Taking a page from StSanders' book, YouTube user mintcheerios has uploaded a video of Orange County 'heavy metal' band Avenged Sevenfold 'performing' a 'song.' Ironically (like our quotes), it was MetalSucks who tipped us off to this tasty little clip-- ironically because Avenged Sevenfold's eponymous 2007 release topped Axl and Vince's best-of lists last year.
Wallow in the genius, fellow crustcakers:
Next up, check out this interview with Municipal Waste at last weekend's New England Metal and Hardcore Fest. Boston.TV also conducted interviews with Despised Icon and Meshuggah.
Waaaaay back in October, when crustcake started, we caught Saviours during CMJ at Brooklyn's Luna Lounge. We didn't know it at the time, but MetalKult was there with their cameras, and they've finally published the footage. Songs include "Crucifire," "Into Abaddon," and "Firewake Angel."
Hey, Arsis, we're on to you. Posting your new video once without animation, and again with. All to get twice the coverage, twice the mileage... Don't think we're gonna fall for it ok we fell for it.
The animation is cool and all, but it's not as cool as the animation in this video.
May 2, 2008
Flick Friday - Avenged Sevenfold, Municipal Waste, Saviours, Arsis
April 21, 2008
Monday Metal Update 4/21
Remember that time we slagged Grails' drummer Emil Amos? Well, Mr. Amos (not the famous one) has been officially announced as Chris Hakius' replacement in Om. Hopefully Al Cisneros will teach the guy a thing or two about 'less is more.' Om will be releasing a 7" featuring the song "Gebel Barkal" later this year via Sub Pop.
Om - 2008 Tour Dates:
May 17 - Festival International de Musique Actuelle Victoriaville, Quebec, CanadaChris Hakius has also been replaced in the highly-anticipated Shrinbuilder project, here by Melvins' drummer Dale Crover. Speaking of the Melvins, they'll be touring this summer, again with Big Business, who've added a third member-- guitarist/keyboardist Toshi Kasai (Altamont)-- and announced a new album to be released by Hydra Head.
May 29 - De Kreun / Theater Antigone, Kortrijk, Belgium
May 30 - Parc del Forum, Barcelona, Spain (Primavera Festival)
June 4 - Shibuya O Nest, Tokyo, Japan
June 5 - Huck Finn, Nagoya, Japan
June 6 - Fandango, Osaka, Japan
June 8 - Z-1, Niigata, Japan
June 10 - Shibuya O Nest, Tokyo, Japan
The insan-o-tour featuring Judas Priest, Motörhead, Heaven and Hell, and Testament has gone from rumor to fact.
'Metal Masters' Tour 2008:
Aug. 06 - Susquehanna Bank Center - Camden, NJHalford and Co. will be releasing Nostradamus, their sixteenth album, on June 17 (US) and 16 (everywhere else). Hear the album's title track at Blabbermouth.
Aug. 07 - Nissan Pavilion - Bristow, VA
Aug. 09 - PNC Bank Arts Center - Holmdel, NJ
Aug. 10 - Nikon at Jones Beach - Wantagh, NY
Aug. 13 - Molson Amphitheatre - Toronto, ON
Aug. 15 - Mohegan Sun Arena - Uncasville, CT *
Aug. 16 - Post Gazette Pavilion - Pittsburgh, PA
Aug. 18 - DTE Energy Music Theatre - Detroit, MI
Aug. 19 - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre - Chicago, IL
Aug. 22 - Superpages.com Amphitheatre - Dallas, TX
Aug. 23 - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion - Houston, TX
Aug. 24 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre - San Antonio, TX
Aug. 27 - Journal Pavilion - Albuquerque, NM
Aug. 28 - Cricket Pavilion - Phoenix, AZ
Aug. 30 - Glen Helen Pavilion - San Bernardino, CA
Aug. 31 - Shoreline Amphitheatre - Mountain View, CA
Sep. 01 - Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort - Las Vegas, NV
Black Cobra's kick-ass Feather and Stone will finally be available in vinyl format on May 27 via At A Loss Recordings. Black Cobra hit the road in Europe next month with Saviours.
