Trap Them have completed their new album, Seizures in Barren Praise. The album was recorded by Kurt Ballou at God City and the layout and art will be handled by Jacob Bannon.
The lineup on this record is Ryan McKenney (vocals), Brian Izzi (guitar), Stephen Lacour (bass), & Mike Justian (drums, previously of The Red Chord and Unearth). The album should be available this fall via Deathwish.
Vinyl reissues and art after the jump...
The band's previous full length, Sleepwell Deconstructor, is being reissued by TrashArt on 180 gram vinyl, complete with gatefold layout. Just a couple of weeks ago, we took a look at Trap Them's last vinyl release, a split with Extreme Noise Terror.
Vocalist Ryan McKenney has put together a series of paintings meant to be interpretations of the songs on the band's Seance Prime EP. The pieces are unique and one has already sold, leaving four. Here is a preview, the piece "The Iconflict":
The rest can be found at Ryan's blog.
June 30, 2008
Trap Them: New Album, Old Record, New Art
May 16, 2008
Flick Friday - Black Metal, The Red Chord, Children Of Bodom
Vice's VBS.TV produced a documentary on Black Metal. Black Metal Jim was unavailable for comment.
True Norwegian Black Metal - Part 1 of 5:
Watch the rest of the documentary at VBS.TV and check out photographer Peter Beste's Black Metal photo essay at NPR. Yes, National Public Radio.
Metal Injection posted a video of The Red Chord playing "Dreaming In Dog Years" off 2002's Fused Together in Revolving Doors. Incidentally, though it was inspired by a 1942 nightclub fire in The Red Chord's hometown of Boston, Fused was released eleven months and a day before the infamous Station Nightclub fire in Rhode Island. Prophecy?
No. We don't believe in that sort of nonsense. "Dreaming In Dog Years" is still the best song they've ever written, though. "It's not gonna be alright!"
The Red Chord - "Dreaming In Dog Years":
Children of Bodom released a video for "Hellhounds on My Trail," off their recently released Blooddrunk. Axl Rosenberg comments:"Hellhounds on My Trail" is a pretty killer song, but the video isn't the best thing in the world. I mean, I guess you do what you can on a budget. But mostly it seems like the band let some five year old just go nuts on the lighting board while some dude filmed it. Maybe next time they'll at least bring back the chick from the "Are You Dead Yet?" video.
Children Of Bodom - "Hellhounds on My Trail":
April 2, 2008
Converge, The Red Chord, Baroness, Genghis Tron Played Blender
by crustcake gerf (NYC) photos by Jesse Angelo
A lone guitarist emerges onto the stage and settles into a slow, chugging riff. Instantly, the floor of the packed venue opens up and kids are immediately killing each other in a frenetic mosh. What band could elicit such a response from their fans, especially in jaded New York City?
None other than hardcore heros Converge, of course. After a minute or two of the aforementioned solo riffage, guitarist Kurt Ballou was joined on the stage by bandmates Jacob Bannon, Nate Newton, and Ben Koller for the remainder of "Plagues," one of the slower-- and heavier-- songs from Converge's catalog.
After that, they amped up the tempos and never looked back, playing a selection of songs new and old including a favorite of yours truly, "Last Light" off You Fail Me, and ultimately ending with fan-favorite "Concubine," the raging opener of the band's landmark 2001 album, Jane Doe.
More photos of J. Bannon and crew, as well as The Red Chord and Baroness, after the fold.
Unfortunately, we arrived during Genghis Tron's final song and Jesse was unable to snap any photos, but just on the strength of that one song I intend to finally take a listen to their latest offering, Board Up the House.
Our love for Baroness is well-documented, but last night they were a little shakier than usual. Still, I'll take a shaky Baroness over a super-tight [insert shitty band name here] any day.
