. Orphan is some of the best 12 minutes of music you'll hear all year.
Gridlink are proficient in finding sweet spots. Orphan is an EP that doesn't feel like an EP. Not that it's too long (and if 12 minutes were too long, there would be some serious problems), but that it feels more fully formed than albums three or four times its length. The riffs are familiar, but the way Gridlink puts them together isn't. Guitars function like getaway cars -- the zigs, zags, twists, and abrupt shifts come from drivers who know exactly what they're doing. The band aren't going to give you room to breathe. The small gaps of thrash here and there are the closest gasps you'll get until the album is over. You leave the recording thinking, "Was that an illusion? Or was that real?" Give yourself five minutes to recover and goddamn, you'll press play again. Gridlink won't give you another minute, no matter how much you want it.
As a band, they're tighter than Jim Dandy's white leather pants in 1974, but like the Killdozer, there's a soul controlling the gears of death. Chang screams less as if he's singing along to the music than he's competing for space against it. Fajardo also contributes to the android-like nature of the record. What he's doing is completely natural, but he does it in such a way that you question if he's actually a human. Few could ever hope to keep up with him.
Speaking of drums, Orphan feels rawer than Amber Grey, most notably in the somewhat dirtier production, but also because of a seemingly minor detail -- the count-offs before all the songs (sans the opener, "Dar Al-Harb.") Those aren't present in Amber Grey. That little detail says a lot about the band: they play their asses off, but they are also dudes who love to jam. It would have been easy to edit them out, but Orphan would lose some character. While they exude the loose energy of a rehearsal, the songs say this band came ready to play the last gig of their lives. Artists should take their art seriously, but part of that entails knowing when not to take things seriously. When such paradoxes lead to music like this, they should be embraced.
This is the music of 2011 -- nervous, short-tempered, and hectic -- but with the timeless quality of craftsmanship. And if we have to wait more than three years for Gridlink's next installment, their track record will quash any worries about stagnating in the meantime.
April 22, 2011
CRUSTCAKE STREAMS: AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED/DESPISE YOU - AND ON AND ON... (YOU CAN WIN IT TOO!)
It's been a hot minute since our last stream, but we have something real tasty for you. Agoraphobic Nosebleed and Despise You's upcoming split, And On And On..., will arrive in stores on Tuesday through Relapse, but we're streaming the whole thing now! Already familiar with both groups, as you should be? This is prime stuff from both bands. Never seen either on the back of a punker's jacket? If you're seeking something on the more deranged end of hardcore, and with male/female vocal combos, look no further. One of the highlight is "Fear's Song" on the Despise You side, where they do a modern take on Fear's "I Don't Care About You." The ANB side is similar to their work on Agorapocalypse, especially since the material was written just prior to that album.
Why do we need to banter on? Give it a listen after the jump!
Agoraphoic Nosebleed/Despise You Split by crustcake
Like what you heard? We're also giving away a vinyl copy of the record! To enter, email crustcakecontests@gmail.com with the subject ANB/DY and answer this question:
Who is being sampled in the beginning of the ANB song "Hungry Homeless Handjob," from Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope?
WOLVSERPENT HEADING OUT ON TOUR
Having rested from their jaunt last fall, Idaho drone-doom duo Wolvserpent are going back out on the road in the next couple weeks. They'll be touring in support once again for their under-recognized but still-killer 20 Buck Spin release Blood Seed. Joining them for the tour are Seattle's A Story of Rats. Along the way, Wolvserpent will play with a great assortment of bands such as fellow potato-slingers Uzala, SXSW favorites Witch Mountain and Amber Asylum, Tombs, Laudanum, Wino, Kayo Dot and A Storm of Light. Also thanks to this news, I had no idea until now that Texarkana has a skate shop.
Full dates and a clip from their stop in NYC last year after the jump.
Wolvserpent/A Story of Rats Tour 2011Wed 5/11 in Boise, ID @ VAC w/Uzala
Thu 5/12 in Seattle, WA @ El Corazon w/Master Musicians of Bukkake, The Blinding Light
Fri 5/13 in Portland, OR @ East End w/Witch Mountain
Mon 5/16 in Arcata, CA @ The Alibi
Tue 5/17 in SF, CA @ Thee Parkside w/Amber Asylum
Wed 5/18 in Oakland, CA @ Eli’s Mile High Club w/Laudanum
Thu 5/19 in LA, CA @ Bordello Bar w/Wino (acoustic)
Fri 5/20 in Phoenix, AZ @ Sound Kontrol w/GOG, John Mannion, Rituals
Sat 5/21 in Santa Fe, NM @ Warehouse 21
Sun 5/22 in Las Cruces, NM @ The Trainyard w/Yazata, Ghost Icon
Mon 5/23 in Austin, TX @ Headhunters
Tue 5/24 in Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves
Wed 5/25 in Texarkana, TX @ Dave’s Skate Shop
Thu 5/26 in Shreveport, LA @ Dalzell
Fri 5/27 in Nashville, TN @ Little Hamilton
Sat 5/28 in Athens, GA @ Caledonia Lounge
Sun 5/29 in Columbia, SC @ TBA
Mon 5/30 in Durham, NC @ Casbah w/MAKE
Tue 5/31 in Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter w/Wildildlife
Fri 6/3 in Baltimore, MD @ Talking Head
Sat 6/4 in Brooklyn, NY @ Acheron
Sun 6/5 in Providence, RI @ TBA
Wed 6/8 in Milford, CT @ Daniel St w/Kayo Dot
Thu 6/9 in Pittsburgh, PA @ Garfield Arts w/Dwarf Fortress
Fri 6/10 in Columbus, OH @ Cafe Bourbon St
Sat 6/11 in Lansing, MI @ Mac’s Bar
Sun 6/12 in Chicago, IL @ Pancho’s w/Tombs, A Storm of Light
Tue 6/14 in Milwaukee, WI @ Borg Ward
Wed 6/15 in Minneapolis, MN @ TBA
Thu 6/16 in Iowa City, IA @ TBA
Fri 6/17 – TBA
Sat 6/18 – Denver, CO @ TBA
Live at The Acheron, NYC, 10/5/10
April 21, 2011
KYLESA FACE OFF AGAINST CRUSTIES, HIPSTERS, HIPPIES ON TOUR
Like eager bucks fresh out of college, Kylesa are hitting up the festivals this summer. Most notably, they'll be playing Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tenn. June 10. While no other day lineups have been confirmed so far, they'll be joined in metal by Opeth, which raises hopes that perhaps big festivals are looking past the "token" metal acts (I mean, we like Mastodon and The Sword, but still...) to bring some heaviness to the fray. Before then, Kylesa will do a string of dates leading up to Maryland Death Fest on May 27. Joining them that day will be Neurosis, Corrosion of Conformity, Nails, Marduk and Hatred Surge. Then, they'll keep going, not looking back, to the Liquid Sludge Festival June 3 as part of Chaos in Tejas. For that, they'll team up with The Gates of Slumber, Naam and Orange Goblin. They'll also play Houston's Free Press Summer Fest the next day, where they'll pour one out for DJ Screw, Big Moe and Fat Pat. Topping off their tour will be their appearance at Pitchfork Music Festival. They'll be sharing the stage with none other than the not-horrorcore collective OFWGKTA, who are sure to cause a ruckus at the fest. Maybe the two will do a song onstage together -- perhaps Kylesa have a bond with OFWGKTA of being slighted by 2 Dope Boyz too.