Saviours, Black Cobra - 2008 Euro Dates:
05/15/2008 Magasin 4 - Brussels, BelgiumIn other news from At A Loss, the label will be releasing Arkansas-based metallers Deadbird's second full-length, Twilight Ritual on June 24 in North America. John Baizley (Baroness) did the cover art, which resembles-- wouldn't you know it-- a dead bird at twilight:
05/16/2008 013 - Tilburg, Holland
05/17/2008 Muziek O Droom - Hasselt, Belgium
05/18/2008 Het Podium - Hoogeveen, Holland
05/19/2008 La Zone - Luik, Belgium
05/20/2008 Hafenklang - Hamburg, Germany
05/21/2008 Pirate Cove - Berlin, Germany
05/22/2008 Rosenkeller - Jena, Germany
05/23/2008 Arena - Vienna, Austria
05/24/2008 PMK - Innsbruck, Austria
05/25/2008 Circolo Magnolia - Milano, Italy
05/26/2008 Le Sonic - Lyon, France
05/27/2008 Mojomatic - Montpelliers, France
05/28/2008 Le Férallieurs - Nantes, France
05/29/2008 Epicentre - Cherbourg, France
05/30/2008 La Mécanique Onlulatoire - Paris, France
And speaking of Baroness, the fast-rising Georgian quartet has some dates scheduled with emo-prog-sometimes-guilty-pleasures (but don't tell anyone, especially our girlfriends) Coheed and Cambria as well as a few European Festival appearances.
Baroness - 2008 Dates:
May 19 - Roseland - Portland, Oregon *Signings:
May 20 - Showbox - Seattle, Washington *
May 21 - Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, British Columbia *
May 23 - Edmonton Events Center - Edmonton, Alberta *
May 24 - MacEwan Hall - Calgary, Alberta *
May 25 - Odeon Event Center - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan *
May 26 - Burton Cummings - Winnipeg, Manitoba *
May 28 - First Ave - Minneapolis, Minnesota *
May 29 - Orbit Room - Grand Rapids, Michigan *
May 30 - Gravity Nightclub At Ches Arena - Cheswick, Pennsylvania *
May 31 - The Sound Academy - Toronto, Ontario *
Jun 18 - Melkweg - Amsterdam
Jun 19 - Vk - Brussels
Jun 20 - HELLFEST - Clisson
Jun 21 - SUMMER BLAST Festival - Trier
Jun 23 - HOVE Festival - Arendal
* w/ Coheed and Cambria
• Prosthetic has signed Seattle blackened death metallers Book of Black Earth. The band's Prosthetic debut, Horoskopus, "a concept album about the hidden astrological elements of the Christian church," will be recorded at The Red Room Studios in Seattle with Chris Common (Mouth of the Architect, These Arms Are Snakes).
• Black Market Activities signed The Indomitable Iron Sloth. Formerly known as The Abominable Iron Sloth, the band plays what can be most efficiently described as 'fast doom.'
• Seventh Rule Recordings has added Brooklyn's Wetnurse to their ranks.
That's it for us today, happy Monday!
Continue Reading...
March 13, 2008
Early Man, Saviours, Ancestors - FREE Show in LA Next Week!
by beatmasterspeech (LA)
Newsflash, people! Literally seconds after I published this week's show picks for LA, I got wind of a killer free show going down next Tuesday at Key Club. Saviours and Ancestors (above) will be joining Early Man to rock your face off next week and there's no cover. Did I mention it's free? You have no excuse not to go!
If you're still on the fence, maybe the videos, flyer, and MP3s after the jump will inspire you...
Early Man - Live:
Saviours - "Narcotic Sea" (live):
Download: Early Man - "Death is the Answer to My Prayers" [MP3]
Download: Saviours - "Cavern of Mind" [MP3]
Download: Ancestors - "Neptune With Fire [edit]" [MP3]
February 22, 2008
Flick Friday - Saviours, Dillinger Escape Plan, Yeasayer
by crustcake gerf (NYC)
Minutes after last week's 'Flick Friday' went live Headbanger's Blog premiered the new (and first) video from Oakland, CA's Saviours.