Baroness:
The Red Chord:
Converge:
March 26, 2008
Crustcake Picks - NYC Shows 3/27 - 4/2
by crustcake gerf (NYC)
Yeah, so as you can see from the cakes in the oven and this post, I'm on a bit of a Converge kick lately. And it couldn't have been better timing, as these hardcore heroes will be in the Apple this very week, on Tuesday, with The Red Chord, Baroness, and Genghis Tron.
Also up this week, Clouds at Matchless (Greenpoint) on Saturday. Clouds is fronted by Adam McGrath (ex-Cave In) and the band's Stephen-Brodsky-produced Hydra Head debut, Legendary Demo, runs the gamut from blistering rock n' roll to punk energy and even dub. Clouds will be releasing their second offering, We Are Above You, via Hydra Head on June 8th.
Download: Clouds - "New Amnesia" [MP3]
Clouds - "New Amnesia":
NYC show picks 3/27 - 4/2:Saturday 3/29 - Japanther, The Pharmacy, Pterodactyl, Bachelorette @ Market Hotel
Saturday 3/29 - Langhorne Slim, Deer Tick @ Maxwell's [tix]
Saturday 3/29 - Clouds, Abigail Warchild @ Matchless [$7 at the door]
Tuesday 4/1 - Converge, The Red Chord, Baroness, Genghis Tron @ Gramercy Theatre [tix]
Tuesday 3/25 - Beach House, Papercuts, Luke Temple @ Bowery Ballroom [tix]
March 24, 2008
You Fail Me
by crustcake gerf (NYC)
In case you're suffering from a bout of amnesia, I'd like to politely remind you that Converge's 2004 
album, You Fail Me, is fucking incredible. Despite the fact that the album was received fairly well by critics, it seems to be the red-headed stepchild of the band's discography-- in a typical conversation about Converge, people will mention Petitioning the Empty Sky or Jane Doe as landmark albums (which they certainly are), or No Heroes as a modern masterpiece (which it certainly is). You Fail Me just doesn't seem to have the same clout with heavy music connoisseurs.
And that's unfortunate, because You Fail Me is by no exaggeration one of the best heavy albums of the 21st century (and my personal favorite of the Boston quartet).
So go listen to You Fail Me right fucking now, but be sure you're in the privacy of your own home because if you start blasting this at work or school, people will probably give you some odd glances, especially when you begin uncontrollably air riffing/drumming and/or solo moshing. It'll make you feel like a kid again.
Download: Converge - "Black Cloud" [MP3]
Download: Converge - "Eagles Become Vultures" [MP3]
Buy: Converge - You Fail Me [Amazon]
Converge will be touring the US with The Red Chord, Genghis Tron, Baroness, and Coliseum starting at the end of this month. What a fucking lineup. I'll be at the April Fools' Day gig.
Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron: Lambs For Lions Tour 200803/30: Worcester, MA @ The Palladium *
Converge - "Last Light" (live):
04/01: NYC, NY @ The Blender Theatre @ Gramercy *
04/02: Buffalo, NY @ Showplace Theatre *
04/03: Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's Downunder *
04/04: Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick *
04/05: Chicago, IL @ Reggies Rock Club *
04/06: Chicago, IL @ Reggies Rock Club *
04/07: Milwaukee, WI @ Richfield Chalet *
04/08: Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club *
04/09: Sioux Falls, SD @ Nutty's North *
04/10: Iowa City, IA @ The Picador *
04/11: Omaha, NE @ Sokol Underground *
04/12: Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck *
04/13: Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre *
04/15: Boise, ID @ The Venue *
04/16: Portland, OR @ Satyricon *
04/17: Oakland, CA @ The Metro *
04/18: Los Angeles, CA @ Knitting Factory *
04/19: Pomona, CA @ Glasshouse *
04/20: Tempe, AZ @ The Clubhouse Music Venue *
04/22: Austin, TX @ Red 7 #
04/23: Dallas, TX @ The Door #
04/24: Houston, TX @ Red Room @ Meridian #
04/25: New Orleans, LA @ The High Ground #
04/26: St. Petersburg, FL @ State Theatre #
04/27: Orlando, FL @ The Social #
04/28: Gainesville, FL @ Common Grounds #
04/29: Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade #
04/30: Virginia Beach, VA @ Steppin' Out #
05/01: Baltimore, MD @ Otto Bar #
05/02: Pittsburgh, PA @ The School #
05/03: Philadelphia, PA @ Starlight Ballroom #
* w/ Baroness
# w/ Coliseum
In related news, Converge shrieker Jacob Bannon recently released a solo single, "The Blood of Thine Enemies," in anticipation of a forthcoming album."The Blood Of Thine Enemies" is the long awaited debut solo recording from J. Bannon (Converge, Supermachiner, etc). "The Blood..." is a minimalist six minute emotional dirge unlike any of his previous musical/artistic efforts. Haunting in it's simplicity, this release foreshadows his anticipated "Wear Your Wounds" album, due out on Deathwish later in 2008.