Full list of dates below. New old school doom metallers Hour of 13 will open all pre-Chaos shows.
Kylesa Summer Tour 2011May 25 Charlotte, NC Casbah @ Tremont Music Hall
26 Richmond, VA Strange Matter
27 Baltimore, MD Maryland Death Fest @ Sonar
28 Buffalo, NY Mohawk Place
29 Grand Rapids, MI The Pyramid Scheme
31 Newport, KY Southgate House
June 1 St. Louis, MO The Firebird
2 Tulsa, OK The Marquee Theater
3 Austin, TX Liquid Sludge Festival @ The Scoot Inn (Chaos in Tejas)
4 Denton, TX Rubber Gloves
5 Houston, TX Free Press Summer Fest @ Eleanor Tinsley Park
10 Manchester, TN Bonnaroo
July 17 Chicago, IL Pitchfork Music Festival @ Union Park
"Tired Climb"
April 20, 2011
CRUSTY CLIP OF THE WEEK: THOU - "SWEET LEAF" LIVE AT ABC NO RIO, NYC, 10/18/08
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)
What, you thought we were going to post some Minor Threat?
Celebrate "Everywhere is Boulder, Colo." Day and the birthday of a man Bill Hicks once called an underachiever with Thou's live cover of Black Sabbath's "Sweet Leaf." They will also play in New Orleans with Northless tonight, do a trio of Texas shows this weekend (come say Hi to me and Van at the Austin show!) and open for Floor in Tallahassee in a couple weeks. Those dates and other shows after the video.
4/20 - New Orleans, LA - Caddy Whomp Haus w/ Northless, Disciples of Christ
4/22 - Dallas, TX - Good Records w/ Big Fiction
4/23 - Austin, TX - The Broken Neck w/ P.L.F., Mindless, Massgrave, Chestpain, Megaton Leviathan
4/24 - Houston, TX - The Ponderosa w/ Skycrawler, Vivisect
5/3 - Tallahassee, FL - The Engine Room w/ Floor, Dick Kicker
5/13 - New Orleans, LA - Hey! Cafe w/ Boneblack
5/18 - Baton Rouge, LA - Perkins Parlour w/ Anhedonist, Pallbearer
6/7 - New Orleans, LA - Zeitgeist w/ Shitstorm, White Lung, Nu Sensae, Small Bones
TORCHE, MAGRUDERGRIND, MORE PLAYING INDY'S DUDEFEST
Summer in the Midwest is looking righteous this year, and for us headbangers, it has nothing to do with Lollapalooza. First, we got you hip to Utech Fest in Milwaukee, and now the Indianapolis' Dudefest will return July 27-30 at The Hoosier Dome. A slew of killer names have already been confirmed -- Torche (pictured), Big Business, and Helms Alee's previously announced tour will include a stop at Dudefest, and Weekend Nachos (whose tour we just posted about yesterday), Coffinworm, KEN mode, Dropdead, Magrudergrind, Hewhocorrupts, Iron Lung, and 7000 Dying Rats (featuring members of Lair of the Minotaur) will also make apperances. Sadly, Gaza were going to play but they are not on the bill anymore. Our buddies who've been to Dudefests past said they've had amazing times, so if you're thinking about going, do it!
Check the full lineup and some A/V action below.
Dropdead
Big Business
Torche
Iron Lung
7000 Dying Rats
Ice Nine
Magrudergrind
The Dream is Dead
Weekend Nachos
Coliseum
Helms Alee
Pygmy Lush
Hewhocorrupts
Walls
Phoenix Bodies
In Defence
Coffinworm
Kenmode
Austin Lucas
Common Enemy
Disaster Strikes
Enabler
Cyborg
Black God
Bone Dance
Picked Clean
Eunuchs
Naptakers
John Rambo and the Vietnam Wars
Still
Torche - "King Beef"
Magrudergrind - "Lyrical Ammunition for Scene Warfare" Live at Scion Rock Fest 2010
Coffinworm live at the Tip Top Tavern, Indianapolis, IN 3/15/10
7000 Dying Rats - "Altar Of Goat Skulls"
Iron Lung live at Speed Trials 2005, 924 Gilman, Berkeley, CA
Weekend Nachos - "Shot in the Head" live at The Mary Graydon Center, American University, Washington, DC 3/20/11
April 19, 2011
NPR DOES IT AGAIN: STREAM KRALLICE'S NEW ALBUM, DIOTIMA
While less surprising since their streams of Harvey Milk, Thou, Salome and Agalloch, it still feels a bit odd that NPR has been bringing the metal crush so often on their music blog. Despite how strange it may feel, they've done it again, this time with a full stream of Diotima, the new full-length by Profound Lore's symphony of blackened riffage Krallice. We've been highly anticipating this record here on the 'Cake -- as you should be -- and we can safely say it delivers. So put your net tubes to good use and check out the stream here.