A tip o' the hat to all involved for allowing the video to run the full length of the song (five minutes and forty eight seconds, to be exact). Much like the song itself, the video for "Narcotic Sea" (directed by Dante Della Maggiore) is all over the place. From trippy Tron-evoking digital grids to epic landscape shots to straight up performance clips, this video certainly doesn't get boring despite a run time double that of a typical music video.
Saviours - "Narcotic Sea":
MetalInjection.net recently hired a huge-ass camera crew and filmed Dillinger Escape Plan, A Life Once Lost, Genghis Tron, and Shat on tour. Check out all the interviews and footage here, and check out DEP ripping "Sugar Coated Sour" off their genre-defining album, Calculating Infinity right here:
Dillinger Escape Plan - "Sugar Coated Sour":
Alright, this band, Yeasayer, has been lighting up the blogosphere lately (Exhibit A; Exhibit B; Exhibit C). They didn't exactly blow me away when I caught them at CMJ last October, but their recent performance on Conan O'Brien was pretty swell. "My favorite song in a long time," said Conan.
Yeasayer - "2080":[MP3] Saviours - "Narcotic Sea"[MP3] Dillinger Escape Plan - "Black Bubblegum"[MP3] Yeasayer - "2080"
February 7, 2008
Crustcake Picks - NYC Shows 2/7 - 2/13
by crustcake gerf (NYC)
Big week in NYC. Here's a quick rundown...
Tomorrow, UK punkers Gallows will be in the 'burg, then on Saturday Early Man will be rocking the tap bar at the Knitting Factory. Hopefully Early Mike has cured his hangover by then-- he was in rough shape on Tuesday after the Exodus show.
Sunday, we've got High On Fire (who I have nothing but love for) with A Life Once Lost and Saviours in Greenpoint. Monday, garage rockers No Age and then Saviours again on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, after all that (mostly) metal, check out MGMT, who recently released their debut full-length as well as a new video, at Bowery Ballroom with Violens (members of Lansing-Dreiden).
Or, head to Carnegie Hall for the Tibet House benefit featuring Sufjan Stevens, Band of Horses, Ray Davies (of The Kinks), minimalist composer (and Tibet House co-founder) Philip Glass, and Tom Verlaine (of Television).
See you out there!
NYC shows 2/7 - 2/13:Friday 2/8 - Gallows, This is Hell, Cancer Bats @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Saturday 2/9 - Early Man, Hull, Under Satan's Sun, Inswarm @ Knitting Factory (Tap Bar)
Sunday 2/10 - High on Fire, A Life Once Lost, Saviours, Car Bomb @ Europa
Monday 2/11 - No Age, High Places, Rings, Skint @ Market Hotel
Tuesday 2/12 - Saviours, Titan, Children @ Luna Lounge
Wednesday 2/13 - MGMT, Yeasayer, Violens @ Bowery Ballroom
Wednesday 2/13 - Sufjan Stevens, Band of Horses, Ray Davies, Philip Glass, Tom Verlaine @ Carnegie Hall - Isaac Stern Auditorium (Tibet House benefit)[MP3] Early Man - "More to Me than Meat and Eyes"[MP3] Saviours - "Into Abaddon"[MP3] No Age - "Everybody's Down"[MP3] MGMT - "Time to Pretend"[MP3] Violens - "Violent Sensation Descends"
January 24, 2008
Danava - "Where Beauty and Terror Dance" Video
New York's Kemado Records has a hot roster. The Sword? Check. Saviours? Check. Dungen? Check. Priestbird? Check. Danava?
Danava (pronounced Dah-nu-vuh), one of Kemado's youngest bands, bring their own quirky approach to retro metal and they absolutely slay live.