Andrew @ Aversionline really digs the single and has a sample for you.
Meant to be a stand alone piece, "The Blood..." is exclusively available as a one sided 7"EP (w/ a beautifully etched B-side) and will not be included on any other J. Bannon release. Please note that there is no retail release for this 7"EP, the only place you can purchase it is in the DW Estore.
February 18, 2008
Monday Metal Update
by crustcake gerf (NYC)
Holy muthafuckin metal mania-- 2008 is starting to heat up!
Stockholm's finest, the mighty Opeth are making the rounds in Stateside in '08 as part of the 'Progressive Nation' tour. Also on the bill: Dream Theater, 3, and Between the Buried and Me, who were in the Big Apple last fall. Tickets are starting to pop up for some of the dates, but no NYC or LA tix available yet. Soon.
May 2 - Los Angeles, CA - Opeth, Between the Buried and Me, 3, Dream Theater @ Gibson AmphitheaterOpeth will be releasing Watershed, their highly-anticipated ninth studio LP, on June 3 via Roadrunner.
May 21 - New York, NY - Opeth, Between the Buried and Me, 3, Dream Theater @ Terminal 5
May 22 - New York, NY - Opeth, Between the Buried and Me, 3, Dream Theater @ Terminal 5
Speaking of highly-anticipated forthcoming albums, Miami thunder-pop extraordinaires Torche have made available a track from their sophomore LP, Meanderthal, which is due out a week following The Sword's mighty second coming. Check out the track, called "Piranha," at Torche's MySpace. It's got teeth.
Looks like we're getting a healthier dose of Torche this year-- Meanderthal has 13 tracks, three more than on their debut and six more than on last year's In Return. Meanderthal can't come soon enough-- the grooves on my In Return 10" are starting to wear out.
Still no NYC or LA dates, but Torche will be in the Hydrahead showcase at SXSW. If you're lucky enough to be going down to Austin, be sure to check out Solid PR's Showcase as well.
Solid PR - 2008 SXSW Showcase - Friday March 14th @ The Scoot Inn in Austin, TX @ 6pm
Outdoor Stage:If, like us, you can't afford to get down to Austin, not to worry. Our friends in the east can choose from the New England Metal and Hardcore Fest in Worcester, MA, or the Maryland Deathfest, in... Maryland.
High On Fire
Unasne
Man Man
World/Inferno Friendship Society
Fucked Up
Paint it Black
Saviours
Inside Stage:
An Albatross
Team Robespierre
Foxy Shazam
Icy Demons
Buffalo Stance
The Chandelierres
Appearing at the Maryland Deathfest (5/23 - 5/28): Disfear-- whose Live the Storm has set the bar for metal in '08-- Anaal Nathrakh (their only scheduled US appearance)-- whose Hell is Empty, and all the Devils are Here made beatmasterspeech's top ten of last year-- and a bunch of brutally-named bands to boot (e.g. Torsofuck, Squash Bowels, Sublime Cadaveric Decomposition). Tix on sale now.