1. -
2. Inhume
3. The Clearing
4. Diotima
5. Litany Of Regrets
6. Telluric Rings
7. Dust and Light
KRALLICE SPRING TOUR WITH WITHERED4/24 - Great Scott - Boston, MA
4/25 Montréal, QC Katacombes
4/26 Toronto, ON Sneaky Dee's
4/27 Cleveland, OH Now That's Class
4/28 Pittsburgh, PA Gooski's
4/29 Baltimore, MD Talking Head @ Sonar
4/30 Philadelphia, PA The Barbary
5/1 Milford, CT Daniel Street
5/2 New York, NY The Studio @ Webster Hall
April 18, 2011
WEEKEND NACHOS PLOT WESTERN/MIDWESTERN TOUR
Get ready to get powerviolent! Windy City rad dudes Weekend Nachos will hit the road in support of their new record Worthless, which will be released on May 15 through Relapse for CD and Deep Six for vinyl. They will be blazing through the Midwest, West Coast, and part of Texas, culminating at their record release show June 7 in Chicago at the Albion House. At their release show for Bleed last year, also held at Albion, I probably lost at least 10 pounds from sweating. Good lord, it was a sauna of broness.
In addition, Weekend Nachos will hit up Seattle's Rain Fest as a part of this tour. 'Cake favs Nails, Black Breath, and Owen Hart will also be playing. Leeds' The Afternoon Gentlemen will be supporting on all dates. And let's pray that John doesn't hurl any bass cases around this time.
Most of the venues are still TBA, but you can check out the routing before. Make sure to leave your Cubs jerseys at home.
Weekend Nachos/The Afternoon Gentleman West Coast/Midwest Tour 20115/21 Ann Arbor MI at Metal Frat
5/22 Milwaukee WI at The Doghouse
5/23 Rock Island IL at Rozz Tox
5/24 Lincoln NE at TBA
5/25 Denver CO at Blastomat (w/ Capitalist Casualties and Catheter)
5/26 Provo UT at TBA
5/27 Boise ID at House of the Rising Sun (w/ Hummingbird of Death and Downsided)
5/28 Seattle WA at Neumos (Rain Fest w/ Black Breath, Owen Hart, Nails, more)
5/29 Portand OR at TBA
5/30 San Jose CA at TBA
5/31 Fresno CA at CYC
6/1 Los Angeles CA at Blvd (w/ Nails)
6/2 Phoenix AZ at TBA
6/3 El Paso TX at TBA
6/4 Dallas TX at Phoenix Project
6/5 Kansas City KS at TBA
6/6 Peoria IL at TBA
6/7 Chicago IL at Albion House (Record Release Show)
Weekend Nachos Live at Bloodshed Fest 2010 at Dynamo, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
April 15, 2011
AUTOPSY CONFIRMED FOR SLAUGHTER BY THE WATER
West Coast fans who can't make it to Chaos in Tejas to see Autopsy won't be left high and dry, as the Bay Area death metal legends will headline this year's Slaughter by the Water festival on June 25 at Craneway Pavillion in Richmond, Calif. So far, this is Autopsy's only North American appearance outside of Chaos. Playing with them are Ludicra, who are currently in Europe, as well as Whiplash, Nuclear Assault, Cattle Decapitation, and Warbringer. Even if you don't get to gorge on tacos and Lone Star with me and Van, the opportunity to see Autopsy is not one you should pass up. Autopsy also have a new record, Macabre Eternal, coming out May 31 through Peaceville Records. For you vinyl fanatics, there's a limited edition being released on May 16 featuring dark blue 180g vinyl, a gatefold sleeve, and an A3 poster. The tracklisting and cover art, which is much better than Shitfun and done by Wes Benscoter, are after the jump.
Tracklisting:
1. Hand Of Darkness
2. Dirty Gore Whore
3. Always About To Die
4. Macabre Eternal
5. Deliver Me From Sanity
6. Seeds Of The Doomed
7. Bridge Of Bones
8. Born Undead
9. Sewn Into One
10. Bludgeoned And Brained
11. Sadistic Gratification
12. Spill My Blood
April 14, 2011
MOTÖRHEAD VINYL CONTEST CLOSING THIS WEEKEND - ENTER NOW!
Got nothing to do this weekend? Enter in to win a copy of Motörhead's new album, The World Is Yours, on vinyl! We've got two copies to give away, and if we don't offload them soon, Lemmy's gonna take our booze and our women. Well, that would probably happen anyway, but that doesn't mean you should slack on this. We are closing the contest on Sunday at 11:59 PM EST, so hurry! Again, to enter, email crustcakecontests@gmail.com with the subject line "Motorhead" and answer these couple questions for us:
What is your favorite non-"Ace of Spades" Motörhead song?
and
What do you think Lemmy eats for breakfast every morning?
If you need a little inspiration, check out a clip of Lemmy telling a funny story about Ritchie Blackmore's misadventures in Iceland below.
CAVE IN'S WHITE SILENCE TO BE BROKEN MAY 24
[Photo by Samantha Marble]
And their silence has been deafening. Ever since 2009's Planets of Old EP, I have been dying for more Cave In. The band is finally providing us with a new full-length, White Silence, which will be released by Hydra Head Records on May 24. Recorded over 2009-10 in various locations (and not at GodCity as previously reported - thanks to Hydra Head's Mark Thompson for the correction!), you can currently preview the record's nine jams over at Amazon (and from those previews, White Silence is looking like the strangest Cave In record yet). After you check out 30-second clips of each of the album's jams, peep some live versions of them, as well as the album cover and track listing, after the jump.
1. White Silence
2. Serpents
3. Sing My Loves
4. Vicious Circles
5. Centered
6. Summit Fever
7. Heartbreaks, Earthquakes
8. Iron Decibels
9. Reanimation
April 13, 2011
BARONESS, CITIZENS ARREST ADDED TO CHAOS IN TEJAS
Damn, the last post we did on Baroness was in November 2009? Seems just yesterday we will still riding high on the Blue Record wave...
Anyway, Baroness has been confirmed for Chaos in Tejas in Austin, Texas, and yes, we're as shocked as you that the organizers managed to fit such a big band in an already bursting-at-the-seams festival. They will be playing Sunday, June 5, at Emo's, along with Seein' Red, Nerveskade, Teargas, Perdition, and Manipulation. That's also the same night as the Black Twilight Circle show at Red 7, so if you're not feeling kvlt enough, Baroness will make sure your Sunday has a purpose. With a weekend this stacked -- among those previously mentioned, Killing Joke, Hooded Menace, and Tragedy will also rule -- there's no way you won't have fun.