Via Deciblog:
Dan Kim’s video for “Where Beauty and Terror Dance” (the first single from Danava’s upcoming record UnonoU) resists easy descriptors, but one thing’s for sure: it’s easily the best argument for psychotropic drugs since The Prodigy’s “Out of Space.” Smokin’ footage of Danava performing in a Portland club! Kabuki-style make-up and masks! Knives and blood, blood and knives! Grainy black and white footage that casually references German Expressionist Cinema and Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal!Double-bass kicks! A riff that totally bites Blue Öyster Cult! All that’s missing in the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach? A little more cowbell, duh!Check out the brand spankin' new video...
Danava - "Where Beauty and Terror Dance":
Danava's UnonoU, on which "Where Beauty and Terror Dance" appears, will be out February 19th. Here's the tracklisting:
1. UnonoU
2. Where Beauty & Terror Dance
3. The Emerald Snow Of Sleep
4. A High Or A Low
5. Spinning Temple Shifting
6. Down From A Cloud, Up From the Ground
7. One Mind Gone Separate Ways
Danava [MySpace] [MP3]
UnonoU [Amazon]
Continue Reading...
January 21, 2008
Crustcake Picks - New Music 1/22
New York's MGMT are one of Rolling Stone's Artists to Watch in 2008, but don't take their word for it-- take ours. After bursting onto the scene with 2005's Time to Pretend EP (Cantora Records), MGMT landed a tour with Of Montreal (who are, incidentally, from Athens, GA and not Montreal). Their major label debut, Oracular Spectacular, has already been out digitally for a few months (and it's quite a trip), but the physical manifestation hits stores tomorrow.
Speaking of Athens, GA-- garage rock trio The Whigs are back tomorrow with their sophomore effort Mission Control, which has been in steady rotation over here at crustcake HQ. It's sure to elicit feelings of nostalgia for the bygone days of Generation X's teen spirit.
The real fun begins, however, with Saviours' Into Abaddon. Already the proud owner of two 9/10 ratings (Lambgoat, Drowned in Sound) and a positive (if convoluted) review from Decibel, Into Abaddon is sure to be punishing your eardrums for many months to come.
More after the jump.
Saviours are on the road right now with High On Fire and A Life Once Lost through February 23rd. They'll continue on from there for some dates through the northwest, down through the midwest, and into Texas, before heading to the UK for dates with Black Cobra and label-mates The Sword. All dates available on their MySpace page.
Looks like the 2008 record release party is finally picking up! Here are our picks:Black Mountain - In The Future [Amazon]
Disfear - Live the Storm [Amazon]
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular [Amazon]
Mono - The Sky Remains the Same as Ever (DVD) [Amazon]
Pelican - After the Ceiling Cracked (DVD + 3" CD) [Amazon]
Saviours - Into Abaddon [Amazon]
The Whigs - Mission Control [Amazon]
Check Largehearted Boy for a more comprehensive list of tomorrow's new releases.
MGMT - "Time to Pretend" (David Letterman):[MP3] Black Mountain - "Tyrants"
[full album stream] Black Mountain - In The Future[MP3] MGMT - "Time to Pretend"[MP3] Saviours - "Into Abaddon"
[MP3] The Whigs - "Right Hand on My Heart"
January 18, 2008
More Metal Updates Than You Can Shake a Sword At
It's a metal day over at Brooklyn Vegan, with three metal posts so far (four if you count Rush, but why would you?). Black Bubblegum sure is on top of his game!
Included are updates on Disfear, J2, Cursed, Lair of the Minotaur, Psyopus, Megadeth, In Flames, High On Fire, Converge, Baroness, The Red Chord, Coliseum, and the same Sweet Cobra video we posted last week.
Phew!
Black Bubblegum also touches on The Sword's forthcoming sophomore LP, which has been in steady rotation since it hit my desk recently. Gods of the Earth is big folks; epic lyrical themes, pounding percussion, and giant riffs abound.
NYC's Kemado Records are poised for a one-two punch of riffin' revival metal in early 2008-- in addition to Gods of the Earth (out April Fool's day) they're also releasing Saviours new one, Into Abaddon, next Tuesday (also in steady rotation at crustcake HQ).