And for our friends on the left coast, there's LA Murderfest 4.0 (4/18 - 4/20). The lineup is quite astounding, including The Red Chord, Impaled, Genghis Tron, Magrudergrind, Vital Remains, Trap Them, human-hating vegetarians Cattle Decapitation, crustcake favorites Baroness, legendary grind pioneers Extreme Noise Terror, the mighty Converge, and more. Tickets will be available soon.
Not to worry, New Yorkers-- Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron, and Baroness will be hitting our neck of the woods as well, on April Fool's Day.
April 1 - New York, NY - Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron, Baroness @ Blender TheaterTrap Them will also be swinging through NYC, first on March 12 (with locals Tournament, who made little impression on me when I saw them last year) and then again on June 16 with Deathwish labelmates Killing the Dream.
March 12 - New York, NY - Trap Them, Tournament @ CharlestonSo, it looks like I have a bit of a conundrum... You see, hardcore heros (and beatmasterspeech and Tomas Lindberg faves) Tragedy will be in town on my birthday, May 2. Also playing that same night? Ministry and Meshuggah. Luckily, M&M are playing the night before, May 1, as well. Also luckily, May 2 falls on a Friday this year, so I can make it a one-two punch of hardcore aggression and industrial+uber-technical metal mayhem without having to drag my ass into work all hungover. Happy birthday to me!
June 16 - New York, NY - Trap Them, Killing the Dream @ Knitting Factory
May 2 - New York, NY - Tragedy , Systematic Death , Government Warning , Disnihil @ Knitting Factory (tix)Still with me? Chicago instru-metalists Pelican are hitting the road with Black Cobra and Unearthly Trance (whose Electrocution is out March 18 via Relapse).
April 5 - Los Angeles, CA - Ministry, Meshuggah @ House of Blues
April 6 - Los Angeles, CA - Ministry, Meshuggah @ House of Blues
May 1 - New York, NY - Ministry, Meshuggah @ Irving Plaza (tix)
May 2 - New York, NY - Ministry, Meshuggah @ Irving Plaza (tix)
May 4 - Brooklyn, NY - Pelican, Black Cobra, Unearthly Trance @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg (tix)Looks like I'll have a chance to make up for cutting out early on
May 29 - Hollywood, CA - Pelican, Black Cobra, Unearthly Trance, Thrice, Circa Survive @ Avalon
Hate Eternal the last time they came to town-- they'll be back in NYC on April 28, this time with Soilent Green and blackened-NWOBHM-thrashers Skeletonwitch. Hate Eternal's Fury and Flames is out tomorrow on Metal Blade. Fury and Flames' cover are was done by the talented Paul Romano (Mastodon, Dead to Fall, Earth).Hate Eternal recently released the David-Brodsky-directed, Brooklyn-warehouse-set video for the song "Bringer of Storms."
And finally, speaking of Earth, Dylan Carlson and Co.'s sixth album hits stores next Tuesday. Via Brooklyn Vegan:
Dylan Carlson & Earth will release their latest opus "The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull" on Feb 26th, a twangy, dark western soundtrack-y effort that serves as a likely follow-up to last year's "Hibernaculum" and even features appearances on four tracks by the awesome Bill Frisell.
[MP3] Trap Them - "They Followed the Scent of Jihad All the Way to Thieves' Paradise"
[MP3] Earth - "Omens and Portents I: The Driver"
Continue Reading...