In other Chaos in Tejas news, Low Threat Profile won't be able to make it down to Austin for their June 3 show with Autopsy, but replacing them are reunited hardcore dudes Citizens Arrest. The New York group features indie superstar Ted Leo and Daryl Kahan, of death metal groups Disma and Funebrarum. If you told me five years ago that Ted Leo and Chris Reifert would play a show together, I would have told you to leave the hall. Now I'm eating my words, and it's going to be an awfully large meal.
Baroness - "Isak" Live at Visions Festival, Köln, Germany 2/16/08
Citizens Arrest Live at Knitting Factory, NYC, 12/17/10
ABSU REVEAL MORE DETAILS ON ABZU
Having recently conquered North America with second-wave pioneers/living Internet memes Immortal, Plano, Texas, pillagers Absu are currently working on their upcoming album, Abzu, at Nomad Recording Studio in Carrollton, Texas. At the mixing board is J.T. Longoria, whose production resume includes fellow DFW metal warriors Solitude Aeturnus and King Diamond, ex-Guns n' Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin, Houston rapper Lil' Flip, and Immortal's brothers in face paint and viral video, Insane Clown Posse. Much like how Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope are mystified by the workings of magnets and rainbows, we marvel at Proscriptor's drum work and songwriting. And judging by his following statement, magick is everywhere in this bitch.
"The entire rhythm section has been successfully tracked and all that remains are mellotron passages and vocal lines. Before attempting the final mix, we plan to transfer the rhythm section onto two-inch tape to thaw out its digital timbre," McGovern said. "With this record, we are appending dirtier elements of psychedelia and fusion. Lyrically, it will descend deeper into Enki's lower world as well the Enochian Magic(k) System. I can tell you this album will definitely not be a 'natural progression' from previous releases, but a feat of metaphysical conquest and murkiness."
The record is set for release later in the year through Candlelight. While the band has previously used the artistic talents of Kris Verwimp for past album covers and layouts, this time, that will be handled by Zbigniew Bielak and Costin Chioreanu. Proscriptor said the switch was made because "we're aesthetically detouring into more mystifying, Thelemic realms: musically and lyrically."
Track listing:
I.) Ontologically, It Became Time & Space
II.) Circles of the Oath
III.) Abraxas Connexus
IV.) Skrying in the Spirit Vision
V.) Earth Ripper
VI.) A Song for Ea including:
a. E-A
b. A Myriad of Portals
c. 3rd Tablet
d. Warren of Imhullu
e. The Waters – The Denizens
f. E-A (Reprise)
European festival appearances:
7/15/2011 Hammer Open Air - Lieto, Finland w/ Inquisition, Autopsy, Primordial and more
8/12/2011 Party San Open Air - Schlotheim, Germany w/ Triptykon, 1349, Skeletonwitch, Morbid Angel and more
8/13/2011 Brutal Assault Open Air - Jaromer, Czech Republic w/ Motorhead, Triptykon, Satyricon, Sepultura and more
9/10/2011 *TBA - Athens, Greece
"Manannan"
CRUSTY CLIP OF THE WEEK: LOUD PIPES - 'MORPHINE TRIP'
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 Van Damned (TX)
Today's Crusty Clip comes in honor of Henke Frykman, long-time bassist for Swedish D-beat bruisers Disfear, who succumbed to cancer on March 25. Rest in peace, Broder Henke. We've featured a Disfear Crusty Clip before, so this time around we're featuring a lesser-known Swedish death/punk supergroup: Loud Pipes. The four-piece featured members (or ex-members) of such death metal heavyweights as Unleashed, Entombed, Unanimated and Merciless and released a handful of demos and exactly one full-length album, 1997's The Downhill Blues, before fading into obscurity. Blues is a filthy, snarling, punked-up mess of whisky, balls and swagger -- basically exactly the kind of punk we like around these parts. Crank "Morphine Trip" below and and crush some Skol lager in honor of Henke Frykman and all the other Swedish rock 'n' roll hjältar who've come and gone.
Thanks to Winds of Genocide's Kat Shevil for turning me on to Loud Pipes. Check out her Band of the Week blog at Terrorizer's site.
April 12, 2011
BRUCE LAMONT JUST CAN'T QUIT
Jesus Harold Christ. I think Bruce Lamont may be the busiest man in metal right now. The Yakuza sax blaster is following up a winter tour with his Led Zeppelin cover band, Led Zeppelin 2 (duh), multiple appearances at SXSW, a solo album, recent collaborations with Sanford Parker, Locrian and Bloodiest (am I missing anything?) with two -- count 'em, TWO -- back-to-back European tours over the next month and a half. First, he's taking his solo experimental noise/drone explorations on the road opening for old school death dealers Macabre, followed immediately by a 13-date run with Cleveland (sludge) steamers Keelhaul. What's left? A major motion picture? A run for president? A mission to Mars? All I know is that I wouldn't bet against him.
Check out the dates after the jump -- and marvel at the man's unparalleled work ethic.
BRUCE LAMONT w/ Macabre, Birdflesh, Rompeprop:4/19/2011 Marx - Hamburg, Germany
BRUCE LAMONT w/ Keelhaul:
4/20/2011 Sticky fingers - Gotenborg, Sweden
4/21/2011 Kafe Deluxe - Vaxjo, Sweden
4/22/2011 Ungdomens Hus - Uppsala, Sweden
4/23/2011 O’Leary’s - Kristianstad, Sweden
4/24/2011 Turock - Essen, Germany
4/26/2011 Exit Chmelnice - Prague, Czech Republic
4/27/2011 Nova Pekaren - Nitra, Slovakia
4/28/2011 Prostor Tanc(írna - Ostrava, Czech Republic5/02/2011 Magasin 4 - Brussels, Belgium
5/03/2011 W2 - Den Bosch, Holland
5/04/2011 Molotow - Hamburg, Germany
5/05/2011 Mantra - Moscow, Russian Federation
5/06/2011 Arctica - St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
5/07/2011 AZ Conni - Dresden, Germany
5/08/2011 Kontich - Lintfabriek, Belgium
5/09/2011 Le Grand Wazoo - Amiens, France
5/10/2011 L'Usine - Geneva, Switzerland
5/12/2011 Magnolia - Milano, Italy
5/13/2011 PMK - Innsbruck, Austria
5/15/2011 007 - Prague, Czech Republic
5/17/2011 Club Schocken - Stuttgart, Germany
DOWNLOAD NEW WORMROT FOR FREE
Legally!