On top of all that, over at MetalSucks you'll find an update on Century Media's latest acquisition, LA's Intronaut. My partner in crime, beatmasterspeech, will be talking to Sacha and the dudes this weekend, so check back here next week for the interview.
TGIF! Crustcake gerf, signing off.
January 11, 2008
Metal - Marginalized No Longer?
Earlier this week I ran a post in which I mused that metal has been garnering increased attention and kudos lately from indie rockers and the greater music critic community. Turns out others have noticed the phenomenon too; David McNamee of The Guardian wrote a column on December 31 in which he proclaimed that in 2007 "critics [were] falling over themselves to embrace [heavy metal]."
McNamee then asks, "so why don't any of 2007's excellent releases feature in the end-of-year lists?"
Over what seems like months, the messageboards and blogs have been aflame with musings on what albums will make the music critics' end-of-year polls. With the results now in, the predictable omnipotence of Radiohead's In Rainbows, LCD Soundsystem and the Arcade Fire has been confirmed, but one swathe of releases were scandalously omitted.There are a whole slew of comments on the article, some of which are completely off-base or bigoted, others of which are quite enlightening. Thankfully, Cosmo Lee has been so kind as to cull some of the more interesting comments for us over on his Invisible Oranges blog.
[...]
There wasn't a single rock (sic) or metal album in the critics polls from Uncut, Mojo, The Guardian, Observer Music Monthly, Drowned In Sound or Pitchfork, with NME counting just Queens Of The Stone Age's weak comeback, and the newly-metal-friendly Wire solely hailing hippy-doomsters Om. Given that other perceived niche genres such as dance or hip-hop are well represented, if tokenistically, you have to wonder why there is still such a stigma and snobbery around the canonisation of metal. [via]
So, it seems there are two pertinent questions:
1.) Why have mainstream and indie-rock-centric critics alike seemingly begun to embrace metal more and more as of late?
2.) Why, then, have those circles refused to 'canonize' that same music by including it in their ever-important (like it or not) year-end best-of lists?
Looking forward, with the end of the metalcore trend in sight and a newly emerging metal movement-- a movement that includes both forward-thinking bands (e.g. Baroness, Dillinger Escape Plan) and 'revival' bands (e.g. Witchcraft, Saviours)-- maybe 2008 will be the year that the rejuvenated genre finally begins to creep its way onto the year-end lists of the Pitchforks, Spins, and Stereogums of the world, staking its claim to a well-deserved place in the canon of modern popular (read: un-marginalized) music.
Continue Reading...
November 5, 2007
Monday Quick-Links
* Electric Wizard has posted the eight-minute-long fifth cut "The Chosen Few" off their upcoming release Witchcult Today on their MySpace page.
* Parade of Flesh has a couple live videos of Saviours and Witchcraft.
* Some Portuguese site asked Mastodon's Brann Dailor a bunch of ridiculous questions in a video interview, but we'll just attribute that to the language barrier. Thankfully, the interview is augmented by some great live footage.
* I don't feel qualified to write about it, so I'll just direct you to others' reactions to Sufjan Stevens' world premiere of his grandiose neo-classical suite, "The BQE". Check out reviews from The Punk Guy, Crackers United, Pitchfork, Stereogum, and more. Deaf Indie Elephants has a couple MP3's of "The BQE".[MP3] Witchcraft "Sweet Honey Pie (Roky Erickson cover)"[MP3] Mastodon "Colony of Birchmen (live)"[MP3] Sufjan Stevens "Seven Swans"
October 19, 2007
Witchcraft - Live at Luna Lounge with Saviours, More [10/18/07]
Witchcraft. Again, fuck yes. They wowed Luna Lounge last night in the wee hours of the morning with their doom assault. They were louder, tighter, and more exciting than they are on record. My only complaint is that they didn't play two of my favorite songs: "Mr. Haze" and "Chylde of Fire".