February 4, 2008
Monday Metal Update
by crustcake gerf (NYC)
"Everyone's favorite Masshole," Red Chord bassist Greg Weeks, had this to say last week in anticipation for yesterday's Super Bowl:
Recently I was asked to do a blog for Decibel concerning the greatest football team in NFL history, the New England Patriots... or as the magazine refers to them, the “Gaytriots.” I understand their frustration, them being from Philly and all, and accept their fifth grade humor as what it is: sheer jealousy. Wherever I go, people remind me how much they hate the Pats. I love it.Sorry Greg, the "Gaytriots" may have been 18-0 coming in to yesterday's game (cheating, running up scores like a bunch of Massholes, and having the best fucking luck imaginable in the injury dept.) but they just couldn't put the perfect season away.
[...]
Bottom line is that, as much as I love [Full Blown Chaos vocalist] Ray Mazzola, his “Big Blue” and the rest of the country will be Full Blown Disappointed come Feb. 3rd. Go Pats!!!
(On a side note, I [crustcake gerf] have watched 5 of the last 7 Super Bowls in the winning cities-- Boston in 2002, 2004, and 2005, Indianapolis last year, and now of course I'm in the Big Apple. [beatmasterspeech was there with me in '02 and '04] The highlight, though, was definitely Boston in '02 when I witnessed first-hand Pats fans flipping cars and chanting "Yankees Suck.")
Pitchfork's resident metal geek Brandon Stosuy published his latest "Show No Mercy" column last week. In it he chats with Hellbutcher of notably un-prolific Swedish black/thrash metallers Nifelheim. In true misanthropic form, Hellbutcher declares that he is "not into any black metal bands of today.":
Pitchfork: You've been around more than 15 years and have seen a lot. What are your thoughts on the development of black metal? For instance, other groups who've persevered-- Immortal, for instance, or quite differently, Darkthrone-- verus those who've shifted their sound rather drastically toward the mainstream. I'm thinking of Dimmu Borgir.He is, however, a huge Maiden fan:
Hellbutcher: I am not into any black metal bands of today.
I have about 1,500 Iron Maiden albums, over 1,000 t-shirts and I have seen them live 140 times, I usually go to all Maiden gigs in Europe on their tours, on the last tour I saw them 32 times so you can probably say I am an Iron Maiden fan.Stosuy also chats with Danish doomster Emil Brahe of Sol and Brown Jenkins' "one-man Texas-based [blackened doom] project Umesh."
We love Cave In. So does MetalSucks:
Seminal Boston band Cave In have an intruiging history, one that took them from sweaty basement DYI hardcore shows to spaced-out progressive mettalirock to major-label bidding war and then all the way back, all within the span of a few short years. No heavy band from the Northeastern US seems to be as widely loved and respected yet criminally overlooked as Cave In.Cave In were MetalSucks' 'Sunday Spotlight' yesterday. Read the feature, thorough as always, right here.
Om, who released crustcake gerf's #4 album of 2007, have lost half their members:
Om is continuing forward with a new drummer and working on a new recording. Please check omvibratory.com and this page for updates. A live vinyl only LP Om - Live at Jerusalem will be forthcoming. This is Chris Hakius’ final release with the group. I personally apologize to east coast fans who planned on coming out to the shows. Please know that Om will be back in your area later in 08. Thank you to all of you. Live dates resume in late spring. There is a LOT of new material on its way. Shrinebuilder is also forging ahead. See you all soon. -alWell, at least we have Shrinebuilder to look forward to.
Japanese cult band Boris (or BORIS... or boris?) will be playing in New York on March 4th. Tickets are on sale now.
Crustake received an email pitch two weeks ago to post the fourth episode of the "You Suck at Photoshop" series. We politely obliged-- after all, they are pretty funny. By the time the fifth installment dropped into our inbox, we kinda figured the gig was up and that the comedy had run its course, but we watched #5 anyhow, and Donnie (possibly Dane Cook? groan...) did not disappoint. What does all this have to do with music? Absolutely nothing. And we're totally ok with that. Just fucking watch it already:
So, is this the end of Donnie? If we don't hear from MyDamnChannel's PR people within the next week or so we'll be forced to assume so...
That's all for now, happy Monday!
Continue Reading...
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.