That's right. Digby and the good people over at Earache Records have decided to let you download Wormrot's latest collection of blood-spattered grindcore carnage, Dirge, for absolutely $0. You don't even have to go to Google to search Rapidshare yourself. Earache gives you the link instead! All they ask of you is your email. Now, you do have email don't you? Of course you do. While you're there, check out the sweet vinyl version they have, too.
April 11, 2011
TORCHE, BIG BUSINESS BURNING UP THE ROAD THIS SUMMER
Get your grills fired up! Whip out the Slip n' Slide! But leave your sunscreen at home, because this heat will roast your ass anyway. Torche and Big Business are heading out on tour this summer, and it's gonna get wild all over the nation. Wherever they play, the block is hot. Both bands lay on the hooks and humor with their heaviness, so they're the perfect Summer time combo. Helms Alee will support for most of the tour, but towards the end, they'll be replaced by Thrones. According to Torche drummer Rick Smith, the band has also been working on new material. Who knows if some of it will surface on this tour?
Check out the dates below. Singer and guitarist Steve Brooks is also currently on the road with Floor. Those dates are also just a click away.
Torche/Big Business Summer Tour 20117/7 Houston, TX @ Walters on Washington*
Floor Tour 2011
7/8 Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon Cafe*
7/9 Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree Cafe*
7/11 Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum*
7/12 Miami, FL @ Churchill's Pub*
7/14 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl*
7/15 Greensboro, NC @ Greene Street*
7/16 Washington, DC @ The Rock And Roll Hotel*
7/17 Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar*
7/19 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church*
7/20 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg*
7/21 Cambridge, MA @ Middle East (downstairs)*
7/22 Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place*
7/23 Cleveland Heights, OH @ Grog Shop*
7/24 Newport, KY @ Southgate House*
7/26 Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick*
7/27 Indianapolis, IN @ Earth House Collective*
7/28 Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge*
7/29 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club*
7/30 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room*
7/31 Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater*
8/2 Salt Lake City, UT @ Club Vegas*
8/3 Boise, ID @ Neurolux*
8/4 Seattle, WA @ Neumo's*
8/5 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre**
8/6 San Francisco, CA @ Slim's**
8/7 Los Angeles, CA @ The Troubadour**
8/8 San Diego, CA @ Casbah**
8/9 Scottsdale, AZ @ Martini Ranch (no Torche)
8/10 Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad**
8/12 Dallas, TX @ Club Dada**
8/13 San Antonio, TX @ Korova**
8/14 Austin, TX @ Red 7**
* - w/ Helms Alee
** - w/ Thrones4/11 - Charlotte, NC @ The Milestone - w/ Hawks
Torche - "Grenades" Live at Wicker Park Fest 2010, Chicago
4/12 - Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter - w/ Hawks, Amarok
4/13 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg - w/ Hawks
4/14 - Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church - w/ Hawks
4/15 - Providence, RI @ Club Hell - w/ Doomriders
4/16 - Buffalo, NY @ Soundlab - w/ Doomriders
4/17 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop - w/ Doomriders
4/18 - Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen - w/ Doomriders, The Atlas Moth
4/20 - Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater
4/22 - Missoula, MT @ Secret Show
4/23 - Seattle, WA @ Funhouse - w/ Totimoshi
4/24 - Portland, OR @ Branx - w/ Totimoshi
4/26 - Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater - w/ Totimoshi
4/29 - Dallas, TX @ Sons Of Hermann Hall - w/ Mammoth Grinder
4/30 - Austin, TX @ The Mohawk - w/ Mammoth Grinder
5/1 - Houston, TX @ Walter's - w/ Mammoth Grinder
5/2 - New Orleans, LA @ Siberia
5/3 - Tallahassee, FL @ The Engine Room w/ Thou, Dick Kicker
Big Business - "Hands Up" and "White Pizazz" Live in Leeds 2006
HORSEBACK, LOCRIAN ALSO RELEASING SPLIT 7"
Vinyl vixens, your shopping list never stops growing.
Hot on the heels of Horseback and Locrian's announcement that they will appear at Milwaukee's Utech Festival, the two will also grace a 7" set for release next week through the label Turgid Animal. If any two bands were destined to do a split together, it's Horseback and Locrian. Both are testing the limits of how abstract metal can be, treating it like ambient music and utilizing dark textures and hypnotic repetition.
Horseback takes up side A with the track "Oblivion Eaters," while Side B contains Locrain's contribution, "In the Absence of Light." Locrian's track was recorded during the same sessions that also produced "This is the Final Epoch," the bonus song from the tape release of Drenched Lands.
You can pre-order the split at Land of Decay's distro.
Take a look at the cover art, done by Scott Treleaven below.
Locrian - "Ghost Reporter"
Horseback - "Tyrant Symmetry"
April 8, 2011
CELESTIA COMING TO CANADA AND THE EAST COAST
French black metallers Celestia are heading to North America later this month, and while they're sticking to the East Coast and Canada, it's a bountiful offering compared to 2009's sole US show in New York (which Sean reviewed). The group specializes in sorrowful, deceptively "pretty" black metal, not unlike Alcest, had Neige (who also happens to be a former member of the band) stuck closer to his roots. French black metal - the genre-bending stuff we dig - is usually either dissonant or Romantic, and Celestia clearly fall in the latter. Supporting them will be Quebec City, Canada's Forteresse, an ambient-influenced black metal group whose lyrics revolve around Quebec nationalism and separatism. They may have a few fans in Texas who can relate.
Tour dates below.
Celestia/Forteresse Canadian/Eastern US Tour 2011Thursday, April 21 - Bar Octobre, QUEBEC, CA
Celestia - "Morbid Romance"
Friday, April 22 - Théatre Plaza, MONTREAL, CA
Saturday, April 23 - Scène Évolu-Son, ROUYN, CA
Sunday, April 24 - Hard Luck Bar - TORONTO, CA
Thursday, April 28 - Philadelphia, USA
Friday, April 29 - Santos Party House - NEW YORK, USA
Saturday, April 30 - Club Oasis Worcester - BOSTON, USA
Forteresse - "Foret D'Automne"
BLACK BREATH FINISHES TRACKING NEW ALBUM
Not ones to mince words, Seattle's down-n'-dirty death punks Black Breath just released the following statement regarding the new album we told you about back in February:
We just finished tracking a new LP that will be released later this year on Southern Lord Records and are playing some more U.S. dates this month. Come July we will be heading overseas to do a European tour, dates of which will be announced soon. Bang on..If it's anything like 2010's Heavy Breathing, it will be as divisive as it is crushing.