[Witchcraft]
Fortunately, if you missed them last night you can still catch them at Death By Audio tonight with Danava (who were decent last night-- worthy of further exploration) and Wolves in the Throne Room. And, if you can't bear to miss the Tee Pee Showcase even for Witchcraft, they will allegedly be at Bowery Ballroom on December 1st with Baroness and Radio Moscow, though Bowery's calendar suggests otherwise.
I would be remiss here if I didn't at least mention Saviours. They were good. Go see them, and stuff. Oh and anyone stay for Children? How were they?
Witchcraft are coming to your neck of the woods:
Witchcraft - 2007 Fall Tour
10/19 - Death by Audio - Brooklyn, NY
10/20 - North Star Bar - Philadelphia, PA
10/21 - Black Cat - Washington, DC
10/22 - The Talking Head Club - Baltimore, MD
10/23 - The Boot - Norfolk, VA
10/24 - Joli Rouge - Asheville, NC
10/25 - The Drunken Unicorn - Atlanta, GA
10/26 - Jinx - Savannah, GA
10/28 - Backbooth - Orlando, FL
10/29 - Crowbar - Ybor City, FL
10/30 - Beta Bar - Tallahasse, FL
10/31 - One Eyed Jacks - New Orleans, LA
11/01 - Rudyard’s Pub - Houston, TX
11/02 - Double-Wide - Dallas, TX
11/03 - Fun Fun Fun Festival - Austin, TX
11/05 - Casablanca - Phoenix, AZ
11/06 - Brick by Brick - San Diego, CA
11/08 - Echo - Los Angeles, CA
11/09 - Brookdale Lodge - Brookdale, CA
11/10 - Slims - San Fransisco, CA
11/11 - The Alibi - Eureka, CA
11/13 - Satyricon - Portland, OR
11/14 - The Sunset Tavern - Seattle, WA
11/16 - Visual Arts Collective Boise, IA
11/17 - Urban Lounge - Salt Lake City, UT
11/18 - Three of Kings - Denver, CO
11/20 - Replay Lounge - Lawrence, KS
11/21 - Vaudeville Mews - Des Moines, IA
11/22 - The Entry - Minneapolis, MN
11/23 - Cactus Club - Milwaukee, WI
11/24 - Double Door - Chicago, IL
11/26 - The Crofoot - Pontiac, MI
11/27 - Grog Shop - Cleveland, OH
11/28 - Sound Lab - Buffalo, NY
11/29 - Gothic Stone Church - Brattleboro, VT
11/30 - Middle East - Boston, MA
12/01 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY
Witchcraft [MySpace] [MP3]
The Alchemist [Amazon]
Saviours [MySpace] [MP3]
Crucifire [Amazon] [iTunes]
October 17, 2007
Crustcake Picks - CMJ 2007: Thursday
Witchcraft, fuck yes. So, they may have blatantly ripped off Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" (and also allegedly Green Day's "Fashion Victim", but we haven't listened to Green Day since, like, 1994) but the Swedish quartet's analog-worshipping doom is so good that we can forgive them.
Besides, the reference to "Iron Man" is so obvious (the rhythm is literally identical and both riffs consist of a near-perfect unison between guitar and vocals), that it seems more likely to have been an homage to the the original masterminds of metal than any sort of unintentional plagiarism. Or maybe I am just giving Witchcraft too much credit.
Regardless, jam out to this video for the lead cut (and "Iron Man", um, tribute song) from their 2005 LP, Firewood, and then just try and tell us you aren't excited too:
You can catch them at Luna Lounge on Thursday, supported by Saviours who, like High On Fire, hail from just across the bay from Smugtown.
Afterwards, head over to Gramercy Theatre and catch indie rock favorites Spoon at Blender's super-exclusive cool-people-only after-hours show. Be sure to RSVP to cmjafterhours@blenderpromo.com.
Crustcake CMJ Spectacular! Thursday:
10/18 - Witchcraft, Saviours, more @ Luna Lounge
10/18 - Spoon, Air Traffic, 1990's @ Blender Theater at Gramercy
Witchcraft [MySpace] [MP3]
The Alchemist [Amazon]
Spoon [MySpace] [MP3]
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga [Amazon] [iTunes]