April 7, 2011
BOOK OF BLACK EARTH ANNOUNCE RELEASE DATE FOR NEW ALBUM, THE COLD TESTAMENT
Seattle black/death blasters Book of Black Earth have been laying pretty low since the release of 2008's critically-acclaimed Horoskopus. Mastermind TJ Cowgill has been busy cranking out caps for Kanye with his boutique clothing label, Actual Pain, and getting freaky with his one-man, gothic folk project, King Dude, all to much fanfare outside of the metal community.
Good news, then, for you BoBE fans: the tome is opening once again, issuing forth a new edict. The Cold Testament, the band's third full-length (and first as a four-piece), will be released May 24 on Prosthetic Records (preorder here). Not only will Testament likely be an icy slab of shred and fury, but it was stamped with the indelible thumbprint of board-master Dan Swanö (Bloodbath, Dissection, Opeth), who mixed and mastered the record at his Unisound Studios in Sweden. The band will hit the road later this summer, so be on the lookout. As always, we'll keep you posted.
Make the jump for album art by Derek Noble and a comment from Cowgill about the album.
Cowgill had this to say about the new Book of Black Earth album:Thematically, The Cold Testament will be a little looser than Horoskopus, but there is still an underlying current to both the sound of the album and lyrically. This will in my opinion be our strongest, most haunting offering, closing another chapter in the Book of Black Earth.
A new song from 2010:
INJURY SIDELINES WEEDEATER (AGAIN), REMAINING TOUR DATES CANCELED
[Photo by Samantha Marble]
Well, it happened again: an injury has sidelined yet another Weedeater tour. Those North Carolina boys just can't catch a break, can they? Last year, "Dixie" Dave Collins shot his big toe off, indefinitely delaying their 2010 tour. Time passed, scabs healed, bongs were ripped and the three-piece got around to recording their latest slab of Southern discomfort, Jason ... the Dragon (Southern Lord). This time around -- little more than a month into a tour that included a massive one-show-only performance at SXSW -- guitarist Dave "Shep" Shepherd broke his hand, effectively ending their current tour. According to the band, their European tour and appearance at Roadburn is still happening, so we wish Shep the best as he rests and heals his mangled paw.
KEN MODE, DEAFHEAVEN GOING ON TOUR: IT'S SXSW ALL OVER AGAIN! (KINDA)
In our coverage of SXSW, you heard us gush about Canadian noise rockers KEN mode (pictured) and San Francisco blackened ones Deafheaven. Well, in case you don't live in Austin or didn't want to plunge into a Hipstamatic Holocaust, the two groups will be touring the States this summer. You'll be hearing from these bands a lot in the coming months, so it's imperative you make it out to at least one of these dates. Deafheaven will release Roads to Judah on the 26th through Deathwish Inc., and being blessed with the opportunity to check out the album already, it's a stellar, gorgeous work that won't go unnoticed. KEN mode's Venerable hasn't lost its luster around these parts, and if you missed it earlier, you can read Chase's interview with them here.
Full routing below.
KEN mode/Deafheaven Summer Tour 20116/1/11 - Seattle, WA - The Funhouse
KEN mode - "Seul" Live at The Acheron, Brooklyn, NY 8/17/10
6/2/11 - Portland, OR - The Tube
6/4/11 - San Francisco, CA - Elbo Room
6/5/11 - Los Angeles, CA - The Blvd
6/6/11 - San Diego, CA - Che Cafe
6/7/11 - Mesa, AZ - Nile Underground
6/8/11 - Midland, TX - Pine Box
6/9/11 - Dallas, TX - Bryan St. Tavern
6/10/11 - San Antonio, TX - The Ten Eleven
6/11/11 - New Orleans, LA - The Circle Bar
6/12/11 - Atlanta, GA - Archive Gallery
6/13/11 - Columbia, SC - 719 N. Beltline
6/14/11 - Raleigh, NC - The Brewery
6/15/11 - Richmond, VA - Strange Matter
6/16/11 - Philadelphia, PA - Kung Fu Necktie
6/17/11 - NYC, NY - TBA
6/18/11 - New Haven, CT - Lillys Pad
6/19/11 - Boston, MA - O’Briens
6/20/11 - Syracuse, NY - Lost Horizon
6/21/11 - Cleveland, OH - Now That’s Class
6/22/11 - Chicago, IL - TBA
Deafheaven Live at Vacation Vinyl, Los Angeles 3/4/11
April 6, 2011
CRUSTY CLIP OF THE WEEK: BONG-RA - '666MPH'
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)
This week's Crusty Clip is one of example of what happens when metal seeps into other forms of music. Jason Kohnen, better known as Bong-Ra, is a Dutch electronic musician who is one of the pioneers of breakcore, a genre characterized by fast tempos approaching on un-danceable and oddball samples. Metal fans who are into electronic music are often drawn to breakcore because of its extreme nature. It's fast, loud, and headbangable -- why not? Bong-Ra was once a metal musician, having played in the doom band Celestial Season from the band's inception in 1991 until 1997. His metal past is evident in the clip of "666MPH," from 2001's Bikini Bandits, Kill! Kill! Kill!. While this is not the most neck-snapping of his tunes -- the Kyuss-sampling "Suicide Speed Machine Girl" will get you worked up -- "666MPH" is a good introduction to Bong-Ra's sound. He weaves a chopped metal riff and disorienting dub to a story of swimsuit-clad robbers wrecking shit, grinding on cars and crashing government experiments. You may recognize the Bikini Bandits from A Perfect Circle's video for "The Outsider." Get bloody and get funky.
Click below to check out the video.
HORSEBACK, LOCRIAN, MORE TO PLAY UTECH FESTIVAL IN MILWAUKEE
Milwaukee isn't exactly the first place you think of when you think about summer destinations. Utech Records plans to change that with their inaugural Utech Records Music Festival, which is going down June 11 at the Cactus Club. The label is known for very dark and out-there sounds, and the lineup isn't coming up short of that. Headlining are North Carolina's Horseback (pictured), who spin doom, drone and Americana into a hazy, dreamy tapestry. Chicago's Locrian will also appear at the fest, and whatever incarnation they take (Glitch-doom? Ritual dark ambient? Evil J-pop?), they will bend everyone's mental circuitry. If we have one request, it's that since Utech has released music from Thorr's Hammer/Khlyst vocalist, avant-garde musician and biologist Runhild Gammelsæter, they should bring her over to the land of the High Life. Whether or not Utech bring over Ms. Dommedagsnatt, your summer festival schedule -- MDF, then CIT, then this -- is off to a great start.
Full lineup after the jump.
Horseback
Locrian
Mamiffer
House of Low Culture
James Plotkin
Jon Mueller
Gog
William Fowler Collins
Ural Umbo
RM74
Ithi
Not familiar with some of these artists? Utech has a sampler featuring music from all the bands performing at the festival here.
Horseback - "Invokation/Tyrant Symmetry" Live at Nightlight, Chapel Hill, NC 8/12/10
Locrian - "Extinction" (excerpt)
UNDERGANG, ACEPHALIX TO DESECRATE AMERICA
The stench of rotting permeates this year's Chaos in Tejas, not just with Autopsy and Hooded Menace, but also two new hordes: Denmark's Undergang and San Francisco's Acephalix. Undergang make a deadly potion that's equal parts cryptic and straight-up brutal. Imagine dISEMBOWELMENT with less doom and more of Immolation's tempo shifts, and throw in a little of Autopsy's bluntness, and you've got a good idea of their sound. Acephalix take a somewhat crustier approach to death metal, which is not surprising given where they hail from. No surprise that they've recently been snatched up by the "you got your metal in my punk" obsessed Southern Lord, who will be releasing their demos collection, Interminable Night, on CD on May 24 (it's out on vinyl through Agipunk). Both bands prove that death metal is still relevant and powerful music.
The bands have scheduled a tour of the West Coast and Texas around Chaos in Tejas, including an appearance at Houston's Free Press Summer Fest. How awesome would it be if either band did a set with Houston rapper and Screwed Up Click alum Z-Ro? He's as obsessed with death as any metal band -- and "Blast Myself" could use a better beat.
Find out where the massacre is going on near you below.
Undergang/Acephalix West Coast/Texas Tour 2011May 26th Oakland,CA at First Church of the Buzzard w/ Badr Vogu (No Acephalix)
May 27th San Francisco,CA at the Hemlock w/ Bruxers
May 28th San Jose,CA at the House of the Dead Rat (416 w. San Fernando St.)
May 29th Los Angeles,CA at the BLVD
May 30th Long Beach,CA
May 31st Phoenix,AZ at the Inner City Youth Center (17 South 32nd st) w/ Extortion
June 1st El Paso,TX at Sleepless Nights
June 2nd Austin, TX at Red 7 with Hooded Menace, Mammoth Grinder, and Bone Sickness (Chaos In Tejas)
June 4th Houston,TX at Eleanor Tinsley Park w/ Killing Joke, Weezer, Bun B, Z-Ro, Kylesa, Iron Age, and more (Houston Free Press Summer Fest)
June 5th Oklahoma City,OK at the Conservatory
June 6th Denver,CO at the Old Curtis Street w/ Anhedonist, Dodsfalla and Roskopp
June 7th Salt Lake City,UT at South Shore w/ Anhedonist and Yaotl Mictlan
June 8th Portland,OR at the Alleyway (2415 NE Alberta) (all ages)
June 9th Seattle,WA a the Black Lodge w/ Society Nurse and Anhedonist
June 10th Portland,OR at the East End (21 and up)
June 11th Arcata,CA at the Alibi
June 12th Oakland,CA at Victory Warehouse w/ Miasmal and Bone Sickness
Undergang - "Dødshymne"
Acephalix Live at Hazmat, Oakland, CA 11/13/10
April 5, 2011
WIN MOTORHEAD'S NEW ALBUM ON VINYL!
Hey heshers, hessians, and everyone in between! Still haven't gotten the latest Motorhead album, The World Is Yours (which is, sadly, not a reference to the Nas song)? We've got two copies of the album on vinyl to give away.
To enter, email crustcakecontests@gmail.com with the subject line "Motorhead" and answer these couple questions for us:
What is your favorite non-"Ace of Spades" Motorhead song?
and
What do you think Lemmy eats for breakfast every morning?
Best answer wins, so put your thinking caps on! While you're thinking of those: Read more to check out Motorhead's new video for "Get Back in Line" and The World Is Yours' album artwork.
"Get Back in Line"
BTBAM'S NEW ALBUM, THE PARALLAX: HYPERSLEEP DIALOGUES, NOW STREAMING
Our brothers in arms over at MetalSucks have put up the new EP of minor symphonies and sweeping, progressive freak-outs by Raleigh, N.C.'s Between the Buried and Me for streaming. The three songs move through BTBAM's trademark kitchen sink collection of brutal death metal, melodic sweep picking, tribal beats, gorgeous clean vocals and Cynic-esque synth lines. The band is hitting the road with a few other prog-leaning metal bands, including The Ocean, Job For A Cowboy and Cephalic Carnage (whose recent record was enjoyed by this writer.) Check out BTBAM's new album art and dates after the jump, and be sure to stream the record here.
Between the Buried and Me's 'Hypersleep Dialgues' Tour w/ The Ocean, Job For a Cowboy and Cephalic Carnage:5-Apr Farmingdale, NY The Crazy Donkey
16-Apr New England Metal & Hardcore Fest The Palladium
17-Apr Lancaster, PA Chameleon Club
18-Apr Pittsburgh, PA Altar Bar
19-Apr Williamsville, NY Club Infinity
20-Apr Montreal, QC Le National
21-Apr Toronto, ONT Opera House
22-Apr Toledo, OH Headliners
23-Apr Pontiac, MI The Crofoot Ballroom
25-Apr Milwaukee, WI Eagles Ballroom
26-Apr Lawrence, KS Granada
27-Apr Denver, CO Summit Music Hall
29-Apr Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theatre
30-Apr Seattle, WA El Corazon
1-May Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre
3-May Sacramento, CA Ace of Spades
4-May San Francisco, CA Slim’s
5-May Pomona, CA Glasshouse Music Hall
6-May San Diego, CA Soma
7-May Mesa, AZ Nile Theatre
9-May Dallas, TX The Door
10-May Tulsa, OK The Marquee
11-May Memphis, TN New Daisy Theatre
12-May Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
13-May Nashville, TN Rockettown
14-May Asheville, NC The Orange Peel
April 4, 2011
CRUSTCAKE PICKS - NEW CAKE IN THE OVEN: DEAD NEANDERTHALS - THE SAW
By Andrew Wilhelm (TX)
Is it possible for every bone, muscle, skin fragment, and pore to be thoroughly brutalized in less than four minutes?
The Netherlands' Dead Neanderthals say "Absolutely!" and proceed to violate your well-being and sense of normalcy, and go about their business on their latest EP, The Saw. You're left with a pile of rotting bones for your closet; the band just skips off to record more music.
Oh, and your therapist is on a cruise. And the ship has been reported missing.
There are only two tools used on The Saw: a sax with daddy issues and a drumset who never misses an opportunity that calls for a gimp mask. You might be thinking, "Isn't this what Naked City did," and while you're onto something, the comparison isn't quite apt. Naked City spearheaded the "jazz goes grind" movement, that much is true, but John Zorn and his merry misanthropes were a multi-genre band. Country, surf, noise, and pretty much any 20th century musical form got sucked into their cyclone.
Dead Neanderthals, by comparison, are a stripped-down unit. This recording is raw, not in the sense of poorly mic'd amps through a four-track manufactured in the Reagan years, but in that you're getting knocked out in the rehearsal room itself. No vocalist is needed, as the unhinged sax, played by a figure only known as "O," is too stiff of competition. With many of the best free jazz albums though, there's some kind of method at work, even if that method is very loose. The saxophone and the drums, wielded by "R," are reflections of each other. When the baritone is having an epileptic fit, blastbeats follow. A sustained wail calls for a more simple beat. You get the (cracked) picture. It's as much of a grindcore album as a free-jazz one.
"The Stake" sounds like an alternation between a marching band where most of the personnel are dead, and the screams of someone who's about to meet the worms and dirt. The holding and releasing of tension makes for a unsettling dynamic. On "Drowning," Dead Neanderthals show that there's some playfulness to their battery. At 1:17, everything stops momentarily, and you think you can finally catch a break. Nope -- just a couple seconds later, the mayhem resumes. There's a mysterious low drone throughout the song that adds just the right amount of tension to accentuate the duo's outbursts. The concluding title track is the most relentless out of the short set. O and R really lay on the blastbeats and the free playing. As harsh as the sax has been before, the lines on this song are the most complex and the extremes are much further. There's not a rest until the whole ordeal is through.
Jazz hasn't always been expensive steakhouse music; in fact, when the genre was developing, it was regarded as the metal of this time. The music was seen as a threat to the moral fiber of America, and jazz musicians could party down with the staunchest of hedonists. It was id made flesh and riddled with subtleties simultaneously. Dead Neanderthals and The Saw move forward in testing the limits of foundations, and it moves back to give jazz a little bit of its former danger.
[An extended thanks to J. Randall and Grindcore Karaoke for introducing me to this band.]
CRUSTCAKE PICKS - AUSTIN SHOWS IN APRIL
By Andrew Wilhelm (TX)
(YO, ANYBODY GOT GAGA TIX, HOLLA AT ME)
They say April showers bring May flowers, and with the lineup for shows this month, those flowers will have spiked wristbands for stems.
Hometowners Mindless have two gigs of note. They'll be playing with Disciples of Christ, featuring members of Magrudergrind, at The Broken Neck on the 18th. Better yet, on the 23rd, also at The Broken Neck, they're playing with Thou! You know how much we love the Baton Rouge bruisers around these parts. It's going to be a players' ball in a punk squat for sure. Houston grinders P.L.F. will also be performing.
If you weren't able to get tickets to Janet Jackson, Emo's has you covered. Rotting Christ headlines, but the real star is Melechesh. The Middle East metal crew don't come to the states too often, so it's imperative you go out and see them. If you have a loving family and a job that makes lots of money, it may not be a good idea to see Anal Cunt on the 11th. Seth Putnam is known for trashing careers and positive thoughts. On the 16th, which also happens to be Record Store Day, Louisiana legends Exhorder will be playing Emo's. A great time to revive the ol' pissing between who was better: them or Pantera? DFW thrash kingpins Rigor Mortis and San Antonio's dirtiest, Hod, will open. Speaking of Hod, they'll also play Headhunters on the 8th with Disfigured and Scattered Remains.
(Exhorder's basist, Franky Sparcello, recently passed away. Our condolences are with the band.)
Things take a turn to the freaky from here. Chief it up on 420 when noise-synth-pop-awesome group Cold Cave open for The Kills at La Zona Rosa. They're dark, but they'll also have you shaking your ass. Who knows, you might go home with an American Apparel model. Shit is gonna get straight cosmic when Acid Mothers Temple rolls in two days later. If you can imagine the Star Gate sequence of 2001: A Space Odyssey, but with guitars, you've got a good idea of what to expect. Their leader, Kawabata Makoto, said this about his art:"Music, for me, is neither something that I create, nor a form of self-expression. All kinds of sounds exist everywhere around us, and my performances solely consist of picking up these sounds, like a radio tuner, and playing them so that people can hear them."
Yup. He is out of his mind, but also brilliant.
The month concludes with Floor and Mammoth Grinder on the 30th at The Mohawk. This could be your only chance to see Floor if you skipped out on FunFunFun Fest. Don't be stupid.
4/4 - Rotting Christ, Melechesh, Hate, Abigail Williams, Lecherous Nocturne, Prolicide @ Emo's
4/8 - Hod, Scattered Remains, Disfigured, Architect of the Unworthy @ Headhunters
4/11 - Anal Cunt, Naw Dude, Babydick, Hug @ Emo's
4/18 - Disciples of Christ, Mindless, Cutting Losses, Drawback @ The Broken Neck
4/20 - The Kills, Cold Cave, The Entrance Band @ La Zona Rosa
4/22 - Acid Mothers Temple and the Melting Paraiso UFO, Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers, ST 37
4/23 - Thou, P.L.F., Mindless, Massgrave, Chest Pain, Megaton Leviathan @ The Broken Neckjavascript:void(0)
4/30 - Floor, Mammoth Grinder @ the Mohawk
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